Saltwater

“ Yet in the case of the Red Sea, and all such natural salt-pans, as that and other rainless portions of the sea may be called, there is, on account of currents which are continually bearing away the water that has given off its vapours and bringing forward that which is less concentrated as to brine, a moderate degree of saltness which its waters cannot exceed. We moreover find that, though the constituents of sea water, like those of the atmosphere, are not for every place invariably the same as to their proportions, yet they are the same, or nearly the same, as to their character. ”

“ THE HALTING STEP. Chapter I.
n the Western coast of one of the islands in the Channel group is a level reach of salt marshes, to which the sea rises only at the highest spring tides, and which at other times extends as far as the eye can see, a dreary waste of salt pools, low rocks, and stretches of sand, yielding its meagre product of shell-fish, samphire, and sea-weed to the patient toil of the fisher-folk that dwell in scattered huts along the shore. ”

“ For instance: when we come to an arm of the sea, as the Red Sea (§ 238) , upon which it never rains, and from which the atmosphere is continually abstracting, by evaporation, fresh water from the salt, we may naturally expect to find a greater proportion of salt in the sea water that remains than we do near the mouth of some great river, as the Amazon, or in the regions of constant precipitation, or other parts where it rains more than it evaporates. ”

“ The amount of SALT in the ocean is a circumstance which geologists have not, I think, sufficiently considered. This salt, if precipitated, would, it is believed, yield a solid range of mountains equal to that of the entire Himalaya. Now, mighty rivers run into the sea, as those of La Plata, Amazons, Mississippi, St. Lawrence, Orinoko, and many others; but none of these rivers are salt; they are enormous bodies of fresh water. How, then, does the ocean maintain everywhere its saline character unimpaired? ”

“ Communication between one lake and the other, and between the cities, and the other towns round about, is by means of canoes, with no need of going by land. The large salt lake rises and falls in its tides like the sea; its waters, whenever it rises, falling into the fresh-water lake as rapidly as though it were a great river; and when it ebbs, the fresh water then runs into the salt lake.
This great city of Temixtitan is built on the salt lake, and from the mainland to the city is a distance of two leagues, from any side from which you enter. ”

“ It was a day to make a man over as we left Eastern Point astern. Just to look at the young blue seas was life, and if you did not care for that, the soft salt air was a nerve-cure. And a morning to see pictures, when by and by the haze dissolved before us. Two home-bound salt-fishermen, both flying topsails to the strong breeze, but neither one much more than flushing her scuppers, went swinging by like a pair of twins. ”

“ From the great number of fresh-water forms which we see at this present day acclimatized in, gradually acclimatizing themselves in, or periodically or sporadically migrating into, the sea, we must conclude that under certain circumstances salt water may cease to be a barrier at some period of the existence of fresh-water species, and that many of them have passed from one river through salt water into another. ”

“ A short distance from us a narrow stream wriggles through the salt marsh, and we can get into a rough little boat and paddle down toward that old wharf whose weedy piles are covered with interesting things, which we may examine now that the ebbing tide has left them uncovered for a few hours. The peaty banks, with their growth of harsh salt-grass and algæ, will keep our eyes busy as we float along the black and winding creek. ”

“ This conclusion on the subject, which is now generally accepted, is based on the theory that the Cheshire salt lake was situated in a desert, or more probably a salty steppe , such as are found in the region of the Caspian Sea, and that the climate was divided into wet and dry seasons. The presence of rock-salt supports these ideas, because the marls could only be formed in periods of heavy rainfall, and the salt could only crystallize out in dry, water-evaporating periods. ”

“ This is left to stand and give the impurities a chance to settle to the bottom. Then it is allowed to flow into smaller basins, while more water is pumped into the reservoir. When autumn comes, the crop of salt is ready to be harvested. It is in the form of a crust three to six inches thick, some of it in large crystals, and some fine-grained. This crust is broken by ploughs, and the salt is heaped up into great cones and left for the rain to wash clean. Then it goes to the mill for purifying. The water of Great Salt Lake is much more salty than that of the ocean. ”

“ Directly we are in the canal we see over the banks on both sides; on the west is a wide sheet of water lit up to smoky-red by the reflection of the sinking sun. Flocks of storks and pelicans and other birds cover it at certain times of the year to fish in the shallow salt waters, for this is a salt lake, a sort of overflow from the sea. One day it will be drained and then crops can grow upon it. ”

“ All lakes from which rivers derive their origin, those which fall into the course of rivers, and which carry their water thereto, are not salt. Almost all those, on the contrary, which receive rivers without others issuing thereout, are salt; this seems to favour the opinion that the saltness of the sea arises from the salts which rivers wash from the earth, and continually convey into it; for evaporation cannot carry off fixed salts, and consequently those which rivers carry into the sea remain therein. ”

“ Many ships are now regularly supplied with apparatus for distilling sea water; and on the African coasts and other unhealthy stations, where water is bad, the men of our navy drink no other water than that which is distilled from the sea.
The salts of the ocean have something to do with the creating of oceanic currents; which, in their turn, have a powerful influence on climates. They also retard evaporation to some extent, and have some effect in giving to the sea its beautiful blue colour. ”

“ More than half of them were full—full to the very bung.
But what were they full? That was the serious question. Of fresh-water? No. The appalling discovery that had been made was, that the water within them was salt! in fact, water out of the sea itself, salt as brine!
This was indeed a fearful discovery; but it was easily explained. It was known from the beginning that these butts had been filled with salt-water—to serve as ballast on the out voyage from England; and the intention had been to empty them all into the African river and substitute fresh-water instead. ”

