number of reservoirs to be constructed in districts where the land is valuable would be necessary in addition to those now in existence in, and around, London. The expense of superintendence at each pumping station would be both large and permanent; but another objection, and one which is urged against the present supply, would apply even with greater force to the one here referred to, the water would certainly be "hard," as it would be derived entirely from calcareous deposits. An idea of the quality of such water may be gathered from that of the well at Thames head, pumped for the supply of the Gloucester Canal, which on analysis was found to contain 18 grains per gallon of solid matter, of which 4 grains were organic.* Having thus sketched out the general features and pointed out the advantages and some of the disadvantages of one plan for the future supply of the Metropolis of the possibility of which there can be no question-and which amongst other advantages has that of being in proximity to the centre of demand, we propose now to consider the two great schemes which have been elaborated by Mr. Bateman on the one hand, and Messrs. Hemans and Hassard on the other. Mr. Bateman has the advantage of having been first in the field, for his proposal was published in November of last year, while that of his rivals is dated 1866; we may also add that the former bears marks of more careful elaboration than the latter, and is accompanied by more detailed information. The authors of both schemes naturally commence by stating the growing objections to a continuance of the present sources of supply; Mr. Bateman, however, laying more stress on the subject of hardness, on the ground, first, that soft water is economical, and secondly, that the use of hard water is productive of many diseases of a painful character, which are entirely absent in communities where the soft waters of the Millstone Grit and the primitive formations are used; and he assures us, on estimates which were calculated in the introduction of the Loch Katrine water into Glasgow, that the saving to the inhabitants of London by the substitution of water as pure as that now supplied to Glasgow would not be less than 400,000l. per annum in the use of soap, soda, tea, coffee, and chemical substances. As the engineer of the Glasgow and Manchester Waterworks, Mr. Bateman, with reasonable partiality, compares the cases of these towns with that of London, in which the proportions in the matter of hardness alone are as 1° to 12° or 16° in the former instance, and 1° to 5° or 8° in the latter, according to Dr. Clarke's 6 * Analysis by Mr. Horsley, County of Gloucester analyst, given in Appendix B to Dr Wright's Report on the Water-supply of Cheltenham,' 1863. The water is pumped from the Great Oolite formation, scale; and in this respect the following table will enable the reader to judge for himself: Comparative Statement of Quality of the Waters supplied to Glasgow, Manchester, and the Metropolis from 1856 to 1865. In reference to the above table, it is right to state that there are considerable variations in the ingredients, depending on the season of the year and the amount of rain. Most of the minimum quantities were obtained in September, 1865, after a dry season. The analysis of the Loch Katrine and Manchester Waters have been supplied to us from a private source. It may be assumed that there are only two districts in Britain available for the supply of London by gravitation, namely, North Wales and the Lake Country. Mr. Bateman's scheme applies to the former; Messrs. Hemans and Hassard to the latter. In both of these districts the rainfall is abundant, and the elevation at which it is discharged admits of conveyance from the sources to the points of delivery without the aid of machinery; an essential element in a project of such magnitude. Mr. Bateman starts with the principle that no scheme is worthy of attention which would bring less than 200,000,000 gallons of water per day. He proposes, therefore, to take the head waters of the river Severn, consisting principally of the streams called the Wyrnwy, the Banw, the Tarannon, and the Ceryst, which rise on the eastern flanks of Aran Mowddy, Dinas Mowddy, and Plinlimmon, draining an area of 130,572 acres, over which he assumes a minimum rainfall of 36 inches per annum. This estimate is obtained rather by the analogy of the physical features and geographical position of this district with that of the Cumberland lakes, where the rainfall has been determined by Dr. Miller, from observations extending over ten years to reach 89 93 inches per annum. The physical conditions of the two districts are not very dissimilar, and we may allow that the estimate of Mr. Bateman as regards the quantity of supply is within the mark. The water of these brooks Mr. Bateman proposes to impound in six artificial reservoirs, four of which are of very large dimensions; from these it will be conducted by two aqueducts, each of about 20 miles in length, to Marten Mere, where a junction is to be effected. From this point the joint volume will be guided by a single aqueduct, crossing the river Severn at Bridgenorth, by means of inverted syphon pipes, and passing near to the towns of Stourbridge, Bromsgrove, Warwick, Banbury, and Watford, to the high land near Stanmore, where extensive service reservoirs must be constructed at an elevation of at least 250 feet above Trinity high-water mark. From these reservoirs the water will be delivered to the City at "high pressure," and under the "constant supply" system. The length of the aqueducts will be 171 miles, to which must be added piping from the service-reservoirs to London, about 10 miles, making a total distance of 183 miles. The cost of the whole of these works is estimated at 8,600,000Z., supposing the whole of the proposed supply to be actually obtained, but as 120,000,000 gallons would be sufficient for the present supply, the sum of 7,500,0007. may be considered as the actual amount to be raised. Mr. Bateman proposes to purchase the works, reservoirs, and mains of the existing companies (exclusive of any of the New River supplies, which may still be retained for trade purposes) by capitalizing the present dividends and interests at twenty-five years' purchase, and to invest the whole property in some public body, similar to that of the Metropolitan Board of Works, with power to levy the