It is presumed that in closing these multifarious notices, a few words touching the social habits and condition of the littlecoterieof English located at Tours, may prove acceptable to the general reader, as well as to personswho contemplate an abode within its interesting precincts.
The established etiquette is, for those who have resolved on a period of residence,firstto call upon such of the British residents as they may feel disposed to visit, which acts of courtesy, are, generally speaking, the prelude to a reciprocity of agreeable and social intercourse.
An air of high respectability, and elegance, is characteristic of the Anglo-French circle of acquaintance pervading Tours and its environs; the newly arrived man of social habits and fashion, may if he chooses, soon possess the happy consciousness of feeling, that, though distant from friends and native land, he has his customary social comforts, and habitual pleasures and refinementsof life, completely at his command.
It is true, these enjoyments exist in a limited and circumscribed form, but for this very reason, facility of intercourse and goodfellowship, are distinguished by an acuteness of character, rarely to be found in the far more expansive arrondisements of English society at home.
The warm, generous heart of the Englishman, like the concentrated rays of the genial orb of day, here, glows with the greater intensity on all who come within the sphere of its vivifying influence.
Behold him seated at his hospitable board, which groans beneath the cheapened luxuries and substantial fare, alike of his native and his adopted land, andgladdened by the presence of his selected countrymen, who perhaps like himself, have quitted their native shores, to seek for renewed pleasure, wonted repose, health, or it may be economy, abroad. The sparkling champagne speedily thaws the icy formula which too often envelopes and conceals the best, inherent feelings of his nature, and in the exuberance of his zeal for the universal cultivation of thesocial principle, and his lively sense of national toleration and liberality, he rises to toast, with equal sincerity, the beloved Queen of old England, or the citizen King of France.
And in what a pretty sylvan retreat has he snugly domiciled himself!—his white freestone villa, which presents a pleasing display of architectural elegance,is replete with every internal comfort; a smilingparterre, decked with many a fine specimen of the stately cypress, a garden stored with rare and luscious fruits, and the generous vine every where hanging in graceful festoons, are the most prominent adjuncts of his sequestered retirement.
There is in short, an exclusiveness, a completeness, spaciousness and peacefulness, about this his foreign abode, which comports well with his native feelings, and closely assimilates with the home of his childhood.
Such are the brighter parts of a pleasing picture, and it would hardly appear fair, were we to recount them without a glance at its darker shades, which, circumscribed like some of the former; are also of an intense character, andin the busy workings of the ill disposed curiosity monger, often appear, as the concentrated essence of bold conjecture. In plain terms, here, as in other small communities, the condition, and character of individuals, are constantly subjected to the microscopic investigations of the vigilant, and not over scrupulous retailers of flying news, andinteresting on dits.
The good feeling of the well-bred, and liberal minded Frenchman, is ever here, manifested towards the English, in a variety of pleasing demonstrations, constituting a series of practical illustrations of that native politeness, for which he is pre-eminently distinguished.
And no one can, we think, be a spectator of these mutual good offices, and growing interchange of kindly feeling,between the subjects of two nations which have so long been led to regard each other as inveterate foes,—without rejoicing at the liberal and peaceful policy which maintains inviolate the present order of things. Beneath its fostering and genial sway, the acceleration of the respective national interests and energies, the reciprocal cultivation of the arts and sciences, the advancement of true religion and benevolence, and the consolidation of domestic happiness, though amongst the most prominent, are but a meagre catalogue of the mutual benefits, which the two neighbouring nations, cannot fail to realize, as the blessings of apermanent peace.
In this rapid enumeration of the more prominently interesting features of Indre-et-Loire, it would appear unpardonable were we to pass over wholly unnoticed, the Botanical productions of the department, the great variety and successful culture of which, have long since obtained for it the enviablesobriquetof thegarden of France. And perhaps it behoves us the more especially to glance at it in an essay of this character, as the study of Botany has become so favorite and fashionable a pursuit, that scarcely a person of any pretensions to elegant taste, or to refined intellectual occupations, traverses anew or distant region without endeavouring to increase the interesting riches of hisHortus siccus: or at least to bestow some attention to its natural floral and arborescent productions.
It is justly observed that a Botanical taste, of all sources of amusement, is, to an invalid, perhaps the most desirable. When exercise is the only object it becomes irksome even in the loveliest scenery; the Botanist is however beguiled onwards with a never ceasing fascination, yet so leisurely as not to induce fatigue; and when his strength is unequal to excursions of higher attainment, he can find beauties in the humblest paths.
Frenchmen take much delight in their gardens, which are often very extensive and characterized by great neatness and uniformity, indeed in the majority ofinstances regularity is carried to excess;—clipped hedges, alleys laid out in straight lines, flower beds tortured into fantastic shapes, trees cut in the form of pyramids, birds, animals, etc., are the order of the day. The principles of good taste are however beginning to manifest themselves in the adoption of a more natural and elaborate style in the laying out of grounds which surround many of the more modern mansions, etc. And they are frequently enriched by choice and rare collections of exotic plants. Among the most conspicuous of the arborescent kinds, which adorn the pleasure grounds of such establishments, may be named the cypress de la Louisiane, the Pinus Silvestris, the graceful Weeping-willow, and Acacia, which here grow to great perfection; the Arbutus,Bay tree, Laurel, Fig tree, Chesnut, and Majestic Cedar of Lebanon. They also frequently contain some fine specimens of the beautiful family of mimosas, a variety of Pelargoniums, with the elegant Coronille, and Annas.
Between four hundred and five hundred plants are said to be cultivated in the gardens. And upwards of twelve hundred wild plants have been enumerated as belonging to Touraine, besides thecryptogamia, such as the mosses, ferns, liverworts, and mushrooms.
In the woods and forests are found from one hundred and fifty to two hundred plants; amongst which may be mentioned the generaAmentaceæ, which flower and blossom. In the month of April the woods are bespangled with the violet.Viola.Ficaria. Wind-flower.Anemone nemorosa.Lung-wort.Pulmonaria Officinalis.etc. In May and June we there also find theOrchis. Mellitis.Periwinkle.Vinca Major.Hyacinth or Blue Bell.Hyacinthus non-scriptus.Hare Bell.Campanula rotundifolia.St. John's Wort.Hypericum-pulchrum.Crane's Bill.Geranium Molle.Bitter vetch.Orobus tuberosus.Strawberry leaved cinque-foil.Potentilla Frargariastrum.Wood Angelica.Angelica Sylvestris.The star of Bethlehem.Ornithogalum pyrenaicum.Black centaury.Centaurea Nigra.Forget me not.Myosotis palustris.The above are to be found in the Woods of Chatenay, etc. in the immediate neighbourhood of Tours.
