Ellesmere Industries

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume XVII, Issue 1789, 31 October 1896, Page 2

Ellesmere Industries

[THE BROOKSIDE ROLLER FLOUR MILLS] [Bt Oub Ipicial Ri pombe]. In accordance with our determination of publishing a description of the most J important of Ellesmere industries, sur special reporter called at Mr Trapnell's I Flour Mill the other day, with a view of writing up some of the chief points of flour milling operations, which are perhaps the most important of all adjuncts connected with agricultural operations. We were received m Mr Trapnell's usual hospitable style, and were soon chatting : over milling matters m general, but ': milling at the Brookside Mills m particular. The " mill wheel "is a theme upon whioh poets, artists, and musicians have from time immemorial found a fertile < source from which to perpetuate beautiful . ideas with pen, pencil and song, and is a : subject ever associated with the picturesque and beautiful. The Brookside Mill is no exception to the rule, and Mr > Trapnell's pretty estate would probably form as pretty a scene as was ever immor- ' . talised by painter's art or poet's eloquence. > The picturesque Mill, built on the edge of >' a large sheet of mirror-like water, dotted : with tiny islands, upon which beautiful ' Bpeeimens of the native phormiumtenax i flourishes, while an imported beauty m • the shape of a stray water lilly or two, » give this spot all the oha___ o_ a veritable Elysium. The mill-pond, m which a* large number of . " speckled beauties " live, move, and have their being, is fringed with the prettiest of all our pretty weeping willows, and forms a scene of harmonious colour and placid beauty which would cause the most matter-of-fact \ individuals to pause m admiring eontem- > plation. But as this spot is already . celebrated as a charming pie-nic resort, ■ perhaps many of our readers are already ; acquainted with its peculiar beauties, and , we will therefore return to the more i practical idea of endeavouring to describe I the interior of the Mill, for which purpose > our visit was made. But before going i inside, we must make a passing reference I to the mill wheel. T\xe mill wheel ever turning Its onward course a 'ong. > Mill wheels are generally spoken of as > being old and moss-covered, but although i this particular wheel is not yet covered vvith moss, it lacks nothing from a picturesque point of view, as the sight of ; millions of sparkling globules of erystali like water showing down frem the ascending " steps," renders a sound and new i mill wheel a sight' worth more than a passing glance. This particular wheel is i almost quite new, having been added to i the Mill about March last. It is perhaps • one of the finest m the colonies, and is of • somewhat larger proportions than the i average size, being 16ft m diameter and t Bft m breadth. The mill-race, river, and i several auxiliary, dams are all set m ■ massive concrete, and all other appointr ments of the establishment, convey the ' impression of neatness, solidity, and i superiority. Everything is up-to-date and I m apple-pie order, which stamps the J proprietor as a man who understands his i business, and believes m the good old saw, i "A place for everything and everything ; m its place." Mr Trapnell added a " Sprocket " wheel appliance to the main shaft some time ago, but owing to the clanking noise it produced, decided to discard it, and installed an exceptionally heavy and powerful fly-wheel and leatherbelt. The whole of the extensive machinery m this MUI works as smoothly i and noiselessly as it is possible to imagine, : a desirable state of things only accomplished after much experimenting and expenditure of capital. In some mills, there are machines that perform several garta m the work of reducing grain to our, but the proprietor of the Brookside Mill believes m the principle that machines (like men) should not be taxed beyond their capacity, and therefore only gives a rational portion of work to each machine, and is quite satisfied that either a man or a machine do their duties all the better for a little consideration. [fin passant I commend modern slave-drivers and task-masters to read, mark, and inwardly digest the lesson conveyed m the above remarks.] Therefore the grist is treated by several machines before it is finally bagged ; the machines all work automatically with each other by their being" connected by means of conveying shoots, and the grist is not touched by hand from the time it is shot into the hopper until it is received into the bags as superfine flour. The following awards gained by the Rising Gem flour and wheat meal exhibited at the last three Ellesmere Agricultural Shows, tend to show that the quality of the work turned out from these mills will bear the closest expert criticism : — 1894, special certificate of merit for roller flour and Ist end special, for Tuscan wheat ; 1895, Ist prize and special certificate of merit for roller flour and wheat meal j 1896, special certificate of merit for flour and *heat meal, ahd Ist and special prire for Pearl and Tuscan wheat. But to get to our primary object. ! The first machine which came under our I notice was a beautifully finished bit of engineering skill, technically known as a " Cornelius Internal Roller Mill." This machine breaks the grist up roughly, and a powerful exhaust fan attachment serves the double purpose of cleansing the grist from all impurities, and of keeping the machine thoroughly cool. From there the 1 grist is conveyed to a double set of 16x7 Simon's Smooth Rollers, which are fitted with automatic feeders and lubricators. The" finishing rollers m this Mill measure 16x7 and 20x9, respectively. The wheat is, by the way, thoroughly cleansed and ! smutted by thelatest improved machinery before entering these machines, but it is ! surprising to see the amount of refuse which is extracted from what appears to ' be a thoroughly clean grist, while being ! treated m this Mill. The silk-dressing reels _o___ an interesting item to witness, . especially the ingenious mechanism dis- j played m the appliances which secure a 1 uniform distribution of the grist over the f surface of the reels ; there are four * reels, hexagon and circular, all of which 8 are cleverly planned and thought out. c The round reels were manu * factured from an idea of ] Mr Trapnell's and are m every way a thorough success. We were shown a bag- I branding press, which is manipulated a somewhat upon the same principle as a h hand-printing press. Wa were informed fl fliat w b*gi and mil are m iigjport&rt v

item m the milling industry, and judging by the quality of material used for them, it is easy to understand that euch is the case. The quality appears to be almost too good to be devoted to such a purpose. A refuse bin outside the Mill receives all the dust, fat hens and foreign substances extracted from the grist, and if threshingmachine drivers saw the amount of stuff which is bruised and spoilt through rash threshing, it would perhaps tend towards making them a little more careful when regulating their machines, After being shown a number of other interesting features of flour-milling, we adjourned to an hospitable repast m the Mill house, _tfter which we were shown round the . picturesque grounds and gardens. The ! day was rapidly closing m, and we ended . a very pleasant and instructive visit by L making an adieu to the popular proprietor ( of the Brookside Roller Mills.