OBSERVATIONS On the Mineral WATERS OF FRANCE Made in the ROYAL ACADEMY Of the SCIENCES By the Sieur DU CLOS Physician in Ordinary to His Most Christian Majesty Now made English VERITAS IN PUTEO LONDON Printed for Henry Faithorne and John Kersey at the Rose in St. Paul's Church-yard 1684. THis Treatise being the Product of that Ingenious Assembly the French Royal Academy of the Sciences and Curious both in Subject and Method has been thought not unworthy to speak the English Tongue It may be hop'd that Our Nation which is so good Natur'd as to imitate sometimes even the Follies of those our Neighbours may hence be excited by a Generous Emulation to a like if not greater Performance in this kind Some may object what is Here done arrives not to the Exactness of Certain Knowledge which tho granted hinders not but such a numerous Collection of faithful Experiments may find a favourable acceptance The Subject Matter lies Dark and Deep in the very Bowels of our Mother Earth and the Great Chain of Causes and Effects is perfectly known only to that All-Wise Being whereon it depends OBSERVATIONS On the Mineral WATERS OF FRANCE Made in the Royal ACADEMY Of the SCIENCES THe Use of Mineral Waters having deservedly obtain'd a great Esteem and Reputation for the Cure of many Chronical and Rebellious Diseases some Physicians have applied themselves to search out by Experiment their Nature and Principles thereby to judge how far they are proper for certain Diseases and the particular Constitution of the Diseased While others have been contented to refer themselves to common Opinions founded on the Observations of some Effects This Matter being subordinate to Physical Speculation the Royal Academy of the Sciences have determined to employ themselves in the Enquiry of the Qualities of those in this Kingdom which are most considerable And till favourable occasion may offer to make Observations at their Springs they have caused these Waters to be brought from several Provinces with much care to examine them in the usual Assemblies of the Naturalists of this Academy The Resolution to proceed herein has not been taken without much consideration the Reasons from the advantage of these Waters for the restoring Health in many Diseases being counterbalanced by those of the Difficulty in knowing the Causes of their Proprieties which depend particularly upon the Mixtures of certain Substances which meet together in their Passages in the Earth or in the Cavities and Interstices of Rocks which are various and many as Vapours Juices Salts Earths c. The greatest part of these substances wherewith Mineral VVaters are impregnateâ— cannot be discern'd and the different Mixture which is made of several together may constitute so great a Number of Kinds of Mineral Waters wholsom or unwholsom that it is impossible to give any knowledge or determination of them all The Waters of the same Springs may at divers times receive considerable Alterations either by new Mixtures or by the Cessation of those which have been formerly made It is not probable that these Waters called Mineral should be produced alone by Mineral Vapours condens'd or that there is in the Earth Mines sufficiently abounding to furnish continually Vapours capable being condens'd to maintain a perpetual Course of these Waters in Springs which dry not But it may be that some Mineral Vapours or Exhalations do mix with common VVaters which traverse the Earths where they meet and are condens'd and that these VVaters are impregnated with their Qualities and of some other Volatile Salts not Concrete elevated in these dry Exhalations or humid Vapours The distinguishing the Qualities of these Exhalations and Vapours is not easy the Diversity of their Principles is very great the Rencounter of their Mixtures is casual the Conditions of the Places thro which they pass and wherein they are retained are not evident and the Alterations which they produce in the Waters wherein they insinuate themselves are not always very manifest There is no less difficulty to know and distinguish the Juices which are mixt with Mineral Waters and particularly those which receive nothing of Concretion and which communicate to these Waters no sensible Quality for these liquid Juices and wholly Volatile pass in distillation with the substance of the Water and are no otherwise manifest than by Effects which simple Water cannot produce The Juices which are call'd Concrete because they are Condensable and Resoluble leave Sediments which render them visible and palpable after the Distillation or Evaporation of the Water wherewith they are mixt But it is difficult to discern their Kinds and Proprieties if they have no resemblance to those which are already known or if they are many conjoin'd The Salts and Earths are the most sensible and most common substances which mix with the Waters of Springs and Wells There is almost no sort of Earth which participates not of some Salt dissoluble in the Waters which pass thro it and the Current of these Waters carries away always some fine Earth This is found the most manifest in these Waters But the knowledg of these Salts and