observed that they not only took Plants and put them in the Earth prepared as he recites it but likewise the Seeds of Cucumbers and Pompions which acquired their due Magnitude and yet the Earth was not diminished in Weight these Experiments indeed considering the minuteness of the Seeds of those Fruits with the largeness of their Size when grown to perfection and yet no decrease of the Earth might give them very pregnant Reasons for their Conjectures but these I shall examine in their place The other Hypothesis is that of the Ancients which Dr. Woodward asserts for the confirmation of which the Dr. has offer'd the following Experiments Common Spear-Mint was set in spring Water the Plant weighed when put in Iuly 20 th just 27 Grains when taken forth October 5 th 42 Gr. so that in the space of 79 Days it had gained in Weight 15 Gr. the whole Water expended during the 79 Days amounted to 2558 Gr. and consequently the Weight of the Water taken up was 170 8 â—5 as much as the Plant had got in Weight Common Spear-Mint was set in Rain-Water the Mint weighed when put in 28 Gr. ¼ when taken out Gr. 45 ¼ having gained in 79 Days Gr. ½ the Dispendium of the Water Gr. 3004 which was 171 23 35 as much as the Plant had received in Weight Common Spear-Mint was set in Thames Water the Plant when put in weighed Gr. 28 when taken forth Gr. 54 so that in 77 Days it had gained 26 Gr. the Water expended amounted to Gr. 2493 which was 92 21 26 times as much as the additional weight of the Mint Solanum or Night-shade was set in Spring-Water the Plant weighed when put in Gr. 49 when taken out 106 having gained in 77 Days 57 Gr. the Water expended during the said time was 3708 Gr. which was 65 3 7 times as much as the Augment of the Plant this Specimen had several Buds upon it when first set in the Water these in some Days became fair and Flowers which were at length succeeded by Berries Lathyris Sea-Cataputia Gerhardi was set in spring Water it weighed when put in Gr. 98 when taken forth Gr. 101 â—â—â— the additional Weight for this whole 77 Days being Gr. 3 〈…〉 the Quantity of Water spent upon it during the Time was Gr. 2501 which is 714 4 7 times as much as the Plant was augmented It is to be noted that the Orifices of these Glasses were covered with Parchment perforated with an Hole adapted to the Stem of the Plant. Mint was set in Hyde-Parke Conduit Water which weighed when put in 127 Gr. when taken forth 255 Gr. the whole Quantity of Water expended upon this Plant amounted to 14190 Gr. the Plant had run up two Foot in height and had shot one considerable collateral Branch to the Fibrillae of the Roots adhered a terrestial Matter Mint was set in Hyde-Parke Conduit Water in which was dissolved an Ounce and half of common Garden-Earth the Mint weighed when put in 76 Gr. when taken out 244 Gr. Water expended was Gr. 10731. Mint was set in Hyde-Parke Water with the same Quantity of Garden-mould as the former the Mint weighed when put in 92 Gr. when taken out 376 Gr. the Water expended was 14950 Gr. the Earth in both these Glasses was very sensibly and considerably wasted it left a green Substance here as above Mint was set in Hyde-Park Water distilled off in a great Still the Mint weighed when put in 114 Gr. when taken out 155 Gr. Water dispended was 8803 Gr. this Plant was pretty kindly had two small collateral Branches and several Roots with terrestrial Matter adhereing to them the Water was pretty thick had many and numerous terrestrial Particles swimming in it and some Sediment at the bottom of the Glass this Glass had none of the green Matter abovemention'd in it the residue of the Water remaining in the Still was very turbid high colour'd and reddish like ordinary Beer the Mint weighed when put into this Water 31 Gr. Water expended 4344 Gr. This Plant was very lively and had sent out six collateral Branches and several Roots I took Hyde-Park Conduit Water in which was dissolv'd a Dram of Nitre the Mint set in this suddenly began to wither and decay and died in a few days as likewise did two more Sprigs that were set in it successively In another Glass I dissolv'd an Ounce of Garden-mould and a Dram of Nitre and in a third half an Ounce of Wood-Ashes and a Dram of Nitre but the Plants in these succeeded no better than in the former In other Glasses were dissolv'd several sorts of Earths Clays Marles and variety of Manures Mint was set in distill'd Waters and other Experiments I made of several kinds in order to get Light and Information what hastned or retarded what promoted and impeded Vegetation but these do not belong to the Head that I am now upon In Hyde-Park Conduit Water I fix'd a glass Tube about 10 Inches long the Bore about one sixth of an Inch in diameter fill'd with very fine and white Sand which I kept from falling down out of the Tube into the Vial by tying a thin piece of Silk over that end of the Tube which was downwards upon the Immersion of the lower end of it the Water by little and little