[ 125 J 



II. On the Temperature of the Springs, Wells and Rivers of India and Egypt 

 and of the Sea and Tablelands within the Tropics. By Captain Newbold, 

 Madras Army, F.R.S. 



Received January 1, 1842, — Read February 22, 1844*. 



Professor Jameson, in his chapter on the hydrography of India, justly remarks, 

 " Although India, like other great tracts of country, contains many springs, these 

 have hitherto attracted but little attention. The temperature of but few of them is 

 known ; their magnitudes and geognostical situations are scarcely ever mentioned ; 

 and their chemical composition, excepting in a very few instances, has been neglected. 

 The most important feature in the natural history of common or perennial springs, 

 namely their temperature, is rarely noticed, although a knowledge of this fact is illus- 

 trative, not only of the mean temperature of the climate, but also of the elevations of 

 the land above the level of the sea; and our information in regard to their chemical 

 nature is equally meagre -{-." Since the publication of these remarks, much has 

 been done by Prinsep and others in these branches of Indian hydrography, but more 

 remains to be effected before this reproach can be wiped out. The heat of springs 

 having a temperature little above the mean of that of the surrounding country has 

 been rarely noticed, though I feel convinced many such exist in India. That of 

 springs of high temperature, more attractive to the casual observer, has been more 

 remarked. 



My own observations, and the few inferences I have ventured to draw from some 

 of them, are not offered as sufficient data for the establishment of laws, but merely 

 as a contributory mite to knowledge ; in the view of courting inquiry and observation 

 by others more competent and better situated for continued research than myself. 

 The thermometric observations have been snatched generally on the line of march, 

 or during hasty travel : since my return to England, through the kindness of Mr. 

 Roberton, they have been adjusted to the indications given by the standard ther- 

 mometer of the Royal Society. 



The observations extend at irregular intervals from Alexandria to Malacca, or 

 from 31° 13' of north latitude to within 2° 14' north from the equator ; and between 

 the meridians of 27° and 103° of east longitude. I had continued those on the tem- 

 perature of the sea as far as the Bosphorus and Black Sea, but have judged them 



* This paper having unfortunately been mislaid after its receipt hj the late Assistant Secretary, the reading 

 of it was thus necessarily delayed. — S.H.C. 

 t Ed. Cab. Cyc. No. 8. p. 287. 



