EXPERIENCE DEPARTMENT
A  Gooa Cistern
1st Premium.—A good cistern ia a large
one. It ia useless ln a brief artlole like
this, t9 describe the JprooesB oC making a
oistern, since mechanics may be found in
any neighborhood who are competent to
oonstrnctone Bat I will insist, both as
to economy of oonstrnction and as to utility, that a good oistern is necessarily a
large one.
Assuming thst a oistern for domestic
use ia at least 16 feet (better If it should be
12) In diameter and' 15 feet in depth, I
would construct, by its side a smaller
one, say eight feet in diameter by 12 in
depth. This I call my filter, into which
the water is taken, direct from the roof.
At the bottom of the filter connect the
two by an opening, through whioh the
water ia to pass to the main cistern. Now
bnild a wall of soft brick, well laid in oe.
ment aoross yonr filter, so as to inclose
this opening to the cistern, and cutting
oft about one fourth of the capaolty of
the filter. Close this wall up tightly
against the sides and crown of your filter
but do not plaster it Now begin another
similar wall of soft brick, about eight
inches from the first, running it up to
high water mark, but leaving the spaoe
between open at the top. Now fill this
spaoe with olean, washed sand, and you
have your filter ready for use Seal up
the top or crown of yonr filter with a
stone, having a manhole in it. Cover
this with a flat stone or iron, which m ty
be easily removed for cleaning. This
plan of filtration has many advantages.
It is oheap of construction; very durable;
gives additional capaoity to your cistern,
and may be oleaned at any time when
the water in the oistern is used down ba-
low the level of the bottom of your filter.
The water is filtered through the pores of
the briok and intervening sand, in a hor
izontal direction, and only as it is needed
by the exhaustion of the supply in the
cistern, and hence, noes not incline to fill
the pores of the filter, as the greater
quantity of foreign matter oarried ln from
the roof haa ample time and is preclpi
tated to the floor of your filter, where It
remains quiet until removed In cleaning,
W.H. Ragan.
21 Premium.—I am induced to write on
thia topic, not ao much to win the prize,
aa by the hope that I may induce more
farmers to discard the use of hard lime or
mineral waters for drinking and bathing
and cooking purposes, and secure the
most wholesome of all drinks, and the
most pleasant of all bathing 11 aids, and a
water for cooking that preserves the
flavor of tbe vegetables and meats aa
hard water does not. I have tried the
following method In two difierent homes,
and for nearly 10 years, and do not see
where I conld improve the oistern or the
water. At one plaoe the water was ae-
oured from a shingle roof and at the
other from a slate roof and the reaulta
seem equally good from eaoh. Dig the
exoavatiou for the oistern olrcular and
about eight feet aoross and to a depth
corresponding to the oapaclty required,
but I would say never to hold less than
100 barrels, oistern and Alter together.
Abont 2>_ feet from the oistern, and near
the down spout of the building dig another oistern about six feet aoross and
six feet deep. From the bottom of the
small oistern tunnel a hole aoross to the
large oistern and connect the two with a
three inoh sewer tile. The small cistern
ls tor a filter, and when done will hold
about 14 barrels of water. If the large
oistern is eight feet across and 10 feet
deep—the excavation—when done it will
hold about 00 barrels. To find the contents of any size: "Square the diameter
and maltiplv the product by the depth,
•nd this produot by .1865 and if all the
dimensions are feet the result will be the
barrel oontents."  In measuring the ex
cavation, remember the wall will ooonpy
nearly a foot of the diameter. Mix the
oement one part good Portland oement to
two parts clean, sharp sand. Pat an inoh
of cement mortar In the bottom and lay
tbe briok in it while soft, broad side
down. Begin the side walls on this, laying the brick broad side down, but using
ordinary lime mortar, and leaving about
an inoh all around between the briok and
clay sides. Fill this each round with
thin cement mortar. So continue nntil
arched in to fit an 18 inch iron collar,
whioh with the cover will oost $150.
Treat the small oistern the same way.
Cement eaoh with a good coat of cement
mortar, and when dry neither will ever
leak for they are cemented inside and
outside the briok wall. When dry build
a brick wall through the centre of the
small cistern, using rather aof', porous
briok, and setting them on edge, and
using oement mortar, and using oare that
every joint is tight Just before reaching
as high as where the wall begins to narrow for the neok, fill ln the side next to
the large oistern with six inohes of clean
pebbles and then alternate layers three
inohes thiok of olean sand and oharooal,
and aroh the partition wall over against
the wall of the little oistern. Make the
overflow drain at top of filter, and let the
down-spout go into the open half of the
filter. The water will go through the
brick as fast as lt ordinarily rains, and
the briok will take out all impurities not
soluble and the charooal and sand will
take those ont. Clean out both cistern
and open half of filter jast before the fall
rains begin and clear, cool, pure water
will be the result. Not to exceed a quart
of sediment, and this mostly charcoal
and sand will ever be taken out of the
cistern. The briok wall and filling of
filter may need replacing after many
years but not under 15 years, I think.
