1884 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE, 



(521 



HOW^ TO MAKE A CISTEKN. 



SOME FACTS AND CONSIDERATIONS. 



;N the last issue of Gi.eanings (p. CDO, " Water 

 for Bees") you refer, incidentallj', to your cis- 

 tern. As I am just in the act of digging one 

 (13 X 12), 1 should be glad to have some sugges- 

 tions, if you can spare me the time to give them. 

 Is your cistern constructed of briclj, or do you ce- 

 ment on the clay? for I observe that your soil, like 

 ours, is claj'. The soil here is a heavy tenacious 

 red clay, and many persons contend that it is entire- 

 ly useless to go to the expense of making a brick 

 wall when, as they contend, a perfectly tight and 

 lasting cistern can be made by cementing directly 

 on the clay. What do you say to this? 



Is there any good work of recent issue, on the 

 subject of cistern -making? and if so, where can I 

 get a copy? H. J. Barbour. 



Barboursville, Orange Co., Va., Sept. 7, 1884. 



Friend IJ., since you suggest it, it seems to 

 me there certainly ought to lie a ])ook pub- 

 lii^hed on cistern-making. Few things are 

 of more importance to our pe()i)h' than pure 

 water ; and during these days of temi)e ranee 

 agitation it seems to me it might prove a 

 very important factor in the work ; and we 

 should be certain of one tiling, too, that it 

 would awaken no opposition. Nol)ody, if I 

 am correct, would object to the idea of mak- 

 ing i)ure water more convenient and plenti- 

 ful. When our cistein was built I hunted 

 over the agricultural papers, and talked 

 with men who made it a business to build 

 cisterns, and the result I give you. 



A good cistern should be about the shape 

 of an egg, with the small end downward. 

 Have it large and deep. By going deep you 

 get cold water— about as cold as a well ; and 

 l)y having it large you may enjoy tlie rare 

 fun of telling all the neighbors during a 

 droughttocome and help themselves, without 

 being alarmed about the sui)ply running 

 short. I shall have to give my wife the cred- 

 it for always insisting on a huge cistern ; and 

 1 think that none of the cisterns she ever 

 presided over were ever known to get dry. 



Although a great many cisterns are i)laster- 

 ed directly on to the clay, our mason told me 

 he thought it was a very unwise proceeding ; 

 that although they might stand a great many 

 years, there was a liability of trouble. 



Tlie way we made our filter was by having 

 a solid wall of soft brick right through the 

 middle. Mortar is put between the liricks, 

 but none on their edges. They should be 

 soft enough so that the water will soak 

 tlu'ough them al)out as fast as it comes down 

 during a heavy rain. This partition goes 

 clear down into the pointed l)ottom, and the 

 pipe to which the pump is attached goes al- 

 so pretty near the bottom. To ])re\'ent it 

 drawing' u]) tilth and such small accumula- 

 tions as in the course of time get into the 

 filtered side, this pipe is turned upward at 

 its lower end. forming a sort of hook, as it 

 were. The pipe we use is heavy lead ])ipe, 

 coated with tin both outside and in. This 

 gives a pipe that the water never attacks, 

 and yet the expense is bqt little more than 

 lead pipe. 



Now, the other side of the cistern, where 

 the water pours in from the roof, must, of 

 course, have an outlet. We had an outilet 

 constructed and all iinished when I picked 

 up a scrap of an agricultiu-al paper contain- 

 ing a new arrangement (at least new to me) 

 for this outlet or overflow pipe. The idea 

 was, to let the water out during a heavy rain- 

 fall, at the extreme bottom, instead of at the 

 toj). All that is necessary is to have this 

 outlet something like a spoilt to a coft'ee-pot, 

 only the spout is connected directly with the 

 bottom. Ours was made of sewer-pipe, laid 

 in cement. The result is, that when we have 

 a tremendous rain, so as to fill the cistern, 

 all the sediment is "■ scooted out'' through 

 this overflow-pipe, and your cistern never 

 needs cleaning. Of course, the overflow-pipe 

 should be siifliciently large to send a good 

 heavy head of water through the cistern. 

 During our heavy storms of spring and fall 

 or winter, this overflow-pipe acts, and the 

 cistern cleans itself. Of course, a large roof 

 is desirable ; and with such an outlet-pipe 

 you want to turn the water from all your 

 roofs right into the cistern. The of tener it 

 gets washed out the better. 



I am quite notional about the water I drink, 

 and I am inclined to think that these notions 

 are pretty correct indications of what na- 

 ture waiits. When I drink water from a 

 well wliere surface water from decaying 

 vegetable matter has soaked in it, it produces 

 an unpleasant effect almost at once. Hard 

 water, until I am accustomed to it, also 

 makes me fe;'l unpleasantly; but the water 

 from our cistern, as it is now, leaves no bad 

 taste iH the mouth, aiid does not upset me in 

 any way, even though I drink comparatively 

 large quantities. The water from a good 

 well is, I presume, about as good as any 

 thing that can be desired ; but unless it is a 

 soft-water well (and such are not very com- 

 mon) it is miplea-sant for washing and cook- 

 ing purposes. When we take into consider- 

 ation the doctors' bills that are often paid 

 just because of imi)ure water, it does not 

 seem a piece of very great extravagance to 

 build such a cistern as I have described, and 

 flnish it up by having a slate roof to your 

 house. Just think for a moment of giving 

 these poor little iiuiocent ones that hang on 

 our knees, asking i)laintively, -'Mamma, wa- 

 ter ;" just think of giving "these water that 

 gives them typhoid fever, kidney complaints, 

 cholera infantum, and other diseases of like 

 character. Iluber is just now old enough to 

 call for '• wawa ; "' and after he has l)een out 

 with his i)a])a among the strawberries until 

 he has got tired and thirsty, it is worth half 

 the price of the cistern to see him smack his 

 lips over it, and exjiress his thanks and ap- 

 proval in every way he knows how. Now, 

 then, if anylxxly knows of a book on cistern- 

 making, let him stand up and speak. 



In Older to n;ake this iirticle a iitting one 

 for a bee journal, I will iiist add, on a nice 

 little pedestal rig'ut opposite the outside cis- 

 tern ])iimp, you lix a large-sized bell-glass, or 

 glass jar inverted over a grooved board ; and 

 by keeping it full during all weather that 

 bees can fly, teach them that there they may 

 always lind good pure water. This pedestal, 

 while standing right in the sun, sliould be 



