Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/610

(190° F.) of Baiæ on the gulf of Naples. Ischia, once covered with the villas and palaces of the Romans, still maintains the reputation of its thermal waters and vapor baths. The Romans discovered many of the most important thermal springs of Europe, and used them as army stations; among them are Baden-Baden, Wiesbaden, Bath, Aix-la-Chapelle, and Spa. Carlsbad was named after Charles IV., who is said to have discovered the Sprudel in 1347 or 1358, while hunting.—Many theories, both natural and supernatural, have been propounded by philosophers in all ages to account for the origin and properties of mineral springs; but modern analytical chemistry has dissolved the demons of the ancients and the wild spirits of Paracelsus (De Aquis Mineralibus, 1562) into our familiar carbonic acid gas. Van Helmont's discovery of the alkalies and fixed air in the early part of the 17th century was the first step in this direction. Arago proved that the temperature of the springs corresponds with the depth from which they rise. Bergman, Berzelius, Bischof, and Struve showed that their composition depends on the amount of carbonic acid and other gases which are dissolved in them, consequent on their volcanic origin and on the nature of the rocks which they permeate; and Faraday, Liebig, and other chemists established the principles of a thorough analysis. During the past 50 years many mineral springs have been discovered, and all of note have repeatedly been analyzed. These analyses vary in their results with the changes to which the various springs are from time to time subject. The waters of the Kissingen Rakoczy spring lost 22½ per cent. of mineral ingredients from 1830 to 1855, and underwent a change also in their relative proportions. At the time of the great earthquake of Lisbon (1755) the Carlsbad springs ceased flowing for three days.—Of the mineral springs of Europe, France contains about 900; Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, about 2,500; England, over 100; Spain, 1,200; Portugal, 200; and Italy, 300, two thirds of which are in Tuscany. The most important constituent of the waters of all spas, as mineral springs are frequently called, is carbonic acid gas, with which the muriated and muriated-alkaline springs are impregnated most, the saline, alkaline, and bitter waters least. According to Liebig, Kissingen Rakoczy contains in 16 oz. 41.77 cubic inches of carbonic acid, Carlsbad 14, and Kissingen bitter water only 5.9. Nitrogen gas occurs especially in hot sulphur springs, with carburetted hydrogen, oxygen, and sulphuretted hydrogen as lesser gaseous ingredients. Mineral springs are classified as follows, according to the salts from which they derive their specific importance. 1. Chalybeate or Ferruginous Springs. The distinguishing characteristic of these is the presence of iron dissolved as a bicarbonate, or in the inferior ones as a sulphate. Their other ingredients are bicarbonates of manganese, soda, lime, and magnesia, chloride of sodium, sulphate of soda and of potash, &c. Their water, which has an inky taste, is most effective as a remedy for anaemia and chlorosis, by augmenting the number of blood globules and their hæmatine, and by diminishing the phosphoric acid in the urine. The strongest chalybeate spring, Schwalbach in Germany, contains much carbonic acid gas, and, with the exception of iron, only a small amount of saline ingredients. Other chalybeates of note are Pyrmont, Altwasser, Reinerz, Brückenau, Steben, Driburg, Wildungen, Cudowa, and Franzensbad, in Germany and Cisleithan Austria; Buziás, in Hungary; St. Maurice, in the Engadine, Switzerland; Spa, in Belgium; Passy, Forges, Bussang, Plombières, Bagnères-d'Adour, and Dinant, in France; Cheltenham, Tunbridge, Scarborough, and Wells, in England; Bibiana, Catarina, Staro, and La Croix, in Italy; and Loka, in Sweden. In the United States the most noted chalybeate springs are: Schooley's Mountain springs, Morris co., N. J.; Fry's soda spring, near Mt. Shasta, Cal.; Stafford springs, Tolland co., Conn.; Greencastle springs, Putnam co., Ind.; Catoosa springs, Catoosa co., Ga.; Schuyler county springs, Ill.; Owasso springs, Shiawassee co., Mich.; Cooper's well, Hinds co., Miss.; Beersheba springs, Grundy co., Tenn.; Rawley springs, Rockingham co., Va. ; and Bayley springs (alkaline-chalybeate), Lauderdale co., Ala. Dr. Walton includes also in this class the so-called alum waters of Virginia, viz.: the Rockbridge, Pulaski, and Bath alum springs; Stribling springs in Augusta co.; Church Hill alum springs, near Richmond; Bedford alum springs, near New London; and Variety springs in Augusta co.; also the Oak Orchard acid springs, Genesee co., N. Y., and the Tuscarora sour springs, Wentworth, co., Canada. He also names, as calcic-chalybeate waters, the sweet chalybeate springs, Alleghany co., Va.; Montvale spring, Blount co., Tenn.; and Hot Red springs (103° F.), Utah. Many iron waters are strongly impregnated with saline or alkaline chalybeates, and will be mentioned in speaking of saline and alkaline springs. 2. Muriated Springs. In these there is an excess of chloride of sodium and of carbonic acid gas, and they are mainly diuretic, or, according to Hanbury Smith, tonic and aperient, and effective in scrofulous and abdominal diseases, chronic rheumatism, and cutaneous complaints. According to Liebig, 16 oz. of Kissingen Rakoczy, the representative water of this class, contains chloride of sodium 44.7 grains, chloride of potassium 2.2, chloride of lithium 0.15, magnesium 2.33, bromide of sodium 0.064, nitrate of soda 0.07, sulphate of magnesia 4.5, sulphate of lime 2.99, carbonate of magnesia 0.13, carbonate of lime 8.1, protoxide of iron 0.24, phosphate of lime 0.043, silica 0.99, ammonia 0.007, and traces of iodide of sodium, borate of soda, &c. Springs allied to it are Rodna in Transylvania, Homburg (muriated-chalybeate), the tepid waters of