The oats crusher

The parable of those who spend their wealth in God's way is that of a grain that produces seven spikes; in each spike is a hundred grains. God multiplies for whom He wills. God is Bounteous and Knowing. Those who spend their wealth in the way of God — and then do not follow up what they spent with reminders of their generosity or with insults — they will have their reward with their Lord; they have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve. - Quran, 2. The Heifer (al-Baqarah) (261-262)

Pede's Mill is also equipped with an oats crusher. Contrary to milling, which consists in reducing wheat to powder, here a hard husk is crushed and its contents flattened.

It uses an entirely different procedure and works with two metal cylinders (rollers). They turn in opposite directions and crush the oat grains that pass between them. Depending on the spacing between the cylinders, the crushing will be more or less fine.

The two cylinders turn at the same speed and oats will simply be flattened. To make them more efficient, the cylinders have grooves that will give a better grip on the oats. The grooves have the same function as the millstones' furrows: they make the cylinders more aggressive to achieve a more efficient oats crushing.

This machine is used to crush oats to feed draught horses, formerly employed on farms to work on the fields. The oats crusher has the advantage of generating less dust than millstones would, which is preferable for horse feeding. Horses dislike scattering dust when they exhale while feeding.

The next chapter at a glance:

Where we see how all machines in this particular mill work in unison to obtain a greater automation and increase production.