ARTESIAN WELLS.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 30, 3 January 1884, Page 3

ARTESIAN WELLS.

The Sydney Morning Herald states that Mr. Darley, C.E. of the department of Harbors and Rivers, who is now in the United States, en route for Europe, on leave of absence, was instructed by the Premier, N.S.W., to make enquiries into the method used in America, for sinking deep wells. He will make a full report to the Government as soon as he has completed the enquiry 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-seeing, I have been able to learn a good deal about well-boring. In San Francisco I had an opportunity to see the method of manufacturing the wrought iron pipes used for lining the bores, then went south to Fresno, and on to Tulare, distant 251 miles, where I saw some boring in progress, and a great many wells had been sunk and gave a good supply of water. The San Joaquin Valley in that district is very fiat, 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 an acre, since the artesian wells have proved a success. The bores usually put down there are 6in. 7in. or Bin. in diameter, but mostly 7in., and they are sunk from 350 ft to 550 ft to reach water. The pipes are generally lifted up about 4ft over the ground, and the water rn the wells JL saw was flowing from 2 to 4 inches deep over the edge of the pipe. I had an opportunity of measuring the discharge of one well where the water was only flowing 2in over the pipe, and found it amounted to 204,800 gallons per day of 24 hours, but some of the wells were delivering over double that quantity. If we could only meet with the same success in Australia, a new era would set in for our celony. The cost of a well 500 ft. deep complete with pipe will not exceed 580 to 600 dollars, or say £l2O. About Frenso the country is irrigated from canals which have been constructed by companies, and it is marvellous what fine crops are being produced in the sandy soil. I met a Mi. Bart on there who had a block of G4O acres which he only took up five years ago, and he already has 500 acres planted in vines, and 170 acres in wheat and barley. It may be idded that an artesian well in the San Joaquin Valley, according to the flow of water, will irrigate from 10 to 80 acres, and that there are at least 3000 artesian wells in California.