Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1873-09-27
How Salt is Made at Kanawha.

We recently visited the great Kan
awha Valley to examine the salt works
and to see the process of manufacturing
this article of universal table use. The
deposit exists here in the form of brine,
which is drawn mp from wells from 800
to !, 600 feet in depth. 1t is found on
both sides of the Kanawha river for if
teen miles above Charleston in West
Virginia. The brine at the Snow Hill
Furnace Works, which is in the heart
of the saline district, is reached by bor-
ing to the depth of 300 to LOO feet.
The well at the bottom is three and q
half inches in diameter and grows larger
toward the top. The water rises natur-
ally to within 200 feet of the surface,
and is taken from this depth by steam
pumps into large reservoir above the
level of the evaporating vats. Each
pump delivers from Is to 40 gallons a
minute according to its capacity, and it
takes from 80 to so gallons of the brine
to make bushel of the salt. The first
process is to get rid of the iron which is
found in the brine. 1t passes through
eight large watts heated by steam, and
the iron is precipitated to the bottom,
leaving the brine pure. The heating is
done by copper steam pipes. Three five
inch pipes pass through each vat, which
evaporates the water rapidly. After the
iron is disposed of the brine passes into
other watts at lower level, and the salt
settles at the bottom of the vats as a
sediment. The salt is shoveled from
the vats every morning upon plat
form, and after draining and drying a
few hours is removed in wheelbarrows
to the large bin where tits packed. The
brine is free from sulphate Of lime and
the salt is remarkable for its dryness
and purity. The help employed over
these steaming vats is mostly freedmen,
who are stripped to the waist and seem
to enjoy the steam bath in which they
spend their working hours.
The packing is principally in barrels,
which are found to be cheaper and bet
ter in some respects than sacks. The
barrels are made of oak slaves at
Charleston of two sizes, holding 81 and
7 bushels each of 80 lbs. to the bushel
-hooped with hickory. Both white oak
and hickory abound in the neighboring
forests, and the cooper shops are cheap
ly supplied from this source. The bar
rels are made strong and solid at 40 to
Al cents each by the quantity. The salt
is put immediatelyo on board the steamer
at the Snow Hill wharf to be shipped
down the river for the Western market
or to be transferred to the Chesapeake
and Ohio railroad at Charleston for the
East The capital invested in these
works is about $685. The copper
pipes used in pumping and evaporating
cost about $4,000 One very great ad-
vantage which the manufacturers here
hayeis the extreme low prices of fuel
and the facility for transportation. The
best of splint coal is taken from the
mines close by and delivered at a cost of
from one dollar to dollar and quart
er ton. The saith water carriage by
the Kanawha and Ohio Rivers to all the
large packing cities in the West, and
rail communication with the East. The
retail price of the salt here is 81. 60 per
barrel, which is about 80 cents bushel
of so lbs. From the impurities in the
manufacture 100 lbs. of bromine are
made daily, which is sold for rs cents
pound. Lands in the valley for aericul-
tural purposes are worth from 800 to
$3.50 per acre, and the lands that will
yield brine worth from $500 to $4,000
per acre.
The only drawback to the prosperity
OF the large salt manufacturer is the
danger of over production, which de-
presses the price. To guard against this
the strong parties in the business rent
the works of their weaker brethren to
lie still. This prevents competition to
a certain extent, and looks a good deal
like monopoly. 1t would seem that an
article of necessity, in use upon every
mans table, should have all the advan-
tage of competition, and be furnished
as cheaply as possible. 1t is claimed
by the salt manufacturers here that
they make the purest and best salt in
the world. This will be received with
some grains of allowance in the East,
where they managed to pack meat and
salt butter in very creditable manner
before Kanawha came into their mar
kets. Now that communications are
opened and Snow Hill comes in compe-
tion with Onondaga and Liverpool, we
shall soon have opportunity to Judge of
their comparative merits.