[PLATE 
 
 General View of Marble Quarries at West Rutland, Vermont. 
 
STONES 
 
 FOR 
 
 BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE P. MERRILL, 
 
 CURATOR OF GEOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM, AND PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY 
 IN COLUMBIAN UNIVERSITY; AUTHOR OF “ROCKS, ROCK-WEATHERING, AND 
 SOILS,” “THE NON-METALLIC MINERALS,” ETC. 
 
 THIRD EDITION , REVISED AND 
 
 ENLARGED , 
 
 JOHN 
 
 NEW YORK!- 
 
 WILEY & S'ONS. * 
 
 London: CHAPMAN & HALL, Limited. 
 
 1908. 
 
Co ^5 
 TA^ 
 
 A? 55 
 
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 Copyright, 1891, 190J, 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN WILEY & SONS. 
 
 ROBERT DRUMMOND, PRINTER, NEW YORK. 
 
 THE GETTY CENTER 
 SJ3RARY 
 
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 
 
 The work herewith presented is based upon the author’s 
 handbook and catalogue of the collection of building and orna¬ 
 mental stones in the United States National Museum at Wash¬ 
 ington. It differs from that work, however, in many important 
 particulars, several new chapters having been added, others 
 rewritten and the whole so far as possible brought down to 
 date. A portion of the added matter is essentially the same, 
 though in a somewhat different form, as originally appeared in 
 the columns of Stone , the American Architect , the Scientific 
 American Supplement, and other of our industrial journals. 
 The writer’s experience in preparing the extensive collection 
 in the National Museum, at Washington, as well as its partial 
 duplicate in the American Museum in New York City, has 
 afforded him ample opportunity for becoming acquainted with 
 the quarry products of the country at large, while extensive 
 field trips, particularly in the eastern and extreme western 
 United States, have given him a practical insight into the 
 resources of the regions as well as some knowledge concern¬ 
 ing the usual methods of quarrying and working. 
 
 That there is a demand for a comprehensive and not too 
 technical a work on this subject has been emphatically im¬ 
 pressed upon the writer many times during the past few years. 
 How far the pages herewith presented shall supply this de¬ 
 mand, it is left for the public to decide. The alphabetical 
 arrangement of States adopted in Part II. will very likely at 
 
 iii 
 
 17016 
 
iv 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 first be subject to criticism as unscientific. Such an arrange¬ 
 ment for purposes of rapid reference, has however, been found 
 so much superior to the usual geographic method, that excuses 
 are not deemed necessary. The work, it should be stated, has 
 been written from an American standpoint, and treats princi¬ 
 pally of stones found within the limits of the United States, or 
 imported from other sources. In but few instances are stones 
 mentioned that are of purely historical interest. 
 
 The full-page plates illustrating quarry views, were, with a 
 single exception, drawn from photographs taken by the author. 
 They may, therefore, be considered as reasonably accurate. 
 Thanks are due the authorities of the Smithsonian Institution 
 for the privilege of electrotyping such of the engravings in the 
 original handbook as it was desired to reproduce here. 
 
 George P. Merrill.. 
 
 Smithsonian Institution, 
 
 Washington, D. C., June, 1891. 
 
 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 In the work of revising and bringing down to date the 
 present edition, as many additions and alterations have been 
 made here and there throughout the text as was possible with¬ 
 out incurring the expense of entirely resetting. Over fifty pages 
 of reading matter and full-page plates have thus been added ; 
 and while the revision is not as complete as the author would 
 have been pleased to make it, it is believed that the usefulness 
 of the volume has been very materially increased. As before, 
 the writer is indebted to the authorities of the National Museum 
 for permission to use electrotypes of plates that have appeared 
 in the publications of that Institution. He is also indebted to 
 the D. H. Ranck Publishing Company of Chicago for the use 
 of certain plates which have appeared in Stone. 
 
 Washington, D. C., March, 1897. 
 
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 Since the appearance of the first edition of this work there 
 has been a very notable increase in the output of building stone 
 from American quarries. How great this has been cannot be 
 stated, unfortunately, since statistics are not available, but it 
 is probable that the total annual output, as well as the amount 
 of capital invested, have both more than doubled. This is due 
 not merely to the opening up of new quarries, but also to an 
 enlargement of those already in existence and a very great 
 increase in their equipments. Where but a few years ago 
 hand labor or at best a few steam drills were chiefly relied 
 upon, one now finds numerous and expensive machines in the 
 form of steam-drills and channellers, while at the yards are 
 pneumatic tools, planers, lathes, polishers, saws, and grinding- 
 beds representing often an outlay of many thousands of dollars. 
 
 Such an increase in capitalization and output is a cause 
 for sincere congratulation. Leaving wholly out of sight, for 
 the time being, the evidence of prosperity thus indicated, 
 there remains sufficient cause for congratulation on purely 
 esthetic grounds, since no material has yet been found so well 
 adapted to the nobler forms of architecture as stone. The 
 realization of this shows a distinct advance in taste, as does 
 the ability to take advantage of it, an advance in prosperity. 
 
 The changes introduced in the present edition consist of 
 
VI 
 
 PREFA CE. 
 
 much additional material, correction of errors where found, 
 and an entire revision of the chapter on methods of testing. 
 A brief chapter on the use of drift bowlders for building pur¬ 
 poses has also been introduced. Some new illustrations, in¬ 
 cluding five maps showing the geographic distribution of the 
 more important stones, have been added. As a whole the 
 work, it is believed, has been materially improved, both in 
 appearance and possible utility. 
 
 The general acceptance on the part of the public of this 
 as the standard work on the subject has, it is needless to say, 
 been a source of great satisfaction to the author. He trusts it 
 may continue to meet their approbation. 
 
 Washington, D. C., 1903. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1. Historical. 1 
 
 II. The Geographical Distribution of Building-stones in the 
 
 United States. 10 
 
 III. The Minerals of Building-stones. 17 
 
 IV. Physical and Chemical Properties of Building-stones . 32 
 
 V. Rock Classification . 42 
 
 VI. Geological Record. 43 
 
 PART II. 
 
 THE ROCKS, QUARRIES, AND QUARRY REGIONS. 
 
 I. Igneous Rocks. 4 ^ 
 
 The Granites and Gneisses. 4 6 
 
 1. Composition and General Properties. 46 
 
 2. Geological Age and Mode of Occurrence. 48 
 
 3. Varieties of Granite. 49 
 
 4. Uses of Granite. 5 ° 
 
 5. Granites and Gneisses of the various States and Territories. 51 
 
 6. Foreign Granites. 9 ° 
 
 The Porphyries : Porphyritic Felsites... 94 
 
 1. Composition and Origin. 94 
 
 2. Varieties of Porphyry. 96 
 
 3. Uses of Porphyry. 96 
 
 4. Porphyries of the various States and Territories. 97 
 
 5. Foreign Porphyries. 99 
 
 vii 
 
vnl TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGK 
 
 The Liparites. gg 
 
 1. Adaptability of Tertiary and Post-tertiary Rocks to Purposes of 
 
 Construction. gg 
 
 2. Mineral and Chemical Composition of the Liparites. ioo 
 
 3. Varieties of Liparite. IOO 
 
 4. Liparites of the various States and Territories. 101 
 
 Syenites, Trachytes, and Phonolites. IO i 
 
 1. Definition of Syenite. IOI 
 
 2. Localities of Syenite... I02 
 
 3. Trachytes and Phonolites. I0( ^ 
 
 Augite (Enstatite, Hypersthene) Plagioclase Rocks (Trap and Green¬ 
 stone in Part). IO £ 
 
 1. Diabase. I0 g 
 
 2. Gabbro and Norite. 
 
 3. Melaphyr. Il6 
 
 4. Basalt. 
 
 Amphibole Plagioclase Rocks (Trap and Greenstone in Part). 118 
 
 1. Diorites and Kersantites. n g 
 
 2. The Andesites. I2I 
 
 II. Aqueous Rocks. 122 
 
 1. Sandstones, Breccias, and Conglomerates. 123 
 
 (a) Composition and Origin. ^3 
 
 (b) Varieties of Sandstone,. 12 6 
 
 (•c ) Sandstones of the various States and Territories. 127 
 
 (d) Foreign Sandstones. xgg 
 
 2. Volcanic Fragmental Rocks. iy 2 
 
 (a) Definition, Origin, and Composition. iy 2 
 
 (b) Varieties of.. I j 2 
 
 (c) Localities and Uses of. 
 
 3. Argillaceous Fragmental Rocks (Clay Slates). 175 
 
 (a) Composition, Structure, and Origin. 173 
 
 (b) Uses of. x8o 
 
 (c) Slates of the various States and Territories. 182 
 
 (d) Foreign Slates. 
 
 4. Limestones and Dolomites. xgg 
 
 1. Chemical Composition and Origin. 198 
 
 2. Varieties of. 2QO 
 
 3. Limestones and Dolomites : Marbles. 203 
 
 4. The Onyx Marbles, or Travertines. 242 
 
 Origin and Mode of Occurrence. 244 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. ix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chemical and Physical Properties. 249 
 
 Uses, Ancient and Modern. 255 
 
 Localities, Domestic and Foreign. 263 
 
 5. Limestones and Dolomites other than Marbles. 296 
 
 6. Foreign Limestones and Marbles. 324 
 
 Gypsum : Alabaster... 341 
 
 1. Composition and Uses of. 341 
 
 2. Localities of Gypsum in the United States. 341 
 
 3. Foreign Alabasters. 342 
 
 Minor Ornamental ’Stones. 344 
 
 1. Agalmatolite. 344 
 
 2. Barite. 345 
 
 3. Catlinite. 345 
 
 4. Fossil Coral. 346 
 
 5. Labradorite. 346 
 
 6. Lapis Lazuli. 347 
 
 7. Malachite and Azarite. 347 
 
 8. Nephurite and Jadeite. 348 
 
 9. Obsidian. 349 
 
 10. Pegmatite. 349 
 
 11. Quartz. 349 
 
 12. Rhodochrosite. 350 
 
 13. Rhodonite. 351 
 
 14. Septarian Nodules. 35 1 
 
 15. Thulite Stone. 352 
 
 Serpentine : Verdantique Marble . 353 
 
 1. Composition, Origin, and Uses of.. -. 353 
 
 2. Serpentines of the various States and Territories. 357 
 
 3. Foreign Serpentines. 375 
 
 Schistose or Foliated Rocks. 377 
 
 Glacial Boulders.. 379 
 
 PART III. 
 
 I. Methods of Quarrying and Dressing Stone. 381 
 
 II. Machines and Implements used in Stone-working. 403 
 
 III. The Weathering of Building-stone. 418 
 
 IV. On the Selection and Testing of Building-stone. 447 
 
 V. Methods of Protection and Preservation. 489 
 
X 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PART IV. 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 I. The Qualities of Stone as shown by their Crushing Strength, PAGB 
 Weight, Ratio of Absorption, and Chemical Composition.... 497 
 
 II. The Prices of Stone and Cost of Dressing.... 520 
 
 III. List of Stone Buildings and Date of Erection. 522 
 
 IV. Bibliography of Works on Building-stone. 528 
 
 V. Glossary of Terms. ^1 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 FULL-PAGE PLATES. 
 
 PLATE 
 
 I. General View of Marble Quarries at West Rutland, Vt. Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 II. Microscopic Structure of Building-stones. 25 
 
 III. Map showing Approximate Geographic Distribution in the United 
 
 States of Older Crystalline Siliceous Rocks. 45 
 
 IV. Granite Quarry, Hallowed, Me. 64 
 
 V. Map showing Areas of Triassic Sandstone in the Eastern United 
 
 ^*- a ^ es . 122 
 
 VI. Sandstone Quarry at Portland, Conn. 
 
 VII. Sandstone Quarry at Amherst, Ohio. ^6 
 
 VIII. Map showing Areas of Potsdam Sandstone in Upper Mississippi 
 
 Valley and Lake Superior Region. 
 
 IX. Slate Quarry at Brownville, Me., View Looking East. 183 
 
 X. Sketch Map of Peach Bottom Slate Area. ^4 
 
 XI. Slate Quarry at Cambria, Md. jg^ 
 
 XII. Slate Quarry at Granville, N. Y. T gg 
 
 XIII. Sketch Map, Slate Region of Pennsylvania. 
 
 XIV. Slate Quarry at Slatington, Pennsylvania. I94 
 
 XV. Slate Quarry at West Pawlet, Vt. I9 g 
 
 XVI. Map showing Marble Areas of the Eastern United States. 203 
 
 XVII. Marble Quarries at Tate, Pickens Co., Ga.; Fig. 1, Quarry in 
 
 Hillside ; Fig. 2, Deep Quarry in Valley Bottom. 2 io 
 
 XVIII. Beaver Dam Marble Quarry, Cockeysville, Md. 214 
 
 XIX. Map of Marble Region about Knoxville, Tenn. 225 
 
 XX. Matched Slabs of Tennessee Marble. 227 
 
 XXL Marble Quarries in Knox Co., Tenn. 228 
 
 XXII. Marble Region of Western New England. 232 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 XI 
 
 FACING PAGE 
 
 XXIII. Interior View of Marble Quarry at West Rutland, Vt. 234 
 
 XXIV. Interior View of Marble Quarry at Proctor, Vt. 238 
 
 XXV. Fig. X, Onyx Marble, Lower California ; Fig. 2, Tapestry Onyx, 
 
 Ariz...*./• 242 
 
 XXVI. Fig. 1, Mexican Onyx Cut across the Grain to show Banding ; Fig. 
 
 2 , Italian Stalagmite Cut parallel with Banding. 249 
 
 XXVII. Quarry of Onyx Marble, Yavapai Co., Ariz. 263 
 
 XXVIII. Quarry of Oolitic Limestone at Bedford, Ind. 3°3 
 
 XXIX. Quarry of Serpentine, Chester Co., Pa. 37 1 
 
 XXX. Quarry of Pink Granite, Calais, Me. 3 8 3 
 
 XXXI. Splitting out Stone with Wedges at Portland, Conn. 39 ° 
 
 XXXII. Kinds of Finish on Stone. 401 
 
 XXXIII. Hand Implements used in Stone Working. 4 16 
 
 FIGURES IN TEXT. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. Magnified Thin Section of Roofing Slate. *77 
 
 2 -j Figures Illustrating Cause of Slaty Cleavage. *79 
 
 4. Magnified Thin Section of Fossiliferous Limestone. 202 
 
 5. Section of Mt. Eolus. 
 
 6. House of Drift Boulders. 3 8 ° 
 
 7. Wardwell Channelling Machine. 3^9 
 
 8. Hole and Wedge for Splitting Stone. 395 
 
 9. Slate-trimmer at Work. 399 
 
 10. Eclipse Rock Drill.. 
 
 II. Improved Quarry Bar. 4°4 
 
 12. Saunders Channelling Machine. 4°5 
 
 13. Saunders Channelling Machine making Sidehill Cuts. 4°6 
 
 14. Gang of Drills for Channelling Machine. 4°7 
 
 15. Diamond Channelling Machine. 4 ° 8 
 
 16. Diamond Gadder. 4°9 
 
 17. Ingersoll Standard Gadder. 4 10 
 
 18. Plain Quarry Frame. 4 11 
 
 19. Pneumatic Stone-surfacing Machine. 4 * 2 
 
 20. MacDonald Stone-cutting Machine. 4 H 
 
 21. Weathered Stone Bell. 44 j 
 
 22. Form of Stone Prism for Compressive Elasticity Test. 47 8 
 
 23. Form of Stone Prism for Transverse Elasticity Test. 47 8 
 
 24. Form of Stone Prism for Shearing Test. 4 8 * 
 
STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 HISTORICAL. 
 
 The use of stone for purposes of construction dates from a 
 very early period in human history. Within the limits of North 
 America, however, except as practiced in a crude way by cer¬ 
 tain tribes in the and regions of the West, its use necessarily 
 dates from a period comparatively recent. 
 
 The early settlers in the eastern states found wood abun¬ 
 dant and cheap. They were as a rule comparatively poor, and 
 with little taste for architectural display, even had their means 
 permitted its indulgence. But with the gradual increase in in¬ 
 dividual wealth and culture there was naturally developed a 
 taste in architecture which could be gratified only in the em¬ 
 ployment of some less perishable material: for such, fortunately, 
 the early settlers of eastern Massachusetts had not far to look. 
 The first stones quarried in this State are thought by Professor 
 Shaler to have been the clavslates in the vicinity of Boston. 
 These, however, were worked only in a small way and the prod¬ 
 uct used for grave- and mile-stones, and a few lintels. 
 
 According to Shurtleff * one of the first stone buildings in 
 Boston was the house of Deacon John Phillips. This was 
 erected about 1650, and continued to stand until 1864. It is 
 supposed to have been built from granite bowlders found in the 
 
 * History of Boston, p. 589. 
 
 1 
 
2 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 immediate vicinity. In 1737 was built of bowlders of Braintree 
 granite the old Hancock house, since torn down, and in 1749- 
 ’54 King’s chapel, which is still standing on the corner of School 
 and Tremont Streets. This last was at the time the greatest 
 stone construction ever undertaken in Boston, if not in America. 
 Like those already mentioned, it was built from bowlders ; and, 
 considering the method of cutting employed (to be noticed 
 later), was a remarkable structure. The granite bowlders scat¬ 
 tered over the commons had been very generally used in Quincy 
 and vicinity for steps and foundations for some years previous 
 to this, until at last, fearing lest the supply should become ex¬ 
 hausted, the inhabitants assembled in town meeting and voted 
 that, “ no person shall dig or carry off” any stone “ on the said 
 commons or undivided lands upon any account whatever with¬ 
 out license from the committee, upon penalty of the forfeiture of 
 IO shillings for every and each cart-load so dug and carried away.” 
 
 It was not, however, until the early part of the present cen¬ 
 tury that granite began to be used at all extensively in and 
 about Boston, when the material was introduced in considera¬ 
 ble quantities by canal from Chelmsford, 30 miles distant. It 
 was from Chelmsford stone that was constructed in 1810 the 
 Boston court-house ; in 1814 the New South church ; and about 
 the same time the Congregational house on Beacon Street ; the 
 old Parkman house on Bowdoin Square ; University hall in 
 Cambridge; and in 1818-19 the first stone block in the city, a 
 portion of which is still standing, on Brattle Street. In this 
 year also a considerable quantity of the stone was shipped to 
 Savannah, Georgia, for the construction of a church at that 
 place. The greater part of this granite was, however, obtained 
 from bowlders, and it was not until the opening of quarries at 
 Quincy, in 1825, for the purpose of obtaining stone for the con¬ 
 struction of the Bunker Hill monument that the business 
 assumed any great importance. 
 
HISTORICAL NOTES. 
 
 3 
 
 In 1824 a Mr. Bates, of Quincy, went to Sandy Hook, 
 in the town of Gloucester, and opened a granite quarry 
 there. Not long after other quarries were opened at Anisquam, 
 where an extensive industry was carried on for some years, 
 though finally abandoned. Quarries were opened at Rockport, 
 just beyond Gloucester, in 1827, and are still in active opera¬ 
 tion. In 1848 the quarries at Bay View were opened. These 
 have since become the property of the Cape Ann Granite Com¬ 
 pany, and produce annually some 500,000 cubic feet of stone. 
 
 Although the Massachusetts quarries were the first syste¬ 
 matically worked to obtain granite for building purposes, other 
 States were not far behind. Thus we are told by Dr. Field* 
 that as early as 1792 granite quarries were reported to have 
 been opened at Haddam Neck, in Connecticut, and as many as- 
 ninety hands were employed in this and other quarries in the 
 vicinity as early as 1819. This material is, however, a gneiss 
 rather than a granite, and splitting readily into slabs, was used 
 nearly altogether for curbing and paving, for which purpose it 
 brought from 10 to 20 cents per cubic foot. The principal 
 markets for the material were Rhode Island and the cities of 
 Boston, New York, Albany, and Baltimore. 
 
 The rocky coast and adjacent islands of Maine are capable 
 of furnishing immense quantities of granitic rock of a color and 
 quality not to be excelled. The rare excellence of many of 
 these sites for quarries, together with the ready facilities of 
 transportation by water to all the leading cities, early made 
 itself apparent to the shrewd and pushing business men of New 
 England, and a very few years after the CQmmencing of works 
 at Quincy saw similar beginnings made at various points both 
 on the coast and farther inland. The years 1836—’37 appear to 
 
 * Centennial address and historical sketches of Middletown, Cromwell, Port¬ 
 land, Chatham, and Middle Haddam. „ 
 
4 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORA TION. 
 
 have been peculiarly prolific in schemes for speculation in this 
 industry. 
 
 It is stated by North * that during the latter year, out of one 
 hundred and thirty-five acts of incorporation granted by the 
 State legislature, thirty were for granite companies, three of 
 which were located in Augusta. One was called the Augusta 
 and New York Granite Company, and was for working, rend¬ 
 ing, transporting, and dealing in granite from the Hamlen 
 ledge, situated about two miles from the river by way of West¬ 
 ern Avenue. Another, named the Augusta and Philadelphia 
 Granite Company, owned the Ballard ledge, a mile and a half 
 fiom Kennebec biidge by way of Northern Avenue. A large 
 portion of the granite for the state-house, court-house, and new 
 jail was obtained from this ledge. The other company, called 
 the Augusta Blue Ledge Company, purchased Hall’s ledge, on 
 the east side of the river, near Daniel Hewin’s house, some 2$ 
 miles from the bridge. 
 
 It is further-stated by this same authority that during the 
 erection of the State-house blocks of granite for the colonnade. 
 21 feet long by nearly 4 feet in diameter, were obtained from 
 the Melvin ledge, in Hallowell, about three miles away. Con¬ 
 venient and abundant as are these quarry sites, it seems a little 
 singular that they should not have been earlier discovered and 
 worked. In building the Kennebec bridge in 1797, the piers 
 and abutments were constructed of stone split from drift bowl¬ 
 ders, and the houses of Capt. William Robinson, Judge Bridge, 
 and Benjamin Whitwell, all built about 1801, had for underpin- 
 mng granite brought at great expense from near Boston, prob¬ 
 ably Quincy, or perhaps Chelmsford. Most of the stone of 
 large dimensions of which the old jail was built in 1808 were 
 also, it is stated, obtained with great labor from bowlders, 
 
 * History of Augusta, Maine, p. 582. 
 
HISTORICAL NOTES 
 
 5 
 
 though an unsuccessful attempt was made to work the Rowell 
 ledge at the time. Some of the top strata were broken off by 
 means of wedges driven under the sheets, but the process was 
 laborious and slow. The first successful attempt to work a 
 ledge in town is stated to have been made by Jonathan Matthews 
 on the Thwing ledge, in 1825. The Frankfort Granite Com¬ 
 pany, located at the base of Mosquito Mountain, Waldo Coun¬ 
 ty, began operations in May, 1836, and within the next two 
 years took out and sold upwards of $50,000 worth of material. 
 What is now the Hallowed Granite Company opened its quar¬ 
 ries in 1838, and during the first ten years is stated to have 
 sold $500,000 worth of stone. 
 
 It is stated by Professor Seely* that the earliest attempts 
 at quarrying marbles in New England were those of Philo 
 Tomlinson, who began operations at Marbledale, in the town 
 of New Milford, Connecticut, about 1800. Other quarries were 
 soon after opened, and in 1830 as many as fifteen were in active 
 operation within a distance of three miles of this place. The 
 product was sent to all parts of the country. Soon after this 
 date, competition set in from other localities, particularly from 
 _Dover, New York, and Rutland, Vermont, and by 1850 the 
 business had proved so unremunerative that the last quarry at 
 Marbledale was abandoned. Marble quarries and mills were 
 also put in active operation at West Stockbridge, in Massa¬ 
 chusetts, as early as 1802 or 1803. Work was stopped here in 
 1855, owing to competition of Vermont and Italian marbles. 
 
 Of the many marble quarries in Vermont, those in East 
 Dorset are believed to have been longest worked, Professor 
 Seely stating one Isaac Underhill began operations here as 
 early as 1785, the product being utilized for fife-jams, chimney 
 backs, hearths, and lintels. Other quarries soon opened, and 
 from 1785 to 1841, nine were in operation at this place. The 
 
 * Marble Border of New England, p. 27 
 
6 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 first marble gravestone ever finished in the State is believed 
 to have been the work of Jonas Stewart in 1790. Prior to the 
 introduction of Italian and Rutland marble, about 1840, the 
 supply of the Dorset stone was not equal to the demand. At 
 West Rutland, works were first put in successful operation 
 about 1838. At the present time not less than fifteen quarries 
 are in operation, affording employment altogether to about 
 2,000 men. 
 
 The first stone quarried and used in Philadelphia is said to 
 have been the micaceous and hornblendic gneiss which occurs in 
 inexhaustible quantities in the immediate vincinity. This was 
 at first used only for foundations and rough construction. The 
 first house built within the city limits, that built in Letitia 
 Court by order of William Penn, was constructed on a founda¬ 
 tion of this stone about the year 1682. The Old Swedes 
 church, built in 1698, Independence Hall, and numerous other 
 structures are said to have had similar foundations. Later, 
 entire walls were made of the material, as in the house of John 
 Penn, erected in 1785, and which is still standing. The quarry¬ 
 ing of marble in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, is said to 
 have been commenced by a Mr. Daniel about the time of the 
 Revolution.* This stone seems to have immediately become 
 a favorite for trimming purposes, and to have been used in 
 Philadelphia to the almost entire exclusion of other material 
 until as late as 1840. During this time many fine buildings 
 were constructed from it, as will be noted later. 
 
 Sandstone quarrying in the United States doubtless began 
 with the itinerant working of the extensive beds of Triassic 
 brownstonein the vicinity of Portland, Connecticut. It is stated f 
 that the first quarry here was opened “ where the stone origin- 
 
 * First Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1. 
 
 f ^Centennial Address and Historical Sketches of Middletown, Cromwell, 
 Portland, Chatham, and Middle Haddam, by D. P Field, 1853. 
 
HISTORICAL NOTES 
 
 n 
 
 ally rose high and hung shelving over the river.” The value 
 of the material was early recognized, and it began to be utilized 
 for building and for monuments soon after the settlement of 
 Middletown on the opposite side of the stream. The quarries 
 were at this time regarded as common property, and were 
 worked as occasion demanded both by people in the immediate 
 vicinity and by those living at a distance, who carried off the 
 material in scows or boats of some' sort, nor thought of giving 
 anything as an equivalent. This system of free quarrying had 
 assumed such proportions as early as 1665, that on September 
 4 of that year, the citizens of Middletown assembled in town 
 meeting and voted “ that whoever shall dig or raise stone at 
 ye rocks on the east side of the river (now Portland) for any 
 without the town, the said digger shall be none but an inhabi¬ 
 tant of Middletown, and shall be responsible to ye towne 
 twelve pence pr. tunn for every tunn of stones that he or they 
 shall digg for any person whosoever without the towne ; this 
 money to be paid in wheat and pease to ye townsmen or their 
 assigns for ye use of ye towne within six months after the trans¬ 
 portation of the said stone.”* 
 
 How soon the surface rock was exhausted and it became 
 necessary, as now, to go below the level of the ground for suit¬ 
 able material is not stated, but the quarry thus opened was at 
 length disposed of by the town and passed through various 
 hands, among whom the names of Shaler & Hall are conspicu¬ 
 ous. These parties pursued the business vigorously and made 
 a handsome profit. For several years between 1810 and 1820 
 some thirty hands and from four to six teams were employed 
 for the eight months comprising the quarrying season. Some 
 50 rods south of this quarry another was opened about 1783. 
 and was owned by Messrs. Hulburt & Roberts. About 1814 
 
 * Freestone Quarries of Portland. Conn., by Prof. J. Johnson, National 
 Magazine, 1853, p. 268. 
 
8 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 this was purchased from the heirs of Aaron Hulburt and 
 deeded to Erastus and Silas Brainard, who carried on the busi¬ 
 ness conjointly until the death of the latter in 1847. The 
 business is carried on under the name of Brainard & Co., to the 
 present time. For some five years after this firm began work 
 they employed but from seven to ten hands and two yoke of 
 oxen. In 1819 a quarry was opened north of the Shaler & 
 Hall quarry, by the firm of Patten & Russell. It was afterwards 
 known as the Russell & Hall quarry, and finally in 1841 was 
 united with that of Shaler & Hall, the firms combining to form 
 the Middlesex Quarry Company. Some years later still another 
 opening was made below the Brainard quarry near the ferry 
 between Portland and Middletown. This also was known as 
 the Shaler & Hall quarry ; the original firm by this name hav¬ 
 ing been incorporated with the Middlesex Quarry Company. 
 
 The three firms above enumerated continued until quite re¬ 
 cently to monopolize the quarrying industry at this place. The 
 quarries extend from a point near the ferry northward along 
 the river for some three-fourths of a mile, and vary in depth 
 from 50 to 150 feet. Their yield of stone of all grades during 
 the time of their operation has been roughly estimated at 
 4,300,000 cubic feet. The rate of progress is given as follows : 
 In 1850 the number of men employed at the three quarries was 
 about 900 and 100 yoke of oxen ; thirty vessels being regularly 
 employed to convey the quarried material to the markets, each 
 vessel conveying from 75 to 150 tons and making from twenty 
 to thirty trips each season. Two years later the number of 
 workmen regularly employed had increased to 1,200, while 200 
 more were engaged on contract work. The stone, even at 
 this date, had found its way to markets as far west as Milwau¬ 
 kee and San Francisco. The census returns for 1880 showed 
 the total number of men employed to be but 925, with 80 yoke 
 of oxen and 55 horses and mules. The falling off in numbers 
 
HISTORICAL NOTES. 
 
 9 
 
 may doubtless be considered due to the introduction of machi¬ 
 nery and improved methods of working. The total product of 
 the three quarries for this year was about 781,600 cubic feet, 
 valued at not less than $650,000. A fleet of twenty-five vessels 
 of various kinds was regularly employed in transporting this 
 material to market. 
 
 The quarrying of slate for roofing purposes is an industry 
 of comparatively recent origin in the United States, but few 
 of the quarries having been operated for a longer period than 
 thirty or forty years. The earliest opened and systematically 
 worked are believed to have been those at West Bangor, Penn¬ 
 sylvania, which date back to 1835. The abundance of slate 
 tombstones in many of our older church-yards, however, would 
 seem to indicate that for other purposes than roofing, these 
 stones have been quarried from a much earlier period. It is 
 stated, moreover, that as early as 1721 a cargo of 20 tons of 
 split slate was brought to Boston from Hangman’s Island, in 
 Braintree Bay, which may have been used in part for roofing 
 purposes ; but the greater part of the material for this pur¬ 
 pose was imported directly from Wales. It is also stated * 
 that slates were quarried at Lancaster, Massachusetts, as early 
 as 1750 or 1753, and were in extensive use in Boston soon after 
 the close of the Revolution. The old Handcock house on Beacon 
 street, already noted {ante, p. 2), was covered with slate from 
 these quarries, as was also the old State-house and several other 
 buildings. This quarry was worked more or less for fifty years 
 and formed at onetime quite an important industry, but which 
 finally became unprofitable, and about 1825 or 1830 the works 
 were discontinued, not to be again started till about 1877. 
 
 The first quarry opened in what is now the chief slate- 
 producing region of the United States was that of Mr. J. W. 
 
 * Marvin’s History of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 
 
STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 IO 
 
 Williams, situated about a mile northwest of Slateford, in 
 Pennsylvania. This dates back to the year 1812.* 
 
 The Vermont slate quarries are of still more recent develop¬ 
 ment, work not being begun here till 1845, when Hon. Alason 
 Allen began the manufacture of school slates at Fairhaven.f It 
 is interesting to note, in this connection, that during the busi¬ 
 ness depression of i876-’8o almost the entire product of the 
 American quarries was exported to England, where it sold for 
 even less than the Welsh slates, though necessarily at very small 
 profits. The return of more prosperous times, however, created 
 a local demand, and the export trade has proportionally de¬ 
 creased, though considerable quantities are still sent to the West 
 Indies, South America, England, Germany, and even New Zea¬ 
 land and Australia. 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF BUILDING STONE IN THE 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 Since with material so weighty as stone, the matter of trans¬ 
 portation is an important item, it may be well to devote a little 
 space at the outstart to a consideration of the geographical dis¬ 
 tribution of stones of various kinds throughout the United 
 States. This distribution, it will be observed, is a very unequal 
 one, and since this is dependent upon geological causes a little 
 attention must first be given to the various processes of rock 
 formation. 
 
 The majority of stones used for any form of structural or 
 decorative work may be roughly classed under three heads: 
 (1) The crystalline silicious rocks, including the granites, 
 gneisses and diabases, or trap-rocks ; (2) the calcareous rocks, 
 
 * Rep. D, 3, Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, p. 85. 
 f Geology of Vermont, Vol. II, 1861, p. 791. 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 I I 
 
 including all limestones and dolomites, both the crystalline and 
 compact common varieties ; and, (3) the fragmental or clastic 
 rocks, including the sandstone and clay slates. Those of the 
 first group result either as erupted molten matter from the 
 earth’s interior or from the metamorphism of silicious sedi¬ 
 ments. Those of the second group originate mainly as de¬ 
 posits of calcareous mud from the breaking up of shells, corals 
 and the remains of other marine animals on an old sea bottom. 
 Those of the third group result from the breaking up of older 
 rocks, and the accumulation on the bottoms of lakes and seas 
 of the resultant sand, clay, or mud in beds of varying thickness, 
 to be subsequently hardened into stone 
 
 Now the essential difference between a marble and a com¬ 
 pact common limestone, like those of Ohio or Kansas, is that 
 the first has undergone through the combined action of heat 
 and pressure, just the right degree of change, or metamorphism 
 as it is technically called, to develop in it crystallization and 
 color; the essential difference between a brick or fire clay and 
 a cleavable slate suitable for roofing, is, as explained elsewhere, 
 that the first named stih retains its plastic condition as it was 
 laid down in the form of fine silt on a sea bottom, while the 
 slate has by geological agencies, by actual movements of the 
 earth’s crust, been so squeezed and compressed as to lose all 
 resemblance to its former self, and become the cleavable article 
 of commerce we now find it. 
 
 Now since the processes of change as noted above are de¬ 
 pendent very largely upon the actual movements, warpings and 
 foldings as one might say, of the earth’s crust and the heat and 
 chemical action which is thereby generated, and since these 
 movements take place only with extreme slowness, whole geo¬ 
 logic ages being occupied in their inception and completion, 
 it follows as a matter of course that these metamorphic rocks, 
 these gneisses, marbles and roofing slates, are found only 
 
12 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 among the older rocks and only in those portions of the country 
 where this crust has been warped, compressed and folded as 
 in the process of mountain making. In other words, one need 
 expect to find these rocks in their best development only in 
 States bordering along more or less extensive mountain ranges, 
 while in the great interior plains and prairie regions they will 
 be comparatively rare. It is of course probable, and perhaps 
 may be regarded as a matter of certainty, that at great depths 
 beneath the land surface in this interior region, are to be found 
 the Archman gneisses which seem to form the floor of the con¬ 
 tinent, and possibly other rocks metamorphosed by the heat 
 and pressure of great depths. Being, however, covered by 
 thousands of feet of later deposits they may for our purposes 
 be left out of consideration. Let us then consider the physical 
 features of the earth’s crust as found within the limits of the 
 United States, and discuss briefly the various rocks so far as 
 they are dependent upon or controlled by these features.* 
 
 Let one take a map of the United States and draw a straight 
 line from a point near Montreal, Canada, to the middle of 
 Alabama. Hast of this line will lie the entire Appalachian 
 mountain system and with a few exceptions the States traversed 
 by or bordering upon this system are the only States east of 
 the Rocky mountains containing granites, gneisses, diabases, 
 crystalline calcareous rocks (marbles) or roofing slates. These 
 exceptions are to be found in northern Wisconsin; in Minne¬ 
 sota, west of Minneapolis ; in small areas in southeastern Mis¬ 
 souri, principally in Iron, Madison and St. Frangois Counties; 
 the Black Hills in Dakota ; in a small area near Little Rock, Ar¬ 
 kansas, and in a few small isolated areas in the Indian Territory 
 and eastern Texas, as in Burnet County. The whole interior of 
 the country, comprising all but the extreme eastern portions of 
 West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee ; all of Ohio, Indiana, 
 Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Kansas, Mississippi, 
 
 * See also maps, plates. 
 
DISTRIBUTION' OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 *3 
 
 Louisiana, Florida, Oklahoma, and with the exceptions above 
 noted, all of Missouri, Arkansas and eastern Texas,* though 
 containing sandstones and limestones of the common and oolit¬ 
 ic types, produce neither granite, gneiss, trap-rocks nor slates,, 
 nor, except in small quantities, anything that can be called a 
 marble. The earth’s crust throughout this entire area has been 
 little changed or disturbed by the eruption of molten rocks or 
 by the processes of mountain making. The sedimentary rocks 
 remain little altered, or if metamorphosed, they have been,, 
 and still remain, covered by later deposits. 
 
 It does not necessarily follow, however, that all the rocks 
 east of this line, as drawn above, have undergone metamorphism. 
 On the contrary there remain many areas of rock little changed,, 
 and in some cases it is possible to trace beds of unaltered lime¬ 
 stone till they pass into the pure white marble. It has thus 
 been shown that the pure white statuary marble of Carrara,. 
 Italy, was once a common fossiliferous limestone, but which 
 has become converted into marble by the heat and pressure 
 incident to the formation of the Apennine Mountains. 
 
 Hence it is that mountainous countries as a rule contain a 
 greater variety of material than do the level prairie regions. 
 Nature makes her own compensations, and if by mountain 
 building or glacial erosion she has rendered a country unfit for 
 cultivation, she has as a rule rendered an equivalent by furnish¬ 
 ing and rendering accessible through the same agencies inex¬ 
 haustible supplies of building stone, anthracite coal, copper, 
 iron, and the ores of the precious metals. 
 
 He, then, who is seeking new supplies of any of these 
 eruptive or metamorphic rocks, need not seek them in the in¬ 
 terior States mentioned ; in the Southern States south of Mont- 
 
 * West of the Picos River are Archaean areas which will doubtless prove 
 capable of furnishing valuable material. 
 
H 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 gomery, Alabama ; nor anywhere on the coast as in Maine and 
 Massachusetts, south of Long Island. But in the Rocky 
 Mountain regions we find once more a region of crumpling 
 and folding, and here again begin to appear the eruptive and 
 metamorphic rocks. These mountains, as is well known, enter 
 the United States in Idaho and western Montana, and cross it 
 in a southeasterly direction, passing through Wyoming, central 
 Colorado, New Mexico, and thence into Mexico proper. The 
 core, as we may say, of this range is largely granitic, sometimes 
 of a red color and very coarsely crystalline, as may be seen 
 where the Union Pacific railroad crosses it at Sherman, Wy¬ 
 oming. From here westward to the Pacific Slope occur gran¬ 
 itic and trappean rocks innumerable, and undoubtedly many 
 beds of fine marble and possibly slate. The regions are as yet 
 too difficult of access, and cost of transportation too high ; 
 hence but little exploration for such materials has been actively 
 carried on. The writer has seen very promising samples of 
 marbles from Colorado and Wyoming, and doubtless other 
 States are equally well provided. California has its Sierra 
 Nevada, Cascade and Coast ranges, and with them granites and 
 maibles of excellent quality. In this great western area are 
 also immense developments of later volcanic rocks, or lavas, 
 including basalts, andesites and liparites, which although in no 
 case suitable for ornamental work, are comparatively light, soft, 
 easily cut, as well as very durable. 
 
 In order to still further illustrate this distribution and the 
 consequent resources of the various States, the following table 
 is given. Only those stones are mentioned which it seems safe 
 to assume occur in such quantities or under such conditions as 
 to render them of present or prospective value for the purposes 
 under discussion. For the purposes of easy reference the States 
 are arranged alphabetically, an arrangement which is followed 
 out in the descriptions of the quarry regions in Part II. A 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF BUILDING STONE. 15 
 
 name in italics indicates that the stone is, or has been actively 
 quarried within a comparatively recent period. 
 
 State or Territory. Present and Prospective Resources. 
 
 Alabama...Marble, limestone, granite, sandstone. 
 
 Arizona. Onyx marble, limestone, granite, trappean and volcanic 
 
 rocks, and sandstones. 
 
 Arkansas.. .Marble, limestone, syenite. 
 
 California.. Serpentine {verdantique marble), onyx marble, marble, lime¬ 
 
 stone, granite, volcanic rocks and tuffs , sandstone, slate. 
 
 Colorado. Marble, limestone, granite, trappean and volcanic rocks, 
 
 sandstone, quartzite, rhyolite tuff. 
 
 Connecticut.Soapstone, serpentine (verdantique marble), marble, gran¬ 
 
 ite and gneiss, diabase, sandstone. 
 
 Delaware.Marble, gneiss. 
 
 Florida.Shell and oolitic limestone. 
 
 Georgia. Marble, granite, gneiss, sandstone, slate. 
 
 Idaho..,.Limestone, marble, granite, trappean and volcanic rocks, 
 
 sandstone. 
 
 Illinois. Limestone and dolomite, sandstone. 
 
 Indiana. Limestone and dolomite, sandstone. 
 
 Indian Territory... Limestone, dolomite, sandstone. 
 
 Iowa. Gypsum, limestone, dolomite, sandstone. 
 
 Kansas. Limestone, dolomite, sandstone. 
 
 Kentucky. Limestone, dolomite, sandstone. 
 
 Louisiana.Limestone, sandstone. 
 
 Maine.Soapstone, serpentine (verdantique marble), limestone, 
 
 granite, gneiss, diabase, norite, gabbro, quartz porphyry, 
 sandstone, slate. 
 
 Maryland. Soapstone, serpentine (verdantique marble), marble, granite, 
 
 sandstone, slate. 
 
 Massachusetts. Soapstone, serpentine (verdantique marble) marble, granite, 
 
 gneiss, quartz porphyry. 
 
 Michigan. Limestone, dolomite, granite, gneiss, sandstone, slate. 
 
 Minnesota. Limestone, dolomite, granite, gneiss, sandstone, slate. 
 
 Mississippi.Limestone, sandstone. 
 
 Missouri. Limestone, dolomite, granite, diabase, quartz porphyry, sand¬ 
 
 stone. 
 
 Montana .Limestone, dolomite, granite, gneiss, trappean and volcanic 
 
 rocks, sandstone. 
 
 Nebraska. Limestone, dolomite, sandstone. 
 
l6 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 State or Territory. Pn-sent and Piospeciive Rl-sc-u: es. 
 
 Nevada.Limestone, dolomite, granite, trappean and volcanic rocks, 
 
 sandstone. 
 
 New Hampshire., .Soapstone, limestone, granite, slate. 
 
 New Jersey.Serpentine, limestone, dolomite, marble, granite, gneiss, 
 
 diabase, sandstone, slate. 
 
 New Mexico. Serpentine {riccolite) limestone, marble, trappean and vol¬ 
 
 canic rocks, sandstone, granite. 
 
 New York.Soapstone, serpentine (verdantique marble), limestone, dolo¬ 
 
 mite, marble, granite, gneiss, norite, sandstone, slate. 
 
 North Carolina.. . .Soapstone, serpentine, limestone, dolomite, marble, granite, 
 gneiss, diabase, norite, sandstone. 
 
 North Dakota.Limestone, dolomite, sandstone. 
 
 Ohio. Limestone, dolomite, sandstone. 
 
 Oklahoma.Limestone, dolomite, sandstone, granite. 
 
 Oregon.Limestone, dolomite, granite, trappean and volcanic rocks, 
 
 sandstone. 
 
 Pennsylvania. Soapstone, serpentine, limestone, dolomite, marble, granite, 
 
 gneiss, diabase, quartz porphyry, sandstone, conglomerate , 
 slate. 
 
 Rhode Island.Limestone, dolomite, granite, gneiss. 
 
 South Carolina...-Limestone, granite, gneiss. 
 
 South Dakota. Limestone, sandstone, quartzite. 
 
 Tennessee. Limestone, marble, granite, diorite, sandstone. 
 
 Texas. Limestone, marble, granite, trappean and volcanic rocks, 
 
 sandstone. 
 
 Utah.Limestone, marble, granite, trappean and volcanic rocks, 
 
 sandstone. 
 
 Vermont. Soapstone, serpentine (verdantique marble) marble, granite, 
 
 gneiss, slate. 
 
 Virginia. Soapstone, limestone, marble, granite, gneiss, diabase, sand¬ 
 
 stone, slate. 
 
 Washington.Limestone, marble, granite, trappean and volcanic rocks, 
 
 sandstone. 
 
 West Virginia. Limestone, sandstone. 
 
 Wisconsin. Dolomite, granite, gneiss, quartz porphyry, sandstone. 
 
 Wyoming.Limestone, granite, trappean and volcanic rocks, sandstone. 
 
MINERALS OF BUILDING STONES. 
 
 *7 
 
 THE MINERALS OF BUILDING STONES. 
 
 A rock is a mineral aggregate ; more than this, it is an 
 essential portion of the earth’s crust, a geological body occu¬ 
 pying a more or less well defined position in the structure 
 of the earth, either in the form of stratified beds, eruptive 
 masses, sheets or dykes, or as veins and other chemical de¬ 
 posits of comparatively little importance as regards size and 
 extent. 
 
 To fully comprehend, therefore, what is to be said on the 
 subject of rocks, one must begin with a consideration of the 
 minerals of which they are made up. As a rule the number 
 of mineral species constituting any essential portion of a rock 
 is very small, seldom exceeding three or four. In common 
 limestone the only essential constituent is the mineral calcite ; 
 granite, on the other hand, is almost invariably composed of 
 minerals of at least three independent species. Upon the 
 character of these, and the amount of their cohesion, is de¬ 
 pendent to a very considerable extent, the suitability or desir¬ 
 ability of any stone for architectural purposes. Microscopic 
 examination will usually result in increasing the apparent num¬ 
 ber of mineral species, and it not infrequently happens that 
 those present, even in minute quantities, are of great economic 
 importance. 
 
 In the arrangement here adopted rock-forming minerals are 
 divided into four classes : (i) Essential; (2) accessory ; (3) ori¬ 
 ginal ; (4) secondary. 
 
 (1) The essential minerals are those which form the chief 
 constituents of any rock, and which may be regarded as char¬ 
 acteristic of any particular variety; e.g., quartz is an essential 
 constituent of granite; without the quartz the rock becomes a 
 syenite. 
 
i8 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORA TION. 
 
 (2) The accessory minerals are those which, though usually 
 present, are of such minor importance that their absence does 
 not materially effect the character of the rock; e.g., mica, 
 hornblende, apatite, or magnetite, are nearly always present in 
 granite, yet a rock in which any or all of these are lacking may 
 still be classed as a granite. The accessory mineral which pre¬ 
 dominates is called the characterizing accessory and gives its 
 name to the rock. Thus a biotite granite is one in which the 
 accessory mineral biotite prevails. 
 
 (3) The original constituents of a rock are those which 
 foimed upon its fhst consolidation. Ah the essential constitu¬ 
 ents are original, but all the original constituents are not neces¬ 
 sarily essential. Thus, in granite, quartz and orthoclase are 
 both original and essential, while beryl and sphene, though 
 original, a're not essential. 
 
 (4) Secondary constituents are those which result from 
 subsequent changes in a rock, changes due usually to the chem¬ 
 ical action of percolating water. Such are the calcite, chalce¬ 
 dony, quaitz, and zeolite deposits which form in the drusyand 
 amygdaloidal cavities of traps and other rocks. 
 
 In the list on the following page is included all those 
 minerals which ordinarily occur in such of our rocks as are 
 used for building or ornamental purposes. In the first column 
 are given those which compose any appreciable part of the 
 rocks, and anyone of which may at times become the principal 
 ingredient or characterizing accessory. The second column 
 contains those which, if present at all, occur only in small 
 quantities. 
 
 As these are all fully described in the numerous works on 
 mineralogy it is not deemed necessary to enter into any elab¬ 
 orate discussion of their properties here, excepting in the case 
 of those few which from their abundance, or from other causes, 
 have a pronounced effect upon the rocks in which they occur. 
 
MINERALS OF BUILDING STONES. 
 
 19 
 
 1. Quartz. 
 
 2. Feldspar. 
 
 Orthoclase. 
 
 Microcline. 
 
 Albite. 
 
 Anorthite. 
 
 Labradorite, [ Plagioclase 
 Andesite. 
 
 Oligoclase. J 
 
 3. Mica. 
 
 Muscovite. 
 
 Biotite. 
 
 Phlogopite. 
 
 Lepidomelane or Annite. 
 
 4. Amphibole. 
 
 Tremolite. 
 
 Actinolite. 
 
 Common hornblende. 
 
 5. Pyroxene. 
 
 Malacolite. 
 
 Sahlite. 
 
 Augite. 
 
 Diallage. 
 
 Enstatite. 
 
 Hypersthene. 
 
 6. Olivine. 
 
 7. Epidote. 
 
 8. Elaeolite [Nepheline]. 
 
 9. Calcite. 
 
 10. Aragonite. 
 
 11. Dolomite. 
 
 12. Gypsum. 
 
 13. Serpentine. 
 
 14. Talc. 
 
 15. Chlorite. 
 
 ELEMENTS. 
 
 Carbon. 
 
 Graphite. 
 
 SULPHIDES. 
 
 Galenite. 
 
 Sphalerite. 
 
 Pyrite. 
 
 Marcasite. 
 
 CHLORIDES. 
 
 Halite (common salt). 
 
 FLUORIDES. 
 
 Fluorite (fluor spar). 
 
 OXIDES. 
 
 Tridymite. 
 
 Hematite (specular iron). 
 Menaccanite (titanic iron). 
 Magnetite (magnetic iron). 
 Chromite (chromic iron). 
 Limonite (hydrous iron oxide). 
 Rutile. 
 
 ANHYDROUS SILICATES. 
 
 Acmite. 
 
 Beryl. 
 
 Danalite. 
 
 Garnet. 
 
 Zircon. 
 
 Zoisite. 
 
 Allanite. 
 
 Scapolite. 
 
 Sodalite 
 
 Tourmaline (shorl). 
 
 Titanite (sphene). 
 
 HYDROUS SILICATES* 
 Laumontite. 
 
 Natrolite. 
 
 Analcite. 
 
 Chabazite. 
 
 Stilbite. 
 
 Kaolin. 
 
 PHOSPHATES. 
 
 Apatite. 
 
 CARBONATES. 
 
 Ankerite. 
 
 Siderite. 
 
20 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 ^QUARTZ. — Composition: Pure silica, Si 0 2 . Hardness, 7.* 
 
 This is one of the commonest minerals of the earth’s crust, 
 and is an essential constituent of granite, gneiss, mica schist, 
 quartz porphyry, liparite, quartzite, and ordinary sandstone, 
 occuring in the form of crystals, crystalline grains, and frag¬ 
 ments of crystals. It is usually easily recognized by its clear, 
 colorless appearance, irregular, glass-like fracture, hardness, and 
 entire insolubility in acids. Its hardness is such that it 
 scratches glass, and in this respect alone it differs from any 
 other of the essential constituents. It is, however, brittle, and 
 hence, though the hardest mineral, is by no means the most 
 refractory ; stones like granite, which are rich in quartz, work¬ 
 ing more easily than the trap-rocks, in which it is, as a rule, 
 quite lacking. 
 
 Although ordinarily one of the most indestructible of min¬ 
 erals, and infusible in the hottest flame of the blow-pipe, yet 
 highly quartzose rocks like granite are by no means fire-proof, 
 but scale badly when subjected to the heat of a burning build¬ 
 ing. This peculiar susceptibility of the rock to heat is thought 
 by some to be due to the microscopic fluidal cavities which 
 exist in the quartz, and which are at times exceeding abundant. 
 
 * For convenience in determining minerals the “ scale of hardness ” given 
 below has been adopted by mineralogists. By means of it one is enabled to 
 designate the comparative hardness of minerals with ease and definiteness. 
 Thus, in saving that serpentine has a hardness equal to 4 is meant that it is of 
 the same hardness as the mineral fluorite, and can therefore be cut with a knife, 
 but less readily than calcite or marble. 
 
 1. Talc. —Easily scratched with the thumb-nail. 
 
 2. Gypsum. —Can be scratched by the thumb-nail. 
 
 3. Calcite. —Not readily scratched by the thumb-nail, but easily cut with a 
 knife. 
 
 4. Fluorite. —Can be cut with a knife, but less easily than calcite. 
 
 5. Apatite. —Can be cut with a knife, but only with difficulty. 
 
 6. Orthoclase feldspar. —Can be cut with a knife only with great difficulty 
 and on thin edges. 
 
 7. Quartz. —Cannot be cut with a knife ; scratches glass. 
 
MINERALS OF BUILDING STONES. 
 
 21 
 
 THE FELDSPARS. Hardness, 5 to 7. 
 
 The feldspars are essentially silicates containing alumina 
 together with potash, soda, or lime. There are six varieties 
 that are common constituents of building stones, viz., ortho- 
 clase, microcline, albite, oligoclase, labradorite, and anorthite. 
 Of these, albite, oligoclase, labradorite, and anorthite are usu¬ 
 ally indistinguishable from one another by the eye alone, 
 especially in fine-grained rocks, and are therefore designated 
 by the convenient term plagioclase feldspars or simply plagio- 
 clase. Orthoclase is the prevailing feldspar and most important 
 constituent in granites and gneisses, and is usually accompan¬ 
 ied by albite or oligoclase, or frequently microcline. Anorthite 
 and labradorite are equally important constituents of basic 
 eruptive rocks, such as diabase, basalt, and andesite. 
 
 The physical condition of the feldspar in a building stone is 
 a matter of the greatest importance. In those rocks which 
 withstand the effect of the weather through long periods of 
 years without change or disintegration, the feldspars, if ex¬ 
 amined with a microscope, will be found hard, compact, and 
 fresh, containing but few cavities or impurities. On the other 
 hand, the feldspars of many rocks, if thus examined, will be 
 found filled with minute cavities and flaws, which are often so 
 filled with impurities and products of decomposition as to be 
 quite opaque (Hawes). Such rocks will not for any length of 
 time withstand the weather, since infiltrating waters containing 
 minute quantities of carbonic and other acids, aided by heat 
 and frost, can not fail to produce the dire result of disinte* 
 gration. 
 
 The feldspars have also an important influence upon the 
 cutting of a stone. The hardness and toughness of many 
 granites and other crystalline siliceous rocks are due, not to the 
 hard and brittle quartz, but to the feldspathic constituent, 
 which is quite variable. The soft granites consist of the same 
 
22 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 constituents, but the feldspars are porous and therefore offer 
 less resistance to the cutting tool. The feldspars also possess a 
 distinct cleavage, that is, they split or cleave in one or two 
 directions much more readily than in others. It, therefore 
 sometimes happens, especially in coarse-grained and por- 
 phyritic rocks, that it is very difficult to obtain the perfect 
 surface necessary for polishing, since little particles of the feld¬ 
 spars are constantly splitting out, leaving small cavities or 
 “ nicks.” 
 
 The color of a rock frequently depends largely upon its feld- 
 spathic constituent. If the feldspar be clear, transparent, and 
 glassy, the light enters it and is absorbed, giving to the stone 
 a dark color, as is the case with the Quincy granites and many 
 quartz porphyries and diabases. If the feldspar is soft and 
 porous, the light is reflected from the surface and the rock 
 appears white. In all the pink and red granites and gneisses 
 the color is due to the pink and red orthoclase they contain 
 It sometimes happens that the orthoclase and plagioclase 
 —when both are present in the same rock—are differently 
 colored, the orthoclase being pink or red, while the plagioclase 
 is nearly white. 
 
 THE MICAS. Hardness 2.5 to 3. 
 
 Two kinds of mica occur as prominent constituents of build¬ 
 ing stones, especially the granites and gneisses. These are 
 black mica or biotite, and white mica or muscovite. Both 
 kinds occur in small shining scales which are sometimes 
 hexagonal in outline, though more frequently of quite irregular 
 form. 
 
 The composition of the micas is complex, but the black 
 variety is essentially a silicate of iron, alumina, magnesia, and 
 potash, while the white variety is a silicate of alumina and pot¬ 
 ash with small amounts of iron, soda, magnesia, and water. 
 
MINERALS OF BUILDING STONES. 
 
 23 
 
 Other micas common in such stone as are used for building 
 are lepidomelane and phlogopite. The first of these is black in 
 color and closely resembles biotite, from which it differs in con¬ 
 taining smaller proportions of the sesquioxide of iron and in 
 the folia being opaque and inelastic. For all practical purposes 
 this mica is, however, identical with biotite, and no distinc¬ 
 tion has been attempted in the present work. Phlogopite is 
 more nearly colorless, like muscovite, from which it can often 
 be distinguished only with difficulty. It is a common con¬ 
 stituent of many limestones, dolomites, and serpentinous 
 rocks. 
 
 The kind, amount, and disposition of mica in a building 
 stone has a very important bearing upon its working and 
 weathering qualities as well as general fitness for architectural 
 purposes. If it occurs in any abundance and the folia are 
 arranged in parallel layers the rock splits much more readily 
 in a direction parallel to the mica laminae than in that at right 
 angles to them. Mica is itself moreover “ soft and fissile, and 
 hence is an element of weakness.” It also receives a polish 
 only with difficulty and which is soon lost upon exposure to 
 the weather. Black mica, moreover, owing to its large percent¬ 
 age of iron, is liable to succumb to atmospheric agencies.* 
 
 The finest grades of building stone should contain mica only 
 in small flakes evenly distributed throughout the mass of the 
 rock. 
 
 From the marked contrast in color of the two micas it follows 
 
 * Dr. P. Schweitzer while studying the superficial decomposition of the 
 gneiss of New York Island, discovered that the black mica, after getting first 
 coated with a brown film of oxide of iron, “ rapidly disintegrated and dis¬ 
 appeared,” while the white mica possessing greater powers of endurance re¬ 
 mains fresh and intact.—Chem. News, iv., 1874, p. 444. 
 
 The same phenomena may be noticed in the mica schists about Washings 
 ton, D. C. 
 
24 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 that they have a decided influence upon the color of the rock 
 containing them. Folia of black mica in any abundance 
 naturally give the rock a dark-gray hue, while the white mica, 
 being nearly colorless, has a neutral effect. Hence, other 
 things being equal, muscovite granites are much lighter in 
 color than those in which biotite is the characterizing access¬ 
 ory. 
 
 AMPHIBOLE. Hornblende. Hardness 5 to 6. 
 
 Two principal varieties of this mineral are recognized : (1) 
 
 The non-aluminous, including the white, gray, and pale green, 
 often fibrous forms as tremolite, actinolite and asbestos, and 
 (2) the aluminous, which includes the dark-green, brown, and 
 black varieties. The aluminous variety, common hornblende, 
 is an original and essential constituent of diorite, and of many 
 varieties of granite, gneiss, syenite, schist, andesite and trachyte, 
 and is also present as a secondary constituent in many rocks, 
 resulting from a molecular alteration of the augite. The 
 non-aluminous varieties occur in gneiss, crystalline limestone, 
 and other metamorphic rocks. 
 
 The hornblende in such rocks as are used for building pur¬ 
 poses can be readily recognized by its dark-green or almost 
 black color and the compactness and tenacity of its crystals 
 which are not easily separable into thin leaves or folia as is 
 black mica, with which it might otherwise be confounded. 
 Hornblende acquires readily a good and lasting polish and as 
 the mineral itself is strong and durable, its presence in a rock 
 is thought to be preferable to that of mica. 
 
 THE PYROXENES. Hardness 5 to 6. 
 
 Two principal varieties of this mineral are recognized, 
 as with the amphiboles, (1) the non-aluminous, including the 
 light-colored varieties malacolite, sahlite, and diallage, and (2) 
 the aluminous, including the dark variety, augite. 
 
MINERALS OF BUILDING STONES. 
 
 25 
 
 The lighter-colored non-aluminous varieties, malacolite and 
 sahlite, are common in mica and hornblendic schists, gneiss, and 
 granite, though seldom in sufficient abundance to be noticeable 
 to the naked eye. The foliated variety, diallage, is an essential 
 constituent of the rock gabbro, and is also common in serpen¬ 
 tine. The darker colored aluminous variety, augite, is an essen¬ 
 tial constituent of diabase and basalt, and also occurs in many 
 syenites, andesites, and other eruptive rocks. 
 
 In such rocks as are used for building purposes the pyroxene 
 cannot usually be distinguished by the unaided eye from horn¬ 
 blende. With the exception of the Quincy granites and the New 
 Castle, Delaware, gneisses, pyroxenes do not occur in any of 
 our granitic rocks now quarried, but in the diabases and basalts 
 the augite is a very important constituent. It is usually a 
 compact and tough yellowish-green or nearly black mineral, 
 and, like hornblende, readily acquires a good and lasting polish. 
 The pyroxene of the Quincy granite, however, proves an 
 exceptionally brittle variety, and the continual breaking away 
 of little pieces during the process of dressing the stone makes 
 the production of a perfectly smooth surface a matter of great 
 difficulty. 
 
 CALCITEi. Calc-spar. Composition: Calcium carbonate, CaCo s = carbon 
 dioxide, 44 per cent.; lime 56 per cent. Hardness 3. 
 
 This is an original constituent of many rocks, such as lime¬ 
 stone, ophiolite, and calcareous shale, and is the essential con¬ 
 stituent of most marbles, of stalactites, travertine, and calc- 
 sinter. It also occurs as a secondary constituent resulting from 
 the decomposition of other minerals, filling wholly, or in part, 
 cavities in rocks of all ages, such as granite, gneiss, syenite, 
 diabase, diorite, liparite, trachyte, andesite, and basalt. 
 
 Calcite when pure is white in color, and soft enough to be 
 cut with a knife. It can be readily distinguished from other 
 
2b 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 minerals, excepting aragonite, by its brisk effervescence when 
 treated with a dilute acid. 
 
 ARAGONITE. —Composition : Same as calcite. Hardness, 3.5 to 4. 
 
 This mineral has the same chemical composition as calcite, 
 but differs in its crystalline form and specific gravity. It some¬ 
 times occurs in deposits of sufficient extent to be quarried as 
 marble. The beautiful “ onyx marble ” of San Luis Obispo is 
 nearly pure aragonite. 
 
 DOLOMITE .—Composition : (CaMg) C 0 3 = Calcium carbonate, 54.35 percent.; 
 magnesium carbonate, 45.65 per cent. Hardness, 3.2 to 4. 
 
 This mineral closely resembles calcite, but can be readily 
 distinguished from the same by its greater hardness and from 
 its being acted upon but little, if at all, by a dilute acid. Like 
 calcite, it frequently occurs in compact crystalline massive forms, 
 and is quarried for building material or for making lime. Many 
 of our marbles are dolomites, as for instance those of Cockeys- 
 ville, Maryland, and Pleasantville, New York. 
 
 GYPSUM. Calcium Sulphate.— Composition: CaSo 4 -J- 2aq = sulphur tri¬ 
 oxide, 46.5 per cent.; lime, 32.6 per cent.; water, 20.9 per cent. Hardness, 2. 
 
 Gypsum rarely occurs in crystalline rocks, but forms extern 
 sive beds among stratified rocks such as limestones and beds of 
 clay. The fine translucent variety is used for ornamental pur- 
 poses, and is known as alabaster. It is soft enough to be readily 
 cut with a knife or scratched with the thumb-nail, and is not 
 at all acted on by acids. It is therefore readily distinguished 
 from calcite, which it somewhat resembles. 
 
 SERPENTINE. — Composition: A hydrous silicate of magnesia, Mg 3 Si 2 0 T -{- 
 2aq = silica, 43.48 per cent.; magnesia, 43.48 per cent.; water, 13.04 per cent. 
 Hardness, 4. 
 
 This mineral occurs mixed with calcite or dolomite, forming 
 the so-called verdantique marble or ophiolite. As a secondary 
 
MINERALS OF BUILD TNG STONES. 
 
 27 
 
 product it is sometimes found resulting from the alteration of 
 olivine and other magnesian minerals in various eruptive rocks, 
 such as basalt, diabase, and the peridotites. It often occurs in 
 extensive deposits, usually mixed with more or less chromite, 
 magnetite, enstatite, or similar minerals, and is of value as a 
 building or ornamental stone, as will be noticed later. 
 
 Serpentine can usually be recognized by its green or 
 yellowish color, slightly soapy feeling, lack of cleavage, and 
 softness, it being readily cut with a knife. It is, however, not 
 so soft as talc, with which it might possibly be confounded by 
 any but a mineralogist. 
 
 TALC. Steatite. — Composition : A hydrous silicate of magnesia = silica, 63.49 
 per cent.; magnesia, 31.75 per cent.; water, 4.76 per cent. Hardness, I. 
 
 This is a common mineral, occurring as an essential constit¬ 
 uent of talc schist or as an alteration product, replacing horn¬ 
 blende, augite, mica, and other magnesian minerals. The 
 common form is that of small, greenish, inelastic scales. It 
 often occurs massive, and is known by the name of soapstone, 
 and is used extensively in stoves and furnaces. The finely 
 granular crypto-crystalline variety is known as French chalk , used 
 by tailors and others. In its common form this mineral might 
 be mistaken for a mica, but for its soapy feeling and softness, 
 which is such that it can be readily scratched by the thumb-nail. 
 
 OLIVINE. Chrysolite. Peridot. — Composition: Silicate of iron and mag¬ 
 nesia. Hardness, 6 to 7. 
 
 Olivine is an essential constituent of basalt, and the perido¬ 
 tites and is prominent in many lavas, diabases, gabbros, and 
 other igneous rocks, where it occurs in the form of rounded 
 blebs of a bottle-green color. It also occurs occasionally in 
 metamorphic rocks and is a constituent of many meteorites. 
 Olivine is subject to extensive alteration, becoming changed 
 
28 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 into serpentine. Many beds of serpentine result from the alter- 
 ation of olivine-bearing rocks. 
 
 GARNET. Composition: Variable; essentially a silicate of alumina, lime, 
 
 iron, or magnesia. Hardness, 6.5 to 7.5. 
 
 This mineral is an abundant accessory in mica schist, gneiss, 
 granite, crystalline limestone, occasionally in serpentine, in 
 liparite, and other lavas. 
 
 The presence of garnets in stones designed for finely finished 
 work is always detrimental, since, owing to their brittleness and 
 hardness, they break away from the matrix in the process of 
 dressing and render the production of smooth surfaces a matter 
 of difficulty. Those garnets which are found in such stone as 
 are used for building are nearly always of a red color and 
 rounded form. 
 
 EPIDOTE. Composition: Silica, 37.83 per cent., alumina, 22.63 per cent.; 
 
 iron oxides, 15.98 per cent.; lime, 23.27 per cent.; water, 2.05 per cent. 
 
 Hardness, 6 to 7. 
 
 This mineral is a common constituent of many granites, 
 gneisses, and schists, especially the hornblendic varieties. It is 
 also found as a secondary constituent in the amygdaloidal cavi¬ 
 ties of many trap rocks, and is readily recognizable from its 
 green color. Although a common constituent in small propor¬ 
 tions of many rocks, those cases in which it is sufficiently 
 abundant to give them a specific character are extremely rare. 
 Certain of the New Hampshire and Massachusetts granites con¬ 
 tain it in such quantities as to be recognizable as greenish specks 
 on a polished surface, as does also the melaphyr quarried at 
 Brighton, in the latter State. 
 
 CHLORITE. Viridite. —Hardness, 2 to 3. 
 
 Under the general name chlorite are included several min¬ 
 erals occurring in fibres and folia, closely resembling the micas, 
 
MINERALS OF BUILDING STONES. 
 
 29 
 
 from which they differ in their large percentage of water, and 
 in their folia being inelastic. The three principal varieties rec¬ 
 ognized are ripidolite, penninite, and prochlorite, any one of 
 which may occur as the essential constituent of a chlorite 
 schist. Chlorite as a secondary product often results from and 
 entirely replaces the pyroxene, hornblende, or mica in rocks of 
 various kinds, and cdso occurs filling wholly or in part the amyg- 
 daloidal cavities of trap rocks. In this form it is frequently 
 visible only with the microscope, and owing to the difficulties in 
 the way of an exact determination of its mineral species is called 
 viridite , from the Latin viridis, green, this being its usual 
 color. The characteristic greenness which gave the name 
 greenstone to the diorites and diabases is due in large part to 
 the secondary chlorite contained by them. 
 
 IRON PYRITES. — Composition: Iron disulphide, FeS a = sulphur, 53.3 per 
 
 cent.; iron, 46.7 per cent. Hardness, 6 to 6.5. 
 
 A very common accessory in rocks of all kinds and all ages, 
 usually occurring in small cubes or irregular masses of a brassy 
 yellow color. 
 
 It may be set down as a rule that rocks containing this 
 mineral should not be used for ornamental work that is to be 
 exposed to the weather, since it is very liable to oxidation in 
 time, staining the stone and perhaps causing the more serious 
 result of disintegration. This form of the iron disulphide is, 
 however, less objectionable than that known as marcasiteor the 
 gray iron pyrites. For some unexplained reason this form of 
 the mineral decomposes even more readily than the pyrite, and 
 hence its presence is always objectionable in rocks where per¬ 
 manency of color or durability is desired. 
 
 A microscopic study of pyrite-bearing rocks has shown that 
 there are many important considerations bearing upon the 
 weathering properties of this mineral. Thus it is found, as in 
 
30 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 many of the Ohio limestones and dolomites, occurring not only 
 in well defined cubes of a brass-yellow color, but also in an 
 amorphous granular condition in a very fine state of subdivi¬ 
 sion which appears almost black under the microscope. Expe¬ 
 rience has shown that in the latter form it is much more liable 
 to oxidation than when in cubes, and hence we see the 
 necessity of a microscopic examination of a stone as one of the 
 guides to its probable weathering qualities. In this finely 
 amoi phous condition the pyrite is stated by Hawes to have an 
 important effect upon the color of the stone. Thus the Spring- 
 field and Covington (Ohio) dolomites present in different layers 
 two well defined colors—a blue and a yellow. An examina¬ 
 tion with the microscope shows that they differ only in that the 
 blue variety contains the pyrite in the finely disseminated 
 unoxidized state, while in the yellow it has become changed 
 into the hydrous oxide. This change having taken place while 
 the stone lies in the quarry, is unaccompanied by results of a 
 serious nature, unless the uniform change in color be so con¬ 
 sidered. Had the change taken place in the quarried stone 
 after being laid in the walls of a building, the results would in 
 all probability have proved more undesirable. Pyrite when 
 imbedded firmly in rocks of a close, compact nature is less liable 
 to oxidation that when contained in one of a loose and porous 
 texture. In the magnesian limestones of Dayton, Ohio, the 
 microscope reveals many minute cubes of pyrite which are im¬ 
 bedded so firmly in its mass as to be not at all deleterious, 
 since beyond the reach of atmospheric agencies. In many 
 close-textured rocks, as the slates, pyrite is proverbially long- 
 lived, and hence as a rule we can only regard it with suspicion, 
 as an ingredient whose presence can result in little that is good 
 and peihaps a great deal that is bad. It should be noted that 
 pyrite on decomposing, may give rise to sulphates and perhaps 
 
MINERALS OF BUILDING STONES. 
 
 31 
 
 to free sulphuric acid, which in themselves aid in the work of 
 disintegration. 
 
 “ In limestones or dolomites the presence of iion pyrites 
 operates disastrously; for, if magnesia be present, the sulphuiic 
 acid from the decomposing iron pyrites produces a soluble 
 efflorescent salt, which exudes to the surface and forms white 
 patches, which are alternately washed off and replaced, but 
 leaving a whitened surface probably from the presence of sul¬ 
 phate of lime. If the limestone be entirely calcareous, the salt 
 formed (a sulphate of lime) is insoluble, and therefore produces, 
 less obvious results. In some cases, however, the lime of which 
 the mortar or cement is made may contain magnesia, and the 
 decomposition of the iron pyrites in the adjacent stone pio- 
 duces an efflorescent salt which exudes from the joints. This 
 condition is not unfrequently observed in buildings constructed 
 of the bluestone of the Hudson River group. As an example, 
 we may notice the efflorescent patches proceeding from some 
 of the joints between the stones of St. Peter s Church, on State 
 street, in Albany.”* (See further on p. 429.) 
 
 MAGNETITE. Magnetic Iron Or e.— Composition: Fe 0 -t-Fe 2 0 3 = iron 
 
 sesquioxide, 68.97 per cent.; iron protoxide, 31.03 per cent. Hardness, 5 5 
 
 to 6.8. 
 
 This occurs as an original constitutent in many schists and 
 granites; in the latter usually in minute crystals visible only 
 with the microscope. It is almost invariably present in igne¬ 
 ous rocks such as diorite, diabase, and basalt. When present 
 in considerable quantities it sometimes becomes converted 
 
 * Hall Report on Building Stone, p. 50. The white efflorescence so fre 
 quently seen on stone and brick buildings, seems, according to good authorities 
 to be in most cases, due to the mortar in which the stone is laid, and is not a« 
 inherent quality of the stone itself. The subject is, therefore, not more full 
 dwelt upon in the present work. 
 
32 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 entirely into the sesquioxide of iron through taking oxygen 
 from the atmosphere. It then stains the rock a rusty red color, 
 as is observable in many diabases. 
 
 HHIIVE ATITEj . Specular Iron Ore. — Chemical composition .* Anhydrous ses¬ 
 quioxide of iron, Fea03 = iron, 7°-9 per cent.; oxygen, 30.20 per cent. 
 
 This mineral occurs in varying proportions in rocks of all 
 ages. In granite its usual form is that of minute scales of a 
 blood-red color. In an amorphous condition it often forms the 
 cementing material of sandstones, when it imparts to them a 
 red or reddish-brown color. This form of iron oxide is, how¬ 
 ever, less common as a cementing substance than the hydrous 
 sesquioxides turgite and limonite , which are the forms occur¬ 
 ring in the Triassic sandstones of the eastern United States* 
 
 THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF 
 BUILDING STONE. 
 
 The physical properties of a rock—the manner in which its 
 various constituents are grouped together—is a matter of per¬ 
 haps even greater importance than is the character of the 
 minerals themselves. This will become more plainly evident 
 as we proceed. We will therefore devote a few pages here to 
 a consideration of those properties of rocks which may be 
 grouped under the heads of density, hardness and structure, 
 together with notes on their color and chemical composition. 
 
 (1) DENSITY AND HARDNESS. 
 
 Density .—This is an important property, since upon it are 
 dependent to a large extent the weight per cubic foot, the 
 strength, and the absorptive powers of the stone. Among 
 
 * Julien, Proceedings American Association for the Advancement of Science, 
 
 t 888. 
 
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 33 
 
 rocks of the same mineral composition, those which are the 
 densest will be found heaviest, least absorptive, and usually the 
 strongest. 
 
 To ascertain the weight of a rock it is customary to com¬ 
 pare its weight with that of an equal bulk of distilled water, in 
 other words to ascertain its specific gravity. The specific gravity 
 multiplied by 62.5 pounds (the weight of a cubic foot of water) 
 will thus give the weight per cubic foot of stone. The weights 
 given in the tables have been thus computed. (See p. 498.) 
 
 Hardness. —The apparent hardness of a rock is dependent 
 upon (1) the hardness of its component minerals and (2) their 
 state of aggregation. However hard the minerals of a rock 
 may be, it appears soft and works readily if the particles adhere 
 with slight tenacity. Many of the softest sandstones are com¬ 
 posed of the hard mineral quartz, but the grains fall apart so 
 readily that the stone is as a whole soft. (See under State of 
 Aggregation.) 
 
 (2) STRUCTURE. 
 
 Under this head are considered those characters of rocks 
 which are dependent upon the form, size, and arrangement of 
 their component minerals. 
 
 All rocks may be classified sufficiently close for present pur¬ 
 poses under one of the three heads (1) crystalline, (2) vitreous 
 or glassy, and (3) fragmental. Of the first, granite and cry¬ 
 stalline limestone may be considered as types ; of the second, 
 obsidian and pitchstone, and of the third, sandstone. Many 
 structural properties are common to all, others are confined to 
 rocks of a single type. Accordingly as the structure is or is 
 not readily recognizable by the unaided eye, we have : 
 
 (1) Macroscopic structure , or structure which is distinguish¬ 
 able in the hand specimen and without the aid of a microscope .— 
 Under this head are comprehended structures designated by 
 
34 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 7 “ 
 such names as granular , massive , stratified , foliated , porphyritic, 
 concretionary , etc.; terms the precise meaning of which is given 
 in the glossary, and which, with perhaps one or two exceptions 
 need not be further considered here ; and 
 
 (2) Microscopic structures. —-Many rocks are so fine grained 
 and compact that nothing of their mineral nature or structure 
 c^n be learned from study with the eye alone, and recourse 
 must be had-to the microscope. In such cases it is customary 
 among lithologists to grind a small chip of the rock so thin as 
 to be transparent, and then, when properly mounted in Canada 
 balsam, to submit it to microscopic study. By this method 
 many important points of structure and composition are 
 brought out that would otherwise be unattainable. The phy¬ 
 sical condition of the minerals of a rock, their freedom from 
 decomposition, and methods of arrangement can often only be 
 ascertained by this method. By it the presence of many 
 minute and # perhaps important constituents is made known, the 
 presence of which would otherwise be unsuspected. This sub¬ 
 ject is further treated under the head of Rock-forming Minerals 
 and the descriptions of the various kinds of rocks. 
 
 In Fig. 1 of PI. 11 is shown the structure of the muscovite 
 biotite granite of Hallowed, Maine, drawn as are the other fig¬ 
 ures on this plate from thin sections and under a magnifying 
 power of about twenty-five diameters. This is a granite of quite 
 complex structure, consisting of (1) orthoclase, (2) microcline, 
 (3) plagioclase, (4) quartz, (5) black mica, or biotite, and (6) 
 white mica or muscovite. There are also little needles of 
 apatite, scattering grains of iron ore, and occasionally small 
 garnets present which do not show in the figure. The quartz, 
 moreover, is pierced in every direction by minute hair-like crys¬ 
 tals which are supposed to be rutile. The structure, as in all 
 granites and gneisses, is crystalline throughout, as in the mar¬ 
 bles (Fig. 3) and diabase (Fig. 4). The crystals are, however 
 
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 35 
 
 very imperfect in outline, owing to mutual interference in pro¬ 
 cess of formation. Although the rock contains a very large 
 proportion of the hard minerals quartz and feldspar, these do 
 not interlock so thoroughly as do the augite and feldspars in 
 the diabase. As, moreover, quartz is a brittle substance, these 
 rocks work much more readily and will crush under less pressure 
 than those of which Fig. 4 is a type. 
 
 In Fig. 2 of the same plate is shown the structure of an oolitic 
 limestone from Princeton, in Caldwell County, Kentucky. It 
 will be noticed that the first step in the formation of this stone, 
 was the deposition of concentric coatings of lime about a nucleus 
 (1) which is sometimes nearly round, but more frequently quite 
 angular and irregular. After the concretions were completed 
 there were formed in all cases about each one narrow zones (2) 
 of minute radiating crystals of clear, colorless calcite; then the 
 larger crystals formed in the interstices (3). An.examination of 
 the section in polarized light shows that while the concentric 
 portions are nearly always amorphous the nuclei (and always 
 the interstitial matter) is frequently crystalline. The nuclei are 
 composed in some cases of single fragments, or, again, of a 
 group of fragments. Certain of the oolites present no distinct 
 concentric structure, but appear as mere rounded masses merg¬ 
 ing gradually into the crystalline interstitial portions. On the 
 application of acetic acid to an uncovered slide of this rock a 
 brisk effervesence at once set in, which, when the slide was 
 again placed on the stage of the microscope, was seen not to 
 arise from all portions of the slide alike, but to be confined 
 almost exclusively to the outer non-crystalline portions of the 
 oolites, so that in time these almost completely disappeared, 
 leaving the crystalline nuclei and cementing material till the 
 very last. Some of the outlines thus left are peculiarly de¬ 
 ceptive, having almost the appearance of a cross-section of 
 coral or a crinoid stem. This structure is common, so far as I 
 
3<5 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 have observed, to all the oolitic limestones of both Kentucky 
 and Indiana. In the weathering of these stones then we would 
 have produced an effect precisely the opposite of that produced 
 in fragmental siliceous rocks. In the latter case the cement is 
 removed and the grains themselves are but slightly acted upon ; 
 in the former, the grains themselves disappear and the cement¬ 
 ing material remains. It should be remarked, however, that 
 we have as yet no proof that the action of an acid atmosphere 
 on one of these oolites would proceed with other than extreme 
 slowness. In fact, their compactness, freedom from cleavage, 
 fractures, and flaws would seem to indicate just the contrary. 
 Further investigations on this point are necessary before one 
 can speak definitely. 
 
 The microscopic structure of ordinary white crystalline lime¬ 
 stone is shown in Fig. 3, drawn from a magnified section of a 
 West Rutland marble. The entire mass of the rock, it will be 
 observed, is made up of small calcite crystals of quite uniform 
 size closely locked together, and with no appreciable inter¬ 
 spaces. The dark stripes across the crystals are caused by 
 twin lamellae and cleavage lines. All traces of its fossil origin, 
 if such it had, have been obliterated by metamorphism. 
 
 Fig. 4 is that of a diabase from Weehawken, N. J. The 
 elongated, nearly colorless crystals, shaded with long parallel 
 lines, (1) are plagioclase feldspar, the very irregular ones 
 augite (2), while the perfectly black and opaque are mag¬ 
 netite (3). The figure, however, is given to show the struc¬ 
 ture rather than the mineral composition of the rock. It will 
 be noticed that every portion of available space is occupied, 
 there being no residual spaces to be filled by cement, as in 
 the sandstone; also that the feldspars and augites so closely 
 interlock that they can not be forced apart without breaking. 
 As both of these minerals are quite tough and hard, the great 
 strength, durability, and hard-working qualities of the rock 
 can readily be understood, although the constituents them- 
 
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 37 
 
 selves are not harder than those that go to make up some of 
 the most friable sandstones. 
 
 As showing the differences in structure and composition of 
 the sandstones, Figs. 5 and 6 are given, drawn from thin sec¬ 
 tions of the brown Triassic stone from Portland, Connecticut, 
 and a reddish Potsdam stone from quarries in the town of Pots¬ 
 dam, New York. In the first mentioned, Fig. 6, the stone, 
 it will be noticed, is composed of (1) clear, angular grains of 
 quartz, (2) clouded grains of orthoclase and (3) plagioclase, 
 the latter being recognized by its parallel banding, and numer¬ 
 ous irregular and (4) contorted shreds of black and white 
 mica. These are all crowded into a loosely compacted mass 
 and the interstices filled by a cement composed of an amor¬ 
 phous mixture of iron oxides, carbonate of lime, and clayey 
 matter (5). These are represented in black in the figure. 
 It will be observed that only the quartzes and a few of the 
 feldspars are in a fresh and undecomposed condition, nearly 
 all of the latter being badly kaolinized. The Potsdam stone 
 (Fig. 5) shows, however, a markedly different structure. Here 
 the granules are wholly of quartz, and very much rounded in 
 form (1). No feldspars, mica, or other minerals are present. 
 The original rounded outline of the quartz granule is shown 
 by the dotted lines and deeply shaded portions, while every 
 portion of the interstices is occupied by a clear, coloress, sili¬ 
 ceous cement (2), binding the rock into a hard, compact, and 
 impervious quartzite almost absolutely unaffected by chemical 
 and atmospheric agencies.* 
 
 * This rock shows to beautiful advantage the secondary enlargement of 
 quartz granules by deposition of interstitial silica having the same crystallo¬ 
 graphic orientation as the granules themselves, a peculiarity first noted by the 
 Swedish geologist Tornebohm, later by Sorby (Quar. Jour. Geol. Soc., 1880, p. 
 58), and since described in great detail in American Rocks by Irving and Van 
 Hise, (Am. Jour, of Sci., June, 1883); also Bull. No. 8, U. S. Geol. Survey). I 
 may say further here that the red and brown colors of our Triassic sandstones 
 seem to be due not. merely to the thin pellicle of iron oxides with which each 
 
38 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 The cause of the wide variation in relative durability of 
 stones of these two types becomes now at once apparent. In 
 the first case the abundant amorphous cement is not only 
 slightly soluble, and liable to partial removal by the water from 
 rains, but it also facilitates the absorption of a proportionally 
 large amount of moisture. On being subjected to repeated 
 freezing and thawing while in this saturated condition, the 
 grains gradually become loosened and the characteristic scaling 
 results. Stones of the Potsdam type, on the other hand, are 
 practically non-absorptive and insoluble, and are susceptible to 
 no other natural influences than the constant expansion and 
 contraction caused by changes in temperature. They are con¬ 
 sequently vastly more durable. Unfortunately they are also 
 much harder, and hence can be utilized only at greatly in¬ 
 creased expense. 
 
 (3) STATE OF AGGREGATION. 
 
 This is one of the most important properties of build¬ 
 ing stone, since it largely controls both the working and 
 weathering qualities. Many rocks composed of hard materials 
 work readily because their grains are but loosely coherent, 
 while others of softer materials are quite tough and difficult 
 
 granule is surrounded, but the feldspathic grains—often badly decomposed—are 
 stained throughout by the same material, and which also occurs mixed with 
 clayey, calcareous and silicious matter forming the cement. This is never the 
 case, so far as I have observed, in the Potsdam stones, in which the oxide 
 occurs only as a thin coating around each granule, as shown by the shaded por¬ 
 tions in Fig. 5. My own experience, also, is to the effect that the fragments of 
 which the Triassic stones are composed, are much less rounded by attrition 
 than seems ordinarily supposed, or as they are represented when figured. Fig. 
 6 is very typical of the Portland stone, but it does not in the least resemble that 
 given in Fig. 6, Plate xil, Lith. & Min. of New Hampshire. Naturally, how¬ 
 ever, samples selected from different beds, or from different localities, will be 
 found to vary greatly. 
 
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 39 
 
 to work owing to the tenacity with which their particles 
 adhere to one another. Obviously a stone in which the 
 grains adhere closely and strongly one to another will 
 be less absorbent and more durable under pressure than 
 one which is loose textured and friable. A rock is called flinty 
 when fine grained and closely compacted like flint; earthy 
 when partially decomposed into earth or loam ; friable when 
 it falls easily into powder or crumbles readily under the tool. 
 Upon the state of aggregation and the fineness of the grain 
 is dependent very largely the kind of fracture possessed by a 
 rock. Fine grained, compact rocks like flint, obsidian, and 
 some limestones, break with concave and convex shell-like sur¬ 
 faces, forming a conchoidal fracture ; such stones are called 
 plucky by the workmen and they are often quite difficult to 
 dress on this account. Others break with a rough and jagged 
 surface called hackly or splintery. When as in free-working 
 sandstone and granite the broken surface is quite straight and 
 free from inequalities they are referred to as having a straight 
 or right fracture. 
 
 (4) RIFT AND GRAIN. 
 
 The rift of a rock is the direction parallel to its foliation or 
 bedding and along which it can usually be relied upon to split 
 with greatest ease. It is best represented in mica schist, gneiss, 
 and other rocks of sedimentary origin. It is a property, how¬ 
 ever, common to massive rocks, though usually much less pro¬ 
 nounced. The grain is always in a direction at right angles 
 with the rift. 
 
 These are two most important qualities in any stone that it is 
 desired to work into blocks of any regularity of shape. With¬ 
 out them the production of rough blocks for street paving or 
 for finely finished work would be possible only with greatly in¬ 
 creased expense, and only the very softest stones could be 
 
40 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 worked with any degree of economy. With them the hardest 
 rocks are sometimes most readily worked. Thus the Sioux 
 Falls (South Dakota) quartzite, one of the hardest known 
 rocks, is as readily broken out into square blocks for paving as 
 a granite or soft sandstone. 
 
 (5) COLOR. 
 
 The color of a stone is as a rule dependent more upon its 
 chemical than its physical properties. As will be noted, how¬ 
 ever, the color of the granites and similar rocks is sometimes 
 varied in shade's of light and dark, accordingly as the feldspars 
 are clear and glassy and absorb the light, or white and opaque 
 and reflect it. The chief coloring matter in rocks is iron, which 
 exists either in chemical combination with other elements, as 
 in mica and hornblende, or as free oxides or sulphides dis¬ 
 seminated in minute particles throughout the mass ol the rock. 
 The free oxides of iron impart a brownish or reddish hue, the 
 carbonates or sulphides a bluish or gray. A very light or 
 nearly white color denotes the absence of iron in any of its 
 forms. On the condition of the iron is dependent also the per¬ 
 manency of color. 1 he sulphide, carbonate or other protoxide 
 compounds, are liable to oxidation, and hence stones contain¬ 
 ing iron in these forms turn yellowish and stain on exposure. 
 The sesquioxide on the other hand can undergo no further 
 oxidation, and hence the color caused by it is the most durable. 
 As a rule, therefore, the decidedly red colors may be consid¬ 
 ered most permanent. 
 
 The blue and black colors of marbles and limestones are 
 due largely to carbonaceous matter. 
 
 The effects of the various mineral constituents in varying 
 the shades of colors are mentioned in the chapter on rock¬ 
 forming minerals and in the descriptions of the different kinds 
 of stones. Great care and judgment is needed in the selection 
 
PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 41 
 
 of proper colors in building. Heavy rock-faced walls of dull 
 brown sandstone, dark gneiss, or diabase always impart an 
 appearance of gloom, while warm, bright colors are cheering 
 and pleasing to the eye. The late Architect Richardson owed 
 a considerable share of his success to his power of selecting for 
 any particular piece of work stone of such color as to be most 
 effective and harmonious in the finished structure. 
 
 (6) THE CHEMICAL CHARACTERS OF ROCKS. 
 
 This naturally varies with the mineral composition and 
 their ever-varying proportions. Nevertheless, it is possible to 
 obtain general averages from which the stones of each particu¬ 
 lar kind will not be found to vary widely. It is customary to 
 consider rocks which, like granite, are rich in silica as acidic, 
 while those in which, as in basalt, the average percentage falls 
 below fifty are called basic. Various descriptive adjectives are 
 applied to the names of rocks according as they vary in com¬ 
 position. Calcareous rocks consist principally of lime, or con¬ 
 tain an appreciable amount; argillaceous contain clay, which 
 can usually be recognized by its odor when breathed upon; 
 siliceous contain some form of silica; ferruginous , iron in the 
 form of oxide; carbonaceous, more or less carbon; bituminous 
 contain bitumen, which can often be detected by the odor of 
 petroleum given off when the rock is freshly broken. Cal¬ 
 careous rocks can always be detected from their effervescing 
 when treated with a dilute acid. The chemical composition 
 of a stone is often a guide to its suitability for structural pur¬ 
 poses. Those containing much lime are more liable to be un¬ 
 favorably affected by the acid gases of cities, and the various 
 forms of iron present are of importance both regarding the 
 weathering properties of the stones and their colors, as will be 
 
42 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 noticed later under special cases. A table of rock composi¬ 
 tions is to be found near the close of this volume. 
 
 ROCK CLASSIFICATION. 
 
 All the rocks now used for constructive purposes may be 
 classified under the following heads: 
 
 A.— Igneous Rocks ; Eruptive. 
 
 (1) Massive with Quartz and Orthoclase: 
 
 (a) Granites and Granite Porphyries. 
 
 ( b ) Quartz Porphyries. 
 
 (c) Liparites. 
 
 (2) Massive without Quartz: 
 
 (a) Syenite. 
 
 (b) Quartz free Porphyries. 
 
 (c) Trachytes and Phonolites. 
 
 (3) Plagioclase rocks: 
 
 (a) Diorites and Diorite Porphyrites. 
 
 (b) Diabases. Gabbros, Melaphyrs, and Basalts. 
 
 (4) Rocks without Feldspars: 
 
 (a) The Peridotites (Serpentine in part). 
 
 (£) The Pyroxenites (Soapstone in part). 
 
 B. —Aqueous Rocks. 
 
 (1) Sedimentary: 
 
 (a) Siliceous: Sandstones, Conglomerates, Breccias, Clayslates, and vol¬ 
 
 canic Tuffs. 
 
 ( b ) Calcareous: Limestones and Dolomites (including the Marbles). 
 
 (2) Chemical precipitates: Onyx Marbles and Travertines; Gypsum and Alabaster. 
 
 C. —AiouiAN Rocks. 
 
 ^Eolian Limestones (included under ^) above). 
 
 D.—Metamorphic Rocks. 
 
 (a) The Gneisses and crystalline Schists (included with Granite). 
 
 (b) The Marbles (included here with the Limestones). 
 
 (c) The Serpentines (verdantique Marbles in part). 
 
GEOLOGICAL RECORD. 
 
 43 
 
 The order in which the rocks are mentioned above will 
 not, however, be strictly adhered to in the descriptions given 
 in the following pages. For the benefit of those not familiar 
 with the order of succession of the various rock formations in 
 the earth’s crust, the following table is also given: 
 
 GEOLOGICAL RECORD; 
 
 or Order of Succession of the Rocks Composing the Earth’s Crust. 
 
 a" 
 
 S r 
 
 J H 
 
 6 
 
 E 
 
 , (4 
 
 fa 
 
 ! Recent, or Terrace. 
 Champlain. 
 
 Glacial, or Drift. 
 
 -Tertiary. 
 
 
 Cretaceous. 
 
 -Jurassic. 
 
 Triassic. 
 
 ( Pliocene, 
 ■j Miocene. 
 ( Eocene. 
 
 Laramie. 
 
 ! Upper. 
 
 Middle. 
 
 Lower. 
 
 Wealden. 
 
 Upper oolite. 
 Middle oolite. 
 
 -< Lower oolite. 
 Upper Lias. 
 Marlstone. 
 
 Lower Lias. 
 Keuper. 
 
 • Muschelkalk. 
 i Bunter Sandstone. 
 
Silurian, age of Inverte- Devonian, or age Carbonifer- 
 brates. of Fishes. ous age. 
 
 44 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING^AND DECORATION. 
 
 «.2 
 & b 
 
 D. 3 
 
 > 
 
 E oj 
 S'C 
 O 3 
 
 J UT> 
 
 J 
 
 Cambrian, 
 or P r i - 
 mordial. 
 
 Permian. 
 
 -Carboniferous. 
 
 Subcarboniferous. 
 J Catskill. 
 Chemung. 
 
 ► Hamilton. 
 
 Corniferous. 
 
 J 
 
 Oriskany. 
 
 Lower Helderberg. 
 Salina. 
 
 Niagara. 
 
 Trenton. 
 
 \ 
 
 I 
 
 | Canadian. 
 
 j 
 
 ) Upper. 
 
 > Middle, 
 
 ) Lower. 
 
 Archaean, Pre-Cambrian. 
 
 \ 
 
 I 
 
 Permian. 
 
 Upper Coal-measures. 
 Lower coal-measures. 
 Millstone Grit. 
 
 Upper. 
 
 Lower. 
 
 Catskill. 
 
 Chemung. 
 
 Portage. 
 
 Genesee. 
 
 Hamilton. 
 
 Marcellus. 
 
 Corniferous. 
 
 Schoharie. 
 
 Cauda-galli. 
 
 Oriskany. 
 
 Lower Helderberg. 
 Salina. 
 
 Niagara. 
 
 Clinton. 
 
 Medina. 
 
 Cincinnati. 
 
 Utica. 
 
 Trenton. 
 
 Chazy. 
 
 Quebec. 
 
 Calciferous. 
 
 Potsdam. 
 
 Georgian. 
 
 St. John’s. 
 
 Huronian. 
 
 Laurentian. 
 
PART II. 
 
 THE ROCKS, QUARRIES, AND QUARRY REGIONS. 
 
 I. THE IGNEOUS ROCKS. 
 
 The rocks comprised in this group are, as a whole, char¬ 
 acterized by their massive structure and homogeneity. There 
 is an entire absence of original divisional planes, such as are so 
 characteristic of the sedimentary rocks, and hence they are 
 eminently adapted for monumental work and massive structures. 
 
 Such originate through the welling up from unknown 
 depths and sources of material in a molten condition, which 
 has gradually cooled and crystallized as the mass came to a 
 rest. Formed in this way, the igneous rocks may, as a rule, 
 be relied upon to extend downward indefinitely, far beyond 
 the possibility of practical quarrying, and this, too, without 
 abrupt or detrimental change in character. 
 
 The usual form of occurrence of the older igneous rocks, 
 with which we have here chiefly to deal, is that of immense 
 bosses or dikes, which have become exposed through erosion, 
 and which often extend an indefinite and perhaps indeter¬ 
 minable distance. The group comprises the hardest and most 
 important of all natural building material, the most difficult to 
 quarry, and the most expensive to work. The various mem¬ 
 bers of the group and their geographical distribution are de¬ 
 scribed below. 
 
 45 
 
4 6 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 THE GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 (i) COMPOSITION AND GENERAL PROPERTIES. 
 
 The essential constituents of granite are quartz and a potash 
 feldspar which may be either orthoclase or microcline. Nearly 
 always one or more minerals of the mica, hornblende or 
 pyroxene group and a plagioclase feldspar are present, and in 
 small, perhaps microscopic, proportions, the accessories mag¬ 
 netite, apatite, and zircon; more rarely occur sphene, beryl, 
 tourmaline, topaz, garnet, epidote, allanite, fluorite, and pyrite. 
 Delesse* has made the following determination of the relative 
 proportion of the principal constituents in two well-known 
 granites. 
 
 Red Egyptian Granite Porphyritic Granite, Vosges. 
 
 Red orthoclase. 
 
 
 White orthoclase. 
 
 
 White albite. 
 
 
 Reddish oligoclase. 
 
 
 Gray quartz.... 
 
 . 445 « 
 
 Gray quartz. 
 
 
 
 
 Mica. 
 
 hi 
 
 
 100* 
 
 
 100 % 
 
 The average chemical composition is as follows : 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 Silica..’. 7200 
 
 Alumina. 15.07 
 
 Iron peroxide. 2.22 
 
 Magnesia. 5.00 
 
 Lime. 2.00 
 
 Potash. 4.12 
 
 Soda. 2.90 
 
 Loss by ignition. i.iq 
 
 * Prestwich Chemical and Physical Geology, vol. 1. p 42. 
 
«« f¥ % • **■*: \* .> “.*'*.* 'rV<-V! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 127 “ 
 
 123 ° 
 
 11 #" 
 
 115 ° 
 
 111 ° 
 
 107 ° 
 
 103 ° 
 
 # 9 ° 
 
 ^3 
 
 el 
 
 /D 
 
 O 
 
 M 
 
 «A>/ 
 
 Gjv a 
 
 
 Pjnpia 
 
 MiZ 
 
 £ 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 Orf/) •« 
 
 '"Sv 
 
 **><0 
 
 S O 
 
 ^■1 
 
 Pierre 
 
 
 tr 
 
 1 
 
 ’ 0 Pw* 
 
 ‘Or. I 
 
 « / 
 
 [ SaIt Uke 
 
 BRA 
 
 S K 
 
 ,S C 0 \ 
 
 Af 
 
 ? !f- 
 
 A D 
 
 
 lt| 
 
 A 
 
 Al 
 
 ! M E 
 
 O 
 
 
 ! Si 
 
 >% \ -M 
 
 
 
 L.l.POATES, ENA*., N.Y. 
 
 San Antonit 
 
 
 0 100 200 
 
 Map Showing Geographic Distribution in the United StatesJoi 
 
 •» '.f» ! £ ***'»* 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 4 7 
 
 The average specific gravity of granite is 2.66, which is 
 equivalent to a weight of i66£ pounds per cubic foot, or prac¬ 
 tically 2 tons per cubic yard. According to Professor Ansted* 
 granites ordinarily contain about 0.8 per cent, of water, and 
 are capable of absorbing some 0.2 per cent. more. In other 
 words, a cubic yard would in its ordinary state contain 3.5 
 gallons of water. The crushing strength of granite is quite 
 variable, but usually lies between 15,000 and 30,000 pounds 
 per square inch, as will be seen by reference to the tables. 
 
