1192 
The  RURAL  NEW-  WORKER 
Farm  Mechanics 
Conducted  by  Robert  H.  Smith,  of  the  Canton  Agricultural  School 
Canton,  New  York 
Water  Supply  on  Level  Farm 
Our  farm  is  about  1,700  ft.  from  the 
village  line,  and  it  will  cost  us  about  50c 
per  foot  to  get  the  ditch  dug  for  water 
pipe,  beside  the  cost  of  the  pipe  and  re¬ 
filling  the  ditch.  The  farm  is  real  level, 
with  no  chance  for  a  gravity  feed.  How 
would  a  windmill  system  be,  with  a  wood¬ 
en  tank  set  up  high  enough  to  furnish 
the  necessary  pressure?  How  big  a  tank 
would  we  need  to  furnish  water  enough 
for  75  head  of  cattle,  the  milkhouse  and 
farmhouse?  Is  it  practical  to  have  the 
wooden  tank  and  windmill  on  the  same 
tower?  In  speaking  of  the  windmill.  I 
mean  to  pump  the  water  from  an  artesian 
well  that  would  cost  us  from  $300  to 
$350  for  digging.  We  have  electric  power 
right  at  the  farm  from  the  village  line. 
New  York.  F.  b.  h. 
I  would  advise  against  the  use  of  a 
gravity  system  of  water  supply  with  the 
windmill  for  a  motive  power  on  a  farm 
as  level  as  yours  seems  to  be  from  the 
description  furnished.  With  a  windmill 
as  a  motor  an  elevated  tank  sufficiently 
large  to  hold  at  least  three  days’  supply 
of  water  would  be  necessary.  Because  of 
the  level  contour  of  the  land  there  would 
be  no  chance  to  bury  this  on  a  hillside, 
and  it  would  be  exposed  on  a  trestle  to 
the  hot  Summer  suns  and  to  Winter  cold, 
making  it  unsatisfactory  for  use  at  either 
season  of  the  year. 
With  electric  power  available,  an  elec¬ 
trically  driven  deep  well  pump  could  be 
installed  that  could  be  pressure  con¬ 
trolled,  the  switch  closing  and  starting 
the  pump  whenever,  for  any  reason,  like 
the  opening  of  a  faucet,  the  pressure  on 
the  line  was  lessened. 
It  would  be  necessary  to  locate  such  a 
pump  directly  over  the  well,  but  it  could 
be  protected  from  freezing  either  by  a 
small  well-built,  house  directly  over  the 
well,  or  by  digging  a  dry  well  at  the  top 
of  the  existing  well  and  setting  the  pump 
in  this.  Because  of  its  greater  reliability 
and  better  appearance,  no  outside  tower 
and  tank,  and  more  palatable  water,  I 
think  you  will  be  better  satisfied  with 
the  electrically  driven  outfit  than  with 
the  windmill  and  storage  tank. 
Leaking  Concrete  Tank 
I  built  a  concrete  tank  6x6x5  ft.  rein¬ 
forced  wire,  6-in.  wall.  The  gravel  and 
sand  used  was  not  sifted,  but  I  realize 
now  it  should  have  been.  There  is  a  lit¬ 
tle  seepage  through  the  walls  of  the  tank. 
What  can  I  do  to  stop  this  seepage  with¬ 
out  reinforcing  with  another  inside  wall? 
I  have  been  told  to  use  paraffin  dissolved 
in  benzine  and  paint  the  inside  of  the 
tank.  The  leakage  is  not  very  great, 
and  there  seem  to  be  only  a  very  few 
small  holes.  w.  h.  a. 
New  York. 
and  how  deep  should  it  be  laid?  This 
spring  would  rise  about  2  ft.,  but  would 
not  rise  enough  for  a  hydraulic  ram. 
There  is  also  a  well  that  has  never  been 
dry,  which  is  about  500  ft.  away,  but  it 
is  up  and  down  hill  three  or  four  times 
to  it.  Would  it  be  better  to  try  to  get 
water  from  the  well  than  the  spring?  If 
so,  what  size  pipe  and  pump  would  be 
required?  The  well  is  23  ft.  deep,  and  I 
would  want  the  pump  here  at  the  build¬ 
ings.  I  have  to  supply  water  for  about 
40  head  of  cattle  and  five  or  six  horses 
at  least.  w.  F.  A. 
Antwerp,  N.  Y. 
