THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



141 



while hot, wring them and hang them by the fire 

 to dry. When dry, sprinkle them quite wet and 

 roll them very tight for an hour or two, and then 

 they are ready for ironing. Your iron must be very 

 smooth, entirely free from rust or dirt of any kind ; 

 rub hard and quick until every part of the bosom 

 or collar is perfectly dry. — Ohio Farmer. 



Prom the Germantown Telegraph. 



IMPORTANT IMPROVEMENT AND ECONOMY IN 

 THE MANUFACTURE OP FLOUR. 



A recent English paper contains a detailed 

 account of a remarkable invention, which is 

 likely to effect a complete revolution in the 

 manufacture of flour. The invention was, in 

 its imperfect and unfinished state, exhibited at 

 the World's Fair in London, and having now 

 been completed, is rapidly coming into use in 

 England, France, Austria and Mexico. The 

 flour ground by the mills formed upon the mo- 

 del of this invention is preferred by the bakers 

 who have tried it, to all other flour which they 

 had previously used, as it is more nutritious 

 and more apt to rise easily and certainly than 

 any other. 



It was stated, by a committee of the House 

 of Parliament, that by this invention 8 1 ,857, 1 20 

 quartern loaves, in addition to those which are 

 now made from the same quantity of wheat, 

 would be produced, giving a clear saving of 

 upwards of £2,000,000 per year. As a ma- 

 chine which effects such astonishing results can- 

 not fail to become of vast importance, we copy 

 from the Mechanics' Magazine the following- 

 information in relation to it : 



" On the 9 th of February, a large party of 

 engineering gentlemen, and of others engaged 

 in an extensive way of business, as millers, as- 

 sembled at the flour mills of the Messrs. Pavitt, 

 High street, Wapping, to witness the perform- 

 ance of two mills constructed by Mr. Middle- 

 ton, on the principle of Westrup's patent. In 

 the same establishment are seven other mills 

 of the ordinary construction, and the trial of 

 relative merits was betw.een the two conical and 

 the most effective pair of the flat mills. The 

 result proved to be immensely in favor of the 

 conical system ; while the quality of the article 

 produced, according to the opinion of expe- 

 rienced bakers, is far superior. The economy 

 of this new system of grinding is found to effect 

 very sensibly the detail of operations both in 

 the mill and in the bake house. In the former 

 it becomes possible to grind up a large portion 

 of farinaceous matter now rejected in the form 

 of bran; that is to exhaust the husk of the 

 clavel more completely, and therefore to yield 

 a larger quantity of pure farina. In the latter, 

 the tedious, but critical duty of watching for 



what is technically termed "the sponge," or 

 rising of the dough, is quite superseded. At 

 present, if this be neglected, the dough falls 

 again in the oven, and the bread is sold at a 

 reduced price, which is a serious disadvantage. 



Under the conical system of grinding, in 

 consequence of the greater proportion of glu- 

 ten contained in the ,mass, the acids do not 

 escape so rapidly and the sponge takes place 

 in the oven. 



Upon the whole, there is a large gain to the 

 public, for besides saving in fuel, it is capable 

 of increasing the bread of the people to the 

 value of £2,460,428 a year, which at 6d. per 

 loaf would give them 8 1 ,857,1 20 more quartern 

 loaves a year. 



The "conical" mill is intended to obviate 

 the defects of the flat mill, and a very few re- 

 marks will suffice to show that its inventor has 

 not only detected their causes, but has brought 

 into operation a most philosophic, and there- 

 fore successful, combination of grinding and 

 separating agencies, by which these defects 

 have disappeared to an extent which leaves little 

 to be desired. The beneficial changes effected 

 may be succinctly enumerated. First, the re- 

 duction of the weight of the running stone from 

 14 cwt. to 1^ cwt., by placing it beneath in- 

 stead' of upon the fixed one; second, the . re- 

 duction of the size of the stones in the propor- 

 tion of 3.34 to 1; and thirdly, the giving to 

 the stones a new form — that of the frustrum of 

 a cone. The advantage of lessening the diame- 

 ter and weight of a mass, of which the one is 

 4 cwt. and the other 14 cwt., will be apparent, 

 when it is considered that its effective velocity 

 is 120 revolutions per minute, and that this 

 velocity must be sustained against the enor- 

 mous friction of the grinding surfaces. The 

 altered position of the running-stone admits of 

 a much more delicate adjustment of the op- 

 posing surfaces, and gives to the miller an easy 

 and effective control over the most important 

 portion of his operation. The conical form 

 facilitates the discharge of the flour, and ob- 

 viates the clogging and over-heating of the old 

 practice. In addition to advantages, by a ju- 

 dicious modification of the ordinary mode of 

 dressing, or rather by a combination of the 

 mill with the dressing machine, a perfect sepa- 

 ration of the flour from the bran is effected at 

 the moment the grist escapes from the stones. 

 The bran still remains in the mill an'd falls 

 by its own gravity to a second pair of stones in 

 all respects resembling those already described. 



Both pairs of stones are mounted on the same 

 spindle, and of course impelled by the same 

 gearing. The operation of the lower pair need' 

 not be described; they complete the process, 



