ELECTRIC FARMING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIII, 23 July 1929, Page 3

ELECTRIC FARMING

• VIOLET RAYS FOR PIUS HAY WITHOUT SUNSHINE Rural electrification i/;i a sca/lo- un known in this country is to he attempted by Mr R. Borlase Matthews, an authority on <-h-, I ro tanning. The Electricity Commission has granted him a Special Order for the supply of electricity, affecting a population U 140.000. A total expenditure of £1.000,000 is contemplated. A pioneer in the application of Ihe uses of electricity to agriculture, Mr 11. Bonlaso Matthews has the advantage; of being both an engineering expert and n fanner. On his farm of 600 acres at (Jreater Feleourt, near East Grinstead (Sussex, England), electricity is used in nearly 70 different ways; there are, he states, over 2CO uses to which it can be put. Here are some of the novel applications of electricity jjut into* practice at his farm:— Hay-making without sunshine. Chaff-cutting. Churning and separating. Egg production increased by lighted poultry houses. Bigger yields of honey from electri-cally-lighted hives. Electric ploughing. Cable beating of the sofil—electric hotbed in place of manure. Ultra-violet rays for pcultry, nigs and cows. , Associated with Mr Matthews in the Lincolnshire scheme is Dr. A. Ekslroem, who is probably the greatest authority on rural electrification in the. world. The area involved in the scheme stretches from the Nottinghamshire border across to Skegness, with the exception of Lough, Grimsby and the county borough of .Holland. All of Mr Matthews's staff at Greater Feleourt are infected with the enthusiasm of their chief. They see in this undertaking a revival of the countryside, an era of farming prosperity and the promotion of rural industrial life. "It is possible to electrify a rural area successfully," said a member of his staff, "but rather different methods will have (ft be adopted. Electricity will have to be taken to the people, without waiting for the people to come to the electricity, as has bee", the case hitherto. ''The scheme planned for Lincolnshire will be Hie first serious attempt in this country to supply electricity everywhere, including towns, villages, hamlets and f'Ji'tliS. OPPORTUNITY FOR FARMERS 'Will the farmers rise lo the opportunity* The farmer in » r vance Jcoks upon 4d a unit for power cheap in proportion to his other labour charges. "In Germany 90 per cent. r£ the rural areas have an available electricity supply. In Sweden, where the density of the rural population is only 63 a square mile, successful rural electrification schemes have already been carried out. "Why not in Lincolnshire, where the density of the rural population is 190 to the square mile? "One unit of electricity will, do any one of the following farm tasks: — Break up li tons of cattle cake. Chaff £-ton of hay. Churn and work 1651 b of butter. Clip 3 or 4 horses. Separate 260 gallons of milk. Cut :l ton of si'lage. Grind 4 bushels of corn. Crush 25 bushels of oats. The scheme provides for buying current in bulk from the "National Grid" and distributing it to the countryside.