Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-10-18

EDITOR HERALD: You will re-
member visit made by you with
Mr.. G. d. Compton and myself,
about two years ago, to the farm,
about two miles west of Compton,
belonging to Mr.. Hiram Burlln-
game, the full cousin Of Anson
Burlingame, of international treaty
celebrity, but who stoutly denies
even forty-second cousinship to
the treaty itself; that on the farm
you saw the largest artesian well
in the State pouring out a great
volume of water over the top of
t 10 pipe fourteen inches in dame
ter, squaring 154 inches, while a
section Of the seven-inch pipe used
in the other wells squares only 80
inches. You will also remember
that the well is on the side of an
inclined plane, with an extensive
area of land composing that part of
the inclined plane dominated by
the well and q vast area of nearly
level land, also dominated by the
same well, and spreading away,
gently declining from the well,
toward Wilmington. You may
also remember the ride down the
long zanja, the corn fields; and, be-
yond these, the natural irrigated
pastures of alfilerilla very luxu-
RANT, and at the time of the visit
enlivened with swarms of depas-
ttfring wild geese, although early
in December. But you will not re-
member having seen the dust of
alkali on all that irrigated land
scape.
Mr.. Burlingame intends to in
tervlew Mr.. Gennert on the subject
of converting that same landscape
of corn fields and alfilerilla into
one vast sugar beet plantation.
His first move will be for q planta-
ton of three to four hundred acres
of sugar beets; afterward to devel-
OPP more artesian water and broad
en- the beet plantation.
There are thousands of acres of
rich land, free from alkali, to
which the water will flow from Mr..
Burlingame's artesian headquar-
ters, on the face of the inclined
plane.
MIR. BurliDgame makes q propo-
sition that, if executed, will lead to
startling results. One proposition
ia to put syphon Into his present
nam moth well and to have the end
of the pipe at the outflow thirty
feet lower than the end of the pipe
in the we'll at the inflow. The
highest part of the syphon will be
twelve feet higher than the end of
the syphon inside of the we'll at
the inflow. The end of the syphOn
at the outflow will be thirty feet
lower than the highest part of the
syphon. The water in twelve feet
of the syphOn outside of the we'll
will balance the water in the twelve
feet of the syphon inside OF the
we'll. This will leave eighteen feet
of the sypnon outside of the well
lower than the end of the syphon
at the outflow. This eighteen feet
represents the drawing or
suction power OF the syphon,
which is equal to the pres
sure Of n perpendicular column of
water eighteen feet high. The sy-
phon will be fourteen inches in di-
ameter. With one foot of pressure
the discharge would be sufficient to
run twelve foot overshot wheel
driving on pair Of medium stones
in u grist mill. Increase the pres
sure eighteen times, as it would be
in the case of syphon, and 1t is
plain that small river would be
the result.
Suppose, however, Mr.. Burlingame
abandons the syphon and bitches
or tunnels out his we'll eighteen
feet below the inflow end of the pro-
posed syphon. He would then
have precisely the same amount of
pressure and the same outflow, in
creased somewhat in the absence of
the friction that would retard the
flow through the syphon. In this
case the subterranean pressure that
forced the artesian water up to the
inflow end of the syphon would
cAcIb us PoWSl III ioiCib6 uho wa
ter out of the pipe cut off eighteen
feet below on level with the tuu-
mel or ditch. The outflow in this
case, as in the other, having the
velocity impaired by eighteen feet
of pressure through II inch pipe,
the opening of which is equal to 154
square inches, would amount to
great volume of water projected
into the tunnel or ditch.
To say that such an outflow
would irrigate four thousand acres
of the moderately adobe land to
which it would flow is not beyond
but perhaps within the limit. Dis
tributing the water, as is done
in the Asbestine sub-irrigation
method, this estimate might be in
creased to thirty thousand acres.
This or more would be dominated
by the we'll.
There remains, however, one I'M
known factor necessary to the So
luton of the problem, the rate at
which the water can flow to the
subterranean inlets into the arte.
sian pipe. If this rate equal or ex-
coed the rate of outflow, of course
the outflow would be sustained.
Otherwise not, of coure. would
say that the rate at the inlets would
be less than the possibilities at the
outlets. But Mr.. Burlingame pro-
poses to bore other wells, to syphon
each and continue the increase of
wells until all the water is obtained
that may be necessary to irrigate
the vast extent of land dominated
by his remarkable artesian posi-
ton. To such an enterprise, how
ever, Mr.. b. would have to invoke
the aid of capitalists.
At another time L may show that
here is an opportunity, only II
miles from the city of Los Angeles,
Tor capital to educe latent wealth
that would figure up honan2as and
save going to the Comstook or to