UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 
 
 BULLETIN NO. 14. 
 
 [In order to render the results of investigations 
 and experiments conducted by the Agricultural De- 
 partment of the University of California more quick- 
 ly and more generally available than has heretofore 
 been done through the annual or biennial reports, 
 it is proposed to embody hereafter, in the form of 
 "Bulletins," to be issued as often as may seem de- 
 sirable, reports of results, as well as such other discus- 
 sions, information or answers to questions as may 
 be of general interest. It is intended to make these 
 bulletins, as a rule, short enough for insertion in the 
 daily or weekly papers of the State, and proof-slips 
 of the same will be regularly mailed to papers apply- 
 ing therefor. The substance ot these bulletins will 
 ultimately be embodied in a more complete and con- 
 nected form, in the annual reports of the College of 
 Agriculture.] 
 
 Examinations of Artesian Waters from 
 the San Joaqnin Valley. 
 
 In a previous bulletin (No. 7), the analysis of 
 the water from an artesian well (Mr. Paige's), 
 in Tulare county has been given and commented 
 upon. It was found that while this water does 
 not contain an unusual amount of soluble salts 
 (11.8 grs. per gallon), the character of these 
 salts is such, that unless corrected by the use 
 of gypsum on the land or in the reservoir, un- 
 favorable effects upon plant growth, due to the 
 accumulation of carbonate of soda in the soil, 
 would be likely to be felt before many years. 
 Thisled to the investigation of waters from 
 other wells in the Tulare artesian belt; and the 
 results here communicated are obviously of such 
 practicxl importance as to render a further and 
 more thorough examination of the whole subject 
 very desirable. 
 
 1. Water from a flowing well bored on the 
 laud of Mr. E. Jacobs, of Visalia, on S. 15, T. 
 20 S., R. 20 E., at present about 2 \ miles from 
 the northern margin of Tulare lake. Mr. Jacobs 
 states that in boring this well, various kinds of 
 sands bearing inferior waters were passed 
 through to 585 feet, where a bluish, shaly clay 
 was struck, continuing for about 76 feet, when, 
 on passing through, water began to overflow, 
 discharging clean granite sand. As the sand 
 discharge diminished, the flow gradually in- 
 creased, the water rising to two inches above 
 the mouth of the pipe. In ten days it cleared, 
 and the well is now discharging 170,000 gallons 
 per 24 hours. 
 
 The analysis of this water gave the following 
 result: Total solid contents, 21.5 grains per 
 gallon, when dried at 100° cent. Upon ignition 
 there was a loss of 1.9 grains, consisting of or- 
 ganic matter and water. The remaining 19.6 
 grains were resolved by water into a soluble 
 and an insoluble portion, composed as follows: 
 
 WATER OF E. JACOBS' WELL 
 
 Grains 
 Per Gall. 
 
 SOLUBLE PART. 
 
 Carbonate of Soda 16.61 
 
 Sulphate of Soda. 
 
 1N80LUBLE 1'ART. 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia.... 
 Silica 
 
 Organic Matter and Water. 
 
 In 100 
 
 Residue. 
 
 77.23 
 3.19 
 
 17.27 
 
 5.50 
 2.94 
 2. OS 
 
 Total ! 21.00 
 
 The total of mineral contents of this water is 
 just within the limits usually assigned to 
 potable waters. In kind, however, the salts 
 contained are uuusual, in view of the fact that 
 the fermanently soluble portion consists almost 
 entirely of carbonate of soda, with but a small 
 proportion of sulphate of soda or Glauber's salt. 
 For drinking purposes the water will be unob- 
 jectionable to most persons, the daily con- 
 sumption of from 6 to 10 grains, and even mote, 
 of carbonate of soda being not an unusual thing 
 in connection with "soda biscuits", without 
 any sensible disturbance of health. In many 
 soils, also, irrigation with this water might 
 long be practiced without injurious effects. Iu 
 the present case, however, the land in the 
 neighborhood of the well is already quite 
 heavily charged with alkali from the wat^r of 
 Tulare lake, as heretofore noted (see bulletin 
 No. 7, and Rep. Coll. of Agt. for 1880, P. 22), 
 aud any increase espacially of the most in- 
 jurious portion — the carbonate of soda — should 
 be carefully avoided on that account alone. 
 Lands irrigated with this water should there- 
 fore receive, from time to time, such dressings 
 of land plaster as will be sure to transform all 
 the carbonate into comparatively inert sulphate, 
 and so relieve the soil of at least any addi- 
 tional burden in the way of "black alkali". 
 
