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Rffirinleil rnui 
 
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 FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY. 
 ST. JOHN, N. B. 
 
 PRESENTCO 
 
 Islid {^ussell Jack Bcquc 
 
 TIDAL IM 
 
 R.A'. " 
 
 rAccissiii sna-V Clii$55|.48 1 
 
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 Rri>rint«(l from RiiNpHn XV. ofthi- Nnturel Hlntorjr Hiictfty of NVw BrunHWli-li ', 
 
 Airrif'i.K IV. 
 
 TIDAL rilHXOMKXA OF Til?: ST. JOIIX RIVER 
 AT LOW SUMMER LEVEL. 
 
 HY .\. WILMEU DUFF, M. A. 
 
 (Read March Siirt, IHOT.) 
 I. FUKK AND FolH'KI) V IIIKATION8. 
 
 Tilt' wjitors <»t the riutli liiive two soincwhiit «lifr«Tont kinds 
 ot" mot ion. TIuto im*, firHt, tin* stoiuly motions, sndi as tin? 
 (;ii!f Sticiim, caustMl iiltimiit«')y Iiy tlic liont wliicli we icceivo 
 t'h'iii tlic sun. St'fondly, tlu'ii* iir«» motions of viliiation, 
 ituiiidini,' waves of various kinds and tidi's. This sc<Mind 
 flass also admits of an important siih-divisinn. Firstly we 
 liavf thof't' motions of viltration whose rates are determined 
 nieiely liy the properties of water (especially its mass) and 
 l»y its weight, or tlie force which the earth e.xercises on it; 
 these morions hein;,' analayous to the motion of a ]>endtihun, 
 wlmse rat«' is determined l)y its len;;th and tin* earth's attract- 
 ion. This kind of vihratory motion w«f may call the fr>i' or 
 natural vibrations of the water. Put tliere is a second class of 
 motions of vibration whose rat»'s are determined Ity tlie motions 
 and attractions of Ixxlies beyond the earth, especially the \wam\ 
 and sun. Tliese motions we may call the /o/vv-*/ or artificial vilira- 
 tions of water masses. When we speak of tides, we are inclined 
 at first to think of them as merely forced vibrations ; but, in 
 reality, tlie forced vibrati«ms j^ive rise to free vibrations and the 
 two kinds of vibration are (|uite inseparably mi.xed up in tidal 
 j)henomena. For instance, the hif^liest authority on tides 
 (Lord Relvin) regard.s the tides of the F^nglish Channel asmttstly 
 a free vibrati(m of the water, see-sawing or teeterinf^ about a lifio 
 jiassing from Portland to Havre ; and William Ferrel (probably 
 
06 
 
 m'LLKTIN (»F TIIK NATl KAh IIIKTollY SOCIKTY. 
 
 til*' cliiff aiitlioi'ity in Aiiu*i'i<'ii) tliinks tlint tli** ti<^■^« of tin* (1<t|i 
 watci' of tlif North Atliiiitic iiiu)' Jm» iiii riistwiiril iitwl \\»'Ht\v:ii»l 
 swinyiiin iiiotioii, liki- tin- " wisli-wiiHli " of watrr in ii wiisli IkiwI. 
 In on<> ('iiH(> only liuvo \vi> a motion of viWration that iH'lon^s to 
 one only of these two claHHi's, namely, the case of motlriiitp si/ed 
 lakes ; for their mutiuns are nearly altogether free vilnatiotis, 
 an<l it Ih only in very ><reat lakes that forced vil)ration>< can l)e 
 <liseovere(l; for instance, the tides of l^ake Miclii;(an only amount 
 to lictween two and three ini'hes.* 
 
 II. Tll>KS IN ItlVKKS. 
 
 KememlM'Hnj; this distinction lietween free and forced vihia- 
 tions, let us apply it to the case of a river. .\re there any forced 
 vihrations in rivers : that is, any motions produced liv the direct 
 attractions of sun or moon on the waters of the rivers? Ileason 
 will \h'. adduced later for iM'lievinij that, in the case of the St. 
 John river at least, there is nothing sucli ; but it caniu)t lie 
 denied tliat in the case of a veiy lar<,'e river like the Amazon, 
 wlutse course is directly east an<l west, there may he such a direct 
 forced vihratitjii. lUit there is in most rivers that enter the 
 ocean n Hfnnuliit'i/ forc«'d vihration ; that is, a fluctuation of the 
 level of their waters priMluved l»y a periodical lise and fall of the 
 level of the ocean at the mouth. This distinction is sometimes 
 put in this form, that there is no true tide in the St. .lohn river, 
 only a " l»ackin;jt-up ; " hut such a way <if puttini; it is hardly 
 justifiable. It is true that as the level of the water at the mouth 
 rises, the sp.eed of the str<?am njust decrease, and as there is still 
 practically the same supply of water frouj the parts of the riM'r 
 farther up, the level must in coiise<|uenoe rise progressively up 
 stream. This is what is meant hy a " hacking-up." Hut there 
 is also a flow of salt water up stream for a considerable distance 
 from the mouth, a flow that differs in no respect froui the flow of 
 water up the Bay with the incoming tide. Now we have seen 
 that we cannot limit the word tide to direct forced vibrations 
 
 •T. D. Graham, Vol. xlv., A. A. A. &, 1880. 
 
TIDAL IMIENoMKNA OF THE ST. JOHN KIVBH. 
 
 • 17 
 
 <»nly, for iht'vv in i)nii«> such iiiiy\vlnM'«* ; iinr fan w»' limit the wuiil 
 tide to aiMj'H in wliicli t'mrcd \ ilimtioiis mid fn««' viltrntiniis m-e 
 iiiixi'd, for it is |iro)uil*lt' tliiit in the iSayof Fundy itsflf \v«> Iiiivh 
 mostly, if not ulto^frtlu'r, a fr»'«' motion of tim wat<'r, startfd 
 no doiiht l>y till* forciltlt' motions imparted to adjarcnt paits 
 4)f the Atiantif. Tidt's arc in fact thoMc forced motions or free 
 motions which may Im* ti-aced hack ultimately to the attractions 
 of sun and mo(»n. And in this vense it is evident that the rise 
 and fall in a rivet- is a true ti<le. Thus the tides in the Hiver 
 St. .lohn are a mixture of a " l>ackin}<-up " i.nd a Mow (if salt 
 watei- upwards, hut tliis flow of salt water never extends to any- 
 thin;; like the distance at which the " hackin;; up " is perceptilile. 
 AlonjK with these motions we have complications prtMlucetl l)y 
 winil eflects and harometric effects. 1 am aw;iie that some points 
 in this account may Ite dispute<l, l»ut I shall attempt to justify 
 the stateme'its in the course of what follows, 
 
 # 
 
 Til. TiiK llivKH St. .Ioiin. 
 