“ Conclusive reasons are that no water fowl or fish can live in an ocean of salt water. Strictly salt waters do not furnish any food; but only in bodies fed by streams of fresh waters, as in bays, inlets and mouths of rivers, and adjacent to the coast line of continents or islands where fresh water from springs and rainfalls contribute to produce growth and substances suitable for food. ”

“ Each summer it is flooded with salt water when the sea is brought in by strong southwesterly monsoon winds, and the climate during the remainder of the year is hot and dry. By the evaporation of sea water the soil is thus left so salty that no vegetation can grow upon it, and in places beds of salt several feet in thickness have accumulated. Under like conditions salt beds of great thickness have been formed in the past and are now found buried among the deposits of ancient deltas. ”

“ Let us watch a herd startled by our approach. Away they spring, leaping into the air, turning their heads in every direction to ascertain the cause of their alarm, and then rush off at full speed; but in a short time, if they are not followed, we may see them return, especially as night draws on, and crouch down in their accustomed sleeping-places. Should a salt lake be near, they will come in vast numbers to lick up with their tongues the saline particles adhering to the surrounding stones, where the salt has crystallised from the evaporation of the water. ”

“ Almost everyone is acquainted with the saltness while many bathers have noticed the superior buoyancy of salt water as compared with the fresh water of our rivers and lakes. The dissolved salts contained in sea water give it a greater density than that of pure water; and, since all floating bodies displace their own weight of the liquid in which they float, it is clear that they will not sink so far in the denser water of the sea as they would in fresh water. ”

“ However distant the connection may seem, our salt is always in the last resort obtained from the material held in solution in some ancient or modern sea. Even the saline springs of Canada and the Northern States of America, where the wapiti love to congregate, and the noble hunter lurks in the thicket to murder them unperceived, derive their saltness, as an able Canadian geologist has shown, from the thinly scattered salts still retained among the sediments of that very archaic sea whose precipitates form the earliest known life-bearing rocks. ”

“ Nevertheless, I was destined to get the first baptism of old ocean aboard of her, learn some hard lessons, and acquire a love of salt water that would never be lost. The sea has ever been and ever will be a wondrous magnet to many men.
Our bedding and earthly goods were put on board and we proceeded to make things as comfortable as possible. Each one had his little sugar tub with grub enough to last until we reached Boston, where we were going to fit out with salt and provisions for a voyage to the Grand Banks. ”

“ We crossed the Monongahela near its mouth, in a skiff, to a salt-work on the left bank. With the earth-borer invented in England, and improved in America, they found salt water at the depth of a hundred feet. As this water was thought to be too weak, a pipe was placed in the well, and bored in another place, until at the depth of a hundred feet a sufficiently strong brine was obtained. The salt water collected and rose to the top. It is now pumped out by a small steam-engine into a boiler, where it is boiled for four hours. ”

“ The geographical features of this almost unknown country are peculiarly interesting, and are unique when compared with others; the great height of its mountains, its remarkable elevation, the large rivers which take their rise here, and the numerous salt lakes, the altitude of some being from 13,800 to 15,400 feet above the level of the sea, all combine to excite our curiosity, which is increased by the fact that we know next to nothing of the interior or of the habits of the people. ”

“ But on islands composed as many of those on our Southern coasts are, of pure sand and of very small elevation, and hence with no raised reservoir to supply springs, the fact that pure fresh water may be obtained in large quantities by digging, is a mystery even to many well-informed people, although the explanation is very simple. To say that the "sea-water filters through the sand into these wells and becomes as sweet and pure as spring-water," is simply to display profound ignorance of chemistry and facts. ”

“ For first, the most excellent Governour, by His Divine Providence, hath most wisely ordained and appointed, that a salt water of this kind, which men could in no wise be without, should break forth out of the Earth, and it is thus effected: The Sea-water every where passing through the passages and clefts of the Earth, in some places is dried up by the Central fire, and coagulated into hard and great pieces, which being digged up by men, and dissolved by the help of Water, and freed from its fæces, is boiled up in fit Vessels, and reduced into a pure Salt. ”

“ The whole of the sea-shore in the neighbourhood of the salt works is measured out and divided into a number of small, regular squares; the surface layer in each is11 dug out; the bottom of each pit thus formed is then strewn with straw, and the earth that has been removed is thrown back upon it. When these brine ovens, as they were called—which are shaped like chests, 9 ft. long, 2 ft. broad, and 3 ft. deep—are prepared, they are soaked with sea-water. The sea-water in the interior of the ovens forms brine, and flows through little ditches into wells which have been dug for its reception. ”

“ Many of the fish which pass the greater part of the year in salt water spawn in fresh, and some fresh-water species, the common brook-trout of New England for instance, which under ordinary circumstances never visit the sea, will, if transferred to brooks emptying directly into the ocean, go down into the salt water after spawning-time, and return again the next season. ”

“ At noon we reach the Salt River, twenty-two miles up, which is one of the most marvellous salt deposits in the world. The Salt River winds in crescent curves through a valley wooded with aspen and spruce, and the Salt Plains six miles in extent stretch at the base of hills six or seven hundred feet high. The salt lies all over the ground in beautiful cubes,—pure crystal salt. It is anybody's salt plain; you can come here when you will and scoop up all you want. These plains have supplied the North country with salt since first white men penetrated the country. ”