CHAPTER XII 

 FEED MILLS 



331. Development. The mill was one of the first in- 

 ventions of man. Feeding of cracked or broken grain to 

 domestic animals has been practiced for many years ; 

 however, the practice did not become general until the 

 introduction of the portable mill. The first mills were 

 equipped with stone buhrs, but metallic plates were made 

 use of at a very early date, for they have been mentioned 

 in history. A description of a French mill using metallic 

 buhrs is at hand which was used to grind grain for the 

 soldiers in the army of Napoleon I. 



332. Buhrs and plates. The grinding depends largely 

 upon the buhrs or plates. They are the parts which do 

 the actual grinding; receiving the whole grain, they 

 gradually reduce it to a meal. 



The stone buhr is used to some extent to-day where a 

 fine meal is desired. The meal from stone buhrs may be 

 used for human food. Buhr stones must have a cellular 

 structure to prevent them from taking on a polish and 

 give them a better grip for grinding. The buhr stone 

 must also be very tough. The best are imported and are 

 known as French buhrs. Good buhr stones are quarried 

 at Esopus, New York, and practically all of the buhr 

 stones used in the United States come from this place. 

 The buhr stone usually has a wrought-iron band shrunk 

 over it to strengthen it. It must be sharpened with a 

 chisel when worn, hence it is not popular for small farms. 



Metallic buhrs. Nearly all of the plates used on farm 



