HERTFORD SHIRE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
XXlll 
years; for, from his own record of the height of the water in his 
well, it appeared that a smaller amount of water was at the disposal 
of those who drew water from wells last year than for several years 
past. Usually the maximum of the rise in the wells of his neigh¬ 
bourhood was something over three feet, so that perhaps the water 
would he 3ft. 6in. higher in the wet part than in the dry part of 
the year. Three years ago there was a difference between the 
level of the water in the wells, on the weekly records of the year, 
between the level during the driest period and during the wettest 
period, of over five feet. The difference last year was under three 
feet, which confirmed what Mr. Hopkinson said. 
Deferring then to Mr. Fordham’s paper, he said that the subject 
was one which interested him very considerably, and he had taken 
upon himself for the last six or seven years to make records of the 
height of the water in his own well, hoping some day to give the 
results, perhaps after ten years, as Mr. Forclham had done, in order 
that Watford might see where Watford is in this matter, not only 
in regard to the supply from the clouds, hut in regard also to the 
stores beneath our feet. 
The first remark he would like to make was that the rise and 
fall of the water in our wells is extremely variable, according to 
the position of the well, according to the soil, and to a number of 
other conditions. In the paper that had just been read they had 
heard of a difference between the maximum and minimum height 
in the whole year of 44ft. at Odsey Grange and 78ft. at Barley, 
which was very great. The variation of wells in the neighbour¬ 
hood of Watford was very much the same as that in his own well, 
that is to say, so far as the height of the water in other wells had 
been taken. He had an apparatus fixed in his own well, kept in 
good working order and condition and checked from time to time, 
and he made observations every week of the year. As he had 
already intimated, the difference in the height of the water in his 
well during any one year was only a very few feet indeed, and he 
could say that after recording the height for six years, in no year 
had the variation been more than five feet—to be particular, 5T, 
and the least 2‘6 feet. In 1884, the difference in the height about 
February, when the water attains its maximum, and in November 
or December when it attains its minimum, was 3 6; in 1885, 2-6; 
in 1886, 3-5 ; in 1887, 5-1 ; in 1888, 3*4; in 1889, 2*9. Therefore, 
so far as his well represented the wells in the neighbourhood, 
Watford might rest content that there had been no very great 
draw on the water. The water-saturation plane of the neighbour¬ 
hood varied only some three or four feet, a very inconsiderable 
quantity. 
With regard to the question as to whether any of the big wells 
in the neighbourhood were interfering with the private wells, he 
could say that they did not interfere with them in the slightest; 
but then, his observations only ran back some six years. Still, 
during those six years there was the stated perceptible variation, 
though not worth mentioning, from year to year. Taking the 
