238 
On procuring a supply 
[Aug, 
at the same time prevented escaping laterally amongst the more pervious strata, 
rise to the same level, at whatever part of the stratum they emerge. Tlius sup- 
posing a bed of limestone or clay dipping 10 feet in the mile ; andsupposing that 
at its basset or outcrop it has been ascertained that plentiful springs exist beneath 
it, it is obvious, that through whatever part of this bed an opening be made, the 
water must, if confined in a tube, rise to the level of the first ascertained springs, 
which, for instance, with such an inclination, would, at the distance of 40 miles, 
afford an overflowing well 400 feet deep. It must, in fact, be obvious to ever^ 
one that ivater will rise to the same height in two tubes, however distant, suppos- 
mg them to communicate with the same water head or supply. Yet, though few 
will be found to dispute so obvious a truth, to manv it appears little better than 
LZft°n SLT tt,at ' J" » . Wf, !li 00 deep, the water might rise of its own 
accoid to the suiface. But this difficulty is owing to common observers not dis- 
criminating sufficiently. They see that in ordinary wells, from 20 to 80 feet deep, 
55.^“ se | doi V lse nmre than a few feet, and they infertile same of deeper 
consideration the different levels at which their sources 
i *l iS u S ’ m T fact ’ nothin R bl,t the aversion to principles, or 
inTLt ri * tf r Whlch common inen - What they have seen, handled 
and felt, that they know and believe; but their philosophy, which is eminently 
practical, goes no further. To take up a principle and pursue it into all the con- 
sequences to which it legitimately leads, always puzzles such men. In their 
jgnorance they confound theory with hypothesis, and see in a principle nothing 
but t ie words m which it is announced to them it is dead and barren of aU 
useful and practical results whatever. 
. T , hat [t is . a vei T great advantage to a well to have this character of overflowing, 
is obvious, inasmuch as it obviates the trouble of raising the water by manual 
labour or mechanical contrivances. The supply is generally considerable, as the 
water must rise with proportionate force as the spring head is higher. At Cam- 
bridge where they are common, they furnish about 12 gallons per minute. Such 
a supply would afford a very respectable mechanical power for the performance of 
many domestic operations— besides the great advantage of giving a stream of water 
wavs owing ; an advantage that can scarcely be valued too highly. But great as 
this advantage is, it is not the only one belonging to these deep-seated springs, 
it appears that the water is almost always of excellent quality, while those nearer 
, .f e ? re no , t ^frequently contaminated to an objectionable degree. This 
ino- C If,I S 1 ° f ° ad / 18 « able , to bore 111 search of a deep-seated spring, notwithstand- 
PenSG attend,n f f be operation, even when the configuration of the sur- 
overCin^nf "rf T ta ’ f r bid ,lw e *'’ ,?ctati ° n that the spring will be an 
desiderafn m ° ° n f'" ? Lom . ion ’ " here /f r » supply of particularly pure water is a 
desideratum,— as for instance in many of the breweries and distilleries wells have 
g lf at de P th f thc Lomlon cla y> ttttl the upper or land 
* as . the ? ha ™ h ee n singularly enough called, stopped out so as to present 
ir !”! !" ° t lC 1 ° wer “ d P“ ,ei ; s P ri “SS. These latter, though not over- 
, l f’ generally rise, when first tapped, with such violence as scarcely to allow 
monTv C. nfff , eSCa i’r,‘ Tl ' ey fur ”“‘ a remarkably pure (or soft, as it is com- 
rarfi'eu larlvw I f r itfeatcr purity of these lower springs also renders them 
fide the s frfr J „ . 1 “ y 0f notlce , al1 situations where, from the proximity of the 
eurfUe welk fo. TT T ? l e '° ’ e lnf1,,enced b y Thus at Sheernesa, the 
b braCk ' Sh W ? tCr n0 ‘ ftt f<lr “"sumption, entailing on the 
the traSi and doci e,a f l a| ! ens , e . “ pwards of £2 000 per annum) in furnishing 
Ptoce unten- hto d d wlth " ,l !°. ,e sotue water, and, in particular, rendering the 
some nwtlSof l “• P° 51t '°": The engineer appointed to consider of 
'“idea S' i °l’. Tlal t'ttfft uf latter objection, Sir Thomas Hyde Page, conceired 
- of keenin', not" '' mg a below the lowest level of the adjoining sea water, and 
met with° “ n L ln . hlt ' at i 0n 0f t le tille hy proper means. The difficulties he 
sand of erJJt tl ’ i ' aVe , ,e 5 n , ? reat ’ Particularly in passing through a quick- 
tbe protect he t < ck " es 1 s » but be ‘ n £ supported by the King’s approbation of 
clavVhfch* th pv ? D J U ? Z S 1 UCC , eeded P er * e ctly. At a depth of 32S feet, the 
sand which with * tf latte . r y bcen Work j n S in > showed a slight mixture of 
band I moisture, was judged indicative of the spring being at 
some difficult tl,! ^ W ^ le i ,0t f 0m of the "ell blew up, and it\vas with 
) it. workmen saved themselves from the torrents of water, mud 
and partiut o^-m | S ,!l' 1 . POSe ^’ tb , iU s P r,tl "^ Wer « mere veins of water of limited extent, 
influence of diet.., U < “ii ut 1 , many tacts that have become known, regarding the 
wells on each other, prove that the supply is much more extensive. 
