The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1883-12-07
The Use OF Wind-P0wer on Farms.

Some kind of mechanical power is al
most Indispensable for farms. A light
power is usually required, and but few
farms require so heavy a power as tc
call for a steam-engine, which has sc
many disadvantages, except for large
establishments, and is so costly in use,
not to mention the danger of it. as to
wholly preclude its use. Horse-powers
are cumbersome and very exacting upon
the horses, and yet from the necessity
for some power and the absence of any
better they are in almost universal use.
Windmills are very useful, but as they
are necessarily built very lightly they
are easily wrecked by a sudden storm
and at the best require frequent tinker.
ing and repair TO keep them serviceable
for their short life. But the wind is an
inexhaustible power and costs nothing,
and If 1t can only be harnessed and CON
trolled. and if a machine for It's utiliza-
ton can be constructed that will be
strong enough to resist any storms that
NAV occur short of one that would
wreck the barn itself, then this cheap
universal source of power might be
made of general use.
And Just here we might suggest that
a most valuable field for study and me-
chanical skill lies open to the inventive
genius of young farmers, and old ones,
too. 1t has been said, and with some
truth. that most of the valuable mechan-
zeal inventions for farmers use have
been made by men who were not farm
ers- There are bright exceptions to this,
however. The invaluable manure
spreading machine, the bean harvester.
several useful potato-diggers and har-
vesters. and other noteworthy inven-
tions have been the work of farmers
Why should there not be more of these:
The winter season is one of leisure, and
long evenings may be made available
for the farmer and his boys with paper
and pencil and rule. or with the COM
mon American tool. the jack-knife. tc
set their wits to work and invent and
model serviceable and strong wind
engine specially designed for farm work
A suggestion 10 this end may be given.
Take a hardwood shaft twelve feet
long set upright, with proper bearings
ut each end. furnished with eight vanes
four feet wide of light boards properly
occurred and hraced. Then we have
o wheel something Ike a common
water-wheel But as a water-wheel
presents only one side to the current,
30 one side Of this wheel must be coy
e1e by shield which protects it from
the current of wind As the winds
continually shift. this shield must move
with 1t, the movement being operated
by vane fitted to the top of it. and
which may be quickly changed so IS to
cover more of the wheel as the force of
the wind may be greater. And this
movement should be automatic, so it will
take place instantly as the winds force
changes either way. Thus we should
have 3 wind-wheel twelve feet lorr.
eight feet in diameter, exposing half its
circumference at the most to the wind.
or surface on each of the four ex-
posed yanes of forty-eight square feet.
With a wind pressure of four or fiv.
pounds TO the foot. each yaae would
give the equivalent of a pressure of
two hundred pounds. A wheel of this
kind might be made 10 furnish one
half te one-horse power, and woud not
require eny repairs for many years. II
~ouid do ali the light work of farm.
aad might be put up and operated by
any persen who can use ordinary tools
at = very small cost.-N Y Times.