CONGRESS SPRING.CONGRESS SPRING.Properties.When taken before breakfast the water is a very pleasant and effective cathartic. Drank in moderate quantities throughout the day, it is a delightful, wholesome beverage, its effects being alterative and slightly tonic. It is successfullyused in affections of the liver and kidneys; and for chronic constipation, dyspepsia and gout it is highly valued. It has been employed in cases of renal calculi with decidedly beneficial results.Crowds gather round the fountain in the early summer morning to win appetite for breakfast and life for the pleasures of the day. Old and young, sick and well, everybody, drinks, for the Congress fountain is as much the morning exchange as the ball-room is the resort of the evening.Prof. G.F. Chandler, the leading chemist in America, says: "The peculiar excellence of the far-famed Congress spring is due to the fact that it contains very much less iron than any other spring, and that it contains, in the most desirable proportions, those substances which produce its agreeable flavor and satisfactory medicinal effects; neither holding them in excess, nor lacking in anything that is desirable in this class of waters."In submitting a new analysis (which appears elsewhere) Prof. Chandler writes,—"A comparison of this with the analysis made by Dr. John H. Steel in 1832, proves that Congress water still retains its original strength, and all the virtues which established its well merited reputation." Higher authority there is none.Bottling the Water.It should be remembered that the water of this spring is sold inbottles only. What purports to be Congress water for sale on draught in various places throughout the country is not genuine. The artificial preparations thus imposed upon the public may have a certain resemblance in taste and appearance, but are frequently worse than worthless for medicinal purposes.COLUMBIAN SPRING.In Congress Park, under the Grecian Dome, near the Congress spring, Congress and Empire Spring Co., proprietors.COLUMBIAN SPRING.COLUMBIAN SPRING.History and Peculiarities.This spring was opened in 1806 by Gideon Putnam. The water issues from the natural rock about seven feet below the surface of the ground, and is protected by heavy wooden tubing. It is the most popular spring among the residents of Saratoga. The escaping bubbles of free carbonic acid gas give to the fountain a boiling motion. Large quantities of the gas can easily be collected at the mouth of the spring at any time.Properties.It is a fine chalybeate or iron water, possessing strong tonic properties. It also has a diuretic action and is extensively used for that purpose. The water is recommended to be drank in small quantities frequently during the day, generallyprecededby the use of the cathartic waters taken before breakfast.Only from one-half to one glass should be taken at a time. When taken in large quantities or before breakfast its effects might remind one of that great race in northern and central Europe,—the Teutonic (tootonic). A peculiar headache would certainly be experienced.The proper use of this water is found to strengthen the tone of the stomach and to increase the red particles of the blood which, according to Liebeg, perform an important part in respiration. It has been proved by actual experiments that the number of red particles of the blood may bedoubledby the use of preparations of iron.Though containing but 3.26 grains of iron in one gallon of water—Prof. Chandler's analysis—it is an evident and remarkable fact that the water thus weakly impregnated has a most perceptible iron taste in every drop. Is it much to be wondered at, then, that a mineral which has so extensive a power of affecting the palate, should possess equally extensive influence over the whole system? Many minerals in a dilute state of solution may pass easily through the absorbents, while in a more concentrated state they may be excluded. Carbonic acid gas, for instance, when diluted is readily inhaled, but when concentrated acts in a peculiar manner upon the wind-pipe so as to prevent its admission. So the happy medicinal effects of these iron waters seem to consist—to some extent—in the minute division of the mineral properties so that they are readily taken into the system.EMPIRE SPRING AND BOTTLING-HOUSE.EMPIRE SPRING AND BOTTLING-HOUSE.THE CRYSTAL SPRINGIs under the southern extremity of the new hotel. The proprietors have named it the Crystal Spring from the crystalline appearance of the water, which does not rise to the surface, but is pumped up from a depth of several feet. It was discovered in 1870 by experimental excavation. The characteristic, and to many disagreeable odor of sulphuretted hydrogen, is readily perceived. Sulphur veins, or iron pyrites, are found in all sections of this valley; one of the most provoking problems of the owners of the springs being to keep their fountains from a sulphur taint, the quantity and quality of which is not considered beneficial, while it injures the sale of the bottled water.The Crystal Spring is somewhat alterative in its therapeutic effects.THE ELLIS SPRINGIs near the railroad, between the Glacier and Geyser Springs. It has been known for a long time. The water flows through theslate rock, and, unlike any other spring at Saratoga, issues in a horizontal direction from the side of the hill. It is a very fine chalybeate, but is not bottled.EMPIRE SPRING,Situated on Spring avenue, at the head of Circular street, and near the base of a high limestone bluff, in the northerly part of the village, a few rods above the Star Spring, and about three-fourths of a mile from the Congress. Owned by the Congress and Empire Spring Company. O.H. Cromwell, Superintendent.History.Mineral water was known to trickle down the bank at this point ever since the land was cleared of its primitive shrubs. It was not till the year 1846 that the fountain was taken incharge. The tubing is eleven feet, and fits closely to the rock. Messrs. Weston and Co., the early proprietors, made extensive improvements in the grounds surrounding, planting shade trees, etc., and during the past year the opening of Spring avenue has rendered the place more attractive.Properties.The water of this spring has a general resemblance to that of the Congress. In the cathartic effects of the two waters the difference is scarcely appreciable, although from the presence of a larger quantity of magnesia in the Congress, its operation is perhaps somewhat more pungent. The Empire is highly esteemed for the treatment of obscure and chronic diseases requiring alterative and diuretic remedies. It is also recommended as a preventive or remedy for the diseases natural to warm climates, especially intermittent, gastric and bilious fevers, dysenteries and disorders of the liver. The directions for using are the same as for the Congress.EUREKA MINERAL SPRINGIs situated on Lake avenue, and on Spring avenue, about a mile east of Broadway, and a few rods beyond the Excelsior Spring. Eureka Spring Company, proprietors. A.R. Dyett, Esq., President.The location of the spring is in the midst of very romantic and picturesque scenery, embracing a beautiful park of some twenty-five acres. Since the water was analyzed the fountain has been retubed, and its quality improved. It is serviceable in dyspepsia and all diseases and affections of the liver and kidneys, and is classed among saline and cathartic waters.It resembles in taste and appearance the other Saratoga waters. The New York office of the Eureka Spring Company, for the sale of their bottled water, is at No. 7Hudson R.R.R. Depot, Varick street. Mr Benj. J. Levy is the agent.Within a few steps of the Eureka, and belonging to the same company, is the White Sulphur Spring and bathing-house. The water of the White Sulphur Spring is an hepatic water of an excellent character, possessing, as the company claim every essential element to render it equal for internal use to the best White Sulphur waters in this State, and far superior to most of them. The company have erected a commodious bath-house, containing fifty bath-rooms, with every convenience for warm and cold baths, at a moderate price.Frequent omnibuses convey passengers to and from these springs for 25 cents, passing the principal hotels.THE EXCELSIOR SPRINGTHE EXCELSIOR SPRINGIs found in a beautiful valley, and amid most romantic scenery, about a mile east of the town hall. The principal entrance to this spring is on Lake avenue, about half a mile east of Circular street. Another route is via Springavenue, by which we pass a majority of the other springs, and also the Loughberry water-works which supply the village of Saratoga Springs with water from the Excelsior Lake by the celebrated Holly system. Just before us, as we reach a point where the avenue turns towards the Excelsior, is the fine summer hotel known as the Mansion House, and the pretty cottage residence of Mr. Henry Lawrence.BOTTLE MARK. TRADE MARK.BOTTLE MARK. TRADE MARK.History.The Excelsior Spring has been appreciated for its valuable qualities by some of the oldest visitors of Saratoga for more than half a century. The water, however, was not generally known to the public until in 1859, when Mr. H.H. Lawrence, the former owner, and father of the present proprietors, retubed the spring at a considerable expense, having excavated it to a depth of fifty-six feet, eleven of which are in the solid rock. By this improvement the water flows with all its properties undeteriorated, retaining from source to outlet its original purity and strength. Since then, the present proprietors, under the firm of A.R. Lawrence & Co., by a new and improved method of bottling and barreling the Excelsior water under its own hydrostaticpressure, have given it an increased reputation and it is rapidly attaining a wide-spread popularity.Properties.The water of this spring is a pleasantcathartic, and has also alterative and tonic properties, and is moreover a very delightful beverage. Two or three glasses in the morning is the dose as a cathartic. As an alterative and diuretic, it should be taken in small quantities during the day. We have seen stronger commendations of this water from the highest medical authority than of any other.Exportation of the Water.After a refreshing draught from this sparkling and delicious fountain, let us not fail to examine the proprietors' peculiar and very perfect method of bottling and barreling the Excelsior water by its own hydrostatic pressure. Since last season a handsome brick bottling-house has replaced the ancient wooden structure. Entering this bottling-house we find our way to a capacious and well-lighted cellar, in which we discover a perpendicular opening some ten feet in diameter; this proves to be a circular brick vault, in whose depths the process of filling is performed. Twelve feet below the surface of the spring a block tin tube conveys the water into reservoirs placed at the bottom of this vault. These reservoirs are strong oak barrels, lined with pure block tin in such a manner as to be perfectly gas-tight, and furnished with two tubes, one quite short and the other extending from the top to the bottom of the reservoir. Then, by filling the reservoirs through the long tube by hydrostatic pressure, the air is excluded, while the gas is not allowed to escape. When sold on draught, it is necessary simply to connect the long tube with the draught tube, and the short tube with an air pump, when the water can be forced out by the pressureof the air, and will flow forth sparkling and delicious as at the spring, without being re-charged with gas.GEYSER SPRING THE SPOUTING SPRINGHaving concluded our investigation, and tarried to notice theMinnehaha, Union, and other springs which bubble up in this immediate vicinity, we have now the choice of continuing along the banks of a winding stream to the Eureka and White Sulphur Springs, or of returning by the way of Lake avenue. But should we prefer the healthful exercise of walking, we may dismiss our carriage and stroll into those magnificent woods that border the hill and valley for half a mile between Excelsior Spring and the village. Through them there is a wide and shady path, well known to visitors who love the picturesque, and along its winding way is found the shortest walk to the center of the village.The beauty of this region would seem to indicate it as the proper site for the future Central Park of Saratoga.THE GEYSER SPOUTING SPRINGIs about a mile and a half below the village, on the Ballston road, and near the railroad. Business address, "Geyser Spring."History.This wonderful mineral fountain was discovered in February. 