Limestone, Marl, Chalk
In the United States limestone is used principally as crushed stone for road material, railroad ballast, concrete, and cement, as fluxing stone for metallurgical purposes, and in the manufacture of lime. Minor uses are as building stones, paving blocks, curbing, flagging, rubble, and riprap; in alkali works, sugar factories, paper mills, and glass works; and for agricultural purposes. For the making of cement, in metallurgical fluxes, and in most of the manufacturing and agricultural uses, both limestone and lime (limestone with the CO_2 driven out by heating) are used. Lime is also extensively used in the making of mortar for building operations, in tanning leather, and in a great variety of chemical industries. The total quantity of limestone used for all purposes in the United States nearly equals that of iron ore. Nearly every state in the union produces limestone, but the more important producers are Pennsylvania (where a large amount is used for fluxing), Ohio, Indiana, New York, Michigan, and Illinois.
Closely associated with limestone in commercial uses, as well as in chemical composition, is calcareous marl, which is used extensively in the manufacture of Portland cement.
Chalk is a soft amorphous substance of the same composition as limestone. The main uses of chalk are as a filler in rubber, and as a component of paint and putty. It is also used for polishing. The principal producers of this commodity are England, Denmark, and France, and the chief consumer is the United States. The United States depends upon imports for its supply of chalk for the manufacture of whiting. Before the war two-thirds came from England and a third from France. During the war importation was confined to England, with a small tonnage from Denmark. No deposits of domestic chalk have been exploited commercially. A somewhat inferior whiting, but one capable of being substituted for chalk in most cases, is manufactured from the waste fine material of limestone and marble quarries.