an Intermitting Brine Springs near Kissingen, 309 



suddenly upon the muschelkalk at a very small elevation, but 

 where a number of magnificent fresh-water springs gush forth, 

 accompanied by the disengagement of gas ; * and if we pursue 

 the same direction (continuing to rise), we come again upon the 

 sandstone, shewing that the muschelkalk was depressed vio- 

 lently. A very careful examination of the neighbourhood of 

 the upper and lower saline, convinced me that there is no evi- 

 dence there of dislocation at present visible ; the strata, so far 

 as exposed, lie horizontally for a great distance, and the process 

 of boring has detected nothing but continuous red sandstone for 

 a depth of several hundred feet. 



We shall now confine our attention to the great intermittent 

 brine spring which we proposed to describe, referring to the 

 others which may illustrate the phenomena in the course of 

 the narrative. 



History of the Spring. — Under the same roof at the lower 

 saline are three distinct wells, which at one time or other have 

 yielded brine for commercial purposes, and which must be dis- 

 tinguished, if we would trace the curious history of the prin- 

 cipal one connectedly. There is, 1. The Reiche-brun?ieri, which, 

 in 1800, after being cleared out, yielded 8 cubic feet of water 

 per minute, containing 2^ per cent, of salt. 2. The Weite 

 schacht^ which is 6 feet from the preceding, and previous to 

 1800 yielded 1 cubic foot per minute, but seems then to have 

 been absorbed in No. 1. These two shafts occur in the eastern 

 division of the building, beside the pumping machinery. 3. 

 The Riinde hrimnen in the western division is the one now 

 alone attended to ; it is also called, from the violent commo- 

 tion of the gas which it effects, the Soolen sprudd.f 



* According to Kastner, this gas is not pure ciirbonic acid, but consists of 

 Carbonic Acid, .... 25.45 



Nitrogen, . . . . . . 66.50 



Oxygen, ..... 8.05 



100.00 

 + From Soole brine, and sprudein to bubble or sputter. The tenu sprudel 

 is applied j>ar excellence to the turbulent hot spring at Carlsbad. 



