LOCAL INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6933, 6 February 1884, Page 6

LOCAL INDUSTRY.

PARSOMS' MACHINE-MADE BREAD FACTORY, SYMONDS-STREET. Mb. Howard Pabsons having obtained a lengthy lease of the block at the corner of Symonds-street and Kyber Pass-road—the site of the late fire there —from Mr. G. P. Pierce, has erected thereon, fronting Sy-monds-street, a machine-made bread factory, which was formally opened on Friday list. Tha factory occupies one of the most salubrious situations in Auckland, is two storeys in height, built of concrete, verminproof, and 2-1 feet square. The upper floor is used as a flour store, &c. Here is also situate a gas engine, of 3i-horse power, with the necessary gearing tor driving tha mixing and dougbing machine. On top of the hopper leading to the ground floor is one of Paul Pfleidorer's self-cleansing patent sifters, for sifting and bolting flour. This apparatus consists of a conveyor hrush, which fits into the concave sieve forming the bottom of the sifter trongh, along which the material is gently forced by turning the brush, any objectionable admixtures or not sufficiently pulverised material being delivered through a separate opening at tbe back of the machine. Descending the staircase we next come to the doughing and kneading machine, which contains at once a sack and a half of, flour. It is fitted with revolving steel arms, which mix and knead the dough in some eight minutes—a process that by hand would require three quarters of an hour. The machine is self-discharging, a truck running underneath, into which the dough is precipitated by simply pressing a lever. The dough is then put into large troughs, where it remains for the ordinary time, according to temperature. On this floor is an apartment in which the yeast is made, the constant supply of hot and cold water giving great facilities. The oven is a two-ducker, each division being equal to the reception of 300 to 400 loaves. Ventilation has been thoroughly attended to, and the oven furnace being outside the bakehouse, ashes, soot, and smoke are excluded from the bread, thus securing perfect cleanliness. On the top of the furnace two cauldrons, containing jointly 50 gallons of water, are fitted in a bed of sand, and the pipes so arranged that they are kept constantly full, the hot water drawn off being replaced by cold water from the tank. The manufacture of bread made by machinery was first introduced in Germany, bnt it is now making great progress in England, and for yeirs has been in vogue in America. In Australasia bread is still kneaded by hand in every colony with the exception of South Australia. Mr. Parsons recently visited Adelaide for the purpose of making himself lully conversant with the maohine-made bread faotory system, and has brought with him to Auckland a French baker, lately foreman in the Adelaide factory, and who is conversant with the whole process as in use in that city, as also the French and Continental modes. It will thus be seen that every precaution has been taken to secure to the publio that boon, a genuine loaf of bread made by the most cleanly and best known process, and in a building and locality approved on sanitary grounds—in fact, " the model bakery."