287. Spokes of Wind Wheel.]
[Illustration: Fig. 288. Wind Wheel Blade.]
[Illustration: Fig. 289. The Wind Wheel.]
We did not make any vane for our windmill. It did not need any. The wind
nearly always blew either up or down the river, more often up the river,
for the prevailing summer winds in that part of the country are southerly.
But, aside from that, east and west winds could not very well reach us on
account of the hills on both sides of the river. The wheel was set facing
the north, because the strongest winds came from that direction, and as an
extra brace against these winds we stretched wires from the projecting end
of the shaft to the center of each blade.
A Simple Brake.
A brisk northerly wind was blowing when we set the wheel in place, and it
began to revolve at once, before we could nail it to the clamp. To stop it
we nailed a stick of wood to the tower, so that its end projected in the
path of the blades and kept the wheel from turning around. This brake was
swung up to the dotted position illustrated when we were ready to have the
wheel revolve, but it could be thrown down at any time to stop it.
The Pump.
Our pump was made of a galvanized leader pipe; that is, a pipe used to
carry off rain water from the roof of the house.
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