The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1884-02-09
descriptive Artirles.
THE HISTORY OF SALT.
From the N. Y. Truth.

The history of the ''salt of the earth is |
coeval with the earliest eyolutions. Elisha,
with salt, healeth the unwholesome waters;
and to this day the cultured Israelite of
Europe blesses salt at the last meal on the
eve of his Sabbath, and then distributes it |
among his guests and family He uses it
freely at the celebration of the Rosh Has
hama, or New Year, JON Kipur, or the
Feast of Reconciliation, and Louthos, or
Feast of Tabernacles. 1t is a strict re-
quirement of the Jewish religion that any |
slaughtered meat be soaked in brine for an |
hour.
Salt was used by the earlier Egyptians
in fertilizing the famous soil of the Nile
lands 1t entered largely into the religious
ceremonies of many people, and we find it
mentioned in the hymn Rig Veda of the
Brahmins, the Dhammapada of the Bud
dhists, the Zend Avesta of Zoroaster, the |
Analycts of Confucius, the Koran of the
Musselman, the Talmud of the Israelite, |
aad the Divine Pymander of the Egyp-
| tiaia;a
The, Arphs have always regarded the
giving OF SAT- sS'heir guests as the first
and greatest requisite of hospitality. Give
a grain of salt to a Mohammedan, and IL.
the twenty-four hours that it remains in his
body your person and property are sacred
in his sight though you be his deadliest
enemy.
At the late grand Oriental ceremony of
crowning the emperor of Russia, the bles-
sing and distribution of salt were marked
features.
In the works of all the classical writer's
frequent mention is made of salt and its
many uses The "Attic Salt of Greece is
historical as the synonym of wit. Cicero
said of statement of dubious correctness,
that it was to be taken cum grano sails
swith a grain of salt" Pliny compares
a precious stone to scintillating grain of
salt. Cornelius Nepos uses salt as a syno-
nym for good taste.
The Romans regarded salt mine as
giving extra value to conquered territory
and in Hungary, even to the present day,
the very mines opened by the Romans are
still in working order. The mines at Ches- |
ter, England, were also discovered and
worked by the Roman conquerors. Livy
speaks of the salt works founded by ANGUS
Martius at Ostia, and Caesar also mentions !
them
Horace writes of the Salinum or salt |
cellar as an heir loom, one of the sacred |
Lares and Penates, or household gods, and
Livy refers to it as being used at all sacri-
fees.
In the feudal period the salt cellar on
L. L Al. l.
tween the patrician and the plebian, the
former being seated above and the latter
below it.
Among all races the spilling of the salt
cellar is ominous of quarrel or other mis-
fortune In cases of such accidents the
French invariably throw three pinches over
the left shoulder or sprinkle a little on
fire to avert the i'll omen
The ancient laws of the Spartans for
babe the giving of salt to criminals, deem
ing this one of the greatest punishments to
which they could be subjected; and the
judges of Athens, by whom the almost in-
spired Socrates was condemned, and who
were afterward censured for their action,
were debarred the use of salt during the
remainder of their lives.
All the diamonds that ever came from
the mines of Golconda-all the gold, silver,
coal, iron and other metals that lie hidden
in the bowels Of the earth-all can be dis
pensed with in the extreme necessities of
nations and people; but not so salt 1t is
their superior in that 1t is an absolute ne
cessity, without which existence would be
difficult, and many of the daintiest viands
that ever tempted the palate of gour-
mand would lose their flavor
The London Lancet, in a recent issue,
says: 'Salt is the most widely distributed
substance in the body. 1t exists in every
fluid and in every solid, and not only is it
everywhere present, but in almost every
part it constitutes the largest part of the
ash when any tissue is burned. In par
ticular, it is constant constituent of the.
blood, and it maintains in it proportion
that is almost wholly Independent of the
quantity that Is consumed with the food
the blood will take up so much and no
more, however much we may take with the
food; and, on the other hand, if none be
given, the blood parts with its natural
quantity slowly and unwillingly.
Salt is used as curative for dyspepsia.
1t is an emetic, styptic, and a spoonful of
dry salt will sometimes stop hemorrhage.
1t is effectually applied to sprains and
bruises, and is often used in cases of inter-
mittent fever In small doses it is stim- |
ulant tonic, and in larger quantities pur-
gative and emetic.
So great is the desire of animals for salt |
that they make regular trips to the places
where 1t, is to be had. This accounts for
the so-called buffalo, deer, sheep and cow
licks, so numerous throughout the country,
and it is well-attested fact that many dis
coveries of natural salt reservoirs by man
are due to this cause.
Salt is produced, first, from sea water, by
solar evaporation; second, from lagOons,
part solar and part steam evaporation; third,
from solidifed rock; fourth, from springs
and wells, varying in depth from 200 to
1900 feet, whence it is pumped into large
watts and kiln dried.
Asia is a large producer Of salt. In
China there is continuous chain of salt
wells all through the country, at distance
of 80 miles from one another. The lands
are irrigated by these wells, and are SO
fertile that they produce crops that are the
wonder of the world. Java followed her
example, and immense crops of coffee were
the result In Siberia and Tartary the
plains are covered with saline incrusta-
tions. There are some so salt lakes in
Persia, which contain brine of extraordi-
nary strength In Palestine the waters of
the Dead Sea contain unusual saline pro-
perties.
There are extensive tracts of salt lands
and beds of rock salt in Africa also. Hon
olulu is likewise large producer, and
ships the article in great quantities to San
Francisco.
At Cracow, in Poland, there are salt
mines 270 miles in extent, in whose dark
interior thousands of people pass their lives.