RECIPROCATING SPRINGS. 
1ST 
Mr. Swainston favoured m with tfie following explana- 
tory re ’ : wh ; >ch, perhaps, will throw some additional light 
on vie history and p r opertie" of Giggle^wick Well. In the 
tw observations marked with crosses, the water flowed slowly 
for the first 3 or 4 inches, and then rose very quickly, until the 
cistern was fi ll ; the same appearance took place not un fre- 
quently in the course of his remarks. Where the blanks are 
in the columns, marked stationary at ebb, the water flowed 
again instantaneously ; hut »here are some inaccuracies in this 
part of the fable • for Mr. Swainston was interrupted more 
than once by travellers stopping to let their horses drink. The 
term stationary at ebb, signifies that the surface of the water 
Jn the cistern was stationary at its lowest elevation ; at which 
time the discharge from the trough was commonly confined to 
the two holes near the bottom of it. 
I have now stated all the facts in my possession, that relate 
to reciprocating springs. The fountains which have been de- 
scribed, are six in number, of these the inconstant brook in 
Westphalia, appears to require the agency of a siphon to ac- 
count for its operations. The characters as ascribed to Pliny’s 
Well, and the well in Dodona, are very ambiguous and unsatis- 
factory : but the operations of the three remaining springs, and 
more especially the register of Giggles wick Well, perplex the 
hypothesis of a siphon with insuperable difficulties $ which a 
superficial inspection of the table will discover to the reader. 
The theory, which I shall now propose tor the explanation 
of irregular reciprocating springs, was suggested by an acci- 
dental observation ; which occurred to Mr. Swainston, whom 
I have mentioned above. This gentleman, who is a manu- 
facturer of Morocco-kaiher, has a contrivance in his works, 
for the purpose of filling a boiler of a particular construction 
with water. This apparatus consists of a tub, which is ele- 
vated considerably above the boiler. The water is conveyed 
from a pump along a trough into this vessel j from which it 
runs Immediately into the upper extremity of an inverted 
siphon, which is cemented into a hole in the bottom. This 
compound tube consists of three branches or legs ; the first 
descends perpendicularly beneath the tub, and is the longest 
of the three the second ascends again and carries the water, 
which comes into it from the first, to a convenient height 
above 
General re- 
marks. 
Additional, 
or new theory. 
Mr. Swain- 
s ton’s appara- 
tus in his ma- 
nufactory, 
where water 
passed 
through a re- 
ceived siphon j 
