OF THE UNIVERSITY OF WAT EE SUPPLY. THE PEESENT PEACTICE OF SINKING AND BORING WELLS. WATEE SUPPLY. THE PEESENT PEACTICE OF SINKING AND BORING WELLS. WITH GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS AND EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED. BY ERNEST SPON, ASSOC. M. INST. C.E.; MEMBER OP THE SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS; OF THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE; AND OF THE GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION. SECOND EDITION. E. & F. N. SPON, 125, STRAND, LONDON. NEW YORK; 35, MURRAY STREET. 1885. PREFACE. A LONG preface is not necessary to explain the purport of this work. Suffice it to say that it is meant to afford a short but comprehensive account of modern practice in obtaining water by means of wells, derived from personal experience as well as from that of the highest authorities. The importance of this means of water supply, instead of diminishing, becomes enhanced with every fresh development of municipal or industrial life, and commands increased confi- dence with the growth of the science upon which it is based. In the first edition, attention was drawn to the fact that a great deal of the irregularity in the action of wells, and the consequent distrust with which they are regarded by many, is attributable either to improper situation, or to the hap-hazard manner in which the search for underground water is too fre- quently conducted. As regards the first cause, extreme caution is necessary in the choice of situations, for wells, and a sound geological knowledge of the country in which the attempt is to be made should precede sinking or boring for this purpose, otherwise much useless expense may be incurred without success. Indeed the power of indicating those places where wells may in all probability be successfully established, is one of the chief practical applications of geology to the useful purposes of life. The subject-matter of the following pages is divided into VI PREFACE. chapters which treat of geological considerations, the Jurassic strata, the new red sandstone, well sinking, well boring, tube wells, well boring at great depths, and examples of wells exe- cuted, and of localities supplied respectively, with tables and miscellaneous information. As heretofore, I have to acknowledge my indebtedness to Professor Prestwich, Messrs. S. Baker and Son, and T. Docwra and Son, and to express my acknowledgments to A. Harston, Esq., of London, M. Leon Dru, Paris, with the many other correspondents, from all parts of the globe, who have sent me local information and sections. For such commu- nications I have always a warm welcome, and I hope that the issue of the present edition, so long delayed by pressure of active professional work, will cause their number to increase and multiply. ERNEST SPON. 7, IDOL LANE, LONDON, December, 1884. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS ;. 1 CHAPTER H. JURASSIC STBATA 35 CHAPTER III. THE NEW RED SANDSTONE .. .. 39 CHAPTER IV. WELL SINKING .. 44 CHAPTER V. WELL BORING 69 CHAPTER VI. THE TUBE WELL 95 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTEE VII. PAGE WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS 102 CHAPTEE VIII. EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS 191 CHAPTEE IX. TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION .. .. .. 251 INDEX 263 SINKING AND BOEING WELLS CHAPTER I. GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. NEARLY every civil engineer is familiar with the fact that certain porous soils, such as sand or gravel, absorb water with rapidity, and that the ground composed of them soon dries up after showers. If a well be sunk in such soils, we often penetrate to considerable depths before we meet with water ; but this is usually found on our approaching some lower part of the porous formation where it rests on an impervious bed ; for here the water, unable to make its way downwards in a direct line, accumulates as in a reservoir, and is ready to ooze out into any opening which may be made, in the same manner as we see the salt water filtrate into and fill any hollow which we dig in the sands of the shore at low tide. A spring, then, is the lowest point or lip of an underground reservoir of water in the stratification. A well, therefore, sunk in such strata will most probably furnish, besides the volume of the spring, an additional supply of water, inasmuch as it may give access to the main body of the reservoir. The transmission of water through a porous medium being so rapid, we may easily understand why springs are thrown out on the side of a hill, where the upper set of strata consist of chalk, sand, and other permeable substances, whilst those lying beneath are composed of clay or other retentive soils. The only difficulty, indeed, is to explain why the water does not ooze out everywhere along the line of junction of the two formations, so as to form one continuous land-soak, instead of B 2 GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. a few springs only, and these oftentimes far distant from each other. The principal cause of such a concentration of the waters at a few points is, first, the existence of inequalities in the upper surface of the impermeable stratum, which lead the water, as valleys do on the external surface of a country, into certain low levels and channels ; and secondly, the frequency of rents and fissures, which act as natural drains. That the generality of springs owe their supply to the atmosphere is evident from this, that they vary in the different seasons of the year, becoming languid or entirely ceasing to flow after long droughts, and being again replenished after a continuance of rain. Many of them are probably indebted for the constancy and uniformity of their volume to the great extent of the sub- terranean reservoirs with which they communicate, and the time required for these to empty themselves by percolation. Such a gradual and regulated discharge is exhibited, though in a less perfect degree, in all great lakes, for these are not sensibly affected in their levels by a sudden shower, but are only slightly raised, and their channels of efflux, instead of being swollen suddenly like the bed of a torrent, carry off the surplus water gradually. An Artesian well, so called from the province of Artois, in France, is a shaft sunk or bored though impermeable strata, until a water-bearing stratum is tapped, when the water is forced upwards by the hydrostatic pressure due to the superior level at which the rain-water was received. The term Artesian was originally only applied to wells which overflowed, but nearly all deep wells are now so called, without reference to their water-level, if they have bore-holes. Among the causes of the failure of Artesian wells, we may mention those numerous rents and faults which abound in some rocks, and the deep ravines and valleys by which many countries are traversed ; for when these natural lines of drain- age exist, there remains only a small quantity of water to escape by artificial issues. We are also liable to be baffled by the great thickness either of porous or impervious strata, or by the dip of the beds, which may carry off the waters from GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 6 adjoining high lands to some trough in an opposite direction as when the borings are made at the foot of an escarpment where the strata incline inwards, or in a direction opposite to the face of the cliffs. As instances of the way in which the character of the strata may influence the water-bearing capacity of any given locality, we give the following examples, taken from Latham. Fig. 1 TV Fig. 1 illustrates the causes which sometimes conduce to a limited supply of water in Artesian wells. Rain descending on the outcrop E F of the porous stratum A, which lies between the impervious strata B B, will make its appearance in the form of a spring at S ; but such spring will not yield any great Fig. 2. quantity of water, as the area E F, which receives the rainfall, is limited in its extent. A well sunk at W, in a stratum of the above description, would not be likely to furnish a large supply of water, if any. The effect of a fault is shown in Fig. 2. A spring will in all probability make its appearance at the point B 2 - GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. S, and give large quantities of water, as the whole body of water flowing through the porous strata A is intercepted by being thrown against the impermeable stratum B. Permeable rock intersected by a dyke and overlying an impermeable stratum is seen in Fig. 3. The water flowing through A, if Fig. 3. intersected by a dyke D, will appear at S in the form of a spring, and if the area of A is of large extent, then the spring S will be very copious. As to the depth necessary to bore certain wells in a case similar to Fig. 4, owing to the fault, a well sunk at A would require to be sunk deeper than the well B, although both wells derive their supply from the same description of strata. If there is any inclina- tion in the water-bearing strata, or if there is a current of water only in one direction, then one of the wells would prove a failure owing to the proximity of the fault, while the other would furnish an abundant supply of water. It should be borne in mind that there are two primary geo- logical conditions upon which the quantity of water that may be supplied to the water-bearing strata depends ; they are, the extent of superficial area they present, by which the quantity of Fig. 4. GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 5 rain-water received on their surface in any given time is determined ; and the character and thickness of the strata, as by this the proportion of water that can be absorbed, and the quantity which the whole volume of the permeable strata can transmit, is regulated. The operation of these general principles will constantly vary in accordance with local phenomena, all of which must, in each separate case, be taken into consideration. The mere distance of hills or mountains need not discourage us from making trials ; for the waters which fall on these higher lands readily penetrate to great depths through highly-inclined or vertical strata, or through the fissures of shattered rocks ; and after flowing for a great distance, must often reascend and be brought up again by other fissures, so as to approach the surface in the lower country. Here they may be concealed beneath a covering of undisturbed horizontal beds, which it may be necessary to pierce in order to reach them. The course of water flowing underground is not strictly analogous to that of rivers on the surface, there being, in the one case, a constant descent from a higher to a lower level from the source of the stream to the sea ; whereas, in the other, the water may at one time sink far below the level of the ocean, and afterwards rise again high above it. A For the purposes under consideration, we may range the various strata of which the outer crust of the earth is composed under four heads, namely : 1, drift ; 2, alluvion ; 3, the tertiary and secondary beds, composed of loose, arenaceous and perme- able strata, impervious, argillaceous and marly strata, and thick strata of compact rock, more or less broken up by fissures, as the Norwich red and coralline crag, the Molasse sandstones, the Bagshot sands, the London clay, and the Woolwich beds, in the tertiary division ; and the chalk, chalk marl, gault, the greensands, the Wealden clay, and the Hastings sand, the oolites, the lias, the Rhaetic beds, and Keuper, and the new red sandstone, in the secondary division; and 4, the primary beds, as the magnesian limestone, the lower red sand, and the coal measures, which consist mainly of alternating beds of sandstones and shales with coal. o GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. The first of these divisions, the drift, consisting mainly of sand and gravel, having been formed by the action of flowing water, is very irregular in thickness, and exists frequently in detached masses. This irregularity is due to inequalities of the surface at the period when the drift was brought down. Hollows then existing would often be filled up, while either none was deposited on level. surfaces, or, if deposited, was sub- sequently removed by denudation. Hence we cannot infer when boring through deposits of this character that the same, or nearly the same, thickness will be found at even a few yards' distance. In valleys this deposit may exist to a great depth, the slopes of hills are frequently covered with drift, which has either been arrested by the elevated surface or brought down from the upper portions of that surface by the action of rain. In the former case the deposits will probably consist of gravel, and in the latter of the same elements as the hill itself. The permeability of such beds will, of course, depend wholly upon the nature of the deposit. Some rocks produce deposits through which water percolates readily, while others allow a passage only through such fissures as may exist. Sand and gravel constitute an extremely absorbent medium, while an argillaceous deposit may be wholly impervious. In moun- tainous districts, springs may often be found in the drift ; their existence in such formations will, however, depend upon the position and character of the rock strata ; thus, if the drift cover ' an elevated and extensive slope of a nature similar to that of the rocks by which it is formed, springs due to infiltration through this covering will certainly exist near the foot of the slope. Upon the opposite slope, the small spaces which exist between the different beds of rock receive these infiltrations directly, and serve to completely drain the deposit which, in the former case, is, on the contrary, saturated with water. If, how- ever, the foliations or the joints of the rocks afford no issue to the water, whether such a circumstance be due to the character of their formation, or to the stopping up of the issues by the drift itself, these results will not be produced. It will be obvious how, in this way, by passing under a mass GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 7 of drift, the water descending from the top of hill slopes re- appears at their foot in the form of springs. If now we sup- pose these issues stopped, or covered by an impervious stratum of great thickness, and this stratum pierced by a boring, the water will ascend through this new outlet to a level above that of its original issue, in virtue of the head of water measured from the points at which the infiltration takes place to the point in which it is struck by the boring. Alluvion, like drift, consists of fragments of various strata carried away and deposited by flowing water ; it differs from the latter only in being more extensive and regular, and, generally, in being composed of elements brought from a great distance and having no analogy with the strata with which it is in contact. Usually it consists of sand, gravel, rolled pebbles, marls or clays. The older deposits often occupy very elevated districts, which they overlie throughout a large extent of surface. At the period when the large rivers were formed, the valleys were filled up with alluvial deposits, which at the present day are covered by vegetable soil, and a rich growth of plants, through which the' water percolates more slowly than formerly. The permeability of these deposits allows the water to flow away subterraneously to a great distance from the points at which it enters. Springs are common in the alluvion, and more frequently than in the case of drift, they can be found by boring. As the surface, which is covered by the deposit, is extensive, the water circulates from a distance through perme- able strata of tea overlaid by others that are impervious. If at a considerable distance from the points of infiltration, and at a lower level, a boring be put down, the water will ascend in the bore-hole in virtue of its tendency to place itself in equilibrium. Where the country is open and sparsely inhabited, the water from shallow wells sunk in alluvion is generally found to be good enough, and in sufficient quantity for domestic purposes. The strata of the tertiary and secondary beds, especially the latter, are far more extensive than the preceding, and yield much larger quantities of water. The chalk is the great water-bearing stratum for the larger portion of the south of England. The 8 GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. water in it can be obtained either by means of ordinary shafts, or by Artesian wells bored sometimes to great depths, from which the water will frequently rise to the surface. It should be observed that water does not circulate through the chalk by general permeation of the mass, but through fissures. A rule given by some for the level at which water may be found in this stratum is, " Take the level of the highest source of supply, and that of the lowest to be found. The mean level will be the depth at which water will be found at any intermediate point, after flowing an inclination of at least 10 feet a mile." This rule will also apply to the greensand. This formation contains large quantities of water, which is more evenly distributed than in the chalk. The gault clay is interposed between the upper and the lower greensand, the latter of which also furnishes good supplies. In boring into the upper greensand, caution should be observed so as not to pierce the gault clay, because water which permeates through that system becomes either ferruginous, or contaminated by salts and other impurities. The next strata in which water is found are the upper and inferior oolites, between which are the Kimmeridge and Oxford clays, which are separated by the coral rag. There are instances in which the Oxford clay is met with immediately below the Kimmeridge, rendering any attempt at boring useless, because the water in the Oxford clay is generally so impure as to be unfit for use. And with regard to finding water in the oolitic lime- stone, it is impossible to determine with any amount of precision the depth at which it may be reached, owing to the numerous faults which occur in the formation. It will therefore be neces- sary to employ the greatest care before proceeding with any borings. Lower down in the order are the upper lias, the marl- stone, the lower lias, and the new red sandstone. In the marl- stone, between the upper and lower beds of the lias, there may be found a large supply of water, but the level of this is as a rule too low to rise to the surface through a boring. It will be necessary to sink shafts in the ordinary way to reach it. In the new red sandstone, also, to find the water, borings must be made to a considerable depth, but when this formation exists GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 9 a copious supply can be confidently anticipated, and when found the water is of excellent quality. Every permeable stratum may yield water, and its ability to do this, and the quantity it can yield, depend upon its position and extent. When underlaid by an impervious stratum, it constitutes a reservoir of water from which a supply may be drawn by means of a sinking or a bore-hole. If the permeable stratum be also overlaid by an impervious stratum, the water will be under pressure and will ascend the bore-hole to a height that will depend on the height of the points of infiltration above the bottom of the bore-hole. The quantity to be obtained in such a case as we have already pointed out, will depend upon the extent of surface possessed by the outcrop of the permeajble stratum. In searching for water under such conditions a careful examination of the geological features of the district must be made. Frequently an extended view of the surface of the dis- trict, such as may be obtained from an eminence, and a con- sideration of the particular configuration of that surface, will be sufficient to enable the practical eye to discover the various routes which are followed by the subterranean water, and to predicate with some degree of certainty that at a given point water will be found in abundance, or that no water at all exists at that point. To do this, it is sufficient to note the dip and the surfaces of the strata which are exposed to the rains. When these strata are nearly horizontal, water can penetrate them only through their fissures or pores; when, on the contrary, they lie at right angles, they absorb the larger portion of the water that falls upon their outcrop. When such strata are intercepted by valleys, numerous springs will exist. But if, instead of being intercepted, the strata rise around a common point, they form a kind of irregular basin, in the centre of which the water will accumulate. In this case the surface springs will be less numerous than when the strata are broken. But it is possible to obtain water under pressure in the lower portions of the basin, if the point at which the trial is made is situate below the outcrop. The primary rocks afford generally but little water. Having 10 GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. been subjected to violent convulsions, they are thrown into every possible position and broken by numerous fissures ; and as no permeable stratum is interposed, as in the more recent formations, no reservoir of water exists. In the unstratified rocks, the water circulates in all directions through the fissures that traverse them, and thus occupies no fixed level. It is also impossible to discover by a surface examination where the fissures may be struck by a boring. For purposes of water supply, therefore, these rocks are of little importance. It must be remarked here, however, that large quantities of water are frequently met with in the magnesian limestone and the lower red sand, which form the upper portion of the primary series. Joseph Prestwich, jun., in his ' Geological Inquiry respecting the Water-bearing Strata round London,' gives the following valuable epitome of the geological conditions affecting the value of water-bearing deposits; and although the illustrations are confined to the Tertiary deposits, the same mode of inquiry will apply with but little modification to any other formation. The main points are The extent of the superficial area occupied by the water- bearing deposit. The lithological character and thickness of the water-bearing deposit, and the extent of its underground range. The position of the outcrop of the deposit, whether in valleys or hills, and whether its outcrop is denuded, or covered with any description of drift. The general elevation of the country occupied by this outcrop above the levels of the district in which it is proposed to sink wells. The quantity of rain which falls in the district under con- sideration, and whether, in addition, it receives any portion of the drainage from adjoining tracts, when the strata are imper- meable. The disturbances which may affect the water-bearing strata, and break their continuous character, as by this the subter- ranean flow of water would be impeded or prevented. GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 11 EXTENT OF SUPERFICIAL AREA. To proceed to the application of the questions in the particular instance of the lower tertiary strata. With regard to the first question, it is evident that a series of permeable strata, encased between two impermeable formations, can receive a supply of water at those points only, where they crop out and are exposed on the surface of the land. The primary conditions affecting the result depend upon the fall of rain in the district where the outcrop takes place; the quantity of rain-water which any permeable strata can gather being in the same ratio as their_ respective areas. If the mean annual fall in any district amounts to 24 inches, then each square mile will receive a daily average of 950,947 gallons of rain-water. It is therefore a matter of essential importance to ascertain, with as much accuracy as possible, the extent of exposed surface of any water- bearing deposit, so as to determine the maximum quantity of rain-water it is capable of receiving. , The surface formed by the outcropping of any deposit in a country of hill and valley is necessarily extremely limited, and it would be difficult to measure in the ordinary way. Prestwich therefore used another method, which seems to give results suf- ficiently accurate for the purpose. It is a plan borrowed from geographers, that of cutting out from a map, on paper of uniform thickness, and on a large scale, say one inch to the mile, and weighing the superficial area of each deposit. Knowing the weight of a square of 100 miles cut out of the same paper, it is easy to estimate roughly the area in square miles of any other surface, whatever may be its figure. MINERAL CHARACTER OP THE FORMATION. The second question relates to the mineral character of the formation, and the effect it will have upon the quantity of water which it may hold or transmit. If the strata consist of sand, water will pass through them 12 GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. with facility, and they will also hold a considerable quantity between the interstices of their component grains ; whereas a bed of pure clay will not allow of the passage of water. These are the two extremes of the case ; the intermixture of these materials in the same bed will of course, according to the re- lative proportions, modify the transmission of water. Prestwich found by experiment that a silicious sand of ordinary character will hold on an average rather more than one-third of its bulk of water, or from two to two and a half gallons in one cubic foot. In strata so composed the water may be termed free, as it passes easily in all directions, and under the pressure of a column of water is comparatively but little impeded by capillary attraction. These are the conditions of a true permeable stratum. Where the strata are more compact and solid, as in sandstone, lime- stone, and oolite, although all such rocks imbibe more or less water, yet the water so absorbed does not pass freely through the mass, but is held in the pores of the rock by capillary attraction, and parted with very slowly ; so that in such de- posits water can be freely transmitted only in the planes of bedding and in fissures. If the water-bearing deposit ' 3 is of uniform lithological character over a large area, then the proposition is reduced to its simplest form; but when, as in the deposit between the London clay and chalk, the strata con- sist of variable mineral ingredients, it becomes essential to estimate the extent of these variations; for very different conclusions might be drawn from an inspection of the Lower Tertiary strata at different localities. In the fine section exposed in the cliffs between Herne Bay and the Eeculvers, in England, a considerable mass of fossili- a - a London clay. 6 Sands and clay, c Chalk. Fig. 5. GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 13 5 3 ferous sands is seen to rise from beneath the London clay. Fig. 5 represents a view of a portion of this cliff a mile and a half east of Herne Bay and continued downwards, by estimation, below the surface of the ground to the chalk. In this section there is evidently a very large proportion of sand, and consequently a large capacity for water. Again, at Upnor, near Eochester, the sands marked 3 are as much as 60 to 80 feet thick, and continue so to Gravesend, Purfleet, and Erith. In the first of these places they may be seen capping Windmill Hill; in the second, forming the hill, now removed, on which the lighthouse is built ; and in the third, in the large ballast pits on the banks of the river Thames. The average thickness of these sands in this district may be about 50 to 60 feet. In their range from east to west, the beds 2 become more clayey and less permeable, and 1, very thin. As we approach London the thickness of 3 also diminishes. In the ballast pits at the west end of Woolwich, this sand bed is not more than 35 feet thick, and as it passes under London becomes still thinner. Fig. 6 is a general or average section of the strata on which London stands. The increase in the pro- portion of the argillaceous strata, and the decrease of the beds of sand in the Lower Tertiary strata, is here very apparent, and from this point westward to Hungerford, clays decidedly predominate ; while at the same time the series presents such rapid variations, even on the same level and at short distances, that no two sections are alike. On the southern boundary of the Tertiary district, from Croydon to Leatherhead, the sands 3 maintain a thickness of 20 to 40 feet, whilst the associated beds of clay are of inferior importance. We will take another Fig. 6. Fig. 7. 14 GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. section, Fig. 7, representing the usual features of the deposit in the northern part of the Tertiary district. It is from a cutting at a brickfield west of the small village of Hedgerley, 6 miles northward of Windsor. Here we see a large development of the mottled clays, and but little sand. A somewhat similar section is exhibited at Oak End, near Chalfont St. Giles. But to show how rapidly this series changes its character, the section of a pit only a third of a mile westward of the one at Hedgerley is given in Fig. 8. In this latter section the mottled clays have nearly disappeared, and are replaced by beds of sand with thin seams of mottled clays. At Twyford, near Beading, and at Old Basing, near Basingstoke, the mottled clays again occupy, as at Hedgerley, nearly the whole space between the London clays and the chalk. Near Eeading a good section of these beds was exhibited in the Sonning cutting of the Great Western Railway ; they consisted chiefly of mottled clays. At the Kats- grove pits, Eeading, the beds are more sandy. Referring back to Fig. 6, it may be noticed that there is generally a small quantity of water found in the bed marked 1, in parts of the neighbourhood of London. Owing, however, to the constant presence of green and ferruginous sands, traces of vegetable matters and remains of fossil shells, the water is usually indif- ferent and chalybeate. The well-diggers term this a slow spring. They graphically express the difference by saying that the water creeps up from this stratum, whereas that it bursts up from the* lower sands 3, which form the great water-bearing stratum. In the irregular sand beds interstratified with the mottled clays between these two strata water is also found, but not in any large quantity. Fig. 9 is a section at the western extremity of the Tertiary district at Pebble Hill, near Hungerford. Here again the mottled clays are in considerable force, sands forming the smaller part of the series. GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 15 The following lists exhibit the aggregate thickness of all the beds of sand occurring between the London clay and the chalk, at various localities in the Tertiary district. It will appear from them that the mean re- sults of the whole is very different from any of those obtained in separate divisions of the country. The mean thickness of the deposit throughout the whole Tertiary area may be taken at 62 feet, of which 36 feet consist of sands and 26 feet of clays; but as only a portion of this district contributes to the water supply of London, it will facilitate our inquiry if we divide it into two parts, the one westward of and including London, and the other eastward of it, introducing alsa_some further subdivisions into each. MEASUREMENT OF SECTIONS EASTWARD OF Lo Southern Boundary. Sand. Clay. Northern Boundary. K ft. ft. ft. Lewisham 65 26 Hertford 26 Woolwich Upnor 66 80? 18 8 Beaumont Green, near"! Hoddesdon / 16 10 Herne Bay 70? 50 Broxbourne 28 2 Gestingtnorpe, near Sud-1 bury / 50? ? Whitton, near Ipswich . . 60? 5 Average 70 25 Average 36 5 The mean of the three columns in two western sections gives a thickness to this formation of 57 feet, of which only 19 feet are sand and permeable to water, and the remaining 38 feet consist of impermeable clays, affording no supply of water. The area, both at the surface and underground, over which they extend is about 1086 square miles. The average total thickness of the eastern district deduced from the nine sections we have taken gives 68 feet, of which 53 feet are sands and 15 feet clays. The larger area, 1849 16 GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. ^ d^ S (N CO o o o IO CO i CO 1-8 g co oS *<> 2 g s S c3 ' ^ * " !i O ^ PH ,aH . . . " ^ - t^* CO 00 ^ 'o o O TH CM IO oo o" I I I U a O-* cv | ^ 3 CO CO rH o 2 WEST AUSTRALIA Albany York 1 35 31 55 32-1 25*4 POLYNESIA. SOCIETY ISLANDS Tahiti Papiete 5 17 32 45-7 DISTURBANCES OP THE STRATA. The last question to be considered relates to the disturbances which may have affected the strata ; for whatever may be the absorbent power of the strata, the yield of water will be more or less diminished whenever the channels of communication have suffered break or fracture. If the strata remained continuous and unbroken, we should merely have to ascertain the dimensions and lithological character in order to determine their actual water value. But if the strata is broken, the interference with the subterranean transmission of water will be proportionate to the extent of the disturbance. Although the Tertiary formations around London have, pro- bably, suffered less from the action of disturbing forces than the strata of any other district of the same extent in England, yet they nevertheless now exhibit considerable alterations from their original position. GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. 33 The principal change has been that which, by elevation of I the sides or depression of the centre of the district, gave the j Tertiary deposits their present trough-shaped form, assuming it I not to be the result of original deposition. If no further change had taken place we might have expected to find an uninterrupted f communication in the Lower Tertiary strata from their northern ; outcrop at Hertford to their southern outcrop at Croydon, as | well as from Newbury on the west to the sea on the east ; and the entire length of 260 miles of outcrop would have contributed to the general supply of water at the centre. But this is far from being the case ; several disturbing causes have deranged the regularity of original structure. The prin- jj cipal one has caused a low axis of elevation, or rather a line of flexure running east and west, following nearly the course of the j Thames from the Nore to Deptford, and apparently continued \ thence beyond Windsor. It brings up the chalk at Cliff, Purfleet, Woolwich, and Loampit Hill to varied but moderate elevations above the river level. Between Lewisham and Dept- . ford the chalk disappears below the Tertiary series, and does not come to the surface till we reach the neighbourhood of I Windsor and Maidenhead. There is also, probably, another line of disturbance running between some points north and south and intersecting the first line at Deptford. It passes apparently near Beckenham and Lewisham, and then, crossing the Thames near Deptford, i continues up a part, if not along the whole length of the valley ! of the Lea towards Hoddesdon. This disturbance appears in some places to have resulted in a fracture or fault in the strata, placing the beds on the east of it on a higher level than those on the west ; and at other places merely to have produced a i curvature in the strata. Prestwich states that he was unable to ' give its exact course, but its effect, at all events upon the water supply of London, is important, as, in conjunction with the first or Thames valley disturbance, it cuts off the supplies from the whole of Kent, and interferes most materially with the supply from Essex ; for in its course up the valley of the Lea it either brings up the Lower Tertiary strata to the surface, as at Strat- D 34 GEOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS. ford and Bow, or else, as farther up the valley, it raises them to within 40 or 60 feet of the surface. The Tertiary district thus appears, on a general view, to be divided naturally into four portions by lines running nearly north and south, the former line passing immediately south, and the latter east of London, which stands at the south-east corner of the north-western division, and consequently it must not be viewed as the centre of one large and unbroken area, so far as the Tertiary strata are concerned. CHAPTER H. JUKASSIC STRATA. UNDER the term Jurassic, derived from the Jura Mountains in Switzerland, are now grouped the great series of fossiliferous rocks which were formerly termed Oolitic, from the charac- teristic oolitic structure of many of its limestones. It includes all the beds between the Hastings sands and the New red sandstone. The strata of the Jurassic period in England appear at the surface over a narrow range of country, averaging 30 miles in width, commencing at Lyme Regis and Portland on the English Channel, and extending across England, north and north-east to the River Humber, and still further north, on the eastern coast of Yorkshire, almost to the mouth of the Tees. They thus cover eastern England. The oolitic rocks are very porous, absorbing and holding enormous volumes of water, which are again delivered as springs, usually of great size. As water-bearing rocks the oolites are equal, if not superior, to the chalk itself for the purification and storage of water, but it is much to be regretted that this vast store is rarely used by communities in England until it has been hopelessly polluted. Analyses taken from time to time over the district show that in opening a well great care should be exercised to cut off surface communication in deep wells, and that most shallow wells are unsafe. An area of not less than 6671 square miles is occupied by the oolitic rocks of England, with an annual average absorption of not less than 10 inches of rainfall, a figure probably much below the real average. The two chief sources of springs among the Cotteswolds are the base of the Great oolite or Stonesfield slate, at its junction with the Fuller's earth, and at the junction of the Upper Lias D 2 36 JURASSIC STRATA. clay with the overlying sands. To the latter horizon belong the seven springs forming the source of the Thames. Smaller springs issue in the district at the base of the Lias Marlstones, and the upper surfaces of the Forest Marble clays. Gloucester is partially supplied by springs in the flanks of Eobin's Wood Hill thrown out by the lias, which, with the surface drainage, are collected in a reservoir. Three springs at Cheltenham are collected along the flanks of the hills in bricked wells, and conveyed to the reservoirs at Hewlett's Hill and Leckhampton, together holding 35,000,000 gallons. Above 300,000 gallons are delivered daily, the water being much softer than most oolitic springs, the hardness being only 15 of which 6 * is permanent ; that of Hay don, near Chelten- ham, is no less than 45 '7, of which 13*4 is permanent. From springs off the Upper Lias, Bath is supplied with water by no less than eighteen private companies. The water derived from the Beacon springs is the best, but is not quite satisfactory, since it is a remarkable fact that the cold waters, as well as the thermal springs of Bath, have considerable organic impurity. The Great oolite at Bath, consists of the following series : Feet. (Coarse shelly limestone .. .. j Upper Rags .. < Fine grained oolite > 20 to 55 (Tough brown limestone .. .. ) Fine Freestone 10 to 30 Lower Rags .. Coarse shelly limestone .. .. 