No. 6. 



The Bank of EorlJi vs. Bmik Slock — Cisterns. 



191 



For the Farmers' Cabinet, 

 The BaiiU of Eartli ts< Bank Stock. 



Friend Libby, — I liavo seen from timo to 

 time, it) your paper, as well as oilier aijricul- 

 tural publications of the country, many asser- 

 tions that, fariiiinof was ]irotitahle, more so 

 than investing- money in (rood, steady G per 

 cent, stocks. This is doubted by many, and 

 by myself amonrr the rest, and the only mode 

 I know of to arrive at the truth of the mat- 

 ter, is by solicitinsj facts. Anxious for lisxht 

 on this matter, I take the liberty of askinjj 

 of .some of your subscribers, practical and in- 

 teliisrcnt farmers, their experience on the 

 subject, and beg of them to give it in detail 

 sometliinsj after the tbllowing manner. 



1st, Tlie number of acres in each, meadow 

 land, grain land, and wood land, and the value 

 per acre. 



2nd, The value of their house. 



Jkd, Of their barn. 



4th, Of out buildings. 



r)th. Of their stock ; and 



nth, Of their farming utensils, each sepa- 

 rate; and then, on the other hand, a detailed 

 estimate of their products and value, for an 

 average of say five years. The question 

 then, could be fairly settled, and would, I am 

 sure, not only satisfy many of your sub- 

 scribers, but lead to the cultivation of more 

 of our state, if the inducements proved suffi- 

 cient. 



An Old Scbscribek. 



Philada. ]2th mo. Kth, 1S:!P. 





For the Farmers' Cabinet. 



Itaiia M^aler Cisterns. 

 The importance of having a supply of wa- 

 ter in the barnyard for cattle has already 

 bc^n adverted to in the Cabinet, and it is ai 

 subject which can't be too strongly impre.ssed 

 on the minds of farmers. The quantity of 

 manure lost by driving stock twice a day to 

 water, is much greater than is generally 

 puppo-ed, for the droppings are most copious- 

 ly deposited immediately after drinking. In 

 many situations water is easily procured from 

 wells of moderate depth and at little cost, 

 compared with the benefit derived ; and in 

 all situations cisterns may be built, and the 

 water t'rom roofs conveyed into them, at a 

 very small e.vpense, when contrasted with 

 the advantage resulting from them. In this 

 climate, the average fill of rain nimually is 

 about three feet, which furnishes about 

 twenty gallons of water for eacli square foot 

 of surface during the year, and from these 

 data it is easy to estimate the quantity which 

 may be collected from a buildinirof any given 

 dimensions. A cistern will cost from twenty- 

 five to fifty dollars, built after the best man- 

 ner, and the best is always the cheapest in 



the end ; the intere.st on this is from 1..50 to 

 3 dollars a year, being a simi far below the 

 expense and trouble of taking the cattle to 

 water, without reference to the great loss of 

 manure. 



The following table shows about the num- 

 ber of gallons of water contained in cistern.s 

 of the following diameters in the clear for 

 each foot of their depth, viz : 



Diameter. 



."ilect 



(1 feet.... 

 TO^et.... 



Gallons. 



IJi) 



170 



230 



Sli'ct SI'S 



:ifiMt :!0o 



10 feet 4^0 



By multiplying the number of gallons here 



stated by the depth of the cistern in feet, the 

 product will be the number of gallons it will 

 contain sufficiently near for any practical 

 purpose. 



The circular form is preferable to any 

 other for a cistern, as it po.ssesses greater 

 strength with less materials; the principle 

 of the arch keeping the parts combined toge- 

 tner. Where they are constructed with 

 brick, the width of a brick is sufficient for 

 the tiiickness of the wall ; where stone is 

 used, the wall must necessarily be thicker, 

 but the main matter is to have the mortar 

 well made of the best clean sand, and not too 

 much lime, and great care must be taken 

 that all the interstices are well filled in, so 

 as not to admit the water to escape. A coat 

 of plastering well put on, of common mortar 

 made in the best manner, with no more lime 

 than is absolutely necessary to coat the sand 

 and cause it to work evenly, has been found 

 to be a complete protection against leakage, 

 but the whole should be executed in a mas- 

 terly manner by a careful, conscientious work- 

 man; otherwise, you will have a broken cis- 

 tern, holding no water. Those who are dis- 

 po.-ed to incur a little more expen.se, may 

 procure Roman cement, or water lime, such 

 as is much used in the construction of locks 

 for artificial naviiratiou for plastering, and 

 when used, it should not be put on thick, but 

 as evenly as possible; and in the use of this 

 article a second coat should never be applied 

 over the first ; all that is done i-hould be done 

 at once ; it will not adhere well, and would 

 soon peel ofl^, and endanger the stability of 

 the coat over which it is applied. 



Cisterns have been in use from the earliest 

 periods of which we have any historical ac- 

 count, and in modern times many have been 

 constructed, which have been long in use, 

 and which their owners would not dispense 

 with for ten times their original cost; there- 

 fore let those who are destitute of other 

 means of furnishing water to their stock in 

 their barn yards, proceed at as early a pe- 

 riod of time as practicable, to construct a cis- 



