USE OF ELECTRICITY ON FARMS 



CLARENCE E. EDWORDS 



IF all the latent energy which comes down from the snow-clad tops 

 of the mountain chain which rims the eastern part of California were 

 converted into electrical force, there would be sufficient power devel- 

 oped to drive every engine in the world. But there is one use where 



it is not necessary to have the far-away streams harnessed. Every 

 farmer who lives on the borders of a little stream has at his door the 

 means of supplying the energy that now comes from horses or back- 

 breaking labor of men and women. While the expense would be mini- 

 mized, the amount of work that would be accomplished and the amount 

 of labor saved would make farming the ideal life in fact that it is in fancy. 



Take the practical possibilities of electricity in use on a farm — or 

 rather that are now in use on various farms — and apply them to one ideal 

 farm, and see what it would mean to every member of the household. I 

 have in mind a farm of one hundred acres, where the owner, his two sons 

 of fourteen and sixteen and a hired man work all the year round, and addi- 

 tional help — sometimes two and sometimes three men — is employed during 

 the rush season of fruit gathering. Five horses are kept at work, all re- 

 quiring feed and care. 



It costs $480 a year to hire the man, and it is estimated that the 

 feed and shoeing of the horses costs $486 a year. Expenses of repair and 

 replacement of harness, with value of time expended in care of the ani- 

 mals, may be estimated at the low figure of $34 a year, bringing the total 

 up to $1,000 a year. Fuel and light may be estimated at $36 a year. In 

 the house it takes the combined time of the farmer's wife and a servant 

 to keep things going, while extra help is required during canning and 

 preserving season. , 



If this farmer were to combine with three of his neighbors they could 

 build the necessary dam, ditch, and power-house, install the power-plant 

 and transmission wires, put in place necessary wires, motors, and appa- 

 ratus on each farm at a cost to each individual of $1,500. This machinery 

 would take the place of the hired man, horses, incidental expenses, light 

 and fuel. Interest at seven per cent on the investment would be $105 a 

 year, or about $900 less than it cost to run the farm under present con- 

 ditions. It is necessary to compute the value of the horses and take that 

 from the cost of the plant. Five good farm horses may be considered 

 worth $500, thus reducing the cost of the plant to $1,000, making the 

 interest expense only $70 a year. The expense of maintenance of the 

 power-plant is inappreciable, as it almost runs itself when installed, re- 

 quiring but a few minutes' attention two or three times a week, which 

 work can be performed by a boy. 



With a system of portable supply wires and converters, electricity can 

 be applied to any point on the farm. The house may be heated and light- 

 ed electrically, saving labor in caring for stoves and lamps, preparing 

 fuel and the cost of oil and wood. In the house kitchen work can be 

 lightened, washing can be done, the sewing machine run, and numerous 

 helps can be given to the women. 



On the farm pumping, hay-stacking, wood-cutting, feed-chopping, 

 churning, and hauling, besides numerous duties, can be performed by 

 electrical appliances. The windmill can be taken down, and the farmer 

 will not have to depend on nature for drawing water from the well or for 

 irrigation. Electrical motors can run the wagons and all farm produce 

 can be taken to town in automobiles run by electricity or by a neighbor- 

 hood trolley, as is now in use in France and Germany. 



The day will come when California farms will be run by electricity. 



