Saratoga and How to See It | Page 3

all of these except the last two;
some of the springs being saline, some chalybeate, some sulphur, and
nearly all carbonated; and in the list may be found cathartic, alterative,
diuretic and tonic waters of varied shade and differing strength. The
cathartic waters are the most numerous and the most extensively used.
The curative agents prepared in the vast and mysterious laboratories of
Nature are very complex in constitution and different in temperature,
and on that account do not, like iron, opium, quinia, etc., exhibit single
effects; they exercise rather, with rare exceptions, combined effects,
and these are again modified by various modes of employment and the
time and circumstances of their use.

The Discovery of the Springs.
All the older springs have been found in beds of blue marl, or clay
rather, which cover the valley more or less throughout its whole extent.
On digging into this clay to any considerable depth, we are pretty
certain to find traces of mineral water. In some places, at the depth of
six or eight feet, it has been discovered issuing from a fissure or seam
in the underlying limestone, while at other places it seems to proceed
from a thin stratum of quicksand which is found to alternate with the
marl at distances of from ten to forty feet, below which bowlders of
considerable size are found.
The spouting springs have been found by experimental boring. As this
is the cheapest and more certain method, it is "the popular thing" at
present, and the day may not be far distant when all Saratoga will be

punched through with artesian wells reaching hundreds of feet, if not
through to China, and thus an open market made for the Saratoga
waters among "the Heathen Chinee."
Mr. Jessie Button, to whom we are indebted for both the Glacier and
the Geyser springs, seems best to understand the process of
successfully boring artesian wells, having made these his special study
and profession. Like Moses of old, he strikes, or taps, the rock and
behold streams of water gush forth.

Are the Springs Natural?
Is a question that will probably seem absurd to those who are at all
familiar with mineral springs or Saratoga waters. Nevertheless, it is a
not unfrequent and amusing occurrence to hear remarks from strangers
and greenies who have a preconceived notion that the springs are
doctored, and that a mixture of salts, etc., is tipped in every night or
early in the morning! Strange that the art should be limited to the
village of Saratoga! The incredulity of some people is the most
ridiculous credulity known. Such wonders as the spouting springs, the
"strongest" in Saratoga, come from so small an orifice in the ground, as
to preclude the least possibility of adulteration. Besides, the
manufactured article would be too costly to allow such immense
quantities to flow away unused.
But to argue this question would be a reductio ad absurdum. _Nature is
far better than the laboratory._ Artificial waters may simulate the
natural in taste and appearance, but fall far short of their therapeutic
effects.

The Commercial Value
Of the various springs differs as widely as does people's estimate of
their individual merits. Spring water property is very expensive. It costs
large sums of money to manage some of the springs. The old method of

tubing, by sinking a curb, may cost several thousand dollars, and is
uncertain then. Moreover, it is no small work to keep the springs in
perfect repair, and in a clean and pure condition.
The artesian wells cost not far from $6 per foot for the boring, and are
much less expensive.
Most of the springs are owned by stock companies, with a capital
ranging from several hundred thousand to a million dollars. On dit that
the proprietors of the Geyser Spring were offered $175,000 for their
fountain, and probably the Congress could not be purchased for
quadruple that amount. It would not be a very profitable bargain if
some of the springs could be bought for a song, even, and yet there is
not enough mineral water in all the springs now discovered in the
Saratoga valley to supply New York alone, if artificial waters were to
be abandoned. The only profit of the springs is in the sale of the water
in bottles and barrels; and as the method of bottling requires great care,
and is expensive, the per cent. of profit is not enormous. The use of
mineral water, both as a beverage and for medicinal purposes, is
increasing, and there may be "a good time coming," when these springs
will bring wealth to the owner as they give health to the drinker.

The Medicinal Value of the Waters.
There is no doubt of their power to promote evacuations of