Modern Improvements in Corn-Milling Machinery. 91 
revolution in a box or case force the material forward in the 
desired direction, and are convenient for sliort lengths, and are 
specially useful in any position where, as often happens, matters 
of different sorts require to be thoroughly mixed during convey- 
ance. " Creepers," consisting of strips of wood fastened to an 
endless band, are sometimes "used, and operate by dragging the 
stuff to be moved along the bottom of the box or casing in 
which the creeper runs. 
lor lifting purposes " elevators " are employed. They consist 
of endless belts, furnished at short intervals with cups of hide, 
or tinplate, or iron, or steel, running in vertical, or nearly vertical, 
cases or pipes, either rectangular or round, of wood, or iron, or 
steel, over pulleys at the top and bottom extremities. The 
material to be elevated is fed into the box or " boot" enclosing 
the lower pulley, where the cups or buckets fill themselves by 
scooping into the mass or stream, and ascend to the top and 
pass over the pulley, driven at a velocity which is regulated so 
that they may throw out their contents in a nearly horizontal 
direction into some receptacle, and clear of the case by which 
the belt and cups descend. Endless worms rapidly revolving in 
stationary iron cases, which fit them nearly closely, are also used 
as vertical elevators. It is requisite that the feed should be 
forced into these worm elevators at the lower end. They are 
more expensive than the band and cup arrangement, but oc- 
cupy little space, and would not act as so many flues, as would 
the cases of the ordinary elevators, in the event of fire. Com- 
binations of these conveyors and elevators with connecting pipes 
through which the " stuff" descends by gravity are employed to 
carry the material to and from the various machines. These 
connecting pipes may be of wood or metal, and in the case of 
grain, when the stream runs at any considerable velocity, the 
pipe must be of wrought or cast iron or steel in order to resist 
the wear. A stream of wheat constantly running will cut through 
a wooden pipe in a very short time. When wooden pipes are 
used they should be lined with iron. Sheet india-rubber is also 
said to resist the wear. 
In granaries and mills it is necessary to weigh the material 
at various stages, for many reasons. These weighings are per- 
formed by "automatic scales," which weigh with the utmost 
accuracy a fixed load, cut off the supply with great delicacy and 
certainty, discharge the load when weighed, and record the 
number of weighings. By the employment of these machines, 
a check and control of the work of the mill at all points can 
be well and cheaply sustained. As mill-buildings are very 
high, and rapid communication from one part to another is a 
necessity, the best modern mills have fast-running lifts, by which 
