370 NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY 



been known ; and the nature of the salts, which give it so bitter 

 and saline a taste, has been so well settled by the analysis of at 

 least seven able chemists, that I have deemed it useless to make 

 any trials upon it. The specimen No. 499, was probably taken 

 not far from the mouth of the Jordan ; and, therefore, has a spe- 

 cific gravity of only 1170 ; whereas the specimen analyzed by Gay 

 Lussac had a specific gravity of 1228. The chloride of magnesium 

 forms the predominant ingredient in this water, and hence its 

 bitter taste. But there is a good deal of discrepancy in the per 

 centage of the different salts, as obtained by different analysts. 

 This may probably be explained without imputing it to errors of 

 analysis. For if the specimen examined were taken near the 

 mouth of a fresh-water sti'eam, its ingredients would obviously 

 be different from one taken at the mouth of a rill from Us- 

 dum, or one of the bracldsh springs along the shore. Every 

 where, however, it contains salts enough to be fatal to animal 

 life. Prof. Gmefin detected bromine in the specimen which he 

 analyzed. It ought, also, to be stated here, that although the 

 waters of the Jordan <are regarded as sweet. Dr. Marcet found in 

 them the same ingredients as in the Dead Sea, and in about the 

 same proportion. And' when we examine the hot springs on the 

 west shore of lake Tiberias, I think we find the origin of this 

 saline impregnation. For their taste is excessively salt and bit- 

 ter, and they make deposits as they run to the lake. It is stated 

 by the traveller Monro, that the water of these springs, or rather 

 their deposit, was analyzed by Dr. Turner, and found to " con- 

 sist chiefly of carbonate of lime with a very small proportion of 

 muriatic salts, differing in no respect from that of the Dead Sea." 

 The Dead Sea, however, contains no carbonate of lime ; and 

 this statement seems quite defective. Mr. Hebard found the 

 temperature of these springs to be one hundred and forty-four 

 degrees, Fahr. They issue from the dark bituminous limestone 

 already described as occurring on the shore of the Dead Sea. 



Dr. Marcet does not appear to have made a quantitative analy- 

 sis of the waters of the Jordan. Probably it was only a quali- 

 tafive analysis, and he judged of the amount of the ingi-edients 

 by the eye. The following experiment of a similar kind occurred 



