630 



FARMERS' REGISTER— BORED WELLS. 



versally admitted by horse proprietors and post- 

 masters, whose interests make them peculiarly 

 sensible on this point, that a flat piece of road is 

 more destructive of horses than the same length of 

 road where gentle rises and alternate flat and swel- 

 ling ground occur; and that a long hill is easi^^rsur- 

 mounted where there are occasional short levels, 

 and even descents, than when the whole is one 

 uniform ascent. 



ANOTHER REMARKABLE CORED WELL IN 

 FRANCE. 



Flom Waldie's JournaJ of Belles Lettres. 



Artesian wells have been very successfully con- 

 etructed in some parts of France. A letter from 

 M. Jauburt de Passa to Viscount Hericart de 

 Thury, describes a bor@d well, remarkable for the 

 abundance of water which it supplies. It was 

 made by JNI. Durand, two leagues south-east of 

 Perpignan. 



The sound, after penetrating to the depth of eighty 

 feet, through alternate beds of marl and clay, en- 

 tered a bed of sandy marl, three feet thick, Avhence 

 issued a jet of water, very clear, but, from the pe- 

 culiarity of its taste, unfit for drinking. Its tem- 

 perature was 14 degrees 5 Reaumur, (=6.5 Fah- 

 renheit,) and it rose from three to four feet above 

 the surface. 



A second boring, undertaken at a distance of 

 six feet from the first, gave, at the same depth; 

 a jet of water; but the first jet diminished, and 

 the quantity of water from both, was less than that 

 which first issued from the former. The boring 

 of the latter was then continued to the depth of 

 one hundred and forty-five feet, when the sound 

 began to sink of itself, and wheji precipitately wi :h- 

 drawn, the water rushed up, to the height of five 

 feet, and astonished all by its abundance and force. 

 No obstacle could restrain it. No direct attempt 

 was made to determine the maximum height to 

 which it might rise, but fifty feet was decreed to 

 be fully within the limits of its ascending force. 



At the time the letter was written, several weeks 

 after the first issue of the water, it continued to 

 flow with the same violence, and with rather in- 

 creased quantity. From the dimensions and ve- 

 locity of the current, it appeared to supply four 

 hundred and thirty gallons per minute, or two 

 thousand eight hundred and eighty cubic metres 

 per day. A leaden weight of eight pounds, sup- 

 ported by a string, being placed in the tube, Vv'as 

 rapidly thrown out by the water. 



The water, which, at first, had a peculiar taste, 

 but not disagreeable, is now very limpid and in- 

 sipid, and its temperature 60 degrees Fahrenheit. 

 The total expense of the well was two hundred 

 and sixty-three francs. 



[The foregoing extract is an interesting addition to 

 the statements lately presented in this woili of tlie ef- 

 fects of boring for water. Besides the great volume 

 of water discharged, and its prodigious force of ascen- 

 sion, there arc two other facts worthy of notice in this 

 s'nort account. The first is, that the second boring, 

 which was so near the first that it may be considered 

 as merely doubling the size of the aperture, served not 

 only to diminish the force of ascension, but also the 

 volume of water discharged. Another matter deserv- 



ing notice is the small expense at which this object was 

 attained, only about $50. There are not many con- 

 siderable farms where thrice this sum would not be 

 profitably expended for an overflowing fountain, or 

 well of pure water, though furnishing but a very small 

 supply — and a well like this, in many situations 

 would be worth many thousands of dollars. It is sur- 

 prising that this discovery is so slow in coming into 

 us:;. If water may be thus obtained in most locali- 

 ties, no imagination can now fix limits to the future 

 results and value of the discovery. Abundant sup- 

 plies of pure water will not only be obtained for drink- 

 ing and household purposes in places now suffering 

 under its deprivation, but possibly in sufficient quan- 

 tity and force to act as a motive power. In the few at- 

 tempts made in this country, it is more than probable 

 that the boring never was made to penetrate deep 

 enougli to reach the most abundant sources of water. 

 In the tide water region of the southern states there 

 would be found no rock nor any serious impediment 

 to the borer, at least for any depth yet known — and 

 therefore, no where could such experiments be made 

 at less cost, nor with more useful results, if success- 

 ful. It is highly desirable that the government should 

 encounter the expense of such an experiment, by 

 causing a boring to be made to the greatest possible 

 depth. 



The subjoined letter was an answer to our written 

 inquiries miide of an old friend. Though not designed 

 for publication, there is no other reason why its con- 

 tents should be kept private — and we hope that our 

 friendly and intimate relations will serve with him as 

 a sufficient excuse for taking this liberty — which is 

 one that we have rarely used — and certainly never 

 mean to publish any letter, if it can be supposed 

 that the writer would have objected.] 



THE BORED WELLS OF ALABAMA. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



3Iarengo County, jllabama, Dec. 20, 1834. 



Your letter making inquiries about the bored 

 wells, or fountains, and the prairie lands &c. of 

 this section of country Avas received a few days 

 since, and as I feel better to day than for several 

 ])ast, (although I now v/rite in bed.) I will now 

 endeavor to give you all the information I have 

 on the subject. When I arrived in this country 

 in January 1832, I do not think I heard of a sin- 

 gle instance where success had attended the ef- 

 forts in getting water in this way, although many 

 had attempted it. But an ingenious blacksmith 

 (a Yankee,) turned his attention to the business, 

 and his exertions were soon crowned with success. 

 He says his success had been mainly owing to his 

 having a hole in the lower end of his shaft, or 

 rather fhe first shaft that is attached to the auger, 

 the hole communicating with the auger itself^, and 

 is made by gun barrels being screwed one on the 

 other. This hole, he says, prevents too much 

 suction when the auger gets a very great depth 

 into the rock. He and his company have suc- 

 ceeded in raising the water above the surfiice in 

 this county, and in Greene, and in some instances 

 it rises more than six feet above the surface. The 

 quantity I am told varies almost in every instance, 

 according to the de[)th of the lime-stone rock 



