ARTESIAN WELLS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 1004, 25 July 1883, Page 4

ARTESIAN WELLS.

The Sydney Morning Hetald states that MrDarley, C.E., of the department of harbors and rivers, who is now in the. United States en route for Europej 'gn leave of absence, was instriicted by, the Premier, N.S.W., to make' enquiries into the methods used in America tor sinking deep wells. He ■ vfill imake a full report to the Government so soon as he has completed the inquiry entrusted to him ; but the following brief extract from a letter to a friend will show that Mr Darley has not -been idle, and that the result of his visit will not be without value. This is the part, of the letter referred to : ■ Although doing a share of sight-see-ing, I have been able to learn a deal , about well-boring. In San Francisco I ari Opportunity to see the method qf L tnanufacturing the wrought iron • pipes .used for lining the bores. I then went south to Fresno, and on to Tulare, •- distant '251 miles, where I saw some bpring in progress, and a great many ' Wells that had been sunk, and give a gqqd supply of water. The San Joa- . . (> <qu.in Valley in that district is very flft, ’ and to look at appears to be a valueless sandy desert. Two or three years ago .-land there was selling at one dollar an acre which is now realising 40 to 60 dollars ah acre since the artesian wells ‘ have proved a success. The bores usually put down there are 6in, 7 in, or . .flin in diameter, but mostly yin, and they are sunk from 450 ft to 550 ft to reach water.; The pipes are generally ;lifted up about 4ft over the ground, '. afl d the water in the wells I saw was flowing from 2 to 4 inches deep over of the pipes. I had an opportunity to measure the discharge of , ; One well where the water was only flowing ein over the pipe, and found it amounted to 304,800 gallons per day of 24 hours, but some of the wells were r ; seUvering over double that quantity. If we could only meet with the same success in Australia, a new era would set in for our colony. The cost of a well ■, Sooftdeep complete with pipe will not exceed 580 to 600 dollars, or say - La 26. About Fresno the country is irrigated from canals which have been by companies, and it is ■ T tflarvellous what fine crops are being 1? produced in the sandy soil. I met a

Mr Barton there who has a block of :!, r^4^a9ces,T^hich.J>e 'took up only five years ago,' and he already has ,500 acres n planted in vines and 70 acres in wheat :> ,,.aqd barley. It may be added that an v /artesian well in Joaquin Valley accordir ihgrtaithe flow of. water will irrigate from 10 to 80 acres, and that there are .1 at least 3000 artesian wells in California.