1006 
‘The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
All  Sorts 
Lime  Deposits  in  Water  Boiler 
I  have  an  artesian  well  here,  05  ft. 
deep,  only  two  years  old.  For  the  last 
two  Winters  the  pipes  running  from  the 
kitchen  range  to  hot  water  boiler  got  en¬ 
tirely  stopped  up  as  per  ptece  of  pipe 
that  T  am  forwarding  to  you  by  parcel 
post.  Besides  the  pipes  being  stopped, 
the  waterbaek  in  the  range  was  in  the 
same  condition  this  year  and  had  to  be 
replaced.  Can  you  inform  me  as  to  cause 
and  remedy?  A.  G.  S. 
New  York. 
The  nipple  sent  me  has  a  sedimentation 
deposit  which,  when  powdered  into  vine¬ 
gar,  effervesces  like  lime;  probably  is 
lime.  Such  deposits  are  common  and  ex¬ 
pensive.  There  are  many  remedies.  It 
may  be  precipitated  chemically  in  a  treat¬ 
ing  tank  and  the  lime  sludge  run  off.  But 
this  is  a  constant  annoyance.  It  may  be 
held  in  a  semi-liquid  state,  chemically,  in 
the  pipes,  and  drawn  off  from  time  to 
time.  This  is  also  troublesome  arid 
mixes  the  water  w.ith  chemicals.  The 
remedy  I  prefer  is  to  install  a  hot-water 
tank  of  special  make,  which  allows  the 
water  of  the  tank  to  be  heated  without 
any  direct  contact  with  the  waterbaek  or 
with  the  pipes  connecting  the  waterbaek 
and  hot  tank.  This  stops  all  deposits  at 
once  and  stops  the  annoyance.  The  spe¬ 
cial  hot  tank  is  in  stock  at  plumbing  sup¬ 
ply  houses  and  is  used  to  heat  water  by 
steam,  but  may  be  utilized  as  I  shall  de¬ 
scribe,  without  steam.  The  hot  tank 
lias  one  large  Hanged  opening  on  one  end 
and  two  tapped  pipe  openings  on  the 
other  end.  Into  the  large  opening  we  in¬ 
sert,  preferably,  a  copper  pipe  flanged  on 
one  end  and  closed  on  the  other  end.  The 
copper  pipe  is  held  to  the  hot  tank  by 
bolts  and  a  flange ;  the  flange  is  tapped 
to  connect  the  waterbaek  connections.  A 
shows  the  tank  ;  B  the  copper  pipe ;  C  a 
large  nipple  with  a  safety  valve  on  top ; 
D  the  waterbaek  ;  E  the  flange  connected 
up.  There  is  no  communication  between 
the  interior  of  the  copper  pipe  and  the 
interior  of  the  tank.  The  water  in  the 
waterbaek  and  copper  pipe  don’t  change. 
The  same  water  is  heated  continuously. 
For  that  reason  there  can  be  no  deposit. 
The  deposit  is  caused  by  lime  from  suc¬ 
cessive  waters.  A  safety  valve  is  placed 
on  the  circulating  pipe  to  avoid  excessive 
pressure.  Heat  is  transmitted  through 
the  copper  pipe  to  the  tank  water.  A  pipe 
is  run  to  the  top  of  the  copper  pipe  as 
shown.  This  lets  air  out  to  allow  the 
copper  pipe  to  fill.  The  copper  pipe  and 
waterbaek  are  filled  through  valve  F,  and 
once  filled  remains  filled.  J.  G. 
Basket  Making 
Some  time  ago  there  was  an  inquiry  in 
Tiik  R.  N.-Y.  about  the  proper  way  to 
make  splints  for  baskets;  these  baskets 
were  formerly  made  from  hickory ;  that 
is.  in  the  country  where  I  was  raised. 
They  are  now  made  from  second-growth 
white  oak.  The  tree  is  felled,  cut  to  the 
proper  length,  then  split  into  boards  the 
right  width.  These  are  then  beaten  with 
a  club,  or  maul,  so  that  the  strips  peel 
off  the  thickness  of  the  annual  rings : 
they  are  then  drawn  over  a  knife  blade 
set  on  the  edge  of  a  bench;  this  to  plane 
them.  These  baskets  were  originally 
made  in  bushel  and  half-bushel  size  only, 
but  are  now  made  in  a  variety  of  sizes, 
pint,  quart,  half-gallon,  gallon,  etc.  They 
also  make  them  with  covers;  some  they 
dye,  and  put  alternate  strips  of  plain  and 
colored  splints,  making  a  beautiful  effect. 
