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are the layers of rock which have recently become famous as the 
outcrop of the Labrador Whetstone. The layers used for this 
purpose are some fine grained greenish colored sandstones, inter- 
bedded with brittle shales of the Portage Group, the entire mass 
being several hundred feet in thickness and capping the hills. 
History. ‘The fitness of this rock for sharpening purposes 
was recognized Jong before it came into prominence as a whet- 
stone. The wood choppers of Fabius were among the first to 
note its effectiveness, for early in the fifties they are said to have 
used detached pieces from the neighboring ledges for sharpening 
their axes. One of the first of these primitive stones is still used 
by its finder, Mr. Hotaling, who picked it up on his farm near 
Labrador Lake over sixty years ago. It is still in good preserva- 
tion, all the rough edges having long since been worn off. In- 
deed, a large share of the stones used for sharpening purposes 
have been obtained in just this way, having been picked up by 
their owners in the fields or rocky ledges, and have never seen the 
interior of a whetstone factory. 
As this rough sandstone seemed to give such excellent re- 
sults in all of the ordinary sharpening purposes for which it was 
used, there seemed to be no question but if it were properly cut, 
it would prove an excellent whetstone. Mr. M. M. Thomas of 
Manlius was one of the first who was strongly impressed with 
this idea, and he spent many days in trying to convince others of 
the advisability of manufacturing this rock into whetstones. As 
a result the Labrador Oilstone Company of Manlius, N. Y., was 
organized in the autumn of 1878. Mr. A. S. Wilcox of Manlius 
was the principal stockholder, Mr. M. M. Thomas, and Mr. Allan 
Gillette also holding shares. Quarters were immediately secured 
at Manlius on the site of what is now known as Cheney’s Lower 
Foundry and work was begun with two small gang-saws, one 
rubbing plate, and one pair of wheel machines. But so great was 
the demand for the new stone that they could not begin to supply 
the same. It is estimated that ninety ton of the rough rock was 
cut during the first year. Increased facilities being demanded, 
the company decided to move their quarters and quadruple their 
facilities, This was accomplished by the addition of four pair 
