1910. 
THE RURAIv NEW-VORKER 
443 
A CONCRETE WELL COVER. 
How the Work is Done. 
A concrete slab, properly made, is an excellent 
cover for a well. It is durable, will last indefinitely 
and for that reason is safe—will not rot and break 
through with some one. An important feature is its 
tightness. The concrete being moulded on the brick 
of the well and the ground adjacent gives no chance 
for small rodents, toads, etc., to work their way in. 
The top being tight, and having a raised portion 
around the opening for the pump does not let the 
spilled water and drippings run back into the well. 
In short it is sanitary, neat and attractive and perma¬ 
nent. 
By this method described here the concrete is made 
in two parts—a base to square and level the well top 
and a movable slab as a cover. The appearance of 
the finished cover is shown in Fig. 171. Remove the 
old cover and scrape away the loose dirt abound the 
well down to solid ground, 2, Fig. 169. If some of 
the bricks or stones forming the wall are loose, re¬ 
move them. Remove any dirt on these bricks or 
stones to give a clean surface for the concrete to 
adhere to. Make a form for the base. Four or five 
feet square is a good size, giving room to stand when 
pumping by hand. Whatever the size it should be 
at least one foot wider than the inside 
diameter of the well and more width is 
better. In this base the concrete should 
come at least one inch above the old 
brick or stone, and may be any amount 
more if it is desired to have the cover 
higher above the ground. Make the 
form the desired size of one or two 
inch boards six inches or more wide. 
To avoid cutting long boards they may 
be placed as in 3, Fig. 169. It is best to 
use good-sized screws in putting the 
form together, but if nails are used, tin 
straps should also be used at the corners 
to prevent pulling apart when filling with 
concrete. Also if one-inch boards are 
used, in order to prevent bulging the 
form should have strips placed on the 
outside at right angles and fastened at 
the ends with screws as in 8, Fig. 170. 
Place the form over the well, square 
with the nearby buildings and with the 
well opening in the center. With a car¬ 
penter's level bring the top to an exact 
level by placing the necessary sized 
pieces of wood under the lower edge of 
the form. If filled carefully it is not 
necessary to stake it. For the center 
an old barrel hoop can be enlarged to a 
size a trille larger than the well opening. 
If one hoop is not high enough, another 
or more may be placed above it and all 
fastened* together by blocks on the in-' 
side. This form should not extend 
above the outside form and should be as 
near a true circle as possible. Make a 
medium mixture of concrete, that is one 
of cement, 2]/ 2 of sand and five of stone. 
Do not make too dry and work carefully 
around the forms. True up the surface 
by running a straight edge over the top 
of the form. Allow it to harden a couple 
of days and it will be ready to put the 
slab on. The top slab should be three 
to four inches thick for an opening 30 to 
36 inches across. Should the well be as 
much as five feet across make the slab 
five inches thick and use one-half inch 
re-enforcing rods, but for a 30 to 36-inch opening use 
five-sixteenths to three-eighths inch iron re-enforcing 
rods, six in number, one foot longer than the opening, 
and bend two inches of the end of each at right angles 
as in 9, Fig. 170. 
Now draw the outside form used for the base up 
until it is as far above the base as the top slab is to be 
thick. It may be necessary to loosen the screws slight¬ 
ly at two diagonally opposite corners in order to do 
this. Measure at each corner to see that it is raised 
to the right height and put blocks under the form to 
hold it up. Next make a cover to put over the well 
opening to hold the concrete up while moulding the 
slab. To make this cut out of one-half or five-eighths 
inch board a circle four inches greater in diameter 
than the well opening, and a circle from one inch 
boards one inch less in diameter than the well opening. 
Nail the smaller circle flat on the larger, in the center 
and with the boards crossing. Nail carefully near the 
edge of the smaller circle, clinching the nails tightly. 
Cross the smaller circle with a couple of stiff strips. 
Fig. 169, 5, shows bottom and side view of this cover. 
Place this over the well opening with the cleats down. 
Now spread over the top of the base and this cover, 
light building or sheathing or even heavy wrapping 
paper and coat with linseed oil to prevent the concrete 
from sticking. Put the reinforcing rods in as in 6, 
Fig. 170. Place two as aa, putting bits of wood under 
them so as to raise them one-half inch from the bot¬ 
tom, then two more bb, and finally the last two, cc. As 
the concrete is put in these rods should be turned so 
that the bent ends will project up. It will be necessary 
to leave an opening through the slab large enough to 
draw a pump cylinder through if it is necessary to 
draw the pipe at any time. Ordinarily six inches in 
diameter is enough. A tin can or straight-sided tin 
pail or a tile cut to a length to project one inch above 
the outside form is a good form for this opening. 
Wrap a piece of paper two or three times around it so 
it will draw out easily. If it is desired to ventilate the 
well which will otherwise be closed tight, a piece of 
IV 2 or two-inch pipe can be placed as in 7, Fig. 170, 
which is a cross-section of the completed slab, and the 
end of the pipe closed with wire cloth to keep out 
insects. Make a standard concrete—one of cement, 
two of sand and four of small stone. Make wet 
enough not to need tamping. Fill the form, keeping 
the stone away from the forms and re-enforcing rods. 
