The Greeley tribune., 1909-01-20
GRAIN OF WHEAT
ON LONG JOURNEY
LOCAL FLOUR MILLS ARE BUSY
Greeley Merchants Each Month buy
5000 Large Sacks at Home.

Except those directly Interested
, few people stop to think OF the I'm
portance of our local -four mill t.
this section of the colntry III
metropolitan dailies, which have JUS
completed mammoth industrial edi
ton of Colorado's resources. have
barely mentioned the great milling
industries OF the state. of which oul
own section constitutes the greatest
factor Ten large mills grinding
out forty carloads of -four every
twenty-four hours was worthy Of
greater recognition.
The Model Milling & Elevator
company of Greeley is only one Of
large battery of ten mills operated in
this section by the same company
who offer a ready market 10 wheat
growers OIL northeastern Colorado.
The failure of the wheat crop in
this section last year was as great a
loss to the milling interests as to the
farmer. AS rule, Colorado pro-
duces sufficient wheat to keep these
ten mills in operation, but this past
season the bulk of the raw material
had to be shipped in from Idaho and
Utah The local mill has been run
ming night and day since last Octo-
ber, and the flour ground today is
enroute tomorrow, and that means
GOO large sacks every twenty-four
hours. Counting by-products. the
shipments of the local plants aver
age seventy cars per month They
employ twenty men and the machin-
cry and process is equal to any in
the United States which can also be
said of their other nine plants. One
commendable feature is tie fact that
every grocer in Greeley and the sur
rounding towns use the products of
this home industry. Much money
could be left at home il all mer-
chants we're as partial in other lines.
From this mill alone the local
merchants use 5000 sacks of flour
per month.
To follow a little grain Of wheat
on its route to the flour sack we're
we'll worth while. Everybody knows
that wheat is ground, but with few
exceptions that is the end Of their
knowledge. The sugar beet. before
1t reaches its final disqualification,
has an easy time compared with a
grain of wheat before it reaches the
-four sack. Like the beet, it must
first be washed. and this is done
thoroughly and with water, after
which 1t 10 put through the smut
ter" 80 that no particle Of dust OF
dirt or gravel can find its way to the
grinder. After this it 10 passed
through five different grinders. .
each pulverizing finer than the pre-.
ceding one, and a portion Of the
white kernel is eliminated in each
These white portions are then sub.
Jected to seven more grindins q or re
ductions In each of these reduction,
= portion Of the finished product Ii
obtained. A. the -four leaves tn,
rollers Of these grinders, it passe,
into large rotating cylinders which
are covered with q silk gau7e. Thi
cloth is woven much finer thar
cheese cloth, and as the -four drop
from the top OF the revolving cylin
der to the bottom OF it, the particle
which are fue enough pass througl
this gauze. and 1t is then fnishe
four. The particles which have no
become small enough are passed o.
to the next grinder and the same prc
cess Is repeated until there is nothin
left but what the farmer feeds to hi
COW and is called shorts" Beside
this, there are many other reduction,
such as four on "middlings." or tn
white parts which are stuck to tn
husk after the meat Of the kernel
removed. Then there are first an
second tailings and two reductions o
each Of these, until finally the pur
white dust passes OF to the -four bi
and the bran, which Of course, car
not pass through the gauze, finds a
exit in another direction Fac
grain Of wheat. or rather portions {
each grain. must pass through twel
ty-four different grinders befor
reaching the -four bin. In Ave Sc,
onds a boy fills, weighs, sews an
places upon a truck hfty-poun
sack Of nour.