204- HISTORY OF 



\vhole time wherein the water would acquire the 

 degree of saltness it should be then possessed of." 

 All this may be fine ; however, an experiment 

 begun in this century, which is not to be eom- 

 .pleted till some centuries hence, is rather a little 

 mortifying to modern curiosity ; and I am induc- 

 ed to think, the inhabitants round the Caspian 

 Sea will not be apt to undertake the inquiry. 



This saltness is found to prevail in every part 

 of the ocean; and as much at the surface as at 

 the bottom. It is also found in all those seas that 

 communicate with the ocean ; but rather in a less 

 degree. 



The great lakes, likewise, that have no outlets 

 nor communication with the ocean, are found to 

 be salt ; but some of them in less proportion. On 

 the contrary, all those lakes through which rivers 

 run into the sea, however extensive they be, are, 

 notwithstanding, very fresh : for the rivers do not 

 deposit their salts in the bed of the lake, but carry 

 them, with their currents, into the ocean. Thus 

 the Lakes Ontario and Erie, in North America, 

 although for magnitude they may be considered 

 as inland seas, are, neverthless, fresh water lakes ; 

 and kept so by the river St Lawrence, which 

 passes through them. But those lakes that have 

 no communication with the sea, nor any rivers 

 going out, although they be less than the former, 

 are, however, always salt. Thus, that which 

 goes by the name of the Dead Sea, though very 

 small when compared to those already mention- 

 ed, is so exceedingly salt, that its waters seem 

 scarcely capable of dissolving any more. The 



