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to plant life. Methods of chemical analysis are wisely left for a separate work and the results of analysis alone are given when a knowledge of the same is necessary to an understanding of the discussion. The nature of the experiments, however, and the manipulation of the same, are given with sufficient fullness to enable the reader to judge of the value of the conclusions. The general arrangement of the book is as follows: Part I. treats of the nutrition of plants, of germination, and of the origin of the organic and inorganic constituents. Part II. makes a study of the atmosphere in its relation to plant life and of the gases influencing this life, of nitrogen, oxygen, carbonic acid, nitric acid, ammonia, etc. Part III. treats of soils, their formation and composition, and of their physical and chemical properties. bibliography, coinciding with the arrangement of the text, completes the work.

A

The author is particularly interesting in his section on nitrification and also in treating of the assimilation of free atmospheric nitrogen by plants and soils. The experiments and conclusions of Berthelot and André are noted as well as those of M. Schloesing, the author concluding with; "Il n'entre pas dans notre programme d'insister davantage sur ces diverses recherches; car nous tentons d'ordinaire à n'avancer que des faits positifs. Ici il ne nous est guère permis de faire un choix entre les opinions produites. Il est à espérer qu'un prochaine avenir levera les doutes qui règnent encore sur ce grave sujet."

The book has the usual exquisite neatness of first-class French publications, with full-bodied paper, clear print and broad margins, making it altogether a most enjoyable volume. CHARLES PLATT.

Outlines of Forestry, or the Elementary Principles Underlying the Science of Forestry. By EDWIN J. HOUSTON. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Co. 254 p. 12°. $1. THIS little book is a useful manual of facts relating to the subject. Among the matters considered are the conditions necessary for the grow`h of plants, distribution over the earth, forma

Delicious

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Horsford's Acid

tion of soil, animate and inanimate enemies of the forest, vapor, rain, drainage, climate, hail, reforestation and tree planting, etc. The last chapter, called “Primer of primers," contains in short, concise sentences the substance of what had been given at length in the earlier chapters. Taken by itself, it would serve a useful purpose in the education of the general public to the importance of the subject.

The book is, perhaps, unfortunately written in a loose and rather slovenly manner. It abounds in repetitions of not only the same ideas, but also of nearly identical words. The following extracts are particularly bad examples, but they fairly represent the ordinary style of the writer: "Heat and light are to be found in practically all parts of the earth. They differ, however, in amount in different regions of the earth, and such differences cause the differences that are noticed in the plants that grow in different regions" "The quantity of moisture in the air differs greatly in different parts of the earth, and on this difference, together with the difference in temperature, depends the differences observed in the plants of various regions." "Each section of the country possesses, so to speak, a nationality in its plants, or, in other words, there lives in each section of country a particular nation of plants. Such a nation of plants, or the plants peculiar to a particular section of country, is called its flora.” The author makes use of a new word, "heatshine," which is rather difficult to define. "The sunshine and the heatshine which awaken the sleeping germ and call it into activity,” etc. In the appendix are given var'ous lists of trees suitable for planting. and these contain some curious errors. For example, under the head of "deciduous trees we find maples, hickories, cedars firs and pines, while under "evergreens" are placed spruce, larch, sweet gum poplar, oak, walnut, etc. In another place we observe under "conifers" bald cypress, red cedar, white pine, black cherry and European alder, while the European larch figures in another table as an evergreeen. Errors of this kind rather detract from the value of the book.

Exchanges.

[Free of charge to all, if of satisfactory character. Address N. D. C. Hodges, 874 Broadway, New York.]

For sale or exchange.-A complete set of the re-
port of the last Geological Survey of Wisconsin,
T. C. Chamberlin, geologist. It consists of four
large volumes, finely illustrated, and upwards of
forty large maps and charts. Will sell for cash or
exchange for a microscope.
Platteville, Wis.

JOSEPH F. JAMES.

Wants.

YOUNG man who has been through the course in mathematics in Princeton University, wishes some tutoring this summer. Rates reasonable. Address P. H Westcott, Cramer's Hill, Camden Co., N. J.

