34 M. BeudanCs Travels in Hungary . 



proximity to Austria, must operate against it. The quantity 

 of salt employed in trade annually, may be rated at 1,200,000 

 quintals, ancient weight of Paris. This mineral substance is 

 every where a royal right j no individual can go to work for it 

 on his own account, and provision can only be made from the 

 large depots established in different places by the government. 

 But the price, a matter of general import, is always fixed in 

 the assembly of the states, where nothing that can contribute 

 to the public welfare escapes attention. 



There are several other salt beds or pans in Hungary, of 

 more or less value, where salt is found, in solution, in the 

 waters of the marshes and lakes about the vast plains of the 

 country. In the heat of summer, the salt effloresces on the 

 surface of the soil, and large quantities are gathered of it. 

 Nitre (natron) is also produced in a great number of places, 

 and especially in the eastern parts of the Great Plain. In the 

 comitat of Bihar alone, more than 5000 metrical quintals are 

 collected annually, most of which is employed in the manufac- 

 ture of soap, particularly in the town of Debretzin. Saltpetre 

 is gathered, in considerable quantities, on the surface of the 

 pasture grounds, in the comitats of Szabolcs, Bihar, &c. In 

 1802, 3500 metrical quintals were obtained, and the produce 

 would be much more considerable, should the wants of the 

 State require it. The sulphate of soda, and the sulphate of mag- 

 nesia, are found in the same places, and very large quantities 

 might be procured, were it demanded for internal consumption. 



During the last thirty years, attention has been attracted to 

 a particular production, till then altogether unknown, certain 

 alum rocks, perfectly resembling those of Tolfa, in the Roman 

 States. These, under the management of M. Derczeny, of 

 Dercsen, have already yielded excellent produce, and in toler- 

 able abundance, not only sufficient for the manufactures of the 

 country, but for exportation to Austria. The principal places 

 where this valuable mineral appears, are in the mountains of 

 the comitat of Beregh. It is found also at Parad, in the co- 

 mitat of Heves, but it is there so blended with Pyrites, that the 

 produce is much diminished by it. 



Mines of pit coal would form a very desirable acquisition, 

 but the country seems rather destitute in this respect, whatever 

 may be asserted to the contrary by a French author, Marcelle 

 de Serres, in his travels into the empire of Austria, in 1814. 

 The only coal pits accurately ascertained, and where men are 

 at work, are in the comitat of Barany, near Funfkirchen on 

 one side, and at Egregy and Siklos on the other. Those near 

 Funfkirchen are the only pits where the works are followed up 

 with a certain regularity and advantage. The produce is ab- 



