I 



THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY I907 69 



Sandstone 



Under the head of sandstone are included the sedimentary 

 rocks which consist essentially of quartz grains held together by 

 some cementing substance. Among the varieties, distinguished 

 mainly by textural features, are sandstones proper, conglomer- 

 ates, grits and quartzites. 



The wide distribution of sandstones in the geologic series of 

 New York State, together with their adaptability to many uses, 

 has given them great economic importance, and in value of the 

 annual output they rank second only to limestone among the 

 quarry materials. Nearly all the formations above the Archean 

 contain sandstones at one or more horizons. The kinds chiefly 

 quarried in New York are the Potsdam, Hudson River, Medina and 

 the Devonic sandstones. A few quarries have been opened also 

 in the Shawangunk conglomerate and the Clinton sandstone. 



The fine grained evenly bedded strata that occur in the De- 

 vonic are popularly known as bluestone, a term first applied ta 

 them in Ulster county where they are distinguished by a bluish 

 gray color. The name, however, no longer has its original sig- 

 nificance and is here used generally for the sandstones found 

 within the Devonic belt which stretches across the southern part 

 of the State. Much of the bluestone possesses the property of 

 splitting regularly along planes parallel to the bedding which 

 renders the stone specially serviceable for flagging and curbing. 



Production of sandstone 



The total value of the sandstone quarried in New York last 

 year was $1,998,417, or a little more than that for 1906 which was 

 $1,976,829. The production was made in 35 counties by over 400 

 individuals and companies. 



Classified as to uses the values for 1907 and 1906 (in parentheses) 

 are divided into: building stone, rough, $220,718 ($343,077); 

 building stone, dressed, '$305,081 ($267,472); curbing, $599,053 

 ($553,085) ; flagging, $452,017 ($438,526) ; paving blocks, $320,301 

 ($282,063) ; crushed stone for roads, $13,799 ($14,677) ; crushed 

 stone for other purposes, $42,019 ($36,528) ; rubble, etc., $24,812 

 ($11,661) ; all other kinds, $20,617 ($29,740). There was a small 

 decrease in the value of building stone ; the other materials held 

 their own or showed small gains. 



The following tables give the value of the production distrib- 

 uted among the leading districts of the State. 



