XVIII 



POWER ON THE FARM 



MANY years ago, in an interview with Mr. Rene 

 Bache, I suggested the possibility of the farmer 

 availing himself of the wind as a convenient source of 

 energy for various purposes, including lighting, heat- 

 ing, and the driving of small farm machinery. This 

 interview was published by Mr. Bache, copied in a 

 great many newspapers, and evidently created a great 

 interest in the matter. Beyond, however, an academic 

 interest, very little was done towards putting this idea 

 into execution. I believe that it was first in England 

 that it was put into practical effect, and within a year 

 or two a few wind-mills have been erected in this coun- 

 try with the same purpose in view. 



The idea is a simple one, namely, that as wind is 

 one of the most widely distributed sources of power, 

 any method by means of which it can be harnessed and 

 made uniformly available must of necessity offer to the 

 farmer some advantage over any other form of power 

 which can be utilized, whether of steam, gasoline, or 

 of an animal source. The necessary conditions for 

 success, as I set forth in my original paper, were the 

 proper construction of a wind-mill of sufficient capacity 

 to develop two or three horse-power of electricity, com- 

 bined with a cheap and inexpensive storage battery 

 capable of storing the power during the periods of 

 windy weather, so that it could be utilized in periods 



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