Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-08-23
FILLING CHINA SLOUGH.
TO SHOW HOW IT
NAY BEST BE DONE.
as to Plan, and that
Bids for Filling be Adj
vertised For.


opinion and the variety of plans suggested
to overcome the great standing menace to
our good health and prosperity clearly
proves that public sentiment strongly IA
vors the orders of the Board of Health to
entirely eXtinguish the plague spot. if
reasonable way can be found to overcome
the dilemma, and that all temporary meas
ures that postpone the final issue are delu
sive, and that their cost will ultimately
prove that the money expended on them
had better been employed toward filling
| it in.
The water in the Slough will sink nearly
five feet lower this season, if left alone; il
| lowered, as any one can see who takes the
| trouble to notice, nearly two feet during
the fourteen days that one half million
gallons Of water were being thrown i'll by
| the city pumps every twenty-tour hours
and the imaginary eighty thousand gallons
Of sparkling spring water were daily bub-
bling up under its placid surface to purify
| it. In regard to the other two feet fall the
drain pipe will give, and the possibility OF
| even that stopping up with sand, if laid ON
! a dead level. in the course of Il season or
two, makes it appear hardly worth the
| time and trouble of putting II in N all. 1t
certainly Is = very mild prescription for SO
severe II complaint, and leaves it very
! open question rs to whether it will effect
| cure.
When the slough is filed in, and the
natural growth OF the city will soon de-
mand il, the water now there could easily
| be drawn of by putting Il Tee and upright
in the twclve-inch sewer running along
| under Third street bridge. which would an
| oil "a lf 10
cost about twenty dollars. If the three or
perhaps five thousand dollars now being
spent to assist nature to lower the water a
| few weeks sooner than it usually takes in
the ordinary course of things, had been
utilized towards paying the city's portion
of the expense of filling il with sand. by
the assistance of scientific practical men
with improved appliances OF modern ma
| Chinery, we should then bcsO much further
ahead.
| A city of the size of Sacramento. with
! her immense export trade. cannot afford to
| do work of this nature in the old primitive
way Of our forefathers, in the face of thou
! sands OF events and examples that are
| yearly transporting around Us. When the
| city OF Burlington, Iowa, with Il population
of $1,000, found its progress retarded by
| just such difficulty Is Sacramento now
| has to deal with, the municipal authorities
authorized a private company to fill in the
submerged land and low ground In
few months, with the use of & steam
| digger the parties filled in place
three times the size of China slough, and
| to-day one of the principal streets of the
| city is built on that spot, with property as
seSsed for over 81 100000. Ii was the same
in East Troy, New York State, where they
dredged and excavated large submerged
plot of ground until it was adapted for
mOOring shipping in winter time; but the
dirt was utilized to fill in numbers of
blocks of low land, otherwise uninhabit-
able. Is not East Oakland now adopting
the same policy we are so slow to initiate,
i'll both draining and filling. The dredger
now at work off Alameda, digging or cut
ting channel for ship canal through the
bar formed by the debris brought down by
| hydraulic mining is al the same time fore
ing the material through pipes distance
of about one-third of mile into the low
lands adjacent. Other examples might be
cited If necessary.
In the report of the Chief Engineer of
! United States Army for the year 1881. the
| statement appears that the seven tributaries
! OF the Sacramento river are estimated to
| being down IS, 0000 900 cubic wards of sand
and gravel yearly. SO in our present stu
alton, where the cost ofhandling dirt cheaplv
| Is desired 10 be known, the questions that
naturally suggest themselves are, what did
it cost TO move this vast accumulation of
dirt from its original place in the noun
tains, where it belongs, to the valley. where
| ii Is doing so much harm, and what will it
| cost 20 again move it few hundred feet 10
q place where il will do some good?
, In answer to the first proposition, We
| have to look to the carcfully-prcpared and
| elaborate reports of mining experts. and
| thus tamiliarizc ourselves with the subject
| of the transportation of gravel with the aid
of water power. In this way we shall be
enabled to form an accurate estimate of
| the amount OF water necessarily used
| 10 convey dirt IN large quantities
| long distances; an exhibit of a mining
| claim running on an approximate mini
mum basis, viz: light pressure Of water,
and the smallest practical grades with open
! fumes capable of transporting heavy
coarse gravel over rifles that cannot be
avoided in washing for gold, is here Sc
| lected. =. Wright, assistant engineer for
the water supply of Becchwood District.
| Victoria, giving his experience on this sub
! jvct, says: d" With a slJicc twelve inches
wide, on an incline of one foot in forty
eight feet using 600 gallons Of water per
minute, he obtained very satisfactory re-
suits August J. Bowie, Jr.. A. b.. min
! WiIlrsbarrr meetin,r in lIav Isl c;tns
! The fact tina, cypcrinucr Las "a far led to tI,n
atlontinn of q 4 nor conf orodn ,,I,ara ma
turai obstacles are encountered ~. u ;ncbcs
grade 10 a l6-foot box.
The Quantity of dirt moved h,. INV. ri,-o,,
head of water propcrly ar,,licd i iaTc.,d-
emf ON tho, hi,,ht of rL'. ba,,Ls rh.raI+or nr
thc Gravel and s,uJ and tLn ~r,,i" .,,,i nv.
rau1rnlcp- of The .Iu;c,s
| WrwiI now review, III. v.orl. d,,,a I,,.
fine In CRANE, ITyiranii, MN, Go,,,'
many rcs,i}nc If rLc vi ot,,
! bv this colnnanv shows that from I1,no1
1871 70 Scnfemhar RI 1S-G ~; rs ;''cI,i'
If water - 10 ruhi, i.ct c,nhI ,,,asI,od
| > 2-5 g6- ,Dbi,. yar,is of ,-rovrl Tho taI,,,'
lar statement shou.ir., 11,or,,,' ~ ,,,a,>,.
usrd and cuLio ,-oris ,C MI ,,,,,,,,I -
Tho French ITiU' rl,ip, rro.,, NJ 80
~ Ortohor - 1874 .I,.,-. H., H., ~
of a RIM or 5o1 a,,-, and - 80.
G24 "a minors inches If v.,tnr a,,sl,~5
tbrougb fumes With . bclI ~ 5o n CO.
fan dnmns / feet WHO @o incb,. doo,, Wv
:, III r 4 i,,co ~ ~ f p. T., vi
v9sLcd from - Int IN foot L;L .,l'a
amount Of Ga C4;S cnbi, yorls nv dS c,hic
,,ards of ,,ra,-rI nor incb IF v.atar Tbo
| Ii,Lt claim ~ P,tr;ct.,.iIlo r,,,,,,;,,., 10
1,,.s ,,J I,o,rs ,,.i,,,, - -
- lf ,,,ar In III r. C9 f,ii
at - -, a. ", w. '''' ar ~
;,,,. d,,, ~, ID - -, ,,t',:
So 81 ,Ic ,.art Of ~ ana LoI io,
-, ~. i'',e' ."' III
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