Clay and Clay Products.— In 1915 there were mined in Alabama 31,520 tons of fire clay, and 250 tons of other clay, which were sold as such in the market. The remainder of the clay mined was manufactured into brick and tile and pottery, and no records were kept as to its amount. The clay products made during the year were valued at $1,193,022, of which $1,177,725 was the value of the brick and tile produced and $15,297 of the pottery. The brick industry centred in Jefferson County, where 68 per cent of the State's entire output was made. A total of 70,681,000 common brick, 29,018,000 vitrified brick, and fire brick to the value of $145,535 was made by 65 operators; and 13 other firms made the red earthenware and the stoneware which constituted the pottery output.
Cement—Large supplies of the limestone, chalk, clay and shale required for the manu facture of Portland cement exist throughout the State. With coal and labor cheap, the cement industry flourishes. In northern Ala bama the limestone used by the cement makers is the hard Trenton limestone, with shale from the Clinton formation or from the coal meas ures. In central Alabama the soft Cretaceous limestone is used, with the residual clays which overlie it. In southern Alabama the Saint Ste.. phen's limestone is combined with clays from the Grand Gulf formation. In 1915 the cement output of the State was 1,114,386 barrels, valued at $891,183. In North Birmingham is located the principal Puzzolan cement works in the United States; there are but two other such plants in the country. Furnace slag is used in the manufacture of this cement.
Stone.— Alabama has for many years had a thriving industry in stone, principally in lime stone. Some very fine building stone of this material has been quarried at Rockwood, in Franklin County. It has proved very durable under weather and wear, and has found an ever widening market outside of the State. Alabama produces also some notable marbles, both crys talline and non-crystalline. The former, known as statuary marble, occurs as a belt 50 miles long, crossing Coosa and Talladega counties. In quality it compares favorably with the best Vermont marble and many public buildings have been faced with it. In Shelby County there are deposits of variegated marble, red, pink, black, and white, and at Pratts Ferry on the Cahaba River, in Bibb County, there is another deposit of varicolored marble, ranging from gray through pink, red and brown. A very
handsome black marble is also found near An niston, and at Piedmont in Calhoun County. The total stone production in 1915 was valued at $719,452; of this, $375,000 represented marble. The total includes the value, $289,167, of 523, 066 tons of limestone flux, mined for use at the furnaces. Lime was burned in 14 plants in 1915, with a combined output of 60,332 tons, valued at $250,227. Three of the plants pro duced hydrated lime.
Sand and Gravel.—In 1915 Alabama mined 169,663 tons of molding sand, 157,581 tons of building sand, 6,942 tons of engine sand and 7,294 tons of other sands, and 547,656 tons ofravel. A high grade of glass sand is found Jefferson efferson and Etowah counties, but no de velopment has yet been made. The value of the sand and gravel production in 1915 was $242,336.
Graphite.— Alabama produces annually about half the crystalline or Make' graphite mined in the United States, and this production is 47 per cent of all the graphite of all kinds which is mined in the country. The mineral is found in a schist in the form of lenses in a series of metamorphic rocks traversing parts of Clay, Coosa and Chilton counties in the Piedmont region. The average graphite con tent of this schist is 3 to 4 per cent, but the re covery in milling is rarely more than 2 per cent of the tonnage of ore handled. The in dustry centres about Ashland, in Clay County, with one or two establishments near Good water, in Coosa County, and one near Moun tain Creek, in Chilton County. In 1915 only four mines were in operation producing 3,474, 800 pounds, valued at $204,572. Three more mines began operations during the year and in 1916 the output of the seven mines was 5,226,940 pounds, valued at $492,407. Two more companies began production in the early part of 1917 and 23 other companies have made preparations to begin mining before the year is out. This marked activity is due to the scarcity of Ceylon graphite in the market be cause of the shortage in shipping facilities and the high ocean freights. The price of the Cey lon graphite doubled and the demand for do mestic graphite became insistent. The larger part of the crystalline graphite produced in the country, and imported, is used by crucible makers, whose business has increased enor mously through the manufacture of munitions.