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HEAT FOR THE FARMHOUSE. 
Steam and Hot Water. 
A few years ago we had a thorough discussion of the 
problem of heating farmhouses by steam, hot water and 
hot air. Many valuable articles were submitted, some 
of which we could not find space for. The subject has 
now come up again and we shall print some of these excel¬ 
lent communications. 
Success With Hot Water. 
In the Fall of 1898 I began looking up the subject 
of house heating by some other method than by 
stoves. As my house covers quite an area, not one 
of the furnace men would agree to heat the house 
properly with hot air, except by putting the furnace 
in the vegetable cellar, and this I would not have, so 
I turned to the system of hot-water heating. This 
system I had put in at the cost of $300, including the 
board of two men who installed the plant, and draw¬ 
ing material from the railroad station. The boiler 
is placed in a room by itself, in the cellar, and all 
the dust and dirt is kept there. It is covered with 
an asbestos jacket to retain the heat, and all the pipes 
that lead to and from the boiler and radiators are 
also covered. I heat 10 rooms, the rooms on the first 
floor having nine-foot ceilings, with 480 feet of radia¬ 
tion. I find the stove coal the best for the boiler, 
have used only seven tons during a 
Winter, with the exception of a very 
severe Winter, which took eight. Al¬ 
though the first cost of hot-water heat¬ 
ing is more than the hot air, still the 
difference is soon saved in the amount 
of coal used and the results. We are 
more than pleased with the system; 
every room is heated perfectly. The 
doors from one room to the other are 
always left open, and I had no trouble 
in keeping the heat in the rooms up to 
72 degrees, when the thermometer out¬ 
side registered 17 degrees below zero. 
• 
One great advantage this system has 
above the steam heat is that when the 
fire in the boiler goes down and the 
water cools, it circulates just the same, 
while with the steam, when the heat is 
below the boiling point no steam is 
formed and the heat in the radiators at 
once stops. During the years that I have 
run the boiler I have found nothing that 
could be improved, so have come to the 
conclusion that the most important thing 
to do is to get a good boiler, one made 
for this express purpose. p. w. z. 
Pittsford, N. Y. 
Steam Simplicity and Efficiency. 
Artificial heating by steam when un¬ 
derstood and intelligently operated 
forms one of the most efficient methods 
of house-warming yet employed. It has 
the advantage over hot water, inasmuch 
as a much smaller plant is required, but 
requires a larger amount of fuel and 
does not possess the range of temper¬ 
ature, since you must burn fuel during 
the time you are changing the water 
into steam, steam being formed at the 
boiling point, viz. 212 degrees, and 
heated to about 240, or a range of about 
40 degrees, compared with water of 170 
degrees. With water you obtain re¬ 
sults the moment you change the tem¬ 
perature of the water; with steam your 
results are not visible until above 212 degrees. The 
most economical method to employ is the one-pipe, 
or gravity system. The term gravity is used because 
by gravity all the water forced in the pipes and 
radiators is returned to the boiler by the force of 
its own gravity. 
The boiler should be a quick steamer, that is, small 
columns of water exposed to the action of the fire; 
this is rapidly evaporated into steam, which ascends 
through the pipes to the radiators and there parts 
with its heat and condenses into water, which flows 
back to the boiler. In order to accomplish this object 
the pipes must all incline towards the boiler. The 
boiler should be set so as to insure a proper descent 
and should be fitted up to insure circulation on itself; 
that is, the water during the time steam is forming 
should rise and flow through piping to the bottom 
of the boiler. This keeps the water constantly mov¬ 
ing, and is termed circulation. 
From the top of the boiler take a single pipe called 
flow and carry it up perpendicular to the highest 
point; from this point, by an ell if for a single main 
and a tee if for two mains, carry the main with 
the descent to the extreme point from which you take 
the rising line to the radiators. Other mains may 
be taken from this, and they, too, must fall from the 
THE RURAE NEW-YORKER 
main from which they are taken. On the extreme 
end of these mains, or branches, place a reducing ell 
looking down; this forms the drip and is connected 
wit'll a return pipe, which runs under the cellar floor 
with a sharp descent to the boiler, and is connected 
at the bottom of same. Near this connection a check 
valve is placed, which permits the water to flow into 
the boiler, but checks or stops the water from the 
boiler from flowing into the pipes. This is called 
a wet return. From the ends of the mains just be¬ 
hind the reducing ells risers are run to the different 
floors. Less radiation can be used than for water. 
The proper amount can be ascertained by dividing 
the amount of cubic feet of air contained in the 
room by 70 degrees. Air valves are placed on 
all steam radiators, which allow the air to 
escape when steam is turned on. If all the flows 
have their proper descent towards the boiler, the sys¬ 
tem will be noiseless; if, however, in any part of 
the system water finds a lodgment and remains sta¬ 
tionary when steam is turned on and comes in con¬ 
tact with it, there will be a sharp metallic sound, 
termed hammering. This is not an element of dan¬ 
ger, but the result of the impact of steam against the 
water. 
All boilers should be fitted up with water columns 
and gauge cocks which show the amount of water 
carried, which should never be allowed to drop below 
the lower gauge. When there is no steam pressure 
water should stand at the upper gauge, and it will 
drop below the middle gauge when steam is formed. 