10 to 40 The freestone is very soft when first obtained, containing much moisture, amounting sometimes, it is said, to one gallon of water a cubic foot. The Bradford clay, a local thickening of the clayey beds of the overlying Forest Marble, reaches its greatest thickness at Farleigh, where it is 40 to 60 feet. The Forest Marble around Bath is 100 feet thick, in the Cotteswolds not more than 50. The Cornbrash limestones reach a thickness of more than 40 feet, and are overlaid by 300 to 400 feet of Oxford clay. JURASSIC STRATA. The Coral rag, a rubbly limestone com masses of coral, only appears in the Bristol area. At Lon^leat Park it underlies the Kimmeridge, which reaches a thicknessUf 65 feet at Maiden Bradley. In the oolitic outcrop, ranging between Crewkerne, through Bath to Wotton-under-Edge, the Coral rag is water-bearing. When present, the Oxford clay forms the impermeable layer, as also does the Cornbrash and the upper sandy beds of the Forest Marble, which are held up by the clayey bed beneath. The Lincolnshire oolites are absent in the eastern and southern portions of the Midland district, and the base of the Great oolite rests directly upon an eroded and denuded surface of the Northampton sands. The basement beds of the Northampton sands rest in Eutland and South Lincoln on an eroded surface of Upper Lias clay, and generally consist of oolitic ironstone rock, forming a bold escarpment called " The Cliff," which stretches for 90 miles through Lincolnshire to Yorkshire. From its base, at the junction of the Lias, copious springs arise. A boring at Stamford reached a depth of 500 feet, but the Lias was not penetrated, the upper clay being above 150 feet thick. Water occurs in the same horizon in the Uppingham Outlier, issuing from a blue calcareous rock, forming the base of the Northampton sands, at Lyddington. Springs also issue at Bisbrook. The upper portion of the ironstones are much peroxidised and readily pervious to water ; the compact lower portion, car- bonate of iron, is the water-bearing horizon, but it is considered locally much safer to penetrate it and reach the Lias " blue bind " to prevent failure during droughts. The Northampton sands average 20 to 30 feet in thickness, and seldom reach more than 40 feet. The overlying Lincoln- shire oolite at Stamford is 80 feet, thickening from thence northwards, and thinning out entirely southwards at Harrington and Maid well, and eastwards near Wansford tunnel. At Northampton a recent bore-hole put down by the Water Company, at the Kettering road, commenced in the Lias clays, 38 JURASSIC STRATA. which extended to a depth of 738 feet, but below the Lias, instead of the triassic beds, a series of sandstones, conglomerates, and marls, terminating in carboniferous limestone, were met with. As regards the quality of water derived from the oolitic rocks, selected analyses made for the Rivers Pollution Commis- sion indicate that these rocks are not inferior to the New red sandstone, in the energy with which they oxidise and destroy the organic matter present in the waters percolating through them. Though the waters so derived are generally hard, it is chiefly of a temporary character, capable of being softened by Clark's process, so as to average 6 -8 instead of 20 -6. The oolites yield, in springs and deep wells, water which is bright, sparkling, and palatable, excellent for drinking and all domes- tic purposes except washing, for which latter purpose the addi- tion of lime renders it fit. It is noticeable that the temporary hardness of the deep-well waters is higher than that of the spring water. CHAPTER III. THE NEW RED SANDSTONE. THIS formation has been already alluded to at pp. 5 and 8 ; it is, next to the chalk and lower greensand, the most extensive source of water supply from wells we have in England, and al- though the two formations mentioned occupy a larger area, yet, owing to geographical position, the new red sandstone receives a more considerable quantity of rainfall, and, owing to the com- parative scarceness of carbonate of lime, yields softer water. The new red sandstone is called on the Continent "the Trias," as in Germany and parts of France it presents a dis- tinct threefold division. Although the names of each of the divisions are commonly used, they are in themselves local and unessential, as the same exact relations between them do not occur in other remote parts of Europe or in England, and are not to be looked for in distant continents. The names of the divisions and their English equivalents are : 1. Keuper, or red marls. 2. Muschelkalk, or shell limestones (not found in this country). 3. Bunter sandstone, or variegated sandstone. The strata consist in general of red, mottled, purple, or yellowish sandstones and marls, with beds of rock-salt, gypsum pebbles, and conglomerate. The region over which triassic rocks outcrop in England stretches across the island from a point in the south-western part of the English Channel about Exmouth, Devon, north- north-eastward, and also from the centre of this band along a north-westward course to Liverpool, thence dividing and running north-east to the Tees, and north-west to Solway Firth. In central Europe the trias is found largely developed, and 40 THE NEW RED SANDSTONE. in North America it covers an area whose aggregate length is some 700 or 800 miles. The beds, in England, may be divided as follows : Average Thickness. KEUPER Eed marls, with rock-salt and gypsum .. .. 1000 ft. Lower Keuper sandstones, with trias sand- stones and marls (waterstones) 250 ft. Dolomitic conglomerate BUNTEB Upper red and mottled sandstone 300 ft. Pebble beds, or uncompacted conglomerate . . 300 ft. Lower red and mottled sandstone 250 ft. The Keuper series is introduced by a conglomerate often cal- careous, passing up into brown, yellow, or white freestone, and then into thinly laminated sandstones and marls. The other subdivisions are remarkably uniform in character, except in the case of the pebble beds, which in the north-west form a light red pebbly building stone, but in the central counties become generally an unconsolidated conglomerate of quartzose pebbles. The following tabulated form, due to Edward Hull, sho\vs the comparative thickness and range of the Triassic series along a south-easterly direction from the estuary of the Mersey, and also shows the thinning away of all the Triassic strata from the north-west towards the south-east of England, which Hull was amongst the first to demonstrate. THICKNESS AND RANGE OF THE TRIAS IN A S.E. DIRECTION FROM THE MERSEY. Lancashire Leicester- Names of Strata. and West Cheshire. Staffordshire. shire and Warwick- shire. KEUPER SERIES Ked Marl 3000 800 700 Lower Keuper sand- stone 450 200 150 BUNTER SERIES Upper mottled sand- stone 500 50 to 200 absent Pebble beds .. .. 500 to 750 100 to 300 to 100 Lower mottled sand- stone 200 to 500 to 100 absent THE NEW RED SANDSTONE. 41 The formation may be looked upon as almost equally per- meable in all directions, and the whole mass may be regarded as a reservoir up to a certain level, from which, whenever wells are sunk, water will always be obtained more or less abundantly. This view is very fairly borne out by experience, and the occur- rence of the water is certainly not solely due to the presence of the fissures or joints traversing the rock, but to its permea- bility, which, however, varies in different districts. In the neighbourhood of Liverpool the rock, or at least the pebble bed, is less porous than in the neighbourhood of Whit- more, Nottingham, and other parts of the midland counties, where it becomes either an unconsolidated conglomerate or a soft crumbly sandstone. Yet wells sunk even in the hard building stone of the pebble beds, either in Cheshire or Lancashire, always yield water at a certain variable depth. Beyond a certain depth the water tends to decrease, as was the case in the St. Helen's public well, situated on Eccleston Hill. At this well an attempt was made, in 1868, to increase the supply by boring deeper into the sandstone, but without any good result. When water percolates downwards in the rock we may suppose there are two forces of an antagonistic character brought into play; there is the force of friction, increasing with the depth, and tending to hinder the downward progress of the water, while there is the hydrostatic pressure tending to force the water downwards ; and we may suppose that when equilibrium has been established between these two forces, the further percolation will cease. The proportion of rain which finds its way into the rock in some parts of the country must be very large. When the rock, as is generally the case in Lancashire, Cheshire, and Shropshire, is partly overspread by a coating of dense boulder clay, almost impervious to water, the quantity probably does not exceed one- third of the rainfall over a considerable area ; but in some parts of the midland counties, where the rock is very open, and the covering of drift scanty or altogether absent, the percolation amounts to a much larger proportion, probably one-half or two- 42 THE NEW RED SANDSTONE. thirds, as all the rain which is not evaporated passes downwards. The new red sandstone, as remarked, may be regarded, in respect to water supply, as a nearly homogeneous mass, equally available throughout ; and it is owing to this structure, and the almost entire absence of beds of impervious clay or marl, that the formation is capable of affording such large supplies of water; for the rain which falls on its surface and penetrates into the rock is free to pass in any direction towards a well when sunk in a central position. If we consider the rock as a mass completely saturated with water through a certain vertical depth, the water being in a state of equilibrium, when a well is sunk, and the water pumped up, the state of equilibrium is destroyed, and the water in the rock is forced in from all sides. The percolation is, doubtless, much facilitated by joints, fissures, and faults, and in cases where one side of a fault is composed of impervious strata, such as the Keuper marls, or coal measures, the quantity of water pent up against the face of the fault may be very large, and the position often favourable for a well. An instance of the effect of faults in the rock itself, in increasing the supply, is afforded in the case of the well at Flaybrick Hill, near Birkenhead. From the bottom of this well a heading was driven at a depth of about 160 feet from the surface, to cut a fault about 150 feet distant, and upon this having been effected the water flowed in with such impetuosity that the supply, which had been 400,000 gallons a day, was at once doubled. The water from the new red sandstone is clear, wholesome, and pleasant to drink ; it is also well adapted for the purposes of bleaching, dyeing, and brewing ; at the same time it must be admitted that its qualities as regards hardness, in other words, the proportions of carbonate of limes and magnesia it contains, are subject to considerable variation, depending on the locality and composition of the rock. As a general rule the water from the new red sandstone may be considered as occupying a posi- tion intermediate between the hard water of the chalk, and the soft water supplied to some of our large towns from the drain- age of mountainous tracts of the primary formations, of which THE NEW RED SANDSTONE. 43 the water supplied from Loch Katrine to Glasgow is perhaps the purest example, containing only 2-35 grains of solid matter to the gallon. Having besides but a small proportion of saline ingredients, which, while they tend to harden the water, are probably not without benefit in the animal economy, the water supply from the new red sandstone possesses incalculable ad- vantages over that from rivers and surface drainage. Many of our large towns are now partially or entirely supplied with water pumped from deep wells in this sandstone ; and several from copious springs gushing forth from the rock at its junction with some underlying impervious stratum belonging to the primary series. CHAPTER IV. WELL SINKING. PREVIOUS to sinking it will be necessary to have in readiness a stock of buckets, shovels, picks, rope, a pulley-block or a windlass, and barrows or other means of conveying the mate- rial extracted away from the mouth of the sinking. If the sinking is of any great depth, a few lengths of portable railway and tipping waggons will be of much service. After all the preliminary arrangements have been made, the sinking is com- menced by marking off a circle upon the ground 12 or 18 inches greater in circumference than the intended internal diameter of the well. The centre of the well as commenced from must be the centre of every part of the sinking ; its posi- tion must be carefully preserved, and everything that is done must be true to this centre, the plumb-line being frequently used to test the vertical position of the sides. To sink a well by underpinning, an excavation is first made to such a depth as the strata will allow without falling in. At the bottom of the excavation is laid a curb, that is, a flat ring, whose internal diameter is equal to the intended clear diameter of the well, and its breadth equal to the thickness of the brick- work. It is made of oak or elm planks 3 or 4 inches thick, either in one layer fished at the joints with iron, or in two layers breaking joint, and spiked or screwed together. On this, to line the first division of the well, a cylinder of brick- work, technically called steining, is built in mortar or cement. In the centre of the floor is dug a pit, at the bottom of which is laid a small platform of boards; then, by cutting notches in the side of the pit, several raking props are inserted, their lower ends abutting against a foot block, and their upper ends WELL SINKING. 45 against the lowest setting, so as to give temporary support to the curb with its load of brickwork. The pit is enlarged to the diameter of the shaft above ; on the bottom of the excava- tion is laid a new curb, on which is built a new division of the brickwork, giving permanent support to the upper curb ; the raking props and their foot-blocks are removed ; a new pit is dug, and so on as before. Care should be taken that the earth is firmly packed behind the steining. A common modification of this method consists in excavating to such a depth as the strata will admit without falling in. A wooden curb is laid at the bottom of the excavation, the brick steining laid upon it and carried to the surface. The earth is then excavated flush with the interior sides of the well, so that the earth underneath the curb supports the brickwork above. When the excavation has been carried on as far as convenient, recesses are made in the earth under the previous steining, and in these recesses the steining is carried up to the previous work. When thus supported the intermediate portions of earth between the sections of brickwork carried up are cut away and the steining completed. In sinking with a drum curb, the curb, which may be either of wood or iron, consists of a flat ring for supporting the steining, and of a vertical hollow cylinder or drum of the same outside diameter as the steining, supporting the ring within it and bevelled to a sharp edge below. The rings, or ribs, of a wooden curb are formed of two thicknesses of elm plank, 1J inch thick by 9 inches wide, giving a total thickness of 3 inches. Fig. 17 is a plan of a wooden drum curb, and Fig. 18 a section showing the mode of construction. The outside cylinder or drum is termed the lagging, and is commonly made from IJ-inch yellow pine planks. The drum may be strengthened if necessary by additional rings, and its connections with the rings made more secure by brackets. In large curbs the rings are placed about 3 feet 6 inches apart. Fig. 19 is a section of such a curb for a 20-feet opening. Here the rings are each WELL SINKING. Fig. 17. WELL SINKING. three deep, and of such thickness as to afford strength to resist great lateral pressure. Fig. 20 is a plan, and Fig. 21 an enlarged segment of an iron curb. When the well has been sunk as far as the earth will stand vertical, the drum curb is lowered into it and the building of the brick cylinder com- menced, care being taken to complete each course of bricks before laying another, in order that the curb may be loaded equally all round. The earth is dug away from the interior of the drum, and this, together with the gradually increasing load, causes the sharp lower edge of the drum to sink into the earth ; and thus the digging of the well at the bottom, ;%HI "^-li- Scale inch = 1 foot Fig. 19. the sinking of the drum curb and the brick lin- ing which it carries, and the building of the steining at the top, go on together. Care must be taken in this, as in every other method, to regulate the digging so that the well shall sink vertically. Should the friction of the earth against the outside of the well at length become so great as to stop its descent before the requisite depth is attained, a smaller well may be sunk in the interior of the first well. A well so stopped is said to be earth-fast. This plan cannot be applied to deep wells, but is very successful in sandy soils where the well is of moderate depth. The curbs are often supported by iron rods, fitted with screws and nuts, from cross timbers over the mouth of the well, and as the excavation is carried on below, brickwork is piled on above, and the weight of the steining will carry it down as the excava- 48 WELL SINKING. tion proceeds, until the friction of the sides overpowers the gravitating force, when it becomes earth-bound ; then a set-off must be made in the well, and the same operation repeated as Fig. 20. Co o: \ Fig. 21. often as the steining becomes earth-bound, or the work must be completed by the first method of underpinning. v(2LL SJNKING. 49 When the rock to be sunk through is unstratified, or if stratified, when of great thickness, recourse must be had to the action of explosive agents. The explosives most frequently used for this purpose are gunpowder, guncotton, and dynamite. Of these gunpowder is the oldest and still one of the most ex- tensively employed, and although the more violent explosives are so much used, it is not at all probable that gunpowder will ever be entirely displaced by them as a blasting material, no other explosive agent possesses its peculiar properties or can be used instead of it under all circumstances. It is essential, however, that the powder be of good quality, a matter which is much too frequently neglected. The advantages, in certain cases, of a stronger explosive than gunpowder led to the introduction of the nitro-cotton and the nitro-glycerine preparations, and of these dynamite, the name given to nitre-glycerine absorbed in powdered kieselguhr or infusorial silica, is the most generally useful. In very hard and tough rock it is very effective, and will bring out a burden which other explosives fail to loosen. It is not much affected by damp, so that it may be employed in wet holes ; indeed, water is commonly used as a tamping with this explosive. In upward holes, where water cannot of course be used, dynamite is fired without tamping, its quick action rendering this possible, although it is more economical to use light tamping. The plastic form of dynamite constitutes a great practical advantage, inasmuch as it allows the explosive to be rammed tightly into the bore-hole, so as to fill up all empty spaces and crevices; this also renders it very safe to handle, as a light blow can hardly produce sufficient heat in it to cause an explosion. The numerous other mixtures of nitro-glycerine, such as " mica-powder," " rend-rock," " litho-fracteur," and the like, may be considered as dynamites and employed in the same way. Blasting-gelatine, which consists of nitro-glycerine gela- tinised by the addition of soluble guncotton, requires a very strong detonator, or a primer cartridge of another explosive to produce its best results. 50 WELL SINKING. Dynamite and guncotton have to be fired in a different way to gunpowder, since a spark or the mere application of flame will not cause them to explode. A detonator or powerful cap is the means employed, and this is attached either to the ordinary safety fuse, or to an electric fuse. The fuse fires the detonator, which explodes and fires the explosive. When burnt unconfined, dynamite and guncotton give no practical effect, but evolve fumes that are very disagreeable ; if properly detonated by using a detonator of sufficient strength, and placing it well into the cartridge, and if over- charging be avoided, their explosion will not vitiate the atmo- sphere. So-called "treble" detonators are best for dynamite, " quintuples " for guncottou, and " sextuples " for tonite or cotton-powder. The following instructions for using dynamite are those usually given by the writer ; they will apply almost equally to any nitro-glycerine mixture, or to guncotton and its derivative, cotton-powder. A piece of suitable safety-fuse is taken, a sufficient length cut off cleanly, and the end put into a deto- nator. The detonator must be attached firmly by squeezing it on to the fuse with a pair of nippers, at the end nearest the fuse. This is a matter of importance, since the squeezing not only retains the detonator in its place, but enables its full force to be utilised. In wet ground or water, a little tar, grease, or red lead should be smeared round the junction of the fuse and detonator, to prevent the admission of moisture into the latter, which might cause a missfire. Open a primer cartridge at one end, and with a small pointed piece of wood make a hole in the dynamite about J inch deep ; put the detonator into this hole, leaving the upper part of the cap quite clear of the explosive ; then twist the paper round the fuse, Fig. 22, and Fig. 22 tie it firmly with a piece of string, so that the detonator may not be pulled out when the primer is in the bore-hole. The primer should in every case be of a diameter inferior to that of the WELL 'SINKING. 51 shot-hole by at least one-eighth or, better still, one-fourth part of an inch. The reason for this is that the primer to a shot should always be of such a size as will not necessitate the employment of any material degree of force in placing it in position on to the top of the charge, the possibility of exploding the detonator by means of a blow in the act of charging a shot is thereby avoided. Detonators, being simply percussion caps of large size and power, will explode as surely from the effects of a blow as from the application of fire. When primers of small diameter in comparison with the size of the shot-hole are made use of, the only slight source for fear is avoided. The requisite number of plain cartridges having been taken, each is pressed separately into the bore-hole wit rammer, Fig. 23. The quantity required will vary with the size and depth of the bore-hole, and the kind of rock to be blasted ; a few shots will easily determine this in any particular locality. When all the charge is inserted, the primer, with the detonator and fuse, is gently pushed upon the top and lightly tamped with sand, clay, or even water. There should be a depth of not less than 2 inches of Fig. 23. sand over the end of the detonator before commencing to tamp. Though a high opinion is entertained by practical miners of the value of hard tamping in the use of gunpowder, it is a well-ascertained fact that when dynamite or guncotton is the explosive used, gentle tamping answers well, though as the depth of tamping in the shot-hole increases, the tamping may become heavier with advantage. Under any circumstances, wooden tamping-rods should alone be used. Care must be taken that there is no foreign substance in the tube of the detonator, also to have the fuse cut off level at the end that is to be inserted into the detonator, thus ensuring that E 2 52 WELL SINKING. the small column of prepared gunpowder of the fuse shall come in direct contact with the fulminate. Another point that requires attention is the operation of fixing and securing the detonator into the primer. Not only is it necessary that the detonator should be securely fixed, but when so fixed not less than, say, one-fourth of the total length of the detonator should be visible. Should the detonator become more than fully inserted into the primer, the fuse might possibly set on fire the primer before exploding the detonator, and thus cause a comparative failure of the shot. Having made the arrangements thus described, the bore-hole will be similar to Fig. 24 ; it is then ready to fire. In winter time, or whenever the tem- perature is low, dynamite freezes and becomes hard. It should not be used until it is thawed, when it softens and is Fig 24 again fit for use. The thawing may be easily done by putting the cartridges in a tin can, and this in an outer vessel containing hot water, or in the hot water cans supplied by the manufacturers. A rough but safe plan in careful hands, is to keep them a little time in the trousers pockets. On no account should the dynamite be warmed on iron plates, stoves, or before an open fire, as such practices are a most fruitful cause of serious accidents. For the same reason open boxes of dynamite should not be exposed to the sun. Dynamite for miners' use is commonly made up in charges of f to 2 inches diameter, advancing by eighths. The ordinary size is the 1-inch. A 1-inch bore-hole will contain 8 18 ounces of dynamite in every foot of its length, and for estimating purposes 18 coils of safety fuse and 200 detonators may be allowed to each 100 Ib. of explosive. We shall, in treating generally of blasting for well sink- ing, consider these operations as carried out by the aid of WELL 'SINKING. 53 gunpowder. Similar reasoning will apply to the other ex- plosives. The system of blasting employed in well sinking consists in boring holes from J to 3 inches diameter in the rock to be dis- rupted, to receive the charge. The position of these holes is a matter of the highest importance from the point of view of producing the greatest effects with the available means, and to determine them properly requires a complete knowledge of the nature of the forces developed by an explosive agent. This knowledge is rarely possessed by sinkers. Indeed, such is the ignorance of this subject displayed by quarrymen generally, that when the proportioning and placing the charges are left to their judgment, a large expenditure of labour and material will often produce very inadequate results. In all cases it is far more economical to entrust those duties to one who thoroughly understands the subject. The following principles should govern all operations of this nature : The explosion of gunpowder, by the expansion of the gases suddenly evolved, develops an enormous force, and this force, due to the pressure of a fluid, is exerted equally in all directions. Consequently the surrounding mass subjected to this force will yield, if it yield at all, in its weakest part, that is, in the part which offers least resistance. The line along which the mass yields, or line of rupture, is called the line of least resistance, and is the distance traversed by the gases before reaching the surface. When the surrounding mass is uniformly resisting, the line of least resistance will be a straight line, and will be the shortest distance from the centre of the charge to the surface. Such, however, is rarely the case, and the line of rupture will therefore in most instances be an irregular line, and often much longer than that from the centre direct to the surface. Hence in all blasting operations there will be two things to determine, the line of least resistance and the quantity of powder requisite to overcome the resistance along that line. For it is obvious that all excess of powder is waste ; and, moreover, as the force developed by this excess must be expended upon something, it will probably be employed in doing mischief. Charges of powder of 54 WELL SINKING. uniform strength produce effects varying with their weight, that is, a double charge will move a double mass. And as homogeneous masses vary as the cube of any similar line within them, the general rule is established that charges of powder to produce similar results are to each other as the cube of the lines of least resistance. Hence when the charge requisite to produce a given effect in a particular substance has been determined by experi- ment, that necessary to produce a like effect in a given mass of the same substance may be readily determined. As the sub- stances to be acted upon are various and differ in tenacity in different localities, and as, moreover, the quality of powder varies greatly, it will be necessary, in undertaking sinking operations, to make experiments in order to determine the constant which should be employed in calculating the charges of powder. In practice, the line of least resistance is taken as the shortest distance from the centre of the charge to the sur- face of the rock, unless the existence of natural divisions shows it to lie in some other direction ; and, generally, the charge requisite to overcome the resistance will vary from -^ to -^ of the cube of the line, the latter being taken in feet, and the former in pounds. Thus, suppose the material to be blasted is chalk, and the line of least resistance 4 feet, the cube of 4 is 64, and taking the proportion for chalk as ^, we have |f = 2 T 2 ^ Ib. as the charge necessary to produce disruption. When the blasting is in stratified rock, the position of the charge will frequently be determined by the natural divisions and fissures ; for if these are not duly taken into consideration, the sinker will have the mortification of finding, after his shot has been fired, that the elastic gases have found an easier vent through one of these flaws, and that consequently no useful effect has been produced. The line of least resistance, in this case, will generally be perpendicular to the beds of the strata, so that the hole for the charge may be driven parallel to the strata and in such a position as not to touch the planes which separate them. This hole should never be driven in the direction of the line of least resistance, and when practicable should be at right angles to it The instruments employed in boring the holes for the shot WELL SINKING. 55 are iron rods having a wedge-shaped piece of steel welded to their lower ends and brought to an edge so as to cut into the rock. These are worked either by striking them on the head with a hammer, or by jumping them up and down and allowing them to penetrate by their own weight. When used in the former manner they are called borers or drills ; in the latter case they are of the form Fig. 25, and are termed jumpers. Recently power jumpers worked by compressed air and drills actuated in the same man- ner have been very successfully employed. Holes may be made by these instruments in almost any . direction ; but when hand labour only is available, / the vertical can be most advantageously worked. / Hand jumpers are usually about 4 feet 8 inches in I length, and are used by holding in the direction of the I required hole, and producing a series of sharp blows \ through lifting the tool about a foot high and drop- \ ping it with an impulsive movement. The bead divides a jumper into two unequal lengths, of which the shorter is used for commencing a bore-hole, and the longer for finishing it. Often the bit on the long length is made a trifle smaller than the other to remove any chance of its not following into the hole which has been commenced. Drills and jumpers should be made of the best iron, preferably Swedish, for if the material be of an inferior quality it will split and turn over under the repeated blows of the mall, and thus endanger the hands of the workman who turns it, or give off splin- ters that may cause serious injury to those engaged in the shaft. Frequently they are made entirely of steel, and this material has much to recommend it for this purpose. The length of drills varies from 18 inches to 4 feet, the different lengths being put in successively as the sinking of the hole progresses. The cutting edge of the drills should be well steeled, and for the first, or 18-inch drill, have generally a 56 WELL SINKING. breadth of 2 inches; the second, or 28-inch drill, may be If inch on the edge ; the third, or 3-foot drill, 1J inch, and the fourth, or 4-foot drill, 1^ inch. The mode of using the drill in the latter case is as follows : The place for the hole having been marked off with the pick, one man sits down holding the drill in both hands between his legs. Another man then strikes the drill with a mall, the former turning the drill partially round between each blow to prevent the cutting edge from falling twice in the same place. The speed with which holes may be sunk varies of course with the hardness of the rock and the diameter of the hole. At Holyhead the average work done by three men in hard quartz rock with 1 J-inch drills was 14 inches an hour ; one man hold- ing the drill, and two striking. In granite of good quality, it has been ascertained by experience that three men are able to sink with a 3-inch jumper 4 feet in a day ; with a 2^-inch jumper, 5 feet ; with a 2^ inch, 6 feet ; with a 2-inch, 8 feet ; and with a If-inch, 12 feet. A strong man with a 1-inch jumper will bore 8 feet in a day. The weight of the hammers used with drills is a matter deserving attention ; for if too heavy they fatigue the men, and consequently fewer blows are given and the effect produced lessened ; while, on the other hand, if too light, the strength of the workman is not fully employed. The usual weight is from 5 to 7 Ib. As the labour of boring a shot-hole in a given kind of rock is dependent on the diameter, it is obviously desirable to make the hole as small as possible, due regard being had to the size of the charge ; for it must be borne in mind in determining the dia- meter of the boring that the charge should not occupy a great length in it. Various expedients have been resorted to for the purpose of enlarging the hole at the bottom so as to form a chamber for the powder. If this could be easily effected, such a mode of placing the charge would be highly advantageous, as a very small bore-hole would be sufficient, and the difficulties of tamping much lessened. One of these expedients is to place a small charge at the bottom of the bore, and to fire it after being properly tamped. The charge being insufficient to cause frac- WELL SINKING. 