UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. BULLETIN NO. [In order to render the results of investigations and experiments conducted by the Agricultural De- partment of the University of Cali'ornia more quick- ly and more generally available than has heretofore been done through the annual or biennial reporis, it is proposed to embody hereafter, in the form ot "Bulletins, " to l>e issued ?s o ; ten as may seem de- sirable, reports of results, as well as such other discus- sions, information or answers to questions as may be of general interest. It is io. en tied to make the^: bulletins, as a rule, short enou^n ,or insertion in the daily or weekly papers of ..he Sic'le, and proof-slips of the same will be re 0 i-larly m?il:d to papers apply- ing therefor. The suuoiance ol these bulletins w»" ultimately lie embodied in a moe complete and con nected form, in the annual reporis of the College ot Agriculture.] Examinations of Well and Spring Waters. • i. Water from a bored well, five miles west of Fresno city, at the vineyard of Dr. John Hastings. The proprietor states in regard to this well, that it is 105 feet in depth, the water rising within 12 teetof the surtace. The supply is so large that a steam pump, with a thrte-inch suction pipe, cannot sensibly reduce the water. The water is clear and tasteless, though evi dently hard; it is slightly alkaline when fresh. The solM contents aaiount to 22.3 grains per gallon; of the residue there is again Giaius. Soluble in water 7.1 Insoluble 9. 1 Volatile (water and organic matter) 6. 1 The soluble part is still slightly alkaline, and consists in the main of the sulphate and chloride i of sodium, or Glauber s and common salts, with some gypsum (sulphate of lime), and small amounts of the sulphates of pota&h and mag- nesia, a trace of carbonate of soda. The insoluble part consists chit fly of carbo- nate of magnesia, with some carbouate of lime and silica. This water is well adapted to irrigation, since so large a proportioi >f its solid contents con- sists of lime aud magnesia. For domestic use its hardntss can be abated by boiling or by the use of about one-tenth of its bulk of iime water, when most of the lime and magnesia wul l>e thrown down as a white sediment. It is simi lar in this respect to the waters of the Mi sion Sau Jose, described in a previous l»ulleoin (No. 20), save in so far as it contains more magn ia inste. d of lime, and might in the course of t ; m« amct persons haviug weak digestion. former examinations made on hr. spot have sh«»wn that all well waters near Fresno contain a large amount of lime, with some m Amnesia, which are deposited on boiling. Thus at the Central Colouy, at Mr. T. C. White'b A sam- ple of the crust deposV B in a boih'r by the water on his place, near Fre -no, was sent by Mr. B. Mark". The deposit, whi.:h was hard and almost glassy looking, pioved to be com- post d, in about equal proportions, of the car- bonates of lime and magnesia. It stands prob- ably, thereore, in the same jategory as Mr. White s ; both can be depiived of their excess of earthy ingredients, for domestic purposes, by the use of lime water The latter can be read- ily kept on hand in a barrel into which a hand- ful of iime has been thrown; after rilling with water and stirring, the water will in a short time become clear again, and can then be mixed with the well water which it is desirtd to soften, in such proportions as max be fouad adtqua e. This proportion usually varies be- tween one to eight and one to fifteen, and can readily be ascertained by any one, by trying successively larger measures of lime water, un til the well water does not show any more tur bidity on the addition of more lime water, after allov ing is to settle. The incrusting of kettles can thus be prevented, and delicate stomachs that resent the presence of magnesia, relieved. Water from an artesian well on ihe land of Mr. J. H. Hoskins, south ot Lake Tulare:— Sent by Dr. S. F. Chapin, of San Jose. The depth and exact location of this well are not given. Tne water id clear and tast* less. Grains. Total solid contents per gallon 7 8 Again soluble after evapoi atioo 5 0 Insoluble " " 1.2 Water and organic matter 1 .6 The soluble part consists of a mixture of chloride, Milphate and carbonate of soda, the latter least in amount. The insoluble part consists in the main of carbonate of lime, with a little magnesia and silica. The mineral contents of this well water are remarkably low, especially if, as is presumable, located near Tulare Lake. It resembles more nearly a river than a well water of the region, and may be considered well suited to all pur- poses, whether for irrigation or domestic use. This case seems to confirm the presumption raised in other cases, that excellent artesian water can be obtained in the Tulare region, provided that the influx of the alkaline waters from higher levels be completely excluded by tight tubing. Water from the artesian well at the Stockton Asylum for the Insane.— It will be remembered that the analysis of what was supposed to be this water was reported in a previous bulletin (No. 20). It has since appeared that the water then analyzed was f i om another well (Salmon's), supp >sed o be of the same character, but much stronger in salts than the asylum well. A sam- ple of the latter has since been sent by Mr. \Y. M. Fitzhugh, ass't State engineer; and while the ingredient* of the water were found to be nearly the same in kind as those of the former water, they are very much less in quantity. Tl d data stand as follows: (drains. Total solid contents per gallon 36.6 A.^ain soluble after evaporation 25.4 Insoluble " " 6.5 Organic matter and water 4. 7 As the water of Salmon's well contains 209 grains of salts, it will be noted that the differ- ence in favor of the asylum well water is very considerable, although the amount of salts pres- ent is still oo great for most purposes. Water from a well at the Napa Asylum f. r the Insane, by Dr. L. F. Dozier-This is a dug well, of no great depth; has been used fo some time, and it has been suggested th it it might be contaminated with sewage. The water is clear and tasteless; rather hard. On evaporation it left a residue amountiug to 16 grains per gallon, of which 9.9 grains wee again soluble, and 6.1 grains insoluble. The latter part cou-ists in the main of the carbonates of lime and mag- nesia, with a little gypsum. The soluble part consists prevalently of chloride of sodium, or common salt; also a little of Glauber's salt or sulphate of soda, and chloride of magnesium or bittern. A close examination showed the absence of. nitrates, ammonia salts, or of any objectionable! kind or proportion of organic matter. The saline ingredients of the well are simply de-! lived from tide water in Napa Slough, and are not present in excessive proportions. Water from a surface ice II near Hueneme, | Ventura county; sent by E. 0. Gerbcring, with 1 the following information: — '* The water tastes well, but my neighbors say that such water is highly injurious, not only to plants watered with it but also to the land. [ am ju&t starting a berry patch, and need water to irrigate; the well is close by and contains sufficient water for my purpose, but I am afrai