showed, was not sufficient to supply the rivers; for that those of England, Ireland, and Spain, discharge a greater quantity of water annually than the rain, according to that experiment, is able to supply. Another observation was made by them, that the quantity of water raised in vapor, one year with another, amounted to about thirty-two inches, which is thirteen more than falls in rain: a plain indication that the water of fountains is not supplied by rain and melted snow. Thus the true cause of the origin of fountains remained undiscovered till Dr. Halley, in making his celestial observations upon the tops of the mountains at St. Helena, about 800 yards above the level of the sea, found that the quantity of vapor which fell there (even when the sky was clear) was so great that it very much impeded his observations, by covering his glasses with water every half quarter of an hour;, and upon that he attempted to determine by experiment the quantity of vapor exhaled from the surface of the sea, as far as it rises from heat, to try whether that might be a sufficient supply for the water continually discharged by fountains. His experiment was as follows:-He took a vessel of water salted to the same degree with that of sea-water, in which he placed a thermometer; and, by means of a pan of coals, brought the water to the same degree of heat, which is observed to be that of the air in our hottest summer; this done he fixed the vessel of water, with the thermometer in it, to one end of a pair of scales, and exactly counterpoised it with weights on the other: then, at the end of two hours, he found, by the alteration made in the weight of the vessel, that about a sixtieth part of an inch of the depth of the water was gone off in vapor; and therefore, in twelve hours, one-tenth of an inch would have gone off. Now this accurate observer allows the Mediterranean Sea to be 40° long, and 4° broad, so that its whole surface is 160 square degrees; which must yield at least 5,280,000,000 tons of water in which account no regard is had to the wind and the agitation of the surface of the sea, both which undoubtedly promote the evaporation. It remained now to compare this quantity of water with that which is daily conveyed into the same sea by the rivers. The only way to do which was to compare them with some known river; and accordingly he takes his computation from the river Thames; and, to avoid all objections, makes allowances, probably greater than were necessary. The Mediterranean receives he rivers Iberus, Rhone, Tiber, Po, Danube, Niester, Borysthenes, Tanais, and Nile. Each of these he supposes to bring down ten times as much water as the Thames, whereby he allows for smaller rivers which fall into the same sea. The Thames, then, he finds by mensuration to discharge about 20,300,000 tons of water aday. If therefore the above nine rivers yield ten times as much water as the Thames doth, it follows, that all of them together yield but 1,827,000,000 of tons in a day, which is little more than one-third of what is proved to be raised in vapor out of the Mediterranean in the same time. We have therefore a source abundantly sufficient for the supply of fountains. The doctor considers next the manner in which they

are raised, and how they are condensed into water again, and conveyed to the sources of springs. He considers that if an atom of water was expanded into a shell or bubble, so as to be ten times as big in diameter as when it was water, that atom would become specifically lighter than air, and therefore would rise so long as the warmth which first separated it from the surface of the water should continue to distend it to the same degree; and, consequently, that vapors may be raised from the surface of the sea in that manner, till they arrive at a certain height in the atmosphere, at which they find air of equal specific gravity with themselves. Here they will float till, being condensed by cold, they become specifically heavier than the air, and fall down in dew; or being driven by the winds against the sides of mountains (many of which far surpass the usual height to which the vapors would of themselves ascend), are compelled by the stream or the air to mount up with it to the tops of them; where, being condensed into water, they presently precipitate, and gleeting down by the crannies of the stones, part of them enters into the caverns of the hills; which being once filled, all the overplus of water that comes thither runs over by the lowest place, and breaking out by the sides of the hills forms single springs. Many of these running down by the valleys between the ridges of the hills, and coming to unite, form little rivulets or brooks; many of these again meeting in one common valley, and gaining the plain ground, being grown less rapid, become a river; and many of these, being united in one common channel, make such streams as the Rhine and the Danube; which last is the sum of all those springs which break out on the south side of the Carpathian mountains, and on the north side of the immense ridge of the Alps. Thus one part of the vapors which are blown on the land is returned by the rivers into the sea whence it came. Another part falls into the sea before it reaches the land; and this is the reason why the rivers do not return so much water into the Mediterranean as is raised in vapor. A third part falls on the low lands, where it affords nourishment to plants; yct it does not rest there, but is again exhaled in vapor by the action of the sun, and is either carried by the winds to the sea to fall in rain or dew there, or else to the mountains to become the sources of springs. Besides these causes some streams arise from rain and melted snow, which, subsiding through the surface of the earth, makes its way into certain cavities, and thence issues out in the form of springs; because the waters of several increase and diminish in proportion to the rain which falls: others again, especially such as are salt, and spring near the sea-shore, owe their origin to sea-water percolated through the earth; and some to both these causes. The above reasoning of Dr. Halley is confirmed by more recent discoveries. It is now found that, though water is a tolerable conductor of the electric fluid, dry earth is an electric per se, consequently the dry lands must always be in an electrified state compared with the ocean, unless in such particular cases as are mentioned under the article EARTHQUAKE. It is also well known that such bodies as are in an electrified

