BRISTOL HOT-WELL WATEH. 247 
being about 74 of Fahrenheit's thermometer ; and this heat 
does not sensibly vary during summer or winter. 
The foreign contents of the hoi-well water are muriat of mag- 
nesia,, common salt, Glauber's salt, sulphat of lime (192), and 
chalk : but these are in, extremely small quantity. It also con- 
tains at the rate of about thirty cubic inches of carbonic acid 
gas, or fixed air ('26), in every gallon. 
This water springs from the bottom of the southern 
extremity of St. Vincent's rock, a lofty cliff of lime- 
stone situated on the north hank of the river Avon, and 
about a mile below the city of Bristol. And, although 
it is considerably higher than the river, it. is so far af- 
fected by the spring tides as to become, thereby, in some 
degree turbid, The discharge of water amounts to about 
forty gallons in a minute. 
There is another spring at Clifton, on the summit of 
the same hill, from the bottom of which the waters of 
the hot-well issues. This is called the Sion spring, and 
is one or two degrees colder, but, in other respects, it 
very nearly resembles the water of the hot-well. 
Its discovery was somewhat remarkable. A Mr. 
Morgan, an attorney of Bristol, having erect-ed a house 
near the spot, sunk a well for the supplv of his family 
with water. The workmen had proceeded to the depth 
of nearly 240 feet without success, when they were 
suddenly alarmed by the gushing forth of such an 
abundance of water that they were compelled to retreat 
with precipitation. The proprietor was so far disap- 
pointed of his hopes as to find that this was a spring of 
warm instead of cold water. But the circumstance in- 
duced him to erect an engine to raise the water for me- 
dicinal purposes ; and, since that period, a pump room 
and bathing houses have been prepared for the accom- 
modation of visitors. 
The water of each of these springs, besides being 
used medicinally in pulmonary consumptions and other 
complaints, is employed very extensively at table, and 
for all domestic purposes. It is remarkable for softness 
and purity; and, from its quality of continuing untainted 
