A treatise on the Bath waters / George Smith Gibbes.

  • Gibbes, George Smith, Sir, 1771-1851.
Date:
1800
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A treatise on the Bath waters / George Smith Gibbes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    springs, and the sand which rises with them, is that the iron contained therein is nearly in a metallic state. It is attracted by the magnet. Many people as well as myself have observed this fact. I have been assured by Doctor Fothergill, that he has successfully repeated this experiment on the sand which had recently been taken from the reservoir. I shall relate some further experiments which I made to ascertain the presence of iron in these waters : To two ounces of the King’s-Bath Wa- ter I added a few drops of a solution of prussiate of potash and no change of colour took place. On the addition of one drop of a solution of sulphate of iron, an evident blue colour appeared. The same results at- tended these experiments on the Hot and Cross-Baths. The hepatic water, which is composed of sixteen grains of sulphuret of lime, and ten grains of the acidulous tar- tarite of potash, is an excellent test for discovering metals which are held in solu-