Tht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1447 
Farm Mechanics 
Conducted by Robert H. Smith, of the Canton Agricultural School 
Canton, New York 
think rum nf the greatest needs in rhe 
country today is the fine old family spirit 
and .forbearance whirl) will enable seven 
people to pack into a gasoline boat and 
voyage 1.500 miles and retain good feel¬ 
ing and family pride. There may have 
been no connection worth considering, 
but as the gasoline boat sailed away for 
Florida. I was thinking of Wadsworth’s 
poem, “We Are Seven": 
“But they are dead; these two are dead, 
Their spirits are in heaven? 
’Tvvas throwing words away, for still 
The little maid would have her way. 
And said, ‘Nay, we are seven.’" 
n. \v. c. 
A Presentation Grapevine 
The accompanying picture shows a 
grapevine as it grows- on out* house. I 
think this may be of intereesfc to you. 
because it is a vine presented to my hus¬ 
band several years ago by The R. N.-Y. 
My son thinks it was in 1910. This pic¬ 
ture was taken September 10, when the 
vine was full of grapes from top to bot¬ 
tom, and nearly all ripe and of fine 
quality. The picture does not show the 
top of the vine, We could pick a nice 
lot from the attic window. Because of 
the snow sliding from the roof in Win¬ 
ter we have to take it down and lay it on 
the ground, and put it up in the Spring. 
Besides being an ornament to the house 
and giving us a feast of the best fruit, it 
also keeps our kitchen cook in Summer. 
Thus we receive a threefold benefit. 
Massachusetts. mrs. w. ii. gray. 
R, N.-Y'.—We think this is the Car¬ 
man grape, which was sent to readers of 
The R. N.-Y. 
A Promising Hybrid* Pear 
Bulletin 197 of the office of Foreign 
Seed and Plant introduction has the fol¬ 
lowing statement: 
•‘The late Dr. Walter Van Fleet, prior 
to his entering the United States Depart¬ 
ment of Agriculture, iu 1909. conducted 
at his homo iu Little Silver. N. J.. ex¬ 
tensive work In plant breeding. In 1907 
he inaugurated some work in the breeding 
of pears, the main object bring to secure, 
if practicable, pears more resistant to 
fire blight than those commonly grown. 
When 1 »r. Van Fleet took up his work 
in the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant 
Introduction in 1909. he brought with 
him from his home in New Jersey many 
young plants, the result of his breeding 
work. Most of these were sent to the 
garden at Chico, Cal., among then? a uum- 
ber of cross-bred seedling pears. From 
time to time these pears have come into 
fruit, and their characters have been 
noted. The pear here described* is one of 
rhe most promising so far developed as a 
result of Dr. Van Fleet’s work. The two 
origiunl trees have been growing for 
nearly 10 years at Chico. They ere 
strong, fast growers, regular and prolific 
bearers, and have never shown any evi¬ 
dence of fire blight. Following is a de¬ 
tailed description of the pear: 
S. p. I. 55805. CYRUS S£KOTINA X COM- 
At IMS 
“Grown nr the Plant Introduction Gar¬ 
den. Chico. Cal. ruder P. I. <1. No. 05S3. 
A hybrid pear, raised by the late Dr. 
Walter Van Fleet at Little Silver. N. ,T., 
and presented to the Plant Introduction 
Garden in 1909. Promising ns a blight- 
resistant. cooking and preserving pear 
for sections where fire blight is destruc¬ 
tive. 
“Origin. Little Silver. N ,T. A hybrid 
probably between Golden Russet, an Ori¬ 
ental pear, and one or more of the P. com- 
in unis types. Medium to large, roundish, 
obovate; skin golden, covered with numer¬ 
ous small, round dots: stalk long, stout: 
cavity around stalk quite shallow or none 
at all: basin at the calyx end more or less 
abrupt, deep russet: flesh whitish, sweet, 
slightly subacid, granular: cure medium: 
seeds few. large; not gritty. 
