THE MINERAL SPRINGS OF SARATOGA 49 



Both W. W. Mather and L. C. Beck in their respective final State 

 geological reports in 1842, discuss the springs but neither of them 

 connects them with the fault which became later the object of much 

 respect. In fact, while the cliff of limestone east of the springs is 

 mentioned by Professor Mather in describing the valley in which 

 the springs are found, he does not interpret it as a fault. On page 

 94 of the Report on the First District, Mather speaks as follows : 



The Saratoga Springs are supposed to derive their mineral quali- 

 ties from the limestone and slate beds that underlie the town, or 

 they may be more deeply seated ; but the water is usually obtained 

 from beneath the clay and " hardpan " beds, that overlie the rock. 

 Limestone rock that belongs to the calciferous group, crops out in 

 the village and in man}- places in the vicinity, and the primary rocks 

 are not far distant on the. north and west. 



Regarding Ballston, he expresses himself as follows, on page 98: 

 *' It is probable that the mineral qualities of the water originate at 

 the contact of the fucoidal slate with the underlying Trenton lime- 

 stone, which is probably not more than fifty feet below the level of 

 the valley at the springs." He then cautiously advises boring at 

 some low point until the limestone is struck and that the hole be 

 continued even to the calciferous sandrock. ''At Saratoga the 

 course of the water is supposed to be in the limestone, and this lime- 

 stone which is the lower portion of the Mohawk, or upper part of 

 the calciferous sandstone, must lie at a depth of one hundred and 

 fifty feet at Ballston. Borings, however, might entirely miss a seam 

 productive of water." It is interesting to note that the wells which 

 have been bored go down through about four times as much slate 

 as was anticipated. 



Doctor Beck in his valuable report on the mineralogy of the State, 

 discusses the chemistry of the waters at some length and gives 

 several of the analyses which have been used on an earlier page of 

 this paper. On page 137, after speaking of the discharge of gas at 

 Saratoga and at Ballston, sometimes explosively at the latter, he 

 states : " From these facts, it is evident that here, as at Saratoga, 

 there are certain agencies in operation which cause an abundant 

 evolution of carbonic acid, a part of which has been originally held 

 in solution by the water but another and perhaps much the largest 

 part is an independent stream of gas, discharged in the form of a 

 solfatara, or gaseous spring. That this gas originates at great 

 depths and rises freely through the crevices in the rock, is rendered 

 probable from its alternately breaking and disappearing at points 

 somewhat distant from each other. And perhaps the opinion of 



