SEA WATER. 245 
with fresh water, is, to say the least of it, somewhat 
absurd, more particularly as it presumes that the sea 
was originally unimpregnated with salt. Had this been 
the case, the putrefaction of the immense mass of animal 
and vegetable substances which it gradually contained, 
would, in a short time, have proved fatal to the whole 
inhabitants of the earth. 
The temperature of the sea, although it must neces- 
sarily vary in the different seasons, is much more uni- 
form than that of any inland water exposed to the 
atmosphere. This is, in a great measure, attributable 
to its vast body of water, and the perpetual agitation to 
which it is exposed. 
Sea water, when congealed by frost, is found to 
reject all, or nearly all, its saline particles ; and conse- 
quently, when thawed, its ice yields water so fresh that 
it may be drunk without unpleasantness. The freezing 
of sea water is not unfrequently practised in the north- 
ern parts of the world, with a view to lessen the trouble 
and expense of extracting salt from it, for domestic and 
other uses (202). Salt water may likewise be rendered 
fresh and palatable by distillation, a mode which is now 
very generally practised at sea. 
The sea shore has of late become so much fre- 
quented by invalids, for the purpose of bathing, that 
there is scarcely a fishing village, on the whole extent 
of our coast, but which is provided with some accom- 
modation for bathers. As a cold bath, sea water is em- 
ployed, with advantage, in all those cases of debility for 
which cold bathing has, in general, been recommended. 
It is also used as an external application in tumours and 
some other complaints ; and, taken internally, as a 
remedy in various disorders. 
It is to sea water that we are chiefly indebted for the 
salt which we use at table, and for all the purposes of 
domestic economy (202). From this water is also 
obtained those salts used in medicine, called Glauber's 
(203) and Epsom salts (199). 