Earths mixt in these Waters is not always so distinct as to determine their Species and make a certain judgment of their Properties There are few Concrete Salts known to us There may be many which have no resemblance with Common Salt Nitre Alum or Vitriol which are the four most common Genders of Concrete Mineral Salts Those whose disposition towards Concretion is not yet compleated and which are yet in Embryo or their first Seminal Being are less distinguishable in that State And those which are more formed and either already Concrete or capable of Concretion by some called Enix that is to say born and come forth out of their Matrixes have not substances Simple and Homogeneous in each kind The Salt which goeth under the Name of Common Salt contains two different Parts mixt together whereof one is Condens'd and Chrystalliz'd thro Cold in a Humid after Evaporation of one part of the Water wherein this Salt hath been dissolv'd the other is not Chrystalliz'd or Condens'd but by a total Evaporation of the remaining Water The former Part is most Sulphurous and by its Sulphureity mixeth with the Sulphurous Salt of Tartar Calcin'd and Dissolv'd by the Moisture of the Air or in common Water without trouble and without Coagulation But the other Part containeth an Acidity which Coagulates in an instant the dissolv'd Salt of Tartar and all other fixt Salts Sulphurous and Nitrous Vitriol which shooteth forth by the Humid Air on Sulphurous Marchasites hath likewise a Succulent part Condensable only by a total Evaporation of its Aqueous Humidity of a taste very Acrimonious of a consistence Unctuous and easily dissoluble by a humid Air which Part is much different from that which first is Condensed and Chrystallized thro Cold in Water wherein this Vitriol hath been dissolved These Chrystals are Pure Acid-Austere Vitriol whence there is precipitated much Mineral Earth by
Water of Hebecrevon near S Lo in L'Election de Carantan This Water being likewise taken in the Spring-time had a Taste manifestly Ferruginous In Evaporation it left very little Sediment which was only a little Ruddish and Saline Earth sticking to the sides of the Vessels Of the Water of Provins The Water of Provins from the Fountain de la Croix being taken at the end of Summer was troubled and of a Ferruginous Taste During Evaporation by a gentle Heat the Surface was covered with many Grey Films distinct from one another There was made a Precipitation of a little subtil Earth of the Colour of Iron-Rust which stuck to the sides of the Vessels which after Evaporation were found lin'd therewith and above this lining of Rust were the Grey Films That part of this Red Earth which stuck uppermost in Circular form was somwhat Brackish and grew moist by the Air and what was lowest toward the bottom of the Vessels was not Brackish and did not grow moist The whole being dry'd and put together weighed only 1 1194. There being pour'd Water upon this Sediment in order to dissolve the Salt which it contain'd and the dissolution being filtrated thro Grey Paper and the greatest part of the Water evaporated there was made a Grey Sediment and the Liquor being pour'd into another Vessel to be still in part evaporated and afterward being expos'd to the Air there was condens'd a little Salt in broad flat Grains having the Taste of Common Salt This Salt had nothing Aluminous nor Vitriolic neither had it resemblance to any thing but that part of Sal-Marine which is Chrystalliz'd thro Cold and in a Humid The Earth of the Sediment of this Water in part dissolv'd in distill'd Vinaigre which it turn'd Yellow Being burnt in the Fire it took a Colour more Brown and seem'd to resemble the Rust of Iron Of the Water of Apougny near Seignelay in Burgundy This Water being taken in the Spring-time was Limpid and of a Ferruginous Taste During Evaporation there were separated Ruddish Earths very Light in Flakes which did swim in the middle of the Water and afterwards stuck to the sides of the Vessels These Earths being dry'd had a little Brackishness and their Quantity was very small Of the Water of Vahls in Dauphiné from the Spring called la Dominique This Water taken in the Month of May did seem very singular and much different from other Ferruginous Waters having somewhat Vitriolic It was Limpid and without Scent but its Taste was Vinous and Styptic like to that of a small White-Wine wherein a little Vitriol is dissolv'd It s Stypticity was strong and disagreeable It took a Black Colour drawing towards Blew with Galls as doth Water wherein English Vitriol hath been dissolv'd It made the Tincture of Tournesole of a Red Purple Colour as doth the said Vitriol but being mixt with the Liquor of Salt of Tartar it made no Precipitation as it doth with Vitriol and the whole Liquor became very Green There was made at the bottom of the Bottles a little Yellowish Sediment as happens in Water wherein there is a Ferruginous Vitriol This Water being put in Alembics to distil by a gentle Heat as soon as it began to become Tepid it lost its first Taste and was no longer Acid but retain'd only a Ferruginous Taste What distill'd in the beginning was Insipid and