DRIVEN MACHINES
FARM WATERWORKS
Every farm has its own water supply. Some are very simple, others are quite elaborate. It is both possible and practical for a farmer to have his own tap water under pressure on the same plan as the city. When good water is abundant within 75 feet of the surface of the ground the farm supply may be had cheaper and better than the city. Even deep well pumping is practical with good machinery rightly installed. Farm waterworks should serve the house and the watering troughs under a pressure of at least 40 pounds at the ground level. The system should also include water for sprinkling the lawn and for irrigating the garden. If strawberries or other intensive money crops are grown for market there should be sufficient water in the pipes to save the crop in time of drouth. These different uses should all be credited to the farm waterworks system pro rata, according to the amounts used by the different departments of the farm. The books would then prove that the luxury of hot and cold running water in the farmhouse costs less than the average city family pays.
Three Systems of Water Storage.—The first plan adopted for supplying water under pressure on farms was the overhead tank. The water was lifted up into the tank by a windmill and force pump. Because wind power proved rather uncertain farmers adopted the gasoline engine, usually a two horsepower engine.
The second water storage plan was the air-tight steel water-tank to be placed in the cellar or in a pit underground. The same pump and power supplies the water for this system, but it also requires an air-pump to supply pressure to force the water out of the tank.
The third plan forces the water out of the well by air pressure, as it is needed for use. No water pump is required in this system; the air-compressor takes its place.
Figure 115.—The Farm Pump. It superseded the iron-bound bucket, the slimy old bucket, the malaria-lined bucket that hung in the well, but it wore out the women. Oil was never wasted on its creaking joints. Later it was fitted with a stuffing-box and an air-chamber, and the plunger was hitched to the windmill.
To the right are shown two kinds of post-hole diggers. The upper digger is sometimes used to clear the fine earth out of the bottom of a hole dug by the lower digger.
Suction-Pumps.—The word suction, when applied to pumps, is a misnomer. The principle upon which such pumps work is this: The pump piston drives the air out of the pump cylinder which produces a vacuum. The pressure of the atmosphere is about fifteen pounds per square inch of surface. This pressure forces sufficient water up through the so-called suction pipe to fill the vacuum in the cylinder. The water is held in the cylinder by foot-valves or clack-valves. As the piston again descends into the cylinder it plunges into water instead of air. A foot-valve in the bottom end of the hollow piston opens while going down and closes to hold and lift the water as the piston rises. Water from the well is forced by atmospheric pressure to follow the piston and the pump continues to lift water so long as the joints remain air-tight. The size of piston and length of stroke depend on the volume of water required, the height to which it must be lifted and the power available. A small power and a small cylinder will lift a small quantity of water to a considerable height. But increasing the volume of water requires a larger pump and a great increase in the power to operate it. The size of the delivery pipe has a good deal to do with the flow of water. When water is forced through a small pipe at considerable velocity, there is a good deal of friction. Often the amount of water delivered is reduced because the discharge pipe is too small. Doubling the diameter of a pipe increases its capacity four times. Square turns in the discharge pipe are obstructions; either the pipe must be larger or there will be a diminished flow of water. Some pump makers are particular to furnish easy round bends instead of the ordinary right-angled elbows. A great many pumps are working under unnecessary handicaps, simply because either the supply pipe or discharge pipe is not in proportion to the capacity of the pump, or the arrangement of the pipes is faulty.
Figure 116.—Hand Force-Pump. Showing two ways of attaching wooden handles to hand force-pumps.
Figure 117.—Rotary Pump. Twin water-chamber rotary pumps take water through the bottom and divide the supply, carrying half of the stream around to the left and the other half to the right. The two streams meet and are discharged at the top.
Figure 118.—Section of Rotary Pump.
Rotary Pumps.—A twin-chamber rotary pump admits water at the bottom of the chamber and forces it out through the top. Intermeshing cogs and rotary cams revolve outward from the center at the bottom, as shown by the arrows in [Figure 118]. The stream of water is divided by the cams, as it enters the supply pipe at the bottom, and half of the water is carried each way around the outsides of the double chamber. These streams of water meet at the top of the chamber, where they unite to fill the discharge pipe. These pumps operate without air-chambers and supply water in a continuous stream. They may be speeded up to throw water under high pressure for fire fighting, but for economy in ordinary use the speed is kept down to 200 revolutions, or thereabout. Rotary pumps are also made with one single water chamber cylinder. The pump head, or shaft, is placed a little off center. A double end cam moves the water. Both ends of the cam fit against the bore of the cylinder. It works loosely back and forth through a slotted opening in the pump head. As the shaft revolves the eccentric motion of the double cam changes the sizes of the water-pockets. The pockets are largest at the intake and smallest at the discharge. Rotary pumps are comparatively cheap, as regards first cost, but they are not economical of power. In places where the water-table is near the surface of the ground they will throw water in a very satisfactory manner. But they are more used in refineries and factories for special work, such as pumping oil and other heavy liquids.
