Salt, as in seasoning and preserving food. "When it rains it pours" prior to the early 1900s it did not pour as it was known to cake due to humidity. Remember when Grandma added some rice to the shaker in order to keep the perforations open?

As the records indicate this problem was first addressed in 1863 with a patent for a shaker containing a built-in agitator. Other patents followed to prevent caking during periods of high humidity. Along about 1911 Joy Morton, the female owner of the Morton Salt Company, introduced filler known as sodium silico-aluminate. The now internationally familiar trademark depicting the umbrella girl with a box of salt pouring in the rain was introduced at that time. Prior to that, salt serving was from a salt cellar (small dish.)