The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-12-01

The visit to the new branch factory
OF the Manchester Biscuit Co, located
in Fargo yesterday afternoon by
| about thirty of Fargo's most promi-
nent jobbers and wholesalers showed
the commercial men of Fargo one Of
the most magnificent industries within
the limits of the city. The new plant
is equipped with the most modern and
sanitary machinery and the visitors
were more than pleased with the in
spection made.
Manager L. e. Wyllie received his
guests and started them on their sight
seeing trip at the top floor of the in
stitution where the biscuits themselves
are started. One Of the first visits
was to the sponge room where nothing
but cracker dough is mixed. The cap
italization of the company is not
known but one thing the visitors were
convinced of, and that was that the
factory was not lacking in dough
This room is kept at a temperature
OF 80 degrees all the time. The crack
err dough to be baked for one dav is
mixed up in this room the day before.
I'LL
between twenty one and twenty -four
hours for batch to raise properly.
The room is large enough to accomo-
date the mixture from IA barrels of
hour at one time, or the equivalent
of three-quarters of a car of dough.
After the dough has risen ii is taken
to a brake, which performs the same
functions as does the ordinary rolling
pin of the housewife, but does it in
more economical fashion as to time
and labor. The dough is then placed
under cracker cutting machine. from
which it runs through a set of rollers
which makes the cracker impression
stamped upon the wafer From this
machine the biscuit is transferred in
to the big rotary ovens.
The ovens, or reels, go nround i'm
circle and there are two of these big
bakers in which are twelve shelves |
each. The raw dough is placed on |
these shelves rs they rotate and by the !
time the reel has made one complete |
circuit of the oven, which is ten to |
twelve minutes, the biscuits have been
baked and are ready to !
be removed from the oven From 5000 I
oven at one time for baking. The f.
baking machine is kept at tempera-
ture of $50 to $50 degrees, according
to the variety of biscuit that is being
baked. The ovens are heated by the
highest grade of Milwaukee solvay
coke.
When the waters are removed from
the oven they are placed upon con-
veyors which take them down to the +
packing room and push them on to a
slowly moving carrier belt, without /
having been touched by the hands of |
any of the employees. After being
pushed off on this travelling belt MIN
BILE fingered girls pack the crackers
away in cartons which are lined with |
oil paper. The biscuits are also
packed in boxes, half boxes, barrels
and cans, according to the demands
If the trade. The packing is all done
IN the second floor
On the third floor is also located the
mixing room for the sweet goods.
These patches are mixed in a sepa-
ate room and are worked up Just q
short time before being run through
he machinery. The sweet goods, in
stead of being placed in the oven
shelves proper, are put on individual
iteel pans which hold from 100 to 300
cookies. When they are baked they
ire placed on steel conveyors and car
led to the packing room where they
IRE properly cared for by the packers.
The Fancy Goods.
On the second floor is a separate
DOM which is used for icing purposes
My. All the decorated cakes with
narshmallow, cocoanut frosting, etc,
re attended to in this room where
pecialists are constantly working.
)ne of the prominent features of this
Dom is a big icing machine. or icing
rolley as it is called. ,
This trolley has an all steel frame
nd carries 600 feet of chain on its
Wo sides. Rods are run in between I
hese sets of chains of which there are {
200, and each of these rods has the
arryiGg capacity of thirty cakes. Ii
which will allow over 80, 600 cookies
o be on the trolley at one time. The |
rolley is for the purpose of drying ]
he cakes and Is used for the waters {
hat are completely submerged in
resting. Cakes can be carried on this !
rolley to the weight of between 1,5OO
nd 1000 pounds. !
After the products are packed they /,
re weighed and nailed in boxes, OH {
he second floor, and let down to the {
'arehouse on the first floor by means
chute. One of the strangest, yet {
lost practical devices in the packing {
DOM in mailing machine which is q
sed for mailing and making boxes. &
me man operating this piece of me- a
hanism can nail 1000 boxes in one 1
ay
On the first floor is the big ware I
ouse of the factory where the cases |
goods are held for shinr,nnnt n,,d | 4