Ebbing and Flowing Well. 369 
page 305; in which care has been taken to 
preserve the facts recorded by the author, 
Dr. W. Oliver, in language more concise than 
his own.. “ Lay Well, near Torbay, is about 
“ six feet long, five feet broad, and near six 
“ inches deep ; it ebbs and flows very visibly; 
“and many times inan hour. The recipro- 
‘cations succeed each other more rapidly 
«« when the well is full, than they do when it 
“jis low. When once the fountain began to 
“flow, it performed its flux and reflux in 
“little more than a minute’s time; but the 
“Doctor observed it to stand sometimes two 
‘‘ or three minutes at its lowest ebb; so that 
“it ebbed and flowed about 16 times in an 
« hour, by his watch. So soon as the water 
“began to rise in the well, he saw a great 
“* number of bubbles ascend from the bottom ; 
“ but when the water began to fall, the bub- 
“bling ceased immediately. The Doctor 
«« measured the distance betwixt the high and 
«low water marks, not on a perpendicular 
«line but on aslope, and found it exceeded 
** 5 inches.” : 
The three preceding instances of irregular 
reciprocation undoubtedly diminishes the im- 
portance of the popular theory, by proving 
that it is not of universal application; as it 
only explains the constitution of those foun- 
3A 
