98 
ECONOMICAL MINERALOGY. 
From a statement of property cleared at Whitehall, it appears that there was shipped in 
1823, 3840 lbs. of black lead ; in 1829, 10,000 lbs.; in 1834, 22,000 lbs. It is probable 
that a large proportion of this amount was the produce of Essex county. The mines, how¬ 
ever, have never yet been worked with any degree of vigour, so that their real value or extent 
cannot be accurately known. 
In Warren County, graphite will probably be found in considerable abundance. There 
is a locality of it on the farm of Mr. Noble, at Johnsburgh. Several hundred weight of good 
graphite have been obtained from this mine. The mineral occurs in irregular-shaped masses 
weighing from one to twenty pounds, in a vein of quartz. 
The same mineral occurs in independent masses in the rock. A locality of this kind was 
discovered in Athol, which contained several tons, the whole of which was sent to market.* 
To these localities I will only add here, that graphite is said to occur in considerable quan¬ 
tity in. Clinton County, near the Saranac river, from four to six miles from Redford ; and 
that it is thought to exist in workable quantities in the town of Rossie and elsewhere in St. 
Lawrence County. 
The principal uses of this mineral are well known. It is employed in the manufacture of 
pencils, and for diminishing friction ; it also constitutes the basis of the silver lead, extensively 
used as a coating for cast and sheet iron. But the amount consumed for all these purposes is 
comparatively small. 
Emmons. New-York Geological Reports, 1839. 
