Stony-Middleton is situated picturesquely in one of the Derbyshire valleys; but neither the town nor its waters offer any temptation to sojourners.

The southern division of the thermal waters of England is likewise of much importance.

The waters of Bath are offered at the temperature of 117°; rendering some degree of cooling necessary before they can be made use of. They are used as baths, and taken internally. They are valuable in many cases of atonic dyspepsia, and in debilitated conditions generally, whether consequent upon gout or rheumatism, or otherwise. They are of use in many of the ailments incident to advanced life. They have long been remarkable for their effects on the partial paralysis consequent on the introduction of lead and some other mineral poisons into the system; and this justifies the inference of their usefulness in other conditions of the nervous and motor systems, of similar character. The baths, pump-room, and other appurtenances of a watering-place, are offered at Bath in the best manner; and the size of this important city, the beauty and excellence of its crescents and squares, the rich and highly cultivated character of the surrounding country, together with the dependent circumstance of its unequalled markets, are additional recommendations of no secondary importance.

Bristol, or rather Clifton, the tepid waters emerging below the latter town, affords a valuable climate to the invalid; and is even more important on this account than for the sake of its waters. The temperature

GEOLOGICAL SUMMARY.

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of the mineral waters is 74°. The waters are slightly saline, and chiefly calcareous; with a gaseous impregnation, consisting principally of carbonic acid. They are conceived, and probably with justice, to aid the effect of the climate, in diminishing the morbid sensitiveness of the pulmonary mucous membranes, promoting the action of the kidneys, and giving tone to the digestive organs, in enfeebled conditions of system.

From the great oolite formation, extending across England, from the coast of Yorkshire to that of the county of Dorset,-which is divided from the mountain limestone which allows the tepid waters of Derbyshire to pass through its fissures, by the millstone grit, the coal formation, the magnesian limestone, and the red marl,-arise the thermal waters of Bath and Bristol; and the saline waters of Cheltenham probably arise from the lias, or lower beds of the oolite series. The saline waters of Leamington may possibly arise from the same bed of lias as that from which the saline waters of Cheltenham spring; or both the Cheltenham and the Leamington mineral waters may emerge from the immediately subjacent bed of red marl,-a formation which covers the extensive flat called the Plain of Warwick. This is not, however, a point of much interest, even in a geological view. The red marl, or new red sandstone formation, lies immediately beneath the lias, or lowest stratum of the oolite series; and from the one or the other of these formations, it seems probable that most of the saline mineral waters of England take their rise.

Cheltenham is situated in a beautiful and extensive valley, about two miles from the base of the hills which bound the valley on the north-east. The soil is dry; absorbent enough to carry off excessive moisture. The valley is sufficiently extensive to prevent any undue stagnation of the air; and the hills protect it from the more chilling influences of the north and north-east winds. The houses are scattered in detached groups, by which the most free street ventilation is secured. This conduces much to the healthiness of Cheltenham, inasmuch as, in the words of Dr. M'Cabe, "No narrow or winding lanes intercept the free current of the air, and no neglected and unfrequented places serve as reservoirs for the collection and evolution of noxious effluvia, which, with other concurring causes, might generate the seeds of disease. Where every place is open and exposed to public view, cleanliness cannot be neglected; and where perfect cleanliness is attended to, and exposure to a free and pure atmosphere is the necessary consequence of situation, diseases will seldom be met with."*

Cheltenham offers every accommodation to its visitors, that good walks, sheltered promenades, good roads, commodious pump-rooms, good houses, and a pleasant climate, are understood to comprise.

The Cheltenham mineral waters are essentially saline in the character of their impregnation; containing principally, sulphate of soda, and chloride of sodium, and the chlorides of lime and magnesium.

* Observations on the Cheltenham Waters. By James M‘Cabe, M.D.

These waters are useful in a large number of the cases of abdominal and hepatic congestion. The stimulating character of all mineral waters may make some preparatory attention, and some degree of watchful care during the course, necessary, even in the most strongly marked of the cases to which these waters prove to be so largely beneficial.

Leamington is situated at the distance of two miles from Warwick. The attractive and varied and beautiful country by which it is surrounded, its mild inland climate, the excellence of its houses, streets, and roads, are among the strong advantages offered by Leamington to its visitors.

The waters of Leamington resemble in all essential particulars the waters of Cheltenham; and may be generally said to be applicable to the relief of the same morbid conditions.

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'Leamington," says Dr. Loudon, “from being situated at a distance from the coast, and in the midst of a level country, is neither exposed to sudden gusts of wind, nor to the frequent rains which a mountainous neighbourhood so constantly attracts. Besides, being nearly at an equal distance from the east and west seas, as well as the channel, the temperature is more mild and equal than that of the greater part of the inland watering-places in the country, and the climate more genial than that of towns in the same latitude, lying nearer to the Atlantic and German Oceans. The highly cultivated state of the soil around the town, entirely free from morasses, with the numerous scattered woods and rivulets, contributes,

in no small degree, to its being one of the most salubrious spots in the inland counties."*

Tunbridge Wells, the most celebrated of the chalybeate mineral waters of England, is situated in a somewhat barren part of the county of Kent. The mineral waters emerge from the lowest of the three beds of green sandstone, which lie immediately under the great chalk formation. The waters are clear, with a chalybeate odour, and strongly marked chalybeate taste; but the taste is not marked by either an acidulous or saline character, and is not considered to be unpalatable. The waters are at a little varying temperature of 50°. Their chalybeate impregnation is 2.748 grains of oxyde of iron in the gallon, held in solution by carbonic acid. Their action is essentially tonic and deobstruent; and they have been, no doubt, less used than they deserve to have been, in the various diseases dependent on debilitated conditions.

Tunbridge offers to its visitors the advantages of a pure air, an inviting and somewhat picturesque country, and the usual walks, rides, and other accommodations that are looked for in wateringplaces.

Harrogate is situated very near the middle of the great county of York. The formation is a bed of shale, which lies between the magnesian and the mountain limestone; and may be said to represent the great coal formation, which in other parts occupies the same geological position. The several

* On the Waters of Leamington Spa. By Charles Loudon, M.D.