The Portland daily press., 1883-08-16
BY II. NJ. SYLVESTER.

mill az the village with my bag of wheat to
be made into -four are still fresh In mind,
once there, three or four hours of waiting
was nothing strange, for farmers always
took stormy day, winter and summer alike,
to go to mill" AT last my bag was emp
tied into the broad hopper to be filled an
hour afterwards at the other side of the mill
with, not the fine white flour of the Hunga-
rian process" but with that of an inferior
and much darker shade. We boys thought
it treat to go to mill, for we liked the whir
of the machinery; and the noisy waters, as
they rushed out of the tail-race or flew from
the understood wheel close under the wood
en- fume with the cogs on the wooden gears
chattering loudly about us, had abundant
charm. But one has to 60 far back into the
country to find type of the old mill to-day
for the new lands have grown old. The
farmer finds wheat-raising improbable and
now gets his -four at the corner grocery.
Upon the west side of the Mississippi, op-
poste Minneapolis, is cluster of stone
buildings, just below the falls of St. Antho-
ny-busy hives of an industry that tolls day
and night to supply bread to the millions of
eaters. Here are the twenty-one Touring
mills OF Minneapolis proper that within a
lew years have become SO distinguished for
the high grade of their products. Of these
mills those of Messrs. Pillsbury & Co. and
Washburne, Crosby & Co. are the chief. In
the earlier days of the country, before the
great Northwest was peopled, the cultiva-
ton OF wheat was confined to small areas but
since the days of improved Touring machin-
cry the prairie lands of this country have
been turned into fields, miles in extent, of
bending grain requiring increased railway
communication and transportation facilities
with all the Improvements that have fol-
lowed in harvesting machinery All along
these Western railroad lines are huge eleva-
tors into which the treasures of each har-
vest are poured and which belong to the
great Touring firms of Minnesota one of
whom, c. A. Pillsbury & Co. turn out near
ly 100000 barrels of flour yearly.
Messrs. PiIlsbury & Co. have on this side
the river five mills in operation, but none of
these approach in beauty and capacity the
A mill on the east Minneapolis side. At the
foot OF Hennepin avenue we cross the river
by the suspension-bridge, slender struc-
ture, the fairy-like effect of which harmon
ICES finely with the natural surroundings of
Nicolet Island, and short distance below
the Falls we find ourselves within the shad-
ow of the Pillsbury A mill, seven stories, or
III feet, in height, with width of 115 and
length of $50 feet. The building is rock
faced, laid in courses out of the finest quail
ty of Trenton limestone. 1t is an imposing
ediice in its solid simplicity. Armed with
our pass, we shut our eyes to the mo Ad-
mission" notice and boldly went into the
mill in search of guide, whom we soon
found and who proved to be very intelligent
and courteous. Under his direction we be-
gan the tour that was to reveal to us many
wonders.
On the upper side of the mill hundred
cars of wheat daily empty their contents in
to its bins and as many cars are required on
its river side to remove the flour and bran
IL
ing to $500 barrels of -four and $685.
pounds of bran or shorts of which there are
thirteen pounds to the bushel. To facilitate
this there are at the rear of the mill transfer
tables operated by water-power by which the
cars may be moved as fast as they are emp
tied or filled. The capacity for emptying at
this mill is eight cars per hour and into it's
hoppers in the basement are poured $4,000
bushels of wheat daily.
In 1869 Mr.. Charles A. Pillsbury went to
Minneapolis and soon became interested in
the Minneapolis mill. At this time there
were few mills here. The largest of them
produced but 600 barrels of -four day, and
all were then manufacturing -four by the
old-fashioned method. The wheat was
whirled through the mill-stones, bolted and
thrown upon the market without much re-
gard to quality or look. 1t was sold at two
or three dollars less than the st. Louis
brands, because the grade of Minneapolis
flour was lower than that produced BY the
mills of either St. Louis or Michigan. The
daily production of the 'tMinneapolis'' was
not more than 300 barrels.
About this time the 'tmiddlings purifier"
was invented, by which the starch and bran
were separated from the kernel, leaving the
gluten in the shape of coarse meal, which
was reground into what we call "patent"
-four, and the Pillsburys were among the
first to adopt the invention. The improve
mnnt in tho Mirnaanol;s Aorra ,,zos xnorI~od
and rapid and Minneapolis sooD became the
head of the -four market. Orders came In
faster than they could be filled. The "Min-
neapolis'' and Taylor" were enlarged, and
these being insufficient for the demand, the
Empire" "Anchor" and Excelsior mills
were one by one secured, and even then
the firm was unable to fill it's orders. The
next improvement in -four making, was
the Hungarian process by which the wheat
was converted into -four by corrugated rollers
of iron which took the place of the burr
stones to a certain extent. The adoptinn
this process determined the building of the
A mill
The mills of England, Scotland, France,
Austria and Hungary were carefully in
spected and their good points copied in the
design of the new mill. On the twenty
fifth of June 1880, ground was broken and
within six months the structure was ready
for It's roof. The foundations are broad,
the walls massive, decreasing in thickness
as they go up. The fore bay is a massive
stone wall 125 feet in length and fifteen feet
i'll height, laid in water cement, to hold the
waters OF the canal before they descend into
the wheelpit. The canal is $50 feet long,
with width and depth of sixteen feet and
cost 100000
There are fonr wheelpits dug into
the ledge fiifty-three feet having
solid masonry walls, and into each