Constituents:
| Globulin, | 0.70 | percent |
| Albumin, | 0.40 | „ |
| Proteose, | 0.30 | „ |
| Gliadin, | 4.25 | „ |
| Glutenin, | 4.35 | „ |
| 10.00 |
Starch in the Wheat Kernel.
—The most abundant constituent of the wheat kernel is the starch. The appearance of wheat starch is shown in the figure. Wheat starch grains ordinarily show the rings and hilum in a few cases only under the most favorable conditions, though there are sometimes cases where the striations are quite distinct. The granules of starch vary greatly in size, being from 5 to 10 microns in diameter. There are, in fact, two kinds of granules in wheat starch, one having the appearance under the microscope of irregularly rounded particles in sections like a circular disk, and the other of elongated particles with a distinct hilum, as shown in [Fig. 32]. The appearance of the granules under polarized light is shown in [Fig. 33].
Wheat starch is not very commonly used for commercial purposes but is highly prized for some things, especially in the sizing of textile fabrics. The germ in wheat is particularly rich in oil and the bran or outside covering in protein. The common idea that the bran is composed mostly of silicious matter is wholly erroneous. On the contrary the bran is a highly nutritious food, and the objection to it for human food is mostly of a mechanical nature.
Adulterations.
—Wheat grains are never adulterated but they may sometimes contain dirt and foreign seeds, due to the growth of some body in connection with the wheat itself.
Standards.
—Wheat, commercially, is sold under three standards, namely, one, two, three. The difference is an arbitrary one and not founded upon any chemical data but wholly upon the physical appearance, degree of moisture, and freedom from extraneous admixtures.