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MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS.

An ACCOUNT of the MEANS employed to obtain an overflowing WELL; in a LETTER to the RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR JOSEPH BANKS, BARONET, &c. from Mr. BENJAMIN VULLIAMY.

[From the Second Part of the PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS of the ROYAL SOCIETY of LONDON, for the YEAR 1797.]

"SIR,

PERM

ERMIT me, in compliance with your requeft, to give you a fhort account of the well at Norland Houfe, belonging to Mr. L. Vulliamy; a work of great labour and expence executed entirely under my direction, and finished in November, 1794.

"Before I began the work, I confidered that it would be of infinite advantage, fhould a fpring be found ftrong enough to rife over the furface of the well; and though I thought it very improbable, yet I refolved to take from the beginning the fame precautions in doing the work, as if I had been affured that fuch a fpring would be found. But although this very laborious undertaking has fucceeded beyond my expectation, yet from the knowledge I have acquired in the progrefs of the wok, I am of opinion that it will very feldom happen that the water will rife fo high; nor will people, I believe, in general, be fo indefatigable as I have been in overcoming the various difficulties that did and ever will occur, in bringing fuch a work to perfection.

"In beginning to fink this well, which has a diameter of four feet, the land fprings were stopped out in the ufual manner, and the well was funk and fteined to the bottom. When the workmen had got to the depth of 236 feet, the water was judged not to be very far off, and it was not thought fafe to fink any deeper. A double thickness of fteining was made about 6 feet from the bottom upwards, and a borer of 5 inches diameter was made ufe of. A copper pipe of the fame diameter with the borer was driven down the bore-hole to the depth of 24 feet, at which depth the borer pierced through the rock into the water; and by the manner of its going through, it must probably have broken into a ftratum containing water and fand. At the time the borer burft through, the top of the copper pipe was about three feet above the bottom of the well: a mixture of fand and water inftantly rufhed in through the aperture of the pipe. This happened about two o'clock in the afternoon, and by twenty minutes past three o'clock the water of the well ftood within 17 feet of the furface. The

water

water rofe the firft 124 feet in eleven minutes, and the remaining 119 feet in one hour and nine minutes. The next day feveral buckets of water were drawn out, fo as to lower the water four or five feet; and in a fhort time the water again rofe within 17 feet of the furface. A found-line was then let down into the well in order to try its depth. To our great furprise the well was not found by 96 feet fo deep as it had been measured before the water was in it; and the lead brought up a fufficient quantity of fand to explain the reafon of this difference, by fhewing that the water had brought along with it 96 feet of fand into the well. Whether the copper pipe remained full of fand or not, is not eafy to be determined; but I fhould rather be inclined to think it did not.

"After the well had continued in the fame ftate feveral days, the water was drawn out fo as to lower it eight or ten feet; and it did not rife again by about a foot fo high as it had rifen before. At fome days interval water was again drawn out, fo as to lower the water as before; which at each time of drawing rofe lefs and lefs, until after fome confiderable time it would rife no more; and the water being then all drawn out, the fand remained perfectly dry and hard. I now began to think the water loft; and, confequently, that all the labour and expence of finking this well, which by this time were pretty confiderable, had been in vain. There remained no alternative but to endeavour to recover it by getting out the fand, or all that had been done would be ufelefs; and although it became a more difficult task than finking a new well might have been, yet I determined to undertake it, because I knew another well might

alfo be liable to be filled with fand in the fame manner that this was. The operation of digging was again neceffarily reforted to, and the fand was drawn up in buckets until about 60 feet of it were drawn out, and confequently, there remained only 36 feet of fand in the well: that being too light to keep the water down, in an inftant it forced again into the well with the fame violence it had done before; and the man who was at the bottom getting out the fand, was drawn up almoft fuffocated, having been covered all over by a mixture of fand and wa ter. In a fhort time the water rofe again within 17 feet of the furface, and then ceased to rife, as before. When the water had ceafed rifing, the founding-line was again let down, and the well was found to contain full as much fand as it did the first time of the water's coming into it.