1870. There had been indications of mineral water in this neighborhood, which had been noticed for a long time. The building which is now used as a bottling-house, and beneath which the spring was found, was used as a bolt factory. The proprietors, Messrs. Vail and Seavy, determined to bore for a spring. They were successful, and when they had reached a point 140 feet below the surface rock, they struck the mineral vein. The water immediately burst forth with vehemence, and the marvelous phenomenon of a spouting spring was established.The orifice bored in the rock is five and a half inches indiameter and 140 feet deep. The tubing is a block tin pipe, encased with iron, eighty-five feet in length and two inches in diameter. The diameter of the orifice of the tube is three-eighths of an inch. The tube is firmly secured at the bottom, and "seed bags" are filled in around it, so that all the water and gas is compelled to enter the tube, thereby preventing the possibility of adulteration. The fact that the spring is located 140 feet beneath the solid rock renders it free from all impurities of surface waters.Peculiarities.The water is thrown up by the action of its own carbonic acid gas, with great force, producing a fountain jet very attractive in appearance. The height of the fountain is twenty-five feet. A portion of the stream is allowed to flow through a hollow globe of glass, and large bubbles of gas of a bright pearl color rising in rapid succession through the water, form a beautiful addition to the attractiveness of the fountain. The curious will find an opportunity to obtain a sniff of pure gas at a wooden tube, near the bottling room, where water is drawn for bottling.It is noticeable that when a portion of the stream is allowed to flow through another tube to the bottling-room, the fountain spouts to an unusual height.Properties.The water, as shown by the analysis, is a powerfulcathartic, and contains a larger amount of valuable medicinal properties than any other spring at Saratoga. The dose is from one to two glasses. The temperature of the spring is 46 deg. Fahr., being only 14 deg. from the freezing point. As the water is drawn from the fountain it foams like soda water, from the great abundance of carbonic acid gas, which gives to the water its agreeable taste.During the two years since its discovery the water has beenintroduced all over the Union, and is now to be obtained in the principal cities of America and Europe.A beautiful ravine, cascade and lake, and a sulphur spring also are in the immediate vicinity south of the spring. Seats are provided and the pleasure seeker will find a few hours in this locality a delightful recreation. The Geyser Spring is one of the chief attractions of Saratoga, and no visitor should fail to see it and taste its sparkling water.THE GLACIER SPOUTING SPRING,"Sparkling, rippling, and dancing about,Freighted with health and brilliant with light,Soothing the ear and entrancing the sight."May be found in a little valley east of the railroad and directly opposite the Geyser Spring, about a mile south of the village. Button & Gibbs, proprietors.GLACIER SPRINGIt was discovered in Sept. 1871, and is the most remarkable fountain in the world. It discharges from four to eight gallons per minute, spouting through a quarter inch nozzle to a height of fifty-two feet, or through a half inch nozzle forty feet, pouring forth a perfect suds of water and gas.History.In the spring of 1870, Mr. Jesse Button, having been employed to sink the Geyser well, was so successful that he wasinduced to bore for another spring on land owned by D. Gibbs, Esq., in this locality. Mineral water was found at no great depth, but in no considerable quantity. The well was sunk 220 feet in the slate rock, reaching the magnesian limestone. At this point the mineral water could be made to spout for a few moments, occasionally, by agitating it with a sand-pump. The stream, however, was quite small, and as Mr. Button was called elsewhere, the project was temporarily abandoned. In Sept., 1871, boring was resumed. The diameter of the well which had been sank was four and three-fourths inches. It was made an inch larger, tapering toward the bottom, and the well was continued through the magnesian limestone to the Trenton limestone, making a total depth of 300 feet. Having reached this point the water spouted forth with great force. The well was at once carefully tubed.Properties.The water is very concentrated, and small doses are all that is required. It will bear dilution with fresh water much better then milk. It seems to have not only strong cathartic properties, but a special action upon the kidneys and liver. For medicinal purposes it promises to equal any in Saratoga.As an object of curiosity and interest, the Glacier Spring is unequaled in Saratoga, and it will doubtless speedily become a popular resort.HAMILTON SPRING.On Spring street, corner of Putnam, in the rear of Congress Hall, and a short distance from Hathorn Spring. Its principal action isdiureticand, in large doses, cathartic. The mineral ingredients are the same as those of the other springs, but, owing to the peculiar combination, themedicinal effects are widely different. It has been found of great service in kidney complaints. From one to three glasses during the day is the usual dose. It should be used under the prescription of a physician, and warm drinks should not be taken immediately after. Persons suffering from "a cold" should not drink this water. It is not bottled.THE HATHORN SPRINGIs situated immediately north of Congress Hall, on Spring street. H.H. Hathorn, proprietor.History.The spring was discovered in 1868 by workmen engaged in excavating for the foundations of a brick building for Congress Hall ball-room. At the time of discovery its waters contained more mineral substances than any other spring at Saratoga. During the past winter a defect in the tubing has led the proprietors to retube it very carefully and at great expense. At the recent retubing two streams were found and carefully tubed, one of which discharges sixty gallons per minute.Properties.It is a powerfulcathartic. Since its discovery it has achieved a wonderful popularity and a high reputation in all sections of the country. In nearly all cases when a powerful cathartic is needed its effects are excellent, benefiting those on whom the milder waters produce little effect.Persons whose alimentary organs are very sensitive, or in an inflammatory condition, should not imbibe large quantities.There is an unusual amount of lithia in the water, which increases its medicinal value.THE HIGH ROCK SPRINGIs located on Willow walk, between the Seltzer and the Star Springs.HIGH ROCK SPRING.HIGH ROCK SPRING.The High Rock is the oldest in point of discovery of the Saratoga springs. As early as 1767, Sir Wm. Johnson was brought to it on a litter by his Indian friends. It is noted for the most remarkable natural curiosity of the vicinity, certainly. The following interesting description of this rock is by Prof. Chandler: "The spring rises in a little mound of stone, three or four feet high, which appears like aminiature volcano, except that sparkling water instead of melted lava flows from its little crater. When Sir William Johnson visited the spring, and in fact until quite recently, the water did not overflow the mound, but came to within a few inches of the summit; some other hidden outlet permitting its escape. The Indians had a tradition, however, which was undoubtedly true, that the water formerly flowed over the rim of the opening. A few years ago (1866) the property changed hands, and the new owners, convinced that by stopping the lateral outlet they could cause the water to issue again from the mouth of the rock, employed a number of men to undermine the mound, and with a powerful hoisting derrick to lift it off and set it one side, that the spring might be explored."If you will examine the cut which presents a vertical section of the spring, you will be able to follow me as I tell you what they found."Just below the mound were found four logs, two of which rested upon the other, two at right angles, forming a curb. Under the logs were bundles of twigs resting upon the dark-brown or black soil of a previous swamp. Evidently some ancient seekers after health had found the spring in the swamp, and to make it more convenient to secure the water had piled brush around it, and then laid down the logs as a curb. But you inquire, how came the rock, which weighed several tons, above the logs? The rock was formed by the water. It is composed of tufa, carbonate of lime, and was formed in the same manner as stalactites and stalagmites are formed. As the water flowed over the logs, the evaporation of a portion of the carbonic acid gas caused the separation of an equivalent quantity of insoluble carbonate of lime, which, layer by layer, built up the mound. A fragment of the rock which I possess contains leaves, twigs, hazel nuts, and snail shells, which, falling from time to time upon it, were incrusted and finally imprisoned in the stony mass.SECTION OF HIGH ROCKSECTION OF HIGH ROCKAnalysis of a Fragment of the RockCarbonate of lime95.17Carbonate of magnesia2.49Sesquioxide of iron0.07Alumina0.22Sand and clay0.09Organic matter1.11Moisture0.39Undetermined0.46———100.00"Below the rocks the workmen followed the spring through four feet of tufa and muck. Then they came to a layer of solid tufa two feet thick, then one foot of muck in which they found another log. Below this were three feet of tufa, and there seventeen feet below the apex of the mound they found the embers and charcoal of an ancient fire. By whom and when could the fire have been built? The Indian tradition went back only to the time when the water overflowed the rock. How many centuries may have elapsed since even the logs were placed in their position? A grave philosopher of the famous watering-place, remembering that botanists determine the age of trees by counting the rings on the section of the stems and noticing the layers in the tufa rock, polished a portion of the surface, and counted eighty-one layers to the inch. He forthwith made the following calculation:High Rock, 4 feet 80 lines to the inch3,840yearsMuck and tufa, 7 feet low estimate400"Tufa, 2 feet 25 lines to the inch600"Muck, 1 foot130"Tufa, 3 feet900"———Time since the fire was built5,870""As I have seen half an inch of tufa formed in two years on a brick which received the overflow from a spout of water containing only twenty grams of carbonate of lime in a gallon, I am inclined to think our antiquarian's estimates are not entirely reliable."