A handsome golden-colored pear, which 
when properly ripened, makes a fine bak¬ 
ing :tud preserving fruit. The trees are 
strong ttmj vigorous, jvith large, thick. 
glossy leaves-. The two original trees 
have been grown at Chico for more than 
10 years, and no trace of blight has ap¬ 
peared Mr. J. E. Morrow, superintend¬ 
ent of the Chico Garden, who has watched 
this pear carefully for a number of years, 
sa.vs that it is a splendid conking pear, 
ami that it tastes, after bein'*- cooked, 
something like a pineapple. He further 
says that, owing to Its extreme vigor, 
size, hardiness, immunity to blight, and 
heavy cropping qualities, he believes the 
pear has much promise. He regards it 
as much better than Kieffer or LeConte. 
and is of the opinion that it should be 
thoroughly tested out. especially in the 
Southern States. 
“We have tested the pear as a baking 
and preserving fruit. When properly 
ripened it bakes quickly, and when cut 
in halves, cored and cooked with a tea- 
spoonful of sugar, a small hit of butter 
and a sprinkling of cinnamon to each 
piece, the fruit is delicious. In preserv¬ 
ing the fruit remains firm, assuming a 
clear crystalline appearance, with a rich 
pear taste."—B. T. Galloway. 
Farm and Garden Notes 
The State School of Agriculture at 
Cobleskill, N. Y.. is offering two short 
courses of interest to farm people. Each 
course begins January *2 and continues 
for eight weeks, closing February 23. 
Tuition is free to residents of the State. 
Board is provided at cost, and expenses 
are very low. The course in agriculture 
is intended for men and young men who 
have already established a farm business, 
and who can be away only for a short 
period, or who expect to take up farm¬ 
ing at once. The course deals with the 
different subjects of interest and im- 
portance on New York farms, and is de¬ 
signed to help the student nr once to be¬ 
come successful when he returns to the 
farm. The course in ice cream making 
is designed to meet the great demand for 
trained men in this field which has come 
with the increased sale and use of ice 
cream. Instruction covers every phase 
of the subject. Applicants should be at 
least IS years of age. 
The Clove Valley Rod and Gun Club, 
near Poughkeepsie, N. Y\. November 23. 
offered a reward of $500 for arrest or 
evidence leading to the arrest of the per¬ 
sons who robbed the wired sections of the 
aviaries of 800 pheasants. The aviaries 
contained 4,000 pheasants, ready for the 
stocking of rhe territory controlled by 
the club. The birds were carried away 
in a motor vehicle after the thieves cut 
the wire fence and entered the pens. The 
stolen birds were riugueeks. The pheas¬ 
ants were killed and thrown outside the 
inclosure, where they were picked up. 
placed in a motor vehicle and taken away. 
The Harvard Athletic Association an¬ 
nounced November 23 that Chrysanthe¬ 
mums could not be transported across the 
State line to New Haven at the Har- 
vard-Yale game unless au authorized 
permit had been given the bearer by a 
Government inspector. The United 
States Department of Agriculture is tak¬ 
ing this meun< to localize the corn borer 
now prevalent iu Massachusetts. 
Canada leads in a list of 13 nations in 
the per capita consumption of butter. 
Each person iu Canada is credited with 
consuming 27 lbs. of butter a year, com¬ 
pared with 15 lbs. in the United States. 
Sweden leads in rhe consumption of milk, 
and Switzerland leads in cheese eating, 
the average for each person being 26 lbs. 
,i year. 
Sixteen lives were lost hi the 1922 
hunting season, the New York Conserva¬ 
tion Commission announced November 
26. Forty other persons were injured 
by firearms. The accidental discharge of 
weapons caused the death of eight tier- 
sons and the injury of 17. Twenty-two 
huulers were shot by companions, three 
being killed. Nine were shot hi mistake 
for deer, five of them beiug killed aud 
four injured. 
Tut motor car shot down the hill at 
the speed of an express train, and then 
overturned, pinning the driver beneath it. 
