St. Landry democrat., 1880-12-04
Some lite ms about Rice HullIMS.
Morgan City Review

Ten years ago, when the great Cotton
Seed Oil and Cake manufacturers OF
New Orleans were gaining apace with
large capital and the industry was
stamped with success, rice mills, and
rice culture were just contemplated. In
ten years seven rice mills have sprung
up here. Ten years ago many of our
planters, who, previously, had not seen
anything in rice cultivation bethOught
themselves of trying small acreage i'll
it. They found it paid, and year by
year old lands and plantations lying
convenient to various water courses
were converted into rice fields. To-day
over 10000 acres OF Louisiana is rice
! land, and this season a crop of 100000
sacks rough rice must lind its way
| through screens and Founders aud
stones" so rs to come upon the market
"cIean rice"
| And it was this large acreage Of rice
! land and the success of our rice plan
/ tiers, that has given birth to the seven
rice hulling mills of New Orleans, which
to-day have more than they can can &C
complish i'll a given time. The mills
! here employ from IS to 40 hands each,
! and those hands, most of them, have &C
work which entities them to extra
wages.
Foerstcr's rice mill. Julia street has
been in operation for the past ~ years ;
the Brook MILL Allen 4 Syme, OH l.afay
cite and Tchoupitouas street, the most
perfect rice mill in operation South, has
been running for the last ten years :;
Steward & Thompson's mill, North Pc
tiers street, been hulIng and cleaning
rice for the past eight years; Pcrseve-
rance rice mill, Elysian Fields street
since 1870 Louisiana rice mill though
changing hands many times, has been
in existence since 1871; the American
rice mill near Girod, from 1877, and the
. Merchants rice mill, Magazine Street,
only since 1879.
After visiting several of the mills
here, your representative handed in his
card at the Brook mill Messrs Allen &:
SWINE, and WAS received cuurteously
Intimating my desire to ''go through
the MILL" Mr.. Philip Rain, the efficient
engineer and supervisor Of the brook
mill, after enrolling me in Il buster. lead
the way.
The rice (rougb) having been emptied
into a capacious bin, is carried by eIcva-
tors into an upper floor where the shift
: ing sieve frees it from sticks and rub
Dish. After this IA portion of the beard
remains on each rough grain and the
bulk is passed through IA ''Hnodlum,'
which IevOlves and is SO nicely "set'
as merely to rub Of the beard and allow
t the uninjured rough rice to pass on tt
t the Stones" hich bull the grains
. Each rough grain is not hulled by terri
ed, az to crack of the hulls as the grain
: stands on and between them
dreadful force delicately applied
, The .'Hoodlum" breaks of the rice beart
or tail" aud prevents what is called
/, "paddy" in clean rice, while the stone'
and Founders with their cumbersom,
and irresistible force, execute the neat
. est Of all delicate jobs, the successful
/ hulling of nice grains.
This is not all, for hulled rice has
> leaden color, so it has perhaps indig'
= seed among it.-tlat pest of the ric
s plauters,-or it may be chalky from
: want Of sufficient cultivation. or tn
! planter may have let his seed run out,
IL or been careless in wedding out of his rlc
: crop the "volunteers" and in this case
;, Grated, and so the rice mill takes
L still further, through series of fan
= nings and "pollshing' until the tic
i. grains come out-marketable. Ih
n polishers consist of sheep skin, tanned
stretched over sheep wool on revolvin
cylinders; these fit into wire screen cyl
d inder., the space between the sheep ski
Il and wire gauze just being sufficient t
allow of the rice grains to find tllei
way by degrees to the bottom, the fric
v ton against the skins polishes thel
:. highly and rubs of tho bran whic
II amounts to eight barrels Of bran
'e every 100 barrels Of clean rice.
d 1t is really strange idea that strike
rI L.
- mill and had thugs explained to him 6
it crs and hears the loud hiss Of steam
m sees the tremendous efforts of the heav
"a seventy horse power engine, the fyin
belts to the harsh grating stones, an
10 the general hubbub all tends to accom-
IL plisI that, which the deft fingers of
10 lady could hardly do successfully will
ont harm to the delicate white kernel.
hull rice grains.
Our rice mills are hulling at cent fl
No. rice, aud ! cent for No. 3 III
IL trash, etc, found in rice amounts to
III per cent, sometimes, but average about
J., The oldfashioned style OF thresliiI
~ rice by letting horses run over it,
= nearly dead now. The first thresller
20 Louisiana, believe, was put up in 1s
,g for Mr., Thomas J. Decker, Plaquemil
of Parish, on the Tropical Bend Plantatio
Since then great improvements have t
. ken place i'll threshing rice.
.. Rice that is cut in August, is not a
G. WAYS sent Immediately to the thresh
ed or mill for rapid conversion from dc:
~ stick to paying product. 1t is stack,
10 in the field to sweat. Thousands
H. barrels of rice can be seen stacked
tho straw, in open fields to-day,
Louisiana.
L. The rice crops in the South are nc
ed 100 per cent. larger than a few yea
80 ago. Previous to and after the WI
ol the Louisiana Sugar Belt was deyot
n to the culture OF sugar cane and t
re Carolinas were called upon to supp
m the Southern rice market. Little
'st State, the market for it became larg,
it's and now but little if any encourag gene
nd is given to the Carolina article.
~ The bran flour from rice mills is US
=. ;. to adnlterate mustard, etc, aud max
III an excellent food for stock.
One mill here has received $685.
sacks rough rice to date, against 1901
sacks this time last year. The stock
tile market is SO large now as to dr.
~ it, but that is merely for time.
-. When the Land Reclamation Conn
~ na ny start their immense rice farm
he Terrebonne parish, they will need a n
nn mill to do their hulling. A great saw
ftu in freight will be obviated. Morg
~ City will be their best point for Il
"a mill, with every facility OF wa
s'' course, and I am informed, and belle
% reliably, that Morgan City miH be
g depot. G