Centrifugal Pumps.—The invention and improvement of modern centrifugal pumps has made the lifting of water in large quantities possible. These pumps are constructed on the turbine principle. Water is lifted in a continuous stream by a turbine wheel revolving under high speed. Water is admitted at the center and discharged at the outside of the casing. Centrifugal pumps work best at depths ranging from twenty to sixty feet. Manufacturers claim that farmers can afford to lift irrigation water sixty feet with a centrifugal pump driven by a kerosene engine.
The illustrations show the principle upon which the pump works and the most approved way of setting pumps and engines. Centrifugal pumps usually are set in dry wells a few feet above the water-table. While these pumps have a certain amount of suction, it is found that short supply pipes are much more efficient. Where water is found in abundance within from 15 to 30 feet of the surface, and the wells may be so constructed that the pull-down, or the lowering of the water while pumping is not excessive, then it is possible to lift water profitably to irrigate crops in the humid sections. Irrigation in such cases, in the East, is more in the nature of insurance against drouth. Valuable crops, such as potatoes and strawberries, may be made to yield double, or better, by supplying plenty of moisture at the critical time in crop development. It is a new proposition in eastern farming that is likely to develop in the near future.
Figure 119.—Centrifugal Pump. This style of pump is used in many places for irrigation. It runs at high speed, which varies according to the size of the pump. It takes water at the center and discharges it at the outside of the casing.
Figure 120.—Air Pressure Pump. Pumping water by air pressure requires a large air container capable of resisting a pressure of 100 pounds per square inch. This illustration shows the pressure tank, engine, air-compressor, well and submerged pump.
Air Pressure Pump.—Instead of pumping water out of the well some farmers pump air into the well to force the water out. A double compartment cylindrical tank is placed in the water in the well. These tanks are connected with the farm water distributing system to be carried in pipes to the house and to the stock stables. Air under a pressure of from 50 to 100 pounds per square inch is stored in a steel tank above ground. Small gas-pipes connect this air pressure tank with the air-chamber of the air-water tank in the well. A peculiar automatic valve regulates the air so that it enters the compartment that is filled, or partly filled, with water, and escapes from the empty one so the two compartments work together alternately. That is, the second chamber fills with water, while the first chamber is being drawn upon. Then the first chamber fills while the second is being emptied. This system will work in a well as small as eight inches in diameter, and to a depth of 140 feet. It might be made to work at a greater depth, but it seems hardly practical to do so for the reason that, after allowing for friction in the pipes, 100 pounds of air pressure is necessary to lift water 150 feet. An air tank of considerable size is needed to provide storage for sufficient air to operate the system without attention for several days. Careful engineering figures are necessary to account for the different depths of farm wells, and the various amounts of water and power required. For instance: The air tank already contains 1,000 gallons of air at atmospheric pressure—then: Forcing 1,000 gallons of atmospheric air into a 1,000-gallon tank will give a working pressure of 15 pounds per square inch; 2,000 gallons, 30 pounds; 3,000 gallons, 45 pounds, and so on. Therefore, a pressure of 100 pounds in a 1,000-gallon tank (42 inches by 14 feet) would require 6,600 gallons of free atmosphere, in addition to the original 1,000 gallons, and the tank would then contain 1,000 gallons of compressed air under a working pressure of 100 pounds per square inch. A one cylinder compressor 6 inches by 6 inches, operating at a speed of 200 R.P.M. would fill this tank to a working pressure of 100 pounds in about 50 minutes. One gallon of air will deliver one gallon of water at the faucet. But the air must have the same pressure as the water, and there must be no friction. Thus, one gallon of air under a working pressure of forty-five pounds, will, theoretically, deliver one gallon of water to a height of 100 feet. But it takes three gallons of free air to make one gallon of compressed air at forty-five pounds pressure. If the lift is 100 feet, then 1,000 gallons of air under a pressure of forty-five pounds will theoretically deliver 1,000 gallons of water. Practically, the air tank would have to be loaded to a very much greater pressure to secure the 1,000 gallons of water before losing the elasticity of the compressed air. If one thousand gallons of water is needed on the farm every day, then the air pump would have to work about one hour each morning. This may not be less expensive than pumping the water directly, but it offers the advantage of water fresh from the well. Pure air pumped into the well tends to keep the water from becoming stale.
Figure 121.—(1) Single-Gear Pump Jack. This type of jack is used for wells from 20 to 40 feet deep. (2) Double-Gear, or Multiple-Gear Pump Jack. This is a rather powerful jack designed for deep wells or for elevating water into a high water-tank.
Figure 122.—Post Pump Jack. This arrangement is used in factories when floor space is valuable. The wide-face driving-pulley is shown to the left.
Figure 123.—Three Jacks for Different Purposes. At the left is a reverse motion jack having the same speed turning either right or left. The little jack in the center is for light work at high belt speed. To the right is a powerful jack intended for slow speeds such as hoisting or elevating grain.
