REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR I916 29 I 



engineering construction that served to check the rapid develop- 

 ment of the stone industry and partially to transform it. The use 

 of cement and terra cotta first gained importance about that time 

 and has steadily expanded in the subsequent interval, largely at the 

 expense of cut stone. This branch of the trade, consequently, has 

 declined to small proportions, whereas formerly it was one of the 

 principal elements in the industry and probably the most profitable 

 one. Similarly the market for flagstone and curbstone has fallen 

 ofif, especially flagstone, as a result of the favor shown for cement 

 in street work. As a partial counterbalance for these losses, a 

 tremendous development has occurred in the crushed stone trade 

 through the requirements of concrete construction and road 

 improvement work ; yet altogether the changes that have occurred 

 have meant a loss industrially, since in place of the numbers of 

 skilled workmen once employed in the business there is now a 

 minimum of hand labor, and much of it untrained. 



The year 1 91 6 brought little change in the conditions of the stone 

 trade from those of the preceding year which were regarded as 

 unsatisfactory. In one or two branches some improvement was 

 noted, sufficient to give a slight impetus to the productive activities 

 which were on a little larger scale than in 191 5. The aggregate 

 value of the quarry materials for the year was $5,979,622 against 

 $5,162,115 in 1915 and $5,741,137 in 1914. There was thus a gain 

 of about 16 per cent in the output for the year, but an increase of 

 only 4 per cent for the two years. It is not unlikely that the 

 turning point in the downward trend has been passed and that 

 conditions will hold the slight gain already made, if they do not 

 actually show further improvement. 



The record of the industry for the last three years is exhibited 

 in detail in the accompanying tables. 



The granite quarries have continued to operate at about the usual 

 rate. A large share of the product is building stone and is supplied 

 on contract. A considerable gain in the output in 1916 under the 

 last item of the table is accounted for by the restarting of some 

 paving block quarries. 



Limestone accounted for considerably more than one-half of the 

 total value last year. Its importance lies mainly in its extensive 

 use for crushed stone, for which limestone is by far most exten- 

 sively employed. 



Marble showed a gain, contributed by the building and monu- 

 mental branches, which more than made up for the falling off in 

 191 5. There are only a few quarries active in this industry. 



