Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/250

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��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,"

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