M E L K S H A M. 
62 
county of Wilts* is pleafantly fituated on the river Avon. 
In ancient rimes it is laid to have been a place of confi- 
derable note by the authors of the Magna Britannia, who 
afl'ert that the Conqueror eftablilhed a court of royal ju- 
rifdiftion here. Edward I. according to the fame au¬ 
thority, had likewife a foreft in this neighbourhood, 
which was joined to that of Chippenham, and committed 
to the cuftody of Matthew Fitz-john, who was governor 
of the caltie ot Devizes. But, if thus important in early 
times, it feems to have greatly decayed before the age of 
Leland, as neither he nor his fucceflor Camden fo much 
a,s mention it, though the former was undoubtedly in this 
part of the county. Of late years, however, it has again 
rilen to fome degree of confequence by the influence of 
trade. For a confiderable period Melklham has been ce¬ 
lebrated for its manufafture of fuperfine cloth and kerfy- 
mere. The buildings of this town are in general con- 
ftrufted of freeflone, poflelfmg, individually, an appear¬ 
ance of much neatnefs ; but the Itreets are irregular and 
narrow. The church, of which the living is a vicarage 
in the gift of the dean and chapter of Salilbury, is a fpa- 
cious edifice, with a handfome tower in the centre. Here 
are likewife meeting-houfes for diflenters of different de¬ 
nominations, particularly Independents ancl Baptifts. 
Methodifts are lefs numerous than in moll other towns 
of the fame extent in England, though they have in- 
creafed confiderably of late years. According to the par¬ 
liamentary returns, the number of inhabitants in the 
whole parilh is eftimated at 4030 perfons, of whom 1299 
were engaged in trade, and 370 in agriculture. The 
proportion of poor is very great, owing to the manufac¬ 
tories which have again begun to decline, and will pro¬ 
bably loon leave the town entirely, as has already taken 
place with regard to Corlham. Since the introduction of 
the new procel's in the cloth-manufacture, Melklham has 
loll the advantages it was formerly fuppofed to polfefs in 
relpect of lituation on the banks of-the Avon, The petty 
feflions for Melklham and Tinehead divilion are held here. 
The market is on every alternate Monday. A branch of 
the Wilts and Berklhire canal comes clofe up to the town, 
and communicates with Bath and Brillol. Melklham is 
diftant eleven miles ealtof Bath, twenty-three from Brif- 
tol, and ninety-fix from London. Lat. 51.22. N. Ion. 2. 
to. W. Magna Britannia, Wilts; Britton's Beauties of 
Wilts; Wilkes's Britijh Directory. 
Melksham Spa. —A chalybeate and faline aperient 
fpring is fituated near the great London road, about half 
a mile from the town of Melklham. 
As the following fhort analyfis of this water, when 
joined to its medicinal qualities, certainly ranks it with 
the faline purgative waters of Cheltenham and Learning- 
ton, it cannot be deemed improper to apprife the public 
of the exillence of fo valuable a fpring in this neigh¬ 
bourhood. The medicinal elfekts of this water, clearly 
point out that it is a faline purgative; but its talle, 
although ftrongly faline, and greatly refembling the lea 
and other waters of the fame defeription, is more un¬ 
exceptionable ; and, from being compofed of many fub- 
ftances, which are combined in the great laboratory of 
Nature, whereby the exaft balance is probably preferved 
under a triple, or even a quadruple, alliance between the 
feveral falts contained in it, this water, like others of a 
fimilar kind, produces an aperient died, with the fmalleft 
poflible expenditure of purgative ingredients, and with¬ 
out that intenfenels of faline impreflion, and that repul- 
iion of the talle, which take place in the artificial dilu¬ 
tions of the neutral fidts. The fpring riles in a field near 
Melkfnam, from nearly the top of a mound of earth, 
which was formed in the year 1718,0!' the materials which 
had been dug out in finking a fhaft for the purpofe of 
l'eeking for coal. After penetrating to a great depth, the 
miners came to a very hard rock, on piercing through 
which, this water rulhed in upon them, and was fo abun¬ 
dant, that the fcheme for finding coal was entirely aban¬ 
doned. The lhaft was filled up with timber and earth ; 
and the fpring has ever fince continued to flow above the 
original level of the field. At this height it produces z 
pint of water in three quarters of a minute ; from which 
circumftance it is prefumed that at fome depth an almoft 
indefinite quantity of it might be obtained. 
