1898] NOTES AND COMMENTS 303 



Natural Gas ix Sussex 



So long ago as 1875 Mr Henry Willett noticed the discovery of an 

 inflammable natural gas while conducting the Netherfield Boring. 

 In 1895 another discovery was made while boring for water at the 

 new Heathiield Hotel, in the parish of Waldron, East Sussex. 

 Here, at a depth of 2 28 feet, the foreman noticed that the water in 

 the bore was " boiling," and on applying a candle the gas caught fire 

 and burnt " to about the height of a man." The third discovery 

 was made in August 189G, formed the subject of a paper 

 in our August number, and is now fully described by Mr 

 Charles Dawson and Dr J. T. Hewitt in the Quarterly Journal of 

 the Geological Society for August 1898. About 100 yards from the 

 hotel, in a cutting, the London and Brighton Railway Company, 

 desiring better water supply for their engine tank, put down a 

 6 -inch bore. Gas was noticed for some time, but when the bore 

 had reached 312 feet from the level of the permanent way, the 

 rush was so pronounced that on a match being applied a flame shot 

 up, which was extinguished with difficulty by damp cloths. The 

 gas continued to increase in volume, but as the bore failed to supply 

 the necessary water, it was abandoned at 377 feet. The tubes were 

 then withdrawn, with the exception of the last, to which an iron 

 cap was screwed with an |-inch bend and stop-cock. A con- 

 tinuous escape for eighteen months has occurred with a pressure of 

 15 lbs. to a square inch in March and one of 20 lbs. on June 11 

 this year. Analyses were made by Mr S. H. Woodhead, which 



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The lowest part of the bore seemed to be in the Purbeck strata, 

 which are known to contain a little bituminous matter. But it 

 seems more likely that the gas comes from the underlying Kim- 

 meridge clay, which was richer in petroleum the lower it was 

 penetrated by the Sub-Wealden Boring in 1875. 



