THE ESSEX FIELD CI.UB. 43 



Dunstable Priory Church by Mr. Worthington G. Smith, hon. member of the 

 Club. 



Dr. J. C. Thresh read a paper entitled, "The Shallow and Deep Well Waters 

 of Essex " (see p. 28), which was illustrated by tables of analyses of waters, 

 specially printed for the occasion. 



During the discussion following the paper, Mr. T. V. Holmes remarked on the 

 bearing of Dr. Thresh's observations and analyses on the efficiency of the filtra- 

 tion through a considerable thickness of gravel. Dr. Thresh strongly contrasted 

 the purity of springs from the gravels, such as that underlying the Boulder Cla}', 

 with the impurity of wells in which the water was derived from the same source. 

 This could only be the result of the comparative remoteness of houses and farm- 

 buildings with their cesspools, etc., in the case of the springs in question ; while 

 wells in villages were necessarily situated where the inhabitants could most 

 conveniently and quickly get their supply — in other words, close to their houses 

 and cesspools. This showed the necessity, when water was obtained from super- 

 ficial beds, of ensuring the absence of dwellings, etc., within a certain distance of 

 the source of supply, whether spring or well. Mr. Holmes also alluded to 

 the lack of enthusiasm shown by Essex people in their mineral springs. An 

 attempt was once made to " run " the medicinal well at Hockley, but unsuccess- 

 fully ; and there was a mineral spring on Tyler's Common, near Upmmster, 

 once visited by the Club, but which had never been utilized. Essex people did 

 not care for Epsom Salts. 



Mr. Sworder said many agricultural labourers of Stanford Rivers and Staple- 

 ford Tawney went in hay time and harvest to a spring between Navestock and 

 Brentwood to "take the waters." After a gallon of beer a day, they no doubt 

 needed some little corrective. [Laughter.] 



Prof. Meldola and Mr. G. J Symons, F.R.S., alluded to the value of Dr. 

 Thresh's observations, and trusted he would continue them ; and the former 

 speaker referred to the value of bacteriological mvestigations in all enquiries 

 respecting the hygienic qualities of drinking water. 



Mr. J. M.Wood, C.E.,of the New River Company, remarked that the sinking 

 of a well or bore-hole always afforded an opportunity of obtaining valuable infor- 

 mation of a geological, chemical, hydraulic, and engineering character. Each 

 observer interested probabl}- records the results of his own ])articular science : 

 the consequenc2 was that the information is usually of a disjointed character, in 

 the possession of several individuals, and often difficult to obtain. 



So far as Essex is concerned, Mr. Whitaker had done much in recording in the 

 Journal the geological formations through which wells and bore holes have passed, 

 and now Dr. Thresh was doing most interesting and valuable work in recording the 

 analyses of the surface and underground waters of Essex. But there yet remained 

 much to be done in the county, in studying and especially recording the hydro- 

 geological conditions of water after it had passed into the formations and is 

 beyond the influence of evaporation. 



Little or nothing was known of the underground waters of Essex, say north of 

 a line drawn from Bishop Stortford to Maldon, such, for instance, as the capacity 

 of the formations for storing water, direction of flow of the underground waters, 

 the natural fall, fluctuations of the standing water levels, the effects of rain upon 

 the water levels, high and low water levels, artesian districts — that is, districts in 

 which wells overflow, etc., etc. 



Mr. Wood thougfht that a committee of the Essex Field Club could do 



