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"The only difference between a pigeon and the American
farmer today," writes Jim Hightower, "is that a pigeon can still make a deposit
on a John Deere". The former Texas Agriculture Commissioner probably wasn't at New York's Washington
County Fair last month, but he sure missed a good time. Now a radio
commentator, Hightower might have appreciated what alternative energy meant in
the 1880s – and how the wagging tongues of politicians might yet be harnessed
for the public good.
The Dog Treadmill
According to a placard at the Washington County Fair's Farm Museum,
"dog power" was once billed as the farmer's friend. Just put Rover on this doggie
treadmill and even "a 40-lb. dog could operate it attached to a root cutter,
washing machine or butter churn with no problem at all."
The Shingle Cutter
Of course, there were still many tasks that a farmer
couldn't ask his dog (or even a politician) to do. This manually-powered
shingle cutter required a farmer to roof his home by the sweat of his brow and,
apparently, to do the job one shingle at a time.
The Bucket Pump
The manufacturer of this bucket pump is unknown, but the utility
of this nineteenth-century device is well-documented. In an 1895 book entitled
"Pumps: Historically, Theoretically, and Practically Considered", Philip R. Björling described the advantages
and disadvantages of bucket pumps.
"The advantages of the bucket pump", Björling
explained, began with "the bucket fitting the working barrel". Because there
was relatively little water between the bucket and the bucket valves, "a more
perfect vacuum can be obtained, and the working barrel is more certain to be
filled". Moreover, because "air cannot lodge" but rather "rises straight
up", a bucket pump "does not cause the shock which is experienced with the
ordinary plunger pump".
Bucket pumps were not without disadvantages, however. First, the friction
of the bucket against the sides of the working barrel was "very great". Leather
straps around the bucket kept it watertight, but were prone to rapid wear. Water
with "sandy or gritty particles" or that was "contaminated by mineral solutions
which impart a corrosive action" was particular problematic.
Editor's Note: Click here for Part 1 of this two-part series.
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