1877.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
371 
Ogden Farm Papers.—No. 92. 
BT GEORGE E. WARING, JR. 
In August, 1875, I gave in these papers an ac¬ 
count of Rogers Field’s invention for accumu¬ 
lating the trickling flow of a house drain in a tank, 
which should retain it until full, and then discharge 
it all rapidly by the action of a siphon, which a 
sudden addition of a pint or two of liquid would 
bnng into operation. The rapid discharge effects 
the cleansing of the drain. These flush-tanks, made 
of iron—and with all their appliances complete— 
are now for sale by the agent of the patentee. They 
cost $35. In the same paper I gave instructions for 
making such a flush-tank by the use of a kerosene 
barrel with a siphon made of lead pipe. I failed to 
give it correctly in the illustration, and I have re¬ 
cently had a letter from a reader who followed 
those instructions, and found that the siphon 
would not come into action unless a very large ad¬ 
dition was made to the contents of the barrel. Any 
usual flow from the 6ink drain would merely over¬ 
flow through the siphon-pipe without starting its si¬ 
phon action. The reason for this is that I directed the 
turning of the pipe out through the side of the 
barrel below the top, 
so that even a couple 
of gallons of water dis¬ 
charged rapidly, having 
to raise the level in the 
whole barrel, would not 
suffice to fill the bend 
of the siphon. (See 
cut on page 12 January 
number, 1876). All that 
is needed to correct 
this fault, is to carry 
the pipe up through 
the top of the bar¬ 
rel, and turn it over the 
side. For its protection 
against bruising, it may pass througli a notch cut 
in the chine. With this arrangement the barrel 
will first be filled quite full, so that any addition 
would apply entirely to the starting of the siphon. 
The flush tank system has now had such thorough 
trial, that its efficiency has been fully proved, and 
it is quite sure to come into general use. 
Mr. Field has recently made a modification of his 
invention, applicable to the flushing of town sewers. 
I received the description of this at a time when I 
was much puzzled to know how to get rid of the 
sewage of a large country house, for which no good 
outlet could be had, and where a cesspool could not 
be used; a cesspool never should be used, by the 
way. I applied the new system, and it has worked 
so perfectly, that I am glad to make it known to all 
my readers who are interested in the drainage ques¬ 
tion. The part which it is necessary to buy from 
the patentee is only the siphon, which may be trans¬ 
ported for little cost. All the rest is mason work, 
which may be made at home, and common piping 
which may be bought in any town. 
It is one great advantage of this new form of 
flush-tank, that it needs 
but little elevation of the 
storage-room above the 
level of the drain—as the 
necessary capacity may 
be gained by making the 
tank as large as is desired. 
The siphon is shown in 
figure 1. It consists of a 
vertical pipe rising from 
the outlet of the tank to 
a point a little above the 
lower side of the covering 
stone. Another pipe, of 
larger size, closed at the 
1.—mb. field’s siphon, top with a screw cap, is 
a, a, a. Covering Stone ; b, inverted over this,through 
Screw Cap: c. Outer Pipe ol a hole in the stone. The 
Siphon ; d, Inner Pipe of ou (- er pjp e extends down 
Siphon. j. 0 near iy the level of 
the outlet, it is made fast to the stone, and its 
screw-cap, may easily be removed for examin¬ 
ing and cleaning the pipes. The space between 
the two pipes makes the short leg of the siphon. 
The small pipe makes the long leg. The top of the 
smaller pipe is furnished with a funnel-shaped col¬ 
lar, which causes any liquid that flows over it to fill 
the pipe with a spray which, as it falls, carries down 
the air in the pipe and sets the siphon in action. 
Without the funnel-6haped collar, the water would 
flow down the sides of the pipe, and it would take 
a much greater volume to start the siphon action. 
Figure 2 is a sectional view of the tank complete. 
Its form and size may be varied to suit circum¬ 
stances, and it may receive one or a dozen pipes, 
according to the number of sinks, etc., to be dis¬ 
charged into it. At least one of these pipes must 
act as a ventilator—not passing beyond the under 
side of the stone, and continuing, without a trap, 
and of full size, quite up beyond the roof—not de¬ 
livering near a window, nor near to the top of a 
chimney. This must be an iron pipe with well 
leaded joints. Any pipe that is not used as a ven¬ 
tilator, may pass well down through the stone. 
The objects to be accomplished are these: (1). 
To store such an amount of liquid as shall suffice, 
when rapidly discharged, to “flush” out the drain 
through which it is to pass, washing it clean from 
end to end. Or, if absorption drains are to be used, 
to fill these rapidly, so that the whole system shall 
receive a due proportion of the liquid. (2). To pro¬ 
vide settling room, below the level of the outlet, 
sufficient to retain all solids which may be de¬ 
posited. (3). To retain all grease and scum so that 
it can not get into the siphon or drain, and cause 
obstructions: (4). To prevent the escape of the re¬ 
sultant gasses of fermentation. The further de¬ 
sideratum would be to admit a circulation of air to 
the tank, but, as it stands outside of the house, and 
as it, and its ventilating pipe, are hermetically seal¬ 
ed, this is not absolutely essential. 
