348 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XX. No. 515 



along a line 400 miles in length. "They do not break out from 

 bluffs or fall in cascades, but appear as pools, often in the level 

 prairie. . . . The pools are carpeted with exquisite water-plants, 

 forming a waving mass in which may be seen many fishes. So 

 transparent and crystalline are these waters, that objects 15 to 30 

 feet below the surface appear only a foot away. No tint of sur- 

 face debris or of storm sediment mars the crystal clearness, for 

 they are purified by rising through nature's filter, a thousand feet 

 of the earth's strata." These are natural artesian wells, the water 

 being forced from the ground by hydrostatic pressure acting from 

 many miles away. In his summing-up of the Grand Prairie, 

 Professor Hill remarks: "I drove during the great drought of 

 1877 from Decatur to Fort Worth [about 50 miles] over a rich, 

 grass-clad region, without being able to secure a drop of water 

 for myself or team the entire distance, while dozens of suffering 

 teamsters were begging and trying to buy water from the owners 

 of the few and all but exhausted surface wells along the way. 

 With the knowledge now before us, every foot of that vast area 

 of the Grand Prairie, being underlaid by water, could be cut into 

 40-acre tracts, upon each of which, if flowing water could not be 

 obtained, magnificent negative wells rising nearly to the surface 

 could be obtained, furnishing an abundance of waters unaffected 

 by drought." 



The •' red beds" of Oklahoma. Texas, and New Mexico occupy 

 an area of about 100,000 square miles and receive their name 

 from the color of the rocks, -'glaring vermilion or deep-brown 

 chocolate sometimes prevailing, varied only here and there by a 

 bed of snow-white gypsum." The principal area is about 350 

 miles long by an average of 150 miles wide. The whole series is 

 considered to be "probably a single unbroken formation, repre- 

 senting the sediment's of an ancient inland sea." This country is 

 not favorable for the finding of artesian water, although a few 

 surface wells occur at intervals. The Llano Estacado is a plain 

 of about 50,000 square miles area, nearly level, unbroken by trees 

 or bushes, and unseamed by water-channels. Its name is from 



the Spanish, meaning a wall or palisade, and is derived from the 

 fact that there is a steep and abrupt declivity on all sides but 

 that toward the south east. It is practically without surface 

 water, there being only a single running stream throughout its 

 whole extent, and this has a length of only about 10 miles, when 

 it is swallowed up in the earth. The cause is found in the 

 porosity of the soil which allows the rain to soak into it immedi- 

 ately. This circumstance, however, is favorable for securing 

 water by wells, and accordingly it is found that wherever they 

 have been dug, water has been found. With water upon its sur- 

 face, the sterile character of the great Llano will soon be a thing 

 of the past. 



We cannot go further into the details of Professor Hill's report 

 here, but must content ourselves with saying that it is to be 

 hoped it may be published in some more accessible form than ini 

 a government document that is limited to an edition of less than. 

 1,500 copies. 



The report of Professor L. E. Hicks deals mainly with the con- 

 ditions in Nebraska, and we have an account of the geological 

 structure of the State as related to underground waters. He also 

 considers the irrigable lands and gives an interesting account of 

 the Loup Valley, which lies on the borders of the humid and the 

 arid regions, where rainfall is sometimes abundant and again, 

 scanty. It becomes, therefore, a matter of great practical mo- 

 ment to ascertain the possibility of irrigating the land. This can 

 only be done in the valleys, the rest of the country being cut and 

 scarred in a peculiar and intricate way. The capacity of the 

 Loup River for irrigation is limited to about 1,000,000 acres of 

 land, and, as it happens, this is also the amount of land that is- 

 capable of irrigation. The last report in the volume is by Pro- 

 fessor 6. E. Culver, who treats of the artesian wells of the Da- 

 kotas. 



Part IV. of this report is by J. M. Gregory and F. F. B. Coffin. 

 The part written by the former is general in its character and 

 treats of the conditions in western Nebraska, Kansas, and Okla- 



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