What type of dust collection systems did mills have?
Anyway, the early mills had essentially no dust collection systems. Oh, there were probably a few enterprising millers who figured a way to draft dust out of the building. And the early smutters (later scourers)that polished wheat (and some corn cleaners) had fans with exhaust pipes that blew the light chaff out of the building. Later, large dust collectors that looked like inverted cones were used in connection with cleaners, scourers, and some sifters. Early wooden bladed fans were also used. Prior to the 1880s, when roller milling of flour came into vogue, virtually all grain was stone ground. White flour could only be produced by regrinding and passing the flour through several sifting (bolting)processes. Most of the flour in those days was whole wheat. On horizontal millstones, which today are rarely run over 150 rpm, there is little dust created in milling whole wheat flour, even less with corn. More dust is actually created in the bolting process, but most is confined to the bol
