DRIVEN MACHINES
FARM WATERWORKS
Every farm has its own water supply. Some are very simple, others are
quite elaborate. It is both possible and practical for a farmer to have
his own tap water under pressure on the same plan as the city. When good
water is abundant within 75 feet of the surface of the ground the farm
supply may be had cheaper and better than the city. Even deep well
pumping is practical with good machinery rightly installed. Farm
waterworks should serve the house and the watering troughs under a
pressure of at least 40 pounds at the ground level. The system should
also include water for sprinkling the lawn and for irrigating the
garden. If strawberries or other intensive money crops are grown for
market there should be sufficient water in the pipes to save the crop in
time of drouth. These different uses should all be credited to the farm
waterworks system pro rata, according to the amounts used by the
different departments of the farm. The books would then prove that the
luxury of hot and cold running water in the farmhouse costs less than
the average city family pays.
_Three Systems of Water Storage._--The first plan adopted for supplying
water under pressure on farms was the overhead tank. The water was
lifted up into the tank by a windmill and force pump. Because wind
power proved rather uncertain farmers adopted the gasoline engine,
usually a two horsepower engine.
The second water storage plan was the air-tight steel water-tank to be
placed in the cellar or in a pit underground. The same pump and power
supplies the water for this system, but it also requires an air-pump to
supply pressure to force the water out of the tank.
The third plan forces the water out of the well by air pressure, as it
is needed for use. No water pump is required in this system; the
air-compressor takes its place.
[Illustration: Figure 115.--The Farm Pump. It superseded the iron-bound
bucket, the slimy old bucket, the malaria-lined bucket that hung in the
well, but it wore out the women. Oil was never wasted on its creaking
joints. Later it was fitted with a stuffing-box and an air-chamber, and
the plunger was hitched to the windmill.
To the right are shown two kinds of post-hole diggers. The upper digger
is sometimes used to clear the fine earth out of the bottom of a hole
dug by the lower digger.]
_Suction-Pumps._--The word suction, when applied to pumps, is a
misnomer. The principle upon which such pumps work is this: The pump
piston drives the air out of the pump cylinder which produces a vacuum.
The pressure of the atmosphere is about fifteen pounds per square inch
of surface. This pressure forces sufficient water up through the
so-called suction pipe to fill the vacuum in the cylinder. The water is
held in the cylinder by foot-valves or clack-valves. As the piston again
descends into the cylinder it plunges into water instead of air. A
foot-valve in the bottom end of the hollow piston opens while going down
and closes to hold and lift the water as the piston rises. Water from
the well is forced by atmospheric pressure to follow the piston and the
pump continues to lift water so long as the joints remain air-tight. The
size of piston and length of stroke depend on the volume of water
required, the height to which it must be lifted and the power available.
A small power and a small cylinder will lift a small quantity of water
to a considerable height. But increasing the volume of water requires a
larger pump and a great increase in the power to operate it. The size of
the delivery pipe has a good deal to do with the flow of water. When
water is forced through a small pipe at considerable velocity, there is
a good deal of friction. Often the amount of water delivered is reduced
because the discharge pipe is too small. Doubling the diameter of a pipe
increases its capacity four times. Square turns in the discharge pipe
are obstructions; either the pipe must be larger or there will be a
diminished flow of water. Some pump makers are particular to furnish
easy round bends instead of the ordinary right-angled elbows. A great
many pumps are working under unnecessary handicaps, simply because
either the supply pipe or discharge pipe is not in proportion to the
capacity of the pump, or the arrangement of the pipes is faulty.
[Illustration: Figure 116.--Hand Force-Pump. Showing two ways of
attaching wooden handles to hand force-pumps.]
[Illustration: Figure 117.--Rotary Pump. Twin water-chamber rotary pumps
take water through the bottom and divide the supply, carrying half of
the stream around to the left and the other half to the right. The two
streams meet and are discharged at the top.]
[Illustration: Figure 118.--Section of Rotary Pump.]
_Rotary Pumps._--A twin-chamber rotary pump admits water at the bottom
of the chamber and forces it out through the top. Intermeshing cogs and
rotary cams revolve outward from the center at the bottom, as shown by
the arrows in Figure 118. The stream of water is divided by the cams, as
it enters the supply pipe at the bottom, and half of the water is
carried each way around the outsides of the double chamber. These
streams of water meet at the top of the chamber, where they unite to
fill the discharge pipe. These pumps operate without air-chambers and
supply water in a continuous stream. They may be speeded up to throw
water under high pressure for fire fighting, but for economy in ordinary
use the speed is kept down to 200 revolutions, or thereabout. Rotary
pumps are also made with one single water chamber cylinder. The pump
head, or shaft, is placed a little off center. A double end cam moves
the water. Both ends of the cam fit against the bore of the cylinder. It
works loosely back and forth through a slotted opening in the pump head.
As the shaft revolves the eccentric motion of the double cam changes the
sizes of the water-pockets. The pockets are largest at the intake and
smallest at the discharge. Rotary pumps are comparatively cheap, as
regards first cost, but they are not economical of power. In places
where the water-table is near the surface of the ground they will throw
water in a very satisfactory manner. But they are more used in
refineries and factories for special work, such as pumping oil and other
heavy liquids.
