Читать книгу How We Are Fed: A Geographical Reader - James Franklin Chamberlain - Страница 6

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In the dark granary of a farmer's barn in North Dakota once lived a modest family of grains of wheat. The bright, warm days of the summer time, during which they had been placed in this dark room, soon grew shorter and cooler. The swallows, whose mud nests were in the rafters overhead, told the wheat brothers that winter was coming, and then flew away to the balmy southland.

Soon biting winds and blinding snow came sweeping over the level land. Sometimes the farmhouse was almost hidden under the drifts, and the farmer had to shovel out a path to the barn, so that he could feed the horses and cattle. By and by the days grew warmer, the snow disappeared, and the birds returned one by one. The farmer and his men got out their plows and harrows, and prepared the soil for the seeds soon to be planted.

The wheat was now shoveled into sacks and taken to the fields. Here it was placed in great machines drawn by horses, which scattered it evenly over the land and at the same time covered it with soft soil. The men whistled and sang as they worked, and blackbirds, bluebirds, and larks flew back and forth, singing and searching for bugs and worms, as well as for the shining kernels of wheat.

The wheat was not content to remain underground, but kept trying to push itself out into the world. One night there came a warm shower, and the next morning what looked like tiny, green blades of grass appeared all over the field.

All through the spring and summer the wheat kept growing, and finally there appeared at the ends of the stalks clusters of kernels, just like those which the farmer had planted. Some of these kernels had produced families of twenty or thirty. These clusters are called heads.

Fig. 3.—Harvesting Wheat in Southern California.

As the south wind passed over the field it brought the wheat messages from Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and other states, telling of relatives who were already turning golden in the summer sunshine. One day some of the kernels thought they heard a voice from California. Do you think they did?

The grain in some of the fields was called winter wheat. This was because the grain had been sown the autumn before, and had remained in the ground all winter, covered by a blanket of snow. Why was it sown in the fall? The wheat of which I am telling you was called by the farmer spring wheat.

Soon machines, each drawn by several horses, appeared. They cut the waving grain, and bound it up in bundles called sheaves. These were set up in double rows to dry, and afterward put into another machine which separated the kernels from the stalks, which were now called straw. This work the farmer calls threshing. See if you can find out how this used to be done.

After threshing, the wheat was put into sacks and taken to the nearest railroad station. Freight cars then carried it across the level prairies to the beautiful city of Minneapolis, built beside the Falls of Saint Anthony. What river is this city on? Of what use are the falls?

There are tall buildings called elevators here in which the wheat was stored for a time. Before being put into the elevators it was examined and graded. As there was wheat from many farms it could not be kept separate, so each farmer was told how much he had, and how it graded.

Fig. 4.—Threshing Wheat in Southern California.

Some time after this the wheat was taken to one of the great mills to be ground into flour. The largest of these mills manufactures about fifteen thousand barrels of flour every day. This is the largest flour mill in the world.

When the kernels reached the mill, they were put into machines called separators, to be separated from all companions such as grass seed, mustard seed, and wild buckwheat. They were then placed in an iron box in which brushes were revolving rapidly, and were scoured to free them from fuzz and dirt. Those that were very dirty were washed.

Fig. 5.—The Flour Mills in Minneapolis.

Fig. 6.—The Largest Flour Mill in the World.

The kernels were steamed, in order that the coating, called bran, might not break into small pieces. This is called tempering. The kernels now thought that their trials were over, but they were mistaken. Soon they found themselves being crushed between rollers. After they came out they were sifted, and then run between other rollers. This was repeated six times, and each time the flour was a little finer, for the rollers were closer together. The flour was then run through tubes of flannel. These took out whatever dust it contained. It was then ground still finer. The flour was then put into sacks or barrels, which were marked for shipment to other parts of the country.

Only the wheat intended for the very best grade of flour is treated as carefully as this was.

What industry does the use of barrels bring in?

Fig. 7.—Grinding Wheat.

From the mills the flour was sent to many parts of the land to supply stores, bakeries, hotels, and homes. Some of it found its way to the bakery near your home. The bakers, in their clean suits of white, weighed the flour which they were going to use, and then added a certain amount of water to it. Some yeast and salt were added also. This mixture they called dough. You have seen your mother mix or knead dough, I am sure. The bakers did not do the kneading with their hands, but by means of machinery made for this purpose.

Fig. 8.—Bolting Flour.

When the dough had been thoroughly kneaded it was left to rise. It is the yeast that causes the rising. This makes the bread light and spongy. It was then cut into loaves and placed in the oven. The ovens in the bakery are very much larger than those in your kitchen stove, for many loaves are baked at once. When a nice shade of brown appeared on the loaves, the bakers took them out of the oven by means of long shovels. Soon the delivery wagons came and were loaded with the fresh bread to be delivered to stores and homes. This loaf was just left at the door and is still warm.

So, you see, a loaf of bread has quite a history. I have told you the life story of this one from the time of its grandparents, who were raised on the plains of North Dakota. Would it not be interesting to see each of the people who have had something to do with its production, and to make the journey which the wheat and the flour made? You can do both in your thoughts.