34 Mr. J. A. Phillips on the Composition and Origin of 



Water from the Irish Sea so diluted 



Mineral water from 



as to contain the 



same amount of 



Huel Seton. 



solid matter per 



litre as the water 





from Huel Setor 



1. 



Grammes per litre 



Grammes per 



litre (calculated). 



found (mean). 



Chlorine . 





. 7*9070 



9-1695 



Bromine . 





. -0260 



trace 



Sulphuric acid . 





. -9172 



•0178 



Silica . . . 





• • • . . 



•0275 



Alumina . 





» .... 



•3458 



Ferric oxide . . 





. -0019 



•0029 



Manganese . 









trace 



Copper 









minute trace 



Lime . . . 





. -2441 



3*4829 



Magnesia 





. -8627 



•0715 



Alkaline chloride 



s . 



11-5393 



64773 



Potassium 





. -1665 



•0834 



Caesium 





• «... 



trace 



Lithium . . 









•0800 



Sodium . . 





. 4-4157 



2-2933 



Ammonia . 





. trace 



trace 



Carbonic acid 





. -0096 



•0790 



Nitric acid 





. -0006 



trace 



If the Huel Seton spring be regarded as only yielding modi- 

 fied and diluted sea-water, it will be found, on comparing the 

 two columns of the foregoing Table, that the percentage of chlo- 

 rine in the second has been considerably augmented, that the 

 sulphuric acid has almost entirely disappeared, silica and alu- 

 mina have been taken up, and the amount of calcium has been 

 greatly increased, whilst magnesium has^ on the contrary, been 

 abstracted. The amount of alkaline chlorides has thereby been 

 much reduced ; but a considerable quantity of lithium has 

 entered into solution. 



It would at first appear that the presence of a much larger 

 amount of chlorine in the waters of the saline spring than should 

 be found in dilute sea-water holding an equal quantity of solid 

 constituents in solution affords an argument against the proba- 

 bility of the Huel Seton waters having had such an origin. If, 

 however, neglecting the smaller differences, the chlorides of cal- 

 cium and aluminium in the spring-water be, on the one hand, 

 replaced by an equal weight of chloride of sodium, and, on the 

 other, the excess of sulphuric acid in the dilute sea-water be re- 

 placed by chlorine, making a correction for the resulting slight 

 difference in the total weight, the amount of chlorine in the two 

 columns will be found very nearly the same. This objection is 

 consequently disposed of. 



