8 



made in pits or basins in the ground, cannot, of necessity, be 

 clean and free from dirt, even at home ; and when it is also 

 taken into consideration, that all foreign salt is brought to this 

 country in the holds of vessels as ballast, it must be evident to 

 any one that it cannot be in as good condition for use as that 

 made and packed with the care that is bestowed upon the pro- 

 ductions of the coarse salt fields of Onondaga, which are al- 

 ways found of a clean white color, attributable to the purifica- 

 tion of the brine before the salt is allowed to form, while 

 that of foreign production is of a dark, dingy appearance, 

 owing to the large amount of dirt and organic matter held in 

 solution in the brine and incorporated with the salt in the pro- 

 cess of formation. 



In the State of New York and wherever Onondaga Coarse 

 Salt has been used for a period of years, its reputation is all 

 that can be desired, and is fully equal to that of any of the 

 best varieties of Foreign, not excepting the justly and univer- 

 sally esteemed Turk's Island. It is established beyond contro- 

 versy, that in all instances in which this salt has been thor- 

 oughly and fairly tested, facts and experience have demonstra- 

 ted its superior excellence ; but there are yet points at which 

 packing is carried on extensively, where prejudices, operating 

 almost to exclusion of the article from the purposes to which 

 it is so peculiarly adapted, still exist. It may be that nothing 

 but experience in the use of the article will remove such preju- 

 dices ; but the following facts, taken from the Keport of the 

 Superintendent of the Onondaga Salt Springs for 1858, ought 

 to be sufficient to establish for it a reputation fully equal to 

 that of the best packing salt known to consumers. To render 

 it still more desirable for packing purposes, the Company now 

 separate the smaller cubes from the larger, by screening, and 

 put up, for Packers, the latter only. The former are converted, 

 by grinding, into " Ground Solar Salt," and by a further pro- 

 cess into " Solar Dairy." 



