TUBE WELLS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 62, 6 December 1907, Page 2

TUBE WELLS.

EASY MODE OF GETTING ■ WATER^. ;■ The present is a good time fof those •of nj our farmers who desire to improve of in , -' '' crease their water supply to ■ experiment ■•' with the single process of driving a small .■' '■■■ iron pipe into the soil. We havo hoard Of cases in which-a piece of ordinary gas-pipe ' sharpened at tho bottom end has answered the purpose. In other cases good effect >.waa'secured by exploding a small charge of. pow- ■ der at the bottom end of the pipe to shatter the soil below. An English writer in "The Dairy " says:—" It is known, of course, that at various depths in the ground there is a storage of water. Of. the rain that'falls, about one-third soaks into the grouud\and percolates downwards till it meets with soma impervious, bed such as clay or rook. Here it accumulates in all,the pores and spaces, : 5 and fills up till it finds an exit at thesur- ' face. It is remarkable how often this stor-' ; age of water is within thirty feet of the , J surface, and can therefore be got at with a ' I common pump. Instead, howovor, of sink- ■■ •; ; J ing an expensive well, a tubo. can be driven'" •■'• 1 down, a pump put on to the end of the r tube, and the thing is complete. Whenthe • 1 pump is started the water will; be muddy 3 or sandy at first, but soon a littlo '. cavity . is cleared round the holes at the lower; end of tho tube, and the water comes clear and freely. If the water is not found at *the ) first trial, then the tube can be withdrawn ; ,and tried in another place, but anyone .who r tries will be surprised to find how ofteu fc there is plenty of water below thin at, a 1 lesser distance than thirty feet. Of course, ) caro must be taken, first, to try in a likely s' spot, and, secondly, to try where th*fe will.. ' be no contamination of the water. Theso I tube wells can- only, of course, be sunk i where the soil is suitable. A rock frould s at once stop the driving, and' it-is'only | - where the soil is clay, sand, or gravel, that i they can readily be inserted. On the. other . hand it is only where there is some sand or ■ gravel that there will be wator taat'can'bo tapped. For small pumps an ordinary sledge hammer is sufficient for driving, but the ? makors usually supply driving and extract, infs apparatus on hire, and the invention cor--1 tainly forms an easy method of getting water." ■ ' " '