18 
THE; RURAb NRW-YORKER 
January 4, 
FARM ENGINEERING. 
Cesspool or Septic Tank. 
E. T. II., Brooklyn, N. Y.— I am one of 
those unfortunate beings who, although liv¬ 
ing in the city, are burdened with a cess¬ 
pool instead of sewer connections. The 
soil is very sandy, as witnessed by the 
fact that a family of six have used it seven 
years without trouble until now. It now 
shows unmistakable signs of being filled up. 
As I understand, in cases of this kind, it 
is only the solid matter which fills up a 
cesspool at first, the water draining away 
in the sand until the interstices are filled up 
with grease and sludge. I am told that 
once the cesspool is filled up, it will have 
to be cleaned out every few months, as the 
water is no longer able to seep away. 
Now for the great question. After the cess¬ 
pool has been cleaned out, what would be 
the effect if I dumped in about a barrel of 
lye, washing soil, or some other strong 
alkali, which would make the grease more 
soluble and thus allow the solid matter 
in the sand to be washed away, the clear 
water having a chance to seep away as 
before ? 
Ans. —The best solution of your sew¬ 
age problem would undoubtedly be the 
installation of a septic tank with either 
a fdter bed or sub-surface tiling to dis¬ 
pose of the effluent. As a more or less 
temporary makeshift, you may be able 
to convert your cesspool into a crude 
septic tank by carrying the inlet pipe 
below the surface of its contents, and 
providing an outlet near the top which 
will allow the fluids to seep away into 
the surrounding soil near the surface. 
As the soil about the bottom of your 
present cesspool is probably thoroughly 
saturated for some distance with com¬ 
paratively insoluble matter, it is not at 
all likely that the putting of lye or other 
chemical into it would be of any help. 
M. B. D. 
Homemade Windlass. 
Many times on the farm one has to 
pull or lift heavy things such as hogs, 
beeves, wagon bodies, etc. The writer 
intends to build a strong portable 
frame with a roller and two windlass 
handles so made that a hitch can be 
1 
(° 
V 
taken and by operating the portable 
windlass one man may pull or lift a 
thousand pounds. See sketch. Have 
your readers anything better to offer? I 
want to get the best. G. 
Lead Pipe for Drinking Water. 
I have recently bought a farm in Massa¬ 
chusetts on which there is tvater piped 750 
feet from spring on hill to barn : it runs 
in Winter only and has not been in use for 
a number of years. By going about 250 
feet further up hill I can get water from 
better spring and supply all parts of house 
by gravity. Can I make use of the 750 
feet of pipe already laid? It is inch 
lead pipe and has been in probably 50 
years and five feet below surface of ground. 
Will water coming through that amount of 
old lead pipe be safe to use for drinking 
purposes. F. a. h. 
Massachusetts. _ 
It would not be safe to use the water 
running through that amount of old lead 
pipe, although it might not be harmful. It 
depends upon the impurities in the water, 
as the solvent action of water on lead is 
greatly influenced by the presence or ab¬ 
sence of small amounts of dissolved sub¬ 
stances in the water. Water containing 
carbonates or phosphates is almost wholly 
without chemical action upon lead, while 
water containing certain nitrates and salts 
of ammonia has a great action. Pure water 
has considerable action on lead, in the 
pi'esence of air. r. p. c. 
Air in Well Water Pipe. 
My water system works on the syphon 
plan. The pipe in the well is two-inch, 
.Born. 
10 feet long, and most of the time two 
feet and more in the water. In Summer 
air gets into the pipe and keeps the water 
from coming down. All joints are tight. Is 
there a way of letting the air out? Do 
you think the two-inch pipe is too large? 
Would 1%-inch pipe be large enough? Do 
you think a check valve on the end will 
help? w. g. B. 
New Jersey. 
A smaller pipe in the well would be bet¬ 
ter. An arrangement could be made to 
let the air out at the topmost point of the 
system. A check valve on the well pipe 
would not help any. The air, of course, 
rises to the highest point of the system 
and if this highest point is at the bend, 
it prevents the water siphoning over. There 
are a number of ways for remedying this. 
