1492 
•D* RURAL NEW-YORKER 
Filter in Tank 
I have a large rain-water tank made 
of wood and treated with some water¬ 
proof composition. It all works well, but 
the water is slightly discolored, as all 
rain-water is, and I would like to know 
if there is any manner of filtering it. The 
tank is made of two-inch boards. Would 
a partition containing filtering material 
be of any use? If so, what material, or 
would it be possible by hanging recepta¬ 
cles under the inlets to clear the water 
that way? G. T. 
New York. 
The water can, of course, be filtered 
either before or after admitting it to the 
tank, though a filter arranged to catch 
rain-water from the roof would have to 
have considerable capacity to care for 
the sudden inflow during a shower. A 
partition of filtering material would 
answer the purpose temporarily, but 
would have the disadvantage of being 
easily clogged and with difficulty cleaned. 
Clean gravel and sand and charcoal are 
the commonly used filtering mediums; 
they are arranged in layers of varying 
thickness, according to the thoroughness 
with which the filtering is to be done, and 
6erve their purpose until they become 
clogged and need to be cleaned and re¬ 
newed. Such filters are not permanent 
and do not insure against the passage of 
disease germs : in fact, if not frequently 
cleaned they become the breeding place 
of various sorts of germs. If you wish 
to decolorize this water and render it 
more agreeable to taste, however, you can 
arrange a large box of some sort with 
layers a few inches thick of gravel, char¬ 
coal and sand, or any one alone, through 
which the water must pass before enter¬ 
ing the chamber from which it is drawn 
for use. The addition to the water in 
the cist ern at_occasional intervals of 
1 Hoisting rope 
2 Me turn 
Hoisting Device for Well-digging 
crystal alum, in the proportion of from 
one-half to one grain to the gallon of 
water in the cistern will also help to de¬ 
colorize it by causing a precipitation of 
the suspended matter coming from the 
roof. A little slaked lime may be needed 
with the alum, though much of the latter 
would, of course, render the water hard. 
M. B. D. 
Hoisting Device for We'l-digging 
A recen issue of The R. N.-Y. contained 
an inquiry from Geo. "W. Wilder, New 
Hampshire, concerning the digging of a 
well with the use of a gasoline engine. 
Haviug the theory in mind that one may 
obtain an idea from among many that 
he can use to advantage. I send the sketch 
accompanying of a similar contrivance 
which I used myself, with no one else to 
assist! me. I have made it as plain and 
as simple as I could. I operated the con¬ 
trivance by hand. T. j. u. 
Guilford, Conn. 
Mending Leaky Cistern 
I have a concrete cistern, dimensions 
inside 6 ft. 10 in. by 14 ft. 10 in. by 
G ft. 2 in.; average thickness of walls 
about 5 in.; about 4 ft. out of ground. 
It leaks near surface of ground, being 
cracked. One can see water seeping out 
at crack when above that point. It may 
leak at other places. I had a cement 
wash put on inside two years or so ago, 
but it does not answer the purpose. I am 
proposing to line it inside, bottom and 
side walls, with brick on edge, making a 
2-in. wall, and plastering with cement. 
Will that make a satisfactory job, or is 
there a cheaper and better way of doing 
it? II. E. c. 
Ohio. 
The leak in your cistern is doubtless 
caused by a crack, formed by poor bond¬ 
ing while the cistern was being made, or 
from differences in temperature at the 
surface of the ground. Concrete is weak 
in tensile (pulling) strength, and unless 
reinforced with steel is likely to crack 
when shrinkage takes place due to cooling. 
Before going to the expense of the brick 
lining, which would still be subject to 
shrinkage cracks, I would advise trying 
some of the cheaper waterproofing meth¬ 
ods. 
The following home treatments are used 
for waterproofing: Clean and dry the 
wall to be treated thoroughly. Apply hot 
paraffin with a brush, rubbing it in well; 
a better job is secured if the surface can 
be kept warm with a gasoline torch. After 
the application of the paraffin drive it 
into the concrete by heating with a blow 
torch. An alum and soap solution is 
sometimes used. This is made up in two 
separate solutions, the alum solution con¬ 
sisting of two ounces of alum in a gallon 
of soft water, while the soap solution is 
made by dissolving % lb. of castile soap 
per gallon of hot, soft water. Both mix¬ 
tures are kept hot; the alum solution is 
applied first and worked in with a stiff 
brush, and is at once followed by an ap¬ 
plication of the soap solution. Asphalt 
preparations, such as are used for paint¬ 
ing paper or felt roofs, are sometimes used 
for the same purpose, and where so used 
should be applied hot to warm, dry and 
perfectly cleaned surface, and allowed to 
dry thoroughly before use. I have taken 
it for granted that the water is not to be 
used for drinking purposes. 
