Chap. XIV. 



SALT AND ITS MANUFACTURE. 



305 



" oTir inn," and went down to make an inspection 

 of the shores of the bay. 



Between the village of Ne-ka-loo and the bay 

 there is a wide mud-flat, three or four miles in 

 extent, having several wide and substantial em- 

 bankments stretching across it and running paral- 

 lel with the bay. It appeared as if the bay had 

 been much wider at some former period than it is 

 at the present day. Large portions of land have 

 been from time to time reclaimed from the sea, 

 and the embankment furthest inland is now a 

 long way from the shore. Outside of this the 

 land is now under cultivation, and annually yields 

 heavy crops of grain. As we approached nearer 

 to the bay, we observed the flats covered with 

 a white crystalline substance, which on a nearer 

 view proved to be salt. Here there is but little 

 vegetation of any kind, and the whole face of the 

 country presents a most barren aspect. 



Salt is made in large quantities all along the 

 shores of the bay in the following manner : — A 

 thin layer of the surface-soil is raked up, loosened, 

 and then saturated with sea-water. As the water 

 evaporates, the operation is repeated several times 

 in succession until the clay or mud has absorbed 

 as much salt as it is capable of doing. This salt- 

 clay is then collected together into large round 

 mounds, and this part of the process is finished. 

 The second part of the process consists in sepa- 

 rating the salt from the mud. This is done by 

 throwing the latter on the top of a rude filter, and 