_Centrifugal Pumps._--The invention and improvement of modern
centrifugal pumps has made the lifting of water in large quantities
possible. These pumps are constructed on the turbine principle. Water is
lifted in a continuous stream by a turbine wheel revolving under high
speed. Water is admitted at the center and discharged at the outside of
the casing. Centrifugal pumps work best at depths ranging from twenty to
sixty feet. Manufacturers claim that farmers can afford to lift
irrigation water sixty feet with a centrifugal pump driven by a kerosene
engine.
The illustrations show the principle upon which the pump works and the
most approved way of setting pumps and engines. Centrifugal pumps
usually are set in dry wells a few feet above the water-table. While
these pumps have a certain amount of suction, it is found that short
supply pipes are much more efficient. Where water is found in abundance
within from 15 to 30 feet of the surface, and the wells may be so
constructed that the pull-down, or the lowering of the water while
pumping is not excessive, then it is possible to lift water profitably
to irrigate crops in the humid sections. Irrigation in such cases, in
the East, is more in the nature of insurance against drouth. Valuable
crops, such as potatoes and strawberries, may be made to yield double,
or better, by supplying plenty of moisture at the critical time in crop
development. It is a new proposition in eastern farming that is likely
to develop in the near future.
[Illustration: Figure 119.--Centrifugal Pump. This style of pump is used
in many places for irrigation. It runs at high speed, which varies
according to the size of the pump. It takes water at the center and
discharges it at the outside of the casing.]
[Illustration: Figure 120.--Air Pressure Pump. Pumping water by air
pressure requires a large air container capable of resisting a pressure
of 100 pounds per square inch. This illustration shows the pressure
tank, engine, air-compressor, well and submerged pump.]
_Air Pressure Pump._--Instead of pumping water out of the well some
farmers pump air into the well to force the water out. A double
compartment cylindrical tank is placed in the water in the well. These
tanks are connected with the farm water distributing system to be
carried in pipes to the house and to the stock stables. Air under a
pressure of from 50 to 100 pounds per square inch is stored in a steel
tank above ground. Small gas-pipes connect this air pressure tank with
the air-chamber of the air-water tank in the well. A peculiar automatic
valve regulates the air so that it enters the compartment that is
filled, or partly filled, with water, and escapes from the empty one so
the two compartments work together alternately. That is, the second
chamber fills with water, while the first chamber is being drawn upon.
Then the first chamber fills while the second is being emptied. This
system will work in a well as small as eight inches in diameter, and to
a depth of 140 feet. It might be made to work at a greater depth, but it
seems hardly practical to do so for the reason that, after allowing for
friction in the pipes, 100 pounds of air pressure is necessary to lift
water 150 feet. An air tank of considerable size is needed to provide
storage for sufficient air to operate the system without attention for
several days. Careful engineering figures are necessary to account for
the different depths of farm wells, and the various amounts of water and
power required. For instance: The air tank already contains 1,000
gallons of air at atmospheric pressure--then: Forcing 1,000 gallons of
atmospheric air into a 1,000-gallon tank will give a working pressure of
15 pounds per square inch; 2,000 gallons, 30 pounds; 3,000 gallons, 45
pounds, and so on. Therefore, a pressure of 100 pounds in a 1,000-gallon
tank (42 inches by 14 feet) would require 6,600 gallons of free
atmosphere, in addition to the original 1,000 gallons, and the tank
would then contain 1,000 gallons of compressed air under a working
pressure of 100 pounds per square inch. A one cylinder compressor 6
inches by 6 inches, operating at a speed of 200 R.P.M. would fill this
tank to a working pressure of 100 pounds in about 50 minutes. One gallon
of air will deliver one gallon of water at the faucet. But the air must
have the same pressure as the water, and there must be no friction.
Thus, one gallon of air under a working pressure of forty-five pounds,
will, theoretically, deliver one gallon of water to a height of 100
feet. But it takes three gallons of free air to make one gallon of
compressed air at forty-five pounds pressure. If the lift is 100 feet,
then 1,000 gallons of air under a pressure of forty-five pounds will
theoretically deliver 1,000 gallons of water. Practically, the air tank
would have to be loaded to a very much greater pressure to secure the
1,000 gallons of water before losing the elasticity of the compressed
air. If one thousand gallons of water is needed on the farm every day,
then the air pump would have to work about one hour each morning. This
may not be less expensive than pumping the water directly, but it offers
the advantage of water fresh from the well. Pure air pumped into the
well tends to keep the water from becoming stale.
[Illustration: Figure 121.--(1) Single-Gear Pump Jack. This type of jack
is used for wells from 20 to 40 feet deep. (2) Double-Gear, or
Multiple-Gear Pump Jack. This is a rather powerful jack designed for
deep wells or for elevating water into a high water-tank.]
[Illustration: Figure 122.--Post Pump Jack. This arrangement is used in
factories when floor space is valuable. The wide-face driving-pulley is
shown to the left.]
[Illustration: Figure 123.--Three Jacks for Different Purposes. At the
left is a reverse motion jack having the same speed turning either right
or left. The little jack in the center is for light work at high belt
speed. To the right is a powerful jack intended for slow speeds such as
hoisting or elevating grain.]