Address Geo. Beck. A GRADUATE of an American Polytechnic insti

For sale or exchange for copper coins or rare postage stamps. Tryon's American Marine Conch

Phosphate, containing hand colored figures of all the

of the Atlantic coast of the United States. Presentation copy, autograph, etc. One vol., half morocco, svo, usual price, 52, postpaid, $15. Botany

with water and sugar only,
only, of the Fortieth Parallel of the Hundredth Meridian
of the Pacific R. R. Survey. Other Botanical works
makes a delicious, healthful and and works on Ethnology. F. A. Hassler, M.D.,
F. A. Hassler, M.D.,
Santa Ana, Cal.

invigorating drink.

I have a fire-proof safe, weight 1,10 pounds, which I will sell cheap or exchange for a gasoline

The safe is nearly new, used a short time

Allays the thirst, aids diges- engine or some other things that may happen to tion, and relieves the lassitude only. Make offers. A. Lagerstrom, Cannon Falls, so common in midsummer.

Minn., Box 857.

For exchange.-Hudson River fossils in good con-
dition from the vicinity of Moore's Hill, Ind., also
land and fresh water shells. Desire fossils and
Geo. C. Hubbari, Moore's Hill, Ind.
shells from other groups and localities. Address

tution and of a German university (Göttingen). seeks a position to teach chemistry in a college or similar institution. Five years' experience in teaching chemistry, Address Chemist, 737 Cary St,

Brockton, Mass.

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fenses, four inches diameter, made by C. C. Harri: WANTED, as principal of a flourishing technical

Dr. M. H. Henry, New York, says: "When completely tired out by pro- For sale at low price.-A fine old-fashioned photographic camera, rosewood box, one foot square, longed wakefulness and overwork, it is son Plateholders, troughs, baths, etc., all in large of the greatest value to me. As a bev-wooden case, formerly the property of the late President Moore, of Columbia College. This is a erage it possesses charms beyond any-fine example of an instrument of the best make for the old wet-process methods, and valuable to any thing I know of in the form of medi-institution or amateur interested in the history of photography in the U. S. Address M. S. Daniel, cine." 236 W. 4th St., New York.

Descriptive pamphlet free.

I wish to exchange a collection of 7,000 shells, 1001 species and varieties, American and foreign, land, fluviatile and marine, for a good microscope Rumford Chemical Works, Providence, R. I. and accessories. Address, with particulars, Dr. Lorenzo G. Yates. Santa Barbara, California. Beware of Substitutes and Imitations. For exchange.-I wish to exchange Lepidoptera of South Dakota and other sections, for Lepidoptera of the world. Will purchase species of North AmerCorrespondence solicited, particularly with collectors in the Rocky Mountains, Pacific coast and Hudson's Bay regions. P. C. Truman, Volga, Brooking county, South Dakota.

ica.

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THE

American Bell Telephone

COMPANY.

125 MILK ST., BOSTON, MASS.

LIGHTNING DESTROYS!

Shall it be your house or a pound of copper?

QUERY.

Can any

reader of Science cite a case of lightning stroke in which the dissipation of a small Entirely new departure in pro-conductor (one-sixteenth of an tecting buildings from lightning. inch in diameter, say,) has failed One hundred feet of the Hodges to protect between two horizonPatent Lightning Dispeller tal planes passing through its structure of an electric telephone to be used (made under patents of N. D. C. upper and lower ends respective

This Company owns the Letters - Patent

No. 186,787, granted to Alexander Graham Bell, January 30th, 1877, the scope of which has been defined by the Supreme Court of the United States in the following terms:

"The patent itself is for the mechanical

to produce the electrical action on which the first patent rests. The third claim is for the

use in such instruments of a diaphragm, Hodges, Editor of Science) will ly? Plenty of cases have been

made of a plate of iron or steel, or other ma

terial capable of inductive action; the fifth, be sent, prepaid,

of a permanent magnet constructed as de

to any ad

scribed with a coil upon the end or ends dress, on receipt of five dollars.

nearest the plate; the sixth, of a sounding box as described; the seventh, of a speaking or hearing tube as described for conveying the sounds; and the eighth, of a permanent magnet and plate combined. The claim is not for these several things in and of them

Correspondence solicited, Agents wanted.

found which show that when the conductor is dissipated the building is not injured to the extent explained (for many of these see volumes of Philosophical Trans

selves, but for an electric telephone in the AMERICAN LIGHTNING PROTECTION CO., actions at the time when light

construction of which these things or any of them are used."

