120 
ILLUSTRATIONS OF 
its brine springs and the manufacture of salt. The 
springs, from which the salt is procured, appear to be 
inexhaustible. It is probable that the manufacture 
of salt is coeval with the town itself, but it was not 
until the year 1725 that the strong brine for which it 
is now famous, was discovered. Its purity is con- 
sidered superior to that of any procured elsewhere, 
and the quantity of salt produced amounts to about 
700,000 bushels yearly. At a distance of from 30 to 
40 feet below the surface of the earth, is a hard bed 
of talc or gypsum, which is generally about 150 feet 
thick ; through this a small hole is bored to the river 
of brine, which is in depth about 22 inches, and 
beneath which is a hard rock of salt. The water 
rises rapidly through this aperture, and is pumped into 
a capacious reservoir, whence it is conveyed into iron 
boilers for evaporation. This brine, which is sup- 
posed to be stronger than any other in the kingdom, 
is generally stated to contain one fourth part of salt ; 
but this calculation I conceive to be too low, for Mr. 
Evans^ was good enough to obtain for me one wine 
quart of this strong brine, which weighed two pounds 
eight ounces, and yielded on evaporation ten ounces 
and a half of salt. 
The salt springs are not confined to Droitwich, 
but extend in many directions around that part of the 
cotmty, and, I have before mentioned, that at Stoke 
Prior, about two miles from Droitwich, a manufac- 
tory of salt is carried on. 
As respects the water which is supplied by the 
^ The Hon. Sec. of our Natural History Society. 
