CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



quarryman bores for blasting. The boring-head, 

 or ram, consisting of a mass of iron, with steel 

 chisels fixed in its under side, is made to rise and 

 fall by a rod, or according to the Chinese method, 

 which is found preferable by a rope, to which a 

 certain torsion is given. Sometimes the ddbris is 

 lifted by the ram itself ; in other cases, a separate 

 auger, or shell-pump, is from time to time applied. 

 It is necessary, in soft strata, to line the bore with 

 iron tubing. 



Tube-wells. The tube-well is an American 

 contrivance, introduced into England in 1867, 

 having for its object the obtaining of a small 

 supply of water in a very short space of time by 

 the application of a limited amount of manual 

 power. 



The apparatus comprises three parts a tube or 

 well, a rammer or monkey, and a pump. Fig. 5 

 shews the several parts, and fig. 6 the state when 

 driven into the ground. The tube, AA, consists 

 of an iron pipe about \\ inch diameter, made in 

 pieces of convenient length, which can be screwed 



A.'iA 



Fig- 5- 



Fig. 6. 



together end to end. The pipe terminates at the 

 lower end with a solid-tempered steel point, and 

 is perforated for about 16 inches from the end 

 with small lateral apertures. The pipe is driven 

 a short way into the ground, just sufficient to 

 keep it upright without falling, and is temporarily 

 kept in that position by hand. A strong iron 

 clamp, DD, is fixed to the tube by clamping- 

 screws at a short distance above the ground ; and 

 another clamp, BB, is similarly fixed higher up. 

 Two pulleys are supported by the upper clamp. 



506 



The rammer or monkey, CC, consists of a s6-lb. 

 iron weight, which slides up and down the tube, 

 encircling it like a ring or belt. The rammer, 

 being raised by two men, is allowed to fall with 

 its full weight on the lower clamp ; thus giving 

 a series of blows which drive the tube into 

 the ground. Successive lengths of tube and 

 successive shiftings of the clamps afford the 

 means of enabling the perforated end of the tube 

 to reach soil whence water can be obtained. 

 When the symptoms appear of water having been 

 reached, at CC, a small suction-pump, shewn at 

 the top of fig. 6, is applied, and the water pumped. 

 The inventor accompanied the American Federal 

 army, and enabled the troops frequently to obtain 

 water by the aid of these pumps. 



Fountains Jets-d'Eau. 



Fountains or jets-d'eau are contrivances by 

 which water is violently spouted or projected 

 upwards in a continuous stream, so as to become 

 at once ornamental, refreshing, and salubrious to 

 the locality in which they are situated. The pro- 

 jecting force is acquired either from the hydraulic 

 pressure of the water at the fountain-head, by the 

 spring and elasticity of a confined volume of air, 

 or by mechanical appliance ; but generally by the 

 first The water is conveyed from the reservoir 

 to the fountain in pipes, and if the orifice from 

 which it issues be directed upwards, it will spout 

 to a height approaching that of the reservoir. 



Decorated fountains of this kind were much in 

 request among the Greeks and Romans, not only 

 in their streets and gardens, but also in the courts 

 of their houses ; and this fondness for fountains 

 still exists in Italy and the East, where there are 

 numerous elaborate and fanciful designs. The 

 French are also celebrated for their fountains, 

 those at the Tuileries, Versailles, and St Cloud 

 being superb structures ; and indeed, with the 

 exception of our own, most of the large towns of 

 Europe are adorned and refreshed by these con- 

 trivances. The most remarkable jet-d'eau in the 

 world is said to be that at Cassel in Germany, 

 where the waters rise from an orifice of twelve 

 inches diameter to a perpendicular height of 200 

 feet. The source from which it is supplied is at 

 the top of a mountain near by, being about 500 feet 

 above the level of the town. The fountains of the 

 Sydenham Palace are on a grand scale. The 

 jets-d'eau, and cascades of the numerous basins, 

 contain six times the amount of water thrown up 

 by the Grands Eaux at Versailles. 



DRAIN S S E W A G E. 



Next to the necessity of an abundant supply 

 of pure wholesome water, is that of getting rid of 

 it when rendered foul and contaminated by use. 

 This sewage problem is even more difficult than 

 that of water supply ; for while the difficulties of 

 the latter have been tolerably well got over, the 

 solution of the former is not yet completely 

 settled. The most obvious method of discharge 

 is by open gutters ; but as these are offensive and 

 unsightly, the great object, both in ancient and in 

 modem times, has been to establish a system of 

 underground channels or sewers. 



