594 



MINERAL WATERS. 



creased. No rocks, indeed, can altogether re- 

 sist its action under pressure; even quartz, 

 granite, and basalt are partly decomposed by 

 carbonated water. M. Struve shows that it 

 decomposes silicates under a moderate press- 

 ure by driving out silicic acid. Iron and lime, 

 insoluble as carbonates, are soluble as bicarbon- 

 ates, and highly carbonated water will dissolve 

 them. M. Struve took a quantity of clink- 

 stone from the neighborhood of the alkaline 

 spring at Bilin, Bohemia, and subjected it pul- 

 verized to the action of carbonated water under 

 the moderate pressure of two atmospheres. 

 The result was the almost identical reproduc- 

 tion of the Bilin spring- water. 



The combinations of elements, however, as 

 shown in analyses, are to a certain extent em- 

 pirical ; as the chemist, after determining the 

 bases and acids present, combines them ac- 

 cording to theoretical formulas, giving the re- 

 sult in grains of carbonate of magnesia, sulphate 

 of potassa, chloride of sodium, etc. ; while cer- 

 tain elements, recorded as loss, organic matter, 

 extractive matter, etc., more or less elude his 

 search. It is probable that no artificial imita- 

 tions of mineral waters can reproduce them as 

 a whole, or be depended upon to have exactly 

 the same curative agency. 



The constituents of mineral waters are ex- 

 tremely varied. The main ones are these : 



The carbonate of soda is a fat-destroyer. It gives an 

 alkaline reaction, and in medicinal doses neutralizes 

 the acidity and increases the alkalinity of the blood, 

 as well as augments the watery portion of the urine. 

 The carbonate of potassa has similar effects. Small 

 doses of soda aid the digestion, where it is impaired 

 by acidity of the gastric secretions. 



The carbonate of magnesia occurs with the most 

 frequency in waters of the secondary and tertiary 

 geologic formations. Its effects are mildly laxative 

 and antacid. 



The carbonate of lime, or chalk ; is found in the 

 same formations, and is common in the springs of 

 northern France and southern Engl and. It is also alka- 

 line, neutralizing the acids in the stomach, but is con- 

 stipating in its medicinal action ; it is used in treating 

 chronic diarrhoea and chronic bronchitis, and calcu- 

 lous affections, small doses of it being absorbed by the 

 stomach. 



The carbonate of iron occurs in mineral waters only 

 as a bicarbonate or protocarbonate. The tonic effects 

 of iron are especially evident upon the use of chalybe- 

 ate waters, probably owing to the minute subdivis- 

 ion and intimate combination of the ingredients. 



The carbonates of lithia and of strontia occur in 

 small quantities in some mineral waters ; the latter is 

 recommended in the treatment of gout and uric-acid 

 gravel, as it unites readily with uric acid. 



Chlorides are present in nearly all mineral waters ; 

 common salt, or chloride of sodium, being the most 

 frequent and abundant, and one of the most impor- 

 tant. In small doses it is absorbed ; in moderate doses 

 it is aperient, but not cathartic ; it does not remove 

 superfluous fat, but it increases the secretion of bile 

 and of gastric juice, and augments the quantity of ex- 

 creted urea. The chloride of calcium occurs princi- 

 pally in saline waters, and has been used for scrofula 

 and for general debility. The chloride of magnesium 

 is the chief element in the residual bitter liquor or 

 "bittern" of salt-works, and is the characteristic con- 

 stituent of the Dead Sea water. It has been used as a 

 cathartic. The chlorides of potassium, iron, rubidium, 

 and csasium are rare, the last two being chemical curi- 



osities. The chloride of csesium was discovered by its 

 spectrum lines. Kirchhoff and Bunsen evaporated 

 over 105,000 pounds of the mineral water of Durck- 

 heim, and thus isolated a small quantity of the sub- 

 stance, which has been found since then in the wa- 

 ters of Bourbonne-les-Bains and Baden-Baden, and in 

 the lepidolite of Hebron, Maine. 



