106 SALTS OF SODA 



mlt of the Rocky Mountains, at an elevation of 4200 feel 

 above the sea. The dry regions of these mountains and of 

 the semideserts of California abound in salt licks and lakes. 

 There is a small spring on the Bay of San Francisco. In 

 northern Africa large lakes as well as hills of salt abound, 

 and the deserts of this region and Arabia abound in saline 

 efflorescences. The' Dead and Caspian seas, and the lakes 

 of Khoordistan, are salt. Over the pampas of La Plata and 

 Patagonia there are many ponds and lakes of salt water. 



The greater part of the salt made in this country is obtained 

 by evaporation from salt springs. Those of Salina and 

 Syracuse are well known ; and many nearly as valuable are 

 worked in Ohio and other western states. At the best New 

 York springs a bushel of salt is obtained from every 40 gal- 

 lons. — (Beck.) The springs of Onondaga county, New York, 

 afforded in 1841 upwards of three millions of bushels of salt, 

 and it is estimated that three hundred and twenty-two millions 

 of gallons of brine were raised and evaporated during that 

 year. — (Beck.) To obtain the brine, wells from 50 to 150 

 feet deep are sunk by boring. It is then raised by machinery, 

 carried by troughs to the boilers, which are large iron kettles 

 set in brickwork, and there evaporated by heat. As soon as 

 the water begins to boil, the water becomes turbid from the 

 deposit of calcareous salts which are also contained in salt 

 waters, and are less soluble than the salt. These are re- 

 moved with ladles, called bittern ladles, with the exception 

 of what adheres firmly to the sides of the boiler. The salt is 

 next deposited ; it is then collected and carried away to drain. 

 The liquid which remains contains a large proportion of 

 magnesian salts, and is called bittern from the bitter taste of 

 these salts. Some of the brine is also evaporated by expo- 

 sure to the sun in broad, shallow vats. 



This last process is extensively employed in hot climates 

 for making salt from sea water, wh.'ch affords a bushel for 

 every 3D0 or 350 gallons. For this purpose a number of 

 large shallow basins are made adjoining the sea ; they have 

 a smooth bottom of clay, and all communicate with one an- 

 other. The water is let in at high tide and then shut off for 

 the evaporation to go on. This is the simplest mode, and is 



What is the source of the salt manufactured in the United States 1 

 How much water is necessary to procure a bushel of salt ? How is 

 the salt obtained from the brine ? How much salt is afforded by seq 

 water, and how is it obtained ? 



