ELECTRIC FARMING. The greatest agent for the advancement of agriculture is electricity. It is the emancipator of • the toiler. A motor of even diminutive dimensions accom plishes more work than a man — at less ex pense — since the power developed by the human machine is the most expensive that man uses. In supplanting manual labor, electricity has a most appreciable effect upon agriculture, due to the fact that agriculture requires great labor with a minimum of skill. In reducing manual labor by the use of electricity, the farm operatives, with the exercise of but little mechanical knowledge, may direct the opera tions of numerous large electrical units and ac complish an aggregate of work that would be absolutely impracticable under ordinary condi tions.
In the installation of electricity on the farm, it is necessary, however, that the farmer— armer— user user of many and infinitely varied implements and mechanical devices — should avail himself of the of the engineer; taking ad vantage of the skill and experience of the latter in adapting the new method to his needs, in order to increase the production of his land. Rural industry in general must look to the engineering profession more and more for the most available utilization of our natural re sources through the medium of electrical energy.
Industrially considered, the farm is a large user of power, but the sources from which it is derived are at present uneconomic and inade quate in comparison with industrial standards in other lines. Of the 33,000,000 persons en gaged in gainful occupations in the United States, not less than 10,000,000 devote their energies to agriculture. In addition, upward of 90 per cent of all the horses and mules in this country are devoted to farm labor. The sub stitution of electric power, therefore, for even a small proportion of the work of farm animals will result in great national economy.
There is no form of service that can sup plant manual and animal labor on the farm or country estate as expeditiously from every standpoint, considering expense and conven ience, as electricity, and it will be found superior to steam or to any internal combustion engine.
In fact, there is no other existing agent that is able to supply the three necessities — light, heat and power— from one and the same source. Due to this fact, hours of labor on the farm or in rural communities may be regulated, as are those of the manufacturing and commercial in dustries. In consequence, life in rural com munities may be made attractive, as much or more so than that of the cities, where the struggle for existence is incessant, and living accommodations — or what corresponds to home life— fall short of the pleasant and healthful surroundings of the countryside.
The giant industries of the country are of recent origin and were started in a humble way, but they now surpass any branch of the agrarian pursuits. This is a condition readily explained, due to the employment of the services of the trained engineer to the advantageous upbuilding of the great manufacturing industries. On the other hand, farming— the oldest of all indus tries, and the most basic — has been neglected, even to the point of being abandoned in many places.
The machines and implements of use on a farm are manifold—ploughs, rollers, reapers, threshers, corn shelters and grinders, shredders, fodder cutters, wood saws, pumps, horse and sheep dippers, and apparatus for unloading and hoisting hay, corn• fodder and like products. Another phase of farm life in which a great saving of labor is effected by the use of electric ity is in the operation of washing machinery, carpet cleaners, sewing machines, fans, cooking and laundry appliances, none of which could well be served by any other agent than electric ity. Besides the preceding partial enumeration of the possible applications of electricity, for power, the electric energy — supplied to its motors either from an outside source or from its own central plant — may be used for light and heat.