9IO NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



INTRODUCTION 



The mineral wealth of New York is overshadowed by that of 

 some states, but it is nevertheless a great natural endowment. 

 According to the reports of the Census ofhce at Washington, New 

 York ranked 13th in 1902 in value of mineral production. The 

 total as compiled in the reports, however, does not take into 

 account the clay products (classed as mineral manufactures), the 

 value of which is more than one half that of all other materials 

 combined. In manufactures based on substances taken from 

 mines and quarries, the State was second with an aggregate of 

 approximately $500,000,000, which represented 23 per cent of all 

 its manufactures for the year. 



The useful minerals that are produced, numbering over 20 in all, 

 are derived from a great number of localities distributed throughout 

 different sections. Nearly every county of the State is represented 

 by one or more branches of the industry. Building stones and 

 clays are naturally the most abundant and the most extensively 

 exploited. Of the former all the principal commercial varieties 

 occur, including many stones that are prized for monumental and 

 decorative work. Black, red and green roofing slates are quarried 

 in Washington county. Cement materials of high excellence occur 

 in inexhaustible quantities. In the manufacture of natural hy- 

 draulic cement the State has long held the leading position, while 

 the Portland cement industry, which has had a more recent origin, 

 is rapidly assuming prominence. The Adirondack region supplies 

 most of the crystalline graphite obtained in this country ; its garnet 

 has a wide reputation for abrasive purposes. The talc deposits of 

 St Lawrence county are unique for size and quality of the material 

 yielded; they furnish great quantities to paper manufacturers in 

 the United States, besides supporting an important export trade. 

 Ulster coimty is the principal source of millstones of American make. 

 The salines and rock salt found in the western counties furnish 

 about one third of the domestic salt production. The establish- 

 ment of the soda industry within recent years has been due to the 

 abundance of these deposits and the economy with which they can 

 be exploited. Gypsum has been quarried in the central and western 

 parts of the State for many years, but until lately the material was 

 utilized almost solely for agricultural purposes. With the recog- 

 nition of its adaptability to calcining, a new impetus has been given 

 to quarrying activity and an increased output has ensued. All 

 varieties of iron ore that are used in smelting occur in New York. 

 The Adirondacks and the Hudson Highlands contain numerous 