Figure 124.—Speed Jack, for reducing speed between engine and tumbling rod or to increase speed between tumbling rod and the driven machine.
Figure 125.—The Speed Jack on the left is used either to reduce or increase tumbling rod speed and to reverse the motion. The Speed Jack on the right transfers power either from belt to tumbling rod or reverse. It transforms high belt speed to low tumbling rod speed, or vice versa.
Pump Jacks and Speed Jacks.—Farm pumps and speed-reducing jacks are partners in farm pumping. Force-pumps should not run faster than forty strokes per minute. Considerable power is required to move the piston when the water is drawn from a deep well and forced into an overhead tank. Jacks are manufactured which bolt directly to the pump, and there are pumps and jacks built together. A pump jack should have good, solid gearing to reduce the speed. Spur-gearing is the most satisfactory. Bevel-gears are wasteful of power when worked under heavy loads. Power to drive a pump jack is applied to a pulley at least twelve inches in diameter with a four-inch face when belting is used. If a rope power conveyor is used, then pulleys of larger diameters are required to convey the same amount of power.
Only general terms may be used in describing the farm pump, because the conditions differ in each case. Generally speaking, farmers fail to appreciate the amount of power used, and they are more than likely to buy a jack that is too light. Light machinery may do the work, but it goes to pieces quicker, while a heavy jack with solid connections will operate the pump year in and year out without making trouble. For increasing or reducing either speed or power some kind of jack is needed. All farm machines have their best speed. A certain number of revolutions per minute will accomplish more and do better work than any other speed. To apply power to advantage speed jacks have been invented to adjust the inaccuracies between driver and driven.
IRRIGATION BY PUMPING
The annual rainfall in the United States varies in different parts of the country from a few inches to a few feet. Under natural conditions some soils get too much moisture and some too little. Irrigation is employed to supply the deficiency and drainage, either natural or artificial, carries off the excess. Irrigation and drainage belong together. Irrigation fills the soil with moisture and drainage empties it. Thus, a condition is established that supplies valuable farm plants with both air and moisture. In the drier portions of the United States, nothing of value will grow without irrigation. In the so-called humid districts deficiency of moisture at the critical time reduces the yield and destroys the profit. The value of irrigation has been demonstrated in the West, and the practice is working eastward.
Figure 126.—Centrifugal Pump Setting. When used for irrigation, centrifugal pumps are set as close to the ground water as practical.
Irrigation is the new handmaiden of prosperity. A rainy season is a bountiful one. Irrigation supplies the bounty without encouraging destructive fungus diseases. Where water is abundant within easy reach, pumping irrigation water is thoroughly practical. Improvements in pumps in recent years have increased their capacity and insured much greater reliability. A centrifugal pump is recommended for depths down to 75 feet; beyond this depth the necessity of installing more expensive machinery places the business of pumping for irrigation on a different plane. A centrifugal pump will throw more water with less machinery than any other device, but like all other mechanical inventions, it has its limitations. In figuring economical pumping, the minimum quantity should be at least 100 gallons per minute, because time is an object, and irrigation, if done at all, should cover an area sufficient to bring substantial returns. Centrifugal pumps should be placed near the surface of the water in the well. For this reason, a large, dry well is dug down to the level of the water-table and the pump is solidly bolted to a concrete foundation built on the bottom of this well. A supply pipe may be extended any depth below the pump, but the standing water surface in the well should reach within a few feet of the pump. The pump and supply must be so well balanced against each other that the pull-down from pumping will not lower the water-level in the well more than twenty feet below the pump. The nearer the ground water is to the pump the better.
The water well below the pump may be bored, or a perforated well pipe may be driven; or several well points may be connected. The kind of well must depend upon the condition of the earth and the nature of the water supply. Driven wells are more successful when water is found in a stratum of coarse gravel.
Before buying irrigation machinery, it is a good plan to test the water supply by temporary means. Any good farm pump may be hitched to a gasoline engine to determine if the water supply is lasting or not. Permanent pumping machinery should deliver the water on high ground. A main irrigation ditch may be run across the upper end of the field. This ditch should hold the water high enough so it may be tapped at convenient places to run through the corrugations to reach the roots of the plants to be benefited. There are different systems of irrigation designed to fit different soils. Corrugations are the cheapest and the most satisfactory when soils are loose enough to permit the water to soak into the soil sideways, as well as to sink down. The water should penetrate the soil on both sides of the corrugations for distances of several inches. Corrugations should be straight and true and just far enough apart so the irrigation water will soak across and meet between. Some soils will wash or gully out if the fall is too rapid. In such cases it may be necessary to terrace the land by following the natural contour around the ridges so the water may flow gently. Where the fall is very slight, that is, where the ground is so nearly level that it slopes away less than six inches in a hundred feet, it becomes necessary to prepare the land by building checks and borders to confine the water for a certain length of time. Then it is let out into the next check. In the check and border system the check bank on the lower side has an opening which is closed during the soaking period with a canvas dam. When the canvas is lifted the water flows through and fills the next check. This system is more expensive, and it requires more knowledge of irrigation to get it started, and it is not likely to prove satisfactory in the East.
