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IXTKODUCTIUN 



The year 1908. which will he rciiK'iiihcrcd as an after-panic year, 

 witnessed a marked reversal of ennditioiis in the niiiieral indu>tries 

 cif the State. 'In llie prosperity and steady ex])ansion that had so 

 long ohtained in thoe industries succeeded general depression and 

 contraction, wliich continued with little or no relief throughout the 

 12 months. There were few mines or cjuarrics that did not curtail 

 operations, and many were closed down for at least a part of the 

 year. The decline in productive activity was out of j)roi)ortion to 

 the rate of growth in the preceding years, so that the outputs of 

 most materials were well helow the totals recorded for 1907. 

 Though the setback will doubtless prove only a temporary feature, 

 it is certain that some time mu>t elapse before the former activity 

 is fully restored. 



The census of production that has been conducted for the present 

 and previous issues of this rcj)ort covers some 30 different materi- 

 als which are mined or (juarricd in this State. The total value of 

 the output reported for 1908 based upon the materials in their 

 crude or first marketable forms was $29,519,785. Compared 

 with the total of $37,141,006 recorded in 1907 this showed a de- 

 crease of $7,621,221, or about 20 per cent. The out])ut in 

 1907 was the largest ever made in the State, though it did not 

 greatly exceed that of 1906 which was valued at $37,132,832. The 

 corresponding total for 1905 was $35,470,987 and for 1904 $28.- 

 812,595, or a little less than the total for last year. 



Among the ditferent departments of the mineral industry iron 

 mining was one that experienced the full measure of the depression, 

 as it also had been among the first to respond to the prosperous 

 conditions of the preceding years. The output amounted to 697,- 

 473 long tons against 1,018,013 tons in 1907. Under favorable con- 

 ditions, instead of this decrease, there would have been without 

 doubt a large gain that might have set a new mark for the industry 

 in New York. The production was made by 10 mining companies 

 as compared with 13 who reported active in 1907. The loss was 

 shared by all the districts though in larger portion by the mines on 

 the Clinton hematite belt which has been under recent development, 

 while the Adirondack magnetite mines made the most favorable 

 showing. The value of the iron produced in 1908 was $2,098,247. 



The clay materials aggregated in value $8,918,863, as compared 

 with $12,688,868 in the preceding year. The decrease of about 30 

 per cent was due both to a smaller output by the plants and to a 



