ii2 COLORADO COLLEGE STUDIES. 



troublesome. The conditions were ( 1 ) that the waters of the 

 spring;, whicli were used for bottlinj;, must be preserved from 

 contamination by metallic salts; (2) that the gas must be 

 forced by its own pressure to an appropriate ,<,'as-holder; 

 (3) that the sprinj^ must be accessible for cleaning and ad- 

 justment of the overflow pipes which carry the water to the 

 bottling works. Another point which had some influence in 

 determining the character of the apparatus to be used, was 

 the wish of the Comijany to have all parts of it open to in- 

 spection by visitors to the works,— a policy the wisdom of 

 which has been amply justified by subsequent experience. 

 To meet these requirements it was decided to immerse a bell- 

 shaped vessel in the spring to catch the gas. From this bell 

 the gas could be carried in pipes to the works, two or three 

 hundred feet distant. In order to give the gas sufficient 

 pressure to force it through the conducting pipe, and send it 

 into a receiver or gas-holder, it would be necessary to depress 

 the bell in the spring water sufficiently to allow for the dif- 

 ference in level between the surface of the water on the out- 

 side and that of the water within. At the gas-holder this 

 conducting pipe would have to dip into water several inches 

 in order to make a water-seal connection, to prevent loss of 

 gas in case of accident to the pipe or bell, and in the gas- 

 holder itself, a slight pressure would be needed to send the 

 gas to the pumps. In preparation for the reception of this 

 bell the spring was cleared out and somewhat deepened, and 

 upon the rocky bottom, a short distance above the vents 

 whence issue the gas and water, a shelf of cement, circular in 

 plan and about six inches wide, was built within the inclosing 

 walls of the spring, which were also made cylindrical. On 

 this shelf the bottom of the bell was to rest. An incident in 

 the work of deepening the spring and constructing the shelf 

 and walls is worthy of passing note. The volume of gas was 

 so great that workmen could not remain a moment in the 

 excavation without apparatus to supply fresh air. This was 

 provided by the use of a dentist's gas-inhaler connected with 

 a piece of common garden hose reaching above the curb of the 

 spring. Even with this inhaler it was necessary to stop the 

 nostrils of the men with plugs to keep out the gas. When, 



