THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY I908 67 



Falls, Herkimer co. ; and Wellesley and Picton islands, Jefferson 



CO. 



'Throughout the whole Adirondack region and the bordering area 

 there is an immense amount of building stone, durable and capable 

 of taking a fine polish, but at present lack of demand and the in- 

 accessibility of some of the outcrops have prohibited any extensive 

 development. 



In the area comprising the Hudson River Highlands in Putnam, 

 Orange, Rockland and Westchester counties and in New York 

 county are large masses of granite, gneiss and schists all of which 

 have been worked. In Westchester county, following the river 

 from Peekskill to Yonkers, is a belt of gneissic rock in which many 

 small quarries are located, those in operation in 1908 being at 

 Scarsdale, Glenville, Yonkers, Peekskill, New Rochelle and Hast- 

 mgs. The only other active quarry reporting from the Highland 

 region was one operated for crushed stone at Carmel in Putnam 

 county. In former times quarries were in operation in Rockland 

 and Orange counties and on Manhattan Island, furnishing some 

 gneissic stone for buildings in New York and for some of the West 

 Point buildings. 



The chief use of granite in the State is in the form of crushed 



stone for roads, concrete and railroad ballast, and by far the largest 



share of this material is quarried and prepared in Little Falls 



where an increasing output is made year by year. The rock used 



■ is properly a syenite, an outlier of the Adirondack border. 



The Westchester and Putnam county material, owing to its 

 gneissic character, is better adapted for a building stone than for 

 crushing or paving purposes and the output is sold mainly as rough 

 building stone. Some of the granites and less schistose gneisses, 

 however, are dressed and polished and present a very handsome 

 appearance. 



The greater part of the Jefferson county granite was used in 

 1908 in making paving blocks. The output of monumental stone, 

 though considerable, was not as great as the beauty and dura- 

 bility of the stone would wairant. The beautiful pink color, good 

 polish and durability should give to this stone a wider demand 

 specially for interior decoration and for monumental work. 



At Ausable Forks, Essex co. a dark green syenite is quarried 

 and utilized as a building and monumental stone, taking a hand- 

 some polish. 



