214 NEW YOEK STATE MUSEUM 



Shales and Shale Pkoditcts 



Within the last seven or eight years the manufacturers in New 

 York have turned their attention toward the extensive beds of 

 argillaceous shale which the state contains, and which on trial 

 have given very satisfactory results, Several large firms are 

 using them for the manufacture of sewer pipe, terra cotta, paving 

 brick and roofing tile. The shale formations at present used are 

 the Salina, Hamilton and Chemung. The Hudson river shales 

 are no doubt sufficiently argillaceous over many areas to be 

 used for the manufacture of clay products, and the same may be 

 said of the Niagara shale, which weathers to a clay. 



Iron Ores 



The iron ores of New York have been carefully studied and 

 described by Prof. J. O. Smock, who has; published his results in 

 Bulletin No. 7 a of the New York State Museum and by Mr. 

 Bayard F. Putnam, who contributed an article on this subject to 

 the volume on Mining Industries (No. XV) in itihe report of the 

 tenth census. These two important papers, taken together give 

 a most complete review of the sources of iron in New York. 

 Our knowledge of the Adirondack ores is supplemented by the 

 work of Prof. J. F. Kemp, which is contained in Bulletin No. 13 

 of the New York State Museum, entitled the Geology of Moriah 

 and Westport townships, The localities of all the principal mines 

 are shown on the economic map. 



Iron in its native or metallic form is- not known to exist within 

 the state of New York, nor is it at present anywhere a commer- 

 cial source >of the metal. We are therefore chiefly dependent 

 upon the combinations of iron with oxygen for our supply of 

 that indispensable substance. 



The ores of iron, which occur in beds- and deposits of workable 

 size in the state of New York, may be classified by their chemical 

 composition, into oxides and carbonates of iron, and these may 

 be subdivided, following the mineralogical characters, into 



a The following description is abridged with some alterations and additions from Bul- 

 letin No. 7. 



