THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY I912 33 



GYPSUM 



There was a noticeable, if not marked, improvement in the 

 gypsum industry last year, as compared with the conditions noted 

 in the preceding issue of this report. The market for gypsum and 

 its products in 191 1 was considerably depressed, and instead of 

 showing the usual gain as for previous years, production fell below 

 the total reported for 1910. The main reason for the dulness was 

 the lessened activity in the building trades and the consequent 

 smaller demand for wall plasters, the principal product of the 

 local industry. The companies also reported a falling off in ship- 

 ments of crude rock, of which the main item is represented by 

 the sales to the portland cement plants and is second in importance 

 only to the consumption by the calcining mills. In both these de- 

 partments some betterment was apparent during the past season, 

 not only with respect to the demand, but also to some extent in 

 the prices received for the products. The gain came mostly in the 

 latter part of the year and was well maintained to the close. The 

 outlook at the beginning of the current year seemed' favorable for 

 the continuance of an active market, at least for the first part of 

 the season. 



The output of crude rock by the mines and quarries last year 

 amounted to 506,274 short tons. This was the largest total on 

 record; the next largest was in 1910 when it amounted to 465,591 

 short tons. In 191 1, the output was reported as 446,794 tons. The 

 increase for the year, therefore, was 59,480 tons or about 13 per 

 cent. 



The greater part of the output, as heretofore, was used at the 

 mines for the manufacture of stucco and wall plaster. Most of 

 the mining companies operate their own plants for milling and 

 calcining the rock, their output entering the market only in finished 

 form. A few, however, dispose of a part of their product in 

 crushed or ground condition without further preparation, and one 

 company ships all its rock in that form. The portland cement plants 

 of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey take most of the raw 

 gypsum, but some is shipped to plate glass manufacturers for 

 bedding the glass sheets in polishing, and a small quantity is sold 

 in ground form for agricultural uses. As it would be difficult to 

 place a value on the rock that is manufactured directly by the pro- 

 ducing companies, the plan has been adopted of reporting the total 

 value in terms of the several products as they are marketed. Of 

 the output last year, a total of 178,499 short tons was sold or held 

 for sale as crude rock, as compared with 144,035 short tons thus 