I  have  handled  many  baskets,  but  never 
saw  fhis  design  made  outside  the  United 
States,  except  a  poor  imitation  made  in 
Bahama.  I  would  like  to  know  the  his¬ 
tory  of  this  basket.  The  making  of  these 
baskets  is  now  confined  to  the  mountain¬ 
ous  parts  of  the  Southern  States,  that  be¬ 
ing  the  only  place  there  is  any  timber. 
Uncle  Sam  has  been  teaching  the  Filip¬ 
inos  for  many  years  to  make  baskets,  so 
that  they  make  them  almost  equal  to  the 
American  Indians;  however,  these  last- 
mentioned  folk  have  never  been  equaled 
in  the  art  of  making  baskets.  e.  b.  b. 
Colorado  Springs,  Col. 
Missouri  Type  Laying-house 
Will  you  let  me  know  what  the  Mis¬ 
souri  type  laying-house  is  like?  I  hear 
so  many  are  going  to  build  that  style. 
Mount  Carmel,  Conn.  mbs.  c.  t.  r. 
The  Missouri  poultry  house,  as  de¬ 
scribed  in  Bulletin  101  from  the  Missouri 
College  of  Agriculture  at  Columbia,  does 
not  differ  materially  from  other  well- 
known  types  of  open-front  poultry -houses, 
the  chief  features  being  that  it  is  a 
square  building.  20x20  ft.  in  size,  or 
larger  if  desired  ;  that  it  has  a  gable  roof, 
large  openings  for  ventilation  in  front, 
windows  on  all  sides,  and  a  straw  loft. 
Following  is  the  description  : 
“The  ridge  of  the  roof  runs  north  and 
south,  the  roof  being  of  equal  spans  and 
11  ft.  high  at  the  peak.  The  walls  are  5 
ft.  high  at  the  eaves.  The  south  side 
contains  a  door  in  the  center  and- ■a  six- 
light  window  of  8xl0-in.  panes  on  each 
side  of  the  door.  These  windows  arc 
placed  high  enough  to  afford  a  30-iu. 
opening  beneath,  this  opening  being  1  ft. 
from  the  floor  and  extending  on  each  side 
from  the  door  across  the  entire  front. 
This  opening  is  covered  by  a  wire  screen 
to  keep  the  sparrows  out.  On  the  east 
and  west  sides  of  the  building  are  two 
windows,  each  of  six-light  SxlO-in.  glass. 
On  the  north  side,  next  to  the  floor,  is  a 
similar  window.” 
The  walls  of  the  original  house  were 
made  of  car  siding,  placed  vertically,  but 
other  materials  may  be  used.  The  floor  is 
of  tamped  clay,  placed  over  a  5-iu.  fill  of 
cinders  or  stones.  It  may  be  of  concrete. 
The  roosts  are  placed  in  the  north  end, 
over  a  droppings  board  in  the  usual  man¬ 
ner.  Joists  from  plate  to  plate,  suffi¬ 
ciently  high  to  afford  head  room,  are  cov¬ 
ered  loosely  with  boards  and  upon  these, 
straw  is  placed  to  absorb  moisture  and 
make  the  building  warmer  in  cold  weather. 
A  20x20-ft.  house  will  accommodate 
from  100  to  150  fowls,  one  25  ft.  square 
200  to  250.  and  one  30x30  ft.  300  to  400 
birds.  An  extra  window  on  the  north 
side  is  recommended  for  a  house  25x25  ft., 
and  two  extra  ones  on  each  side  of  the 
building  is  30  ft.  square.  Cloth  curtains 
may  be  provided  to  close  the  front  open¬ 
ing  during  storms. 
The  advantages  claimed  for  this  house 
are  that  it  can  be  built  more  cheaplv 
than  the  average  house ;  it  will  accommo¬ 
date  the  entire  flock  ;  it  gives  good  circu¬ 
lation  of  air  and  is  comfortable  in  the 
Summer,  warm  in  the  Winter  and.  hav¬ 
ing  light  from  all  sides,  keeps  the  occu¬ 
pants  from  scratching  the  litter  from  the 
lighted  side  to  a  dark  one.  m.  b.  d. 
A  Bulletin  About  Knots 
Very  many  of  our  readers  have,  in  the 
past,  asked  us  questions  about  rope  ;  how 
to  splice,  how  to  tie  knots,  and  how  to 
take  care  of  rojfe  generally.  It  has  been 
rather  difficult  to  get  full  information  for 
them,  but  now  the  College  of  Agriculture 
at  Cornell  has  issued  Extension  Bulletin 
No.  62.  which  covers  the  subject  admir¬ 
ably.  The  bulletin  is  entitled  “Hitches, 
Knots  and  Splices.”  There  are  76  pages 
with  265  pictures  and  full  description. 
