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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1916)
THE 8EMI.WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA. Making fejStrm House Conifcriable LIVESTOCK ON RECLAMATION PROJECTS 7iere are several different styles of house-heating plants on the market, the cheapness and convenience of which make it unnecessary for farm houses to be without a heat ing system which means comfort for the household By J, L Mowry Vnlvmlly cf NinnttoU EARS of progress liuvc de veloped at least six styles of houso-hcntlng Installa tions, aside from tlio old fashioned llnst method, the flreplaco, where from 80 to 00 per cent of the heat generated went up the chimney where your shins roosted while your back froze. Real progress was made when tho grato lire was moved to tho center of the room and Incased In thin cast Iron or sheet Iron, giving us tho stove, and Increasing tho radiating surfneo 200 por cent. At the samo time the slzo of tho fluo was reduced 75 per cent, and tho largo loss of heat char acteristic of tho open-grato (ire wns eliminated. Another step was made when tho stove was moved to tho collar, and a Jacket placed nround It which opened through the floor to tho room above. With the neck of this Jacket divided Into two or more parts a hot-air fur- Hot-Air Furnace. nace is produced which will heat two or moro rooms, one for each pipe. Later Improvements gayo us tho hot water and steam systoms; anil tlicso now And some competition In tho vapor system. A combination of hot air with either hot water, steam or vapor, known as u combination system, Is now often used, Tho outslda of n stove becomes hot from the tiro within which heats the ulr In contact with It. This air In turn becomes lighter, rises, and Is replaced by cold air from below and nt tho sides. This displacement of warm air by cold nlr continues, nnd produces currents. Tho room can be made comfprtablo with a stovo when it Is not loo cold outside. If very cold out side, my ten degrees below, tho cur rent of air will become so cold while passing down the cold walls that the Htove cannot heat tho room comfortn bly. A sheet Iron Jackot, with neither top nor bottom, set up from tho lioor, will incroaso tho ranldlty of nlr cir culation since only tho air within tho jacket is heated. This nlr gets hot tcr aud rises faster, thus making a more rapid circulation and a moro cf- 'fectlvo heat. A Furnace. , A stove with a Jacket, placed In the cellar, bccomcH n furnace. A brick wall may bo substituted for tho steel Jacket. A return II no through the lloor sorao distance from tho furnace, .makes the eystom complete. Such a Bcliomo Is used for many churches schools and assembly rooms, whore tho basemunt can bo used as a furnace room. When this furnace is set a little lower In tho ground and tho neck divided, Into several small pipes, It may be used to heat several rooms. Heat Is conducted to tho second-door rooms by rectangular pipes set in the walls bivween tho studs. Over ench opening in tho llopr or walls Is n register of perforated cast Iron. In oath plpo leading from a fur nace is n damper, so that any plpo may be closed at will. There Is u rcturfi air duct, to bo used when the "weather Is too cold to allow tho heated and used air to pass out of tho house. Tho rooms aro full of air at all times, and moro air cannot bo forced into them by tho smull pressure exerted by the wurm air In tho pipes below. In order to get this warm air into tho rooms a way must bo pro vided for tho cold air to get out. This Is done by menus of a return nlr duct, which may open Into u chimney nnd allow tho air to pass out or under Itke furnace and 'permit tho air to bo reheated nnd returned to tho room, When this Is dono tho frcsh-alr duct may bo closed or partly closed. The burning of tho nlr In order to get bent suf ficient to warm tho rooms, limits tho usefulness of this stylo of heating to small houses, and general ly to ono lloor. To be suc cessful, tho furnncc must be largo nnd the pipes from r0 to 100 per cent larger than nro ordinarily used. All pipes, In cellar nnd In walls, should bo cov ered with asbestos paper to protect the pipes nnd to save heat. A damp er In every plpo aud also In tho smoke Hue will uld materially In controlling aud distributing heat. Chimney Hues should bo 10 by 10 Inches or larger. Hot Water. A hot-wnter system Is only n slight elaboration of the principle, Enlarge tho Imso to incloso tho lire, and re duco tho slzo of tho tubo or plpo be tween the lire und tho rooms to bp heated, nnd mnko that part of tho circuit In tho rooms large, to glvo enough radiating surface. Tho main body, cast In sections for convenience In handling, Is often made quite Ir