Artesian Wells in Kansas. — Hay, 299 
wotamie county and at Richfield in Morton county. They 
each liave another quality in common, but this is also com- 
mon to all deep wells whether artesian or not, viz : the water 
is highly mineralized. That of the Pottawotamie wells is 
strongly saline, that of Richfield is without the salt, but has 
iron and other ingredients. 
The artesian water at Wamego comes from a depth of 300 
feet (289 to 304). That at St. Mary's in the same well (there 
are several flows) is from depths of 454, 675 and 958 feet. 
That at Richfield is from a depth of just under 600 feet. The 
flow at Richfield is 6^ gallons per minute. The wells in Potta- 
wotamie county have not had their flow measured but no one 
of them exceeds that at Richfield ; they appear to be much 
less. 
In at least one of the St. Mary's wells there is a suspicion 
that gas ma}'^ help to sustain the column of water, but there is 
no such appearance at Wamego, and at Richfield the case is 
the same. 
The Pottawotamie wells are in paleozoic (Coal Measure) 
strata. The Richfield well is in Mesozoic, the principal 
part being in Dacotah, and Red beds (Triassic) with a little 
Tertiary at the top. In neither of these cases do we have 
ap2)arent the conditions of an ordinary artesian well. We 
have not seen an outcrop nor recognized a dip of strata that 
would point to the source of the flow as in ordinary cases. 
Diligent enquiry has not revealed that other persons have 
recognized suitable outcrops. The outcrop of the paleozoic 
strata is to the east of St.* Mary's and there the surface of the 
country is lower than in Pottawotamie county. A possible 
outcrop for the Wamego sandstone horizon might be found in 
the highland south of the Kaw river and east of Topeka, but 
the St. Mary's wells give no water at that depth and they arc 
nearer that outcrop though not in the exact line of the dip. 
The outcrop of the St. Mary's water horizons can only be 
found much farther east where the surface is lower than at the 
wells. The outcrop of the Richfield water horizon must be 
looked for to the west. The land is higher in that direction 
but the outcroj) of the horizon which is here 600 feet deep 
must be at a distance too great to warrant the looking to this 
outcrop as the source of the well. 
It would seem then that in these wells of small out])Ut from 