 It will he necessary to state hrietly a few of the physical 
 featuies of the river which seem of most importance in the pre- 
 sent <*onnection. We shall only l»e concerned with the last 
 ninety miles of its leni^th. .lust alnive Sprini;hill (ninet}' miles 
 from mouth) rapids occur. From SpririKhill to the mouth of 
 the I5elleisle, the ;,'eneral course of the river is hetwccn east and 
 south east, and the river is comiwiratively shallow and slu^'^ish 
 llelow tliis comes the Long Ueach, a straight clear part of the 
 river, the general direction of which is south-west. This ends at 
 Westlield and the river again takes a southerly direction, enlarg- 
 ing greatly t«) form (Jrand I5ay and receiving on the east the 
 waters of the Kennehecasis, a large, wide tributary. llelow 
 (Irand Hay, the river gieatly contracts at the Narrows, expands 
 again at Fndiantown, then contracts again and meets with short 
 " rapids " and then ruslies through a short and very narrow gorge 
 (only one hundred yards wide) into St. .John harbour. The term 
 " Falls," often applied to this outlet, more properly l)elongs to 
 rapids alK)ve the outlet. The occurrence of islands is of impor- 
 
6H 
 
 lULLKTIN OF TUK NATUKAL III8T0IIY 8<tCIETY. 
 
 tiinco. Kroni S|it'iiiKfi<-l<l to (>ii»iii<»fto f»'w ocfur, from ()i-oiuo«>l«> 
 to Oak l*(»iiit tlicy urt' liir;;i' and nuiiu'rou'i, iiiitl Jx'low Uiik Point 
 tlh're ur«' Wut fi'W. 
 
 TV. PoiNTM TO iiR Ahckhtainkd. 
 
 Wliih' tiic St. .lolin oH't'i's no siicli striking; iilicnonicnii hh tlit> 
 Pi'titcodiur iirid otli«>i'stn>aniM iH'iir tlie \\cni\ of tli«- Hay of Funcly, 
 yet, when its j^reat si/.r and reniaikaldc outlet and the striking 
 ti«leH of St. John harlMtut- are connidfred, it sliould, from the 
 tidal standpoint, Im- ont' <tf tlie most interestinjj of rivers. A 
 comprehensive study of its tides at various repre.sentative points 
 should telJH us : (1) The (lifferenee of time Itet ween hif^h water 
 and low water at such points and lii>fh water and low water at 
 St. John. (-) The proportion whieh the ranj^e of tide hears to 
 the correspond in;i tide at St. .John. ('.\) The nature of the tidal 
 ii.se an<l fall. (!) The efVeets of varying eross-seetion, depth, 
 presence of islands and triluitaries on the e.\tent and time of 
 tide. (5) The elVect of the remarkulile outlet. (C.) The elleet 
 of varyinjjf depth of river with chaii;;in;; seasons on the pr«'ced- 
 iiig. (7) The effect of winds. There is at present practically 
 no information, at hwist in print, to he had on any of the alntve 
 points. To f^et anything' \'\\n> complete data, on even onet»f the 
 alK)ve points, would demand much time and patience. What 
 follows can only pretend to he somewhat disjointed information 
 on nearly all of the ahove headH. It must l>e rememl)ere»l that 
 all of the followinj( notes were nuide at low summer level. 
 Towards the end of the summer of 1890 the river fell to a very 
 low level. T<» fix the level hy a semi-permanent reference point, 
 on Aujiust l>th T found mean water level of Fredericton to 1m» 
 tM enty-four feet two inches ImjIow the south-west corner of the 
 west pier of the iron railway hridge. From the levelling*' of 
 the New Brunswick railway, Mr. Moses Burpee found that a 
 certain reference point at Fredericton wa.s forty-four feet ten 
 inchfts alxjve mean sea-level at St John. Prof. Dixon has kindly 
 aide<l me hy levelling from Mr. Burpee's reference point to the 
 corner of the pier mentioned, and finding the latter to be three 
 
 fol 
 
TIDAL I'HENOMKNA OV THE ST. JOHN KIVEH. 
 
 iW 
 
 fc«>t four itu'licH lowor tliiifi Mr. I'lirppo'H ri«f«'r««ncH jMiint. From 
 thin I (IimIucc that tli«' soutli wt'st ciMiH'r of tin' \v»'st pwr of tlu' 
 hriil;i«' in forty oii«' fert six incln-s iiltovf nu'iiii m-u Icvrl iit St. 
 JoliM ; Hiul tliut (III AiiKiiHt *.Mli till' iiu-uii \vut**r l«'v«-l ut Kn-ticrii- 
 ton wiiH fiiiirt(M>ii ff<>t four incliOH ii)m)V(> the iih*uii hcii l(n(>l at 
 Ht. .lithii. TIm's*' ti;;ui'i>H iiiiiy Im' ofsiunc future uh»' for n'fcrt'tu'i'. 
 nn<l tlii-y are j^ivi'ii for what tlicy iimy Im- I'oiHiilcrcd worth. 
 Kxir|iti<»r) may Im* taken to the use of railway levellltijis for sueh 
 a puipose, liut otlier <hita are not to Ite hail at pre^^ent. I am 
 in<lel)te(l to |)r. Harrison, of the University of New lirunswiek, 
 for Mr. Burpee's fi),aireH, 
 
 V. Tun: C.wi.y. I'ski.. 
 
 For the purpose of the f<»llowii|i( work I used a self-ree«»r(linj^ 
 tide j^auf{e of a simple typ»* d«-iyned hy myself and made witli 
 the assistance of Mr. II. White of Krech'rieton. As a (h-seriptioii 
 may he of use to others I jLjive the followim,' hiief aecount of it. 
 It consisted of a float to rise and fall with the wat<'r and a vertical 
 <lrum driven i)y ,i rlock, tiie parts lieiiim so arr.iiiired 'l"i' a pencil 
 attached to the lioat traced a curve on a sheet of pajter wrapped 
 around the rotatin;L( drum. The details and dimensions were as 
 folhtws : 
 
 The Hoat consiste<l of a cylindrical <'an i)lain .it the t(»p and 
 with a «'onical htwcr end, the lower end Iteiny loaded with shot 
 to ;^i\e the tloat yr-iter staliility in the water. The (Uameter of 
 the can was five inches and its length without the conical end 
 five inches, with the conical <'nd seven and a lialf inches. 
 A hrass tul)e was sdldered axially throuyii the can. Through 
 the tube a l)rass rod passed hntsely so that the float might 
 slide up and down the rod as an axis. This axis was clamped 
 in the frame- work (tf the machine, so that it niii.'ht i)e removed 
 and cleaned. AlM)ve the rod came the rotating drum, a 
 cylinder of wood twelve inches lon^' and three inches in 
 diauK'ter. The upper end of this made friction connection 
 with a spring clock l»y means of a small axial rod fastened to a 
 brass plat« which was screwed to the woiwlen drum. The lower 
 