regular, In order to exposo more sur face to tho Are. Water Is conducted through u large pipe, from which smaller pipes connect with ono end of tho radiator In each room. Tho other end of tho radiator Is con nected to a largo return plpo, which enters tho heater at tho grate lovcl. This allows for a moro rapid circula tion than if a single pipe vcro used for each radiator. Allowanco must ' be mndo for tho expansion of tho water. This Is done by placing an open tnnk In tho attic, or In a sccond-iloor room nbovo tho top of tho highest radiator, and con necting with tho system nt some con venient point. Tho system may bo filled through this tank If thero la no pressuro Bystom at hand. This Is called tho open-tnnk hot wnter system. If tho tank wero capped tight, and -little or no water reached tho tank, thero would bo n quantity of nlr confined which would be compressed, because tho water In tho heater, pipes and radiators ex pands when heated. This Is the closed tank or scmstcnm system. Tho advantage Is n higher tempera ture of tho water beforo tho boiling point Is reached. Tho higher tern- pent turo will allow of smaller pipes and smaller radiators, and tho prac tice Is to Install a smaller heater also. Tho cost of Installation will consequently bo less. Objections to this system nro: Tho need of snfoty dovlces, which mny fall, and harder firing, which requires moro fuel. Vapor or Vacuum System. Tho vapor or vacuum system Is n comparatively recent development. It is tho opposlto In principle of tho closed-tank hot-wnter system ns tho nlr Is exhausted from tho pipes und radlntors and wnter stands in tho stroy the vacuum nnd It will become n steam nysteni puro nnd simple. Choosing Fuel. For hard coal a deep firebox gives best results. Hard coal burns slowly and requires less nlr thuu soft coal or wood, and tho deep fire serves as n chcqk on tho nlr. Soft conl und wood burn best In n thin lnyer over a larger surface, nnd of course will re quire more frequent firing. All-round steam nnd hot-wuter boilers aro made for hard coal. A sectional boiler mny bo lengthened by adding sections und tho size of tho firebox bo thereby In creased. In round hot-water boilers, two styles nro offered; one with n flat top firebox, and ono with wator arms. Tho ono with the flat top Is much moro enslly cleaned than tho ono hnv Ing wnter arms, nnd tho heating coll is much moro easily Installed. The latter stylo Is Intended to glvo more heating surface In the firebox, but this featuro Is more than offset by tho advantages mentioned. In placing any of theso heaters the clean-out doors should not bo backed up against a chimney or partition. Radiators. Tho radlntors aro of cast or sheet Iron, mndo up In sections, which may bo placed together to give tho re quired amount of radiating surface. Tho standard slzo Is 38 Inches high, three-column, and contains 5 square feet of radiation per section. A four column 38-lnch rndlutor contains 8 squarb feet of radiating surface. They sell for 18 to 20 cents n square foot. Each' radiator has a valvo at ono end to cut oft tho wnter. In this valvo Is a pinhole,' through which circulation will continue nnd thus provent freez ing when tho radiation Is cut off. At tho top of each radiator, at ono end, Is nn nlr valve, which must bo opened enough to meet all requirements, ex cept when nn unusunl number of people are present. It Is truo that, with an nvernge winter wind blowing nt ten miles per hour, tho nlr in tho rooms will change about every half hour. This Is certainly nil that Is required for tho nvcrago family. This rate of change can bo Increased 50 per cent by opening n door to the sec- NJr '1 Circulation of Air Produced by a Stove -Tho Arrows Indicate the Direction of the Air Currents. 0 l IE ijrri p 1 ILpi z: am. Connection of a Hot-Water Furnace With Pipes and Radiators. heater only, as In a steam system. Tho exhaustion of tho nlr makes It posslblo to produce steam at n tem perature as low as 125 degrees Fnh reuhelt, which means that a small Ore will produco results In a few minutes, because thero aro only a few gallons of water In tho heater, It Is virtually a steam system, nnd requires protec tive dovlces ns carefully adjusted and attended as a steam system. Further more, leaks la tko eystota will do- whllo filling tho system, lu, order to lot tho nlr out, else tho water cannot got In. When wnter flows from tho valvo It may bo closed. This valve should bo opened from tlmo to time after filling tho system, to let out nlr that hua separated from tho water and gathered In tho top of tho radiator. Tho small chamber of nlr will very effectively check tho circulation through tho radiator and It will not heat. Cost. Tho cost of a hot-water system for a six-room