"Any further attempt towards recovering the water appeared now in vain; and moft people would, I believe, have abandoned the undertaking. I again confidered that the labour and the expence would be all loft by fo doing; and I determined without delay to set about drawing the fand out through the water, by means of an iron box made for that purpose, without giving it time to harden as before. The labour attending on this operation was very great, as it was neceffary continually to draw out the water, for the purpofe of keeping it conftantly rifing through the fand, and thereby to prevent the fand from hardening. What rendered this operation the more difcouraging was, that frequently after having drawn out fix or feven feet of fand in the courfe of the day, upon founding the next morning the fand was found lowered only one foot in

the

the well, fo that more fand muft have come in again. This, how ever, did not prevent me from proceeding in the fame manner during feveral days, though with little or no appearance of any advantage arifing from the great exertions we were making. After perfevering, however, for fome confiderable time, we perceived that the water rofe a little nearer to the furface, and I began to entertain fome hope that it might perhaps rife high enough to come above the level of the ground; but when the water had rifen a few feet higher in the well, fome difficulties occurred, occafioned by accidental circumftances, which very much delayed the progrefs of the work; and it remained for a confiderable time very uncertain whether the water would run over the top of the well

or not.

"Thefe difficulties being at length furmounted, we continued during feveral days the procefs before mentioned, of drawing out the fand and water alternately; and I had the fatisfaction of feeing the water rife higher and higher, until at laft it ran over the top of the well, into a temporary channel that conveyed it into the road. I then flattered myself that every difficulty was overcome; but a few days afterwards I difcovered that the upper part of the well had not been properly conftructed, and it became neceffary to take down about 10 feet of brickwork. The water, which was now a continued stream, rendered this extremely difficult to execute. I began by conftructing a wooden cylinder 12 feet long, which was let down into the well, and fufpended to a ftrong wooden ftage above, upon which I had fixed two very large pumps, of fuffi

1797.

cient power to take off all the water that the spring could furnish, at 11 feet below the furface. The ftage and cylinder were to contrived as to prevent the poibility of any thing falling into the well; and I contrived a gage, by which the men upon the ftage could always afcertain to the greatest exactnefs the height of the water within the cylinder. This precaution was effentially neceffary, in order to keep the water a foot below the work which was doing on the outfide of the cylinder, to prevent the new work from being wetted too foon. After every thing was prepared, we were employed eight days in taking down 10 feet of the wall of the well, remedying the defects, and building it up again; during which time ten men were employed, five relieving the other five, and the two pumps were kept conftantly at work during one hundred and ninety-two hours. By the affiftance of the gage, the water was never fuffered to rife upon the new work until it was made fit to receive it. When the cylinder was taken out, the water again ran over into the temporary channel that conveyed it into the road.

"The top of the well was afterwards raifed 18 inches, and conftructed in fuch a manner as to be able to convey the water five different ways at pleasure, with the power of being able to fet any of thefe pipes dry at will, in order to repair them whenever occafion fhould require. The water being now entirely at command, I again refolved upon taking out more fand, in order to try what additi onal quantity of water could be obtained thereby. I cannot exa&ly afcertain the quantity of fand taken

out,

out, but the increase of water obtained was very great; as inftead of the well discharging thirty gallons in a minute, the water was now increased to forty-fix gallons

in the fame time.

"If you think, fir, that the above account of an overflowing well, the joint production of na

ture and art, is deferving your attention, I feel myself much gratified in the pleafure I have in giving you this description of it; and have the honour of being with the greatest regard, "Sir, &c.

"B. VULLIAMY."

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66

ECONOMY of the VINEYARDS of the celebrated TOKAY WINE.

[From TowNSON'S TRAVELS in HUNGARY, &c.]