[A]PAVILION SPRING.PAVILION SPRING.The rock has been replaced over the spring, and the water now flows over it. A very beautiful and expensive colonnade has been built over the rock by the "High Rock Congress Spring Company." This company was formed in 1866, and was inaugurated under favorable auspices and with brilliant prospects of success. But thoughfounded on a rock, it was not successful in withstanding the storms. Whether the rock was too slippery, or the Spring rains too severe, or what was the slip-up, or rather slip-down, we do not presume to say, but the company failed, and the spring was sold at auction during the present month for $16,000.Those who invested their dollars in it sank them in awell, and unlike "bread cast upon the waters," they do not seem to return again.A new company has been organized, and under their direction the spring is being retubed. With honest and careful management it ought to be profitable to the owners and conducive to the health of the public.FOOTNOTE:[A]A lecture on Water by C.H. Chandler, Ph.D., delivered at the American Institute.PAVILION SPRING.A few steps from Broadway, in a somewhat secluded valley, though in the very centre of Saratoga and directly at the head of Spring avenue (now being completed), bubble up the clear and sparkling water of the Pavilion Spring.The pleasure seeker strolling up Broadway is directed by a modest sign down Lake avenue to "Pavilion Spring and Park." A few steps, less than half a block, brings him to the handsome arched gateway of this very pretty park in which one can pass the time as pleasantly as could be wished. The colonnade over the spring is one of the most elegant of its class. It was erected in 1869, at acost of over $6,000, and is a fine ornament to the park. The United States Spring is under the same colonnade. Our cut is a very faithful likeness of the grounds.History.The spring was originally owned by the Walton family. Though long known, its situation was such, being in the midst of a deep morass, that the owners took no steps towards tubing it. In 1839 it passed into the hands of Mr. Daniel McLaren, who tubed it at a heavy expense and trouble by sinking a crib twenty-two feet square to a depth of forty feet. A tube was constructed in the form of a boot, and to render the ground dry and firm around it several tons of iron filings from Troy were packed around.When the work was finished, the water was bottled to some extent and was a favorite drink with many of the citizens. It was then esteemed as a tonic spring. In 1868 it was retubed and the tube extended down ten feet further to the sandstone rock. Clay was used for the packing, and the water has since been of a finer flavor and of cathartic properties. At this time the spring became the property of the Pavilion and United States Spring Co., composed of enterprising business men, under whose management the grounds have been rendered quite attractive and the water is becoming celebrated as one of the leading cathartic springs of far-famed Saratoga.Properties.There is a liveliness and pungency to this water which makes it a pleasant beverage. An abundance of gas, so much desired in a mineral spring, is so intimately associated with the water, and is so well "fixed" as to hold the medicinal constituents in a clear and permanent solution. The property of the water is cathartic, affecting more or less, however, all the secretions. It is of special service indyspepsia, biliousness, rheumatism, etc. A half a glass to a glass, drank after hearty meals, will relieve at once the distress from which so many suffer. Medical men recommend the water also for kidney disease.While stronger than the milder waters which require so large potions to be effective, it is not characterized by the harshness and irritating power of some of the more recently discovered springs. It seems to us a sort of golden mean between the two extremes.The water bottles nicely, and is sent to every part of the Union. It is also sold on draught. Persons becoming attached to it while at Saratoga, can thus easily obtain it at any time in a manner only equaled by that dipped from the spring. The sale of this, as well as of nearly all mineral waters, is conducted almost exclusively by druggists.The business address of the proprietors is "Pavilion & U.S. Spring Company, 113 Chambers street, N.Y.," to whom orders should be addressed.PUTNAM SPRING,On Phila street, near Broadway. Used chiefly for bathing purposes. It is a tonic or chalybeate, and, as this goes to press, is being retubed. The proprietor, Mr. Lewis Putnam, is the oldest native resident of Saratoga.THE RED SPRING.This spring is located on Spring avenue, a short distance beyond the Empire, at the junction of Geneva and Warren streets. Red Spring Co., proprietors.RED SPRING.RED SPRING.History.It was discovered soon after the Revolutionary war, by a Mr. Norton, who had been driven from the place fromfear of hostile Indians during the war, and who returned about the year 1784 to re-occupy and improve some buildings erected by him for the accommodation of a few invalids who came to visit the High Rock, Flat Rock, President and Red Springs. No other springs were known at that time, or for many years after. Nearly a hundred years ago the first bath-house ever built at Saratoga was erected at the Red Spring, and was used for the cure of all kinds of eruptive and skin diseases for many years. Through the neglect of the owners, this spring, with others near, was allowed to fall into an impure condition; the tubes rotted out, and for a number of years the water of the Red Spring was only used for washing sore eyes, bad ulcers, and the cure of salt rheum, etc. The springs of Ballston, and the valuable qualities of Congress water, drew public attention away from these springs, and it was only a few years since that the present owners of the spring retubed and secured this valuable water for public use. The reputation it had long sustained as a powerful alterative for the cure of blood diseases was confirmed; and for several years this water has been used with growing confidence and wonderful results.Properties.In a general sense its therapeutic effects are alterative, and it possesses a particular adaptation to inflamed mucous surfaces; scrofula in all its forms, dyspepsia in its worst conditions, and kidney difficulties, with every kind of skin disease, including salt rheum, which it never fails to cure, are prominent among the diseases cured by the use of this water.Its general effect is to tone up the system, regulate the secretions and vitalize the blood, thereby creating a better appetite and better assimilation.The analysis of this water does not indicate any propertiesthat can account for its astonishing effects on disease, but they are supposed to be owing to itspeculiar combination. Scientific men, however, differ in regard to this point and in regard to the analysis.A greater number ofinvalidsare now using this water than from all the other springs in the place. This water is not used as a beverage. More than a hundred gallons per day are taken away byreal invalids, besides that drank at the spring. To become acquainted with its wonderful cures one needs only to go there and spend an hour conversing with those who are using it for their various ailments. The water is used at all hours of the day and a short time is all that is needed to learn the high estimation in which it is held as a remedial agent.SARATOGA "A" SPRING.The "A" Spring is situated on Spring avenue, a little beyond the Empire Spring, on the eastern side of a steep bluff of calciferous sand rock, upon grounds which could be made quite attractive by a moderate outlay.History.The memory of that reverend being, the oldest inhabitant does not recall the time when the existence of mineral water in this immediate locality was not known. As the merits of spring waters were so little known and understood in the earlier days of their discovery, the demand was far below the supply, and no attempt was made to introduce this spring to public attention, nor any provision for the use of its waters. In 1865, Messrs. Western & Co. purchased the property, and at once instituted plans for securing the fountain; and a shaft twelve feet square was sunk to the depth of sixteen feet. The surface above the rock consists of bluish marl, similar to that found all alongthis mineral valley. A tube, in the usual form, was placed over the spring, and clay was used as packing around it. In the spring of the next year the fountain was more perfectly secured by a new tubing, and the water was bottled and shipped all over the country.An ill wind seemed to be blowing, and in 1867 the bottling-house was nearly destroyed by fire; and the spring was again retubed to the depth ofthirty-twofeet, going down to the solid rock, where one of the most perfect veins of water was found flowing in all its original purity, which was secured with the greatest care, in order to prevent the mixture of sulphurous or other waters, and carried to the surface through a tube made of maple.At present the spring itself is protected by a temporary structure, while the water is bottled in a portion of the original building which was not destroyed by fire. The spring is at some little distance from the business part of Saratoga, and, since the bottling-house was destroyed no special efforts have been made to attract a crowd of visitors, though many who know the virtues of the water take the pains and trouble to go out of their way to obtain it, fresh from the spring in all its purity, as it is held in the highest estimation by all who have used it. We believe it is the intention of the present management to rebuild the houses and ornament the surroundings either this summer or next.Of the original company, Jay Gould was President, and John F. Henry, Secretary. The officers of the present company are, John F. Henry, President; B.S. Barrett, Secretary, and Edwin F. Stevens, Treasurer. Mr. Henry is well known as the leading druggist in America and the largest dealer in proprietary medicines in the world.PropertiesThe water possesses a very agreeable taste and flavor, resembling in many