Artesian wells, or fountains, are made by boring in the earth to a great
depth, till at last water rises to the surface, and often with such
force as to form abundant and elevated jets. The name _artesian_ is
derived from Artois, a province of France, where especial attention has
been given to this means of obtaining water; though it appears from
sufficient evidence, that wells of this kind were well known to the
ancients. Olympiadorus, who flourished in the sixth century at
Alexandria, states that where wells were dug in the oases of the desert
to the depth of two, three or five hundred yards, rivers of water gushed
out from their orifices, of which advantage was taken by agriculturists
to water their fields. The oldest artesian well known in France, is at
Lillers, in Artois, and is said to have been made in 1126. In the great
desert of Sahara, water is said to have been obtained in this way; and
the Chinese, we are told, have practiced it for thousands of years.
Artesian wells are now common in Europe and in the United States. The
artesian well of Grenelle, is a famous fountain of this kind, and as
such is worthy of notice. It is not far from the Hotel des Invalides,
and was undertaken chiefly with reference to the great slaughter-houses
in its vicinity. It was begun January first, 1834, and the boring was
prosecuted during seven years and two months. It opened with a diameter
of twelve inches; at the depth of thirteen hundred feet it was
contracted to six inches. Water was struck at the depth of eighteen
hundred feet, and the entire depth is two thousand feet, or nearly
two-fifths of a mile. The water rose at first in a fine thread, but soon
after it came so rapidly as to injure the machinery. It rose to the
hight of one hundred and twelve feet above the surface; high enough to
flow into the attics of the most lofty houses in Paris, and into many of
its towers. The entire depth of the boring is five and a half times the
hight of the dome of the Hotel of the Invalids, and more than five times
that of the cross on the summit of St. Paul’s, in London. In a diagram
of the strata, seen in section, the cathedral of Strasburg, and the
church of St. Peter, at Rome, are figured at the bottom on the level of
the subterranean fountain, and they appear very humble, compared with
the great distance to the surface of the ground.
The flow of the water was equivalent to six hundred gallons in a minute;
five hundred thousand gallons in twenty-four hours; and the quantity
thus far is not diminished. Some time after the opening of the well, it
flowed bountifully over the top of the tube, and with a force that would
doubtless have raised it to the full hight, although at that time the
upper part of the tube had been removed for repairs. It had collapsed,
and a new tube was about to be inserted; the old tube was twenty-one
inches wide at the top and seven at the bottom; but the new tube was to
be reduced to five inches. It is now, and was formerly, made of
galvanized iron. The temperature of the water, at first, was
eighty-three and three-fourths degrees of Fahrenheit, and it is now
stated to be eighty-five degrees; a degree of permanent heat far
exceeding that of midsummer in Paris. Indeed, it is so warm, that it
does not answer for the use of the slaughter-houses, as was at first
proposed, and they are compelled to resort to water from other sources.
It was quite warm to the touch, when a hand was immersed in it. The
labor attending this boring was immense; and great difficulties were
encountered. The boring instrument broke several times, and fell in.
This happened at the depth of thirteen hundred and thirty-five feet, and
it required incessant labor during fourteen months to recover it. The
government, at whose expense it was prosecuted, was, at times, nearly
discouraged.
Quite recently, in boring an artesian well in Livingston, Alabama, an
_egg_ was brought up from the depth of three hundred and thirty-five
feet below the surface, of which distance, three hundred feet were
through the solid rock. The egg was completely petrified, and perfect in
shape, except in one place where the auger had defaced it. How it came
there, and in what remote age, it might puzzle the wisest geologist or
philosopher to tell!