57 ture, the parts in immediate contact with it are compressed and crushed to dust, and the cavity is thereby enlarged. The proper charge may then be inserted in the chamber thus formed by boring through the tamping. Another method, applicable chiefly to calca- reous rock, was employed, it is stated, with satisfactory results, at Marseilles many years ago. When the bore-hole has been sunk to the required depth, a copper pipe, Fig. 26, of a diameter to fit the bore loosely, is introduced, the end A reaching to the bottom of the hole, which is closed up tightly at B with clay so that no air may escape. The pipe is provided with a bent neck, C. A small leaden pipe, e, about J inch in diameter, with a funnel, /, at the top, is introduced into the copper pipe at D, and passed to within an inch of the bottom. The annular space between the leaden and copper pipes is filled at g with hemp packing. Dilute nitric acid is then poured through the funnel and leaden pipe. The acid dissolves the calca- reous rock at the bottom, causing effervescence, and a slime containing the dissolved lime is forced out of the opening C. This process is continued until, from the quantity of acid used, it is judged that the chamber is enlarged sufficiently. Other acids would produce similar effects, the results iu each case depending, of course, upon the chemical composition of the rock. The writer is unacquainted with any instance where this system has been used ; it is impracticable except in a few very special cases, and must even then be both troublesome and expensive. After the shot-hole has been bored, it is cleaned out and dried with a wisp of hay, and the powder poured down ; or, when the hole is not vertical, pushed in with a wooden rammer. The quantity of powder should always be determined by weight. One pound, when loosely poured out, will occupy about 30 cubic inches, and 1 cubic foot weighs 57 pounds. A Fig. 26. 58 WELL SINKING. o V hole 1 inch in diameter will therefore contain '414 ounce for every inch of depth. Hence to find the weight of powder to an Fig. 27. Fig. 29. * ncn f depth i n anv given hole, we have only rv y-i to multiply -414 ounce by the square of the I JL JJ // \\ diameter of the hole in inches, and we are enabled to determine either the length of hole for a given charge, or the charge in a given space. It is important to use strong powder in blasting operations, because, as a smaller quantity will be sufficient, it will occupy less space and thereby save labour in boring. When the hole is in wet stone, means must bo provided for keeping the powder dry. For this purpose, tin cartridges are sometimes used. These are tin cylinders of suitable dimensions, fitted with a small tin stem through which the powder is ignited. The effect of the powder is, however, much lessened by the use of these tin cases. Generally a paper cart- ridge, well greased to prevent the water from penetrating, will give far more satisfactory results. When the paper shot is used, the hole should, previous to the insertion of the charge, be partially filled with stiff clay, and a round iron bar, called a clay-iron or bull, Figs. 27, 28, driven down to force the clay into the interstices of the rock through which the water enters. By this means the hole will be kept comparatively dry. The bull is with- drawn by placing a bar through the eye near the top of the former, provided for that pur- pose, and lifting it straight out. The cartridge is placed upon the point of a pricker and pushed down the hole. The pricker, shown in Fig. 29, is a taper piece of metal, usually of copper to prevent accidents, pointed at one end and having a ring at the other. When the cartridge has been placed in its position by this means, a little oakum is laid over it, and a V Fig. 28. WELL SINKING. 59 Bickford fuse inserted. This fuse is inexpensive, very certain in its effects, not easily injured by tamping, and is unaffected by moisture. The No. 8 fuse is preferred for wet ground ; and when it is required to fire the charge from the bottom in deep holes, No. 18 is the most suitable. When the line of least resistance has been decided upon, care must be taken that it remains the line of least resistance ; for if the space in bore-hole is not properly filled, the elastic gases may find an easier vent in that direction than in any other. The materials employed to fill this space are, when so applied, called tamping, and they consist of the chips and dust from the sinking, sand, well-dried clay, or broken brick or stones. Various opinions are held concerning the relative value of these materials as tamping. Sand offers very great resistance from the friction of the particles amongst themselves and against the sides of the bore-hole ; it may be easily applied by pouring it in, and is always readily obtainable. Clay, if thoroughly baked, offers a somewhat greater resistance than sand, and, where readily procurable, may be advantageously employed. o Fig. 30. Fig. 31. Broken stone is much inferior to either of these substances in resisting power. The favour in which it is held by sinkers and quarrymen, and the frequent use they make of it as tamping, must be attributed to the fact of its being always ready to hand, rather than to any excellent results obtained from its use. The tamping is forced down with a stemmer or tamping bar similar to Figs. 30, 31, too frequently made of iron, but which should be either of copper or bronze. The tamping end of the bar is grooved on one side, to admit of its clearing the pricker, or the fuse, lying along the side of the hole. The other end is left plain for the hand or for being struck with a hammer. All tamping should be selected for its freedom from particles likely to strike fire, but it must not be overlooked that the cause of such a casualty may lie in the sides of the hole itself. Under 60 WELL SINKING. these circumstances is seen the advisability of using bronze or copper tamping tools, and of not hammering violently on the tamping until a little of it has been first gently pressed down to cover over the charge, because the earlier blows on the tamping are the most dangerous in the event of a spark occurring. A little wadding, tow, paper, or a wooden plug is sometimes put to lie against the charge before any tamping is placed in the hole. To lessen the danger of the tamping being blown out, plugs or cones of metal of different shapes are sometimes in- serted in the hole. The best forms of plug are shown in Figs. 32 and 33 ; Fig. 32 is a metal cone wedged in on the tamping with arrows, and Fig. 33 is a barrel-shaped plug. When all is ready, the sinkers, with the exception of one man whose duty it is to fire the charge, are either drawn out of the shaft, or are removed to some place of safety. This man then, having ascertained by calling and re- ceiving a reply that all are under shelter, applies a light to the fuse, shouts "Bend away," or some equivalent expres- sion, and is rapidly drawn up the shaft. To avoid shattering the walls of a shaft, no shot should be placed nearer the side than 12 inches. The portion of stone next the wall sides of the shaft left after blasting is removed by steel-tipped iron wedges 7 or 8 inches in length. The wedges are applied by making a small hole with the point of the pick and driving them in with a mall. The sides may then be dressed as required with the pick. After some 30 or 40 feet have been sunk the air at the Fig. 32. Fig. 33. WELL SINKING. 61 bottom of the well may be very foul, especially in a well where blasting operations are being carried on, or where there is any great escape of noxious gases through fissures. Means must then be provided for applying at the surface a small exhaust fan to which is attached lengths of tubing extending down the well. Another good plan is to pass a 4 or 6 inch pipe down the well, bring it up with a long bend at surface, and insert a steam jet ; a brick chimney is frequently built over the upper end of the pipe to increase the draught, and the lower end continued down with flexible tubing. With either fan or steam jet, the foul air being continuously with- drawn, fresh air will rush down in its place. This is far better than dashing lime-water down the well, using a long wooden pipe with a revolving caphead, or pouring down a vertical pipe water which escaped at right angles, the old expedients for freshening the air in a well. A means of increasing the yield of wells, which is frequently very successful, is to drive small tunnels or headings from the bottom of the well into the surrounding water-bearing stratum. Fig. 34. As an example, let Fig. 34 represent a sectional plan of a portion of the water-bearing stratum at the bottom of the shaft. This stratum is underlaid by an impervious stratum, and, con- sequently, the water will flow continuously through the former in the direction of the dip, as shown by the arrow and the 62 WELL SINKING. dotted lines. That portion of the stratum to the rise of the shaft, S, which is included within vertical lines tangent to the circle at the points m and n, will be drained by the shaft. The breadth of this portion will, however, be extended beyond these lines by the relief to the lateral pressure afforded by the shaft, which relief will cause the fillets of water to diverge from their original course, towards the shaft, as shown in the figure. Hence the breadth of drainage ground will be a b, and it is evident that the shaft, S, can receive only that water which descends towards it through the space. But if tunnels be driven from the shaft along the strike of the stratum, as m c, n d, these tunnels will obviously intercept the water which flows past the shaft. By this means the drainage ground is extended from a b to a' b', and the yield of the well proportionately increased. It should be remarked that when the stratum is horizontal or depressed in the form of a basin, that is, when it partakes more of the character of a reservoir than a stream, the only use of tunnels is to facilitate the ingress of water into the shaft, and in such case they should radiate from the shaft in all directions. They are also of service in case of accident to the pumps, as the time they take to fill up allows of examination and repairs being made in that time to the pumps, which could not be got at if the engines stopped pumping and the water rose rapidly up the shaft. The size of the headings is usually limited by the least dimensions of the space in which miners can work efficiently, that is, about 4J feet high and 3 feet wide. The horse-shoe form is generally adopted for the sides and top, the floor being level, for the drawing off of the water by the pumps is quite sufficient to cause a flow, unless of course the dip of the stratum in which the tunnels are driven is such as to warrant an inclina- tion. Where there is any water it is not possible to drive them with a fall, for the men would be drowned out. The cost of some headings in the new red sandstone which the writer recently inspected, varied from 30s. a yard in ordi- nary stone, to 4Z. 10s. a yard in very hard stone. WELL SINKING. 63 The foregoing remarks do not apply to headings driven in the chalk, where it is the usual practice to select the largest feeder issuing from a fissure and follow that fissure up, unless the heading is merely to serve as a reservoir, when the direction is immaterial. The sides of wells usually require lining or steining, as it is termed, with some material that will prevent the loose strata of the sides of the excavation falling into the well and choking it. The materials that have been successfully used in this work are brick, stone, timber, and iron. Each description of material is suitable under certain conditions, while in other positions it is objectionable. Brickwork, which is universally used in steining wells in England, not unfrequently fails in certain positions ; through admitting impure water when such water is under great pressure, or from the work becoming disjointed from settlement due to the draining of a running sand-bed, or the collapse of the well. Stone of fair quality, capable of with- standing compressive strains, is good in its way ; but inasmuch as it requires a great deal of labour to fit it for its place, it cannot successfully compete with brickwork in the formation of wells, more especially as it has no merits superior to those of brick when used in such work ; however, if in any locality, by reason of its cheapness, it can be used, care should be taken to select only such as contains a large amount of silica ; indeed, in all cases it is a point of great importance in studying the nature of the materials used in the construction of wells, to select those which are likely to be the most durable, and at the same time preserve the purity of the water contained in the well ; and this is best secured by silicious materials. Timber is objectionable as a material to be used in the lining of wells, on account of its liability to decay, when it not only endangers the construction of the well, but also to some extent fouls the water. It is very largely used under some circum- stances, especially in the preliminary operations in sinking most wells. It is also successfully used in lining the shafts of the salt wells of Cheshire, and will continue entire in such a posi- tion for a great number of years, as the brine seems to have a 64 WELL SINKING. Fig. 35. tendency to preserve the timber and prevent its decay. Iron is of modern application, and is a material extensively employed in steining wells ; and, as it possesses many advantages over materials ordinarily used, its use is likely to be much extended. It is capable of bearing great compressive strains, and of effectually excluding the influx of all such waters as it may be desirable to keep out, and is not liable to decay under ordinary circumstances. Baldwin Latham mentions instances in his practice where recourse has been had to the use of iron cylinders, when it was found that four or five rings of brickwork, set in the best cement, failed to keep out brackish waters ; and, if the original design had provided for the intro- duction of these cylinders, it would have reduced the cost of the well very materially. The well-sinker has often, in executing his work, to contend with the presence of large volumes of water, which, under ordi- nary circumstances, must be got rid of by pumping ; but by the introduction of iron cylinders, which can be sunk under water, the consequent expense of pumping is saved. When sinking these cylinders through water-bearing strata, various tools are used to remove the soil from beneath them. The principal is the mizer, which consists of an iron cylinder with an opening on the side and a cutting lip, and which is attached to a set of boring-rods and turned from above. Fi s- 37 - The valve in the old form of mizer is subject to various accidents which interfere with the action of Fig. 36. WELL SINKING. 65 the tool ; for instance, pieces of hard soil or rock often lodge between the valve and its seat, allowing the contents to run out whilst it is being raised through water. To remedy this defect the eminent well-sinker, Thomas Docwra, designed and introduced the improved mizer, shown of the usual dimensions in Figs. 35 to 40; Fig. 35 being a plan at top. Fig. 36 an elevation, Fig. 37 a plan at bottom, Fig. 39 a section, Fig. 38 a plan of the stop a, and Fig. 40 a plan of the valve. It con- sists of an iron cylinder, conical shaped at bottom, furnished with holes for the escape of water, and attached to a central shank by means of stays. The shank extends some 7 inches be- yond the bottom, and ends in a point, while the upper part of the shank has an open slot to form a box joint, Figs. 41 to 43, with the rods. The conical bottom of the mizer has a triangular-shaped opening ; on the outside of this is fitted a strong iron cutter, and on the inside a properly-shaped valve, seen in section and plan in Figs. 39 and 40. When the mizer is at- tached to and turned by means of the boring-rods, the debris, sand, or other soil to be removed, be- ing turned up by the lip of the cutter, enters the cylinder, the valve, whilst the mizer is fil- ling, resting against a stop. After the mizer is charged, which can be ascertained by placing a mark upon the last rod at sur- Fig. 4i. Fig. 42. Fig. 43. face and noting its progress downwards, the rods are reversed and turned once or twice in a backward direction ; this forces the valve over the opening and retains the soil safely in the tool. Fig. 39. Fig. 40. 66 WELL SINKING. Fig. 44 is a pot mizer occasionally used in such soils as clay mixed with pebbles ; there is no valve, as the soil is forced upwards by the worm on the outside, and falls over the edge into the cone. Mizers are fastened to the rods by means of the box joint, shown in Figs. 41 to 43, as a screw joint would come apart on reversing. As many as five or six different sized mizers, ranging from 1 foot 6 inches to 9 feet in dia- meter, can be used successively, the smallest commencing the excavation, and the larger ones enlarging it until it is of the requisite size. As an accessory, a picker, shown by the three views, Figs. 45 to 47, Fig. 46 indicating its correct position when in operation, is employed where the strata is too irregular or compact to be effectually cleared away by the cutter of the Fig. 44. ^=?< 7 . 2 ; S -* Figs. 45, 46, 47. mizer. The picker is fixed upon the same rods above the WELL -SINKING. 67 mizer, and is used simultaneously, being raised and lowered with that tool. The cutting end of the picker is frequently replaced by a scratcher, Figs. 48, 49. This useful tool rakes or scratches up the debris thrown by the mizer beyond its own working range, and causes it to accumulate in the centre of the sinking, where it is again subjected to the action of the mizer. Brick steining is executed either in bricks laid dry or in cement, in ordinary clay 9-inch work being used for large wells, and half-brick, or 4^-inch work, for small wells. Figs. 48, 49. Fig. 50. Fig. 51. Figs. 50 and 51 show the method of laying for 9-inch work, and Fig. 52 for 4J inches. The bricks are laid flat, breaking F 2 68 WELL SINKING. joint ; and to keep out moderate land-springs clay, puddle, or concrete is introduced at the back of the steining ; for most purposes concrete is the best, as, in addition to its impervious character, it adds greatly to the strength of the steining. A ring or two of brickwork in cement is often introduced at intervals, varying from 5 feet to 12 feet apart, to strengthen the shaft, and facilitate the construction of the well. Too much care cannot be bestowed upon the steining ; if properly executed it will effectually exclude all objectionable infiltration, but badly made, it may prove a permanent source of trouble and annoyance. Half the wells condemned on account of sewage contamination really fail because of bad steining. CHAPTER V. WELL BOEING. THE first method of well boring known in Europe is that called the Chinese, in which a chisel suspended by a rope and surrounded by a tube of a few feet in length, is worked up and down by means of a spring-pole or lever at the surface. The twisting and untwisting of the rope prevents the chisel from always striking in the same place ; and by its continued blows the rock is pounded and broken. The chisel is withdrawn occasionally, and a bucket or shell-pump is lowered, having a hinged valve at the bottom opening upwards, so that a quantity of the debris becomes enclosed in the bucket, and is then drawn up by it to the surface ; the lowering of the bucket is repeated until the hole is cleaned, and the chisel is then put to work again. Fig. 53 is of an apparatus, on the Chinese system, which may be used either for hemp-rope or wire-rope, and which was originally made for hoop-iron. At A, Fig. 53, is represented a log of oak wood, which is set perpendicularly so deep in the ground as to penetrate the loose gravel and pass a little into the rock, and stand firm in its place ; it is well rammed with gravel and the ground levelled so that the butt of the log is flush with the surface of the ground, or a few feet below. Through this log, which may be, according to the depth of loose ground, from 5 feet to 30 feet long, a vertical hole is bored by an auger of a diameter equal to that of the intended boring in the rock. On the top of the ground, on one side of the hole, is a windlass whose drum is 5 feet in diameter, and the cog- wheel which drives it 6 feet ; the pinion on the crank axle is 6 inches. This windlass serves for hoisting the spindle or drill 70 WELL BORING. and is of a large diameter, in order to prevent short bends in the iron, which would soon make it brittle. In all cases where iron, either hoop-iron or wire-rope, is used, the diameter of the drum of the windlass used must be sufficiently large to prevent perma- nent bend in the iron. On the opposite side of the windlass is a lever of un- equal leverage, about one- third at the side of the hole, and two-thirds at the opposite side, where it ends in a cross or broad end when men do the work. The workmen, with one foot on a bench or plat- form, rest their hands on a railing, and work with the other foot the long end of the lever. In this way the whole weight of the men is made use of. The lift of the bore-bit is from 10 to 12 inches, which causes the men to work the treadle from 20 to 24 inches high. Below the treadle, T, is a spring-pole, S, fastened under the platform on which the men stand ; the end of this spring-pole is connected by a link to the working end of the lever, or to the rope directly, and pulls the treadle down. When the bore-spindle is raised by means of the treadle, the spring-pole imparts to it a sudden return, and increases by these means the velocity of the bit, and consequently that of the stroke downwards. This method has been generally disused, iron or wood rods substituted in the place of the rope, and a variety of augers and chisels instead of the simple chisel, with appliances for clear- WELL- BORING. 71 ing the bore-hole of debris. Figs. 54 to 60 show examples of an ordinary set of well-boring tools. Fig. 56 is a flat chisel ; Fig. 57 a V chisel ; and Fig. 58 a T chisel. The flat chisel is for cutting up and loosening gravel and minerals that cannot be cut by the auger, the V and T chisels are for cutting into sandstone, limestone or other rock. These chisels are made from wrought iron, and when small are usually 18 inches long, 2J inches extreme breadth, and weigh some 4J Ib. ; the cut- ting edge being faced with the best steel. They are used for hard rocks, and whilst in operation need carefully watching that they may be removed and fresh tools substituted when their sides are sufficiently worn to diminish their breadth. If this circumstance is not attended to, the size of the liole decreases, so that when a new chisel of the proper size is introduced it will not pass down to the bottom of the hole, and much unnecessary delay is occasioned in enlarging it. In working with the chisel, the borer keeps the tiller, or handles, in both hands, one hand being placed upon each handle, and moves slowly round the bore, in order to prevent the chisel from falling twice, successively, in the same place, and thus preserves the bore circular. Every time a fresh chisel is lowered to the bottom it should be worked round in the hole, to test whether it is its proper size and shape ; if this is not the case the chisel must be raised at once and worked gradually and carefully until the hole is as it should be. The description of strata being cut by the chisel can be ascer- tained with considerable accuracy by a skilful workman from the character of the shock transmitted to the rods. When working in sandstone there is no adhesion of the rock to the chisel when drawn to the surface, but with clays the con- trary is the case. Should the stratum be very hard, the chisel may be worn and blunt before cutting three-quarters of an inch, it must therefore be raised to the surface and frequently examined; however, 7 or 8 inches may be bored without examination, should the nature of the stratum allow of such progress being made. Ground augers, Figs. 54, 55, and 60, are similar in action to those used for boring wood, but differ in shape and construe- 72 WELL BORING. tion. The common earth or clay auger, Fig. 54, is 3 feet in length, having the lower two-thirds cylindrical. The bottom is Figs. 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59. . partially closed by the lips, and there is an opening a little up one side for the admission of soft or bruised material. Augers are only used for penetrating soft rock, clay, and sand ; and their shape is varied to suit the nature of the strata traversed, being open and cylindrical for clays having a certain degree of cohesion, conical, and sometimes closed, in quicksands. Augers are sometimes made as long as 10 feet, and are then very effective if the stratum is soft WELL BOEING. 73 enough to permit of their use. The shell is made from 3 feet to 3^ feet in length, of nearly the same shape as the common auger, sometimes closed to the bottom, Fig. 60, or with an auger nose, Fig. 55 ; in either case there is a clack or valve placed inside at the foot for the purpose of retaining borings of a soft nature or preventing them from being washed out in wet hole. Fig. 63 shows a wad- jj hook for withdrawing stones, and Fig. 62 a worm-auger. The Crow's Foot, Fig. 59, is used when the boring-rods have broken in the bore-hole, for the purpose of extracting that por- tion remaining in the hole ; it is the same length, and at the foot the same breadth as the chisels. When the rods have broken, the part above the fracture is drawn out of the bore-hole and the crow's foot screwed on in place of g ' 64 ' the broken piece ; when this is lowered down upon the broken rod, by careful twisting the toe is caused to grip the broken piece with sufficient force to Figs. 6i, 62, es. a il ow the portion below the fracture to be drawn out of the bore-hole. A rough expedient is to fasten a metal ring to a rope and lower it over the broken rod, when the rod cants the ring, and thus gives it a considerable grip ; this is often very successful. Fig. 61 is a worm used for the same purpose. A bell-box, Fig. 64, is frequently employed for drawing broken rods ; it has two palls fixed at the top of the box, which rise and permit the end of the rod to pass when the box is lowered, but upon raising it the palls fall and grip the rod firmly. The action of these palls is rendered more certain if they are arranged with flat springs pressing upon their upper surface. A spiral angular worm, similar to Fig. 61, is also applied for withdrawing tubes. 74 WELL BORING. Of these withdrawing tools the crow is the safest and best, as it may be used without that intelligent supervision and care absolutely necessary with the worms and wad-hooks, or the bell-box. The boring-rods (Figs. 65, 66) are in 3, 6, 10, 15, or 20 feet lengths, of wrought iron, preferably Swedish, and are made of different degrees of strength according to the depth of the hole (< Fig. 65. W Fig. 66. for which they are required ; they are generally 1 inch square in section : at one end is a male and at the other end a female screw for the purpose of connecting them together. The screw should not have fewer than six threads. f ^^ One of the sides of the female screw ' v frequently splits and allows the male ""^ screw to be drawn out, thus leaving the rods in the hole. By constant wear, also, the screw may have its thread so worn as to become liable to slip. Common rods, being most liable to acci- dent, should be carefully examined every time they are drawn out of the bore-hole, as an unobserved failure may occasion much inconvenience, and even the loss of the bore-hole. In addition Fig. 69. to the ordinary rods there are short pieces, varying from 6 inches to 2 feet in length, which are fixed to the top, as required, for adjusting the rods at a convenient height. Fig. 67 is a hand-dog ; Figs. 68 and 69, a lifting dog ; Fig. 70, Fig . 6?. WELL BORING. 75 the tillers or handles by which the workmen impart a rotary motion to the tools. The tillers are clamped to the topmost Fig. 70. boring-rod at a convenient height for working. Fig. 65, a top rod with shackle. "While the rods are sustained by the rope it allows them to turn freely. Fig. 71, a spring-hook for raising and lowering tools, rods, or pipes. It is spliced to a rope. When in use this should be frequently examined and kept in repair. Lining tubes are employed to prevent the bore- hole falling in through the lateral swelling of clay strata, or when passing through running sand. The tubes are usually of iron, of good quality, soft, easily bent, and capable of sustaining an indent without fracture. Inferior tubes occasion grave and costly accidents, which are frequently irre- parable, as a single bad tube may endanger the success of an entire boring. Fig. 72. Fig. 71. (J Figs. 73 and 74. Wrought-iron tubes with screwed flush joints, Fig. 72, are to be recommended, but they are supplied brazed, Fig. 73, or 7G WELL BORING. riveted, Fig. 74, and can be fitted with steel driving collars and shoes. Cast-iron tubes, Fig. 217, p. 161, are constantly applied ; they should have turned ends with wrought-iron collars and countersunk screws. Care must be taken with socketed lining o o Fig. 75. Fig. 76. Fig. 77. Fig. 78. Fig. 79. tubes to screw them together until they butt in the centre of the socket, so as to remove all strain on the screw threads during the process of driving. Cold -drawn wrought-iron tubes have been used, and are very effective as well as easily applied, but their relatively high cost occasions their application to be limited. Fig. 76 shows a stud-block, which is used for suspending tubing either for putting it down or for drawing it up. It consists of a block made to fit inside the end of the tube, and attached to the rods in the usual way. In the side of the block is fixed an iron stud for slipping into a slot, similar to a bayonet joint, cut in the end of the tube, so that it may be thus suspended. Figs. 75 and 77, 78, show various forms of spring- WELL BORING. 77 darts, and Fig. 79 a pipe-dog, for the same purpose. Sometimes a conical plug, with a screw cut around the outside for tighten- ing itself in the upper end of the tube, is used for raising Fig. 80. Fig. 81. Fig. 82. and lowering tubing. Figs. 80 and 81 are of tube clamps, and Fig. 83 tongs for screwing up the tubes. Fig. 82 is of an ordinary form of sinker's bucket. Fig. 83. Fig. 84 is a pipe-dolly, used for driving the lining tubes ; the figure shows it in position ready for driving. When a projection in the bore-hole obstructs the downward course of the lining tubes, the hole can be enlarged below the pipes by meaas of a rimer, Fig. 85. It consists of an iron shank, to which two thin strips are bolted, bowed out into the form of a drawing pen. The rimer is screwed on to the boring- rods, and forced down through the pipes ; when below the last length of pipe the rimer expands, and can then be turned round, which has the effect of scraping the sides and enlarging that portion of the hole subject to its operation. Fig. 86 is of an improved form of rimer, termed a riming spring. It will be seen that this instrument is much stronger than the ordinary 78 WELL BORING. rimer, in consequence of the shank being extended through its entire length, thus rendering the scraping action of the bows very effective, whilst the slot at the foot of the bow permits of its introduction into, and withdrawal from, the tubing. Some means of suspending the tackle from which the rods are hung and also of obtaining a lift for them must be provided. Tri- angle gyns are sufficient for light work, whilst for that of a Fig. 84. Fig. 85. Fig. 86. heavier character shears, derricks, or massive sheer-frames are requisite. Fig. 87 is a very good form of iron gyn for boring ; it is of wrought-iron, and is fitted with a geared windlass. In England, for small works, the entire boring apparatus is frequently arranged as in Fig. 88, the tool being fixed at the end of the wrought-iron rods instead of at the end of a rope, as in the Chinese method. Referring to Fig. 88, A is the boring tool ; B the rod to which the tool is attached ; D D the levers WELL BORING. 79 by which the men E E give a circular or rotating motion to the tool ; F, chain for attaching the boring apparatus to the pole G, 80 WELL BORING. which is fixed at H, and by its means the man at I transmits vertical motion to the boring tool when this is necessary. Fig, WELL BORING. 81 The sheer-legs, made of sound Norway spars not less than 8 inches diameter at the bottom, are placed over the bore-hole for the purpose of supporting the tackle K K for drawing the rods out of or lowering them into the hole, when it is advisable to clean out the hole or renew the chisel. It is obvious that the more frequently it is necessary to break the joints in drawing and lowering the rods, the more time will be occupied in changing the chisels, or in each cleaning of the hole, and as the depth of the hole increases the more tedious will the opera- tion be. It therefore becomes of much importance that the rods should be drawn and lowered as quickly as possible, and to attain this end as long lengths as practicable should be drawn at each lift. The length of the lift or off-take, as it is termed, depending altogether upon the height of the lifting tackle above the top of the bore-hole, the length of the sheer- legs for a hole of any considerable depth should not be less than 30 to 40 feet ; and they usually stand over a small pit or surface-well, which may be sunk, where the clay or gravel is dry, to a depth of 20 or 30 feet. From the bottom of this pit the bore-hole may be commenced, and here will be stationed the man who has charge of the bore- hole while working the rods. Fig. 89 is of another plan of commencing a boring. Here a, a are foot-blocks for the legs of the gyn, b the rope shackle, c d staging, e guide block. A pit is sunk 10 or 12 feet in the clear, when lined with timber or masonry, and below this a smaller pit 6 feet square, and 5 feet deep, also lined. Above these the sheer-legs are erected so that the rope when passed round the wheel at top may hang over the centre of the pits. The top of the lower part has to be covered, all except a gap of 9 inches in the centre, with loose planks to form a stage ; the two middle planks should be from 3 inches to 4 inches thick, as they may have to carry an auger board, and sustain the whole weight of the rods. The arrangement, Fig. 90, is intended for either deep or diffi- cult boring with rods. A regular scaffolding is erected, upon which a platform is built. The boring chisel A is, as in the last 82 WELL BORING. instance, coupled by means of screw couplings to the boring rods B. At each stroke two men stationed at E E turn the rod slightly by means of the tiller D D. A rope F, which is attached to the VWVEPr k*\w\H<> MM MM IXj.i rA'V ^rtyfl i - * ''i j .