11 
AND THEIR RELATION TO IRRIGATION. 
C 
any practice which tends to lessen the efficiency of the 
whole basin cannot but be strongly condemned. 
In some cases the upper confining stratum has been 
pierced and the well abandoned; perhaps the casing 
drawn up. This allows the water to waste use¬ 
lessly into the upper strata or in the surface soil, 
to the detriment of the whole basin. Where once 
done, it is next to impossible to henceforth find the hole 
and stop it, even if it should become desirable. 
The public importance of preserving such supplies 
and the ultimate effect of such practice, is such that it 
ought by law be required that every well that is sunk 
should be completely cased, and that no well should be 
abandoned or the casing withdrawn without plugging the 
hole at the impervious strata. 
There should also be some means of limiting the 
sinking of wells whenever the further boring affects the 
flow from those already sunk. 
As it is of importance to know of any change in the 
pressure, as showing such a limit, it is advisable for all 
those having wells to test them occasionally when cir- 
•cumstances are such as to render it possible. When 
arranged with hose connections, as many are, it is easy to 
do so with the moderate pressures which prevail in this 
-State. Attaching the hose so that there is no leak, the 
■end may be raised until the water ceases to flow. If it 
be lowered, the flow will begin again at the same height, 
•or close to it. This measurement, or the mean of the 
two, referred to some fixed object, can be used as a means 
of comparison with other measurements, and if occasion¬ 
ally repeated, will show any change in the pressure, and 
may indicate the cause of any decrease. For example, a 
partial filling of the bore, while lessening the flow, will 
