New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-04-26

The old oakon bucket. the iron-bound h,,Lo,
well. '''e III inc
No receptacle in all literature is more
widely celebrated. Rut alasl tho
/ bucket Is no longer moss covered Tho
WindlasS that drew 1t up is out of repair and
useless and the rope is gone. The wells drI
MS sort of thing has come To- pass all over
me country Where wells have not zone
dry, their water level is much lower than II
used to hc. Commonly the farmer or other
rural resident has been Obliged TO have a
deep we'll drilled, operating IL bv pump or
windmill, IN order TO obtain a supply of
water.
Now what IS the reason for this state of
affairs Why should the water in the ground
show palpahlc signs of Disappearing What
/ IS u mat has happened, and how likely is it
\ mat The process will continued
/ This Is question that has recently alb
Sorbcd great deal of anxious attention on
/ me part OF the government, for, while the
/ lowering of the level of the water IN the
ground is locally an Inconvenience, 1t is des-
I tuned, where the country as a whole is con-
/ oened, TO bring dimlnution of crops and
even ruin 60 our agriculture. unless measures
are taken 90 put a stop 10 the mischief
In order that this may be understood, it
/ should be realized that the water in the
/ ground represents the accumulated rainfall
Of many years. stored bv provident Nature
~ the soil and the rocks beneath for main
tanning the growth o.. plants and TO keep up
! the even flow of rivers and small streams.
IL is upon this stored water that our crops
mainly depend. Over the greater part of
the settled country It alone renders farming
feasible, and So may be said TO sustain pro-
ducuon and population.
Il Is obvious, then, that any reduction in
the quantity of tins water is great mis-
fortune Properly considered it is the agri-
cultural reserve capital OF the country, be
cause on It productivity depends.
IF things are allowed 20 continue for an
other century ass they have been going on
hitherto, vast areas that are now yielding
abundant crops VIII become practically
desert.
At first glance this might seem 10 be
merely q scare born Of scientific imagination.
But the matter is not one of opinion: II is
proved fact The Department of Agricul-
ture. bv means Of what il calls "wel cen
SuS." has recently measured the depth OF
+ many thousands 0f wells all over the COun-
/ trv.-deteruIning their water level, that IS
/ 20 Sav,-and, by comparing the results with
/ similar measurements running back IN many
cases for over fifty years. has reduced 1t all
20 definite figures.
II one digs down into the earth. he reaches
water a. o greater or less depth. Suppose
that the hole IS a we'll the water percolates
into II from the surrounding soil and rocks,
finally establishing itsalt at a certain level.
This level IS the surface level of the ground
water: which. one should realize, forms a
sort Of suhte-ranean lake. extending beneath
tie entire mainland Of the continent
l. Is none the less lake because its water
IS contained in the subsoll and the rocky
strata beneath. Through the rocky strata
it IS continually flowing; such rocks con-
tanning. perhaps, twenty-five per cent. OF
their bulk in water. But here and there this
stored water appears On the surface IN the
form of what IS called pond, or even as
lake that may cover thousands Of square
miles.
II reservoir was built Of the exact size
and shape Of the entire United States, and
filed with water % the depth Of seventeen
feet. this quantity of fluid as estimated by
the Department # Agriculture would Just
about represent the quantity Of water that
IS stored ia the surface crust. II IS supplied
% the roots II growing plants by the seepage
....-,- .- rr.t -a-,-ffa ~t--r Bff+ the lower lis