Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 4, 1802).djvu/349

315&#93; WEL vapour ; whereas ten gallons of fresh air are probably blown into the well, by means of the com- mon bellows and leather pipe, be- fore two gallons of mephitic va- pour are removed. Such purifi- cation will be still more effedual, if the fire-kettle, G, be placed at D, when the internal air becomes . more rarefied : it ought, however, to be remarked, that this ad(-an- tage is over-balanced by the at- mosphere being rendered unfit for respiration, in consequence of the sufibcating properties of the char- coal. In the year 1794, the Society fortheEncourageiricnt of Arts, &c. conferred their silver medal on George Butler, Esq. for his in- vention of a Bucket for draiving ' water from deep wells. It con- sists of a common barrel, the head of which is taken out : across the top are fixed two thin bars of iron, having in the centre a small piece of the same metal, which Mr. Butler terms a standard. This is furnished with a collar, which has four moveable arms; and above it, there are a mortise containing a small brass pulley, and a loop to . which the well-rope is secured : farther, a cord is tied to one ex- tremity of the collar, which, after passing over the pulley, communi- cates with a valve applied to the lower h?ad of the vessel. — The buclet, thus constru6ted, when let down into the well by a rope, is filled through such valve; and, on being drawn up, the iron cross above mentioned is pies-ed against two parallel bars, so that the valve is opened, and the wqter discharged into a trough, or vessel, prepared for its reception. — The principal advantage, arising from this con- trivance is, that the bucket is not WEN [315 only filled expeditiously, but it is also brought up steadily, so that no water is spilt ; aud, if any of it ac- cidentally drop, it falls direftly frorr^ the valve into the well, without wetting the descending rope; a cir- cumstance of considerable import- ance ; for, by such continual mois- ture (which is necessarily occa- sioned by the common buckets), it speedily decays, while the vessels are seldom drawn up completely filled.— A more nnnute account of Mr, B.'s invention will be found ia the 12th vol. of the " Transac- tions" of the Society above men7 tioned, where it is illustrated with an engraving. A patent was granted, in Au- gust, 1798, to Mr. JOHX ASHLEV, of Islington, for a method of rais- ing water from wells of any deptb, upon a very simple and permanent construction ; of which, however, we have not met with a specifica- tion, W£N, is an indolent tumor, or an enlargement of the thyroid gland, which is situated in the an- terior part of the neck. This af- fetStion frequently occurs, and is endemial in some parts of Eng- land 3 for instance, in Derbyshire. It is uni ommonly prevalent among the inhabitants of marshy, low countries, surrounded by woodi?, bordering on rivers and standing waters, or exposed to southerly, hot winds ; and especially among females, j'oung people, children, and persons of a delicate or tender habit : even strangers, who settle in these parts, are not exempt from its attacks. Nevertheless, if timely attended to, it is often cured ; but, where it is htfeditary, or has been suftered to remain after the age of adolescence, its removal is ex- tremely diflicult. The