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XXX. 



ON THE TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER OF BALLYNOE 

 SPRINGS, NEAR QUEENSTOWN. By Pkof. EDWARD 

 HULL, L.L.D., F.R.S., F.G.S. 



[Eead December 12, 1888.] 



Having been invited by the Town Commissioners of Queenstown 

 to report on the Ballynoe Springs with a view to their utilization 

 for the supply of the Township, I visited the district towards the 

 end of last year (1887), and have made observations on the phe- 

 nomena connected with the outburst of these springs, some of 

 which — and especially those on the temperature of the water — may 

 be worthy of record in the " Proceedings " of this Society. 



These springs issue forth in several distinct jets at the western 

 base of the ridge of old red sandstone on which Queenstown is 

 built, and almost on the line of high water of ordinary tides. The 

 water itself is pure and permanent* not having been perceptibly 

 affected by the long drought of the year 1887, though, doubtless, 

 somewhat diminished in consequence. 



But the special feature regarding these springs to which I wish 

 to direct attention is the temperature of the water itself. 



In order to determine the quantity of water yielded by the 

 springs special apparatus were designed by Mr. C. Gr. Doran, water- 

 surveyor to the Commissioners; and while observations on the 

 quantity were being taken it occurred to me that those on the tem- 

 perature might also be of value, with a view of arriving at some 

 conclusion regarding the depth below the surface of the source of 

 supply ; that is to say, of the underground reservoir in the strata. 

 The reasons for this proposal may be briefly stated. It is well 

 known that the temperature of the strata, or rocks forming the 

 earth's crust, increases with the depth, below a certain point or 

 imaginary stratum, called by Humboldt, " the stratum of in- 

 variable temperature." All the rock above this stratum is liable 

 to annual variations of temperature, becoming warmer in summer 

 and colder in winter ; but at a depth of some feet the temperature 



* An analysis of the water Avas made by Mr. R. J. Moss, Analyst for the Roy. Dub. Soc. 



2 B 2 