 Structurally the granites are holocrystalline granular rocks. 
 As a rule none of the essential constituents show perfect crys¬ 
 tal outlines, though the feldspathic minerals are often quite 
 perfectly formed. The quartz has in all cases been the last 
 mineral to solidify, and hence occurs only as irregular granules 
 occupying the interspaces of the other minerals. It appears 
 always fresh and glassy, but on microscopic examination is 
 found to contain numerous inclosures, such as rutile needles 
 and little prisms of apatite. A most interesting fact is the 
 presence of minute cavities within the quartz, usually filled 
 wholly or in part with water or liquid carbonic acid. So 
 minute are these cavities that it has been estimated from one 
 to ten thousand millions could be contained in a single cubic 
 inch of space.f The rocks vary in texture almost indefi- 
 nitely, presenting all gradations from fine and evenly granular 
 to coarsely porphyritic forms, in which the feldspars, which 
 are the only constituents porphyritically developed, may be 
 several inches in length. The prevailing color is some shade 
 of gray, though greenish, yellowish, pink and deep red are not 
 uncommon. The various hues are due to the color of the pre¬ 
 vailing feldspar and the abundance and kind of the accessory 
 
 * Hull, Building and Ornamental Stones, p. 30. 
 f Judd, Volcanoes ; What they are and what they teach, p. 64. 
 
48 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 minerals. Granites in which muscovite is the prevailing mica 
 are nearly always very light gray in color : the dark gray colors 
 are due largely to abundant black mica or hornblende : the 
 greenish, pink or red colors to the prevailing greenish, pink or 
 red feldspars. The varying effects of the predominating con¬ 
 stituents upon the physical and enduring qualities of the stone 
 have already been referred to under the head of rock-forming 
 minerals and need not be repeated here. 
 
 Gneiss differs from granite in that its various constituents 
 are arranged in more or less paraded layers, giving the rock a 
 banded or schistose structure and causing it to split in a direc¬ 
 tion paraded with the bands much more readily than across 
 them. Chemically and from a mineral standpoint the rock is 
 identical with granite and is used so far as these structural 
 peculiarities will allow for the same purposes. It is therefore 
 in the following pages included with the granites. The word 
 gneiss , it should be stated, is of German origin and pronounced 
 as is our word nice , not as though spelled nees. 
 
 These rocks are often called stratified or bastard granites 
 by the quarrymen. 
 
 ( 2 ) GEOLOGICAL AGE AND MODE OF OCCURRENCE. 
 
 The granites are massive rocks, occuring most frequently 
 associated with the older and lower rocks of the earth’s crust, 
 sometimes interstratified with metamorphic rocks or forming 
 the central portions of mountain chains. They are not, as 
 once supposed, the oldest of rocks, but occur in eruptive 
 masses invading rocks of all ages up to late Mesozoic or 
 Tertiary times. Thus Professor Whitney considers the erup¬ 
 tive granites of the Sierra Nevada to be Jurassic. Zirkel 
 divides the granites described in the reports of the 40th Paral¬ 
 lel Survey into three groups; (1) Those of Jurassic age; (2) 
 
49 
 
 GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 those of Paleozoic age, and (3) those of Archaean age. The 
 granites of the eastern United States, on the other hand, 
 have, in times past, been regarded as mainly Archaean, though 
 Dr. Wadsworth* has shown that the Quincy, Massachusetts, 
 stone is an eruptive rock of late Primordial or more recent 
 age, while Professor Hitchcock regards the eruptive granites 
 of Vermont as having been intruded during Silurian or per¬ 
 haps Devonian times. 
 
 (3) VARIETIES OF GRANITE. 
 
 In classifying granites the varietal distinction is based upon 
 the prevailing accessory minerals. The more common varie¬ 
 ties are muscovite granite, biotite granite, muscovite-biot it e gtan- 
 ite,f hornblende granite and hornblende-biotite granite; more 
 rarely occur ciugite, epidote, tourmaline , coidicmte, and chlorite 
 granites. The variety without any accessory minerals is some¬ 
 times called granitell. Protogine is the name given to granites 
 which have talc or chlorite as the characterizing accessory. 
 Pegmatite or graphic granite is a vein rock containing little if 
 any mica, but consisting nearly altogether of quartz and ortho- 
 clase. It owes its peculiar structure to the crystallization of 
 these two constituents in long parallel and imperfect prisms, so 
 that a cross-section shows peculiar triangular and polygonal 
 figures comparable to the letters of the ancient Greek or Phoe¬ 
 nician alphabets. 
 
 Aplit is a name used by the Germans for a granite quite 
 poor in mica, and consisting essentially of quartz and feldspar 
 only. The name greisen is applied to a quartz-mica rock with 
 accessory topaz occurring associated with the tin ores of Sax- 
 
 * Proceedings Boston Society of National History, xxi. 1881. 
 f This is the echte granit, or true granite of German authors. 
 
5o 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 ony, and regarded as a granite metamorphosed by exhalations 
 of fluoric acid. Luxiillian.ite and Trowlesworthite are tourma¬ 
 line-fluorite granites occurring at Luxullian and Trowlesworth 
 in Cornwall, England. 
 
 By far the larger proportion of the granites at present 
 quarried in the United States have mica, either muscovite or 
 biotite, as the characterizing accessory, and hence can be 
 spoken of as mica granites. 
 
 (4) USES OF GRANITE. 
 
 Owing to their great hardness granites have, until within a 
 few years, been used only in the more massive forms of archi¬ 
 tecture. It is true that in past ages the cheapness of human 
 life and labor in great part counterbalanced this difficulty, 
 and that Egyptian civilization has left a profusion of temples, 
 obelisks, pyramids and statues with surfaces or interiors often 
 carved and polished in the finest and most delicate manner. 
 With the present high valuation set upon labor such work 
 could never be executed but by the aid of improved machinery 
 and methods of workmanship.* 
 
 It is perhaps only within the last twenty years that granite 
 has become to be generally considered an ornamental stone. 
 Buildings antedating this are massive, and in only too many 
 instances sombre and unpleasing. One’s attention need, 
 however, but be called to the highly ornate character of the 
 State, War and Navy Department building in Washington, the 
 polished granite stairways and pilasters in the new City Hall 
 
 * Granite came into early use for building purposes in America probably 
 more on account of its ready accessibility than from any desire on the part of 
 the people for so refractory a material, the matter of transportation then, as 
 now, being an important item in deciding what material was to be used. 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 51 
 
 in Philadelphia, and the thousands of granite tombstones and 
 monuments in our cemeteries to be convinced that the stone 
 not merely possesses all the requisite qualities of an orna¬ 
 mental stone, but that its use as such is also eminently prac¬ 
 ticable. There are, indeed, few stones fitted by nature for so 
 wide an application. Ranging in colors from nearly white to 
 dark gray, from the most delicate pink to deep red, from fine 
 and evenly granular to coarsely porphyritic, the stone more 
 nearly meets the universal need than any other that can be 
 mentioned. It has well been called the noblest of rocks. 
 
 ( 5 ) GRANITES OF THE VARIOUS STATES AND TERRITORIES. 
 
 California .—It is stated that the first stone house erected 
 in San Francisco was built of stone brought from China, and 
 until very recently the granites most employed were brought 
 from Scotland and the Eastern United States. It is obvious 
 that this condition of affairs need not longer exist, since 
 granites of good quality occur in inexhaustible quantity in 
 the near vicinity. As early as 1853 a granite quarry was 
 opened in Sacramento County, and since then others have 
 been opened and systematically worked in Penrhyn and 
 Rocklin in Placer County. The Penrhyn works are some 
 28 miles east from Sacramento on the line of the Central 
 Pacific Railroad. The first quarries were opened in 1864, and 
 are now said to cover some 680 acres at Penrhyn and Rocklin,* 
 the latter point being some 6 or 8 miles distant from the 
 former in a westerly direction. 
 
 The rock varies in color from light to dark gray, one 
 variety, which contains both hornblende and biotite, being 
 
 * Samples of stone said to be from Rocklin, and which the writer has 
 examined, are rather quartz diorites than true granites. 
 
52 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION . 
 
 almost black on a polished surface. They are, as a rule, fine 
 grained, and take a good polish. Blocks more than ioo feet 
 long, 50 feet wide, and ten feet thick have been quarried out 
 and afterwards broken up. 
 
 The Penrhyn stone is designated a hornblende granitite 
 by Jackson,* who gives its mineral composition as quartz, 
 orthoclase, plagioclase, hornblende, and biotite, with micro¬ 
 scopic apatite and magnetite. Submitted by the above 
 authority to the action of a carbonic acid gas solution, a sample 
 of this stone lost 0.05 per cent in weight; by disintegration in 
 acid fumes it lost 1.09 per cent. In this latter treatment 
 every mica scale on the surface of the exposed fragments 
 bleached to a pearly whiteness. The iron was dissolved out, 
 staining the rock slightly, while the feldspar grains became a 
 trifle duller in lustre. On being heated in a muffle to some¬ 
 what above a bright redness, the stone developed a complete 
 network of deep-seated cracks, and after emersion in water 
 could be readily crushed to powder in the hands. 
 
 The Rocklin stone is described by the same authority as a 
 fine-grained white stone, carrying abundant small scales of 
 black mica and occasional granules of pyrite. The composi¬ 
 tion is given as essentially the same as the Penrhyn stone, 
 but that muscovite replaces the hornblende. Submitted to the 
 same tests as above the stone lost in the carbonic acid gas solu¬ 
 tion 0.1 per cent; and by decomposition and disintegration in 
 the strong acid fumes 0.68 per cent. In this, as in the last 
 case, mica scales bleached white, and the rock became slightly 
 stained. Heated in the muffle the stone behaved like the 
 Penrhyn granite, though not cracking quite so deeply; it, 
 however, could be readily crushed to powder after immersion. 
 
 Eighth Annual Report State Mineralogist of California. 1888. 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 53 
 
 Reports on crushing strength and ratio of absorption of these 
 stones, and also that of a very similar granite from Mount Ray¬ 
 mond is Fresno County are given in the table, on p. 498. A 
 fine quarry of granite is stated to occur some eight miles north¬ 
 east of Sonora in Tuolumne County. 
 
 A fine-grained, very light-gray granite of excellent appear¬ 
 ance, said to be found on the line of the California Southern 
 Railroad between Los Angeles and Cucamonga, is beginning 
 to be used in Los Angeles. In texture it is as fine as the finest 
 Westerly, (Rhode Island), or Manchester (Virginia) stone, 
 and of a uniform light gray color. A coarser stone, carrying 
 abundant hornblende and black mica, is found also at Sawpit 
 Canon, in the same county. It works readily, but contains too 
 much hornblende, and also too many small crystals of sphene, 
 to be of value for fine monumental work. 
 
 Colorado .—Until within a comparatively recent period 
 granites have been but little worked in Colorado, although the 
 State contains great quantities of this material. A coarse red 
 ' granite has been quarried to some extent from bowlders at 
 Platte Canon, Jefferson County, but the rock is poor in color 
 and possesses but little tenacity. Fine gray granite of good 
 quality occurs at Georgetown and Lawson, in Clear Creek 
 County, and there are inexhaustible quantities of equally good 
 material all through the mountains, but which are not quarried 
 owing to the cost of transportation. 
 
 Connecticut .—Extensive quarries of granite and gneiss are 
 located at various points in this State, especially near Thom- 
 aston and Roxbury, in Litchfield County; on Long Island 
 Sound, Fairfield County; near Ansonia, Bradford, Leetes 
 Island, and Stony Creek, New Haven County; Haddam, 
 Middlesex County, and near Lyme, Niantic, Groton, and 
 Mason’s Island, New London County. The Connecticut 
 
54 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 granites and gneisses are usually fine-grained and light gray 
 in color, and the appearance is, as a rule, so characteristic 
 as to distinguish them from other granites of the Atlantic 
 States. 
 
 The most of these stones are, however, quarried only for 
 local use, and but few find their way into markets outside of 
 the State. A beautiful light gray muscovite-biotite granite is 
 quarried at Thomaston and Reynolds Bridge, which for even¬ 
 ness of grain and clearness of color cannot be excelled. The 
 stone from Roxbury is a trifle darker, but though of fine and 
 even grain and acquiring a good polish, is used only for curb¬ 
 ings, foundations, and pavings. The Ansonia rock is a very 
 fine-grained muscovite-biotite gneiss, and has been used for 
 general building purposes in New Haven and Bridgeport. 
 The Leetes Island and Stony Creek rocks are of a pink color, 
 the first mentioned being sometimes very coarsely porphyritic. 
 A turned column of the Leetes Island rock in the National 
 Museum shows large pink orthoclase crystals two inches or 
 more in length embedded in the finer gray groundmass of the 
 rock. The Stony Creek granite has been used with most ex¬ 
 cellent effect in the New South Union Station in Boston, and 
 in numerous other public and private buildings. Particularly 
 worthy of mention as showing the adaptability of the stone for 
 decorative and monumental work are the large polished columns 
 and the polished slabs lining the interior of the main entrance 
 of the South Union Railway station in Boston, and the magnifi¬ 
 cent monolithic column 41 ft. 6 in. in length by 6 ft. in diam¬ 
 eter of the battle monument at West Point, New York. A 
 beautiful and very coarsely crystalline red granite occurs near 
 Lyme, but the stone is not in the market, being too expensive 
 to work. It has been used to some extent in Newport, Rhode 
 Island, and some of the material may be seen in the Chaney 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 55 
 
 Meniorial Church at that place. Contrary to the general rule 
 in red granites, the feldspars of this rock are not opaque but 
 quite clear and transparent, and in point of beauty the rock 
 far excels the celebrated Scotch granites from Peterhead. The 
 Haddam, Greenwich, and Bridgeport gneisses are all horn- 
 blendic, very dark gray, and split readily in the direction of 
 their lamination; their uses are strictly local. 
 
 Delaware .—This State produces scarcely anything in the 
 way of granitic rocks. A few quarries of a dark gray gneissoid 
 rock are worked near Wilmington, and are used for general 
 building purposes in that city. One church and several private 
 dwellings have been constructed of this stone. 
 
 Georgia .—The area of granitic rocks in this State is com¬ 
 prised within the so-called Piedmont plateau, a broad belt ex¬ 
 tending in a general northeast and southwest direction entirely 
 across the State and into Alabama, as shown on the map, 
 PI. III. Up to the present time the last-named State has pro¬ 
 duced no granite, and Georgia represents the southernmost 
 extension of the granite-producing belt of the eastern United 
 States. Although, as it were, so near the end of the proces¬ 
 sion, the State is by no means lacking in good material, and 
 within the last dozen or twenty years quarry developments 
 have been quite rapid. For detailed information regarding 
 these rocks we are largely indebted to a recent report of the 
 State Geological Survey,* the writer’s personal knowledge 
 being, limited to a few of the more important occurrences. 
 
 By all means the most extensive and important of the gran¬ 
 itic areas to-day are those of De Kalb County, including the 
 Stone Mountain and Lithonia areas. Of these, the first named 
 is in the form of an enormous granitic boss several miles in cir- 
 
 The Granites and Gneisses of Georgia. By Thomas Watson. 
 
56 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 cumference and some 686 feet in height above the surrounding 
 country. The rock is a moderately fine-grained, light-gray 
 muscovite-biotite granite, with a pronounced granular structure 
 and fairly free from blemishes. It occurs in the form of imbri¬ 
 cated sheets, thinning out to knife-like edges above, but thick¬ 
 ening downward, so that blocks of almost any desired shape 
 or size can be procured. Quarrying here began as early as 
 1850, but it was not until 1882 that the developments assumed 
 any great proportions. The stone weighs 167.9 lbs. per cubic 
 foot. Pressure test and chemical analysis are given in the 
 tables (p. 508). The Lithonia stone is a hard, firm, close- 
 textured, fine-grained gray, biotite granite-gneiss. It is finer 
 grained, darker in color, and stronger than that of Stone 
 Mountain. The prevailing type is usually highly contorted 
 and thin-banded, the black biotite and light-colored feldspars 
 and quartz being more or less differentiated into layers. In 
 some of the quarries the stone carries abundant small red 
 garnets. The results of analysis and pressure tests of one of 
 the more important varieties are given in the tables (p. 508). 
 
 Throughout the entire length of Elbert and Oglethorpe 
 Counties there extend two belts, the one of dark-blue gray 
 and the other light gray, fine- and medium-grained granites, 
 uniform in texture and composition. The blue-gray stone is 
 eminently suited for monumental work and the lighter stone 
 for general building. Many other quarries and quarry sites 
 yet undeveloped are to be found throughout this granite area 
 as first defined, but which cannot be even referred to here for 
 lack of space, and the reader is referred to the publication of 
 the State Survey, above referred to. 
 
 Maine .—The large extent of coast-line of the State of 
 Maine, composed of granitic rocks of a kind suitable for building 
 purposes, renders possible the shipment and transportation of 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 5 7 
 
 the quarried rock at rates much lower than would otherwise 
 be attainable. The natural advantages thus offered are in some 
 cases quite extraordinary and scarcely to be appreciated but 
 by one who has not made a personal inspection. Not merely 
 has glaciation largely rendered unnecessary any preliminary 
 stripping, but the quarries are themselves frequently situated 
 so near the water’s edge that little, if any, handling is neces¬ 
 sary prior to loading upon the vessel. The quarries on Somes 
 Sound, Mt. Desert, and Crotch Island near Stonington in 
 Hancock County are good examples of this. The last-named 
 island is simply a low oval mass of bare granite, at its highest 
 point scarcely 150 feet above sea-level. T. he quarry opening 
 has a frontage upon the water of some 300 yards, with tracks 
 running clear to the water’s edge, where the stone is swung by 
 powerful derricks directly into sea-going schooners for ship¬ 
 ment to any or all of the leading coast cities of the country. 
 Such favorable circumstances, together with the excellent 
 quality of the rock obtainable, led to the early opening 
 of very numerous quarries both on the mainland and the adja¬ 
 cent islands, and hence at the present time Maine granites are 
 found in very general use in nearly every city of importance 
 in the country, even as far west as California, and frequently 
 to the almost entire exclusion of perhaps equally good ma¬ 
 terial close at hand. 
 
 The granitic areas of the State are outlined as follows by 
 Prof. Hitchcock:* First is the Katahdin area, exclusively in 
 the forest region. This is generally a fine-grained rock; that 
 on Mount Katahdin is tabular, and the sheets have a dip like 
 sedimentary strata. The summit rock is red, capping a white 
 variety of granite. The divisional planes seem, however, to be 
 
 * Geology of Northern New England. 
 
58 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 joints. Neither this nor any of the granite areas appear like 
 gneiss, though patches of gneiss may occasionally be seen close 
 at hand. Between Penobscot Bay and Schoodic Lake (in Wash¬ 
 ington County) there is probably a continuous band 5 f granite, 
 which extends through New Brunswick northeasterly a distance 
 of two hundred and ninety miles, and a width varying from ten 
 to twenty miles. Between Elsworth and Holden, eleven miles, 
 this range is porphyritic. In Topsfield, Washington County, 
 it is hornblendic. Protogene (chlorite granite) composes 
 green mountain in Eden, on Mt. Desert. Elsewhere on the 
 island, there is common granite, and a red compact variety, 
 with feldspars predominating. This granitic area seems to be 
 connected with the one just described on the west. Another 
 large granite area extends from Jonesport to Calais in Wash¬ 
 ington County, and thence into New Brunswick. 
 
 According to the returns furnished by the special agents in 
 the employ of the building-stone department of the Tenth 
 Census, there were during the census year some eighty-three 
 quarries of various kinds of building stone in the State, situ¬ 
 ated chiefly either immediately on the coast or within easy 
 reach of tide-water. Of these eighty-three quarries seventy- 
 four were of granite or gneiss.* The different varieties of these 
 stones produced maybe classed under the following heads: 
 Biotite granite, biotite-muscovite granite, hornblende granite, 
 hornblende-biotite granite, biotite gneiss, and biotite-muscovite 
 gneiss. The great majority of the stones now quarried belong 
 to the first-named variety. They vary in color usually from 
 Ijo-ht to dark gray, though pinkish and red varieties are quar¬ 
 ried in a few instances. At Red Beach, near Calais, and at 
 jonesborough there is quarried a pink or reddish rock, very 
 compact and hard, which from a simple examination with the 
 
 * This number had increased in 1889 10 153. 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 59 
 
 unaided eye is seen to be composed of pink or cream-colored 
 feldspars, smoky quartz, and a few small shreds of mica. An 
 examination of a thin section with the microscope does not 
 greatly increase the number of constituent minerals. The 
 mica, which is usually of a greenish color, is very evenly dis¬ 
 seminated throughout the rock and in very small shreds, bear¬ 
 ing numerous inclosures of magnetite. A few small apatite 
 crystals are as usual present, but are visible only with a micro¬ 
 scope. 
 
 The evenness of the grain of these rocks, and the occurrence 
 of the mica only in small amount and in minute flakes are mat¬ 
 ters of great practical importance, since they allow the produc¬ 
 tion of a more perfect surface and lasting polish than would 
 otherwise be possible. The texture is much finer than is that 
 of the red Scotch granite, and the color a more delicate pink. 
 They are, in fact, the most beautiful of any of our pink or red 
 granites now in the market, and are used very extensively for 
 monuments, ornamental work, and general building purposes. 
 In the quarry the stone is separated by joint into natural nearly 
 rectangular blocks of all sizes up to as large as can con¬ 
 veniently be handled. 
 
 At West Sullivan, in Hancock County, a light gray, some¬ 
 times slightly pinkish, granite of medium texture is extensively 
 quarried for paving blocks and general building purposes. 
 The stone corresponds closely with that quarried in the town 
 of Franklin. At Somesville, on Somes Sound, near Southwest 
 Harbor, Mt. Desert, is quarried a granite of rather coarse 
 texture and of a dull pink tinge, the color being due to the 
 orthoclase which is often present in crystals of such size as to 
 give the work a slight porphyritic structure. 
 
 This stone was used in the construction of the Brooklyn ap¬ 
 proaches to the East River Bridge, and in the arches and foun¬ 
 dations of the new bridges in Back Bay Park, Boston. Blocks 
 
6o 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 I 5 ° by 50 by 18 feet have been loosened in the quarry. The 
 position of these quarries is peculiarly good for shipping, as 
 they lie near the head of Somes Sound, along a narrow and 
 very deep fiord, running several miles inland from South¬ 
 west Harbor, between the mountains. One of the quarries is 
 situated on the side of a hill and at the water’s edge. The 
 sheets of stone are very thick in some cases, one being 18 feet 
 in thickness. 
 
 A coarse dull red, very tough and strong hornblende gran¬ 
 ite is also quarried on the island at Otter Creek, between 
 Somes Sound and Bar Harbor. The stone is of finer texture 
 than are the red Scotch granites, and more closely resembles 
 the red granites of the Bay of Fundy than any other with which 
 the writer is acquainted. Its value for purely monumental 
 purposes is often lessened by the presence of black patches of 
 finer grain, and which are objectionable either on fine cut or 
 polished surfaces. 
 
 In the vicinity of East Blue Hill, in this same county, are 
 quarried some of the most beautiful gray granites at present 
 in the market. The rock varies from fine, even-grained gray 
 or slightly pinkish to coarsely porphyritic. A foot cube of 
 this granite in the National collections is composed of a fine 
 even-grained gray groundmass, carrying very many snow-white 
 crystals of orthoclase an inch or more in length. This is one 
 of the most beautiful gray granites for monumental work with 
 which the author is acquainted. Blocks 90 by 80 by 6 feet 
 have been moved out in some of these quarries. Specimens 
 of this granite tested at the Centennial Exposition at Phila¬ 
 delphia in 1876, showed a crushing strength of 22,000 pounds 
 per square inch. In the quarries the stone lies in sheets from 
 3 to 10 feet in thickness. A portion of the granite from this 
 region is of a pinkish cast, similar to that of Mt. Desert. On 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 6r 
 
 the southern end of Deer Isle, also in Hancock County, and on 
 the smaller islands in the immediate vicinity, are inexhaustible 
 supplies of coarse gray granite, sometimes porphyritic, with 
 pinkish orthoclase crystals from two to three inches in dia¬ 
 meter. _ There is not, however, sufficient contrast in color to 
 make the stone desirable for monumental work, and its coarse 
 texture is against it. Much of the rock here closely resembles 
 that of Vinalhaven and Hurricane Island, for either of which 
 it might readily be mistaken. 
 
 Two varieties of granite are quarried at Mount Waldo, in 
 the town of Frankfort. Both are light-gray rocks, frequently 
 porphyritic with large white orthoclase crystals. Both varie¬ 
 ties are of the same mineral composition, the difference being 
 simply one of texture, one being quite coarse and somewhat 
 porphyritic, while the other is much finer and of more even 
 texture. The mica occurs in large flakes, which the micros¬ 
 cope shows to be frequently pierced by small crystals of apatite. 
 A part of the mica is greenish in color and contains a few 
 small grains of epidote. An occasional flake of white mica 
 Avas noticed in this rock, and there is present the usual sprink¬ 
 ling of magnetite granules, together with an occasional cube 
 of pyrite. Quarries were opened at Mt. Waldo in 1853, and 
 single blocks 80 by 40 by 20 feet have been taken out and 
 afterward cut up. It is estimated that blocks 150 by 50 by 12 
 feet could be obtained if desired. The rock has been used 
 largely in the building of forts on the coast of Maine, but is 
 also used for all purposes, both ornamental and otherwise, to 
 which granite is usually applied, and has been shipped as far 
 South as Mobile and New Orleans. The principal quarry is 
 situated on Mt. Waldo, overlooking the Penobscot River, at an 
 elevation of some 320 feet above high tide. 
 
 At Vinalhaven or Fox Island, in Penobscot Bay, are the 
 
62 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 most extensive quarries at present in operation in this country. 
 Quarries were first opened here about 1850, and the annual 
 product has averaged upwards of 200,000 cubic feet, valued at 
 some $110,000. Upwards of six hundred men are regularly 
 employed at the works, though the number has at times risen 
 as high as one thousand five hundred. The capabilities of the 
 quarries can be best illustrated by stating that during a visit of 
 the writer to these quarries in the summer of 1883 he was 
 shown the remains of a huge block of granite 300 feet long, 
 20 feet wide, and varying from 6 to 10 feet in thickness, that 
 had been loosened from the quarry in a single piece and after¬ 
 ward broken up. The largest block ever quarried and dressed 
 was the General Wool monument, now in Troy, New York, 
 which measured, when finished, 60 feet in height by 5% feet 
 square at the base, or only 6 feet 7 inches shorter than the 
 Egyptian obelisk now in Central Park. 
 
 In texture the Vinalhaven rock is rather coarse and the 
 general color gray, although the prevailing feldspar is some¬ 
 times of a light flesh color. Besides biotite, the rock contains 
 small amounts of hornblende and microscopic apatite and zir¬ 
 con crystals. It takes a good and lasting polish, and is well 
 adapted for all manner of ornamental work and general build¬ 
 ing purposes. The stone has been used so extensively, all over 
 the country, that to cite special cases seems superfluous. 
 
 A granite closely resembling that of Vinalhaven is exten¬ 
 sively quarried at Hurricane Island, some 3 miles distant, in a 
 south-westerly direction, and is used for similar purposes. The 
 structure of the stone here differs in different parts of the 
 quarry. In one portion it lies in comparatively thin sheets, 
 while in another there occur immense masses of solid rock, 
 extending downward for 50 feet without perceptible jointing. 
 A block of 80 tons has been moved, and a mass 80 by 40 by 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 63 
 
 25 feet was loosened in the quarry. Natural blocks 500 feet 
 long, 20 feet wide, and 50 feet deep occur. 
 
 The celebrated quarries on Dix Island, in Knox County, 
 from whence was obtained the granite for the United States 
 Treasury building at Washington, including the monolithic 
 columns, 31^ high by 3 feet in diameter, are at the present 
 writing abandoned. Nearly the whole island has been quarried 
 over, and the large bluffs entirely removed. The rock is rich 
 in quartz, and therefore quite hard, but is a good and safe 
 working stone. It has been very extensively used in New 
 York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D. C. 
 
 The granite of Augusta and Hallowed has long been justly 
 celebrated for its beauty and fine working qualities. It is a 
 fine, light-gray rock, the uniformity of texture being often 
 broken by the presence of large white crystals of microcline, 
 which inclose small, rounded grains of quartz. Biotite and 
 muscovite occur in abundance, and in about equal proportions, 
 but in small flakes, the muscovite appearing as silvery-white 
 glistening particles on a broken surface of the rock. The rock 
 is therefore classed as a biotite-mnscovite granite. Under the 
 microscope three feldspars are readily distinguished, orthoclase 
 in imperfect crystals and irregular grains, an abundance of 
 plagioclase, and microcline in large plates filled with cavities 
 and inclosures of muscovite and quartz. In the thin sections 
 the quartz inclosures are usually circular in outline and are 
 pierced in every direction by minute thread-like crystals of 
 rutile, in polarized light showing up in strong contrast with the 
 beautiful basket-work structure of the inclosing microcline. 
 All the feldspars are quite fresh and pure. A few apatite 
 crystals are present, together with occasional garnets, which in 
 thin sections are destitute of crystalline form, appearing as 
 rounded or oval nearly colorless bodies traversed by many 
 irregular lines of fracture. They are quite free from impuri- 
 
64 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 ties, though occasionally containing inclosures of biotite. 
 As is usual in muscovite-bearing rocks but little mag¬ 
 netite is present ; in two cases only grains of pyrite were 
 noticed. 
 
 The rock is considered a gneiss by Hitchcock, but show¬ 
 ing no signs of stratification in the hand specimen, is classed 
 here as granite. As illustrative of the great extent of the 
 quarries, it is stated that blocks 200 teet in length by 40 feet 
 in width and 8 feet in thickness can be broken out in a single 
 piece if so desired. There is no sap between the sheets, and 
 little or no pyrite to cause discoloration. The sheets, as is 
 usually the case, increase in thickness downward, being about 
 1 foot thick at the surface and 10 feet thick at the bottom of 
 the present openings, which are from 50 to 60 feet deep. (See 
 Plate IV.) 
 
 This is one of the best working of the Maine granites, 
 and is used very extensively, not only for building and 
 monuments, but is carved into statues, like marble. Many 
 of the workmen are said to be Italians who worked on 
 marble in Italy, but have learned to cut granite since their 
 arrival in Hallowed. Among the prominent structures and 
 monuments constructed, wholly or in part, of this stone, are 
 the new capitol, Albany, N. Y.; Bank of Northern Liberties, 
 Philadelphia ; State capitol, Augusta, Me.; Emory Block, 
 Portland, Me.; Odd Fellows’ Memorial Hall, Equitable Build¬ 
 ing, and part of the old Quincy Market, Boston; Ludlow 
 Street Jail, the Tribune Building, and the old Tombs Prison, 
 New York City; the statues of the Pilgrims’ Monument at 
 Plymouth, Mass.; Soldiers’and Sailors’ Monuments at Marble¬ 
 head, Mass., Portsmouth, Ohio, Augusta, Boothbay, and Gar¬ 
 diner, Me.; Odd Fellows’ Monument, Mount Hope, Boston, 
 and the Washington Artillery Monument and Hernandez. 
 
Granite Quarry at Hallowell, Maine. to /ace page 64. 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 65 
 
 tomb, New Orleans. The statues on the Pilgrims’ Monument 
 are said to be the largest granite figures in America. The 
 standing figure is 38 feet in height, while the four in sitting 
 posture are each fifteen feet in height. 
 
 A granite quite similar to that described above is also 
 quarried, though less extensively, at North Jay, in Franklin 
 County. Similar rocks but of a gneissoid structure occur in 
 Waldo and Lincoln Counties. 
 
 Other granites, in many cases fully equal to those above 
 described, occur in various parts of the State, and which can be 
 but briefly noticed for lack of space. Mention may be made 
 of the fine dark-gray biotite granite quarried at Swanville in 
 Waldo County; the fine and coarse gray stone of St. George 
 and Spruce Head Island, in Knox County; those from Wayne 
 in Kennebec County; Canaan and Norridgwock, in Somerset 
 County; Sebec Lake, in Piscataquis County; Brunswick and 
 Pownal, in Cumberland County; Biddeford, South Berwick 
 and Kennebunkport, in York County; and from Bryant’s Pond, 
 in Oxford County. Also of the darker gray hornblende mica 
 granites of St. George and of Lincoln, in Penobscot County. 
 The so-called “black granites” of Addison, Vinalhaven and 
 Tenants Harbor are diabases and gabbros, and will be men¬ 
 tioned in their proper places. (Seep. 109.) 
 
 Very many of the biotite granites of this State contain 
 numerous masses or nodules of a darker color and finer text¬ 
 ure than the rock itself, they frequently appearing as black 
 patches on a polished surface. These are of all sizes up to a 
 foot in diameter. They sometimes occur with sharp, distinct 
 outlines, or again merge gradually into the surrounding rock 
 with no definite line of demarkation. Some of them possess a 
 fine, even texture, while others are rendered slightly porphyri- 
 tic in structure through included crystals of plagioclase of con¬ 
 siderable size. Under the microscope they are all found to 
 
66 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 consist essentially of the same minerals as the rocks in which 
 they occur, although in a more finely crystalline state and dif¬ 
 ferent proportions; biotite usually prevails and causes the 
 dark color of the patch. Very many of them, however, are 
 penetrated in every direction by innumerable, minute, color¬ 
 less, needle-like crystals, an exact determination of which, on 
 account of their small size, is impossible. Many of the in¬ 
 cluded larger crystals of feldspar, which, so far as observed 
 are always triclinic, have their angles rounded away, and are 
 reduced to mere oval grains. Such nodules are usually re¬ 
 garded as of concretionary origin.* The finer texture and 
 darker color of these patches render them very conspicuous 
 and in some of the quarries many fine blocks of granite are 
 rendered quite unsuited for finely finished or polished work on 
 account of their abundance. 
 
 Maryland .—Granite and gneissoid rocks occur in this State 
 only within the area known to physiographers as the Piedmont 
 plateau, a broad belt extending from Cecil and Harford Coun¬ 
 ties, on the northeast, southwesterly to Montgomery County 
 and the Potomac River. The rocks throughout this area have 
 evidently undergone serious orographic disturbance, and are as 
 a result universally jointed so frequently that blocks of but 
 moderate size are obtainable. There is nevertheless an 
 abundance of good material, though quarry development has 
 been slow. At Port Deposit on the Susquehanna River there 
 occurs a light bluish-gray gneissoid granite the value of which 
 for general structural purposes was recognized as early as 
 1816, and which on account of favorable shipping facilities has 
 
 * gee “On Concretionary Patches and Fragments of other Rocks contained 
 in Granite,” hv J. A. Phillips, Quarterly Journal of the London Geological 
 Society, vol. xxxvi. 1880, pp. 1-22. Also, “On the Black Nodules in the 
 Maine Granites,” by G. P. Merrill. Proceedings U. S. National Museum 
 vol. 6, 1883, p. 137- 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 67 
 
 become widely and favorably known. Some half dozen sets 
 of joints traverse the rock, rendering the quarrying of dimen¬ 
 sion material somewhat expensive and decidedly limiting the 
 sizes of the blocks obtainable. The stone is strong and emi¬ 
 nently durable. 
 
 Quarries in the vicinity of Ellicott City have furnished, 
 since a very early period in the history of the State, a dark 
 gray granite rendered porphyritic through the presence of 
 abundant illy defined crystals of pink feldspar. The stone has 
 been used abundantly in the near vicinity and Baltimore, the 
 most important structure made from it being the Catholic 
 cathedral in the last-named city. What is considered by some 
 as perhaps the best granite in Maryland for all-round use is 
 that found in the small area in the southwestern corner of 
 Baltimore County near Woodstock. The stone is of medium 
 texture and dark gray color. In the quarry bed it is found, as 
 is the case with ail the Maryland granites, badly jointed. At¬ 
 mospheric agencies percolating downward along these points 
 have decomposed, rotted away, the sharp angles and corners, 
 leaving in the more superficial portions of the quarries the 
 blocks lying like huge bowlders imbedded in their own debris. 
 This renders quarrying somewhat-expensive, but as the work 
 is carried deeper beyond the agencies of decay the material 
 becomes sounder and there is less waste. The bowlder form 
 of these deposits is, however, very striking to one accustomed 
 only to New England fields of operation. A stone which to 
 most persons would present a more attractive appearance is 
 found at Guilford in Howard County. This is of moderately 
 fine and uniform grain, of a light gray color and full of life, if 
 such an expression is allowable. As with all the Maryland 
 stone this is jointed badly, but blocks of any ordinary dimen¬ 
 sions are obtainable. Recently a great stride has been made 
 in the development of quarries at this point, in connection with 
 
•68 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 contracts for a new custom-house building in Baltimore. The 
 stone is remarkably free from defects and is well adapted to 
 monumental as well as general structural purposes. 
 
 A dark gray gneiss, extensively used in Baltimore for 
 rough work, is quarried in the immediate vicinity of that city. 
 
 Massachusetts .—As Massachusetts was the earliest settled 
 of the New England States, it is but natural that here the sys¬ 
 tematic quarrying of granite should first be undertaken. As al¬ 
 ready noted, granite from the bowlders on the Quincy Commons 
 and from Chelmsford began to be used in and about Boston as 
 early as 1737, but it was not until the early part of the present 
 century that its use became at all general. Indeed, it may be 
 said that it was not until the opening of the quarries at Quincy 
 in 1825 that the granite industry assumed any importance. 
 From this time the use of the stone for general building pur¬ 
 poses increased in a marked degree, and the history of granite 
 quarrying in the United States may properly begin with this 
 date. 
 
 This early opening of quarries at Quincy was due largely 
 to the demand for stone at Charlestown for building the 
 Bunker Hill monument, but the attention of capitalists being 
 thereby called to the extent of the granite ledges in this vi¬ 
 cinity other works were soon established, and at the present 
 time the two towns of Quincy and West Quincy contain up¬ 
 wards of thirty quarries. Altogether these produce not less 
 than 700,000 cubic feet annnally, and give employment to 
 nearly a thousand men. 
 
 The Quincy granites are, as a rule, dark blue-gray in color, 
 coarse grained, and hard. A pinkish variety is quarried to a 
 slight extent. They are all hornblende pyroxene granites, and 
 their general appearance so characteristic that once seen they 
 are always easily recognizable wherever met with. As already 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 69 
 
 mentioned, these rocks contain besides hornblende a brittle 
 variety of pyroxene, which makes the production of a perfect 
 surface somewhat difficult. Nevertheless, they are very ex¬ 
 tensively used both for rough and finished work. The United 
 States custom-houses at Boston, Massachusetts ; Providence, 
 Rhode Island ; Mobile, Alabama ; Savannah, Georgia ; New Or¬ 
 leans, Louisiana, and San Francisco, California, are of this 
 stone, as are also the new Masonic Temple and Ridgeway Li¬ 
 brary buildings, in Philadelphia. In Boston alone there were 
 at the time of taking the census in 1880 one hundred and sixty- 
 two buildings constructed wholly or in part of this material. 
 Its suitability for interior decorative work cannot be better 
 shown than by reference to the polished stairways and pilasters 
 in the new city buildings at Philadelphia. 
 
 Other very extensive quarries of hornblende-granite are 
 located at Cape Ann, in the town of Gloucester, where it is 
 stated* that quarrying was commenced as early as 1824 by 
 a Mr. Bates, of Quincy. The rock is hornblendic, though 
 frequently considerable-black mica is present.f The texture is 
 coarse and the color greenish, owing to the orthoclase it con¬ 
 tains. Some varieties are, however, simply gray. It is a hard, 
 tough rock, eminently durable, and well suited for all manner 
 of general building and ornamental work. The stone has been 
 used in the construction of the post-office and several churches 
 and private buildings in Boston, and the Butler house on Cap¬ 
 itol Hill at Washington. 
 
 Other hornblendic granites, somewhat similar in appear- 
 
 * History of Gloucester, Cape Ann, by J. J. Babson, p. 577. 
 
 | The black mica of the Gloucester and Rockport granites has been shown 
 by Professors Dana and Cooke to be lepidomelane or annite. (Text-book of 
 Mineralogy, p. 313). 
 
7 o 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 ance, are quarried at Rockport, Peabody, Wyoma, Lynn, and 
 Lynnfield. The Rockport stone is the most important of 
 these, and has been quarried since 1830. In color and texture 
 it is indistinguishable from much of the Gloucester stone, but, 
 if anything, is of a more decided greenish hue. In the quar¬ 
 ries it is extremely massive, and blocks 100 feet long by 50 feet 
 wide and 16 feet thick have been loosened from the bed in a 
 single piece, while it is estimated a block 200 feet long, 50 feet 
 wide and 20 feet thick could be obtained if desired. The prin- 
 tipal markets are New York, Boston, New Orleans, and Cuba. 
 
 Several important quarries of coarse biotite granite are 
 worked in this State, but Jieir product is mostly used in the 
 near vicinity. Light pink varieties admirably adapted for rock¬ 
 faced work occur at Brockton, Milford, and North Easton. The 
 Milford stone is particularly effective when used in this man¬ 
 ner, or in tool-dressed and polished work, and has come into 
 great prominence during the past few years. A prevailing 
 light pink feldspar imparts a pleasing color, toned down by- 
 gray quartz and diversified by dark, greenish-black flecks of a 
 chloritic black mica. The texture is fine and close, permit¬ 
 ting the production of sharp corners and angles and the per¬ 
 fection of surface so essential to a good polish. The stone is 
 strong beyond all possible requirements, and is justly regarded 
 as one of our best and most desirable granites for general 
 building, ornamental, or decorative work. 
 
 The Allegheny County court-house in Pittsburgh, Penn¬ 
 sylvania; City Hall in Albany, New York; Chamber of Com¬ 
 merce buildings in Boston and Cincinnati, afford good 
 examples of its durability for general structural purposes; 
 while the polished columns of the Madison Square Garden and 
 New York Herald building in New York City show equally 
 well its qualities for an ornamental stone. A polished sphere 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 7 r 
 
 five feet in diameter of this granite surmounts the column of 
 Stony Creek granite in the battle monument at West Point, 
 New York. 
 
 At Framingham, Leominster, Fitchburg, Clinton, Fall 
 River, and Freetown are also quarries of coarse gray but ap¬ 
 parently strong and durable granites of this class. 
 
 An epidote granice from quarries in Dedham was used in 
 the construction of the new Trinity Church building in Bos¬ 
 ton. The stone is fine-grained and of a light pink color, 
 with a faint tinge of green, which is due to the finely dis¬ 
 seminated epidote and secondary chloritic material. In some 
 of its characteristics this granite resembles that of Milford, 
 but it is of a more uniform texture -and darker tint. It cuts to 
 a sharp edge and acquires a good surface and polish. Although 
 no tests are available, it may be safely said that the stone is 
 strong beyond all probable requirements and sufficiently dense 
 and non-absorptive to be eminently desirable. It would seem 
 worthy of a more extended use than it has at present received. 
 
 A fine-grained very light gray, sometimes pinkish, musco¬ 
 vite gneiss of excellent quality has been quarried more or less 
 for the past thirty-five years near the town of Westford. 
 Other quarries of gneiss are at West Andover, Lawrence, 
 Lowell, Ayer, several towns in Worcester County, at Becket, 
 Northfield, and Monson. 
 
 Being in most cases distinctly stratified, these gneisses are 
 not adapted to so wide a range of application as the massive 
 granites, but at the same time the ease with which in many 
 cases they can be quarried makes them particularly valuable 
 for foundations, bridge abutments, curbing, paving and rock- 
 faced building. At the Monson quarries, for instance, the rock 
 is divided by a series of joints, approximately parallel to the 
 surface of the hill on which the quarries are situated, into im¬ 
 mense lenticular sheets from 6 inches to io feet in thickness. 
 By taking advantage of these natural facilities a block was 
 
72 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 split out in 1869 which measured 354 feet in length by 11 feet 
 in width and 4 feet in thickness. An analysis of the Monson 
 stone from the Flint quarry is given in the tables. 
 
 As a general rule it may be stated that while the granites 
 and gneisses of Massachusetts are good and safeworking stones 
 they are coarse and with a few prominent exceptions in no way 
 remarkable for their beauty. In the matter of color and text¬ 
 ure they bear a striking contrast to the fine and even grained 
 stones of her sister States, Connecticut and Rhode Island. 
 
 Minnesota .—According to Professor Winchell more than 
 half the State of Minnesota is underlaid by that general class 
 of rocks—the crystalline—to wffich granite belongs. In the 
 northern part of the State there are large exposures of very 
 fine light-colored granites, but being beyond the limits of set¬ 
 tlements and roads those in the southern and western part, in 
 the country bordering along the Mississippi and Minnesota 
 Rivers, are of more especial interest and importance. These 
 last have been somewhat quarried and the materials can be 
 seen in some of the principal buildings in various parts of the 
 State, as well as in cities beyond the State limits. The first 
 quarry in these rocks in Minnesota was that now owned by 
 Breen & Young, at East St. Cloud, Sherburne County. 
 
 This was opened in 1868, and the stone first taken out was 
 used in the corners, steps, and trimmings of the United .States 
 custom-house and post-office in St. Paul. Three kinds of 
 stone were taken out and used indiscriminately, and all of 
 them may be seen in the building first erected. The variety 
 now more generally used is of a gray color and uniform text¬ 
 ure. The crystalline grains are rather fine, so that the texture 
 is close. The color, however, is sometimes disturbed by the 
 appearance of greenish spots of the size of butternuts or even 
 as large as 6 inches in diameter, caused by segregations of a 
 green chlorite. “ About one-third of the whole rock is made 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 73 
 
 Up of quartz, and two-thirds of the remainder of orthoclase. 
 About one-half the remainder is hornblende and the residue 
 is divided between the other minerals, the chlorite predominat¬ 
 ing.” An occasional grain of a triclinic feldspar is present 
 together with magnetite and pyrite in minute crystals.* 
 
 “ The red granite from East St. Cloud is not very different 
 from the foregoing, but the feldspar is mainly flesh red and 
 all the grains are coarser.” It also has a higher per cent of 
 silica, a fact that has been discovered practically by the owners, 
 who had given up the general use of it because of its being 
 more costly to work. “ ... In the winter of 1874-5 a block 
 weighing ten tons was taken out of the red-granite quarry, 
 about 3 miles west of St. Cloud, for a monument base. ... It 
 was very fine, and greatly resembled the Scotch granite in 
 color, grain, and polish. At the point where this was taken 
 out the granite rises about 20 feet above the general surface 
 and spreads over more than an acre. A similar red granite 
 occurs at Watab (in Benton County), and has furnished several 
 handsome monuments.” A light gray granite also occurs 
 here.f 
 
 At Sauk Rapids, in the same county, there is found a fine¬ 
 grained gray granite closely resembling the gray variety from 
 East St. Cloud. It has been quite generally used, and is one 
 of the best-known granites in the State. 
 
 Missouri .—Although there are inexhaustible quantities of 
 granite in the northern part of Iron and Madison Counties and 
 
 * See Geology and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, vol. 1. pages 142- 
 148. 
 
 f These rocks are designated in Professor Winchell’s report above referred 
 to as “ Syenites.” According to the system of classification now generally 
 adopted, they are rather hornblendic or hornblende-biotite granites, as desig¬ 
 nated by the author in the census report, p. 90. The name syenite, as already 
 noted, is applied to a quartzless rock (see pp. 42 and 223). 
 
74 
 
 STOA T ES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 the southern portion of St. Francois, there are but few quarries 
 of the material systematically worked. 
 
 At Graniteville, Iron County, and in Syenite, St. Francois 
 County, there occurs a coarse red granite, quite poor in mica, 
 which is now extensively quarried for the St. Louis and 
 Chicago markets. It is somewhat lighter in color than the 
 well known Scotch granite, but is admirably suited for massive 
 structural purposes, as is well illustrated in the lower stories of 
 the fine business blocks erected during the season of 1886 on 
 Adams street, between Fifth avenue and Franklin, and on the 
 corner of Adams and La Salle streets, in Chicago. The enor¬ 
 mous blocks of rock-faced granite and large polished columns 
 of this stone as here displayed* would indicate that this is des¬ 
 tined to be one of the leading granites of this portion of the 
 country. It admits of a high lustrous polish and is coming 
 into use for monumental work. 
 
 Professor Broadhead statesf that the Archaean granites are 
 exposed to view over an area of over 150 square miles in 
 Madison County, with as large an area in St. Francois, a 
 smaller one in Iron County, a few square miles in St. Genivieve, 
 and a limited area in Wayne. The colors are various shades 
 of gray and red. Exposed strata show evidence of continuous 
 weathering through many years. Since opening, the interior 
 beds show favorable characters for durability. At the Knob 
 Lick quarries, St. Francois County, there are three varieties, 
 as to color, red, gray, and red and whitish. Of these the gray 
 
 * The window-sills in the first of the above-mentioned buildings are rough 
 blocks of granite, each 3 feet square by 17 feet 4 inches in length, and weighing 
 about 10 tons each. The polished columns of the building corner of Adams 
 and La Salle streets are ten in number, each 18 feet high by 4! feet in diameter, 
 and weighing not far from 18 tons. The largest single block of polished granite 
 yet produced at these works is the Allen monument, in St. Louis, which is 42 
 feet in height by 4-^ feet square at the base. The weight is about 45 tons. 
 
 f The Building Trades Journal, July, 1888. 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 7 5 
 
 is considered the best. A dark colored but handsome stone is 
 quarried near Piedmont, in Wayne County. A dark grayish- 
 brown porphyritic rock is quarried in the northern part of 
 Madison County, and a similar rock occurs at Fredericktown ; 
 also one of like composition and appearance covers several 
 square miles of Stone mountain in St. Francois County. Gray 
 granite is also found eight miles southwest of Ironton in Iron 
 County, and in the northern part of Madison ; a coarser felds- 
 pathic granite is also found in the northwestern part of this 
 same country. 
 
 Montana .—There is a plenty of good granite within the 
 limits of the State, but for lack of a market scarcely any quar¬ 
 rying is at present carried on. 
 
 A cube of a fine-grained light gray biotite granite is in the 
 collections of the National Museum from Lewis and Clark 
 Counties, but so far as the writer is aware the quarry has never 
 been worked to any extent. A coarse hornblende mica granite 
 of a greenish-gray color and somewhat resembling the cele¬ 
 brated Quincy and Gloucester (Massachusetts) stone forms the 
 country rock in the region of the celebrated silver and copper 
 mines of Butte, and is beginning to be used for purposes of 
 heavy foundation and general building. So far as the writer 
 was able to judge, from the short time he was on the ground, 
 the rock is of excellent quality, but needs to be . selected with 
 care, as certain portions, those in proximity to the ore veins, 
 are abundantly charged with pyrite, which oxidizes readily on 
 exposure. 
 
 New Hampshire .—Those of the New Hampshire granites 
 that are best known as building materials belong, according to 
 Prof. Hitchcock,* to what is called the Montalban or White 
 Mountain series of the Eozoic formations, a series extending, 
 
 * Geology of Northern New England, p. io. 
 
76 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 though not continuously, over fully two-thirds of the central 
 and eastern part of the State. These granites are, as a rule, 
 of a light gray, nearly white, color, fine grain, and are quarried 
 in Concord, Fitzwilliam, Milford, Farmington, Hooksett, Pel¬ 
 ham, Salem, Marlboro, Troy, Sunapee, Allentown, Hanover, 
 Rumsey, Mason, and elsewhere. By far the most important of 
 these, and indeed one of the most important granites of the 
 United States, is the muscovite-biotite granite of West Con¬ 
 cord in Merrimack county. 
 
 This stone consists, according to Dr. Hawes,* of clear, 
 glassy quartz, penetrated in every direction by minute, dark, 
 rutile-like needles, snow-white twin orthoclase crystals, finely 
 banded oligoclase, both white and black mica, and an occa¬ 
 sional microscopic apatite crystal. In texture it is as fine as 
 many marbles, though at times slightly porphyritic. Its 
 remarkable feature, aside from color, texture and freedom from 
 flaws, pyrite or other injurious constituent, is the wonderful 
 ease with which it can be worked. Owing to its well developed 
 rift and grain, blocks can be split out with a hammer with 
 almost the ease of blocks of wood, though at the same time 
 neither of these qualities are sufficiently prominent to prevent 
 its being worked readily with the tool in any direction. It 
 can, therefore, be used in statuary work, and is also used for 
 general building and monumental work in the eastern cities. 
 The quarries, of which there are several, are situated upon the 
 eastern slope' of Rattlesnake Hill, and means of transporta¬ 
 tion are furnished by the Concord and Claremont Railroad, 
 which skirts its base. The quarry openings are as a rule, situ¬ 
 ated in the hillside, allowing thus natural drainage and abundant 
 room for quarry dump, aside from ready facilities for quarrying 
 and loading the material upon teams to be hauled to the rail- 
 
 * Mineralogy and Lithology of New Hampshire, p. 194. 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 77 
 
 road. The rock as shown at the openings is quite massive, and 
 separated by two sets of irregular horizontal and vertical joints 
 into natural blocks of varying sizes. Blemishes as seen at the 
 quarries are surprisingly rare, and confined to a slight discolora¬ 
 tion at the joints, and an occasional vein of finegrained granitic 
 material. 
 
 That the stone is eminently durable is shown by the State- 
 house and old State’s-prison buildings, at Concord ; the former 
 having been erected in 1816-19, and the latter in 1812. Al¬ 
 though the stone in both of these cases was a result of mere 
 surface quarrying and presumably scarcely better than that 
 which is thrown into the dump to-day, both buildings are in an 
 admirable state of preservation, and evidently, so far as the 
 stone is concerned, good for centuries to come. This same stone 
 has been used in the new post-office buildings at Concord and 
 Manchester, and is the one selected for the new Congressional 
 Library building in Washington, D. C. 
 
 The gneisses of the State are less extensively quarried, and 
 their uses are more local. A fine light gray stone of good 
 quality comes from Peterborough, and a light pinkish stone, 
 flecked with black and greenish, from Lebanon. 
 
 New Jersey .—The Archaean area, within which are comprised 
 all the granitic and gneissiod rocks of New Jersey, crosses the 
 State in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction in the form 
 of a belt less than twenty miles in width at its greatest exten¬ 
 sion, and less than half that amount at its southeastern ex¬ 
 tremity. The belt enters the State from New York at a point 
 comprised between the Ramapo River, in Bergen County, and 
 the so-called Drowned Land, bordering along the Pennsylvania 
 railroad in Sussex County. The southern limit lies in Warren, 
 with a slight extension into the northern part of Hunterdon 
 County. 
 
 But few quarries are worked throughout the area above 
 
STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 7 3 
 
 roughly outlined, though in a number of localities the gneissic 
 rocks are so situated as to be worked at a comparatively small 
 expense. Quarries at Dover, in Morris County, have furnished 
 a large amount of stone for railroad construction. The stone 
 is of medium texture and of a greenish gray color. 
 
 A large quarry was opened a few years ago near Franklin, 
 on the mountain east of the village; but the place, though 
 promising, was soon abandoned. The stone was adapted for 
 heavy work. The transportation appeared to be too expensive 
 for it to compete with stone coming by water routes.* 
 
 Granites of the hornblende-biotite type, of fine grain and 
 even texture, occur in the Vernon valley, along the eastern 
 foot of Pochuck Mountain. The stone is regarded as of good 
 quality, but little that is definite can as yet be said, owing to 
 insufficient developments 
 
 New York .—This State, although rich in marbles, limestones, 
 and sandstones, produces little of general interest in the way of 
 granite rock, though according to Smock| “granites, syenites, 
 gneisses, and mica schists occur in the counties of Rockland, 
 Orange, Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess, and on New York 
 island. For constructive material quarries have been opened 
 at many points, generally near railway lines on the Hudson 
 river.” The Breakneck and Storm King Mountain granite 
 quarries were opened many years ago, and produce a gray, 
 coarsely crystalline material, little of which finds its way out¬ 
 side of the State. The more important of the true granites of 
 the State, for monumental work, would seem to be the red 
 variety produced at the various quarries on Grindstone Island 
 (Jefferson County), in the St. Lawrence River. The stone, 
 
 * Annual Report of State Geologist of New Jersey, 1886, pp. 41-42. 
 f Annual Report of State Geologist of New Jersey, 1889. 
 f Bull, New York State Museum, No. 3, March, 1888, p. 11. 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 79 
 
 as represented in the National collection, is deep red and 
 coarsely crystalline, taking a high lustrous polish, and may 
 well take rank as one of our most beautiful granites. The 
 stone is designated by the writer in the tenth census report* 
 as a hornblende granite, carrying in addition to quartz, red 
 orthoclase and hornblende, a copper red mica, a few small 
 apatite and zircon crystals, together with scattering pyrites and 
 a little secondary calcite. The last two substances, if pre¬ 
 valent throughout the quarry, must prove detrimental for 
 exposed work. As shown by the two finely polished columns 
 in the Senate Chamber of the new capitol building at Albany, 
 New York, it is, however, a magnificent stone. There are 
 said to be many outcrops of the stone on the island, 
 especially on the western side, and small quarries have been 
 opened at more than twenty different points. Prof. Smock 
 states that the stone is shown by the outcrops to be very 
 durable, and that in the larger quarries blocks twenty feet in 
 length by six feet square are obtainable, The greater part of 
 the product goes to Western cities, as Chicago, Cincinnati and 
 Toledo, and to Canada. Much of the output is used for pav¬ 
 ing blocks, and the waste for granulitic pavements in Montreal. 
 The price is stated to range from $1.00 to $2.00 per cubic foot 
 for blocks in sizes under twenty cubic feet.f 
 
 North Carolina. —Mr. J. V. Lewis, who has perhaps de¬ 
 voted more attention to the building-stone resources of the 
 State than any one else since the time of State Geologist Kerr, 
 divides the granite-gneiss areas into an eastern and a Pied¬ 
 mont belt, the first including the counties of Vance, Wake, 
 Franklin, Granville, Warren, Anson, Richmond, Wilson, and 
 
 * Vol. x. Building Stone and Quarry Industry, p. 22. 
 
 f For details concerning minor quarries in the State, see The Quarry Industry 
 in Southeastern New York, by E. C. Eckel, 20th Rep. State Geologist of N. Y., 
 1902. 
 
8o 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Edgecombe, and the second those of Gaston, Mecklenburg, 
 Cabarrus, Tredell, Rowan, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guil¬ 
 ford, and Alamance; the Mt. Airy granite in Surry County 
 he also includes in this second belt. According to this 
 authority an important quarry was opened in 1889 near Grey- 
 stone station in Vance County. The stone is described as 
 uniformly light gray, with a pinkish cast, fine to medium tex¬ 
 ture, lying in almost horizontal sheets of varying thickness up 
 to 8 or 10 feet, the sheets being thinnest at the surface and 
 thickening downward. 
 
 The most important granite area in Rowan County, and 
 one of the most important in the State, is the Dunn Mountain 
 region. The stone of Dunn Mountain proper is mainly of a 
 light gray color, while that of the Kirk Mountain quarry is of 
 a uniform pinkish tint. The post-office building at Raleigh is 
 constructed of the gray variety. But perhaps the most im¬ 
 portant area of the State is that of Mt. Airy, “ a solid hill of 
 granite which rises 128 feet above the railroad at its base. 
 An area of about forty acres of rock is bare on the hillside. 
 The stone is of medium texture, light gray in color, and is said 
 to have an excellent rift and grain. 
 
 Gray granite closely simulating the ordinary types from the 
 coast of Maine occur about four miles south of Winston, in 
 Forsyth County, and some ten miles southwest of Greens- 
 borough, Guilford County. The first-mentioned is stated to 
 weather well, to be procurable in any quantity, and in blocks 
 of any desirable size. The Greensborough quarry is in close 
 juxtaposition to the railroad, and is reported as producing a 
 fair quality of stone, though of somewhat variable character. 
 
 A very peculiar variety of granite, and one which may 
 prove of value for ornamental purposes, occurs at Coolomee, 
 in Davie County. The stone is composed of radiating green 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 8 l 
 
 augites in rounded masses an inch or more in diameter, im¬ 
 bedded in a white or pinkish ground mass of quartz and feld¬ 
 spar. On a polished surface the effect is quite unique. 
 
 Pennsylvania .—Although occupying an important position 
 in the list of stone-producing States, Pennsylvania furnishes very 
 little in the way of granitic rock, and absolutely nothing in this 
 line of more than local interest. “ The southern gneisses dis¬ 
 trict, described in the geological reports of Pennsylvania as 
 ranging from the Delaware River at Trenton to the Susque¬ 
 hanna, south of the State line and lying south of the limestone 
 valley of Montgomery, is the district in which are located 
 nearly all the quarries of gneiss in the State, and those furnish¬ 
 ing most of the material are in the vicinity of Philadelphia.” 
 The rock, which is for the most part a dark-gray hornblende 
 gneiss, is quarried at Rittenhousetown, Twenty-first ward, and 
 Germantown, Twenty-second ward, and Jenkinstown, in 
 Montgomery County, and is used principally for the rough 
 work of foundations in the near vicinity. In Chester, Dela¬ 
 ware County, the gneiss bears mica in place of hornblende and 
 is, as a rule, lighter in color. The quarries are in close prox¬ 
 imity to the Delaware River, which affords an easy method of 
 transportation to Philadelphia, the principal market. This 
 stone is also used almost wholly for foundations, though in 
 some cases it has been used as rock-faced work in the fronts of 
 private dwellings, with rather a pleasing effect. 
 
 Rhode Island .—The granites of this State are nearly all fine¬ 
 grained light gray or pink biotite granites, the principal quar¬ 
 ries of which are situated some 2 miles east from Westerly, in 
 Washington County. The rock is of fine and even texture and 
 of excellent quality, and is much used for monumental work 
 and general building. Other quarries of biotite granite occur 
 at Smithfield, West Greenwich, Newport, and Niantic. A 
 greenish, fine gray, hornblende gneiss is quarried at Diamond 
 
82 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION . 
 
 Hill, in Providence County. Aside from the Westerly roc 
 the most of this material is for local market only. 
 
 South Carolina .—Although no granites from this State are 
 to be found in our principal markets, it by no means follows 
 that there is any deficiency in the supply. The collection in 
 the National Museum shows, on the contrary, that excellent 
 stones of this class occur in various localities. 
 
 Near Winnsborough, in Fairfield County, quarries have 
 recently been opened which furnish fine-grained gray biotite 
 granite fully equal to any in the market. The quarries, as we 
 are informed by the owner, Mr. W. Woodward, cover some 70 
 acres of bowlders and two large ledges, one n acres in extent 
 and the other 6. The stone works readily and acquires an 
 excellent polish. A pinkish granite also occurs in this same 
 county. Other granites in this State, of which I have seen 
 specimens, but concerning which I have but little accurate 
 information, occur near Columbia, Richland County ; and in 
 Newberry, Lexington, Edgefield, and Aiken Counties. The 
 Columbia stone is of a light-gray color, apparently of excellent 
 quality. It was used in the construction of the State House 
 in that city, and is stated to be very durable. 
 
 South Dakota.— According to State Geologist Todd no 
 quarries of true granite have as yet been opened in this State, 
 though promising outcrops occur near Big Stone City in Grant 
 County. The so-called Sioux Falls granite is a quartzite. 
 
 (See p. 162.) 
 
 Tennessee. _At the present time scarcely anything in the 
 
 line of granitic rock is quarried in this State, and owing to 
 the limited areas occupied by granite ledges it is more than 
 doubtful if the granite quarrying ever assumes any great im¬ 
 portance. Small outcrops of granite, gneiss, or mica schist, 
 occur in the extreme eastern and southern parts of Polk, Mon- 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 83 
 
 roe, Cocke, Washington, Carter, and Johnson Counties, in the 
 eastern part of the State, but even these are not in ali cases 
 suitable for any but the roughest work. Quarries of a coarse 
 dull pink biotite granite have recently been opened on Rip Shin 
 Mountain on Doe River. The National collections contain 
 an extremely coarse greenish epidotic granite, with large red 
 porphyritic crystals of orthoclase, from Bench Mountain, in 
 Cocke County, which might perhaps be worked if there were a 
 market. 
 
 Texas .—Red granites, both coarse and fine, occur in Burnet 
 County, in this State, though at present neither are quarried to 
 any extent. Both varieties carry biotite as the chief accessory 
 mineral. The coarser variety corresponds closely with the 
 coarse red granite from Platte Cknon, Colorado. Their colors 
 are dull and they seem better adapted for rough building than 
 for monumental work, though the weathering qualities of either 
 are, to say the least, doubtful. Red and gray granites also 
 occur in Gillespie County. 
 
 Utah Territory .—A coarse, light gray granite occurs in 
 inexhaustible quantities in Little Cottonwood Canon, not far 
 from Salt Lake City. So far the stone has been quarried only 
 from bowlders that have been rolled down the canon, and the 
 parent ledge remains untouched. This stone has been used in 
 the construction of the new Mormon temple at Salt Lake 
 City. It is apparently of excellent quality. 
 
 Vermont .—This State has until recently furnished but little 
 in the way of granitic rocks, from the fact that few of 
 her quarries produce material not found elsewhere in New 
 England, where there are better and cheaper facilities for 
 transportation. Except in the north-eastern portion, embrac¬ 
 ing nearly the whole of Essex County, granite is met with 
 only in isolated outcrops, either in the form of mountain up¬ 
 lifts, as Black Mountain in Dummerston, or in narrow belts 
 
84 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 traversing the calcareous mica schist formation, as at Marsh¬ 
 field and Barre. In the gneiss formation, extending through 
 Reading, Cavendish, Chester, and Grafton, on the western 
 limit of the calcareous mica schist formation, the gneiss passes 
 by insensible gradations into granite, and in many places there 
 are afforded excellent opportunities for quarrying both stones 
 equally well. The granite found in connection with the gneiss 
 in these cases, is said to be, as a rule, light colored, and of 
 fine texture, but generally harder to work than those of the 
 isolated outcrops, like that of Barre.* Quarries at this last- 
 named locality have of late been extensively exploited, so 
 that Vermont now stands second in the list of granite-produc¬ 
 ing States. The stone is a beautiful, strong, clean, fine¬ 
 grained, light and dark gray biotite granite, occurring both in 
 sheets and blocks, and is to be had in blocks of almost prac¬ 
 ticable size free from all blemishes and defects. Perkinsf 
 reports having seen at one of the quarries a stone, detached 
 from the quarry bed and ready to move, which was 60 feet 
 long, 7 feet wide, and 6 feet thick. The quarries lie some 
 little distance outside of the town proper, extending along a 
 high ridge in a general north and south direction for a dis¬ 
 tance of some two miles; the supply is therefore inexhaustible. 
 The stone is particularly well adapted for monumental work. 
 
 Other granites deserving of especial mention are found in 
 Brunswick, Essex County; Morgan, Orleans County ; Ryegate, 
 and St. Johnsbury, Caledonia County, and Woodbury in Wash¬ 
 ington County. A very light, almost white, muscovite-bear¬ 
 ing rock is also quarried at Bethel, in Windsor County. These 
 granites, or at least the eruptive varieties, are regarded by 
 
 * Geology of Vermont, vol. II. i86o,p. 737. 
 
 f Rep. State Geologist on Min. Resources of Vermont, 1899-1900. 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 85 
 
 Prof. Hitchcock as of Silurian or possibly Devonian age. 
 The gneisses extending in a continuous belt from the Massa¬ 
 chusetts line through the central portion of the State to 
 Canada, furnish much valuable material for local building 
 curbing and flagging. 
 
 I irgima . The Archaean area of Virginia, as mapped by 
 Rogers* comprises the tract lying east of the Blue Ridge 
 Mountains, and a line extending from a point near Alexandria 
 m Fairfax County southerly through Spottsylvania, Henrico, 
 Chesteifield, Dinwiddie, Sussex, and Southampton Counties 
 into North Carolina. But a small part of this area furnishes 
 outcrops of quarriable material, and the principal works thus 
 far developed are in Chesterfield and Dinwiddie Counties, on 
 the James River, and in the immediate vicinity of Richmond. 
 
 The quarries on the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad, 
 near Richmond, produce a massive gray granite used for gen¬ 
 eral building purposes, paving stone, and monumental work, 
 and which is shipped more or less to all the States and cities 
 south of New England and as far west as Nebraska. Much 
 of the material is dressed at the quarry, polishing works being 
 located on the ground. Other quarries in Chesterfield County 
 produce a very similar stone, the principal markets of which 
 are in Richmond, Washington, Norfolk, Lynchburgh, and 
 Philadelphia. Important quarries are also located at Man- 
 chestei in this same county. Other important quarries are in 
 the Tuckahoe district, Henrico County, and Namozine dis- 
 tiict, Dinwiddie County. Stone from the last named locality 
 was used in the construction of the post-office and custom 
 house at Petersburgh, Virginia. The most important building 
 yet constructed of the Virginia granites is the State, War, and 
 Navy building in Washington. This is probably the most 
 
 Geology of the Virginias, 1884. 
 
86 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 elaborate granite structure in the country. Near Fredericks- 
 burgh is found a fine light gray muscovite-biotite granite closely 
 resembling those of Hallowed, Maine., and Concord, New 
 Hampshire, but it is not at present quarried to any extent. 
 The granites of this State are, as a rule, fine-grained, biotite- 
 bearing rocks, and of a light-gray color, and correspond in a 
 remarkable degree with those of New England. 
 
 In Amherst and Campbell Counties, near Lynchburg, 
 a fine blue-gray biotite gneiss is quarried for general building 
 purposes in the towns of the near vicinity. 
 
 At Milan’s Gap, in Madison County, is found a coarse some¬ 
 what porphyritic granite of rather unique type, and which 
 might be used with good effect in certain forms of ornamental 
 work. The rock consists of quartz, a dull red feldspar, and 
 compact aggregates of dull green epidote. The effect in either 
 rock-faced or polished work, is quite pleasing. The same 
 rock is stated to occur in the Unaka Mountains, of North Caro¬ 
 lina and East Tennessee, and is hence known as Unakyte * 
 
 Washington .—Light gray hornblende biotite granite is 
 found in great quantities about the town of Index in Snohomish 
 County, and material from this source has been used to supply 
 practically the entire demand of the Puget Sound region for 
 the past ten years. Unfortunately the stone does not polish 
 well, and is quite unsuited for monumental or decorative work. 
 Light gray muscovite biotite granites and darker hornblende 
 biotite gneisses occur near Spokane, both of which have been 
 worked to supply the local demand. A light gray biotite 
 hornblende granite is worked in Whitman County, the quarry 
 being located at the bottom of Snake River Canon. It is said 
 to be a durable and handsome stone, f 
 
 * Dana, Manual of Mineralogy and Lithology, 
 f Ann. Rep. Washington Geol. Survey, vol. I. 1901. 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 87 
 
 Wisconsin .—About one-third of the entire area of Wiscon¬ 
 sin is immediately underlaid by the older crystalline siliceous 
 rocks, including granites, quartz, porphyries, gabbros, dia¬ 
 bases, and diorites. By far the larger proportion of these are 
 segregated in the northern central portion of the State, though 
 in numerous instances the Cambrian rocks overlying them to 
 the south have been cut through by erosion, bringing the lower 
 rock to the suiface over areas sufficient to supply all the wants 
 of the quarrymen for many years to come. 
 
 Although there is such an abundance of material, it is only 
 within the last twenty years that the quarry industry has 
 assumed any considerable proportions, and even now the an¬ 
 nual output, as compared with many other States, is compara¬ 
 tively insignificant. According to Mr. E. R. Buckley,* the 
 principal granite areas that have thus far been developed are as 
 follows. Amberg, in Marinette County; Warsaw, in Mara¬ 
 thon County; Granite City and Waupaca, in Waupaca County; 
 Waushara, in Waushara County; and Montello, in Marquette 
 County. 
 
 The Amberg area furnishes material varying from fine¬ 
 grained gray to coarse-grained red varieties. An intermediate 
 form consists of a gray base, throughout which are scattered 
 abundant large irregular creamy-white and flesh-pink feld¬ 
 spars. The rock in the quarry bed is, as a rule, traversed by 
 at least four distinct series of joints which cut the rock into 
 polygonal blocks of comparatively moderate dimensions. 
 This naturally increases the cost of dimensions materially and 
 renders considerable care necessary in the selection of ma¬ 
 terials free from incipient joints which are likely to open on 
 exposure. The area, as a whole, is, according to Buckley, 
 
 * On the Building and Ornamental Stones of Wisconsin, Bull. No. 4 Eco¬ 
 nomic Series No. 2, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, 1898. 
 
88 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 remarkable not only for the abundance of granite, but also 
 for its great variety in texture and color, there being hundreds 
 of acres of workable material found in this section of the State. 
 Up to the present time only four quarries have been estab¬ 
 lished within the area. 
 
 The Granite Heights or Warsaw area is about ten miles 
 north of Warsaw, where there are abundant outcrops at numer¬ 
 ous places over an area of many miles. The material is not 
 uniform over the entire area, but varies from grayish through 
 reddish-brown to brilliant red, the latter variety being used 
 exclusively for monumental purposes. 
 
 In the Granite City area, Waupaca County, the granite 
 is naturally exposed in the form of oval elongated mounds or 
 ridges, the axes of which have a general east and west direc¬ 
 tion. The rock is broken by a series of natural joints into 
 polygonal blocks, the largest observed measuring some 
 6 x8Xio feet. Granite of two distinct shades of color is 
 found, the one with a reddish tone and the other gray with 
 the faintest tinge of red, the difference in color being due to 
 the feldspar. Brilliant small red feldspars give the rock a 
 very attractive appearance. 
 
 What is known as the Waupaca area, in which are located 
 the quarries of the Waupaca Granite Company, is located 
 south of the Granite City area, on a tongue of igneous rock 
 which extends from the main crystalline area in Shawano, 
 through the eastern part of Waupaca County, to within six 
 miles of the Waushara County line. The single quarry now 
 in existence is situated about nine miles north of the City of 
 Waupaca, on a hill which rises about a hundred feet above the 
 general level of the country, and which is composed almost 
 entirely of granite, with only a slight strip of boulder clay and 
 soil. This hill comprises, however, at least three different 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 89 
 
 kinds of granite, which are readily distinguished from one an¬ 
 other by marked differences in texture and composition. 
 Only one of these three kinds is, however, at present quar¬ 
 ried. This is a coarse-grained rock, consisting of large irreg¬ 
 ular red-brown and pink feldspars imbedded in a greenish and 
 black ground mass, consisting of small crystals of feldspar, 
 quartz, and hornblende, biotite, chlorite, and epidote. The 
 appearance of a polished surface is quite striking, but the 
 structure is such as to render its weathering qualities doubtful, 
 to say the least. 
 
 Ihe granites of the Waushara area have been developed 
 about twelve miles northwest of Berlin, in the town of War¬ 
 ren. The stone, as shown in the different openings, is of a 
 prevailing light pink color, and considerably lighter than the 
 Montello, yet to be mentioned. This light color changes in 
 certain parts of the quarry to a deeper red. The rock is, as a 
 whole, fine-grained and of fairly uniform texture. The beds 
 are traversed by several sets of joints which break the rock up 
 into polygonal blocks of various dimensions, up to fifteen or 
 twenty feet in diameter. The quality of the rock is considered 
 as equal to any quarried within this or the adjacent States. 
 
 The Montello granite area is situated near the central part 
 of Marquette County, the rock occurring in the form of isolated 
 mounds which are located a short distance south of the main 
 crystalline area, the larger mounds extending in an almost 
 east and west direction for about a third of a mile and rising 
 to a height of about eighty or ninety feet above the general 
 level of the adjacent country. The quarries here have been 
 operated by the Montello Granite Company since 1880. 
 
 The material, as a whole, is described as dense, fine¬ 
 grained, and uniform throughout the quarry. Two distinct 
 tints are recognizable, one a bright red and the other of a 
 more grayish hue, one grading into the other, however, with- 
 
90 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORA TION. 
 
 out sharp lines of demarkation. The rock, like other of the 
 Wisconsin granites, is jointed, often so abundantly that in cer¬ 
 tain regions blocks of not above eight to ten inches across are 
 obtainable. This close jointing, however, apparently traverses 
 the quarry in zones, between which the joints are much fartner 
 apart, permitting the quarrying of blocks of fairly large dimen¬ 
 sions. This is regarded by Buckley as one of the most durable 
 of granites, though necessarily difficult to cut and dress. It 
 is used quite extensively for monumental purposes and was 
 the stone selected for the sarcophagi for General and his. 
 Grant at Riverside Park in New York. 
 
 Quartz porphyries or rhyolites are also quarries within the 
 State limits under the name of granite. These are noticed m 
 their proper place, page 98. 
 
 Wyoming. _“The only building stone which is quarried in 
 
 Wyoming is at Sherman, the highest point of the Northern 
 Pacific Railroad. At this point—the summit of the Black 
 Hills—the road cuts through a heavy body of red granite sim¬ 
 ilar to the Scotch, but with much larger crystals. ’ ’ This stone 
 has been used to some extent in San Prancisco and Sacia- 
 mento, but is hard to work, owing to its coarseness and lack 
 of tenacity.* 
 
 (6) FOREIGN GRANITIC ROCKS. 
 
 British Columbia .—Gray granite of good quality is said to 
 have been obtained in considerable quantity from the large 
 drift bowlders in the vicinity of Victoria. Gianite occuis on 
 Nelson Island in the Jarvis Inlet, and has been quarried to some 
 extent. The Vancouver market is said to be supplied with an 
 excellent variety of gray granite from the North Arm of Bur- 
 rard Inlet.f 
 
 Canada .--Inexhaustible quantities of light gray granite are 
 
 * Report of Tenth Census, vol. x. p. 278. 
 
 -j- Annual Report Geological Survey of Canada, 1887- 88. 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 91 
 
 stated* to occur in the township of Stanstead, just north of 
 the Vermont line in the Province of Quebec. Other quite sim¬ 
 ilar granites occur in the townships traversed by the Grand 
 Trunk Railway, as at Barnston, Barford and Hereford, and 
 many localities around the lakes at the heads of the St. Francis 
 and Megantic rivers. Great Megantic Mountain is a mass 
 of granite covering an area of twelve miles in the townships of 
 Marston, Hampden and Ditton. A beautiful red hornblendic 
 granite occurs in the townships of Greenville, Chatham and 
 Wentworth. Hornblende granite is also found on Barrow and 
 other islands in the St. Lawrence. These contain less horn¬ 
 blende and more quartz than do those of Grenville and are said 
 to resemble the red Scotch granite from Aberdeen. 
 
 Quarries of red granite are also worked by Canadian com¬ 
 panies at Kingston at the outlet of Lake Ontario in Ontario 
 Province. It is stated that blocks of large size can be obtained 
 free from all blemishes and flaws, and that the quantity is in¬ 
 exhaustible. 
 
 Nezv Brunswick .—In the vicinity of St. George, Kings 
 County, occurs an inexhaustible supply of a red hornblendic 
 intrusive granite, which is beginning to be extensively worked, 
 and which has been introduced into the markets of the United 
 States, where it is known as “ Bay of Fundy granite.” In text¬ 
 ure the rock is medium coarse, very like that of Calais and Jones- 
 borough, Maine, from which, however, it differs in depth of 
 color and in bearing hornblende in place of mica. It is tough 
 and compact, takes a brilliant polish, and is apparently durable. 
 The quarries now worked are situated about 2J miles from the 
 town of St. George, where the rock occurs in rugged hills, and 
 of varying shades of color from deep red to cream color or gray, 
 the latter colors occurring in occasional large patches, 20 to 40 
 
 Geology of Canada, 1863, p. 810. 
 
92 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 feet across, and of indefinite length. The quarries are opened 
 along the hillside, where the rock is very conveniently jointed 
 for getting out large blocks.* 
 
 Nova Scotia .—Gray mica-bearing granites of apparently ex¬ 
 cellent quality, and varying in texture from medium fine and 
 homogeneous to coarsely porphyritic are quarried at Shelburne, 
 and at Purcell’s Cove, in Halifax County. These are exported 
 to some extent into the United States. 
 
 England and Scotland .—The granites brought into this 
 country from Scotland are the coarse red from Peterhead, and 
 the gray from Aberdeen. Both are excellent stones and are 
 used very largely for monumental work, door-posts, and pil¬ 
 lars in all our cities and towns. In point of beauty they are 
 inferior to many of our native granites, but their well-estab¬ 
 lished reputation will probably cause their being used for many 
 years to come. The Peterhead granite is statedt to weigh 
 165.9 pounds per cubic foot, and to be composed of quartz, 
 orthoclase, albite, and black mica. The Aberdeen granite 
 has the same composition, excepting that its triclinic feldspar 
 is oligoclase in place of albite, and there is sometimes present 
 a little white mica. It is of this latter stone that the city of 
 Aberdeen is largely built. A coarse gray granite with large, 
 well-defined porphyritic crystals of pink orthoclase is also 
 imported from Shap, in northern England. None of these 
 stones have any exact counterpart among the granites of this 
 country, so far as now known. £ 
 
 Finland .—The celebrated Rapakivi granite used in the 
 Alexander column and the magnificent monolithic columns ol 
 
 * Report of G. F. Mathew, Geological Survey of Canada, iS-jb-’-j-j, pp. 345- 
 349 - 
 
 f Building Construction, p. 20. 
 
 \ See Harris’ Granites and our Granite Industries (London, Crosby, Look- 
 wood & Co.,) for detailed accounts of the English, Irish and Scotch granites. 
 
GRANITES AND GNEISSES. 
 
 93 
 
 the church of St. Isaac in St. Petersburg, comes from 
 Wyborg, in Finland. This stone is one of the most striking 
 of monumental granites, though unfortunately not one of the 
 most durable. The color is deep lustrous red, mottled with 
 gray. The most distinctive structural features are the large 
 rounded crystals of deep red orthoclase, sometimes several 
 inches in diameter, surrounded by a zonal growth of a trans¬ 
 lucent plagioclase, and then imbedded in a ground of gray 
 quartz and biotite. The structure is very striking to even the 
 casual observer, but unfortunately this very feature proves a 
 source of weakness, the stone disintegrating with comparative 
 rapidity under the action of heat and cold. 
 
 Sweden .—An excellent series of monumental granites has 
 been put upon the American markets, mainly in the manu¬ 
 factured state, from quarries near Fingspong, in Sweden. 
 These vary from uniform very dark gray with an abundant 
 sprinkling of small flesh-red feldspars to coarsely granular 
 rocks in which the rounded feldspar aggregates show upon a 
 polished surface an inch or more in diameter. One of the 
 most striking forms is composed of coarse red feldspars inter¬ 
 spersed with peculiar water-blue opalescent quartzes. Such 
 have not been sufficiently long in use to demonstrate beyond 
 question their weathering qualities, but their appearances are in 
 every way favorable. 
 
 Norway .—A coarse gray syenitic rock with beautiful tabu¬ 
 lar iridescent feldspars is upon the American market from 
 quarries near Christiania. It is eminently adapted for interior 
 decoration. 
 
 Egypt .—Granite of Syene. The now well-known red gran¬ 
 ite formerly called syenite, from near Syene, Egypt, and from 
 which was constructed the numerous obelisks of the Egyptians, 
 is stated to have been brought from Upper Egypt, where it 
 occupies large tracts between the first cataract of the Nile and 
 
94 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 the town of Assouan, the ancient Syene. It was quarried by 
 the Egyptians as far back as one thousand three hundred years 
 before the Christian era, and has been fashioned into obelisks, 
 sarcophagi, and colossal statues innumerable.* The rock,, 
 which is very coarse, is of a general reddish color and is com¬ 
 posed of large crystals of red and whitish feldspars intermixed 
 with clear, glassy quartz, and coal-black mica and hornblende. 
 Some of the red feldspars are very large, exceeding an inch in 
 length. This rock, though having proved very durable under 
 Egyptian skies, possesses in itself no evident powers of resist¬ 
 ance over thousands of other granites that might be mentioned. 
 
 THE PORPHYRIES, OR PORPHYRITIC FELSITES: 
 
 (A porhyolites .) 
 
 (i) COMPOSITION AND ORIGIN. 
 
 The term porphyry, as properly used, refers simply to the 
 structural features of the rock, and does not in itself alone in¬ 
 dicate any particular kind of stone. It denotes that through¬ 
 out a mass of rock of quite even texture are distributed 
 numerous crystals of a mineral which having been the first to 
 assume crystalline form, on the cooling of a molten magma, are 
 larger and of a more perfect outline than those which formed 
 subsequently. This structure is very common in many gran¬ 
 ites, but is not particularly noticeable, owing to the coarse crys¬ 
 tallization of the stone and the nearly uniform color of most 
 of the constituents. Occasionally, as in the well known Shap 
 
 * See Hull, op. cit., p. 51; also Gorringe’s “ The Egyptian Obelisk,” N. Y. 
 1882, or Journal Geological Society of London, vol. vii, iSso-’si, p. 9. 
 
THE PORPHYRIES. 
 
 95 
 
 granite from Cumberland in northern England, the large por- 
 phyritic feldspars are of a flesh-red color, while the main mass 
 of the stone is but gray, or pinkish, and the contrast is there¬ 
 fore very striking. 
 
 There is, however, a class of rocks, in which the mass of 
 the rock, the groundmass, as it is technically called, is so dense 
 and compact as to seem practically amorphous or non-crystal¬ 
 line, and in which are imbedded large, scattering, quite per¬ 
 fectly formed crystals, usually of quartz or feldspar. These 
 large crystals being of a different color from the groundmass 
 in which they lie, stand out in marked and often very beauti¬ 
 ful contrast. It is to rocks of this nature that the name por¬ 
 phyry has in times past, been chiefly applied. According to 
 Hull* the name was originally applied to certain kinds of 
 igneous rocks of reddish or purple tints, such as the red por¬ 
 phyry of Egypt. Be this as it may, the term is now used 
 mainly in its adjective sense, since any kind of rock may, 
 under certain conditions attending crystallization, assume this 
 structure. We thus have porphyrytic granites, diabases, 
 diorites, felsites and even limestones. Nevertheless there is a 
 group of igneous rocks closely related to the granites in chemi¬ 
 cal composition, in which this structure is so characteristically 
 developed, that the names quartz or feldspar porphyry , or por- 
 phyritic felsite , are often applied to the entire group. From 
 a petrographic standpoint such are to be classed with the 
 rhyolites, of which they are the older, paleozoic equivalents. 
 
 Building and Ornamental Stones, p. 63. 
 
9 6 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 (2) VARIETIES OF PORPHYRY. 
 
 Accordingly as these porphyries vary in mineral composi¬ 
 tion they are divided into two principal varieties: (1) Quartz 
 porphyry, which consists of the fine-grained groundmass in 
 which quartz alone or quartz and orthoclase are porphyritically 
 developed, and (2) quartz-free or orthoclase porphyry, in which 
 orthoclase alone prevails, no quartz appearing either porphy¬ 
 ritically or in the groundmass. This last variety, it will be 
 seen, bears the same relation to the quartz porphyries as does 
 syenite to the granites. Through an entire disappearance of 
 the porphyritic crystals, the rock passes into felsite. The por¬ 
 phyries bear the same accessory minerals (hornblende, mica, 
 etc.), as do the granites, but these are usually in such small 
 particles as to be invisible to the naked eye. 
 
 Porphyries, like granites, are of a variety of colors; red, 
 purple, gray, green, brown and black of a variety of shades are 
 not uncommon, and when, as is so often the case, the porphy¬ 
 ritic minerals contrast in color in a marked degree with the 
 groundmass, the effect on a polished surface is very beautiful. 
 
 (3) USE OF PORPHYRY. 
 
 The porphyries are as a rule intensely hard, tough and with¬ 
 out rift or grain. As a consequence they are scarcely at all 
 used in this country, although among the most beautiful and 
 indestructible of our rocks. 1 he celebrated porphyries of Elf- 
 dalen, Sweden, are wrought into a variety of objects of art, 
 and with exceedingly beautiful effects. Visitors at the Cen¬ 
 tennial Exposition in Philadelphia will recall the beautiful 
 large column and inlaid table of this stone that were there 
 displayed. 
 
THE PORPHYRIES. 
 
 97 
 
 (4) PORPHYRIES OF THE VARIOUS STATES AND 
 TERRITORIES. 
 
 Inexhaustible quantities of porphyries of a variety of colors 
 and great beauty occur at Saugus, Malden, Lynn and Marble¬ 
 head, and other localities in eastern Massachusetts, but which 
 have never been utilized to any extent owing to the cost of work¬ 
 ing. Many of these are of exceptional beauty, presenting colors 
 red as jasper, through all shades of pink, gray and even black, 
 often beautifully variegated and brecciated in a variety of 
 colors. Flow structures caused by the onward flowing of the 
 rock while in a partially cooled condition often gives rise to a 
 beautiful banding and interweaving of colors impossible to de- 
 cribe, and which must be seen to be appreciated. The strik¬ 
 ing beauty of this flow structure is sometimes heightened by 
 the presence of angular fragments of variously colored por¬ 
 tions of the rock, which, becoming broken from the parent 
 mass, have been imbedded in a matrix of quite different color, 
 as at Hingham, where the writer has found bright red frag¬ 
 ments imbedded in a yellowish paste. The rock acquires a 
 beautiful polish, and the fact that it has not ere this come into 
 more general use is a sad comment upon the taste of our 
 wealthier citizens. Nearly as indestructible as glass, and as 
 beautiful as an agate, it is yet almost wholly ignored except 
 for purposes of rough construction. 
 
 A large variety of porphyries, varying in color from black 
 to red, occurs also in New Hampshire, particularly near Water- 
 ville, some of which would make fine ornamental stones. At 
 Franconia, in the White Mountains, there occurs a porphyry 
 conglomerate formed of fragments of jasper-red porphyry 
 closely cemented into a compact rock, which is particularly 
 beautiful. 
 
 Porphyries are abundant in many other States, but are 
 
98 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 scarcely at all used. Maine, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Minnesota,, 
 and Wisconsin all contain good material, though, as little or 
 no search has been made for the highly ornamental varieties, 
 it is impossible to say what they can produce. 
 
 At Green Lake, in the last named State, there occurs a 
 beautiful stone of this class, almost black in color, with white 
 porphyritic feldspars. It has been quarried to some extent 
 near the town of Utley, and polished columns of it may be 
 seen in the German-American Bank Building and Union Depot 
 at Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is greatly to be regretted that 
 no economic method of working so beautiful and durable ma¬ 
 terial has as yet been discovered. 
 
 Near Berlin, on the Fox River, in the northeastern part of 
 Green Lake County, there occur two mounds of compact, 
 dense grayish-black to pinkish quartz porphyry or rhyolite, 
 which takes a high polish and is seemingly eminently adapted 
 for monumentalwork. It is strong and durable, with a pro¬ 
 nounced rift and grain which permit its being regularly broken 
 into blocks for street paving and is somewhat used in connec¬ 
 tion with the Montello granite for monumental purposes. 
 
 Near Charlotte, in Mecklenburgh County, N. C., there oc¬ 
 curs a very light colored, almost white, quartz porphyry, which 
 is penetrated by long parallel streaks or pencils of a dead black 
 color. These are so arranged that, when cut across, the sur¬ 
 face appears studded thickly with roundish and very irregular 
 black points of all sizes up to half an inch in diameter. Cut 
 parallel with the direction of the pencils, the surface is streaked 
 with black lines, which sometimes assume beautiful fern-like 
 or dendritic forms. 
 
 The rock is intensely hard, tough and without definite rift. 
 It can therefore be worked only at great cost, and is not regu¬ 
 larly quarried. It has been used only locally for rough pur- 
 
THE LIP A RITES. 
 
 99 
 
 poses, as for curbing, steps and sills. An analysis of this rock 
 is given in the tables. 
 
 A deep reddish quartz porphyry, somewhat resembling the 
 Egyptian red porphyry, has been reported by the United 
 States geologists as occurring near the Great Bend of the 
 Carson River in Nevada. 
 
 (5) FOREIGN QUARTZ PORPHYRIES. 
 
 Russia .—From the Isle of Hoghland, in the Gulf of Fin¬ 
 land, the National Museum has received a variety of quartz por¬ 
 phyries. These have mostly a dull red, very compact base, and 
 carry large, nearly white, pinkish or reddish feldspars and glassy 
 quartz in great profusion. The rocks acquire a good surface 
 and polish, but are intensely hard. Other porphyritic and com¬ 
 pact rocks, variously called diorites, keratites and porphyries, 
 were received from the district of Katharinenburg, in the 
 Urals, as noted in the published catalogue of the collections. 
 
 THE LIPARITES. 
 
 (i) ADAPTABILITY FOR CONSTRUCTIVE PURPOSES 
 
 Tertiary and post-Tertiary rocks of any kind are at present 
 very little used for constructive purposes in the United States, 
 owing, in the case of fragmental rocks, to their state of imper¬ 
 fect consolidation and consequent feeble tenacity, and in the 
 case of eruptives to their almost entire absence in those por¬ 
 tions of the country that have become permanently settled, and 
 where as a consequence there has arisen a demand for a more 
 durable building material than wood. Of the eruptive rocks 
 of this class only the liparites, andesites, and basalts have been 
 
IOO 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 at all utilized, and these to but a small extent. Their textures 
 are, as a rule, such as to fit them only for the rougher kinds of 
 construction, since, with the exception of the glassy varieties, 
 they will not polish, and their rough appearance unfits them 
 for any kind of interior decorative work. 
 
 (2) MINERAL AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF LIPARITE. 
 
 Under the head of liparites are classed those acid eruptive 
 rocks or lavas consisting chiefly of quartz and sanidin (the 
 glassy variety of orthoclase) which are not older than Tertiary 
 and which maybe regarded as the younger effusive equivalents 
 of the granites, quartz porphyries, and felsite pitchstones. 
 
 In texture they vary from coarsely granitoid rocks, entirely 
 crystalline throughout, through all intermediate felsitic stages 
 to clear glassy forms. Structurally they vary from fine, com¬ 
 pact, even-grained to coarsely porphyritic, vesicular, and sphe- 
 rulitic forms; well marked fluidal structure is common. The 
 prevailing colors are chalky white to dark gray; more rarely 
 greenish, brownish, yellowish, and reddish varieties occur. 
 
 The average chemical composition of liparite (quartz-tra¬ 
 chyte) as given by Zirkel is silica, 76.36; alumina, 11.97 ! iron 
 oxides, 2.01 ; lime, 1.09; magnesia, 0.56; potash, 3.70; soda, 
 4.53. Specific gravity, 2.55. 
 
 ( 3 ) VARIETIES OF LIPARITE. 
 
 According as they are crystalline throughout, felsitic and 
 porphyritic or entirely glassy, liparites are classed as (1) gran¬ 
 itic liparites or nevadites, (2) rhyolites , and (3) glassy liparites 
 as obsidian, pumice, pearlite, and pitchstone. Of these only the 
 felsitic and porphyritic variety rhyolite is as yet quarried. 
 
THE SYENITES. 
 
 IOI 
 
 (4) LIPARITES of the various states and territories. 
 
 Near the Mokelumne Hills, in Calaveras County, Califor¬ 
 nia, rhyolite occurs in several different colors, and has been 
 quarried to some extent for use in the immediate vicinity. The 
 rock is also abundant in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah 
 Montana, and other of the Western States and Territories. 
 
 The glassy variety of rhyolite called obsidian is very abun¬ 
 dant in certain parts of the West, and though as yet no 
 attempt has been made to utilize the material there would 
 seem no good reason for its not being used in small pieces for 
 the finer kinds of decorative work. The rock, which is a 
 natural glass formed by the rapid cooling of a molten magma, 
 is of various colors, black, red, and greenish, and often beauti¬ 
 fully spotted and streaked. 
 
 The National collections show from the Yellowstone 
 National Park, Glass Butte, Oregon, and other sources speci¬ 
 mens of red obsidian spotted and streaked with black wavy 
 lines in a way that is highly ornamental. The stone occurs 
 naturally in a badly jointed condition, and could be obtained 
 only in pieces of small size. Owing to its glassy fracture also 
 it could be worked only with plain flat or rounded surfaces; 
 but, as it takes a high glass-like polish, it would be very desir¬ 
 able for tops of small stands, paper weights, and inlaid work. 
 
 THE SYENITES, TRACHYTES, AND PHONOLITES. 
 
 (i) DEFINITION OF SYENITE. 
 
 Under the name of Syenite are here included those rocks 
 consisting essentially of orthoclase with or without one or 
 more of the accessory minerals, mica, hornblende, or augite. 
 
102 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 They differ from granites only in the absence of quartz, and 
 otherwise present a precisely parallel series. Thus we may 
 have mica syenite (minette), hornblende syenite, augite syen¬ 
 ite, etc.* 
 
 (2) LOCALITIES OF SYENITE. 
 
 At the present time syenites are but little quarried in this 
 country, though there would seem to be no lack of material 
 and of good quality. 
 
 In and about Portland, Maine, there occur in the glacial 
 drift many bowlders of a beautiful syenite, the exact source of 
 which is not known to the author, but which can not be far to 
 the northward. The rock consists mainly of bright lustrous 
 gray orthoclase and coal-black hornblende, with occasionally a 
 little black mica. In texture it is not too coarse, and the con¬ 
 trast of colors such that one can scarcely imagine a more beauti¬ 
 ful stone for rock-faced work. It is very tough, and, to judge 
 from the bowlders, is also very durable, and not at all liable to 
 discoloration on exposure. 
 
 Hawes f describes augite syenites as occurring in Jackson, 
 Columbia, and on Little Ascuntney Mountain, in New Ham- 
 shire; also hornblende syenites as occurring at Red Hill and 
 Moultonborough, Columbia, Sandwich, Stark, and Albany, in 
 
 * Formerly it was customary to call by the name syenite a rock consisting of 
 quartz, hornblende, and orthoclase, or what is now called a hornblende granite. 
 The name takes its origin from Syene, Egypt, where a rock supposed to answer 
 this description was originally quarried. Investigation has, however, shown 
 that the Syene rock contains more mica than hornblende, and hence at best can 
 not be classed as a true syenite even according to the old definition. Accord¬ 
 ing to recent lithologists the Syene rock is a hornblende mica granite, while 
 true sye-nite, as above stated, is a quartzless rock, 
 f Geology of New Hampshire, vol. III. part iv 
 
THE SYENITES. 
 
 103 
 
 the same State. Dr. Wadsworth* also mentions a syenite as 
 occurring' in eastern Massachusetts, where it occupies a large 
 proportion of the coast line between Salem and Manchester. 
 None of these are as yet quarried. 
 
 The only syenites that have thus far come into use for 
 structural purposes within the limits of the United States are 
 those occurring in the vicinity of Little Rock and Magnet Cone, 
 Arkansas. These have been studied by the late J. Francis 
 Williams, from whose report and personal notes by the author 
 the following is compiled. 
 
 The quarries referred to as near Little Rock, lie on the 
 slopes of the so-called Fourche and Allis Mountains, lying a 
 few miles to the south of the city. Fourche Mountain is a 
 mass of syenite some 380 feet in height. The rock there 
 found is a coarse crystalline dark-blue gray, aggregate of 
 orthoclase with a little elaeolite, amphibole, and pyroxene, and 
 smaller amounts of biotite, titanite, and apatite, the orthoclase 
 preponderating over all the other constituents taken together. 
 Locally the stone is known as Fourche Mountain granite, 
 though Williams has given it the name pulaskite. In the 
 quarry it occurs in a massive but badly jointed condition and 
 is superficially covered with a thin mantle of ochreous clay 
 resulting from its own decomposition. The rock is fairly 
 tough and hard, strong enough to meet any probable demand, 
 and so far as observed does not discolor on exposure nor 
 weather at all unfavorably. It is well adapted for any form 
 of structure except in cases where its sombre color might be 
 considered objectionable. The Pulaski County court-house at 
 Little Rock is constructed from this material. Analyses and 
 pressure tests are given in the table on p. 508. 
 
 The Allis Mountain rock is a true elaeolite syenite, con¬ 
 sisting of orthoclase and elaeolite with biotite and pyroxene 
 and small amoun ts of apatite and other accessories. As shown 
 
 * Geological Magazine, May, 1S85, p. 207. 
 
STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 in the quarry opening near the turnpike, on the northwest side 
 of the mountain the rock lies in sheets, rather than blocks, as at 
 Fourche Mountain. The color is a rich gray when first quarried, 
 but quickly fades out to a dead lustreless white, like old putty, 
 the change being apparently due to physical changes in the 
 large, flat, tabular feldspars which preponderate over all other 
 constituents. The strength of this stone is much less than 
 that of Fourche Mountain, and it is otherwise inferior. It has 
 been used in the construction of the cathedral at Little Rock. 
 
