The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1916-05-19

handle the salts on larger scale, and
put Y. J. Cronin in charge as local
manager, a wide awake, live wire, who
knows his business and attends to 1t
strictly. He commenced mining salts
in much larger quantities, and the
product was steadily shipped in car
load lots to Philadelphia, New York,
Boston, and it has even reached the
marts of South America.
Winter came on, and although the
company continued extracting and
marketing salts the weather material
lly interfered with the work. In the
spring, surface water covers the lake,
and that was another handicap to over
come. The Stewart-Calvert company
decided upon installing an evaporat-
ing plant, SO as to continue producing
Under all circumstances. An open
building, 15Ox24O feet was erected.
which contains "a vats 20 feet in
length, some six feet wide and four
feet deep. In addition to the main
|builes;ng there is a boiler house, fully
equipped, an office, drying room and
packing room. This hive of industry,
like a little village, is located along
the railroad, with spur past the door
OF the packing room, at a point on the
|Similkameen river about a mile west
of the school house. Besides the build
ings and oblong vats mentioned there
are four of five huge cylindric tanks
to hold the salts imprognated water as
1t comes from the lake. While the con-
struction and eQuipping of the build
ings was being carried on a two inch
iron pipe line was laid from the lake
on the mountain top to the plant, a
distance, following the sinuous course
of the pipe line, of two and a half
miles. The lake is situated in a de-
preston in the mountains, and the
water from the lake had to be pumped
to the height of 100 feet, and from that
elevation discharged through a pipe to
the plant. The water is discharged in
to the large tanks, and from the tanks
carried by pipes to the oblong vats
Steam is then turned in and the water
goes through vigorous boiling pre-.
cess. The water is then left in the
shallow vats undisturbed for some
days, and the salts is precipitated in
beautiful fine white christalizations
The liquid itself is very dark, opaque
brown. After standing the required
length Of time, until all of the solids
have settled, there is deposit of salts
on the bottom of the watts several
inches thick. WOrkmen enter the vats
in high top rubber boots and scoop out
the salts with shovels. The salts is
then carried to the dryer and dumped
through shute into a centrifugal
sugar dryer. This dryer revolves at a
very high velocity, the moisture is
speedily eliminated and the salts, az
white as the driven snow, passes
through schute to the packing room,
directly into sacks or barrels. The
process OF extracting and handling the
salts is simple and effective, the pro-
duct coming out in fine marketable
condition. The plant has a capacity Of
ten tons day. The company is to in
crease the producing capacity of the
plant at once. Another tier ct vats
above those already in use, is to be in
stalled, and when the change is made
the plant will be equipped to turn off
~ tons per day. The drain on the sup
ply at the fountain head is not notice
able. The rake covers a large arer
and the process of extraction can &c
on indefinitely with hardly any limit tc
the yield.
] A visit to the salts works is exceed.