Scale House #2

Scale House #2. The J.H. Hawes Grain Elevator Museum. What Did a Farmer Do at the Scale House?, If you were a farmer delivering a load of grain here at my elevator, the scale house would be the first stop upon your arrival. This is where I would weigh your wagon with its load of grain so I could determine its gross weight (that's the weight of both your wagon and the grain in it). Then I would use a grain probe to get samples of your grain to test and rate its quality. I'd look for two things: the size/quality of your grain and the amount of moisture in your grain. I wanted to know about moisture because I paid for your grain by its weight and I wasn't about to pay you for water!, Grain Probe, A grain probe was used to obtain samples of a farmer's grain. At least one, but sometimes several samples were collected, put through a sieve, and then weighed by the elevator operator to determine the quality of the grain., Sieve, The elevator operator collected samples of the farmer's grain and put them through a sieve so that the corn could be weighed and other particles such as dirt and dust would not be included in the weight of the sample., As farmers waited to have their wagons of grain weighed, they often gathered inside the Scale House around the pot-bellied stove. Without email, cell phones, or other means of instant communication, this wait gave them time to share experiences and catch up on the local news., Which of the following instruments found here at the Scale House do you think I used to determine the amount of moisture in your grain?, (three different flaps:), Sieve, (under this flap:), Sorry, I didn't use this to test the moisture content of your grain. I used a sieve to remove dirt and other non-grain particles from the sample of your grain, so these would not be included when I weighed your grain., Alcohol Burner, (under this flap:), That's right. I would put a small amount of your grain in a sealed container that had a tube extending out of the top of it that connected to a measuring tube to one side. I'd use the alcohol burner to heat your sample. This caused any moisture in your grain to rise up through the tube in the form of steam, which would then collect in the attached tube where I could measure it. The more moisture in your grain, the less I would pay you for it., Wooden Scale, (under this flap:), This wooden platform is where you would park your wagon. It is actually a large scale that I'd use to weigh your wagon and the grain in it. I wouldn't use this to test for moisture in your grain.