The great salt districts of Europe in which rock-salt or brine-springs are met with are :--(1) Carpathians, (2) Austrian and Bavarian Alps, (3) W. Germany, (4) Vosges, (5) Jura, (6) Swiss Alps, (7) Pyrenees, (8) Spanish or Celtiberian Mountains, (9) isolated deposits and springs in Russia, Turkey, Italy, Prussia, British Islands, &e., and (10) Cheshire, Worcestershire, &-e.
1. The Carpathians.—Thie is the most extensive and rich salt district in Europe, possessing salt enough to supply the whole continent for several thousand years. The Romans mined salt in various parts of Transylvania, and down to the present time salt is obtained from that country. From the extreme west of Galicia, following the direction of the Carpathians to where they meet the Danube, salt is more or less widely distributed on both slopes of tho chain. The district may be divided into the Moldo-Wallachian, Transylvanian, Galician, and Hungarian sections.
The salt-mines of Wallachia are very noted, and tho salt is distributed by means of the Danube and its tributaries over Bulgaria, Servia, and Hungary, as well as over the home districts. The ealt used is the rock-salt, na is generally the case throughout the district of the Carpathians. Owing to the absence of cheap fuel, and the tolerable purity of the rock-salt, very few attempts to manufacture white salt have been made, and tnillions of gallons of nearly saturated brine aro allowed to run to waste. The mines at Stanikul, Kimpina, Okna, and Okna Mare are the most important in Moldo-Wallachia.
Transylvania is richer in rock-salt than any other portion of Europe. It consists of a central basin, thnt of the Maros river, and the basins of the upper courses of the Szamos and Alt rivers. The whole territory is more or less mountainous, and the deposits of rock-salt are frequently found along the banks of the small riven amongst the hills. The supply of salt is inexhaustible. The great centres of salt-mining aro Maros Civet., en the Maros river, most favourably situated for water communication. aud hence tho largest shipping town in the district, exporting seventy per cent. of the Transylvanian salt ; Parajd, on the Korond, a tributary of the Maros ; Thres Akna, on the Great Szamos; Szamos Ujvar, on the Little Szamos ; and Vizakna, on a small tributary of the Maros. The mine at the small town of Sasmezo, in the Ojtoszor Pass, forms a connecting link between the Transylvanian and Moldo-Wallachian districts. The generality of the mines lie near the surface, though the salt is followed downwards to great depths. The quantity of salt mined is very small compared with that in English mines. The whole annual production of Transylvania is estimated at 50,000 tons, about of the production of all kinds of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
The Galician district extends along the N. and N.-E. slopes of the Carpathians, from Moldavia to Moravia. There are numerous mines and brino-springs scattered at intervals along this district. The most celebrated salt-mines in tho world, aad these longest worked, are the mines of WieliezIra and Boohnia, at the extreme west of Galicia. The mines at Wieliczka have been worked since the 13th century. The mines and works of Sanok, Starasol, Kaluacz, and numerous other places, send out considerable quantities of salt; and reeently there has been discovered in the Kalnscz mine, eylvin, or native potassio chloride, and magnesic sulphate.
The Hungarian salt district is very extensive, but almost wholly confined to the region of the Carpathians, from the borders of Transylvania to Moravia. One of the largest tracts lies in the basin of the Szamos, in the neighbourhoods of Szathmar and Szigeth, and in the neighbouring dis tricts of Marmaros. In the localities of Soovar and Szlec, in the extreme north of Hungary, there are numerous mines. A continuous series of salt deposits is thus traceable from the neighbonrhood of the Alt in Wallachia, along the Carpathians (and the minor chains running from them) around Transylvania, and thence on both slopes of the same mountains between Galicia and Hungary, until the Sudetie mountains are reached.
2. The Austrian and Bavarian Alps.—This is probably. the best known salt district of Europe to ordinary travellers. The most important mines and springs lie in a comparatively small area, in tho upper parts of the basins of the Traun and Salza, and partially in the basin of the Inn. The most celebrated region is the Salzkammerg,ut, lying on both sides of the river Traun, on the borders of Styria and Salzburg. The salt is chiefly manufactured. In many cases, water is allowed to run into the rock-salt mines, and to become saturated brine, then drained off, and manu factured, many miles away. The district extends into Bavaria, along the valley of the Salm. The moat important salt towns in the Austrian portion nre Aussee, Ischl, Hallstatt, and Hallein. The Bavarian portion is very rich in salt, the ohief towns being Berchtesgaden, Reichenhall, Traunstein, and Rosenheim. The last-named manufactures the salt from brine conveyed in pipes from Reichenhall. This alpine district extends into the Tyrol ; at Hall, near Innsbruck, in the Inn valley, are very extensive salt deposits and salt-works, and the rocks are similar in character to those of the Salza and Traun.