NIAGARA COUNTY. 
447 
Metals. 
Bog iron is the only metallic ore of any importance, and this is not found in sufficient 
abundance for manufacturing. It occurs in beds a few inches thick in many places in the 
northern part of the county, perhaps none more than six or eight inches thick. I collected 
specimens from Lewiston, and Wilson. In both places the deposit covers a considerable ex¬ 
tent of surface, but is of little depth. The rocks from which this ore is derived are shale 
and sandstone, and the proportion of iron in these is so small that large deposits are not made. 
The argillaceous iron ore of Wayne and Monroe counties is not anywhere found in 
Niagara county, though the formation is continued. 
Blende (sulphuret of zinc) is found in cavities of the Niagara limestone at Lockport and at 
Niagara falls, and sometimes disseminated in the rock. The quantity is only sufficient for 
cabinet specimens. 
Quicklime and Hydraulic Cement. 
The Niagara limestone is the only rock in Niagara county from which quicklime is made. 
The lower portions only of this limestone, near its outcropping edge, are used for making 
pure lime ; any part of it, however, is pure enough for agricultural purposes. 
It has already been stated that the outcropping edge of this limestone follows the course of 
the mountain ridge, so that at a glance one may perceive in what part of the county lime is 
manufactured. 
Hydraulic cement lias been manufactured from the impure limestone, forming the beds of 
passage from the shale to the limestone of the Niagara group. In many places farther east, 
the same bed in the mountain ridge furnishes the hydraulic cement used on the canal. That 
furnished for the aqueduct at Medina was from this rock, which occurs at Shelby, tw r o miles 
south of Medina. The same strata extend across the county from near Middleport to Lewiston. 
At many places along this distance a good cement may be obtained, but the best stone for 
this purpose is near the top of the terrace at Lewiston. The stone at this place is a sili¬ 
ceous limestone, with some argillaceous matter, and containing a small proportion of the oxide 
of manganese. Owing to the presence of this ore, the stone presents a greenish hue when 
first exposed, but finally becomes a rusty grey. 
Materials for Construction. 
Both the limestone and sandstone formations furnish good and durable materials for the con¬ 
struction of buildings. There is a stratum of the sandstone formation about twenty-five feet 
thick, which affords a very fine building stone ; and from the peculiar smoothness of some of 
the layers, it is often very beautiful. The stone is a very pure siliceous sandstone, separating 
into laminae or layers of from one eighth of an inch to eight inches thick, with very even 