 The Magnet Cone material is also an elaeolite syenite, the 
 feldspars, as in the last described, being in excess of all other 
 constituents. It varies greatly in texture, in extreme cases 
 the feldspars reaching a length of several inches. As now 
 quarried the stone is known locally as Diamond Jo granite. 
 
 All of the above occur in quantities and in regions some¬ 
 what remote from other rocks, with which they might under 
 other circumstances be brought in competition. While they 
 will never come into the general market, there seems no reason 
 for their not filling completely the local demand. 
 
 An elaeolite syenite, carrying frequently cancrinite and 
 sodalite, occurs abundantly in the vicinity of Litchfield, Maine, 
 and specimens of the rock have found their way into the build¬ 
 ing-stone collections of the National Museum. An examina¬ 
 tion of the rock does not, however, impress one particularly 
 in its favor. Its durability is, to say the least, doubtful, and 
 its varying texture and colors rather against it. 
 
 ( 3 ) THE TRACHYTES AND PHONOLITES. 
 
 Under the name of trachytes are comprehended by Rosen- 
 busch those massive Tertiary and post-Tertiary volcanic rocks 
 consisting essentially of sanidin and hornblende, augite or 
 black mica, and which may be regarded as the younger equiva¬ 
 lents of the syenites, and quartz free porphyries. 
 
THE TRACHYTES AND PH0N0L1TES. io<> 
 
 The average chemical composition is silica, 63.55$ I alumma. 
 18.0$; iron oxide, 6.15$; lime, 1.96$; magnesia, 0.88$. Spe* * * § 
 cific gravity, 2.65. 
 
 In structure trachytes are rarely granular, but usually 
 possess a fine scaly or micro-felsitic groundmass, rendered por- 
 phyritic by the development of scattering crystals of sanidin, 
 hornblende, augite, or black mica. The texture is porous and 
 possesses a characteristic roughness to the touch ; hence its name 
 from the Greek word rpaxvS rough. The prevailing colors are 
 gray, yellowish or reddish. They may be divided into horn¬ 
 blende, biotite, or augite trachytes, according as either of these 
 accessory minerals predominates. 
 
 Phonolites differ from trachytes in carrying one or both of 
 the minerals nepheline or leucite in addition to the other con¬ 
 stituents named. They bear the same relations then to the 
 trachytes as do the elaeolite syenites to the syenites proper. 
 
 Neither trachytes nor phonolites are, so far as now known, 
 common rocks in the United States. Zirkel* describes numer¬ 
 ous trachytes from the areas covered by the Fortieth Parallel 
 survey, and Caswell f describes both trachytes and phonolites 
 from the Black Hills, Dakota. Recent investigations by 
 Wadsworth;}: and Messrs. Hague and Iddings § show, however, 
 that the supposed trachytes of Zirkel were in large part if not 
 altogether andesites, and it is very probable that similar tests 
 applied to many other cases heretofore described would be 
 productive of similar results. However this may be, the utility 
 of the rocks in America is purely prospective. 
 
 Their colors and textures are such that they can never be 
 
 * Microscopic Petrography of the Fortieth Parallel. 
 
 f Geology of the Black Hills of Dakota. 
 
 \ Proceedings Boston Society Natural History, vol. XXI. 1881, p. 243, and 
 vol. xxu. 1883, p. 412. 
 
 § American Journal Science, vol. xxvi. 1884, p. 453. 
 
io 6 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 used for other purposes than rough construction, as is the case 
 with the majority of the younger eruptives. 
 
 AUGITE (ENSTATITE, HYPERSTHENE) PLAGIOCLASE 
 
 ROCKS. 
 
 (i) DIABASE. 
 
 Diabase, from the Greek word SiafiacriS to pass over; so 
 called because the rock passes by imperceptible gradations into 
 diorite. 
 
 The diabases are crystalline granular rocks, composed 
 essentially of plagioclase feldspar and augite, or a rhombic 
 pyroxene, with nearly always magnetite and frequently olivine. 
 Geologically they are pre-Tertiary eruptive rocks, basic in 
 composition, occurring in dikes, intruded sheets and bosses. 
 In structure they are as a rule massive, but schistose varieties 
 occur and more rarely spherulitic forms. The texture is as a 
 rule fine, compact, and homogeneous, though sometimes por- 
 phyritic or amygdaloidal. The colors are somber, varying from 
 greenish through dark gray to nearly black, or sometimes black 
 when freshly quarried, but becoming greenish on drying.* 
 
 According to Zirkel, the average chemical composition of 
 diabase is as follows : 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 49-54 
 
 14.05 
 
 14.27 
 
 Silica. 
 
 Alumina. 
 
 Iron protoxide 
 
 Lime. . . 
 
 Magnesia. 
 
 Potash...... 
 
 Soda. 
 
 Water. 
 
 5.28 
 
 * Mr. J. P. Iddings suggests that the change in color from dark blue black, 
 ro greenish, as noticed in diabase of New Jersey, is due to the drying of the 
 serpentine or chlorite, which results from the alteration of the included olivine. 
 (American Journal of Science, May, 1886, p. 33 °- 
 
DIABASE. 
 
 IO/ 
 
 Average specific gravity, 2.8, which is equal to a weight of 
 175 pounds per cubic foot. 
 
 In classification two principal varieties of diabase are recog¬ 
 nized, the distinction being founded upon the presence or 
 absence of the mineral olivine. We thus have (1) olivine 
 diabase, or diabase with olivine, and (2) diabase proper, or 
 diabase without olivine. Owing to its lack of definite rift, com¬ 
 pact texture, and hardness, diabase can, as a rule, be worked 
 only with difficulty and usually at a cost considerably greater 
 than that of granite. It is therefore not extensively quarried, 
 though of late years it has come into more general use for 
 paving purposes, and still more recently for building and monu¬ 
 mental work. The green antique porphyry or Marmor Lacedce- 
 monium viride , formerly much used for pavements and general 
 inlaid decorative work in Greece and Rome, is according to 
 Delesse, a diabase consisting of large greenish crystals of 
 labradorite embedded in a fine compact groundmass of the 
 same feldspar, together with augite and titaniferous iron. The 
 quarries from which the stone was taken are stated by Hull to 
 be situated between Sparta and Marathon, in Greece. A stone 
 of a similar character and closely resembling it in color and 
 structure is abundant among the drift bowlders of eastern 
 Massachusetts, but its exact derivation is unknown. 
 
 In the eastern United States the dikes and sheets of dia¬ 
 base are frequently associated with deposits of red or brown 
 Triassic sandstone, which are also extensively quarried, as will 
 be noticed further on. Concerning these dikes Professor Dana 
 writes :* 
 
 “ It is remarkable that these fractures (through which the 
 diabase was forced to the surface) should have taken place in 
 
 * Manual of Geology, third edition, p. 417. 
 
io8 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 great numbers just where the Triassic beds exist, and only 
 sparingly east or west of them ; and also that the igneous rock 
 should be essentially the same throughout the thousands of 
 miles from Nova Scotia to North Carolina. The igneous and 
 aqueous rocks (sandstone) are so associated that they neces¬ 
 sarily come into the same history. Mount Tom and Mount 
 Holyoke, of Massachusetts, are examples of these trap ridges ; 
 also East Rock and West Rock, near New Haven, and the 
 Hanging Hills, near Meriden, in Connecticut ; the Palisades 
 along the Hudson River, in New York ; Bergen Hill and other 
 elevations in New Jersey. 
 
 “ In Nova Scotia trap ridges skirt the whole red sandstone 
 region and face directly the Bay of Fundy ; Cape Blomidon, 
 noted for its zeolitic minerals, lies at its northern extremity on 
 the Bay of Mines. 
 
 “ In Connecticut the ridges and dikes are extremely numer¬ 
 ous, showing avast amount of igneous action. . . . They com¬ 
 mence near Long Island Sound, at New Haven, where they 
 form some bold eminences, and extend through the State and 
 nearly to the northern boundary of Massachusetts. Mounts 
 Holyoke and Tom are in the system. The general course is 
 parallel to that of the Green Mountains. 
 
 “ Although the greater part of the dikes is confined to the 
 sandstone regions, there are a few outside, intersecting the 
 crystalline rocks and following the same direction, and part, at 
 least, of the same system. 
 
 “ Even the little Southbury Triassic region, lying isolated 
 in western Connecticut, has a large number of trap ridges, and 
 such a group of them as occurs nowhere else in New England 
 outside of the Triassic. Their direction and positions in over¬ 
 lapping series are the same as in the Connecticut valley. 
 
 “The trap usually forms hills with a bold columnar front 
 and sloping back. When nearly north and south in direction 
 
DIABASE. 
 
 109 
 
 the bold front is to the westward in the Connecticut Valley, 
 and to the eastward in New Jersey. It has come up through 
 fissures in the sandstone, which varied from a few inches to 
 300 feet or more in breadth. In many cases it has made its 
 way out by opening the layers of sandstone, and in such cases 
 it stands with a bold front, facing in the direction toward 
 which it thus ascended.” 
 
 Connecticut .—The extensive diabase outcrops noted above 
 as occurring at East and West Rocks, north of New Haven in 
 this State, are quarried for foundation walls and for paving 
 purposes in the near vicinity. The rock is too dull in color for 
 ornamental work. 
 
 Maine .—Diabase or gabbro is quarried at three localities, 
 Addison, Vinalhaven, and Tenant’s Harbor. At Addison the 
 rock occurs in extensive outcrops close by the water’s edge. 
 Single blocks 66 by 10 by 20 feet have been moved in the 
 quarries, and natural blocks 90 by 10 by 15 feet occur. The 
 chief defects in the stone are said to be the so-called “knots,” 
 which consist of irregular patches of coarse feldspar and dark 
 crystals of hornblende. There are also occasional seams, caus¬ 
 ing the rock to split unfavorably. The rock is moderately 
 fine-grained, very dark gray, sometimes almost black or spotted 
 black and white on a polished surface and of a fine appearance. 
 It has been used in the walls inclosing the Capitol grounds at 
 Washington, in the construction of a bank at Montreal, and is 
 quite generally used for monuments in Boston, New York, 
 Brooklyn, Washington, Montreal, and Quebec. The Vinal¬ 
 haven diabase is less extensively worked on account of its 
 hardness. It is of finer grain than the Addison stone and 
 uniformly dark-gray, nearly black in color. It is used to some 
 extent for building material and also in cemetery work. The 
 Tenant’s Harbor (St. George, Knox County) stone closely 
 resembles that of Addison, and is used for similar purposes. 
 
no 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 These are all most excellent stones, and it is a matter for con¬ 
 gratulation that they are being so extensively introduced, and, 
 to some extent, replacing the marbles in monumental work. 
 The cost of working is, owing to their compact structure, 
 somewhat greater than that of granite, but the results fully 
 justify the increased outlay. All the above, it should be noted 
 are known commercially as black granite.* 
 
 Massachusetts .—Diabase is quarried for foundations walls, 
 general constructive purposes, and monumental work, at Med¬ 
 ford and Somerville in this State. The stone from these local¬ 
 ities is coarser, lighter in color, and much inferior in point of 
 beauty to that just described. 
 
 Missouri .—Intrusive masses of diabase occur at various 
 points in the southeastern part of this State, particularly in 
 Madison County. Attempts have been made to quarry the 
 material from outcrops near Mine La Motte Station at Skrain- 
 ka, but the works are no longer in operation. The rock is 
 stated to be covered with from ten to thirty feet of stripping 
 and to have been so violently contorted and broken that it is 
 impossible to quarry dimension stone from it. It is fine grain¬ 
 ed dark gray to almost black in color, splits and dresses easily, 
 and takes an excellent polish, but cannot be utilized for mon¬ 
 umental purposes for reasons above noted. Up to date it has 
 been used mainly in the manufacture of paving blocks.f 
 
 New Jersey .—The extensive outcrops of diabase, or “trap 
 
 * It should be remarked that all of these diabases differ radically in structure 
 and composition from any others here mentioned, and deserve a more thorough 
 and careful study than they have yet received. All contain a rhombic pyroxene 
 pleochroic in red, green, and brown colors, and which is evidently hypersthene, 
 while certain sections of the Addison rock show a pyroxenic constituent carry¬ 
 ing an abundance of the rhombic inclosures so characteristic of entstatite. 
 Prof. Rosenbusch in his recent work includes this rock with the gabbros. 
 f Bulletin No. i Missouri Geological Survey, 1890, p. 42. 
 
DIABASE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 rock,” known as the Palisades of the Hudson River, in north¬ 
 eastern New Jersey, furnish an inexhaustible supply of this 
 material, and which is at present quite extensively quarried 
 about Guttenberg, YVeehawken, west New York, and south¬ 
 ward along the Palisades as far as Montgomery Avenue in 
 Jersey City. The rock is used chiefly for paving, and the quar¬ 
 ries are small affairs worked by gangs of from two to five men. 
 Two sizes of blocks are prepared. The larger, which are 
 known as specification blocks, are 4 by 8 or 10 inches on the 
 head and 7 to 8 inches deep. The second size, which are 
 called square blocks, are 5 to 6 inches square and 6 to 7 inches 
 deep. The specification blocks bring about $30 per thousand 
 in the market, and the square only about $20 per thousand. 
 It is estimated that some 4,000,000 of the specification and 
 1,000,000 of the square blocks were quarried in 1887, valued 
 at $140,000. 
 
 There are three principal grades of the rock quarried. A 
 fine-grained variety at Mount Pleasant, a rocky hill north of 
 the Pennsylvania Railroad ; a light-gray variety at Bergen Cut, 
 south of the railroad ; and a dark, almost black, variety at 
 Weehawken and West New York. Other quarries of this 
 rock are worked at Orange Mountain ; Snake Hill, Hudson 
 County, and at Morris Hill in Paterson. In the western part 
 of the State the outcrops are not so extensive, but quarries 
 are worked at Rocky Hill, near Titusville, Smith’s Hill, and 
 near Lambertville; At Rock Church, 4 miles from Lambert- 
 ville, the rock is quarried and used for monumental work as 
 well as for general building purposes, being put upon the 
 market under the name of black granite. The rock from the 
 Palisade quarries has also been quite extensively used in and 
 about Jersey City for building purposes. St. Patrick’s Cathe¬ 
 dral, and the Hudson County Court-house, as well as many 
 private buildings, are of this stone, but the effect as a whole is 
 
112 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 not pleasing, owing to the sombre colors of the material. 
 Employed in connection with brick or lighter stone, to give 
 variety and contrast, the effect is admirable. 
 
 The finely broken stone is also used very extensively for 
 railroad ballast and road-making. Several of the quarries near 
 Orange Mountain have machines for breaking up the stone for 
 this purpose.* 
 
 Pennsylvania .—The principal quarries of diabase in this 
 State are at Collins Station, Lancaster County, and near York 
 Haven, York County. At the latter place the face of the 
 quarries is about 70 feet in height. The rock lies in huge 
 natural blocks sometimes weighing hundreds of tons and having 
 curved outlines giving them a sort of oval shape. Stone from 
 this quarry is used only by the Northern Central Railroad in 
 ihe construction of bridges and culverts. 
 
 At Collins Station diabase is more extensively quarried than 
 at any other locality in the State. The stone is used for all 
 manner of building purposes and monumental work. The 
 foundation of the new Harrisburg Post-office and the Soldiers’ 
 Monument in this city are from this material. 
 
 In the vicinity of Gettysburg diabase is quite extensively 
 quarried, and has been used for head-stones in the national 
 cemetery at this place. It is also used for general building 
 being put on the market under the name of Gettysburg 
 granite. 
 
 Virginia .—As in the States to the east and north, the 
 Triassic beds of Virginia are cut by large dikes of “ trap ” or 
 diabase, and which in some cases are capable of affording 
 excellent material for paving blocks and general building and 
 ornamental work. So far as the author is aware quarries have 
 been opened upon these dikes in but two localities, at Cedar 
 
 * See Annual Report State Geologist of New Jersey, 1881, pp. 60-63. 
 
GABBRO AND NORITE. 
 
 US 
 
 Run, near Catlett’s Station on the Virginia Midland Railroad, 
 and near Goose Creek, about three miles east of Leesburgh, in 
 Loudoun County. Specimens of these rocks which the writer 
 has examined represent the coarser varieties of our Mesozoic 
 diabase, are of a dark gray color, very strong, and apparently 
 durable. That from Goose Creek has been found to stand a 
 pressure of 23,000 pounds per square inch, and, as the author 
 has observed, undergoes no change on an exposure of twenty- 
 five years other than a slight and in no way objectionable 
 darkening of color. Neither stone has been used as yet for 
 other than paving purposes and bridge abutments, though 
 they are apparently well adapted to all kinds of work for 
 which their color and hardness qualify them. 
 
 ( 2 ) GABBRO AND NORITE. 
 
 The rock gabbro differs from diabase mainly in containing 
 the foliated pyroxene diallage in place of augite. It is not at 
 present quarried to any extent in this country, though for no 
 apparent reason other than that it is difficult to work. 
 
 Very extensive outcrops of a dark gray, almost black gab¬ 
 bro of medium fineness of texture occur in the immediate 
 vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland, but which have been quarried 
 only for purposes of rough construction close at hand. The 
 rock is popularly known as “ niggerhead ” owing to its hard¬ 
 ness, dark color, and its occurrence in rounded bowlders on the 
 surface.* 
 
 At Rice’s Point, near Duluth, Minnesota, there occurs an 
 inexhaustible supply of a coarse gabbro, which has been stud- 
 
 * This is the rock the interesting petrographical features of which have 
 lately been made known by Dr. Williams, of Johns Hopkins University. See 
 Bull. U. S. Geological Survey, no. 28. 
 
STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 114 
 
 ied and described by Professor Winchell.* The feldspar of 
 the rock, which is labradorite, according to the authority quot¬ 
 ed, sometimes prevails as at Beaver Bay, in crystals one-half to 
 three-fourths of an inch across, and to the almost entire exclu¬ 
 sion of other constituents. In this form the rock varies from 
 lavender blue or bluish gray to light green, and acquires a 
 beautiful surface and polish, and is considered as constituting 
 a valuable material for ornamental slabs and columns. The 
 typical gabbro of the region is of a dark blue-gray color, and 
 “has been employed in a few buildings at Duluth, both in cut 
 trimmings and for rough walls.” It has also been used for 
 monuments and for bases, to which it is especially adapted, 
 being cut under the chisel and polished more easily than any 
 of the crystalline rocks that contain quartz. The stone is 
 known popularly as Duluth granite. The same kind of rock 
 occurs at Taylor’s Falls, but is little used, though favorably 
 situated for quarrying and transporting. 
 
 A rock closely allied to the gabbros and diabases is the so- 
 called norite, which consists essentially of the minerals hyper- 
 sthene and a plagioclase feldspar. Rocks of this type are now 
 quarried on the north and west slopes of Prospect Hill, near 
 Keeseville, Essex County, New York and at Vergennes, Ver¬ 
 mont. The stone of the first named locality is known com¬ 
 mercially as Au Sable granite, and the second as Labradorite 
 granite. Both are coarse-grained, dark-gray rocks, much resem¬ 
 bling the darker varieties of the Quincy granites, from which, 
 however, they differ radically in mineral composition. They 
 take a high lustrous polish, frequently show a beautiful bright 
 bluish chatoyant play of colors and are seemingly admirably 
 adapted for polished columns, pilasters, and other decorative 
 work. 
 
 Geology of Minnesota, vol. 1, pp. 148-9. 
 
GABBRO AND NOR JIB. 
 
 
 The lasting power of the norites, when polished, is yet to 
 be ascertained. After an exposure of untold years in the 
 quarry bed-the surface has turned white. No data are obtain¬ 
 able for calculating their lasting qualities in the finished struc¬ 
 ture. As seen by the writer the Keeseville rock in the quarry 
 bed is cut by innumerable clean sharp joints at intervals of 
 every few feet, and in some cases of even fractions of an inch. 
 
 In the freshly quarried stone these are quite invisible and 
 appear on a polished surface as faint parallel lines, as fine,, 
 straight and sharp cut as though made with a diamond. As a 
 measure of precaution such jointed blocks had best be avoided 
 for purposes of fine monumental work, since it seems extremely 
 probable that the joints will open on exposure for prolonged 
 periods. Professor Egleston who tested this stone for the 
 company, reports that on exposure to the heat of a furnace at 
 temperatures varying from 8oo° to 1,850° Fahr. samples turned 
 light chocolate-brown, but did not seriously disintegrate. Its 
 crushing strength as given by the same authority is 29,000 
 pounds per square inch.* 
 
 A dark greenish black norite or hypersthene gabbro with 
 accessory hornblende and black mica is found in Anson 
 County, North Carolina on the line of the Carolina Central 
 Railway. The stone has been worked for the Raleigh market,, 
 and so far as may be judged from small pieces compares very 
 favorably with other of our so-called black granites. It cor¬ 
 responds more nearly with the Addison [Maine] gabbro than 
 with either of the above mentioned rocks. A fine grained 
 dark gray rock of this nature showing abundant small flecks of 
 dark mica and carrying in microscopic proportions abundant 
 hypersthene occurs at Clifton, Maine. The rock though not 
 now quarried is admirably adapted for rock-faced work, and so 
 
 * See Smock’s Building-stone in New York, p. 232. * 
 
STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 116 
 
 far as may be judged from appearances would be found to 
 work readily. 
 
 The rock compares in general appearances with the mica 
 diorite of Croton Landing, New York, but is of finer grain. A 
 coarser, more granitic variety of the same rock is found in 
 Calais in Washington County, and has, as I am informed, been 
 worked experimentally by the Red Beach Granite Company. 
 
 The Church of the Saviour in Moscow has the audience 
 room sheathed for a height of some 3 or 4 feet with a coarse, 
 dark-gray feldspathic rock—presumably a gabbro—which, like 
 the labradorite of America, shows large purplish iridescent 
 spots. As one passes along the somewhat dimly lighted room 
 these spots shine out with wonderful beauty and then again 
 disappear as the angle of vision changes. The effect is excel¬ 
 lent and one toward which American architects might well 
 strive. The stone is said to have come from Kiev, in the south¬ 
 western part of European Russia. The basement walls of 
 this same church are of a red gneissoid rock, beautifully varie¬ 
 gated, said to be from Finland. 
 
 (3) MELAPHYR. 
 
 The melaphyrs, as defined by Prof. Rosenbusch, are massive 
 eruptive rocks, consisting of plagioclase, augite, and olivine, 
 with free iron oxides and an amorphous or “porphyry” base. 
 They are thus of the same mineral composition as the basalts 
 and olivine diabases, but differ structurally, and belong in great 
 part to the Carboniferous and older Permian formations. Al¬ 
 though very abundant in many parts of the United States, 
 they are scarcely at all quarried owing to their dull colors and 
 poor working qualities. 
 
BASALT. 
 
 117 
 
 In the Brighton district of Boston, but a few miles out of the 
 city proper, and in other localities in the vicinity, there occur 
 small outcrops of a greenish or sometimes purplish melaphyr, 
 or “ amygdaloid,” the lithological nature of which was, I be¬ 
 lieve, first correctly stated by E. R. Benton* The prevailing 
 color of the rock is greenish, often amygdaloidal, the amygdules 
 being composed often of epidote, thus spotting the surface with 
 greenish-yellow blotches. The rock is greatly altered, only the 
 feldspars of the original constituents remaining now recogniz¬ 
 able, while chlorite, quartz, calcite, epidote, and several other 
 minerals occur as secondary products. The rock is neverthe¬ 
 less very firm, compact, and durable, and is being quarried to 
 some extent for rough work. It would seem fitted for a yet 
 wider architectural application. 
 
 (4) BASALT. 
 
 This rock differs from diabase only in point of geological 
 age, being a product of post-Tertiary eruptions. It is, as a 
 rule, less perfectly crystalline, still retaining portions of its 
 glassy magma. Owing in great part to the fact that basalts 
 occur in this country only in the western and more recently set¬ 
 tled portions, as do also the andesites and rhyolites, they have 
 been heretofore but little utilized. There would seem, however, 
 no reason for excluding the rock from the list of available 
 building materials in those regions where it occurs in such form 
 as to be accessible. At Petaluma, Bridgeport, and other 
 places around the bay of San Francisco there lie immense 
 sheets of this rock, but which are worked now only for paving 
 materials. Like the andesites and rhyolites the basalts will not 
 polish, and their colors are such as to exclude them from all 
 forms of interior decorative work. 
 
 * Proceedings Boston Society, vol. xx, p. 416. 
 
1 1 8 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION . 
 
 Basalt is one of the most common of lavas the world over 
 and occurs frequently in the form of 3-5 sided columns, as 
 shown so well in the Giant’s Causeway and Fingal’s Cave. 
 Beautiful examples of this columnar structure occur in the 
 older basalts of New Jersey and in many parts of the West. 
 The material in this form has in America been used only 
 for paving purposes. At Braunau, near Asbach, Prussia, a 
 quarry is worked in which the basaltic columns stand nearly 
 vertical and beautifully straight and regular. The material is 
 used without dressing for posts or broken into short lengths and 
 laid horizontally to form retaining walls, where it is very 
 effective. 
 
 AMPH1BOLE PLAGIOCLASE ROCKS (Trap and Green Stone, 
 
 in Part). 
 
 (i) DIORITES AND KERSANTITES. 
 
 The name diorite from the Greek word diopiaeiv, to distin¬ 
 guish, is used to designate a group of pre-Tertiary eruptive 
 rocks consisting essentially of the minerals hornblende and plag- 
 ioclase, and occurring in the form of dikes, bosses and intrusive 
 sheets. The individual crystals composing the rock are some¬ 
 times grouped in globular aggregations forming the so-called 
 orbicular diorite or kugel diorite. The texture is as a rule 
 compact, fine, and homogeneous, though sometimes granular 
 or porphyritic. The common colors are dark gray or green. 
 According to Zirkel the average composition is: 
 
 Per Cent. 
 
 Silica. 48.50 to 60.88 
 
 Alumina. 15.72 to 22.12 
 
 Protoxide of iron. 6.26 to 11.92 
 
 Lime. 5-47 to 7.99 
 
 Magnesia. 0.5410 9.70 
 
 Potash... 1.05 to 3.79 
 
 Soda. 2.20 to 5.21 
 
 Water. 0.60 to 1.90 
 
THE DIORITES AND KERSANTITES. 
 
 ll 9 
 
 In classification two principal varities are recognized, mica 
 diorite or diorite in which black mica is present in excess of 
 the hornblende, and hornblende diorite or diorite proper. The 
 presence of quartz gives rise to the variety quartz diorite. The 
 name tonalite was given by Vom Rath to a quartz diorite con¬ 
 taining the feldspar andesite and very rich in black mica and 
 which occurs in the southern Alps, and the name kersantite has 
 been applied to a dioritic rock carrying black mica as its chief 
 accessory and differing from the ordinary mica diorite chiefly in 
 structure. The diorites together with the diabases and mela- 
 phyrs have in times past, owing to a lack of definite knowledge 
 of their mineral nature, been commonly known as traps or 
 greenstones. 
 
 The rocks of this group are as a rule exceeding compact and 
 strong, but are scarcely at all used for building purposes owing 
 to their lack of rift and poor working qualities in general. 
 Their sombre colors are also a draw-back to any form of archi¬ 
 tectural display. 
 
 In England diorites are stated by Hauenschild to be largely 
 used for road materials. The kugel diorite or napoleonite 
 mentioned above is but a peculiar structural variety of diorite 
 proper. The chief constituents—hornblende and feldspar-^— 
 are frequently grouped in radially concentric masses of an inch 
 or more in diameter, and which show up on a polished surface 
 as oval or circular areas of alternating green and white zones 
 encircling a granular nucleus and interspersed irregularly 
 throughout a greenish granular groundmass. The rock has 
 been used to some extent for ornamental purposes. The source 
 is the island of Corsica. 
 
 Porphyritic diorites, or porphyrites, may be said to bear the 
 same relation to true diorites as do the quartz porphyries to 
 granites. That is, they consist of a compact felsitic base in 
 which hornblende or feldspar is porphyritically developed. 
 
120 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 The celebrated red Egyptian porphyry or Rosso Antico is a 
 porphyrite, as shown by Delesse. The source of this rock is 
 stated by this authority to be the Dokhan Mountains, about 
 twenty-five miles from the Red Sea and eighty-five miles from 
 ancient Captos (now called Kypt). 
 
 In the towns of Mamaroneck, Rye, and Harrison, West¬ 
 chester County, N. Y., diorites have been quarried in a small 
 way for local building, though the output is used mainly for 
 macadam. 
 
 A dark gray granitic-appearing diorite of variable texture 
 occurs near Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, which may 
 answer for rough construction. It is not a handsome stone, 
 and is moreover, hard to work. 
 
 The National collections contain a cube of a compact light 
 greenish gray diorite, carrying quite an amount of greenish 
 mica, and plentifully besprinkled with white porphyritic feld¬ 
 spar, from near El Paso, Texas. This cuts to a sharp edge, 
 and acquires a good surface and polish. It appears like a good 
 Stone for ordinary purposes of construction. 
 
 A somewhat similar stone is found near Monarch, Chaffee 
 County, Colorado. 
 
 A quartz diorite of a coarse granitic structure is found and 
 quarried at Rocklin, Placer County, California. The stone re¬ 
 sembles granite in general appearances, and works with equal 
 facility. (See p. 51.) 
 
 The rock kersantite has, so far as is now known, a rather 
 limited distribution in the United States. Some years ago 
 B. K. Emerson described a dike of kersantite cutting the zinc 
 ores of Franklin Furnace, New Jersey, but the outcrops are 
 too small to be of value. Prof. Newberry* has more recently 
 described outcroppings of this rock near Croton Landing, 
 
 * School of Mines Quarterly, vol. xiv, no. 4 . J ul Y. lS8 7. PP- 330-332- 
 
THE ANDESITES. 
 
 121 
 
 on the Hudson River, in New York State, and which he 
 regards as of value for architectural purposes. 
 
 The stone is described by this authority as having the 
 aspect of a dark gray granite, and varying in texture from fine 
 and compact to coarsely crystalline varieties, in which the 
 white feldspars and brown biotite are an inch or more in 
 length. In the outcrop the stone is more or less jointed, but 
 without distinct bedding, and is found to work with equal 
 facility in any direction. 
 
 Its strength is stated to be equal to 20,250 pounds to the 
 square inch, and weight 178^ pounds to the cubic foot. The 
 stone takes a fine polish and is regarded as very durable * 
 
 Kersantite is regarded by Chateau f as one of the best of 
 rocks for constructive purposes, though unfortunately rare and 
 difficult to obtain in blocks of large size. 
 
 The rock takes its name from Kersanton in Brittany, 
 where it has been quarried and utilized in architectural work 
 for many years. 
 
 (2) THE ANDESITES. 
 
 Under the name of andesite is included a group of vol¬ 
 canic rocks (lavas) of Tertiary and post-Tertiary age, and con¬ 
 sisting essentially of a triclinic feldspar and hornblende, augite, 
 or black mica. 
 
 In structure the andesites are rarely entirely crystalline, 
 but usually present a fine densely microlitic or partly glassy 
 groundmass. According as they vary in composition four 
 principal varieties are recognized : (1) Quartz andesite (dacite) 
 or andesite in which quartz is a prominent ingredient; (2) horn¬ 
 blende andesite; (3) augite andesite; and (4) mica andesite, 
 
 * Subsequent studies have shown this rock to be more closely related to the 
 mica diorites than to the true kersantites. 
 f Technologie du Batiment, vol. 1, p. 377. 
 
122 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 each taking its name according as hornblende, augite, or mica 
 is the principal accessory mineral. Hypersthene andesite, or 
 andesite in which the mineral hypersthene is a leading con¬ 
 stituent, is also common in many of the Western States and 
 Territories. 
 
 The andesites are as yet but little used for structural pur¬ 
 poses, and this largely for the same reasons as were given in 
 the chapter on liparites. Like the rhyolites, they will not 
 polish, and are in no way suited for decorative work. Although 
 very abundant throughout many of the Western States and 
 Territories, they have been quarried only in a few instances, 
 and in an itinerant way. Near Virginia City, Storey County, 
 Nevada, occur coarse, dark blue, gray, and reddish brown por- 
 phyritic andesites, which have been used in the near vicinity 
 for structural purposes. At Reno, in Washoe County, is also 
 quarried a light gray andesite, which has been used for founda¬ 
 tion walls, in the construction of the prison and a few stores in 
 the immediate vicinity. In Virginia City, Montana, the writer 
 has also observed shop fronts built of andesite quarried from 
 near-by outcrops. 
 
 II. THE AQUEOUS ROCKS. 
 
 The rocks comprised in this group originate either as 
 mechanically accumulated sediments on sea bottoms or as 
 direct deposits from solution; by far the larger and most im¬ 
 portant part belongs to the sedimentary accumulations, which 
 may or may not have undergone metamorphism. 
 
 Formed as sediments, they naturally show more or less 
 pronounced bedding lines, the various layers or laminae often 
 varying greatly in both color and texture. Among the sand¬ 
 stones abrupt transitions from coarse to fine, from fairly mas- 
 
PLATE V. 
 
 To face page 122. 
 
SANDSTONES, BRECCIAS, AND CONGLOMERATES. 123 
 
 sive to shaly portions, are common. Among the calcareous 
 members there is, for any given locality, a greater uniformity 
 in texture, but, perhaps, an even greater diversity in colors, 
 particularly among the metamorphic members. 
 
 What we may call the original characteristics of this class 
 of rocks, that is, characteristics which are due to their method 
 of origin, have an important bearing upon their working qual¬ 
 ities as well as their suitability for any form of structural appli¬ 
 cation. They lack the massive homogeneity of the igneous 
 rocks and need always to be used with a regard for their bed¬ 
 ding planes, along which they split more readily than at angles 
 thereto. They are, therefore, less suited for massive struc¬ 
 tures. Identity in either physical or chemical properties in 
 closely adjacent beds, or even in the same bed over large areas, 
 cannot always be relied upon. The fact that a certain quarry 
 has furnished good material is no guarantee of its future out¬ 
 put. It is not enough to know the formation, or even the 
 quarry; one must know the very bed from which material has 
 or is to be taken. 
 
 This aqueous group comprises a large and exceedingly 
 varied series of rocks. Sandstones, slates, limestones, and 
 marbles in all their varieties, as well as the onyx marbles and 
 alabaster, are among its members. A strict following of our 
 classification would put the marbles among the metamorphic 
 rocks, but all things considered, it seems best to treat of them 
 in immediate connection with the unmetamorphosed members 
 of the same great group. 
 
 SANDSTONES, BRECCIAS, AND CONGLOMERATES. 
 
 Sandstones, as the name suggests, are composed of consoli¬ 
 dated sand. The individual grains, which are usually more or 
 less rounded, but often quite angular, are bound together by an 
 interstitial cement, which may be either silica, carbonate of lime, 
 or iron oxide, or clayey matter. Upon the character of this 
 
124 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 cementing material, more perhaps than upon the character of 
 the grains themselves, is dependent the color of the rock and 
 its adaptability for architectural purposes. If silica alone is 
 present the rock is light-colored, and frequently so intensely 
 hard that it can be worked only with great difficulty. Such 
 are among the most durable of all rocks, but their light colors 
 and poor working qualities are something of a drawback to 
 their extensive use. The cutting of such stones often subjects 
 the workmen to serio.us inconvenience on account of the very 
 fine and sharp dust or powder made by the tools, and which is 
 so light as to remain suspended for some time in the air. The 
 hard Potsdam sandstones of New York State have been the 
 subject of complaint on this score. If the cement is com¬ 
 posed largely of iron oxides the stone is red or brownish in 
 color, and usually not too hard to work readily.* When the 
 cementing material is carbonate of lime the stone is light 
 colored or gray, soft, and easy to work. As a rule such stones 
 do not weather so well as those with either the siliceous or 
 ferruginous cement; owing to the ready solubility of the lime 
 in the water of slightly acidulated rains the siliceous grains 
 become loosened, and the rock disintegrates. The clayey 
 cement is more objectionable than any yet mentioned, since it 
 readily absorbs water and renders the stone more liable to 
 injury by frost. Many sandstones contain little if any 
 cement, but owe their tenacity simply to the pressure to 
 which they were subjected at the time of their consolidation. 
 Such stones are generally of a grayish hue, easy to work, and, 
 
 * Julien states that in the Tertiary sandstones of the Appalachian border the 
 ferruginous cement is largely turgite ; in the Triassic and Carboniferous sand¬ 
 stones it is largely limonite, and in the Potsdam sandstones of Lake Champlain 
 and the southern shore of Lake Superior it is largely hematite. (Proceedings of 
 the American Association for the Advancement of Science, vol. xxvm. 1879, 
 p. 408.) 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERATES {UNITED STATES). 12 $ 
 
 if the amount of cohesion be sufficiently great, are very dur¬ 
 able. The finer varieties of these stones, such as the Euclid 
 “bluestone ” and “ Berea grits,” are utilized in the manufacture 
 of grindstones and whetstones. Since they contain little 
 cementing material they do not become polished when 
 exposed to wear, but crumble slowly away, presenting always 
 fresh, sharp surfaces to be acted upon. In certain of our 
 Potsdam sandstones the siliceous cement is found to have 
 so arranged itself with relation to the grains of sand as to 
 practically convert it into a crystalline rock or quartzite. This 
 has already been referred to in the chapter on microscopic 
 structure. 
 
 Sandstones are not in all cases composed wholly of quartz 
 grains, but frequently contain a variety of minerals. The 
 brown Triassic sandstones of Connecticut, New Jersey, and 
 Pennsylvania are found, on miscroscopic and chemical exami¬ 
 nation, to contain one or more kinds of feldspar and also mica 
 (see Fig. 6, Plate II), having, in fact, nearly the same composi¬ 
 tion as a granite or gneiss, from which they were doubtless 
 originally derived. According to Dr. P. Schweitzer,* a fine¬ 
 grained sandstone from the so-called Palisade range in New 
 Jersey contains from 30 to 60 per cent of the feldspar albite. 
 That quarried at Newark, in the same State, contains, accord¬ 
 ing to his analysis, albite, 50.46 per cent ; quartz, 45.49 per 
 cent; soluble silica, .30 per cent; bases soluble in hydro¬ 
 chloric acid, 2.19 per cent, and water, 1.14 per cent. 
 
 Sandstones are of a great variety of colors ; light gray 
 (almost white), gray, buff, drab or blue, light brown, brown, 
 pink, and red are common varieties, and, as already stated, the 
 color is largely due to the iron contained by them. Accord- 
 
 * American Chemist, July, 1871, p. 23. 
 
126 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION . 
 
 ing to Mr. G. Maw* the red and brownish-red colors are due 
 to the presence of iron in the anhydrous sesquioxide state, 
 the yellow color to iron in the hydrous sesquioxide state, and 
 the blue and gray tints to protoxide carbonates of iron. It is 
 also stated that the blue color is sometimes caused by finely- 
 disseminated iron pyrites, and rarely by an iron phosphate, f 
 (See page 40.) 
 
 In texture sandstones vary from almost impalpably fine¬ 
 grained stones to those in which the individual grains are 
 several inches in diameter. These coarser stones are called 
 conglomerates , or, if the grains are angular instead of rounded, 
 breccias. 
 
 All sandstones, when freshly quarried, are found to contain 
 a variable amount of water, which renders them soft and more 
 easily worked, but at the same time peculiarly liable to injury 
 by freezing. So pronounced is this character that many quar¬ 
 ries in the northern regions can be worked only in the summer 
 months, as during the cold season the freshly quarried mate¬ 
 rial would freeze, burst, and become entirely ruined. It is 
 customary also for dealers to refuse to assume any risks of 
 injury from freezing to which such stone may be liable after 
 shipment. After the evaporation of this “ quarry water,” as 
 it is called, the stone is found to be considerably harder, and 
 hence more difficult to work. This hardening process is ex¬ 
 plained by Newberry and others by the theory that the quarry 
 water holds in solution certain of the cementing materials, as 
 noted elsewhere. 
 
 (I) VARIETIES OF SANDSTONES. 
 
 Many varieties of sandstones are popularly recognized, the 
 iistinctions being founded upon their composition, structure, 
 
 * Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, No. xxiv. p. 355. 
 f Notes on Building Construction, part III. p. 35. 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERATES {UNITED STATES). \2J 
 
 the character of the cementing material, or their working 
 qualities. Arkose is a sandstone composed of disintegrated 
 granite. Ferruginous , siliceous , and calcareous sandstones are 
 those in which these substances form the cementing material. 
 Argillaceous sandstones contain clay, which can easily be recog¬ 
 nized by its odor when breathed upon. Flagstone is a sandstone 
 that splits readily into thin sheets suitable for flagging ; the same 
 term is applied to other rocks, as the schists and slates, which 
 serve a similar purpose. Freestones are so called because they 
 work freely in any direction, their bedding or grain not being 
 strongly enough marked to in any way interfere with this 
 property. Graywacke is an antiquated name for a compact 
 sandstone, composed of rounded grains or fragments of quartz, 
 feldspar, slate, and other minerals, cemented by an argillace¬ 
 ous, calcareous, or feldspathic paste. Quartzites result from 
 the induration of sandstones, a result brought about either by 
 pressure or, more commonly, by the deposition of silica be¬ 
 tween the granules. 
 
 Sandstones occur among rocks of all ages, from the 
 Archaean down to the most recent; none are, however, at 
 present used to any great extent for building purposes in this 
 country that are of later origin than Cretaceous. In the list 
 of natural building materials of the United States sandstone 
 ranks third in importance. 
 
 (2) SANDSTONES OF THE VARIOUS STATES AND TERRITORIES. 
 
 Alabama — On the line of the Alabama Great Southern 
 Railway, some 60 or 100 miles from Chattanooga, Tennessee, 
 there occurs a yellow sandstone that is sufficiently soft when 
 first quarried to be cut with an ax, and which hardens suffi¬ 
 ciently on exposure to be very durable in that climate. 
 
 Arizona. —There is at present little demand for building 
 
128 
 
 SI ONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 stone in this Territory, and consequently but little is known 
 regarding its available material. 
 
 Near Flagstaff in Yavapai County, on the line of the 
 Atlantic and Pacific railroad, there occurs a fine-grained light 
 pink, brownish and red sandstone, evidently of Triassic age, 
 which on account of its warm and pleasing colors and easy 
 working qualities would offer great temptations to the Eastern 
 architect and builder were it more accessible. It is quarried to 
 some extent for the California market, but unfortunately as 
 shown by analysis (see table p 5 15) contains so large a percent¬ 
 age of free calcite that its enduring powers are to say the least 
 very doubtful. 
 
 Arkansas .—Brown massive “ freestone” that will make a 
 good building stone is stated by Owen* to occur in Van 
 Buren County. The northern part of the State is saidf to 
 contain a great quantity of cream colored calciferous sand¬ 
 stone which, on account of its color, firmness and massive¬ 
 ness, is a desirable stone for architectural purposes. Gray 
 sandstones are common throughout the coal regions of the 
 State, but thus far have been used only to a slight extent. In 
 the Boston Mountains and its spurs is a beautiful, massive, 
 snuff-colored sandstone which is one of the handsomest building- 
 stones of the State. The beds in which this stone occurs arc 
 tolerably widespread, though they have been quarried at but 
 one or two places along the St. Louis and San Francisco rail¬ 
 road in the northwestern part of the State. This stone has. 
 been used in a few buildings in P'ort Smith. 
 
 At Batesville in Independence County, and through the 
 country west of that point and north of the Boston Mountain 
 range are beds of cream-colored sandstone which are extensively 
 used in those portions of the State for building and street pav- 
 
 * Geology of Arkansas, 1858, p. 75. f J. C. Branner, Stone, Oct. 1889. 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERATES (UNITED STATES). I29 
 
 ing. It is easily quarried and splits in blocks of any desired 
 thickness. The business part of Batesville is built of this 
 stone. 
 
 California .—Around the Bay of San Francisco there occur 
 sandstones of a considerable variety of colors, which are begin¬ 
 ning to come into use to some extent. The prevailing hues 
 here are brownish and gray. On Angel Island, in Marin 
 County, there occurs a fine sandstone of a bluish or greenish-gray 
 color, which has been used in the Bank of California building, 
 and others of a lighter shade are found in various parts of 
 Alameda County. A few miles south of San Jose, Santa Clara 
 County, there are also inexhaustible supplies of light gray 
 and buff stone, but which have been worked to supply the 
 materials for the buildings at Stanford University. 
 
 Other beds more or less worked are found near Almaden 
 in this same county; in the Santa Susanna Mountains in Los 
 Angeles County and near Henley in Siskiyou County ; near 
 Redwood City in San Mateo County and near Arroyo Grande, 
 San Luis Obispo County. 
 
 According to Prof. Jackson* the Angel Island stone con¬ 
 sists of grayish white quartz and feldspar, black mica scales, 
 and angular fragments of black clay slate varying in sizes from 
 15 m m. or more in diameter, to minute black particles that are 
 thickly disseminated through the stone. These granules and 
 fragments are held in a dull, earthy, scarcely perceptible 
 cement, hardened somewhat by carbonate of lime. Submitted 
 to the fumes of strong acid the stone lost its bluish tint and 
 turned to a light gray, discolored by streaks and patches of 
 yellow iron oxide. The loss in weight during the exposure 
 amounted to 2.13 per cent. Heated in a muffle furnace to 
 bright redness and allowed to cool to just below red heat the 
 
 * Annual Report State Mineralogist of California, 1888, p. 886. 
 
130 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION . 
 
 cube was found to be cracked completely through in several 
 directions, and on then being plunged into cold water became 
 friable and fell to fragments on handling. As shown in the 
 bank building above mentioned the stone weathers unfavorably. 
 Although erected only in 1864 disintegration has already gone 
 so far that recourse has been had to a coating of paraffine in 
 hope of arresting further decay. 
 
 The San Jose stone is described by the above authority as 
 of rather a coarse and uneven texture, friable in small pieces, 
 and containing carbonate of lime in its cement. On exposure 
 to acid fumes the color was leached out of a zone an inch in 
 depth all over the fragment experimented upon, and concen¬ 
 trated in streaks on the surface. Fissure joints were developed, 
 not visible on the fresh specimen, and fragments could easily 
 be separated by the hand in places; the loss by disintegration 
 was 1.94 per cent. The stone stood the test of heat and sub¬ 
 sequent immersion without serious disintegration. 
 
 The Alameda County stone is described as light grayish, 
 yellow and fine grained, though somewhat variable in texture, 
 and quite friable. Samples when exposed to the strong acid 
 fumes became still more friable and lost by disintegration 3.43 
 per cent in weight. The color was also leached out of a super¬ 
 ficial zone and concentrated on the surface in dark yellowish- 
 brown streaks. On exposure to bright red heat the stone 
 changed in color to a light reddish brown, and underwent no 
 further change on plunging it while still hot into cold water. 
 The crushing strength and ratios of absorption of these stones 
 are given in the tables (p. 507). Near Sespein Ventura County 
 are also several outcrops of a fine-grained, brown sandstone, 
 which are now supplying material for the San Francisco market. 
 Like the other mentioned it carries a considerable amount of 
 calcareous matter, but it is nevertheless regarded by Prof. Jack- 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERA TES (UNITED ST A TES). I 3 I 
 
 son as a valuable stone. Exposed to the acid fumes, samples 
 bleached somewhat and lost by disintegration 2.37 per cent. 
 
 In the Santa Susanna Mountains, about eight miles from 
 San Fernando Station in Los Angeles County and on the 
 Southern Pacific railroad occur inexhaustible deposits of coarse 
 and fine yellowish sandstone and which are now being worked 
 from bowlders by a Los Angeles company. Prof. Jackson 
 reports * the coarse variety, when treated as above, as absorb¬ 
 ing 5-33 P er cent °f water, and losing on treatment with acid 
 fumes 7.3 per cent of its weight by disintegration, besides 
 becoming discolored. Highly heated the stone changed to a 
 beautiful brownish red, but did not crack or scale when dropped 
 into cold water. The finer-grained variety from this source is 
 described as a beautiful evenly fine-grained stone, of nearly 
 uniform light grayish yellow color, minutely specked with black 
 and silver-white mica scales. This variety absorbed 6.19 per 
 cent of water and in the acid fumes lost by disintegration 16.9. 
 per cent of its weight besides staining yellowish in spots. In 
 the heat test it behaved as did the coarser variety. The Henley 
 sandstone is described as a moderately fine grained light bluish 
 gray stone, showing to the unaided eye, dark gray and whitish 
 quartz granules with numerous black and few white mica scales,, 
 held together by an argillaceous and calcareous cement. The 
 absorption of water was 4.07 per cent. In the acid fumes it 
 lost by disintegration 5.55 per cent, and changed to a bright 
 yellow color. In the muffle samples at full red heat turned to 
 a brownish red color, cracked and scaled somewhat, but under¬ 
 went no further change when dropped in cold water. The 
 stone is stated to work readily, and as shown by the specimens 
 is free from flaws. The beds as above noted are quarried near 
 Henley, at a point within one mile of Hornbroke Station on 
 
 * Seventh Annual Report State Mineralogist of California 1887, p. 209. 
 
132 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 the California and Oregon Railroad. The supply is inex¬ 
 haustible. 
 
 Near Cordelia, Solano County, there occurs a coarse, dark- 
 gray volcanic tuff, that can, perhaps, be utilized for rough con¬ 
 struction should occasion demand. 
 
 Colorado .—This State contains a variety of sandstones, of 
 good quality, but which owing to lack of transportation facili¬ 
 ties and the thinly settled condition of a large portion of the 
 country, are as yet in little demand. 
 
 According to Mr. George H. Eldridge the strata of the 
 Lower Trias—the “Red Beds” of the West—yield at various 
 points in Colorado building stones of great variety of shades, 
 texture and strength. As a rule those east of the main range 
 of the mountains occur within 500 feet of the top of the series: 
 a zone generally of much finer material than is met with at 
 points lower down in the formation. Within this distance 
 three particularly distinguishable varieties of stone occur each 
 well adapted to its own special use : the first a handsome light 
 red, used frequently in superstructures ; the second a hard, 
 banded, rather thin bedded variety employed as flagging and 
 in foundations on account of its great compressive strength ; 
 the third a white siliceous quartzite, the homologue of the 
 creamy sandstones employed extensively west of the Mis¬ 
 sissippi for curbing, flagging and paving. 
 
 The first of the above varieties, known as Manitou stone 
 from the locality from which the chief supply is derived, is of 
 a warm, light red color and of a soft texture, but varying con¬ 
 siderably in compressive strength from point to point along its 
 outcrop. The latter rarely falls below the degree required for 
 private residences, but in its selection for heavy business blocks 
 a careful choice of the quarries furnishing it should be made. 
 
 The composition of this stone is chiefly an aggregate of fine, 
 well rounded quartz grains, a little feldspar, and an occasional 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERATES {UNITED STATES). 133 
 
 grain of magnetite, the whole being impregnated with the ses- 
 quioxide of iron. The rock is heavily bedded, from 5 to 15 
 feet, the beds being sometimes separated by narrow seams of 
 clay or shaly sandstone. Weathering has extended usually 
 but a slight distance beneath the surface, the stripping being 
 consequently reduced to a minimum. At Manitou the beds 
 stand at an angle of 8o° or 90° with the horizon, dipping 
 usually toward the east, the strike being toward the north. 
 The end joints are sufficiently far apart to permit the quarry¬ 
 ing of blocks of any practical size. 
 
 At the quarries now in operation the natural rift of the 
 rock is not often utilized, the beds standing so nearly vertical, 
 and being frequently of so great thickness that channeling is 
 employed almost exclusively. 
 
 The Manitou stone works with great ease and is well adapt¬ 
 ed for a variety of architectural uses as displayed in numerous 
 private and public buildings in Denver. The geological posi¬ 
 tion of the stone is about 400 feet below the top of the Lower 
 Trias. 
 
 The second variety of stone, that used for flagging and 
 foundations occurs at approximately the same horizon as the 
 Manitou stone and also from this up to the summit of the Red 
 Beds proper where it locally passes gradually into the third 
 variety, the Creamy sandstones, which are used for the same 
 purposes as the second and for paving purposes as well. 
 
 Quarries have been opened in the above described beds at 
 Bellevue, Stout, and Arkins in Larimer County, Lyons in 
 Boulder County, and at other points in the vicinity. 
 
 The first named are situated about 9 miles west of Fort 
 Collins. The stone is here heavy bedded, harder and with a 
 compressive strength considerably in excess of that of the 
 other strictly building stones east of the range. Blocks 5 or 6 
 ieet in thickness and of any desired length are readily obtained. 
 
134 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 The color is a deep and rather sombre red. The stone is 
 regarded by Mr. Eldridge as admirably adapted for use in the 
 lower courses of superstructures and in other portions of build¬ 
 ings requiring especial strength. 
 
 At the quarries the stone is of nearly uniform texture 
 throughout, consisting mainly of fine quartz grains with an oc¬ 
 casional accessory mineral, the whole colored by iron oxides. 
 The beds lie at an angle of about 30° with the horizon, and the 
 rocks form a bold outcrop 100 feet in height to the west, the 
 quarry opening being on the backs of the strata, on the east¬ 
 ern side of the ridge. 
 
 But from 3 to 6 feet of stripping is necessary to reach stone 
 of good quality. 
 
 The quarries at Stout and in its vicinity are limited to 
 foundation and paving stones. The stone here is practically a 
 quartzite, and it is stated has shown a crushing strength of 
 30,000 pounds per square inch. It is thin bedded and shows a 
 well marked grain, whereby quarrying is rendered fairly easy, 
 but the stone is too hard for general building. The prevailing 
 color is white, though sometimes tinted a faint red or locally 
 dotted with small spots of hydrated oxide of iron. The stone 
 from both the Bellevue and Stout quarries has long been des¬ 
 ignated as Fort Collins stone owing to the fact that the town 
 of this name is the leading one of the region. 
 
 The Arkins stone is stated to be similar to that of Stout. 
 The Lyons quarries are located about the town of this name, 
 which lies about 12 miles west of Longmont at the termi¬ 
 nus of the Denver, Longmont and Lyons branch of the 
 Burlington R. R. system. The product of these quarries 
 closely resembles that of Bellevue and it is used exclusively for 
 flagging, curbing, and sills. The stone is regarded as very 
 durable. 
 
 Along the low bluffs of Cretaceous sandstone forming the 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERA TES ( UNI 7 ED ST A TES) 1 35 
 
 north bank of St. Vrains Creek, about 3 miles east of Long¬ 
 mont, Boulder County, have been opened numerous quarries 
 which furnish fine yellow and blue gray stone of good quality 
 foi general building. The upper layers only are yellow, owing 
 to an inci eased amount of iron oxides. Both yellow and gray 
 vaiieties are stated by the authority quoted to be rather 
 porous, and their durability remains yet to be tested. 
 
 At Glencoe, above Golden, in Jefferson County, there oc¬ 
 curs a deep salmon-red Triassic stone of a beautiful warm and 
 lively hue. It is said to work with considerable difficulty, but 
 is much sought on account of its color. Its principal market is 
 now Chicago, but it is a matter of regret that it cannot be intro¬ 
 duced into our Eastern markets. Near Morrison, in the same 
 county, there occur extensive beds of red and nearly white 
 sandstone. The white is not considered desirable, but the red 
 is much sought for trimming purposes. It is stated to absorb 
 water readily, and hence to be peculiarly liable to damage from 
 frost. 
 
 At Coal Creek, in Fremont County, is a fine grayish or buff 
 stone cf Laramie age, and which closely resembles the sub- 
 Carboniferous stone of Berea, Ohio. As seen by the writer in 
 the stone-yards of Denver, this is a most excellent material, 
 being free from flaws, of good color, and cutting to a sharp 
 edge. It is stated that it occurs in exhaustible quantities and 
 is obtainable in blocks of large size. 
 
 The light-colored stone used in the construction of the 
 court-house at Denver was obtained from these beds near 
 Canon City. Trinidad, Las Animas County, also furnishes a 
 good sandstone, which is used in Denver ; another important 
 stone of good quality is brought from Amargo, in Rio Arribo 
 County, across the line in New Mexico. 
 
 Connecticut. As already noted {ante, p. 6) the first quar¬ 
 ries of sandstone to be systematically worked in this country 
 
136 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 were those located in the now well-known Triassic beds at 
 Portland and Middletown, in this State. The area of the 
 Triassic deposit in New England as given by Dana * extends 
 from New Haven on Long Island Sound to northern Massa¬ 
 chusetts, having a length of no miles and an average width 
 of 20 miles. The stone is at present quarried at Portland 
 and Middletown, Middlesex County, East Haven, New Haven 
 County, and Manchester, Hartford County; though small 
 quarries have been worked from time to time to furnish stone 
 for local consumption at East Windsor, Hayden’s Station, Suf- 
 field, Newington, Farmington, and Forrestville in this same 
 county. The Manchester stone is a beautiful fine-grained red¬ 
 dish variety, and that from East Haven is represented as excel¬ 
 lent for rock-faced work. The Portland quarries are, however, 
 by far the most important of any of these, and it has been 
 estimated that from their combined areas not less than 
 4, 300,000 cubic feet of material had been taken out prior to 
 1880. 
 
 As now worked at this place the quarries descend with 
 nearly perpendicular walls on three sides for a depth in some 
 cases of upwards of 150 feet,'the fourth side being sloping to 
 allow passage for teams or workmen. The stone is of medium 
 fineness of texture, of a uniform reddish-brown color, and lies 
 iii nearly horizontal beds varying from a few inches to 20 feet 
 in thickness. Natural blocks 100 by 50 by 20 feet occur, and 
 hence blocks of any desired size can be obtained. In quarry¬ 
 ing, channeling machines are used to some extent, though in 
 
 * Manual of Geology, p. 404. The entire area of the Triassic sandstones in 
 the United States as given by this authority is divided into three parts : (1) the 
 Connecticut area as given above ; (2) the Palisade area, commencing along the 
 west side of the Hudson River in the south-east corner of New York, near Pier- 
 mont, and stretching southwestward, through Pennsylvania, as far as Orange 
 County, Virginia, about 350 miles long ; and [3] the North Carolina area, com- 
 ‘mencing near the Virginia line and extending through North Carolina over the 
 Deep River region, 120 miles long. 
 
PLATE VI. 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONG LOMER A TES {UNITED STATES). 137 
 
 many cases large blocks are first loosened by means of deep 
 drill holes and heavy charges of powder, and these then split 
 up by wedges. (See plate XXXI. ) The blocks are roughly trimm¬ 
 ed down with picks at the quarry and shipped thus to New 
 York and other large cities to be worked up as occasion 
 demands. Until lately but little of the material has been 
 dressed at the quarries. The stone has been used in all our 
 leading cities, particularly in New York, and has even been 
 shipped to San Francisco via Cape Horn. But little quarrying 
 is done in cold weather, as care must be taken against freezing 
 while the stone is full of quarry water, a temperature of 22 0 F. 
 being sufficient to freeze and burst fine blocks of freshly quar¬ 
 ried material. About a week or ten days of good drying 
 weather is considered sufficient to so season a stone as to place 
 it beyond danger from frost. 
 
 Great outcry has from time to time been raised against the 
 Portland stone on account of its disposition to scale or flake off 
 'when laid in exposed places. While it is undoubtedly true 
 that much of it is unfit for carved work in exposed situations, 
 still the author can but feel that the architect and builder are 
 largely responsible for the many ruined fronts caused by this 
 scaling, to be seen in New York and elsewhere. It is the 
 almost invariable custom in building to split the stone with the 
 grain into slabs but a few inches thick and to veneer the walls 
 of buildings with these slabs placed on edge. Let thicker 
 blocks be used and the stone laid on its bed, as nature laid it 
 down in the quarry, and this defect will prove less serious, if it 
 be not entirely remedied. But no stone that is capable of 
 absorbing so large a percentage of water, as is much of the 
 Connecticut and other of our Triassic stones, can be more than 
 very moderately durable in the very trying climate of our 
 Northern States. 
 
 There is, however, a vast difference in material from the 
 
138 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 same quarry. I have seen tombstones perfectly sound and 
 legible after an exposure of nearly two hundred years, while 
 others begin to scale in less than ten. dhe lemaiks made in 
 the chapter on selection of stone are especially applicable here. 
 
 Georgia .—No sandstones are at present quarried in this 
 State, but it is stated that “ the Chattooga Mountains contain 
 a considerable variety and of various shades of coloi, among 
 which are white, gray, buff, brown, and red. Some of these 
 exist in massive compact beds, while others have a jointed 
 structure that make them easily quarried. The thickness of 
 the entire sandstone series is about 800 feet. Building stone 
 of this character may be had also on Lookout and Sand Moun¬ 
 tains, in the Cohutta range.”* The writer has as yet seen none 
 of the above. 
 
 Idaho .—The National collection contains samples of a rather 
 coarse, very light-colored sandstone of fair quality from Boise 
 City, in this State, but the writer has no information regarding 
 their availability or the extent of the deposits. 
 
 Illinois .—Carboniferous sandstones of light and dark-brown 
 color and good quality are found near Carbondale, in this State. 
 The stone is of medium texture, works readily, and closely 
 resembles some of the Triassic brownstones of Connecticut. 
 The beds are about 14 feet thick and are capable of furnishing 
 blocks of large dimensions. A very fine grained light bluish- 
 gray laminated stone is quarried in a small way near Xenia, and 
 other sandstones of fair quality occur at Suka, Marion County, 
 Chester, Randolph County, and various points in Perry and 
 Greene Counties. 
 
 Indiana .—According to Prof. T. C. Hopkins, f sandstones 
 of good quality and in commercial quantities occur at several 
 
 * Commonwealih of Geoigia, p. 156. 
 
 •j- Carboniferous Sandstones of Indiana. 20th Ann. Rep. Dept. Geology and 
 Natural History of Indiana, 1896. 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERATES {UNITED STATES). 139 
 
 different horizons in the carboniferous system in western In¬ 
 diana, although the most important bed is that lying at the 
 base of the coal measure and which extends in a strip from two 
 to ten or more miles in width from the north part of Warren 
 County in a southerly direction to and beyond the Ohio River, 
 a distance of more than 175 miles, in the State of Indiana. To 
 this bed the name Mansfield sandstone has been applied, 
 since there are typical and extensive exposures at the town of 
 this name. The great mass of the formation is made up of a 
 medium to coarse-grained massive sandstone with which is 
 associated patches of conglomerate, shaly sandstone, shale, 
 coal, and fire-clay. While the material is soft and friable, it 
 is nevertheless fairly durable, indeed is regarded by Hopkins 
 as the most durable sandstone in the State. In composition 
 it is mainly siliceous, an aggregate of grains of quartz sand 
 cemented mainly by iron oxides, with at times some silica and 
 clay. Locally it becomes micaceous, and may also contain 
 a little feldspar. The colors are usually some shade of 
 brown, as red, purplish and chocolate brown; buffi and gray 
 varieties, however, occur. The greatest drawback to the 
 rapid development of the quarry industry has been the lack of 
 railway facilities and the presence of what are locally known as 
 “ iron blisters ” or “kidneys” in many localities. In addi¬ 
 tion the stone also at times shows cross-bedding lines and a 
 lack of uniformity in color. The putting of an inferior grade 
 of stone upon the market from time to time has also injured 
 its reputation. 
 
 Quarries are, or have been, in active operation at St. 
 Anthony, Williamsport, Attica, Kickapoo, and Fountain. A 
 so-called Portland stone of a gray-blue color has been quar¬ 
 ried at Wortley, in Vermilion, and is regarded by the authority 
 quoted as one of the best building stones in the State. At 
 
140 S 7 ' 0 NES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Cannelton, on the Ohio River, there are extensive quarries of 
 carboniferous sandstone which is well adapted to massive work, 
 though less attractive than the Mansfield stone. Other quar¬ 
 ries in these beds are found at Jasper, Brazil, Coxville, and 
 other points west of Newport and northwest and northeast of 
 Cayuga, south and west of Covington, etc. At Riverside, in 
 Fountain County, there are large quarries in the standstone of 
 Lower Carboniferous age. The stone varies, from a light-blue 
 gray to drab in color, is evenly stratified, fine grained, and 
 well adapted to delicate carving and ornamentation. It is 
 not regarded as quite so durable as the Mansfield stone, though 
 better adapted to trimming and carved work. 
 
 Iowa— This State produces but little of value as building 
 material in the way of sandstones. Coarse, dark-brown stones 
 of Carboniferous and Cretaceous ages occur in Muscatine and 
 Cass Counties, and have been quarried to some extent, but 
 their qualities are not such as to cause them to be used for 
 other than rough work in the near vicinity. 
 
 Kansas .—Good sandstones are stated by Professor Broad- 
 head to occur in several of the counties in the southwestern 
 part of this State, though so far as we have observed, few if 
 any of these are of such a quality as to acquire other than a 
 local market. A fine, deep blue-gray, laminated stone is 
 found at Parsons, and a brownish one at Oswego, in Labette 
 County, also a brownstone at Pawnee, Crawford County, and 
 others of various hues in Bourbon, Neosho, Montgomery, 
 Wilson, Woodson, Greene, and Elk Counties. 
 
 Kentucky. —The sandstones of this State, so far as shown by 
 the National collections, are all of a light color, fine-grained; 
 and rather soft. Light buff and pinkish colors are found in 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERA TES (UNITED STA TES) 14 T 
 
 Simpson, Grayson, Todd, Johnson, and Breckenridge Counties, 
 some of which are of a beautiful mellow tint. Light gray 
 stones of apparent good quality, and closely resembling the 
 Berea of Ohio, occur at Blue Lick Mountain, Livingston, in 
 Rockcastle County, and in Pineville, Bell County. The writer 
 is unable to give further information regarding them. 
 
 Maine. —Maine is preeminently a granite State, producing 
 little of more than local importance in the way of other build- 
 ing stones. No sandstone quarries are now worked within the 
 State limits. Good freestone are said to exist among the beds, 
 of Devonian sandstone in Washington County, and quarries, 
 were at one time worked near Perry. The stone is said to 
 have been of good quality, and to resemble the brownstone of 
 Portland, Connecticut. The red sandstones near Machiasport 
 are also regarded as promising.* 
 
 Maryland .—Sandstone of such quality as to be in more 
 than local demand is quarried only from the Triassic belt, 
 which, as already noted (p. 136), extends more or less inter¬ 
 ruptedly from northern Massachusetts to the southern line of 
 North Carolina, and which enters Maryland from the north 
 near Emmitsburg, continuing with varying width through Car- 
 roll, Frederick, and Montgomery Counties to the Potomac 
 River, and thence onward into Virginia. Active quarrying is 
 at present limited almost wholly to the southern part of this area, 
 the most important quarries being situated near the mouth of 
 Seneca Creek, in Montgomery County, though the beds have 
 been also worked near Washington Junction and Emmitsburg, 
 in Frederick County and in a small way at Taneytown, Thur- 
 mont, and Union Mills. The stone is of a prevailing red- 
 brown color, varying from gray brown on the one hand to dis- 
 
 Natural History and Geology of Maine, C. H. Hitchcock, i86r. 
 
142 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 tinctly red at the other extreme. The beds from which the 
 best stone is now obtained lie west of Seneca Creek, on the 
 left bank of the Potomac River, where they dip some i 5 to 20 
 degrees to the southwest. This inclination of the beds allows 
 the quarrying to be carried on from the south and southwest 
 without very much stripping and with little or no binding from 
 overlying strata. The openings show that the available ma¬ 
 terial is distributed in workable beds varying in thickness 
 from 18 inches to 6 or 7 feet, which are separated from one 
 another by beds of shaly and inferior material. As is the case 
 in Connecticut and New Jersey, the beds vary greatly in tex¬ 
 ture and color as well as in quality, some carrying numerous 
 clay holes, which, aside from weakening the stone, weather 
 badly and produce unsightly blotches. Interstratified with the 
 beds of commercial material are argillaceous shaly beds which, 
 together with some of the conglomeritic beds, are entirely unfit 
 for the better grades of work and cannot even compete with 
 local stone for rough foundation work, on account of the cost 
 of transportation. In strata showing so wide variation as these 
 do it is natural that only a portion of the material excavated 
 should be available, and there must, necessarily, be a large 
 amount of waste, but with care in selection an abundance of 
 high-grade material may be obtained. 
 
 Microscopic examination shows the stone to consist of 
 angular grains of quartz, microcline, plagioclase, and musco¬ 
 vite thrown together indiscriminately and without order and 
 cemented by a ferruginous cement. The interspaces occupied 
 are, however, relatively large, permitting the absorption of a 
 considerable amount of water, to the freezing of which is due 
 much of the scaling and disintegration to which these brown- 
 stones are liable. The better grades of this stone will com¬ 
 pare favorably with the best of the Triassic sandstones. The 
 Smithsonian Institution building, erected in 1848-54 from 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERA TES (UNITED STA TES). I43 
 
 materials obtained at the Seneca Creek quarries, shows few 
 defects from weathering alone, and these only in cases where 
 they might have been avoided by judicious selection. 
 
 On blocks in the aqueduct of the Chesapeake and Ohio 
 Canal, which have been constantly permeated by water for up¬ 
 wards of fifty years, the tool-marks are still fresh, and few 
 signs of scaling are apparent, other than such as are produced 
 by too close contact at the joints. 
 
 Massachusetts .—The beds of Triassic sandstone, which fur¬ 
 nish in Connecticut the well-known “ Portland brownstone,” 
 are continued up the valley of the Connecticut River to the 
 northern boundary of Massachusetts and furnish in several 
 places valuable deposits of building material. At East Long 
 Meadow, in Hampden County, quarries are worked in this 
 formation which produce a rather finer-grained stone than 
 that of Portland and of a bright brick-red color. Like all the 
 Triassic stones it is soft and works readily, and on account of 
 its warmth of color can be used with very pleasing effects in a 
 variety of combinations. 
 
 The extensive formation of Primordial conglomerate in 
 Dorchester, Roxbury, Brookline, and other towns south and 
 west of Boston furnishes an inexhaustible supply of durable 
 building material for rough work, but which, owing to its 
 coarseness, is unsuited for ornamental work of any kind. The 
 stone is quite variable in different localities, but may, as a 
 whole, be said to consist of a greenish-gray groundmass or 
 paste in which are embedded rounded pebbles of all sizes up 
 to several inches in diameter of quartz, granite, melaphyre, 
 felsite, and a variety of rock. This composition renders the 
 smooth dressing of the stone a practical impossibility, and it is 
 used only in the rough state, advantage being taken of the 
 numerous joint faces, which in building are placed outward, 
 thus forming a comparatively smooth wall. The stone thus 
 forms a very durable building material, and has been used with 
 
144 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 good effect in several churches and other buildings in and 
 around Boston. 
 
 Michigan .—According to Professor Conover * the beds of 
 Potsdam sandstone occurring with frequent outcrops in the 
 northern part of the Upper Peninsula in this State are likely 
 to furnish the largest quantity and the best quality of build¬ 
 ing material found within the State limits. The stone quar¬ 
 ried from this formation at Marquette is of medium fineness 
 of texture, of a light brownish-red color, often curiously 
 spotted or mottled with gray. These gray spots are generally 
 rounded and vary in size, according to Mr. Batchen, from that 
 of a pea to 12 or 18 inches in diameter. These blotched por¬ 
 tions are usually rejected in building, although when used they 
 give striking and not unpleasant effects. The spots are stated 
 by the above-mentioned authority to be equally durable with 
 the rest or colored portion. This stone is known locally as 
 rain-drop stone, its mottled character giving it the appearance 
 of having been spattered with rain-drops when in a condition 
 to receive their impressions. Similar stone is quarried at 
 L’Anse, in Baraga County. Their chief defects are flint peb¬ 
 bles, which fly out in process of dressing, and clay holes. Both 
 defects can be avoided by proper selection of the stone. In 
 color the Marquette and L’Anse stone are both richer than 
 the Connecticut or New Jersey brownstones, and apparently 
 would prove more durable, although as yet they have been too 
 little used to establish this point to a certainty. Besides the 
 localities mentioned, these stones occur at various places along 
 the lake shore west of Keweenaw Point, and also near the 
 eastern end of the coast of Lake Superior, along the valley of 
 the Laughing Whitefish River and around it. At this latter 
 locality the stone is very hard, compact, heavily bedded, Split- 
 
 Report Tenth Census, vol. x., 1880, p. 227. 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERA TES {UNITED ST A TES). 145 
 
 ting readily into slabs of any required thickness, and is 
 ■especially suited for heavy masonry. 
 
 At Portage entry at the end of the peninsula which sepa¬ 
 rates Portage River and Keweenaw Bay, there is also quarried 
 a red sandstone, uniform in color and of excellent texture. 
 T. he rock is horizontally bedded and covered with 16 to 24 feet 
 of soil and worthless rock. This stone has been used in the 
 new Mining School building at Houghton, Michigan. An 
 analysis of the stone is given in the tables, p. 516. 
 
 There are also deposits of sandstone in the Coal-measures 
 of Southern Michigan which are of very fair quality for build¬ 
 ing purposes. The best quarries are in Jackson and in Eaton 
 Counties, as in Parma and Ionia townships.* 
 
 Minnesota .—According to Professor Winchellf the red sand¬ 
 stones of Fond du Lac are the most valuable of their kind that 
 the State possesses. They are of the same formation as the 
 New Ulm quartzite described below, but were less hardened at 
 the time of their upheaval. The stone is of medium texture 
 and of a brown or reddish color, closely resembling the Con¬ 
 necticut brownstone, but much harder and firmer. A similar 
 rock comes from Isle Royal and Sault Ste. Marie at the east¬ 
 ern end of Lake Superior. At this latter place it is often mot¬ 
 tled with gray or greenish. The stone consists almost wholly 
 of quaitz cemented with silica and iron oxides. Its crushin 0- 
 strength is said to vary between 4,000 and 5,000 pounds per 
 square inch. 
 
 At New Ulm and in other places in Cottonwood, Waton¬ 
 wan, Rock, and Pipestone Counties, there occurs a very hard, 
 compact, red quartzite, which has been used to some extent 
 for building purposes, though its intense hardness is a great 
 
 * Annual Report Commissioner of Mineral Statistics, 1888, p. 104. 
 f Geology of Minnesota, vol. 1. 
 
I46 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 drawback, but it is practically indestructible and hence valuable. 
 In Pipestone County the rock occurs associated with the beau¬ 
 tiful and interesting red pipestone or catlinite, famous on 
 account of its being used by the Indians for pipes and orna¬ 
 ments. At this point the rock is jasper red in color and very 
 hard, but is beginning to be used for ashler work, producing 
 very striking effects. I am informed by the quarry owners 
 that the entire bed at Pipestone is some 75 feet in thickness 
 and the stone is quarried entjjply by means of bars and wedges, 
 no explosives being necessary. A polished slab of the stone of 
 great beauty was exhibited at the Chicago Exposition in 1886. 
 
 In Courtland Township, Nicollett County, the same quartz¬ 
 ite occurs of a beautiful deep red, almost purple, color. 
 Samples cut at the National Museum were found to work with 
 great difficulty, but were very beautiful. The same stone, but 
 of lighter color, occurs at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At 
 Dresbach, in Winona County, there occurs a fine-grained, rather 
 soft, light gray stone which bears a close resemblance to the 
 Berea stone of Ohio. It is quarried to some extent and is re¬ 
 garded by Professor Winchell as promising of future useful¬ 
 ness. A fine light-pink sandstone occurs in Pine County, where 
 it is stated to occur in heavy beds and to be easy to quarry. 
 It is regarded by Professor Winchell as fully equal to the 
 Cleveland, Ohio, freestone. The sandstone occurring at Jordan, 
 Scott County, is of a light color, and while suitable for general 
 building purposes is not regarded as fitted for first-class struct¬ 
 ures. 
 
 Mississippi .—Sandstones of gray and light buff color occur 
 in Jefferson, Rankin, and Tishomingo Counties, in this State. 
 Samples of these were on exhibition at the exposition at New 
 Orleans in the winter of 1884-85, and from thence were trans¬ 
 ferred to the National collection at Washington. As shown by 
 these specimens the stones are fine-grained, but rather soft and 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERA EES (UNITED ST A TES). 1 4 / 
 
 friable, and in no way remarkable for their beauty. Their dur¬ 
 ability would depend apparently altogether on climatic influ¬ 
 ences. The writer has no information regarding the uses to 
 which the stones have been put, if, indeed, they have as yet 
 been used at all. 
 
 Missouri .—The best available sandstones of this State be¬ 
 long according to Prof. Broadhead* to the Potsdam formations 
 in Madison, Saint Francois, and Iron Counties in the south¬ 
 eastern part of the State ; to the sub-Carboniferous of Saint 
 Genevieve, Newton, Cedar, Pettis, Howard and Cooper Coun¬ 
 ties, and to the Carboniferous of the south-west, chiefly in 
 Barton, Vernon, Cedar, Saint Clair, Henry, Johnson and 
 Carroll Counties. The so-called Second sandstone (Lower Sil¬ 
 urian) occurring along the Osage River and on the hills of the 
 southwestern part of the State is also stated to furnish a good 
 building stone. 
 
 One of the best of the above is the fine light-buff or yellow¬ 
 ish sub-Carboniferous stone occurring about four miles from the 
 town of Saint Genevieve. Some twenty-five feet of good qual¬ 
 ity of rock in beds of from eighteen inches to five feet in thick¬ 
 ness is here exposed, and which will afford blocks of any 
 desired size and shape within these limits. The stone has 
 shown good weathering qualities in the climate of St. Louis, 
 but is stated to be discolored badly by smoke. Near Miami 
 Station, in Carroll County, and Warrensburgh in Johnson 
 County, the Carboniferous beds furnish fine gray sandstone 
 which when well selected, is said to be good and durable. 
 That at Miami frequently carries concretionary masses which 
 weather out on exposure. 
 
 The Johnson County sandstone is stated to be of good 
 
 * Report Tenth Census vol. x. p. 270: also Building Trades Journal, Aug. 
 1888. 
 
148 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 quality in certain situations. It has been used in several im¬ 
 portant structures in the State, and stands the test of time 
 without scaling, only becoming stained and darkened with age. 
 It is quite light, weighing only 140 pounds per cubic foot when 
 seasoned, or 145 to 150 pounds when freshly quarried. 
 
 Montana .—A fine light-gray Cretaceous sandstone some¬ 
 what resembling the well-known stone of Berea, Ohio, occurs 
 in considerable abundance in Rocky Canon, Gallatin County, 
 and is coming into general use in Boseman. The writer is in¬ 
 formed* that it can be obtained in blocks of large dimensions, 
 and that it works readily when first quarried, but hardens on 
 exposure, though, like the Ohio stone, it stains with reddish 
 streaks from oxidation of pyrite. A compact red quartzite 
 from near Salesville, west of the west Gallatin, is also coming 
 into use to some extent. A fine, very light stone of uncertain 
 age is also quarried near Dillon for use in Butte, Deer Lodge 
 County. So recently has the State become settled that there 
 has as yet arisen but little demand for other materials than 
 wood for building. The great scarcity of this article in the 
 most thickly settled portions of the State, together with the 
 abundance of easy-working, but in so dry a climate, durable 
 sandstone, will doubtless bring about a radical change within 
 a very few years. 
 
 Nebraska .—An intensely hard Cretaceous quartzite furnish¬ 
 ing stone for heavy foundations and general building, is stated 
 by Augheyf to occur in Dakota County, this State. Fine 
 grained micaceous sandstone suitable for both flagging and 
 building is also found in Nemaha County. 
 
 Nevada .—A coarse, gray, friable stone is quarried at Carson, 
 in this State, but it is unfit for any sort of fine work or found¬ 
 ation, owing to its softness and porosity. 
 
 * By Dr. A. C. Peale, United States Geological Survey. 
 
 f Physical Geography and Geology of Nebraska. 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERATES {UNITED STATES). 149 
 
 New Jersey .—The largest and most extensively worked 
 quarries of stone of any kind in this State are in the Triassic 
 belt of red or brown sandstone which extends from the New 
 York line in a general southwesterly direction across the State 
 to the Delaware River. The principal quarries are in various 
 towns in Passaic, Essex, Hunterdon, and Mercer Counties. 
 The stone, like that of Connecticut and other Triassic areas 
 described, is a granitic sandstone, cemented by iron oxides, 
 silica, and carbonate of lime; the colors varying from light 
 .brownish-gray to reddish-brown. As shown in the National 
 collections, the stone is as a rule of finer texture than that of 
 Connecticut, and less distinctly laminated, consequently scaling 
 less readily when exposed to atmospheric agencies. Accord¬ 
 ing to Professor Cook,* this stone has been used from an early 
 date in Bergen, Passaic, and Essex Counties for building pur¬ 
 poses and for monuments and gravestones, where it has shown 
 good proof of its durability. It has also been very extensively 
 used in New York and neighboring cities. At the quarries, as 
 is usually the case, the surface stone is found more or less 
 broken up and blocks of small size only can be obtained, but 
 the beds become more solid as they are followed downward. 
 At some of the Belleville quarries blocks containing 1,000 
 cubic feet have been broken out. In one of these quarries 
 over 2 acres have been excavated to an average depth of 60 
 feet. Some of the quarries, as at Passaic, produce stone of 
 several varieties of color, as light brown, dark brown, and light 
 gray; the fine-grained dark brown is usually considered the 
 best and is the most sought. In several of the quarries trap 
 rock (diabase) also occurs. 
 
 New Mexico .—In the vicinity of Las Vegas Hot Springs 
 and Albuquerque occur beds of light gray, brown, and pink 
 
 * Annual Report State Geologists, 1881, p. 43. 
 
STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 150 
 
 sandstone, of fine texture and apparently excellent quality. 
 They are not as yet much used, owing simply to lack of de¬ 
 mand for stone of any kind. A soft, very light gray volcanic 
 tuff occurs at Santa Fe, which may prove of value for building 
 purposes in a dry climate, or one where the temperature does 
 not often fall below the freezing point. 
 
 New York .—The principal sandstones now quarried in this 
 State may be divided into three groups, belonging to three dis¬ 
 tinct geological horizons, each group possessing characteristics 
 peculiar to itself and so pronounced as to be readily recognized 
 thereby. 
 
 The first of these belong to the Hamilton period of the 
 Devonian formations, and are fine-grained, compact, dark blue- 
 gray stones, very strong and durable.* They give a pro¬ 
 nounced clayey odor when breathed upon, and have been 
 designated greywackes by Professor Julien, though popularly 
 known as “ bluestones ” on account of their color. The second 
 group belongs to the Medina period of the Upper Silurian for¬ 
 mations. These stones are largely siliceoug, of coarser, more 
 distinctly granular texture than the last, and are of a gray or 
 red color. The third and last group belongs to the Potsdam 
 period of the Cambrian formations. Like the Medina stone, 
 they are largely siliceous, and contain a much larger propor¬ 
 tion of siliceous cementing material. These are usually light 
 red or nearly white, and intensely hard and refractory. 
 
 * Microscopic examination has shown the Devonian sandstones of New 
 York to consist chiefly of “ angular to subangular grains of quartz and feldspar, 
 with their interstices occupied by smaller grains of magnetite, scales of chlor¬ 
 ite, and particularly short fibres of hornblende interlacing the grains of the 
 other constituents. The result is an ‘argillaceous sandstone,’ flagstone, or 
 ^greywacke, peculiarly compact and impermeable, which has retained its fresh 
 condition to an extent which could not otherwise have been expected from an 
 aggregate so liable to ready decomposition.” A. A. Julien in Proc. A. A. A. S., 
 vol. XXVIII, 1879, p. 372. 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERA TES (UNITED STA TES ). I 5 1 
 
 Discussing each group more in detail, it may be said that 
 the “ bluestone ” district is confined to comparatively narrow 
 limits west of the Hudson River, and mainly to Albany, Green, 
 and Ulster Counties. It begins in Schoharie County, passes to- 
 the south-east and enters Albany County near Berne, and from 
 there passes around to the south and south-west across Green, 
 Ulster, and Sullivan Counties, and across the west end of 
 Orange County to the Delaware River and into Pike County, 
 Pennsylvania.* 
 
 The typical bluestone belongs to the Hamilton period, and 
 is a fine-grained, compact, tough, and eminently durableVock 
 of a deep, dark blue-gray color. Owing to the fact that it 
 occurs usually in thin beds and splits out readily in slabs but a 
 few inches thick, it has been used very extensively for flagging, 
 cuibs, sills, caps, steps, etc. Its sombre color is something of 
 a drawback to its use for general building purposes. As a rule 
 the quariies aie shallow affairs, and the work carried on by the 
 crudest possible methods. At Quarryville, Ulster County, the 
 quarries have been worked for upwards of forty years, andvast 
 quantities of the material removed. The quarries lie in lines 
 along three parallel ledges, which have a general north-east and 
 south-west direction, the beds of sandstone overlying each other 
 from west to east, with strata of slate and hard sandstone 
 between them. The quarries in the easternmost ledge extend 
 about a mile in length, 175 feet in width, and have been worked 
 to an average depth of about 12 feet. In the middle ledge the 
 line of quarries extends over an area about i| miles in length, 
 150 to 500 feet in width, and have been quarried to a depth of 
 from 12 to 20 feet. Quite heavy beds occur in some of the 
 quarries, and the joints allow blocks of very large size to be 
 obtained. In the western ledge the quarries are in a line some 
 
 * Report of the Tenth Census, vol. x, 1880, p. 130. 
 
152 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 1,000 feet long by 150 wide, and are worked to an average 
 depth of about 12 feet. The total thickness of the layers in 
 this region is from 4 to 20 feet, and the stripping from 6 to 17 
 feet in depth. In working the quarries but little capital is re¬ 
 quired beyond the value of the necessary tools, they being 
 commonly leased and royalty paid at the rate of one-half cent 
 per square foot of stone quarried. The larger size of blocks 
 have dimensions of about 15 by 8 feet, though some 20 by 15 
 feet have been taken out. At the time of taking the census in 
 1880 there were upwards of one hundred and fifty quarries 
 within the bluestone district as given above. All, however, 
 agree so closely with those of Quarryville, that further descrip¬ 
 tion seems unnecessary. 
 
 The quarry district in the Medina sandstone extends from 
 Brockport, Monroe County, to Lockport, Niagara County. 
 The stone is, as a rule, moderately fine-grained in texture, 
 hard, and of a gray or red color, the red variety being most 
 used for building purposes, while the gray is used in street 
 paving. The red variety has a bright and pleasing appearance; 
 both red and gray are sometimes used together, with good 
 effect. Most of the stone buildings in Lockport and Buffalo 
 are of the Medina stone. The most important feature of the 
 stone is, however, its adaptability for street-paving, in place of 
 the usual granite or trap blocks. It is said that the sandstone 
 blocks have the advantage of not wearing smooth, as do the 
 granites and traps, while at the same time they are nearly if 
 not quite as durable. 
 
 The stratum of quarry rock is put at about 30 feet in thick¬ 
 ness, the different layers of which vary in thickness from 18 to 
 30 inches. 
 
 Three miles south of the town of Potsdam, in Saint Law¬ 
 rence County, the Raquette River cuts across the Potsdam 
 formation, and quarries are worked along the banks of the 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERATES {UNITED STATES). I 53 
 
 stream. The outcrops at this point are some 2 miles in width 
 from north to south. In the quarry the strata dip to the south 
 at an angle of about 45 0 , the beds increasing in thickness some¬ 
 what from the top downward, until at a depth of 40 feet they 
 are some 2 or 3 feet in thickness. In color the stone is light 
 reddish or reddish-brown, and though, when first quarried, soft 
 enough to work economically, becomes most intensely hard on 
 seasoning. 
 
 I consider this, from the standpoint of durability, almost 
 an ideal stone. Composed wholly of quartz grains, it has, by 
 deposition of interstitial silica, become converted into a com¬ 
 pact quartzite, impregnated with just enough iron oxide to 
 give it a reddish or brownish-red color. (See Fig. 5, Plate II.) 
 It is therefore practically non-absorptive, and its surface affords 
 no foothold for growing organism. Strong as the strongest 
 granite and not liable to chemical disintegration from atmos¬ 
 pheric agencies, the stone deserves even a wider recognition 
 than it has yet received. Stone from these quarries has been 
 used in many churches and private residences in Potsdam, in 
 the buildings of Columbia College in New York City, All 
 Saints Cathedral in Albany, and in the Dominion Houses of 
 Parliament in Ottawa, Canada. 
 
 At Fort Ann, in the same county, the quartzite is much 
 light<- in color and composed of almost pure silica, there being 
 an almost entire absence of iron oxides in the cementing ma¬ 
 terial. The stone is, as a consequence, extremely hard, but 
 equally tough and durable with that above described. 
 
 At Port Henry, in Essex County, the Potsdam quartzite 
 crops out at the side of the railroad and in the hillsides west 
 of the town. The rock is here light gray in color and rather 
 brittle. In the quarry bed the rock is divided by irregular 
 vertical joints with smooth surfaces, so that quarrying can be 
 carried on wholly by wedging and without the use of powder. 
 
154 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 The stone is used mainly in the immediate vicinity. A similar 
 stone occurs at Keeseville and at Ausable Chasm. It is thin 
 bedded and can be quarried to supply the local demand merely 
 by the use of bars. It is used largely for flagging, and shows 
 frequently very perfect ripple-marking and cross-bedding. 
 
 North Carolina .—The narrow belt of Triassic sandstone 
 already mentioned as passing through this State furnishes fine, 
 compact, light and dark reddish-brown stone of a quality not 
 at all inferior to any of that in the more northern and eastern 
 States. 
 
 At Wadesborough, in Anson County, the stone lies in beds 
 from 2 to io feet in thickness, which are inclined at an angle 
 of about 25 0 from the horizontal. It is of fine, even grain, 
 quite massive, and of dark brown and reddish colors. Hereto¬ 
 fore it has been used chiefly for railroad work and for steps and 
 general trimming purposes in Charlotte and Wilmington, but is 
 worthy of a wider application. Within the past four years 
 steps have been taken to introduce it into the markets of 
 Washington and other of our eastern cities. The chemical 
 composition and crushing strength are given in the tables. 
 
 At Sanford the stone is of a brown color and is said to lie 
 in the quarries in nearly horizontal strata from I to 5 feet in 
 thickness. The stone from near Egypt is quite similar in ap¬ 
 pearance. Near Durham it becomes in part of a gray color, 
 but otherwise is little different. This stone has been used in 
 Raleigh for upwards of thirty years, and shows itself to be 
 strong and durable. 
 
 Ohio .—According to Professor Orton, * those rocks of the 
 sub-Carboniferous period, called by the Ohio Geological Sur¬ 
 vey the Waverly group, are the most important as to produc¬ 
 tion of building stone in the geological scale of this State. 
 
 * Report of the Geological Survey of Ohio, vol. v, p. 578. 
 
SA ND STONES AND CONGLOMERA TES (UNITED ST A TES). 1 5 5 
 
 The following section shows the arrangement of this forma- 
 tion : 
 
 x. Maxville limestones, in patches. 
 
 2. Logan group. 
 
 3. Cuyahoga shale. 
 
 4. Berea shale. 
 
 5. Berea grit. 
 
 6. Bedford shale. 
 
 Of these, number 1 occurs but seldom. Number 2 consists 
 of fine-grained sandstones overlying and alternating with mas¬ 
 sive conglomerate in the central and southern part of the 
 State. In thickness about 100 feet. The Waverly conglom¬ 
 erate is a member of this group. Number 3, about 300 feet in 
 thickness, is a blue argillaceous shale in many parts of the 
 State, but in many places contains scattered courses of sand¬ 
 stone of great value. Number 4 is from 10 to 30 feet thick, 
 and number 5 is the Berea grit, the great quarry rock of north¬ 
 ern Ohio. This formation is from 10 to 75 feet in thickness, 
 and extends in a belt from Williamsfield, in the southeastern 
 corner of Ashtabula County, westward into Erie County, and 
 thence nearly directly southward in Adams County to the Ohio 
 River. The stratum of sandstone where it is best developed 
 consists of heavy sheets, with often a course at the top of thin, 
 broken layers, called shell rock, and of no value for building 
 stone. Number 6 is from 10 to 100 feet in thickness, and fur¬ 
 nishes no building stone, excepting in Cuyahoga County, where 
 it yields the well-known “ Euclid bluestone.” 
 
 The Berea grit, as quarried for building purposes, may be 
 described as a fine-grained homogeneous sandstone, of a very 
 light buff, gray or blue-gray color, and very evenly bedded, the 
 individual sheets varying from a few inches to 10 or more feet 
 in thickness. In many places this evenness of bedding is 
 especially remarkable, as in some of the quarries of Trumbull 
 County, where blocks of stone 10 feet square and only i£ 
 inches thick have been extracted, and with surfaces so smooth 
 
156 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORA TION. 
 
 and straight that a straight-edge laid upon them would touch 
 at every point. Slabs but 1 or 2 inches in thickness are said 
 to have such strength that they go into general use without 
 question. In one case a strip 150 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 
 but 3 inches thick was reported as raised intact from the 
 quarry bed. The various layers, although closely compacted, 
 are, however, perfectly distinct, adhering to one another 
 “ scarcely more than sawn planks in a pile.” 
 
 Like many of the sandstones of this horizon, the Berea grits 
 contain but little cementing material, the various particles 
 being held together mainly by cohesion induced by the press¬ 
 ure to which they were subjected at the time of their consoli¬ 
 dation. They are, therefore, soft, working readily in any direc¬ 
 tion, and are particularly sought for carving. 
 
 This property also renders the stone of especial value for 
 the manufacture of grindstones, since the presence of a cement 
 will nearly always cause a stone to glaze and its cutting power 
 be thereby nearly if not quite destroyed. Unfortunately the 
 Berea stone nearly always contains more or less sulphide of 
 iron (pyrite) and needs to be selected with care. The best 
 varieties will usually become yellowish on long exposure, but 
 this is not in all cases injurious. Indeed, this property of 
 “ mellowing with age” is now claimed as one of the good qual¬ 
 ities of the stone. When, however, the pyrite occurs in such 
 quantities as to produce by its oxidation unsightly blotches its 
 presence is, of course, objectionable. 
 
 The principal quarries of the stone at present writing are 
 situated in the towns of Amherst, Berea, East Cleveland, Ilyria, 
 and Independence in Lorain and Cuyahoga Counties. 
 
 At Amherst the quarries are located in a series of ledges 
 which were once the shore cliffs of Lake Erie. The elevated 
 position of the stones is a great advantage, since the light and 
 uniform color seems due to the fact that this elevation pro- 
 
Canon Quarry of Cleveland Stone Co. at Amherst, Ohio, 7 - 0 yace page 156. 
 
 (By permission of the Company.) 
 
 PLATE VII. 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERATES {UNITED STATES). 1 57 
 
 duces a free drainage, and the stones have been traversed by 
 atmospheric waters to such a degree that all processes of oxi¬ 
 dation which are possible have been very nearly completed. 
 The stone here as elsewhere varies considerably in character 
 and solidity within limited distances. The following section 
 of one of the Amherst quarries is given by Professor Orton : 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Drift material.1 to 3 
 
 Worthless shell-rock.6 to 10 
 
 Soft rock for grindstones only. 12 
 
 Building stone. 3 
 
 Bridge stone. 2 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Grindstone. 2 
 
 Building and grindstone. to 
 
 Building stone. 4 to 7 
 
 Building stone or grindstone. 12 
 
 Nearly all of the quarries exhibit this diversity of material, 
 although the order of arrangement is not always the same. 
 The colors are light buff and bluish gray, the buff stone occurr¬ 
 ing above the line of perfect drainage and extending down as 
 far as the 2 feet of bridge stone, forming a total thickness of 27 
 feet. In most of the Amherst quarries the relative amount of 
 buff stone is greater. Difference in color and texture has given 
 rise to various local names which may be mentioned here. The 
 colors are denominated simply by “ blue ” and “buff.” The 
 regularly and evenly stratified stone is called “Split rock;” 
 that in which the stratification is irregular and marked by fine 
 transverse and wavy lines is called “ Spider web,” and the 
 homogeneous stone showing little or no stratification is called 
 “ Liver rock.” 
 
 As regards composition the stone contains usually about 95 
 per cent of silica with small amounts of lime*magnesia, iron 
 oxides, alumina, and alkalies. Analysis has shown them to 
 contain from 5.83 to 7.75 per cent of water when first taken 
 from the quarry, and from 3.39 to 4.28 per cent when dry. 
 The quarries can be operated only about eight months of the 
 year owing to the injury caused by freezing when the stone is 
 full of its quarry water. 
 
158 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 In the town of Berea nearly 40 acres of territory have been 
 quarried over to an average depth of 40 feet. The stratum is 
 65 to 75 feet in thickness, the individual sheets varying from 2 
 inches to 10 feet. The stone is as a rule a little darker than 
 the Amherst bluestone. It is used mostly for building pur¬ 
 poses, though grindstones and whetstones are also manufact¬ 
 ured quite extensively. 
 
 The well known “ Euclid bluestone ” is obtained from the 
 Bedford shale formation in Newburgh and Euclid, Cuyahoga 
 County. The stone differs from the Berea in being of finer 
 and more compact texture, and of a deep blue-gray color. 
 Like the Berea stone, however, it unfortunately contains con¬ 
 siderable quantities of pyrite, and, as a general thing, is not a 
 safe stone for other than bridge-work and foundations or flag¬ 
 ging, for which last purpose it is eminently suited. Even when 
 free from pyrite it does not weather in uniform colors, and 
 needs always to be selected with great caution. 
 
 In the vicinity of Marietta and Constitution, in Washington 
 County, a fine-grained buff and blue-gray sandstone, belonging 
 to the Upper Coal-measures series, is quite extensively quarried 
 for grindstones and building purposes. Different portions of 
 the stratum furnish stone of all varieties of texture for wet 
 grinding, and the grind stones are shipped to all manufacturing 
 points in the United States. The principal market for the build¬ 
 ing-stone is in Marietta and various towns along the Ohio River. 
 
 At Piketown there is quarried a very pretty, fine-grained 
 •brown-stone, s<Tft and easy to work, and apparently fairly dur¬ 
 able. It has been used in some of the finest stone fronts in 
 Columbus, in this State. 
 
 According to Professor Orton, however, this stone is brown 
 only on the outcrop, and a few feet from the surface it assumes 
 a dark blue-gray color, and loses its value as an ornamental 
 stone, since it contains a large amount of soluble iron protox- 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERATES {UNITED STATES). I 59 
 
 ide, which produces bad discoloration on exposure. An analy¬ 
 sis of this stone is given in the tables. 
 
 Oregon .—Two miles south of Oakland, Douglas County, in 
 this State, there occurs an extensive deposit of a fine, dark 
 blue-gray sandstone, which changes to a drab color on expos¬ 
 ure. It occurs in layers of 17 to 36 inches in thickness, parted 
 by shaly seams, and is readily quarried by means of wedges. 
 •Quarries were opened in 1879, but have not been extensively 
 worked as yet. A fine-grained sandstone, said to be suitable 
 for either building or ornamental work, also occurs about 14 
 miles from Portland, in Clackamas County. It has been quar¬ 
 ried since 1866, and used in some prominent structures in Port¬ 
 land. 
 
 Pennsylvania .—The belt of Triassic sandstones passing 
 through southeastern Pennsylvania is described as beginning at 
 the west bank of the Hudson River and extending in a broad 
 belt from the Bay of New York to the base of the first ledges 
 of the Highlands, being bounded on the north-west by this 
 chain and its continuation. To the soutlnvestward it traverses 
 New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and, in a somewhat in¬ 
 terrupted manner, Virginia and part of North Carolina, its total 
 length being not less than 500 miles, and of a width varying 
 from 10 to 50 miles. The principal quarry in this formation in 
 Pennsylvania is situated on the south side of a hill in Hum- 
 melstown, Dauphin County, the stone dipping to the north at 
 an angle of about 40° and the ledge being about 85 feet in 
 thickness. The rock is evenly bedded, the courses varying 
 from 3 to 10 feet in thickness, the joints regular and from 4 to 
 40 feet apart, so that blocks of any practicable size can, it is 
 said, be obtained. The texture is about medium fineness, and 
 the color a deep bluish brown, slightly purple. The topmost 
 layers are, however, of a reddish brown color, closely resem¬ 
 bling the Portland stone. The stone compares very favorably 
 
i6o 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 with any of the Triassic stones, its chief defect, so far as the 
 author has observed, being occasional clay holes, which some¬ 
 times have an unpleasant way of making their presence known 
 in unexpected and undesirable places. The Hummelstown 
 stone is now in very general use in all our principal eastern 
 cities. 
 
