180 REPORT OF THE 



the subjoined .table which, it is believed, will be found useful, 

 and sufficiently accurate. 



It must be borne in mind that the calculations are based up- 

 on the supposition that the brine contains no foreign constitu- 

 ents; but as all natural brines do contain varying amounts of 

 foreign constituents, it follows, first, that the total amount of 

 solid matter cfbes not bear the same ratio to the density, as if 

 the brine were pure; and secondly, that the amount of salt may 

 be quite a different thing from the amount of solid constituents, 

 which alono determines the density or specific gravity. 



It must also be borne in mind that brines of the same 

 strength possesses different densities depending upon their 

 temperature — the density rapidly diminishing as the tempera- 

 ture rises. It is consequently necessary to experiment on 

 brines at a uniform or standard temperature. The ordinary 

 standard temperature for hydrometrical operations is 60 de- 

 grees, Fahrenheit's thermometer, but the standard temperature 

 at the Onandoga salines, is 52°, that being the natural tem- 

 perature of the brine as it issues from the well. As the natural 

 temperature of Michigan brines, obtained from ordinary depths, 

 would be nearly the same, 52° might have been adopted as the 

 standard in the following calculations. The results, however, 

 would not have been practically different from those given. 



Constants, useful for reference, a portion of which are de- 

 duced from the subjoined calculation, and ethers the data upon 

 which the calculation is based: 



1. Specific gravity of pure water, 1 . 



2. Specific gravity of common salt, according to Ure, 



2 . to 2 . 25 (mean) 2 . 125 



3. Specific gravity of saturated brine, 1 . 205 



4. According to Ure, 100 parts of water dissolve, at 62| e 



Fab.., 35 . 88 parts of salt. 



5. One bushel of salt=9.3 gallons, wine measure; dis-. 



solves in 16.8 gallons of water, malriag, without 

 allowing for condensation, 26 . 1 gallons of brine. 



6. One hundred volumes of the constituents of a satura- 



ted solution of salt, become, by condensation, a 

 little less than 96 volumes, (Ure.; 



