Harper's New Monthly Magazine: No. XVI.—September, 1851—Vol. III.Various
History
Harper's New Monthly Magazine: No. XVI.—September, 1851—Vol. III.
Various
American literature -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Culture -- Periodicals
We now arrive at the bakehouse, the principal theatre of Mr. Grant's
ingenuity. We are in a large room on the ground floor--it may be one
hundred and twenty feet in length, lofty, and well lighted, the centre
portions of which are occupied by machinery of no very complex aspect;
and it may be a dozen men and boys slip-shod and bare-armed, are moving
here and there among it. There is no bustle, no confusion; and
notwithstanding the unceasing movements of the machinery, very little
noise. We are at once sensible that we are witnessing a scene of
well-organized industry; but we can hardly persuade ourselves that we
see the whole staff employed in converting flour into biscuit at the
rate of one hundred sacks per day. In the midst of the general activity,
the eye is caught by the figure of one man whose attitude of repose
contrasts strangely with the movements going on all round him. He seems
to have nothing to do but to lean listlessly with one or both of his
elbows on the top of a sort of box or chest, much resembling an ordinary
stable corn-bin, which stands against the wall at the left of the
entrance; yet that occupation will not account for the mealy state of
his bare arms; let us look into the bin, and see if we can discover any
thing. The bottom of it is filled with water, just above the surface of
which, extending from end to end, we see a circular shaft, armed with
iron blades, crossing it at intervals of two inches apart, and
protruding six inches or more on each side of the axle, at right angles
with it, and with each other. In one corner of the bin is the mouth of a
pipe, which, even while we look, discharges an avalanche of flour into
the water; at the same moment some invisible power causes the shaft to
revolve--slowly at first, that the light dust may not entirely blind us;
then, as the flour becomes more and more saturated with water, rapidly
and more rapidly, until the whole is thoroughly mixed up together; and
in the space of four and a half minutes, one hundred-weight of flour is
converted into dough. The revolutions of the shaft now cease, and our
hitherto inactive friend proceeds to transfer the contents of the bin to
a board placed to receive them, in masses resembling in shape Brobdignag
pieces of pulled bread. Again, we see that the surface which a moment
since was free from mark or indentation, is now scored all over in
hexagonal figures. The lower side of the plate, in fact, consists of a
bed of sharp-edged punches of hexagonal form, reminding us in appearance
of a gigantic honey-comb, which at one blow divides the dough into
single biscuits, leaving no superfluous material except the trifling
inequalities of the outer edges. Twenty-four whole biscuits, with a due
complement of halves, are cut out at one stroke, each of which is at the
same time impressed with the broad arrow of Her Most Gracious Majesty.
We now see why the old circular form of the biscuit has given way to the
hexagonal.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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