SALT. 259 



In Great Britain, as on the Continent, salt was obtained before the 

 advent of the Teutons or the Romans. Here, too, we find our guide 

 in the syllable 'hal,' which occurs in place-names in Carnarvon, in 

 Hampshire, in Lancaster and elsewhere. Plutarch has left upon 

 record some evidence that points to a period when salt was practically 

 unknown in Egypt. He says the priests will permit no salt upon their 

 tables, will not address a pilot because of his occupation at sea, and 

 that they also eschew fish for the same reason. Another passage seems 

 to modify this strong statement to this extent that there are certain 

 limes when the priests do not partake of salt for the reason that it 

 increases the desire for food and drink. All Greek evidence on such 

 points is, however, of small value, since to the Greeks Egypt was at 

 all times a wonderland where the most singular and unique customs 

 jjrevailed. Long before Plutarch's time Herodotus reported to his 

 countrymen that the people of the Mle valley did everything different 

 from his own countrymen. A special ceremony or a custom observed 

 only on particular occasions was easily perverted to a general usage 

 by persons who had merely a superficial knowledge of the conditions. 



Northern Africa has from time immemorial been a great storehouse 

 of salt. Thebes in Egypt was the starting point for caravans that 

 moved across it towards the west, perhaps as far as the Niger. Herod- 

 otus relates that a ten-day journey from the city heaps of the mineral 

 lie in large lumps upon the hills and that from the tops of these hills 

 salt water gushes forth. It is in this region that the Ammonians 

 dwell, in whose district is the celebrated temple of Jupiter Ammon. 

 The oasis is the bottom of what was once a salt lake or part of the sea 

 and still has many salt springs in it. The soil is also impregnated 

 with salt, although there is no scarcity of fresh water. It is probable 

 that the chemical compound known as sal ammoniac gets its name 

 from this region, either because it was first manufactured here or be- 

 cause it was found here in its natural state. 



In many parts of northern Africa, often at long distances from 

 the coast, salt occurs in great abundance. Though there is generally 

 stone in plenty, the inhabitants in some places use blocks of salt for 

 constructing dwellings, since it is easier handled and there is no danger 

 to be apprehended from rain, which rarely falls in this part of the 

 world. The salt blocks employed for this purpose are, however, not 

 pure. They are cemented with mud, probably owing to a scarcity of 

 lime. Some portions of the Sahara are covered with a crust of salt 

 to such an extent as to give long reaches the appearance of being cov- 

 ered with a recent fall of snow. Some of the statements of Herodotus 

 and other ancient writers are perhaps exaggerated, but many of them 

 are corroborated by recent explorers. M. Dubois in his work, 'Tim- 

 buctoo the Mysterious,' affirms that salt is as highly valued as ever in 