also what followed and the whole resembled simple Water There remain'd only 1 1000 Greyish Substance which had some resemblance to Vitriol lightly Calcin'd having the Taste but more gentle This Saline substance being dissolv'd in Common Water and mixt with the Liquor of Salt of Tartar became Black as Ink with a certain Precipitation Vitriol doth not make the like Blackness with the Liquor of Salt of Tartar Those who have drunk this Water have found it Heavy on the Stomach and Emetic and that it purgeth downwards and makes their Stools Black The Seventh CLASS Of Cold Waters having a Taste somewhat Aigre or Vinous which participate of Common Salt or have no Salt at all OF this sort were the Waters of Chastelguyon Besse S. Pierre la Trauliére Vernet Chanonat S. Pardoux S. Parise and Rueilly Of the Water of Chastelguyon near Rion in Auvergne This Water taken in the beginning of Spring-time was Limpid but had made some whitish Sediments in the Bottles It s Taste did a little incline to somewhat Aigre and was a little Vinous During Evaporation there were form'd on the Surface White Films very Thick which cover'd it all over but afterwards precipitated to the bottom of the Vessels in thick Scales The Sediment was 1 17◠one Moity whereof was Salt the other Earth This Salt was very Acrimonious and might be compar'd to that part of Sal-Marine which is not Condens'd thro Cold and in a Humid which was known by mixing it with the Liquor of Salt of Tartar which it caus'd to coagulate This Salt being melted in a Crucible on the Fire fum'd and produc'd a Scent of the Spirit of Common Salt The Earth of this Sediment in part dissolv'd in distil'd Vinaigre It contracted somewhat of Brackishness in the Fire and chang'd its Whiteness in a Yellowish Colour Of the Water of Besse near Mont d' Or in Auvergne This Water taken at the beginning of the Spring-time was Limpid and of a very strong Vinous Taste During a Gentle Evaporation it was observ'd that there were form'd on its Surface very little Greyish Films and that some Ruddish Powder stuck to the sides of the Vessels There remain'd at last at the bottom a Whitish Leafy Earth almost Insipid which amounted to 1 645 of the weight of the Water There could be separated from thence but very little Salt which did resemble that of the Water of Chastelguyon This Earth being freed from its Salt and strongly burnt in the Fire became somewhat Reddish and before it was put on the Fire it in part dissolv'd in distil'd Vinaigre As for the Vinous Taste of this Water altho it was very strong yet it was soon lost by the heat of the Fire as was that of other Mineral Waters which were somewhat Aigre and less Vinous In the distillation what pass'd in the beginning was Insipid as also what pass'd in the middle and end thereof Of the Water of S. Pierre de Clermont in Auvergne This Water taken at the beginning of the Spring-time was Limpid but had made some Whitish Sediments in the Bottles It s Taste inclin'd to somewhat Aigre and Vinous During Evaporation there were form'd on its Surface White Films which precipitated in little Flakes The whole dry Sediment amounted to 1 240 of the weight of the Water whence was drawn almost a Moity of Salt resembling that part of Sal-Marine which is Chrystalliz'd thro Cold and in a Humid and which mixeth without trouble with Alcalies or fixt Sulphurous Salts of Plants dissolv'd in Common Water The Earth of this Sediment
and that this Water may be so much the better forasmuch as being before expos'd to the Air in the Channel of the River it hath not that Crudity which those Waters have which proceed from deep Earths and Rocks Whether its Mineral Quality be taken from the Earth of this Meadow it were possible to discover somwhat by Experiment on this Earth observ'd as well in its Surface as at bottom if the soaking thro of the Water of the River hindereth not the search Of the Water of Spa. This Water of Spa brought into France for the Use of the Queen about the end of Summer and sent to the Laboratory of the King's Library to be examin'd was in four Bottles one whereof was but half-full having been ill stop't and the Water run out The Water of this Bottle was a little troubled and altho it was still of a Taste moderately inclining to somewhat Aigre and Vinous it tinctur'd not with Galls The Water of the other three Bottles which had been well stopt and were full was very Limpid and of a Taste somewhat Aigre and Vinous It took a Minim Colour with Galls Being mixt with the Dissolution of Mercury Sublimate made in Common Water it troubled and rendred it Milky and mixt with the Dissolution of German Vitriol likewise made in Water it troubled that also and in a little time there was made a Precipitation of Ruddish subtil Earth as do those Waters wherein there is a Sulphurous Salt The Acidity of this Water hindereth it not from troubling and precipitating Salt of Lead dissolv'd in Common Water It made the Tincture of Tournesole to turn little Red which a less Acidity turneth much Which gives occasion to judg that the Acidity of this Water is not Simple Being put to distil by a very gentle heat in a high Glass-Alembic to