38 
^FHE  RURAIi  NEW-YORKEa 
When  you  write  advertisers  mention 
The  R.  N.-Y.  and  you'll  get  a  quick 
reply  and  a  “square  deal.”  See  guaran¬ 
tee  editorial  page.  :  :  :  : 
Farm  Mechanics 
no  settling  after  the  concrete  has  been 
placed.  If  the  cistern  is  located  where 
it  can  he  drained,  as  would  be  the  case 
in  the  side  hill  mentioned,  it  is  best  to 
slope  the  bottom  to  a  common  point, 
either  the  center  or  one  corner,  and  ar¬ 
range  a  means  for  draining  before  the 
bottom  is  laid.  This  is  a  great  help  when 
it  is  necessary  to  clean  the  cistern  out  as 
it  surely  will  be  some  day. 
The  form  for  the  inside  of  the  walls 
can  be  built  and  suspended  in  place  at 
the  proper  height  to  allow  for  the  floor 
thickness  by  moans  of  cross  pieces  nailed 
to  the  upright  in  each  corner.  This  per¬ 
mits  building  the  walls  directly  the  floor 
is  laid  so  that  there  is  no  seam  and  con¬ 
sequent  leakage  in  the  corners.  If  the 
sides  are  long  enough  so  that  the  pres¬ 
sure  of  the  concrete  in  the  walls  is  likely 
to  cause  springing  of  the  forms  it  is 
best  to  brace  them  well  to  prevent  it. 
otherwise  the  cistern  will  have  a  crooked 
wall. 
One  measure  of  cement  to  two  of  sand 
to  four  of  crushed  rock  or  screened  gra¬ 
vel — a  1-2-4  mixture — is  usually  consid¬ 
ered  suitable  for  waterproof  work  where 
the  sand  and  gravel  are  both  clean  and 
the  work  is  well  done.  It  is  best  to 
screen  the  gravel  if  this  is  to  he  used 
for  the  coarse  aggregate,  ns  it  very  often 
contains  too  much  Rand  to  make  the  best 
mixture.  In  screening  all  that  passes 
through  a  quarter  inch  mesh  screen 
should  he  considered  as  sand  and  in  thin 
wall  construction  of  this  kind  any  gravel 
over  an  inch  in  size  should  be  discarded. 
Small  stones  or  rubble  concrete  is  not 
advisable  as  the  water  will  find  its  way 
through  the  seams. 
In  cases  where  there  is  doubt  about  the 
suitability  of  the  sand  a  1-2-3  mixture  is 
advised.  Side  walls  and  bottom  laid  up 
six  inches  thick  from  these  mixtures 
should  prove  satisfactory  for  a  cistern  of 
this  depth.  Woven  wire  fencing  makes 
a  good  reinforcement  for  work  of  this 
kind.  It  tends  to  prevent  shrinkage 
checks  and  other  defects  of  the  kind  and 
to  be  most  effective  should  be  placed  near 
the  outer  edge  of  the  wall.  The  concrete 
must  be  well  mixed  atnl  placed — spaded 
and  tamped  until  the  water  flushes  to  the 
top — making  the  work  as  dense  as  pos¬ 
sible.  The  above  directions  apply  to  a 
rectangular  cistern  in  firm  ground.  If 
the  soil  is  not  firm  enough  to  permit 
using  the  sides  of  the  excavation  as  the 
outside  form  it  will  he  necessary  of 
course  to  build  a  double  form.  If  the 
sides  of  the  excavation  are  used  for  the 
outer  forms  care  must  be  exercised  in 
depositing  the  concrete  to  prevent  rat¬ 
tling  dirt  down  with  it  as  this  will  result 
in  a  leaky  cistern. 
In  a  1-2-4  mixture  it  is  customary  to 
allow  .058  barrels  of  cement  for  each 
cubic  foot  of  rammed  concrete  in  the 
work.  Figuring  on  this  basis  the  cistern 
outlined  by  C.  M.  G.  would  require  12.15 
barrels  or  49  sacks  of  cement.  This  is 
figured  on  a  basis  of  45  per  cent,  void 
in  the  broken  stone.  As  this  will  vary 
somewhat  the  amount  of  cement  required 
will  vary  with  it.  The  above,  however, 
will  be  a  close  approximation. 
The  same  water  capacity  in  a  cubical 
or  cylindrical  cistern  will  require  less 
cement,  as  the  amount  of  wall  surface  per 
unit  of  capacity  will  be  less.  A  cylindrical 
cistern  six  feet  deep  and  12  feet,  4 x/j  inches 
in  diameter  will  have  practically  the  same 
capacity  as  the  one  outlined — 721.66  cu¬ 
bic  feet  as  against  720  in  the  rectangular 
but  will  require  but  44  sacks  of  cement. 
