sandy or muddy is not physically adapted to any use under existing conditions. Types of peat with much grass and sedge remains in them, while making good fuel by the wet process and by coking are not usually adapted to briquetting. The fuel value, ash and composition of the peat, can only be determined by chemical analysis, but besides the analytical study, before it is decided to build a plant at any peat deposit, large samples of the material should be tried to test its adaptability to the particular purpose for which it is intended to be used.

In selecting peat beds for exploitation the matter of markets and of transportation to them should be thoroughly considered, for the product, however desirable it is theoretically, must find a sure market and be delivered to it regularly and cheaply if the manufacturer is to make profitable sales. Peat fuel must be sold in competition with coal and wood, hence it must be disposed of at a moderate price. It is bulky and easily broken into fragments, so cannot be transported either by cart or rail very far over rough roads; it is injured by long exposure to rain, therefore it requires protection from the weather when stored or in transit. For these and other reasons the matter of market and transportation are paramount considerations, and otherwise most excellent deposits must remain unused because too remote from good markets, or from established transportation lines.

CONCLUSION.

The present outlook for peat, especially as fuel, seems to be in the careful development of small establishments to supply local demands. wherever the price of other fuels is sufficient to warrant the introduction of a moderate-priced fuel adapted especially to domestic use. If such plants are properly planned and have good transportation facilities, they should be financially successful, as in such peat fuel can be produced ready to ship by the wet process for about $1 per ton. If improvements are made in producer-gas engines so that small manufacturers can install and use them economically, using low grades of fuel, immediately a larger opportunity for peat fuel will be presented. In whatever direction utilization of the peat deposits of the State is begun, the work should be carried on carefully and as an experiment until sufficient knowledge of the markets and of the ways of handling the substance itself is acquired to insure success, for, judging by the failure of the plants in other States, in no other way can it be achieved.

STONE.

The production of building stone in North Carolina has been constantly increasing for the past twelve years, and during 1907 there was

a decided increase in the value of stone produced as compared with that of 1906, the total value of the production of all kinds of stone being $956,919, which is an increase of $102,618, as compared with $854,301, the value of the production of 1906. Each year there is a greater amount of the stone produced used for building purposes and its market is being more widely extended. This is true not only of the stone for building, but also of the curbing and paving blocks for street work.

There is given in the table below the value of the production of various stones produced in North Carolina for the years 1900 to 1907, inclusive:

PRODUCTION OF BUILDING STONES IN NORTH CAROLINA, 1900-1907.

The increase in the production of granite which has been noted for a number of years past, continued in 1907, and the value of the production, $906,476, is an increase of $127,657, as compared with $778,819, the value of the 1906 production. The number of operators quarrying granite during 1907 was 33, an increase of 8 over the number quarrying during 1906. These operators worked 37 quarries in the following 16 counties, which are given in the order of the importance of their productions: Rowan, Surry, Rockingham, Warren, Buncombe, Polk, McDowell, Orange, Henderson, Vance, Nash, Guilford, Wake, Davidson, Anson and Gaston. Cabarrus and Catawba counties, which were producers in 1906, reported no production in 1907, while Anson, Guilford, Nash and Wake are added to the list of producing counties.

Nearly one-half of the granite production of 1907 was used for building and monumental purposes, amounting to $432,913. This is an increase of $57,839, as compared with the value, $375,074, of the 1906 production.

There is given in the following table the uses and value of granite quarried from 1901 to 1907, inclusive:

USES OF GRANITE PRODUCED IN NORTH CAROLINA IN 1901-1907.

The next table gives the value of the granite produced from 1897 to 1907, inclusive, and shows very strikingly the remarkable growth of this industry in North Carolina :

There was but little change to be noted in the sandstone industry in North Carolina during 1907. The production was small and was used largely for building purposes. The value of the production amounted to $4,105, an increase of $674, as compared with $3,431, the value of the 1906 production. There is given in the following table the value of sandstone produced in the State for the years 1897 to 1907, inclusive:

The production of limestone in North Carolina is used for two purposes: for burning to lime and for road building, and the value of the production for each purpose is approximately the same. In 1907 the total value of the production of limestone was $46,338, of which $22,328 was the value of the limestone used for road building. The 1907 production was obtained from New Hanover, Buncombe, Henderson and Transylvania counties, given in the order of the value of their production. Considering the quantity of lime that is used in North Carolina for building purposes and as a fertilizer, there should be a much larger amount quarried in the State, but one of the main reasons against this is the high freight rates on the lime from the quarry to point of consumption.

Efforts are now being made to interest capital in the opening up of the marble quarries in Swain County. These are adjacent to the Murphy branch of the Southern Railway. The marble quarries of McDowell County, which are about 10 to 15 miles north of Marion and the same distance from the Southern Railway, will be in close proximity to railroad transportation when the new railroad that is being constructed from Tennessee to Marion is finished. These deposits of marble have been described in detail on pages 200 and 202 of Bulletin 2.

There is given in the following table the value of the production of limestone from 1901 to 1907, inclusive:

The only figures given under this head are those that could be obtained in regard to sand or gravel used by moulders, and that reported as the production during 1907 was 3,205 tons, valued at $2,191, as compared with 843 tons, valued at $491, the production reported for 1906. This does not represent all the sand used for this purpose, as a considerable amount has been used by foundrymen, which they obtained close by their shops and kept no special record of the quantity or of its cost.

The quantity of sand that is used in the manufacture of mortar for brick and stone work can be roughly estimated by the amount of stone and brick used. Estimating this amount of sand at 1 ton per 1,000 brick, it would give, approximately, 250,000 tons of sand used for this purpose. Besides the above, there is a large amount of sand used in the manufacture of plaster of which it is almost impossible to give even an approximate estimate.

Another use for gravel and also crushed stone that is constantly. increasing is in the manufacture of concrete. The use of this form of construction is rapidly growing in North Carolina.

There are, undoubtedly, in eastern North Carolina certain sands of sufficient purity that could be used in the manufacture of glass. One of the requisites of such sand is that it must not contain any elements that would give the slightest degree of color to the resulting glass. It is sometimes possible to commercially purify certain sands and make them adaptable for the manufacture of glass.

SAND-LIME BRICK.

In the report for 1905 there was given a rather complete description of sand-lime brick and their manufacture. The demand for these artificial bricks is increasing, and eastern North Carolina, with its large amount of available sand, offers some of the more favorable