AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 539 



entirely different principle from any other grain mill ever invented. 

 Altliough this model is upon a very small scale, it was a work- 

 ing model, and excited the intense admiration of all the members 

 present. The principle iijDon which it acts we will attempt 

 briefly to describe. In short, instead of grinding it, it saws the 

 grain or w hatever substance is put into the hopper. 



For a handmill, steel disks, about two inches diameter, are 

 struck out of sheet steel, with serrated edges, so as to make a 

 notch or tooth every half-inch or inch around the edge. These 

 disks are put upon an arbor with plates or washers between each 

 pair, of the same thickness as the saws, till the arbor is covered 

 about an inch in length. Another set exactly like this are placed 

 upon another arbor, so arranged that the edges come between the 

 saws on the other arbor — the two being geared together so as to make 

 them revolve toward each other. These sets of plates may be contin- 

 ued to an indefinite length — each set being finer than the prece 

 ding. 



The hopper is made to discharge fast or slow by the same 

 motion of the driving crank, to suit the strength of the operator. 

 It is also made to slide so as to bring the opening over each set 

 of disks. Now suppose you w^nnt to grind corn just fine enough 

 for hominy, the hopper is set over the coarsest set of disks, and 

 the corn run through falling upon a shaking serene that sifts out 

 all the finer portion. Now if you wish to grind that still finer, 

 push the hopper forward and run the meal through again and 

 again if you like. 



As the teeth never can touch each other so as to wear off dull 

 by the grinding operation, like the cast iron mills or burr stones, 

 they will continue sharp until worn out by the grain itself, which 

 they have failed to do in six months' use. As before remarked, 

 the grain is not ground; it is cut up by these little circular saws, 

 and whatever comes in contact with them is reduced to sawdust, 

 either coarse or fine, according to the saws in operation. A mill 

 can be built upon a large scale to go by power, so as to grind 

 grain of half a dozen degrees of fineness at the same time. 



The inventor fully believes that this principle of reducing grain 

 to fineness, will take less power than any other ever before ap- 

 plied to that purpose, and we believe every one present concurred 

 fully in this opinion. It grinds every description of grain with 

 equal facility, and will not clog with wet oats or buckwheat. 



Dr. Waterbury suggested that it would supersede all other mills 

 for grinding woody fibre used by druggists. 