 According to D’Invilliers,* the main bulk of good stone 
 from this formation in the Lebanon Valley seems to be con¬ 
 fined to that portion of the territory lying south of Hummels¬ 
 town and Swatara, though there is little doubt but a larger 
 field could be secured on more active search. At any one 
 place, however, the good stone seems to be fairly limited, not 
 so much on the line of dip as along the strike, and it is pre¬ 
 sumably not possible to locate an indefinite number of quarries 
 on any one bed. It is, moreover, pretty well assured that 
 beds of good stone are to be found in different parts of the 
 formation, the two large quarries immediately south of Hum¬ 
 melstown being certainly worked on beds separated by several 
 hundred feet of measure and both dipping conformably north¬ 
 ward toward the valley. At the Hummelstown brownstone 
 quarry the following section is given by the above-named 
 authority: 
 
 (i) Shale and thin sandstone ; stripping. 
 
 (2) Sandstone.20 feet. 
 
 (3) Shale and slate.. foot. 
 
 (4) Sandstone.. f ee t, 
 
 ( 5 ) Shale. .10 feet to 1 to 6. 
 
 (6) Sandstone. 22 feet. 
 
 (7) Shale and slate. o to 6 feet. 
 
 (8) Sandstone, red and massive.15 feet. 
 
 Such a section will not, however, hold good over any ex¬ 
 tent of territory, and even in any one quarry there is likely ta 
 
 * Annual Report Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 1886, part iv. 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERA TES (UNITED STA TES). l6l 
 
 be considerable variation. At the quarries of Francis Painter 
 & Co. the following section is given : 
 
 (1) Loose soil and sandstone in blocks. 6 feet. 
 
 (2) Red shale, poor and worthless. 8 “ 
 
 £3) Thin bedded sandstone and shale. 12 “ 
 
 (4) Massive sandstone, top layer..'. 4 “ 
 
 (5) Red slate seam, thin. I “ 
 
 (6) Sandstone, bottom layer. 3 “ 
 
 (7) Slate . o “ 6 in. 
 
 (8) Massive sandstone bed; best stone. 15 “ 
 
 (9) Sandstone, lower bed, good. 4 “ 6 in. 
 
 Stone from the same formation as the above and differing, 
 if at all, only in slight color and textural peculiarities is quar- 
 ried more or less in other towns along the belt, particularly 
 Goldsborough, Reading, Bridgeport, and several towns in 
 Bucks County. 
 
 The Carboniferous sandstones of Pennsylvania are little 
 quarried excepting for local use, although occasionally of good 
 quality. Near Pittsburgh and Allegheny, and other towns in 
 Allegheny County, there are many quarries which produce 
 gray stone of medium texture and of apparently good quality. 
 They are said, however, to weather unevenly, owing to the 
 presence of calcareous matter, and to be very sensitive to frost 
 when first quarried. In several places in Westmoreland 
 County the stones of this age are of a gray, reddish, or brown¬ 
 ish color, fine grained and of good quality. They are used to 
 some extent for building and also for flagging and paving. 
 
 The sub-Carboniferous formations, so valuable in Ohio for 
 the building stone they supply, are in this State of little value, 
 or at least up to date have been but little quarried for purposes 
 of construction. At Venango, in Franklin County, a fine¬ 
 grained, evenly-bedded buff stone, somewhat resembling the 
 buff varieties of the Berea grit, is quarried for sidewalks and 
 
162 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 buildings in the near vicinity. Other quarries are located at 
 Titusville, and also at Uniontown, Altoona, and Scranton. 
 
 Aside from the Triassic stones, the most important sand¬ 
 stones at present quarried in the State are from the Devonian 
 formations. In several towns in Pike, Carbon, Luzerne, Wyo¬ 
 ming, Susquehanna, and other counties, stones belonging to 
 this formation, of a fine, compact texture and dark blue-gray 
 color, are quite extensively quarried. So far as can be judged 
 from the material examined, this is one of the most valuable 
 stones in the State for building as well as for flagging purposes. 
 The Wyoming County stone is known to the trade as “ Wyom¬ 
 ing Valley stone,” and is in considerable demand. It agrees 
 very closely in general appearance with much of the New York 
 bluestone already described.* 
 
 South Dakota .—The pink and red quartzite from Sioux 
 Falls in this State is one of the most promising stones of the 
 West. Chemically the stone is almost pure silica, with only 
 enough iron oxide to impart color to it. It is so close grained 
 as to be practically impervious to moisture, so strong as to 
 endure a pressure of 25,000 pounds to the square inch, and 
 will take a polish almost like glass, with which it may favorably 
 compare in durability. In color the stone varies from light 
 pink to jasper red, and it is one of the few stones at present 
 quarried in the United States which is equally well adapted 
 for rough building and for ornamental work, both interior and 
 exterior. Professor Winchell, in reporting upon this stone, 
 states that it bears a heat up to that of redness without crack¬ 
 ing or scaling. The stone has been introduced into the Eastern 
 markets for tiling, decorative work, and general building pur¬ 
 poses. Its chief drawback, as may readily be imagined, is its 
 great hardness, which is fully equal to that of pure quartz, or 
 7 of the scale as given on page 20. It however possesses a 
 remarkably perfect rift and grain, and by especially designed 
 
 *See also The Building Materials of Pennsylvania: 1 . Brownstone. By T. 
 C. Hopkins. Ann. Rep. of State College for 1896. 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERA TES {UNITED ST A TES). 163 
 
 apparatus the company expect to be able to put it upon the 
 market at such prices as shall insure its adoption, and at the 
 same time return a fair profit. 
 
 The stone has been used in the construction of the Queen 
 Bee flouring mill at Sioux Falls, a structure 100 feet long, 80 
 feet wide, and 106 feet high, the walls being 5 feet thick at the 
 base and averaging 2 feet 9 inches throughout. It has also 
 been used in the construction’of several private residences, and 
 the Dakota penitentiary in this same city, and in the buildings 
 of the deaf mute school at Keokuk, and those of the Grinnell 
 College at Grinned, Iowa. It has also been used in polished 
 columns and pilasters in the German-American Bank and Union 
 Depot Buildings at Saint Paul, Minnesota. 
 
 Tennessee .—Fine grained light pink and coarse buff sand¬ 
 stones occur at Sewanee, in this State, and coarse gray at Parks- 
 ville. The writer is in possession of no information regarding 
 the extent to which these are used or their weathering pro¬ 
 perties. 
 
 Texas .—So far as is yet known this State produces but 
 little of value in the way of sandstones. In Burnet County 
 there are coarse dark-brown and red Lower Silurian (?) sand¬ 
 stones that may do for purposes of rough construction in the 
 near vicinity. A fine, light buff Carboniferous stone, closely 
 resembling the light-colored Ohio sandstone, occurs also at 
 Mormon Mills, on Hamilton Creek, in this same county. A 
 very light gray distinctly laminated stone occurs at Riverside, 
 in Walker County, but to judge from the sample in the Museum 
 collection it is of very poor quality. A fine-grained light buff 
 stone, studded with fine black points, is found at Ranger, in 
 Eastland County, and several varieties of apparent good quality, 
 ranging in color from light buff to deep ferruginous red, in 
 Parker County. So far as the writer can learn none of these 
 are quarried to any great extent. 
 
164 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Carboniferous sandstones of a gray color and good quality 
 are represented as occurring on the line of the Texas and Pacific 
 Railroad near the Brazos River. Material from these beds has 
 been used in the construction of the United States court-house 
 at Dallas and in several private buildings both in Dallas and 
 Fort Worth.* Fine red sandstones dre found in Pecos Count}-. 
 
 Utah .—No sandstones of any kind are now regularly quar¬ 
 ried in this Territory, though there is no lack of material. At 
 Red Butte, near Salt Lake City, there occur inexhaustible sup¬ 
 plies of Triassic sandstone of various shades of red or pink 
 color. These have been used to some extent in Salt Lake 
 City. 
 
 Virginia .—The belt of Triassic sandstone upon which the 
 quarries of Seneca Creek, in Maryland, are situated extends 
 across the Potomac River in a southwesterly direction as far as 
 the Rapidan River, in Virginia. So far as the writer is aware, 
 but few attempts have been made to quarry this material. 
 On the line of the Manassas and Virginia Midland Rail¬ 
 road, at a point not far from Manassas, quarries were opened 
 about 1868, and up to the time of the taking of the tenth 
 census some 400,000 cubic feet of material had been moved. 
 As represented in the National collections the stone is fine¬ 
 grained, light reddish brown in color, closely resembling the 
 lighter varieties from Seneca Creek, from which, however, 
 it differs in being softer and a trifle more absorbent. The 
 quarries are represented as being situated near the top of a low 
 •eminence, the strata being nearly horizontal, with but a slight 
 •dip toward the south. The surface only of the ledge has been 
 quarried, and this to a depth of about 20 feet. The beds vary 
 from 1 to 6 feet in thickness and are separated by a greenish 
 shale. 
 
 First Report Geological and Mineralogical Survey of Texas, 1888, p. 50. 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONGLOMERATES (UNITED STATES). 165 
 
 No other sandstones of any importance are at present 
 quarried within the State limits, although formerly the beds 
 of light gray or buff Juro-Cretaceous stone in the vicinity of 
 Aquia Creek were worked to a considerable extent to furnish 
 material for the public buildings in Washington City. It 
 required but a few years, however, to demonstrate the entire 
 unfitness of this material for any sort of exposed work, and 
 the quarrying has therefore been discontinued. 
 
 Washington. On Chuckanut Bay, adjoining Bellingham 
 Bay, in this State, is a very large deposit of a blue-gray Car¬ 
 boniferous sandstone that has been quarried to furnish material 
 for the United States custom-house at Portland, Oregon, and 
 for use in other towns on Puget Sound. The quarry is situated 
 on a bluff which is represented as from 50 to 150 feet in height 
 and about a mile in length. The supply of workable material 
 is inexhaustible and it is said blocks 30 feet in length can be 
 obtained without a flaw. The quarries are so situated that 
 vessels of large size can be brought directly to the pier for 
 loading. 
 
 A dark-brown sandstone of Cretaceous age, of coarse texture 
 and better adapted for heavy masonry than general building, is 
 quarried on Lucia Island, one of the San Juan group. The 
 material was used in the construction of the United States dry- 
 dock at Port Orchard. A more important stone occurs in the 
 neighborhood of Tenino, some fifteen miles southeast of Olym¬ 
 pia. The material is moderately fine-grained, of uniform 
 texture, and of a light greenish-gray color. Quarries at Tenino 
 have been worked since 1889, and the output very generally 
 used throughout Oregon and California. The State Capitol 
 building at Olympia, now in process of construction, is of this 
 material.* 
 
 * Ann. Rep. State Geologist, vol. 1, 1901. 
 
l66 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 West Virginia .—According to Professor Orton this State 
 abounds in building stone, of which, however, but a small per¬ 
 centage is strictly first-class material. With the exception of 
 one or two points on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, none 
 is quarried for the general market. Near Rowlesburgh, on 
 the banks of the Cheat River, there occurs a deposit of fine 
 deep blue-gray Devonian sandstone that has been quarried to 
 the depth of 40 feet over an area of perhaps one-fourth of an 
 acre. The quarry lies at the very foot of the mountains, and 
 the amount of stripping is accordingly very great and con¬ 
 tinually increasing. The stone resembles very closely the 
 Devonian bluestone of New York, especially that quarried in 
 Chenango County and the lighter varieties of Ulster County. 
 It is said to be highly esteemed and very durable. 
 
 According to the same authority the Kanawha River and 
 its tributaries throughout the whole region about Charleston 
 are walled with rock, and quarries are possible everywhere, 
 but not all of the stone is equally good. The engineers em¬ 
 ployed in the erection of the Government building at Charles¬ 
 ton, after thoroughly testing all the prevailing varieties, finally 
 decided upon that from a comparatively thin bed, 6 to 10 feet 
 in thickness, that forms the cap to the Mahoning sandstone 
 formation near Charleston. This rock is light gray, siliceous, 
 somewhat conglomeritic, but strong and eminently durable. 
 Frost seemed to have no effect upon it, and no efflorescence is 
 perceptible upon exposed blocks. Continual vigilance must, 
 however, be exercised in selecting stone, as much of it contains 
 shaly pockets and pyritiferous seams. The bluestone from this 
 same region, which has been largely used in the Government 
 works of improving the Kanawha River, is a strong stone, 
 experiments having shown it to have a crushing strength of 
 about 14,000 pounds per square inch of surface, but much of it 
 
PLATE VIII. 
 
 Map Showing Area of Potsdam Sandstone in Upper Mississippi Valley and Lake Superior Region. 
 
 [_ To face page 167. 
 
SANDSTONES AND CONG LOMERA TES (UNITED STATES). 1 67 
 
 is pyritiferous, and great care must be used in selection. This 
 stone has been used in one or two important buildings, and 
 with very bad results, it beginning to discolor and exfoliate 
 within two or three years. 
 
 At Grafton, in Taylor County, a light gray sandstone be¬ 
 longing to this same formation (Carboniferous) has been exten¬ 
 sively quarried for railroad work. The quality of the stone is 
 said to be good, and it is strong enough for the heaviest work. 
 The thickness of the stratum here is from 150 to 200 feet, and 
 the amount of stone available is beyond computation, there 
 being literally mountains of it. There are several other local¬ 
 ities in this region where sandstone is quarried for local pur¬ 
 poses, but which can not be noticed here. 
 
 Wisconsin .—Within the past twenty years, and even since 
 the appearance of the first edition of this work (1891), there 
 has been a comparatively rapid development of the quarry 
 industry in Wisconsin. This is particularly true with the 
 sandstones. According to E. B. Buckley* one of the most 
 widely distributed building stones, and one which furnishes 
 perhaps the greatest variety in color and texture among the 
 sedimentary rocks of the State, is the sandstone of the Potsdam 
 and St. Peter’s formation. The Potsdam appears first in the 
 northeast corner of the State at the Menominee River and 
 swings in a broad belt around to the southwest and then again 
 northwest as far as the St. Croix River. A second smaller 
 belt skirts the south shore of Lake Superior entirely across the 
 State in an east and west direction. The Apostle Islands are 
 included in this belt. The width of the first-named or south¬ 
 ern belt varies from 6 to 80 or go-miles; that of the northern 
 belt is but 6 or 8 miles. The material from the northern belt 
 
 Building and Ornamental Stones of Wisconsin, 1898. 
 
1 68 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 is, on account of its color, commonly known as Lake Superior 
 brownstone. That from the southern belt is much more 
 variable both in color and texture, as will be noted later. The 
 quarries of the northern belt are clustered either in the vicinity 
 of Bayfield and Washburn or scattered along the south shore 
 of Lake Superior. The first quarry was opened on Bass 
 Island in 1868 to furnish material for the Milwaukee court¬ 
 house. Brownstone quarrying is now, according to Buckley, 
 one of the most important industries of northern Wisconsin. 
 The stone of this area is, as a rule, of a rich brown-red color, 
 fine-grained, and according to the authority quoted, eminently 
 durable. “ The color is permanent, frost does not easily in¬ 
 jure the stone, and it is only destroyed by the most intense 
 heat,” he writes. . Certain beds carry abundant clay holes and 
 others show whitish discolorations. Such are of course to be 
 avoided. Among the more important quarries in this area 
 are the Prentice Brownstone Company and Washburn Stone 
 Company, at Houghton; the Bass Island Brownstone Com¬ 
 pany; the Ashland Brownstone Company, at Presque Isle, and 
 others. 
 
 The southern Potsdam area is at present of less importance, 
 although much larger. The stone from the various beds varies 
 in color, texture, composition, hardness, durability, and hence 
 adaptability. The material is quarried mostly for local use, 
 nearly every town or village within the area being provided 
 with one or more sources of supply. The best varieties are 
 found at Dunnville, Ableman’s, and Madison. 
 
 The St. Peter’s sandstone, so called, is found in a com¬ 
 paratively narrow strip extending from the Menominee River, 
 in the northwest part of the State, in a southerly direction as 
 far as the State line, thence west as far as the Mississippi River. 
 The color is brown, red, yellow, or nearly white. As a rule 
 it is coarse and rather friable, hence is of no great value, and 
 
FOREIGN’ SANDSTONES. 
 
 169 
 
 is quarried for building purposes only at Red Rock, near Dar¬ 
 lington and Argyle, in La Fayette County. Analyses and re¬ 
 sults of pressure tests on these stones are given in the tables. 
 
 ( 3 ) FOREIGN SANDSTONES. 
 
 (1) British Provinces of North America. 
 
 Ontario .—Vert Island, Nipigon Bay, in the northern part 
 of Lake Superior, is formed of an extension of the same beds 
 of Potsdam sandstone above described. Quarries have here 
 been opened, the product of which has found its way into the 
 principal markets of Canada and the Lake cities of the United 
 States. The stone is of fine and even grain, not distinctly 
 laminated, hard, and of a bright reddish-brown color. It is 
 said to occur in inexhaustible quantities, and that blocks as 
 large as can be handled can be readily obtained. 
 
 An 18-inch cube from this locality in the collections of 
 the National Museum shows it to be one of the most attractive 
 appearing of our red sandstones. It cuts to a sharp and firm 
 edge, and every appearance would indicate it to be very dur¬ 
 able, though possibly liable to fade slightly on exposure. I am 
 informed that its hardness is such that it can not be sawn with 
 sand in the usual manner, but must be cut either with diamond¬ 
 toothed circular saws or by means of chilled iron globules. 
 
 A thin section of the stone submitted to microscopic exam¬ 
 ination shows it to consist of closely compacted grains of quartz 
 and feldspar, and an occasional shred of mica interspersed with 
 iron oxides, which serve as a cement and give color to the 
 stone. The feldspars are often kaolinized, and there is an 
 occasional grain of calcite. 
 
 Quebec .—The greenish-gray sandstones of the Sillery (Lower 
 Silurian) formation, both above Quebec and at Point L£vis, 
 
170 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 produce a very durable stone which has been used at the 
 points mentioned.* 
 
 New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. —Sandstones, varying in 
 color from red to yellow and light gray with an olive-green 
 tint, are very abundant among the Lower Carboniferous rocks 
 of Albert and Westmoreland Counties in the province of New 
 Brunswick. They are, as a rule, soft enough to be readily cut 
 when first quarried, but harden on exposure.f So far as the 
 author is aware the only one of these varieties extensively used 
 in the United States is the olive-green from Dorchester, Hope- 
 well, and neighboring localities near Shepody Bay, at the head 
 of the Bay of Fundy. The stone is of fine and even grain, 
 works readily, and has been used both in carved and plain 
 work with excellent effect in New York and neighboring cities. 
 Its durability when exposed to the trying climate of the east¬ 
 ern United States is, however, open to serious questions. In 
 some cases, as noted on p. 442, the stone weathers very un¬ 
 favorably. In other cases it seems to stand as well as most 
 stones of its kind. Undoubtedly the output of the quarries 
 varies from time to time, as is the case with sedimentary rocks 
 in general. It can only be said that if used at all in exposed 
 situations the material should be selected with great care. 
 
 Sandstones of quite similar appearance and of the same 
 geological age are quarried in various parts of Nova Scotia, 
 particularly at Saw Mill Brook, near the head of Pictou Harbor. 
 These are exported to some extent to this country. 
 
 Owing to the fact that the Nova Scotia stone was the earli¬ 
 est introduced into our market, it has become confounded 
 with that of New Brunswick, which it closely resembles, and it 
 
 * Annual Report Geological Survey of Canada, 1887-88, vol. Ill, part II, 
 
 p. 114 k - 
 
 f Dawson, Acadian Geology, p. 248. 
 
FOREIGN SANDSTONES. 
 
 171 
 
 is customary to speak of all stone from this region as Nova 
 Scotia stone. It is stated, however, that fully 95 per cent of 
 the imported material is, in reality, from Westmoreland and 
 Albert Counties, New Brunswick. 
 
 British Columbia .—Cretaceous sandstones from Nanaimo 
 and vicinity have been used in Victoria. Brownish-gray stone 
 from Newcastle Island was used in the construction of the 
 Mint in San Francisco.* 
 
 (2) Scotland. 
 
 So far as I am aware, the only Scotch sandstones regularly 
 brought to the United States are those of Corsehill, near 
 Annan, in Dumfriesshire ; those of Ballochmile Forfarshire, 
 and a third variety from Gatelaw Bridge, about 30 miles from 
 Ballochmile, in Dumfriesshire. 
 
 Of these the Corsehill stone is of greatest importance. Sam¬ 
 ples in the National collections are of a fine and even grain, 
 distinctly laminated, and of a bright red color. The stone is 
 stated by the agents to have been first introduced into this 
 country about 1879, since which it has been quite extensively 
 used for trimmings and general building. It is regarded as a 
 durable stone and well adapted for ashlar work, for carving, 
 and for columns. The strength and chemical composition of 
 this stone are given in the tables. 
 
 The other varieties mentioned are of the same general ap¬ 
 pearance as the Corsehill stone, and are used for the same 
 purposes. 
 
 As these stones are brought chiefly as ballast by vessels sail¬ 
 ing from Carlisle, England, they are known commercially as 
 Carlisle stone, regardless of their true source. 
 
 Annual Report of Geological Survey of Canada, 1887-88. 
 
172 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 There are in the National collections samples of other Scotch 
 sandstones from quarries in Morayshire, Nairn, Caithness, Suth¬ 
 erland, and Ross. These are all of a light color and seemingly 
 possess no qualities to warrant their use in preference to mater¬ 
 ials obtainable nearer home. 
 
 VOLCANIC FRAGMENTAL ROCKS. TUFFS. 
 
 (i) DEFINITION, ORIGIN, AND COMPOSITION. 
 
 Under the general name of tuff it is customary to include 
 those fine-grained fragmental rocks formed by the consolidation 
 of volcanic detritus, such as ashes, sand, and lapilli, or by the 
 breaking down and reconsolidation of volcanic rocks of various 
 kinds. This consolidation, may have taken place either under 
 water or on dry land ; in either case they are as a rule distinctly 
 stratified. Those of the tuffs which are formed from Tertiary 
 or post-Tertiary erupted materials are naturally but slightly 
 consolidated, soft and easy to work. It follows, almost as a 
 matter of course, that they will absorb a proportionally large 
 amount of water, and hence be less durable in the exceedingly 
 trying climate of the Eastern and Northern States. 
 
 The older tuffs are often so firmly compacted that recourse 
 to the microscope must be had to determine their fragmental 
 nature. 
 
 (2) VARIETIES OF TUFFS. 
 
 According to the nature of the lava, from the disintegration 
 of which the tuffs are formed, they are designated by special 
 names. Rhyolite tuff is composed of disintegrated rhyolite ; 
 trachyte tuff of disintegrated trachyte, etc. 
 
FOREIGN SANDSTONES. 
 
 m 
 
 (3) LOCALITIES AND USES. 
 
 These rocks are very abundant throughout our Western 
 States and Territories, but are scarcely at all used for building 
 purposes, owing in part to the newly settled condition of the 
 country in which they occur and in part to their state of in¬ 
 complete consol.dation. They are, however, soft, and easy 
 though rather unsafe working stones, owing to lack of definite 
 rift and grain, often plucky fracture, and the presence of num¬ 
 erous dry seams and clay holes. They are, moreover, light,, 
 frequently weighing only from 75 to 100 pounds per cubic 
 foot, though moderately strong. When not exposed to too 
 wide variations of climate they must prove very durable. Al¬ 
 though no systematic experiments have as yet been made, ap¬ 
 pearances indicate that they would prove extremely refractory in 
 case of fire.* They present a great variety of colors; white, 
 gray, pink, red, lavender, salmon, green, and even black, are 
 common. 
 
 With these qualities there seems no reason for their not 
 proving a valuable material in dry climates for all kinds of 
 structural purposes where only the rougher kinds of finish are 
 employed, their textures being almost invariably such that 
 they will not polish. Some of them are, however, admirably 
 adapted for interior carved work where high relief without a 
 polish is desired. 
 
 The light gray and pink rhyolite tuff occurring in Douglass 
 County, Colorado, has been used in the construction of the 
 Union Depot, Windsor Hotel, and other buildings in Denver. 
 
 This may rank as a fairly durable material, but it contains 
 
 * Newberry states that the tuffs found near Challis, Idaho, are of “consider¬ 
 able importance as they are extensively used in place of fire-brick for lining 
 lead-smelting furnaces,” being very refractory and easily dressed into shape 
 with an old ax—Transcript from the New York Academy of Science, Dec. 1881. 
 
STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 clay holes and other imperfections that unfit it for fine work of 
 any kind. The National collections contain other samples of 
 tuffs of various kinds from California, New Mexico, Idaho, and 
 Utah, but they are not at all used at present, and their fitness 
 or unfitness for any sort of building purposes is a problem for 
 the future to decide. Near Phoenix, Arizona, occurs a tuff con¬ 
 sisting only of the firmly compacted shreds of volcanic glass or 
 pumice, and which is stated to have been used locally to some 
 extent. 
 
 Although so little used in this country, tuffs are very gen¬ 
 erally employed for building purposes in many foreign locali¬ 
 ties. They are found abundantly in the volcanic districts of 
 central France, and in the Haute-Loire, where they have been 
 used in the construction of churches and dwelling-houses. The 
 so-called “ peperino ” of the campagna of Rome and Naples, is 
 a tuff formed by the consolidation of volcanic ashes, and has 
 been used in some of the buildings of these cities. It was also 
 used in the construction of the houses of Herculaneum and 
 Pompeii. * 
 
 Rhyolite tuffs are, as I am informed by Signor Aguileria, 
 very largely used for general building in certain parts of Mexico, 
 the climate being such as to render almost any material very 
 durable. There is now a large collection of these stones in the 
 National Museum at Washington. 
 
 Hull, Building and Ornamental Stones, p. 283. 
 
THE ARGILLITES: SLATES. 
 
 175 
 
 ARGILLACEOUS FRAGMENTAL ROCKS. THE SLATES, 
 (i) COMPOSITION AND ORIGIN. 
 
 Ordinary clay or roofing slate is but an indurated and 
 more or less metamorphosed siliceous clay. It is therefore 
 classed here with the fragmental rocks although microscopic 
 examination has shown that it frequently contains crystalline 
 matter, and that the rocks pass by insensible gradations into 
 what are called argillitic mica schists. Microscopic examina¬ 
 tion of slates from Littleton, New Hampshire by Hawes* 
 showed them to consist of a mixture of quartz and feldspar in 
 fragments as fine as dust. There was also noted a considerable 
 quantity of some amorphous coaly matters; and many little 
 needles of a brightly polarizing substance assumed to be mica. 
 The clay slate of Hanover in the same State was found by this 
 same authority to contain many minute crystals of garnet and 
 staurolite. An examination of some clay slates from the Hur- 
 onian region of Lake Superior, by Wichmanf showed them to 
 consist of a “colorless isotropic groundmass in which the other 
 constitutents are apparently imbedded, whilst throughout are 
 found dust-like particles of a deep gray color, which represent 
 the chief constituent, and consist probably of clay substances, 
 the greater part of them probably kaolin.” Besides these con¬ 
 stitutents there were also noticed a few quartz and feldspar 
 particles, scales of hydrated oxide of iron, flakes of coaly mat¬ 
 ter, minute tourmaline and mica fragments. The Maine slates 
 as observed by the author contain quite large flakes of green¬ 
 ish mica, and many quartz and carbonaceous particles. As a 
 rule the dark color of slate seems to be due to these carbona¬ 
 ceous particles, since they occur abundantly in the black and 
 blue-black slates of Maine and Pennsylvania, and are almost 
 
 * Geology of New Hampshire, vol. hi, p. 237. 
 
 f Quarterly Journal Geological Society of London, vol. xxxv, T879, p. 158. 
 
176 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 entirely lacking in the green and red varieties from western Ver¬ 
 mont and northeastern New York. Prof. T. Nelson Dale, who 
 has studied these last in great detail, gives their mineral com¬ 
 position as below, a little kaolin being possibly present in 
 addition to the constituents named.* 
 
 Sea-green Slate: Largely muscovite, quartz, chlorite, car¬ 
 bonates of lime, magnesia, and iron, pyrite, a very little 
 plagioclase feldspar, zircon, rutile, and cryptocrystalline 
 quartz lenses. 
 
 Unfading Green Slate: Same as last, but with smaller 
 amounts of the carbonates and more pyrite and chlorite. 
 
 Bright-green Slate: Like the sea-green, but with less of 
 the carbonates, more quartz and chlorite, a little pyrite, tour¬ 
 maline, and zircon. 
 
 Purple Slate: Like the sea-green, but with less of the car¬ 
 bonates and pyrite and more of the hematite (Fe 2 0 3 ). 
 
 Red Slate: Not so much muscovite and much thickly 
 disseminated hematite (Fe 2 0 3 ); more of the carbonates as a 
 whole, but less of the carbonate of iron, and less pyrite than 
 in any of the preceding; quartz, carbonate of manganese, 
 chlorite, very little plagioclase feldspar, zircon, a little rutile, 
 and tourmaline. The percentages of these various constitu¬ 
 ents in the slates of Ardennes, France, have been made out by 
 Renard as below :f 
 
 Per Cent. 
 
 Muscovite. 38 to 40 
 
 Chlorite. 6 “ 18 
 
 Quartz. 3 1 “45 
 
 Hematite. 3 “ 6 
 
 Rutile. 1 “ l i 
 
 * 19th Ann. Rep. U. S. Geol. Survey, i 897-’98, Part II, p. 265. 
 f As given by T. Nelson Dale, 19th Ann. Rep. U. S. G. S., iSgJ-’gS, p. 281. 
 
THE ARGILLITES: SLATES. 
 
 1 77 
 
 Prof. Dale* gives the following figures as showing the 
 average chemical composition of roofing slate : 
 
 Constituents. 
 
 Silica. 
 
 Alumina. 
 
 Ferric Oxide.. 
 Ferrous Oxide 
 Titanic Oxide. 
 
 Potash. 
 
 Soda. 
 
 Magnesia. 
 
 Lime.. 
 
 Per Cent. 
 55 to 67.5 
 12 “ 22.5 
 1 “ 7.0 
 1 “ 7.0 
 
 O “ 1.2 
 
 1.8 “ 3.8 
 
 o “ 2.2 
 1 “ 2.5 
 o “ 5.2 
 
 The above, taken in connection with Fig. 1, drawn from a 
 thin slice of slate cut across the direction of cleavage, will suffice 
 to convey some idea of the composition and structure of this 
 class of rocks. There remains, however, for our consideration, 
 a very important matter, that relating to the origin of the 
 slates and the cause of their eminent cleavage, or fissility. 
 
 As above noted the slates are essentially indurated clays. 
 
 They originated as deposits of 
 fine silt on ancient sea-bottoms. 
 Such deposits, gradually accumu¬ 
 lating through long periods of 
 time, would be thrown down in 
 parallel and approximately hori¬ 
 zontal layers, but individual lay¬ 
 ers would naturally vary some¬ 
 what in texture and perhaps color 
 according as the tributaries by 
 j which the silt was brought from 
 
 the land down to the sea periodi¬ 
 cally varied in the rapidity of their currents, a swift turbulent 
 
 Op. cit. p. 281. 
 
STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 *78 
 
 stream carrying down more and less finely assorted material 
 than one flowing more gently and with lesser volume. In the 
 course of the ages following the beds thus laid down and 
 subsequently covered by thousands of feet of other materials, 
 became indurated and stone-like. They owe their present 
 accessibility to their having been raised above the ocean 
 level and carried even to mountainous altitudes through the 
 slow and yet almost never ceasing folding and faulting of 
 the earth’s crust. Formed in this way it would be but 
 natural to suppose that the very decided tendency to cleave 
 into thin smooth sheets would be developed always parallel to 
 the ancient bedding, i.e., parallel to the plane in which they 
 were first laid down. Such, however, is far from being the case. 
 Indeed, as a rule, the fissile structure is developed at very con¬ 
 siderable, though ever varying angles with the bedding, and is 
 in no way connected with it genetically. 
 
 To what then is this fissility due, and how is it to be ac¬ 
 counted for ? The fact that a mass of stone will split up indef¬ 
 initely into sheets of sometimes less than one-eighth of an inch 
 in thickness, and into plates of large size, with smooth parallel 
 surfaces, and this too directly across or at a sharp angle with 
 the bedding or grain, is indeed a remarkable feature and one 
 worthy of careful study. 
 
 A common feature of many slates, particularly those of 
 Pennsylvania, is the presence of bands of varying width and 
 darker color running across the cleaved surface. These, which 
 occur at varying intervals, from less than an inch to a few feet 
 (see Fig. 2) are technically called ribbons and represent the 
 original lines of bedding, are due in fact to the dissimilarity of 
 the materials brought down and deposited during the various 
 stages of the slate-making process. But as above noted and as 
 shown in figure 3, the slate cleaves with great readiness at 
 varying angles with the ribbons, while it breaks only with the 
 greatest difficulty and with ragged and wavy lines in a direc 
 
THE ARGILLITES: SLATES. 
 
 179 
 
 tion parallel to them or to the original bedding, which is the 
 same thing. This is explained as follows: In Fig. 2 we will 
 suppose the horizontal lines to represent the fine clay sediment 
 as it was first laid down on the bottom, the broken and discon¬ 
 nected lines illustrating the trifling difference in consistency of 
 the various layers. Now as has been shown by the experi- 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 
 Fig. 
 
 ments of Sorby, * Daubree f and others, if while the clay was 
 still more or less plastic, a gradual but very powerful pressure 
 was brought to bear from the direction indicated by the arrows, 
 there would be produced (1st) a very considerable shortening 
 in this direction, and (2nd) a decided fissile structure in a 
 direction at right angles with the direction of pressure or in a 
 vertical direction in this case as shown in Fig. 3. A fold might 
 or might not be produced at the same time. 
 
 Sorby believed that the fissility thus produced was due to 
 a rotation of the mineral particles, while others, as Sharpe and 
 Tyndall, believed it to be due to an actual flattening of the 
 grains. Both views are in part right, the consensus of opinion 
 of the best authorities to-day favoring the idea that the struc¬ 
 ture upon which fissility depends is due to the rearrangement 
 and flattening of the original particles, but primarily to the 
 development of new minerals, with their longer axes parallel 
 among themselves and with those of the original constituents. 
 The effect of the lateral pressure upon the internal structure of 
 the stone is beautifully shown by cutting a thin section from 
 the slate parallel to the front face shown in Fig. 3, i.e., across 
 the cleavage, and submitting it to examination under a micro¬ 
 scope of high power, when it will be seen that all the minute 
 
 * Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, vol. iv, 1853, p. 137. 
 f Geologie Experimentale, p. 391. 
 
l8o STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 quartz, feldspar and other mineral particles now lie with their 
 shorter axes in the direction of pressure, as is shown in Fig. i. 
 It has not infrequently happened, however, as is beautifully 
 shown in many of the Pennsylvania quarries, that certain layers 
 of the slaty material were not of such a nature as to readily 
 assume a platy or fissile structure, but bent or broke under the 
 pressure. Such portions gave rise to the peculiar crimped or 
 puckered forms of ribbons which are known to the quarriers as 
 “ curly slates. ” Frequently a layer of material of consider¬ 
 able thickness will occur of such a nature as to completely re¬ 
 sist all attempts on the part of Dame Nature to produce the 
 desired fissility, but will bend or break repeatedly or some¬ 
 times remains a hard, dense, homogeneous mass in the midst 
 of a quarry, the slates on both sides assuming their ordinary 
 character. Since in preparing the quarried material for the 
 market for roofing and other purposes, all such non-fissile, 
 crimped and curly portions must be rejected, the processes of 
 slate manufacture are enormously wasteful, and the entire coun¬ 
 try in the older quarry regions is often covered by huge piles 
 of debris, on the extreme outer edges of which are precariously 
 pitched at ever-varying angles the long lines of splitters’ 
 shanties.* 
 
 (2) USES OF SLATE. 
 
 Besides for roofing purposes, slates are used for billiard- 
 tables, mantels, floor-tiles, steps, flagging, black-boards, and 
 
 * The proportion of slate waste is sometimes enormous. Davies (Slates 
 and Slate Quarrying) states that in the Welsh quarries 16 or 20 tons of 
 waste to one of merchantable material is a frequent occurrence, and good pay¬ 
 ing quarries have been worked where 100 tons of rock must be removed to 
 obtain 3! tons of good slate. 
 
 Within a few years there has been made in Pennsylvania an attempt to util¬ 
 ize this slate waste for brick making, but as yet the demand for the material for 
 this purpose has not been sufficient to make appreciable inroads on the supply. 
 The slate is finely pulverized, mixed into clay, moulded and baked like an ordi¬ 
 nary brick. The result is a trifle more porous in texture and of a duller color 
 than a clay brick, but is stated to be good and durable. 
 
THE ARGILLITES: SLATES. 
 
 181 
 
 in the manufacture of school-slates and slate pencils. For the 
 last-named purposes a soft, even-grained stone is required, 
 and almost the entire supply is at present brought from Penn¬ 
 sylvania and Vermont. 
 
 Refuse from Pennsylvania has, in some instances, been 
 ground and utilized in the manufacture of brick. Slate pencils 
 are also, it is stated, manufactured quite extensively in Chat¬ 
 tanooga, Tennessee, from slate dust molded under hydraulic 
 pressure.* 
 
 Of late years the business of marbleizing slates for mantels 
 and fire-places has become an important industry. All kinds 
 of stones can be imitated by this process, but that most com¬ 
 monly seen is the green verd-antique marble and the variegated 
 marbles of Tennessee. Like many counterfeits, however, the 
 work is too perfect in execution, and need deceive none but 
 the most inexperienced. 
 
 The following table gives the various sizes of slate made for 
 roofing, and the number that are necessary for a “ square,” 
 i.e., a space io feet square, or containing an area of ioo square 
 feet.f 
 
 Size.— 
 
 -Inches. 
 
 No. of 
 slates 
 to a 
 square. 
 
 Size.—Inches. 
 
 No. of 
 slates 
 to a 
 square. 
 
 Size. 
 
 —Inches. 
 
 No. of 
 slate6 
 to a 
 square. 
 
 24 by 14 
 
 98 
 
 18 by 
 
 9 
 
 213 
 
 IO 
 
 by 7 
 
 588 
 
 24 
 
 13 
 
 105 
 
 18 
 
 8 
 
 230 
 
 IO 
 
 6 
 
 686 
 
 24 
 
 12 
 
 114 
 
 16 
 
 IO 
 
 222 
 
 IO 
 
 5 
 
 823 
 
 24 
 
 II 
 
 124 
 
 16 
 
 9 
 
 246 
 
 IO 
 
 4 
 
 1,039 
 
 24 
 
 IO 
 
 138 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 247 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 600 
 
 22 
 
 13 
 
 Il6 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 316 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 686 
 
 22 
 
 12 
 
 126 
 
 14 
 
 9 
 
 300 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 800 
 
 22 
 
 II 
 
 138 
 
 14 
 
 8 
 
 327 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 960 
 
 22 
 
 IO 
 
 151 
 
 14 
 
 7 
 
 374 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 1,200 
 
 20 
 
 12 
 
 141 
 
 14 
 
 6 
 
 436 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 960 
 
 20 
 
 II 
 
 154 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 400 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 1,152 
 
 20 
 
 IO 
 
 169 
 
 12 
 
 7 
 
 457 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 1,440 
 
 20 
 
 9 
 
 188 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 570 
 
 7 
 
 5 
 
 1,440 
 
 18 
 
 II 
 
 174 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 640 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 1,800 
 
 18 
 
 IO 
 
 192 
 
 IO 
 
 8 
 
 5 i 4 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 2,400 
 
 * Engineering and Mining Journal, Nov. n, 1889, p. 292. 
 f From Report D 3. vol. 1. p. 142, Second Geological Survey, Pennsylvania. 
 
182 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 (3) SLATES OF THE VARIOUS STATES AND TERRITORIES. 
 
 Arkansas .—A bed of purple slate suitable for mantel and 
 slab work is stated* to occur near Little Rock in this State, 
 and also another some nine miles west of Hot Springs. 
 
 California .—Slate of excellent quality and color is said f to 
 occur in El Dorado County, near Placerville, where it has been 
 quarried to some extent; the color is blue-black. 
 
 Colorado .—A slate of good quality is stated to occur on the 
 road between Colorado Springs and Canon City. 
 
 Dakota .—Good roofing slate is said to occur on Penning¬ 
 ton and Slate Creeks, in South Dakota. 
 
 Georgia .— Slates sufficiently cleavable to be applicable for 
 roofing purposes are stated | to exist in great quantities along 
 or near the line of contact between the Silurian and Meta- 
 morphic Groups, near the Cohutta, Silicoa, Pine Log, and Dug 
 Down Mountains in this State. The most noted locality for 
 roofing slates is on the eastern side of Polk County. The out¬ 
 crops are in steep hills and are apparently of great thickness. 
 They have been worked quite extensively at Rock Mart, 
 though in a crude and itinerant manner, since as early as 1859, 
 the material being shipped chiefly to Atlanta and neighboring 
 towns. Other dark-colored slates are found in Bartow, Gor¬ 
 don, Murray, and Fannin Counties, while buff and light green 
 varieties are found in large quantities in the northwestern por¬ 
 tion of Bartow County. None of the above are to be found in 
 the general market, and that from Rock Mart is the only one 
 samples of which the writer has had opportunity of examining. 
 
 * Mineral Resources of the United States, 1887, p. 525. 
 f Eighth Annual Report State Mineralogist of California, 1888, p. 199. 
 ^ Commonwealth of Georgia, p. 137. 
 

 PLATE IX. 
 
 (From photo- 
 
 Slatk Quarry at Brownville, Maine. 
 
 View looking East, and showing almost vertical position of beds. 
 
 graph by L. II. Merrill.) 
 
 To face />age 183. 
 
THE ARGILLITES : SLATES. 
 
 183 
 
 This is of deep blue-black color, of fine and even texture, and 
 splits readily with an even surface into slabs of moderate thin¬ 
 ness. It is apparently less fissile than the slates from the 
 Pennsylvania regions, but is more like those of Vermont. The 
 cleavage is apparently parallel with the original bedding of the 
 stone. 
 
 Maine .—The clay slates of Maine are regarded by Prof. 
 Hitchcock as of Cambrian and Silurian age. According to this 
 authority* two large and three smaller areas of the stone are to 
 be found within the State limits. The first and more northern 
 of these in the form of an irregular band from 10 to 25 miles in 
 width extends from a point near the State line in the northern 
 part Oi P ranklin County northeastward through Somerset and 
 the north-west corner of Piscataquis into Aroostook County, 
 and thence northward to New Brunswick, occupying the whole 
 width of the St. John and St. Francis boundary line. The 
 second large belt extends from near the western boundary of 
 Somerset County (near Lexington) in the form of a belt of 
 about equal width in a more nearly easterly direction to near 
 Houlton also in Aroostook County, crossing thus Somerset, 
 Piscataquis, and Penobscot Counties. Of the three smaller 
 areas one is on the Ivennebec River, south of Skowhegan, and 
 the two others in Washington County, about Baskahegan Lake 
 and near Princeton. So far as the author is aware portions of 
 the two large areas only furnish material sufficiently fissile for 
 roofing purposes. At various times quarries have been opened 
 at different points in these localities, but the principal ones at 
 this time worked are in the towns of Monson, Blanchard, and 
 Brownville, Piscataquis County. The slates here produced are 
 all of a blue-black color, and are reported by Prof. J. E. Wolff 
 as of most excellent quality, being hard, yet splitting readily 
 
 Geology of Northern New England, p. 2. 
 
184 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 into thin sheets with a fine cleavage surface, not subject to 
 discoloration and giving forth a clear ringing sound when 
 struck. Although seemingly susceptible of being used for all 
 purposes to which slates are usually applied, they are at pres¬ 
 ent utilized mainly for roofing. 
 
 The beds of which these slates form a part stand vertically 
 or slightly overthrown. The narrow bands of workable ma- 
 terial are separated from one another by thin beds of dense 
 fine-grained quartzite, called “ whinstone ” by the quarriers. 
 The cleavage of the slate runs at a very acute angle with this 
 quartzite, which doubtless represents the more siliceous por¬ 
 tions of the original sediments and hence marked the original 
 bedding planes. On this account the slates, although of mod¬ 
 erate size, are almost entirely free from ribbons or like defects, 
 though sometimes seriously crimped. Occasional sharp joint 
 planes cut the cleavage at nearly right angles. (See pi. X.)_ 
 Maryland.— In the northern part of Harford County, in 
 this State, and extending in a northeasterly direction over into 
 Pennsylvania, there occurs a narrow belt of slates, now com¬ 
 monly regarded as belonging to the Hudson River or Quebec 
 series, which has for many years furnished a comparatively 
 limited amount of material unrivaled as to lasting qualities by 
 the output of any quarries in the country. Maryland has, 
 however, in the past received little credit for its share in the 
 industry, although almost all the productive quarries are situ¬ 
 ated within its limits (see sketch map). This is due to 
 the fact that the shipping point for most of the quarries and 
 the residences of most of the operators are at Delta, on the 
 Pennsylvania side of the line. 
 
 The productive beds are thought to be the axis of a narrow 
 synclinal fold (see pi. XI), which is included within the phylhte 
 formation extending in a northeast and southwest direction 
 across Eastern Maryland. The slate belt itself forms a narrow 
 
PLATE X. 
 
 Sketch Map of Peach Bottom Slate Area. 
 
 (From Rep. State Geological Survey of Maryland, Vol. II, Part II.) 
 Slate Quarries at Delta , Pa. 
 
 I. Faulk Jones & Son, 
 
 (w) 
 
 ii. 
 
 Scarborough’s Quarry, 
 
 (a) 
 
 2. 
 
 ( a ) 
 
 12. 
 
 Baltimore & Peach Bottom, 
 
 (a) 
 
 3 - 
 
 (w) 
 
 13 - 
 
 Henry’s Quarry, 
 
 (a) 
 
 4. R. D. Jones & Co., Tunnel, 
 
 (w) 
 
 H- 
 
 York & Peach Bottom, 
 
 (w) 
 
 5. E. W. Evans & Co., 
 
 (w) 
 
 15 - 
 
 Proctor Bros., 
 
 (w) 
 
 6. R. L. Jones, 
 
 (a) 
 
 16. 
 
 Peach Bottom, 
 
 (w) 
 
 7 - 
 
 (a) 
 
 i 7 - 
 
 Excelsior, 
 
 (w) 
 
 -State line. 
 
 18. 
 
 Peerless, 
 
 (w) 
 
 S. Slate Springs, 
 
 (a) 
 
 19. 
 
 Aiken & Co.’s, 
 
 (w) 
 
 9. Delta & Peach Bottom, 
 
 (w) 
 
 20. 
 
 Stubbs or Cambria, 
 
 (w) 
 
 10. Schwab’s Quarry, 
 
 (a) 
 
 21. 
 
 Baltimore & Peach Bottom, 
 
 (a) 
 
 (a) Abandoned. 
 
 
 
 (w) Working. 
 
 
 To face page 184 . 
 
PLATE XI. 
 
 Slate Quarry at Cambria, Harford Co., Maryland. 
 (From Rep. State Geol. Survey of Maryland, 1898.) 
 
 To Jace page 185* 
 
THE ARGILLITES: SLATES. 
 
 I8 5 
 
 zone beginning a short distance southwest of the road running 
 from Cambria to Prospect and extending in a northerly direc¬ 
 tion through Maryland and York County, Pennsylvania, to 
 and across the Susquehanna River into Lancaster County. 
 The thickness of the beds has not been made out, but in some 
 instances good material has been produced over a distance of 
 at least 150 feet across the strike. 
 
 All the quarries show several series of joints, which both 
 aid and hinder quarrying operations. The principal or bed¬ 
 ding joints strike across the cleavage and dip at an angle of 
 42 0 to the southwest. In addition to this there is a second 
 series of joints dipping at an angle of 26° with the same strike 
 and another set which dip at about 8o° to the northeast with 
 their strike normal to the cleavage. In addition to these there 
 are several other series of joints which cut at all angles and 
 intersect the plane of cleavage in such a way as to render the 
 amount of waste extremely large. The stone is tough, fine, 
 and moderately smooth in texture, and apparently non-fad¬ 
 ing, still remaining fresh and unchanged upon buildings after an 
 exposure of upwards of seventy-five years. It is less fissile than 
 the majority of the slates from Pennsylvania, New York, Ver¬ 
 mont, or Maine, yielding, as a rule, but six slabs to the inch, 
 while those of Monson or Slatington readily yield twice that 
 number. A microscopic examination shows the stone to have 
 undergone a greater amount of metamorphism than those from 
 the other regions noted, being in fact no longer a fragmental 
 rock, but rather a carbonaceous crystalline schist. This fact, 
 while not accounting for its lack of fissility does, in part at 
 least, account for its increased strength and elasticity, as well 
 as great durability. 
 
 On account of the narrowness of the belt and the steepness 
 of the dip, which is at times practically vertical, the quarries are 
 very deep in proportion to their surface areas. The greatly 
 increased cost of working so deeply, taken in connection with 
 
l86 STON'ES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 the large amount of waste material—estimated as in some cases 
 equal to 88 per cent, of the total output—renders quarrying 
 expensive, and the work has not in all cases proven profitable. 
 
 The Peach Bottom slates have been subjected by Prof. 
 Mansfield Merriman to a series of rigid tests, the results of 
 which are given on p. 484. 
 
 Massachusetts. —Although, as already noted, slate was one 
 of the stones to be earliest quarried in eastern Massachusetts, 
 the material was of such a nature as to be of little value except 
 for rough construction, and hence the industry has always 
 remained of slight importance. The only quarries now worked 
 from which slate suitable for rooiing or other fine work can be 
 obtained are at Lancaster, in Worcester County. This quarry 
 is stated by Marvin* to have been opened by a Mr. Flagg over 
 a century ago, and the slates were in use as early as 1750 or 
 1753 {ante, p. 9). Owing to lack of favorable transportation 
 facilities the work was discontinued more than fifty years since, 
 and it was not till 1877 that it was recommenced. The slate 
 though porous is said to hold its color well and to be durable. 
 Another outcrop of slate of good quality is said to occur about 
 1 mile north of Clinton, in this same county. It is not, how¬ 
 ever, as yet quarried. 
 
 The clay slates occurring in the vicinity of Boston and 
 Cambridge have long been used for road materials, but for 
 purposes of construction only to a slight extent. They are 
 not sufficiently fissile for roofing purposes. The stone is 
 regarded by Professor Shaler as of great value for rough build¬ 
 ing, as it is durable, easily quarried, and very effective when 
 placed in a wall. The Shepherd Memorial Church in Cam¬ 
 bridge is the only building of importance yet constructed of 
 this material. 
 
 Michigan .—An extensive deposit of Huronian slates occurs 
 in the northwestern portion of the northern peninsula of this 
 
 History of Lancaster. 
 
THE ARGILLITES: SLATES. 
 
 18/ 
 
 State, principally in the towns of Houghton, Marquette, and 
 Menominee. But a small portion of the entire formation will 
 furnish material sufficiently fissile, homogeneous, and durable 
 for roofing purposes; nevertheless the supply of good material 
 is so abundant as to be practically inexhaustible. At L’Anse 
 the beds extend down to the lake shore, but are badly shattered, 
 not homogeneous, nor of sufficient durability in this immediate 
 vicinity to be of value. Good roofing slate is, however, found 
 about 15 miles from L’Anse, on the northwestern side of the 
 Huron mountain range, and about 3 miles from Huron Bay, 
 where extensive quarries have been opened. The stone here 
 is susceptible of being split into large, even slabs of any desired 
 thickness, with a fine silky, homogeneous grain, and combines 
 durability and toughness with smoothness. Its color is an 
 agreeable black and very uniform. Several companies have 
 located their quarries along the creek which runs parallel with 
 the strike of the slate, and a tramway about 3^ miles in length 
 has been built down to the bay, where a dock has been erected 
 for the unloading of vessels and for the convenient shipment 
 of the material.* 
 
 Minnesota .—At Thompson, Carlton County, where the Saint 
 Paul and Duluth Railroad crosses the Saint Louis River, there 
 occurs, according to Professor N. H. Winchell* an inexhaust¬ 
 ible supply of hard, black, and apparently eminently durable 
 slate suitable for roofing, school-slates, tables, mantels, and all 
 other purposes to which slate is usually applied. Quarries 
 were opened here by the railroad company in 1880, but for 
 some unknown reason were discontinued before any of the 
 stone had been put upon the market. 
 
 New Hampshire .—Professor Hitchcockf states that the 
 
 * Geology of Michigan, vol. ill, part i, p. 161. 
 
 f Preliminary Report on the Building Stones, etc., of Minnesota, 1880, p. 17. 
 
 % Geology of New Hampshire, vol. ill, p. 81. 
 
188 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 only formation in this State likely to furnish good roofing slates 
 is the Cambrian range along the Connecticut River. There 
 have been quarries upon this belt in the towns of Littleton, 
 Hanover, and Lebanon, but they have not now been worked 
 for several years. The stone is stated to be not quite equal to 
 that of Maine and Vermont, but certain portions of it might 
 be utilized locally to good advantage, as for tables, platforms, 
 curbs, and flag-stones. In Littleton the band of rocks suitable 
 for working is nearly an eighth of a mile wide, and has been 
 opened at two localities. The strata are vertical and the out¬ 
 crops on a hill where good drainage can be had to a depth of a 
 hundred feet. The stone is soft, apparently durable, and of a 
 dark blue color, but does not cleave so thin as the slate from 
 Maine. At East Lebanon the valuable part of the slate bed is 
 30 feet in width. The stone does not split sufficiently thin for 
 roofing, but can be utilized to good advantage for chimney- 
 pieces, table-tops, and shelves ; also for sinks, cisterns, flooring- 
 tiles, etc. The waste material was formerly ground and bolted 
 into slate flour. 
 
 New Jersey .—The belt of Silurian slates and shales extend¬ 
 ing in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction entirely 
 across the northern part of this State includes several quarri- 
 able areas, but which have up to the present time been utilized 
 only to a limited extent. Quarries have been worked at La 
 Fayette and Newton, in Sussex County, and also at the Dela¬ 
 ware Water Gap in Warren County. The product of these is 
 represented by Professor Cook* as of good quality and suitable 
 not only for roofing material, but also for school slates, tiles, 
 and mantels. 
 
 New York .—The roofing slates of this State occur in two 
 geologically distinct belts, ranging in a general northeasterly 
 and southwesterly direction through the counties of Orange, 
 
 * Annual Report State Geologist of New Jersey, 1881, p. 66. 
 
Slate Quarry at Granville, New York. To face j>age 188. 
 
 (From photograph by Geo. P. Merrill.) 
 
 PLATE XII. 
 
THE ARGILLITES: SLATES. 
 
 189 
 
 Dutchess, Columbia, Rensselaer, and Washington, and thence 
 onward into Vermont, one of them furnishing by its continua¬ 
 tion the well-known roofing slates of the last-named State. 
 The irregular outlines and intimate associations of the two 
 beds can be well understood only by reference to maps such as 
 it has been found inexpedient to reproduce here.f Through¬ 
 out both areas the beds dip at high angles to the south and 
 east, the cleavage being coincident, or varying at a very slight 
 angle with the bedding. In this respect these stand in strong 
 contrast with the slates of eastern Pennsylvania, yet to be 
 noted. In none of the New York quarries, so far as observed, 
 do the slates possess the eminently fissile character of those 
 of the above-named State, the split slates being thicker and 
 with more uneven surfaces. 
 
 Of the two formations mentioned, the lower, or Cambrian 
 bed extends in the form of a broad though interrupted belt 
 through the central part of Rensselaer County and the western 
 part of Washington, crossing the State line into Vermont 
 some five miles north-west of Bennington, Vermont. At its 
 greatest development it is not above ten miles wide in an 
 east and west direction, and it thins out rapidly north of 
 Fairhaven, becoming a mere wedge and ultimately disappear¬ 
 ing a few miles north-west of Middlebury, Vermont, to ap¬ 
 pear once more in the northern part of Chittenden County as 
 a narrow belt running in the same general direction across the 
 State into Canada. The rock is interstratified with shales and 
 limestones, and but a small part of the area furnishes quarriable 
 material, the productive quarries in both belts being, according 
 to Professor Smock,* all in Washington County, and limited to 
 
 * See Walcott’s “The Taconic System of Emmons,” American Journal of 
 Science, May, 1888; also, the exhaustive paper by Prof. T. Nelson Dale, “The 
 Slate Belt of Eastern New York and Western Vermont,” Nineteenth Ann. Rep, 
 U. S. Geol. Survey, 1897-98, part in, pp. 163-307. 
 
 f Bulletin No. 2, New York State Museum. 
 
I90 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 a narrow belt running from Salem northeast through, the towns 
 of Hebron, Granville, Hampton, and Whitehall. The output 
 from this, the Cambrian belt, varies from purplish to green in 
 color, is of excellent quality, and is used for all purposes to 
 which slates are usually applied ; it is extensively marbleized. 
 
 The upper, or Hudson River bed of slate, occurs in the 
 form of very irregular and often interrupted areas following 
 the same general trend as the Cambrian slates, but thinning 
 out rapidly north of Granville, though continuing in the form 
 of an irregular interrupted belt through Vermont into Canada. 
 It appears on the Vermont side of the line west of the Cam¬ 
 brian slates, only in detached areas in Bennington and Rutland 
 Counties; east of the Cambrian it appears as a long, narrow, 
 though not continuous belt, in Addison, Chittenden, and 
 Franklin Counties. 
 
 The slates of this formation are of a brick-red and green 
 color, both varieties occurring often in the same quarry, and 
 indeed the split slate in slabs not above A of an inch in thick¬ 
 ness are often found to be red on one side and green on the 
 other. The red variety is the more highly valued, bringing 
 about three times the price of the ordinary varieties. It is 
 used mainly for roofing and tiling. As shown at Granville 
 this red slate belt, which runs nearly parallel with the Vermont 
 line, is very narrow, in places not over 30 rods wide, and out¬ 
 crops in numerous low, glaciated knobs or ledges. The quality 
 of the red slates is stated by Professor Smock to improve as 
 the quarries are worked to a greater depth. 
 
 Although the beds of this formation pass over into Ver¬ 
 mont, the brick-red slates are confined mainly to the areas on 
 the New York side of the line, and the quarries of the towns 
 above noted furnish the entire supply for the United States. 
 
 The red slates are themselves often peculiarly spotted 
 and streaked with green and purple. At times an otherwise 
 
THE ARGILLITES: SLATES. 
 
 I 9 I 
 
 geneous red slate will show on a cleared surface a rounded or 
 oval spot of varying size up to several inches in diameter, of a 
 pale-green color, with or without a purple border. At other 
 times -the green appears in the form of a vein or is dispersed 
 irregularly without symmetry. Such, aside from causing a 
 waste, are of scientific interest, and their cause, both here and 
 in other localities, has excited considerable discussion. The 
 problem was taken up by Prof. Dale in connection with his 
 investigation on the slate belt of New York and Vermont, 
 already referred to. The following analyses of (1) the red 
 slate, (2) the purple rim, and (3) an interior green portion 
 were made by Dr. Hillebrand in this connection: 
 
 Constituents. 
 
 (1) 
 
 Red Slate. 
 
 Per Cent. 
 
 (2) 
 
 Purple Rim. 
 Per Cent. 
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 Green Spot. 
 Per Cent. 
 
 Silica (SiOj). 
 
 63.88 
 
 64.59 
 
 65.44 
 
 Titanic Oxide (TiO,). 
 
 O.47 
 
 0-51 
 
 0.52 
 
 Alumina (A 1 2 0 3 ). 
 
 9-77 
 
 10.23 
 
 9 - 3 8 
 
 Ferric Oxide (Fe 2 0 3 ). 
 
 3.86 
 
 1.79 
 
 1.09 
 
 Ferrous Oxide (FeO). 
 
 C 44 
 
 1.19 
 
 1.06 
 
 Manganous Oxide (MnO). 
 
 0.21 
 
 0.26 ' 
 
 0.32 
 
 Lime (CaO). 
 
 3-53 
 
 4.07 
 
 4-53 
 
 Barium Oxide (BaO). 
 
 0.05 
 
 0.05 
 
 0.06 
 
 Magnesia (MgO) . 
 
 5-37 
 
 5A2 
 
 4.92 
 
 Potash (K 2 0 ). . .. 
 
 3-45 
 
 3-70 
 
 3-57 
 
 Soda (Na 2 0 ). 
 
 0.20 
 
 O.23 
 
 0.22 
 
 Water (below no°C) (H 2 0 ). 
 
 0.27 
 
 0.28 
 
 0.25 
 
 “ (above ) (H 2 6). 
 
 2.48 
 
 2.29 
 
 2.10 
 
 Phosphoric Acid (P 2 0 5 ).. . 
 
 0.08 
 
 0.08 
 
 0.08 
 
 Carbon Dioxide (CO,) .. 
 
 5.08 
 
 5- 8 4 
 
 6.55 
 
 Pyrite (FeS). 
 
 T race 
 
 Trace 
 
 0.04 
 
 Total. 
 
 100.14 
 
 100.23 
 
 100.13 
 
 From these it would appear that the cause of the different 
 > olor is due to the varying amount of red pigments (hematite, 
 l r e 2 0 3 ), though the minerals pyrite, rutile, tourmaline, and the 
 carbonates of lime, magnesia and manganese are most abun- 
 
I92 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 dant in the green portion. It is to be noted further, that not 
 merely is there less of the ferric oxide (Fe 2 0 3 ) in the green 
 slate, but there is a relatively higher percentage of the ferrous 
 oxide (FeO). This difference is regarded as due to chemical 
 changes in the original sediments caused by the decay of 
 organisms, which, as is well known, would have a reducing or 
 deoxidizing effect. 
 
 Pennsylvania .—The Utica and Hudson River slate forma¬ 
 tion, in which lie the largest and most important quarries of 
 slate at present worked in this State, extends in a belt of from 
 7 "to 12 miles in width throughout the entire northern parts of 
 Northampton and Lehigh Counties, and thence in a gradually 
 though unevenly narrowing band in a general southwesterly 
 direction through Berks, Lebanon, Dauphin, Cumberland, and 
 Franklin Counties. 
 
 The geological character of the beds and the details re¬ 
 garding the quarries have been described with considerable 
 detail by Mr. R. H. Sanders,* and it seems unnecessary to 
 repeat them here in full. 
 
 According to this authority the structure of the slate belt 
 throughout the region is in general a series of anticlines and 
 synclines, which are closely folded and mostly overturned 
 (Plate XIV). So abundant indeed are the folds, that in sev¬ 
 eral of the quarries of Washington Township the opening is 
 directly across the axis of the fold. In this respect the slates 
 of the Pennsylvania regions stand in marked contrast with 
 those cf New York. The cleavage property is due to pressure 
 which acted in a direction practically at right angles with these 
 folds, and the quarries therefore not infrequently produce, at 
 different depths, slates cleaving parallel, directly across, and 
 at all intermediate angles with the bedding of the stone. This 
 feature gives rise to “ ribbon ” and “curly ” slates and causes 
 
 * Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, Report D, 3, vol. I, p. 83-148, 
 
PLATE XIII. 
 
 (After Prof. Mansfield Merriman.) 
 
 To face page 193. 
 
THE ARGILLITES: SLATES. 
 
 193 
 
 large amounts of waste in the preparation of material for 
 roofing, inasmuch as only those portions of uniform texture 
 and composition lying between the ribbons are suitable for this 
 purpose. For tiling, mantels, billiard tables, etc., the rib¬ 
 bons are not, however, objectionable. 
 
 Prof. Mansfield Merriman, who has given some time to the 
 study of these slates, divides the slate-producing area into (1) 
 the Bangor, (2) the Pen Argyl, (3) the Lehigh, and (4) the 
 Hard-Vein region (see map, pi. XIII), the last being so called 
 because the slates are actually harder than those of the three 
 first named. The vertical thickness of the slate belts is given 
 as nearly 6,000 feet, of which the soft-veined division occupies 
 some 1,500 feet. The beds are folded in a manner often quite 
 confusing and the beds of workable material separated from 
 one another by rock that is worthless. Each bed, or vein, as 
 it is erroneously called by the slate workers, is more or less 
 compound, but possesses on the whole distinctive characters 
 of its own and is designated by some special name. Prof. 
 Merriman describes the output of the various regions as fol¬ 
 lows: 
 
 The Bangor Region .—The slate of this region is soft and 
 tough; when free from ribbons it is generally of high quality 
 and noted for its durability. The ribbons are almost black, 
 while the slate itself is of the usual dark bluish-gray color; the 
 width of the ribbons as shown on a cleaved surface is from i£ 
 to 2 inches. Slates with ribbons on but one end, so that they 
 may be covered when laid on a roof, are classed as second 
 quality; those with ribbons on both ends, as third quality. 
 The material from this region is used, aside from roofing pur¬ 
 poses, for blackboards, school-slates, and mantels. 
 
 The Pen Argyl Region .—The slate of this region is closely 
 similar to that of Bangor, but is, as a rule, not as soft nor 
 tough. The ribbons are black, and almost the entire product 
 
194 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 is used for roofing purposes. The geological position of these 
 slates is at the top of the soft-veined beds, while that of the 
 Bangor slates is at the bottom. 
 
 The Lehigh Region .—This is the largest of the soft-veined 
 slate regions, in area. The slates are similar in character to 
 those of Bangor and Argyl. Besides the roofing-slates, black¬ 
 boards of excellent quality are produced, some of which are 
 6 or 8 feet in length and quite free from ribbons. 
 
 The Hard Vein Region .—This extends from the Delaware 
 to the Lehigh River along the southern side of the slate forma¬ 
 tion, as shown on the map. Both the slate and the ribbons 
 are harder than those of the three regions already described ; 
 the ribbons are also lighter in color and less liable to serious 
 disintegration, so that the quality of the roofing slates is less 
 affected by their presence. The hardness and brittleness of 
 these slates necessitates more care in driving the holes for 
 nailing than in the softer varieties; besides for roofing, these 
 slates are used for steps, flooring, railings, and flagging. The 
 waste from some of the quarries has been utilized in the manu¬ 
 facture of brick. The testing and weathering qualities of 
 these slates, as determined by Prof. Merriman, is described 
 on p. 484. 
 
 The quarries at present worked, beginning with the eastern¬ 
 most, are situated in the various townships in the northern 
 part of Northampton County, and in Washington, Heidelburgh 
 and Lynn townships in Lehigh County. The quarry industry 
 as here pursued has given rise to a number of small villages 
 bearing such suggestive names as Slateford, Slatedale, and 
 Slatington, or Bangor and Penargyl, after their Welsh proto¬ 
 types. No quarries are as yet worked on any of the beds east 
 of the Schuylkill river, though there is no reason for supposing 
 good material may not here be found. The red slate outcrops 
 occurring through the western part of Berks County, and which 
 
THE ARGILLITES: SLATES. 
 
 195 
 
 continue on toward the centre of Cumberland County, are 
 thought by the State geologists to be worthy of investigation, 
 and may yet furnish valuable material. 
 
 South Carolina .—Clay slates are stated* * * § to occur in this 
 State in a broad band extending along the edge of the Tertiary 
 formations from Edgefield County, on the south-west, to Ches¬ 
 terfield, on the north-east. The present writer has seen none 
 of this material nor has he any knowledge regarding its adapt¬ 
 ability for any form of architectural work. 
 
 Tennessee. —A large bed of slate is statedf to have been dis¬ 
 covered on Abrams Creek, some one and a half miles from the 
 Little Tennessee river in Blount County. 
 
 Texas. —Bluish-black slates of a jointed and thinly stratified 
 structure, resembling the surface slates of New Hampshire and 
 Vermont, and promising of great utility, are stated to occur in 
 Llano and Presidio Counties.^ The writer has seen none of 
 these. 
 
 Vermont .—The roofing slates of Vermont are stated by 
 Professor Hitchcock§ to exist in three distinct and nearly par¬ 
 allel belts, occupying the eastern, middle, and western portions 
 of the State. The eastern belt extends from Guilford, one of 
 the most southern towns in the State, to Waterford, and prob¬ 
 ably as far north as Burke, in Caledonia County, where it is cut 
 off by an immense outcrop of granite. The slate of this belt 
 differs from that of the other divisions in presenting a more 
 laminated appearance, resembling closely a mica schist, the 
 cleavage corresponding closely with the lamination, which 
 varies, if at all, but a trifle from the planes of stratification. 
 The stone is represented as of good color, tough, and durable 
 
 * South Carolina, Resources, Population, etc , 16S3, p. 133. 
 
 f Mineral Resources of the United States, 1886, p. 553. 
 
 \ Second Annual Report Geology of Texas, 1876, p. 26. 
 
 § Geology of Vermont, vol. 11, 1861, p. 791. 
 
196 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Besides for roofing purposes it was used largely for tombstones 
 prior to 1830, when marble began to be used in its place. The 
 first quarry opened in this belt is stated by the above authority 
 to have been that of the New England Slate Company, who 
 commenced operations in 1812. At the present time, so far 
 as the author is aware, no quarries whatever are worked in this 
 belt. 
 
 The middle range of slate extends from Lake Memphrema- 
 gog in a southerly course as far as Barnard. The slate found 
 in this differs from that of the eastern belt in that it splits 
 more readily into thin sheets, is not so distinctly laminated, 
 and is more uniform in color, “ being nearly black and appar¬ 
 ently free from the traces of iron oxides.” A single quarry is 
 now in operation in this belt, that of the Adams Slate Com¬ 
 pany, in Northfield, Washington County. 
 
 The western and most important of the slate belts of the 
 State extends from a point near the town of Cornwall, on the 
 north, southward through Castleton, Fairhaven, Poultney, 
 Wells, and Pawlet, and passes into the State of New York at 
 Granville, as already noted. In this slate it is stated “ there is 
 a marked difference between the stratification and cleavage 
 planes, the dip of the latter being greater than the former.” 
 In color the slates of this region are said to closely resemble 
 those of Wales, being of dark purple, with blotches of green, 
 while some of the strata are green throughout.* In some por¬ 
 tions of the formation a red slate occurs, similar to that found 
 across the line in New York State. This variety is not, how¬ 
 ever, now quarried. Though a deep reddish-brown variety is 
 produced at Fairhaven, and some of those from Castleton and 
 Pawlet are of a more reddish than purplish tinge. 
 
 This western area furnishes the most fissile and valuable 
 
 * The fading of some varieties of the green slates has been investigated by 
 Messrs. Dale and Hillebrand, whose results are given on p. 445. 
 
PLATE XV. 
 
 Slate Quarry at West Pawlet, Vermont. 
 
 The view shows a fold in the beds at the bottom and toward the right. (From 19th 
 Ann. Report U. S. Geological Survey.) 
 
 To face Page 196. 
 
THE ARGILLITES: SLATES. 
 
 19 7 
 
 slates of the State, and is very extensively worked. The slate 
 is soft and uniform in texture, and can be readily planed or 
 sawn with a steel circular saw, such as is used in sawing lumber. 
 It is well adapted and extensively used, not only for roofing 
 purposes, but for school slates, slate-pencils, blackboards, table- 
 tops, mantels, etc. It is very extensively marbleized. It is 
 stated by Prof. Hitchcock that the first quarry opened in this 
 region was that of Hon. Alanson Allan, who began the manu¬ 
 facture of school slates at Fairhaven in 1845. The beds are of 
 Cambrian age. 
 
 Virginia .—On Hunt Creek, a tributary of Slate River, in 
 Buckingham County, in this State, there occur extensive de¬ 
 posits of blue-black slate of a quality suitable for a variety of 
 uses, although they are now worked mainly for roofing mater¬ 
 ial. The principal quarries are at or near the towns of Arvonia 
 and Penlan, to the southward. The beds extend up the creek 
 for several miles, the trend being practically parallel with 
 Slate River. 
 
 Another belt of slate occurs near the southeast base of the 
 Blue Ridge, in Amherst and Bedford Counties. The material 
 of this belt is described by Messrs. J. L. and H. D. Camp¬ 
 bell* as occurring in large quantities and as of excellent quality. 
 
 (4) FOREIGN SLATES. 
 
 Canada .—Slates of excellent quality, smooth, homogen¬ 
 eous, and strong, and of green, red, purple, and blue-black 
 colors, occur in Richmond County, in the Province of Quebec. 
 These are now being quarried and are to be found in the prin¬ 
 cipal markets of the United States. The leading quarries, 
 as given by Newberry,f are those of the New Rockland Slate 
 
 * The Virginias, vol. v, 1884, pp. 162-63. 
 f Report of Judges, Centennial Exp. 1876, p. 164. 
 
198 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Company, the Melbourne Slate Company, the Rankin Hill 
 Slate Company, and the Danville School Slate Company.* * * § 
 Slate of good quality is stated | also to occur in New 
 Canaan and on the Middle River of Pictou, in Nova Scotia. 
 
 Great Britain .—The finest roofing slates of Great Britain 
 are stated by Hull} to be derived from the Cambrian and 
 Lower Silurian formations of North Wales. The Cambrian 
 slates are stated to be generally of a green and purple color, 
 while those of the Silurian formations vary from pale gray to 
 nearly black. The stone splits with wonderful facility into 
 very thin sheets, and the quarries are especially favorably 
 situated both for working and for shipment. Material from 
 these sources has been sent to every quarter of the globe, 
 and has been more extensively used for roofing than any 
 other slate now quarried.§ 
 
 LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES. 
 
 (i) CHEMICAL COMPOSITION AND ORIGIN. 
 
 The name limestone as commonly used is made . to 
 include a large and widely varying group of rocks, differing 
 from one another in color, texture, structure and origin and 
 with but the one property in common of consisting essentially 
 of carbonate of lime. A pure limestone should consist only of 
 carbonate of lime. In point of fact, however, none of our nat¬ 
 ural stones are chemically pure, but all contain a greater or less 
 amount of foreign material either chemically combined or as 
 admixed minerals. The more co mmon of these foreign sub- 
 
 * Further details regarding the slate areas of Canada are given in Geology 
 of Canada, 1863, pp. 830, 831. 
 
 t Dawson, Acadian Geology, p. 593 - 
 
 j Op. cit. p. 292. . , 
 
 § For a detailed account of the Welsh slates and the methods of quarrying 
 
 see Davies Slate and Plate Quarrying, Crosby, Lockwood & Co. 
 
'LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES. 
 
 I99 
 
 stances are carbonate of magnesia, carbonates and oxides of 
 iron silica, clay, carbonaceous matter, mica, talc, and minerals 
 of the hornblende or pyroxene groups. The presence of these 
 substances gives rise to a variety of shades and colors among 
 which water-blue, green, yellow, pink, red, and all shades of 
 gray to black are common. The yellow, pink and red colors in 
 such cases are due, as a rule, to iron oxides, while the various 
 shades of blue-gray, gray and black are due to the carbona¬ 
 ceous matter derived from organic remains. The green color of 
 
 some of the Vermont marbles appears to be due to the presence 
 of talc. 
 
 Limestones are ordinarily regarded as originating as chemi¬ 
 cal deposits, or from the consolidation of calcareous remains 
 of marine animals. Many beds, as for instance the Indiana 
 oolites, are products of a combination of these processes. The 
 shells of dead mollusks, corals and crinoids were tumbled about 
 by the waves until ground into grains of calcareous sand, about 
 and around each of which were subsequently deposited from 
 solution the successive coats of lime as shown in Fig. 2 on 
 Plate II. It is very probable that few of our limestones were 
 wholly derived directly from organic remains, but are in part at 
 least chemical deposits. The alternation of beds of snow-white 
 blue-gray, greenish and almost black layers, as in the Vermont 
 quarries may perhaps be best explained on the assumption that 
 the white layers resulted as deposits from solution, while the 
 darker layers are but beds of indurated shell mud and sand 
 colored by the organic impurities they contained at the time 
 they were first laid down. 
 
 Limestones occur in stratified beds among rocks of all 
 geological ages, from the Archaean to the most recent. The 
 majority of those used for building and ornamental work 
 belong either to the Cambrian, Silurian, Devonian, or Carbo- 
 mferous ages. 
 
200 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 ( 2 ) VARIETIES OF LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES. 
 
 The following list includes all the principal varieties of 
 limestone popularly recognized, the distinctions being founded 
 upon their structure, chemical composition, and mode of 
 origin : 
 
 Crystalline limestone. Marble .—A crystalline, granular ag¬ 
 gregate of calcite crystals. The crystals are usually of quite 
 uniform size in the same marble, but often vary widely in those 
 from different localities. The fine grained white varieties 
 which appear like loaf sugar are called saccharoidal. Common 
 statuary marble is a good example of this vaiiety. 
 
 Compact Common Limestone. —A fine-grained compact ag¬ 
 gregate which to the eye often appears quite homogeneous and 
 amorphous. It is rarely pure, but contains admixtures of other 
 minerals, giving rise to many varieties, to which particular 
 names are given. Lithographic Limestone is an extremely fine¬ 
 grained crystalline magnesian limestone, with a small amount 
 of impurities, and of a drab or yellowish hue. Bituminous lime¬ 
 stone contains a varying proportion of bitumen, derived fiom 
 decomposing animal or vegetable matter. Its presence is easily 
 recognized by the odor of petroleum given off when the rock 
 is freshly broken. Hydraulic limestone contains 10 per cent 
 and upward of silica, and usually some alumina. When burned 
 into lime and made into mortar or cement it has the property 
 of setting under water. Oolitic limestones are made up of small 
 rounded concretionary grains that have become cemented to¬ 
 gether to form a solid rock. These little rounded grains ic- 
 semble the roe of a fish ; hence the name, from the Greek word 
 coov, an egg. Where the grains are nearly the size of a pea the 
 rock is called pisolite. 
 
 Travertine , or Calc Sinter , is limestone deposited by run¬ 
 ning streams and springs. It occurs in all gradations of texture 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES. 
 
 201 
 
 from light flaky to a compact rock fit for building. A light 
 porous calc sinter has been deposited by the Mammoth Hot 
 Springs of Yellowstone National Park, some of which is nearly 
 pure carbonate of lime and snowy white in color. Travertine 
 occurs in great abundance at Tivoli, in Italy, from whence it 
 was quarried in building ancient Rome. The exterior of the 
 Amphitheatrum Flavium, or Colosseum, the largest theatre 
 the world has ever known, was of this stone, as was also the 
 more modern structure of St. Peter’s, in the same city.* The 
 Latin name of the stone was lapis Tiburtinus, of which the 
 word travertine is supposed to be a corruption. 
 
 Stalactite and stalagmite are the names given to the deposits 
 of limestone on the roofs and floors of caves. Such are often 
 beautifully crystalline and colored by metallic oxides, giving 
 rise to beautiful marbles, which are incorrectly called onyx, as 
 are also the travertines from which they differ only in method 
 of deposition. (See p. 272.) 
 
 Fossiliferous Limestones. —Many limestones are made up 
 wholly or in part of the fossil remains of marine animals, as is 
 shown in the accompanying figure (p. 202), which is drawn 
 from a magnified section of a limestone of the Cincinnati group 
 from near Hamilton, Ohio. 
 
 In some cases the remains are retained nearly perfect; again 
 the entire fossil may have been replaced by crystalline calcite. 
 In other instances stones are found which are made up only 
 of casts of shells, the original shell material having decayed and 
 disappeared, as in the Eocene limestone from North Carolina. 
 Many of the most beautiful marbles belong to the group of 
 fossil limestones, as, for instance, the red and white variegated 
 Tennessee marbles. Crinoidal limestones are made up of fossil 
 crinoidal fragments. 
 
 * Hull, Building and Ornamental Stones, pp. 279, 281. 
 
202 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Shell limestones or shell sand-rocks as they are called by some 
 authorities, are made up of shells usually much broken, though 
 goiiigtinnes almost entire. T. he well-known coquina from Saint 
 Augustine, Florida, is a good illustration of this variety. Coral 
 
 rock is of the same nature, excepting that it is composed of 
 fragments of corals. Chalk is a fine white limestone composed 
 largely of the minute shells of foraminifera. 
 
 Magnesian Limestones / also called Dolomitic Limestones. 
 Under this head are included those limestones which contain 
 io per cent and upwards of carbonate of magnesia. They 
 may be finely or coarsely crystalline ; light, porous, or com¬ 
 pact ; fossiliferous or non-fossiliferous ; in short, may show all 
 the variations common to ordinary limestones, from which 
 
PLATE XVI. 
 
 To /ace page 202 . 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 
 
 203 
 
 they can usually be distinguished only by chemical tests. Many 
 marbles are magnesian, as will be noticed by reference to the 
 tables. When the carbonate of magnesia in a limestone rises 
 as high as 45.65 per cent the rock is no longer called magnesian 
 limestone, but— 
 
 Dolomite .*—This in its typical form is a crystalline granular 
 aggregate of the mineral dolomite, and is usually whitish or 
 yellowish in color. It can in its typical form be distinguished 
 from limestone by its increased hardness (3.5-4.5) and specific 
 gravity (2.8-2.95). It is also less soluble, being scarcely at all 
 acted on by dilute hydrochloric acid. Dolomite shows all the 
 peculiarities pertaining to limestones, both in color and texture, 
 and a chemical analysis is often required to distinguish between 
 them. The pure white marble from Cockeysville, Maryland, is 
 a dolomite, but by the eye alone can scarcely be distinguished 
 from the white crystalline limestones (marbles) of Vermont. 
 The red-mottled marbles of Malletts Bay, Vermont, are also 
 dolomites, as are the white marbles of Lee, Massachusetts, and 
 Pleasantville, New York. 
 
 In composition there is no essential difference between a 
 limestone or dolomite and what is popularly called a marble, 
 but for convenience sake the subject will be here treated in 
 two parts, the first to include such of this class of^ rocks as are 
 put upon the market as marbles, and the second the rocks of 
 the same composition, but unfit for finer grades of building and 
 ornamental work and known popularly as simply limestones. 
 
 (3) LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES. MARBLES. 
 
 Under the head of marbles, then, are here included all those 
 rocks consisting essentially of carbonate of lime (limestone) or 
 
 *So called after the French geologist, Dolomieu. 
 
204 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 carbonate of lime and magnesia (magnesian limestone and 
 dolomite) that are susceptible of receiving a good polish and 
 are suitable for ornamental work or high-grade construction. 
 
 Alabama .—Beds of marble of great beauty are stated to 
 occur along the Cahawba River in Shelby County of this State. 
 The colors enumerated are gray with red veins, red and yellow, 
 buff with fossils, white crystalline, clouded with red and black. 
 A black variety veined with white occurs on the road from 
 Pralls Ferry to Montevallo and on Six Mile Creek. Other 
 good beds are stated to occur on the Huntsville road about 19 
 miles from Tuscaloosa and at Jonesborough, the latter rock 
 being compact and of a red and white color ; the same strata 
 occurs at Village Springs. On Big Sandy Creek good marbles 
 occur similar to those on the Cahawba.* None of the above 
 are actively quarried, and the writer has had the opportunity 
 of examining but a single specimen, that a small block of fine 
 and even texture, pure white color and excellent quality, said 
 to be from near Talladega. 
 
 Arkansas .—According to Professor Brannerf marbles occur 
 throughout the northern part of this State., They are of Lower 
 Silurian age, and vary in color from red to light pink, mottled 
 and white. The beds are from ten to one hundred or more 
 feet in thickness. They begin in Independence County about 
 twenty miles northeast of Batesville, and cross the State west¬ 
 ward and northward in a belt nearly or quite three miles wide. 
 This belt passes just north of Batesville, north of Mountain 
 View, north of Marshall and on west by way of St. Joe into 
 Boone and Carroll Counties. 
 
 On the banks of some of the streams traversing this region 
 great perpendicular walls of these marble beds are exposed. 
 
 * Geology of Alabama, First Biennial Report, 1849, p. 45. 
 f Stone, Indianapolis, Indiana, Oct. 1880. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES . 
 
 205 
 
 Such exposures occur on White River where the stone might 
 be quarried advantageously and loaded upon boats. These 
 stones can be obtained in blocks as large as can be handled, 
 while their colors make them desirable both for architectural 
 and ornamental purposes. The ease with which they can be 
 quarried and dressed is also in their favor. 
 
 At present railroad facilities for transportation are almost 
 entirely lacking. 
 
 California .—It has been stated that owing to the violent 
 geological agencies that have been in operation since the for¬ 
 mation of the marble deposits in this State the stones are 
 found to be so broken and shattered in nearly every case, that 
 it is impossible to obtain blocks of large size free from cracks 
 and flaws.* The State is nevertheless not lacking in desirable 
 material. 
 
 Near Indian Diggings, in Eldorado County, there occurs a 
 fine-grained white, blue-veined marble that closely resembles 
 the Italian bardiglio, from the Miseglia quarries, but that the 
 groundmass is lighter in color. It has been used only for 
 grave-stones and to but a slight extent at that. In Kern 
 County are deposits of marble of various shades, but all so 
 broken and shattered on the surface as to be very difficult to 
 work. 
 
 Near Colfax, in Placer County, are also beds of a dark blue- 
 gray mottled magnesian limestone that takes a good polish and 
 might be utilized as marble. Other deposits occur in Los 
 Angeles, Monterey, Nevada, Butte, Humboldt, Tuolumne and 
 Plumas Counties. At Colton, in Los Angeles County the 
 marble beds are described by Prof. Jacksonf as affording pure 
 white clouded with gray and grayish black finely mottled with 
 
 * Report of Tenth Census, 1880, vol. x. p. 279. 
 
 f Seventh Annual Report State Mineralogist of California, 1887, P- 212. 
 
206 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 white varieties, the clouded white being the most abundant. 
 This is stated to be a medium grained granular stone, homo¬ 
 geneous in texture quite sound and strong and taking a good 
 polish. Chemical tests show that the stone is composed of a 
 mixture of calcite and dolomite granules. This not only 
 renders the production of a perfect surface and polish more 
 difficult than would otherwise be the case, but will also cause it 
 to weather unevenly (see p. 454). The clouding of the marble 
 and the dark gray colors are here due to scales of graphite. 
 
 At the foot of the Inyo Mountains in Inyo County, about 
 five miles north of the town of Keller, there occurs an extensive 
 bed of dolomite in which within a few years marble quarries 
 have been opened. The strata here are upturned at an angle 
 of 75 0 to 8o° and the beds superficially seamed and cracked to 
 such an extent that large blocks on the immediate surface are 
 unobtainable. Although the quarry openings are as yet shal¬ 
 low the indications are, however, that these defects soon disap¬ 
 pear, and at no great depths sound blocks of any size that can 
 be handled may be obtained.* 
 
 The stone at the various outcrops now exposed is quite 
 variable. At one of .the openings it is pure snow white, fine 
 ■grained and equal in texture to Italian marble, but much harder, 
 firmer and more compact. But a few hundred yards from this 
 is an opening which seems destined to furnish some of the 
 most unique if not beautiful stone thus far produced in 
 America. In texture this is of the same quality as the last, 
 but the white groundmass is injected in every direction with 
 blotches, streaks and finely divided branching and feathery 
 dark brown nearly black dendritic or fern-like markings— 
 presumably caused by oxide of manganese—and which added 
 to occasional blotches of Siena yellow produce an effect that 
 
 * Tenth Annual Report State Mineralogist, 1890. 
 
LIMES TONES AND D OL0MITES : MARBLES. 
 
 20 7 
 
 must be seen to be appreciated. Still a third variety is Siena 
 yellow of varying shades. This last while nearer the true 
 Italian Siena than any now produced, differs in being distinctly 
 granular in texture, and can perhaps be more correctly com¬ 
 pared with the well-known Estremoz, or so-called Lisbon yellow 
 from Alemtejo Province, Portugal. 
 
 A fine grained black marble is also found in the near vicin¬ 
 ity, which, while it does not polish well may answer for floor 
 tiling. 
 
 The Inyo marbles are perhaps among the most promising 
 the west has as yet produced. Chemically they are a very pure 
 dolomite, close grained and compact, and equally well adapted 
 for exterior and interior work. Their superior hardness will 
 cause a greater expense in working than in the eastern or Ital¬ 
 ian marbles, but whether these items will not be more than 
 counterbalanced by cost of transportation the future only can 
 decide. The quarries are on steep hillsides quite devoid of 
 timber or soil, and cost of fuel necessitates the transportation 
 of the rough blocks to Essex, Nevada, a distance of some miles, 
 before they can be sawn. 
 
 Chemical analysis made at the laboratories of the State 
 Mining Bureau yielded 54.25$ carbonate of lime, 44.45$ car¬ 
 bonate of magnesia, and but 0.60$ of iron and silica. Specific 
 gravity 2.80, which is equal to a weight of 179^ pounds per 
 cubic foot. 
 
 Near Plymouth in Amador County there are said to be 
 white and variegated marbles suitable for general building, but 
 of too coarse a grain for decorative work. 
 
 White marble occurs in the mountains near San Jacinto in 
 San Diego County. Good stone is described* as occurring in 
 San Bernardino County, near Slover Mountain. This last has 
 
 * Eighth Annual Report State Mineralogist of California, 1S88, p. 504. 
 
208 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 been worked for the San Bernardino market. Massive arago¬ 
 nite suitable for ornamental work also occurs here. It is de¬ 
 scribed as most beautifully striped and banded in various colors. 
 This and other of the so-called onyx and serpentinous marbles 
 are more fully described elsewhere. 
 
 Colorado .—Few marbles are as yet quarried in this State, but 
 the National collections show a small piece of a black, white- 
 veined breccia from Pitkin that might rival the imported 
 “ Portoro ” from the Monte d’Arma quarries in Italy, if occur¬ 
 ring in sufficient abundance. Concerning the extent and char¬ 
 acter of the formation the author knows nothing. In the 
 marble yards of Denver the author was shown during the sum¬ 
 mer of 1886 a fine chocolate-colored stone, somewhat resemb¬ 
 ling the more uniform colors of Tennessee marble, which was 
 stated to have been brought from near Fort Collins, in Laramie 
 County, where it occurred in great quantities ; also a fair grade 
 of white blue-veined marble from Gunnison County. A beau¬ 
 tiful breccia marble is stated* to occur in abundance a few 
 miles north of Boulder City. 
 
 Prof. Newberry states f that on Yule Creek, a branch of 
 Crystal River, in a series of massive gray Palaeozoic limestones 
 there is a belt of white marble apparently superior in quality 
 to anything found elsewhere in the United States. The mar¬ 
 ble belt is stated as being about 100 feet in thickness, and not 
 less than six miles in length. The prevailing colors are pure 
 white or white slightly clouded with gray. On the east side 
 of the belt some of the layers are of a very beautiful blue or 
 dove color. “ So far as can be judged from exposures, much 
 of this deposit deserves to be classed as statuary marble, and 
 some of it is apparently equal to that taken from the quarries 
 at Carrara, Italy, or the Grecian Parian or Pentellic marbles.” 
 
 * Biennial Report of State Geologists of Colorado, 1880, p. 33. 
 f School of Mines Quarterly, vol. X. No. 1, 1888, p. 71. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 20g< 
 
 Connecticut .—In the northern part of Litchfield County, 
 near the Massachusetts line, in the town of Canaan, East 
 Canaan, and Falls Village, there occur massive beds of a 
 coarsely crystalline white dolomite, which have in years past 
 furnished valuable building marbles, though recently they have 
 been but little worked. The stone is said to weather well and 
 to be obtainable in large blocks eminently suited for building, 
 but like the Lee (Mass.) dolomite it frequently contains crystals 
 of white tremolite, which weather out on exposure. It is 
 therefore not so well suited for finely finished or monumental 
 work. The State-house at Hartford is* the most important 
 structure yet made from this material. 
 
 As elsewhere noted it was at Marble Dale, in the town of 
 Milford in this State, that marble quarrying was first systemat¬ 
 ically undertaken in this country, and at one time (1830) not 
 less than fifteen quarries were in active operation in the vicin¬ 
 ity. So far as can be learned not a single one of these is now 
 being worked. 
 
 Delaware .—No marbles are at present quarried in this 
 State, but a coarse white dolomite is found near Hockessin, 
 New Castle County. This, so far as can be judged from the 
 single specimen examined, might be used for general building, 
 though not well suited for ornamental work. 
 
 Georgia. —The marbles of this State occur in the form of 
 comparatively thin beds of crystalline limestone intercalated 
 in gneisses and micaceous schists of presumably Archaean 
 age. These beds enter the State in the form of two nearly 
 parallel bands in the nortluVest part of Fannin County, ex¬ 
 tending southwesterly toward Gilmer County, and thence in 
 the form of broken and somewhat tortuous bands southward 
 through Pickens into the central part of Cherokee County. 
 
 The beds of Fannin County are fine-grained and of a 
 prevailing white or gray color, often more or less banded 
 
210 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 with black, and carrying accessory mica or hornblende. 
 They have not been as yet sufficiently exploited to dem¬ 
 onstrate their possibilities. The same may be said of those 
 of Gilmer County, though here darker varieties occur and 
 
 also pink. 
 
 The most important and at present best developed of 
 the Georgia marbles are those of Pickens County. The 
 outcrops extend in a general north and south direction 
 across the county, being obscured, excepting where occur¬ 
 ring in the hillsides, by the residuary products of their de¬ 
 cay. The stone is quite coarsely crystalline in texture, 
 often micaceous, and of white to white streaked or blotched 
 with black, gray, and pink colors. On the immediate surface 
 the beds are naturally greatly corroded by atmospheric action, 
 a feature which will presumably disappear as the qua)lies are 
 worked to greater depths. 
 
 As shown in the section, the beds pitch beneath the surface 
 at a considerable angle, such as must shortly take them below 
 the drainage-level, and hence below the level of corrosion as 
 well. Owing to the torsional strains to which the beds have 
 been subjected, the stone in many of the quarries is traversed 
 by numerous sharp, almost knife-like gashes or joints, render¬ 
 ing necessary the rejection of a large amount of material in 
 the work of getting out dimension-stone. The quarries are 
 for the most part located on the hillsides, though sometimes 
 in the valley bottoms. 
 
 These marbles are, as a whole, of very uniform texture 
 and, though coarse, work readily, and acquire an excellent 
 surface and polish. Chemical analyses show them to consist 
 essentially of carbonate of lime with occasional mechanicall} 
 included silicate minerals, iron oxides, and carbonaceous mat¬ 
 ter. Where subjected to purely chemical agencies they will 
 doubtless be found to Weather uniformly, while their coarseness 
 
PLATE XVII. 
 
 Fig. 2—Deep Quarry in Valley Bottom. Pickens Co., Georgia. 
 
 To /ace page 210 , 
 
 Fig. 1.—Hillside Marble Quarry, Pickens Co., Georgia. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMIJES: MARBLES. 
 
 21 I 
 
 of grain gives them an appearance of strength and massiveness 
 which is almost granitic in its effect. They seem in every 
 way admirably adapted for all forms of construction where a 
 lighter color than that of the granites is required. Of late 
 years they have come into very general use. The new State- 
 house at Providence, R. I., and the Corcoran Art Gallery 
 building in Washington, D. C., are among some of the numer¬ 
 ous buildings recently constructed of this material. The 
 adaptability of the stone to interior decorative and polished 
 work is largely a matter of individual taste. 
 
 These same marble beds traced southward into Cherokee 
 County become quite broken and disconnected, and though 
 apparently made up of the same materials as in Pickens Co., 
 have as yet yielded little or nothing. Chocolate-red and 
 brown variegated marbles, highly fossiliferous, occur in a nar¬ 
 row belt in the northwest corner of Whitfield County, the 
 same being a continuation of the famous marbles of Eastern 
 Tennessee. The surface outcrops are greatly corroded, and 
 as yet no quarrying of importance has been undertaken. Dark 
 and variegated marbles have been reported from Floyd, Mur¬ 
 ray, and other counties, but their value remains as yet to be 
 demonstrated. 
 
 Idaho .—Marble sufficient to supply the local demand for 
 cemetery work is stated to be quarried at Spring Basin, Cassia 
 County, in this State. A compact stone consisting of a dark- 
 gray, nearly black ground traversed by a network of broad, 
 irregular, dull yellow lines, and an occasional sharply defined 
 white vein, occurs near Paris, in Bear Lake County. 
 
 Iowa .—The calcareous rocks of Iowa are, as a rule, non¬ 
 crystalline, dull in color, and with few qualities that render 
 them desirable for ornamental purposes. But few of them are 
 pure limestone, but nearly all contain more or less magnesia, 
 
212 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 iron, or clayey matter; very many of them are true dolo¬ 
 mites. 
 
 Near Charles City, in Floyd County, on the banks of Cedar 
 River, are extensive quarries in the Devonian (Hamilton) beds 
 of magnesian limestones, certain strata of which furnish a coral 
 marble at once unique and beautiful. The prevailing color of 
 the stone is light drab, but the abundant fossils vary from yel¬ 
 lowish to deep mahogany brown. These last, which belong 
 to the class of corals called Stromatopora, are very abundant 
 and of all sizes up to 18 inches in diameter. As seen on a pol¬ 
 ished surface imbedded in the fine, drab, non-crystalline paste 
 of the groundmass, they present an appearance totally unlike 
 anything quarried elsewhere in America—an appearance at 
 once grotesque and wonderfully beautiful. The stone admits 
 of a high polish, and would seem excellently adapted for all 
 manner of interior decorations, if obtainable in blocks suffi¬ 
 ciently uniform in texture. A small amount of argillaceous 
 matter and scattering particles of amorphous pyrite, which are 
 occasionally visible, render its adaptability to outdoor work 
 decidedly doubtful. The stone is known commercially as 
 Madrepore marble. A polished slab 2 by 4 feet is in the 
 collections of the National Museum. 
 
 The light yellowish, buff, or brown sub-Carboniferous mag¬ 
 nesian limestone, quarried near Le Grand in Marshall County, 
 also contains massive layers beautifully veined with iron oxide, 
 and which are suitable for ornamental purposes, though it is 
 not considered suitable for monuments and other work subject 
 to continuous exposure. I have not seen samples of this ma¬ 
 terial, though it is well spoken of by White* It is popularly 
 known as Iowa marble. The only other stone which, so far 
 as I am aware, has ever been utilized for ornamental purposes 
 
 Geology of Iowa, vol. 11. p. 313. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 
 
 213 
 
 is the so-called “ Iowa City,” or “ Bird’s-eye marble.” This is 
 nothing more than fossil coral “ (Acervularia Davidsoni) imbed¬ 
 ded in the common Devonian limestone and often perfectly 
 consolidated by carbonate of lime so that it may be polished 
 like ordinary marble. When so polished its appearance is very 
 beautiful, for the whole internal structure of the coral is as well 
 shown as it is in living specimens, and yet it is hard and com¬ 
 pact as real marble.” The stone would be valuable could it 
 be obtained in blocks of large size. Unfortunately it occurs 
 in pieces of but a few pounds’ weight; it is used therefore 
 only for paper-weights, and small ornaments of various 
 kinds. 
 
 Maryland .—The marbles of this State which have been 
 thus far developed sufficiently to demonstrate their economic 
 importance are limited to what is known as the Green Spring 
 Valley, extending east and west at a distance of some 12 to 
 20 miles north of Baltimore, though there are known to exist 
 comparatively small lenses of fine, compact crystalline marble 
 in Carroll and Frederick Counties. Quarries were opened at 
 Cockeysville, in Baltimore County, as early as 1815 for the 
 purpose of obtaining material for the Washington monument 
 in Baltimore. This continues to be the important marble- 
 producing center of the State. The stone is a white dolomite 
 of about medium texture, strong and durable, though some¬ 
 times traversed by dry seams which render the attempt at the 
 production of large monolithic columns a matter of some risk. 
 Nevertheless the 26-foot monoliths used in 1859-61 in the 
 National Capitol were procured from what is now known 
 as the Beaver Dam quarries. The stone as it lies in the 
 quarry-bed is badly jointed and shows the effect of torsional 
 movements, but there is no trouble in procuring blocks of any 
 
214 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 size demanded by ordinary construction. A very coarsely 
 crystalline white limestone, sometimes known as alum marble 
 and now used largely for quicklime and a flux, is exten¬ 
 sively quarried in Texas, a few miles distant. This stone 
 was used in the lower i 50 feet of the Washington monument 
 in the Capital city, but is, on the whole, not well suited for 
 structural purposes. 
 
