LIME AND CEMEKT INDUSTRIES 805 



for lime, "but it was found that it would not slake. The cement 

 rock quarries are generally near the summit of the Helderberg 

 escarpment, and covered by a little other rock, which is first 

 stripped and used for building purposes or road material. 



The limestone obtained from the Stromatopora beds is locally 

 known as diamond rock or diamond blue, and is the stratum com- 

 monly used for the manufacture of lime ; the same kilns are used for 

 burning either lime or cement. Those used in Onondaga county 

 are oval with a diameter of 10 feet at the top, 12 in the middle 

 and S^ Sit the bottom. They are 28 to 42 feet deep and are gen- 

 erally built of limestone with a lining of fire brick. In starting 

 the kiln a cord of 4 foot wood is put in the bottom, over this 4 

 inches of anthracite coal, then 1 foot of limestone, more coal and 

 alternating layers of stone and coal to the top. It takes 10 tons of 

 coal and 15 cords of stone to fill a kiln, and this gives 1500 

 bushels of lime. After the kiln has been burning two or three 

 days the first draw of 250 to 300 bushels can be made at the bot- 

 tom of the kiln. The cement is of course ground before use. 

 The most important producers in the county are : A. E. Alvord 

 of Syracuse, quarry and kilns at Syracuse; J. Behan estate, 

 quarry and kilns at Manlius; E. B. Alvord & Co. Jamesville; 

 Britton & Clark, Bock Cut. 



Most of the limestone quarried in the county is used by the 

 Solvay process co., of Syracuse, in the manufacture of soda ash. 

 This firm has a very large quarry at Splitrock, about 5 miles west 

 of Syracuse, from which it has been taking over 250,000 pounds 

 annually. Becently the supply has been decreasing, and the com- 

 pany is obtaining stone in part from A. E. Alvord & Co.'s quarry 

 at Manlius. 



'No. 1 shows the composition of lime made from the stone in 

 E. B. Alvord & Co.'s quarry at Jamesville, the analysis being 

 made by F. E. Engelhardt. 



Lime 91 . 93 



Magnesia 3.06 



b 