70 
 
 UIM.KTIN OF TIIK NATl KAL IIISTOKY SOCIETY. 
 
 ciid it'Htrd <iii u s|iriii;; Ity iim>u>im of ii Hiinilur iixiul rtNl liu\ in;; u 
 I'ltiiifiil point Vkliifli tiirn«'<l with very iitti*' fiiftion in a ronit-ul 
 liiilc in a liruMM \>h\n nitnvhvtl to tlii' Nprin^. Tint itur|M>H<> uf tin* 
 Hilling' wiiN to k«'«>|) til)' fylin«l«'r |ii'«'sHt*<| ti;{litly u^^iiiiiHt tho cliM-k. 
 A lony springy |>i»'f«' of liniss wiih noI(|«t< d l»y itn Iowit «'nil to 
 till- >ti<li' of the ll'tiit iiml its i)|i|MT i-nd nii-rii'il a pftiril wliirli 
 |ii'fHSf<| lightly 111,'uinHt tin- ryiindiT. It is cusily hccii tliul siir 
 flic*' wiivcs nii;,'lit ninvi> tin- tlout iiml so oltsriin* tli«> tiiliil n-coi'il ; 
 lniu'i> tlir wlioh' instrunifnt was enclosed in a lony, narrow, 
 vertical Ihix wliich It-akt'd s|iir|itly at iIh* iNittoni. 'I'lius tlir 
 Miitcr level in l\n'. Im)\ (■lianju'*'<l with tii)* slow rise an<l fall of tlii^ 
 tido hut surface wavi-s had n<» elleet. Thi- iiiaehine wim held at 
 the proper level in the water Ity liein^ solidly <laniped to an in>'» 
 Htuke dri\en in the ;,M'oiind. 
 
 In iirepariiiK for an ol»ser\ation, a Nhe«*t of white paper whs 
 wrapped around the cylinder. The cylinder was then put in 
 place and the pencil arian;;ed so as to press apiiiiHt it. Thr> 
 extiot time of l>e;rinnin;; and endin;; the record hein;; nottd, the 
 time corresponding to any particular |ioint on the cnr\e could lie 
 deduced aft»r the paper was removed. 
 
 Til 
 
 \ I. C'ruvKM Oht.xinkii at ' PKiXfiim-i,. 
 
 The tirst point at wliich this inslrunient was used was iiunie- 
 diutely alwive the rapids ahove Sprin^'hill on .July "Jlst and lil'nd. 
 The lin»' traced in twenty-four hours indicated a fall of thirteen- 
 sixteenths of an inch, hut dift'ered hy less than one-sixteenth of an 
 inch fronj a straight line, iiidicatin;,' that ahsolutely no tides are 
 jtropayated ahove these rapids, at least alon;,' the rii,'hl hank. Tlu* 
 next point chosen was just helow tlii' rapids, ahout a ipnirter of 
 a mile aliove the Sprin>,'hill hotel. A twenty-seven hour record 
 was taken on July L'.'h-d and L'4th. Tiiis .showed in a remark- 
 alile way an ell'ect fretpiently afterwards noticed, the great inllu- 
 ence of wind. From (>.-'iO jt. m. to !> p. m. of the 23rd, a strong 
 wind hiew down stream, and durin<; this time the pencil t.aced 
 almost a straij^ht line. At lO.MO it rose ahout a (puirter of an 
 inch, and then fell .smoothly to low water at '^ a. m., and rose to 
 
ril»AI. 1'IIKNo.MKNA OF TIIK 8T. lOlIN RIVKH. 
 
 7! 
 
 Iiiu'l) wiitfi- at >> u. III.; (In- niii;,'!' t'nini hi^li wiitci- to U>\\ wutrr 
 In-Iii^ tour unil u liulf inclii"<. Tlic iiistriiiiifiit wiin tlicii icniovnl 
 to liH Mli^litly altfi'fil, iiml ut N |>. in. ot' •Inly -Htli it whn ii'itliicfil 
 at tli>* saiiic |ioiiit, and tli<-iict>t'orMaii| a roiitimii/ is nronl wuh 
 olitaiiicil until Au^iihi lith. '|'|ii> wiuiiti jiaxc ^ivt'ii fi^lit«'fii lii);li 
 waters ami si'vi-iitiTii low watfis, wi-rc it not for tin* fart tiiat 
 ill*- wi-atlii'i-, wliii'li, iiniii tin- '(Ut, was raliii, siiiliit-nly lM>«'aiii«> 
 Mtoiiiiy, with vviniis of a» inm-li a^ twinty iiiilcN an iioiir from tin* 
 noitli\v»'s», that in, from m-arly cxaftly U|)-««tn'am. 'I'lii'si- wrn- 
 siillicicnt lo totally oKlitnati' iIm- oitlinary titial rinc iinil fall ami 
 ^iv«' I'lii vi's wliosf iiii.'!i<'<l irif^Milaritit's n|ir<'Mfntnl faitliftilly 
 •'M'ly variation in >im'<'(| and dii»'«-tion of wind. In tlir rom|il<'ti' 
 n-rord wliicli a<coiii|ianir>< tins I may jioint «'s|u'(ially t<» 7 |». iii. 
 of tlic ttli, N a. III. of till* *)tli, I |i. III. of tlif .'tOtii, aii<l I u. m. of 
 till' 'Jiid. Tlic i'«»rii's|iondin,L; wind vclocitirs, kindly su|i|ilit>d liy 
 hi. Harrison, liaM- for iom|>arisoii licrn |ila('cd at tin* top uf tli<* 
 r<'*-ird. A riirioUM liiim|i in tin- ciiiAf at JO p. m. of tlif ritli whh 
 *-.\|>laim-il liy asiiddi'ii uiist of wind wliii-li, |)r. Iiarris<in informed 
 iiif, was indicatt'd l»y tlii- n-fordim,' vxind Lt'i'iU'' jii^t at that tiiii»'. 
 Thes«' facts art' interest in;:,' i»^ iiidiealini.' the very jfieat ellecl 
 w'liieli wind has on water in a somewhat conlined liasin. Tlio 
 elVett would, of course, lie still more marked in the case of lakes. 
 Tlii.s is of interest in conneclion with the other paper (un Hecond- 
 ary nndulatioiis) presented to the Society. 
 
 The smoothness nf th)' ciiives in calm weather is of import- 
 ame as indicating that we have at Sprin;,'hill no true forced 
 vi'oration of the wjitcr, produced directly l»y lunar inlluence, hut 
 only H free derived waved started "hy the rise and fall at St. John. 
 A mixture of Koth would jLjive irre<;iilaritieH in the curve. 
 
