1158 
Wx RURAL NEW-YORKER 
September 2.”., lf>22 
Farm Mechanics 
Conducted by Robert H. Smith, of the Canton Agricultural School 
Canton, New York 
Ventilator for Potato Cellar 
I have a large potato cellar which has 
the cold air intake air ducts leading in 
from under the cellar floor. The warm 
nr foul air ducts lead from each corner 
■ tf the ceiling of the cellar up through the 
building to the plate, then from the plate 
following the rafters to the ridge. Could 
I buy or build myself, or have built, nu 
inexpensive ventilator on the ridge for 
these outlets of the warm or foul air 
duets from the cellar? I would like to 
have one that would have a tendency to 
make a forced draft and still be storm¬ 
proof. B. T. w. 
In a ventilating system of this kiud 
the principal forces tending to cause a 
flow of air iu the ventilating duets is the 
difference in temperature between the 
outside and inside air and the aspirating 
effect of the wind blowing over the top of 
the exposed ventilator. 
Meat must be largely conserved at cer¬ 
tain portions of the year, and therefore 
the ventilating ducts must be built tight, 
warm, and straight and smooth inside, in 
order that the foul air entering them may 
he kept warm and light until it leaves the 
building, and so it may flow through the 
pipe as easily as possible, and require 
blit little force to move it. A rough and 
crooked pipe restricts the air flow to a 
marked extent. Unless the loft of the 
storage cellar is used for some purpose 
that requires uninterrupted floor space 
it would be better to have the ventilating 
flues go straight up from beneath the 
ridges: that is, have the vent pipe extend 
from the floor straight up through the 
ridge of the cellar roof. These flues 
should he fitted with some means of con¬ 
trolling the air flow through them, such 
as a tightly fitting door that c-an be 
opened to the extent desired, as at some 
times during the year little or no ventila¬ 
tion will he necessary. 
Waterproof Concrete Cellar 
I have laid plans to build a concrete 
cellar in which I wish to operate a mam¬ 
moth incubator. The laud where I am 
building it is medium high, yet when it 
is real wet the springs rise within 2 ft. 
of the top of the ground. Could you give 
me a better mixture lo make it water¬ 
proof than I have planned? I was think¬ 
ing to mix one part lime, four parts ce¬ 
ment, eight parts sand. 12 parts stone. 
St'lhvville. I mi. W H. 0. 
A mixture of one part cement, two 
parts sand and three parts stone would 
be satisfactory for ordinary waterproof 
work without the addition of lime. The 
sand should be carefully selected and 
should he clean and well graded in size, 
the particles ranging in size from V| in. 
down. The presence of loam in the sand 
makes a poor concrete. Sand can lie 
tested for cleanness by putting a small 
quantity, an inch or so in (lie bottom of 
a preserve jar. tilling the jar nearly full 
of water and shaking vigorously. After 
this has been repeated several times at 
intervals, set the jar aside to settle, 
l.oum. if present, will appear on the sur¬ 
face of the settled sand, and the sand will 
settle with the coarse particles at the 
bottom, and give it fairly good idea of 
how its particles range in size. The stone 
used should also he clean and well graded, 
ranging in size from v, i u . up to l 1 -. in. 
This will make a watertight job, "pro¬ 
vided it can be mixed anil placed prop¬ 
erly. If not. cracks will be likely to de¬ 
velop through which the water will seep. 
Measure the ingredients used so that: each 
batch mixed will contain the same quan¬ 
tities of cement, sand, stone and water, 
making it of equal strength ami consis¬ 
tency. Make the operation of placing con¬ 
tinuous. if possible, placing the concrete 
around the wall in layers from 0 in. to 
10 in. iu depth. Tf work must he discon¬ 
tinued, imbed small ; tones in the top of 
the work, leaving them projecting about 
one-half, or imbed a 2x1 in the surface, 
giving a (ongtied and grooved effect when 
removed. Clean the old work thoroughly 
with a stiff brush and water (wire brush 
best), and apply a coat of mortar made 
from cement and water to the surface 
just before adding new concrete. A re¬ 
inforcement of wire mesh in the walls is 
also a help, as it tends to prevent shrink¬ 
age cracks after the work is done. 
Diameter of Wheel for Given Speed 
Engine is rated (500 speed, generator 
1.700. Generator has a (5-in. pulley. 
What diameter wheel must 1 have on 
engine to run generator 1.700. ,7. w. S. 
Quakcrtown, Pa. 
A belt and pulley drive can he divided 
into four factors composed of two cou¬ 
ples, the speed of the driving pulley and 
the diameter of the driving pulley tunn¬ 
ing one couple, while the speed and diam¬ 
eter of the driven pulley form the-other. 
