9O SPRINGS, RIVERS, CANALS, LAKES, 



two succeeding flows, is sometimes greater, and at other times less, 

 than a similar interval which, the observer may happen to take for 

 his standard of comparison. The rise of the water in the cistern, 

 during the time of the well's flowing, is also equally underlain ; for 

 it varies from one inch, to nine or ten inches, ill the course of a few 

 reciprocations. It is necessary to re murk on the present occasion, 

 that the spring discharges bubbles of air, more or less copiously 

 into the trough; these appear in the greatest abundance at the 

 commencement of a flow, and cease during the ebb, or at least 

 issue from the rock very sparingly at that time. In fact, the appear- 

 ance and disappearance of these bubbles, are circumstances equally 

 inconstant with the rise and fall of the water. 



The irregularities exhibited by the ebbing and flowing well, 

 during my short visit, liiiiiinishcd the respect which I formerly had 

 ibr the popular theory, more especially when considered as a general 

 explanation of reciprocating springs. This change of opinion was 

 suggested by the caprices of the well ; which were loo many ami 

 too singular to be ascribed to the uniform operations of a single 

 siphon, as we have seen already ; and the accidental combination of 

 several siphons in one fountain, is a conjecture too improbable in 

 itself to demand a serious discussion. My suspicions respecting 

 the accuracy of the principle were not a little increased,, by the fol. 

 lowing descriptions of two reciprocating fountains. Weeding Weil, 

 in Derbyshire, appears to be more fickle and uncertain in its recipro- 

 cations, than the \\t\\ at Giggleswkk. Dr. Plot describes this re- 

 markable fountain, at page 41 of his History of Staffordshire, where 

 he reports it to be very uncertain in its motions, ebbing and flowing 

 sometimes thrice in an hour, and at other times not oftener than once 

 in a month; he also quotes the following character of it, to the 

 same import, from a latin poem by Mr. Hobbs. 



" Fons hie teniporibus nee tollitur (ut Mare) certis; 

 ** /Estibus his nullam pvaeh'git Ephemeris horam." 



The following account of a reciprocating fountain is extra* 

 from an article in the second volume of Lowlhorp's Abridgement, 

 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 \YeiJ, near Toibay, is about six feet long, 



