River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1886-01-21
\ CORN SUGAR MILL.
The Doctor and His Boys Look Through
the Refinery.

CORN SUGAR MILL.
The Doctor and His Boys Look Through
the Refinery.
You want to know what that tall
building is? Wen, we will visit it.
Count the stories
Zone, two. three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven windows
up and down
"Well, here we are in the yard, and
/ advise you to use your eyes You
will want to look sharp when we are in
the building and keep close to me.
''Do you see those cars? They are
full of corn. There we see the corn
pouring out of the one at that spout.
We will see more If the corn and its
great changes. But let MS 90 to the
Office and get a guide"
In short time the party were
Invested of all superiiuous wraps and
we will follow them to see what they
saw. Away they vent among great
watts that looked ike railroad water
tanks, or until they came to platform
with a railing.
Get on this and be careful for we
will be carried right up" Away the
elevator shot story after story. now
past great wheels and belts. now
through binding steam, up and up.
BE careful of that machinery"
shouted the guide, land 90 up that
stair
Up they went, nov through a door
along a dark passage beside a great
iron water tank thai laid on its side
over 100 feet long, mp another stair
through another door, and behold they
are on the roof-1jG feet in the air.
The whole city of Chicago lies at our
feet The sight would be grand if it
was not for the cloUi of smoke that
hangs like fog limiting our vision. We
see q train crawling along like snake,
horses look like mice and men like
brownies.
HISTORY or TIE CORN.
We cannot remember what was seen
on the different stories but We can re-
call the history Of the corn in this
strange building. Here we see long
row Of mill rolls and burrs. Some con-
tain corn. some corn-meal or broken
corn. The corn is wet Where has it
been? We see great watts where it has
been soaked until it is swollen. 1t is
then ground in those series of mills and
then sfted on large incline sleeves. The
coarse particles we see in troughs
where a screw runs that pushes i over
to another building where we are told
i. is made into food for cows. The
white part we see is spread ont on the
floor in narrow trGghs and stream
o water carries olfthe yellow part of
tic corn. This follows the coarse parts
over to the other building.
After the yellow part, called gluten
or heterogeneous portion is carried OIL, the
white part of starch remains. How
white it is. This white or starchy por-
ton has two destinations. We will
follow some of the nicest as we see it
placed IN narrow racks, My, how hot
it is where they cord them up. There is
one being cmptied; see how dry and
white the starch is now. There a man
is putting it up in barrels.
Perhaps yOu would like water.
said the guide, as they passed a pipe
that was leaking water somewhere.
Corn needs lots OF water to digest 1t, :
q fact that is growing more and more
apparent to the boys as the doctor eX
planned that this mill was only a big
model Of our digestive apparatus.
Our saliva turns starch into sugar;
we see the same process here on
grander scale
FROM STARCH TO SUGAR.
Now they came to lot of men who
were shoveling the wet starch into a
great vat. A man was carefully Weigh
ing it and as carefully pouring in
liquid out Of big bottles. Now water
was added, and this was soon boiling
up in great big kettles. This sap was
being carefully watched by skilled
men. The boys wanted to know all
about this part. but they were so often
cautioned to look out, and so afraid of
the Kissing great hot caldrons that
they were glad to get away into a1-
other room where were tall funnel
shaped tanks, as high as a house.
Here is one men are filling. We see
they put in first great blanket and
then pile On many feet OF black char
coal in fire powder
"Thcse are percolators,' explained
the gride. The sap that you saw
}, u IN
another of those great retorts Is drawn
of here where it is filtered. You VIII
like it best after that Let us 20 INTO
the testor's room" Away they went
into a small close room where clear
streams Of water were flowing, the
boys thought them. OF course they
were thirsty aud wanted to drink.
why, its sweet, was the chorus OF
young voices.
This is corn syrup. You see some
is thick and some TIM. This will have
to be boiled over to make it thicker,
said the guide. This is thick enough
to he condensed and crystalized. Fol-
low me and look ont.
"GRAPE SUGAR.
Away they went into another room,
sitting hot with more oaidrons and
more kettles. Then on into another
room, where were watts aud lots OF ma
chinery. Here is tub-like one with a
screw in the middle. See the water
fly; but the water Is syrup and the tub
is a machine for squeezing the sugar
free from the syrup. We see the blocks
of iron contain a white or yellow cen
ter. That is sugar There 1t goes to
be loo. ened out Of its prison. See 1t Is
in great hard cakes. There are men
shoveling it into mill that grinds it
I'D fine. Now we 20 into the laboratory
and are shown fine white sugar made
from corn that looks as nice as any
sugar