NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



225 



IMPROVED HYDRAULIC RAM. 



H, spring or brook ; C, drive or supply pipe, from 

 spring to ram ; G, pipe conveying water to house or 

 other point rcquii-ed for use ; B, I), A, E, I, the ram ; 

 J, the plank or other foundation to which the ma- 

 chine is secured. 



This is a perfectly simple and effective machine 

 for forcing a portion of a brook or spring to any re- 

 quired distance or elevation, where a proportionate 

 fall can be applied. The various uses of the ram are 

 at once obvious, viz., for the purposes of irrigating 

 lands, and supplying dwellings, gardens, farms, fac- 

 tories, villages, engines, railroad stations, kc, with 

 running water. 



The simplicity of the operation of this machine, 

 together with its effectiveness and very apparent 

 dixrability, renders it decidedly the most important 

 and valuable apparatus 5'et developed in hydraulics, 

 for forcing a portion of a running stream of water to 

 any distance and elevation proportioned to the fall 

 obtained. 



We will briefly explain the operations of this ma- 

 chine. A small stream of w-ater — say of one or two 

 inches diameter ■ — has a descent of four feet, passing 

 through this machine. As it passes with increasing 

 rapidity, it soon lifts up a valve that closes the place 

 of its discharge from the machine. The velocity of 

 the water in its descent gives it an impetus or force 

 which, when the valve is closed, forces the water up 

 the pipe G, until its force from its velocity is spent ; 

 then the valve at the place of discharge falls, and 

 allows the water to pass on again through the ma- 

 chine, as at the beginning ; at the same time, a valve 

 in the bottom of the pipe G closes, and sustains the 

 water in that pipe. These operations and changes 

 are repeated in rapid succession. A rei^rescnts an 

 air chamber, communicating with the pipe (i, which, 

 by the pressure of the air, keeps ti constant stream 

 flowing up the pipe G, as in a lire engine. 



A stream one or two inche? in diameter, with a 

 fall of four feet, will throw a small, constant stream 

 up a bank fifty or seventy-five feet elevation, in a 

 direct line or obli([ucly, which stream will be suffi- 

 cient to supply a house, a barn, and a surplus for use 

 in the garden, or for other purposes. These machines 

 may be used where there is only two feet fall. The 

 (quantity of Avater raised depends on the size of the 



stream and the fall, and the height it is to be raised. 

 It is estimated that a stream of given dimensions and 

 fall wlU. raise one twelfth of the water ten times the 

 height of the fall. Say, if the main stream falls five 

 feet, and discharges tAventy-four gallons per minute, it 

 would throw xip a small stream fifty feet, discliarging 

 two gallons per minute. 



These machines are very durable, being made of 

 substantial materials ; and they are not liable to get 

 out of order. They are of various sizes, and they 

 vary in prices from seven to twenty dollars. Where 

 a house is on an elevation, and there is a valley near 

 by, with a small stream of water and a moderate fall, 

 these machines are admirably adapted to throwing 

 water to the elevation for various purposes. These 

 rams may be seen in the Agricultural Room adjoining 

 our office, and they are in operation in many parts 

 of the country. 



HAY CAPS. 



We hope that farmers will pay sutiicient attention 

 to tills subject, to obtain a few caps, say enough to 

 secure a ton of hay or more, and try them, Yiuious 

 substances are used, such as old canvas, mats, cotton 

 cloth, &c. Cotton cloth is very cheap, costing but 

 little for the material and making. Take two pieces 

 of cotton cloth, (a yard wide or more,) two yards, or, 

 better, two and a quarter yards long, and sew them 

 together. Turn up the corners, and sew them to 

 make loops, through wldch sticks may be put and 

 run upward in the hay, to prevent the wind from 

 bloAA-ing the caps off. 



Some prefer making a loop for the stick by tying 

 a piece of large twine into the loop in the cloth. Wc 

 prefer cloth about one yard and three to five inches 

 wide, so that the caps may be about two and a quar- 

 ter yards wide, and the same in length. 



In some cases the saving of hay from the use of 

 caps will pay all the expense of the caps in one 

 season ; and there have been uistances in which the 

 saving by the use of caps during one storm, has been 

 equal to the cost of the caps. 