This Company also owns Letters-Patent No. 463,569, granted to Emile Berliner, No

874 Broadway, New York City.

ning was attracting the attention of the Royal Society), but not

vember 17, 1891, for a combined Telegraph Fact and Theory Papers an exception is yet known, al

and Telephone, and controls Letters-Patent No. 474,231, granted to Thomas A. Edison,

though this query has been pubMay 3, 1892, for a Speaking Telegraph, I. THE SUPPRESSION OF CON. which cover fundamental inventions and lished far and wide SUMPTION. By Godfrey W. HAMBLETON, M.D. embrace all forms of microphone transmitters and of carbon telephones.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY.

There is an opening for a young man to open a New York office of the American Lightning Protection Co., operating under my patents. But little capital will be required.

N. D. C. HODGES, 874 BROADWAY, NEW YORK

INDEX

TO VOLUME XVIII OF

SCIENCE

is in preparation, and will be issued at an early date.

N. D. C. HODGES,

874 Broadway, New York, N. Y.

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IV. THE CHEROKEES IN PRE-CO- N. D. C. HODGES, 874 BROADWAY, N. Y.

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CAL CULTURE CHART, with illustrated directions for developing every part of the body healthfully, 50 cts. Sent for half price to those naming this paper.

WHITNEY HOME GYMNASIUM CO., Box D., Rochester, N. Y.

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SCIENCE

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JULY 21, 1893.

Walker Prizes in Natural History.

The Boston Society of Natural History offers a first prize of from $60 to $100 and a second prize of a sum not exceeding $50 for the best memoirs, in English, on one of the following subjects:

1. The relations of inflorescence to cross-fertiliza. tion illustrated by the plants of Eastern Massa, chusetts.

2. What depths of formerly overlying rocks, now removed by denudation, may be inferred from the structure of various rocks in Eastern Massachusetts ?

SINGLE COPIES, TEN CENTS. $3.50 PER YEAR, IN ADVANCE.

USEFUL HAND-BOOKS.

The Ornamental Penman's Pocketbook of Alphabets, for sign-writers, engravers, stone-cutters and draftsmen, 20 cts. A System of Easy Lettering, by Howard Cromwell, 50 cts. Practical Electrics: A Universal Handybook on Every-day Electrical Matters, 135 pp., fully illustrated, 12mo, cloth, 75 cts. 79 pp., with a number of plates to scale, 12mo, cloth, Notes on Design of Small Dynamo, by G. Halliday, $1. The Phonograph and How to Construct It, by W. Gillett, 87 pp., 12 folding plates, 12mo, cloth, $2. SPON & CHAMBERLAIN, Publishers, 12 Cortlandt St., New York. Illustrated and descriptive catalogues, 10 cts.

The Batrachians and Reptiles of Indiana.

3. Experiments affording evidence for or against species of Batrachians and Reptiles, together with the theory of evolution.

Each memoir must be accompanied by a sealed envelope enclosing the author's name and superscribed by a motto corresponding to one borne by the manuscript, and must be handed to the Secretary on or before April 1, 1894.

Prizes will not be awarded unless the memoirs are of adequate merit.

SAMUEL HENSHAW, Secretary.
Boston, July 3, 1893.

NEW METHOD OF PROTECTING BUILDINGS FROM LIGHTNING. SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE HOUSE! Lightning Destroys. Shall it be Your House or a Pound of Copper?

PROTECTION FROM LIGHTNING.
What is the Problem?

