1909. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
321 
A Problem in House Drainage. 
j F. C., Topeka , Kan .—I have a prob¬ 
lem in farmhouse drainage. Cellar bot¬ 
tom is a ledge of stone; surface water 
settling to the ledge finds it easy to enter 
the cellar. The house is a new one with 
bathroom and closet. My problem is to 
furnish drainage for sewage, the cellar 
seepage and the kitchen slops from the 
sink. Can it all be done through one line 
of six-inch sewer pipe? Or, will the poi¬ 
sonous gases from the sink and bathroom 
escape into the house? Also, I would like 
a basin in cellar to dispose of the wash 
water in bad weather. 
Ans. —You can easily take care of all 
the cellar drainage and house water 
provided you can get a sufficient fall for 
drain from cellar bottom to place of 
disposal. This grade should not be less 
than one foot in 50, and two feet would 
be better. Authorities agree that with 
proper grade a four-inch drain is large 
enough for house use, better, in fact, 
than "a larger one. If roof water can 
be turned into it to flush it out during 
rains, it is an advantage. Grease from 
sinks, etc., is the great enemy of drains 
of any size. It must be kept out with 
suitable traps. In no case should the 
drain run near a well or other source 
of water supply. From the cellar out 
common vitrified pipe with a socket can 
be used; inside the house nothing but 
iron or lead pipe. The main drain is to 
be trapped preferably just inside the 
cellar wall, so that it can be reached for 
cleaning if necessary. This will exclude 
all sewer gas. Then the draft! should 
be ventilated from a point inside the 
trap, the pipe being led outside and 
above the ground sufficiently to prevent 
obstructions getting into it. All house 
fixtures are to be trapped, and ex¬ 
tension of soil pipe carried above the 
roof of the house. Care in properly 
calking all joints—using Portland ce¬ 
ment for vitrified pipe, and oakum and 
lead for iron pipe—will insure perfect 
safety. Secure joints and good ventila¬ 
tion are the essentials, in addition to a 
grade that will cause the water to flow 
rapidly. An excellent little book on 
this subject is “House Drainage and 
Sanitary Plumbing,” by W. P. Gerhard. 
It is one that every houseowner should 
have. The cut shown above is reen¬ 
graved from a page in this book. w. h. m. 
Tree Roots and Tile. 
H. S, St. Catharine’^, Ont .—I have a six- 
inch tile along line fence where I wish to 
plant trees. Will pear roots go down 4 >4 
feet and block it ? IIow would chestnut or 
Catalpa do? 
H. G. B., Barker, N. Y .—If I lay tile 
about three feet deep across a pear orchard 
of Bartlett and Duchess trees full grown, 
and but 12 feet apart, will the roots fill 
the tile? We have a Japanese Catalpa tree 
about 20 years old near our wclT, and I 
notice this year that there are some roots 
growing through the wall, which is stone, 
laid without mortar. Will the roots make 
the water taste as a locust would, and if it 
does, would' it stop it to build up the in¬ 
side of well with concrete? 
Ans. —Drains not less than three feet 
deep are considered safe from the roots 
of all fruit trees. Chestnut trees, like 
all the oak family, have a deep root sys¬ 
tem, and I would be afraid of them. 
I passed a hickory tree with a drain 
five feet deep and the ground was full 
of roots' at that depth. I advised de¬ 
stroying the tree. I know nothing of 
the root habits of Catalpa. There is a 
claim that coal tar painted on the ends 
of tile before being laid will prevent 
roots from entering the joints because 
of the plants’ dislike for coal tar. It 
is also claimed that the coal tar will 
last indefinitely. This may or may not 
be true. I do not answer for it, and 
would like the testimony of any who 
have tried it. 
The roots can be kept out of the well 
with a concrete wall. Remove the stone 
below the reach of the roots and make 
a strong form six inches from the earth 
wall. Make your concrete of gravel 
containing plenty of sand, 40 shovels of 
gravel *to every sack of Portland ce¬ 
ment. Mix thoroughly by shoveling over 
three times before wetting. Then 
moisten and shovel over until it slips 
moist and greasy from the shovel. Be 
sure to ram every bit of this concrete 
thoroughly as fast as it is put in, other¬ 
wise the wall will be porous. But if 
the form is made strong and the ram¬ 
ming thoroughly done the wall will be 
as one stone. Be careful to make the 
form so it can be taken out without 
much pounding, as that might shatter the 
concrete. j. f. v. S. 
Refitting an Old Apple Orchard. 
C. IT. B., Middlesex Co., 2V. <7.—I have 
bad men at my old orchard, and on account 
of the scale they have certainly cut them 
out pretty thin. There will not he any 
question that the sun can get in now ; they 
are burning up the brush, and as soon as 
that is done I have the outfit there for them 
to give the trees a thorough spraying with 
Scalecide. Orchard is in sod, not very thick, 
rather thin on account of neglect. After 
spraying I want to plow shallow. I have 
an idea to sow one ton of bone, analysis 
three ammonia, 50 bone phosphate, price 
$27, and 1,500 pounds potash, analysis 50 
per cent potash; would sow 2,000 pounds if 
you think it would be safe. There are three 
acres or a little more in orchard. Then 
work it up and put a crop of com between 
the rows; sow clover and turnips July 1. 
My idea is to sow. bone and potash, and 
plow it in, or shall I plow first? Would you 
lime the land before planting the corn? 
Then I shall use some fertilizer when I 
plant the corn, next Winter give it a good 
coat of manure, and work it in. It seems 
to me it pught to be in shape then to get 
to work. 
Ans.— That ought to make the or¬ 
chard come. As for planting com; it 
will depend upon the size of the trees 
and how close they are. Corn will 
not do well in the shade. Unless you 
have seen the orchard in full leaf you 
must estimate how thick it will be in 
July and August. If the trees are 
large, oats and peas sown broadcast 
and cut in early July will give you 
more forage than the corn. You can 
disk up the stubble* and sow clover and 
turnips; or you can drill in white beans 
and seed to clover and turnips as you 
would in corn. Do not plow in the 
fertilizer—harrow in after plowing. If 
you plant corn we should use lime in 
the Fall. In our experience corn re¬ 
sponds to lime less than other small 
grains. 
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