6 BULLETIN 330, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
allowed the grain to drop out, and by its revolutions forced grain and 
hulls along together out of the machine. The runner stone was 
capable of being raised or lowered to suit the quality and size of the 
grain in various lots. 
From the stones the material passed to a newly introduced combi- 
nation " screen blower." which fanned out the hulls and partly sepa- 
rated the unhulled. or paddy, grains from the hulled rice. The 
paddy rice was returned to the stones and the hulled rice conveyed 
to storage bins above the mortars. In these mills the mortars were 
used only as scouring machines and removed most of the bran coat, 
together with the germ, or eye, of the grain. When the rice had 
been sufficiently pounded, it was transferred to the flour screen and 
thence to the fine-chaff fan for the separation of the by-products. 
The rice became heated through friction in the mortars, and it was 
therefore sometimes placed in cooling bins, where it was stored for 
eight or nine hours before further milling. The final polishing was 
accomplished by the friction of the grain in the polisher or brush. 
This machine consisted essentially of a vertically cylindrical frame- 
work which was covered with overlapping pieces of soft moose hide 
or sheepskin and revolved at a high rate of speed within a cylinder 
of wire screen. The rice was scoured between the leather and the 
wire screen and given a highly polished surface. Grading was done 
on flat metal screens, and the clean products were barreled for the 
market. 
PLANTATION HVXLERS. 
Several small huller mills are still operating in various parts of 
Louisiana, cleaning rice for local use. Briefly the process is as fol- 
lows: Power is secured from a small engine which drives belts for 
the operation of the mill machinery. The rough rice is first screened 
free from straw, chaff, and tlirt and passed directly into the hopper 
of the huller. This huller resembles externally a large sausage ma- 
chine and is composed of a horizontal, tapering, grooved cylinder 
within which revolves a ribbed shaft. The rice is subjected to a 
vigorous rubbing of the kernels against each other and to a scraping 
between the rough iron walls of the tapering cylinder and the ribbed 
surface of the rapidly revolving core. The grain is next screened 
and fanned free from hulls and passed a second time through the 
huller, after which it is again fanned and is ready for consumption. 
Such milled rice contains a large percentage of broken kernels which 
are covered with a film of powdery bran. 
On account of the small motive power and little machinery used, 
the daily capacity of such a mill seldom exceeds -±0 barrels of rough 
rice of 162 pounds each. The grower generally has his choice of 