ascended to the upper Orifice of the Tube and yet in all the 56 Days it stood thus a very inconsiderable quantity of Water had gone off viz. scarce 20 Grains tho' the Sand continued moist to the very top to the last the Water imparted a green Tincture to the Sand quite to the top of the Tube and in the Vial it had precipitated a greenish Sediment mix'd with black to the bottom and sides of the Tube as far as it was immers'd in Water adher'd pretty much of the green Substance describ'd above From these Experiments the Dr. draws these Corollaries That Earth and not Water is the Matter that constitutes Vegetables that Improvements by Nitrons and Alcalizates are only by the saline Particles attenuating the earthly ones and preparing them to be carried up by the Water and dispos'd of into the substance of the Plant that Water serves only as a Vehicle to the terrestrial Matter which forms Vegetables and does not it self make any addition to them Now if I mistake not if we must make Earth a meer simple Body and that to be the Matter only that is converted into the substance of the Plant this Hypothesis will labour under more Difficulties than the former if according to the Doctor 's Notion the saline Particles contribute no farther than in preparing this Mould for we may undoubtedly assure our selves that the Manchinello in the West-Indies that irresistable and deceiving Poyson must needs consist of more Bodies than Earth alone otherwise how comes its Fruit to be so fatal that not only the Eating of it is present Death but the very eating of the Creatures that have fed upon it produces
two Miles from Lancaster which Seat is now in Possession of the R t Hon ble the Lady Gerrard of Bromley from a white Marle issues a pleasant and smooth Water remarkable for its agreeable Tast and Lightness This Water is lighter by an Ounce in a Pint than any I have seen in these Parts Now all Waters containing more or less of Earthly Particles and in the various Consistencies and Quantities of those differing one from another in Gravity it may be imagin'd this Water to receive its Oily Tast and Lightness from the white Marle that being an Oily and light Body and the best Tillage this Country affords A Spring remarkable for its Perspiration is that near Stalo-Bridge in Cheshire This Water if put into a Glass Bottle closely Corked will force its way thro' the Pores of the Glass or the Water by emitting cold Effluvia upon the external Superficies of the Glass condenses the aqueous Particles of the Air and so forms that Dew or Sweat so often observable there For my part considering how difficult it is for any Menstruum whatever to penetrate the Pores of Glass nay even for Air it self as is sufficiently evidenced by the Experiments in the Air Pump I must own my assent to the latter and this may be farther illustrated by the Dews upon Bottles in Wine-Cellars which are wholly insipid and consequently cannot be spirituous Liquor that perspires through the Pores but the aqueous Particles of the Air there condensed Springs remarkable for their Coldness in these Countries we have none save One near Larbrick which is a Water extreamly Cold and of which I shall treat in its proper place this Water is the Coldest I have seen in these Parts and may no doubt answer the ends perform'd by that of St. Mungus in Yorkshire We have only One Spring that Ebbs and Flows and that is call'd Tideswell in the Peak in Derbyshire tho' nothing so Noted as that near Gigleswig in Yorkshire where I have seen the Water to ebb and flow several times in an Hour and always upon the subsiding of the Water heard a gutling Noise within the Mountain not unlike that obvious to us in pouring Liquors out of Bottles only it is much louder Conjectures about this Flux and Reflux are various some imagining it to be caused by the return of a Stone that in an Aqueduct hangs in aequilibrio as the Learned Mr. Hobbs others that a large Receptacle fill'd with Water by subterraneous Winds from the opposite part is blown over as LeGrand and others of the French Virtuosi Tho' Mr. Hobbs's Hypothesis seems to carry the greater stress of Reason along with it yet at the same time if we consider the Effects Water has upon Stone upon which it continually falls or runs over in diminishing its Superficies or over-turning those of a prodigious Bigness upon Floods or other Eruptions it will be as difficult to conceive how a Stone should be so exactly poised in an Aqueduct so long a space of time as this must needs have been so as to occasion a Flux and Reflux of the Waters as is observable in these Fountains Wherefore I shall venture to form a different Hypothesis and that it may be perform'd with all the Perspicuity so dark a matter will admit in the first place I will describe the Spring and its situation as exactly as I remember The most noted Spring of this Nature is at Gigleswig in Yorkshire as above-mention'd The Well lies at the Bottom of a Mountain of a considerable Height and is