If after trial the above methods fail, 
instead of using the brick lining, as sug¬ 
gested, I would clean the walls thoroughly 
and by drilling small holes into the walls 
provide a means of fastening metal lath 
in place by driving spikes through it into 
the holes, so drilled. Bolt nuts or pieces 
of iron could be put over the spikes be¬ 
hind the lath to keep it from making di¬ 
rect contact with the wall of the cistern. 
As a precaution against cracking, the 
metal lath should be carried around the 
corners, or at least well lapped at these 
points. After wetting down the walls 
with clean water, a stucco coat of rich 
cement mortar could be troweled on, 
which would make a permanent and sat¬ 
isfactory job. The application of the 
stucco should be continuous when started 
to prevent leakage where the old work 
joined the new, as the setting of an hour 
or so sometimes prevents a perfect bond. 
R. H. s. 
Raising Water to House 
How can I get water to the house from 
a spring of soft water about 600 ft. from 
the house and about GO ft. below it? 
What would be the most economical and 
satisfactory way? We can only get seven 
or eight feet fall below the spring, and 
at the present time have no power to get 
it up to the house. C. u. 
Weston, W. Va. 
Although the quantity t>f -water avail¬ 
able at the spring is not stated, it is prob¬ 
able that there is enough to drive a ram. 
If the spring furnishes a flow of from 
September 18, 1920 
four to seven gallons per minute, the 
quantity can be measured by catching the 
water in a pail for a minute or longer 
known time, or if there is another stream 
near that could be used to operate a ram 
it would furnish a nice water supply and 
would probably be your most economical 
and convenient method of getting a sup¬ 
ply of water on tap at the house. It 
could either be used to supply a pressure 
tank in the cellar or a small attic grav¬ 
ity tan could be installed, with the 
overflow leading to the barn. This would 
insure a supply of cool, fresh drinking 
water always at hand, the tank holding 
but a barrel or so having its con¬ 
tents constantly changed. If there is 
not sufficient water to operate a ram, the 
next best method would be to install a 
small engine, 1 to 1% horsepower, and 
a small power-driven pump at the spring 
or at least within suction distance from 
it—that is, not more than 20 to 25 feet 
above it. If the location is otherwise 
suitable, a pump installed directly at the 
spring is best. This pump can be ar¬ 
ranged to supply an air pressure tank in 
the basement or an overhead tank, as de¬ 
sired. R. h. s. 
“I don’t approve of this reckless ex¬ 
penditure, Mabel. You should save your 
pennies—the price of tilings is going up.” 
“Then what’s the good of keeping them, 
auntie? The longer I save them the less 
I can buy.”—Windsor Magazine. 
¥ 
, A ( 
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€ 
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k 
& ■ . & A* 
Vl/A ffe ..r, • 
£et us sell you this furrow* 
Gentlemen: 
tractor book 
Power Farm. 
Please send my copy of the 
“How Success Came to 
»» 
acres with 
men. Give me some 
idea how much a 
G-O will save me a year. 
Name 
Town 
It. N.-Y. 9 
State 
T HE tractor you buy in itself is not worth 
much—it’s the work it can do that you want, 
isn’t it ? You don’t care about mechanical 
details and questions of design and materials except 
as they influence the work the tractor can do for you. 
That is what you get in the G-O—the work it am 
do for you. Work such as the furrows shown 
above—an even depth of stubble turned under, 
clods well broken up and the whole job done 
evenly and smoothly. 
Not only in plowing but for all power farming, the 
G-O is a good investment. Its advanced type 
transmission and light weight per horsepower, 
result in maximum drawbar and pulley pull. There 
are no transmission gears to strip. The two lever 
control is so simple that a boy can operate it. 
Whether its job be pulling three 14-inch bottoms 
through 10 acres of corn stubble a day, or driving 
a 28-inch Separator at the belt, the G-O will work 
for you with genuine economy. 
Write us the number of acres you cultivate and the 
number of men and horses you keep, and we will 
tell you about how much a G-O will cut down 
your cost. You will also receive your copy of the 
tractor book “Flow Success Came to Power Farm.” 
Clip that coupon. 
The General Ordnance Company 
Eastern Sales Offices: 2 West 43rd St., New ''l ork City 
THE G-O COMPANY of TEXAS 
Dallas, Texas 
Eastern Works: DER1JY, Conn. 
Western Sales Offices and Works: 
CEDAR. RAPIDS 
IOWA 
