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^iSajIS^, 
vol. i.xxxr. 
Published NYeUJv by The Rural Publishing Co., 
333 \V. :i()rh Si Xmv Yurk. t’rie • <>ne Dollar a Year 
NEW YORK. DECEMBER 30. 1022 
ihiucicu aa ovi-vuu-y wx jiaiu'i, ... . ... 
Office at New York. N. Y., the Act of March 
1ST?. 
-V>. -t 4-0 
Cheap Power For the Ontario Farmers 
How Rural Consumers of Electrical Power Share in the Continent’s Biggest Hydro¬ 
electric System 
Part I. % C cj 
MPROVEI > CONDITIONS. — Ontario 
and New York state are divided by 
the Niagara River, Lake Ontario and 
a portion of the St. Lawrence River. 
This boundary is entirely geograplii- 
cal, not a natural economic division. 
The agricultural problems of the one are much the 
same as those of the other. Costs of fafining, lua rket- 
ing conditions, living facilities, are not essentially 
different, Until the last few years the Ontario farmer 
lacked some of the advantages of his New York state 
brother, in that his district was not nearly as well 
developed, and did not have as good roads, telephones 
or good neighboring markets. But along with a now 
highway system comparable in quality, though not 
i:i extent, to New York’s well-known State highway 
system, the Ontario farmer is now obtaining the 
boon of cheap electrical power. That power is going 
to thousands of farms yearly and in a few years 
will he a big factor in Ontario's agricultural 
progress. 
SOURCE OF POWER.—The hydro-electric system 
of Ontario, operated by a (Jovernment commission 
on behalf of a large number of cities and towns that 
co-operated to pledge their credit for it is the big¬ 
gest water-power development on the continent. The 
half million horsepower now developed and sold 
comes from several souivcs. but the main generating 
plant is fed by water from tne Niagara River, almve 
the Fails. Some 350.000 horsepower is developed at 
the Niagara Falls and Chippewa plants. It is 
mainly from this central system, which distributes 
power to scores of cities and towns right through 
to Windsor. 250 miles away, that the farmers obtain 
their little blocks of one. i^rdT or ijuvk- horsepower. 
INCREASING FARM USE.—Tile 'llyd.ro-eleetric 
Commission is engaged in an active scheme to spread 
the use of electric power among the farmers. The 
Government pays 50 per cent of the cost of primary 
rural distribution lines. At present rural consumers 
(those outside of city, town or village boundaries! 
number nearly 15.000. Power is distributed to 
farmers in nearly a hundred townships, and the 
area covered by electrical distribution surveys is 
23,000,000 acres. In time practically every farmer 
on all the back concession lines will have a trans¬ 
mission line passing bis door. 
CIRCUIT SYSTEM.—-The system by which a cir¬ 
cuit is formed is simple If there is a main trans¬ 
mission line within IS miles farmers along any given 
route get together, sign a petition contracting to take 
