THE MILLING OF EICE. 11 
that removed by the hullers, but is occasionally mixed with the 
polish from the brush or even bagged and sold locally as rice meal. 
Brush and brewer's reel. — The brush is the last scouring machine 
in the milling process. On account of the rapid feed necessary in 
securing the best results from the brush, the rice from the bran reel 
following the pearling cone is stored in large bins situated above the 
brush. This latter machine has already been described as the polisher 
of the mortar-and-pestle mill. In the modern mill it has been found 
advantageous to substitute pigskin for moose hide or sheepskin and 
to increase the speed of the machine. The very thin layer of bran 
which is rubbed off is forced through the surrounding screen as a 
light-brown powder, called rice polish. The rice kernel at this point 
is reduced approximately 10 per cent of its weight after the removal 
of the hull. As a rule, when a coating of glucose and talc is to be 
applied later in the process, the rice is not subjected to such a severe 
scouring in the brush as when it is to be sold as uncoated rice. From 
the brush the rice, containing all sizes from the most nearly perfect 
whole grains to the smallest particles, is passed into the brewer's reel 
for the first step in grading. This reel differs from that which re- 
moves the bran only in that the wire screen covering has 10 meshes 
instead of 14 to the inch in each direction. The brewer's rice which 
passes through the screen of this reel is never coated with glucose 
and talc, since its value is small and not increased by such a process 
involving extra expense. 
Trumbles. — When the rice is to be coated with glucose and talc, as 
is generally done, it is transferred directly from the brewer's reel 
to the trumble for this purpose. The trumble is a cylinder about 9 
feet long and 4 feet in diameter set on an incline of about 15° from 
the horizontal and revolved by a gearing on the outside. It is often 
provided with a steam pipe through its axis for raising the tempera- 
ture of the rice, to effect a higher luster in cold weather. The rice, 
together with the coating materials, is introduced at the higher end of 
the trumble, and the shiny appearance is produced on the grain as 
it moves slowly round and round and ultimately pours out at the 
lower end. To the inside surfaces of the trumble are fixed several 
small strips of wood, which carry the rice up the side and let it fall 
again as the cylinder revolves, thereby increasing the friction on 
the rice grains. Glucose of a good quality, which is generally heated 
and mixed with a small proportion of water, is fed from a tank in a 
constant small stream upon the rice as it enters the trumble. Talc is 
introduced at the same place by means of a screw feed connected 
with a supply box. The quantity of each coating material added is 
regulated by the miller to suit the quality of the particular lot of rice 
being milled. No other coating materials than those mentioned have 
