A manual of practical hygiene / by Edmund A. Parkes ; edited by F.S.B. Francois de Chaumont.

Date:
1878
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A manual of practical hygiene / by Edmund A. Parkes ; edited by F.S.B. Francois de Chaumont. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    waters are pure and soft, or wells or springs, within a short distance, may vary considerably in composition. 4. The Loose Sand and Gravel Waters.—h\ this case there is also a great variety of composition. Sometimes the water is very pure, as in the case of the Famharn waters, and in some of the waters from the greensand, where the total solids are not more than from four to eight grains per gallon, and consist of a little calcium carbonate, sulphate, and sdicate; magnesium carbonate; sodium and potassium chloride; sodium and potassium sulphate; iron, and organic matter. The last is sometimes in some amount, viz., -8 to 1-8 grains per gallon. In tolerably pure gravels, not near towns, the water is often veryf ree from impurity. Li the case of many sands, however, which are rich in salts, the water is impure, the solid contents amounting sometimes to fifty or seventy grains per gallon, or more, and consisting of sodium chloride, sodium carbonate, sodium sulphate, with calcium and magnesium salts* These waters are often alkaline, and contain a good deal of organic matter. The water from the sands in the Landes (Southern Trance) contains enough organic matter to give ague. 5. Waters from the Lias Clays vary in composition, but are often impure; even 217 grains per gallon of mineral matters have been found. No less a quantity than 88 grains of calcium sulphate, and 41-8 of magnesium sulphate, existed in a water examined by Voelcker.f 6. The Chalk Waters.— The pure, typical, calcium carbonate water from the chalk is very sparkling and clear, highly charged with carbonic acid, and contains from 7 to 20 grains per gallon of calcium carbonate, a little magnesium carbonate and sodium chloride—small and immaterial quantities of iron, silica, potassa, nitric, and phosphoric acids. Sulphuric acid in combination is sometimes present in variable amount j organic matter is usually in small amount. This is a good, wholesome, and pleasant water. It is hard, but softens greatly by boiling. J 7 Tlie Limestone and Magnesian Limestone Waters.—These are also clear, sparkling waters of agreeable taste. They differ from the chalk in containing usually more calcium sulphate (4 to 12 grains, or even more) and less carbonate, and, in the case of the dolomitic districts, much magnesium sulphate and carbonate. Organic matter is usually m small amount Ihey are not so wholesome as the chalk waters. They are hard, and soften less on boiling. . , , /e , on 8. The Selenitic Waters.—Water charged with calcium sulphate (6 to JU grains, or even more) may occur in a variety of cases, but it may sometimes come from selenitic rocks. It is an unwholesome water, and m many persons produces dyspepsia and constipation, alternating with diarrhoea. It is hard, softens little on boiling, and is not good for cooking or washing. 9 Clay Waters.—Very few springs exist in the stiff clay ; the water is chiefly surface, and faUs soon into rivers j it varies greatly in composition, and it often contains much suspended matter, but few dissolved constituents, chiefly calcium and sodium salts. 10. Alluvial Waters.—(Alluvium is usually a mixture of sand and clay) . /9n foot deorj) in the (travel, near NetleyAbbey, the water yielded total pSffih rSrtSToiSS&W day, ft guv-only 16-8 total solids, and 6-0 of chlorides. fVlnCa]weU from Weedon Barracks, 109 feet deep sunk in blue Lias, I found 91 grs. per gallon of solids, but very little organic matter. (Jf. do U ) derived from ter- sodium carbonate and chloride, and may be alkaline.