610 
The object of the general is the acquisition of terri¬ 
tory ; the end the farmer has in view is the acquisi¬ 
tion of cash, and he must plan for his crops to that 
end. He should know while it is yet Winter just what 
he will do with each field, and then bend every 
energy successfully to carry out his campaign. Some 
will succeed, like Gen. Grant, by fighting it out on 
the lines laid down, regardless of obstacles; others 
will find that the battle is going against them in spite 
of everything, and they must make a flank movement 
by sowing 'buckwheat or millet, instead of a culti¬ 
vated crop, as they intended. I generally take it the 
other way around, and have cabbage plants ready 
to set out if I am up with all the work, and if I 
do not get the opportunity, the plants may readily be 
sold to others in the vicinity. 
In the first place, it is important at all times that 
the forces at his command shall be able to overcome 
his enemies. He should not have two crops that will 
require a large amount of attention at the same time 
of year. Remember that in May you will be busy 
getting in corn, so don’t have other work to con¬ 
flict. Then a little later, several days will be given 
to spraying, followed in the order mentioned by 
cabbage setting, haying, picking raspberries, and in 
the Fall, the corn, which may be cut and husked at 
odd times while picking pears and apples. Some 
such mapping out of the season’s work is abso¬ 
lutely necessary if the campaign is to be a success. 
So do not have a “planting time” and a “haying 
time” and a “harvesting time” during which other 
important work is neglected. A bird’s-eye view of 
the farm operations as a whole must be constantly 
maintained, like a general, spy-glass in hand, fol¬ 
lowing each incident of the battlefield. Cut a field 
of clover, then cultivate the corn before attacking 
the Timothy. 
This constant general watch of the entire farm 
work is just as necessary where one does all his 
own work as it is where help is employed; perhaps 
more so, as he does not have a large, force to throw 
into the breach if the weeds are gaining a victory 
in the onion bed or the psylla has surprised us in 
the pear orchard. And yet while Nature is often 
arrayed against the farmer she is as frequently on 
his side, and will help push his crop ahead of the 
weeds. T have often seen raspberries and corn grow 
so fast that the ground was shaded, and the weeds 
were always a pretty weak-looking lot of enemies, 
and in a dry time evaporation was so slow from the 
shaded ground that no extra cultivation was needed. 
I do not grow the crop with the cultivation of 
which I am most familiar, and which is best suited 
to my land—strawberries, because they ‘ require a 
large amount of work throughout the entire season, 
and hoeing them is sure to conflict with other crops. 
Instead, I raise raspberries, which, with an early 
thorough hoeing, apd horse cultivation later on, is 
all that is required. I might also add that the mar¬ 
ket i* equally good for both crops. Just one more 
suggestion regarding the campaign. What would 
we think of a general who went into battle with 
such poor ammunition that a great deal of it would 
not go off. Let’s not plant seeds which have not 
been tested, and of which we are uncertain whether 
they will “go off” or not. G. M. c. 
Oswego, N. Y._ 
NEW WRINKLE IN PARCELS POST. 
On page 417 you stated the objections that were 
urged against parcels post, and under the second 
head, cost, T wish to draw attention to a practical 
rebate that the express companies receive from the 
public by a custom that has grown up, and to which 
I never saw any attention called. It is among the 
senders of third-class mail matter who send out 
large numbers of packages under four pounds 
weight at the rate of two ounces for one cent. 
Some years ago I knew a large mail-order house 
that advertised wherever the domestic postal rates 
were in force. Their catalogue weighed 44 ounces, 
the postal rate thus being 22 cents. The five large 
express companies would send special representa¬ 
tives to the house after an edition of say 50,000 
catalogues was ready for distribution. These rep¬ 
resentatives would agree among themselves as to 
which company should carry a particular parcel, pre¬ 
sumably an agreement of division of the territory 
among their principals. The rate to be the same or 
a trifle less than the postal rate, but in each edition 
there would be 10 or 15 per cent of the catalogues 
which would be left for the mails to carry; those 
addressed to Alaska, Philippines, Cuba, at that time, 
and those in the mountainous States of the West. 