On the commons and higher arid tracts, are seen the cross leaved Heath.Erica Tetralix.Fine leaved Heath.Erica cineria.Male Fern.Aspidium Felix Mas.Common Broom.Sparticum scoparium.And the Furze.Ulex Europæus.When these hardy natives of the wold and the waste, happen to be grouped together, which is very commonly the case, the varied and vivid hues of their blossoms, present a striking contrast, and a very pleasing appearance.
Between two hundred and three hundred plants are common to the cultivated fields, of which, may be named, the Corn Blue Bottle.Centaurea cyanus.Red Poppy.Papaver Rhœa.Venus's Mirror.Campanula speculum.Corn Cockle.Agrostemma Githago.Corn Spurrey.Spergula Arvensis.Common yellow Rattle.Rhinanthus Crista-Galli.Great White Ox Eye.ChrysanthemumLeucanthemum.All flowering in July and August.
In the meadows which occupy the vales, subject to occasional inundations, a very great variety of plants luxuriate, consisting for the most part of the FamilyGraminaceæamongst them may be seen shining the Pile-wort.Ranunculus Ficaria.Crow-foot.Ranunculus sceleratus.And many others of this genus. The Cuckoo flower.Cardamime Pratensis.Ragged Robin.Lychnis Floscuculi.White Campion.Lichnis vespertina.Tale Red Rattle.Pedicularis palustris.Queen of the Meadows.Spiræa Ulmaria.Upatoria Cannabinum.Common Loosestrife.Lysimachia vulgaris.Also theParnassia Palustris.,Gentiana cruciata, andColchicum Autumnale.
On the surface of the Pools and Brooks, many beautiful specimens of theNymphæaare to be seen reposing, as those of the white water Lilly.Nymphæa Alba, and yellow water Lilly.Nymphæa Lutea.On their banks may also be found the Water Iris, or Flower de Luce.Iris Pseudacorus.—The emblem of France. The Flowering Rush.Butomus umbellatus.Arrow Head.Sagittaria sagittifolia, and Water ranunculus.Ranunculus aquatilis.
Our limits will not admit of a further enumeration, but perhaps sufficient has been stated to signify the interesting character of the Botanical productions of the Province, and to induce the scientific visitor, or the lover of nature, to prosecute his researches through its sequestered glades and rural retreats; where in fact,he may on every hand, behold prolific nature displaying her exquisite charms, in elaborate perfections, rich profusion, and endless diversities.
Of cultivated Fruit trees, the Pear, Peach, and Prune, are justly famed for their size and richness of flavour; the Meddlar, Quince, and a great variety of choice Apple trees are thickly dispersed throughout the vineyards; some of the latter of which during the winter, present a very singular appearance, from their being often thickly studded over with the sombre tufts of the parasiticalViscus, or Misleto. A considerable quantity of excellent cyder is made in the neighbourhood of Tours.
The vineyards which occupy so large a portion of this district, contain a great many varieties of the vine, which circumstance,together with the prevailing difference ofsoilandaspect, naturally produces wines of very various flavour and opposite qualities.
It is affirmed, that the first requisite to make good wine seems to be a peculiar quality in the soil in which the fruit is grown, more than in the species of vine itself; the second requisite to good wine is the species of plant, aided by a judicious mode of training and cultivation. It would naturally be supposed that the wine is excellent in proportion to the size and luxuriance of the plant, but such is not the case, on the contrary, good rich soils invigorating the growth of the tree never produce even tolerable wine, but it is best as the soil is lighter and drier;—sandy, calcareous, stony and porous soils arefound to be most friendly to the growth of the vine. The chalky soils particularly produce wines of great freshness and lightness.
Hence we may in a great degree account for the superiority of many of the vinous productions of the neighbourhood of Tours; on both sides of the vale of the Loire, the denudated or furrowed elevations naturally afford many genial sites, whose southern aspects are always exposed to the direct rays of the sun and which favoured situations are perhaps more prevalent on the northern banks of the river; where, as on the opposite slopes, the rather lofty chalky elevations, are mostly covered by deep accumulations of adventitious and heterogeneous materials, principally constituted of the debris ofthat cretaceous formation, and partly composing the extensive deposit termed the argile et poudinge.
It moreover appears, that the species of plant which is a favourite in one district is discarded in another; and also that very celebrated wines are produced in vineyards where the species of plant is by no means held in high repute; but the most inexplicable circumstance respecting the culture of the vine, is the fact, that the most delicious wine is sometimes grown on one little spot only, in the midst of vineyards which produce no others but of the ordinary quality: while in another place the product of a vineyard, in proportion to its surface, shall be incredibly small, yet of exquisite quality, at the same time, in the soil, aspect, treatment asto culture, and species of plant, there shall be no perceptible difference to the eye of the most experienced wine grower. Possibly this may in some measure be accounted for by the peculiar nature of the substratum which the roots of the respective vines may chance to penetrate.
The grape calledcauxorcos, common on the banks of the Cher, imparts colour and body to the red wines.
The best vines for the more valuable white wines, are the species denominatedsauvignon,semilion,rochalin,blanc doux,pruneras,muscade, andblanc auba. Thesemilionshould form two-thirds of a vineyard consisting of these seven species of plants.
Red Hermitage is produced from two varieties of plants named the little andgreatScyras. White Hermitage is produced from the greater and lesserRousannegrape.
The esteemed red wines of Saumur, are made from thepineauplant. The Haut Rhin is classed under the generic title of thegentil. Some excellent black wines are produced from a grape namedcôte-rouge, as also fromauxerrois, orpied de perdrixgrape, so called because its stalk is red.
The best Bordeaux winede côtesis made with the grape callednoir de pressac, thebochet, and themerlot.
The first class Burgundies, calledles têtes de cuves, are from the choicest vines, namely; thenoirienandpineau, grown on the best spots of the vineyards having the finest aspect.
The black grape called the «goldenplant» (plant doré,) is cultivated in all the most distinguished vineyards of Champagne, and from which is produced the finest of those celebrated wines.
The vines called thesemilionandmuscat-fouare very extensively cultivated, those most noted are the blackmorillon, of two varieties, themadaleineand the vine of Ischia; the latter produces fine fruit as high as north lat. 48°.
The bloom upon the grape, which so delicately tints the skin, is considered in proportion to its prevalence a proof of attention or negligence in the culture.
The age of which the vine bears well, is from sixty to seventy years, or more, but in the common course of things itis six or seven years before it is in full bearing. The vines are pruned three times before they bear fruit, when this operation is again repeated. In France the vine is propagated by layers of buds, which are taken up after the vintage, and by slips chosen from among the cuttings; vines from the latter live longest and bear most fruit, though those from the layers shoot earliest. The general method of training the vine in France, is the «tinge bas» or low stem training, the young shoots of the year being tied to stakes from four to five feet in height.