separate the more Volatile and Subtil part what pass'd first was not found different from what followed and what remain'd in the Cucurbite ceasing Distillation after having drawn about 1 4 neither was there any Acidity in the whole Water What remain'd in the Cucurbit having been put in an Earthen Vessel upon warm Ashes to evaporate gently in order to observe whether there were made any Concretions during Evaporation this Water remain'd always Limpid and when there were no more than two Ounces in the Vessel there were made new Essays to know the Quality of the Salt therein by putting a little of this Water as well in the Dissolution of Mercury Sublimate made in Common Water which it troubled and made Milky as on that of German Vitriol which it also troubled with a certain Precipitation of Ruddish Earth and also on Syrup of Violets which became Green All which Effects were Proofs of a Sulphurous Salt confirming those drawn from the former Essays The Vessel wherein the Evaporation was made was found lin'd in its upper part near the edge and all about with a Saline Concretion and lower toward the bottom it was lin'd with a Yellowish Earth almost Insipid but a little Restringent The Evaporation being finish'd there remain'd of the whole Quantity of this Water which was lb vij â„¥ vj. Ê’vj an Earthy and somewhat Saline Sediment being all over the inward Surface of the Vessel This Sediment being taken thence weigh'd only Gr. xlviij whereof 3 4 were a Light Subtil Ruddish Earth and 1 4 was a Sulphurous Salt which caus'd Mercury Sublimate to precipitate of a White Colour as doth the Salt of Marle and also the Volatile Salts of Plants and Animals and not of a Red or Orange Colour as do the true Nitres and Alcalies This Particularity would have oblig'd us to have made a Ninth Class wherein to have plac'd this foreign Water if we had found the like in France to have fill'd it up Advertisements and Corollaries THe great Quantity of Mineral Water which Physicians cause them to drink to whom they prescribe the Use thereof for the Cure of some Rebellious Diseases which yield not to Ordinary Remedies gives occasion to judge that the Principal Effect which they expect is the cleansing of the Viscera by this Inward Washing This Effect is considerable because the most part of Chronical Diseases proceed from the Obstruction of the Viscera which this great Quantity of Drink may resolve The Ease which many Patients receive is the reason why few Physicians give themselves the trouble of searching the particular Qualities of these Waters which are nevertheless very different and considerable enough to deserve Inquiry in order to make the better use of them according to the Diversity of Diseases and the different Constitution of the Diseased 'T is easy to judge that all Waters of Running Springs such as are the Mineral Waters which are us'd in Physic may have particular different Qualities if it be considered that some of these Waters come from Places near the Surface of the Earth others from certain Places more Deep Those which have not been able to penetrate further because of Beds of Stone or Fat Earth which happen underneath rest on this sort of Bottoms and run out only where they find any Passages They have their Originals either from the fall of rain-Rain-Waters or by the Percolation of the Waters of Rivers and Lakes or of the Sea thro the Neighbouring Earths or those which they can reach and in traversing these Earths which are less compact they dissolve the Salts which are there and impregnate themselves with certain Subtil Earthy Particles which are found by Evaporation The Water which comes from Places more Deep whither its Weight caus'd it to fall according as it could pass cannot rise again in its Liquid Consistence without force but being rarified by some inward heat of the Earth it riseth in Vapours afterwards resuming its first and Natural Liquid Consistence by the Cold toward the Surface of the Earth in coming forth it produceth Springs and also little Lakes on the highest Mountains whither it may very well rise since that it mounteth even to the middle Region of the Air where Snow is form'd and whence Rain falls These Waters being rarified in the Profundities of the Earth whence they rise receive easily Mixtures of Mineral Exhalations and Vapours which are frequent in these Places but these Mixtures being not often distinguish'd in these Waters rising from their Springs either by Scent or Taste cannot be understood but by their Effects the Assignment whereof to their proper Causes is not always easy and certain The Information which we give here of the Salts and Earths of several Mineral Waters will not fully satisfie the Curiosity of those who would be likewise instructed concerning the other Causes of the Proprieties of these Waters since that besides the mixture of Concrete substances found in them according to the Observations here related there may also be contain'd substances not Concrete so Subtil and so Volatile that there can remain nothing in the Sediments which may be perceiv'd to differ from the Salts
