Imperial Academy of Sciences of St Petersburg. Ill 



which separates the hne of no magnetic variation, to the east of 

 Lake Baikal from the basin of the Caspian Sea, the valleys of 

 the Cyrus, and the frozen summits of Caucasus. At these 

 names the mind involuntarily reverts to that recent struggle, in 

 which the moderation of the conqueror has increased the glory 

 of his arms, which has opened up new paths to commerce, and 

 has ensured the deliverance of Greece, the long abandoned 

 cradle of the civihzation of our ancestors. But it is not in this 

 peaceful assembly that I ought to celebrate the glory of arms. 

 The august monarch, who has deigned to call me to this coun- 

 try, and to smile upon my labours, presents himself to my ima- 

 gination as a peace-making genius. Vivifying by his example 

 all that is true, great, and generous, he has dehghted, since the 

 dawn of his reign, in protecting the study of the sciences which 

 nourish and strengthen the understanding, and that of litera- 

 ture and the arts, which embellish life, and add to the comfort 

 of society. 



On Artesian or Overflowing Wells. 



In some districts of France, England, and North America, 

 the want of good spring-water is supplied very successfully by 

 boring to a considerable depth into the ground, when a great 

 quantity of very pure water rises to the surface, and, in many 

 cases, is even projected to a considerable height above the sur- 

 face of the earth. Wells of this description are called in Eng- 

 land Ovei-flowing Wells, and in France Fontaines jaillissantes, 

 Puits Jw'ts, or Puits Artesiens. The latter name is derived 

 from the circumstance of their having been long in very 

 extensive use in the district of Artois. From thence these 

 wells were introduced into other parts of France, yet, in gene- 

 ral, much more sparingly than might have been expected from 

 their acknowledged utility, and the peculiarly favourable nature 

 of these districts for their employment. For this reason, for 

 these ten years past, several scientific societies, as the SocietS 

 (T Encouragement pour Vlndustrie naiionale, and the Socieie 

 royale et ccntrale d' Agriculture, have offered prizes, to diffuse 

 this useful discovery throughout France ; and in consequence 