In  either  case  that  you  mention  you 
have  a  rather  expensive  system  to  in¬ 
stall.  Because  of  lack  of  sufficient  data 
it  is  impossible  to  advise  you  definitely  as 
to  just  what  you  should  do.  The  well  as 
a  source  of  water  with  a  lift  pump  locat¬ 
ed  at  the  buildings  500  ft.  distant  is 
probably  out  of  the  question,  as  you  state 
that  there  are  some  elevations  between 
the  well  and  the  building  that  the  line 
I  am  enclosing  two  pictures  of  myself, 
71  years  old  ;  Sue,  my  horse,  30  years,  a 
mower  20  years  old,  tackling  a  field  of 
vetch,  wheat  and  oats,  growing  on  ground 
that  has  been  cultivated  75  years.  As 
I  am  6  ft.  tall  you  can  judge  of  the 
height  of  growth.  The  rest  of  the  out¬ 
fit  in  getting  this  hay  in  stack  and  barn 
were  two  men.  one  67  and  the  other  61 
years  of  age,  a  4-tooth  horse  fork,  first 
used  in  1871.  a  rope  that  has  been  in 
use  since  1880,  a  horse  rake  about  40 
years,  a  wagon  over  20  years.  The 
barn  was  built  in  1882.  using  the  frame 
of  a  barn  built  in  1852.  The  roof  of 
rived  and  shaved  cedar  shingles  is  in 
fair  condition. 
The  estimated  yield  for  the  nine  acres 
is  21/i  to  3  tons.  Some  of  the  vetch  had 
making  this  foundation.  Up  to  the  floor 
level  field  stones,  known  locally  as  “hard¬ 
heads”  may  be  imbedded,  being  careful 
to  see  that  the  concrete  is  worked  all 
around  them  so  that  there  are  no  open 
spaces  in  the  mass. 
Pieces  of  pipe  through  which  long 
bolts  with  large  washers  on  the  lower  end 
are  passed,  should  be  supported  in  the 
concrete  so  that  the  tops  of  the  pipes  are 
flush  with  the  finished  surface,  and  the 
threaded  portions  of  the  bolts  project  suf¬ 
ficiently  to  bolt  down  the  base  of  the  ma¬ 
chine  for  which  the  foundation  is  being 
made.  These  provide  for  some  adjust¬ 
ment  of  the  machine  to  make  the  belt  run 
properly  when  being  set.  These  may 
afterward  be  filled  with  thin  cement, 
grout  or  hot  lead  if  desired.  Your  local 
cement  dealer  can  no  doubt  furnish  you 
with  a  cement  bulletin  containing  com¬ 
plete  information  for  building  machine 
foundations. 
Rain  Water  and  Grease  in  Septic  Tank 
Is  it  desirable  to  allow  rain  water  from 
roof  or  greasy  kitchen  water  to  discharge 
in  septic  pools?  Are  they  detrimental  to 
the  action  of  bacteria?  H.  E.  w. 
It  is  not  considered  desirable  to  have 
the  rain  water  from  the  roof  discharge 
into  a  septic  tank  the  flushing  of  the 
tank  would  at  times  be  too  rapid.  Greasy 
water  from  ordinary  kitchen  sinks  is  not 
grown  up  and  fallen  over  two  or  three 
times,  and  was  seven  to  eight  feet  long. 
I  am  the  last  of  eight  children  of  Rev. 
Elklanah  and  Mary  (Richardson)  Walk¬ 
er,  who  came  to  Oregon  as  missionaries 
to  the  Indians  in  1838,  from  Maine. 
They  were  married  March  4,  18.3S,  at 
Baldwin.  Maine,  and  immediately  en¬ 
tered  a  sleigh  to  Portland,,  Maine,  then 
by  steamer  to  New  York,  by  stage  rail¬ 
road  to  Pittsburgh,  and  down  the  Ohio 
and  up  the  Mississippi  to  Sr.  Joseph.  Mo., 
where  their  bridal  tour  became  a  “bridle 
four,”  from  St.  Joseph  to  Walla  Walla, 
Washington.  The  Indians  stole  mother’s 
riding  pony  the  second  night  out,  and 
she  was  obliged  to  ride  a  pack  mule  the 
rest  of  the  journey.  s.  t.  walker. 
Oregon. 
An  Oregon  Pioneer  Outfit 
Your  comment  on  the  necessity  of 
screening  gravel  and  recombining  it  in 
the  proper  proportion  for  use  is  good. 
In  no  other  way  can  a  user  be  assured 
of  a  proper  combination  of  materials  to 
make  satisfactory  concrete. 
