530 



SALT. 



Missouri. 



Salt. 3. A quicksand bed of 10 feet, at the bottom of 



which is a large vein of salt water. 



Bones of the mammoth and other animals were found 

 in both the clay and sand. 



The original reservation at these salines comprised 

 92,160 acres of woodland, and was transferred by the 

 United States to the state of Illinois, which now de- 

 rives from its different salines an annual revenue of 

 about 10,000 dollars. 



In Missouri, Boon's Lick, long known, furnishes the 

 wants of the neighbouring settlements. Several fur- 

 naces are erected for the evaporation of a weak brine ; 

 450 gallons of which yield a bushel of salt. Eighty 

 bushels are made daily, and require three cords of 

 wood. Compact limestone is the prevailing rock ; but 

 coal beds and strata of sandstone abound in the vici- 

 nity. 



Lockhart's salt works, on the Saline River, yield 

 500 bushels of salt per week. The diggings, so often 

 mentioned as existing here, seem to have been pro- 

 duced by wild cattle, resorting hither in large herds, 

 and licking the ground for the sake of the salt con- 

 tained in it. . Four miles further north, on the Saline 

 Fork of Le Mine River, is another establishment, 

 where 1 80 gallons of brine produce a bushel of salt. 

 One hundred bushels are manufactured per week, and 

 eight men are employed in the works. 



There are several small works for the manufacture 

 of salt in other parts of this state. 



Arkansas. In Arkansas, independent of the saline incrustations, 

 there are many valuable salt springs. On the Grand, 

 or Neosho river, 50 miles above its junction with the 

 Arkansas, in an alluvial basin, are valuable salt water 

 springs, quite pellucid, issuing copiously from the sur- 

 face in various directions. One of the springs emit:* 

 fetid bubbles of sulphuretted hydrogen gas. The only 

 well dug for salt water is about five feet deep ; eighty 

 gallons of brine produce a bushel of salt, and 120 

 bushels are manufactured weekly. The water is said 

 to be so strong, that after the second boiling it is not 

 necessary to remove the lye. The salt is pure white 

 on the first boiling, and is said to contain none but 

 volatile impurities. The well is in dark-coloured lime- 

 stone, containing shells. No marine plants appear in 

 the vicinity. 



On the Illinois, a few miles above its junction with 

 the Arkansas, are Bean's salt springs. They are simi- 

 lar to, and scarcely less productive than those on Grand 

 River. In digging his wells, the workmen struck, 

 about two feet from the surface, a stratum of charcoal, 

 which affords conjectures, at least, that this locality 

 has been known and worked by the aborigines. 



On the Wachitta are springs yielding a large pro- 

 portion of the muriate of soda ; but I am not prepared 

 to say exactly how many bushels are manufactured 

 yearly ; the quantity has been estimated at 50,000 bu- 

 shels. 



Most of the streams north of the Arkansas are said 

 to possess salt, which might be wrought with profit ; 

 on the north side of the Arkansas the salines are con- 

 nected with the coal formation ; on the south they oc- 

 cur in red clay. 



Ohio. 1 Ohio are many salt wells ; that of Zanesville, on the 



Muskingum, is 213 feet deep, and furnishes 80 bushels 

 of salt daily ; 95 gallons of brine give a bushel, worth 

 on the spot 1 dol. 50 cents. In Jackson, on the Scioto, 

 and on the Hockhocking, are several salt springs ; in 

 one a shaft has been sunk 300 feet ; but the brine has 

 proved weak, requiring 213 gallons to the bushel. 



There are many other springs in this state, some of Salt. 

 which are very valuable. f ' 



In Kentucky the salines of the Little Sandy River Kentucky. 

 are the most productive, yielding annually about 

 10,000 bushels. The waters, like those of Kenhawa, 

 &c. hold in solution,, besides the muriate of soda, the 

 sulphate of soda, sulphate of lime, and a small portion 

 of the sulphate of magnesia. Limestone and sandstone 

 are the only rocks found in the vicinity. The brine 

 at May's lick issues from alluvial argillaceous soil. 

 There are otheV salines, yielding about 10,000 bushels. 



In Virginia are several valuable salines ; the most Virginia. 

 important are in Wythe county, and on the Grand 

 Kenhawa River. The latter has a very strong brine, 

 95 gallons yielding a bushel of salt. The whole pro- 

 duce of this work is 30,000 bushels yearly. The rocks 

 in the vicinity are secondary, and connected with lime, 

 variegated sandstone, and bituminous shale. All the 

 salt of this state is connected with gypsum. 



In Pennsylvania the works on the Conemaugh Cree 

 produce upwards of 100 bushels a day, which sells at Villild ' 

 nearly two dollars per bushel. After various attempts 

 for 28 years, and sinking a shaft to the depth of 373 

 feet, the greater part of the way through solid rock, a 

 good supply of brine has been procured in Susque- 

 hanna county, where excellent salt has been manu- 

 factured from it. Preparations are making to carry 

 on the manufacture in an extensive manner. 



New- York possesses inexhaustible sources of wealth New-York. 

 in her brine springs, extent 1 ing through the counties 

 of Onondago, Cayuga, Seneca, Ontario, Niagara, Ge- 

 nessee, Tomkins, Wayne, and some small unwrought 

 ones in Oneida. The most important now worked are 

 those of Onondago, of Montezuma, (Cayuga county) 

 and Galen, (Wayne county ) 



The Onondago, or Salt Lake, as it is frequently 

 termed in its vicinity, is six miles long and two miles 

 broad ; it is supplied by the Onondago and Otisco 

 Creeks, and emptied by the Otsego River into Lake 

 Ontario. The lake, with its vale, is surrounded by 

 hills of limestone containing organic remains. Abun- 

 dance of gypsum has also been found associated with 

 the salt, in the same manner as has been observed in 

 Europe. 



The most easterly point at which salt springs have 

 been observed in New-York is about twenty-five miles 

 west of Utica ; forty miles farther west are the salt 

 springs of Onondago. The most westerly point at 

 which they have been as yet discovered is at Saint 

 Katherines, in Canada. 



The country or valley of the Onondago is several 

 feet below the level of the adjacent plains, and con- 

 sists of an indurated red and green clay, with their in- 

 termediate varieties. The springs rise to the surface 

 on the borders of the lake, and even far up the creek 

 supplying it with water. On the borders of this creek, 

 springs of fresh and salt water rise within a few feet, 

 and, in some instances, within a few inches of each 

 other. The quantity of salt held in solution varies 

 greatlv in different springs, even in those that are con- 

 tiguous. The strength of the brine is influenced by 

 the temperature of the season. During the last sum- 

 mer, which was there a remarkably dry season, the 

 springs continued to discharge their usual quantity of 

 water, but it was weaker than had been before observ- 

 ed. Many of them are deserted on finding others of 

 a stronger brine. The strength of these springs is 

 comparatively very great, as will be seen by the fol- 

 lowing list of brines, and their products : 



