Original Correspondence.

Taranaki Herald, Volume II, Issue 101, 5 July 1854, Page 3

Original Correspondence.

to tub r.niTon or the "tatianaki herald." Sir,— l believe that we arc all about unanimous as regards the fast of this settlement being in most needful requirement of additional Flour Mills ; for in town at least, Milling has become a monopoly, and with unmlntakeablo tokens of growing moro and more into nn intolerably exclusive and unaccommodating ono, as for example, I vras informed yesterday that tho milicr will only grind, now, for the public bnlccr and tho wheat grower, so thnt ell others must buy flour at hi* price at the mill ! I noed hardly observe to Ihe common sense of our community tint monopolies ore never other* wise than graiping ; nnd fro rat he various obstacles they can and do throw in the way of public convenience and accommodation, lor their own enrichment, and not unfrcqucntly, ns msny of vi hare recently experienced, for the mere gratification of • pampered, arbitral y, and unworthy caprice, it is moet and proper that when: thorc is a way, and tho freedom to follow it, nil such monopolies should bo promptly met by counteracting influence*, or, a: regards our case, that it is a paramount duty on the part of tho public so to unite as that the means of fair »D(1 civil/ competition bo Instituted among us, and thus nullify the overbearing prescriptions of millers, as to who they, forsooth, (hall condeicond to select is customers in the way of bringing grist to their establishments. Never, Mr. Editor, was there ft truer ditty, Bald or sung, thun that which opens with tho following couplot— " Merry may tho maid bo who marries a milicr For foul day and fair day he gains her lota o' siller," and which, as our mills now turn, a tew jottings may demonstrate—45 bushels of Wheat at 60 lbi. per bush, makes of Fine Flour .... 2000 lbs Seconds and Pollard . . 160 lbs Bran 450 lbs Losb say 3 per cont t . 81 2700 lbs. Our Millers, however, take 47 bushels at CO lbs. or 2820 lbs to make Fine Flour .... 2000 leaving for Seconds and Pollard . . 266 Bran 470 Loss 3 par cent . 4 . 84 2820 lbi. Now let us tako a glance at the profit or money results, first, when wheat is at 10s 6d per bushel— 47 bushels wheat at 10s 6d &2b 13 6 Bags . . . .10 0 £25 13 6 Profit on Flour at £30 per ton 4 6 6 Bran at B» per cwt . . 13 6 Seconds and pollard 1 . 1 7 6 Gross profit on tho 47 bushels . at 10s Gd . .£6 17 6 Secondly when wheat is at 99. Gd. per bushel— 47 bushels . . . £22 6 G Bags . . . . 10 0 £23 6 6 Profit on Flour at £30 per ton C 13 6 Bran, Pollard and Seconds 2 11 0 Gross profit on 47 bushels at f)s 6d'i?o 4 6 On every account, therci'orc, there Is an urgent need to put 0 finish to the ex luting Milling mono* poly ; and when, moreover, it can be shown tint the mode of doing so will brio; with it -tho means not only of redressing tlio evils wo ara now subjected to, but of producing a superior flour, and, from a given quantity of wheat, more of It, it is to be hoped tho Public of New Plymouth will give tho requisite attention and contidoration to tho paper which I am now to quote from. .' I bavo only, at present, further to add that the pnper is in the January number of that firitrata periodical " Tin Journal of Agriculture" ; and that I have recently written to England to aiccr* tain tho cost of the mill therein recommended. I am, Sir, yours, &c. July 3, 1C54. Voi,uknsis.

NOTES ON SOME OF THE CONTRIBU* TIONS TO THE AGRICULTURAL DF. PARTMENT Oe THE GREAT INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION IN DUBLIN. * Corn Mills.-— lt is a fact worthy of notice that while improvement after improvement has been effected in tho vast variety of our aßricultural ma» chines, and comparative perfection obtained in the application of mechanical power, such au important appliance dd a corn-mill should, for nearly a century, lihvo remained in the same condition of mechanical inefficiency. Important a brancli of industry as the .milling trade nece««ily It; it is