IN seeking a means of protection from lightning-discharges, we have in view two objects,-the one the prevention of damage to buildings, and the other the prevention of Injury to life. In order to destroy a building in whole or in part, it is necessary that work should be done; that is, as physicists express it, energy is required. Just before the lightning-discharge takes place, the energy capable of doing the damage which we seek to prevent exists in the column of air extending from the cloud to the earth in some form that makes it capable of appearing as what we call electricity. We will therefore call it electrical energy. What this electrical energy is, it is not necessary for us to consider in this place; but that it exists there can be no doubt, as it manifests itself in the destruction of bulldings. The problem that we have to deal with, therefore, is the conversion of this energy into some other form, and the accomplishment of this in such a way as shall result in the least injury to property and life.

Why Have the Old Rods Failed?

When lightning-rods were first proposed, the science of energetics was entirely undeveloped; that is to say, in the middle of the last century scientific men had not come to recognize the fact that the different forms of energy heat, electricity, mechanical power, etc.- were convertible one into the other, and that each could produce just so much of each of the other forms, and no more. The doctrine of the conservation and correlation of energy was first clearly worked out in the early part of this century. There were, however, some facts known in regard to electricity a hundred and forty years ago; and among these were the attracting power of points for an electric spark, and the conducting power of metals. Lightning-rods were therefore introduced with the idea that the electricity existing in the lightning-discharge could be conveyed around the building which it was proposed to protect, and that the building would thus be saved.

The question as to dissipation of the energy involved was entirely ignored, naturally; and from that time to this, in spite of the best endeavors of those Interested, lightning-rods constructed in accordance with Franklin's principle have not furnished satisfactory protection. The reason for this is apparent when it is considered that the electrical energy existing in the atmosphere before the discharge, or, more exactly, in the column of dielectric from the cloud to the earth, above referred to, reaches its maximum value on the surface of the conductors that chance to be within the column of dielectric; so that the greatest display of energy will be on the surface of the very lightningrods that were meant to protect, and damage results, as so often proves to be the case.

It will be understood, of course, that this display of energy on the surface of the old lightning-rods is aided by their being more or less insulated from the earth, but in any event the very existence of such a mass of metal as an old lightning-rod can only tend to produce a disastrous dissipation of electrical energy upon its surface,-"to draw the lightning," as it is so commonly put.

Is there a Better Means of Protection?

Having cleared our minds, therefore, of any idea of conducting electricity,

A Work of 204 pages, with 3 plates of 12 figures. Contains full descriptions of nearly one hundred abundant notes on their habits. The identification of the species made easy by means of analytical tables. By O. P. Hay, Ph.D. Price, in paper cover, postpaid, $1.00.

Bowen-Merrill Book Co, Indianapolis, Ind.

GERMANIA A monthly magazine for the study

of the German language and literature. is highly recommended by college professors and the press as "the best effort yet made to assist the student of German, and to interest him in his pursuit." Its BEGINNERS' CORNER furnishes every year a complete and interesting course in German grammar. $2 a year. Single copies 20 cents. P. O. Box 151, Manchester, N. H.

As the electrical energy involved manifests itself on the surface of conductors, the improved rod should be metallic; but, instead of making a large rod, suppose that we make it comparatively small in size, so that the total amount of metal running from the top of the house to some point a little below the foundations shall not exceed one pound. Suppose, again, that we introduce numerous insulating Joints in this rod. We shall then have a rod that experlence shows will be readily destroyed-will be readily dissipated - when a discharge takes place; ani it will be evident, that, so far as the electrical energy is consumed in doing this, there will be the less to do other damag).

The only point that remains to be proved as to the utility of such a rod is to show that the dissipation of such a conductor does not tend to injure other bodles in its immediate vicinity. On this poin: I can only say that I have found no case where such a conductor (for instance, a bell wire) has been dissipated, even if resting against a plastered wall, where there has been any material damage done to surrounding objects.

