POINTS REGARDING THE CASING OF WELL (4) AT GRINNTLL 
BY W. S. HENDRIXSON. 
In the second paper on ‘Howa Ground Waters” read before the Iowa 
Academy of Science at the annual meeting of 1909, the writer, in con- 
nection with the subject of the corrosion of well casings called attention 
to the fact that the city of Grinnell had contracted for a casing of cast 
iron for well number (4) which was then being drilled. It was sug- 
gested that a report would be made on the praticability of this enterprise 
at a later meeting. 
The casing of well number (4) was placed and the well was first 
pumped about January 20, 1910. So far as I have been able to learn 
through the Geological Survey, or indirectly from the drillers, the makers 
of the tubing or from the literature, the successful lowering of a well 
casing of such great length is new, at least in the Mississippi valley, and 
it seems desirable to prepare a statement of the facts concerning the 
undertaking for record in the proceedings of the Academy of Science. It 
may be said, however, that casing of cast iron have been placed in much 
shallower wells, 200 to 300 feet, in Minnesota. 
To make clear the reasons for this departure 'from the usual custom 
of casing wells with iron or soft steel tubing a few facts in the experience 
with deep wells in this town may be stated. The first deep well at 
Grinnell, depth 2,003 feet, was completed in August, 1893. The well 
was not very satisfactorily bored or cased. The hole was not straight, 
and owing to an accident there was a break in the casing from rock, 208 
to 408 feet, permitting the entrance of the very hard water at the base 
of the drift. It is not probable that with ordinary pumping the well 
supplied much water from the deep lying sand-stones, the St. Peter and 
the New 'Richmond. In fact the results of the analysis of the water were 
almost identical with those obtained from the waters of wells in the 
neighborhood having depths of 250 to 450 feet. In a few years the 
demands of the growing town exceeded the water supply obtainable from 
the well. This fact together with the danger of having the supply cut 
off entirely by a breakdown of the machinery, caused the city to put 
down well number (2). It was cased continuously to about $40 feet. 
