384 The Philippine Journal of Science isis 



processes used in China, where they either boil the brine or 

 else evaporate it in the sun, according to a recent article, ^^ from 

 which we quote the following : 



on the very first day of opening operations in the salt-works the seashore 

 is cleared of weeds, and a beginning is made by digging out the upper 

 layer of earth and breaking it up; this earth when broken up is turned 

 over and over with bamboo poles until it is fine and smooth. Then sea- 

 water is brought from ingenious receptacles, which are filled with water 

 at high tide, and the earth is moistened with it, as with light rain, equally 

 and thoroughly. Towards evening the earth is shovelled to one side, and 

 a long line of mounds is formed of it, in order to protect it from rain 

 during the night. On the following day the procedure is the same as 

 on the previous day, except that the earth is carried to some particular 

 spot for safety. In fine weather it is taken out again from time to time, 

 and dried on the salt-grounds. 



As soon as the earth has been thoroughly prepared, i. e., is completely 

 impregnated with salt particles, the workers take it to the ovens. These 

 ovens [not a real oven but a leaching vat], which are shaped like chests, 

 9 ft. long, 2 ft. broad, and -3 ft. deep, are called Lu; near each a well 8 

 ft. deep is dug. The floor of the oven is strewn with rotten wood; above 

 this are fine bamboos; on them is a layer of brushwood, and above all 

 is a layer of ashes of plants. The prepared earth is shot upon this, 

 beaten hard and covered with rice straw. On this is poured sea-water, 

 which finds its way through all the inner layers, and flows into the well 

 as brine. Each oven in 24 hours gives more than 20 tan (60 pud) of 

 pure brine, which is drawn out of the well and taken to the boiling oven 

 to be boiled * * *_ Each boiling begins at 11 p. m. and continues 

 until 10 o'clock on the following morning * * *. It appears in three 

 qualities and colours: white, dark and yellow: the white is the best, the 

 dark not so good, and the yellow much inferior and of a bitter taste. 



The second method * * * jg distinct from the first, in that the 

 brine is not boiled, but poured into peculiar paved tanks, and left there 

 to the sun and wind. For complete evaporation two days in summer, 

 and 3-4 at other times are sufficient, and indeed the N. W. wind is quite 

 as favorable to this operation as are the sun's rays; on the other hand, 

 with unfavorable winds, and in rainy weather, no salt is taken. 



Another method in use in the Philippines, introduced in re- 

 cent years by the Chinese, utilizes most of the lower areas — 

 that is, the vast stretches of overflowed tide lands, or salt 

 marshes, at the head of the bays or along the coast line. The 

 land best suited is that flush with an ordinary tide, so that it 

 may be covered from 30 to 50 centimeters deep by a high tide. 

 The land, having been cleared of vegetation and debris, is first 

 leveled and then diked with levees a meter or more high. It 

 is then partitioned off into reservoirs, shallow evaporation lakes, 

 or stock ponds of diflferent sizes, depending on the size of the 

 plant itself, for receiving, settling, and evaporating the sea 



''Far East. Rev. (1912), 9, 303. 