They thus had the cream of the business, whi'e the 
undesirable part was left for Uncle Sam. Can ever 
he carry on a profitable business with that kind of 
piratical competition? 50.000 parcels at 22 cents, 
$11,000; express 45.000, $0,900, short haul; mail 5,000, 
$1,100, long haul. r. c. 
Michigan. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
THE F. W. MACKEY WATER SYSTEM. 
How Water Pumps Itself. 
In the year 1904, when I was 20 years old, my 
brother and I with money we had earned and saved, 
bought the small farm of 30 acres, where we now 
live. On this small farm we have made a success, 
principally by overcoming the cause of failures. In 
making the general repairs and arranging the con¬ 
veniences to suit one’s notion, I did not fancy the 
crude method in which water was supplied to the 
house, viz, a well and pump outdoors, a pail and 
generally empty, inside, and every time you move 
“I want a pail of water” or “I’m about choked for a 
drink, won’t you get a pail of water?” Instead of 
this pail of water sitting around, I wanted a city 
water system, operating absolutely automatic, also 
l. . 3 - 
SCION, STUB AND SECTION VIEW OF SLIP- 
GRAFTING. Fig. 215. 
operating without expense. I was unable to find any¬ 
thing on the market that would do any such work. 
In order to operate any device without expense or 
attention it must be extremely simple. It was also 
apparent that ia order to force water against pressure 
considerable energy must come from somewhere. 
This energy must be applied without attention or 
expense and control itself under varying pressures 
automatically. 
HARNESSING THE STREAM.—I soon con¬ 
vinced myself that this energy could not be applied 
in any such way without being taken from some run¬ 
ning stream. A little brook crossed our place, and 
I went to studying o it. There was no fall in it, 
more than enough to make the water move along. 
It could not be dammed up more than 20 to 24 inches' 
without damaging our field for which we paid $116 
per acre. To do anything with so small a fall was 
a hard proposition. The first thing I thought of did 
not work. I did not go to sleep and dream it all 
out, nor did fortune knock upon my door and tell 
me all about how to build it. but I studied it out. I 
worked on it at odd times for about two years. In 
doing such a large amount of experimenting, which 
is almost always a dead expense, a man of my means 
would find himself swamped before he got his device 
perfected if he was not extremely careful. 
It was during the Winter of 1908 that I built the 
one I now have in operation, it being operated by 
the weight of water in a fall of 12.to 13 inches. I 
did not use this certain amount of fall on account 
of any particular reason more than that the device 
works on from three to thirty or perhaps a few 
more inches fa'll, and I thought I would put it some¬ 
where about half way. However, I would advise 
using more fall if it could be easilv obtained, for 
the reason that every inch fall means three-quarters 
inch to one inch stroke on piston. The plan con¬ 
sists in weighing or catching the weight of water as 
it flows along in a stream, and placing this weight 
or power upon a piston standing in the upper end 
of a vertical cylinder full of water, the object being 
to force this piston to the lower end of the cylinder, 
causing the water to flow against great resistance 
into a discharge pipe, being prevented from coming 
back by check valve. 
THE MACHINE AND TTS WORKING.—I place 
on the dam one end of a flat, wide and long trough, 
May 15, 
with sides highest at its lowest end. The lower or 
ether end is placed on the piston rod at any desired 
point from the tail. With tail of trough nearly as 
high as head, piston is at its upward point. The 
stream rushes into trough, the weight of which 
quickly becomes greater than resistance on piston, 
and as streams continues to rush in, piston and 
trough go down with tremendous force. A curious 
muskrat allowed himself to get caught in the moving 
parts and was crushed to about the thickness of a 
piece of paper. When trough approaches its down¬ 
ward destination the tail end of stop 4 is arrested 
in its downward journey by stationary crosspiece 5. 
There by releasing outlet gate 6, which is directly 
connected to inlet gate 7 by two sticks, 8, and pivoted 
to sides of trough with crossbar 9. When outlet 
gate 6 is released by stop 4, it is thrown upward 
by inlet gate being heaviest, which at the same time 
closes inlet, and as trough is inclined the water 
quickly rushes out. A counterweight 10, bearing 
over a support 11, and attached to trough at its 
lower end and overweighing same, quickly lifts 
trough, together with piston, to its upward position, 
thereby sucking cylinder full of water, through inlet 
pipe, which comes from a filtered reservoir. As 
trough nears its upward position, outlet gate 6, is 
arrested in its upward journey by crosspiece 12, 
which causes it to close, and inlet gate 7 to open. 
