640 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



In the fall of 1898 the writer gathered the statistics of water- 

 power on Black river, where a total of 55,360 net horsepower 

 is in use in 93 manufacturing establishments of various sorts 

 and kinds. Of these 36 are papermills using 46,587 net horse- 

 power. The approximate total value of the annual product of 

 the 36 paper mills was found to be $5,242,620, whence the aver- 

 age value of the annual product per net horsepower becomes 

 $112.50. Similar statistics have not been gathered for Hudson 

 river, where the mills are fewer in number, but so much larger 

 than on Black river that the annual product approximates 

 $8,000,000 in value. Undoubtedly the cost of manufacturing in 

 large, thoroughly equipped modern mills is less than in small 

 mills, and the writer provisionally places the value of the annual 

 product of Hudson river paper mills, per net horsepower actually 

 used, at $135. On both Black and Hudson rivers the mills them- 

 selves grind a large proportion of the pulp used, and when this 

 is done the net profits of the paper business, over and above 

 interest on invested capital and all other fixed charges, may be 

 assumed to range from 10 to 15 per cent. We will take 

 12 per cent as an average. On this basis the net annual profit 

 on each net horsepower in use at Hudson river papermills 

 becomes $16.20, which at 5 per cent represents a capitalized value 

 of $324. In the absence of more exact data, and for the pur- 

 poses of this discussion, we will use this figure as representing 

 the approximate value of a net horsepower on Hudson river. 1 

 At this rate, the value of 14,695 horsepower becomes $4,761,180, 

 which is the approximate damage to the Hudson river water- 

 powers from Hadley to Troy to result from taking the mean 

 quantity of 775 cubic feet per second from Schroon valley catch- 

 ment area. 



Compensating reservoirs on Hudson river. However, reservoirs 

 capable of supplying 500 to 600 cubic feet per second compensa- 

 tion could be constructed on headwaters of main North river and 

 Sacandaga river for less than $4,761,180. 



*At Troy there is a small amount of miscellaneous manufacturing to 

 which a larger figure could be properly applied. 



On Black river, in eight machine shops, the average value of the annual 

 product per net horsepower is $1728; in nine flour and feed mills, $627.20, 



etc. 



