FIRTHS EIGHT HOURS ROLLER MILLS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9026, 12 April 1888, Page 6

FIRTHS EIGHT HOURS ROLLER MILLS.

The new roller mills erected by Mr. J. CT Firth, on Quay-street, fronting the railway station, which were sometime ago formally opened, were yesterday thrown open for public inspection between the hours of eleven and one o'clock. Invitations had been issued by Mr. Firth to about 300 people, including the members and officials of the City Council, the Harbour Board, the Chamber of Commerce, to members of Parliament, the Trades and Labour Council, insurance agents, bankers, merchants, bakers, &c., and these invitations were very generally taken advantage of, a large concourse visiting the mill during the time stated. Mr. Firth himself stood at the entrance, and cordially welcomed each visitor, pointing to the directing pointers, which haa been thoughtfully posted to guide the visitors through the mill, and leaving them there to pursue their investigations at their leisure. On each landing was posted also the injunction, " Visitors are expected to keep their hands off the machinery." On each floor the various managers courteously explained to the visitors the several processes of treatment, but the impression left on the mind, after going through this mass of complicated automatic machinery, was generally a vague feeling of wonder at the great advance of mechanical appliances. Any description we can supply of the roller flour mills, just completed by Mr. J. C. Firth, will give our readers but a very imperfect idea of the great variety of machines these extensive mills contain. We can truly say that we were astonished at the great bound the flour-milling industry has made from the millstones and flourdressers of but yesterday to the wonderful combination of roller mills, scalpers, purifiers, centrifugals, universal flour-dressers, dustcollectors, wheat-cleaners, brushers, graders, and elevators, which we had the opportunity of inspecting yesterday in the First Eight Hours Roller Flour Mills, just completed in the city of Auckland. Let us say the wheat is first dumped," or shot from the sacks into a bin at the rate of six sacks per minute, whence it is elevated into automatic weigheis, which accurately weigh and record the weight of the wheat as it passes into capacious bins with a capacity of 40,000 bushels. After passing through separators, scourers, brushers, blowers, and cockle separators, in which all imperfect grains, weeds, chaff, and dust are removed, the perfectly cleaned wheat passes along a conveyer to the mill proper, where it is again automatically weighed and recorded, thus showing the exact loss in the cleaning operations. It is then deposited in a grader, where the large and small grains are separated and passed on to the respective roller mills for the first break operations. It would f>uzzle our readers, as it puzzled us, to folow the wheat through some twenty double sets of roller mills by means of about forty sets of elevators, each over 80 feet in height, into scores of machines, passing from one to another through hundreds of spouts run ning in all directions above, below, beyond, oblique, and what not, presenting an apparent complexity to the casual observer, but to the trained expert a real simplicity. After traversing, literally, miles of elevators, spouts, and conveyors, the separations are finally made, and the flour of the various grades required pass through the respective packers into the sacks and bags of the requisite sizes. The bran and sharps also, after passing through dusters, enter the packers, and are deposited in their respective sacks. In this manner the modern roller mill, with its multifarious attendant machines, does its work, without a pound of wheat or flour being handled after the wheat is first shot from the sack at the primary dump, the whole operations presenting as perfect an example of automatic work as can be found in any manufactory in any part of the world.

The capacity of these mills is 60 tons of flour per day of three shifts or 24 hours. To run on full time, they will require about 900,000 bushels of wheat per annum. The machinery is driven by a Corliss double engine of 250 horse power nominal. The whole of the machinery has been supplied by the eminent mill furnishers, Messrs. Nordyke, Marmon, and Co., of Indianapolis, America, and most ably erected by their principal milling engineer, Mr. Martin. Steam is supplied from two steel multitubular boilers, made by Mr. Yeoman, of this city, from designs by Mr. S. B. Firth, under whose inspection they have been constructed.

The mill and storage buildings have been erected in the most solid, substantial, and faithful manner by the well-known builders, Messrs. Philcox and Son, from the plans of Mr. Roberts, architect, the massive foundations being put in by Mr. W. J. Courtney, all of the city of Auckland. The whole erection, from driving the first pile to the final completion, being under the close and faithful supervision of Mr. Mackay, clerk of works, who now takes his place as one of the engineers of the mill. The mills, stores, and granaries are provided with abundant hydrants and automatic water sprinklers for extinguishing fires, which, together with the Corliss engine, were erected under the direction of Mr. S. B. Firth.

The whole of the mills, stores, and offices are lighted with electric lights, designed and erected by Mr. Charles Nordyke and Mr. E. T. Firth.

The mills started work a few days ago under the able direction and supervision of Mr. Townshend, an eminent American miller. Nothing can exceed the perfect symmetry, beauty, and efficiency of the machinery and fittings, whilst the handsome architectural proportions of the buildings, the lofty rooms, and the abundant light and ventilation, entitle these roller mills to be classed in the front rank of the best flouring mills to be found in any part of the wolld; and in these times of depression they present a signal mark of the confidence their proprietor, Mr. J. C. Firth, has in the future of the Auckland provincial district.