146 THE CHEMISTRY OF CREATION. 



called borax is a product of these deep che- 

 mical processes. It is largely employed in 

 glazing earthenware, in soldering metals, in 

 medicine, and in the operations of fluxing and 

 assaying. A part of what is used in commerce 

 is obtained from the waters of certain lakes in 

 Thibet and Persia ; it is also imported from 

 India under the name of " tincal ;" but its most 

 important and singular source is in what are 

 called the " Boracic Lagoons of Tuscany." 



The scene where these lagoons are situated 

 is one of peculiar wildness. Conceive a region 

 in the heart of bleak and solitary mountains, 

 where the earth seems to be pouring out boil- 

 ing water, where clouds of hot vapour come 

 bursting from its surface, drenching the visitor 

 to the skin, and impregnating the whole sur- 

 rounding atmosphere with a strong sulphureous 

 smell. . The heat is intolerable ; the rugged 

 surface of -the ground seems ready at every 

 moment to break up and disclose some awful 

 pit beneath, whence the boiling springs and 

 clouds of steam arise. The ground trembles 

 and shakes beneath the feet, and loud concus- 

 sions are both heard and felt without cessation 

 in the vicinity of the spot. The surface of the 

 earth is covered with beautiful crystals of sul- 

 phur and other minerals. Need we wonder 

 that the poor and ignorant peasantry regarded 