The season of the vintage is one of stirring interest and alacrity, the merry groups of grape gatherers now to be seen in almost every field, commence their employment as early as possibleafter the sun has dissipated the dew, and the gathering is uniformly continued with as much rapidity as possible, if the weather continue fair, so as to terminate the pressing in one day.
In concluding this subject, we may very well exemplify the general distribution of the vegetable tribes in this part of France, by observing that merryBacchuspresides over the cheerful hills,FloraandPomonagrace the laughing vallies and the sylvan shades, while the bountifulCeresextends her dominion over the upland plains, and the smiling prairies of the fertilizing Cher and Loire.
The GEOLOGY of Touraine, being of a nature particularly worthy the attention of the scientific enquirer, we may properly close these restricted remarks, by a few cursory observations on so interesting a subject. In contemplating the geognostic structure of this department, the eye of the investigator encounters none of those strikingly bold and sublime operations of nature, almost every where to be met with in the primitive and volcanic regions of the globe.
Here with but a few solitary exceptions, the whole surface of the province presents a continuous series of rounded and gentle undulations, exhibiting tothe careless glance of the unobservant, and to the uninitiated, one vast homogeneous mass of earthy and stony materials.
But when this wide spread, and apparently uninvestigable aggregation of particles, comes under the scrutinizingeye of science, a beautiful and systematic arrangement of undigenous formations are clearly developed. Individually containing within themselves the marvellous and decisive evidence of their comparative existence, in their present relative positions.
Those «medallions of Nature,» the fossils which they contain not only furnishing us with a chronological knowledge of the progressive formation of the Earth's crust, but recording in language the most intelligible, what werethe peculiar states, and characteristics of animal and vegetable existences at the distinct, and distant epochs of the World.
By the aid of these silent but eloquent intelligencers, we discover that the strata which now constitute the table lands of Touraine, were among the last, in the whole geological series, that emerged from the waves of the Ocean. That, that grand instrument of transposition and renovation, has in a general sense, ever since been restrained within its mighty confines. And that at the time its waters last prevailed over these regions now high and dry, many of the types of living testacea, etc. were become identical with those of existing species.
Touraine, or the department of Indre-et-Loire, may be said to be the grandrepository of thetertiaryformations of central France. It constitutes the southern divisions of the greatParis basin, formed by a vast depression in the chalk, and which is about 180 miles long and 90 miles broad. This cretaceous or chalk basin terminates to the south a short distance from Poitiers, where the oolites and certain other formations older than the chalk, crop out from beneath it, and thence forward, principally constitute the formations of the more southern departments of the kingdom: and occasionally extend to the summits of the gigantic Pyrénées.
The long range of rocky precipices often constituting rather lofty escarpments, along the northern borders of the valley of the Loire, are a portion of the extensive cretaceous formationswhich surround Paris. In the vicinity of Tours and many other places where its strata are alike exposed to view, many beautiful specimens of some of its characteristic fossils may be readily obtained; this formation here also frequently contains its usual layers of flint, and which often assumes the exact form of the zoophytes, and other organic structures, into which it has percolated.
But in this locality, as also in many instances in the chalk region south of Angoulême, the mineralogical character of the formation is often completely altered, chiefly appearing as a fine white calcareous sandstone, occasionally passing into a compact siliceous limestone, similar to thecalcaire siliceuxof the superior freshwater limestone, but forthe most part destitute of the small sinuous cavities the latter commonly contains.
This calcareous sandstone is directly succeeded, in ascending order, by the most extensive surface deposit of Touraine, termed by the French geologist, argile et poudinge; a rather thick argillaceous deposit, in which flint boulders are sometimes thickly embedded, and on which reposes thecalc d'eau douceor freshwater limestone, both formations belonging to the uppermost subdivision of the Parisian tertiary strata, or newer Pliocene deposits.
Immediately above the freshwater limestone just named, a series of isolated masses occur, consisting of marine sand and marl, the whole rarely exceeding fifty feet in thickness, and containingfor the most part a different and immense assemblage of fossils. This tertiary formation which is provincially termedfaluns, (broken shells) is considered to belong to a period intermediate between that of the Parisian and subapennine strata, and to assimulate in age to the crag formation of England, which belongs to the Miocene or middle Tertiary.
MrLyell who has closely examined thefaluns[D], says that most of the shells they contain do not depart from the Mediterranean type, although a few would seem to indicate a tropical climate, among these may be mentioned some large species of the generaconus,terebra,rynula,tasciolaria,cerithiumandcardita.
The species he considers for the most part marine, but that a few of them belong to land and fluviatile genera. Among the former,helix turonensis(faluns Touraine) is the most abundant.
Remains of terrestrial quadrupeds are here and there intermixed, belonging to the genera mastodon, rhinoceros, hyppopotamus, deer and others, and these are accompanied by cetacea, such as the lamantine, morse, sea calf, and dolphin, all of extinct species.
Out of two hundred and ninety species of shells from thefalunsMrLyell says he found seventy-two identical with recent species, and that out of the whole three hundred and two in his possession forty-five only were found to be commonto the suffolk crag. Nevertheless a similarity of mineral composition, and the general analogy of the fossil shells and zoophytes, together with the perfect identity of certain species, strongly justifies the opinion that has long been pronounced, that the faluns of Touraine, and the Suffolk crag are nearly contemporaneous.
To this brief outline of what may properly be termed the regular stratifications of Touraine, it only remains to be stated, that they are frequently concealed by considerable deposits of alluvial and diluvian beds of flinty gravel, sand, and adventitious clays, in some of which numerous specimens of the rocks and fossils to be found existing insituin the neighbourhood are interspersed.
It is almost impossible to contemplate even the comparatively scanty catalogue of geological facts just adverted to, without being forcibly reminded of the remarkable physical transformations which the surface of the country must have undergone, at distinct, and incalculably distant epochs; and to speculate on the causes which effected; and the peculiar circumstances characterizing those revolutionizing periods.
Geology, may indeed, be truly said to be an inductive science, and while pondering over its natural inferences we find ourselves most marvellously progressing through a long concatenation of pre-existing realities, which at every remove may be said to assume more and more the features of romance!
During the cretaceous period,Tourainehad not emerged from the Ocean, which here was probably studded with Islands constituted of the primary rocks of Brittany, and those of the older secondary formations we have noticed as now principally occupying the more southern provinces. These lands, we may reasonably infer, were adorned by the luxuriant vegetation of a tropical climate, the fossil remains of which, are found abundantly dispersed throughout the first formed members of the tertiary series.
Subsequent to the deposition of the chalk, a retiring of the sea from this region, and a period of repose, are indicated by the presence of thefreshwater formation, but on examining the overlying deposits offaluns, we have the most indubitable evidence,that this quiescent state, was succeeded by another irruption of the Ocean, which desolated the land, and deposited the wrecks of its animal and vegetable productions as now discovered in that formation. As yet, the geologian maintains, man had not been called into existence, and therefore the huge quadrupeds whose remains are found in thefaluns, unmolestedly ranged through the umbrageous wilds of nature absolute Lords of the creation.
