Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1858-11-11
"The salt, Iryou please"


Everybody has paFtiallty for dinner,
ADD one Of the most frequent expressions az
a dinner table is the one which forms our
caption; ADD, in order that our readers may
know som ething of the substance they are
using, we will tell them few facts about
salt. Salt is chemical compound of TWEEN
ty-three parts by weight OF beautiful silver
white but soft metal called sodium. dlscov-
cred BY Sir ii. Davy, in 1907, and thirty
five parts of pungent yellowish green gas
called chlorine, discovered by Schee!e In
IVA; these two combined, form this the most
uidely.di fused and useful of my ore COM
pound 10 the world. /. is found 10 the sea
and IN the rocks, from which our principal
suppiy comes. The most wonderful depos-
ties are in Poland and Hungary, where 1t is
ausrried like rock; one of the Polish miues
having been worked since 1851. Tho Polish
salt mines have heard the groaDs ot many u
poor captive, and have seen the last sSonies
/ of uany q brave man; for until lately they
were worked entirely by the State prisoners
Of Austria. Russia or Poland, whichever hap
rened to be 10 power at the time; and once
the offender, or taucied hindrance to some
other persons advancement, Was let down
into this sutterranesn prison, he never saw
the light OF day again. So salt has It's his
tory as we'll as scrence O:her large depos-
ties are found 10 Cheshire, England, where
the wafer is forced down by pipes into the
salt aud pumped ~ as bTl2e, which Is e'ap-
GRATED aud the salt obtained. 10 such an
extent has this been carried that one town
| in the salt country" as 1t Is called, has
scarcely an upright house in Il, all the toun-
da,ions having sunk with the ground to ill
up the cavity lett By the extracted salt
! In Virginia there are beds OF salt, and
the Salmon Mountains III Oregon, ore capa-
! be Of atfJrding large quantities 0! the same
material. The brine springs Of Saiina and
! Syracuse are we'll known, and from about
! toIt7 gallons OF this brine one bushei ot salt
| is obtained There are also extensive sal;
springs in Ohio The brine 10 pumped up
from wells made in the rock, and into which
! il flows and runs into boilers. These boilers
are large iron kettles set in brick work, and
when fires are lighted under them the brine
is quickly evaporated. The moment the
brine begins to boil it becomes turbid, from
the compounds Of lime that il contains, and
which are soluble 10 cold but not in hot wa
tel; these first sediments are taken out with
ladies, called "bittern ladies" aud the salt
being next deposited from the brine is car.
ried away to drain and dry. The remaining
liquid contains a great quantity OF msgne-
STA 10 various forins, and gives it the name
of "bittsrn," from the taste peculiar to mag
nesia IN every form.
But how did this salt come into the rock
is the natural qaery, and the wonder seems
greater when We recOliect that salt beds are
| -, Il, ~ tbn IA
posing the earth's crust. This fact proves
aDotoer: that az the majority OF these salt
beds have come from lakes LETT in the hOllows
Of tue rocks by the recedence OF tie sea, The
sea has through all the geologic ages been
as Eat ~ it Is to-day. Let Us take the Great
Salt Lake as an illustration, 1t beng the
largest salt lake in the world, but by 20
means the only one, as such inland masses
. of saline water are found over the whole
earth; but as ours is the greatest 10 extent, 1t
will form the best example. 1t is situated
at sn elevation ui 2UO Ieet above the level
of the sea on the Rocky Mountains, and has
an area Of 5 900 square miles; yet, high as it
is, "once upon a tlue," rs the story books OF
our juveniiisy used TO say, it was part OF the
sea, whi.h retired by the upheaval OF the
rocks, aud that great basin took lis salt va
ter up with it, Should this in time eVapOr-
ate, and its salt become covered with mud
aud sand, and tie land again be depressed,
then at some distant future age the people
would be wondering how the salt got there,
little thinking that the Mormons had ever
| built city on its shores when 1t was great
salt lake. There are also, however, salt
rocks taking their place in regular geologic
series with other rocks, intsrsE erscd between
red sandstone, magnetism, and carbonile-
rouB strata; these we can only account for as
We do for other strauied rocks, VIZ: that
they wero deposited from their solution IN
water or carried mechanically to the spot
where now found by that ever noble liquid.
We lear We should be accused Of an attempt
to put cur readers in pi. Ike, 80 We will stay
our pen, hoping they wall remember these
hits of formation when next they say,
"The salt, if you please. - Scientific liner.
| icuH.