REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 1916 281 



was aroused by the bringing in of a well in the extreme northern 

 part of Allegany county, near the Livingston county line, in the 

 so-called Granger field. The oil at first flowed under natural 

 pressure. In the boom that followed some 30 wells were drilled 

 in the vicinity, but the supply was quickly exhausted and less 

 than 3000 barrels in all were produced. Another discovery was 

 made in the vicinity of Swain in the same county, with similar 

 results. The attempt to develop oil in the region to the east of 

 the proved territory has been scarcely more successful. So far 

 no persistent pools have been tapped much east of the Allegany- 

 Steuben county line. A well was recently drilled near Adrian, in 

 the town of Canisteo, Steuben county, that is reported to have 

 encountered oil at 625 feet in shale. The oil was of canary yellow 

 color and high in the light distillates. At the start it produced 14 

 barrels a day, much better than the average in the old territory, 

 and attracted wide attention. The flow soon ceased. 



PYRITE 



In its resources of sulphur ores, New York State has an asset 

 which is not as yet fully appreciated. The deposits have been 

 little exploited up to the present, although for a number of years 

 they have shared with those of one or two other states the prin- 

 cipal role in the domestic industry, which, it need scarcely be 

 remarked, has never measured up to the needs of the home market. 

 In sulphur content they are low grade, so that the ores have to 

 be concentrated before shipment, but they are extensive, well 

 located for convenience of mining and milling, and have the 

 advantage of ready accessibility to the leading centers of acid 

 manufacture on the Great Lakes and Atlantic seaboard. 



In the present situation which portends a probable scarcity of 

 pyrite in the immediate future, if not an actual dearth of material 

 available for acid making, the resources of New York deserve 

 consideration for the possibilities they hold of increased utilization. 



The deposits that are of most importance, present and pros- 

 pective, occur on the west side of the Adirondacks in St Lawrence 

 and Jefferson counties. The region is underlain by the same Pre- 

 cambrian rocks as the Adirondacks, but has a moderate altitude, 

 only 500 to 800 feet A. T., and low relief. In a way it bridges 

 the gap between the Precambrian area of northern New York and 

 the Laurentian province of Canada, here separated only by the 

 width of the St Lawrence plain. The region is noted for its agri- 

 cultural wealth, no less than for its varied mineral character. 