[Illustration: Figure 124.--Speed Jack, for reducing speed between
engine and tumbling rod or to increase speed between tumbling rod and
the driven machine.]
[Illustration: Figure 125.--The Speed Jack on the left is used either to
reduce or increase tumbling rod speed and to reverse the motion. The
Speed Jack on the right transfers power either from belt to tumbling rod
or reverse. It transforms high belt speed to low tumbling rod speed, or
vice versa.]
_Pump Jacks and Speed Jacks._--Farm pumps and speed-reducing jacks are
partners in farm pumping. Force-pumps should not run faster than forty
strokes per minute. Considerable power is required to move the piston
when the water is drawn from a deep well and forced into an overhead
tank. Jacks are manufactured which bolt directly to the pump, and there
are pumps and jacks built together. A pump jack should have good, solid
gearing to reduce the speed. Spur-gearing is the most satisfactory.
Bevel-gears are wasteful of power when worked under heavy loads. Power
to drive a pump jack is applied to a pulley at least twelve inches in
diameter with a four-inch face when belting is used. If a rope power
conveyor is used, then pulleys of larger diameters are required to
convey the same amount of power.
Only general terms may be used in describing the farm pump, because the
conditions differ in each case. Generally speaking, farmers fail to
appreciate the amount of power used, and they are more than likely to
buy a jack that is too light. Light machinery may do the work, but it
goes to pieces quicker, while a heavy jack with solid connections will
operate the pump year in and year out without making trouble. For
increasing or reducing either speed or power some kind of jack is
needed. All farm machines have their best speed. A certain number of
revolutions per minute will accomplish more and do better work than any
other speed. To apply power to advantage speed jacks have been invented
to adjust the inaccuracies between driver and driven.
IRRIGATION BY PUMPING
The annual rainfall in the United States varies in different parts of
the country from a few inches to a few feet. Under natural conditions
some soils get too much moisture and some too little. Irrigation is
employed to supply the deficiency and drainage, either natural or
artificial, carries off the excess. Irrigation and drainage belong
together. Irrigation fills the soil with moisture and drainage empties
it. Thus, a condition is established that supplies valuable farm plants
with both air and moisture. In the drier portions of the United States,
nothing of value will grow without irrigation. In the so-called humid
districts deficiency of moisture at the critical time reduces the yield
and destroys the profit. The value of irrigation has been demonstrated
in the West, and the practice is working eastward.
[Illustration: Figure 126.--Centrifugal Pump Setting. When used for
irrigation, centrifugal pumps are set as close to the ground water as
practical.]
Irrigation is the new handmaiden of prosperity. A rainy season is a
bountiful one. Irrigation supplies the bounty without encouraging
destructive fungus diseases. Where water is abundant within easy reach,
pumping irrigation water is thoroughly practical. Improvements in pumps
in recent years have increased their capacity and insured much greater
reliability. A centrifugal pump is recommended for depths down to 75
feet; beyond this depth the necessity of installing more expensive
machinery places the business of pumping for irrigation on a different
plane. A centrifugal pump will throw more water with less machinery than
any other device, but like all other mechanical inventions, it has its
limitations. In figuring economical pumping, the minimum quantity should
be at least 100 gallons per minute, because time is an object, and
irrigation, if done at all, should cover an area sufficient to bring
substantial returns. Centrifugal pumps should be placed near the surface
of the water in the well. For this reason, a large, dry well is dug down
to the level of the water-table and the pump is solidly bolted to a
concrete foundation built on the bottom of this well. A supply pipe may
be extended any depth below the pump, but the standing water surface in
the well should reach within a few feet of the pump. The pump and supply
must be so well balanced against each other that the pull-down from
pumping will not lower the water-level in the well more than twenty feet
below the pump. The nearer the ground water is to the pump the better.
The water well below the pump may be bored, or a perforated well pipe
may be driven; or several well points may be connected. The kind of well
must depend upon the condition of the earth and the nature of the water
supply. Driven wells are more successful when water is found in a
stratum of coarse gravel.
Before buying irrigation machinery, it is a good plan to test the water
supply by temporary means. Any good farm pump may be hitched to a
gasoline engine to determine if the water supply is lasting or not.
Permanent pumping machinery should deliver the water on high ground. A
main irrigation ditch may be run across the upper end of the field. This
ditch should hold the water high enough so it may be tapped at
convenient places to run through the corrugations to reach the roots of
the plants to be benefited. There are different systems of irrigation
designed to fit different soils. Corrugations are the cheapest and the
most satisfactory when soils are loose enough to permit the water to
soak into the soil sideways, as well as to sink down. The water should
penetrate the soil on both sides of the corrugations for distances of
several inches. Corrugations should be straight and true and just far
enough apart so the irrigation water will soak across and meet between.
Some soils will wash or gully out if the fall is too rapid. In such
cases it may be necessary to terrace the land by following the natural
contour around the ridges so the water may flow gently. Where the fall
is very slight, that is, where the ground is so nearly level that it
slopes away less than six inches in a hundred feet, it becomes necessary
to prepare the land by building checks and borders to confine the water
for a certain length of time. Then it is let out into the next check. In
the check and border system the check bank on the lower side has an
opening which is closed during the soaking period with a canvas dam.
