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FORMATION OF " SALT PANS." 123 
immense tract of ground, and may be better 
imagined when described as " Valleys of salt" 
These are thickly covered with a coating of 
very fine, dry salt, of a dazzling and brilliant 
whiteness. The origin of them yet remains a 
mystery. The simplest, and not the least im- 
probable, of the many conjectures and surmises 
advanced on the subject, seems to be the theory 
of Mr. Chase. He supposes them to be formed 
by large beds, or deposits, of rock-salt, being 
placed below the surfaces of these "pans," and 
saturated by the heavy rains of the winter sea- 
son, descending through the soil, and reaching 
the fossil. The evaporation of them, during the 
succeeding hot season, thus forms the crust of 
salt that is collected on the bed or floor of the 
"pan." This, again, cracking from the heat, 
becomes disconnected, and being carried about 
by the wind, is formed into the small parti- 
cles, in which it is collected as an article of 
commerce. 
Besides the town of TJitenhage, that of Port 
Elizabeth is also situated in this division, on the 
shores of Algoa Bay. 
This may be described as the "Liverpool," 
or, more properly, the "Boston" of the Cape. 
In commercial importance, it is daily increasing; 
large stores and mercantile firms are springing 
up ; and the bay is always well stocked with 
