On Mineral Watery, 71 



tricity, to have created the mineral waters out of the elements 

 of their component parts. And this hypothesis seemed to be 

 favoured by the circumstance, that no saline strata occur in the 

 vicinity of the wells, — such immense strata of sulphate of soda, 

 Howhere. 



On, however, taking a general survey of those mineral waters 

 which resemble each other synthetically, we shall become aware 

 of the same analogy in the geognostical relation of their vicini- 

 ties. The critical eye of Berzelius was the first to light upon 

 this fact with sufficient clearness. Thus, springs abounding in 

 the salts of soda are only to be met with in the neighbourhood 

 of volcanic mountains ; as, for instance, in the basaltic chains 

 which traverse the north of Germany, from west to east, in the 

 Pyrenees, in the Auvergne, in the Vivarais, and in the Cantal. 

 On the other hand, where the basaltic formation is not pre- 

 valent, as in the Alps of Switzerland, the salts of soda occur 

 but sparingly in mineral waters, and its carbonate is altogether 

 absent. 



Hence, as volcanic fossils, such as clinkstone, basalt, obsi- 

 dian, lava, &c. alone contain soda to any amount, we may safely 

 conclude that these minerals are subservient to the formation of 

 mineral waters. Direct experiments of Dr. Struve have shown, 

 that by the treatment of certain fossils with water and a conco- 

 mitant pressure of carbonic acid gas, solutions are obtained, 

 which bear analogy to the respective mineral waters occurring 

 in the vicinity of the fossils in question. Such was the case 

 with the clinkstone of Bilin, the porphyry of Toplitz, the ba- 

 salt of Eyer, the marie of Seidschutz, and the loam of Piillna 

 in Bohemia. 



The development of carbonic acid gas, a leading ingredient in 

 mineral waters, is likewise connected with volcanic action. The 

 evolution of this gas, consequent upon every eruption of Vesuvius, 

 and the perpetual streams issuing from the earth near volcanos, 

 as in the Grotto del Cane, near Naples, and at various parts in 

 Sicily, — place this fact beyond a doubt. Besides, these exha- 

 lations of carbonic acid gas are only observed either neaF ex- 

 tinct volcanos, or where the formation of the soil clearly denotes 

 a volcanic origin. 



To examine all the means which volcanism may possibly 



