Mineral Waters

MINERAL WATERS.

are divided into different classes, according to the source from which they are derived, as, Rain, Snow, and Hail water, Spring and River water, Well water, and the water of Lakes and Ponds. The first of these is the purest, particularly if it be collected at a distance from town, and some time after a shower has continued. It contains air and carbonic acid, carbonate and muriate of lime ; but the quantity of these is so small that rain and snow water may be used fur many of the purposes for which distilled water is employed.

The other waters contain some of the soluble sub stances over which they pass. The quantity of foreign matter in these is in general not great ; hence they are sufficiently pure for domestic purposes.

The water of some springs, however, often contains a considerable quantity or foreign ingredients, which impart to it particu•ar properties. Waters of this kind are called mineral quati;•s. Besides these, there are

some waters called also mineral, which have very little foreign matter. such as the waters of Matlock and Mal vern. These, however, strictly speaking, are not mineral waters.

Mineral waters occur in different parts of the globe, differing in the ingredients which they contain, according to the channel over which they have flowed; hesides this, they also differ in their temperature. Most of them are of the same temperature with the surrounding me dium ; occasionally, however, they are warmer, and, in some rare instances, they are at a boiling heat.

Though the attention of man was early directed to these waters, particularly from their medicinal effects, it was not till about the end of the 17th century, that any chemical investigation of them was undertaken.