MINING. 305 



feet long. At the end of each section, as pipes are usually 

 made, there is an ear or hook riveted on each side, and when 

 the foot of one section is thrust into the head of another, a 

 wire is wrapped round the opposite ears or hooks to tie the 

 sections together. In case a pipe is laid on a hill-side running 

 down, each section is tied at the head to a post, to keep it 

 in place ; and the post may be supported by a board, placed 

 edgewise and crosswise in the ground. About an inch and a 

 half of space is allowed for the lap at the end of the sections. 

 The ends need to be made with precision, so that they will be 

 water-tight, without packing. The pipe should be put together 

 in a straight line, and the sections should be driven together 

 with a sledge hammer, striking a board laid across the end of 

 the section. The pipe needs to be coated with tar to preserve 

 it, and if very large it may be coated inside as well as out. 



The cost of 11-inch pipe made of No. 20 iron is about' 75= 

 cents per foot. The thickness of the iron depends upon the 

 amount of pressure and the size of the pipe. The larger the 

 pipe, the thicker the iron should be. The pressure at 190 feet 

 is 88 pounds per square inch, and No. 20 iron is strong enough 

 for that, if the pipe be not more than 1 1 inches in diameter. 



225. Expensive Construction. The first experiments in 

 ditching in 1850 were magnificently successful. The canals 

 were short and small, and the water was either sold at a very 

 high price, or was used in working out rich claims. It was 

 not uncommon for several years for little ditches to repay the 

 cost of construction in a couple of months. It was supposed 

 that the right to the water of a good stream would be worth 

 a fortune. The merchants in each town considered it their 

 interest to encourage and assist the miners to bring in water, 

 so as to increase the population, gold production, and trade. 

 The country was full of enterprise and money, for which there 

 was not much other use. Numerous ditch companies were 

 formed, to bring water from the elevated regions in the moun- 

 tains, and many had invested too much to withdraw before 

 20 



