6 The Colorado Experiment Station. 
Machine Mixing .—It is usually customary to use mixing ma¬ 
chines on large jobs. It is not only economical, but does better 
work. Where power is available it is often advantageous and eco¬ 
nomical to construct a mixer for small jobs, also. 
A small mixer can be cheaply constructed which can be driven 
with a two or three horse-power gasoline engine. With this, it was 
found that two men were able to do the work of at least four men 
doing hand mixing, and the machine work was done more thor¬ 
oughly. 
In many instances, mechanical mixers, which are driven by 
hand power instead' of by an engine are better than hand mixing 
with shovels or hoes. A mixer of this kind can be made from a 
barrel or box, pivoted in the center and driven by means of a crank 
on which one or two men can work. 
The mechanical mixer first mixes the materials in a dry con¬ 
dition, then some provision is made for turning in the water with¬ 
out stopping the machine. With most mixers of this kind, one 
revolution does as much mixing as one turning by hand. Six turn¬ 
ings by hand are considered enough, and it is seldom that a machine 
is stopped with less than double this number of revolutions; in fact, 
it may be turned 15 or 20 times; thus this method of mixing is very 
much more thorough and desirable. 
HOME MADE CONCRETE MIXERS 
To many people, the idea of mixing the concrete by hand ap¬ 
pears to be an unnecessary task. But the price of a modem con¬ 
crete mixer is so large that it would not be good economy to pur¬ 
chase one for what little mixing is done on the average farm. 
The ingenious farmer will find that a suitable mixer may be 
constructed at home with little expense and work. All that is neces¬ 
sary is the ability to put a few pieces of old machinery together in 
such a way that the barrel or box may be turned upon an axis and 
stopped at the desired time. This is very easy in case the power is 
furnished by hand, but in case of a power-driven mixer, more in¬ 
genuity is required. 
The home made mixer shown in the cut illustrates how a few 
pieces of board and timber may be turned into a very serviceable 
machine. Two pieces of 4x6 form the sills. Upon these, two up¬ 
rights about three feet high, are fastened. A 1J/2 inch pipe passes 
through holes bored in the top of the uprights. Upon this pipe the 
mixing box is turned, and through the pipe the water is added to 
the mixture at the desired time. The water is poured in at the top 
of the upright pipe and flows down and out through holes which are 
drilled in the lower side of it. The other end of the pipe is closed 
by a wooden plug. The ends of the box are made of pieces of 2x8 
bolted together. A hole bored in the center of each end forms the 