While the imagination is startled at the mystic nature of these successive cosmological revolutions, it is no less puzzled to account for the mighty causes which have effected them. The geologist however has discovered in various parts of the world, the most positive evidence of the upheavingand subsidence of immense tracts of territory, by the stupendous operations of subterranean convulsions.
At Alum Bay in the Isle of Wight we have an extraordinary and complete example of this description; in the remarkableverticalposition of the beautiful and variously coloured arenose stratifications of the plastic clay, we are enabled to discover that the ponderous substrata of chalk were uplifted subsequently to the deposition of the tertiary formation. And it would not be unreasonable to believe that the same, or a similar convulsion, finally raised the lands of Touraine to their present elevation above the level of the sea.
We have however in this country, as in almost every other part of the globe,the most striking proofs of the mighty modifying operations of the last grandcataclysm, the erosive power of whose turbulent waters have denudated or scooped out deep vallies, frequently leaving—as instanced in the faluns detached and widely scattered masses of pre-existing formations, and heaping up theirdebrisin the vast and variously shaped accumulations designated as diluvial deposits.
These popular speculations have been touched upon rather with the view of exciting the attention of the curious, and inviting the disquisitions of the able student of nature, than a desire to attach any absolute importance to existing theories; for in a progressive science like geology, new and amazing facts are continually being developed, and itis only when an immensely increased accumulation of such existing evidences has been thoroughly scrutinized by the penetrating and comprehensive genius of aNewton in geology, that we can hope to arrive at any thing approaching a correct explication of its remarkable and interesting phenomena.
To the commonest observer however the present state of geology presents an astounding exposition of divine power and goodness, and distinctively marks the gigantic footsteps of that creative energy, which out of stupendous confusion and disorder, the rocking earthquake, and the «wreck of worlds,» has caused to spring forth the existing order of things; whose beauty, perfection, utility and harmony, charm our senses, enhance our knowledge, anddemand for their Creator, the constant tribute, of our most grateful emanations.
There are a few Chalybeate, and many calcareous springs in the department, some of the latter of which incrust every substance over which they flow, and it is not uncommon to find an assemblage of most fancifully shaped stalactical incrustations in the caves of the calcareous freestone, etc., being often singularly imitative of the works both of nature and of art. Caves of this description known by the name of the caves gouttières are to be seen near thevillage of Savonnièreson the road fromToursto Chinon, not far from the banks of the Cher. But perhaps no less remarkable in the estimation of the curious are the extraordinary series of excavations ranging nearly oppositeTours. These artificial caverns which are hewn out of the white calcareous sandstone rocks on the banks of the Loire, frequently constitute entire dwellings, and are so free from humidity as to be occupied by the peasantry during summer and winter, while others are formed into extensive storehouses for the wines of the country.
From the general and impartial review we have here taken of some of the more attractive features, climatic advantages, and geological structure of Touraine, it cannot but be admitted that it possesses inducements of no ordinary description to the searcher after health or recreation. Considerations, of more special importance to the hypochondriac and the valetudinarian, who may feel themselves obliged to abandonthe soothing comforts of the domestic circle, for the purpose of obtaining relief from a temporary residence abroad.
In our just estimation of any country or locality, much however depends on the spirit and manner in which we scrutinize its resources, to the eye of the vacant and unobservant mind, the most beautiful and soul-stirring facts and scenes possess neither novelty nor charms, while the attentive andintelligent investigatorseldom fails to discover and appreciate those extraordinary assemblages of creative perfections, and wonders, with which the all bountiful hand of the Supreme Creator has most amply stored every portion of the material Universe.
A small work of this description will not admit of our entering into a minute detail of all the mineral waters of France; we shall therefore merely give a sketch of their physical characters, medicinal properties, and of the different localities where they are found, to serve as a superficial guide to Invalids; and conclude by giving a more general description of theSpas of Central France.
Mineral waters may be arranged into the four following classes;Saline;Acidulous;Chalybeate; andSulphureous.
Saline.These waters owe their properties altogether to saline compounds. Those which predominate and give their character to the waters of this class are either,
1. Salts, the basis of which is Lime.
2. Muriate of Soda and Magnesia.
3. Sulphate of Magnesia.
4. Alkaline Carbonates, particularly Carbonate of Soda.
They are mostly purgative, the powers of the salts they contain being very much increased by the large proportion of water in which they are exhibited.
There are but fewCold Saline Springsin France, viz: those of Andabre or Camares in the department of Aveyron; Jouhe, dep: Jura; Pouillon, dep: Landes; Niederbronn, dep:Lower Rhine. They are employed in diseases which require continued and moderate intestinal evacuations; such as dyspepsia hypochondriasis, chronic hepatitis, jaundice and strumous swellings. They are more grateful to the stomach when carbonic acid gas is also present; and when they contain Iron as in the springs of Camarès, their tonic powers combined with their purgative qualities, render them still more useful in dyspeptic complaints and amenorrhœa.
To this class the water of the Ocean belongs. The quantity of saline matterSea Watercontains varies in different latitudes thus, between 10° and 20° it is rather more than1/24; at the equator it is1/25; and at 57° north it is only1/27. The saline ingredients in10,000 parts of sea water according to the last analysis of Dr. Murray, are, muriate of Soda 220.01; muriate of lime, 7.84; muriate of Magnesia, 42.08; and Sulphate of Soda 33.16. When brought up from a great depth, its taste is purely saline; but when taken from the surface it is disagreeably bitter, owing, perhaps, to the animal and vegetable matters suspended in it. Its specific gravity varies from 1.0269 to 1.0285; and it does not freeze until cooled down to 28.5° Fahrenheit. Its medicinal properties are the same as those of the saline purgative waters, but more powerful; and as a bath, its efficacy is much superior to that of fresh water.
The general effects of mineral waters are modified by temperature, whetherthey be taken internally, or applied externally.
In someWarm Saline Springsas those of Plombières, and Bains, in the department of Vosges; Luxeuil, dep. Haute Saône; Bourbon-Lancy, dep. Saône-et-Loire; Bourbonne-les-Bains, dep. Haute-Marne; Chaudes-Aigues, dep. Cantal; Avène, Balaruc, dep. l'Hérault; La Motte, dep. l'Isère; Bagnols, dep. l'Orne; Aix-en-Provence; dep. Bouches-du-Rhône; St.-Laurent-Les-Bains, dep. l'Ardèche; Sylvanès, dep. l'Aveyron; Cap-Bern, Bagnères, Bigorre, dep. Upper Pyrénées; Encausse, dep. Haute-Garonne; Néris, dep. l'Allier; their virtues depend principally on the height of temperature. And in others which have been found to contain scarcely any foreign matter,the simple diluent power of the pure water seems to produce the benefit that results from drinking them.