and Earths and which is not at all found in what passes by Distillation This Taste somewhat Aigre or Vinous which is lost in the Air and by Heat ought to have for its Subject a Spirituous and most Volatil Substance which it were very desirable were known The Heat which some have in their Springs and at coming out of the Earth may be attributed to hot Vapours which are mixt with them in their Course thro Subterraneous Profundities where the Cold of the Air has no free access And some particular Effects of these Waters on diverse Subjects give occasion to judge that they are not Pure and Simple Wherefore the Academy hath propos'd to labour in order to the enquiry of these things for the Satisfaction of the Curious and Public Benefit In the mean while the Observations of the Salts and Earths of these Waters may serve as well in Physic as for Mechanic Arts to make a judgment of the fitness of some of these Waters for certain design'd Uses The two Genders of Salts under which are rang'd the Salts of those Waters whereof hitherto hath been spoken may possibly have Differences which divide each of these Genders into several Species as the Naturalists of the Royal Academy have remark'd in Salts drawn from the Ashes of several Plants which have been observ'd some to resemble the true Nitre others Common Salt to retain the participation of the Specific Proprieties of their Subjects Some of the Earths which are found together with these Salts in the Sediments of Mineral Waters evaporated or distill'd may have particular Uses according to their Differences Some Germans have remark'd that the White Earth of the Mineral Water of Schwalbach is Purgative They had in the Academy some Bottles of this Water the Taste whereof was Vinous and Strong The Salt of its Sediment was Nitrous and caus'd Mercury Sublimate dissolv'd in Common Water to precipitate in a * Nacarate deep Crimson as do the Alcalies of Plants The Earth separated from this Sediment was White as Chalk but there was not Quantity enough to make Experiment of its Purgative Faculty and we had neglected to observe this in several like Earths taken from the Nitrous Waters of this Kingdom The true Nitre of the Ancients being Sulphurous and having resemblance to the Alcalies of Plants hath likewise this Propriety with them to move by Siege And this White Earth which is found with Nitrous Salts of Mineral Waters may participate of the same Quality even as the Coagulum of the Salt of Tartar made by the Second part of Sal-Marine retains some Properties of its Salt altho it be Insipid and not Dissoluble in Water but only in Acid Liquors such as is distill'd Vinaigre which dissolves it with an Effervescence the like whereof hath been observ'd in several White Earths of Nitrous Mineral Waters As to the Observation of the Tasts of the Waters brought to us we have been only able to judge by what hath been remark'd by tasting them at their arrival They who are upon the Place of their Springs may better make a distinction particularly in those which are somewhat Aigre and Vinous the Taste whereof is either weakened or lost by being kept or expos'd to the Air. They may also better perceive the Degrees of their Colouring with Powders of Galls Oak-leaves Myrobalans Pomegranate-barks and other like substances and also judge more precisely of their Consistence and Weight The Naturalists of the Royal Academy have not been able to observe exactly all these things in the Waters which have been sent them from distant Places and which might have receiv'd several Changes as well by Time as Carriage both in their Taste and Disposition to take Colours with certain Substances and in their Consistence more or less Thin and Subtil The Method which they have followed in their Experiments on the Waters which have been sent them may be serviceable to those who will examine them at their Springs in order to gain a more exact knowledg of them This Vaporous Substance of Mineral Waters which are somewhat Aigre and Vinous is probably the first Being of Mineral Sulphur and of the Concretions thence arising There are found Earths impregnated with this Acid Vaporous Sulphurous Substance from the Concretion whereof are sometimes made Sulphurous and Vitriolic Minerals And for the most part there is not made any Mineral Concretion discernable in these Earths where there is not found either Mineral Sulphur or Vitriol or Metal This Mineral Vaporous and Indigested Substance may very well be the Principle of Vitriol but in its first state it cannot be a Vitriolic Product if it be in those Earths where there is not already somewhat of Vitriol It is more easy to observe it in its Products when it hath receiv'd some Mineral Concretion The Humid Air penetrating into the Mineral Stones which are Insipid but impregnated with a Mineral Sulphur which is easily perceiv'd when 't is disengag'd by Fire does manifestly give to the Taste a Sulphurous Acidity which before was not sensible And of the Concrete Sulphur of these Mineral Stones or Marchasites penetrated by the Humid Air is made a Concrete Vitriolic Juice which is the Product of this Mineral Sulphur the Principle whereof hath been an Acid and most Vaporous Substance