Indianapolis. C. E. N.
31 Premium.—__s good a oistern aa oan
be made by walling up with brick, and
then cementing to make it water tight,
but when cheapness is to be considered, a
good oistern may be made in the following manner: Dig so that it will be larger
at the top than at the bottom, like an old-
fashioned dash ohurn tnrned bottom end
up. About two and a half or three feet
from tho top, out a square shoulder in the
side of oistern to begin laying brick on to
make the aroh. Cement it good to the
earth and brick, then get a flat rock, any
size to suit your convenience, cnt a hole
in it, large enough for an averaged sized
man to get through; put it down in cement over the aroh, and you have a goop,
oheap cistern.
The best filter that I ever saw, is made
in the following manner: Take a good,
tight barrel, knock one of the heads out;
bore an inch and a half hole In the center
of the other end, and put in a plug from
the outside, this to be the bottom. Pat a
small, perforated wooden box just over
this, and have the pipe through whioh
the water runs come down throngh the
oenter of the barrel and terminate ln this
box. The box to have the bottom side
out, the pipe to oome throngh the top of
the box. Get some nioe clean gravel, put
in a layer of gravel and then a layer of
charcoal, and so on till the barrel is half
full or more; arrange it so that the last
layer will be of gravel. Juat above the
last layer put in the pipe that runs into
the oistern. Cover the barrel well so
that nothing oan get into it from the top.
When it rains let the water in; it will
filter from bottom to top instead' of vice
versa. Have the barrel sitting on two
sills, and after the oistern ia filled, take
ont the ping from the bottom of the barrel, and tho water, in rushing out, will
wash out all sediment, bngs and inseots
that might have rnn in; thus leaving the
filter olean and nioe ready for the next
time. "      Hi M.
Salem.
A "trap," which is a joint of sewer pipe
bent ln the shape of the letter U, shonld
be placed in the outlet not far from the
cistern, with the bend down, so that
when onoe filled with water it will remain so and effectually prevent mice,
etc., from going into the cistern. An
opening shonld also be made at a proper
place in the lower part of the neok for a
IK Inch iron pipe to connect with the
pump. The bottom of the oistern should
be laid with brick and two coats of good
cement pnt all over inside. The last
ooat, if not the first, should be Portland
cement. The neok should be heavily
coated on the outside, two feet or more
down with Portland cement, to prevent
breaking by hard freezing. After the
oement sets and there are no craoks and
all la right then make the filter. For
this prooure briok—not hard burned and
yet not the softest, and build- a four-inoh
wall throngh not qnlte the oenter of the
oistern but nearest the side where the
pipe for the pump comes in. And lay all
the brick with Portland cement. This
wall should not be exactly straight, but
curve a little toward the side in whioh
the water comes. Thla curve serves to
strengthen the wall, which is necessary,
as in case of a sudden heavy rain the
water may stand muoh higher for a while
on the side it comes in than the other
where it ia pumped out and might burst
through. The wall shonld be eight or 10
inohos higher than the outlet, and both
Inlet end outlet should be on the same
side of the wall, the pump pipe only on
the other side, which is the smaller
apartment cf tho cistern. It is important
that every j.int and craok in this wall,
where lt joins the sides of the cistern and
everywhere should be cemented perfectly water-tight; but no oement at all
should be on the edges of the bricks; and
then the water will be obliged to pass
through the bricks to where It Is pumped
out. Water from a clean roof and passed
through such a filter is suitable for drinking and all culinary purposes; and the
filter being below frost, w 11 last indefinitely, and it is only neoeoessary to
olean it out and wash the wall every two
or three years. A low plaoe might be
made on the bottom of eaoh apartment
for the convenience of dipping the water
when cleaning out. A wire soreen
shonld be in the upper end of
the down spout to prevent leaves
or anything from entering there.
