282 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



effect an increased extraction of the saccharine content of molasses 

 over the usual methods. This application may result in a more 

 extensive demand for the compounds, of which the noimal consimip- 

 tion in this country is said to amount to about 2000 tons a year. 



Occurrence. Strontianite, the carbonate, is found in the vicinity 

 of Schoharie. The single deposit that has been worked lies 2 miles 

 north of Schoharie village on the face of Terrace hill, within sight 

 of the road leading to Schoharie Junction. The occurrence is said 

 to have been found by John Gebhard, who also established the 

 presence of strontium minerals in several places in the vicinity. 

 It consists, so far as can be learned at the present time, of a fissure 

 in limestone which carries geodelike masses of white strontianite. 

 The mineral resembles white compact calcite or marble in appearance. 

 The deposit was worked in a small way through a drift extended 

 from the hillside at the base of the cliff, and the product lowered in 

 buckets on a wire cableway. There is no record available as to the 

 success or extent of the operations. 



The occurrence of strontianite with barite is reported also in 

 the limestone strata east of Schoharie village. According to an 

 early account of the Schoharie deposits by Prof. C. U. Shepard^ 

 it would appear that several forms of the mineral are to be found 

 in this vicinity, including well-developed crystals of variable habit. 



A mixture of some strontiimi mineral (perhaps strontianite) with 

 calcite, possibly barite, pyrite and more or less clayey matter forming 

 nodular masses of varying size, is to be seen in the Brayman shales 

 as exposed along the west side of Schoharie creek, on the John 

 Gebhard place. The locality has been prospected in a small way 

 for pyrite; but the occurrence of the strontiiun minerals seem to 

 have escaped notice. The mixture of the different substances is 

 so intimate that the character of the strontiimi compound is not 

 readily apparent, although it is present in sufficient proportions to 

 give a red flame where a piece of the material is moistened with 

 acid and heated over a burner. Further investigation of the occur- 

 rence is to be made. 



Celestite, according to Grabau^ occurs in the Rondout waterlime, 

 east of Schoharie village. A deposit of blue gray celestite in 

 tabular crystals has been obtained in considerable abundance from 

 the waterlime in the cliff east of Schoharie. Loose specimens are 

 found in the stone fences and may be recognized by their color, 

 crystal form and great weight. The mineral was examined by 



1 Amer. Jour. Sci., v. 27, 1835. 



2 Geology and Paleontology of the Schoharie Valley, N. Y. State Museum 

 Bui. 92, p. 360-61, 1906. 



