New York State 83 



Millstones of wide repute are made in Ulster County. Various 

 mineral paints are produced from iron and lead bases. 



One of the most considerable items in the list of minor products 

 is mineral waters, for which some of the New York springs bear 

 an enviable reputation. The existence of such natural waters as 

 those of Saratoga, Ballston, Richfield, and Sharon, to name a few, 

 is a resource that can scarcely be measured in terms of money. 



I have given a very hasty summary of some of the important 

 features that characterize the mineral occurrences of the state. 

 They have their limitations, which should be respected, but as a 

 positive resource they afford a wide field for enterprise, which is 

 constantly developing and expanding as new discoveries are made 

 or new uses found for materials already known to exist. 



A most essential factor for the future welfare of the industry 

 is the awakening of public opinion in regard to the intelligent 

 utilization of these resources for the general interest and not solely 

 for private gain, which is likely to be the main governing prin- 

 ciple. Conservation may be applied to minerals with even more 

 reason than to our forests and soils. Unlike the products of the 

 latter, mineral and ore deposits are an inheritance of past ages 

 during which nature gathered them into their present forms by 

 infinitely slow accretions ; hence, once gone, they are beyond 

 restoration. Their waste or misdirected application, therefore, 

 implies not only present loss, but injustice to future generations 

 upon whom will rest the responsibility of maintaining those activi- 

 ties that have been among the bulwarks of our strength and 

 prosperity. 