For fruits and vegetables, what is known as the furrow system of irrigation is the most practical. An orchard is irrigated by plowing furrows on each side of each row of trees. The water is turned into these furrows and it runs across the orchard like so many little rivulets. Potatoes are irrigated on the same plan by running water through between the rows after the potatoes have been ridged by a double shovel-plow. This plan also works well with strawberries. After the land is prepared for irrigation, the expense of supplying water to a fruit orchard, strawberry patch or potato field is very little compared with the increase in yield. In fact, there are seasons when one irrigation will save the crop and produce an abundant yield, when otherwise it would have been almost a total loss.
Overhead Spray Irrigation.—The most satisfactory garden irrigation is the overhead spray system. Posts are set ten feet apart in rows 50 feet apart. Water pipes are laid on the tops of the posts and held loosely in position by large staples. These water pipes are perforated by drilling a line of small holes about three feet apart in a straight line along one side of the pipe. The holes are tapped and small brass nozzles are screwed in. The overhead pipes are connected with standpipes at the highest place, generally at the ends of the rows. The pipe-lines are loosely coupled to the standpipes to permit them to roll partly around to direct the hundreds of spray nozzles as needed.
Figure 127.—Overhead Irrigation. Diagram showing the arrangement of pipes for irrigating one acre of land. The pipes are supported on posts six feet high.
Six feet high is sufficient to throw a fine mist or spray twenty-five feet, which is far enough to meet the spray from the next row, so the ground will be completely covered. To do this the pipes are rolled from one side to the other, through a 90 degree arc to throw the spray on both sides. The pipes usually are laid with a grade which follows down the slope of the land. A fall of one foot in fifty is sufficient. Water is always admitted at the upper end of each pipe-line to flow down by gravity, assisted by tank pressure. A pressure of about forty pounds is needed to produce a fine spray, and to send it across to meet the opposite jets. The little brass nozzles are drilled with about a one-eighth inch hollow. But the jet opening is small, about No. 20 W. G. This gives a wire-drawn stream that quickly vaporizes when it meets the resistance of the atmosphere. When properly installed a fine misty rain is created, which quickly takes the same temperature as the air, and settles so gently that the most delicate plants are not injured.
Quantity of Water to Use.—Good judgment is necessary in applying water to crops in regard to quantity, as well as the time of making application. Generally speaking, it is better to wait until the crop really needs moisture. When the pump is started give the crop plenty with the expectation that one irrigation will be sufficient. Much depends upon the amount of moisture in the soil; also the kind of crop and weather conditions enter into the problem. On sandy land that is very dry where drainage is good, water may be permitted to run in the corrugations for several days until the ground is thoroughly soaked. When potatoes are forming, or clover is putting down its big root system, a great deal of water is needed. Irrigation sufficient to make two inches of rainfall may be used to advantage for such crops under ordinary farming conditions. It is necessary after each irrigation to break the soil crust by cultivation to prevent evaporation. This is just as important after irrigation as it is after a rain shower. Also any little pockets that hold water must be carefully drained out, otherwise the crop will be injured by standing water. We are not supposed to have such pockets on land that has been prepared for irrigation.
Kind of Crops to Irrigate.—Wheat, oats, barley, etc., may be helped with one irrigation from imminent failure to a wealth of production. But these rainfall grain crops do not come under the general classification that interests the regular irrigation farmer beyond his diversity plans for producing considerable variety. Fruits, roots, clover, alfalfa, vegetables and Indian corn are money crops under irrigation. Certain seed crops yield splendidly when watered. An apple orchard properly cared for and irrigated just at the right time will pay from five hundred to a thousand dollars per acre. Small fruits are just as valuable. These successes account for the high prices of irrigated land. In the East and in the great Middle West, valuable crops are cut short or ruined by drouth when the fruit or corn is forming. It makes no difference how much rain comes along at other times in the year, if the roots cannot find moisture at the critical time, the yield is reduced often below the profit of raising and harvesting the crop. Strawberry blossoms shrivel and die in the blooming when rain fails. Irrigation is better than rain for strawberries. Strawberries under irrigation may be made to yield more bushels than potatoes under humid conditions. One hundred bushels of strawberries per acre sounds like a fairy tale, but it is possible on rich land under irrigation.
The cost of pumping for irrigation, where the well and machinery is used for no other purpose, must be charged up to the crop. The items of expense are interest on the first cost of the pumping machinery, depreciation, upkeep and running expenses. On Eastern farms, however, where diversified farming is the business, this expense may be divided among the different lines of work. Where live-stock is kept, it is necessary to have a good, reliable water supply for the animals. A reservoir on high ground so water may be piped to the watering troughs and to the house is a great convenience. Also the same engine that does the pumping may be used for other work in connection with the farm, so that the irrigation pump engine, instead of lying idle ten or eleven months in the year, may be utilized to advantage and made to earn its keep. Well-water contains many impurities. For this reason, it is likely to be valuable for crop growing purposes in a wider sense than merely to supply moisture. Well-water contains lime, and lime is beneficial to most soils. It has been noticed that crops grow especially well when irrigated from wells.
