1346 ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF AGRICULTURE. supi-j.f.mknt. 



a bored well affording water, may not yield any ; should the latter fur example, he fed by a subterranean 

 current, In place of being supplied by a sheet of water ; or ihonld the perforation he made upon the 

 extremity of a basin with inclined strata, retting upon a formation of a very different nature. 

 M. Gamier*! Manuel du Fontunier-sondciir contains all that can be desired on the subject of borinK these 

 wells, (Ibid.) 



8833. General observations on Artesian wells. Great mbterranean sheets of water exist at various 

 depths. These sheets are more commonly mvt with in the plane of superposition of strata of different 

 formations. They, however, frequently occur at various heights in the great masses of earth ; Midi as 

 those of day, chalk, and t\ i-n marine limestone containing cerithia. when these masses are entire and ot 



great thickness. According to the slope, th lulations, or the declivities which are presented by the 



plane of superposition of the permeable deposits in which the waters flow between impermeable ttrat i. 

 these great sheets of water are met with at all depths; but it is impossible to lay down any constant rule 

 with respect to them. (Ibid.) 



832 1 In order that these water* may be capable of ascending, it is necessary that the formations among 

 which they occur he entire, in the state in which they were originally deposited : and that they be not 

 intersected by large valleys, or deep ravines, through which the waters would find a free and easy 

 exit. 



S325. // would be in vain to search for springs in deposits which, at no great distance from the place of 

 boring, are intersected by deep valleys, or when the formations are internally crooked, filled with tortuous 

 separations, and greatly disturbed, whether by the contraction attending the desiccation of the mass, or 

 by intern. il shocks, swellings, or earthquakes ; or, lastly, when these Neptunian formations, such as plastic 

 i lay. chalk, oolite, and shell-limestone, are raised up, and present precipices at the surface. In such 

 localities, we need not expect success in boring for springs, unless by penetrating deeply into the mass of 

 the chalk, in search of the sheets of water in its lower part ; or even by traversing it entirely, in order 

 to come upon those in the clays, oolites, and shell-limestones ; or, lastly, unless by penetrating deeply into 

 the latter, when they happen to be raised to the surface, and to present cliffs, or are intersected by valleys 

 of greater or less depth. 



832G. In a country composed of elevated plains, if, in place of boring to the necessary depths for reach- 

 ing the different water-sheets which are commonly the most abundant, and, at the same time, those which 

 rise highest, the boring is stopped at higher levels, less distant from the surface, it is more than 

 probable that the ascending waters w ill stop more or less beneath the surface of the ground, accord- 

 ing to the depth of the borings. When this occurs, we ought to be far from considering the operation as 

 having failed ; because in this case the water does not rise above the surface, and in most instances, 

 according to the localities and the nature of the ground, steps may be taken to remedy the defi- 

 ciency. Thus, for example, when the water of a boring only rises to within a certain number of yards 

 from the surface, but in sufficient quantity, it might be conducted from the point to which it reaches, by 

 a small gallery, into some neighbouring w'ell, or into one dug on purpose ; and there might thus be pro- 

 duced a kind of artificial fall, which might be employed to make the water ascend to the surface of the 

 ground, and even beyond it, by employing for this purpose either the hydraulic ram (belier hydraulique), 

 which would always give a third of the volume of water, or a wheel, which might be placed at the point 

 of the fall, and which, working a pump suitably placed, might raise the third, or perhaps even the half, 

 of the volume of water ; or, in short, any other hydraulic machine of the kind. But these means would 

 be practicable only in so far as the wells into which the waters should be precipitated might not allow 

 them to run off into strata of permeable deposits. 



