Report of the water of the West Middlesex Water-Works Company / by Alfred S. Taylor and Arthur Aikin.

  • Taylor, Alfred Swaine, 1806-1880.
Date:
1851
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the water of the West Middlesex Water-Works Company / by Alfred S. Taylor and Arthur Aikin. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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

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    No. Grains in Imperial Gallon. Fractional Proportion by Weight. 1 . . 20-3 . . f-3448tli part. 2 . . . 18-4 . . . l-3800th “ 3 . . 188 . . l-3723rd “ 4 . . . 19- . . l-3700th “ 5 . . 17-4 . . 1-4070th “ 6 . . . 18-5 . . . l-3780th “ 7 . . 19-4 . . l-3600th “ The solid contents thus obtained, by evaporation had the form of a light brown powder, containing the salts, mechanical im- purity, as well as the organic and other matters diffused through the waters. The total weight, it will be perceived, bears but a small proportion to the weight of the water. The colour and physical properties of the residues obtained from the whole of the samples, presented no perceptible differences. When equal proportions of these various residues were heated to low redness, they became darker from the partial combustion of organic matter, the carbon of which was left in the residue. During this combustion, there was no perceptible odour of an animal nature: the vapour had the smell of burnt wf/etable matter. On analysis, nitrogen was found to be present in each residue, but there was no trace of sulphur. Hence we conclude, that the organic matter contained in these samples was of a nitrogenous nature and probably of vegetable origin. There was not the slightest indication of the presence of sewage matter. The chemical constituents of these samples, as mentioned below, were separated from each other and weighed. They were found to be in the following proportions :— An Imperial Gallon of 70,000 Grains contains in Grains— No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. No. t. No. 5. No. 6. No. 7. Carbonate of lime# 13T3 11-90 12-67 12-72 1109 10-78 12-41 Sulphate of lime . . 2-73 2-64 2-47 2-204 2-308 2-93 2-84 Common salt . . . 1-50 2-30 2-12 2-28 2-55 2 09 203 Organic matter . . . 2-37 1-22 1-25 1-27 1-275 1-97 1-48 Residuary carbon . . 041 0037 0-037 0101 0-046 0-12 013 Silica 0-27 0127 0-15 0-164 0-046 0-49 0-38 Oxide of iron . . . 0T3 0-12 o-io 0-25 0081 0-12 0T3 Total grains in gallon . 20'3 18344 18-797 18-989 17-396 18-50 19-40 * The carbonate of lime was combined with slight traces of carbonate of magnesia; and with the common salt there were traces of the chlorides of magnesium and calcium and nitrate of lime. The quantity of these salts con- tained in a gallon is, however, too small to admit of computation by weight.