THE 
MINERAL WATERS OF SARATOGA. 
By Frederic D. Lente, M. D., of Cold Spring, N. Y. 
[From “ The New York Medical Journal,’’ January, 1870.] 
The country seems suddenly to have become alive to the importance 
of mineral waters in the treatment of almost every form of disease. 
There is scarcely a week which does not usher into public notice, by 
handbills, newspaper advertisements, certificates, medical and clerical, 
curbstone and drug store posters in large letters, some new liquid wonder 
of the earth, either native or foreign, or some artificial representative of 
one. It is, in fact, a medical mania, like so many of its predecessors, 
which have swept over the land for a brief period, and, after making the 
fortunes of a few lucky individuals, have passed out of use and out of 
mind. Many of these waters may be pronounced at least harmless; 
since, notwithstanding the remarkable analysis accompanying the bottles 
or barrels, they have been pronounced by competent chemical and 
clinical authorities examples only of remarkably pure water. Others, 
purporting to be natural waters, are “ doctored,” as it is termed—that 
is, have been tampered with by adding various saline matters, to give 
what Nature has denied them. These are positively injurious in some 
cases. Others, possessing a certain degree of merit, are contaminated by 
the corrosion of the metallic lining of the vessels in which they are sold, 
in order to cheapen them, to enable the “trade” to realize larger profits, 
and thereby to interest each dealer in recommending them as superior 
to their competitors. 
One injurious effect of this freshet—this multiplication of waters—is to 
confuse the public, and even the professional mind, on the subject, and 
to divert invalids from the proper use of the really valuable remedies 
of this class. Worse than all, in order to break down, if possible, the 
well-earned reputation of these, and thus increase the demand for the 
neophytes, the proprietors of the latter have resorted to misrepresenta- 2 
THE MINERAL WATERS OF SARATOGA. 
tions. To one particular instance of this I have thought it proper to 
direct the attention of the profession. I refer to the “ Congress Spring,” 
of Saratoga Springs. This far-famed water, which has given celebrity 
to the equally noted watering place in which it is situated, and which 
has been under trial for nearly three quarters of a century, has come to 
be regarded, for a long period, not only as a luxury but a necessity to 
thousands of our citizens in all parts of the country, many of whom 
annually visit Saratoga for the purpose of drinking it at the fountain- 
head. A great many of our most distinguished physicians have been in 
the habit of prescribing this water extensively in their practice, either 
in the bottled form or by sending their patients to headquarters. To 
all these any circumstance affecting the reputation of the remedy is of 
importance, as would be the case with any other valuable remedy in 
the materia rrkdica. To all of these the failure of their old favorite, or a 
serious deterioration of its remedial virtue, or even of its sensible quali- 
ties, would, no doubt, be a source of real regret. For many years reports 
have gone abroad, from time to time, of the failure of the spring, of a 
diminution of its gaseous constituent, etc. ; but it has been always found, 
on inquiry, to present its usual quota, except when some accident has 
temporarily deranged the tubing. Latterly, it has become important to 
parties interested in other waters, at Saratoga and elsewhere, to impair 
the reputation of the “ Congress;” more systematic efforts have been 
made toward effecting this; reports have been spread far and wide of a 
deterioration of its previously admitted excellence. To those who are 
well acquainted with this water, and especially to those who are in the 
habit of annually visiting Saratoga, it is not necessary to say that these 
reports are as utterly devoid of foundation as those previously circulated. 
But even these may be deceived in one way, and that is by having water 
palmed off on them by the word “ Congress” on the label, or even blown 
in the glass, which is either Saratoga water from an inferior spring or 
an imitation of the “Congress.” But to others the writer would say 
that, from having been an annual visitor at Saratoga for a number of 
years, and having a portion of his family constantly resident there, and 
from a thorough acquaintance with every manipulation and repair which 
this particular spring has undergone for some years, he can most positively 
affirm that the Congress Spring water is as excellent in its effects and in 
its sensible qualities now as it has ever been. 
With regard to other waters of Saratoga, to which general allusion 
has been made in this paper, I do not wish to be understood as denying 
their valuable properties, when they can be had in such a shape as to be 
uncontaminated by their mode of packing and transportation. Among 
the scores of valuable springs for which the valley of Saratoga is so 
justly celebrated the world over, and which, indeed, render it unequalled 
by any known locality for general adaptability to the cure or preven- THE MINERAL WATERS OF SARATOGA. 