almost contiguous to a great Road betwixt Settle Lancashire and Westmorland The Diameter of the Spring as I think is about a Yard and the Perpendicular near the same dimension The Flux and Reflux is not always certain being sometimes only once again twice sometimes thrice an Hour and I think the Water upon the Flux may subside about three quarters of a Yard and then you always hear an hollow gutling Noise within the Mountain as is above recited From these Phaenomena it seems reasonable to conjecture that within the Mountain is a considerable Cavity impleted with Air from which the Aqueducts that form the Spring run and that those and their Exits are but small and it is very probable from this Cavity they do not run in direct but spiral Lines like those in a Worm used in Distillation Now when the Water that ascends out of the Earth which composes these Springs reaches this Cavity they must necessarily as it fills gradually press the Air into the spiral Aqueducts and force it forward to the end of the Aqueduct it is there then obstructed by the Water in the Well only a little Air and Water getting vent raises gradually the Spring the Duct still continues to fill higher and higher with Water till at length by its Gravity the Air is forced through and then it is the Flux happens and the hollow gutling Noise is heard occasion'd undoubtedly by the external Air rushing in and strugling with the Water to supply the Cavity of the Mountain which is now discharg'd of that Water but still impleted with Air it is now the Flux ceases and again renews as before and so it reciprocally succeeds Such spiral Aqueducts I have frequently observ'd in the Mountains in Derbyshire particularly near Tideswell where that other Spring ebbs and flows hence it seems rational the same may be here also However here is not any thing dogmatically asserted nor am I so bigotted to this Hypothesis but can easily quit it when any more reasonable is offer'd and more exactly quadrates with the Phaenomena of these Springs Now as these Aqueducts are more or less Spiral or of different Dimensions from the Sinus within the Mountain impleted with Air or as the Spring that fills the Duct with Water is but easy or rapid so its probable the Flux and Reflux becomes so uncertain for in some it flows not once in several Hours as in that call'd Tideswell the Water perhaps being sometimes diverted by other Aqueducts and reaches not the Cavity or Sinus within the Mountain this may happen by several accidents as the falling in of Earth or Pebles which for a time may divert the common course of the Spring till by a continual currency it forces its passage again Several Springs we have which are only at certain Seasons as some near the Manour in Furness these are occasion'd by Rains or an hazy Atmosphere At this Abbey are the most stately Ruins I have any where observ'd as most beautiful Pillars spacious Windows noble Arches and subterraneous Vaults Near this place is a considerable Salmon Fishing and a large Park in which are variety of Deer as Red Fallow and White and is by much the most curious Seat in these Parts It was formerly possest by Sir Thomas Preston who quitted it and as I have been inform'd is one of the Religious and amongst them one of the meanest Order But is now possest by the noble and virtuous Lady
Madam Katharine Preston Daughter and Heiress of Thomas Preston of Holker Esq Tho' this Digression be foreign to a Natural History yet I hope the Reader will pardon it since I could not well pass by so considerable a Building Some Waters we have which cast up Marine Shells as Latham Spaw did formerly but that being troublesome to the Drinkers has been prèvented by laying Mill-stones upon the Spring so that the Sand and Shells cannot boyl up so high as formerly This is one of the best sorts of Vitriolic Chalybeates and is remote from the Sea or any Salt Rivers whence therefore these Shells come may be worth our enquiry and a clear decision of that may farther illustrate those other Marine Shells found in Marle as the Echini Cochleae Torculars Whilks and Periwinkles of which I have great Numbers by me and took them my self out of firm Marle at three Fathom deep some being entire others broken but all soft and friable yet grew hard as Coral being expos'd to the Air. The Decision of this Phaenomenon in a great measure depending upon the Origin of Fountains I think it a pardonable digression if I a little expatiate on that subject before we descend to the particular Case Springs by the French Virtuosi are suppos'd to flow from the Dews Rains and Mists imbibed in the Earth and afterwards form'd into various Currents which are those we commonly call Springs Now this being a Notion inconsistent with Reason I cannot adhere to it for were this Hypothesis true it would hence follow in the various Seasons of the Year as Summer and Winter they would vary very much in their Currents as to quantity which in several Springs is not discernible Secondly Several