The above described samples of salt have been offered of late in 

 our markets as " Dairy Salt" judging from communications received. 

 As the recent introduction into our markets of various brands of salt 

 from new salt works in Western New York imparts a particular inter- 

 est to the question of what constitutes a good Dairy Salt, a short 

 discussion of that question may not be without interest in connection 

 with the above analyses. 



There are three sources of supply for the manufacture of salt, 

 namely, sea water, brines and rock salts. None of them yield by any 

 current mode of manufacture a chemically pure article of sodium 

 chloride ; all three may be successfully turned to account for the 

 manufacture of the various brands of salt in our market. 



Local circumstances control the selection of the particular source 

 of supply ; and as the particular fitness of salt for different domestic 

 applications, as meat-packing, family use and dairy, depends not only 

 on a fairly good chemical composition, but also to a considerable 

 degree on a suitable mechanical condition, it is quite obvious that the 

 selection of the mode of manufacture has to be made with reference 

 to the general character and the quality of the source on hand, and 

 to the kind of salt desired. 



Our home manufactured salt, "coarse," '■'•fine" and '■'■dairy salts," 

 has been produced until of late, almost entirely from natural brines, 

 sea- water included. All natural brines contain more or less of for- 

 eign, saline admixtures. Most prominent among these are the sul- 

 phates of lime and of magnesia and the chlorides of calcium and 

 magnesium. 



The general character and the industrial value of different brines, 

 considering concentration equally favorable, depends as a rule not 

 so much on the total ctmount of foreign saline substances present as 

 on the relative projiortion of the above stated foreign admixtures. 



The same circumstances apply with equal force to the salt produced. 

 The less chlorides of calcium and of magnesium a salt contains the 

 better will be considered its quality from a commercial standpoint. 

 The presence of sulphate of lime within certain limits, is far less 

 objectionable. 



A salt which contains but one-fourth of one per cent, of the chlo- 

 rides of magnesium and of calcium might prove highly objectionable 

 to the dairyman on account of their unpleasant bitter saline taste : — 

 while the sulphate of lime rarely amounts to less than one and one- 

 quarter per cent, in the best reputed brands of dairy salts, home and 

 foreign. 



A detailed statement of the exact amount of eacJi of the above 

 mentioned foreign saline admixtures is for this reason needed to ren- 

 der a decision possible regarding the relative merits of the various 

 brands of salt offered for sale, as far as a desirable composition is 

 concerned. 



The most common cause of injuring the composition of salt for 

 dairy purposes in particular is a too liberal use of lime during its 



