THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY I908 69 



Limestone 



Owing to the many i)urposes for which hmestone seems particu- 

 larly adapted, and because of its wide distribution in the State, it 

 holds first place in importance among the quarry products. As 

 crushed stone for road building and concrete work, it has attained 

 a wide use; as a building stone, its ease of dressing and quarrying 

 and its durability favor it ; large quantities are burned mto lime ; 

 a large amount is annually consumed as a flux, and it has as well 

 many minor uses. 



With the exception of some crystalline, metamorphic limestone 

 that is quarried and sold as flux or burned into lime, the stone 

 classed under this head is all of a massive noncrystalline character. 

 The 'ilimestones occur in formations from the Cambric to the 

 Devonic systems, the chief limestones used being the Beekman- 

 tovvn, Chazy, Trenton, Lockport dolomite, Cobleskill, Onondaga and 

 Tully. They vary in color from gray and brown to blue or black, 

 while the white and lighter colored limestones are rare. In 

 chemical composition they vary from almost pure calcium carbonate 

 to dolomite and frequently become argillaceous, arenaceous, fer- 

 ruginous or silicious. 



The total production of limestone in 1908 exclusive of stone 

 used in cement manufacture was valued at $3,119,835, a small de- 

 crease over the production of 1907, which was $3,182,447, or about 

 2 per cent. This decrease seems to be fairly evenly distributed over 

 the various uses of the stone and as well over the various counties, 

 none of which shows a marked decrease or increase in production 

 during the year. The production was distributed among the 

 various products as follows: crushed stone $1,647,629; building 

 stone $245,655; lime $401,728; furnace flux $230,117; other uses 

 $594,706. The lime made by the Solvay Process Co. and by the 

 Union Carbide Co. in connection with their products is included 

 under " Other uses " in 1908 while in previous years it appears 

 under " Lime." 



