GENERATING MECHANICAL POWER 91 



steam and attend to his other work around the dairy 

 or barn. 



Where steam boilers are required for heating water 

 and furnishing steam to scald cans and wash bottles, 

 the boiler should be several horsepower larger than the 

 engine requirements. There is no objection to this 

 except that a large boiler costs more than a smaller 

 one, and that more steam is generated than is actually 

 required to run the engine. The kind of work re- 

 quired of a boiler and engine must determine the size 

 and general character of the installation. 



Portable boilers and engines are not quite so satis- 

 factory as stationary, but there are a great many por- 

 table outfits that give good satisfaction, and there is 

 the advantage of moving them to the different parts of 

 the farm when power is required for certain purposes. 



SMALL GASOLINE ENGINES 



A gasoline engine of 2y% horsepower is the most use- 

 ful size for a general purpose farm engine. It is con- 

 venient to run the pump, washing-machine, fanning- 

 mill, cream-separator, grindstone, and other similar 

 farm chores that have heretofore always been done by 

 human muscle. A small engine may be placed on a 

 low-down truck and moved f rdm one building to an- 

 other by hand. One drive belt 20 or 30 feet long, mak- 

 ing a double belt reach of 12 or 15 feet, will answer 

 for each setting. 



The engine once lined up to hitch onto the pulley of 

 any stationary machine is all that is necessary. When 

 the truck is once placed in proper position the wheels 

 may be blocked by a casting of concrete molded into a 

 depression in the ground in front and behind each 