 Undeveloped quarries in Carroll and Frederick Counties 
 have furnished beautiful samples of variegated marbles of red, 
 salmon, lavender, and pink colors, but the beds are badly 
 jointed, the coloring capricious, and it is doubtful if such can 
 be made to yield more than a very moderate amount of ma¬ 
 terial. Of much greater promise is the coarse calcareous con¬ 
 glomerate of Triassic age, variously known as Potomac, or 
 Calico, marble, or Potomac breccia, which is found at several 
 points along the eastern slope of the Blue Ridge in both Mary¬ 
 land and Virginia and which has been slightly quarried at 
 Point of Rocks in Frederick County. The stone consists of 
 fragments varying from well-rounded to sharply angular, of a 
 white, gray-brown to brilliant red hue imbedded in a fine 
 compact paste, itself of a red or gray-brown color. Naturally 
 a stone of this structure needs careful handling, but the result 
 well justifies expense and labor. The stone was first brought 
 to public notice through its use in the columns in the old Hall 
 of Representatives in the Capitol at Washington. The quarries 
 are easy of access, the quantities practically inexhaustible, 
 and it is well-nigh unaccountable that it has not been more 
 generally used.* 
 
 The same formation occurs in Virginia, near Leesburgh, 
 
 * See “ The Building and Decorative Stones of Maryland,” vol. 11, part n. 
 Reps. Maryland Geological Survey, 1898, for further details. 
 
PLATE XVIII. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 
 
 215 
 
 where the material is used for making lime for fertilizing pur¬ 
 poses. 
 
 Massachusetts .—Crystalline limestones and dolomites of 
 such a character as to assume the name of marble are now or 
 have been in times past quarried in various towns of Berkshire 
 County, in this State. The stones are all white or some 
 shade of gray color, medium fine-grained in texture, and are 
 better adapted for general building than for any form of orna¬ 
 mental work. 
 
 At Egremont there occurs a heavily bedded coarsely crys¬ 
 talline nearly pure white to gray limestone, free from all 
 blemishes, which is admirably adapted for general building pur¬ 
 poses. It was from quarries at this place that was obtained 
 the material for the large Corinthian columns of Girard 
 College in Philadelphia, about 1835. 
 
 Quarries at Lee were opened in 1852, and the stone has 
 been used in the Capitol extension at Washington and the new 
 city buildings in Philadelphia; but little of it has been used for 
 monuments. In the quarries the stone lies very massive, and 
 it is stated cubes 20 feet in diameter could be obtained if nec¬ 
 essary. The Sheffield quarries were opened about 1838. 
 The rock here is massive, with but little jointing. Natural 
 blocks 40 feet square and 3 feet in thickness can be obtained. 
 The Alford stone is used mostly for monumental work, and 
 appears very durable. Much of the marble from these localities 
 contains small crystals of white tremolite which weather out 
 on exposure, leaving the rock with a rough pitted surface. 
 This is very noticeable in the exterior walls of the Capitol 
 at Washington, already noted. 
 
 Michigan .—According to the report of the State geologist 
 for 1901, Archaean marbles are exploited in Dickinson County 
 of this State. The material is described as pure white and 
 
2 16 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 variegated, shading from white to pink, green, gray, and 
 purple, making beautiful slabs for wainscoting and interior 
 
 work. 
 
 Missouri .—The writer has seen but few true marbles from 
 this State, though colored marbles of fine quality equalling the 
 variegated varieties of Tennessee are reported by Professor 
 Broadhead as occurring in Iron, Madison, and Cape Girardeau 
 Counties. The Iron County stone is reported as light drab in 
 color, with buff veins. The outcrop occupies an exposure of 
 several hundred feet of a low bluff on Marble Creek near the 
 cast line adjoining Madison County. The Madison County 
 marble occurs near Fredericktown, and is described as the best¬ 
 appearing marble in the State, both in regard to color and tex¬ 
 ture, the colors being red, peach-blossom, and greenish, beauti¬ 
 fully blended. The stone is represented as very durable, but 
 liable to tarnish on a polished surface when exposed to the 
 weather. The Cape Girardeau stone is represented as of a 
 variety of colors—purple, yellow, red, pink, gray, and greenish 
 all being enumerated ; the supply is unlimited. None of these 
 marbles are at present systematically worked, owing to lack of 
 capital and distance from market. Professor Broadhead further 
 states that few of the marble beds of southeastern Missouri are 
 thick enough to be economically worked, as there would be too 
 large a portion of waste material. 
 
 No pure white crystalline marbles are as yet known to 
 occur within the State limits. Other stones capable of receiv¬ 
 ing a polish and suitable for marble are stated to occur in the 
 counties of Saint Louis, Saint Charles, Warren, Montgomery, 
 Ralls, Calloway, Lincoln, Cooper, Pettis, Cass, Jackson, Living¬ 
 ston, and Clay* 
 
 * See also Bulletin No. i, Missouri Geological Survey, 1890. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 
 
 217 
 
 Montana .—This State as yet quarries no marble of import¬ 
 ance. There were exhibited, however, at the Centennial, in 
 Philadelphia, 1876, and since then in the National Museum at 
 Washington, two samples from Lewis and Clarke County that 
 are worthy of note, since they form the nearest approach to the 
 imported Italian black and gold marble from the Spezzia quar¬ 
 ries of any at present found in America. The rock is very 
 close and compact, of a dark blue-gray color, and traversed by 
 irregular wavy bands of varying width of a dull chrome-yellow 
 color. So far as observed the stone is far inferior in point of 
 beauty to its Italian prototype, and apparently would prove 
 more difficult to work. 
 
 Nevada .—Practically no attempts have as yet been made 
 toward working the marble deposits of this state, and indeed 
 very little is known regarding their extent and qualities. Prof. 
 Newberry* states that in the Tempiute Mountains, in the 
 southeastern part of the State, there are beds of limestone of a 
 great variety of colors and textures, susceptible of a high polish 
 and scarcely inferior in point of beauty to any marble imported 
 from the old world. 
 
 New Jersey .—At one time extensive marble quarries were 
 worked in the outcrops of Devonian limestone at Lower Har¬ 
 mony in Warren County. The stone is of a grayish hue, in 
 places banded owing to alternate lines of light and dark miner¬ 
 als. Nodules of hornblende and steatite are scattered through 
 the rock, and rarely there is pyrite and some graphite. The 
 stone was worked mai ly for the Pennsylvania market. 
 
 A very beautiful stone known commercially as the “ Rose 
 Crystal Marble” has been quarried on a subordinate ridge of 
 the Jenny Jump Mountain range in this county, at the corner 
 of the Hope and Danville road, and the road running north¬ 
 ward along the Great Meadows. 
 
 * School of Mines Quarterly, No. I, vol. x. 1888, p. 70. 
 
218 stones foe building and decoration. 
 
 The stone consists mainly of large white, flesh pink, and 
 rose colored crystals of calcite interspersed with black mica, a 
 green pyroxene and occasional black tourmalines. 
 
 Its texture is such that it must be handled with some care, 
 but it polishes well and makes a beautiful ornamental stone for 
 interior work. It is said to have been obtainable in blocks 
 8x3x2 feet without seams or flaws.* The fact that the quarries 
 were situated seven miles from the nearest railroad may account 
 in part for its being no longer worked, but it is a great pity 
 that so beautiful a stone should not be utilized. 
 
 New York .—The belts of Archaean dolomite which lie to the 
 north of New York City and cross the State in a northeasterly 
 direction furnish a very fair quality of white and gray marbles 
 that have at various times been quiet extensively utilized. Of 
 these belts, one reaches New York Island, crossing the Har¬ 
 lem River at Kings’ Bridge ; another outcrops on the Sound 
 near New Rochelle; others still strike the Hudson above New 
 York, at Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, Sing Sing, etc. Several of 
 these beds furnish good marbles for building stone, gray, blue, 
 or white, but none that is fine for decorative purposes. The best 
 marbles yet obtained from the series of deposits are those of 
 Tuckahoe and Pleasantville in Westchester County. The 
 Tuckahoe marble is pure white in color, and coarser than those 
 of New England in general, noticed elsewhere. It is somewhat 
 irregular in quality, but the better grades are highly esteemed 
 for architectural purposes, and have been used in some of the 
 finest buildings in New YorkCity. By exposure to the impure, 
 atmosphere of the city, its color changes to a light gray. This 
 is apparently due to its coarseness of texture, which gives a 
 roughness to the surface, and causes the smoke*and dust to ad¬ 
 here to it more closely than they would to a finer stone. 
 
 * Annual Report State Geologist of New Jersey, 1872. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES . 
 
 219 
 
 The dolomite belt in which the Pleasantville marble quar¬ 
 ries are situated is one of the broadest known, being more than 
 half a mile wide. It consists chiefly of beds of impure dolo¬ 
 mite, white or banded, which contain too much siliceous matter 
 to be available for building or ornamental purposes, with some 
 layers, often of a considerable thickness, of pure white marble, 
 in part similar to that of Tuckahoe, and partly still more coarse¬ 
 ly crystalline. These beds are more or less interstratified with 
 layers of granite or gneiss, the whole series standing nearly on 
 edge. The belt which furnishes the snowflake marble is about 
 one hundred feet wdde, standing vertical, and consists through¬ 
 out of pure white dolomite, almost without cloud or stain, and 
 with no foreign matter.* 
 
 On account of its coarseness this stone is not well adapted 
 for carved work or for use in long columns. The Tuckahoe 
 stone is not quite so coarse in texture and has been more exten¬ 
 sively employed for building purposes. At Sing Sing and Do¬ 
 ver Plains are other quarries of rather coarse white dolomite 
 marble, but which are not extensively worked. 
 
 A very coarsely crystalline light-gray magnesian limestone 
 of Archaean age occurs at Gouverneur, in St. Lawrence County. 
 Although too coarse for carved work it answers well for mas¬ 
 sive structures, and, as it acquires a good surface and polish, is 
 used largely for monuments as well as for building and for or¬ 
 namental work. It is believed to be durable, since gravestones 
 in the vicinity which have been set upwards of seventy years 
 still present clean and uniform surfaces, and are free from 
 lichens and discolorations of any kind. 
 
 Two excellent varieties of colored marbles occur in the 
 Lower Silurian formation at Plattsburgh and Chazy, in Clinton 
 County, in this State, and which are commercially known as 
 
 * Newberry, Report of Judges, vol. hi. International Exposition, 1876. 
 
220 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 “Lepanto”* and French gray. The first consists of a close 
 fine-grained gray groundmass with pink and white fossil re¬ 
 mains, which are evidently crinoidal. The second is more uni¬ 
 formly gray and bears larger fossils. It is an excellent stone, 
 and, with perhaps the exception of those of Tennessee, has 
 been used more extensively for mantels, table tops, tiling, and 
 general interior decorative work than any other of our marbles. 
 
 At Glens Falls, on the Hudson River, occurs an extensive 
 deposit of dark blue-black magnesian limestone, certain strata 
 of which furnish the finest varieties of black marble at present 
 quarried in this country. The stone is very fine-grained and 
 compact, and, when polished, of a deep, lustrous black color, 
 though the uniformity of the surface is sometimes broken by 
 the presence of a small white fossil. A two-foot cube of this 
 stone is in the National collections. The finest quality of this 
 marble occurs in a single stratum some 12 feet in thickness. 
 The poorer qualities are burned for lime, of which they furnish 
 material of exceptional purity. Black marble is also quarried 
 to some extent at Willsborough, in Essex County. At Port 
 Henry, in this same county, there is quarried a green and 
 white speckled marbled, composed of an intimate mixture of 
 serpentine, calcite, and dolomite that has been used for interior 
 decorative work. The stone has been noticed more fully under 
 the head of serpentine. 
 
 At Lockport there occurs a soft gray crinoidal Upper Silu¬ 
 rian limestone in which the fossils are frequently of a pink or 
 bluish opalescent color. It has been used to some extent for 
 mantels and other ornamental purposes.! 
 
 * The Lepanto marble is figured in PI. xxxn. of the Census Report, where 
 it's wrongly set down as from Isle La Motte, Vermont. 
 
 f J. S. Newberry in report on building and ornamental stones, vol. III. 
 International Exhibition Reports, p. 158. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MA DELES. 
 
 221 
 
 In the town of Warwick, in Orange County, there is found 
 a beautiful, coarsely crystalline marble of a carmine-red color, 
 sometimes slightly mottled or veined with white. But little 
 of it has been used and the supply is reported as small. 
 
 North Carolina .—Although until recently no quarries of 
 marble have been worked to any extent in this State, there 
 occur within its limits numerous deposits of most excellent 
 material that only require enterprise and capital to bring to a 
 ready market. One of the most important of these is near 
 Red Marble Gap, in Macon County. The rock is a beautiful 
 bright flesh pink, sometimes blotched or striped with blue and 
 yellow. The texture is fine and even, and it acquires an ex¬ 
 cellent surface and polish. The stone is stated by Professor 
 Kerr to occur in the side of the mountain in cliffs 150 feet or 
 more in height, and blocks of almost any size can be obtained. 
 It is quite different from anything now in the market, and 
 would doubtless find a ready sale if once introduced. Other 
 marbles of white or blue-gray color occur in Murphy, and 
 Valley Town, Cherokee County; Warren Springs, Madison 
 County, and near Marion, in McDowell County. Lack of 
 transportation facilities at present is a serious drawback to the 
 introduction of any of these into our principal markets. The 
 McDowell County deposit is stated by Lewis * to extend over 
 an area of several hundred acres, the beds dipping about 45 0 
 in a southeasterly direction. The stone is described as a com¬ 
 pact, fine-grained dolomite, of a prevailing white, but some¬ 
 times blue color. An analysis of this and other of the North 
 Carolina marbles is given in the tables on p. 513. Marbles are 
 exposed along both sides of the Nantahala River both above 
 and below Hewitt’s Station on the Western North Carolina 
 
 1st Bien. Rep. State Geologist of N. C., 1893. 
 
222 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Railroad. The stone here varies in color from nearly white to 
 flesh pink ; deep-blue gray varieties also occur. It is fine¬ 
 grained and compact, but has not as yet found its way into the 
 general market, though extensive preparations were made, 
 some years ago, for working it on a large scale. In Cherokee 
 County there are two or more belts extending in a general 
 northeasterly course, by way of Murphy and up the Valley 
 River to the Red Marble Gap. Another belt, lying to the 
 east, crosses the Hiawassee River at Brasstown. The stone at 
 this immediate locality is represented as nearly white in color 
 and of fairly uniform texture. 
 
 Pennsylvania .—The belt of Lower Silurian limestone that 
 extends from Sadsbury and Townships, in Lancaster County, 
 in a general easterly direction through Chester County, 
 and through the western half of Montgomery County, in¬ 
 cludes within its area the only quarries of merchantable marble 
 at present worked within the State limits. According to Pro¬ 
 fessor Rogers* this belt forms the bed of a narrow valley some 
 58 miles in total length, extending from near Abington, in 
 Montgomery County, to the source of Big Beaver Creek, in 
 Lancaster County. The prevailing colors of the stone through¬ 
 out the larger portion of this area are yellowish or bluish, and 
 it is, as a consequence, suitable only for making quicklime or for 
 ordinary rough building purposes. On the southern side of 
 the valley, however, between Brandywine and Wissahickon 
 Creeks, the stone has become highly metamorphosed and con¬ 
 verted into a crystalline granular marble, white or some shade 
 of blue in color, though often variously veined or mottled. All 
 the quarries as yet opened are situated in Montgomery County, 
 on the steeply upturned or overturned edges of the outcrops 
 
 Report of First Geological Survey of Pennsylvania, vol. 1. p. 211. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MATELES. 
 
 223 
 
 / 
 
 7 
 
 within half a mile of the southern edge of the formation be¬ 
 tween Marble Hall and the Chester County line. 
 
 It is stated that quarries were first opened here about the 
 time of the Revolutionary war, and that up to 1840 this stone 
 was the favorite and almost only material used in the better 
 class of stone buildings in and about Philadelphia. At about 
 the latter date increased facilities for transportation brought 
 the better varieties of eastern marbles arid other stones into 
 competition with it and its use has as a consequence consider¬ 
 ably diminished. Among the important buildings constructed 
 of the stone during its popularity were the United States Cus¬ 
 tom-house and Mint, the Naval Asylum and Girard College, 
 while the seemingly endless rows of red brick houses with 
 white marble steps, door and window trimmings, are even now 
 as characteristic of Philadelphia as are the brown-stone fronts 
 of New York City. The sarcophagi for General and Martha 
 Washington, at Mount Vernon, are also of this material. 
 
 While the Montgomery County stone has shown itself to 
 be very durable, in point of beauty it falls far short of the 
 marbles from the more Eastern States, and hence its use for 
 any form of ornamental work has almost entirely ceased. 
 There were, however, on exhibition at the Philadelphia Ex¬ 
 position of 1876 (and since then transferred to the National 
 Museum) samples of this limestone from along the Lebanon 
 Branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, some of 
 which gave promise of great utility. These are very fine¬ 
 grained and compact, of a drab or bluish color on a polished 
 surface, and traversed by wavy and very irregularly anasto¬ 
 mosing, nearly black lines. They seem in every way ad¬ 
 mirably adapted for decorative work. Newberry states* that 
 
 Op. cit. pp. 138, 139. 
 
224 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 a fine variety of black marble occurs in or near Williarrrsport, 
 Lycoming County. A black limestone that takes a fine polish 
 and appears well suited for interior work is stated also to occur 
 near the east end of Mosquito Valley, in the same county. 
 For exterior work it is stated to be unsuited, as it splinters up 
 badly on exposure. 
 
 Within a few years quarries have been opened at Avon¬ 
 dale, in Chester County, which are producing a high grade of 
 white dolomitic marble scarcely distinguishable from that of 
 Cockeysville, Md., and evidently equally well adapted for 
 building purposes. The stone is stated to be capable of bear¬ 
 ing a pressure of 22,500 lbs. to the square inch. 
 
 South Dakota .—According to the reports of the State 
 geologist beds of marble interbedded with Algonkian schists 
 occur some four or five miles northeast of Custer, in the Black 
 Hills region. The stone is described as varying from pure 
 white and fine-grained to coarsely mottled, with thinner layers 
 of white, beautifully speckled with light and dark green due 
 to particles of surpentine. Chemically, the stone is a dolomite. 
 It has as yet been but little quarried, though extensive prep¬ 
 arations have been made for an early development. 
 
 Tennessee .—Reference to a geological map of Eastern 
 Tennessee shows a broad band of Trenton limestone extend¬ 
 ing quite across the State in a northeasterly and southwesterly 
 direction, bounded upon the east by the Unaka Mountains 
 and on the west by the Cumberland Table-lands. The 
 Trenton, in fact, underlies the entire region commonly known 
 as the Valley of East Tennessee. Though all belonging to 
 the Trenton terranes, the limestones throughout the belt are 
 by no means uniform in composition, nor regular in structure 
 and arrangement. Referred to their original horizontal posi¬ 
 tion, the various beds in the entire series lie as follows. 
 
PLATE XIX. 
 
 Map of Marble Region 
 about Knoxville, Tenn. 
 
 [The heavy dark lines in¬ 
 dicate the marble beds.] 
 
 W 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 lo fare page 225. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 
 
 225 
 
 beginning with the lowest: (1) Blue limestone with many 
 fossils, 200 to 600 feet in thickness; (2) chocolate-red, pink, 
 and variegated and highly fossiliferous limestone (marble), 380 
 feet in thickness; (3) blue shale, 400 feet in thickness; and 
 (4) the so-called iron limestone, 250 feet in thickness. 
 
 Although now discontinuous, the marble beds, according 
 to State Geologist Safford, once covered a long area, reaching 
 from the northern part of McMinn County to the Virginia line 
 north of Rogersville, an area some 120 miles in length by 20 
 miles in width. Before the Appalachian chain assumed its 
 maximum elevation they formed the bottom of shallow seas, 
 where lived and died the multitude of corals and crinoids 
 whose calcareous remains constitute so large a bulk of the 
 stone, and so beautifully diversify it. But the forces which 
 gave birth to this mountain system threw the beds into a 
 series of folds the main axes of which run parallel to the 
 mountain system; to the heat and pressure incident to this 
 folding we owe the crystalline structure and general meta¬ 
 morphism, whereby the stone assumed the physical qualities 
 essential to its use for decorative work. Subsequent erosion 
 has cut down the tops of these folds, leaving the remnant beds 
 sometimes steeply inclined and often badly shattered and 
 decomposed. 
 
 An idea of the position of the marble beds as they appear 
 in Knox and Blount Counties may be gained from the 
 accompanying map, compiled from data obtained by the 
 United States Geological Survey.* As will be perceived, the 
 marble areas,, represented on the map by the heavy dark lines, 
 are comparatively narrow, greatly elongated in a northeast and 
 southwest direction, and often very sinuous. They reach their 
 
 * See Stone, Indianapolis, Ind., Nov. 1892. 
 
226 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 maximum width, that is to say, thickness in this particular 
 case, in the region adjoining and to the southwest of Knox¬ 
 ville. As is usually the case, but a small portion of the beds 
 here shown are capable of yielding merchantable marble. 
 This for a variety of reasons, prominent among which are the 
 facts that (i) the original character of the sediments was not 
 uniform over the entire area, and not all of such a character 
 as to yield stone of good quality on metamorphism; (2) the 
 beds were not infrequently badly shattered during the upturn¬ 
 ing, whereby the production of sound blocks of merchantable 
 size is rendered impossible; (3) the beds are not infrequently 
 too deeply covered with worthless debris, whereby the work 
 of stripping is rendered excessively costly; and (4) terrestrial 
 waters have in many cases dissolved out portions of the stone 
 along lines of weakness and fracture, leaving the sound 
 material behind, not in continuous beds, but only in rounded 
 bowlder-like masses. Indeed this last-named condition of 
 affairs is peculiarly characteristic of the region, and to it is 
 due the too-prevalent impression that the Tennessee marbles 
 are not to be found in solid beds at all. It is scarcely neces¬ 
 sary to remark that such a view is wholly erroneous, though 
 that the idea should have originated is little to be wondered 
 at when one observes the natural outcrops of the stone and 
 the superficial way in which in many instances it has been 
 quarried. 
 
 The character of the beds varies greatly throughout the area. 
 In places they lie nearly horizontally, or again dip at varying 
 angles up to 20°. Sometimes the sheets are continuous or 
 again disconnected, as noted above, having been originally 
 continuous, but now separated by joints which percolating 
 waters have widened into fissures, these last being often 
 filled with a red, tenacious clay, the insoluble residual con- 
 
PLATE XX. 
 
 Matched Slabs of Marble from the Coral Reef Quarry, Blount 
 Co., Tenn. [From Stone , Chicago, Ill.] 
 
 To face page 227. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 
 
 227 
 
 stituent of the stone, and which, aside from being a nui¬ 
 sance, involves a considerable outlay in its removal. It 
 is obvious that where the beds dip beneath the surface their 
 character, as regards soundness, is likely to improve. The 
 corrosion by solution to which they have been subjected is 
 due to surface-waters, and must quite disappear below the 
 water-level. It does not necessarily follow, however, that 
 individual blocks will be sounder, since the percolating waters, 
 in their work of destruction, only followed out lines of weak¬ 
 ness, the “ checks ” and flaws by which the stone was 
 traversed. It is always the soundest portion of a bed that is 
 left, and indeed were it not for its extreme wastefulness this 
 natural method of quarrying, which results in what might well 
 be called a “ survival of the fittest,” could scarcely be con¬ 
 sidered a drawback. 
 
 In color the Tennessee marbles are variable.. That first 
 brought into notice was a highly fossiliferous dark chocolate 
 stone variegated with white. To many persons this is still 
 the only “ Tennessee marble.” Beautiful as are many of 
 the varieties, with the chocolate or even red groundmass, 
 often variegated with large white fossils (Orthocera), they are 
 by no means the only, nor at present the most sought, marbles 
 of the region. Just now the demand is more for a uniformly 
 warm, bright-tinted stone that may be used for interior 
 decoration where the chocolate variety is too dark or too 
 sombre. Such a stone is found in the granular gray and pink 
 beds immediately underlying the fossiliferous variety. These 
 are the beds that are now receiving the greatest amount of 
 attention. Slabs ten by four feet, or six feet square, are 
 readily obtained, free from all flaws and blemishes, giving over 
 every inch of surface a finish like enamel, and requiring no 
 filling whatever. All the Tennessee marbles will cut to a 
 
228 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 sharp edge and acquire a beautiful and lasting polish not 
 excelled and rarely equalled by any foreign or domestic 
 marbles. Of foreign marbles, so far as the writer is aware, 
 they have no exact counterpart, but perhaps resemble the 
 Rosso de Levanto from Spezia, or the Persian fiorto, more 
 closely than any other that can be mentioned. 
 
 Besides the localities above mentioned, colored marbles 
 occur in the following counties in this part of the State: 
 Hancock, Grainger, Jefferson, Roane, Monroe, McMinn, 
 and Bradley; some also occur in Meigs, Anderson, Union, 
 and Campbell Counties. The Hawkins County marble is part 
 of a comparatively short belt of Trenton and Nashville rocks 
 lying west of Rogersville. It is some 16 or 17 miles long, and 
 from 50 to 300 feet in thickness. The supply is therefore 
 practically unlimited and inexhaustible. The best variety of 
 the stone is used only for ornamental work, owing to its high 
 price, being valued at from $2 to $3 per cubic foot delivered 
 at the nearest railway station. 
 
 The Knox County quarries are mostly situated within a few 
 miles of the city of Knoxville. According to Dr. Safford the 
 entire thickness of the marble bed here is some 300 feet, the 
 different layers of which vary from chocolate red and white 
 variegated varieties through grayish white, pinkish, and more 
 rarely greenish colors. The most esteemed variety has when 
 polished, a brownish red color, with white spots and clouds, due 
 to fossil corals and crinoids. The grayish white variety, which 
 is the nearest approach to a truly white marble of any now 
 found in the State, is greatly esteemed for tombstones, monu¬ 
 ments, tiling, etc., and is said to be very durable, tombstones 
 which have been exposed for upward of thirty years showing 
 no signs of disintegration or wear. Both the Hawkins County 
 and Knox County stones are very strong and heavy, weighing 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 
 
 229 
 
 about 180 pounds per cubic foot, which is some 14 pounds 
 heavier than granite. Quite similar variegated marbles are 
 said to occur in many of the counties of the Cumberland table¬ 
 land, as in Franklin County, on the Elk River and at the Oil 
 Springs, on Leipor s Creek, in Maury County. Some of the 
 marbles of this latter place have a grayish groundmass, with 
 fleecy clouds of red and green.* 
 
 A beautiful olive-green fossiliferous marble is also found in 
 the eleventh district of Davidson County, though the extent of 
 the deposit is not known by the writer. Near Calhoun, in 
 McMinn County, just south of the Chilhowee Mountain, occur 
 breccia marbles of exceptional beauty, of pink and olive green 
 colors. One quite unique stone from this locality is composed 
 of a grayish-ground mass, with large rounded and angular frag¬ 
 ments of a lemon-yellow color. These same marbles also occur 
 ^ Greene, Cocke, Sevier, and all counties of the Unaka range, 
 but they are not much worked, on account of the hardness of 
 the included fragments.f 
 
 Dove-colored marbles are stated by the same authority to 
 occur a few miles south of Manchester, Coffee County, and in 
 Wilson and Davidson Counties. Dark limestones, almost black 
 when polished, and often traversed by veins of calcite, forming 
 a good black marble, are not uncommon. Such occur in the 
 vicinity of Jonesborough, Washington County; at Greeneville 
 and Newport, Cocke County ; on the Pigeons, in Sevier County; 
 and also in McMinn and Polk Counties. They are at present 
 but little used. 
 
 Colored marbles are also said to occur in the Western 
 Tennessee Valley. These, though somewhat inferior in point of 
 
 * Tennessee and its Agricultural and Mineral Wealth, by J. B. Killebrew, 
 page 149. 
 
 f Geology of Tennessee, p. 221. 
 
t 
 
 23O STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 beauty to those of the East Valley, are still valuable stones. 
 Perry, Decatur, Wayne, and Hardin Counties are mentioned 
 as offering the best facilities. On Shoal Creek, in Lawrence 
 County, are said to be beds of fawn-colored or brownish-red 
 j-ruirtfies, some 40 feet in thickness and extending on both sides 
 of the creek for a distance of fifteen miles. The stone is often 
 variegated by fleecy clouds of green or red, green and white 
 colors. Owing to lack of transportation facilities it is not now 
 in the market. In Wilson and Davidson Counties other beds 
 of bluish or dove-colored marble occur, and in Rutherford 
 County is a bed of pale yellow marble with serpentine veins of 
 red and black dots. The extent of the deposit is not known, 
 and at present the stone is seen only in the form of small ob¬ 
 jects for paper-weights and curiosities. 
 
 Marble quarrying in East Tennessee began in 1838, with 
 the organization of the Rogersville Marble Company, with 
 headquarters and works at Rogersville, in Hawkins County. 
 The stone was first brought prominently to public attention 
 by its adoption for the interior decoration of the United 
 States Capitol building at Washington. Stone for this pur¬ 
 pose was obtained from quarries opened by the government 
 at a point some nine miles southwest of Rogersville, on the 
 banks of the Holston River. For many years nearly the 
 entire supply of the so-called “Tennessee marbles” was 
 drawn from quarries in this vicinity, but of late years, owing 
 to the more easy accessibility of the stone in Knox and Blount 
 Counties, together with a growing demand for the pink 
 granular over the variegated varieties, there has been a 
 decided change, and the quarries of Hawkins County produce 
 but a relativelv small proportion of the entire output. 
 
 Texas. _The resources of this State are as yet but little 
 
 known. There are on exhibition in the National Museum at 
 Washington several samples of compact, light-covered Creta- 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 
 
 ■ 231 
 
 ceous limestones, from the vicinity of Austin, Travis County, 
 a few of which are of such quality as to be used as marbles. 
 There was on exhibition at the New Orleans Exposition in 
 1S84 8 5 ^ rnaible fire-place and mantel of Austin marble that 
 was worthy of more than passing notice. The stone was com¬ 
 pact, very light drab in color, and interspersed with large fossil 
 shells and transparent calcite crystal. This composition would 
 render some care necessary in cutting, but the final result 
 would seem to justify the outlay. Other marbles from Burnet 
 and vicinity present a variety of colors, some of which are very 
 pleasing. They range from blue-gray and distinctly crystalline 
 to very fine and compact forms, designated as “ mahogany- 
 red,” “ red and white,” “ purple variegated,” etc. The & ma¬ 
 hogany-red is dull in color, and traversed by a net-work 
 of lighter lines. It is too hard and brittle to work economic¬ 
 ally. The most promising variety is the purple variegated. 
 This piesents an extremely compact base of a grayish, or 
 light lavender-tint, which is traversed by fine, irregular lines 
 of a red and purple color. The stone acquires an excellent 
 surface and polish, but is so hard as to work with creat 
 difficulty. 
 
 Utah .—A yellowish white crystalline limestone, that can 
 scarcely be called a marble, occurs near Payson, in this Terri¬ 
 tory, and a compact nearly black stone, interspersed with nu¬ 
 merous white fossil shells, in the San Pete Valley. Neither 
 stone can lay any claim to beauty, though possibly the last 
 mentioned might be made to do as marble under certain cir¬ 
 cumstances. 
 
 Vermont. Since this is the leading marble-producing State 
 of the Union a brief description of the chief geological features 
 of the marble formations may not be out of place here. Ac¬ 
 cording to Professor Brainard* this formation extends along 
 
 The Maible Border of Western New England, p. y. 
 
232 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 the western borders of the States of Connecticut, Massachu¬ 
 setts, and Vermont, between the Green Mountain elevation, 
 which extends from the Canada line nearly to Long Island 
 Sound, and the intermittent Taconic Mountains, which extend 
 south of Lake Champlain, and in places admit the marble 
 veins within the border of New York. Of these immense for¬ 
 mations, which are from 1,000 to 2,000 feet in thickness, the 
 lower portion, known to geologists as the Calciferous (300 to 
 400 feet in thickness), is for the most part siliceous, partaking 
 of the nature of the sandrock that underlies it. The upper 
 portion, known as the Trenton (500 to 600 feet in thickness), 
 is impure from the presence of clayey matter, partaking of the 
 nature of the slate formation that overlies it. Only certain 
 layers of the middle portions seem to have been fitted by their 
 original constitution for the production of marble. 
 
 The limits of the formation may be best understood by 
 reference to the accompanying map (Plate xxi), redrawn from 
 Professor Brainard’s report.* 
 
 Professor Hitchcockf conveniently divides the marbles of 
 this State into four groups or classes: (1) the common white 
 and bluish or Eolian marble, so called from its occurring 
 extensively on Mount Eolus; (2) the Winooski; (3) the varie¬ 
 gated of Plymouth, and (4) the dark, almost black, of Isle La 
 Motte. We will consider these in the order here given. 
 
 The beds of the Eolian variety as described by Prof. Hitch¬ 
 cock are not restricted to one locality, but are distributed over 
 a large portion of western Vermont, the formation in which it 
 occurs extending the entire length of the State, and usually 
 interstratified with siliceous and magnesian limestones. The 
 strata vary in thickness from a few inches to 6 or 8 feet, the 
 
 * By permission of the Middlebury Historical Society, 
 f Geology of Vermont, vol. u. p. 752. 
 
PLATE XXII. 
 
 The Marble Region of 
 [The marble is indicated 
 
 Western New England. 
 as limestone on the map.] 
 
 To face page 732 . 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 
 
 233 
 
 thickest beds being usually found where the marble is course¬ 
 grained and friable. 
 
 In texture this variety of the stone is as a rule fine-grained, 
 and often saccharoidal, though less so than the Italian marbles. 
 In color it varies from pure snowy white through all shades of 
 bluish, and sometimes greenish, often beautifully mottled and 
 veined, to deep blue black, the bluish and dark varieties being 
 as a rule the finest and most durable. Many quarries have 
 first and last been opened along this belt, and the industry has 
 added materially to the prosperity of the towns here situated. 
 Among those towns in which the quarry industry has been par¬ 
 ticularly active may be mentioned (beginning with the southern¬ 
 most), Dorset, and East Dorset, Wallingford, West Rutland, 
 Sutherland Falls (Proctor), Pittsford, Brandon, and Middlebury. 
 As a rule the best marbles are said to occur where the beds or 
 strata stand at a high angle, as at West Rutland. 
 
 The quarries in Dorset are mostly situated upon the sides 
 of Mount Eolus, or Dorset Mountain, as it is also called, a sec¬ 
 tion of which, after Hitchcock, is here given. 
 
 The thickness of the slaty cap 
 rock is estimated at 498 feet, and the 
 various beds of limestone below at 
 1,970 feet. Although but a small 
 portion of this is suitable for quarry¬ 
 ing, still the supply is readily seen to 
 be inexhaustible. The prevailing 
 colors of the stone, as at Rutland, are white and bluish, vari¬ 
 ously mottled and veined. According to Professor Seely, the 
 first quarry opened in Dorset was by Isaac Underhill, in 1785, 
 the stone being used chiefly for fire-jambs, chimney-backs, etc. 
 The first marble grave-stones ever furnished here were the work 
 of Jonas Stewart, in 1790. 
 
 From Dorset the beds thin out toward the north, the more 
 
234 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 northerly beds, though thinner, usually furnishing the finer 
 grained and more compact stone. 
 
 The marble strata in Rutland and Addison Counties appear 
 in two parallel lines about 2 miles apart, stretching from the 
 north line of Middlebury to the south line of Rutland, and are 
 from ioo to 200 feet in thickness. These strata are not how¬ 
 ever homogeneous throughout, but as seen in the quarry open¬ 
 ings the stone occurs in beds usually but a few feet in thickness 
 which vary considerably in color, so that several grades, from 
 pure white through greenish, bluish, and almost black, may be 
 taken from the same quarry. 
 
 Professor Hitchcock gives the following figures relative to 
 the marble-beds at one of the West Rutland quarries, begin¬ 
 ning at the eastern side or top layer: 
 
 1. Upper blue layer, 4 feet thick. 
 
 2. Upper white layer, 3 feet 6 inches 
 
 thick. 
 
 3. Gray limestone layer, 5 feet thick. 
 
 4. White statuary layer, 3 feet thick. 
 
 5. Striped layer, 1 foot 8 inches thick. 
 
 6. New white layer, 4 feet thick. 
 
 The quarries themselves at this village lie along the western 
 base of a low range of hills, which, to the ordinary observer, 
 give no sign of the vast wealth of material concealed beneath 
 their gray and uninteresting exteriors. In’ quarrying, the best 
 beds are selected, and upon their upturned edges excavation is 
 commenced, first by blasting, to remove the weathered and 
 worthless material, and afterward by channeling, drilling, and 
 wedging ; no powder being used lest the fine massive blocks 
 become shattered and unfit for use. The quarry thus descends 
 in the form of a rectangular pit, with almost perpendicular, 
 often overhanging, walls, to a depth of sometimes more than 
 300 feet, when the beds are found to curve to the eastward and 
 pass under the hill, becoming thus more nearly horizontal ; in 
 
 Wedged white layer, from 8 
 inches 2 feet 6 inches thick. 
 
 8. Muddy layer, 4 feet thick, 
 g. Striped green layer, 4 feet thick. 
 
 10. Camphor-gum layer, 3 feet thick. 
 
 11. White layer, 9 feet thick. 
 
 12. Blue layer, 3 feet 6 inches. 
 
Interior. View of Marble Quarry at West Rutland, Vermont. 
 
 PLATE XXIII. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MA TELES. 
 
 235 
 
 following these the quarry assumes the appearance of a vast 
 cavern from whose smoke-blackened, gaping mouths one would 
 little suppose could be drawn the huge blocks of snow-white 
 material lying in gigantic piles in the near vicinity (see Plates 
 I and XXIII). Some of the quarries have been partially roofed 
 over to protect them from snow and rain, and seem like mines 
 rather than quarries. The scant daylight at the bottom is 
 scarce sufficient to guide the quarryman in his work. As one 
 peers cautiously over the edge into the black and seemingly 
 bottomless abyss, naught but darkness and ascending smoke 
 and steam are visible, while his astonished ears are filled with 
 such an unearthly clamor of quarrying machines, the puffing of 
 engines, and the shouts of laborers, as is comparable with 
 nothing within the range of our limited experience, and the 
 reader is at liberty to make his own comparisons. 
 
 The stone taken from the quarries is worked up in the 
 companies’ shops in the immediate vicinity or shipped in the 
 rough as occasion demands. The supply is used for monu¬ 
 mental, decorative, or statuary work and general building. 
 
 At Sutherland Falls* the stone is very massive, and large 
 blocks are taken out for building purposes. Some of the most 
 valuable marbles, according to Professor Seely, are here known 
 as the dark and light mourning vein varieties. The dark mourn¬ 
 ing vein has a ground of deep blue, while lines, nearly black, 
 run through it in a zigzag course, presenting a beautiful ap¬ 
 pearance. The light mourning vein has similar veins, but the 
 ground is lighter. The quarries at this place are described by 
 Professor Seely as being in the form of a hollow cube cut into 
 a hill, with perpendicular walls on the north and west rising to 
 a height of nearly 100 feet, open to the sky, and with an acre 
 of rock forming its horizont.l marble floor. Over this floor 
 are run channeling machines, cutting out long parallel blocks 
 
 * Now Proctor. 
 
236 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 which are afterwards cut up into convenient size, lifted from 
 their beds, and taken to the mills to be sawn. 
 
 According to State Geologist Perkins * some 30 quarries 
 are being worked in the Rutland-Proctor region, of which 25 
 are controlled by the Vermont Marble Company. 
 
 It is statedf that Pittsford has the honor of having one of 
 the earliest quarries in the State, if not the earliest, Jeremiah 
 Sheldon having worked marble here as early as 1795. There 
 are three beds of marble running through the town, north and 
 south. The most easterly has a breadth of some 200 feet, and 
 the stone is of the same character as that at Sutherland Falls, 
 or Proctor as the town is now called. The middle bed is 
 separated from the first by about 200 feet of lime rock. The 
 bed itself is some 400 feet wide, and .the stone varies in color 
 from pure white to dark blue. The third or west bed, which 
 is thought to correspond to that of West Rutland, is about half 
 a mile west of the central and is about 400 feet wide. The 
 stone is dark blue and often beautifully mottled. Some of the 
 beds here, as at West Rutland, furnish a beautiful snow-white 
 saccharoidal stone suitable for statuary purposes, for which it 
 has been used to a slight extent. The Vermont statuary 
 marble, however, differs from its Italian prototype in being of 
 a dead-white color and lacking the mellow, waxy lustre so 
 characteristic of the Italian stone. 
 
 A “ peculiarly elegant ” variety of marble is mentioned by 
 Perkins, in the report above referred to, as occurring at Bran¬ 
 don. The color is light to dark gray, while strongly marked 
 veins traverse the blocks in sinuous or zigzag lines. The 
 stone has been quarried since 1882 and is used mainly for 
 monumental purposes. 
 
 Several outcrops of marble occur in Middlebury, and which 
 have been worked for many years past; but in consequence of 
 
 * Rep. on the Marble, Slate, and Granite Industries of Vermont, 1898. 
 f The Marble Border of Western New England, p. 46. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 
 
 23 7 
 
 the thinness of the beds, their badly jointed structure, and the 
 interstratification of a magnesian slate that produces numerous 
 “ rising seams, ” it is said to be quite difficult to obtain per¬ 
 fectly sound blocks of large size. Nevertheless much valuable 
 material has been taken out here, both for architectural and 
 monumental work. 
 
 The bed of primordial rock known to geologists as the 
 “ red sand-rock,” which occurs in the northwestern part of the 
 State, bordering on Lake Champlain, is, as a rule, a hard, dark- 
 red sandstone, containing besides silica some 8 or 9 per cent 
 of potash, and variable amounts of iron and lime. The entire 
 formation, which is some 2,000 feet in thickness, is, however, 
 by no means uniform in composition, but includes considerable 
 beds of limestone, dolomite, slate, and shale. It is the dolo- 
 mitic layer which furnishes the peculiar red-and-white mottled 
 stone popularly known as Winooski marble. According to a 
 writer in the American Naturalist,* the beds of this marble ap¬ 
 pear first one or two miles north of Burlirigton, and extend in a 
 somewhat interrupted series north through St. Albans, and 
 end between that place and Swanton. More than thirty years 
 ago a quarry was opened in this rock about 6 miles from Bur¬ 
 lington, but owing to the hardness of the stone the enterprise 
 proved a failure and the quarries were abandoned. Later, 
 quarries were opened at St. Albans, and still more recently 
 were re-opened at Burlington, the stone being used largely for 
 flooring-tiles, wainscotings, and general interior decorative work. 
 Asa rule the stone is crystalline and very hard, much harder 
 than ordinary marble. Its color is quite variable, though some 
 shade of red mottled with white usually predominates. Some 
 varieties are beautifully light pink and white, or pink and deep 
 blue-gray or greenish. The very common chocolate-red and 
 white variety is put upon the market as Lyonaise marble, and 
 
 * George H. Perkins, American Naturalist, Feb. 1885. 
 
238 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 is used largely for tiling, its natural color being often rendered 
 darker by oiling. 
 
 Chemically the stone is a dolomite, though varying widely 
 in composition in samples from different localities. Some 
 samples show a very decided brecciated structure, while in 
 others this entirely disappears. It is, as a rule, very hard to 
 work, and, as exhibited in the capitol building at Albany, 
 New York, the surface is often disfigured by irregular cavities 
 and flaws which are rather unsightly. The color is said to fade 
 on exposure to the weather, and hence the stone is used 
 mostly for interior work. 
 
 An excellent outcrop of this marble occurs on the shore of 
 Mallet’s Bay, in the town of Colchester. The strata at this 
 point are nearly horizontal, and in many places form the banks 
 of the lake. One of the quarries is so situated that a vessel 
 can be brought up alongside and loaded with blocks with as 
 much ease as they are usually loaded upon carts or cars at in¬ 
 land quarries. The stone occurs in beds varying in thickness 
 from 1 to 6 feet, and blocks of almost any size can be obtained. 
 It is hard to work, but as a consequence is very durable when 
 once finished, being not easily scratched or scarred. 
 
 The best developments of the rock for marble quarrying 
 are at Colchester, as already mentioned, Milton, Georgia, Saint 
 Albans, and Swanton. At the last-named place there also 
 occurs a beautiful gray marble, with angular fossil fragments 
 of a white and pink color, identical with the “ Lepanto ” mar¬ 
 ble of New York. There is also a fine and compact dove-col¬ 
 ored marble here, admirably adapted for decorative work, but 
 the quarries are now abandoned. 
 
 The Plymouth marble, so called, is a quite pure dolomite. 
 The stone occurs in the talcose schist formation near the 
 centre of the town of Plymouth, at an elevation of 250 feet 
 above the Plymouth pond. Quarries were opened here about 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 
 
 239 
 
 1835, but were soon abandoned, as the demand at that time 
 was almost altogether for white marble. The beds dip 6o° to 
 the east, and the quarry walls, which have been exposed to 
 the weather for twenty years, seem unaffected. In color the 
 stone is blue or bluish-brown, diversified with long stripes and 
 figures of various shapes in white. It is fine-grained and com¬ 
 pact, splitting with equal facility in every direction.* 
 
 The Isle La Motte marble derives its name from Isle La 
 Motte, in Lake Champlain, where it occurs in considerable 
 abundance. It also occurs on several other islands in this 
 lake and upon its banks in many places. According to Pro¬ 
 fessor Hitchcock this was the first marble worked in the State, 
 quarries having been opened prior to the Revolutionary war. 
 The stone, which is largely used for flooring-tiles, is very 
 dark, almost black in color, and highly fossiliferous, having 
 undergone less metamorphism than the marble in the interior 
 of the State. So far as the author has observed, its color and 
 texture are such as to preclude its obtaining a high rank for 
 purely decorative purpose, but for floor-tiling is much esteemed 
 and very durable. Fossil shells of great beauty are not un¬ 
 common, and, being snowy white in color, show up in strong 
 contrast to the dark paste in which they are embedded. 
 
 Perkins states that about 1893 marble beds were discovered 
 near the town of Washington, in the eastern part of the State, 
 and that more than twenty quarries have since been opened. 
 The stone, which closely resembles some of the West Rutland 
 varieties, lies in horizontal sheets from 10 to 100 feet in length, 
 the entire thickness of the marble-bearing beds being some 5,000 
 feet. When dressed the hammered and polished surfaces afford 
 a strong contrast, making the material particularly suited 
 for monumental work. Chemical analyses by Dr. Richardson 
 show the stone to be highly siliceous and otherwise anomalous 
 in composition. 
 
 * Geolotrv of Ver mont, vol. n. u 776. 
 
240 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Virginia .—The extensive area comprehended under the 
 title of the Valley of Virginia embraces “ all the portion of the 
 State having for its eastern boundary the western slope of the 
 Blue Ridge and its inflected continuation the Poplar Camp 
 and Iron Mountains, and for its western the Little North and 
 a portion of the Big North Mountain, with the southern pro¬ 
 longation of the former, Caldwell and Brushy Mountains; and 
 near its southwestern termination the line of knobs forming the 
 extension of Walker’s Mountain.” * 
 
 The central portion of the valley as thus outlined is under¬ 
 laid largely by limestones of Silurio-Cambrian age, which are 
 in several places, according to the authority above quoted, 
 capable of yielding good marbles. The special varieties men¬ 
 tioned are: (i) a dun-colored marble met with near New Mar¬ 
 ket and Woodstock, and on the opposite side of the Massan- 
 utten Mountain in Page County; (2) a mottled bluish marble 
 to the west of New Market; (3) a gray marble occurring some 
 three-fourths of a mile in a southeasterly direction from Bu¬ 
 chanan. in Botetourt County; (4) a white marble of exquisite 
 color and fine grain about 5 miles from Lexington, in Rock¬ 
 bridge County ; (5) a red marble occurring only in the Cam¬ 
 brian formations lying among the ’mountains in the more 
 southwestern counties; and (6) a shaded marble found in 
 Rockingham County. This last is said to be compact, suscept¬ 
 ible of a beautiful polish, and of a yellowish gray and slate 
 color. None of the above have as yet received more than a 
 local application. 
 
 At Craigsville, in Augusta County, there occurs a gray, 
 sometimes pink-spotted encrinal limestone which acquires a 
 good polish, and though in no way remarkable for its beauty is 
 capable of extensive application for furniture and interior de¬ 
 coration. The Archaean area to the eastward of the Valley of 
 Virginia also includes sundry areas of workable marble. It i» 
 
 * Rogers, Geology of the Virginias, pp. 203, 204. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES: MARBLES. 
 
 24I 
 
 stated by Rogers that “ near the mouth of the Tye River (in 
 Nelson County) and the Rockfish, a true marble is found, of a 
 beautiful whiteness and of a texture which renders it suscept¬ 
 ible of a fine polish as well as being readily wrought with the 
 chisel. A few miles from Lynchburg, in Campbell County, a 
 good marble is likewise found.” “ The Tye River marble and 
 one or more analogous veins ” are further stated to “ have all 
 the characters of a statuary marble of fine quality, and should 
 not some peculiarity, as yet unperceived, prevent their appli¬ 
 cation for the purposes of the sculptor, they will no doubt be 
 looked upon as very valuable possessions.” The writer has 
 seen none of the material from this locality. White and pink 
 marbles of excellent quality also occur in the vicinity of Goose 
 Creek, in Loudoun County. I have seen samples of the white, 
 which for purity of color, fineness of grain, and general excel¬ 
 lence, are not excelled by any marble now quarried in the 
 United States, but the extent of the deposit is as yet unknown. 
 
 These same beds also produce a green or verdantique 
 marble of great beauty. The stone is an impure magnesian 
 limestone admixed with a large amount of serpentinous mat¬ 
 ter. The prevailing hue is green, but the stone is streaked and 
 blotched in various shades and often brecciated. It is well 
 adapted for interior work, but the presence of abundant pyrite 
 renders it unfit for exterior application. 
 
 The stalagmitic deposits upon the floors of the caverns at 
 Luray, in Page County, furnish, when cut, occasional fine 
 pieces of the so-called onyx marble, but the stone is too easily 
 fractured and too uneven in texture to be worked economically 
 as is noted elsewhere, even were the depos ts of sufficient extent 
 to warrant the opening of quarries. 
 
 Washington .—With the exception of the serpentinous rocks 
 mentioned on p. 374, Washington has as yet produced little in 
 the way of marble. There are, however, a number of locali- 
 
242 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 ties in Stevens County capable of furnishing a good grade of 
 monumental stone, but which still await development. The 
 occurrence of a black marble in connection with the serpentine 
 has been already noted. 
 
 Wyoming .—The resources of this State are not as yet fully 
 known. White and greenish marbles of good quality have 
 been stated * to occur on Cedar Creek in the extreme eastern 
 part of the Platte River valley and the Savary section in the 
 extreme west. In the collections of the National Museum are 
 to be seen samples of a fine-grained and compact reddish 
 marble variegated with white and drab, from quarries in Musk¬ 
 rat Canon in township 30 west, range 65 west. The stone 
 acquires a good polish and is somewhat harder than a majority 
 of the marbles now worked. 
 
 (4) THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES.f 
 
 Under the name of onyx, or onyx marble, two quite dis¬ 
 tinct types of rock are included, both consisting essentially of 
 carbonate of lime, and mineralogically of calcite, and both 
 differing from marbles of the common type in being purely 
 chemical deposits rather than products of metamorphism from 
 pre-existing calcareous sediments. The two types differ 
 from each other in that one is a product of precipitation from 
 deep-seated hot-spring water, is in fact a travertine, while the 
 other is a cold-water deposit Qn the floor, roof, and walls of 
 limestone caverns, or in rifts and cracks in the limestone itself, 
 is in fact a stalagmitic or stalactitic deposit. It should be 
 noted, however, that the term onyx as applied to either stone 
 
 * Stone, April 1889. 
 
 f The Onyx Marbles: Their Origin, Composition, and Uses, both 
 Ancient and Modern. By George P. Merrill, Ann. Rep. U. S. National 
 Museum, 1893, pp. 541-585- 
 
PLATE XXV 
 
 rio. i.—O nyx Marble from Lower California 
 
 Fro. 2 .—Tapestry Onyx from Arizona. 
 
 To face page 242 . 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRAVERTINES . 
 
 243 
 
 is a misnomer, as is also that of alabaster, or oriental alabaster, 
 as it is sometimes called. 
 
 The derivation of the name is interesting, and may ^ell 
 be dwelt upon briefly here. The original Greek word from 
 which our word alabaster was derived was aXafdaarpos, or 
 a’XafSaarpoy, and is said to have been derived from a, not, 
 and A afir/, a handle, or j«'/ 3 ezV, to hold, in allusion to the 
 little handleless, phial-like, or amphora-shaped perfume- 
 vessels constructed from it. But the word after a time 
 passed from the thing made to the substance of which it was 
 made, though Pliny mentions an Egyptian town called Ala- 
 bastron, where the manufacture of the vessels was carried on. 
 The ancient Roman name of the stone was alabastrites. Be 
 this as it may, the name alabaster, as now used by all authori¬ 
 ties, applies only to a white, though sometimes variously 
 veined and mottled, variety of gypsum, a calcium sulphate, 
 while the onyx marbles, with which we have to do in this 
 chapter, are of calcium carbonate and mineralogically either 
 aragonite or calcite, principally the latter. 
 
 The term onyx as properly used includes a banded variety 
 of chalcedony—a purely siliceous rock—the name being 
 derived from the Greek ovvB, or ovvxiov, a nail, in allusion 
 to the wavy bands by which the stone is traversed, and its 
 translucency, both of which are characteristics of the nails 
 upon the hand. That such a name should have been 
 applied to this particular variety of travertine is by no means 
 strange, since both the characteristics of banding and trans¬ 
 lucency are often as pronounced as in the true onyx. And, 
 inasmuch as the name has become too firmly engrafted upon 
 the literature to ever become wholly eradicated, it is the name 
 used here, but in its adjective form only, as descriptive of a 
 kind of marble. 
 
244 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Origin and Mode of Occurrence. 
 
 The origin of these stones is purely chemical, and of 
 interest on account of the very simplicity of the process. 
 Simple and well known though it may be, we are not yet able 
 to account in a manner entirely satisfactory for the varying 
 physical conditions, as texture and hardness or form of crystal¬ 
 lization, under which the material occurs. Pure water, 
 although an almost universal solvent, nevertheless acts so 
 slowly upon most substances belonging to the mineral king¬ 
 dom that the results are quite inappreciable to the ordinary 
 observer. When, however, holding minute quantities of car¬ 
 bonic acid, and especially when, as deep in the surface of the 
 earth, it is under considerable pressure, its solvent property 
 is very considerably augmented, and results are produced 
 both in the way of solution and redeposition which are readily 
 noticeable, even to the most casual observer. 
 
 One of the most common mineral substances found in 
 aqueous solution is carbonate of lime, the essential constituent 
 of ordinary limestones and marbles, as well as of the beautiful 
 onyx marbles, as we shall notice later. It is to be found in 
 the water of all springs, streams, lakes, and seas, and furnishes 
 the means whereby the multitudinous shellfish and corals 
 build up their calcareous shells and skeleton-like supports. 
 Pure water will dissolve only I part in 10,800 when cold and 
 1 part in 8,875 when boiling. When the water is saturated 
 with carbonic-acid gas at ordinary atmospheric pressure and a 
 temperature of io° C., its capacity for solution is increased to 
 nearly 1 part by weight in 1,000 (0.88 gram per liter of 
 water). With an increase in pressure the amount of carbonic 
 acid that can be held by water is also increased, and there is 
 as a natural result an augmentation in its solvent power. The 
 maximum amount of lime which can be dissolved, even under 
 the most favorable circumstances, is stated by Roscoe and 
 
245 
 
 THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 S'chorlemmer to be about 3 grams per liter of water, or 3 parts 
 by weight 5 to 1,000. 
 
 As has long been known, it is to the escape from solution 
 of half the combined carbonic acid, aided in some cases by the 
 secreting power of algous vegetation, that is due the deposi¬ 
 tion of the lime carbonate in the form of sinters, tufas, and 
 travertines about the orifices of springs, in that of scale in 
 steam-boilers and other vessels, or in the form of stalagmitic 
 and stalactitic deposits in caves. With its solvent power 
 diminished by the loss of the acid gas, the water deposits its 
 load as rapidly as the gas escapes. 
 
 But, although this is known to be the process by which 
 the calcareous deposition takes place, we do not know abso¬ 
 lutely just what are the conditions which control the character 
 of the deposit as regards compactness and condition of crystal¬ 
 lization, nor why in some cases the deposit should be so com¬ 
 pact as to be susceptible of an enamel-like polish, and of such 
 colors as to make a beautiful marble, or again light and 
 tufaceous, like those now forming at the Mammoth Hot 
 Springs in the Yellowstone National Park, or the more com¬ 
 pact lapis Tiburtinus of Tivoli, Italy. 
 
 All things considered, it seems probable that the traver¬ 
 tine varieties of onyx are products of deposition from hot 
 springs carrying in solution besides the lime carbonate small 
 quantities of iron and manganese carbonates as well as more 
 rarely other constituents, as noted in the table of analyses 
 on p. 128. Further, it seems probable that this deposition 
 took place on the bottom of shallow pools, where the rate of 
 escape of the excess of carbonic acid was sufficiently retarded 
 to allow the material to assume a compact and thoroughly 
 crystalline texture. 
 
 The cave marbles differ from the travertines mainly in 
 method of deposition, being cold-water deposits upon the 
 
246 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 walls and floors of limestone caves. Rain-water passing 
 through the atmosphere and soaking through the layer of soil 
 by which the earth is covered becomes charged with a varying 
 amount of carbonic acid, which gives it the power of dissolv¬ 
 ing slowly the lime carbonate forming the essential constituent 
 of the rock limestone, as already noted. Filtering downward 
 through cracks and fissures or between the laminae composing 
 the beds, it thus gradually enlarges them until what are 
 popularly known as caves or caverns are produced. But after 
 this cave-forming process has gone on for a while another 
 process sets in', whereby the cavern may be wholly or in part 
 refilled. The water from the surface percolating through the 
 roof of the cave dissolves out a portion of the lime carbonate, 
 just as when running through a crack or fissure, but in this 
 case the water comes through the overlying rock and remains 
 for a time suspended, in the form of a drop, from the ceiling. 
 Here it evaporates or loses a part of its carbonic acid, and, 
 unable longer to hold the lime in solution, begins to deposit 
 it in the form of a ring around the outer margin of the drop. 
 As time goes on this ring becomes prolonged into a quill-like 
 tube, growing in length always from its lowei end. After a 
 time, as a rule, this frail tube becomes partially or wholly 
 closed, when the water flows down over the outside, the 
 growth now being wholly external. In this way are formed 
 the elongated pendent cones from the roofs of caves, and to 
 which the name stalactite is given.* Such, on being cut and 
 polished, show a beautiful zonal structure, not wholly unlike 
 the rings of growth upon the trunk of a tree. 
 
 But it rarely happens that all the water evaporates upon 
 the ceiling 5 a portion usually falls upon the floor, where by a 
 similar process it builds up a deposit chemically the same a^ 
 
 * On the Formation of Stalactites and Gypsum Incrustations in Caves. 
 Proc. U. S. Nat. Museum, xvii, 1894, p. 77 - 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 24 7 
 
 the stalactites, but differing in that owing to the spreading out 
 of the water as it falls the floor deposits are more massive in 
 form. To these floor deposits the name stalagmite is given. 
 In some cases they rise in the form of blunt trunks or cones 
 to meet their corresponding stalactites above until there are 
 formed continuous pillars from floor to ceiling. If this process 
 goes oa for a sufficient time the entire cave may be refilled; 
 and since the water in percolating through the roof dissolved 
 only the pure lime carbonate, or with but a trace of impurity, 
 leaving nearly all the carbonaceous, siliceous, and clayey con¬ 
 stituents behind, so these stalactitic and stalagmitic deposits 
 are of purer lime, refined by nature’s methods and recrystal- 
 lized under new conditions. The form of crystallization, it 
 should be stated, is sometimes that of aragonite, but, so far as 
 the writer’s experience goes, more commonly that of calcite. 
 It is sometimes, though not always, possible to distinguish 
 between the two forms of crystallization by the unaided eye, 
 stalactites (or stalagmites) of aragonite showing interiorly a 
 radiating fibrous structure, the fibres being not infrequently 
 beautifully curved and of a silky lustre, while those of calcite 
 are more granular. It occasionally happens that deposits of 
 both kinds are to be found in the same cave, though, so far as 
 the writer’s observation goes, they belong in such cases, as at 
 Wyandotte, Indiana, to different periods of growth. What 
 the conditions are upon which these varying forms of crystalli¬ 
 zation depend is not now apparent. 
 
 It follows almost from necessity from their mode of origin 
 as above given, that the beds of onyx marbles, both spring 
 and cave deposits, are as a rule far less extensive and regular 
 in their arrangement than are the ordinary stratified^and 
 bedded limestones and marbles. Spring action is more or less 
 intermittent, and the place of discharge, as well as the char¬ 
 acter of the deposit, variable. The latter usually takes the 
 
248 STONES FOR BUILDING, AND DECORATION __ 
 
 form of a comparatively thin crust, conforming to the contours 
 of the surfaces on which it lies. The various layers thicken 
 and thin out irregularly, and are often lenticular in cross-sec¬ 
 tion. Sound and homogeneous layers of more than 20 inches 
 thickness are not common. Where two or more layers of 
 sound and merchantable material occur they are not infre¬ 
 quently, separated by tufaceous material, foreign debris, or 
 impure and porous onyx of little value. This condition of 
 affairs will become more apparent as particular occurrences 
 are described. The cave marbles vary even more irregularly 
 both in extent and quality. The deposit may be a mere 
 veneering over the face of the rock, and although there is 
 apparently an abundance, judging from appearances alone, 
 the actual amount of available stone may be extremely small.* 
 Moreover, such deposits are rarely uniform for any great dis¬ 
 tance, either in texture or color. Owing to coarse crystalliza¬ 
 tion they fracture easily, and, moreover, are more than likely 
 to contain numerous cavities, large and small, known pop¬ 
 ularly as “thumb-holes” and “pin-holes.” The small 
 amounts of metallic oxides and organic matter they contain 
 render the colors light and usually dull. White, yellowish, 
 amber, and reddish, with a resinous lustre, are common. The 
 rock as a rule is less translucent than the true onyx marbles, 
 and when polished appears “ muddy ” and unsatisfactory. 
 Nevertheless such deposits do not infrequently yield small 
 blocks of beautiful material, and material that is doubly 
 
 desirable because it is unique. 
 
 Properly managed such can be worked up to good advan- 
 
 * The writer has met with just such cases in his experience. A certain 
 deposit was represented as a solid mass of merchantable stone, showing a 
 quarry face ioo or more feet in length by some 20 or 30 feet in height. On 
 inspection it was shown that the “quarry face” was but a thin coating of 
 stalactitic matter over the sloping wall of an old cavern. Not a cubic yard 
 of merchantable stone could have been obtained in the entire outcrop. 
 
PLATE XXVL 
 
 £ o 
 ' z 
 
 C/2 
 
 c £ 
 u P3 
 w 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRA VERTINES. 
 
 2 49 
 
 tage, but too much has been expected from them, and it is 
 tiiis fact that has led to the disastrous failures following every 
 attempt that has thus far been made to work the cave marbles 
 in America. If the material as taken from the ledge could 
 be assorted by some competent person and worked up, each 
 block for a purpose of ornamentation to which it seemed best 
 adapted, then we might hope for some interesting results. 
 But at best the cave marbles of America must rank as 
 “ uniques ” rather than objects of commercial value. They 
 will never become regular sources of supply. There is too 
 much waste and too much uncertainty regarding amount and 
 quality. 
 
 A marked and very beautiful feature of the onyx marbles 
 in general, and particularly of those which originate as spring 
 deposits, is the fine, undulating, parallel bands of growth, or 
 lines of accretion, shown on a cross-section, and which are of 
 course due to its mode of origin through successive depositions 
 upon the surface (see PI. XXV). The stone owes it chief value 
 for decorative purposes to its translucency, fine veination, and 
 color. In many instances the original hues have become 
 enhanced by oxidation and through the development of reticu¬ 
 lating veins of small size, due to incipient fracture, into which 
 percolating waters have introduced new coloring solutions or 
 locally oxidized the protoxide carbonates, which seem to form 
 the chief coloring constituent. 
 
 Chemical and Physical Properties. 
 
 As has been noted, the onyx marbles consist essentially of 
 carbonate of lime crystallized in the form of calcite, very 
 rarely as aragonite. The results of quantitative chemical 
 analyses of some of the principal varieties are given in the 
 accompanying table. As will be noted, the percentage of 
 lime carbonate rarely falls below 90. Next to the lime, iron 
 
TABLE SHOWING COMPOSITION AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ONYX MARBLES, 
 
 250 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 
 
 m Q\ 00 *o 
 o M tv 
 
 ^ o M VO o> 
 N 10 10 O H 
 
 O' O' O' On On 
 
 o o 
 
 u u 
 
 c a 
 2 2 
 \0 VO 
 
 o 
 
 b 
 
 nl 
 
 On On Ov 
 
 no 00 -t ro ro in 
 
 VO VO N VO 0) CO t'* 
 
 VO 00 VO O' M SC? 
 
 m -tj- 00 0 VO O' 
 
 O' O' O' O' On O' O' 
 
 m vo *- 0 
 
 VO t>> t^- vo 
 
 vo 
 
 N O N OO 
 
 N N ts 
 
 N N N N 
 
 CO CO CO CO •'t- 
 
 2 So 
 
 o » • - 
 
 ,2 c c 3 s 
 
 2 C rf 
 
 -3 <« 
 
 < < 
 
 (/) « 
 £ U 
 
 <D W 
 
 u u U C 
 
 s u o £2 
 
 J J2 g b 
 b u O u S 
 u >- ■= 5 « 
 
 3 3 0 3 
 
 C £ J >■ fc 
 
 a s 
 
 £ o 
 
 jj 3 „ . 
 
 £>. QJ r—< ^ w _ ( vy j co 
 
 (fl 03 < X 2 g U 1/1 c/5 c/1 
 
 & 
 
 ™ i) 
 
 t 73 si £ 
 
 g £ 
 
 u 
 
 a co 
 
 £ o 
 
 . U 
 
 I S £ 
 
 II b 
 
 w. r; <u 
 
 <u cti 
 
 55 o N 
 
 .. L. Packard results as follows : Green variety, FeCO s 4-27 P er cent 1 brown-red 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 251 
 
 as carbonate or oxide forms the most prominent constituent, 
 and is apparently the main cause of color variation, the tints 
 depending upon its state of combination, whether as carbonate 
 or sesquioxide. The small amounts of manganese may have 
 some effect, but this could not be ascertained with any degree 
 of certainty. It is interesting to note that the almost milk- 
 white varieties from San Luis Obispo, California, and Lower 
 California carry, respectively, 3.93 and 2.79 per cent of iron 
 calculated as carbonate (FeCO,). The most pronounced green 
 and brown varieties carry but from 4.19 to 5.51 per cent of 
 the carbonate, while the faintly tinted greens from Lower 
 California run as high as 7.49 per cent. As a rule, it seems 
 safe to say that the green and red-brown colors are due to 
 this ferruginous constituent, the green colors containing the 
 iron as a carbonate, and the ochre-red, yellow, and browns 
 being derived, therefore, by a process of oxidation, as noted 
 on p. 130. Certain amber-browns and yellows (and in one 
 case a bright flesh-pink color), as exemplified in the stones 
 from Suisin City and Sulphur Creek, California, and in all the 
 stalagmitic marbles, both American and Egyptian, are, how¬ 
 ever, due to organic matter, all burning white, giving off the 
 characteristic empyreumatic odor, and showing but the merest 
 traces, if any, of metallic oxides. It may further be said that 
 the most constant distinction between those of the onyx mar¬ 
 bles which are spring deposits and those which are formed in 
 caves is the absence in the latter of appreciable quantities of 
 metallic oxides. This is presumably to be accounted for on 
 the supposition that the cave marbles result from the solvent 
 action of cold carbonated water on limestone containing, aside 
 from the iron oxides, only mechanically included impurities 
 which do not enter at all into solution, but remain in the form 
 of the ochreous residual clays, which are so characteristic of 
 limestone caverns the world over. The travertines, on the 
 
252 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 other hand, result from the solvent action of heated solutions 
 on deep-seated siliceous rock, and which as a result carry not 
 merely lime, but a considerable proportion of rarer constit¬ 
 uents as well. That these rarer constituents are not more 
 abundant in the deposits themselves is due to their unequal 
 solubility and the consequent fractional separation which takes 
 place on evaporation. The reverse of the above-stated rule 
 does not always hold good, since, as above noted, the Suisin 
 City deposit, which is a travertine, contains scarcely a trace 
 of iron. The percentage of manganese, as will be noticed, is, 
 with but two exceptions, less than one half of one per cent. 
 These exceptions are (i) a faintly greenish stone from Lower 
 California, and (2) a pure milk-white variety from Lake 
 Oroomiah, the latter containing 4.34 per cent of this material 
 calculated as a carbonate (MnC 0 3 ), or 2.68 per cent when 
 calculated as oxide (MnO). The magnesium carbonate is 
 almost invariably present in small amounts, and singularly 
 enough is highest in the cold-water (cave) deposit from Syout, 
 Egypt, where it reaches 6.88 per cent. Of the rarer elements 
 the Suisin City stone shows 1.59 per cent of strontium car¬ 
 bonate, that from the Hacienda del Carmen, Mexico, 1.34 
 per cent of calcium sulphate, and that from San Luis Obispo 
 0.25 per cent of tricalcic phosphate (Ca 3 (P 0 4 ) 2 ). The milk- 
 white stone from Lake Oroomiah contains 2.30 per cent of 
 calcium sulphate and 0.24 per cent of tricalcic phosphate. 
 
 Owing to the oxidizing effects of percolating solutions the 
 iron, originally in combination as a protocarbonate, becomes 
 locally converted into a sesquioxide, whereby the green and 
 whitish colors give way to ochreous reds and browns of various 
 shades. At times this oxidation extends only along small 
 fissures, thus giving rise to fine sharp red and brown lines, 
 whereby the beauty of the stone is greatly enhanced. Again 
 the oxidation may have extended throughout the entire mass 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRA VERTINES. 253 
 
 of the stone, completely obliterating the original colors as well 
 as rendering the material opaque and at times more or less 
 porous. While the character of the stone is so completely 
 changed, its beauty is by no means destroyed by this process. 
 Plate XXIV shows a slab of this oxidized onyx of an ochreous 
 brown and red color from the Arizona deposits. The color 
 and configuration are so suggestive of ancient tapestries as to 
 render the name tapestry onyx not inappropriate. 
 
 In a few instances the shades of color are produced by 
 mehanically included impurities, as in the onyx from San Luis 
 Obispo, California. Visitors to the California pavilion in the 
 Mines Building during the exposition at Chicago in 1893 will 
 recall the beautiful and unique pictures in stone there shown. 
 This coloring matter, in its various shades of smoky brown, 
 is due to inclusions of clay parallel to the plane of deposition. 
 It would appear that during the time the stone was being 
 deposited the waters became temporarily charged with silt, 
 which settled in thin films over the uneven, often botryoidal, 
 surfaces already formed, to become entombed in the mass of 
 the stone when the onyx-forming stage was resumed. 
 
 In structure the onyx marbles are invariably holocrystal- 
 line, sometimes granular, but much more commonly with a 
 fibrous or radiating columnar structure, the fibres or columns 
 being composed of calcite crystals elongated in the direction- 
 of their principal axes, and standing at approximately right 
 angles to the plane of deposition, as noted by Sorby * in 
 deposits of similar origin. 
 
 The characteristic banding or “ grain ” of the stone is due 
 to lines of accretion, comparable with the lines of growth upon 
 the trunk of a tree, each layer representing successive surfaces 
 
 * Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, vol. xxxv, 
 1879, p. 73. 
 
254 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 over and upon which the lime-holding solutions have deposited 
 new materials. In some instances the successive layers vary 
 more or less in character of crystallization and color, due to 
 a slight change in contents of organic matter or metallic 
 oxides, or physical conditions, whereby the material is ren¬ 
 dered more or less opaque. The characteristic translucency 
 of the stone is a purely physical quality. As a rule the 
 crystallization, in sound blocks, continues uninterruptedly 
 upward through the successive layers for a distance of several 
 millimeters, so that there is no tendency toward separa¬ 
 tion along these layers until a point is reached where, 
 owing to impurities in the water, or, it may be, a tem¬ 
 porary cessation of deposition, crystallization ceases. On 
 beginning once more such lines not infrequently form lines 
 of weakness. 
 
 As a natural consequence of its mode of deposition the 
 surface structure is usually botryoidal. Cut across the plane 
 of deposition, the structure is then as shown in Fig. I of 
 Plate XXV. Cut at right angles to this, as in Fig. 2 of this 
 same plate, the structure, owing to the wavy, botryoidal 
 nature of the original surfaces, is often wonderfully beautiful 
 and always interesting. The colors continually appear and 
 reappear in varying degrees of intensity accordingly as they 
 lie upon the immediate surface or are subdued by intervening 
 layers of colorless material. One sees in fact not merely the 
 colors which lie upon the surface, but those beneath as well, 
 subdued, enhanced, enriched, it may be, by those which 
 overlie or lie beneath. It is in this characteristic that lies the 
 chief claim for beauty, and its entire separation from marbles 
 of the common, sedimentary type. The figures given on 
 Plates XXIV and XXV will serve to show, so far as is possible by 
 photograph, the varying structure described. 
 
 The cave marbles are, as a rule, much less translucent than 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 255 
 
 the travertines, coarser in crystallization, and hence more 
 liable to fracture. They are, moreover, less homogeneous, 
 containing many cavities and interspaces which have never 
 been filled. In the columnar forms a pronounced zonal 
 structure is common. In the more massive forms we find 
 the bandings as in the travertines, but without the delicate 
 crystallization. 
 
 Uses, Ancient and Modern. 
 
 already noted, the onyx marbles were used in Egypt 
 during very early times for making small articles, as jugs, 
 bowls, canopic vases, and amphorae, employed to hold offer¬ 
 ings to the gods, the ashes of the dead, and for other religious 
 and domestic purposes. We find them thus utilized as early 
 as the second dynasty. It is worthy of note that few, if any, 
 of these articles were polished, though many of them show 
 great skill in workmanship. In the Abbott collection of 
 Egyptian antiquities of the New York Historical Society are 
 several fine examples of this nature. 
 
 According to the guide-book to the fourth Egyptian room 
 of the British Museum (1892, p. 117), the vases, bowls, 
 saucers, spoons, and other vessels which were placed in the 
 tombs to hold the wine, oil, honey, sweetmeats, perfumes, 
 and cosmetics offered to the dead were, during the first six 
 dynasties, commonly made from plain white “ alabaster 
 (whatever that may be). Afterwards variegated marbles and 
 stones were frequently employed, including aragonite, granite 
 and diorite, steatite and schist. Mr. G. F. Harris states* 
 that the onyx thus used during the earlier periods—the fifth 
 and sixth dynasties—was plain and of one uniform layer, but 
 about the time of the twenty-fifth dynasty a zoned variety of 
 
 * The Builder, London, vol. lxi, 1891, p. 14. 
 
256 SI'ONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 a yellow color came into use. This authority further states 
 that the principal shapes shown in the British Museum are 
 “ hemispherical vases, with wide open mouths, for holding 
 wines; basins, cylindrical vases, with wide rims, for unguents 
 or oils; vases in the shape of wine-jugs, two-handled am¬ 
 phorae, and drop-shaped alabasters.” These latter forms 
 were held in such high esteem that they were exported from 
 Egypt, and it is stated that “ the names of Persian monarchs 
 have been found in hieroglyphic and cuneiform characters 
 upon them, whilst vases apparently of Egyptian material, if 
 not of Egyptian fabric, have been, discovered in the early 
 tombs of Asia Minor, Greece, and the isles of the Archi¬ 
 pelago.” According to other authorities,* the first mention 
 of articles of this nature-by Greek writers is that of Herodotus 
 (born 484 B.C.), who speaks of a pvpov aXftacrrpov as one of 
 the presents sent by Cambyses to the Ethiopian king. 
 “ Some of these vessels,” it is stated, “ had a long and nar¬ 
 row neck, which was sealed; so that when the woman in the 
 Gospel is said to break the box of ointment it appears prob¬ 
 able that she only broke the extremity of the neck, which was 
 thus closed.” The Egyptians did not, however, confine their 
 use of the stone to these small articles, but at a very early 
 period began utilizing it for the interior decoration of their 
 tombs and temples. According to Dr. J. W. Dawson,f the 
 magnificent granite temple of Kephren at Gizeh was lined with 
 this stone in the early age of the pyramid-building kings. 
 
 Some of the very old tombs in the Memphite cemetery 
 at Sakkarah are lined with alabaster, or partially so lined. A 
 curious example of the latter may be seen in the tomb called 
 that of Unas. The inner sepulchral chamber of this tomb is 
 lined with slabs of alabaster. The work is then continued in 
 
 * Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, 1890, p. 96. 
 f Modern Science in Bible Lands, pp. 283-286. 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 257 
 
 common limestone, and the entrance of the tomb is lined with 
 the stronger and more enduring red granite. At Abydos are 
 the remains of a magnificent monolithic shrine of this stone, 
 and at Karnak a similar shrine is built of alabaster slabs, some 
 of them 20 feet in length. In this and other cases one is 
 astonished that so fine work and material should be lavished 
 on places enshrouded in darkness; and the question is raised, 
 but cannot be answered, What means of illumination had the 
 ancient 'Egyptians beyond the smoky oil lamps and torches, 
 which would scarcely suffice adequately to illuminate the in¬ 
 terior of tombs and temples, and would soon have destroyed 
 their beautiful workmanship.” 
 
 “ The finest work in Egyptian alabaster that I have seen, 
 says the writer, “ is the sarcophagus of Seti I, father of 
 Rameses II,* found in his tomb in the ‘ valley of the kings ’ 
 by Belzoni, and now in Sir John Soane’s Museum in London. 
 It is 9 feet 4 inches in length, 3 feet 8 inches wide, and from 
 2 feet 8 inches to 2 feet 3 inches deep; and is hollowed out 
 of a single block so delicately that its general thickness is only 
 2\ inches, and that a lamp placed within shines through the 
 translucent sides. On the bottom of the coffin is a figure of 
 Netpe, or Athor, the mother goddess, with arms extended to 
 receive the body of the king; and the whole surface is covered 
 with inscriptions and professional figures representing the 
 liturgy of the dead. The lid was of similar character, but 
 has been broken to pieces.f By a singular combination of 
 accidents the mummy of this great king, which had been 
 transferred by its guardian priests for greater security to Deir 
 el Bahari, is now in the Boulak Museum, the noble sarcoph- 
 
 * Nineteenth dynasty. According to Mariette, 1462 b.c. ; Prof. Lepsius, 
 1443 b.c. Still others give dates from 1350 b.c. to 1600 b.c. 
 
 f A very complete account and a figure of this sarcophagus are given in 
 the General Description of Sir John Soane’s Museum, sixth edition, 1893, 
 PP- 43-47- 
 
258 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 agus prepared for it is in London, and his vast and beautifully- 
 decorated tomb stands open for the inspection of travellers in 
 the ‘ valley of the kings.’ ” 
 
 The materials employed in the Temple of the Sphinx in 
 Egypt are rose granite and “ alabaster.” The supporting 
 piers are of granite, the lining slabs of the walls and the ceil¬ 
 ing of “ alabaster ” without carving or any form of relief, the 
 so-called alabaster in each case being stalagmitic material. 
 
 Onyx marble was also employed for statuettes, some few 
 of which are preserved in the museums of to-day. The statue 
 of Rameses now in the Mus6e du Louvre in Paris is stated by 
 Chateau to be of Egyptian alabaster, while in the Boulak 
 Museum at Cairo are “ alabaster ” statues of Queen Amen- 
 eritis, mounted on a base of gray granite, of Osiris, and of the 
 scribes Neferhotep and Awi. 
 
 According to Hull,* a beautifully iridescent variety of the 
 Egyptian stone was used in constructing the four columns, 
 each about 8 feet in height, which adorn the sala containing 
 the cabinets of gems in the Galleria degli Uffizi at Florence. 
 He also describes large cinerary urns formed from this 
 material, one of the finest being in the museum of the Vatican 
 at Rome, which measures 9 feet in length and 4 feet in depth. 
 Also tables in the Galleria Pitti at Florence. 
 
 During the reign of Mohamed Ali, the founder of the 
 present dynasty, onyx from quarries east of Beni-Souef was 
 largely utilized in the embellishment of the celebrated “ Ala¬ 
 baster Mosque ” at Cairo. This, it will be remembered, was 
 partly completed in its present form by Said Pacha in 1857. 
 The alabaster used for the incrustation of the masonry con¬ 
 sists partly of blocks and partly of slabs. The beautiful yellow 
 tint of the stone fades on prolonged exposure to the sun.f 
 
 * Building and Ornamental Stones, p. 150. 
 \ Baedeker, Guide to Lower Egypt. 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 259 
 
 Following the Egyptians, the Romans, with their charac¬ 
 teristic luxuriousness, did not overlook so promising a 
 material, and early adopted it for similar purposes. A por¬ 
 tion of the vessels found in Grecian and Roman ruins are of 
 undoubted Egyptian materials and manufacture The quar¬ 
 ries at Ain Tembalek were worked with great activity at a very 
 early period by the Romans. This is proven not merely by 
 the abundance of works of art in this stone among the Roman 
 ruins, but also by the finding of actual quarry sites. In all 
 the Arabian monuments found in the region, especially at 
 Tlemcen, there has been frequent use made of the onyx. In 
 the grand mosque D’jama-Kebir, built during the twelfth 
 century, may be seen the remains of an old court flagged with 
 onyx, in the centre of which is a fountain of the same material. 
 In the mosque D’jama-Abou’l Hassen the numerous columns 
 supporting the arcade are also of onyx. Beautiful examples 
 of the character of the quarry product are also to be seen at 
 Sidi Bon Medin and at the museum at Tlemcen. The onyx 
 columns of the ancient mosque of Mansourah are said to be 
 particularly fine. Chateau states that the tunic of the statue 
 of Diana in the Louvre is of the Algerian onyx. Material of 
 the same nature, derived either from Algeria or the numerous, 
 caverns of Italy, was extensively utilized for sarcophagi by 
 Romans, Etruscans, and Greeks, the body and cover in such 
 cases being each of a single piece, and in many instances 
 elaborately carved. The Etruscan sarcophagus in the Boston 
 Museum of Fine Arts is of material of this nature. 
 
 Onyx marble from deposits near Lake Oroomiah and Yezd 
 was extensively used in the palmy days of the Persian empire 
 by the native nobles in the form of slabs to face the elegant 
 fountains or to pave their baths. Small blocks were also used 
 in the doors and windows of their baths in place of glass. A 
 fine slab of this stone, some 8 by 4 feet, by 4 inches in thick- 
 
260 stones foe building and decoration . 
 
 ness, and of a yellow tinge with dark reddish lines, now serves 
 as a sideboard in the English consulate at Tabriz. The 
 material has also been used in the grand staircase of the new 
 palace of the crown prince at Tabriz. In the bazaars one 
 finds it employed by the lithographers. Small ornaments* 
 such as salt-cellars, vases, and slabs for table-tops, are also cut 
 from it. . ' 
 
 In ancient times, when there was more wealth in Persia, 
 this stone was probably much more extensively used, and 
 larger pieces were hewn out. A Persian prince of to-day 
 would hardly incur the expense of moving such masses as the 
 blocks in the Blue Mosque. Morier states* that the tomb 
 of the Persian poet Hafiz is also of this stone. He describes 
 this as “ a parallelogram with a projecting base, and its super- 
 fices carved in the most exquisite manner. One of the odes 
 of the poet is engraved upon it, and the artist has succeeded 
 so well that the letters seem rather to have been formed with 
 the finest pen than sculptured by a hard chisel. The whole 
 is of the diaphanous marble of Tabriz, in color a combination 
 of light green, with here and there veins of red and sometimes 
 of blue.” Curzon, however, writing in 1892,f describes the 
 tomb of Hafiz as having once had a lid of marble, but which 
 was carried away by Kerwin Khan and built into the tank in 
 Jehan Nemak, replacing it by the present sarcophagus made 
 of yellow Yezd marble. Morier further says that the Haft- 
 ten, a Persian pleasure-house erected by Kerwin Khan at 
 Shiraz, is wainscoted with the Tabriz marble, one of the larg¬ 
 est slabs being 9 feet long and 5 feet wide, such wainscotings 
 being often inlaid with gold. The college called Medresse 
 Shah Sultan Hassein at Ispahan also contains some of the 
 same material. 
 
 * First Journey through Persia, 1812, p. 104. 
 f Persia and the Persian Question. 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 261 
 
 Many Italian churches, ancient and modern, contain num¬ 
 berless illustrations of the extensive use of these materials, 
 and which, in many cases, have been taken for their present 
 use from the ruins of still more ancient structures. The 
 Cathedral of S. Paolo le Mura at Rome (rebuilt in 1853) 
 contains two beautiful columns of the Egyptian “ alabaster ” 
 near the entrance, and four others in the canopy of the high 
 altar. These were presented, it is stated,* by the present 
 Viceroy of Egypt, and hence came, without doubt, from the 
 Valley of the Nile. 
 
 The use of the onyx in thin slabs for window-panes in cathe¬ 
 drals has often been reported in Mexico as well as in Europe. 
 The writer has been informed by Dr. G. Brown Goode that 
 a portion of the windows in the Cathedral of Orvieto (Italy) 
 are of a yellow-brown banded stone, which is doubtless 
 a lime carbonate from cave or spring deposits in Italy, 
 Algeria, or Egypt. The Church of San Miniato in Florence 
 has likewise five windows of similar material. The adapt¬ 
 ability of the Mexican onyx for certain forms of interior deco¬ 
 ration is well shown in the columns and arch about the 
 entrance of the ark containing the manuscripts of the penta- 
 teuch in the new Jewish synagogue on Fifth Avenue, New 
 York City. 
 
 In modern times the Algerian onyx has been largely used 
 by the French for interior decoration, as in the grand stair¬ 
 case of the opera-house in Paris, and in the manufacture of 
 tops for small stands, turned columns, tables, lamp-stands, 
 clocks, and similar articles for household use and adornment, 
 The same may be said regarding those of Mexico and the 
 United States. The Mexicans utilize small pieces in the 
 manufacture of paper-weights and knives, penholders, ink- 
 
 * Baedeker, Guide to Rome. 
 
26 2 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 stands, card-receivers, and plaques, which are sold to tourists. 
 In the United States the material has been utilized in addi¬ 
 tion in the construction of mantels and fireplaces, some of 
 which are very elaborate. In some of our modern hotels there 
 is a lavish display, but in only too many cases, as in the 
 Auditorium at Chicago, most astonishingly poor taste has 
 been shown. The walls are simply sheathed with slabs, ap¬ 
 parently without any attempt at selection as to quality, color, 
 or veination, but one laid on after another as carelessly as 
 bricks in a wall. It is worthy of iemark that our architects, 
 decorators, and artisans of to-day seem to rely for effect 
 wholly upon perfection of surface and color, beauty of 
 design and excellence of execution being almost wholly over¬ 
 looked. Everywhere are flat surfaces, mouldings, and ma¬ 
 chine-made columns, all brilliantly polished, but nothing 
 more. Yet the stone will cut to as sharp an edge as the 
 finest Carrara marble, and is eminently adapted for bas-relief, 
 small statues, busts, and objects of like nature. Its trans- 
 lucency and ever-varying shades of color, so far from being 
 defects, are, under proper treatment, actual merits, and it 
 seems almost unaccountable that they have so long been 
 overlooked. Modern manufacturers are not infrequently 
 guilty of the utterly reprehensible custom of seeking to im¬ 
 prove the paler hues by paint or other coloring materials 
 applied to the back or unexposed side of the thin slabs, the 
 translucency of the stone being just sufficient to transmit 
 the colors, without permitting the cause to be discovered. 
 This is especially the case with much of the Parisian work now 
 brought into America. 
 
PLATE XXVII. 
 
 Quarry of Onyx Marble, Yavapai Co., Arizona. To face page * 6 $. 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRAVERTINES. 263 
 
 Localities, Domestic and Foreign. 
 
 The localities from which the finer grades of stone of this 
 type have in times past or present been obtained are few and 
 widely scattered, and it is interesting to note that, with the 
 exception of the cave deposits, all that have thus far come 
 under the writer’s notice which are of such color as to make 
 them pre-eminently desirable for ornamental purposes occur in 
 hot and arid countries and regions not far distant from recent 
 volcanic activity. This is as true of foreign as of American 
 occurrences. It is to be noted that all the deposits known 
 are of slight geological antiquity, belonging to late Tertiary 
 and early Quaternary periods. 
 
 Arizona —Several deposits of onyx have within a few 
 years been located in Arizona, though, so far as known to the 
 writer, but two are of such extent as to be of commercial 
 value. These two are both in Yavapai County and possess 
 many characters in common. 
 
 The first to be described lies at Mayers Station, some 
 28 miles southeast of Prescott, on the stage-road leading 
 to Phoenix. The stone thus far shipped has been hauled 
 by wagon to Prescott, and by the Prescott & Arizona Cen¬ 
 tral Railroad 70 miles north to the Atlantic & Pacific 
 Railroad, which affords an outlet both east and west, as 
 occasion demands. At time of writing there is, however, in 
 process of construction a new line connecting the Santa 
 F6 system on the north with the Southern Pacific, and 
 which will pass sufficiently near the deposits to greatly dimin¬ 
 ish the hauling distance, as well as afford the benefit of 
 competing freight rates furnished by the two lines. The 
 deposits occur on the western side of what for a consider¬ 
 able portion of the year is a dry ravine, but which in the 
 
264 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 winter and rainy season carries a variable and often turbulent 
 body of water, and rejoices in the name of Big Bug Creek. 
 The country rock is highly metamorphic schist standing nearly 
 on edge with occasional dikes of basic eruptives. The onyx 
 proper occurs interbedded with a coarse breccia formed of 
 schistose and dioritic fragments embedded in a sandy and 
 calcareous matrix, the entire formation occupying a low range 
 of hills, of which an area of 200 acres is estimated by the 
 company to comprise all the quarriable material. Standing 
 at the stage station and looking westward across the creek, 
 one sees the low bluffs of onyx where the edges of the bed 
 have been exposed in the work of exploitation. At first 
 glance the outlook is not inspiring. The rock weathers gray 
 and rusty brown, breaks down under, the prolonged exposure 
 to which it has been subjected, and appears like anything but 
 the beautiful stone it really is. Closer inspection is, however, 
 more assuring. At the shallow openings that had been made 
 in the bluffs and on the top of the hill at the time of the 
 writer’s visit (1891) the onyx occurred in irregular somewhat 
 concentric layers, from a fraction of an inch to 2 or moie 
 feet in thickness, and which are traversed parallel with the 
 plane of deposition by wavy bands of color in all shades of 
 amber, white, ochre-yellow, brown, deep ochreous red, and 
 green of a most beautiful emerald shade. The sound layers 
 of stone are separated from one another by porous cellular 
 layers, so that slabs of large size can be obtained only by cut¬ 
 ting parallel with the banding; i.e., with the plane of deposi¬ 
 tion. This in itself is no drawback, since the colors blend 
 much better and the general effect is vastly richer than when 
 cut across the grain. No two of the openings show material 
 of exactly the same nature as to color and markings, or as to 
 size and thickness of the blocks. In all the stone lies in 
 layers readily separable from one another, and which, as a 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 265 
 
 rule, thicken and thin out irregularly. The more highly 
 colored varieties carry, as shown by analysis, nearly 5 per cent 
 of carbonate of iron. Through the oxidizing effect of per¬ 
 colating solutions this carbonate has in many instances been 
 converted into a more or less hydrated oxide, whereby the 
 green is changed to red, brown, or amber-yellow colors in all 
 shades. This oxidation has naturally followed along the lines 
 of jointing and penetrated the more porous layers, so that 
 what were once large blocks of homogeneous green are now 
 surrounded by a crust of varying thickness of the oxidation 
 product. All stages of the process are seen at the various 
 openings, ftom those in which the green stone is covered with 
 a mere crust, and scarcely sufficiently veined to give a desired 
 variety, to those in which scarcely a trace of the original green 
 lemains, but the whole block is of a red-brown color in vary¬ 
 ing shades. At times the oxidation has been accompanied 
 with a removal of so large a proportion of the lime carbonate 
 that the texture is destroyed; the stone becomes somewhat 
 cellular or spongy, and does not acquire a good surface and 
 polish. In other cases the stone still retains its compact 
 structure and susceptibility to a high polish, though neces¬ 
 sarily it loses its translucency and becomes quite opaque. 
 Nevertheless the stone is by no means undesirable for either 
 furniture-toppings or for decorative purposes. The colors are 
 rich, but not gaudy, and, when properly prepared, are capable 
 of effects both unique and beautiful. There is in the National 
 Museum a slab of the oxidized stone of brown and red color 
 so cut with the grain as to resemble in a wonderful degree a 
 piece of antique tapestry (Plate X). The details of its structure 
 are intricate in the extreme, and, since what is to be seen by 
 a careful study of them depends almost wholly on the vivid¬ 
 ness of one’s imagination, the writer drops the subject, to 
 be taken up, it maybe, by those more gifted, either in im- 
 
266 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 agination or in the faculty of expression. This type of onyx, 
 
 I may say, differs from anything I have seen elsewhere, and, 
 while the present workers regard it as valueless, and it is 
 doubtful if the quarries can be relied upon to produce any 
 large supply, or even two blocks alike, I still regard it as a 
 beautiful stone, and one well worthy of consideration. In 
 certain of the outcrops no green at all appears, but the stone 
 lies in somewhat wavy layers of from i or 2 to 12 or 15 inches 
 in thickness, and which are traversed by narrow alternating 
 bands of brown, white, yellow, and sometimes pink. This 
 variety of onyx is more granular in structure due to coarse 
 crystallization—than the green onyx, less translucent, and, 
 on the whole, much less desirable. It is, nevertheless, a fine 
 marble. Owing to the wavy nature of the bands they appear 
 and disappear in the form of veins, blotches, streaks, and 
 clouds of varying intensity in color when the stone is sawn 
 into slabs. The compact, highly lustrous green stone, with a 
 surface almost as close as enamel, and with its veins and 
 dashes of red and brown, is, however, the most desirable of 
 all'. 
 
 The so-called Cave Creek quarries of Arizona are also in 
 Yavapai County, but in the extreme southern part, near the 
 Mariposa County line. At present they are accessible only 
 from Phoenix, and over a road the latter 12 to 20 miles of 
 which is hilly in the extreme. But to reach the market the 
 quarried stone must be dragged on wagons over this 50 miles 
 of roadway to Phoenix, and thence shipped by rail. With 
 this great drawback, coupled with high freight imposed by a 
 railroad free from competition, the quarries labor under great 
 disadvantage. 
 
 The country rock here is a slaty schist injected with 
 quartz porphyries and diorites, all sporadically overlaid by 
 basalt, the diorite cropping out in the rounded foot-hills, and 
 
THE ONYX MAE BEES, OR TRAVERTINES. 267 
 
 weathering reddish. The main onyx ledge lies on the western 
 slope of a low basalt-capped hill. The lowest underlying 
 rock, as exposed in the creek bed a few* rods below the quarry, 
 is also basalt, but of a coarse texture and gray color. In 
 the quarry-opening the lowest rock exposed is a calcareous 
 breccia, formed of fragments of slate and pebbles of basic 
 eruptive rocks cemented by a friable travertine. At the 
 time of the writer’s visit (August, 1892) the outcrop, as 
 exposed by digging, was some 200 yards in length and pre¬ 
 sented some remarkable features. The maximum thickness 
 of the bed was about 10 feet. As exposed it was not, how¬ 
 ever, continuous, but evidently had been thrown out of place 
 and more or less shattered and broken by the extrusion of the 
 basalt. 
 
 The prevailing colors here, as at Mayers Station, are green 
 and yellowish, with veins of ochreous brown and red. The 
 tints are beautiful in the extreme, and the best quality of the 
 stone is certainly very fine. The deposit is unique in that 
 the largest blocks thus far obtained have their greatest dimen¬ 
 sions at right angles with the plane of deposition. Slabs 4 
 feet wide could thus be cut across the grain, and, while by 
 this method the beautiful blending of the colors is lost, still 
 the wood-like grain, or onyx-like banding, is thus brought 
 out, and is greatly preferred by some. At date of writing 
 nearly all the material thus far quarried has been literally dug 
 out of the tufaceous material, in the form of corroded, irreg¬ 
 ular blocks of all shapes, and in sizes including at most but a 
 few cubic feet. What the large bed will yield, and how far 
 it extends into the hill, are facts yet to be ascertained. 
 
 California .—Within the State limits of California are 
 several deposits of onyx marble, which may, with the increas¬ 
 ing wealth of the country, become important sources of sup¬ 
 ply. At present but one is actively worked, difficulty of 
 
268 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 access and cost of transportation, together with a limited 
 market on the Pacific coast, operating against an extensive 
 development. The most noted of these deposits, and indeed 
 the only one that has yet proven of any commercial impor¬ 
 tance, is located near the town of Musick, San Luis Obispo 
 County, in the heart of the Santa Lucia Mountains. Accord¬ 
 ing to the report of the State mineralogist,* there are two 
 openings or outcroppings, some half a mile apart, lying in 
 sections 9 and 16 of township 31 south, Range 15 east, Mount 
 Diablo meridian. The inclosing rock is a slaty sandstone, the 
 ledges standing nearly on edge and having a thickness of about 
 16 feet. The outcroppings lie one on the northern slope of 
 the ridge and the other on the southern, the hill rising about 
 80 feet between them. Whether the two are parts of the 
 same vein or bed is as yet unknown. The strike of the more 
 northern croppings is directly toward the southern, though 
 that of the southern is diagonal to the course of the others. 
 The stone is very close in texture, acquires a high lustrous 
 polish, and shows when cut across the grain a beautiful wood¬ 
 like banding. The colors are quite variable, but not so pro¬ 
 nounced as those of Arizona. White, translucent, with a 
 pearly lustre, is the prevailing type, but pinkish and purple 
 shades, with tinges of blue, orange, red, and olive, are not 
 uncommon, the colors being sometimes in blotches and some¬ 
 times in veins. A peculiar translucent, smoky variety is not 
 uncommon, resembling some varieties of true alabaster. A 
 pair of columns prepared some time ago excited considerable 
 admiration from showing two apparent geode-like cavities 
 lined with crystals of burnished gold set in a dark olive and 
 purple ground. In reality no cavities existed, the stone being 
 solid and sound throughout. 
 
 * Tenth Ann. Rep. State Mineralogist of California, 1890, pp. 584-85. 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES. 269 
 
 One of the most remarkable and unique varieties, but which 
 occurs only sporadically, is of a translucent white, but SO' 
 injected parallel with the bedding with argillaceous matter as 
 to give most wonderful cloud-like effects, such as words cannot 
 satisfactorily describe. Visitors to the California pavilion at 
 the World’s Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893 will 
 recall the unique pictures in stone there displayed by the 
 Kesseler Brothers, of San Francisco. In some slabs the dark 
 coloring matter was so distributed as to give the effects of pre¬ 
 cipitous mountains, with tops in the clouds and lakes and 
 valleys at their feet. In others the effect was as if the surface 
 were roughly mammillated with smoky clouds of varying 
 degrees of density. In all these forms the slabs must be cut 
 moderately thin and parallel to the bedding and viewed by 
 transmitted light in order to bring out the best effects. The 
 coloring matter in these cases is mechanically included clay, 
 as already noted. 
 
