Geology of Seneca County. Ill 



John M. Yerkes, Jr., has a tile works a short distance south of 

 Romulusville, in a very level country. The field was found to 

 be opened in shallow cuts, not deeper than three feet. The clay 

 is dark blue, containing vegetable matter and specks of lime from 

 fresh- water shells ; under it is some quicksand and marl. It 

 reacts to H CI freely. No information obtainable by conversa- 

 tion or letter. 



Limestone. 



The limestone of this county, quarried in Fayette from the 

 " Seneca " (Upper Helderberg), has a good reputation and may be 

 seen in the walls of many public buildings in the neighborhood. 

 The dam at Waterloo is of this material. The greater part is 

 good stone ; weathering from above has more or less affected 

 some of the upper tiers. 



The commercial value of this excellent stone is impaired 

 by the want of direct railroad connection. At the time of 

 writing, four quarries were found in actual operation, but with 

 few men Several at the east end of the line have been long 

 since abandoned owing to their distance from railroad The dip 

 is not sufficient to injure the prospects of the quarries. 



The quarried rock is sufficiently handsome for architectural 

 uses. It gradually weathers from dark blue to a whitish gray 

 or lead-color, but its effect is. not injured by the change. It is 

 described as '' a strong, uniform, hard, ringing stone, containing 

 few fossils ; easily trimmed and squared, and adapted to most 

 uses where strength and durability are desired." Many of the 

 layers are free from hornstone, but its presence has not 

 injuriously affected the walls of public buildings erected during 

 the present century in the neighboring towns. The shaly layers 

 described in another place are of bad quality . 



The business of lime-burning was once pursued in many places 

 on a small scale ; for example, along the line of outcrop of the 

 Tully formation. I found one in operation (Seneca Falls), using 

 the refuse of a quarry in Fayette ; there may be others. I 

 heard of no cement manufacture. The increasing scarcity of 

 wood fuel has had much to do with this neglect. It is still pos- 

 sible, doubtless, in some glens to make use of wood cut on the spot 

 for burning the Tully limestone, if farmers care for the trouble. 