At  the  same  time  this  shape  is  stronger 
and  more  easily  kept  clean.  After  the 
forms  are  removed  painting  ’  the  inside 
with  a  mixture  of  clear  cement  and 
water  of  about  the  consistency  of  cream 
makes  it  smooth  and  waterproof. 
The  hydraulic  ram  uses  the  force  of 
falling  water  to  elevate  n  certain  por¬ 
tion  of  this  water  to  a  height  above  the 
source.  The  amount,  raised  depends  upon 
the  efficiency  of  the  ram  and  the  ratio 
between  the  fall  of  the  water  from  the 
source  to  the  ram  and  the  height  to 
which  it.  is  raised.  In  a  perfect  ram  the 
portion  of  the  water  lifted  would  be  a 
fractional  part  of  the  whole  expressed  by 
a  fraction  whose  numerator  is  the  fall 
between  the  source  and  the  ram  and 
whose  denominator  is  the  height  to  which 
I  1.000  gallon  tank,  which  seems  to  the  in¬ 
quirer  too  large. 
In  “Feeds  and  Feeding”  Prof.  Henry 
states  that  the  average  daily  water  re¬ 
quirements  for  farm  animals  are  as  fol¬ 
lows:  Cow,  1214  gallons,  maximum  40 
gallons;  horse,  10  to  12  gallons;  pig, 
from  about  1*4  gallons  per  100  pounds 
of  live  weight  at  weaning  time  to  about 
one-luilf  gallon  during  fattening. 
In  one  of  the  Rural  Science  series 
the  statement  is  made  that  100  laying 
hens  will  require  from  2  V4  to  3%  gal¬ 
lons  of  water  per  day  for  drinking  pur¬ 
poses.  It  is  probable  that  they  would 
waste  considerably  more  depending  some¬ 
what  upon  the  method  of  distributing  it 
to  them.  For  people,  25  to  40  gallons 
each  per  dj^j  is  the  usual  allotment. 
Using  these  figures  as  a  basis  a  daily 
water  requirement  of  410  gallons  is  ob¬ 
tained  in  the  case  mentioned. 
Due  to  the  fact  that  some  room  must 
be  left  in  the  tank  for  the  storage  of 
compressed  air  above  the  water,  the  tank 
can  be  filled  only  about  two-thirds  full, 
the  air  compressed  in  the  remaining  third 
being  used  in  forcing  the  water  from  the 
tank.  When  provision  is  made  for  fill¬ 
ing  the  tank  daily  its  capacity  must  be 
at  least  one-half  greater  than  the  volume 
of  water  required  or  015  gallons  in  this 
ease,  the  nearest  stock  size  greater  than 
this  being  the  size  chosen  if  one  wishes  to 
limit  the  capacity  of  the  tank  to  one  day 
with  no  provision  for  growth.  The  esti¬ 
mate  of  reliable  manufacturers  cun 
usually  be  relied  upon,  as  they  have  made 
an  exhaustive  study  of  the  conditions 
and  are  in  a  position  to  know.  You  can 
determine  the  size  of  tank  required  most 
accurately  for  yourself  by  measuring  or 
computing  carefully  the  amount  of  water 
used  per  day  for  all  purposes  about  the 
farm  and  multiplying  this  quantity  by 
two.  Two  is  used  as  the  factor  by  which 
to  multiply  rather  than  I V4  to  provide  a 
small  surplus  for  emergencies.  R.  H.  s. 
The  RAY0  LAMP 
SAVES  TROUBLE 
YOU  don’t  have  to 
spend  the  greater 
part  of  you r  time 
cleaning  it — and  won¬ 
dering  why  it  won’t 
burn.  The  Rayo  is 
simple  in  construction 
and  in  design.  It  lights 
without  removing  the 
shade  and  gives  the 
best  sort  of  light— the 
kind  that  won’t  hurt 
your  eyes. 
Kayo  lamps  are  an  ornament 
to  any  home.  They  require 
very  little  attention — yet 
always  add  to  the  attractive¬ 
ness  of  the  room. 
The  Rayo  is  the  symbol 
of  efficiency  —  economy  — 
convenience. 
The  Ravo  is  one  of  the  many 
SO  CONY  (Standard  Oil 
Company  of  New  York)  pro¬ 
ducts  that  bring  comfort  and 
economy  to  the  farm. 