^^rOsV) ^H^TO I X I x ,V>^ i/o, vOrO^// ^'v\y vGOUW M ^y t ^H s 0" 1 / <- i between the blows according to the requirements of the strata ; but the time and trouble of raising heavy rods from great depths on each occasion of changing from boring to clearing out the hole form a serious drawback, which makes the stoppages occupy really a longer time than the actual working of the machinery. The method in vented by Colin Mather, and manufactured by Mather and Platt, A of Oldham, employed largely in Eng- land for deep boring, seems to combine the advantages of the systems hitherto used, and to be free from many of their disad- vantages. The distinctive fea- 70 77 Fig. 197. WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 145 tures of this plan, which is shown in Figs. 197 to 204, arc the mode of giving the percussive action to the boring tool, and the Fig. 198. Fig. 199. construction of the tool or boring-head, and of the shell -pump L LARGE BORING MACHINE 10 5 0- 30 4C SC 60Inth*f Fig 200. WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 147 for clearing out the hole after the action of the boring head. Instead of these implements being attached to rods, they are suspended by a flat hemp rope, about J- inch thick and 4J inches broad, such as is commonly used at collieries ; and the boring tool and shell-pump are raised and lowered as quickly in the bore-hole as the bucket and cages in a colliery shaft. The flat rope A A, Fig. 197, from which the boring head B is suspended, is wound upon a large drum C driven by a steam- engine D with a reversing motion, so that one man can regulate the operation with the greatest ease. All the working parts are fitted into a wood or iron framing E E, rendering the whole a compact and complete machine. On leaving the drum C the rope passes under a guide pulley F, and then over a large pulley G carried in a fork at the top of the piston rod of a vertical single-acting steam cylinder. This cylinder, by which the percussive action of the boring head is produced, is shown to a larger scale in the vertical sections, Figs. 200, 201 ; and in the larger size of machine here shown, the cylinder is fitted with a piston of 15 inches diameter, having a heavy cast-iron rod 7 inches square, which is made with a fork at the top carrying the flanged pulley G of about 3 feet diameter and of sufficient breadth for the flat rope A to pass over it. The boring-head having been lowered by the winding drum to the bottom of the bore-hole, the rope is fixed secure at that length by the clamp J ; steam is then admitted underneath the piston in the cylinder H by the steam valve K, and the boring tool is lifted by the ascent of the piston rod and pulley G ; and on arriving at the top of the stroke the exhaust valve L is opened for the steam to escape, allowing the piston rod and carrying pulley to fall freely with the boring tool, which falls with its full weight to the bottom of the bore-hole. The exhaust port is 6 inches above the bottom of the cylinder, while the steam port is situated at the bottom; and there is thus always an elastic cushion of steam retained in the cylinder of that thickness for the piston to fall upon, preventing the piston from striking the bottom of the cylinder. The steam and exhaust valves are worked with a self-acting motion by the L 2 148 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. Transverse Fig. 201. WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 149 tappets M M, which are actuated by the movement of the piston rod ; and a rapid succession of blows is thus given by the boring tool on the bottom of the bore-hole. As it is neces- sary that motion should be given to the piston before the valves can be acted upon, a small jet of steam N is allowed to be con- stantly blowing into the bottom of the cylinder ; this causes the piston to move slowly at first, so as to take up the slack of the rope and allow it to receive the weight of the boring head gradually and without a jerk. An arm attached to the piston- rod then comes in contact with a tappet which opens the steam valve K, and the piston rises quickly to the top of the stroke ; another tappet worked by the same arm then shuts off the steam, and the exhaust valve L is opened by a corresponding arrange- ment on the opposite side of the piston rod, as shown in Fig. 201 . By shifting these tappets the length of stroke of the piston can be varied from 1 to 8 feet in the large machine, according to the material to be bored through ; and the height of fall of the boring head at the bottom of the bore-hole is double the length of stroke of the piston. The fall of the boring head and piston can also be regulated by a weighted valve on the exhaust pipe, checking the escape of the steam, so as to cause the descent to take place slowly or quickly, as may be desired. The boring head B, Fig. 197, is shown to a larger scale in Figs. 202, 203, and consists of a wrought-iron bar about 4 inches diameter and 8 feet long, to the bottom of which a cast-iron cylindrical block C is secured. This block has numerous square holes through it, into which the chisels or cutters D D are inserted with taper shanks, as shown in Fig. 203, so as to be very firm when working, but to be readily taken out for repairing and sharpening. Two different arrangements of the cutters are shown in the elevation, Fig. 202, and the plan, Fig. 204. A little above the block C another cylindrical casting E is fixed upon the bar B, which acts simply as a guide to keep the bar perpendicular. Higher still is fixed a second guide F, but on the circumference of this are secured cast-iron plates made with ribs of a saw-tooth or ratchet shape, catching only in one direction ; these ribs are placed at an inclination like seg- Fig. 203. 150 WELL BORING. ments of a screw-thread of very long pitch, so that as the guide bears against the rough sides of the bore- hole when the bar is raised or lowered they assist in turning it, for causing the cutters to strike in a fresh place at each stroke. Each alternate plate has the pro- jecting ribs inclined in the opposite direction, so that one half of the ribs are acting to turn the bar round in rising, and the other half to turn it in the same direction in falling. These projecting spiral ribs simply assist in turning the bar, and immediately above the upper guide F is the ar- rangement by which the definite rotation is se- cured. To effect this ob- ject two cast-iron collars, G and H, are cottered fast to the top of the bar B, and placed about 12 inches apart; the upper face of the lower collar G is formed with deep ratchet-teeth of about 2 inches pitch, and the under face of the top collar H is formed with similar ratchet-teeth, set Fig. 202. Fig. 204. WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 151 exactly in line with those on the lower collar. Between these collars and sliding freely on the neck of the boring bar B is a deep bush J, which is also formed with corresponding ratchet- teeth on both its upper and lower faces ; but the teeth on the upper face are set half a tooth in advance of those on the lower face, so that the perpendicular side of each tooth on the upper face of the bush is directly above the centre of the inclined side of a tooth on the lower face. To this bush is attached the wrought-iron bow K, by which the whole boring bar is sus- pended with a hook and shackle O, Fig. 200, from the end of the flat rope A. The rotary motion of the bar is obtained as follows : when the boring tool falls and strikes the blow, the lifting bush J, which during the lifting has been engaged with the ratchet-teeth of the top collar H, falls upon those of the bottom collar G, and thereby receives a twist backwards through the space of half a tooth ; and on commencing to lift again, the bush rising up against the ratchet-teeth of the top collar H, receives a further twist backwards through half a tooth. The flat rope is thus twisted backwards to the extent of one tooth of the ratchet ; and during the lifting of the tool it untwists itself again, thereby rotating the boring tool forwards through that extent of twist between each successive blow of the tool. The amount of the rotation may be varied by making the ratchet- teeth of coarser or finer pitch. The motion is entirely self- acting, and the rotary movement of the boring tool is ensured with mechanical accuracy. This simple and most eifective action taking place at every blow of the tool produces a con- stant change in the position of the cutters, thus increasing their effect in breaking the rock. The shell-pump, for raising the material broken up by the boring head, is shown in Figs. 205, 206, and consists of a cylin- drical shell or barrel P of cast iron, about eight feet long and a little smaller in diameter than the size of the bore-hole. At the bottom is a clack A opening upwards, somewhat similar to that in ordinary pumps ; but its seating, instead of being fastened to the cylinder P, is in an annular frame C, which is held up against the bottom of the cylinder by a rod D passing up to 152 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. Fig. 206. WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 153 a wrought-iron guide E at the top, where it is secured by a cotter F. Inside the cylinder works a bucket B, similar to that of a common lift-pump, having an indiarubber disc valve on the top side ; and the rod D of the bottom clack passes freely through the bucket. The rod G of the bucket itself is formed like a long link in a chain, and by this link the pump is sus- pended from the shackle O, Fig. 200, at the end of the flat rope, the guide E, Fig. 205, preventing the bucket from being drawn out of the cylinder. The bottom clack A is made with an indiarubber disc, which opens sufficiently to allow the water and smaller particles of stone to enter the cylinder ; and in order to enable the pieces of broken rock to be brought up as large as possible, the entire clack is free to rise bodily about 6 inches from the annular frame C, as shown in Fig. 205, thereby afford- ing ample space for large pieces of rock to enter the cylinder, when drawn in by the up stroke of the bucket. The general working of the boring machine is as follows. The winding drum C, Fig. 197, is 10 feet diameter in the large machine, and is capable of holding 3000 feet length of rope 4J inches broad and 1 inch thick. When the boring head B is hooked on the shackle at the end of the rope A, its weight pulls round the drum and winding engine, and by means of a break it is lowered steadily to the bottom of the bore-hole ; the rope is then secured at that length by screwing up tight the clamp J. The small steam jet N, Figs. 200, 201, is next turned on, for starting the working of the percussion cylinder H ; and the boring head is then kept continually at work, until it has broken up a sufficient quantity of material at the bottom of the bore- hole. The clamp J which grips the rope is made with a slide and screw I, Fig. 200, whereby more rope can be gradually given out as the boring head penetrates deeper in the hole. In order to increase the lift of the boring head, or to compensate for the elastic stretching of the rope, which is found to amount to 1 inch in each 100 feet length, it is simply necessary to raise the top pair of tappets on the tappet rods whilst the per- cussive motion is in operation. When the boring head has been kept at work long enough, the steam is shut off from the 154: WELL BOEING AT GREAT DEPTHS. percussion cylinder, the rope undamped, the winding engine put in motion, and the boring head wound up to the surface, where it is then slung from an overhead suspension bar Q, Fig. 197, by means of a hook mounted on a roller for running the boring head away to one side, clear of the bore-hole. The shell-pump is next lowered down the bore-hole, by the rope, and the debris pumped into it by lowering and raising the bucket about three times at the bottom of the hole, which is readily effected by means of the reversing motion of the winding engine. The pump is then brought up to the surface, and emptied by the following very simple arrangement : it is slung by a traversing hook from the overhead suspension bar Q, Fig. 197, and is brought perpendicularly over a small table R in the waste tank T ; and the table is raised by the screw S until it receives the weight of the pump. The cotter F, Fig. 205, which holds up the clack seating C at the bottom of the pump, is then knocked out ; and the table being lowered by the screw, the whole clack seating C descends with it, as shown in Fig. 206, and the contents of the pump are washed out by the rush of water contained in the pump cylinder. The table is then raised again by the screw, replacing the clack seating in its proper position, in which it is secured by driving the cotter F into the slot at the top ; and the pump is again ready to be lowered down the bore-hole as before. It is sometimes necessary for the pump to be emptied and lowered three or four times in order to remove all the material that has been broken up by the boring-head at one operation. The rapidity with which these operations may be carried on is found in the experience of the working of the machine to be as follows. The boring head is lowered at the rate of 500 feet a minute. The percussive motion gives twenty-four blows a minute ; this rate of working continued for about ten minutes in red sandstone and similar strata is sufficient for enabling the cutters to penetrate about 6 inches depth, when the boring head is wound up again at the rate of 300 feet a minute. The shell- pump is lowered and raised at the same speeds, but only remains down about two minutes ; and the emptying of the pump when drawn up occupies about two or three minutes. WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 155 In the construction of this machine it will be seen that the great desideratum of all earth boring has been well kept in view ; namely, to bore holes of large diameter to great depths with rapidity and safety. The object is to keep either the boring head or the shell-pump constantly at work at the bottom of the bore-hole, where the actual work has to be done ; to lose as little time as possible in raising, lowering, and changing the tools ; to expedite all the operations at the surface ; and to economise manual labour in every particular. With this machine, one man standing on a platform at the side of the percussion cylinder performs all the operations of raising and lowering by the winding engine, changing the boring-head and shell pump, regulating the percussive action, and clamping or unclamping the rope : all the handles for the various steam valves are close to his hand, and the brake for lowering is worked by his foot. Two labourers attend to changing the cutters and clearing the pump. Duplicate boring heads and pumps are slung to the overhead suspension bar Q, Fig. 197, ready for use, thus avoiding all delay when any change is requisite. As is well known by those who have charge of such opera- tions, in well boring innumerable accidents and stoppages occur from causes which cannot be prevented, with however much vigilance and skill the operations may be conducted. Hard and soft strata intermingled, highly inclined rocks, running sands, and fissures and dislocations are fruitful sources of annoyance and delay, and sometimes of complete failure ; and it will therefore be interesting to notice a few of the ordinary difficulties arising out of these circumstances. In all the bore- holes yet executed by this system, the various special instru- ments used under any circumstances of accident or complicated strata are fully shown in Figs. 207 to 215. The boring head while at work may suddenly be jammed fast, either by breaking into a fissure, or in consequence of broken rock falling upon it from loose strata above. All the strain possible is then put upon the rope, either by the percussion cylinder or by the winding engine ; and if the rope is an old one or rotten it breaks, leaving perhaps a long length in the 156 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. Brvafang-iJip Grapnel, for Tuben Fig. 208. ACCIDENT TOOLS Cutting/ Grapriel, Fig. 207. Fig. 210. f J Plarvatr bottom/ inverted* Fig. 211. hole. The claw grapnel, shown in Fig. 207, is then attached to the rope remaining on the winding drum, and is lowered until it rests upon the slack broken rope in the bore-hole. . The grapnel is made with three claws A A centred in a cylindrical block B, which slides vertically within the casing C, the tail ends of the claws fitting into inclined slots D in the casing. During the lowering of the grapnel, Fig. 212. WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 157 Grapnel fbr Can* Finn/at/ top GRAPNEL FOR STIFF CLAY IB; Seatwn/of bottom/ Fig 214. Fig. 215. the claws are kept open, in con- sequence of the trigger E being ffauticn. held U p i n the position shown Fig. 213. in Fig. 207, by the long linkF, which suspends the grapnel from the top rope. But as soon as the grapnel rests upon the broken rope below, the suspending link F continuing to descend allows the trigger E to fall out of it, and then in hauling up again, the 158 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. grapnel is lifted only by the bow G of the internal block B, and the entire weight of the external casing bears upon the in- clined tail ends of the claws A, causing them to close in tight upon the broken rope and lay hold of it securely. The claws are made either hooked at the extremity or serrated. The grap- nel is then hauled up sufficiently to pull the broken rope tight, and wrought-iron rods 1 inch square with hooks attached at the bottom are let down to catch the bow of the boring head, which is readily accomplished. Two powerful screw-jacks are applied to the rods at the surface, by means of the step-ladder shown in Fig 209, in which the cross -pin H is inserted at any pair of the holes, so as to suit the height of the screw-jacks. If the boring head does not yield quickly to these efforts, the attempt to recover it is abandoned, and it is got out of the way by being broken up into pieces. For this purpose the broken rope in the bore-hole has first to be removed, and it is therefore caught hold of with a sharp hook and pulled tight in the hole, while the cutting grapnel, shown in Fig. 208, is slipped over it and lowered by the rods to the bottom. This tool is made with a pair of sharp cutting jaws or knives 1 1 opening upwards, which in lowering pass down freely over the rope ; but when the rods are pulled up with considerable force, the jaws nipping the rope between them cut it through, and it is thus removed alto- gether from the bore-hole. The solid wrought-iron breaking-up bar, Fig. 203, which weighs about a ton, is then lowered, and by means of the percussion cylinder it is made to pound away at the boring head, until the latter is either driven out of the way into one side of the bore-hole, or broken up into such frag- ments as that, partly by the shell-pump and partly by the grapnels, the whole obstacle is removed. The boring is then proceeded with again, the same as before the accident. The same mishap may occur with the shell-pump getting jammed fast into the bore-hole, as illustrated in Fig. 216 ; and the same means of removing the obstacle are then adopted. Ex- perience has shown the danger of putting any greater strain upon the rope than the percussion cylinder can exert ; and it is therefore usual to lower the grapnel rods at once, if the boring WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 159 head or pump gets fast, thus avoiding the risk of breaking the rope. The breaking of a cuttsr in the boring head is not an uncom- mon occurrence. If, however, the bucket grapnel, or the small screw grapnel, Fig. 210, be employed for its recovery, the hole is usually cleared without any important delay. The screw grapnel, Fig. 210, is ap- plied by means of the iron grappling rods, so that by turning the rods the screw works itself round the cutter or other similar article in the bore-hole, and securely holds it while the rods are drawn up again to the surface. The bucket grapnel, Fig. 214, is also employed for raising clay, as well as for the purpose of bringing up cores out of the bore-hole, where these are not raised by the boring head itself in the manner already described. The ac- tion of this grapnel is nearly similar to that of the claw grapnel, Fig. 207 ; the three jaws A A, hinged to the bottom of the cylindrical casing C, and attached by connecting rods to the internal block B sliding within the casing C, are kept open during the lowering of the tool, the trigger E being held up in the position shown in Fig. 214, by the long suspending link F. On reaching the bottom, the trigger is liberated by the further descent of the link F, which, in haul- ing up again, lifts only the bow G of the internal block B ; so that the jaws A are made to close inwards upon the core, which is thus grasped firmly between them and brought up within the grapnel. Where there is clay or similar material at the bottom of the bore-hole, the weight of the heavy block B in the grapnel causes the sharp edges of the pointed jaws to penetrate to some Fig. 216. 160 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. depth into the material, a quantity of which is thus enclosed within them and brought up. Another grapnel which is also used where a bore-hole passes through a bed of very stiff clay is shown in Fig. 215, and consists of a long cast-iron cylinder H fitted with a sheet-iron mouthpiece K at the bottom, in which are hinged three conical steel jaws J J opening upwards. The weight of the tool forces it down into the clay with the jaws open ; and then on raising it the jaws, having a tendency to fall, cut into the clay and enclose a quantity of it inside the mouthpiece, which on being brought up to the surface is detached from the cylinder H and cleaned out. A second mouthpiece is put on and sent down for working in the bore-hole while the first is being emptied, the attachment of the mouthpiece to the cylinder being made by a common bayonet-joint D, so as to admit of readily connecting and disconnecting it. A running sand in soft clay is, however, the most serious difficulty met with in well boring. Under such circumstances the bore-hole has to be tubed from top to bottom, which greatly increases the expense of the undertaking, not only by the cost of the tubes, but also by the time and labour expended in insert- ing them. When a permanent water supply is the main object of the boring, the additional expense of tubing the bore-hole is not of much consequence, as the tubed hole is more durable, and the surface water is thereby excluded ; but in exploring for mineral it is a serious matter, as the final result of the bore-hole is then by no means certain. The mode of inserting tubes has become a question of great importance in connection with this system of boring, and much time and thought having been spent in perfecting the method now adopted, its value has been proved by the repeated success with which it has been carried out. The tubes used by Mather and Platt are of cast iron, varying in thickness from f to 1 inch according to their diameter, and are all 9 feet in length. The successive lengths are connected together by means of wrought-iron covering hoops 9 inches long, made of the same outside diameter as the tube, so as to be flush with it. These hoops are from j to f inch thick, and the WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 161 Tubing for Borehole ends of each tube are reduced in diameter by turning down for 4i inches from the end, to fit inside the hoops, as shown in Fig. 217. A hoop is shrunk fast on one end of each tube, leaving 4J inches of socket projecting to receive the end of the next tube to be connected. Four or six rows of screws with countersunk heads, placed at equal distances round the hoop, are screwed through into the tubes to couple the two lengths securely together. Thus a flush joint is obtained both inside and outside the tubes. The lowest tube is provided at the bottom with a steel shoe, having a sharp edge for penetrating the ground more readily. In small borings from 6 to 12 inches diameter, the tubes are inserted into the bore-hole by means of screw-jacks, by the simple and inexpensive method shown in Figs. 218, 219. The boring machine foun- dation A A, which is of timber, is weighted at B B by stones, pig iron, or any available material ; and two screw-jacks C C, each of about 10 tons power, are secured with the screws downwards, underneath the beams D D crossing the shallow well E, which is always exca- vated at the top of the bore-hole. A tube F having been lowered into the mouth of the bore-hole by the winding engine, a pair of deep clamps G are screwed tightly round it, and the screw-jacks acting upon these clamps force the tube down into the ground. The boring is then resumed, and as it proceeds the jacks are occasionally worked, so as to force the tube if possible even ahead of the boring tool. The clamps are then slackened and shifted up the tubes, to suit the length of the screws of the jacks ; two men work the jacks, and couple the lengths of tubes as they are successively added. The actual boring is carried on simultaneously within the tubes, and is not in the least impeded 162 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. by their insertion, which simply involves the labour of an additional man or two. Fig. 218. 2iiber.f(!rciruf Apparatus -with/ Screwjatfe Side, WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 163 A more perfect and powerful tube-forcing apparatus is adopted where tubes of from 18 to 24 inches diameter have to be inserted to a great depth, an illustration of which is afforded by an extensive piece of work at the Horse Fort, standing in the channel at Gosport. This fort is a huge round tower, as shown in Fig. 220 ; and to supply the garrison with fresh water, a bore- hole is sunk into the chalk. A cast-iron well A, consisting of cylinders 6 feet diameter, and 5 feet long, has been sunk 90 feet into the bed of the channel in the centre of ... ...... the fort, and the bot- of this is an 18- bore-hole which is tubed the whole distance with cast-iron tubes 1 inch thick, coupled as before described. The method of inserting these tubes is shown in Fig. 222. Two wrought-iron columns C C, 6 inches diameter, are firmly secured in the position shown, by castings bolted to the flanges of the cylinders A A forming the well, so that the two columns are perfectly rigid and parallel to each other. A casting D, carrying on its under side two 5-inch hydraulic rams, 1 1 of 4 feet length, is formed so as to slide freely between the columns, M 2 torn well inch B, 164 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. Fig. 221. WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 165 which act as guides ; the hole in the centre of this casting is large enough to pass a bore-tube freely through it, and by means of cotters passed through the slots in the columns the casting is securely fixed at any height. A second casting E, exactly the same shape as the top one, is placed upon the top of the tubes B B to be forced down, a loose wrought-iron hoop being first put upon the shoulder at the top of the tube, large enough to prevent the casting E from sliding down the outside of the tubes ; this casting or crosshead rests unsecured on the top of the tube and is free to move with it. The hydraulic cylinders I, with their rams pushed home, are lowered upon the crosshead E, and the top casting D to which they are attached is then secured firmly to the columns C by cottering through the slots. A small pipe F, having a long telescope joint, connects the hydraulic cylinders I with the pumps at the surface which supply the hydraulic pressure. By this arrangement a force of 3 tons on the square inch, or about 120 tons total upon the two rams, has frequently been exerted to force down the tubes at the Horse Fort. After the rams have made their full stroke of about 3 feet 6 inches, the pressure is let off, and the hydraulic cylinders I with the top casting D, slide down the rams resting on the crosshead E, until the rams are again pushed home. The top casting D is then fixed in its new position upon the columns C, by cottering fast as before, and the hydraulic pressure is again applied ; and this is repeated until the length of two tubes, making 18 feet, has been forced down. The whole hydraulic apparatus is then drawn up again to the top, another 18 feet of tubing added, and the operation of forcing down resumed. The tubes are steadied by guides at G and H, Fig. 221, shown also in the plans, Fig. ^22. The boring operations are carried on uninterruptedly during the process of tubing, excepting only for a few minutes when fresh tubes are being added. It will be seen that the cast-iron well is in this case the ultimate abutment against which the pressure is exerted in forcing the tubes down, instead* of the weight of the boring machine with stones and pig iron added, 166 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. as in the case where the screw-jacks are used : the hydraulic method was designed specially for the work at Gosport, and has acted most perfectly. Both the cast-iron we.ll and the bore-hole are entirely shut off from all percolation of sea- water, by first filling up the well 30 feet with clay round the tubes, and making the tubes themselves water-tight at the joints at the time of putting them together. In the event of any accident occurring to the tubes while they are being forced down the bore-hole, such as requires them to be drawn up again out of the hole, the prong grapnel, Fig. 212, is employed for the purpose, having three expanding hooked prongs, which slide down readily inside the tube, and spring open on reaching the bottom ; the hooks then project underneath the edge of the tube, which is thus raised on hauling up tho grapnel. In case the tubes get disjointed and become crooked during the process of tubing, the long straightening plug, Fig. 213, consisting of a stout piece of timber faced with wrought- iron strips is lowered down inside them ; above tins is a heavy cast-iron block, the weight of which forces the plug past the part where the tubes have got displaced, and thereby straightens them again. Although there are many localities where the geological formation is favourable to the yield of pure water, if a boring be carried deep enough, yet it rarely happens that free-flowing wells such as those in Paris and Hull are the result. Gene- rally after the water-bearing strata have been pierced, the level to which the water will rise is at some depth below the surface of the ground ; and only by the aid of pumps can the desired supply be brought to the surface. Various pumping arrange- ments have therefore been adopted to suit the different condi- tions that are met with. It is not the object of the present work to treat of the forms and fittings of pumps, and the following details are only given as completing Mather and Platt's system. It is always desirable to sink a cast-iron well, such as that at the Horse Fort, as nearly as possible down to the level at which the water stands in the bore-hole. The sinking of such a well WELL BORFXG AT GREAT DEPTHS. 167 fiiu&rt Fig. 224. is rendered an easy and rapid operation, with the aid of the boring machine in winding out the material from the bottom, and keeping the sinkers dry by the use of the dip bucket, shown in Figs. 223 to 225, which will lift from 50 to 100 gallons of water a minute, for taking off the surface drainage. A well having thus been made down to the level of the water in the bore-hole, the permanent pumps are then applied to the bore- hole as follows, the size of the pumps varying according to the diameter of the bore-hole. Taking the case of a 15-inch bore-hole, a pump barrel consisting of a plain cast-iron cylinder, say 12 inches diameter and 12 feet long, as shown in j omt itf section in Fig. 228, is attached at the bottom of cast-iron or copper pipes, which are ^ inch larger in diameter than the pump barrel, and are coupled together in lengths by flanges, Fig. 226. By adding the requisite number of lengths of pipe at the top, the pump barrel is lowered to any desired depth down the bore-hole : the nearer to the depth of the water- bearing strata the better. The topmost length of pipe has a broad flange at its upper end, which rests upon a preparation made to receive it on the cast-iron bottom of the well, as at C in Fig. 228. A pump bucket D, Fig. 228, with a water pas- sage through it and a clack on the top side, is then lowered into the barrel, being suspended by a solid wrought-iron pump-rod E, which is made up of lengths of 30 feet coupled together by right-and- left-hand screw-couplings, as in Fig. 227. A second bucket F Fig. 225. Fig. 226. Fig. 227. 