only within the last few yenrn that tho attention of tbe Agrlrulrmnl and Engineering portion of the community lisa hcen directed to it, with the view to place iti operations on a more scicntifio nnd certain basis. The inciting mime to thin general | attraction to the subject Imi been tho removal of fbo fiscal rentrictiona on the importation of grain and floor into this counti)< Prior to this period the milling trado wan not subjected to the influence of the Continental competition, nnd thus tho inefficiency of our machinery, as compared with thnt of the continent, remained comparatively unknown. A» soon, however, na tho restrictions alluded to were removed, tho superior quality of the flonr imported from Frnnco made the trade in this coun« try awore of the fact that they bad henceforth a competition of a moat important kind to deal with. It soon bernmo evident that our best machinery wne totally innnpablc of producing tho fine quality of the French flour. An investigation into the com ditinn of «vi milling machinery showed that, before ■we could hope to stand ngninst ibo Continental trade, important improvements in tbe general demils were not only cJcsidermed, but a change in the principle was also neccsary. Id thin, no in other mattcri, m sooner wni the wnnt made known than nnmerons inventors Introduced, to tho notice of those interested, improved mechanical arrangements Of the various machined introduced, the moet important is that known as " Westrup's conical flour, mill." Such hns been its marked success ns an economical producer of flour of an extraordinarily good qualify, that ita general introduction may well be looked upon as a matter of high national interest. Our renders will donbtlesß now and then have come across incidental notices in the newspnpenyenpecting this important invention. But a short time ngo, a mont influential deputation to the 13onrd pf Trade drew the attention of tho Government to the importance of adopting this machine, ns calculated to effect nn enormous saving in grain; and but recently the right of patent for America has been 'contracted for, for the sum of £60,000. « The economy of this new system of grinding is found to affect very sensibly the detail of operalions both in the mill and in tho baliebouse. * n tho former, it becomes poisible to grind up a larg e portion of farinncpoiiß matter, now rejected, in tbe form of a bran— that is, to exhaust tho husk of the clnvel more completely, nnd therefore to yield a larger quantity of pure farina. In the latter, the tedious but critical duty of vratchinir for what i« termed "the sponge," or rising of tho dough, i« quite Biipeisodcd. At present if this be neglected the dough fallfl a»ain in the oven, and the bread is sold at a reduced price, which is a serious disadvan*. tngc. Under the conical syßtcm of grinding, in CTniequencc of thegrenter proportion ofglutincon-. tamed in the mass, tho acids do not cacapo bo rapidly, nnd the sponge takes place in tho oven. Wig. 13* is a vertical section of the mill, from which it will bo scon that in principle it is essentially different from the old mill in general use. In the latter, tho grinding surface is obtained by two flat stones about 4 feet 6 inches in diameter.— These ore placed horizontally — the lower one being fixed, the upper one revolving. Tho wheat to bo ground into flour is introduced through an aperture in the upper stone, and being drawn in between tho two stones, is reduced to powdor between tho dressed surfaces of tbe lower-fixed nnd tbe upper revolving stones. The average weight of the stones is about 14 cwt., and they revolve at tho rate of 120 revolutions per minute. To maintain thin tipped no less a power than that of four horses is required for n pair of stono of 4 feet diameter; but not only is this large expenditure of power re» quired, but, from the increase of surface, the dolivery of the flour is rendered very uncortain. In consequence of tbe partial escape thus resulting tbo flour is triturated and re-triturated, to tbo great injury ol its quality. In tho "conical mill" tho weight of the revolving stone in reduced from 14 to ij cwt., and is placed beneath instead of upon tho fixed one. Tho size of the stones i« also reduced in tho proportion of 3.34 to 1, and in place nf having them flat, a conical form is given them. T>y this arrangement a much more delicate ad™ juctment to the grinding surfaces can be ohtained tlmn in tho old nyntcm. From tbe form of tbe drones the flonr in alno easily discharged, and the rloßuing nnd overheating of tbe old practice obviated; By combining tho dressing-machine with 'lie mill, a perfect p< paration of the flonr from tho bran is effected at the moment the grist escapes from tho Bfonen. Another important advantage rcmainr, to bo noticed. In Uic "old principle," the iK'ccßsnrv (Hopping of tho mill daily for oiling or shifting tho gear is calculated as a loss of from 9d. to la. ptr puir of stones ; in the new mill this i* ,-.lti"rtl>cr avoided, and the saving of " offal " onormoui. [To be conclndcd in our next.]

• The cngrnviiiK bore referred to, may be seen at lie ofllco of tho " Herald."