ing. 



the Farm 



'*' •, 



1 



farm at a minimum initial investment. 

 Out on the L. M. Ross farm in Du- 

 page county, I saw another interesting 

 experiment in developing a home-made 

 electric water heater. The new Chi- 

 cago milk ordinance put fluid milk pro- 

 ducers to much extra expense in equip- 

 ping their milk houses with vats, tanks, 

 hot water heaters and a lot of other 

 paraphernalia. The manufacturers are 

 getting $44.50 for a little 8-gallon wa- 

 ter heater for dairy houses that ought 

 to be made for $15 to $20. A 30 gallon 

 "tailor-made" heater for the home costs 

 upwards of $100. Mr. Ross, a director 

 of the Dupage County Farm Bureau, 

 and Boonstra got together a short time 

 ago and made one of their own. They 

 bought a 30 gallon steel tank for $5, 

 wrapped $3.50 worth of asbestos insula- 

 tion around it, put in a 1000 watt heat- 

 ing element costing $8.50 and connected 

 it up to the water system in the cel- 

 lar. When I saw it, the heater had 

 been operating less than a week, but 

 it was furnishing hot water on the 

 time-clock night rate of Ic per kwh 

 apparently as efficiently and economi- 

 cally as the high priced, factory-made 

 outfit. Farmers will be interested in 

 watching this experiment and others 

 for it points to the possibilities in 

 home-made electrical equipment pro- 

 duced at prices farmers can afford. 

 Incidentally the Ross's, Mr. and Mrs. 

 and their son, Francis, are smart 

 people, cultured, interested in the good 

 things of life, and as hospitable a fam- 

 ily as you can find anjrwhere. Mrs. 

 Ross, busy getting dinner for her two 

 strapping "boys," tells you with a smile 

 that she has been using an electric 

 range for the past seven years. "It's the 

 last word in perfect baking," she said. 

 "We like it fine. Since we've had it, 

 two heating elements have burned out. 

 One cost $12, the other $8. Altogether 

 too high but what can you do." The 

 Ross home is equipped with electric 



r Some <<(,egtions You May Have on This 

 Want El^tricity And Can't Get It on a Rea- 

 For Help, if You Have Had Experience in 

 n the Fa|„ t|,at ^ay Be Helpful to Oth 



Mr. and Mr$, Clarence Knudson 



"After 18 years A Boy" 



ers 



radio, toaster, pump and water sys- 

 tem, radio, washer, lights, and the 

 new water heater. Their bill last month 

 was S8.40 for 272 kwh figured as fol- 

 lows: 48 kwh for lights, water pump 

 and small household appliances $3.26 

 or 6.8c per kwh; 114 kwh for dairy wa- 

 ter heater (in dairy house) at Ic per 

 kwh or $1.14; 110 kwh for cooking ($1 

 for first 10 kwh, 3c per kwh over that) 

 S4.00. Thus the average cost, all uses 

 considered, is 3.2c. .- ; 



Co-operative Projects 



Whether a co-operative farmer- 

 owned company in Illinois can beat this 

 cost remains to be seen. Over in Ohio 

 and Indiana, the Farm Bureau Fed- 

 erations are putting a lot of steam 

 behind their co-operative rural elec- 

 trification projects and when they get 

 going it will be interesting to learn 

 what farmers can do working together 

 in this new field. In the meantime, the 

 Illinois Agricultural Association is ad- 

 vising groups of interested farmers in 

 several sections of the state about the 

 possibilities and problems involved in 

 this project, laying stress on the mini- 

 mum requirements for a successful 

 electrification co-operative. 



But getting back to the advantages 

 of cooking with electricity. Mrs. Ross 

 says the best thing about the electric 

 range is that it's very clean and doesn't 

 heat up the kitchen in the summer 

 time. 



"Experience is a good teacher," Mrs. 

 Ross said. "We learned how to econo- 

 mize and get quicker results cooking 

 with electricity. I found that I could 

 save by getting utensils that fit closely 

 over the heating elements. Then we 

 learned that you can cook a long time 



after the current is off. We get along 

 with a third less current now than we 

 used in the beginning." 



In Joliet we learned of a new nine 

 mile rural extension project around 

 Plattville in Kendall county. There 28 

 out of 32 farm owners have signed up 

 for electricity. They come in under the 

 $3.50 per month minimum. Part of the 

 line is up and the poles are ready to 

 go in the rest of the way. Many if not 

 all of the signers are members of the 

 I. A. A. and Kendall County Farm 

 Bureau. The attractive new member- 

 ship signs fastened on the front gates 

 and fences tell you that as you drive 

 by. More fertile and more level land 

 with well kept, neatly arranged farm- 

 steads you seldom if ever see any- 

 where. 



Doing Own Wiring 



Clarence Knudson and Mrs. Knud- 

 son were busy wiring their modem 

 house and getting spring house clean- 

 ing underway at the same time. Walter 

 Heap, father of Mrs. Knudson owns 

 the farm, also the one his son, Melvin 

 operates across the road. They are do- 

 ing their own wiring under the super- 

 vision of an experienced electrician 

 from Minooka. The materials and fix- 

 tures for the two homes represent an 

 investment of about $125. Electricity 

 will soon displace acetylene lights and 

 the gasolene cook stove in the Knud- 

 son home. An electric range for the 

 kitchen will be the first major ap- 

 pliance. Later they hope to add a re- 

 frigerator and an electric pump. "We 

 like the safety and convenience of elec- 

 tricity," Mrs. Knudson says. "I've used 

 a gasoline stove for many years and a 

 (Continued on pag« 80) 



APRIL. I»a6 



