250 
STRATIGRAPHICAL GEOLOGY 
saturation for these salts are reached. Evidently desiccation 
did not go far enough in many cases to precipitate the potash. 
It is scarcely to be expected that evaporation of the waters in 
such arms of the sea should continue through a long period of 
time without resulting in the laying down of a considerable 
number of salt beds and that desiccation should in every case 
have stopped short of precipitation of the potash. In the many 
cases of partial or total desiccation indicated by the number of 
salt beds found in the Permian section, it is more likely that the 
waters were in some cases completely evaporated. Reasoning in 
this way, there is good ground for the belief that potash should 
exist in separate beds in that part of the Permian basin where 
most common salt was precipitated. Finding of potash salts in 
no less than seven wells, two of which are located in the Pan- 
handle and five in the Llano Estacado, strongly tends to prove 
the correctness of the conclusion that widespread beds of potash 
exist in .this region; but the observations that have so far been 
made give little or no information as to the thickness of the 
potash-bearing beds. All we know is that there are such beds. 
To determine thickness of the beds in order to find whether these 
deposits will prove of commercial importance, it will be necessary 
to drill special holes for that purpose and to take out cores of 
the beds 
The potash-bearing mineral is, in almost every case noted, a 
red salt, which seems to be ordinary polyhalite. This mineral 
normally contains about 18 or 19 per cent of potash. Its occur¬ 
rence in sufficient quantity in drillings taken at considerable 
depths makes it appear desirable especially to investigate the 
magnitude of the deposits. This can be done only by coring 
the salt beds. As the salt and potash crystal are both soluble 
in water, the taking of cores through such beds requires special 
and expensive machinery, and to obtain the results desired it 
must be done under competent scientific and technical direction. 
[The latest five places where potash has been found are about 
60 miles apart. It seems possible that the potash-bearing strata 
may extend the entire distance between these places and possibly 
up to the Panhandle. From a recent inspection by N. H. Darton, 
it appears that conditions that may be considered favorable for 
the natural concentration of salt and also potash in the Permian 
