Salt. 



The salt industry of New York is of great importance. 

 Originally Syracuse was the center of this industry, but since the 

 discovery of rock salt in and near the Genesee valley from which 

 richer brines can be obtained than at Syracuse, the center of the 

 industry has been transferred to this new district and the manu- 

 facture of salt at Syracuse will gradually diminish. 



The salt mines of the Retsof, Lehigh, Livonia and Greigsville 

 companies produce immense quantities of salt for the beef and 

 pork packing industries, and in this respect are not directly com- 

 petitors of the companies manufacturing salt from brine. About 

 15 miles south of Syracuse the Solvay Process Company having 

 found rock salt in great quantity, by boring a large number of 

 wells and availing itself of an abundant water supply is, by the 

 aid of gravity, enabled to bring to its works at Syracuse through 

 a pipe line, brine in a highly saturated condition. This is the 

 basis of a very large industry in soda ash. The salt of New 

 York occurs wholly in the Salina group. 



A detailed description of the salt and gypsum deposits of New 

 York is given in Bulletin No. 11 of the New York State Museum 

 by Frederick J. H. Merrill. From this publication the following 

 sketch of the geology of salt in New York is abstracted : 



Geology of Salt in New York. 



The salt of New York occurs almost exclusively in the Salina 

 group or, as it is also called, the Onondaga salt group of the 

 Upper Silurian period which was described by Yanuxem as 

 follows : * 



" This important group contains all the gypsum masses of 

 western New York, and furnishes all the salt water of the salines 

 of the counties of Onondaga and Cayuga. From the point where 

 the Niagara group terminates at the east, it rests upon the Clin- 

 ton group ; and as the latter group also comes to its end near the 

 first district, it reposes there upon the Frankfort slate, upon which 

 it continues to near the Hudson river. 



* Report on the Geology of the Third District of New York. 



