POWER EMPLOYED IN MANUFACTURES 217 



change in ten years; for while gas engnies are built in much 

 larger sizes than ever before, there has been also a great in- 

 crease in the number of small engines for various purposes. 



The large increase in the use o' internal combustion 

 engines has been due to the rapid improvements that have 

 been made in them, their increased cflicicncy and economy, 

 their decreased cost, and the wider range of adaptability that 

 has been made practicable. 



The statistics relating to the use of water power for manu- 

 facturing purposes in 1900, compared with corresponding 

 figures for 1890, 1880, and 1870, are significant of an interest- 

 ing phase of power utilization, particularly during the past 

 ten years. 



The total amount of water power reported as used by 

 manufacturing establishments in 1900 was 1,727,258 horse- 

 power; 1,263,343 horsepower in 1890; 1,225,379 horsepower 

 in 1880; and 1,130,431 horsepower in 1870. The increase 

 from 1890 to 1900 was 463,915 horsepower, or 36.7 per cent. 

 From 1880 to 1890 the increase was 37,964 horsepow^er, or 

 3.1 per cent, while from 1870 to 1880 there was an increase 

 of 94,948 horsepower, or 8.4 per cent. In 1900 water powder 

 constituted 15.3 per cent of the total, as compared with 21.2 

 per cent in 1890, 35.9 per cent in 1880, and 48.2 per cent in 

 1870. Apparently the use of water power for manufacturing 

 purposes has decreased relatively in thirty years from nearly 

 one half of the total motive power to less than one sixth. 



The decrease in the actual importance of waterpower is 

 evidently less marked than these figures would seem to indi- 

 cate ; for consideration should be given to the fact that a very 

 large portion of the electric motors reported in 1900 were 

 driven by current developed by water power. For example, 

 almost all the power developed by the great hydraulic in- 

 stallation at Niagara falls is electrically transmitted, and 

 consequently is reported as electric power by the manufactur- 

 ing establishments in w^hich it is used. Man}^ textile plants 

 are operated by electric current from distant generators driven 

 by water power. In this way a large portion of the water 

 power actually used in manufacturing operations does not 

 appear m the census returns because it is electrically trans- 



