THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY IQII 45 



Production. The reports received from the mineral water trade 

 in 191 1 showed sales of 8,923,628 gallons valued at $756,147. The 

 number of springs contributing to the production was about 40. In 

 the preceding year the sales amounted to 8,432,672 gallons valued 

 at $675,034, reported by 46 springs. The value of the water is esti- 

 mated at the spring water localities and does not include the cost of 

 bottling. No account is made of the waters used in hotels, sana- 

 toriums etc., run in connection with the springs, though this is an 

 important item in the business in some places. 



A comparison of the sales reported for a number of years back 

 shows that the demand for the higher priced carbonated waters 

 apparently has fallen off, but this decrease has been more than 

 counterbalanced by the increased consumption of the ordinary spring 

 waters supplied for office and family use. 



Saratoga Springs. The plans for the creation of a State reserva- 

 tion which is to include practically all the springs hitherto employed 

 for the commercial production of mineral waters and carbon dioxid 

 have begun to take definite form. The commission empowered to 

 effect the transfer of the property from private to State ownership 

 had taken over at the close of the year the following springs : 

 Hathorn (nos. 1, 2, 3), Coesa or Carlsbad, Champion, Red, Patter- 

 son, Putnam, Star, Governor, High Rock, Seltzer, Magnetic and 

 Peerless, Victoria, Geyser, Adams and Congress. Those not 

 included in the transfer at that time were the Arondack, Vichy, 

 Chief, Excelsior and Quevic. Of the springs on the State reserva- 

 tion a few were utilized for commercial production by Hathorn & 

 Co., under lease. 



NATURAL GAS 



The natural gas resources of the State are undergoing steady 

 development, the production being little influenced by the varying 

 trade conditions that affect other branches of mining. The supply, 

 though it has increased markedly of late years, falls far short of 

 meeting the requirements in the territory around the gas fields, and 

 is helped out by importations from other states, chiefly Pennsyl- 

 vania. Natural gas has been in use locally for nearly a century ; 

 there is a record of its employment for fuel and light as far back as 

 1825 at which time wells were in operation in Chautauqua county 

 for the supply of natural gas to households. 



The industry of supplying gas for general consumption first 

 assumed importance, however, with the development of the oil dis- 



