82 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



rock has had considerable use at Little Falls for purposes for 

 which stone of inferior quality answers equally well, since it costs 

 less than the other at Little Falls, because of its nearness. 



The syenite has also been quarried for building stone near Little 

 Falls. It supplies only a local use and mainly for rough work. 

 The excessive jointing is a defect, in that very large blocks can 

 not be procured, but, on the other hand, it vastly diminishes the 

 expense of quarrying. The stone is for many purposes an excel- 

 lent one, much of it is of good quality, the supply is ample for 

 all local use, and, since it is the only locality in the valley where 

 a crystalline rock suitable for building purposes occurs, a future 

 demand ior it will inevitably arise. 



Road metal. Thei^e is an inexhahustible amount of good road ma- 

 teria I to be obtained within the area covered by the map, and, as 

 road improvement is likely to be a matter of the near future, this 

 is a fact of considerable importance. The pre-Cambrian rocks 

 furnish the best material, but the Lowville and Trenton lime- 

 stones also afford excellent stone for the purpose. 



The big diabase dike which cuts the syenite just east of Little 

 Falls on the north side of the river, is the best source of road 

 metal in the district from the standpoint of qualitj^, and, since 

 the dike is over 100 feet wide, the amount available is not small. 

 Since also the adjacent syenite is nearly as well adapted to the 

 purpose as the diabase, there need be no careful separation of the 

 two in working out the material at the edge of the dike. 



Next to the diabase the syenite is the best road metal rock in 

 the district. Near the depot at Little Falls the syenite is all cut 

 up by a fine grained, red rock of granitic make-up (an aplite), 

 which is so rich in quartz as to be a rather poor road rock. But 

 the cliffs to the eastwardi show but little of this rock, so that 

 there is a large quantity of excellent and easily accessible 

 material. 



The rock at Middleville would be equally good for the purpose, 

 but the quantity in sight above the level of the creek is very 

 small. 



