Do It Electrically!

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 313, 30 September 1926, Page 5

Do It Electrically!

(By

“Unit.”)

Electro Farming. A conference on “Electro Farming' 1 was held in connection with the Royal Agricultural Society’s show at Reading. Discussing “The Economic use of Electric Lighting on the Farm,” Mr. C. T. Allan said:—-The general experience in South Wales was that as soon as a farmer got electricity on for lighting he immediately installed a motor for chaff-cutting, pulping, etc. It was, in facf, remarkable what a small 2-3 h.p. motor, costing £25, would do. In one case a farmer installed a small motor for chaff-cutting which had previously •ost him £65 a year in labourers’ wages. He was now able to do three times the amount of work lie used to, because he also did work for his neighbours and made money in that way, and yet his total bill for current, at 2Jd. per kwh., was only 365. There was also considerable development possible in electro-culture and, of course, in the house for washing machines, vacuum cleaners, irons, cooking, heating, etc. Small power could be provided by means of a portable motor on a trestle, and undoubtedly this led to more extended uses for which individual motors were required. The farmer’s wife particularly appreciated the labour saving which the various household uses of electricity made possible. As regards the vacuum cleaner, it was not generally known that this was also the finest fly-catcher available. If a rubber pipe was attached to the suction end and run round the windows and walls, flies were sucked in at once.

Mr. C. D. McDowell expressed the view that it would be necessary to deal with the' larger applications of electricity on the farm before there could be a full development of the smaller uses. He was within two miles of a supply of electricity and would at once adopt electric ploughing if a successful machine was available at a suitable price. Until such apparatus'was developed on economic tines, however, he could not imagine much progress being made with rural electrification, for the simple reason that it would not be economic to take electricity into the rural arens merely for the lighting and small power load.

Mr. W. A. Turnbull fborongli electrical engineer, Aylesbury) said that he was doing all he could to make electricity on the farm a practical proposition for the farmer in the Aylcsburv area. A scheme was being developed there covering practically 250 souare miles of agricultural land. It was no use trying to rush the farmer, however; this development would haye to be done gradually. The great aim nt /the moment must be to get some examples in their districts of the applications of electricity on the farm He was concentrating on the small uses, but hoped to be ready in about 18 months’ time to study the larger uses, such as ploughing. Home Lighting.

Discussing the question of adequate home lighting, in an address before the National Jilectric Light Association, Atlantic City, Mr. M.

Luckicsh said: “Remarkable' as has been the advance in light-production in the past twenty years, we see comfortably outdoors under intensities of illumination a thousand times greater than the average which we have at night in our homes. Have we ever seriously asked ourselves why <0 per cent of the eves of adults have one or more defects? Other parts of embodies mature more satisfactorily. It has been convincingly proved that eyes develop less effectively under better lighting conditions. “Along with inadequate lighting we find improper use of light generally prevalent, thus contributing to waste through eve-injury, discomfort, cheerlessness, inefficiency, and otherwise. Light-sources are commonly unshade .1 or the light is often insufficiently diffused. Twenty-three -per cent, of the electric filament lamps, in the home have no shades. Fifty per cent, of the shades do not adequately shade or diffuse the light, lhe filaments of Jarnos. must • be bright to be efficient. Iliexefore, to reap the full advantage from modern light sources they should be shaded The lamp manufacturers are progressing in the proper direction by frosting the lamp bulbs. However, where we live intimately with lightsources, as we do in the home, even these lamps should be shaded or enclosed in diffusing media. “We cannot think of the home without thinking of children. 1 heir eyes are immature in growth and in function, and, therefore, the) 4 are very susceptible to injury and to malformation. Near-sightedness,, eye-straiu, nervousness, and other disorders are results of inadequate and improper lighting. Furthermore, a poorlv lighted house is far from an appealing, comfortable, and cheerful home. Correcting this state of affairs is . a privilege and a duty of commercial men. Their reward is new business and an awakened lighting consciousness which gains momentum, spreading from the home to all lighting fields, and further increasing the monetary reward.

“There is another • interesting phase of shaded light Our studies have convinced us that the cpntral station will not be able to appreciably increase the wattage in the sockets without adequatelv shading or diffusing the light. Wc need more light m the home, and that means more watfage. How easv it is to instal a 100-watt or a 150-watt lamp in the diffusing glassware of a modern kitchen unit! Many 25-watt and 40-wntt lamps exist unshaded or inadequately shaded in ceiling fixtures and utilitarian brackets. Most of these should be replaced with lamps of higher wattage, but this cannot be done without equipping the lamp with shades. I. am not seriously proposing that satisfactory’ shades and diffusing glassware be presented to householders withort choree, but it would pay’ to do so. I would be willing to debate for free shades against any champion of free lamp renewals.

Miscellaneous Items.

On January 1, 17,672 towns and cities in thq U.S.A, had a supply of electricity.

Electrocution of injurious bacteria in drinking water and sewage is being tried in New Jersey instead of chlorine and similar treatments.

During the past year the mileage of Liverpool streets lighted electrically increased from 5-lj to 73J. » * * An old windmill at Preesall formerly used for grinding corn has been adapted for the generation of electricity. * » »

It is claimed that the American electrical industry has effected a saving of 34 per cent, in the use of fuel since the war. »» ♦ ’

Owing to the depredations of rats and the absence of a proper yvater supply the use of lead-covered wiring is prohibited for electrical installations in Sutherland, New South Wales. A tobacco lighter designed for lighting pipes, cigars, and cigarettes has been placed on the market in America. It consists of heating coils placed within a box and so arranged that yvhen the smoker puffs on the pipe the air passing over the coils becomes hot enough to ignite the tobacco. If a heating element is burned out a cover is unscrewed and a new clement plugged in. This lighter is furnished in a forth to be hung on a hook or laid on a table or as a stand.

Misuse of the electric pressing iron is responsible for nearly 50 per cent, of all fires of electrical origin, states the "Bulletin” of the Hydro-dlectric Commission of Ontario. What will be the world’s largest electrjc winder is being constructed in Manchester for a South African gold mine. The winding speed will be 3707 feet per minute. On the Eastern Bengal Railway cadi carriage |jas four exterior electric lamps which arc lighted automatically when the train stops, and continue to burn until the train restarts and exceeds the speed of eight miles per hour.

• The infinite possibilities of the photoelectric cell are again being demonstrated in their use in the Brunswick phonograph recording laboratories. Instead of singing into a large megaphone, ns has been the case in tlfe past, the photo-electric cell is noyv used to pick up the sound. A beam of light, which comes from a verv brilliant filament, is reflected on a photo-electric cell from a tiny mirror, which is mounted on the back of a small aluminium cone. This cone weighs but 2/100 of a milligramme Sound causes the cone to vibrate, and the impulses actuate the electric recording mechanism. A large radio vacuum tube is used to ampflifv the music as it is picked up by the photo-electric cell.