The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1889-01-16
HANDLING A GREAT CROP.
HOW THE GREAT NORTHWEST
ERN WHEAT YIELD IS MOVED.

The handling of the grain crops of the
Northwest is a process which employs
thousands of men, millions of capital,
and vast plants of heavy machinery.
With the building Of railroads and the
development of the country the mere
mechanical transferring of the grain from
the producer to the consumer has grown
to an enormous industry. The elevators
employed in Minnesota aud Dakota mum.
Der about l5U,, and have a combined
storage capacity of 900 ,OOj bushels
according to the'latest estimates availa.
bic. Through them passes practically
all the wheat, corn, oats, rye, barley aud
flaxseed raised in the Northwest.
The first odern grain elevator erected
in St Paul was the one known as the
Davidson elevator, which stands on the
river iront near the Milwaukee freight
houses, unused aud dilapidated That
was some twenty years ago. About the
same time what is now known NJ eleva
tor in Minneapolis was erected. These
are comparatively small Institutions of
the kind, but ter this start had been
made the elevator system gained rapidly,
until to DAY there is not an important
railroad station within the grain belt OF
the Northwest hat is not supplied with
one or more elevators or warehouses,
while at the terminal cities Minneapolis,
Duluth and ST. paul-are eusrmous struc-
lures capable Of handling millions and
millions of bushels of grain in their com
bined capacity. The nion elevator in
East Minueapol s, owned by the Union
Elevator Company is said to be the
largest in the world, the elevator proper
and is annex having combined storage
capacity of rs %, 05u bushels.
Now, to see how the enormous grain
crop of the Northwest is handled hy the
modern evator system-without which
it is evident it could not be handled
safely and e'onom cally at all. The best
way to do tn is to visit Que of the great
elevators in the cities. All these are
operated upon the same primo pie, and in
any one of them will be found sub
stantially all there is to be seen in any of
the others.
1t is dusty place-the elevator--bdt
the dust is of clean kind, having risen
from the grain in process of transfer and
then settled back upon every board and
joist in the bui ding. Really, there IS
not m ch to see. -0He finds himself in
perfect forest of beams aud wooden
spouts aud hears the quiet hum of the
shaGdgs, which extend the entire
length of the building and convey power
to The elevating machinery but I'm ess he
has an experienced guide to explain
tn ngs to HIM he Will leave the institu-
ton no wiser thah when he entered it.
When the modus operandi unfolded,
however. t is found to be interesting.
So here is the way of it:
Several railway tracks extend through
the elevator from end 10 end. and the
trainloads of grain find en- rance upon
these. Alongside the tracks are plat
forms sing to ABOUT the height OF a
freight car rioer, and at intervals of n
cars length in these plato ms are open
ings extending INTO hopper.shaped Ie'
ceptaces beneath the platform These
receptacles are called grain pits. hen
a ca, load of grain is received t is run in
upon the track until he doorway is flush
with the mouth of one If the hoppers.
Then the door is opened, and by means Of
awooden shovel, operated by machinery,
but aided ~hlso by mems hands, the
grain is scooped into the hopper. il
does not take long, you nstice, to clear
out a carload OF wheat. In about ter
minutes from the time the car door is
thrown open the ar is empty. Five oil
,/into the pit. AS fast as it has passed
in, however, it has been taken out again,
carried to the top of the building and
deposited in bin The machinery by
which this operation is conducted con.
sists of an endless belt, attached tC
which are long, narrow tin scoops OF
buckets. The belt, inclosed in a long
wooden spout called leg, extends dowI
into the p and the buckets catch VI
the unloaded grain as they pass III ougl
il. belt in high e,evator will taxi
- uI,->-fty bushels of grain on one tr.I
over the pulleys.
The leg terminates at the top in DO,
called the head of the elevator, and a
each bucket passes over the pulley il
this box and starts on its DOWN. arC
Journey it deposits its contents into
hopp leading into large square bo
constructed of scantl ng and with seal
standing before it. his box, like al
other leceptacles in the elevator, is hop
per bottOmed, and white n it the graf
is weighed and reg stration made OF it
weight 1t is then let out through
spout into the bin for which it is des
tined The entire main body OF tn
elevator is divldad into bins-receivin
BINS and sh piping \ ms. The receivin
bins are great qua wells, Hfty feet G
more deep. according to the height G
the building, and having a holdin
capac ty of 900 or 1000 to 1910
bushels of grain. The shipp ng bins al
much smaller The grain comes int
these by the car Dad, as it is shippe
out. In shipping the grain pass,
through the elevator a second time.
~ goes from the receiving bins into IL
~ pit, is taken up through the leg, tos,e
over the elevator head into the sea
hopper, weighed, spouted into the shil
ping bins, and from the shipping bins
Is spouted into the cars. That's the wa
an elevator is run.
The cupola of the elevator-that pa
which looks like a little hou,e bui
upon The top of the main building
above all he pins. One OBJ ject in ha
ing cupola is to ga n height, so tn
the spouts extended from the elevat
heads and scale hoppers may be place
ut an angle which will permit the gra
to tow freely into the bins. Here, as {
the receiving floor, there is per e
forest of spouts, supporters and beam
You will ses in any elevator you visit
machine for cleaning wheat and 9th
Grains This machine bV q DrOceSs