The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-02-20
HEAT AND ELECTRICITY.
4 DISCOVERY THAT MAY MAKE
COAL BARONS QUAKE.

by Dynamos.
From the Chicago Tribune.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINI, Feb. 1.-The
visitor to the small dynamo room attached
TO the big Pillsbury "a" -four mill in this
city will meet man attired in the regu-
lation working suit, his clothes covered with
-four dust aud soilei with the black that is so
plentiful around a manufacturing establish
meat. This mln Is Thomas q. Hughes, the
electrician Of the Pi.lsbu-y -four mills He
has been EXPERIMENTING with the heatin q
power of electricity for several months,
and has demonstrated that almost any de-
gree Of heat can be produced by the electric
current. Ile great DrO blem that the il
dustrious electrician is now endeavoring to
solve IS how TO neat a house or business
block by electricity. This has been at
tempted by eminent electricians, but thus
| tar all experiments have resulted in failure
Mr.. Hughes has studied these failures care
fully, and he Is confident that he is pursuing
| the right course t. a solution. Before re-
| terTlng to details of this work it will be Of
| interest to follow Mr. Hughes briefly in his
study Of electricity.
Eight years ago he was farmer in Kan
sas and had never given electricity any at
| tention. He had always taken an interest in
machinery, however, and when ne arrived
IN Minneapolis the first electric dynamo in
the northwest was being placed in the Pills
| bury "A" mill as an experiment, ard he Sc
| cured the position of attendant aud .there
began the study # electricity, with results
| mus far that give promi g of fame in the
future. He soon saT the gas-burners disap-
| pear from the mills of the company, and in
their places appeared hundreds of little in
candeScent electric lights, and for the first
| time all of the dark corners of the big mills
| we're made accessible to the millwrights
| and roustabouts in their Iabors Mr.
Hughes gradually became acquainted with
| the different milling departments, as he
Kept watch over the big electric system
| which extended across the river and into
the company's two West Side mills and he
became interested in the wheat testing ex-
| periments and watched the slow process of
| baking the wheat gluten to ascertain its
strength for bread. The idea occurred to
him several months ago that electricity
could be utilized to do that work.
small case in the little dynamo-room is
well filled with textbooks, papers, and
recognized authorities on electrical matter,
and he had given them careful study He
determined to put his idea to the test and
| proceeded TO construct a gluten-oven, an
apparatus with which the public is not
very familiar, but which plays an impor-
tant part In fourmaking.
| BAKING BY ELECTRICITY.
| The millers all sell flour under different
brands and for different prices, and doubt
less many housewives have wondered now
the grade OF each brand continues so even,
| generally making bread of equal quality.
A visit to the dough room of a big flour
mil would reveal the secret. Piled all
around the room are little pasteboard boxes,
| each filled with wheat or flour, and each
bearing label. 1.-The dough man" takes
the half pound of wheat in one of the boxe;.
puts it in a small hand-mll and grinds 1t.
The bran and starch are quickly washed
| out under a faucet, leaving the gluten.
which resolves itself into a sort Of paste.
This is baked in a small oven and the hight
to which it rises determines the value of
| bread-maklng of the consignment of wheat
Of which the handful ground was a sample.
When the attention of Electrician Hughes
was attracted to this baking oven he OBJ
served that it took long time to heat it to
| the baking point by means of the oil lamDs
under ir. and he at once conceived plan of
baking the gluten by electricity with the
result that he has just applied for a patent
| on most interesting little device, which.
in its way, is quite a wonder
| The miners had always had trouble to
secure an oven that would do this work
satisfactorily, add the best one they could
| buy was of English manufacture. IT. is
IL
cement bottom two inches in thickness. and
| door twelve inches high IL took one
| hour and forty minutes 30 heat this oven to
| tho 300 necessary for baking the gluten
and when the large door was opened to put
in the gluten about 1907 Of heat would be
lost. 1t required fifteen minutes to bake
the dough.
In the Hughes oven the small piece of
gluten is placed in a cylindrical brass case
about an inch i'll diameter, which in turn
| is placed in the oven, also cylindrical in
form, and uuder heat of 500 or more.
the gluten is baked in four minutes. the
entire operation in heating the oven aud
baking, require less than twelve minutes.
The test of the gluten is in the hight to
which it will rise. In the little cylindrical
tube is placed plunger, bearing weight
OF 1l1S ounces, which is pressed down
closely on TO the gluten, and in baking 1t
carries the weight upward, and the higher
1t lifts 1t in the tube tho stronger is the
breadmaking qualities of the wheat from
which the gluten was taken, and the mill
ing of the proportions of the different
grades IF wheat, as determined bv the
gluten tests, produces the required standard
OF Hour, and 1t Is in this way that the brands
are kept even. Mr.. Huges simply connects
his oven with the regular electric current
III the mills. and acquires the desired result
without tiresome and expensive delav.
AHIS oven Is now III use IN tho ElllSDuGY
mills. and is giving the best satisfaction. 1t
can be heated to ESQ., in its present size.
The belt men had good deal of difficulty
IN Keeping their glue pots at the proper
| temperature for cementing belts when it
became necessary to go to some part of the
mills away from the warming stove. Mr..
Hughes applied electricity, with the result
that all Of the glue used in the mills is now
brought to the right degree of heat by its
use, and the pot is SO constructed that no
heat can escape, thus enabling workmen to
carry it about the mills for an hour before
1t is necessary to again warm it. The 400
employees in these mills had generally to
drink cold coffee at lunch. Mr.. Hughes
had three-gallon tank made and mounted
on block. He applied his electrical con-
nection and brought the three gallons of
water to a boil in three minutes. and the
employees now take their coffee hot and
daily drink warm draugnts to the health OF
tue mill electrician. Mr. Hughes saws his
electric heater viii warm larger quantity
of water as quickly.
CAN HOUSES BE WARMED BY THE CURRENT9
These experiments with electricity have
gradually paved the way to more pretsn-
tiouS efforts, and they are now being di-
rected to the development of a plan for
| heating residences and business blocks by
electricity. The plan Of Mr.. Hughes pro-
vides for a central plant, and the heat is to
he carried 70 tha huildines 49, =