The farmer's wife becomes his partner when he has concluded the preliminary measurements and surveys for building his water-power electric plant. Now the question is, how big a plant is necessary, or how small a plant can he get along with. Electricity may be used for a multitude of purposes on the farm, in its sphere of furnishing portable light, heat and power; but when this multitude of uses has been enumerated, it will be found that the wife shares in the benefits no less than the farmer himself. The greatest dividend of all, whether dividends are counted in dollars or happiness, is that electricity takes the drudgery out of housework. Here, the work of the farmer himself ends when he has brought electricity to the house, just as his share in housework ends when he has brought in the kerosene, and filled the woodbox. Of the light and heat, she will use the lion's share; and for the power, she will discover heretofore undreamed-of uses. So she must be a full partner when it comes to deciding how much electricity they need. How much electricity, in terms of light, heat, and power, will the farmer and his wife have use for? How big a plant should be installed to meet the needs of keeping house and running the farm? The answer hangs mainly on how much water-power there is available, through all the seasons of the year, with which to generate electricity. Beyond that, it is merely a question of the farmer's pocketbook. How much money does he care to spend? Electricity is a cumulative "poison." The more one uses it, the more he wants to use it. After a plant has been in operation a year, the family have discovered uses for electricity which they did not think of in the beginning. For this reason, it is well to put in a plant larger than the needs of the moment seem to require. An electrical horsepower or two one way or another will not greatly change the first cost, and you will always find use for any excess. Once for all, to settle the question of water-power, the water wheel should be twice the normal capacity of the dynamo it drives, in terms of power. This allows for overload, which is bound to occur occasionally; and it also insures smooth running, easy governing, and the highest efficiency. Since the electric current, once the plant is installed, will cost practically nothing, the farmer can afford to ignore the power going to waste, and consider only how to get the best service. _The Two Extremes_