When the canvas is lifted the water flows through and fills the next
check. This system is more expensive, and it requires more knowledge of
irrigation to get it started, and it is not likely to prove
satisfactory in the East.
For fruits and vegetables, what is known as the furrow system of
irrigation is the most practical. An orchard is irrigated by plowing
furrows on each side of each row of trees. The water is turned into
these furrows and it runs across the orchard like so many little
rivulets. Potatoes are irrigated on the same plan by running water
through between the rows after the potatoes have been ridged by a double
shovel-plow. This plan also works well with strawberries. After the land
is prepared for irrigation, the expense of supplying water to a fruit
orchard, strawberry patch or potato field is very little compared with
the increase in yield. In fact, there are seasons when one irrigation
will save the crop and produce an abundant yield, when otherwise it
would have been almost a total loss.
_Overhead Spray Irrigation._--The most satisfactory garden irrigation is
the overhead spray system. Posts are set ten feet apart in rows 50 feet
apart. Water pipes are laid on the tops of the posts and held loosely in
position by large staples. These water pipes are perforated by drilling
a line of small holes about three feet apart in a straight line along
one side of the pipe. The holes are tapped and small brass nozzles are
screwed in. The overhead pipes are connected with standpipes at the
highest place, generally at the ends of the rows. The pipe-lines are
loosely coupled to the standpipes to permit them to roll partly around
to direct the hundreds of spray nozzles as needed.
[Illustration: Figure 127.--Overhead Irrigation. Diagram showing the
arrangement of pipes for irrigating one acre of land. The pipes are
supported on posts six feet high.]
Six feet high is sufficient to throw a fine mist or spray twenty-five
feet, which is far enough to meet the spray from the next row, so the
ground will be completely covered. To do this the pipes are rolled from
one side to the other, through a 90 degree arc to throw the spray on
both sides. The pipes usually are laid with a grade which follows down
the slope of the land. A fall of one foot in fifty is sufficient. Water
is always admitted at the upper end of each pipe-line to flow down by
gravity, assisted by tank pressure. A pressure of about forty pounds is
needed to produce a fine spray, and to send it across to meet the
opposite jets. The little brass nozzles are drilled with about a
one-eighth inch hollow. But the jet opening is small, about No. 20 W. G.
This gives a wire-drawn stream that quickly vaporizes when it meets the
resistance of the atmosphere. When properly installed a fine misty rain
is created, which quickly takes the same temperature as the air, and
settles so gently that the most delicate plants are not injured.
_Quantity of Water to Use._--Good judgment is necessary in applying
water to crops in regard to quantity, as well as the time of making
application. Generally speaking, it is better to wait until the crop
really needs moisture. When the pump is started give the crop plenty
with the expectation that one irrigation will be sufficient. Much
depends upon the amount of moisture in the soil; also the kind of crop
and weather conditions enter into the problem. On sandy land that is
very dry where drainage is good, water may be permitted to run in the
corrugations for several days until the ground is thoroughly soaked.
When potatoes are forming, or clover is putting down its big root
system, a great deal of water is needed. Irrigation sufficient to make
two inches of rainfall may be used to advantage for such crops under
ordinary farming conditions. It is necessary after each irrigation to
break the soil crust by cultivation to prevent evaporation. This is just
as important after irrigation as it is after a rain shower. Also any
little pockets that hold water must be carefully drained out, otherwise
the crop will be injured by standing water. We are not supposed to have
such pockets on land that has been prepared for irrigation.
_Kind of Crops to Irrigate._--Wheat, oats, barley, etc., may be helped
with one irrigation from imminent failure to a wealth of production. But
these rainfall grain crops do not come under the general classification
that interests the regular irrigation farmer beyond his diversity plans
for producing considerable variety. Fruits, roots, clover, alfalfa,
vegetables and Indian corn are money crops under irrigation. Certain
seed crops yield splendidly when watered. An apple orchard properly
cared for and irrigated just at the right time will pay from five
hundred to a thousand dollars per acre. Small fruits are just as
valuable. These successes account for the high prices of irrigated land.
In the East and in the great Middle West, valuable crops are cut short
or ruined by drouth when the fruit or corn is forming. It makes no
difference how much rain comes along at other times in the year, if the
roots cannot find moisture at the critical time, the yield is reduced
often below the profit of raising and harvesting the crop. Strawberry
blossoms shrivel and die in the blooming when rain fails. Irrigation is
better than rain for strawberries. Strawberries under irrigation may be
made to yield more bushels than potatoes under humid conditions. One
hundred bushels of strawberries per acre sounds like a fairy tale, but
it is possible on rich land under irrigation.
The cost of pumping for irrigation, where the well and machinery is used
for no other purpose, must be charged up to the crop. The items of
expense are interest on the first cost of the pumping machinery,
depreciation, upkeep and running expenses. On Eastern farms, however,
where diversified farming is the business, this expense may be divided
among the different lines of work. Where live-stock is kept, it is
necessary to have a good, reliable water supply for the animals. A
reservoir on high ground so water may be piped to the watering troughs
and to the house is a great convenience. Also the same engine that does
the pumping may be used for other work in connection with the farm, so
that the irrigation pump engine, instead of lying idle ten or eleven
months in the year, may be utilized to advantage and made to earn its
keep. Well-water contains many impurities. For this reason, it is
likely to be valuable for crop growing purposes in a wider sense than
merely to supply moisture. Well-water contains lime, and lime is
beneficial to most soils. It has been noticed that crops grow especially
well when irrigated from wells.
