222 



Popular Science Monthly 



capacity of an engine of twelve to 

 eighteen horse power. The corn husker 

 and shredder, the silo filler (especially 

 if fitted with a "blower/' or pneumatic 

 elevator), the big baling-press, etc., may 

 easily utilize the power of the largest 



This little engine, attached to mowers and binders, 

 made possible the saving of thousands of bushels of 

 grain in the West last summer. Heavy rains had made 

 the ground soft, so that the power-driven mechanism 

 was practically inoperative for lack of wheel-purchase. 

 The binder was mounted on skids so that it could run 

 over soggy ground almost as easily as over snow. A 

 small gasoline engine drove the binding mechanism 



portables which are now obtainable. 



Irrigation is almost a separate field, 

 requiring a special installation, yet some 

 of the smaller engines are pressed into 

 service. In combination with hoists, 

 spray pumps, balers and what-not, the 

 utility of the gas engine becomes almost 

 unlimited. 



One great drawback to the universal 

 popularity of the gas engine is the ex- 

 cessive competition and almost total lack 

 of standardization — whether of price, 

 rating, equipment, method of selling, or 

 service to the customer after the sale. 



An engine advertised at a low price 

 may turn out to be of good value, but 

 minus cooling tank, magneto, skid base, 

 battery box, and other desirable acces- 

 sories, while a higher apparent price may 

 actually prove lower because equipment 

 of good quality has been provided in full. 



The tendency is toward better acces- 

 so.ries. better workmanship, and better 

 lacilities for the furnishing of necessary 

 repairs. Moreover, at least two in- 



fluential organizations of technical men 

 are working toward the standardization 

 of power ratings and .the use of stock 

 sizes of bolts, nuts, pins and other easily 

 obtainable parts. 



A farm engine is not only far more 

 easily maintained than is 

 commonly realized, but it 

 is extraordinarily inexpen- 

 sive. The horse is an ex- 

 pensive luxury compared 

 with a small motor. He 

 must be fed regularly 

 every day, whether he 

 works or not ; he is not as 

 fresh in the afternoon as 

 he was in the morning; he 

 requires constant attention 

 in order to keep him clean, 

 to bed him properly and to 

 minister to his physical 

 wants. He may die at any 

 moment. In fact, his work- 

 ing life is brief. Besides 

 there is something almost 

 pitiful in watching a horse 

 doing heavy work. 



Not one of these con- 

 siderations applies to the in- 

 animate, tireless, cheap en- 

 gine. Its initial cost is less 

 than that of a horse ; it is never fatigued. 

 It costs nothing when it is not in opera- 

 tion ; it requires but little attention. The 

 "hired man" problem is not so difficult 

 to solve when a cheap source of power 

 is at hand. A farmer wrote to an engine 

 manufacturer and made the following 

 interesting comparison : 



"A man works at the rate of about 

 one-tenth of a horse power. That is to 

 say, the ordinary man in one hour does 

 one-tenth horse power of work. In a 

 day of ten hours, he does one horse 

 power of work. If we consider a man's 

 time to be worth at least $1.00 a day, it 

 costs $1.00 to do one horse power of 

 work by man power. A gasoline engine 

 uses one pint of gasoline per horse 

 power per hour. If we take gasoline at 

 twenty cents a gallon, a pint costs two 

 and one-half cents. The cost of one 

 horse-power hour of work done by gas- 

 oline engines, therefore, is two and one- 

 half cents. The cost for man power is 

 one dollar," 



