REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR I917 37 



bearing upon the location of abrasive materials of various grades 

 and the determination of the abrasive quality of materials here- 

 tofore neglected. 



Inventory of road-making and concreting materials. A resurvey 

 of the entire Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Texas, inaugurated 

 by the geology committee of the National Research Council and 

 which enlisted the services of a large number of experts, also involved 

 the State of New York. A very large amount of careful detailed 

 work was put upon this problem of bringing together for quick 

 availability, classified records of the distribution of all materials 

 suitable for the building of highways, for construction, whether of 

 fortifications or buildings, and for cement and concrete work. So 

 far as New York is concerned, the work further involved the loca- 

 tion, within the belt indicated, of every natural and artificial rock 

 outcrop, every stone pile, every stone fence, bank of gravel or sand, 

 with data of production, maps showing location, tables showing 

 rates of transportation and routing, and all matter relating to quick 

 assimilation of the material when needed. This report was duly 

 produced in somewhat voluminous form and filed for access with 

 the geology committee of the National Research Council. It has 

 already proved of very high service, especially in the matter of 

 locating concrete materials, as since the completion of the work the 

 national government has begun the building of concrete ships and 

 concrete barges for the New York State barge canal, on a very 

 large scale. The report promises to be serviceable in many other 

 directions. 



Mining and quarry bulletin. The annual summary of the min- 

 eral industries with production statistics for the calendar year 191 6 

 was not completed until late in the following year on account of the 

 press of other matters. The report reveals a rather unsettled con- 

 dition in many branches traceable to the disturbance of trade through 

 the foreign situation, and unusual activity . in certain restricted 

 fields. In comparison with the more or less balanced development 

 that has characterized the course of progress in preceding years, the 

 trend was uneven and indicative of instability in the fundamental 

 market situation. , Still the value of the production of materials, 

 estimated in terms of the crude ores and minerals at mine or quarry, 

 amounted to $45,947,947, which was larger than that reported in 

 any previous year. One of the items that helped to expand the 

 total was zinc ore from the newly opened mines in St Lawrence 

 county, which rapidly attained important rank in the industry. 



