190 REPORT OP TnE 



Of the shipments for 1859 and I860, the following amounts 

 were returned to Michigan: 



1S5D. 1SG0. 



By M'ch C R R , 4,507 bbls. 2 478 bbls. 



By Midi. JS. R. 11., 5 253 " 2,260 « 



Total, I esides shipments by lake,. . . 9,700 bbls. 4,738 bbls. 



About one-third of the fine salt bloiks at Onondaga, N. Y., 

 ore worked with coal, which is furnished from Pennsylvania at 

 $3,00 per ton. The use of coal has reduced the price of hard 

 wood at the works from five and six dollars per cord, to §3 50. 

 The latter sum corresponds to $2 33 tor "soft" wood, and $2 92 

 for "mixed" wood. The price of barrels -is at present about 

 26 cents. The prime cost of a barrel of salt (280 lbs.) at On 

 ondaga is stated to be 95J cents. At Kanawha it is 8"i cents. 



The solar salt manufacture was carried on at Onondaga in 

 185K, by 28 different parties, using an aggregate of 30,786 

 covers, and occupying 8,403,840 square feet, or nearly 193 

 acres of surface. In 1860 the whole number of covers has in- 

 creased to 36.302, occupying more than 207 acres of surface. 



The fine salt manufacture was carried en in 1858 try 104 sep- 

 arate parties, who used an aggregate of 312 blocks and 16,434 

 kettles. No additions have been made to the close of 1860. 



The- aggregate value of the solar works, at $40 



tin- cover, is, $l,4 r .2,080 



That of the fine salt works at $4,000 the block, is, . . 1,240,000 



Total capital in salt manufacture $2,692,080 



About 21 per cent, of all the salt manufactured at Onondaga 

 is solar salt. Tins, it will be seen, requires a larger outlay of 

 capital than the 79 per cent, of fine salt. The cost of manu- 

 facture of the coarse salt is, however, less, so that while one of 

 the elements of the prime cost of coarse salt is greater another 

 is less than the corresponding one for fine salt.* 



The total animal produce of salt in the United Kingdom, is 



*['o.- iftarly all my iifnrmition relative to the Silt minufjctnre at Onondaga I have 

 f Tv-n la I npjn th j Aunial R ports of the Superintendent, for wliich I am indebted to SudL 

 \. W. Smith, and Prof. Geo. H. Cook. 



