Randolph County journal. [volume] (Winchester, Randolph County, Ind.) 1855-1862, 1858-11-11

dlnncr, ana one OF the most frequent
expressions at dinner table is the
one which forms our caption, and in
order that our readers may know
something Of the substance they are
using. We will tell them few facts
about salt Salt is a chemical com
pound Of twenty-threc parts by weight
of a leautifrl silver white but soft
metal, called sodium. discovered by
Sir II. Davy in 1907, AMI thirty i've
parts of pungent, yellowish green
gas, called chlorine. discovered by
ScheeIe in lT74-t these two combined
form this. the most widely diffused
and useful of any one compound Iii
the world. 1t j. found in the sea, and
in the rocks, from which our principal
supply con es. The most wonderful
/ deposits are in Poland and Hungary
where it is quarried like rock, one
of the Polish mines having been
worked since 1851. These Polish
salt mines have heard the groan OF
many poor captive. and have seen
the last agoneS Of many brave man.
for until lately. they were worked
entirely by the state prisoners OF
Austria. Russia or Poland. whichever
happened to be in power at the time,
and once the offender, or fan iei
hinlrance to some other persons
advancement, was let down into this
subterranean prison. he never saw the
light of day again. SO salt has its
history as we'll as scien e. Other
large deposits are found in Cheshire.
England. where the water is forced
down by pipes into the salt, and is
again pumped mp as brine. whica is
evaporatel and the salt obtainel.-
To such an extent has this been
carried that one town in the "salt
country" as it is called. has scarcely
an upright house in it, al tn. founda-
tions having sunk with the grounl. to
ill up the cavity left by the extracted
,alt.
In Virginia there are beds Of salt,
an the Salmon Mountains. in Oregon,
are capable of a!or'ling large quantities
of the same material. The brine
~prings of Salina and Syracuse arc
well known, AMI from about forty
gallons of their brine, one bu>hel Of
salt is obtained. There arc also ex-
ten>ive salt springs in Ohio. The
brine is pumped up from wells made
In the ro~k, anG into whi.h it flows
and runs into boilers. Thee boilers
are large iron kettles set in brickwork,
an when fires are lighted under them.
the brine is quickly cvaporatei. The
moment the brine begins to boil, it
becomes turpij. from the compounds
OF lime that it contains, an which are
soluble in cold, but not in hot water;
these first sediments are taken ont
with ladies' called "bittcrn ladies'"
and the salt being next deposited from
the brine is carried away to drain and
dry Tn. remaining liquid contains
a great quantity of magnesia IN VAR
ious forms. and gives it the name Of
"bittern" from tn, taste peculiar to
masncsia in every form.
but how dill this salt come into
the rock?" is the natural query. and
the wonder seems greater when we
recollect that saltbeds are found in
nearly every one Of the strata compos-
ing the carth's crust. This fact proves
another. that as the majority of these
salt bells have come from lakes left in
the hollows of the rock by the rccel-
cncc Of the sea, the sea has through all
the geologic ages been as salt rs it is
to-day. Let us take tho Great Salt
Lake as an illustration. il being the
largest salt lake III the world. but by
no means the only one, as such inland
masses of saline water are found over
the whole earth. but as ours is the
greatest in extent, it will form the
best example. 1t is situated at an
elevation Of t 200 feet above the sea,
On the Rocky Mountains. and has an
area Of 1000 square miles; vet. high
as it is, "once upon time" as the
story-books OF our juvenaliiy used to
say. it was part of the sea. which re-
tired. by the upheaval of the rocks.
anil that great basin took its salt
water up with it. Shonld this in
time evaporate. AMI it's salt become
covered with mud anil sand, and the
lanl again be depressed; then, at some
distant future age. the people would
be wondering how the salt got there
little thinking that the Mormons lad
ever built a city on It's shores when it
was n great salt lake. There are
also, however. salt rocks taking their
place in regular geologic series with
other rocks. interspersod b tween rel
sandstone, magnetism and carbonifer-