360 
Miner ah of Ceylon. 
tism. Notwiili.staiuling the Dutch often used them, the springs 
were very much neglected ; but colonel Champagne, having ex- 
perienced their good effects in the rheumatic attacks he had 
wliilst at dh’incomalee, caused an excellent road to be made to 
them and a building erected for the accommodation of visitors 
and patients. This highly gratified the natives, who frequent 
those wells in great numbers, as they looked upon this piece 
of service to be a mark of attention paid to themselves. The 
Maters were analysed by Dr. Christie of the 80th regiment, with 
some other medical gentlemen belonging to the garrison. The 
result of this analysis, m ith a copy of which I was favoured, is 
as follo\vs. 
The hot-M^ells of Cannia are six in number, and of different 
degrees of heat. They all, however, evidently communicate, for 
the water in all of them is at an equal distance from the sur- 
face of the ground ; and a body immersed in one of them 
raises the height of the water in the other. 
As the water also from all the six wells exhibits the same 
phenomena, there can be little doubt that they all proceed from 
the same spring. 
Upon examining the heat of the different wells Avith great 
attention, it was found they varied from 98 to 1064^ degrees of 
Farenheit’s thermometer, nearly in proportion to their different 
depths. 
Bubbles of air are seen to rise from the bottom of all tlie 
veils, and it was therefore conceived that the water might be 
acidulous, and impregnated with carbonic acid gas. 
It was found, however, that the water did not sparkle in a 
«dass more than common ^vater, nor did it turn a delicate 
vegetable colour red ; and upon filling a large case bottle with 
5 
