PREFACE

I have ventured to write this little book with some diffidence, for it deals with farming, milling and baking, subjects on which everyone has his own opinion. In the earlier chapters I have tried to give a brief sketch¹ of the growing and marketing² of wheat. If I have succeeded, the reader will realise that the farmer’s share in the production of the staple³ food of the people is by no means the simple affair it appears to be. The various operations of farming are so closely interdependent that even the most complex book-keeping may fail to disentangle the accounts so as to decide with certainty whether or not any innovation is profitable. The farmer, especially the small farmer, spends his days in the open air, and does not feel inclined to indulge in analytical⁴ book-keeping in the evening. Consequently, the onus⁵ of demonstrating the economy of suggested innovations in practice lies with those who make the suggestions. This is one of the many difficulties which confronts everyone who sets out to improve agriculture.

In the third and fourth chapters I have discussed the quality of wheat. I have tried to describe the investigations⁷ which are in progress with the object of improving wheat from the point of view of both the farmer and the miller⁸, and to give some account of the success with which they have been attended. Incidentally I have pointed⁹ out the difficulties which vi pursue any investigation⁶ which involves the cultivation¹⁰ on the large scale of such a crop as wheat, and the consequent need of adopting due precautions to ensure accuracy before making recommendations to the farmer. Advice based on insufficient¹¹ evidence is more than likely to be misleading. Every piece of misleading advice is a definite handicap to the progress of agricultural science.

The fifth chapter is devoted¹² to a short outline of the milling industry. In chapter VI the process of baking is described. In the last two chapters the composition of bread is discussed at some length. I have tried to state definitely and without bias¹³ which points in this much debated subject are known with some certainty, and which points require further investigation.

Throughout the following pages, but especially in chapters III and IV, I have drawn¹⁴ freely upon the work of my colleagues. I am also much indebted to my friends, Mr A. E. Humphries, the chairman of the Home Grown Wheat Committee, and Mr E. S. Beaven of Warminster, whose advice has always been at my disposal. A list of publications on the various branches of the subject will be found at the end of the volume.

T. B. W.

Gonville and Caius College,
    Cambridge.
        3 December, 1912.

1 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

2 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

3 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

4 analytical   

adj.分析的；用分析法的

参考例句：

• I have an analytical approach to every survey.对每项调查我都采用分析方法。
• As a result,analytical data obtained by analysts were often in disagreement.结果各个分析家所得的分析数据常常不一致。

5 onus   

n.负担；责任

参考例句：

• The onus is on government departments to show cause why information cannot bedisclosed.政府部门有责任说明不能把信息公开的理由。
• The onus of proof lies with you.你有责任提供证据。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

8 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

9 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

10 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

11 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

12 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

13 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

14 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。