[ H2 ] 
Among feveral things, that are ftill deficient in the 
hiftory of mineral waters, an exadt knowlege of their 
origin feems to be the chief j that is, from what 
foflils, and in what manner, thefe waters do acquire 
the mineral fubftances, with which they are impreg- 
nated. As this happens in the bowels of the earth, 
and is therefore far removed from our view, it is 
not furprifing, that there has been fo little difcovered 
concerning it ; tho’ indeed there have been many ela- 
borate hypothefes framed in order to account for it. 
The writers on mineral waters have been of very 
different and oppofite opinions concerning their ori- 
gin. They have difagreed widely amongft them- 
lelves ; and I very much fufpe<ft, that the accounts, 
which moft of them give of this matter, are not 
agreeable to truth : particularly with refpedt to 
chalybeat waters, I have feen none, who have given 
a fatisfacftory account of their origin. They have all 
agreed, that iron, or the vitriol of that metal, does 
exift in mineral waters ; but they have never yet 
agreed, how they came to exift in them, or in what 
manner mineral waters come to be imbued with thefe 
foftils. 
Some of the more ancient writers cannot compre- 
hend, how fimple water fhculd be intimately im- 
pregnated with fo many different kinds of minerals, 
except by the means of fome powerful agent. And 
as they thought nothing more proper for communi- 
cating and mixing mineral fubftances with water, 
than violent heat, they therefore termed all mineral 
waters, of whatever kind, by the name of thenrne . 
They faw fome fpring from the earth extremely hot, 
others moderately hot, others tepid, others exceflively 
cold ; 
