Correspondence.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3468, 25 March 1890, Page 2

Correspondence.

ARTESIAN WELLS. (To Tim Editor.)

Sin,-As you were good enough to print ray, long letter on Saturday, you may consider the subject of artesiau water supply, of. sufficient interest to give me a further space in your papor for tho publication of additional particulars of the operations at Carterton, regarding which I have only just been fully informed. . ,

It seoms that there are at hast two artesians near Carterton. The best example is tho one in Moreton Road', referred to in my last letter. The resident who bored it used a ! comparatively light " monkey," and, as before mentioned, went down fortyeight feet, getting a splendid eight foot flow of water. A too-heavy monkey and too rapi.l forcing is. a mistake, and proves disastrous to the pipqs. After sinking about "thirty feet, a heavy stratum of bluo day was struck; It was twelve feet thick, and getting: into tho pipe through the perforations, threatened to become exceedingly difficuU to'overcome. At this stago Messrs Ballinger Bros,, of Wellington, were consulted, I understand, and they sent up an inch pipe to which was attached a cleaning augur. _ This was inserted.! in the well pipe, and after boring and twisting, anil working"up and >down. the obstruction Was removed, The next cause of troublo was one foot of conglomerate, forming a; kind, of cement, Progress through this was very tedious; but when it was passed water was at once struck. The eight foot flow Tvhioh resulted comes in entirely through the perforations. Had the iron plug-shoe been removed an even higher and still moro free, supply might have resulted. ; The other artesian well in Garterton is down tho Bank Road. It runs continuously, but does not give such a good flow. Its depth is understood, to be seventy feet. It is. situated on rather low ground, The'Moreton Koad well, I should mention, has only been down a few weeks. The Bank Eoad one has been in'existence for, somo time past," That'there are several strata of water, here as there are in Christchurch, is evident, This is proved by the following fact, ; One or two open welh about fourteen feet deep have become almost dry. Their owners havo driven n pipe through the bottom of them, and havo struck a second and independent, water course,' They have attached pumps and havo had a plentiful supply of water, In ono instanco I know of, the water in the open well was bad; that pumped up from tho pipo sank in its base is good, and bears distinct indications of being from to different source. The pipes thus su.ik through the old wells were only put down a short distance. Had they been continued deeper there is now 1 every reason to think that a spontaneous flow of water would have resulted, The strata in Carterton seem to be very uneven as is commonly tho case. It is not unusual to see ono open well plentifully supplied with water, while another and deeper well perhaps only eighty feet away is quite drjv In Ohristchurch I have seen two artesian wells within twelve feet of eaoli other. One was throwing up a splendid supply of pure .crystal water, tho other was affording a not over lavish stream of quite inferior, and almost tainted Water. Both wero supposed to be first stratum wells, but one had evidently struck tnewater. sfratum at a point where it, flowed, through shingle or better material than did the other. , ; : ■

The upper stratum wells in Christchurch are to my. mind put down in many cases; on a "rule-of-thumb" principle and are noiunifprinly successful. In guito tho same locality t}ipy vary in both thp (juality and the quantity of water they tap,. Tho deeper wells—the lower stratum onos -on the contrary are sunk only by. skilled: men after a scientific method. For intelligent; and ; persevoring artesian wolhsinking withoutauy examble for guidance, .tliat of, the resident oiiMoretoii Eoad, Carterton, is from what I have heard is good an instance, as any to be found, .-v.:

" I am, k, Cms. Haines,; Cci'tet-ton, 22nd-March, 1800, ■