214 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



good supply of water. Through the centre of 

 my farm, meanders a small, though never-failing 

 stream, called "Crummy Kill," (in English 

 Grooved Creek,) winding its way in a valley, 

 watering eight lots, but laying so low it was of 

 little use with the exception of furnishing stock 

 when at pasture. My house stands fifty-two 

 feet above the level of this stream, and notwith- 

 standing I had three wells and a good cistern 

 near my house and in the cattle yard, still 1 fan- 

 cied that a luxurious flowing stream of pure, 

 soft water near my house, would add much to 

 the safety, comfort, cleanliness and health of the 

 inmates, as well as the stock in my yards. I, 

 therefore, conceived the idea of turning this idle 

 stream to some account, and erected a simple 

 apparatus, by which means I made it pour its 

 necessary share at the door; a libation of neat- 

 ness, temperance, industry and economy. In 

 order to accomplish the desired object it was ne- 

 cessary to throw a dam across the ravine, in a 

 narrow part to raise the water for a sufficient 

 head to carry a small overshot water-wheel. — 

 The dam now is about 150 feet long, and from 

 20 to 22 feet broad, made of earth and raised 

 ten feet above the bed of the stream, and makes 

 a good road from one part of the farm to the 

 other, and can be passed with the heaviest loads, 

 which of itself is worth the expense. The wa- 

 ter is conveyed under and across this dam in a 

 trunk, and raised to the level of the pond in a 

 pentstock, from which it is conveyed on to the 

 wheel. In order to secure it against freshes it 

 was necessary to make a waste-way of suffi- 

 cient size to carry off all surplus water. 



Now, in this cold climate it was necessary to 

 secure the pump and wheel from the frost; 

 to do which, as I have no stone on the farm, I 

 built a log cellar, (not a log cabin,) sufficiently 

 large to place a wheel six feet in diameter with 

 buckets eighteen inches long. A wheel of this 

 size is unnecessary to work a small forcing pump, 

 unless the supply of water is very small. One 

 four feet in diameter and buckets ten or twelve 

 inches long and four inches deep, would be suf- 

 ficient to force two thousand gallons of water 

 per day fifty to sixty feet high and any distance 

 laterally. On the shaft of my wheel is an ex- 

 centric, (a crank would be more simple, cost, 

 less, and work better) — which by means of a 

 pitman, gives motion to the working-beam, to 

 one end of which the piston rod of the pump is 

 attached. The object of this working beam is 

 to give as little lateral or vibrating motion to the 

 piston rod as possible. The pump is a double 

 action, two inches in diameter, and has a six 

 inch stroke — it sits on a small cistern which is 

 supplied with water from the pentstock. The 

 water is conducted to the house through pine 

 logs, eight to ten inches in diameter and the 

 bore one and a quarter inch — leaden tube of one 

 inch diameter would be better. 



The water is discharged into a reservoir or 

 cistern, standing above ground, near my house, 

 and holds 1,101) gallons, from which the surplus 

 water is conveyed in one direction to my pouliry 

 yard — in another to my piggery, cattle and 

 sheep yards — from thence passing off into a lot 

 where there was no water. From the cistern 

 the house and horse stable are supplied. 



On the shaft of rny water-wheel 1 put a cog- 

 wheel 34 inches diameter working inio a pinion- 

 wheel 7 inches in diameter — on the shaft of 

 which is a drum or pulley 3 feet in diameter. — 

 From this drum I band off to a pulley on a 

 shaft placed in the building over the cellar where 

 the wheel is. This shaft runs lengthwise of 

 the building on which are placed pullej T s of dif- 

 ferent sizes, to give different velocities to different 

 machines — such as a circular saw, a grindstone, 

 a mill to grind feed for my stock, &c. &c. Either 

 of the above named machines can be carried by 

 my wheel, and all the water required is let in 

 through a six inch square tube with little or no 

 pressure. 



It is surprising how small a quantity of water 

 when there is a head and properly applied, it 

 requires to force water 50, 60 or even 100 feet 

 high. An overshot wheel 8 feet in diameter 

 and buckets as many inches long — 4 inches 

 deep, with what water would pass through a 2 

 inch tube would, I think, be sufficient to work a 

 pump 2 inches in diameter and throw up 50 or 

 60 feet high from 12 to 1600 gallons per day. 



You say you "have heard of a trough being 

 somehow used to lift a pump." 1 will endeavor 

 to describe one I saw at the farm of Mr. S. 

 Worth in Chester county, Pennsylvania. 



In the meadow near his house passed a small 

 stream of water, and without the appearance of 

 any head or fall. Over this creek or brook he 

 erected a long, narrow building, and excavated 

 a cellar about fout feet deep and walled it with 

 stone. About thirty or forty feet from the bank 

 of the creek was a pure, limpid spring of water 

 gushing up into a curb which he had placed 

 there. Now, with a very simple contrivance 

 the water from this spring was forced up to his 

 house, which stood twenty-five feet above the 

 level of the stream. It is pretty faithfully re- 

 presented in the engraving above. 



The pump A, is two inches in diameter and six 

 inches long, made of cast iron, similar to those 

 used for steam engines for forcing water into the 

 boiler. The box C, on one end of the lever, is 

 filled with stones sufficient to raise the end of 

 the lever after the water has been discharged, 

 which is done by falling on to the pin F, which 

 opens the valve in the bottom of the box, as 

 shown by the dotted line. The lever then rises 

 to its level, raising the piston and filling the 

 pump — the box is then filled again with water 

 from the spout. G, which is sufficient lo over- 

 power the weight of stones and the resistance 



