Kraus — Occurrence of Celestite near Syracuse, N. Y. 37 



That many of the rocks of the gypseous shales contain, or did 

 contain salt, is evidenced by what Luther* says : " In the beds 

 of limestone lying between the principal gypsum deposits, and 

 more abundantly in that underlying the gypsum beds, hopper- 

 shaped mud casts of what are supposed to have been salt crys- 

 tals are numerous. They are found in hoth the cellular and 

 non-celhdar layers." The presence of the magnesium and 

 calcium chlorides is easily proven by referring to the many 

 excellent analyses of the brines of this state, as also to those of 

 the salt manufactured from them. The following analysesf 

 represent typical brines from the principal salt-producing sec- 

 tions of the state. 





"Wyoming 



Genesee 



Onondaga. 





Valley 



Valley 





A 





t 



\ 



CaS0 4 ._- 



. _. 0-3083 



0*5790 



0-3632 



0-5440 



CaCl 2 ... 



. .. 0-5268 



0-4650 



0-5701 



01340 



M g Cl 2 ._. 



. „. 0-1034 



0-2125 



0-2852 



0-1790 



NaCl.._. 



.__ 23-5819 



25-3199 



18-4277 



18-0560 



HO .... 



... 75-4796 



73-4234 



80-3538 



81-0870 



Englehardt, Bishop and othersf believe that the chlorides (mag- 

 nesium and calcium) are derived from the rocks overlying the 

 rock salt deposits. Englehardt thinks that the quantity of cal- 

 cium sulphate is dependent upon the amount of these chlorides 

 present. 



These analyses show that the meteoric waters passing through 

 the rocks of the upper portion of the Salina, since they con- 

 tain sodium, magnesium, and calcium chlorides in solution, 

 ought to, according to the authorities cited above, be good sol- 

 vents of celestite. Then, if it be true that celestite can be 

 quite readily dissolved in such a circulating water, it is not 

 unreasonable to believe that strontium should be present in the 

 brines of this vicinity. 



Through the courtesy of Mr. John D. Pennock, chief chem- 

 ist of the Solvay Process Co., Solvay, N. Y., I was able to 

 procure a sample of the brine which that company obtains 

 from its wells at Tully, N. Y., a short distance south of Syra- 

 cuse. The brine is mot formed by a true meteoric water, but 

 according to Hazard,§ " fresh water is introduced into the 

 wells, where it dissolves the salt, and is forced to the surface 

 in the form of a saturated brine." It is, therefore, evident 

 that such a brine would not show as large an amount of stron- 



* Luther, Economic Geology of Onondaga County, 1895, 265. 

 f Merrill, Salt and Gypsum Industries of New York, State Museum Bulletin 

 No. 11, 1893, Table of Analyses by Dr. F. E. Englehardt opposite page 38. 

 Jlbid., No. 11, 1893, 62. 

 § Luther, Economic Geology of Onondaga County, 1895, 257. 



