Note 7 — Chapter X · SODIUM CHLORIDE—BERTHOLLET'S LAWS—HYDROCHLORIC ACID

When the German savants pointed out the exact locality of the Stassfurt salt-beds and their depth below the surface, on the basis of information collected from various quarters respecting bore-holes and the direction of the strata, and when the borings, conducted by the Government, struck a salt-bed which was bitter and unfit for use, there was a great outcry against science, and the doubtful result even caused the cessation of the further work of deepening the shafts. It required a great effort to persuade the Government to continue the work. Now, when the pure salt encountered below forms one of the important riches of Germany, and when those ‘refuse salts’ have proved to be most valuable (as a source of potassium and magnesium), we should see in the utilisation of the Stassfurt deposits one of the conquests of science for the common welfare.