168 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. Pumping Enqhup, and of similar form is also lowered into the pump barrel above, the first bucket, and is suspended by hollow rods Gr coupled together in the manner just described ; the inside diameter of the hollow rods G being such that the couplings of the solid rods E may pass freely through. The pump-rods are carried up the well A to the sur- face, where the hollow rod of the top bucket is attached to the horizontal arm of a bell-crank lever H, Fig. 228 ; and the solid rod of the bottom bucket, passing up through the hollow rod of the top bucket, is suspended from the horizontal arm of a second reversed bell-crank lever K, facing the first lever H. As the extremities of the horizontal arms of the levers meet over the centre of the well, one of them is made with a forked end to admit of the other passing it. The vertical arms of the two levers are Fig. 228. WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 169 coupled by a connecting rod L, and a reciprocating motion is given to them by means of an oscillating steam cylinder M, the piston rod of which is attached direct to tl.e extremity of one of the vertical arms ; a crank and flywheel N are also connected to the levers, for controlling the motion at the ends of the stroke. With the proportion shown in the Figure of 3 to 4 between the horizontal and vertical arms of the bell-crank levers, the stroke of 5 feet 4 inches of the steam piston gives 4 feet stroke of the pump. The reciprocating motion of the reversed bell-crank levers causes the two buckets to move always in opposite direc- tions, so that they meet and separate at each stroke of the engine. A continuous flow of water is the result, for when the top bucket is descending, the bottom bucket is rising and de- livering its water through the top bucket ; and when the top bucket rises, it lifts the water above it while the bottom bucket is descending, and water rises through the descending bottom bucket to fill the space left between the two buckets. In this way the effect of a double-acting pump is produced. Although a continuous delivery of water is thus obtained of equal amount in each stroke, it is found in practice that a heavy shock is occasioned at each end of the stroke, in consequence of both the buckets starting and stopping simultaneously, causing the whole column of water to be stopped and put into motion again at each stroke. As an air-vessel for keeping up the motion of the water is inapplicable in such a situation, a modified arrangement of the two bell-crank levers has been adopted, which answers the purpose, causing each bucket at the commencement of its up stroke to take the lift off the other, before the up stroke of the latter is completed. By this means all shock is avoided, as the first bucket gently and gradually relieves the second, before the return stroke of the second commences. In this improved pumping motion, which is shown in Figs. 229, 230, the two bell-crank levers H and K, working the pump buckets, are centred one above the other, the upper one being inverted ; the vertical arms are slotted, and are both actuated by the same crank-pin working in the slots, the revolution of the crank thus giving an oscillating movement to the two levers 1C Fig. 229. Fig. 230. WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 171 through the extent of the arcs shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 229. The solid pump rod E suspending the bottom bucket D is attached to the upper bell-crank lever K, and the hollow rod G of the top bucket is suspended from the lower lever H ; the crank-shaft J working the levers is made to revolve in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 229, by means of gearing driven by the horizontal steam engine P. The result of this arrangement is, that in the revolution of the crank the dead point of one of the levers is passed before that of the other is reached ; so that the bucket which first comes to rest at the end of its stroke, is started into motion again before the second bucket comes to rest. Thus in the lifting stroke of the bottom bucket worked by the upper lever K, the bucket in ascending has only reached the position shown at D in Fig. 229, at the moment when the top bucket, worked by the lower lever H, arrives at the bottom extremity of its stroke, and the bottom bucket D, which is still rising, con- tinues to lift until it reaches its highest position, by which time the top bucket has got well into motion in its up stroke, and is in its turn lifting the water. AMERICAN EOPE-BORING SYSTEM. The method of boring with a rope received great develop- ment in Pennsylvania, U.S., where the petroleum industry of the past thirty years has caused the prosecution of boring operations on a scale unknown elsewhere. As at present employed in the oil regions of the United States it is thoroughly worthy of attentive study. The following excellent description is mainly derived from an account in Cone and Johns' ' Petrolia,' a brief history of the Pennsylvania petroleum region. The derrick or sheer-frame employed is a tall framework of timber, the bottom from 10 to 16 feet square and from 30 to 56 feet high. On the top is a strong framework for the reception of a pulley over which the drill rope passes. The floor of the derrick is made firm by cross sleepers covered with planks. A roof for the protection of the workmen is arranged some 10 or 172 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 12 feet above the floor, and in cold weather the sides are boarded up. On one side of the derrick a windlass of peculiar construc- tion called " the bull-wheel " is arranged, and on the other is a steam engine, giving motion to a connecting rod which rocks the lever, or working beam, and also by means of a belt to the bull-wheel. The arrangement indeed, very much resembles that of the boring sheer-frame in the frontispiece, if the windlass were detached, and with the lever arranged to be worked by power. The first thing in order, is to drive the iron driving-pipe from 6 to 75 feet, generally from 20 to 50 feet. This pipe acts as a conductor, and prevents earth or stones from falling into the hole while the drilling is going on. The driving-pipe in general use is of cast iron, 6 to 8 inches in diameter, and 1 inch in thickness, in lengths of 9 or 10 feet. The driving of this pipe is a work of difficulty, requiring the utmost skill, since the pipe must be forced down through all obstructions to a great depth, while it is kept perfectly vertical. The slightest deflection from a straight line ruins the well, as the pipe acts as a conductor for the drilling tools. The process of driving is simple but effective. Two slide- ways made of plank are erected in the centre of the derrick to the height of 20 or more feet, 12 to 14 inches apart, with edges in toward each other, and the whole made secure and plumb. Two wooden clamps or followers are made to fit round the pipe, and slide up and down on the edges of the ways. The pipe is erected on end between the ways and held perpendicular by these clamps, and a driving-cap of iron fitted to the top, A ram is then suspended between the ways, so arranged as to drop per- pendicularly upon the end of the pipe. The ram is of timber, 6 to 8 feet long, and 12 to 14 inches square, banded with iron at the lower or battering end, with a hook in the upper end to receive a rope. When the whole is in position, a rope is attached to the hook in the upper end, passed over the pulley of the derrick, down to and round the shaft of the bull-wheel. Everything is now in readiness to drive the pipe. The belt being adjusted connecting the engine and band-wheel, and the WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 173 rope connecting the band-wheel and bull-wheel, called the bull- wheel rope, the machinery is put in motion, one man standing behind the bull-wheel shaft, grasping the rope attached to the ram, and coiled round the bull-wheel shaft, holds it fast, and takes up the slack in his hands, thus raising the ram to its required elevation, when it is let fall upon the pipe, which by repeated blows is driven to the requisite depth. When one joint of pipe is driven another is placed upon it, and the two ends secured by a strong iron band, and the process continued as before. The pipe has to be cleaned out frequently, both by drilling and sand pumping, or working the shell. Where obstacles such as boulders are met with, the centre-bit is put into requisition, and a hole, two thirds the diameter of the pipe, is drilled. The pipe is then driven down, the edges of the obstacle being broken by the force applied, the fragments falling into the hollow created by the passage of the bit. When this cannot be done, the whole machinery and derrick is moved sufficiently to admit of the driving a new set of pipes, or the hole abandoned. It sometimes happens that the pipe is broken, or diverted from its vertical course by some obstacle. The whole string of pipe driven, has to be drawn up again, or cut out in the manner described, p. 93, and the work commenced anew. If this is not possible, a new location is sought. After the pipe is driven, the work of drilling is com- menced. The drilling rope which is generally 1 inch hawser-laid cable, of the required length, from 500 to 1000 feet, is coiled round the shaft of the bull-wheel, the outer end passing over the pulley on the top of the derrick down to the tools, and attached to them by a rope socket, Fig. 231. The tools consist of the centre- bit or chisel, auger-stem or drill-bar, jars, sinker-bars and rope-socket, which are shown arranged for work in Fig 231 the order detailed, Fig. 237*. When connected, these are from 30 to 40 feet in length, and sometimes more, weighing from 800 to 1600 lb., according to depth required. The pro- cess of drilling, until the whole length of the tools are on, and 174 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. Fig. 232. suspended by the cable, is slow. When the depth required to suspend the tools is obtained below the surface, the at- tachment between the working beam and drill- ing cable is made by JLJ means of a temper screw suspended from the end of the working beam, and attached to the rope by a clamp. The temper screw, Fig. 232, is from 2 to 3 feet in length, made with a coarse thread, and works in a narrow iron frame, with a nut at the lower end of the screw for the driller to let out the same as required. As the drill sinks down into the rock, the screw is let down by a slight turn , of the nut by the driller, / some allowing a full re- volution every few blows of the bit, others once only in a few minutes, de- pending upon the hard- ness of the rock being Fig. 234. drilled through. Figs. 233 to 237 are other tools connected with the system. Fig. 233 is a pair of jars ; Fig. 234 a lazy-tongs for the recovery of broken ropes ; Fig. 235 valve socket or catch-all ; Fig. 236 a flatkey ; Fig. 237 pipe clamps. WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. . The jars, Fig. 233, attached to the auger- stem, play a highly important part in the work of drilling. They are two long links or loops of iron or steel, sliding in each other. Drillers always have about from 4 to 6 inches play to the jars, which they call the jar, and by this they can tell when to let down the temper-screw. Fig. 235. Fig. 236. Fig. 237. With the downward motion the upper jar slides several inches into the lower one ; on the upward motion this is brought up, bringing the end of the jars together with a blow like that of a heavy hammer on an anvil, making a perceptible jar. Ex- perienced drillers can, as soon as they take hold of the rope, tell how much "jar " they have on. 'Jffllty*yl ''>'': i ffl m m. 176 WELL BOEING AT GREAT DEPTHS. In drilling, the tools are alternately lifted and dropped by the action of the working beam on its rocking motion. One man is required constantly in the derrick, to turn the tools as they rise and fall, to prevent them from becoming wedged fast, and to let out the temper-screw as required. This is one of the most important duties of the work, requiring constant attention to keep the hole round and smooth. The centre-bit or chisel is run down the full length of the temper-screw ; it is about 3J feet in length, with a shaft 2J inches in diameter, and a cutting edge of steel 3J to 4 inches in width, with a thread on the upper end by which it is screwed on the end of the auger-stem. The reamer is about 2^ feet in length, having a blunt instead of a cutting edge, with a shank 2^ inches in diameter, terminating in a blunt extremity 3^ to 4J inches in width by 2 inches in thickness, faced with steel. The weight of heavy centre-bits and reamers average from 50 to 75 Ib. each. The centre-bit is followed by the reamer, to enlarge the hole to make it smooth and round. The sediment, or battered rock, is taken out after each centre-bit, and again after every reamer, by means of a sand pump let down in the well for the purpose. The sand pump now in use is a cylinder of wrought iron, 6 to 8 feet in length, with a valve at the bottom, and a strap at the top, to which a J-inch rope is attached, passing over a pulley suspended in the derrick some 20 feet above the floor, and back to the sand pump reel attached to the jack frame, and coiled upon the reel- shaft. This shaft is propelled by means of a friction pulley, con- trolled by the driller in the derrick, by a rope attached. The sand pump is usually about 3 inches in diameter. Some drillers use two, one after the centre-bit, and a larger one after the reamer, the two being preferable. When the sand pump is lowered to a requisite depth, it is filled by a churning process of the rope in the hands of the driller, and is then drawn up and emptied. This operation is repeated each time the tools are withdrawn from the well, the pump being let down a sufficient number of times to remove the drillings. The fall of WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 177 the tools is from 2 to 3 feet. This labour goes on, first tools and then sand pump, until the well is drilled to the required depth. Abundance of water is found in the wells, both for rope and tools, from the commencement. It flows in from the surface veins, and from the larger ones below. The following are practical directions in employing the rope-boring system. The driller takes his seat on a high stool above the chosen spot, adjusts the drill with great care, and through the con- ductor-pipe, striking from thirty to forty blows a minute. Between the strokes the tools require to be moved round. With this is also continued a slight downward motion every few strokes, by a turn of the temper screw. The drill is kept moving up and down, cutting from 1 to 6 inches and even 12 inches of rock and shale an hour according to hardness. At intervals the centre-bit is drawn up, badly worn and battered, and a reamer let down to enlarge the hole and make it smooth and round, and these are followed by the sand pump. The first few hundred feet are generally gone through without difficulty, provided all the arrangements have been made with care at the beginning, and the drillers are skilful. Difficulties occur farther down that test to its utmost endurance the most persistent energy. Sometimes they are attributable to a want of caution on the part of the driller, from imperfection in the material of, or improper dressing, or tempering the drill, but more often to circumstances unforeseen and unavoidable. In its passage the drill not unfrequently dislodges gravel or fragments of hard rock, that have a tendency to, and often do wedge it fast in the hole, from which it is only dislodged by the most persistent "jarring." The reamer is also subject to the same mishap, or a sand pump breaks loose from its rope, and has to be fished up. When the bit or reamer becomes so firmly imbedded as to render its removal impossible by jarring or breaking it in pieces, the well is abandoned. 178 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. Sometimes a bit or reamer breaks, leaving a piece of hard steel securely in the rock several hundred feet below the surface. Where the fragment is small, it is pounded into the sides of the well, and causes no farther annoyance. When it is larger the difficulty is greater, and not unfrequently insurmountable. The bit or reamer sometimes becomes detached from the auger-stem, by the loosening of the screw from its socket. This difficulty is often greatly heightened from the fact that the workman may not be aware of its displacement, and for an hour or two be pounding on the top of it with the heavy auger-stem. Various plans are resorted to to extract the fastened tool, and a large number of implements have been devised for fishing up the same. The first instrument used is an iron with a thin cutting edge, straight, circular or semicircular, acting as a spear, or to cut loose the accumulations round the top and along the sides of the refractory bit or reamer, so as to admit a spring socket that is lowered by means of the auger-stem over the top of it, and lays hold upon the protuberance just below the thread. If the socket can be made fast, the power of the bull-wheel and engine is brought into requisition, and in a great number of cases it is brought to the surface. In the jarring and other operations rendered necessary in cases of this kind, the entire set of tools, 40 to 60 feet in length, may become fastened, and cases are of frequent occurrence where two and even three sets of tools have become fastened in a well, as they were succes- sively let down to extricate the first ones. The difficulty described is liable to occur at any stage of the work, and its frequency increases with the depth. In addition to the difficulties mentioned, there is yet another, far more dreaded by the driller. This is what is called a mud vein. It is a thin stratum of mud or clay, from one to several inches in thickness, generally met with at the depth of from 400 to 900 feet. Mud veins abound in most of the producing localities and not a few operators regard them as invariably indicating an abundant supply of oil. This mud or clay is of a most tenacious character, is highly WELL BORIXG AT GREAT DEPTHS. 179 annoying to the operator when drilling, and in many cases disastrous. Though not deemed of much importance as an obstacle in the beginning of the development, the mud vein exhibits new features in different localities. The mud suddenly flows into the well while the process of drilling is going on, settling round the drill, bedding it as firmly almost as the rock itself. Its presence is often indicated to the driller by the sudden downward pressure on his rope. When drilling on or below it, the workman when about to withdraw his drill, will have assistance at the bull-wheel, and the instant the working beam ceases its motion, a few turns will be taken on the wheel, so as to raise the bit above the mud, as it sets almost as quickly as plaster of Paris ; sometimes this mud will flow into the hole for a depth of twenty or more feet, burying as it were, the entire drilling tools and attachments. This renders the jars useless. By attaching a cutting instrument to rods, the rope above the sinker-bar is cut, and then a spear-pointed instrument substituted, with which, by means of a light set of tools, the substance round the tools is forced from them, an extra pair of jars lowered, and efforts made to jar the tools loose. The spear is sometimes shaped like a common wedge, faced with steel at the cutting edge, made thin. A half-circular instrument, made in similar manner, is also used. The mud socket, circular shaped with thin edge, terminating on the inside with an abrupt shoulder corresponds with the ordinary sheel or clay auger, and is used in a similar manner. A large number of appliances have been invented for the dislodgment of fastened tools, but many of these are very complicated. The main thing sought to have is an instru- ment that in the first place will remove the material round the top of the fastened implements, to be followed by others acting on the principle of a clamp sufficiently powerful to retain its hold and allow the jarring of the tools loose, or the drawing of them up. One most effective instrument for the dislodgment of tools is in use. This consists of a number of heavy iron rods or bars, N 2 180 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. similar to an auger-stem, weighing from 10 to 11 tons. It can be made of any desired length or weight. It is lowered over the head of the tools, and these screwed fast into a suitable socket arranged at the ends of the rods, and worked from the top. When a set of tools are fast, each separate piece is unscrewed, the apparatus acting as a left- handed screw. Each piece, as loosened, is brought to the surface. This is stated to be the most efficient device yet invented, and is in extensive use. By applying the full force of the engine, these 2^ inch iron rods are frequently twisted like an auger. They are lowered and raised from the top by jack screws. It will be seen that the system has many features in common with European practice. The centre-bit and reamers are but other names for variously shaped chisels, whilst the jars serve a similar purpose to that of the sliding joints illustrated at pp. 134 and 136. As a cheap method of putting down deep bore- holes through shales, limestones, and soft rocks it is very useful, but it must certainly be supplemented by others when hard or troublesome beds are met with. THE DIAMOND DRILL. The diamond drill can be employed with advantage in boring for water, particularly where hard rock has to be dealt with. It depends for its action upon abrasion ; a number of diamonds are set in a steel crown, Fig. 245, which is attached to hollow rods, Figs. 240 to 244,_ and rotated at from 40 to 300 revolutions a minute under pressure varying with the nature of the rock, from 300 to 800 Ib. being applied with small holes, rising to as much as 1100 Ib. for larger ones. The diamonds employed are a variety which is found massive in small black pebbles called "carbonardo" or carbonate, having a specific gravity 3-102 to 3 '416 ; they are pure carbon excepting 2 07 to 2-27 per cent. The boring machine consists of two vertical girders, Figs. 238, WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 181 239, carrying between them bearings which support a hollow stem A of sufficient size to grasp and turn the boring bars. This stem has a rotary motion imparted to it by means of an B ' Fig. 238. 182 WELL BOEING AT GREAT DEPTHS. inclined shaft S driven by bevel gear, power being transmitted by means of a belt B from the fly-wheel of a portable engine. Fig. 239. Fig. 245 is of the older form of crown, and Figs. 240, 241, 243, 244, give details of the hollow rods and their connections. WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 183 Fig. 244 is a section of a bore-hole showing the core in the interior of the rods. Fig. 242 is the extractor which is substi- tuted for the diamond crown when the core is to be broken off. The details of the diamond drill have been subjected to much improvement by J. E. Gulland, and in two important borings Fig. 240. Fig. 211. Fig. 242. Fig. 245. described by H. J. Eunson, in the Proceedings Inst. C.E. 1883, from which the following account is taken, Gulland's machine was the one used. Here the largest crown was 23 inches in external diameter, and contained fifty stones, having an aggregate weight of more than 300 carats. The crown, 184 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. Fig. 246. O Fig. 247. Figs. 246, 247, is of improved construction, is screwed to the core tube, which serves to keep the drilling vertical, and contains the core as it is drilled. In the first size the core tube was 22J inches external diameter, 30 feet in length, and of wrought iron. The rods connecting the core tube with the surface machinery fit into a plate at the top of the tube, above which is a 5-feet length of tube of the same diameter, and open at the top. This receives the coarser par- ticles falling from the water flow- ing upwards after washing away the debris in drilling, also any fragments which may be detached from the sides, thus preventing the crown from becoming clogged in the bore-hole. The boring rods are tubes of drawn steel, 3^ inches outside diameter, and f inch in thickness, in lengths of 5 feet, connected by steel collars. During the operation of boring, a continuous supply of water is pumped down through the hollow bore rods, to keep the crown cool and carry off the debris formed by the erosion of the strata by the crown. The water flows through channels cut in the face of the crown, rises on the outside of the core tube to the surface, and is WELL BOEING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 185 collected in settling-ponds, where the sediment is deposited. About 3500 gallons of water an hour were required, the water, after settling, being used over again. The boring machinery on the surface was similar to the arrangement, Figs. 238 and 239, and consisted of a strong framework of wrought iron, having two principal pillars in front, one of cast iron, which forms the chief support of the upper part of the machine, which is also stayed by raking supports from behind ; the other, a circular upright shaft, running in a shoe at the bottom, and a bearing at the top. This is the main shaft for transmitting the power from the machinery to the rods by a system of bevel wheels. The crosshead from which the rods are immediately driven slides on the circular shaft, and the motion to the rods is given by a wheel fixed to the crosshead, which works on the shaft by means of a feather key. The crosshead is thus enabled to slide on the vertical shaft and follow the rods as they sink in boring. At the back of the two upright pillars, and between the raking stays, are the different parts of the hoisting apparatus for drawing and lowering the tools. When drilling, a load W, Fig. 238, is attached to counterbalance the weight of rods as the boring becomes deeper, the pressure on the crown being kept constant at about 10 cwt. The rods, on account of the height of the sheer-legs, could be raised and lowered in lengths of 40 feet ; the men could raise a length of 40 feet by the machine, disconnect it, and lay it down in front of the machine in three-and-a-half minutes ; the reverse operation, that of picking one up, connecting it, and lowering it in the hole, could be accomplished in two-and-a-half minutes. The machine was worked by a 20-HP. portable engine, but 40-HP. were frequently indicated, and the drilling machine, weighing upwards of 20 tons, was repeatedly rocked to and fro under the great strain which had to be exerted in freeing tools which had become fast in the bore-hole, when the drill worked unevenly on account of a small stone or other impediment under the face of the crown, or when an extra force was necessary to break off the core. The crown was revolved at first at about 186 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. Fig- 248. forty revolutions a minute, and this speed was increased to as many as one hundred and fifty when in favourable strata. On a depth of 5 feet having been bored, the crosshead was discon- nected from the rods, raised to its full height, and a 5-feet rod inserted. After a length of core had been drilled, sometimes nearly 30 feet, which was the limit that the core tube would contain, the tube and crown were drawn to the surface, the crown was unscrewed, and the extractor, Figs. 248, 249, fixed in its place. This tool consists of an annular ring of steel, 9 inches in depth, from the sides of which turning inwards are steel clutches or teeth, it is lowered over the column of core left standing in the hole, the projecting teeth laying hold of the core. The crosshead is next con- nected, and the core pulled asunder and drawn in the tube to the surface, and upon unscrewing the extractor the core can be removed. The hole is thus left clear and ready for the next drilling. Frequently the core, or part of it would be broken off and become fixed in the core tube, coming up with the crown when first drawn. A ring of steel fitting inside the core-tube, and which clipped the core as it was Fig. 249. drilled, was tried as an extractor, but owing to the paratively soft nature of the clay it failed to grip it sufficiently. This ring was not tried in the harder strata. In the larger sizes nearly the whole of the core drilled was extracted, though in some cases the clay was washed away by the water pumped through the rods ; or if the core became broken, the two surfaces would be worn by the broken piece revolving WELL BOEING AT GEEAT DEPTHS. 187 with the tube, which was particularly noticed when the hard and soft beds alternated in quick succession, and when the core was sandstone large quantities were thus lost. Table I., p. 188, gives the statistics of the boring through the different strata at Kettering Koad, with the several sizes of crowns ; while Table II. contains the results obtained from a boring at Gayton, 5 miles south-west of Northampton. The progress of the boring at Northampton was much hindered by accidents and delays. The most numerous of these were caused by the breakage of the rods, the place of fracture usually being the collar, though in some cases the thread of the rods was stripped. When boring in the clay seven collars were broken, and in the quartzite five ; five more in clearing out sediment, on account of the fragments of the rock and small stones which had fallen from the sides; and two were also broken when extracting the core. To make the connection again when such an accident happened, the upper length of rods was drawn to the surface, and a bell tap, Fig. 251, attached, lowered, and revolved over the rods left standing in the hole; a screw was thus cut on the broken ends of the rods, to which the tap was firmly at- tached, and the whole of the rods drawn to the surface, and the broken collar re- placed by a new one. Two kinds of taps were used for this purpose ; one a bell tap for lowering over the rods, the other a taper tap, Fig. 250, for insertion in the hollow of the rods. Upon one occasion, in recovering the rods which had been broken, a second collar broke, the tap at the time being in the hole; fortunately this second breakage occurred in the 24-inch pipes and in this case the water was withdrawn and a man lowered who made the connection. The time occupied in repairing such accidents varied from an hour or two, to sometimes more than a day. Several times during the operation of boring small pieces of Fig. 250. Fig. 251. 188 WELL BOEING AT GREAT DEPTHS. TABLE I. BORING AT KETTEBING ROAD, NORTHAMPTON. Diameter of Crown. Depth Drilled. Number of Days Drilling and Extracting. Average Depth a Day. Nature of the Strata. Diameter of Core. Quantity of Material Extracted. inches feet ft. in. inches. per cent. 23 77 17 4 6 Lias clay 19i 20 97 15 6 5J 5 16f 18 106 16 6 1\ JJ HI 15| 55 11 5 J> 12i >j 68 10 6 9 (Sandstones andl \ marls / j 95 ?j 25 15 1 8 Quartzite 100 n 20 5 4 ( Limestone and } \ shale / 98 TABLE II. BORING AT GAYTON, SOUTH-WEST OF NORTHAMPTON. Dia- meter of Crown. Depth Drilled. Number of Days Drilling and Ex- tracting. Number of Hours Drilling. Average Depth. Nature of the Strata. Dia- meter of Core. Quantity of Material Ex- tracted. A Day. An Hour. inches feet ft. in. ft. in. inches per cent. 18 125 11 104 11 4 1 3 Lias clay 14* 88 15f 148 13 127 11 4 1 2 12i 90 1S| 182 17 183 10 8* 1 lOf 92 HI 117 10 100 11 8 1 2 9i 88 ' 63 8 60 8 1 0| ( Ked marl and j \ sandstone / " 64 Lower carbon- "J 10* 215 25 213 8 7 1 iferous Limestone and j 7| 84 shale Sandstones " 68 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. 189 iron getting into the hole necessitated the stoppage of work to extract them. These pieces had broken from the top of the 22J-inch cast-iron lining tubes. In lowering the tubes they broke away from the bayonet joint and fell a distance of 480 feet to their position at the bottom of the hole. The tubes, which weighed upwards of 10 tons, passed through a bed of 50 feet of accumulated sediment. In raising and lowering the tools they caught against the ragged top of the tube where it had broken from the bayonet joint, and thus fragments were broken off which fell to the bottom. These pieces of iron, when drilling in the clay, were, in the majority of cases, forced into the sides of the bore-hole ; but in drawing the 17-inch tubes to enlarge the hole, the sides falling in carried the fragments of iron with them, which in the harder beds became a source of great trouble. In the clay a wedge-shaped tool was used to cut a hollow in the bottom of the hole, and at the same time sweep the small pieces of iron into it; the crown was then lowered and a length of core drilled and extracted, and the iron brought to the surface in the hollow on the top of the core. In the harder beds, where this tool would not work, a heavy chisel was used, and the hole was jumped, the sediment, with the iron, being extracted by a shell. Some of the iron was extracted by a plug of wood, which fitted into the core tube, being forced several times upon the bottom, causing numerous pieces to adhere to it. The core tube sometimes became clogged in the hole ; in this case the lifting chain was removed from the framework and replaced by a hemp rope 6 inches in diameter, reefed four times through blocks and attached to the windlass. By using this rope and blocks a more elastic and greater strain could be exerted ; but the rope was more than once broken before the core tube could be moved. For prospecting purposes and for holes of small diameter the diamond drill is arranged in a more compact form than in Fig. 238. A drill of this class is made by the Diamond Drill Company of Pennsylvania, where the engine is so arranged that its motion is transmitted direct to the bevel gears 190 WELL BORING AT GREAT DEPTHS. turning the rods of the machine ; although small it is very effective. Another modification which has come under the writer's direct notice is that devised by Olaf Terp. The Diamond Eock Drill is useless in soft clays, and nearly so in loose gravels, and thin beds of this character very seriously retard the progress of a boring. To obviate this, Terp has invented a steel borer head of peculiar construction, which is substituted for the diamond crown when a soft stratum is met with. The hollow rods terminate in the centre of the borer head in the form of a nozzle, through which water under pressure is injected, and so forces up to the surface, as mud, the material displaced at the bottom of the bore-hole. When rock is again reached the diamond crown is replaced. CHAPTEE VIII. EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. PERMIAN STRATA. Durham. Large quantities of water are pumped from the lower Permian sandstone beneath the magnesian limestone of this county, and are used for the supply of the towns of Sunderland, South Shields, Jarrow, and many villages. The quantity, cal- culated by Daglish and Foster to reach 5 millions of gallons a day, is obtained from an area of 50 square miles overlying the coal measures. The water level has not been lowered in the rock by these operations. Along the coast it is that of mean tide, and inland rises to a level of 180 feet. In the coal measures below there is little water, and that little is saline. Sedgwick gives the strata as red gypseous marls, 100 feet ; thin bedded grey limestone, 80 feet ; red gypseous marls, slightly salt, 200 feet ; magnesian limestone, 500 feet ; marl slate, 60 feet ; lower red sandstone, 200 feet. Coventry. Warwickshire. The town is supplied with 750,000 gallons of water a day from two bore-holes made in the bottom of the reservoir. The bore-holes are respectively 6 inches and 8 inches diameter, and 200 feet and 300 feet deep. The town is situated on the Permian formation, but Latham states that the supply is procured from the red sandstone, and, from observations made, it has been found that the two bore- holes yield water at the rate of 700 gallons a minute. TRIAS STRATA. Birkenhead. There are here several deep wells belonging to the Tranmere Local Board, the Birkenhead Commissioners, and 192 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, the Wirral Water Company, yielding together about 4,000,000 gallons a day. Figs. 252, 253, show a section and plan of the No. 2 or new engine-well at the Birkenhead Waterworks. The shaft is 7 feet diameter for 105 feet, with a bore-hole 26 inches for 35 feet, 18 inches for 16 feet, 12 inches for 99 feet, and 7 inches for 150 feet, or a total depth from surface of 405 feet. The water level is about 95 feet from surface when the engine is not at work. At the upper water level shown in the 26-inch hole, the yield was at the rate of 1,807,400 gallons in twenty-four hours, at the lower level at the rate of 2,000,000 gallons in the same time. At the water level indicated in the 7-inch bore, water was met with in large quantities. The old engine well is almost identical. Figs. 254, 255, are a section and plan, and Fig. 256, enlarged parts of the well at Aspinall's brewery, Birkenhead. It consists of a shallow shaft 5 feet in diameter, and steined, continued by means of iron cylinders 3 feet 3 inches in diameter and 50 feet in depth. When sand with much water of poor quality was met with, a series of lining tubes was introduced from the point A A, the space between these and the cylinders being filled with concrete. The tubes were discontinued at the sandstone, and the lowest portion of the hole, 3 inches in diameter, is unlined. The water overflows. Figs. 257, 258, are a section and plan of the well at Cook's brewery, Birkenhead. The shaft is 6 feet diameter, lined with 9-inch steining, and is 66 feet deep. At 29 feet from surface it is enlarged for the purpose of affording increased storage room for the water. There is a 16-inch pipe at bottom of shaft 49 feet deep, continued by a 12-inch bore-hole 13 feet into the red sandstone. The water level is 27 feet from the surface of the ground. Birmingham. Out of the 7,000,000 gallons a day supplied to the town in 1865 by the Waterworks Company, 2,000,000 were derived from wells in the new red sandstone. In that year an Act was passed authorising the sinking of several new wells, whereby the quantity has been greatly increased. Burton-on-Trent. Fig. 259 is a section of the well at the AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 193 London and Colonial Brewery. Extraordinary precautions were taken in constructing this well to obtain the water from the Fig. 252. Fig. 254. NEW ENGINE WELL, WELL AT ASPINALL'S BREWERY, BlRKEXHEAD WATERWORKS. BlRKENHEAD. mmH r&. PLAN Fig. 253. Fig. 255. 194 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, lower strata perfectly free from admixture with that from above. There is a steined shaft within which is an iron cylinder, and this again is lined with brick steining backed with concrete. The bore-hole, 182 feet deep and 4 inches diameter, is lined throughout with copper tubes. At the top the bore-hole is surrounded with a short tube upon which a thread is cut, so that if necessary a pipe may be screwed on and up to surface. The water rises to within 6 feet 3 inches of the level of the ground. Fig. 260 is an enlarged section of the arrangements at the top of the bore-hole, and Fig. 261 an enlarged section of the pipe joints. Coventry. Warwickshire. The town is constantly supplied from 4 bore-holes, one of which yields at least 750,000 gallons of water a day. Two of the bore-holes are respectively 6 inches and 8 inches diameter, and 200 feet and 300 feet deep, sunk through alternations of marl and sandstone. Crewe. Cheshire. A very plentiful supply of water for the requirements of the town and works of Crewe is obtained from a well sunk in the new red sandstone. The water is said to be very pure, and from the analysis of Dr. Zeidler it appears that there are only 6*10 grains of solid matter to the gallon. Five Lane Ends, near Farnworlh. Lancashire. Well 3 feet 4 inches diameter, 86 feet deep, with bore-hole 3J inches diameter to a depth of 170 feet from surface. The water stood at 83 feet from surface, or about 52 feet above Ordnance datum. STKATA; Feet. In. Sandy Soil 33 Very fine Yellow Sandstone 70 Fine White Banded Sandstone, giitty in parts .. 38 Fine Yellow Sandstone 22 Hard Sandstone 80 Loamy Sandstone 90 Fine Sandstone, with " millet-seed" grain .. .. 70 Light Green and Blue Clay 20 Bed Clay 10 Bright Ked Sandstone 30 UPPER COAL MEASURES ; Purple Marl . . 10 Dark Ked Earthy Limestone 20 Purple and Mottled Marl 20 Carried forward 135 AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 195 Fig. 257. WELL AT COOK'S BREWERY, BIRKENHEAD. Fig. 259. WELL AT LONDON AND COLONIAL BREWERY, BURTON -ON-TRENT. Fig. 253. 196 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, Feet. In. Brought forward 135 Calcareous Marl 30 Marl 36 Green Clay 36 Red Clay 40 Marl 36 Grey Limestone 16 Argillaceous Limestoue 26 Red Marl 46 Marl .. .. .... 90 Total .. .. 170 Parkside. Lancashire. Well on property of London and North Western Railway Company, 80 feet deep, with a bore- hole of 14 to 10 inches diameter to a depth of 296 feet from surface. Level of water, 69 feet from surface. STRATA ; PEBBLE BEDS ; Feet. Reddish-brown and White Sandstone, with quartz pebbles 110 Coarse Brown Sandstone 4 Fine Yellow Sandstone 1 Grey Sandstone, with pebbles 4 Fine Red Sandstone 3 Grey Rock and large pebbles 3 Fine Red Sandstone 3 Fine flaggy and micaceous Yellow Sandstone .. 16 Loam, with fragments of grit 1 Reddish Loamy Sandstone 5 Red Marl 32 Fine Bright Yellow Sandstone 2 Fine Red Sandstone 1 Fine Pale Red and White Sandstone 7 Fine Brown Sandstone 8 Red Marl 4 Soft Brown Sandstone, with " millet-seed " grain . . 