A New Era in Water Power Begun 

 at the Henry Ford Farms 



HENRY FORD'S Farms serve as an 

 experimental field for the various 

 appliances being developed by 

 Mr. Ford. His new home is located 

 on the farms. This is near Dearborn, 

 JVIichigan, on the north bank of the 

 river Rouge, on the site of a pioneer 

 mill. 



It is well known that the great milling 

 centers can furnish flour and even meal 

 at better prices than the lowly country 

 mill. As a result the grist mill is almost 

 obsolete. Many a grist mill is being 

 reconstructed, and turned into a hydro- 

 electric power plant to light and heat 

 nearby villages. But there are draw- 

 backs to this conversion. There are 

 high-water periods, and ice jams that 

 reduce the water power. It is a curious 

 fact that during times 

 of great flow or over- 

 flow, a small water- 

 power is literally 

 drowned out. In other 

 words, the power is 

 reduced sometimes al- 

 most to nothing. This 



is due to the fact that water rises faster 

 below than it does above a dam during a 

 freshet. The tendency is to conceal even 

 the location of a dam in very high water. 

 Hence, the head pressure on the turbine 

 water wheel is reduced, so that little or 

 no water will pass through it, with the 





The water power plant here shown is located at the Henry Ford Farms, near Dearborn, 

 Michigan. The low head of water is increased by use of an "accelerator" which relieves the 



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