THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY 1914 57 



1914 was a period of great depression for all branches of the in- 

 dustry. As compared with the conditions in the preceding year, 

 which may be described as about normal, the past season repre- 

 sented a reaction of extreme character such as has not been experi- 

 enced in a long time. The actual decline of output was 17 per 

 cent, from a value of $6,763,054 in 1913 to $5,741,137 last year, 

 but these figures scarcely indicate the full extent of the depression 

 since the worst stage was not reached until the late months. Many 

 quarries closed down in the late summer and fall and have not since 

 resumed work. There is little expectation that the trade will show 

 much improvement during the current season. 



The granite quarries reported a slight gain in the value of their 

 output which was the result of sales of cut stone for buildings and 

 a small gain in crushed stone. The other products, inclusive of 

 monumental granite, showed a decline. 



Limestone, as heretofore, constituted somewhat more than one- 

 half of the total output in value, although there was a very large 

 decrease in the aggregate. The falling off was distributed over all 

 the various branches, including building stone, crushed stone, lime 

 and flux. 



The production of the marble quarries showed little change. A 

 small increase in building stone was counterbalanced by a dimin- 

 ished output of monumental stock. 



The sandstone quarries were worked on a much diminished scale, 

 the decline being greater in this industry than in any other of the 

 stone trades. The depression was felt by both the bluestone 

 quarries and those of ordinary sandstone, and their production was 

 smaller than in any previous year for a long time. 



The trap quarries in the palisades region contributed a reduced 

 output of crushed stone. 



The production of the different kinds of stone for the last three 

 years is shown in the accompanying tables. 



