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