10 On the Salt Springs at Salina, Syracuse, <^c. 



by the strength of one man. The water from the reservoirs 

 is received first into the deepest vats, in which is deposited 

 much of the iion or cohering matter, which appears in the 

 form of a pelhcle as soon as the temperature (at the wells it 

 is 50°) is increased by the action of the sun or warm atmos- 

 phere. From those it is passed by means of pipes into vats of 

 less depth, not exceeding six inches, and at a lower level, in 

 which it remains till, by the evaporation and consequent con- 

 centration of the brine, and the precipitation of sulphate and 

 carbonate of lime, it is sutBciently depurated for the crystal- 

 ization of the salt which will then begin to appear on the 

 surface. The brine, leaving behind the substances that have 

 been separated, is again drawn off into vats of a level still 

 lower, which are kept clean, and in which the salt is made 

 with greater or less rapidity, according to the altitude of the 

 sun, the clearness of the atmosphere from clouds and mois- 

 ture, and the strength of the wind. As the brine, by the 

 formation of the salt in the last vats, diminishes, and as it is 

 necessary that it be preserved of a proper depth, which sel- 

 dom exceeds five inches, and should always cover the salt at 

 the bottom, further supplies are drawn occasionally, and as 

 they are needed, from the second gradation or tier. 



The removal of the salt from the vats is without any regu- 

 larity as to time or quantity, and is dependant upon the con- 

 venience of the manufacturer, who sometimes leaves it till 

 there is an accumulation of three or four inches, or takes it 

 out when there is barely enough to cover the bottom. It is 

 shovelled into tubs, holding about one hundred pounds, in 

 which it is drained for a few minutes, and, without further 

 drying, is conveyed in carts to the storehouses. 



The measured bushel will weigh from seventy-four to , 

 eighty-five pounds — the product of the slowest evaporation 

 being the heaviest. When the weather has been clear and 

 calm, and the salt water free from agitation, the surface has 

 often been heated to 106°, while that in contact with or near 

 the bottom of the vat was 122°, and, by the hydrometer, was 

 ascertained to be specifically lighter than the upper portions. 



The mother-water (remaining after the extraction of the 

 salt) is a solution of the muriates of lime and magnesia, pos- 

 sessing a pungent taste, unlike the bitter in that from the 

 ocean, and probably containing very little magnesia.* 



* According to my experiments, there is, in that which I examined scarcely 

 a trace of magnesia. See also Mr. Chilton's results, Vol. VII. p. 344, of this 

 Journal. — Ed. 



