296 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



small but was a continuance of the trend that has been maintained 

 for several years past; the total was scarcely one-third that of 10 

 years ago, so rapidly has this branch of the business fallen off. 



The quantity of stone quarried for furnace flux was reported as 

 657,788 tons valued at $405,774. In 191 5 the quantity was 822,729 

 short tons with a value of $440,237. This material largely consists 

 of high-calcium limestone, and to meet the requirements the stone 

 has to be quite low in silicious and aluminous ingredients, and con- 

 tain little or no phosphorus or sulphur. The large flux quarries are 

 in the Onondaga limestone of Erie and Genesee counties ; the 

 Clinton limestone of Niagara county; the Chazy limestone of 

 Clinton county; and the Precambrian crystalline limestones or 

 marbles of the Adirondack region. 



Lime manufacture is still one of the larger outlets for the pro- 

 duct, although the business has undergone considerable change in 

 the last few years. Building lime, formerly the most important 

 branch of the business, has only a limited market now, with the 

 general use of cement and gypsum plasters ; on the other hand 

 various other uses have developed to take its place. The paper 

 mills afford a large market for the product, and one of the most 

 profitable, since the local burners command certain advantages 

 from their situation near the markets. The recent campaign for 

 the improvement of farm lands has brought about a large increase 

 in the amount of lime employed as an amendment, though there is 

 still a great field for further development along this line. Metal- 

 lurgy is another outlet of growing importance. The curtailment of 

 supplies of magnesite has caused manufacturers of refractory 

 materials to turn to dolomite as a substitute. The State has ample 

 resources of this material. The statistics of the industry for 1916 

 show a total output of lime amounting to 117,490 short tons with a 

 value of $636,668, which represented a large gain in the business. 

 The principal centers of the industry are in Warren, Washington, 

 Clinton, Fulton, Lewis and Dutchess counties. 



Ground raw limestone for agricultural uses was reported to the 

 value of $164,237. This would correspond to about 80,000 tons, 

 which is probably somewhat short of the actual sales in that form. 



MARBLE 



True marble is a thoroughly crystalline limestone, in which the 

 carbonates are developed as more or less equidimensional rhombo- 

 hedra. Such form of limestone results from the crystallizing 



