544 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTION'S. [aNNO 1732. 



that his mother had received no fright to his knowledge, whilst she was with 

 child ; and has borne him many other children ; none of which have ever had 

 this, or aiiv other unusual distemper or deformity. 



Fig. 7, pi. 14, represents the back of the boy's hand. 



Fig. S, a portion of this extraordinary epidermis, which was probably a pro- 

 longation of the nervous papillae grown to about the size of common twine 

 packthread ; and these, standing as close together as the bristles in a brush, 

 seemed like them, to be all shorn otFeven, and of the same length, viz. about 

 half an inch above the skin. 



Fig. 9, shows some of these bristles, or stumps, magnified ; where it is 

 visible that some of them are flat at top, others concave ; some pointed like a 

 cone, and others very irregular. 



Conjectures on the Nature of Intermitting and Reciprocating Springs. By Mr. 

 Joseph Ativell, F. R. S. N° 424, p. 301. 



The following conjectures on the subject of intermitting and reciprocating 

 springs, were suggested to Mr. Atwell by the phaenomena of a particular 

 fountain he had seen the winter before. 



The spring is situated at one end of the town of Brixam, near Torbay in 

 Devonshire, and is known by the name of Laywell. It is a long mile distant 

 from the sea, on the north and north-east side of a ridge of hills, lying between 

 it and the sea, and making a turn or angle near this spring. It is situated in 

 the side of those hills, near the bottom, and seems to have its course from the 

 south-west towards the north-enst. There is a constantly running stream 

 which discharges itself near one corner into a basin, about 8 feet in length, and 

 4-i- in breadth ; the outlet of which is at the farthest end from the entrance of 

 the stream, about 3 feet wide, and of a sufficient height. On the outside of 

 the basin are 3 other springs^ which always run, but with streams subject to a 

 like regular increase and decrease with the former. They seem indeed only 

 branches of the former, or rather channels discharging some parts of the con- 

 stantly running water, which could not empty itself all into the basin ; and 

 therefore when, by means of the season, or weather, springs are large and 

 high, on the flux or increase of this fountain, several other little springs are 

 said to break forth, both in the bottom of the basin, and without it, which 

 disappear again on the ebb or decrease of the fountain. All the constantly 

 running streams put together, at the time that he saw them, were more than 

 sufiicient to drive an overshut mill ; and the stream running into the basin, 

 might be about half of the whole. 



