Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1909-08-14
ROCK SALT.
II Reveals to Us Place Where Once
a Sea EXISTED.

a Sea Existed.
Salt under ground 1t seems
strange thing at first to find salt
among the rocks deep down in the
earth. What does rock salt tell us?
1t reveals to us a place where once
sea existed. The water has since
flowed away, leaving some salt be-
hind. We know that ordinary salt
exposed to the air soon gets damp
and then becomes quite fluid, but
rock salt away from air and sun
keeps firm for ages.
Rock salt is found in various lay
ers of the earth's crust. Some of
the spaces of underground water
are called "seas," but, in fact, large
as they we're, they often did not re-
semble the "seas" we have. now, be-
cause they were much shallower. A
few were fairly deep, however.
Then, again, these ancient seas
were sometimes so salty that no
animal could live in them and only
a few plants.
Such seas, in fact, were mostly
"dead," and this accounts for the
masses of salt deposited along their
bottoms. But we find also signs
of rough water in the numerous
pebbles of the layer where the salt
is found among hard red gravel and
brown quartz. ~
Germany once had a tolerably
deep sea, not very salt, and the bot
tom surface of it shows coral reefs.
There are signs in it Of great fishes
armed with strong teeth, enabling
them to crush the shellfish upon
which they fed.
These swarmed below the sea in
: thousands. North England and the
mid1ands have the Keuper beds,
where the "seas" were always shall
low and where we can trace the
marks of raindrop flterings and
Sun cracks. The rock salt is often
in q layer 100 feetsthick. 1t is sup
posed that one. spart of these seas
was separated from another part by
bar of sand, oyer which the waves
toppled only now and them.
In the cutoff sea Evaporation
went on through the ages, and Of
course a deposit Of salt was formed,
while the occasional overflow from
outside replaced the water which.
had evaporated But really this is
not known for certain. IT is only.
clear rocks salt that contains the.
minerals we in our present ssa
water bromines fodinH aud mag
nesia.
Generally this salt is not mixed
with fragments Of different sub
stance, but-is-in'coluinns of rough
crystals. Now and then there is
found a layer of rock salt, with one
of inarl and shells Under It, succeed
ed by rock salt again, showing that
for time a change had taken
place.
Upon the land near these shallow
salt seas lived some singular ami
mails. unlike those of our earth in.
the later centuries Of it's history.
There we're remarkable reptiles be-
longing to the frog or batrachian
family. One of the species was the
size Of a small OK, with peculiar
complicated teeth and feet which
left prints on the earth SO exactly
like the impressions of the human
hand that geologists gave it Latin
name, meaning "the beast with the
hand.n Another strange creature
was a sort of lizard with horny
bill and feet resembling those Of
theg duck. 1t had somewhat the
appearance of a. turtle, it is sup
posed. Then there were some
warm. blooded animals about the
size of rat, which had pouches
in. their cheeks and. preyed upon
small. insects. - St.-nLouis Globe
Democrat.