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f New York Stzte Museum Bulletin a
a Entered as second-class matter November 27, 1915, at the Post Office at Albany, N, Y.
" ms under the act of August 24, 1912
\oag ]
pray 3 Published monthly by The University of the State of New York .
Nos, 221, 222 ALBANY, N.Y. . May-June, 1919
e e : - ig m Pn
The University of the State of NST/ ly >
: me
New York State Museu ca
eM Y 8 ~ 192
NAL MUSS 2"
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND
DISEASE
THEIR ORIGIN AND SIGNIFICANCE
BY
JOHN M. CLARKE
D.SC., COLGATE, CHICAGO, PRINCETON
‘ LL.D., AMHERST, JOHNS HOPKINS
MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL*+ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
NEW YORK STATE PALEONTOLOGIST
ALBANY
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
1921
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
Regents of the University
With years when terms expire
(Revised to March 1, 1921)
1926. Purny T. Sexton, LL.B., LL.D., Chancellor . . . Palmyra
1927 ALBERT VANDER VEER, M.D., M.A., Ph.D., LL.D.
Vice Chancellor Albany °
1922 CuestEeR 8. Lorp, M.A., LL.D. 3 ; : 3 i: Brooklyn
1924 ADELBERT Moot, LL.D. . : ; Buffalo
1925 CHARLES B. ALEXANDER, M.A., LL. B., rite D., Litt, D. ; Tuxedo
1928 WALTER GUEST KELLOGG, B. ie LL. D. 5 3 . . Ogdensburg
1932 JamMES Byrne, B.A., LL.B., LL.D. 5 ; ; ; s New York
1929 HERBERT .L. Bripeman, M.A., LL.D. . i . : Brooklyn
1931 THomas J. Mancan, M.A. E : 3 : 4 : Binghamton
1933 Winuiam J. WALLIN, M.A. Sree : Z : : Yonkers
1923. WitLiAM Bonpy, M.A., LL.B., Ph.D. : as : : New York
1930 WiuiiaAmM P. Baker, B.L. ; : ER ; ; Syracuse
Acting President of the University and Commissioner of Education
FRANK B. GILBERT, B.A., LL.D.
Assistant Commissioner and Director of Professional Education
Aveustus 8. Downine, M.A., Pd.D., L.H.D., LL.D.
Assistant Commissioner for Secondary Education
CHARLES F. WHEELOCK, B.S., LL.D.
Assistant Commissioner for Elementary Education
GrorRGE M, Wiuey, M.A., Pd.D., LL.D.
Director of State Library
JAMES I. Wyer, M.L.S., Pd.D.
Director of Science and State Museum
JOHN M. CuarKE, D.Se., LL.D.
Chiefs and Directors of Divisions
Administration, Hiram C. Case
Archives and History, James SuLLivan, M.A., Ph.D.
Attendance, JAMES D. SULLIVAN
Examinations and Inspections, AVERY W. SKINNER, B.A.
Law, FRANK B. GILBERT, B.A., LL.D., Counsel
Library Extension, WILLIAM R. Watson, B.S.
Library School, Epna M. Sanperson, B.A., B.L.S.
School Buildings and Grounds, FRANK H. Woop, M.A.
School Libraries, SHERMAN WILLIAMS, Pd.D:
Visual Instruction, ALFRED W. ABRAms, Ph.B.
Vocational and Extension Education, Lewis A. WiILson
’
«
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Organic Dependence and Disease:
Their Origin and Significance.
By John M. Clarke,
D.Se., Colgate, Chicago, Princeton
LL.D., Amherst, Johns Hopkins
Member of the National Academy of Sciences
New York State Paleontologist
New Haven:
Yale University Press.
London, Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press.
Mdeccexxi.
Copyright, 1921, by
Yale University Press.
CONTENTS
Introduction
What is Disease? :
What is Normal Living? .
The Meaning of Abnormal Living ;
Protective Covering a Basic Factor in Dependence
Proper Understanding of the Shell or External Skeleton
Stabilization, Longevity and Dissolution .
Divisions of Geological History
Independence of the First Fauna : : : :
General Survey of the Cambrian Fauna of North America .
The Cambrian Fauna Generally
Precambrian Life ; 3 5
The Beginnings of Symbiosis and Parasitism
Complex Character of Parasitism
Beginnings of Symbiosis
Relation of Symbiosis to Parasitism .
- Illustrations of Primitive Parasitism
The Case of the Annelids .
The Barnacles . ; é : : :
Karly Parasitism of the Snails upon the Crinoids .
Symbiotic Conjunction of Crinoids and Starfishes
The Work of Pseudoparasitic Boring Organisms .
The Distinction between Protozoan and Metazoan Parasitism
Sporozoan and Bacterial Parasitism in Geological His-
tory . :
Summary and Conclusions
104
107
109
Organic Dependence and Disease:
Their Origin and Significance.
INTRODUCTION
HE purpose of this essay is to set forth a basis of
fact and reasonable inference bearing on the com-
prehension of the control which governs the histor-
ical origin of dependent and abnormal conditions in the liv-
ing world.
The facts and their interpretations, together with their
higher intimations as here presented, are based upon pale-
ontological knowledge, that is to say, biological knowledge
with the added element of unlimited time through which the
life factors have worked. These are prime factors; they
together remove our subject and its conclusions from the
field of purely modern biology.
The knowledge we have little by little acquired in the spe-
cial field indicated by our title does not as yet make a great
sheaf and it is not likely that the facts, in spite of their pro-
found interest to us, can have any immediate value in the
application of remedial measures in the correction of ab-
normal physiology. This statement is, however, not made
without some reserve; a real clue to the inception of any
abnormal physiology in nature must lead to interpretations
of wide moment.
For a good many years the writer has endeavored to
gather together from the earliest assemblages of life on the
earth as preserved in the ancient rocks, such organic re-
mains as might shed light, not primarily on the introduc-
tion of disease, as we loosely employ that term, but upon
6 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
the existence and earliest appearances among these ele-
mentary expressions of life, of conditions which show an
actual mutual dependence of creatures one upon another;
that is to say, of the conditions commonly known variously
as symbiosis, mutualism and parasitism. Such evidences
are not easy to acquire among primitive forms of life as
preserved in the rocks of the earth’s historic record, but
persistent and long-continued search with the aid of a va-
riety of special procedures adapted to the extraction of the
peculiar character of the material employed, enlarged by
the inspection of many great museum collections and joined
with the help of generous colleagues and the special sup-
port of the National Academy of Sciences, has resulted in
even so much light on these significant paleopathologic
problems as is here set forth.
The writer desires to present his facts without embar-
rassing detail and his conelusions without bias. In his own
justification for both he may urge a long acquaintance with
nature’s modes in the preservation of such materials in the
fossil state and reasonable familiarity, based upon com-
parative morphology, with the forms of life that go to make
up the earlier faunas and floras of the earth.
It will be observed, and special emphasis is put on this,
that these chapters deal with the lower forms of life, the
invertebrates among animals and cryptogams among the
plants. The actual outstanding evidences of pathological
and traumatic lesions among extinct animals of the verte-
brate type are not comprehended within this discussion as
such phenomena are registered only among faunas of the
earth too late and too specialized for our consideration.
Such lesions have been noted by several students of verte-
brate paleontology and most interestingly brought together
by Dr. Roy L. Moodie, whose investigations into the history
of such registered conditions and of the possible effect of
disease in the extermination of races of the higher animals
through the later ages of the earth are very suggestive to
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 7
anyone concerned with the origin of our actual inheritance
of specific pathological conditions.*
It hardly seems necessary to premise that pathological
conditions, or diseases, to speak specifically, are as much a
matter of evolution as the human hand or the bird’s wing.
The statement of so obvious a fact here would have seemed
superfluous except for the sharp citation recently served
upon his colleagues by an eminent physician, that ‘‘human
maladies are but a narrow fringe along the border line of
disease,’’? which would seem to intimate that repetitive
emphasis may wisely be laid upon this statement.
In the ancient rock formations and the life assemblages
with which we are here dealing there are few of these
higher creatures, the vertebrates, and among them speciali-
zation in organs and function has gone so far as to becloud
the record we are seeking to disclose. Here the effort is to
take the simplest and least differentiated expressions of
life conditions in their earliest appearance, before the hving
world had become so inexpressibly complicated as it is to-
day or so indelibly stamped by the accumulated heritage
of boundless ages. It may be said that these investigations,
which rest upon the certain results of the laws of life, lead
the reflective mind into passages tangent to human con-
cerns of high moment.
We shall need for the immediate purpose a clear under-
standing of what is meant by disease, as the term is here
used. Our employment of the word is a rather loose one;
probably no physiologist or pathologist would be satisfied
with it, if indeed the term could be adapted to modern path-
ological use. It has at best only a popular value and its ap-
plication is without scientific exactness. Thus, tuberculosis
1 Roy L. Moodie. 1916, American Journal of Science, v. 41: 530-31; 1916,
Science, v. 43: 425; 1917, ‘‘ Annals of Medical History,’’ pp. 374-93.
2R. G. Hecles. ‘‘The Scope of Disease,’’ Medical Record, March 8, 1913.
The reader is also referred to Doctor Eccles’s other important papers in this
field: ‘‘ Disease and Genetics,’’ op. cit., August 2, 1913; ‘‘ Parasitism and Nat-
ural Selection,’’ op. cit., July 31, 1909.
8 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
is a pathological condition involving the normal growth of a
living creature, the Bacillus tuberculosis. This condition
is a disease only from the point of view of the host of the
parasite, that is, of the sufferer. To the parasite it is the
normal, though adjusted, mode of life. This, however, is
an advanced and complicated example whose history, when
worked out, must be determined on the basis of causes pro-
ducing such adaptation of parasite to host, and the study
of such adaptations must always keep in view the ease with
which adaptations have constantly been and are constantly
being made. Let us discuss this matter more at length.
WHAT IS DISEASE?
We must answer this question in terms of the original
use of the word—disease is discomfort; it is thus the early
Knghsh writers employed it and we must not forget this
simple meaning which is not observed in common usages.
But in the specific application of the term to physical dis-
comfort we shall find Huxley’s definition broad and clear:
‘“‘Disease . . . is a perturbation of the normal activities
of a living body.’’ In this expression by the great Kng-
lish physiologist there is a definite implication that disease
means disorder of specific function, as we generally under-
stand it. But the broader idea in this definition is clear;
that disease is any departure from normal ving. It may
be a departure in a single function or it may involve several
functions of physiology; and such an abnormal condition
may permeate so many functions as to create a general im-
pairment or maladjustment of the entire anatomical ma-
chinery. It is elementary, as well as scriptural, to say that
seldom can one organic function become impaired without
involving others, for no member of the body can say to
another, ‘‘I have no need of thee.”’
There is, however, a still broader conception that we can
draw from Huxley’s definition and which is of the first im-
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 9
portance for our purposes. It is this: That the entire body,
organism or creature and the entire race or stock to which
it belongs may become abnormal through subjection to an
abnormal or perturbed mode of life. Such body, creature,
race or stock is therefore in a state of disease.
This condition has so frequently entered upon the life
modes of the animals and plants as to form an essential
basis of their classification and it is the mightiest single
influence in the separation of them into grades of excel-
lence. We hesitate to call such animals and such entire
races of animals and plants ‘‘diseased,’’ but their mode of
life is obviously disordered and we have no choice but to
term it abnormal and consequent upon a ‘‘perturbation of
normal activities.’’ Illustrations of this will presently be
given.
WHAT IS NORMAL LIVING?
With the help of the hght drawn from a study of the
early faunas of the earth, that is, the assemblages of ani-
mals which were the first to people the salt waters of the
ocean, we can find an answer to this question which I think
would hardly be fully possible from the study of existing
animals alone. Normal living, in the broad sense in which
we desire to be understood, means full activity of an un-
impaired physiology inclusive of the function of locomotion
or mobility. This is not a very complete definition as it
leaves out of consideration the primitive development of
the locomotive function, which must have worked itself out
gradually just as other organs have developed in response
to the demands for their functions. Except for that, the
definition does very well, and it implies that normal living
means independent living; it means that every creature
which is in itself a perfect physiological mechanism and
has in itself the essential basis of progress in grade, in
which lies any ‘‘hope of salvation,’’ must maintain to ma-
10 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
turity an independent life, whatever may happen to it in
the period of its waning.
- At the risk of stating our conclusions before we have
fully marshalled the evidence, deductively, then, normal liv-
ing is, in terms of biology, correct living, that is to say,
righteous living, and in so far as dependence invades the
mode of life whether in organ or individual, such living is ~
unrighteous, disordered and diseased; in better phrase, bio-
logically, is without hope, for such perturbation or disease
is beyond voluntary or casual rectification. These ideas
apply not to the individual only but to the species, the race,
the stock, even to the broadest divisions of life, the sub-
kingdoms themselves.
In speaking thus of dependent life as an expression of
perturbation of function, it is easy to fall into misappre-
hension, for in writing on the subject of parasitism the
mind of the reader is likely to turn involuntarily to the
overwhelming invasion of all the earth by protozoan and
protophytic parasites, parents of ‘‘germ diseases’’ and in-
festations, sponsors for the deadly assaults upon humanity
whose victims count up more than all other causes of death
combined. We shall presently endeavor to indicate the ele-
mental and historical differences between such unicellular
parasitism and metazoan parasitism; the latter involving
the mutual somatic relations of multicellular differentiated
and well-defined animals or plants. The présent statements
are made with special reference to metazoan dependence.
THE MEANING OF ABNORMAL LIVING
From the world about us volumes have been filled with
examples of these departures from the normal mode of liv-
ing. It is safe to say that a vast majority of all life of the
world is permeated by this loss of original excellence, which
1s, In more explicit terms, a condition of dependence and
degeneration. We can not get a more impressive conception
of its effect throughout all nature than in its elemental ex-
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 11
pression; the primary division of the whole kingdom of
life is based upon the interpretation of this fact. Let us
consider the plant world, the trees of the forest and the
lilies of the field. They are clothed in a majesty and beauty
before which the attainments of the animal kingdom pale.
In the earliest life ages of the world, the days that geolo-
gists have called the Proterozoic, the multicellular progeny
of the earliest unicellular beings whose simplest beginnings
we are slowly coming to know, determined through adapta-
tion the entire subsequent course of life upon the earth.
With our present understanding I believe it safe to say that
the career of the life record on earth was laid down, ‘‘con-
ceived in the lowest parts of the earth,’’ when some of these
progeny found it to their material advantage to anchor
themselves and to draw sustenance out of the soil or sea
bottom where they stood, while to others fell the lot to seek,
or being of more pronounced excitation and reaction, chose
to seek their food from place to place. Those became de-
pendent, the latter retained their independence; and there
_ eame the great cleft in the world of life, a cleft so deep and
so enduring that time has had no power to heal it. A great
tree may well be of more service to the community than a
man, some human derelict, but a tree will never become a
man, nor anything else than a tree. In all the bewildering
developments of the plant kingdom in which we find organs
and fluids for the digestion of flesh, organs of special sense
implying a nerve system that yields to and perhaps inter-
prets the impacts of touch and of light, functions which
have led undisciplined philosophers to the fancy that this
apparent assumption of special functions indicates a refine-
ment of anatomy which approaches the bridging of the
abyss between plant and animal, the plant in its most im-
pressive attainment still remains anchored and rooted,
sometimes tossed about or floated by the waters but essen-
_ tially devoid of independent motion.
The significant fact, supported by the most tangible and
12 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
obvious of evidence, of the primitive divergence of the two
great subkingdoms of life, lays elemental emphasis on the
distinction between normal independent living and abnor-
mal dependent living; between what we may with perfect
propriety term, in biological sense, right living and wrong
living. Out of the first of these groups have come all the
great triumphs of life; the races of life which, by keeping in-
dividual and racial independence, have persistently climbed
upward. The second group has been hampered and rooted
from the beginning, hopeless of ever throwing off its chains
or of arriving at any end beyond a certain refined functional
specialization within its own limitations. The giants of the
redwood forests are the hoary and venerable obelisks of
power shackled beyond redemption; the gardens of flowers
are blossoms of a hope never to be attained. In any sound
philosophy of nature this great fact, even though its in-
ceptive cause is still veiled to us, must lie close to the base
of all deductive reasoning. Lest these sentences be sus-
pected of a teleological taint, let me express the conviction
that, in any interpretation of such phenomena as those here
considered, the materialistic formulas of adaptation and
subjection to environment give way to recognition of pur-
poseful activity which can be interpreted only in terms of
psychology.
As there are evidences of limited freedom in the plant
world (as in the amoeboid movements in the Slime-fungi,
the Flagellates and many Bacteria) so, by contrast, the ani-
mal world is shot through with races of dependent crea-
tures, and in so vast degree that it may safely be said the
foundation races of animal life, the invertebrates, have in
greater or less measure fallen by the wayside in the course
of their journey through the ages; few indeed have kept
to their charted course and to these few, linked together
in the successive ages of the world, following one upon the
heel of another, we owe all the enduring progress and at-
tainment which our present life has reached.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 13
On this point our present knowledge permits us to lay
emphasis, namely, that on the whole, in the survey of the
earth and the sum total of its multitudinous and inconceiv-
ably variant groups of life, there has been a strong mini-
mum, a redeeming minority, of competent upward evolu-
tion; and wise students of nature, in reflecting on this
thought, have broken out into exclamations of wonder and
amazement at the slender thread of chance by which we
who call ourselves men have come to this estate, in a world
where for millions of years the temptation to the easier
way and the obstacles to independent living were con-
stantly against us.
Let us look at a most common illustration of the general
fact of dependence among existing races of animal life, of
very ancient ancestry. The oyster is early attached firmly
to the sea bottom, to the rock or to the shell of a brother
oyster and never stirs from its moorings for the rest of its
life. It opens its hard valves a little way to let its servants,
the food-bearing water currents, deliver their nutrient
supplies and it defends itself in the struggle against en-
emies, not by standing out in the open and meeting force
with force but simply by closing its doors and shutting itself
up in its calcareous caisson. To the attacks of sharp-
toothed fishes and the relentless starfish the oyster has lit-
tle defense. The nonresistant, flaccid, pacific creature
within, fully equipped with the organs of special physiol-
ogy, 1s essentially the same in habit as he was those millions
of years ago when the oysters began to show themselves in
the salt waters of the Carboniferous age. The knell of its
progress was struck when first it settled down to a fixed
immobile existence and, hopeless as the ox, the future holds
for it no promise of improvement. And yet even today the
embryo oysters have a brief period of locomotive freedom,
proof enough in the laws of ontogeny that a free life was
once the ancestral condition of the race. With the oyster’s
cousin, the clam, the ease is similar; less degenerate in phys-
14 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
iology than the oyster and very rarely attached solidly to
the sea bottom, yet the same degenerative effect upon the
‘animal has been produced by burying itself in the mud with
only the tips of the valves or a pair of fleshy tubes extruded
upward to reach the moving food supply in the water cur-
rents, while the burial helps out in large measure the de-
fensive purpose of the solid armature of the shell. The
clam is a much older creature than the oyster and in specific
functions it has, broadly speaking, degenerated less, but it
serves to bring out the important fact that the habit of
burial in the mud, from which it does not easily release it-
self and never for long, is tantamount to fixation and in-
volves the organic stagnation in which these creatures have
lain for ages which can not be counted. This is hardly the
place in which to restate well-known paleontological facts,
but such cases as these and the extensive catalog of like in-
stances must serve to remind us that such adjustments,
early formed and perduring through the ages, have been
attended with the least possible variation in proportion as
the adjustment is perfect. The longest lived of all crea-
tures, then, are those which have lived in most perfect
adjustment and in which therefore readjustment is most
hopeless.
We have very direct evidence of the early formation and
long endurance of specific habits of life in these adjusted
dependents. The starfish of the Devonian age fed upon con-
temporary mollusks in the same way and by the same mode
of attack that the starfish uses today upon the oysters of
Long Island sound; surrounding the tightly closed valves
with their strong-armed rays, pulling steadily against the
strained muscle contraction of the mollusk until the weary
shell-fish, muscularly tired out, gives up, the valves relax
and open and the extrusive maw of the radiate enters.*
1 Clarke. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, v. 15, 2d ser. Centenary num-
ber.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 15
PROTECTIVE COVERING A BASIC FACTOR
IN DEPENDENCE
A knight in armor is a protected fighter and by his pro-
tection increases his viability. A man ‘‘on his own,’’ who
fights with his ‘‘dukes,’’ risks his viability but nevertheless
increases his physical vigor and exalts his bodily prowess.
A recent writer on the morale of our army in France brings
out the fact that a man who could defend himself with his
fists made a better soldier than the one who depended alone
on the weapon he carried in his hand.
Nature has given to a large part of the animal world one
or the other of two solid supports for the soft organs and
flesh of the body; an inside skeleton, like that on which our
own soft anatomy is hung, or an outside skeleton or shell,
to which we may here give special attention. I have used
the expression, nature has given, meaning that the neces-
sity of support to the body having early shown itself, such
supports developed in response to external impacts and
internal stresses; the historical course of development of
these calcareous supports makes the fact sufficiently obvi-
ous that they are a determined sequence and not a chemical
reaction or a casual device.
A rhizopod, a speck of soft protoplasm with the mar-
vellous special function of eliminating the silica from its
solution in the sea, exudes this mineral matter in the
form of an outside shell of wondrous delicacy and sym-
metry. The unprotected soft tissue in the primitive ances-
try of all the great tribe of the Mollusea or shell-fish, tossed
haphazard on the sea bottom and hopeless against attack
except through concealment or powers of rapid self-propul-
sion, acquires the special function of eliminating from the
sea the salts of lime, carbonate or phosphate, and with them
builds up its outside shell. We have just noticed that even
today the young of such hard-shelled mollusks, in stages
when their shells are but beginning to grow, are free swim-
16 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
mers for a while; their ontogeny or individual history here,
as often, reflecting the successive phases of development
through which their entire race has come.
This ontogenetic fact referred to is so generally repeated
in other groups of the lesser animals that it may safely be
said of all which live their mature life encased in shells or
moored to other objects, that it is in their infancy alone
their normal life is expressed, and we know as well that the
pervasion which has set in to change a life of freedom and
independence has likewise set up changes of anatomy and
physiology which make the mature creature only the more
dependent by adjustment to his abnormal life. The de-
velopment history of the individual is an important record
for interpreting the status of that individual, whatever kind
of creature he may be. The boy is father to the man in a
very true sense when we apply it to ourselves or to any ani-
mal that keeps its independence throughout life. But the
boy, the young, the infant stage, is the only faithful reflec-
tion of the dignified past in the case of such creatures as
have lost their grip on normal living and have resorted to
the sheltered life.
With these statements of cause and effect it is easy and
natural to ask and answer once more that venerable ques-
tion whether the perfection of life lies in the perfection of
adjustment. Independent living, freedom of locomotion
and range expose the individual to ever new dangers.
These the individual must quickly overcome or outwit;
otherwise succumb. The choice is quick, imperious and fi-
nal. To live is, for such independent creatures, an escape
or a victory. To call it a ‘‘struggle’’ for existence is to
designate it subjectively but very often it is exactly that,
a quick reaction of refined innervation or ‘‘wits,’’ of the
weak against the strong. But to the larger problem, that
of those which have sought and found the easier way and
which have snuggled into personal comfort, as contrasted
with the struggles of the pathfinders of creation, there are
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE les
many angles of approach. The common clam is the perfect
adjustment; buried in the mud and fortified by its coat of
mail it is difficult to find a creature better adapted and pro-
tected. It is a natural sequence, then, that the race of clam
has abounded in all the seas since almost the earliest ages.
Again, the pea crab hides himself in the living oyster, and
the hermit crab backs himself into an empty conch-shell or
periwinkle, hiding away his soft degenerate abdominal
joints and tail and using the mouth of his bombproof for of-
fensive as well as defensive purposes. Neither of these in-
quilines comes out; neither would dare to expose his soft-
ened mature body outside; but his adjustment is competent
notwithstanding the fact that he is a degenerate whose an-
cestors were hard-shelled and who, succumbing to the out-
side struggle, found this protection inside the shells of the
mollusks. The paleontologist Ruedemann has beautifully
shown that far back in Ordovician time or earlier, the acorn
barnacles, whose hard-shelled descendants of today coat
the submerged reefs of the sea and the hulls of befouled
ships, were derived from the free-swimming crustaceans of
the phyllopod type, through attachment by their backs; a
process which seems to have started first as a partial burial
of the carapace, leaving the food-grasping organs and
sills exposed above the mud; eventually becoming an actual
solid fixation because of the distinct advantage in protec-
tion and ease of feeding which the animal had discovered.
Lateral stresses, Ruedemann thinks, the play of the cur-
rents against the carapace and the strains against its side
walls, developed the sutures which divide the peculiar shell
of the Acorn barnacle. The other great class of barnacles,
Lepas, or the commonly known Goose barnacles, whose clus-
ters are found today in places where the other barnacles
grow, seem to have had a like origin at a like period of
earth history, through a cementation, not by the back of the
phyllopod ancestor, but rather by its head. These are most
venerable degenerates of most adequate adjustment. They
18 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
started so many millions of years ago that a half of the
whole period of life on earth has passed over their degra-
dation and the whole race to which the barnacles belong, the
entire class of cirripede crustacea, have taken this course.
With a thousand like cases, they speak only of extreme |
adaptation of their physiology to their adjusted require-
ments. Substantially protected, their longevity has been
thereby ensured. We do not need to raise the question as
to whether these protected and adjusted creatures have
been the source or starting point of any progressive de-
velopment in the animal world, for they are, as we have
said, the most obvious degenerates, out of which nothing
better has been derived and from which nothing can be
hoped for; on the contrary, which are moving slowly under
their protection into an ever more hopeless state. Exam-
ples quite as explicit in their teaching permeate the more
progressed groups of life. Here we are dealing with the
simple and less specialized because in them the laws of life
can be read most clearly.
It would be trite to say that a perfectly adjusted life is
an unprogressive one. The adjusted life makes for con-
servatism and reduces the chances of variation to its lowest
terms. It stabilizes the organism in all its physiology; it
anchors the type. Speaking for the moment in higher terms
for the individual the adjusted life is likely to carry with
it the highest content of happiness. To progress in or-
ganic development it is the undeniable foe, but to the con-
servatism of intellectual and spiritual ideals the undoubted
friend. In the reading of this law of adjustment we must
estimate its worth in terms of the end subserved.
Today the world is rattling with uneasiness; it has en-
tered a period of explosive evolution in human ideals di-
rectly comparable to the compulsions which again and
again in the history of life have brought quick climaxes
and acute outbursts of culmination after slow ages of ac-
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 19
eumulating dynamism. The parallel is a true one. The
insects branched into being from out of the scorpion stock
of the early Paleozoic age. Slowly they made their way
ahead, attaining the endowments of agility which life in the
air imparts; quick nerve reaction and refinement. Sud-
denly today they have reached a point where their intense
vitality is an actual menace to the mammal life on the earth,
whose future salvation seems in no small measure to be up
in the air between these insects and their aérial enemies, the
birds. The great reptilian bubble swelled up and burst in
the days of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, leaving
behind a few crocodiles and lizards for today, and that great
agile race of highest variability—the birds. The alligators
and salamanders and their scattered kin alone retain the
type of structure so painfully worked out through the long
ages before the days of the collapse and there is no chance,
not the faintest promise in the history of Nature that she
will, in such an earth as has now come into being, again
experiment with this type of structure. Out of the crash
of the reptilian overgrowth and extravagances only the
birds seem to have emerged with a promise still ahead.
Our own stock, the line down which we have come, travelled
clear of these excesses in development, and while the rep-
tiliian blood is in mankind it is not that of the reptilian cli-
maxes, the dinosaur or the brontosaur. It is the surest
thing that the minorities of those ancient days saved the
day for us. And in the convulsion of ideas which has burst
upon the present world through the lifting of the lid to
pent-up and restrained bizarreries of impulse, there wili
remain behind, if Nature is true to her standards, a stal-
wart conservation of the type, minority though it may be,
which has been worked out through the ages and in which
must lie the enduring germ of future advance. The froth
is a scum of bubbles, the relief of a tension it is well to be
rid of.
20 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
The Proper Understanding of the Shell or External Skele-
ton. It is well recognized throughout the evolution of or-
ganic beings that a feature acquired as an advantage in the
fight for existence is easily carried beyond the point of ad-
vantage into a disqualification or obstacle in the same strug-
gle. The elephant’s tusks, the narwhal’s horn, the moose’s
antlers, the sabre-toothed tiger’s canines, bony collars and
dorsal crests in the ancient reptiles, stony spines on head
and body in infinite variety among invertebrates, are ready
representatives of this fact. It is specialization-develop-
ment carried from usefulness into disadvantage. The hard-
ening of the outside coat of primitive organisms or the cre-
ation of an external shell was, in its inception, a definite
protective advantage so adjusted by secretion that it could
not impair the activity of any function. In many of the sim-
pler expressions of life, the Radiolaria, the Foraminifera
and sponges, these mineral deposits were not permitted to
interfere with the easy movements of the protoplasmic or
simple cell contents, and so if the scattered mineral parti-
cles became united into a solid framework, there were defi-
nite openings and holes left for such movements. As net-
works of minute rods or stars or little burrs, or in other
forms of beauty and symmetry, built up by an unexplained
directive process, the mineral matter is often disseminated
through epithelial or epidermal walls, as in the sponges, or
compactly joined together into definite continuity, as in the
corals. The starfish and the crinoids have aggregated the
skin deposits about centers out of which growth has often
developed solid plates which press against one another
without uniting and so produce a covering with some de-
gree of elasticity.
In the type of external skeleton shown by the mollusks,
to which we have referred, the clam, the snail, the nautilus
and their allies, the epithelium or mantle builds up by spic-
ular calcification a hard continuous covering which actually
embraces or is competent to embrace the entire animal; an
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 21
impenetrable and typically unjointed armor.t With them
is to be grouped the vast army of brachiopods which |
thronged the early seas of the earth, a group whose or-
ganic station has been much debated, whose historic posi-
tion and anatomy separate them too widely from the mol-
lusks to justify speculations as to their descucrabion or
derivation from that stock.
This form of protective covering represents almost the
extreme of defensive personal armor; a complete adjust-
ment accompanied by, or resulting ra a stabilized inheri-
tance. All groups of the Mollusca have not permitted this
development to go to so great an extreme as in the lamelli-
branchs, or clams, for the snail and the nautilus travel about
carrying their coiled shells with them, quick to withdraw
into them whenever danger comes and often to close the
door behind with a shelly plate or hardened skin. Squids
and cuttlefish, late representatives of the nautilus stock,
have followed a divergent path in this development by
which their outer shell has been enfolded within the body
substance. These creatures, too, maintain an active mo-
bility, flying like darts through the ocean waters. Ptero-
pods, a very ancient and active molluscan type, and the
translucent scaphopods are the surface swimmers of the
deep seas. Both carry light external shells and all these
together seem to portray the result of long struggle against
the general enchainment of their class and to typify in a
measure what the Mollusca might all have been had not
subjection of close encasement been sought or thrust upon
them. Among them all, the most palpable change, progress
and variation of expression are within the active groups.
A very much less seclusive body-cover was developed by
the great group of articulated animals, the Arthropods,
represented by the shrimps, crabs, lobsters and insects. In
1 Except chiton and such multivalvular mollusks, whose articulated shell ap-
pears to be a response to the coiling habit which the animal had in much the
' same degree as the trilobite and the sow bug.
22 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
simplest expression such animals are constituted of a suc-
cession, from head to tail, of a series of transverse body
segments, each of which is to be interpreted as a somatic
unit. Specialization among these somatic elements early
appeared by adaptation to definite functions, and advance
in specialization was followed by coalescence of the an-
terior segments as we see them in the carapace of the lob-
ster or the head of the trilobite. But regarding this type
in its inception, we have to deal with a repetitive series of
elementary like parts, comparable only to and probably
derivable only from the ancestral segmented worms. The
epithelium of this group was so vitalized that it could elim-
inate from the water carbonate and phosphate salts of lime,
combining with them a certain proportion of organic mat-
ter which may have been in part derived from the epithe-
lum itself. Thus we find the members of the group for the
most part thin-shelled, with the shelly cover of plates deli-
eately jointed one with another, so that the motion of the
parts, except for such as are fused together, and of the ap-
pendages of the parts, similarly covered and jointed, is in
no way impeded. And in the normal expression of these
creatures there is no impairment of locomotion.
This is a protection by an exoskeleton which is a per-
fectly advantageous adjustment, as it involves no interior
constraint of organic function. The arthropods may put
on an infinitude of shape and be found adapted to all media
of life; they may present innumerable expressions of ex-
treme degeneracy, subservience and adapted solid protec-
tion acquired by boring or burial; but in all these conditions
the type of epidermal protection is not fundamentally
altered.
The external shell on any creature, whether snail or sol-
dier, is then a structure which, in the idea and the inception,
helps, not hinders, in the fight against untoward conditions.
Kept in subjection to the high function of locomotion, it has
accelerated and helped to ensure progress. Used intem-
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 23
perately and in easy surrender it has exceeded its first pur-
pose and finally walled up its owners against a fighting
chance for improvement.
STABILIZATION, LONGEVITY AND DISSOLUTION
Over and over again in the history of the earth we find
the evidence of a methuselan stability among living crea-
tures, usually shown in definite species but sometimes per-
meating an entire assemblage or fauna. Ruedemann has
shown in great detail the extraordinary number of conser-
vative types or ‘‘radicles’’ which have been perpetuated
through the geological ages. It is a remarkable role of de-
linquents.*
Such illustrations as these will serve: There are the pro-
toplasmic Foraminifera which appeared in the Ordovician
and Silurian and have kept their generic characters over
the lapse of millions of years, to the best of our knowledge,
into the present seas (Saccamina, Lagena, Nodosaria). The
brachiopod Lingula lives abundantly in the existing seas;
its life began in the early Ordovician, and though students
of this group believe they see some divergence in structure
between the ancient and the existing Lingula, yet the type
is but slightly altered and the line is unbroken over this
enormous range of the ages. The brachiopod Crania has
had a like career, and another brachiopod species, Leptaena
rhomboidalis appeared in the Ordovician seas and con-
tinued as a specific type through the Silurian, the Devonian
and Carboniferous, thus caught in the world-wide conti-
nental disturbances which brought to its close the long
Paleozoic era. It varied indeed within limitations but re-
tained its essential specific characters without dissolution
for a period probably ten thousand times as long as the
1R. Ruedemann. ‘‘ Paleontology of Arrested Evolution’’; Presidential ad-
dress before The Paleontological Society. (N. Y. State Mus. Bul. 196, 1916,
pp. 107-34.)
24 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
Christian era. It would be only a long guess to tell why
Leptaena rhomboidahs lived long and was more quickly
adaptive than others of its congeneric associates. Not a
feature of structure observed or deducible points to the ex-
planation. Another brachiopod, Atrypa reticularis, lived
through the millions of years from the Silurian into the
Carboniferous with but indifferent modifications of its
specific type. Some paleontologists may say that these
statements fail to recognize the chronologic differences in
these stabilized types, and that to identify living Forami-
nifera, for instance, with those of the Mesozoic and of the
Silurian is hasty and incompetent. It is an a prior state-
ment without demonstration. For the brachiopods at least,
the Lingulas, the Leptaenas, the Atrypas, the fact remains
after careful scrutiny that the differences have not proved
permanently translatable in terms of time and change, are
hence negligible, and that other distinctive generic names
that have been applied to them are not of much account.
These are long-lived creatures, and, while exceptional in
their longevity, we must try to realize that by virtue of
structural and functional constitution they acquired an ad-
justment or resistance to change which made them as nearly
permanent and as completely stabilized as life, it would
seem, can ever become. Their endurance without change
can be expressed only in millions of years. Armored or
protected, they were the more competent for this long life.
