THE MINING AND QUARRY INDUSTRY I906 IQ 



1,493,459,000 common brick, valued at $9,751,753 and 18,698,000 

 front and fancy bricks valued at $302,844. The manufacture of 

 these materials was carried on in 3,7 counties by a total of 213 com- 

 panies or individuals. In 1905 there were 39 counties represented 

 with a total of 192 plants. 



The average price received for common brick last year was $5.98 

 a thousand, as compared with $6.53 a thousand in 1905 and $5.67 

 a thousand the average for 1904. Front and fancy pressed brick 

 averaged $15.68 a thousand against $16.20 in 1905 and $13.48 

 in 1904. 



Hudson river region. The counties in New York State situ- 

 ated along the Hudson river are specially favored in respect to 

 the manufacture of building brick. New York city and vicinity, 

 with its rapidly increasing population, is by far the greatest market 

 for such materials in the United States. There exist enormous clay 

 deposits, suitable for making the common grades of brick, on either 

 side of the river from Rensselaer and Albany counties down to 

 Rockland and Westchester, while the river itself affords a con- 

 venient and cheap means of transportation direct from the yards 

 to the market. As a result of these conditions the brick industry 

 of this section has developed to proportions that are without par- 

 allel in any other part of the country. 



In 1906 the output of common brick in the Hudson river region 

 amounted to a total of 1,230,692,000. This is approximately 78 

 per cent of the whole output of common brick in the State. The 

 value of the production was $7,352,377. In the preceding year the 

 output was 1,219,318,000, valued at $8,191,211. There was thus 

 a gain of 11,374,000 in quantity, but a loss of $838,834 in value. 

 The number of companies reporting as active was 131, an increase 

 of 12 for the year, or 20 more than in 1904. Rockland county was 

 represented by the largest number, 33, and its production amounted 

 to 296,145,000, valued at $1,767,012. Ulster county, with 26 opera- 

 tive companies, produced 252,665,000, valued at $1,465,457; and 

 Orange county made 189,180,000, valued at $1,170,695, reported by 

 12 companies. 



The average number of brick made in each plant in 1906 was 

 9,471,000, as compared with 10,246,000 in 1905 and 9,180,000 in 

 1904. The price for the whole region averaged during the year 

 $5.98 a thousand against $6.54 a thousand for 1905 and $5.79 a 

 thousand for 1904. 



The main feature of the past year's record was the remarkable 

 range in the market prices received for brick in the New York 