The oommon pitcher pump ls satisfactory
and should be in the summer kitchen,—-
and a one and one-fourth inch galvanized
iron pipe extended nnder ground into the
cistern, down to within three or four
inches of the bottom. Let the water in
the oistern in 10 or 12 days after itis finished. Sometimes water will rise and
burst np through the bottom of a oistern,
before the cement has time to "set" In
suoh a oase dig a hole in the center, about
16 inches below the bottom of the olatern)
stand a six-inch tile in it, and place an
Inoh iron pipe, 15 inches long, with holes
near the lower end of it, firmly on the
ground inside the tile. Now cover the
end of the tile with a flat atone or bit of
slate and make all solid up agalnat the
iron pipe. Cement the whole bottom
over, and snugly down around the pipe,
but leave it open with the end an inoh
below the bottom of the oistern. The water can now flow up through the pipe Into
the oistern without any pressure. Portland cement should be used which will
harden under water. When all is solid
get tbe water ont of the oistern, and draw
it out of the tile through the pipe with
some kind of syringe, plug the pipe np,
water tight, and cement over it and make
it level with the rest of the bottom, If
the work is carefully done sucoess is sure.
Rush Co. Thos. T. Newby,
We farmers ought to be ashamed to allow our oity neighbors to have things ao
muoh nicer than we have. Many of them
have their filterera, cisterns and arrangements to force the water into the heater,
kltohen and batn room. I built my own
oistern with but very little money outlay. The first thing is to dig the hole,
which is commonly round, and five feet
in diameter is large enough. Be oareful
to keep the hole round and walls perpendicular. When deep enough begin the
wall with a thin layer of oement, clear
around the circle and a layer of brick.
Lay the brick aa you go, aa cement dries
qulokly. We used briok bats for the
wall; It took a little more time and cement but less money, as the bats we got
for the hauling.
Build close to the wall using plenty of
oement so as to fill all oracks and crevi-
ces. When within 18 Inohes of top begin
the arch by leaving the lajer of cement
thioker on outer edge of briok, so as to
make brick lean in jast a little, and so on
till last layer of brick sets nearly on
edge. Now go over the wall with a ooat
of cement, jast like the plastering; then go
over the wall with cement and water
(no sand) mixed and applied like white,
wash. Now olean cff and hollow out bottom, so it will ba deepest in oenter, and
cover with cement, and brick just like
wall and yon have a oistern completer
good enough for anybody.
It Is essential to know how to mix the
cement. Use very olean and fine sand;
three parts sand and one part cement-
thin enough to work easy and apply
quickly.
Pat an 18 inch or two foot sewer pipe
filled with charcoal in the ground under
the spouting, or anywhere, so the water
will run Into it before going Into cistern,
for filter.  T. M. S.
Oar cistern is a cocoanut oil barrel,
holding about eight barrels, sunk in the
ground, all but eight Inches. It cost $4
at the railroad and is made of wood closely resembling ctdar. The staves are
very thiok, and are bound together with
eight or nine heavy iron banda. A hole
waa out in the top, sixteen inches square)
around which a frame was nailed, with a
olose fittiag cover. We do not use a
pump in the cistern, although it-would
be handler, some ways. We have had
our cistern two years, and have not aa
yet, used the water more than half way
down. We oan not see the use of the ordinary 30 tu 50 oarrel cisterns, except for
irrigating purposes or watering stook.
Oar cistern never leaks, orkcks, freezes
but little, and is olaimed these barrels
will last a lifetime, iu the ground. There
are several cisterns of this kind around
Farmland, Randolh Co. A gentleman of
onr acquaintance, who has a cistern like
ours, rilled a tank about half full of
charooal, and the rest ofthe way with
olean gravel. The water is conduoted
from the roof to the bottom of this filter.
When this is full, it flows off Into the oistern. Thus, no Impurities oan get in the
oistern and the annual "cleaning out"
ls dispensed with. C. S. B.
Wayne Co.     	
REVIEW.
Let us try to make an ideal oistern by
making It 6x15 feet with neok three feet.
This keeps lt cold. Make filter cistern
near by, D shape with flat side next the
cistern. Make a nine inoh wall two feet
from the straight side, as high as the outlet and fill with charcoal. Let water flow
from the bottom of the charooal. Leave
this open and the neck uncovered most
of the year. The law of diffusion of gases
will renew the charge of oxygen aB fast
as the water leaves it. A wire strainer
should intercept all leaves and ooarse
trash.
The filter shonld be much higher and
smaller than the cistern proper. Many
cisterns are too near the surfaoe and are
not muoh better than buddle holes.
TOPICS.
No. 91, Dao. 4.—How doea the truanoy
Conti-sued on lathpage*