The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-05-10
How Salt is Made.


have been visiting the Warsaw salt wells.
and the process of making salt il so interest
ing that you will all like TO hear about It.
Just think of a we'll | 900 feet deep, / Wis.,
tied one like that the other day and some on
the higher lands are still deeper. The we'll
is drilled about Il ve and q hslf inches in d.
ameter through the solid rock most of tho
way, some Of which IS exceedingly hard. A
large iron pipe called the casing" because
1t is the outside one, is put down all the way.
The salt away down there Is a It's dry state.
and forms q vast bed great many feet thick
Before they can bring IL up 10 the surface of
The ground they have to pour in water to
Dissolve 1t and then pump out the brine
Sometimes they c)me 10 water on the way
down. which helps them in this object, but
generally they have to get IL from some
stream near py and let IL down through the
pipe. Inside of the large pipe they lower q
smaller one, generally about three inches ia
diameter and have il suspended from the
top in tcme wsy so that il will not q1ite
touch the bottom of the well. The strong
brine is pumped mp in this side pipe, aud
the fresh water trickels down betwesn this
enc and the large pipe. Sometimes they
have third pipe outside OF these for 100 or
800 feet down where there is auckland or
any soft material which would ipj1rs the
well. The brine IL forced into huge yats
holding from 900 to l. 500 barrels, and tue
impurities settled bsfore salt is made from
it, These watts are placed on an elevation, 50
that the brine will run to the pans by force
OF gravitation.
In one establishment The very shallow
pans in which the brine is boiled are 100 feet
long and twenty feet wide. Another pan
was $50 feet long and about twenty-five or
thirty feet wide. These are of very heavy
boiler iron and are supported by the massive
masonry of the FIRE arches underneath. TIE
pans are made generally in two or three CON-
partments. The cold brine flows into the
first, where 1t is gradually heated. and con-
Quoted over the partition by means of ST.
phon (Iook up the meaning of that word, IL
you don't know III into the part where the
brine is boiled. ltgeneraily boils faster at
one end than the other slow boiling makes
cosre salt, fast boiling, 6ne salt. Great
clouds of steam pour out of the openings in
the roof
AS the brine boils great flakes Of sait form
on The surface, and when they become heavy
enough, they sink to the bottom where
thick layer soon forms and has TO be care
fully raked out upon sloping space a. the
side OF the pans called The drip" The
large pans have to be rsked about ten times
In twenty-four hours. They work night aud
day, and have TO be very careful not to let
the salt burn on the bottom Of the pans. rs
that soon spoils them, and pans are expen-
sive. One 20xl00 feet costs 81. 500.
After the salt has been raked out - nd hss
dripped while, il is csrted away and
dumped into great bins, reaching from floor
to floor. 1t is allowed to dry several days
and is then barreled up and sent of for com-
mon, coarse uses without further change.
FINE TABLE SALT
is made by drying the coarse salt in large.
revolving cylinder, about seven feetin diam
eter and TWENTY four feet long. and then
grinding il, just as wheat is ground. Ii
comes out as fine es -four and is put up in
small bsgs b. girls. and is then resdy for
table use.
There are several different methods In
che place small pans used; ia snoth r.
the brine is boiled in huge kettles which pro-
ducfs salt already fine enough for table use:
aud in still another the brine is heated ~
running a great number OF steam pipes
through ii. II Is very interesting I, see salt
wol ks in operation. Look 1t your mot er's
salt bsg and see il ii came from this part OF
New York. TIE most wells are in War~w
bat there are many others within q rad as OF
five or ten miles.
Three things srs particularly necessary tn
the manufacture OF salt. First There must
be salt. Second There must be plenty If
water. Third. The place must be near "a
railroad