7o 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 

 Production of sand and gravel 



MATERIAL 



I9II 



1912 



913 



Molding sand 



Core and fire sand 

 Building sand. . . . 



Other sand a 



Gravel 



Total 



$420 780 



27 484 



b 750 000 



b 50 000 



479 103 



$422 148 



55 9io 



1 156 002 



b 75 000 



840 669 



$449 224 



38 57i 



1 102 688 



b 75 000 



918 783 



$1 727 367 



$2 549 729 



$2 584 266 



a Includes glass sand, filter sand, engine and polishing sand. Ihe amounts are partly estimated. 

 b Partly estimated. 



Molding sand. The molding sand industry is centered in the 

 middle Hudson valley, where there exist extensive areas underlaid 

 by excellent grades of this sand, although small quantities are occa- 

 sionally shipped from other sections of the State. The Hudson 

 River district is notable for its supply of the finer sizes of molding 

 sand such as are employed in stove-plate, brass and aluminum cast- 

 ing. These are comparatively rare in other districts in the east 

 where molding sand is obtained and consequently the local product 

 commands a rather wide market. The sand is shipped to the 

 metallurgical centers in New York, New England, New Jersey, 

 Pennsylvania and the Middle West. The favorable trade condi- 

 tions have led to the development of a large and apparently pros- 

 perous industry which is the source of much revenue to a section 

 that otherwise is restricted mainly to agricultural activities. 



The distribution and methods of occurrence of the molding sand 

 in the Hudson River district involve many interesting features 

 which have not as yet been fully explained. A brief description of 

 the deposits was given in the preceding issue of this report, and 

 field observations have been collected as a basis for a more detailed 

 paper on this subject. 



The molding sand is restricted to the uplands on either side of 

 the Hudson, at elevations of 200 feet or more above sea level. The 

 district forms a narrow belt, usually but a few miles wide, along 

 the river from Washington and Saratoga counties on the north to 

 about the vicinity of Kingston, Ulster county, on the south. The 

 belt widens out notably where important tributaries enter the Hud- 

 son, as in the section between Cohoes and Albany where it reaches 

 westward up the Mohawk as far as Schenectady, and also at the 

 outlet of the Hoosac and Batten kill. In the vicinity of Saratoga, 