state, whether plus or minus, attract vapor, or other light substances. Hence the vapors that are raised from the ocean must necessarily have a tendency to approach the land in great quantity, even without the assistance of the wind, though this last undoubtedly contributes much to the same purpose. The higher grounds are always in a more electrified state than the lower ones; and hence the vapors, having once left the ocean and approached the shore, are attracted by the high mountains; of which Mr. Pennant gives an instance in Snowdon. See SNOWDON. Hence we may see the reason why springs are so common in the neighbourhood of mountains, they being so advantageously formed in every respect for collecting and condensing the vapors into water. But now that the nature and composition of water have been so decisively proved, we need have no hesitation to ascribe the origin of all springs and fountains to this general cause, the meeting of oxygen and hydrogen, and the consequent conversion of these airs into water. This also is probably the cause of rain.

The heat of springs is generally the same with the mean temperature of the atmosphere. The mean temperature of the south of England is 48°; in Scotland, near Edinburgh, it is 45°; in the north of Ireland it is 48°, and on the south coast about 51°. Dr. Hutton makes the mean heat of springs near Edinburgh 47°, and that of London 51°. At Upsal, in Sweden, it is 43°, and in Paris 53°. According to accurate experiments made by eminent philosophers, the heat of the springs in these different countries corresponds with the medium temperature. Though this coincidence of the heat of springs with the mean temperature of the climate where they flow seems to be a general fact, yet it admits of many exceptions. In many parts of the world there are springs which not only exceed the mean temperature, but even the strongest meridian heat ever known in the torrid regions. The following table shows the degrees of heat which different springs possess according to the experiments of philosophers: Highest Lowest deg. of deg. of heat. heat.

69

Places.

Bristol,

Buxton,

Springs. St. Vincent's, Gentleman's bath,

84

82

104

Caroline baths Prudel,

*165 212

in Bohemia,

Geyzer,

76

119 113 146 136 122

Iceland, In cold countries, where congelation takes place, the heat of the earth is considerably above the freezing point, and continues so through the whole year. From experiments made in mines and deep pits this heat is uniform and stationary at a certain depth. The heat of these springs far exceeds the common heat of the internal parts of the earth; but the causes are not easy to determine. The subterranean heat has been ascribed to the electrical fluid, and to a great body of fire in the centre of the earth. The electrical fluid seems at least a probable cause, but as to the

supposition that the heat of springs is owing to a central fire, it is too hypothetical to require any refutation. Hot springs are always found among combustible substances. It is well known that when water is mixed with the sulphuric acid, a degree of heat is produced superior to that of boiling water; and when water meets with pyrites a violent inflammation takes place. If, therefore, we could prove that these materials exist in the strata from which hot springs are derived, we should be enabled to give a satisfactory account of this curious phenomenon. As some ground for this supposition we may add, that most of the hot springs mentioned above have been found by analysis to be impregnated with sulphur, and some of them with iron. It must, however, be acknowledged that the hot springs of Iceland, which are 112°, the heat of boiling water, according to an accurate analysis of their contents by the ingenious Dr. Black, were neither found to contain iron nor sulphur. We must therefore continue to collect facts till the sciences of chemistry and mineralogy shall be so far advanced as to enable us to form a permanent theory on this subject.

Springs are of different kinds. Some are perennial, or continue to flow during the whole year; others flow only during the rainy season; some ebb and flow. At Torbay there is one of this kind which ebbs and flows five or six inches every hour. There is another near Coriso in Italy which ebbed and flowed three times a day in the time of Pliny, and continues to do so still. A spring near Henly sometimes flows for two years together, and then dries up for an equal period. The cause of this is explained under HYDROSTATICS.

SPRING BOCK. See CAPRA.

SPRINGER, in zoology. See CAPRA.

