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UP ON THE ELECTRIC FARM PROCURING adequate hired help for the farm is no longer a serious problem for M..,11. Miner, at Chasey, N. V. f now that his new hired man, Electricity, milks the cows, cuts the hay and fodder, pumps the water/ separates and churns the milk, turns the- grindstone and does all the other drudgery on the place. "Where in the world do you get electricity from 50 far away from the city?" I asked. "We have harnessed two streams on the farm," jjjjpqmi - irumpimifnTi 1 um"tmiWfff& im JWt fi I laughed the foreman. "One does not have to live m the city these days to have all the comforts and con veniences of electricity." The Miner farm comprises 5,000 acres, of which 1,200 acres are under cultivation and a like number used for pasturage, so it is easily seen that the item of procuring plenty of farm labor for so large an_ estate was a constant source of trouble, to say noth ing of the enormous expense involved. The old Miner homestead itself is now a beautiful park, where elk, deer and buffalo enjoy their large paddocks and where a specialty is made of the finest stock, the best Durham and Guernsey cattle and the finest Perchcron and Belgian horses.. Choice fowls are bred and there is large fish hatchery which supplies ponds and, fine streams with vast schools of brook trout. Three years ago, when help was so very scarce Mr. Miner conceived the idea of harnessing , the water power which ran to waste through his estate. So successful was the installation that the plant has been added to from time to time, until today it is the best equipped and most novel application of elec tricity to be foand in the entire world. Three concrete dams were built across the Tracy brook stream,; giving a reservoir area of 170 acres. A concrete penstock 670 feet long carries this water from the lower dam to a tiny power house under a 19 fool head, where it is hurlctl i gainst the blades of two .powerful turbine water wheels. To each of the water wheel shafts is fast ened the armature of an '.electric generator pro ducing 60 horsepower of electricity at 220 volts pressure. The power of these 60 horses it trans mitted over a slender cop .per wire one and a quar vfer miles to the distrib uting station in the main group of farm buildings. . Imagine, P, you can, 60 Worses ranting away and .conceive of this enormous power being subdivided and • applied to the farm ma chinery. At the pressure of a button there is light in. every building and even in the yards. A turn of a switch and a mysterious farm genie stands ready to turn the 6eparator, milk the cows or do any of the hard work about the farm buildings. LAUGHING BY NOTE WHEN the terms for singing lessons had been agreed upon the teacher said, "For SO cents a week extra I will give you lessons in laughing, too." " • "Laughing!" exclaimed the prospective pupil. "What shall I laugh at?" ;>/ "Anything — nothing. But you must laugh if you expect to be popular. What is more, you must laugh out loud. The days of ultrarcfinement, when merri ment could' be properly expressed by a smirk and a smile, are happily passed. People laugh heartily nowadays, but at the same time they should * laugh musically. That is, they .ought to put a few silvery iiotes into their peals of joy, and those who are wise enough to study laughing do put them there. Unfor tunately, laughing teachers are not so well patronized as they should be. As yet the \u25a0 laughter of most •people is a series of cacophonous coughs. Z I heard you laugh a little while ago. It sounded—" "I know it did," interrupted the prospective pupil, "but I had a good time just the same." TJie teacher threw back her head and emitted a rxvsrry tintinnabulation of her own. "There," she said, "you ought to laugh like that. Of course, all laughs can not sound alike. There is the soprano laugh,. the contralto laugh and the mezzo laugh; the laugh 'he-he,' the laugh 'ha-ha' and the laugh 'ho-ho.' The quality of a person's laugh is largely determined by temperament; but, no matter what its natural tone, it can be trained into a thing of beauty. Nowadays all \ students in singing, arc advised to look out for their laugh. A few have accepted the suggestion, and in six months from now any girl who aspires to shine socially, must laugh in fluent trills. For only 50 cents^ — " . The prospective pupil shook her head sadly. / "I'd like to," she said, "but I can't afford it. If the wbrit comes' to the - worst I'll have to swear off on laughing altogether." the Mysterious Power, Imelh' \s\qently Harnessed, Milks the- Cows Shears the, Sheep. Palls the Stamps; Pumps he Water and Does All the Other D That Made Farming Never ;\u25a0>'>. Joy This plant worked so well that a; second was in stalled on the larger stream known r as ,the Chasey river. Two dams were built across this stream," giving; a 30 foot fall, for itis the weight of: water- in fallin.g which constitutes its power, and this water is con ducted through a penstock 630 feet long to a con crete flume. SteeLpipes in the bottom of this;flume conduct the water under enormous pressure td the water'wheels, Which in turn drive, the powerful; elec- trie generators. Two* hundred electrical* horsepower is conducted two and three-quarter miles from this power station over copper wires to the ;sanie- little - central station. These power houses are made almost automatic and require little if any attention/ /Power-v ful governors control the water gates and quickly The Electrified Launary, Showingf Motor Driven -.. Washing: Machine and Centrifugal Dryers shut them down in case oi any accident to, the ma chinery. The . machines are all self-oiling, and self regulating. From the central dis tributing station the cur rent is subdivided and sent out along underground ...... wires to the various farm buildings," ;where^ it r is put to work. In this station' are located the, electrical" apparatus for controlling the mysterious current -and a large storage battery to supply, electricity; in /case" any accident should happen to the generating ma chinery. This battery ;is \ merely' a storage reservoir; for electricity for future use. v \-- In the main'dairy barn a 10 horsepower motor unloads and handles the hay, taking care, of a large load of heavy clover in less than "five; minutes.