Natural History. 199 



to enlarge our knowledge in this department of 

 philosophy. 



The discovery of tlie composition of water was 

 mentioned in a former chapter. The great aug- 

 mentation of our knowledge, with respect to the 

 doctrines of tideSy during the period under review, 

 was also noticed in a preceding division of this 

 work. To repeat what has been said on these and 

 some other subjects before discussed, and which 

 might, with propriety, be introduced under this 

 head, is altogether unnecessary. 



But among the discoveries and improvements 

 of the last age, which belong to this head, the 

 most important are the numerous and very useful 

 investigations of Mineral Waters^ which have been 

 pursued with great success during this period. It 

 is evident that our knowledge of the properties and 

 effects of mineral waters must, in general, keep pace 

 with the progress of chemical science; for which 

 reason the early writers on this subject were, in a 

 great measure, destitute of the best means of pur- 

 suing their inquiries. The publications, therefore, 

 of Drs. Allen, Short, Rutty, Hillary, Shaw^, 

 and others, of Great-Britain, who wrote on mineral 

 waters early in the century; and of many cotem- 

 porary wTiters on the continent of Europe, who 

 undertook to treat of the same subject, are o£ 

 little value at the present day, excepting so far as 

 they exhibit facts. But when the sciences of Che- 

 mistry and Mineralogy reached that stage of im- 

 provement which they attained in the hands of 

 ScHEELE and Bergman, the analysis of mineral 

 waters began to be pursued upon a new" and im- 

 proved plan.- BergxMan, in particular, about the 

 year 1779, wrote very ably on this subject, and 

 gave new and instructive views of it. About the 

 same time, Messrs. AIonnet and Cornette, of 

 Fraijcep ancl Gi^ipn>:etxi^ of Italy, displayed ia 



