Reviews — H. B. Woodward — Geology of Water Supply. 227 



ocean, but sometimes on the land" (as in some cities on the West 

 Coast of South America). 



"In primitive times, springs, brooks, rivers, pools, and lakes 

 yielded the necessary supplies, and the earliest settlements were 

 made in places where water could be thus freely obtained." 



The digging of wells must have been amongst the very earliest 

 achievements of mankind, as is evidenced by their frequent mention 

 in the time of the patriarchs (Gen. xxvi, 15 and 18; Exod. xv, 27; 

 Deut. vi, 11, etc.). A proverb of the East says — "To have digged 

 a well, planted a tree, married a wife, and begotten a son are the 

 evidences of a well-spent life." The Chinese, Babylonians, Egyptians, 

 Greeks, Romans, and Moors have left ample testimony of their genius 

 both in the sinking of wells and in the constructing of aqueducts. 

 No doubt the engineer long antedated the geologist in all matters 

 of water supply ; but we must now always take the geologist into 

 consideration when in search of drinking-water. 



In these days in which science holds so large a share in all our 

 undertakings, we cannot trust any longer to the ' water-finder' with 

 his ' divining-rod'. As every child now expects to be told 'the why 

 and wherefore in all things', it is not surprising to find men of 

 experience looking askance at the diviner, with his forked hazel-twig 

 or ' dowsing-rod ', professing to show to the uninitiated, by some occult 

 process, which he himself cannot explain, where and at what depth 

 water may be found. It is interesting to know that the ' divining- 

 rod' dates back to the earliest historic times, and was used for 

 a variety of purposes, e.g., to prove the site of old landmarks, to 

 detect crime, to guide the traveller in his right course, and moreover, 

 the rod being attracted by all metals and in a certain order, it was 

 employed in search of mineral lodes. 



With the care and accuracy which always characterizes the author's 

 work, Mr. Horace Woodward personally conducts his readers (of 

 course umbrella in hand) through the water-bearing rocks and also 

 through the non- water-bearing ones, explaining their disturbances and 

 faults, their thicknesses, and other characteristics. 



We are reminded how much of the rainfall is lost by evaporation, 

 by absorption, by vegetation, and how porous beds take in the water, 

 and what beds arrest its downward progress. And so we pass on 

 to consider rivers, floods, and the drainage of land, of swallow-holes, 

 pipes, springs, and river-courses, and what happens to our rivers when 

 pumping is carried on upon a large scale to supply such thirsty souls 

 as inhabit great cities like modern London. The economy of springs 

 of all kinds is discussed and why some are constant and others not. 



Wells next engage the reader's attention, and we discover that they 

 are of many and various kinds, as ' dip-wells ' by the roadside, and 

 draw-wells worked by bucket and windlass, sometimes going to 

 a depth of 160 feet. In some cases horizontal wells, or adits, are 

 driven into the sides of hills to open up springs, or to tap the water- 

 bearing strata below. Artesian wells and borings are also described, 

 both flowing and non-flowing. 



The water-bearing strata of England receive special attention, 

 several chapters being devoted to their description. The quantity 