respects the favorite Congress. Its principal action is alterative and cathartic.SELTZER SPRING."Saratoga Seltzer Spring Co.," proprietors. Perhaps no one of the springs gratifies the curious more than the Seltzer.It is situated about 150 feet from the High Rock Spring, but, although in such close proximity thereto, its water is entirely different, thus illustrating the wonderful extent and capacity of nature's subterranean laboratory.Peculiarities.The owners of the Seltzer Spring have an ingenious contrivance for exhibiting the flow of the water and its gas. It consists of a glass tube, three feet in height and fifteen inches in diameter, nicely adjusted to the mouth of the spring, through which the sweet, clear, sparkling water gushes in a steady volume, while, faster than the water, bubble up the glittering globules of pure carbonic acid gas.History.The spring was discovered several years ago, but only recently was it tubed so as to be available. The tube extends down thirty-four feet to the surface of the foundation rock. The crevice in the rock through which the water issues is about twelve inches by five. The column of water above the rock is thirty-seven feet high. The flow of gas is abundant and constant, but every few minutes, as the watchful visitor will observe, there is a momentary ebullition of an extraordinary quantity which causes the water in the tube to boil over the rim. Whenthe sunshine falls upon the fountain it presents a beautiful appearance.This is a genuine Seltzer spring. The character of the water is almost identical with that of the celebrated Nassau Spring of Germany, which is justly esteemed so delicious by the natives of the "Fatherland." Our German citizens, with their usual sagacity, have discovered this fact, and the consumption of the water by them is daily on the increase.The importance of this American Seltzer Spring will be somewhat appreciated by the reader, when informed of the fact that nearly two millions of stone jugs, holding one quart each, of the Nassau Seltzer are annually exported from Germany.Properties.The water of this spring is very pleasant to the taste, being slightly acidulous and saline, but much milder than that of the other Saratoga springs. It is an agreeable and wholesome beverage. When mixed with still wines, etc., it adds the peculiar flavor only to be derived from a pure, natural Seltzer. It enlivens them and gives them the character of sparkling wines.Saratoga possesses numerous objects of interest for the German population, surpassing even the famous Spas of Europe, and the discovery of the Seltzer will doubtless attract large numbers of this intelligent and genial people.The analyses of the Saratoga and the German Seltzer springs are almost identical.No people in the world, perhaps, consider a summer's excursion to a watering place so absolutely essential to life, physically, dietetically, morally and politically considered, as the Germans, and we are happy to know that they are beginning to realize the attractions of Saratoga.STAR SPRING.STAR SPRING.The United States Spring is also successfully used for mixing with the still wines, and is attaining a popularity among the Germans.THE STAR SPRINGIs located on Spring avenue near the termination of Circular street. Star Spring Co., proprietors, Melvin Wright, Superintendent.History.Under the name of President Spring, and afterwards Iodine Spring, the fountain now called the Star has been known for nearly a century; long enough to test its merits and long enough to sink it in oblivion if it possessed no merits. Its lustre is undimmed, and it promises to be a star that shall never set. During these many years a goodly proportion of tottering humanity have found in this spring an amendment to their several crippled constitutions. It was first tubed in 1835. In 1865 the Star Spring Co. was formed, and in the following year the spring was retubed under their direction. In 1870 they erected the finest bottling-house in Saratoga. Great care is taken to preserve the spring in a pure condition and perfect repair. The water has become immensely popular in New England, where it is "the spring," and throughout the United States and Canada.For Commercial Use.The water is sold in cases of quarts and pints, and besides, owing to the large amount of gas which is finely incorporated with the water, the company are enabled to supply families with it in kegs of fifteen gallons, in which the water keeps as well as in bottles, and at one-fourth toone-sixth the cost. This method seems to give entire satisfaction and is fast coming into general use. This is the only spring that supplies the water in bulk to families. The price to druggists in bulk is twenty cents per gallon, to families $4 per half barrel, to the trade in cases at $21 per gross for pints, and $30 per gross for quarts.Properties.The Star water is mildly cathartic, has a pleasant, slightly acid taste, gentle and healthy in its action, and yet powerful in its effects.It is far more desirable for general use as a cathartic than the preparations of the apothecary.Rev. Dr. Cuyler, in one of his peculiarly charming letters, gives the Star Water preference over all others as an active and efficient cathartic.THE TEN SPRINGS.This is the name which was formerly given to several springs in the immediate vicinity of the Excelsior, and embracing the Union and the Minnehaha, which have been recently tubed. The other springs have been neglected, and the name "Ten Springs" has been abandoned.THE UNITED STATES SPRINGIs located under the same colonnade as the Pavilion, and less than ten feet distant from it. When the Pavilion was being retubed, in 1868, a new spring was discovered flowing from the east (the Pavilion and nearly all the other springs flowing from the west). It has been carefully tubed and christened the United States. It seems to be tonic in its properties, with only a very slight cathartic effect. It is now used for mixing with the still wines byour German citizens, who find in it the virtues of their own Nassau Spring. There are very few of the Saratoga waters that can be used successfully with the red and white wines, the presence of a very large proportion of chloride of sodium being considered an objection. The United States Spring seems to fully answer the purpose, giving to the wines a rich flavor and sparkling character.It is a matter of surprise to visitors that two springs, welling up their waters so near together, should yet be widely different. Where nature in her subterranean laboratory obtains all the elements, and how she can manage that from one crevice shall issue a water whose ingredients shall never materially differ, and whose temperature shall remain constant throughout the year, while within a few feet she sends up an equally unvarying, and yet widely different spring, is indeed a problem, and the oftener one reflects on subjects of this kind, the oftener is the old fashioned observation repeated, that "let a man go where he will, Omnipotence is never from his view."THE WASHINGTON SPRINGIs situated in the grounds of the Clarendon Hotel, on South Broadway.History.This fountain was the first tubed in this mineral valley, being opened by Gideon Putnam, in 1806. It was used for bathing purposes chiefly. Dr. Steel writes of it in 1828, that it is "found of eminent service when applied to old, ill-conditioned ulcers, and obstinate eruptions of the skin." A cluster of bushes formed a shelter for the external use of the water.In 1858 a shaft eleven feet square was sunk round the spring to a depth of thirty feet. The stream seemed tocome from a lateral direction, and a tunnel was excavated for a distance of thirty feet. At this point the earth gave way, and the water and gas flowed in so suddenly that the workmen hardly escaped with their lives, leaving their tools behind them. In fifteen minutes 12,000 gallons of water, and double that quantity of gas, filled the excavation. Rotary pumps, worked by a steam engine, were insufficient to remove the water. Another shaft, near the end of the tunnel, was sunk to a depth of twenty-eight feet, when the water burst into this also, and it had to be abandoned. A third shaft, twenty feet in diameter, and held by a strong coffer dam, was sunk southeast of the former. When the rock was reached two streams were found issuing from a fissure; one of them was tubed, and water rose to the surface.This brief sketch will give a little idea of the difficulties and dangers incident to the tubing of some of these springs.Properties.This is a chalybeate or iron spring, havingtonicand diuretic properties. It is not a saline water, and the peculiar inky taste of iron is perceptible. It should be drank in the afternoon or evening, before or after meals, or just before retiring. One glass is sufficient for tonic purposes. Many regard this as the most agreeable beverage in Saratoga. It is frequently called the "Champagne Spring" from its sparkling properties.The grounds in the immediate vicinity are very picturesque, and in the evening are lighted by gas. The Clarendon Band discourse their music on the neighboring piazza, and large numbers of fashionably attired people throng beneath the majestic pines, forming one of those peculiar group pictures which render Saratoga so charming.EUREKA WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGIs about a mile east of Broadway and only a few rods distant from the Eureka Mineral and the Ten Springs. Lake avenue and Spring avenue lead directly to it. Stages run between the spring and the village every hour, passing the principal hotels. Eureka Spring Co. are the proprietors.This istheSulphur Spring of Saratoga.It is said to be unsurpassed by any Sulphur spring in the State.Sulphuretted or hepatic waters acquire their peculiar properties from beds of pyrites or by passing through strata of bituminous shale and fœtic-oolitic beds. These we regard as organic sulphuretted waters, while the others are mineral.The mere presence of hydrosulphuric acid gas does not constitute an hepatic water: for the solid ingredients are essential; and these are found in that of the Eureka White Sulphur Spring, proving it to be a very valuable water. It is successfully used in the long list of diseases for which, sulphur water, both internally and externally, is so highly recommended by the medical faculty. Sulphur waters are very useful in the treatment of rheumatism, gout, neuralgia, and kindred diseases, and in glandular affections and certain chronic diseases of the stomach, liver, intestines, spleen, kidneys, bladder and uterus, and in dropsy, scrofula, chlorosis and mercurial diseases. It is beneficial, used both internally and externally in the form of baths at different degrees of temperature, best determined in each case by the physician under whose advice, as a general rule, they should be used. The water is highly beneficial in cutaneous diseases, inflamed eyes, etc. If the person is dyspeptic the non-gaseous water should be used in small doses. It may be as well to add that such waters should not be used if there is a tendency to cerebral disease, or in cases of consumption and cancer.