Which also hath been observ'd in many Clayie Earths expos'd to the Air which dissolving into Powder contracted at first an Acidity more sensible to the Nose than to the Tongue afterwards there were made Sulphurous and Inflammable Concretions and at length Saline Concretions which were reduc'd to Vitriol This Subtil Vaporous Substance Acid or rather Harsh produceth not always Vitriolic Concretions and it happens in many Earths that thro default of requisite dispositions it remains in its first Being Then it is not a Vapour of Vitriol and the Mineral Waters which pass thro the Earths where this Subtil Matter is found and which contract an Acidity by mixture therewith ought not to be call'd Vitriolic We have observ'd in many Waters impregnated with this Acid Vapour that nevertheless there was not found there any true Vitriol or any Substance resembling Alum and that the Salt which remain'd in their Sediments was a Nitre such as the Ancients have describ'd and which is as far different from Vitriol and Alum as are Alcalies or fixt Sulphurous Salts of Plants The Salts Vitriols Alums and other Concrete Substances dissoluble in Water may be so mixt with Mineral Waters that they may not be much perceivable except in their Sediments but the Sulphurs and Bitumens are always easie to be discern'd in the Waters wherein they are contain'd because they either settle or swim on the Surface being not capable of mixture as the Salts We have not perceiv'd any in the Waters which have been sent us Those which were the Hottest in their Springs have not seem'd to us more Sulphurous and Bituminous than the others And if there is found any Sulphur or Bitumen in their Basins
watering of Cattle c. As for the Observations concerning the different Weights and Consistences of Mineral Waters they may be better made on the Places of their Springs where they are not yet alter'd either in Composition or Consistence which they certainly are being carried and kept having lost some part of those Vaporous substances which being mixt with them made their Consistence more Thin and Subtil or having contracted some Corruption which hath rendred them more Thick and almost Mucilaginous or having made a Precipitation of some Mineral Earthiness which being imperceptibly mixt with them renders them less Subtil and which is not ordinarily separated when they are drunk fresh at which time they are judg'd more efficacious than when they are kept The Instruments us'd by the Academy to observe the Weight and Consistence of Liquors were the Araiometre and the Compound Balance The Araiometre is a little hollow Globe of Glass having in its bottom a small Cavity to contain so much Quicksilver as is necessary to make this Globe sink in the Liquor wherein it may be put In its upper part is a little Pipe an Inch long and at the end of this Pipe there is a small Scale to receive the adjusted Weights which cause it to sink in different Liquors to a certain Mark made in the middle of this Pipe By this Instrument put in several Liquors is found not onely whether their Consistence be different but also how much the Difference is by the Observation of the Weight of the Instrument and of that which is put in the Scale to make it sink equally in divers Liquors The Compound Balance is an ordinary Balance moving easily and very exact to one of the Scales whereof is hung by some Horse-hairs a Cylinder of Tin or Leton well polish'd having about four Inches Height and as much Diametre to be able to take up in the Water the space which a Pint of Liquor of Paris Measure would take and of such a weight that it may sink in all sorts of Waters This Cylinder being put in the Water the Weight and Consistence whereof is to be observ'd there is put in the other opposite Scale of the Balance so much weight as is necessary to keep the two Scales Equipois'd and according to the difference of Weight which is requisite to keep this equal Poise in divers Waters judgment may be made of the difference of their Consistence and Weight in like Quantity And to know what is the Weight of this Quantity of Water which the Cylinder takes up the Weight put in the opposite Scale is to be substracted from that of the Cylinder This may be practis'd on Mineral Waters taken at their Springs and presently examin'd The like Observations may be made on Common Waters in ordinary Use as well for drinking as dressing of Victuals to the end that by the knowledge of their Properties judgment may be made what they contribute towards Health These Waters ordinarily call'd Common in distinction from Mineral being not altogether Pure and Simple may have acquir'd divers Proprieties by the diversity of Mixtures which in them are made either in the Air or Earth And altho they contain none of those Species of Minerals which may be refer'd to the middle Mineral or Metallic Gender the participation whereof gives the Name of Mineral to those Waters which are impregnated therewith nevertheless they have something Mineral for the Salts and Earths which are always mixt with them are Mineral Productions And in the most part of the Waters sent for Mineral whereon the Observations