But even Methuselah died, and Leptaena rhomboidalis died
at last, as a species, through some revolutionary malad-
justment which would no longer permit its endurance.
These are patriarchal life periods; but for the multitude
of species of the past that have kept their characters un-
altered through a single geological system or a major sub-
division of it, we must think of their days in thousands of
thousands of years and not in any terms of easy concep-
tion that we might use in our conventional expressions of
time.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 25
There is also a stabilization that affects an entire fauna
when the members of the assemblage are all in balance with
their external and internal control; and so a single fauna
may endure for a long period without change of complex-
ion. Thus the invertebrate shelled fauna of the Mississip-
pian or Lower Carboniferous marine limestones which
spread over Colorado, New Mexico and northern Texas,
shows such uniformity of character through a very long
lapse of time; and in the Middle Devonian Hamilton period,
when shallower water prevailed, there is a similar continu-
ity of organic character without variation, throughout
nearly a thousand feet of shale which must represent a
period of many thousand years. The fauna must, however,
eventually succumb, that is, yield by evolutionary or intrin-
sic variation, or by extrinsic change; shallowing or deepen-
ing of the sea, change of climate, a hundred outside influ-
ences, to its surroundings; just as many of the long-lived
species must yield, or at any rate have yielded, to a resist-
ance too great even for their conservatism to overcome. It
is again to be emphasized that it is protected, encased and
unmobile life alone that achieves such long endurance; the
conservative and sheltered types. The mobile and locomo-
tory animals have at no time in the earth’s history evinced
long life without change.
These conclusions are so well established that we may
rightly look to them for light upon the interpretation of
certain tendencies to rest and unrest, conservatism and im-
pulsive change, in human society, and while it may not seem
very appropriate to speculate on the further bearing of
this theme, it must be said in looking back over the field of
organic history, that the value of the product must be in
terms of the worth of the type conserved or broken; that
is, worth in the sense of highest attainment in functional
grade and in the approach to mentality. In such a sense a
lobster is better than an oyster because it is of a vastly
more refined grade of structure; and though the oyster has
26 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
had the longer life, its type was locked up almost from the
start, and except for the lesson it teaches of stagnation and
decline, we might say, without impiety, that its conservation
has been a waste of time. And it is a type, too, that was
won, not by the arduous struggles of the ages, but arrived
at early and with ease. Therefore its lessened worth.
DIVISIONS OF GEOLOGICAL HISTORY
We cannot well proceed with this discussion without a
succinct statement here of the stages of geological history,
in which special emphasis is laid upon those earlier di-
visions with which we are especially concerned. The table
that follows is a condensed one of standard acceptance; it
begins at the top of the latest life-bearing rocks and ends
with the oldest. As to the estimates of time represented
for the deposition of these sediments and for the existence
of the life of the earth, this must be said: Ten years
ago there was considerable variance of opinion be-
tween the physicists who were estimating the age of the
planet on the basis of the external disturbances to which it
was subjected in our planetary system, and the geologists
who sought to approach this problem from measurements
of the rate of deposition and erosion of water-laid sedi-
ments; but a conservative conclusion had been provisionally
attained which was tacitly accepted by most geologists as
somewhere between sixty and one hundred million years
for the sum of all water-laid rocks and perhaps from forty
to sixty million years for those rocks which still carry the
obvious remains of life. Since the discovery of radium and
with a growing understanding of the significance of radium
decomposition and radio-activity these estimates have been
enormously outstripped, so vastly indeed that the very size
of the figures seems to put them under suspicion. The time
element in this is still a factor of much discussion and
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
27
TABLE OF GEOLOGICAL DIVISIONS ADAPTED TO NORTH AMERICA
ERAS AGES PERIODS
CHARACTER OF LIFE
Psychozoie Recent
Rise of intelligence and age of man.
Pleistocene
Quaternary (Glacial)
Successive glaciation, wide extinction
of life through cold, followed by quick
readjustments and rapid evolution.
enozoic :
C Pliocene
Miocene
Oligocene
Eocene
Tertiary
The vertebrate stock approaches phys-
ical culmination; obscure mammals
achieve the erect position. The earlier
mammals are of simple type.
Upper
Cretaceous
Lower
Diminutive and primitive marsupial-
like mammals continue to the close of
this period and start upon a specific
upward progress.
The great reptiles are becoming fewer
after having governed the earth in
infinite variety.
Mesozoic
Jurassic
The reptiles at maximum development.
In the period of their earlier and more
plastic expressions birdlike reptiles de-
veloped and started the race of birds,
Triassic
Permian
Carboniferous
While their origin-stock is represented
by the primitive dinosaur reptiles. Here
are the first traces of the mammal stock.
Climax of Cryptogamous plants. Land
reptiles and Amphibians fully estab-
lished. Stalked Echinoderms (erinoids)
at their maximum.
Devonian
Culmination of lung and armored fishes
and primitive sharks. Beginning of
forests.
Paleozoic ae
Silurian
Scorpionlike arachnids (Eurypterida)
at their maximum.
Ordovician
Cambrian
Reign of invertebrates of all stocks,
largely affected by dependence and loss
of function except in Cephalopod mol-
lusks and Crustacea, but locomotive
independence was more generally re-
tained in the older faunas.
Proterozoic
and
Archeozoie
Worms, Radiolaria, Cale-algae, Bacteria.
28 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
study; it is too soon to determine its value and to discuss
it here is inappropriate, but we must at least grant to these
suggestions the probability that we have heretofore greatly
underestimated the time required for the upbuilding of the
fossiliferous rocks and for the evolution of life. In terms
of millions of years time becomes incomprehensible and the
sum total, whatever it may be, must be regarded as com-
petent for all the evolutionary processes of life and work.
INDEPENDENCE OF THE FIRST FAUNA
We still stand in ignorance of the real primitive or in-
ceptive fauna of the earth, and when we use the expression
‘first fauna,’’ it is with the reservation which absence of
facts compels. We may speak freely, however, of the first
fauna known to us and with a fulness of knowledge that
justifies, in good measure, deductions regarding the nature
of its ancestors upon earth. The fauna of the Cambrian
system represents to us the actually known first fauna, for
evidences of organic life in the rocks before and below
the Cambrian are desultory though positive. While we are
considering the special nature of the Cambrian fauna from
the point of view we have here taken, let it be not forgotten
that this so-called ‘‘first fauna’’ must have been millions
of years in the making, worked out by the slow and arduous
advances with which first steps have ever been taken in the
course of nature. Our ‘‘first fauna,’’ then, is also the prod-
uct of the ages; and in spite of its complexion of simplicity,
the entire absence in it of the vertebrate type and of what
we are wont to regard the more progressed of its inverte-
brate types, specialization in anatomical structure is per-
haps, in view of our expectations, the most obvious fact that
it sets forth. Let us keep this important fact in mind as we
study its composition with reference to independent and de-
pendent life.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 29
GENERAL SURVEY OF THE CAMBRIAN FAUNA OF
NORTH AMERICA
The present registry of described species is now about
1200, and they range from algae to crustaceans and anne-
lids. This statement fairly represents the span of life in
this fauna. It is a reach from an expression of perfect
function with minimum of structural differentiation, as in
the sponges, to the specialized organic structure of the tril-
obite.
Of the 1200 species; one-third (373) are brachiopods.
Brachiopods are animals which we believe to be derived
from a stock similar to, or identical with, that out of which
the worms have come; and it is quite certain that the long-
lived ‘‘inarticulate’’ brachiopods represented by Lingula,
retain pretty definite annelid resemblances. A vast num-
ber of Lingulas occur in this fauna and their form of at-
tachment, if comparable with the lhving Lingula anatina,
was like that of many contemporary worms—a burial in the
mud, rather than a fixation to the sea bottom. The great
array of Cambrian brachiopods presents at maturity a min-
imum of fixation by means of the pedicle, which was an
organ not homologous with the byssus by which the mussel
shells are attached but an adapted organ obviously of a
different original function. Throughout the later Paleo-
zoic story of these brachiopods, attachment by the pedicle
was easily surrendered, and solid fixation by the substance
of the shells easily assumed. The fact is to be emphasized
that the brachiopods are a distinct order of creatures with
no affiliations with the Mollusca and none except in sem-
blance with the Molluscoida.
Of the Mollusea which swarmed in the Posteambrian seas,
but few had then been developed or at least have been regis-
tered: less than 10 per cent of the whole fauna, and but 3
per cent of these are of the dependent type of the oyster
30 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
and clam. ‘The rest are free (gastropods 39, pteropods
32 species). The sponges of the Cambrian are as yet in a
large measure undescribed but the material in the collec-
tions made by Dr. Walcott from the Burgess shale indicates
the great abundance of the silicious sponges, while they re-
tain a simplicity of form which is in contrast to the pro-
eressed species of the Devonian.
With the foregoing we may contrast the great outstand-
ing army of independents—the Crustacea. Of the trilo-
bites there are 502 species and of the Eucrustacea, the prim-
itive shrimps, 89 species—together constituting one-half
the entire list of described species of the fauna. These
creatures were all elaborately innervated and highly loco-
motive throughout their entire life, and their anatomical
and functional structure was a very advanced attainment
in specialization. Such an enormous development of the
single type of structure represented by the trilobites, which
were here at the climax of their entire career on earth, gave
material and opportunity for different degrees of progress,
delay, decline and reversion, all of which are to be estimated
in the construction of a true classification of the great
group. No adequate conception of their specialization can
be obtained without a study of the restorations of their ven-
tral anatomy as shown by Neolenus, a late member of this
Cambrian or ‘‘first fauna.’’ This has been restored by
C. D. Walcott on the basis of specimens collected by him in
the Middle Cambrian of Burgess Pass, Alberta. The trilo-
bite has maintained throughout its individual (ontogenie)
and race (phylogenic) existence, complete freedom and full
locomotor efficiency. And if this is true of them it is a
fortiorc true of the Eucrustacea’ of this fauna of which
1 These Eucrustacea are creatures which to the casual observer show evident
relationship to the ‘‘shrimps.’’ It is interesting to a paleontologist to observe
the unconscious solemnity with which biologists familiar alone with evident
structures in the vast group of living arthropods or jointed invertebrates, and
their classification, debate with themselves the position and affinities of these
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 31
Walcott has brought out a most impressive number and
variety.
As to the annelids or worms, speaking in broad and
familiar terms, while the number of species actually rec-
ognized from the preserved parts is comparatively small,
yet the rocks of this age are voluminously marked with
their trails and borings, and we must conclude that these
soft-bodied creatures were abundant. Deductively they
must have been, for on evidence quite independent of fossil
remains we look to these simply segmented creatures, or to
some radicle constructed on a like pattern, as the starting
point for several of the differentiated groups of the
Cambrian; the specialized, partly stabilized and partly
retrogressive brachiopods, the progressive crustaceans, and
perhaps the echinoid holothurians and cystids. The worm
radicle must therefore be very ancient and we have reason
and evidence to predicate its abundance in the faunas of
Precambrian time.
Here then, in essence, we have the significance of the
Cambrian fauna in terms of its abundance and independ-
ence, retreat and advance. It enters later geologic stages
of existence equipped to carry forward its great dependent
groups to further expansion within the restraints of its in-
duced limitations and a specialization into more perfected
adjustments but without hope of any advance that will im-
prove the grade of life; and to direct its independent
groups, its segmented annelids, trilobites and crustaceans
upward with the promise of quick developments which are
ancient creatures to those now living and their proper place in the scheme of
living things; forgetting or overlooking the fact that these designs are un-
reckoned millions of years old and are in truth the parents of all such conjec-
tures. They antedate classifications and the objects classified. Governor Wil-
liam Bradford, of the Plymouth colony, must have at least ten thousand living
descendants in this land of ours, rejoicing under various patronymics which
time and marriage have brought. To which does the old progenitor now be-
long, Smith, Jones or Robinson? All alike may claim him.
32 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
to advance without restraint into higher but more transi-
tory organisms.
THE CAMBRIAN FAUNA GENERALLY
The known Cambrian fauna of North America is repre-
sentative of the total life of that age, as its lists are twice
the size of all from the rest of the world. The additional
species from Europe, Asia, Australia and South America,
in which the proportions of immobile and mobile organisms
are about as indicated above, make a sum total of approxi-
mately 1500 species. In this total the trilobites and other
crustaceans constitute 58 per cent; for the North Ameri-
ean fauna these latter figures are 58.7 per cent. But it is
obvious that this fauna was an essentially independent
congeries of animals in which we must reckon all the erusta-
ceans, all the thin-shelled hyaline pteropods, all the anne-
lids, practically all the thin phosphatic and allied brachio-
pods (in contrast to their descendents) and perhaps the
limpetlike gastropods—a fully 90 per cent representation
of locomotive freedom. It is an assemblage, too, which, so
far as our knowledge extends, was essentially free of ex-
pressions of symbiosis, even of the most innocent form.
PRECAMBRIAN LIFE (ARCHEOZOIC)
Here hes the field still of greatest importance for future
investigations of the beginnings of life. Out of it, thus far,
little else than suggestions have been derived as to the ac-
tual living things of those vast ages. From the midst of
its heaved and altered sediments have been rescued here
and there a few tangible fragments of recognizable species
of life. From the critical knowledge which is to help most
in the unveiling of the progress of life, this difficult reposi-
tory is of such high importance that it should enlist the
concern of students who are well endowed with patient en-
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE | 33
thusiasm, for no service to this science, whether in fact
or philosophy, 1s more competent or more needed than
the evidence which lies here buried. To Walcott, who has
lifted the veil from the unsuspected specialization of the
Cambrian fauna and, with Barrande, has taught us to re-
gard that fauna, not as primitive but a venerable monument
of life, we owe our best knowledge of life in the still earlier
ages.
Out of the vast Precambrian ages and its great seas
which, in view of the high specialization of the rich Cam-
brian fauna, must have laid down fossiliferous sediments
for inconceivable ages, we know immense growths of lime
deposits built up as-reefs in the seas like the corals of today
and in whose formation algal life seems to have played
effective part. There has also been described a spongelike
Skeleton called Atikokamnia (A. lawsom and A. irregularis
Walcott) from the Steeprock series of Ontario, an organism
So primitive in its skeletal characters that its reference even
to the sponges lies in doubt."
Walcott? has described as ‘‘ Micrococcus sp. indet.,’’ a
bacterium from the Algonkian (Precambrian) of Gallatin
county, Montana, which the bacteriologist Kligler*® regards
as close to the existing Nitrosococcus which derives its ni-
trogen from ammonium salts. ‘‘The cell structure of the
Algonkian and of the recent Nitrosococcus bacteria is very
primitive and uniform in appearance, the protoplasm being
naked or unprotected.’’ With this point before us we are
confronted by the impressive inference that this simplest
of organic structures has defied change and the ages. The
type at least has not failed to find its appropriate surround-
ings or to adjust itself readily to change in them. It is the
1Jt appears from the comments of Walcott that we must not yet regard the
horizon of this organism finally established, though Van Hise, Leith and the
discoverer, Lawson, regard it as from true sediments of the Precambrian Hu-
ronian.
2 Proc. National Academy of Sciences, v. 1, p. 256, 1915.
3 See Osborn’s ‘‘Origin and Evolution of Life,’’ 1917, p. 85.
34 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
true example of the deathless life wherein reproduction by
division has carried the parent into all its uncountable prog-
eny.
Once more it is well to enforce the fact that the simplest
organisms have lived the longest and those that have so
lived have been subjected to the minimum of change and
the optimum of adaptation. While we recognize that to
this the sessile condition and immobility arising from any
other cause contribute, it is such persistent simple forms
that Ruedemann has called ‘‘immortal types.’”
THE COMPOSITION OF THE LOWER CAMBRIAN
FAUNA IN NORTH AMERICA
This is the ‘‘first fauna.’’ The casual remnants of life
that have been found in the Precambrian rocks cannot be
characterized as fauna or flora. And this ‘‘first fauna,’’
so far as known to us, must be regarded as an escape from
unfavorable conditions, for its sediments have everywhere
_ been easily lable to alteration by earth movements and
destruction of its organic contents. So it is fair to say that
much of the fauna is still to be uncovered. In its known
composition, however, which is now numerically estimated
at 243 species in North America, there is essentially the
same relative prominence of groups of organisms as in the
total Cambrian; thus the brachiopods (76) constitute about
30 per cent, the trilobites (110) almost 50 per cent. The
Mollusea are represented chiefly by the gastropods (16
species), mostly of the simple, conical, limpet shapes and
the free-swimming pteropods (12 species). Otherwise there
are representatives of algae (2), sponges (1), corals (8),
annelids (trails; soft bodies not retained), cystids (ele-
mentary echinoids) (2), pelecypods or clams (1), eucrus-
taceans or shrimps (5). That the percentage of locomotive
1 Op. cit., p. 116.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 30
- independence here indicated is essentially that of the Cam-
brian fauna as a whole is an indication of how slowly sub-
jection and dependence permeated the life of the earth.
THE BEGINNINGS OF SYMBIOSIS AND
PARASITISM
In the foregoing we have endeavored to indicate that de-
pendence is not a primitive but a secondary condition of
organisms; that, as the alternate state to independence, it
had involved in lesser degree even so early a fauna as the
Cambrian; and in successive faunas to the present we have
the full knowledge that it has vastly increased in its scope
and effect. .We have no reason to believe that the depend-
ent habit of life once acquired has ever been fully removed
or lost; it is safe to say that dependence, under the normal
procedure of the organic law, is incurable; an adaptation
without escape.
We are now to consider, not the expressions of race de-
pendence, but those consociations among early animals
which have led from conditions of mutual support and in-
_ terdependence (symbiosis) into conditions of parasitism or
absolute dependence of one animal or plant upon another’s
vital functions. From the protozoa and bacteria to man
and the oak, nature is riddled with such expressions of de-
pendence and surrender.
In the more innocent expressions of symbiosis termed —
mutualism and commensalism, where associations of or-
ganisms are purely social and apparently harmless or even
mutually advantageous to the participants, it is probable
that once fixed the outcome is infallibly deleterious.
The glass-rope sponge (Hyalonema) has its coil of rope
by which it anchors itself to the sea bottom, incrusted and
shielded by a coral (Palythoa), which spreads like a thin
wrap of felt all about it, while its ally the Venus’s Flower-
36 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
basket (Euplectella) imprisons a crab in its interior behind
the bars it throws across its aperture but feeds it with
ever changing water currents; worms and anthozoan corals
grow together, with the tubes of the former surrounded by
the cells of the latter, both sweeping the water currents
for food which may go to either mouth; dead snail shells
in which hermit crabs have taken residence are often beset
with sea anemones (Sagartia and Adamsia) whose stinging
cells may scare away the enemies of the crab, while the crab
favors the fixed anemones by moving his establishment
from place to place, thus to new feeding grounds.
All these conditions seem on the surface entirely harm-
less or positively advantageous to all parties involved; that
is, advantageous in the sense that they make life easier,
less arduous, discourage activity and perfect adaptation.
The general effect of all symbiotic conditions is degenera-
tive. They themselves arise from degenerate tendencies
and could not exist save that degeneration had already set
in. They are expressions of this condition and serve to
confirm and transmit this tendency. The fact is tremen-
- dously evident that even the most innocent of symbiotic, de-
pendent or attached conditions of growth is the leaven of
progressive degeneracy.
It is well known that the critical methods of morphology
and embryology have been requisite to determine the origi-
nal ancestral independence of the most debased of para-
sites. While the doctors of the Middle Ages wondered over
the barnacles and pictured them as growing on trees, drop-
ping thence to the ground transformed into geese, their
real nature as debased crustaceans was not unfolded till
the life history of the creatures showed that their early
stages were free and predatory, and the adult condition
one of extreme adaptation by progressive loss of functions
and organs. Thus the parasitic and dependent habit is, in
metazoan life, preceded by a free and predatory condition.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 37
Once the dependent habit is established the capacity for
reaction grows weaker; degenerative adaptation creeps
still further back in the life of successive generations and
the degradation of the adult state becomes more profound.
CoMPLEX CHARACTER OF PARASITISM
Symbiotic conditions reckoned in terms of the host are
often helpful. There is a world full of benign parasites
but they are not haphazard.
True parasitism as known amongst the existing animals
and plants is in most cases exceedingly complicated. More-
over, when the infesting parasite requires a series of hosts,
a different one for each phase of its development, and when
im all its stages it is a soft-bodied creature, we must recog-
nize the hopelessness of trying to unravel from the geologic
record the history of such complex adjustments and be sat-
isfied to take them as they are after human ingenuity has
succeeded in deciphering them. The course of such per-
fected adjustments in evil living may be interesting knowl-
edge, but the cause and origin of them can be deciphered
_ only by the mode which we are following through the his-
toric study of the more legible expressions of these associa-
tions. And it is altogether probable that such complicated
careers, especially such as are best known because of their
relation to man, are of quite recent adaptations.
B&GINNINGS OF SYMBIOSIS
Our analysis of the Cambrian fauna has shown the degree
to which it has been affected by dependence. So far, how-
ever, as our present acquaintance goes, there is no obvious
record of symbiotic or commensal conditions in that fauna;
if they occurred at all, they were conditions rarely re-
corded. This is a significant fact in its bearing on the origi-
38 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
nal directness and independence of life and must be given
important weight in the conclusion that life started un-
perturbed and with the best upward purpose; and even if
the evidence is essentially negative it loses no force from
this fact.
It would seem then that not until life had got in full swing
did these organic combinations come into existence, even
in their simplest commensal expressions. Regarding bac-
teria and sporozoa we have written on a later page, but
among the invertebrates even the consociation of the anne-
lids and the corals, which formed easily and early and has
endured long under manifestations of various sorts, does
not seem to have yet appeared with the opening of Ordo-
vician time.
RELATION oF SyMBIosIs TO PaRAsITISM
We have intimated, and it seems a natural presumption,
that parasitism, by which is meant an adaptation in which
one organism has become helplessly dependent on another
for its existence, is the outcome of the innocent combina-
tions of symbiosis. One would have little difficulty in be-
lieving that from such a complicated relation of the worms
to the corals as shown in the Devonian by Pleurodictyum
and its associates, which we shall presently. describe, a con-
dition of genuine parasitic dependence might well have re-
sulted, even though the fact is not actually demonstrated.
It would seem that we must continue to distinguish an in-
nocent symbiosis from a dependent symbiosis or parasit-
ism, but this is based only on our present understanding,
and a statement that the latter can be independent of the
former and not a consequence upon it seems so illogical that
it is really not likely to stand up when the facts are more
far-reaching. In parasitic symbiosis the host is the resist-
ing, not the consenting or cooperating partner.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 39
ILLUSTRATIONS OF PRIMITIVE PARASITISM
Tue Casé of THE ANNELIDS
One group of animals, the worms or annelids, is of prime
interest in these considerations. The worms occur in vast
variety in the existing fauna and their derived or secondary
expressions are abundant. It is not with these that we are
concerned. The primitive or archetypal worm is conceived
as a simple fore-and-aft segmented structure in which the
innervation is repetitive by segments and the alimentary
and distributive organs simple and continuous. The worm
has led a long career of ideal independence and it has been
the architectural model for the higher creation. In the
judgment of many morphologists there is, as we have al-
ready intimated, a convergence backward into the past
toward the archetypal worm, of great differentiated stocks
like the brachiopods and the echinoids, while we recognize
in all segmented creatures the normal continuous progeny
of the annelid prototype.
Worms, we may restate, were common enough in the
Cambrian fauna, known both by their trails and burrows
and by some highly specialized bodies; and it is probable
that such evidences of their existence will not long be lack-
ing in the Precambrian. The worm, however, had a soft
body; its acquisition of a cover or shell which would en-
able its preservation was a secondary development. So we
are confronted in all the early rocks by few actually fossil-
ized worms but with a great abundance of their trails in
the soft muds. The worm buried itself halfway or wholly
in the mud; encased itself, at times, in tubes of its own
making; thus ensuring a protection against adversaries.
But it retained an active, vibratile vitalism and an en-
tire freedom from attachment to its tube. The rocks of
these formations are often filled with vertical worm tubes,
and the surface of the same beds may be marked by fes-
40 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
tooned and wavy markings in the sand, made by the occu-
pants of these tubes as they swept the sea bottom with their
extended bodies. They were eager commensals and in the
Paleozoic faunas we find them in various associations, espe-
Fig. 1. Silicified mass of stromatoporoid coral full of straight worm tubes (Gitonia)
which start at various levels in the coral growth. Onondaga limestone (Lower
Devonian).
Fig. 2. A solid colony of Stromatopora constellata from the Upper Silurian (Coble-
skill limestone) with its surface pitted by the openings of vertical tubes of the worm
Gitonia sipho.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 41
cially with the corals and the sponges and the calcareous
algae.
The coexistence of the tubicolous worms with the corals
is one of the commonest phenomena of present seas and it
became established as early as the Silurian. In most of
the ancient cases observed it is an elementary expression
of commensalism, but not long after its start it becomes at
times rather complex. Worm and coral may start together
directly on settling down from the free larval state, or con-
junction may be formed by attachment of the annelid larva
after the growth of the coral has well progressed. In both
eases the growth of the latter engulfs the former save at
its tentacled aperture. We give herewith examples of these
occurrences.*
Fig. 3. The coral Cystiphyllum with short tubes of Gitonia corallophila opening
outward through the thecal walls.
Fig. 4. A calyx of Zaphrentis with a number of tube openings of Gitonia.
Figs. 5, 6. A Zaphrentis from two points of view to show the course of the tube
of G. corallophila with both ends opening outward into the calyx.
Fig. 7. Tubes of this character opening through the lateral walls of Zaphrentis.
All are from the Onondaga limestone (Lower Devonian).
1 Some of these illustrations are taken from the writer’s ‘‘ Beginnings of
Dependent Life’’ (1908), but to these and to the other classes discussed, new
illustrations have been added.
42 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
Silurian. The reef-building coralloids, Stromatopora,
which abound in the stages of the Silurian are frequently
permeated with straight tubes of the worm Gitonia sipho.
This is an occurrence often repeated in the Stromatoporas
and true corals (Favosites) of the Lower Devonian.
Devonian. Interesting simple combinations of this cate-
gory are shown by individual polyps of cyathophylloid
corals like Zaphrentis and Cyathophyllum, where we have
frequent indication that the tube of the worm is open at
both ends and its continuity unbroken, each end opening
at the tentacular surface of the coral. Often the worm dies
in the coral and is buried in the stereom, or its upward
growth is not so rapid as that of the coral and it is left be-
hind with its head protruding from the side of the corallite.
It is also quite evident that the coral may so build its tissue
about the worm as to inclose it in a sheath which takes the
Fig. 8. Head of the trilobite Dalmanites overgrown by a colony of the bryozoan
Monticulipora in which is embedded a series of the tubes Gitonia sipho. Onon-
daga limestone (Lower Devonian). ;
Fig. 9. Colony of the coral Favosites sphaericus with a series of Gitonia tubes.
Helderbergian (Lower Devonian),
Figs. 10, 11. A weathered surface and a transverse section of a Stromatopora
full of Gitonia tubes. Cobleskill (Upper Silurian).
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 43
place and serves the purpose of a self-constructed tube.
Thus the worm Gitonia corallophila expresses itself in vari-
ous meanderings among the simple corals. Some small
lens-shaped coral colonies from the Ordovician of lowa are
permeated with worm associates, all of which seem to start
from the initial basal point of growth of the coral, and
then, after a single turn or so of the tube in Serpula fashion,
strike outward radially between the polyp cells, all reach-
ing the tentacle surface of the colony. This combination
indicates that the embryo worms aggregated themselves in
numbers about the anchoring coral larva.
Spiral worms and corals. These interesting associations
are common throughout the Silurian and Devonian. Spiral
worm tubes passing in these faunas under the name of
Spirorbis and living independently are normally, or at
least often, attached to shells of brachiopods and mollusks,
where they escape any chance of becoming embedded, and
after a few initiatory attached coils the tube often becomes
free and resolves itself into very loose spirals (see figures
of S. angulatus). In the tube called Autodetus, which is
frequent in the Devonian, there is an initial spiral attach-
ment, but the whorls of the free tube keep in contact and
Figs. 12-15. Enlarged drawings of Spirorbis angulatus, a worm tube from the
Hamilton group (Middle Devonian). These show the tendency of the tube to
unwind in a lax spiral as soon as fixation is firmly established.
44 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
the whole shell takes on the form of a smooth cone attached
by its apex. It is to be understood that the worm in these
cemented tubes was highly flexible and vibratile and free
to extend itself from the aperture and was not attached to
the tube shell; and indeed, if like many living worms, could
Fig. 16. Section of a Stromatopora colony showing the cut ends of the spiral
worm tubes Strepindytes concoenatus from the Cobleskill limestone (Upper Silu-
rian). The apparent difference in direction of volution in these is entirely due
to difference of direction and angle at which the tubes are cut.
Fig. 17. An enlarged restoration of the character of the worm tubes.
Fig. 18. Streptindytes acervulariae Calvin. Two tubes of this spiral worm in a
eolony of Acervularia Davidsoni. Middle Devonian, Iowa.
abandon its shell entirely and build a new one somewhere
else. Streptindytes concoenatus is such a worm, with tube
stretched out in loose spiral, which we find to be common
in the Stromatopora colonies of the Upper Silurian (Coble-
skill) limestones. Our figures 16, 19, indicate that these
worms started their growth at different stages in the
growth of the colony, obviously attaching themselves to the
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 45
outer surface of the coral when it was well grown, but it
is interesting to see that at any given stage they attach
themselves not singly but in numbers, as though each set-
tlement indicated a new crop of young worms. Streptin-
dytes acervulariae Calvin is a quite large spiral tube not
uncommon in Acervularia davidsoni, a coral of the Middle
Devonian of Iowa, and S. compactus, a short, close-coiled
species which is found buried up in the calcareous sub-
stance of the Iowa Middle Devonian Stromatoporas. These
embedded worms were often eventually strangled by the
more rapid overgrowth of the coral, as there was no lateral
way out for their heads as in the straight tubes.
19
Fig. 19. Streptindytes compactus, a spiral worm embedded in a solid stromatopo-
roid coral. Sections of the tubes are indicated by the white dots.
Fig. 20. A single individual enlarged. From the Middle Devonian of Iowa.
The extraordinary case of the coral Pleurodictyum and
its commensals. Pleurodictyum is a small compound coral
growing in lens-shaped colonies with large cells, in its struc-
ture very similar to the common honeycomb coral Favo- -
46 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
sites but distinguished by its habit of growth as well as
details of cell structure. It does not abound in species and
all that are known belong to the Middle and Lower De-
vonian faunas. The following are its known species:
P. lenticulare Hall; Helderbergian (New York).
P. lenticulare var. laurentinum Clarke; Grande Gréve limestone
(Gaspé).
P. convexum Hall; Onondaga limestone (New York). Lower
P. problematicum Goldfuss ; Coblentzian (Western Europe). Devonian.
P. constantinopolitanum d’Archiac and Vernewil; Roumeli
shales! (Turkey).
P. amazonicum Clarke; Maecuru sandstone (Brazil).
P. styloporum Haton—Hamilton (New York, ete.); Middle Devonian.
The combination of the Pleurodictyum with what was
long called a ‘‘coiled central body’’ or a ‘‘wormlike ob-
ject,’’ actually the curved tube of a commensal worm, has
long been known from the internal casts preserved in the
sandy shales of the Coblentzian.
The concurrence of the coral and its convoluted worm
has been noted in several of the species here mentioned,
but the varying degree of its frequency is instructive. Thus
in the earliest species, P. lenticulare, I have seen the worm
tube very rarely, after the examination of a considerable
number of examples; in the var. lawrentinum not at all;
never in the large species P. convexum Hall of the Onon-
daga limestone. The single published illustrations of P.
amazonicum and P. constantinopolitanum show its presence
but enable one to form no conception of its prevalence. The
combination is frequent enough in P. problematicum to have
given rise to the specific name of the coral. The American
Middle Devonian P. styloporum has afforded the material
for most of the illustrations here given. Of this very com-
-mon species in the calcareous shales of the Hamilton group
I have been able to examine critically a great many individ-
1 The Roumeli shales of Roumeli-Hissar and elsewhere in the vicinity of
Constantinople are generally regarded as the Mediterranean equivalent of the
Coblentzian of the Rhineland.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE «AT
uals and it is safe to say that the worm is present in the
majority of examples. It is usually easy to determine its
presence on inspection of the tentacular surface of the coral
by the contrast between its round tubes and the angular
coral cells. All the specimens here figured to show the con-
volutions of the worm have been drawn from actual prep-
arations.
The history of the combination in P. styloporum is as
follows: At the close of the free-swimming larval stage the
coral, in fully eight cases out of ten, selected and attached
itself to a dead or living shell of the common gastropod
Loxonema hamiltonae. Directly upon fixation or even
actually contemporaneous with it was the attachment of the
larval worm upon the gastropod and alongside the incipi-
1 The selective attachment of such lens-shaped coralloid stocks seems to have
acquired directiveness with the progress of time. At any rate we have a sug-
gestive intimation of this in the very common Chaetetes lycoperdon (Prasopora
simulatriz) in the Trenton limestone of the Ordovician, which is a stony coral
Fig. 21. Basal surface of the solid bryozoan colony, Prasopora selwyni, which
has attached itself to the brachiopod Plectambonites. Trenton limestone
(Ordovician), Ottawa.
of quite the same shape and habit of growth as these Pleurodictya. This is
found attached sometimes to brachiopod (especially Plectambonites sericea)
and as often to gastropod shells which were the abundant exuviae of the sea
bottom. More often perhaps it is fastened to some casual stone or other hard
object, but among all of which I have taken note there seems to have been no
obvious preference by majority.
48
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
ILLUSTRATIONS OF PLEURODICTYUM AND ITS COMMENSAL
WORM HICETES
Figs. 22 and 23. Top and side views of the corallum in its normal size and form.
The apertures of the worm tube are shown at X.
Fig. 24. An etching which has the calcareous substance of the base of the coral
removed and shows the initial convolutions of the worm tube.
Fig.
25. The under side of a corallum with the impression of the gastropod
Loxonema hamiltoniae to which it was attached.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
26. The form of the entire worm tube drawn from an actual specimen.
bo ob
27. A shell of Loxonema hamiltoniae.
bo
8. Vertical section of a corallum, showing the convoluted worm tube.
bo
9. Enlarged surface of a Loxonema shell which had been the base of
attachment for the coral. This specimen bears several serpulid worm tubes
which were there before the coral began to grow.
Fig.
30. Section of the coral, showing tubes of more than one worm.
50 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
Fig. 51. Etching of the basal part of the coral, showing the chief worm tube and
a wormlike extension which appears to arise from the base of a polypite and turn
into an upward course between the cells.
Fig. 32. The greatly enlarged interior of a dead Hicetes tube encrusted with
slender serpulid worms.
Fig. 33. A minute sponge found in the tube of the large Hicetes.
Fig. 34. Chonetes sarcinulatus, the brachiopod to which the German coral Pleuro-
dictyum problematicum usually is attached.
Fig. 35. Vertical section of coral and tubes.
Fig. 36. The base of the Pleurodictyum problematicum attached to the brachiopod
Chonetes sarcinulatus. From Stadtfeld.
Fig. 37. The tube Hicetes overgrown by polyp-cells of different series.
Fig. 38. An etching of the coral showing an actual attachment of the worm tube
to the snail-shell Loxonema.
Fig. 39. Vertical section of a coral showing the worm tube entrenched between
the polyp-cells.
Fig. 40. An almost unique illustration of the attachment of the American
Pleurodictyum to the brachiopod Chonetes coronatus.