3 Fine Grey Sandstone, nodules of iron pyrites .. 13 Light Red Sandstone 3 Fine Brown porous Sandstone, plenty of water .. 47 Coarse Light Brown Sandstone,' 1 millet-seed " grain 6 Concretions of " Millet-seed " Sand, cemented by iron pyrites, generally yellow or copper-coloured 2 Bright Red porous Sandstone " millet-seed " grain 12 Lumpy Ferruginous Sandstone 1 UPPER COAL MEASURES ; Purple and Green Mottled Marls 5 Total 296 AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 197 Prescot. Lancashire, neighbourhood of. The following table contains a list of the principal wells of the district, which draw their supply from the new red sandstone. The water is obtained from the three subdivisions of the Bunter which, though varying locally in texture, may be regarded as porous throughout. The water level in this mass of rock forms a slightly undulating plain higher inland than at the sea coast, and rising under high ground. Locality. Well. Bore-hole. Above O.D. Pumped in 24 hours. Depth. Dia- meter. Depth. Dia- meter. feet feet feet inches feet gallons Dudlow Lane 247 12x9 196 18 198 1,240,440 Belle Vale .... 4 52 58,000 Netherlee Bridge 37 45,000 11 11 37 350,000 Cronton 65 800,000 Whiston .... auxiliary . . 225 225 9 10-5 87 240 18 18 200 11 | 938,000 Litton A .... B .... 50 30 10 10 270 24 10 15 | 900,000 Eccleston Hill .. 210 10 178 260 Winwick A .. 50 200 . 110 B .. .. 50 11 Garston Ironworks 100 251 6 15 240,000 Dungeon Stoneworks 260 35 18,000 Gaskell, Deacon & Co. A . 30 5 825 3 10 I 11 ?> j B . 39 12 639 4 11 \ 500,000 11 >> c 37 8 429 9x6 11 1 Mathieson & Co 30 4-5 336 6 10 4,000 Sullivan & Co. A 58 6 338 4 25 140,000 11 B 60 10 349 14 15 600,000 Warrington Wire Co. . . 212 18 63,360 Roberts, Dale & Co. .. . 225 9 28,000 Jas. Owen & Co., Winwick . 212 18 461,000 Euncorn Waterworks . . 300 24x8 98 14 250 380,000 Preston Brook. Lancashire. Well at the tan-yard, 9 feet in diameter to a depth of 51 feet from the surface, with a bore-hole to a further depth of 404 feet. The water stands at 62 feet from surface. 198 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, Section as follows ; GLACIAL DEPOSITS ; Feet. in. Keel Clay 34 Sand 12 6 Stony Bed Clay 136 6 RED MARLS; Red Marl 90 Sandstone 66 Red Marl 15 6 Red Sandstone 13 Marl 40 Sandstone 60 Marl 30 Sandstone Marl ' 199 Hard Sandstone 60 Red Marl 50 Sandstone 50 Total 455 This boring probably ended in the waterstones. Winwick. Lancashire. Well at Warrington Waterworks, 9 feet in diameter to 127 feet 5 inches, with a bore-hole of 14 inches diameter to end ; STRATA ; Feet. In. Fine-grained Sandstone "pebble beds " 127 Compact Sandstone, with . large round grains throughout, and including a bed of shale . . . . 45 Red shale 10 5 Fine-grained Pale Red Sandstone 60 Grey Sandstone 20 Red Shale and Calcareous Sandstone 11 Hard Fine-grained Calcareous Red Sandstone .. 11 Shale 20 Red Sandstone, with fragments of shale, hard towards bottom 15 Shale , 31 7 Soft Sandstone 105 Fine Red Sandstone 60 Soft Grey Sandstone, with iron pyrites .. .. 21 7 Very Soft Red Sandstone, bands of shale .. .. 31 Red Shale 11 Calcareous Green and Purple Marls 19 Fine-grain Red Micaceous Sandstone 50 Carried forward 365 AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 199 Brought forward Dark Green and Purple Shales Red Calcareous Marl Eed Shale Feet. In. 365 20 11 3 9 Limestone .. 4 Total 412 Leamington. The well in this town is situated at the foot of Newbold Hill, and is 5 feet in diameter and sunk to a depth of 50 feet. At the bottom of the well a bore-hole, part of the way 18 inches and the remainder 12 inches in diameter, is carried down 200 feet. It passes through alternating beds of marl and sandstone, and the surface water met with has been bricked or puddled out. The yield is about 320,000 gallons in twenty- four hours. Previously to this well being made, a trial boring, of which Figs. 262, 263, are sections, was made. This boring was lined with iron tubes 9 inches in diameter for 17 feet, inside this 8 inches in diameter for 22 feet 9 inches, and within this again a 5-inch tube. It was continued by a 5-inch bore reduced to 4J inches, and at bottom to 3 inches. Liverpool. The oldest wells are at Bootle, to the north of the town ; these consisted in the first instance of three lodges or ex- cavations in the rock, covering about 10,000 feet super, and about 26 \ feet deep. These were covered with timber or slate roofs, and in them sixteen bore-holes were sunk, of various diameters and at depths ranging from 13 feet to 600 feet. In 1850 the yield of one of these bore-holes was 921,192 gallons in twenty- four hours, and the total yield in the same time only 1,102,065. The water was collected in the lodges and conveyed by a tunnel 255 fee f to a well 8 feet in diameter and 50 feet deep, from which it was pumped. The yield of the Bootle well in 1865 was 643,678 gallons a day. Since this time a new well of oval form, 12 feet by 9 feet and 108 feet deep, has been sunk, and at its completion the yield rose to 1 ,575,000 gallons a day, but it has again diminished considerably. The Green Lane wells were commenced in 1845, the surface 200 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, being 144 feet above the sea level and their depth 185 feet, or 41 feet below the sea level. Headings extend in all about 300 feet from the shafts in various directions, three separate shafts being carried up to the surface. At first the yield was 1,250,000 gallons a day. A bore-hole, 6 inches in diameter, was then driven to a depth of 60 feet from the bottom of the well, when the yield increased to 2,317,000 gallons. In June 1856, the bore-hole was widened to 9 inches and carried down 101 feet farther, when the yield amounted to its present supply of over 3,000,000 gallons a day. The large quantity of water yielded by the Green Lane wells is probably due to the existence of a large fault which is con- sidered to pass in a north-westerly direction by the wells. In 1869 a bore-hole, 24 inches in diameter at the top and diminish- ing to 18 inches in diameter, was sunk from the bottom of a new shaft, 174 feet deep, to a depth of 310 feet, and the addi- tional quantity of water derived from the new hole was about 800,000 gallons a day. The Windsor Station well is of oval form, 12 feet by 10 feet and 210 feet deep, with a length of headings of 594 feet, and a bore-hole 4 inches in diameter and 245 feet deep. The yield is 980,000 gallons a day. The Dudlow Lane well is also oval, 12 feet by 9 feet, and is sunk to a depth of 247 feet from the surface of the ground. Headings have been driven from the bottom of the well for a total distance of 213 feet, and an 18-inch bore-hole has been sunk to a depth of 196 feet from the bottom of the well, which is chiefly in a close hard rock, with occasional white beds from which the water is mainly obtained. The yield is nearly 1,500,000 gallons a day. The total weekly supply from wells in Liverpool is upwards of 41,000,000 gallons, and there are also a great number of private wells drawing water from the sandstone, and their supply may be roughly estimated at 30,000,000 gallons a week. Longton. Staffordshire. The Potteries obtain a portion of their supply from a series of wells at Longton, which are AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. TRIAL BORING FOB WELL AT LEAMINGTON. Surface [/'GffTc-BLU GROUND 173.fi Fig. 262. Fig. 263. 202 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, shown in the diagrammatic sectional plan, Fig. 264. The well marked No. 1 is 12 feet in diameter, and 135 feet deep in the new red sandstone. When finished, the water rose to within 35 feet from the surface. The cost of the first 45 feet was 3/. 10s. a yard ; of the second 45 feet, 6/: 10s. a yard ; and the third 45 feet, 9Z. a yard. When this well was 36 feet down, a large quantity of water was met with, so a heading was driven at that depth in the direction of No. 2 well ; this, after 30 feet, passed PLAN OF WELLS AT LONGTON. RAILWAY IPPPPIPI" >$mim&& through a fault which drained off the water, and the sinking of No. 1 was proceeded with. After the engine had been erected and pumping some short time, it was proposed to drive head- ings from the bottom ; but owing to the pumps taking up so much room in the shaft, there was not space enough for sink- ing operations to be carried on, and No. 2 well was therefore sunk for convenience sake, at the cost of about 30s. a yard. When No. 2 was down 54 feet, a trial bore-hole 3 inches dia- meter was put down, and water rose in a jet about 3 feet high. AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 203 The well was then continued to the level of No. 1, and a head- ing, 39 feet long, driven between the two shafts. No. 2 has now a 12-inch bore-hole at bottom. Headings have also been driven W. and N. of No. 2 well, at a cost of 30s. a yard. The western heading is 213 feet long, driven with a slight rise, and gave much water. There are two headings N., running in the direction of the railway, one over the other. The lower was driven level with the bottom of the shaft, but no water met with ; the upper is 36 feet from the surface, and is intended to carry away surplus water down to a line of earthenware pipes which are led along the railway to a low-level reservoir. In the eastern heading there is a rise of 4 feet owing to the nature of the strata ; and after it had been driven 510 feet, well No. 3 was sunk for ventilation and for drawing out material. A bed of very hard sandstone, 63 feet long, was passed, cost 4Z. 10s. a yard, and beyond came marl, in which driving cost 45s. a yard. This heading was continued 330 feet beyond No. 3, and an air-hole 3 inches diameter put down 126 yards deep, but no water was met with. The bed of hard sandstone was also found in driving the lower N. heading, which was dis- continued after going into it some 5 or 6 feet. The yield from these wells is about 600,000 gallons a day, and recently a new bore-hole at No. 3 well, when down 350 feet, gave some 380,000 gallons a day additional. Leek. The Potteries' waterworks have also wells at the Wallgrange Springs, near Leek; these rise from the conglo- merate beds, and are stated to yield 3,000,000 gallons daily. The water from these springs is pumped into Ladderidge reservoir, and is distributed from thence into the town of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the Potteries. MiddlesborougJi. The Figs. 265 to 268 are sections and plans of a well at the works of Messrs. Bolckow and Yaughan, Middlesborough. A trial hole was first put down to a depth of 398 feet 6 inches, and a shaft afterwards sunk by Messrs. Docwra and Son to that depth, through alternating beds of clay, sand, gypsum, and sandstone. At the bottom of the shaft a bore- 204 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, WELL AT BOLCKOW AND VAUGHAN'S, MIPDLESBOROUGH. PLAN AT A A Fig. 265. Fig. 267. hole of 18 inches dia- meter throughout was made with Mather and Platt's apparatus to a depth of 1312 feet ; the first 1160 feet of which were through new red sand- stone interspersed with beds of clay, white sandstone, red marl, and gypsum. Next came 40 feet of gypsum, hard white sandstone, and lime- stone ; and the re- maining 100 feet were through red sand- stone, pure salt rock, occasional layers of limestone, and then salt rock to the bot- tom. The gross time spent in sinking this bore-hole was 510 days, or an average AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. WELL AT BOLCKOW AND VATJGFAN'S, PLAN AT B.B . 205 Fig. 268. of 2 feet 5 inches a day. Boss. Hereford- shire. The well at the Alton Court Brewery is shown in Figs. 269, 270. The shaft, 5 feet in dia- meter and 27 feet deep, is steined with 9 -inch brickwork for a distance of 17 feet. At the bottom is a 12- inch bore-hole 100 feet 9 inches deep, unlined. The water is abundant. At level of the bore a heading, 6 feet high, 5 feet wide, and 27 long, has been driven, to afford storage room. Wolverhampton. This town is par- tially supplied from wells sunk in the Fig. 266. 206 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, WELL AT Koss, HEREFORDSHIRE. new red sandstone. There are two shafts, 7 feet in diameter and 300 feet deep, a heading Fig. 269. 459 feet long, and in this a boring of 390 feet. The yield when first completed was 211,000 gallons a day. Scarborough. The water- works well is at Osgodby ; it is about 160 feet above the sea level. The shaft is 10 feet diameter, and 91 feet deep, continued by a 6-inch bore- hole 136 feet deep. There are three headings, of a total length of 70 yards. The yield is from 600,000 to 800,000 gallons in the 24 hours ; the water level varies, but is nor- mally 70 feet from surface. The surface-springs in the cover of drift have been en- tirely excluded by backing the steining of the shaft with puddle. St. Helens. Lancashire. Supplied with about 1,750,000 gallons of water daily from two wells, each about 210 feet deep ; the well at Ecclestone Hill in pebble beds, and the well at Whiston in the lower mottjed sandstone. Each well has a bore-hole at the bottom. J^-vy-i \ ?: m :\ ciV, 5 H^ $ u. -j C *!___ * ) it 3 +r s fr iy c 5 0) 1 *- : .J00.9* PLAN. Fig. 270. OOLITIC STRATA. Exeter. Devonshire. Well at Silverton. There is a shaft AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 207 5 feet diameter, and 20 feet deep, continued by a 6 -inch bore- hole to a total depth of 237 feet. Water level at 23 feet from the surface ; yield, 100 gallons a minute. STRATA FROM BOBE-HOLE ; Feet. in. Sand 94 8 Kock 26 11 Marl 19 4 Clay and Greensand 30 Gravel 49 Hard Clay 16 Kock 15 10 Total 216 10 Northampton. The well at the waterworks is sunk and bored 253 feet 3 inches in the lias. The shaft is steined with brick- work and iron cylinders in the following order: for 16 feet 9 inches in depth the well is 7 feet 6 inches in diameter, lined with brickwork ; at this depth two cast-iron cylinders 5 feet 6 inches diameter are introduced, which are again succeeded by 9-inch brickwork, commencing at 5 feet 6 inches internal diameter and widening out to 7 feet 6 inches in diameter. The bottom of the shaft is floored with bricks at a distance of 120 feet from surface. At this point the bore-hole commences, and for the first 31 feet it is lined with 14-inch pipes, which rise into the shaft 5 feet above the floor. The remaining portion of the bore-hole, 102 feet, is 9 inches diameter. Selby. Yorkshire. Well at waterworks consisting of a 6-inch bore-hole 330 feet deep, yielding about 243,000 gallons in the twenty-four hours, water level 4 feet from surface. The strata were Feet. In. Warp and Clay 10 Strong Clay 10 6 Sand and Clay H 8 Strong Clay 710 Clay and Silt 89 Grey, or Loose Water Sand 79 Red" Sand 66 Carried forward .... 66 208 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, Feet. In. Brought forward 66 Indurated Sand 16 Red Sandstone 54 6 Red Clay and Fullers' Earth, with pipe-clay . . 50 Red Sandstone 203 Total 330 The pebble beds have been bored through at various points between Nottingham, Eetford and Selby, and are directly over- lain by the water-stones, the upper mottled sandstone and Keuper conglomerate being alike absent. North of Selby the pebble beds also have thinned out, and the Keuper water-stones and the lower mottled sandstone are alone available for underground water-supply in the plains of York. York. Well at Towthorpe Common, 60 feet above Ordnance datum. Consists of a 9-inch bore-hole 311 feet deep, this was subsequently plugged and reduced to 210 feet. Yield abundant. The section is as follows : Feet. In. Top Sand 46 Fine Clay 15 Boulder Clay 15 Loamy Sand 60 Fine Warp Clay 90 Grey Sand 10 Boulder Clay 40 Greensand 16 Greensand, with layers of blue bind 18 Blue Bind or Marl 19 Light Greensand, with blue bind 35 White Sandstone 50 Blue Bind 10 Red Marl 20 White Sandstone 81 Blue Marl 06 White Sandstone 23 Blue Marl 03 Variegated Sandstone . . 60 Red Marl 30 Total 310 Salton, near Malton. Well 150 feet above Ordnance datum, is a bore-hole 4 inches diameter, 316 feet deep; the water AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 209 Fig. 271. WELL AT SWAN AGE, DORSET. flows out at surface. It passes made earth and about 15 feet of fluviatile drift, continued by 295 feet of Kimmeridge clay. Swanage. Dorset. The section and plan, Figs. 271, 272, are of a well at Swanage, sunk 60 feet and bored 53 feet, the lining tube rising 8 feet into the shaft, which is 5 feet 6 inches in diameter, and lined with 9-inch stein- ing. The strata passed through are clays and limestones, and may perhaps be referred to the Purbeck beds. At first this well yielded little or no water, but it now gives a sufficient supply. 6 6 CRETACEOUS STRATA. Beccles. Norfolk. Waterworks ; the wells are situated about three-quarters of a mile S. of the town, at 100 feet above sea level. Water first occurred in the beds at 80 feet from surface of good quality, at a farther depth of 10 feet the supply gave 21,000 gallons a day without lowering the top water level. This is the water-bearing stratum generally around Beccles, most of the wells being sunk into it. There are two wells at the waterworks very similar in section, both are carried into the chalk, which yields an abundant water supply. The details given below are of well No. 2, consisting of a shaft to a depth of 91 feet continued by a 9-inch bore -hole ; Fig 272. STRATA ; Vegetable Soil . . . Chalky Boulder Clay Middle Glacial Beds Carried forward Feet, In. 1 10 3 17 9 29 P 210 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, Feet. In. Brought forward 29 Bure Valley Beds, Gravels, and Sands .. .. 33 Sands and Loam, with much iron 15 White Yellow Sands, with loam 14 6 Fluvio-Marine Crag 65 6 Chalk, with flints 73 Total 230 Beccles. Well at Worthington and Co.'s ; Feet. Gravels and Sands 58 Chalk, upper part like pipe-clay 26 Total 84 Bishop Stortford. The waterworks and well are situate W. of the town, near the farm buildings known as Marsh Barns. The shaft is 160 feet deep, the bore-hole 14.0 feet. The following is a section of the strata ; Feet. BOULDER CLAY 17 LONDON CLAY, 54 feet ; Brown Clay 14 Black Clay 2 Black Sandy Loam, with iron pyrites 12 Black Clay, with lignite 11 Dark Grey Sand, with large pieces of sandstone and shells 15 BEADING BEDS, 45J feet ; Black Clay 2 Brown Clay 20 Light Brown Sand 1 Variegated Sand 18 Brown Clay 4 Flints and Pebbles 1 To Chalk 117 CHALK 183 Total 300 The water rises to within 140 feet of the surface of the ground. The yield is 10,000 gallons a minute ; only 25 gallons a minute from the bore, the rest from the headings driven north and south respectively at a depth of 154 feet. AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 211 Braintree. Essex. The well sunk for the Local Board is in a field near Pod's Brook. The shaft is 8 feet in diameter, steined with 9-inch steining, and carried down 55 feet, the remainder of the well being bored. Strata ; DRIFT, 14 feet ; Feet. Sandy Gravel 5 Drift Clay 9 LONDON CLAY, 136 feet; Clay, with sand, shells, and septaria, the bottom part more sandy 126 Dark Sand, with a few shells, yielding much water 10 READING BEDS, 45 feet ; Mottled Plastic Clays, getting more sandy lower down, and with specks of chalk 44 Coarse Black Sandy Clay 1 THANET SAND (?), 33 feet ; Light-coloured Sands, firm and hard, getting darker and more friable lower down 20 Liiit-coloured Sands, firm, changing to coarse and dark 13 To Chalk 228 CHALK, with much water, rising to about 12 feet from the surface 17 Total .. 245 The level of the ground is 140 feet above the sea level ; water stands 29 feet deep ; yield about 11,500 gallons an hour. Brighton. This town has always been supplied from wells sunk in the chalk. One well is sunk near the Lewes Eoad, and has a total length of 2400 feet of headings driven in a direction parallel with the sea, and at about the coast level of low water. These headings intercept many fissures and materially add to the yield. A second well was sunk in 1865 at Goldstone Bottom, and headings driven to the extent of about a quarter of a mile across the valley parallel to the sea. Goldstone Bottom is a naturally formed basin in the chalk, the lowest side of which, nearest the sea, is more than '60 feet higher than the middle or bottom of the basin. The water is obtained as at Lewes Eoad, from fissures running generally p 2 212 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, at right angles to the coast line, but they are of much larger size and at far greater distances from each other ; whereas at the Lewes Eoad well it is rare that 30 feet of headings were driven without finding a fissure, and the yield of the largest was not more than 100 to 150 gallons a minute. At Goldstone nearly 160 feet were traversed without any result, and then an enormous fissure was pierced which yielded at once nearly 1000 gallons a minute ; and the same interval was found between this and the next fissure, which was of a capacity nearly as large. The total length of the headings at Goldstone Bottom is 13,000 feet. The yield from each well is about 3,000,000 gallons daily. Bletchingly. Surrey. Well at Highfield, and bore-holes in the lower greensand, sunk under the writer's superintendence. Water is found at 45 feet from surface at the house, and from 55 to 59 feet from surface in various parts of the grounds. The yield abundant, so far as tested, upwards of 300 gallons an hour. SECTION AT BORE-HOLE No. 1. Feet. In. SURFACE SOIL 10 CLAY 50 SANDGATE BEDS, 65 feet ; Hard and Soft Sandstone 15 4 Brown Clay 54 Sandstone and Sand 143 Fullers' Earth, mixed with sand 28 Clay and traces of Fullers' earth Dry and White Clay Fullers' Earth Blue and Grey Sandstone (hard) Fullers' Earth 5 8 1 2 5 3 3 2 Clay and Sand 2 10 Fullers' Earth 4 6 Sandstone 2 10 Fullers' Earth 2 Total .. .. 71 Chelmsford. The well belonging to the Local Board of Health, situated at Moulsham, yields about 95,000 gallons of water a day. It is sunk for 200 feet ; the rest bored. Water overflowed at first, but now that the well is in use and pumped AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 213 from, the water only rises to 76 feet from the surface. The following strata were pierced ; Feet. In. BLACK SOIL (Mould) 30 DRIFT, 63J feet ; Yellow Clay 26 Gravel 12 6 Quicksand 44 6 Sand with Stones 40 LONDON CLAY, 186 feet ; Clay 104 Clay, with sand 50 Dark Sand 12 6 Clay Slate (? septaria) 09 Clay and Shells 40 Clay Slate (? septaria) 03 Dark Sand and Clay 96 Sand and Shells 40 Pebbles 16 WOOLWICH BEDS ; Sand .. .. 70 Bed Clay 12 Clay and Sand 64 DARK THANET SAND 30 To Chalk 366 CHALK, 202 feet; Chalk 88 Rubble 10 Chalk 113 Total 568 Cheshunt, New River Company. Situate at the engine-house between the two reservoirs. The well is 171 feet deep, and is steined partly with brickwork and partly with iron cylinders. For 12 feet in depth the well is 11 feet 6 inches in diameter, and steined with 14-inch brickwork ; for a farther depth of a few feet it is 9 feet diameter, and steined with 9-inch brick- work ; it is then lined with cast-iron cylinders, 8 feet diameter, which are carried to a depth of 105 feet from the surface. There are fifteen cylinders of this size in use, and they are suc- ceeded by others 6 feet 10 inches diameter, of which there are six in use ; these are again succeeded by two cylinders 6 feet diameter. The whole of the cylinders are 6 feet in depth. The 214 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, bottom of the last cylinder is 118 feet from the surface, at which point they rest upon a foundation of 9-inch brick steining 7 feet in depth. At the bottom of the 6-feet cylinders the well widens out in the form of a cone 12 feet 6 inches diameter at the floor, which is 26 feet below the bottom of the 6-feet cylinder. In the centre of the well a bore-hole, 3 inches diameter and 27 feet deep, was made, and the well is provided on the floor level with headings. SECTION OP STRATA. r 66t. IQ SURFACE EARTH 16 GRAVEL 80 LONDON CLAY, 47 feet ; Blue Clay 45 Yellow Clay 20 BEADING BEDS, 51 feet ; White Sand 12 Dark Sand 39 To Chalk .. .. 107 6 CHALK .. 63 6 Total .. .. .. 171 Dorking, Surrey, obtains its water supply from a well sunk into the outcrop of the lower greensand, at the south side of the town. The shaft is 11 feet in diameter and 160 feet deep, steined with 9-inch work laid dry. The yield is not more than 30 gallons a minute, owing to the unfortunate position of the well, but might be considerably increased if suitable means were adopted. Harrow Waterworks. The well is situate 430 yards to the west of the church. The surface of the ground is 226 feet above the Ordnance datum. There is a shaft for 193^ feet ; the rest is a bore. In a bed of dark red sand 144 feet down, the water was very foul. Strata ; Feet. In. Light Blue Clay, with light-coloured stone .. .. 1911 Brown Clay, with white etone 54 11 Dark Mottled Clay .. .. 15 Similar Clay, with dark and green sand .... . . 40 Carried forward 93 10 AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 215 Brought forward Dark mottled clay, very hard The same, very hard, and dark sand Lighter-coloured Hard Clay .. The same, and dark sand Large Pebbles Feet 93 3 2 5 6 5 1 7 1 5 1 4 2 6 8 3 158 254 412 .In. 10 6 6 4 3 11 6 6 6 8 6 2 4 6 WELL AT HIGHBUKT. S *4.6 > ">^ BLUE ^X ^ 1 Clav and Sand Light Blue Clay Light-coloured Stone, with red and blue spots B(ye 1 jTPL ciix s 3- 6 8 f ''.' o^ ' % SI U Fig. 276. Blue Clay. Mottled Clay. Black and White Sands, and Flint. White Chalk, with beds of Fliat. 75'.0" 50'. 0" 627'. 0" 702'.0" 752'. 0" Grey Chalk, hard, with beds of Flints. Grey Chalk, and beds of Grey Chalk Marl. Grey Chalk Mart. Fig. 277. remainder being bored. The following detailed account of the strata is due to Prestwich ; LONDON CLAY, 236 feet ; Yellow Clay Blue Clay, with septaria BEADING BEDS, 6H feet ; Ked, Yellow, a'nd Blue Mottled Clay White Sand, with flint pebbles Feet. In, 30 6 205 6 37 6 06 Carried forward 274 218 45'. 6" EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, BORING AT KENTISH TOWN, LONDON continued. Grey, Blue, and Greenish Marl, with Limestone. 797'. 6 65'. 6" 863'. 0" 47'. < 21'. 6" 37'. 3" 13'. 9" 38'. 0" Bluish-grey Clay, mica- Fig. 278. 7'. 2" 85'. 3' 40'. 7' 58'. i 33'. 4" 18'. 0' 1021'.0" 1028'. 2" 1154'. 0" 1212'. 8" 1246'. 0" 1264'.0" 1302'. 0" ceous and rather sandy. Green Chloritic Argillaceous Sand. Bluish Mica- ceous Clay. Sandy Mica- ceous Red Clay, with Sand and Sandstone. Alternating beds of Red Sandstone, and Argilla- ceous Sand, red, green and white. Red Micace- ous Clay and Sandstone. Compact Red Micaceous Clay. Beds of Red Sandstone with ferru- ginous and argillaceous sand. Fig. 279. Brought Forward READING BEDS, continued ; Black Sand, passing into the bed below . . Mottled Green and Bed Clay Clayey Sand Dark Grey Sand, with layers of clay Ash-coloured Quicksand Flint Pebbles Carried forward . Feet. In. 274 2 1 3 9 6 6 6 1 6 297 6 AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 219 Feet. In. Brought forward 297 6 THANET SAND, 27 feet ; Ash-coloured Sand 10 Clayey Sand 40 Dark Grey Clayey Sand 11 Angular Green-coated Flints 20 CHALK, WITH FLINTS (? UPPER CHALK), 244 J feet ; Chalk, with flints 119 6 Hard Chalk, without flints 80 Chalk, softer, with a few flints 31 6 Nodular Chalk, with three beds of tabular flints .. 13 6 Chalk, with layers of flint 32 6 Chalk, with a few flints and patches of sand .. .. 96 Very Light-grey Chalk, with a few flints .. .. 30 CHALK, WITHOUT FLINTS (LOWER CHALK), 341 feet ; Light Grey Chalk, and a few thin beds of marl .. 133 Grey Chalk Marl, with compact and marly beds and occasional pyrites 161 Grey Marl 20 Harder Grey Marl, rather sandy and with occa- sional pyrites 27 CHALK MARL, 59 feet ; Hard Rocky Marl (? Tottenhoe Stone) 06 Bluish Grey Marlr,ather sandy,lower part more clayey 58 9 UPPER GREENSAND ; Dark Green Sand, mixed with grey clay .. .. 13 9 GAULT, 130J feet ; Bluish Grey Micaceous Clay, slightly sandy .. .. 39 The same, with two layers of clayey greensand . . 67 Micaceous Blue Clay ; at base a layer full of phos- phatic nodules 84 11 LOWER GREENSAND (?), 188 feet ; Red and Yellow Clayey Sand and Sandstone .. 10 Compact Red Clay, with patches of variegated sandstone 40 Dark Red Clay 47 Red Clay, Whitish Sand, and Mottled Sandstone . . 30 Hard Red Conglomerate, with pebbles from the size of a marble to that of a cannon-ball . . . . 20 Micaceous Red Clay, mottled in places 26 Layers of White Sa'ndstone and Red Sand . . . . 38 Mottled Sandstone 04 Red Sand and Sandstone, with pebbles (a spring) 2 Layers of Red Sandstone and White Sand . . . . 40 Pebbly Red Sand and Sandstone 10 White and Red Sandstone 50 Fine Light Red Sand 29 Hard Sandstone 03 Carried forward .. .1173 1 220 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, Feet. In. Brought forward 1173 1 LOWER GREENSAND (?), continued ; Very Fine Light Red Sand 40 Red Clay 20 Clayey Sand 13 Red Sandy Micaceous Clay, with sandstone . . . . 25 Compact Hard Greenish Sandstone , .. 10 Very Micaceous Red Clay 10 Grey and Red Clayey Sand 11 Light-coloured Soft Sandstone 21 Red Sand and Sandstone 62 Greenish Sandstone 40 "White and Grey Clayey Sand, with iron pyrites . . 20 Reddish Clayey Sand, with layers of sandstone .. 38 Micaceous Red' Clay 18 4 Greenish Sandstone 05 Red Mottled Micaceous Clay, with patches of sand 34 6 Red Quartzose Micaceous Sandstone 20 Brownish-red Clayey Sand and Sandstone . . . . 40 Very Hard Micaceous Sandstone, with pebbles of white quartz 40 Light Red Clayey Sand 10 Red Micaceous Quartzose Sandstone 80 Light Red Clayey Sand, small fragments of chalk 2 Whitish and Greenish Hard Micaceous Sandstone 6 Total 1302 The engravings, Figs. 276 to 279, which are on the authority of G. K. Burnell, do not exactly agree with Prestwich's section, but in the main they are both alike. The following summary may be found of service ; Feet. In. London Clay 236 Lower London Tertiaries 88 6 Chalk 644 9 Upper Greensand 13 9 Gault 130 6 Lowe'r Greensand (?) 188 6 Limehouse. Middlesex. "Well at Taylor and Walker's Brewery. Consists of a shaft for 143 feet lined with 7 feet 6 inches and 5 feet cylinders, and continued by a 12-inch bore- hole 157 feet deep. SECTION OF STRATA. Feet. Made Earth and Loam 14 VALLEY DRIFT; Gravel and Sand 15 Carried forward . 29 AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 221 Feet. Brought forward 29 LONDON CLAY, 44 feet; Sandy Blue Clay 2 Brown Clay 19 Sand 8 Blue Clay with Shells >-*^ n Blue and Green Sand . . . . /^ sw^v. . . . . 4 WOOLWICH BEDS, 10 feet ; \(^\ "^^ Pebbles l\ "V > < 6 Sa*d W-W" Y 4 THANET SANDS, 58 feet ; V^ ' ^r, Green Sand and White Pebbles ,.\, .G^.A.., A A 14 Grey Sand Vv^ki* ' -J 44 To Chalk >^_>;. 141 Chalk Flints 2 Hard and Soft Chalk 153 Total .... 296 LougUon. Essex . Bore-hole at Great Eastern Eailway Station. STRATA ; Tertiaries Chalk Chalk Marl and Upper Green Sand Gault with Pebbles Total 1092 6 Michelmersh. Hants. Fig. 280 shows a section of a well in this village, comprised within the writer's practice. The shaft is 4 feet 6 inches in diameter and 400 feet deep, steined both above and below the chalk with 9-inch work, the upper course having rings of cement at every 12 inches. The strata pierced were ; Feet. In. Surface Soil 40 Dark Clay 27 Chalk 250 Baud of Calcareous Sand 26 Upper Greenland 17 Total .. 300 6 222 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, Feet. In. 7 WELL AT MICHELMERSH. The water rises some 19 feet in the shaft, and is abundant, although up to the present its quantity has not been tested. Mile End. Middlesex. Well at Charrington, Head, and Co.'s brewery, Figs. 281 to 283. The surface is 33J feet above Trinity high-water mark. In the upper part there are three iron cylinders built upon 9-inch brickwork, which is carried down into the mottled clay. A 9-inch iron cylinder, partially supported by rods from the surface, rises some 28 feet into the brick shaft into which it is built by means of rings. Another iron cylinder is carried down into the chalk, the space between the cylinders being filled in with concrete. The strata passed were ; MADE EARTH VALLEY DRIFT, 6 feet ; Sand Gravel LONDON CLAY, 86 feet ; Blue Clay Hard Brown Clay, claystones Brown Sandy Clay . Hard Brown Sandy rotten at bottom WOOLWICH AND BEADING BEDS THANET SAND, 40 feet ; Green Sand Brownish-green Quicksand and Pebbles Brown Sand Grey and Brownish-green Sand Green Sand and Pebbles .. Brown Sand Green Sand and Pebbles . . Grey Sand and small Pebbles Dark Grey and Green Sand 7 with Clay, 68 2 9 63 2 2 2. 2 2 2 15 2 10 Fig. 280. Green Sand and Green- coated Flints 06 To Chalk 202 Chalk Flints 06 Hard Chalk and Water .. 20 Total 204 6 AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 223 WELL AT CHARBnrGTOif's, MILE END. /i ^ wire. j A-'iC. * Fig. 281. $ &*. 4Slant> HhiJtt, Itock, /Zm/sr Fig. 282. PLAN. Fig. 283. 224 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, The water level is some 103 feet from surface, and the yield 60,000 to 70,000 gallons a day. Norwich. Well at Coleman's works. After a few feet of alluvium, the borer passed through hard chalk with flints at dis- tances of about 6 or 7 feet apart, for 700 feet, with the exception of 10 feet at the depth of 500 feet where the rock was soft and of a rusty colour, thence the flints were thicker, namely, about 4 feet apart to the depth of 1050 feet. After this 102 feet were pierced of chalk, free from flints, to the upper greensand, a stratum of about 6 feet, and then gaultfor 36 feet. The whole boring being full of water to within 16 feet of the surface. Section of strata : Feet. Alluvium 12 Hard Chalk, with flints 483 Soft Chalk 10 Hard Chalk 190 Hard Chalk, flints closer 350 Chalk without flints 102 Upper Greensand 6 Gault 36 Total 1189 Norwich, various wells at. The water in most cases is abun- dant. Tertiary Strata. Chalk. Total. Feet. Feet. Feet. Distillery 48 228 270 Morgan's Brewery 12 218 230 Pockthorpe 20 230 250 Eosary Cemetery 50 50 100 Household, at farm 90 42 132 J. Harvey's .. 60 100 160 Paris. The wells sunk in the Paris basin, of which Fig. 284 is a section, are very numerous, and many of them of great depth. Fig. 285 is a plan indicating the position of the prin- cipal wells, and Figs. 286 to 288 sections giving each a summary of the nature and thickness of the formations passed through. For boring these wells special tools had to be used, which have already been described at length in Chap. VII. A large Artesian well, constructed by Dru at Butte-aux- Cailles, for the supply of the city of Paris, was intended to be AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 225 carried down through GEOLOGICAL the greensand to a depth of 2600 or 2900 feet to reach L p^ the Portland lime- stone. The boring was suspended in 1872 for municipal reasons, it was then 1745 feet deep, and its dia- meter 47 J inches. Its section for the first 496 feet is shown in Fig. 284. During the pre- vious years, M. Dru was engaged in sink- ing a similar well of 19 inches diameter for supplying the Sugar Refinery of M. Say, in Paris, Fig. 285; 1570 feet of this well had been bored in 1867, see Fig. 288. It was finished in 1869, at a total depth of 1903 feet, the bottom of the bore-hole being in the lower green- sand. It yields 1760 gallons a minute. The well at Gre- nelle was sunk by Mulot in 1832, and after more than eight VEEDUN, THBOUGH Horizontal scale, 90 miles the inch. Vertical scale, 1500 feet the inch. 226 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, tNCHIEN LCS BAINS Fig. 285. References. P. Passy. G. Grenelle. B. Butte-aux-Cailles. PASST. R. Sugar Refinery. GEENELLE. years' incessant la- bour, water rose on the 26th of February, 1842, from the total depth of 1806 feet 9 inches. The dia- meter of the bore- hole is 8 inches, ending, as is seen in the detail sections, Figs. 289 to 292, in the lower greensand. The well of Passy was intended to be executed in the Paris basin which it was to traverse with a dia- meter, hitherto unat- tempted, of 1 metre Fig. 286. (3-2809 feet); that SUGAR REFINERY. V . ,, ~ /' of the Grenelle well being only 20 centi- metres (8 inches). It was calculated that it would reach the water- bearing stratum at nearly the same depth as the latter, and would yield 8000 me- tres or 10,000 cubic metres in twenty - four hours, or about 1,786,240 to 2,232,800 gallons a day. Figs. 293 to 296 show a detail section Fig. 288. f t* 16 str ata passed. AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 227 The operations were undertaken by Kind under a contract with the Municipality of Paris, by which he bound himself to complete the works within the space of twelve months from the date of their commencement, and to deliver the above 33'. 4' 100'. 6' 16'. 19' 33'. 4" BOEING AT GRENELLE, PARIS. 308'. 5" 82'. 0" White Chalk with beds of black flints. 