Springs are found in Mines in the Bowels of the Earth deeper than the Dews and Rains are suppos'd to descend Thirdly Some Countries abound with Springs where Dews and Rains are never known to fall from all these it is evident continual Springs can never be imagin'd to be caused by Rains and Dews it remains therefore that they either proceed from the Ocean or a subterraneous Abyss The latter of these the Learned Dr. Woodward adheres to and could such a thing be made out his Hypothesis would be undeniable but such a thing as an Abyss being no where to be discover'd in Nature and that what Notions we have of it are only from Moses that divine Philosopher In what sence the inspired Legislator might take the Abyss we pretend not to determine whether the Ocean in general or a subterraneous collection of Waters equal to it and keeping a Communication with it as Dr. Woodward supposes Wherefore we rather assert what the great Aristotle supposes concerning Springs that they have their Rise from the Sea of this Caesar had a clear Demonstration when he Invaded this Island and Encamp'd upon the Sea Coasts where by digging in the Sands he was instantly supply'd with a sufficient quantity of fresh Water which by filtring through the Sand became sweet the saline Particles sticking in the Sand. A Phaenomenon like to this was observ'd when that great General Duke Schomberg Encamp'd upon a Plain call'd the Mels near Hile-Lake This granted then that Springs have their Rise from the Ocean it is easy to imagin how they may bring up Marine Shells and unless this be allow'd I think the Phaenomenon cannot otherwise be fairly illustrated but how this becomes a Mineral Water is from the Mineral Bass from which it springs Against this Hypothesis there remains yet one material Objection viz. If Fountains have their Rise from the Sea how comes it to pass that there are Springs upon the Tops of Mountains which are higher than the Sea since it is evident from Hydrostatick Experiments Water will not naturally rise above its level To this I answer in the first place it is no wise demonstrable that there is any Mountain higher than the highest part of the Ocean since it is suppos'd to be a Globe of equal Magnitude with the Earth Secondly Granting it were so yet it is probable those Mountains lying in the middle Region a sufficient quantity of aqueous Particles might be imbibed by the Earth to produce Springs there and yet this particular Instance does no ways invalidate the general Hypothesis in which is meant the generality of Springs and not each particular Fountain It is true subterraneous Eruptions of Waters especially after Earthquakes as at Port-Royal in Iamaica and at Kirby in Furness in Lancashire have happen'd which have drove down Houses and Rocks of that magnitude that many Teams of Oxen could not move by which it may be concluded there is a subterraneous Abyss of Waters To this I say it is not certain whether these come from the Ocean or from an Abyss and shall not therefore pretend to determine it but shall proceed to what I next propos'd and that is to treat of Mineral Waters In doing of which I begin with those impregnated with Vitriol The Vitriol Spring in the Kennel-Pits at Haigh when I first try'd it yielded an Ounce of Vitriol from a Quart of Water nay it was so highly impleted with Vitriol that any common Alkaly wou'd raise a Fermentation with it and cause a Precipitation The Vitriol it yields is White for the greatest part tho' there is some Green mix'd with it it is not now of that strength several fresh Springs having broken in which yet might easily be diverted of this the Rev d Dr. Wroe our Warden has been frequently an Eye-witness Notwithstanding this Dr. Lister with unequal'd Assurance tells the World Vitriol is not to be found in any Waters in England but that all Waters of a Vitriolic Taste are only impregnated with a Pyrites which we vulgarly call Fire-Stone Germinating in the Waters and this must be impos'd upon the World as implicitly as if it was an Article of Faith in Philosophy For any Man to oppose him he brands him strait with the Character of Mean and Impudent and such like opprobrious Epithets a Language if I mistake not unaccountable for one of his Gown and Dignity For my part what I relate is matter of Fact and the Dr. may be fully convinc'd if he pleases if not it is no fault of mine and since I cannot as firmly believe the Germination of the Pyrites in our Chalybeat Waters as they are commonly called to be like that of Mint in Bottles of Water I hope the Dr. will pardon my Infidelity till he give me better grounds for it at which he has not yet offer'd any farther than a capricious ipse dixit Adjacent to a Place call'd Humblesco-Green in a small Farm in Maudsley is a Spring impregnated with Sulphur and a Marine Salt the Water is extremely foetid tinges Silver a Copper colour by its Sulphur in Distillation a Quart of Water yields half an Ounce of sulphur Salt This Spring no question would answer all the Intentions of the sulphur Water near Knaseborough in Yorkshire either as
