OUR INDUSTRIES and TRADES.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 10199, 3 January 1895, Page 2

OUR INDUSTRIES and TRADES.

SENTRY HILL ROLLER FLOUR MILLS. MESSRS LITTLE & Co. [by our special.] It is not very many years since a great revolution in milling occurred, and the development of the new system of rolling has been keenly watched ever since. The adherents of stone dressed flour manfully fought the innovation, but the' roller dressed article steadily pushed itself in the market, and took up a position which to-day defies competition. The fact must not be lost sight of, that success in this business is dependent, not only on mill building, but also on milling, both of which are now looked upon as almost " exact science '.' To ensure any degree of success it is imperative, so far as roller milling is considered, that a carefully designed sj'stem be followed from the very commencement of the undertaking. So great is the stride made almost continuously in roller dressing, that, for the securing of a good quality of flour, for the achieving of an economy in produc /ion, and thereby a result as to profit, a constant eyo has to be kept to the rapid progress and changes in machinery, and a due regard paid to the immediate adoption of such. The first or one of the first firms to see the advantages of a thorough defined system and the necessity for having the most improved modern machinery and appliances, was that of Messrs Little & Co., whose mills are situated in a picturesque spot within an hour's easy drive of New Plymouth at Sentry Hill. The btructure, though wooden, is a »very substantial one of 4 storeys, and surrounded by 42 acres of land. The Manganai River, which takes its rise at Lake Mataitawa, runs through the proporty and is used as a motor by being dammed and brought through by a race to a turbino wheel to work tho whole machinery in connection with the mill. The grain used is of a mixed description, much of the local wheat being supplemented by southern. When hauled to tho mill, the wheat is shot into a series of binns and removed thenco by conveyors to the elevatoi-3 on the top floor. The wheat now undergoes the process of what is known to millers as cleaning, and too much importance cannot be attached to this routine. Any miller anxious of maintaining his reputation finds it absolutely necessary to deal effectively with the cheaper and consequently dirtier varieties of wheat which are mixed with the costlier and more useful kind in regard to tho removal of all dirt and impurities, and no better process for the attainment of this object is at present in vogue than that carried out by that part of the machinery patented by Mr Henry Lindon, ■whose fame is established in every corner of tho civilised world. A large amount of foreign matter, in the shape of stones and earth, is to be found in choap wheats, which renders a system of cleaning necessary. When acted upon by the cleaning machine, the purified wheat is ready for the rollers which are grooved, and on parsing through which it is partly crushed and carried thence by the elevators to the scalper, which consists of sioves having a rotary action. Tho coarser part being separated from the finor, the former is carried to a second roller, and, after a further crushing, convoyed back to the scalper and again sifted, the residue this time being conveyed to a third roller, which now produces bran. The product of Nos. 1 and 2 scalper is thon carried on to a reol which separates tho flour from what is known as semolina and middlings, and the latter ingredients are then subjected to a further treatment by the " purifier." The purifier is a " feature'" in Simons' milling machine. Under the old system there was no middle course between lifting out good material from the bad, or keeping impurities from passing through the silk. The separation made was therefore partial and imperfect. The purifier in its form, however, soparates good from bad as accurately as if the impurities in a small sample had been picked out carefully by hand. Tho semolina and middlings are delivered pure and free from all offal and ready for treatment on the reduction rolls; the finished offal is at once separated from aiiy material out of which flour can be obtained and passed on to the offal sack without further treatment; the intermediate material, which is neither pure aemolina nor finished offal, is retained as a separate product and retained for independent and special treatmont at another juncture. The finished offal which the purifior has given forth is transmitted to a roller, whence after a slight crushing it is taken by elevators to centrifugal reels, whoro tho flour is removed and the coarser parts passed to and fro through seven sets of rollers and then through six sets of dressing reels. Tho flour from the different reol3 is next gathered in a conveyor which carries it to a place where it is ready for handling. Tho next process is tho separating of the sharps in tho bran dusters and the sacking of the flour for delivery. The machinery which, as before stated, is of the best improved description, has a capacity for turning out from four to five hundred pounds of flour por ho«r. In addition to tho flour, the manufacture of wheatmeal is a speciality hero, and Mr Little vouches for tho fact that since the lectures delivered by Miss Yates the demand for that article, which is made on tho roller process on mill stones, has been trebled. Oat crushing and boan kibbling is also undertaken, a special machine being used for the purpose. The business in this direction is very good, as is also that done in tho way of crushing meal, barley, &c, for pigs feed for winter. A steam thresher finds room on tho promises and whon not in use, the engine can bo connected with the mill vory easily and at any time. The mill was originally started by the late Mr D. F. Me Vicar, of Manaia, but has been in possession and under tho management of Mr Little sinco ,1882. On coming into possession, that gentleman not only enlarged it, but fitted it up with most of the machinery which now works it. ' Given the support which it deserves, 2fi to 30 tons of flour per week could easily be issued, and the greatest recommendation to consumers is that the machinery is that of Henry Simon, than whom no greater millwright or engineer can be named. Tho bottom floor of the building contains tho main shaft, the wheel, and tho bottom of tho elovatois and wheat bins. The noxt — the delivery floor — holds all the roller malls, tho null stones, an out crushing machine, and tho office. Tho third floor finds accommodation for the scalper, the dressing reels, and the purifier-, and the fourth floor is taken up by tho centrifugal leols, the mrtin lino of shafting, and the heads of eleyatois. Mr Little, who resides in a very cosy cottage nestling in a flower garden not a stono .s throw irom tho mill, camo to Oinat.i aflor a residence of 'fourteen years in AVollington, to fulfil an engagement witli Mr Kyngdon. Going to tho millaftsr leaving Mr Kyngdon, ho loarnt his business thore, and has proved his : aptitude by learning it to such purpose that in a vovy short time lie was capable of undertaking tho whole conduct of the mill, and to-day guides tho dostiuies of one of tho most important and remunerative industries of the province