12 SIXTH RKPORT 1836. 



tuents of how far such a law as tliat hinted at by Dobereincr could be 

 Mineral reconciled with the idea of a gradual diminution taking place in 

 fronfunie'^'' *^^ Strength of the saline impregnation of a spring (which, ac- 

 to time. cording to this view, ought to proceed, if at all, in regular pro- 

 portions likewise), let us simply consider the weight of evidence 

 in favour or against the permanency of mineral springs in this 

 respect. 

 Cases in On the One hand, Bischof * states, that the mineral contents of 



which they the Spring of Geilnau in the Taunus mountains, as determined 

 observed't ^^ himself in 1826, agree in quantity with those existing there 

 be constant, thirty- tliree years before, if we believe the report of Amburger. 

 According to the same author, seventy-seven years have made 

 no difference in the mineral impregnation of the spring of Fa- 

 chingen in the same district, and the analysis of the water of 

 Selters made thirty-eight years before by Westrumb corresponds 

 very nearly vvith his own. 



Berzelius too has shown, that the composition of the Carls- 

 bad waters accords with the results of the analysis of Klaproth 

 made thirty-three years previously. 

 Cases in But, on the other hand, the Steinbad at Toeplitz contains, 



which they according to the last chemist, scarcely half the quantity of fixed 

 are found to ingredients -which were present in it, according to Ambrozzi, 

 ^^^' thirty-three years before, and even then it was suspected that a 



diminution from an antecedent period in its saline contents had 

 taken place. 



Wurzerf found the spring of Neundorf, in the wet summer of 

 1833, more fully impregnated with saline matter and with sul- 

 phuretted hydrogen, than in the dry summer of 1814. 



Klaproth detected in 1806 carbonate of soda, carbonate of 

 magnesia, and silica in the mineral water of Riepoldsau. Sult- 

 zer in 1811 could not discover in it one of the above ingre- 

 dients. 



Westrumb in 1788 concluded, that in the Pyrmont water the 

 saline matter was almost constant in quantity, being from 23 

 to 24 grains in the pint, but that the proportion of the respective 

 ingredients varied. In March 1788 it contained rather more 

 alkaline salt, and rather less gypsum, than in June, July, and 

 August ; but though the proportions of the respective salts might 

 vary, the same principles always existed in it. 



Struve J remarks, that almost every new analysis of the spring 

 of Marienbad affords different results as to quantity, though the 

 total amount of saline matter, and the nature of the acids and 

 bases present, appear invariable. 



Vidk. Mill. Qiiellen, p. 329. t See Bischof, p. 331. 



Kwistlk/teii Min. Wasser, p. 15. 



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