3 
tion of disease, other waters may be equal to the “ Congress,” indeed 
may be better for certain conditions of the system. But for general safety 
and efficiency in the various idiosyncrasies of the thousands who have 
regularly used the various waters, in the course of the last half century, 
so as to give them a comparative trial, no one has stood the test like 
the “ Congress.” When those which, we may say in comparison, have 
only just commenced their career, have stood the same test, or even a 
fair portion of it, we may venture to pass judgment. 
It is not necessarily the waters which have the most saline taste, or 
the greatest proportion of saline ingredients, that operate most satis- 
factorily, even on the alimentary canal; nor will we be apt to get a proper 
effect on the bowels by taking an over-dose of a saline water. An 
inordinate dose of Congress water, for instance, or a moderate dose at 
an inappropriate hour of the day, sometimes produces no cathartic effect 
at all, but, on the contrary, constipates, and induces malaise; whereas, 
a dose of a pint before breakfast, and aided by a slight amount of exer- 
cise, will produce on the same patient a pleasant and sufficiently cathartic 
effect. Many persons imagine that a slight difference in the analysis or 
chemical constitution of mineral waters make but a slight difference, 
if any, in their effect on the human organism; but those who have 
had an extended experience among the Springs of Saratoga know the 
contrary. One water, having but an apparently trivial per centage of 
one or two of their numerous ingredients more than another, will 
not only have no beneficial effect on certain patients, but one positively 
injurious. All medical men know how slight an addition to some par- 
ticular combination of remedies, especially such as are designed to act 
on the liver and alimentary canal, will cause it to develop an unexpected 
and perhaps injurious power. Another very prevalent and more danger- 
ous error among the public is, that, because remedies are taken in the 
form of a clear water, gushing from the bowels of Mother Earth, pleasant 
to the eye, and often to the palate, they can do no harm. Any remedy 
which can do good, can, as may be generally affirmed, do proportional 
harm, if inappropriately or improperly taken. The amount of solid 
matter taken in a few glasses of most of our mineral waters seems un- 
doubtedly very insignificant, as compared with our doses of ordinary 
drugs. But we must remember that the peculiar manner in which they 
are combined in Nature’s laboratory, which no human skill has yet 
equalled, and their very dilution, render them rapidly and completely 
absorbable, comparing somewhat in effect with the hypodermic injection. 
These considerations, and many more which might be adduced, if space 
permitted, indicate that we should be slow to abandon a remedy already 
thoroughly tested and approved, for all but exceptional cases, in favor of 
those which only time and patient investigation by a multitude of 
observers can place on as a safe basis. 4 
THE MINERAL WATERS OF SARATOGA. 
This paper might be lengthened by a long list of certificates in 
corroboration of its statements regarding the “ Congress Spring,” both 
from medical and lay authorities, who have had a more or less consider- 
able acquaintance with the different springs, but it was thought to be 
amply sufficient to refer to those only of the writer’s acquaintance who 
have visited the springs year after year, or who have been in the 
regular habit of using the waters, and especially that of the “ Congress 
Spring,” as such persons are only capable of giving a fair verdict. The 
only interest which these gentlemen have in the spring is that which 
we all feel for the welfare of an old and valued friend. The venerable 
N. F. Moore, of Garrison’s, formerly President of Columbia College, is 
probably the oldest visitor of the springs out of Saratoga, having com- 
menced in 1805, and from his scientific knowledge, and the interest 
which he has always felt in the geological formations, mineral products, 
and other natural features of Saratoga, is well qualified to judge of the 
past and present condition of the waters which he has been in the habit 
of using; he authorizes the writer to say that he can perceive no differ- 
ence in the effects or sensible properties of the “ Congress Spring,” his 
latest visit having been in July last. The other references are Professors 
William H. Van Buren, M. D., and George T. Elliot, M. D., ol New 
York City, and Professor A. E. Church, of the West Point Military 
Academy, all of whom have used the waters of Saratoga, both from 
bottles and at the springs, for many years. 
Genuine Congress Water may be obtained by addressing the undersigned ; also, of 
reliable Druggists throughout the country. Purchasers are cautioned against other Spring 
Waters, fraudulently sold as “Congress.” Attention to our marks and brands upon bottles, 
corks and boxes, will prevent imposition. 
CONGRESS AND EMPIRE SPRING CO., 
Saratoga Springs, A". Y., ami Oh Chambers St., 
JJeW yORK jDlTY,