i £)r\ T)ARWrN*S^^CCCU/lt of 



Near my hftufe was an old welj, about one hundred yards 

 from the river, and about- four yards deep, which had been 

 many years difufed on account of the badnefs of the water, 

 which I found to contain much vjitriohc acid, with, at the 

 fame time, a fliglit fulphureous fmell and tafte ; but did not 

 carefully analyle it. The mouth of tliis well was about four 

 feet above the furface of the river ; and the ground, through 

 which it was funk, confiited of a black, ioofe, moid: earth, 

 \vhich appeared to have been very lately a morafs, and is now 

 covered with houfes buiit upon piles. At the bottom was 

 found a bed of red marl, and the fpring, which was fo ilrong 

 as to give up many hogfheads in a day, oozed from between 

 the morafs and the marl : it lay about eight feet beneath the 

 furface of felie river, and the Water rofe within two feet of the 

 top of the well. 



Having obferved that a very copious fpring, called Saint 

 Alkmund's well, rofe out of the ground about half a mile 

 higher on the fame lide of the Darwent, the level of which I 

 knew by the height of the intervening wier to be about four or 

 £ve feet above the ground about my well ; and having obferved, 

 that the higher lands, at the diftance of a mile or two behind 

 thefe wells, confifted of red marl like that in the well ; I 

 concluded, that, if I fhould bore through this flratum of marl, 

 I might probably gain a water fimilar to that of St. Alkmund*s 

 well, and hoped that at the fame time it might rife above the 

 furface of my old well to the level of St. Alkmund's. 



With this intent a pump was firft put down for the 

 purpofe of more eafdy keeping dry the bottom of the old well, 

 and a hole about two and an half inches diameter was then 

 bored about thirteen yards helow the bottom of the well, 

 till feme fand was brought by the auger. A wooden pipe, 

 4 • ' which 



