OUR LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1973, 1 October 1886, Page 2

OUR LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

BLENHEIM FLOUR MILLS. It is not only the duty of every colonist to support every indu-try established in the Colony, but it is good policy in self. interes I '. We shall do our best in this direction by placing such industries as may come under our notice prominently before our readers. Our attention was recently directed by advertisement to the j fact that Mr W. B. Parker had just completed the erec’ion of a flour-mill in the vicinity of the town and that the mill was rsady for work. We therefore visited the mill one day this week and after introducing ourselves to Mr Fereusson, the manager, and stating the object of our visit, that gentleman courteously showtd us over the works. The mill, which was built by Mr Dick-oti and f r which Mr Douslin was the architect, stands on Fulton’s Creek, a tributary of the Omaka, The water has been dammed to give sft 6in and about 1G horse-power to the turbine, which was made by Scott

Bros., of Christchurch, and is said to be the only colonially made approved turbine working at the present time iu the Colony. The timber dam is on Dousiin’s pl*n The building itself is 40fc by 4oft and 40ft in height. A turret 10ft high was added on the recommendation of Mr Fergusson to carry the elevators. The foundations are all of concrete and everything in the shape of machinery was manufactured by Henry Simon, of MinChester, ordered through the N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Agency Co. It is unnecessary to add that all the latest improvements in mill machinery have been adopted and, to all appearances, the mill is working most smoothly and satisfactorily. The old fashioned crushing or grinding stones—or by whatever technical name they were known—have long ago disappeared and have been rep’aced by the chilled iron rollers, sever lof which are

to be seen at Mr Parker’s mill. On the bottom floor (coocrete) is the main shaft, driven by the turbine; here also are the bottoms of three double sets of elevators and four single sets. To the uninitiated it may be well to explain that the elevators are employed to carry the grain iu its differeut forms, eittier to the rollers, the emutter, or other destinations, on the second or third fl >or, or in fact wherever required. They feed the mill and by their assistance the work of the mill is carried on automatically so that the material is never haodled from the time the wheat is shot out on the bottom lluor till the finished articles in bran, flour or

pollard are taken cff. The elevators are simple in construction though somewhat difficult of description. Most people have seen adiedge at work ; the elevators are constructed on a somewhat similar plan, There are 700 feet of beting in the elevators to which are screwed au end-

less.chain of tiny buckets placed some inches apart. These take the grain at its different stages and carry it to its proper place for treatment, the whole being attached to the main and other shafts and driven by the turbine. On the ground floor are also the connections leading from the rollers and wheat cleaning machines and the magnetic separator. This latter is an exceedingly useful contrivance and none who get tbeir flour at Mr Parker’s mill need have any fear of finding in it any extraneous matter of a mineral character. Two magnets are placed iu position so that all the grain treated in the mill must pass over them, and, should there be any iron, or other metal substance among it, the maguets itnmediatly detect and arrest it. It is surprising to seethe quantity of mineral matter thus collected in a day. The main shaft comes in here

trout the turbine and is immediately coa nected with the rollers, which it drives

on a substantially constructed platform, about Gft above the ground floor, The grain come 3 in the first place to a ‘ 3 high roller mill ” of two breaks from the first of which it is elevated to a wire scalper on the second floor and, after treatment there, is returned to tho second break of this mill. It next goes to the second break silk reel on the third floor, The residue from the reel passes to the third break of mill No. 2 on the platform which is grooved fine to finish th# bran. From this mill it passes up to the Bran reel on the third floor. The other portion of the large mill contains smooth rollers for finishing the purified middlingi. The third and last mill s what Mr Fargusson again describes as a “ 3higli smooth roller” which finishes up the middlingi from the centrifugals above. On this platform is the foot of a fifth single elevator, which takes the grain from the separator to the smutter above. The flour in it* finished state is collected on this platform by means of a conveyer which in its turn receives from the centrifugals aud “ silks ” above. The shtirpi are also in the same manner collected on this platform. A shaft above counectcl with the main shaft below, drives the centrifugal, purifier and wheat-cleaning machinery, on the second floor, also the conveyer which brings tho wheat from the hopper or bin to the rollers. Coming dow to the second floor we fiud first, the three centrifugals, which Irest the middling* from the smooth rollers below, next, the wire scalper which receives the

“ chop ” from the first break rollers and the purifier. Beside the latter is au exhaust room into which is blown bv 3

fan all the refuse from the middlings at they pass over the purifier. On this floor also stand* the srmitter, a double machine contuuiog four sieves. The top one on either side takes out anything larger than wheat and the two beueath take out all small seeds and dirt. After passing through the gmutter the wheat goes again to the sieves, over the magnets on the bottom floor from whence it is elevated to the “ Eureka ” brushing machine on lha second floor after leaving which it is perfectly clean and goes to the grinding bin which is a'so on this floor. The refuse from both tho sinutter aud brusher is blown outside the building by powerful fans. The podard aud bran is taken off on thii floor. On the third or top floor are situated the second and third break reels, each of which takes out a certain portion of finished fiour, middlings, pollard an Ihr in. Here there is a third lias of shafting which drives the break reels and the elevators. From this necessarily brief sketch it wil bo sour, that Mr Parker has spared no pains and uo expense jn getting his mill fitted with the lateet and best appliances modern science has provided and we trust his energy and enterprise, which must in its result prove of great benefit to the \Vui au, will m-ct with substantial and approp iate recognition at the hands of the residents of to* distric*. As may be imagined where such first-cia s machinery is employed the mill it working wi h very little noise. —comparatively speaking, oue might say noise* lesdy. Neither is there the slighted vibration of the building, thus showing that it has been most substantial!/ erected. The manager of the mills is Mr Fergusson, from the Canterbury Milk; Ashburton Mr Fergusson is a “colonial, a 1 New Zealander we ought to say, **ci has bad a large n}iili»g experience in Australia and In the South'. With tee assistance of Mr Rogerson, enguieer, millwright, etc., Mr Fergusson hirnsdf fitted up all the machinery and spou ing in the mill. Jn cone usion we wouM direct the attention of readers, especially farmers, to Mr Parker’s announcemen', appearing elsewhere, to the effect that hs has commenced operations and‘ispr t pired to purchase large quantities of g™' l '-' There' is ample storage room at the mii'i where the grain may be stacked uutii re* quired for treatment,