[Illustration: Figure 128.--Power Transmission. Circular motion is
converted into reciprocating motion by the different lengths of the two
pitman cranks which cause the upper wheel to oscillate. Power is carried
to a distance by wires. To reduce friction the wires are supported by
swinging hangers. Sometimes wooden rods are used instead of wires to
lessen expansion and contraction.]
_House and Barns Supplied from a Reservoir._--A farm reservoir may
sometimes be built very cheaply by throwing a dam across a narrow hollow
between two hills, or ridges. On other farms, it is necessary to scrape
out a hole on the highest ground within reach. For easy irrigation a
reservoir is necessary, and it is economical because the pump may work
overtime and supply enough water so the irrigation may be done quickly
and with sufficient water to make it effective. When the cost of the
reservoir can be charged up to the different departments of the
business, such as irrigation, live-stock and house use, the cost is
divided and the profits are multiplied.
_Power Conveyor._--Circular motion is converted into reciprocal motion
to operate a pump at a distance from the engine. The short jack crank
oscillates the driving pulley to move the conveyor wires back and forth.
The distance to which power may be carried is limited by the expansion
and contraction of the conveying wires. Wooden rods are better under
extremes of temperature. Where an engine is used night and morning in
the dairy house to run a cream separator, this kind of power
transmission may be worked to operate the pump at the house. Light wire
hangers will support the line wires or rods. They should be about three
feet in length, made fast at top and bottom to prevent wear. The spring
of a No. 10 wire three feet long is sufficient to swing the length of a
pump stroke and the friction is practically nothing.
ELECTRICITY ON THE FARM
Electric current in some sections may be purchased from electric
railways or city lighting plants. But the great majority of farms are
beyond the reach of high tension transmission cables. In some places
three or four farmers may club together and buy a small lighting plant
to supply their own premises with both light and power. Unless an
engineer is employed to run it trouble is sure to follow, because one
family does all of the work and others share equally in the benefits.
The solution is for each farmer to install a small plant of his own.
The proposition is not so difficult as it sounds. Two-horsepower plants
are manufactured for this very purpose. But there is more to it than
buying a dynamo and a few lamp bulbs. A farm electric system should
supply power to run all of the light stationary machinery about the
farm, and that means storage batteries, and the use of one or more small
electric motors. There are several ways to arrange the plant, but to
save confusion it is better to study first the storage battery plan and
to start with an engine large enough to pump water and run the dynamo at
the same time. It is a good way to do two jobs at once--you store water
enough in the supply tank to last twenty-four or forty-eight hours, and
at the same time you store up sufficient electricity to run the
cream-separator for a week. Electric power is the only power that is
steady enough to get all of the cream.
[Illustration: Figure 129.--Electric Power Plant. A practical farm
generator and storage battery, making a complete farm electric plant
that will develop and store electricity for instant use in any or all of
the farm buildings.]
Refrigeration is a profitable way to use electric power. There are small
automatic refrigerator machines that maintain low temperatures to
preserve food products. This branch of the work may be made profitable.
Laundry work on the farm was principally hand labor until the small
power washers and wringers were invented. Now a small electric motor
takes the blue out of Monday, and the women wear smiles. Electric
flatirons afford the greatest comfort on Tuesday. The proper heat is
maintained continually until the last piece is ironed. Cooking by
electricity is another great success. Some women buy separate cooking
utensils, such as toasters, chafing dishes and coffee percolators.
Others invest in a regular electric cooking range at a cost of fifty
dollars and feel that the money was well spent. It takes about 100
K.W.H. per month in hot weather to cook by electricity for a family of
four. In winter, when heat is more of a luxury, the coal or wood range
will save half of the electric current. Dishwashing by electricity is
another labor-saver three times a day. Vacuum cleaners run by
electricity take the dust and microbes out of floor rugs with less hand
labor than pushing a carpet sweeper. Incubators are better heated by
electricity than any other way. Brooders come under the same class.
Sewing-machines were operated by electricity in sweatshops years
ago--because it paid. Farm women are now enjoying the same privilege.
Electric lighting on the farm is the most spectacular, if not the most
interesting result of electric generation in the country. This feature
of the subject was somewhat overtaxed by talkative salesmen
representing some of the pioneer manufacturers of electric lighting
plants, but the business has steadied down. Real electric generating
machinery is being manufactured and sold on its merits in small units.
Not many miles from Chicago there is an electric lighting plant on a
dairy farm that is giving satisfaction. The stables are large and they
are managed on the plan of milking early in the morning and again in the
middle of the afternoon. The morning work requires a great deal of light
in the different stables, more light than ordinary, because the milking
is done by machinery. The milking machine air-pump is driven by
electricity generated on the farm, the power being supplied by a
kerosene engine.
