WHEAT AND MILLING.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 20 December 1926, Page 3

WHEAT AND MILLING.

ADDRESS BY MR J. IRELAND. the .making qf flour. Members of the Levin Chamber of Commerce Lunch Club had the pleasure on Friday of hearing an address on “Wheat and Milling,” by Mr J. Ireland, of Palmerston North. Mr C. S. Keedwell said it was gratifying to find that the interest of members was being maintained in the luncheon functions. He apologised for the absence of Messrs Matheson, Hammonds, Walkley, Hudson. Donovan, and Goldsmith. He then introduced the Speaker. Peculiarities of Wheat. Mr Miller said that wheat had been found with the Egyptian mummies, and it was reported that it could be traced tack ten to fifteen thousand years. It had been bred from .a wild wheat with a very small grain and a long beard to it, the food value of which kind was practically nil. It was from this, however, that there had been developed the wheat of to-day. All wheats were not suitable to the climatic conditions of different countries, and it was only after years of testing that the right kind Avas discovered. The varieties were almost innumerable. There Avas one peculiar point about wheat, and that was that it would net hybridise readily. One variety Avould not naturally cross with another; this had to be done by hand To give an idea of hoAv true to type Avheat Avas, Mr Ireland stated that if 1000 varieties were put in side by side and only a few inches apart, 999 identical varieties would be produced. He did not think that this could be said of any other kind of seed. Probably the best wheat in the world came from Canada, and this ’was partly due to th ■* A T ariety grown there. It was a very strong wheat, and it suited the climatic conditions of Canada —a very cold winter and a very hot .summer. It was sown so as to grow to a height of tovo or three inches in the autumn; then the sncAv came and covered it to a depth of six inches for a feAV months. After the melting of the shoav, the Avheat Avould shoot ahead, and he did not think there Avas any wheat so hard as the Canadian. Recent Developments.

From some countries there came wheat containing impurities. Argentine was noted for the weeds in its Avheat, amounting to 33 1-3 per cent. In India the wheat Avas very dirty; and practically all Indian Avheat had to be Avashed before it could be used for milling purposes. In Canada just recently the value of land had gone up to such an extent that it Avas unprofitable to grow Avheat in the southern part, and the wheat belt had been shifted further u'orth. In, consequence, the groAvers had to cultivate a neAv Avheat, Avhich Avas called “Ninety Days” —that being the time it Avas in the ground from sowing to harvest. This Avheat was going to be a very big thing for ada. In England they had been testing wheats to get one that Avould be stronger and give a bigger yield. After years cf Experimenting they had developed a kind that Avould give 80 instead of 30 or 40 grains to the ear, and which Avas the strongest Avheat ever groAvn in England. In Canada, after culling out for the first few years, they had produced from one ear of Marquis in 10 years 270' million bushels of Avheat. Milling Processes.

In describing the qualities of Avheat for flour-milling, Mr Ireland stated the grain Avas provided with outer skins and the flour was contained in little cells Avithin the skins. The germ Avas at ihe end of the wheat. The strength of the Avheat was in the gluten contained right iu the centre of the grain. It Avas not the practice in the mills to take one variety cf wheat and put. it through the rollers; a number of \rarieties were used, aiid it Avas found that the more varieties used in pulling the surer the miller was of maintaining a regular quality in the flour. If only cue variety Avas-used, an unfavourable season might be encountered and there Avould be a poor result in the mill. ’ Explaining the processes of milling, Mr Ireland stated that there Avas almost as much machineiy used to clean the wheat as to grind it. The grain Avas first passed over a screen tc remove rubbish, after which a heavy blast of air took aAvay tbe chaff. Then the Avheat passed over the scourer, in which there were steel beaters and an emery surface to take off the outer skin. It next passed to a machine Avhich brushed it and took off any loose particles of dust. An electrical plate or magnet removed any iron particles, after which the wheat Avas ready for the first roll. The grinding was not all done iu cue oper-. ation, and it was not done severely. In the first roll the Avheat was merely cracked, eo that the bran might be re tained in as large flakes as possible and not reduced to the fineness of flour. The grain next Avent to a machine called a plan sifter, composed of a number of sieves in a box. There it received 52 separate dressings. Mr Ireland described the operations resun ing in the removal of bran and semolina and the purification of the flour. Some of the Avheat, particularly grown in Australia, Avas so hard that as soon as

:t Avent into the rollers it broke to nieces. To prevent this it. had to b-' damped. The wheat grown in Now Zealand Avas very soft and would mb' absorb moisture, the skin being verv lough. Tbe climatic conditions front year to year bad an important bearing "U tin* niiiling. In a hot, dry summer iho grain would, yield Hi per cent, flour and 2S per mut. bran and pollard. In a wet year the wheat had a very tough skin and Avould only give 08 c r d 9 pc cent, of flour. Unless the miller-could got something OA r er 70 >pcr cent, of flour today, he could not mill in competition with others at a profit. In extending an invitation 1o tin: members of - the Chamber to volt tlm mill in Palmerston,. Mr Ireland menrioned that it was die fourth bigges’ mill in Note Zealand. > ■ A hearty vote of thanks to Mr Ire iand for his interesting address Avarpassed on the motion of Mr T. F. Gibbon (president of the Chamber), seconded by Mr B. Magee. Before the gathering dispersed, M*' Gibson wished all pm/ent a Merry in iatrnas and a Happy Near Year.