rates necessary for the payment of interest on outlay and for the working expenses. It is natural to suppose that the existing companies would be willing to dispose of their works to such a body on condition of receiving the usual dividends secured on rates levied upon the whole property of the Metropolis. The scheme of Messrs. Hemans and Hassard appears at first sight even more stupendous than that we have just been considering, as the distance of the source of supply is 240 miles as against 183, but it possesses advantages which appear fully to counterbalance the drawback consequent on the additional length of conveyance. The authors propose to make use of the waters which fall on part of the northern flanks of the Cumberland mountains, and which feed the lakes of Thirlmere, Ullswater, and Haweswater, together with some adjoining brooks. The plan consists of conducting by means of aqueducts the waters of both Thirlmere and Haweswater into the lower end of the central Lake of Ullswater, and from the head of the lake to construct an aqueduct, passing under Kirkstone Pass by tunnelling, and from thence through the districts of North and East Lancashire, North Staffordshire, and Warwickshire (avoiding all coal-fields), to a large service reservoir to be constructed to the north of Harrow, from which the water is to be supplied at an elevation of 220 feet above high-water mark to the houses of the Metropolis, utilizing, as Mr. Bateman proposes, the present companies' means of distribution. The entire area of drainage is over 177 square miles, at altitudes varying from 500 to 3,200 feet above the sea, the mean being 1,400 feet; with an additional area remaining for increased supply when it becomes necessary. The disadvantage of this scheme as compared with that of Mr. Bateman is the greater distance of conveyance, besides the driving of a tunnel of seven miles in the very hard rocks of which the mountains between Windermere and Ullswater are composed, which of itself is estimated to cost 350,000l. The total expenses is placed at 9,650,000l. as against 7,500,000 of the competing scheme; but the former is subject to a deduction on account of a proposed distribution of 50,000,000 gallons per day to the populous towns of Lancashire lying along the line of the aqueduct. This we consider a valuable feature in the scheme. It is well known to those resident in Lancashire, that many of the large populous towns are ill-supplied with water for household and manufacturing purposes. Some of these towns, such as Liverpool, Blackburn, Bolton, and Wigan, owing to the rapid increase of population, are likely in a few years to be reduced to great straits; and even now during very dry seasons, such as the early part of last summer, some of these towns are put on short supply. The introduction therefore of 50 millions of the pure and soft waters of the Cumberland lakes to supplement the present sources would be a very great boon to these districts, and the rental to be derived therefrom would, we have little doubt, more than compensate for the additional outlay which the plan of Messrs. Hemans and Hassard would involve. On this ground, therefore, we prefer the larger scheme. But there is another advantage. There is no doubt that the great drawback to Mr. Bateman's plan is the construction of a number of large artificial reservoirs, subject to the accidents of all such constructions, however skilfully planned and executed. On the other hand, in the Lake district, nature herself has constructed rock-basins and reservoirs, altogether free from any such objections. It is true that in the proposed plan of Messrs. Hemans and Hassard the Thirlmere and Haweswater are to be raised by artificial embankments 64 and 42 feet above the present levels respectively; but these will be of less elevation than the embankments proposed by Mr. Bateman, which are not to exceed 80 feet, and are not of equal moment in reference to the general scheme, as it is not proposed to embank Ullswater-the largest by far of the three lakes. As regards the comparative quality of the waters to be supplied from the two sources, the advantage would probably be found to lie with that drawn from the lakes both, however, are sufficiently good for all necessary purposes. Of the waters from the Welsh rivers in Mr. Bateman's scheme, the analyses show the total impurity to vary from 2-6 grains per gallon to 7.24, and the hardness from 18 to 2.2. In the case of the lakes, the amount is 3.61 to 7.00, this latter being the amount of matter in the water of the river Lowther, which is to be utilized, and the degrees of hardness vary from 1·5° to 5 2°. There is, therefore, not much to choose between them, and both are vastly superior to the waters now supplied to London. Taking a general view of the two plans, we may say that Mr. Bateman's has the advantage of shorter distance and smaller cost. On the other hand, the rival one has the advantage of natural storage-reservoirs, and of conferring a benefit on the inhabitants of South Lancashire; and we shall be well pleased if one or other of the schemes be carried out with as little loss of time as possible. As regards the cost of carrying out either of these schemes, the authors endeavour to show that the taxation, as applied to the Metropolis, would not be greater in proportion to the rateable value of the property than that of several larger towns in the north, and would be even less than in the case of others; and, considering the interests at stake, Mr. Bateman ventures to hint at the propriety of Imperial assistance, should any difficulty be found in raising the required capital. VI. RICHARDSON'S ETHER-SPRAY AND PAINLESS OPERATIONS. LITTLE do men of science think by what apparent accident it may please Providence to crown their long, unwearying, and often derided efforts to gain some great end, be it the alleviation of human suffering or the elevation of human intelligence. Little did Dr. Richardson dream, as he once entered a London ball-room, that the practical joke of an acquaintance would suggest to him the readiest means of rendering the human body insensible to pain, without at the same time endangering life or robbing the patient of con sciousness. Every one who is conversant with what is going on in the scientific world knows that the gentleman referred to has been for many years engaged in endeavouring to produce local anesthesia, |