——
52 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
ent coral. In many cases, such as that illustrated in figure
38, the worm tube is directly fixed to the gastropod;
again it may be free of the gastropod and separated
from it by the thickened basal covering or epitheca of the
coral. With the multiplication of cell growth and the up-
ward trend of the coral, the worm began its convoluted
growth, its tube growing as much at one end as at the other
and with the same curvature at each end. Many of the ex-
isting tubicolous as well as the boring worms have their
tubes open at both ends. In view of the regularity of coiling
shown in some of the commensal worm tubes it is interest-
ing to notice that in this case the worm, after making a
start, gets its double coil into parallelism for from one-half
to an entire turn and then each arm starts off into a direct
course outward and upward following the radial path of
the coral cells. These tubes often pass in and out between
the cells, shut off from them by secretions of the coral sub-
stance, keeping their extremities always at the tentacular
surface, and very seldom is there evidence of the worm
encroaching on the polypite cells. Still this may occur and
the worm tube occasionally becomes encased by a young
polypite and holds a position in the center of the cell. Not
always does the growth of coral and polyp and worm go
on part passu. Ina group of the largest specimens of these
corallites we have seen, taken from the shales on Jaycox’s
run, Genesee county, N. Y., the later and accelerated growth
of the polyps seems to have overwhelmed and strangled the
worms whose tubes continue halfway or more upward and
then abruptly end.
Other worms also may be encased in the thickening base
of the growing coral, as shown in figure 30, but it is not
yet clear where their apertures lie, as I have never seen
more than two annelid openings at the surface of an adult
coral, both belonging to the same tube. Originally opening
on the tentacular surface at an early stage of coral growth,
they have been buried in the later accumulations of ster-
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE D3
eom. There are long tubular passages between the coral-
lites in early-growth stages which have not been described
in the structure of this coral genus but undoubtedly belong
to it. In sections these may be confounded with worm tubes,
but in etched specimens, such as have here principally
served for illustration, their real nature seems to be clear.
In this interesting combination there is still another
member—a small silicious sponge. It has come to my
notice several times. The one here figured was taken from
the empty tube of the worm, but whether that is its usual
position or whether it may seat itself in one of the coral
ealyces or whether indeed it is a usual member of the con-
sociation cannot be regarded as clearly established. Its 1m-
portance is not to be magnified; such lhttle organisms are
easily entangled in growing corals and must be expected in
the fossil state.
Some illustrations are here given which show how readily
the dead parts of these organisms become encrusted with
serpulid worms. Figure 29 is the surface of a part of a
dead Loxonema to which a Pleurodictyum had grown, and
figure 32 shows the inside of an old tube of the commensal
worm (which is known as Hicetes innexus), itself incrusted
with minute worm tubes.
Interesting as is this instance of commensalism, its most
extraordinary feature is the evidence of selection by the
larval coral, of the body which serves as the base on which
it is to grow. It is stated above that a very evident ma-
jority of the colonies of this coral Pleurodictyum, as it oc-
‘curs in the Hamilton shales, are attached to an organic
object and that this organic base in apparently a very
large majority of the cases is a shell of Loxonema hamil-
toniae. Occasionally the shell may be a Pleurotomaria of
one or another species. On the other hand the Rhenish
Pleurodictyum problematicum fixes itself by decided ma-
jority to the brachiopod Chonetes sarcinulatus Schlotheim.
I have examined a considerable number of specimens
54 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
of this Coblentzian species but have seen no other shell
used for attachment nor have I found record of any other.
Though it is not practicable to use percentages with
reference to the frequency of this occurrence, the palpable
fact remains that, as between these two closely allied if |
not identical corals, growing in different and remote basins
of the sea, one selects a gastropod, the other selects a
brachiopod as its base of attachment. Kmphasis is put
on the word ‘‘selects,’’ for among the brilliant examples
of selective adaptation none could be more striking than
this. The floor of the New York Devonian sea was covered
with Chonetes and of the Rhenish sea with gastropods, dur-
ing the life of this coral. Were either wanting in the
other fauna, hundreds of other species of organisms lined
the sea bottom. It is very impressive to find the evidence
of thts singular Devonian association of coral and worm
from parts of the world as remote from each other as
New York, northern Brazil, western Hurope and Con-
stantinople. The fact that in chronology the New York
occurrence is later than the rest (Lower Devonian) seems
to indicate a quick spread of this adjustment over the sandy
sea bottom of the early Devonian of the world,’ from which
the deeper contemporary waters of New York were ex-
cepted and in which region this symbiosis did not arrive
till the next succeeding stage. Of its ultimate fate a nega-
tive evidence permits us only to say that it went out with
the Hamilton stage and did not return with the partial re-
turn of that fauna in central New York during the time
that is reckoned as of the next succeeding stage—the
Ithaca-Portage time of the Upper Devonian.
I have not attempted to escape the obvious interpreta-
tion of these phenomena nor to avoid its expression in
terms of psychic function. To biologists who still find the
term ‘‘instinect’’? a comfortable receptacle for such reac-
1 Save in the early Devonian of austral latitudes where the fauna is very
unlike that of the rest of the world.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE Do
tions, the interpretation may seem invasive. Nothing, I am
disposed to believe, can be more illuminative of the prog-
ress toward and in intelligence than the early case before
us, in which a directed habit has already become fixed by
heredity.
Taken as a whole this combination is very complicated
commensalism from a date so ancient as the Devonian, more
extreme than any other yet known from the Paleozoic rocks.
We find a somewhat parallel case in the present fauna de-
scribed by Bouvier as occurring in the Gulf of Aden—a
coral and a worm growing together, and hidden in the coral
substance a gastropod on which both settled down when the
partnership began; furthermore there appears to be a small
bivalve in association with the worm. Other similar cases
might be cited from the existing fauna.
One stands with wonder before such evidence as this from
the ancient faunas, questioning how such a habitude came
about, what conditions impelled, stabilized and restricted
it, and our wonder is none the less because here we stand
at the inception of such associations and contemplate it
from a world that is full of them today. And the inquiry
naturally arises: What became of this organic combina-
tion? It reached its acme only as the coral genus became
old, indeed in the last of its representatives. Riddled with
commensals, overloaded with boarders who fed at the same
table and flourished, it may be that the worm became an
effective parasite which helped to bring about the extinc-
tion of its host.
Commensalism between the worms and sponges. This
combination appears in the late Devonian, but there is evi-
dence that it is of earlier date. We have just cited the
presence of a minute sponge in the Hicetes innexus, the in-
colant worm of Pleurodictyum, and there is an undescribed
Spreading sponge of the Middle Devonian (Hamilton
group) which indicates the presence of coexistent annelids.
The simple ancient instance I can here illustrate is that
56 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
shown by the spiral or meandering worm tubes which are
found in connection with the glass-sponges Hydnoceras and
‘Prismodictya of the Chemung fauna (Upper Devonian of
New York).
Figs. 41, 42. Two silicious sponges, Hydnoceras and Prismodictya, with mark-
ings of worm tubes on the reticulum. Upper Devonian.
In a considerable number of individuals of Prismodictya
from the same locality nearly all showed the presence of
the annelid commensal and as the surface of the impres-
sion left in the sands by the worm tube is in all cases
crossed by the reticulated skeleton of the sponge it is in-
ferred that the position of the former was internal. These
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE o7
are silicious sponges allied to the living Euplectella or
Venus’s Flower-basket, and though we find no parallel ex-
pression of commensalsm in the living glass-sponges, yet
Kuplectella carries a parasite in the form of a crustacean
Fig. 43.
A silicified sponge from the
English Chalk exposing a spiral
worm tube encircling the wall of
the cloaca of the sponge. (Courtesy
of Dr. F. A. Bather. )
which in youth enters its
open cloacal cavity and re-
mains there so that when the
sponge has in adult growth
built the terminal or sieve-
plate over its aperture the
crustacean is wholly and
permanently caged.
This ancient association
continued long after the
Paleozoic, for I have else-
where illustrated its occur-
rence in the sponges of the
Cretaceous from very strik-
ing specimens sent to me by
Dr. F. A. Bather of the Brit-
ish Museum. They are here
reprinted. All show a spiral
worm tube encircling the
long median cloaca of the
sponge, in one the spiral be-
ing dextral and the other
sinistral. The flat section
here shown is a direct photo-
graphic print made from a
thin slide and shows the
actual distance of the annelid tube from the cloaca, and
suggests also the presence of other commensal worms in
the upper left-hand part of the sponge-body (prepared by
Doctor Bather).
hampton.
All are from the Chalk series at Beck-
58 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
Figs. 44, 45. Sponges from the English Chalk showing spiral annelid tubes. In
both the worm is seen to encircle the cloaca of the sponge and at some distance
from it (Fig. 44, section). In Fig. 45 the direction of the spiral is the reverse
of that in Fig. 43. From Beckhampton. (Courtesy of Dr. F. A. Bather.)
Symbiosis in the worms and crinoids. The data for such
association are not abundant. Myzostomum, a wormlike
creature, believed to be an annelid, is parasitic on living
erinoids where its species cause galls or swellings by the
overgrowth of the caleareous substance. On the columns of
Paleozoic crinoids small gall-lke protuberances are occa-
sionally found, with a central perforation, and several
authors have ascribed these to the Myzostomum.' These
Myzostomid galls (Myzostomites) have been recorded from
rocks as early as the Upper Ordovician, but we must confess
to knowing very little about them, and some of the pit-
tings and depressions on erinoid columns which have been
thought to be the inner cavities of Myzostomid cysts are
doubtless of other origin. Perhaps the best proof that these
galls have been made by infesting worms is afforded by the
1 See Wachsmuth and Springer. 1897, p. 43, pl. 1, fig. 2; p. 502, pl. 39,
fig. 7; R. L. Moodie; EF, A. Bather.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 59
46
Fig. 46. A crinoid stem from the Carboniferous with deep pits over the surface
which may be due to the work of Myzostomites.
Fig. 47. Transverse sections of a caleareous hypertrophy or “gall” on the jointed
stem of a Devonian (Hamilton) erinoid. This shows, by etching and trans-
parence, the filling of minute worm like tubules in the enlarged stem joints,
and a darkened aggregate at the center along the stem-canal which has been
contracted and obstructed by the spread of this growth, producing a genuinely
_ pathologie condition. Enlarged. (The specimen from which these sections
were made presented by Professor George H. Chadwick. )
specimen here figured from the Hamilton shales of the De-
vonian.
Commensalism of coral with coral. The so-called genus
Caunopora is an interesting illustration of this habit of
growth. Caunopora is a compact hydroid coral with sharply
defined and definitely walled tubes scattered through its
substance. For a long time it was regarded as the work of
a single hydroid colony, but it is now known to be a lami-
nate hydroid overgrowing a series of erect coral tubes like
those of Syringopora or Aulopora. Fistulipora occidens
presents a similar coalition of a hydroid coral growing
about the tubes of Aulopora. These are both Devonian oc-
60 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
Fig. 48. Caunopora; a stromatoporoid colony showing the tubes of Syringopora,
a coral that lived commensally with it. i
Fig. 49. Schematic section showing the structure of the coral tubes
in the stromatoporoid mass. Onondaga limestone (Lower Devonian).
currences and this association of the hydroid with the zoan-
tharian corals is widespread. Other occurrences of this
sort are well known and we figure here a colony of the
honeycomb coral Favosites which has overgrown a small
plantation of the cyathophylloid coral Amplexus. In all
these associations there has been apparently no interfer-
ence with the functions of either member of the combina-
tions. Naturally, as these are merely incidents of their
growth they have been carried onward into recent coral
plantations where such combinations are not infrequently
noted.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 61
Fig. 50. OF
size and mode of growth as mls (Denon) 20:
between the microscopic tu-
bules of the algae and the large regular tubes of the worms.”
In a previous discussion of such perforating organisms® we
instituted the generic designation Clionolithes for a group
which was based on the form described by McCoy? from
1See T. S. Collins. ‘‘Some Perforating and Other Algae on Fresh Water
Shells’’; Hrythea, v. 5, p. 95. 1897.
2 Comparison with the tubules of living perforating sponges may be made
by reference to the work of Emile Topsent in the Archives de Zoologie Experi-
mentale, 2d ser., v. 5 bis, 1887, 1891; 4th ser., v. 7, 1907.
3“‘ Dependent Life.’’
4“¢ British Paleozoie Fossils,’’ 1855, p. 260, pl. 13, fig. 1, la.
Fig. 70. Clionolithes radicans. Etched specimen of an old shell of the brachi-
opod Dalmanella superstes of the Chemung shales (Upper Devonian), with a
multitude of irregularly branching borings riddling the shell and apparently
starting inward from the shell margin. x 10.
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 87
the Silurian as Vioa prisca and which was made by us to
include not only tubes of that type, that is, straight sub-
clavate fillings, but also very much smaller, much more
intricate, arborescent or vagrant tubules. It is evident to
us now that only the latter can be assigned to the sponges
and that hence our name Clionolithes, devised to suggest
relationship to sponges, is applicable only to this division.
It is proposed to retain the name for that group, even
though this may not be in precise accord with proper no-
Fig. 71. Etching of a tube cluster of Clionolithes radicans in the shell substance
of the brachiopod Leptostrophia magnifica. From an enlarged photograph. x 64.
Grande Greve limestone (Lower Devonian).
Fig. 72. The same in a shell of Atrypa reticularis from the Chemung sandstone
(Upper Devonian).
88 ~ ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
menclatorial procedure. The Vioa prisca and its type being
undoubtedly worm borings must take a more appropriate
- designation.
We are referring to Clionolithes, the form C. radicans,
which enters brachiopod shells by a simple perforation
and once within the shell substance produces a radiate and
arborescent or root-shaped colony. Shells are often quite
riddled by these colonies, which may maintain individual
independence, no matter how numerous, though at times in
a thick shell, galleries may so overle one another as to ap-
pear massed or felted. Itis this form of sponge which may
be taken as the type of the genus.
Clionolithes palmatus, which has been found only in the
soft shales of the Portage group (Upper Devonian), pre-
sents a somewhat different aspect from C. radicans in its
broad, sparsely branched or palmate tunnels.
Clhionolithes reptans is a filamentous and vagrant tube
tunneling just beneath the surface of the host-shell. It is
common in brachiopod shells of the Lower Devonian and it
is assigned to the sponges because there seems no better
present interpretation of it.
Of entirely different type and of much greater size is a
perforating sponge which we observe in the Middle De-
vonian Stromatoporas of Iowa. In this there is a large
spherical central body from which stout cylindrical arms
radiate into the coral substance. The formation of the
tunneling appears to begin with the gradual burial of the
round centrum with its branches and the subsequent exca-
vation of additional tunnels by later outgrowths of the
colony. These sponges have been found both as depres-
sions at the surface of the coral and as completely buried
bodies within the coral substance and revealed only by eut-
ting.
This parasitic sponge we shall designate Topsentia de-
vonica.
Worms. The boring worms of the existing fauna have
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE 89
Fig. 73. The surface of a Stromatopora from which three individuals of Top-
sentia, a boring sponge, have been removed by weathering. ;
been especially studied by E. Ray Lankestert and W. C.
McIntosh’ who have described the habits of such genera as
Sabella, Leucodore, Dodecaceria, whose individuals abun-
dantly penetrate corallines, corals, limestone and other
rocks. Sabella saxicava Quatrefages makes a_ usually
straight tube, but these are often deflected or curved, some-
times looped so that both extremities protrude. This loop
shape is a habit common to a number of worms which bury
themselves in soft mud, and is familiar in the sediments of
the Paleozoic rocks. Such U-shaped burrows into the sea
bottom have been recorded in rocks as old as the early Or-
dovician.* The same shape characterizes some of the living
worms which construct agglutinated tubes. Such tubes as
1 Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist., April, 1868, p. 233, pl. 11.
2 Ditto, October, 1868, p. 276, pl. 18, 20. See also W. Blaxland Benham in
Cambridge Natural History, 2, ‘‘ Polychaet Worms,’’ p. 287.
3 See Hayes, op. cit.
90 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
75
Figs. 74, 75. The perforating sponge Topsentia devonica in a Middle Devonian
Stromatopora (Iowa). Fig. 74 is a polished section; Fig. 75 shows the embedded
sponge by transmitted light.
these made by the worms are in contrast to the perforating
tubes described because of their usual simplicity and their
greater size, and among the fossil occurrences these fea-
tures lead to comparatively easy and safe recognition.
These simple worm-borings are found in many sorts of
solid calcareous organic masses in the Paleozoic rocks.
While we find in the Ordovician worms’ growing concur-
rently with solid corals or coralloid bryozoa, like Praso-
pora, there is no present evidence of perforating worms
boring into such masses and more specially into mollusecan
and other heavy shells, until late in the Silurian, from which
date they acquire greater abundance and in the Devonian
faunas become widespread. As the evidence now stands
they were rife in the early Devonian everywhere, even in
the austral faunas of this period which are in many respects
widely distinct from the contemporary faunas of the north.*
1 See Clarke: ‘‘Fosseis Devonianos.’’
‘
rik bead
ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE oF
In the later stages of the Devonian they seem less com-
mon and become increasingly so through the rest of Pal-
eozoic time. It would appear that the early Devonian was
the climacteric period of these Sabella-like boring worms.
In seeking a designation for these tubes and burrows,
we have noted the fact that they were described by McCoy
under the name Vioa prisca from a Silurian mollusk.
Vioa being an existing genus of boring sponges, and as we
are convinced that such tubes as were indicated by McCoy
are referable to the worms, a more appropriate name is
required and we propose to apply to all of them the desig-
nation Paleosabella prisca (McCoy) disregarding differ-
ences in size, which are often obvious, and of curvature,
which are slight. We give abundant illustration of these
occurrences and in the explanations to them point out fea-
tures of special interest.
Fig. 76. A stromatoporoid coral from the Niagara group (Silurian) of Hamilton,
Ont., with weathered holes of boring worms or sponges.
92 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
To a flattened tube with raised edges, giving the sugges-
tion of a distinct loop with the branches connected by a
thin diaphragm, we have on a previous occasion applied the
name Caulostrepsis taenola. So far as our present knowl-
edge goes this has been seen only in strophomenoid brachio-
pods from the Lower Devonian of the Rhineland.
Fig. 77. Palaeosabella prisca in a valve of the brachiopod Leptostrophia. From
the Grande Greve limestone (Lower Devonian); enlarged.
Finally, it is worthy of note that the host-shells receive
these boring worms in various ways. Sometimes the para-
site starts at one surface and bores straight across to and
through the other surface. Again a number of worms may
commence their attacks simultaneously at the growing edge
of the shell and while they bore parallel to, and within the
shell surfaces, the shell grows on outward beyond the circle
(‘uospnyzy ‘fT es10eH Aq ‘ojoyg) ‘adoos
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toddn oy} Ul ‘eIN{BAINd oT|STIOJORIVYO YIM VTeqesoerreg Jo suetwtoedg ‘Gg ‘Sly
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ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE HN)
Fig. 84. Caulostrepsis taeniola growing in the shell of the brachiopod Stropheo-
donta from the Coblentzian (Lower Devonian) of Seifen. The margins of the
brachiopod valves have been entered on all sides simultaneously by these borers
which have made loop-shaped tubes joined by a median cavity. Together with
these are simple tubes of Palaeosabella.
of their entrance. Often the tubes adapt themselves to the
thickening or thinning valves, taking advantage of the for-
mer to recurve or loop, and compelled by the latter to flatten
down. ‘The tendency to make a hook or loop, or to take on
the U-shape, is shown in many eases and the development
of a clavate form at the blind end is frequent and charac-
teristic. Most interesting beyond these features is the fact
Fig. 85. Cast of pouch-shaped (algal?) borings extending in from the surface of
a brachiopod shell. x4. Oriskany sandstone (Lower Devonian).
88
Fig. 86. One valve of the phyllopod crustacean Hehinocaris punctata with marks
of Clionolithes borings among the surface ornament. Hamilton group (Middle
Devonian).
Fig. 87. Clionolithes reptans; diffuse tubules in the shell substance of the brachio-
pod Leptostrophia. x20. Oriskany (Lower Devonian).
Fig. 88. The pygidium of the trilobite Homalonotus Dekayi exposing by weather-
ing the tubules of a similar species; natural size. Hamilton group (Middle
Devonian).
Fig. 89. Clionolithes reptans in the shell substance of Spirifer arenosus. Oriskany sandstone
(Lower Devonian).
Fig. 90. A shell of the brachiopod Streptorhynchus with borings of Clionolithes canna Price.
From the Pottsville series (Mississippian).
Fig. 91. Clionolithes canna Price. Conemaugh series (Mississippian). Much enlarged.
Fig. 92. Clionolithes palmatus in the shell substance of the bivalve Loxopteria dispar from
the Portage beds (Upper Devonian).
Fig. 93. A similar palmate boring in a gastropod shell, Loxonema, from the same locality.
102 ORGANIC DEPENDENCE AND DISEASE
Fig. 94. Palacosabella prisca (MeCoy). Copy of the original figure.
Fig. 95. The same in the shell of the brachiopod Spirifer from the Chemung
group (Upper Devonian).
Fig. 96. Similar clavate tubes in the brachiopod Leptostrophia. Oriskany sand-
stone (Lower Devonian).
Fig. 97. Sketch of Palaeosabella tubes converging from the margin toward the
thickened apex of the brachiopod Spirifer.
Fig. 98. A similar sketch to show the bend in the tube where the shell is
thickest. Hamilton group (Middle Devonian).
Fig. 99. The bivalve Aviculopecten with borings all beginning at a definite
growth-stage of the shell, outside of which the shell is regular, indicating that
the mollusk was alive when the borings were started and continued to live
while they were making. Chemung group (Upper Devonian).
Fig. 100. The sponge here started in the thickened apical substance of the shell
of a brachiopod (Leptostrophia) and as it entered the thinner part of the shell
was forced to take on a flattened form. At the inner end it shows a tendeney
to divide.
Fig. 101. A hook-shaped boring in the cast of a brachiopod. Oriskany sandstone
(Lower Devonian).
Fig. 102. =e Binghamton —
1933 WiLuiam J. Watrin M.A. - - - -— — —- Yonkers
1923 WiLL1AM Bonny M.A. LL.B. Ph.D. - - - — New York
1930 WILLIAM P. Baker B.L. Litt.D. - -— = — Syracuse
Acting President of the University and Commissioner of Education
FRANK Bw 'Gitgerr BA) ELI mG St
Assistant Commissioner and Director of Professional Education _ /
Avucustus S. Downtnc M.A. Pd.D. L.H.D. LL.D. +4
/ ‘
Assistant Commissioner for Secondary Education ‘ a
CHARLES F. WHEELOcK B.S. Pd.D. LL.D.
Assistant Commissioner for Elementary Education
Grorce M. Witry M.A. Pd.D, LE. De eee a
Director of State Library q
James I. WyER M.L.S. Pd.D. ~ r
i
Director of Science and State Museum
Joun M. CriarKe D.Sc. LL.D.
Chiefs and Directors of Divisions
Administration, Hiram C. CasE !
Archives and History, James Suttivan M.A. Ph.D. a
Attendance, James D. SULLIVAN .
Examinations and Inspections, AVERY W. sean B.A.
Law, FRANK B. GitBert B.A. LL.D., Counsel
Library Extension, Witt1AM R. Watson B.S.
Library School, Epna M. Sanperson B.A. B.L.S. A
School Buildings and Grounds, Frank H. Woop M.A. iC
School Libraries, SHERMAN WILLIAMS Pd.D. a4 :
Visual Instruction, ALFRED W. ABRAMS Ph.B.
Vocational and Extension Education, Lewis A. WILson
The University of the State of New York
Department of Science, February 24, 1919
Doctor John H. Finley
President of the Uniwersity
SIR:
I transmit to you herewith and beg to recommend for publication,
as a Bulletin of the State Museum, a manuscript report entitled:
The Mineral Resources of the State of New York which has been
prepared by David H. Newland, Assistant State Geologist.
It is needless for me to emphasize the importance of a work of
this kind to the intellectual and commercial interests of this State.
The report is a summary of our present knowledge of what is, second
only to the soil of the State, its most important natural asset. In
variety, quality and quantity the mineral production and the
potential mineral resources are of momentous importance to the
people of the State.
Very respectfully yours
Joun M. CLARKE
Director
Approved for publication
President of the University
ne
Wak
Heald iy
*
ds
sh ak ray:
St Se Fea ey IEA
WP Padiovipes
Tt he
New York State Museum Bulletin
Entered as second-class matter November 27, 1915, at the Post Office at Albany, N. Y., under
the act of August 24, 1912
Published monthly by the University of the State of New York
No. 223, 224 ALBANY, N.Y. July-August 1919
The University of the State of New York
- New York State Museum
Joun M. CrarkeE, Director
THE MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF
| NEW YORK
BY DAVID H. NEWLAND
INTRODUCTION
This report is intended to serve the purpose of a general guide
to the mineral resources of New York. It presents the principal
facts regarding the character, occurrence and production of the
useful minerals, with reference to particulars of the local features
that bear upon their industrial utilization. It supplements and
extends the information contained in the annual ‘‘ The Mining and
Quarry Industry of New York’’ which has been published as a
bulletin of the New York State Museum since 1904.
The preparation of a treatise of this kind requires the cooperation
of practically all who are engaged in the related industrial fields.
Cordial acknowledgment is rendered by the writer to those who
have assisted him by supplying information in the office or at the
mine and for the many opportunities which he has enjoyed of
personally inspecting new and interesting operations. The aid of
many individuals has also been solicited, for which a general acknowl-
edgment is here made. To C. A. Hartnagel has fallen the task
of final supervision of the manuscript.
The need for a new and revised account of our mineral resources
has been emphasized in the last year or two by the changes that
have taken place in the economic relations of raw material supplies.
Some materials have taken on increased importance through the
6 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
expansion of the market demands, making feasible the working of
deposits hitherto considered of remote value; for others the con- |
ditions have not favored any enlargement of productive activity
and even in some instances have caused a notable contraction from
the normal quotas; but for nearly all it may be said that the course
of economic development has been under the control of factors
scarcely anticipated and whose effects will continue to be felt after
the special causes themselves have been removed.
The statistical canvasses of the mineral industries for the years
1917 and 1918, which were conducted by this office in cooperation
with the United States Geological Survey showed the value of the
products for 1917 to have been $51,935,094. This represented a
gain of $5,987,147, or 13 per cent, in the value as compared with
that reported for 1916. In 1918 the value of the products amounted
to $54,169,287, an increase of $2,234,193 in value over the year 1917.
As shown by the statistics on following pages the increased
value of the output for 1918 resulted partly from an increase in
quantity of a few of the mineral products together with higher
prices; and partly from the increased value of some of the products,
although the quantities produced were less than in the preceding
year. The values given for both the years 1917 and 1918 are new
records for the mineral industry.
The products of which notice has been taken in the statistical
investigations number over thirty and with few exceptions represent
their first forms as they come from the mines or quarries without
elaboration or manufacture, except so much as may have been
necessary to put them in marketable condition. They are not
inclusive of secondary products like iron and steel, ferro-alloys,
aluminum, coke, sulphuric acid, alkali products of salt, artificial
graphite, calcium carbide, etc., that are made from the crude ores
and minerals and that in combined value far outrank the reported
total for the basic materials.
Among the materials that have an important place in the list
of products are iron ore, zinc ore, pyrite, gypsum, salt, portland
cement, petroleum, natural gas, talc, graphite, clay wares and stone.
The production of iron ore for 1917 is given as 1,356,o11 long
tons with a value of $7,381,333, an increase in value but a decrease
in quantity as compared with 1916. In 1918 the production in
long tons is 899,970 with a value of $5,802,870. The production
of zine ore for 1917 totals 47,961 tons and the value based upon
the metal contents $1,059,186. In 1918 the corresponding production
amounted to 40,850 tons having a value of $687,230. Of pyrite
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 7
the total quantity for 1917 is 57,075 long tons with a value of
$354,000. In 1918 the amount is 63,982 long tons with a value of
$422,958. Gypsum, the basis of hard wall plasters and plaster of
paris, reaches in 1917 the new figure for quantity of 606,268 tons
valued at $2,036,820. In 1918 the production amounted to 531,038
tons with a value of $2,670,099. Salt, inclusive of rock and evapo-
rated salt sold as such and the salt contents of brine used.in alkali
manufacture, shows a large gain for the year 1917, with a total
yield of 15,457,636 barrels valued at $5,371,713. Salt in 1918
showed a total of 15,218,071 barrels valued at $7,336,867.
Portland cement is recorded with a production in 1917 of 5,408,726
barrels and a value of $7,050,656. The same material in 1918
showed a production of 4,074,159 barrels valued at $6,568,746.
The output of petroleum for the year 1917 is practically unchanged
from that of the preceding year, amounting to 879,685 barrels
valued at $2,850,378. The 1918 output showed 808,843 barrels
valued at $3,307,814. Natural gas for 1917 shows little fluctuation
from 1916, the flow measuring 8,371,747 thousand cubic feet, worth
$2,499,303, and in 1918 a flow of 8,460,583 thousand cubic feet with
a value of $5,673,131, a large increase in value. For talc the output
in 1917 of 74,671 tons valued at $881,462 represents a decline from
the 1916 output of nearly 20 per cent. The 1918 output of 71,167
tons shows a small decline but with an increased value, the total
production amounting to $902,100. The product of crystalline
graphite in 1917 of 2,941,040 pounds is valued at $261,548. The
1918 production of 3,266,518 pounds valued at $273,188 is about
the average. For clay-building materials the figures indicate a
decided depression, and the outputs for 1917 and 1918 are smaller
than for many years. Of building brick the total number for 1917
is only 660,183,000 valued at $5,118,966, or scarcely 60 per cent
of the normal quota. The year 1918 shows a still further depression
with a production of but 314,428,000 valued at $3,063,555. For
other clay wares, exclusive of pottery, the aggregate value for 1917
is put at $2,232,616, which represents about the same proportion
of the average product. In 1918 the clay wares showed a total
production of $1,781,927. The production of pottery, however,
registers important gains for both years, the combined value of
all grades in 1917 being $4,076,817; the 1918 value $6,047,472.
In the quarry industries conditions during 1917 and 1918 seem
to have been active in some branches, but in general the reverse
of prosperous. The value in 1917 of the quarry products altogether
is placed at $6,283,556, and in 1918 at $6,106,756. The large
8 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
increase in the output of limestone for the last two years is about
balanced by declines in sandstone, trap, granite and marble. Among
the miscellaneous materials that enter into the statistics of production
for the last two years, with their respective values, are the following:
For 1917, natural cement $41,395; crude clay $51,505; emery
$170,223; feldspar and quartz $65,638; garnet $193,440; millstones
$22,103; metallic paint $37,282; mineral waters $562,874; molding
sand $808,550; other kinds of sand, including gravel, $2,237,897:
sand-lime brick $130,626; slate $55,207; and apatite, diatomaceous
earth, marl, peat, and gasoline from gas wells, of which the aggregate
value is estimated at $100,000. For 1918, natural cement $7625;
crude clay $41,541; emery $61,660; feldspar and quartz $73,230;
garnet $232,661; millstones $25,488; metallic paint $10,228; mineral
waters $566,910; molding sand $770,512; other kinds of sand,
including gravel $1,405,960; sand-lime brick $79,515; slate $11,383; ©
and apatite, diatomaceous earth, marl, potash, unclassified stone,
gasoline recovered from natural gas, and minerals used for gem
purposes $237,861.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 9
Mineral production of New York in 1916
UNIT OF
PRODUCT atl a QUANTITY VALUE
Pectivad Cement. of. 8 arhelserre ae 5 603 477 | $5 752 809
INaturalicement so. 03.22.05. 0% Barrels eee iis 104 415 51 635
TICK). hse een es Thousands...... 982 942 6 497 270
(PPB EBEY 5 5 cout alel See ea a eA TB ia cee a LA Salita aR ea Gebel 3 344 672
MPG ta PROGUICES. (re 102 Ve OO Uae ee I 913 070
HCE. CE Ee es ee es Short tons...... II 158 36 413
E83 7 5 Ges RRS Reece Short tons...... 15 282 123 9OI
Feldspar and quartz............ Short tons...... 20 379 II5 311
SEITE Ey LS ee em eae Short tous5) 5" 5 840 198 200
Graphite... . 2)... a te Poundstenoe ss: a a
SESE Salas SBN en a eae Short tons...... 579 827 I 459 587
HiGBOTE MIN: ce ae eet lens Eat ft Long tons...... I 464 9171 5 571 429
2 LAS OES Sie A een etek an ie ea i alk eta ROR Ml are Sea ae 10 287
Mieiaiite paint, Ooi. Fe se Short tons. }) 257. I4 572 34 206
IMinmeralewaters 8 Po es el Gallonsaee nee 7 746 490 697 650
ROE OAS js). oes ees Se 1000 cubic feet..| 8 594 187 2 524 115
LP EPS SCI Oe ae BacrelSer raat asa: 874 087 2 190 195
IRAVBETLE@ saa APN BG MA es eS Wongauonsy see a a
Sens igi clad le aie ee Gr eee eat a Barrelsnugs es soe 14 087 750 3 698 798
JTS LG Sra Shaya (0 0 te gee ae SHORE LOMS 2 0 a. 661 673 570 898
Other sand and gravel.......... Short tons. ..!./.”. 7 436 424 2 O73, 9a
mand-lime brick). ) 2.0.0... Thousands...... 15 851 109 337
S]A0hEx Sie SAS Oe een Squares: 44/50. DOG 21 345
PSION ADs eS hall bat ease aoe al LG Ia coe 368 119
MRS TI RGR er tke ts soe Pua ONS Mies aha Le vie ae nee! Jue 3 672 454
14 SGP OLRB 5 cles BS yA A a Ene ate EE 1) GEMISR oe rN| Une 268 391
SHIGISHOMO.s hs Geanheeea eimai Ak Sal att ONAL Uae te pee ia | eRe a 714 558
“TSPZYD 5 5 Gualepeste Bus tee RI SMRAB ermenleey | albeter eater ancl al een Waele leeeEES A 956 100
“1-2 Giateiel Ee GA SO ve Ae ee Short tons...... 93 236 g6I 510
WANG MOEC cos snhd'c for os At hei Short tons...... a a
Minto uCHiait Ca a ae RIA IM oe gate torr tate che eh tNT 2 OI 666
Racer yi ser se mien lin eee eee NRE NOS IDS $45 947 947
a The output is reported under “ Other materials’? in last item of table.
b Iron ore sold for paint manufacture.
c Includes zinc ore. apatite. diatomaceous earth, graphite, marl, mica and pyrite. The value of
the zinc ore is based on that of the metallic zinc recovered from the mine product.
10 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Mineral production in New York in 1917
UNIT OF
PRODUCT 13 ah ee QUANTITY
Portland cementisye wt. agit Barrelsee ess 22% 5 408 726
Natumalicement/ eis oo. acs ses cl. Barrels yer quis H
\ \\ Ki = | To
ee | \ i i 2) DNIWOAM |
'
t at i eal | \ yi u i iy | t mvs.
aes \ uh F Ly i 2S40
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1 WS
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1 WET Ut : <) es
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DI[IASIAAOLy
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yangny e
1
1
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SX
94 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
portland cement mills; the product of calcined plasters and of land
plaster each showed a slight decrease as compared with the returns
for 1916. The 1918 output at the mines of 531,038 short tons is
a decrease of 75,230 tons from the 1917 production, but with the
higher prices obtained shows an increase in value of the products
sold of $633,279.
Uses. Recent experimental tests with gypsum in agriculture
have revived interest in the use of land plaster, indicating that
it has a positive fertilizing value for some crops, notably grains,
grasses and legumes. Its principal function is as carrier of sulphur,
which enters into the structure of many plants in proportions com-
parable to those of phosphorus, the basis of most prepared fertilizers:
Gypsum also improves the mechanical condition of soils and effects
certain beneficial chemical reactions.
