CORRESPONDENCE. 



Department of the Interior, 



Washington, August 29, 1899. 



Sir: There are on the Hot Springs Reservation, Hot Springs, Ark., 

 a number of hot springs the water from which is, under the supervi- 

 sion of this Department, supplied to certain bath houses for the bene- 

 fit of the public. The waters of these springs are claimed to have 

 medicinal qualities, and from the number of cures that have been 

 effected from the use thereof it is believed to be true. No official 

 analysis, however, has ever been made of the properties of these waters, 

 and I therefore have the honor to request to be advised as to whether 

 it will be practicable for an analysis of the waters of these hot springs 

 to be made by the chemists of your Department. 



Any expense that may be incurred in the matter will be defined 

 from the Hot Springs Reservation fund. A copy of the last annual 

 report of the superintendent of the Hot Springs Reservation is inclosed, 

 in which will be found a list of the hot springs, their relative tempera- 

 ture, elevation, and character of the flow of the water therefrom. 

 Very respectfully, 



Thos. Ryan, 



Acting Secretary. 

 The Secretary of Agriculture. 



Department of Agriculture, 



Office of the Secretary, 

 Washington, D. C. , September 9, 1899. 

 Sir: In reply to your communication of September 2, I would say 

 that I have directed Dr. H. W. Wiley, the Chief Chemist of the 

 Department, to undertake the analyses of the waters from the Hot 

 Springs of Arkansas, in the Government reservation. 

 I have the honor to be, sir, 

 Respectfully, 



James Wilson, 



Secretary. 



The honorable the Secretary of the Interior. 



