THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY IQII 59 



the Niagara river and are represented by a smaller separate area in 

 southeastern New York. Well tests indicate that the salt deposits 

 are restricted to the western section of the main belt beginning in 

 Madison county; east of there the strata diminish in thickness to 

 such an extent as to preclude their existence. They are encountered 

 only at a depth of looo feet or more where there has been suffi- 

 cient cover to protect them against solution by ground waters. As 

 the whole stratified series has a dip uniformly toward the south 

 the mines and wells are all located on the southern side of the out- 

 crop which lies about on the line of the forty-third parallel. The 

 dip averages 40 or 50 feet to the mile. The most easterly point 

 where rock salt has been found is at Morrisville, Madison county. 

 Between that place and Lake Erie it has been shown to exist in 

 almost all of the middle tier of counties. 



The exploration of the rock salt beds dates from 1878 when a 

 well bored for oil near ^^'yoming, Wyoming county, encountered 

 70 feet of salt at 1270 feet from the surface. Discoveries were 

 subsequently made at Warsaw^ Leroy, Rock Glen, Batavia and 

 numerous places in Livingston, Wyoming and Genesee counties. 

 Practically the whole valley of Oatka creek, from Leroy to Bliss 

 and the Genesee valley south of Monroe county has been found to 

 be salt-bearing. The region is now the most productive in the 

 State. Livingston county has the largest annual output which is 

 contributed by the two rock salt mines at Retsof and Cuylerville 

 owned respectively by the Retsof Mining Co. and the Sterling Salt 

 Co., and by the evaporating plant of the Genesee Salt Co. at Pif- 

 fard. The other companies now active in this section include the 

 Leroy Salt Co., of Leroy; the Rock Glen Salt Co., of Rock Glen; 

 and the Worcester Salt Co., of Silver Springs. 



In Schuyler county salt is obtained around Watkins. The Glen 

 Salt Co. sank the first well there in 1893 and encountered a deposit 

 at 1846 feet depth. The plant is now operated by the International 

 Salt Co. The Watkins Salt Co. also has works at this place. 



A well drilled at Ithaca, Tompkins county, in 1885 passed 

 through seven beds of salt aggregating 248 feet in thickness at 

 depths below 2244 feet from the surface. The discovery was fol- 

 lowed by active developments at Ludlowville in 1891 by the Cayuga 

 Lake Salt Co., and at Ithaca in 1895 by the Ithaca Salt Co. The 

 plants were taken over in 1899 by the National Salt Co., which was 

 jnerged in 1905 into the International Salt Co.. The Remington 



