the Cheshire Rock- Salt District. 343 



found at the depth of twenty-six yards, the quantity of 

 water, a!«certained to issue from its pores in one minute, 

 was not less than three hundred and sixty gallons; a cir- 

 cumstance greatly enhancing ihe difficulties of passing a 

 shaft down to the body of rock-salt. 



A portion of salt, sufficient strongly to aftect the taste, is 

 found to exist in many of these beds of argillaceous stone : 

 and this saltness increases, as might be expected, as we ap- 

 proach the body of the rock-salt. In the strata or layers 

 immediately above the rock, which in al! the mines are 

 perfectly uniform in their appearance and structure, it is par- 

 ticularly remarkable. It may be observed, however, that 

 there are not in these strata any veins of rock-salt con- 

 nected with the great mass below : on the contxary, the 

 line of division between the clay and rock-salt is drawn 

 with great distinctness in every instance, and presents none 

 of tht)se inequalities which would arise from a mutual pe- 

 netration of the strata. 



It mav, I believe, be considered as a decided fact, that 

 no marine exuvice or organic remains are found in the strata 

 situated over the rock-salt. I liave indeed heard it asserted 

 that there are a few instances in opposition to this state- 

 ment ; but, upon minute inquiry, I do not find that the 

 accuracy of these alleged exceptions is in any degree to be 

 depended upon. 



The general, I believe universal, occurrence of gypsum,- 

 in connexion with beds of fossil salt, is a fact worthy of 

 observation. This connexion apjiears in the salt mines of 

 Hungary, Transylvania, and Poland, as well as in those of 

 Cheshire, and it has led Werner to assign to the rock-salt 

 and floelz gypsum a conjunct situation m his Geognostic 

 System. The gypsum, contained in the clays over the 

 Cheshire rock-salt, occurs in varying proportions, and 

 under different appearances in the several beds passed 

 through. It is found both in large masses and in small 

 granular concretions. The compact, foliated, and fibrous 

 varieties are all met with; the last of these occurring in 

 very considerable proportion. According to Werner, the 

 first or oldest flcetz gypsum is that which has the most 

 immediate relation to rock-salt. I am not enabled to say 

 whether the gypsum appearing above the Cheshire salt 

 would be considered as belonging to this particular forma- 

 tion. The presence of the fibrous variety of the mineral 

 would rather seem to place it with the second fltetz gyp- 

 sum where this species is particularly abundant ; but no 

 positive distinction caa be derived from this cireumstancc* 



I niav 



