109 



Now of this 3,307 tons of water which falls annually on each 

 acre in the Dover district, part is evaporated, part flows away 

 directly into the various streams, and part sinks into the ground 

 and helps to form the immense reservoir of water which is con- 

 tained in the chalk beds of this part of Kent. This reservoir is 

 tapped by various wells, and empties itself at the numerous springs 

 which exist wherever the saturated chalk is in contact with 

 impervious strata suitably inclined. It may surprise many of my 

 hearers to learn that there are over 20 streams flowing down from 

 underneath the chalk cliffs between Dover and St. Margaret's Bay. 

 Some of these discharge large volumes of water. One, at St. Mar- 

 garet's Bay, itself dicharges 2,750,000 gallons per day into the sea, 

 one at the part of the cliffs known as Frenchman's Fall discharges 

 one and a half million gallons per day, and one at the 

 Convict Station pours away into the sea over a million gallons. 

 Thus three of the springs out of the twenty discharge over five 

 and a half million gallons of water per day. The spring at Lydden 

 Spout dischai'ges over four million gallons daily. There is there- 

 fore running to waste along three or four miles of the neighbouring 

 coast, more water in a day than would sufiice for the whole of 

 Dover for a week. The recent Parliamentary Commission on the 

 water supply of the Metropolis, turned its attention to these 

 springs, as a possible future source of water supply for London. 



The depth of the well at the pumping station at Castle Knowl, 

 Dover, is 220 feet, and, on the average, six and three-quarter 

 million gallons are pumped up each week with the average con- 

 sumption of nine and a half tons of coal. The water is clear and 

 palatable, and not excessively hard. I shall now give you three or 

 four Tables embodying the analytical results of several eminent 

 chemists. They are perhaps somewhat confusing, as the results 

 are given in different forms, and they exemplify the crying need of 

 some understanding amongst analysts as to the best method of 

 stating the results of water analysis. 



The first analysis is that of Dr. Letheby. He found in an 

 imperial gallon (70,000 grains) of Dover water the following : — 



