THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY I9T5 73 



grained, evenly bedded, bluish or gray sandstones, often showing 

 a pronounced tendency to split along planes parallel to the bedding 

 so as to yield smooth, thin slabs. For that reason they are exten- 

 sively used for flag and curbstone, and a large industry is based on 

 the quarrying of these materials for sale in the eastern cities. Most 

 flagstone is produced in the region along the Hudson and Delaware 

 rivers, where there are convenient shipping facilities to New York, 

 Philadelphia and other large cities. The Hudson River district 

 includes Albany, Greene and Ulster counties, but the quarries are 

 mainly situated in the area that includes southern Greene and 

 northern Ulster, with Catskill, Saugerties and Kingston as the chief 

 shipping points. The Delaware River district includes SulHvan, 

 Delaware and Broome counties ; the shipping stations are along the 

 Erie and Ontario & Western Railroads. The sandstone of this 

 section ranges from Hamilton to Catskill age. In the area to the 

 west the quarries are confined to the Portage and Chemung groups, 

 with the most important ones in the Portage. There are large, 

 well-equipped quarries near Norwich, Chenango county, and War- 

 saw, Wyoming county, which produce building stone for the general 

 market. Numerous small quarries are found in Otsego, Chemung, 

 Tompkins, Tioga, Schuyler, Steuben, Yates, Allegany, Cattaraugus 

 and Chautauqua counties. 



Production of sandstone. Sandstone, by reason of its adapt- 

 ability and its wide distribution, is extensively quarried in the 

 State, ranking next to limestone in commercial importance. The 

 larger part of the output is employed in street work in the form of 

 curbstone, flagstone and paving blocks, but an important quantity 

 is also used as building stone. It finds very little application as 

 crushed stone on account of its platy fracture. 



The Devonic sandstones, which are collectively known as blue- 

 stone, are more widely quarried than the other kind ; this production 

 is carried on throughout the southern part of the State by a large 

 number of individuals and companies. With few exceptions, the 

 quarries are small, giving employment to only two or three work- 

 men each and having very little in the way of mechanical equipment. 

 Such small enterprises are particularly characteristic of the Hudson 

 River and Delaware River regions where much of the flagstone 

 and curbstone is produced. Many of the quarries are worked 

 intermittently by farmers in the oflf season of their usual occupa- 

 tion. The stone is hauled down the hillside to the railroad sidings 

 or the river docks where it is purchased by middlemen who ship it 

 to the eastern markets. The stone from the Hudson River district 

 is mainly shipped by barges from Kingston and Saugerties. In the 



