Mention has already been made of the provision for illness or accidents, and of the care shown in the many arrangements for maintaining and improving the health and physical development of the girls.  Further evidence of this is found in the airy and well-lighted work-rooms, from which funnels and exhaust fans collect and carry off all dust, and improve the ventilation, so that in spite of the multitudinous operations in progress, the whole place is kept as “spick and span” as a ship of the line.  But another aggressive sign of the firm’s belief in the motto mens sana in corpore sano is the presence of a lady whose whole time is devoted to the physical culture of the girls.  Trained in Swedish athletics, this lady and her assistant undertake the teaching, not only of gymnastics, but of swimming and numerous games.  Every day drill classes are held, an opportunity being thus provided for all the younger girls to attend a half-hour’s lesson twice a week.

The result of all this thoughtful care is abundantly evident in the general air of health and comfort which pervades the whole factory, and in the bright faces which greet us at every turn, as we pass to and fro among the busy workers in this monster hive.

[Illustration—­Black and White Plate:  The Dinner Hour, Bournville.]

Entering now, and turning into the private station, we see thousands of sacks of the freshly-imported beans being transferred to the neighbouring stores.  The new arrivals must first be sifted and picked over to get rid of any that may be unsound, or of any foreign material still remaining.  This is accomplished by a sorting and winnowing machine, which delivers by separate shoots the cleaned beans, graded according to size, and the dust and foreign matter.

A battery of roasters await the survivors of this operation, which are automatically conveyed to the hoppers.  High-pressure steam supplies the requisite heat without waste or smoke, and as the huge drums slowly rotate, experienced workmen, on whose judgment great reliance is placed, carefully watch their contents, and decide when precisely the right degree of roasting has been attained to secure the richest aroma.  Then they are passed through a cooling chamber, after which they are in condition for “breaking down.”

This consists in cracking the shells of the beans, and releasing the kernels or “nibs,” from which the shells and dust are winnowed by a powerful blast.  It is accomplished by carrying the beans mechanically to the cracking machine at a considerable height, whence husks and nibs are allowed to fall before the winnower:  the separated nibs are assorted according to size.  Some of the shells find their way to the Emerald Isle, to be used by the peasants for the weak infusion called “miserables.”

Now comes the important process of grinding, performed between horizontal mill-stones, the friction of which produces heat and melts the “butter,” while it grinds the “nibs” till the whole mass flows, solidifying into a brittle cake when cold.