74 



THE IKHIGATION AGE. 



strainer was fastened to a l^-inch pipe with a fine 

 copper wire strong enough to support its weight, and 

 yet sufficiently thin to be easily broken when the small 

 pipe was withdrawn. Just before lowering the strainer 

 into the well, the sand which had accumulated in the 

 bottom was removed with the sand-bucket, the strainer 

 then being lowered and the small pipe securely an- 

 chored at the top, thus leaving the strainer suspended. 

 (Fig. 9.) The small pipe to which the strainer was 

 fastened was closely watched during this operation to 

 guard against any possible displacement of the strainer 



by the upward thrust of 

 the sand. The well pipe was 

 then jacked up until all of 



the perforated part of the 

 strainer was left exposed, 

 as shown in Fig. 10. 



SOILS PENETRATED. 



Fig. No. 11 illustrates 

 the soils penetrated. It 

 will be seen that the first five feet of soil consists of 

 heavy clay (adobe). Beneath this was sand of varying 

 fineness to, a depth of thirty-two feet, when a gravel 



Fig. 8. Single-tree with rope, illus- 

 trating the adaptation of horse 

 power in sinking. 



r-as 



'f 



:-V*;L 



SKO-/C - - 



Fig. 9. Slotted strainers suspend- 

 ed in well by one-fourth inch 

 pipe prior to placing. 



Sfa,te - 



tin. 



Fig. 10. Strainer in place, well 

 pipe jacked up. (Note the posi- 

 tion of sand and gravel before 

 any pumping has been done and 

 compare with Fig. 11.) 



stratum twelve feet thick was encountered mixed with 

 from 20 per cent to 50 per cent of sand. Below this 

 gravel stratum came another of sand three feet thick, 

 followed by another gravel stratum one foot thick. 



STRAINER. 



The strainer used, a small section of which is 

 shown in Fig. No. 12, was 14 feet long, closed at the 



Fig. 11. Showing the Station six inch well, with curb 

 8x9 feet by 16 feet deep. The position of sand and 

 gravel strata are shown after the well has been 

 pumped for some time. (Compare with strata 

 shown before pumping in Fig. 10.) 



bottom and made of No. 16 gauge galvanized iron, 12 

 feet of which was perforated with holes iy 2 inches 

 long and i/4 inch wide, the intervening spaces being of 

 like dimensions. This type of strainer furnishes the 

 largest safe amount of open space through which water 

 can enter the well. The openings are sufficiently large 

 to permit all the sand to enter the well and be pumped 

 out, and at the same time small enough to restrain 

 the gravel, thus forming a very porous water-bearing 

 stratum. One or two feet of blank at the top of the 

 strainer is important, so as to avoid possible danger of 

 disconnecting the pipe and strainer. 



The El Paso Novelty Works, El Paso, Texas, 

 makes a strainer almost identical with the one described 

 above. The El Paso Foundry and Machine Company, 

 El Paso, Texas, also makes a strainer of this type, but 

 with some difference in detail. 



Fig. 12% illustrates a home-made strainer, made 

 and used by Mr. J. S. Porcher, El Paso, Texas. 



