The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-12-01

Washburn, Is one Of the large millers here.
I'VE don't grind wheat any more, my
friend" replied MIR. BinkIe; " we crack II
and mash u. We aren't millers any more
here, sir; we're crackers and Washers, sir.
You eastern fellows aren't pvsted."
"Do YOU mean TO say you don't use mill
stoDesi" ] asked.
"Certainly not. The milestone has gone.
MS barbarism Of the past. We've kicked
'em all out and put the Hungarian steel
rollers In their place. Henceforth you will
please not say the mills OF the GODS You
will say
"Tbe steel rollers Of the. 20 ,s roll slowly,
But they crush to powder"
STEEL ROLLERS vs. MTLLsToNEs.
To be serious, l found all the Minneapolis
millers taking out their milIstones and SUBJ
stiiuting steel rollers In their places. Wheat,
by the new Hungarian process, Is not
ground, but cracked. These rollers are
about thirty inches long and eight inches in
diameter. II takes five sets OF steel rollers
to finish the -four. Each set OF rollers runs
closer than the preceding. After the wheat
passes each set Of rollers it Is bolled or
siited through coarse cloth. This cloth lets
the disinlegrated particles OF wheat through,
and passes off the bulky and large pieces,
which are run through another and closer
set OF rollers, and cracked again. The last
rollers have little else but wbeat.bulIs and
the waXy germs OF the wheat, which do not
crack up, but smash down like piece OF
wax. TIE germ OF a kernel OF wheat is
not good food. Ii makes -four black. BY
the old milestone process this waXy germ
was ground up with the starchv portion and
boIted through with the -four. by the new
system OF cracking the kernel instead OF
grinding il, this germ is not ground but
fattened out, and sired or bolted out, while
the starchy portions OF the wheat are crush
ed into powdered wheat or -four.
HOW WHEAT BECOMES FLOUR.
The history Of single kernel OF wheat,
as it is made into -four by the new roller
process, is as follows:
/. The kernel is passed between steel
rollers on which are lined corrugations.
This breaks the kernel into from six TO
eight pieces, and a great deal OF slaichy
matter falls out. These pieces are passed
over o cloth. sieve (bolted) The slarcby
particles whMh pass through the sieve are
the best portions OF the wheat. Ii is this
portion that makes the bigb.piiced flour,
worth 81 10 barrel in Minneapolis.
.. These six cracked pieces of wheat,
after being siftcd, are passed through the
second rollers. These rollers are fairly
smooth. but not polished. The kernel this
time Is cracked into, say, thirty-siX pieces,
and the crushed matter is bolted again. The
particles bOlted out make fine -four, worth
IS per barrel
3. Thee thirty-siX pieces are then run
through the third set OF rollers, and cracked
into perhaps ZIG pieces, which are bolied
again. by this time all the best part Of the
wheat is bolted out, and finally nothing but
the bulls, few particles, and the waXy germs
remain.
This debris is now rolled through another
set OF rollers and bOlted again. The parti-
cles boted out make a second-rate -four,
worth So barrel; while the huIIs and
grains are ground upon the ordinary mill
stone and made into a very low grade OF
-four, worth $3.50 barrel, and bran worth
50 ton.
WHAT BECOMES OF THE FLOUR.
The best -four, worth 81 10 barrel in
Mime sofa, is mostly shipped to New York,
New England, and Europe. Flour is billed
directly from Minneapolis to Liverpool.
Glasgow, HavTe, and the Mediterranean
ports.
The second-rate -four, worth s. barrel
in Minneapolis, is shipped generally TO Glas-
gov. 1t is called the bakers brand. The
bakers always use secOnd.class -four. BY
superior knowledge they make as good.
looking bread out Of IS -four as house
cooks make out OF IS flour. In fact, 81
-four with pure baking-pOwder will make
better and more beautiful bread than the
So -four raised with the alum baking. pow.
der.
The very bad -four, worth $3.50 barrel,
is shipped TO Rotterdam, where 1t is mixed
with rye -four and eaten by poor people.
PROPORTIONS OF FLOUR TO WHEAT.
Three hundred pounds Of hard Minnesota
wheat, when crushed, will make as follows
Uhe value given is so much per barrel in
Minneapolls):
40 mounds best -four, worth. &c
90 pounds second rate nOur, worth......... 90
IL pounds bad hOdr. worth. 90
20 pounds bran, worth per ioD..,........'''. y u
800 pounds.
THE MINNESOTA WHEAT CROP.
The Minneapolis miIers say the crop has
been oyer-estimated. They say the wheat
crop OF the State this year Will be about
35 O0O, 900 bushels. OF this the Minneapo-
lis mllers want %, 1000, 90 10 grind at home.
They say they want all the hard wheat
grown in the Northwest, and they are will
ing TO pay seven cents more bushel for ii
than il will bring in Chicago, deducting
freights.
1t takes ninety cars daily to ship the flour
ont of Minneapolis, and $50 cars to ship the
wheat in. Railroad facilities here are ut
terly inadequate 10 do the business. The
Northwestern and st. Paul roads cannot
furnish the cars. Loads OF -four billed foT
Glasgow often stand on the track here a
week.
The power used is the Mississippi river.
The Hon. G.. G.. Washburn owns nearly The
whole power. He sub-leaseS power TO the
other mills. Mr. finkle informs me that
be paws 81, 800 year for the power to run
two mills.
Governor Pillsbury is now building a
new mill on the opposite side OF The ilver
from Minneapolis, the water-power OF
which will have Fifty feet fall. This new
mill will grind 3 600 barrels day. The
combined mills at Minneapolis, l suppose,
grind from $4,000 TO 10000 barrels OF flour
daily.
THE FUTURE OF MINNEAPOLIS MILLING.
A great future awaits the Minneapolis
millsl The UNEMPLOYED wheal.6elds be-
yond Manitoba and along the Peace and
Saskatchewan rivers must empty into the
Minneapolis mills. These mills are espe-
cisIly adapted TO grinding hard northern
wheat. while other mills, fixed tor soft
southern wheat, cannot make the same fine
flour from the hard wheat. The time will
come when Minneapolis viii grind 10000
600 bushels OF hard wheat annually, and
ship it abroad in the shape OF manuiac'
tured -four. She Is great clty-this Min
neapols-6lled with beautiful homes, cul-
tured people, and the best stock from New
England.