6 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Cistern-Building—Cistern Water Cheaper 
and Better than Well Water. 
In the March No. of last volume, page 88, we 
discussed the properties of water, its impurities, 
etc., and gave a description of a simple filtering 
apparatus. It was there stated that in the water 
of most wells and springs,there is no small amount 
of impurities derived from the soil, and that the 
purest water, except that artificially distilled, is 
rain water. But even the rain washes down 
dusty particles floating in the air, or lodged upon 
the roofs of houses. For this and other reasons 
it is desirable to have even cistern water filtered. 
Early last year we received from Wm. Ben¬ 
nett, of Alleghany Co., Pa , sketches and a de¬ 
scription of a double or filtering cistern construct¬ 
ed by him. The general plan we have been fa¬ 
miliar with for several years, and we believe it 
to be a very good one. We have therefore kept 
the communication on file for insertion when 
we could fill up the sketches and procure the 
engraving which we present herewith. We ful¬ 
ly indorse the remarks in regard to the economy 
and utility of cistern water. In constructing the 
walls of the cistern, we think that in most soils it 
is safer to put a layer of brick or small stones, laid 
in cement, around the outside, and coat the inside 
well with mortar of hydraulic lime. Mr. Burnett’s 
communication is essentially as follows : 
Your call for hints on various useful topics in¬ 
duces me to give some items respecting a cistern 
we had constructed last Spring. I had derived 
some good hints from the Agriculturist and other 
sources, but, Yankee like, 1 tried to improve on 
all other plans. I give the result, with the de¬ 
sire of putting others on the track of obtaining 
easily and cheaply the inestimable blessing of a 
full supply of pure soft water, both for drinking 
and cooking, as well as for washing purposes. 
We sunk two cisterns, R, and C, 3 feet apart, 
right alongside of the Piazza, so that we could 
put the roof conductor perpendicularly into 
the receiving cistern, thereby preventing its 
freezing up, and also that we could have the 
pump under cover. The receiving cistern, R, is 
7£ feet deep from spring of arch ; the other 14 
feet deep. Both are 6 feet in diameter. They are 
both covered with an arch of hard burned bricks, 
laid in mortar. Each has a man-hole at the top, 
and a brick flue or chimney in one for.the running 
spout, and in the other for a pump. Both man 
holes are well covered with large flat stones laid 
in mortar, sufficiently deep to be uninjured by 
frost. Neither one of the cisterns is lined with 
bricks as the cement sticks best on earth, clay, 
stone, &c., and does not leak so soon. 
The first coat of cement was composed of one- 
third cement (water-lime or hydraulic cement), and 
two-thirds good sharp sand The second was 
one-half of each, and the third was pure cement 
(a thin coaty One man mixed a bucket full only 
at a time , while another put it on. 
Any one who has seen a plasterer at work can 
put it on, hut he must be quick at it, or the ce¬ 
ment will set, like plaster of Paris, before it is laid 
on smoothly. There is a drain (of brick laid in 
mortar and lined with cement) leading from the 
receiving cistern, and both this and all the other 
apertures, are so well secured that even a worm 
can not get in. 
In the bottom of the receiving cistern, R, we 
sunk a small cistern 24 feet deep and 3 feet wide, 
to hold the filtering materials. It is (of course) on 
the side nearest to the deep cistern. At its bottom, 
we put through into the deep cistern, a hard burned 
stone-ware pipe, 2 inches in diameter. The end 
in the small cistern is covered with a piece of 
copper having a number of small holes punched 
through it. This prevents displacement of gravel. 
The other end is plugged up with wood, and a 
4 inch hole bored through the wood to prevent a 
too rapid rush of water through the filtering ma¬ 
terials. The first layer of these is clean gravel, g, 
say to the depth of 8 inches; then a piece of can¬ 
ton flannel ; then a layer of pounded charcoal, c, 
4 inches ; then a layer of coarse clean sand, say 
6 inches ; and so on, flannel, charcoal and sand to 
six inches above top, making a bed of filtering ma¬ 
terials, about 3 feet deep. The upper six inches 
are held in position by two courses of bricks 
around the edge. 
You will notice that the pipe connecting the 
two cisterns is four feet above the bottom of the 
deep cistern, so that if we wish to replace the 
present with fresh filtering materials, we have 4 
feet depth of water to use, until more rain comes. 
And notice, also, that the receiving cistern is so 
large as to hold a very copious shower of rain. 
Showers sometimes are few and far between, and 
a small cistern is a nuisance anywhere. Water 
will keep better in large quantities than in small. 
