WINDMILLS OF THE WEST.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 147, 22 June 1901, Page 2 (Supplement)

WINDMILLS OF THE WEST.

The windmill, in the Great Plains regions of the West, is as distinctive a sign of progress as is the railway locomotive. Throughout almost the entire territory between the Mississipi and the Pacific coast, the supply of water is so scanty that it is impossible to store it in reservoirs, or to make elaborate waterworks. A small amount of water is available almost, everywhere—and it is due to the successful experiments of the United States Government in utilising the ever-present force of the wind, that windmills dot this region as thickly as farmhouses. Government experts estimate that throughout at least onefourth of the State windmills must ever be inseparably connected with the development of the country. The windmill was popular in this Western country as a means to raise water for domestic use long before it was used to irrigate the land. Giant windmills have enabled farmers on the plains to introduce town luxuries into their homes, hot and cold water baths, lawn sprinklers, and systems of fire protection. The windmills feed a steady stream of cold water through the milk-house to the stock-trough. Cool water is allowed to play around the milk-pans, for it has been found that it will cause a g-reater percentage of cream to rise to the surface than would otherwise be the case—naturally a matter of cosiderable importance, as the butter products of this territory amount to many millions of pounds annually. In many progressive towns and villages in the West, the windmill has totally displaced the town pump; and wind-propelled machinery and large storage tanks now supply all the water required by the public. In order to ensure sufficient pressure to throw the water above the housetops, the tanks are placed on high ground, or on high towers. The newest use of the windmill, however, is the most important—its use in irrigation. The home-made windmill is having an appreciable effect on the population. There many regions where good grazing may be found, and where gTeafc herds may be fed irc-e of cost, summer and winter alike. If the cattle-men and their families are to live here, however, they must have at least a fertile acre for their own uses—this the whirling mill now makes possible.—"Pearson's Magazine."

Miss Maud Hewson, formerly of Pollard's Opera Company, opened with Dixs Gaiety Company at Dunedin on the Sth inst. Messrs Riano, Johnson and Bentley, an American acrobatic trio, are due there on the £ot,h.