made in the Royal Academy are here related there was found only Salt and Earth in different Proportions The distinction between the Waters of this sort which are us'd only medicinally and those which are commonly made Use of in order to Aliment depending only upon More or Less of these mixtures The Common Waters which are esteem'd the best are the most Subtil Light and less Mixt. FINIS ADVERTISEMENT Martini Lister è S. R. Lond. de Fontibus Medicatis Angliae Exercitationes Duae Londini 1684. in 8o. THe Design of this Ingenious Author being to shew that in the several Mineral Waters of England whereon he had made Experiment were found only two sorts of Salts viz. Common Salt and a sort of Nitre call'd by him Nitrum Calcarium and only two sorts of Sediments viz. Ocre and Chalk-stone it may not be improper to mention this Book as confirming the Experiments of our French Virtuosi A TABLE Of the WATERS The Qualities whereof are examin'd in this Book A THe Water of Andabre at Pont de Camarets in Languedoc P. 96. Of Apougny near Seignelay in Burgundy 82. Of Availles in Poictou 70. Of Auteuil near Paris 72. B. The Water of Bagniéres in la Bigorre 45. Of Balleruc in Languedoc 43. Of Barbazan in le Commingeois 44. Of Bardon near Moulins 62. Of Baréges in la Bigorre 44. Of Belesme in Normandy 77. Of Besse near Mont d' Or in Auvergne 86. Of Biévre near Paris 73. Of Bourberouge near Mortain in Normandy 79. Of Bourbon Lancy in Bourbonnois 36. Of Bourbon L' Archambault in Bourbonnois 51. Of Bourbonne in Champagne 49. Of la Bourboule in the Parish of Murat de Quairs 41. C. The Water of Capvert in la Bigorre 69. Of Chanonat near Clermont in Auvergne 87. Of Chartres in Beausse 99. Of Chasteau-Gontier in Anjou 73. Of Chastelguyon near Rion in Auvergne 85. Of Chaudesaigues in the High Country of Auvergne 54. D. The Water of Digne in Provence 48. E. The Water of Encausse in le Commingeois 60. Of Evos in Combrailles from the Great Spring of the Baths 42. Of Evos from the little Spring of the Town 57. F. The Water of Fonsrouilleuse in Saintonge 76. Of Forges in Normandy 78. H. The Water of Hebecrevon near S. Lo in Normandy 80. I. The Water of Jaude in Auvergne 67. Of Jonas at Bourbon l'Archambault 70. Of Josse lez Maringues 94. M. The Water of Mans 77. Of Martres de Veyre in Auvergne 66. Of Menitoue in Normandy 79. Of Montbosq in Normandy 80. Of Mont d' Or in Auvergne 55. Of Montendre in Saintonge 76. N. The Water of Neris in Bourbonnois 56. P. The Water of Passi near Paris 72. Of Pons in Saintonge 75. Of Pont-Gibault in Auvergne 93. Of Pont-Normand in Normandy 79. Of Pougues in Nivernois 90. Of Premeau in Burgundy near Nuits 60. Of Provins 81. Of Prugniez at Pont de Camerets in Languedoc 96 R. The Water of la Rocheposay in Touraine 74. S. The Water of Sail lez Chasteau Morand 58. Of S. Arban in Forest 95. Of S. Floret near S. Cirque in Auvergne 93. Of S. Mion in Auvergne 91. Of S. Pardoux in Bourbonnois 88. Of S. Parise in Nivernois 89. Of S. Paul de Rouen 79. Of S. Pierre de Clermont in Auvergne 87. Of S. Reyne in Burgundy 71. Of Spa in the Country of Liege 102. T. The Water of la Trauliére in Bourbonnois 89. V. The Water of Vahls in Dauphiné from the Spring called la Dominique 83. Of Vahls from the Springs la Marquise and la Marie 97 Of Vaujour in the Dutchy of la Valliere 74. Of Verberie near Compiegne 77. Of Vernet in Auvergne 88. Of Vic in Carladois 65. Of Vic le Comte in Auvergne 63. Of Vichy in Bourbonnois de la Grille 57. Of Vichy from the Great Basin and the little Basins 62. FINIS
were dissolv'd in order to be purified The Quantity of Salt as well Nitrous as Common wherewith each of these Mineral VVaters are Impregnated cannot always be precisely determined it being not always equal in the VVaters of the same Springs according to the Constitutions of the Air wet or dry and other Accidents 'T is sufficient to remark only the Differences of much little or middle Quantity The waters which have been observ'd to have a remarkable and great Quantity of a Salt like to true Nitre are those of Bourbon l' Archambaut Vichy Mont d' Or Vic le Comte Martres de Veyre S. Mion S. Floret and Andabre Those which have but a Mediocrity are those of Chaudesaigues Pougues Pont-Gibault S. Alban Jaude Beaurepaire Josse Vic en Carladois and Prugniez And those which have little are those of Neris Esvahon and Sail. The Salt which was found to have a resemblance with Common Salt was abundant in the VVaters of Balleruc la Bourboule Chastelguyon and Availles There was a moderate Quantity in those of Bourbon Lancy Bagniéres Encausse and Digne But there was very little in those of B aréges Capvert Barbazan la Trauliére Besse Pons en Saintonge la Rocheposay Vaujour Chasteau-Gontier S. Reyne Premeau Provins Forges S. Paul de Rouen Belesme Hebecrevon Reuilly la Taille Menetou Bourberouge Vaux Montigny Montbosq and Pont-normand There was no manifest Salt found in those of S. Pardoux Bardon Chanonat Mans c. There hath not been found in any of these VVaters either Alum or Vitriol discernible in their Sediments These substances which are reckoned in the rank of Mineral Salts are Concrete Juices condens'd by