248 
MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND ART. 
f ‘The facts above recorded are exceedingly interesting 
to the general reader, but they are rendered doubly so to 
the Australian. The great drawback to the settlement of 
a considerable portion of our territory arises from the 
scarcity or absence of that necessary element which, 
owing to the laudable efforts of the French Government, 
has been rendered so plentiful in certain portions of the 
Zahara, The Government of this and the neighbouring 
colonies are far too apathetic in opening up the vast 
interior. It-should be the mission of those who colonise 
new lands and who enjoy a high civilization, to endeavour 
by the application of science, to remedy the natural de¬ 
ficiencies. which militate against the successful settlement 
of such lands 1 am sure it will be admitted by every 
one :hat the greatest evil under which Australia labours is 
the scarcity of water in many districts. It is truly 
lamentable to see such occurrences chronicled as '«in the i 
district of-hundreds of sheep and cattle are dying in 
consequence of long-continued drought,’* when -uch a state 
of things might be remedied effectually, at a far less cost 
than the value of the perished sheep and cattle, by the 
boring of some artesian wells, and the proper diversion of 
the water so obtained. Enough has been accomplished in 
some dry districts by theamalagation of those interested — 
foremost among which inny be ranked the tapping of the 
JMurrumbidgee—to show that only labour and capital are 
required to alleviate the miseries and privations of those 
who are located in a L thirsty land,’ It is not my present 
object to treat of runs already occupied, but of those 
waterless tracts of country—anti-oases, if I may coin a 
term—which intervene between country known to contain 
every essential for the sustentation of animal life. For 
instance, between Port Augus a and Swinden's country 
about eighty miles of country exists totally destitute of 
permanent water. With reference to this tract Air. 
Swiuden says if a well were sunk about the middle of the 
desert a country far exceeding anything he ever saw, 
both for vegetation and watercourses, would be thrown 
open. Doubtless the sinking of a well would be a great 
boon ; but the advantages of artesian borings are so pre¬ 
ponderating oyer those to be derived from a common well, 
that I would suggest that an attempt to Introduce the 
artesian system should be first made here. If an artesian 
well were sunk about midway in Swinden’s Desert, and if 
the produce should equal some of those in Algeria say a 
million ami a half gallons a day—by a comparatively 
trifling outlay it might be conveyed the whole line of 
route as far as Port Augusta thus not only 'enderingit 
subservient to travellers, but actually supplying the town¬ 
ship itself. As an instance of the cost of conveying water 
when undertaken by practical hands I will mention one 
fact. A party of diggers in the Ovens district, while 
engaged In a prospecting tour, discovered a number of 
hills the surface of which yielded enough gold to Tf-nder 
its washing exceedingly remunerative : but sufficient 
water for the purpose of sluicing could not 1 e procured 
under twenty miles'" However, they were determined to 
attempt the feat of briuging the water to the gold, iustead 
of the gold to the water ; and having taken levels in their 
own rough way, they commenced work in e niest. and by 
a series of races and rude aqueducts, succeeded in convey¬ 
ing the water over a rangy country the distance above 
named, at a cost of 1 ’50 per mile. Surely, after such an 
illustrati n as this, it is disgraceful to those concerned that 
at such places as Port Wakefield and Port Augusta a drink 
of water is sometimes more difficult to procure than a 
glass of spirits. 
T could enumerate many other places where the artesian 
system would be exceedingly beneficial, but as I should 
encroach too much on your space, I will conclude with 
pointing out one other locality, namely, the overland route 
from 1‘ort Augusta to Port Lincoln, where the bones of 
poor Dutton and his party lie bleaching, victims to the 
bushrnan s curse—the want of water. As but compara 
tively little of our western territory is as yet taken up, this 
will, doubtless, be the highway for those who may be desi¬ 
rous of extending their flocks in that direction I believe 
a sum of money was placed on the estimates for the pur¬ 
pose of sinking wells along this line of route, but I have 
not heard whether the party employed have been success¬ 
ful in procuring water or not. 
The power of the pone being in the hands of the 
people's representatives, t would mercty put it to them 
whether it would not be better to forego if the funds of 
the colony will not otherwise allow it one mile of rail¬ 
road £ i ".000 per annum, and apply it to the organisa¬ 
tion of a permanent staff of artesian borers, who should 
be employed in those parts of the colony most urgently 
calling for their operations I am confident if such a vote 
were pa-sed it would be productive of more benefit to the 
colony ihan-wopld at first sight be imagined. The hidden 
interior would be opened and peopled, our flocks and herds 
would increase, new copper mines would pour forth their 
riches with coil in abundance to reduce their proceeds 
into copper, and a home market would be found for our 
cereal produce, which promises ere long tn be a glut: in 
fact, every conceivable advantage would flow from opening 
the interior—a thing which can only be effectually done by 
the introduction of the artesian system. G. L. C. 
ARTESIAN WELLS. 
TO THE SECRETARY OF THE HORTICULTURAL 
AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW SOUTH 
WALES. 
Sir— Of all other subjects which concerns the 
affairs of men, least, I believe, is known of the 
internal construction of the world we live in, and 
that little which can be relied upon is entirely the 
result of practical experience. Various are the 
theories propounded by theorists on this subject; 
but while they remain founded only on supposition, 
or conclusions arrived at from certain indications, 
which may or may not produce certain effects as 
a guide or assistance for any useful purpose, they 
must be treated with perfect indifference in the 
absence of more positive proof. Therefore, in lay¬ 
ing this paper before the Society, I wish it to be 
distinctly understood that the observations I intend 
bringing under notice nre those of an everyday 
pracfical man, and not of a geologist, as I have no 
pretensions whatever to a knowledge of the science; 
but believing that they will prove both useful and 
interesting I now submit them, conscious of the 
fact that, like the subject matter of which I treat, 
they will find their own level. 
To practical experience we are indebted for our 
present knowledge of Artesian well sinking, and 
from such experience we know that by a simple 
plain hole being bored in the earth to a considei. 
able depth the water is projected to the surface, 
and that with considerable force. There is a cause 
for all things; to explain this cause, and show the 
principle upon which Artesian wells are founded, 
is the object of the present paper. 
As water is the principal subject matter to be 
j treated upon, it is most essential that we at once 
become acquainted with the properties of action, 
which immediately affects the present subject. The 
principal power by which water is governed in all 
its physical actions is pressure—pressure by atmo¬ 
spheric action, and pressure by its own weight as 
a fluid body. To illustrate this atmospheric pres¬ 
sure it is only necessary to insert a tube in a 
bucket of water and abstract the air by suction, 
the vacuum in the tube becomes instantly filled 
with water, caused by atmospheric pressure on the 
water in the bucket around the tube j the pressure 
of water self-supplying the material which forms 
the structure, and thus a miniature pillar of water 
is formed in the tube, and there sustained by 
atmospheric pressure on the water surrounding the 
tube. Thus, then, we have positive proof that a 
predominance of atmospheric or other pressure 
will cause water to ascend in any tube, and thus is 
the one great principle upon which Artesian wells 
are founded. 
