MANUFACTURES.

395

Manufac-

tures.

Vertical

Gunners

employed

snuff-

mills.

®"8>ne fi, r

c Utti

placed at a different distance from the centre of the ver-tical shaft in order that they may act up on a different partof the lower plate. In snuff-mills, it is, however, ne-cessary, in consequence of the injury which the snuffsustains if too great weight or pressure is used, that afree motion in a vertical direction be given to the framein which the stones revolve, so that in the event of thetobacco being in a heap, the stones rise in passing overit and do not exert any pressure beyond that of theirown weight. A further reduction of this pressure isnecessary with some kinds of tobacco, which is attainedby a counterweight attached to a rope passing over apulley on the vertical shaft. The action of this weightis of course a deduction from that of the stones, so thatby adding to or subtracting from it, the pressure exertedby the stones may be adjusted to the kind of materialrequired to be reduced.

In the same plate, fig. 2, is represented the Machinery connected with the pestles and mortars, where, as beforestated, the snuff is reduced to a further state of fineness.A A is the wooden framework in which the mortars are

placed ; to this frame is attached the cast iron frame-work B B B B of the Machinery by which the pestlesand mortars are put in motion ; C C C, &c. are the mor-tars, which are made of the shape shown in the figure.The pestles D D D, by the revolution of the verticalshaft, roll upon the inclined surface of the mortar, bywhich the further reduction of the tobacco is effected.The pestles and mortars are generally made of iron,when of wood they are of a different construction, con-sisting of a cone working within a cone. The angle ofthe inner cone is made rather smaller than that of theexterior, so that the surfaces are more closely in contact>n the apex than in the base; by this means the snuff isgradually reduced in fineness a.s it descends upon thesurfaces of the cones until it arrives in the apex, where

’t passes out at an aperture into a vessel placed to re-ceive it. Pestles and mortars constructed in this mannerform a more important part in the grinding of tobaccothan those of the description represented in the plate; thelatter being employed simply to give an additional de-gree of fineness to some kinds of tobacco, the chief re-duction of the material being performed by the verticalrunners, while the former perform the entire grindingProcess ; the variations in the degrees of fineness beingeffected by adjusting the cones by means of screws, soas approach nearer or further from each other.

Referring again to plate xliv., fig. 2, EE is aorizontal shaft having bearing at a a a in plumberbolted to the transverse framing b b b. It hasa ached to it the bevelled wheels F P F, which engage®umlar ones npon the vertical shafts G G G, by whichwh rt ^' ven t0 fl 16 pestles. The horizontal bevelledshaft C* ^ ^ are mac l e free to move vertically on theu a s ^ f C. so that they can be put in and out of gearWorl°^ eS attacbed to the levers c c c c, &c., whereby thethe ' men rna X remove or replenish the snuff in any ofnnr^r^i^V^hout interrupting the action of the other

P C54 f he Machine ry-

for eutt'^ ^ ^ dle plate is represented an engine

differs frn^ Tobacco f° r the purposes of smoking, whichof the torn 1 u . em Pl°y ed in the snuff-mills; the objectsmall frao-r!, e ,l heU1S ' to d ! v ; ide the tobacco into as manythe leafing 6 " 18 as P° ssible > and of the latter to divideness ft pr» P ara Pel shreds of various degrees of thick-

firmlv to th' 1S ' StS °* a Cast il0n framework A A, boltedrmiy to the main timbers of the floor B B, in the

lower part of which are bearings to support the horizon- Machinery,tal shaft C C, which gives motion to the cutter. Thetobacco leaves, after the stalks or stems are carefully re-moved, are placed in square wooden frames, which, bybeing put one above the other, form a box into whichthe tobacco is pressed by means of screws. One ofthese frames or boxes is shown at a a in the figure; it isconstructed of such exterior dimensions that it exactlyfills up the space between the sides b b of the frame,while the interior is equal to the width of the cutter.

The tobacco is confined in the box by a cast iron plateff, which fits between the sides of the frame, andis pressed down by screws which work in wroughtiron brackets or ears g g attached to the frame. Thepart of the plate which extends beyond the cutter con-sists simply of two ears of the width of the sides a a ofthe box; they are pressed down by the screw h, andconsequently serve as an additional security to thesteady motion of the box.

The cutter, or knife shown at F in the figure, isbolted to a crank or carriage D D, which has a bearingat one end on the spindle E, and at the other receives avertical reciprocating motion from a crank upon thehorizontal shaft C C.

The frame or box aa containing the tobacco is placedupon a board e e, "which is moved gently forward by acarriage m, traversing upon a long horizontal screw11, seen in fig. 4. It will thus be obvious that atevery revolution of the main shaft a shred of tobacco willbe cut off throughout the whole section of the box bythe descent of the knife. The velocity of motion givento the screw 11 is varied according to the degree offineness to which the tobacco is' intended to be cut.

This is effected by different toothed wheels which fitupon the screw 11, for as the motion is given to thewheel G by the lever and crank H, it will be advancedone tooth at every descent of the knife, so that if thewheel be of larger diameter, and greater number ofteeth, a great number of cuts will be made during onerevolution of the wheel, and, consequently, a greaterdegree of fineness will be given to the tobacco.

The tobacco when it has passed through the engineis exposed to a gentle heat upon a stove, and the partswhich have become caked and pressed together are pulledto pieces by a workman ; it is then in the state in whichit is sold for smoking

(547.) The principal part of the great variety of the Variety ofsnuffs of commerce is produced from various compounds ot snuffs,the stalks of the tobacco leaf with a substance termed re-turns, which is a portion of the leaf divided so small bythe tobacco engine as to be unfit for the purposes ofsmoking, of which substance a considerable quantityremains from each batch operated on by the engine.

For some of the finer sort of snuffs the tobacco leafitself is employed, as the operation of stoving, which itof course has to go through if operated upon by the en-gine, is found to injure the flavour when employed forsnuff. The quantities of the ingredients in forming dif-ferent snufts, and even for forming the same, are sovaried by different manufacturers, that it is impossibleto give any definite proportions, which is partly owingto the character of the snuff being in some measureproduced at the mill by sifting it at different states ofthe process. It may, however, be given as a generalrule, that in whatever way it is prepared, the darkersnuffs contain a larger quantity of leaf, while those of alighter shade are chiefly composed of the stalk.