SPRINGFIELD, a post town and capital of Hampden county, Massachusetts, on the east side of the Connecticut; eighteen miles south of Northampton, twenty-eight north of Hartford, forty-eight W. S. W. of Worcester, and eightyeight west by south of Boston; is a pleasant and flourishing town, and contains a court house, a jail, a bank, a woollen manufactory, a rope walk, a furnace, two paper mills, two congregational churches, two public libraries, which together contain about 1000 volumes, and a printing office, from which is issued a weekly newspaper. Here is a large, pleasant, and handsome village, which has considerable trade, and contains a number of elegant houses. An excellent covered bridge, connecting this town with West Springfield, was carried away by the rise of the river

in 1818.

There is in this town, belonging to the United States, a very extensive establishment for the manufacture of arms. The arsenal is delightfully situated on an elevated plain about half a mile east of the village. The buildings are finely arranged around a level square of twenty acres, and make an elegant appearance. One building is 204 feet by thirty-two, of two stories, with a cupola, which affords an extensive and interesting view of Connecticut River and the surrounding country; another is 100 by forty; a third sixty by thirty-two; all of brick, two

stories high. The second story of the last, forming a spacious hall, is consecrated as a place of public worship. There are also other buildings for workshops, store houses, &c., and seventeen dwelling houses.

The water-works are situated about a mile south of the arsenal, in three divisions, denominated Upper, Middle, and Lower, water shops, on Mill River, a fine stream which falls into the Connecticut. They form the greatest collection of mills and other water-works in the state. The

whole comprises five work shops, twenty-eight forges, ten trip hammers, eighteen water-wheels, nine coal houses, three stores, and five dwelling

houses.

This establishment employs from 240 to 250 workmen, who complete on an average about forty-five muskets daily. It is estimated that the cost of muskets at Springfield is 1356 dollars each; at Harper's Ferry 1425 dollars.

SPRINGFIELD, WEST, a post-town of Hampden county, Massachusetts, on the west side of the Connecticut, opposite Springfield. This is a pleasant and valuable agricultural town, and contains four parishes, in each of which is a meeting-house, and three post-offices, West Springfield, Agawam, and Feeding Hills. This is also the name of numerous smaller townships

of the United States.

SPRINGTIDE. See ASTRONOMY, Index, and

TIDE.

Sax. гpɲengan; To scatter;

SPRIN'KLE, v. a. & v. n Belg. sprinkelen; Swed. sprenga. disperse in small masses or drops; bedew; christen to perform the act of scattering in this way: sometimes written SPRINgle.

Take handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it towards the heaven. Exodus ix. 8. The priest shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger. Leviticus xiv.

Sprinkle water of purifying upon them. Numbers viii. 7. Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. Hebrews.

This is Timon's last,

The SPRIT, in botany, consists of two parts; viz. the radical and plume; the latter among malsters is called the acrospire.

SPRIT, in boat-building, a small boom or pole which crosses the sail of a boat diagonally from the mast to the upper hindmost corner of the sail, which it is used to extend and elevate; the

lower end of the sprit rests in a sort of wreath or collar called the smotter, which encircles the mast in that place.

SPRIT SAIL, n. s. Sprit and sail. The sail which belongs to the boltsprit mast.

Our men quitted themselves of the fireship, by hatchets. cutting the spritsail tackle off with their short Wiseman.

SPRITSAIL. See SAIL and SHIP.

SPRITSAIL-TOPSAIL. See SAIL and SHIP.

SPROUT, v. n. & n. s. Sax. rpnýttan; Belg. spruyten. Sprout, sprit, and by a very frequent transposition spirt or spurt, are all radically, as Dr. Johnson says, the same word. To shoot by vegetation; germinate; ramify: a vegetable shoot.

Try whether these things in the sprouting do increase weight, by weighing them before they are hanged up; and afterwards again, when they are sprouted. Bacon. forth sprouts for a time. Stumps of trees, lying out of the ground, will put

Vitriol is apt to sprout with moisture. The sprouting leaves that saw you here, And called their fellows to the sight.

Id.

Id.

Cowley.

Early, ere the odorous breath of morn Awakes the slumbering leaves, or tassel'd horn Shakes the high thicket, haste I all about, Number my ranks, and visit every sprout.

Milton.

We find no security to prevent germination, having made trial of grains, whose ends, cut off, have notwitstanding sprouted.

Browne's Vulgar Errours. Old Baucis is by old Philemon seen Sprouting with sudden leaves of sprightly green

Dryden.