The sulphates also occur frequently in mineral wa- 

 ters. The sulphate of soda, or Glauber's salt, is one 

 of the most abundant of salts. It is a principal ingre- 

 dient in the Carlsbad waters, and is dissolved from 

 granite, basalt, feldspar ; pprphvry , and other primitive 

 rocks. It is purgative in its effect, and stimulates the 

 kidneys. Sulphate of magnesia, or Epsoin salt, occurs 

 in limestone, serpentine, clay, and slate. It is a mild 

 watery purgative j in a weak dilution it acts upon the 

 kidneys, stimulating the flow of urine. Of sulphate 

 of lime, or gypsum, only twenty grains are soluble in 

 a pound of water. It is not employed medicinally, 

 but is found in spring-waters, where it forms a crust 

 upon twigs and other substances. Sulphate of iron 

 is an astringent salt, seldom present in mineral wa- 

 ters ; it is found, however, in the Oak Orchard Acid 

 Springs of New York, and in the Alum Springs of Vir- 

 ginia ; usually with it the sulphate of alumina. Sul- 

 phate of potassa is also rare, and of little value. 



The iodides, though present in mineral waters in but 

 small quantity, are among their most valuable constit- 

 uents. " Certain springs were long celebrated for the 

 cure of scrofula, goitre, and analogous affections, their 

 efficacy being unexplained untilthe discovery of iodine, 

 of its effects in these diseases, and finally of its pres- 

 ence in the waters" (Walton). Iodide of sodium is 

 the form most frequently found in mineral waters, 

 but not often in larger amount than one fifth of a grain 

 to the pint ; of the iodide of potassium there is sel- 

 dom more than a trace. Even in these small quan- 

 tities these salts are of value in the relief of scrofula, 

 goitre, chronic rheumatism, and tertiary syphilis. 



The bromides, the phosphates, and the fluorides 

 are found in small quantities in many springs. The 

 bromide of magnesium is found in strong saline wa- 

 ters ; it is alterative in its effects, and is used to quiet 

 nervous irritability. The phosphates of soda, of iron, 

 and of lime are respectively a mild cathartic, a tonic, 

 and an alterative for scrofulous affections. The flu- 

 orides, the silicates, and some organic acids occur 

 in small quantities, but are not known to be of me- 

 dicinal value. Some of the salts formed by nitri 

 acid are occasionally found, as the nitrates of soda 

 and potassa ; their action is diuretic in small doses, 

 and purgative in larger. More rarely a small quan- 

 tity of arsenic occurs. It is considered efficacious in 

 the treatment of skin-diseases, intermittent fever, and 

 chronic rheumatism. Mineral waters sometimes con- 

 tain traces of antimony, copper, lead, tin, zinc, and 

 even of gold, which is one of the most widely, if 

 sparingly, distributed of all metals. 



In the sulphur-waters of the Pyrenees, in France, 

 certain organic substances, named bare"gine, glairme, 

 and sulfuraria occur, which are supposed by Dr. Di 

 rand-Fardel to give those waters a sedative action. 

 " The Red Sulphur Springs of Virginia have Ion 

 been reputed as sedative to the arterial system. They 

 contain an unusually large proportion of organic mat- 

 ter" (Walton). 



The gaseous constituents of mineral waters ai 

 much importance. Foremost among them, especial 

 in the saline and in the alkaline waters, is carbonic 

 acid gas. When breathed, this is quickly fatal tc 

 mallife; even so little of it as 15 percent, in then 

 spired air produces asphyxiation. But when take 

 into the stomach in moderate quantities it stimula 

 the secretions, aids the digestion, and acts beneficial- 

 ly upon the nervous system. The sparkle of certan 

 waters and wines, and their pleasant subacid taste, art 

 due to the contained carbonic^acid gas, and n 

 water entirely deprived of it is unpalatable. J 

 ingredient that makes soda-water a popular drink. 

 during the summer months in this country. 



