AUSTRALIAN WHEAT.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 444, 1 March 1909, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN WHEAT.

ITS BAKINC QUALITIES. YEAR'S STANDARD, Cl'lbs. PER ; BUSHEL. The F.A.Q. standard of A'giv South Wales wheat for tho 1908-09 harvest has been fixed by the grain trado section of the Chamber of Commerce in tho usual way. The manner in which the standard is arrived at is as follows: —Samples (not less than 801b.), representing tho average quality of wheat iii the different districts, wero obtained through tho Farmers' and Settlers' Association, agricultural societies, and Shippers and millers. Those from the northern, western, and two southern- districts were weighed separately, and the average obtained for these districts. Tho average for the State was arrived at by mixing the samples frpm the districts in cortain proportions, and then weighing tho full imperial bushel Mr. If'. P. Guthrie, chemist to the' . Department of Agriculture, reports that the weight for.tho F.A.Q. wneat has been fixed for the current year at 61}lb. per bushelrather a low result when compared with previous years, or with the current F.A.Q. weight in the other States. Fortunately it does not imply inferiority of quality. Tho following are tho milling notes on this sample':—Appearanco of grain: Dull white, soft, large, fairly plump. _ Weight per bushel: (jl}lb. Ea-se of milling: Easy to mill. Percentage .of mill products: Flour 69.7, pollard 14.0, bran 16.3. Nature of flour: Colour of flour excellent; strength of. flour (quarts of water absorbed by. 2001b. .'sack), 48; percentago, of dry gluteiv, 12.2. Tho bran was clean and of medium Size, pollard clean, semolina slightly yellow and. rather soft, gluten yellow, coherent, clastic, soft. • ' The striking feature of this season's ■F.A.Q. wheat is the high" gluten content. This is'higher than it has ever been within my knowledge, and'agrees with; tho remarkably high gluten contents obtained in indii vidua! cases, particularly from tho drier districts of tho State. Not only are the hard and medium hard wheats,'for. example, more than usually rich in gluten, but oven tho soft wheats, which are usually low in gluten, have given in individual .instances as high as 18 per cent, dry gluten;. The flour strength is also_ gradually increasing. The improvement is shown in the , 'following table, which gives tho results of the examination of the F.A.Q. sample since 1906:— " 1905-1906—Weight per bushel', 62.; percentage of mill products, flour 70.5, pollard 14.4, bran 15.1; colour of flour, excellent; strength (quarts of water per sack of 2001b.), 45.5; percentage of gluten, 10.2. 1 .1906-07. —Weight per bushel, 62}. percenr tage of mill products: Flour 71.0, pollard 11.8,.bran 17.2; colour of flour, excellent;, strength (quarts of water per sack of 200 lb.), 46.1;' percentage of dry gluten, 9.4.. 1907-08.—Weight per bushel, 62}. Percentage of mill products: Flour 68.2, pollard 15.2, bran 16.6; colour of flour, 'excellent: strength (quarts of water per sack of 2001b!),.48.5; percentage of dry gluten, 10.6. • 1908-09.—Weight per bushel, 611- Percentage of mill products: Flour 69.7, pollard 14.0, bral 16.3; colour of flour, excellent; strength (quarts of water per sack of 2001b.), 48.0; precentage of dry gluten,' 12.2. The abovo figures show 1 that. tho New South Wales Wheat is improving in milling value, although it is still a.good_ way behind some of the Canadian'and American wheats. ■',/ ' '■ • i • ' DAIRY RECORDS. LORD ROTHSCH.ILD'S,HERDS.. Interest for New Zealand dairyfarmers al-' ways attaches .to r ,thp. i.records,.of.,-the.milk •yields of -Lord Rothschild's :.herds in Britain, on account of the experiments he has long conducted on tho milking qualities of erali breeds. In the records for last year the three ..breeds—Jersey,'Shorthorn, and Red Polled—are dealt with in three groups, . namely (a) cows that. have- been in the herd during the whole year; (b) cows bought and heifers added to the herd '■ during the year; and (c) cows i and heifers that left the herd before the year closed. The yields in each group are shown in the totals, and also (in the B and C groups) tho equivalents for a whole year. Tho records as for the whole year, are as follow:— Jerseys. ' . No. of Milk Group. coirs. per cow. lbs,, ■ A! ... '... . ... 9 5,944 B. ..." ... ...-38 ' 3,405} ,C. •. ... ... ...'47 5,676f. • Special cows: — My Brunette, annual average, 6 years ... ... .... ... ' 8,791 Gala, annual average, 8 years ... 6,144} Shorthorns., . . A. , ' ... 54 6,658. B. ...' ......'l6 ! . 7,656} C. ... ... .. .:. 20 3,508^ . Special cows: — Darlington Cranford XV., 1 year 12,370 ' Average,' 8 years 10,0033 'Red Rose 111-., 1 year. ...11,656 Barrington Duchess XXXI., 1 • ' year ... ', ... 10,047 Red Rose lll.'s mother, 1 year ...- 8,311 Red Polls. • A. ■ ... ... . ... 40 ■ . 6,174} B. ... ... 6 8,584} 0. ... ... ~ ... 24 _ , 3,634} Special cows: l — Clarissa, I'year ... ... ..: 13,577 Although in the A group the Rod Polls gave an averago yield very little higher than that of the Jerseys with their higher test,, yet a 'Red Polled cow (Clarissa) was the heaviest milker on the farm'. Her yield was moro than double the average yield of either of the three breeds.