THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY 1914 67 



cal tables, for the reason that many of the quarry companies do not 

 themselves know the amount of the product that is thus used. 

 Some of the material disposed of for agricultural use is really a 

 by-product of which little account is taken, as in the case of the 

 fines and dust of the crushing plants which are sometimes marketed, 

 and also the inferior grades of quicklime. There are a number of 

 quarries, however, that make a specialty of this trade, selling all or 

 a large part of their product for agricultural use. It is estimated 

 that fully 100,000 tons of limestone were thus marketed by the 

 quarries, and the amount may have been considerably more. 



The possibilities of the trade have received much attention in the 

 last few years, and quarry lands favorably situated with respect to 

 the markets have been in request. Inasmuch as the material must 

 be delivered to the consumer at a low cost to make it economically 

 available, the tendency is to develop local sources of supply in so 

 far as these are available. 



The resources in limestone suitable for agricultural use are 

 quite widespread, but they are not always within easy reach of 

 markets. They are most abundant in the northern section particu- 

 larly on the borders of the Adirondacks and the adjacent regions 

 to the south, where they occur in the Precambric and early 

 Paleozoic formations. The crystalline limestones or marbles of St 

 Lawrence, Jefferson and Lewis counties and the Trenton and Chazy 

 stratified limestones of the Champlain and Mohawk valleys are 

 among the best high calcium rocks. Some agronomists hold the 

 view that magnesium above a small amount is detrimental, while 

 others are of the opinion that it may perform a useful function or 

 at least have no harmful effect if not existing in a proportion of 

 more than about one-half that of lime. Supplies of magnesian 

 limestones occur in Highlands and Taconic sections and also in the 

 central and western counties. The southern tiers of counties on 

 the Pennsylvania border are devoid of carbonate rocks. 