 Several years ago a resinous travertine occurring as super¬ 
 ficial deposits on a bare hillside near Suisin City, in Solano 
 County, was worked somewhat spasmodically, but was soon 
 abandoned, owing in part, it is said, to the damage done by 
 injudicious blasting. It is probable, however, that but little 
 could have been done under the most favorable of circum¬ 
 stances, owing to color and textural qualities. The stone 
 varies in color from light amber to deep resinous brown, and 
 often shows most beautifully the peculiar wavy, undulatory 
 bands of color so characteristic of rocks of this class. Both 
 color and texture are, however, variable, and it is impossible 
 to obtain slabs of any size that are not rendered undesirable 
 through porous layers, or monotonous and even objectionable 
 from their dull resinous hues. Some beautiful material was 
 here obtained, and doubtless more might yet be found, but 
 Americans, and those who call themselves such, have yet to 
 
27o STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 learn how to conduct such an enterprise profitably. Another 
 small deposit that was worked to some extent exists on 
 Sulphur Creek, in Colusa County. This is a very beautiful 
 stone, of a rich deep brown color, with bedding-veins of lighter 
 yellowish brown. The quantity is said to be quite limited, 
 and to be obtained only in blocks of small size. The coloring 
 matter in both these cases is wholly organic, analyses showing 
 scarcely a trace of metallic oxides or other impurities. In the 
 reports of the State mineralogist the Sulphur Creek stone is 
 described as occurring in the form of a vein consisting of two 
 seams, each about 5 inches thick. A quantity of the rough 
 stone was at one time sent to England, where it found a ready 
 market. Some onyx of a light brown color, beautifully veined, 
 occurs in the quarries of the Colton Marble Company, in San 
 Bernardino County. It is said to have been used only to a 
 slight extent. The writer, never having seen samples, can 
 express no opinion regarding its qualities. Near Crescent 
 Falls, on the Sacramento River, 6 miles below Sisson, in 
 Siskiyou County, is still another deposit, yielding material of 
 a beautiful emerald-green color. 
 
 The stone occurs only in the form of a vein 4 to 6 inches 
 wide in granite, the vein being open in the middle and allow¬ 
 ing the escape of an excellent spring of soda-sulphur water. 
 The deposit is very irregular and of limited extent along the 
 strike, and probably also limited in depth. It is too irregular 
 to furnish large slabs and of too small extent to afford any 
 considerable quantity of material. Onyx marbles have also 
 been reported at Gold Run, in Placer County; Las Penas- 
 qintos Creek, San Diego County; Oro Grande, San Bernardino 
 County; Vacaville, Solano County; Geyserville, Sonoma 
 County; Tuscan Springs, Tehama County; Three Rivers, in 
 Tulare County; near the head-waters of Eel River, in Lake 
 County; Bridgeport, Mono County; Little Castaca Cafion, 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES . 
 
 271 
 
 Los Angeles County; and on Santa Catalina Island. None 
 of these have, however, as yet been shown to be of sufficient 
 extent to have any commercial value, nor has the writer seen 
 any of the material. 
 
 Eastern Appalachian Region .—The valley of Virginia, 
 extending throughout the entire length of the State, running 
 in a southwesterly direction from Harpers Ferry on the north, 
 is underlaid by limestones of Silurian or Cambrian age. Per¬ 
 colating waters, acting through untold years, have dissolved 
 out, in these, numerous caverns in the manner already 
 described. The Luray Caves, in Page County, and Weyers 
 Cave, in Augusta County, are among the most widely known 
 of these. There are, however, hundreds of smaller and less 
 interesting ones, which may have become wholly or partially 
 refilled by stalactitic and stalagmitic matter. Very many 
 instances present themselves in which portions of the roofs or 
 sides of these caves have been removed by erosion, leaving 
 the white, creamy, or amber-yellow stalagmitic material 
 exposed on the surface, where it shows up in strong contrast 
 with the dull gray limestone which forms the prevailing 
 country rock. It has sometimes happened that these de¬ 
 posits are of sufficient extent to warrant the opening of 
 small quarries, though the stone is rarely of sufficient beauty 
 to enter into active competition with the onyx marbles of 
 Mexico, Arizona, California, or Algeria, with which they are 
 chemically almost identical. Nevertheless fine blocks are 
 frequently obtainable, showing a pronounced banded struc¬ 
 ture when cut across the plane of deposition, and it is rather 
 to be regretted that no more successful attempts have been 
 made toward keeping them upon the market. Such attempts 
 as have been made have almost uniformly failed, partly 
 owing to a lack of definite knowledge as to the charac¬ 
 ter of the deposits on the part of those in control, and 
 
272 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 partly from the fact that the work was undertaken on too 
 extensive a scale. The average American has yet to learn 
 that a small business, carefully conducted, may be a surer 
 source of income than many of the gigantic schemes which 
 flood the country to-day. The managers of the caverns above 
 alluded to might add materially to their incomes, as well as 
 to the satisfaction of their visitors, by exposing for sale small 
 objects made from such blocks of stalactite or stalagmite as 
 could be spared without defacement of the cave. So far as 
 the writer is aware it is only at Mammoth Cave, in Kentucky, 
 that any attempt is made in this line, and here one finds only 
 a few small charms and paper-weights manufactured at odd 
 moments by the natives. Near Harrisonburg, in Owen 
 County, are considerable deposits of stalagmitic material which 
 have yielded small pieces of great beauty. 
 
 An attempt is now being made to work these quarries, but 
 it will not be until our wealthier classes learn to more fully 
 appreciate home products that we may hope to see these 
 marbles receive the attention they deserve.* Nevertheless it 
 is not uncommon to find mantels and chimney-pieces of the 
 stone in the houses of people living in the vicinity. Such, as 
 a rule, are the work of local stone-dealers, and cut from blocks 
 found loose in the fields. Fine blocks of stone from caves 
 
 * It must be acknowledged, however, that the difficulty lies not wholly 
 with the wealthier classes, who can scarcely be expected to admire or 
 demand any article concerning the existence of which they are ignorant. 
 Americans abroad pay fancy prices for small articles of ornament and art 
 simply for the reason that these are everywhere exposed for sale, and the 
 attention is at once attracted. Let but the American exert equal taste and 
 patience in working up our native materials, and it is possible we may 
 be able to tell quite another story. Brazilian agates, colored and polished 
 in Germany, are sold to the tourists of Colorado and other Western resorts 
 as local products, and I have seen the so-called “ tiger eye ” (crocidolite) 
 from South Africa sold by dealers in Montana to the unsuspecting tourist 
 as fossil wood from Arizona. 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRA VERTINES. 
 
 273 
 
 that have been almost completely refilled have been found 
 near Lexington, in Rockbridge County, a slab some 18 inches 
 square of which is among the collections of the National 
 Museum. In one of the extreme southwestern counties 
 deposits of this nature were worked some thirty years ago by 
 a local stone-cutter, but who, it needs scarcely be said, was a 
 foreigner. The material, singularly enough, was utilized 
 mainly for tombstones. As a result the churchyards of the 
 region present an appearance quite unique, and wholly unlike 
 anything I ever saw elsewhere. In place of the white marbles, 
 gray granite, or dull slate of the ordinary churchyard, we find 
 here rows of white, amber, and resinous stalagmitic marbles, 
 some of which are translucent and still beautiful in spite of 
 their years of exposure, though naturally roughened and in 
 some cases badly flawed and seamed. 
 
 Quarries in the broken-down caves of Eastern Tennessee, 
 Southwestern Missouri, and Arkansas have also been opened 
 and worked for a limited period, some of them furnishing a 
 fair grade of material, but for which there proved only a 
 limited market. The attempt is invariably made to utilize 
 the product mainly for furniture-tops and wainscotings, in 
 which line it must be brought into competition with the more 
 desirable travertines and high-grade decorative colored mar¬ 
 bles, as those of Siena and Algeria. For small ornaments, 
 vases, columns, and certain forms of bas-relief the material is 
 best adapted, and it is of little use to seek a market for it in 
 other lines of work. 
 
 Colorado , Utah , and New Mexico .—Deposits in every way 
 similar to those noted above have been reported from Colorado, 
 and, indeed, are likely to occur in any limestone country. 
 Dark and light amber varieties were exhibited as from Pelican 
 Point, Utah County, in the Utah exhibit at the World’s 
 Columbian Exposition in 1893. A much more striking 
 
274 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 variety was in the form of bright lemon and orange, dark buff, 
 and chrome-yellow and white slabs from deposits near Lehi, 
 in the same Territory. The stone was beautifully translucent 
 and the colors of astonishing depth and brilliancy—so much 
 so that it at first seemed scarcely possible that they could be 
 natural. The writer was informed by Mr. F. T. Millis that 
 the material occurs in the form of a vein some 4 feet in width 
 in limestone. Near the Rio Puerco station of the Atlantic & 
 Pacific Railroad, in Valencia County, New Mexico, are 
 deposits of travertine, or stalagmitic matter, which have been 
 exploited thus far only in a preliminary way. The stone 
 varies from whitish to deep smoky, almost black, and from 
 translucent to opaque. The better varieties show on a 
 polished surface a silky lustre and a radiating fibrous structure. 
 The stone is distinctly banded parallel with the plane of 
 deposition, the bands varying from faintly whitish to nearly 
 black, the dark bands being mere lines of inclosures. The 
 material, while lacking in richness of color, is, owing to its 
 lustre and fibrous structure, very attractive. The specific 
 gravity is 2.88; before the blowpipe it turns white and 
 crumbles away, agreeing in these as well as its fibrous structure 
 with the properties of aragonite. 
 
 Mexico .—To the average American the name onyx is 
 inseparable from that of Mexico, since from this source has, 
 until within a few years, been brought the almost entire com¬ 
 mercial supply, though small quantities are imported from 
 Algeria and Egypt. 
 
 There are many small, sporadic occurrences of onyx 
 throughout the volcanic areas south of the city of Mexico, 
 and doubtless in other parts of the republic as well, but which 
 are as yet unknown or unworked owing to lack of facilities for 
 transportation. Until quite recently the principal source has 
 been the region southeast of Puebla, between Tecali, Tzicat- 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRAVERTINES. 27$ 
 
 lacoya, and Tepene. Recently deposits have been found 
 near San Antonio.* The underlying rock, so far as I am able 
 to glean, is in most cases a Cretaceous limestone, though fre¬ 
 quently associated with recent lavas. Those deposits now 
 worked are naturally along or near the lines of railway leading 
 to Vera Cruz and the city of Mexico. 
 
 The stone of these localities has been worked from a very 
 early period of American history, perhaps even before the 
 advent of the Spaniards and the blotting out of Aztec civiliza¬ 
 tion. The best modern account of the quarries, if such they 
 can be called, that I am able to find is that given by an 
 unknown writer in the Engineering and Mining Journal for 
 December 26, 1891. On this I have drawn very largely in 
 the descriptions given below, although I cannot vouch for its 
 accuracy. 
 
 Among the Aztecs the stone was so highly prized for its 
 beauties that it was deemed too sacred to be given to the 
 ordinary uses of common mortality, and was devoted almost 
 solely to the ornamentation of religious edifices or the manu¬ 
 facture of sacrificial vessels. So strict and arbitrary was this 
 limitation on its use that its Indian name, “ tecali,” is merely 
 a corruption of the Aztec word “ teocall ” (Lord’s mansion), 
 a name given by the Indians to their temples.f With Cortez 
 and his freebooting followers the stone found as high favor, 
 
 * Beitrage zur Geologie und Paleontologie der Republik Mexico. Von 
 Drs. Felix und Lenk, ill. Theil., p. 129. 
 
 f Teocaltzinco, Teocal-tzinco, Teocalcino. Un templo sobre medio 
 cuerpo humano, signos, uno figurativo de teo calli (casa de Dios) y el otro 
 fonetico, terminal y diminutivo, tzinto, significan; “ en el lugar del 
 pequefio templo” 6 en pequeno Teocaltepec.—Catalogo Alfabetico de los 
 Nombres de Lugar Pertencientes al Idioma “Nabuatl” Estudio Jero- 
 glifico de la Matricula de los Tributos, etc., por el Dr. Antonio Penafiel, 
 
 1885. 
 
 From this it would appear that the derivation of the word as given in 
 the first edition of this work is erroneous. 
 
276 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 while with that peculiarity that always distinguished them of 
 picking out the best under all circumstances, the padres 
 regarded it as a most meet and proper offering to the Church 
 from the devout. Altars and baptismal fonts were always 
 made of it when it could be obtained, and among the most 
 notable sights connected with a tour of Mexico are the mag¬ 
 nificent collections of articles of this marble which are to be 
 found in many churches, particularly that in the cathedrals of 
 the cities of Mexico and Puebla, and in the churches of Leon, 
 Queretaro, and Guadalajara, several of which contain perfect 
 slabs 3 and 4 feet square, an extraordinary size on account of 
 the small and irregular shape in which the stone is found. 
 
 During recent years fashion has taken up what the priests 
 of these two religions thus marked with their approval, and 
 the stone, under the name of Mexican onyx, with its capricious 
 markings, has become so well known as to make a detailed 
 description of its different varieties unnecessary. To those 
 who have made its acquaintance, though only through the 
 medium of the ordinary onyx table-top, clock, or the interior 
 ornamentations of public buildings, beautiful as such are, it 
 would be hard to convey a correct idea of the exquisite 
 beauties of the finer grades of the marble. While the ordinary 
 grades commonly encountered probably surpass in elegance 
 any similar material, it is only in the light and dark green, 
 the ivory-colored, the brilliantly banded, and the daik red 
 varieties that a full realization of the stone at its best is had. 
 
 In the quarries the stone is found in the form of detached 
 masses ranging in size from a few inches up to 10 or 12 cubic 
 feet. Larger sizes are occasionally found, but so rarely that 
 the event is a notable one, while the value per cubic foot is 
 correspondingly increased. For example, the value of a piece 
 containing 1 or 2 cubic feet would be estimated to be ordi¬ 
 narily $3 per cubic foot in Mexican money, but were the piece 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 277 
 
 to contain 25 or 30 cubic feet the valuation would be about 
 $15 per cubic foot. This is for ordinary stock; with green 
 and the other finer grades it would be very difficult to form 
 any estimate whatever. This smallness of available sizes is 
 one of the principal defects of the stone, and one with which 
 the best skill has battled in vain. With its other defects, that 
 of occasional flaws or holes, ranging from a tenth of an inch 
 to 2 or 3 inches in diameter, more success has been had in 
 remedying the negligence of nature by filling the smaller with 
 a cement mixed with powdered portions of the stone, while, 
 in the larger a piece of the onyx is very often boldly inlaid 
 with such skill as to defy detection on a cursory inspection. 
 With the growing inability to supply the demand for onyx, 
 this last method of making the most out of what remains of 
 the stone has been pursued to a great extent, and with very 
 good success except where the article so “ improved ” is sub¬ 
 jected to sudden changes of temperature, in which case the 
 effect of our northern climate at once becomes apparent, and 
 the best of work under the irregular processes of expansion 
 and contraction soon becomes unsightly. Almost as common 
 but a more questionable method of “ improving” the stone 
 is that of sawing the inferior qualities that lack color into very 
 thin slabs, so thin as to be almost translucent. These are 
 then operated on by an “ artist,” who adorns one side with a 
 variety of colors and pencilings that make a very fair counter¬ 
 feit of the real first-class article, after which the side that is 
 painted is covered with a coating of very fine cement, which 
 gives it the appearance of having been merely sawed and left 
 unpolished. This class of work is often done so well that 
 when first finished it will deceive any but the sharpest of 
 experts, but under a year or two of use the swindle becomes 
 apparent, and soon nothing remains but a thin, transparent 
 slab of stone. 
 
278 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 The formation in which the marble or onyx is found is a 
 tough, reddish or dark brown clay, overlying a closely 
 cemented conglomerate. This is the usual form, but in one 
 instance—that of the Antigua Salines, on the Rancho del 
 Carmen—it is found in a hard, flint-like country rock which 
 appears to be more of a bastard jasper than anything else. 
 In this instance the onyx appears as a regular vein-formation, 
 the veins varying from 1 to 12 inches in width. 
 
 Of the quarries themselves all are small. The most 
 famous—La Pedrara, in the district of Tecali, 21 miles from 
 the city of Puebla—does not cover more than 3 acres, while 
 the average depth of the quarrying is not over 7 feet. The 
 value of the onyx taken from this small area, though, is hard 
 to realize. The high reputation of the stone is recognized the 
 world over, but it is very doubtful if one tenth of what has 
 been sold as “ La Pedrara ” during the last quarter of a cen¬ 
 tury ever came from it. At present no attempt is made to 
 work the quarry, in fact no indication of onyx in the place is 
 to be seen; the only effort made in obtaining onyx from it 
 being by sorting over the old dumps or refuse places which 
 have accumulated during its active existence. From these is 
 taken every piece of onyx that will square 6 inches or over. 
 The process is slow, while the yield is seemingly very small 
 in return for the labor. The onyx obtained is of a very fine 
 quality of green, ranging from a very light to a very dark tint, 
 and, as a rule, showing a slight dash of red or pink. Occa¬ 
 sional pieces of variegated colors are found which are very 
 fine, while the texture is very good. 
 
 Next in importance to La Pedrara is Antigua Salines, in 
 the district of Tehuacan, and which has already been briefly 
 mentioned on account of its peculiar geological formation. 
 The quarry covers over an area not exceeding 2 acres, and 
 forms the face of a hill about 250 feet high. In working it 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 279 
 
 the system has been simply a process of gouging out the 
 onyx and the rock which encases it, until into the side of the 
 hill there has been excavated a hole 100 feet in width by 50 
 feet in height and 60 feet deep, looking very much as if an 
 immense shovelful had been taken out. The onyx is varie¬ 
 gated in colors, and is ranked next to La Pedrara. 
 
 Ranking third, probably, in importance is La Sopresa, 
 which covers an area of about 5 acres, and is located about 
 35 miles west of Antigua Salines, in the same district. The 
 onyx from this quarry is semitranslucent, white, totally devoid 
 of colors, save where an occasional mass of green is found. 
 The quarry has been worked for the last fifteen years only, 
 and is at present the largest producer of onyx in Mexico. 
 Sizes ranging as large as from 2 to 3 feet square can be 
 obtained, which is something extraordinary in Mexican onyx 
 deposits, and the supply in “ sight ” seems to be sufficient 
 for several years. The total absence of any color to set off 
 the pure white is to be regretted, but, as it is, the demand for 
 the stone is sufficient to tax the quarry to its utmost to supply 
 it. 
 
 Directly east from Sopresa, about 4 miles, is found the 
 quarry of La Mesa, lying, as its name indicates, on a level 
 table-topped mountain. The quarry shows quite extensive 
 working, the product being a variegated onyx, which, how¬ 
 ever, lacks the brilliancy shown in the stone of Antigua 
 Salines. It covers an area of nearly 30 acres, being the 
 largest quarry in Mexico. Occasionally quite large pieces are 
 obtained, but the average sizes prepared for shipment will not 
 exceed 15 by 10 by 6 inches, while pieces as small as *10 by 6 
 by 10 inches are also shipped, both to Europe and the 
 United States. This, however, is the case with all the 
 quarries, and it is the exception when pieces larger than 
 the first mentioned are exported. 
 
2SO STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 In addition to the quarries here mentioned there are many 
 others of less importance, either by reason of their small out¬ 
 put or from having been worked out. Among these the most 
 interesting, on account of historical associations or past 
 records, are those known as El Mogote, Lajas, Agua 
 Esconda, Desamparo, Mehauntepec, Tepeyac, Tecoluco, La 
 Paoma, and La Reforma. 
 
 Lower California. —The last, and perhaps most important, 
 of the American deposits to be described are also on Mexican 
 territory, but on the peninsula of Lower or Baja California, 
 some 150 miles south from San Diego. The deposit, or 
 rather series of deposits, lie mainly in the open desert some 
 10 to 1*5 miles from the Gulf coast. The region is one of low 
 rolling hills and flat-topped mesas, with shallow valleys and 
 dry watercourses. The prevailing rock is a friable sandstone, 
 with alternating layers of calcareous conglomerate and onyx 
 in isolated patches. The surface is everywhere covered with 
 irregularly rounded and angular fragments of eruptive rocks 
 from the hills in the n’ear vicinity.* Aside from the onyx and 
 the characteristic lake-bed deposits all traces of spring and 
 lake action have long since disappeared, and the region is an 
 arid waste, with only cacti, “ sirios ” {Fouquieria splendens), and 
 the agave shawi in the immediate vicinity, with the mesqnite , 
 paolo verdes, stout, low-branching elephant-wood ( Veatchi 
 Cedrocensis ) and pole like Fouquieria columnaris , or giant 
 cactus ( Cereuspringlei (?)) like clustered mill-logs along the dry 
 watercourses or extending for dreary miles along the flat- 
 topped plateaux. The onyx occurs in the form of spasmodic 
 and isolated patches, sometimes forming apparently a super¬ 
 ficial pavement upon the surface, or again, where the beds 
 
 * For a detailed account of the geology of the peninsula see Geologi¬ 
 cal Sketch of Lower California, by S. F. Emmons and G. P. Merrill, 
 Bulletin Geological Society of America, vol. v. April, 1894. 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 28l 
 
 have been cut by the winding course of the now dry ravine, 
 in the form of three distinct layers, from 20 inches to 3 or 
 more feet in thickness, interstratified with tufaceous and lake- 
 bed material. 
 
 Nothing can be more fascinating to the lover of the beau¬ 
 tiful in stones than this occurrence, where huge blocks of 
 material of almost ideal soundness, with ever-varying shades 
 of color and veination, lie everywhere exposed in countless 
 numbers. Under the blistering sun of an almost tropic 
 climate the exposed blocks have become to some extent 
 corroded, and covered upon their immediate surface with a 
 thin film of oxidation products which just sufficiently disguise 
 the true color and translucency to keep one running here and 
 there, ever cracking off new fragments in the vain attempt to 
 collect a fairly typical series. The colors are peculiarly 
 delicate, and there is a wonderful uniformity in quality. Pearl 
 white (the virgin onyx), delicate rose tints, and light greens 
 are the more common, all variegated by a network of fine 
 sharp veins of a rose-red color, as shown in Plate xxiv. The 
 rose color is quite unique and wonderfully beautiful. 
 
 The analyses given in the table show this to be the most 
 dense of any of the onyx marbles. Although less highly 
 colored than some of the Mexican varieties, it is nevertheless 
 one of the most beautiful, owing to its uniform translucency, 
 freedom from flaws, and fine veination. 
 
 Algeria .—The celebrated deposits from whence the ancient 
 Romans drew their supplies of onyx, alabaster, calcareous 
 onyx, or oriental alabaster are situated in the northern part of 
 Algeria, in the province of Oran. The deposits as now 
 worked are two in number, one some 65 miles from Oran, on 
 the route to Tlemcen, and the second a few miles to the west, 
 both lying to the right of the Isser. The first of these, 
 known by the name of Bled Rekham, is divided into three 
 
282 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 parts by two ravines, the Oued Abdallah on the east and the 
 Oued Calkra on the west. M. Comynet estimates the area 
 occupied here by the onyx as about 12 acres, and gives the 
 following section: (1) A bed of about 4 feet thickness, under 
 which lies compact travertine of no value; (2) a second bed 
 of onyx 3 feet 4 inches thick, separated by impure travertine 
 from a third bed of onyx 2 feet in thickness, and, lastly, several 
 thinner beds from 6 to 16 inches in thickness, alternating with 
 impure travertine, making in all a mean thickness of some 10 
 feet of quarriable material. It was stated at the time that 
 blocks of extraordinary size could be quarried for shafts, 
 columns, or friezes, even up to 20 feet in length by 4 feet 
 square. At this date it is stated blocks may be had 10 feet 
 in length by 3 feet in width and thickness. The second 
 deposit noted, called Ardja-el-Beida, lies some 3 kilometers 
 to the west of Bled Bekham, upon a plateau with steep 
 north, west, and south escarpments. It was once continuous 
 with a bed called El Cellon, but from which it has become 
 separated by a ravine called the Chabbat-Karonba. The onyx 
 of this locality is said to be inferior to that of the first, both as 
 regards quality and size of blocks obtainable. The beds vary 
 in thickness up to 30 inches and have a total thickness of some 
 10 feet, covering an area of about 20 acres. All the deposits 
 are Quaternary, and lie unconformably upon lime and sand¬ 
 stones of Tertiary (Middle Miocene) age. The stone, as is 
 usually the case, varies greatly in color and shade, from pure 
 white to rose colored and bright red, golden yellow, and, more 
 rarely, green. The present quarriers (Sauville & Co., Paris) 
 divide the output into four classes, le Blanc, leRubaune or Veine , 
 le Cachemire, and le Cachemire bois. The white (blanc) variety 
 is the more abundant, and is found in nearly all the quarries, 
 occurring in layers sometimes upward of a meter in thickness, 
 and blocks have been removed containing upwards of 5 cubic 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 283 
 
 meters. It varies from translucent to opaque, sometimes 
 milk-white or veined with fine ribbons of pale yellow. The 
 milk-white variety is employed for columns, articles used in 
 religious ceremonies, and in place of ordinary white marble in 
 furniture. The translucent variety is employed in statuary, 
 and has, besides, many other applications, as for the glazing 
 of church windows and for shades. The r'bboned or veined 
 onyx is also abundant, and there are many places for its 
 extraction. The ribbons are parallel with the plane of deposi¬ 
 tion, and of a clear deep yellow, sometimes rose or violet, 
 tint. Other irregular veins traverse the stone in all direc¬ 
 tions, giving very beautiful effects. This variety is also 
 obtainable in blocks of good size, and is used for buildings, 
 columns, pilasters, balustrades, stairways, panels, or for fur¬ 
 niture-tops. A green variety also occurs, though now some¬ 
 what sparingly. The prevailing color is paler than the better 
 varieties of the Mexican or American stone. A rose variety, 
 said to have been especially admired by the Romans, is found 
 in small blocks, scarcely larger than a paving-stone. White 
 translucent varieties with irregular veins of lively red or orange 
 yellow also occur, though sporadically and in small masses.* 
 Although not described in the published accounts, it is 
 evident that a process of oxidation has gone on in certain 
 
 * In a publication entitled Notice Mineralogique par la Service des 
 Mines (Algeria, 1889) I find references to onyx quarries as follows: In the 
 province of Oran, at Ain Seboa, some 17.5 kilometers south 32 0 west from 
 Nemours, an onyx of yellow, gray, and vermilion tint, apparently belong¬ 
 ing to the Quaternary period and resting upon Oxfordian beds ; at Sidi 
 Brahim, 10 kilometers south 4° west of Nemours, a similar stone, but of 
 poorer quality; and at Tekbajet, 26 kilometers north 21 0 east from 
 Tlemcen, a very beautiful variety of diverse hues intercalated in isolated 
 Quaternary areas resting upon Miocene ; in the province of Constantine, 
 in Oued Zergua, some 40 kilometers southeast of Souk-Ahras, a marble 
 approximating onyx occurring in veins in Cenomanien beds. This last is 
 doubtless a stalagmitic or stalactitic deposit. 
 
284 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 layers of the Algerian stone, as in that of Arizona, for such 
 material is found in the shape of turned columns and stands 
 for statues and other ornaments in the art and furnishing 
 shops. The colors are quiet ochre and mahogany-brown, 
 clouded and veined, and though not as translucent and highly 
 lustrous as objects of the unoxidized stone, such are by no 
 means lacking in beauty. The dealers, in their ignorance of 
 the nature of the materials they handle, will almost invariably 
 assure a customer that such are not of onyx, but “ marble,” 
 even though, as the writer has shown them, there may still be 
 veins or layers of unoxidized material running through them. 
 
 Egypt .—Unlike the onyx of Algeria, that of Egypt, at 
 least so far as the better known locality is concerned, is stal- 
 agmitic, that is to say, a cave deposit. 
 
 According to various authorities,* there are two known 
 sources of stone, the first near Beni-Souef, some 25 leagues 
 south of Cairo, and the other at Syout, farther to the south, 
 but also in the Nile Valley. The writer is informed by Dr. 
 Ernest Sickenberger, of Cairo, that the stone of the first- 
 named locality is found in cavities and clefts in Eocene lime¬ 
 stone at Gebel Oorakam (Wady Sanoor) east of Beni-Souef, 
 and in smaller amounts east of Assioot. That , used in the 
 mosque of Mehemet Ali, as already noted, was taken from 
 the Gebel Oorakam quarries, as was also the material for the 
 beautiful monolithic columns of the Church of S. Paolo fuori 
 le Mura at Rome. Samples of this stone kindly sent to 
 Washington by Dr. Sickenberger were of a nearly white or 
 only faint straw color, of a granular texture, and in no way 
 remarkable for their beauty, but such as might be duplicated 
 by the hundreds of tons from the broken-down caves in the 
 
 * See Delesse, Materiaux de Construction de l’Exposition Universelle 
 de 1855 ; Zittel, in Baedeker’s Guide to Lower Egypt ; Sir J. W. Dawson’s 
 Notes on Useful and Ornamental Stones in Ancient Egypt. 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRAVERTINES 
 
 285 
 
 Silurio-Cambrian limestones of the Shenandoah Valley of 
 Virginia. Mineralogically the stone is calcite and carries only 
 a trace of organic matter in the way of impurities. According 
 to Delesse, this deposit was worked by the Egyptians at a very 
 early date, and later by the Romans. As, however, published 
 accounts speak of the stone only as “ Egyptian alabaster,” 
 we have in most cases no means of ascertaining the exact 
 locality from whence it was derived. The Syout stone differs 
 from that of Beni-Souef in having a micro-radiating instead of 
 granular structure, and in being of a light yellowish or straw 
 color. • It is translucent and close in texture, and has a beauti¬ 
 fully mellow and pleasing tint either when carved or polished. 
 The date at which these latter deposits were first opened can¬ 
 not be ascertained from available literature. Delesse states, 
 and after him Chateau,* that they were discovered by Selim 
 Pacha, to whom they were conceded by the viceroy. Bos- 
 cawen,f however, gives us to understand that they were 
 worked at a much earlier period, by kings of the sixth dynasty 
 (3703 B.C. according to Mariette; 2744 B.C. according to Prof. 
 Lepsius). He describes the quarry as situated in the hills to 
 the east of the Syout road, some 10 miles southeast of the 
 plain of Tel-el-Amarna, and as being about 250 feet long by 
 50 feet in width, cut into the face of the hill. It was worked, 
 he says, upon a most regular system, layer after layer being 
 cut away, the product being both “ alabaster ” and ordinary 
 limestone. The detailed description of this author is as fol¬ 
 lows : 
 
 “ Starting from the quarry is a broad roadway, from 15 to 
 20 feet wide, crossing the hills into the line of the Syout road, 
 and thence across the plain of Tel-el-Amarna to the Nile. 
 This roadway is a wonderful piece of engineering work. In 
 
 * Op. cit. 
 
 f See Stone, Indianapolis, Indiana, Sept. 1893, pp. 362-365. 
 
2 86 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 one place a ravine some 40 or 50 feet is crossed, the roadway 
 being carried across by a solid causeway built by bowlders so 
 arranged on a road basis as to support very heavy weights. 
 The gradients are regulated with great care. 
 
 “ This quarry does not seem to have been worked much 
 during the later dynasties of the Middle Empire. The other 
 day the Arabs brought us news of a large magharah, or quarry, 
 with inscriptions, situated one day’s journey into the desert. 
 So Mr. Newberry and myself started on camels. It was a 
 long, dreary ride across the plain of Tel-el-Amarna, along the 
 Syout road, and across the hills, slightly to the south of Hat- 
 Nub. Here we crossed a number of barren wadies and 
 reached the slopes of a low limestone range, probably the 
 northern portion of the Jebel-Kaiwleh, and after a hard climb 
 reached the entrance to a large quarry, which was partially 
 blocked with drift and rubbish. It required but a very casual 
 inspection to find that we had struck a very ancient quarry, 
 for on the lintel of the door were a number of inscriptions of 
 King Teta, the founder of the sixth dynasty. The inscrip¬ 
 tions on the doorway were very archaic in type, especially the 
 rudely-drawn figures of a dog and a hawk, and the portrait of 
 Teta wearing a crown. The entrance chamber of the quarry 
 ran due south for a distance of about 80 feet and then struck a 
 broad aisle running slightly southeast for a distance of about 
 110 feet. All around were fragments of beautiful alabaster, 
 of a type not used for building purposes, but the fine, rich, 
 yellow, close-grained sort, often with brown veins, used for 
 statues, vases, and toilet and sacrificial pots. The walls 
 were covered in many places by rude votive inscriptions, 
 usually painted panels representing a sacrificial scene, with 
 the table of offerings. Some of these are grotesque almost to 
 caricature. The face and limbs are the dark Egyptian red, 
 the robe white, while the grotesque nose of the figure and the 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 287 
 
 
 green palm-branch seem to quite burlesque the scenes near. 
 Over the figure is a short hieratic inscription. On other wails 
 are dated inscriptions in the reign of Amenemhat II, of the 
 twelfth dynasty, and a fine rock-cut tablet of Usertesen III. 
 The king is here represented seated on his throne, with his 
 hunting dog by his side. 
 
 The quarry does not seem to have been worked after 
 the period of the twelfth dynasty. We slept in the quarry 
 that night, and it was indeed about as old and as weird a bed¬ 
 chamber as was ever my fortune to occupy. Bats flew over 
 our heads and blinked at the lamp, and about midnight two 
 foxes, whose home we had usurped, came to the top of the 
 neighboring hills and barked defiance. * * * The morning 
 was devoted to examining the quarry, and with some interest¬ 
 ing results. The alabaster vein was not very thick, but very 
 rich in color, and the method of working seemed to have been 
 to cut out blocks about 4 or 6 feet long and 3 feet in depth and 
 width. These were hewn out and roughly dressed with stone 
 hammers and chisels made from hard bowlders. * * * The 
 hands were protected by hide bands wound around the chisel, 
 and several strips were found in the debris. That the ala¬ 
 baster from this mine was only transported in small portions 
 is shown by the fact that there is no made roadway for sledge 
 transport. 
 
 “ Another alabaster quarry remains to be mentioned, sit¬ 
 uated to the east of the Tel-el-Amarna plain, behind the 
 northern tombs. This was worked by Rameses II and his 
 son Meneptah, the Pharaohs of the Oppression and the 
 Exodus, and its steep sides may have echoed to the blows of 
 the picks of the toiling Israelites.” 
 
 Persia .—The onyx found in the vicinity of Lake Oroomiah 
 has already been referred to in discussing the origin of this 
 class of rocks. For a description of its mode of occurrence we 
 
288 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 have to rely mainly upon the accounts of travellers who are 
 neither chemists nor geologists. The writer is informed by 
 Mr. P. Z. Easton that the quarries, if such they can be called, 
 lie not far from the main road from Tabriz to Maragha, about 
 44 miles from the former place and 28 miles from the latter. 
 
 I find two somewhat detailed accounts of the occurrence in 
 the literature at hand, and venture to give both in full, though 
 the first more as a curiosity than as a contribution to scientific 
 knowledge. This is by Morier* and is as follows: 
 
 “ On the 24th we proceeded to Shirameen, a village near 
 the lake, and distant 3 fursungs from the preceding stage. 
 At the distance of 1 fursung on the right of the road is a 
 spring of chalybeate water, and 2 fursungs farther on, after 
 having discovered the expanse of the lake, we diverged from 
 the road to visit the petrifications. 
 
 “ This natural curiosity consists of certain extraordinary 
 ponds or plashes whose indolent waters, by a slow and regular 
 process, stagnate, concrete, and petiifv, and pioduce that 
 beautiful transparent stone commonly called Tabriz marble, 
 which is so remarkable in most of the burial-places in Persia, 
 and which forms a chief ornament in all the buildings of note 
 throughout the country. These ponds, which are situated 
 close to one another, are contained in a circumference of about 
 half a mile, and their position is marked by confused heaps 
 and mounds of the stone, which have accumulated as the 
 excavations have increased. We had seen nothing in Persia 
 yet which was more worthy of the attention of the naturalists 
 than this; and I never so much regretted my ignorance of 
 subjects of this nature, because I felt that it is of consequence 
 they should be brought into notice by scientific observation. 
 However, rather than omit all description of a spot which 
 
 * Morier, Second Journey through Persia, May 18, 1818, pp. 284-286. 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES . 289 
 
 perhaps no Europeans but ourselves have had the opportunity 
 of examining, and on which, therefore, we are bound (in jus¬ 
 tice to those opportunities) not to withhold the information 
 which we obtained, I will venture to give the following notes 
 of our visit, relying upon the candor and the science of my 
 reader to fill up my imperfect outline. 
 
 “ On approaching the spot the ground has a hollow sound, 
 with a particularly dreary and calcined appearance, and when 
 upon it a strong mineral smell arises from the ponds. The 
 process of petrification is to be traced from its first beginning 
 to its termination. In one part the water is clear, in a second 
 it appears thicker and stagnant, in a third quite black, and in 
 its last stage is white, like a hoar frost. Indeed, a petrified 
 pond looks like frozen water, and before the operation is 
 quite finished a stone lightly thrown upon it breaks the outer 
 coating, and causes the black water underneath to exude. 
 Where the operation is complete a stone makes no impression, 
 and a man may walk upon it without wetting his shoes. 
 Whenever the petrification has been hewn into, the curious 
 progress of the concretion is clearly seen, and shows itself like 
 sheets of rough paper one over the other in accumulated 
 layers. Such is the constant tendency of this water to 
 become stone that where it exudes from the ground in bubbles 
 the petrification assumes a globular shape, as if the bubbles 
 of a spring, by a stroke of magic, had been arrested in their 
 play, and metamorphosed into marble. These stony bubbles, 
 which form the most curious specimens of this extraordinary 
 quarry, frequently contain within them portions of the earth 
 through which the water has oozed. 
 
 “ The substance thus produced is brittle, transparent, and 
 sometimes most richly streaked with green, red, and copper- 
 colored veins. It admits of being cut into immense slabs, and 
 take a good polish. We did not remark that any plant except 
 
STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 rushes grew in the water. The shortest and best definition 
 that can be given of the ponds is that which Quintus Curtius 
 gives of the Lake Ascanius, “Aqua sponte concrescens 
 (Lib., XI. c. 12). The present royal family of Persia, whose 
 princes do not spend large sums in the construction of public 
 buildings, have not carried away much of the stone; but some 
 immense slabs which were cut by Nadir Shah, and now lie 
 neglected amongst innumerable fragments, show the objects 
 which he had in view. So much is this stone looked upon as 
 
 article of luxurv that none but the king, his sons, and 
 persons privileged by special firman are permitted to excavate, 
 and such is the ascendancy of pride over avarice that the 
 scheme of farming it to the highest bidder does not seem to 
 have ever come within the calculations of its present pos¬ 
 sessors. 
 
 The second account, that of Curzon,* is apparently the 
 more accurate, though he also refers to the stone as a “ petri¬ 
 faction,” and is quite in error in stating that the springs in 
 the Yellowstone Park have deposited “ gleaming blocks of 
 snow-white marble.” He says: 
 
 “ Near the eastern shore of the lake [Oroomiah], and at 
 about 6 miles from the village of Dehkharegan, are the pits or 
 springs from which is extracted the famous semitransparent 
 marble, sometimes called after the neighboring town of 
 Maragha, sometimes after Tabriz. A number of springs, 
 clustered within an area of half a mile in circumference, are 
 constantly bubbling up and precipitating the limestone which 
 they hold in solution. This is deposited in the form of hori¬ 
 zontal layers, which are like a thin crust to start with, and can 
 be cracked or broken, but which gradually solidify into hard 
 blocks, with an average thickness of 7 or 8 inches, the best of 
 
 * Curzon, G. N., Persia and the Persian Question, etc., vol. X, 1892,. 
 p. 264, et seq. 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 291 
 
 which are believed to have been formed when the springs had 
 a much higher temperature than the present (65° F.). When 
 quarried this petrifaction can be sawn either in the thinnest 
 plates, when it is nearly transparent, and is sometimes used 
 for windows, or in more substantial slabs, in which form it is 
 much used for pavements and mural wainscotings. It is a 
 singularly beautiful substance, being of a pink or greenish or 
 milk-white color, streaked with reddish or copper-colored 
 veins (from the oxide which it contains); and I have seen 
 beautiful samples of it in the palaces and mosques of the 
 East. I have very little doubt that the wainscoting of the 
 Gur Amir, or Tomb of Timur, at Samarkand, which I have 
 described in my former work, and which has puzzled all 
 travellers, is composed of this marble, which there is nothing 
 more natural than the great conquerer should have carried 
 home with him at the close of his Persian campaign.* The 
 process of petrifaction bears a marked resemblance to that 
 which was in existence till the great eruption of a few years 
 ago at the pink and white terraces in New Zealand, and to 
 that which may still be seen at the Mammoth Hot Springs in 
 the Yellowstone Park, in North America, where the indura 
 tion may be observed through all its stages, from a film-like 
 frosted sugar to gleaming blocks of snow-white marble.” 
 
 The Tabriz stone seems to have formerly been quite ex¬ 
 tensively used by the wealthier classes, as already noted 
 (p. 260), and is still utilized to some extent, though mainly in 
 the manufacture of small ornaments. 
 
 The National Museum collections contain but a few small 
 pieces of material from this source, and’which are either pure 
 milk-white in color and very translucent, or of a dull red- 
 
 * In footnote to above statement he says : “Since writing the above I 
 have come across the statement as a matter of fact that Timur took back 
 with him to Samarkand a large supply of the marble of Azerbaijan” 
 
292 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 brown color and opaque, the latter being apparently an oxida¬ 
 tion product from the white. The stone is interesting from 
 a chemical standpoint, as already noted (p. 252). 
 
 Other localities than those mentioned above are known. 
 Thus Blanford * says: 
 
 “ Mount Kuh Hazar,f lying between Bam and Karman, 
 consists mainly if not wholly of volcanic rocks and ash beds. 
 At the base of the mountain, near Rayin, there is much cal¬ 
 careous tuffa in horizontal beds, apparently deposited by 
 springs, some of which are seen a short distance up the side 
 of the mountain, forming calcareous deposits. Large blocks 
 of massive carbonate of lime of a slightly greenish tint, and 
 apparently formed in stalagmitic masses, are found in the 
 neighborhood, and are used for ornamental purposes. A 
 similar stone is said to be brought from Yezd and other places, 
 and it is generally known in Persia as Yezd marble. It closely 
 resembles the Egyptian stone known as oriental alabaster, 
 except that the color is greenish white instead of yellow.” 
 
 This is doubtless the stone described by Curzon as “ an 
 excellent yellow, semitransparent marble, quarried in the 
 mountains near Yezd, the actual spot being Turun Pusht, 
 40 miles from Taft and 56 miles from Yezd.” As already 
 noted, it is from the Yezd stone, according to Curzon, that 
 was constructed the tomb of the poet Hafiz. From this 
 stone, too, according to the same authority, were constructed 
 the superb marble throne and the twisted marble pillars that 
 now adorn the throne-room or talar in the royal palace at 
 Teheran. 
 
 Still another locality for this stone or one answering well 
 
 * Eastern Persia, an account of the Journeys of the Persian Boundary 
 Commission, 1870-1872, vol. II. p. 486. 
 
 f Kuh Hazar is a mountain 14,550 feet in height, lying between Bam and 
 Karman, in the central southern portion of the empire. 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES , OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 293 
 
 its description is near the village of Tauris, in Susiane. 
 Chardin* describes it as “transparent presque comme le 
 cristal de roche, et on voit a travers de tables qui ont un 
 pouce d’epassier et meme plus. Ce marbre est blanc, mele 
 de verd, pale comme une maniere de jadde. II est si tendre 
 que le couteau l’entame: ce qui fait penser a plusieurs que 
 ce n’est pas un vrai mineral, ni qui ait la consistance d’une 
 vraie pierre.” 
 
 Italy .—The writer is informed by Chevalier Jervis that 
 very many localities exist in different parts of Italy where 
 natural caverns in limestones of varying geological age are to 
 be met with, and which are capable of affording much fine 
 marble for decorative purposes. A very complete list of these 
 is given in Mr. Jervis’s treatise on the economic geology of 
 Italy,f and we will here mention only the more important and 
 widely known. Singularly enough the ancient Romans, with 
 all their love for lavish display in articles beautiful and rare, 
 seem to have worked but little these deposits, but to have 
 preferred bringing their materials from more distant sources. 
 A rich honey-yellow marble of this class occurs in caverns in 
 Archaean limestone at Busca, Cuneo province, and may be seen 
 worked up in the royal palace at Turin, and in some of the 
 private houses. It is stated to be very beautiful. A banded 
 dark yellow and white variety, forming a handsome ornamen¬ 
 tal stone, is found at Indiano Olona, in the province of Como. 
 The stone occurs in caves in Mesozoic limestone not far from 
 the Swiss frontier. At Albino, in the Val Setiana, province 
 of Bergamo, stones of this class may be quarried in slabs of 
 considerable superficial area but limited thickness. It is used 
 for making mantels and other articles of ornament as well as 
 for inlaid work. There are two localities of the stone in the 
 
 * Voyages du Chevalier Chardin en Perse, etc., vol. 111, 1811. 
 f See I Tesori Sotterranei dell’ Italia, vol. hi. p. 340, and vol. iv. p. 504. 
 
294 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION . 
 
 province of Brescia which may be mentioned—one at Pisogne, 
 on the eastern side of the lake of Iseo, where a yellow-brown 
 material is obtained from stalactites in Triassic limestone, and 
 the other at Rezzato, a few miles to the east of Brescia. The 
 stone here is dark brown, and occurs in caverns in the Liassian 
 limestone. 
 
 In the Apennine range a large number of localities may 
 be specified where stalactitic and stalagmitic marbles of great 
 variety and beauty are to be found. Special mention must 
 be made of the stone known as alabastro del Gazzo, from the 
 fact of its coming from Monte Gazzo, at San Giovanni Battista, 
 province of Genoa, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The 
 cave is in a Triassic limestone. The stone is described by 
 Chevalier Jervis as a beautiful and gorgeous material, and as 
 having been largely used in former centuries for internal 
 decoration in the churches of Genoa. A great number of 
 stalactites from the same part of Liguria were employed with 
 wonderfully artistic effect in making the artificial cave in the 
 celebrated gardens of the Marquis Pallaricini, at Pegli, near 
 Genoa. In the province of Siena there is a cavern in Liassian 
 limestone whence large masses of cave marble have been pro¬ 
 cured for decorative purposes, while at Castelnuova dell’ 
 Abbate, in the commune of Monte Alcino, considerable 
 quantities are found underlying a Quaternary travertine. 
 Stones of this same class are found also at Terracina, province 
 of Rome, and at Gesualdo (principato Utteriore), near the 
 central chain of the southern Apennines. This last locality 
 furnished the architect Vanvitelli 32 monolithic shafts or 
 columns for the royal palace at Caserta. The same stone, 
 together with other marbles, was used by the King of Naples 
 for the internal decoration of the royal palace at Portici, now 
 the higher school of agriculture. 
 
 Miscellaneous Localities .—According to D’Orbigny and 
 
THE ONYX MARBLES, OR TRAVERTINES. 
 
 295 
 
 Gente,* France has an abundance of beautiful “ calcareous 
 alabasters” in grottoes and caves, but the material is less 
 esteemed than that of Italy, whence the commercial supply 
 was largely obtained. 
 
 They also state that a veined, undulated “ alabaster ” of 
 a beautiful wax-yellow color is found in caverns at Malaga, in 
 Spain. When cut across the bedding it shows veins of two 
 very pleasing tints, but when cut parallel it shows only large, 
 confused, cloudy areas (taches enthrone llies), and is not nearly 
 as beautiful. The Palais at Madrid is decorated with this 
 stone. C. P. Brard, in his Mineralogie Appliquee aux Arts, 
 \% 2 i (p. 396), describes the onyx marbles as cave deposits, 
 and seems never to have heard of their occurrence as hot- 
 spring deposits. Under this head he describes, very briefly, 
 clouded white, limpid to opaque, varieties, sometimes of a 
 beautiful green tint, from Arcena, in Andalusia, Spain. The 
 translucent varieties were the soundest and most esteemed by 
 the ancients (whoever they may have been). He also speaks 
 (p. 402) of a honey-yellow, almost transparent, variety from 
 the isle of Malta, and which was used in making statues of 
 large size. Other varieties are also found on this island, one 
 of a clear yellow color, veined with white, or white variegated 
 with black, or brown and white. This same authority further 
 states that a brown “ alabaster ” with clearer veins, and which 
 receives a beautiful polish, is found in the territory of Saguna, 
 in Sicily, and near Montreal and Caputa other varieties, with 
 lively red and yellowish veins or clear yellow and white. A 
 white variety with yellow and red veins is found at Mount 
 Pellegrino and a yellowish one at Bactia, in Corsica. Unfor¬ 
 tunately this author’s descriptions are meagre, and the use 
 of the name alabaster, as already noted, is so misleading that 
 we cannot in all cases discriminate, and it is possible some of 
 the stones here mentioned may be true alabaster (gypsum). 
 
 * Geologie Appliquee aux Arts et a l’Agriculture. 
 
296 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Pliny * writes of a white alabaster, which is presumably a 
 true carbonate, as occurring at Damascus, in Syria. He com¬ 
 pares it with that found near Thebes (Syout?), in Egypt, but 
 of a white color. The most next esteemed variety, he states, 
 is that of Carmania (Carmona, in Spain?), and the least that 
 of Cappadocia, in Asia Minor. Next to that of Carman'a he 
 considers a product of a locality, not mentioned, in India as 
 of greatest value, and places that of Syria as third in the list. 
 
 (5) LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES OTHER THAN MARBLES. 
 
 Alabama .—A dark compact limestone occurs near Calera, 
 in Shelby County, and a light-colored, finely fossiliferous one 
 near Dickson, in Colbert County. The last mentioned closely 
 resembles in general appearance the celebrated limestone from 
 Bedford, Indiana, to be noticed later. It appears of good qual¬ 
 ity, and works readily. 
 
 Arkansas .—Oolitic limestone suitable for building, and hav¬ 
 ing the reputation of being very durable, is stated by Mr. 
 Owent to occur near Batesville, in Independence County. 
 Prof. Branner also reports £ a cream colored magnesian lime¬ 
 stone of good quality as occurring in the vicinity of Eureka 
 Springs in Carroll County. 
 
 Colorado .—The National collections from this State show a 
 coarse, reddish limestone from Jefferson County, and also a 
 very compact, finely crystalline black stone, traversed by a 
 coarse net-work of very fine white lines, from Pitkin in Gunni¬ 
 son County. This last stone takes a polish, and might almost 
 be classed as a marble. Neither stone is now quarried to any 
 extent. 
 
 * Pliny, Natural History, book xxxvi. chap. 12. 
 
 f Geology of Arkansas, vol. 1. p. 220. 
 
 \ Stone, Oct. 1889, p. 93. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES {UNITED STATES). 297 
 
 Florida. —This State at present furnishes scarcely anything 
 in the line of building stone, nor is there much demand for any 
 other form of building material than wood. On Anastasia 
 Island, about two miles from Saint Augustine, there was 
 formerly quarried to a considerable extent a very coarse and 
 porous shell limestone which was used in the construction of 
 the old city of Saint Augustine and of Fort Marion, which was 
 built about the middle of the eighteenth century. The rock 
 is composed simply of shells of a bivalve mollusk, more or less 
 broken and cemented together by the same material in a more 
 finely divided state. Fragments of shells an inch or more in 
 diameter occur. The rock is loosely compacted and very por¬ 
 ous, but in a mild climate like that of Florida is nevertheless 
 durable. The quarries were opened upwards of two hun¬ 
 dred years ago, but the stone is not now extensively used, ow¬ 
 ing in part to the dampness of houses constructed of it, 
 and in part to the cheapness of wood. The rock, which is 
 popularly known as Coquina (the Spanish word for shell), is of 
 Upper Eocene age. In the quarries the stone lies within a few 
 feet of the surface, and can be cut out with an ax, in sizes 
 and shapes to suit. 
 
 The oolitic limestone occurring at Key West has been 
 quarried and used in the construction of numerous private and 
 public buildings in that vicinity. It is of too loose and porous 
 a texture to be of value for other than local use. 
 
 Illinois .—No siliceous crystalline rocks of any kind are to 
 be found within the State limits, almost the entire product 
 being limestone or dolomite, with a few quarries of sandstone, 
 which are noticed on p. 312. According to Professor Conover* 
 the State embraces rocks representing most of the epochs of 
 the Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous ages. Over the 
 
 * Report of Tenth Census, vol. x. 1880. 
 
I 
 
 r 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 greater part of its area these rocks have been but little dis¬ 
 turbed, and occur with beds approximately horizontal or in¬ 
 clined at a- small angle to the horizon. 
 
 The surface of the State is almost everywhere covered by a 
 variable depth of the looser deposits of the Tertiary and Qua¬ 
 ternary ages. Owing partly to the nature of the rock, but 
 most largely in all probabilities to these subsequent deposits, 
 a very large, portion of the country presents a very level or 
 slightly undulating prairie surface, within the limits of which 
 are few rock exposures. This is true of the whole central and 
 eastern part of the State, the larger portion of its territory. 
 
 Skirting this great area on all sides except the east, is a 
 country of very different character, though the change is 
 gradual—a valley country with very marked water courses, 
 which cut through the beds of clay and sand to and into the 
 rock formations below. Throughout the greater part of this 
 area the rocks immediately underlying are Silurian, Devonian, 
 or Sub-carboniferous, all of which furnish excellent building 
 materials, and but few localities of considerable area are found 
 where at least a fair building material cannot easily be 
 obtained. 
 
 The most notable of the limestones of this State is the fine 
 - grained, very light-colored Niagara stone, quarried in the vicin¬ 
 ity of Lemont and Joliet, in Will County. The Lemont quai- 
 ries lie on both sides of the Illinois and Lake Michigan Canal, 
 and the beds of stone are quarried to their lower limits through 
 a variable thickness of from 12 to 40 feet. The stone here is 
 uniformly a fine-grained, homogeneous, light-drab limestone, 
 occurring in beds from 6 to 24, and sometimes 30 inches in 
 thickness. The beds are divided vertically by seams occurring 
 at intervals of from 12 to 50 feet, and continuing with smooth 
 faces for long distances, and also by a second set running 
 nearly at right angles with the first, but only continuous be- 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). 299 
 
 tween massive joints and at irregular intervals. This structure 
 renders the rock very easily quarried and obtainable in blocks 
 of almost any required dimensions. The stone is soft and 
 easily worked, taking readily a smooth surface, but no polish. 
 It can be turned on a lathe, and is made into balustrades and 
 other forms of ornamental work. It can be carved in bas 
 relief, but is not sufficiently tough for high reliefs that are to be 
 exposed to the weather. To produce smooth surfaces for 
 flagging, the stone is planed by machines somewhat similar 
 to those used in planing iron. The stone from the immediate 
 vicinity of Lemont is said to contain less iron and to tarnish 
 less readily than that a few miles distant at Joliet. 
 
 The stone in the quarry contains much moisture, and dur¬ 
 ing cold weather care has to be taken to avoid injury by freez¬ 
 ing before the quarry water has evaporated. This causes a con¬ 
 siderable annual expense in making earth protections, except 
 in those few quarries that are so situated that they can be 
 flooded with water during the winter months. 
 
 The quarries extend for nearly 4 miles below Lemont, 
 where a gap occurs, to just below Lockport, from which point 
 a line of closely-adjoining quarries extend to below Joliet. 
 The finer varieties of the stone do not seem well fitted for 
 heavy masonry in damp situations. Fine clay seams abound, 
 which are invisible when the stone is first quarried, and which 
 under favorable circumstances do not develop at all, but when 
 exposed to heavy pressure or to alternate moisture and dryness, 
 accompanied by frost, they are soon developed, and often 
 render the stone worthless. Even the best varieties of the 
 stone tarnish after a short exposure, especially in cities where 
 soft coal is burned. 
 
 The Joliet quarries extend from a point about a mile below 
 Lockport to the same distance below Joliet. Two distinct 
 varieties of stone occur. That quarried from the lower beds 
 
3oo 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 on the right bank of the river is as a rule rougher, more coarsely 
 textured, and tarnishes more readily than that from the higher 
 levels. It is now but little used, except for heavy masonry. 
 In the quarries back from the river, on the higher levels, the 
 stone is fine grained, more homogeneous, and in this respect 
 fully equal to the Lemont stones. The beds now worked are 
 from 3 to 4 feet in thickness, and large blocks are obtainable. 
 Most of it seems to weather-stain rather more than that from 
 Lemont. The value of the stone quarried at these two places 
 is probably fully equal to that of all the other stone quarried 
 in the State.* 
 
 Three large quarries are worked in these same formations 
 at Batavia, but as a rule the stone is coarser and more difficult 
 to work than those just described. Other quarries occur at 
 Thornton and Blue Island, Cook County, and other parts of 
 the State. Within the city limits of Chicago there is quarried 
 from this same formation a coarser somewhat cellular stone, 
 that from its unique character perhaps merits a special descrip¬ 
 tion. According to Huntf this stone when pure is a nearly 
 white granular crystalline dolomite, containing 54.6 per cent 
 carbonate of lime'. It, however, contains so large a portion of 
 bituminous matter, that blocks sometimes become quite black 
 on exposure. The color fades somewhat in time, but the 
 petroleum odor is often perceptible for long distances. The 
 stone has been used to some extent for building purposes, as 
 notably in the First Presbyterian Church in Chicago. The 
 
 * These beds were formerly described as composed of light buff stone, while 
 the deeper portions of the quarries now furnish “bluestone.” The difference 
 results from the difference in amount of oxidation of the small quantity of iron 
 disseminated through the whole mass, the change having resulted from atmos¬ 
 pheric influences. The same change must ultimately take place in all the blue- 
 stone which is brought to the surface. (Geology of Illinois, vol. iv. p. 220.) 
 f Chemical and Geological Essays, p.172. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). 301 
 
 gummy bituminous matter causes the dust from the streets to 
 adhere to exposed surfaces, thus giving the buildings a peculiar 
 antique appearance. We are informed by Mr. Batchen that 
 this pseudo-antique appearance is greatly admired by some. 
 The presence of the bitumen is beneficial in at least one re¬ 
 spect, in that it renders the stone less pervious to moisture, 
 and hence less liable to disintegration by freezing. 
 
 Lower Silurian (Trenton) limestones and dolomities are 
 quite extensively quarried in Jo Daviess County, and make a 
 handsome and very durable building material. Calhoun, 
 Alexandria, and Ogle Counties also furnish good material, but 
 which, for the lack of space, cannot be described here in detail. 
 At various points in Whiteside and Hopkins Counties there 
 are outcrops of limestones belonging to the Cincinnati group, 
 a part of which will furnish durable building material. The 
 stone needs, however, to be selected with the greatest care, 
 since all the beds are not of equal quality. 
 
 At Jonesborough, in Union County, there occurs a fine, 
 even-grained, compact, beautifully oolitic stone that cuts to a 
 sharp even edge, and seems admirably adapted for carved work 
 and general building purposes as well. Specimens in the Na¬ 
 tional Museum are of a lighter color than the Bedford (Ind.) 
 oolitic and take a better polish. We have had no means of 
 ascertaining its lasting qualities, but it is stated* to be liable 
 to injury from frost when exposed in damp places. The stone 
 is of Carboniferous age. Other oolitic stones occur at Rose- 
 clair, in Hardin County. They are of a dark bluish-gray color 
 and take a good polish. 
 
 There are many other localities in the State which furnish 
 excellent varieties of building stone. These can not be men¬ 
 tioned here for lack of space. Interested parties are therefore 
 
 * Report of Tenth Census, vol. x. p. 225. 
 
PLATE XXVIII. 
 
 Quarry of Oolitic Limestone, Bedford, Indiana. To face page 3 o 3 . 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). 3^3 
 
 poses, is the oolitic variety from Lawrence, Monroe, Owen, 
 Crawford, Harrison and Washington Counties. The supply is 
 inexhaustible, as it lies in massive strata of twenty to seventy 
 feet thick, over an area of more than seventy square miles. 
 
 The Lawrence County stone is extensively quarried near 
 Bedford and is popularly known as “ Bedford stone ” or “ Bed¬ 
 ford oolite.” The rock is of fine even texture, and is composed 
 of small rounded concretionary grains of about the size of a 
 grain of mustard seed compactly cemented together by crys¬ 
 talline lime or calcite. The stone is soft, but tenacious (speci¬ 
 mens having borne a pressure of 12,000 pounds per square 
 inch), and works readily in every direction. It is therefore a 
 great favorite for carved work, and is used more extensively 
 for this purpose than any other of our limestones. No better 
 example of the adaptability of the stone for this purpose can 
 be given than the elegant mansion of Mr. C. J. Vanderbilt, on 
 Fifth avenue, in New York City. Unfortunately, as is usually 
 the case with light limestones, this stains badly in cities where 
 there is a great amount of manufacturing, as is only too well 
 illustrated in the case referred to. 
 
 Although the quarries have been worked systematically for 
 but a few years, the stone is already widely known, and is com¬ 
 ing into very general use in nearly every city of importance in 
 the country. At the locality above referred to the stone 
 occurs in a solid bed, that has been worked to a depth of 40 
 feet without reaching the bottom. (See Plate XXVIII.) 
 
 Stones from the other counties mentioned are very similar 
 in general appearance, but not always so distinctly oolitic and 
 often contain a considerable percentage of bituminous matter. 
 Samples exhibited at the Museum from near Corydon in Har¬ 
 rison County are of a beautifully fine and even oolitic structure, 
 very light color, firm and compact. They resemble the oolitic 
 stone from Princeton, Kentucky, more closely than any other, 
 
304 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION . 
 
 but are much more compact. The stone is stated to occur in 
 inexhaustible quantities. 
 
 The Washington County deposit at Salem is said to be an 
 exceptionally fine one, there being a solid bed of the oolite 30 
 feet in thickness, with only about 5 feet of cap rock. 
 
 Near Silverville, in Lawrence County, there occurs a very 
 fine-grained compact stone of a drab color, that acquires readily 
 a smooth and even surface. An attempt has been made to 
 utilize this for lithographic purposes, but, it is stated, with in¬ 
 different success. It bears a close resemblance to the darker 
 variety of the well-known Bavarian lithographic stone, but is 
 somewhat harder. 
 
 At Anderson, in Madison County, a light-colored, fine-grained 
 stone occurs in beds of from 4 to 12 inches in thickness, which 
 is used locally for flagging and general trimming purposes. 
 
 Iowa .—Although this State abounds in limestones and 
 dolomites to the exclusion of almost all other varieties of build¬ 
 ing stone, but little of the material now quarried is of such a 
 nature as ever to acquire more than a local reputation. Though 
 having altogether more than three times the number of quarries 
 found in Illinois, these are mostly small affairs, and the value 
 of the total product is but little more than one-half that of the 
 latter State. At the time of the taking of the Tenth Census 
 the whole number of quarries in the State was 131, of which 
 128 were of limestone and dolomites, and the remaining three 
 of sandstone, which are mentioned on p. 140. 
 
 At the present time the most important quarries are situ¬ 
 ated in the Niagara division of the Upper Silurian formations, 
 in the vicinity of Stone City, Jones County ; Farley, Dubuque 
 County, and in various portions of Jackson, Cedar, Clinton, and 
 Scott Counties. The Jones County stone is a very light-colored, 
 fine-grained and compact bituminous dolomite. That from 
 Farley is very similar in general appearance, but contains less 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). 305 
 
 bituminous matter. In the small blocks displayed at the 
 National Museum the stones appear of good quality, but we 
 have had no opportunity of learning their weathering qualities. 
 
 A finely crystalline light-colored limestone of sub-Carbon i- 
 ferous age is quite extensively quarried near Burlington, in 
 Des Moines County. According to Professor McGee * this 
 stone, which is practically identical with that of Keokuk, in 
 Lee County, is used chiefly for common masonry, and only 
 occasionally for dressed work. The upper beds are “ nearly 
 white in color, fine, compact, homogeneous, and hard, with a 
 conchoidal or splintery fracture, like the so-called lithographic 
 limestone of nearly the same geological age. This stone has 
 been used to some extent for ornamental purposes, but con¬ 
 tains too many incipient fractures, and is too liable to unex¬ 
 pected disruption to be of special value.” 
 
 Near Le Grand and Montour, in Tama County, there 
 occurs a magnesian limestone of the same age as that just de¬ 
 scribed, which is fine-grained, compact, and generally buff or 
 whitish in color. The coarser portions are extensively used for 
 heavy masonry, while the finer grades, which are often beauti¬ 
 fully veined with iron oxidies, are used for ornamental work 
 under the name of Iowa marbles. Some of the stone from 
 this locality is oolitic. Similar stones are extensively quarried 
 at Iowa Falls, and at Humboldt and Dakota, in Humboldt 
 County. Limestones and dolomites belonging to the St. Louis 
 epoch of the sub-Carboniferous age are quite extensively quar¬ 
 ried in various parts of Lee. Des Moines, Henry, Washington, 
 Van Buren, Jefferson, Keokuk, Wapello, Manhaska, Marion, 
 Story, Hamilton, and Webster Counties. That from near 
 Farmington, Van Buren County, varies from light buff to 
 nearly white in color, is fine-grained, and has been quarried for 
 
 * Report of Tenth Census, vol. x. p. 261. 
 
306 stones for building and decoration. 
 
 lithographic purposes. It is, however, no longer used, having 
 been found to contain too many dry seams often cemented by 
 crystalline carbonate of lime. At Chequest the limestone takes 
 a fair polish and is known as Chequest marble. ■ 
 
 In the Devonian limestones near Iowa City and Roberts 
 Ferry there frequently occur masses of fossil coral (Acervularia 
 davidsoni) which, when cut and polished, form beautiful orna¬ 
 ments and paper-weights, though of small size. They are 
 known popularly as bird’s-eye and fish-egg marbles, and have 
 already been noticed {ante, p. 213). 
 
 Kansas. —The limestones and dolomites of this State are r 
 as a rule, of a light color, soft and porous, and incapable of re¬ 
 ceiving a polish such as will fit them for any form of ornamental 
 work. Many of them are cellular and loosely compacted, 
 being made up in large part of a small fossil rhizopod about 
 the size of a grain of wheat and known under the name of 
 fusulina. Such stones are obviously unfitted for exposed 
 work in localities subject to great extremes of temperature, 
 although they may be very durable in mild or dry climates^ 
 Those at present quarried are almost without exception of Car¬ 
 boniferous or Permian age, and occur only in thin beds, varying 
 from a few inches to 8 or 10 feet in thickness. 
 
 Near Irving their occurs a light-colored, soft, thin-bedded 
 stone, which has in times past been used for building purposes 
 in Atchison and Kansas City. It is soft and easily quarried 
 and for ordinary construction requires but little dressing. At 
 Frankfort a similar stone occurs which has been used to some 
 extent for buildings, though principally for foundations. Some 
 of the stones from these localities are of very poor quality, being 
 soft and quite cellular through the breaking away of the small 
 fossils above referred to. Atchison, in the same county, has 
 quarries of a darker, more compact stone, which are worked 
 for local use. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). Z°7 
 
 In the vicinity of Topeka there are quarried light-colored, 
 compact, finely fossiliferous dolomites and limestones which 
 work very readily, and which have been used in the construc¬ 
 tion of about thirty-five common buildings in that city, besides 
 a church, school, and opera houses in Emporia. They have 
 also been used in Parsons, in Labette County, and neighboring 
 towns in Missouri. 
 
 Near Lane, in Franklin County, gray and buff limestones 
 are quarried and used quite extensively in Ottawa and Garnett, 
 in the same State, though some have been shipped to Chicago. 
 The buff variety is sometimes oolitic, resembling to some 
 extent the Bedford (Indiana) stone. The texture is firm and 
 compact, and it acquires a good surface and polish. The gray 
 variety is coarser, and often somewhat cellular, owing to the 
 imperfect filling of the spaces between the fossil particles of 
 which it is composed. A section of the quarry shows the gray 
 stone to occur in a bed about 4 feet in thickness, and the buff 
 oolitic about 6 feet in thickness, the layers of which vary from 
 18 to 24 inches each. 
 
 Near Marion Center, in Marion County, there is quarried a 
 light-drab cellular magnesian limestone of Permian age, that 
 has been used in the construction of the asylum for the blind 
 and insane at Wyandotte and Topeka, in this State. Similar 
 stones are quarried at Cottonwood, in Chase County. The 
 stratum of quarry rock here is some 6 feet in thickness and 
 blocks of any desired size and of thickness not exceeding 2\ 
 feet can be obtained. The principal markets for these stones 
 are Kansas City, Missouri; Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska; 
 Pueblo and Denver, Colorado, and Atchison, Topeka, and 
 Leavenworth, Kansas. 
 
 In the vicinity of Fort Scott are some half a dozen 
 irregularly worked quarries which furnish stone for building 
 foundations and pavements in the near vicinity. The stone is 
 dark-colored, fine-grained, and semi-crystalline, and is said to 
 
308 stones foe building and decoration. 
 
 f 
 
 stand the wear of from ten to fifteen years’ exposure very well. 
 It turns to a brownish color on long exposure and is strong 
 enough for ordinary structures. The stone quarried at 
 Winfield is a light-colored, fine-grained cellular rock and so 
 soft as to be quarried by means of plug and feathers only, the 
 holes being first bored by means of a common auger without 
 point. It is a handsome stone and has a good reputation for 
 durability. It is used mostly in this State, though some is 
 shipped to Kansas City, Missouri. 
 
 Many of the towns in Butler County produce fine-grained, 
 light-colored limestones suitable for rough building in the im¬ 
 mediate vicinity, but not at all suitable for ornamental work. 
 
 Kentucky .—Although the building stones of this State are 
 entirely unknown in our principal markets, and but few of them 
 have more than a strictly local reputation, it by no means 
 follows that there is any lack of material or that it is at all in¬ 
 ferior in quality. While it is true that no marbles or granites 
 of importance are found, yet there abound limestones of the 
 finest quality and in inexhaustible quanities. The oolitic lime¬ 
 stones of this State are without superiors, if indeed they have 
 equals. In Todd, .Grayson, Meade, Simpson, Christian, and 
 Caldwell Counties oolitic stones occur of very light, almost 
 white color, and excellent quality. The varieties from Litch¬ 
 field and Princeton are especially worthy of mention. The 
 oolitic character is very pronounced in these stones, and while 
 in some cases the production of a perfect surface is impossible, 
 owing to the breaking away of these minute rounded grains, 
 still in the better qualities the sharp edges and smooth surfaces 
 are as readily acquired as on the celebrated Bedford (Indiana) 
 or other stones of this character. .These are superior to the 
 Bedford stone, moreover, in their clear and uniform colors; 
 never, so far as observed, being blotched with oil, as is the latter. 
 Professor Proctor informs the writer that the stone is quarried 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). 309 
 
 with ease, is easily wrought, stands pressure well, and is con¬ 
 sidered one of the most reliable stones in the State. 
 
 Compact fine-grained limestones of a dark drab color, tak¬ 
 ing a smooth surface, but not suited for marble, are found in 
 the towns of Franklin, Simpson County; Lebanon, Marion 
 County; Russellville, Logan County, and others. A part of 
 the Franklin County stone is fine-grained and suitable for 
 lithographic purposes, though inferior to the imported Bava¬ 
 rian stone. Very light-colored compact limestones are found 
 also in Simpson, Logan, and Franklin Counties, but the writer 
 has no information regarding their availability or the extent to 
 which they are quarried. 
 
 Maine .—Limestone is an abundant and common rock in 
 this State, especially in the southeastern part, in the counties 
 of Knox and Lincoln, where it is very extensively burnt into 
 quicklime. So far as I am aware none of the stone is utilized 
 for building, as its colors—blue and blue-black, veined with 
 white—are poorly adapted for such purposes. No stone suit¬ 
 able for marble is yet known to occur in the State, though 
 Hitchcock* expresses the opinion that such may yet be found 
 in “the belt of Helderberg limestone running from Mataga- 
 mon (east branch Penobscot) River northeasterly.” 
 
 Many samples of so-called white marble have been taken 
 from the limestone formations about Rockland, in Knox 
 County, but, so far as observed by the present writer, they are 
 all too coarsely crystalline or too distinctly granular in struct¬ 
 ure to be of value. 
 
 Michigan .—Limestone or dolomites of a character suitable 
 for building purposes are at present but little quarried in this 
 State, the entire value of the output during the census year of 
 1880 being but about $26,000. A fine-grained fossiliferous 
 
 * Second Annual Report Geology of Maine, 1862, p. 428. 
 
3 IO 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 dolomite of a drab color is worked at Sibley’s Station, in 
 Wayne County, and a very light colored granular rock, of sim¬ 
 ilar composition, near Raisinville, in Monroe County. Near 
 Alpena light-colored limestones are quarried which are hard, 
 compact, and said to be durable. They are not obtainable 
 anywhere in large quantities nor in blocks of large size, but 
 there are numerous small openings sufficient to supply the 
 local demand. Other localities where stone can be obtained are 
 at Trenton, near Detroit, and upon Macon Creek, both in 
 Monroe County. The stone is apt to contain dry seams and 
 requires care in selecting. These are all of Devonian age. 
 
 Minnesota .— The Lower Silurian limestones and dolomites 
 of this State, which are at present the only ones quarried, are 
 nearly all of a light buff, drab, or blue color, fine-grained and 
 compact, though in some cases cellular and semi-crystalline. 
 According to Professor Winchell* the stone appears in the 
 bluffs of the Mississippi River and St. Croix Valley, and is 
 quarried at all points (except Lake City) where there is any 
 demand between Stillwater and Winona, along the Missis¬ 
 sippi Valley on the Minnesota side, and also at several places 
 farther west, as at Caledonia, in Houston County, Lanesbor- 
 ough and Rushford, in Fillmore County, and at points in 
 Winona County. 
 
 At Stillwater the rock is a silicious dolomite of a light buff 
 color. In the ledge, which is about 45 feet thick, it occurs in 
 alternate bands of compact and cellular rock varying from 3 to 
 6 feet in thickness. The coarser variety is most durable and is 
 used in heavy masonry, as bridges and foundations. The finer 
 variety is used for house trimming, ashlar work and tomb¬ 
 stones. 
 
 At St. Paul the rock is a fine light-bluish semi-crystalline 
 
 Report Tenth Census, p. 249, and Geology of Minnesota, vol. I. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). 3U 
 
 magnesian limestone. It is usually quite regularly stratified, 
 and occurs in beds from 3 to 24 inches in thickness, with 
 joints from 10 to 30 feet apart. Blocks 10 by 5 by 2 feet can 
 be obtained if desired. It is used only locally. At Minne¬ 
 apolis the rock is quite similar, though sometimes slightly 
 fossiliferous or mottled with argillaceous spots. It was formerly 
 used almost exclusively in Minneapolis, but is now being grad¬ 
 ually replaced by stone from the neighboring States. 
 
 In speaking of these stones Professor Winchell says:* 
 
 “ In the use of the Trenton limestone quarried at St. 
 Paul and Minneapolis regard should be had constantly to its 
 laminated structure. The beds quarried now are as they were 
 originally deposited, and as cut for use embrace in every block 
 many layers of from one-half to two inches in thickness. 
 These consist of alternating clayey and calcareous portions, 
 the latter constituting the hard and enduring part of the stone. 
 These layers are not always distinct and continuous over large 
 surfaces, but they blend or shade into each other every few 
 inches. Yet in process of time, under natural weathering, they 
 get separated so as to fall apart, the clayey matter disintegrat¬ 
 ing first and causing the calcareous structure which sustains the 
 whole to break up into small sheets or fragments. Hence this 
 stone should never be placed on edge, but in the same posi¬ 
 tion it occupied in the quarry. It should never be allowed to 
 occupy projecting or exposed parts of a building. More es¬ 
 pecially if it be on edge and in a projecting cornice or capital 
 it is the source of weakness to the structure, as well as of dan¬ 
 ger to all passers, from the dropping of sheets or fragments as 
 the weather, by wet or frost, separates them from each other,. 
 Its color is also against its being put in the exposed and orna 
 mental parts of a structure. . . . The color of the Trenton 
 
 Preliminary Re>port on Building Stone, etc., 1889, p. 33. 
 
312 
 
 STONES EOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 makes it very suitable for foundations and for the ranges 
 below the water-table, but even there it should be well bedded 
 in mortar and protected by the water-table in order to keep 
 out the water.” — 
 
 At Red Wing, in Goodhue County, the stone is quarried 
 only for local building and for burning into quicklime. Blocks 
 as large as can conveniently be handled can be obtained. At 
 Frontenac, in the same county, the stone is of buff or gray 
 color, medium fine, and quite cellular. This rock is considered 
 one of the best in the State, and is used for all varieties of 
 building purposes, as well as for bases and tombstones. Blocks 
 II by 7 by 5^ feet and weighing 18 tons have been taken out, 
 which is about as large as the quarries will furnish. It is said 
 to work with comparative ease, and to withstand the weather 
 well. Although having been in use longer than any other 
 stone in the State, it has not as yet shown any change what¬ 
 ever from atmospheric influences. Its powers of resistance to 
 pressure vary from 5,000 to 7,000 pounds per square inch. 
 
 At Kasota and Mendota, in Le Seuer County, the dolomite 
 is of a buff or rusty pink color, of homogeneous texture, and 
 very strong and durable. It withstands a pressure of 10,000 
 pounds per square inch without crushing. Blocks 10 by n by 
 1 foot in thickness can be obtained. It is quite generally used 
 throughout the State, the pink variety being most admired and 
 bringing the highest price. 
 
 At Mankato, in Blue Earth County, the rock is also a dolo¬ 
 mite, buff in color, fine, compact, and semi-crystalline, some¬ 
 times cellular. Blocks 20 by 10 by 6 feet can be obtained from 
 the quarries. 
 
 At Winona the dolomite is quarried for general building 
 purposes, flagging, and burning into lime. It is of a buff color, 
 usually fine and uniform in texture, though sometimes contain- 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). 313 
 
 ing cnerty lumps, and porous. Blocks of any size that can be 
 handled may be taken from the quarries. 
 
 Missouri .—As stated by Professor Broadhead* the limestone 
 quarries of this State have not as yet been much developed, 
 and few have the dignity of a merchantable product. It is 
 probable that under 25,000 square miles of the State of Mis¬ 
 souri there may be found good quarries of limestone. A third 
 of this area may include beds of lower Carboniferous limestone, 
 and two thirds may include the magnesian limestone series of 
 the upper Cambrian. 
 
 Good quarries of the lower (or sub-) Carboniferous lime¬ 
 stones, very suitable for building purposes, may be opened in 
 the counties from Cape Girardeau to Clark, and from St. 
 Charles to Howard, as well as in Saline, Pettis, Henry, Cedar, 
 Lawrence, Green, Jasper, Newton, MacDonald and Barry. 
 Excellent quarries of the Burlington beds have been opened 
 at Louisville, Hannibal, Sedalia, and other places. These 
 stones are usually of a bluish, gray, or brown color, somewhat 
 coarse in texture, and most of them have proven very durable. 
 The chief objection to the stone is said to be the rough bed¬ 
 ding plane and, in quarrying, the frequent occurrence of chert 
 beds. 
 
 The Keokuk group of the sub-Carboniferous is also an im¬ 
 portant source of quarry rock and material for lime. The 
 best beds are found in Green, Lawrence, Newton and Jasper 
 Counties. Like the stones just described they are coarse 
 grained but of a deeper blue-gray color. There are well devel¬ 
 oped quarries in Greenfield, Ashgrove, Springfield, Pierce City, 
 Carthage and Neosho. At the latter place the stone is beauti¬ 
 fully oolitic. The St. Louis limestone, well exposed in the 
 city of St. Louis and at St. Charles, is also a useful stone. 
 
 Building Trades Journal, July, 1888. 
 
3 x 4 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Ordinarily it is strong, and looks well in structure, reflecting a 
 more uniform light drab color, which is permanent on expos¬ 
 ure. The beds of this limestone as found at St. Genevieve are 
 oolitic. 
 
 An attempt was made about fifteen years ago to introduce 
 stone from the Upper Trenton beds into the St. Louis market, 
 but experience proved the rock to be wanting in continued 
 elements of beauty. The stone would polish well and present 
 a pleasing appearance at first, but it was not sufficiently uniform 
 in texture, and a certain fossil which was abundant was too 
 soon disintegrated by atmospheric agencies. The quarry was 
 therefore abandoned. 
 
 A very fine-grained and compact limestone of a dark drab 
 color occurs near Saverton, in Ralls County, which has been 
 used to some extent for lithographic purposes. Stones from 
 other localities are mostly compact, and of light or dull red 
 color. A very light encrinital stone is quarried in the vicinity 
 of Hamilton and Bear Creek, in Marion County. 
 
 Nebraska .—According to Professor Aughey,* Carbonifer¬ 
 ous limestones of such quality as to render them suitable for 
 building purposes are to be found in Richardson, Pawnee, Gage, 
 Johnson, Nemaha, Otoe, and Cass Counties. Many of these as 
 those of Johnson County, are made up almost wholly of minute 
 fossils of the size and shape of a grain of wheat, and known techni¬ 
 cally as fusulina. In Nemaha and Otoe Counties the beds are 
 exposed along the Missouri River and are here quarried and 
 used for building. One of the best and most massive lime¬ 
 stones of the State occurs below Plattsmouth in Cass County, 
 on the banks of the river. Unfortunately, the great thickness 
 of the superficial deposits here renders the quarries very 
 expensive in working. At La Platte, in Sarpy County, near 
 
 Physical Geography and Geology of Nebraska, p. 311. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). 3 I 5 
 
 the line of the Burlington and Missouri Railroad there is also a 
 fine bed of siliceous limestone, which has been used in the con¬ 
 struction of the United States post-office and court-house in 
 Lincoln. The stone contains innumerable fusulina impressions 
 and is adapted to only general building, not monumental work. 
 Another exposure of this same stone occurs farther up the 
 Platte River and which has been worked on the river bank 
 opposite South Bend. This stone has been used in the wing 
 of the Capitol building at Lincoln. At Syracuse, in Otoe 
 County, are quarries of impure, variously colored limestones, 
 from whence large quantities of building material have been 
 taken. 
 
 The Cretaceous limestones of this State are stated to like¬ 
 wise furnish a quantity of excellent stone. So far as the pres¬ 
 ent writer has had opportunity of examining, few, l'f any, of 
 these or the other stones described are of such a nature as to 
 ever be in great demand outside of the limits of the State. 
 
 New York .—According to Professor Smock* the limestones 
 quarried for building stones in this State belong to the follow¬ 
 ing named formations, beginning with the lowest in the geo¬ 
 logical scale : Calciferous, Chazy, Trenton, Niagara, Lower 
 Helderberg, Upper Helderberg or Corniferous and the Tully 
 limestones. These will be here considered in the order 
 given. 
 
 Rocks of the Calciferous formation may be traced along the 
 Mohawk valley, in Montgomery, Herkimer and Oneida Coun¬ 
 ties, and are quarried in numerous instances, as at Little Falls, 
 Canajoharie and Sandhill. The rock is a more or less siliceous 
 magnesian limestone, of a drab, blue-gray or blue-black color, 
 and said to be, as a rule, strong and durable. It is largely 
 used for general building. 
 
 * Bulletin No. 3, New York State Museum, 1888, p. 20. 
 
3 16 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 The Chazy limestone is seen in Clinton in its typical devel¬ 
 opment, and affords strong and heavy stone at various quar¬ 
 ries in the Champlain valley, as at Willsboro Point and near 
 Plattsburgh. The Trenton formation occupies the Mohawk 
 and Champlain valleys, a broader zone around the western sides 
 of the Adirondack region, and the St. Lawrence valley from 
 the Canada line southwest to Lake Ontario. The counties of 
 Montgomery, Fulton, Herkimer, Oneida, Lewis, Jefferson, St. 
 Lawrence, Hamilton, Clinton, Essex, Warren and Saratoga all 
 have outcrops of limestone referable to this age. The stone 
 varies greatly in different localities, or at times, even in the 
 same outcrop, the same quarry sometimes yielding both 
 marble and coarse common rock suitable only for building. 
 The Niagara limestone has its greatest development near the 
 Niagara River and is quarried at Lockport and Rochester. At 
 Lockport the stone is gray, thick bedded and subcrystalline ; it 
 has been widely used for building purposes. The Lower Hel- 
 derberg group includes a wide variation in its limestones. 
 The formation may be traced from the Helderberg mountains 
 westward, south of the Mohawk river nearly to Syracuse. The 
 lower beds'are dark colored, compact, thick, and afford a stone 
 which may be polished ; the upper beds furnish a gray, heavy 
 bedded and strong stone which answers for heavy masonry. 
 Quarries in the rocks of this group have been opened in the 
 Schoharie valley at Cobbleskill, Cherry valley and at Spring- 
 field, Otsego County; also near Hudson, in Becrafts mountain,, 
 and near Catskill. Rocks of the Upper Helderberg group also 
 display a great diversity throughout the areas they occupy. 
 The formation outcrops in Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Mon¬ 
 roe, Genesee, Erie and Ulster Counties, and is quarried at 
 Union Springs, Waterloo, Seneca Falls, Auburn, Leroy, Wil- 
 liamsville, Buffalo and Kingston. 
 
 Only a few of the more important stones of the above- 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). 3 T 7 
 
 named formations can be here described in full, owing to lack 
 of space ; for further information the reader is referred to the 
 work quoted. 
 
 At Greenport, Columbia County, a stratum of Lower Silu¬ 
 rian limestone upward of 60 or 70 feet in thickness is exten¬ 
 sively worked for ornamental and building purposes. The 
 quarry proper is said to cover an area of 40 acres, and a face 
 30 feet high and half a mile in length has been opened. The 
 stone is of medium texture, semi-crystalline, highly fossiliferous,. 
 and of a water-blue or gray color. It is said to have been used 
 to some extent under the name of Coral-shell Marble for 
 interior decorative work in Boston and other cities. On both 
 sides of the Hudson River, at the gorge of Glens Falls, the 
 Trenton magnesian limestones are worked both for black mar¬ 
 ble and for ordinary limestone for burning into quicklime. 
 According to Professor Smock, the quarry on the right bank— 
 the Saratoga County side of the stream—shows the following, 
 section : 
 
 1. Black slate rock in thin layers 
 
 2. Gray limestone. 
 
 3. Black thin-bedded limestone.. 
 
 4. Gray limestone. 
 
 5. Black Marble . 
 
 6. Limestone.. 
 
 Of these the marble has already been described on p. 98, 
 The gray limestone is used for heavy masonry and general 
 building, while the main output is used for lime making. At 
 Willsborough and Crown Point, in Essex County, there are 
 also extensive quarries of blue-black magnesian limestone of 
 good quality. In various towns in Montgomery County a 
 gray or blue-gray semi-crystalline limestone is worked for 
 building material. The stone is said to be strong and durable, 
 though care needs to be used in its selection. At Tribes Hill 
 
 15 feet. 
 10 “ 
 12 “ 
 
 2 “ 
 12 “ 
 
 4 “ 
 
3 1 8 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 the stone is gray or blue-gray, in some cases almost black on a 
 polished surface. It is used for house trimmings and ashlar 
 work as well as bridge construction. Several churches in Am¬ 
 sterdam are of this material. At Canajoharie, in this same 
 county, are beds that furnish a blue-gray finely crystalline 
 stone, which has been used in mill buildings at Utica, and in 
 the churches of Fort Plain and Canajoharie. At the Indian 
 reservation in Onondaga County a gray, compact, semi-crys¬ 
 talline limestone, said to possess great strength and durability, 
 was formerly extensively quarried, but the work has of late 
 fallen off somewhat, owing to lack of transportation facilities. 
 A gray crinoidal stone that takes a fair polish is also found at 
 Onondaga, in the same county. 
 
 Professor Smock describes this gray variety as resembling 
 the best varieties of the Maine granites when finely cut. It has 
 been used in many of the finest structures in Syracuse, includ- 
 ing the new U. S. Government building, the Hall of Languages, 
 Syracuse University, and several churches. 
 
 At Auburn, in Cayuga County, the Upper Helderberg beds 
 furnish large amounts of gray and blue-gray magnesian lime¬ 
 stone, which has been used extensively in the public and pri¬ 
 vate buildings of that place. 
 
 At Lockport, in Niagara County, a fossil-bearing calcareous 
 dolomite has been quarried for many years for general purposes 
 •of construction in New York and Rochester. The stone does 
 not take a good surface and consequently does not polish 
 readily, but some portions make quite showy mantels, owing 
 to the presence of red crinoidal remains. According to Pro¬ 
 fessor Julien* this stone, as used in New York citv, has not 
 proved durable. The fault, however, he regards in part due to 
 
 * Report of Tenth Census, vol. x. p. 369. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). 3 19 
 
 the manner in which the stone is used, about 40 per cent, of 
 the blocks being set on edge. 
 
 North Cafolina .—Limestones and dolomites of good quality 
 for building purposes occur in abundance in this State, but 
 are not extensively quarried for lack of a market or transpor¬ 
 tation facilities. Near New Berne, Craven County, there 
 occurs a very coarse cellular shell-stone of Eocene age that has 
 been used for underpinnings and fences, but it is said not to 
 
 weather well. Material of the same nature, but much finer in 
 
 # 4 
 
 texture and more compact, occurs at Rocky Point, in Pender 
 County, and which has been used in the construction of break¬ 
 waters and other harbor improvements at Wilmington, in this 
 State. A coarse, dull red dolomite occurs at Warm Springs, 
 in Madison County, and also light blue-gray varieties, but 
 neither are worked, as there is little demand for the material. 
 
 Ohio .—The limestones and dolomites of this State are 
 almost altogether of a dull, uninteresting color, and though in 
 many cases durable and strong, are entirely unfit for any sort 
 •of fine building and ornamental work. They are therefore 
 used chiefly for the rough work of foundations, street paving, 
 and flagging, and to a very large extent for making quicklime. 
 In many instances they have been used locally for building 
 purposes, but their qualities are not such as to cause them to 
 be sought from a distance. 
 
 At Point Marblehead, in the northern part of the State, 
 dull, light-colored compact dolomites of Carboniferous age 
 have been quarried for making lime and for building purposes 
 for the past fifty years. Many buildings in the vicinity have 
 been constructed from it, and it has also been largely used by 
 the Government for light-houses and other structures along 
 the lake front. Of late years its use for building has very con¬ 
 siderably diminished. Near Sandusky, in Erie County, the 
 same formations have been extensively worked, not less than 
 
320 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 12 acres in the vicinity having been quarried over to a depth 
 of 8 feet. The stone is of a dull, bluish-gray color, and is used 
 for building, flagging, and making lime; about one hundred 
 and eighty houses in the city have been constructed from it. 
 Near Columbus, in Franklin County, the Devonian limestones 
 are extensively quarried, and the product has in a few instances 
 been used for building purposes. By far the greater part of 
 the product is, however, used as a flux for iron and for making 
 quicklime. A dolomite from the same formations is quarried 
 for rough building and lime burning at and near Marion, in 
 Marion County. 
 
 In Allen, Miami, Clarke, Greene, Montgomery, Preble, and 
 several other counties the dolomites and limestones of Upper 
 Silurian age are extensively worked, but so far as the author 
 can learn but a small part of the quarry product is utilized for 
 building. At Springfield the stone is buff in color and some¬ 
 what porous, though it is said to be strong and durable. 
 
 Near Greenfield, Ross County, and Lexington, Highland 
 County, there are extensive quarries of a bituminous dolomite, 
 which is largely used in Cincinnati for flagging, steps, and in 
 the manufacture of lime. Specimens in the National Museum 
 from these places show the stone to vary from dark grayish, 
 distinctly laminated, to fine, compact, and homogeneous of a 
 yellowish or buff color. The buff stone can be cut to a sharp 
 edge, and acquires a good surface, but takes only a dull polish. 
 So far as the author has observed this is one of the finest 
 appearing and best working stones in the State. 
 
 The Montgomery County stone is a magnesian limestone, 
 and it is said to have acquired a good reputation. It is not 
 now used as much as formerly, however. The stone quarried 
 in the other localities mentioned present so little diversity of 
 character’as to need no special description. Those interested 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). 32 1 
 
 are referred to vol. x. of the Reports of the Tenth Census, and 
 to vol. v. of the Reports of the Geological Survey of Ohio. 
 
 Pennsylvania .—The lower Silurian formations in Montgom¬ 
 ery, Lancaster, and Chester Counties, which furnish the supply of 
 marble already referred to on page ioo, furnish also large quan¬ 
 tities of gray or bluish-gray stone of the same composition, but 
 owing to its color and texture unsuited for any form of orna¬ 
 mental work. It is, however, extensively quarried for general 
 building, for foundations and bridge abutments. Besides in 
 Montgomery County, limestone is quarried for local use in 
 Easton, Tuckerton, and Reading, Berks County, and in Ann- 
 ville, Lebanon County; also near Harrisburg, Dauphin County ; 
 Leaman Place, Lancaster County; York, York County ; Bridge¬ 
 port, Shiremanstown, and Carlisle, Cumberland County. The 
 stone from the Lancaster quarries breaks with an irregular 
 fracture ; is “ plucky,” as the stone-cutters say, and is hence 
 hard to work. It is, however, very durable, exposure for many 
 years having no other apparent effect than that of a slight 
 fading of the color. 
 
 The York stone is very fine-grained, compact, and of a * 
 deep blue-black color. It takes a high polish, and but for its 
 uneven texture might make a fine marble. In Wrightsville, in 
 this same county, a white or bluish crystalline granular stone 
 is quarried, which takes a fair polish, and which might perhaps 
 be used for marble. 
 
 At Chambersburg and in other parts of Franklin county 
 the stone is a calcareous dolomite, dark in color, fine-grained, 
 and very durable ; buildings which have stood for a century 
 showing only a slight fading. It is used locally for rough build¬ 
 ing and lime burning. 
 
 At various localities near South Mountain, a limestone 
 breccia similar to that of Frederick, Maryland, occurs, and 
 which perhaps can be made to yield good stone for ornamental 
 
322 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 work. At none of the localities mentioned does the stone, so 
 far as the writer is aware, possess such characters as to make it 
 of value for building excepting in the immediate vicinity of the 
 quarries, where it can be had cheaply owing to slight cost of 
 transportation. The output as above indicated is used mainly 
 for foundations, street paving, a flux in iron furnaces or for 
 making quicklime.* 
 
 Tennessee .—A compact, finely fossiliferous, light pink 
 spotted limestone occurs in the vicinity of Nashville, in this 
 State, and which is quite extensively quarried for use in the 
 near vicinity. The stone is said to be of rather poor quality,, 
 but is used on account of its accessibility. Near Chattanooga,, 
 in Hamilton County, a magnesian limestone of bluish-black 
 color is quarried for local use. The quarry is said to be very 
 favorably located, and the stone cheap and very durable. 
 
 Light pink, finely fossiliferous, semi-crystalline limestones 
 occur at Columbia, Maury County; light-colored, similar-tex¬ 
 tured stones at Carter’s Creek; light, almost white, at Morris¬ 
 town ; red, compact fossiliferous at Springville; and compact 
 drab and almost black dolomites near Charlotte Pike. A fine 
 grained, compact, and light-colored oolitic stone occurs at 
 Sherwood Station, which cuts to a sharp, smooth edge and 
 seems a most excellent stone. So far as the author is aware, 
 none of these are quarried for anything more than local use. 
 
 Texas. — Compact, fine-grained Cretaceous limestones ot 
 excellent quality occur near San Saba in this State. A portion 
 of these are entirely crystalline and acquire an excellent sur¬ 
 face and polish, such as fits them for interior decorative work. 
 
 Light-colored, fine-grained limestones also occur in the vi¬ 
 cinity of Austin, in Travis County; and dark mottled varieties 
 near Burnet, in Burnet County. 
 
 ^Details of quarries are to be found in vol. x. Report Tenth Census, pp. 149 to 156.. 
 
LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES (UNITED STATES). 3 2 3 
 
 Wisconsin .—The more thickly settled portions of this State 
 are underlain by Silurian rocks so disposed that there are but 
 few regions where rock fit for ordinary purposes of construction 
 can not be obtained in quantities sufficient to supply the local 
 demand. Previous to 1886, however, with a single exception, 
 no quarries had been worked for export beyond the state limits, 
 and but few that had been worked for other than local 
 markes. As a whole the stones belonging to this class are 
 characterized by their light colors, compact textures, and hard¬ 
 ness. Many of them will take a good polish and might be 
 used for ornamental work, but that the colors are dull and un¬ 
 interesting. Such occur and are quarried to a considerable ex¬ 
 tent at Byron, Fond du Lac, and Eden, in Fond du Lac County, 
 but although the stone seems very durable, its hardness is such 
 that it has not been used for facings or any kind of ornamental 
 work. Coarse drab dolomites are quarried for general building 
 at Ledyard and Kaukauna, in Outagamie County; at Neenah 
 and Oshkosh, Winnebago County, and at Duck Creek Station, 
 in Brown County. In various parts of Waukesha County there 
 occurs a light drab, sometimes almost white, dolomite, which 
 though a hard stone to cut, has been quite extensively used 
 and with very good effect for general building. At Eden, Oak 
 Centre and Sylvester, Green County, a similar stone occurs, 
 which also crops out in Calumet County. Here it is of a 
 white mottled color, takes a good polish, and is locally called 
 marble. 
 
 Near Racine there occur beds of dolomite, varying from 
 coarse, porous, and irregularly bedded to a fine, compact, and 
 homogeneous rock, eminently adapted for fine building 
 material, though not well suited for ornamental work. The 
 quarries are very extensively worked. Other quarries in the 
 same formation occur at Milwaukee, Cedarburgh, Grafton, She¬ 
 boygan, and Manitowoc. The Milwaukee quarries furnish sev- 
 
3 2 4 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 eral grades of building material, and of almost any necessary 
 size. These are said to be remarkable for the great depth of 
 excellent building stone which their working has developed. 
 
 Numerous other quarries occur in Rock, Dane, and 
 La Crosse Counties, but which can not be mentioned here for 
 lack of space. 
 
 (6) FOREIGN LIMESTONES AND MARBLES. 
 
 Bermuda .—The building stones of Bermuda are altogether 
 calcareous and fragmental. Although popularly known as 
 coral limestones, they contain as a rule fully as large a propor¬ 
 tion of shell as of coral fragments. Nearly all the quarried 
 material belongs, according to Professor Rice,* to the drift 
 sand-rock or yEolian variety, i.e., rocks made up of fragments 
 blown inland from the beach and subsequently cemented by 
 calcareous matter in a crystalline or subcrystalline state. The 
 rock varies in color and texture from chalky white, fine¬ 
 grained, and porous (somewhat like the French Caen stone), to 
 a darker, coarser, but tough and compact form, in which the 
 individual fragments, often of a pink color, are one-fourth of 
 an inch or more in diameter. 
 
 According to the authority above quoted the rock is usually 
 very soft, and is quarried out in large blocks by means of a 
 peculiar long-handled chisel, and afterward sawn up in sizes 
 and shapes to suit individual cases. The harder varieties, as 
 found at Paynter’s Vale and elsewhere, are, however, worked 
 like “ any ancient limestone or marble.” 
 
 Most of the houses of Bermuda are stated by Professor 
 Rice to be built of this soft, friable variety, and even the roofs 
 are covered with the same material sawn into thin slabs. 
 
 Geology of Bermuda, Bull. 25, U. S- National Museum, 1884. 
 
FOREIGN LIMESTONES AND MARBLES. 
 
 325 
 
 When covered with a coating of whitewash the stone is found 
 sufficiently durable for ordinary buildings in that climate, but 
 if exposed to the rigors of a New England winter it would 
 crumble rapidly. The hard rock, such as is found at Paynter’s 
 Vale and Ireland Island, “has been used in the construction 
 of the fortifications and other government works ” on the 
 islands. “ The quarry of the Royal Engineers, near Elbow 
 Bay, appears to be in beach-rock.” 
 