This  is  the  clearest  story  of  how  to  han¬ 
dle  rope  that  we  have  ever  seen,  and 
should  prove  invaluable  to  many  of  our 
readers  who  live  on  the  farm  and  have 
constant  occasion  to  tie  knots  and  handle 
ropes.  Two  sample  pictures  are  given 
here,  one  showing  how  to  make  a  bag 
sling,  and  the  other  a  sling  for  hoisting 
barrels.  The  pictures  showing  how  to 
make  a  square  knot  and  a  surgeon’s  knot 
Barrel  Sling 
are  fair  samples  of  the  illustrations.  The 
bulletin  is  clearly  written  and.  with  these 
excellent  pictures,  makes  one  of  the  most 
Square  Knot 
practical  little  books  of  the  sort  that  we 
have  ever  seen.  The  bulletin  is  sent  by 
Surgeon's  Knot 
the  Extension  Service  of  Cornell  Uni¬ 
versity,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 
-  Waterproof  Cement 
As  the  problems  of  J.  H.  S.  and  II.  C. 
D.,  page  899,  are  related,  the  following 
may^  help  them  somewhat : 
While  engaged  in  the  above  line  of 
work  I  learned  that  cement  engineers 
did  not  expect  a  pure  cement  concrete  to 
become  waterprroof  for  months,  perhaps 
not  entirely  for  years,  while  concrete 
made  with  equal  parts  of  cement  and  hy¬ 
drated  lime  becomes  waterproof  very 
quickly.  One  of  my  propositions  in  build¬ 
ing  concrete  and  brick  kilns  was  to  con¬ 
trol  the  moisture  in  the  kiln  and  to  pre¬ 
vent  it  from  passing  through,  the  walls. 
To  do  this  I  plastered  the  inside  of  the 
kilns  with  a  very  thin  coat  of  mortar 
made  of  one  part  of  hydrated  lime,  one 
of  cement  and  two  of  sand.  Then  I  white¬ 
washed  the  walls  with  equal  parts  of  the 
lime  and  cement,  one  coat,  then  a  coat  of 
lime.  This  gave  the  required  result.  An 
acquaintance,  a  doctor,  built  a  large 
porch  to  his  residence  and  put  his  office 
underneath,  with  a  concrete  floor-ceiling 
between.  He  found  that  it  leaked  in  rainy 
weather,  so,  at  my  suggestion,  he  tried 
the  treatment  given  above  and  had  no 
more  trouble  with  leakage. 
In  the  case  of  a  cellar  with  enough 
pressure  from  below  to  force  out  the  seat¬ 
ing  filling  before  it  has  time  to  harden 
July  28,  192.; 
this  may  not  work.  In  such  a  case  it 
may  be  necessary  to  lay  a  good  two-ply 
felt  roofing  on  the  floor  and  put  a  2-iu. 
layer  of  concrete  on  that,  making  the 
concrete  of  one  part  lime  (hydrated),  one 
of  cement  and  six  to  eight  of  sand,  the 
proportion  of  sand  depending  on  its 
sharpness.  This  should  be  reinforced  and 
a  shoulder  several  inches  high  carried  up 
against  the  outside  wall.  Wherever  there 
is  danger  of  seepage  it  will  pay  to  line  the 
entire  wall  and  floor  with  the  roofing,  ce¬ 
ment  the  joints  the  same  as  if  on  a  roof. 
This  when  wall  is  built.  F.  A.  BROWN. 
North  Carolina. 
New  Jersey  Crop  Report 
The  following  estimates  are  made  by 
U.  S.  Dept,  of  Agriculture  in  cooperation 
with  New  Jersey  Agricultural  Dept. 
corn. — Estimated  same  as  last  year  or 
236,000  acres  as  compared  with  264,000 
acres,  the  average  area  planted  for  the 
past  10  years.  Condition  July  1  was  S3 
per  cent  of  a  normal,  indicating  39  bu. 
per  acre  and  a  production  of  9,204,000 
bu.  compared  with  9,912,000  bir  last  year 
and  10.837,000  bu.  average  for  10  years. 
wheat. — Condition  July  1,  S4  per  cent 
of  normal,  indicating  about  17.6  bu.  per 
acre  and  yield  of  1,306,000  bu  compared 
with  1,540,000  bu  last  year  and  1,515,000 
bu.  average  for  past  10  years.  Old  wheat 
remaining  on  farms  is  estimated  at  100,- 
000  bu..  compared  with  51,000  last  year 
and  63,000  bu.  average  stock  on  hand 
July  1  for  past  10  years. 
oats. — 'Condition  64  per  cent  of  normal, 
indicating  yield  of  22.4  bu.  per  acre  and 
1.523,000  bu.  compared  with  2,232,000 
bu.  last  year  and  2,242,000  bu.  average 
for  the  past  10  years. 
rye. — Condition  88  per  cent  of  normal, 
indicating  yield  of  16.9  bu.  per  acre  and 
1,099,000  bu.,  compared  with  1,159.000 
bu.  last  year  and  1,213,000  bu.  average 
production  for  10  years. 
white  potatoes.— Estimated  acreage 
planted  this  year,  84  per  cent  of  last 
year  or  80,000  acres.  Condition  on  July 
1,  54  per  cent  of  a  normal,  indicating 
yield  of  73  bu.  per  acre  and  total  5,875,- 
000  bu.,  compared  with  16,435,000  bu.  last 
year  and  11,073,000  bu.  average  for  past 
10  years. 
sweet  potatoes. — Acreage  is  99  per¬ 
cent  of  last  year’s  acreage  or  20.000  acres. 
