John Milne to ——— (unpublished)
Machine for Dressing Flour, By the King’s Patent. Sold only by John Milne of Manchester, & Inventors and Patentees.

[engraved illustration of machine for dressing flour drawn to scale by Thomas Crowell]

The above Machine will dress better Flour, abundantly quicker, with less loss and with less trouble than can be done any other way.—It will do that Business at one Operation, which to be done with Cloths require several, for it will Dress Fine Flour, Seconds, & Thirds & clean the Brans at one Operation, or will make Two Sorts, or one Sort of Flour only, by moving the Partitions within the Box, accordingly, just as the Person pleases who attends it.—

Directions how to fix up, and set the above Machine to Work;

It may be put up and will do in an Old Case or Box, where Bolting Riels have worked, but where there is to be a New Case made there is no occasion to have it any broader than 26 Inches within, and that is better than if it were broader because it helps the fall of the Flour.—In fixing it up the Steps must first be set right so that it will have the fall from A to B which is about Two feet at the length of the Cylinder then the Machine may be put into the Case so as the Centers will rest upon their Steps at X, X, X, after which the Cylinder must be fixed with two pieces of Wood about Inch & half Square which must have notches cut in about the middle, so that they will clasp the rails on the underside of the Machine at C & D where they are to be fixed, and in such manner that the Cylinder will rest upon them, & that the Brush at the upper end will be pretty near the Centers.—As to the bottom end it is confin’d in its Center & there must be two such like Stays with notches cut in them like the others on the upper side of the Machine also, one at B & one at F, and that at E must be made to fit the notch there, in Order to prevent the Cylinder Sliding up, or down, and when it is set to work the Cylinder stands still, but the Shaft & Brush turns round, the Velocity of which should be after the rate of four revolutions in one second of time, or one third quicker than Bolting Riels turn.—

Under the Machine is a Section for dividing the Flour.—

Figures 2 & 3 are moveable partitions which turn upon the Centers M,M, the others are all fixed within the Case & as they now stand from 1 to 2, will be Fine, from 2 to 3 seconds, from 3 to 4, Thirds, from 4 to 5 Sharps, or fine Pollard, from 5 to 6 Coarse Pollard, & at the end of the Cylinder at 7 the Bran comes out, but by moving 2 to 1 only two Sorts may be made or by moving 3 to 4 only two Sorts but of different Qualities, & if 2 be moved to 1, & 3 to 4 there will be only one kind dress’d, so that any sort of Flour may be dress’d by properly moving the partitions aforesaid.— [illustration of machine for dressing oatmeal and barley, drawn by John Milne and engraved by Bottomley accompanied by caption:] By the King’s Patent A Machine for Dressing Oat-Meal & Barley-Meal. Sold by John Milne of Manchester, Inventor & Patentee.

Endorsed by Benjamin Franklin: Machine for dressing Oat Meal & Barley Do.
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