8327. Circumstances which it is necessary to examine and appreciate before resolving upon boring a 

 well. It is necessary to examine the physical constitution or the nature of the ground, and the disposi- 

 tion of the surface of the country, with reference to the mountains which overlook it. the valleys by 

 which it is intersected, and the springs which rise in those valleys. The latter it is particularly necessary 

 to examine, before deciding upon boring a well, as many of them are natural wells. It is of importance 

 to select a fit person for boring ; the art not being merely mechanical, and such as can be practised by 

 any borer. Besides attending to these circumstances, it is necessary to be possessed of perseverance and 

 courage, which will lead us to disregard the delays and difficulties often unavoidably connected with the 

 operations of boring. ( Hericart de Thury, as quoted in Jameson's Journal for July, 1H30.) 



8328. Boring for water indeep sand. Mr. David Greenley, of London, has been lately (August, 1834) 

 very successful in obtaining " an abundant supply of pure water," at Diss in Norfolk, at a depth of 

 upwards of COO feet below the surface. A well had been previously sunk in the same place : but, in 

 consequence of an immense quantity of sand rising whenever thepump was worked, it was almost 

 useless. (See Arch. Mag., vol. i. p. 210.) 



8329 4512. The improvement of waste lands, whether moss, bog. or wet clay is exemplified in seven- 

 teen different cases n ported on in the Highland Society's Transactions, vol. X. p. 281. The article em- 

 bodies an immense amount of valuable practical information on the subject. 



8330 — 4524. Rending rocks or stones. A newly invented apparatus for this purpose has been brought 

 into notice by Mr. I). Millar, road contractor and' builder in Edinburgh. The apparatus appears to be a 

 more efficient boring instrument than any hitherto in use. It is calculated to bore or tap to the depth of 

 100 feet or upwards, and may be put in operation either by manual labour or steam. (Scotsman, Feb. 22. 

 1834.) An instrument for the same purpose was invented by Mr. Mallet of Dublin in 1832. Mr. Mallet's 

 object was to split all rocks that could be separated into laminae, by the application of the male and female 

 screws ; instead of blasting, as heretofore practised, with gunpowder The process isas follows : — Jumper 

 holes are formed in the direction of the proposed fracture, as at present ; but, instead of filling them with 

 gunpowder, a split female screw is inserted in each hole, and the fracture is effected by the insertion of a 

 conical or male screw. (Arch. Mag., vol. i. p. 93.) 



8331 4541. Draining and bringing into cultivation moss-lands or peat-bogs. The Liverpool Agri- 

 cultural Society having awarded its premium to Mr. Reed, late of Chat Moss, but now a professional 

 drainer, we ^ive the following as the essence of his paper. \Ve may premise that we had the pleasure of 

 inspecting Mr. Reed's farm at Chat Moss, near Liverpool, in August, 1831, and were much gratified and 

 instructed by what, when there, we saw* and were told by Mr. Reed. 



8332. Draining. The water, to a considerable depth from the surface, being held in a great degree by 

 capillary attraction, drains should be frequent, and more or less distant according to their depth. Open 

 drains to divide the fields may be placed at any distance not exceeding 100 yards. The covered drains 

 should run at right angles to the divisional drains. Sixty-six yards, or three chains, Mr. Reed has 

 found the best width between the open drains; and, consequently, as the covered drains are at right 

 angles to these, their length will be sixty-six yards. The open drains may be four feet wide at the top, 

 from three feet six inches to four feet deep, and fourteen inches wide at the bottom. The covered drains 

 should not be more than five or six yards apart, and three feet deep. No material is wanted to cover 

 them but the moss itself. " The form should combine the principle both of the shoulder and the wedge 

 drain, and the somewhat square clod, which is first taken out, when dried to a certain extent by the 

 weather, becomes the cover." 



8333. Pit paring the surface. " Moss, or peat bog, is not a soil, but an accumulation of dead, dying, 

 and living plants growing in water." To form a soil, therefore, it is necessary to destroy, to a certain 

 depth, the original structure of the moss, both for tin- purpose of destroying vegetation, and facilitating 

 the passage of the water to the covered drains. Digging is perhaps the best mode of destroying the 

 structure of the moss, and afterwards, a cutting machine formed by fixing circular knives on the cylinder 

 of a common roller, may be applied. In due time, the surface may be harrowed, and afterwards manured, 



