The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1874-11-14

very cheap and inferior quality OF
flour made from them; but as a
general thing the middlings went
with the bran to feed stock, or went
to the distiller. Inasmuch as all
the flour obtained was in this first
process, the object was naturally to
get as much dour as possible by it,
to which end The grinding was done
as fine as 1t was possible without
entirely destroying the berry, and
at high rate of speed. But all this
time, while flour was being so made
and the middliugs so disposed of,
1t was patent to all practical men
that the middlingS contained vast
deal of good flour if it could only be
got at. This close, and rapid grind
ing, however, was the best that was
known to accomplish the result, and
the waste went hopelessly Oh, inter
rupted only by occasional partially
successful efforts to introduce the
! desired improvements.
The revolution has been brought
about 10y the final getting into prac-
tical shape of machinery which ac-
complishes this separating of the
flour from the middlingS, which ma
chinery, in its essential features is
not entirely new, but only made
practical by additions and improve
menjS. Machinery for thi< purpose
has been employed a long time in
Europe.
This improved mildlings purifier,
a. il is called, consists of a horizon
tai seive made of boiling cloth,
which sieve has short, quick mo-
ton impaired to it. Into this sieve
at one end the middlingS are put.
Tie motion starts them along the
sieve toward the other end. a
/ blast Of air is introduced under the
sieve while a suction is created
faUove. ms AIR carries off all the
/ lighter particles, the heavy particles,
which contain he flour, fall through
the sieve into a receptacle below,
while the bran is carried off to the
end and falls out as tailings. This
/ heavy material so caught and pre-
served is again ground and bolted,
and from this comes the best article
Of flour that has ever yet been
known for general use. The defect
in this machiney heretofore has been
innot keeping The sieve from clogging
or choking up. 1t would quickly
/ do so, and then the whole contents
would 90 out at the end, and the et-
fort would fail. To remedy this a
brush welded by man-power was
employed to brush out the sieve,
but the imperfect application and
expense rendered the whole thing
comparatively nugatory. This was
/ for long time the state of this en-
terprise. In 1872 a Frenchman by
! the name of LacroiX, brought from
Paris a machine for this purpose,
/ known as the L rrigauit machine,
which he put in mill of his own
at Faribault, MINI. But its defects,
! before referred to, left it in the cat
egory of other attempts. He subse-
quentIy put similar machine into
I Washburn's mill at Minneapolis,
Minn. While this. was beng done
the suggestion was made, "Why
not put in brush TO run by ma
chinery ? " The idea struck La
croix at once tavorably. The in
veniion of the brush gave the start
to this enterprise, which has since
been advancing steadily and rapid
lily. All the large mills of the West
are rapidly adapting their machin-
cry to il. and the small ones are
following suit as fast as their feeble
means will allow.
I Under this new process the
wheat is ground what is technically
termed ''higher" which untechnlc-
ally is simply "coarser' the stones
running wider apart aud slower to
accomplish the result. Under the
Old process it was important to get
rs little middlings as possible. while
under the new process 1t Is I'M
portan, to get as much as possible,
this slow and coarse grinding ac-
compIsheS. The slower grinding
necessitates more stones while the
cleansing process calls for an addi-
ton of boiling or sieying capacity
III - l.,,.., al .ba edition a