﻿448 
  NEW 
  YORK 
  STATE 
  MUSEUM 
  

  

  Luther 
  described 
  the 
  hydraulic 
  limestone 
  in 
  Onondaga 
  co. 
  

   as 
  being 
  brittle, 
  compact, 
  fine 
  and 
  even 
  grained. 
  It 
  is 
  dark 
  

   colored 
  with 
  a 
  conchoidal 
  fracture 
  but 
  weathers 
  to 
  a 
  light 
  color. 
  

   The 
  beds 
  are 
  generally 
  well 
  defined 
  but 
  do 
  not 
  as 
  a 
  rule 
  contain 
  

   any 
  fossils. 
  The 
  rock 
  was 
  discovered 
  in 
  1818 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  

   work 
  on 
  the 
  Erie 
  canal. 
  As 
  in 
  other 
  cases 
  attempts 
  were 
  made 
  

   to 
  burn 
  the 
  stone 
  for 
  lime 
  but 
  it 
  was 
  found 
  that 
  it 
  would 
  not 
  

   slake. 
  The 
  cement 
  rock 
  quarries 
  are 
  generally 
  near 
  the 
  summits 
  

   of 
  the 
  Helderberg 
  escarpment. 
  

  

  The 
  kilns 
  used 
  in 
  Onondaga 
  are 
  oval 
  with 
  a 
  diameter 
  of 
  10 
  feet 
  

   at 
  the 
  top, 
  12 
  in 
  the 
  middle 
  and 
  3J 
  at 
  the 
  bottom. 
  They 
  are 
  28 
  

   to 
  42 
  feet 
  deep 
  and 
  are 
  generally 
  built 
  of 
  limestone 
  with 
  a 
  lining 
  

   of 
  fire 
  brick. 
  In 
  starting 
  the 
  kiln 
  a 
  cord 
  of 
  4 
  foot 
  wood 
  is 
  

   put 
  in 
  the 
  bottom, 
  over 
  this 
  4 
  inches 
  of 
  anthracite 
  coal, 
  then 
  

   1 
  foot 
  of 
  limestone, 
  more 
  coal 
  and 
  alternating 
  layers 
  of 
  stone 
  

   and 
  coal 
  to 
  the 
  top. 
  It 
  takes 
  10 
  tons 
  of 
  coal 
  and 
  15 
  cords 
  of 
  stone 
  

   to 
  fill 
  a 
  kiln, 
  and 
  this 
  gives 
  1500 
  bushels 
  of 
  lime. 
  After 
  the 
  kiln 
  

   has 
  been 
  burning 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  days 
  the 
  first 
  draw 
  of 
  250 
  to 
  300 
  

   bushels 
  can 
  be 
  made 
  at 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  kiln. 
  The 
  product 
  is 
  

   of 
  course 
  ground 
  before 
  used. 
  For 
  a 
  list 
  of 
  the 
  producers 
  in 
  

   Onondaga 
  co. 
  see 
  Luther's 
  report, 
  p. 
  270.. 
  

  

  Upper 
  Helderberg 
  limestone. 
  This 
  stone 
  in 
  Onondaga 
  co. 
  is 
  

   a 
  light 
  gray 
  semi-crystalline 
  limestone, 
  the 
  layers 
  being 
  sepa- 
  

   rated 
  by 
  thin 
  seams 
  of 
  shale. 
  The 
  rock 
  is 
  at 
  times 
  variable 
  in 
  its 
  

   character 
  and 
  may 
  at 
  times 
  become 
  argillaceous. 
  Cherty 
  layers 
  

   are 
  sqmetimes 
  common 
  in 
  the 
  upper 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  formation. 
  In 
  

   the 
  face 
  of 
  the 
  cliff 
  forming 
  the 
  Helderberg 
  escarpment 
  the 
  Cor- 
  

   niferous 
  limestone 
  is 
  rarely 
  over 
  a 
  few 
  feet 
  thick, 
  though 
  at 
  the 
  

   western 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  chasm 
  of 
  Green 
  lake 
  two 
  miles 
  north 
  of 
  

   Jamesville 
  the 
  upper 
  25 
  feet 
  of 
  the 
  vertical 
  wall 
  is 
  Onondaga 
  

   limestone. 
  

  

  The 
  chief 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  Corniferous 
  is 
  as 
  a 
  building 
  stone 
  though 
  

   many 
  portions 
  of 
  it 
  are 
  adapted 
  to 
  the 
  manufacture 
  of 
  lime. 
  

   Many 
  quarries 
  have 
  been 
  opened 
  in 
  it 
  and 
  the 
  largest 
  now 
  in 
  

   operation 
  is 
  on 
  the 
  Indian 
  reservation 
  in 
  the 
  Onondaga 
  valley. 
  

   Analyses 
  have 
  been 
  made 
  of 
  several 
  •limestones 
  in 
  this 
  county. 
  

  

  