Figure 128.—Power Transmission. Circular motion is converted into reciprocating motion by the different lengths of the two pitman cranks which cause the upper wheel to oscillate. Power is carried to a distance by wires. To reduce friction the wires are supported by swinging hangers. Sometimes wooden rods are used instead of wires to lessen expansion and contraction.
House and Barns Supplied from a Reservoir.—A farm reservoir may sometimes be built very cheaply by throwing a dam across a narrow hollow between two hills, or ridges. On other farms, it is necessary to scrape out a hole on the highest ground within reach. For easy irrigation a reservoir is necessary, and it is economical because the pump may work overtime and supply enough water so the irrigation may be done quickly and with sufficient water to make it effective. When the cost of the reservoir can be charged up to the different departments of the business, such as irrigation, live-stock and house use, the cost is divided and the profits are multiplied.
Power Conveyor.—Circular motion is converted into reciprocal motion to operate a pump at a distance from the engine. The short jack crank oscillates the driving pulley to move the conveyor wires back and forth. The distance to which power may be carried is limited by the expansion and contraction of the conveying wires. Wooden rods are better under extremes of temperature. Where an engine is used night and morning in the dairy house to run a cream separator, this kind of power transmission may be worked to operate the pump at the house. Light wire hangers will support the line wires or rods. They should be about three feet in length, made fast at top and bottom to prevent wear. The spring of a No. 10 wire three feet long is sufficient to swing the length of a pump stroke and the friction is practically nothing.
ELECTRICITY ON THE FARM
Electric current in some sections may be purchased from electric railways or city lighting plants. But the great majority of farms are beyond the reach of high tension transmission cables. In some places three or four farmers may club together and buy a small lighting plant to supply their own premises with both light and power. Unless an engineer is employed to run it trouble is sure to follow, because one family does all of the work and others share equally in the benefits. The solution is for each farmer to install a small plant of his own. The proposition is not so difficult as it sounds. Two-horsepower plants are manufactured for this very purpose. But there is more to it than buying a dynamo and a few lamp bulbs. A farm electric system should supply power to run all of the light stationary machinery about the farm, and that means storage batteries, and the use of one or more small electric motors. There are several ways to arrange the plant, but to save confusion it is better to study first the storage battery plan and to start with an engine large enough to pump water and run the dynamo at the same time. It is a good way to do two jobs at once—you store water enough in the supply tank to last twenty-four or forty-eight hours, and at the same time you store up sufficient electricity to run the cream-separator for a week. Electric power is the only power that is steady enough to get all of the cream.
Figure 129.—Electric Power Plant. A practical farm generator and storage battery, making a complete farm electric plant that will develop and store electricity for instant use in any or all of the farm buildings.
Refrigeration is a profitable way to use electric power. There are small automatic refrigerator machines that maintain low temperatures to preserve food products. This branch of the work may be made profitable. Laundry work on the farm was principally hand labor until the small power washers and wringers were invented. Now a small electric motor takes the blue out of Monday, and the women wear smiles. Electric flatirons afford the greatest comfort on Tuesday. The proper heat is maintained continually until the last piece is ironed. Cooking by electricity is another great success. Some women buy separate cooking utensils, such as toasters, chafing dishes and coffee percolators. Others invest in a regular electric cooking range at a cost of fifty dollars and feel that the money was well spent. It takes about 100 K.W.H. per month in hot weather to cook by electricity for a family of four. In winter, when heat is more of a luxury, the coal or wood range will save half of the electric current. Dishwashing by electricity is another labor-saver three times a day. Vacuum cleaners run by electricity take the dust and microbes out of floor rugs with less hand labor than pushing a carpet sweeper. Incubators are better heated by electricity than any other way. Brooders come under the same class. Sewing-machines were operated by electricity in sweatshops years ago—because it paid. Farm women are now enjoying the same privilege.
Electric lighting on the farm is the most spectacular, if not the most interesting result of electric generation in the country. This feature of the subject was somewhat overtaxed by talkative salesmen representing some of the pioneer manufacturers of electric lighting plants, but the business has steadied down. Real electric generating machinery is being manufactured and sold on its merits in small units.
Not many miles from Chicago there is an electric lighting plant on a dairy farm that is giving satisfaction. The stables are large and they are managed on the plan of milking early in the morning and again in the middle of the afternoon. The morning work requires a great deal of light in the different stables, more light than ordinary, because the milking is done by machinery. The milking machine air-pump is driven by electricity generated on the farm, the power being supplied by a kerosene engine.
Electricity on this farm is used in units, separate lines extending to the different buildings. The lighting plant is operated on what is known as the 32-volt system; the rating costs less to install than some others and the maintenance is less than when a higher voltage is used. I noticed also that there are fewer parts in connection with the plant than in other electric light works that I have examined.