 VII. TlMK \NI> AmoINI or ni<;|| WatkU .\T Sl'KINfilllM,. 
 
 In the curves olitained at Spiiii;,'hill, there are in all twelve 
 fairly well marked liii^h waters, the others liein;^ unreliahle on 
 ju'count of wind distuihances. < >f these, six wereohtained during 
 very calm weather and six others durin<; windy weather. From 
 the former, Tahle I has lieesi calculate*!. Column '2 ijives the 
 
72 
 
 lU LLETIN OF THE XATIRAL HISTORY SOCIKTV. 
 
 range of tide at Springliill, .'i the riiri<^e of tide at St. .Joliii, 
 
 4 tin- |i('ic('nta<^e of tlie St. Jolin tide that leaclies Sjningliill, 
 
 5 the (liH'ereiiee hetween the time of lii<(h water at S|)iiii;iliill 
 and liiu'li water at St. .)<»hii, the (hfleicnce itf tlie time (»f low 
 water at S[>rinyhill and low wat»'i at St. .John. Tiie time^ of 
 hij:h water at St. John were ootained fi-om the iftords ot' the 
 Kelvin Recording Tide (Uuige, for aeeess to whieli I ha\e tn think 
 
 T.\IU,K I. 
 Tinif iiikI AiiKiiint of Title ill Sjtrinij/iill. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Range at 
 
 SpriiiKliill 
 
 RanKe at 
 8t. John. 
 
 Percentnpe 
 lit Springliill 
 
 DifTerence of 
 times of H.W. 
 
 at Spriiieliill 
 and St. .John. 
 
 DifTere 
 times f 
 at Spr 
 and St. 
 
 ncf of 
 fL \V. 
 
 neliill 
 .lolin. 
 
 Juiv ■2:^ 
 
 4..-) 
 
 in. 
 
 2-2.\ ft. 
 
 1.70 
 
 !th. l!lm. 
 
 lih. 
 
 r.im. 
 
 •2!^ 
 
 ;{.'J4 
 
 » t 
 
 L'0.4 " 
 
 1.01 
 
 !• h. I.")m. 
 
 11 h. 
 
 1 ^m. 
 
 •J9 
 
 4. 1 -2 
 
 ii 
 
 L'0.0 " 
 
 1.7l' 
 
 !th. iSm. 
 
 luh. 
 
 •"iTiii. 
 
 .•50 
 
 4.L'o 
 
 h( 
 
 liO.O " 
 
 1.7l' 
 
 !th. .".Om. 
 
 nil. 
 
 .'•III. 
 
 .'.0 
 
 :)A\-2 
 
 ii 
 
 1 !•.(■) - 
 
 l..')l 
 
 '.th i.')m 
 
 lull. 
 
 I"'in. 
 
 ;;i 
 
 ••'... •}!' 
 
 ^^ 
 
 IS.I " 
 
 l..")L' 
 
 Itli. JOm 
 
 
 • • • • 
 
 Mean 
 
 i 3.9C 
 
 in. 
 
 •JO.l ft. 
 
 i.<;:i 
 
 !»h.- L'Om. 
 
 iih. 
 
 '.'lii. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Tahle II. 
 
 Thiic (I ml Aitiinnil of 'I'iilc iit S/iri ih/Zi ill. 
 
 Range at 
 SprinKhill. 
 
 Range at 
 St. John. 
 
 I Difference of 
 Perceiitape times of H. W. 
 at Sp'.'iughilli at Springhill 
 ami iSt. JuliD. 
 
 I 
 
 All-. .} 
 
 4. 00 
 
 in. 
 
 K).!'.") 
 
 ft.l 
 
 9h.- 
 
 - 9m. 
 
 4 
 
 4.:? -J 
 
 it 
 
 14..").") 
 
 
 ' "• 
 
 L'Sni. 
 
 4 
 
 4. lit 
 
 u 
 
 1(5.4 
 
 
 
 L'Om. 
 
 .") 
 
 L'.S7 
 
 ik 
 
 1.^).0 
 
 1 
 
 
 ;iOm. 
 
 .') 
 
 :i.00 
 
 n 
 
 i.-.o 
 
 a 1 
 
 1 
 
 9h.- 
 
 -1 m. 
 
 i; 
 
 
 
 18.0 
 
 
 9h. 
 
 i") m. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mean 
 
 
 
 15.9 
 
 ft 
 
 9h.- 
 
 - 1 Gni. 
 
 
 
 
 Difference . .f 
 times of L. \V. 
 at Spi'iiighill 
 and ijt, John. 
 
 lOh. 4.' 111. 
 
 nil. loiii. 
 
 nil.- ■').''im. 
 
 llh.- .■)0m. 
 
 Uh. l:im. 
 
 nil. L'Oiii. 
 
 Uh. — L'L'm. 
 
TIDAL I'llKlNUMEXA OF THE ST. .lOlIN KIVKU. 
 
 7:J 
 
 r.'in. 
 I ■^111. 
 "iTin. 
 
 • Mil. 
 
 l-'in. 
 
 ".'111. 
 
 I. — 4")in. 
 I. — lOin. 
 I.— •')-'')iii. 
 1. — ."•(•m. 
 1.— l-'un. 
 1.- -JUiii. 
 
 1.— •-'•Jni. 
 
 3Ir. D. L. Hutc'liinsoii. Taltle IT is similur to TaMc I, fxcfjit 
 rliat it is nik'uliit»'<l from tlio less n'lial»l«^ rt'siilts olitaincd (iiirinj; 
 windy weatluT. Tlu' following aic the mur«' iinjinrtaiit ixtiiits 
 liiought out hy tilt's*' tables : 
 
 (1) Th>' Time I if Hi ijh U'nti'r at S/>riii</lil/f. .lust at lii;,'li 
 water or low water at any jilace tlie level clian^^es very slowly. 
 Hence it is ditlicult to he i|uite eeitain ot" the exact moment of 
 change. Keniemberint; that this icmark applies to lioth the St. 
 •John and the .SpriiiKliiil reiinds, the close afjieement amon<; the 
 results of colunni 5, which Lfives the inteival lietween hii^h 
 water at Sprin/^hill and hiiih watei' at St. John, must he considered 
 very satisfactory. The mean interval is nine hours and twenty 
 minutes, the greatest diveigence from the mean is ten minutes, 
 and tlu' next greatest five minutes. The "prohahle error" is 
 only one and a half inches. The second series heing made in 
 windy weather, do not agtee so well among one another, hut give 
 a mean of nine houis and sixteen minutes, diflering hy less than 
 one per cent from the preceding. The mean tidal range at St. 
 •lotin was twenty feet in Seiies I and sixteen feet in Series M. 
 Hence the formei' results may he taken as fairly representative 
 of spring tides and the lattt'r as neap tides. The mean tidal 
 range is twenty-five per cent greater in Series T than in Series I 1, 
 and yet the time of ])assage of high water from St. John difr-rs 
 hy less than <»ne per cent. Wc; seem justified in concluding that 
 the interval hetween high water at St. John and high water at 
 Sjiringhill is practically independent of th(^ tidal range. This 
 should he reinemhered in c<jnnection w ith the results ohtained at 
 otliei- points on the river. 
 
