MINERAL WATERS 



5431 



MINE-SWEEPING 



Mineral Waters. Term applied 



t ,, wain- r.mtaining saline ingre- 

 md often c;u I.. .iii.- aeid gas. 

 My u-fers to natural waters 

 \\hi.-li me used in the treatment of 

 disease, either mtornally or in the 

 I,, mi of baths. Some waters, such 

 Imatis and IVirier, are only 

 sightly impregnated with saline 

 and are on that account 

 Ily adapted for use as table 

 and on account of their 

 11 from iron they can be 

 mixed with whisky without dis- 

 rnl.it. it ion. The term is also ap- 

 plied to aerated waters. 



There are many well-known min- 

 eral waters containing sodium sul- 

 phate (Glauber's salt) and magne- 

 sium sulphate (Epsom salt) in suffi- 

 i -it-lit quantity to make them useful 

 saline aperients. This class of water 

 has been very successfully pre- 

 pared artificially in Great Britain 



A number of natural mineral 

 waters contain iron salts and are 

 known as chalybeate. Examples 

 arc Flitwick (Bedfordshire); Har- 

 rogate ; Llandrindod (Wales) ; 

 I'.ussatig (France); Spa (Belgium); 

 Tonbrioge Wells. Barium occurs in 

 Llangammarch (Wales) water ; 

 bromine and iodine in Wood hall 

 (Lincolnshire) water ; lithium in 

 Baden-Baden water. Other waters 

 such as Bath are radio-active and 

 give off argon, helium, niton, 

 krypton, and xenon gases. Bath 

 water is an example of a thermal 

 mineral water, the temperature be- 

 ing from 88 to 120 F. Droit- 

 \\ii-h water contains about 2,712 

 grains of sodium chloride (common 

 salt) per pint, and is used at a tem- 

 perature of from 98 to 101 F. 

 for muscular rheumatism and sci- 

 atica. See Aerated Waters ; Spa. 



Mineral Waters Duty. British 

 tax first imposed in the United 

 Kingdom in the Budget of 1916. It 

 was one of 4d. a gallon on table 

 waters prepared with sugar or fer- 

 mented, and 8d. a gallon on all 

 other waters. Cider and perry 

 were taxed at the rate of 4d. a 

 gallon. The duty on sweetened 

 table waters was abolished in 1924. 



Miners' Federation of Great 

 Britain. British trade union of 

 coal-workers. It was established in 

 1888 with a membership of 36,000, 

 being a federation of about 20 in- 

 dependent organizations, notably 

 the Yorkshire Miners' Association 

 (1858) and the Lancashire Miners' 

 Federation (1881). From 1889 on- 

 wards the national conferences of 

 miners were held under its direc- 

 tion. The strike of July-Nov., 

 1893, when it had increased to over 

 200,000 members, was its first 

 great trial ot strength. From 1918- 

 24 Frank Hodges was secretary, 

 and in 1919 the federation secured 



the nomination of six of the statu- 

 tory commission appointed to in- 

 quire into the coal industry. The 

 'federation then and throughout 

 1920 made a determined stand for 

 nationalisation of the industry. 

 With the National Union of Rail- 

 way Men and the Transport and 

 General Workers' Union, it formed 

 the triple alliance of British labour. 

 In I'.iL'O its membership was nearly 

 900,000. Its resistance to the call 

 for reduced wages culminated in 

 the national stoppage April 1-June 

 28, 1921. Its headquarters are at 

 65, Russell Square, London, W.C. 

 See Coal ; Trade Unions. 



Minerva (Lat. from the same 

 root as mens, mind). In classical 

 mythology, the Italian goddess 



Minerva. Antique statue of the Greek 

 goddess, Vatican Palace, Rome 



whom the Romans identified with 

 the Greek Athena. One of the chief 

 Roman deities, she was worshipped 

 in the temple on the Capitol. She 

 was the goddess of wisdom, and 

 the patroness of all the arts 

 and crafts. After her identification 

 with Athena she became the god- 

 dess of war, and spoils were often 

 dedicated to her. A festival was 

 held in her honour at Rome from 

 the 19th to the 23rd day of March. 

 See Athena. 



Miner vino -Murge. Walled 

 town of Italy, in the prov. of Apu- 

 lia. It is 28 m. by rly. S.S.W. of 

 Barletta, and produces fruit, vege- 

 tables, and olive oil. There are 

 quarries near by. Pop. 17,000. 



Mine Surveyors, INSTITUTE OF. 

 British society. It was founded by 

 the chief surveyors of the largest 

 collieries in South Wales in March, 



1919. The object* of the institute, 

 which is governed by a council 

 composed of two representatives 

 from each branch, are to secure the 

 advancement of the art of survey- 

 ing in all its branches, to lay plans 

 for the development of mineral 

 areas, and to vaiuate the same, and 

 to promote the general interests of 

 the profession, as well as to safe- 

 guard the training and status of its 

 members. Mine surveyors are em- 

 ployed to make surveys and plans 

 of the surface and mineral work- 

 ings ; they also keep the royalty ac- 

 counts. The Coal Mines Act of 1911 

 requires all mine surveyors to be 

 certificated. 



The institute has eight branches, 

 Lancashire and Cheshire; Midland 

 Counties ; North Wales ; North- 

 umberland and Durham ; Scotland; 

 South Wales ; Staffordshire and 

 Warwickshire ; and Yorkshire ; hav- 

 ing a membership of about 800. A 

 large amount of technical work has 

 been accomplished, and full records 

 of this are contained in their Trans- 

 actions, which are issued quarterly. 



Mines, ROYAL SCHOOL OP. Lon- 

 don teaching institution. It was 

 founded in 1851 under the title of 

 The Government School of Mines 

 and of Science applied to the Arts, 

 through the initiative of Sir Henry 

 de la Beche, F.R.S., and as one 

 product of that development of 

 public interest in technical educa- 

 tion which followed upon the 

 Great Exhibition. Its title has 

 been frequently changed, and in 

 1881 it was completely reorganized 

 in connexion with the Science and 

 Art Department of South Ken- 

 sington. In 1890 it was called The 

 Royal College of Science with 

 which is incorporated the Royal 

 School of Mines, and it is now em- 

 bodied in the University of Lon- 

 don. There are schools of mines in 

 various mining centres, three of the 

 best known being the schools at 

 Camborne in Cornwall, at Johan- 

 nesburg, S. Africa, and at Chem- 

 nitz in Saxony. 



Mine-sweeping. Mine-sweep- 

 ing is the antidote to mine -laying. 

 It comprises two main depart- 

 ments : that by which a pathway is 

 cleared for shipping, which is the 

 sphere of the mine-trawler ; and 

 that by which a ship clears a path- 

 way for herself by the agency of 

 the paravane. 



At the beginning of "the Great 

 War the only British organization 

 actually existing for mine-sweeping 

 was a nucleus of vessels formed 

 originally by Lord Fisher. Twelve 

 trawlers, manned by naval ratings, 

 were employed for instructional 

 purposes, and there was a small 

 trawler reserve. Mine-sweeping 

 stores had been distributed, and 



