Delaware gazette and state journal., 1884-02-21
Arfertsu Wells.

or more wi.h the oonhden, expectation o
striking such bountiful supply Of water
as should amply repay them for the large
suoun, Of capital and time invested, and
h. has inwsrdly CON meLted on the rick
Involved OF TO- finding any wAt.ra' all,
or el.e has qusli-i whether there Ia
subterrsnesn sea envelopiug the globe.
In his own mind he has probably se,
down the siDkins of sn srtesisn well a.
finsnoisl speculation rs hazardous a.
selling snos shoes in equatorial Africa,
aud wondered how anybody could b4 ca
sled into putting thousands Of dollars
into such b ale in the ground. Why sp
srtesisn well should be better than sur
faae well, and how the projectors of sucl
wslls, even If they shouli tap an under.
ground lake, ssn count upon the wster
rising hundreds, perhaps thousands Of
feet to the surface, are other pulzlins
questions.
The Sannnian, In an article on the
these questions sno shows that there Il
veiy little Of blind guess work about the
business after all. For various reasons,
chiefly because of the growing inquiry
OF the water nearer the surface, 1t has
been found necessary there to sink several
srtesisn wells, ole Of which is $40 teet
deep and delivers water q, The SUI face a.
the rate Of 25e gallons per minute with
force sufficient to send stream 10 the
hight Of los ts-t in the air.
II i! be asked whence this water comes
says the SaHitd' tan, the answer must be
sought in the geological characteristics
Of the stste. a line starting from
Augusta, Gs, and proceeding northsArd
though the CaroIinss, Virginia snd
Maryland, will show granite ridso
rising from the depths below to the sur
isce of the earth, exposed TO view IL
favorable positions, elsewhere covered
with superficial drift sands and clsys. On
the broad surface Of this granite ridge
and on Its seawsrd slope, the sands drink
in tue rain ~sIer that falls. The streams
from the up co.. airy that cross the ridge
may al supply their quota.
The water thus imbibed sinks down bv
the force of gravity, ever seeking the
lowest sttainable position. The tertiary
beds of the Charleston basin, the crets
ceous beds under them, and any other
sedimentary beds beneath the cretaceous,
must rest against eastward slope Of the
granite ridge, and their sandy lay ers must
drink in the water fltrating through the
sands. As all these beds have
gentle slope towards tue coast,
the water will follow them down
in their course. The downward flow q
the water is Of course regulated by tn,
inpervious granite above it lie othe
imperyious strata which conhne il,
escape. An srtesisn we'll Is an openin
commencing in some place where th,
surface is lower than where the cub
aqueous stratum crops ont and piercins
t vertically downward, through stratum
o after stratum, until it Reaches the water
bearing bed sought for. From this tn
/ water contained in it, obsying the Law
l OF hydroststic pressure, will ris
i upward through the we'll and b
). discharged at its mouth in quantity de
o pending; First, on the amount of wate
supplied, that ia, on the extent an
greater or less permesbility OF the watel
bearing stratum itself and the qusnity {
u water it receives; second, OF the II 81
q ence Of level between the outefop aud th
u stratum, and the sur'a1e at the mouth
u the we'll; third, on the existence or nor
y existence 3t other outlets, which una
compete with the well in the delivery
II water; and, fourth, on the length al
IS diameter OF the we'll, and the resultiu
~ :rictional resistance to the passage OF
column of water upwards to the surfac,
% 1t Is regarded as certain that the wat,
Is which is gathered by the permesb
;. stratum which lies between this grant
% ridge aud the next impervious strs,ui
a above timatsly finds its way into ii
e deep submarine valley of the Gnlt stream
8 IS miles seawsrd from Charleston. Tt
e Charleston wells simply tap this strsa
d in transit. The data from which IL
d depth TO which such wells must be sun
e IS computed is calculated BY CAREFUL
h ssce,tsiuiug the dip Of the grant
> 0utcrop and it's distances from the site
d the proposed we'll,