The trough being stopped from continuing on up¬ 
ward by gate closing against bottom of trough, and 
being against crosspiece 12, in this closed position, 
it is held by stop 4, while another powerful impulse 
downward takes place. 
HOW IT IS REGULATED.—It is necessary to 
have trough correspond in size somewhat with piston 
diameter, mine being 3 z / 2 inches. Upon watching 
these impulses nearly everyone says, “I should think 
it would blow up everything on the other end,” but it 
will give any pressure desired. As I have said be¬ 
fore, raising the head increases the volume delivered. 
Raising the dam above the head increases the pres¬ 
sure by making the water deeper in the trough. As 
the pressure in the system rises to any desired point, 
from valves all being closed, the resistance on the 
piston becomes sufficient to hold up its load of water, 
which is level with the dam. Raising the dam raises 
the depth in the trough, making more weight on the 
piston and consequently more pressure. It will there¬ 
fore be seen that trough containing its load of water 
and standing on piston will go into operation almost 
instantly upon drawing water from any point in the 
system. When the trough begins its impulse, it is 
absolutely certain to complete it without being stalled, 
for the water tries to keep its level with. the dam. 
The sides of the trough are built a little higher than 
naturally needed at the lower end and tapering to the 
head, so that in case of high water it continues to 
run. but of course much handicapped on account of 
back water, and in case it gets completely drowned, 
it comes back to life again when water goes down. 
No oiling of any kind required; there are no bearings 
in it; counterweight 10 on support 11 is built as a 
rocker and causes no friction. I have kept the one I 
now have running almost constantly since March. 1908, 
and I expect it will last longer than I, as the wood 
is wet all the time and there is practically nothing to 
wear out, as it only balances up and down over sup¬ 
port 11. 
THE PUMP AND FITTINGS—It took me a 
year and a half to get a pump that filled the bill. I 
cut and tried and then did not have it. Hiring pat¬ 
terns made quickly proved to be too expensive for 
my pocket, so had to learn pattern-making. Although 
my tools were not adapted to such work, I managed 
to dig out straight core boxes; of course the cores 
are easier to make. I used old pine posts for mate¬ 
rial. I brass-lined my own cylinder. I do not 
obstruct channel of stream, which would cause trou¬ 
ble the first time stream got high, but I dug a hole 
in the bank, well back from the stream, large enough 
to accommodate the device, with plank to hold the 
dirt back, with a nearly flat roof with trap door, all 
level with the top of the ground. The inlet is 
through a tile or sluice that is laid deep, being placed 
level with the bottom of the stream before it is 
dammed up. It is never affected by stream freezing 
over, or by floating ice or wood, nor can any cold 
wind get in. The outlet is of the same plan, coming 
out under the water like a muskrat hole. There is 
no freezing up, for it is just like a cellar with a 
creek running through it. As’ the pump is single 
stroke and so far away, some storage should be used, 
as this storage makes a steady stream and a reserve, 
also makes the most powerful stream from faucet 
obtainable with any given pressure. My storage con¬ 
sists of two 40-gallon, air-bound range boilers, in 
one corner of my cellar behind the door, being away 
from frost and not in the way. This is ample, as 
the device starts as soon as pressure begins to lower. 
I have sink and faucet neatly arranged in kitchen, 
also have it in barn for stock and washing buggies. 
For fire protection I have hose connected and coiled 
up on peg. so with one turn of hydrant valve you 
have water almost instantly. All there, is to this 
device is what I have called a trough, with gates or 
end boards in each end like a wagon box. and a 
counterweight attached to the lower end. 1 herefore 
any farmer without a gravity system who can get 
to a running stream can have one. I will fix up the 
man who cannot get a stream when I can spare 
some money. f. W. mackey. 
Chautauqua Co., N. Y. 