 2. The fact that some of the waters obtained in 
 the artesian belt of Tulare are quite pure, has 
 already been referred to in bulletin No. 7. 
 Additional corroboration of this point is af- 
 forded by the following analysis of waters from 
 wells at and near Tulare City, on what is sup- 
 posed to be the eastern limit of the belt. They 
 are described as follows by Mr. E. M. Dewey, 
 of that place. 
 
 "The well bored for D. M. Madden is located 
 in the town of Tulare and supplies it with 
 water from an elevated tank into which it is 
 pumped. It does not flow, the water rising to 
 within six feet of the surface only. It is 220 
 feet in depth: boring was discontinued on ac- 
 
count of injury to the casing. 
 
 "E. M. Dewey's flowing well is situated seven 
 miles southwest of Tulare City, on the S. P. 
 Railroad. It was among the largest flows at 
 first obtained, the diameter of the stream being 
 3| ins. through a 7-inch casing; its depth is 309 
 feet; its flow was 860,000 gallons per day. The 
 augur, after passing through successive strata of 
 hard sand and clay, struck the cap rock, about 
 6 ins. thick, which overlies the first flow in all 
 the wells in this vicinity. This rock is so hard 
 that a whole day's time was consumed in drill- 
 ing through it. The well at first threw up 
 many tons of greenish sand, pebbles, bark, 
 wood, fish-bones, etc., and what appeared to 
 be brilliant-hued particles of abalone shells. The 
 well is capable of irrigating 200 acres of level 
 land, half of that amount having been irrigated 
 during the past season, with half of the water 
 running to waste. There are several wells in 
 
 the immediate vicinity, all strongly impreg- 
 nated with sulphur, and of the same force and 
 temperature from the first flow." 
 
 Mr. Dewey also says that according to the 
 well-borer's statement, the succession and 
 depth of the strata penetrated is exceedingly 
 variable within short distances. The results of 
 the analyses are given in the following table: 
 
 TULARE ARTESIAN WATERS. 
 
 Sol. Residue, grs. per Gal. 
 
 SOLUBLE PART. 
 
 Sulphate of Soda 
 
 Sulphate of Potash . . 
 Carbonate of Potash . 
 Carbonate of Soda . . 
 Silicate of Soda 
 
 INSOLUBLE PART. 
 
 Carbonate of Lime 
 
 Carbonate of Magnesia. . . 
 
 Sulphate of Lime 
 
 Silica 
 
 Organic Matter and Water 
 
 Total. 
 
 E. M. Dewey's) D.M. Madden's 
 Well. Well. 
 
 9.36 
 
 Grains Per Ct. 
 Per Gal of Res, 
 
 2.80 
 3.36 
 
 .40 
 1.19 
 .02 
 
 10.92 
 
 29.90 
 35.94 
 
 4.29 
 12.71 
 .27 
 
 *106 . 
 
 5.75 
 
 G rains j Per Ct. 
 PerGalof Res. 
 
 .22 
 .06 
 
 .97 
 .06 
 .03 
 .47 
 t.9S 
 
 5.75 
 
 3.87 
 1.07 
 51.60 
 
 16.64 
 .98 
 .52 
 8.13 
 
 17.19 
 
 100.00 
 
 *The excess of these summations is due to uncertainty 
 as to the condition of silicates and carbonates in the 
 apportionment. 
 
 tBy Difference. 
 
 It will be seen at once that not only are the 
 totals of solid contents in these waters quite 
 small, but that the proportion of carbonate of 
 soda in the solid part is materially less than in 
 the water from Mr. Jacobs' well. The water 
 from Mr. Madden's well contains only four and 
 three-quarter grains of actual mineral salts per 
 gallon, and of these only 3.3 grains are perma- 
 nently soluble. This is an exceptionally small 
 amount for well water, being less even than is 
 carried by Kern river. Mr. Dewey's water 
 contains a larger proportion of true "alkali," 
 yet for a well water the proportion is below 
 the average, and both waters may be considered 
 as being of excellent quality. 
 