SOCONY  is  your  assurance 
of  quality.  Ask  for  rhe  follow¬ 
ing  SOCONY  products  : 
Matchless  Liquid  Gloss 
Standard  Hand  Separator 
Cistern  for  Water  Supply 
I  wish  to  build  a  cistern  for  my  water 
supply.  I  think  of  making  it  12x12. 
five  feet  deep.  I  have  enough  small 
stones  handy.  How  thick  must  I  have 
grout  wall?  How  thick  must  I  have 
bottom  of  cistern?  How  many  pounds 
of  cement  will  it  take?  I  have  a  line 
spring  about  900  feet  from  cistern.  I 
propose  '<>  try  a  ram  and  if  that  does  not 
work  pul  in  n  little  engine  at  spring. 
The  rise  is  about  90  feet.  It  will  be 
very  expensive  digging.  If  ram  works, 
water  will  be  running  all  the  time.  If 
engine,  the  water  in  pipe  would  at  once 
flow  back  as  soon  as  I  stopped  pumping. 
Would  it  be  safe  to  put  the  pipe,  say 
one  foot  below  surface,  or  must  I  go 
below  frost V  My  spring  flows  1,500  gal¬ 
lons  per  day.  Can  I  expect  over  200 
gallons  from  ram?  o.  m.  g. 
Petersham,  Mass. 
No  doubt  the  cistern  mentioned  in  the 
question  is  to  be  placed  in  the  ground. 
This  is  the  logical  place  for  it,  as  the 
earth  surrounding  it  acts  as  a  heat  in¬ 
sulator,  keeping  it  warm  in  Winter  and 
cool  in  Summer.  Then  too,  the  earth 
embankment  aids  to  no  small  extent  in 
strengthening  the  cistern  wall.  A  dis¬ 
advantage  of  this  below-ground  construc¬ 
tion  is  the  fact  that  the  water  usually 
has  to  be  pumped  from  the  cistern  to  the 
cattle.  If  one  is  fortunate  enough  to 
have  a  small  rise  of  ground  near  bis 
buildings  he  can,  by  placing  the  cistern 
on  or  near  the  top  of  it  secure  the  ad¬ 
vantage  of  having  his  water  supply  below 
ground  and  at  the  same  time  above  the 
watering  place  in  the  stable  so  that  the 
water  will  discharge  by  gravity  from  the 
cistern,  the  supply  being  controlled  by  a 
float. 
To  construct  such  a  cistern,  lay  out 
the  shapn  of  the  top  by  means  of  corner 
stakes  and  lines,  remembering  that  the 
finished  cistern  will  be  twice  the  thick¬ 
ness  of  the  wall  smaller  in  both  length 
and  width  than  the  rectangle  so  laid  off. 
Dig  the  sides  straight  down  to  the  re¬ 
quired  depth  and  level  and  smooth  the 
bottom.  The  bottom  should  now  be 
tamped  thoroughly  so  that  there  can  be 
Standard  Household 
Lubricant 
Parowax 
Eureka  Harness  Oil 
iMica  Axle  Grease 
If  your  dealer  does  not  carry 
these,  write  to  our  nearest 
station. 
Standard  Oil  Co.  of  New  York 
(Principal  Stations) 
NEW  YORK  ALBANY 
BUFFALO  BOSTON 
vna'i'-aia 
Januarj  S,  191G. 
the  water  is  lifted.  Thus  if  there  was  a 
fall  of  four  feet  and  a  lift  of  40  we 
would  have  a  ratio  of  one-tenth,  and 
would  expect  to  have  one-tenth  of  the 
total  amount  of  water  flowing  through  the 
ram  lifted  to  this  height.  Owing  to  loss¬ 
es  in  the  ram  and  friction  losses  in  the 
pipe  only  about,  one-fourteenth  of  the 
water  would  be  delivered  in  this  case 
however. 
C.  M.  G.  neglects  to  state  the  fall  be¬ 
tween  the  spring  and  ram  but  with  hia 
high  lift  (90  feet)  it  is  hardly  to  be  ex¬ 
pected  that  he  will  get  as  large  a  portion 
(over  one-eighth)  of  the  water  delivered 
as  he  expects.  Also  if  by  the  flow  per 
day  he  means  the  total  flow  fur  24  hours 
he  does  not  have  a  very  large  supply  of 
water — only  about  one  gallon  per  min¬ 
ute,  and  I  would  advise  the  use  of  either 
an  engine  or  windmill  and  pump.  It 
would  not  be  safe  to  lay  the  pipe  as  sug¬ 
gested.  for  in  all  likelihood  there  would 
be  pockets  that  would  not  drain  when 
the  pipe  was  emptied  and  these  would 
cause  a  great  deal  of  trouble.  Better  get 
it  below  frost  even  if  the  expense  is 
somewhat  more.  r.  it.  s. 