 (J) Avioinf <if' 'l"{ih' (it .^pi'i injhUI. From Series T we see 
 that when t'ne mean range of tide at St. John is twenty feet, 
 that at Springhill is four itiches or 1.(33 per cent or ahout one- 
 sixtieth of the range at St. John. ^Moreovei', the range at 
 Spiinghill is (allowing for wind disturl)ances) proportional to that 
 at St. John. This is otherwise evident from the principle of the 
 superposition of small motions. 
 
74 
 
 BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTOKY SOCIETV. 
 
 (f>) Tinif of l^oit' Wafor at S/)i'!ii;/hi//. Finm Talilo I it in 
 seen that low water at Sprinj^'hill oecius on an avorajjo eleven 
 liours and nine minutes later than low water at St. .John. Henee 
 it takes low water one hour and of rty-nine minutes longer to 
 travel from St. .lohn to Springhill than it does high water. This 
 is ^shown in another way i)y the shape of the Sinir.ghill eur\es. 
 It will he noticed that in all cases the curves are steej)er on one 
 side of high water than on tl." other, the tide rise.s faster than 
 it falls, so that a hiw water alwajs comes closer to the succeeding 
 high water than to the preceding. In fact, the average time 
 from low water to high water is only five hours ;ind seventeen 
 minutes, while that from high water to the next low wat( r is 
 seven hours and seven minutes. This relative delay of Ntw water 
 is (hie to one of the ditl'erences lietweeii wave motion in a shfdiow 
 river and wave motion on the ocean. In the former the inoie 
 elevated parts of a wave always travel faster than the less eleva- 
 ted or tlie depressed ]iarts. In fact, if >• lie the velocity of any 
 part of a wave whose elevation at)o\e the mean level is A. and if 
 // be the dej)th of tiie rivei- 
 
 '■( 
 
 1 + 
 
 2 // 
 
 ) 
 
 In this, (• is of course the value of r, for paits of the wave for 
 which h is zero ; that is, for ]iarts of the wave midway between 
 crest and trough. In the parts of the wave below mean water 
 level h is negative. Hence r is greatei for the crest than for the 
 trough ; that is, greater for high water than for low water. Thus 
 low water keeps lagging farther and farther behind the high 
 water ahead, and ajtproaching the high water behind. This 
 process may go so far that tlie front of the tide wave Itecomes 
 nearly vertical and then we have a liore as in the Seine, Petit- 
 codiac and many other rivers. 
 
 Witli this greater steepness of the 'front of the tide wave 
 another peculiarity is often developed. The re;ir slope of the 
 wave may first become straight and then actually recuiveci. 
 This is hardly sliown in any marketl degree on the St. John 
 River, although the rear slope sometimes approximates to a 
 
 hrs. 
 (i 
 (i 
 (•) 
 
 G 
 (5 
 (J 
 
 r. 
 ('• 
 () 
 () 
 ('• 
 {•) 
 i; 
 (; 
 ('> 
 () 
 (; 
 
 G 
 
 — I 
 
TIDAL PHENOMENA OF THE ST. JOHN RIVEK. 
 
 75 
 
 straight line. Tlic depth of the river (Iccrt'ascs too ^'eiitly and 
 uniformly to show these more marked features ofien shown iit 
 tidal rivers. 
 
 VIII. FoKM OK TiKK Wavi; at Si. John. 
 
 While the <hani;e of form referred to in the pieeediin; is u 
 well known feature in rivers, T do not know tliat attention has 
 ever been tailed to tlie fact that the same thin;; may haj){iei\ even 
 in lai'ge hays like the I»ay of Kundy. It oecurred to me to ex 
 amine carefully the tide record at St. John to see if low water 
 
 TAni.K III. 
 Ih'hijl i>f I'i'i'' W'dli'r ill SI. .Iiilni. 
 
 Time from 
 H.W. to L. W. 
 
 Time from 
 U W. to H.W. 
 
 Delay of 
 
 Time from 
 H.W.to L.W. 
 
 Ins. mill. 
 
 Time from 
 L.W.toH.W. 
 
 lirs. min 
 
 Dela.v of 
 L. W. 
 
 lirs. min. 
 
 hrs. iniu. 
 
 iiilii. 
 
 mill. 
 
 G — 25 
 
 G -- 10 
 
 7.5 
 
 C - 10 . 
 
 G ^ 5 
 
 2.5 
 
 G 20 
 
 G 5 
 
 7.5 
 
 (•) 30 
 
 G 2 
 
 It.U 
 
 G — 33 
 
 5 5<» 
 
 IG.O 
 
 G- 11 
 
 G 12 
 
 U.5 
 
 G - 10 
 
 G 
 
 5.U 
 
 <; 22 
 
 G 3 
 
 '.1.5 
 
 (•) - 13 
 
 G '.1 
 
 2.0 
 
 C. 30 
 
 G 
 
 15.0 
 
 G - 33 
 
 5 - 57 
 
 is.u 
 
 G 15 
 
 G 
 
 7.5 
 
 G 25 
 
 5 - 55 
 
 15.0 
 
 ' 5- IG 
 
 G ^ G 
 
 5.U 
 
 G — 33 
 
 5 — 53 
 
 20.0 
 
 ; G ~ 1 s 
 
 G 2 
 
 N.O 
 
 G - 15 
 
 G 
 
 7.5 
 
 ' G - 23 
 
 G 5 
 
 «>.o 
 
 G - 18 
 
 (i - 
 
 •t.O 
 
 ! G - 23 
 
 G - 
 
 11.5 
 
 G - 24 
 
 G - 3 
 
 10.5 
 
 i G - 22 
 
 G - 5 
 
 8.5 
 
 G — 18 
 
 G - 10 
 
 4.0 
 
 (•) — 30 
 
 5 — 58 
 
 IG.O 
 
 G - 13 
 
 G 7 
 
 3.U 
 
 1 6 30 
 
 G 10 
 
 10.0 
 
 G — 18 
 
 () 1 2 
 
 3.0 
 
 G 25 
 
 G 2 
 
 11.5 
 
 () — 8 
 
 (i 7 
 
 0.5 
 
 ' G 28 
 
 G 17 
 
 5.5 
 
 G — 13 
 
 G 20 
 
 3.5 
 
 G - 18 
 
 G 10 
 
 4.0 
 
 G — 22 
 
 G — 10 
 
 G.U 
 
 G - 20 
 
 G 2 
 
 !>.0 
 
 G — 18 
 
 G -- 10 
 
 4,0 
 
 , G -~ 1 .•>. 
 
