2. Notice of a Saline Water from the Volcanic Rocks of Linlithgow

Extract

From a boring which has recently been made about a mile west from the town of Linlithgow, water has been obtained differing so much in character from that of the usual wells and springs of the district that some notice of it deserves to be placed on record. When the fact was communicated to me I was asked to explain by what means sea-water could obtain access to underground rocks in an inland district. On visiting the ground I found the site of the bore to be among some hollows of the gravel and sand which cover the country between Falkirk and Linlithgow, its height being about 165 feet above the sea, from which it was distant about three miles. The ordinary wells of the district are situated in the superficial deposits, and supply good potable water, though the supply is necessarily limited.