vol. xx. (i) MINERAL WATERS NEAR GLOUCESTER 
35 
If a solution of common washing soda be added to water 
containing an excess of Gypsum, the carbonic acid previously 
united to the sodium will unite with the calcium, forming chalk 
which will subside in about twelve hours, and the sulphuric 
acid previously combined with the calcium will pass to the 
sodium, forming the valuable sodium sulphate, so that in this 
Ashleworth water the 133.5 parts of Gypsum will be replaced 
by 139.3 parts of sodium sulphate. 
As calcium sulphate is the chief substance forming 
permanent hardness in water, I have frequently advised this 
method of softening, and it has been carried out with success 
in many parts of this county during the past twenty or thirty 
years. 
In 1904 a client, who had suffered for many years from 
uric acid troubles (which his medical adviser considered w r ere 
aggravated as a consequence of his drinking a pint of w T ater 
each morning before breakfast), submitted a sample of this 
water to me for analysis. Its composition agreed closely with 
the Ashleworth sample mentioned. I advised softening with 
soda, and in a few weeks the uric acid troubles ceased, his general 
health improved, and quite recently he passed to rest, having 
lived considerably more than ninety years. 
Let us now see the composition of a few surface w r aters 
collected within the City of Gloucester having characters 
entitling them to be ranked with mineral waters. Those in 
Table VII. w r ere drawm from wells from 14 to 20 feet in depth, 
which of course were sunk in the recent deposits resting on the 
Lias clay, not deep enough to receive matter from the Lias. 
Magnesium sulphate occurs in two of them, sodium sulphate 
in two, and sodium nitrate in one. 
In Table VIII. w r e have twelve waters from w’ells near the 
city, two of which were derived from the surface deposits and 
ten from the Lias, most of them contain considerable amounts 
of salt and nine of them useful quantities of sodium sulphate. 
In Table IX. we have ten waters collected from districts some 
little distance from Gloucester, eight from the Lias and two 
from the Trias, all of which may have substances possessing 
medicinal qualities. 