Portland cement manufacture calls for about one-third of the mine
product of the State. For this purpose the rock is crushed to small
size, usually through one-half inch mesh. About two per cent is
added to the clinker as it comes from the rotary kilns and is ground
with it. Its function is to delay the set of the cement. The demand
is for a high-grade gypsum, and sales are made on the basis of the
sulphuric acid content.
The major portion of the mine product is calcined into stucco»
usually in plants operated by the mining companies. The stucco
is admixed with a small amount of retarder and some fiber like hair
or shredded wood and becomes hard wall plaster. Such plasters
are harder and attain their final set much quicker than lime plasters.
A constantly increasing proportion of stucco is being converted
into such materials as plaster board, wall board, blocks and tiles,
the manufacture of which is one of the recent developments that
seems to promise most for the future of the industry. Plaster
board and wall board are sheets of stucco lined on either side with
paper and designed to be applied directly to the studding, without
the use of lath. Wall board requires no coat of plaster to give a
finished appearance. Plaster board if applied to inside walls is
given a single coat, but it is also used on the outside for sheathing
and as lining in the place of lumber. Gypsum block and tile are
made in a variety of sizes and shapes, taking the place of clay articles
in fire-proof construction for floors, partitions and roofs.
Occurrence. The supply of gypsum is obtained from a single
series of deposits which is confined to the Salina stage of the
Silurian system. The main occurrence of the Salina strata is repre_
OF:
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
serqunoo Aurq|y pue ol1y uoemjoq 94e1g YIOA MON UE &}EI}S URLINTIG 944 JO JU0]xe IvoUT] pue WoIpTsOd OAT}eIOI SUIVCOIpUr WeIseIG
$u01) ouidos 91uny19 42M64
(eydistuid)buos ' ayoys ‘su0jspuvs )
obemsg 'Dulpay vie Baheg
JVILO GT
hop eye Oyo ¢ = ~ 5
Lasqiap apy = TEL E uvivbosy
aie ES aes SEU Spas Sa ae a ;
:. 2yeus Snjng ss 8.99. NSA D ree ern a uvbnko
wares ah Sie
Sener so E kaa =
(au0js9ur)) 9)242919G)) 5
(2u271270.) ee =
(Btloysoulr7) < Hic aes ae
Q a
PF de : g
EPs : b
96 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
sented by a belt that stretches east and west from the town of Knox,
Albany county, to the Niagara river at the western border whence
- it continues into the province of Ontario, Canada. The belt is
thus about 250 miles long; in width it varies all the way from less
than a mile to 20 miles wide. The maximum width, as well as
thickness of the strata, is attained in central New York in Onondaga
and Cayuga counties. The strata have a low dip (averaging about
50 feet to the mile) to the south, which carries them under the
higher members of the Silurian and of the Devonian rocks that
spread over the area lying between the Salina and the Pennsylvania
state line.
The Salina strata consist of shales, limestone, rock salt, anhydrite
and gypsum. The uppermost layers are usually argillaceous lime-
stone, to which the name Bertie waterlime is given. The rock
forms a capping for a large body of shale, with intercalations of
limestone bands, known as the Camillus shale, usually drab in
color. It is in this formation, and commonly within 1oo feet or
so of the top that the gypsum beds occur. The total thickness of
the shale and gypsum probably reaches 300 feet in central New
York. Below the Camillus lies the rock salt which has been traced
from Madison county west to Erie county, and the red Vernon
shales which are the thickest member of the Salina, attaining about
500 feet in the vicinity of Syracuse. The horizon of the salt can
not be determined accurately with reference to the gypsum, since
the beds do not extend to the outcrop and few of the drill records
in the salt district make any mention of gypsum or the related
mineral anhydrite. It appears probable, however, that the interval
is a variable one and may range from 50 to.200 feet or more in
different places.
The Camillus formation in western New York holds an important
calcareous element, particularly in the upper roo feet which is largely
composed of thin-bedded magnesian limestones, scarcely different
in appearance from the Bertie layers above. The gypsum is asso-
ciated with these limestones in seams arranged parallel with the
bedding. A foot or two of gypseous shale, so-called ‘‘ ashes,’ usually
accompanies the deposits, most commonly lying above in imme-
diate contact with the gypsum. It weathers rapidly and conse-
quently makes a poor roof. It looks more like a residual product
of the limestone beds than a true shale and seems to diminish or
disappear in the deeper zone. A section of the gypsum beds, showing
the characteristic order, is here given from the Akron district.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 97
Feet Inches
HLaverret MPM ey MMR ARI UR Oe TU MiCN LL OM U/L sd Basel waa TSN espa ances
CLT ESI GS ol MN A Es Ne eee les ole ary eRe a I ue 3 4
ANT edlesecearran sg ened Ws Gaia itera vere ap ahead Byrd Ne) ics Be UN Al asda) laa ot 2 Ve Pree a
BME RRI CHO he ea lie gsiad chm: as GSAS aint ai cletlalG, a\ahiacai see! Spel eie a 3
Merdiceams (water pearmg).. JW hee Pool ed Ak MRE Me
HNGtteesre im cupee rpereatyty: Meer yal Loe aoe Soa Sita adil as laiataliey Sly eT hr lh aa
Seppe SU GASES oe Viegas un bd L}a cwitastelee a ea lathe Nieyalas 4
SEE STSOTE alll ieee Guke WM ILE A an ap ee Taye eel Aa ena
TU senGvEStRORaVS © OM MESON cen OCU aye ea es Tae pel a aged Abi\iniih'eliaysenenenys
EXSTRES sp ict TSE UA URS RT re TUTE RANE REC peer lo 8
CSAP ES CEE go A acl ARI ae ee eR LA oe a Aes ae
Gypsum favors the superficial zone where water circulates readily
and most of the mines consequently are wet. As the beds deepen
toward the south on the dip and become covered by the Devonian |
formations, the gypsum gives way to anhydrite, the material
commonly encountered in all deep borings and in the salt shafts and
wells several miles south of the Salina outcrop. The change from
gypsum with its content of 20 per cent or so of combined water to
the water-free and commercially worthless anhydrite takes place
quite abruptly, an increase of 10 feet of depth often marking the
complete passage from the one to the other. In mining, it is of
course useless to follow the seam beyond the limit marked by the
appearance of anhydrite in quantity. |
As a guide to the occurrence of gypsum in the field the outcrop
of the cherty beds of the Onondaga serves best, since it is usually
indicated by a sharp break in the topography or by a line of cliffs,
whereas the softer Camillus shales that lie below rarely are indicated
by topographic changes. The outcrop of the latter is just north of
that of the cherty beds and usually occupies a strip of low ground
a mile or more in width in which there are few exposures.
The outcrop of the gypsum does not lie at a constant level, but
ranges through an interval of 300 feet or so, between the approximate
limits of 750 feet which marks the elevation above sea level of the
beds at Oakfield and 400 feet which represents the low point along
the belt found at Seneca Falls, Seneca county. The variation is
very gradual, scarcely perceptible within narrow limits, but appears
when the line of contract is traced, on the contour maps. It is an
inheritance from an early period, possibly dating back to the
Appalachian uplift and representing the last traces of differential
movement to the north of the main axis.
Nature of deposits. The deposits consist of compact gypsum
usually of homogeneous appearance, which, however, varies con-
siderably from place to place in regard to purity. This is the rock
gypsum which forms the basis of the calcined plaster industry, as
98 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
well as of the production of material used in portland cement.
Microscopically it shows a crystalline texture, with interlacing
_ fibers and blades of gypsum that inelose more or less of elayey
matter and carbonates in the interstices. The proportion of the
sulphate to the impurities depends more or less upon local conditions,
but in a broad way it can be stated that there is a progressive increase
in the percentage of gypsum substance as the deposits are followed
from central New York into the western section. In Madison,
Onondaga and Cayuga counties the rock carries from 65 to 80 per
cent gypsum. In Monroe county it averages probably around the
upper of these limits. Im Genesee and Ene counties on the west
end analyses show 90 per cent and up: to 96 per cent of hydrated.
caletum: sulphate.
Analyses of New York gypsum
I 2 3 4 5 6
SOS renee A ee Ree AE NTE ae 51 1.03 .40 2.93 8.31 4.00
fe LO ERS Ns Geen re RTI ee eee PEE Fo I.19 -A4I 2.97 I.92 4.53 I.74
THESO SRE hes, hepa te eae aaa ee Aaateeies 79 I.27 77 I. 10 r.34 I.11
(ClO) eee ak aia SPOS PR EASES Brat See 8 30.62 30.74 30.76 26.27 21.50 29.36
WHO f. Pre RR a, Aare Seed Oe I.20 2.01 1.53 8.29 7.20 2.81
SOS ete ae stich Savs come loaiehoneakneeene 43.59 42.39 43.78 33.83 30.47 35.79
COM eee rete es kines 1.02 2.20 2.80 Il.02 9.50 3
JEELONS are ay PSI Ns lc Beg ey RUSE enE 20.52 18.19 L753 14.87 14.53 17.93
Gaya Str ys ies atthe eae aha posh wou dohoneplotenelt 93.74 Q1.27 94. 26 72.84. 65.49 77.06
t Akron, Erie county, 2 Oakfield, Genesee county, 3 Oakfield, Genesee county, 4 Garbutt,
Monroe county, 5. Lyndon, Onondaga county, 7 Lyndon, Onondaga county. All analyses by
George E. Willcomb.
The thickness of the beds probably may be said to stand im
inverse relation to their quality. The thickest are encountered in
Onondaga and Cayuga counties — 60 feet in the Severance quarry
at Lyndon east of Syracuse and 30 feet at the Union Springs locality .
in unbroken mass from top to bottom except for thim shale partings:
In Monroe county two beds have been generally proved to occur
where exploration has been undertaken — each from 5-8 feet thick
separated by from 6 to 12 feet of hard limestone. Im Genesee:
county there appears: to be only a single workable bed which
averages 4 to 6 feet. The same condition holds for the eastern. part.
of Erie county. In the city of Buffalo a. series of test holes drilled
several years ago showed the existence of two 4 foot. beds: of white
gypsum: with about 20 feet of intervening shale in which a thinner
seam of gypsum is inclosed.
It is quite apparent the deposits: are ait continuous: beds im the:
broad sense, but rather are made up of a number of layers: distributed
j
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f a pore (a a = i * Sree re : = i ‘ ai ~ S kt ; 9, Si lager wis oe i Fe Win Pats Fe CP tip)
Mey Ses ; aN 5 ‘ See Fa eSoe yk 5 E ) oneal » Q x . - XS ‘ Fency eae Ne r. de { mh aint ly a ek Nh pn
a bP ee Se Wien ES ae , ‘ 5 nar 2 ys Nese 74 PCN ~ NaS: aa Carder . “J
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MAP OF THE WHEATLAND GYPSUM DISTRICT
_ List of Workings— (1) Abandoned adit, McVane farm; (2) mill; (4) mine, Empire Gypsum Co.; (3) mill; (9, 10) shafts, Garbutt Gypsum Co.; (5) mill; (6, 7, 8) mines, Lycoming Calcining Co.; (11) gypsum deposit, M. Rogers
Bie farm; (12) shaft and crusher, Monarch Plaster Co.; (13) adit; (14) mill; (15) shaft, Consolidated Wheatland Plaster Co.; (16, 17) abandoned workings.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 99
along the outcrop so as to give a varying succession from place to
place. Although they occur near the upper limits of the Salina,
having the Bertie waterlime as marker of the highest possible
horizon, they may and do occupy different positions within the
shale. Owing to the fact that the gypsum is rather so'uble in ground
waters and is also easily eroded, the cutcrop is likely to be con-
cealed: drilling is the most practical methcd of testing undeveloped
ground.
Mining operations. The production of gypsum in recent years
has been carried on in the following counties from east to west —
Madison, Onondaga, Cayuga, Monroe, Genesee and Erie. Of these
the first three produce rock suitable for grinding, but hardly adapted
for calcined plasters when used alone. The cement mills of New
York have employed the material from this section and some of
the output in years past has been sold to calcining plants for incor-
poration with higher grade plaster made from rock obtained else-
where. The output at present is small, and is mainly from the
deposits around Jamesville and Fayetteville. At’ Union Springs
extensive operations were carried on for a time, but the property
is now closed. Owing to the thickness of the beds in this section
open-cut quarry work is the usual method of extracting the gypsum.
In the town of Wheatland, Monroe county, the Empire Gypsum
Co. and the Lycoming Calcining Co. operate extensive mines, as
well as plants for the conversion of the output into stucco and
other products. The workings are all underground, reached by
drift openings from the outcrop of the gypsum beds along the
depression of Allen creek, and are similar to the room-and-pillar
method of coal mining. The rock is light gray or brown in color
and contains numerous veinlets of fibrous gypsum, pure white. It
averages s to 6 feet thick. The upper of the two seams only is
worked. From the mines the broken gypsum is taken to the mills
by tram and there in part calcined and in part crushed or ground
for shipment to cement mills and for agricultural uses. The Ebsary
Gypsum Co. also is active in this district having a mine near
Wheatland Center and a mill for making stucco on the property,
which adjoins the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad.
The section of the gypsum belt between Oakfield, Genesee county,
and Akron, Erie county, a distance of 12 miles, has been the center
of the principal developments in the last few years. The district
is traversed east and west by the West Shore branch of the New
York Central lines, affording convenient shipping facilities, while
the beds are close to the surface and afford light-colored rock of
4.
100 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
good grade. The mines are opened by vertical shafts, usually less
than too feet deep, and are equipped and operated after approved ~
modern methods. Extensive use is made of electricity for hoisting
and lighting.
Just west of Oakfield are the mines and mills of the United States
Gypsum Co., which entered the New York field about 1903 and
whose enterprise gave the impulse to the recent rapid growth of
the industry. The mines are the largest in the State and altogether
embrace several hundred acres. The larger share of the output
is calcined and sold in the form of stucco, wall plaster, board, blocks
etc., but a considerable tonnage goes to cement mills. The com-
pany operates a separate plant for making building blocks and
tile.
The Niagara Gypsum Co. works the gypsum bed to the west
of the above mentioned property, its mine and mill being about 2
miles west of Oakfield, or $ mile east of South Alabama. The mill
is equipped with rotary kilns for calcining the gypsum, whereas
the usual practice is to employ vertical retorts or kettles. The
advantage of the rotary kiln lies in its greater efficiency from con-
tinuous operation. The workable Evo is present in a single
bed 4 to 5 feet thick.
Between the.latter property and that of the American Gypsum
Co. near Akron is an interval of about 8 miles in which it is not
unlikely that gypsum deposits of economic grade and size occur
although no mining operations are being carried on at present.
The American Gypsum Co. operates on an extensive scale, having
a thoroughly equipped mine in which electric power is largely used,
and a three-compartment shaft for hoisting the product to the
surface. A crushing plant is located at the shaft. All the output
is sold crude to cement mills and to calcining plants elsewhere.
The bed underlying the property is about 4 feet thick and together
with the continuation of the bed under the adjoining lands seems
to be an attenuated lens which gradually thins down to the east
and west. The gypsum is of excellent quality.
The American Cement Plaster Co. operates a mine in this area,
having entered the district recently as successor of the Akron
Gypsum Products Corporation; the property was first opened in
1908 by the Akron Gypsum Co. The mine is a mile northeast of
Akron and is connected with a calcining plant nearby which utilizes
most of the output. This is the last of the active mines in the
belt to the west.
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MAP OF THE OAKFIELD AND AKRON GYPSUM DISTRICTS
List of Workings — (1) mill; (2) shaft, Akron Gypsum Co.; (3, 4) shafts, American Gypsum Co.; (5, 6) test holes; (7) abandoned workings, Standard Plaster Co.;
(8, 9) shafts; (10) mill, Niagara Gypsum Co.; (11, 14) shafts;
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MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 131
21 inches thick respectively, are present. In the town of Ontario,
Wayne county, is the fourth area, with a bed of fossil ore 18 to 36
inches thick. This part has been worked by surface stripping for
a distance of 5 or 6 miles along the outcrop and explored for several
miles additional.
In their entirety the Clinton ores constitute the most considerable
ore reserve that is known to exist in the State. It is estimated on
a conservative basis that approximately 600,000,000 tons of the ore
exist in the three principal areas already opened in ore seams at
least 18 inches thick and under less than 500 feet of cover.
The Clinton hematites average about 4o per cent iron, taking the
heavier seams only into account. The odlitic member in Oneida
county gave an average return in one of the mines of 40.27 per cent;
while separate analyses showed from 30 to 56 per cent. The fossil
ore of the western section contains from 35 to 45 per cent iron as
an average. Phosphorus is relatively high in most of the seams,
ranging from .25 to 1 per cent, or from 1 to 2 per cent reckoned on
the basis of metallic iron. It is thus mainly serviceable for foundry
iron, which was formerly made in local furnaces at Kirkland, Franklin
Iron Works and other places along the belt.
Borst mines. The principal mine operations in the eastern section
in recent years have been carried on at Clinton by C. A. Borst.
The output has been used in part for grinding into paint, for which
the Clinton ore is excellently adapted, but the greater share has
been sold to iron furnaces in Pennsylvania. The mines are worked
underground by the long-wall method, the entry being from the
west and the face of ore being worked along the dip so as to provide
natural drainage and also a favorable grade for tramming. The
ore is inclosed by shale of which about 2 feet is blasted down from
the roof to give working room. The mine equipment is complete
and modern in type. The seam worked is about 30 inches thick
and returns 40 to 45 per cent iron.
The mines formerly operated by the Franklin Iron Manufacturing
Co. are also at Clinton. They were mainly worked in the period
after 1880 and up to 1907. The mine lay-out and ore conditions
are similar to those at the Borst mines.
East and west of Clinton are a number of old open-cut mines
once used to supply ore for the Kirkland, Franklin Iron Works and
Taberg furnaces.
Fair Haven mines. At Sterling Station, Cayuga county, the Fair
Haven Iron Co. conducted operations a few years ago by steam
shovel methods, stripping 10 to 25 feet of soil and shale which overlies
~
a
132 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
a seam of fossil hematite 30 to 38 inches thick. The ore is reported
to have averaged 36 to 38 per cent iron. Above the main seam is a
4-inch seam of hematite and one or more thin limestone layers.
West of this property are open cut mines worked in 1887 and
1888 by the Furnaceville Iron Co.
Ontario mines. The town of Ontario, Wayne county, has yielded
most of the ore output from the western Clinton belt. The workings
extend almost continuously across the whole width of the township
and for one-fourth of a mile and more back from the outcrop. The
bed continues east into the adjoining town of Williamson for at
least 2 miles but has not been mined in that part. The line of
workings lies 3 miles south of Lake Ontario and 4 mile north of the
Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg branch of the New York Central
lines. The ore is the fossil type and averages 20 inches thick. The
Furnaceville Iron Co., the Ontario Iron Co. and the Wayne Iron Ore
Co. have been engaged in mining here in recent years by the open
cut method. The ore is stripped in longitudinal stretches, the width
of which is determined by the operating radius of the shovel, usually
about 45 feet. The débris from the overburden is spoiled to the
north of the cut from which the ore was removed in the previous
operation. When the bench has been exposed it is loosened by
blasting and then loaded by a smaller shovel into cars for shipment.
5 Limonttes of Dutchess and Columbia Counties
The limonite deposits of Dutchess and Columbia counties are a
part of a long series of similar deposits that extend from Vermont
through Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and south to
Alabama along the main Appalachian uplift: They occur in the
belt of metamorphosed Paleozoic sediments which lies to the west
of the Precambrian crystalline belt represented in New York State
by the Hudson Highlands.
There are two principal groups of deposits; the one running
northeast from Fishkill in the valley of Fishkill creek, Dutchess
county, and the other farther east following the north-south valley
traversed by the Harlem Railroad from the Highlands in Dutchess
county to Hillsdale, Columbia county. The latter group is the
more important. The geologic formations within the vicinity com-
prise Precambrian gneisses and stratified quartzites, limestones and
schists. The quartzites lie immediately on the gneiss and have
been assigned to the Lower Cambrian; the limestones and schists
above are supposed to range from Cambrian to Ordovician in age.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 133
According to Smock, who visited many of the mine localities
when operations were in progress and thus had advantages for
observation not now obtainable, the ore occurs in limestones or
along the contact of limestone and schist, or it lies wholly within
the latter; as a rule the contact affords the most favorable locus
for the ore occurrence. The limonite occurs in small irregular
pockets as well as large bodies and is accompanied by ochreous clay.
Some carbonate is found in the workings, intermixed with the
limonite or forming independent bodies or horses within the latter.
It is the principal ore in one or two of the mines, notably in the
Morgan, south of Halstead station, Columbia county, and can be
seen in large bodies in the Amenia mine although here the ore is
mostly limonite. The carbonate often has a brownish coating of
oxide, so that its existence may not be inferred at first glance. It
has been suggested by several writers that the carbonate constitutes
the original ore from which the limonite has been derived by oxidation
and hydration under surface conditions; this view is probably correct
in the main, although it is not unlikely that some of the limonite
has been formed directly by the weathering of pyrite that occurs
rather freely in the schists. There is some question about the
method of accumulation of the carbonate; Dana and others have
considered the siderite to lie in interbedded seams with the limestone
and schists, which if true would mean that the deposits are continuous
with the wall rocks; on the other hand, the explanation that the
iron has been introduced in solution and as a replacement of the
limestone seems more in conformity with the present known facts
of the field occurrence.
The more important mines of the district lie within or close to the
limestone valley that borders the high ridges of the Berkshires on
the west and extends north and south along the New York and
Massachusetts-Connecticut state line. The valley is narrow and
broken in places by minor ridges of schist which rise on the west
side into a series of prominences somewhat less rugged than those
on the east side. This valley is followed by the Harlem Railroad
(New York Central lines) and most of the mines are close by. The
list of the larger productive properties includes the Dover, Amenia,
Manhattan, Maltby, Mt Riga, Dakin and Kelly mines in Dutchess
county and farther north the Morgan, Reynolds, Weed, Copake,
Hillsdale, Mitchell and Haight mines in Columbia county. In
the Fishkill-Clove valley are the Shenandoah, Sylvan Lake, Pawling,
Beekman and Clove mines, all in Dutchess county.
134 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
‘The mines are mainly open pits, but drifts may be run from the
sides or bottom along the course of the ore and mining carried on
partly underground. The stripping varies from a few feet to over
too feet. In the deeper bodies it would appear that underground
REFERENCE,
@Limonite,
pe ae
E
MAP
SHOWING LOCATION OF
IRON MINES
EAST OF THE HUDSON RIVER.
The southeastern limonite district (after Putnam)
work with caving might be introduced and would be more economical
than stripping so much cover. A few mines were worked through
vertical shafts. The abandoned open pits are now filled with water to
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 135
within a few feet of the surface; some are 500 to 600 feet long and
too to 200 feet wide. As much as 200,000 tons of ore have been
mined from a single pit within 150 feet of the surface. Few, if any,
of the deposits were exhausted by the previous operations; the
production of ore became unprofitable with the loss of the local
markets supplied by the Poughkeepsie and other nearby furnaces
and through competition with the Lake Superior ores. The active
period of exploitation may be said to have ended about 1893.
The ores occur in coherent masses and in earthy condition, the
former called “rock ore’’ which is sorted by hand and the latter
“‘wash ore’ being the residue obtained after the removal of the
clay and sand by washing. Themasses occur in spheroidal, stalactitic
and irregular shapes. The iron content of the shipping product
ranges from 4o to 50 per cent and the phosphorus below .5 per cent
and occasionally below the Bessemer limit. The sulphur content
is low.
There is little doubt that in the course of time the ores will again
be in request. Some of the more accessible properties possibly
could be worked under present conditions.
In the western part of Columbia county, a short distance from
the Hudson river there is a small district that has produced carbonate
ores. The deposits lie along the western slope of a range of hills
that begins just south of the city of Hudson. They are included
between slates and quartzites and show some points of similarity
to the limonites above described. ‘The Burden mines are the largest
in the district, they were worked between 1875 and 1901. ‘The ore
is a gray compact siderite containing some calcite, quartz and
pyrite. The silica percentage is apt to be rather high, and it is
necessary to subject the ores to a roast to remove the sulphur and
increase the iron. The greater part of the mined product was of
Bessemer character. The production of limonite in southeastern
New York ceased practically in 1905, since which time the industry
has been dormant except for an occasional shipment.
Amenia mines. One of the larger mine workings in the limonite
district is at Amenia in a small north-south notch in the ridge just
west of the village. There are three pits, the Gridley, Palmer and
Weed, but all are opened on the same body of ore and together form
a continuous trench one-half of a mile long. The deposit lies along.
the contact of a fissile micaceous schist which can be seen on the
east side of the workings at the north end, and white crystalline
limestone which is now concealed but is said to have been exposed
in the bottom of the pits and on the west wall of the Palmer pit.
136 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
The strata have a dip of 60° to 70° to the east and trend a little
east of north. The ore probably makes under the schist to the
east but has not been followed far in that direction on account of
the heavy overburden. The pit in places is 300 feet across.
Glacial Limestone
Schigt Protalys
Lime stone
Cross-section of the Amenia limonite mine (after Putnam)
The ore is in part of soft ochreous character and partly consists
of hard lumps and hollow spherical masses (“‘ bombs’’). Bodies
of carbonate (locally called ‘‘ white horse’’) have been left in the
workings, apparently on account of its lower iron content. Some
of the carbonate was mined and used in the furnace at Wassaic.
The washed limonite is reported to have carried 44 to 51 per cent
iron and phosphorus up to .4 or .5 per cent.
The Palmer and Weed pits at the north are called the Amenia
mine which has been worked more extensively than the Gridley
mine and has shipped some ore in recent years. Smock credits the
Amenia mine with an output of 200,000 tons in the period of 20
years preceding 1889. There is a washing and pumping plant on
the property. .
Manhattan mine. The Manhattan mine is situated at Sharon
station, just west of the tracks of the Harlem Railroad. The output
at one time was shipped to the furnaces of the Manhattan Iron
Works in New York City, long since dismantled. In the early
eighties it was worked by the Sharon Bessemer Ore and Iron Co.
who ceased operations in 1888; since then the property has been
idle. The pit is now filled with water, forming a pond soo feet in
diameter. The ore is covered by a variable amount of drift which
thickens to the south and lies upon limestone. At the south end
of the pit as much as 160 feet of stripping has been removed, but
to the south and near the highway the ore comes to within 4o feet
of the surface. The cover increases also to the east where the ore
extends on the dip of the limestone and under the schist which has
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 137
been encountered in drill holes recently put down by the Ramapo
Ore Co. It appears that the main ore body follows the contact
of the two formations which have a northeasterly strike and a
southeasterly dip of 30° or a little more.
The ore of this mine is lower in phosphorus than the usual run
of the limonites. Analyses of the washed ore shows 47 to 50 per
cent iron and .o4 to .og per cent phosphorus.
Maltby mine. This large open pit is 14 miles northeast of Millerton
and almost on the Connecticut line, within sight of the famous
Orehill mines which lie across the border to the southeast. The
Central New England Railroad adjoins the property on the west.
The mine was last worked by the Thomas Iron Co. which ceased
work in 1891, but previously had been operated by C. S. Maltby
and the ore smelted in a furnace at the mine. The pit is about
600 feet long northeast and southwest and 4oo feet wide. The
ore apparently lies between limestone which shows on the southeast
side and the schist, although the latter does not appear in outcrop.
There are three bands of ore exposed on the southeast wall, two of
which are narrow and inclosed within limestone and a thicker band
of 50 or 60 feet lying on limestone and covered by drift. The
limestone dips 45° or so to the northeast. W. H. Hobbs (see
references at end of chapter) has given a section of the formations
which indicate that the ore is repeated by faulting, although the
evidence on this matter is not very clear.
Analyses of the ore are reported by Putnam who found the
washed limonite to contain 41 per cent iron and .156 phosphorus,
and the lump or rock ore 48 per cent iron and .215 phosphorus.
The mine is reported to have been opened in 1750. Its output is
not recorded.
Mt Riga mine. The Mt Riga mine is an open pit 500 feet long
and 100 to 200 feet wide, one-half of a mile southeast of Mt Riga
station on the Harlem Railroad. The last work on the mine was
performed by Barnum, Richardson & Co. about 1888; previously
operations had been carried on by the Mt Riga Iron & Mining Co.
which stopped work in February 1885. The present owner of the
property is George E. Kaye of Mt Riga. ‘There are few details
available about the mine which is now filled with water, but it
would appear that the ore rested on limestone and was capped by
drift which is 50 feet thick on the south end of the pit. Putnam
reports that the average stripping was 15 feet and that the yield
of washed ore was one-half the mined product. A sample from
500 tons of washed ore returned 41.6 per cent iron and .61
phosphorus.
138 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
The ore body continues to the south beyond the pit and onto
the property of Mrs C. B. Miller where some ore was taken out
through shafts, one of which is across the highway to the southeast
of the pit. .
Between Boston Corners and Mt Riga at the foot of the high
ridge which lies along the state line are the Kelly and Dakin mines,
of which few particulars are to be had. The Dakin is a little north
of Mt Riga and the Kelly still farther distant.
Weed mine. The Weed mine has been recently under operation
by Barnum, Richardson & Co. for supply of their furnaces at
Limerock, Conn. The mine is equipped with a new hoist and
washing plant. The property is 14 miles north of Boston Corners,
between the Harlem Railroad and the Central New England Rail-
road. The ore is opened by a long trench and followed underground
on the easterly dip which carries it below the schist hanging wall.
The foot wall is of the same schist, but of less weathered character.
The dip is about 35°. The mine had yielded 168,000 tons up to
the time of Putnam’s report for the tenth census. An analysis
reported by Smock shows 43 per cent iron and .11 phosphorus.
_ Copake mines. These are at Copake Iron Works on both sides
of the Harlem Railroad. There are two openings to the west of
the tracks which represent the earlier operations while the larger
and more recently worked mine is northeast of the station. The
latter is a pit 500 feet long and up to 200 feet wide opened in glacial
materials, except at the northeast end where a bluish white limestone
appears showing a dip of 25° or so to the east. The ore appears
to lie in a depression of the limestone and apparently near the top —
of the beds, as the schist may be seen nearly on a line with the pit
to the north. The contact between the two formations is approxi-
mately indicated by the brook which flows south by the pit. There
are small openings just north of the main pit and prospects with
indications of ore for some distance farther north. The mine was
closed about 1888. It was operated in connection with the Copake
furnace both owned at present by John Mills, Twin Lakes, Conn.
There is more or less carbonate intermixed with the limonite, and
in one of the prospects on the north end it is practically the only
ore. Putnam reports that a sample of washed and lump limonite
combined returned 46.8 iron and .424 phosphorus. A sample of
the carbonate contained 30.8 iron and .248 phosphorus.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 139
6 The Staten Island Limonites
The limonites of Staten island supply an interesting example
of ore occurrence, but are no longer of commercial importance. In
character and probably in genesis they are closely parallel to the
limonite ores of eastern Cuba which have recently come into
prominence; their restricted distribution, however, excludes them
from consideration as a basis for present day mining. They are
found on the serpentine ridge which constitutes the backbone of
the island, the higher ground between St George on the north shore
and Richmond in the central part. The serpentine represents the
altered product of a basic intrusive of the peridotite class of rocks.
Little of the original silicates is now left, although occasionally
particles of pyroxene and olivine bear witness to the original character
of the mass, as does also the chromite which is distributed in small
grains all through the serpentine. The ore lies in depressions upon
the serpentine and is covered by clays and sand: a small percentage
of chromium is present, according to the published analyses which
show 38-55 per cent iron; also cobalt and nickel. The old mine
localities are about 1 mile north of New Dorp station (New Dorp
mine) at the Four Corners on the Richmond turnpike (Tyson’s
mine) and on the Ocean Terrace road (Cooper & Hewitt mine).
A detailed account of the occurrences is found in Putnam’s article
in the Tenth Census reports. The ore yield is placed at 250,000
tons. Mining terminated about 1880.
References
Beck, Lewis C. Mineralogy of New York, 1842
Eckel, Edwin C. Limonite Deposits of Eastern New York and Western New
England. U.S. Geol. Surv. Bul. 260, 1905, p. 335-42
Emmons, Ebenezer. Geology of New York. Report on the 2d Dist., 1842
Hall, James. Geology of New York. Report on the 4th Dist., 1843
Kemp, J. F. The Geology of the Magnetites near Port Henry, N. Y., and
especially those of Mineville. Amer. Inst. Min. Eng. Trans., v. 27, 1897
— Titaniferous Iron Ores of the Adirondacks. U.S. Geol. Sur. 19th Ann.
Rep’t, pt 3, 1899
Geology of the Elizabethtown and Port Henry Quadrangles. N. Y.
State Mus. Bul. 138, r910
Koeberlin, F. R. The Brewster Iron Bearing District of New York. Economic
Geol., v. 4, 1909
Nason, F. L. Notes on Some of the Iron Bearing Rocks of the Adirondack
Mountains. Amer. Geol., v. 12, 1893
Newland, D.H. Geology of the Adirondack Magnetic Iron Ores, with a Report
on the Mineville-Port Henry Group, by J. F. Kemp. N. Y. State Mus. Bul.
119, 1908
140 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Newland, D. H. Onthe Associations and Origin of the Nontitaniferous Magne-
tites in the Adirondack Region. Economic Geol., v. 2, 1907
& Hartnagel, C. A. Iron Ores of the Clinton Formation in New York
State. N. Y. State Mus. Bul. 123, 1908
Putnam, B. F. Notes on Samples of Iron Ores Collected in New York. Reports
of the Tenth Census, v. 5, 1886
Smock, J. C. First Report on the Iron Mines and Iron Ore Districts in the
State of New York. N. Y. State Mus. Bul. 7, 1889
Smyth, C. H. jr Report on the Geology of Four Townships in St Lawrence
and Jefferson Counties. N. Y. State Mus. 47th Ann. Rep’t, 189:
On the Clinton Iron Ore. Amer. Jour. Sci., v. 43, 1892
Wendt, A. F. The Iron Mines of Putnam County, New York. Amer. Inst.
Min. Eng. Trans., v. 13, 1884
LEAD
Galena, the principal ore of lead, is associated to some extent
with the zinc ores in the Edwards district and also with the zinc
deposits in the Shawangunk region. A description of the occurrences
in these two districts will be found under zinc. Lead alone, or
with minor amounts of zinc, was once mined in the western part
of St Lawrence county, notably in the towns of Rossie and Macomb,
also in the town of Alexandria, Jefferson county; in the town of
Ancram, Columbia county; town of Northeast, Dutchess county;
and in a few other places. :
At the time of the First Geological Survey of New York State
1836-40, much interest was manifested in the deposits in the towns
of Rossie and Macomb. A very full account of the lead occurrences
and of the mining operations is given in the report by Professor
Emmons on the Third District. The Coal Hill and Victoria veins
are particularly mentioned by Professor Emmons as having been
the basis of rather active exploration in the early days.
The Coal Hill vein was worked by two companies, the eastern
section having been under operation by the Rossie Lead Mining
Co. and the western section by the Rossie Galena Co. According
to the local records mining at this locality began about 1836 and
the output of ore was smelted at a furnace on Indian river, about
1 mile distant from the mines. The product of the two companies
up to the time they ceased operations was. 3,250,690 pounds of
metallic lead. The average content of the furnace ore is said to
have been 67 per cent. It appears that in 1852 operations were
again revived by the Great Northern Lead Co. which employed a
number of practical miners from Cornwall, England, and work
was extensively prosecuted for about 2 or 3 years. Later the mines
and works were leased by J. B. Morgan who operated them for a
time. In 1868 the plant was finally closed and has remained idle
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK T41I
since. The Coal Hill vein outcrops on the face and top of a flat
knob of gneiss and occupies a vertical fissure from 2 to 6 feet wide
within a parallel zone of brecciated rock. The strike is north 80°
west. The galena occurs in disseminated particles and in larger
masses within calcite gangue. The lead ore is accompanied by
minor amounts of chalcopyrite, sphalerite and pyrite and a little
fluorite. The wall rock consists of a gray gneiss which has been
intruded by red granite.
