No. 275.] 
17 
17. Carbonate of soda. — Found, in a nearly pure form, on the walls 
of several buildings in the cities of Albany and New- York. It is also 
an ingredient of the mineral waters of Saratoga and Ballston. 
18. Muriate of soda, or common salt. — This important mineral is 
found abundantly in solution in the western part of the State, forming 
what are called salt or brine springs. Of these, I presented a view in 
my last report. Several others have been added to the list during the 
past year, and in the final work I intend to present a complete table of 
them, and to designate the localities of the most important ones on a 
skeleton map, with the other mineral springs.* 
19. Sulphate of potashy Muriate of potash^ Hydrohromate of potashy 
Hydriodate of Soda. — These are met with only in solution in mineral or 
sea waters. 
Alkaline — Earthy Minerals. 
20. Sulphate of baryta. — This mineral, some varieties of which re- 
semble marble, but are easily distinguished from it by their greater spe- 
cific gravity, occurs in various parts of the State. At Pillar Point in 
Jefferson count}, it may be obtained in large blocks, and is compact. 
* During the last session of the Legislature an act was passed authorizing " the Superin- 
tendent of the Onondaga Salt Springs to procure a set of standard instruments, and make ob- 
servations once a week upon the strength of the brine in the different salt wells in use by the 
State, and state the result of such observations in his annual report to the Legislature." At 
the request of the superintendent and inspector at Salina, these instruments were constructed 
under my direction. Two objects were to be attained, viz: 1st, That the instruments, which 
from their particular use may be called Salometers, should be so sensible as to indicate slight 
differences in the density of the brine; and 2dly, That they should be made of some material 
less frail than glass, and not liable to be corroded by the brine. After a series of experiments 
in which I was assisted by Mr. Allen H. Gill, then in my laboratory, to determine the size of 
the bulb, length of the stem, &c. — they were constructed of silver, with the bulbs nearly two 
inches in diameter, the stems of flattened silver tube about twelve inches in length, and with 
a proper weight at the lower extremity. The graduation was accomplished by sinking one of 
the instruments to a certain depth in brine taken from the Salina well. The density and exact 
proportion of saline matter in this brine were then accurately ascertained. This gave one 
point. A known quantity of rain water was now added to this brine, and after allowing time 
for the mixture to be complete, the instrument was put into this diluted brine. It, of course, 
sunk lower than before, and having marked this point on the stem, as I did the former, the 
density of the mixture was ascertained. This gave two known points, and the graduation 
was then easily completed. 
At the request of the officers at Salina, I graduated the instruments according to the centi- 
grade scale, that is, distilled water being 0, and saturated brine 100°. Their range is from 10 
to 12 degrees of this scale. The stems being about a foot in length, a difference of one-eighth 
of a degree, or of less than 4-lOOths in the proportion of salt which the brine contains, can be 
easily detected. An increase in the range of the instruments would have impaired their deli- 
cacy, and the principal object for which they were constructed, viz. to determine whether 
the density of the brine is influenced by the seasons, by the height of the water in ihe lake, 
&c. could not have been attained. 
[Assera. No. 275.] 3 