Acidulous.Waters of this class owe their properties chiefly to Carbonic Acid. They sparkle when drawn from the spring, or when poured into a glass; have an acidulous taste, and become vapid when exposed to the air. Besides free carbonic acid, on the presence of which these qualities depend, acidulous waters contain generally carbonates of Soda, of Lime, of Magnesia, and of Iron; and sometimes muriate of Soda.
They may be divided intothermalorwarm acidulous waters, andcold acidulous waters.
The temperature of the former rarely exceeds 72° F. while that of the latter is generally about 55° F. Of the warmacidulous waters are those of Mont-D'or, Saint Nectaire, Clermont-Ferrand, in the department of Puy-de-Dôme; Vichy, Bourbon-l'Archambault, dep. l'Allier; Audinac, Ussat, dep. l'Arriège; Chateauneuf, Saint-Mart, Chatel-guion, dep. Puy-de-Dôme; Dax, dep. Landes; Saint Alban on the left of the river Loire.
Of thecold acidulous watersthere is Pougues in the department of Nièvre; Chateldon, Bar, Saint-Myon, Médague, Vic-le-Comte, dep. Puy-de-Dôme; Mont-Brison, Saint-Galmier, dep. Loire; Langeac, dep. Haute-Loire. They are tonic and diuretic; and in large doses produce a sensible degree of exhilaration.
They all afford a grateful and moderate stimulus to the stomach, but thewarm acidulous springsare to be preferredas there are few of this kind that do not contain a small portion of Iron and a larger portion of carbonic acid gas, and are especially useful in all cases of impaired digestion; while those which contain alkaline carbonates, as Pougues and Saint-Galmier, are more particularly employed as palliatives in calculous affections.
Chalybeate.Waters thus named owe their properties to iron in combination generally with carbonic acid; and as the latter is usually in excess, they are often acidulous as well as chalybeate. The metal is found also in the form of a sulphate, but the instances of this are very rare.
Chalybeate waters have a styptic or inky taste: they are, when fresh drawn, transparent, but become black whenmixed with tincture of nut-galls; but an ochery sediment soon falls, and the water loses its taste. If the iron be in the state of sulphate, however, no sediment falls; and the black colour is produced by the above test, even after the water has been boiled and filtered. Chalybeate springs are very numerous in France, some of the following are much frequented: Rennes-Les-bains, in the department of l'Aude; Saint-Honoré, Passy, near Paris; Forges, Aumale, Rouen, dep. Seine-inférieure; Contrexeville, dep. Vosges; Bussang, Provins, dep. Seine-et-Marne; La Chapelle-Godefroi, dep. of l'Aube; Saint-Gondon, Noyers, dep. Loiret; Fontenelle, dep. Vendée; Watweiler, Upper-Rhine; Cransac, dep. l'Aveyron; Sainte-Marie, dep. Cantal; Sermaise, dep.Marne; Ferrières, Segray, dep. Loiret; Alais, dep. Gard; Boulogne-sur-Mer, dep. Pas-de-Calais; Vals, dep. l'Ardèche.
Chalybeate waters are powerful tonics, and are employed in dyspepsia, scrofulous affections, cancer, amenorrhœa, chlorosis, and other diseases of debility for which the artificial preparations of iron are used. Much of the benefit derived from the use of chalybeate waters depends on the extreme division of the metalic salts they contain, as well as the vehicle in which it is held in solution; while at the same time their operation is much modified by the carbonic acid gas by which the iron is suspended. When the water is a carbonated chalybeate, it should be drunk the moment it is drawn from the spring; but thesame precaution is not necessary with a water containing sulphate of iron.
Sulphureous.Waters classed under this head derive their character chiefly from sulphureted hydrogen gas; which in some of them is uncombined, while in others it is united with lime or an alkali. They are transparent when newly drawn from the spring, and have a fœtid odour which is gradually lost from exposure to the air, and the water becomes turbid. When they are strongly impregnated with the gas, they redden infusion of litmus, and exhibit some other of the characteristics of acids; and, even in a weak state, they blacken silver and lead.
Besides containing sulphureted hydrogen gas, they are not unfrequently, also, impregnated with carbonic acid.They generally contain muriate of Magnesia or other saline matters, which modify their powers as a remedy.
Thewarm sulphureous springsin France are those of Barèges, Saint-Sauveur, dep. Upper Pyrénées; Cauterets, Bonnes, Cambo, dep. Lower Pyrénées; Bagnères-de-Luchon, dep. Haute-Garonne; Ax, dep. l'Arriège; Gréoult, Digne, dep. Lower Alpes; Castera-Verduzan, dep. Gers; Bagnols, dep. Lozère; Évaux, dep. Creuse; Saint-Amand, dep. Nord; Loèche, right of the Rhône; Aix-la-Chapelle. Thecold sulphureous watersare those of Enghien-les-Bains, in the department of Seine-et-Oise; La Roche-Posay, dep. Vienne; Uriage, near Grenoble.
These waters are resorted to chiefly by patients who labour under cutaneousaffections and are applied locally as well as drunk.
They are slightly sudorific and diuretic, and apt to occasion in some patients headache of short duration, directly after they are taken.
They are also employed for curing visceral and scrofulous obstructions, torpor of the intestines, chronic engorgements of the joints: sprains of long standing, obstinate catarrhs, rheumatism, etc, and in some dyspeptic and hypochondriacal cases.
Thewarmsulphureous waters are to be preferred; attention however should be paid to the state of the bowels during their course which ought to be kept free from any accumulation by the aid of some mild aperient medicine; Spa Doctors trust almost entirely to theaperient operation of the waters and doubtless, the crises, spa-fevers, and re-actions described by foreign writers on the spas are often attributable to the want of combining some mild mercurial alterative and aperient with the use of the waters, and that many cures are prevented or rendered ineffectual by the dread of mercury entertained by continental Physicians. The following what Dr. Johnson terms theAuxilio-Preservativewill be found of essential service taken every night before drinking the morning waters.
It is however absolutely necessary on patients arriving at any spa, to consult the resident Physician.
With respect to the use of mineral waters in general, we consider them as most important, and extremely beneficial in the treatment of disease; some of the good effects of all of them however, must be allowed to proceed from change of air and scene; relaxation from business, amusement, temperance, and regular hours, and under these circumstances the drinking the waters at the springs possesses advantages which cannot be obtained from artificial waters, however excellent the imitations may be, nor even from the natural water, when bottled and conveyed to a distance from the springs.
OF
Plombiers, a small town in the department of Vosges, twenty-four leagues from Nancy, is situated between mountains in a deep narrow valley watered by the Augrome.
According to a careful analysis made by M. Vauquelin, these waters contain Subcarbonate of Soda, Sulphate ofSoda, Chloride of Sodium, Subcarbonate of Lime, and Silex. He affirms that they also contain an animal matter greatly resembling gelatine, which performs an important part in their action upon the animal economy; to this ingredient he attributes the fetid odour which occasionally arises from the waters.
