Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-06-22


is wet and peaty, and beneath il. IN an enormous
depth there nppenrs to hc no solid rock. but a
deposit of elnY and earth unfolding in places
large bodies of rock salt and of gypsum. and sat
uraied in its lower portions with highly concen-
trated brine
Col. I. l.. Pr.-tou.eho owns MI but the South
western end = the Valley; j. the proprietor Of the
adjacent andz Of great fertility. 10 the extent OF
about G000 acres.
rHg SALT WILLS.
Those wells IRE awHed by nnmberof persons.
! Col. Preston owns more lhnn half If those
! worked. while there are other well- on bis land.
MT now in use. Some four or more aeres only
/ Of the King property corners in upon the salt
! wells. hut that i quite sufficient To afford The
prnpreior- a. much oft the brine could be de-
sired. The pumping it up is n small part II the
/ labor Of manufacture pumps furnishing at
! present enough water for the Whole egaporaiing
! power Il 5 eusy To soc how the proprietor Of
! salt wells might find himself sud-, nj yin the CON
! dition of The man in the Mexican army: who had
! his barrel Of cider tapped al the opposite end,and
u rival in the next roqm TO him selling it ut half
/ price
Ifthe winter happenedto 60 little beyond his
neighbour ght bore into il, aud in snnc respect
be Just as he. though his land might be but
strip in comparison.
The general theory is, that the body fossil
salt, we'll rs the beds Of gyp>am, were depos-
ito into the fi-urcs Of the fault from the iacent
sqliferous and gypscou- rocks which were dis.
solved by water pcrcolutmg through them after
their d,rupture aud probable eagewi>e npheaval;
or It may hive been "a Professor i. ID. Rogers
suggests the action of Jets If boiling water is.
suing copiously through the ragged chinks of
the fractures. With such nm agent, the dissolu-
tion would have been rapid, ms the geysers or
boiling waters Of Iceland are known In bIing up
and dcposiie in quantities pure silica much
Il, Il +I,a
Preston VALLEY
Whatever be their origin there these deposits
nrc, and we trust their owners will make the most
of them. The brine is reached about 300 feet from
the surlnce. This brine is the strongest in the
world; as well the purcst. Its usual proper
tion of Salt is about % per Ct eighteen gallons
yielding one bn~hel of pure salt. The Syracuse
snlt wells only have a strength of per ci.-thc
knuawha rarely exceeding 10 per ct. 1t has
none of the chloride Of calcium aud magnesia,
aud when evapornted, no APP recable amount of
bHfsrn, an ingredient that produces tendency
to the absorption of moisture. Therefore put up
in barrels fthe form in which it is transportcd,J
this salt Is exposed 10 the atmosphere without
dctriment. There is some gypsum in the water,
but that becomes incru~icd on the bottom of the
kettles, and is thus separated from the silt
The brine rises in the wells (Which are four in
che, in diameter) 10 withiu45 feet of The surfncp
from whence il i. pumped 10y steam engines into
the Reservoir. From these reservoirs, it is CON
Quoted to the kettles in the cyaporating houses
by wooden pipes. One of these houses is two
miles from thu wells, Immediately ON the bank of
the llolston. The others are at the wells. The
evaporation Is effected in kettles beneath which
are furnaces whore heat is constantly kept up,
from Monday morning to Saturday night 1t is
Il beautiful process, thu crystnzation Of the salt
which takes pluce On the surface, after which it
falls to the bottom, and is scooped up almost a
white rs snow After being left to drip awhile
in split hnskeis over the kettles. i, i thrown
Ia hulk, wheneeit j. put up in barrels. The salt
is believed 10 be the purest that is manufactured.
The table salt i, certainly the mnst beautiful we
ever saw. As 10 the supply from the wells, there
is no telling lis extent There has been ~ fall
ing off in the flow of brine for long series Of
years, ana IL Is inst "a, strong now as when first
discovered. Moreover, the existence of vast
depths of rock salt being ascertuined, the capac-
lily of supply may be considered unlimited.
WYNpHAM RonERrsoN,E Esq. is the lessee of
the Salt Works. as well asthe proprietor of as
interest in them. He pays an annual rent Of
$4,000. The annual product of the works is II
little over 100000 bushels The chief market is
East Tennessee and upper Mississippi and Ala
hpma. 1t is taken down the Hoston in large
nat boats, and along the Tennessee as far as
Muscle Shoals, which is the end of the voyage.
The boats can only float down the river, howev
"r, upon rise OF tnfce 1ttt NJ Inc Ihndng. lhsI
year thare was no rise and an immense stock &c
cumulated on Mr. Rohinson's hands. before he
was enabled to float off his fleet The price per
hushel at Muscle Shoals, has been iatterly IS
cents; AT the works 80 cents
The wells can supply any demand; and 1t is
likely that after the Railroad line through that
country IL completed the market for II will be
increased. Mr.. Robertson, has commenced boring
on his own land at the upper end nf the Valley,
f,rS alt lie has hprpl q Nd feet without finding
any; but is determined to continue 600 feet fur
ther when, if he has not succeeded before, he
will abandon the enterprise
Col. Preston and Mr.. Robertson, each are work.
ing Plaster beds and have Plaster mills near the
salt Works. Their operation can be extended r,
proportion to the demand.
branch of the Virginia and Tennessee Rail
Road, is TO be constructed to the Salt Works six
miles long. We passed along the emhankmcnt
in our route to the Wells. Agood portion of it
is finished. 1t is confidently predicted that Salt
Vile with its unlimited supplies of Salt end Gyp
sum can load n train each way, east and west
every day OF the year, if the demand will justify
it!
MN is lost in admiration, in contemplating the
wonderful characteristics of this basin. Its sur.
face is ncomparably beautiful, while the riches
underneath the soil are inexbaustible. Il ia q
source of wealth at once inappreciabe. In it's
vast beds of Gypsum, that part OF Virginia has
fertilizer through all time, and in the Salt of the
Preston Valley, a commercial commodity. that
will in all human probability be equally as cndu-
ring.
fear have wearied the reader with this long
account-yet have omitted great deal.
The members of the Board of Trade and their
companions. after looking at the works. and col.
Letting great number of beautiful stylactites.
which were formed by the water dripping from
the reservoirs. land uone of which ] believe,