Condition  July  1,  68  per  cent  of  normal, 
indicating  a  yield  of  100  bu.  per  acre 
and  a  total  production  of  2,000.000  bu.. 
compared  with  3,500,000  bu.  last  year  and 
2,515.000  bu.  average  for  past  10  years. 
hay. — Condition  of  all  tame  hay  on 
July  1,  51  per  cent  of  normal,  indicating 
yield  of  0.88  tons  per  acre  and  a  total  of 
275,000  tons,  compared  with  485.000  tons 
last  year  and  487,000  tons  the  average 
for  the  past  10  years. 
apples. — Condition  July  1.  62  per  cent 
of  normal,  indicating  1,922,000  bu.,  com¬ 
pared  with  2,610,000  bu.  last  year  and 
2.073,000  bu.  average  for  past  3  years. 
peaches. — Condition  July  1,  85  per 
cent  of  normal,  indicating  2,456,000  bu.. 
compared  with  2,000,000  bu.  last  year  and 
1,494,000  bu.  average  for  the  past  3  years. 
pears. — Condition  July  1,  65  per  cent 
of  normal,  indicating  576,000  bu.,  com¬ 
pared  with  405,000  bu.  last  year  and  427.- 
000  bu.  average  for  past  3  years. 
Tomatoes. — Earlies  and  second  earlies 
in  New  Jersey  are  looking  fair.  In  most 
sections  the  set  is  good  but  growth  has 
been  hindered  by  dryness.  Late  tomatoes 
are  poorer.  Texas  and  Mississippi  are 
shipping  about  one-half  as  much  as  last 
year  but  of  good  quality.  New  Jersey 
earlies  have  been  only  of  a  fair  quality 
so  far. 
onions,— Drought,  thrips  and  maggots 
are  responsible  for  the  low  condition  of 
62  per  cent.  Under  irrigation  the  plants 
are  looking  better.  Texas  crop  was  above 
average  but  of  poor  quality.  The  New 
York  acreage  is  slightly  under  that  of  last 
year  and  the  crop  is  late  but.  growing 
well.  In  New  Jersey  the  acreage  is  about 
the  same  as  last  year. 
CABBAGE. — Dry  weather,  yellows  and 
cabbage  maggots  have  combined  in  lower¬ 
ing  the  condition  to  54  per  cent  of  normal. 
Conditions  in  Gloucester  and  Salem  conn- 
ties  are  better  than  those  in  Burlington. 
The  New  Jersey  acreage  this  year  is 
estimated  at  about  9  per  cent  below  that 
of  last  year  while  the  average  acreage  of 
intermediate  cabbage  in  the  United  States 
is  93  per  cent  of  last  year’s. 
sweet  corn. — Compared  with  other 
truck  crops,  the  outlook  is  favorable 
although  growth  has  been  backward. 
CANTALOUPES  AND  MUSKMELONS. — • 
These  are  quite  backward  due  to  dry 
weather  and  injury  by  sand  and  wind, 
but  should  improve  under  favorable 
weather.  Large  shipments  are  being  made 
from  the  Imperial  Valley,  Texas  and 
Mexico.  It  is  estimated  that  the  New 
Jersey  acreage  is  about  10  per  cent  above 
last  year’s  and  that  the  acreage  in  six 
competing  States  has  been  reduced  about 
lo  per  cent. 
.  head  of  a  large  shop,  while  pass¬ 
ing  through  the  packing-room,  observed 
a  boy  lounging  against  a  case  of  goods 
and  whistling  cheerily.  The  chief  stop¬ 
ped  and  looked  at  him.  “How  much  do 
you  get  a  week?”  he  demanded.  “Five 
dollars.”  “Then  here’s  a  week’s  money ; 
now  clear  out.”  The  bov  pocketed  the 
money  and  departed.  “When  did  we  hire 
that  boy?”  the  chief  inquired ’of  the  de¬ 
partmental  manager.  “Never,”  was  the 
reply.  “He  had  just  brought  a  note  from 
another  firm.”— The  Christian  Evan¬ 
gelist. 