One way is shown in the sketch. When the 
air troubles, close B and C and open valve 
A. Then, through valve A, fill up the pipes 
with water until the water stands above A. 
Thus the air will -be crowded out. Then 
close A and open B and C. 
Log Dam for Small Stream. 
I have a stream of water flowing from 
a good spring which lies wholly within 
woods. I wish to dam this and make a 
small trout stream of it. By building a 
dam across it I can have a stream backed 
up for about 500 feet and an average of 
12 feet wide. IIow can I build a log dam 
across it and how many trout could I put 
in and keep nicely ? J. a. 
Pennsylvania. 
The nature of a suitable dam depends 
upon how much work you want to put into 
it. The scheme shown in the sketch would 
he workable for a small stream, would be 
easy to build and would last indefinitely. 
First, select the place for the dam, choos¬ 
ing preferably a site where the banks 
slope quickly and where the stream is 
narrow. Provide a channel around the 
spot where the dam is to be. so that the 
water may flow By as the dam is being 
built, and not wash over the top. Dump 
in a plentiful supply of dirt and gravel, 
completely damming the stream bed up to 
a height some one or two feet above the 
line of the pond. The earth should be 
well tamped together and the upstream face 
could well be of turf. The sides of the 
stream bed should be well cut in so as to 
make a better joint between the dam and 
the banks. Have both sides of the earth 
wall sloping at an angle to the ground 
about as shown in the sketch. On the 
down stream face pile up logs in a single 
layer and drive posts, as shown, to prevent 
the logs rolling. The addition of a log 
face on the up stream side of the dam 
would be of advantage, but it is not neces¬ 
sary. Now, close up the channel previously 
made for the stream, allowing the dam to 
do its work. It may leak somewhat at 
first, but will gradually pack close. If 
you can get turf or vines to grow on a 
dam, they are of great value in holding 
the mass together. 
The number of trout you can safely 
keep depends so much upon the conditions 
that it would be best to wait until you 
see how much of a pond you get. The 
dealers from whom you get the trout will 
advise you if you send full details. You 
would, of course, stock it with only a few— 
several dozen—at first. R. p. c. 
A Pumping Problem. 
I enclose a diagram of my spring, where 
I get water for my stock. In my buildings 
I have a force pump at (A) to force the 
water to the buildings (C), but it is hard 
work. An engineer here told me if 1 would 
put a foot valve within 10 feet of the 
spring and place the pump at (B) the 
water would force a great deal easier. The 
depth of the water at the spring is two 
0 o Feet 
yBarns 
feet at all times and the distance from 
the spring to the barns 1.000 feet. The 
rise from the spring to (D) is 70 feet, 
the distance from (A) to (D) is 175 feet. 
The pump I ha've is capable of drawing 
from a well from 60 to 75 feet deep, ac¬ 
cording to the maker’s statement. The 
pump is tapped for 1^4-inch pipe, but I 
have reduced it to %-inch. From the 
top of the pump platform to the bottom of 
the spring is six feet. Can I do as this 
engineer said, or shall I leave it as it is? 
New York. J. R. 
It will do no good to put a foot valve 
or check valve in the pipe as you suggest. 
The pipe from pump to well should be as 
large as the pump will allow. The pipe 
from pump to barn offers great resistance 
to pumping. The larger it is the easier it 
would be to pump the water. The arrange¬ 
ment you have now, of the pump at the 
spring forcing the water to the barn, is 
the easiest on you. b. p. c. 
Freezing Ice in Cakes. 
What about freezing ice in metal cans 
for storing in icehouse? A. k. 
Fordsville, N. Y. 
This is quite often done—not in cans, 
but in iron boxes somewhat like sinks. 
These are slowly filled with water until a 
solid cake of ice is formed, then the box 
is turned over and hot water poured on 
bottom and sides, so that the cake slips 
out and can be stored 
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23 Elizabeth Stroet Utica, N. V. 
I 
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I 
FROM FACTORY DIRECT TO FARM 
26-inch Hog Fence,_14e. 
41-inch Farm Fence,_21c. 
48-inch Poultry Fence.-2214c. 
80-rod spool Barb Wire, $1.55 
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SAW WOOD 
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No. 5 
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Laksikq. Richjgam. US.A. 
