758 
‘the RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 26, 1019 
Whose 
weir was it, 
anyhow ? 
• j». 
W AS it President 
Wilson’s or Secretary 
Baker’s, or General 
Pershing’s, or Admiral 
Sims’, any more than yours 
or mine? 
Was it the war of three 
million American boys in 
khaki and blue any more 
than ours? 
You and I weren’t running it; 
most of us weren’t able to fight in 
it, but it was run for us and fought 
for us and WON for us —won 
months sooner than any of us be¬ 
lieved possible—because we 
spared neither the men nor the 
material nor the money necessary 
to win quickly. 
You and I and thirty million 
other American men and women 
bought Liberty Bonds to help 
secure that Victory. Because it 
was OUR war—yours and mine. 
Our biggest business. 
That Victory belongs in part to 
you and me. It’s up to us to help 
finish paying what it cost. It’s 
worth it. 
Invest in the 
Victory Liberty Loan 
GOVERNMENT LOAN ORGANIZATION 
Second Federal Reserve District 
Liberty Loan Committee 120 Broadway, New York 
Farm Mechanics 
Water Supply from Springs 
On oui' farm is a chain of springs. The 
three nearest are 150 ft. from and 28 ft. 
below level of house and buildings. These 
springs are of clear soft water, some very 
cold, and come up out of the ground 
through small holes about one inch in di¬ 
ameter. They never go dry in the very 
driest weather, and the two we have boxed 
in will fill as soon as a pailful is taken 
out. One has a square cement curb 
3x3x6 ft. deep; it will fill in about four 
hours if entirely emptied, but it has 
l broken out below the curb. From this 
i spring we pump all water by hand pump 
in the kitchen for house. Can we locate 
in any way the fountainhead of these 
springs? Is there any way these springs 
could be fixed to fill a dam or reservoir 
sq we could get running water in build¬ 
ings without the use of storage tank in 
buildings? MRS. C. E. L. 
West Monroe, X. Y. 
As the water is described as cold it is 
probable that it comes from a considerable 
depth, and if all of the chain of springs 
are soft and of about the same tempera¬ 
ture it is likely that they come from a 
common source. This may be an under¬ 
lying bed of gravel or sand covered with 
an impervious layer or stratum. Breaks 
or fissures in this overlying tight stratum, 
which may be covered to a considerable 
depth with soil, permit the escape of the 
water, which finds its way to the surface 
in the form of springs. Such springs are 
called “fissure springs’’ and they are fre¬ 
quently found in chains, as you suggest. 
The fact that your springs are so found 
and that they are very cold, indicating 
depth, leads me to think that they are of 
this type. 
Spring number two that you mention as 
filling its curb (54 cu. ft.) in about four 
hours, has a flow as indicated by your de¬ 
scription. of approximately 1.68 gallons 
per minute, and if each of the six springs 
in the chain has an equal flow, their com¬ 
bined flow would equal about 10 gallons 
per minute. If the slope of the ground 
permits it, tile or other piping might be 
laid, conducting all of the water to a com¬ 
mon catch basin or storage reservoir and 
a ram set to operate from this. The 
amount of water pumped by a ram will 
vary to such an extent because of the 
different heights to which the water has 
to be raised, the differences in the fall in 
the drive pipes, etc., that it is impossible 
to give an accurate estimate of the amount 
that could be supplied by a ram in this 
case. They can usually be relied upon to 
furnish from two-sevenths to one-tenth 
of the water passing through them to the 
storage tank, however, and if a supply 
of 10 gallons per minute is available, this 
would mean a discharge of better than a 
barrel per hour at the buildings, which is 
far in excess of usual requirements. 
If objection is made to a large storage 
tank a small one holding a barrel or less 
may be placed in the attic of the house 
and the overflow from this led to a large 
stock tank at the barn. In this way a 
supply of fresh cold water is always avail¬ 
able at the house. The discharge of the 
springs should be checked up by catching 
their flow in a barrel or tub for a timed 
interval and then measuring the quantity 
of water obtained, so as to get the flow 
accurately. This, with the total fall to 
the place where the ram is to be placed, 
and the total height to which the water is 
to be lifted, should be sent to one of the 
ram companies advertising in the farm 
papers; these people will then be only too 
glad to tell you the best size of ram for 
your particular needs. R. H. s. 
Power from Small Stream 
I have on mv farm a fall of water four 
feet, but must run it through 6-in. pipe 
for 150 or 200 ft. to get the 4-ft. fall. 
What horsepower will that develop? 
Snydersville, Pa. m. e. h. 
In measuring the power that may be 
expected from a stream it is necessary to 
know the quantity of water available per 
minute, as well as the fall. This cannot 
be determined accurately without meas¬ 
urement. The statement that a stream 
flows a certain-sized pipe full does not 
give this information, for. due to the 
widely varying velocities, caused by dif¬ 
ferent conditions, such as different head, 
different length of pipe. etc., a pipe of 
certain size may give widely varying dis¬ 
charges under the different conditions in 
which it is placed. The discharge varies 
directly with the velocity, a pipe having 
a velocity of six feet per second discharg¬ 
ing twice as much water as a pipe of the 
same size with a velocity of only three 
feet per second. 
