Account of the New Mineral Spring at Albany. 153 



to the evaporation of one pint of the water in a flat por- 

 celain dish, placed in a sand bath, over a steady and mode- 

 rate fire. As soon as the water became heated to about 

 ninety-two, air bubbles began to arise in great abundance. 

 The water became turbid, a pellicle appeared on its surface, 

 and as the carbonic acid was expelled, a light brown pow- 

 der was deposited, which increased as the evaporation went 

 on, until towards the end of the^ process, when it became 

 gelatinous. I now let the whole mass crystalize together, 

 till it assumed the appearance of a light brown powder, 

 which when dried and collected, I found to weigh precisely 

 71 grains. In order to examine this residuum, being the 

 whole solid contents of one pint of the water, I proceeded as 

 follows. This powder consisting of 71 grains was collected 

 in a phial bottle, and alkohol of the specific gravity of ;817 

 was poured on it to the height of an inch. After submitting 

 it to the action of the alkohol for some hours, frequently 

 shaking the bottle, the whole contents were carefully filter- 

 ed ; after drying the residuum in the same heat as before, 

 I found I had still remaining 70 \ grains, so that the alkohol 

 had* taken up only \ grain ; indeed the alkohol seemed to 

 have so little action on it, that it appeared to pass off as it 

 would from sand ; this I confess surprised me, as the resi- 

 duum from every saline water I have before examined, par- 

 ticularly those of Ballston and Saratoga, which are so simi- 

 lar, suffered a considerably greater diminution from the action 

 of alkohol. 



The matter which now remained on the filter after the 

 action of alkohol, weighing 70^ grains, was digested for 

 some time, in a sufficient quantity of distilled water, till a 

 complete solution of whatever salts it contained, had taken 

 place. It was then filtered, and a light brown powder re- 

 mained on the filter, which, when dried, was found to weigh 

 exactly Q\ grains : so that the aqueous solution contained 64 

 grains; this powder weighing 6i grains, which resisted the 

 action of alkohol, and was insoluble in eight times its weight 

 of distilled water, could have been nothing more than car- 

 bonat of lime or carbonat of magnesia combined with the 

 small quantity of iron, held in solution by carbonic acid gas. 

 It become necessary now to examine it, and to determine not 

 only its contents but the proportion of the ingredients ; for this 

 purpose I poured on it, by degrees, a sufficient quantity of 

 dilute marine acid, till the whole of it was dissolved with ef- 



Vol. XIII.— No. 1. 20 