The thermal waters of Plombières, are classed as follows:—1stTheBain des Dames; having a heat of 126° Fahr2nd—TheSource du Chêne, ordu Crucifix; this is the only one of the waters not used for bathing, but solely for drinking. 3d—Thesource du Grand-Bainordu milieu, the temperature of the former is 130°: and of the latter 142° Fah. TheGrand Bainis called theBain des pauvres. 4th—TheBain-tempéré, which is supplied by two sources; one at 90° and the other at 113° Fah. 5th—ThePetit-BainorCapucins, is 113° Fah. Its basin is divided into two parts, the temperature of the water there being 95° to 97° Fah. 6th—TheBain-NeuforRoyal, has a square basin which receives the waters from a source formerly calledl'enfer, and had originally, a temperature of 153° Fah. being the hottest of the number. 7th—There is another source, called the sourcede Bassompierre, situated at the upper part of the town.
These waters are stimulant, giving increased activity to the circulation, and in great reputation for the cure of Chlorosis (green sickness) chronic enteritis, neuralgia, scrofula, and in the chronicand painful stages of gout and rhumatism. Although rarely beneficial in severe cutaneous diseases they are in much esteem for their unctuous qualities, which impart softness to the skin and allay superficial irritations.
The season for taking these waters is from May to September, and this place is then much frequented; the accommodations are very good, in the principal street are arcades built by Stanislaus, king of Poland, under which the company promenade.
The great esteem in which these waters were anciently held is attested by the vast ruins and immense numberof antiquities which have been found here; at present Luxeuil is a small but agreeable town in the department of the Haute-Saône, twelve leagues from Besançon, situated in a plain, and intersected by a street called therue des Romains. The bathing establishment, which is much admired, was built about the middle of the last century, is adorned with a beautiful garden.
There are five Baths namely theBain des Femmes; theBain des Hommes; theBain Neuf; theGrand-Bain; thePetit-Bain.
The analysis of these waters is very incomplete; they are stated to contain muriate of Soda, Lime, sulphate of Potash and a small portion of Iron.
They have proved very beneficial in chronic rheumatism, paralysis, chroniccatarrh, alterations in the abdominal viscera, and in some nervous affections. As these waters are less exciting than those of Plombières, they are more suitable to persons of a feeble and delicate constitution.
The Baths are under the superintendance of a medical practitioner. A Hotel, called the Lion d'Or, affords ample accommodation for persons who come for the benefit of the waters. This place has been much frequented of late.
The mineral waters of this place, containing a population of 2700, are in the department of Saône-et-Loire, twelveleagues from Autun and eighty from Paris.
Drde Verchère, a talented and philanthropic man, who long had the establishment under his management, reports numerous cures having been effected by the waters.
Their celebrity is of ancient date, and they have at various times been visited by several kings of France.
The town of Bourbon-Lancy is placed on the side of a hill, and constitutes a striking feature in a beautiful landscape. The air is extremely salubrious, and the place has long been remarkable for its freedom from epidemics.
It abounds in the comforts and luxuries of life, and commodious accommodations are provided for visitors, near the Baths.
TheBreadmade here is said to be of a very superior quality, which the inhabitants attribute to its being kneaded with the mineral waters.
Numerous kinds of excellent fish are furnished by the Loire.
The mineral waters of Bourbon-Lancy have apparently one common source but appear at the surface of the earth in seven distinct springs. The 1stis calledle Lymbe, from its great heat, as much as 135° Fah. 2ndTheFontaine de Saint-Légertemperature 100° Fah. 3rdTheFontaine de la Reinetemp: 108° Fah. 4thTheFontaine des Ecures, which take its name from the person who discovered the spring in 1600. temp: 140° Fah. 5thTheBain Royal, temp: 104° Fah.
MrJacquemont's analysis of thesewaters exhibits the presence of Carbonic Acid, and Muriate of Soda in excess, also the Sulphate of Soda, Carbonate of Lime, Oxide of Iron and Silex.
It is to be regretted that a more minute analysis of the waters has not been effected, for their continual boiling, and the saline efflorescence which forms upon the sides of the pipes, would seem to indicate the prevalence of fixed and volatile principles, the proportions of which it would be important to demonstrate.
Their heat and stimulating qualities peculiarly adapt them for the cure of obstinate chronic rheumatism, diseases of the lymphatics, chlorosis, incipient disorganization of the stomach, bowels, and other abdominal viscera. They havealso been found highly beneficial in old gun shot wounds.
The Bourbon waters are administered in different doses, according to the constitution of the patient, and the nature of the disease, it is usual to take several glasses in the morning at intervals of a quarter of an hour.
The Baths varying in temperature from 90° to 104° Fah. are the most commonly used, and with the greatest success. But the most active baths are those varying from 113° to 122° Fah. but they require great caution in their administration.
There are several kinds of douches at Bourbon as the ascending, descending, fumigating, which are frequently used in torpidity of the intestines and obstinate constipations; resource is also hadto them in some affections of the uterus and urinary organs. There are alsomudbaths at this place.
Bagnoles is a village in the department of l'Orne, the efficacy of the mineral waters at this place, was discovered by the following singular circumstance. An old horse having a disease of the skin, being covered all over with sores, was about to be delivered up to the knacker when his master calling to mind his good qualities, resolved upon turning him into theCoppice of Roches-Noires. Two months after happening to pass through the end of the valley, he descried an animalwhich he thought much resembled his own discarded steed. The horse trotted up, approached him familiarly, and though fat and sleek, was speedily recognised by his owner, who wishing to ascertain the cause of such an unexpected and astonishing cure, carefully watched the animal's movements, and presently saw him roll himself with much apparent satisfaction in a neighbouring bog, which upon putting his hand into it, he found to contain much internal heat. This circumstance occasioned the clearing out of the bog, when the source of a hot spring very limpid and very abundant was discovered.
This cure, originated the idea of forming the present establishment which since 1812 has been rapidly increasing in reputation. It stands at the foot of amountain between two rocky escarpments, in one of the most beautiful and picturesque vallies in France.
Through this, winds the little riverla Vée, the banks of which, adjacent to the Baths, are prettily planted, and intersected with numerous gravel walks, forming shady and agreeable promenades. The luxuriance of the trees and meadows which adorn this fertile valley, contrasted with the savage aspect of the vast rugged rocks by which it is bordered, together with the pretty scattered villas, and the salubrity of the air form atout ensemblerarely to be witnessed, and which contributes not a little to the recovery of the numerous visitors who resort to this fine establishment.
