Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1881-06-29

The difference between the mills now
used for the manufacture of flour and
those of a half century ago sre marked
rs those between the modern woolen mill
and the old fashioned loom in which
homespun cloth was manufactured for the
purpose Of providing stout and serviceeble
garments to clothe the hardworking farmer
and his sons. In ancient times wheaton
bread was the exception the daily bread
of the rural household was made OF rye
and Indian corn Two or three bushels OF
wheat was regarded as a sufficient allow
ance for a moderate family, and that
ground INTO -four was kept for such state
OCCASIONS as QuiltiDgs, weddings, Thanks
givings and other holidays, on which the
good wife was wont to exercise her Gull
nary skill in compOunding shortcake to
grace the bountifully spread table. 1t
was also considered the proper thing to
have a loaf OF two Of wheat bread on hand
in the house should the clergyman or other
respected visitor come to take tea The
grinding of the wheat was usually matter
of considerable solicitude on the part OF
the owner of the grlst. A bushel or two
was measured up in bag and thrown
across the back of gentle and trusty FARM
horse, and the owner would weAd his way
10 the grist mill, where, while waiting for
it TO be ground, he would have an opror-
tunity to indulge in little social gossip
with the dusty coated miller, who was
generally well posted in all the local news.
The miller, having satisfied the farmer
that the run of stone was perfectly clean
and that there was no danger of an ad-
mixture of rye -four or corn meal, the
wheat would be transferred to the hopper
ana ground; and, when finished, the far
mer would joyfully wend his way home
ward, knowing that the good wife would
test the flour on his arrival and that his
chances were favorable for an excellent
supper of shortcake and golden butter.
This was the grist mill of early days.
The modern Touring mill is a huge
structure, employing many men, and the
wheat is turned INTO flour by the freight
tram load daily. One Of the monster mills
in Minneapolis, MINI covers an area OF
$50 by 50 feet, and is several stories la
height. Its capacity is 4, 200 bushels OF
wheat, or fifty car loads, TO keep the mill
in operation. 1t does not depend upon the
old fashioned burr mill stones TO convert
tine wheat into flour but the process OF
manufacture is 10 first run the wheat
through brushing machine, the old fash
ioned smut machines have been discarded
After the wheat has been cleaned by being
run through the brush machine, it Is run
through corrugated iron rollers, which
split the crease of the berry open, thus
liberaung the dust which lies in the crease,
so that it can be removed by bcldng. A
very small percentage of low grade flour
is made during this first reduction. The
grain then passes through process tech
nically known as a scslping reel, TO re-
move the dirt and flour, after which II
passes through a second set of corrugat ed
rollers, by which it is further broken
Then it Is passed through second reel,
which removes the -four and middlings.
This operation is repeated successively
until the flour portion of the berry is en-
urely removed from the bran, the necessary
separations being made after each reduc-
ton, sometimes requiring five or six. Tie
mIddlings from the several operations are
reduced to flour, after being run through
the purifiers, by successive reductions, ON
smooth iron or porcelain rollers. One OF
the principal objects sought by this system
of grinding is to avoid all bruising of the
grain; another to extract all tine dirt from
the crease OF the berry; and third, to
thoroughly free the bran from the Hour, in
order to obtain as large yield as possible.