128 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY-SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT. 
anything which can be imagined. All of the intrinsic beauties which invest it, 
as well as the wonderful optical properties which popular reports have ascribed 
to its waters, are directly or indirectly referable to their almost perfectly diapha¬ 
neity. On a clear and calm day, after the sun has obtained sufficient altitude, 
the view from the side of a small boat floating on the surface of the water near 
the center of the head-spring, is beautiful beyond description, and well calcu¬ 
lated to produce a powerful impression upon the imagination. Every feature 
and configuration of the bottom of this gigantic basin is as distinctly visible as 
if the water was removed, and atmosphere substituted in its place! 
“My observations were made about noon, on the 17th and again on the 20th 
of December, 1859. The sunlight illuminated the sides and bottom of this 
remarkable pool as brilliantly as if nothing obstructed the light. The shadows 
of our little boat, of our overhanging heads and hats, of projecting crags and 
logs, of the surrounding forest,, and of the vegetation at the bottom, were dis¬ 
tinctly and sharply defined; while the constant waving of the slender and deli¬ 
cate moss-like algae, by means of the currents created by the boiling up of the 
water, and the swimming of numerous fish above this miniature subaqueous 
forest, imparted a living reality to the scene which can never be forgotten. And 
if we add to this picture, already sufficiently striking, that objects beneath the 
surface of the water, when viewed obliquely, were fringed with the prismatic 
hues, we shall cease to be surprised at the mysterious phenomena with which 
vivid imaginations have invested this enchanting spring, as well as the inaccu¬ 
racies which have been perpetuated in relation to the wonderful properties of 
its waters. On a bright day, the beholder seems to be looking down from 
some lofty airy point on a truly fairy scene in the immense basin beneath him, 
a scene whose beauty and magical effect is vastly enhanced by the chromatic 
tints with which it is invested.” 
The prismatic hues seen in this and other clear water springs of 
Florida Professor LeConte believed to be due to the refraction of 
light passing through the water. He found that white objects on 
a dark background when immersed in the water are fringed with 
blue at the top and orange and red at the bottom, while the color of 
the fringing is reversed for dark objects on a white background. 
ANALYSES OF WELL AND SPRING WATER. 
Silver Springs, Marion Co. Analysis made by the U. S. Geo¬ 
logical Survey. 1907. 
Ingredients. Parts per 
million. 
Calcium - 73 - 
Magnesium - 9 - 2 
Sodium and potassium -- 9-8 
Iron and alumina --- trace 
Carbonate - 00 
Bicarbonate - 2I 9 - 