Of course, it is readily understood that such an explosion cannot take place in a confined space without the rupture of the walls (the wire cannot be boarded over); but in every case that I have found recorded this dissipation takes place just as gunpowder burns when spread on a board. The objects against which the conductor rests may be stained, but they are not shattered, I would therefore make clear this distinction between the action of electrical energy when dissipated on the surface of a large conductor and when dissipated on the surface of a comparatively small or easily dissipated conductor. When dissipated on the surface of a large conductor, a conductor so strong as to resist the explosive effect,-damage results to objects around. When dissipated on the surface of a small conductor, the conductor goes, but the other objects around are saved

A Typical Case of the Action of a Small Conductor. Franklin, in a letter to Collinson read before the London Royal Society, Dec. 18, 1755, describing the partial destruction by lightuing of a church-tower at Newbury, Mass, wrote, "Near the bell was fixed an iron hammer to strike the hours; and from the tall of the hammer a wire went down through a small gimlet-hole in the floor that the bell stood upon, and through a second floor in like manner; then horizontally under and near the plastered ceiling of that second floor, till it came near a p'astered wall; then down by the side of that wall to a clock, which stood about twenty feet below the bell. The wire was not bigger than a common knitting needle. The spire was split all to pieces by the lightning, and the parts flung in all directions over the square in which the church stood, so that nothing remained above the bell. The lightring passed between the hammer and the clock in the above-mentioned wire, without hurting either of the floors, or having any effect upon them (except making the gimlet-holes, through which the wire passed, a little bigger), and without hurting the plastered wall, or any part of the building, so far as the aforesaid wire and the pendulum-wire of the clock extended; which latter wire was about the thickness of a goose-qu'll. From the end of the pendulum, down quite to the ground, the buil iing was exceedingly rent and damaged. . . . No part of the aforementioned long, small wire, between the clock and the hammer, could be found, except about two inches that hung to the tail of the hammer, and about as much that was fastened to the clock; the rest being exploded, and its particles dissipated in smoke and air, as gunpowder is by common fire, and had only left a black smutty track on the plastering, three or four inches broad, darkest in the middle, and fainter towards the edges, all along the ceiling, under which it passed, and down the wall." One hundred feet of the Hodges Patent Lightning Dispeller (made under patents of N. D. C. Hodges, Editor of Science) will be mailed, pos:paid, to any address, on receipt of five dollars ($5).

Correspondence solicited. Agents wanted.

and keeping clearly in view the fact that in providing protection against light-AMERICAN LIGHTNING PROTECTION CO., ning we must furnish some means by which the electrical energy may be harmlessly dissipated, the question arises, "Can an improved form be given to the rod so that it shall aid in this dissipation?"

874 Broadway, New York Citv.

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"We strongly recommend Dr. Brinton's Races and Peoples' to both beginners and scholars. We are not aware of any other recent work on the -Asiatic Quarterly.

With thirty-two Illustrations and a Map. science of which it treats in the English language."

12°. $1.50.

"This is a sprightly narrative of personal inci dent. The book will be a pleasant reminder to many of rough experiences on a frontier which is rapidly receding."-Boston Transcript.

"The picture of our desolate North-western territory twenty-five years ago, in contrast with its civilized aspect to-day, and the pleasant features of the writer's style, constitute the claims of his little book to present attention."-The Dial.

New York, N. Y. N. D. C. HODGES, 874 Broadway, N. Y.

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POPULAR MANUAL OF VISIBLE SPEECH AND VOCAL PHYSIOLOGY.

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"His book is an excellent one, and we can heartily recommend it as an introductory manual of ethnology."-The Monist.

"A useful and really interesting work, which deserves to be widely read and studied both in Europe and America."-Brighton (Eng.) Herald.

"This volume is most stimulating. It is written with great clearness, so that anybody can understand, and while in some ways. perforce, superficial, grasps very well the complete field of humanity."The New York Times.

"Dr. Brinton invests his scientific illustrations and measurements with an indescribable charm of narration, so that Races and Peoples.' avowedly a record of discovered facts, is in reality a strong stimulant to the imagination."-Philadelphia Public Ledger.

