Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-05-01
WHERE MAN POWER
is EXPENSIVE

10 use on the farm? Manifestly, ii de-
ponds largely on the size of the farm
and the nature of its products, but one
OF experience ought to be able to give
some general advice on the subject
well worth attention. This the editor
OF the Massachusetts Ploughman at
tempts to do. There are, he SAYS. some
small farms or gardens where man
power can be had cheaper than any
other, because the amount of work to
be done is not sufficient to warrant the
expense of maintaining any other. but
on a larger place it is the most ex-
penSive. because the results cannot be
as much as can be accomplished in the
same time by other power. and man
power is only cheap because it can be
constantly employed, and even must be
Kept up when other power is also
used
Next to this comes the horsepower
and this alone, or with empower, was
the reliance of the farmer in days
when we were young. The horse. like
the man, was almost in constant use
and could be adapted to many pur-
poses. He had to be fed whether used
or not, and efforts were made to utilize
his services in other ways than by
straight draft. The circular horse
power as eXemplified in the turning of
the cider mill was followed by the
tread-mill, and that modified by the fly
wheel, which helped to retain power
when once in motion.
These methods both served useful
purposes in the threshing machine, in
saving wood, cutting fodder and roots,
pumping churning, and many other
ways, while there were a few so
fortunately situated that they could
utilize the power of the water that ran
by or through their land The wind
mill was also much in favor, and il
! proved an inexpensive power when one
had work that could be done as wei
at one time as another, and could wait
for the wind to blow. To grind grain
| pump water or for other work Of
which enough may be done in one day
to last through week of calm
weather, nothing will do the work as
cheaply as the windmill, but if Ger
tain labor needs to be done every day
and especially at certain time of day,
the wind is too tickle to be depended
upon. The windmill has also a disad-
vantage in the necessity of always re-
curing the work to be brought to it,
instead of being able to go to the local
ity where the work is to be found
The portable steam engine seems to
answer all requirements better than
any other power. It can do all the
work that any of the others we have
named. excepting that of the horse on
the road. 1t needs feeding only when
in use, and proper sheltering. 1t is as
ready to saw wood. cut fodder for silo
churn. or do day at threshing grain.
as any other duty, and works 10 to IA
hours day as well as eight hours. II
properly cared for, without going on
strike.
For all but the larger farms Ave or
slx-horse-power engine is usually suf-
ficient, though any one purchasing will
do better to get one little larger than
he thinks he needs than to begin with
too small size. For cutting ensilage
and elevating it 30 or 35 feet to the ton
of the silo, we think the manufacturers
of the cutters and elevators usually
advise 10-horse- power boiler and
engine, Anything of a larger size is
not easily moved from one place to
another, and one of the advantages of
the portable engine should be it's abiI-
ity to do the work upon more than one
small farm, or at either end OF large
ranch. 1t may thus have several own
ers or cooperative shareholders, or the
one who purchases it can receive an
income by renting 1t to neighbors.
There are many now who advocate
the gasoline engine, and claim that one
nominally of the same power win do
more than the steam engine. OF this
we know but little personally. but most
who have them arc well satisfied. They
are easily handled, and the expense for
fuel is not great, yet we have been led
to believe that they are. or the earlier
makes were little more apt to get
out OF order and require more freauent
repairs than the steam engine. Then
the fuel for the steam engine can often
be had on the farm almost without
expense. especially where wood is
abundant.
Electricity has been used to some ex-
tent and it may be the coming power
yet. On some of our market gardens il
is made to serve other purposes beside
heating and lighting the larger green.
houses, but its use as. a farm power is
as yet little studied, and we do not
know to what point it may be devel-
oped. We have read of automobile
market wagons, reapers and plows, but
confess to being little skeptical as u
their practical use on the farm. n we
had need of farm powers we would not
wait for them TO be perfected but
would prefer either Of those we have
mentioned, or even to nut our trust in