 6 — 5 
 
 4.0 
 
 Mean delay, 8 min. 
 
 falls exactly midway hetween two hi^h waters. Tahle III ^^ve.s 
 the time from hiirh water to low water and from low water to 
 
76 
 
 Ul'LLETIN OP THE NATl UAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
 
 t 
 
 ■ I 
 
 r. 1 
 
 ■ I ; 
 
 high water for all tlie tidt'S in a niontli whose exact time of liiuli 
 water to low watei- eoulfl he read aeeurately enou>;h t<t he the 
 Imsis for a?> estimate. < Uit of the thirty-six eoiniih'te ti«les there 
 recorded, thirtv-four show a greater h-iij^tli of time from Iii,i;h 
 water to low waterthaii from low water to hi<ih water. The mean 
 delay (»f low water is eij^ht minutes, or the time front hi;,'h water to 
 low water is on the averaji^esi.x teen minutes tjreater than the time 
 from low water to hij,'h watPi-. It should U* noted that this 
 dehi}' of low water in St. John harhour is not «lue to tin- faet 
 that the harlntur is at tin- mouth of a laij;e river ; this would 
 tend t(» have »'.\actly the opposite eflei-t. For, shortly liefore low 
 water would naturally occur, the inllow fiom the river neutializes 
 the outflow into the hay and thus causes the tide to turn earlier 
 or the low wate'- to come earlier. ( )n the other hand, the uptlow 
 int») the river just hefore hij^h water would occur neutralizes the 
 inflow from the hay and so causes hii,'h water to occur earliei. 
 Now if hi,u;h water and low water were thus hastened e<|ually, 
 there would he iu> chan;,'e in the time from hij,'h watci' to low 
 water or from low wat<'r to hiiih water. I5ut since on tin- whole 
 there is a <,'i'eat('i' downllow from the liver than uptlow into it, 
 it is clear that the rivei' nnist hasten low watei- in the harhour 
 more than it hastens hi^^h wat»'r. Hence we may conclude that 
 did the river not exist, the delay of low water in the harhour 
 would he slightly greater than eight minutes. No douht part of 
 this delay must occur whilst the tide is passing from Misjiec 
 Point inward. Mow much of it occurs during the passage of the 
 tide uj) the hay must remain an open (|uestion. 
 
 IX. Results at otiikk Points on Hivkk. 
 
 i! ' 
 iii 
 
 The ohservations made at other points are given in Tahle 1 V 
 and summarized in Tahle V. These tahles show at Springhill, 
 Fredericton, Oromocto, Gagetown, Oak Point, Westfield and 
 Indiantown, (1) the mean spring-range (it heing jvssumed that 
 the spring-range at St. John is twenty-seven feet); (2) liow much 
 later high water is at each point than at St, John; (3) how much 
 low water is delayed compared with high water. The last 
 
TIDAL PHENOMENA OF THE ST. JOHN RIVER. 
 
 77 
 
 e of liiitli 
 to 1m' (Ii(> 
 i(l«*s tlific 
 from liii^'li 
 The iiu'.ui 
 1 watff to 
 I tin* time 
 that tliis 
 
 1) tin- fiUt 
 
 liis would 
 •et'oiv low 
 unitnilizes 
 irn ejirlier 
 lie uptlow 
 rjilizcs the 
 If cailiiM. 
 i i(|ually, 
 tt'i- to low 
 tlif wliolo 
 »w into it, 
 e liailxiiir 
 i-lu<li' that 
 e iiarlxiui' 
 l)t I'ai't ot" 
 III Misjifc 
 iayc of tlic 
 
 Tal.lo IV 
 ■^priiiyliill, 
 itfield and 
 uiied that 
 how much 
 
 how much 
 The last 
 
 column of Table V seems to show that hetween Indiantown and 
 ( )uk Point the li>w water is delayed over twenty minutes com- 
 pared with high water; lietween Oak Point and Oroinocto low 
 water travels as fast as high water, and between Oroinocto and 
 Sjiiingliill low water again loses half an hour. 
 
 Tahle IV. 
 
 Place. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Tide in 
 Inches. 
 
 Fredericton. 
 
 ( )romocto . . 
 
 ( iagetown . 
 
 Oiik Ptjint . 
 
 Westfield . . 
 Indiantown 
 
 I JulyiU 
 ' Aug.'Jl 
 
 22 
 
 10 
 11 
 
 11 
 l-> 
 
 12 
 13 
 
 14 
 14 
 
 31 
 
 5.3 
 o.G 
 G.l 
 
 6.G 
 
 7.9 
 
 9.1 
 9.G 
 
 1-J.O 
 13.8 
 
 IS..-) 
 IG.O 
 
 ' St. John 
 { Tide in 
 I feet. 
 
 22.1 
 19.0 
 22.1 
 
 24.r) 
 2.-). 7 
 
 2.x 1 
 25.5 
 
 2.5.2 
 24.G 
 
 23.5 
 23. G 
 
 IG.G 
 
 Percent- 1 H. W. | L W. 
 agt* of ' later than later t lian 
 St. John ! at at 
 
 Tide. St. John. St. John. 
 
 2.0 
 2.4 
 2.3 
 
 2.2 
 2.G 
 
 .3.0 
 3.1 
 
 4.0 
 4.7 
 
 6.5 
 
 S.O 
 
 111-. 
 
 min. 
 
 S- 
 
 - 39 
 
 S - 
 
 --47 
 
 8 
 
 — 59 
 
 8 
 
 -0 
 
 7 
 
 — 55 
 
 .5 
 
 — 42 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 — 37 
 
 3 
 
 — 18 
 
 hr. niln. 
 
 10 17 
 10 49 
 10 -3 
 
 8- 
 8- 
 
 48 
 -24 
 
 11 
 
 2 — 3 
 •) ■) 
 
 26 
 1 
 
 G- 20 
 6- 13 
 
 3- 57 
 
 4- 7 
 
 3-18 
 
 •J—.') 
 
 Tahle V 
 
 Place. 
 
 Distance 
 from 
 Indian- 
 town. 
 
 Mean 
 Spring 
 Range. 
 
 Mean | 
 
 Percent- 
 
 I age of j 
 
 I St. John 
 
 Range. 
 
 H. W. later 
 
 than at 
 
 St. John. 
 
 Delay of 
 L. \V. 
 
 Sptinghill . . 
 Frederic ton 
 Oromocto . . 
 Gagetown . . 
 Oak Point. . 
 Westfield . . . 
 Indiantown 
 
 90 
 
 .5.2 
 
 l.G 
 
 83 
 
 7.1 
 
 2.2 
 
 73 
 
 7.8 
 
 2.4 
 
 48 
 
 9.7 
 
 3.0 
 
 25 
 
 13.9 
 
 4.3 
 
 10 
 
 21.0 
 
 6.5 
 
 
 
 25.9 
 
 8.0 
 
 hr. 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 H 
 ( 
 
 5 
 3 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 niin. 
 
 20 
 
 45 
 
 57 
 
 40 
 
 15 
 
 30 
 
 9 
 
 iniu. 
 
