774 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
October 20, 
ought to have a better livelihood than $400 to $500 a 
year represents, but it must be remembered that a large 
part of the “livelihood” can be raised on the land, in 
addition to the $400 or $500 from the hens. My state¬ 
ment above that "many of the houses are 50 to 100 
years old,” might give the impression that they are tum¬ 
bledown structures hardly fit to live in. This is not 
true; most of them are painted and blinded and are 
more comfortable homes than the producing classes 
can afford to occupy in cities. geo. a. Cosgrove. 
Connecticut. _ 
BRINGING WATER TO THE HOUSE. 
Part I. 
A Discussion of the Syphon. 
We will take as simple a syphon as we can, a piece 
of rubber hose and a barrel. We first fill the hose with 
water to exclude the air. then hold both ends to keep 
the air excluded until B, top of Fig. 330, is in the water 
and A is below the surface. Then remove the hands and 
the water will run as long as these conditions are 
maintained. The height of the point C docs not matter 
so long as it does not exceed 29 feet; for it is the pres¬ 
sure of the air on the water that makes it flow. On 
page 742 of October 13, 1905, F. H. King says “The 
syphdn will not work continuously through a height 
much greater than nine feet.” This is evidently a slip 
of the pen or a misprint, for he meant 29 feet. Bear in 
mind that the water is lifted in the syphon by the 
same natural law as in the suction pump, namely, the 
pressure of the air, and 29 feet is the safe limit at sea 
level. I will add that just as a pump will work better 
with a shorter lift, so will the syphon. It is impossible 
to move one substance on another without friction 
more or less. A loaded sleigh drawn over bare rocks 
would be nearly one extreme, while running water is 
pretty close to the other. In a recent issue some one 
said that he got more water through a lead pipe than 
through a wood pipe of much larger diameter. The 
reason was that there was less friction. In the syphon 
the flow of the water at A is governed by the head, 
which is the perpendicular distance between D and A, 
less the difference caused by the friction in the whole 
distance. It will be readily seen that the longer the 
. pipe the greater the friction, and a small pipe will have 
more friction in proportion to the flow than a large 
one. 
That syphon looks simple, and so it is, for we have 
only to maintain the conditions, that is, keep the air 
out, and nature does the work, but if we allow a little 
air to get in the hose, just enough to fill it at C, the 
flow stops just as effectually as if there was a cork in 
it, and here lies the trouble with the syphon, for in a 
water system we cannot use a continuous rubber hose, 
and to get perfectly tight joints is very difficult. It 
may be well to give some of my own experience with 
a syphon. I had a well at A, Fig. 330, 2, and I wanted 
the water discharged at B. At E was a tee, at F a plain 
service cock with a crossbar attached to cither end, to 
which I connected wires from the surface so I could 
open or close the service cock at will. At G was a 
plug, and at B a hose bib. To start the thing I closed 
F and B and opened the plug at G, and filled the pipe. 
I then closed G and opened F, and the thing worked 
• beautifully. A few days later I left home, and when I 
returned after several weeks’ absence I found my water 
plant on a strike. I primed it, but in a short time the 
flow stopped. I tried it several times, but with no bet¬ 
ter results. After a good deal of study I worked the 
problem as follows: When I went away the surface 
of the water in the well was at C, but when I returned 
it was at D. On that part of the pipe above the sur¬ 
face of the water in the well there is a suction, and 
if there is a leak air will come into the pipe, therefore 
the air must get into the pipe at some point between 
the levels C and D. I found the leak, screwed up the 
pipe, and all went well till the next trouble came. That 
time I couldn’t get it to work by any amount of prim¬ 
ing. I dug up the pipe, took it apart and ran a wire 
through it, but couldn’t find any obstruction. Cut 3, Fig. 