Electricity on this farm is used in units, separate lines extending to
the different buildings. The lighting plant is operated on what is known
as the 32-volt system; the rating costs less to install than some others
and the maintenance is less than when a higher voltage is used. I
noticed also that there are fewer parts in connection with the plant
than in other electric light works that I have examined.
Technical knowledge of electricity and its behavior under different
circumstances is hardly necessary to a farmer, because the manufacturers
have simplified the mechanics of electric power and lighting to such an
extent that it is only necessary to use ordinary precaution to run the
plant to its capacity.
At the same time it is just as well to know something about generators,
switchboards and the meanings of such terms and names as volt, ampere,
battery poles, voltmeter, ammeter, rheostat, discharge switch,
underload circuit breaker, false fuse blocks, etc., because familiarity
with these names, and the parts they represent gives the person
confidence in charging the batteries. Such knowledge also supplies a
reason for the one principal battery precaution, which is not to use out
all of the electricity the batteries contain.
Those who have electric lighting plants on the farm do not seem to feel
the cost of running the plants, because they use the engine for other
purposes. Generally manufacturers figure about 1 H.P. extra to run a
dynamo to supply from 25 to 50 lights. My experience with farm engines
is that for ordinary farm work such as driving the cream separator,
working the pump and grinding feed, a two-horse power engine is more
useful than any other size. Farmers who conduct business in the usual
way will need a three-horsepower engine if they contemplate adding an
electric lighting system to the farm equipment.
Among the advantages of an electric lighting system is the freedom from
care on the part of the women. There are no lamps to clean or broken
chimneys to cut a finger, so that when the system is properly installed
the only work the women have to do is to turn the switches to throw the
lights on or off as needed.
The expense in starting a farm electric light plant may be a little more
than some other installations, but it seems to be more economical in
service when figured from a farmer's standpoint, taking into
consideration the fact that he is using power for generating electricity
that under ordinary farm management goes to waste.
A three-horsepower engine will do the same amount of work with the same
amount of gasoline that a two-horsepower engine will do. This statement
may not hold good when figured in fractions, but it will in farm
practice. Also when running a pump or cream separator the engine is
capable of doing a little extra work so that the storage batteries may
be charged with very little extra expense.
On one dairy farm a five-horsepower kerosene engine is used to
furnish power for various farm purposes. The engine is belted to a
direct-current generator of the shunt-wound type. The generator is wired
to an electric storage battery of 88 ampere hour capacity. The battery
is composed of a number of separate cells. The cells are grouped
together in jars. These jars contain the working parts of the batteries.
As each jar of the battery is complete in itself, any one jar may be cut
out or another added without affecting the other units. The switchboard
receives current either from the battery or from the engine and
generator direct. There are a number of switches attached to the
switchboard, which may be manipulated to turn the current in any
direction desired.
Some provision should be made for the renewal of electric lamps. Old
lamps give less light than new ones, and the manufacturers should meet
customers on some kind of a fair exchange basis. Tungsten lamps are
giving good satisfaction for farm use. These lamps are economical of
current, which means a reduction of power to supply the same amount of
light. The Mazda lamp is another valuable addition to the list of
electric lamps.
The Wisconsin _Agriculturist_ publishes a list of 104 different uses for
electricity on farms. Many of the electrical machines are used for
special detail work in dairies where cheese or butter is made in
quantity. Sugar plantations also require small units of power that
would not apply to ordinary farming. Some of the work mentioned is extra
heavy, such as threshing and cutting ensilage. Other jobs sound trivial,
but they are all possible labor-savers. Here is the list:
"Oat crushers, alfalfa mills, horse groomers, horse clippers, hay
cutters, clover cutters, corn shellers, ensilage cutters, corn crackers,
branding irons, currying machines, feed grinders, flailing machines,
live stock food warmers, sheep shears, threshers, grain graders, root
cutters, bone grinders, hay hoists, clover hullers, rice threshers, pea
and bean hullers, gas-electric harvesters, hay balers, portable motors
for running threshers, fanning-mills, grain elevators, huskers and
shredders, grain drying machines, binder motors, wheat and corn
grinders, milking machines, sterilizing milk, refrigeration, churns,
cream-separators, butter workers, butter cutting-printing, milk cooling
and circulating pumps, milk clarifiers, cream ripeners, milk mixers,
butter tampers, milk shakers, curd grinders, pasteurizers, bottle
cleaners, bottle fillers, concrete mixers, cider mills, cider presses,
spraying machines, wood splitters, auto trucks, incubators, hovers,
telephones, electric bells, ice cutters, fire alarms, electric vehicles,
electro cultures, water supply, pumping, water sterilizers, fruit
presses, blasting magnetos, lighting, interior telephones, vulcanizers,
pocket flash lights, ice breakers, grindstones, emery wheels, wood saws,
drop hammers, soldering irons, glue pots, cord wood saws, egg testers,
burglar alarms, bell ringing transformers, devices for killing insects
and pests, machine tools, molasses heaters, vacuum cleaners, portable
lamps to attract insects, toasters, hot plates, grills, percolators,
flatirons, ranges, toilette articles, water heaters, fans, egg boilers,
heating pads, dishwashers, washing machines, curling irons, forge
blowers."
