INTRODUCTORY. 



The Natural Kesources of Indiana, while not including among their 

 number any of the precious or even useful metals, are, nevertheless, as 

 varied in character and as valuable as those possessed by any State in 

 the Union. In each of the last two reports issued by this Department 

 there has been given in an introductory paper a resume of all of the 

 State's mineral resources, while of several of the more important ones, 

 as the sandstones, oolitic stone, petroleum, etc., detailed reports with 

 accompanying maps and results of tests have been published. 



The value of each of the five leading mineral resources of the State 

 as produced in 1896 was as follows: 



Natural Cias $5,043,635 



Coal 3,946,081 



Petroleum 2,954,411 



Building Stone ". 1,691,341 



Clay Products 2,674,325 



Total S16,309,793 



When, to the value of those mentioned, there be added that of the 

 cement rock, marl, whetstone and lime rocks, curbing and flagging, 

 molding and glass sands, and other minor mineral resources, the total 

 will easily foot up twenty or more millions of dollars. With the excep- 

 tion of petroleum, the value of each of the resources produced in 1897 

 was increased over that of the previous year, though as yet the exact 

 figures of all are not available to show the amount of gain. 



No State in the Union, unless it be Pennsylvania, possesses at pres- 

 ent a better and cheaper supply of fuels than does Indiana. Among 

 the other States she ranks second in the production of natural gas, 

 fourth in the production of petroleum and seventh in the production 

 of coal. These three fuels are all stored products which have been 

 formed in ages past and are not now being produced beneath the sur- 

 face of our State. The citizens of Indiana are drawing upon them with 

 a lavish hand. They not only waste them in their furnaces, their grates 

 and their stoves by burning them at all hours and in over-abundance, 



