UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. BULLETIN NO. 20. Examinations of Stream and Well Waters. The analysis shown the main ingredient of this water to be common salt, associated with about half as much of the chloride of calcium, and smaller amounts of bittern and gypsum — all substances belonging more or less to Bait brines and sea water. The carbonic acid gas carried by the water, moreover, carries into it some carbonate of lime and silica, which are precipi- Water from the Artesian well at the Stock- ton Asylum for the Insane. A sample of this water was sent on behalf of the directors of the tated on boiling, and will form a depobit on institution by Mr. M. W. Fitzhugh, of the State the walls of boilers, etc. The amount of min- Engineers' Department, for the purpose of an- eral matter in this water— over '200 grains per .._,,,„. . . , gallon— is far too ereat to allow of its use for alysis. The following statements were made l ome8 tic or irrigating purposes, nor is there any at the same time concerning the well itself : method, short of distillation, by which the "The Asylum Directors have, at considerable saline contents could be materially reduced, expense, bored an artesian well for the purpose , "J" been stated in a previous bulletin (No. . ... . ,% ,, , , 14) that a similar water has been found in a of striking a stratum of water highly charged deep well about ten miles northward of Yisalia, with combustible gas. There is another well some five miles southeast of town, which has been throwing out large quantities of such gas. The gas was struck at the Asylum well last week at the depth of 1,100 feet; it is highly combustible, and burns with an almost color- less flame, slightly blue, similar to hydrogen. There is enough gas to run the engines, and about 15 mineis' inches of water were flowing from the well. In the latter there are two pipes, one eight inches in diameter, going down 1,000 feet; the other, inside the larger, five inches diameter, which goes down 1 , 100 feet. It is through the latter that the gas-bearing water now flows, some five miners' inches." The gas is in the main marsh gas or "light cirburetted hydrogen," with some carbonic acid and probably some hydrogen gas. Its analysis has not yet been completed. The water is clear and has a flattish, somewhat saline taste, and curdles soap with great energy. On evaporation it yields a solid residue at the rate of 237. 1 grains per gallon; of this amount 28 grains is water, with some organic matter, which is dissipated by ignition, leaving 209 grains of strictly mineral matter, of which 201.17 grains was again soluble in water. The composition of these several portions was : solublr part. Grains per Gal. Per C*. Chloride of Sodium (Common Salt' Chloride of Magnesium (Bittern) Total Soluble 201.17 INSOLUBLE PART. Total Insoluble 7.90 124.15 50. ns 17.36 8.30 09.09 28. '27 .57 .27 201.17 96.22 1.96 1.82 3.78 differing entirely in character from the other waters of the "Tulare arte»ian belt." From information since received through the State Engineers' Office, it appears probable that a belt of similar saline waters extends on a certain line northward through Merced and Stanislaus counties to Sin Joaquin; while elsewhere in the : same counties the bored wells yield waters I similar to those of southern Tulare, that are either naturally pure enough for practical uses, or can readily be made so by proper treatment. Ifc would be of extreme interest to these coun- ties that this belt should be defined, so that useless expenditure may not be incurred where it is certain that saline water only can be ob- tained. The use of water like that of the Stockton well for irrigation can only result in rendering the land unproductive, while in dimestic use it would shortly cause the con- gamer to succumb to malarial influences by weakening the digestive organs. Waters from near Mission San Jose. It is well known that a great variety of mineral waters are found in various portions of the Coast Range off the Santa Clara valley, this feature culminating probably in the "Alum Rock canyon," five miles from the city of San Jose, where at least four entirely distinct kinds of mineral water are found. However salutary may be the use of such waters in appropriate cases of disease, it need hardly be said that they should not, any more than any other class of medicines, form part of our daily diet, as such irrational use is sure to induce disorders. To such causes may frequently be traced the local reputation of certain localities for healthfulness or the reverse, when there exist no possible fulness, and by many this fact has been as- cribed to the quality of the water. The supply has thus far been derived either from Mission creek or from a spriug at the mouth of the can- yon. Bat of lat*>, the