To this kid, taken out of the womb, were brought in the tender sprouts of shrubs; and, after it had tasted, it began to eat of such as are the usual food of goats. Ray on the Creation. Rub malt between your hands to get the come or sprouting clean away. Mortimer's Husbandry. Envied Britannia, sturdy as the oak Which on her, mountain top she proudly bears, Eludes the ax, and sprouts against the stroke, Strong from her wounds, and greater by her wars. Prior.

Hence sprouting plants enrich the plain and wood; For physick some, and some designed for food.

Blackmore.

The' enlivening dust its head begins to rear, And on the ashes sprouting plumes appear. Tickel. SPROUT, in botany. See PLANT and SPRIT. SPRUCE, adj. Skinner hesitatingly derives this word from Fr. preux. Junius from sprout. I know not whence to deduce it, except from pruce, says Dr. Johnson, a thing costly and elegant, and thence probably came spruce. Mr. Thompson refers to the Teut. spreisse, spreissen;

SPRUCEBEER', n. s. From spruce, Germ. preussin, a kind of fir. Beer tinctured with branches of fir.

In ulcers of the kidneys, sprucebeer is a good balsamick. Arbuthnot.

SPRUCE BEER, a cheap and wholesome liquor

thus made:-Take of water sixteen gallons and boil the half of it. Put the water thus boiled, while in full heat, to the reserved cold part, which should be previously put into a barrel or other vessel; then add sixteen pounds of treacle or molasses, with a few table spoonfuls of the essence of spruce, stirring the whole well together; add half a pint of yeast, and keep it in a temperate situation, with the bung hole open, for two days, till the fermentation be abated. Then close it up or bottle it off, and it will be fit for being drunk in a few days afterwards. In North America and perhaps in other countries where the black and white spruce firs abound, instead of adding the essence of the spruce at the same time with the molasses, they make a decoction of the leaves and small branches of these trees, and find the liquor equally good. It is a powerful antiscorbutic, and may prove very useful in long sea voyages.

SPRUCELEATH'ER, n. s. Corrupted from Prussian leather.

The cause is the putrefaction of the body by unnatural heat the putrifying parts suffer a turgescence, and, becoming airy and spumous, ascend unto the surface of the water. Browne.

Not with more madness rolling from afar, The spumy waves proclaim the watery war; And, mounting upwards with a mighty roar, March onwards, and insult the rocky shore. Dryden. The spumous and florid state of the blood, in passing through the lungs, arises from its own elasticity, and its violent motion, the aerial particles expanding themselves. Arbuthnot.

SPUN YARN, among sailors, a small line or cord formed of two or three rope-yarns twisted together by a winch; the varns, of which it is usually made at sea, are drawn out of the strands of old cables, or other ropes, and are knotted together and tarred. It is employed for several purposes, particularly to fasten one rope to another, to seize block-strops to the shrouds, and to serve ropes which are liable to be chafed, &c. SPUNGE, n. s. & v.n. Lat. spongia. SPUN GINGHOUSE, n. s. SPUN'GY, adj.

A

sponge. See SPONGE. To hang on others for maintenance: a spunging-house is a house to which bailiffs take debtors and sponge them : spungy, of the nature of sponge; having the quality of imbibing wet.

When he needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you, and, spunge, you shall be dry again. Shakspeare. Hamlet.

I saw Jove's bird, the Roman eagle, winged From the spungy south to this part of the west, There vanished in the sun-beams. Id. Cymbeline

There is no lady of more softer bowels, More spungy to suck in the sense of fear. Shakspeare. Some English wool, vexed in a Belgian loom, And into cloth of spungy softness made,

Did into France or colder Denmark roam,

To ruin with worse air our staple trade.

Dryden.

Considering the motion that was impressed by the painter's hand upon the sprunge, compounded with the specifick gravity of the spunge and the resistance of the air, the spunge did mechanically and unavoidably move in that particular line of motion.

Bentley's Sermons. This will maintain you, with the perquisite of spunging while you are young. Swift to Gay. A bailiff kept you the whole evening in a spungingSwift.

house.

SPUNGE, OF SPONGE. See SPONCIA. SPUNGE is used, in gunnery, for a cylinder of wood, from ten to twelve inches long, of the same diameter with the rammer, with a piece of sheep or lamb-skin wound about its end, to serve for scouring great guns when discharged, before they be charged with fresh powder; hence called spunging. In small guns it is commonly fixed to the other end of the handle of the rammer ; but has a separate one in those of a larger calibre.

SPUNGING, in gunnery, the cleaning of the inside of a gun with a spunge, in order to prevent any sparks of fire from remaining in it, which would endanger the life of him that should load it again.