196 W. M. HAMLET, 
hydrogen and probably helium. The iron casing, or artesian 
tube, which forms the bore, was found to be so badly 
corroded that in places it was no thicker than tissue 
paper, and in many places was eaten away right through 
the metal, indeed it was as bad as if it had been subject to 
the action of one of the mineral acids. But the parts 
most corroded were localised in such a manner that it is 
probable the corrosion started at some particular point 
or focus in the metal, where some fragment of scoria, 
crystals of graphite or iron carbide, or some nucleus indi- 
cating a lack of homogeneity in the metal, and that there- 
fore the casing was originally defective. This may have 
been so, and the faulty iron may be partly to blame, but I 
am of opinion that any iron subjected to a hot saline solution 
charged with carbonic acid gas with the abrading action 
of pebbles and sand combined, would sooner or later succumb 
to corrosion. Moreover, the presence of a nucleus of some 
foreign metal or compound, would set up electrolytic action: 
the artesian water would act as the exciting liquid and 
localised currents or polarisation would lead to the solution 
and decay of the casing. The presence of water charged 
with carbonic acid alone in contact with the bare iron ata 
temperature of 100° F. or over would dissolve the iron with 
liberation of hydrogen. Moody (Journ. Chem. Soc.) says 
that this action is strictly comparable to the action of 
sulphuric acid upon iron. 
Petit in a paper published in the Comptes Rendus for 
1896, p. 1278, says that a small quantity of carbonic acid 
is capable of doing much mischief to iron. When I visited 
the bore referred to some two years ago, I found consider- 
able quantities of free carbonic acid and bicarbonate of iron. 
Wherever this water fell upon, or touched any object near 
the source or outflow, a peculiar phenomenon presented — 
itself; a red rust or deposit of red oxide of iron made its 
