COMMON SALT. 87 



consumption of this necessary article by stating 

 that upwards of 140,000 tons of salt are annu- 

 ally exported from Liverpool alone, and that 

 from the salt springs at Droitwich, upwards of 

 16,000 tons more of pure salt are annually pro- 

 duced, to say nothing of the immense quantity 

 manufactured from sea-water in various parts 

 of the kingdom. The first kind, the rock salt, 

 is extensively used for agricultural purposes, 

 principally for the use of sheep and cattle ge- 

 nerally, and there can be no doubt of the utility 

 of this substance for them, if only exhibited 

 by the fondness of sheep, horses, and generally 

 all herbiferous animals for it. The last two 

 kinds, obtained by evaporating the brine to the 

 state of common salt, are those which are ge- 

 nerally used as a manure, and perhaps there is 

 no one article that has been more the subject 

 of discussion than this, and one about which 

 greater unc^jrtainty seems even now, notwith- 

 standing all that has been said, to prevail. It 

 is not our province to add more here on the 

 subject, than to express a decided conviction 

 that its use in many cases would be very bene- 

 ficial ; but greater care is perhaps necessary in 

 its application than in any other of the salts of 

 soda. 



One complaint that is made constantly 

 against the use of this salt is, that it produces 

 absolute sterility if the quantity is at all in 

 excess, and the fear of this result interferes 

 with its use. This effect arises from the 

 caustic nature of the gas with which the soda 

 is combined, viz. the chlorine, and as this body 



