THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY I912 7 



stone, marble, sandstone and trap, which were valued in the aggre- 

 gate at $5,718,994. The total for 191 1 was $5,560,355. Divided 

 according to uses the output for 1912 consisted of building stone 

 valued at $692,534, monumental stone $103,641, curbstone and flag- 

 stone $621,327, crushed stone $2,754,839, and miscellaneous $1,546,- 

 653. More than one-half the value was returned by the limestone 

 quarries which furnish the greater part of the crushed stone used 

 for concrete and macadam. The marble and trap quarries were 

 less active than usual, but there was a gain in both granite and 

 sandstone. 



In the cement trade, conditions showed a great improvement 

 compared with their trend in recent years, which had been steadily 

 reactionary. The demand for both portland and natural cement 

 was brisk and prices advanced steadily with the progress of the 

 season. The combined product of the two kinds amounted to 

 4,783,535 barrels, against 3,691,373 barrels in 191 1. The gain was 

 mostly recorded by the portland cement plants which contributed 

 4,495,842 barrels to the total, as compared with 3,416,400 barrels 

 in the preceding year. Natural cement constituted an aggregate 

 of 287,693 barrels, against 274,973 in 191 1. Owing to the fact that 

 the output of the mills was delivered largely under contracts, the 

 value of the production averaged less than in 191 1, though current 

 prices were considerably higher. 



Salt is a commodity that has been produced in the State for up- 

 wards of a century. It is obtained both by mining underground 

 and by sinking wells into the salt, the brine from these being 

 evaporated by solar or artificial heat, or used directly for chemical 

 manufacture. The quantity of salt raised from the mines and wells 

 in 1912 amounted to 10,502,214 barrels, and had a value at the 

 place of production of $2,597,260, both totals exceeding those for 

 any previous year. Livingston county, with the only active salt 

 mines in the State, was the leading producer. 



The mining of gypsum, the raw material from which plaster of 

 paris and hard wall plasters are made, has become an important 

 industry of late years, having had a very steady growth in the 

 last decade. The material is mainly produced by underground 

 operations, though in some localities it is quarried. The output 

 for 19 1 2 amounted to 506,274 short tons and in its marketable forms 

 had a value of $1,186,845. 



The combined value of petroleum and natural gas, the only 

 representatives of the class of mineral fuels obtained in the State, 



