THE RURAL NEW -YORKER 
1397 
Farm Mechanics 
A Convenient Water Supply. 
The question of water supply is very 
pressing to most farmers, especially to 
those who do not demand a large supply 
constantly, but rather, a large supply at 
intervals. Thus the stockman is usually 
supplied with a windmill or a gasoline 
engine to help him moot the daily de¬ 
mands of his herd; but the fruit grower, 
Rain-water Tank at Barn. Fig. 517. 
who needs large quantities of water at 
special times for spraying, is often at 
loss to meet this need readily. 
The accompanying picture, Fig. 517, 
shows how one fruit grower has solved 
his problem by installing two tanks to 
catch and store rain water from his 
barn and cold storage house. Each is of 
fifty barrel capacity; and the two furnish 
enough water for the very thorough 
spraying of the fifty-acre orchard of Mr. 
George Smith of Middlesex Co., N. J. 
The tanks are raised on piers, so that 
by driving the spray rig under the out¬ 
let pipe, it can be filled without further 
trouble. This not only does away with 
the rather considerable labor of pump¬ 
ing and lifting water into the spray tank, 
but, of much greater importance, saves 
a great deal of time when every minute is 
precious. r. i. soharring-uausen. 
New Jersey. 
111-Smelling Cistern Water. 
I would like to know what is wrong 
with my cistern ; it was built about 14 
years ago. It is out in the field near no 
buildings, but one opening on top, and 
that is covered all the time. I have to 
clean it out about every two months and 
then I can hardly use it. When I first 
fill it after clean-out it is all right, but 
after half gone I fill again and then the 
water is no good. It smells and tastes as 
if there was something decaying in it, but 
I never found anything in it yet. If I 
use the water right from the pump it is 
all right. G. B. 
La Crosse, Wis. 
The water in any tight cistern will be¬ 
come foul-smelling after it has stood 
a while and become stale. The remedy is 
to introduce air into the water either by 
the frequent addition of fresh water, by 
churning the water and splashing it up 
into the air with some sort of dasher or 
by pumping air into the bottom of the 
cistern with an air pump of some kind 
and a hose. An automobile tire pump 
and a section of garden hose may be used. 
Perhaps your simplest way of avoiding 
the trouble would be only partially to fill 
the cistern and replace the water with 
fresh from the pump before it has time 
to become stale. M. B. D. 
Method of Placing Lightning Rods. 
A number of years ago lightning rods 
were placed on our buildings, these rods 
passing through glass, and not allowed to 
touch the woodwork of the building. 
Later, other buildings were rodded, and 
on these the rod was fastened, or nailed, 
to the roof and sides of buildings, fast¬ 
ened right on. Could both be right? I 
am a little skeptical on this lightning 
rod business and would like your opin¬ 
ion. i). n. H. 
Brancliport, N. Y. 
It was formerly the practice to insul¬ 
ate lightning rods from the building 
which they were to protect by passing 
them through glass supports, and these 
glass insulators are yet frequently seen 
on old buildings. It is now considered, 
however, that such insulation is not need¬ 
ed and the modern practice is to staple 
the rods directly to the woodwork of 
the building. The iron or copper of the 
lightning conductor makes a so much 
more attractive path for the lightning dis¬ 
charge that it is followed instead of the 
much more resistant wood of the build¬ 
ing. It is of greater importance that 
the rod. or wire, should be properly 
grounded, reaching to permanently moist 
earth, and that all metallic connections 
along its course should be tight and 
sound than it is that it should be in¬ 
sulated or made of any particular kind 
of metal. While usually of copper, gal¬ 
vanized iron may equally well be used 
and is even considered slightly more ef¬ 
ficient. M. B. D. 
Applying Asphalt Cold. 
Can asphalt be cut with a solvent, to j 
be applied cold? f. ii. w. 
Home, Wash. 
There are several sorts of asphalt, but 
all are more or less soluble in the com¬ 
mon solvents, and all contain some in¬ 
soluble matter. Boiling turpentine is as 
good a solvent as any. But if it is a 
small job, better get a prepared asphalt 
paint, most of the large paint houses 
make it. If it is a large job, send us a 
sample of the asphalt to be used and we 
will try its solubility. F. D. c. 
Value of Lightning Rods. 
The following extract from an article 
on “Grange Insurance,” in the Nine¬ 
teenth Biennial Report, State Board of 
Agriculture, Kansas, is of more than 
passing interest: 
“This association (Patrons Fire and 
Tornado Association) in 25 years’ expe¬ 
rience, has never been called upon to pay 
for a fire loss on a rodded barn struck by 
lightning, and every season it has paid 
for fire losses on barns not rodded that 
were struck by lightning and burned.” 
Hawaii. EDWIN C. MOORE. 
A Farm Cesspool. 
Noticing in a recent issue of Tiie R. 
N.-Y. an inquiry regarding a cesspool I 
will describe one I built in the Spring of 
1013. This cesspool has been built two 
years, and at the present time has less 
than one foot of water in it. It is 05 
feet from the house, which contains all 
modern improvements, bath, toilet, sta¬ 
tionary tubs, kitchen sink, hot-water 
boiler, etc., and is used by a family of 
eight people. It was dug 9*4 feet square 
and 10 feet deep, and stoned up seven 
feet, leaving three feet for the roof, 
which is reinforced concrete with a man¬ 
hole two feet square at opposite end from 
tile connection. After being stoned up I 
built forms and put on gables coming to a 
point in the center within one foot of the 
ground, and slanting to level of walls on 
the sides. After thoroughly settling I 
built forms for the roof proper, flush with 
the gables and side walls. Then I built 
the roof, extending it over side walls and 
gables to bank. I used 13 bags of cement 
in the roof and gables, but I think I used 
more than really wa3 necessary. I 
wanted to make sure of great strength in 
roof. Now as to cost: 
Excavating .$10.00 
Six loads of stone, $1.50 per load. . 9.00 
Mason work laying stone. 5.50 
Steel for re-enforcing . 5.25 
Cement . 9.85 
Incidentals, brick, cover, etc. 4.00 
Total cost .$41.00 
As I did the cement part of the work 
myself I did not charge anything for my 
own labor. After two weeks’ drying I 
took down the forms and it was solid as 
a rock. It will never rot away, and is 
perfectly safe to drive over with heaviest 
loads if necessary. After removing forms 
I laid up the manhole with brick to top 
of ground and covered with soil and 
seeded down, and to-day, except for top 
you never would know a cesspool was on 
the place. J. s. F. 
Danbury, Conn. 
Mistress (to new girl) : “I hope you 
are not in the habit of kindling the fire 
with kerosene.” Girl: “Oh, no, mum. 
I always use paper to kindle with; it’s 
only to hurry up the fire after it’s kin¬ 
dled that I pour on kerosene.”—Boston 
Evening Transcript. 
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