190 L. V. Pirsson — Geology of Bermuda Island ; 



essary to undertake a deep boring in hopes of obtaining an 

 additional supply. This hope was, of course, not realized, only 

 salt water being met with in the course of the drilling. After 

 carrying the bore-hole down to 1,413 feet, it was abandoned 

 while in solid lava. The writer, through the courtesy of one 

 of the managers of the hotel, Mr. F. L. Howe, while making a 

 brief visit in Bermuda in April, 1912, had the opportunity of 

 inspecting this well when it had attained a depth of about 800 

 feet, and of seeing the material which was then being brought 

 up. Later he was presented with a complete set of specimens 

 illustrating the geologic section made by the well, accompanied 

 by a plan of the well drawn to scale and many valuable notes. 

 Owing to Mr. Howe's interest in the scientific data which the 

 well might afford, careful records were kept and samples taken 

 as the work progressed. One set of these, which came into 

 possession of the United States National Museum through the 

 American Consul at Hamilton, Bermuda, Mr. W. Maxwell 

 Greene, he has also had the opportunity of freely using, through 

 the courtesy of Doctor Richard Rathbun, assistant secretary 

 in charge. In addition, Professor R. A. Daly, of Harvard 

 University, has kindly permitted the use of some thin sec- 

 tions of material obtained by him. To these gentlemen, and 

 especially to Mr. Howe, we desire to express our obligations 

 and thanks in this place. 



Situation and Nature of the Boring. — The site of the well 

 is in Southampton parish on the slope of a hill about a mile 

 west of the lighthouse on Gibbs' Hill. Why this particular 

 spot was selected the writer has been unable to learn, but it 

 was probably due to some appearance in the topography which 

 led the projectors to believe that this was the most favorable 

 spot. It is 135 feet above sea-level. Unfortunately, for scien- 

 tific purposes, the boring was not made with a diamond drill 

 by which a solid core is obtained, but by one of a churn drill 

 type, in which the drill is raised and dropped, the work being 

 done by a steam engine and suitable machinery. This reduces 

 the rock to a powder, whose fineness depends, in a measure, on 

 the nature of the material encountered. Down to 785 feet, 

 until solid lava was reached, the well throughout the depth of 

 soft material was cased ; an outer casing of 8 inches diameter 

 extending down to 695 feet, while through this was passed an 

 inner casing down to 785 feet with a diameter of 6f inches. 

 The caliber of the uncased part in the firm lava is 6 inches 

 down to 1,080 feet; below this to the bottom, 1,413 feet, it is 

 4f inches. Since the casing, however, was placed, very natu- 

 rally, only in the zone of soft rock, the material obtained in 

 this way, though containing pebbles and fragments, was also 

 decomposed, and, therefore, as will be seen in the petrologic 

 portion of this paper, ill fitted for petrographic study. From 



