TRAVELS IN ICELAND. 



49 



oti which six or eight persons may sit, or the spot may be 

 covered with a tent. In its vicinity is a kind of rampart or 

 shed raised of earth for the convenience of persons who come 

 to bathe. There is formed on the surface a quantity of thermal 

 cream, which renders it necessary to skim the water each time 

 that a person bathes. This spring is of a mild temperature and 

 very wholesome. There are several other springs of a similar 

 nature, but they are not deserving of particular mention, if we 

 except that of Tungu, which is situated on the left at the en- 

 trance of the valley, and is remarkable for its heat, as well as 

 for the abundance and strength of its waters. Their basin is 

 composed of a bole earth and the bottom consists of rocks : in 

 these there are four apertures, from which the water issues with 

 such a noise, that those who ire near it, cannot hear even when 

 they halloo in each others ears. These boiling springs rise in 

 fountains to the height of three or four ells ; and after being 

 propelled for a few minutes, they stop for an equal space. And 

 this operation successively occurs in the second, third, or fourth 

 openings. The people in the vicinity collect this water for 

 cooking, washing, and other domestic uses; that which flows 

 over the reservoir, runs into the river., and communicates to it 

 a gentle temperature. 



With respect to the advantages of these hot springs, the in- 

 habitants find them considerable ; they serve as ley for steeping 

 their cloaths. They boil in them, as in a sand-bath, their milk, 

 vegetables, eggs, and most of their food, which is soon and 

 nicely cooked, without acquiring any unpalatable flavour; though 

 it should be observed, that they take care to keep the utensils 

 closely covered : by this means they save much fire. By 

 steeping wood in this water, it acquires the pliancy necessary 

 for making barrel-hoops. It produces the same effect upon 

 bones ; and there are some springs in the valley of Reykhoitz, 

 which give to the horns of sheep and other cattle, the same 

 flexibility as whalebone. It is also worth notice, that in some 

 of the thermal springs of Iceland, bones lose their polish and 

 natural colour, and appear as if they were calcined by fire : but 

 this happens only in such as possess a strong degree of heat, 

 It would require a particular treatise, to enter into details on 

 the medical properties of these waters, which have already been 

 described by other writers. We only had occasion to make two 

 simple experiments on these waters; one with an infusion of 

 salt of tartar, and the other with syrup of violets, neither of which 

 produced the least change. They are extremely wholesome, 

 either for bathing or for drinking, particularly after much 

 fatigue. 



ola fs en. } $ 



