Chapter 1353: Technology Export
As the American spoke, the steam engine behind him had already heated its boiler, driving the Cotton Gin to slowly begin rotating.
Two technicians took large bundles of seed cotton—that is, cotton bolls freshly picked—and poured them into the feed hopper. Inside the machine, two rows of rapidly spinning comb-like metal teeth hooked onto the cotton fibers and pulled them through a narrow-meshed screen into the drying chamber at the rear.
Since cotton seeds are relatively large, most were filtered out by the comb teeth, and the few that slipped through also couldn't pass the screen. Thus, what entered the drying chamber was almost pure cotton fiber.
The hot air vented by the steam engine was directed into the drying chamber to "blow-dry" the cotton fluff.
When the technicians opened the drying chamber, they retrieved bundles of ginned cotton, completely separated from its seeds.
The entire process took less than ten minutes!
Count Erlach's jaw dropped, astonished by the highly efficient production process. Cotton seeds, after all, were the bane of spinning. If one relied on manual seed removal, it would require seventy or eighty people to process this much cotton.
He couldn't help but exclaim to Dorian, "This machine is incredible, simply like magic."
His heavily Swiss-accented German immediately drew a disdainful glance from an Italian standing nearby.
Count Erlach was, after all, a nobleman and naturally understood some French. His face immediately flushed, and he was about to protest when he heard another Italian say, "Indeed, they merely stole Baron Whitney's patent."
"Reportedly, Baron Whitney has already invented a new Cotton Gin, using something called 'centrifugal separation technology,' which is more than twice as efficient as this machine. Moreover, the cotton it produces can go directly into a spinning machine.
"Currently, he has licensed the new machine to two companies in the Louisiana colony, leading many American farms to choose to transport their seed cotton to New Orleans for processing."
Well, with the excellent research environment of the French Academy of Sciences, Whitney merely dabbled in it during his breaks from developing the high-precision milling machine, and thus invented a new generation of Cotton Gin.
Currently, this machine brings him an annual licensing income of twenty to thirty thousand Francs, while the two companies in Louisiana earn millions in processing fees from American farmers.
Hearing this, Count Erlach froze, stunned. He felt as if he truly was a bumpkin, not even having seen an outdated old machine.
He tugged at his mistress and, pretending nothing had happened, turned and left the American exhibition area.
Ahead was the Parma exhibit. Count Erlach felt a little relieved. After all, Parma was a traditional agricultural nation whose main products were wheat, cheese, and the like. Surely there would be nothing here to make him feel out of his depth again.
However, as soon as he stepped past the fence of the Parma exhibit, he faintly heard the roar of a steam engine once more.
Dorian pointed to the huge, slowly rotating "iron disk" in the center of the exhibit and asked curiously, "My dear, what are they doing there?"
"Ahem..." Count Erlach had no idea. He let out an embarrassed cough and considered whether he should make an escape.
Fortunately, a Parma official's explanation rescued him from his predicament. "Please observe, everyone! This is the most advanced cheese production technology in the world! A Patent from Versailles!"
Well, in reality, it was Joseph's Patent license—he had designed a few gadgets for his sister, based on future models, to help improve Parma's economy. However, he required Parma not to reveal the Patent holder's information.
The Parma official pointed to a massive iron vat: "This is the mixing vat.
"Utilizing technical licensing from the French Brewing Technology Association, our milk can easily stay fresh for a month.
"Dairy farmers from all over transport their yield to the factory, where rennet, starter cultures, salt, and seasonings are added, and then mixed using a steam engine.
"In just 30 minutes, several tons of milk can be uniformly mixed."
Count Erlach's eyes widened once more.
Bern also had a cheese industry, so he was well aware that mixing was the most labor-intensive and time-consuming step in cheese making. Typically, a single horse, working for half a day, could mix less than three hundred pounds of milk.
This machine, running for half an hour, was equivalent to over a dozen horses!
He sighed inwardly, thinking that if he hadn't decided not to return to Switzerland, he would definitely have recommended the council purchase several such machines. Otherwise, before long, all the Swiss would be eating Parma cheese.
However, the Parma official continued to impress upon him: "Look, everyone, that 'round disk' in the back is the pressing machine. It can process 4 tons of curd an hour."
During the cheese-making process, whey needs to be pressed out to obtain a firm, solid texture and reduce water content for long-term preservation.
This was also an extremely labor-intensive step.
Count Erlach was already somewhat numb. If this cheese-making machine ran continuously, it might produce more cheese than half of Bern combined.
He unconsciously walked forward, as several other Parma officials introduced another, even larger machine. "This latest sausage-making machine is not only incredibly fast, but it also produces one and a half kilograms of sausage for every kilogram of meat put in!"
Count Erlach immediately stopped in his tracks.
'How is that possible?!'
Normally, getting half a pound of sausage from one pound of meat was considered lucky. This machine, though, could actually make the meat multiply!
He hastily followed behind the Parma officials, watching as they fed raw pork chunks into a grinder. In less than ten minutes, finely ground meat traveled along a conveyor belt into the mixing vat.
Someone else poured bags of white powder into the mixing vat, which seemed to be flour, along with seasonings and spices.
Then, the mixing vat began to rotate.
The Parma official explained, "Here, we can use the heat from the steam engine to cook the mixture and precisely control the temperature using instruments, surpassing the skill of even the finest sausage makers.
"Of course, this process takes quite a long time.
"So, we have prepared a display of the finished product over there for everyone."
Count Erlach looked towards a long table on the west side, where dozens of carrot-thick sausages were laid out, wrapped in thick oiled paper and tied with string at both ends.
A man dressed as a chef publicly unwrapped the oiled paper, then sliced the pale pink sausage inside into thin pieces and smiled, gesturing for everyone to taste.
Count Erlach instructed a servant to bring him a plate. He speared a slice with his fork and put it in his mouth, chewing.
It wasn't the traditional sausage taste. The saltiness was just right, the meat flavor was rich, and the texture was tender and smooth.
Dorian also nodded repeatedly. "This taste surpasses even Mr. Saenster's skill."
Mr. Saenster was the owner of the most famous sausage shop in their town.
Someone not far away asked the Parma official, "Excuse me, why does this machine make the meat multiply?"
The official offered a mysterious smile. "I'm sorry, sir, this involves a series of Patent restrictions, so I cannot disclose the details. Oh, a Patent from Versailles."
Count Erlach sighed inwardly, concluding that France was indeed the most advanced and powerful nation on the European continent. To think they could invent such Unimaginable technology!
Little did he know that the Crown Prince of France had merely taught the Parmans how to make starch sausages. That was the secret to the 'multiplied' meat.
However, limited by the palates of the era, which hadn't yet been spoiled by all sorts of delicacies, as long as the starch sausages were carefully seasoned, they were absolutely more satisfying than sausages overloaded with salt.
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