432 Transactions. 



In his paper entitled " The Behaviour of Two Wells at the Canterbury 

 Museum " (Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 28, p. 654, 1896) Captain Hutton states that 

 a fall of from 2| in. to 2| in. per year has taken place in the case of first- 

 stratum wells, and as much as 5| in. per year in the case of second-stratum 

 wells. Comparing Captain Hutton's record of the height of the Museum 

 well in 1895 with its height now, it is found that it has fallen off 53| in. 

 in the fifteen years which have elapsed, thus giving an average yearly drop 

 of 3-6 in. It is therefore falling off at a slower rate now than when Captain 

 Hutton made his observations. In the paper just cited Captain Hutton also 

 gives his observations on the height of the wells relative to the weather- 

 conditions, &c. He notes the rapid response to rain ; an occasional rise, 

 apparently inexplicable on any known cause ; a marked evening rise, which 

 he attributes to a lessening of the call on the wells towards evening. He 

 failed to find any tidal effect or any trace of variation in sympathy with 

 floods in the Waimakariri. 



These observations are being continued at the present time by the 

 author, and also by Dr. Hilgendorf, of Lincoln College, but it is too 

 early to make any definite statement as to their trend, except that the 

 influence of rain and the existence of the evening rise are undoubted. 

 It was hoped that a variation in sympathy with the barometer might 

 be detected, which might explain the evening rise to a certain extent, 

 and also the non-response of floods in the Waimakariri, which usually, come 

 at a time of low barometer. It is possible that the effect of floods in the 

 Waimakariri may be just sufficient to mask the effect due to low barometer, 

 and the isolation of the two separate effects may be a matter of consider- 

 able difficulty. The- present author has received from very reliable observers 

 so many authentic statements of the influence of the Waimakariri on 

 rams and wells that the idea cannot be set aside as quite without fomida- 

 tion, and further observations are necessary to establish or disprove it. 

 The undoubted eff'ect of the barometer on the flow of wells must also be 

 taken into accomit, and future observations may settle the question. At 

 the same time, it must be admitted that the observations at the Museum 

 may lead to no very definite result, owing to the disturbing influence of 

 neighbouring wells, but much more may come of those which are being made 

 at Lincoln under the direction of Dr. Hilgendorf, since the wells there are 

 comparatively isolated. 



The greatest rise above the surface of the gromid in the wells I have 

 examined is that of a well in Manchester Street North, which reached as 

 high as 37 ft. from a 451 ft. level ; but a large number of others give a height 

 nearly as much as this when sunk to about the same depth. As a general 

 rule, the height increases with the depth, but there are a few cases where 

 variations in permeability seem to exert a neutralizing effect on the depth. 



Amount of Flow. 



The amount of flow per minute is very variable, and lies between zero 

 and 100 gallons, and it is possible that greater flows occur of which I have 

 no record. As a general rule, the quantity is greater at the deeper levels 

 of each well, though with marked exceptions. The well just cited above 

 as giving a very high rise yielded 40 gallons per minute at the surface from 

 a bed 451 ft. deep, a flow of 20 gallons from one 386 ft. deep, but one of 

 60 gallons from the 296 ft. level, thus showing clearly that the amount 

 does not altogether depend on the depth. I am informed by Mr. Osborne 



