J2 BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



economical and sound business principles. The deposit 

 controlled by Mr Severance at Fayetteville is the largest so 

 far as actual thickness is concerned, and the same is nearly 

 true of the Mr Lansing's adjoining bed. The gypsum of Mr 

 Olmstead's quarry at Oakfield is the whitest and apparently 

 the purest, closely followed by that operated by the Wheat- 

 land Land Plaster Co. The most westerly deposits are 

 found at some depth and are worked underground, while 

 in Ontario Co. and to the east the gypsum is all worked in 

 open cuts. 



DESCRIPTION OF GYPSUM QUARRIES 



The most extended operations in the quarrying of gypsum 

 in New York are now being conducted by the Cayuga 

 Plaster Co., whose offices are at Union Springs. The plant 

 is on the Lehigh Valley R. R. at the junction of the Cayuga 

 branch and the Auburn branch. The mills are near the 

 tracks and shipping facilities are excellent. The beds have 

 been worked more than 50 yrs. The work at present is 

 being conducted on the S. E. dip of a roll or fold. The 

 slate and crane rock are used for making and maintaining 

 the roads of the quarry. The gypsum is covered by earth 

 varying in thickness from a few feet to 20 or 25 ft. The 

 gypsum is rarely covered with rock although in one old open- 

 ing two or three feet of a water lime were visible. The 

 dirt is "stripped" and removed to the dump heap, and the 

 "plaster rock" is worked from projecting caps to the lime- 

 stone below. The gypsum is drilled with ordinary jumper 

 drills, the holes are fired with black powder and the blocks 

 broken up by sledges. The material is carted in one horse 

 carts and piled up in store houses near the mill \ of a 

 mile distant, ready for grinding. The mill begins running 

 in January and runs about 7 months now, although they have 

 in the past worked continuously and even in double shift. 



In working to the north an underground water course was 

 struck and work was begun in a S. E. direction in which 



