CHAPTER XVI. 



ON THE PRICE OF SALT. 



IN my earlier volumes I have treated this article under 

 the head of agricultural materials, because in the economy of 

 medieval agriculture and consumption, and in the total absence 

 of winter roots and artificial grasses, the use of salted provisions 

 was necessary during the winter months. Now although the 

 seventeenth century had only very imperfectly developed the 

 newer agriculture, great progress had been made, English 

 husbandry had begun to avail itself of Dutch inventions and 

 Dutch instruction, and the powdering tub, stored at Martinmas, 

 had ceased to be the all-important resource of the English 

 householder. 



Salt was principally procured by solar evaporation, and it 

 was not till the conclusion of the seventeenth century that 

 the great natural deposits of Worcestershire and Cheshire 

 began to be seriously worked for trade purposes. Houghton 

 notes that in his day (1691-1703) these beds were made to 

 contribute supply. This is I think confirmed indirectly by the 

 names brown, black and grey given to certain kinds of salt, 

 these being frequently dearer than white. Our ancestors 

 appear to have thought that these discoloured products were 

 stronger and more suitable for preserving meat and fish than 

 those which it called white and bay. There are a few entries 

 of fine salt, which bears a higher price than the others. 



Salt is bought most frequently by the quarter and its sub- 

 divisions, and often in large quantities. Small purchases are 



