Mineral Waters of Canada. 273 
The large amount of silica which it contains, is an interesting 
peculiarity, and naturally connects itself with the strongly alke- 
line character of the water. _As silica is capable of decomposing 
a solution of carbonate of soda, it is probable that a portion of the 
soda must really exist in the condition of a silicate. From the 
uncertainty which still remains as to the composition of these sol- 
uble silicates, it is impossible to calculate the portion of the soda 
which should be deducted from that represented as existing as 
carbonate, but an indirect experiment throws some light upon the 
question. 1000 grammes of the water were evaporated to perfect 
ryness, to render all the magnesia insoluble. The residue being 
then dissolved in distilled water, was mixed with a solution of 
chlorid of barium, and yielded a precipitate of carbonate, with a 
little sulphate, which contained an amount of carbonic acid cor- 
responding to ‘2540 of carbonate of soda, while the excess of 
soda above that required for saturating the chlorine, bromine and 
sulphuric acid, equalled -4558 parts of carbonate. The difference 
“2018 corresponds to -1179 of pure soda, which may be regarded 
as forming a silicate with the -0840 of silica. With our imper- 
fect knowledge of silicates, especially the soluble ones, it is obvi- 
_ ously useless to speculate farther upon the mode of combination 
in which these substances exist.* 
IV. The Intermitting Spring —This spring has been already 
described as situated about two miles distant from the others. 
It rises out of a bank of clay near the edge of a brook; a well 
has been sunk nearly thirty feet through the clay, and the water 
rises near to the surface. It is kept in almost constant agitation 
by the evolution of large quantities of carburetted hydrogen gas; 
the water from this cause, is kept constantly turbid by the quan- 
tity of clay diffused through it, and it is only after being allowed 
to stand for several hours in a quiet place, that it becomes trans- 
parent. ‘The discharge of gas is not regular, some minutes often 
elapsing, during which only a few bubbles escape from time to 
time, after which a copious evolution oceurs for a few moments, 
followed by another period of quiescence ; from this peculiarity it 
1s Damed the intermitting spring. 
The temperature was found to be 50° F. at the bottom of the 
well ; that of the air being 61°. The amount of water furnished 
y the spring could not be easily determined, as part of it escapes 
through the bank, but it is not large. At the time of my visit, 
the recent rains had diluted the spring with a good deal of surface 
that Mr. O. Henry in his fine researches 
eady shown that the 
Seconp Series, Vol. IX, No. 26.—March, 1850. 35 