459'. ( _ n Grey Chalk, ^= I I s>X=| alternating ith marl =J and flints. Fig. 289. Fig. 290. quantity of water for the sum of 300,000 francs, 12,OOOZ. On the 31st of May, 1857, after the workmen had been engaged nearly the time stipulated for the completion of the work, and when the boring had been advanced to the depth of 1732 feet from the surface the excavation suddenly collapsed in the Q 2 228 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, upper strata, at about 100 feet from the ground, and filled up the bore. Kind would have been ruined had the engineers of the town held him to the strict letter of his contract ; but it 987'. 7" BORING AT CRENELLE, PARIS continued. 1618'. 1" Grey Chalk, _ very com- J=l pact, alter- ^M nating with * beds of micaceous ;| clay. Fig. 291. Fig. 292. Chalk Marl. Upper Green- Band and Gault, composed of micaceous clays, blue, green, and black, with fossils and pyrites. Lower Greensand. was decided to behave in a liberal manner, and to release him from it, the town retaining his services for the completion of the well, as also the right to use his patent machinery. The difficulties encountered in carrying the excavation through the clays of the upper strata were found to be so serious, that, AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 229 under the new arrangement, it required six years and nine months of continuous efforts to reach the water-bearing stratum, of which time the far larger portion was employed in travers- BOBING AT PASSY, PARIS. ^ ^ 62'. 2" 173'. 0" LEVEL OF THE SEA. 192'. 6" Alluvial Earth, Sands and Flint. Plastic Clays and Ferru- ginous Sands. Calcareous Nodule. 863'. 7 White Chalk, with beds of black flints Fig. 293. Fig. 294. ing the clay beds. The upper part of this well was finally lined with solid masonry, to the depth of 150 feet from the surface; and beyond that depth tubing of wood and iron was 230 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, introduced. This tubing was continued to the depth of 1804 feet from the surface, and had at the bottom a length of copper pipe pierced with holes to allow the water to enter. At this BORING AT PASST, PAEIS continued. 1600'. 6" Grey Chalk, with marl and beds of flints. 1649'. 7' 187'.2' 35M1' 1266'.!' 7 1564'. 7' Chalk Marl, alternating with beds of flints. 68'. 0' 42'. 4" B'.4' 1717'. 7' Upper Greensand and Gault. 1859'. 11' 1892'. 8" 1901'. 0" 1923'. Lower Greensand. Fig. 295. Fig. 296. depth the compound tubing could not be made to descend any lower ; but the engineers employed by the city of Paris were convinced that they could obtain the water by means of a pre- liminary boring ; and therefore they proceeded to sink in the AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 231 interior of the above tube of 3*2809 feet diameter, an inner tube 2 feet 4 inches diameter, formed of wrought-iron plates 2 inches thick, so as to enable them to traverse the clays en- countered at this zone. At last, the water-bearing strata were met with on the 24th of September, 1861, at the depth of 1913 feet 10 inches from the ground-line ; the yield of the well being, at the first stroke of the tool that pierced the crust, 15,000 cubic metres in 24 hours, or 3,349,200 gallons a day; it quickly rose to 25,000 cubic metres, or 5,582,000 gallons a day ; and as long as the column of water rose without any sensible diminution, it continued to deliver a uniform quantity of 17,000 metres, or 3,795,000 gallons a day. The total cost of this well was more than 40,OOOZ., instead of 12,OOOZ., at which Kind had originally estimated it. It may be questioned whether the engineers of the town were justified in passing the contract with Kind to finish the work within the time, and for the sum at which he undertook it ; but they certainly treated him with kindness and consideration, in allowing him to conduct the work at the expense of the city of Paris for so long a period after the expiration of his contract. It seems, however, that the French well-borers could not at the time have attempted to continue the well upon any other system than that introduced by Kind ; that is to say, upon the suppo- sition that it should be completed of the dimensions originally undertaken. Experience has shown that both steining and tubing were badly executed at the well of Passy. The masonry lining was introduced after Kind's contract had expired, and when he had ceased to have the control of the works; the wrought-iron tubing at the lower part of the excavation being a subsequent idea. It has followed from this defective system of tubing the wood necessarily yielding in the vertical joints that the water in its upward passage escaped through the joints, and went to supply the basement beds of the Paris basin, which are as much resorted to as the London sand-beds for an Artesian supply ; and, in fact, the level of the water has been raised in the neighbouring wells by the quantity let in from below, and the yield of the well itself has been proportionally diminished, 232 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, Fig. 29?. until it has fallen to 450,000 gallons a day. That the increased yield of the neighbour- ing wells is to be accounted for by the escape of the water from the Artesian boring is additionally proved by the tem- perature of the water in them ; it is found to be nearly 82 Fahr., or nearly that observed in the water of Passy. This was an unfortunate complication of the bargain made between Kind and the Muni- cipal Council, but it in no respect affects the choice of the boring machinery, which seems to have complied with all the con- ditions it was designed to meet. The descent of the tubes and their nature ought to have been the subject of special study by the engineers of the town, who should have known the nature of the strata to be traversed better than Kind could be supposed to do, and should have insisted upon the tubing being executed of cast or wrought iron, so as effectually to resist the passage of the water. At any rate, this precaution ought to have been taken in the portions of the well carried through the basement beds of the Paris basin, or through the lower members of the chalk and the upper green sand. Ponders End. Middlesex. At the works of the London Jute Company. It will be seen from the Figs. 297, 298, that this well is bored all but the top 4 feet, which is 5 feet across and steined with 9-inch work. The uppermost tube is 12 inches in diameter, decreased to 9 inches, and then to 8 inches, and ending with a 6-inch bore, unlined, in the chalk. C H A C H A SAN.D Fig. 298. AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 233 The strata passed were ; ALLUVIUM, 6 feet ; Fe^t. In. Clay and Mud 36 Peat 26 SAND AND SHINGLE GKAVEL 70 LONDON CLAY, 15 feet ; Blue Clay 80 Sandy Clay (basement bed ?) 70 READING BEDS, 49 feet ; Dead Sand 10 Mottled Clays 22 Sand and Metal (pyrites ?) 10 Sandy Clay 30 Sand and Pebbles 40 Dead Sand 16 Dead Sand and Pebbles 10 Sand and Pebbles 70 THANET SAND (?), 35 feet ; Green Sand 27 Dead Sand . 8 To Chalk 112 6 IN CHALK 290 6 Total 403 The water at this well overflows. Hampstead. Middlesex. Well at the Brewery. Consists of a shaft 340 feet deep continued by a bore-hole 5 inches in diameter into the chalk. Water level about 320 feet from surface. Section ; Feet. in. Made earth 60 LONDON CLAY ; Clay, with Shells 134 Hard Clay and Nodules of Spar 20 Clay 54 Clay, with shells and pyrites 10 Blue Clay 202 WOOLWICH BEDS; Clay and Pebbles 50 Clay and Sand 18 Grey Sand 12 Flints 20 Chalk .. 155 Total 600 234 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, WELL AT MEUX' BREWERY. StowmarJcet. Suffolk. Well at Hewitt's Mill. Yield abundant. STRATA ; Feet. Loam, Sand and Gravel 20 Sharp Sandstone 80 Chalk and Flints 200 Total 300 Tottenham Court Road. Middlesex. Well at Meux' Brewery, Fig. 299, yield at 1022 feet from surface, or 21 feet in the lower greensand, 1500 gallons an hour. STRATA ; Feet. In. London Clay and Tertiaries .. 156 Chalk, with flints 347 Chalk, without flints . . . . 305 Upper Greensand 28 VERTICAL SCALE. Fig. 299. Gault 160 Coprolites Limestone 4 Lower Greensand 66 Mottled Ked and Green Argilla- ceous and Micaceous Shales, ic .... 77 Total .. . 1144 Bognor. Isle of Wight. Well at Waterworks has a shaft lined with 9 -inch brickwork for 80 feet, continued by a bore-hole to a total depth of 330 feet. The yield at 80 feet from surface is 150,000 gallons a day. STRATA ; Brick earth, running sand and Feet. clay 58 Sand 22 Ked and Blue Clay 34 Chalk 216 Total .. 330 AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 235 Freshwater. Isle of Wight. Well, Figs. 300, 301, sunk at Golden Hill for H.M. Government. The diameter of the shaft WELL AT FBESHWATEB, ISLE OF WIGHT. is 4 feet 6 inches, brickwork 9 inches thick, there are 3 feet in cement at the top of the well, and 3 feet 9 inches at the bottom. There are four courses in cement every 5 feet, internal work four courses in cement every 10 feet. The bore- 236 EXAMPLES OF WELLS EXECUTED, Fig. 302. WELL AT WINCHFIELD, HANTS. hole is lined throughout with pipes of 6 inches, 5 inches, and 4 inches diameter respectively. Winchftdd, Hants. Well, Figs. 302 to 304, at the brewery of Messrs. W. Cave and Son. The shaft above the steining is lined with iron cylinders into which the bore-pipe is carried up. The strata passed were ; Made Earth, Soil, Gravel, Blue Clay and Dead Sand Dark Sandy Clay Black Pebbles . . Coloured Clay Stone (septaria ?) Coloured Clay Coarse Shifting Sands Total Feet. 350 3 2 5 2 22 7 391 PLAN Section at A Fig. 303. Fig. 304. MISCELLANEOUS. Ulster. Ireland. Well at Ross & Co. 's Mineral Water Factory, has a shaft lined with iron cylinders 70 feet deep, con- tinued to a total depth of 226 feet by a bore-hole. Supply abundant. STRATA : Feet. Made Earth 5 Silt Blue Clay, with shells . . 21 Gravel with prehistoric remains 7 Stiff Red Clay 37 Gravel 8 Eed Sandstone 146 Fine Gravel 2 Total 226 AND OF DISTRICTS SUPPLIED BY WELLS. 237 Bourne, Lincolnshire. The boring, 4 inches in diameter, passed through oolitic strata to a depth of 92 feet. Below the alluvial gravel and alluvion a hard shelly limestone, 32 feet in thickness, was encountered. The bore-hole here was made slightly conical, to admit of the taper end of a cast-iron pipe being inserted and driven tightly, to exclude any surface water, and to prevent water from the bore escaping into the gravel, and thus losing its full power to rise above the surface. The boring was then continued through various beds until it reached a stratum, 6 feet thick, of compact hard rock ; in passing through which, at 92 feet below the surface, the tool fell suddenly about 2 feet, evidently into a chasm or hollow, striking upon the hard surface of the underlying rock. The water im- mediately rushed up with great force, and drove the men from their work ; and it was not without difficulty that the joints for attaching a curved pipe and sluice valve at the surface could be accomplished. The water rose to 39 feet 9 inches above the ground ; the yield at the surface level is at the rate of gallons a day. ( { ^. "' PARTICULARS OF WELLS IN THE LONDON BASIN. ^ The following Table, compiled from the Government moirs and other reliable sources, furnishes in a condensed form the most important particulars relating to wells, and trial bore holes, comprised within the geographical area known as the London Basin. The first column gives the name of the place where the well is situated, the second column that of the county, and the third column the precise locality ; the sixth column, in cases where the well passes through the tertiaries, is the depth to the chalk. The following abbreviations have been employed : B. for Bed- fordshire ; Berks, Berkshire ; Bucks, Buckinghamshire ; E., Essex ; H., Hampshire ; Herts, Hertfordshire ; K., Kent ; M., Middlesex ; S., Surrey. O.D. stands for, above Ordnance Datum ; T., above Trinity high-water mark. 238 PARTICULARS OF WELLS. S3 P Q Q of O O O i-H IO I-H O I -t< I * 00 (M(Mt>CO^Ht>OO -l iC-rCMi-HrHCMQC (M rH r-*N r4H?l CD|(NGGG O I I IOICOCO G GO CO G GO O O I I *? OlcOCM-^Tfi CMl I lol'tl " C5 CCCOCSICiOOOOl |l loolt-co o coc^ur;oiot>l j 1 "8^81111111 1sl.8|8|8 8 ItagSHa i ^S^i^^QPS^^ K^i<^^^^^ J25 K^O^ H^ ^ .|| . . -2 .-2 ^ .^.j^.j.j^ r ^ ^. ^j -g C fF w g : | : l^ : 2 : l : = : : : s = lii.||=| : i "|1=3=l Illilllll Ililli & I S||||| a lll BB ||*^ - 240 PARTICULARS OF WELLS. IS SI *m 2 i I I , M fl 5 * e O5 O I I CDCMCOCOOiCOO5T^| O5rH ^CM COrHrHCMrHCOCMCM rHCM | || || | | rH i i CM > b So .0 " " r -2 H -,: i a 3 a 66 6 d .-3 ^ 3"e. oe cs KO >^"S |g ood 66 68 6 6 35 Cricklew Crossness PARTICULARS OF WELLS. 241 I l! I | I V '11 o 5 2 " s i R s*^ I R! O *5 ja O to rH^>-fa ^S 00* S ) '"' V3 P ^ S * c^ So o ^^ 3 o - o ou ^o yq^^g ^CO(M co QQ HeoOQ "-H I I 10 r-< I I 00 I ^ t- i-H(M | lO-hCO^fMTfiO^COiO I- O-HO coco I m |O| I I OO l | CO rHi-(N I CM I I I T* ^ M M* c 1 aw =Q O . 1^ Q Q QQfiSKKH S BHWfefefe^f^ OO 242 PARTICULARS OF WELLS. a els "~ A o TtHOr-HO COCO COOCOO rH J-HCSJ,! :o^Ttj eg rfi o o o oo 10 co )r-i l> O O O C^C^ Ot^OI l> OIO-HICO llrHll^CrHCO GOCOrHl C^ (M I t- O I O CO i"H rH CO i"H CO CO ^H C^ I I 13 I I8S ^ :^ : :f C5 f> JS : :^ : : ^.a go ** gj & 3 d 'O B 2 244 PARTICULARS OF WELLS. a 01 ! " * ft 'a .90 gg III S 1 g 10 CO 05 ,gTH O O5 O i-l t> rH t> GO O O *! O Oi i-l to O -tl O5 CO T* CO " O O5 O I O CO i I I rH I O OlCf^O ,2 CO CO GO I t^COCO COlOi i-(|lOrtl rHCO CN r- 1 rH rHrHrHr-l i I O O OlOO I COGOO OICOCO 005 <* OCNCO ^SSo 05 I ^CO 22 co| I 1 I d SJI^ o s s o ^ ^ ^ S a> rM^"S ^SJg^rjM'S t^W-S SP^ b. MlS>8lN-S88A-3ij8lJSa? **"* ^ t>- ^ _ i-^l ^H ^H w" ^_ ._~. t> ^"^ -"* "** ^^ H - aDpq'H MS s ^r3(S fcH- ^.O-TJ ^-^44 ado o^j |3 * g 1|f| 3 H^J^^^old 1 Q ||1 1?^ glijIlSlsl-o^^-B x 5 35s ^^^ ss ss^ Kttoo o OP: 02 fl J 246 PARTICULARS OF WELLS. -2 r- 03 S 3 02 | 1 II ^|r g (M IO r-( I |>O O GO O O TtHO|(MOGO t-i O O t> 1-1 i I CM t 1 gO lOICOl 1 |OiC;OOI> SS S > *>~ ^ : o go o h (^ M S^ > r- 0^3 o eq . I la.| i* fi rd ^ S 13 w ?2l|l .- ^sl^ I? -i s g 1 g O ! QD ^ B O ad o 1 111 c s 2 H 2 2 S oao! ^~ O jJ^ - :r s -o-jOC^ ^3 Q^^-^tS B S ^ f3 --S S ;C rg .t5 ^ ft -3^ftJ 02 248 PARTICULARS OF WELLS. P 2 - e III 03 CO CO ca CO "-H i-H O q OOO O i 1 i 1 r-( CO (MOD^ ^filOOCO O^HOO C5OCOIM C^r-iCO (M HN ot-c7ico > . . ' ' >, ' 2 ' QD Sim < PARTICULARS OF WELLS. 249 <* a j ; tl i O^ 3 d 3 11 I s's a * 03 2 5 fll 1 2 o Sx ^ H 1 d | I o O O5 4 Ci C5 I r-t i-i O CO !M I I ! ! oo^ocot>oo 1^2100 Tfi;ocO i-i CO 1 t^ 1 CO c^ to O I O I> O >O 1 O O 1 CO C5 CO t> 1 -*l OCO I i i rJH CO (M CO CO O(M -HHHCCC<|COr-l 1C I-H CO O O i I 6 bsj HN H'MHN H'M 1 - 2 |1 g OOrHOCOl>COi-llOC 5 TJH TH i ft^COOOlt^C- <~(NrHC0 CO CO i I 1 1 1O ,2 rn | co 1 co 1 1 b- 1 1 1 10 | o oo co'o 1 CO t- 10 -- " ' ? II H 1^0 CO^P-P^^ f . ^ R S --2C. "pH 0) O! 02 PQ CD d o PS .'g . bC g CM *S 'o ^ S 1 ft t^2 'o o o ^ o"cp| o |ll33ll^= ^pfiS.gfi.S.SC ^ ^^ >, 2 o|S^-2oo|o| -> TS^^nH^-^-ug-i-sg 3 p-s.^ssSficps ^^^^ ^ ^ ( 251 ) CHAPTER IX. TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. THE following tabulated form shows the order of succession of the various stratified rocks with their usual thicknesses. Groups. Strata. Thickness in Feet. f RECENT.. .. 1 Modern Deposits. DC PLEISTOCENE 2 Drift and Gravel Beds 20 to 100 3 Mammaliferous Crag 10 to 40 DC PLIOCENE .. 4 Red Crag 30 5 Suffolk (Coralline) Crag 30 h cc - ; ' MIOCENE ..{ 6 Faluns (Touraine) Molasse) Sandstones / 6000 O 7 Hempstead Series 170 fa UPPER . . 8 Bembridge Series 110 N 5 9 Headon Series 200 O - 3 MIDDLE .. 10 Barton Beds 300 E 8 11 Bagshot andBracklesham Series 1200 o p 3 LOWER . . 12 London Clay and Bognor Beds 200 to 520 13 Woolwich Beds & Thanet Sands 100 / 14 Maestricht Beds 110 15 Upper Chalk 300 16 Lower Chalk and Chalk Marl 400 Q* CRETACEOUS ( 17 Upper Greensand 130 18 Gault 100 c 19 Speeton Clay 130 z o 20 Lower Greeusand 250 LJ (f) WEALDEN ../ 21 Weald Clay 22 Hastings Sands 150 600 DC ' PURBECK . . 23 PurbeckBeds 150 o UPPER r 24 Portland Rock and Sand 150 o Q OOLITE ,.\ 25 Kimmeridge Clay 400 N M 26 Upper Calcareous Grit 40 O CO, OQ MIDDLE 27 Coralline Oolite 28 Lower Calcareous Grit .. 30 40 ^ ta OOLITE .. 29 Oxford Clay 400 ^ 30 Kellaways Rock 30 252 TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. Groups. Strata. Thickness in Feet. 31 Oornbrash ' 10 1 OQ OQ LOWER 32 Forest Marble and Bradford Clay 33 Great Oolite 50 120 M OOLITE .. 34 Stonefield Slate 9 1 P 35 Fuller's Earth 50 to 150 T 1-5 36 Inferior Oolite 80 to 250 O 37 Upper Lias Shale 50 to 300 O N LIAS .. 38 Marlstone and Shale . . 30 to 200 39 Lower Lias and Bone Beds . . 100 to 300 CO LLJ TI IASSIC or 40 Variegated Marls or Keuper . . 800 ^ NEW RED 41 Muschelkalk. k SANDSTONE 42 Red Sandstone or Bunter 600 fPERMIAN or MAGNESIAN LIMESTONE 43 Red Sand and Marl 44 Magnesian Limestone 45 Marl Slate 46 Lower Red Sandstone 50 300 60 200 DC 47 COAL MEASUEES 3000 to 12,000 ^> CARBONI- 48 Millstone Grit 600 EC FEROUS .. 49 Mountain Limestone 500 to 1400 Q. 50 Limestone Shales 1000 cc o DEVONIAN or ( 51 Upper Devonian - < OLD RED \ 52 Middle Devonian 3000 to 8000 O SANDSTONE! 53 Lower Devonian and Tilestone O N , 54 Ludlow Rocks 2000 fc 55 Wenlock Beds 1800 ^ H- 1 56 Woolhope Series 3050 ^ H~ i MIDDLE . . 57 Llandovery Rocks 2000 o. I 1 58 Caradoc and Bala Rocks 5000 a LOWEE . . 59 Llandeilo Rocks 4000 60 Lingula Flags 8000 V CAMBRIAN .. 61 Longmynd and Cambrian Rocks 20,000 f MET AMOR- / Clay Slate, Mica-Schist. oJ PHIC .. ,.\ Gneiss, Quartz Rocks. < 1 IGNEOUS .. Granite. TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 253 THE QUANTITY OF EXCAVATION IN WELLS FOB EACH FOOT IN DEPTH. (Hurst.) Diameter of Excavation. Quantity. Diameter of Excavation. Quantity. ft. in. 3 cubic yards. 2618 ft. in. 6 6 cubic yards. 1-2290 S* 3 3 3072 6 9 1-3254/ > ^ 3 6 3563 7 1-4254 i>v 3 9 4091 7 3 1-5290\ %, 4 4654 7 6 1-6362 \S 4 3 5254 7 9 1-7472 \ ^/JC? 4 6 5890 8 1-8617 <^jOf 4 9 6563 8 6 2-1017 ^^^ 5 7272 9 2 -3562 ^s 5 3 8018 9 6 2-6253 5 6 8799 10 2-9089 5 9 9617 10 6 3-2070 6 1-0472 11 3-5198 6 3 1-1363 12 4-1888 THE MEASURE IN GALLONS, AND THE WEIGHT IN POUNDS, OF WATER CONTAINED IN WELLS, FOR EACH FOOT IN DEPTH. Diameter. No. of Galls. Weigbt. Diameter. No. of Galls. "Weight. ft. in. Ib. ft. in. Ib. 2 19-61 196-1 6 6 206-59 2065-9 2 6 30-56 305-6 7 239-05 2395-0 3 43-97 439-7 7 6 275-49 2754-9 3 6 60-00 600-0 8 313-43 3134-3 4 78-19 781-9 8 6 353-03 3533-0 4 6 98-87 988-7 9 395-42 3954-2 5 122-23 1222-3 9 6 441-71 4417 ! 5 6 147-96 1479-6 10 489-93 4899-3 6 175-99 1759-9 254 TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. BRICKWORK. THE NUMBER OP BRICKS AND QUANTITY OF BRICKWORK IN WELLS FOR EACH FOOT IN DEPTH. (Hurst.) HALF-BRICK THICK. ONE BRICK THICK. Number of Bricks. Number of Bricks. Laid Laid in Cubic Feet of Brickwork. Laid Laid in Cubic Feet of Brickwork. Dry. Mortar. Dry. Mortar. 1-0 28 23 1-6198 70 58 4-1233 1-3 33 27 1-8145 80 66 4-7124 1-6 38 31 2-2089 90 74 5-3015 1-9 43 35 2-5035 102 82 5-8905 2-0 48 41 2-7979 112 92 6-4795 2-3 53 44 3-0926 122 100 7-0686 2-6 58 48 3-3870 132 108 7-6577 3-0 68 57 3-9760 154 126 8-8357 3-6 79 65 4-5651 174 142 10-0139 4-0 89 73 5-1541 194 159 11-1919 4-6 100 82 5-7432 214 176 12-3701 5-0 110 90 6-3322 234 192 13-5481 5-6 120 98 6-9213 254 209 14-7263 6-0 130 107 7-5103 276 226 15-9043 6-6 140 115 8-0994 296 242 17-0825 7-0 150 123 8-6884 316 260 18-2605 7*6 KiO 131 9-2775 336 276 19-4387 8-0 170 140 9-8665 358 292 20-6167 8-6 180 148 10-4556 378 308 21-7949 9-0 191 156 11-0446 398 326 22-9729 10-0 212 174 12-2227 438 360 25-3291 Good bricks are characterised as being regular in shape, with plane parallel surfaces, and sharp right-angles ; clear ringing sound when struck, a compact uniform structure when broken, and freedom from air-bubbles and cracks. They should not absorb more than one-fifteenth of their weight in water. After making liberal allowance for waste, 9 bricks will build a square foot 9 inches thick, or 900, 100 square feet, or say 2880 to the rood of 9-inch work, which gives the simple rule of 80 bricks = a square yard of 9-inch work. TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 255 The resistance to crushing is from 1200 to 4500 Ib. a square inch ; the resistance to fracture, from 600 to 2500 Ib. a square inch ; tensile strength, 275 Ib. a square inch ; weight, in mortar, 175 Ib. a cubic foot ; in cement, 125 Ib. a cubic foot. Compressed bricks are much heavier, and consequently pro- portionately stronger, than those of ordinary make. SUNDRY MEASURES OF WATER. The weight of one gallon of water, at 62 F., is 10 pounds, and the correct volume is 277*123 cubic inches. The com- monly accepted volume is 277 274 cubic inches. One cubic foot of water contains 6 2355 gallons, or approxi- mately 6J gallons. The volume of water at 62 F. in cubic inches, multiplied by 00036, gives the capacity in gallons. The capacity of one gallon is equal to one square foot, about two inches deep ; or to one circular foot about 2 J inches deep. One ton of water, at 62 F., contains 224 gallons. The volume of given weights of water, at 62 '4 pounds a cubic foot are as follows ; 1 ton, 35 90 cubic feet ; 1 cwt., 1 795 cubic feet ; 1 quarter, 499 cubic feet; 1 pound, 016 cubic foot, or 27 692 cubic inches. 36 cubic feet, or 1^ cubic yards, of water, at 62 '4 pounds a cubic foot, weighs about one ton. 1 cubic yard of water weighs about 15 cwt., or J ton. It is equal to 168-36 gallons. 1 cubic metre of water is equal in volume to 35-3156 cubic feet, or 220-09 gallons; and, at 62*4 pounds a cubic foot, it weighs one ton nearly (36 pounds less). It is nearly equivalent to the old English tun of 4 hogsheads, which is 210 imperial gallons, and is a better unit for measuring water-supply or sewage than the gallon. A pipe one yard long holds about as many pounds of cold water as the square of its diameter in inches. 256 TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. STOKING WELL-WATER. The reservoirs for storing well-water should be covered with brick arches, as the water is generally found to become rapidly impure on being exposed to the sunlight, principally owing to the rapid growth of vegetation. Various methods have been tried, such as keeping up a constant current of fresh water through them, and a liberal use of caustic lime ; but so rapid is the growth of the vegetation, as well as the change in the colour of the water, that a few hours of bright sunlight may suffice to spoil several million gallons. These bad results are completely prevented by covering the reservoirs. HINTS ON SUPERINTENDING WELL-WORK. The engineer who has to superintend the construction of a well should be ever on the watch to see whether, in the course of the work, the strata become so modified as to overthrow conclusions previously arrived at, and on account of which the well has been undertaken. A journal of everything connected with the work should be carefully made, and if this one point alone is attended to, it will be found of great service both for present and future reference. Before commencing a well a wooden box should be provided, divided by a number of partitions into small boxes ; these serve to keep specimens of the strata, which should be numbered con- secutively, and described against corresponding numbers in the journal. At each change of character in the strata, as well as every time the boring rods are drawn to surface, the soil should be carefully examined, and at each change a small quantity placed in one of the divisions of the core box, noting the depth at which it was obtained, with other necessary particulars. A note should be made of all the different water levels passed through, the height of the well above the river near which it is situated, as well as its height above the sea. The memoranda in the journal relating to accidents should be especially clear and distinct in their details; it is necessary to describe the TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 257 effects of each tool used in the search for, or recovery of, broken tools in a borehole, in order to suit the case with the proper appliances, for without precaution we may seek for a tool indefinitely without being sure of touching it, and perhaps aggravate the evil instead of remedying it. It is by no means a bad plan to make rough notes of all immediate remarks or impressions, in such a manner as to form a full and detailed account of any incidents which occur either in raising or lower- ing the tools. At the time of an accident a well-kept journal is a precious resource, and at a given moment all previous observations, trivial as they may have often seemed, will form a valuable clue to explain difficulties, without this aid perfectly inexplicable. When an engineer has a certain latitude allowed him in the choice of a position for a well, he should not, other things being equal, neglect the advantages which will be derived from the proximity of a road for the transport of his supplies ; of a well, if not a brook, from which to obtain the water necessary for the cleansing of the tools ; and of a neighbouring dwelling, to facilitate his active supervision. This supervision, having often to be carried on both day and night, should be the object of particular study ; well carried out, it may be effective, while at the same time allowing a great amount of liberty ; badly carried out, however fatiguing it may be, it will be incomplete. RATE OF PROGRESS OF BORING. (Andre.) There are probably no engineering operations in which the rate of progress is so variable as it is in that of boring. That such must necessarily be the case will be obvious when we bear in mind that the strata composing the earth's crust consist of very different materials; that these materials are mingled in very different proportions, and that they have in different parts been subjected to the action of very different agencies operating with very different degrees of intensity. Hence it arises not only that some kinds of rocks require a much longer time to bore through than others, but also that the length of time may s 258 TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. vary in rocks of the same character, and that the character may change within a short horizontal distance. Thus it is utterly impossible to predicate concerning the length of time which a boring in an unknown district may occupy, and only a rough approximation can be arrived at in the case of localities whose geological constitution has been generally determined. Such an approximation may, however, be attained to, and it is useful in estimating the probable cost; and to attain the same end, for unknown localities, an average may be taken of the time required in districts of a similar geological character. The following, which are given for this purpose, are the averages of a great number of borings executed under various conditions by the ordinary methods. The progress indicated represents that made in one day of eleven hours. ft. in. 1. Tertiary and Cretaceous Strata, to a depth of 100 yards, average progress 1 8 2. Cretaceous Strata, without flints 250 21 3. Cretaceous Strata, with flints ,, 250 4. New Red Sandstone 250 5. New Red Sandstone 500 6. Permian Strata 250 7. Coal Measures 200 8. Coal Measures 400 1 4 1 10 1 5 2 2 3 1 8 General Average . . 2?5 1 -9 When the cost of materials and labour is known, that of the boring may be approximately estimated from the above averages. Should hard limestone or igneous rock be met with, the rate of progress may be less than half the above general average. Below 100 yards, not only does the rate of progress rapidly increase, but the material required diminishes in like propor- tion, so that for superficial borings no surface erections are needed, and the cost sinks to two or three shillings a yard. COST OF BORING. The cost of boring when executed by contract has already been treated of at page 94. The following formula will fur- nish the same results as the rule there given, but with the least possible labour of calculation ; x = 0-5d(-187+ '0187 ef); x being the sum sought, in pounds, and d the depth of the boring in yards. TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 259 Example. Let it be required to know the cost of a borehole 250 yards deep. Here 125 { -187 + (-0187 x 250) } = 607*75. TEMPERING BORING CHISELS. 1. Heat the chisel to a blood-red heat, and then hammer it until nearly cold ; again, heat it to a blood red and quench as quickly as possible in 3 gallons of water in which is dis- solved 2 oz. of oil of vitriol, 2 oz. of soda, and oz. of saltpetre, or 2 oz. of sal ammoniac, 2 oz. of spirit of nitre, 1 oz. of oil of vitriol : the chisel to remain in the liquor until it is cold. 2. To 3 gallons of water add 3 oz. of spirit of nitre, 3 oz. of spirits of hartshorn, 3 oz. of white vitriol, 3 oz. of sal ammo- niac, 3 oz. of alum, 6 oz. of salt, with a double handful of hoof- parings, the chisel to be heated to a dark cherry red. GASES IN WELLS. The most abundant deleterious gas met with in wells is car- bonic acid, which extinguishes flame and is fatal to animal life. Carbonic acid is most frequently met with in the chalk, where it has been found to exist in greater quantity in the lower than in the upper portion of the formation, and in that division to be unequally distributed. Fatal effects from it at Epsom, 200 feet down, and in Norbury Park, near Dorking, 400 feet down, have been recorded. At Bexley Heath, after sinking through 140 feet of gravel and sand and 30 feet of chalk, it rushed out and extinguished the candles of the workmen. Air mixed with one- tenth of this gas will extinguish lights ; it is very poisonous, and when the atmosphere contains 8 per cent, or more there is danger of suffocation. When present it is found most abundantly in the lower parts of a well from its great specific gravity. Sulphuretted hydrogen is also occasionally met with, and is supposed to be generated from the decomposition of water and iron pyrites. In districts in which the chalk is covered with sand and London clay, carburetted hydrogen is occasionally emitted, but s 2 260 TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. more frequently sulphuretted hydrogen. Carburetted hydrogen seldom inflames in wells, but in making the Thames Tunnel it sometimes issued in such abundance as to explode by the lights and scorch the workmen. Sulphuretted hydrogen also streamed out in the same place, but in no instance with fatal effects. At Ash, near Farnham, a well was dug in sand to the depth of 36 feet, and one of the workmen descending into it was instantly suffocated. Fatal effects have also resulted elsewhere from the accumulation of this gas in wells. SPECIFICATION AND TENDER. The following form of specification and tender is one which has been frequently employed by the writer. In this particular instance it is filled in for work in cretaceous strata, the modifica- tions necessary for application to another case are sufficiently obvious : SPECIFICATION TO BE OBSEKVED BY THE CONTRACTOR IN SINKING AND BORING A WELL ON THE ESTATE OF , SITUATE IN THE PARISH OF , IN THE COUNTY OF . Nature of strata to be passed through. Depth. Position. The Well is to be sunk and bored at the spot W, coloured red upon the plan to be furnished to the contracting parties. The Strata to be passed through consist of about 6 feet of Tertiary deposits, the Upper and the Lower Chalk, and the underlying Upper Greensand. The Well is to be sunk in the Chalk to a depth of 260 feet, and from this depth the well is to be carried down by boring to the bottom of the Upper Greensand. The estimated depth of the boring is 70 feet. Dimensions. The Well is to have a clear diameter of 6 feet, and to be lined with bricks, 9-inch work, well laid in cement, to a depth of 20 feet from surface. The borehole is to have a diameter of not less than 4 inches, and to be tubed through- out with iron tubing. The Contractor will be required to find all labour, tools, appliances, and apparatus or materials of whatever kind or General conditions. TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 261 description, required for the due and full performance of his contract, together with any transport or carriage in connec- tion therewith ; he will further be required to restore the surface of the land, and make good any damage in reference thereto, as well as to restore any fences or any damage of whatever nature that may be caused in connection with the work. Should the Contractor, after three days' notice in writing under the hand of the Engineer, fail to carry out any of the provisions of this Specification, the Engineer may take charge of and proceed with the work at the cost of the Contractor, and for that purpose may take and use without hindrance any tools, appliances, apparatus, or materials, upon the works belonging to the Contractor. Should a sufficient quantity of water be met with short of the Greensand the Engineer reserves to himself the right of stopping the boring at any point. The Contractor, on the acceptance of his Tender, will be Time, required to proceed with the work forthwith, and to complete the whole of the work within twelve weeks from the date of the acceptance of his Tender. Payments on account will be made on the certificate of Payments the Engineer, after the first 100 feet have been sunk, to the extent of 75 per cent, of the accepted price, the balance to be paid on the completion of the work to the satisfaction of the Engineer. Persons tendering are to state the price of the sinking for Tenders, the whole depth of 260 feet, and the price of the boring for each 20 feet in depth. Tender. hereby undertake and agree to sink and bore a Well in the situation and of the depth required, and provide all superintendence, labour, tools, appliances, apparatus, materials, and carriage in connection with the work, and in accordance with the full terms and conditions of the annexed Specification, at the several rates or prices respectively stated in the Schedules 262 TABLES AND MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. numbered 1 and 2 ; and hereby further undertake and agree to execute the work in the time stated in such Specifica- tion to the satisfaction of the Engineer appointed to superintend the same. Schedules referred to in Tender of_ SCHEDULE NO. 1. Description of Work. Price. Sinking shaft 6 feet diameter, 260 feet, 20-feet ) stein ing, 9-inch brickwork set in cement J SCHEDULE No. 2. Description of Work. Price. Boring for each 20 feet depth, and with cast-iron tubes lining J ( 263 ) INDEX. A. ABRIDGE, well at, 238 Accident tools, 155-160 Accidents, diamond boring, 187 in rope boring, 177 Arton, wells at, 238 Africa, rainfall in, 30 Air in wells, freshening, 61 Albany Street, well at, 238 Aldershot Place, wells at, 238 Alluvion, 5, 7 America, North, rainfall, 30, 31 South, rainfall, 31 American rope boring, 171 system of boring, 171 tube well, 95 Amwell End, well at, 238 Hill, well at, 238 Marsh, well at, 238 Apothecaries Hall, well at, 239 Apparatus for boring, 71-79, 102- 190 Arlesey, well at, 238 Artesian well, causes of failure, 2-4 definition, 2 Ash, well at, 238 Asia, rainfall in, 29, 30 Auger stem, 173 Augers, 71-73 Available rainfall, 27 B. BAGSHOT Sand?, 5 well at, 238 Balance-beam, Kind's, 108 Balham Hill, well at, 238 Ball-clack, 108 Bauk of England, well at, 238 Bare ontcrop, 18-21 Barking, well at, 238 Barnet, wells at, 238 Bath, springs at, 36 Battersea, wells at, 238 Bearwood, well at, 239 Beaumont Green, well at, 239 Beccles, wells at, 209, 210 Bell box, 73 tap, broken rods, 187 Belleisle, weU at, 239 Belle Vale, well at, 197 Berkley Square, well at, 239 Bennondsey, wells at, 239 Berry Green, well at, 239 Bethnal Green, well at, 239 Betstile, Southgate, well at, 247 Bexley Heath, wells at, 21 Bickford fuse, 50, 59 Birkenhead, wells at, 191, 192 Birmingham, wells at, 192 Bishop Stortford, wells at, 210, 239 Blackfriars, well at, 239 Blackheath, well at, 239 Blasting gelatine, 49 instructions in, 50-61 sinking by, 49 Bletchingly. well at, 212 Bognor, well at, 234 Bootle, wells at, 199 Borers, or drills, 55 Boring, 69-190 American rope, 171 at great depths, 102 bars, diamond, 181, 183 chisels, 71, 104, 133, 149, 173 cost of, 94, 257, 258 diamond, 180 rate of progress, 188 difficulties of, 94 264: INDEX. Boring direct from surface, 84, 171 Kind-Chaudron system, 110 machine, diamond, 180 Mather and Platt's system, 143-171 rate of diamond, 188 ordinary, 257, 258 rods, 74, 75 diamond, 184 hollow, 93, 184, 190 sheer frame, 84 tools, 71-88 Boston Heath, well, 239 Bourne, well at, 237 Bow, well at, 239 Box-clutch, 124 Box joint for mizer, 66 for rods, 66 Boxley Wood, well at, 239 Bradford clay, 36 Braintree, well at, 211, 239 Breaking-up bar, 156 Brentford, well at, 239 Brick steining, 63, 67, 254 Bricks, good characteristics, 254 Brickwork in wells, 254 Brighton, wells at, 211 Bristol area, 37 Broad Mead, well at, 239 Broken rods, extracting, 73, 124, 138, 178, 187 tubing, 88-93 Bromley, wells at, 239 Broxbourne, well at, 239 Bucket grapnel, 157, 159 sinkers, 77, 167 Bull, or clay-iron, 58 Bull-wheel, 172 Bunter sandstone, 39, 40 Burton-on-Trent, well at, 192, 195 Bushey, well at, 239 Butte-aux-Cailles, well at, 224 C. CAMBERWELL, well at, 240 Camden station, well at, 240 Town, wells at, 240 Canterbury, well at, 240 Carbonardo diamonds, 180 Carbonic acid in wells, 259 Carburetted hydrogen in wells, 259 Cartridges for blasting, 50 size of dynamite, 52 Cast-iron tubes, 76, 160 Caterham, well at, 240 Cement backing, 128, 129 Cement-ladle for steining, 128, 129 Centre-bit, 173 Chalk, 5, 7 headings or tunnels in, 62 level of water in, 8 marl, 5 rainfall on, 27 Charge of powder, rule for, 53, 54 Chelmsford, well at, 212, 240 Cheltenham, springs at, 36 Cheshire, thickness of trias, 40 Cheshunt, wells at, 213, 240 Chinese system of boring, 69, 70 Chisels for boring, 71, 104, 119, 133, 149, 173 or trepans, 130, 132 tempering, 259 Cbiswell Street, well at, 240 Chiswick, wells at, 240 Clamp for tube well, 95 Clamps, pipe, 77, 174 Claw grapnel, 156 Clay, grapnel, 157, 158, 160 iron or bull, 58 pure, 12 Cleaning pipes, tube well, 97 shot holes, 57 Clewer Green, wells at, 240 Cold - drawn wrought - iron tubes, 76 Colnbrook, well at, 240 Colney Hatch, well at, 240 Coral rag, 37 Core box, 256 grapnel, 157, 159 tube, diamond drill, 184, 186 Corn rash limestones, 36 Cost of boring, 94, 258 headings in sandstone, 62 Cottes wolds, springs in, 35 Cotton-powder, 50 Covent Garden, well at, 240 Coventry, boreholes at, 194 Covered outcrop, 21 Cretaceous strata, 209-250 Crewe, wells at, 194 Cribs, fixing, 111 INDEX. 