The History of Cayuga County 1789-1879 page 300
Geological Formation / Town of Montezuma

feet. The strata passed through were similar to those in the preceding well. The new well, more recently opened, (I believe in 1824,) was one hundred and twenty feet deep. At one hundred and fifteen feet, the brine was said to have been of sufficient strength to yield eighteen ounces of saline matter to the gallon. On reaching the quicksand, however, the brine rose rapidly, and in two or three days overflowed the top of the well.

"In 1823, the salt made at the Montezuma springs amounted to between 16,000 and 20,000 bushels, of which about 1,000 were produced by solar evaporation. From that time the annual produce gradually decreased, until it scarcely amounted to more than a few hundred bushels.

"This great depression of the manufacture may be ascribed to several causes. One of these undoubtedly is the rudeness of the pump works. The brine is raised by hand or horse power, and the tubs are so imperfectly constructed that fresh water is continually flowing in and reducing its strength. The soil is moreover owned by individuals, and the manufacturer is obliged to purchase or lease it, as well as to erect his works. At the Onondaga springs, on the contrary, grounds are furnished by the State without charge.

"Again, the inferior strength of the Montezuma brine has operated unfavorably upon the manufacture at this place. On the other hand, the advantages possessed here, are an abundant supply of wood and eligible sites for the erection of works on a side-cut from the Erie Canal.

"The brine obtained from one of the borings made here previously to 1840, had a specific gravity of 1.07543. 1,000 parts of the brine yield 101.20 dry solid matter. The composition of the whole is as follows:

Carbonate of lime----------------------- 0.18
Sulphate of lime------------------------- 5.25
Chloride of calcium--------------------- 1.40
Chloride of magnesium------------------ 1.00
Chloride of sodium, or common salt----- 93.35
Oxide of iron, with a minute portion of
silica and carbonate of lime---------- 0.02
Carbonic acid, holding in solution the
carbonate of lime and oxide of iron-- 0.08
Water, with a trace of organic matter--- 898.72

"This brine, therefore, contains 700 grains of dry chloride of sodium in a wine pint; 5,600 grains, or 0.80 pound in a gallon, and it requires nearly seventy gallons for a bushel of salt. The strength of the Geddes brine, when compared to this, is about as ten to seven; of the Liverpool brine, as ten to six and a half.

"By an act of the Legislature passed in 1840, an appropriation was made for the purpose of procuring, if possible, a supply of brine of sufficient strength to be advantageously used in the manufacture of salt. A shaft was sunk to the depth of 200 feet, which opened into a vein of brine much stronger than any heretofore procured in this vicinity. The specific gravity of this brine is 1.09767; and 1,000 parts of it contain 129.33 parts of dry, solid matter, or 12.93 in 100 parts of brine. This is within one per cent. of the quantity contained in some of the brines which have been worked in Onondaga county; a fact which would seem to warrant further expenditures, and to strengthen the expectations which have been entertained in regard to the establishment of the manufacture of salt at Montezuma.

"I have analyzed brine from a boring of upwards of 500 feet, at the village of Montezuma, and which is remarkable for the large proportion of saline matter which it contains. The specific gravity of this brine is 1.18959, water being 1.00000. 1,000 grains of the brine contained 230.30 grains of perfectly dry saline matter. The strength of the specimen may be judged of by the fact, that 1,000 grains of water saturated with common salt, contain from 260 to 270 grains of that salt; so that if there were nothing in this brine but common salt, it would be within three or four per cent. of complete saturation; but this is far from being the case.

"The following are the constituents in 1,000 grains of this brine:

Sulphate of lime, with minute portions of
carbonate of lime and oxide of iron--- 0.69
Chloride of calcium---------------------- 90.24
Chloride of magnesium------------------ 8.05
Common salt, (pure and dry,)-----------131.32
Water, with traces of organic matter---- 769.70

It will require from 43 to 45 gallons of this brine to furnish a bushel of salt in the ordinary state of dryness.

"The following statement will exhibit the value of this brine, as compared with the best specimens heretofore obtained from Syracuse and Montezuma:

Grains.

Proportion of common salt in 100 grains of
this brine------------------------------ 13.13
Proportion of common salt in 100 grains of
best Syracuse brine------------------- 17.35
Proportion of common salt in 100 grains of
best Montezuma brine---------------- 9.33

"But in regard to the troublesome impurities, viz: the chlorides of calcium and magnesium, the proportion in the brine just described is much larger, as will appear from the following statement:

Grains.

Earthy chlorides in 100 grains of this brine---9.82
Earthy chlorides in 100 grains of best Syra-
cuse brine------------------------------- 1.50
Earthy chlorides in 100 grains of best Mon-
tezuma brine---------------------------- 2.40

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