This is a Fanning
Mill from the late 1800s that became a very important piece of farm machinery for
early farmers. It is a peculiar-looking device made of wood, with shaped
handles, rounded edges and like other old-time machinery, fanning mills were
attractively painted in showy colours and designs appearing almost like a piece
of furniture. The colours on this particular one have long since faded away,
but when restored to their natural beauty they are quite attractive.
The purpose
of the Fanning Mill was to remove straw, chaff, stones, dirt and dust, weed
seeds, and light immature seeds from wheat, oats, rye, barley, and other
grains. It was important to remove contaminants for better preservation during
storage and to have mold and grit free flour. Fanning Mills were a great
technical advance over winnowing, which is the hand-process of pouring grain
from one container to another in a breeze to blow away the lighter matter. Fanning
Mills also cleaned the grain more thoroughly than a threshing machine and mills
were kept around farms for a long time to re-clean oats and wheat in the spring
for planting. This particular Fanning Mill would also bag the grains as they
come to the bottom of the tray.
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