 55 
 49 
 20 
 24 
 24 
 24 
 
 
78 
 
 HILLETIN OF THE NATIRAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
 
 X. — RaTK of PH0(iUK8S OK HiMI WaTKK UP RlVKU. 
 
 To show the speed with whicli high water tmve's up river T 
 liave plotted the results on cross section paj m\ Indiantown is 
 taken jis origin or starting point. Times after high vater at 
 Indiantown are represented by horizontal lines or ahscissie, and 
 the distances which high water has progressed in those times 
 are represented hy vertical lines or ordinates. The points on 
 this chart corresponding to the seven stations of observation are 
 joined by straight lines. The slope of this broken curve at any 
 point represents the speed of the high water at that point. 
 Tliis shows at n glance that, whereas the speed is much less 
 between Oak Point and Oiomocto than it is between Indiantown 
 and Oak Point, it increases again between Oiomocto and Kings- 
 clear. In fact the average speed of high water is : 
 
 Between Indiantown and Oak Point "JO miles an hour. 
 " Oak Point and Gagetown — 9A " " 
 
 " (ragetown and Springhill — 11^ " " 
 
 It is interesting to compare this with the fact, stated in the 
 preceding section, that the delay of low water is greatest between 
 Indiantown and Oak Point, and between Oromoctoand Sprip'^hilh 
 but is at least very small between Oak Point and ( )romocto. Again 
 both of these statements seem connected with tlie fact noted 
 earlier that it is l)etween Oak Point and Oroniocto that islands 
 are numerous and greatly interrupt the course of the river. 
 Hence we seem justified in concluding that irregularities and 
 obstacles in a river retard the progress of high water, but do 
 not delay low water as compared with high water. 
 
 I have also plotted a curve representing how the amount of 
 tide from point to point of the river varies with the distance 
 from Indiantown. Excepting the highest point, Springhill, the 
 points lie roughly on an exponential curve, indicating that each 
 mile produces roughly the same percentage decrease of tidal rise. 
 This would seem almost obvious beforehand, and need hardly be 
 discussed further. 
 
 ,-<*'*»^ 
 
 8 4i 
 7-57 
 
 1-n 
 
 6-48 
 5-40 
 
 4-6 
 9-85 
 
 C. Gr U/n'ti^ 
 
 y.? 
 
 trnm 
 
1 
 
 
 ■1 
 

TIDAL PIIEXOMKNA OP THE ST. JOHN UIVEH. 
 
 70 
 
 -\I. TiMK OF Uniii Watkk at any Point on Uivkh. 
 
 The l)rok»>ii rurve conneciin^ tinioH of lii;,'h water at tl»* 
 s«v»'ii points of ol)s«'i\iition and their distrtnics from Fredericton 
 ••iialiles lis, yivt'n the distance of any point whatever from 
 Indiantown, to find how murh hiter hi;,'h watei- oocurs at that 
 point tlian at St. John. We have only to find the point on the 
 curve whose ordinate is the distance from Iruhantown, then tiie 
 abscissa of that point is the time its high water occurs hiter than 
 
 Tamm.; VI. 
 Time (tf Jliy/i Water at rariuiiM j)uintn. 
 
 Distance 
 from 
 
 Name of Place. 
 
 H. W. later 
 ""J" "i W 'n Intermediate 
 
 Indiantown. 
 
 
 Hartjor. 
 
 I'olnte. 
 
 
 
 hrK. min. 1 
 
 
 
 fiidiantown. 
 
 2-4 1 
 . 2 29 1 To column 
 
 10 
 
 WestHeld. 
 
 17 
 
 Pitts I.andin<(. (Devil's 
 
 2 — .50 )■ li add ;{ min- 
 
 
 I5ack). 
 
 
 utespermile 
 
 •2:> 
 
 Oak Point. 
 
 •^ — 15 
 
 
 29 
 
 Mouth of llelleisle, 
 (Palmer's Point). 
 
 3 - 40 ! 
 
 
 Mi 
 
 Hamj)stead. 
 
 4 - C> : 
 
 
 ■M 
 
 -Mouth of Washaileuioak. 
 
 4 ;n 
 
 
 42 
 
 Slipp's Wharf. 
 
 5 .-} 
 
 
 48 
 
 (ia,i,'etown 
 
 5 — 40 
 
 
 00 
 
 Jemsej,', mouth of (Irand 
 
 5 — 52 
 
 To column 
 
 
 Lak(^. 
 
 
 )■ .3 add 5 min- 
 
 .•)6 
 
 Charles Gunter's. 
 
 6 — 25 
 
 utes per mile 
 
 <)0 
 
 Upper (Jagetown. 
 
 6 — 4G 
 
 
 ♦U 
 
 Sheffield. 
 
 7 - 10 
 
 
 71 
 
 Mauf^erville. 
 
 7 — 48 
 
 
 7:5 
 
 Oromocto. 
 
 7 - 57 
 
 
 s;{ 
 
 Fredericton. 
 
 8 45 
 
 
 90 
 
 Sprinjjhill. 
 
 9 — 20 
 
 J 
 
 the time of high water at Indiantown. Now a knowledge of 
 the exact time at which high water may be expected at any 
 point is (at least so residents along the river frequently informed 
 
80 
 
 ni'LLETIN OF THE NATl'KAL IIISToKV SoriKTV. 
 
 tii«>) a iiiatt«T of coiisidt-i-alil*' iiiipui tiiiic** rspccially (is i-(';rai'(|s 
 MettiriK '"'^'* f'"' fi'^l'inXt K**"i"W Kr<»uii<l«'<l \<«ssc1h afloat ami (dlicr 
 Huch priivtinil |>ui-|)om(>h. Mcni-f, altlioiii^li my iiiotiv*> in tliis 
 eii(|uiry haH lH»»*n purely scij'ntifu' inten'st, I have tliou^lit it 
 wortli whilf to ;;iv«' in Tahlc VI the intfi'val Iw'twoi'n hi^U water 
 in St. .John liarlNir an<l liijfli water at sexenteeti points of inipor- 
 tani-e on the river. Tliis taltle, to^^'cther with a .MeMillan,, 
 Almanac, will enahle a reHideiit on the ri\ei' tt» at)ti(-ipate lii;<h 
 water (juite a.s aecuratel} as a resident in St .John can at the 
 present time; for the fij^ures in Tahle VF cannot he more than 
 ten or twelve minutes in error, prohahly much less, and this is a 
 smaller amount than the error incident to the ])i'ediction of 
 lii;;h wat<'r in St. John harhor at present. Tt may he well to 
 repeat that this table applies to either sprini; oi- neap tides duiinu; 
 low summer level. Tt ren)ains to W seen whether it will apply 
 to the river when full, in the sprinj^ or early sununer. I think 
 it can l>e safely predicted that tl»' ditlerence will not he great ; 
 for, while the greater speed of the water will naturally retard 
 the progress of high water, the greater depth of the river will 
 cause a wave, whether u}» or down, to travel witli greater speed : 
 and the two effects, depending on the same cause, will tend to 
 neutralize one another. This, however, is a point that should 
 1«! settled by observations in springtime. 
 