shoot into any regular Chrystals have a smell much like that of Natural Balsam which to me seems to be the scarlet Sulphur that precipitates in the Water by exposing it to the Air this Water has a vitriolate Taste and with Galls yields a Tincture of an Agate colour has been experimented in scorbutick Cases and answered the desired end The Hanbridge Water a small Spring which lies betwixt Burnley and Townley yields a Natron or natural Alcali as those Bourbon Waters in France cited by Monsieur Du-Closs and another alcalious Salt which like a Terebinthinate or Resinous Body will melt with a small degree of Heat it is plain the Reason why this Salt melts by Heat is only from a volatile Bitumen united with it for the Salt being long kept in a glass Vial will not melt by any moderate degree of Heat but is then purely Alcalious the Bitumen being wholly evaporated as I found in my Observations at Townley This Water at the Fountain with Galls yields a Tincture inclining to a faint Orange if kept any considerable time in Glass Bottles a perfect Citrine contains the greatest quantity of Natron of any in these parts purges by Stool and Urine and is of great Use in the Stone and Scurvy as hath been found by several Persons who in those Cases have try'd them with great success The Water near Emmet which is about two Miles distant from those fore-mention'd Waters is of a vitriolate Taste and sulphureous Smell which with a solution of Sublimate yields a white Precipitate which no other Waters in those parts will do nor any in France as the French Virtuosi have observ'd and indeed only those at Spada in Germany and if so it may be highly worth our time by frequent and strict Tryals both in Cases in Physick and Experiments in Chymistry to find out the Principles and Use of it which may perhaps save us the Expences of a tedious Fatigue to Spada At the same time I saw there a Salt prepared from a Water in Yorkshire which had exactly the smell of Hipposelinum or Horse-Parsley a Phaenomenon never yet observ'd in any Salt before this smell proceeds from a certain proportion of bituminous saline and terrene Particles for what remain'd after evaporation was of a Yellowish colour and contain'd a great deal of terrene Matter but the Salt when separated is perfect concocted Vitriol Dr. Lister may here again be satisfy'd of his Error for not only the Waters in Lancashire but those likewise in Yorkshire contain perfect concocted Vitriol Nay in the same Coal-Mines near Burnley there are Springs of perfect Vitriol and under these others that contain Natron or Aegyptian Nitre as the above-mention'd ingenious Gentleman fully demonstrated to me when I was last there Another Salt the said Richard Townley of Townley Esq shew'd me which was perfect Salt-petre prepared from a very rapid Spring a Gallon of which contain'd half an Ounce of this Salt which upon Chrystallization shoots like Salt-petre from India into long Striae and fulminates with Sulphur This Salt he had from a Gentleman that discover'd the Spring but at present conceals the Place So that what my self and others have alleged in affirming no Waters in England to contain Salt-petre is erroneous let others retract when they think convenient for my part I fairly own my Error and from repeated Observations can positively affirm there is no marine Salt but what contains more or less of Indian Nitre but the proportion is so small and the method of preparing it so tedious it wou'd not be of any farther use than to satisfy the curious Enquirer but the Advantages that may accrue from the before recited Spring may for ought I know be one of the greatest Treasures as well as Secrets in Nature The next Mineral-Waters I shall consider are those springing out of Bass and Sulphureous only of these the most Noted is One near a Place call'd Inglewhite this springs out of a Black Bass which by Calcination I found to contain Sulphur the Water has a very sulphureous Smell as strong as that near Harrigate in Yorkshire but contains little or no Salt which is the reason it is not Purgative like that but by adding the like proportion of common Salt to it viz. about a Dram to a Pint of Water that Inconvenience is remedy'd and then you have either sulphureous Baths or purging Waters for my part I shou'd rather choose to add the bitter purging Salt as being most agreeable Having now examin'd all the various Waters springing out of Bass we proceed in the next place to give Account of saline sulphureous Waters arising out of other Minerals And I shall begin first with the sulphur Water near Wigan call'd by the Inhabitants of that place the Burning-Well this is a very diverting Phaenomenon and for its Rarity is visited by most Persons whose Curiosity leads them to Natural Enquiries It is about two Miles from Wigan in a Village call'd Aucliff in the Ground of William Mollineux of that Place Esq The Well is