The York-shire spaw, or, A treatise of foure famous medicinal wells viz. the spaw, or vitrioline-well, the stinking, or sulphur-well, the dropping, or petrifying-well, and S. Mugnus-well, near Knare borow in York-shire : together with the causes, vertues and use thereof : for farther information read the contents / composed by J. French, Dr. of Physick.

CHAP. XIV. Of the Sulphur-well. (Book 14)

THis is called the Sulphur-well; by reason of its Sulphurious odour, although be∣sides this, it hath two other qualities, viz. saltness, and bitterness. I shall in the first place endeavour to prove, whence it con∣tract its saltness, and thereby I shall the bet∣ter make to appear the cause of it stanch and bitterness. Now, because the Salt, which this water yields upon evaporation, is of the same nature with, & cannot be distinguished either in odour, or tast (the stanch being lost in the evaporation) from common black Sea-salt, I shall first declare what is the cause of the saltness of the Sea, which is no other than

that of this water. And first I shall shew what is not the cause of it, thereby confuting the opinion of many ancient Philosophers, and their followers.

1. The saleness of the Sea, is not caused by the Suns exhaling the sweeter parts out of it, as was the opinion of Aristotle; for this supposeth that there was the same saltness in the Sea before▪ but was not, but upon this ac∣count manifested, but this can not be, for then, why are not other waters, as Rivers, Ponds, Lakes, &c. made saltish also by the Suns exhaling their sweeter vapours.

2. The Sun doth not boil into the Sea, by the vehemency of its heat, that saline tast, ac∣cording to Pliny being almost of the aforesaid opinion, for then, why doth not the Sun work the same effect, upon a Pond, or Ves∣sel of water, on which it may work more vigorously, by heating more vehemently, viz. (because it is less resisted, by reason of the small quantity of water in them) than on the Ocean?

3. This saltnes is not caused (as Scaliger would have it,) by rain, mixt with hot, dry, and terrene exhalations; for the rain it self would also then be saltish, which indeed is most sweet, and if it were saltish, then why are not Pits, Rivers, &c. which are many times filled with Rain-water, saltish also?

Now the weakness of these opinions, viz. (the chiefest that have usually been embraced) being detected, I shall shew from whence

very probably this saltness of the Sea may proceed. We must therefore in the first place consider that the Sea is not simply saltish, but saltish and bitter together, that is, it hath a tast made up of bitterness, and saltness: for which cause, as saith, our learned Countrey∣man, M^r. Lydyat, in his disquisitio Physiologica de origine fontiam, Chap. 9. de salsedine maris, the Latines gave these two names to it, viz. Mare, quasi amarum, & Salum, quasi salsum. And this Aristotle himself consents to, giving the reason of those two tasts in general, and of them in the Sea in particular, where he saith, that all kinds of tasts arise from a kind of terreness more, or less adust; but bitterness from a terreness, very much elaborated by a fiery heat in the burning bowels of the earth; and saltness, where that heat is somewhat re∣mitted. If so, then let us consider whether there be not abundance of terrene adustness in the bowels of the earth, and gulfs of the Sea where a bituminous fire is alwayes burning, being fed by water (as I declared more at large in the 2. Chap. viz. Of the original of Springs in general) and that whether we may not probably conclude, and especially because bitumen is bitter, and very full of Salt, that the burning of the bitumen together with the terreness therewith mixed in the gulfs of the Sea be not the cause of the saltness thereof. Moreover, that bitumen hath a great power to communicate to, and beget a bitter, and saltish tast in water, is confirmed, by that

which Geographers write concerning the Lake of Palestina, which is called in Greek 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, i. e. bituminous. For say they, the Lake is so bitter, and saltish, that no fishes can live therein, and it is called in sa∣cred writ the salt sea 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. And Histo∣rians say of it, that if a man be cast into it bound hand and foot, he cannot be drown'd; and the reason of this is the saltness thereof, for we see that waters bear the greater bur∣dens, by how much the salter they are, wit∣ness the difference betwixt the Sea, and fresh Rivers, and our boiling of brine till an Egg swim thereon, and will not sink.

This being premised, it will be easie to con∣clude from whence the saltness, and bitter∣ness of the Sulphur-well proceeds. And as for the stinking odour thereof, that I suppose is caused from the vapours of the burning bitumen, and adust terreness mixt therewith, which lye not far from the very head of the Well.

Ob. If there be the same reason for the salt∣ness of this Spring as there is of the Sea, then why is there not the same reason for the Sul∣phurious odour of the Sea as of this, and why doth not the Sea receive, and retain the same odour as this doth?

