MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 279 



In Chenango county large quarries are found near Norwich and 

 Oxford. The stone from this section occurs in heavy seams, and 

 though resembHng the product of the Ulster county quarries in its 

 color and fine even grain, is not so hard. The upper beds of thinner 

 stone are sold for flag and curbstone and the heavier ones are worked 

 into building stone, which fomiB the chief item. Much of the 

 product is shaped in the mill. Clark, Conroy & Co., Norwich; 

 Graham & Aylesworth, Oxford; and McNierney Bros., Oxford; 

 operate in this district. 



Near Warsaw and Portageville, Wyoming county, are quarries 

 that supply building stone in large quantity. The layers or " lifts " 

 are heavy, fine grained, and easily milled. The sandstone is of 

 Portage age. 



Bluestone quarries have been worked in most of the southern 

 tier of counties from Broome county west to Cattaraugus county, 

 but the product is mostly for local use and the operations are 

 desultory. 



Triassic sandstone. The area o^ Triassic rocks (Newark series) 

 in Rockland county includes arenaceous beds of workable dimensions 

 that yield a red coarse-grained freestone. They are exposed along 

 the face of Tor mountain near Haverstraw, and south of there at 

 intervals as far as Piermont. Quarries were once worked for local 

 supply of building and foundation stone, but have long been idle. 



TRAP 



Trap is not a distinct rock type, but the name properly belongs 

 to the fine-grained, dark-colored igneous rocks that occur in intrusive 

 sheets and dikes. In mineral composition it differs from most of 

 the igneous rocks that are classed in the trade as granite by the 

 prevalence of the basic plagioclase feldspars and the higher per- 

 centages of the iron-magnesia minerals, while it contains no quartz. 

 Some of the so-called " black granites," however, are trap. The 

 name is sometimes applied to fine-grained rocks of sedimentary 

 derivation, but such usage is misleading and indefensible. 



The particular value of trap is due to its hardness and toughness. 

 Its fine, compact, homogeneous texture gives it great wearing 

 powers and it is eminently adapted for road metal and concrete of 

 which heavy service is required. The principal product, therefore, 

 is crushed stone. It has been used to some extent, also, as paving 

 b'ocks, but these are rather difficult to prepare, since trap very 

 seldon shows any capacity for parting comparable to the rift and 