When taken before breakfast the water is a very pleasant and effective cathartic. Drank in moderate quantities throughout the day, it is a delightful, wholesome beverage, its effects being alterative and slightly tonic. It is successfullyused in affections of the liver and kidneys; and for chronic constipation, dyspepsia and gout it is highly valued. It has been employed in cases of renal calculi with decidedly beneficial results.
Crowds gather round the fountain in the early summer morning to win appetite for breakfast and life for the pleasures of the day. Old and young, sick and well, everybody, drinks, for the Congress fountain is as much the morning exchange as the ball-room is the resort of the evening.
Prof. G.F. Chandler, the leading chemist in America, says: "The peculiar excellence of the far-famed Congress spring is due to the fact that it contains very much less iron than any other spring, and that it contains, in the most desirable proportions, those substances which produce its agreeable flavor and satisfactory medicinal effects; neither holding them in excess, nor lacking in anything that is desirable in this class of waters."
In submitting a new analysis (which appears elsewhere) Prof. Chandler writes,—"A comparison of this with the analysis made by Dr. John H. Steel in 1832, proves that Congress water still retains its original strength, and all the virtues which established its well merited reputation." Higher authority there is none.
It should be remembered that the water of this spring is sold inbottles only. What purports to be Congress water for sale on draught in various places throughout the country is not genuine. The artificial preparations thus imposed upon the public may have a certain resemblance in taste and appearance, but are frequently worse than worthless for medicinal purposes.
In Congress Park, under the Grecian Dome, near the Congress spring, Congress and Empire Spring Co., proprietors.
COLUMBIAN SPRING.COLUMBIAN SPRING.
This spring was opened in 1806 by Gideon Putnam. The water issues from the natural rock about seven feet below the surface of the ground, and is protected by heavy wooden tubing. It is the most popular spring among the residents of Saratoga. The escaping bubbles of free carbonic acid gas give to the fountain a boiling motion. Large quantities of the gas can easily be collected at the mouth of the spring at any time.
It is a fine chalybeate or iron water, possessing strong tonic properties. It also has a diuretic action and is extensively used for that purpose. The water is recommended to be drank in small quantities frequently during the day, generallyprecededby the use of the cathartic waters taken before breakfast.
Only from one-half to one glass should be taken at a time. When taken in large quantities or before breakfast its effects might remind one of that great race in northern and central Europe,—the Teutonic (tootonic). A peculiar headache would certainly be experienced.
The proper use of this water is found to strengthen the tone of the stomach and to increase the red particles of the blood which, according to Liebeg, perform an important part in respiration. It has been proved by actual experiments that the number of red particles of the blood may bedoubledby the use of preparations of iron.
Though containing but 3.26 grains of iron in one gallon of water—Prof. Chandler's analysis—it is an evident and remarkable fact that the water thus weakly impregnated has a most perceptible iron taste in every drop. Is it much to be wondered at, then, that a mineral which has so extensive a power of affecting the palate, should possess equally extensive influence over the whole system? Many minerals in a dilute state of solution may pass easily through the absorbents, while in a more concentrated state they may be excluded. Carbonic acid gas, for instance, when diluted is readily inhaled, but when concentrated acts in a peculiar manner upon the wind-pipe so as to prevent its admission. So the happy medicinal effects of these iron waters seem to consist—to some extent—in the minute division of the mineral properties so that they are readily taken into the system.
EMPIRE SPRING AND BOTTLING-HOUSE.EMPIRE SPRING AND BOTTLING-HOUSE.
Is under the southern extremity of the new hotel. The proprietors have named it the Crystal Spring from the crystalline appearance of the water, which does not rise to the surface, but is pumped up from a depth of several feet. It was discovered in 1870 by experimental excavation. The characteristic, and to many disagreeable odor of sulphuretted hydrogen, is readily perceived. Sulphur veins, or iron pyrites, are found in all sections of this valley; one of the most provoking problems of the owners of the springs being to keep their fountains from a sulphur taint, the quantity and quality of which is not considered beneficial, while it injures the sale of the bottled water.
The Crystal Spring is somewhat alterative in its therapeutic effects.
Is near the railroad, between the Glacier and Geyser Springs. It has been known for a long time. The water flows through theslate rock, and, unlike any other spring at Saratoga, issues in a horizontal direction from the side of the hill. It is a very fine chalybeate, but is not bottled.
Situated on Spring avenue, at the head of Circular street, and near the base of a high limestone bluff, in the northerly part of the village, a few rods above the Star Spring, and about three-fourths of a mile from the Congress. Owned by the Congress and Empire Spring Company. O.H. Cromwell, Superintendent.
Mineral water was known to trickle down the bank at this point ever since the land was cleared of its primitive shrubs. It was not till the year 1846 that the fountain was taken incharge. The tubing is eleven feet, and fits closely to the rock. Messrs. Weston and Co., the early proprietors, made extensive improvements in the grounds surrounding, planting shade trees, etc., and during the past year the opening of Spring avenue has rendered the place more attractive.
The water of this spring has a general resemblance to that of the Congress. In the cathartic effects of the two waters the difference is scarcely appreciable, although from the presence of a larger quantity of magnesia in the Congress, its operation is perhaps somewhat more pungent. The Empire is highly esteemed for the treatment of obscure and chronic diseases requiring alterative and diuretic remedies. It is also recommended as a preventive or remedy for the diseases natural to warm climates, especially intermittent, gastric and bilious fevers, dysenteries and disorders of the liver. The directions for using are the same as for the Congress.
Is situated on Lake avenue, and on Spring avenue, about a mile east of Broadway, and a few rods beyond the Excelsior Spring. Eureka Spring Company, proprietors. A.R. Dyett, Esq., President.
The location of the spring is in the midst of very romantic and picturesque scenery, embracing a beautiful park of some twenty-five acres. Since the water was analyzed the fountain has been retubed, and its quality improved. It is serviceable in dyspepsia and all diseases and affections of the liver and kidneys, and is classed among saline and cathartic waters.
It resembles in taste and appearance the other Saratoga waters. The New York office of the Eureka Spring Company, for the sale of their bottled water, is at No. 7Hudson R.R.R. Depot, Varick street. Mr Benj. J. Levy is the agent.
Within a few steps of the Eureka, and belonging to the same company, is the White Sulphur Spring and bathing-house. The water of the White Sulphur Spring is an hepatic water of an excellent character, possessing, as the company claim every essential element to render it equal for internal use to the best White Sulphur waters in this State, and far superior to most of them. The company have erected a commodious bath-house, containing fifty bath-rooms, with every convenience for warm and cold baths, at a moderate price.
Frequent omnibuses convey passengers to and from these springs for 25 cents, passing the principal hotels.
THE EXCELSIOR SPRING
Is found in a beautiful valley, and amid most romantic scenery, about a mile east of the town hall. The principal entrance to this spring is on Lake avenue, about half a mile east of Circular street. Another route is via Springavenue, by which we pass a majority of the other springs, and also the Loughberry water-works which supply the village of Saratoga Springs with water from the Excelsior Lake by the celebrated Holly system. Just before us, as we reach a point where the avenue turns towards the Excelsior, is the fine summer hotel known as the Mansion House, and the pretty cottage residence of Mr. Henry Lawrence.
BOTTLE MARK. TRADE MARK.BOTTLE MARK. TRADE MARK.
The Excelsior Spring has been appreciated for its valuable qualities by some of the oldest visitors of Saratoga for more than half a century. The water, however, was not generally known to the public until in 1859, when Mr. H.H. Lawrence, the former owner, and father of the present proprietors, retubed the spring at a considerable expense, having excavated it to a depth of fifty-six feet, eleven of which are in the solid rock. By this improvement the water flows with all its properties undeteriorated, retaining from source to outlet its original purity and strength. Since then, the present proprietors, under the firm of A.R. Lawrence & Co., by a new and improved method of bottling and barreling the Excelsior water under its own hydrostaticpressure, have given it an increased reputation and it is rapidly attaining a wide-spread popularity.
The water of this spring is a pleasantcathartic, and has also alterative and tonic properties, and is moreover a very delightful beverage. Two or three glasses in the morning is the dose as a cathartic. As an alterative and diuretic, it should be taken in small quantities during the day. We have seen stronger commendations of this water from the highest medical authority than of any other.
