THE POTATO 503 



in the more important of which the potatoes are 

 dried by steam, forming what are called "kartof- 

 felflocken," or potato flakes, which can be used 

 for feeding stock, for distilling alcohol, for making 

 starch, and for other purposes for which potatoes 

 are used, or they can be ground and bolted for 

 human consumption. 



"In the Tatosin process for the production of 

 flakes, the raw potatoes are washed in a washing 

 machine commonly used in distilleries or starch 

 factories, and then conveyed by an elevator to a 

 steamer erected over the drying apparatus, where 

 they are cooked by means of low-pressure steam, 

 as if the potatoes were to be used for feeding stock. 

 The drying apparatus proper consists of two 

 smooth, hollow, cast-iron revolving drums about 

 four feet long and two feet in diameter, each with 

 a clearance of about 0.039 inch. The drums are 

 supported upon a cast-iron framework, on the top 

 of which there is an iron hopper fitted at the bot- 

 tom with emasculators, or crushers. The drums 

 are heated by steam of 5.5 to 6 atmospheres led 

 through a pipe passing through their axes. The 

 interiors of the drums are ridged longitudinally. 

 Condensed water is taken from the drums by two 

 small pipes and returned to the boilers. 



"The potatoes after being steamed are allowed 

 to fall by gravity into the hoppers and through 

 the emasculators, where they are reduced to pulp, 

 and in this shape are forced on to the drying drum. 

 The drums turn in opposite directions at five 

 revolutions a minute. The heat drives off the 

 moisture of the potato pulp, leaving a firm mass that 

 is scraped off by means of knives set parallel to 

 the main axes of the drums. The dried mass falls 

 into a spiral transporter fitted with revolving 



