The Developing of Power 



ments, but it is dependent on the uncertain elements for its 

 force and until recent years its chief purpose was that of 

 pumping water which could be stored in sufficient quantities 

 to last until the wind was of sufficient velocity to pump 

 again. But within very recent years methods have been 

 devised whereby the force of the wind has been transmitted 

 to storage batteries, where its power can be utilized during 

 periods of calm and the battery is constantly recharged 

 when the wind again blows. With this inexpensive method 

 of operation, many farm houses, far removed from any 

 electric power line, now have the advantages of electric 

 lights and other electrical conveniences by utilizing the natu- 

 ral air currents. 



When the steam engine became of general use and its 

 economic power had been proved, old methods that had 

 been in use throughout the centuries began to give way to 

 the new. Boards could now be made with the sawmill 

 instead of the whipsaw and the broad ax; the thrashing 

 machine supplanted the barn floor, the ground and the hand 

 flail as a means of separating the grain; the spinning wheel 

 and the handloom surrendered to the automatic shuttle; 

 water navigation no longer depended on the current of the 

 stream or sails with which to catch the wind; the pick and 

 shovel were supplanted by the steam shovel; the striking 

 power of the hammer was increased many thousands of 

 times; grain could now be ground without the use of the 

 water wheel and so on through out all industrial activities. 

 The steam turbine was late in its coming, but it represents 

 the greatest power to which the use of steam has been 

 applied. In a sense it is the principle of the water wheel 



[III] 



