[el WORTHY] HOT SPRINGS OF BANFF, ALTA. 29 



Little change in concentration has, therefore, taken place in the 

 last thirty years. 



The Upper Hot, Kidney, Middle, Cave, and Basin Springs are of 

 similar composition and their identical character is readily seen on 

 comparing the properties of reaction. The Automobile Road Spring 

 shows some difference due to the influx of surface water. The Cave 

 Spring is similarly diluted by the entrance of water from springs 

 higher up the mountain. Otherwise one would anticipate a similar 

 concentration to that of the Basin Spring just near it. The prop- 

 erties of reaction which are worked out on a basis of the proportional 

 reaction capacity of each of the constituents show that the water has 

 passed through a marine sediment bearing out the statement^ that 

 the Banff waters rise in the intermediate limestone of the Devonian 

 Period. 



Argon and Helium in the Gases Evolved from the Springs. 



Analyses of the gases which are given off from the springs are 

 included in the table of results. The percentage of nitrogen present is 

 high, and it seemed of interest to determine the amount of argon 

 and other rare gases of the atmosphere present in the gas. 



Ch. Moureu^ has made an exhaustive study of the presence of 

 argon, helium, neon, krypton and xenon in the gases evolved from 

 French springs. 



Argon was found in every gas examined, and helium in sixty- 

 nine samples. 



To isolate the rare gases, use is made of the fact that heated 

 calcium metaP absorbs nitrogen forming calcium nitride. 



Figure 1 shows the apparatus used. Before carrying out an 

 absorption the system was exhausted and the calcium heated until 

 no more gases are evolved by the metal. The gas sample was measured 

 in the burette, then passed through soda lime and phosphorus pent- 

 oxide and over calcium turnings in a Jena combustion tube heated 

 in a gas furnace. Rapid absorption of the nitrogen took place at the 



1 C. Camsell, Guide to the Geology of the Canadian National Park's Dept. of 

 Int. 1914, p. 50. 



2 Moureu, Jour. Chim. Phys., 11-63-1913. 



The paper gives a resume of all the previous work on the subject and the complete 

 results of several year's work on seventy French springs. 

 ^ Moureu, loc. cit. 



Soddy Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. 78a 436, 1906. 

 Sieverts and Brandt. Z. angew Chem. 29. 1. 402, 1916. 

 " « " 27 1. 424, 1914. 



