A little ingenuity in the construc tion of such a cistern and filter will be amply compensated by a pure and abundant supply of soft water for household purposes. A round or egg shaped cistern is superior to one with square corners, especially in the lower receptacle, from which the water is directly drawn or pumped for drink ing purposes.
Homemade Water Filters. — Rain water collected in barrels from a roof or otherwise is a necessity in some localities, and is often more whole some for drinking purposes than hard water. The following is a cheap and easy way to make a filter just as good as a patent filter costing ten times as much: Take a new vinegar barrel or an oak tub that has never been used, either a full cask or half size. Stand it on end raised on brick or stone from the ground, with the faucet near the bottom. Make a tight false bot tom three or four inches from the bottom of the cask. Perforate this with small gimlet holes, and cover it with a piece of clean white canvas. Place on this false bottom a layer of clean pebbles three or four inches in thickness. Next, a layer of clean washed sand and gravel. Place on this coarsely granulated charcoal about the size of small peas. Char coal made from hard maple is the best. After putting in a half bushel or so, pound it down firmly. Then
put in more until the tub is filled within one foot of the top. Add a three-inch layer of pebbles, and throw over the top a piece of canvas as a strainer. This canvas strainer can be removed and washed occasionally and the cask can be dumped out, pebbles cleansed, and charcoal renewed every spring and fall. Or once a year may be sufficient.
This filter may be set in the cellar and used only for drinking water. Or it may be used in time of drought for filtering stagnant water, which would otherwise be unpalatable, for the use of stock. This also makes a good cider filter for the purpose of making vinegar. The cider should first be passed through cheese cloth to remove all coarser particles.
Or a small cheap filter may be made from a flower pot. A fine sponge may be inserted in the hole and the pot filled about as directed for the above filter. It may be placed in the top of a jar, which will receive the filtered water.
valuable substitute for char coal in the above filters is sponge iron obtained by burning finely divided iron ore with charcoal. This can be obtained in the locality of iron mines or smelting furnaces. This is much more powerful than charcoal, and is said to completely purify contaminat ed waters.