ZWARTKOPS BORE AND THERMAL SPRING. 125 



The Government Analyst adds in his report that until the 

 discover}- of this spring, that of Caledon was said to be the only 

 high temperature Chalybeate spring in the world, but this spring 

 being io° R higher, the former has now lost that distinction. 



In order to test the effect of the water on various metals, 

 samples of copper, brass, galvanised iron, zinc, lead, aluminium, 

 etc., were put in the running stream for six months, carefully 

 weighed before and after immersion, and the result is given in 

 Appendix " B." 



It might be interesting to note that Sir Wm. Ramsay, in 

 addressing a meeting recently at Bath, where he had been con- 

 ducting a series of scientific investigations in connection with the 

 waters and gases from King's Wells there, said that in 10,000 

 volumes of the gases from King's Well there were T2 volumes 

 of Helium. It was not evident how the presence of Helium 

 could be credited with such beneficial results as were produced 

 by " taking the waters," but in 1903 the riddle was solved by the 

 discovery that Helium was one of the products of change of 

 Radium ; and he also stated that the yellow discolouration of the 

 glasses used for drinking the water was not due to iron as hitherto 

 supposed, but to Radium. 



As the discolouration of the glasses at Zwartkops spring is 

 very pronounced, a field of research is opened up to find how 

 far this is due to the presence of Radium and in what degree, 

 and this can only be done at the bore itself. 



Bottling the Water. 



Experiments have been made in bottling this water for the 

 market. It is brought into town in jars and aerated in the usual 

 way, and, so far, is much appreciated, having gained three first 

 prizes in open competition ; but what is aimed at is to bottle the 

 water with its gases and without its having any contact with the 

 atmosphere. This we are assured can be done by means of 

 special appliances, but this section must stand over till the more 

 pressing needs of a sanatorium can be attended to. 



The foregoing is a brief outline of the history of this work, 

 which was originally undertaken in the hope of finding some 

 definite evidences of the existence of petroleum, but which has 

 resulted in the discovery of a thermal spring unique in its way, 

 as its waters are encased in steel pipes from its source of origin 

 3.600 feet below the surface all the way to the baths without its 

 coming in contact with the atmosphere. So that whatever the 

 properties may be that the w r ater or the accompanying gases 

 possess at that depth, the same virtues are delivered without loss 

 into the baths, and, as far as is known, there is no other spring 

 in the world that has this peculiar advantage. 



The proposed site for the sanatorium is on rising ground 

 close to the sea, and also to the excellent fishing and boating 

 facilities in the Zwartkops River. It is situated at the junction 

 of the two main lines of railways reaching into the interior, and 

 it is convenient also to Port Elizabeth. So that if the prospects 



