THIRD REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR I906 23 



ing the Devonic rocks. This area covers approximately one third 

 of the entire area of the State and quarries have been opened in all 

 of the 25 counties of this area. The sandstone quarried is almost 

 exclusively that which in the. trade is known as " bluestone." The 

 quarries opened in this district exceed 400 in number, the larger 

 proportion being in the four counties of Ulster, Sullivan, Greene 

 and Delaware. 



The area producing bluestone may be conveniently divided into 

 three districts as follows : the Hudson river district, comprising 

 Ulster, Greene and Albany counties ; the Delaware river district, 

 embracing Sullivan, Delaware and Broome counties ; and the re- 

 maining district comprising the counties of central and western 

 New York, of which Chenango and Wyoming are the most im- 

 portant. 



In the Hudson river district, the Devonic rocks are represented 

 by areas of coarse sedimentation extending from the Hamilton to 

 the Catskill formation, and quarries are operated in all the forma- 

 tions. Many of the quarries are located on the steep sides of the 

 foothills or on the slopes of the southern and eastern sides of the 

 Catskills. In the quarries thus located the overburden soon be- 

 comes so great that the quarry can not be worked far into the 

 ridge. This disadvantage is, however, partly offset by working 

 along the edge of the outcrop thus giving a long working face to 

 the quarry. The quarries are located from 3 to 10 miles from the 

 Hudson river. The product is hauled by teams to docks along the 

 river, where it is shipped by water to various points. The product 

 of the quarries along the Ulster and Delaware is brought to Rondout 

 by this railroad. The principal shipping stations are Catskill, 

 Maiden, Saugerties, Glasco^ and Rondout. A mill for dressing the 

 stone is located at Rondout and the stone treated here is not oiily 

 from the vicinity of Rondout, but from points farther up the river 

 as well. As a rule the producers are small ones who sell their 

 product to dealers having docks along the Hudson river. 



In the Delaware river district there has been increased activity 

 in the quarrying business during the past year. The valley of the 

 Delaware is here a narrow one and the quarries are located on the 

 steep hills rising from the river valley. The roads from the 

 quarries to the railroad are in nearly every case so constructed as 

 to be down grade or on the level all the way from the quarry. As 

 a rule, the quarries are larger than those of the Hudson river dis- 

 trict and the equipment is better. The industry along the Delaware 



