No. 161.] 
123 
The waters of the Chateaugay springs are quite cold. Whether 
we are in possession of such facts as will enable us to give a ra- 
tionale of the intermission of these springs is questionable. The 
following is however offered by Mr. Hall, that during the spring 
the soil to the south beconnes saturated with water, which conti- 
nues 10 flow off through these springs during the sunnmer, when, 
at its close, the soil becomes in a manner drained. 
Falling of the St. Lawrence. It is said by the oldest inhabi- 
tants along the St. Lawrence river, that its waters, and that of 
its tributaries, are declining, or that they do not appear at so high 
a level now as formerly; or, what is about the same thing, that 
the country is rising. The amount of evidence bearing on this 
common opinion, is not probably very great; yet, some deference 
must be paid to what is said by the oldest inhabitants in a country 
which has been settled a century. The possibility of such a change 
can no longer be doubted, since it is clearly proved that portions 
of the continent of Europe are now undergoing the same change. 
Norway is gradually rising, and Greenland as gradually sinking. 
We have only to state the fact, not to enter into a discussion of 
the cause of this astonishing change, as it would be out of place, 
and requiring the statement of principles foreign to our purpose, 
and at greater length than the limits of this report will permit. 
Lest, however, the fact of a falling of the St. Lawrence being ad- 
mitted, this change of its level should be attributed to a wrong 
cause, viz: the wearing away of its bed by its waters, we assert 
that this cannot be the case, when a river passes through a level 
country. The whole tendency of a river under those circumstan- 
ces, is to fill up its bed and raise its waters to higher level. All 
rivers bear down more or less of detritus from the mountains in 
which they rise; this is deposited along the lower levels and car- 
ried to the sea, where it is found fine and light. The filling up of 
the beds of rivers by this process, is shown on a grand scale in the 
Po, whose bed is already raised to an elevation with the hou- 
ses on its banks. If then there is a falling of the St. Lawrence, 
the change must be in the country, and not in the wearing away 
^f its bottom. The only way of determining a question of so much 
interest is, to observe for a number of years some fixed land-marks. 
We have, therefore, to wait the slow accumulation of evidence 
before the opinion of its falling can be received or rejected. 
