BURNING SPRINGS. Of these there are many in different parts of the world; particularly one in Dauphiny near Grenoble; another near Hermanstadt in Transylvania; a third at Chermay, a village, near Switzerland; a fourth in the canton of Friburg; and a fifth not far from the city of Cracow in Poland. There also is, or was, a famous spring of the same kind at Wigan in Lancashire, which, upon the approach of a lighted candle, would take fire and burn like spirit of wine for a whole day. But the most remarkable one of this kind, or at least that of which we have the most particular description, was discovered in 1711 at Brofely in Shropshire. The following account of this remarkable spring was given by the reverend Mr Mason Woodwardian professor at Cambridge, dated February 18th 1746. "The well for four or five feet deep is six or seven feet wide; within that is another less hole of like depth dug in the clay, in the bottom whereof is placed a cylindric earthen vessel, of about four or five inches diameter at the mouth, having the bottom taken off and the sides well fixed in the clay rammed close about it. Within the pot is a brown water thick as puddle, continually forced up with a violent motion beyond that of boiling water, and a rumbling hollow noise, rising or falling by fits five or six inches; but there was no appearance of any vapour rising, which perhaps might have been visible, had not the sun shone so bright. "Upon putting a candle down at the end of a stick, at about a quarter of a yard distance, it took fire, darting and flashing after a very violent manner for about half a yard high, much in the manner of spirits in a lamp, but with great agitation, It was said, that a tea-kettle had been made to boil in about nine minutes time, and that it had been left burning for 48 hours without any sensible diminution. It
was extinguished by putting a wet mop upon it; which must be kept there for a little time, otherwise it would not go out. Upon the removal of the mop there rises a sulphureous smoke lasting about a minute, and yet the water is very cold to the touch." In 1755, this well totally disappeared by the sinking of a coal-pit in its neighbourhood.
The cause of the inflammable property of such waters, is with great probability supposed to be their mixture with petroleum, which is one of the most inflammable substances in nature, and has the property of burning on the surface of water.