MANUAL TRAINING 223* 



pose, and the dog power still stands for a large fac- 

 tor in Belgian country life. Wind power is of course 

 irregular, but in many cases it is the best thing that 

 the farmer or country home maker can secure. With 

 it he can generally keep a water tank filled (by means 

 of a windmill), and the water from this tank can 

 empty its contents through pipes into his kitchen and 

 possibly any room of his house. This will save a lot 

 of pumping. 



Unfortunately steam power has been from the out- 

 set almost strictly a town privilege. It could not be 

 carried for effective application more than a few 

 rods. In this way steam power drew the industries 

 into huge buildings and built up great factories, at 

 the same time emptying our country homes of nearly 

 all their most attractive employments. 



Fortunately electricity is a distributive force and 

 can be carried almost anywhere and to any distance. 

 We can get Niagara to do its work in the center of 

 New York State and can distribute its power among 

 the farmers' homes. The French Republic sells elec- 

 tric power derived from its canals to the adjacent 

 farmers, giving them force enough to run machinery 

 both outdoors and in. Wherever there is a stream 

 that tumbles down hill you have power, and that 

 power can be carried over into the barns and houses. 

 Many a farmer has a brook of this sort which is now 

 giving only water for his cattle, or possibly a little 

 poetry to his daily life. If it can be made to develop 

 two or more horse power, it is an easy matter to install 



