284. _BATH WATER is a hot carbonated chalybeate. When first drawn, it appears clear and colourless, nor does it afford any signs of briskness or effervescence. The temperature of the water drawn from the King’s Bath, which is that usually employed for drinking, is 116° of Fahrenheit, and that of the Cross Bath is 112°. No odour whatever is perceptible from a glass of fresh water; but from a large body of it the nose is affected by a slight degree of pungency. When the water is hot from the pump, it fills the mouth with a strong chalybeate impression without any pungency, and accompanied with scarcely any kind of saline taste; and, what is remarkable, as soon as the water cools, the chalybeate taste is entirely lost, and nothing but an extremely slight saline sensation remains upon the palate._ _The foreign contents of Bath water are sulphat of lime (192), chalk, Glauber’s salt (203), and common salt; together with a very small portion of oxide of iron (21), yet sufficient to give iron mould stains to the linen of the bathers. The water curdles soap, and is so hard as to be unfit for many domestic purposes._ The city of Bath has been celebrated for its hot springs even from the time of the Romans. These are of higher temperature than any within the British dominions; and indeed are the only natural waters which we possess that are at all hot to the touch, the other thermal waters being of heat below the animal temperature. There are three principal sources of these waters, called the King’s Bath, the Cross Bath, and the Hot Bath; and they differ slightly in their properties. The springs arise within a short distance of each other, at the lower part of the city; and yield so copious a supply that all the large reservoirs used for bathing are filled every evening with water fresh from their respective fountains. The application of the water externally is either general or local. The latter consists in pumping it for a considerable time on the part affected. This is called _dry pumping_, because in it only one part of the body is wetted, whilst the rest is kept dry; and in many cases, it is found an excellent remedy. The diseases for which these waters are resorted to are very numerous, and are amongst the most important and difficult to be cured that come under medical treatment. 4. HOT ALKALINE SULPHUREOUS WATER. 285. _AIX─LA─CHAPELLE or AKEN WATER, is an alkaline sulphureous water, much hotter than that of any of the springs in England, varying in temperature in the different baths from 112° to 143°. It has a saline, bitterish, and somewhat alkaline taste; and its smell precisely resembles, but is greatly more powerful than, that of Harrowgate water (299)._