The daily gazette., 1879-12-08
n Complete Milt.
THE NEW DEPARTURE OF VIM. LIZA
soNS-A PATENT PRoCEss


Tho old mills on the Brandywine just
below Market street bridge have a bis
tory that goes back a century or more,
ana the day has been when the flour
they ground made WILMINGTON noei
among cities and formed q much more
Important part in the commercial i'm
portance abroad than now, Then it was
that the old "CoDnestoga" wagons came
rumblinz down the hills from far and
near with the golden grain, and vessels
waited In numbers in the creek below to
bear the Hour to foreign port. The mills
are still as busy As then and the machinery
still goes with the same ceaseless hum,
but their fame is not what 1t used to be-
greater and more modern mills In the
west have surpassed them ami taken
away their standing of other days.
| The largest of the mill owners on the
BraDdywine are M essrs. VIM. Lea &
Sons, and this firm have from time to
time added to their machinery such i'm
| provements as necessity might suggest or
demand. But he time has finally arrived
when small improvements will not an
swer and a departure from the old track
altogether bee me advisable, owing to
the recent stri les made by the milling
interest in the great grain growing dis
triots of the west,-and the NJ Messrs. Lea
have taken that departure. The i'm.
proved mills in those sections have gain
ed such reputation as to greatly injure
the business of the eastern mills and to
spread abroad the impression that "pat-
eDt process flour" could only be made III
the west and from western wheat.
The departure which the Messrs. Lea
have taken has been the refuIDisbing Of
their large mill at New Castle with the
besr and most modern machinery at great
cost, and 1t is now about finished. he
work has been going on for several
months and IL very complete, the ma
chinery being entirely new and constitu-
ing patent process mill in everv sense.
The mill has very handy location and
is four story brick building. It's what
is call, d "six run mill" having six sets
of burs. II is fitted with au eighty horse
power Werber II engine. The boiling
arrank emen nts are very complete and
consist of seven boiling chests and IL
reels. There are quite number oil
chilled iron and psrc. lain rolls for grind
ing middllngs, and several bran ma
chimes. Four machines have been fitted
up for purifying the middhngs, two of
Smith patent and two Excelsior. Upon
the second floor are three very complete
II our packers, capable of packing from
the largest to the smallest package and
each divided with an ingenious register
TO regulate the exact weight or quantity
The mill is also provided with aseparator
and smut and brush machines for clean
ing the wheat. All this machinery and
n great deal more, that cannot he detailed
here, has been supplied and Is Of the
latest manufacture and most approved
plan.
The various stages through which the
wheat passes in It's Transformation from
grain to -four is Interesting, and a GA
zETTE reporter had the process explain
ed TO him with much pleasure day OF
two ago. The grain Is first carried into
the mill from cars on the railroad siding
py a conveyor at the rate OF 400 bushels
in twenty minutes. Elevators hoist II
. into a scals- bin, made to hold just "A car
, load of wheat, and thepi is weighed
, after which it is conveyed into the scale
hin when IL remains until ready f0l
Grinding. The stocl bin IN in one cornel
of The mill, and runs from ground hooi
J to root, and holds three thousand bushels
+ The wheat is now run through the sepa-
rater and by this means dust ana Tor
, eipn matter is taken out. The next stage
, | ia the smut machine; this arrangement
= in addition 10 taking what little dust ano
, dirt there is remaining, removes Ger
tain down or slight feathery substance
/. that ~ found at the smaller end of tht
t grain and which, unless removed, pre-
vents the best of -four from being made
e Following this the wheatis run ,hrougl
|
B nels are completely secured, ana ,hen
ia ready foi grinding. In addition :,
this. another precaution Is taken IL rel
u erence TO "wire in wheat" which ha
Y oiven rise to much discussion among mi
e lers for years past, and which is caused
Nv the use of wire benders IN harvest
n ing. For the purpose of taking out an!
r fragments of iron powerful maggie shav
4 been nut in before and after the wheat l
| ia
From the brushing machine, an elevate
c takes the wheat to the former Hoor TO
k Temporary BIN aud from here 1t Is let ou
l. into the Hoppers ON the second floor an
e is ground. The boiling process follows
q by it the bran and middhngs are separa
\ ted from the -four which is conveyed Z
y the hour-bin, where It remains UNI,
e raadv To be packed. The bran and mid
n dIpgs, thus separated, arc ground owe
IS apain and all the flour extracted by tn
:. machines and steel and porcelain rolls
already mentioned, while the offal iron
n this is run off separately, and sold 10
;, The mills fitted up with every con
;, venience. The ground flooris cemente
u and planked; the building Is heated o
oi s,eam: call bells and speaking tubes ar
found in all parts; and wind-pipes carr
s. away unhealthy dust. And further tha
10 This, it is really the only complete paten
nrecess mill in the Eastern States, an
tbe M essrs. Lea have etfectually answer
~ ed the idle talk that eastern wheat coui
V. no not make pure patent -four by shown
o. nractically that 1t can. 1t combines thre
To mills IN one, in fact, and three grades
w ionr can be made at one time, or onl
t. one. one as may be desired. The wheat
er ero,,nd and all is completely worked u
c. at the the same time. The enterprise,
III a new and very important feature aaa ~ W
a milling industry in the east and refiec
m great credit on those who have entere
DO into it.