Making of SALT at Nampt wych, in Cheshire.

T

HE Salt Spring, or (as they call it) the Brine Pit, is near the River, and is fo plentiful, that were all the Water boiled

out that it would afford (as they told us) it would yield Salt enough for all England. The Lords of the Pit appoint how much fhall be boiled as they fee Occafion, that the Trade be not clogged.

Divers Perfons have Intereft in the Brine-Pit, fo that it belongs not all to one Lord; fome have one Lead-walling, fome two, fome three, fome four,

or more.

N. B. A Lead-walling is the Brine of twenty-four
Hours boiling for one House.

Two hundred and fixteen Lead-wallings, or thereabout, belong to all the Owners of the Pit. No Tradefmen, Batchelor, or Widow, can rent more than eighteen Lead-wallings.

They have four fworn Officers chofen yearly, which they call Occupiers of Walling, whofe Duty is to fee equal Dealing between Lord and Tenant, and all Perfons concerned. They appoint how many Houses fhall work at a Time, and that is twelve at the most. When there is Occafion for Salt to be made, they caufe a Cryer to make Proclamation, that fo all Parties concerned may put to their

Fires,

7

Fires at the fame Time; and fo when they fhall • ceafe at a determinate Hour, at which they must give over; else they cause their Salt to be marred by cafting Dirt into it, or the like.

There are in the Town about fifty Houses, and every House hath four Pans, which the Rulers are to fee be exactly of the fame Measure.

Salt-water taken out of the Brine-Pit in two. Hours and a Quarter boiling, will be evaporated and boiled up into Salt. When the Liquor is morethan luke-warm, they take ftrong Ale, Bullock's Blood, and Whites of Eggs, mixed together with Brine in this Proportion; of Blood one Egg fhell full, the White of one Egg, and a Pint of Ale, and put it into a Pan of twenty-four Gallons, or thereabouts. The Whites of the Eggs, and the Blood, ferve to clarify the Brine by railing the Scum, which they take off juft upon the Boiling of the Pans, otherwise it will boil in, and fpoil. the Salt. The older the Blood is, the better it is, cæteris paribus. They do not always put in Blood, viz. when there is Danger of the Liquor's boiling to faft. If the Liquor happens to boil too faft, they take, to allay it, Brine that had been boiled and drained from the Salt: Crude Brine, they fay, will diminish their Salt. The Ale ferves, they faid, to harden the Corn of the Salt..

After one Hour's boiling, the Brine will begin to. Corn: Then they take a fmall Quantity of clear Ale, and fprinkle thereof into the Pan about oneEgg-hell full. [Note, If you put in too much, it will make the Broth boil over the Pan.] AIL the while before they put in the laft Ale, they caufe the Pan to boil as faft as they can; afterwards very gently, 'till the Salt be almost dry. They do not evaporate ad ficcitatem, but leave about a Pottle or Gallon of Brine in the Pan, left the

K 2

the Salt fhould burn, and stick to the Sides of the Pan.

The Brine thus fufficiently boiled and evaporated, they take out the Salt, and put it into Conical Baskets, (which they call Barrows) and in them let the Water drain from it an Hour, more or lefs, and then fet it to dry in the Hot-house behind the Furnace.

A Barrow, containing fix Pecks, is fold there for I s. 4 d.

Out of two Pans of forty-eight Gallons, they expect feven Pecks of Salt, Winchefter-measure.

Note, The Houfe in which the Salt is boiled, is called the Wych-Houfe; whence may be gueffed what Wych lignifies, and why all thofe Towns where there are Salt-fprings, and Salt made, are called by the Name of Wych, viz. Namptwych, Northwych, Middlewych, Droitwych. The Veffel whereinto the Brine is by Troughs conveyed from the Brine-Pit, is called the Ship. It is raised up out of the Pit by a Pump. Between the Furnace and the Chimney Tunnels, which convey up the Smoke, is the Hot-houfe, where they fet their Salt to dry; along the Floor whereof, run two Funnels from the Furnaces almcft parallel to the Horizon, and then arife perpendicularly; in thefe the Flame and Smoke running along from the Furnaces, heat the Room by the Way.

At Droitwych in Worcesterfire, the Salt is boiled in fhallow leaden Pans. They firft put in Salt-water out of the Brine-Pit.

After one Flour's boiling they fill up the Pan with Water that drains from the Salt fet to dry in BarAfter a fecond Hour's boiling they fill up the Pan again with the fame.

rows,

In five Hours Space the Pan boils dry, and they'

take out the Salt.

In twenty-four Hours they boil out five Pans,and then draw out the Ashes. After the Ashes are drawn out, they put in the White of an Egg, to cause the Scum to arife, viz. the Duft and Ash that fell into the Pans, while the Afhes were drawing out] which they take off with a Scummer. After four Hours they begin to take out the Salt; and once in twenty-four Hours they take out a Cake, which fticks to the Bottom of the Pan (which they call clod Salt) otherwise the Pan would melt. They told us, that they used neither Blood nor Ale. The Salt made here is extraordinary white and fine.

Anno 1570, A Rock of natural Salt, from which iffues a vigorous, sharp Brine, was discovered in Cheshire, in the Ground of William Marbury, Efq; The Rock, which is as hard and pure as Allom,and when pulverized, a fine and sharp Salt, is between thirty-three and thirty-four Yards diftant from the Surface of the Earth. Mountains of Foffile Salt are found in Hungary, Tranfilvania, Lithuania, &c.

The Manner of making Salt of Sea-Sand in Lancashire.

N Summer-time, in dry Weather, they skim or

IN

pare off the upper Part of the Sand in the Flats and Washes,that are covered at full Sea, and bare when the Tide is out, and lay it up on great Heaps.

Of this Sand they take and put in Troughs,bored with Holes at the Bottom, and thereon pour Water, as Laundreffes do upon Ashes to make aLixivium, which Water draining through the Sand, carries the Salt, therein contained, down with it into Veffels placed underneath to receive it. So long as thisLi

quor

quor is ftrong enough to bear an Egg, they pouron more Water; fo foon as the Egg begins to fink,they caft the Sand out of the Troughs, and put in new.

This Water, thus impregnant with Salt, they boil in leaden Pans, wherein the Water evaporating, the Salt remains behind.

There is alfo at Newcastle, Prefton Pans, in Scotland,Whitehaven in Cumberland, and elsewhere,great Plenty of Salt made of Sea-water, by boiling, and evaporating in like Manner; wherein they make ufe of Oxes Blood.

As for these Accounts of preparing fome of our English Mineral, I dare anfwer for the Half of them, having feen them myfelf, many Years ago, in my Travels through England and Wales, and publifhed them Anno 1674 fince which Time other Proceffes have been given in the Philofophical Tranfactions, which being more operofe, may be useful to Undertakers of fuch Works, therefore we will refer to them.

For the Iron Works in the Foreft of Dean. See Philofophical Transactions, Numb. CXXXVII. For the Tin Mines of Cornwal and Devonshire.. See Numb. LXIX and CXXXVIII.

For Refining with Antimony, ibid.

The Art of Refining, Numb. CXLII.

An Account of our English Allom-Works, ibid.
Of our English Copperas-Works, ibid.

Of our Salt-Works, ibid.

Of Coal-Pits. See Dr. Plot of Staffordshire, Chap. III. Paragraph 31, 32, 34, 36, 37, 60, 61, 62.

FINI I S.