at the Bottom of a Tree the Water Cold and without any Smell when any Person comes to see it a Man clears the Well from all its Water that done you will immediately hear a hissing Noise in a Corner of it and by holding a lighted Candle near to it the sulphureous Halitus immediately takes Fire and afterwards spreads it self upon what Water has issued in and 't is only then indeed it ought to be call'd the Burning-Well 'T is observable tho' this sulphureous Halitus continually mixes with Water yet the Water continues Cold nor will it tinge Silver wherefore I imagine this Halitus is purely sulphureous consisting only of Oily inflammable Particles without any mixture of Vitriol or if any but inconsiderable and 't is reasonable to suppose this kind of Sulphur to impregnate the Baths at Buxton 'T is plain from these and the sulphur Wells at Maudsley and those at Harrigate in Yorkshire which are all sulphureous and yet all Cold Waters that it is only by accident that sulphur Waters become hot viz. by Collision of the sulphureous Particles when in the Spiracles of the Earth they have not a free open passage they beat and dash one upon another and by that Collision grow hot as we may observe in the rubbing of the Phosphorus which immediately takes Fire likewise in new Hay and in Wheels taking Fire by Motion only For to imagine the Heat of the Baths to proceed from Fermentation in the Waters or from subterraneous Fires is no wise consistent with Experience which after all our Hypotheses must be the true Touchstone of our Reason The foregoing Instances may convince the World that sulphureous Particles grow hot without Ignition and that there are sulphureous Particles in all hot Baths is abundantly demonstrated But for a farther Illustration of this Hypothesis take this following Experiment Let some Brimstone be set on Fire in a Glass Body immediately upon its taking Flame stop
the Mouth of the Glass and the Flame expires yet by the sulphureous Fumes dashing upon each other the sides of the Glass wax warm a certain signal this must needs be that where sulphureous Particles are deny'd a passage or where they force their way through uneven Sinuosities by beating upon and encountring one another an Heat must be produced as is apparent by the Sun-beams in Convex Glasses And this is farther confirm'd by the Learned Dr. Browne in his Treatise of the Mines in Hungary in some Places of the same Mine it was extreamly Cold in others so intensely Hot that tho' his Cloaths were never so thin the Heat would be troublesome to him The Miners work all Naked and Eight Hours are as much as most can endure The Heat in these Waters cannot arise from Fermentation because no fermentation can be discover'd in them nor by any Experiments either in Distillation Precipitation or any other Method cou'd I ever observe such a Contrariety of Matter in them that one part wou'd ferment upon another so as to cause any sensible Heat From subterraneous Fires they cannot proceed because in these parts such were never known or were there any cou'd not but discover themselves since no Fires will burn without admission of Air and there must likewise be Flues and Chasms whence they vent their Smoke and foeculent parts but since none of these were ever disclos'd in these parts it is not probable the Baths should grow hot by any such cause and when the Heat of the Baths may be sufficiently explain'd by the Collision of sulphureous Particles what necessity is there we should have recourse to any such unwarrantable Hypothesis as a Fermentation in the Waters or to subterraneous Fires Those two Notions are lately espoused by Dr. Guidot and Dr. Pierce of Bathe but I am apt to think those Gentlemen rather fancy than observe the Phaenomena of Nature For I am very well satisfy'd had they made strict Enquiries into those Waters they wou'd never have troubled the World with such Chimerical Hypotheses Dr. Pierce indeed does not much trouble himself or the World with any Scrutiny into the Contents of the Baths or the Causes of the Heat of them but only gives you an Instance from Savoy which is as remote as that place to his Undertaking And as for Dr. Guidot he is so Inconsistent with himself that unless he have the Art of reconciling Contradictions I am sure his Thermae Britannicae are not to be accounted for I do not speak this as any wise arrogating a greater Genius to my self or to lessen those worthy Persons but only from the Phaenomena I have observ'd in Nature and if they please to do the same I despair not of their Pardons Having now done with the sulphureous saline Waters in the next place I shall proceed to treat of saline Ones only as those at Northwich Namptwich Middlewich Dunham in Cheshire and Barton in Lancashire Various have been the Notions concerning the Rise of these Springs some imagining they proceeded from the Sea others from subterraneous Rocks of Salt which have of late Years been discover'd and first made Useful by my self in refining