440 Prof. Ramsay and Mr. Travers. The Gaseous 



at Cauterets, which he has found to contain a considerable quantity 

 of a mixture of argon and helium. He appears to have made a rough 

 spectroscopic examination of the gases, and has stated in his paper- 

 that some of the lines in the red end of the spectrum do not belong 

 to the spectrum either of argon or of helium. The author, a medical 

 man, has dealt with the matter from a purely clinical standpoint, and 

 his paper contains no data with regard to the supposed new lines. 



To obtain samples of these gases, it was necessary to make a journey 

 to Cauterets, and to visit the wells personally. Taking advantage of 

 the Easter holidays, we left England provided with twelve tin cylin- 

 ders, each with a capacity of 2 litres, for the purpose of collecting 

 samples of gas from as many of the wells as we could obtain admis- 

 sion to. The management of the baths and wells granted us permis- 

 sion to visit the actual sources from which the baths, &c., are supplied, 

 and courteously gave us every assistance, placing at our disposal the 

 services of men connected with the different establishments. We 

 were able to obtain samples of gas from four of the springs close to 

 the town, but, on account of the deep snow, some of the more distant 

 " sources " were quite inaccessible. The " sources " are for the most 

 part situated at the end of tunnels driven for some distance into the 

 hill-side. The water rises from below into tanks beneath the floor of 

 the tunnels, and is conducted through pipes to the baths. Circular 

 holes, about 9 inches diameter, in the floor formed the only means of 

 inspecting the interior of the tanks. The gas appeared to rise with 

 the water from natural springs in the bottom of the tanks ; it was 

 this gas that we collected for our investigation. The apparatus 

 employed is shown in the accompanying figure. A piece of rubber 

 tube B is fitted on to the lower tap of the cylinder A, which was 

 then sucked full of water. The taps were then closed, and the cylin- 

 der fixed in a vertical position, the rubber tube hanging down into 

 the tank. A second piece of rubber tube, C, was fitted on to the 

 funnel D, which was lowered into the tank. Water was then drawn 

 up into the rubber tube, which was immediately slipped over the 

 nozzle of the upper tap on the tin cylinder. The taps were then 

 opened, and the funnel brought over some point on the floor of the 

 tank, from which gas was escaping. The gas rising into the funnel 

 rapidly replaced the water in the cylinder which escaped back into 

 the tank by the lower tube. In some of the wells a large quantity of 

 gas could be collected in a short time, but in others the bubbles rose 

 only very slowly. 



Name of " source." Temp. Time required to fill vessels. 



Raillere 39'5 C. One tin in two hours. 



Des CEufs 51*0 ,, Three tins in 30 minutes. 



Caesar 46'0 One tin in four hours. 



Espagnol 46'0 Three tins in about 15 minutes. 



