43^ 



On the Means of obtaining IVater. . 



[Dec. t, 



fed from its noxious qualities, and fuffi- 

 ciently fot't for the purpoCcs of biewinpr, 

 waftiiiig, and tea-making. It is neccflarv 

 to remark, that fiicli receptacles fliould 

 b(' thnron5;lily cleaned, and the materials 

 for liltrat ion renewed at fiilhciently fre- 

 (^ucnt periods. 



Ilain-\\ ater, fo valuable from its fu- 

 perior pnrity, is perhaps no where made 

 the inou ni in this country. It is affirm- 

 ed that t!ie moft excellent and wholc- 

 fomc beer is inude from this water : and 

 further, that it \\ 111 produce tlie greatell 

 rjuantity of beer from a given quantity 

 of inalt. The roofs of the dwellings 

 and of all the out-houfes fliould be at 

 fnft conflructed in the moll advantageous 

 mode for catching the rain, and after- 

 wards kept in a clean and unobftruClcd 

 ftatc, citterns being prcjiarcd for the 

 prefei-vation of the water. In Portugal, 

 channels arc made on the tops of the 

 garden wnlls, and in the walks, in order 

 to obtain every pollible uipplyof the ne- 

 ccflary fluid. 



With refpccl to the difcovery of fprin>:s 

 it has been faid, that in England you 

 may find water any « here, provided you 

 po deep enough. Dnubilefs people are 

 often deterred by the labour and ex- 

 pence, felting thofe jierhaps at a need- 

 lefs excefs, and thence fubjocting tl'.em- 

 iclves to ihifts and inconveniences which 

 might be avoided. The difcovery of 

 fprings is a practical point in geology 

 very well known. They may be gene- 

 rally foiiud above any inoiit or moraJly 

 plain, the moillurc of which fliews that 

 fprings exift on the ftr;<ta beneath. 

 Kulhes, coltsfoot, and the various a(|ua- 

 tic herbs, are certain indications of fprings 

 at no veiy confideriible ilepih Iroui the 

 furfacc. In any cafe, the experimental 

 application of the hover will determine 

 the degree of fucccfs w hich may be cx- 

 petlcd, and where labour may be niofl 

 profitably expended. ^V'^ere the water 

 rifes with great force through holes pierc- 

 ed by the borer into a deep Ifratum, it 

 is liable to bring up along with it much 

 fand, fb as fometin)es to ohfirutf its paf- 

 fage; which land, in this e;ife, muft be 

 frequently removed for a tew days, in 

 order to the re-application ol the auirer. 

 I'or a remarkable mflan9e of this, fee a 

 Jate volume of iht? PhilofopLical Tranf- 

 a(t'ti(.ns. Mr. VVullJamy funk a well 2o(> 

 feet deep, and 4 feet wide ; and on their 

 Ijoring a few feet lower, with a five inch 

 bortr, fo jnuch land arofe, with a violent 

 fireani of ^\atir, as to fill up the whole 

 •iv*'llj. whicUwas repeatedly tleartd away 



by buckets in its fluid ftate, and at laft 

 the water ran over the furface to the 

 aniount of 46 gallons in a minute. Jrr 

 linking the King's-well at Sheernefs, the 

 water rofc 300 feet above its fource in 

 the well (Phil. Tranf. vol. 74). At Hart- 

 ford, Connecticut in America, a well 

 was dug 70 feet before water was found ; 

 when on boring an auger-hole through a 

 rock, the water rofe fo quick as to induce 

 great dithculty in keeping it dry by 

 pumps until the whole could be blown 

 larger by gunpowder ; w Inch was no 

 fooner accompliflicd, than the well filled 

 and ran ovei', and has been a brook 

 nearly a century. lu Lancalhire, York- 

 ihire, Surrey and Suficx, they are ac- 

 cultomed to bore for water to a certain 

 depth; when found, it rifes high enough 

 to flow over the furfacc : whence it is 

 highly probable, that fuch artificial fprings, 

 fublervieut botii to domeftic and agricul- 

 tui-al purpofes, might be produced when- 

 ever wanted, at no unreafonable and 

 forbidding expence, and even at a cheap 

 rate in many favourable fituatioiis. 



In a fituation where water riiay be 

 found V. ith no great difficulty, the finking 

 a well is ii) common a bulincfs, that few 

 villages are without an engineer capable 

 of tile talk, and the only wonder is that 

 the >vant fhould exitl of a convenience 

 fo cafily attainable. But the cafe is 

 widely different where, from the unfa- 

 vourable nature of the ground to be 

 worked upon, to obtain an adequate fup- 

 ply of water muft require much labour 

 and expence, and conliderable fkilL 

 Here the firit expence (in the common 

 phrafe) is ever the heft, and molt truly 

 economical ; and the ineafure proper to 

 be purlucd is, at once to engage an en- 

 gineer of reputation from one of thofe 

 dilh'i^Ms where timihu- works of ditiiculty 

 have been Ikilfully and fuccofsfully com- 

 plefed. I fpeak feelingly in this cafe ; 

 ha\ii!g more than once thrown away con- 

 liderabr'- funis in certain works, from 

 not taking dccifive meafures in the lirlt 

 inlhuiri*. 



It has been obferved, that digging 

 wells in fauriy ;aid crumbling foils is ofteu 

 attended wi'ii conliderable danger to the 

 labourers, and indeed fatal accidents 

 have fo happened. The following tbcure 

 method iias been ia life, probably for a 

 century or more, in fbme parts of the 

 coiintrv : it msiv vet be unknown in 

 others", or improvements may have arifeu 

 and fuperfeded the ancient method. The 

 ground «as firft opened on the furface 

 to the propofed circumference of the 

 ' bottopj 



