CATLETT.] 
CEMENT    RESOURCES    OF    VALLEY    OF    VIRGINIA. 
461 
Analyses  of  limestone  and  shale  from  near  Craigsville. 
[Charles  Catlett,  analyst.] 
Silica 
Alumina 
Oxide  of  iron  . 
Lime 
Magnesia 
Volatile  matter 
Limestone. 
Shale. 
Per  cent. 
Per  cent. 
0.43 
58.  07 
.21 
19.08 
.55 
6.16 
54.55 
None. 
.63 
.64 
43.70 
11. 17 
The  physical  condition  of  both  of  these  is  excellent. 
While  the  conditions  are  unusually  favorable  in  that  immediate  sec- 
tion, and  will  naturally  lead  to  the  construction  ol  additional  plants; 
in  a  general  way  the  same  geologic  conditions  are  encountered  at 
numerous  points  on  or  near  the  line  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio,  both 
in  Virginia  and  in  West  Virginia,  and  wherever  this  bed  of  limestone 
is  found  in  a  good  state  of  development  an  opportunity  more  or  less 
valuable,  depending  upon  the  local  conditions,  is  presented  for  the 
manufacture  of  cement. 
Along  the  line  both  of  the  Norfolk  and  Western  and  Chesapeake 
and  Ohio  roads  in  the  "Tidewater"  region  are  encountered  beds  of 
marl  and  clay  which  are  suitable  for  cement  manufacture;  but  the 
writer's  impression  is  that  the  tendency  is  more  largely  to  the  use  of 
rock  for  the  purpose;  for  while  finely  divided  material,  such  as  marl 
and  clay,  is  ideal  if  it  is  exactly  of  the  right  composition,  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  find  large  deposits  of  the  former  which  are  free  from 
sand.  If  it  is  necessary  to  grind  the  material  and  then  to  drive  off  the 
excess  of  water  which  is  present,  it  is  questionable  whether  it  is  not 
more  economical  and  satisfactory  to  work  on  dry  material  from  the 
start. 