Sol. I do not deny, but the same odour may be communicated to the Sea, as to this wa∣ter, together with the saltness thereof; but because the saltness thereof was communica∣ted to it by degrees, viz. from some certain

gulfs of the Sea, so also this odour; for it cannot be rationally conceived, that the whole Sea received all its Salt into it self at one time after a natural way, and therefore being such a great body must become saltish by lit∣tle and little even insensibly. And accord∣ingly the Sulphurious odour also is imparted to it insensibly, and although the saltness may continue by reason that the Salt it self is of a fixed substance, yet the odour being of a sub∣tile volatile nature, is exhaled by the Sun, and so lost. But now the case is far otherwise in the water of this Sulphur-well, for this is at once fully impregnated with the said saltness and Sulphurious odour, and immediatly pas∣seth away through narrow channels••, and veins of the earth, without any vanishing of the odour (by means of the Sun, or other∣wise) which it contracted from the bitumi∣nous vapours.

Ob. What is the reason that seeing this wa∣ter hath passed lately through the bituminous burnings, as it appears by its fresh odour of the same, should be cold, and not hot, as hot Baths are?

Sol. 1. It was the opinion of Fallopius, that such kind of waters proceed from a remote fire, but passing through narrow passages re∣tain their full odour, and tast, (which can∣not be vanished by the way any otherwise, than smoak through a Chimney, or pipe) al∣though by the length of its passage, it may loose its heat.

2. Though the fire be near to the super∣ficies of the earth, where this water breaketh forth, yet it is very probable that the cold∣ness thereof may proceed from a mixture of a cold spring before the breaking forth thereof. Neither let it seem strange to any, that cold springs and hot may be so near together in the bowels of the earth: for just above the head of this Sulphur-well there arise two cold Springs, which meet and run down within a few feet of the head of the same. And M^r. Jones in his treatise of Buck-stones Bath in Derbishire saith, that the cold Springs and hot Springs are so near▪ that a man may put one finger in the cold, and another in the hot.

Having in some measure declared unto you the cause of this Sulphur-well viz. of its salt∣ness, bitterness, and sulphurious odour, I shall in the next place give an account of some ex∣periments, and observations which I made, and they are these▪ viz.

1. If Silver be put into this water, it is there∣by tinged first yellow, and then black, but Gold is not all discoloured thereby.

2. If this water be a little boiled, it looseth its tinging property, and also stinking odour.

3. It coagulates milk, if it be boiled therewith.

4. The distilled water thereof looseth its odour and doth not coagulate milk.

5. If the water be boiled, it will still coa∣gulate milk, though it looseth its odour.

6. Seven gallons yield by evaporation a pound of Salt, which though at first black, I have made as white as snow.

7. This Salt coagulates milk also.

8. This water kills worms, and such kind of creatures presently, if they be put there∣in.

9. I filled two Vial glasses with this wa∣ter in wet weather, and stopt the one, but the other I left open. The water in that which was stopt, within an hour, or two, became white, and thick, and within two, or three dayes deposited a white sediment, and the sides of that glass were furred, the water in the other glass altered not.

10. I filled two Vial glasses in fair wea∣ther, whereof the one I stopt, but the other left open, the water in neither of them turn∣ed colour any whit considerably, onely a kind of a thin whitish matter, after two, or three dayes fell to the bottom, the water continuing very clear. The water of that glass which was stopt, retained its odour most.

11. A pint of this water weighs two scru∣ples, i. e. fourty grains more than a pint of common Spring-water.

Note that the reason of its tinging white metals is not from any bodily Sulphur, or bitumen mixt with it, (for the substance of them will not mix with water, but swim on it, as in the Spring at Pitchford in Shropshire, and in Avernia, in France, and in divers other

places) but from the vapours, or the subtile atomes & efluvia's thereof, which are mixed with the water, and in boiling are evapo∣rated.

The reason of its coagulating property is from some occult acidity in the Salt thereof, which to sense is not perceptible, onely by effect.

Out of the Salt is drawn a very good spi∣rit of excellent vertue, as I shall declare in the next Chapter.

Before I conclude this Chapter, it will be worth taking notice, that about 240 yards above the head of this Sulphur-well is a bog, of about twenty yards diameter, in which I digged a mineral kind of substance, like the finders of Iron, but almost rotten, being cor∣roded with some acid spirits, of which that bog is full, as also other places. This mineral substance being cast into the fire burns blew, and smels like Sulphur; It is in tast like Vitrial, and out of it Vitrial may be drawn▪ nay, in time it will be almost all re∣solved into Vitrial. For I washed it, and set it in a Cellar for two, or three dayes, and it was covered over with a white sweeetish Vitrial; which I dissolved in water, and set the said substance in a Cellar again, and it contracted the like, & I did as before still rei∣terating this work till it was almost all turned to Vitrial. In the said bog I found three or four sorts of waters, viz. a Sulphur, and Vi∣trioline, and of each two sorts. This was

done the last day of my abode there, and therefore I had not time to make any further search, onely some of that mineral substance I took with me, with which I tried the aforesaid experiments. If any Gentleman would be pleased to expend some costs in dig∣ging up this bog, and erecting some new Wels there▪ he would prove an acceptable benefactor to his Countrey, and it may be some new kind of water might be discovered hereby having yet more vertues than any of the former.

Note that the stink of this Sulphur-well is perceived afar off, especially in moist and cold weather.