596 



MINERAL WATERS. 



troubles of nearly every kind. Dyspepsia, 

 gout, gravel, ulcers of the stomach, and the 

 abdominal obesity that is common in Ger- 

 many, yield to the effect of these invaluable 

 waters. The place is extremely attractive, and 

 the summer climate is delightful. Winter 

 treatment is also given. The waters, and their 

 extracted salts, are exported. 



Ems, in the duchy of Nassau, has twenty 

 thermal springs, some of which have been used 

 since the Roman era. Their temperature 

 ranges from 85 to 118 Fahr. The bicarbon- 

 ate of soda and the chloride of sodium are the 

 chief ingredients. They are in especial vogue 

 for chronic catarrh, bronchitis, and laryngitis ; 

 vesical and uterine catarrh are also treated, and 

 sterility is sometimes cured by a visit to these 

 waters. The place is attractive : there are 

 fine establishments for bathing, and the climate 

 is one of the most agreeable of central Ger- 

 many. The water is exported. 



The Highland Springs, Lake county, Cal., 

 have been for a few years resorted to for the 

 cure of chronic rheumatism, as well as for the 

 general treatment appropriate to the alkaline 

 springs. There are now fair hotel accommoda- 

 tions. Three of the springs have been ana- 

 lyzed. They are highly charged with carbonic- 

 acid gas, and are much used for bathing. They 

 lie at an elevation of 1,740 feet, and are shel- 

 tered by the Mayacamas mountain from the 

 west winds. 



The Marienbad waters are similar in consti- 

 tution to the Carlsbad, but contain a little iron. 

 They are laxative, diuretic, and diaphoretic; 

 they reduce obesity, and a curative action in 

 cases of mental insanity is claimed for them. 

 Marienbad is one of the most charming of the 

 Austrian spas. Peat or mineral mud-baths are 

 given in perfection. 



The Medical Lake, in Spokane county, Wash- 

 ington Territory, is 1 J mile long, from J to 

 of a mile wide, and from 40 to 100 feet deep. 

 Visitors bathe in the water, which has an unct- 

 uous feel or " texture " ; but no living thing is 

 found in it except a species of small turtle. 

 The " Medical Lake Powders," made from this 

 water, are used in the proportion of half an 

 ounce to a gallon of water. The lake is little 

 resorted to as yet, though since 1881 a town 

 has sprung up on its banks. 



Mont Dore, in the volcanic Puy de D6me, 

 lies high among the mountains of southern 

 central France, 3,444 feet above sea -level. 

 There are seven thermal springs, ranging from 

 100 to 113 Fahr., and one cold spring. The 

 waters are strongly tonic and alterative, acting 

 promptly upon the skin and the air-passages. 

 Bronchial catarrh, asthma, laryngitis, and pul- 

 monary emphysema are successfully treated at 

 Mont Dore. The place is very finely appointed, 

 and is attractive in every way ; the mountain 

 air is tonic, and the scenery magnificent. 



The Rockbridge Baths, Rockbridge county, 

 Va., are picturesquely situated on the North 

 James river. Their temperature is 74 Fahr. ; 



they are mainly used as a tonic bath, and 

 near them is a sulphur spring. There is a 

 hotel. 



The St. Louis Spring, in Gratiot county, 

 Mich., is warm and strongly alkaline, with a 

 small quantity of iron. Dr. Kennedy's reports 

 of cases show that the water has been espe- 

 cially useful in dyspepsia and neuralgia. Baths 

 are given, apparently aiding the cure. The 

 water was found, in boring for salt-springs, 

 at a depth of 200 feet, and is popularly reputed 

 to be "magnetic," but the only magnetism is 

 that of the iron tubing through which it reaches 

 the surface. 



The Sheldon Springs, Franklin county, Yt., 

 are four in number. They are pleasantly situ- 

 ated on the banks of the Missisquoi river, in 

 sight of the Green mountains, and at an eleva- 

 tion of about 1,800 feet. The bicarbonate of 

 soda (0-501 grains), and a remarkable quantity 

 of silicic acid (0*573 grains to the pint), are the 

 leading constituents of the springs, which Dr. 

 Hayes calls "a very unusual alkaline-saline 

 water." It has the usual favorable action of 

 its class in the cure of acid gravel, gout, and 

 vesical catarrh, and has been claimed as a cure 

 for cancer, but without any satisfactory evi- 

 dence on this point. Prof. Fordyce Barker, 

 however, thinks that these waters are pallia- 

 tive of the disease, and recommends the care- 

 ful investigation of their therapeutic effects. 

 The same claim, that of a cancer-cure, is made 

 for the bicarbonated water of Celles, in the 

 department of the Ardeche, in southeastern 

 France, a carbonated ferruginous water. 



Vichy, France. This is perhaps the best 

 known of all mineral waters. There are fif- 

 teen principal springs, which range in temper- 

 ature from 53 to 120 Fahr. Their consti- 

 tution is similar; there are 26 grains of car- 

 bonate of soda and 39 grains of all solid con- 

 stituents to the pint of water. The waters are 

 of especial use in gout, in the earlier stages of 

 dyspepsia, in atony of the digestive organs, in 

 affections of the liver, and in uric-acid gravel. 

 They are counterindicated in chlorosis, anae- 

 mia, and in most diseases .of debility. The 

 baths are magnificently appointed ; they lie at 

 an elevation of about 800 feet above sea-level, 

 and are open all the year round. The waters 

 are exported in great quantities. 



2. Saline Waters. Baden-Baden, Ballston 

 Spa, Bourbon-Lancy, Bourbon-L'Archambault, 

 Bourbonne, Caledonia Springs, Hombourg, 

 Kissingen, Luxeuil, Michigan Congress, Royat, 

 St. Catharine's Wells, Salins, Saratoga Springs, 

 Selters, Wiesbaden. 



Restricting the term "saline waters" to 

 those in which the chloride of sodium or com- 

 mon salt is the predominating constituent, the 

 waters of this class, in full doses, are primarily 

 aperient or cathartic ; they also increase W 

 flow of bile. When very strong, they are 

 known as brines. These are chiefly used for 

 bathing, and act as a strong stimulus to tl 

 nerves of the skin, and through them to the 



