1358 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Farm Mechanics 
Shed far Large Farm Machinery 
I am planning to erect a machinery 
«hed on my farm to take care of quite 
a large amount of machinery, including 
tractors, binders, corn harvesters, plows, 
harrows, etc., most of which is pretty 
large stuff; also to include of course 
the general run of farm wagons, horse 
rakes, etc. I don’t know that it would 
be necessary for you to give me any actual 
dimensions, but if you would submit to me 
some plan which you think would be ap¬ 
plicable to this machinery it would be 
of great assistance to me. I might say 
that the place where the shed would be 
erected can be entered from either side. 
Massachusetts. w. w. 
Perhaps I can do not better than to 
describe to you roughly the one in use on 
the farm of the Canton Agricultural 
School. This, while perhaps more ex¬ 
pensive than necessary for practical farm 
use, gives very good service, and a cheaper 
construction can be adapted from it if 
desired. The accompanying sketch plans 
give a very good idea of the layout. No 
attempt has been made to ma. ' these 
to scale or to follow the construction in 
detail; they are intended simply to give 
a general idea of the construction, leaving 
the details to be worked out to fit the case 
in hand. The building is about 25 feet 
wide, which permits backing in a wagon 
or similar tool, and still leaves an unob¬ 
structed passage down the front. A nar¬ 
rower width could be used if desired by 
measuring the length of the longest tool 
to be housed and building accordingly. 
Likewise the proper length of the shed 
can be determined by figuring the floor 
space required for each machine, remem¬ 
bering that many machines can be packed 
quite closely, packing them in the se¬ 
quence in whien they will be taken out. 
without in any way lessening the ef¬ 
ficiency of the shed. 
The toolhouse in question has an upper 
floor which may be omitted if desired to 
reduce the cost. It is very handy, how¬ 
ever, for the storage of odds and ends 
and light machinery, an inclined way 
being arranged at the end for the purpose 
of getting such machinery into the loft. 
The whole shed is floored with concrete, 
which is again not a necessity but de¬ 
sirable. and one of the bents has the floor 
arranged eloping to a drain as indicated 
and is provided with a hydrant for wash¬ 
ing equipment. The repair shop at the 
end is an excellent idea and should be 
included in every shed where the expendi¬ 
ture can be permitted, as it makes an 
excellent place in which to keep the ma¬ 
chinery of the farm in trim and does 
much to prolong the life and usefulness 
of the farm equipment. 
The front is provided with rolling doors 
hung on a double track so that they may 
be run by each other, permitting the open¬ 
ing of any bent in the building. These 
doors could be made to swing if desired 
at a lesser cost, but the swing door is 
more likely to have an accident or to sag. 
The roof is covered with metal, but other 
good roofing material would do as well. 
If it is desired to lower the construction 
cost materially the upper floor could be 
done away with, the height of the wall 
shortened to about 10 to 12 feet, and the 
roof made of the gable type, with a very 
flat pitch, supported on trusses and pur- 
lines and covered with paper. The main 
door openings are approximately 14 ft. 
wide bv 9 ft. high, extending the ful 
width of the bent, but these again should 
be regulated in size by the size of the 
largest machine to be housed. K. H. 8. 
Cesspool in Cellar; Hollow Concrete 
Blocks 
1. I have an abandoned well in my 
cellar, 86 feet deep, with about 20 feet 
of water, diameter two feet. Can 1 put 
a concrete cover over this well, run a ven¬ 
tilating pipe from it out through the roof, 
and use this abandoned well as a cesspool 
to connect with 'bathroom and toilet in 
the house? The question is as to the 
capacity of such a well (say 65 feet deep 
and two feet wide), dug in stiff clay, to 
accommodate the sewage waste water 
from bath and closet for a long term of 
years. 2. What are the facts with regard 
to hollow concrete blocks as material for 
dwelling houses? I do not mean hollow 
tiles, but the blocks which are moulded 
from sand, gravel and cement, with two 
hollow spaces in each block. Some claim 
they are damp, and cannot be made really 
waterproof. Those who sell the machines 
are loud in the praises of concrete block 
houses, but I tsee no specific statement 
that such houses are dry. The steadily in¬ 
creasing price of lumber points to other 
material lor houses. Who has had per¬ 
sonal experience with concrete block 
dwellings? L. S. P. 
New York. 
1. In regard to the well I would not 
advise its use for this purpose, as it would 
be a menace to health with its possibility 
of contaminating the drinking water of 
the community by reason of the poisonous 
sewage seeping through the water 
passages of the soil. Better build a septic 
tank, the plans for which may bo obtained 
from the Rural Engineering Department 
of Cornell University. 
2. The question of dampness in con¬ 
crete houses is. I think, largely a question 
of proper construction, both of the block 
and of the building itself. Concrete 
blocks as commonly made are formed from 
a dry mixture of cement, sand and gravel, 
a mixture with only sufficient water added 
to make it plastic enough to hold its 
shape, like damp earth. Unless very care¬ 
fully tamped into the block form such a 
block is likely to be porous, therefore 
permitting the passage of water through 
it. As wet a mixture as will hold its 
shape should be used, and this should be 
carefully compacted to insure watertight¬ 
ness. The mixture should also be rich 
enough—contain enough cement—to make 
it dense, and the sand and gravel used 
should be clean and have particles well 
graduated in size. Often a face of richer 
mortar is used as an aid to watertightness, 
as well as various water-proofing com¬ 
pounds. Curing also has much to do with 
the imperviousness of the blocks. As they 
are of small size they dry out rapidly, and 
where made under ordinary conditions 
should be kept covered with straw, canvas 
or some similar material, and damp 
for a considerable time after molding. 
This tends to prevent the formation of 
hair cracks which permits the entrance 
of water. 
For inside construction the plastering 
should not be placed directly on the wall, 
but furring strips should be used which 
will bring the lath out from the wall. As 
a further precaution the inside of the 
wall may «be painted with asphaltum 
September 13, 1013 
paint or other waterproof material. As 
the dampness is coming from the outside 
of the wall, however, the initial effort 
should be to prevent its entrance here. 
Concrete is a better conductor of heat and 
moisture than wood is, and therefore ex¬ 
tra percautions must be taken in its use. 
If these precautions are observed, how¬ 
ever, there seems no reason why a satis¬ 
factory structure cannot he built. 
H. II. S., 
Instructor Farm Mechanics. 
gINCE the “Z” was put on the market, oiler 
250,000 farmer buyers have pronounced it 
the greatest farm engine value. 5 We felt the 
same wa$ about it. But following our policy) to 
improve our product whenever possible, v?e are 
highly pleased to announce a new Fairbanks- 
Morse “Z” v?ith Bosch Magneto—high tension 
ignition \tfhich adds the one possible betterment, 
5 Call on the “Z” dealer near })ou—see this 
•World’s greatest engine — understand the full 
meaning for you of the engine service which o^er 200 Bosch Service Stations gi^e, 
in co-operation v?ith e\)er$ “Z” dealer, to every “Z” engine bu^er. 5 Prices— 
V/z H. P. $75.00-3 H. P. $125.00—6 H. P. $200.00—All F.O.B. Factory. 
Fairbanks, Morse fcr(3 
9 MANUFACTURERS I I CHICAGO 
Ground Floor of Machine Shed. 
