Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-04-09
The vArE ROYAL Mills.
A visit to d. c. Bacon & Co.'s Extensive
ProDerty.


Among the leading industries OF saVah-
nah, contributing so largely to It's inter
ests. is the Vale Royal Lumber Mill OF
D. {. Bacon i Co., on the vale Koyal
nlantation a short distance above the
CITY. 4 MORNING NEWS reporter visited
the mill day or two ago, by invitation
of MAJOR Bacon, and was surprised with
its immense capacity. The property is
built upon the banks Of the river, adjOin-
ing the Central Railroad lands, and con-
nected with its wharf by rail, so that lum-
Der can be loaded az the mill and shipped
without relOading i'm any direction and
to any part Of the country and
any port Of the world. The foundations
Of the mill were laid at great expense
that for the engine alone costing $l-uVV-
The building is one of the most suOstan-
tally constructed and most complete lIl
its appointments Of any IN the state. IIe
machinery Is all Of the latest improve
ment. affOrding a capacity for turning OUT
from $4,000 to $1,000 feet OF pine ana lI L!i
10000 TO 10000 feet of cypress. oak ana
other hard wood lumber daily. ABOUT
siNtv hands are employed, which are ca
pabie. with the improved machinery, OF
doing the work Of a hundred III
tbe old stvle mills. One Of the
most economical pieces of machinery Is
the hosting apparatus for hosting the logs
from the river into the mill, lifting them
directly from the water upon the plat
form where they are sawn in lengths.
instead of hauling them with great diff
Guilty and loss Of time up an inclined
plane. The machinery used in this APP
paratus was designed by Mr.. II. 7. Smart,
who is in charge of the mill, and is one of
the greatest labor and time saving inyen-
tions i'm use. After the logs are lifted
from the river and rolled upon the plat
form, which occupies but minutes time,
and Is done entirely by one man, they are
moved to the proper position upon a
movable carriage operated by lever, and
are then sawed into the lengths required,
the whole work occupying not more than
three minutes time. The log is then
rolled upon the saw carriage and aft err
passIu- the saw the lumber IS moved
upon rollers to the ledger" and then TO
the wharf, where it is loaded for ship
ment. The machinery is powerfully
built, and capable working the heaviest
lumber Upon the first floor Of the mill
are the single saws where the lumber
suitable for shingles is worked up. The
boilers and engines are located IN the
lower part of the structure. The engine
is Of 200 horsepower capacity, built upon
a solid foundation. and driving the ma
chinery so quietly that nickel can be
balanced upon lis cylinder head without
being Jared of. The fiy-wheel is Of 20
feet diameter. The boilers, three in
number. are built upon a
solid foundation in brick structure adj
joining the mill, and are fed by an endless
belt carrying the dust from the saw,
greatly Iessening the duties Of the firemen-
just beyond the boiler house is tire-prooi
brick structure containing the fire pump
and hose capable Of throwing two 212-Inch
streams of water. Between the mill and
the high embankment is the piling
ground filled with lumber, stored tc
season and awaiting transpOrta.
ton. The rapidly increasing demand
for manufactured lumber necessitates
the erection Of additional machinery, and
Messrs. Bacon Il Co. will in a short time
build a sash and blind factory in addition
| to the present extensive mill.
At the present time the firm is extern
| sively handling the cypress, wood grow
/ Ing in vast forests in Georgia. but which
/ has never heretofore to any extent been
| placed on the market. The mill is now
turning out from 10000 to $4,000 feet Of
sawn cypress daily.