- ;On the main floor of this barnis a s feed cuttingmachine, driven by a smaller motor, which'; chops the.f odder" for the" cattle, and : in the main- dairy section 'al.onea I. one and a half horsepower motor : operates the vacuum pump"for the milking machine. •' - •-\u25a0 / There are five of these milking, machines,- arid; it •? is^ a delightful sight for.,those who, admire cleanliness' and sanitation ;to see these devices ."milking 10 cows" at once., The suction^ is .applied . 'by the "vacuum pump, and an: automatic valve -imitates to/ perfection the act of hand \u25a0milking. • The milk, does not : for an: • instant come in contact with* the open air. 1 From .the rubber^ disks'; and' tubes itVflows 'directly.; to 'thefreser-J voir in each .device, - : which .in; turn; is ' scaled t'againsti B/fmsut^af^ffvman^ff^ia^''^aif^aßp^Oßt(t'f^f^ \u25a0 - \u25a0 \u25a0\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0- ;v contact with -the stable.' air. After this, milk' is'ttested'? in the milk room- it : is « ru'n through -the \u25a0motor 'driyen' "separator and the. cream is \taken: to" the : butter mak~: ing section/ .where nt :is!. ripened before'.beingcHurned by electric power/. Near the : 'dairyj is; the', electric ice - making plant and -; refrigeratory with'.^a capacity: "of . 20 tons' of ice' ; every 24^hours,* the ammonia^ and^brine pumps being operated. by. electricity. - V ': ' Milking the Cows by Electricity on the Miner Farm There is a large grist mill on the premises, which / grinds feed for the stock, and this mill is driven by a 25 horsepower electric motor. This motor is so ar ranged that it can be readily mounted on a , truck and taken to. the fields, where it is used for thrash ing purposes or cutting, wood. \u25a0'.. There are' also numer- ' Electricity \ Handling • the "Hay i in the Big: Barns ouii motors • about the sheep ; sheds;! for "\ .root cutting: and' sheafing; In' the stable electric power is used for^clippihg -and; grooming, Vas well as ' for •lighting. Wherever power, is"? required ' about • the ; spacious barns ; there you .will find a'busy little electric, motor 'doing ; : the/ 4 work .which i formerly/ had to-be done /by vhand. - Even •the -hateful, old grindstone, the bane' of every . farmer-bby^is now! driven rby the: tireless energy -of eiectricity.'-;: . ; ; .• -", .- \u25a0-. , -" r ." '\i " , Cooks. and Washes, Too ; f T-The \u25a0 Miner; homestead has :. also been- thoroughly, electrified;' aiid^there : you -will < find \ electricity cooking; the -meais,' ; heatin g ? the .= rooms ; and * doing the: laundry;-; work ' The v large- electric -broilers; in i the .kitchen: are/ a ' feature 1 : of '-theVcooking apparatus.-; In ;the ibasementV Interior ltti"e!Farrn/ Power Station' WheYe'-ttiev Electric; Current Is Divided and :: Sent Out "to /the Various , Buildr irigsto Do Work;' "^^SSll Electric_Mo.t6rs /Driving Ammonia Pumps in the Ice-Making Plant . the . laundry ha 3 been completely, electrified with motor driven washing machines, wringers, centrifugal dryers, mangles and electric flatirons; The 'Electric* Churn in the" Modern Dairy One of the \ novelties ! of the , place '\u25a0. is "an ( automatic weather recorder/; mounted- on ~!top of ' one of the water/ towers, : which automatically registers in the house the .direction,' and ; speed VofTthe's wind, the tem perature \ and 1 all \ the » other i.vagaries ;. of ' the weather. The^water \u25a0 for JthV;refngeration^tarik -'and for. house hold; use is obtained jbyj a 'motor driven; pump, - which forces water into . a ; high \ tank: ' Water for. fire , protec tion 'is force'diiito tanks ;100 feet ; above the ground by hydraulic; rains. .- . . ,\'' On , this v farm jis* also \u25a0: a > complete •; sausagej- making plant, where; the pig products- of ; the < farm- are' worked up for -the • city trade. 'The; meat ; grinders "are = run* by electric * motors'; -as \ well as ithe .: niixing ; machines/ and a^poivcVful;. motor " drives: al'cuttinga I 'cutting machine, , which cuts up the bones and gristle into poultry food. "This plant has been in operation for more than three years," remarked the foreman with just pride, "and the saving 'in time, labor, insured safety and sanitation can not be expressed in dollars and cents. We have, proved that the farm can be electrified, as well as any other industry, andl see no reason why form labor should be a sore trial any longer when electricity is ready to step in and do the work for its -keep. - . . "Electrical machinery is now made to wear; it will last practically forever if taken care of, and the yearly bills for repairs are very slight. In the old days we had traction and stationary engines, a small army of men and horses to do the work on this big farm. Today those two streams do it without all that old bother and risk. With, electricity you can have power where you want it. in any quantity desired, scattered /all about the farm, always ready and - * » The large repair and machine shops on this estate are also electrified. An electric blacksmith forge ha 3 just been installed to keep company with the motor driven lathe," boring mill, planer, drills and saws. There are in all 27 electric motors on" this farm, aggregating 130 horsepower, and such flexibility of power would be entirely out of the question with The ' Grist ; Miir Driven' bv Twenty-Five Horse Power \Etectric tylotor » gasolene or steam. The r electrification of the farm is something new, but the success of. electricity when applied to all tha other, industries warrants the : statement tKat it will also 'solve the old problem, of the farm, and result v> the. production of more farm products at a less cos^ and therefore lower the expense of living. Looking into the" future one-can see in the mind's eye ths electric lines stealing out. farther arid farther into tha country, .where , the large freight . cars will be filled with -\u25a0:\u25a0 : delicious \u25a0 sanitary farm harvested by electricity. ; Experiments have recently been made ia obtaining nitrogenous - fertilizer from the ; air by ;elec tricity, and - this will also be a great stimulant to bigger and better; crocs. The San Francisco Sunday CaU