Use the sand and cement without the stone for the 
last half inch on top. With a straight edge level the 
top off even with the form. In half an hour or as 
soon as the concrete begins to set a little, smooth the 
top with a trowel, giving it the smooth finish of a 
concrete sidewalk. To make the raised part around 
the pump opening, take a keg hoop about the same 
diameter as the base plate of the pump, or cut a round 
opening in an inch board giving it a little taper, 10, 
Fig. 170, coat with oil and place around the pump 
opening, filling in with sand and cement. If it is 
desired to embed in the concrete bolts for holding the 
pump, make a template by cutting tin or roofing paper 
to the diameter of the pump base plate and marking 
the position of the holes on it, 11, Fig. 170. Embed 
the bolts about three inches in the concrete, working 
it tight around them, using the template to get an 
accurate set. Be sure to turn the template so the pump 
spout will be in the proper place. When first filling- 
in the concrete do not put any stone where these bolts 
are to come or it will be impossible to push them in. 
If it is not desired to bolt directly to the concrete, or 
if the bolts ever give out, a circular piece of two inch 
board may be clamped to the top of the slab and the 
pump bolted to that, 12, Fig. 170. The outside form 
may be removed in a day or two, but the slab should 
be allowed to harden for about two weeks and then 
gently raised and the paper and wooden cover removed 
from the bottom. If it is not possible to wait two 
weeks before getting water, heavy plank may be laid 
across the concrete work, supported on either side, 
the tin can or tile removed from the pump opening 
and with bit and brace and compass saw the wooden 
cover through and the pump inserted. While the cover 
is rather heavy, it can be easily removed at any time 
it is necessary to enter the well. l. r. bryant. 
Illinois. 
SOIL SUITABLE FOR SWEET CLOVER. 
A Kentucky Farmer’s Experience. 
I have numerous inquiries from readers of The 
R- N.-\., in regard to the seeding of Sweet clover 
and the character of soil best suited to it. Sweet 
clover will grow on any soil that is not water-logged, 
if it contains sufficient moisture to sprout the seed. 
On very thin and worn soils, the growth is small com¬ 
pared to that on fertile soils. We use Sweet clover 
to build up thin and much depleted soils; fields that 
have become useless as pasture, those filled with 
washes and gullies. These fields generally have a 
growth of small bushes or briars, where they have 
been lying idle for several years. These are cut and 
tramped into the ruts; the top of the little ridges are 
dug off and raked 'into the ruts, which help to hold 
the briars and bushes in place until they are converted 
into humus. If the washes and gullies 
are not too deep the seed is harrowed 
in with a double A harrow; otherwise 
the seed is sown early in the Spring, 
just as soon as the soil can be stirred, 
and about a half bushel of Spring oats 
sown with it. The amount of seed to 
be sown per acre on fields as described 
above, is 15 or 20 pounds; on soil that 
is reasonably fertile, where sown for 
hay or pasture, 25 to 30 pounds per 
acre. Where sown to produce seed, the 
soil should be reasonably fertile and 15 
pounds of seed per acre sown broad¬ 
cast, and harrowed in. Sow as early in 
the Spring as the soil can be stirred. 
For Fall seeding, prepare a good seed 
bed and sow the seed in October. 
'Sweet clover for hay should be cut 
just as the first blossoms appear; if left 
standing longer, the stems become 
woody and a great many of the leaves 
fall off when cured. Great care should 
be exercised to prevent the hay sun- 
burning, as this will destroy the pala- 
tablcness and its nutritive properties. 
There is no better way to fit a piece of 
ground for Alfalfa, than to seed to 
Sweet clover, cut off a crop of hay the 
first season and plow under the second 
season when the clover is about a foot 
tall; then cultivate with drag and har¬ 
row until the first of September, then 
seed to Alfalfa. The Sweet clover im¬ 
proves the soil and inoculates it with 
the nitrogen gathering bacteria which 
are so necessary to the existence of 
Alfalfa. When seeding for hay I would 
not use any nurse crop, and do not cut 
too close to the ground the first time; 
leave five or six inches of stubble to 
protect the crown and roots until a 
new growth is made. If permitted to 
go to seed the second season and the 
seed to ripen, it will reseed itself. The 
Sweet clover plant lives but two years; 
it dies at the end of the second season, 
and its large, fleshy roots decay rapidly, 
admitting the air deep into the subsoil. j. w. g. 
Warsaw, Ky. 
Never before have we had so many questions about 
green feed for dairy cows. It seems as if hundreds of 
farmers will, this year, try the “soiling” system—that 
is, cut green fodder and carry it to cattle. If a man 
can command the necessary labor, he can with this 
method keep a good many cows on a small farm. 
Take an acre of ordinary pasture land and let a cow 
tramp over it. Take another acre of the same kind 
of land, lime it and sow oats and peas. When they 
are cut plow again and sow corn fodder with manure 
or fertilizer. Anyone can see that you will get more 
forage out of the cultivated acre than from "the acre 
where the cow traveled. Yet, unless you have the 
labor to fit that land and handle the crop in time, it 
may be more profitable not to touch the pasture. If 
you have wheat or rye now growing these are the 
first crops to cut for soiling, with clover or Alfalfa 
to follow. There are a dozen different crops that 
can be seeded this year to help out, but the three 
most useful are oats and peas, Japanese millet and 
fodder corn. The oats and peas go in at once, the 
millet early in May for this latitude, and the first of 
the corn about May 20. As the oats and peas and 
millet come off, fodder corn follows, with rye or wheat 
to cover the ground through the Winter. 
A LOUISIANA BAMBOO GROVE. Fig. 172. 
