Wheat is liable to injury, not only from the attack of insects, but from several kinds of disease, the principal of which are blight, mildew, and smut. In the former the fibres and leaves of the plants are contracted and enfeebled, and the grain is ultimately deprived of sufficient nourishment: by mildew the straw and ear are affected: and by smut the grains, instead of containing their proper substance, become filled with a black or dark brown powder.
Wheat flour consists of four distinct principles, gluten, starch, albumen, and a sweet kind of mucilage. And it is a remarkable circumstance, that the gluten, if not similar, has a very near alliance to animal substances.
To enumerate the various ways in which preparations from wheat serve for nutriment would be unnecessary, as they are known to every one.
Starch is a substance frequently prepared from wheat, and is obtained by the following process. The wheat is put into tubs of water, and exposed, for some days, to the heat of the sun, in order to bring on a proper degree of fermentation, the water being changed twice a day. Having now become sufficiently soft, it is poured into large canvass bags, which are worked or beaten, on a board over an empty vessel, to extract the farinaceous particles. Fresh water is put to it, and after being considerably agitated, it is allowed to subside. As the sediment increases, the water is gradually drained off, and, at length, the starch is formed into small pieces, and dried for use.
During the late war, when the intercourse betwixt France and the West Indian islands was entirely cut off, several attempts were made in that country to obtain sugar from starch. The process was a long and intricate one; and the success with which it was attended was not such as to render it either practically or permanently useful.
Bran is the husk of wheat, separated in grinding. Infusions of bran are, not unfrequently, employed both externally and internally in medicine. They are also sometimes used to cleanse the hands instead of soap. And, in times of scarcity, bran has been advantageously employed in the making of household bread.
Wheat straw, when chopped or cut small, forms a wholesome provender for horses and oxen, especially when mixed with green food. It is also used as litter for horses, and is employed as thatch for cottages, houses, and barns. When cut into certain lengths, bleached by means of sulphur, and split, it is plaited, and formed into hats and bonnets.
A nutritive substance called Semolina is formed from wheat flour, granulated by a particular process. A patent was granted in the year 1780 to Mr. Jacob Levy, for a method of making it. Previously to this, semolina had been imported from Poland, under the name of Cracow groats. It constitutes a light and wholesome food for invalids, being considered, in this respect, preferable to sago; it may also be made into excellent puddings.
Macaroni is a preparation from the finest wheat flour, mixed with eggs, or other glutinous substance. It is chiefly imported from Italy, Sicily, and Germany. Its name implies cut paste, and it is eaten in various ways; on the continent with milk, and with us in soups and puddings, or served up in a dish with grated cheese, milk, and other ingredients.
Vermicelli is made by a mixture of flour, cheese, the yolks of eggs, sugar and saffron. This, being reduced to a proper consistency, is formed into long slender pieces or threads, like worms, by being forced, with a piston, through a number of little holes, in the end of a pipe made for the purpose. Vermicelli was first brought from Italy, and it is chiefly used in soups and other culinary preparations.