874: KEW YOEK STATE MUSEUM 



product. , A marl deposit is a limited affair, thougli in the case of 

 a large marsh or old lake bed the limits may be so large as to be 

 safely disregarded. Limestone beds, on the other hand, are prac- 

 tically limitless, the extent to which the bed can be followed being 

 limited only by questions of economical extraction. 



Marl deposits of workable size are rare in 'New York state, and 

 not all of those large enough for use are located well with regard 

 to transportation routes. Three active plants in this state use 

 marl and clay: two in Steuben county and one in Onondaga 

 county. The former are at a disadvantage in respect to location, 

 which is slightly increased by the fact that their marl beds are not 

 underlain by clay, necessitating bringing the latter material, from 

 some distance, by rail. 



2 Limestone and clay. At present four New York plants are 

 engaged in the manufacture of Portland cement from a mixture 

 of limestone and clay. Of these, the earliest established was that 

 of the Glens Falls Portland cement co. At this plant limestone 

 of Trenton age is used, with a (Pleistocene) clay, burned in 

 Schofer kilns. 



The Grlens Falls plant is unique, in this state, so far as type of 

 kiln used is concerned. The merits and defects of the Dietzsch, 

 Schofer and other types of improved nonrotary kilns, have been 

 discussed in considerable detail by various authors. The fact that 

 the Glens Falls product is of such high grade should not, of itself, 

 be considered as an argument in favor of the Schofer kiln, as this 

 particular plant has always been favored as regards management. 

 The other three plants are located at various points along the Hel- 

 derberg escarpment, and use limestones derived from several dif- 

 ferent formations of the Lower Helderberg series. For purity, 

 thickness and location (both with respect to clay banks and to 

 great transportation routes) these limestones can hardly be 

 equaled, and it seems certain that the center of the New York 

 Portland cement industry will eventually be in the Hudson river 

 valley. 