The Victoria mine, also known as the Pardee mine, lies 13 miles
south of Rossie and about 1 mile northeast of the Coal Hill mine.
Its situation is similar, the vein being exposed along the side and
dip of a low ridge of grayish, more or less granitized gneiss. The
strike is a little north of west and the dip approximately vertical.
It was opened about the same time as the Coal Hill property. A
vertical shaft was put down at the base of the hill reaching a reported
depth of 300 feet and other shafts were sunk on top of the ridge.
The vein ranges from 2 to 4 feet in width and is composed of calcite
carrying some galena and minor amounts of sphalerite, chalcopyrite,
pyrite and green fluorite. Considerable brecciation has occurred
along the fissure and stringers of the material make off into walls
for short distances. The country rock on the outcrop of the vein
is an injected gneiss but it would appear likely that limestone was
encountered in depth since there are large blocks of this material
on the spoil bank. A separating works and smelter were erected on
the property to treat the ore of the mine. The output of metallic
lead is not known.
Another place where mining for lead was carried on in the middle
years of the last century is at Mineral Point on Black lake, town
of Macomb. The deposit is said to have been discovered about
1836 and 3 years later a company known as the Mineral Point Lead
Manufacturing Co. was organized to work the deposit. Very little
is known about the outcome of these early operations. In the
sixties of the last century the property was leased by J. B. Morgan
who also for a time operated the Coal Hill property. The occurrence
is very similar in its features to the deposits in Rossie, the vein
occurring in gneiss and consisting of a small fissure filled with calcite
and carrying sulphides of lead, copper and iron.
Another galena vein occurs on the farm of F. E. Turner, some
three miles north of Brasie Corners, town of Macomb. It measures
up to 2 or 3 feet in width and can be followed for 100 feet or more
along the edge of a limestone ridge. In places it carries abundant
galena with minor amounts of sphalerite and would be workable
142 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
if the ore were obtainable in larger quantity. The deposit was
operated in a small way 10 years ago by H. D. Tann of Pierces
- Corners.
About one-half of a mile south of Pierces Corners or Macomb
a lead vein occurs on the Downing farm where operations were
carried on in a small way about 12 years ago. There is a shaft
25 or 30 feet deep. It was operated by J. H. Donovan.
About 1 mile south of Pierces Corners is an occurrence of lead
on the Pennock farm. The developments consist of two vertical
shafts about 200 feet apart located on a fractured zone which strikes
about north 70° west and measures about 15 feet wide. The
westerly shaft is said to be 150 feet deep. Near the eastern shaft
there is an open cut of 15 feet into the hill in which the shaft has
been sunk and from this a considerable quantity of ore was taken
a few years ago, although the main operations were carried on by
J. B. Morgan in the middle of the last century. The stack of an
old furnace still stands on the property.
Lead also occurs on the Jones farm about 1 mile southeast of
Pierces Corners, where some prospecting was carried on about 10
years ago.
An interesting occurrence of galena is found about three-quarters
of a mile north of the village of Redwood, town of Alexandria,
Jefferson county. It is exposed on the sides of a low cut along
the railroad north of the Redwood station. The outcrop of the
vein is in Potsdam sandstone which forms a knob with an exposed
thickness of from 35 to 4o feet. The sandstone along the sides
of the vein is much fractured and shows vertical joining. The
main vein is about 4 feet wide and contains 2.feet of solid calcite
in the middle with a foot or so of brecciated sandstone cemented
by calcite on either side. The strike is north 55° west. The vein
can be traced from the railroad cuit to the southeast across the
adjoining field to a little ravine and west of the cut for about 200
teet over the top of the hill. It has been opened in several places
but the date of the operations are not known. The vein does not
carry any large amount of galena. It is apparent from the field
relations that the sandstone overlies Grenville limestone as the
latter is exposed in considerable force just north of the sandstone
knob. The limestone itself is characterized by a small amount of
galena in disseminated grains and crystals.
Galena was mined at one time in the town of Ancram, Columbia
county, at the locality known as the Ancram Lead Mines, a station
on the Central New England Railroad between Boston Corners and
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 143
Pine Plains. The deposit is reported to consist of 2 or 3 small veins
which lie along the contact of limestone and schist. The ore is
rather lean, carrying small amounts of galena with some chalco-
pyrite, sphalerite and occasional barite, in a gangue of calcite and
quartz. The property has been explored on an extensive scale, as
evidenced by the shafts and underground workings and the large
accumulation of waste, but the operations were never profitable.
The galena contains a little silver.
Additional occurrences of galena have been recorded in various
parts of the State. Near Smithfield, town of Northeast, Dutchess
county, is a small vein that has produced some ore; it is reported
to have been worked as early as 1740 and the ore shipped to Bristol,
England, and again during the Revolutionary War, when a few tons
of lead were produced. Another locality is Ossining, Westchester
county, where galena occurs with other lead minerals in dolomitic
limestone. At White Creek, Washington county, it is found in
small stringers in slate. In Montgomery county, 13 miles south of
Sprakers Basin, veins of galena associated with sphalerite and
pyrite are found in shale. Other localities are Schoharie, Schoharie
county; Martinsburg, Lewis county; towns of Vernon and West-
moreland, Oneida county; and near Rochester, Monroe county.
References
Beck, Lewis C. Mineralogy of New York, 1842
Emmons, Ebenezer. Geology of New York. Report on the 2d Dist., 1842
Mather, W. W. Geology of New York, Report on Ist Dist., 1843
Smyth, C. H. jr The Rossie Lead Veins. School of Mines Quarterly, July 1903
Whitlock, H. P. Minerals not Commercially Important. N. Y. State Geol.
23d Ann. Rep’t, 1904
MANGANESE ORE
The manganese compounds that serve as ores of manganese have
-only a very restricted representation in the State. The two com-
moner minerals are pyrolusite, the dioxide, and psilomelane, the
hydrous oxide. The latter contains usually more or less iron and
grades into an impure earthy substance called wad. There are no
considerable deposits of pyrolusite anywhere in the State; in fact
it may be said that there are no deposits in which the mineral is
found by itself, and only such minor quantities as may be present
in the superficial coatings of pyrolusite on other minerals. Psilo-
melane is found in greater abundance but of a low grade of quality.
W. W. Mather in his reports on the First Geological Survey of
144 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
New York gives an account of the occurrence of wad in Columbia
and Dutchess counties which it appears was the source of some
-commercial ore during the middle part of the last century. Recently
the deposits were relocated and explored by Professor Nelson C.
Dale, who has prepared a paper! on the occurrences for publication
by the State Museum. The following abridged account is based on
information given by Professor Dale in the paper mentioned.
The ore occurs in a district that extends some 25 miles north and
south and lies mainly within the towns of Canaan, Hillsdale and
Ancram, Columbia county. It comprises an area altogether of 125
of 150 square miles in the western foothills of the Taconic range.
The manganese is distributed within certain swamps or marshes
which occupy small depressions in saddles or divides between the
hills or in terrace-like benches at the foot of the prominences, usually
at an elevation of 1200 to 1400 feet above sea level. These bogs
serve as catchment basins for the drainage from the higher ground
and discharge into the Hudson river. The area is largely underlaid
by slates and schists of Ordovician age.
The bog manganese is found as nodules and nodular aggregates
sometimes cemented into a more or less firm mass, inclosed in a
matrix of whitish clay. It is thought that the manganese is derived
by leaching of the small amounts present in the country rocks and
is carried into the bogs as soluble bicarbonate where its precipitation
takes place through oxidation or as the result of reaction with cal-
cium bicarbonate. ?
nee fe /
ou Ca
SEW JO 30v9S
168 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
the lake shore belt of Chautauqua county and in the interior districts
included in Genesee, Monroe, Ontario, Livingston and other counties.
- The Medina is the most prolific of the New York gas formations
and for a number of years has contributed considerably more than
one-half of the annual flow for the entire State.
The development of local gas pools in the area around the east
end of Lake Ontario resulted from experimental drilling that was
chiefly carried out in the few years preceding and following 1890;
this exploration was initiated independently of operations elsewhere
in the State, as the conditions are widely different from those in the
older fields. Perhaps the incentive for testing the possibilities of
gas in the formations below the Medina came from the contem-
poraneous discovery of the great gas and oil fields in the Trenton
formation of Ohio and Indiana. At any rate, as was brought out
by Prof. Edward Orton’s investigation, the main yield of gas in
the Lake Ontario district comes from the Trenton limestone, the
lowest horizon in which any considerable pools have been found up
to the present. The particular beds that hold the gas are the
extension underground of the Trenton belt which lies along the
western margin of the Adirondacks and that in Jefferson county
reaches from the Adirondacks foothills west to Lake Ontario and
the St Lawrence river. They have a southerly dip and where tapped
by the wells are covered by the shale formations of the Cincinnati
group with an additional thickness of Medina shales in the more
westerly localities. The productive pools so far exploited are
restricted to Oswego county and the northern part of Onondaga
county.
The Pavilion district represents the most important of the rela-
tively recent discoveries of gas in the State. The first holes were
drilled in 1906, since which time some sixty wells have been brought
in which have maintained a very steady flow. It lies in the south-
east corner of Genesee county, having Livingston county on the
east and Wyoming county to the south. The gas horizon is in the
upper Medina formation, the flow coming mainly from the last
20 feet of the sandstone, which here measures about too feet thick.
The limits of the field seem to be fairly well marked out by the
borings; it is one of the few districts in which sufficient data are
obtainable to indicate the precise structural features surrounding the
accumulations of the gas and for that reason is of much interest.
Production. The statistics of natural gas production for the years
since 1897, covering the more active period, are given below. They
are in part taken from Mineral Resources, published by the United |
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 169
States Geological Survey and partly compiled from direct reports
from the field.
Production of natural gas in New York
NUMBER OF| PRODUCTION
yeh WELLS M CUBIC FEET Neate
DENS? cus Wlepbeenbugl iglesia tA BEY | Met ae ee ae $200 076
TOS). o\a B ceadd Ong ey AP URE ee RC ee 712222 A De ALTE CSA 229 078
MSO OMI Re oe Ls uinopehboye Mein agsiisyabspereue AT Mi saa Bal ay ticay ah) aie 294 593
MO OOMM Te ee sie oe cae sheceie gentle OAM fia a eis cee anna 335 367
LOC cic 0 6 ener cna as Rea ae A ESI (Na A ee ot He 293 232
OOD 6 500575 Chae Had Nc Or en nent G2G ee ws Leo nes 346 471
TO OZ craesichisl OB ena MAO NAM Hee a Nena TOOU aden er ene 493 686
OVO 6 ere bil) nie Ean CR So EA 744 2 399 987 552 197
TOOE 10'S e hers ae are ene ene Sonn 839 2 639 130 607 000
TOOOé -orgievbhe: See ae ara Stele a Risen 919 3 007 086 766 579
TOOT ost aia oi eae oe Be a ee 925 3 052 145 800 O14
MO OSes Red Akoueicwigahe cps Cy-oicepsyey® dey bps I 100 3 860 000 987 775
MG OOQMP Me renerehs epee ieie Sele ee eseiece I 280 3 825 215 I 145 693
TOMI ee tay. eR LASTS EN SO), I 340 4 815 643 I 411 699
TROD ew a afl a) an WP aren siten's. auiey@ AN I 403 5 127 571 I 547 077
1@UB ais. 4-8 Bisa IR ts eat a eee I 660 6 564 659 I 882 297
T@)II Sic. cles HAGUE RE ERED I 750 8 555 429 2 549 227
TONE AL BUS Rae ohe eet ERR Can ene I 797 8 714 681 2 570 165
GIES eed Se Re a A Stee 2 O51 7 810 040 2 335 324
TiS)EE CO) eee RR a SR 2 068 8 035 632 2 355 320
TO 7 Sy ros SO Ce Oe ne ene: anes oe 2 078 8 371 747 2 499 303
TGS oe yee eh abet ties ey eae MI 2 114 8 460 583 5 673 131
A steady gain in production has characterized the course of the
industry during most of the period, a feature which may be attrib-
uted to the sustained flow of the pools supplemented by the incre-
ment obtained from a few new districts.
FEATURES OF DISTRIBUTION OF NATURAL GAS
The available area for the occurrence of natural gas may be
broadly indicated by reference to the main geological elements of
the State.
It is to be noted in the first place that the sedimentary rocks
alone afford appropriate environment for the formation and storage
of natural gas and petroleum. The derivation of both of these
materials undoubtedly is traceable to the organic matter enclosed
by the beds at the time of their deposition, and consisting probably
of animal remains in large part, just as coal represents the accumu-
lation of plant tissue under similar conditions. Of the different
kinds of sediments, shales often contain noticeable amounts of
170 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
organic matter in the form of hydrocarbons, and occasionally carry
so much of these that they may be of economic value for the produc-
tion of oil by artificial distillation. In nature the process by which
organic matter is converted into oil and gas goes on very slowly,
but once under way it may continue for indefinite periods of time
with cumulative results.
A large mass of shale may thus be considered favorable to the
generation of oil and gas, but it is not necessarily significant of their
existence in any locality in economic quantity. For this it is also
essential that a suitable repository or place of storage be provided. |
Shales ordinarily are ill adapted for this purpose; they have too
little pore space, and under pressure from an overlying load of
sediments, their joints and seams, which near the surface afford
some room for water, become tight through movements of the mass.
Limestones, likewise are usually closely textured, but often contain
cavities and openings produced by solution of underground waters,
which may be connected into a more or less continuous series by the
natural joints and bedding planes. They may have consequently
a fairly high storage capacity and show considerable persistence in
yield. The best materials for holding gas, oil or water are sand-
stones and unconsolidated beds of sand, whose porosity in individual
examples ranges from 4 or 5 per cent to about 30 per cent. Their
absorbing power varies with the size and the shape of the grains
and the conditions with reference to bond. Estimates of the porosity
of the oil sands of Pennsylvania seem to converge around 10 per
cent as an average. The effective porosity is greater for gas than
for oil since the movement of the former through the small openings
is not affected by friction to the same extent or by capillarity.
The potentially important gas horizons are to be found in the
great succession of Paleozoic rocks which spread over all the State
west of the Hudson river with the exception of the Adirondack
Highland on the north, where the rocks like those of the Hudson
Highlands are of Precambrian age and of igneous or metamorphic
character.
Neither the Adirondacks nor the Hudson Highlands hold any
possibilities for the production of gas or oil. Onthe borders of the Adi-
rondacks and for several miles outward the lower Paleozoic sedi-
ments which overlap on the older crystallines do not attain sufficient
thickness to store any large supplies of gas. West of the Black
river and south of the Mohawk, however, the sedimentary succession
rapidly thickens with the appearance of new and higher formations.
Thus the Precambrian basement in the vicinity of Pulaski, Oswego
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 171
county, at the east end of Lake Ontario, is reached at 1425 feet
depth. At Central Square, farther south, it lies 2415 feet from the
surface. At Utica granite is found at 1855 feet depth. In Onon-
daga county the basement is 3000 feet or more below the surface,
as shown by deep wells at Baldwinsville and Jordan.
The thickness of the Paleozoic section in western New York
normally increases from north to south at the rate of from 50 to 100
feet to the mile, with allowance for the variations in the elevation
above sea level. This is the indicated dip of the Medina formation
as taken from records of a large number of wells distributed over
the central section to the south of the line of outcrop which lies
along the shore of Lake Ontario from Oswego county to the Niagara
river.
Main gas horizons. Natural gas has been found over a wide
range of the Paleozoic formations that extend in general from the
Potsdam sandstone in the Cambrian to the higher Devonian strata
represented by the Chemung sandstone, and also probably includes
the basal Carboniferous which occupies a limited area in the extreme
southwestern part of the State as a northerly extension of the main
Appalachian belt. The largest and more permanent flows, however,
come from a few stratigraphic horizons, which are here given in
order of succession.
GAS-BEARING STRATA DEVELOPED POOLS, BY COUNTIES
Chemung and Portage sandstones....... Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua,
Steuben
Wianeelltrsishales . ccc. uc sploccs che heels « Cattaraugus, Erie, Livingston,
Ontario
Onondaga limestone................0.. Cattaraugus, Erie
Salinaywaterlime wn) fs anh. Nose heie doce Cattaraugus, Erie
IMiedinaysandstone ss. <,sccssvefe cls iec vi eiote sme Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie,
Genesee, Livingston, Monroe,
Ontario, Wyoming
Miremtonilimestone ss gin. cte tose eens: Niagara, Onondaga, Oswego, Oneida
The Chemung and Portage are here classed together, as the
horizons that yield the gas have not been well defined as yet. Some
wells are known to give flows from both formations. , In the southern
section of Allegany and Cattaraugus counties the productive strata
may include Carboniferous representatives, as in certain districts
there is a considerable thickness of these rocks above the Chemung
and the boundary can not be established from the well records.
In parts of Steuben, Allegany and Cattaraugus counties both oil
and gas are obtained within the Upper Devonian strata. In the
172 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
northern part of Cattaraugus county and central and northern
Chautauqua county productive pools have been encountered in the
last few years by deep wells bottomed some rs00 feet or more below
the Chemung and Portage horizons. The lower gas-bearing strata _
are assigned with some degree of probability to the Medina formation.
The thickness of the Portage strata in western New York is placed
by Clarke and Luther at about goo feet. On the line of the Seneca
river it is 888 feet; and at Seneca lake 1122 feet. The Chemung
formation, according to the same authorities, is over 1ooo feet.
Along the Genesee the measured thickness is given as tors feet;
at Seneca lake, 1050 feet. In the Cayuga Lake region and farther
east to the Chenango valley the strata are even somewhat thicker
than indicated for the western sections.
The Marcellus beds are a black, soft bituminous shale that lies
above the Onondaga limestone in the area west of Schoharie county,
marking the beginning of the extensive shale accumulation that
continued through the Hamilton period. The black shale is 4o to
60 feet thick in the natural gas region and is a well-marked horizon
that commonly yields pockets of gas and occasionally more persistent
flows. It is likely the original source of much of the gas occurring
in the Onondaga limestone. The shale constitutes an element of
some difficulty and even danger to the exploration for salt in the
western part of the State, particularly in the excavation of shafts,
owing to the gas flows that are frequently encountered at this
horizon and that are sometimes violent when first tapped.
The Onondaga limestone and the Bertie waterlime, the latter
a part of the Salina series, constitute a subsidiary gas zone in parts
of Cattaraugus and Erie counties. The two form practically a
single horizon, so far as this area is concerned, for they are contiguous
formations or at most separated by a thin sandstone layer (Oriskany).
From the drill records it is frequently impossible to distinguish
between the two limestones. Most of the gas in the Onondaga
seems to occur in the “ bull-head’”’ stratum near the base which
is more porous and permeable than the Corniferous beds above.
The largest flows from these formations have been reported in the
district in southern Erie and within Cattaraugus county where the
wells are 1500 to 1700 feet deep.
The Medina sandstone represents the most widespread natural
gas zone in the State. Its importance did not gain recognition
until quite recently but is now fully appreciated by drillers who
are actively engaged in the search for new gas supplies in this horizon.
The first large district in this sandstone was opened in Erie county
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 173
in the townships east and southeast of Buffalo during the few years
succeeding 1899. Then followed the discoveries along the lake belt
in Chautauqua county where shallow wells in the Devonian had
long been in use, the opening of additional wells in central and
southern Erie county, the development of the Pavilion field in south-
eastern Genesee county and of other fields in the adjoining territory.
There are doubtless important supplies in the Medina yet to be
tapped, for the sandstone underlies an extensive area. Its outcrop
extends from the vicinity of Oneida lake in central New York west
for 150 miles to the Niagara river which it crosses and continues
into Canada. Its extension on the dip, which is to the south, has
been followed in places as far as 25 to 50 miles from the outcrop,
and no doubt it underlies all of western New York between the
outcrop and the Pennsylvania line. The inclination averages around
40 feet to the mile for the first several miles south, but seems to
flatten in the middle part of the State so that the depth to the Medina
in the southern tier of counties is less than would be anticipated
in view of the dip near the outcrop. The Medina sandstone repre-
sents only a part of the entire formation which includes a great
mass of red and gray shales with their sandy layers that measures
fully 1000 feet thick in western New York. The sandstone occurs
above the main shale beds through a vertical range of 100 to 150
feet, terminated at the base by a 25-foot bed of gray sandstone
(Whirlpool sandstone). Below the main shales at the base of the
Medina occurs the Oswego sandstone, 75 feet thick in western New
York. This is also a possible horizon for natural gas. Most of
the pools in the Medina proper seem to be contained in the middle
and lower beds of sandstone and above the thick shales.
The Trenton limestone, as the name is used in the natural gas
field, includes the assemblage of calcareous beds that lies just below
the Cincinnati shales and is composed of the Lowville, Black River
and Trenton stratigraphic units. The Trenton is developed in
the Champlain valley, along the Mohawk river to the south of the
Adirondacks, and in the Black River valley from which a broad
belt reaches west tc the St Lawrence river and Lake Ontario. It
does not outcrop in western New York, but is exposed on the north
shore of Lake Ontario under which the beds extend to the south
side so as to be encountered in wells all the way from Oswego
county to the Niagara river. In this section a dip of about 4o
feet to the mile is to be expected. On the west end in Niagara
and Erie counties the Trenton is credited by Bishop with a thickness
of 720 feet, mostly limestone. No important gas pools have been
174 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
encountered within the beds in that section. The most westerly
point at which any considerable flow has been met is at Baldwins-
ville, Onondaga county, where the top of the limestone lies 2240
to 2400 feet from the surface and is covered by 500 feet of Pulaski
and Utica shales. In Oswego county small but persistent wells
have been opened in the Trenton at Fulton, Pulaski and Lacona
where the first was drilled about 30 years ago. In this region the
Trenton aggregates 600 feet or over and is overlain by an equal
thickness of shale. Through the Mohawk valley the Trenton occurs
in more or less broken areas, with the outcrop lying close to the
Precambrian border; the character of the formation also changes,
shales largely superseding the limestones. In Oneida county, how-
ever, it is still undisturbed and appears in considerable thickness
in the wells at Rome and Utica. Gas flows that developed high
initial pressure have been found at Rome but they did not prove
persistent and no production has been recorded from them for
several years. The top of the limestone was found at 660 feet and
the thickness was a little over 400 feet. At Utica the limestone is
360 feet thick. In the lower Mohawk the Trenton is largely a
shale formation being represented chiefly by 700 feet of black shales
(Canajoharie shales) of lower Trenton age.
NOTES ON FIELD DEVELOPMENTS
The following pages summarize briefly the present stage of
development of the natural gas industry in the principal districts
which are listed according to the counties of their occurrence. The
information has been obtained by correspondence with the larger
producers and distributing companies, and from individual coopera-
tion of those engaged in field exploration. Among the latter Mr
D. W. Williams, formerly field expert for the Dominion Natural
_ Gas Co., Buffalo, has been particularly helpful. For the records
of the earlier developments preceding 1900, the reports by I. P.
Bishop and Edward Orton, listed at the end of this chapter, have been
freely used.
Allegany county. The gas belt lies in the southern townships
where the pools are found in sandstones that are probably to be
correlated with the productive oil and gas sands of the Bradford
field of Pennsylvania. The horizon is probably Chemung, but may
extend locally up into the Lower Carboniferous. Many of the
wells yield both oil and gas, and some of the latter is employed at
the well mouth for operating the pump. The excess of production
over the requirements for fuel and light at the source is sold to
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 175
distributing companies who operate pipe-lines in this district. Among
these are the Empire Gas and Fuel Co., the Producers Gas Co. and
the Iroquois Natural Gas Co.
Well records for southern Allegany county are given under the
head of petroleum elsewhere in this report.
In central and northern Allegany county exploration for gas and
oil has been carried on more or less extensively but without the
discovery so far of any extensive pools. It would appear that the
productive sands in the Devonian do not extend much north of the
Clarksville—Wirt—Andover town lines. However, there are possi-
ble deeper horizons for gas in the Onondaga or Medina which have
been found to contain pools in Cattaraugus county to the west.
Only a few deep wells in the territory are on record.
Hume well. A deep well in the town of Hume, northern Allegany
county, was drilled in 1899 on the Buel farm, 1 mile west of Hume
post office. The following record is reported by Bishop.!. The well
was practically dry.
Soil 35 feet
Shale 260
Shells and slate 280
Shale 401
Wet sand 402
Salt water 415
Shale 765
Gray sand 785
Shale 800
Gray sand, a little gas and oil I 055
Shale with some gas I 155
Soft brown shale I 177
Soft sand with gas I 192
Soft sand 1227
Sand with shale and show of oil T (234
Brown shale I 550
Light colored shale I 700
Very dark shale I 890
Hard flint rock I 925
Light colored shale I 945
Hard flint I 960
Soft light colored shale I 980
Flinty with shells, very hard 2 002
Dark shale 2 126
Very dark shale 2 174
White shale 2 380
Dark shale with occasional hard shells 2 550
Shale and shells 2 750
Hard xray and brown sand or limestone 2 840
Clear cock salt 2 900
Soft blue and red shale 3 O15
Blue and red shale 3 326
Canaseraga well. A test well at Canaseraga in the town of Burns
1N. Y. State Mus. Annual Rep’t 53, v. I, p. r108.
176 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
was drilled in 1908-9 by J. E. Dunnigan, Friendship, N. Y., who
supplied the following details. It showed a little gas.
Gray sand, some gas and oil at 275 feet
Second gas streak in sand at 400
Chocolate sand with a little gas and oil at 975
Black and brown shale chiefly to 2 650
Hard limestone at 2 650
Rock salt (65 ft.) at 3 050
Blue shale at 3 115
Blue shale to bottom at 3 200
The limestone found at 2650 feet was doubtless the Onondaga
but the top was probably reached before that depth, as the normal
distance between the salt and the first Onondaga beds in the
western areas is 500 to 600 feet.
Cattaraugus county. As in Allegany county, the principal gas
pools so far developed lie in the southern townships and are associated
with the oil-bearing strata in the higher Devonian formations, an
extension of the Pennsylvania oil and gas field. The productive
district covers parts of Olean, Allegany, Carrollton, Redhouse and
Humphrey townships. The reservoirs occur in sandstones that lie
at several levels from soo to 1600 feet depth. One of the horizons
is regarded by well drillers as the equivalent of the Bradford sand.
The first oil well was drilled in 1864 and the county was a large
producer for a time, but the wells now have to be pumped and the
average output is only a fraction of a barrel a day. The surplus
gas is sold to the distributing companies who have pipe-lines to the
larger consuming cities. Further details of wells will be found under
the head of petroleum.
Exploration for gas in northern Cattaraugus county has shown
the presence of deep horizons in what are regarded as Marcellus,
Onondaga and Medina formations. The most successful wells are
in the vicinity of Gowanda and between there and Cattaraugus
creek and are thus partly in Erie county. The first important well,
according to Bishop, was drilled in 1898 near the tannery of Grenssler
and Fisher and yielded a flow estimated at 7,000,000 feet a day.
The horizon is referred to the Marcellus shale, 25 feet above the
Onondaga. A second well put down nearby showed a good flow
from the Corniferous beds of the Onondaga. The Medina sandstone
has been tapped in certain deep wells within the Cattaraugus reser-
vation, west of Gowanda.
Vinton well, Gowanda. This well is recorded by Bishop as drilled
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 177
by J. D. Rickerson and completed March 23, 1883. It was put
down at Gowanda on the Cattaraugus county side.
Salt water at 250 feet
Gas and oil at 458
Oil at 904
Gas at I 006
Top of Corniferous at I 580
Water at I 580
Bottom of well I 700
McMullan well, Gowanda. This hole was drilled near the cemetery
in Gowanda about 1899 and is reported by Bishop who obtained
the record from Mr Michael McIntyre of the Gowanda Natural
Gas Co.
Drift 20 feet
Casing 196
Small flow of gas at 615
Second gas at I 110
Top of Corniferous (Cor-
niferous 185-190 feet
Ie Kat eel I 410
Show of oil at I 600
Top of Niagara at I 680
Bottom of well I 720
Versatlles wells. These are in the extreme northwestern corner
of Cattaraugus county on the Erie county border. They are quoted
from Bishop’s records.
Well No. r Well No. 2
Rock at 15 feet Rock at 42 feet
Casing 185 Casing 199
Top of Corniferous at I 075 Top of Corniferous I 241
Bottom of Corniferous at I 275 Bottom of well I 543
Bottom of well I 383
In well no. 1 some gas was found-at 190 feet in shale.
In no. 2 a small flow was tapped at 940 feet in shale.
Chautauqua county. The first gas wells in the State were drilled
in this county. The supplies were obtained by shallow wells
bottomed in sandstones of the Chemung and Portage formations
which together occupy the surface from the Erie county line to the
Pennsylvania boundary. Many of the borings were only 100 to
150 feet deep and the deepest about 500 feet. The pools were not
large, but they showed a fair degree of persistency and were scattered
over the lake shore belt from Silver Creek southwest to the State
line. Many afforded convenient and easily controlled supplies, but
scarcely sufficient for more than local use, most of the wells in fact
supplying only one or two families each with light and fuel. The
aggregate production, thus, was not large. The principal towns
within this natural gas belt are Silver Creek, Dunkirk, Fredonia,
Brocton, Westfield, Mayville and Ripley.
178 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
In 1886 a project for exploring the deeper formations in this
region was formed by citizens of Fredonia. The incentive thereto
- seems to have been supplied by the contemporaneous developments
in the gas fields of Ohio where large wells were being brought in
at depths of tooo feet or more. A well was started in that year and
completed in the summer of 1887 at a depth of over 2500 feet.
The test was unsuccessful, further than it revealed a small flow of
gas at 2100 feet in sandstone which was regarded as the Medina.
Thereafter for many years little effort was made to search for gas
in the lower formations of the county.
About 1903 interest seems to have revived, as a result perhaps
of the success attained in locating pools in the Medina of Erie
county. Silver Creek was the site of the new wells, and by 1904
several good producers had been brought in by the South Shore
Gas Co. and the Silver Creek Gas & Improvement Co. The main
flow was found in the Medina at 1700 feet. The wells have been
persistent and the supplies were later increased by additional borings.
In 1904 the Brocton Gas & Fuel Co. put down two wells at Brocton
which penetrated the Medina at 2225 feet depth. One of the latter
yielded a small flow from that horizon and the other gave a little
sulphurous gas from higher up in the Devonian formations.
The Frost Gas Co. of Fredonia shortly after undertook explorations
in the town of Sheridan and the Welch company in the town of
Westfield. These were also fairly successful. A well in the village
of Westfield, as reported by the latter company, developed a flow
at 2355 feet in white sandstone.
Within the last 10 years a large number of deep wells have been
put down in the lake shore belt of Chautauqua county and this
has become one of the important producing districts of the State.
The flow comes from the upper 150 feet of the Medina formation
in the red and gray sandstones.
Well on Miner farm, Sheridan. This well, situated on the farm
of H. S. and M. F. Miner, was drilled between December 29,
1917 and February 19, 1918, for the South Shore Gas Co., who has
kindly supplied the record.
Surface materials 22 feet
White and brown shale 055
lint I 175
White lime I 600
Niagara limestone I 812
White shale I 890
Clinton I 915
Red Medina I 995
Gray Medina 2 O15
White shale 2 030
White Medina 2 044
Red shale to bottom at. 2 O61
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 179
A little gas was found at 1945 feet or 30 feet below the top of the
red Medina sandstone.
Well on H. S. Miner farm, Sheridan. The well was drilled in
March and April 1918 for the South Shore Natural Gas Co. which
supplied the record. A good flow of gas was encountered at 2101
feet in the white Medina sandstone. The Niagara horizon was
marked by influx of “‘ black water.”
Surface materials 22 feet
White and brown shale 990
Flint I 205
White lime T 645
Niagara limestone I 846
White shale I 933
Clinton I 953
Red Medina 27038
Gray Medina 2 048
White shale 2 084
White Medina at bottom at 2 101
Well on Franklin farm, Hanover. The site of the well is on the
R. Franklin farm, town of Hanover. Hole drilled for the South
Shore Gas Co. from which the record has been obtained. Well
bottomed April 4, 1918. Small flow of gas at 2300 feet. The
Niagara horizon was indicated by the usual black or sulphurous
water.
Surface materials 14 feet
White and brown shale I 296
Flint I 501
White lime I 896
Niagara limestone 2 125
White shale 2 210
Clinton 2 240
Red Medina 2 316
Gray Medina 2 334
White shale 2 354
White Medina 2 374
Red shale to bottom at 2 386
Erie county. The natural gas area of Erie county is larger and
more important than of any other county of the State. Successful
wells have been located in all parts of the county if not in every
township, although of course they draw their supplies from many
different pools that altogether underlie only a small portion of the
whole surface. The range of gas territory may be said to extend
from Niagara county on the north to the Cattaraugus-Chautauqua
border on the south and from Lake Erie and the Niagara river to
the eastern limits of the county. For the last 15 years, that is
180 . NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
within the more active period of exploration and development of
the gas fields, Erie county has held a leading place in the industry.
- The source of its importance can be ascribed to the Medina sand-
stone which here seems to offer especially favorable conditions for
the storage of natural gas. The whole county is underlain by the
Medina formation which has its outcrop farther north in Niagara
county and is reached at depths increasing steadily toward the
south in accordance with the dip of the beds which is at the rate of
about 4o to so feet to the mile in that direction. The upper 100
to 140 feet of the formation comprises the main sandstone beds
within which the gas is commonly stored. Below is a body of red
and gray shales with their sandstone layers, 900 feet or more thick,
also a part of the Medina but usually barren of gas. Well records
indicate usually a division of the sandstone into red and gray beds,
the former occurring above and measuring about 70 to 80 feet
thick, while the gray lies directly below or is separated from the
red by a few feet of shale. The gray sandstone averages perhaps
25 feet thick. A second bed of the gray is occasionally indicated
in the records and is referred to by some drillers as ‘‘ white Medina.”’
The Medina marks practically the lowest horizon at which natural
gas has been found in quantity in this region. A few wells have
been drilled into the lower formations, as far as the Trenton limestone,
without encountering additional pools.
In the higher strata gas may be found locally in some quantity.
The Clinton shales have been found to contain pockets and the
Lockport dolomite often affords limited quantities of sulphurous
gas and water, which serve to establish the horizon where they
occur. The most favorable horizons above the Medina are the
waterlime in the Salina, the Onondaga limestone and the Marcellus
shale. The Onondaga limestone and the underlying waterlime bed,
according to Bishop, were probably the source of the gas in the
Zoar field in southern Erie county which for a time was quite pro-
ductive and probably had the record well that has so far been drilled
in the State with an estimated initial flow of 25 to 30 million cubic
feet a day. |
Bishop! has compiled the following estimates of the thickness
of strata for the section from Lake Ontario to Cattaraugus creek.
1 The Structural and Economic Geology of Erie County. N. Y.State Mus. Rep’t
49, pt 2, 1895.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 181
Some changes have been made in the terminology, but none in the
estimates as made by this authority.
Portage shales and sandstones I 541 feet
Genesee shale 25
Hamilton and Marcellus shales 287
Onondaga limestones 108
Salina waterlime 60
Salina shales 386
Niagara limestone, including 72 feet
of shale below 319
Clinton 27
Medina sandstone 109
Medina shales, Oswego sandstone, and
Cincinnati beds I 869
Trenton limestone 720
Calciferous IIO
Total 5 561
The section probably falls short by too to 200 feet of the whole
range from the top of the Portage to the Precambrian basement,
for the Calciferous is not fully revealed in the wells on which the
above estimate is founded and also the Portage may be a little
thicker than indicated.