that Rock to a White granulated Salt which is now practiced in many places These Springs sometimes break out in the Rock but oftner either above or under it some of them in a Quart of Water contain about seven or eight Ounces of Salt whence its plain that quatenus Salt-springs they proceed not from the Sea because a Quart of the best of that Water affords seldome above an Ounce and Half of Salt Some of these Springs will tinge with Galls but most refuse it whence its plain Dr. Lister in his usual manner is much mistaken in forcing the Pyrites upon us 'T is true from the sulphureous Smell that may be observ'd in the Fermentation betwixt this Salt and Oyl of Vitriol that there is a Sulphur contain'd in the Salt but that no wise warrants a Pyrites since that is an aggregate of different Principles viz. Ocre and Vitriol besides Sulphur which Bodies by the Dr's own Confession Salt does not contain which is the only true Notion he lays down about those Waters and that he may assume as an Observation of his own It is likewise observable that the Salt made from the Brine-springs and the Rock-salt dissolv'd in fresh Water that these Salts will shoot into different Figures whence it is evident the Brine-springs proceed not from the Rocks of Salt that are discover'd but from Rocks of Salt that lie deeper in the Bowels of the Earth Besides in different Springs I have observ'd the Figures of the Salt to differ as some in Middlewich from those at Northwich where by Chrystallization they shoot into quite contrary Figures so that the Sal Mediterraneum as the Dr. stiles it is like to lose its Character Nay Rock-salt it self will never shoot into any regular Figure at all whence it may be averr'd these Salt-springs have not their Saltness from any subterraneous Rocks of Salt yet known it follows therefore if they are not saturated either from the Sea or from subterraneous Rocks of Salt we may then form another Hypothesis and conclude them to arise from Aerial saline Particles impregnating a proper Bass and so by various Solutions and Impregnations keeping a continual Circulation and so constantly supplying us and what chiefly gives umbrage to this is the Renascence of marine Salt which is so prodigiously made out by Untzerus in his Account of those Mountains of Salt that supply Russia Persia Mesopotamia Media and those vast Countries which as he affirms every Year Vegetates and the places whence the Salt was digg'd is the Year following as full of Salt as before Phaenomena like to this may be observ'd in the Vitriol-stone near Hesse-Cassel and in those Iron-Mines belonging to the Duke of Florence as is related by Fallopius Besides the marine Salt these Springs do likewise contain the Nitrum Calcarium Its observable the Salt of some of these Springs will not easily precipitate but a little Allum and fresh Butter will effect it and then it makes a larger Grain and stronger Salt than any of the rest In the Evaporation of these Salts there is likewise observ'd a white Sand which is thrown to the Corners of the Pan and this by frequent Evaporation and Filtrations I found to be the Particles of the Bass out of which these Salt-springs arise The most noted Purging-Waters in these parts are those in a Village call'd Rougham adjacent to the remarkable Sands which are the great Road into Furnace nine Miles in breadth and at each Spring-tide entirely cover'd with Water these in calm Weather afford us very pleasant Travelling but in tempestuous Seasons no less dismal than we can suppose the wild Desarts of Arabia From the bottom of an high Rock near these the Water issues forth in a very plentiful Current it is a little brackish taken inwardly it purges both by Urine
the Pounds and Substracting the Parts at the end for Example of one Month from the Pounds thrown away and the Parts remaining at the end of another I find the quantity of Rain fallen betwixt these two times and that so as to assure me that I erred no more in the quantity of Rain of another Year than by mistake in the differences of the parts of a Pound in the first and last Observation whereas shou'd I still Write down the Rain that falls between two Observations I might be subject to make as great a mistake in every one of them and consequently be much more uncertain of the quantity of Rain fallen in many of those added together Besides this Addition is longer in performing and giving the quantity sought than the method I make use of I have added these particulars to show you how little trouble there is in this task which therefore I hope some of your ingenious Friends may be persuaded to undertake and then by continuing my own Observations I may be farther satisfy'd than hitherto I have been with them for I have yet Learn'd as to the main point is that here we have almost just twice the quantity of Rain that falls at Paris This County and particularly that part of it where I live being generally esteemed to have much more Rain than other Parts and in a greater