CHAPTER XIII. 



THE MILLING, MILL-PRODUCTS, AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION 

 OF MAIZE GRAIN. 



They . . . beat to death poor Pau-Puk-Keewis, 

 Pounded him as maize is pounded. 



— Hiawatha. 



The information on milling contained in this chapter has been most kindly 

 furnished by Mr. W. H. Horsfall, the well-known South African miller of 

 Aliwal North, Mr. Horsfall comes from an old Yorkshire family, engaged in 

 milling for generations, and is thoroughly familiar with the business. He has 

 made it a point not only to keep posted on all the latest improvements in milling 

 methods and machinery, but has gone minutely into the chemistry and mechanics 

 of the subject to find out how to get the most nutritious and best products. The 

 illustrations of milling machinery are from blocks kindly supplied by Messrs. 

 Samuelson of Banbury, and Messrs. W. S. Barron & Son of Gloucester. 



583. Native Methods of Grinding. — The method of crush- chap. 

 ing and grinding maize grain between two stones, the one 

 hollowed and stationary on the ground, and the other rounded 



and held in the hand, was in vogue among the primitive 

 American Indians, and is still employed by the natives of 

 Basutoland and those of other Native Territories and Reserva- 

 tions of South Africa (see Fig. 231). But when once the 

 South African native gets into the town he is as particular 

 about his mielie meal as any white man, even to its colour 

 and the fineness of the grinding ; he has a strong partiality for 

 white meal in preference to yellow. 



584. Modern Milling Methods. — Millers have adopted im- 

 proved methods, during the last few years, for the milling of 

 maize. In the old types of mill, maize is ground just as it is 

 received from the farm, whereas in the most modern milling 

 plants it is now subjected to a cleaning process which removes 

 all the dirt or refuse left on or among the grain after it is 

 shelled. 



All maize mills do not turn out the same products ; these 



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