MINERAL WATERS: are waters which contain unusually large quantities of the ordinary mineral ingredients, or contain minerals not generally found in ordinary water. They are roughly divided into "table" and "medicinal," but the division is not exact, as many of the milder and more delicate types are used for both purposes.
Table Mineral Waters are those which have little or no pronounced flavor and are only sufficiently alkaline to counteract to a certain extent the acids of wines, etc. Among the best known are Apollinaris, Clysmic, Poland Spring, Perrier, White Rock, etc. A greater proportion of mineral ingredients detracts from the palatable flavor of the water and also renders it unsuitable for mixing with wines, as it gives the beverage a "flat" taste.
Table mineral waters generally constitute an especially satisfactory line for retail grocers, both in margin of profit and because they draw a good class of trade. They are easy to handle if kept in a cool place and laid on their sides.
Medicinal Mineral Waters are those employed in the treatment of various dis orders and diseases. They have been used as remedial agents from a very early period— the old Greek physicians had great faith in their curative powers, and the temples erected to Aesculapius were usually in close proximity to mineral springs. They may be generally classed as Alkaline-Saline, Carlsbad, Marienbad, etc.; Alkaline, Vichy, etc.; Muriated, Saratoga, Kissingen, etc.; Muriated Alkaline, Selters, etc.; Lithia;
"Bitter," Pullna, etc. (named from the flavors of their chief ingredients, sulphates of soda and magnesia), Chalybeate (containing iron) and Earthy (bicarbonates of lime and magnesia predominating).
The medical qualities of various mineral waters are undeniable—plainly so in the case of purgative waters and those containing lithia and iron—but the apparent effi cacy of many kinds is attributable chiefly to the fact that in "taking the waters," visitors to the "springs" are drinking large quantities of innocuous liquid—stimulated to its free use by the example of others, local medical advice, etc. The result is fre quently a very desirable improvement in physical condition, but the same pur pose might have been achieved at home by the consumption of an equal quantity of ordinary pure water ! Artificial Mineral Waters are, if properly made, chemically correct reproductions of the waters whose names they bear. If from a first-class house they can be fully recommended, but it is wise to avoid dealing with irresponsible "mineral water" con cerns, for their product is too often a fraud on both dealer and consumer.
The following list names the sources and principal ingredients of a majority of the best known waters, both table and medicinal :