The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-17
GRAIN ELEVATORS BUSY.
THE PRESENT ACTITITF UyPRECEs
DENIED SINCE 1891.

Sir BiG Steamers, FrciEhtcd with Grain, Fave
Len Dow'- store. In the Last Ties DayaA
Three More to saiI Io~-Norrow-Hsu Ind
Grain Il Handled aud Loa ded 1uto the VessehA
These are busy days among the grain ele-
vators and storage warehouses around the har-
Dor OF this city. Mos. Of The elevators are kepo
going night and day. and thousands Of extra
hands have been taken on within the past few
weeks 10 help load the foreign steamers. Nos
since the seasons Of 1890 and 1901. when the
foreign grain crop failed. has there been so much
activity among the grain elevator men. They say
that II the demand keeps up, the exports this
year will be larger than ever before in the hisa
tory Of the country.
Probably the busiest Of all the grain elevators
hercabOats are those at BOWS Stores and the
Columbia stores, Atlantic Basin. These stores
combined have \ capacity for handling and
atorins 3.25O.OOO bushels OF grain The grain
Is brought there In lighters from elevators 40
Buffalo. the New York Central elevators. those
Of the Pennsylvania. New Jersey Central, West
Shore. and Lehtsh Valley. and Baltimore ana
Ohio station on staten Isla' d. OF course the
handling " the grain keeps thousands OF freigho
handlers and elevator men at work. to say MOTH
Ing Of the railroad employees and truckmen
who are cmplo! Ell in is transportation.
Within Tho last ten days no less than six big
steamers frc'shted 10 the gunwal, 5 with thou
sands OF bushels Ut wheat. rye. oats. and corn
have been sent abroad from bows stores. There
are three big steamers loading there now. and az
soon as these are filed they will give place to
others now waiting. At the other elevators app
parently pretty near the same conditions pre-
val. that "a, they are running to their fuu
capacity right along. When work was begun al
BOWS stores on Monday morning last there were
tity lighters, each loaded with from 5000 to
10000 bushels OF grain waiting to transfer 1t to
the sarners at BOWS and the Columbia storess
and las. evening there were only half . dozen
left. by the end of this week there will be ana
other hfty lighters around the stores.
The steamers uDw loading are tho Croma,
which will carry 10. NO bushels OF wheat. 10000
bushels OF rye, and 100, 900 bushels OF oats; the
WOolcr, which will take 100 bushels OF corn
and 10000 bushels OF oats; and the Begona,
which took on 5000 bushels OF wheat Il at one Of
the lower elevators. and will take Il. 900 bush>
els OF wheat and 5000 bushels OF rye from
the other side probably tomorrow.
The process OF unloading the lighters and
then back TO the stcGmers is an interesting
one. The grain, WHEN it arrives IN the lights
sFa, Is are SnSHn S az "l tnso 'n The s! sies Is az ~
e~llipt!Gal chute with an opening at the lower
buckets attached at intervals OF a foot. The
leg Is showed into the hold of a lighter and
then II begins TO eat up the grain into the elevaS
tor. The buckets on the belt ~reyolve rapidly
and 'hey scoop up the grain, when the " leg !" i9
working at its full capacity. at the rate OF 5000
bu shells an hour. This Is faster than the men
and machinery in the elevators can handle 1t,
however. and the LEGS are usually run at tho
rate OF :. 600 bushels an hour.
The grain is carried 10 and dumped into o
hopper. a big box with a bottom converRin0
into a chute. This chute opens into another bog
called u lottcr. where the grain is weighed. The
wciEher balances about 100 bushels at q time,
mud. even though the grain is rushed through BY
thousands OF bushels, he weighs il as carefully
as the fancy grocer weighs his highest-price0
teas. The grain then passes into another hopj
per and travels through a chute into q long.
wide belt. The belt is an endless one
1850 feet long and SO inches wide. IL
is made OF heavy. canvas, covered with
rubber. The grain is laid on the belt in O layer
about an inch thick, and $ kept from falling on
by cOncentrators at the mouth of the chute. The
conCentrators force the belt up at the sides as u
passes under The chute and lays the grain evenly
on the belt with two inches of space on ethics
SIDE otit. The kernels hold together as the belu
travels along to the gamers or bins where IL II
stored until wanted. The loading of the steam<
ers Is also done by the belts, the grain being
carried along unfit it reaches what Is called q
traveller. which sends IL into a round pipe like d
chute, which pours ii into a vessels hold.
The steamers used TO carry the grain have
sectional holds divided by partitions. The grain
has to be laid evenly In the sections to prevent
shifting. On the lighters the men work in ganga
OF fourteen each. II requires this number to
feed a leg" and other gangs have to be ems
ployed laying the grain in the holds of the
steamers. The work Is the hardest kind OF labor,
as the dust from the grain chokes the mem
Some OF them wear sponges over their mouth1
| and nnstrila