176 



Report of the State Geologist. 



receiving enlargement at the margin which lay at the surface of the brine. 

 The crystals have a perfect cubic cleavage. 



Salt is usually nearly transparent, white or greyish, but is sometimes red 

 and yellow owing to the presence of iron. It crackles or decrepitates when 

 heated and fuses easily, coloring the flame a deep yellow. It is soluble in 2.8 

 parts of water at 59° F. and in 2.5 parts of boiling water. It is almost 

 insoluble in alcohol. When pure it undergoes no change in the air, but when, 

 as frequently, it contains chloride of magnesium, it becomes deliquescent. Its 

 degree of hardness is 2, — that of common foliated talc being 1, and that of 

 the diamond, 10. It is 2.257 times heavier than distilled water at a tempera- 

 ture of 60° F. and weighs 140.735+ pounds, avoirdupois, per cubic foot. 



Mineral or rock salt in the condition in which it is found in the salt 

 mines of New York, weighs 135 pounds per cubic foot, equal to 3000 tons per 

 acre in a layer one foot thick. The standard weight of evaporated salt is 

 fifty-six pounds per bushel, equal to forty-five pounds per cubic foot. 



" Most animals appear to have an instinctive relish for its peculiar saline 

 taste, and from its frequent presence in solids and fluids of the animal economy 

 it may be supposed to perform an important part in assimilation and nutrition." 

 (Wood and Bache's United States Dispensatory.) 



Nearly all mankind regard the use of salt as an indispensable article of 

 diet, the exceptions being a few cases where milk and raw or roasted flesh 

 constitute the principal food and supply the required amount of saline matter. 

 Its preservative qualities when applied to meats and fish add very greatly 

 to its value and importance and immense quantities are required for use in the 

 arts and manufactures. 



The Brines or Salt Springs of New York. Springs of water containing 

 salt in sufficient quantites to be perceptible to the taste are found in nearly 

 all countries ; they are especially numerous in the state of New York, mainly 

 in the central and western parts. Many of them were known to the early 

 settlers as " deer licks " and in most cases contained only enough salt to give 

 the water a slightly saline or brackish taste. Others were found in several 

 localities, the brine from which was strong enough to yield salt of good 

 quality and in quantity sufficient to supply the wants of the country and also 

 to become, at a very early date, an article of export. 



Springs issuing from the Hudson River formation. In the report on the 

 Geology of the Third District of New York (1842), Mr. L. Vanuxeni men- 

 tions the following localities where salt springs occur : 



