ANY simple test that will aid the wheat breeder in measuring 1"\. characteristics of grain is of value in increasing the efficiency of the breeding program. In the eastern soft wheat region hard wheats are being used extensively as parents to secure resistance to various diseases and a simple test is especially needed for identifying, in the early generations, hybrid lines with soft grain. Hard wheats in general produce coarse granular flour and soft wheats fine smooth flour. The particle size index test developed by Cutler and Brinson 3 appears to differentiate varieties in a very satisfactory way so far as this character is concerned. It is slow, however. The doughball time test has also been suggested by Cutler and Worzella 4 as a measure of quality for small samples. Since the degree of granulation of a flour seems to be related to hardness of the grain, it occurred to the authors that a pearler such as is used in the inspection of barley and which has also been used for studies in the milling of parboiled rice, might be useful in estimating the hardness of wheat samples. Some preliminary trials seemed to verify this assumption and hence a more extensive investigation was planned and carried out. The results appear promising enough to justify presenting the results. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe pearler consists of an enclosed grinding stone attached to a Ys h. p. directdrive electric motor. An interval timer, a balance sensitive to o.or gram, and a set of Tyler screens completes the apparatus necessary for the pearling test.Preliminary tests were made on grain of varieties grown in field plats at the Arlington Experiment Farm, Arlington, Va. Later samples from the varieties in the uniform soft winter wheat nurseries grown at several stations in the eastern states were studied. Also, in order to obtain data with a wider range of kernel types, samples of a few winter and spring varieties grown in field plats at experiment stations in the western United States were included.The wheat was stored for two months or more prior to pearling in an ordinary seed storage room. The moisture in the grain varied between ro and r 1% and no shriveled or badly broken grain was used. The procedure used in the test was as follows:1. Approximately 100 grams of wheat were placed on a No. 6 Tyler screen held over a No. 8. After shaking a definite number of times by hand, three 20gram samples were weighed from the grain remaining on the No. 8 screen.2. A sample was placed in the pearler and the latter started and run exactly 3 minutes.

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Samples of ‘Marquis,’ a spring wheat grown under irrigation, and ‘Kanred,’ a winter wheat grown on fallow land without irrigation, were stored in bags in a dry, unheated room at Fort Collins, Colo., for periods up to 43 years. In 1964, all samples failed to germinate after 35 to 43 years storage. Kanred decreased somewhat faster in percentage of germination for the various testing periods than Marquis, when lots harvested in the same years were compared. The grain varied from 10.4 to 11.3% in moisture content during storage. Test weights of the grain were slightly, but, in general, consistently lower in 1964 than in 1938. During this same time flour yield increased for all the wheats. The ash content of the wheats did not change, but the flour ash averaged consistently higher in lots drawn since 1938. A definite and fairly regular increase in fat acidity indicated progressive deterioration. In 1964, gassing‐power determinations on the flour showed increases in 5 of the 8 Marquis samples and in 2 of the 3 Kanred wheats when compared with 1938 tests. Five of the eight long‐time stored Marquis samples and all of the Kanred samples decreased significantly in sedimentation values during the 10‐year period after the first tests were made. Determinations made in 1964 indicate that some thiamine probably was lost during storage under the test conditions. The diastatic activity, as a measure of the maltose content, showed significant3 increases during the 10 years from 1954 to 1964. The quality of the bread from all samples, as judged by loaf volume, was lower than from samples taken in 1938. None of the differences, which are small, seem to be greater than might be expected when tests are made 26 years apart. The breads made in 1964 were not considered to be objectionable for human consumption. Scores for bread grain, texture, and crumb color, however, were lower than in the initial tests. Absorption increased significantly3 in the 1964 tests as compared to the lots drawn in 1938.