houso will bo about $275 or $300. It will cost about two-thirds moro than hot nlr, but hot-air outfits last only from 7 to 0 yenrs, with yearly repairs, while tho hot-water system will last from threo to six times ns long, with no cxponso or upkeep. Tho cost of n hot-water system will bo about $85 or $00 for radiators, $130" for tho heater, and about $05 for In stallation. Any farmer who Is' at nil handy as a mechanic can do tho work, leaving $210 for tho plant, compared with $175 for hot air. A hot-air Bystem mny glvo reason ably satisfactory results In small buildings, but for lnrgo houses nnd under most conditions 'either steam or hot water Is unhesitatingly rocom meuueu. xno nignor cost Is more than offset, In a few years, by a sav ing of fuel and better results. Nothing bus been said about steam systems, Llttlo need bo said. Thov nro llko water systems In makeup, ex cept tnat tho expansion tank Is closed. Thero Is no water in tho radiators, oniy in tno neater, Thero Is no cir culation until tho wator In tho boiler Is boiling, nnd thero Is pressuro in tho pipes and radiators. This prossuro. whllo not Intended to bo heavy, mny uocomo so u not watched carefully rry t i 1 1 j-iuH is niipussioio in tno averngo home. In tho mill, fuetory. or lnrco flat building, thero Is reason for keep ing n man on duty constantly, but not so in the home. By the process of elimination. It enn safely bo claimed that steam is not . sine, unu not air is not satisfactory to .any degree; whllo hot wnter, not por j feet becauso It costs too much, Is tho best system of tho threo for heating a riiiiniv Combination System. A combination system a comblnn Hon of hot water and hot nlr Is tho Ideal system. However, instead of using n stnndnrd hot-air furnace, with a coll In tho firebox for heatlug tho water isimiiar to that used In kitchen range), it Is much better to piaco a large raillator or a coll of common plpo In n box In tho cellnr, which Is open to tho room nbovo and to tho outsldo air. This systom may bo iustalled at an additional cost nf $23, and provides n fresh-air supnly in nu iimos. is amnion, nnd with much rcuson, that ventilation Is not necessary In tho averago houso; that tho air la the rooms Is chunked often. Hot-Water System. ond floor. In order to operate this ventilation scheme In mild or still weather, Ijt will be found necessary to havo a return ulr duct A fireplace is an ideal foul-air escape. Such an escape will add from $12 to $20 to thecost of n chimney, for it must have nn independent flue. Threo flash-light pictures wero taken In adjoining rooms, ono 12 by 12 feet nnd the other 12 by 23 feet. Tho rooms were almost filled with smoke. The outside temperature was a little below zero, so a door could not bo left open very long. Six pounds of newspapers wero burned In the flre placo to creato a draft. In half nn hour tho smoke was cleared from the rooms, nnd ono door had been open for about llvo minutes. Thero was no perceptible change In temperature. Fireplace. In n section where wood Is plenti ful, tho comfort nnd satisfaction of an open fire should n.ot be overlooked. In enrly spring and Into fall n few sticks of wood on n grato flro will afford moro cheer than double tho amount In a heater. If provided for nt the time of build ing the expenso need not exceed $60. This will provide facing, mantle, hearth, dumper nnd ash traps, to gether with tho added fluo in the chimney. The f.ue should be largo. fluo 8 by 8 Inches Is usually too small. A flreplaco should bo at least 30 inches wide, 28' Inches high, and 10 Inches deep, or as near these dimen sions ns tho commercial facing nnd lining materials will make. Colored brick with n rough face, make n most satisfactory facing, nnd mny bo placed at tho time tho chimney Is built. Tho lining should, of course, bo of fire brick. A hearth is enslly built, using n smooth hard brick or tile. Tho essentials of a satisfactory flre placo nro: (1) a large fluo; (2) a smooth throat sot well to the front; (it) n thin lip. A smoking flreplaco cun usually be remedied by adding a thin lip-member. Firing. Economical stoking Is an art. Hard conl Is popular because tho average person does not enro to flro every half hour. However, n llttlo admix- turo of brains with tho coal will pay, oven with hard coal. In general, add ns small an amount of coal as possible nt each firing, nnd flro often. Do not entirely cover tho bed of llvo coals, but leave a small hole, where sufficient I 4 I 4 I 4 fNSr yy rnor IRRIGATED PASTURE ON BOISE RECLAMATION PASTURE. The Essentials of a Fireplace. heat can get through to fire tho gases as they distill oft from tho now coal, otherwise they aro lost up tho chim ney. These gases burn clear and hot, and form n largo