 It is fairly presumable that in none of these 
 wells the streams of water occurring nearer the 
 surface were entirely excluded from the pipe, 
 and as these surface waters are known to be 
 strongly alkaline, it is more tnan probable that 
 
 if the deeper water alone were admitted to the 
 flow, the waters would be found still more 
 exempt from alkali contamination. In the 
 case of Mr. Jacobs' well, above reported, which 
 has been sunk to so great a depth and through 
 a formation most probably l>eyond the valley 
 sediments, it must be strongly suspected that 
 the water of Tulare lak ■-, it*eif takes part in the 
 flow, by seepage through the sandy surface 
 strata, and through the ore vices of the well 
 casings. 
 
 It b> iug of great interest to ascertain the 
 character of waters flowing from unusually 
 deep wells, Mr Jacobs obtained and furnished 
 for analysis a nam >le of the water of a well bored 
 to the depth of 900 feet, about ten miles north 
 of Visalia. 
 
 No exact details regarding the location of, 
 and :-trata penetrated in thi« well have been re- 
 ct ivtd as yet, nor has the analysis of the water 
 bdtn made in full; but the following data show 
 sufficiently its general character: Solid residue 
 by evaporation amounts to 87.5 grains 
 per gallon; this, on ignition, leaves 63 3 
 grains of mineral salts. Of this amount, 
 water takes up 52.0 grains of permanently 
 soluble salts, leaving behind 11.3 grains 
 of a white powder, consisting mainly of 
 gypsum and carbonate of magnesia with a little 
 silica. 
 
 The permanently soluble part consists, in 
 the main of the salts of sea-water — chlorides of 
 calcium, magnesium and sodium— the latter, 
 common salt, being faintly perceptible to the 
 taste in the original water, which is slightly 
 brackish. This water is, therefore, so totally 
 different in character from that of the Tulare 
 belt, that it seems likely that it is derived from 
 an entirely different source. When mingled 
 with such water as (e.g.) that from Mr. Ja- 
 cobs' well, or with that of Tulare lake itself, 
 it becomes milky f ;om the formation of carbon- 
 ates of lime and magnesia; and the waters so 
 commingled would be less injurious in irriga- 
 tion than either by itself. 
 
 4. It is a curious fact that the water of the well 
 lately bored at the Stockton Asylum that is 
 accompanied by a lively flow of gas, Droves to 
 be almost of the same composition as "that last 
 described, from the well northward of Visalia; 
 only the Stockton water is very much stronger, 
 as it contains nearly 200 grains of mineral sub- 
 stances per gallon. A more detailed report of 
 the examination of this water and of the ac- 
 companying gas will be given in a future issue. 
 
 It is greatly to be desired that a more thorough 
 and systematic study of this subject should en- 
 
 u • v." 8 t0 circumscrib e the districts within 
 which the several kinds of water forms the ar- 
 tesian flow, and especially to determine whether 
 the use of piping that will completely exclude all 
 but the deeper streams, would not in a great 
 degree correct the excess of carbonate of soda in 
 the outflowing waters. The latter point is of 
 especial interest in connection with the irriga- 
 tion of lands already more or less charged with 
 alkali; while as regards the waters charged with 
 the salts of sea-water, the question of the health 
 of the population is seriously involved. The 
 presence of even small amounts of the chlorides 
 of calcium and magnesium in the daily drinking 
 water soon produces serious derangement of the 
 bowels, and renders the system very im uch more 
 liable to succumb to the influence of whatever 
 
malaria may exist naturally or be produced by I culty. 
 
 irrigation. When the character of such waters I No such easily avoidable obstacles should, as- 
 is known it can often be readily corrected, and suredly, be allowed to detract from the full real- 
 the effects greatly mitigated if not entirely ob- I ization of the advantages which the discovery 
 viated. Many districts in the Southern States and development of the artesian belt places 
 owe their reputation for ill health largely if not within reach of the inhabitants of the San Joa- 
 chiefly to the daily use of just such waters, and quin valley. E. W. Hilgard. 
 
 its abandonment has promply relieved the diffi- Berkeley, Aug. 20, I884.