Connecticut western news., 1888-02-15
AROMATIC SPICES.
Every Quarter of the Globe Ran-
 sacked for Sweet Savers.

sacked for Sweet Savers.
 How Pepper, Cinnamon and
 Cloves are Prepared.
 'tDou't stand so near the wheel! It weighs two tons and is making 600 revo- lutions minute The suction is enough to draw you in."
 So spoke the engineer as New York Mail and Express reporter looked at the machinery that operated long lines of Shafting aud beltiug. Tho engine works all of the machinery in great spice mill, one of tho largest and best equipped in the country, and located right in the heart of New York City.
 Standing on the top floor the superin- tendent said: ''Here are the spices as they come to us. This bin contains mustard seed, this one is full of whole peppers from Singapore, and here we
 
 from Jamaica. There are several bins of each kind of spice, an each contains different grades. The mustard seed is fed through pipes to pair of large steel rollers on the floor below. These crush it out into small flakes The first quality of mustard is made by putting these flakes into long row of iron i mortars, in which the flakes are pound ed to au impalpable powder by steam trip hammers"
 Twenty five of these hammers began rising and falling at this moment aud the. noise was so great that all further words were lost The powdered mustard was shovellcd up into screens made of the finest silk and placed in sets of eight on oscillating tables. The second grade of mustard. after being crushed, is placed in bags between hair mattresses in hydraulic press and subjected to pressure of 5000 pounds to the square inch. This re- moves large proportion of the oil, and leaves a dry, hard cake, which, when ground, is sold for second-grade mustard. The oil is used by confec- tioners, and also in place of olive oil for packing sardines.
 Long pipes connect with tho pep per bins on the top floor, and feed the whole pepper seeds to tho mills. These are similar to flour mills-revolvina stones. The pepper when ground is picked up by an endless chain of buck cts and taken to revolving screens; the coarse parts are returned to the mill, and the fine pepper passes into bins in the packing room below. Cinnamon, all- spice and clove, are ground in similar manner. Herbs, such as thyme and sage, require special mill It is pal, of stone wheels that travel around ( centre, grinding substances on the stone floor. They are enclosed in tight room so that nothing escapes when they arc at work. In the packing department of the mill 1 two dozen girls arc at work making and filling boxes with the different spices. A box-folding machine does the work ol ten girls. It takes the flat cardboard, folds and pastes it and turns out box every three seconds. The automatic weighing machine is revolving marble table, on which are four sets of scales. The weights are set at one pound or each of the scales, card board box is 1 placed on the scale and tube from above fills tho box until it contains just one pound. When the scale reaches the balance point valve shuts off the sup ply until an empty box takes the place of the full one.
 Stepping into the office the superin- tendent explained that the best pepper is the "shot" pepper, as it is in heavier grains than the Singapore pepper, which is the second grade, but totl kinds come from Singapore. A stil lower grade comes from the island o sumatra. White pepper is the kerne with the she'll removed, and thougl just as fiery it has not the favor of th black pepper. Pepper is often adulter ated with charcoal and buckwheat The best red pepper comes from Nata and costs fifty cents pound. A lowe grade comes from Zanzibar.
 Brown nutmegs from Penang, w ,are the best They arc in their natura state, and are so full of oil that it will oozc out if an incision be made. Tn nutmegs kept by most grocers are the lower grades that are put through , sweating process to remove tho oil, ane are rolled ia linn, to cover up all the de fleets. Tn, best cloves come iron Penang and ara sun dried. Cheape grades como from Zanzibar, and ar kiln dried, with much of the oil extract ed. Ground cloves are adu!terated b, leaving in the stems. Pimcnto, or all spice, comes from Jamaica The best ginger also come from the same place, and is b!eachec white. Borneo ginger is often chalkct to make it look lik, the blcached arti cle. African ginger is dark in color an6 poor in quality, lut as it is very mucl cheaper than the other kind it is mos used. Ceylon cinnamon is worth $1
 pound, and is very little used. Cassia