OF THE GASES OF THE KING'S BATH SPRING. 9 



that such a conjecture is somewhat contenanced by what is observed at Bath, where 

 the hottest and most abundant emits the largest quantity of elastic products. 



Thus the King's Bath, which possesses, as I have ascertained by almost daily obser- 

 vations for a month by a thermometer with a scale divided to half-degrees of Fahren- 

 heit, an uniform temperature of 115°, and which evolves 126 gallons of water per 

 minute, disengages on the average about 240 cubic inches of nitrogen, whilst the 

 Cross Bath, which affords only about eight gallons, and is at 96°, gives out only 12 

 cubic inches of gas. What the quantity may be from the Hot Bath, which, besides 

 being hotter, is also somewhat more copious than the Cross, I have not had the means 

 of correctly ascertaining, as, at the spot where it issues from the earth, it is covered 

 over ; but I have reason to believe that the emission of gas from it must be small. 



The only other warm spring, which I have as yet examined with reference to this 

 point, is that called Taafe's Well, already noticed as occurring near Cardiff, in which 

 the thermometer rises only to 70, and this, which discharges much less water than 

 the others mentioned, gives out only 22*5 * cubic inches per minute-f-. 



But we ought not to build on so scanty an induction of particulars, and must pause 

 for the present, in the hope, that in other countries those who may be favourably cir- 

 cumstanced for such inquiries will repeat, with reference to the thermal springs of the 

 Continent, the same observations which 1 have undertaken at Bath. 



Having now, as I hope, faithfully recorded the limits, within which the quantities 

 of elastic fluid evolved by the principal Hot Spring at Bath appeared to fluctuate, 

 during the period of my observations, and submitted to the consideration of the 

 members of this Society a mode of accounting for its regular and nearly equable 

 disengagement, I shall forbear to speculate on the causes of its peculiar chemical 

 constitution, or to dwell upon the inferences that might be deduced from its presence, 

 with regard to thermal springs in general. 



I will only remark, that the largeness of the volume of nitrogen gas which is dis- 

 engaged, and the entire absence of carburetted, sulphuretted and phosphuretted 

 hydrogen, seem to afford an additional presumption against the idea, advanced by a 

 distinguished chemist in a paper recently published in our Transactions, that the 

 nitrogen gas which escapes from volcanos and from thermal springs may be derived 

 from the atmospheric air, held in chemical solution by water generally, but deprived 

 in these instances of the greater part of its oxygen by animal and vegetable putre- 

 faction. It seems obvious, that no amount of water, which can be supposed to obtain 

 access to the depths at which the heat originates, could be sufficient to supply so 



* This must be considered only a rude approximation, as I had no apparatus large enough to cover over the 

 whole of the bath, and consequently to collect all the gas that rises at once. 

 t This gas contained no carbonic acid, but consisted of 



Oxygen 3-5 (allowing an expansion of 2'5 for phosphorus vapour, as in the other cases,) 



Nitrogen 96*5 



In the 100 parts. 

 MDCCCXXXIV. C 