Proportion than I thought reasonable to be allow'd however it be yet by what I have sent you 't would be unjust without farther Observations of the like Nature in other Parts that all England shou'd be esteemed to abound as much in Rain as these parts do where by reason of the very high Grounds in Yorkshire and the Eastern Parts of Lancashire the Clouds driven hither by the South and S. W. the general Winds in this part of the World are oftener stopt and broken and fall upon us than such as come by an E. and S. E. Winds which broken by the Hills are generally spent there and little affect us and this is the reason that Lancashire has often considerably more Rain than Yorkshire The above mention'd method of estimating Rain by pounds to those of my Family gave a sufficient Idea of the Proportions of the falling Rains and the Wetness of the different Seasons though they knew not how high it wou'd raise the Water in a Cylinder Equal at the bottom to my Tunnel but to inform others of this with little trouble in the Table I have sent you the Pounds and Parts are doubled and these I have rather sent you than those of the whole Pounds since the same gives both the quantity of half Pounds and the height in inches according to the general way of estimating the quantity of Rain only with this difference that for the half Pounds only the last Figure is a decimal Fraction and the other the number of the half Pounds and for the height the two last Figures denote the Decimal Fraction of an inch and the remainder of the height in inches so near the truth that they only fall short of it one inch in 200. which defect is easily supply'd To this I need only add that the numbers on the right hand are the summs of all those in the same line that is in the first part of several numbers for Ten Years so that the last of them shews the summ both of the half Ounces that have fallen during that space of time and the height the Water wou'd have been raised in that time also To this I shall only add one Example The summ of all the Rain in the Ten first Years 41227. and therefore according to what has been said 4122 7. is the number of half Pounds that fell in Compass of the Tunnel during those Ten Years and 412 27. the height it wou'd have raised the Water during that time But if you desire to be more Critical if you add 2 06 its 200th part you will have 414 33 for the true height and 41 413 for the mean height by those Ten Years observations and 412 27 for the mean quantity of half Pounds by the same method you will have the means for the other Five viz. Of height 41 78 and 417 8 for the mean number of half Pounds which means do strangely agree and both consider'd do give for the mean by all the Fifteen Years 41 516 inches in height which is about ¼ of an inch more than double to that raised by the Water at Paris which as set down in the Memoirs for the Ingenious for February last is stated about 19 ½ French inches which make 21 English I have omitted the accounts of the Years 87 and 88 which I found faulty by reason the Person who had the charge of noting what Rain fell during my absence several times then from home did not punctually observe the usual method I had prescribed him I forgot when I mentioned my way of Gauging by weight that it was grounded upon 22 7368 Cubical inches of Rain Water being equal in weight to one pound or 12 Ounces Troy so that dividing any superficies in inches of a Vessel for receiving the Rain Water by the before mentioned number it will give you the Pounds and parts that will raise the Water upon that superficies with up-right sides just an inch and thus I found that 4 974 Pounds wou'd fill a Cylinder equal at the Bottom to my Tunnel and one inch high which you see is very near five Pounds which you will also find will only raise the Cylinder by 1 200th part but now I have detained you so long and I am afraid needlesly so that I trust to your goodness for Pardon in and what else you shall find amiss upon the score of my Eyes which oblige me to trust more to others than otherwise I shou'd I am Your Humble Servant The Table of Rain  1677 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 Sum Ianuary 472 371 043 512 053 986 238 032 110 472 3289 February 270 371 161 492 363 135 245 483 042 020 2582 March 245 250 202 413 235 237 305 087 185 572 2731 April 325 170 092 222 057 308 402 370 380 305 2631 May 313 581 105 188 069 315 353 097 201 437 2659 Iune 516 257 298 342 397 517 468 192 410 473 3870 Iuly 351 339 350 302 292 482 412 313 497 188 3526 August 485 145 835 502 425 385 582 338 398 870 4965 September 223 527 553 146 607 293 152 199 163 572 3435 October 333 644 616 570 170 427 330 425 325 293 4133 November 432 555 127 479 235 525 192 579 522 709 4355 December 400 057 439 269 423 456 037 299 548 132 3051 Sum 4365 4267 3821 4428 3326 5066 3716 3414 3781 5043 41227  1687 88 89 90 91 92 93   Sum Ianuary   333 707 197 054 218   1509 February   393 171 112 168 078   922 March   875 145 476 342