The village policeman approached. “It’s 
no use hiding under there." he said, 
sternly, to the half-smothered driver: 
"you were exceeding the speed limit, aud 
I demand your name aud address!"— 
Canadia.li Countryman* 
Construction of Cistern 
I am digging a cistern 10x7 ft. I in¬ 
tend to line it with a 3-in. wall of con¬ 
crete. Will this, in your estimation, be 
strong enough to stand the pressure of 
the earth? Also, will it be necessary to 
waterproof Ihe cement, and if so, what 
Should I use? H. G. 
Y'orktown Heights. N. Y. 
I would consider 3 in. too thin for a 
wall slab in a cistern of this size. There 
is too great a tendency for the concrete 
to crack. A thickness of 6 in. well rein¬ 
forced with wire mesh or small rods, 
placed both horizontally and vertically 
and spaced 12 to 15 in. apart, will make 
a much better wall. Particular care 
should be exercised to see that the rein¬ 
forcement used extends well around the 
corners, as this, perhaps, is the weakest 
part 
A mixture of one part cement, two 
parts clean, well-graded sand and four 
parts screened gravel or stone will make 
a good cistern. Care should be exercised 
in mixing and placing this concrete to 
see that it is accurately proportioned, 
well mixed, uniformly wet and well com¬ 
pacted into the forms, insuring a dense 
wall. When the forms are stripped off 
the interior can be giveu a brush coating 
of clear cement and water mixed in about 
the consistency of thick cream. In plac¬ 
ing rhe concrete make it a continuous 
operation, if possible, as the fresh con¬ 
crete does not make a good union with 
that which has set. If this is impossible 
to do, imbed a 2x4-iu. in the upper sur¬ 
face when the work has to be left. Re¬ 
moving this wheu it is wished to resume 
work gives a tongued and grooved effect 
which aids in getting a tight joint. As 
a further aid clean the surface thoroughly 
and spread it with a coating of cement 
paste before depositing the fresh con¬ 
crete. If these precautions are observed 
waterproofing will not be needed, care¬ 
fully proportioned and mixed concrete 
beiug sufficiently waterproof for work of 
this kind. 
If the space in which your cistern is 
to be placed permits it I would suggest 
that you make it cubical in shape instead 
of rectangular. A cubical cistern will 
not require as much concrete for a giveu 
capacity as will a rectangular, and can 
therefore be built cheaper as far as cost 
of material goes. 
Trouble with Water System 
I have a good spring on my farm which 
1 have piped to the house to install a 
bathroom, and I would like to have run- 
uiug water in the water trough. I ran 
the pipe into the house, upstairs to the 
bathroom and into the supply tank, then 
back down and out to the trough. The 
water will run out of the trough upstairs, 
bur it will not run out to the trough. I 
know the pipes are open. The overflow 
pipe seems to get air-hound. I cannot 
locate the trouble. w. o. 
New Jersey. 
A study of your letter and sketch sug¬ 
gest two possible causes for your trou¬ 
ble, as you have already eliminated the 
possibility of a clogged overflow pipe. 
The sketch indicates that you have used 
a closed tank for storage of water. If 
this is so. it may be that the lower end of 
the vent pipe (D) is covered and sealed 
by the water before the water can escape 
from tile overflow at (El : that is. the 
lower end of the vent pipe may through 
the setting of the tank or other cause be 
lower than the end of the overflow pipe, 
so that the vent is coveted and sealed 
tight before water begins to flow freely 
from the overflow. If this is the case, as 
soon as sufficient water has trickled down 
into the overflow to till and close it at 
(At air would be trapped in the upright 
portion ui Lhc pipe aiui Uu: head of the 
spring might not be sufficient to force it 
out. If this is the source of your trou¬ 
ble connecting the upper end of the over¬ 
flow* to the vent pipe as shown at (B) 
should correct thp difficulty. 
The other possibility is that the point 
of discharge at If I is higher than the 
supply rank. This seems unlikely, as 
your sketch indicates a good fall. How¬ 
ever, if the trough is at some distance 
from the house the slope of the gi'ound 
may deceive you. and a test with the 
level show the trough higher than the 
supply tank. 