330, will illustrate the trouble. The bottom of the well was 
in quicksand. When I dug it I put a round box in the 
bottom, so I could work it down deeper, and laid a wall 
of loose brick on top of the box, which gradually settled 
and bent the pipe downward till it made a summit at 
H, where the air stopped and no amount of priming 
would get it out. I took a brick from over and put it 
under the pipe, thus making the tee the high point, and 
all went well again till the quicksand at the bottom 
spoiled the whole scheme, when I abandoned it for a 
gravity system. In time and money my. syphon experi¬ 
ence cost me about $50. I didn’t receive much benefit 
from it, but I learned some useful lessons. 
In cut 4, Fig. 330, we have another condition under 
which a syphon can be worked, and methods of overcom¬ 
ing obstacles. Remember that the air must be excluded 
from the pipe, and that as air always raises if there are 
summits in the pipe there is the place or places to 
get it out. If we had a pressure at I we could force it 
out, or I should say that water rushing through the 
pipe would carry the air with it just the same as air 
rushing through the pipe would blow the water out. 
Some one may say, “Why not attach a pump at the lower 
end of the pipe, and pump the air out?” If we had a 
small hose three or four feet long we might suck 
(pump) cider out of a barrel in that way, but for a 
pipe of 100 feet or more in length I am afraid that 
there would be enough bubbles left to get back to the 
summit and choke it off, for every particle of air, no 
matter how small, will find its way to the summit. 
Suppose the surface of the water. Fig. 330, cut 4, is at M. 
Through the valve at J we fill the lower part of the 
pipe, which takes us up to O. We close J, and from I 
we fill the remainder. In this case no air will enter 
the pipe below M, for the pressure is outward, but 
above M there is a suction, and the pipe must be per¬ 
fectly tight if the system is to keep in continuous 
operation. Suppose the surface is lowered to N, and 
we have a much more serious problem, for we have 
more joints that must be tight. An arrangement to 
enlarge on the standpipe is shown in Fig. 331; T is the 
pipe, P an air chamber connected with the pipe by 
two nipples, and a valve at Q. At R is a valve or plug. 
We fill the pipe and start the flow as above, and then 
at frequent intervals as experience may indicate we 
AN ENLARGED STAND-PIPE. Fig. 331. 
close Q, open R, fill with water, close R and open Q. 
Any air below Q will immediately rise to the air 
chamber, and in this way keep the thing at work. A 
neighbor had two water tanks fed by springs shown in 
Fig. 332. From A the water flowed to a ram. He 
wanted the water from B to flow into A, but on ac¬ 
count of a concrete wall at X this was inconvenient. 
He connected his tanks with a syphon, and jt works 
perfectly. Being close together there were only four 
joints (two at each elbow) to get tight. Had the dis¬ 
tance been greater there would have been greater 
chances for trouble. Syphons may be used to drain 
ponds, tanks, vats, etc., successfully, but to furnish 
water for continuous use from a distance they are a 
delusion and a snare. The principle of the syphon is 
perfect, for it is God’s law, but when man takes hold 
the trouble begins. The average farmer hasn’t time 
for so much attention as a syphon would need if in- 
WATER TANKS WITH SYPHON. Fig. 332. 
stalled by the average man. I would say. that if you 
know that you are a very extraordinary man, or, being 
just an ordinary man if you have time and a love for 
the pleasure of overcoming obstacles, install a syphon 
by all means. Further, if it is a case of a syphon or 
your wife carrying water, tackle the syphon without 
an hour’s delay. File this article away where you can 
find it again, and make a solemn promise that your 
wife shall not carry any more water, and then keep 
that promise. e. j. h. 
GASOLINE POWER IN THE WHEAT FIELD. 
On page 729 I notice a question as to the use of 
gasoline power as applied to farm implements, and 
many answers. The Sylvester Manufacturing Co., of 
Lindsay, Ont., has patented and manufactured a thrash¬ 
ing outfit which is now in operation on this experi¬ 
mental farm. A 25 horse-power gasoline engine with 
two cylinders and a separator are all upon one set of 
four wheels. The engine is under the separator. The 
driver sits in front directing the machine which moves 
at the rate of about three-quarters of a mile an hour, 
through the field of grain, men pitching the sheaves 
from the stooks upon a platform on either side of the 
separator. Two men stand upon these platforms and 
pitch the sheaves into the self-feeder, which is upon the 
top and in the center of the machine. The grain is 
carried forward over and then under the cylinder, pass¬ 
ing backward as in the usual way. The bagger stands 
on a platform, and when the bag is full tics and throws 
it on the ground, or the grain may be put into a wagon 
which follows. The straw is dropped in a windrow 
behind the machine. The machine has thrashed barley 
and oats from the stook in the field, giving excellent 
satisfaction. It is now, at the moment of writing, 
thrashing stacks of wheat. When thrashing stacks car¬ 
riers are put on, or a blower can be used. This is the 
first trial of the machine, which is new from the shops. 
