42 EXPEDITION TO THE 



yields in castings about thirty-three per cent. It smelts 

 very readily of itself, requiring but a slight addition of about 

 three per cent, of limestone. Among the great improvements 

 which have been made at this place, is the connexion, by 

 means of a canal with locks, between the upper and lower 

 level of the Muskingum. The company who erected the 

 dam, were bound by their charter to keep a lock naviga- 

 tion in repair, and their improvements, which have re- 

 moved all obstacles to the navigation, will doubtless prove 

 very valuable, as they have afforded them a very extensive 

 water-power. Salt was some time since obtained at Zanes- 

 ville, and all along the Muskingum ; but of late the works 

 here have been abandoned, the springs being too weak. It 

 appears that those below are very productive; it is calculated 

 that one hundred gallons of water from these will generally 

 yield about a bushel of salt weighing fifty pounds ; hence the 

 water must contain upwards of six per cent, of salt. The 

 establishments, as they are generally made in this country, 

 contain twenty kettles of the capacity of ninety gallons 

 each, costing together about seven hundred dollars; of 

 these kettles or pans, fourteen are used for evaporating and 

 six for crystallizing the salt During the evaporation, a se- 

 diment is formed, which is supposed by some to consist of 

 loam and lime; no experiments have as yet been made 

 upon it to ascertain its nature. No use has ever been made 

 of it, but it would doubtless prove very valuable in agri- 

 culture. The depth to which they bore varies much, it is ge- 

 nerally about two hundred feet. In some cases the auger 

 holes, which are about three inches in diameter, have been 

 sunk to seven hundred feet in depth. The expense of course 

 varies according to the depth, but the work is generally un- 

 dertaken at from one dollar and fifty cents to two dollars 

 per foot. In one instance, where tliQ boring extended to 