After a refreshing draught from this sparkling and delicious fountain, let us not fail to examine the proprietors' peculiar and very perfect method of bottling and barreling the Excelsior water by its own hydrostatic pressure. Since last season a handsome brick bottling-house has replaced the ancient wooden structure. Entering this bottling-house we find our way to a capacious and well-lighted cellar, in which we discover a perpendicular opening some ten feet in diameter; this proves to be a circular brick vault, in whose depths the process of filling is performed. Twelve feet below the surface of the spring a block tin tube conveys the water into reservoirs placed at the bottom of this vault. These reservoirs are strong oak barrels, lined with pure block tin in such a manner as to be perfectly gas-tight, and furnished with two tubes, one quite short and the other extending from the top to the bottom of the reservoir. Then, by filling the reservoirs through the long tube by hydrostatic pressure, the air is excluded, while the gas is not allowed to escape. When sold on draught, it is necessary simply to connect the long tube with the draught tube, and the short tube with an air pump, when the water can be forced out by the pressureof the air, and will flow forth sparkling and delicious as at the spring, without being re-charged with gas.
GEYSER SPRING THE SPOUTING SPRING
Having concluded our investigation, and tarried to notice theMinnehaha, Union, and other springs which bubble up in this immediate vicinity, we have now the choice of continuing along the banks of a winding stream to the Eureka and White Sulphur Springs, or of returning by the way of Lake avenue. But should we prefer the healthful exercise of walking, we may dismiss our carriage and stroll into those magnificent woods that border the hill and valley for half a mile between Excelsior Spring and the village. Through them there is a wide and shady path, well known to visitors who love the picturesque, and along its winding way is found the shortest walk to the center of the village.
The beauty of this region would seem to indicate it as the proper site for the future Central Park of Saratoga.
Is about a mile and a half below the village, on the Ballston road, and near the railroad. Business address, "Geyser Spring."
This wonderful mineral fountain was discovered in February. 1870. There had been indications of mineral water in this neighborhood, which had been noticed for a long time. The building which is now used as a bottling-house, and beneath which the spring was found, was used as a bolt factory. The proprietors, Messrs. Vail and Seavy, determined to bore for a spring. They were successful, and when they had reached a point 140 feet below the surface rock, they struck the mineral vein. The water immediately burst forth with vehemence, and the marvelous phenomenon of a spouting spring was established.
The orifice bored in the rock is five and a half inches indiameter and 140 feet deep. The tubing is a block tin pipe, encased with iron, eighty-five feet in length and two inches in diameter. The diameter of the orifice of the tube is three-eighths of an inch. The tube is firmly secured at the bottom, and "seed bags" are filled in around it, so that all the water and gas is compelled to enter the tube, thereby preventing the possibility of adulteration. The fact that the spring is located 140 feet beneath the solid rock renders it free from all impurities of surface waters.
The water is thrown up by the action of its own carbonic acid gas, with great force, producing a fountain jet very attractive in appearance. The height of the fountain is twenty-five feet. A portion of the stream is allowed to flow through a hollow globe of glass, and large bubbles of gas of a bright pearl color rising in rapid succession through the water, form a beautiful addition to the attractiveness of the fountain. The curious will find an opportunity to obtain a sniff of pure gas at a wooden tube, near the bottling room, where water is drawn for bottling.
It is noticeable that when a portion of the stream is allowed to flow through another tube to the bottling-room, the fountain spouts to an unusual height.
The water, as shown by the analysis, is a powerfulcathartic, and contains a larger amount of valuable medicinal properties than any other spring at Saratoga. The dose is from one to two glasses. The temperature of the spring is 46 deg. Fahr., being only 14 deg. from the freezing point. As the water is drawn from the fountain it foams like soda water, from the great abundance of carbonic acid gas, which gives to the water its agreeable taste.
During the two years since its discovery the water has beenintroduced all over the Union, and is now to be obtained in the principal cities of America and Europe.
A beautiful ravine, cascade and lake, and a sulphur spring also are in the immediate vicinity south of the spring. Seats are provided and the pleasure seeker will find a few hours in this locality a delightful recreation. The Geyser Spring is one of the chief attractions of Saratoga, and no visitor should fail to see it and taste its sparkling water.
"Sparkling, rippling, and dancing about,Freighted with health and brilliant with light,Soothing the ear and entrancing the sight."
May be found in a little valley east of the railroad and directly opposite the Geyser Spring, about a mile south of the village. Button & Gibbs, proprietors.
GLACIER SPRING
It was discovered in Sept. 1871, and is the most remarkable fountain in the world. It discharges from four to eight gallons per minute, spouting through a quarter inch nozzle to a height of fifty-two feet, or through a half inch nozzle forty feet, pouring forth a perfect suds of water and gas.
In the spring of 1870, Mr. Jesse Button, having been employed to sink the Geyser well, was so successful that he wasinduced to bore for another spring on land owned by D. Gibbs, Esq., in this locality. Mineral water was found at no great depth, but in no considerable quantity. The well was sunk 220 feet in the slate rock, reaching the magnesian limestone. At this point the mineral water could be made to spout for a few moments, occasionally, by agitating it with a sand-pump. The stream, however, was quite small, and as Mr. Button was called elsewhere, the project was temporarily abandoned. In Sept., 1871, boring was resumed. The diameter of the well which had been sank was four and three-fourths inches. It was made an inch larger, tapering toward the bottom, and the well was continued through the magnesian limestone to the Trenton limestone, making a total depth of 300 feet. Having reached this point the water spouted forth with great force. The well was at once carefully tubed.
The water is very concentrated, and small doses are all that is required. It will bear dilution with fresh water much better then milk. It seems to have not only strong cathartic properties, but a special action upon the kidneys and liver. For medicinal purposes it promises to equal any in Saratoga.
As an object of curiosity and interest, the Glacier Spring is unequaled in Saratoga, and it will doubtless speedily become a popular resort.
On Spring street, corner of Putnam, in the rear of Congress Hall, and a short distance from Hathorn Spring. Its principal action isdiureticand, in large doses, cathartic. The mineral ingredients are the same as those of the other springs, but, owing to the peculiar combination, themedicinal effects are widely different. It has been found of great service in kidney complaints. From one to three glasses during the day is the usual dose. It should be used under the prescription of a physician, and warm drinks should not be taken immediately after. Persons suffering from "a cold" should not drink this water. It is not bottled.
Is situated immediately north of Congress Hall, on Spring street. H.H. Hathorn, proprietor.
The spring was discovered in 1868 by workmen engaged in excavating for the foundations of a brick building for Congress Hall ball-room. At the time of discovery its waters contained more mineral substances than any other spring at Saratoga. During the past winter a defect in the tubing has led the proprietors to retube it very carefully and at great expense. At the recent retubing two streams were found and carefully tubed, one of which discharges sixty gallons per minute.
It is a powerfulcathartic. Since its discovery it has achieved a wonderful popularity and a high reputation in all sections of the country. In nearly all cases when a powerful cathartic is needed its effects are excellent, benefiting those on whom the milder waters produce little effect.
Persons whose alimentary organs are very sensitive, or in an inflammatory condition, should not imbibe large quantities.
There is an unusual amount of lithia in the water, which increases its medicinal value.
Is located on Willow walk, between the Seltzer and the Star Springs.
HIGH ROCK SPRING.HIGH ROCK SPRING.
The High Rock is the oldest in point of discovery of the Saratoga springs. As early as 1767, Sir Wm. Johnson was brought to it on a litter by his Indian friends. It is noted for the most remarkable natural curiosity of the vicinity, certainly. The following interesting description of this rock is by Prof. Chandler: "The spring rises in a little mound of stone, three or four feet high, which appears like aminiature volcano, except that sparkling water instead of melted lava flows from its little crater. When Sir William Johnson visited the spring, and in fact until quite recently, the water did not overflow the mound, but came to within a few inches of the summit; some other hidden outlet permitting its escape. The Indians had a tradition, however, which was undoubtedly true, that the water formerly flowed over the rim of the opening. A few years ago (1866) the property changed hands, and the new owners, convinced that by stopping the lateral outlet they could cause the water to issue again from the mouth of the rock, employed a number of men to undermine the mound, and with a powerful hoisting derrick to lift it off and set it one side, that the spring might be explored.
"If you will examine the cut which presents a vertical section of the spring, you will be able to follow me as I tell you what they found.
"Just below the mound were found four logs, two of which rested upon the other, two at right angles, forming a curb. Under the logs were bundles of twigs resting upon the dark-brown or black soil of a previous swamp. Evidently some ancient seekers after health had found the spring in the swamp, and to make it more convenient to secure the water had piled brush around it, and then laid down the logs as a curb. But you inquire, how came the rock, which weighed several tons, above the logs? The rock was formed by the water. It is composed of tufa, carbonate of lime, and was formed in the same manner as stalactites and stalagmites are formed. As the water flowed over the logs, the evaporation of a portion of the carbonic acid gas caused the separation of an equivalent quantity of insoluble carbonate of lime, which, layer by layer, built up the mound. A fragment of the rock which I possess contains leaves, twigs, hazel nuts, and snail shells, which, falling from time to time upon it, were incrusted and finally imprisoned in the stony mass.
