34 REPORT — 1870. 



mittee addressed a letter to Professor Henry, Secretary of the Smithsonian 

 Institution, United States, requesting his cooperation in furthering the ob- 

 ject which the Committee have in view, at the same time forwarding one of 

 our protected thermometers. 



In June of the present year, an answer was received from Professor Baird, 

 Assistant Secretary in charge, to the effect that Professor Henry's iU health 

 during the present season had prevented his communicating to us the result 

 of his labours in response to this request. 



The letter addi'essed to Prof. Henry made special reference to an artesian 

 well of extraordinary depth, which was understood to be in course of sinking 

 at St. Louis ; and at the same time a letter was addressed and a special ther- 

 mometer sent to Mr. C. W. Atkeson, the Superintendent of the work of boring 

 at St. Louis. 'No reply has been received from Mr. Atkeson, who appears to 

 have left St. Louis before the letter arrived ; but letters have been received, 

 through the Smithsonian Institution, from Dr. Chas. W. Stevens, Superin- 

 tendent of the County Insane Asylum at St. Louis, this being the institution 

 for whose uses the weU was sunk, together with a very interesting news- 

 paper cutting, consisting of Mr. Atkeson's report on the works. The boring 

 of the well was commenced (at the bottom of a dug well 71 1 feet deep) on 

 the 31st of March, 1866, and was continued till the 9th of August, 1869, 

 when the work was stopped at the enormous depth of 3843| feet, exceeding 

 by more than one half the depth of Dukenfield Collier}'. The strata pene- 

 trated consisted in the aggregate of 63 feet of clay, 6 feet of coal, 360 feet of 

 shales, 2725 feet of limestone, and 680 feet of sandstone. 



A cast-iron tube of 11 j inches bore was first put down, reaching from the 

 top and secured on the limestone at the bottom. This tube was then lined 

 inside with a wooden tube, reducing the bore to 4| inches. A 4|-inch drill 

 was put down through this tube on the above-mentioned date. The bore was 

 afterwards enlarged to 6 inches, and subsequently to 11| inches to a depth 

 of 131 1 feet. A sheet-iron tube was then put down, extending from the top 

 to this depth, and the bore below was enlarged, first to 6 and afterwards to 10 

 inches diameter, to the depth of 953 feet. A sheet-iron tube 79 feet long 

 Avas then put down, which rests on the offset at the bottom of the 10-inch 

 bore. The 4|-inch bore was then enlarged to 6 inches to the depth of 1022 

 feet, and a wrought-iron tube of 5 inches bore, weighing more than 6 tons, 

 was put down, reaching from the top to and resting on the offset at the 

 bottom of the 6-inch bore, thus securing the work to this depth, and reducing 

 the bore to a convenient size to work in. The 4|-inch bore has been con- 

 tinued to the depth of 3843 feet 6 inches without further tubing. 



At the depth of 3029 feet the first observation of temperature was taken, 

 and the reading of the thermometer was 107° Fahr. This first observation 

 is stated by Dr. Stevens to be specially worthy of confidence, as having been 

 confirmed by several repetitions, or, rather, to use Dr. Stevens's own words, 

 " this was the maximum of several trials." It was taken, as well as those 

 that followed it, by means of a registering thermometer (kind not mentioned) ; 

 but in answer to our inquiries Dr. Stevens states, upon the authority of the 

 carpenter who attached the thermometer to the pole by which it was lowered, 

 " that no means were taken to defend the bulb from pressure," In the ab- 

 sence of further information (and Mr. Atkeson himself has not yet spoken), 

 we can place no reliance upon the temperature recorded, as the thermometer 

 had to bear a pressure of three-fifths of a mile of water. 



The temperatures registered at lower depths, the deepest being 800 feet 

 lower, were aU (strange to say) somewhat lower than this, a circumstance 



