GLUTEN IN WHEAT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXII, Issue 7413, 2 December 1884, Page 6

GLUTEN IN WHEAT.

TO TUB KIUTOIS. Bm,—Mr Cooke, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, in his address on Friday, must have very much astonishe<! some of hi* hoarep, a* he no doubt has many of the readers of hi* address, by the very extraordinary statement he made regarding the fabulous proportion of gluten contained in the Australian (but which, in this instance, I assume, means New Zealand) wheat, " A good authority says gluten, the very life-giving, health-sus-taining power, contained in the grain, is present in quantity in Australian wheat nearly two and a half times as great as the Indian. The figures are Indian 164, Australian 40-8 s or,, in plain words, one pound of Australian flour contains os much nutriment as two and a half pounds of flour from the beet Indian wheat." Such a preposterous statement cannot be permitted to pus* out to the world unchallenged ; fathered, as It is, by a person in the responsible position of the President of the Chamber of Commerce j for if Indian wheat really contains 16 4 parte of gluten in every 100 parte, it is an extraordinarily good wheat, and not by any means inferior, as many persons would be led to believe from the above statement. I flud that, comparing the different proportions of gluten In wheats (average, of course), from various parte of the world, that the gluten varies from 10*5 la English to ll'6 iu Virginia. 18-5 in New Orleans and Danteig. to 15 per cent in Black Sea wheats, this in very good seasons only t but no commercial wheat appears hitherto to have reached as high as I6't, the proportion in tho despised wheat of India. There are, I am awaw, nemo of wheat grown round about Naples, from which tho best macaroni is made, as well as the Adelaide wheat, that contain apparently high proportions of gluten, but tills is more apparent than real, and Is duo greatly to the diminution in the quantity of water present But with regard to the assertion that Australian wheat contains the enormous quantity of 40-8 parte of gluten, in every 100 parte of wheat, this must be very carefully accepted raw grime *Ub. for if any grain contained 40-8 part of gluten, ft would no longer fill the place of wheat, for It would be *> miserably deficient in tho non-nltrogenoiw eonstituente (starch) that it would hardly make edible breml—certainly not light or ihgesUblo bread j it would eontaio nearly twice »» much gluten as beans, peas, or lentils. But what a boon It would bo to the bakera! What enoranma ffUMtivles of JIX ter°dimmunii{i« thfinformatitw. and will in fwtura doubles* endeavour te obtain " Cooke's phenomenal floury Coed lean bee# contains about 16*0 girte fibrin or gluten iu every hundred parte i there-, fore, on*» pound of Australian wheat would average price of the various hinds of food, in a jargw country. Is,asa general rule, ttw tmvumro of their nutritive value, I refer, therefore, te the latest pries* fdiiqr <m the Com Change. bendon, and find these q,.*tatten*T3u«trallan wbmt from m te Ilk. |H.r 4SWIb. New Zealand X* to Ms. mid Indian m to m, flte drapteed (at teastby Mr Cooke) Indiatt wheat showing a better average than the New Zealand, which, according t» Mr Cooke, te preeminent Now, this "good authority." quoted and evidently believed to if Mr Cooke (for I don't sunpra* Mr Cooke would knowingly mWW* paeple) Is right, then Baran Meblg Is wwrig, and Mm grain and flour trade. Including the bakers of England, are—wall, not ■ atently moranSuit with their business. In conclusion, Sir, allow me to suggest that the Om ter " blowing M has, or ought to have, Mowed long ago, yet wo continually read that our Item mutton Is in every, way superior to the English, and the flmsthdowo «nd Iterimoor mettea potee before It, and yet It diet not command such hlgb pricc*. We have coat in New Zealand said by competent English autho

r)Ue«lobenqmillnEaglUh «id y«l* practically, fcj prove In Hie world nur faith to our ~b bwl»g,H wc IfawnMtl* w*al. We am new told that w« can pro dm» the flhamptmi wheat of the world, •'pre*»oiiaiml M i# the werel. and yet, like our mutton, it lake*,comparatively, a hark •eat* D«r pwww, and, stm for the welfare td the country, we have too many, make matter* worn hy deluding them* wlvee willi the idea that they are «wan* of the Mgbe*t magnitude, on a par even with Mr Cooke’s phenomenal wheal.—l am, Ac,, 4.(1 K.