The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1914-05-07
CEMENT DRAIN TILE
Easily Made In Winter - Material
Must be Free of Frost, Keep
Finished Tile From Freezing
for 80 Days.

|
The melancholy days that the poet
Bryant talked about have come and
gone, and the recent warm spell
which has taken place over most OF
The corn belt states has greatly les
sened the number OF idle days which
the average farmer wastes in winter.
Many farmers were blowing In IL
,inois up to December Is. Such con-
diuons are, OF course, unusual. The
| progressive, efficient farmer wishes
there was something he could do dur
Ing winter to utilize his idle hours
and idle days and also to keep his
farm hands busy.
Cooperation Desirable.
| Cement drain tile making or manu-
facture by the farmer is compare
lively simple problem and there is no
reason why the individual farmer
cannot successfully do this work. On
the other hand, cooperation with
neighbor or two is desirable, If such
neighbors are willing to agree on
plan OF action and stick to it.
The manufacture of cement drain
tile provides one method of co-opera-
ton. A tile making machine can be
purchased by the farmer, or group Of
farmers, and the cost will be from $50
to perhaps 500. There is now on
the market a satisfactory machine
selling for s35. While these machines
require a small gasoline engine to
operate them, yet this is not factor
to be seriously considered, now that
so many farmers have engines Of this
kind on their farms. The hauling Of
material (sand and graveD and the
Portland cement from the local dealer
in the nearest town out to the
farms is another cooperative pro-
blem. Given, therefore, a group of
five or six farmers, who have hauled
several tons of proper material to a
common point and have purchased,
let us say, carload Of Portland
cement which will be at least 257
barrels. In addition, gasoline en-
of farmers are now ready to com
mence making cement drain tile. 1t |
has not been thought necessary to |
comment on the great advantages of |
thing in this article.
Materials Needed.
According to an eminent concrete
engineer and specifications published |
by the Concrete Institute the ma
terials used for making cement drain
tile should be three in number First,
standard Portland cement; second,
torpedo sand or its equivalent in
screened, graded sand third, clean,
pure water and plenty of it. In win
ter it will be necessary to heat this
sand outside the building SO that all
frost is removed The heated ma
terial must be taken indoors before
1t has chance to freeze. It is also
desirable that the water should be
heated which, with the large feed
kettle used on many farms, is COM
paratively easy problem. AS to the
water, any water that is unfit for
purposes should not be used
for concrete work at any time.
Torpedo sand is course, hard
sand containing no dust, dirt, vege-
table matter or other foreign ma
terials and ranging from ordinary fine
sand to coarse sand and sometimes
contains little pebbles, broken rock,
ETC., up to and including one-quarter- [:
inch in size. Not over 10 per cent
of this material should be fine sand,
or what every farmer knows as com i,
mon beach sand. When sand has to |
be purchased (Which is not common f
in most farming communities), tor
pedo sand can be specified and
bought from dealers in building ma
terials. Werhe pit" or bank run"
gravel is used, the coarser material
should be screened through a one :
sand screen which can 4
easily be made of ordinary wire i
cloth and tackled to a frame of 2x4's t
# too much fine sand appears to be in a
he mixture a certain amount OF a
coarse material about 4 Inch in size {
should be added to correct this de
iciency. 4
Standard Portland cement should Il
,e used with this torpedo sand in the a
of / to 8. Under no cir ii
lsed in the manufacture of cement P
Train tile, regardless of what any
mall town contractor or other cover q
y-wise" person may say. Enough :,
yater should be added SO that the h,
inished tile will bear a webed OF NJ
vater marked surface. The tile Of
hould then be sprinkled and kept p
moist for two weeks in a closed room &C
there the temperature does not fall tc
Glow freezing. This room, If neces. q
airy, must be heated by salamanders, ~
toves, ETC. The tile should be pro =,
ected for at least two weeks longer 81
rom freezing, or at least thirty days d;
/. ALL after which they may be piled n,
Inside in the yard. is
The idea Of farmers in building this be
lie should be to make a small mum Tn
er of frst-class tile rather than a al
lrge number of inferior tile, and al
Ike everything else in the business 20
orld, quality and not quantity should ar
1unt or