Windmills

The Power behind the Engine:
Those of us who have spent our vacation days in the country know that there is no ready-made water supply there as in the cities, but that as a rule the farmhouses obtain their drinking water from springs and wells. In poorer houses, water is laboriously carried in buckets from the spring or is lifted from the well by the windlass. In more prosperous houses, pumps are installed; this is an improvement over the original methods, but the quantity of water consumed by the average family is so great as to make the task of pumping an arduous one.

The average amount of water used per day by one person is 25 gallons. This includes water for drinking, cooking, dish washing, bathing, laundry. For a family of five, therefore, the daily consumption would be 125 gallons; if to this be added the water for a single horse, cow, and pig, the total amount needed will be approximately 150 gallons per day. A strong man can pump that amount from an ordinary well in about one hour, but if the well is deep, more time and strength are required.

The invention of the windmill was a great boon to country folks because it eliminated from their always busy life one task in which labor and time were consumed.

FIG. - The toy pin wheel is a miniature windmill.