SALT ROCK.

Much labor and money have been at various times ex pended in the vicinity of Salt Springs to discover the sal gem from which the water derives saline properties. I have had considerable correspondence with Thomas Spencer, Esq., the agent of this State, and Superintendent of the Salt Works at Syracuse, in relation to the Salt Springs at that place, and from all the facts I could gather, had formed an opinion that the brine obtained from those salt wells is the result of a lixiviation of the under strata of the earth by water from the clouds, and not from the dissolving of the sal gem below the surface of the earth.

The Mogul Tartars, by lixiviating the earth impregnated with muriate of soda and evaporating the solution, obtained salt.

I have recently received a letter from my correspondent, Alexander Findlay, Esq of Saltville, Washington county, Virginia, in which he states that in boring for salt water at that place, they had discovered Salt Rock. I give his state

ment in his own words:

"We are about sixteen miles from the town of Abingdon, on the waters of the North Fork of Holstein, in a valley, or rather a trough, I believe geologists would call it, of peculiar formation. On the first settlement of this country, salt water was discovered by the early settlers in this valley in a swampy piece of ground, the resort of buffalo and deer; and the place got the name of the Big Lick. One or two small springs were discovered, but I do not know that they were ever worked. Perhaps the settlers in the neighborhood did make what salt they wanted at them. At a very early date wells were dug, and have since been extensively worked.-one of the old wells, and one of the best, having some thirty years since partly caved in, the proprietors of Saltville, about 25 years since, at a distance of about fifty feet from the old well, commenced digging a new well, which they sunk to the depth of about 110 or 115 feet and stopped, finding the old well likely to hold out and answer their purpose. This new well was afterwards sunk to about 178 or 180 feet, and again stopped; no person having paid any attention to the strata through which they had dug. The received opinion now is, that at about 30 feet they struck plaster and continued in plaster, with occasionally layers of blue and red clay, with a mixture of blue slate. About eighteen months since, we determined to sink still farther into this well, and if possible to get salt water. We again commenced digging in plaster mixed with blue slate and continued in it about forty feet, when we struck the Salt Rock. In this we dug about fifty feet, and have since bored about one hundred feet, when we got out of the salt rock, and got into slate with small portions of plaster, which we have bored in for six or seven feet.

About forty-five feet from the old salt well, and the same distance from the new one, in which the salt rock was discovered, we commenced two or three weeks since to bore another hole (not having reached water in the well we were sinking; we are, however, still going on with it;) and have sunk to the depth of about 125 to 130 feet. In this hole, at the distance of 18 or 19 feet, we came to a small layer of plaster, and have since been principally in red clay, occasionally going through small strata of plaster and slate stone in which we have been ever since. About 150 or 200 yards north of where we are digging or boring, the first layer is slate, next a layer of bituminous shale, and then shell lime stone. In digging or boring we have never come to lime stone. Bituminous coal is found 8 or 10 miles from us, but not in sufficient quantities to work; at the distance of 40 or 50 miles a supply of it could be had, but it is so difficult to get roads to it that at present we could not be compensated for making them. Our salt water contains no bitter water or any other impurity except such as is common to lime stone water. It is said to be the purest and strongest in the world; from 22 to 30 gallons of the water makes fifty pounds of salt." Washington county, Va., is bounded on the south-west by the State of Tennessee, and lies in a valley, between the Blue Ridge and Clinch Mountains, and in lat. 36 degrees

35 m.

I shall receive some specimens of the Salt Rock, and shall for the inspection of those who may be desirous to examine leave some of it at the office of the Journal of Commerce, it. It is a very important discovery, and it is therefore I take this mode of making the particulars public. of seventy-eight degrees of strength,-water saturated with The brine obtained from the last well sunk at Syracuse is brine being reckoned at 100-and yields about two pounds of salt to the gallon; and what is somewhat extraordinary is that the harder the well is drawn by the pump, the stronger

the brine that is obtained.

EBEN MERIAM. Journal of Commerce.

Health of New York.

For the last two months, the number of deaths in this city has averaged above 200 per week. This is quite as large a mortality as usual, even at this least healthy season of the year. There is, however, no prevailing disease, and the occurrence of frost, which must be near at hand, will doubtless have a beneficial effect. The greatest number of deaths last week by any one disease, was 28 by cholera infantum. Then came consumption with its 27 victims, convulsions 14, dysentery 14, marasmus 13, &c. And as if the whole train of diseases and accidents were not doing the work of death fast enough, two persons committed suicide. Five were drowned. The following schedule will show the comparative mortality in different weeks for nearly five months post: Sept. 18.....

11.

4.

Aug. 28.

...213

..213

.191

190

This discovery is of the utmost importance, and will ren, der this place, in point of facilities for the manufacture of anthracite iron, unequalled by any other in Pennsylvania.

The ore strata is, we presume, a continuation of the celebrated Monteur iron ridge. A railroad of about one hundred yards in extent, would enable us to have the ore brought to the water's edge at a trifling expense. Thus, with iron ore and lime stone close by, and abundance of coal which can be brought from the Shamokin mines to this place, in large quantities, at $1 75 per ton, we present a field of enterprise for the manufacture of anthracite iron, that must and will ere long be embraced by those who desire to make profitable investments.

Sunbury American,