The Newtown bee., 1894-05-18
Live Farm Topics.
CISTERN WATER TASTING OF LIME,

A year ago had my cistern re-cement- ed on the inside with conmon cement. After the cement hardened thoroughly l allowed it to fill with water, but found the latter tasted and smelled of lime. | examined and found the cement had be- come soft. drew the water out, had all the cement Scraped off and had it again cemented with Portland cement, which became hard. 1 then had it thoroughly scrubbed and washed out, and in the fail allowed it to fill again with water. The water tasted and smelled of lime nearly as bad as at first, and 1 again had it drawn out and the cistern washed and re-nlled with water. For a while the water appeared much better, but tasted d little of lime. This winter the water has frozen, so l could not use it until the middle of March; since then it has been used freely and the cast and smell of lime increases, so that the water is about use less. Please inform me the cause of the trouble and how it can be remedied-
 J. W. S., Yaphank, N. |.
 This is quite an unusual occurrence and suggests the belief that some mistake has been made in the preparation of the cement. In the first place, it is to be 1 understood that the cement, being a con- 1 pound of lime with other minerals, is to
 
 thus impart certain flavor to it and also render it hard for some time, until the soluble portion has been removed. But | this is reduced to a small minimum and becomes only temporary inconvenience, | if the work has been done in the best manner. The solubility of the lime is greatly lessened by the sand used with | the cement in the mixing, because the lime combines with silica of the sand and forms an insoluble substance. Thus some skill is needed to make the mortar in the right way, which is to add three equivalent parts of clean sand to one of water lime. And even then it is neces- sary to let the water stay in the cistern for several days and pump it out and fill again before the water is fit to use, and then it will be some weeks before all the effects of the lime will wear away. If any mistake, as suggested, has been made, and whole cement has been used, it would be desirable to give it a coat or two of red oxide of iron paint after draw ing off the water and leaving the wall few days to dry.
 The quality of the water, too, may have something to do with this fault of it. The roofs from which it is gathered may be old. or new, in either case giving a taste to the water. The fact that the water has stood in the cistern all winter may explain the bad quality of it, and that, as it is used, the taste becomes worse, will reasonably be due to the amount of line dissolved by the water during the winter, and this water being heavier than the pure water coming in. because of the lime it has in solution, the lower the water get in the cisterp, the more limy it will appear. No doubt time will relieve the trouble by permitt- ing the removal of the soluble remnant of the cement, and until this is effected patience must be exercised, as in all cases of the kind more or less. The iron paint is mixed with boiled linseed oil, the two forming metallic compound which is insoluble.-[ H. 5. in Country Gentleman.