Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-05-02
ARTESTAN WELLS.


in the live race with her rival sisters.
ARTESLAN WELLS.
The success that has followed efforts
to obtain water on the arid plains of
the West to meet the wants of steam
engines on railways, and of irrigation
for gardens, fields of grain and grass,
and similar success of French engineers
in boring for water on the great desert
of Sahara, where seventy-five shafts
have been sunk and yield 100000 gal
Ions per hour, are facts of much greater
significance than is generally supposed.
Where does all this water come from?
Does it flow from the sea by pereola-
ton through porous rocks, sands and
clays? The bottom of these wells
are often one or two thousand
feet lower than the ocean level.
This fact gives head and pressure on
the excavation of the same number of
feet, provided the water of the sea can
find passage through earth which is
known to be permeable to both air and
water In passing any considerable
distance through rocks, clay or sand,
sea-water would leave most of its saline
particles behind, and rise in artesian
wells as common fresh water, unless
percolating bed of salt. 1t is incon-
ceivable that sufficient water falls in
rain on dry deserts of vast extent, and
penetrates one, two or three thousand
feet into the solid earth, to yield 100000
gallons of water an hour on Sahara.
Yet water from this subterranean
source supports two new and flourish
ing villages, one thousand gardens and
10000 palm-trees. These striking
facts in Northern Africa have been
alike suggestive and instructive on this
continent. Since the construction of
the Union Pacific Railroad, the COM
pany has expended about $4,000 a
year for carrying water for engine uses
in the Bitter Greek Valley, 10 miles.
Artesian wells were the only remedy,
and boring the obvious test whether
there. as on the Desert of Sahara, water
could be had by penetrating the earth
The correspondent Of the NelC York
Tribune. IN noticing six shafts
IN different places, says the re-
suits have been satisfactory.
The first well is at Separation, 624
miles from Omaha, and the last one at
Rock Springs, $50 miles. Another is
in progress at Red Desert. The well at
Rock Springs is Las feet deep. There
are layers of clay mixed with sandy
loan. clear sand and water-worn pebbles,
in which the supply of water is usually
found. This water may have its source
in the Rocky Mountains. The Rock
Spring water l.ses in tube 25 feet
above the surface of the ground, and
yields $50 gallons per hour. Water
from some of these desert wells holds
$50 grains Of earthly salts per gallon in
solution, which act injuri-
ously on engine boilers.
As fertilizers, these salts are foundmo
valuable than guano. A flowing well
that supplies 1000 gallons per hour.
viii water a section of $40 acres. The
artesian well at Denver is down 800
feet, and the water has risen nearly to
the surface. The Government is sink
ing one at Fort d. A Russell, which is
nearly 900 feet deep. A well that costs
$4,000 gives a magnificent stock farm.
The agencies andforce which distribute
so much water in desert places, where
very little drops from the clouds, nat
urally excite much earnest study, as 1t
adds immensely to the resources of agri-
culture, transportation and arts general
". Inthe village of Sperenburg, twenty
miles from Berlin, the Government
sunk shaft 16 feet in diameter $50
feet. when salt was reached. Below
that. the excavation was continued by
bore thirteen inches in diameter, to the
depth of 4, 1874 feet, at which point work
was discontinued, the bit still remain
ing in the salt deposit. These facts
show a salt formation in one mass,
three thousand nine hundred and seven
feet in thickness, with an unknown
depth below. Man is Just beginning
to learn the resources of the planet on
| 1rb;cb ba Iives