Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-11-15
FOR USE OF FARMERS.
a PROJECT TO SUPPLANT HORSES
BY ELECTRIC POWER.

| for several years to devise a feasible plan
for using electricity rs power on country
roads and farms. There is great eco nomic
loss through the waStefulness Of thu Gus
tomary sources of power on farms during
harvesting and thrashing, and much more
/ in transportation over country roads 20 and
| from the market. In the east this loss is
not so great, because the quantity Of farm
products shipped is less in proportion to
| the whole amount raised, and the railroad
station is usually much nearer at hand;
also the roads OF the east are better. but
the plan of power supply which several
electrical engineers favor might prove de-
sirable in the east as well as in the west
Essential to the success of this plan in any
neighborhood is tine condition that there
should be an abundance OF coal, or Of wa
ter head, and residents enough to make
the cost of the plant per capita not too
large.
This plan is the use of electricity as
power to supplant horses. The electricians
figure out that there is waste every year
through the time lost in transpor alton
over country roads, with delays and break
age OF gear, and the cost Of the millions of
horses and wagons required. and Ike
waste of power in other work about q
enough to pay the amount of all ia xes OF
whatsoever nature borne by the farmers
On every farm enough horses have 30 be
kept the year round to do the work ~ the
busiest seasons. This means that for few
| weeks of activity animals must be fed and
cared for the entire year. The corn, oats
| and hay which a horse eats in one month
would buy enough coal in most parts Of
the country to furnish more power than
the work Of the animal in year.
The reason that steam power is not used
more on farms is that the plant costs too
much to begin with, and that the Ell trent
| expense of engineers, firemen and maohin-
lists is SO great that the use of steam ma
chtnery on small farms is practically pro-
hibited. On the big western wheat farms
the use of steam has greatly diminished
the number of horses required, and steam
power is profitable there because of the size
of the estates and the concentration of
their control.
The development of the trolley system
| on cheap and extensive scale is what Ger
tain electrical engineers are now working
| to accomplish.
The plant required would consist OF only
a water wheel and a dynamo supplying the
power directly to the wires, and ono cleo
trician could look after several D ants
The son of some farmer in the ghbor-
| hood could soon learn enough 60 take care
of the plant, and 10 run il would not take
| all of his time. The power is transmitted
readily over the wires. so that plant NAV
be erected at some distance from the places
it is intended to supply.
In parts of the country where the water
supply is deficient or coal is very cheap
steam might be used as substitute for
water in running the dynamo. 1t would
be less economical, because the orr ginal
cost of the steam plant would be greater
and it would require constant attend ance
The power house, with engines and boilers,
would require almost constant care, while
turbine wheel properly set needs 30 be
looked after only occasionally.
After the plant and power are secured it
Is proposed to run a power wire on the
main road through the neighboy hood
which contributes to the expense. IN case
there is turnpike the wire would b. run
over that, or, if there is not, over the main
road, whatever it may be. Branches
could be run from it in as many places as
| the benefit would warrant. With the cheaD
converters now in Use this power could be
largely utilized to the exclusion of horses.
The trolley over the main road with one
found in the west, would do ali the haul
ing for the neighborhood. 1t would require
| no change in the construction of the farm
| wagons, for they could be loaded rs now
and picked up along the road by the trac-
ton wagon. The only limit 10 the number
of wagons that might be taken in one rain
! would be the power and the strength of
the hauling machinery.
All the farmer need do would be to have
his load made up in the morning, az now,
and then to stay at home and do his {, rs
work while the wagon was being tax iii to
| town in the electrical wagon train. ST ould
| it be necessary for him to go to town to
see about the unloading he could take his
| trotter and road wagon and cover the dis
| lance in a small fraction of the time that
| it would take him to drive it with his
heavy wagon. There would also be no
limit to the load which he could ship at
| one time, except the capacity of his wa gon
The economies might be further extended
| by the general ownership of few wagons,
which could be used by number of farm
| ers for shipment on different days.
The advantages of such a system are OBJ
| vious. They would do away almos5 en-
| tirely with the horses now needed to carry
| the farm produce to market, fewer wagons
would be required, and time for the ia rmer
| and his hands would be saved. Shipments
could be made more quickly and in greater
quantities. The use of the power from the
trolley wire need not be limited to traction
on the road. The wire could be tapped for
every farm, and the power used for general
farm purposes. The moving machines
! could be drawn by electricity instead OF
horses. The thrashing could be done with
out the use of travelling steam en- CINE,
with its expense for fuel and attend ants.
The gang plows, which now requi re a
steam engine or four to six horses, could
bel easily managed by electricity, and all
the blowing done more rapidly and with
much less expenditure of labor Even but
ter could be churned by electricity and
the drudgery Of farm work generally re-
| duced.-New York Sun.