The mineral springs are receivedinto a square cistern from whence they are conducted into the bathing rooms; they are extremely clear, unctuous to the touch, taste slightly acid, and emit a sulphureted hydrogen odour: air bubbles continually ascend with the water, and break as they reach the surface. The waters are found on analysis to contain carbonic acid, and muriate of Soda, in excess; a very small quantity of sulphate and muriate of lime, and muriate of Barytes. The sediment of the general receptacle contains some sulphur and Iron.
The Bagnoles waters are at once tonic and purgative; they excite the appetite, giving more activity to the digestive system, and have a general tendency favourable to the promotion of healthy secretions and excretions; particularlyof the skin kidneys and glandular organs generally.
Administered as Baths, they have a very salutary action upon the skin, imparting to it a remarkable flexibility and softness.
M. Piette, who was forty years physician to this establishment, published a report upon the efficacy of these waters, in obstinate rheumatism, chronic catarrh, paralysis, chlorosis, leucorrhœa, chronic gastritis, etc. After enumerating their other virtues he says: «On lit dans les vieilles chroniques que les dames de la Normandie allaient autrefois à Bagnoles pour porter remède à leur stérilité.»
From three to six glasses constitute a dose of the waters, they are taken in the morning.
The Bath rooms and appendages are judiciously arranged; when the natural heat of the water—(from 82° to 90° Fah.) is deemed insufficient by the physician, it can easily be increased by the aid of artificial heat, without materially deteriorating the medicinal virtues of the water.
Many Spa Doctors however assert (DrGranville amongst the number) «that thecaloricof mineral waters is of aspecifickind, analogous to the heat of the body.» A heat incorporated with the water by a chemico-vital process. And as no external warmth can supply the body withvitalheat, so no artificially created temperature can be a real substitute for the natural heat of thermal springs.
The temperature of the water ofBagnoles being about that of the blood—98° Fah. immersion in it produces but a slight sensation of heat; the temperature of our bodies being below that of our blood. The sensation is that of comfort.
Bagnoles is sixty leagues from Paris, and one league from the high road leading from Alençon to Domfront, lying nearly on the route from Havre to Tours.
This is a small town in the department of Cantal, six leagues from Saint-Flour, on the road between Clermont and Toulouse, and derives its name from its thermal waters, which weremuch resorted to in the fifteenth century, and then calledCalentes Baiæ.
The temperature of the springs vary from 167° to 189° Fah. The resident poor turn this high temperature to many economical purposes, frequently cooking their entire meals by the natural heat of the waters; an egg is boiled hard by five minutes immersion.
The waters are extensively used by Curriers, Tanners, stuff and Flannel manufacturers, etc, their alkaline principles being found peculiarly adapted to many essential processes in these respective trades; to coloured articles, they are considered to give brilliancy and permanence to the dyes.
TheBelle Fontaine du Parc, the highest in temperature of the spring,contains muriate of Soda, carbonate of lime; carbonate of Iron, and Silex.
These waters were held in high repute by the Romans and are particularly mentioned by one of their historians; «Calentes nunc te Baiæ, et scabris cavernatim ructata pumicibus aqua sulfuris atque jecorosis ac phthisiscentibus languidis medicabilis piscina delectat.»
They have analterativeordeobstruentaction, are therefore applicable to a long catalogue of maladies arising from congestion and obstructions of the abdominal viscera.
Vichy is situated in the department of the Allier, 87 leagues from Paris, fifteen from Moulins and thirty two from Lyon, in a valley surrounded by beautiful and fertile hills. The excellent roads which lead to this town, the purity of the air, the comfort and amusement which may be found in it combine to render it one of the most frequented watering places in France.
Its mineral waters were known to the Romans, and vestiges of ancient baths, coins etc. have frequently been foundhere. In the 14thcentury a monastery of the order of Celestins was founded at Vichy by Louis 2ndDuke of Bourbon, and in the following century, during the wars of the Praguerie this town was beseiged by Charles the 7th, and although fortified, taken by him in 1440.
Both Madame de Sévigné and the famous Fléchier speak in the highest terms of the charms of this delightful place and vie with each other in its praise. It was visited in 1814 by the duchess of Angoulême, since which it has rapidly risen into notice, and owing to the exertions of the inhabitants to accommodate the numbers who now flock to these justly celebrated waters, few towns offer more resources to the invalid than Vichy.
The names of the principal Baths are,
1st—TheGrande-Grille, temperature 104° to 108° Fah:
2nd—ThePetit-Puits carré, temp. 113° Fah:
3rd—TheGrande-Puits carré, 113° Fah: which supplies the Baths. These three springs are in the Bath house, under the gallery where persons taking the waters promenade.
4th—ThePetit-Boulet, temp. 95° Fah:
5th—TheGros-Bouletor theHôpital, temp. 99° Fah:
6th—Thesource Lucas, temp. 97°
7th—TheFontaine des Célestins, temp. 74° Fah:
All situated in a neat building near the Allier, and at the foot of a mountain.
The following is an analysis of theGrande-Grille;—free carbonic acid,carbonate of Soda, carbonate of Lime, carbonate of Magnesia, muriate of Soda, sulphate of Soda, oxide of Iron and Silex.
The other Baths contain the same ingredients, but the proportions slightly differ; from all the water presents nearly the same appearance. It is clear and colourless, and filled with a great quantity of bubbles rising continually to its surface: its taste is sharp and slightly acidulated.
The waters of Vichy are recommended in most chronic affections, particularly of the stomach, congestions of the liver and abdominal organs generally; hæmorrhoids, leucorrhœa, engorgements and indurations of the uterus, ovaries, etc; colic, cramps and epigastric pains; disorders of the urinary organs, nervous and intermittent feversof long standing. Having a tranquillizing effect upon the nervous system, they are peculiarly adapted to cases of hypochondriasis, neuralgia, chorea, etc.
The season at Vichy begins on the 13thof May, and finishes on the 20thof September, but precaution must be used in taking these waters during excessively hot or stormy weather. Their general effects upon the constitution are said to be very analogous to those of the celebrated waters of Carlsbad in Germany.
This small hamlet two leagues from Roanne on the left bank of the Loire, is much indebted to being situated in the vicinity of Lyon, for the celebritythe waters have attained, and still maintain. Those invalids who come for the purpose of drinking the waters will find good accommodation.
These mineral waters are pungent and acidulous to the taste, and very limpid, the presence of carbonic acid is perceptible every moment by the immense quantity of bubbles which break on the surface of the water. Their temperature is 65° Fah:
Their analysis demonstrates the presence of nitrate of Lime, carbonate of Soda, sulphate of Lime, carbonate of Lime and oxide of Iron. Of the volatile principles carbonic acid gas predominates.
The waters are found very beneficial in almost all chronic diseases, they are taken chiefly in the spring, and are heated to be used as Baths.
Pougues is a small well built town, upon the high road leading from Paris to Lyons by Moulins; it is situated between Nevers and Charité-sur-Loire, in a fine rich valley a quarter of a league long. The air is very salubrious, and the neighbouring vineyards produce excellent wine.
