74 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



of many serious accidents and during rainy weather the quar- 

 ries must work short-handed. 



The output of slate in the State increases and decreases irreg- 

 ularly from year to year, no very great change in the produc- 

 tion having taken place in years. The use of various kinds of 

 patent roofing papers, tars etc., has had a tendency to< lower 

 the demand for roofing slate, while on the other hand the in- 

 creasing high price and scarcity of wooden shingles has in- 

 creased the demand for other roofing materials. The fact that 

 New York State produces such handsome red slates, which are ob- 

 tained at but few other localities, causes a heavy demand for this 

 grade and the price remains high. The supply of good red slate, 

 however, is limited. 



The year 1909 seems to have been an exceptionally brisk 

 year among the quarries, and the production reached a figure 

 exceeding any preceding year. The total value of the output 

 was $127,050 against $111,217 in 1908 and $54,800 in 1907. The 

 only other year showing an output of over $100,000 was 1903 

 when the value reached $111,998. The output consists mainly 

 of roofing slates, of which there were produced 21,187 squares 

 valued at $126,170, an average value per square of $6.99 against 

 $8.09 in 1908. The high value as compared with the average 

 value for other slate regions is due to the output of red slate 

 which commands a value of $8 to $10 a square. About 11 per 

 cent of the roofing slate made was of red or variegated color, 

 the remainder of green. 



The balance of the slate output was made up of mill stock, 

 both red and green, with a total output of 8000 square feet 

 valued at $880. 



STONE 



BY HENRY LEIGHTON 



The quarrying of stone and its preparation for the market 

 continue to hold a place among the most important of the min- 

 eral industries of the State. Although cement and concrete 

 have to some degree supplanted cut building stone in construc- 

 tional work, the use of the former materials has created an ever- 

 increasing demand for crushed stone and rubble. A large 

 amount of this crushed stone and in many cases the supply of 

 building stone is now produced by large companies operating 

 small areas intensively. Improvements in quarrying, drilling, 

 crushing and transportation machinery have contributed largely 

 to the increasing production of stone. 