Technical knowledge of electricity and its behavior under different circumstances is hardly necessary to a farmer, because the manufacturers have simplified the mechanics of electric power and lighting to such an extent that it is only necessary to use ordinary precaution to run the plant to its capacity.
At the same time it is just as well to know something about generators, switchboards and the meanings of such terms and names as volt, ampere, battery poles, voltmeter, ammeter, rheostat, discharge switch, underload circuit breaker, false fuse blocks, etc., because familiarity with these names, and the parts they represent gives the person confidence in charging the batteries. Such knowledge also supplies a reason for the one principal battery precaution, which is not to use out all of the electricity the batteries contain.
Those who have electric lighting plants on the farm do not seem to feel the cost of running the plants, because they use the engine for other purposes. Generally manufacturers figure about 1 H.P. extra to run a dynamo to supply from 25 to 50 lights. My experience with farm engines is that for ordinary farm work such as driving the cream separator, working the pump and grinding feed, a two-horse power engine is more useful than any other size. Farmers who conduct business in the usual way will need a three-horsepower engine if they contemplate adding an electric lighting system to the farm equipment.
Among the advantages of an electric lighting system is the freedom from care on the part of the women. There are no lamps to clean or broken chimneys to cut a finger, so that when the system is properly installed the only work the women have to do is to turn the switches to throw the lights on or off as needed.
The expense in starting a farm electric light plant may be a little more than some other installations, but it seems to be more economical in service when figured from a farmer’s standpoint, taking into consideration the fact that he is using power for generating electricity that under ordinary farm management goes to waste.
A three-horsepower engine will do the same amount of work with the same amount of gasoline that a two-horsepower engine will do. This statement may not hold good when figured in fractions, but it will in farm practice. Also when running a pump or cream separator the engine is capable of doing a little extra work so that the storage batteries may be charged with very little extra expense.
On one dairy farm a five-horsepower kerosene engine is used to furnish power for various farm purposes. The engine is belted to a direct-current generator of the shunt-wound type. The generator is wired to an electric storage battery of 88 ampere hour capacity. The battery is composed of a number of separate cells. The cells are grouped together in jars. These jars contain the working parts of the batteries. As each jar of the battery is complete in itself, any one jar may be cut out or another added without affecting the other units. The switchboard receives current either from the battery or from the engine and generator direct. There are a number of switches attached to the switchboard, which may be manipulated to turn the current in any direction desired.
Some provision should be made for the renewal of electric lamps. Old lamps give less light than new ones, and the manufacturers should meet customers on some kind of a fair exchange basis. Tungsten lamps are giving good satisfaction for farm use. These lamps are economical of current, which means a reduction of power to supply the same amount of light. The Mazda lamp is another valuable addition to the list of electric lamps.
The Wisconsin Agriculturist publishes a list of 104 different uses for electricity on farms. Many of the electrical machines are used for special detail work in dairies where cheese or butter is made in quantity. Sugar plantations also require small units of power that would not apply to ordinary farming. Some of the work mentioned is extra heavy, such as threshing and cutting ensilage. Other jobs sound trivial, but they are all possible labor-savers. Here is the list:
“Oat crushers, alfalfa mills, horse groomers, horse clippers, hay cutters, clover cutters, corn shellers, ensilage cutters, corn crackers, branding irons, currying machines, feed grinders, flailing machines, live stock food warmers, sheep shears, threshers, grain graders, root cutters, bone grinders, hay hoists, clover hullers, rice threshers, pea and bean hullers, gas-electric harvesters, hay balers, portable motors for running threshers, fanning-mills, grain elevators, huskers and shredders, grain drying machines, binder motors, wheat and corn grinders, milking machines, sterilizing milk, refrigeration, churns, cream-separators, butter workers, butter cutting-printing, milk cooling and circulating pumps, milk clarifiers, cream ripeners, milk mixers, butter tampers, milk shakers, curd grinders, pasteurizers, bottle cleaners, bottle fillers, concrete mixers, cider mills, cider presses, spraying machines, wood splitters, auto trucks, incubators, hovers, telephones, electric bells, ice cutters, fire alarms, electric vehicles, electro cultures, water supply, pumping, water sterilizers, fruit presses, blasting magnetos, lighting, interior telephones, vulcanizers, pocket flash lights, ice breakers, grindstones, emery wheels, wood saws, drop hammers, soldering irons, glue pots, cord wood saws, egg testers, burglar alarms, bell ringing transformers, devices for killing insects and pests, machine tools, molasses heaters, vacuum cleaners, portable lamps to attract insects, toasters, hot plates, grills, percolators, flatirons, ranges, toilette articles, water heaters, fans, egg boilers, heating pads, dishwashers, washing machines, curling irons, forge blowers.”
GASOLINE HOUSE LIGHTING
Gasoline gas for house lighting is manufactured in a small generator by evaporating gasoline into gas and mixing it with air, about 5 per cent gas and 95 per cent air. We are all familiar with the little brass gasoline torch heater that tinners and plumbers use to heat their soldering irons. The principle is the same.
