44 New Hampshire Experiment Station [Bulletin 228 



estimated that about 880 watts will be necessary for the coldest weather. Using 

 440 watts the current consumption amounts to 5.28 kwhs. per day or 158.4 per 

 month. These values would be doubled with heaters totaling 880 watts. The 

 operating characteristics were excellent. 



OPPORTUNITIES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 



The opportunities for further research, especially in the field of farmstead 

 operations, seem at times to be almost unlimited. Some farmers are doing 

 experimental work of their own in the uses of electricity. 



Some of the problems that have been suggested and appear to offer possibil- 

 ities of successful applications of electricity are given below. In addition, there 

 is l lie further development of some of the equipment already mentioned and 

 the maintaining of experiments already under way. 



Fruit Equipment. 



.4 motor-driven cider press, suitable for use in disposing of culls and poor 

 grade fruit in the form of cider or vinegar, will be tested during the next 



season. 



Spraying or dusting machinery is now powered by gas engines, and an op- 

 portunity exists for using electric motors, if a practical method of supplying 

 current can be developed. A new method, using a stationary spray plant, as 

 developed by the Washington project, is reported to have met with considerable 

 approval. 



Insect Trapping. The fact that moths and. insects will gather around a light 

 has suggested to one of our fruit farmers that injurious pests could be trapped 

 in pans of oil suspended under lights placed at intervals in the orchard. The 

 results obtained from first trials of this system on tomatoes in the Virginia 

 project indicate possibilities. This and work on spraying and dusting equip- 

 ment could be combined as far as the field wiring is concerned. 



Dairy Equipment. 



Stock Clippers. Dairymen have learned that clean milk is much more easily 

 produced when the flanks and udders of cows are kept clean. Keeping the 

 hair on these parts clipped short is desirable, and requests for practical, inex- 

 pensive clippers have been received. Tests are planned using modified barber 

 clippers, standard stock clippers and hand-operated clippers converted to motor 

 drive. 



Milk Cooling. Several methods of removing body heat from milk are pos- 

 sible besides that of using cold well or spring water. Various ways of using 

 electric refrigeration equipment offer promising possibilities, and many inquiries 

 indicate considerable interest. 



Sli rilized utensils are essential to the production of high grade, clean milk. 

 Methods now used are not always adequate to cope with the situation. Elec- 

 tric equipment which can probably be adapted to this work has been located. 

 This is a mid-day operation with dairy farms, and occurs every day of the year. 



Sterilization of Milk. Pasteurized milk is sometimes said to be lacking in 

 natural quality or taste, but the ever increasing strictness of regulations gov- 

 erning the milk produced for market raises the problem of how else milk may 

 be sterilized. Several possible methods have been suggested for doing this 

 electrically. 



Cold Storage for Wholesale Milk. Wholesale milk is usually handled in 40 

 quart cans, and smaller cold storage rooms of a somewhat different type than 

 the cooling rooms already described may be used. Dry storage is also desirable 

 and a plan is suggested for using the electric refrigeration machine for this 

 purpose. 



Fertilizer Mixing. Home-mixed commercial fertilizers are often higher in 

 plant food value and cost less than when purchased ready mixed. Developing 

 a convenient method for this operation has been suggested. 



Paint spray equipment may have several uses about a farm of any type. 

 The painting of farm buildings alone is an item of considerable expense, mostly 

 labor, and there are several other uses to which this equipment could be put. 

 Tests on the use of this equipment are planned. 