265 Cricklewood, well at, 240 Cronton, well at, 197 Crossness, well at, 240 Crow, Kind-Chaudron, 124 Crown, diamond, 180, 183 Crow's-foot, 73, 124 Croydon, wells at, 241 Curb in underpinning, 44 iron, 47 wood, 45 Cutting grapnel, 156-158 Cylinder, Mather and Platt's, 147 Cylinders, iron, for lining, 64 D. DARTFORD CREEK, wells at, 241 Deep boring, 84, 94, 102 Defective tubing, 88-93 Denham, well at, 241 Deptford, well at, 241 Depth of rainfall, 26 Derricks, American, 171 Detonators, 50 Devonshire, wells in, 206 Diamond drill, 180 Difficulties of boring, 94 Dip-bucket, 167 Dogs, 74, 77 Dolly, pipe, 77, 88 Dorking, well at, 214 Drainage area, definition, 25 Drift, 5-7, 21, 22 outcrop covered by, 21 Drill bar, 173 diamond, 180 Drilling-rope, 173 Driving pipe, 172 tube well, 95-101 tubes, 77, 87, 88, 161 Drum curb, 45 Dru's first trepan, 130 system, summary, 143 -130 Dudlow Lane, well at, 197, 200 Dulwich, well at, 241 Dungeon Stoneworks, well at, 197 Durham, sinkings in, 110 wells in, 191 Dyke, effect of, 4 Dynamite, 49-52 thawing, 52 E. EABTH-FAST, definition, 47 East Barnet, well at, 238 Ham Level, well at, 241 Eccleston Hill, well at, 197 Edgeware, well at, 241 Koad, well at, 241 Edlesborough, well at, 241 Electric fuse, 50 Eltham, wells at, 241 Enfield Lock, well at, 241 Enlarging hole below tubes, 77, 78 shot-holes, 56, 57 Epping, well at, 241 Erith, well at, 241 Estimates for explosives, 52 Europe, rainfall in, 28, 29 Euyenhausen joint, 102, 105 Examples of wells, 191 Excavation in wells, table of,' 253 Exeter, well at, 206 Explosive agents, use of, 49 Explosives, estimates for, 52 F. FAN for ventilation, 61 Farleigh, Forest Marble at, 36 Farnham, well at, 241 Farnworth, well at, 194 Fault, effect of, 3, 4 Fauvelle's system, 93 Finchley, well at, 241 Fissures, 2, 12 in blasting, 54 in chalk, 8, 63 Five Lane Ends, well at, 194 Flat chisels, 71 key, 122, 174 Fleet Street, well at, 241 Forest marble clays, 36 Formation, mineral character of, 11 Foul air in wells, 61, 259 Four-and-a-half inch steining, 67 Free-falling tools, Dru's, 134-136 Freshwater, well at, 241 Fulmer, well at, 241 Fumes, dynamite or guncotton, 50 Fuse for blasting, 50, 52, 59 266 INDEX. G. GAESTON Ironworks, well at, 197 Gases in wells, 61, 258 Gault, 5 Gay ton, borehole at, 188 General conditions of outcrop, 18 Geological conditions, epitome of, primary, 4 considerations, 1 strata, table of, 251 Gloucester, springs near, 36 Gneiss, rainfall on, 27 Golden Lane, well at, 241 Granite, rainfall on, 27 Grapin or clutch, 124 Grapnels, 124, 156-158 Gravesend, wells at, 241 Great oolite, 35 Green Lane wells, 199 Greensands, 5, 8 Greenwich, wells at, 241, 242 Grenelle, well at, 103, 225 Guides, borehead, 149 Dru's, for rods, 138 Gulland's diamond drill, 183 Guncotton, 49, 50 Gunpowder, 49, 53 weight of, 54 Gyns for boring, 78, 79 H. HACKNEY Road, well at, 242 Haggerstone, well at, 242 Hainault Forest, well at, 242 Half-brick steining, 68 Halstead, well at, 242 Hammersmith, well at, 242 Hampstead Road, wells at, 242 well at, 233, 242 Hand-dog, 74 Hand-jumpers, 55 Hanwell, well at, 242 Hard rock, Dru's system, 142 sinking in, 49, 111, 142 Harrow, well at, 214, 242 Hastings sand, 5 Haverstock Hill, well at, 242 Hayes, well at, 242 Headings or tunnels, 61, 62 Hedgerley, sands and clays at, 17 Height of strata above surface, 23 Hendon, well at, 242 Herne Bay, section at, 12 Hertford, well at, 242 Highbury, wells at, 242 Hi^hfield, Bletchingly, well at, 212 Hills, drift on, 6 flat-topped, 20 or mountains, 5 outcrop on, 19 Hoddesdon, well at, 242 Hollow rods, 93, 184, 190 Holloway, wells at, 216, 242, 243 Hoop-iron, boring with, 69, 70 Horizontal strata, 9 Hornsey, wells at, 243 Horsleydown, well at, 243 Hoxton, well at, 243 Hungerford, section near, 14 Hyde Park Corner, well at, 243 Hydraulic borer-head, 190 tube forcers, 163-166 I. ICKENHAM, well at, 243 Instructions in blasting, 50-61 Instruments used in blasting, 54 Iron cylinders for lining, 64 drum curb, 47 for drills or jumpers, 55 rods, 73, 74, 81, 94, 138 tubbing, 112, 114, 115 Isle of Dogs, well at, 243 of Grain, well at, 243 of Wight, wells at, 234, 235 Isleworth, wells at, 243 Islington Green, well at, 243 Workhouse, well at, 216 J. JARS, 173, 174 Joints, Kind-Chaudron rod, 122-124 tube, 75, 87, 89, 160 tubbing, 126 Journal of well-work, 256 Jumpers, 55, 56 Jurassic strata, 35 INDEX. 267 K. KENSINGTON, wells at, 243 Kentish Town, well at, 216, 213 Keuper, 5, 39, 40 Key, flat, 122, 174 Kiud-Chaudron, 122 Kilburn, well at, 244 Kind's moss-joint, 140, 141 system, 103, 110 time employed, 109 Kingsbury, well at, 244 Kingston-on-Thames, well at, 244 Kuightsbridge, well at, 244 L. LADLE, cement, 128 Lagging of drum curb, 45 Lambeth, wells at, 244 Lancashire, thickness of trias, 40 Lazy-tongs, 174 Lea Bridge, well at, 244 Leamington, well at, 199 Least resistance, line of, 53 Leek, wells at, 203 Leicester Square, well at, 244 Lias, 37 borings in, 188 marl stones, 36 Limehouse, wells at, 220, 244 Lincolnshire oolites, 37 Lining or steining wells, 63, 67 tubes for borehole, 75, 160, 161 Liquorpond Street, well at, 244 Lithofracteur, 49 Litton, well at, 197 Liverpool, wells at, 199 London Basin, wells in, 238-250 average section, 13 clay, 5 measurement of sections, 15, 16 Long Acre, well at, 244 Longleat Park, coral rag at, 37 Longton, wells at, 200, 202 Loughton, borehole at, 221 wells at, 245 Lower Morden, well at, 245 tertiaries, outcrop of, 23 Luton, well at, 245 M. MACHINE boring, diamond, 180 Magnesian limestone, 5, 10 Maiden Bradley, coral rag at, 37 Maldon, well at, 245 Malton, well near, 208 Margate, well at, 245 Marlstones, lias, 36 Marylebone Road, well at, 245 Mather and Platt's system, 143-171 Measure of water in wells, 253 Mica powder, 49 Michelmersh, well at, 221 Middlesborough, well at, 203 Mile End, wells at, 222, 245 Road, well at, 245 Millbank, wells at, 245 Mineral character of formation, 11 Mitcham, well at, 245 Mizers, 64-66 Molasse sandstones, 5 Monkey for tube well, 95 Monkham Park, well at, 245 Mortlake, wells at, 245 Moss-box, Kind-Chaudron, 127, 128 Moss joints, 127, 128, 140 Mountain slopes, spri Mountains or hills, 5 Muschelkalk, 39 N. NETHERLEE BRIDGE, well New Barnet, well at, 238 Cross, well at, 245 red sandstone, 5, 8, 39 headings in, 62 Wimbledon, well at, 250 Nine-inch steining, 67 Nitro-glycerine mixtures, 49, 50 North America, rainfall, 30, 31 Northampton, boreholes at, 37, 188 diamond boring at, 187 sands, 37 well at, 207 Northolt, well at, 245 Norwich Crag, 5 wells at, 224 Netting Dale, well at, 245 Hill, well at, 245 Number of bricks in wells, 254 268 INDEX. o. OBSERVATIONS with rain-gauge, 24 Off-take of rods, 81 Oil regions, boring in, 171 Old Kent Koad, well at, 245 Windsor, wells at, 245 Oolite at Bath, 36 Oolites, quality of water, 38 Oolitic rocks, 35 strata, 5, 8, 35, 187, 188 wells in, 206 Orange Street, well at, 245 Osgodby, well at, 206 Outcrop, 11 position of, 18 rainfall on, 11 on district, 24 Oxford clay, 36, 37 Street, well at, 245 P. PARIS, wells at, 224 Parkside, Lancashire, well at, 196 Pass pipes for tubbing, 114 valves, 115 Passy, well at, 103, 226 Pebble beds, 40, 41 Hill, section at, 14 Peckham, well at, 245 Penge, well at, 246 Pennsylvania, boring in, 171 Pentonville, wells at, 246 Permeability of new red sandstone, Permian strata, wells in, 191 Petroleum regions, boring in, 171 Picker, 66 Pimlico, wells at, 246 Pinner, well at, 246 Pipe clamps, 77, 174 dolly, 77 driving, 85, 172 iron, 88 Plaistow, well at, 246 Planes of bedding, 12 Plant, Dru's system, 131, 134 Kind-Chaudron system, 115 well boring, 69-93 well sinking, 44-66 Plug-tube, straightening, 157, 166 Plugs for tamping, 60 Ponder's End, wells at, 232, 246 Porous soils, 8 Position of outcrop, 18 of well, 257 Pot mizer, 66 Potteries, wells in the, 200-203 Preparations for sinking, 44 Prescot, Lancashire, wells at, 197 Preston Brook, well at, 197 Pricker, 58 Primary beds, 5, 9 Primer cartridges, 49, 50 Principles of blasting, 53 Prong grapnel, 156-158 Prospecting, diamond drill for, 189 Pudsey Hall, well at, 246 Pumps, Mather and Platt's, 166-171 a. QUALITY of water in oolites, 37 Quantity ot brickwork in wells, 254 Quicksand, modes of piercing, 115 Quintuple detonators, 50 B. RATCLIFFE, wells at, 246 Kate of boring, 257, 258 diamond drill, 185 Dm, 140 Mather and Platt's, 154 tube wells, 98, 100 Rainfall, 24 on new red sandstone, 41 on oolitic rocks, 35 on outcrop, 11 tables of, 28-32 Rain-gauge, instructions for using, 24 Reamer, 176 Reculvers, section at, 12 Regent's Park, wells at, 246 Rend-rock, 49 Rheetic beds, 5 Richmond, wells at, 246 Rimers, 77 Riming spring, 77 Ring for broken rods, 73 River deposits, 22 INDEX. 269 Rock, chisels for, 71, 104, 133, 149, 173 intersected by dyke, 4 sinking in, 49 Eods at Passy, 106 boring, 74 diamond, 180 Dru's, 137, 138 guides, Dru's, 138 joints, Dru's, 138 Kind-Chaudron system, 123, 124 remarks on, 143, 144 Romford, well at, 246 Rope boring, American, 171 boring with, 69, 147, 171 socket, 173 Ross, well at, 205 Rotation speed, diamond drill, 186 Rotherhithe, wells at, 247 Ruislip, well at, 247 Runcorn waterworks, well at, 197 Running sands, Dru's system. 142 S. SAFFRON WALDEN, well at, 247 Saint Helen's, wells at, 206 Salton, well at, 208 Sand, 11 Mather and Platt's system, 160 pump, 176 Sandhurst, well at, 247 Sandstone, new red, 39 Sandwich, well at, 247 Scaffolding for boring, 81 Scarborough, well at, 206 Scratcher, 67 Screw grapnel, 156, 159 jacks, 161, 162 tap for broken rods, 187 Searching for water, 9 Secondary beds, 5 Selby, well at, 207 Setting rain-gauge, 24 Sextuple detonators, 50 Shallow surface springs, 21 Sheer frame, boring, frontispiece, 84 American, 171 legs, 81 Sheerness, wells at, 247 Shell, 73, 139 at Passy, 107 Kind-Chaudron system, 122 or auger, 73 pump, jammed, 158, 159 Mather and Platt's, 151, 154 Shot-holes, boring, 56 in wet stone, 58 Shoreditch, well at, 247 Shorne Meade Fort, well at, 247 Shortlands, Bromley, well at, 247 Sinker bars, 173 Sinker's bucket, 77, 167 Sinking, mine shafts, 110 plant for, 113 with drum curb, 45 Sinkings in Durham, 110 in hard rock, 49, 61, 111 Site for rain gauge, 24 Slate, rainfall on, 27 Slope of hills, outcrop on, 19 Slough, wells at, 247 Smithfield, well at, 247 Snow, measuring fall of, 25 Socket, rope, 173 South America, rainfall, 31 Southend, well at, 247 Southgate, well at, 247 Southwark, wells at, 247 Specific gravity of diamonds, 180 Speed of holing with hand-drills, 56 of rotation, diamond drill, 186 Spithead, well at, 163 Spring cutter for tubes, 92 darts, 76 definition, 1 pole, 70 Springs, 1, 2 in alluvium, 7 in chalk, 7 in Cotteswolds, 35 in drift, 6 in permeable strata, 1 surface, 21 Staffordshire, thickness of trias, 40 wells in, 200, 202 Staines, well at, 247 Stamford, boring at, 37 Steam-jet for ventilation, 61 Steel for drills, 55 Steining, 44, 47, 63, 67, 68 270 INDEX. Stemraer, or tamping-bar, 59 Step-ladder, 156-158 Stifford, well at, 247 Stockwell Green, wells at, 247 Stonesfield slate, 35 Stone steining, 63 Storing well water, 256 Stowmarket, well at, 234 Strata, cretaceous wells in, 209-250 disturbances of the, 32 Jurassic, 35 oolitic, wells in, 206 Permian, wells in, 191 table of, 251, 252 trias, wells in, 191 Stratford, wells at, 247, 248 Stratified rock, blasting in, 54 Streatham, well at, 248 Sudbury, well at, 248 Sulphuretted hydrogen in wells, 259 Superficial area, extent of, 11 Superintending well-work, hints on, 256 Surface, height of strata above, 23 of outcrop, 1 1 springs, 21 Swanage, Dorset, well at, 209 T. TABLES of excavation in wells, 253 of strata, 251, 252 rainfall, 28-32 Tamping, 49, 51, 58, 59 bar, 59 tools, 58-60 T chisels, 71 Temper screw, 174 Tempering boring chisels, 259 Terp's diamond drill, 190 Tertiary beds, 5 district, division of, 34 Testing machines for tubbing, 125, 126 Thames, source of, 36 Street, Upper, well at, 248 Thawing dynamite, 52 Tillers, 71, 75 Timber steining, 63 Tongs, 77 Tonite, 50 Tools for well-boring, 71-85 Top rods, 74, 75 Tottenham Court Road, well at, 234, 248 wells at, 248 Tower Hill, well at, 248 Towthorpe Common, well at, 208 Trafalgar Square, well at, 248 Treble detonators, 50 Trepan, at Passy, 103 Dru's first, 132 Kind's, 103, 104 Kind-Chaudron system, 117, 121 Triangle gyns, 78 Trias strata, 39-43, 191 Tubbing, 111, 112 pass pipes for, 114 placing, Kind-Chaudron, 125, 126 testing-machine for, 125, 126 Tube clamps, 77, 174 forcing apparatus, 88, 161, 163, 172 grapnel, 156, 158 joints, 75, 87, 89, 160 well, American, 95 wells, 95-101 Tubes, accidents with, 189 76, 160 Tubing, when necessary, 85 Tunnels or headings, 61, 62 Turnford, well at, 248 U. ULSTER, well at, 236 Underpinning, 44 Upchurch, wells at, 248 Upper Thames Street, well at. 248 Uxbridge, wells at, 248, 249 V. V chisels, 71 Valve for mizer, 64, 65 socket, 174 Valves for ehell, 73, 139, 140, 151 Valleys, drift in, 6 outcrop in, 18 Vange, well at, 249 Vauxhall, wells at, 249 INDEX. 271 W. WADHOOK, 73 Waltham Abbey, well at, 249 Walthamstow Marsh, well at, 249 Wandsworth, wells at, 249 Warrington, wells at, 197, 198 Warwickshire, thickness of trias, 40 Water in new red sandstone, 42 measure and weight in wells, 253 quality from oolites, 38 searching for, 9 strata, sinking through, 64, 110 tamping, 49 Water-bearing deposits, value of, 10 strata, height of, above surface, 23 Watford, well at, 249 W ( alden clay, 5 Wedging cribs, 111, 112 Weight of wa er in wells, 253 Well, Artesian, causes of failure, 2-4 definition, 2 boring, 69-101 at great depths, 102 examples of, 191 sinking, 44 water storing, 256 Westbourne Grove, well at, 249 West Dray ton, wells at, 249 Ham, wells at, 249 West India Dock, well at, 249 Westminster, wells at, 249 Wet-stone, shot-holes in, 58 Whiston, well at, 197 Whitechapel, wells at, 250 Willesden, well at, 250 Wimbledon, wells at, 250 Winchfield, well at, 250 Windlass, 44, 69, 84 Windsor, wells at, 250 Old, 245 station well, 201 Winkfield Plain, well at, 250 Win wick, well at, 197, 198 Witham, well at, 250 Withdrawing tools, 73 tubes, 88-93 Wolverhampton, wells at, 205 Wood tubbing, 112 Wooden drum curb, 44-47 rods, 106, 118, 124 Woodley Lodge, well at, 250 Woolwich beds, 5 wells at, 250 Working beam, 172 Worm auger, 73 Wormley, wells at, 250 Wormwood Scrubbs, well at, 250 Wrought-iron tubes, 76 Y. 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Descriptive Treatise on Mathematical Drawing Instruments: their construction, uses, qualities, selection, preservation, and suggestions for improvements, with hints upon Drawing and Colour- ing. By W. F. STANLEY, M.R.I. Fifth edition, with numerous illustrations, crown 8vo, cloth, 5^-. PUBLISHED BY E. & F. N. SPON. Spons Architects and Builders Pocket- Book of Prices and Memoranda. Edited by W. YOUNG, Architect. Royal 32mo, roan, 4s. 6d. ; or cloth, red edges, $s. 6d. Published annually. Eleventh edition. Now ready. Long-Span Railway Bridges, comprising Investiga- tions of the Comparative Theoretical and Practical Advantages of the various adopted or proposed Type Systems of Construction, with numerous Formulae and Tables giving the weight of Iron or Steel required in Bridges from 300 feet to the limiting Spans ; to which are added similar Investigations and Tables relating to Short-span Railway Bridges. Second and revised edition. By B. BAKER, Assoc. Inst. C.E. Plates, crown 8vo, cloth, 5J. Elementary Theory and Calculation of Iron Bridges and Roofs. By AUGUST RITTER, Ph.D., Professor at the Polytechnic School at Aix-la-Chapelle. Translated from the third German edition, by H. R. SANKEY, Capt. R.E. With 500 illustrations, 8vo, cloth, 15.?. The Builders Clerk : a Guide to the Management of a Builder's Business. By THOMAS BALES. Fcap. 8vo, cloth, I s. 6d. The Elementary Principles of Carpentry. By THOMAS TREDGOLD. Revised from the original edition, and partly re-written, by JOHN THOMAS HURST. Contained in 517 pages of letter- press, and illustrated with 48 plates and 150 wood engravings. Third edition, crown 8vo, cloth, i8J. Section I. On the Equality and Distribution of Forces Section II. Resistance of Timber Section III. Construction of Floors Section IV. Construction of Roofs Sec- tion V. Construction of Domes and Cupolas Section VI. Construction of Partitions Section VII. Scaffolds, Staging, and Gantries Section VIII. Construction of Centres for H ridges Section IX. Coffer-dams, Shoring, and Strutting Section X. Wooden Bridges and Viaducts Section XI. Joints, Straps, and other Fastenings Section XII. Timber. Our Factories, Workshops^ and Warehouses: their Sanitary and Fire-Resisting Arrangements. By B. H. THWAITE, Assoc. Mem. Inst. C.E. With 183 wood engravings, crown 8vo, cloth, gs. Gold : Its Occurrence and Extraction, embracing the Geographical and Geological Distribution and the Mineralogical Charac- ters of Gold-bearing rocks ; the peculiar features and modes of working Shallow Placers, Rivers, and Deep Leads ; Hydraulicing ; the Reduction and Separation of Auriferous Quartz ; the treatment of complex Auriferous ores containing other metals ; a Bibliography of the subject and a Glossary of Technical and Foreign Terms. By ALFRED G. LOCK, F.R.G.S. With numerous illustrations and maps, 1250 pp., super-royal 8vo, cloth, 2.1. 12S. 6t recent arrangements of Horizontal, Vertical, Beam, Pumping, Winding, Portable, Semi- Srtable, Corliss, Allen, Compound, and other similar Engines, by the most eminent Firms in reat Britain and America. The laws relating to the action and precautions to be observed in the construction of the various details, such as Cylinders, Pistons, Piston-rods, Connecting- rods, Cross-heads. Motion-blocks, Eccentrics, Simple, Expansion, Balanced, and Equilibrium Slide-valves, and Valve-gearing will be minutely dealt with. In this connection will be found articles upon the Velocity of Reciprocating Parts and the Mode of Applying the Indicator, Heat and Expansion of Steam Governors, and the like. It is the writer's desire to draw illustrations from every possible source, and give only those rules that present practice deems correct.^ Barlow s Tables of Squares, Cubes, Square Roots, Cube JRoots, Reciprocals of all Integer Numbers up to 10,000. Post $vo, cloth, 6s. Camus (M.) Treatise on the Teeth of Wheels, demon- strating the best forms which can be given to them for the purposes of Machinery, such as Mill-work and Clock-work, and the art of 'finding their numbers. Translated from the French, with details of the present practice of Millwrights, Engine Makers, and other Machinists, by ISAAC HAWKINS. Third edition, with l% plates, Svo, cloth, 5*. PUBLISHED BY E. & F. N. SPON. 13 A Practical Treatise on the Science of Land and Engineering Surveying, Levelling, Estimating Quantities, etc., with a general description of the several Instruments required for Surveying, Levelling, Plotting, etc. By H. S. MERRETT. Third edition, 41 plates with illustrations and tables, royal 8vo, cloth, \2s. 6d. PRINCIPAL CONTENTS : Part i. Introduction and the Principles of Geometry. Part 2. Land Surveying; com- orising General Observations The Chain Offsets Surveying by the Chain only Surveying Hilly Ground To Survey an Estate or Parish by the Chain only Surveying with the Theodolite Mining and Town Surveying Railroad Surveying Mapping Division and Laying out of Land Observations on Enclosures Plane Trigonometry. Part 3. Levelling- Simple and Compound Levelling The Level Book Parliamentary Plan and Section . Levelling with a Theodolite Gradients Wooden Curves To Lay out a Railway Curve Setting out Widths. Part 4. Calculating Quantities generally for Estimates Cuttings and Embankments Tunnels Brickwork Ironwork Timber Measuring. Part 5. Description and Use of Instruments in Surveying and Plotting The Improved Dumpy Level Troughton's Level The Prismatic Compass Proportional Compass Box Sextant Vernier Panta- graph Merrett's Improved Quadrant Improved Computation Scale The Diagonal Scale straight Edge and Sector. Part 6. Logarithms of Numbers Logarithmic Sines and Co-Sines, Tangents and Co-Tangents Natural Sines and Co-Sines Tables for Earthwork, for Setting out Curves, and for various Calculations, etc., etc., etc. Saws : the History, Development, Action, Classifica- tion, and Comparison of Saws of all kinds. By ROBERT GRIMSHAW. With 220 illustrations, 410, cloth, I2s. 6d. A Supplement to the above ; containing additional practical matter, more especially relating to the forms of Saw Teeth for special material and conditions, and to the behaviour of Saws under particular conditions. With 120 illustrations, cloth, 9^. A Guide for the Electric Testing of Telegraph Cables. By Capt. V. HOSKICER, Royal Danish Engineers. With illustrations, second edition, crown 8vo, cloth, 4^. 6d. Laying and Repairing Electric Telegraph Cables. By Capt. V. HOSKKER, Royal Danish Engineers. Crown Svo, cloth, 3*. 6d. A Pocket- Book of Practical Rules for the Proportions oj Modern Engines and Boilers for Land and Marine purposes. By N. P. BURGH. Seventh edition, royal 32mo, roan, 45-. 6d. The Assayers Manual: an Abridged Treatise on tthe Docimastic Examination of Ores and Furnace and other Artificial Products. By BRUNO KERL. Translated by W. T. BRANNT. With 65 illustrations, Svo, cloth, I2s. 6d. The Steam Engine considered as a Heat Engine : a Treatise on the Theory of the Steam Engine, illustrated by Diagrams, Tables, and Examples from Practice. By JAS. H. COTTERILL, M.A., F.R.S., Professor of Applied Mechanics in the Royal Naval College. Svo, cloth, I2J. 6d. 14 CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS. Electricity: its Theory, Sources, and Applications. By J. T. SPRAGUE, M.S.T.E. Second edition, revised and enlarged, with numerous illustrations, crown 8vo, cloth, 15-$". The Practice of Hand Turning in Wood, Ivory, Shell, etc., with Instructions for Turning such Work in Metal as may be required in the Practice of Turning in Wood, Ivory, etc. ; also an Appendix on Ornamental Turning. (A book for beginners.) By FRANCIS CAMPIN. Third edition, with wood engravings, crown 8vo, cloth, 6s. CONTENTS : On Lathes Turning Tools Turning Wood Drilling Screw Cutting Miscellaneous Apparatus and Processes Turning Particular Forms Staining Polishing Spinning Metals Materials Ornamental Turning, etc. Health and Comfort in House Bidlding, or Ventila- tion zvith Warm Air by Self- Acting Suction Power, with Review of the mode of Calculating the Draught in Hot- Air Flues, and with some actual Experiments. By J. DRYSDALE, M.D., and J. W. HAYWARD, M.D. Second edition, with Supplement, with plates, demy 8vo, cloth, "js. 6d. Treatise on Watchwork, Past and Present. By the Rev. H. L. NELTHROPP, M.A., F.S.A. With 32 illustrations, crown 8vo, cloth, 6s. 6d. CONTENTS : Definitions of Words and Terms used in Watchwork Tools Time Historical Sum- mary On Calculations of the Numbers for Wheels and Pinions; their Proportional Sizes, Trains, etc. Of Dial Wheels, or Motion Work Length of Time of Going without Winding T> L _ /-,,_ . _ r Repeating -Jewelling of icapacity of Workmen How to Choose and Use a Watch, etc. Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Compiled prin- cipally for the use of the Students attending the Classes on this subject at the City of London College. By HENRY ADAMS, Mem. Inst. M.E., Mem. Inst. C.E., Mem. Soc. of Engineers. Crown 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d. Algebra Self-Taught. By W. P. HIGGS, M.A., D.Sc., LL.D., Assoc. Inst C.E., Author of A Handbook of the Differ- ential Calculus,' etc. Second edition, crown 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d. CONTENTS : Symbols and the Signs of Operation The Equation and the Unknown Quantity Positive and Negative Quantities Multiplication Involution Exponents Negative Expo- nents Roots, and the Use of Exponents as Logarithms Logarithms Tables of Logarithms and Proportionate Parts Transformation of System of Logarithms Common Uses of Common Logarithms Compound Multiplication and the Binomial Theorem Division, Fractions, and Ratio Continued Proportion The Series and the Summation of the Series Limit of Series Square and Cube Roots Equations List of Formulae, etc. Spans' Dictionary of Engineering, Civil, Mechanical, Military, and Naval; with technical terms in French, German, Italian, and Spanish, 3100 pp., and nearly fcooo engravings, in super-royal 8vo, in 8 divisions, 5/. 8-r. Complete in 3 vols., cloth, 5/. $s. Bound in a superior manner, half-morocco, top edge gilt, 3 vols., 61. I2s. In super-royal 8vo, 1168 pp., with 2400 illustrations, in 3 Divisions, clotH, price 13.1. 6ct. each ; or i vol., cloth, 2/. ; or half-morocco, 2/. 8s . I A SUPPLEMENT TO SPONS' DICTIONARY OF ENGINEERING. EDITED BY ERNEST SPON, MEMB. Soc. ENGINEERS. Abacus, Counters, Speed Indicators, and Slide Rule. Agricultural Implements and Machinery. Air Compressors. Animal Charcoal Ma- chinery. Antimony. Axles and Axle-boxes. Barn Machinery. Belts and Belting. Blasting. Boilers. Brakes. Brick Machinery. Bridges. Cages for Mines. Calculus, Differential and Integral. Canals. Carpentry. Cast Iron, Cement, Concrete, Limes, and Mortar. Chimney Shafts. Coal Cleansing and Washing. Coal Mining. Coal Cutting Machines. ! Coke Ovens. Copper. Docks. Drainage. Dredging Machinery. Dynamo - Electric andj Magneto-Electric Ma- i chines. Dynamometers. Electrical Engineering, Telegraphy, Electric j Lighting and its prac- ticaldetails,Telephones ! Engines, Varieties of. Explosives. Fans. Founding, Moulding and the practical work of the Foundry. Gas, Manufacture of. Hammers, Steam and other Power. Heat. Horse Power. Hydraulics. Hydro-geology. Indicators. Iron. Lifts, Hoists, and Eleva- tors. Lighthouses, Buoys, and Beacons. Machine Tools. Materials of Construc- tion. Meters. Ores, Machinery and Processes employed to Dress. Piers. Pile Driving. Pneumatic Transmis sion. Pumps. Pyrometers. Road Locomotives. Rock Drills. Rolling Stock. Sanitary Engineering. Shafting. Steel. Steam Navvy. Stone Machinery. Tramways. Well Sinking. London : E. & F. N. SPON, 125, Strand. New York: 35, Murray Street. ' NOW COMPLETE. With nearly 1500 illustrations, in super-royal Svo, in 5 Divisions, cloth. Divisions I to 4, 13^. 6d. each ; Division 5, 17^. 6d. ; or 2 vols., cloth, ,3 los. SPONS' ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS. EDITED BY C. G. WARNFORD LOCK, F.L.S. Among the more important of the subjects treated of, are the following : Acids, 207 pp. 220 figs. Fur, 5 pp. Photography, 13 pp. 20 Alcohol, 23 pp. 16 figs. Gas, Coal, 8 pp. figs. Alcoholic Liquors, i^ pp. Gems. Pigments, 9 pp. 6 figs. Alkalies, 89 pp. 78 figs. Alloys. Alum. Glass, 45 pp. 77 figs. Pottery, 46 pp. 57 figs. Graphite, 7 pp. Printing and Engraving, Asphalt. Assaying. Hair, 7 pp. 20 pp. 8 figs. Beverages, 89 pp. 29 figs. Hair Manufactures. Rags. Blacks. Hats, 26 pp. 26 figs. i Resinous and Gummy Bleaching Powder, 15 pp. Honey. Hops. Substances, 75 pp. 16 Bleaching, 5 1 PP- 48 figs. Horn. figs. Candles, 18 pp. 9 figs. Ice, 10 pp. 14 figs. | Rope, i6pp. 17 figs. Carbon Bisulphide. Indiarubber Manufac- Salt, 31 pp. 23 figs. Celluloid, 9 pp. tures, 23 pp. 17 figs. Silk, 8 pp. Cements. Clay. Ink, 17 pp. Silk Manufactures, 9 pp. Coal-tar Products, 44 pp. T Ivory. II figs. 14 figs. Jute Manufactures, 1 1 Skins, 5 pp. Cocoa, 8 pp. pp., II figs. Small Wares, 4 pp. Coffee, 32 pp. 13 figs. Knitted Fabrics j Soap and Glycerine, 39 Cork, 8 pp. 17 figs. Hosiery, 15 pp. 13 figs. pp. 45 figs. Cotton Manufactures, 62 Lace, 13 pp. 9 figs. Spices, 1 6 pp. pp. 57 figs. Leather, 28 pp. 31 figs. Sponge, 5 pp. Drugs, 38 pp. Linen Manufactures, 1 6 Starch, 9 pp. 10 figs. Dyeing and Calico pp. 6 figs. Sugar, 155 pp. 134 Printing, 28 pp. 9 figs. Manures, 21 pp. 30 figs. figs. Dyestuffs, 16 pp. Matches, 17 pp. 38 figs. Sulphur. Electro-Metallurgy, 13 Mordants, 13 pp. Tannin, 18 pp. pp. Narcotics, 47 pp. Tea, 12 pp. Explosives, 22 pp. 33 figs. Nuts, 10 pp. Timber, 13 pp. Feathers. Oils and Fatty Sub- Varnish, 15 pp. Fibrous Substances, 92 stances, 125 pp. Vinegar, 5 pp. pp. 79 figs. Paint. Wax, 5 pp. Floor-cloth, 16 pp. 21 Paper, 26 pp. 23 figs. Wool, 2 pp. figs. Paraffin, 8 pp. 6 figs. Woollen Manufactures. Food Preservation, 8 pp. Pearl and Coral, 8 pp. 58 pp. 39 figs. Fruit, 8 pp. Perfumes, 10 pp. London: E. & F. N. SPON, 125, Strand. New York : 35, Murray Street. Crown 8vo, cloth, with illustrations, 5^. WOEKSHOP EECEIPTS, FIRST SERIES. BY ERNEST SPON. Bookbinding. Bronzes and Bronzing. Candles. Cement. Cleaning. Colourwashing. Concretes. Dipping Acids. Drawing Office Details, j Drying Oils. Dynamite. Electro - Metallurgy j (Cleaning, Dipping, j Scratch-brushing, Bat- ! teries, Baths, and Deposits of every i description). Enamels. Engraving on Wood, Copper, Gold, Silver, ' Steel, and Stone. Etching and Aqua Tint. Firework Making (Rockets, Stars, Rains, i Gerbes, Jets, Tour- billons, Candles, Fires, i Lances,Lights, Wheels, Fire-balloons, and; minor Fireworks). Fluxes. Foundry Mixtures. SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS. Freezing. Fulminates. Furniture Creams, Oils, Polishes, Lacquers, ; and Pastes. Gilding. Glass Cutting, Cleaning, i Frosting, Drilling, Darkening, Bending, Staining, and Paint- ing. Glass Making. Glues. Gold. Graining. Gums. Gun Cotton. Gunpowder. Horn Working. Indiarubber. Japans, Japanning, and kindred processes. Lacquers. Lathing. Lubricants. Marble Working. Matches. Mortars. Nitro-Glycerine. Oils. Paper. Paper Hanging. Painting in Oils, in Water Colours, as well as Fresco, House, Trans- parency, Sign, and Carriage Painting. Photography. Plastering. Polishes. Pottery (Clays, Bodies, Glazes, Colours, Oils, Stains, Fluxes, Ena- mels, and Lustres). Scouring. Silvering. Soap. Solders. Tanning. Taxidermy. Tempering Metals. Treating Horn, Mother- o'-Pearl, and like sub- stances. Varnishes, Manufacture and Use of. Veneering. Washing. Waterprofing. Welding. Besides Receipts relating to the lesser Technological matters and processes, such as the manufacture and use of Stencil Plates, Blacking, Crayons, Paste, Putty, Wax, Size, Alloys, Catgut, Tunbridge Ware, Picture Frame and Architectural Mouldings, Compos, Cameos, and others too numerous to mention. London : E. & F. N. SPON, 125, Strand. New York : 35, Murray Street. Crown 8vo, cloth, 485 pages, with illustrations, $s. WORKSHOP RECEIPTS, SECOND SERIES. BY ROBERT HALDANE. SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS. Acidimetry and Alkali- Disinfectants. Isinglass. metry. Dyeing, Staining, and Ivory substitutes. Albumen. Colouring. Leather. Alcohol. Essences. Luminous bodies. Alkaloids. Extracts. Magnesia. Baking-powders. Fireproofing. Matches. Bitters. Gelatine, Glue, and Size. i Paper. Bleaching. Glycerine. Parchment. Boiler Incrustations. Gut. Perchloric acid. Cements and Lutes. , Hydrogen peroxide. ; Potassium oxalate. Cleansing. Ink. Preserving. Confectionery. Iodine. Copying. lodoform. Pigments, Paint, and Painting : embracing the preparation of Pigments, including alumina lakes, blacks (animal, bone, Frankfort, ivory, lamp, sight, soot), blues (antimony, Antwerp, cobalt, cceruleum, Egyptian, manganate, Paris, Peligot, Prussian, smalt, ultramarine), browns (bistre, hinau, sepia, sienna, umber, Vandyke), greens (baryta, Brighton, Brunswick, | chrome, cobalt; Douglas, emerald, manganese, mitis, mountain, Prussian, sap, Scheele's, Schweinfurth, titanium, verdigris, zinc), reds (Brazilwood lake, carminated lake, carmine, Cassius purple, cobalt pink, cochineal lake, colco- thar, Indian red, madder lake, red chalk, red lead, vermilion), whites (alum,' baryta, Chinese, lead sulphate, white lead by American, Dutch, French, German, Kremnitz, and Pattinson processes, precautions in making, and composition of commercial samples whiting, Wilkinson's white, zinc white), yellows (chrome, gamboge, Naples, orpiment, realgar, yellow lakes) ; Paint\ (vehicles, testing oils, driers, grinding, storing, applying, priming, drying, filling, coats, brushes, surface, water-colours, removing smell, discoloration ; miscellaneous paints cement paint for carton-pierre, copper paint, gold paint, iron paint, lime paints, silicated paints, steatite paint, transparent paints, tungsten paints, window paint, zinc paints) ; Painting (general instruction?, proportions of ingredients, measuring paint work ; carriage painting priming! paint, best putty, finishing colour; cause of cracking, mixing the paints, oils driers, and colours, varnishing, importance of washing vehicles, re-varnishing, how to dry paint ; woodwork painting). London : B. & P. N. SPON, 125, Strand. New York : 35, Murray Street. JUST PUBLISHED. Crown 8vo, cloth, 480 pages, with 183 illustrations, 5^. WORKSHOP RECEIPTS, THIRD SERIES. BY C. G. WARNFORD LOCK. Uniform with the First and Second Series. SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS. Alloys. Indium. Rubidium. Aluminium. Iridium. Ruthenium. Antimony. Iron and Steel. Selenium. Barium. Lacquers and Lacquering. Silver. Beryllium. Lanthanum. Slag. Bismuth. Lead. Sodium. Cadmium. Lithium. Strontium. Caesium. Lubricants. Tantalum. Calcium. Magnesium. Terbium. Cerium. Manganese. ! Thallium. Chromium. Mercury. Thorium. Cobalt. Mica. Tin. Copper. Molybdenum. ' Titanium. Didymium. NickeL Tungsten. Electrics. j Niobium. Uranium. Enamels and Glazes. Osmium. Vanadium. Erbium. Palladium. Yttrium. Gallium. Platinum. Zinc. Glass. Potassium. Zirconium. Gold. Rhodium. Aluminium. London : E. & F. N. SPON, 125, Strand. New York : 35, Murray Street. JUST Pm3L.ISH.E13. In demy 8vo, cloth, 600 pages, and 1420 Illustrations, 6s. SPONS' MECHANIC'S OWN BOOK; A MANUAL FOR HANDICRAFTSMEN AND AMATEURS. CONTENTS. Mechanical Drawing Casting and Founding in Iron, Brass, Bronze, and other Alloys Forging and Finishing Iron Sheetmetal Working Soldering, Brazing, and Burning Carpentry and Joinery, embracing descriptions of some 400 Woods, over 200 Illustrations of Tools and their uses, Explanations (with Diagrams) of 116 joints and hinges, and Details of Construction of Workshop appliances, rough furniture, Garden and Yard Erections, and House Building Cabinet-Making and Veneering Carving and Fretcutting Upholstery Painting, Graining, and Marbling Staining Furniture, Woods, Floors, and Fittings Gilding, dead and bright, on various grounds Polishing Marble, Metals, and Wood Varnishing Mechanical movements, illustrating contrivances for transmitting motion Turning in Wood and Metals Masonry, embracing Stonework, Brickwork, Terracotta, and Concrete Roofing with Thatch, Tiles, Slates, Felt, Zinc, c. Glazing with and without putty, and lead glazing Plastering and Whitewashing Paper-hanging Gas-fitting Bell-hanging, ordinary and electric Systems Lighting Warming Ventilating Roads, Pavements, and Bridges Hedges, Ditches, and Drains Water Supply and Sanitation Hints on House Construction suited to new countries. London : E. & F. N. SPON, 125, Strand. New York : 35, Murray Street, L DEPARTMENT Library LOAN PERIOD 1 HOME USE 2 3 6 1-month loans may be renewecTby calling 642-3405 6-month loans may be recharged by bringing books to Circulation D, Renewals and recharges may be mode 4 days prior to due date DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 1 7 1997 ORM NO. DD 6, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELE' BERKELEY, CA 94720 ffi U. C. BERKELEY LIBRARIES Y,lBRARy OF THE UNIVERSITY OF m