There are three systems of using gasoline gas for farmhouse lighting purposes, the hollow wire, tube system, and single lamp system.
The hollow wire system carries the liquid gasoline through the circuit in a small pipe called a hollow wire. Each lamp on the circuit takes a few drops of gasoline as needed, converts it into gas, mixes the gas with the proper amount of air and produces a fine brilliant light. Each lamp has its own little generator and is independent of all other lamps on the line.
The tube system of gasoline gas lighting is similar in appearance, but the tubes are larger and look more like regular gas pipes. In the tube system the gas is generated and mixed with air before it gets into the distribution tube, so that lamps do not require separate generators.
In the separate lamp system each lamp is separate and independent. Each lamp has a small supply of gasoline in the base of the lamp and has a gas generator attached to the burner, which converts the gasoline into gas, mixes it with the proper amount of air and feeds it into the burner as required. Farm lanterns are manufactured that work on this principle. They produce a brilliant light.
By investigating the different systems of gasoline gas lighting in use in village stores and country homes any farmer can select the system that fits into his home conditions to the best advantage. In one farmhouse the owner wanted gasoline gas street lamps on top of his big concrete gateposts, and this was one reason why he decided to adopt gasoline gas lighting and to use the separate lamp system.
ACETYLENE GAS
Acetylene lighting plants are intended for country use beyond the reach of city gas mains or electric cables. Carbide comes in lump form in steel drums. It is converted into gas by a generator that is fitted with clock work to drop one or more lumps into water as gas is needed to keep up the pressure. Acetylene gas is said to be the purest of all illuminating gases. Experiments in growing delicate plants in greenhouses lighted with acetylene seem to prove this claim to be correct.
The light also is bright, clear and powerful. The gas is explosive when mixed with air and confined, so that precautions are necessary in regard to using lanterns or matches near the generators. The expense of installing an acetylene plant in a farm home has prevented its general use.
WOOD-SAW FRAMES
There are a number of makes of saw frames for use on farms, some of which are very simple, while others are quite elaborate. Provision usually is made for dropping the end of the stick as it is cut. Sometimes carriers are provided to elevate the blocks onto a pile. Extension frames to hold both ends of the stick give more or less trouble, because when the stick to be sawed is crooked, it is almost impossible to prevent binding. If a saw binds in the kerf, very often the uniform set is pinched out of alignment, and there is some danger of buckling the saw, so that for ordinary wood sawing it is better to have the end of the stick project beyond the jig. If the saw is sharp and has the right set and the right motion, it will cut the stick off quickly and run free while the end is dropping to the ground.
The quickest saw frames oscillate, being supported on legs that are hinged to the bottom of the frame. Oscillating frames work easier than sliding frames. Sliding frames are sometimes provided with rollers, but roller frames are not steady enough. For cross sawing lumber V-shaped grooves are best. No matter what the feeding device is, it should always be protected by a hood over the saw. The frame should fall back of its own weight, bringing the hood with it, so that the saw is always covered except when actually engaged with the stick. Saw-mandrels vary in diameter and length, but in construction they are much alike. For wood sawing the shaft should be 13⁄8″ or 11⁄2″ in diameter. The shaft runs in two babbitted boxes firmly bolted to the saw frame. The frame itself should be well made and well braced.
ROOT PULPER
There are root pulpers with concave knives which slice roots in such a way as to bend the slices and break them into thousands of leafy shreds. The principle is similar to bending a number of sheets of paper so that each sheet will slide past the next one. Animals do not chew roots when fed in large solid pieces. Cattle choke trying to swallow them whole, but they will munch shredded roots with apparent patience and evident satisfaction. American farmers are shy on roots. They do not raise roots in quantities because it requires a good deal of hand labor, but roots make a juicy laxative and they are valuable as an appetizer and they carry mineral. Pulped roots are safe to feed and they offer the best mixing medium for crushed grains and other concentrated foods.
FEED CRUSHER
Instead of grinding grain for feeding, we have what is known as a crusher which operates on the roller-mill principle. It breaks the grains into flour by crushing instead of grinding. It has the advantage of doing good work quickly. Our feed grinding is done in the two-story corncrib and granary. It is one of the odd jobs on the farm that every man likes. The grain is fed automatically into the machine by means of the grain spouts which lead the different kinds of grain down from the overhead bins. The elevator buckets carry the crushed feed back to one of the bins or into the bagger. In either case it is not necessary to do any lifting for the sacks are carried away on a bag truck. We have no use for a scoop shovel except as a sort of big dustpan to use with the barn broom.
STUMP PULLER
Pulling stumps by machinery is a quick operation compared with the old time methods of grubbing, chopping, prying and burning that our forefathers had on their hands. Modern stump pulling machines are small affairs compared with the heavy, clumsy things that were used a few years ago. Some of the new stump pullers are guaranteed to clear an acre a day of ordinary stumpage. This, of course, must be a rough estimate, because stumps, like other things, vary in numbers, size and condition of soundness. Some old stumps may be removed easily while others hang to the ground with wonderful tenacity.
