Linseed oil and other seed oils; an industrial manual

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1909 Excerpt: ... to be regarded as manufacturing costs chargeable against output, we readily arrive at intelligent comparisons. These are necessarily based on the seed crushed, since the product consists of two materials. Cost of operation must therefore be considered along with yield of oil. The necessary information for a daily knowledge of the economy of operation is then as follows: (1) Seed crushed, in gross bushels. (2) Impurities in seed, per cent. (3) Seed crushed, in net bushels. (4) Oil made, gallons. (5) Cake made, pounds. (6) Per cent of oil in cake. (7) Coal burned, pounds. (8) Xumber of employees, classed under "labor," with aggregate "labor" pay-roll. (9) Yield of oil = 7j X (4) 3, or 7 X (4)-=-(1) if "working net." (10) Labor per bushel = (8) + (S) or (8) + (1), (11) Coal per bushel = (7)-s-(3) or (7) (1). The last three items give all the information that can readily be obtained daily. The bushels crushed per man employed varies all the way from 20 to 120, making item (10) vary from $.05 to $.0083. Under more carefully supervised operation, the "labor" cost per bushel has varied in one case from $.0193 to $.0216; in another from $.0173 to $.0216; in another from $.0205 to $.0238; in still another from $.0182 to $.0190. An average figure is $.02; and if the average wage is $12.50 per week of 72 hours, each man should produce 625 bushels weekly or 104 bushels daily, say in round figures, 100 bushels. Figures as to yields have been given elsewhere. The coal consumption is usually much higher than it should be, since not a half-dozen linseed-oil mills in the country have power plants that can be considered in any sense economical. Fluctuations have been observed in item (11) of from 4.32 to 12.40. The best plant averaged...