Trouble  With  Ram 
My  house  is  furnished  with  water  by 
a  pipe  line  650  feet  long,  of  galvanized 
iron.  The  spring  is  nine  feet  lower  than 
the  house.  I  have  used  for  nine  years  a 
ram.  The  length  of  the  drive  pipe  is  200 
feet  and  the  fall  10  feet,  making  the  lift 
to  the  house  19  feet.  The  longest  period 
of  steady  operation  has  been  four  months. 
The  present  season  the  impetus  valve 
has  thrown  up  hard  and  stuck,  making 
operation  very  difficult:  as  it  required 
quite  a  pressure  to  force  valve  down,  and 
a  long  rime  to  start  working.  I  finally 
ordered  a  new  ram  of  the  same  kind.  In 
this  ease  the  valve  drops  readily  but  will 
not  lift  of  itself.  What  can  I  do? 
Munson,  Mass.  N.  E.  p. 
This  ram  is  working  under  rather  hard 
conditions,  and  any  little  troubles  that 
would  affect  the  quantity  of  water  deliv¬ 
ered  but  little  were  the  conditions  more 
favorable  are  likely  to  have  their  effects 
multiplied  here.  While  it  is  impossible 
to  judge  from  a  letter  the  exact  trouble, 
it  seems,  from  the  description  given,  that 
the  trouble  is  either  in  the  impetus  valve 
itself  or  in  the  supply  pipe  leading  to  it. 
If  the  ram  has  not  been  in  operation  for 
some  time  there  may  have  been  a  de¬ 
posit  of  rust  or  other  substance  formed 
either  in  the  pipe  itself  or  on  the  strainer 
over  its  end,  so  reducing  the  flow  that 
the  velocity  is  not  great  enough  to  lift 
the  impetus  valve.  If  the  drive  pipe  is 
straight,  as  it  should  he,  this  can  be 
loosened  up  with  a  good  still’  wire,  dis¬ 
connecting  the  pipe  at  the  lower  end  and 
fitting  the  loosened  sediment  escape. 
The  impetus  valve  may  have  some  little 
imperfection,  as  a  slight  jam  or  bend  in 
the  stem  received  in  shipment  or  in¬ 
stallation  that  prevents  it.  from  raising 
as  easily  as  it  should,  because  of  bind¬ 
ing  slightly  in  its  guides.  Another  pos¬ 
sible  cause  of  failure  might  be  wrong 
adjustment  of  the  valve,  the  stroke  not 
being  right  fdr  the  velocity  of  water  in 
the  drive  pipe.  Either  this  or  the  first 
cause  mentioned  is  more  likely  to  be  the 
trouble  than  the  second  one  although  this 
is  a  possible  chance.  A  little  experiment¬ 
ing  will  soon  show  whether  or  not  the 
trouble  lies  here,  at  the  same  time  show¬ 
ing  how  to  correct  it.  R.  n.  s. 
Clay  Stove  Linings 
Can  you  tell  us  how  stove  linings  of 
clay  are  made?  e.  s.  p. 
It  is  rather  difficult  to  answer  this 
inquiry  briefly.  The  method  used,  how¬ 
ever,  in  the  manufacture  of  stove  lin¬ 
ings  is  to  prepare  a  suitable  mixture  of 
tire  clay  and  grog,  which  latter  is  ground, 
burned  clay.  This  mixture  is  brought  to 
a  plastic  condition  by  the  addition  of  a 
suitable  amount  of  water  and  when  in 
this  condition  is  shaped  by  pressing  it 
into  molds,  which  are  usually  made  of 
wood,  sometimes  possibly  of  plaster. 
The  mixture  of  clay  or  clays  and  grog 
should  be  of  such  a  sort  that  it  will  not 
crack  or  warp  in  drying  or  burning.  It 
is  highly  important  that  the  shrinkage 
should  not  be  excessive,  and  that  the 
pieces  should  he  made  as  accurately  as 
posable  in  order  that  they  may  fit  well 
when  completed.  The  pieces  are  dumped 
out  of  the  molds  as  soon  as  they  are 
firm  enough  to  permit  of  handling,  and 
then  are  carefully  dried.  They  are  then 
burned  at  a  high  temperature  in  a  suit¬ 
able  kiln.  The  pieces  are  then  ready  for 
use.  <  Ti.T.KN  W.  PARMELEE. 
Rutgers  College,  New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 