 XTl. Ekkect ok Naiihow Oiti.kt ok Kivkr. 
 
 The m»»st important tidal effV-ct due to the remarkably 
 narrow outlet of the river is the great delay of high water at 
 Indiantown two hours very closely, - although Tndiantown is 
 only a mile from the harl)Our. As the water rises in the harbour 
 it must attain the level in the river alx)ve the rapids before 
 much rise can occur at Indiantown. After that, as the suppl}' 
 of water from the harbor and bay is unlimited, while the large 
 basins alx>ve Tndiantown have a great capacity, the narrow 
 outlet under the Ijridge is totally inadequate to keeping the 
 levels above and below equal, so that for two hours after the 
 water has reached its maximum level at St. John, and has 
 
 *»- 
 
TlDAh I'liklNUMKNA .Ul' Tllti 8T. JUIIN KIVKIt. 
 
 81 
 
 lM■^llll (o full, it in Htill lUMiiin^ up rivor. At low wat«^i' tliH 
 ci>nvi-i'H<> liji|i|i(>iis, tlint is, tli«> l<'V(>l nt Tiuliuiituwn k<H>pH fuiliiiK 
 n*>urly until tli*' |iHrt Ih>Iow tlic nipids lias Im'cd fillfd up to tho 
 level uliove iIk* rapids. It Net'iiis, however, iiol a little reiiiark- 
 ul»|e that the delay is ho exactly the Haine for high water and 
 low water. This account nnist Im* admitted to l»o very imperfect, 
 as I hiul very little time for exact olwervations, except as 
 re;rards the time of high water and low water at Indiantt>wn. 
 
 \1 II. Tll».\L Cl UKKNTH. 
 
 Tn the preceding T have not paid any attention to the currents 
 whi^'h form so important a ])art of tidal phenomena. Th(> sub- 
 ject in one of great complexity in such a river as the St. John. 
 Two remarks may however he made. 
 
 First it is ratlior a connnon mistake to suppose that there 
 must exist a flow of saltish water as far up the river as tides can 
 ]h) detected. Two grounds are somotiuK^s advanced for this view. 
 The first is that a tide means a flow elf water and there must 1m' 
 a How of water as far up as there is a tide. This statement is 
 true, hut the deduction is unsound ; for a tide, whether iti a river 
 or on the ocean, is a wave, and a wave mity pass on for thousands 
 of miles while the water at any place (Jiily makes short excursions, 
 going forwai'ds as thc^ crest of tin; wave passes by, and backward 
 as the trough passes. No one would claim that tlu; water at the 
 mouth of the Ray of Fundv travels the whole way to the head 
 with the tide, for if so a vessel could float that distance in one 
 tide. The second ground sometimes advanced is that there must* 
 by the principles of hydrostatics, be ;<alt water as far up steam 
 as the point at which the bed of the river is on a level with the 
 mean level of salt water at the mouth of the river ; and that hence 
 up to the head of the tides there will V)e an undercurrent of salt 
 water up and an overcurrent of fresh water down. But it 
 is impossible that two such layers .should co-exist for a hundred 
 miles without mixing. Again in many rivers such as the Ama- 
 zon, La Plata, and Forth it is known that the tides extend a 
 I<mg distance further up than the point at which the level of the 
 
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 III'LI.KTIN OK I UK NATtJlML IIIHTUIIY hUOIbTV. 
 
 hv* 
 
 In-<1 (tf tilt) r>ll'«'HIII in t\w niCHIl WUtfl- ll-Vcl Hi tlu< IllOlltll.* Itut 
 
 i'V«>n witlidiit {\i\s llii* (>viil«>nn> is «-(iiii|il«-t<< ; for I Imvo i))>tiiiii«'(l 
 
 H|M i-iiiM'iiM of wiitt'i' from liolli siiifii<'*> iumI l)otto'iii ut KicdcrictoM 
 
 iiiid iiuliHiittivMi at lii;;li wiitci' mid their (^pi'iitic ;;ni\ itii.s irdiucd 
 
 to 0' C. I find to 1m. 
 
 „ , .. I SurfaiH' watrr, .... l.OUOn i 
 
 IMrdi'iictoii. ..r . » , , , ,.,,,,., • 
 
 I NV atcr fnuii In d, .... 1. ()()().) | 
 
 , ,. . I Suit'acc water, .... I. ()().'» I | 
 
 Indiaiitowti, ,%..., , , , ,,,,u\ } 
 
 I >\ati'i- from Ix'd,. . . . I.OIOO ) 
 
 TliiiH to within one-fiftii'th of one per teni the water at. 
 Fre(h'rieton lias the satiio deiiHity at Hurfair and hottom. Kven 
 at Iiidiaiitowii the process of mixing of salt water and fresli 
 water is wt-li a(ivan<cd, for the density of the snrtiue water is 
 raised to I.UU')4, and that oi tlu' hottom is lowered from 
 ahout l.UliCt which is the average density of sea water to 
 1.0101). When the dilVusion has pr<tieeded thus far ev«'n at 
 Indiantown, it is evident that the tidc^ will not have progressed 
 many miles up river hefore th«i mixinj^ is practically complete, 
 llow far salt water actually does travel n]> stream cannot he 
 statiuJ. It has heen known as far as (ia_t{et(twn. 
 
 As regards the amor.ut of ti(hil current, 1 may note that on 
 the morning of Monday, August 'tth, I saw at Oromocto a log 
 float one and a (piarU-r miles up stream in the main channel in 
 two and a half hours. That was at high water of a spring tiih'. 
 That it was an unusual amount of up-current was evident fr<»in 
 the extent to which it seemed to puzzle a fcrrj'maii. Also at 
 Fredericton on Aug. 22nd, at I ji. m., 1 oltserved a feeble current 
 up. A can^ful examination of this wliole (juestion wi>uld he of 
 great imp«)rtanc(^ in such discussions as to whether the discharge 
 of sewage into the river below Fred(>ricton could alU'ct the 
 waterworks abovc^ the city. 
 
 In conclusion I wish to express my indebtedness to Mr 
 S^.W. Kain and Mr. Percy (i. I lall, of the Natural History Society, 
 also to Mr. Thomas Loggie, of Fredericton, Profes.sor Davidson, 
 of Fredericton, and Mr. E. T. ]'. Showen, of 8t. John, besides 
 the g(!ntlemen previously mentioned, all of whom have been so 
 kind as to supply me information or assistance. 
 
 ♦ See Youne's General Astronomy, p. 477. Alry's Article, Tides and Waves— 
 Ency. Metropolltaua. 
 
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