part of tho coal. Keep tho grates clean and clear of clinkers. Uso n slice-bar, and pro vent a tendency to cake at tho bot tom of tho Arc. Threo lnstunccs of firing enmo to notice recently, lu houses oi nearly tho samo size. The cost In ono enso wits $47; In another, $30; and In tho third, $10. All tho houses wero warm and comfortable nt all times. In ono tho coal was fired, la tao other two It was dumped la. (Prepared by tho United Slates Depart- mem oi Agriculture.) It Is becoming gcncrnlly understood thnt live stock Industries must be es tablished on northern reclamation projects If the best agricultural devel opment on these nrens Is to be brought about. In such development, It is recognized, irrigated pastures must play an Important part. One of tho chief advantages of tho summer pas turing of live stock on irrigation pro- ccts Is that during that period labor Is especially scarce nnd costly on tho reclaimed nrens. Tho proper manage ment of Irrigated pastures Is outlined in n circular recently Issued by the bu reau of plant industry of the United States department of agriculture. The Information In the circular Is based on experiments conducted dur ing soveral years by federul and state agencies nt tho Huntley (Mont), Scottsbluff (Neb.), and Belle Fourcho (S. D.) field stations, nnd nt the Good ing (Idaho) experiment station, by the University of Idaho; and on ob servations made during the pnst four yenrs on 11 northern reclamation projects. There Is reason to beliove that, whllo the carrying cnpaclty nnd meth ods followed vnry on different farms under observation, with good manage ment an ncro of pasture will support two cows or their equivalent in other live stock from four to six months each year, depending on tlie location of tho project. It also appears that under favorable local conditions and proper care, the stock-carrying ca pacity of these pastures could be in creased somewhat from year to year. Profitable Pastures. Farmers In the Salt Lake valley of Utah have found that Irrigated pas tures are profitable on lund which is valued nt $200 an acre. A dairy farm er In the Snake River vnlley of Idaho reports that his Irrigated pasture car ries threo cows per acre. Tho value of such pasturage can be stated in term3 of hay replacement Two cows will consume npproxlmately ton of alfalfa hay each month. If this hay is valued nt $5 a ton, the hay replacement value of an acre of irri gated pasture will be $5 n month. The length of the pasture season varies from four to six months, xlepending on the climatic conditions on tho differ ent projects. Hence tho hay-replacement value of an acre of good pasture can be estimated at from $20 to $30 a year. These hay-replacement values would, of course, be greater when tho price of hay exceeded $5 a ton. In connection with this, it is important to consider the fact that the use of pastures requires much less labor than the feeding of hay, and that good pas ture Is nt least equal to, if not bet ter than, hay as feed for cows. Such returns as theso fully justify the uso of some of the best land on the farm for Irrigated pasture. Not all farmers who have tried irri gated pastures have obtained satisfac tory, results, but In most cases the failures have been due to causes which might havo been provented. One com mon error is tho belief that tho pas ture should occupy that part of the farm which does not produce satisfac tory yields of farm crops. Many havo attempted to produce pasture on shal low soli or land that is rocky and un suited for pasturage. Careless prepa ration of soli and poor seed are also common causes of failure. Low carry ing capacity frequently Ib due to the fact that only grusses are used, where as it Is desirable to include ono or two clovers. Overstocking, particularly during tho first year, grazing when tho soli Is too wet, nnd inadequate or im proper irrigation ure other explana tions of lack of success. Preparing 8eedbed. Tho circular devotes considerable at tention to selection of locations for pastures, preparation of tho land, tho Importance of using fertile and pro ductivo soli, making provision for prop er irrigation and proper preparation of seedbed. Under the subject of tho seedbed, the author writes: "Tho seedbed should bo carefully prepared and mndo firm nnd smooth, so that a satisfactory stand enn bo secured. It Is ordinarily better to pro vide plenty of moisture In tho soil be fore seeding tlmo than to seed In u dry soli und Irrigate Immediately afterwards. This Is true particularly of heavy soil, on whlcH a tough crust is likely to form after irrigation nnd interfere with tho emergence of the young plants. On light soils, how over, where the upper three or four Inches dries out very