34 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



wholly undeveloped along a belt of country more than lOO miles in 

 length, east and west between Clinton and Wolcott, that it was of 

 first importance to the iron industry in this State to determine prob- 

 abilities of variation in the volume of this ore body in its dip and 

 local variations in the quality of the ore. 



To ascertain these facts borings are necessary at various points 

 south of the observed or buried line of outcrop. The more numer- 

 ous such borings are the more accurate the deductions will be. It 

 would be well if series of such holes could be put down at points 

 from half a mile to 2 miles back of the outcrop at alternating in- 

 tervals of about 5 miles, but the present provision will not cover 

 the cost of so much drilling. We are therefore now engaged in 

 putting in with diamond core drill a single series of holes which 

 will have an approximate average depth of 175 to 200 feet and 

 which have thus far been located about 2 miles south of known 

 surface outcrops. The outcome of this undertaking will have to be 

 deferred to the next report. 



Oil shales. An undeveloped source of eventual wealth to the 

 State lies in its vast deposits of densely black, bituminous shales 

 which reek with the components of natural gas and petroleum. 

 These beds of black shale lie in the Devonic system of western and 

 southwestern New York, particularly in the Genesee and Portage 

 division? of the Upper Devonic and are to be found in outcrop quite 

 freely from Canandaigua lake westward to Lake Erie. Preliminary 

 efforts have been made this year to ascertain the available hydro- 

 carbon content of these shales for the purpose of instituting com- 

 parisons between them and similar shales like those of Scotland 

 which are today distilled for the commercial production of petro- 

 leum, paraffin and ammonia sulfate. The method of treatment of 

 the Scotch shales and the products resulting may be thus briefly 

 stated. The oil is distilled at a temperature of about 900° F. The 

 spent shale is then heated to about 1300° F. to increase the yield of 

 ammonia and permanent gases from the shale. The Scotch shales 

 yield on an average 25 gallons of crude oil and 45 pounds of 

 aiiiuwnia sulfate per ton. 



The first distillation of the crude oil yields : 



1 Green naphtha. This is treated with sulfuric acid and caustic 

 soda yielding '' shale spirit " or naphtha. 



2 Still coke ; a valuable smokeless fuel, the production of which 

 has now become an extensively capitalized industry. 



3 Green oil; the source of paraffin. 



