ns have during the last few years undergone a complete revolution.
By the old process, the seed, having been flattened between a pair of
stones, was afterward ground by edge stones, weighing in some cases as
much as 20 tons, and working at about eighteen revolutions per minute.
Having been sufficiently ground, the seed was taken to a kettle or
steam jacketed vessel, where it was heated, and thence drawn--in
quantities sufficient for a cake--in woollen bags, which were placed
in a hydraulic press. From four to six bags was the utmost that could
be got into the press at one time, and the cakes were pressed between
wrappers of horsehair on similar material. All this involved a good
deal of manual labor, a cumberstone plant, and a considerable expense
in the frequent replacing of the horsehair wrappers, each of which
involved a cost of about L4. The modern requirements of trade have in
every branch of industry ruthlessly compelled the abandonment of the
slow, easy-going methods which satisfied the times when competition
was less keen. Automatic mechanical arrangements, almost at every
turn, more effectually and at greatly increased speed, complete
manufacturing operations previously performed by hand, and oil-seed
crushing machinery has been no exception to the general rule. The
illustrations we give represent the latest developments in improved
oil-mill machinery introduced by Rose, Downs & Thompson, named the
"Colonial" mill, and recently we had an opportunity of inspecting the
machinery complete before shipment to Calcutta, where it is being sent
for the approaching exhibition. As compared with the old system of
oil-seed crushing, Messrs. Rose, Downs & Thompson claim for their
method, among other advantages, a great saving in driving power,
economy of space, a more perfect extraction of the oil, an improved
branding of the cakes, a saving of 50 per cent. in the labor employed
in the press-room, with also a great saving in wear and tear, while
the process is equally applicable to linseed, cottonseed, rapeseed, or
similar seeds. In addition to these improvements in the system, the
"Colonial" mill has been specially designed in structural arrangement
to meet the requirements of exporters. The machinery and engine are
self-contained on an iron foundation, so that there is no need of
skilled mechanics to erect the mill, nor of expensive stone
foundations, while the building covering the mill can, if desired, be
of the lightest