Scientific American Supplement, No. 360, November 25, 1882Various
Science
Scientific American Supplement, No. 360, November 25, 1882
Various
Science -- Periodicals
Within the county of Oswego, New York, Dewitt C. Peck reports there are
five apple jelly factories in operation. The failure of the apple crop,
for some singular and unexplained reason, does not extend in great
degree to the natural or ungrafted fruit. Though not so many as common,
even of these apples, there are yet enough to keep these five mills and
the numerous cider mills pretty well employed. The largest jelly factory
is located near the village of Mexico, and as there are some features in
regard to this manufacture peculiar to this establishment which may be
new and interesting, we will undertake a brief description. The factory
is located on the Salmon Creek, which affords the necessary power. A
portion of the main floor, first story, is occupied as a saw mill,
the slabs furnishing fuel for the boiler furnace connected with the
evaporating department. Just above the mill, along the bank of the pond,
and with one end projecting over the water, are arranged eight large
bins, holding from five hundred to one thousand bushels each, into which
the apples are delivered from the teams. The floor in each of these has
a sharp pitch or inclination toward the water and at the lower end is a
grate through which the fruit is discharged, when wanted, into a trough
half submerged in the pond.
The preparation of the fruit and extraction of the juice proceeds
as follows: Upon hoisting a gate in the lower end of this trough,
considerable current is caused, and the water carries the fruit a
distance of from thirty to one hundred feet, and passes into the
basement of the mill, where, tumbling down a four-foot perpendicular
fall, into a tank, tight in its lower half and slatted so as to permit
the escape of water and impurities in the upper half, the apples are
thoroughly cleansed from all earthy or extraneous matter. Such is the
friction caused by the concussion of the fall, the rolling and rubbing
of the apples together, and the pouring of the water, that decayed
sections of the fruit are ground off and the rotten pulp passes away
with other impurities. From this tank the apples are hoisted upon an
endless chain elevator, with buckets in the form of a rake-head with
iron teeth, permitting drainage and escape of water, to an upper story
of the mill, whence by gravity they descend to the grater. The press
is wholly of iron, all its motions, even to the turning of the screws,
being actuated by the water power. The cheese is built up with layers
inclosed in strong cotton cloth, which displaces the straw used in olden
time, and serves also to strain the cider. As it is expressed from
the press tank, the cider passes to a storage tank, and thence to the
defecator.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account