The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1877-08-22

WATERING STOCK.
There are many farms with fields
that have no running water 10 them.
and the question comes up, bow csa
stock pastured 10 these fields be wat
cred ! Farmers cannot generally ex-
pend much money in furnishing wat
er 10 such cases but sometimes, It
viii pay to dig q well near where the
entrance to the Geld is, and place q
large trough at its side, which should
be pumped full Of water morning
and evening. II a large well were
dug on O high part Of the farm, the
water 10 be pumped into a tank by a
windmill, and pipes running under
ground TO different fields, where
drinking troughs could be placed,
there are cases where i. would be
proper to do so. In the winter sea
son the mill should be ungcared, aad
the water let out of the tank and the
pipes. 1t would cost, all complete.
probably some $3.50, more or less, ac-
cording to the expense of digging the
well. And here | will say that one
place is as good as another 10 dig a
well on the same level, as water is
found at a certain depth anywhere as
a general rule. For instance, | can
dig one hundred wells on au acre OF
level land, and find n free TOW
of water at about the same depth in
each.
Some farmers dig out low places
in some Of their fields, so that their
COWS can get drink from ponds made
by rains but this is a bad plan, as
the cows have to wade in mud to get
The water. and when they reach 1t IL
Is not ft for animals 10 drink. Anoih-
or way is to dig cisterDs in certain
fields, the water to be conveyed to
them il a ditch. 4 farmer whose
land is underlaid by q rock 10 q great
depth, 20 that be cannot dig it well,
savs 81 first located my buildings,
and was at quite m expense for gut
ters and conductors, but finally con
ceiyed the idea of locating my els
terms where wanted them, aud filing
by means of a short tile ditch. /
have found the plan to work most sd-
mirabIy, and expect to have a good
eistern available to each field on the
farm. This will not require a eistern
for each field, for it q be located so
as to be accessible TO two, three, or
even four fields, by placing il where
four fields corner, or on the line. /.
is much cheaper, also, TO make one
cistern holding three hundred barrels,
than two holding D hundred and
CITY barrels each. Ii is well TO locate
the cistern where there is a slight de-
preston, or at least a gentle slope,
SO that there will be sufficient fall in
your ditch Il. q tile into the arch as
YOU brick the c~istern, then dig your
ditch eighteen inches or two feet
deep, lay two-inch tile and cover it
with six inches Of coarse gravel
then ill up with the soil, and every
shower that is heavy enough to stop
you from blowing corn will gil your
cistern to the top. The distance you
will need to run the ditch will depend
upon the character Of the soil. ! have
a cistern that has been dug for four
years that has but eigat feet of ditch.
and has furnished an abundant sup
pIy Of water ; but where the ~cistern
is located on dry land, / would rec
ommend several rods of drain"
This way of filing a cisternis new,
and requires further proof of lis ieas-
Utility. It'll based on the fact that
after heavy rains the ground is foil
of water ; and q ditch two feet be
low the surface, in which the horse
shoe tile is laid, having 4 slight de-
scent to the c%istern, will convey the
water that is 10 the ground for a space
of Is feet on each side o: the tile TO
the cistern.
CIsTERNs.
What q world" Of trouble to a
family is often caused by not having
a cistern. 1t is not the expense of
building them that so many
owners of country houses to do with
out them, but i. is sheer shiftlessness.
A cistern that will hold a supply Of
water for a family of eight
or ten people through all drouths, if
not wasted, can be built for S25 to
$40. Indeed, the cost to q farmer
who digs it out himself, and cements
it, need not be over SIS. Think Of
the waste Of time and strength that
many poor farmers wives, or their
daughters, endure in bringing water
to wash with from some near BY
brook or spring! Time never fails to
show the sad results of this "tug-
ging' way to obtain q supply of soft
water. Sooner or later the constitu-
~;ions.of these farmers wives begin to
yield to the pressure of severe labor,
and money enough to build q hun
bred cisterns is often spent in physi-
clans bills, ell of which may be saw
ed. Some families get q p~recarious
supply of rain water from an old
hogshead under the gutter, but this
is a disgrace to any place where peo-
pie live who are able to build a els
tern. 1t is an easy thing to construct
one. A man with q pick-axe will
dig one in two days hat win held
100 barrels Of water, say six feet
deep and seven feet in diameter in
the clear-tha, is, when full, the wat
or TO be of this measure. 1t is folly to
build a little cistern, which is liable
to be empty half the time. Before
commencing to dig one get three bar
rels of cement and three of good
building sand. Then buy or borrow
a mason's trowel. I'm going TO have
you do the work yourself, or some of
your "boys"-supposing you to be a
farmer and hard up" for money!
You also use q pick-axe. This is a
good season OF the year to dig q els
tern, so that you'll not be troubled
with water in it while making it.
You had better make a large one
while you are at il, SO as always to
have a supply of rain water.
One eight feet in diameter, and six
feet deep, when finished, is not large.
For such q one, dig out nine feet in
diameter and full seven feet deep.
One man will dig it in two days.
You o use brick or cobb.e stones in