﻿ECONOMIC 
  GEOLOGY 
  227 
  

  

  commercially 
  at 
  present. 
  The 
  material 
  is 
  dug 
  from 
  the 
  bottom 
  

   of 
  the 
  lake, 
  which 
  covers 
  about 
  four 
  acres, 
  and 
  has 
  a 
  thickness 
  of 
  

   two 
  to 
  30 
  feet, 
  being 
  covered 
  by 
  about 
  four 
  feet 
  of 
  water. 
  It 
  

   is 
  washed 
  and 
  run 
  through 
  strainers 
  and 
  pipes 
  to 
  settling 
  vats, 
  

   where 
  it 
  stands 
  for 
  24 
  hours. 
  The 
  water 
  is 
  then 
  drawn 
  

   off 
  and 
  the 
  material 
  shovelled 
  into 
  the 
  press. 
  Here 
  it 
  is 
  made 
  

   into 
  cakes 
  four 
  feet 
  square 
  and 
  four 
  inches 
  thick. 
  These 
  are 
  

   subdivided 
  into 
  cakes 
  one 
  foot 
  square 
  and 
  piled 
  under 
  sheds 
  to 
  

   dry. 
  For 
  this 
  information 
  I 
  am 
  indebted 
  to 
  the 
  proprietor, 
  Mr. 
  

   Thomas 
  W. 
  Grosvenor, 
  of 
  Herkimer. 
  

  

  The 
  White 
  lake 
  material 
  is 
  at 
  present 
  only 
  used 
  for 
  polishing, 
  

   though 
  similar 
  material 
  is 
  used 
  for 
  absorbing 
  nitroglycerine 
  in 
  

   the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  dynamite. 
  

  

  Talc 
  

  

  This 
  material 
  occurs 
  near 
  Edwards, 
  St 
  Lawrence 
  county, 
  

   N. 
  Y., 
  in 
  la 
  narrow 
  belt 
  s-everal 
  miles 
  long 
  and 
  about 
  a 
  mile 
  wide. 
  

   There 
  are 
  several 
  quairries 
  on 
  the 
  line 
  of 
  this 
  belt. 
  It 
  is 
  ground 
  

   in 
  mjills 
  near 
  Gouverneur 
  under 
  the 
  control 
  of 
  the 
  Asbestos 
  Pulp 
  

   Company. 
  It 
  is 
  chiefly 
  uised 
  in 
  the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  paper 
  and 
  a 
  

   email 
  quantity 
  is 
  used 
  in 
  soap, 
  paint 
  and 
  othier 
  minor 
  purposes. 
  

   The 
  annual 
  product 
  is 
  about 
  30,000 
  tons, 
  valued 
  at 
  about 
  |240,000. 
  

  

  Peat 
  

  

  This 
  material, 
  which 
  i® 
  the 
  residue 
  from 
  the 
  partial 
  decay 
  of 
  

   plants 
  in 
  water, 
  is 
  of 
  frequent 
  occurrence, 
  but 
  is 
  only 
  used 
  locally 
  

   as 
  a 
  fertilizer. 
  

  

  Petroleum 
  and 
  Illuminating 
  Gas 
  

  

  The 
  occurrence 
  of 
  petroleum 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  was 
  first 
  recorded 
  

   by 
  a 
  Franciscan 
  friar 
  who 
  visited 
  the 
  oil 
  spring 
  at 
  Cuba, 
  

   Allegany 
  county, 
  in 
  1627. 
  Late 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  century 
  the 
  oil 
  

   from 
  this 
  spring 
  wias 
  highly 
  valued 
  by 
  the 
  Indians 
  for 
  external 
  

   applications 
  and 
  was 
  thought 
  to 
  have 
  a 
  highly 
  curative 
  power. 
  

   It 
  was 
  widely 
  knowoi 
  under 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  ^ 
  Seneca 
  oil.' 
  The 
  pro- 
  

   duction 
  of 
  oil 
  in 
  New 
  York 
  is 
  at 
  present 
  confined 
  to 
  Cattaraugus 
  

  

  