Practical Work on the All-Electric Farm

PRACTICAL WORK ON THE ALL-ELECTRIC FARM The following account of practical operations is derived from the experience gained on a British farm in Sussex.

Electric Ligh.

The use of electric light is a great aid to the safety and convenience of work in the barns, byres, stables, etc., where there is always inflammable material lying about. The farm worker in the electrically lighted building is able to do far more work than he would in the building where the only form of illuminant is the old-fashioned hurricane oil lamp. It has been shown by careful test that cattle can be fed with a saving of over a third of the usual time. During the winter months a great deal of work has to be done in the buildings after dusk or before dawn and the preparation of foodstuffs or the cleaning of byres by the aid of a poor light is not an easy task. Some time ago on the farm here described, the amount of milk produced was care fully checked ; it was found that after the introduction of electric light into the cow byres much less milk was lost through spillage; the value of the milk thus saved was nearly sufficient to pay for the cost of electric light. It is the general experience on the con tinent of Europe, that as soon as electricity is available, the first thing done by the farmer is to light the byres and stables ; his house comes last. The next step is usually the lighting of the poultry houses in winter to obtain an increased egg supply. Care ful investigation shows that while the hens do not lay more eggs per annum through electric lighting, it is possible to alter the distribution of the laying period with the result that from io to 3o per cent. more eggs are obtained at a time when eggs are at their highest prices.

Normally, the supply of eggs is considerably reduced in winter because a good deal more than half of the day is spent by the hens on their perches. In the first four hours of this time the hen has digested almost the whole of the food contained in her crop and is afterwards drawing on the stored fats in her body which should be utilized for egg production. The electrically lighted house, however, reduces the number of hours sleep to the ample amount of ten a day; thus the birds are kept active for about 14 hours and are given a longer period for obtaining exercise and consuming food. The hours at which the lights are introduced vary according to the opinion of the poultry—man; the manage ment described favours the morning and evening lighting system. Lamps of 4o candle-power are used and these are placed in scientific reflectors for distributing the light evenly over the feeding and scratching space in the house. As the switching on and off of the lights regularly at definite times would of necessity prove very inconvenient to the poultry-man (and electric lighting is apt to bring on a moult) automatic time switches are installed. These switches not only turn the light on and off but also dim the lights for a period of 15 minutes before switching on and off. This dimming arrangement is really essential when lights are switched off after dark, as its gives the birds an artificial dusk and yet provides sufficient light to enable them to return to their perches. The clock is fitted with a self-winding device and also an astronomical attachment. The latter automatically switches on and off a few minutes earlier or later each day, according to the earlier or later rising or setting of the sun. Careful records have been kept and it has been found that the total cost of electric light for the whole period during which lights are required amounts to about the average price of one egg per hen, in return for which more eggs are laid at times of top prices.

Machines in Farm Buildings.

One of the outstanding ad vantages of electricity on a farm is that it can be used to drive nearly every type of farm machine.

When a farmer begins employing an electric drive he generally purchases two portable electric motors, one small one of 2 to 5 horse power for use with various machines, and a larger one, of 15 to 3o horse power, to operate a thrashing machine. Often a motor of 10 to 15 horse power is employed to drive a counter shaf t in place of an oil engine. In the course of five or seven years, it will be found that he is gradually adopting individual driving of his machines—in spite of economists' and engineers' cal culations that this is not a good financial method—and often in creases to as many as 15 electric motors. Though this practice may not seem sound, it is so, for after all labourers' wages have to be taken into account. The machine that is ready at a turn of the switch, is far more economical than one where the portable motor required to drive it has to be dragged into position and lined up. Again, the losses in driving a counter-shaft (often as much as 3 horse power out of a main drive of 8) are eliminated.

Milking Machines.

The electric milking machine was at one time not considered an economic proposition on a small farm where the dairy herd did not exceed ten. This, however, is not now the case, for small portable machines are available. These machines are driven by a one-sixth horse power motor and their current consumption is very low; they do not require any installa tion and are in fact just as reliable as the larger machines. Milk ing machines are often condemned because of the high bacterial count in the milk thus produced. This, however, is not the fault of the machine, but of want of cleanliness and care.

Thrashing Machines.

The thrashing machine on the farm in question is self-propelled and self-contained. It consists of a petrol-electric ex-omnibus chassis on which has been mounted a six-foot drum, ball bearing, thrashing machine. An electric motor has been erected on an angle iron framework on the front of the thrasher. This motor is directly connected to the thrashing drum through a flexible coupling. As is usual in this type of petrol electric vehicle, the petrol engine on the chassis drives an electric dynamo. The current from this dynamo can be utilised either for propelling the vehicle or driving the motor connected to the thrasher. When the machine is used for thrashing, the electric motor is connected to the farm power lines; if however the ma chine is sent to a neighbouring farm where an electric supply is not available, the electric motor is operated from the dynamo on the machine. This equipment can proceed along the roads at a speed of 12 miles per hour. An electrically driven thrashing machine has the advantage that about five per cent. more grain is thrashed out, owing to the steady speed of the motor.

Electric large electric plough has now be come a usual sight on many large continental farms; over 200 are now in use in Europe. Its usefulness is, of course, restricted to large scale operation. Many seem to imagine that a farm equipped for electric ploughing must necessarily be one mass of overhead lines. This, however, is not the case, since the electric plough operates anywhere within a quarter of a mile from the source of supply, and farms are generally long in comparison with their width. Hence one line along the major axis of the arable portion of the farm will usually suffice. For the individual farmer a smaller type of plough is essential. On the Sussex farm described here, ' the management has for S years used the only working electric plough in England. The equipment consists of a two wheeled carriage upon which is mounted a 12 horse-power motor with a speed reduction gear. There are also mounted on the carriage two cable drums, either of which can be driven by means of the motor. The equipment is anchored in a convenient position on the field, and adjacent to the overhead lines. The set operates on the old round-about haulage system. A double furrow anti balance plough is used and this is drawn to and fro across the field by the steel rope attached to the drums mounted on the carriage. The speed of ploughing is from one-third to one acre per hour, varying with the nature of the soil and depth of furrow ploughed, five acres per day being the average. The great ad vantage of the small electric plough is that the ploughing can commence by merely pressing a switch. The objectionable hard "pan" made by the tractor is avoided, as only the plough passes over the ground. The consumption of electricity with this type is remarkably low ; an acre of heavy arable land can be ploughed to a depth of six inches with a current consumption of 15 units; 25 units is sufficient to plough the same class of land to a depth of ten inches. The large electric ploughs, as used on the continent of Europe, plough up to 3o acres per day.