Among the first successful wells drilled in Erie county were those
located within the city of Buffalo. According to Bishop the Buffalo
Cement Co. instituted the earliest systematic search for gas within
the city limits by drilling on its property situated near the Main
street crossing of the New York Central Belt Line. Its first well
was put down in 1883 to a depth of 452 feet, and the second in the
following year, both showing only a small flow. A third well in
1887 gave a good flow and encouraged the company to continue
drilling operations, so that shortly several productive wells were
opened. Active work was then undertaken by individuals and
companies, and the distribution of the gas for household and indus-
trial use provided for by the laying of municipal pipe-lines. In
1891 drilling was extended into the town of West Seneca, just south
of the city line, and a large increment to the supply was soon obtained
from that section. All of the commercial wells in Buffalo and
vicinity had been absorbed by 1895 into the Buffalo Natural Gas
Co. The district as then developed included Buffalo, West Seneca
and a little territory on the west side of the Niagara river, in Ontario,
Canada. Records of many of the wells are given in Bishop’s paper,!
“ The Structural and Economic Geology of Erie County.’”’ One or
two records are here quoted from that article.
IN. Y. State Mus. 49th Ann. Rep’t, pt 2, 1895.
182 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Well No. 2, Buffalo Cement Co.
Location is given as near Main
street and New York Central Belt Line, Buffalo. A fair quantity
of gas at 452 feet; salt water at 555 feet.
Shale and cement rock 25 feet
Fairly pure cement rock 30
Shale and cement rock in thin streaks 43
Pure white gypsum 47
Shale 49
White gypsum 61
Shale 62
White gypsum 66
Shale and gypsum, mottled 73,
Drab-colored shale with several layers
of white gypsum Dat
Dark-colored limestone 133
Shale and limestone 137
Dark-colored compact shale 140
Gypsum and shale, mottled and in
streaks 720
Limestone 725
Soft red shale 760
White solid quartzose sandstone 785
Soft red shale I 305
Well on John M. Fick farm, West Seneca.
Drive pipe 26 feet
Casing 123
Flint at 318
Bottom of flint at 509
Niagara at 890
Sulphur gas at
Water and gas at
Through water and gas to
Clinton at
Medina sand at
Bottom Medina sand at
Gas sand at
Through gas sand
Pocket to
Well on Elbert More farm, Spring Brook.
ne
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ios)
Soil 17 feet
Fresh water at 47
Casing 110
Shale 435
Flint 600
Niagara limestone at 935
Sulphur gas at I 100
Sulphur water at I 165
Shale (60 feet) at I 245
Clinton at I 325
Top of Medina at 1) 433
Gas sand at I 436
Gas sand at I 438
Bottom gas sand (white) at I 460
Red rock (800 feet) to 2 260
Black shale (900 feet) to Trenton 3 100
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 183
North of Buffalo in the towns of Tonawanda and Amherst and in
the proximate portion of Niagara county are a number of small
wells, of which the most are grouped in the southeastern part of the
town of Tonawanda and in the vicinity of Getzville, town of
Amherst.
Well on Mrs Eva Fries farm, Tonawanda. Well drilled in March
and April 1918 by North Buffalo Natural Gas Co. Gas with a
moderate flow was found at 561 feet in the Clinton formation. No
gas in the Medina.
Surface 274 feet
Niagara 474.
Shale, soft gray 549
Clinton 579
Medina, red sandstone 648
Medina, gray sandstone 682
Shale 685
The largest district of Erie county in regard to area and number
of productive wells lies in the townships of Clarence, Newstead,
Lancaster, Alden, Marilla and Elma, east and northeast of Buffalo.
The proved territory embraces a surface of about 10 miles long east
and west and 8 miles wide; the same gas belt may be traced, how-
ever, beyond the limits of Erie county into the adjoining section of
Genesee county, so that the area is even larger than indicated by
these figures. The first wells in the district were put down some
25 years ago, but there was little activity in the exploration before
1900, when the possible importance of the field began to be realized.
There are no extraordinary pools within the area that compare in
pressure or yield with the records that have been reported from
some of the great natural gas districts of the country. The wells
mostly show a moderate flow, a few hundred thousand cubic feet a
day, perhaps, as the usual upper limit, but they have proved profit-
able by reason of their consistent nature and the favorable combina-
tion of conditions for exploiting and selling the output. There are
over 200 wells in the district. The gas comes from the lower third
of the Medina sandstone, which measures about 110 feet thick in
this part and is encountered at depths of 1000 to 1200 feet in most
wells, measured to the top of the first bed. A contour map of the
sandstone, based on well data and prepared by the geological staff
of the Dominion Natural Gas Co. shows that the strata are slightly
folded along a north-south axis across the dip. The most marked
fold is an anticline whose summit lies just west of a line drawn
between Mill Grove and Alden Center in the town of Alden. ‘There
184 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
is a considerable number of good wells situated along the anticline,
though the productive pools occur along the flanks with nearly
equal profusion. Minor folds are present to the east and west of
the main anticline, the dip of the strata follows about the average
rate of 50 feet to the mile. One or two typical well logs will serve
to indicate the stratigraphic relations.
Well on Charles Schlung farm, Lancaster. The well was drilled
for the Akron Natural Gas Co. in 1913 by C. C. Rose. Record
supplied by the Dominion Natural Gas Co., Buffalo. Volume
210,000 cubic feet. The flow comes from 1230 to 1240 feet depth.
Flint 200-360 feet
Niagara 810-I O10
Clinton at I 122
Medina I 140-1 250
Well on the Hoppe farm, Marilla. The well was drilled by C. C.
Rose for the Akron Natural Gas Co. in t910. Volume 150,000 cubic
feet at 1350 feet depth.
Flint 320-470 feet
Niagara 942-1 142
Clinton at I 220
Medina sandstone I 257-1 369
Well on the Emil Hinsken farm, Alden. Put down for the Akron
Natural Gas Co. in 1912. Volume of flow 800,000 cubic feet at
1286 feet depth. Sulphur gas at 965 feet; water at 1000 feet.
Flint 265-425 feet
Niagara 875-1 075
Clinton at I 184 ,
Medina sandstone I 208-1 316
Bottom at I 379
Deep well, Elma. The record of this well, drilled by James Stearns
in 1903, was supplied by H. O. Wagner of Caledonia, N. Y.
Flint (170 feet) at 225 feet
Niagara at 845
Black water at O45
Niagara, bottom at
Clinton (20 feet) at
Medina sandstone (115 feet) at
Red shale (515 feet) at
Little gas at
Oswego sandstone (70 feet) at
Black shale at
Trenton limestone (750 feet ) at
Potsdam at
025
130
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MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 185
Deep well, Depew. This record, taken from Bishop’s ‘ Structural
and Economic Geology of Erie County,” supplies an interesting
parallel with the preceding one.
Drift to 34 feet
Flint at 34
Niagara (200 feet) at 504
Shales (60 feet) at 794
Clinton (30 feet) at 854
Red Medina sandstone (90 feet) at 884
White Medina sandstone (12 feet) at 974
Red shale (1164 feet) at 986
Oswego sandstone (75 feet at) 2 150
Shale (630 feet) at 2 225
Trenton (720 feet) at 2 855
Dark gray sandstone (110 feet) at 3 575
Bottom at 3 685
A small flow of gas was found at 1100 feet in the Medina
formation.
One of the latest developments in the Erie county gas field has
been the discovery of the Orchard Park pool in the town of East
Hamburg, where a small area of high pressure gas was tapped in
1912. About twenty wells are located in the area. At first the
flow was exceptionally large for pools in the Medina, but the yield
fell off rapidly after the first few months. The wells are about
1700 feet deep. The output is handled by the Orchard Park Oil &
Gas Co.
In the town of Brant, in the southwestern corner of Erie county,
is an area in which considerable activity has been in progress during
the last few years. It covers a part of the Cattaraugus Indian
reservation, and some 4o wells have been put down within the
reservation or along the border. The gas comes from the Medina
at 1700 to 1800 feet depth.
On the border of Erie and Cattaraugus counties between Gowanda
and Springville lies the Zoar district which was developed in the
years 1888-95 and for a time was a large producer. The Kerr well,
drilled in 1888 by Michael McIntyre of Gowanda, was probably
the largest that had been drilled in the State up to that time. Its
initial flow was estimated at 25 to 30 million cubic feet a day and
the pressure forced out the string of tools and threw them 150 feet
into the air. The horizon of the gas is referred by Bishop to the
Salina waterlime and the lower part of the Onondaga limestone.
The usual depth was about 2000 feet. In recent years attention
has been given to the underlying Medina horizon, which is found
at about 3300 feet, with some success.
Kerr well, Zoar. Drilled in 1888 by Michael McIntyre of
186 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Gowanda. Record given by Bishop (“Structural and Economic
Geology of Erie County ”’):
Drift 379 feet
Casing 755
Top of Corniferous I 725
Gas at 1 885
Bottom 2 150
Richardson well, near Morton’s Corners. This locality is in the
town of Collins, just north ot the Zoar district.: The record is
taken from ‘‘ Structural and Economic Geology of Erie county”
by Bishop.
Drift 80 feet
Casing 435
Top of Corniferous at 925
Small flow of gas at
Salt water at
Salt water, chocolate colored sand at
Through limestone and shale at
Red Medina at
Through White Medina at
Red shale at
Bottom (red shale) at
WNNNHNNNN HS
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on
Genesee county. A small gas field occurs in the southwestern
corner of Genesee county in the town of Darien. It might be
considered as an extension of the eastern Erie county field although
it is separated from the latter by a stretch of 3 miles in which no
productive pools have been found. About 15 wells have been
drilled, most of them in the area south and southwest of Corfu
Station on the New York Central Railroad. The first holes were
put down about 20 years ago. The gas occurs in the Medina sand-
stone at about the same depth and under similar conditions as in
the Alden section of Erie county.
The main producer of the county is the Pavilion field which came
under development in 1906 and since has ranked as one-of the most
important fields for its size in the State. Mr W. P. Randall, formerly
engineer for the Pavilion Natural Gas Co., has supplied the following
details in regard to the occurrence of the gas."
The Pavilion field lies south of the Roanoke district in the south-
east corner of Genesee county. Its boundaries are defined approxi-
mately by a line running from the southern boundary of Genesee
county northerly to Bethlehem Center, thence easterly along the
Telephone road through Pavilion Center to the east boundary of
Genesee county, thence south on said boundary to the corner of
Genesee county and thence west to the point of beginning. It
comprises an area 3 miles wide north and south and 9 miles long
1See N. Y. State Mus. Bul. 174, 1914, p. 58-59.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
187
Mices
'
SCALE 0/
Map of the Pavilion natural gas field, from surveys of the Dominion Natural Gas Co., showing contours of the Medina gas-bearing strata
188 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
east and west. The gas is distributed by two companies, the New
York Central Gas Co,, with pipes running to Batavia, Attica, Corfu,
and other towns in that vicinity, and the Pavilion Natural Gas Co.,
which supplies Mumford, Caledonia, Le Roy, Pavilion, Warsaw,
Perry, Mount Morris, Moscow and smaller places along the route.
New lines are being laid by the latter company to Linwood, York,
Greigsville, Retsof, Piffard, Cuylerville, Geneseo and Avon. The
trunk lines convey the gas under pressure of from 60 to 125 pounds;
reducing stations at the distributing points lower the pressure to
the normal required for consumption.
The gas is dry, nearly pure marsh gas with less than 8 per cent
of other ingredients. The pressure in the original wells was 500
pounds a square inch and has shown little diminution. Along the
eastern boundary of the field and near Linwood, wells of from five
to seven million cubic feet daily capacity have been drilled.
The field lies along the outcrop of the Genesee shale which is at
an elevation of about 900 feet above tide. The gas flow is found at
intervals in the last 30 feet of the Medina sandstone. The succession
of strata explored by the wells conforms to the normal order as
given in the reports of the New York State Museum, but in the
western boundary of the field and near Lindon the Niagara is
disturbed so as to make the drilling of straight holes a difficult work.
Below such disturbances the Medina gives a very limited flow, and ~
consequently exploration in these places has been discontinued. The
Niagara averages about 228 feet thick and black water (sulphurous
water from cavities in the dolomite) occurs at about the middle.
Below the Niagara comes the Clinton with a thickness up to 15 feet
(Wolcott limestone?) and at this point anchor packers are usually
placed. The Medina sandstone is a little over 100 feet thick; on
the northern and southern borders of the field it gives a limited
flow of gas, the largest wells being on the eastern border and around
Linwood.
A typical section in the Pavilion field is here given:
Top of flint 475 feet
Bottom of flint 625
Top of salt 072
Top of Niagara
Black water
Bottom of Niagara
Top of Medina 678
First gas
Second gas 753
Third gas 774.
Bottom of Medina
Hole bottomed
Ss ce ee ce Be BO oe |
NI
5
oO
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 189
Altitude at mouth of well is about 1000 feet above tide.
Livingston county. There are a number of small pools in the
northern part of the county, mainly in the towns of Caledonia, Avon
and Lima, which support a few wells each. The flow in the aggregate
is small and is employed locally for light and heat, being distributed
by the Tri-County Natural Gas Co. to Le Roy, Caledonia, Scottsville
and other communities in the vicinity. The horizon is the Medina
sandstone which lies at depths below 1200 feet in most of the wells.
Well on the John C. Mitchell farm, Caledonia. The well is located
3 miles south of Caledonia village and was drilled in 1913. A small
flow of gas was found at 1309 feet. The record has been contributed
by H. O. Wagner, Caledonia.
Earth to 31 feet
Flint to 178
Limestone and shale to 482
Salt and cave at 573
Niagara (205 feet) at 870
Clinton (10 feet) at I 228
Red Medina (61 feet) at I 248
White Medina (33 feet) at I 309
Well on the George F. Hudson farm, Moscow. This well, located
at Moscow in the town of Leicester, is about 12 miles south of the
preceding one. It was drilled for the New York Central Gas Co.
Gas was found at 1886 feet.
Flint (130 feet) at 500 feet
Salt (80 feet) at I 125
Niagara (240 feet) at I 400
Medina sandstone (75 feet) at I 826
Bottom of well I 938
Wyoming county. The productive natural gas section is in the
vicinity of Attica, on the border of Genesee county, and a little
west of the Pavilion field. The first wells were put down over
20 years ago, and subsequent drilling has not materially enlarged
the bounds of the pool. The flow is used at Attica, but of late
years has not sufficed for the needs of the village so that the Attica
Natural Gas Co. obtains a supply from the Pavilion field. The
gas occurs in the Medina sandstone at a depth of 1800 feet or more.
In the eastern part of Wyoming county, at Wyoming village,
Warsaw, Rock Glen, Silver Springs and other places many salt
wells have been put down. They have not revealed the presence
of any considerable gas pools in the formations above the salt,
which include the horizons of the Marcellus, Onondaga and Salina
waterlime.
190 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Well on the Elon Gore farm, Attica. The well was completed
in June 1914 and yielded a fair flow at 1087 feet.
Flint (150 feet) at 840 feet
Niagara (180 feet) at I 540
Medina (93 feet) at I 900
Shale at I 993
Bottom in shale at 2 078
Ontario county. About thirty producing wells are located in the
town of West Bloomfield, mainly in the southern part along Gates
creek. The gas is in the Medina sandstone which occurs at depths
of 1900 to 2000 feet. The measured flow at the outset has ranged
up to 1,000,000 cubic feet a day for the larger wells. The first
developments took place about 1895 and the output has since been
well sustained. The gas is piped by the Ontario Gas Co. to Honeoye
Falls. Efforts to enlarge the territory by prospecting along the
axis of the main group of wells to the east in the town of East
Bloomfield have not been very successful. There have been a few
successful wells drilled there, however, as well as in the towns of
Bristol and Richmond on the extension of the Medina beds to the
south and southeast of the West Bloomfield district.
Well on the John Dailey Farm, West Bloomfield. The well was
drilled in 1907 for the Ontario Gas Co. and had an indicated flow
of 1,000,000 cubic feet a day. The gas came from 2018 feet depth,
98 feet below the top of the Medina sandstone.
Flint (115 feet) at 525 feet
Bottom of Niagara at I 825
Clinton at I 908
Top of Medina at I 920
Bottom of well 2 064
Well on the Abbey farm, Richmond. Drilled for the Ontario Gas
Co., in 1913. A flow of 350,000 cubic feet was reported at 2137
to 2145 feet.
Top of flint at 610 feet
Niagara limestone at I 600
Clinton at 2 000
Medina sandstone at 2 22%
In southern Ontario county is the Naples pool, situated about
t mile from the village of Naples. The development consists of
eight wells, of which the original hole was put down about 1884
as a wildcat oil well by Olean drillers and reached a depth of 1633
feet. The hole was bottomed in the Salina, the last 43 feet being
in salt. The other wells were drilled between the years 1900 and
1910 to depths of 1050 to 1150 feet. According to Mr D, D. Luther,
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK IOI
who has contributed these details regarding the development, the
principal supply of gas is in the base of the Marcellus shale or in
the upper beds of the Onondaga limestone; but pockets occur in
the Hamilton shales above the Marcellus horizon. The gas is piped
to Naples for heating and light. The wells are owned by Granby
and Hemenway who report that the output has fallen off in recent
years and increasing difficulties have been met from influx of water.
Monroe county. A pool of natural gas occurs near Churchville
in the western part of the county. Its precise location is 3 miles
east of Churchville in the town of Riga. Mr Frank B. Barnard,
president of the Churchville Oil & Natural Gas Co., which distributes
the output, states that the gas occurs in the Medina sandstone and
that the flow comes from a zone about 75 feet below the top of the
formation which is found at 480 feet. There are about 15 productive
wells and the gas is used in Churchville, Bergen and Riga. The
occurrence has interest from the shallow depth of the pool, represent-
ing probably the minimum depth at which any considerable flow
has so far been reported in the Medina formation. The outcrop
of the sandstone is only 7 miles distant, directly north of Churchville,
at an elevation about 60 feet below the mouth of the wells, as nearly
as can be ascertained from the topographic map. This would
indicate a dip for the strata at the average rate of 60 feet to the
mile.
Well at Brockport. This well was put down many years ago and
was reported upon by Prof. C. S. Prosser!, who gave the following
record:
Medina red shale 500 feet
Medina dark red shale 900
Medina very dark red shale 950
Gray and bluish calcareous shale I 000
Blue shale and sandstone I 400
Blue compact Trenton limestone 2 000
Yates county. A few wells have been drilled in the vicinity of
Rushville on the border of Ontario county. The flow is small and
consumed locally. No details are at hand in regard to the horizon
of the occurrence.
Seneca county. A number of gas wells were in use at one time
for the supply at Seneca Falls. Bishop? mentions that twelve were
drilled in the period 1885-97 and at the latter date the supply
amounted to 50,000 cubic feet a day. The flow apparently came
from different horizons, including the Clinton, Medina and possibly
1 Proceed. Rochester Acad. Sci. v. 2, p. 91
2N. Y. State Mus. Ann. Rep’t 51, v. 2, 1897, p. 12.
1g2 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
the Trenton. One of the well records is here quoted from Bishop’s
paper.
Drive pipe to limestone 77 feet
Top of salt sand at 305
Bottom of salt sand at 455
Top of big red shale at 485
Bottom of big red shale at 675
Top of Niagara at 710
Top of Clinton at 085
Top of Medina at
Flow of gas at
Gray Medina at
Red Medina at
All gray at
Gray and black shale at
Part black shale at
All black shale at
Shale and lime mixed at
All shale at
Top of Trenton at
Black shale at
Limestone at
Nearly all black shale at
Crystalline limestone at
All black shale at
Limestone with white streaks
Bottom of well at
485
560
BHAWWWWWkWWNNNHNNNNN HHH
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Onondaga county. Natural gas is found at Baldwinsville, north
of Syracuse, where it has been in use since 1897. ‘The pool supports
about fifteen active wells. The main supply comes from the Trenton
formation at depths below 2200 feet but some gas occurs in the
Medina and Oswego sandstones at higher levels. Some of the wells
were prolific at first, yielding as much as 3,000,000 cubic feet a day;
they have been persistent producers, although their flow is now
considerably reduced. The conditions of the occurrence were care-
fully worked out by Prof. Edward Orton. The following is the log
of the first well, put down on the Monroe farm just northeast of
the village.
Drive pipe 38 feet
Cased 348
White Medina 542
Red Medina 620
Oswego sandstone _ I 200
Top of Trenton 2 240
Bottom of well 2 370
A few wells have been drilled in the vicinity of Syracuse, but
without any marked success in the discovery of a gas supply. One
well, drilled by the Empire Portland Cement Co. on the site of its
former works at Warners, reached a depth of 3526 feet, encountering
the Trenton limestone at 2700 feet and cutting a sandstone which
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 193
was considered to be the Potsdam at 3500 feet. The well yielded
a small volume of gas, insufficient to pay for the experiment.
Oswego county. Local pools of natural gas are found at Pulaski,
Lacona and Fulton, supporting about fifty wells altogether. The
initial developments in this section took place about 1890. Both
Pulaski and Lacona are still supplied with gas from the original
sources. The wells at Fulton have not proved so persistent
producers and have been mostly, if not wholly, abandoned. At
Pulaski and Lacona the wells are bottomed at about 1ooo feet deep,
or 400 to 500 feet in the Trenton limestone of which the top lies
at 400 to 600 feet from the well mouth. The full section, as estab-
lished from borings to the granite basement, is given by Prof. Edward
Orton as follows:
Pleistocene 0-96 feet
Pulaski shale 200-250
Utica shale 100-250
Trenton limestone 600
Calciferous 200
Cambrian limestone and sandstone 35-90
Precambrian granite at I 400-1 500
Oneida county. Active prospecting for natural gas was carried
on in the vicinity of Rome, New York Mills and Utica in the nineties
of the last century. The results indicated the presence of gas in
small quantities in the Trenton limestone and Cincinnati shales,
but no persistent flows were found. The most encouraging indica-
tions were encountered in the wells at Rome where the gas when
first tapped issued under high pressure and at the rate of 500,000
cubic feet or more a day. The flows, however, quickly subsided
so that it was not considered worth while to attempt to distribute
the gas for general use. Condensed records of wells in this section
are here given.
Well at Rome.
Drift 125 feet
Utica shale 660
Trenton limestone I 095
Beekmantown and Potsdam I 295+
Red granite at I 560
A flow of gas was encountered at 830 feet under pressure equivalent
to 6 inches of water, which would indicate 3,500,000 feet a day,
but which rapidly declined so that in a few months the measured
volume was only a few thousands a day.
-
194 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Well at Utica. The site of this well, drilled for water, is on the
grounds of the Globe Woolen Mills It was drilled in 1896. A gas
flow was encountered at 225 feet but was cased off.
Drive pipe 48 feet
Utica shale 495
Trenton limestone 864
Beekmantown and Potsdam I 304
Granite to botto n at 1 855+
Gas in other counties. Sporadic attempts have been made to
explore for natural gas in the outlying sections, beyond the limits
of the known productive areas. Thus, wells have been drilled in
most of the counties that lie between the Mohawk river and the
Pennsylvania boundary as far east as the Hudson river. In many
instances there have been some indications of gas, real or supposed,
that supplied an incentive for undertaking the test; very commonly
the observation of gas bubbles arising from the bed of a pond or
lake has aroused interest, or the tapping of a little gas in a shallow
well put down for water supply. The lack of success that has
attended such undertakings seems to show that the eastern part of
the State is of doubtful value, to say the least, and caution should
be exercised in embarking upon any extensive campaign of drilling
in this area.
_ Well on Murphy farm, Catlin, Chemung county. This well was
drilled by the Catlin Oil, Gas & Mineral Co. in 1902-3. A small
quantity of gas was reported and a trace of oil, as indicated in the
following record :
Earth 17 feet
Light gray shale 344
Light slate ' 350
Brown slate I 220
First sand, some gas I 265
Brown shale (3) 620
Gray limestone, cherty I 625
Brown shale I 670
Salt I 718%
Second sand, trace of oil I 763%
Hard cherty limestone I 766
Red shale, changing to black 2 155
Third sand 2 195
Black soft shale 2 200%
Well at Binghamton, Broome county. The record of this well is
taken from a paper by C. S. Prosser in the Bulletin of the Geological
Society of America, volume 4, 1893.
Bluish gray argillaceous shale 50 feet
Gray shale, more sandy 150
Bluish argillaceous shale 250
Bluish, finely arenaceous shale 350
Gray and blue shale . 550
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE) /OF NEW YORK 195
Gray arenaceous shale, fossiliferous 700 feet
Arenaceous and calcareous shale 800
Blue arenaceous shale 850
Arenaceous red and brown shale feYoye)
Dark gray arenaceous shale I 000
Bluish argillaceous shale I 000
Mainly gray to blue arenaceous shale I 550
Brownish gray finely arenaceous rock I 950
Light gray arenaceous sandstone 2 000
Bluish argillaceous shale 2 050
Fine dark blue rock (Tully limestone?) 20250
Blackish argillaceous shale (Hamilton?) 2 300
Grayish argillaceous shale "2 350
Gray argillaceous, slightly sandy shale 2 400
Gray sandstone and blue shale 2 550
Gray and blue shales and sandstones 2 600
Gray sandy rock, fossil fragments 3 000
Dark gray sandy rock to bottom at ain 7
Weil at Norwich, Chenango county. The record is from the same
source as the preceding. Altitude of mouth of well approximately
1000 feet.
Dark gray arenaceous shale 75 feet
Mostly argillaceous shale (Portage) 125
Bluish gray sandy rock (Portage) 175
Fine gray sandstone (Sherburne) 250
Dark gray and greenish shales, gas at 384
feet (base of Portage) 450
Biluish argillaceous shale (Hamilton) 620
Gray calcareous shale (Hamilton) 685
Gray calcareous shale (gas pocket) 875
Dark gray arenaceous shale, fossiliferous 1 460
Dark gray shales 2 050
Dark blue to black shales (base of Ham-
ilton) 2) 235
Very dark shale (Marcellus?) 2 234
Well on Beckunth farm, Cincinnatus, Coriland county. The record
of the well was communicated to this office by L. Nusbaum.
Gravel 40 fect
Quicksand 7
Blue limestone 110
Pink rock 200
Lime shells 254
Casing to 275
Hard shells 290
Light slate (gas pocket) 330
Hard limestone 305
Black sandy rock at 395
Salt water at 410
Bottom of sand at 435
Brown sand 580
Salt water and gas 590
Slate 636
Light slate 700
Brown shale 730
Light slate 890
Hard shelly rock 905
I
196 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Dark slate 928 feet
Hard limestone 970
Dark slate 980
Hard brown sandstone
Light slate
Brown shale
Hard sandstone
Brown shale
Hard sandstone
Soft brown shale
Lo oe A en oe BO ee |
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On
Well near Auburn, Cayuga county. This deep well, located 13
miles north of Auburn, is reported by C. S. Prosser in American
Geologist, volume 25, 1900. The condensed general section taken
from the well log follows.
Salina green and gray shales I 055 feet
Niagara limestone and shales I 380
Clinton shales (iron ore?) I 505
Medina sandstone (some gas) 2 115
Medina shale with some sandstone I 600
Oswego sandstone 2 770
Pulaski and Utica shales Beer
Trenton limestone 3 570
Well at Ilion, Herkimer county. The site of this well was on the
grounds of the Remington Typewriter Co. and close to the Erie
canal. It was put down for gas, of which small amounts were found
at 800, 950 and 1003 feet in the Calciferous sandrock. , The following
is a condensed record, based on the log published by C. S. Prosser
(American Geologist, volume 25, 1900).
Drift 195 feet
Utica shale 475
Trenton limestone 580
Lowville limestone (lower part perhaps
Calciferous) 630
Calciferous sandrock I’ 105
Precambrian gneiss to bottom I 135
Well at Altamont, Albany county. A deep well for gas was drilled
in 1886 at Altamont (formerly Knowersville) one-quarter of a mile
south of the railroad station, and at an elevation of 510 feet above
sea level. No detailed record of the boring was kept, but it is
reported by C. A. Ashburner (see reference at end of article) that
shales (Hudson River) were encountered to a depth of 2880 feet,
at which point limestone (Trenton) was struck and penetrated for
132 feet to the bottom of the well at 3012 feet. A gas pocket with
40 pounds pressure was opened at 497 feet.
Well on Finch farm, Knox, Albany county. ‘This boring was about
43 miles from the Altamont well in a direction a little west of north,
at an elevation 1155 feet above sea level. It penetrated gray and
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 197
black slates with thin sandstone beds to a depth of 2200 feet, passing
the horizon of the gas in the Altamont well at 1000 to 1050 feet,
according to Ashburner. No gas was found.
Well tn Catro township, Greene county. A deep well for gas was
put down in 1886 in the town of Cairo, Greene county, about 33
miles southwest of Cairo village. It was located by Pennsylvania
oil operators, who it is said expected to tap the Trenton limestone,
although the formations in the vicinity are well up in the Devonian.
Drilling ceased at 2200 feet after encountering nothing more than
flagstones and shales of the Catskill series, without any gas. A flow
of salt water entered the well at 610 feet and filled the bore to a
height of 300 feet in 26 hours.
References
Ashburner, C. A. Petroleum and Natural Gas in New York State. Amer.
Inst. Min. Eng. Trans., vol 16, 1888
Bishop, I. P. Petroleum and Natural Gas in Western New York. N. Y. State
Mus. Ann. Rep’t 51, v. 2, 1899
Oil and Gas in Southwestern New York. N. Y. State Mus. Ann,
Rep’t 53, v- I, 1901
Orton, Edward. Petroleum and Natural Gas in New York. N. Y. State
Mus. Bul. 30, 1899
PEA
Peat bogs are present in most parts of the State and altogether
cover an extensive area. The most reliable estimates place the
swamp lands at about 5 per cent of the entire surface, which is 49,204
square miles. Just how much of the swamp area contains peat is
unknown, but it is certainly a considerable proportion, as the condi-
tions are usually favorable to the accumulation of peat.
The occurrence of peat in New York has been described very fully
in the early reports of Beck, Mather and Hall and more recently |
in the papers by Ries and Parsons, to which references will be found
at the end of this article. Parsons summarizes the general distri-
bution of peat in the State in the following manner: ‘‘ It would be
difficult to find a spot in the entire State that is more than 10 miles
from a swamp, and though not all swamps furnish peat, yet it is
within the limits of probability that peat will be found in at least
half of them. The most extensive group of swamps is found in the
Finger Lakes region and the lowlands near the St Lawrence river,
though the largest swamp of all, the Drowned Lands of the Walkill,
is in the mountainous part of Orange county, which borders New
Jersey. Many peat deposits are found in the Adirondacks, and,
198 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
as exploration is carried farther, the recorded number will be much
greater. The depth of the Adirondack swamps is likely to be much
greater than most of the swamps in the central and western portions
of the State, though the few visited by the writer are not very deep.”’
Details of occurrence. Mather! estimated that 1ooo acres of
' peat land were to be found in New York, Westchester and Putnam
counties, with a probable yield of 2,000,c00 cords. Much of the
area, no dowbt, has long since been converted to such use that the
peat is no longer'recoverable. This applies to New York and West-
chester counties particularly, but wild swamp lands are still to be
found in Putnam county.
Orange county once contained 40,000 acres of peat swamps (Ries).
The largest single area is that of the Drowned Lands, west of
Warwick, which once covered 17,000 acres. A good part has been
drained and converted to agricultural use, but there are still areas
of open and forest-covered peat lands. Parsons found the peat to
vary from almost nothing to 18 feet in thickness. Measured sections
are reported by him as follows: Pine island, 18 feet, bottom not
reached; Black Walnut island, 18 feet, bottom not reached; one-half
of a mile west of Durandville, 16 feet; 14 miles west of Durandville,
17 feet; one-half of a mile west of Big island, 12} feet, bottom not
reached; 1 mile west of Big island, 123 feet, bottom not reached;
Florida, 18 feet, bottom not reached.
The Greycourt meadows, between Chester and Greycourt along
the Erie Railroad, contain about 3000 acres of peat land now
employed in agriculture.
Near Pine Plains, Dutchess county, peat is found on the matgin
of Stissing pond and south of there along the valley. Mather
estimated 500 acres of a 6-foot bed in this vicinity, but Parsons’s
tests indicated the peat to be patchy.
In northern New York occur numerous sti lakes and swamps
which contain more or less peat. An extensive tract of peat is
found om the line of the Champlain canal in Kingsbury township,
Washington county. Also in the vicinity of Fort Edward and Glens
Falls in the Hudson valley are peat lands in areas of a few acres to
several hundred acresiextent. Plants forutilizing thepeat-were erected
near Glens Falls some 40 years ago. One of these plants operated
in the Rosecrans swamp northeast of that city. A second plant
was’ built for working the peat between Glens Falls and French
mountain on the Lake George road. Im neither case was any large:
output made.
“' Geology of First District of New York. Third Ann. Rep’t, p. 74.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK T9Q9Q
Probably the largest areas of peat in northern New York are on
the northwestern side of the Adirondacks, where the slope of the
land is much more gradual than elsewhere and the drainage has
been obstructed by glacial accumulations. Nearly all the streams
that flow out of the Adirondacks on that side are colored by organic
matter derived from swamps on their headwaters. The Black,
Oswegatehie, Indian and Grass rivers all drain extensive swamp
lands, but very little is known as to the character and quantity
of peat found in them. A dredge for recovering the peat on the
bottom of Black lake, which is an expanded part of Oswegatchie
river, was built a few years since at Heuvelton, near Ogdensburg,
but was never placed in operation. The engineers in charge of the
enterprise reported that a large supply of peat occurs on the borders
of the lake.
In central and western New York occur some of the largest
marshes in the whole State. Just west of Rome and northwest of
that city on the line of the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg
Railroad there are several thousand acres of bog lands which
recently have been partially drained and put under cultivation.
The new barge canal was instrumental in effecting the improvement
of this tract, as it supplied an outlet for the water several feet below
the old channel of the Erie. The peat and muck beds range up to
4o feet thick. A section given by Ries shows: Swamp muck, 3 to
5 feet; peat, 3 to 6 feet; moss peat, 8 to 12 inches; shell marl, 2 to
4 inches; mud, 1 to 2 feet; gravel, 1 to 3 feet; hard pan, 18 to 20
feet. A factory for converting the peat into commercial fuel was
erected near Rome some years ago, but was not long in operation.
The Cowaselon and Cicero swamps lie just south of Oneida lake
and extend for nearly 25 miles in an east-west direction with an
extreme width of 2 miles. Cowaselon swamp is the eastern part,
north and northwest of Canastota, and has been mostly drained by
the Douglas ditch, providing excellent land for onion-growing.
From 33 to 6 feet of peat are shown in the sections by Parsons
between Oniontown and Ognon.
Montezuma marshes comprise a tract north of Cayuga lake, some
8 miles long and 2 or 3 miles wide. There is a bed of peat over
much of the area, with a thick deposit of marl below. The marshes
are intersected by the Seneca and Clyde rivers which periodically
flood the lands and deposit more or less silt, so that the peat is not
of first quality.
Oak Orchard swamp is an extensive area of partly forest covered
land in Genesee and Orleans counties. It includesa large proportion
200 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
of excellent agricultural land. The eastern section of the swamp
is reported by Parsons to have the greater thickness of peat, but
_ apparently little of it would be available for working in view of
the value of the soil for other purposes.
Uses of peat. A great deal of experimentation has been carried
on with a view to the industrial utilization of the peat beds of the
State. Plants have been erected at one time or another in the
principal bogs, but apparently attained little commercial success
as in most instances operations were discontinued after brief trials.
Among the causes leading to failures, no doubt, one of the most
common has been the lack of experience on the part of the designers
of plants in regard to the methods of preparation and handling
peat as worked out in other countries which have an established
industry. Much wasted efort has been directed to the designing
of new types of machinery for harvesting, briquetting and drying
the peat which a little inquiry into the matter would have proved
futile at the outset.