rnpldly, it fre quently is necessary to seed lu dry soli and to Irrigate immediately after seed ing. In such instances tho use of the corrugation method of irrigation dur ing the first year Is particularly de sirable, aud tho land should bo pre pared accordingly." Pasture Crop Varieties. Regarding pasture crops tho pub llcutlou says: "Thero are In use in irrigated pas tures a variety of crops in almost In Bumerablo combinations. In tho great majority of cases, howover, tho best results aro secured with a mixture of one or more grasses and at least one variety of clover. Sweet clover alone, is used to some extent on a number of projects, but no information has been' secured which nppears to warrant any general recommendation of this crop In preference to mixed grasses for lr-' rlgatcd pastures. Some cases of sweet-clover bloat havo been reported, and It has not been possible to secure any reliable data allowing that sweet clover hns n high carrying capacity. The use of alfalfa as n pasture crop for cattle or sheep cannot be recom mended for the northern projects, be cause alfalfa so frequently causes loss, from bloat. On one of the projects, 55 per cent of tho cattle lost during the year 1015 are known to havo died from alfalfa bloat Losses sustained by farmers and in the experiments of the ofllco of western Irrigation agricul ture of tho bureau of plant Industry Indicate that it is not safo to uso even n small quantity of alfalfa seed In pasture mixture. From tho informa tion at present available there seems to be no doubt that it is advisable to confine the selection of pasture crops to tho grasses au;1 clovers. "There Is, little uniformity nt present as to the kinds of grasses and clovers, used. Soma pastures contain only a single crass and no clover, while oth ers have "ns many as seven or eight grasses and two or three clovers. The uso of a single grass or several grasses without clover is considered inadvis able, largely becauso of low carrying capacity. Tho uso of several grasses which have different habits of growth nnd different temperature requirements assures moro nearly continuous growth throughout the season. For exam ple, some grasses will grow better dur ing cool weather or iu times of wnter shortage than other grasses which, on, the other band, may make rapid growth when the temperature Is high or when water Is abundant 4 "Tho two clovers most commonly used with tho grasses are white and al slkc, sometimes one and sometimes both being used. Dlfflculty occasion ally results from clover bloat where the clover has been seeded too heavily or where the conditions are especially favorable to Its growth, as they aro on some of the projects. Whero the pas-l turo crops Include sever. ' grasses and whero not to exceed two pounds per acre of either clover seed ia used, the danger of bloat is not likely to be se rious. In the selection of corps for Irrigated pastures, provision should al ways be made for variety and high currying cnpaclty and this necessi tates the uso of at least one clover nnd preferably more than one grass." Tho bulletin then devotes several pages to pasture mixtures for various soils, method of seeding, irrigation, and management DAIRY BULL'S VALUE SHOWN BY OFFSPRING Farmers Are Advised Not to Sell Sire Until His Daughters Have Been Tested. C. O. Hayden of tho Ohio experiment stntlon is authority for a statement that the dairy bull may be worth more, than $3,000 in ono year to a dairy herd.' Ho shows that in the station herd ono bull produced dnughters averaging 153 pounds moro butterfnt than their dams. If ten daughters produced milk for six years, tho total production of this sire would be worth $2,750 moro titan that' of a bull that produced no increase, if butterfat is worth 80 cents a pound.. Since tho value of the bull can be determined only by the milk nnd but ter yields of his daughters, farmers, aro advised not to Bell tho dairy sire, until his duughters havo been tested. Buyers should not discriminate against' an old bull if ho has some high pro-" ducing daughters, for his valuo cannot, bo determined until he Is nt least four years old. HOGGING OFF CORN QUITE ECONOMICAL Purdue Bulletin Outlines Advan tages of This Method Rapid Gains Are Made. "The opinion that hogging off corn Is a wasteful and shiftless practice has been moro or less common among, good farmers. Feeding tests conduct ed under average conditions, however, prove qulto tho opposite. Rapid and economical gains are mndo by tho' hogs and satisfactory cash returns, received for the corn crop consumed," is stated In extension bulletin No. 48, "Hogging Oft Corn," a meat interest ing aud valuable publication Issued by' the agricultural extension department of Purdue university.