Mdm.  In my journey to Oxford, comeing through Bagley-wood, on St. Mark’s day, 1695,1 discovered two chalybiate springs there, in the highway; which On May the 10th I tryed with powder of galles, and they give as black a tincture as ever I saw such waters:  one may write with it as legibly as with black lead.

At the gate at Wotton Common, near Cumnor in Berkshire, is a spring which I have great reason to believe is such another:  and also at the foot of Shotover-hill, near the upping-stock, I am confident by the clay, is such another spring.  Deo gratias.
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Quæres for the Tryall of Minerall Waters; by the Honourable Sir William Petty, Kt.:-

1.  How much heavier ’tis than brandy ? 2.  How much common water will extinguish its tast ? 3.  What quantity of salt upon its evaporation ? 4.  How much sugar, allum, vitriol, nitre, will dissolve in a pint of it ? 5.  Whether any animalcule will breed in it, and in how long time ? 6.  Whether fish, viz. trout, eeles, &c. will live in it, and how long? 7.  Whether ’twill hinder or promote the curdling of milk, and fermentation ? 8.  Whether soape will mingle with it ? 9.  Whether ’twill extract the dissolvable parts of herbes, rootes, seedes, &c. more or less than other waters; (i. e.) whether it be a more powerful menstruum ? 10.  How galles will change its colour ? 11.  How ’twill change the colour of syrup of violets ? 12.  How it differs from other waters in receiving colours, cochineel, saffron, violets &c.? 13.  How it boyles dry pease? 14.  How it colours fresh beefe, or other flesh in boyling ? 15.  How it washes hands, beards, linnen, sec. ? 16.  How it extracts mault in brewing ? 17.  How it quenches thirst, with meat or otherwise ?

8.  Whether it purges; in what quantity, time, and with what symptomes? 19.  Whether it promotes urine, sweat, or sleep ? 20.  In what time it passeth, and how afterwards ? 21.  Whether it sharpens or flattens the appetite to meate ? 22.  Whether it vomits, causes coughs, &c. ? 23.  Whether it swell the belly, legges; and how, in what time, and quantity &c. ? 24.  How it affects sucking children, and (if tryed) foetus in the wombe ? 25.  Whether it damps or excites venerie ? 26.  How blood lett whilest the waters are dranke lookes, and how it changes ? 27.  In what degrees it purges, in different degrees of evaporation, and brewed ? 28.  Whether it breakes away by eructation and downwards ? 29.  Whether it kills the asparagus in the urine? 30.  What quantity may be taken of it in prime ? 31.  Whether a sprig of mint or willow growes equally as out of other waters? 32.  In what time they putrify and stink ?

CHAPTER III.  RIVERS.

[The following extracts include the whole of this chapter, with the exception of a few extraneous passages.-J.  B.]