The few stoppages have been occasioned entirely by 
weaknesses of the separator, such as are incidental to 
almost any new separator during the first day or two 
of its trial. When moving and not thrashing it has 
a speed of about five miles an hour. No fault can be 
found with the principles involved in the new combina¬ 
tion. I think the separator has been put together too 
hurriedly, as they were anxious to get it here in the 
West before the stook thrashing was done. The trou¬ 
bles can be easily remedied. I am inclined to believe 
that the machine will be used extensively .in the 
Canadian West. The separator can be removed and the 
machine used as a traction for plowing, or probably to 
run one of our 12-foot binders. There seems to be no 
danger from fire. Yesterday there was a very high 
wind, and the steam thrashing outfits were compelled 
to stop work, in this section of the country, but this 
machine continued to work without any difficulty. 
N. WOLVERTON. 
Experiment Farm, Brandon, Manitoba. 
QUESTIONS ABOUT AN ICEHOUSE. 
I wish 1o build a small icehouse this Fall. Should the 
house he in a rather close place in the shade, or where it 
will get more breeze in the sun? Is' concrete a good ma¬ 
terial for the walls? Should it be floored? The soil is 
about two feet loam and then gravel and sand, making a 
perfect drainage. I expect to make the house about 12 x 12 
feet and, say, six feet below ground and two above. Should 
it be floored at the top of the walls to make an air chamber? 
Babylon, L. I. a. d. 
Build your icehouse in the shade by all means. Wood 
is the best material to use in building the house. You 
will need no floor, more than some rails or poles cov¬ 
ered with straw to keep the ice off the ground. With 
the kind of soil you describe, you will not have to 
make any extra provisions for drainage. The water 
from the melting ice will be absorbed. The size 12x12 
feet is rather small. Allowing eight inches for inter¬ 
wall space and eight inches between the inner wall 
and the ice, you will have a block of ice only a little 
more than nine feet square. Such a small cube of ice 
melts much faster relatively than does a larger mass. 
It will be a disadvantage to build below the level of 
the ground, on account of drainage, for one thing, 
and also for other reasons. A small house should be 
about as high as dimensions on the ground. A double 
roof is best, but if the house is in the shade it may be 
dispensed with. There should be openings at each end 
under the apex of the roof for ventilation. In this 
latitude, icehouses need not necessarily be verv elab¬ 
orate affairs. I have frequently been in houses where 
you could see out of knot holes and cracks on every 
side, and yet the owners seemed to have plenty of ice all 
through the season. It is good practice, however, to 
make the outer wall as tight as a carpenter can make 
it. with good matched lumber free from knot holes or 
cracks. The inner wall may be of any kind of old 
boards which will hold the sawdust, which is generally 
used to pack in between the walls. It pays to have a 
good foundation for an icehouse. Have a mason to 
lay a wall and see that the sills are cemented to the 
wall perfectly tight. The essentials of a good icehouse 
are tight exterior walls, provisions for keeping the ice 
ofi the ground, for keeping all air out below and for 
ventilation above. The ice should be cut true and laid 
closely and should be eight inches from the walls, the 
space being packed with straw or sawdust. If soil is 
clayey and of slow drainage there should be a drain 
pipe outlet at the lowest point of the floor to take off 
the water resulting from the melting of ice. This pipe 
should be trapped so that the water can run out, but 
no air can get in. This is important, for if a current 
of warm air should enter the house beneath the ice it 
would melt the latter in a short time. grant davis. 
