Scale House #2

Farmers delivering grain to the elevator first stopped at the scale house, where the elevator operator weighed each wagon and its load to determine gross weight, took grain samples with a probe, and tested the grain for size, quality, and moisture because payment was based on weight and water would reduce what the grain was worth. Samples were sometimes put through a sieve so corn could be weighed without dirt and dust. Moisture was measured by heating a small grain sample in a sealed container with an alcohol burner so steam would collect in an attached measuring tube; the more moisture the grain contained, the less the farmer was paid. While waiting for their wagons to be weighed, farmers often gathered around the pot-bellied stove to share experiences and local news.

Atlanta, Illinois · United States