The Washington herald., 1922-03-09

soil Cotloioe, py II. Ia Gile, OF
Buersu Of soils- The Eject Of
s. scofeld. Of Bureau of Plant
Industry.
SOME DELUsIONs ABOUT
MINERAL WATER.
Some Of the common deiusions
about- mineral waters were discuss
ed by w. ID. Collins. or the Geolog-
ical Survey, at the melting OF the
Geological Society at the Cosmos
Club last night.
In reports Of production OF min
ersl waters published by the United
States Geological Survey the term
mineral water is applied TO water
that is bottled and sold in its nat
urai state or only slightly altered
from its natural state" said Mr..
Collins. The term mineral water
has sometimes been used TO include
only water containing compare
lively large quantities OF mineral
matter, at least ten times the guam
tity contained in Washington tap
water, or waters used for medici-
nal purposes on account of their
supposed therapeutic properties.
eve nthough the mineral constitu-
ents might be practically the same
as those in most city supplies.
Although rather elaborate cIas-
sifications of waters have been
made on the basis Of certain salts
and usetul classification can be
made the basis of certain salts
which when dissolved would make
a solution that by chemical tests
would appear to be identical with
the water under consideration. So
dium salts make up practically all
the mineral matter Of most wsters
containing large quantities of dis
solved salts The waters at Vichy,
France. contain chiefly sodium BIZ
carbonate. cooking soda Most OF
the laxative waters contain mag
nesium sulphste, EPSON salt, or
the corresponding sodium sulphate.
Glauber's salt. A few medicinal
waters contain large quantities OF
sodium chloride, table salt These
sodium salts make up only a small
part Of the mineral matter in most
/ waters that contain moderate
amounts Of soluble material: the
larger part consists of calcium and
magnesium bicsrbonstes. This is
true of the public water supplies
Ot-Hearly all large cities.
'-One common delusion in regard
to mineral waters is that a spring
water is better than a well water
of the same chemical composition.
In localities where the geologic
structure is quite uniform those
who own springs seem to really be-
lieye that The water they sell is ia
some way much superior TO thai
sold by other companies that obtain
/ water from wells. In some places
there is a slight difference due to
| the fact that the shallow springs
| show evidence of contamination
which is not found in the water
| from the deep wells. Nevertheless
this belief is so strong that the
companies which sell unpolIuted
water from wells make some effort
( to give the impression that the
water they sell comes naturally to
! the surface through springs.
In the past considerable
amount OF attention has been de-
voted to the presence of small guam
titles of unusual constituents in
waters. and the therapeutic action
of the waters has been attributed
! to the presence OF these traces OF
such substances as lithium, bromide
and iodide. Most OF the waters for
which special curative properties
have been claimed. because an
analysis showed the presence OF
. these rare constituents have con-
tanned no more OF these substances
than the water furnished as public
supplies in many of the large cities.
with the discovery Of radium
and the first reports Of the radio
activity of mineral waters this was
fixed upon as an explanation os the
cUrative properties of many mineral
waters. Later Investigations have
shown that there is in general no
rclation between the radioactivity
of mineral waters and their thera-
reutic effects. Many waters which
are supposed TO be particularly
beneficial are much less radioactive
than other waters which have no
such reputation
1T has been customary for writ
ers to enlarge upon the therapeutic
] effects sof the various substances
( found in natural waters such as
sodium sulphRte. magnesium sui
phate, carbonates and bicarbonstes
in discussions of waters which do
not differ in composition from pub
lie or private supplies used by mil
lions OF people. The reader may be
led 10 believe that since the con-
/ stituents mentioned in the discus
sion are shown in the analyses. the
effects produced by concentrated
waters containing the salts will he
obtained from the use OF any water
containing them, no matter how low
the concentration may be.
TT cannot be questioned that
1 many persons have gone to mineral
! water resorts when they were sick
health and strength. It Is true that
many persons recover from sickness
\ while taking cures involving tho
| drinking OF large quantities Of
mineral waters. II Is probable that
| the dissolved mineral constituents
in some waters have> been helpful
in the cure OF disease. A water
which has never been contaminated
NAV have commercial value for use
as a beverage and such a water
although containing no unusual
quantity of mineral matter may be
beneficial in connection with other
4 treatments for diseased conditions
1 of the body. It is possible that in
some conditions a water containing
only a very small quantity OF
| mineral matter is more healthful
than one containing a moderate
quantity OF dissolved limestone
such as is found throughout large
areas in the United States.
Misleading and Inaccurate state
ments made in regard TO mineral
waters not only In advertising but