BORING THE EARTH FOR WATER. An economical process has been practised of late years for obtaining water from great depths, without the expense of sinking a well. This process consists simply in boring the earth with an auger and other proper instruments, to a considerable depth; and in most situations water will flow either to the surface, or to within a short distance from it ; in some places it has beeri known to spout to a considerable height above it. It has long been a question whence these springs derive their supply, and how they acquire the power of ascension. The most natural supposition is, that they are connected by subterraneous channels with some elevated reservoir ; but this explanation is not altogether free from difficulty. These "Artesian wells," as they are termed, are to be met with in the middle of extensive plains, at a great distance from any hills, and upon the sides of mountains, which require to be bored to a great depth before the water is attained. At Mount Rouge, at Paris, 80 feet above the level of the Seine, there is one of these wells 315 feet deep. If, therefore, these wells be supplied from an elevated reservoir, it must lie at a very considerable distance from the wells. The implements made use of in the process are extremely simple, and are represented in the engraving on the following page. A is the cross handle of the borer, for two me n to work; B the chisel borer, which is made to screw into A ; C the auger, which also screws into A; D a lengthening rod, having at one end an external screw fitting the screw of A, and at the other end a hollow screw like that in A, so that all the instruments which fit into A may, as occasion requires, be screwed into the lengthening piece D. A great number of these lengthening rods are kept in readiness, which can be screwed one into the other, so as to descend to the depth of several hundred feet. E a forked iron, used to lay across the hole to support the rods at the joints, while the pieces are being screwed and unscrewed ; F a spanner, used to screw on and unscrew the various tools and lengths of rods ; CI a clearing chisel, with a probe or piercer attached to guide it ; H a spring bar, used to produce a vibrating up-and-down motion to the chisel, when used to peck away hard or rocky ground ; I iron chain to connect the cross handle of the tools to the spring bar ; 3 two men at work, boring with the chisel; K the lower pulley of a pair of blocks, suspended to a pair of shears or a triangle above ; L the shears or compasses ; M winch or crane, to work the blocks when great weights are to be raised; 0 three lengths of rods, and the chisel in the act of boring,—perforation about 42 feet. As a preparatory measure, a
large hole is usually dug to the depth of seven or eight feet; at the bottom of which a floor is formed, by means of some planks, for the men to stand on and pace round whilst using the instruments. If the earth is very soft, the only tool requisite is the auger C of three or four inches diameter, which is screwed into the cross handle A, and the perforation is easily effected by the mere turning of it round by two men, as shewn in the drawing. When the auger has penetrated to nearly the depth of the tube, it is withdrawn, and cleared of its contents. It is then let down again, and the perforation is in this manner continued to the whole length of the instrument. To proceed to a greater depth, the lengthening rods, before described, are put in requisition. The auger is detached from the handle by unscrewing it ; a piece of rod D is screwed in its place, and the auger screwed on to the rod. With the instrument thus lengthened seven or eight feet, the boring is renewed by means of the auger, as long as the earth is found to be sufficiently soft and yielding. Whenever it proves otherwise, or hard and rocky, the auger is detached from the rod, and the chisel B, which is from three to four inches in diameter at its edges, is screwed on in its place. If the ground is not very hard, the boring may be continued by the chisel, by the workmen pressing upon it as they turn it round; but when the earth is too hard to be operated upon by a chisel in this way, recourse is had to pecking, which is done by lifting up the instrument, and striking it against the opposing substance till it is chipped away, or reduced to powder to a certain depth. The rod and chisel are then again drawn up, and the auger substituted for the chisel, for the purpose of extracting the pulverized stony matter contained in the hole. The chisel and auger are thus employed alternately where the ground is hard and stony, the one for chipping away or pulverizing, and the other for clearing out. As the perforation deepens, the process of pecking