Peat in its natural condition is not a fuel. As it comes from the
bed it carries 90 per cent, and often more, of water. That is 100
pounds of the wet peat will yield only ro pounds of water-free
material. It is a difficult and expensive operation to expel all of
the water and to do so mechanically with artificial heat is imprac-
ticable, as it entails a consumption of heat units in the drying
apparatus that is commensurate with, or in excess of, the heating
value of the dried peat that is recovered. Consequently the drying
must be carried out for the most part at least by natural means,
that is by air-drying, the method employed in the peat bogs of
Ireland and Sweden for converting the peat. into domestic fuel.
By air-drying the moisture content may be reduced to 25 or 30
per cent. The remaining water seems to be held in chemical com-
bination with the cellulose and its expulsion is accomplished only
at temperatures above the normal. When peat is heated at high
temperature in a retort to drive off the moisture there is a loss of
combustible matter in the peat itself.
This problem of the drying of peat has been the principal stumbling
block in the road of commercial enterprises. Mechanical drying,
so far, has proved a failure, and the only practicable method seems
to be that of air drying which means of course an intermittent
operation confined to a few months of the year. Peat that has
been air-dried, containing around 25 to 30 per cent water, has about
one-half the heating value of good commercial coal.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 201
Perhaps the most promising field for the employment of peat
as fuel is in connection with the gas-producer for power plants
whereby the recovery of the nitrogen content in the form of ammo-
nium sulphate becomes practicable. In this case it is not necessary
to carry the drying operation beyond a point readily attained by
natural means; a further advantage inherent in this method is that
the peat requires no compressing as is necessary when it is to be
employed at a distance from the bog. The nitrogen content of the
peat then becomes a matter of importance, since with proper appa-
ratus for its recovery a very considerable drawback upon the operating
costs might be realized. The gas produced by the combustion of
the peat, after removal of the nitrogen compounds, is used for fuel
or power.
Undoubtedly the most thorough investigation of the possibilities
of peat as fuel that has been carried out in recent years is that of
the Department of Mines of Canada which conducted working tests
over a period of two years under expert guidance. A report’ pre-
pared by B. F. Haanel gives a full account of the results obtained,
as well as a review of the progress made in the use of peat abroad.
The following paragraph from this report is presented as a succinct
and reliable statement of the situation in regard to the commercial
aspects of peat for fuel:
“Unless the manufacture of peat fuel is conducted on a bog
situated reasonably near a community which is able to take over
the entire output produced, peat manufactured for domestic or
fuel purposes alone would not prove a profitable venture. This is
due to the comparatively low heating value of peat, to its moisture
content and to the large volumes it occupies per heat unit, as
compared with coal; and when to these disadvantages is added that
of high freight rates per ton, the reason of the foregoing statement
will be obvious. But while peat may serve as a domestic fuel in
only certain cases, it may be well adapted for the production of
power, or as fuel gas. This is especially so in the case of peat
which has a high nitrogen content, since this element can be profitably
recovered in the ammonia gas formed in the by-product recovery
producer. According to the process employed in by-product recovery
work, the ammonia gas is fixed with sulphuric acid, and the resulting
product ‘“‘ammonium sulphate’ is then sold for agricultural pur-
poses. The demand for this product is, today, greater than the
supply, consequently its price per unit is somewhat high. Whenever,
therefore, the nitrogen content of the peat is sufficiently high, the
1 Peat, Lignite and Coal. Mines Branch, Department of Mines, Ottawa,1914
202 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
production of a fuel, or power gas, accompanied by by-product
recovery, would prove profitable. But in the case of the production
_of power, the same economics must be introduced into the manu-
facture of power that apply to a domestic fuel, and even though the
content of nitrogen is well above the average, any increase in the
cost of fuel rapidly decreases the expected profits. Peat is a low
grade fuel which must be manufactured and sold at a comparatively
low cost, if it is desired that it should serve as a substitute for coal.
It is evident, therefore, for the foregoing reasons, that the manu-
facture of peat fuel does not hold forth any glowing prospects for
getting rich quickly, although reasonable and very good profits
should in almost every case be realized when the industry is run
on a business-like basis. But the element of speculation, and some
of the commonly practiced methods of promotion must be eradicated
if the peat industry is ever to become an accomplished fact.’’
The largest development in the use of peat in this country has
been in the agricultural field, wherein the material is used both
directly on soils and in mixture with chemical fertilizers. The
more thoroughly decomposed nitrogenous peats are preferred for
this purpose. A special form that has excited some interest in
agricultural experiments is bacterized peat, prepared by sterilizing
the natural peat at a temperature of 130° C. approximately and
then adding lime until the material is neutral. After this the peat
is inoculated with bacteria which have the property of fixing
atmospheric nitrogen. Bacterized peat is supposed to enrich as
well as stimulate the soil. Reports by agricultural experts do not
agree as to the results obtained in the use of this preparation.
It has long been a common practice in many: parts of the State
to employ the black, decomposed peat or muck as an amendment
for soils. More of this material has been employed than for all
other purposes. Its use is recommended in soils deficient in humus;
it also improves the physical condition of certain soils, helping
sandy soils to retain moisture and making clayey soils more open
and porous. No accurate information in regard to the quantity
of material employed in this way has been secured.
References
Beck, Lewis C. Mineralogy of New York, 1842
Hall, James. Geology of New York. Report on the Fourth District, 1843
Mather, W. W. Geology of New York. Report on the First District, 1843
Parsons, Arthur L. Peat, Its Formation, Uses and Occurrence in New York.
N. Y. State Geol. 23d Rep't, 1904
Ries, H. Uses of Peat and its Occurrence in New York. N. Y. State Geol.
21st Ann. Rep’t, 1903
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 203
PETROLEUM
The oil region of the State is in the southwestern part and com-
prises a stretch along the Pennsylvania border in Cattaraugus,
Allegany and Steuben counties. The area altogether is about 40
miles long east and west and extends 15 miles or so north from the
state line. It is the northerly extension of the Appalachian field,
which reaches its main development in Pennsylvania, Ohio and
West Virginia. There are a number of pools within the area and
their bounds have now been accurately delimited by exploration.
No new pools of importance have been discovered within the last
20 years.
The first oil well in the New York field was drilled at Limestone,
Cattaraugus county, in 1864. The boring showed oil but not in
paying quantities. It attracted notice to the locality, however,
and a deeper well soon after encountered a heavy flow that aroused
interest in the possibilities of the section. Active work in Catta-
Ttaugus county did not begin until several years later, in fact the
first systematic exploration dates from 1875-6 with the spread of
the prospectors from the Pennsylvania region which at about that
time was the scene of a tremendous oil boom. By 1878 there were
over 250 wells in Carrollton township and oil had been found in
the adjoining Allegany township. The exploration of the Allegany
county area began in 1881 with the discovery of the Richburg pool,
one of the largest in the State.
Production. Statistics of production are available only for the
period from i891 on, as in earlier years the output was combined
with that of Pennsylvania. The following figures have been com-
piled from the volumes of the Mineral Resources and from reports
received directly from the field.
Production of petroleum in New York ‘
YEAR BARRELS VALUE
MOG lene APP nae ae het etd ess wear a gst afe%a clas I 585 030 | $1 O61 970
To} 9 Aiea wal ey Wee ha uk Os Ge oi A A bale I I 273 343 708 207
6G 2 nee ye tT UnA Agare ane ORR ae pores CB MAS Cy ey Eom Rp I O31 391 660 ©00
THSTOVL 5 “gabe age) UE, SRST ee eae epee Ne Te ee Q42 431 790 464
WSS oe chee oe ARAM cass aane it ales Mel At 34 de al tsLabea 912 948 I 240 468
TAOS aL Ce M2 LS Lacs. Bee: ae. eels I 205 220 I 420 653
LSS TAR Sy ARRAN atelier als iste Alctes MPaA ae eA ae tut Me I 279 155 I 005 736
TUStS faxaiplatbt bale, ios eae aide aerated Pua al Aah el ale ae I 205 250 I 098 284
MEBOR TED. retiree Dephs . SOT Td iee ott I 320 999 I 708 926
UC) OO pate miay irate reer enn AL Mate ogled i Cage ne eee Dae I 300 925 I
759 501
204. NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Production of petrolum in New York (concluded)
YEAR BARRELS VALUE
LOOT nie trace Wn Cael Wa cia ceatenn at ate galalin ep ate I 206 618 $1 460 008
LQOD Es eee UN) RRA RC RE SI | AR Se I 119 730 I 530 852
BQO ACN tis, ya rite cites sami ceil eTBa as I 162 978 I 849 135
LOO A erage ree erage arab Ms ait cuetirele fey ey citetee ede ti I 036 179 I 709 770
1iCO Yo = ayn ATS AMR Sh RI NR a Te MRL uN 949 511 I 566 931
LICOYO LaMar Meemente Tero ty 2 ly BaP a Sh Te RONEN a eT alah I 043 088 I 721 095
TOO Fiera even nee ete lorae ie ereke: Suey MET acc ae tte meme ep he aye I 052 324 I 736 335
TGyO LN ee SA NAL PU AN Ta be I 160 128 2 O71 533
TOO) Wiikey IR AE REM aA ae ea acme Ia I 160 402 I 914 663
THCOyr eC es APRs A HAM Ae HG ah ie Ni I 073 650 I 458 194
1 Cov) of Ce hanbse aie era eel Ve nea AIDE eA LE 955 314 I 251 461
1 COS Pe a ee NS ee Me AU TIOS E eee ere 782 661 I 338 350
LCG) TAA AN a UT VN 916 873 2 255 508
DCO ir Wen i BS au ea SAMRAT ean A A 933 5II I 773 671
ICO) FSU Fe MT ef inane SPEDE Bae ANE ent ONE 928 540 I 476 378
ICG YII Se ee IN A at ds SE kU ra 874 087 2 190 195
TKO) 7 AI OL US aN ae A Do ae 879 685 2 850 378
TOMS pe naib aptesiecieyre tne vatiesb ran dieee. opaiantleesreeseomeisnews ae tipays 808 843 3 307 814
The crest of production had already been passed by 1891. The
largest output was made in the years 1880-1885 when the flow
reached as high as 5,000,000 barrels annually. The number of
producing wells at present is in excess of 11,000. According to the
Mineral Resources for 1916, there were 11,200 wells in production
on December 31st of that year. About 3000 of the total are in
Cattaraugus county, 8000 in Allegany county and the remainder
in Steuben county.
It will be seen from the above table that the production during
the last four years has varied very little, averaging a little under
1,000,000 barrels annually. The maintenance of the output at such
an even rate during the declining stages of the industry is quite
remarkable and in striking contrast with the history of most fields.
This is largely the result of adherence to a policy of conservation
and economy on the part of the producers. The product of the
New York wells is too valuable to be wasted, commanding the
highest market prices paid for Appalachian oils. The economy
with which operations are conducted is indicated by the fact that
the average well yield is only about one-fourth of a barrel a day.
The development of the remaining areas of undrilled ground and
the redrilling of intermediate wells may be expected to report an
active industry for a number of years to come. The product is
handled by several pipe-line companies and shippers, including the
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 205
following: Columbia Pipe Line Co., Union Pipe Line Co., Fords
Brook Pipe Line Co., Buena Vista Oil Co., and Madison Pipe Line
Co. of Wellsville; Vacuum Oil Co., Rochester; New York Transit
Co., Olean; Emery Pipe Line, Allegany Pipe Line Co., Tide Water
Pipe Co., Limited, and Kendall Refining Co., of Bradford, Pa.
There are refineries at Wellsville and Olean.
Geological occurrence. The oil is found in fine-grained, dark-
colored sandstones which have been assigned generally to the
Chemung formation of the Upper Devonian. The Chemung in this
section is partly mantled by conglomerates and sandstones of the
Carboniferous, the only representative of the coal-bearing series to
occur in the State. The precise horizons of the oil can not be
definitely stated and their determination will require very detailed
field work which hitherto has not been practicable on account of
the lack of accurate field maps.
The main oil sand in Cattaraugus county is called ‘‘ Bradford ”
from the Bradford, Pa., district, which is just across the state line.
In Allegany county the main horizon is recognized as the ‘“ Rich-
burg.” In the southeastern part of that county and extending
over into Steuben county is the Andover field with two producing
sands, the upper called the ‘‘ Penney ’’ and the lower called the
“Fulmer Valley’ sand. In the Bolivar or Richburg pool in the
southwestern section the main “‘ Richburg”’ sand is succeeded 80
feet below by the “‘ Waugh and Porter’ sand. In the small Scio
field which lies about midway of the county and north of the others
there are two sands 280 feet apart, the uppermost being called the
“Richburg” and the lower the ‘‘ Waugh and Porter.”
The depth to the sands varies from 800 feet in the valley wells
to 2000 feet or more in the borings made on the high ground. The
following details of the different pools are taken mainly from the
articles by I. P. Bishop’ and D. A. Van Ingen? in the reports of the
New York State Museum.
Allegany county pools. The Andover pool lies mainly in the
town of Andover, but extends over the line into the town of Green-
wood, Steuben county. The original wells were drilled for gas
and the first ones were put down in 1889. Their depth ranges from
700 to 1300 feet, depending on the surface configuration. There
is a considerable flow of gas, more than sufficient to supply power
for pumping. Some sample well records are here given.
1N. Y. State Mus. Ann. Rep’t 51, v. 2, 1897 and 53, v. 1, 1899.
2N. Y. State Mus. Bul. 15, 1895.
206 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Richards well, lot 20, Greenwood, Steuben county.
ititianene Wore oY UN edad 60 feet
(QeEE Sa vederien Wana ONE IRIN CE eS Taba None 260
(has Sana (yp reeumates ce eres 746
Gray ‘sand and shaleto............ 777-5
dc Feveje oy cel ap amen aley Ae 6 ENT | fe ON an 814
Updike well, near county line.
Weare presse | Ge YG! TSP A | asta 40 feet
GEST La iota... ede .oiee- Bons 330
GhilaseWevelAnaielan icy ye” Bible aereue Eos: 627
Rotem of-:samdbat ey, Ulu, Bk 654
Rettenmia. 243 aaarcuildcets wal eth sess
The southwestern extension of the Andover pool is designated
sometimes. as the Fulmer Valley pool.
The Alma pool lies close to the state line about midway between
the eastern and western limits of the townships. The wells are
from 800 to 1500 feet deep. The pool lies along a northeast-south- -
west axis within sandstone 10 to 20 feet thick. A condensed record
of one of the wells follows:
SUMMA CE NATCIIONS Ko. se cusye) « ceepen en ecg 100 feet
Sandstone ana Shales smc. s scche nn 210
Sandstone with water.............. 218
Sandstone andishale cj 0h... men 975
Sandstone with oil and water....... 995
Sb lic SORA ae ea OO a A Re I 109
CNG aaron f Sen ave SEOUL avs ven ee peeneedet oe I 126
inlarden orayasanldscOMes sores s.s 12 eae I 143
Bottom afseil sand’). 0 nn. BANA: I 153
[ran atta) ee ADe Zt, SRE SOI oh Ane ee 7
The Waugh and Porter pool covers a small area to the west of
the Alma pool, in the town of Bolivar. It was opened in 1882.
The wells tap the ‘“‘ Richburg” and ‘“‘ Waugh and Porter” sands
which are separated by shale. The wells have a depth of from
13:50 to 1700 feet.
The Bolivar, Richburg and Wirt pools form a contiguous and
coalescent group, the oldest and largest section of the Allegany
county district. They underlie parts of Alma, Scio, Bolivar, Wirt,
Genesee and Clarksville townships. The earliest wells were put
down in 1882, at Richburg about in the center of the district. The
“ Richburg’ sand is here from 25 to 50 feet thick and lies 1400
to 1800 feet deep. A sampie record of a well near Richburg follows.
Well No. 2, lot 33, Bolzvar.
Gasisand (Zo feetyratin... cues ate pian I 341 feet
Gi ates kane Oa Ve Ue eRe aires I 383.5
Botbomiyoil\sand ati) isan ae nee I 408.5
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 207
The Clarksville and Niles pools lie to the west and north of the
preceding and occupy a narrow belt with a northeast-southwest
axis. The Clarksville is the larger, extending about five miles in
the towns of Clarksville and Wirt. The Niles is just to the north-
east in the town of Wirt, and about a mile long. The two are
separated by a dry belt of one-half of a mile. Most of the wells
are from 1000 to rsoo feet deep.
Nile well.
Blwershalenarnmiy sae eres siee sie a eer 400 feet
White sand! (arst sand?)iate..) 2400. 630
Sore bluetrockiacy Males py gu da 880
Secomdusaracd (dank) aaae sauna ila (eYo{o)
Me NSITAe me heme nies tHe te mate et etrec eves) 910
Slate with oil sand (3-8 feet)........ I 200
ID aiale Sa ea UNL Mlen sh MeR meena ee ey Ue I 600
The Scio pool near the village of Scio, is a small pool lying in an
isolated portion and apparently independent of the others. The
sand is shallow, 450 to goo feet from the surface, and the oil of light
gravity. There is a very little gas in this pool.
In northern Allegany county is the Short Tract or Granger pool,
in the town of Granger near the Livingston county line. It was
the scene of active exploration in 1906-8 when about thirty wells
were put down which, however, did not prove profitable. The pool
has since been abandoned. Oil was reported in a well drilled near
Swain in the town of Grove at a depth of 740 feet. The deep well
at Canaseraga in the town of Burns, mentioned under the head of
natural gas, found a little oil at 275 feet in gray sand and again at
875 feet in chocolate sand.
Cattaraugus county. The oil district includes a small area in
the southern townships mainly in Olean, Allegany, Carrollton and
Red House. A few successful wells have been opened also in the
town of Humphrey in the second tier above the Pennsylvania line.
As in Allegany county there are a number of individual pools whose
boundaries have now been well defined by exploration. The largest
of these lies directly on the boundary and is'an immediate extension
of the Bradford district so that it may be designated as such. The
pool is about ro miles long east and west and 23 miles wide as a
maximum, with a total area of about 15 square miles. The eastern-
most part in the town of Olean is sometimes referred to as the
Haymaker pool, as it is set off from the rest by a narrow strip of
dry ground. The Allegany pool is farther north in the town of
Allegany and west of Olean. It is intersected by the Allegany river
208 NEW YORK
and measures about 4 miles long to 2 miles wide.
STATE MUSEUM
The Chipmunk
and Flatstone are connected pools, mainly in the town of Carrollton
- but extending over into the town of Allegany. The Rice Brook, a
‘small pool, lies to the west of this near the west border of Carrollton
township. There are three or four little pools with a few wells each
in the town of Red House; also
5 miles north of the Allegany pool.
one in the town of Humphrey about
A number of well records for
the Cattaraugus county district are given in Bishop’s paper’ from
which a few examples are here reproduced.
Bunnell well no. 2, lot 3, Allegany.
MO uO classi met tego. poeta vad tna, Wee ayer 25 feet
(CEISTINNEe Syl A aa cae oh Nh Micelle ARAN eal a 285
Salttwaterianwewne sees ere 400
Binstisan ca (mals))h eee pe eh) ae eas 510
SECOMGESATIG Me Wye ei gh aye ace 800
Gaslate eta eon cet: ane nme Os ec Nlaget I 020
Mopiiaindisand: aye eee uta ae I 080
Bottomithirdisand-a!. Seger eee. I 157
Bottomior welluei, aoe vane we iN I 197
Well no. 1, section 6, Olean.
CASING ci miew cbMenteren ashe id ious tensor S 244 feet
Top Chipmunk sand at............ 850
Bottom Chipmunk sand at......... 880
Noprsecond:sandiatyies «csc ceae 990
Bottom second sand at............. I O51
Top third sand (shells) at.......... I 390
Bottom third sand (shells) at....... I 451
Bottomvok wells. 87 ea I 714
Well on John King farm, Carrollton.
Casi: AF ae es Loe A LE 2 270 feet
Gasat Nanri. ae ey Amt BE rc MN cca ‘ 570
Mop) oiltsandi(@4teet)eaman sone 575
Bottomvoilisandiats (ih) ohgeei nee 599
Well no. 1, Rumsey farm, Carrollton.
TD rahite eps Seder Seri oe tl sgehae caer 5 240 feet
Cementienavieliatenae arate cca 284
Driver piper sey yak seaiin sat) nid 285
Oikandi salt waterta asics an sehen sek 480
AMliGtlefoitltatem seme uynes si Lie nea aa tae 580
iow lonesasiancdvolanie mee an sae 800
Bottomnor welll. jw dH. sisi.) viene pn 882
Well on Loup farm, Olean.
The record of this well is compiled
from data given by C. A. Ashburner (see references below), who
reports it to have been the largest gas producer in the region that
had been opened up to the year 1877.
The yield was estimated
1N. Y. State Mus. Ann. Rep’t 51, v. 2.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 209
by him at 24,480,000 cubic feet of gas and about one barrel of oil
aday. The top of the oil sand is put at 1785 feet below the bottom
of the Olean conglomerate and the well is stated by Ashburner to
lie in a syncline.
MPO TOC es Ue BO SU AL ERS 16 feet
(CRYSTE OVERNIGHT 196
Gray shales and slate.............. 625
Fine shelly sandstone.............. 675
Slaalies yt yatopebin na a seule heAMli Gadi, 870
Fine sandstone and shales alternating 960
ITS gast sara eV Gin Ai eM MUNG 1180
Main (Bradford) sand............. 1230
Well on Joseph Renaldz farm, lot 45, Red House.
Gast gga setName ald Al 300 feet
Seunel (Closhoxanysnol)) ates 4 bss lek ea 680
Mop second sandlaty aw 2 ey tae 1049
Bottom second sand at............. 1059
BLO VG SAM Gna bie Vue ACr ey All leer 1095
Hop Bradtosdisandiat isa nwhn 12s 1359
Bottom Bradford sand at........... 1429
IB oOtcormuon pw elle psi cecieus im, nie 1562
References
Ashburner, C. A. Petroleum and Natural Gas in New York State. Amer.
Inst. Min. Eng. Trans. vol. 16, 1888
Bishop, I. P. Petroleum and Natural Gas in Western New York. N. Y. State
Mus. Ann. Rep’t 51, v. 2, 1899
——. Oil and Gas in Southwestern New York. N. Y. State Mus. Ann.
Rep’t. 53, v. I, 1901
Orton, Edward. Petroleum and Natural Gas in New York. N. Y. State
Mus. Bul. 30, 1899
PAR Tas
There has been no marked increase in the production of pyrite
for acid making in the last few years, but developments are now in
progress that will doubtless lead to a considerable gain in productive
capacity in the near future. These developments have centered
about the St Lawrence and Jefferson county district, on the north-
west side of the Adirondacks, where mining operations on a fairly
extensive basis have been carried on for the last fifteen or twenty
years. ‘This district contains great resources of easily available ores,
but the deposits are low grade and their commercial exploitation
involves a considerable capital outlay for mining and milling equip-
ment necessary to place an undertakng on a successful working
basis.
210 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Information as to the general distribution and features of the
pyrite deposits in Jefferson and St Lawrence counties has recently
_appeared in a report’ by A. F. Buddington, prepared under the
direction of the State Geological Survey during the summer of 1917.
A brief description of the principal ore deposits of the district were
contributed by the writer to the Engineer'ng and Mining Journal
(December 1, 1917).
Nature of the deposits. The pyrite deposits are usually spoken
of as veins, but they are really bands or zones of the country gneisses
and schists impregnated with the sulphide and more or less vitreous
quartz. ‘The mineral occurs in two forms: as finely divided particles
more or less evenly distributed through the gangue and as agegre-
gates of coarser grains and crystals in bunches, veinlets and stringers
of more irregular distribution. Some of the ore contains little else
than fine granular pyrite in a gangue consisting of feldspar, quartz
and mica, with usually considerable amounts of chloritic material
of secondary origin. In other examples the ore is a network of small
stringers or veinlets intersecting the gneiss or is made up of alternating
bands of sulphides and country rock, in both of which types the
pyrite is much coarser than in the disseminated ores. As a rule
the grade of the ore depends upon the extent to which the veining
and banding occurs. The disseminated variety unmarked by these
_ features rarely contains more than ten or fifteen per cent of sulphur.
The richer grades, in which there is a considerable percentage of
coarse pyrite, average 25 to 30 per cent sulphur.
Some pyrrhotite is usually present along with the pyrite. It is
rarely intermixed with the latter, but tends to segregate in a sepa-
rate part of the deposit, for example, along the walls or in inde-
pendent bodies. It is much less common than the other sulphide
and rarely is found in any considerable bodies. In sulphur content
the pyrrhotite ores are practically on a par with the pyrite ores, not-
withstanding the wide difference in composition of the two
minerals.
The pyrite deposits show marked persistence along their strike,
and where they have been mined underground they have been
found to be persistent on the dip as well. The thickness, however,
is usually small compared with other dimensions. In most localities
they are not more than 15 to 20 feet thick, measured from wall to wall.
A maximum thickness of 40 feet is found in parts of the Anna mine,
near Hermon, and 80 feet is reported to have been found in one of
the deposits at Pyrites. In the long stretch in which the deposits
tN. Y. State Defense Council Bul. 1, Albany, 1917.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 2I1
outcrop between Antwerp and Keene the thickness averages in most
places between ro and 12 feet.
Distribution. The report by Buddington, already referred to,
describes the pyrite deposits as occupying long belts of which seven
in all are noted in St Lawrence and Jefferson counties. The more
important of the belts form a single major belt or zone some 40 miles
long and from 3 to 4 miles wide extending in a northeast-southwest
direction from near Antwerp, Jefferson county, to near Canton,
St Lawrence county. This zone is practically conterminous with the
great belt of Grenville strata in that region. In fact, the gneisses
and schists in which the ores are usually found are part of the Gren-
ville series of metamorphosed sediments which include also crystal-
line limestone as an important member. Buddington defines the
principal belts as follows: Pyrites-Hermon belt on the northeast
end. A narrow belt of Grenville gneiss in the towns of De Kalb
and Gouverneur, running northeast from the Cole mine. A belt of
gneiss occurring in the towns of Pierrepont, Hermon, Fowler, Rossie,
Antwerp and Philadelphia. The Laidlaw belt extending from Oxbow
into the town of Antwerp, between Halls Corners and Oxbow.
Another belt lies two-thirds of a mile southwest of Oxbow. In
addition there are smaller areas of pyritic gneisses in the vicinity of
Silvia lake, town of Fowler, and just east of Talcville, town of
Edwards. The principal mining operations hitherto have been
centered on the deposits at Pyrites, the Stella Mines near Hermon
and the Cole property in the vicinity of Gouverneur. The most
promising of the undeveloped deposits probably, all things con-
sidered, are those situated in the Keene-Antwerp belt in the vicinity
of Oxbow.
Mines at Pyrites. A vein or band of pyrite ore is exposed along
the Grass river ‘n the vicinity of Pyrites for a distance of over
one-half of a mile. The vein as shown on the surface ranges from
8 to 20 feet thick and has been attacked in several places by open-
cut excavations. It also has been worked under ground. The
principal mine operations were in the period 1886-1906, when the
High Falls Pyrites Company and later the National Pyrites Com-
pany exploited the deposit. Two inclined shafts were put down
along the dip of the ore. A mill of 50 tons daily capacity was
erected at the mine for concentration. In 1907 the mines were
taken over by the Oliver Mining Company, which carried out
extensive exploratory operations with the diamond drill. These are
reported to have been successful in showing the presence of large
resources of the ore, but no active mining has since been undertaken.
212 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
About 900 tons of ore were taken out by the company for experi-
ment, which are reported to have averaged 22 per cent sulphur and
to have yielded 300 tons of concentrates. In the earlier period
of active mining the deposits had been worked to a maximum
depth of 250 feet. The better grade of ore is said to occur in shoots
which have a northeasterly trend and a northwest dip. Pyrrhotite
occurs in considerable bodies, but is not mixed with the pyrite to
any extent.
Stella mines. These are 1 mile north of Hermon. They include
workings on the Stella vein which were first opened and has been
exploited to a depth of 900 feet on the dip and for r1oo feet along
the strike, with an average thickness of from 10 to 12 feet and the
Anna workings which are based on parallel ore bands which measure
50 feet thick in the aggregate and are tapped by a single shaft.
The mines are now operated by the St Lawrence Pyrites Company
who took over the property about 1905.
The upper vein on which the Stella shaft is situated is a thin
band which shows great regularity and persistence. It has a
northeasterly strike and a dip to the northwest of from 20 to 30
degrees. Work on the deposit has been discontinued of late years
and operations carried on solely in the Anna mine, where there are
four parallel ore bands with an aggregate thickness of 50 feet or
more. The individual veins are separated from each other by
75 to too feet of country rock which here is a basic hornblende
type that may be a metamorphosed gabbro. The Anna shaft is
over 600 feet deep and the connected levels extend 1800 feet along —
the strike. The crude ore is treated in a mill equipped with jigs
and tables. The concentrates as shipped carry about 45 per cent
sulphur. The milling capacity is about 250 tons crude ore a day
with one-third to one-half of that amount in concentrates.
Cole mine. This property was worked for several years by the
Hinckley Fibre Company who shipped the ore crude for use in
sulphide manufacture. In 1917 the New York Pyrites Company
was organized for its operation. The new undertaking has begun
shipments of crude ore, but contemplates the erection of a mill
which will enable the output to be marketed in a more desirable
form for acid manufacture. The installation of mine and milling
plan has been in progress during 1918. The shape of the ore bodies
at this locality shows a considerable departure from the simple form
that characterizes most of the other deposits in the district. The
structure of the deposit, however, has not yet been satisfactorily
worked out. In the early operations two bands or veins were
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 213
encountered, on one of which the shaft was sunk 225 feet in 15 to
18 feet of ore with a northwest strike. On the hanging side, separated
by 15 feet of schist, is a second body which was drifted on for go
feet in a northeast direction and for 60 feet at right angles thereto.
It was developed by later operations that the vein in which the
shaft is located and the overlying ore body are connected on the
northwest side by a band of ore ro feet thick. It seems likely that
the ore in this locality has been folded subsequent to its deposition.
Recently a series of prospect pits has been made to the southeast
of the mine between there and the highway. A thickness of 30
feet of ore is here indicated. The pyrite is of a different type than
seen in most of the mines. It is conspicuously banded in alternate
layers of coarse and fine material. Some specimens are practically
pure sulphides and the average content of the run of mine is well
Over 25 per cent sulphur.
Keene-Antwerp deposits. One of the most persistent belts in the
region is along the line of the railroad between Keene station and
Antwerp, paralleling the railroad on the west and lying along a well-
defined valley which is defined by low granite ridges on the east side
with a more general sloping ridge opposite, usually of limestone.
The belt is about 5 miles long and is composed of successive bands
of pyrite schist which occur at slightly variant horizons. The rich
portions of the schist that occur here and there afford promising
ground for prospecting if not actually for mine developments. Some
of these richer occurrences are on the Caledonia, Keene, Morgan,
Wright and Dickinson properties, all of which contain hematite
ores that have been worked on a larger or smaller scale in years
past. On the northern end the pyrite occurs mostly in finely divided
condition distributed in a schist composed of quartz, feldspar and
chlorite which forms one of the walls of the hematite deposits.
samples of the ores of this type show on‘analysis 20 per cent sulphur
or a little more. In the middle section of the belt there is more
of the coarse secondary pyrite which occurs in veinlets and bands
that intersect the schist. Such material is not only higher in grade
but there is more suitable material for concentration. The individual
bodies measure from 15 to 20 feet wide as shown on the surface
and can be followed for several hundred feet in places without
apparent diminution in size. Up to the year 1918 practically no
work had been done on these deposits and their extent seems to
have escaped the attention of those engaged in mining in other
parts of the district. The development operations have been under
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
214
Wo [sPuoOm wopsjoy eae N N
sassiau g AN
PEEVES AquoyA suet AN
Suig spray =
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 215
way during the spring and summer of the current year and some
shipments of lump ore have been made.
Deposits near Oxbow. Pyrite ore outcrops in force on the Laidlaw
farm 1 mile southeast of Oxbow and just south of Antwerp highway.
The exposures lie on the west face of a small knob which is composed
of garnet-biotite gneiss with about 50 feet of pyritic gneiss exposed
on the northwest side. The outcrop of the ore is marked by a
heavy iron-stained cap. The richer ore occurs near the top of the
exposed band of pyritic gneiss along the eastern flank of the hill.
It has been prospected in two or three places and near the southern
end of the hill a shallow shaft has been sunk. Another prospect
lies near the north end. Little can be seen in these openings but
about 150 feet south of the shaft ore appears in outcrop for a distance
of 50 feet along the strike with a width of about 22 feet. The
upper 18 feet of this band is fairly rich pyrite ore. ‘The lower four
feet consists of pyrrhotite. Samples of the vein taken in the
shaft opening showed on analysis 28 to 29 per cent sulphur.
Pyrite schists occur on the Frank Bent farm 23 miles southwest
of Oxbow where the band of schists or gneiss has a thickness alto-
gether of 50 to 60 feet. The richer ore occurs in the central part
of the band with about 25 feet that is rather heavily charged with
sulphides. In one place a prospect has been put down for a few
feet in the ore. The total length of the exposed vein is about 4oo
feet but there is no dowbt it extends much farther than that. The
pyrite outcrops a short distance from some iron ore pits. A sample
of the sulphides made up of several specimens taken from different
parts of the vein returned 22.15 per cent sulphur.
Other pyrite showings in St Lawrence county. In the report by
Buddington previously noted, mention is made of a test drilling by
the St Lawrence Pyrite Company at a locality one-quarter of a mile
west of Pyrites. The drill is said to have encountered 11 feet of
fairly rich ore, beginning at 94 feet from the surface. A prospect
pit is found 1 mile from Pyrites in a direction a little south of west.
The pit is shallow and reveals an ore made up of pyrite and pyrrho-
tite in about equal quantities. The two minerals occur in irregular
branching veinlets with occasional pockets and bunches of the
sulphides.
In the vicinity of the Ore-Bed school, town of Hermon, are found
ore bands of pyritic gneiss which have been prospected to a small
extent. One band of the gneiss forms the hill on the east side of
the road one-quarter of a mile north of the school house and consists
of an injected gneiss of which the outcrop is marked by the usual
216 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
rusty appearance. Two veins of pyrite occur but they are poorly
exposed and their size is undeterminable from present observations.
A prospect shaft was put down some years ago on the Alexander
Parr farm, now owned by Henry Fleming, situated 3 miles north-
east of Bigelow, in the town of De Kalb. The portion of the vein
to be seen in the shaft, which is partially filled with water, consists
of about 63 feet of pyrrhotite. About 50 yards north of the shaft
a prospect exposes about 9 feet of pyrrhotite. Typical specimens
of the ore returned 20.80 per cent sulphur and o.22 percent arsenic.
The Mitchell prospect is in the town of De Kalb. about 22 miles
northeast of Bigelow, on property now owned by D. G. Styles, but —
which formerly belonged to.Calvin Mitchell. The opening, a shaft
of uncertain depth, is on the southeast edge of a small ridge just
north of Indian creek. The shaft is said to have been excavated in
the spring of 1904. It is now filled with water to within about
20 feet of the top, and in the exposed part shows 7 to 8 feet of pyrite
ore, in the middle of which is a band of pyrrhotite gneiss. About
35 feet northeast of the shaft a small prospect exposed 7 feet of
sulphides. At a distance of 200 feet southwest of the shaft another
prospect reveals about 2 feet of pyrrhotite ore. An analysis of the:
pyrrhotite showed 23.48 per cent sulphur and 0.16 per cent arsenic.
It is probable that the whole vein will average about 25 per cent
of sulphur.
