Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-10-09
tEVELATION IN HYDRAULICS
lowell Irrigation Scheme Invented by
on Idaho Genius.
THE UTILITY OF WATER BUBBLES.
Revoiutionising Antiauatcd Methods
for Raising water Abuvc Its
Level-Lnnds Enrichcd.

upon Whlch the people OF tnls Slnte ucpehu
81 largely. is likely to undergo a decided
change In the next few years. and all be.
cause u modest genius has gone to work
and put ih plant ON the Snake river
that bids fair to revolutionize the an
tiquated methods OF raising water above
it's level
Amid tho weary wastes OF this youuG
State. to find genius was as refreshing
rs the experience was novel. and now,
after having seen the Irrigation scheme
which w. w. Priestly has almost COM
pleted, can not help but marvel At the
simplicity of his plant. and, like hundreds
OF other people, ask myself the question.
"Nhy didn't | think Of that idea instead
OF the young kansan, who Is about TO
realize his day dreams7" For In the very
simplicity OF the scheme rests It's strong
est claim TO recognition nj the hands OF
engineers and scientific people generally.
Twenty RIFLES southwest from this place,
which contains half n dozen houses and
has less the suggestion of bliss than aay
point | have visited In Idaho aru tho
Thousand Springs, "a wonderfully pictur-
esnue spot for the tourist In search Of the
unusual. Along wall OF rock. two miles
In extent. hundreds OF small springs gush
forth from the solid face 81 the rock, nnl
FLASHING. sending up feather-llke ponds
OF water. fall hundreds Of feet, Joining
the Snake river far below, at peace with
the whole world. Viewed from the bench
lands or ridge far beyond, these springs
or streams look like great organisations Of
marble or snow fastened by tho Great
Builder TO the sides OF the broad canyon
through which the Snake river tortuously
winds on It's way to Join tho Columbia.
RICH SOIL AWAITING MOISTURE,
Far above these springs beyond the
! rim rock, are thousands OF acres OF lava
eoil needing only the touch Of water TO
make them rich beyond the dreams OF
| men, a soil limitless In possibilities and
| inexhaustible. To water those lands that
TOW grow only scge brush and ~ ase
| weed Is Priestly's determination and tho
| Boston and Eutte people who ate at his
! back are evidently impressed with the
! ability OF their engineer. for sloON has
| already been expended In Harvesting the
forces OF these springs that they may be
| made 10 do something more than help MI
! the bed Of the Snake river.
Tunnels have been run. into which the
| water from these numb 7rless suhteran an
streams arc led, and by their force. and
the other forces CT nature, VIII shortly
/ I've utilized in irrigating some 1900 acres OF
/ land, extending at least two miles hnclS
/ from the rim rock that dnrkly outlines
/ the course OF the Snake.
Along the side Of the wall rock md i'm
! modiately below the tunnels. into which
I the former waste water Is now led. there
IRE immense steel pipes chained TO the
rocks and leading down to compressor
which stands on level with thc Snake
| river, It's bottom being sunk below the
! river bed and standing upon solid rock,
/ that the greatest ANCHORAGE may he OBJ
| tanned TO resist the pressure or the i'm
| monse oolume OF water, once the pump
| IL turned on.
The water from these springs, upon the
moment OF completion OF tho new appar-
| atus, will be turned into n large funnel
| connected with n horizontal pipe several
! feet In diameter and 102 foet long, GER
tain quantity OF air will be carried with
this water and the mixed contents. air
and water, will DO discharged into tho
separator as the reservoir Is called, at
the foot OF the wall rock, which IS ten
fost in diameter. ton feet high and with
combed heads fifteen feet. having a ca
pacity OF 1000 feet. Tint the air may
he properly distributed the pipo IL ta-
pered to "A hyperbolic curve 10 meet the
varying velocltics Of falling bodies. From
the separator are two outlets. one for
water, the other for air tho pipo for the
water outlet being nearly three times ne
long ms the pipe connecting with tho air
output At the same point nt which water
is poured into the down or tapered pipe
is U-shaped pipe and against the face
OF the wall rock presents a most instruc-
tive lesson IN hydraulics. Into the longer
arm or leg. ms Mr.. priestly calls It. OF
this U, Is forced the air from tho separn-
tor, thereby pumping water ms In the nu-
merous air lift pumps which nre exten-
slvely used, not only in placer mining
and irrigation. but for lifting water out
OF flooded mines.
There IL not so much In the mere detail
of this plant that Is interesting and in
structlve 10 the layman, although there
Is not a single working valve or joint In
the whole series OF pipes, but in the nb-
solutely new Idea as 20 the size and rela-
/ of lnhhlqa TINT tho chief In.
terest centers.
In n conversation with Mr.. Priestly, he
said as to this most important dl1coveryi
AFTER much thought I came 10 the con-
cluslon II ]. could mako air bubbles the
exact size want them, could MT water
to almost any height. examined closely
all the books on hydraulics and mechan-
les, but found none that went into tho
consideration OF bubbles In relation to my
plan OF lifting the water. In Wow OF
the denrth OF anything like scientific In
vestlgation on the bubble question. went
10 work to demonstrate my theory. talk
ing series OF glass tubes for my con-
fined spaces and q lake as my open space.
After two years OF close study as to the
phenomena Of bubbles I arrived Mt tho
conclusion that a buSble nine inches IN
diameter was the worst to contend with
and my course was open to avoid pipe
that would create such a bubble, but
would make bubbles either larger or
smaller than nins incnfH. aAceTthlneti
that a bubble would rise in glass tube
at the rate OF nine feet per second. In
rising through slxty-fvc feet of water II
would take thirteen seconds. A pipe twen-
~ inches in diameter represents about
two and one-fourth cubic feet OF air TO
each foot OF water. and. carrying my
theory still further. i9s cubic feet OF AIR
must be placed into tho pipe every thlr-
teen seconds to lift the water TO the top
OF the chamber. This would be without
a flow of any kind from tho pipe. Hav-
ing clearly demonstrated this problem II
is easily seen that any excess Of air over
tho amount required TO lift the column
OF water 70 the top of the pipe will cause
the Tow desired. the size OF the globules
determining this result.
THE shorter leg in the U shaped pipe,
vhirh is 80 essential TO the complete sue
cess OF my scheme. is sixty-hve feet, the
tongue leg is 152 feet In the vertical. while
there are Fixty-hve feet of solid water In
Ire short log. In the long leg the sixty
1--WE feet Of water IL scattered from top 70
bottom. the remaining frace being oceu-
Died with air. II becomes absolutely nee
ossary under these conditions TO have m
excess OF slxty-hvc feet sufficient To glvs
a velocity 10 the water OF hve feet pee
second. The air being at a standatill, any
excess Of velocity Of Ave feet viii carry
d, str capa rafor tank aud Crculn III