Medicinal Mineral Water at Helwdn. 285 



springs, two of them saline, and two sulphureous ; none of 

 them, however, so abundant as the first. At one of the latter 

 springs I filled a second bottle, and both of them I have sent 

 to you by this steamer, in order that you may have them 

 analysed. Bottle A is the central spring, B a spring to the 

 south, the last but one, a mile and a half from A. 



" About a mile north of A, I came to a small spring very 

 much choked with sand, so much so, that in half-an-hour's 

 work with our two spades, I could only get up a kind of black 

 mud, of which I have sent you a specimen, in a third bottle C. 



" Is it not marvellous that the existence of these mineral 

 springs, not more than four hours ride from Cairo, should 

 hitherto have been unknown, not only to the numerous scienti- 

 fic travellers who have visited Egypt, but also to the Egyptian 

 government ? Only two months ago, the viceroy sent an officer 

 to inspect a mineral spring on the eastern shore of the Red 

 Sea, with the view of establishing baths there. I anticipate 

 the most beneficial results to invalids from the discovery of 

 these springs, and I hope the report of your analysing chemist 

 will confirm my anticipation." 



On receiving this letter, I wrote to Mr Murray, requesting 

 him to obtain some details of the geological structure of the 

 country in the immediate vicinity of the springs. " I pre- 

 sume, I said, from the short distance they are from Cairo, 

 that they must lie near the foot of a range of hills that are a 

 continuation of the nummulite limestone of Gebel Mokattam, 

 behind Cairo ; and as that limestone contains gypsum, it is 

 desirable to know whether that mineral is found near the 

 springs, and also whether there exist any veins or nodules 

 of sulphuret of iron, not an unfrequent accompaniment of that 

 limestone." Mr Murray afterwards informed me, that he 

 had requested M. Hekekyan Bey, the engineer in the service 

 of the viceroy, who is conducting the geological researches 

 for me above referred to, and whose field of operations is just 

 opposite to the Helwan springs, to go to the spot and make 

 out a detailed report of the nature of the soil, and collect 

 specimens of the adjacent rocks ; and he forwarded to me the 

 report of M. Hekekyan Bey, from which I extract the follow- 

 ing particulars : — 



