The Democratic advocate., 1904-03-05

of air is drawn up through the sieve by ian
located in the upper part of the machine; this
carries eff any fine dust into the dust collector.
where it settles. The dust collector consists
of some form of cloth tubes. The air forces
the dust to the walls of the tubes and passes
through the mesh. leaving the dust on the in
side The particles of bran that are with The
middlings whose specific gravity is less than
the interior of the kernel are kept from going
through the meshes by the upward current.
The bran is held in suspension until the end
of the sieve is reached, when the air current
is cut off. allowing it TO fall into separate
conveyor. The purified stock which passed
through the sieve is delivered by means of con-
veyors to a second purifier, whose action is
the same; brushes moving at right angles to
the motion of the sieve serve to keep the
meshes of the cloth open. Each grade of
middlings goes through the same process of
purifcation. After the middiugs are thor
oughIy purified, they go to the smooth rolls,
where they are partially crushed, but not
powdered The life of the -four is killed if 1t
is pulverized. From there it goes TO the boter.
which is made in many forms, but for purposes
of illustration we will consider round reel or
'f,ur dresser" as it is called. The reel Is
covered with fine silk bolting cloth, which may
cost AS much as 81 a yard. What -four Is fine
enough TO go through the meshes of this reel
Is sent to the flour bins, ami Is ready for pack
ing What is too coarse to 20 through GOES
to the rolls and is recrushed aud rebolled, aud
this process is repeated until all the middIiHgS
are crushed fine enough to 60 through the
meshes of the cloth. The boiling cloth is
kept free from clogging by revolving brush,
and the stock is thrown against the inner side
of the cloth by beaters revolving around a
horizontal shaft Each grade of middlings
goes through the same process, and then all
the -four from the first two or three crushings
is combined to make the first grade of -four.
The -four from the various grades of mid
dlings is blended 50 as to produce, in the
judgment OF the miller, -four of standard
quality. The various streams of -four are con
stantly under inspection, and wet and dry tests
are made every few minutes. The sample Of
-four to be tested is smoothed on board with
a sample which is standard; a portion is wet
and baked in an electric oven, thus giving a
most valuable color test. The grade OF -four
Is always kept at or above the standard, but
is never lowered. Il is a mistake 10 suppose
that lower grades of -four are made from
inferior wheat; it is only the poorer stream Of
4 81.
which contain too much Of the brauny ma
terial to 60 into the high grades, which are
used for low grade four.
The -four is now ready for packing IA bar
reIs of le6 pounds aud bags which range from
3 10 $50 pounds. The barrels ARE placed on
a machine located beneath the bin, and
adapted to supply a large volume Of -four,
which will approximately h,i the barrel, the
supply is automatically cut of when the
proper weigh, is reached. The weight Of the
barrel is then checked on another par Of
scales, and any difference ia weight adjusted
with a scoop. A number Of aagers on an up
right shaft within broad iron tube serve TO
force the -four downward into the package.
aud prevent eloggiag in the tube. The barrels
are nov beaded up and branded, and are
rolled on board the cars which line alongside
the packing room. An average box car WiN
hold from 2OO to 275 barrels. Las, year the
Wasbbu-n. Crosby Company shipped from
their Minneapolis mills alone over 6,oo0, ,OO0
barrels Of hour. A considerable proportion
Of the -four milied Is shipped IN bags ior
export, Cloth hags are preferred. and sre
filed by machines working on the same
principle as the barrel filler; they are
sswed by sewing machines, are then run
down inelines, and are earned on trucks 60
the cars. Bags are largely used for export
purposes by the wsshbaFp-C Crosby Company,
as barrels do not pack well, and the American
Sour sack can eos be found in al parts of ghe
world American foodstusfs, on aeco-nt cf
their parity aud uniformity, have iakeu \
prominent place in the markets OF the ~urld,
aud Minneapolis Is noa ia the lead a. base
Of supplie~.