CHAPTER X 



THE POWER PLANT 



It is not the province of this book to discuss the 

 question whether a steam boiler, a gas engine, or an 

 electric motor is the best equipment for the dairy 

 power plant. There are operating conditions under 

 which a combination of all tjiree of these would prove 

 to be the most economical in the end ; and there are 

 other conditions which seem to leave little choice to 

 the dairyman. The relative local cost of coal, gaso- 

 line, and electricity would have to be considered very 

 carefully, and the particular milk products to be 

 manufactured, and a dozen other purely individual 

 conditions. We content ourselves, therefore, with 

 referring the dairyman interested in this important 

 question to Bulletin 747 United States Department 

 of Agriculture : " The Economical Use of Fuel in 

 Milk Plants and Creameries," by John T. Bowen. 

 In this bulletin of forty-seven pages every phase of 

 the dairy power-plant problem is discussed in a 

 manner that makes it extremely valuable to the 

 Dairy Industry. 



Whatever be the kind of power employed, however, 

 the power plant must certainly not be overlooked 

 when the question of indicating and recording instru- 

 ments is being considered. Everything gained in the 

 way of productive efficiency and economy in the milk- 

 handling rooms may easily be lost by neglect in the 

 power plant. The cost of fuel alone may run higher 

 than that of any other item of operating expense; 

 and the waste of steam and water, of brine and 

 ammonia, may more than offset the economical ad- 



