wells, yet there is not the half as much as existed before the earthquakes. The College well, although deepened several feet, does not now contain generally more than four or five feet of water. I must not omit to remark, that two wells, situated in a longitudinal line from north to south, with regard to each other, and also in a lower spot of ground, never failed entirely, although they diminished considerably, and now yield more copious supplies than any others. Whatever may be the cause of this phenomenon, the effects are so inconvenient, and it is so generally believed that they are likely to be permanent, that the inhabitants of the town are beginning to build cisterns, in order to accumulate artificial reservoirs of water. ART. XXIII. _Respiration of Oxygen Gas._ It is not extraordinary, when oxygen gas was first discovered, and found to be the principle of life to the whole animal creation, that extravagant expectations should have been formed as to its medicinal application. Disappointment followed of course, and naturally led to a neglect of the subject; and, in fact, for some years, pneumatic medicine has gone into discredit, and public opinion has vibrated to the extreme of incredulity. Partaking in a degree in this feeling, we listened with some reluctance to a very pressing application on this subject during the last summer. A young lady, apparently in the last stages of decline, and supposed to be affected with hydrothorax, was pronounced beyond the reach of ordinary medical aid. As she was in a remote town in Connecticut, where no facilities existed towards the attainment of the object, we felt no confidence that, even if oxygen gas were possessed of any efficacy in such cases, it would _actually_ be applied in this case, in such a manner as to do any good. Yielding, however, to the anxious wishes of friends, we furnished drawings for such an apparatus as might be presumed attainable, and also written and minute directions for preparing, trying, and administering the gas. It was obtained from nitrate of potash, (saltpetre,) not because it was the best process, but because the substance could be obtained in the place, and because a common fire would serve for its extrication. The gas obtained had, of course, a variable mixture of nitrogen or azot, and probably on an average, might not be purer than nearly the _reversed_ proportions of the atmosphere--that is, 70 to 80 per cent. of oxygen to 20 or 30 nitrogen; and it is worthy of observation, whether this circumstance might not have influenced the result.