GASOLINE HOUSE LIGHTING
Gasoline gas for house lighting is manufactured in a small generator by
evaporating gasoline into gas and mixing it with air, about 5 per cent
gas and 95 per cent air. We are all familiar with the little brass
gasoline torch heater that tinners and plumbers use to heat their
soldering irons. The principle is the same.
There are three systems of using gasoline gas for farmhouse lighting
purposes, the hollow wire, tube system, and single lamp system.
The hollow wire system carries the liquid gasoline through the circuit
in a small pipe called a hollow wire. Each lamp on the circuit takes a
few drops of gasoline as needed, converts it into gas, mixes the gas
with the proper amount of air and produces a fine brilliant light. Each
lamp has its own little generator and is independent of all other lamps
on the line.
The tube system of gasoline gas lighting is similar in appearance, but
the tubes are larger and look more like regular gas pipes. In the tube
system the gas is generated and mixed with air before it gets into the
distribution tube, so that lamps do not require separate generators.
In the separate lamp system each lamp is separate and independent. Each
lamp has a small supply of gasoline in the base of the lamp and has a
gas generator attached to the burner, which converts the gasoline into
gas, mixes it with the proper amount of air and feeds it into the burner
as required. Farm lanterns are manufactured that work on this principle.
They produce a brilliant light.
By investigating the different systems of gasoline gas lighting in use
in village stores and country homes any farmer can select the system
that fits into his home conditions to the best advantage. In one
farmhouse the owner wanted gasoline gas street lamps on top of his big
concrete gateposts, and this was one reason why he decided to adopt
gasoline gas lighting and to use the separate lamp system.
ACETYLENE GAS
Acetylene lighting plants are intended for country use beyond the reach
of city gas mains or electric cables. Carbide comes in lump form in
steel drums. It is converted into gas by a generator that is fitted with
clock work to drop one or more lumps into water as gas is needed to keep
up the pressure. Acetylene gas is said to be the purest of all
illuminating gases. Experiments in growing delicate plants in
greenhouses lighted with acetylene seem to prove this claim to be
correct.
The light also is bright, clear and powerful. The gas is explosive when
mixed with air and confined, so that precautions are necessary in regard
to using lanterns or matches near the generators. The expense of
installing an acetylene plant in a farm home has prevented its general
use.
WOOD-SAW FRAMES
There are a number of makes of saw frames for use on farms, some of
which are very simple, while others are quite elaborate. Provision
usually is made for dropping the end of the stick as it is cut.
Sometimes carriers are provided to elevate the blocks onto a pile.
Extension frames to hold both ends of the stick give more or less
trouble, because when the stick to be sawed is crooked, it is almost
impossible to prevent binding. If a saw binds in the kerf, very often
the uniform set is pinched out of alignment, and there is some danger of
buckling the saw, so that for ordinary wood sawing it is better to have
the end of the stick project beyond the jig. If the saw is sharp and has
the right set and the right motion, it will cut the stick off quickly
and run free while the end is dropping to the ground.
The quickest saw frames oscillate, being supported on legs that are
hinged to the bottom of the frame. Oscillating frames work easier than
sliding frames. Sliding frames are sometimes provided with rollers, but
roller frames are not steady enough. For cross sawing lumber V-shaped
grooves are best. No matter what the feeding device is, it should always
be protected by a hood over the saw. The frame should fall back of its
own weight, bringing the hood with it, so that the saw is always covered
except when actually engaged with the stick. Saw-mandrels vary in
diameter and length, but in construction they are much alike. For wood
sawing the shaft should be 1-3/8" or 1-1/2" in diameter. The shaft runs
in two babbitted boxes firmly bolted to the saw frame. The frame itself
should be well made and well braced.
ROOT PULPER
There are root pulpers with concave knives which slice roots in such a
way as to bend the slices and break them into thousands of leafy shreds.
The principle is similar to bending a number of sheets of paper so that
each sheet will slide past the next one. Animals do not chew roots when
fed in large solid pieces. Cattle choke trying to swallow them whole,
but they will munch shredded roots with apparent patience and evident
satisfaction. American farmers are shy on roots. They do not raise roots
in quantities because it requires a good deal of hand labor, but roots
make a juicy laxative and they are valuable as an appetizer and they
carry mineral. Pulped roots are safe to feed and they offer the best
mixing medium for crushed grains and other concentrated foods.
FEED CRUSHER
Instead of grinding grain for feeding, we have what is known as a
crusher which operates on the roller-mill principle. It breaks the
grains into flour by crushing instead of grinding. It has the advantage
of doing good work quickly. Our feed grinding is done in the two-story
corncrib and granary. It is one of the odd jobs on the farm that every
man likes. The grain is fed automatically into the machine by means of
the grain spouts which lead the different kinds of grain down from the
overhead bins. The elevator buckets carry the crushed feed back to one
of the bins or into the bagger. In either case it is not necessary to do
any lifting for the sacks are carried away on a bag truck. We have no
use for a scoop shovel except as a sort of big dustpan to use with the
barn broom.
STUMP PULLER
Pulling stumps by machinery is a quick operation compared with the old
time methods of grubbing, chopping, prying and burning that our
forefathers had on their hands. Modern stump pulling machines are small
affairs compared with the heavy, clumsy things that were used a few
years ago. Some of the new stump pullers are guaranteed to clear an acre
a day of ordinary stumpage. This, of course, must be a rough estimate,
because stumps, like other things, vary in numbers, size and condition
of soundness. Some old stumps may be removed easily while others hang to
the ground with wonderful tenacity.
