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
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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.
