Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1875-10-22
For the VERMONT FARMER.
Horse Powers for Farm Use,

/
Mn EDIroR In your report Of the state
fair in the FARMER for September "a, you
pay just tribute to the worth Of the Gray
horse power, and mention that one at least
should be IN every neighborhood. l am at
little loss to fully understand your mean
ing, but l suppose that you refer more par
ticularly to the power ns used IN connection
with threshiDg machine, or perhaps ap-
paratus for saving wood. 'rra
In Franklin county largo number OF one
horse powers are used by farmers, being en-
ployed in summer for cburning, furnishing
the best of motive power for this purpose,
and dispensing on our large dairy farms with
a considerable amount Of hard labor and of
kind hired help are usually adverse to per-
forming. When it is considered that il re-
quires two persons to operate churn capa-
Bile Of producing fifty pounds Of butter, aud
that the operation usually requires from one
to two hours, something may be judged of
the value of horse power for this purpose.
One in a ncighborhood would not answer for
this business unless the factory system was
in operation. Farmers possessing these
powers have also an arrangement for saving
wood, either with drag or circular saws, and
this work is done in winter cheaply and
when most convenient, which is better than
depending upon men who make it their busi-
ness to go round for this purpose aud hardly
ever happen to be on hand when wanted.
Perhaps where large quantity of grain
is raised it might pay to purchase thresher,
but where little is produced this would be a
question, as the value received would hardly
compensate for the increased expense, even
for neighbOrhOOd, aud used in connection
with the one-horse power the advantage
would not be as great as with two.horse
power.
But other works besides the kinds men.
toned can be performed with these powers,
as shelling corn, cutting roots and fodder for
stock, etc. On large farms these powers are
a necessity, paying large per cent on their
cost, and on moderate sized ones they can be
made very useful, and every farmer who can
afford the outlay should not be without one,
and especially as, if well made, they are
durable and do not easily get out of repair.
There are many Of the Gray powers in
use in this county and give good satisfaction.
There are also two manufactures of horse
powers in this county, the Malleable Link"
one-horse power, made by VIM Samson Of
East Berkshire, and the " Eureaka one
and two-horse, made by b. S. 0lds Of High
gate. These are both substantial, we'll.
made powers and do good business The
last named gentleman also manufactures
large variety of machinery, among which
would mention an improved thresher, separa.
tor and cleaner, the first of the kind ever
made in the county. Il. r. TowLE.
We have long advocated the more
general use and ownership Of horse powers
by farmers. In the southern portion of
Vermont, where the dairies are small churn-
ing is done by hand, and the only use made
of horse powers, with few exceptions, is for
threshing grain and saving wood, and this
work is mostly performed by itinerant ma.
chimes, owned by parties who make bust.
ness Of it for few weeks in the year.
Most farmers work up their wood by hand,
so that threshing is the only work they
have for horse power. 1t is very clear
that if farmer only uses a horse power,
thresher and separator for threshing two or
three hundred bushels of oats, it will
not pay to own one, or any part of it. What
we advise is that farmers so situated club to-
gether in the ownership and use one Of these
machines (which enables them to do their
work with their own help at their own con-
venience---a very important consideration ,
and also to do more with the power, such
as saving, grinding, aud cutting feed, and
ehurning also, if they have got cream enough
to "hitch horse TO-" though the power would
look disproportioned to the work to take a
horse to churn two gallons Of cream.