There are two profits to follow the removal of stumps from a partially
cleared field. The work already put on the land has in every case cost
considerable labor to get the trees and brush out of the way. The land
is partially unproductive so long as stumps remain. For this reason, it
is impossible to figure on the first cost until the stumps are removed
to complete the work and to put the land in condition to raise machine
made crops. When the stumps are removed, the value of the land either
for selling or for farming purposes is increased at once. Whether sold
or farmed, the increasing value is maintained by cropping the land and
securing additional revenue.
There are different ways of removing stumps, some of which are easy
while others are difficult and expensive. One of the easiest ways is to
bore a two-inch auger hole diagonally down into the stump; then fill the
auger hole with coal-oil and let it remain for some weeks to soak into
the wood. Large stumps may be bored in different directions so the
coal-oil will find its way not only through the main part of the stumps
but down into the roots. This treatment requires that the stumps should
be somewhat dry. A stump that is full of sap has no room for coal-oil,
but after the sap partially dries out, then coal oil will fill the pores
of the wood. After the stump is thoroughly saturated with coal-oil, it
will burn down to the ground, so that the different large roots will be
separated. Sometimes the roots will burn below plow depth, but a good
heavy pair of horses with a grappling hook will remove the separated
roots.
[Illustration: Figure 130.--The Oldest Farm Hoist. The first invention
for elevating a heavy object was a tripod made of three poles tied
together at the top with thongs of bark or rawhide. When hunters were
lucky enough to kill a bear, the tripod elevator was erected over the
carcass with the lower ends of the poles spread well apart to lower the
apex. The gambrel was inserted under the hamstrings and attached to the
top of the tripod. As the skinning of the animal proceeded the feet of
the tripod were moved closer together. By the time the head was cut off
the carcass would swing clear.]
Dynamite often is used to blow stumps to pieces, and the work is not
considered dangerous since the invention of safety devices. In some
sections of the country where firewood is valuable, dynamite has the
advantage of saving the wood. An expert with dynamite will blow a stump
to pieces so thoroughly that the different parts are easily worked into
stove lengths. Pitch-pine stumps have a chemical value that was not
suspected until some fellows got rich by operating a retort.
FARM ELEVATING MACHINERY
Many handy and a few heavy elevators are being manufactured to replace
human muscle. The simple tripod beef gin was familiar to the early
settlers and it is still in use. When a heavy animal was killed for
butchering, the small ends of three poles were tied together to form a
tripod over the carcass. The feet of the tripod were placed wide apart
to raise the apex only a few feet above the animal. After the gambrel
was inserted and attached the feet of the tripod were moved gradually
closer together as the skinning proceeded, thus elevating the carcass to
swing clear of the ground.
_Grain Elevators._--As a farm labor-saver, machinery to elevate corn
into the two-story corncrib and grain into the upper bins is one of the
newer and more important farming inventions. With a modern two-story
corncrib having a driveway through the center, a concrete floor and a
pit, it is easy to dump a load of grain or ear corn by raising the front
end of the wagon box without using a shovel or corn fork. After the load
is dumped into the pit a boy can drive a horse around in a circle while
the buckets carry the corn or small grain and deliver it by spout into
the different corncribs or grain bins. There are several makes of
powerful grain elevating machines that will do the work easily and
quickly.
The first requisite is a building with storage overhead, and a
convenient place to work the machinery. Some of the elevating machines
are made portable and some are stationary. Some of the portable machines
will work both ways. Usually stationary elevators are placed in vertical
position. Some portable elevators may be operated either vertically or
on an incline. Such machines are adaptable to different situations, so
the corn may be carried up into the top story of a farm grain warehouse
or the apparatus may be hauled to the railway station for chuting the
grain or ear corn into a car. It depends upon the use to be made of the
machinery whether the strictly stationary or portable elevator is
required. To unload usually some kind of pit or incline is needed with
any kind of an elevator, so the load may be dumped automatically quickly
from the wagon box to be distributed by carrying buckets at leisure.
[Illustration: Figure 131.--Portable Grain Elevator Filling a Corncrib.
The same rig is taken to the railway to load box cars. The wagon is
unloaded by a lifting jack. It costs from 1c to 1-1/2c per bushel to
shovel corn by hand, but the greatest saving is in time.]
Some elevators are arranged to take grain slowly from under the
tailboard of a wagon box. The tailrod is removed and the tailboard
raised half an inch or an inch, according to the capacity of the
machinery. The load pays out through the opening as the front of the
wagon is gradually raised, so the last grain will discharge into the pit
or elevator hopper of its own weight. Technical building knowledge and
skill is required to properly connect the building and elevating
machinery so that the two will work smoothly together. There are certain
features about the building that must conform to the requirements and
peculiarities of the elevating machinery. The grain and ear corn are
both carried up to a point from which they will travel by gravity to any
part of the building. The building requires great structural strength in
some places, but the material may be very light in others. Hence, the
necessity of understanding both building and machinery in order to meet
all of the necessary technical requirements.