The Styles shaft is about 14 miles northeast of Bigelow, near the
elbow of Indian creek, on land owned by D. G. Styles. It was put
down in 1904 at the same time as the Mitchell shaft. About 9 feet
of pyritic gneiss is exposed in the shaft, the vein being composed
of alternate bands of sulphides and lean rock. The ore consequently
varies in character from place to place and the average is probably
about 20 per cent sulphur.
The prospect known as the Henricks shaft is located in the town
of De Kalb, 14 miles southwest of Bigelow and southwest of the
railroad which crosses Boland creek. The shaft is now flooded, but
apparently the vein is narrow, averaging about two feet thick.
The sulphur content is reported to be about 30 per cent. The same
vein has been traced by trenching and by pits for a distance of 300
feet, and at the southern end close to the railroad tracks it widens
to 6 feet. Limestone forms the foot wall of the gneiss.
Pyrite in graphite ores. Pyrite occurs in association with the
graphite ores which are mainly exposed on the eastern side of the
Adirondacks in Essex, Warren and Washington counties. In most
of the deposits the content is small and the pyrite is present in finely
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 217
divided particles difficult to separate from the gangue. In so:ne
places, however, it forms a considerable percentage of the total mass,
and in such form that it could be readily recovered as a byproduct
in the process of separation of the graphite. At one of the mines
pyrite concentrates of commercial grade are now produced.
Pyrrhotite in southeastern New York. A body of pyrrhotite of
some size occurs on Anthony’s Nose, the bold prominence that arises
on the east shore of the Hudson river just north of Peekskill. Mine
operations were carried on at the locality for several years suc-
ceeding 1865, the output being used for sulphuric acid manufacture
in works situated nearby on the river front. The ore is said to have
carried about 28 per cent sulphur in the average and to have been
free from arsenic. The deposit was mined to a depth of from 300
to 400 feet; and its thickness in the workings ranged from 20 to 30
feet and the width on the line of strike 50 feet. The immediate
walls consist of a light-colored gneiss composed of quartz, plagioclase
and a little hornblende, but a basic gneiss that may represent an
altered gabbro outcrops within a short distance.
Pyrite in shales. An occurrence of pyrite in bedded shales that
was recently brought to the writer’s notice deserves some mention
in this place on account of the unusual conditions it illustrates,
although belonging to a type that is not at all uncommon. The
association of pyrite with clay sediments is so frequent as to be
hardly noteworthy. In the present instance, however, the pyrite is
more than ordinarily abundant and forms nodules and aggregates
of such size that it can be readily freed from the enclosing rock,
and when so separated is of commercial grade. The deposit consists
of about 25 feet of beds comprising the Brayman shales, as exposed
in the vicinity of Schoharie village, on the west side of Schoharie
creek. The locality, where the pyrite occurs in considerable abun-
dance, is on the Gebhard farm, now owned by R. Veenfliet jr, just
outside of the village. For some hundreds of feet the shale occurs
in a vertical bank topped by hard thick beds of Cobleskill dolomite,
the two formations inclining at a low angle to the south and gradu-
ally disappearing frorn view under cover of the higher strata as they
are followed in that direction. Throughout the 15 feet or more
of the exposed section of the shales the pyrite is found in considerable
abundance. It occurs in different forms; as small crystals and
grains disseminated through the mass, as nodular aggregates from
the size of a walnut up to 3 or 4 inches in diameter, and as one or
more bands constituted of coalescent aggregates which are not well
enough exposed in the bank to show their thickness and continuity.
218 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
The latter are found near the water level of the adjacent creek and
were partly submerged and partly covered over with talus from the
- adjacent bank. The nodules are in part solid masses of pyrite and
in part consist of an outer shell of pyrite enclosing a core of shaly
matter with a lager proportion of celestite. The latter occurs in
small bladed crystals intergrown so as to form a somewhat coherent
though fragile mass. The individual crystals are rarely more than
one-half of an inch long and very thin and delicate. Their identity
was established by qualitative chemical tests. The presence of
barytocelestite, a mixture of strontium and barium sulphates in
the Rondout waterlime to the east of Schoharie village is mentioned
by Grabau* and earlier by John Gebhard.? It is possible that the
celestite from this locality may also carry some barium, but its
presence has not been determined. An analysis of the pyrite found
in the nodules and larger aggregates was made by H. F. Gardner
of the Museum staff.
Savas piejeocepenetetiess 42.75
IRE HE eR Ge 39.74
SiO os Peter ee MN 10.04
Al,O3 Ay, 5 Caley oluopen sitslacacet 8&2
WMSOUaie he ses heaters 2.14
DNs oA aes a et (0/0)
Lime, magnesia, barium and strontium were present but not
determined.
References
Beck, Lewis €. Mineralogy of New York, 1842, p. 387
Brinsmade, Robert B. Pyrites Mining and Milling in St Lawrence County,
New York. The Mineral Industry, v. 14, 1906, p. 525-27
Buddington, A. F. Report on the Pyrite and Pyrrhotite Veins in Jefferson and
St Lawrence Counties, New York. N. Y. State Defense Council Bul. 1, 1917
Newland,D.H. Pyritein Northern New York. Eng. & Min. Jour., Dec. i, 1917
—————. The Zinc-Pyrite Deposits of the Edwards District. N. Y. State
Defense Council Bul. 2, 1917
Smyth, C. H. jr. On the Genesis of the Pyrite Deposits of St Lawrence County,
N.Y. N. Y. State Mus. Bul. 158, 1912, p. 143-82
Vogel, Felix A. Pyrites Mining and Milling in St Lawrence pada, New York.
The Mineral Industry, v. 16, 1908, p. 845-51
QUARTZ
Quartz, the oxide of silicon, is one of the most abundant minerals
in nature. It constitutes largely the mass of sandstone, quartzite,
river and beach sands, and is an important component of granite,
gneiss, many schists and other rocks. It is a common vein mineral,
1N. Y. State Mus. Bul. 92, 1906, p. 360-61.
2 Amer. Jour. Sci., v. 28, 1835, p. 172.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 219)
occurring either alone or as gangue for ores. In the form of chert,
a micro-crystalline variety, it is associated with some limestones.
Quartz possesses qualities of hardness, toughness and resistance to
chemical change matched by relatively few other minerals.
Despite the abundance of materials containing quartz in large
amounts, the supplies of high-grade silica adapted to certain
important industrial uses are not so common but that they possess
extensive interest and value. One of the more persistent impurities
of great importance in determining the commercial availability of
deposits is iron which may always be counted upon as present in
one form or another. It may be carried by finely divided iron
oxides, or by admixture with some iron-bearing silicate like biotite,
hornblende or pyroxene.
Uses. The manufacture of glass requires large amounts of high-
grade quartz. To be suitable for most kinds of glass, the material
should contain 98.5-99 per cent of silica as a minimum. The
restrictions with regard to iron are rigid; for plate and window glass
the usual limit is 0.2 per cent ferric oxide, equivalent to 0.14 metallic
iron, and for optical glass nothing more than a trace is allowable.
A granular material is best adapted to this purpose, and consequently
sands and loosely textured sandstones easily reducible to granular
state are mostly used. Sands that are not suitable in their natural
state may sometimes be beneficiated by washing and screening.
The size should be also fairly uniform and not too coarse; a sand
that ranges from 20 to 50 mesh is preferred.
Pottery manufacture also requires a high-grade quartz low in
iron. Vein quartz or a micro-crystalline quartz something like
flint is used and has to be finely ground.
The manufacture of silicon and ferro-silicon has become quite an
important industry in the State, and has developed a local market
for material suited to the purpose. A silica content of 96 to 97
per cent is required; the limitations otherwise are not particularly
rigid. A quartz sandstone or quartzite is employed by most of the
plants in the State and there are abundant supplies to be had in the
Potsdam and other formations.
Quartz is an important refractory material in metallurgy. It is
employed in the form of quartzite and quartz schist (ganister) for
the lining of shaft furnaces and as sand (fire sand) for open-hearth
furnaces, ladles etc.
Among the other uses of quartz are as an abrasive, wood-filler and
as an ingredient of paints. For sand-paper vitreous or vein quartz
is crushed and sized. The purity is not so important, but the quartz
220 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
should not be too much discolored. In paint and wood-filler the
same kind is employed in finely pulverized condition.
A special investigation of the high-silica materials of the State
was carried out in 1918 by R. J. Colony, and the results published
as bulletin no. 203,204 of the New York State Museum.
Quartz sands. The sand deposits are described under a separate
title, and need not be given special attention here. It may be
remarked that the deposits are mainly of glacial origin and do not
rank very high in silica content, being mostly mixtures of quartz
with clay and various rock materials, so that they are seldom adapted
to the employments above described. The best materials are the
beach sands represented in the Oneida lake region and on the north
shores of Long Island. The former locality has supplied considerable
quantities of quartz sand for window-glass manufacture and fire and
core sands. |
Sandstones and Quartzites. Some of the bedded formations
contain sandstone members that are high in quartz content. These
include granular more or less open textured rocks, which belong to
the class of sandstones in the strict sense, and rocks which have
been cemented and filled with a secondary silica deposit forming a
solid mass of quartz, or a quartzite.
One ‘of the more widespread sandstones that often carries a high
_ quartz content is the Potsdam. This outcrops extensively on the
northern, eastern and southern borders of the Adirondacks. In
some places it is a hard, vitreous quartzite and in others it has the
open texture of sandstone. The beds range from a few inches to
two or three feet thick and are white, gray or pink in color. The
areas on the north side of the Adirondacks, particularly around
Moira and Bangor, Franklin county, seem to contain the highest
silica material, which has been used locally for glass manufacture
to some extent. On the east side at Port Henry and farther south
at Fort Ann there are exposures of fairly pure quartzite. On the
south side of the Adirondacks the Potsdam occurs in minor areas
of which one at Keck Center, Fulton county, yields a white granular
sandstone, with 96 to 99 per cent silica, that is used for ferro-silicon
manufacture.
The Oriskany sandstone of the central part of the State has beds
of rather coarse, white, sugary quartz rock that is high in silica.
There are good exposures at Oriskany Falls, Oneida county, and
near Union Springs, Cayuga county.
The Shawangunk grit is a coarse quartzite or conglomerate that
outcrops in Ulster, Orange and Sullivan counties. It is quarried
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 221
for millstones, and at one time also was worked for glass material,
the latter having been obtained near Ellenville.
The Poughquag quartzite, which occurs in the Highland region
and north of there, contains beds which are practically pure quartz.
It is an extremely hard and tough material, owing to its thorough
impregnation by secondary silica which has converted the mass into
the condition almost of vitreous quartz. By reason of these qualities
it should be well adapted for the lining of tube mills and is also
probably suitable for chemical and metallurgical uses.
Vein quartz. Vitreous or vein quartz occurs in many -places in
the Adirondacks and in the Highlands, particularly on the margins
of granitic intrusions. No very large veins are known, although
occasionally they attain workable dimensions. A number of occur-
rences near Fort Ann and Port Henry once supplied material for
making wood filler which was prepared in a mill at Fort Ann. Some
quartz has been shipped to sand-paper manufacturers from this
region. The largest output of vein quartz has come from near
Bedford, Westchester county, where it is associated with the
pegmatite of that locality. The quartz is found in segregated bodies
practically free of admixture and also associated with feldspar as
a constituent of the pegmatite. The product of the quarries is
employed for wood filler and silicate paint.
SALT
Salt has a prominent place in the list of New York’s mineral
products. This position it has maintained for a long time, as salt
making was one of the early industries that had much to do with
the pioneer settlement and trade development of the interior of
the State.
The importance of the salt industry may be the better appreciated
When it is considered that the deposits are widely distributed,
occurring within an area which has not yet been definitely delimited
but which certainly covers several thousand square miles — con-
stituting a resource scarcely to be measured in terms of present
day or nearby prospective consumption—and that in many places
the deposits are easily reached by wells or shafts located close to
some of the main railroad lines or on natural waterways. The
situation of the deposits with reference to the market is an important
economic factor; they are the most easterly of all those in the
country, and thus have a natural advantage in the seaboard trade,
as well as in the interior of New England, New York and Pennsyl-
222 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
vania with their large industrial centers. The chemical industries
in this section afford one of the principal outlets for the product.
Historical. Salt making in New York was carried on in a small
way during the colonial days. The earliest mention of the occurrence
of salt within the present state limits is found in the Jesuit “ Rela-
tions.’’ Some missionaries from the Canadian settlements along
the St Lawrence river visited the neighborhood of Onondaga lake
in the middle of the 17th century and reported upon the remarkable
saline springs there which had long been known to the Indians.
Both the natives and occasional traders collected salt from this
source before the Revolution had opened the lands to white settlers.
The present industry may be said to have been started in 1788
when the State secured title to the lands on the shores of Onondaga
lake ‘‘ for the common benefit of the people of the State of New
York and the Onondagas for the purpose of making salt.” In the
same year, or according to some authorities, in 1789 salt manu-
facture was begun at Salt Point (later the village of Salina) in an
open kettle, with the use of brine dipped from a shallow opening
dug in the ground. This primitive undertaking was started by ©
Asa Danforth and Comfort Tyler. In 1793 a regular salt works,
consisting of an arch with four potash kettles, was built by William
Van Vleck and Moses DeWitt. The State assumed control of the
salt industry in 1797 when the Legislature passed laws regulating
the employment of brines on the Onondaga Salt Springs Reservation
and appointed a superintendent to take charge on the ground. The
brine was pumped by central stations and supplied to the individual
evaporating plants who were taxed upon the output to repay the
‘cost of pumping and supervision. The State did not relinquish
its control of the natural brines until 1908 by which time the pro-
duction in the Onondaga reservation had declined to small pro-
portions by reason of competition with the salt made from the
richer artificial brines secured in the rock salt district. Solar evapo-
ration in the vicinity of Syracuse began in 1821; it rapidly became
established in favor and for several years it has been the sole method
of making salt from the natural brines. |
The occurrence of rock salt in New York was not established
until 1865 when the first discovery was reported in the vicinity of
Vincent, Ontario county. No use was made of the deposit, and it
was only in 1881 that the rock salt beds began to be exploited. An
evaporating works was put in operation in that year near Wyoming,
Wyoming county, deriving its supply of brine from the bed of rock
salt which had been found in the course of ‘‘ wildcat ”’ oil explorations
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 223
in 1878. The bed at that place was encountered at about 1270 feet
and was 70 feet thick. In 1881 rock salt was discovered in Warsaw,
5 miles south of the Pioneer well near Wyoming. The record of
the boring showed 80 feet of salt, with an additional 31 feet of
mixed salt and shale, beginning at 1520 feet depth. The continua-
’ tion of the beds to the south was established by a well at Rock Glen
3 miles from Warsaw which found the salt at 2015 feet; another at
Silver Springs, 2 miles arther south, showing salt at 2224 feet; and
at Gainesville creek and Bliss still farther away. Evaporating
works were built at Warsaw, Rock Glen and Silver Springs. In
the Genesee valley the first successful well was drilled in 1883 near
the present shaft of the Retsof mine, and within the succeeding
few years the occurrence of salt was reported at a number of other
localities in the valley between the north and south boundaries of
Livingston county. A well at Ithaca on the south end of Cayuga
lake in 1885 encountered 248 feet of salt at depths below 2244 feet.
Evaporating plants were built at Ludlowville and Ithaca. In 1893
the Glen Salt Co. put down a well at Watkins at the head of Seneca
lake which was used as a source of brine. In 1888 the Solvay Process
Co. began the drilling of wells in the Town of Tully, 17 miles south
of Syracuse, and by 1896 had put down 41 wells to the salt which
was encountered at depths of about 1200 feet. Fresh water is
conducted from the Tully lakes into the wells and after saturation
is pumped and transported by pipe line to the large soda works at
Solvay. The most easterly point at which the rock salt is found
is at Morrisville, Madison county, where a well drilled in 1886
encountered a bed 10 to 12 feet thick at 1259 feet.
The first mine shaft that reached the salt was put down by the
Retsof Mining Co. at Retsof, Livingston county. It was started
in 1884 and bottomed the following year at a little over rooo feet.
The Greigsville Mining Co. put down one at Greigsville, just west
of the Retsof shaft. The Lehigh Mining Co. opened a mine 23
miles south of LeRoy, Genesee county, and the Livonia Salt Mining
Co. at Livonia, Genesee county, which have since been abandoned.
The Sterling Salt Co. started mining at Cuylerville, Genesee county,
in 1906. The last mine shaft to be completed is that of the Rock
Salt Corporation on Portland Point north of Ithaca, which was
bottomed in r9r7.
Occurrence of salt. Natural brines are found in a number of
places and under varied geological conditions. Weak salines occur
quite generally in the Medina sandstone; Hall has reported natural
licks or springs at 15 localities within the Medina formation from
NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
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MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 225
_ Cayuga county to Niagara county. Salt was made in the early
days at Kendall and near Medina, Orleans county, and at Somerset,
Niagara county. Brine springs are known also along the outcrop
of the Salina shales, as at Montezuma, Cayuga county, and in the
towns of Savannah and Clyde, Wayne county, where evaporating
works were once operated. The Hamilton and Portage shales of
western New York are sources of weak brines. Most interest,
however, centers about the occurrence on the Onondaga reservation
where salt manufacture had its inception and has been carried on
uninterruptedly down to the present time.
The Syracuse brines are stored in sands and gravels that underlie
the valley of Onondaga creek and Onondaga lake. These loose
materials are probably of glacial origin, a part of the morainal
accumulations in the vicinity, and occupy a channel or basin
hollowed out in the Salina beds, that is the soft Camillus and Vernon
shales. The buried channel follows the course of the surface con-
tours marking the wider Onondaga valley. The gravels and sands
extend to depths of several hundred feet at the foot of Onondaga
lake. Originally the gravels were saturated with brine practically
to the surface, so that it was only necessary to dig a shallow pit
or hole to collect it. As the use increased it was found that the
shallow brines became weakened, and then wells were put down
which were gradually extended until the maximum depth of about
400 feet was attained. The present supplies come from wells 200
to 400 feet deep. There has been a noticeable decrease in the
salinity of the brine with the continued pumping. It is generally
held, and no doubt properly so, that the brine is supplied by leaching
of the rock salt beds to the south. The flow of water is opposite
to the inclination of the beds, which is to the south and about so
feet or so to the mile, but there is a rise in the surface contours in
the same direction sufficient to give the necessary hydraulic head.
The rock salt beds supply all of the salt now produced with the
exception of the relatively small quantity made by the solar process
at Syracuse. The beds are assigned by geologists to the Salina
stage of the Silurian, representing the equivalent practically of the
Onondaga Salt group of the early reports of Hall and Vanuxem.
The Salina is mainly a shale formation, but carries layers of thin
limestone at the top (Bertie) besides gypsum and salt which occur
in the gray and drab shales of the Camillus formation. Its lower
member is made up of the Vernon red shale. The outcrop of the
beds extends in an east and west belt from Albany county to the
226 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
Niagara river. The belt east of Oneida county is thin and follows
the range of hills in an east-southeast direction parallel with the
Mohawk. With the gradual thickening of the beds and flattening
of the topography the outcrop widens out rapidly as it approaches
the Oneida lake section becoming ro miles wide in Onondaga county
and nearly 20 miles on the line of Cayuga lake where the extreme
dimensions are reached. Thence west to the Niagara river the
outcrop forms a nearly straight belt 7 to ro miles wide.
Our knowledge as to the horizon of the salt in the succession is
derived entirely from the records of well borings and the few shafts
that have been put down to the beds. The data supplied by the
wells are not altogether reliable as most of the borings were made
by oil well rigs, a method that does not admit of accurate records.
The salt itself is not encountered except at some distance to the
south of the outcrop where the covering protects it from the seepage
of surface waters.
In exploration the hard cherty Onondaga limestone following
the black Marcellus shale is used as a bench mark by which to
locate the position of the salt. The top of the limestone is taken
rather than the base, as the succession below is variable and the
line between the Onondaga and Oriskany sandstone where present
or of the Onondaga and Bertie waterlime is not so easily established.
It would appear from the various well logs that the salt lies at
varying intervals from the bench mark, ranging from a minimum
of about 350 feet to a maximum of goo feet or so. In the same
locality within short distances the interval may also show con-
siderable variations, as in the group of wells at Tully where the
salt lies amywhere from 492 feet to 556 feet below the top of the
Onondaga. ‘The cherty limestone varies from 60 feet thick in the
eastern to rso feet in the western part of the salt district.
There seems to be no constant position for the salt, further than
that it lies in general within the gray shales between the Bertie
waterlime above and the Vernon shales below (see diagram p. 95).
Its variability in this respect agrees with the gypsum which likewise
shows a considerable verticalrange. The question arises whether the
salt is not actuallyin the form of lenses rather than beds, analogous to
the gypsum which has been quite clearly shown to be in attenuated
lenses that succeed each other along the strike and dip of the strata,
in places separated by considerable intervals and again overlapping
each other. The writer is inclined to view the rapid changes in
the horizon, thickness and number of the salt beds as shown in the
well records from different localities to be indicative of such structure.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 227,
The salt attains its maximum thickness apparently in the eastern
section, on the extension of the dip south of the Onondaga-Cayuga
county part of the Salina outcrop. This is indicated by the actual
records of the wells drilled to the salt and indirectly by the relative
magnitude of the gypsum beds which are exposed within the Salina
belt from: Madison to Erie counties. Inasmuch as the gypsum
represents one element of the series. of original deposits from the
Salina sea or salt basin, in which it may be believed that the relative
proportions of mineral ingredients were fairly uniform for the entire
area of evaporating waters, there ought to be some balance between
the volumes of the two materials, unless exceptional conditions
obtained during the period of evaporation or the original relations
have been destroyed by subsequent attack of ground waters on
the beds: There is nothing to show that the salt beds have under-
gone marked rearrangement resulting in any considerable increase
or:shrinkage locally in their dimensions except for the wastage that
has taken place along the outcrop.
In the series of Tully wells, no. 2, group A; is reported by Luther
to have been drilled through four salt beds, 24, 74, 36 and 60 feet
thick respectively, in order from top to bottom and making an
aggregate of 204 feet.
At Ithaca a well drilled in 1885 showed a total thickness of salt,
according to Prosser, of 248 feet, divided into seven seams. A
test well on Portland Point, 6 miles north of the Ithaca well, pene-
trated three beds, an wpper of 17, a middle bed of 27 and a lower
bed of 72 feet, with a» parting of shale 27 feet thick between the
upper and: middle beds and another shale parting 6 feet thick
between the middle and lower beds:
At’ Watkins, at the head of Seneca lake; a well was drilled 102
feet into the salt. There is no record of the total thickness.
In Livingston county the several salt shafts-show a thickness. of
‘from so to 80 feet of salt including impure beds of shaly material.
In the Oatka valley the salt beds have a thickness of 75 to 80
feet where they have not been leached.
The data of wells put down by the ordinary oil-rig, which is the
method: employed in drilling brine weils, are not to be regarded
as very accurate and some allowance must be made therefore in
comparing the records with reference to the salt. This applies both
to the dimensions and the inte:pretation of the character of the
beds. In some wells, doubtless; the measurements include beds
which are really shale impregnated to a greater or less extent) with
228 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
salt, as it is extremely difficult to discriminate between a bed of that
kind and an alternating series of salt and shale beds:
Mining of salt. The production of salt by mining conducted
through shafts sunk to the beds has been in progress in New York
since 1885, when the first shaft of the Retsof Mining Co. at Retsof
was bottomed. In the following few years other shafts were put
down; one 25 miles south of LeRoy, Genesee county, by the Lehigh
Salt Mining Co.; one at Livonia, Livingston county, by the Livonia
Salt & Mining Co.; and one at Greigsville, Livingston county, by
the Greigsville Salt & Mining Co. In 1906 the Sterling Salt Co.
completed a shaft at Cuylerville, Livingston county. The last shaft
to be put down is that of the Rock Salt Corporation at Portland
Point on Cayuga lake which was completed early in 1918.
Underground mining has an advantage over the method of
extraction by brine wells on the basis of production costs. Its
disadvantage inheres in the impure quality of the product, which
necessarily contains more or less of the admixed calcium and |
magnesium compounds, which in the process of brine evaporation
are largely removed. Rock salt, however, finds extensive uses,
and the consumption has grown more rapidly of late years than
of evaporated salt.
The mining operations are not essentially different from those
employed in working a flat coal seam on the room-and-pillar method.
Main galleries are extended east and west which serve as permanent
haulage ways, and then headings are driven at right angles, at
regular intervals, dividing off the ground into panels. The pillars
measure 30 feet on the side and are spaced 30 feet apart, in the
usual practice. This results in the removal of 75 per cent of the
-actual working thickness. In the mines in Livingston county, the
only ones that have been extensively worked, the portion of the
bed suitable for mining ranges from 6 or 7 feet to 12 feet thick.
The salt is broken by drilling a series of holes with rotary auger
drills and charging the holes with dynamite. In the ordinary run
a hole is 6 to 7 feet in depth and can be drilled in about 3 minutes. The
auger is 13 inches diameter. Electric power is now used. It would
seem practicable to undercut the salt, as is done in mining soft coal,
but the trials that have been made with coal-cutting machines have
not been successful. The salt is said to possess a degree of toughness
that greatly lowers the efficiency of such machines even to make their
use impracticable, at least in their present forms.
The broken salt is loaded on to cars which are drawn by mules to
the main haulage ways; then they are made up into trains to be hauled
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 2290
by electric locomotives to the shaft. The steel cars hold 3 tons each.
These are loaded both by hand and by automatic shovels, the use
of the latter having been taken up quite recently.
At the shaft the cars are run on to cages and hoisted to the top of
the breaker. There are two hoisting compartments in each shaft,
the cages being operated in balance, and the usual rate is about a
car each minute, the distance to the top of the breaker being 1150
feet. At the breaker the car is dumped into a bin from which it
goes through the process of crushing and screening to provide the
various sizes in demand. ‘These include lump salt, large and small
and 5 graded sizes, ranging from three-quarters to one-sixteenth of
an inch in diameter.
During the last several years the only active mines have been those
of the Retsof Mining Co. and the Sterling Salt Co. The shaft at
Portland Point has not been equipped for production.
Manufacture of salt from brine. The making of salt by evapora-
tion of brines, or water solutions of salt, is the really essential branch
of the industry, so far as concerns the majority of uses. Brine
salt may fill the place of rock salt in practically all applications;
the relative cheapness of the latter is the principal factor in the
development of the market for mined salt. It is only by evapora-
tion that the impurities which are invariably present in the natural
salt or brines may be removed and the product made fit for human
consumption. ‘These impurities consist largely of calcium and mag-
nesium compounds, of which the latter are obnoxious because of
their bitter taste and medicinal qualities. Calcium chloride has a
great affinity for water and causes the salt to cake when exposed to
the air.
The methods of salt manufacture that have been employed in
New York State include the following: (a) solar evaporation; (bd)
evaporation by direct heat in open kettles or pans; (c) evaporation by
steam with jacketed kettles or grainers; (d) evaporation by steam
in vacuum pans.
Solar evaporation is the process in use for the natural brines found
on the old Onondaga reservation near Syracuse. It was first em-
ployed in 1821, previous to which time the salt was made in open
kettles by direct heat. Both methods were in use until a few years
ago, when the kettle process was discontinued, and all the salt now
made at Syracuse consists of the coarse solar variety. The evapora-
tion is carried out in shallow wooden vats, of which one kind known
as aprons in which the brine is only about one-half of an inch deep
performs the first step in the concentration, raising the salinity to a
230 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
point where the gypsum is about to precipitate. The brine is then
drawn into-vats about 6 inches deep in which the gypsum or “ lime ”
deposits and the solution becomes saturated with respect to the salt.
This solution is called “‘ pickle’”’ and goes to the salt rooms where
the final stage is accomplished. The salt crystals are raked from the
fioor of the-rooms: about three times a season which: ina good year
lasts from the middle of March to the middle of November: The
vats are protected against rain by covers or roofs mounted om a
wooden’ framework so as to be moveable. Some idea of the size
of the industry in the flourishing days may be had from the statement
of the- state- superintendent of the Onondaga Salt Springs in his
report for 1894 that about 45,000 covered vats, each 16 by 18 feet,
were then in use. ‘This implies an evaporating surface of 12,960,000
square feet. The estimated investment represented by these
structures, with the-storehouses and mills, at that time was placed at
$5.750,000. The-crop of the solar salt in 1894 was 2,355,394 bushels
or’471,079 barrels.
The artificial evaporation of brines is now conducted’ by open
pans, by grainers and by the vacuum pan. Open kettles heated by
fire or by steam coils are-no longer in use.
Open pans are to be-seen in only a few plants, as they have largely
been superseded by grainers which are more economical of heat and
in which the process of evaporation is carried on with less frequent
interruptions. The high temperatures attained by direct fire are
likely to cause warping of the pans and’ buckling of the arches,
necessitating’ considerable expense for repairs. They have am ad-
vantage over grainers, however, in that the evaporation can: be
hastened by rapid boiling which leads to finer crystals, as the quicker
the process of precipitation, after the saturation point is reached,
the finer will'be the crystal particles. On the other hand they require
more attention.
The pans are made of boiler iron and set’in brick arches: with fire
grates at one end from which flues conduct the heated gases under the
whole length of the pans. These latter are about roo feet long and
2e to 30 feet wide, divided into a front and back section by a trams-
verse partition. The brine after settling and liming which remove |
the iron and mechanical impurities is conducted into the back pan
where it is preheated and then siphoned into the front pan
in which the final evaporation is carried out. When the salt
has formed a sufficient deposit in the pan it is raked out and additional
brine added. From time-to time the operation is stopped to remove
the bittern-and scale the pan which becomes encrusted with a deposit
of gypsum.
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK 231
Grainers.are now employed in practically all of the plants:engaged
in making salt for domestic uses. They are seldom used alone,
but most often in conjunction with open pans or with vacuum pans.
The grainer :consists of an open vat, too feet or more long, 12 to 15
feet wide,.and about 2 feet deep, built of iron alone or lined with
concrete or wood with a series of iron pipes, running the length of
the vat and placed.about.a foot from the bottom, in which the steam
is supplied. The brine is preheated outside of the grainer by waste
steam. The process of salt making employs the principle of factional
crystallization, whereby the concentration of the brine is kept above
the point of saturation for the more soluble chlorides of magnesium
and calcium; as ‘the bittern becomes charged with these it is drawn
off and wasted or employed in a second series of grainers for making
an inferior grade of salt. The salt particles from the gramer are
oiten composed of several:small crystals, giving.a coarser size than
with the open pan. The salt is removed by mechanical-rakers which
operate continuously or by hand. Operations have to be suspended
at intervals to scale the walls and pipes, the period of evaporation
ranging from a few days to several weeks, depending on the amount
of calcium ‘sulphate in the brine.
Vacuum pans, technically, are superior to all other :mechanical
devices for evaporating salt,.as they are most economical of heat and
require less attention in proportion to the quantity of product.
Their main drawback is the high cost of installation. As in use in
New York they consist of a vertical cyclinder, terminated at each
end by-a cone, built of sheet iron or steel. The ‘steam for heating
is supplied to.a belt within the middle or the cylindrical part of the
pan, in which is placed :a-series of copper tubes immersed in the brine
or through which the brineis pumped. Vacuum.is maintained by
means of a pump connected with the top cone, assisted by rapid
condensation of the steam as it cames off at the same place. The
salt as it crystallizes falls to the bottom and is discharged through a
pipe, aiter which itis drained by a centrifugal. «A vacuum of about
28 inches is matntamned in the pan, if operated as‘single-etfect. At
one plant there are four pans connected to work .as a quadruple
effect, in which the brine is maintained under a vacuum of about
13 inches for the first, 20 inches for the second, 26 inches for the
third and 28 inches for the fourth. Boiling takes place at progress-
ively lower temperatures with increase of vacuum. ‘The:pans have
to be boiled out every day or so and scaled at intervals of a few
months.
232 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM
List of brine plants. The manufacturers of salt in the Syracuse
district, using the solar process, include the following who were in
operation in 1916: J. L. Cady, P. Corkings, Draper & Porter, Empire
Coarse Salt Co., Thomas K. Gale, Geddes Coarse Salt Co., High-
land Solar Salt Co., P. J. Johnson, Cady & Johnson, Salina Solar
Coarse Salt Co., Turk’s Island Coarse Salt Co., Western Coarse
salt Co., John White & Son, Salt Springs Solar Coarse Salt Co.
All the solar salt is marketed through the Onondaga Coarse Salt
Association. It is sold in seven sizes, of which six represent the
different sizes of salt crystals, separated by screening, as follows:
Diamond C, BC, Standard, Diamond F, BF, and 6-mesh BT. The
finest size is 8-mesh, which is crushed and passed through a screen
of eight meshes to the inch.
The list of manufacturers of artificially evaporated salt for recent
years has included the following: International Salt Co., with works
at Myers, Ithaca and Watkins; Worcester Salt Co., Silver Springs;
Rock Glen Salt Co., Rock Glen; Eureka Salt Co., Saltvale; Rem-
ington Salt Co., Ithaca; Watkins Salt Co., Watkins; Genesee Salt
Co., Piffard; LeRoy Salt Co., LeRoy; Solvay Process Co., Solvay.
Production. The record of salt production in New York State.
is practically complete from the start of regular operations in 1797.
In that year the output was 25,474 bushels, or 5095 barrels. By
1828 the production had grown to over 1,000,000 bushels, or 200,000
barrels, and by 1849 it passed 1,000,000 barrels. In the succeeding
30 years it made slow growth; in 1880 when the manufacture of
salt from artificial brines was about to begin it had increased only
to 1,599,750 barrels. The production since then has made rapid
strides. Altogether the product of brine and rock salt in the State
in the period 1797-1918 has amounted to the total of 323,870,546
barrels.
The production of salt by grades for the last three years is shown
in the tables below:
Production of salt by grades in 1916
VALUE A
GRADE BARRELS VALUE eS
Comamoninnety akon An cae ate nh Ne I 694 943 $828 617 $.48
Commoncoarse; eee ne ee oe 267 421 153 844 .57
“Rablevand) dairy vyAaesecaeet, Af ape. I 308 529 940 969 aa
SLOUGH Gy Me SNMMIU IR ner aN NOR Ne naeaealy Oe 249 728 110 505 44
Otherorades a2 sn iiamounes crete oly ae IO 567 129 I 664 863 Anite:
14 087 750 | $3 698 798 $.26
MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
GRADE
Srollene 2 210) ee PNA a ae aaa BOONE ta DE A
233
Production of salt by grades in 1917
VALUE A
BARRELS VALUE ONG
LASO4 F720 ASI sat. 227 $ .73
252 114 218 747 .86
I 458 165 I 413 905 .96
130 914 91 978 -79
Il 811 722 2 315 862 : .19
15 457 636 | $5 371 713 $.34
a includes rock salt, sa!t in brine used for alkali manufacture, agricultural salt and small amounts
of brine salt for which the uses were not specified in the returns.
GRADE
SOllettemeyeee aes hel NEUE ARN dito Sate TE
Production of salt by grades in 1918
VALUE A
BARRELS VALUE BARRIER
I 581 671 | $1 517 725 $ .96
215 220 240 388 Th eat
I 770 885 I 964 402 The init
118 029 125 107 1.06
II 532 257 | 3 489 245 -30
15 218 071 | $7 336 867 $.48
a Includes rock salt, salt in brine used for alkali manufacture, agricultural salt and small amounts
of brine salt for which the uses were not specified in the returns.
Salt production in New York
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MOO ere tierce cist a ycenaian sae 8I 308
BOUO ere Mee ale nteee Nare teal 109 675
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G2 ag ih ci aiivie Ste imeeisis ie) cs 105 210
TG 2D atten ch cian Ghat) Sutra 96 312
Tite Pade HURT Do Are) a een es 145 398
BS 2 Ai e ereilen ca opegs heb ay ic ate 163 327
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