" We shall now proceed to describe the 'hand-mill, with reference to the engraving before adverted to. a is an axis, mounted in plummer-blocks b b, and turned by a winch 4 assisted, if required, by a handle d, fixed to one of the arms of the flywheel e e. The axis a also carries a bevelled wheel f, which drives a pinion g, fixed upon a vertical spindle h, that revolves in the centre of a metallic hopper i, and carries at its lower extremity the upper grinder ; and to the periphery of the latter is attached a series of brushes, that revolve toge ther with it inside the circular case j, cast in one piece with the hopper i. The lower grinder is fixed in the centre of the fiat to k of the pedestal; and around the lower grinder, in the same plane as its superior surface, is an annulus of fine wire-gauze; over the area of which the brushes sweep in their revolution, con tinually scattering every particle of the meal, as the same is constantly projected in minute quantities all around the peripheries of the grinders, on to the wire work ; causing the flour to fall through the meshes into the drawer am, below; while the bran and pollard, which cannot pass the wire-gause, are continually being freed from their adhering flour by the action of the brushes, until they are driven through an aperture at the outer circumference of the wire-ruse, on to an inclined screen of coarse wire-work, where the offal separates Itself, in the mere act of falling, into pollard and bran, both of which deposit themselves into separate compartments made in the drawer a. At I is a screw for regu lating the admission of the corn ; and at o is a lever over an engraved plate, which directs the operator which way to move it, according -as he may desire to regulate the grinding, whether coarser or finer than it was pre viously set. These adjustments are obvious to the sight, and unerring in their action.
" Amongst the advantages which this machine presents to the economist may be stated its convenience, portability, and perfect cleanliness, and there being no dust or waste of any kind. It is particularly adapted for the use of domestic families, who are desirous, not merely to make their own bread, but to be sure that the flour which they use is a genuine product of good wheat. As respects its utility to emigrants and distant settlers, we have reason to believe that its merits have already been very satisfactorily tested ; the durability of the grind ing surfaces being such as to render a renewal of them apparently unnecessary for a series of years. A mill of this kind may be seen at No. 20, Pater noster-row." Since the foregoing account appeared in the Mechanic's Magazine, several valuable improvements have been made in the machine. The wire gauze through which the metal is sifted, is now rendered capable of being easily with drawn, so as to convert the machine into a simple mill, the whole or gross produce being at once deposited in the large drawer: its utility is thus much extended, as there are many substances that do not require sifting.
Owing to a mistake made by the draftsman, the pedestal of the mill in the foregoing cut is represented as smalL With reference to the larger class of machines constructed on the same principle, and alluded to in the foregoing extract, as being in operation at Hertford, we may be permitted to observe, that one of the prominent disadvantages of the working of mills and dressing-machines of the ordinary construction in a workhouse, is the necessity of employing a paid servant to superintend and direct their operations : to which may be added the frequent stoppages in the work, for taking up the stones to recut, or dress their surfaces anew, a process which requires great.
millering skill and practical experience to execute in an efficient manner; and however ably it may be performed, it unavoidably entails a great waste of time, much labour, and wear and tear of tools and machinery. But the extraor dinary simplicity of this patent machine, (which is now being introduced into several of the workhouses conducted under the new system of poor laws,) renders the management of it so easy and obvious, that the master of the work house can, without any difficulty or inconvenience, superintend its operation, or depute any unskilled labourer, in whom he can confide, to occasionally look to its performance ; as the machine requires no active duty, but continues to perform, uniformly for months together, all its operations of grinding, dressing, and separating its various products of flour, pollard, bran, &c. without any interference, but that of keeping it clean and properly oiled.
The mechanical arrangements of this new machine equally adapt it to the production of every quality of flour and meal that may be required ; togrind and dress finer of coarser, at the pleasure of the operator; to grind, break, or crush only, without dressing ; to dress only, without grinding ; and may be equally well worked by any number of men or boys, from only one up to twenty, the 9uality of the products being the same, and the difference only in the quantity. A machine of this kind has now been in active operation for several months, at All Saints' Workhouse, of the Hertford Union, the guar dians of which, as well as the master, Mr. Booth, have testified to the facts just mentioned. The framing of this machine is made partly of oak, but all those since constructed are entirely of metal, and combine other improvements, which add to their practical convenience ; one of which may be seen in operation at Dr. Allen's excellent establishment for the cure of mental diseases, at High Beech, near Woodford, Essex.
The following description of an economical horse-mill, for grinding corn, is extracted from a communication in the Franklin Jonrrzal for July, 1826, addressed to the farmers and planters of the United States :—a a are the mill stones ; b the spindle, which supports the upper stone ; c a drum upon the spindle made long to prevent the band slipping off; d a large gin with its shaft, and arms (the lever to which the horse is yoked is not shown); e the bolt of tanned leather, five or six inches broad, with a buckle to give it the necessary tightness. It has not been thought requisite to show the hopper and other necessary appendages, as with these every country mechanic is well acquainted. The larger the diameter of the circle in which the horse travels the better, but it should on no account be less than 18 feet; the proportion of the large and small drums must be regulated by the size of the stones and the diameter of the horse-track ; and it would in most cases be found best to place the hopper and stones under cover, as in the corner of a barn, and the large gin outside, by which means a large bone-track might be formed, and the mill might like wise be driven in wet weather. In the mill previously noticed at Dr. Allen's, the usual necessity of a horse-wheel is entirely obviated.