SECTION OF HIGH ROCKSECTION OF HIGH ROCK
Carbonate of lime95.17Carbonate of magnesia2.49Sesquioxide of iron0.07Alumina0.22Sand and clay0.09Organic matter1.11Moisture0.39Undetermined0.46———100.00
"Below the rocks the workmen followed the spring through four feet of tufa and muck. Then they came to a layer of solid tufa two feet thick, then one foot of muck in which they found another log. Below this were three feet of tufa, and there seventeen feet below the apex of the mound they found the embers and charcoal of an ancient fire. By whom and when could the fire have been built? The Indian tradition went back only to the time when the water overflowed the rock. How many centuries may have elapsed since even the logs were placed in their position? A grave philosopher of the famous watering-place, remembering that botanists determine the age of trees by counting the rings on the section of the stems and noticing the layers in the tufa rock, polished a portion of the surface, and counted eighty-one layers to the inch. He forthwith made the following calculation:
High Rock, 4 feet 80 lines to the inch3,840yearsMuck and tufa, 7 feet low estimate400"Tufa, 2 feet 25 lines to the inch600"Muck, 1 foot130"Tufa, 3 feet900"———Time since the fire was built5,870"
"As I have seen half an inch of tufa formed in two years on a brick which received the overflow from a spout of water containing only twenty grams of carbonate of lime in a gallon, I am inclined to think our antiquarian's estimates are not entirely reliable."[A]
PAVILION SPRING.PAVILION SPRING.
The rock has been replaced over the spring, and the water now flows over it. A very beautiful and expensive colonnade has been built over the rock by the "High Rock Congress Spring Company." This company was formed in 1866, and was inaugurated under favorable auspices and with brilliant prospects of success. But thoughfounded on a rock, it was not successful in withstanding the storms. Whether the rock was too slippery, or the Spring rains too severe, or what was the slip-up, or rather slip-down, we do not presume to say, but the company failed, and the spring was sold at auction during the present month for $16,000.
Those who invested their dollars in it sank them in awell, and unlike "bread cast upon the waters," they do not seem to return again.
A new company has been organized, and under their direction the spring is being retubed. With honest and careful management it ought to be profitable to the owners and conducive to the health of the public.
FOOTNOTE:
[A]A lecture on Water by C.H. Chandler, Ph.D., delivered at the American Institute.
A few steps from Broadway, in a somewhat secluded valley, though in the very centre of Saratoga and directly at the head of Spring avenue (now being completed), bubble up the clear and sparkling water of the Pavilion Spring.
The pleasure seeker strolling up Broadway is directed by a modest sign down Lake avenue to "Pavilion Spring and Park." A few steps, less than half a block, brings him to the handsome arched gateway of this very pretty park in which one can pass the time as pleasantly as could be wished. The colonnade over the spring is one of the most elegant of its class. It was erected in 1869, at acost of over $6,000, and is a fine ornament to the park. The United States Spring is under the same colonnade. Our cut is a very faithful likeness of the grounds.
The spring was originally owned by the Walton family. Though long known, its situation was such, being in the midst of a deep morass, that the owners took no steps towards tubing it. In 1839 it passed into the hands of Mr. Daniel McLaren, who tubed it at a heavy expense and trouble by sinking a crib twenty-two feet square to a depth of forty feet. A tube was constructed in the form of a boot, and to render the ground dry and firm around it several tons of iron filings from Troy were packed around.
When the work was finished, the water was bottled to some extent and was a favorite drink with many of the citizens. It was then esteemed as a tonic spring. In 1868 it was retubed and the tube extended down ten feet further to the sandstone rock. Clay was used for the packing, and the water has since been of a finer flavor and of cathartic properties. At this time the spring became the property of the Pavilion and United States Spring Co., composed of enterprising business men, under whose management the grounds have been rendered quite attractive and the water is becoming celebrated as one of the leading cathartic springs of far-famed Saratoga.
There is a liveliness and pungency to this water which makes it a pleasant beverage. An abundance of gas, so much desired in a mineral spring, is so intimately associated with the water, and is so well "fixed" as to hold the medicinal constituents in a clear and permanent solution. The property of the water is cathartic, affecting more or less, however, all the secretions. It is of special service indyspepsia, biliousness, rheumatism, etc. A half a glass to a glass, drank after hearty meals, will relieve at once the distress from which so many suffer. Medical men recommend the water also for kidney disease.
While stronger than the milder waters which require so large potions to be effective, it is not characterized by the harshness and irritating power of some of the more recently discovered springs. It seems to us a sort of golden mean between the two extremes.
The water bottles nicely, and is sent to every part of the Union. It is also sold on draught. Persons becoming attached to it while at Saratoga, can thus easily obtain it at any time in a manner only equaled by that dipped from the spring. The sale of this, as well as of nearly all mineral waters, is conducted almost exclusively by druggists.
The business address of the proprietors is "Pavilion & U.S. Spring Company, 113 Chambers street, N.Y.," to whom orders should be addressed.
On Phila street, near Broadway. Used chiefly for bathing purposes. It is a tonic or chalybeate, and, as this goes to press, is being retubed. The proprietor, Mr. Lewis Putnam, is the oldest native resident of Saratoga.
This spring is located on Spring avenue, a short distance beyond the Empire, at the junction of Geneva and Warren streets. Red Spring Co., proprietors.
RED SPRING.RED SPRING.
It was discovered soon after the Revolutionary war, by a Mr. Norton, who had been driven from the place fromfear of hostile Indians during the war, and who returned about the year 1784 to re-occupy and improve some buildings erected by him for the accommodation of a few invalids who came to visit the High Rock, Flat Rock, President and Red Springs. No other springs were known at that time, or for many years after. Nearly a hundred years ago the first bath-house ever built at Saratoga was erected at the Red Spring, and was used for the cure of all kinds of eruptive and skin diseases for many years. Through the neglect of the owners, this spring, with others near, was allowed to fall into an impure condition; the tubes rotted out, and for a number of years the water of the Red Spring was only used for washing sore eyes, bad ulcers, and the cure of salt rheum, etc. The springs of Ballston, and the valuable qualities of Congress water, drew public attention away from these springs, and it was only a few years since that the present owners of the spring retubed and secured this valuable water for public use. The reputation it had long sustained as a powerful alterative for the cure of blood diseases was confirmed; and for several years this water has been used with growing confidence and wonderful results.
In a general sense its therapeutic effects are alterative, and it possesses a particular adaptation to inflamed mucous surfaces; scrofula in all its forms, dyspepsia in its worst conditions, and kidney difficulties, with every kind of skin disease, including salt rheum, which it never fails to cure, are prominent among the diseases cured by the use of this water.
Its general effect is to tone up the system, regulate the secretions and vitalize the blood, thereby creating a better appetite and better assimilation.
The analysis of this water does not indicate any propertiesthat can account for its astonishing effects on disease, but they are supposed to be owing to itspeculiar combination. Scientific men, however, differ in regard to this point and in regard to the analysis.
A greater number ofinvalidsare now using this water than from all the other springs in the place. This water is not used as a beverage. More than a hundred gallons per day are taken away byreal invalids, besides that drank at the spring. To become acquainted with its wonderful cures one needs only to go there and spend an hour conversing with those who are using it for their various ailments. The water is used at all hours of the day and a short time is all that is needed to learn the high estimation in which it is held as a remedial agent.
The "A" Spring is situated on Spring avenue, a little beyond the Empire Spring, on the eastern side of a steep bluff of calciferous sand rock, upon grounds which could be made quite attractive by a moderate outlay.
The memory of that reverend being, the oldest inhabitant does not recall the time when the existence of mineral water in this immediate locality was not known. As the merits of spring waters were so little known and understood in the earlier days of their discovery, the demand was far below the supply, and no attempt was made to introduce this spring to public attention, nor any provision for the use of its waters. In 1865, Messrs. Western & Co. purchased the property, and at once instituted plans for securing the fountain; and a shaft twelve feet square was sunk to the depth of sixteen feet. The surface above the rock consists of bluish marl, similar to that found all alongthis mineral valley. A tube, in the usual form, was placed over the spring, and clay was used as packing around it. In the spring of the next year the fountain was more perfectly secured by a new tubing, and the water was bottled and shipped all over the country.
An ill wind seemed to be blowing, and in 1867 the bottling-house was nearly destroyed by fire; and the spring was again retubed to the depth ofthirty-twofeet, going down to the solid rock, where one of the most perfect veins of water was found flowing in all its original purity, which was secured with the greatest care, in order to prevent the mixture of sulphurous or other waters, and carried to the surface through a tube made of maple.
At present the spring itself is protected by a temporary structure, while the water is bottled in a portion of the original building which was not destroyed by fire. The spring is at some little distance from the business part of Saratoga, and, since the bottling-house was destroyed no special efforts have been made to attract a crowd of visitors, though many who know the virtues of the water take the pains and trouble to go out of their way to obtain it, fresh from the spring in all its purity, as it is held in the highest estimation by all who have used it. We believe it is the intention of the present management to rebuild the houses and ornament the surroundings either this summer or next.
Of the original company, Jay Gould was President, and John F. Henry, Secretary. The officers of the present company are, John F. Henry, President; B.S. Barrett, Secretary, and Edwin F. Stevens, Treasurer. Mr. Henry is well known as the leading druggist in America and the largest dealer in proprietary medicines in the world.
