458 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 8 



bushel. In so bulky an arlicle as salt, ii is at all 

 times important, that ils transportation slioulcl be 

 attended vvitli the least possible expense;| in this 

 particular, few places possess the advantages ol" 

 Key West. It oHiers a safe harbor, of easy ac- 

 cess, before which vessels are constantly passing 

 in ballast, on their way to and (ioni the ports in 

 the Gulf of iVlexico, and in the harbor, ships o( 

 the largest class can receive the salt li-oni boats, 

 which can carry it direct to them from the pond, 

 vvliich is less than two miles distant. 



As an evidence that evaporation goes on more 

 rapidly as you approximate the equator, Newman 

 Kershaw, Esq. erected a small set of covered 

 works a short time since at Morris' Island, South 

 CaroUna, which is in latitude 32*^ 40', where, Irom 

 sea water, and without the aid of a natural reser- 

 voir, he makes from 30 to 33 per cent per annum, 

 upon the capital invested. 



As an additional proof of which, see the follow- 

 ing extract of a letter, from a highly respectable 

 gentleman residing at Turk's Island, which is in 

 latitude 21« 30' N. addressed to Mr. John 

 Whitehead. 



"I notice by a Key West Register of the 5th of 

 March, (which recently (ell into my hands) that 

 you have already been put in possession of some 

 information on the subject of making salt by solar 

 evaporation : — you ask me to state the cost of a 

 pan covering a surface of 10,000 superficial feet : — 

 This, as well as every thing else, you are aware, 

 would depend upon (he comparative value ol 

 labor, &c. Here, for instance, such a pan would 

 not cost more than ^50, and would yield from 

 1500 to 2500 bushels at a raking. We do not cal- 

 culate upon more than three rakings in a season, 

 (which is from 60 to 90 days) though five are some 

 times got: — 1500 bushels is a fair average for 

 each laborer ; it does sometimes, however, amount 

 to as much as 3000 bushels.'' 



From the foregoing data, no hesitation can be 

 felt in adopting the opinion that the manufacture of 

 salt at Key West, ofiers inducements for the in- 

 vestment of capital, which no other business can 

 present. 



Extract from the Report of the Salt Company. 



The "Salt Pond," so called, is a low, flat eur- 

 f'dce, in the interior of the island, near the north 

 east end, based on limestone, which is covered 

 with a white tenacious marl, i?:' pervious to water. 

 It is about on a level with low tide, and so flat, 

 that six inches of water will flow the whole three 

 hundred and forty acre?:. Formerly, spring tides 

 flowed over into this pond in two different places, 

 and filled it. This water having no outlet, eva- 

 poration, and in dry seasons, formed sail in the 

 whole pond vvithout any artificial aid. Now, be- 

 sides preventing the influx of spring tides, the 

 company have cut a canal through the rock ten 

 feet wide, by which they can either admit or dis- 



t Every island on the coast presents this advantage. 

 The salt from the works at Key West has to be first 

 put into lighters to be transported aboard the vessels 

 in the deep water of the harbor, a mile or two distant. 

 And at all places, the reservoirs must necessarily be 

 near a shallow shore. H. P. 



charge the water at pleasure, and thus hold a per- 

 fect control over it. 



The company commenced operations in the 

 autumn of 1831, attempting, lor the lirsl lime to 

 combine the Bahama and New Bedford plans of 

 salt making in the same scheme, and began to 

 granulate salt in the fall of 1&35. Not being able 

 to obtain information applicable to this combined 

 mode from any source, they necessarily lost much 

 time and expense. But they instituted a series of 

 experiments, and the result is, the purest and 

 heaviest salt known, from which the bitter water 

 is thoroughly washed, so that it will not "give," or 

 become damp in wet weather. 



Heretofore, the company have used but about 

 five acres of pond surface in connexion with two 

 stritigs of covered works, containing about 5,300 

 salt work feet built after the New Bedford plan, 

 and have granulaied salt in little less than one- 

 third of this covered surface. The yield has 

 been one and six-tenths bushels to the loot of cov- 

 ered surface throughout, or 8,500 bushels per 

 annum. They have now taken in about sixty 

 acres ot" pond surface, and have made such purma- 

 nent improvements, as to render this, also, tribu- 

 tary to their covered works, and such additions as 

 may be made hereafter to them. An expense in 

 labor of about three hundred dollars, will add a hun- 

 dred acres of pond surlace more, whenever it may 

 be needed. And a small amount of labor, not ex- 

 ceeding one hundred dollars, will convert the pond 

 or lake of about 180 acres surface, laying to the 

 northeast of the main pond, into an evaporating 

 surface. From this pond or lake the main salt 

 pond is to be led, by two canals, not exceeding 17 

 rods in length. 



The object of requiring so much evaporation 

 surface is, in the dry season (from December to 

 the last of May,) to bring the water to the point 

 of saturation in the pond reservoirs, and in that 

 state to fill the covered works throughout, and 

 thus make all of them granulating surface, instead 

 of less than one-third, as heretolbre. If but one 

 raking of salt can thus be obtained per annum, of 

 which the directors entei tain no doubt, the yield 

 will be more than doubled — that is, more than 

 three bushels of salt will be made (o each loot of 

 covered works. In very favorable years, two 

 such rakings may be thus obtained, with the aid 

 of a covered reservoir, which would swell the 

 yield to an enormous amount. 



Three rakings have been made per annum in 

 about one-third of the covered works, by drying 

 down the works full of water three times to each 

 raking ; thus about sixty inches of water at the 

 point of saturation is converted into sab. This 

 result is liable to be increased or diminished, as 

 the seasons prove more or less favorable. 



The company employ three hands and one 

 overseer, who are amply sufficient to tend six 

 strings of works instead of two : As all the ne- 

 cessary fixed or unproductive capital is now invest- 

 ed, the pond improvements made, and the neces- 

 sary knowledge acquired, every dollar of additional 

 capital hereafter subscribed, will be devoted to co- 

 vered works, which promise advantages to the 

 capitalists, not to be looked for in a new company 

 not as flir advanced as this. 



The fixed or unproductive capital invested by 

 this company, exclusive of real e.^tate, is estimated 

 at ,f 12,000. The works for the last six months, 



