AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2593, 28 April 1869, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN NEWS.

(From the Argus, April 10 to April 15> inclusive.)

The trouble and expense of dressing millstones, or “ burrs,” by hand has always been grudged by flour-millers, who hare for many a long year looked erery way for a new inrention that should lessen these formidable items of wear and tear. Every week each pair of mill-stones has to be taken from its place, and submitted to the process of “ hand-picking,” which means the use by a skilled workman of a u mill-bill,” a kind of edged hammer, with which he restores to the grinding surface of the hard French burrstones those slight corrugations which come in contact with the grain. This occupies from sixteen to twenty hours per pair, and the cost, both of labour and delay, may be imagined. At the late Paris Exhibition, however, the desideratum was shown to the world in the shape of an invention by M. Golay, a Swiss miller and machinist, who, after several years’ application, presented to the public what has since been shown to be a simple and thoroughly efficient jruxhiae. Knowing the extreme hardness of the stone to be dressed, the inventors of the period who had turned their attention to this subject had for a long time sought to use the diamond point, which, however, they were unable to apply till M. Golay elaborated a method of giving the diamond point a rotatory motion, amounting from 11,000 to 15,000 revolutions per minute, which was crowned by complete success. The entire machine is a simple thing enough, and is easily applicable to any stone, for the rotatory motion can, with a pulley and endless cord, be worked by the machinery of the mill, while the superintendence of one workman is all that is else required. In this way a pair of stones can becompletelydressedinlessthanfivehours. Further, the drilling of the stones being so regular, the wheat, properly speaking, is more rolled out than ground, and the bran being taken off in a large flake, very thin, no portion is groundup with the flour,and hence a notable improvement in the colour of the latter. It is estimated that the gain in the produce is one shilling per bag of 2folb, or. speaking by Melbourne measurement, about eight shilanga per ton, and, what with the saving in delay and labour, and this additional gain in the quantity and quality of the flour, the use of Mr Golay‘s ” patent diamond miilstoaedressing machine ” must make a great difference to the large Melbourne millers who use five, seven, and even more pairs of stones. Is has been gaining ground rapidly in England and Scotland : i: has been introduced to the United Mates. Canida, and South Australia ; and now Messrs A. MacfarJan and Co., of Fdriers lane, have been established agents in Melbourne. A sort of sample machine was got into operation yesterday at Dight's mills, in Carlton, and upon inspection we found it answering its purpose admirably. It was qnite a pretty sight to watch the little whirling diamond, heated by friction into ir candescence, and darting out little corascatirns of brilliant flame as it moved up and down the surface of the millstone. The only drawback to the use of the invention is its expense. Each machine costs £;5: but then the investor demand* a royalty for every pair of stones of no less than £SO. Thus, a miller with sre pairs of stones cannot commence to ns« the machine without a pre-ixiciry payment of £i73, for the repayment of which he has to lock tc subsequent p rents. The usual revenue returns appear in die Garerre of yesterday, for the quarter and fer the year, ending on the Sis: March last. A oemp-iranre statement shows that the net increase on the quarter was £4i.173. the receipts having been as compared with £iO9.4C'T. Nearly the w-bc4e of this increase occurred in the department i tne Customs, and a very large proportion rf :t was on t e hem spirits alone, which pc> daced £S7,f9s as ccmpared with £75.i6i. or an increase cf £i2s3C*. vfc wire there was a decrease cf £1352. On tobac.-c and snuff there was a decrease of at 565, and on tea rf £sfcM. On sugar, coffee, and epic—, there was a slight heproveseat: rice yielded an increase of £2677: hope, of £ 1 725; tr.dt of £355: and wharfage and harbour rates. £676. - Ail ocher duns " saowfd tbs very large increase cf £15.445. spirits Sctiikd m Victoria produced £531 mere than in the

