Just a note before the holidays on the importance of salt, especially during "the late unpleasantness": I ran across the jail report for Orange County for 1864. Instead of the normal report about prisoner conditions et similia, the commissioners noted that the jail was "clean at this time and in good condition save two iron bars which have been sawed in two, & some bolts which the present jailor has ordered. We find no beds or bedsteads & only one stove. We find likewise the jail very damp from keeping salt in it and it can't be otherwise as long as salt is kept in it." Happy holidays. Jim Watkinson James D. Watkinson, Ph.D. Archives Library of Virginia [log in to unmask] 804.692.3804 To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html