The produet obtained h,v multiplying 
tlie diameter of the driven pulley by its 
Speed (r.p.m.) will equal the product ob¬ 
tained by multiplying the diameter of the 
driving pulley by its speed or revolutions 
per minute (r.p.m.) Any Condition van 
be found, either speed or diameter, by 
multiplying the two known factors of 
one couple together, and dividing the 
product by the known factor of the other 
couple, file result obtained being the 
fourth factor. 
The case at hand would lie solved as 
follows: 1,700 (generator speed) X 6 
in. (diameter of generator pulley) = 
10.200. the product obtained by multiply¬ 
ing the speed and diameter of driven pul¬ 
ley together. 10,200 -f-(500 (engine speed 
or speed of driving pulley ) = 17 in. (re¬ 
quired diameter for driving pulley). 
Mending a Cistern 
There have been a great many ques¬ 
tions answered in Tins K. N.-Y. about 
leaky cisterns, but none of them seem to 
tit my ease. I have a small cistern on 
my place, bought three years ago, and in 
that time it has never held water. On 
close examination I find thin places in 
the wall. It looks as though no outside 
form had been used, and that dirt hi id 
been allowed to cave in while concrete 
was being poured. In several places! 1 
have been able to pierce the wall with a 
screwdriver, while the remainder of the 
wall resists quite heavy blows with a 
hammer. Gan I dig out all of those thin 
places and fill them with concrete, and 
expect it to hold water? In case it is 
necessary to treat the whole wall, what 
is the most: satisfactory aud cheapest 
thing to use? The wall is much black¬ 
ened. and will not. wash off with water. 
What could I use to clean wall before ap¬ 
plying a coat of something co waterproof 
it? C. D. M. 
Indianapolis, Ind. 
Tt would not be possible to get a water¬ 
tight: job. as you suggest, due to the fact 
that the new concrete would not make a 
good bond or union with the old. If the 
cistern is lurj'e enough to permit it. prob¬ 
ably the easieit and best way to repair 
it would be to erect forms and build a 
new cistern with 4-in. walls within the 
old one, using the old cistern for tiie out¬ 
side form. If this is done, use a mixture 
in the proportion of one sack cement. 
2*e CU. ft. of sand and 2 cm ft. of gravel 
or stone. The gravel used should be 
screened, and all that passing through a 
Vi-in. screen considered as sand in mak¬ 
ing up the mixture. Also in so thin a 
wall, gravel or stone more than 1 in. in 
diameter should be thrown out. The 
concrete should ho mixed thuroughly. wet 
to a slowly flowing consistency and set¬ 
tled well into the forms wlo-n placed. If 
there is not room for this treatment, try 
cleaning the walls thoroughly with dilute 
hydrochloric acid and a wire brush, keep¬ 
ing it from contact with the hands. After 
cleaning, remove all traces of add by 
washing in several changes of clear water, 
and plaster the interior with a mortar 
made from one part cement and 1*4 parts 
clean sand. Breaking the old concrete 
out in places will give this inner coating 
a better chance to stick. Before plaster¬ 
ing the whole surface should be coated 
with a mixture of cement and water 
about as thick as cream, ami in either 
case, plaster or concrete, tlig new work 
should be protected and caused to dry 
slowly, sprinkling if necessary to obtain 
Hi is result. 
There is 
a Difference! 
r PHE Still -man at the refinery 
“*■ knows that there is a difference 
in various gasolines. So does the 
automotive engineer and the expert 
garage mechanic. 
These are some of the “best results ” 
that Socony’s “uniform quality ” in¬ 
sures: unvarying dependability , in¬ 
stant ignition, a quick start and 
pick-up, maximum power and high 
mileage per gallon. No gasoline can 
give you more. 
D UMORITE is the cheapest of all farm 
dynamites—it does not give you a head¬ 
ache from handling it. and, in addition, 
it is non-freezing. You can use it right on 
into winter-time. 
Dumorite has approximately the same strength 
as 40% dynamite, stick for stick, and shoots 
with the slow heaving action of 20%. A 
box of 135 to 140 sticks of Dumorite costs the 
same as 100 sticks of 40%—one-third more 
dynamite per dollar. 
Send for 105-page Farmers' Handbook of Explosives. 
It’s free and gives complete instructions for using 
dynamite on the farm. 
E. I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO., Inc. 
Every gallon dependable everywhere 
STANDARD OIL CO. OF NEW YORK 
26 Broadway 
Equitable Bldg 
NEW YORK 
Fulton Bldg. 
PITTSBURGH, PA 
Harvey Bldg. 
BOSTON, MASS 
NON-HEADACHE 
NON-FREEZING 
> * • 
f§ 1 
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