 British Columbia .—Marbles of excellent quality for general 
 building and to some extent for ornamental work occur on 
 Taxada Island. The colors range from gray to white, some¬ 
 times handsomely mottled.* White, gray, and pinkish vari¬ 
 eties are also reported from White Cliff Island ; gray, hand¬ 
 somely variegated varieties from Beaver Cove, on the east coast 
 of Vancouver’s Island ; gray and mottled varieties from White 
 Cliff Island ; gray mottled from Nimpish Lake, and a consid¬ 
 erable variety from Horne Lake. 
 
 Canada .—An outcrop of deep red marble, veined with 
 white calcite occurs associated with red shales and sandstones 
 a short distance east of the Calway River in the Province of 
 Quebec. The bed is stated to be from ten to forty feet thick, 
 and to be exposed for a distance of half a mile along the 
 strike.t 
 
 The beds of crystalline Laurentian limestone in Hastings 
 County, Ontario Province, are capable of furnishing at various 
 points marbles of the ordinary granular type, varying in coloi 
 from white through shades of gray to nearly black. Quarries 
 are worked in the village of Madoc, where the limestone band 
 is some 900 feet across with a north and south trend, and also 
 
 * Ann. Rep. Geol. Survey of Canada, 1887-88. 
 
 f Ann. Rep. Geol. Survey of Canada, 1887-88, vol. iii., part 2, pp. 113, 
 114. K. 
 
326 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 in the township of Hungerford, where there is a bed some 500 
 feet in width. This last stone is described as pure white in 
 color, clouded bluish and greenish in places, and with bands 
 of pinkish or salmon color in other parts. 
 
 The town of Renfrew is also situated on a wide band of 
 crystalline limestone which furnishes a good marble for general 
 building purposes. Other bands occur at Arnprior and Echo 
 Lake.* 
 
 Africa .—Within a very few years there have been reopened 
 in Algeria and Tunis the famous quarries of Numidian 
 marbles, from whence the ancient Romans are stated to have 
 obtained the celebrated Giallo Antico and other stones for 
 the decoration of their houses and temples. 
 
 According to Playfair, the name Numidian is incorrect, as 
 the marbles are not found in Numidia proper, but in the prov¬ 
 inces of Africa and Mauritania. “ Most of the Giallo Antico,” 
 says this authority, “ used in Rome was obtained from Simittu 
 Colonia, the modern Chemtou, in the valley of Medjerda, the 
 quarries of which are now being worked by a Belgian company ; 
 but the most remarkable and valuable marbles are found near 
 Kleber, in the province of Oran, in Algeria. 
 
 At this point there rises an imposing mountain marked on 
 the maps as Djebel-er-Roos, or Mountain of the Capes, but 
 commonly called Montague grise, from its gray, arid appear¬ 
 ance. On the summit of this is an elevated plateau of an ob¬ 
 long form, running in an east and west direction. The soil, 
 where any exists, is of a deep red color, and there are traces 
 of iron everywhere, but more especially on the western side. 
 The original color of the rock was creamy white ; in the ex¬ 
 treme eastern part where the amount of iron is small, it exists 
 very much in its natural condition, only somewhat stained with 
 
 * Mineral Resources of Ontario. Report of Royal Commission, 1890. 
 
FOREIGN LIMESTONES AND MARBLES. 
 
 32 7 
 
 iron, which communicates to it a tint resembling ivory. In 
 conjunction with this is a rose-colored variety which is capable 
 of being worked either in large masses or in the finest orna¬ 
 mentation. Here all the rock is of a uniform structure ; in the 
 west of the plateau, however, there appears to have taken 
 place some great earth movement. The whole of this side of 
 the mountain has been crushed by pressure into fragments 
 varying in size from large angular masses to the merest dust. 
 The disintegrated mass has subsequently been cemented to¬ 
 gether ; the fragments have retained to a certain extent their 
 original rose or yellow color, while the matrix has been stained 
 of the deepest brown or red, owing to the metallic oxides 
 which have been carried through the fissures, the whole thus 
 forming a beautiful breccia of endless variety and color. The 
 matrix is as hard as the fragments it contains, so that the 
 stone takes a beautiful polish throughout its whole surface. 
 
 Between these two extreme varieties, namely, the white and 
 rose marble on the east, and the breccias on the west, there are 
 many others, such as the well-known yellow or giallo antico, 
 a cippolino of almost indescribable beauty, a variety called 
 paonazza, from its resemblance to a peacock’s plumage, and a 
 deep red species, somewhat brecciated, and resembling if not 
 identical with the celebrated rosso antico. All of these owe 
 their color to the iron, and the crushing force to which they 
 have been subjected.* 
 
 The National collections contain a series of these marbles, 
 which range in color through many shades of gray, drab, siena 
 yellow, and rose-red, and which are designated in our markets 
 under the names of jaune , antique dor I, paonazzo rosso , jaune 
 chiaro ondate, jaune rose, rose clair , breche sanguin, and jaspe 
 rouge . All are extremely compact and hard and acquire a sur- 
 
 Geological Magazine, Dec. 1885, p. 562. 
 
328 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 face and polish of wonderful beauty. The United States, at 
 present, produces nothing that can compare with them for 
 interior decorations. 
 
 Nummulitic limestone.—The celebrated nummulitic lime¬ 
 stone of Eocene age from Northern Africa, and which was so 
 extensively used by the Egyptians in the construction of their 
 pyramids, is represented in the collections of the National 
 Museum by a 7-inch cube, the gift of Commander Gorringe, 
 U. S. Navy. This particular block was formerly a portion of 
 the steps leading to the obelisk at Alexandria, and was brought 
 away at the same time as the obelisk itself. Hull states that 
 this stone was used in the construction of Baalbec, Aleppo, 
 and some of the cities of the Holy Land. The pyramid of 
 Cheops in Egypt is of the same material. 
 
 England .—The English marbles are rarely to be met with 
 in the American markets. The country is, however, by no 
 means deficient in materials of this nature well suited for 
 decorative purposes, although the white statuary varieties are 
 stated by Hull to be wholly lacking. According to this 
 authority beds belonging to the Devonian and Carboniferous 
 formations furnish a good supply of colored marbles. Beds 
 belonging to the lower Cretaceous and upper Jurassic (Purbeck 
 and Wealden) formations have also in times past furnished 
 small blocks used mainly in the form of slender shafts in 
 ecclesiastical building. 
 
 The National collections show a series of colored marbles, 
 from quarries in Petitor, Ogwell, and Ashburton in Devon 
 which compare very favorably with other and better known 
 stones. They are as a rule of a very fine and compact texture, 
 highly fossiliferous, and acquire an excellent surface and pol¬ 
 ish. The Petitor stones vary in color from light yellowish, 
 white and clouded, through pink and gray, light and dark band¬ 
 ed, to dove, mottled with deep red. An Ashburton variety 
 
FOREIGN LIMESTONES AND MARBLES. 
 
 329 
 
 known as bird’s-eye marble, is a dark gray stone thickly studded 
 with small white fossil favosites. The stone is further vari- 
 gated with small white and dull red veins. Another dark 
 mottled variety is made up of distorted fossil corals of vary¬ 
 ing sizes up to two inches in diameter imbedded in a cement 
 . so impregnated with iron oxides that a polished surface is 
 covered with an irregular network of dull, deep red lines, form¬ 
 ing a beautiful contrast with the gray, rounded fossil forms. 
 The Ogwell stones vary from light pinkish, mottled with gray, 
 through dull red, and red spotted and veined with gray. 
 
 The well-known Bath stone or Bath oolite is a light, almost 
 white or cream-colored oolitic limestone from quarries in the 
 Jurassic formations which extend from the coast of Dorset, in 
 the south of England, in a northeasterly direction through 
 Somersetshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Northampton¬ 
 shire and Lincolnshire, to Yorkshire. 
 
 In texture it is distinctly oolitic, soft, and very easy to 
 work. Its durability when exposed in the trying climate of 
 America is a matter of great doubt. Nevertheless, churches 
 and cathedrals erected in the west of England as long ago as 
 the eleventh, twelfth, and fifteenth centuries, are stated by 
 Hull to be still in a state of good preservation. 
 
 As yet the stone has been but little used in this country, 
 though a movement has of late been on foot for its introduc¬ 
 tion. 
 
 Portland stone.—This stone, which has been in use in 
 England since the middle of the seventeenth century, is a 
 lightcolored Jurassic limestone from quarries on the Isle of 
 Portland, near Weymouth. In composition it is a nearly pure 
 carbonate of lime, but its texture is too uneven to rec.ommend 
 it for other than massive structures. It was used in the 
 construction of St. Paul’s Cathedral (London), and many 
 churches erected during the reign of Queen Anne. 
 
f 
 
 330 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Ireland .—The so-called “ Irish-black ” is one of the best 
 known of the black marbles and has in times past been exten¬ 
 sively imported into this country. The Angliham and Men- 
 lough quarries from whence the stone is taken are situated 
 about three miles north of Galway. As long ago as 1868 there 
 were 40 feet of clearing over the beds, and at the present date* 
 the amount of clearing and pumping have greatly increased, 
 thereby adding much to the cost of the stone. In the Angli¬ 
 ham quarry there were three beds of marble, one 9 inches 
 thick: one 12 inches thick : and one 14 inches thick. The 9 
 inch bed furnished the purest stone: the 12 inch bed was 
 known as the London bed, the product being held wholly for 
 the London market, preference being given to it on account of 
 its capability of being cut most economically. The historic 
 Kilkenny marble is from the quarries lying close to the river, 
 near Archers Grove, about half a mile south east of the town 
 of Kilkenny. The stone occurs in three varieties: shelly 
 black, pure black and dark gray. The shelly black is the best 
 known variety, the black background thickly studded with 
 white shells giving it a world wide reputation. Other black 
 marbles are found in the town of Carlow, in Donegal, Ferm- 
 auagh, Kerry, Limerick, Mayo, Monaghan, Sligo, Tipperary 
 and Waterford. According to G. H. Kinahan, who is author¬ 
 ity for the above, * the Irish black marbles were at one time in 
 * great request, quarries in various counties being worked in 
 great measure for exportation to England and elsewhere. The 
 pure black varieties were used mainly for monumental pur¬ 
 poses. Although in late years the best “ blacks ” were most 
 in requisition, yet the black mottled or white spotted, like the 
 famous Kilkenny stone, were much sought, as were also the 
 
 * Economic Geology of Ireland. Journal Royal Geological Society of Ire¬ 
 land, vol. viii. (new series), part 11. 1886-S7, p. 137. 
 
 ♦ 
 
FOREIGN LIMESTONES AND MARRIES. 
 
 331 
 
 inferior varieties, used mainly for tombstones. At present the 
 trade is very low, only the best black varieties being now in 
 demand. 
 
 EUROPE. 
 
 Belgium .—This country is stated by Violet * to be excep¬ 
 tionally rich in colored marbles, though white varieties are 
 entirely wanting. They are mostly of a somber or dull color, 
 and, like the marbles of Northern France, belong, according to 
 Delesse, f to the Carboniferous and Devonian formations. 
 The principal varieties now quarried for exportation, as repre¬ 
 sented in the collections of the National Museum, are the 
 black of St. Anne, from Biesme, province of Namur, the blue 
 from Couillet, near Charleroi, province of Hainaut, the reds 
 from Cerfontaine and Merlemont, near Philippeville, province 
 of Namur, and the well-known “ Belgian black ” from quarries 
 in Golzines, and the environs of Dinant, also in the province of 
 Namur.;}; All of these are very fine grained and compact, 
 admitting of smooth surfaces and high polish. 
 
 The St. Anne marble is of a deep blue-black color with 
 many short and interrupted veins of white ; those of Couillet 
 are much lighter in color and with more white ; some of the 
 varieties are breccias composed of fragments of compact blue- 
 gray limestone imbedded in a white crystalline matrix. The 
 red marbles of Cerfontaine and Merlemont are known as rouge 
 griotie, rouge griotte fleurl, rouge imperial and rouge royal. All 
 
 * Les marbres, p. 44. 
 
 f Mat6riaux de construction, p. 194. 
 
 X Violet gives the full list of Belgian marbles as follows: “Le marbre 
 Saint Anne, le rouge royal, le rouge imperial, la griotte de Flandre, le griotte 
 fleurfie, le granite beige, le bleu beige, la Florence beige, bizantin beige, bleu 
 
 antique, le grand antique, le petit antique, et les marbres noirs de Golzinnes et 
 de Dinant.” 
 
332 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 are dull red, of light and dark shades, variously spotted, fleck¬ 
 ed, and veined with white and gray; none of them are as brill¬ 
 iant in color as the French griottes. The variety rouge royal is 
 very light, and somewhat resembles certain varieties of the 
 Tennessee marbles, but is inferior. The well-known Belgian 
 black is of a deep black color, hard, and difficult to work, but 
 takes a high polish, and is considered the best of its kind now 
 in the market. 
 
 France: Griotte, or French Red Marble.—This beautiful 
 stone takes its name, according to Violet,* from the griotte 
 cherry, owing to its brilliant red color. When, as frequently 
 happens, the uniform redness is broken by small white spots, 
 it is called “ bird’s-eye griotte ” [griotte ceil deperdrix ). Some 
 varieties are traversed by white veins, but these are regarded 
 as defects and are avoided in quarrying. The stone is found 
 in several localities in the French Pyrenees, notably in the 
 valley of the Barousse, of the Pique, at the bridge of the 
 Taoulo, and in the environs of Prades. It is used for all man¬ 
 ner of interior decorative work in France, and is exported to a 
 very considerable extent to this country. This is by all odds 
 the most brilliant in color of any marble of which the author 
 has knowledge. In the small slabs usually seen in soda foun¬ 
 tains and counters it appears homogeneous and free from 
 flaws. As displayed in the halls of the capital building at 
 Albany, New York, however, it is full of flaws and has been so 
 extensively “ filled ” as to give the whole surface a gummy 
 appearance, in striking contrast with that of the Tennessee 
 marble with which it is associated. The price in France as 
 given by Violet is from 400 to 500 francs per cubic metre, or 
 about $275 to $3.50 per cubic foot, according to quality. 
 
 Another marble of a brilliant scarlet color, blotched with 
 white and known as Languedoc marble or French red, is stated 
 
 * Les Marbres, etc. Rapports sur L’Exposition Universeile, 1878, xxvin. p. 15. 
 
FOREIGN LIMESTONES AND MARBLES. 
 
 333 
 
 by Violet to occur at various points in the Pyrenees, but in 
 masses of exceptional beauty and compactness at Montagne 
 Noire (Black Mountain), where it has been quarried since the 
 sixteenth century. It is obtainable here in blocks of consider¬ 
 able size, which bring in the market of Carcassone prices vary¬ 
 ing from 250 to 350 francs per cubic metre, or, roughly speak¬ 
 ing, from $ 1-75 to $2.20 per cubic foot. Other French marbles, 
 though which are but little used in this country, are the rose 
 marble from Caunes, the vert-moulin , also called gnotte campan y 
 the campan vert , or the campan melange. The wrongly so-called 
 Italian griotte is, according to Chateau, obtained from quarries 
 at La Motte de Felines d’Hautpoul, Department of Herault. 
 Violet states that this name was given it simply that it might 
 command a higher price. 
 
 Caen stone.—This, is one of the most noted limestones of 
 modern history. It is a soft, fine-grained stone, very light 
 colored, and admirably adapted for carved work, but so absorb¬ 
 ent as to be entirely unfitted for outdoor work in such a climate 
 as that of the United States. Egleston* states that in the 
 climate of New York City the stone does not endure longer 
 than ten years unless protected by paint. 
 
 The stone takes its name from Caen, in Normandy, where 
 the principal quarries are situated. It was probably introduced 
 into Great Britain soon after the Norman conquest, where it 
 was largely used in cathedrals and other buildings down to the 
 middle of the fifteenth century. The cathedral of Canterbury 
 and Westminster Abbey are of this stone. 
 
 Brocatelle.—This is a very beautiful marble and much uset 
 for mantels and other interior decorations. The body of the 
 stone is very fine and compact, and of a light yellow color, 
 traversed by irregular veins and blotches of dull red. It is 
 
 * Transaction American Society of Civil Engineers, XV. 1886. 
 
334 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 further variegated by patches or nodules of white crystalline 
 calcite. It takes an excellent polish and requires less filling 
 than many marbles. Its source is stated by Violet to be Jura, 
 in southern France. The stone is difficult of extraction and 
 brings a high price. 
 
 The name brocatelle is stated by Newberry to signify a 
 coarse kind of brocade used for tapestry. 
 
 The National collections show a variety of coarsely mottled 
 white, gray and almost black stones of fine grain and susceptible 
 of a high polish, from Scherneck, near St. Die, and from Fra- 
 mont in the Department of Vosges ; also a stone of similar 
 structure but with a chocolate red base from the same locality. A 
 compact black stone thickly studded with small white asterisks is 
 found in the valley of the Hogneau. A coarse conglomerate 
 marble taking a fair surface and polish, and composed of dull 
 pink, yellowish and drab pebbles in a pinkish base, is found in 
 the valley of Tholonet, near Aix, and is known commercially 
 as Breche d' Alet. 
 
 Germany .—The two principal marbles now imported from 
 this country are known commercially as Formosa and Bougard. 
 Both are very beautiful stones, ranking among the finest now 
 in general use. The first named is dark gray and white mot¬ 
 tled and blotched with red ; it is slightly fossiliferous. The 
 Bougard has about the same colors, but is lighter and the tints 
 are more obscure They are said to come from Nassau. 
 
 Austria .—The marbles of Austria stand in strong contrast 
 with those of the United States, in that with few exceptions 
 they have undergone less metamorphism, and are, therefore, of 
 an extremely fine and compact, microcrystalline texture and 
 often highly fossiliferous. Stones of this type of structure 
 and varying from dark chocolate, through creamy white, pink¬ 
 ish, dull red and yellowish variegated, dark siena yellow or 
 drab, and often beautifully brecciated, occur in the Jurassic 
 
FOREIGN LIMESTONES AND MARBLES. 
 
 335 
 
 formations in the vicinity of Castione, in the Tyrol. Drab and 
 white mottled fossiliterous stones are also found in the Lias 
 formations of this same district. Dark chocolate red and 
 variegated, and gray and black highly fossiliferous stones are 
 found near Saltzburg, and also pure white crystalline forms 
 resembling those of Massachusetts and Connecticut. By far 
 the most beautiful of the above are the pink, yellowish, and 
 white brecciated varieties from Castione. 
 
 Many of these stones are hard and plucky, but can be 
 worked down to a smooth surface and acquire a high polish 
 such as is obtainable only on stones of such dense and compact 
 structure. It is a matter of regret that similar stones are not 
 as yet to be found on the markets of the United States. 
 
 Chalky white, buff and gray limestones suitable for build¬ 
 ing and carved work, but which do not polish, are obtained 
 from the Miocene formations of Margaret.hen, Oszlopp, Man- 
 nersdorfer, Hundsheimer and other towns in Lower Austria. 
 The so-called lumachelle marble is a fossiliferous limestone in 
 which the shells still retain their nacre, or pearly lining, and 
 which when polished gives off in spots a brilliant iridescent 
 lustre with rainbow tints ; the finer varieties being seemingly 
 set with opals. It is a beautiful stone for inlaid work and 
 elaborate ornamentation, but is usually found only in small 
 slabs. A variety quite commonly seen in mineral cabinets is 
 of a dark grayish-brown color and with occasional brilliantly 
 iridescent spots and streaks like those of the fire opal. It is 
 brought from Bleiberg and Hall in the Tyrol. 
 
 Spain and Portugal .—These countries possess a great 
 amount and variety of stone suitable for building and orna¬ 
 mental work, but, so far as the writer is aware, only a few of 
 the marbles and limestones are exported to this country, and 
 need be referred to here. 
 
 There is stated to be a zone of crystalline marbles of white, 
 
33 6 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 yellow, and flesh color, which extends through the provinces of 
 Estremoz, Borba, and Villa Vi^osa ; a black variety with white 
 veins also occurs at Monte Claros. These are all susceptible 
 of a good polish, and blocks of large size can be obtained. 
 The beds belong to the Laurentian formations. In Vianna,, 
 Alrito, Portel, and the mountains of Ficalho other marbles are 
 found of the same general character. The rocks of the 
 Jurassic and Cretaceous formations also furnish a large quan¬ 
 tity of material for building and ornamental use. This is 
 especially the case at Coimbra, Figueira da Foz, Cintra, and 
 Pero Pinheiro. At Cintra the limestones have been meta¬ 
 morphosed by the adjoining granites, while those of Pero 
 Pinheiro were likewise metamorphosed by the volcanic rocks 
 of the suburbs of Lisbon.* 
 
 One of the finest of the above-mentioned marbles, and one 
 which is much used in the United States, is the yellow, from 
 Estremoz. This is known commercially as Lisbon marble. In 
 color and texture it is almost identical with the celebrated 
 Italian Siena, with which it favorably compares. A peculiar 
 stone from this same locality is white with streaks and blotches 
 of a blood-red color. It is more peculiar than beautiful. The 
 marbles of Pero Pinheiro are of mottled white and pink— 
 almost red—color, fine grained and compact. They are said 
 to have been extensively used in Lisbon, where they have 
 proved very durable. Other marbles that perhaps need 
 especial mention are the breccias from Serra de Arrabida and 
 Chodes, Saragossa Province. The first named is composed 
 of rounded and angular pebbles of a gray, drab, black, and red 
 color, embedded in a dull red paste. In a general way it re¬ 
 sembles the breccia from Montgomery County, Maryland, but 
 
 * Portuguese Special Catalogue, Departments, I., n., in., iv., and v.; In¬ 
 ternational Exhibit, 1876, pp. 29, 30. 
 
FOREIGN LIMESTONES AND MARBLES. 
 
 337 
 
 has less beauty. The Chodes stone is composed of very angu¬ 
 lar fragments, of a black color, in a reddish brown paste. The 
 proportion of paste to the fragments is very large and much 
 filling is necessary in polishing. Fine, compact marbles of 
 dull reddish hues, often veined with drab, occur in Pannella 
 Province. Others that may be mentioned are the red and 
 yellow mottled marbles of Murcia Province, the black of 
 Alicante Province, and the black white-veined breccias of 
 Madrid. A fine translucent alabaster is also included among 
 the productions of Saragossa Province. 
 
 A very full series of these stones was exhibited at the Cen¬ 
 tennial Exposition at Philadelphia in 1876, and from there 
 transferred to the National Museum at Washington. 
 
 Italy .—The quarries of the Apennines in northern Italy, 
 near Carrara, Massa, and Serravezza, furnish marbles of a great 
 variety of colors of the finest qualities and in apparently inex¬ 
 haustible quantities. To give a full description of these quar¬ 
 ries and their various products would be to transcend the limits 
 of this work. I shall therefore confine myself to a brief 
 description of only those stones which are imported to any 
 extent into this country. 
 
 White statuary marble.—This is a fine grained saccharoidal 
 pure white stone, without specks or flaws. On a polished sur¬ 
 face it has a peculiar soft, almost waxy appearance, entirely 
 different from the dead whiteness of the Vermont statuary 
 marbles, to which it is considered greatly superior. • It is 
 brought principally from the Poggio Silvestro and Betogli 
 quarries, that from the first named locality being considered 
 the best. The price of the stone in Italy varies from 15 to 40 
 lires per cubic foot in blocks of sufficient size for an ordinary 
 statue 5 feet in height. 
 
 Ordinary white or block marble.—This is usually white in 
 color, though sometimes faintly bluish and veined. It is 
 
< 
 
 33 8 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 largely imported into this country, and used for monumental 
 work. The variety from the Canal Bianco quarries is white, 
 with faint bluish lines ; that from Gioja quarries is fine-grained, 
 and uniformly white and somewhat translucent, sometimes 
 resembling gypsum on a polished surface. The variety from 
 the Ravaccione quarries is faintly water-blue, while that from 
 the Tantiscritti quarries is of similar color, but traversed by 
 fine, dark-bluish veins. These stones sell for from 4 to 10 lires 
 per cubic foot, in blocks containing not over 20 cubic feet each. 
 
 The veined marbles from the Vara and Gioja quarries are 
 of a white color, but often blotched with darker hues, and 
 traversed by a coarse irregular net-work of faintly bluish lines. 
 The Bardiglio marbles of the ordinary type from the Para and 
 Gioja quarries are of a water-blue color, blotched irregularly 
 with white, and far inferior in point of beauty to the justly 
 famed Bardiglio veined marbles from the Seravezza quarries. 
 These are of a light-blue color, traversed by an irregular net¬ 
 work of fine dark-blue lines, intersecting one another at acute 
 angles. This stone is used very extensively in soda-water 
 fountains, counters, and for panellings. 
 
 The red mixed marble from quarries at Levante is also 
 much sought, but works with difficulty and requires much fill¬ 
 ing. It is properly a breccia, composed of irregular whitish 
 and red fragments embedded in a reddish paste. It does not 
 take a high polish, nor are its colors brilliant. The so-called 
 Parinazo marbles, from the Miseglia, Pescina, and Bocca del 
 P"robbi quarries, are all white or whitish, and traversed by a 
 very coarse net-work of black or blue-black veins. 
 
 The yellow or Siena marbles are, next to the white statuary, 
 probably the most sought and widely known of Italian marbles. 
 Like the majority of foreign colored marbles, they are exceed¬ 
 ingly fine-grained and compact in texture, and take a high 
 lustrous polish. The prevailing color is bright yellow, though 
 
FOREIGN LIMESTONES AND MARBLES. 
 
 339 
 
 often blotched with slight purplish or violet shades. When 
 these darker veins or blotches prevail to a considerable extent 
 the stone is called Brocatelle. The most beautiful variety oi 
 the Siena marble is obtained, according to Delesse, from Monte 
 Arenti, in Montagnola. It is of a uniform yellow color, but 
 blocks of large size can be obtained only rarely, and these 
 often bring a price as high as $6 per cubic foot. The Broca¬ 
 telle variety from the same locality is worth only about two- 
 thirds this sum. 
 
 The Portor or black and gold marble.—This is, according 
 to Delesse, a black silicious limestone, traversed by yellowish, 
 reddish, or brown veins of carbonate of iron. It is brought 
 chiefly from the Isle of Palmaria, in the Gulf of Spezia, and 
 from Porto Venere. A small amount is also produced at 
 Carrara and Serravezza. Blocks of this stone in the National 
 Museum show a good surface and high polish. It is a beauti¬ 
 ful stone, and the name black and gold well describes it. The 
 Portor marble, from the Monte d’Arma quarries, is a breccia 
 of fragments of black limestone with a yellowish cement. 
 This is inclined to break away in the process of dressing, thus 
 rendering the production of a perfect surface impossible with¬ 
 out much filling. 
 
 Black marble.—A fair variety of this material is brought 
 from the Colonnata quarries. The stone is not as dark as the 
 Belgian black, nor does it admit of so high a polish. 
 
 Breccia marble.—The breccia marbles from Gragnana and 
 Serravezza I have never seen in use in this country, though 
 they are stated to be imported to a slight extent. The first- 
 named consists of small bluish-white fragments cemented 
 closely by a chalk-red cement, while the second variety has 
 both white and red fragments similarly cemented. 
 
 The yellow marbles of Verona and Gragnana are quite dif¬ 
 ferent in appearance from those of Siena, being rather of a 
 
340 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 brownish hue, and taking only a dull polish. They are com¬ 
 pact rocks, excellently adapted for decorative work. The so 
 called red marble from the Castel Poggio quarries is rather a 
 chocolate color, dull in polish, but pleasing to the eye. 
 
 Ruin marble.—This is a very compact yellowish or drab 
 limestone, the beds of which appear to have been fractured in 
 every conceivable direction by geological agencies, after which 
 the resultant fragments have become recemented by a calcare¬ 
 ous or ferruginous cement. The rock is therefore really a 
 breccia, although the proportional amount of cement is very 
 small, and the actual displacement of the various particles but 
 slight. When cut and polished the slabs have somewhat the 
 appearance of mosaics, representing the ruins of ancient castles 
 or other structures. Hence the name of “ ruin marble.” The 
 locality as given by Delesse, is the bridge of Rignano, Val de 
 Sieve, in the environs of Florence, Italy. 
 
 Greece .—The celebrated Parian marble of the ancients was 
 brought from Paros, a small island of the Grecian Archipelago. 
 It is stated * that the southern part only of the island consists 
 of crystalline limestone, the pure white statuary marble form¬ 
 ing beds of from five to fifteen feet in thickness intercalated 
 with other layers of coarser texture and traversed by dark 
 veins, the coloring matter being oxides of iron and manganese. 
 It is further stated that the marble beds are much disturbed 
 and folded, and often dip at high angles. The ancients avoided 
 the stone lying near the axis of this elevation, as being of 
 poorer quality than that in other parts. A recently formed 
 Greek company instead of profiting by this experience 
 attempted quarrying in these parts, but the poor character of 
 the material obtained soon discredited the marble in the mar¬ 
 ket, and the company failed as a consequence after expending 
 some $800,000 in their plant. 
 
 * Robert Swan in Report British Association, Sept., 1889. 
 
GYPSUM: ALABASTER. 
 
 341 
 
 GYPSUM: ALABASTER. 
 
 This can scarcely be considered a building-stone, and it is 
 used only to a small extent for ornamental purposes. We 
 may, however, devote a little space to the subject. 
 
 (1) COMPOSITION AND USES OF GYPSUM. 
 
 Pure gypsum is composed of the sulphate of lime and water 
 in the proportions of about 79.1 per cent of the former to 20.9 
 per cent of the latter (ante, p. 26). Three varieties are com¬ 
 mon : (1) crystallized gypsum or selenite, which occurs in 
 broad, flat, transparent plates sometimes a yard in diameter 
 and of value only as mineral specimens and for optical pur¬ 
 poses ; (2) fibrous gypsum, which includes the variety satin 
 spar used for making small ornaments ; and (3) massive gyp¬ 
 sum, which includes the common white and clouded varieties 
 used in making plaster, and the pure, white, fine-grained variety 
 alabaster.* 
 
 (2) LOCALITIES OF GYPSUM IN THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 The principal localities of gypsum in the United States as 
 given by various authorities are in New York, Ohio, Illinois, 
 Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kansas, and 
 Texas, where it occurs in extensive beds often associated with 
 salt springs. It is also found associated with Triassic deposits 
 in the Rocky Mountain region. Handsome selenite and snowy 
 gypsum are also stated to occur near Lockport and Camillus, 
 N. Y., in Davidson County, Tennessee, and in the form of 
 rosettes in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. 
 
 According to G. F. Kunzf the ornaments of satin spar sold 
 
 * Much of the material popularly called alabaster is in reality travertine 
 {see p. 116). 
 
 f Min. Resources of the United States, 1883-84, p. 77. 
 
34 2 STOWES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 at Niagara Falls and other “ tourist places ” are nearly all im¬ 
 ported from Wales, though some few of the common white 
 variety are cut from the beds of this stone found in the vicin¬ 
 ity. The Italian alabaster is used extensively in making stat¬ 
 uettes, but the common varieties found in this country and 
 Nova Scotia are used chiefly for land plaster and as plaster of 
 paris, or stucco. So far as the writer is aware the gypsum 
 quarried at Fort Dodge, Iowa, is the only one that has been 
 at all used for structural purposes in this country. 
 
 According to Dr. White* several residences, a railway sta¬ 
 tion, and other minor structures, including a large culvert, 
 have been built of gypsum at this place. In the construction 
 of the culvert the lower courses that came in contact with the 
 water were of limestone, as the gypsum had proven slightly 
 soluble and hence less durable in such positions. The stone is 
 regarded by Dr. White as very durable in ordinary situations, 
 and the ease with which it ca-n be worked renders it preferable 
 to the limestones in the immediate vicinity. The method of 
 quarrying is to bore holes with a common auger and then 
 blast by means of powder. The blocks are then trimmed to 
 the proper size and shape by means of common wood-saws 
 and hatchets or axes.t 
 
 (3) FOREIGN GYPSUM AND ALABASTER. 
 
 England .—An English alabaster, white, variously clouded 
 and streaked with dull brownish red has been introduced into 
 the New York markets, and has been used in the bank coun¬ 
 ters of the Equitable Building on lower Broadway. The stone 
 is altogether too soft for use in such exposed situations. It is 
 said to be from quarries in Devonshire. 
 
 Italy .—Alabaster of the finest quality occurs in several 
 
 * Geol. of Iowa, vol. 11. p. 302. 
 
 f See the Non-Metallic Minerals for details as to occurrence and use. 
 
GYPSUM: ALABASTER. 
 
 343 
 
 parts of Italy, particularly at Miemo, in Tuscany, Fontibagni, 
 and Castellina, and at Aosta, in Piedmont. The purest and best 
 variety is, however, from Valdi Marmolago, near Castellina.* 
 Some of these are very extensively worked, the clouded vari¬ 
 eties being made into vases and other objects, while the pure 
 white varieties are made into statuettes. In this form they are 
 sold in considerable quantities in this country, passing under the 
 name of Florentine marbles. As prepared for the market these 
 are indistinguishable from true marble by any but an expert, 
 and it is safe to say a large number of people are yearly impos¬ 
 ed upon. Should one have reason to suppose that this article 
 is being imposed upon him for true marble he has but to try 
 the object in some obscure part with the thumb-nail. Alabaster 
 is readily scratched or indented in this manner, while marble is 
 not affected. Another test is to apply a dilute acid. True 
 marble will dissolve and effervesce briskly, while the alabaster 
 remains unchanged. Besides being softer, and hence more 
 liable to injury, these alabaster objects are inferior to those of 
 marble in that they are more easily soiled and are difficult to 
 cleanse. 
 
 It is stated f that the Italian alabaster is, when first quar¬ 
 ried semitransparent, and that it is wrought while in this 
 state. It is then rendered white and opaque (like marble) by 
 placing the object in a vessel of cold water which is slowly 
 raised to the boiling-point. It is then allowed to cool to a 
 temperature of about JO° or 8o° Fahr. when the objects are re¬ 
 moved and wiped dry. At first they appear little changed by 
 their baptism, but gradually assume the desired color and 
 opacity. 
 
 Spain .—Beautiful white and variegated alabaster occurs in 
 the province of Guadalajara and Saragossa. 
 
 * Hull, op. cit. p. 165. 
 
 f Appleton’s Dictionary of Mechanics, vol. 11. p. 387. 
 
344 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 SOME MINOR ORNAMENTAL STONES. 
 
 It may be well to mention here, briefly, a few of the rarer 
 stones used for ornamental purposes, particularly for inlaid and 
 finely decorative work. Such stones as are used merely as 
 gems will not be included, since they are sufficiently well de¬ 
 scribed in other available treatises. (See bibliography, p. 528.) 
 
 Agalmatolite .—This is a somewhat general name given to 
 a not well defined class of rocks of varying composition but 
 having in common a fine compact texture free from grit, a ser- 
 pentinous or talcose look and feel, and which owing to their 
 physical rather than chemical properties are readily carved into 
 a variety of forms. The more important substances here in¬ 
 cluded are the minerals pyrophyllite and pinite. The first is 
 an aluminous bisilicate of the composition, silica 64.82$, alum¬ 
 ina 24.48, water 5.25$, with traces of iron, magnesia and lime. 
 A nearly white schistose rock of this nature occurs in the Deep 
 River region, and at Carbonton, Moore County, North Caro¬ 
 lina, but is utilized only as a white earth and for slate pencils. 
 Near Washington in Wilkes County, Georgia, is a deep lus¬ 
 trous green and white variety of the same mineral, and which 
 though soft could be used advantageously in certain for.ms of 
 ornamentation. On a polished surface the stone shows a gray 
 groundmass mottled with irregular streaks and blotches of pea 
 green and occasional shreds of silvery white mica. 
 
 Pinite is, according to Dana, a hydrous alkaline silicate, con¬ 
 taining silica 46$, alumina 30$, potash 10$, water 6$. Rocks 
 of this general class are much used in China, Corea and Japan 
 for making a variety of objects including ornamental dishes, 
 miniature pagodas, and grotesque images. The name agal- 
 matolite, according to the the above authority, being from 
 the Greek ayaXya, an image, and pagodite from pagoda , on 
 account of the use to which the stone is put. A common color 
 of the Chinese rock is faint greenish mottled with red. A 
 
MINOR ORNAMENTAL STONES. 
 
 345 
 
 similar stone from the State of Sonora, Mexico, is exhibited in 
 the collections of the National Museum, but there are no 
 records to show that it has here ever been put to any use. 
 
 Barite. —Barite, a sulphate of barium, occasionally occurs 
 in stalactitic and stalagmitic forms, of a rich amber or mahogany 
 color, so that when cut and polished in the form of paper¬ 
 weights and other small objects it is quite ornamental. Small 
 amounts of the material from Derbyshire, Eng., are thus used. 
 
 Catlinite , or Indian Pipestone .—Although frequently found 
 in the collections of amateur mineralogists this substance can¬ 
 not be considered a true mineral, but as shown by analyses is 
 rather an indurated clay of quite variable composition. The 
 usual color is a deep though dull red, often beautifully flecked 
 with small yellowish dots. The stone is soft enough to be 
 readily cut with a knife, but is sufficiently firm and compact to 
 retain the sharpest edges and lines that may be carved upon it. 
 There is, in fact, an entire absence of granulation and its texture 
 is as fine and close as that of the Bavarian lithographic stone. 
 
 The material first derived its notoriety from the fact that 
 the Sioux Indians utilized it for the manufacture of their pipes 
 and various other articles, and at the present time these same 
 people living in the vicinity of Flandreau, Dakota, derive a 
 considerable income from the manufacture and sale of these 
 articles. The substance is found in various places in Minne¬ 
 sota and Wisconsin, but the principal quarry, if such it can be 
 called, is situated a little north of what is now Pipestone City, 
 in Pipestone County, Minnesota. The country is low prairie 
 land, and the stone occurs as a layer of only about eighteen 
 inches thickness, interstratified with a hard, tough quartzite. It 
 can therefore be obtained in pieces of only very moderate 
 dimensions, and this too at a very considerable outlay of time 
 and labor.* 
 
 # See Geology of Minnesota, vol. n.; also American Journal of Science, 
 1867, p. 15, and American Naturalist, 1868-69. 
 
346 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 The color and textural qualities of the stone are such that 
 it might, in proper combinations, be used to excellent advan¬ 
 tage in interior decorative work. 
 
 On the Sweetwater branch of the Ruby River south-west 
 from Virginia City, in Madison County, Montana, there 
 occurs a peculiar rock, in many respects similar to that just 
 described. 
 
 Whatever may have been the origin of the rock it now has 
 the aspect of an indurated clay. Its prevailing colors are gray, 
 drab, yellow and red sometimes pinkish, or bluish, the colors 
 being always arranged in concentric zones varying from the 
 dimensions of a mere line to an inch or more in width. The 
 rock occurs only in small jointed blocks, and the zonal banding 
 is in all cases approximately parallel to the outline of the 
 blocks, being a product of the oxidation of the ferruginous 
 constituent of the rock. 
 
 In texture the rock is as smooth, fine and homogeneous as 
 is the catlinite above described. It hence is susceptible of 
 a fine surface and good polish. In proper combination the 
 stone could be used to good advantage for interior decorations. 
 At present the nearest railroad shipping point is at Dillon some 
 twenty-five miles away. 
 
 Fossil Coral .—The masses of fossil acervularia from the 
 Devonian limestones of Iowa furnish very beautiful material 
 for small ornaments, as already described on p. 213. 
 
 Labradorite .—The name Labradorite is given to a mineral 
 belonging to the feldspar group, and which owes its claims 
 to recognition as an ornamental stone to a beautiful 
 and sometimes actually gorgeous iridescence in every shade 
 of blue, green and yellow. The stone is of a gray color, 
 quite hard, and as a rule the iridescent portions occur only 
 in small areas. As moreover the polished surface needs be 
 turned at various angles with the light in order to bring out 
 its full beauty, it is not well suited for stationary objects, but 
 
MINOR ORNAMENTAL STONES. 
 
 347 
 
 rather for vases and other small ornaments. The present sup< 
 ply comes mainly from Labrador and Russia.* It is the pres¬ 
 ence of this feldspar that gives rise to the bluish iridesence 
 sometimes seen on the so-called Au Sable granite, quarried at 
 Keeseville, New York. 
 
 Lapis-Lazuli .—This is a hard, tough and compact rock of 
 a rich, azure-blue color, and vitreous lustre. It is not a homo¬ 
 geneous mineral, but an intimate mixture of granular calcite, 
 ekebergite and a blue mineral, the exact chemical nature of 
 which has not been fully made out. The chemical composi¬ 
 tion, as given by Dana, shows it to be composed mainly of silica 
 and alumina, with smaller percentages of lime, soda, iron, and 
 sulphur. 
 
 The stone is much esteemed for highly ornamental inlaid 
 work, but is very expensive, so that as a rule it is used only in 
 the form of a thin veneering. 
 
 The stone occurs in granular limestone and syenitic rocks 
 according to Dana. The commercial supply is brought from 
 Persia, Siberia and China. 
 
 Malachite and Azurite .—These are the names given to the 
 green and blue carbonates of copper, and which occur at times 
 in sufficient abundance and compactness of texture to permit 
 of their being utilized for table tops, vases and other small 
 ornaments. Both forms of the carbonate are common as ores 
 of copper, though it is but rarely that they occur in such 
 abundance as to be of value for decorative purposes. 
 
 The most noted source of malachite is Nijni Tagilsk, in the 
 Russian Urals. The mineral occurs in stalagmitic masses of a 
 beautiful banded structure and of various shades of green. 
 Solid blocks of a cubic yard in dimensions are stated to have 
 been obtained here. 
 
 Another source is the Burra Burra Mine, near Adelaide, 
 Australia. Smaller masses have been found in the copper 
 mines of Arizona. 
 
 * See under Gabbro, p. 116. 
 
348 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 The deep azure blue carbonate azurite is less common than 
 malachite. It occurs not infrequently interbanded with the 
 latter in stalagmitic masses, which show, therefore, beautiful 
 blue and green concentric bands when cut across. 
 
 Nephrite , or Jade .—The name nephrite, or jade, has been 
 given by mineralogists to a very compact and tough, light 
 greenish to whitish mineral of the amphibole group, and which 
 has been used for making cutting-implements and ornaments 
 by numerous widely-scattered barbarous or semi-barbarous 
 nations. The attention of scientists was first drawn to the sub¬ 
 stance by the finding of implements of it, not only among the 
 tribes still living, but among prehistoric ruins, such as the Swiss 
 lake dwellings. The constant recurrence of objects of this 
 nature among perhaps widely separated tribes was a very 
 striking fact, and it was thought at one time that this might 
 indicate a means of inter-tribal intercourse, or trade, or even 
 perhaps a common origin, since it at first seemed scarcely 
 probable that a stone so difficult to work and of so similar an 
 appearance should be found and utilized for similar purposes 
 the world over. This idea has, however, been now shown to 
 be fallacious. It is, however, none the less interesting a fact 
 that the mineral occurs in comparative rarity among so many 
 nations, and that moreover It should have quite independently 
 been in all cases adopted for similar purposes. 
 
 The localities from whence objects of nephrite have from 
 time to time been reported by collectors, are as follows: 
 Biittany, Switzeiland, Silesia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, 
 China, Turkestan, Siberia and Alaska. 
 
 The finding of nephrite objects, as knives, beads, etc., 
 among natives of the last-named place, after it was known to 
 occur in Sibeiia, gave rise to the erroneous supposition that 
 there was tribal communication between the two localities. 
 vVithin a few years, however, various United States exploring 
 
MINOR ORNA MENTAL STONES. 
 
 349 
 
 parties have brought in samples of the rough jade found in 
 situ in Alaska, proving again the oft-proved fact that as a 
 means of tracing migration or communication, the occurrence 
 of the substance is of' no value. 
 
 The Chinese seem to have been the great masters in work¬ 
 ing this refractory material, and their delicate carvings of jade 
 are famous the world over, and sometimes bring almost fabu¬ 
 lous prices among collectors. A thousand dollars for a finely 
 carved vase or ornament, perhaps but a few inches in length, 
 is, as I am informed, no uncommon figure. It is stated that in 
 the Indian museum, in London, there is a beautiful white jade 
 object which it required three generations of jade workers 
 eighty-five years to complete. As with many other stones, 
 jade or nephrite was once believed to possess medicinal virtue^ 
 and its name, nephrite, is from the Greek word nsphrtfs , signi¬ 
 fying kidney, in allusion to its supposed efficacy in diseases of 
 •these organs. 
 
 It is stated that jade was in use among the Chinese fully 
 2 >737 years before Christ, or more than 4,600 years ago. 
 
 Obsidian— The possibilities of this rock will be mentioned 
 under the head of liparites, and it need not be further described 
 here. 
 
 Pegmatite— Graphic Granite. This a granitic rock consist¬ 
 ing mainly of quartz and orthoclase, but in which the constitu¬ 
 ents instead of crystallizing in the usual granular condition are 
 in the form of long parallel and imperfect prisms as will be 
 later noted, so that a cross section shows the clear glassy 
 quartz rudely imitative of letters of the ancient Grecian or 
 Phoenician alphabet, set mosaic-like in a groundmass of white 
 orthoclase. 
 
 The prevailing color is nearly white, the stone is hard and 
 can be worked only in comparatively small pieces. 
 
 Quartz .—The various forms of silica, known as quartz 
 
350 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 agate, jasper, etc., are almost too well known to merit special 
 mention. 
 
 The ordinary limpid quartz and the amethystine variety is 
 used in the cheaper forms of jewelry and is carved into beau¬ 
 tiful images or polished spheres by the Japanese, but it is not 
 used for large ornamentation. The name jasper is given to 
 an impure crypto-crystalline variety colored, blotched and 
 streaked with shades of red, brown and yellow by iron oxides. 
 The heliotrope or bloodstone, a green jasper blotched with 
 blood red, is one of the most prized varieties. The name 
 agate is given to the banded nodular masses of chalcedony 
 that form in the cavities of trap rock or sometimes replace 
 the organic matter in fossil wood. Nearly all agates as sold 
 are colored artificially by first boiling them in honey or an 
 organic oil and then heating them, whereby the carbonaceous 
 matter absorbed unequally by the various layers is turned 
 various shades of brown and black, thereby rendering more 
 conspicuous the banding. Wood is not infrequently fossilized 
 by silica, the organic matter being'replaced atom by atom by 
 the siliceous matter until a more or less complete cast of the 
 woody structure remains. Such are often variously colored, 
 mainly in red tints by iron oxides and when cut and polished 
 are very beautiful. 
 
 In the so-called fossil forest near Corriza, Apache County, 
 Arizona, have been found many tree trunks thus fossilized, 
 which, when cut and polished, have furnished small columns 
 and tops for stands, of exceptional beauty. 
 
 The great toughness of the material renders it very expen¬ 
 sive to work. 
 
 Rhodochrosite .—This mineral is chemically a carbonate of 
 manganese. Its claim as an ornamental stone lies in its com¬ 
 pact texture and delicate pink color. Unfortunately it has 
 never been found in uniform masses of large size; and as, more¬ 
 over, it is stated to fade slightly on exposure to strong light, 
 
MINOR ORNAMENTAL STONES. 
 
 351 
 
 its utility is perhaps doubtful. It occurs commonly in veins 
 along with ores of gold, silver and copper. Fine massive 
 blocks are taken out of the silver and copper mines at Butte, 
 Montana. 
 
 Rhodonite .—This is a silicate of manganese of a red or pink 
 color and frequently more or less streaked and spotted. It is 
 hard and tough, with a close texture, and admits of a high 
 polish. It has been as yet but little used, the main supply being 
 brought from the Urals of Siberia. Boulders of the material 
 have frequently been found at Cummington, Massachusetts, 
 and it has been stated * that the parent ledge is also now 
 known. As the mineral here is of exceptionally fine color, 
 there is, perhaps, a prospect that it may become of some com¬ 
 mercial value. 
 
 In 1898 Dr. C. H. Richardson, of Dartmouth College, 
 announced the discovery of a vein of rhodonite several feet in 
 width having a strike N. io° E, at Waits River, Vermont. The 
 material was described as of a beautiful pink hue, occasionally 
 variegated with flecks of the black oxide of manganese. Dr. 
 Richardson regarded this deposit as of considerable economic 
 value, but so far as the writer has information the material is 
 not as yet upon the market. Dr. Chas. Palache, of Howard 
 University, has also noted the occurrence of rhodonite in a 
 gold-quartz vein at the head of Silver Bay, near Sitka, 
 Alaska. 
 
 Like rhodochrosite rhodonite is stated to change color on 
 prolonged exposure. 
 
 Septarian Nodules .—The peculiar concretionary forms of 
 impure carbonate of iron to which, owing to their veination 
 the name septaria, septarian nodules, or fossil septaria 
 
 * Mineral Resources of the United States. 1887. 
 
35 2 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 are given, are sometimes of such color and texture that when 
 cut and polished they make desirable ornaments or small 
 table-tops. Particularly fine examples come from Wey¬ 
 mouth, in England. The colors are dull brown-gray, with 
 white and amber-colored veins. Similar forms have been 
 found in Wyoming County, New York, and in Kansas, 
 but thus far they have been looked upon only as curiosities, 
 fit subjects for museums. When cut at all thin such are 
 easily fractured and need to be handled with some care. 
 
 Thulite-stone .—The name thulite is given to a red man¬ 
 ganese epidote, and hence the name thulite-stone to a rock in 
 which this mineral, is the essential constituent. So far as the 
 author is aware rocks of this nature have as yet been found in 
 any abundance only in Norway, at Hinderheim, about 21 
 kilometers north of Trondhjem, on the north side of the 
 Trondhjemfjord. As above noted the essential constituent is 
 thulite, there is also a little quartz, piedmontite, and common 
 epidote. 
 
 The texture is finely granular and the color a pleasing rose 
 red. It has as yet been little used, owing to the difficulty of 
 obtaining large blocks of uniform color, its brittle nature, and 
 the difficulty of polishing. The rock is described as occurring 
 in sporadic areas, rarely more than 5 or 6 feet across, in a 
 granitic gneiss.* 
 
 * H. Reusch. Geologiske Iagttagelser Fra Trondhjems Stifft. 1890. 
 
SERPENTINE, OPHICALCITE, VERD-ANTIQUE MARBLE. 
 
 (i) COMPOSITION, ORIGIN, AND USES OF SERPENTINE. 
 
 The rock serpentine is essentially a hydrous silicate of 
 magnesia, consisting when pure of nearly equal proportions of 
 silica and magnesia with from 12 to 13 percent of water. The 
 massive varieties quarried for architectural purposes are always 
 more or less impure, containing frequently from 10 to 12 per 
 cent of iron oxides, together with varying quantities of chrome 
 iron (chromite), iron pyrites, hornblende, olivine, minerals of 
 the pyroxene group, and the carbonates of lime and magnesia. 
 The reason for this great diversity in composition lies mainly 
 in the fact that serpentine rarely if ever occurs as an original 
 deposit, but as noted below, is always secondary, a product of 
 alteration of either eruptive or sedimentary rocks rich in mag¬ 
 nesian minerals. As, however, these rocks rarely consist of 
 pure magnesian silicates, but carry in addition lime, alumina 
 and various metallic oxides, these constituents separate out 
 during the process of change, and recrystallize in veins, streaks 
 and blotches as calcite, dolomite, magnetite, etc., thus produc¬ 
 ing the common variations in color. The purer varieties are 
 uniformly green or light yellowish, while the commercial forms, 
 as is well known, are variously streaked and blotched and 
 sometimes brownish, almost black or even of a blood-red color, 
 the different shades, according to Delesse, being dependent 
 upon the amount and state of oxidation of the included fer¬ 
 ruginous substances. 
 
 The name Serpentine is applied to this class of rocks in 
 allusion to the serpent-like colors and their spotted or mottled 
 
354 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 arrangement. The name ophiolite or ophite , as sometimes 
 applied to the spotted green and white varieties, is from the 
 Greek word Gocpirr/s, meaning a serpent, or serpent-like. 
 These rocks are also called ophicalcite by various writers. 
 Precious serpentine is the pure translucent, massive variety 
 of a rich oil-green color, like that from Montville, New 
 Jersey. Chrysotile and Amianthus are the names applied 
 to fibrous and silky varieties; these are utilized as a sub¬ 
 stitute for asbestos, being less brittle and of finer fiber. The 
 name verd antique (verte antique, or verde antique), antique 
 green, it should be stated, is not applied to the rock of any 
 particular locality, but to any of the green serpentinous marbles 
 used by the ancient Romans, and which were obtained originally 
 from Italy, Greece, or Egypt. 
 
 The origin of serpentine rocks was long been a matter of 
 dispute among geologists. Recent investigations tend to show 
 that in most cases they result unmistakably from the altera¬ 
 tion of igneous eruptive rocks, especially the olivine bearing 
 varieties, such as the peridotites. In the varieties ophicalcite, 
 consisting of intermingled serpentine and calcite or dolomite, 
 the serpentine is apparently in all cases derived by a process of 
 hydration from a non-aluminous pyroxene. The theory long 
 ably advocated by Dr. Hunt to the effect that the serpentine 
 occurring intercalated with beds of schistose rocks and lime¬ 
 stones, resulted from metamorphism of silico-magnesian sedi¬ 
 ments deposited by sea waters is now very generally abandoned, 
 and it is doubtful if the substance ever occurs as an original 
 deposit even in the eozoonal forms, but is presumably always 
 secondary.* 
 
 * The reader is referred to British Petrography by J. J. H. Teall (Dulan & Co., 
 Soho Square, London), p. 104, for a most excellent historical sketch of this subject. 
 Also to Becker’s report on the quicksilver deposits of the Pacific Slope, monograph 
 XIII., U. S. Geological Survey, p. 117. 
 
SERPENTINE: VERD-ANTIQUE MARBLES. 
 
 355 
 
 The following analyses will serve to illustrate the change in 
 composition which takes place in the conversion of (i) olivine, 
 and (2) pyroxene in to serpentine. 
 
 I II III 
 
 a be d 
 
 Silica. 41.32# 42,72# 54 , 215 # 42,38# 43,48# 
 
 Magnesia.54,69 42,52 19,82 42,14 43,48 
 
 Lime. 24,71 
 
 Alumina.,.0,28 0,06 0,59 0,07 
 
 Ferric Oxide., . 0,20 0,97 
 
 Ferrous Oxide.2,39 2,25 0,27 0,17 
 
 Water. 0,20 13,39 0,14 14,12 13,04 
 
 (a) Olivine, Snarum, Norway; (b) Serpentine derived from the same; (c) Pyrox¬ 
 ene, Montville, New Jersey; (d) Serpentine, derived from the same; and (m) 
 the theoretical composition of serpentine. 
 
 This change it will be observed is, in the case of the olivine 
 mainly a process of hydration—an assumption of some 13^ of 
 water. In the pyroxene the process is more complex and consists 
 of a loss in silica, of all the lime which crystallizes out as calcite, 
 and an assumption of nearly 14$ of water. 
 
 Owing to its softness, which is such that it can be readily 
 carved or turned on a lathe and its beautifub colors when pol¬ 
 ished, serpentine has long been a favorite with all civilized 
 nations for ornaments and interior decorative work. The rock, 
 however, occurs almost universally in a badly jointed condition, 
 so that blocks of small size only can be obtained, or if large, 
 they are liable to break under pressure or even in process of 
 dressing. (See plate XXIX.) No stone with which the quarry, 
 men have to deal is, as a rule, so full of defects as these ser- 
 pentinous rocks. It is in most cases practically impossible to 
 obtain slabs of more than a few feet in diameter which will not, 
 through flaws or dry seams, fall apart if sawn at all thin, and it 
 can in no case be used in blocks or pillars of any size where 
 more than a very moderate degree of strength is required, since 
 
356 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 the prevalence of these seams so weakens it as to render it 
 worse than valueless. Every line or vein of different color with 
 which the stone is traversed but marks an old flaw and is a line 
 of weakness. 
 
 This almost universal characteristic of the stone is one in¬ 
 vestors will do well to carry in mind ; a total disregard of this 
 trait, due presumably to ignorance, has led to no end of quarry 
 failures. Still another fact worthy of being mentioned, is that 
 however high a lustre the stone may take, or however beautiful 
 it may appear in small pieces, the color is not one that accords 
 readily with its surroundings, and the demand for it for purely 
 decorative work must always be more limited than that for 
 other marbles whose colors are more harmonious. Moreover, 
 the stone is not adapted for polished work in exposed situa¬ 
 tions, since the different substances composing the body of the 
 stone and filling the veins, and imparting beauty by contrast, 
 will, on exposure, weather unequally. 
 
 The white and yellowish veins lose their lustre and crumble 
 away, or turn dull yellow, while the whole block becomes 
 seamed and the serpentine itself takes on a greasy lustre mak¬ 
 ing it as unsightly as it once was beautiful. This unfortunate 
 property of veined stones is further alluded to in the chapter 
 on the Selection of Building Stones (p. 447). For small orna¬ 
 ments, and in slabs of moderate dimensions for interior decor¬ 
 ations, serpentine is capable of producing good affects. Too 
 much has been and still is expected from it, and in this, largely, 
 lies the failure that has fallen to the lot of nearly every quarry 
 that has been opened in America. 
 
SERPENTINE: VERD-ANTIQUE MARRIES. 
 
 357 
 
 (2) SERPENTINES OF THE VARIOUS STATES AND TERRI¬ 
 TORIES. 
 
 California .—Inexhaustible quantities of serpentine of a deep 
 green or yellowish color occur in the region round about San 
 Francisco, and often in such situations as to be easily available, 
 as at the head of Market street. So far as observed none of 
 the material is of such a quality as to render it of value for 
 ornamental work, while its gloomy color renders it equally 
 objectionable for purposes of general construction. 
 
 The rock is also abundant in other parts of the State, but the 
 writer having seen little of the material excepting as displayed 
 in small fragments in the State museum at San Francisco, is 
 obliged to rely mainly upon the statements of others regard¬ 
 ing their economic value. 
 
 A body of serpentine varying from dark green to dark 
 mahogany is stated * to occur six or seven miles north-east of 
 lone, near Dry Creek, in Amador County. Other deposits 
 are stated by the same authority to occur near Benicia in 
 Solano County. According to Becker, f serpentine occurs in 
 irregular areas throughout the quicksilver belt of California 
 sometimes in comparatively pure masses and sometimes as one 
 of the mineral constituents of altered sandstones and granular 
 metamorphic rocks. The entire area covered by the rocks of 
 this class is estimated as not less than 1000 square miles, be¬ 
 tween Clear Lake and New Idria. 
 
 Near the town of Victor, San Bernardino County, are ex¬ 
 tensive beds of a serpentinous limestone which may as well be 
 
 * Report State Mineralogist of California, 1888, p. 104. 
 
 f Geology of the Quicksilver Deposits of the Pacific Slope. Monograph 
 XIII., U. S. Geological Survey, p. 108. 
 
358 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 described here. According to the reports of the State Min¬ 
 eralogist* the stone occurs in inexhaustible quantities and 
 blocks of large size are obtainable free from flaws. Samples of 
 the stone examined by the writer vary from light yellowish 
 and greenish to deep green, variously mottled and streaked. 
 The stone has apparently a similar origin to the verdantique 
 of NewYork State (see p. 367) and is therefore a mixture of cal¬ 
 careous and serpentinous matter. It is of fine grain, close 
 texture, and acquires a high polish. It is possible that owing 
 to its general lighter and more harmonious colors this stone 
 may prove more successful in our markets than have the 
 majority of verdantique marbles. 
 
 The Santa Catalina “ Serpentine ” is not a true serpentine, 
 but rather a soapstone. 
 
 Connecticut .—The serpentine deposits of Connecticut are 
 thus described by Professor Shepard :+ “ Connecticut prospers, 
 however, in the green marbles of Milford, a material for 
 decoration much more beautiful and highly prized than white 
 marble. These were first detected in 1811. Two quarries 
 were soon after opened, one near the village of Milford, and 
 called the Milford quarry; the other 2 \ miles west of New 
 Haven, and called the New Haven quarry. They were 
 wrought with considerable activity for several years, and 
 furnished an abundance of very rich marble ; but as the work¬ 
 ing of them was attended with heavy expense from the diffi¬ 
 culty of obtaining blocks of large dimensions that were per¬ 
 fectly sound, and from the labor required in sawing and polishing, 
 they were in a few years abandoned, and have for a long time 
 been in a neglected condition. The experiment proved an un- 
 
 * 10th Annual, 1890, p. 528. 
 
 f Report on the Geological Survey of Connecticut, by C. U. Shepard, 1837, 
 pp. 101-103. 
 
SERPENTINE: VERD-ANTIQUE MARBLES . 
 
 359 
 
 fortunate one, therefore, not from any deficiency of marble or 
 its lack of beauty—for these were both fully admitted—but 
 from a want of wealth and taste in the country to sustain the 
 price. 
 
 It was perhaps an unfortunate thing that the whole of the 
 marble afforded by these quarries was denominated verde 
 antique , whereas but a small part of that furnished is entitled 
 to this name. 
 
 The quarry at Milford is capable of furnishing abundant 
 supplies of this highly valued marble {i.e., the verde antique 
 variety), although, from the circumstance that it occupies nar¬ 
 row and irregular seams among the veined marble, blocks or 
 slabs of any size must always be dear compared with pieces 
 sawn as formerly, without any regard to its separation from 
 the more common kind. . . . Whenever the attempt to work 
 it is made, it is to be hoped that the same experience of 
 the past will prevent its use for monuments exposed to the 
 weather, for besides the incongruity of its colors compared 
 with the marbles usually employed for this purpose, it soon 
 loses its lustre and emits color from the action of the weather 
 on the grains of magnetic iron ore it contains. 
 
 The New Haven marble,'though destitute of the accidental 
 and in some measure classical value which pertains to the 
 Milford variety, is nevertheless a beautiful thing for decoration. 
 In vivacity of colors and the delicacy of their arrangement it is 
 hardly capable of being surpassed. It may be described as a 
 bluish gray or dove-colored limestone clouded with greenish 
 yellow serpentine, the latter containing black grains and sheet 
 veins of magnetic iron ore. The disposition of the colors is 
 cloud-like, flamed, and veined. It polishes with difficulty in 
 consequence of the magnetic iron it contains, which, though it 
 heightens its beauty, unfits it for exposure to the weather.” 
 So far as the present writer is aware these quarries have not 
 
360 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 been worked since the time mentioned by Professor Shepard; 
 i.e., since a few years subsequent to 1811. 
 
 Delaware .—Serpentine of various shades of green is stated 
 to occur about 6 miles northeast from Wilmington, New 
 Castle County, and also to the westward, near the State line, 
 where Brandywine Creek enters the State line from Pennsyl¬ 
 vania.* So far as the writer is aware it has never been 
 quarried. 
 
 Georgia .—At Holly Springs, Cherokee County, in this 
 State, there is quarried by the Verdantique Marble Company 
 of Chicago a beautiful, compact serpentinous rock consisting 
 of a greenish base, mottled and streaked with deep green black, 
 and with occasional lenticular gash veins of a greenish white 
 color. The stone acquires a beautiful polish, and so far as the 
 present writer has had opportunity lor examination, presents 
 as few flaws as most stones of its type. 
 
 Maine .—A large bed of serpentine occurs on the northern 
 end of Deer Isle, in Penobscot Bay, in this State. The rock 
 is very massive, and of a dark green, almost black color, some¬ 
 times streaked and spotted by veins of amianthus and diallage 
 crystals. It is indeed almost too dark and somber for orna¬ 
 mental work, but seems very durable and well adapted for 
 general building purposes. A company was formed some years 
 ago for working this stone, and a shop erected for saws 
 and grinding beds. A considerable amount of material was 
 quarried, but the work was soon discontinued, and had not been 
 resumed at the time of the writer’s visit in 1884. The com¬ 
 pany seem to have fallen into the error of supposing that the 
 
 * Geology of Delaware, 1841, p. 35. 
 
 f Geological Report of the Maryland “ Verde Antique ” marble, etc., in 
 Harford County, Md., by Prof. F. A. Genth, 1875. 
 
SERPENTINE: VERD-ANTIQUE MARBLES. 
 
 361 
 
 stone could be used in long pieces and slabs for window 
 trimmings and door-posts, but for which, owing to its jointed 
 condition, it is entirely unfitted. The deposit covers a nearly 
 level area of many acres in extent, and lies within a short dis¬ 
 tance of the shipping wharf. 
 
 Maryland. —Serpentine has been quarried in Maryland for 
 many years, although the annual production has never been 
 large. The deposits are found in Cecil, Harford, Baltimore, 
 Howard, and Montgomery counties, in each of which they 
 have been worked to a greater or less extent, either for gen¬ 
 eral building or interior decoration. 
 
 The localities most thoroughly exploited are those about 
 Baltimore, at the Bare Hills, and on the banks of Broad Creek, 
 in the eastern part of Harford County, and a small area near 
 Cambria in the northern part of the same county. The de¬ 
 posits on Broad Creek are situated in the midst of a large 
 serpentine area which extends from the Susquehanna south¬ 
 westerly into Baltimore. Quarries were opened here as early 
 as 1870, and a report rendered on the property in 1875 by 
 Brof. F. A. Genth, the results being published in a small 
 pamphlet entitled “A Geological Report of the Maryland Verd- 
 Antique Marble. The analysis given on page 5 10 is from this 
 report. At the time of the writer’s visit, in 1897, the quarries 
 were no longer worked. The rock face rises quite sharply 
 from the bed of Broad Creek and offers every facility for operat¬ 
 ing above water-level and for the handling of the stone at little 
 expense. The material is quite massive, although badly 
 seamed, as is invariably the case with this class of rocks. This 
 seaming causes the stone to break up into irregular masses 
 which require considerable handling before they can be reduced 
 to good form. 
 
 The stone is exceedingly compact and of a dark-green 
 color and takes a high polish. Although more or less clouded, 
 
362 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 it is rarely distinctly veined. The lack of success attending 
 the quarry opening would appear to be due more to business 
 methods than to the quality of the material, although it must 
 be remembered that serpentine has never met with great favor 
 as a stone for interior decoration in this country. 
 
 A stone of similar nature has been worked to some extent 
 near the town of Cambria—a small station on the Baltimore 
 and Lehigh Railroad, not far from Cardiff. The rock is some¬ 
 what schistose, and when sawed parallel to the schistosity it 
 is possible to gain larger slabs than would otherwise be the 
 case. The abundant seaming and faulting cause, however, 
 considerable waste, necessitating a great deal of care in 
 handling. 
 
 About 6 miles north of the city of Baltimore, at a locality 
 known as the Bare Hills, occurs an outcrop of a coarse light- 
 green serpentine covering many acres. The rock is quite 
 porous, of a dull light-green color, and unfitted for any kind of 
 ornamental work, but admirably suited for general building, 
 especially in rock-faced and rubble work. 
 
 At the time of the writer’s visit, in the summer of 1885, but 
 a single quarry had been opened, and this was not at the time 
 in operation. The material had been used with excellent effect 
 in the construction of a school-house in the immediate vicinity. 
 The stone occurs in the form of low rounded masses or bosses, 
 and is regarded by Dr. G. H. Williams as an altered perrdotite.* 
 The supply is inexhaustible. Portions of the rock carry a very 
 considerable amount of chrome iron, which was at one time 
 mined here quite extensively. In the quarry the rock occurs 
 in a very badly jointed condition, and the blocks are rounded 
 and irregular. Firm blocks several feet in length, which cut up 
 readily into sizes suitable for house walls and similar purposes, 
 can, however, be obtained. 
 
 * Bulletin U. S. Geological Survey, No. 28. 
 
SERPENTINE: VERD-ANTIQUE MARBLES. 
 
 363 
 
 Massachusetts .—Serpentine exists in Massachusetts in great 
 abundance, particularly in the Hoosac mountain range. The 
 most extensive bed occurs in Middlefield, in the southern part 
 of the town. This, as stated by Dr. Edw. Hitchcock, cannot 
 be less than a quarter of a mile in breadth and 5 or 6 miles 
 long. The colors of the rock are quite variable and its hard¬ 
 ness unequal. It yields both the precious and the common 
 varieties. In the west part of Westfield and extending into 
 Russell is found another extensive bed of serpentine. This 
 has been examined by Prof. W. O. Crosby, who describes the 
 deposit as consisting of (1) A dike some 50 feet in width of 
 dark-green serpentine which is regarded as an altered basic 
 igneous rock, and (2) a bed some 75 feet in thickness of gray 
 to white crystalline dolomitic marble, impregnated throughout 
 with serpentine, the serpentine in this case resulting from the 
 alternation of tremolite and actinolite, which were original con¬ 
 stituents in the dolomite. A section of the quarry from west 
 to east, as given by Crosby, is as follows: 
 
 (1) Massive black and green serpentine. 45 feet. 
 
 (2) Finely crystalline white tremolite. 5 “ 
 
 (3) Serpentinized gray marble, laminated.... 11 “ 
 
 ( 4 ) “ “ “ 39 “ 
 
 (5) Massive, spangled serpentinized marble. . . 23 “ 
 
 Total. 123 “ 
 
 The massive material of the dike is described as variegated 
 by bright green spots, and strikingly rich and handsome. 
 The massive and spangled variety (5 of the above) consists of a 
 greenish-gray, granular, dolomitic base, in which are radiating 
 clusters of serpentinized tremolite, the blades of which may be 
 in some cases 5 inches in length. These are darker green 
 
364 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 than the base, and present a very striking appearance. The 
 material occurs in quantities practically inexhaustible, and can 
 be had in blocks of almost any desired size. Pressure-tests 
 made at the Watertown arsenal showed it to stand from 12,090 
 to 21,820 lbs. per square inch of crushing surface. 
 
 “ Three beds of serpentine are found in Blanford and another 
 in Pelham, in the southwest part of the town. The color of 
 this last is dark, and the quantity of the talc is considerably 
 large. A large bed occurs in connection with soapstone on the 
 north side of Deerfield River, in Zoar, near the turnpike from 
 Greenfield to Williamstown. Specimens from this place re¬ 
 semble those from the celebrated localities of this rock at 
 Zoblitz, in Saxony.” Two beds of serpentine exist also at 
 Windsor, in this State. 
 
 “ A locality of noble or precious serpentine has long been 
 known to exist in Newbury, 2% miles south of Newburyport, 
 at an abandoned lime quarry called the ‘ Devil’s Den.’ Only 
 small masses can be here obtained, but when polished they 
 will compare with any in the world for beauty. Perhaps the 
 most interesting and important bed of this rock that has as yet 
 been found in the State is that at Lynnfield, in Essex County. 
 The bed has been traced from a point near the center of the 
 town some 2 or 3 miles in a northeasterly direction.”* When 
 first quarried the stone is said to be so soft that it can be cut 
 with a handsaw and very readily turned on a lathe. 
 
 Michigan .—Serpentinous rocks occur abundantly in vari¬ 
 ous parts of Northern Michigan. Presque Isle and Marquette 
 counties are well-known localities. Accounts of these occur¬ 
 rences are, however, meagre or otherwise unsatisfactory. Beau¬ 
 tiful examples of the stone from near Ishpeming, in Marquette 
 
 Hitchcock’s Geology of Massachusetts, Vol. 1., p. 158. 
 
SERPENTINE: VERD-ANTIQUE MARBLES. 
 
 365 
 
 County, have been shown at the various expositions, but opinions 
 as to their availability for structural purposes are somewhat 
 contradictory. Writing of those occurring in Township 48, 
 Range 27, on the northern peninsula, Rominger says:* “A11 
 industrious collector can gather a great variety of such speci¬ 
 mens large enough to make paper weights and other small 
 ornamental trinkets; but if I were asked for advice whether it 
 would be a paying business to quarry these rocks and send 
 them to the market in sawed slabs and blocks, I would cer¬ 
 tainly warn one from this enterprise, because I know that not 
 enough of the finest varieties could be found to make the suc¬ 
 cess certain, and probably not enough to prevent a total failure 
 and disappointment. 
 
 New Jersey .—A beautiful deep-green and oil-yellow, often 
 translucent, serpentine occurs, associated with dolomite, at 
 Montville, in this State. Only pieces of small size are ob¬ 
 tainable, and though of exceptional beauty the stone has never 
 been utilized except for cabinet specimens. 
 
 The stone has been shown by the writer to result from the 
 alteration of segregation masses of a non-aluminous pyroxene 
 imbedded in the dolomite.t 
 
 New Mexico .—A beautifully banded light and dark green 
 impure serpentinous rock occurs north of the Gila River, 
 about half way between Silver City and the Arizona line, in 
 this territory. The colors are good, and the stone seems well 
 adapted for both ornamental work and general building. It is 
 known commercially as ricolite, from the Spanish word rico , 
 rich, in allusion to its rich green color. The following analy¬ 
 sis, if correct, shows the stone to be much more impure than 
 one would be led to suppose from a casual inspection: 
 
 * Geol. Survey of Mich., vol. iv., 1878-80, pp. 142, 143. 
 f Proceedings U. S. National Museum, 1885, p. 105. 
 
306 stones foe building and decoration. 
 
 Silica. 43 - 7 2 $ 
 
 Alumina. 16.86$ 
 
 Magnesia. 23.78$ 
 
 Water. 11.10$ 
 
 Lime. 2.22$ 
 
 Soda and Potash. 2.30$ 
 
 Iron Oxides. traces 
 
 Total. 99.98$ 
 
 The rock occurs in the form of a narrow, nearly vertical 
 bed enclosed between granitic and basic eruptives, the serpen¬ 
 tine itself originating through the alteration of pyroxene. The 
 material outcrops in the steep walls of a canon liable to freshets 
 from cloudbursts, and quarry facilities and transportation are 
 so poor that only spasmodic attempts have been made at 
 quarrying. 
 
 A very unique variety of this rock, which may answer well 
 for certain forms of ornamentation, occurs in small sporadic 
 masses associated with the more calcareous portions of the 
 material just described. The main mass of this rock is com¬ 
 posed of a finely granular pyroxenic mineral of a delicate light- 
 blue color. Throughout this are scattered irregular sporadic 
 areas of yellowish-green serpentine resulting from the hydra¬ 
 tion of the pyroxene. The effect is decidedly unlike anything 
 I have seen elsewhere, and the developments of the quarry 
 may be awaited with interest.* 
 
 New York .—At Moriah and Port Henry, in Essex County, 
 in this State, there has been quarried from time to time under 
 
 See Am. Journal of Science, vol. XLIII, 1892, p. 279. 
 
SERPENTINE: VEKD-ANTIQUE MARBLES. 367 
 
 the name of ophite marble, a peculiar granular stone consisting 
 of an intimate mixture of serpentine, dolomite and calcite inter¬ 
 spersed with small flecks of phlogopite. This stone, which is 
 an altered dolomitic and pyroxenic limestone,* seems nearly 
 free from the numerous dry seams and joints that prove so 
 objectionable in most serpentines, and can be obtained in sound 
 blocks of fair size. The serpentinous portions are deep green 
 in color, while the calcareous granules are faint water blue, or 
 whitish, affording a very pleasing contrast. In certain of the 
 outcrops a mineral of the pyrite group occurs, which is of 
 course deleterious, as liable to oxidation, and it is said to be the 
 presence of this mineral that led to the abandonment of some 
 of the older quarries. Other reasons have doubtless contri¬ 
 buted. Among these may be mentioned the fact that at few 
 of the openings, as seen by the writer, can blocks of large size 
 and homogeneous texture be obtained, every few feet showing 
 large and irregular nodules of deep greenish and yellowish 
 serpentine, calcite, or white pyroxene, and often large scales of 
 graphite, which would prove nearly as objectionable on a 
 polished surface as do the dark patches in many of our granites. 
 Blocks being quarried at the time of my visit (1888) showed, 
 however, a very even granular texture of nearly equal parts of 
 serpentine, calcite and dolomite in grains of from one eighth 
 to one-fourth of an inch in diameter, forming an aggregate 
 quite granitic in appearance at a slight distance. The stone 
 polishes well, and is said to be durable. In the quarry bed, 
 where the stone had been exposed for ages, it was noticed that 
 the calcite had weathered out on the surface, leaving the 
 serpentine protruding in small greenish knobs. The stone has 
 been quoted in some of the older quarry price-lists at $6.00 a 
 cubic foot for the best monumental stock. 
 
 Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. XII., 1889, p. 595 • 
 
368 S TO IVES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 In Warren County a stone of this same general nature occurs, 
 and which has in times past been quarried near the town of 
 Thurman. This stone, as shown by samples in the National 
 Museum, is composed of about equal parts snow-white calcite 
 and light yellowish-green serpentine in flecks and patches from 
 one-sixteenth to one-fourth of an inch in diameter. The text¬ 
 ure, as in the Essex County stone, is, however, by no means 
 uniform, and the large blocks frequently show large and very 
 irregular patches of deep lustrous green serpentine with snow- 
 white, and still unaltered pyroxenic nuclei, the serpentine here, 
 as is the case with that of Montville, (New Jersey,) and the last 
 mentioned, being secondary after a non-aluminous pyroxene. 
 Geologically these beds are of interest as having furnished frag¬ 
 mental remains of the once-problematic organism, the so-called 
 Eozoon Canadense.* 
 
 It is stated f that the largest and most valuable deposit of 
 serpentine in the State is found in the towns of Gouverneur, 
 Fowler, and Edwards, in St. Lawrence County. The rock is 
 said to be massive and sound, and remarkably free from the 
 checks and flaws usually so profusely developed in rocks of this 
 class. In Pitcairn, in the same county, there is also a fine de¬ 
 posit of serpentine of the variety commonly called precious. 
 The calcareous spar is white or grayish-white, and forms a 
 handsome background for the translucent serpentine. The 
 quality of the rock is said to be excellent and free from natural 
 flaws and fissures. 
 
 Serpentine also forms the main range of hills on Staten 
 Island, and extends from New Brighton to a little west of 
 Richmond, a distance of 8 miles. The rock assumes a variety 
 of colors, from almost black to nearly white. 
 
 * See on the Ophiolite of Thurman, Warren County, New York, with remarks, 
 on the Eozoon Canadense, by the writer in American Journal of Science for 
 March, 1889. 
 
 f Geology of New York, 1838, p. 205. 
 
SERPENTINE: VERD-ANTIQUE MARBLES. 369 
 
 North Carolina .—The massive varieties of serpentine are 
 found in many localities. The best appears to come from the 
 neighborhood of Patterson, Caldwell County. It has a dark, 
 greenish-black color, and contains fine veins of the yellowish- 
 green fibrous and silky chrysotile, and admits of a fine polish ; 
 greenish-gray massive serpentine, also with seams of greenish 
 and grayish white chrysotile is found at the Baker mine in Cald¬ 
 well County, at which place are also found the varieties mar- 
 molite and picrolite ; this last also occurs abundantly in the 
 Buck Creek corundum mine, Clay County. Dark green ser¬ 
 pentine has been observed in the neighborhood of Asheville, in 
 Buncombe County, in Forsythe and Wake Counties. A grayish 
 or yellowish green serpentine occurs in Caldwell, Wilkes, Surry, 
 Yancey, Stokes, Orange, and Wake Counties, and in the chryso¬ 
 lite beds of Macon, Jackson, Yancey, Mitchell, Watanga, Burke, 
 and other counties. It results from the decomposition of the 
 chrysolite.* 
 
 The writer has seen but a single sample of these rocks, and 
 hence can express no opinion regarding their value. 
 
 Pennsylvania .—Serpentine is a common rock in several coun¬ 
 ties in the southeastern part of this State, but so far as the 
 writer is aware none of the outcrops furnish material of such a 
 nature as-to be suitable for decorative work. A small area of 
 the stone occurs in the extreme southeastern part of Bucks 
 County ; three lines of outcrops occur in the southwestern part 
 of Montgomery County, passing through Lower Merion into 
 Delaware County near Radnor. From the southern corner of 
 this township numerous isolated outcrops occur throughout a 
 broad belt extending southwesterly through the townships of 
 Marble, Newtown, Middletown, Providence, Aston, Concord, 
 and Birmingham. In the words of the State Geologist, “A 
 serpentine belt extending from Chester Creek, at Lenni (or 
 
 * Geology of North Carolina, 1881, p. 57. 
 
370 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Rockdale), past Media to Darby Creek in Radnor township 
 (nine miles) has been quarried for building stone. It consists 
 of separate and parallel outcrops; at least twenty-seven other 
 local exposures of serpentine in various townships are marked 
 upon the map, all of them in the Chestnut Hill schist area , and 
 apparently belonging to the upper part of that series.”* A 
 long range of serpentine is also found in Williston and East 
 Goshen townships in Chester County, and a still more exten¬ 
 sive belt in the extreme southern part of the county, in Elk 
 and Nottingham townships. This last extends over into Lan¬ 
 caster County, where there are two belts separated by a belt of 
 schist, the southernmost “ running along the Maryland line and 
 holding the famous Woods chro'me mine, which at one time 
 produced all the chrome in the world, and in busy times as 
 high as 500 tons a month. The serpentine is here unstratified, 
 1000 yards wide, striking N. 78 E. with sandy chloritic slates 
 north of it and hornblendic gneiss and syenite south of it.” 
 
 In Lower Merion township (Montgomery County), the ser¬ 
 pentine has been quarried from exposures near the Philadelphia 
 and Reading Railroad. The rock here is compact, dark green¬ 
 ish in color, and suited only for general building. It is associ¬ 
 ated with steatite and is regarded by Mr. T. D. Rand f as 
 resulting from the alteration of an enstatite rock as is also that 
 of Radnor township. 
 
 Of the areas above mentioned those of Chester County 
 have so far proven most important from our standpoint, and 
 extensive quarries have for some years been worked near the 
 town of West Chester. The stone here, as usual, occurs only 
 in a badly jointed condition (see illustration plate xxix), but 
 owing to its softness, and consequent readiness with which it 
 
 * Geol. Surv. of Penna., Rep. x., Geol. Atlas and Counties, p. xlvii. 
 I Annual Report Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 1886, Part iv. 
 
SERPENTINE: FERE-ANTIQUE MARBLES. 
 
 371 
 
 can be worked, it has come into very general use for building 
 purposes, particularly in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, 
 Washington and Chicago. The buildings of the University of 
 Pennsylvania, the Academy of Sciences, and some twenty 
 churches in Philadelphia, are of this stone. 
 
 The use of the stone in cities has not been long enough 
 continued to furnish accurate data regarding its durability, but 
 it is stated that houses erected in the vicinity of the quarries 
 one hundred and fifty years ago show the color of the stone 
 to-day as fresh as when first quarried. The writer’s personal 
 observations are, however, to the effect that in a majority of 
 cases many of the blocks exposed in a wall turn whitish, or at 
 least fade to a lighter green. Such a change can scarcely be 
 considered detrimental. 
 
 Although the stone has been upon the general market only 
 about ten years it has acquired an excellent reputation. To 
 the writer it seems that in the majority of cases very poor 
 taste has been shown on the part of the designers, very 
 many of the buildings being anything but beautiful from an 
 architectural standpoint. The almost universal practice of 
 using a light, yellowish-gray sandstone for the trimmings in 
 houses of this material should also be condemned, since the 
 contrast is not sufficient nor satisfactory. 
 
 The origin of the Chester County stone, as with serpentines in 
 general, has been a subject of considerable discussion. As long 
 ago as 1862 Dr. Genth* advanced the opinion that the Texas, 
 Lancaster County, stone originated by the alteration of asbes- 
 tus. Prof. Frazer,f in his work on the geology of southeast¬ 
 ern Pennsylvania considered it as a modification of the Huron- 
 
 * American Journal of Science (2) 33, p. 202. 
 
 f Theses Presentees a la Facultd des Sciences de Lille, Universite de France, 
 1882; also Rep. C 4 Second Geol. Survey of Penna., 1883. 
 
372 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORA TION. 
 
 ian schists of the region. Prof. Chester, however, who has 
 since studied the rock with the aid of the microscope and thin 
 sections, regards it as derived from a tremolite rock carrying 
 accessory olivine, the tremolite itself being secondary after 
 pyroxene, and the rock mass as a whole eruptive through the 
 Azoic schists, rather than an integral part of that formation.* 
 A beautiful and deep lustrous green variety susceptible of 
 a high polish and known as Williamsite was found in abundant 
 small pieces during the working of the Fulton township chrom¬ 
 ite mines. Excepting as polished specimens for mineral cabi¬ 
 nets the material was never utilized. 
 
 E. B. Peck has describedf a serpentine regarded as mainly 
 an alteration product of phlogopite occurring along the south¬ 
 eastern slope of Chestnut Hill, near Easton, Pa. One va¬ 
 riety, known commercially as Verdolite, is described as con¬ 
 sisting of numerous rose-colored dolomite crystals scattered in 
 masses of serpentine, which when sawn and polished present 
 a most beautiful combination of colors. As might be antici¬ 
 pated the material occurs not in continuous beds, but in the form 
 of sporadic masses of all sizes up to those of many tons weight. 
 
 Texas .—Serpentine of a dark green color and fitted for 
 either building or ornamental work is stated to occur on Crab 
 Apple Creek in Gillespie County.^ 
 
 Vermont .—The bed of talcose schist that extends in a gen¬ 
 eral northern and southern direction throughout the entire 
 length of central Vermont bears numerous outcrops of ser¬ 
 pentine or of serpentine in combination with dolomite, but 
 which, so far as the writer is aware, have been quarried only 
 in Roxbury and Cavendish. The quarry at Cavendish was 
 worked very early, having been open ed about 1835, before 
 
 * Annual Report Geological Survey of Penna. for 1887. 
 f Ann. N. Y. Acad, of Science, vol. xm, 1900, p. 424. 
 t First Report Geological and Mineralogical Survey of Texas, 1888, p. 63. 
 
SERPENTINE: VERD-ANT 1 QUE MARBLES. 
 
 373 
 
 there .were adequate means of transportation of the quarried 
 stone or there was any sufficient demand for so expensive a 
 material. The methods of working and polishing the stone 
 were, moreover, so little understood that very poor results were 
 obtained and the works were shortly discontinued as a conse¬ 
 quence. 
 
 In Roxbury the American Verdantique Marble Company 
 early opened quarries and erected a mill for sawing. The 
 business was pushed quite vigorously for a time ; but, owing to 
 several causes, probably the same as the first enumerated, the 
 works were shut down in 1858, remaining closed until about 
 ten years ago when they were reopened on a very moderate 
 scale. A considerable quantity of the material was taken out 
 for the interior decorations of the United States Capitol exten¬ 
 sions, but for some reason it was never used. 
 
 The Roxbury stone is one of the most beautiful of all our 
 serpentines and the best adapted for all kinds of interior deco¬ 
 rative work. The colors are deep, bright green, traversed by 
 a coarse net-work of white veins. It is designated by Hunt* 
 an ophiolite, and is stated by him to be a mixture of serpen¬ 
 tine, talc, and ferriferous carbonate of magnesia. It acquires 
 a smooth surface and beautiful polish, and it is a serious com¬ 
 ment upon American taste that there is not sufficient demand 
 for the material to cause the quarries to be le-opened. At 
 Cavendish the railroad now passes within one-half mile* of the 
 quarry and good water-power is close at hand, while the Rox¬ 
 bury quarry is within 30 rods of the railway station. The rock 
 lacks the brecciated structure characteristic of most foreign 
 verd-antique, but compares more closely with the variety known 
 as Verde di Genova than with any other with which the 
 author is acquainted. Among the other localities in this State 
 
 * T. S. Hunt, on Ophiolites, American Journal of Science, vol. xxv. p. 
 239 ; second series, p. 226. 
 
374 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 in which serpentine occurs may be mentioned Richford, Mont¬ 
 gomery, Jay, Troy, Lowell, Middlesex, Wailsfield, Warren, 
 Rochester, Ludlow, Windham, Wadsborough, and Dover. 
 
 Of the Lowell stone it is stated * that two ranges of serpen¬ 
 tine occur, commencing near the headwaters of the Missiseo 
 and extending nearly to Canada. “For the richness and num¬ 
 ber of the varieties it would not seem possible that they can 
 be surpassed, while their extent, amounting to 20 or 30 square 
 miles, is beyond the possible demand of all future ages. They 
 are exhibited in several precipitous ledges, which are easy of 
 access and of being worked.” 
 
 Concerning the locality at Troy, the same authority states: 
 “ Elegant varieties are numerous, among which are most con¬ 
 spicuous the very bright green noble serpentine, which covers 
 most of the numerous jointed faces with a coat of one-eighth 
 to one-half of an inch thick, and the spotted varieties. Num¬ 
 erous seams may render it difficult to obtain large slabs, but 
 smaller pieces, suitable for a great variety of ornamental pur¬ 
 poses, may be obtained, of great beauty and in any quantity.” 
 
 Washington .—A dike of serpentine lying between a foot- 
 wall of black marble and a hanging wall of gray slate having 
 a width of about 600 feet and a length as exposed of 1500 feet 
 occurs near the town of Valley, about 50 miles north of 
 Spokane. The material varies from green-gray to deep 
 green 'in color, acquires a good polish, and can, it is 
 stated, be obtained in masses and slabs of almost any desired 
 size up to 50 tons in weight. Active quarrying operations 
 began here in 1898^ 
 
 * Geology of Vermont, 1861, vol. I, p. 544 - 
 •j- Rep. Geol. Survey of Washington, vol. I, 1901. 
 
SERPENTINE: VERD-ANTIQUE MARBLES. 
 
 375 
 
 (3) FOREIGN SERPENTINES. 
 
 Canada. —Serpentine of a pale-green color, marked with 
 spots and clouds of a rich brown due to disseminated iron pro¬ 
 toxide, and forming a fine ornamental stone, occurs in Gren¬ 
 ville and in Burgess, in the Province of Quebec. Other rocks 
 of this class occur in the towns of Melbourne, Orford, St. 
 Joseph, and at Mt. Albert, in Gaspe.* So far as the author 
 is aware, these have been as yet but little quarried, though 
 seemingly very promising. 
 
 England .—Few of the American serpentinous rocks now 
 worked can compare in point of beauty, in variety and ele¬ 
 gance of colors, with those of the Lizard district in Cornwall, 
 England. A series of polished blocks in the national collec¬ 
 tions at Washington show the prevailing colors to be dark 
 olive green with veins, streaks, and blotches of greenish white, 
 chocolate brown, and blood red. The green varieties are 
 often spotted by ill-defined flakes of a ‘ ‘ silky bronzitic mineral. ’ ’ 
 
 The rock is softer than the serpentine of Harford County, 
 Maryland, but takes an equally good surface and polish, and 
 works much more readily. It is stated by Hullt to be obtain¬ 
 able in blocks from 7 to 8 feet in length and from 2 to 3 feet 
 in diameter. According to this same authority, the stone is 
 admirably adapted for interior decorations and is now being 
 used for ornamental fonts, pulpits, small shafts, and pilasters, 
 as well as for vases, tazza, and inlaid work. 
 
 Considering the remarkable beauty and the variety of 
 colors displayed by this stone, it seems strange that it should 
 not have found its way more extensively into American mar¬ 
 kets. 
 
 * Geology of Canada, 1863. 
 f Building and Ornamental Stones, p. 102. 
 
3 y6 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 The rock is regarded by Bonney* as an altered intruded 
 igneous rock, rich in olivine (peridotite). 
 
 Ireland .—The only Irish serpentines which have achieved 
 any notoriety in America, are the so-called Connemara greens 
 and which occur according to Mr. G. H. Kinahan| only in the 
 west of County Galway. These are classed by this authority 
 as ophiolites and ophicalcites. They vary in color from light 
 to dark green, either uniform or clouded, the majority being 
 variously mottled, streaked, and variegated. The rocks occur 
 in one group of-strata, once continuous, but now more or less 
 disconnected and isolated by faulting. In Streamstown Bay 
 Valley is a continuous narrow band of the rocks over three 
 miles in length, and which furnishes a great variety of beautiful 
 material utilized in the manufacture of brooches and various 
 articles of vertu. 
 
 The stone found in the American market seems to have 
 been brought from quarries near Lissoughter, in this county. 
 The rock here is in general uniform or clouded green, some of 
 it being dark, but at the same time translucent. Very good- 
 sized stones are obtainable, but in rough unshapely blocks. 
 The largest column yet obtained from these quarries measured 
 nine feet nine inches in length, and is in the mansion of Lord 
 Ardilann, at St. Anne’s, County Dublin. 
 
 Writing of these stones Mr. Kinahan says that at one time 
 there was a considerable demand for the Connemara greens, 
 “ but unfortunately for the reputation of the stone, architects 
 would insist on using them for outside decorations, and con¬ 
 sequently, not through any real inferiority in the stones, they 
 soon weathered and became unsightly. Thus was generated a 
 most undeserved prejudice against the green marbles, which 
 
 * Quar. Jour. Geol. Soc. of London, 1877? P- 884. 
 
 J Economic Geology of Ireland. Jour. Royal Geol. Society of Ireland, 
 vol. VIII (new series), part 11, p. 152. 
 
SERPENTINE: VERB-ANTIQUE MARBLES. 
 
 377 
 
 when used in their proper sphere as inside work, cannot be sur¬ 
 passed in beauty or elegance.” 
 
 Italy .—The principal serpentinous rocks of Italy are the 
 ophicalcites of Pegli and Pietra Lavezzara, near Genoa, and of 
 Levante, and the true serpentine of Tuscany. The Verde di 
 Pegli is a breccia consisting of deep green fragments of serpen¬ 
 tine cemented by light green calcite. The contrast of colors 
 thus produced is said to be very pleasing. The Verde di 
 Genova stone from quarries at Pietra Lavezzara is also a 
 breccia consisting of green, blackish green, brown, or red ser¬ 
 pentine fragments with an abundant cement of white or green¬ 
 ish calcite. It has been quarried from time immemorial, and 
 is largely used in France, where it is known as Vert de Genes. 
 The ophicalcite of Levante is a breccia, like the preceding, 
 the fragments being of a violet or wine-red color. It is diffi¬ 
 cult to work, but acquires a good polish. The Italian name 
 of the stone is rosso , or Verde di Levante , though sometimes 
 called granito di Levante. The Tuscany serpentine, from 
 quarries near Prato, is known commercially as Verde di Prato. 
 This last is of a deep-green color, and is traversed by a net¬ 
 work of fine lines, giving it a brecciated appearance. ~ It also 
 contains veins of a clear green £nd whitish color. It is quite 
 soft and works readily, though acquiring only a dull polish. It 
 is stated by Hull to decay rapidly when exposed to the weather. 
 
 SCHISTOSE, OR FOLIATED ROCKS. 
 
 (i) THE GNEISSES. 
 
 The gneisses, as already noted, have essentially the same 
 composition as do the granites, from which they differ mainly 
 in their foliated or schistose structure. On account of this 
 
378 .S 'TONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 schistosity the rocks split in such a way as to give parallel flat 
 surfaces, which render the stone serviceable in the construction 
 of rough walls and for street curbing. This structure, which 
 is caused mainly by the arrangement of the mica and other 
 minerals in parallel layers, is, however, a drawback to the uni¬ 
 form working of the stones, and hence they are more limited 
 in their application than are the granites. These rocks are 
 frequently called by quarrymen stratified or bastard granites. 
 The name gneiss, it should be stated, is of German origin, and 
 should be pronounced as though spelled nice, never as nees. 
 For reasons already given, the gneisses have been included 
 under the chapter on granites in the present work. 
 
 (2) THE SCHISTS. 
 
 The general name of schists is applied to a widely varying 
 group of rocks having a more or less pronounced schistose 
 structure as a common characteristic. Quartz may be consid¬ 
 ered as the only essential constituent, and is accompanied, as 
 a rule, by one or more minerals of the mica or hornblende 
 groups as principal accessory. Accordingly as one or another 
 of these prevails, we have therefore mica, hornblende, talcose, 
 or chloritic schists. They differ from the gneisses, it will be 
 observed, only in the lack of feldspar as an essential con¬ 
 stituent. In company with these latter rocks the schists were 
 once supposed to be, in all cases, metamorphosed sediments, 
 to which fact they owed their marked foliated or stratified 
 structures. Modern investigation has, however, shown that 
 these same structures may be produced in massive eruptive 
 rocks by dynamic and incident chemical agencies. While they 
 are therefore undoubtedly 7 net amor pine rocks, we must not fall 
 into the error of regarding them in all cases as metamorphosed 
 sediments. But whatever their origin, this schistose structure 
 
SERPEN TINE : VER D-A N TIQ UE MA RB L ES. 
 
 379 
 
 is from our present standpoint the most important considera¬ 
 tion. The rocks split with great readiness, and frequently 
 with very smooth and even surfaces parallel with this schist- 
 osity, but break with considerable difficulty, and often very 
 ragged edges at right angles to it. These peculiarities of the 
 schists are not such as to render them favorites for purposes 
 of fine construction. They are, however, in most instances 
 broken out from the ledges with comparative ease, and for 
 rough construction, such as foundations and bridges, as well as 
 for flagging, they are extensively employed. 
 
 GLACIAL BOULDERS. 
 
 At a period not very remote from a geological standpoint 
 a considerable portion of the northeastern United States was 
 subjected to glaciation—to processes in every way similar to 
 those acting in northern Greenland, and in the high mountain 
 regions of Switzerland to-day. The area thus scoured in¬ 
 cludes all New England, portions of New York and Penn¬ 
 sylvania, and all of the other States lying east of the Mississippi 
 and north of the Ohio Rivers. 
 
 As a result of this glaciation the rocks throughout the area 
 are comparatively fresh to the surface, or are covered with a 
 mantle of drifted material quite different in its physical prop¬ 
 erties from the residual clays of the Southern States. Scat¬ 
 tered over many portions of this drift area are to be found 
 numerous “erratics,” i.e., boulders of rocks foreign to their 
 localities, but which have been transported varying distances, 
 usually in a southern direction, and left at random over the 
 fields and pastures, where, in masses up to hundreds of tons in 
 weight, they form characteristic features of the landscape. 
 
 In shape such boulders are usually irregularly oval, and 
 
380 stones for building and decoration. 
 
 though weathered and, it may be, covered with lichens, are 
 nevertheless strong and durable when used in rough construc¬ 
 tion. Their lithological characters are naturally dependent 
 upon the character of the parent ledges to the northward, and 
 it is by no means uncommon to find half a dozen different varie¬ 
 ties within a comparatively limited area. So abundant are 
 these boulders in many localities, that for years it was the 
 custom to build them into fences or walls for the double pur¬ 
 pose of getting them out of the fields, where they were a nui¬ 
 sance, and as a protection against wandering cattle. 
 
 Within a few years desire for novelty in construction, 
 coupled not always with a sense of the artistic, has led to their 
 
 use in foundations, retaining 
 walls, and even entire build¬ 
 ings, as shown in Fig. 6. 
 
 Properly designed, such 
 buildings have an appearance 
 of strength, massiveness, and 
 antiquity highly pleasing, and 
 it is to be hoped the custom 
 may become still more ex¬ 
 tended. Obviously such walls 
 must be quite thick and re¬ 
 quire a high grade of cement, 
 since the rounded form of the boulder gives it comparatively 
 little stability when laid alone. 
 
 Drift boulders, particularly such as are, for one reason or 
 another, of striking appearance, have at times been made to 
 serve the purpose of monuments in cemeteries, and it must be 
 confessed that the lines which nature has given are often more 
 artistic and pleasing to the eye than are the polished mon¬ 
 strosities furnished by those who cater to the vanity and igno¬ 
 rance of grieving friends and relatives. 
 
 Fig. 6. 
 
PART III. 
 
 METHODS OF QUARRYING AND DRESSING STONE. 
 
 (i) GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 
 
 There are certain structural features common to rocks, 
 features due in part to method of formation and in part to 
 subsequent events, that are worthy of a somewhat extended 
 notice inasmuch as they have an important hearing upon quar¬ 
 ry methods and quarry resources. 
 
 In the chapter on processes of rock formation, the rocks it 
 will be remembered were divided into three groups. 1st. Sed¬ 
 imentary, 2nd. Eruptive and 3rd. Metamorphic, the last com¬ 
 prising members of the first two, but which had been so 
 changed by the processes of metamorphism that their original 
 nature was not in all cases evident. Certain of the structural 
 features referred to are common to all classes, others are con¬ 
 fined to a single one. 
 