We have now a full supply of the best of water, 
only 6 feet from and on a level with the kitchen 
door, and under cover too. We use the water for 
every purpose and greatly prefer it to any other. 
We have an excellent spring about a hundred 
yards from the house but we almost forget it. The 
water is so much purer—and it never gets mud¬ 
dy. It is out of the way too of all the crabs, frogs, 
worms, rats, mice, etc., etc. 
If it does not rain for 8 or 10 months we are 
still supplied with plenty of soft water as clear as 
crystal. The whole cost (including pump and 
pipe, $12.20, and 94 barrels cement at $2.50) was 
$90, which is less by considerably than the cost of 
sinking a well in addition to making the usual soft 
water cistern, with pumps or windlass to both of 
them. If my health had permitted me to have 
done the work, the cost would have been much 
less, say $65. One more advantage of the filter¬ 
ed water is, the women can make the clothes 
look so much cleaner. 
P. S. In a letter just at hand (Dec. 20.), Mr. 
Berinet writes: “The filtering cistern , I wrote 
about some-time ago, has now been in use about 
14 years,and we are better pleased with it the 
longer we use it. While many springs and wells 
have been dry, subjecting tie owners to great 
labor and inconvenience (especially the women), 
we have had an abundant supply of pure, soft 
water for all purposes. You may confidently urge 
similar constructions.” 
---- «<>•— --- 
Pride arises from self-ignorance. 
New Use for a Magnet 
A key having been dropped into the Mississippi 
river, where it was impracticable to dive for it, a 
strong steel magnet was procured, and let down 
by a long string. By trailing it about a few mi¬ 
nutes, it was brought into contact with the iron 
ring upon the brass key, and held it fast until 
raised to the surface. A magnet will not attract 
brass or copper. This mode of raising iron and 
steel articles from deep water, may be success¬ 
fully used in many other instances. A large piece 
of steel may be readily made a strong, permanent 
magnet with the aid of a small galvanic batten 
See explanation and illustrations of electn 
magnets, Vol. XVII., page 281. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Winter Management of Sheep. 
BY A MICHIGAN FARMER. 
The sheep is perhaps more sensibly affected b) 
ill treatment, than any other of our domestic ani 
mals ; and it may be as truly said that none re¬ 
pay the owner as well for good keeping, and con¬ 
stant care and attention during Winter. The 
losses usually sustained by the country at large, 
in consequence of negligence in the care of sheep 
during the feeding season, is immense. During 
the Winter of 1852—3, a friend of mine lost 70 
fine sheep. He trusted a careless man to take 
care of his flecks, being absent himself most of 
the time, and this man neglected to shelter, ne¬ 
glected to feed properly, to water, to salt, etc., 
etc., and the result was 70 rotten pelts in Spring. 
Another farmer within my acquaintance lost, 
during the last Winter and Spring, upwards of 
forty, just from sheer negligence. And it is so 
the country over—immense numbers die every 
Winter for want of care. 
Shelter. —Two purposes are served by shel¬ 
ters—they save food, and they preserve the wool 
from the highly injurious effects of storms and 
changes of weather. Where sheep are kept 
without shelter, the wool is wanting in those fine 
felting properties, which sheltered wool always 
possesses in so superior a degree. An old woolen 
manufacturer once told me, he could tell without 
fail, whether sheep had been sheltered or not, as 
soon as he began to work the wool. 
Shelter is equivalent to food, in some degree. 
Food is required to keep up the animal heat—it 
is the fuel; the stomach is the fire place, where 
it is consumed, and the body is the house to be 
warmed. The warmer a dwelling-house is, the 
less fuel is required. Even a belt of trees about 
the exposed portions saves a large amount of fuel. 
So with sheep, or other animals, the warmer they 
are kept, the less food is required to preserve 
the natural warmth of the body. Shelter, there¬ 
fore, serves as an equivalent for food to a certain 
extent. 
Furthermore : Good shelters reduce the losses 
to mere nothing. The most successful cases ol 
the Winter management of sheep, are where the 
flocks are comfortably housed during the entire 
Winter ; and not allowed in the fields at all. I 
know of cases, where this practice has been con¬ 
tinued for six or seven years, and the losses have 
not amounted to more than one quarter of one 
per cent. The stables were well ventilated, and 
littered daily. 
Food. —Sheep need a great variety af food. No 
animal partakes of so many different plants, hence 
they are fond of change, even from better to 
worse, sometimes, rather than to feed on one 
kind continually. A constant adherence to dry 
food, the Winter through, is sure to engender the 
