When the platform is two weeks old, remove the manhole cover, bore a hole in the wooden floor, saw an opening, descend and loosen the roof form, passing it out through the manhole.
If the cistern water is to be used for cooking and drinking, provide a filter on the outside of the cistern wall. Construct the filter similar to the cistern, of dimensions 4 by 3 feet and 4 feet deep. While building the cistern wall, lay an 8-inch tile through it, at the proper height to connect with an opening of the same size in the filter wall at its floor, and place a removable screen of ¼-inch mesh over the opening. Fill in 2 feet of coarse charcoal. Cover the charcoal with 1 foot of sand and gravel. Lead the water from the roof into the top of the filter. Cover the filter with a loose concrete slab.
Four men built a cistern 8 feet square and 8 feet deep, with a 6-inch floor and a 5-inch platform, in two days. The cistern holds 122 barrels of 31½ gallons.
| Materials Required | ||
|---|---|---|
| Screened gravel or crushed rock | 8 cubic yards at $1.10 | $8.80 |
| Sand | 4 cubic yards at $1.00 | 4.00 |
| Portland cement | 13 barrels at $2.50 | 32.50 |
| $45.30 | ||
“Soft” water is not only better for the bath, but also makes the washing easier and the clothes whiter. Mischievous children cannot remove concrete manhole covers.
Making Spring Water Sanitary
To the planter and stockman, a flowing spring is worth a great deal of money. Properly cared for, it will afford cold, sweet water for the house, the dairy, and the watering tanks. Improperly protected, it is not merely a mud hole, a nuisance to the milker of dairy cows, but is too frequently the cause of disease.
