The Mobridge news. [volume] (Mobridge, Walworth Co., S.D.) 190?-1917, 1914-06-05

Power machinery on the farm, me.
rhanical power for agriculture even
power driven machines for the home
are not ideas and machinery driven b.
steam, wind. and gasoline have been in
use to some extent on the farm for
many years. Indeed, for the thleshinE
Of grain the horse power has been al
most completely driven out of the
field by the steam thresher more than
thirty years ago. and within the last
ten years many farms in both the east
and west have their operations car
ried on by power machinery. Not "nly
is the threShing done but the grain is
water is pumped, the feed is ground,
the washing and Churning are done,
and the family goes to market and to
church by power machines.
Evidently there IS nothing new IN
the idea of mechanical power on the
farm. but while this is true there are
some problems in connection with the
Ise Of gas and electric power Cn~thc
farm and in the country home which
are not we'll understood by most farm
ers. This article is written in answer
10 a number Of inquiries with reference
10 power plants on the farm for the
operation Of stationary machinery and
the lighting of buildings by electricity.
While electric lights may be looked
upon by the farmer as a luxury, the
grinding of feed, the pumping OF water,
the cutting of silage and a score of
other things about the farm are being
commonly and economically done with
the gas engine and by the windmill.
and means in most cases a saving OF
time and money as we'll as being a
great convenience.
BY the addition Of an electric genera.
tor. the lighting of all the buildings
can be done without a very great addi-
tiOnal expense. BY installing electric
motors, power may be obtained in the
various buildings on the premises sup
piled from a central point at which IS
located the engine and generator. As
10 the kind or type Of generator 70 be
used, a satisfactory machine can be
obtained from almost any of the elcc-
triCal manufacturing companies. How.
ever. certain companies make a spe-
cialtv of small generating sets for
small power and lighting systems such
as would be installed on the farm. and
il would be worth while for anyone in
tending TO install such a plant to take
the matter up with these companies.
It usually is desirable in installing one
OF these plants 10 include a storage
battery set. With this set, light may
be had in the evening and early morn.
ing without the necessity of having
the engine running. The battery also
engine, which In case of the gas en-,
CINE is quite noticeable in the light.
The size Of machine to install de,
ponds upon the amount of power and
light to be supplied by it. If the ma,
| chine is to be used for lighting only,
one of small capacity may be made to
do. While there may be thirty to for.
tv lights installed in the house, barns,
and other buildings, il rarely happens
that more than half a dozen lamps are
burning at one time and 1t is not neces.
sary that the generator Oh storage bat.
terry be large, ..oNgb TO Operate ~ 8.
the lamps at once. II, however, current
Is used for power, the generator should
be larger than the largest motor used
sY twenty or twenty-five Der cent ThA