Evaporation of the superabundant Humidity dissolving them They participate of much Earthiness very fixt and their Acid Spirits are not separated but by great Heat which raiseth them with an Augmentation of a Corrosive Acidity The Taste somewhat Aigre or Vinous must needs proceed from other mixtures than those of Alum or Vitriol since it is so easily lost in the open Air when these VVaters are exposed thereto for a few days and more speedily when they are a little warmed In the Distillation of these VVaters in Balneo Mariae this Acidity is neither found in what is distill'd nor in what remains in the Alembic where no other Salts are to be found but Nitrous or Common Only the VVater of Vahls in Dauphiné from a certain Spring called la Dominique left after Distillation a certain Salt having some resemblance to White Vitriol It was of a Taste a little Vitriolic sweetish and somewhat Styptic This Salt being dissolv'd in Common Water made the Tincture of Tournesole to become Red almost as Vitriol doth and being mixt with the Salt of Tartar dissolv'd also in Common Water became Black as Ink and precipitated a Black Earth It being otherwise with White Vitriol which doth not so much blacken with the Salt of Tartar It were proper to enquire whether this Water of la Dominique be Emetic as that wherein Vitriol is dissolved and whether it produceth Effects like to those Waters wherein there is a True Compleat Vitriol The Brownish-Red or Purple Colour which Acid Mineral Waters take by the Infusion of certain substances which with Vitriol make Ink is no certain sign that Vitriol is the Cause of the Acidity of these Waters in the most part whereof there is no Vitriol but a Sulphurous Nitre capable to absorb Vitriolic and Aluminous Acidities There were found in certain Sulphurous Earths Vaporous Juices not Coagulable which are Acid and do seem to be Vitriolic Seminaries which may in time gain by degrees Concretions approaching to those of Vitriols These Vaporous Juices meeting with the Waters of certain Springs may give them a Vaporous Acidity but which is easily lost as those of the Waters of Pougues S. Mion Vic le Comte Vic en Carladois Martres de Veyre S. Parise la Trauliére Besse and several others Tho when these Juices have any beginning of Concretion there remains some part in the Sediments after the Distillation of the Water as in that of la Dominique which nevertheless lost its Acidity by Heat As for the Earths which have been found in different Quantity in the Mineral Waters examin'd by the Academy the particular Distinction of their Species hath been more difficult than that of the Species of their Salts There was found much Earth in the Waters of Petit Bain Bain de la Reyne and the Spring of la Forgue at Bagniéres also in those of Barbazan Encausse Prugniez and Chastelguyon Moderately in those of the Grand Bain Bain de S. Roch de Bagniéres Capvert Andabre Bourbon l'Archambault Vic le Comte Martres de Veyre S. Floret Pierre de Clermont Jaude Josse Digne Pougues and Passi Little in those of the Spring of Salut de Bagniéres and in those of Baréges Chaudesaigues Mont d' Or Vic en Carladois S. Mion Besse Vernet Chanonat Pont-Gibault la Bourboule S. Alban Sail la Trauliére Vichy Bourbon Lancy Neris Esvahon Pons en Saintonge Montendre la Fonsrouilleuse la Rocheposay Vaujour Chasteau-Gontier Premeau S. Reyne Provins Mans and in all those of Normandy There was no manifest Earth found in the Waters of Balleruc and Availles the Sediments whereof were wholly Saline The most part of these Earths were White and Subtil as those of the Waters of Bagniéres Capvert Barbazan Encausse Andabre Prugniez Vic en Carladois Vic le Comte Martres de Veyre Besse Vernet Chastelguyon S. Pierre de Clermont Jaude Pont-Gibault la Bourboule Josse S. Alban Sail Neris Esvahon S. Parise the two Bourbons and Pougues Others were Grey as those of the Waters of Baréges Mont d' Or Chaudesaigues S. Floret Chanonat Vichy Bardon S. Pardoux la Trauliére Pons la Rocheposay Chasteau-Gontier S. Paul de Rouen Belesme Premeau and S. Reyne Others Ruddy as those of the Waters of Vaujour Mans Provins Forges and almost all the other Waters of Normandy In Evaporation of all these Waters their Earths were in different Forms some in that of Films swimming a top as those of the Waters of Capvert Barbazan Encausse Vic en Carladois Vic le Comte Martres de Veyre Vernet S. Alban Vichy Pougues S. Parise and Pons Others in Flakes as those of the Waters of Baréges Andabre Prugniez S. Floret Chanonat S. Pierre la Bourboule and Josse Others in Mucilages as those of the Waters of Chaudesaigues Vic en Carladois Montendre Vaujour Mans and Premeau Others in Clods as those of the Waters of Vic le Comte and S. Mion Others in Chaffy form as those of the Waters of Chastelguyon Besse Bardon and S. Pardoux Others in small sandy Grains as those of the Waters of la Fonsrouilleuse la Rocheposay and S. Reyne Others in a subtil Brown Powder as those of the Waters of Provins and almost all those of Normandy There have been also observed some other Differences of these Earths by putting them in distill'd Vinaigre and burning them strongly in the Fire