﻿O 
  , 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION 
  

  

  The 
  year 
  1908, 
  which 
  will 
  be 
  remembered 
  as 
  an 
  after-panic 
  year, 
  

   witnessed 
  a 
  marked 
  reversal 
  of 
  conditions 
  in 
  the 
  mineral 
  industries 
  

   of 
  the 
  State. 
  To 
  the 
  prosperity 
  and 
  steady 
  expansion 
  that 
  had 
  so 
  

   long 
  obtained 
  in 
  these 
  industries 
  succeeded 
  general 
  depression 
  and 
  

   contraction, 
  which 
  continued 
  with 
  little 
  or 
  no 
  relief 
  throughout 
  the 
  

   12 
  months. 
  There 
  were 
  few 
  mines 
  or 
  quarries 
  that 
  did 
  not 
  curtail 
  

   operations, 
  and 
  many 
  were 
  closed 
  down 
  for 
  at 
  least 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  

   year. 
  The 
  decline 
  in 
  productive 
  activity 
  was 
  out 
  of 
  proportion 
  to 
  

   the 
  rate 
  of 
  growth 
  in 
  the 
  preceding 
  years, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  outputs 
  of 
  

   most 
  materials 
  were 
  well 
  below 
  the 
  totals 
  recorded 
  for 
  1507. 
  

   Though 
  the 
  setback 
  will 
  doubtless 
  prove 
  only 
  a 
  temporary 
  feature, 
  

   it 
  is 
  certain 
  that 
  some 
  time 
  must 
  elapse 
  before 
  the 
  former 
  activity 
  

   is 
  fully 
  restored. 
  

  

  The 
  census 
  of 
  production 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  conducted 
  for 
  the 
  present 
  

   and 
  previous 
  issues 
  of 
  this 
  report 
  covers 
  some 
  30 
  different 
  materi- 
  

   als 
  which 
  are 
  mined 
  or 
  quarried 
  in 
  this 
  State. 
  The 
  total 
  value 
  of 
  

   the 
  output 
  reported 
  for 
  1908 
  based 
  upon 
  the 
  materials 
  in 
  their 
  

   crude 
  or 
  first 
  marketable 
  forms 
  was 
  $29,519,785. 
  Compared 
  

   with 
  the 
  total 
  of 
  $37,141,006 
  recorded 
  in 
  1907 
  this 
  showed 
  a 
  de- 
  

   crease 
  of 
  $7,621,221, 
  or 
  about 
  20 
  per 
  cent. 
  The 
  output 
  in 
  

   1907 
  was 
  the 
  largest 
  ever 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  State, 
  though 
  it 
  did 
  not 
  

   greatly 
  exceed 
  that 
  of 
  1906 
  which 
  was 
  valued 
  at 
  $37,132,832. 
  The 
  

   corresponding 
  total 
  for 
  1905 
  was 
  $35,470,987 
  and 
  for 
  1904 
  $28,- 
  

   812,595, 
  or 
  a 
  little 
  less 
  than 
  the 
  total 
  for 
  last 
  3^ear. 
  

  

  Among 
  the 
  different 
  departments 
  of 
  the 
  mineral 
  industry 
  iron 
  

   mining 
  was 
  one 
  that 
  experienced 
  the 
  full 
  measure 
  of 
  the 
  depression, 
  

   as 
  it 
  also 
  had 
  been 
  among 
  the 
  first 
  to 
  respond 
  to 
  the 
  prosperous 
  

   conditions 
  of 
  the 
  preceding 
  years. 
  The 
  output 
  amounted 
  to 
  697,- 
  

   473 
  long 
  tons 
  against 
  1,018,013 
  tons 
  in 
  1907. 
  Under 
  favorable 
  con- 
  

   ditions, 
  instead 
  of 
  this 
  decrease, 
  there 
  would 
  have 
  been 
  without 
  

   doubt 
  a 
  large 
  gain 
  that 
  might 
  have 
  set 
  a 
  new 
  mark 
  for 
  the 
  industry 
  

   in 
  New 
  York. 
  The 
  production 
  was 
  made 
  by 
  10 
  mining 
  companies 
  

   as 
  compared 
  with 
  13 
  who 
  reported 
  active 
  in 
  1907. 
  The 
  loss 
  was 
  

   shared 
  by 
  all 
  the 
  districts 
  though 
  in 
  larger 
  portion 
  by 
  the 
  mines 
  on 
  

   the 
  Clinton 
  hematite 
  belt 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  under 
  recent 
  development, 
  

   while 
  the 
  Adirondack 
  magnetite 
  mines 
  made 
  the 
  most 
  favorable 
  

   showing. 
  The 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  iron 
  produced 
  in 
  1908 
  was 
  $2,098,247. 
  

  

  The 
  clay 
  materials 
  aggregated 
  in 
  value 
  $8,918,863, 
  as 
  compared 
  

   with 
  $12,688,868 
  in 
  the 
  preceding 
  year. 
  The 
  decrease 
  of 
  about 
  30 
  

   per 
  cent 
  was 
  due 
  both 
  to 
  a 
  smaller 
  output 
  by 
  the 
  plants 
  and 
  to 
  a 
  

  

  