correspuJi-ur* quns cf iis year ; r_: poblicaas' 4ccG*es resaraed XSS£ leas There «f ar. i£aproTe-r,tat is - aactkvseerf' licesses,” aad ~ ill other Sweacts. " The “land rtTas-ae “ itnproftd by £h:bi; ul all the other isea* o»3er the head of “ territorial ” exhibited tlirht h.tftie*. excepting water-tight aad yiitiiat licsocss. ia which the degrade wa» £+= IC»_ or from Xi4s 1C» :o XiMo, la the railway iacooe there was a decrease of £: *-:*-•; ia water sappiy. Xj'i"; asi ia eiecnitelegraphs £rr. T:1I receipts Sgwrs as a aew iseea. bowerer. for £-11, wb.vt if qo:.te-- as aa in-sease. Tjr-jje aai riiccage hcsth -hew a steal. decrease ; bat ae postal j pereaae im pre-red hr Xl* 11 Fees roae fr:>= | fiirt: to Xi4.4“i. tie iutsK it.rsw j heias Xl7K‘ is ~ ill fiber reef “—white t~er j that iteas stay iatiair. Flaes exkibrte-d a ■declits- cf XfJ. b-t ■ —iscrllatieco* " ;a----i pr.-rfi the Gcrerrtrrc: jri:er recarairx . XT.-: z::re :■:• the rf-ecae thaa ia the ±rtt :i Ufa - riles :-i G-t-serrate; proI perry " pr.vi »oei aa :sa«ue of a lot-;, asi !- ad :tber recsrcs ” w«k arte ty lOb the year, the taerease was £S33SJ. TV : Ctsto** reresae was reirty Xldi-XO soart. bet the itan of actrdpeacd spin: daJes has spits to he takec iato acecaat. aa<i 3 iiooe ia»r>cd Wise aaj twerahe sh.-we l a fiiiat-sf : bit tehtro iaaricrec br x: s*4. agars by »Hil. tea hr x&*4. cafZ* : by x;*„ optrsa by £*sl. rieeiy aotieM thtx XStfla, hop* by Xs2s?. wharfs* asi : harttwr rates by x;?,4rc, aai -aZ 1 other raaes ’ hy acc less ife«~ -■~5,4,'«.\ The ihaw ca rtw Mtoty rxiif ahe for the Sr* l cat fx X'M-4, which of dMcwe 1 is art down aa aa isereue. <>= near there was a dee&ae of og —ilt of X 241. ari ia the expert daty cc yii ;sk*w ah.'£aasi*i x at XaSoWa. The etcitt rerecae kw iron to itS,4»5. the asm oc * fasriis diftiljed ia Ticscna “ aSocse hsasg XIKSJ - .. “ W rereoae - gm aa ntrsaaf :£ XT 1344, or aeariy the cbok iaeraae cs the 1 !« F»—ai m n iipaTiwi nfri—jj 1i- :; aaua at fit iW; ntaert' ng/kaa were nurs J t

productive than in 1869 by £iq7l T ~ licences by £312- Wsp* V.f business mineral lands £9-0 Lj* aunferoU9 and searching licences by fUd^On^ 1 and the increase in th/ ro n. • the year J09J99; water Tre Wa * graphs. £666; and mU JeSn « ’ £ -° " C porta and tonnage the increase ’wal ' 1' 'Jrpilotage at out-ports, £ue - and !/ ' 1 ° n £6255. The fees for court bn sin P ° 3ti § ehibited a decline, but 11 all other fees’> 111I 11 ex ‘ the extraordinary improvement If Fines exhibited a decrease. Kent, 7 1311 - of lands, fell off by £819; b ut thL 6 ?-' Usivt ment printing office increased its L„? Ver i ' £1693, and the labour of the dh- eturns •luced £1042 in excess of last year''°Tj Pr °'. Government property gave an inn, 5 A X3Bii2 and ‘ P all other Veipts head of miscellaneous the great oi K period of the previous year.