The only part of the work which needs special 
description, is the construction of the partition 
wall, (e,/). This is a brick wall 4 inches thick, 
built of bricks lying on their 6ides, well bedded at 
the top and bottom, but being laid without mortar 
at their ends—for the free admission of the air 
needed to stop the action of the siphon. At a little 
distance below the flow line—below the lowest 
point to which the scum can ever descend—there 
are holes left in the partition, (about 2i inches 
square), to allow the water to flow freely to the 
6iphon. The operation of the apparatus is this: 
The waste liquids flow in through the pipes a and c. 
Their sediment settles to the bottom, and their 
grease and other floating matters remain at the sur¬ 
face. If we fill at once with clean water to the 
hight of the line g, no floating matters of any kind 
will pass through the holes in the partition wall." 
In time, the tank will be filled to the top. Then 
any addition to its contents, causes the siphon to 
start. Once started, its flow is rapid until the level, 
g , is again reached—when air enters the siphon and 
'• trips ” it, so that nothing more can be discharged 
until the tank is quite full again. The dam, h, is 
essential to check the entrance of air, which would 
prevent the siphon from “ catching,” unless with a 
very rapid flow. The water stands behind the drain 
to 6uch a hight as nearly to close it; even a slight 
flow fills the vacant space in the pipe, but after the 
flow has stopped, the little vent left allows air to 
enter and ensure the “tripping.” 
The tank I have just constructed is 6 feet in di¬ 
ameter, and about 41 feet deep, the outlet is eJjou.t 
2 feet above the bottom. It fills once in about 1£ 
to 2 days, and it discharges in six minutes. As the 
size is so great, I am disposed to think that it will 
not require artificial cleansing. Both the scum and 
the sediment being organic matter, and the warm 
water discharged into the tank being considerable, 
I think they will decompose about as fast as they 
form. Their decomposition will produce ammonia, 
which will turn the grease into soap, and allow it to 
pass off in solution. In the case in question, the 
whole sewage of a large country house—with an 
average of twenty inmates—is perfectly disposed of 
by 400 feet of absorption drains underlying about 
2,000 square feet of lawn. I have watched it care¬ 
fully for weeks, and it seems perfect in all respects. 
Mr. Field certainly deserves much credit (and re¬ 
ward) for so valuable an addition to our comfort 
and health. The invention 6eems simple now that 
it is perfected, but simple as it is, it has cost several 
years of patient and costly experiment. It was 
found no easy matter to make a siphon that could 
he started with a very slight flow, yet could be 
stopped on the least cessation of the discharge. 
“Would it pay me in value of manurial product 
(as I have made up my mind to waste my drainage 
further from my house than I now do), to conduct 
the drainage of my house (including water closets, 
baths, wash water and kitchen sink), a distance of 
740 ft. with a fall of only about 8 ft. into my manure 
cellar, where the 6olid parts would remain with the 
manure, and the liquid parts would drain off into 
the liquid manure cistern and be used for irrigating 
grass laud ? I estimate the average quantity of 
water used in my house at 200 gallons per day. I 
should add rain water to my liquid manure before 
using it. Would it be practicable to conduct this 
drainage such a long distance upon such a light 
fall? I should expect to use 6-inch cast iron pipe.” 
Probably not,—because you can dispose of your 
house waste more easily. I should advise your 
using a flush tank and absorption drains, which 
would cost less, all told, than the cast-iron pipe 
you propose using. You can lay absorption drains 
near the house, or in the garden, or in a grape 
border, according to circumstances. Put the drains 
only 10 or 12 inches below the surface of the 
ground in lines 6 feet apart, and you will get con¬ 
siderable effect from the use of the manure in 
this way. The flush tank may be made as describ¬ 
ed in another part of this article. Even if you 
should follow out the course you propose, you 
should use the flush tank-,—otherwise your pipe 
will become choked with kitchen grease and other 
rubbish. Then again, a 4-inch pipe will be better 
than a 6-inch pipe,—because it will be less likely to 
become choked, carrying a greater depth of flow. 
The smaller size will have much more than ample 
capacity for the work. Furthermore, vitrified 
drain pipe, with well connected joints, and laid on 
a firm foundation, will be as good as iron pipe, and 
will cost less and last longer. 
The Sixtieth St., hi. Y., Cattle Market. 
The commerce of the City of New York has been 
greatly helped by the enterprise of the N. Y. Cen¬ 
tral and Hudson River Railroad Company, in erect¬ 
ing a monster grain elevator, and an immense cat¬ 
tle yard and market, in a central and very con¬ 
venient position in this great city. The cattle busi¬ 
ness, while it has attained very great proportions, 
is yearly increasing, and needs spacious accommo¬ 
dations. The week ending Sept. 3d, for instance, 
3,109 beeves, 51 cows, 2,152 calves, and 15,580 6heep, 
were sold at this one market. Few hogs come 
here, as the yards at 40th St., are specially devoted 
to these animals. In one day 100 cars of beeves 
and 20 to 30 of sheep, are frequently unloaded, 
when business is only moderate; when arrivals are 
heavy, these numbers are often exceeded. The 
handling of so many animals can only be done with 
economy when the arrangements are very con¬ 
venient. In the new cattle market the cars are 
brought up to the gates of the Dens, and the beasts 
are changed from one to, the other in a very short 
Fig. 2f — FLUSH TANK WITH MR. FIELD’S SIPHON. 
a, Soil-pipe and Ventilator ; b. Iron Man-hole Cover ; c, Drain-pipe ; d, Siphon ; e, Partition 
Wall ; f. Openings to admit Liquid to Siphon Chamber ; g, Flow Line; A, Dam. 
