8 
BULLETIN 1465, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
The cylinder R was made of 4-inch pipe capped at each end and 
was of slightly more than 2 liters capacity. At the bottom of the 
cylinder the shut-off valve Y was attached with a close nipple, 
and below it was a 
swivel joint Z. From 
there a flexible metal 
hose 4 feet long ex- 
tended, the free end 
having a kind of metal 
cuff attached, as will 
be described below. 
In the upper end of 
the cylinder at the 
point S was a pet cock. 
In the center a %-inch 
pipe about 6 inches 
long extended upward 
and was in reality a 
valve. Inside of this 
pipe was a float T, 
consisting of a thin, 
conical, turned-brass 
cap on top of a large 
piece of sunflower 
pith. The pith below 
the cone was covered 
with lightweight sheet 
brass, the whole being 
soldered air-tight. 
This made a fairly rig- 
id but very light float, 
which floated in water 
readily. It was large 
enough to fill the in- 
terior of the pipe yet 
moved freely without 
lateral motion. A 
wire at W, soldered to 
the cap of the cylinder 
and across the open- 
Fig. 4.— Diagrammatic cross section of a measuring cylinder with its jncr nrpvpnfprl thp Ann t, 
connections. The water entering at L is diverted by the valve O ,»> ^ xc 1 culc . luc . Bl 
trom dropping into 
the cylinder. At the 
end of the pipe was the 
valve seat U, made of 
a pipe coupling filled 
with Babbit metal and 
turned to make a per- 
fect seat for the cone of the float, and having a small hole at the 
center. With the valve seat U in place, a vertical movement or rise 
of the float of not more than one-eighth inch effectively closed the 
opening in the valve seat. The pipe V, above the valve seat, led over 
to the valve seat of the right-hand cylinder, not shown in the figure. 
through the short pipe Q into the cylinder R, or through the pipe P 
into a similar cylinder not shown here. In the bottom of R the 
outlet is closed by the valve Y, beydnd which is the swivel Z lead- 
ing to the metal hose. In the top of the cylinder R is a pet cock S, 
also a float T, fitting into the seat U when raised by water and pre- 
vented from falling into the cylinder by a cross wire at W. A hole 
through the valve seat U leads into the pipe V, which connects 
with the other cylinder in reverse order from that shown here. 
The closed pipe X, sealed with a lock nut, screws in or out of the 
cylinder to calibrate it to deliver precisely 2 liters of water 