THE vines when firft planted are cut down at a knot, to within a span of the foil, and the fuperfluous young fhoots are cut off every fpring at the fame place: by this means a head is formed, which increases yearly; fometimes they are very large, but the best fize is that of a child's head. When the vines have repaid by their fruit the induftrious labourer for his trouble, which is late in autumn, the ftumps are covered an inch or two thick with foil, and then each reprefents a mole-hill. Often, it is faid, the hufbandman is feen following his gatherers occupied in this work, left early froft or fnow fhould prevent its being done; fometimes even the branches, if defigned for layers, are covered. Some vine-dreifers take out the fticks and lay them in bundles, others leave them ftanding. As foon as the winter is over, and the weather begins to grow milder, which is about the middle of March, and often at the beginning, the ftumps are gain uncovered, and the foil about them turned up: this labour is followed by the dreffing, which is generally done as foon as the featon will permit;

that is, at the end of March, or at the beginning of April. Time, fevere winters, and fpring frofts, caufe ravages in the vineyards: to make good these deficiencies, fresh vines must be raised. This is done in different ways, by traní planting, and more commonly by planting the cuttings of known good and found vines; and this is the next bufiness to be performed. The cuttings (the points of which foon withering must be cut away) fhould be put knee-deep in the foil, with a little dung, the other end to be only a span above ground, which fhould be covered up till it is probable it has begun to fhoot, and the spring weather is no longer to be feared. Or they are raised by layers. Here the foil is dug out from about the ftump and roots till the hole is a foot and a half deep; thefe then are trod to the bottom of it, fo that the branches, where they are inferted in the ftump, are under ground, and the remaining part is laid down and covered with the foil mixed with a little dung, fo that their points only reach a few inches above the furface of the foil. To each of thefe branches, which in time be

comes

comes a new vine, a stick is given. Then follows the fevereft labour of the vineyard, the digging or turning up the foil: this is repeated three or four times before the vintage. Soon after the first digging, the fticks are driven in; to which the fhoots, when they are about two feet long, are lightly bound when they are grown to five feet they are better bound, once pretty faft above, and once loofer in the middle. Weeds by this time again begin to grow, and the foil is again turned up to deftroy them, and to keep it light but during the flowering of the vine, nothing is done; nature is left entirely to herself. This be ing over, the sticks are driven firmer in the ground; the vines which may have come untied are better fecured; the too luxurious growth is taken away, and the vines are fo ordered that they may require no farther care till the vintage; only the foil is once more turned up. Now the husbandman's toil is over, and he waits for the bleffing of Providence in a fine vintage with anxiety-for very uncertain are his profits.

"Though in warm feafons the earliest grapes are ripe in the middle of Auguft, it is the latter end of September before the greater part are eatable; and as the grapes for preffing muft be fully ripe, the vintage is delayed as long as pofGible; generally to the feaft of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, which is the 28th of October; and if the weather is fine, the later the better, on account of having the great er quantity of the half-dried lufcious grapes, or, as they are here called, troken-beers; which are abfolutely neceffary to form the aufbruche, that kind of Tokay wine which is fo much efteemed, and

which is called by us Tokay. As foon as the grapes begin to grow ripe, guards are placed in the vineyards, not only to prevent the grapes from being ftolen, but to drive away the birds from them.

"At laft the feafon of rejoicing comes, the vintage. In every country this a time of mirth and gaiety; but particularly fo about Tokay. Many of the great nobility, though they have no estate here, and live in diftant parts of Hungary, have a vineyard here, and bufinefs as well as pleasure brings many of them at this feafon; and the dealers in this article come likewife to make their contracts, and the friends of all concerned, from a tacit invitation, come to join in the general feftivity: the vintage is preceded by fairs, fo that during this feafon all is life and bustle.

"To the troken-beers, or halfdried Infcious grapes, Tokay, that is, the Tokay aufbruche, is indebted for all its richness: but these de. pend greatly on the weather; every year does not produce them either in the fame quantity or quality; in fome years they fail altogether. If the frofty mornings fet in too foon, and, before the grapes are ripe, deftroy the connection between them and the vines, the aufbruche is harth and four; yet frofty mornings, when not too foon, are advantageous to them: if wet weather fets in at the time they ought, through the influence of the fun, to lofe their watery parts, and to be turned to firup, it may easily be conceived what will be the confequence. These troken-beers are always trifling in quantity compared with the other grapes; and in fome years, as I have juft faid, there are none at all.

"The feafon for gathering being L 2 come,

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