The water possesses a very agreeable taste and flavor, resembling in many respects the favorite Congress. Its principal action is alterative and cathartic.
"Saratoga Seltzer Spring Co.," proprietors. Perhaps no one of the springs gratifies the curious more than the Seltzer.
It is situated about 150 feet from the High Rock Spring, but, although in such close proximity thereto, its water is entirely different, thus illustrating the wonderful extent and capacity of nature's subterranean laboratory.
The owners of the Seltzer Spring have an ingenious contrivance for exhibiting the flow of the water and its gas. It consists of a glass tube, three feet in height and fifteen inches in diameter, nicely adjusted to the mouth of the spring, through which the sweet, clear, sparkling water gushes in a steady volume, while, faster than the water, bubble up the glittering globules of pure carbonic acid gas.
The spring was discovered several years ago, but only recently was it tubed so as to be available. The tube extends down thirty-four feet to the surface of the foundation rock. The crevice in the rock through which the water issues is about twelve inches by five. The column of water above the rock is thirty-seven feet high. The flow of gas is abundant and constant, but every few minutes, as the watchful visitor will observe, there is a momentary ebullition of an extraordinary quantity which causes the water in the tube to boil over the rim. Whenthe sunshine falls upon the fountain it presents a beautiful appearance.
This is a genuine Seltzer spring. The character of the water is almost identical with that of the celebrated Nassau Spring of Germany, which is justly esteemed so delicious by the natives of the "Fatherland." Our German citizens, with their usual sagacity, have discovered this fact, and the consumption of the water by them is daily on the increase.
The importance of this American Seltzer Spring will be somewhat appreciated by the reader, when informed of the fact that nearly two millions of stone jugs, holding one quart each, of the Nassau Seltzer are annually exported from Germany.
The water of this spring is very pleasant to the taste, being slightly acidulous and saline, but much milder than that of the other Saratoga springs. It is an agreeable and wholesome beverage. When mixed with still wines, etc., it adds the peculiar flavor only to be derived from a pure, natural Seltzer. It enlivens them and gives them the character of sparkling wines.
Saratoga possesses numerous objects of interest for the German population, surpassing even the famous Spas of Europe, and the discovery of the Seltzer will doubtless attract large numbers of this intelligent and genial people.
The analyses of the Saratoga and the German Seltzer springs are almost identical.
No people in the world, perhaps, consider a summer's excursion to a watering place so absolutely essential to life, physically, dietetically, morally and politically considered, as the Germans, and we are happy to know that they are beginning to realize the attractions of Saratoga.
STAR SPRING.STAR SPRING.
The United States Spring is also successfully used for mixing with the still wines, and is attaining a popularity among the Germans.
Is located on Spring avenue near the termination of Circular street. Star Spring Co., proprietors, Melvin Wright, Superintendent.
Under the name of President Spring, and afterwards Iodine Spring, the fountain now called the Star has been known for nearly a century; long enough to test its merits and long enough to sink it in oblivion if it possessed no merits. Its lustre is undimmed, and it promises to be a star that shall never set. During these many years a goodly proportion of tottering humanity have found in this spring an amendment to their several crippled constitutions. It was first tubed in 1835. In 1865 the Star Spring Co. was formed, and in the following year the spring was retubed under their direction. In 1870 they erected the finest bottling-house in Saratoga. Great care is taken to preserve the spring in a pure condition and perfect repair. The water has become immensely popular in New England, where it is "the spring," and throughout the United States and Canada.
The water is sold in cases of quarts and pints, and besides, owing to the large amount of gas which is finely incorporated with the water, the company are enabled to supply families with it in kegs of fifteen gallons, in which the water keeps as well as in bottles, and at one-fourth toone-sixth the cost. This method seems to give entire satisfaction and is fast coming into general use. This is the only spring that supplies the water in bulk to families. The price to druggists in bulk is twenty cents per gallon, to families $4 per half barrel, to the trade in cases at $21 per gross for pints, and $30 per gross for quarts.
The Star water is mildly cathartic, has a pleasant, slightly acid taste, gentle and healthy in its action, and yet powerful in its effects.
It is far more desirable for general use as a cathartic than the preparations of the apothecary.
Rev. Dr. Cuyler, in one of his peculiarly charming letters, gives the Star Water preference over all others as an active and efficient cathartic.
This is the name which was formerly given to several springs in the immediate vicinity of the Excelsior, and embracing the Union and the Minnehaha, which have been recently tubed. The other springs have been neglected, and the name "Ten Springs" has been abandoned.
Is located under the same colonnade as the Pavilion, and less than ten feet distant from it. When the Pavilion was being retubed, in 1868, a new spring was discovered flowing from the east (the Pavilion and nearly all the other springs flowing from the west). It has been carefully tubed and christened the United States. It seems to be tonic in its properties, with only a very slight cathartic effect. It is now used for mixing with the still wines byour German citizens, who find in it the virtues of their own Nassau Spring. There are very few of the Saratoga waters that can be used successfully with the red and white wines, the presence of a very large proportion of chloride of sodium being considered an objection. The United States Spring seems to fully answer the purpose, giving to the wines a rich flavor and sparkling character.
It is a matter of surprise to visitors that two springs, welling up their waters so near together, should yet be widely different. Where nature in her subterranean laboratory obtains all the elements, and how she can manage that from one crevice shall issue a water whose ingredients shall never materially differ, and whose temperature shall remain constant throughout the year, while within a few feet she sends up an equally unvarying, and yet widely different spring, is indeed a problem, and the oftener one reflects on subjects of this kind, the oftener is the old fashioned observation repeated, that "let a man go where he will, Omnipotence is never from his view."
Is situated in the grounds of the Clarendon Hotel, on South Broadway.
This fountain was the first tubed in this mineral valley, being opened by Gideon Putnam, in 1806. It was used for bathing purposes chiefly. Dr. Steel writes of it in 1828, that it is "found of eminent service when applied to old, ill-conditioned ulcers, and obstinate eruptions of the skin." A cluster of bushes formed a shelter for the external use of the water.
In 1858 a shaft eleven feet square was sunk round the spring to a depth of thirty feet. The stream seemed tocome from a lateral direction, and a tunnel was excavated for a distance of thirty feet. At this point the earth gave way, and the water and gas flowed in so suddenly that the workmen hardly escaped with their lives, leaving their tools behind them. In fifteen minutes 12,000 gallons of water, and double that quantity of gas, filled the excavation. Rotary pumps, worked by a steam engine, were insufficient to remove the water. Another shaft, near the end of the tunnel, was sunk to a depth of twenty-eight feet, when the water burst into this also, and it had to be abandoned. A third shaft, twenty feet in diameter, and held by a strong coffer dam, was sunk southeast of the former. When the rock was reached two streams were found issuing from a fissure; one of them was tubed, and water rose to the surface.
This brief sketch will give a little idea of the difficulties and dangers incident to the tubing of some of these springs.
This is a chalybeate or iron spring, havingtonicand diuretic properties. It is not a saline water, and the peculiar inky taste of iron is perceptible. It should be drank in the afternoon or evening, before or after meals, or just before retiring. One glass is sufficient for tonic purposes. Many regard this as the most agreeable beverage in Saratoga. It is frequently called the "Champagne Spring" from its sparkling properties.
The grounds in the immediate vicinity are very picturesque, and in the evening are lighted by gas. The Clarendon Band discourse their music on the neighboring piazza, and large numbers of fashionably attired people throng beneath the majestic pines, forming one of those peculiar group pictures which render Saratoga so charming.
Is about a mile east of Broadway and only a few rods distant from the Eureka Mineral and the Ten Springs. Lake avenue and Spring avenue lead directly to it. Stages run between the spring and the village every hour, passing the principal hotels. Eureka Spring Co. are the proprietors.
This istheSulphur Spring of Saratoga.It is said to be unsurpassed by any Sulphur spring in the State.Sulphuretted or hepatic waters acquire their peculiar properties from beds of pyrites or by passing through strata of bituminous shale and fœtic-oolitic beds. These we regard as organic sulphuretted waters, while the others are mineral.
The mere presence of hydrosulphuric acid gas does not constitute an hepatic water: for the solid ingredients are essential; and these are found in that of the Eureka White Sulphur Spring, proving it to be a very valuable water. It is successfully used in the long list of diseases for which, sulphur water, both internally and externally, is so highly recommended by the medical faculty. Sulphur waters are very useful in the treatment of rheumatism, gout, neuralgia, and kindred diseases, and in glandular affections and certain chronic diseases of the stomach, liver, intestines, spleen, kidneys, bladder and uterus, and in dropsy, scrofula, chlorosis and mercurial diseases. It is beneficial, used both internally and externally in the form of baths at different degrees of temperature, best determined in each case by the physician under whose advice, as a general rule, they should be used. The water is highly beneficial in cutaneous diseases, inflamed eyes, etc. If the person is dyspeptic the non-gaseous water should be used in small doses. It may be as well to add that such waters should not be used if there is a tendency to cerebral disease, or in cases of consumption and cancer.