WEL view ;■— as a description of this con- trivance would be uninrelHgible, without the aid of engravings, we refer the reader to the 9th vol. of the Society's " TrausaciUms,"' &c, which contains a complete analy- sis of the subject, illustrated with two plates. Welch Bistort, See Bis- tort, the Small. Weld. See Dter's-weed. WELL, a canty, dug in the ground, with a view to collecl: tiie water from the contiguous strata : it is generally of a circular form, and lined with brick or stone. The following method of pro- curing water, in almost every situ- ation, has lately been suggested by M, Cadet de Vaux. — He dire6ls the soil _to be perforated with a borer : a wooden pipe is then to be placed in the hole, and driven down with a mallet j after which the boring must be continued, in order that a pipe may be driven to a greater depth. As the aug':r becomes filled with earth, it ought to be drawn up, and emptied ; so that, by the addition of fresh por- tions of the pipe, the boring is car- ried to a considerable extent under ground, and vater is in most in- stances obtained. Wells, thus formed, are preferable to those dug in the usual manner} being less expensive, while the supply of wa- ter is more copious and certain. Indeed, it often happens, in the common praftice of digging for wells, that the workmen are ob- liged to fix the windlass, in order to prevent the springs from gaining on them ; by this pradice, a small quantity of water is the necessary consequence, and it is apt to fail (during dry summers. Hence, M, De Vaux advises the earth to be perforated ; a cylindrical pipe to be WEL [3., inserted ; and to search for that element at a greater depth, in ihe manner before suggested, — Tiiis method is stated to be very useful in camps, or fortresses ; and, in case the fluid near the surface be neither sufficiently sweet, nor of a good quality, he supposes his ex- pedient to be the best that can be -adopted, for obtaining water of a purer kind, at a greater depth. — Farther, when wells have, in large towns, been rendered unfit or use- less, in consequence of the ground having been tainted by privies, church-yards, &c. he very proper- ly recommends such reservoirs to be en:iptied, and the bottom per- foraied in a similar manner, so as to reach the lower sheet of water ; Avhich, being thus contained with- in the cylindrical pipe, will rise iii a pure state into the body of the pump fixed for this purpose. — For an account of the relative salubrity oi well-water, the reader will re- vert to p. '299 of this volume. If wells be disused for a consi- derable time, the water generally becomes foul ; the ambient amos- phere is corrupted ; and thus arise mephitic vapours which have often proved fatal to animal life. Hence it has been suggested, to employ a pair of smith's bellows, and a tube, according to the manner direiSled in the article Vapour 3 but, as these are too bulky to be conveni- ently carried to any distance, and frequently cannot be procured on the spur of the occasion, Mr, Sal- mon, of Canterbury, has invented the following apparatus, for dis- persing noxious air from wells.—* V^e are induced to recommend this ingenious contrivance to the notice of our country readers ; as it is not very expensive, and will pre- verit many fatal accidents. A,B,