"The work is indispensable to the student who requires an intelligent guide to a course of ethnographic reading."-Philadelphia Times.

Price, postpaid, $1.75.

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What do you want? Let us know. weN. D. C. HODGES, 874 Broadway, N. Y.

can supply you The Clemens News

N. D C. HODGES, 874 Broadway, N. Y. Agency, Box 2329, San Francisco, Cal.

The Boston Medical and

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BOSTON,

Surgical Journal.

1

MASSACHUSETTS.

A FIRST-CLASS WEEKLY MEDICAL NEWSPAPER. ESTABLI HED 1828.

Terms of Subscription: In the United States, and to Canada and Mexico, $5 00 a year in ad vance. To Foreign Countries embraced in the Universal Postal Union, $1 56 a year additional. Single numbers, 15c. Ten consecutive numbers free by mail on receipt of $1.00

This JOURNAL circulates chiefly through the New England States, and is seen by the great majority of the profession in that important district As a means of reaching physicians it is unequalled.

It is under the editorial management of Dr. George R. Shattuck, assisted by a large staff of competent coadjutors. Subscriptions and advertisements received by the undersigned, to whom remittances by mail should be sent by money-order, draft or registered letter.

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LABORATORY MICROSCOPES.

The Reichert III (vertical, No 8) is a favorite pattern for laboratory work, and is fitted with his best lenses.

We are prepared to import the above instruments, duty free, for educational institutions, at extremely low prices. Correspondence So'icited.

QUEEN & CO.,

Sole Agents. Philadelphia.

NEW YORK, JULY 21, 1893.

THE SOUTH DAKOTA ARTESIAN BASIN.

BY W. S. HALL, M.S., M.D., HAVERFORD COLLEGE, HAVERFORD, pa. THE State of South Dakota is about 320 miles long by 210 miles wide. The Missouri River crosses the middle of the north boundary and flows south-southeast till it reaches the north boundary of Nebraska, when it sweeps around to the east and forms the boundary line between South Dakota and Nebraska. Five great water-courses pass down the long slope of the high plains from the western boundary of the State to the Missouri River. The largest of these is the Cheyenne River, furnishing a drainage channel for the Black Hills, which lie partly in South Dakota and partly in Wyoming. A few small, short streams flow from the east into the Missouri. The James River (formerly called Dakota River) flows in a very direct course, south by east, across the State, bisecting the part of the State east of the Missouri River. The James River valley is a broad plain fron 1,200 feet to 1,300 feet above sea-level. As early as 182 artesian wells were drilled at different places in the valley with the hope of securing a more abundant supply for the cities and villages which were so rapidly outgrowing their water-supply.

The uniform success in getting water, the abundant supply, the good quality, and the great force with which it was ejected began to attract general attention. It has been demonstrated by numerous and widely distributed experiments that the whole James River valley is an artesian basin. Geologists and engineers seem to agree that it is the most wonderful artesian basin in the world. The source and limit of the water-supply of this region have been the subject of careful and extended investigations by both Federal and State commissions. In this brief paper the writer will endeavor to give the results of these investigations to date.

1. The soure of the supply of water.

There are three general requirements that must be satisfied in seeking for the source of supply of an artesian basin :

I. The source must be as high as the greatest height to which the water, in any well tapping the basin, will rise.

II. The amount of rainfall on the source-area must be adequate to account for the supply of the basin.

III. The geological formations between the source and the basin must be such as to allow the passage of the water through a pervious stratum between two impervious strata.

Several theories exist as to the source of the supply in the basin in question: (a) The Great Lakes; (b) the Canadian lakes; (c) Devil's Lake. North Dakota; (d) the Missouri River; (e) the elevated region west of the Missouri River, including the foot-hills and the east slope of the Rocky Mountains.

Let us apply the three requirements stated above to the regions just named.