The supply should be near the bottom of the boiler, 
and a blow-off cock should be low enough entirely to 
empty the boiler. The safety valve is set to permit 
the escape of steam when the pressure reaches the 
point at which it is set to blow off. The steam 
gauge shows the amount of steam pressure; one to 
three pounds is ample for all purposes. A thin, bright 
fire is the best for steam-making, while a dull, thick 
one consumes fuel and does not impart any heat to 
the building. There are many devices used by boiler 
makers, such as automatic damper regulators, rocking 
or self-cleaning grates, and the like, which are ampli¬ 
fied by the dealer in selling his boiler, but the trend 
of these devices, in my judgment, is to encourage 
carelessness and neglect. The farmer’s wife with the 
kitchen stove gives as much attention to her fire as 
to her other duties. She knows just what is needed, 
and is alert to the demands. So the farmer with his 
steam plant, when once he becomes acquainted with 
it. A good poker and a slicing bar in his hands will 
insure a clean, thin fire with the least waste of fuel. 
It is not the amount of radiation that insures the 
best result, but the pattern and efficiency of the radi¬ 
ators used. A lew radiator gives better results than 
a high one. There is a thin steel radiator now on 
the market; its good points are that the metal is 
thinner and consequently much lighter than the cast- 
iron ones. If the farmer wishes to go to the cost, 
direct-indirect radiation will amply repay the outlay. 
By direct-indirect radiation outer air is conducted by 
a duct to the bottom of the radiator and warmed 
before it enters the room. This method keeps the air 
of the room, in constant change, and provision must 
be made for the foul air to escape that is being re¬ 
placed by fresh warm air direct from the outside. 
The life of the plant can be indefinitely prolonged 
if the user never allows the water to fall below the 
lower gauge; and in the Spring, when no longer 
needed, put about one gallon of oil in the boiler, 
then get up steam, draw the fire and open the blow- 
off cock and empty the system. The heat will dry 
out the pipes, and the oil will have coated the inside 
of pipes, radiators and boiler. It is then in proper 
condition to remain idle until again wanted. F. G. M. 
WHY NOT MORE BEES? 
It is a strange condition of affairs, that so few 
country people realize the economy of 
keeping at least enough bees to sup¬ 
ply their families with all the honey 
that they can use; both for table use 
and for cooking purposes, in place of 
the concoctions sold as syrup and 
molasses by the grocery stores. One 
or two hives will often give a re¬ 
markable surplus and require very little 
attention, but must have some care at 
the proper time. Surplus boxes must 
be put on before, not after the honey 
flow, as we know well is often done, 
for the nectar that the blossom secretes 
to-day cannot be gathered to-morrow, 
but must be taken care of to-day or 
never. Honey is looked upon as a lux¬ 
ury, to be eaten seldom, or never, by 
many people who do not hesitate to 
use sugar in large quantities and meat 
at nearly every meal, not realizing that 
honey is sugar in one of its purest 
forms—chemically, inverted sugar, or 
nearly pure grape sugar, much more 
easily digested than cane sugar, and 
may be used freely by many persons 
who cannot use cane sugar at all. Then 
just think of the exquisite flavor of 
pure honey of almost any kind, and re¬ 
member that there is no place in cook¬ 
ing or baking where syrup or molasses 
is used that cannot be filled by honey 
and a benefit be secured by the change. 
In addition to the palatability of 
honey, it contains much greater food 
value than the best meats, as it is all 
assimilated in the process of digestion, 
which is true of very few foods. There 
is no reason why most people who live 
in the country should not enjoy all the 
honey they want to use, as almost any 
section of the country will support a 
few hives on every farm without over¬ 
stocking the country with bees. Nearly 
all parts of the country raise more or 
less fruit, and bees are one of the best 
agents for the cross-pollenization of all 
kinds of fruit trees, and also small fruit, such as 
strawberries, raspberries, etc., which sometimes also 
yield some honey. Bees have often been accused of 
injuring ripe fruit, but from the construction of the 
mouth parts of the bee, it is impossible for a bee to 
puncture the skin of any kind of fruit whatever, but 
they will follow the hornet, which can puncture fruit, 
and suck the juice of many kinds if there be no 
nectar-yielding blossoms open at the time. How 
many will get a touch of the bee fever this Fall and 
Winter? Study up on the subject and get the bees 
next Spring, and prove their value by experience. 
Wayne Co., N. Y. j. a. crane. 
Orlando Harrison has been in Europe for some 
time studying fruit conditions. He reports a small 
crop of apples on the other side, and that most of the 
orchards are not well cared for. He says it will be 
many years before the Europeans will grow enough to 
supply their own people, while there is a growing de¬ 
mand. The fruit growers of this country and Canada 
have a great opportunity. We stay on record as say¬ 
ing that before many years the exports of fruit from 
this country will exceed, in value, those of wheat! No 
young man need fear to plant an apple orchard and 
put his best work into it. 
SEEDLING CHESTNUTS FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. Fig. 425 . 
See Ruralisms, Page 916. 
