test boring; test drilling
Obsolete term for exploratory boring or drilling, especially in geological surveys or mining. Replaced in modern Japanese by 試錐 (しすい) or the loanword ボーリング.
See also: ボーリング
The term 試鑽 often appears in geological survey reports from the Meiji period.
This old document records that they searched for underground coal seams by test boring.