The height to which the water of the Redfield, South Dakota, well would rise, if the tube were extended, is 1,700 feet A. T.1 There are other wells north and west of Redfield whose water would rise to a greater height. The well at Highmore has a flow of nine gallons and a pressure of twelve pounds at an altitude of 1,90 feet. But the altitude of the Great Lakes and of the Canadian lakes is many hundred feet below that height. The altitude of Devil's Lake is about 1,440 feet,' and the altitude of the Missouri River where it enters South Dakota is not over 1,500 feet.

3

"Artesian and Underflow Investigation," Part II., Col. E. S. Nettleton, Chief Egin er. Apper dices XVIII., XIX., and XX.

2 "Artesian & d Underground Investigation," Part IV., F. B. Coffin, Engineer for South Fakota,

American Geological Railroad Guide. Macfarlane.

It therefore follows that neither the Great Lakes, the Canadian lakes, nor Devil's Lake can be the source. Nor can the Missouri River within the State be the source. We are now confined to our last alternative, --the elevated region west of the Missouri River, which may, for convenience, be considered under two heads: (1) The High Plains, and (2) The Foot-Hills of the Rockies. (1) The high plains attain an altitude of 1,900 feet about 50 miles west of the Missouri River. They satisfy requirement İ.

An idea of the water-supply of an artesian basin can be gotten only by finding the amount of water that can be drawn off without lessening the flow and pressure of individual wells. W. P. Butler, engineer of Aberdeen, South Dakota, under date of June, 1892, says that "two hundred wells have already been put down in North and South Dakota." The same engineer gives a "Table of twenty-four South Dakota wells showing flow in gallons per minute." The range of discharge, as shown by this table, is from 150 gallons to 7,000 gallons per minute; the intermediate points seem to be sufficiently represented to indicate that the table is fairly representative. Taking this table as a basis, the average flow of a South Dakota artesian well is 1,655 gallons per minute. Two hundred wells would, at that rate, discharge 685 million tons per annum. No diminution in the pressure of any of the wells has been detected. The limit has, therefore, not yet been approached. Now many times the amount annually discharged by the South Dakota artesian wells falls each year upon the high plains (region e, 1) west of the Missouri River in South Dakota; but the rapid evaporation from the surface, the ready drainage into the Missouri River, and the impervious shales beneath the surface preclude the possibility of the high-plain rainfall taking any appreciable part in the water-supply of the basin. Driven now to our last alternative, let us apply our three tests in succession.

I. The elevation of the foot-hills varies from 3,000 feet to 8,000 feet above sea-level, which is certainly sufficient altitude above the James River valley to overcome the resistance and give the wells a high pressure 240 to 600 miles away.

II. The annual rainfall in the foot-hills is greater per given area than on the high plains."

The area of the foot-hills, whose rainfall can get access to the water-bearing rocks, is not far from 40,000 square miles, upon which area not less than 69,600 million tons of water fall per annum, which is one hundred times as much as that drawn annually from the artesian basin of the Dakotas.

8

III. The geological formation between the Black Hills and the James River valley is well shown by the accompanying figure. A glance at this figure will show that water entering the porous Dakota sandstone above Rapid City will produce the conditions for an artesian flow in the region of the James River and the Missouri River. The lower altitude of the former will make the flow stronger there, even though it be farther away from the source. The increasing altitude as one goes west from the Missouri River will undoubtedly decrease or wholly prevent a flow. Any geological section taken across the Dakotas from east to west would be similar to the one shown. Wherever the section would pass through foot-hills or mountain ranges the upturned edges of the absorbing strata would crop out.

The three requirements being satisfied by the last region tested, it has been demonstrated beyond a shadow of doubt that the source of the water-supply of the James River artesian basin is 4"Artesian and Underflow Investigation," Part IV., F. B. Coffin.

5 Irrigation Manual. W. P. B. p. 9.

• Irrigation Manual. W. P. B. p. 38

7 Irrigation Manual, W. P. Butler, p. 91, "On the high plain the rainfall is

15 to 20 inches, while in the Black Hills it is 20 to 30 inches per annum."

8 "Irrigation and Underflow Investigation," Part III., Special Report by Professor G. E. Culver, State Geologist.

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