THE WELL. 



99 



came out upon the beach. Casks could then be 

 filled by the hose, but soon the masonry channel 

 got out of repair, and sailors will not willingly 

 drink water flowing through a dwelling-house. 



The produce of the town greatly varies. Some 

 wells are hard with sulphate and carbonate of 

 lime, whilst others are salt as the sea itself ; and 

 often, as in Sind and Cutch, of two near together 

 one supplies potable and the other undrink- 

 able water. A few to the south of the city 

 are tolerably sweet. The pits are numerous, 

 and a square shaft, usually from 12 to 15 

 feet deep, may be found at every 40 or 50 yards. 

 There are no casings ; the edges are flush with 

 the filthy ground about them, and the sites must 

 frequently be changed, as the porosity of the 

 coral rock and the regular seaward slope direct 

 the drainage into them. Similarly, nearer home 

 the bright sparkling element is not unfrequently 

 charged with all the seeds of disease. When 

 rain has not fallen for some time the water be- 

 comes thick as that of a horsepond, and when 

 allowed to stand it readily taints. I could 

 hardly bear to look at the women as they filled 

 with cocoa-shells the jars to be carried off upon 

 their heads. 



Formerly Europeans were not allowed, for 



