In November last a wind mill 18 feet in diameter was erected over a coal mine at Richmond, in this State. The conditions were as follows:

The mine produces 11,000 gallons of water every twenty-four hours. The sump holds 11,000 gallons. Two entries that can be dammed up give a storage of 16,500 gallons, making a total storage capacity of 27,500 gallons. It takes sixty hours for the mine to produce this quantity of water, which allows for days that the wind does not blow. The average elevation that the water has to be raised is 65 feet, measuring from center of sump to point of delivery. A record of ninety days shows that this mill has kept the mine free from water with the exception of 6,000 gallons, which was raised in the boxes that the coal is raised in. The location is not good for a wind mill, as it stands in a narrow ravine or valley a short distance from its mouth, which terminates at the bottom lands of the Missouri River. This, taken in connection with the fact that the grit in the water cuts the pump plunger packing so fast that in a short time the pump will not work up to its capacity, accounts for the apparent small amount of power developed by this mill.

There has been some discussion of late in regard to the horse power of wind mills, one party claiming that they were capable of doing large amounts of grinding and showing a development of power that was surprising to the average person unacquainted with wind mills, while the other party has maintained that they were not capable of developing any great amount of power, and has cited their performance in pumping water to sustain his argument. My experience has has led me to the conclusion that pumping water with a wind mill is not a fair test of the power that it is capable of developing, for the following reasons:

A pumping wind mill is ordinarily attached to a pump of suitable size to allow the mill to run at a mean speed in an 8 to 10 mile wind. Now, if the wind increases to a velocity of 16 to 20 miles per hour, the mill will run up to its maximum speed and the governor will begin to act, shortening sail before the wind attains this velocity. Therefore, by a very liberal estimate, the pump will not throw more than double the quantity that it did in the 8 to 10 mile wind, while the power of the mill has quadrupled, and is capable of running at least two pumps as large as the one to which it is attached. As the velocity of the wind increases, this same proportion of difference in power developed to work done holds good.

St. Louis is not considered a very windy place, therefore the following table may be a surprise to some. This table was compiled from the complete record of the year 1881, as recorded by the anemometer of the United States Signal Office on the Mutual Life Insurance Building, corner of Sixth and Locust streets, this city. It gives the number of hours each month that the wind blew at each velocity, from 6 to 20 miles per hour during the year; also the maximum velocity attained each month.

Complete Wind Record at St. Louis for the Year 1881.

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|No. |No. |No. |No. |No. |No. |No. |No. |

|hours |hours |hours |hours |hours |hours |hours |hours |Maximum

|wind |wind |wind |wind |wind |wind |wind |wind |velocity

YEAR |blew 6 |blew 8 |blew 10|blew 12|blew 14|blew 16|blew 18|blew 20|during

1881. |miles |miles |miles |miles |miles |miles |miles |miles |each

MONTHS|or over|or over|or over|or over|or over|or over|or over|or over|month.

______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|____

|H. M.|H. M.|H. M.|H. M.|H. M.|H. M.| H. M.| H. M.|

Jan. | 545 45| 429 45| 289 00| 198 15| 131 30| 87 15| 56 00| 38 45| 31

Feb. | 619 30| 533 15| 449 15| 374 15| 287 00| 207 15| 151 15| 110 30| 32

March.| 604 15| 534 30| 449 45| 368 45| 296 30| 243 45| 191 00| 158 45| 37

April.| 577 15| 468 45| 342 45| 359 30| 175 00| 121 00| 62 45| 36 00| 28

May. | 553 00| 375 00| 226 15| 138 00| 74 45| 42 30| 23 45| 11 30| 31

June. | 614 15| 463 45| 303 30| 215 15| 123 45| 76 30| 29 45| 17 45| 32

July. | 556 45| 378 00| 228 15| 136 15| 55 30| 22 30| 6 00| 2 30| 22

Aug. | 536 30| 345 00| 176 00| 80 30| 35 45| 22 15| 17 15| 15 00| 34

Sept. | 564 15| 445 45| 326 45| 224 45| 145 30| 96 45| 70 00| 46 45| 30

Oct. | 617 30| 501 45| 368 45| 363 00| 170 00| 93 45| 40 30| 27 45| 27

Nov. | 642 45| 537 30| 428 45| 328 30| 226 00| 151 45| 100 30| 74 00| 30

Dec. | 592 15| 516 30| 390 00| 308 45| 224 45| 167 45| 110 45| 67 00| 30

------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-----

Totals|7,024 |5,529 |3,981 |2,995 |1,946 |1,335 | 868 | 606 | --

| 00| 30| 00| 45| 00| 00| 30| 15|

Max. | | | | | | | | |

for | ----- | ----- | ----- | ----- | ----- | ----- | ----- | ----- | 37

year | | | | | | | | |

______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|____ 

The location of a mill has a great deal to do with the results attained. Having had charge of the erection of a large number of these mills for power purposes, I will refer to a few of them in different States, giving the actual results accomplished, and leaving you to form your own opinion as to the power developed.

In 1877 a 25-foot diameter mill was erected at Dover, Kansas, a few miles southwest of Topeka. It was built to do custom flour and feed grinding, also corn shelling, and is in successful operation at the present time. We have letters frequently from the owner; one of recent date states that it has stood all of the "Kansas zephyrs," never having been damaged as yet. On an average it shells and grinds from 6 to 10 bushels of corn per hour, and runs a 14 inch burr stone, grinding wheat at the same time. During strong winds it has shelled and ground as high as 30 bushels of corn per hour. Plate 2 is from a photograph of this mill and building as it stands. One bevel pinion is all the repairs this mill has required.

In the spring of 1880 there was erected a 25-foot diameter mill at Harvard, Clay County, Neb. After this mill had been running nineteen months, we received the following report from the owner: