428 
THE LAST DECADE. 
gate waters consist of four distinct classes, each of wliicli lias a 
certain marked pficuliarity in its chemical constitution. The strong 
sulphur is very rich in chlorides and sulphides, with a large bulk of 
free gases. The mild sulphur has nearly the same constituents, but 
in a less concentrated condition, and is also slightly richer in carbon- 
ates. The saline chalybeate is very rich in chlorides and carbonates, 
but contains no sulphides, and the pure chalybeate contains a much 
smaller proportion of saline ingredients than either of the preceding, 
in fact, it more nearly resembles the ordinary kinds of drinking water, 
with a rather larger, per centage of carbonate of magnesia and iron. 
Mr. Fox-Strangways was of opinion that each of these w^aters owed 
its peculiarity to the separate strata through which it passed, and 
that each one was distinctly separate from the others. The strong 
sulphur water issues from some of the lower strata which occur at 
Harrogate, within a short distance of the roadstone ; the mild sulphur 
waters for the most part are found coming from some of the highest 
strata that occur in the neighbourhood, the saline chalybeate waters, 
of which there are only two springs, both issue from the same beds, 
whilst the pure chalybeate waters rise irrespectively from both high 
and low measures, although some of the principal springs issue from 
the highest strata of the millstone grit. The chemical impregnation 
of the water is caused during its passage through these strata, and it 
is from these sources that the bases of all the salts are derived. Dr. 
George Oliver contributed an elaborate paper on the chemico-geological 
aspect of the springs. He described wells occurring not only at 
Harrogate and other places in its immediate neighbourhood, but also 
westward at Bolton Wood, Skipton and district, Wiggleswortli and 
Aldfield, and coincided with the opinion previously expressed that 
the source of the Harrogate waters extended westwards. He was of 
opinion that the salts which were found in the waters were due to 
some extent to the ancient sea-water from which the rocks were 
deposited. He discusses at some length the chemical constitution of 
the waters, and the source from which they individually have derived 
their particular ingredients. The existence of a relatively large 
quantity of a soluble salt of barium in waters free of sulphates is 
remarkable, and the author considers it probable that thus was derived 