In  the  case  referred  to  I  would  sug¬ 
gest  cleaning  the  inside  of  the  tank  thor¬ 
oughly  with  a  stiff  brush  and  a  solution 
of  commercial  hydrochloric  acid  and  wa¬ 
ter  mixed  in  the  proportion  of  from  three 
to  four  parts  water  and  one  part  acid. 
After  scrubbing  thoroughly  with  this  so¬ 
lution  let  it  stand  for  a  short  time,  and 
then  clean  carefully  "with  clear  water  to 
remove  every  trace  of  the  acid.  The 
sand  and  gravel  in  the  tank  wall  should 
be  now  somewhat  exposed,  due  to  the  ac¬ 
tion  of  the  acid,  and  an  opportunity  given 
for  a  mortar  coat  applied  to  the  inside 
to  adhere. 
Paint  the  cleaned  walls  with  a  cream¬ 
like  mixture  of  cement  and  water,  and 
follow  before  drying  with  a  plaster  coat 
mixed  in  the  proportion  of  one  part  ce¬ 
ment  and  1%  parts  sand.  This  mortar 
should  be  mixed  in  small  quantities  so 
that  it  need  not  stand  more  than  30  min¬ 
utes  before  being  placed  on  the  wall.  As 
soon  as  it  can  be  done  after  application, 
go  over  the  surface  with  a  wood  float, 
making  the  mortar  coating  hard  and 
dense.  Do  not  use  a  steel  trowel  for 
this  final  troweling,  as  this  brings  the 
cement  to  the  surface  and  robs  the  mortar 
beneath  it.  , 
Water  from  Well  or  Spring 
I  have  a  spring  about  2,000  ft.  from 
the  buildings.  It  is  down  grade  all  the 
way,  but  not  elevated  enough,  however, 
to  force  the  water  into  the  barn,  so  it 
would  have  to  go  into  a  well  and  be 
pumped  into  the  barn.  There  is  a  ditch 
from  the  spring  nearly  to  the  _  well. 
Would  it  be  advisable  to  lay  the  pipe  in 
the  ditch?  What  size  pipe  should  I  use, 
would  have  to  cross.  These,  coupled  with 
the  depth  of  the  well  and  the  friction  of 
the  500-fit.  length  of  pipe,  would  very 
likely  make  it  impossible  or  at  least  un¬ 
satisfactory  to  use  a  suction  pipe  at  the 
house  or  barn. 
As  to  the  spring,  the  amount  of  fall 
available  between  it  and  the  buildings  is 
not  given,  but  assuming  a  fall  of  8  ft.,  it 
is  likely  that  a  1-in.  pipe  would  deliver 
sufficient  water  if  allowed  to  discharge 
continuously  into  a  concrete  cistern  froni 
which  it  could  be  drawn  by  a  pump.  The 
overflow  from  this  cistern  could  be  taken 
care  of  by  a  drain.  The  pipe  should  be 
laid  in  the  ditch,  as  this  will  permit  the 
water  to  reach  the  cistern  in  a  cooler 
condition  in  the  hot  Summer  weather.  I 
do  not  know  the  exact  depth  to  which  it 
would  be  necessary  to  lay  the  pipe  to 
prevent  freezing :  type  and  condition  of 
soil  through  which  the  line  runs  has 
much  to  do  with  this.  As  the  water  is 
to  run  all  of  the  time,  nowever,  I  would 
expect  a  depth  of  from  2  to  3  ft.  to  be 
sufficient. 
Foundation  for  Dynamo 
I  am  putting  in  an  electric  light  plant. 
The  engine  is  three  horsepower,  and  the 
dynamo  a  large  one,  110  volts.  How 
deep  should  the  concrete  or  cement  base 
be?  It  is  gravelly  soil.  If  I  dug  it  4  ft., 
could  I  put  in  some  field  stones  at  the 
bottom  and  then  put  cement,  say.  on  the 
last  2  ft.,  making  it  2  ft.  of  field  stones 
and  2  ft.  of  cement?  n.  f.  r. 
Candia,  N.  Y. 
The  plan  that  you  are  following  seems 
to  be.  on  the  whole,  satisfactory.  The 
foundation  should  be  built  separate  from 
the  floor,  as  you  suggest.  A  mixture  of 
one  part  cement,  two  parts  clean,  well- 
graded  sand,  ranging  in  size  of  particles 
from  14  in.  down,  and  four  parts  screened 
gravel  or  crushed  stone,  can  be  used  for 
sufficient  in  amount  to  need  exclusion 
from  the  tank,  but  grease  traps  are  ad¬ 
vised  where  the  tank  receives  the  wash¬ 
ings  from  a  dairy  room  or  other  source 
of  considerable  quantities  of  oil  and 
grease.  A  grease  trap  is  a  simple  set¬ 
tling  chamber  of  small  size  between  the 
house  and  tank,  in  which  the  discharge 
remains  long  enough  for  the  grease  to 
rise  to  the  top  and  be  removed  at  neces¬ 
sary  intervals.  It  may  be  made  from  two 
large  glazed  tiles  set  into  the  ground, 
one  above  the  other,  to  form  a  chamber. 
