TIDAL PHENOMENA OF THE ST. JOHN KIVER. (J7 



■only, for there is none such anywhere ; nor can we limit the ^\()id 

 tide to cases in which forced viljrations and free vibrations are 

 mixed, for it is probable that in the Bay of Fundy itself we have 

 mostly, if not altogether, a free motion of the water, started 

 no doubt by the forcible motions imparted to adjacent parts 

 of the Atlantic. Tides aie in fact those forced motions or free 

 motions which may be traced liack ultimately to the attractions 

 (jf sun and moon. And in this sense it is evident that the rise 

 and fall in a river is a true tide. Thus the tides in the River 

 St. John are a mixture of a " backing-up " and a flow of salt 

 -water upwards, but this flow of salt water never extends to any- 

 thing like the distance at which the " backing up " is perceptible. 

 Along with these motions we have complications produced by 

 Avind effects and barometric effects. I am aware that some points 

 in this account may be disputed, but I shall attempt to justify 

 the statements in the coui^se of what follows. 



III. The River St. John. 



It will be necessary to state l^riefly a few of the physical 

 featur'es of the river which seem of most importance in the pre- 

 sent connection. We shall only be concerned with the last 

 ninety miles of its length. Just above Springhill (ninety miles 

 from mouth) rapids occur. From Springhill to the mouth of 

 the Belleisle, the general course of the river is between east and 

 south-east, and the river is comparatively shallow and sluggish. 

 Below this comes the Long Reach, a straight clear part of the 

 river, the general direction of which is south-west. This ends at 

 Westfield and the liver again takes a southerly direction, enlarg- 

 ing greatly to form Grand Bay and receiving on the east the 

 waters of the Kennebecasis, a large, wide tributary. Below 

 Grand Bay, the river greatly contracts at the Narrows, expands 

 again at Indiantown, then contracts again and meets with short 

 " rapids " and then rushes through a short and very narrow gorge 

 (only one hundred yards wide) into St. John harbour. The term 

 " Falls," often applied to this outlet, more properly belongs to 

 rapids above the outlet. The occurrence of islands is of impor- 



