Knox — Gig-Mills and Drying KHiih near Balhjhaunh. 269 



the sliaft, at places under the stones, is made to give motion to a 

 sieve for grading the meal, and to a winnowing machine for separating 

 hulls of oats after the preliminary crushing. 



Flatley uses an old smoothing-iron as a socket for the gudgeon of 

 his shaft. After a few drives of a punch the gudgeon is left to work 

 its way. Millers used to prize the thick pennies of old times for 

 placing under the gudgeon. The smoothing-iron is a modern make- 

 shift for the stone socket of old days. 



These mills do not make a uniform size of meal, as the stones are 

 generally not accurately distanced. For grinding meal the bridge is 

 set at the point at which it is most level. 



On a review of Mr. O'Keilly's article two points come out : — 

 (1) The mills of Faroe Islands, the Shetlands, and the Hebrides had 

 wheels with boards set obliquely; those of Ireland, the Isle of Man, 

 and Greece had ladles. That of Camillos differed from both, but was 

 more like the ladle wheels. (2) The water was delivered diagonally 

 or from above in the cases in which the direction is expressed, except 

 in the case of the mill described on p. 73, where it was delivered 

 horizontally. 



The falling chute therefore is not a new thing. This delivery 

 from above seems better suited to the oblique boards, and the 

 horizontal delivery as near as possible to the wheel seems better 

 suited to the ladles. 



The action of the marine turbine steam-engine seems to be in 

 principle that of Gannon's mill, which directs the water on to the 

 blades of the turbine once only to the best advantage. The steam- 

 engine, by means of an outer cylinder fitted with blades, directs it 

 again and again on to blades on the shaft. 



Stone sockets are not remembered as sockets for gig-mill water- 

 wheels. They were probably discarded as soon as good iron 

 could be got. The revolution of the water-wheel is not steady 

 enough. The slightest "jig" cracks them. Otherwise they last 

 for ages. 



The ordinary foundry smoothing-iron will not do. The gudgeon 

 will bore it at once. Only a tinker's smoothing-iron will do — that is, 

 one cast by our travelling tinkers — a tribe of gipsies. 



The sockets examined by me were used to support the spindles 

 of the stones of breast wheel mills. One was given by Morgan 

 O'Brien of Curraun. It was in use for nearly forty years, and 

 was discarded twenty years ago. Another socket from a mill 

 at Lispatrick was in service until twenty years ago, when it was 