The  flow  from  the  house  enters  at  the 
top  the  outlet  pipe  too  the  septic  tank  is 
carried  nearly  to  the  bottom  of  this  set¬ 
tling  chamber,  thus  only  the  compara¬ 
tively  grease-free  liquid  enters  the  septic 
tank,  where  grease  is  but  slightly  acted 
upon  by  the  bacteria  which  destroy  other 
solid  matters  and  where  it  might  in  time 
clog  the  system.  >r.  B.  D. 
Waterproofing  Silo  Pit 
I  have  a  cement  pit  6  fr.  deep  under 
my  silo.  The  wall  is  12  in.  thick  and 
has  been  plastered  two  or  three  times,  but 
fine  cracks  will  come  in  the  plastering, 
letting  in  water.  The  ground  around 
silo,  holds  water  and  I  cannot  very  well 
drain  from  bottom  of  pit.  Is  there  any¬ 
thing  I  can  put  on  to  keep  out  the  water? 
New  York.  s.  t.  s. 
Such  a  condition  as  you  outline  is  dif¬ 
ficult  to  repair  satisfactorily,  as  any  wa¬ 
terproofing.  to  be  the  most  effective, 
should  be  applied  to  the  side  from  which 
the  water  comes,  in  this  case  the  outside. 
If  well  done,  however,  and  the  outside 
water  pressure  is  not  too  great,  a  plaster 
coat  on  the  inside  will  keep  the  water 
back. 
Chip  off  any  loose  plaster  and  clean 
the  surface  thoroughly  all  over,  using  a 
stiff  brush,  wire  preferred,  and  a  solution 
of  one  part  hydrochloric  acid  and  four 
parts  water.  The  cheap  commercial  acid 
^September  1.",  1923 
is  satisfactory  for  this  purpose.  After 
the  acid  wash,  which  dissolves  the  sur¬ 
face  cement,  exposing  the  sand  and  stone, 
wash  thoroughly  with  clean  water  to  re¬ 
move  all  traces  of  the  acid.  After  apply¬ 
ing  the  acid  solution  the  work  should 
stand  for  a  short  time  before  it  is  washed 
off,  to  give  the  acid  solution  an  opportu¬ 
nity  to  work. 
After  rinsing,  paint  the  surface  with  a 
cream-like  mixture  of  cement  and  water 
just  in  advance  of  the  plastering,  and 
plaster  with  a  mortar  composed  of  one 
part  cement  to  1  y>  parts  clean  sand.  As 
soon  as  possible  after  application,  work 
the  surface  of  this  mortar  thoroughly 
with  a  wood  float  to  secure  a  hard  dense 
surface.  The  mortar  should  be  mixed  in 
small  quantities  and  applied  within  30 
minutes  after  mixing,  before  it  has  had 
opportunity  to  take  its  initial  set.  After 
the.  plaster  is  applied,  protect  from  too 
rapid  drying  by  means  of  damp  burlap 
or  a  fine  spray,  or  a  combination  of  both. 
The  work  should  be  continuous,  and  par¬ 
ticular  care  should  be  taken  where  the 
side  walls  join  the  floor. 
Water  Supply 
As  until  about  seven  years  ago  I  was 
troubled  with  a  noor  water  supply,  I  am 
interested  in  C.  W.  E.  B.’s  inquiry,  on 
page  471.  Although  it  might  be  best  to 
take  It.  II.  S.’s  advice  on  account  of  the 
increase  in  the  cost  of  galvanized  pipe, 
yet  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  give  my  experi¬ 
ence. 
