The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1877-10-18
How to Make q Well.

| Mr.. j. w. Plnkham has paper ON
"Wells and Cisterns" in Scribner, with
plans showing how they are contami-
mated and how they should be construct
ed. He says of wells:
First, of course, the well must be SO
constructed that it cannot act as drain
for the neighboring soil. This can be-
done by making the wall above low
water mark of some material impervious
to water, or by emitting this part of the
wall altogether. The first can be accom-
plished by having the wall from point
two or three feet from the bottom made
of brick with coating of hydraulic ce-
ment on its exterior, or of hydraulic
well-tubing with the jointings we'll pro-
tected with cement; in either case the
earth should be thoroughly packed
around the wall, and slight embank-
ment should be made around the Oriice
to prevent the inflow of surface or storm
water.
In such a we'll the draining surface is
SO reduced, and placed at such distance
below the surface of the ground, that in
the great majority of instances the intro
duction of foreign matter becomes i'm
possible, except in so far as there is a
chance that substances will fall into the
we'll from above. To prevent this the
we'll should be kept covered when not in
use. In most cases, however, it is better
to omit the upper part of the wall alto
gether. After the excavation is COM
pleted, the wall can be built in the usual
manner for distance of two or three
feet, more or less, as circumstances may
demapd; the service pipe can then be
placed in position, and the we'll arched
over. The remainder of the excavation
can then be filled with earth, we'll packed
as it is thrown in, and the pipe carried to
any convenient point. 1t will be neces-
sary to place above the arch several lay
ers Of stones successfully smaller to pre-
vent the falling of earth into the space
below.
The workmen will probably sug-
gest layer of turf or straw to accom-
plish this object, but the presence of
either of these substances will cause the
water to be unpleasant for a considerable
time, and will prove the cause of much
annoyance.
There is a prevalent notion that we'll
should be ventilated for the purpose Of
allowing noxious gases to escape and
that water is better for being exposed to
the air. hardly need state that the only
noxious gases in we'll e., g., gases which
render the water unwholesome) are the
products of the decomposition Of organic
matter which has found its way into the
we'll in ways which have been described
above, and that water as it flows in its
subterranean passages is more perfectly
aerated than it can be in any other way.
JOHN BRIGHT ON COBDEN.-John
Bright, in his magnificent speech at the
unwilling of Cobden's monument the
other day, repeated with new effect the
story of Cobden's coming to him when
his young wife had just died, and saying,
"There are thousands and thousands of
homes in England at this moment where
wives and mothers are dying of hunger.
Now, when your first paroxysm of grief
is passed, l would advise you to come
with me, and we will never rest until the
Corn Laws are repealed" Of Cobden's
work he spoke with almost tender appre-
citation. "There is not q homestead in
the country" he said, sin which there is
not added comfort from his labors, not a
house the jewellers in which have not
steadier employment, higher wages, and
a more solid independence. For gener-
atoms to come, IS long as the great men
of England are spoken of in the English
language, let it be said of him that Rich
ard Golden gave the labors of life that
he might confer upon his countrymen
perfect freedom of industry, and with it
not that blessing only, but its attendant
blessings of plenty and of peace"
CROssING THE Observation-Disclosures