According to Dr. L. Playfair’s analysis in 1852,
one gallon of the water was found to contain the following solid constituents:—
| Grains. | |
| Pro-carbonate of Iron | 1.044 |
| Silica | 1.160 |
| Sulphate of Lime | 2.483 |
| Alumina | trace |
| Sulphate of Magnesia | 0.431 |
| Carbonate of Magnesia | 0.303 |
| Sulphate of Potash | 0.147 |
| Chloride of Sodium | 1.054 |
| Chloride of Potassium | 0.450 |
| 7.072 |
The thermal water, as before stated, arises from various fissures in the limestone rock, upon which formation the greater part of the town of Buxton is built. The flow is uniform (during the heat and drought of summer, and the cold and frost of winter) in volume, about 140 gallons per minute, in temperature 82 deg. Fahrenheit, and in solid constituents.
According to the latest analysis, made by Dr. Thresh in 1881, the following results were obtained. The mud which had settled around the mouths of the springs and floors of the tanks into which the water is conveyed consisted of—
The following is the result of his analysis of the water:—
| Grains. | |
| Bicarbonate of Calcium | 14.01 |
| Bicarbonate of Magnesium | 6.02 |
| Bicarbonate of Iron | 0.03 |
| Bicarbonate of Manganese | 0.03 |
| Sulphate of Barium | 0.05 |
| Sulphate of Calcium | 0.26 |
| Sulphate of Potassium | 0.62 |
| Sulphate of Sodium | 0.84 |
| Nitrate of Sodium | 0.03 |
| Chloride of Sodium | 0.02 |
| Chloride of Magnesium | 0.95 |
| Chloride of Ammonium | trace |
| Silicic Acid | 0.95 |
| Organic Matter | 0.02 |
| Carbon Dioxide | 0.20 |
| Nitrogen | 0.19 |
| 24.22 |
There were also traces of lead, strontium, lithium, and phosphoric acid.
As the gas issued from the fissures in the limestone rock, it was found to consist of 99.22 grains of nitrogen, 0.88 grain of carbonic acid, and that held in solution in the water, 6.1 cubic inches nitrogen, 4.1 carbonic acid.