After the amount of water has been de¬ 
termined in cubic feet or gallons per min¬ 
ute. the weight of water available each 
minute, the part that we are concerned 
with in producing power, may be found 
by multiplying by either 62.42 or 
the weights of a cubic foot and of a gal¬ 
lon of water, respectively. This product, 
when multiplied by the fall in feet, will 
give the foot-pounds of work that the 
stream is capable of doing each minute, 
and as a horsepower is equal to 33,000 
foot-pounds done in one minute, dividing 
by this number will give the horsepower 
that the stream is theoretically capable of 
developing. Due to causes that cannot 
be overcome, however, all of this energy 
cannot be harnessed as useful work. It is 
lost in different ways, and in a small in¬ 
stallation of this kind you are doing well 
if you secure 75 to SO per cent of it. 
The flow of a small stream of this kind 
may be measured by diverting it into a 
barrel or tub for one minute and after¬ 
ward measuring it. Another way of meas¬ 
uring the flow is by means of a weir, a 
rectangular opening cut in the top edge of 
a temporary but tight dam over which 
the water flows. The depth of water flow¬ 
ing over the crest of the weir is meas¬ 
ured. and the quantity found by reference 
to weir tables. These weir tables, as well 
as detailed directions for the measurement 
of streams, may be obtained from any of 
the water-wheel companies advertising in 
the farm press. 
A well-designed over-shot wheel will 
give you the Ifest results with such a small 
quantity of water, and while I cannot give 
any definite statement as to the power de¬ 
veloped. because of the reasons given 
above. I would expect power enough to do 
light work, such as pumping and running 
the farm lighting plant; it all depends 
upon the amount of water that is passing 
through the 6-in. pipe spoken of. A 
wheel 4 ft. in diameter and with a 6-in. 
face would. I think, be just about your 
size. Possibly, to use it. it would be nec¬ 
essary to run your penstock or flume far¬ 
ther down the stream, thus securing a lit¬ 
tle more fall, as it is necessary to have a fall 
somewhat greater than the diameter of 
the wheel to provide for the escape of the 
waste water. If this is possible, and a 
greater fall can be obtained by so doing, 
or by damming the stream, it might be 
possible to use a larger diameter wheel 
and thus secure more power, the power 
developed increasing directly with the 
fall or head if it is utilized. r. h. s. 
Reservoir for Water Supply 
I have an eight-room house, equipped 
with bath and lavatory. The water sup¬ 
ply is from a well at the house. I wish 
to pump it into a reservoir about 75 feet 
from the house. What size should I make 
the reservoir, and how cement it so if will 
hold water? Does it require one or two 
pipes from well to reservoir? The pipe in 
well is l l /4 in.; will use a gasoline engine 
for pumping. w. n. c. 
Pittston. Pa. 
The size of the tank required for your 
water system will depend upon the use to 
which the water is to be put. If for 
household purposes only, it will need a 
capacity of from 25 to 40 gallons daily 
for each person supplied. If used to sup¬ 
ply the barn as well, each cow will require 
daily about 12 gallons, each horse about 
10 gallons, each hog 2 l _, gallons and each 
sheep 2 gallons. As tin* tank is to be sup¬ 
plied by a gasoline engine it is probable 
that a capacity ample.for the daily needs 
will be all that is required, as there is 
seldom any trouble with an engine of this 
kind that would cut off the supply of 
water. Where a windmill is used for 
pumping it is customary to build tin* tank 
large enough to hold about a three days’ 
supply to provide for calm periods. 
Going on the supposition that the water 
is to be used in the house only, and that 
there is a family of four, a daily water 
consumption of 160 gallons should be pro¬ 
vided for. This should be contained in a 
rectangular tank less than 3x3x3 ft. A 
tank 6x6x5 ft. in depth would provide 
ample storage room for a week’s supply of 
water for a family of four. This tank 
should be buried in the hillside to provide 
an equable temperature, cool in Summer 
and above the freezing point in Winter, 
and should be at least 10 ft. above the 
highest faucet that is to be served from it 
to insure a satisfactory flow from the fau¬ 
cet. There is no objection to the use of 
concrete for this purpose except possibly 
hardness of the water when the system is 
first installed. Careful mixing and tamp¬ 
ing of the side wall will help to prevent 
this by making them more nearly water¬ 
proof. Complete direction for building the 
cistern can be obtained from any of the 
cement companies, their local dealers us¬ 
ually having books for distribution ex¬ 
plaining the different uses of concrete on 
the farm. 
But one pipe will be necessary. It can 
serve both to pump water through to the 
tank and as a service pipe to the house. 
It should be provided with a gate valve 
at the tank so that the water can be shut 
off from the pipe below and should also be 
provided with a check valve and gate 
valve between the tee leading to the house 
and the pump, the check valve to relieve 
the pump valves from strain and to pre¬ 
vent the water from flowing from the 
tank back through the pump spout when 
pumping ceases, and the gate valve to 
close should the pump need repairing, 
which will permit taking the pump up 
without disturbing the rest of the system. 
A union should be put in here for the 
same purpose. R. it. s. 
Rastus (just back from the army) : 
“Yessah. I done had ten thousand dol¬ 
lars war insurance on mall life when Ah 
was in de war.” Sambo: “Gwan. nig- 
gah ! Ten thousand dollars jest on you ! 
Why, ain’t dat more’u the hull war cost?” 
—Life, 
