The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

Figs. 988 and 989. Arrange- ment of Grain-distributing Spouts. THE WAREHOUSING OE GRAIN 689 be poured into any bin on the top floor. For its further distribution the following special arrangement has been provided. A vertical spout passes through the centre of each series of bins lying one under the other, whilst at the bottom of each bin are four apertures from which, by means of connecting spouts, the grain can be conveyed either into the bins on the floor below or into the main spout (see Figs. 988 and 989). This spout may be utilised for a variety of purposes; either for shooting grain through to the bottom of the warehouse, or for mixing different kinds of wheat, without the flow of grain through the connecting spouts from one bin to the bin beneath being interrupted. By closing the connections between the delivery spouts of the bins on one floor with the main spout, grain can be taken from any of the upper floors into any of the floors beneath. This wide range of operation is rendered possible by the ingenious system of distributing valves designed by Mr Correll. The working of these valves, which can be controlled from the basement by chains, may be seen from the illus- trations. In Fig. 990 the simplest form of valve is shown in two views : a is the connecting spout through which grain may be taken, via the main spout, to any desired floor beneath, whilst b shows the mouth of the spout from which grain falls from a bin on any one floor into the bin lying immediately underneath on the floor below. If there is no necessity for taking grain straight away through one floor, the valve provided is as shown in Fig. 991. If the valve be placed in a central position, the grain on the floor below can be mixed with grain from any floor above through the conduit a; and if it be desired to mix grain from several floors, conduit b is provided as part of the valve. From the different positions of the valves in Fig. 992, the direction in which the grain to be mixed must flow can easily be seen. If it be desired to let grain through from one bin to its fellow on the floor below, and at the same time to carry grain to delivery spout a in a downward direction, one of the walls of conduit b is bent back, and takes a cup-like shape. This cup is open at the top with an outlet Z at its lower end (see Fig. 993). Io pi event grain getting between the valvesand their casings, slides are arranged over the valves, and are made to exactly fit a section of the casing. At the quay side of the warehouse an apparatus has been provided for clearing the grain vessels as they lie by. It is adapted to unload grain either loose or in sacks. I his unloading apparatus can handle from 150 to 300 sacks per hour. The machinery inside the granary is driven by one electro-motor of 12 H.P. Spencers Granary Floor Spouting-.—A similar principle to that described in connection with the Dortmund granaries has been used by Messrs Spencer & Co., Ltd., of Melksham, for several years, and on these lines they have built a number of granaries. There appears to be a growing tendency to store certain kinds of grain, especially home-grown wheat, in floor bins instead of in silos. Fig. 994 shows two devices adopted by Messrs Spencer to deposit the grain in a series of floor bins above each other, and to withdraw the grain from one bin to another for the purpose of turning it over. In the 44