A churn for 200 quarts of milk, assuming average conditions, requires from one-fourth to one-half horse power, as also does the butter lcneader, and the cost is negligible.
A washing-machine, including wringer, op erated by a one-fourth horse power motor, cost ing complete $165, is used 260 hours per year, or some 5 hours per week. As other work may be done by the woman operating it, her time amounts to but 65 hours during the year. The machine turns out three washes an hour, and the total expense of the whole 780 washes is $35.41. This includes all labor, power and every expense, including overhead charges, and, the same applies to the figures for the following machines.
A horse-groomer, costing $75, operated by a one-horse power motor, cleans 4 horses in 36 minutes. It is used 328.5 hours during the year, or 2,190 groomings, and requires the services of but one man. The cost amounts to $72.93, or $0.03% per horse per grooming.
A cream-separator having a capacity of 1,350 pounds per hour is operated by a 1% horse power motor, and costs complete $350. It is used 183 hours during the year, separating 237,900 pounds of millc at a cost of $88, or $0.037 per 100 pounds.
A butter churn having a volume of 300 ph Ions and a capacity of 100 gallons per churning, operated by a 2-horse-power motor, cost $118.50. It is operated 88 hours per year, churning 15,000 pounds of butter at a cost of $36.60, or $0.002 per pound. This includes churning, washing and working the butter ready for packing.
A root-cutter with a capacity of 6 tons of turnips an hour costs $26.30, and is operated by a 2-horse-power motor costing $86. It is used 52 hours per year, principally during the winter months, cutting 300 tons of beets and turnips at a cost of $35.94, or $0.119 per ton.
A fodder-cutter, having a capacity of 3 tons per hour of dry fodder, costs $128.10, and is operated by a 10-horse-power motor costing $118.50. The outfit is used 88.70 hours per year, and will cut 180 tons of fodder at a cost of $54.85, with one operative, at a cost of $0.30 per ton.
One of the means by which the farmer may secure his electricity at a low rate is to make his consumption as nearly uniform as possible during the whole 24 hours. The cost of elec
tricity is based on the cost of fuel or water power, attendance and the amount of capital invested in the installation, including generators and transmission system. It will be seen that if all the farmers on a line demand electricity during the same few hours of each day, larger and more expensive machinery must be installed for its generation than would be necessary if the requirements for the same amount of elec tricity were spread over a greater part of the day.
Consequently, by using power for food-chop ping, meat-grinding,.dairy purposes, wood-saw ing, cooking, washing and general purposes during certain hours of the day, light for morn ing and evening, and pumping water for irriga tion and the household dunni the night, the farmer may, under the direction of a central station, so consume his electricity that it may be generated at the lowest cost. possible.
It is the custom of the central station concerns to deliver electricity to the consumer's premises, where usually the user installs his own dis tributing system through his house, barns, etc., inasmuch as the majority of farmers can as a rule afford to buy their own machinery, par ticularly the smaller sizes. In the case of large installations, however, a number of methods may be availed of to secure the benefits of such machinery without its outright purchase, usually through the co-operation with the central station concern. Many such enterprises are only too willing to furnish electric motors, and make wire installation on the farm premises — for both light and power — at a small yearly rental or on low instalment payments. In consequence, the farmer may have the cost of his machinery spread out over a number of years, the saving effected in both manual and animal labor being far more than sufficient to pay for the invest ment. He will eventually become the owner of the equipment, the while making a handsome profit through its use. It has already been demonstrated that farm efficiency can be ac complished in no way more advantageously than through the extension of the use of electricity on the farm.