Size of Pipe for Barn Water Supply 
I am putting 45 drinking cups of the 
gravity type iu my dairy barn. I bring 
the water in the barn and through the 
regulating tank through a %-in. line, and 
the fittings on the cap are %-in.. but the 
seller told me that where the line started 
down the stanchion line I should increase 
it from %-in. to 1% in., and come up 
out of that to the cups to increase the 
flow. Other people have since told me 
this will make no difference, aud I can¬ 
not see how it will myself. What do you 
think? a, T. B. 
Preserve. Pa. 
It is probable that a larger pipe will 
give better satisfaction as a lead from 
your regulating tank to the gravity sup¬ 
ply cups than will the %-in. size in use 
elsewhere in the system. Conditions that 
are not given in the letter will have 
much to do with this. Flow of warer 
through a pipe is caused by a difference 
in pressure at the receiving end and the 
outlet of the line. This pressure may be 
caused directly by pumping, or it may be 
the result of difference in elevation or 
“head." as it is called. Each foot of head 
will give a pressure of .434 lbs. per square 
inch. The water flowing from the source 
of supply to the regulating tank may be. 
and probably is, under a much greater 
pressure, due ro head, than is the water 
in the distributing line leading from the 
regulating tank to the cups, for in this 
case there is very little difference in ele¬ 
vation between the level of the water in 
the regulating tank and the water iu the 
cups, none at all when the cups stand 
full. Consequently there is very little 
pressure to cause a flow or movement of 
water through the line, and a larger pipe 
is needed. The greater head and cor¬ 
respondingly greater pressure in the sup¬ 
ply pipe causes a greater flow of water, 
because of higher velocity, even though 
the opening through which the water 
flows is smaller. 
Ram for Small Spring 
How much fall and how much water 
will be necessary to raise the water 30 ft. 
from ram to house on third floor? We 
have a spring that has never failed: is 
producing 8 bbls. of water in 24 hours, 
or 3 pts. per minute. The spring is 25 
yds. from the house. It has about 6 ft. 
rise to kitchen floor. B. M. 
Mount Wolf. Pa. 
It wall be impossible for you to use a 
ram for this purpose under the conditions 
outlined because of a lack of water. The 
smallest ram requires a supply of feed 
water of from two to three gallons per 
minute, which is far in excess of the flow 
from your spring. The best opportunity 
for you to "et water for household use 
from this spring would be to build a con¬ 
crete or tile catchbasin at the spring, using 
care to exclude surfaceWater and other 
pollution, and install one of the many 
automatic pressure systems in your house 
which would draw water from the spring 
as its supply. 
Amount of Concrete from Quantity of 
Cement 
Will you inform me the amount of con¬ 
crete wall 100 bags of cement will build, 
using a 4:1 mixture? I mean four parts 
of sand and one of cement. No stone 
available. G. E. C. 
Interlaken, N. Y. 
A sack of cerneut contains approxi¬ 
mately one cubic foot, and when mixed 
with four cubic feet of sand will make 
about 3.55 cubic feet of mortar. The 
cement fills the interstices between the 
sand parr ides, aud the whole mass is 
compacted somewhat by mixing, result¬ 
ing iu the small volume noted. If crushed 
stone or clean gravel can be obtained it 
will lessen the cost of construction. A 
mixture proportioned one sack of cement. 
2% parts clean and well-graded sand 
and five parts of stone or screened gravel 
will produce about 5.45 cubic feet of 
cement from a sack of cenienr. 
Wlth 100 sacks of cement as a unit 
about 355 cubic feet of mortar or con¬ 
crete would be made by the use of the 
1 :4 mixture, while around 545 cubic feet 
of concrete would be made if the 1 :2U, :5 
mixture were used. At the same time 
the second mixture noted would be much 
stronger than the mortar made from 
cemeni and sind alone. 
T’inc Presented by The Rurai. New-Yorker on a Massachusetts Farmhouse 