The people in the neighbourhood foon experienced fa- 
lutary elfe£ts from this water as a medicine, their notice 
having been attracted to its peculiar qualities by the con¬ 
fluences to the cattle that drank it, and by the frequent 
vifits of the wood-pigeons to the fpring. In conlequence 
of fome obfervations of its faline quality, and of the ad¬ 
vantage which Mr. Phillips, a gentleman of Melklham, 
derived from ufing this inllead of the Cheltenham water, 
it was brought into public notice fo lately as the fummer 
of 1813; and, incompliance with the requeft made by 
him and fome other gentlemen, Dr. Gibbes, of Bath, has 
publilhed the following account of it. 
“ I accurately weighed four ounces of this water in an 
evaporating earthen velfel, which I had previoully put in 
equipoife, with correfponclent weights in the other fcale ; 
when, gradually evaporating the water, I found, after 
placing a four-ounce weight in the fcale with the velfel, 
that it took twenty-one grains in the other fcale to re- 
llore the exaCt equilibrium. Twenty-one grains in four 
ounces, allowing twelve ounces by weight to the pint, 
make 63 grains in a pint, and 504 in a gallon. As I 
brought the evaporation quite to drynefs before a large 
fire, and as many faline fubllances found in mineral wa¬ 
ters contain, when cryllaliized, from 30 to 50 per cent, 
of water, this quantity far exceeds the ellimate given by 
Dr. Fothergill of the contents of a gallon of Cheltenham 
water, namely, 555 grains of cryllaliized falts. I am alfo 
authoril'ed by Dr. Sims to Hate, that he procured from a 
beer-gallon of this water 955 grains of cryllaliized falts, 
equal to 782 grains in the wine-gallon, which is at leall 
227 grains more than Dr. Fothergill found in the fame 
quantity of Cheltenham water; and, allowing about 40 
per cent, for the water of cryllaliization, is in exaCl coin¬ 
cidence with my experiment. 
“Salts, both earthy and faline, with fulphuric acid, are 
contained in this water, for a precipitation enfues on 
the addition of muriat of barytes and the oxalat of ammo¬ 
nia. A prodigious- precipitation takes place on the ad¬ 
dition of the nitrats of mercury and of filver; therefore 
the water contains a large proportion of muriatic falts, 
the principal of which is the muriat of foda, or common 
fait; but, as the nitrats of filver and mercury produce 
perfectly white precipitations, the water contains no ful- 
phur; even at the l'ource, although there is a flight l'mell 
and talle of iulphurated hydrogen, yet the nitrat of mer¬ 
cury produces a perfe&ly-white precipitation. After the 
calcareous earth had been feparated by the oxalats of 
potafn and ammonia, and the clear liquor filtered, pure am¬ 
monia produced a precipitation. After carbonat of am¬ 
monia had been added to the clear filtered liquor, from 
which all calcareous earth had been precipitated by means 
of the oxalat of potalh, a folutjpn of pliolphat of foda pro¬ 
duced a precipitation confirming the firlt experiments as 
indicating the prefence of magnefia. It is owing gene¬ 
rally to the muriat of magnefia, that the purgative effect 
of thefe natural faline waters is increafed; indeed, the 
combinations of the falts contained in mineral waters, 
which are effected by nature, far exceed in power any arti¬ 
ficial arrangement, either as to the quantity they contain, 
or as to the quality of thole ulually found in them. 
“Although this water has been fo lately made thefub- 
je< 5 t of inquiry, many well-attelled cafes occur of its effi¬ 
cacy in both bilious and Icorbutic habits. In doles, fimilar 
to the Cheltenham and Leamington water, it a 61 s on the 
bowels gently, fafely, but decidedly; and I find that it 
neither produces heavinefs on the llomach, nor in any 
way dilagrees with the conl'titution. I can difeover no 
fubltance from which noxious qualities can be fuppofed 
to arife; and I fee no realon why it lliould not be retorted 
to, whenever it may be necefiary to avoid either the trou¬ 
ble or expenfe of a journey to Cheltenham or Learning- 
ton. As many chemical as well as medical friends have 
communicated 
