ARTESIAN WELLS. 



419 



the 10th of June, and of a half during the thirty days of irrigation alter the 10th 

 of July. 



The Table Mountain ditch lias a flow of 1-iU < ■ n 1 > i « • feel per second during the 

 maximum season, and the Rocky Mountain ditch of 189 cubic feet, and the same 

 ratio before and alter the maximum discharge as given lor the High Line ditch. The 

 llow of eaeli of the tw<> principal ditches heading in Lear ('reek, not exactly known, 

 will lie ver\ nearly equal to the flow of the Table Mountain ditch. 



The amount of water thus brought from outside the liasin within its limits is. 



according to the above dati it less than 31,104,000,000 gallons [31,406,155,324: 



author], 



A good deal of this runs away in visible streams, as is amply demonstrated by 

 the many gullies, ravines, and arroyos, which were before known as dry and now are 

 little rivulets, also by the many springs that were formed in the neighborhood of 

 ditches, some feeding lakes and increasing their extent. Another and large part of 

 the above-named amount of water brought on by ditches is evaporated and consumed 

 by vegetation, so that probably not more than 20 per cent percolates to the sub- 

 soil. This 20 per cent would make an additional supply of li.UiMi.soo.niin gallons 

 [6,281,231,065: author]. 



Taking- the author's figures, the total water available for absorption 

 for the field from till sources would be 53, 158,952,101 gallons per year. 



ABSORBING POWEB OF STRATA. 



The absorbing power of the artesian strata involved in this discussion 

 can, for the most part, only be estimated. A few determinations of this 

 property were made for the lower Laramie and Fox Hills sandstones in 

 the selection of building material for the State capitol at Denver, 1 which 

 are as follows: 



Second Biennial Report of the Board of Capitol Managers to the General Assembly of the 

 State of Colorado. L886. 