The accommodations for visitors are on an extensive scale, and from its proximity to Nevers, every necessary of life can be readily obtained.
The waters of this place greatly resemblethose of Spa and Seltzer; they are received into two fountains, calledSaint-LégerandSaint-Marcelwhich are surrounded by a prettily laid out garden and a covered promenade.
The mineral waters of Pougues have been analyzed several times, but the preference is given to that ofHassenfratz, who shows the presence of free carbonic acid, carbonate of Lime, carbonate of Soda, muriate of Soda, carbonate of Magnesia, Alum, Silex, and the oxide of Iron.
Monsieur le docteur Martin affirms that these waters are essentially tonic and purgative, that they are suitable in all cases of debility of the digestive organs, in affections of the liver and spleen, in inveterate jaundice, irregular menstruation, nephritic complaints,removing heat of the kidneys and bladder and in expelling gravel.
These waters may be beneficially taken in various forms of dyspepsia, proceeding from a sedentary life, from torpor of the bowels; etc; also by corpulent persons who indulge too much in the pleasures of the table, taking but little exercise; and in obstinate constipations as they invigorate the primæ viæ, and dislodge from them all accumulations and impurities.
From four to six glasses of the waters constitute a dose, which should be taken fasting early in the morning; twenty or thirty days are considered necessary for a complete course.
A small village situated upon the side of a hill near de la Coyse, in the department of the Loire, and three leagues from Mont-Brison. Its mineral spring is calledFont-Forte.
The water is limpid and has a very agreeable vinous flavour, there arise from the spring, large bubbles of air which sparkle at the surface of the water, the source of which is lost in the little BrookCouasse.
The proportion of carbonic acid which the waters of Saint-Galmier contain is very considerable, one portion is found free, and the other combined with an alkaline base, which appearsto be the carbonate of Soda a small trace of sulphate of Lime is also found.
The medical men who have observed the effects of these waters speak highly of their salutary action in chronic catarrhal diseases of old men, in calculous affections of the kidneys, and in Polysarcia, (Obesity).
They administer a pint in the morning for a dose, in lithontriptic complaints; it is commonly mixed with the wine drank at meals.
Saint-Honoré is a small town agreeably situated in the hills of Morvan, thirteen leagues from Nevers, eight from Autun, and four from Chateau-Chinon. The inhabitants of this district are remarkable for their stature and their robust and healthy constitutions.
In ancient times the Baths of this place enjoyed great reputation. The Romans formed some magnificent establishments here, which have however long since disappeared.
MrVauquelin's analysis of these waters exhibits the presence of the carbonatesof Lime, Iron, and Magnesia, and the subcarbonate of Lime, muriate of Soda, and some Silex. As also a quantity of imponderable sulphur, and vegeto-animal matter.
The ordinary temperature of the Baths is 70° Fah:
The waters are successfully employed in chronic diseases of the abdominal organs, spasmodic asthma, rheumatism and gout. Besides their internal use, they are advantageously applied, in common, vapour, and shower Baths.
Passy which has long been distinguished for its mineral waters is situated contiguous to one of the barrières ofParis, on the right bank of the River Seine.
This water is remarkably clear and has a chalybeate taste. It contains sulphate of Lime, proto-sulphate of Iron, sulphate of Magnesia, muriate of Soda, Alum, carbonate of Iron, carbonic acid and some traces of bituminous matter.
Owing to the very large proportion of sulphate of Iron and the saline substances, which are found in it, this water is seldom administered internally until it has been allowed to deposit for some time, it is then given in obstructions of the viscera, in dyspepsia, inappetence, hypochondriasis, and in all relaxed and cachectic states of the constitution. DrAlibert who has frequently prescribed it in debility of the digestiveorgans, chlorosis and in passive hæmorrhages, considers it may be classed amongst the most powerful of Chalybeate waters.
The dose is from two to three glasses daily, it is purgative when taken in a large quantity.
When used as Baths it is transported to the bathing establishment, ormaison de santé, at a short distance from the spring.
Chief town of the department of the Seine-Inférieure, thirty leagues from Paris.
Mineral springs of a ferruginous andcalcareous nature, abound in the town and neighbourhood.
Those of theFontaine Marecquérieare the most common in use. The three sources which supply these fountains are respectively designated;
TheRoyale, theDauphine, and theReinette.
The waters have been analyzed by MrDuboc of Rouen, who thereby demonstrates that every pint of theMarecquériewater, contains one grain of carbonate of Iron, three grains of muriate of Lime, three fourths of a grain of carbonate of Soda, two grains of a vegetable extractive matter, and carbonic acid gas.
Several of the medical practitioners in Rouen, strongly recommend these waters in obstinate intermittent fevers,engorgements of the Liver, uterus and in leucorrhœa depending on general debility, and some cutaneous eruptions.
Three or four glasses constitute a dose of the waters of theMarecquérie, they should be drank at the fountain, as they soon become tainted.
A small town in the department of Loiret, near the banks of the Loire, three leagues from Sully; its mineral waters rise a short distance from the town.
The analysis of these waters is very incomplete, besides containing a littlecarbonic acid gas, they hold in solution the carbonates of Iron, Lime, Magnesia, etc.
The action of the Saint-Gondon mineral waters seem to affect more particularly the urinary organs, the secretions of which, they increase in a marked degree; they may be advantageously used in feebleness of the bladder, as also in chronic catarrh which attacks this organ in old men.
In some cases they are purgative. One pint every morning is the customary dose.
A small town in the department of the Seine-Inférieure, situated on aheight; twenty-five leagues from Paris, and nine from Rouen.
Its mineral waters, which have their source in the pleasant valley of Bray, were celebrated as far back as the time of Louis 13thwho with the cardinal Richelieu, derived signal benefit from their use.
There are three springs called theReinette, theRoyale, and theCardinale.
M. Robert who analyzed these waters demonstrates that they contain in different proportions, according to their source, Carbonic Acid, Carbonate of Lime, Carbonate of Iron, Muriate of Soda, Sulphate of Lime, Muriate of Magnesia, Sulphate of Magnesia, and Silex.
The waters are under the superintendanceof a physician. They are an excellent tonic, and administered in leucorrhœa, dropsy, engorgements of the abdominal organs, paralysis, and sterility.
We think this water might be prescribed with much advantage in all cases of pure debility, unattended with fever or local inflammation; and in leucoplegmatic constitutions; the pallid female affected with complaints peculiar to her sex, may reasonably anticipate the glow of health, and a return of bodily strength to result from a proper course of these waters.
General preference is given to theReinettespring, but when it is desired to produce a more powerful effect upon the system, as in paralysis, theCardinaleis recommended, and which mustbe commenced with by taking one glass only. The season for taking these waters is from July to the middle of September.