increase of settlements has caused the use of wells, as well as of springs not heretofore utilized; and in some cases com- plaints have arisen which were directly traced to the drinking water used. The following an- alysis of one of these, and a comparative ex- amination of some others, throws some ligbt on the subject, and shows how easily in many cases such troubles may be remedied, when a chemical examination has revealed the cause. The water aualyzed is from a spring creek on the land of Autonio Salazar, half a mile southwest from the Mission. The use of this water for drinking had, in the course of a week r produced unpleasant purgative effects upon the most diverse constitutions. It is, however, clear and agreeable to the taste, though very hard. Its examination resulted as follo.vs: On evaporation it leaves a residue correspond- ing to 26.50 grains per gallon, which, on a light ignitioD, loses 1.76 grains of water and some or- ganic matter. Of the remainder, the largest part is insoluble in water. These portions are composed as follows: solublr part. Grains per Gal Chloride of Sodium (Common Salt) 5.79 Sulphate of I.itne (Gypsum) 85 Chloride of Calcium IS Cnloride <->f Magnesium (Bittern) 43 Organic Matter and Loss 1.76 tents and proportions of soluble and "insolu- ble'' (or easily precipitable) mineral matter. The results are given in the following table: WATKRS FROM MISSION BAN JOKK Watkr From 1 — Siiring ore ek, Salazar's land 2 -Bored well, Monte.ilegre'n land. . 3 -Mis- ion creek, Cu'lego*' land — 4 -Mission spring, Gatlegos' land. . O P H — o 00 £ re P3 re el 26.5 25.6 19.3 24.6 17.6 12.8 12.2 13.7 B 2. ■e re" <" p-i O J sts; 8.9 12.8 7.1 10.9 PerCt. 22.02 3. 23 .48 .f9 6.70 Total Soluble 8.78 INSOLUBLE I'ART. Carbonate of Lime 12.73 Carbonate of Magnesia 2.76 Sulphate of Lime (Gvpsum) 17 Silica 1.97 33.32 48.42 10.40 66. 6i Total Insoluble 17.53 It will be noted that two-thirds of the entire mineral ingreditntajare insoluble in pure water, and remain dissolved only by the agency of the carbonic acid gas with which the water is charged. Boiling alone should, therefore, so far diminish the mineral contents as to render the remainder too small to be of any consequence. But there is another and easier mode of cor- recting the water for all ordinary purposes. When it is mixed with one-fifth of its bulk of clear lime water, it becomes milky and within an hour or two a white powder settles to the bottom of the tank, leaving the water clear and thereafter unobjectionable to the most delicate stomach ; as also adapted to washing with i soap. The lime water is easily kept on hand at I all times in a barrel containing a handful of quicklime and filled with w ater. Some other waters of the neighborhood were I then cursorily examined as to their total con- It will be noted that all these waters are quite "hard," that is, contain an amount of earthy mineral salts sullicient to require cor- rection before they will readily take soap. The water of Mission creek is the softest, and con- tains the smallest amount of soluble salts; what there is, is almost wholly common salt, and therefore quite unobjectionable. The water of the Mission spring, No. 4, is harder and con- tains in addition to common salt, some gypsum and Glauber's salt. The water of Montealegre's well is quite similar to that of the spring, No. 4, though containing a larger proportion of sol- uble salts. All can be freed from the excess of lime they contain, by the addition of a certain proportion of lime water, which in their case is needed only to the extent of one-fifteenth, in or- der to produce the maximum precipitation of the earthy matters— it is well known that calcare- ous waters, are on the whole considered as con- .65 j ducive to good health, partly for the reason 7 - s * I that they supply liberally one of the important ingredients of bones, and also tend to correct a too acid condition of the gastric juice. Per manent residents therefore rare\y complain of such waters. But it is none the less important to newcomers to possess the means of correct- ing, as far as necessary, the unpleasant effects liable to be experienced at first. From the uniformity of the geological forma- tions for considerable distances in every direc- tion, it is probable that the above analyses are more or less representative of a large propor- tion of the waters of the Santa Clara valley and adjacent mountains, in so far as all are probably of the calcareous class. The heavy deposits of tufa in the Santa Cruz range speak of the lime in its waters; and the same is true in a less de- gree in Livermore valley, on the west side at least. So long as the presence of alkaline and magnesian salts does not complicate matters, , few probably will complain of this peculiarity. E. W. HlLGARD. ' Berkeley, Oct. 23, 188/,.