About  10  years  ago  I  was  looking  for 
a  better  spring  than  the  one  we  were 
using,  and  found  one  over  3,000  ft.  from 
the  building.  We  dug  down  about  5  ft. 
and  lowered  in  three  large  tiles,  cementing 
the  joints.  The  top  of  the  tile  is  1  ft.  or 
more  above  the  ground.  It  soon  overflowed 
and  proved  a  never-failing  spring,  pro¬ 
ducing  over  300  pailsful  of  water  in  24 
hours.  It  did  not  freeze  over  in  the  Win¬ 
ter,  and  was  cool  in  the  Rummer.  I 
needed  the  water  at  the  house  and  barn, 
but  was  afraid  the  70-ft.  head  would  not 
overcome  the  friction  in  the  pipe  for  the 
distance  of  over  3.500  ft.  At  this  time 
I  was  fortunate  in  meeting  a  man  who 
knew  a  great  deal  about  overcoming  fric¬ 
tion  in  pipe.  He  said  I  should  start  with 
2-in.  pipe,  then  1%  in.,  1%  in.,  and  not 
less  than  1  in.  the  remainder  of  the  dis¬ 
tance.  Therefore,  I  purchased  370  ft. 
2-in.  pipe.  816  ft.  1%  in.,  1,037  ft.  1*4 
in.  and  124  ft.  1  in.  We  laid  it  to  the 
cellar  and  then  to  the  barn.  We  tapned 
the  cellar  pipe  for  use  in  the  kitchen  sink, 
hot-water  boiler,  bathroom  and  hot-water 
furnace  when  needed.  The  pipe  runs 
around  in  the  cow  stable  above  the 
stanchions,  where  it  is  tapped  for  each 
cow’s  bucket.  Then  it  goes  under  the 
barn  wall  and  milk-house  floor  into  the 
side  of  the  cooling  trough,  where  we  have 
a  cap  on  the  end  of  the  pipe  with  a  hole 
in  the  cap  iust  small  enough  to  hold  the 
water  back,  which  gives  us  a  pressure 
system  from  the  spring.  We  call  it  per¬ 
fect.  The  water  overflows  from  the  cool¬ 
ing  tank  into  the  barnyard  trough  for  the 
horses  and  young  stock. 
In  some  places  our  pipe  is  not  down 
1  ft.  below  surface,  but  no  trouble  from 
freezing,  as  the  300  pailsful  go  through 
everyday  always  on  the  go. 
New  York.  george  w.  eversox. 
Improving  a  Leaky  Roof 
I  have  two  barns,  side  by  side,  10  ft. 
apart,  with  a  roof  connecting,  them,  with 
a  slant  of  2  ft.,  covered  with  paper  roof¬ 
ing.  well  tarred,  but  I  have  been  unable 
to  keep  it  from  leaking.  "When  there  is 
snow  on  the  roof  and  it  thaws  the  water 
will  back  up  and  run  through.  Could  a 
cement  roof  be  made  that  would  not  leak, 
and  how  should  the  cement  be  prepared, 
or  would  it  be  better  to  have  a  tin  roof 
put  on?  F.  M.  T. 
Sherman,  N.  Y. 
It  is  probable  that  you  will  always 
have  more  or  less  trouble  with  this  roof, 
due  to  its  design.  A  roof  of  this  type 
cannot  avoid  catching  snow,  which,  as 
you  say.  backs  up  under  the  shingles  when 
it  melts,  causing  leaks.  Regardless  of  the 
roofing  material  used,  I  see  little  chance 
to  remedy  this  unless  the  roof  is  given 
sufficient  pitch  lengthwise  of  the  barn  to 
carry  away  the  water.  A  paper  roof  well 
applied  will  give  as  good  satisfaction 
under  this  condition  as  any.  It  is  used 
to  a  great  extent  in  the  roofing  of  large 
buildings  with  comparatively  flat  roofs 
that  drain  to  a  center  discharge  or  down 
spout.  When  so  used  several  thicknesses 
are  applied,  one  over  the  other,  and  each 
cemented  down  with  hot  tar  or  asphalt. 
Suggestion  for  Concrete  Steps 
I  have  just  read  the  instructions  given 
your  inquirer  on  concrete  steps,  and  wish 
to  add  an  important  point  that  appears 
not  generally  known  :  In  setting  the  form 
for  front  of  riser,  let  the  top  edge  over¬ 
hang  a  half  inch  or  more,  so  as  to  give 
better  room  for  heel  or  toe  at  junction  of 
tread  and  bottom  of  riser,  ,j.  j.  piiarr. 
Ohio. 
Elizabeth  came  to  school  one  day  in 
a  state  of  suppressed  excitement.  Go¬ 
ing  straight  to  the  teacher’s  desk,  she  ex¬ 
claimed  exultantly,  “I’ve  got  a  new  little 
sister !”  “How  very  nice,”  replied  the 
teacher.  “Yes.”  said  Elizabeth,  “but  this 
is  only  a  half-sister.”  “Why,  that  does 
not  make  any  difference,  does  it?”  “No, 
but  I  never  can  understand  where  the 
other  half  is.” — Harper’s  Magazine. 
