THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY I912 13 



until this spring. The mill has a capacity of 700 barrels a day. 

 The materials used are limestone from the large quarries of the 

 Solvay Process Co., nearby, and local clays. 



CLAY 



The clay deposits in the State are not noteworthy for their 

 variety of character or industrial adaptability, and in fact are 

 mainly restricted to the common sorts useful for ordinary building 

 brick and materials of that class. They are widely distributed, 

 however, so that practically every center of population is or may 

 be supplied with clay structural materials from nearby yards. 

 This branch of the industry is consequently of the greatest im- 

 portance, the continued rapid expanse of population in the larger 

 cities furnishing a market that is scarcely rivaled by that of any 

 other state. 



The clays that are utilized in brick manufacture are, with few 

 exceptions, modified glacial deposits. Residual clays are practic- 

 ally absent. They have been transported from the Adirondacks 

 and other regions of accumulation, or produced by the abrading 

 action of the ice upon shales, and deposited in the streams and 

 lakes that existed along the margin of the ice sheet. The most 

 extensive beds occur in the Hudson and Champlain valleys which 

 in late Glacial time were occupied by lakes which reached high above 

 the present water levels. In the Hudson valley they are inter- 

 stratified with sands and gravels, and build terraces on either side 

 which lie at different elevations up to 300 feet or more. The 

 workable clays often attain a thickness of 50 feet and in some 

 places they exceed 100 feet. The clays have a bluish color, but 

 are weathered to brown or yellow for some distance from the 

 surface. They contain relatively high percentages of iron, lime and 

 other fluxing ingredients and consequently fuse at a relatively low 

 temperature. The color of the burned clay is generally red. 



Glacial clays, more or less modified by water sorting, are also 

 abundant in the interior and western parts, specially in the larger 

 stream valleys. Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo have rather ex- 

 tensive brick manufacturing industries which supply the local 

 markets. Clay suitable for stoneware is found near Syracuse. 



In addition to common brick, which is the principal article pro- 

 duced from these clays, the list of manufactures includes drain 

 tile, hollow blocks, fireproofing and earthenware. 



