QUERIES IN REGARD TO THE WATER RAM. 
121 
hay at noon during the winter, and usually con- 
sumed all the straw of the grain fed them. They 
had a good shelter, and access to pare water at all 
times. From this flock, I raised fifty-three lambs. 
The full-blood Merinos, including two' rams, and 
the two three-fourth-blood lambs, (in all thirty- 
two,) sheared one hundred and eighty-six pounds 
and four ounces of washed wool, which I sold at 
forty-eight cents per pound. Four of the full- 
bloods had two years' fleeces on. The half-blood 
Merinos and half-blood Southdowns, (twenty- 
three,) sheared eight and one half pounds of washed 
wool, seventy-one pounds of which I sold at thirty- 
eight cents per pound. During the summer of 
1844, the flock were kept in good ordinary pasture, 
and salted once a week. 1 — [Transactions ef N. Y. 
State Agricultural Society, 1844.] 
" Thus* the Merino fleeces averaged 5 lbs. .13| 
oz. and sold for $ 2.79| each ; and the grades be- 
tween Merino and Southdown averaged 3 lbs. 8 oz. 
The Property of Col. H. S. Randall, Cortland Village, N. Y 
Fig. 33. Merino Ewe 
to the fleece, and sold for $1.33 each. It will be 
observed that four of the full-bloods, (ewes.) had 
two-year fleeces on. A two-year fleece will not 
weigh so much as two single year's fleeces from the 
same sheep. On the average, it will weigh about 
three quarters as much. On the other hand, the lot 
included two three-quarter- blood lamb fleeces, 
which would fall below the average weight of 
the others, and a portion of the flock were year- 
lings and two-yearolds. The Merino never attains 
its maximum weight of fleece before three years 
old, and ordinarily not until four, and therefore the 
aggregate weight of wool of the 32 sheep, given 
above, does not, to say the least of it, give too fa- 
vorable a view of the product of sheep of this 
quality. This is proved by the fact that my entire 
flock of full-bloods sheared about three twentieths 
of an ounce over six pounds each, the succeeding 
year." 
QUERIES IN REGARD TO THE WATER RAM. 
The public are desirous of more authentic in- 
formation on the comparative quantities of water 
raised and wasted in the use of the water ram. The 
principle of its action is one of Ihe most simple in 
the science of hydraulics ; yet/ in its application, 
it is subject to so much variation from friction and 
resistance, owing to the relative sizes, lengths, and 
position of the pipes, as well as from other circum- 
stances connected with the machine, that it is im- 
possible to slate, in many cases propounded us, 
how much water out of a given quantity may be 
wasted or how much saved. We would therefore, 
respectfully solicit from' any and all of our intelli- 
gent readers, who have these water rams in use, 
answers to the following questions, in order to con- 
struct a reliable table for public reference, as well 
as for our own use : — 
1. What is the perpendicular height of your 
water fall, in feet, above the bottom of the sole of 
the ram 1 
2. Out of a given quan- 
tity of water used per min- 
ute, how many wine gal- 
lons are wasted and how 
many elevated or saved ? 
3. How many feet 
higher than the water 
above the dam is the wa- 
ter raised ? 
4. What distance, in 
feet or" rods, is the water 
conveyed by pipes from 
the ram to your house, or 
place of discharge '? 
5. Are there any short 
turns or angles in the pipe, 
and how many, between 
the ram and your house ' i 
6. What is the No. of 
the ram, and the name of 
the inventor or manufac- 
turer 1 
7. What is the length, 
in feet, and the inner di- 
ameter, in inches, of the 
drive or supply pipe ? 
8. How many feet or 
inches below the surface of the water above the dam 
does the drive pipe receive its supply 1 
9. What is the inner diameter, in inches, of the 
pipe conducting the water to your house ? 
In order to determine the quantity of water wasted 
and saved, we would reccommend that two observ- 
ers, one at the house and the other at the ram, by 
a signal previously agreed upon, commence col- 
lecting the water, in one or more vessels, at the 
same instant,, and continue the operation precisely 
ten minutes; then carefully measure the water 
caught at the ram, as well as that caught at the 
house, committing the results to paper, on the spot, 
as soon as measured. 
If there are any other circumstances affecting 
the operation of the machine, or the relative 
quantities of water raised and wasted, please to 
let them be accurately noted, as well as any sug- 
gestions for their improvements. 