There are two profits to follow the removal of stumps from a partially cleared field. The work already put on the land has in every case cost considerable labor to get the trees and brush out of the way. The land is partially unproductive so long as stumps remain. For this reason, it is impossible to figure on the first cost until the stumps are removed to complete the work and to put the land in condition to raise machine made crops. When the stumps are removed, the value of the land either for selling or for farming purposes is increased at once. Whether sold or farmed, the increasing value is maintained by cropping the land and securing additional revenue.
There are different ways of removing stumps, some of which are easy while others are difficult and expensive. One of the easiest ways is to bore a two-inch auger hole diagonally down into the stump; then fill the auger hole with coal-oil and let it remain for some weeks to soak into the wood. Large stumps may be bored in different directions so the coal-oil will find its way not only through the main part of the stumps but down into the roots. This treatment requires that the stumps should be somewhat dry. A stump that is full of sap has no room for coal-oil, but after the sap partially dries out, then coal oil will fill the pores of the wood. After the stump is thoroughly saturated with coal-oil, it will burn down to the ground, so that the different large roots will be separated. Sometimes the roots will burn below plow depth, but a good heavy pair of horses with a grappling hook will remove the separated roots.
Figure 130.—The Oldest Farm Hoist. The first invention for elevating a heavy object was a tripod made of three poles tied together at the top with thongs of bark or rawhide. When hunters were lucky enough to kill a bear, the tripod elevator was erected over the carcass with the lower ends of the poles spread well apart to lower the apex. The gambrel was inserted under the hamstrings and attached to the top of the tripod. As the skinning of the animal proceeded the feet of the tripod were moved closer together. By the time the head was cut off the carcass would swing clear.
Dynamite often is used to blow stumps to pieces, and the work is not considered dangerous since the invention of safety devices. In some sections of the country where firewood is valuable, dynamite has the advantage of saving the wood. An expert with dynamite will blow a stump to pieces so thoroughly that the different parts are easily worked into stove lengths. Pitch-pine stumps have a chemical value that was not suspected until some fellows got rich by operating a retort.
FARM ELEVATING MACHINERY
Many handy and a few heavy elevators are being manufactured to replace human muscle. The simple tripod beef gin was familiar to the early settlers and it is still in use. When a heavy animal was killed for butchering, the small ends of three poles were tied together to form a tripod over the carcass. The feet of the tripod were placed wide apart to raise the apex only a few feet above the animal. After the gambrel was inserted and attached the feet of the tripod were moved gradually closer together as the skinning proceeded, thus elevating the carcass to swing clear of the ground.
Grain Elevators.—As a farm labor-saver, machinery to elevate corn into the two-story corncrib and grain into the upper bins is one of the newer and more important farming inventions. With a modern two-story corncrib having a driveway through the center, a concrete floor and a pit, it is easy to dump a load of grain or ear corn by raising the front end of the wagon box without using a shovel or corn fork. After the load is dumped into the pit a boy can drive a horse around in a circle while the buckets carry the corn or small grain and deliver it by spout into the different corncribs or grain bins. There are several makes of powerful grain elevating machines that will do the work easily and quickly.
The first requisite is a building with storage overhead, and a convenient place to work the machinery. Some of the elevating machines are made portable and some are stationary. Some of the portable machines will work both ways. Usually stationary elevators are placed in vertical position. Some portable elevators may be operated either vertically or on an incline. Such machines are adaptable to different situations, so the corn may be carried up into the top story of a farm grain warehouse or the apparatus may be hauled to the railway station for chuting the grain or ear corn into a car. It depends upon the use to be made of the machinery whether the strictly stationary or portable elevator is required. To unload usually some kind of pit or incline is needed with any kind of an elevator, so the load may be dumped automatically quickly from the wagon box to be distributed by carrying buckets at leisure.
Figure 131.—Portable Grain Elevator Filling a Corncrib. The same rig is taken to the railway to load box cars. The wagon is unloaded by a lifting jack. It costs from 1c to 11⁄2c per bushel to shovel corn by hand, but the greatest saving is in time.
Some elevators are arranged to take grain slowly from under the tailboard of a wagon box. The tailrod is removed and the tailboard raised half an inch or an inch, according to the capacity of the machinery. The load pays out through the opening as the front of the wagon is gradually raised, so the last grain will discharge into the pit or elevator hopper of its own weight. Technical building knowledge and skill is required to properly connect the building and elevating machinery so that the two will work smoothly together. There are certain features about the building that must conform to the requirements and peculiarities of the elevating machinery. The grain and ear corn are both carried up to a point from which they will travel by gravity to any part of the building. The building requires great structural strength in some places, but the material may be very light in others. Hence, the necessity of understanding both building and machinery in order to meet all of the necessary technical requirements.