42 BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



tubs, to drain off as well as possible the adhering calcium 

 and magnesium chlorides, since they impart to the salt a 

 sharp bitter taste and keep it from becoming properly dry, 

 as they are very deliquescent, absorbing moisture rapidly 

 from the air. This being accomplished the salt is dumped 

 into the salt cart and drawn to the storehouse. Since the 

 gathered salt consists of crystals of various sizes, many man- 

 ufacturers pass it, as it comes from the salt yard (the name 

 given to these works) into the storehouse, over a wire screen 

 with 2\ meshes to the square inch, kept in motion by hand 

 or steam power. While the unscreened salt is called 

 ' Standard Coarse," that which passes over the screen is 

 known as ''Diamond C. < \§^>." and the portion passing 

 through the meshes "Diamond F. <^f>." 



Of the three kinds of rooms belonging to a salt yard 

 about one-third are deep and lime rooms, the rest are salt 

 rooms. These rooms are usually 18 feet wide ; their length 

 depends often on the extent of the yard, and it may be 

 therefore from ioo to 500 feet and more. In a properly 

 constructed salt yard, where the salt rooms are of great 

 length, they are built in a number of sections in such a man- 

 ner that the floor of the first one is some 6 or 8 inches 

 higher than that of the next one, and the floor of this one 

 again the same number of inches higher than the third one 

 and so on. The advantage of this arrangement is obvious, 

 for it enables the manufacturer to keep the fresher pickles 

 separated from the older ones, since, when the time of har- 

 vesting arrives he can discharge the pickle from the lowest 

 section and draw onto the salt the pickle from the section 

 above less charged with the deliquescent chlorides, for the 

 purpose of removing as far as possible from the salt with 

 this newer pickle the adhering chlorides and fine needle like 

 gypsum crystals. 



The depth of the rooms varies from 6 inches for lime and 

 salt rooms to 12 and 14 inches for deep rooms. The mov- 

 able covers are in 16-foot sections, capable of protecting a 