 In all sedimentary rocks there is a more or less evident 
 bedding, due to the fact that the sediments were laid down in 
 approximately parallel layers. The different layers or beds 
 in such cases often vary greatly in texture and color, and it 
 may be are separated from one an'other by thin beds of fine 
 shaly material as shown in plates vi and xxxi. 
 
 This bedded structure is of the greatest importance from 
 
 3S1 
 
382 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 an economic standpoint, since upon the thickness of the beds 
 and their homogeneity is dependent the size and quality of 
 blocks obtainable. If however the beds are too thick and 
 massive the expense of quarrying is greatly increased, in that 
 it necessitates splitting out the rock with wedges into conven¬ 
 ient sizes for handling, as shown in plate XXXI. The varying 
 character of the layers in these bedded rocks is often a source 
 of trouble to the quarriers. One of the finest of the Triassic 
 sandstones of the. Eastern United States is no longer worked, 
 for the reason that the thick beds of desirable stone are sepa¬ 
 rated by from one to several feet of thin shaly material, quite 
 worthless, and which involves so considerable an outlay for its 
 removal as to destroy all profit. 
 
 Naturally a stone splits most readily along the line of bed¬ 
 ding, or stratification, which is the same thing. The same feat¬ 
 ure is common to many metamorphic rocks, as the marbles 
 and gneisses, and in certain cases is due to the same causes. 
 This direction of splitting most readily, is called the rift as 
 already noted (p. 39). 
 
 The position occupied by the beds of stratified rocks 
 is of very great importance. If, as at Portland, Connecti¬ 
 cut, and Berea, Ohio, they lie horizontal, the process of 
 quarrying is greatly simplified and consists practically in cut¬ 
 ting a vertical hole down into the earth, thus passing through 
 one layer or bed after another. This arrangement has at least 
 one disadvantage in that in a new region the quarrier has noth¬ 
 ing to guide him and no means of ascertaining what the next 
 bed is going to be like. If on the other hand the beds are 
 turned up at a considerable angle, it is possible to tell from 
 surface indications what quality of stone each bed is likely to 
 produce and perhaps several varieties of stone may be produced 
 at the same time as in the Vermont marble quarries, where the 
 beds are comparatively thin and vary greatly. 
 

 
 
PLATE XXX. 
 
 Quarry of Pink Granite at Calais, Maine. To face page 383. 
 
 (Photograph by L. IP. Merrill.) 
 
METHODS OF QUARRYING AND DRESSING. 383 
 
 Obviously where the beds are steeply inclined or curved as 
 at Rutland the openings take the form of mines rather than 
 quarries (see plate XXII), and the expense of quarrying is some¬ 
 what increased. Another disadvantage lies in the fact that, 
 whatever the character of the material for which they have 
 orders, all the beds must be worked down alike unless the 
 opening is restricted to a single layer, which would be scarcely 
 profitable. 
 
 Among the eruptive rocks no such bedding exists and in 
 very massive rocks it is always necessary to split the stone into 
 suitable blocks by means of under cutting or gadding. It is 
 fortunate for the quarrier that however massive a stone may 
 be, and whether eruptive or sedimentary, Nature has in most 
 instances herself broken it into blocks of varying sizes by means 
 of sharp seams or fractures qalled joints. 
 
 These vary greatly, according to the nature of the rock in 
 which they occur, sometimes being so fine as to be almost im¬ 
 perceptible, or again perfectly distinct and capable of being 
 traced for many yards, or even miles. In stratified rocks (lime¬ 
 stones, sandstones, schists, etc.), according to Professor Geikie, 
 the joints, “ as a rule,” run perpendicular, or approximately so,, 
 to the planes of bedding, and descend vertically at not very 
 unequal distances, so that the portions of the rock between 
 them, when seen from a distance, appear like so many wall-like 
 masses. An important feature of these joints, as mentioned 
 by this authority, is the direction in which they intersect each 
 other. In general they have two dominant trends, one coin¬ 
 cident on the whole with the direction in which the strata are 
 inclined from the horizon, and the other running transversely 
 at a right angle or nearly so. The first are called “ dip joints” 
 or “ end joints” by the quarrymen, since they run with the dip 
 or inclination of the rock, while the last are called “ strike joints,” 
 
384 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 since they conform in direction to the strike of the rock. These 
 last are also called “ back joints.” 
 
 In massive rocks like granite and diabase, joints, though 
 pi evalent, have not the same regularity of arrangement as in 
 the stratified formations ; nevertheless, most rocks of this class 
 are traversed by two intersecting sets, whereby the rock is 
 divided into long, quadrangular, rhomboidal, or even polygonal 
 masses. Frequently, also, there exists a third series of joints 
 running in an approximately horizontal direction, or corres¬ 
 ponding more nearly with the bedding in stratified rocks. 
 These are called by quarrymen “bottom joints,” since they 
 form the bottom or floor of the quarry, (bee plates iv and XXX.j 
 
 In still other cases, it may be, the joints are so numerous 
 and the angle between the various systems such that blocks 
 only of small size are at best obtainable, the rock breaking out 
 naturally into sharply angular polygonal blocks with faces as 
 smooth as though sawn, but which, owing to their shape, are 
 quite worthless for structural purposes. In regions where the 
 earth s crust has been subjected to great torsional strains, as 
 in the District of Columbia and adjacent parts of Maryland 
 and Virginia, what might otherwise be a fair quality of build¬ 
 ing granite has been practically ruined through this cause alone. 
 
 These joints owing to atmospheric action are usually more 
 conspicuous at and near the surface, and indeed often seem to 
 wholly disappear when the quarry is opened to a sufficient 
 depth. It is only in appearance however, since from their very 
 method of formation they must extend far below any practical 
 depth. Their apparent absence is due to the fact that the 
 faces of the stone having been held resting against one another 
 with all the force of their immense weight for untold years, are 
 often more closely united than would be possible by any arti¬ 
 ficial means. Indeed the blocks are often actually cemented 
 together by the deposition of an exceeding thin film of calcite. 
 
METHODS OF QUARRYING AND DRESSING. 3^5 
 
 silica or iron oxide. The writer has in mind a quarry of beau¬ 
 tiful deep gray coarsely crystalline granitic rock, which when 
 first opened was found so full of joints that blocks of only small 
 size and very irregular shape could be obtained. So abundant 
 were these joints that on the surface for short distances the 
 stone would often separate into slabs of but from one to two 
 or three inches in thickness. At a distance of not above 25 
 feet from the surface the joints disappeared entirely, and large, 
 handsome and apparently sound blocks were being taken out. 
 Knowing, however, from the surface indications that the joints 
 must be there nevertheless, I looked for them with care, and 
 on the polished shaft of a finished monument was able to point 
 out three, running perpendicularly, each as fine, sharp, and 
 straight as though made with a glazier’s diamond. They were 
 simply so small as to be overlooked by others than an expert. 
 Being there they are bound jn time to open under the persua¬ 
 sive action of heat and frost. How long a time may elapse 
 before they will open sufficiently to become conspicuous, can 
 be determined only by actual experiment. The only Safeway, 
 however, is to avoid them wholly. 
 
 It is the preponderance of joints of one kind or another 
 that gives rise to what are known technically as block and sheet 
 quarries. In the one case, as at Quincy, Massachusetts, or Red 
 Beach, Maine, the joints divide the rock into approximately 
 rectangular blocks but a few feet in diameter, and which aie 
 •especially adapted for the finer grades of monumental work. 
 The quarriers early learn to recognize this fact, and in making 
 contracts govern themselves accordingly. In other quairies, as 
 those of Hallowell, Maine (Plate XIV.), the rock by a series of 
 nearly horizontal joints is divided up into imbricated layers 
 varying from the fraction of one to six or more feet in thick¬ 
 ness and so slightly adhering to one another as to need almost 
 no artificial means to free them from the bed. These layers, as 
 shown in the plate, are thin at the edges and gradually thicken 
 
386 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 toward the centre. Such are called sheet quarries, in distinc¬ 
 tion from the block quarries just mentioned, and within the 
 limits of the sheet’s thickness blocks of almost any desired 
 size may be obtained. At Vinalhaven blocks not over io feet 
 in thickness and nearly 300 feet in length have been loosened 
 from the quarry bed intact. In still other quarries the bottom 
 joints are so numerous and persistent that sheets above 10 or 
 15 inches thick are rarely obtainable, and in the face of such a 
 quarry the stone may be seen lying one sheet above another, 
 each receding a foot or more from the one below like a flight 
 of stairs. Such quarries are best adapted for furnishing mate¬ 
 rial for street curbs and paving blocks. 
 
 In the basic eruptive rocks such as the basalts and diabases 
 another form of jointing, due apparently to the cooling of the 
 molten mass, is not infrequent. This gives rise to a series of more 
 or less regular five or six sided columns such as are shown in 
 figures of the Giant’s Causeway and Fingal’s Cave. Such joint¬ 
 ing practically ruins the stone for quarrying dimensions material, 
 and fortunately is found to any extent only in stones which on 
 account of their color and hardness are little desired for archi¬ 
 tectural work. 
 
 Joints of this type, it should be stated, are due to shrinkage 
 on the cooling and crystallization of the molten material, and 
 are of quite a different nature from those first described, which 
 are due to earth movements. But whatever may have been their 
 origin the presence of joints is a matter of great importance 
 to quarrymen, and, indeed, the art of quarrying has been well 
 stated to consist in taking advantage of these natural planes of 
 division. By their aid large quadrangular blocks can be wedged 
 off which would be shattered if exposed to the risk of blasting.* 
 
 * A g° od illustration of the utility of jointed structure as an aid to quarry¬ 
 ing sedimentary rocks is offered in the Primordial conglomerates about Boston. 
 These consist of a greenish gray groundmass, in which are embraced a great 
 variety of pebbles of granite, quartzite, melaphyr, and felsite of all shapes and 
 sizes. The beds are traversed by two series of vertical joints which cut the 
 rock and its included pebbles, granite, quartz, melaphyr, and felsite alike, with 
 almost as sham and dear a cut as could be made by the lapidary’s wheel. The 
 
METHODS OF QUARRYING AND DRESSING. 3&7 
 
 (2) GRANITE QUARRYING. 
 
 The methods of quarrying naturally vary with the kind and 
 quality of the material to be extracted. In all, the object 
 aimed at is to obtain large and well shaped blocks with the 
 ieast outlay of time and money, and this, too, so far as possible, 
 without the aid of explosives of any kind, since the sudden 
 jar thus produced is extremely liable to develop incipient fract¬ 
 ures and so shatter as to ruin valuable material. 
 
 In quarrying granite there is less to fear from the use of 
 explosives than in either sandstone or marble, while, at the 
 same time, the greater hardness of the stone renders the 
 quarrying of it by other means a matter of considerable diffi¬ 
 culty and expense. 
 
 In the leading quarries of Maine and Massachusetts no 
 machinery is used other than the steam drill and hoisting 
 apparatus. By means of the drills a lewis* * hole or a series of 
 lewis holes is put down at proper intervals to a depth depend¬ 
 ent upon the thickness of the sheets. These are then charged, 
 not too heavily, and fired simultaneously. In the Hallowed 
 quarries, where the sheets of granite are entirely free from one 
 another, this is all that is necessary to loosen the blocks from 
 the quarry, and they are then broken up with wedges. In 
 many quarries, however, where the sheets are thicker or the 
 bottom joints less distinct, it is necessary to drill a series of 
 horizontal holes along the line where it is wished to break the 
 rock from the bed and then complete the process with wedges. 
 
 imnts are very abundant, and in many cases quarrying would be a practical 
 impossibility without them. Whenever smooth walls are required the stone is 
 .aid on its bed with the joint face outward. 
 
 * I find the word also spelled louis. For description see Glossary. 
 
388 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 At the Crotch Island quarries, on the coast of Maine, the 
 sheets are freed at the ends by drilling two parallel rows of 
 holes, the space between the rows being from 2 to 4 feet and that 
 between the holes 8 inches, each reaching to the bottom of the 
 sheet. These holes are then charged, alternating a cartridge 
 of dynamite with a plug of wood for their full depth, and fired, 
 one after another. This pulverizes the granite between the 
 holes so that it can be removed with a shovel, and gives a 
 free end to work from. Blocks of from 100 to 1000 tons are 
 then separated from the main mass by means of blasts arranged 
 according to the Knox system, and these in turn worked up 
 into dimension stone by means of the plug and feathers. 
 
 According to J. V. Lewis, the method of loosening the 
 large sheets from the quarry bed, as practiced at Mt. Airy in 
 North Carolina, is as follows: 
 
 No heading, or quarry face is used, the work being carried 
 on over a considerable area of bare stone on the hill slope. A 
 hole is drilled perpendicular to the surface to a depth of 6 to 
 12 feet, according to the thickness of the stone desired, and 
 then fired by a succession of light blasts, the charges being 
 gradually increased. The break thus caused begins on a plane 
 almost parallel to the surface, but gradually inclines upward 
 with successive blasts until it finally breaks out on the surface 
 at a distance of 150 to 200 feet from the center. The blasting 
 is repeated till the shell is judged, from experience, to be free 
 almost to the edges, when it is left to break loose from the 
 force of the strains already induced, aided by successive ex¬ 
 pansions and contractions by day and night. One or two 
 days usually suffice to complete the break and the stone is 
 ready to be split into any desired shapes by wedges. This is 
 done by working inward from the margin, gradually approach¬ 
 ing the thickest portion at the center. 
 
METHODS OF QUARRYING AND DRESSING. 389 
 
 (3) MARBLE QUARRYING. 
 
 In quarrying marble and other soft rocks, channelling ma¬ 
 chines are now largely used. These, as shown in the illustra¬ 
 tion, run on narrow tracks, back and forth over the quarry 
 bed, cutting as they 
 go, vertical channels 
 some 2 inches in 
 width and from 4 to 
 6 feet in depth. After 
 the channels are com¬ 
 pleted a series of 
 holes from 8 inches 
 to 2 feet apart are 
 drilled along the bot¬ 
 tom of the block, 
 which is' then split 
 from its bed by means 
 of wedges. This under 
 drilling is called by 
 quarrymen “ gadd¬ 
 ing,” and special ma¬ 
 chines, which are 
 known as “ gadding 
 machines,” have been 
 designed for the pur¬ 
 pose. (See figures on 7•—Wardwell Channelling Machine. 
 
 pages 409 and 410). At the Vermont marble quarries both the 
 Sullivan diamond pointed drill and the Ingersoll impact drill 
 are used for gadding. The bottom holes are usually drilled 
 to a depth equalling about one-half the width of the block 
 to be extracted, though this depth, as well as the frequency 
 
39° STOA T ES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 of the holes, must necessarily vary with the character of the 
 rift of the rock. 
 
 (4) SANDSTONE QUARRYING. 
 
 In the quarrying of the Triassic sandstones in Connecticut, 
 the channelling machine is used to some extent, but the 
 prevailing method of loosening large blocks has been until 
 very recently by means of deep drill-holes charged with 
 heavy blasts of powder. These holes are made by a crude 
 machine driven by cranks, and are 10 inches in diameter and 
 about 20 feet deep. Into these are put from 25 to 75 pounds 
 of powder, contained in a flattened or oval tin cannister, with 
 the edges unsoldered and closed at the ends by paper or cloth. 
 This is placed in the hole in such a position that a plane pass¬ 
 ing through its edges is in line with the desired break, and 
 fired. In this way large blocks are freed from the quarry, and 
 these are then broken to any required size, as follows : The 
 workmen first cut with a pick a sharp groove some 4 to 8 inches 
 deep along the full length of the line where it is desired the 
 stone shall break. Into this groove are placed, at intervals of 
 a few inches, large iron wedges, which are then in turn struck 
 repeated blows by heavy sledge-hammers in the hands of the 
 quarrymen until the rock falls apart. This process will be 
 made plain by reference to plate XXXI. In some of the quarries 
 of softer sandstone no machines at all are used, the channelling 
 being done entirely by hand-chisels or with picks, and the stone 
 forced out by means of iron bars alone, or split out with plug 
 and feather. To allow of this, however, the stone must be 
 evenly and thinly bedded, and the different sheets adhere to 
 >ne another with but slight tenacity, as is the case with certain 
 of the New York “ bluestones " and Berea grits of Ohio. In 
 the New York quarries the vertical joints are said to be so 
 
PLATE XXXI. 
 
METHODS OF QUARRYING AND DRESSING. 
 
 39 * 
 
 numerous as to practically do away with the necessity o£ 
 channelling. 
 
 Powder is still largely used in most of the smaller quarries, 
 and in all those of granitic rock for throwing off large masses. 
 If properly used with these harder varieties, it is doubtful if 
 any serious harm results, but in the quarrying of marble and 
 other soft stones, its use can not be too strongly condemned. It 
 has been suggested that the rapid disintegration of the Carrara 
 marble is caused in part by the incipient fractures induced 
 through the crude methods of quarrying employed. Except¬ 
 ing when, as in the case of granite, no other means can be 
 employed, explosives of all kinds are to be avoided. When 
 necessary, they should be used in a lewis hole or in connec¬ 
 tion with what is known as the Knox system, whereby direc¬ 
 tion may be given to the force of the discharge and the shock 
 distributed over large surfaces. 
 
 ( 5 ) CUTTING AND DRESSING STONE. 
 
 In cutting and dressing stone the slow hand processes that 
 were in vogue hundreds of years ago are still employed, though 
 machine methods, particularly in the larger works, are being 
 now rapidly adopted. Indeed the progress that has been 
 made in this line of work within the last twenty years is really 
 extraordinary, if not almost revolutionary. 
 
 After a large mass has been split from the quarry bed it is 
 broken into blocks of the required size and shape by means 
 ■of wedges. A series of holes, three-fourths of an inch in 
 diameter and a few inches deep, is drilled along the line 
 where it is desired the stone shall break, and into each of 
 these two thin half round pieces of soft iron called “ feathers ” 
 are placed, and a small steel wedge or “ plug ” placed between. 
 The quarryman then moves along this line striking with his 
 
39 2 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 hammer each wedge in its turn till the desired strain is pro¬ 
 duced and the stone falls apart. 
 
 There is a chance for a greater display of skill in this work 
 than may at first appear. Nearly every stone, however com¬ 
 pact, has a distinct grain and rift, along which it can be relied 
 on to split with comparative ease and safety. To know the 
 rift and be able to take proper advantage of it is an important 
 item, and it is astonishing how readily an experienced workman 
 will cause a stone to take the desired shape through a know¬ 
 ledge of this property. 
 
 This process of splitting stone with wedges is said * to 
 have been first brought into general use in this country by a 
 poor mechanic named Tarbox, of Danvers, Massachusetts. 
 Through the influence of Governor Robbins, who stumbled upon 
 samples of his work by the merest accident, this man was in¬ 
 duced in 1798 to go to Quincy and teach his art to thequarrymen 
 of that place. So much did the adoption of this simple method 
 facilitate granite-working that the price of the cut material 
 dropped within the space of a few months over 60 per cent. 
 Prior to this time the stone after being blasted from the quarry 
 in irregular blocks was squarred down to the proper size by 
 cutting a groove along a straight line with a sharp-edged tool 
 called an axhammer, and then striking with a heavy hammer 
 repeated blows on both sides of the groove until the rock was 
 broken asunder.f 
 
 * Proceedings American Academy, vol. iv. 1859, p. 353. 
 f In Pattee’s History of Old Braintree and Quincy occurs this passage : 
 “ On Sunday. 1803, the first experiment in splitting stone with wedges was 
 made by Josiah Bemis. George Stearns, and Michael Wilde. It proved suc¬ 
 cessful, and so elated were these gentlemen on this memorable Sunday that 
 they adjourned to Newcomb’s hotel, where they partook of a sumptuous feast. 
 The wedges used in this experiment were flat, and differed somewhat from 
 those now in use. ” 
 
 As to who can justly claim to be the first to bring this method of splitting 
 
METHODS OF QUARRYING AND DRESSING. 
 
 393 
 
 This method is said to have been introduced into Quincy 
 somewhere about 1725-’50, by German emigrants, and, crude 
 
 into general use the author has no means of ascertaining. That none of the 
 above can justly claim to have invented the process is evident from the follow¬ 
 ing : 
 
 “ I told thee that I had been informed that the grindstones and millstones 
 were split with wooden pegs drove in, but I did not say that those rocks about 
 this house could be split after that manner, but that I could split them, and had 
 been used to split rocks to make steps, door-sills, and large window cases all of 
 stone, and pig-troughs and water-troughs. I have split rocks 17 feet long and 
 built four houses of hewn stone, split out of the rocks with my own hands. My 
 method is to bore the rock about 6 inches deep, having drawn a line from one 
 end to the other, in which I bore holes about a foot asunder, more or less, 
 according to the freeness of the rock ; if it be 3 or 4 or 5 feet thick, to, 12, or 
 16 inches deep. The hole should be an inch and a quarter diameter if the rock 
 be 2 feet thick, but if it be 5 or 6 feet thick the holes should be an inch and 
 three-quarters diameter. There must be provided twice as many iron wedges 
 as holes, and one-half of them must be fully as long as the hole is deep and 
 made round at one end, just fit to drop into the hole, and the other half may be 
 made a little longer, and thicker one way, and blunt pointed. All the holes must 
 have their wedges drove together, one after another, gently, that they may 
 strain all alike. You may hear by their ringing when they strain well. Then 
 with the sharp edge of the sledge strike hard on the rock in the line between 
 every wedge, which will crack the rock ; then drive the wedges agpin. It gen¬ 
 erally opens in a few minutes after the wedges are drove tight. Then, with an 
 iron bar or long levers, raise them up and lay the two pieces flat and bore and 
 split them in what shape and dimensions you please. If the rock is anything 
 free you may split them as true almost as sawn timber, and by this method you 
 may split almost any rock, for you may add almost any power you please by 
 boring the holes deeper and closer together.” 
 
 (From letter of John Bartram to Jared Elliot, dated January 24, 1757. See 
 Darlington’s Memorandum of Bartram and Marshall, p. 375.) The precise date 
 at which these four stone houses were built is not stated, but the work above 
 quoted contains an illustration of John Bartram’s house, near Darby, Delaware 
 County, Pa. This house, which is of stone, was erected about 1730. Hence 
 we must conclude that the art of splitting stone in this manner was known to 
 some at least as early as this date. 
 
 It is stated (Grueber, Die Baumaterialien-Lehre, pp. 60, 61) that in Finland, 
 even at the present day, granite is split from the quarry-bed through the expan- 
 
394 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 as it may seem, was a vast improvement over that used in pre¬ 
 pairing stone for the construction of King’s Chapel, erected in 
 1749-’54, on the corner of School and Tremont streets, Boston. 
 Here we are told the stone was first heated by building a fire 
 around it, and then broken by means of heavy iron balls let fall 
 from a considerable height. With such difficulties as these to 
 contend with it is not surprising that the building should have 
 been considered a wonder when completed, and that people 
 coming to Boston from a distance made it a point to see and 
 admire the structure. The wonder, however, was not that 
 the granite could be broken into shape by such methods, but 
 “ that stone enough could be found in the vicinity of Boston 
 
 sive force of ice. A series of holes, from a foot to 15 inches apart and from 2 
 to 3 feet deep, according to the size of the block to be loosened, is driven along 
 the line of desired rift after the usual custom. These holes are then filled with 
 water and tightly plugged. The operation is put off until late in the season and 
 until the approach of a frost. The water in the holes then freezes, and by its 
 expansion fractures the rock in the direction of the line of holes. Blocks of 400 
 tons weight are stated to be broken out in this way. A more ancient method 
 consisted in simply plugging the holes with dry wooden wedges and then 
 thoroughly saturating them with water, the swelling wood acting in the same 
 way as the freezing water. Another ancient and well-known method consisted 
 in building a fire around the stone, and when it was thoroughly heated striking 
 it with heavy hammers or throwing cold water upon it. In splitting stone the 
 ancient Romans are said to have sprinkled the hot stone with vinegar, though 
 whether they thereby accelerated the splitting or caused the stone to break along 
 definite lines is not known. Quartz rocks, it is stated, can be made to split in 
 definite directions by wetting them while hot, or laying a wet cord along the 
 line it is desired they shall cleave. The wet line gives rise to a small crack, 
 and the operation is completed by striking heavy blows with wooden mallets. 
 According to M. Raimondi, the ancient Peruvians split up the stone in the quar¬ 
 ry by first heating it with burning straw and then throwing cold water upon it. 
 To carve the stone and obtain a bas relief, this writer contends that the work¬ 
 men covered with ashes the lines of the designs which they intended to have in 
 relief, and then heated the whole surface. The parts of the stone which were 
 submitted immediately to the action of fire became decomposed to a greater or 
 less depth, while the designs, protected by ashes, remained intact. To com¬ 
 plete the work the sculptor had but to carve out the decomposed rock with his 
 copper chisel. 
 
METHODS OF QUARRYING AND DRESSING. 395 
 
 fit for the hammer to construct such an entire building. But 
 it seemed to be universally conceded that enough more like it 
 could not be found to build such another.” 
 
 As made by the old-time method the wedge hole was 
 cylindrical. A modern adaptation which has not come into 
 general use is that shown in the accompanying figures, where 
 
 the hole is some inches square at the top, but thins out to 
 wedge shape with lateral offsets. These holes are driven by 
 machines, and in the softer rocks, as sandstone, can be sunk, 
 it is stated, at the rate of 30 to 40 per hour. 
 
 After a block is broken from the quarry bed it is trimmed 
 to the desired size and shape by means of a variety of imple¬ 
 ments, according to the hardness of the stone and the charac¬ 
 ter of the desired finish. 
 
 In dressing granite and other hard stone the tools ordinarily 
 used are the set or pitching chisel, the spalling hammer, pean 
 hammer, bush hammer, hand hammer, chisel, and point. 
 With the set the rough block is trimmed down to a line. 
 Then the irregular surface is worked down by the point, which 
 is driven by the hand hammer. After pointing, the pean and 
 the patent or bush hammers are used in turn, beginning with 
 
396 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 the 4-cut and thence working down with the 6-cut, 8-cut, 
 10-cut, and 12-cut, or until the desired surface is obtained. 
 The condition of the hammered surface at the completion of 
 one of the hammerings should be such that each cut in the 
 hammer traces a line its full length on the stone at each blow. 
 Special machines have been introduced for this work, one of 
 the more important of which will be noted later. 
 
 The single-cut or pean hammer should leave no unevenness 
 exceeding one-eighth of an inch, and each finer cut reduces the 
 unevenness left by the preceding. The 12-cut should leave 
 no irregularities upon the surface of the stone other than the 
 indentations made by the impinging of the plates in the ham¬ 
 mer. The lines of the cut are made so as to be vertical in ex¬ 
 posed vertical faces when the block is in position. On hori¬ 
 zontal and unexposed faces they are cut straight across in any 
 convenient direction. With sawn surfaces of course much of 
 the preliminary work is done away with, as the surface is 
 already sufficiently smooth. It is at present customary to saw 
 only such stone as are designed for polishing or some kind of 
 smooth finish. 
 
 In preparing a stone for polishing, the surface is first made 
 smooth as possible by sawing or by the means above desig¬ 
 nated. It is then further reduced by means of wet sand and 
 emery of varing degrees of fineness. Small blocks are now 
 usually ground on a revolving iron bed, on which the abrading 
 material is shovelled and kept wet by a stream of water from 
 overhead. With larger blocks a slab of stone is drawn by the 
 workmen back and forth across the surface on which the 
 wet sand has already been placed. On the finer grades of 
 white marble emery is not used, as it stains; fortunately, 
 owing to the softness of these stones, it is readily dispensed 
 with. After being ground, the surface is rubbed by a sharp, 
 
METHODS OF QUARRYING AND DRESSING. 397 
 
 evenly gritted sandstone called a hone, and then with pumice- 
 stone. 
 
 On granites it is often customary to give a “ skin coat ” by 
 rubbing the block, after the final emerying, on the smooth, wet 
 grinding bed, without any abrading material, until a perfectly 
 smooth surface and dull polish is obtained. When this point 
 is reached—and the surface must be quite free from scratches 
 and blemishes, or a good polish is impossible—the polish is 
 produced by means of polishing putty (oxide of tin) rubbed on 
 with wet felt. In cheap work oxalic acid is used in connec ¬ 
 tion with or entirely in place of the polishing putty. This 
 enables the production of a polish with less labor, but it is 
 also less durable. 
 
 A high grade of polish can only be produced by skilled 
 workmen, and each one has his own peculiar methods, varying 
 in trifling particulars from that given above. In many of the 
 larger works where steam power is used, it is said to be cus¬ 
 tomary to mix a quantity of very finely ground metallic lead 
 with the putty. By this means a higher gloss is produced, and 
 also one that is very durable. All the larger works now use 
 machinery in both grinding and polishing. Descriptions of 
 these will be given in the following chapter. 
 
 Sundry attempts have been made to utilize the sand-blast 
 process, so extensively used in glasswork, for carving on stone ; 
 but so far, with few exceptions, these attempts have met with 
 but poor success. In 1875—’76, Messrs. Sheldon & Slason, of 
 West Rutland, having a large Government contract in prepar¬ 
 ing head-stones for soldiers’ graves in National cemeteries, in¬ 
 troduced the system with considerable success. The process 
 consisted in covering those parts of the stone to be left uncut 
 
39 8 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 with an iron shield, while letters and figures of chilled iron were 
 placed upon those portions which were to stand out in relief. 
 The blast then being directed against the stone cuts away very 
 quickly the unprotected parts. By this means the name, com¬ 
 pany, regiment, and rank of soldiers, could be cut on a stone 
 in less than five minutes, and two hundred and fifty four 
 thousand stones thus lettered and having dimensions of 3 feet 
 in length, 10 inches in width, and 4 inches in thickness, were 
 placed in the national cemeteries at a cost of but $864,000. 
 The sandblast process has also been used with good results on 
 the hard red quartzite of Sioux Falls, as will be noted later. 
 
 (6) QUARRYING AND SPLITTING SLATE. 
 
 In quarrying slate the methods vary greatly according to 
 the disposition of the beds, and no attempt will be made here 
 at a detailed description. Ordinary blasting powder is em¬ 
 ployed in loosening the blocks, and great skill and sagacity is 
 shown by experienced quarry-men in so manipulating the blast 
 as to produce the desired effects of freeing the rock from the 
 quarry-bed without shattering the stone. After a block is re¬ 
 moved from the quarry it is subject to special treatment ac¬ 
 cording to the purpose to which the stone is to be put. If for 
 roofing-slate, the block is taken from the quarry to the splitters’ 
 shanty, where it is put in charge of a splitter and his two 
 assistants. The first assistant takes the block and reduces it 
 to pieces about 2 inches in thickness, and of a length and 
 breadth a little greater than those of the slates to be made. 
 This is done by a process called “sculping,” which is as fol¬ 
 lows : A notch is cut in one end of the block with the sculp 
 ing chisel, and the edge of this notch is trimmed out with . 
 gouge to a smooth groove extending across the end of the 
 block and perpendicular to the upper and lower surfaces ; the 
 
METHODS OF QUARRYING AND DRESSING. 399 
 
 sculping chisel is then set into this groove and driven with a 
 mallet until a cleft 
 starts, which by care¬ 
 ful manipulation is 
 guided directly across 
 the block. The up¬ 
 per surface of the 
 block is kept wet with 
 water so that the 
 crack may be more 
 readily seen. If the 
 slate is perfectly uni¬ 
 form in shape and 
 texture, and the blows 
 upon the sculping 
 chisel are directed 
 straight with the grain, 
 the crack follows the 
 grain in a straight 
 line across the block, 
 deviates to the right or left, when it must be brought back by 
 directing the blow on the sculp in the direction in which it is 
 desired to turn the break, or by striking with a heavy mallet 
 on that side of the block toward which it is desired the crack 
 shall turn. Some slates can be sculped across the grain, but 
 nearly all must be broken in this direction. From the first 
 assistant or “sculper,” the. block goes to the splitter who by 
 means of a mallet and broad thin chisel splits it through the 
 middle, continuing to thus divide each piece into halves until; 
 the desired thinness is obtained. It is necessary to keep the 
 edges of the blocks moist from the time they are removed from 
 the quarry until they are split. From the splitter the thin but 
 irregularly shaped pieces pass to the second assistant who trims, 
 
 Fig. 9. 
 
 Almost invariably, however, the crack 
 
400 
 
 STORES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 them into definite sizes and rectangular shapes. This is done 
 either by hand or by machine. To trim by hand a straight 
 edged strip of iron or steel is fastened horizontally upon one 
 of the upper edges of a rectangular block of wood some 2 to 4 
 feet in length. The trimmer then lays the sheet of slate upon 
 the block allowing the edge to be trimmed to project over this 
 strip, and then by means of a long heavy knife with a bent 
 handle cuts off the overlying edge, thus reducing it to the re¬ 
 quired size and shape. Two kinds of machines for doing this 
 work are now in use. In general they may be said to consist 
 of an iron frame-work some 2 % feet high, with a horizontal 
 knife-edge upon its upper edge. Against this knife is made 
 to work by means of a treadle another knife, curved in out-line, 
 which is thrown upward again by means of a spring, after 
 being brought down by the treadle-movement. At right angles 
 to this knife-edge, on one side of the machine, an iron arm pto- 
 jects toward the workman ; this arm has notches cut into it for 
 the different sizes of the slate. The difference between the 
 two kinds of machines is said to consist chiefly in the arrange¬ 
 ment of the cutting-knife, one working as stated above, while 
 the other revolves on an axle something in the manner of an 
 ordinary corn cutter. See Fig. 9. 
 
 Slates are sawn by means of an ordinary circular saw, such 
 a-s is used in sawing lumber, and are planed by machines such 
 as are used in planing metals, as are other soft stone. Some of 
 the hard slates used for tiling have to be cut by means of cir¬ 
 cular saws with teeth of black diamond.* 
 
 In making school slates, the material, after being split in 
 the usual manner, is, in the Pennsylvania works, trimmed 
 down to a proper size by means of a rapidly revolving rec- 
 
 * Detailed and very closely resembling accounts of the methods of working 
 slate are given by F. W. Sperr, in Report Tenth Census, vol. X, pp. 38-42, and 
 E. Prime, Jr., Report D 3, vol. 1, pp. 138-143, 2d Geology Survey, Pennsyl¬ 
 vania. To these the reader is respectfully referred. 
 
PLATE XXXII. 
 
 Fig. l. Rocklace, 
 
 Fig. 2 and 3. Pointed face 
 
 Fig. 6. PaLcnt 
 
 ajuijirri 
 
 i| 
 
 m 
 
 S 
 
 j 
 
 1 
 
 k —11 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Finish. 
 
 Fig. 4. Toothed chiseled. 
 Fig. 5. Square drove, 
 hammered. 
 
 To face tage 401 . 
 
METHODS OF QUARRYING AND DRESSING. 
 
 401 
 
 tangular saw some 10 or 12 inches in diameter, with one prom¬ 
 inent tooth at each of its four corners. The faces are then 
 smoothed by a draw-knife, after which they are rubbed down 
 with a cloth and fine slate dust till the surface is smooth and 
 
 even. 
 
 (7) KINDS OF FINISH. 
 
 The more common kinds of finish applied to stone are de¬ 
 scribed below ; the figures on Plate XXXii being drawn from 
 samples in the National collections at Washington. 
 
 (1) Rock face .—This is the natural face of the rock as broken 
 from the quarry, or but slightly trimmed down by the pitching 
 tool. As in this and all the figures given, it is frequently sur¬ 
 rounded by a margin of drove work. 
 
 (2) Pointed face .—In this finish the natural face of the rock 
 has been trimmed down by means of the sharp-pointed tool 
 called a point. It is used principally for exterior work, as in 
 the walls of a building. Two common styles of pointing are 
 shown. 
 
 (3) Ax-hammered face .—This finish is produced by striking 
 upon the surface repeated blows with a sharp-faced implement 
 called an ax or pean hammer. It closely resembles the next, 
 but is coarser. Used in steps, house trimmings, and other ex¬ 
 terior work. 
 
 (4) Patent hammered .—This finish is produced by striking 
 repeated blows upon the smooth surface of the rock with the 
 rough-faced implement called a patent hammer. Five grades 
 of fineness are commonly recognized, the 4-cut, 6-cut, 8-cut, 10- 
 cut, and 12-cut surfaces, made by hammers composed of four, 
 six, eight, ten, and twelve plates, respectively. A very common 
 finish for the finer kinds of exterior work. 
 
 (5) Bush hammered .—This finish resembles closely the tooth 
 
402 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 chiseled or very fine pointing. It is used mostly on soft 
 stone. (See descriptions of bush and patent hammers on 
 p. 402). 
 
 (6) Square drove. —The square drove surface is made with 
 a wide steel chisel with a smooth edge, called a drove. It 
 is quite common to use this style of finish as a border to 
 the rock-face or pointed surfaces in many kinds of exterior 
 work. 
 
 (7) Tooth chiselled. —This finish is produced by means of a 
 wide steel chisel with an edge toothed like that of a saw. 
 This and the square drove are used principally upon limestones, 
 marbles, and sandstones, the granites being too hard to cut in 
 this manner. 
 
 (8) Sawed face. —This is the surface of the rock as left by the 
 saw ; the saw used for the purpose being a thin, smooth blade 
 of soft iron, fed with sharp sand or chilled iron. This and the 
 following styles, although possessing distinctive characteristics 
 easily recognizable by the eye, are of such a nature that their 
 likenesses cannot be well reproduced on paper. Hence no 
 attempt at illustration has been made. 
 
 (9) Fine sand finish. —To produce this finish the chiselled 
 or sawn surface is rubbed smooth by means of a block 
 of stone and fine wet sand, or on the machines yet to be 
 described. 
 
 (10) Pumice finish. —This is a very smooth but unpolished 
 surface produced by smooth rubbing with pumice or Scotch 
 hone. 
 
 (11 ) Polished surface. —Two kinds of polished surfaces are 
 made—the acid gloss and the putty gloss. For either the 
 surface of the stone is made as smooth as possible by means of 
 sand, or emery, and pumice, or hone, after which it is rubbed 
 with moist woollen cloth and oxalic acid, or polishing putty. 
 The latter produces the best and most lasting gloss, but re- 
 
MACHINES AND IMPLEMENTS USED. 
 
 403 
 
 quires more labor. Frequently the two methods are combined, 
 especially in tombstone work. 
 
 MACHINES AND IMPLEMENTS USED IN STONE-WORKING, 
 (i) DRILLS AND DRILLING MACHINES. 
 
 Of the many machines that have from time to time been in- 
 vented for working stone we 
 can here mention only the 
 principal ones that are to-day 
 in actual use. 
 
 Drills. — The old time 
 method of drilling by means 
 of a flat pointed drill called 
 a jumper,* which is held by 
 one workman while others 
 strike upon it alternate blows 
 with heavy hammers, al¬ 
 though still in use at many 
 quarries, has been largely 
 superseded by steam-drills of 
 various kinds. A simple 
 form of the steam-drill, and 
 one now in very general use, 
 is that shown in the accom¬ 
 panying figure. The drill F ig - 10.—Eclipse Rock Drill. 
 
 proper is fastened directly to the piston, which can be inclined 
 
 * In English quarries the name jumper is given to a hand drill some four 
 and a half to five and a half feet long and with an iron ball welded to the middle 
 of the rod. In using it the workman places one hand under the ball or the 
 knob, and with the other grasps the rod about half way between the knob and 
 
404 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION 
 
 at any angle, thus fitting it for ordinary quarrying or for tun¬ 
 nelling. It is driven either by steam or by compressed air. A 
 different adaptation of the same principle is employed in the 
 channelling and gadding machines used in getting out dimen¬ 
 sion stone. Figures of these are also here given. The drill 
 and cylinder are attached to the horizontal bar by means of a 
 clamp, which can be loosened or tightened at will. By this 
 means a dozen or more holes can be cut by simply sliding the 
 drill along the bar and without moving the entire machine. 
 
 ( 2 ) CHANNELLING MACHINES. 
 
 The channelling machine shown on page 389 was invented 
 
 by George J. Wardwell of 
 Rutland, Vermont. The first 
 successful machine being 
 built by him in 1863. 
 
 As may be seen, the 
 channeller is essentially a 
 locomotive machine driven * 
 by power, usually steam, 
 moving over a steel-rail track 
 which is placed on the quarry 
 bed. It carries a single gang- 
 drill on one side, or two 
 such drills—one on each 
 side. These are raised and dropped by a lever and crank ar- 
 
 the upper end. Then standing upright on the block of stone he lifts the jumper 
 allowing it to fall again of its own weight repeatedly upon the spot where the 
 hole is to be made. It is mainly used in drilling small holes for plug and 
 feather splitting. (Harris’ Granite and our Granite Industries, p. 117.) 
 
 Fig. 11.—Improved Quarry Bar. 
 
MACHINES AND IMPLEMENTS USED. 
 
 40 S 
 
 rangement. The gang of cutters forming the drill is composed 
 of five steel bars, 7 to 14 feet in length, sharpened at the 
 end and securely clamped together. Of the five cutters, 
 two have diagonal edges ; the other three their edges trans¬ 
 verse. The centre of the middle largest extends lowest, 
 so that the five form 
 something like a 
 stepped arrangement, 
 away from the centre. 
 
 The drill, lifted, drops 
 with great force and 
 rapidly creases a chan¬ 
 nel into the rock. 
 
 The single gang ma¬ 
 chine is operated by 
 two men, the double 
 by three. As it runs 
 backward and for¬ 
 ward over the rock 
 the machine is re¬ 
 versed without stop¬ 
 ping, and as it goes 
 the cutters deliver 
 their strokes, it is 
 claimed, at the rate 
 of one hundred and 
 fifty per minute. The 
 machine feeds for¬ 
 ward on the track half an inch at each stroke, cutting half an 
 inch or more every time of passing. The single machine will 
 cut from 40 to 80 square feet of channel per day in marble or 
 limestone and at a cost of from 5 to 20 cents per square foot. 
 
 Fig. 12.—Saunders Channelling Machine with Boiler. 
 Attached. 
 
40 6 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 The double machine will do twice the amount of work. A 
 good workman by the old hand process would formerly cut 
 from 5 to io feet; that is, a groove one foot deep and from 5 
 to 10 feet long per day. For this he would receive from 25 to 
 30 cents per foot.* 
 
 Another machine for doing the same work as that just de¬ 
 scribed is the Saunders channelling machine shown in the 
 illustration (Figs. 12 and 13), and which has recently come 
 into use in the Vermont quarries. This differs from the 
 Wardwell in several important particulars, prominent among 
 
 which are these : (1) 
 The cutting tool is 
 attached rigidly to the 
 piston, so that the 
 blow is dealt directly 
 by the steam pressure 
 in the cylinder and 
 without the interven¬ 
 tion of any cranks, 
 levers, or springs. (2) 
 The cutting tools are 
 made adjustable at any 
 angle—to the right, 
 left, forward, or back¬ 
 ward. The machine 
 is thus capable of making transverse and sidehill cuts, and 
 does what is known as “ cutting out the corners ” in quarry¬ 
 ing ; and (3) it can be used in chambers where the distance 
 between the floor and roof is but six feet and can be used in 
 tunnels and headings. 
 
 The machine carries five drills in the gang, with three 
 
 Sidehill Cuts—Boilers Detached. 
 
 *The Marble Border of Western New England, p. 44. 
 
MACHINES AND IMPLEMENTS USED; 
 
 407 
 
 straight points and two diagonal ones. These are arranged as 
 seen in the accompanying cut : 
 
 The average capacity of the machine, as claimed by the com¬ 
 pany’s circular, is as follows : 
 
 GaxjrgfcfrHlx 
 
 In marble, 80 to 100 square feet of channel in ten 
 hours. 
 
 In sandstone, 150 to 200 square feet of channel in 
 ten hours. 
 
 > ... 
 
 In limestone, 120 to 150 square feet of channel in 
 ten hours. 
 
 The diamond channelling machine is I /l\ I 
 shown in the figure on page 408. According Fig - *4. 
 to the company’s circular this machine employs if inch drill-bits, 
 which are attached to drill-rods of varying lengths, adapted to 
 any required depth of channel up to 9^ feet. The channel may 
 be made open or partly closed, the latter by leaving slight 
 spaces between the holes, to be afterward chipped out. But 
 the whole operation of a clear cut is made simultaneously with 
 the boring by means of an intercutting guide, which answers 
 this purpose very well. The drill can be made to vary in di¬ 
 rection from perpendicular to 50 degrees slant for putting 
 down the tunnel and angle cuts. If necessary the boiler can 
 be left at a distance from the machine, the steam being con¬ 
 veyed by hose. 
 
408 stones for building and decoration. 
 
 (3) GADDING MACHINES. 
 
 The diamond gadder is shown on page 409. According 
 to the company’s circular the machine takes its name from 
 
 the class of work for which 
 it was especially designed 
 and which is known among 
 quarriers as gadding. When 
 the requisite channel cuts 
 are made about a block of 
 marble to be removed, it 
 is necessary to undercut 
 the block in order to release 
 it. This is usually accom¬ 
 plished by drilling a series 
 of holes beneath it, and 
 then, by wedges, the block 
 is split from its bed. 
 
 The machine is placed 
 upon a platform on trucks 
 arranged to run upon a 
 track. When adjusted for 
 work it may be braced by 
 the pointed legs shown. 
 The boring apparatus is 
 attached by a swivel to a 
 perpendicular guide - bar. 
 This guide-bar is secured to the boiler behind it, which forms 
 the main support of the machine. Upon the guide-bar the 
 boring apparatus may be raised or lowered at pleasure, for 
 
 Fig. 15.—Diamond Channelling Machine. 
 
MACHINES AND IMPLEMENTS USED. 
 
 409 
 
 the purpose of boring a series of holes in a perpendicular 
 line if desired/ Upon the swivel the boring apparatus may 
 be turned, so as to bore in any direction within the plane 
 of the swivel-plate. 
 
 The illustration shows the drill-rod or spindle placed near 
 the base of the ma¬ 
 chine, and so as to 
 bore horizontally. At 
 one end of the spindle 
 is the drill - head, 
 armed with carbons, 
 and supplied with 
 small apertures or 
 outlets for water. At 
 the other end of the 
 spindle is attached a 
 hose for supplying 
 water to the drill- 
 head. A rapid re¬ 
 volving movement is 
 communicated to the 
 drill-spindle by the 
 gears shown. The 
 speed and feed move¬ 
 ment may be regu¬ 
 lated by the operator 
 with reference to the „ 
 
 Fig. 16.— Diamond Gadder. 
 
 hardness or softness, 
 
 coarseness or fineness, of the material to be bored ; and the 
 feed movement may be instantly reversed at pleasure. The 
 machine is so constructed that the drill-spindle may be re¬ 
 moved and another inserted in the same holder, adjusted to 
 bore in the opposite direction, the boring apparatus being 
 
4 io 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 driven by’ a double-cylinder engine. A continuation of one 
 
 cylinder forms the plunger to 
 a small pump placed above 
 the cylinder, which supplies 
 water to the boiler and also 
 forces it through the drill- 
 spindle and head. These jets 
 of water wash out all the 
 borings made, and keep the 
 drill-head from heating. The 
 usual feed of this drill in 
 marble is from 4 to 5 inches 
 per minute. 
 
 Still another style of gadr 
 ding-machine is used in the 
 Vermont quarries, and which 
 is but an especial adaptation 
 of the eclipse-drill shown on 
 page 411. It is claimed that 
 this machine will “ put in 
 holes close to the bottom of 
 the quarry, in a horizontal position along the bench, into the 
 roof, or perpendicularly into the floor, as desired.” 
 
 (4) GRINDING AND POLISHING MACHINES. 
 
 In the larger works the grinding and polishing already 
 described is now done by steam power. For flat surfaces a 
 circular horizontally revolving iron plate or grating, attached 
 to the lower end of a vertical shaft, with elbow joint, is used, 
 the workman guiding it to any portion of the surface he may 
 desire by means of the handle; the abrading substance being 
 sand or emery, as before. With felt attached to the plate 
 the same form of machine is also used for polishing. Blocks 
 
 of the piston-rods through the 
 
 Fig. 17.—Ingersol Standard Gadder 
 at Work. 
 
MACHINES AND IMPLEMENTS USED. 
 
 411 
 
 of such size as can be handled by the workmen are usually 
 ground upon horizontally revolving iron beds some 8 or 10 
 
 feet in diameter. 
 
 In making straight or only 
 form is first carved out with 
 the chisel, and then a plate of 
 cast iron, fitted as accurately 
 as possible, is made by means 
 of a long arm, to travel back 
 and forth over the stone with 
 sand or emery, or putty powder 
 and felt, as the case may be. 
 These are called pendulum ma¬ 
 chines. The actual labor is 
 
 slightly-curved moldings the 
 
 Fig. 18.—Plain Quarry Frame in Position 
 for Undercutting or Gadding. 
 
 thus greatly reduced, and a higher and more lasting polish 
 obtained than is possible by the old hand methods. 
 
 (5) LATHES AND PLANERS. 
 
 For turning posts and pillars lathes are now very generally 
 used for granite as well as fcrr softer stone. In easy working 
 varieties, as sandstone, limestone, or serpentine, the cutting 
 tool is a simple chisel, much like that used in turning metals, 
 and held in a clamp in the same manner. With the harder 
 rocks, like the granites, however, this method is ineffectual, and 
 the cutting tool is in the form of a thin steel disk some 6 or 8 
 inches in diameter, which is so arranged as to revolve with the 
 stone in the lathe when pressed against it at a sharp angle. By 
 this means large and beautiful columns can be made at far less 
 cost than by the old hand-processes. A monster machine of 
 this character, s^en by the writer in the Vinalhaven quarries in 
 1880, is capable of taking a block 25 feet in length and 5 feet 
 in diameter and turning it down to a perfect column. 
 
 With the softer varieties of stone a plain surface, sufficiently 
 
412 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 smooth for flagging, is produced by means of planing machines 
 similar to those in use for planing metals. For doing the same 
 work on hard material like granite a planer, with 
 revolving cutting disks of chilled iron, similar to 
 those used in the lathes, has been devised. This 
 machine is shown in Fig. 20, page 414. 
 
 A comparatively recent invention designed to 
 replace the hand methods of 
 surfacing stone is that shown in 
 Fig. 19. This consists of a 
 large pneumatic stone tool sup¬ 
 ported by a portable frame con¬ 
 sisting of a heavy base contain¬ 
 ing an upright post on which 
 slides a carriage. To this latter 
 is fastened an elbow-joint arm, 
 Fig. 19. to the end of which the tool is 
 
 clamped. This and other pneumatic tools for carving are 
 coming into rapid use in the larger works. 
 
 (6) MACHINES FOR SAWING. 
 
 In sawing marble and other soft stones the same method, 
 with some modifications, is employed as was in use, according to 
 Professor Seely,* three hundred years before the Christian era. 
 
 The principle consists simply of a smooth flat blade of soft 
 iron, set in a frame and fed with sharp sand and water. The 
 saws are now frequently set in gangs of a dozen or more in a 
 single frame, and several gangs are tended by one man, who 
 shovels on the wet sand as it is needed, while fine streams of 
 water from overhead wash it beneath the blade as it swings 
 backward and forward in its slowly deepening groove. Some 
 attempts at automatic feeders have been made, but they are 
 
 not as yet in general use_ 
 
 * The Marble Border of Western New England. Proceedings Middlebury 
 Historical Society, vol. I, part 11, p. 28. 
 
MACHINES, AND IMPLEMENTS USED. 
 
 413 
 
 This method has been found inapplicable to cutting granite, 
 owing to the greater hardness of the material. Recently a 
 sand composed of globules of chilled iron has been used to 
 good advantage, and still more recently crushed steel. The 
 great drawback to the use of these materials, so far as the 
 author has observed, is the care necessary to avoid staining the 
 stone by rust from the wet metal during the time the machine 
 is not running. This is done by wetting down the stone in the 
 saw frame with a thick solution of lime-water (whitewash) prior 
 to leaving the saws for the night. Circular saws, with diamond 
 teeth, have been used to some extent, but have been found 
 too expensive for ordinary work. In sawing slate circular saws 
 are used, such as are employed in sawing lumber. Philo Tom¬ 
 linson, who was engaged in marble sawing at Marbledale, 
 Connecticut, near the date 1800, is stated by Professor Seely* 
 to have been one of the first to successfully apply the gang-saw 
 system in this country. 
 
 For sawing circular apertures in the tops of wash-stands or 
 getting out tops for small tables a saw made of plates of soft 
 iron bent in the form of a cylinder and revolved by a vertical 
 shaft is used. Sand, emery, or globules of chilled iron form the 
 cutting material, as in the saws just mentioned. 
 
 A recent European invention for sawing stone consists 
 of a twisted cord of steel made to run around pulleys like 
 a band-saw. The cord is composed of three steel wires, 
 loosely twisted together, but stretched tightly over the pul¬ 
 leys, and is made to run at a high rate of speed. The swift 
 successive blows from the ridges of the cord, delivered along 
 the narrow line, disintegrates the stone much more rapidly, 
 it is claimed, than the iron blades fed with sand, the usual 
 rate of cutting in blocks of soft limestone being about 24 
 inches an hour, and in Carrara marble a little more than p 
 
 Op. cit. p. 29. 
 
4H STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 inches an hour. Brittany granite is cut at the rate of nearly 
 li inches an hour, and even porphyry can be worked at the 
 rate of eight-tenths of an inch an hour. In certain Belgian 
 marble quarries the saw is said to have been used to advantage 
 in cutting the rock from the quarry bed. In thus utilizing it 
 the floor is first cleared as for channelling machines, and 
 
 then, by means of large 
 cylindrical drills; fed with 
 metallic sand, a shaft 27 
 inches in diameter is cut 
 to the desired depth, the 
 cores being removed en¬ 
 tire, as in the common 
 tubular diamond drills. 
 Two of these holes are 
 sunk at proper distances 
 apart and guides set up 
 in them, on which move 
 frames carrying pulleys 
 of a diameter somewhat 
 less than that of the 
 holes; over these pul¬ 
 leys the cord saw is 
 stretched ; motion is 
 then imparted to the 
 pulleys by a simple sys¬ 
 tem of transmission, and 
 the saws cut without in» 
 terruption until the bot¬ 
 tom of the drill-pit or 
 
 Fig. 20.—McDonald Stone Cutting Machine. shaft is reached. A 
 
 great saving of time and material is claimed for this invention, 
 but although it seems to promise well it is not at present 
 
MACHINES AND IMPLEMENTS USED. 
 
 415 
 
 in use in this country, nor has the author ever had oppor¬ 
 tunity for examining it.* 
 
 (7) THE SAND BLAST. 
 
 As already noted, the sand blast has been utilized to some 
 extent in the work of lettering head-stones, and for producing 
 delicate tracings on the Sioux Falls quartzite. That the pro¬ 
 cess is still so little used is due, as I am informed, to the oppo¬ 
 sition of trades-unions, and not to any deficiency of adapt¬ 
 ability in the process itself. 
 
 (8) HAND IMPLEMENTS. 
 
 Face Hammer .—This is a heavy square-faced hammer, 
 weighing from 15 to 25 pounds, and used for roughly shaping 
 the blocks as they come from the quarry. It is sometimes 
 made with both faces alike or again with one face flat and the 
 other drawn out into a cutting edge (Fig. 10, PI. XXXIII.) The 
 cavil differs only in having one face drawn out into a pyramidal 
 point. 
 
 Ax or pean hammer .—A hammer made with two opposite 
 cutting edges, as seen inFig. 13, PI. XXXIII. The edges are some¬ 
 times toothed roughly, when it is called the toothed ax. 
 
 Patent or bush hammer. —A hammer made of four, six, 
 eight, ten, or more thin blades of steel, bolted together so as to 
 form a single piece, the striking faces of which are deeply and 
 sharply grooved. This hammer is said to have been invented 
 by Mr. Joseph Richards, of Quincy, Massachusetts, about 
 
 * This apparatus was figured and described in the Scientific American for 
 March 6, 1886, p. 147. A more detailed description, fully illustrated, has since 
 appeared in Stone (Indianapolis, Indiana), Sept., i88g. 
 
4i 6 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 1831—40. As first constructed the head was composed of a 
 single piece, instead of several, as now (see Fig. 12, PL XXXIII). In 
 some works this is called the bush hammer. 
 
 * Crandall. —This consists of a bar of malleable iron, about 2 
 feet in length, and slightly flattened at one end, through which 
 is a slot three-eighths of an inch wide and 3 inches long. 
 Through this slot are passed ten double-headed points of one- 
 fourth inch squarfe steel, 9 inches long, which are held in place 
 by a key. 
 
 The writer has never seen this instrument in use. 
 
 Hand hammer. —A smooth-faced hammer, with two striking 
 faces, weighing from 2 to 5 pounds. It is used for hand-dril¬ 
 ling, pointing, and chiselling in the harder kinds of rocks (see 
 Fig. 16, PI. XXXIII. The usual form has both faces alike. 
 
 Mallet. —This is a wooden implement, with a cylindrical 
 head, used in place of the hammer in cutting the softer stones, 
 as marbles and sandstones (Fig. 15, PI. xxxill). 
 
 Sledge or striking hammer. —A heavy, smooth-faced ham¬ 
 mer, weighing from 10 to 25 pounds, used in striking the drills 
 in hand-drilling or in driving large wedges for splitting stone, 
 Fig. 11, PI. XIX. 
 
 Pick. —An instrument resembling the ordinary pickax used 
 in digging, but somewhat shorter and stouter. It is used on 
 the softer varieties of stones, for rough dressing or for channel¬ 
 ling prior to wedging. 
 
 Pitching chisel. —A steel chisel, the cutting face of which is 
 rectangular in outline and with sharp angles or corners. It is 
 used for trimming down the edges to a straight line. See Fig. 
 7, PI. XXXIII. The chipper (Fig. 6 ) is used for very similar 
 purposes. 
 
 Chisel or drove. —This is a steel chisel, the cutting edge of 
 which is drawn out wide and thin as shown in Fig. 2, PI. XXXIII. 
 
MACHINES AND IMPLEMENTS USED. 
 
 417 
 
 It is used principally on the softer varieties of rock in produc¬ 
 ing the so-called “ drove-work.” 
 
 Splitting chisel .—A steel chisel, made as shown in Fig. 8, 
 PI. XXXIII, and used for splitting and general cutting on hard 
 stone like granite. Other forms of chisels, used only on soft 
 stone and driven with the wooden mallet, are shown in Figs. 3 
 and 9. 
 
 Tooth chisel .—A chisel like the drove chisel, but with the 
 ■edge toothed like a saw (see big. 1, PI. xxxm), used only on 
 soft stones like marble and sandstones. 
 
 Point .—A steel implement, with the cutting end in the 
 form of a pyramidal point (see Fig. 4> PI- xxxm), used in the 
 production of the finish known as point work and also in the 
 smoothing down of rough surfaces prior to using the ax or 
 some other tool for fine work. Points for use on hard stone 
 .and driven by the hammer have the upper end finished as 
 shown in Figs. 6 and 7. 
 
 Wedge or plug .—Steel wedges vary greatly in size. Those 
 used in the process of splitting, called plug and feather (Fig. 
 14, PI. XXXIII), are but 2 or 3 inches in length, while those 
 used in quarrying for splitting off large blocks are often a foot 
 or more long and correspondingly large. 
 
 Hand drill— A small steel drill from 8 to 15 inches in 
 length, held in one hand and driven by the hand-hammer (Fig. 
 5), used in making holes for “ plug and feather ” splitting and 
 other light work. 
 
 Grub saw .—A saw for cutting stone by hand. It consists of 
 a plate of soft iron from one-twentieth to one-tenth of an inch 
 in thickness and from 6 inches to 4 feet in length ; the blade is 
 notched on the lower edge and fitted with a wooden back for 
 convenience in handling and to prevent bending. Sand or 
 emery is the cutting material, as with the steam saws (Fig. 17, 
 PI. xxxm). 
 
41 8 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 That all stone are not equally well adapted for the various 
 kinds of structural purposes must be apparent to the most 
 casual observer. Not merely is there a wide difference in dur¬ 
 ability among stones of various kinds, but materials well adapt¬ 
 ed for some situations may, owing to an inherent weakness 
 prove quite unfit for use where climatic or other conditions are 
 such as to render injuriously conspicuous defects wholly unap- 
 parent under more favorable circumstances. Stones, as a 
 whole, do not possess the firm and unchangeable characteris¬ 
 tics commonly attributed to them by the popular mind. There 
 is perhaps as wide a variation in lasting qualities as among 
 woods, mortars and cements. 
 
 It is true that the various detrimental changes which may 
 take place are often the product of years of exposure, but this 
 is no excuse for the ignoring of such a possibility. He who 
 designs or constructs a house builds not for himself alone, but 
 for the entire community and for future as well as present 
 generations. 
 
 Whatever he may do with the interior is to a certain extent 
 his own affair, but not so with the exterior. The construction 
 of a dwelling, business block, public building or monument, is 
 a matter in which each individual citizen has a perfect right to 
 have an active interest, since the structure once erected be¬ 
 comes for a time a fixed feature of the landscape and an object 
 by which not merely the taste and abilities of the architect 
 and builder are to be judged, but that of the community as 
 well. 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 419 
 
 The external features of the structure are constantly before 
 the public and must exercise some influence either beneficial 
 or derogatory upon public taste. It behooves the builder 
 therefore, quite aside from all economic considerations, to 
 select for his purpose such material as shall be most harmoni¬ 
 ous in the finished structure, and possess as well such qualities 
 as shall be enabled to withstand the ravages of time without 
 serious injury. 
 
 There are few things more conspicuously unsightly than a 
 rich and elaborate building constructed from materials which 
 under the ordinary chemical and physical agencies of the atmo¬ 
 sphere have become discolored or disintegrated. Yet our 
 cities and towns are replete with illustrations of such lack of 
 forethought or of ignorance on the part of builders. 
 
 One of America’s greatest architects has designed a struct¬ 
 ure of more than ordinary merit, but in which the walls are 
 of massive granite, while the window stools, caps, cornices and 
 projections in general, which of all parts of the structure are 
 most liable to injury from disintegration, are of a soft and fri¬ 
 able sandstone. The items of color and cost alone were ap¬ 
 parently here considered. The Executive Mansion and por¬ 
 tions of the Patent Office and Capitol buildings in Washington 
 are of a sandstone so poor in enduring qualities that it has 
 been found necessary to paint them periodically in order to 
 keep them in a condition anyway presentable. 
 
 The gigantic pile designed as a monument to the Father of 
 his Country and which stands upon the banks of the Potomac 
 in this same city is, so far as quality of material is concerned, 
 not merely wrong side out, but wrong end up, as well. The 
 best and most enduring material in the entire structure lies in 
 the inner courses of the upper portion. The poorest and 
 weakest is comprised in the outer portion of the first 150 feet 
 measured from the ground up, where it has to bear the weight 
 
420 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 of the entire superincumbent 300 feet, and receives as well 
 the wash from all the rain which falls upon the portion 
 above. 
 
 The cracked and scaling fronts of brownstone in New York 
 and other of our older cities furnish again abundant illustra¬ 
 tions of lack of care and judgment in the selection of materials, 
 while the House of Parliament in London, which is said to have 
 so badly scaled and disintegrated in certain portions as to 
 necessitate repairing before the structure was actually finished, 
 shows that such a failing is by no means confined to America. 
 
 Within the last fifty years many more or less complex series 
 of tests of durability have been inaugurated when the erection 
 of public buildings have been under consideration, but the sub¬ 
 ject has as yet by no means received the attention it deserves. 
 It is for the purpose of emphasizing the necessity of care in 
 the selection of such materials that the chapter herewith pre¬ 
 sented has been written. 
 
 The term weathering, as applied to stone, includes the series 
 of physical changes induced by alternations of heat and cold, or 
 by friction, as well as the more complex series of chemical 
 changes, such as may be comprised under the heads of oxid¬ 
 ation, deoxidation, hydration, and solution. Since a stone ex¬ 
 posed in the walls of a building may be subjected to the in¬ 
 fluence of any one or the combined influences of several of 
 these agencies, whereby serious consequences, as of discolor¬ 
 ation or disintegration may result, it is important to consider 
 in more or less detail, their comparative energies under varying 
 conditions and upon the various kinds of stone commonly em¬ 
 ployed for structural purposes. 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 421 
 
 (i) PHYSICAL AGENCIES. 
 
 Heat and cold .—It is safe to say that none of the conditions 
 under which a stone is commonly placed are more trying than 
 those presented by the ordinary changes of temperature in a 
 climate like that of our Northern and Eastern States. Stones* 
 as a rule, possess but a low conducting power and slight elas¬ 
 ticity. They are aggregates of minerals, more or less closely 
 cohering, each of which possesses degrees of expansion and con¬ 
 traction of its own. In the crystalline rocks these dissimilar 
 elements are practically in actual contact ; in the sandstones 
 they are removed from one another by a slight space occupied 
 wholly or in a part by a ferruginous, calcareous or siliceous, 
 cement. As temperatures rise, each and every constituent ex¬ 
 pands more or less, crowding with resistless lorce against its 
 neighbor; as the temperatures decrease a corresponding con¬ 
 traction takes place.* Since with us the temperatures are ever 
 changing, and within a space of even twenty-four hours may 
 vary as much as forty degrees, so within the mass of the stone 
 there is continual movement among its particles. Slight as 
 these movements may be they can but be conducive of one 
 result, a slow and gradual weakening and disintegration. 
 
 This constant expansion and contraction is often sufficient 
 in amount to be appreciable in stone structures of considerable 
 size. Thus Bunker Hill Monument, a hollow granite obelisk, 
 221 feet high by 30 feet square at the base, swings from side to 
 side with the progress of the sun during a sunny day, so that a 
 pendulum suspended from the centre of the top describes an 
 irregular ellipse nearly half an inch in greatest diameter, t 
 
 Under such circumstances as these it is not at all strange 
 
 * Tests made by engineers of the U. S. Army have shown that when a stone 
 has been expanded by heat it never quite regains its original mass on cooling, buL 
 shortly acquires a permanent “set.” (See p. 472.) 
 f Dana, Manual of Geology, p. 720. 
 
422 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 that many stones show a decided weakening and tendency to 
 disintegration after long exposure, and particularly on those 
 sides of buildings exposed longest to the sun, and which are, 
 therefore, subject to the full range of temperature variations. 
 Professor Julien has called attention to the marked decay thus 
 produced on the western face of the tombstones in Trinity 
 church-yard and elsewhere. It is stated further that the ashlar 
 base of the steeple of the church at Thirty-seventh Street 
 and Fifth avenue, New York City, is beginning to exfoliate 
 from this cause on the south side (where the sun shines the 
 longest) but not on the north and east. Other examples are 
 seen on the stone stoops of the east and west streets, where 
 the western face of the dark-brown sandstone is badly disinte¬ 
 grated and exfoliated, while the eastern face remains much 
 longer in a perfect condition. The author has observed similar 
 effects, but in a less marked degree, on the Smithsonian build¬ 
 ing, at Washington, D. C. The south and west sides fre¬ 
 quently show exfoliation, while the north and east, upon 
 which the sunshines but a small portion of the day, are almost 
 untouched. 
 
 This same expansion and contraction of stone sometimes 
 produces disastrous effects other than those of disintegration 
 
 t b 
 
 within its own mass. 
 
 The difficulty of obtaining permanently tight joints even 
 with the strongest cements led Colonel Totten to institute a 
 series of experiments with a view to ascertain the actual ex¬ 
 pansion and contraction of granite, sandstone and marble 
 when subjected to ordinary temperatures. Upwards of thirty 
 experiments on each of these varieties of stone showed the 
 rate of expansion and contraction per inch, which seemed to 
 be uniform throughout the range of temperatures employed, 
 to be for granite .000004825 inch for each degree Fahren- 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 42 3 
 
 heit: for marble .000005668 inch, and for sandstone, .000009532 
 inch.* 
 
 Supposing, then, two coping stones each five feet long be 
 laid in midsummer at a temperature of 96° Fahr. In winter 
 the temperature falls to zero, a change of 96°. If the stones 
 contract toward their centres, the whole length of stone put in 
 motion will be five feet. In the case of granite, then, the 
 shrinkage amounts to .027792 inch, in marble .03264 inch, and 
 in sandstone to .054914 inch. This shrinkage, small as it seems, 
 from necessity gives rise to cracks at the joints, which admit 
 the passage of water ; continual shrinkage and expansion must 
 in time crumble the cement and leave the joint permanently 
 open.f 
 
 The effects of moderate temperatures upon stone of ordin¬ 
 ary dryness are, however, slight when compared with the de¬ 
 structive energies of freezing temperatures upon stones saturat¬ 
 ed with moisture. At a temperature of 30° Fahr. the pres¬ 
 sure exerted by water passing from a liquid to a solid state 
 amounts to not less than 138 tons to the square foot, or as 
 Professor Geikie has strikingly put it, is equal to the weight of 
 a column of ice a mile high. It is therefore not surprising that 
 a porous sandstone exposed in a house-front to be saturated 
 by a winter’s rain and then subjected to temperatures perhaps 
 several degrees below the freezing point shows signs of weak¬ 
 ness and exfoliation after a single season’s exposure. Indeed 
 the injurious effects produced by the freezing of stone, and 
 particularly sandstone, when freshly quarried and saturated 
 with water, have long been recognized by quarriers, who refuse 
 
 * Adie found the rate of expansion for granite to be .00000438 inch, and for 
 white marble, .00000613 in.—Transactions Royal Society of Edinburgh, xm. 
 p. 366. 
 
 f W. H. C. Bartlett on Contraction and Expansion of Building Stone, 
 American Journal of Science, vol. xxii. 1832, p. 136. 
 
424 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 to assume any risk from such freezing after the stone is deliv¬ 
 ered for shipment. In the northern and New England States 
 quarrying, as a rule, ceases on the approach of the cold season, 
 owing in part to the liability to injury of the freshly quarried 
 material, and when expedient it is often customary to flood 
 the quarries with water ; if left unprotected there is always a 
 considerable loss of surface stone due to its having frozen and 
 burst, or at least become shaky. (See remarks on time of 
 quarrying, p. 456.) 
 
 The injurious effects of artificial heat, such as is produced by 
 a burning building, are, of course, greater in proportion as the 
 temperature is higher. Unfortunately sufficient and reliable 
 data are not at hand for estimating accurately the comparative 
 enduring powers of various stones under these trying circum¬ 
 stances. It seems, however, to be well proven that of all stones 
 granite is the least fire-proof, while the fact that certain of the 
 fine-grained siliceous sandstones are used for furnace backings 
 would seem to show that if not absolutely fire-proof, they are 
 very nearly so.* 
 
 * Cutting’s experiments (“Weekly Underwriter”) showed that up to the point 
 at which they are converted into quicklime, limestones are less injured by heat 
 than either granite or sandstones (a result not fully borne out by the experi¬ 
 ments of Winchell, Geology of Minnesota, vol. 1, p. 197-201). According to 
 this authority the heat resisting capacity of building-stones, when water is not 
 applied, stands somewhat in the following order :—1, Marble ; 2, Limestone ; 
 3, Sandstone ; 4, Granite ; 5, Conglomerate. In Dr. Cutting’s own words, 
 “The limestones and marbles seldom crack from heat or water, but when heat 
 from the outside is excessive, they slightly crumble on the outside, if water is 
 thrown on them. When they are cooled without the application of water, the 
 injury is much less.” 
 
 “ The specimens tested stood fire well, as a whole, up to the temperature of 
 heat necessary to convert them into quicklime, and at such a heat, if long con 
 tinued, they are changed so as to slake off and crumble down. In most cases 
 this heat is greater than 900 degrees (Fahrenheit), and in some cases beyond 
 1,000 degrees.” 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 42 5 
 
 It must be remembered, however, that the sudden cooling of 
 the surface of a heated stone, caused by repeated dashes of 
 cold water, has often more to do with its disintegration than 
 heat alone. 
 
 Effects of friction .—The amount of actual wear to which 
 stones in the walls of a building are subjected is naturally but 
 slight in comparison with those in the sills, steps, and walks, 
 which are subject to the friction of feet and other agencies. 
 Nevertheless it is sufficient in many cases to become apprecia¬ 
 ble after the lapse of several years. The striking effect pro¬ 
 duced by wind-blown sands in the Western States and Terri¬ 
 tories has often been alluded to* and even in the Eastern 
 States, as at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, there may frequently 
 be seen window-panes so abraded by blowing sand as to be no 
 longer transparent, f 
 
 This same abrading process is going on in all city streets, 
 where the wind blows dust and sand sharply against the faces 
 of the buildings; not with sufficient force, it may be, to per¬ 
 ceptibly wear away the fresh stone, but yet forcibly enough to 
 crumble away the small particles already loosened by atmos¬ 
 pheric decomposition and thus expose new surfaces to be acted 
 upon. Professor Egleston \ states that in many of the church¬ 
 yards of New York City the effects of this abrasive action 
 can be seen where the stones face in the direction of the 
 prevailing winds. In such cases the stones are sometimes 
 
 * On the Grooving and Polishing of Hard Rocks and Minerals by Dry Sand. 
 W. P. Blake. Proceedings American Association for the Advancement of 
 Science, Providence meeting. 
 
 f There is on exhibition in the National Museum a plate of glass formerly a 
 window in the light-house at Nauset Beach, Massachusetts, that was so abraded 
 by wind-blown sand during a storm of not above forty-eight hours’ duration as 
 to be no longer serviceable. The grinding is as complete over the entire sur¬ 
 face as though done by artificial means. 
 
 X American Architect, Septembers, 1885, p. 13. 
 
426 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 worn very nearly smooth and are quite illegible from this cause 
 alone. 
 
 Effects of grozving organisms .—It is in such exposed situa¬ 
 tions as those above mentioned that a stone is often protected 
 from serious loss by a coating of lichens or mosses, which by 
 growing over its surface shield it from the abrasive action. 
 The full effect of growing organisms upon the surface of stones 
 is still, however, a matter of dispute. By some authorities* it is 
 thought that they give rise to small amounts of organic acids 
 which exercise a corrosive influence. By others they are con¬ 
 sidered as beneficial, since they protect the stone from the 
 sun’s rays and the rain and wind. It seems probable that they 
 may exert either a harmful or beneficial action according to 
 the kind of stone on which they grow and its environment. 
 More observations are necessary before anything definite can 
 be said.f 
 
 * See Winchell, Geology of Minnesota, vol. i. p. 188. 
 
 f The vegetation of microscopic lichens takes place upon the surface of the 
 stone, when, from any cause, that surface becomes roughened so as to afford a 
 lodgment for the seeds or spores of these plants. These growing, still further 
 hasten the disintegration of the stone, and accumulating about them the fine 
 dust floated by the atmosphere becomes points for the absorption of more 
 water, which, on freezing, still further roughens the surface, and the patch of 
 lichen gradually extends. These lichens often gain attachment upon the sur¬ 
 face of a finely dressed stone, from some little inequality of texture, or from 
 softer material that more readily becomes decomposed or more readily accom¬ 
 modates the growth of the plant. Such stones in time become partially or en¬ 
 tirely covered by lichens, and present an unsightly aspect. The amount and 
 degree of this growth varies with position in reference to the sun and with a 
 more or less elevated situation. 
 
 It should not be forgotten, however, that any stone giving root to lichens is 
 not one of those which most easily disintegrates, for in these the destruction 
 goes on so rapidly that the surface does not allow the growth of such plants. 
 The lichen-covered rocks in nature are usually those of great strength and dura¬ 
 bility. None of the softer or rapidly decaying rocks produce this vegetation. 
 (Report on Building Stones by James Hall, 1868, pp. 54 and 55.) 
 
THE WE A THE RING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 42 7 
 
 (2) CHEMICAL AGENCIES. 
 
 Composition of the atmosphere .—The atmosphere in its nor¬ 
 mal state consists of a mechanical admixture of nitrogen and 
 oxygen in about the proportions of four volumes of the former 
 to one of the latter, together with minute quantities of carbonic 
 acid, ammonia, and vapor of water. In the vicinity of large 
 manufacturing cities, however, it carries in addition to increased 
 proportions of carbonic acid,* appreciable quantities of sulphur¬ 
 ous, sulphuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acids.f These, when 
 brought by rains into contact with the walls of buildings, are 
 capable, throughout many years of time, of producing marked 
 effects, especially when aided by the extreme diurnal ranges of 
 temperature common in the eastern and northern United 
 States. 
 
 * Twenty-one tests of the air in various parts of Boston during the spring of 
 1870 yielded Mr. Pearson 385 parts of carbonic acid in 1,000,000. Eleven tests 
 of the winter air at Cambridge yielded Mr. Hill 337 parts of the acid in 1,000,000 
 (Second Annual Report Massachusetts State Board of Health, 1871, p. 52). Dr. 
 Kidder found the outdoor air of Washington to contain from 387 to 448 parts 
 in 1,000,000. Mr. Agnus Smith (Air and Rain, p. 52), after an elaborate series 
 of experiments, reports the air of Manchester (England) to contain on an aver¬ 
 age 442 parts of the acid in 1,000,000. 
 
 f Dr. Smith {op. n't.) found the proportions of these acids in London, Liver¬ 
 pool and Manchester to be as follows : 
 
 Localities. 
 
 Sulphuric. 
 
 Hydrochloric. 
 
 Nitric. 
 
 Grains per 
 gallon. 
 
 Parts per 
 million. 
 
 Grains per 
 gallon. 
 
 Parts per 
 million. 
 
 Grains per 
 gallon. 
 
 Parts per 
 million. 
 
 London. 
 
 Liverpool . 
 
 Manchester. 
 
 1-4345 
 
 2.7714 
 
 2.9163 
 
 20.49 
 
 39-56 
 
 41.66 
 
 .0872 
 . 7IIO 
 
 •4055 
 
 1.250 
 
 10.16 
 
 5-79 
 
 
 .840 
 • 582 
 .886 
 
 He also found the total acids for Manchester to average for 1870 3.7648 grains 
 per gallon. It should be noted, however, that these acids were not considered 
 
•428 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Chemical action of the atmosphere .—The series of changes in¬ 
 duced by these agencies are, as above indicated, chemical in 
 their nature and may all, as first suggested, be conveniently 
 grouped under the heads of oxidation, deoxidation, hydration, 
 and solution. These may as well be considered in the order 
 given. 
 
 Oxidation .—The process of oxidation is commonly confined 
 to those stones which carry some form of iron as one of their 
 constituent parts. If the iron exists as a sulphide (pyrite or 
 marcasite), it very probably combines with the oxygen of the 
 air on exposure, forming the various oxides and carbonates of 
 iron such as are popularly known as “rust.” If the sulphide 
 occurs scattered in small particles throughout a sandstone the 
 oxide is disseminated more evenly through the mass of the 
 rock, and aside from a slight yellowing or mellowing of the 
 color, as in certain of the Ohio sandstones, it does no harm. 
 Indeed as suggested by Professor Winchell,* it may result in 
 positive good, by supplying a cement to the individual grains, 
 and thus increasing the tenacity of the stone. In all other 
 than sandstones, however, the presence of a readily oxidizable 
 sulphide is a serious defect, since crystalline rocks require no 
 such cement, and the change in color can in very few cases be 
 
 as existing in the atmosphere entirely in an uncombined state, but were proba¬ 
 bly in large part combined with other substances to form chlorides, sulphates, 
 etc. L. P. Gratacap (School ot Mines Quarterly, May, 1885, p. 335), from a 
 series of tests at Staten Island, New York, computed the entire amount of 
 chlorine brought down by the rains during 1884 to have been some 46.23 
 pounds for each acre of ground. This is regarded as in large part combined with 
 sodium to form sodium chloride (common salt). Egleston (“ Cause and decay 
 of Building Stone,” p. 5) estimates that the 4,500,000 tons of coal annually burnt 
 in New York City discharge into the airy8,750 tons of sulphuric acid. In 65 cubic 
 centimeters of rain-water caught during an exposure of forty-one days, this 
 same authority found 4^ milligrams of sulphuric acid. 
 
 * Geology of Minnesota vol. 1. p. 189. 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 429 
 
 considered other than a blemish. This is well illustrated in 
 some of the lower courses of granite in the new capitol build¬ 
 ing at Albany, New York, to which reference has already been 
 made. More than this, the pyrite, in decomposing in contact 
 with the gaseous atmosphere of cities, may give rise to small 
 quantities of sulphurous and sulphuric acids, which by their 
 corrosive action upon the various mineral constituents of the 
 stone may give rise to efflorescent magnesian salts, besides ren¬ 
 dering it porous and more liable to the destructive effects of 
 frost. (See p. 31.) The conversion by oxidation of a sulphide 
 into a sulphate is moreover attended with an increase in vol¬ 
 ume ; there is thus brought to bear a mechanical agency to aid 
 in the work of disintegration. (See further on p. 443.) 
 
 Iron in the form of ferrous carbonate is a common constitu¬ 
 ent of many calcareous rocks, and in the form of this and other 
 readily decomposable protoxide compounds occurs not infre¬ 
 quently in the cementing material of fragmental rocks lying 
 below the water level. All these compounds are susceptible to 
 oxidation on exposure to atmospheric influences, and to these, 
 more than to the presence of sulphides, is presumably due the 
 mellowing commonly observed in white marble or the light - 
 gray sub-Carboniferous sandstones. 
 
 Iron, in the form of magnetite—a mixture of the ferrous 
 and ferric oxides—is liable to hydration and still further oxi¬ 
 dation, becoming converted wholly into the hydrous or anhy¬ 
 drous ferric oxide. Thus, if abundant, the rock assumes a 
 rusty hue, and perhaps gradually falls away to a coarse sand, 
 as is the case with certain of our diabases.* 
 
 * “ In one part of the dikes that form the Hanging Hills at Meriden, Con¬ 
 necticut, the rock (diabase) is quite black, and the amount of iron (nearly 14 per 
 cent of magnetite) has been the cause of rapid disintegration.”— Hawes, Amer¬ 
 ican Journal of Science, vol. ix. 3d, 1875, p. 188. 
 
43 ° STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Black mica, hornblende, augite, and other silicate minerals 
 rich in iron are also liable on long exposure to change through 
 the further oxidation of this ingredient, but when a stone is 
 placed high and dry, as in the walls of a building, this change 
 must necessarily be so slow as to be of little moment, though 
 of the greatest importance from a geological standpoint. Mr. 
 Wolff, however, states* that tombstones of diabase in ceme¬ 
 teries about Boston have in some cases turned a rust-brown 
 color, the change apparently occurring in the hornblende and 
 augite. The feldspars of the granites used in this same city 
 were also observed in many cases to have become liver-brown, 
 rusty red, or yellow owing to the higher oxidation of the iron 
 contained by them. 
 
 Deoxidation .—The process of deoxidation, whereby a ferric 
 is changed to a ferrous oxide, is possible generally only in pres¬ 
 ence of organic acids and continual moisture. It is likely, 
 therefore, to affect only those stones used for foundations, and 
 need not be further considered here. The same may be said 
 in regard to hydration, whereby an anhydrous is changed to a 
 hydrous oxide. The blotching and variegation of beds of sand¬ 
 stone, as those of Marquette, Michigan, is due presumably to 
 the deoxidation and hydration of the iron oxides forming their 
 cement, together with a partial removal of the same by the aid 
 of organic acids. Such changes are possible only in the quarry 
 bed or in moist foundations and bridge abutments. 
 
 Solution. —The subject of solution can not, however, be 
 passed over so lightly. Pure water alone is practically without 
 effect on all stones used for building purposes. Rain-water, 
 however, as already noted, may contain appreciable quantities 
 of various acids which greatly add to its solvent power, as the 
 rapid destruction of certain classes of rocks only too well at 
 
 * Report, Tenth Census, vol. X. 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 43 r 
 
 tests. Carbonate of lime, the material of ordinary marbles 
 and limestones, is particularly susceptible to the solvent action 
 of these acids even when they are present in extremely minute 
 quantities, and to this agent is largely due the rapid deface- 
 ment of the marble tombstones in church-yards, and the mar- 
 ble-faced buildings in cities. 
 
 It is to the ready solubility of calcium carbonate that is also 
 due in large part the poor weathering qualities of sandstones 
 with calcareous cements. The cement is slowly removed by 
 solution ; the silicious grains thus become loosened, and, falling; 
 away under the influence of wind and rain, expose fiesh sur¬ 
 faces to be acted upon. Certain of the ferruginous cements 
 are likewise susceptible to the influence of the acidulated rains, 
 though the anhydrous oxides occurring in the Potsdam stones, 
 are naturally less soluble than are the hydrated forms occur¬ 
 ring in those of Triassic age. The feldspars of granites and 
 other rocks are also susceptible to the same influence, though 
 in a much less degree. T. he acidulated rains aided by the dis¬ 
 integration produced by temperature changes may in time par¬ 
 tially remove, in the form of carbonates, the alkalies potash 
 and soda—and the rock slowly disintegrates into sand and clay. 
 The feldspars of the gneiss, used so extensively in years past 
 in and about Philadelphia, are said to have proved peculiarly 
 liable to this change, and it has been found necessary in many 
 instances to paint some of the older structures formed from it 
 to avoid serious disintegration. 
 
 (3) INDURATION OF STONE ON EXPOSURE. 
 
 The changes produced by weathering are not in all cases 
 those of decomposition. All stones, and especially the lime¬ 
 stones and sandstones, undergo at first a process of hardening 
 on being removed from the quarry or when exposed in the 
 
432 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION . 
 
 quarry bed, as will be noted further on. This hardening is 
 explained by Newberry and others on the supposition that the 
 water with which the stones are permeated, holds in solution, 
 01 at least in suspension, a small amount of siliceous, calcare¬ 
 ous, ferruginous or clayey matter. On exposure to the atmos¬ 
 phere this quarry water , as it is technically called, is drawn by 
 capillarity to the surface of the block and evaporated. The 
 dissolved or suspended material is then deposited, and serves 
 as an additional cementing constituent to bind the grains more 
 closely together. It is obvious that the amount of induration 
 must in most cases be quite small, and limited to but a thin 
 outer crust on each block; also that when this crust has once 
 formed it can, if removed, never be replaced since the stone in 
 the walls of a building is cut off from further supply of quarry 
 water, and as a matter of course, after whatever quantity con¬ 
 tained within its own mass has come to the surface and evapor¬ 
 ated, no further hardening by this means can take place.* 
 
 It is on this account that the practice of setting rough 
 stone in a wall, and leaving them to be carved when the struct¬ 
 ure is completed, is strongly condemned by some, f as in so 
 doing the hard outer crust that began to form as soon as the 
 stone was exposed to evaporation is entirely removed, and the 
 delicate carving disintegrates much more rapidly than other¬ 
 wise would have been the case. The carving, it is argued, 
 
 * This induration sometimes takes place in a peculiarly rapid and interest¬ 
 ing manner. Dr. Wadsworth, in writing on some Potsdam and St. Peter’s 
 sandstones near Mazo Manic, Wisconsin, states that those portions of the 
 stone which are exposed to atmospheric influences have become by induration 
 converted into compact quartzites, while the protected portions still retain their 
 porous and friable nature. So rapidly does this change take place that an ex¬ 
 posure of but a few months is sufficient to produce very marked results on a 
 freshly broken surface.—Proceedings Boston Society of Natural History, vol 
 kxii. 1883, p. 202. 
 
 I Le Due, “ Story of a House,” p. 143. 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 433 
 
 should be done at once, while the quarry water is still present; 
 the crust then forms upon its surface, and it is thus better able 
 to resist atmospheric action. The rescouring and honing of 
 buildings and works of art is strongly objected to on similar 
 grounds.* 
 
 (4) WEATHERING PROPERTIES OF STONES OF VARIOUS KINDS. 
 
 Let us now consider the effects of the various agencies just 
 enumerated upon the different classes of rocks in common use 
 for building materials. 
 
 Granites are liable to disintegration chiefly from the con¬ 
 stant expansion and contraction caused by natural tempera¬ 
 tures. The chemical changes to which they are subject, such 
 as the kaolinization of the feldspars or rusting of the micas, 
 being as a rule scarcely noticeable in the walls of a building, 
 while they are so compact as to be practically non-absorbent 
 and hence not liable to injury by freezing alone. The same 
 may be said respecting the diabases, melaphyrs, and basalts 
 when not particularly rich in magnetite or secondary calcite. 
 Dr. Hague, in describing the decay of the granite obelisk in 
 Central Park, New York, says: “In my opinion the process 
 of disintegration has been an extremely slow one, caused by a 
 constant expansion and contraction of the constituent minerals 
 near the surface, due to diurnal variations of temperature. 
 In a climate like that of New York, where these diurnal changes 
 are frequently excessive at all times of the year, the tension 
 between the minerals would naturally tend to a mechanical 
 disintegration of the rock. Granite being a poor conductor 
 of heat, the effect of these changes would be felt only at short 
 distances below the surface, causing in time minute fractures 
 
 * See Chateau, under “ Inconvenience du grattage a vif,” p. 353. 
 
434 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 and fissures along lines of weakness. Into these openings per¬ 
 colating waters, upon freezing, would rapidly complete the 
 work of destruction.” * 
 
 Helmerson explains the rapid disintegration of the Alex¬ 
 ander column in St. Petersburg, Russia, on the grounds that 
 it contains many large crystals of a triclinic feldspar, which 
 when subjected to the extreme temperatures of Russian 
 climate expand and contract unequally in the direction of their 
 three crystallographic axes and hence cause the crumbling.f 
 This view seems plausible, but we believe it yet remains to be 
 shown that rocks rich in triclinic feldspars in reality disintegrate 
 more rapidly than others. 
 
 Granite was for a long time popularly believed to be a 
 nearly fireproof material. The great fires of Portland, Boston, 
 and Chicago not merely exposed this delusion but proved the 
 direct opposite —that instead of being the most fire-proof it 
 was the least so, ranking below either sand- or limestone. The 
 peculiar susceptibility of the stone to the effect of heat may be 
 ascribed to its compact and complex structure, each of its 
 constituent minerals possessing different degrees of expan¬ 
 sibility.^; 
 
 * Science, December xi, 1885, p. 511. 
 f See Science, January 22, 1886, p. 75. 
 
 % The co-efficient of cubical expansion for several of the more common rock¬ 
 forming minerals has been determined as follows : 
 
 Quartz.. .000036 
 
 Orthoclase.000017 
 
 Adularia (feldspar).0000179 
 
 Hornblende.00002S4 
 
 Beryl.ooooox 
 
 Tourmaline..000022 
 
 Garnet.000025 
 
 Calcite.00002 
 
 Dolomite. ... .000035 
 
 The quartz, it will be noticed, has a co-efficient of expansion double that 
 of the orthoclase, and nearly a third greater than hornblende. The matter is 
 further complicated by the fact that each individual mineral expands unequally 
 along the direction of its various axes. Thus quartz gives a co-efficient of 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 435 
 
 It has also been suggested by certain authors that the 
 minute water-filled cavities in the quartz of these rocks may be 
 an important factor, since, when highly heated, the water is 
 converted into steam and an explosion results, causing the 
 quartz to fly into fragments. After microscopic examination 
 of a very large number of our granites the writer can but feel 
 that the results thus produced are too small to merit serious 
 consideration. 
 
 The relative durability of sandstone and granite under fire 
 is stated to have been well shown not long since at the burning 
 of St. Peter’s Church at Lamerton, England. The church 
 itself, which was built in great part of granite, was completely 
 ruined, while the tower, built of a local freestone, around which 
 the heat of the fire was so great as to melt six of the bells as 
 they hung in the belfry, was left intact, although the granite 
 window-jams and sills were destroyed.'* * 
 
 Limestones and dolomites, both marbles and the common 
 varieties, are perhaps less affected than granite by the purely 
 mechanical agencies, but make up for this in their susceptibility 
 to the solvent action of gaseous atmospheres. Limestones are 
 in this respect less durable than dolomites, so that, the tenacity 
 being the same, a dolomite might, under the same circum¬ 
 stances, be considered as promising greater durability than a 
 limestone. Unfortunately, however, a majority of the dolo- 
 mitic marbles present a marked granular structure and are 
 liable to become friable on exposure, the surface gradually 
 becoming roughened, and it may be resolved into loose 
 
 .00000769 parallel to the major axis, and of .00001385 perpendicular to this axis; 
 adularia gives .0000156, .000000659, and .00000294 for its three axes; and 
 hornblende for the same axes gives .0000081, .00000084, and .0000095. (See 
 Clarke’s “ Constants of Nature,” Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collection, 
 
 vol. XIV.) 
 
 * American Architect, vol. lv. 1878, t>. 80. 
 
436 S'TONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 sand. Some of our white, dolomitic marbles, which on casual 
 inspection seem eminently desirable, will, on testing, be 
 found very weak and with very poor lasting qualities. A 
 thoroughly crystalline or non-crystalline compact and homo¬ 
 geneous limestone or dolomite is scarcely, if any, more 
 absorbent than a granite, and hence it is as little liable to 
 injury from freezing. Professor Geikie, in studying rock¬ 
 weathering, as displayed by the marble tombstones in Scot¬ 
 tish cemeteries, observed that the process presented three 
 distinct phases, all of which were at times observable on 
 the same slab. These were (1) superficial solution , caused 
 by the carbonic and sulphuric acids of the atmosphere; (2) 
 internal disintegration , accompanied or preceded by the 
 formation of an exterior coat or film of sulphate of lime ; and 
 (3) curvature and fracture. The first phase manifested itself 
 in loss of polish and gradual roughening of the surface, fol¬ 
 lowed by the formation of minute rifts and final rapid disin¬ 
 tegration. One case is mentioned in which a stone erected in 
 1785 became so far decayed as to require restoration in 1803, 
 and at the time of writing (1880) was and had been for some 
 years so corroded as to be entirely illegible. 
 
 The second phase, that of internal disintegration, mani¬ 
 fested itself in a peculiar manner. In a number of cases exam¬ 
 ined it was found that the sulphuric acid brought in contact 
 with the stone by rains had reacted upon the calcium carbon¬ 
 ate, producing a superficial coating, varying in thickness from 
 that of a sheet of paper to a millimeter, of sulphate of lime. 
 This, so long as it remained intact, seemed to protect the stone 
 from other atmospheric influences. On the breaking of the 
 crust, however, it Was found that the cohesion of the crystal¬ 
 line granules beneath had been destroyed and the stone crum¬ 
 bled rapidly to sand, the cause of which is attributed largely 
 to mechanical agencies. 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 43 7 
 
 The third phase, that of curvature and fracture, was ob¬ 
 served only on thin slabs of marble which had been placed in 
 a horizontal or vertical position and confined by a frame of 
 sandstone. It manifested itself in the bulging outward of the 
 slab like the bellying of a well-filled sail. In one case exam¬ 
 ined, that of a slab of marble 30^ inches long, 22§ inches wide, 
 by three-fourths of an inch thick, which had been thus secured 
 against a wall, the slab was found to have escaped from its 
 fastenings at the sides, though still held at the top and bottom, 
 and to have bulged outward sufficiently to allow the insertion 
 of the hand and arm between it and the wall at the widest 
 point. It had also expanded laterally so as to be one-half an 
 inch wider in the center than at the ends. The outer surface 
 of the slab where the greatest strain was produced by the bend¬ 
 ing was filled with minute cracks or rifts, the largest of which 
 were some one-tenth inch in diameter. The cause of the bulg¬ 
 ing is believed by Professor Geikie to be due to expansion 
 caused by the freezing of water absorbed from rains. The 
 conclusions arrived at from the examination of a large number 
 of cases, were to the effect that in all but exceptionally favor¬ 
 able and sheltered localities slabs of marble exposed to the 
 weather in such a climate as that of Edinburgh lost their polish 
 after an exposure of but a year or two and became entirely 
 destroyed in less than a century ; hence that the stone was 
 quite unfitted for outdoor work in that vicinity.* 
 
 * Geological Sketches, pp. 170-172. Prof. Arthur Winslow has since described 
 (Am. Jour. Science, vol. xliii., 1892, p. 133) an instance of sagging, as noted by him 
 in a cemetery at Jefferson City, Mo. A slab of white crystalline limestone, 6x3 feet 
 in superficial dimensions and two inches in thickness, was laid horizontally, and 
 supported only at the four corners, the distance between the supports being length¬ 
 wise about four feet, and crosswise between one and two feet. When examined 
 the slab had been in position about twenty-five years, and was found to have sagged 
 at the center an inch and a half. The sagging was accompanied by hair-like lines 
 of incipient fracture on the lower side, near the center, running transversely. 
 
438 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 These results are greatly in exaggeration of what takes place 
 in our own cemeteries. Professor Julien states that in the city 
 cemeteries about New York the polish on marble tombstones 
 often survives for ten years, and, in protected places, as near the 
 ground in suburban cemeteries, for half a century. He further 
 states that while of the tombstones in St. Paul’s churchyard 
 in New York City, about one-tenth of the inscriptions dating 
 back to the latter part of the eighteenth century are illegible, 
 he has never seen the same effect produced in suburban cem¬ 
 eteries in the same length of time. The author’s own obser¬ 
 vations on the subject are to the effect that in the cemeteries 
 of the smaller towns and cities of New England marble tomb¬ 
 stones will retain their polish for a period of ten or fifteen years, 
 and up to thirty or thirty-five present no sign of disintegratior 
 of a very serious nature. Beyond this time, however, the sur¬ 
 face becomes rough, and granular, and the edges of the stone 
 may be found filled with fine rifts into which particles of dirt 
 become lodged or lichens take root, giving it a dirty and 
 unkempt appearance.* Such stone are frequently taken down, 
 rehoned and polished, and again set up to do duty for another 
 term of years. 
 
 A closely crystalline or non-crystalline, compact and homo¬ 
 geneous limestone is probably as little affected by frost as are 
 the granites. Very many of the limestones and dolomites 
 used for ordinary building are, however, by no means suf¬ 
 ficiently non-absorbent to protect them from injury by freezing, 
 nor are they sufficiently uniform in texture to weather evenly, 
 the disintegration going on more rapidly in some layers than 
 others, thus producing rough and unsightly walls. Professor 
 Winchell, writing on the weathering of the Trenton limestone 
 
 * The fine grained saccharoidal marbles used for statuary are even less 
 durable, and in extreme cases have shown serious disintegration at the end of 
 three or four years’ exposure. 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 439 
 
 used at St. Paul and Minneapolis says: * ‘‘ The stone itself has 
 an attractive and substantial aspect when dressed under the 
 hammer, the variegations due to the alternating shaly and limy 
 parts giving the face a clouded appearance, as of gray marble, 
 without being susceptible of a uniform polish. Where pro¬ 
 tected from the weather the shale will endure and act as a 
 strong filling for the framework of calcareous matter for a long 
 time; but under the vicissitudes of moisture and dryness, and 
 of freezing and thawing, it begins to crumble out in a few 
 years. This result is visible in some of the older buildings, 
 both in St. Paul and Minneapolis.” Professor Hall, writing 
 on rock weathering,f says: “ In the gray or bluish-gray sub¬ 
 crystalline limestones the argillaceous matter, instead of being 
 distributed throughout the mass, is usually present in the form 
 of seams which are parallel to the lines of bedding or distrib¬ 
 uted in short, interrupted laminae. These seams, whether con¬ 
 tinuous or otherwise, are fatal to the integrity of the stone, 
 and there is scarcely a limestone structure in the country, of 
 twenty-five years standing which is not more or less dilapi¬ 
 dated or unsightly, from the effects of absorption of water by 
 the clay seams, and the alternate freezing and thawing. When 
 laid in the position of the original beds, which is the usual 
 mode, the separation by the clay seam is slower; but when 
 used as posts or pillars, with the lines of bedding vertical, the 
 change goes on more rapidly.” 
 
 Sandstones, on account of their widely varying textures and 
 degrees of compactness, together with an equal variation in 
 composition and character of cementing materials, are effected, 
 to a greater or less extent, by all the atmospheric influ- 
 
 * Preliminary Report on Building-stones, etc., 1880, p. 13. 
 •f- Report on Building-stones, p. 36. 
 
440 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 ences enumerated. In the order of its apparent importance 
 may be mentioned first the effects of freezing. As will be no¬ 
 ticed by reference to the tables in the appendix, sandstones 
 will absorb from about one-fiftieth to one-eighth of their weight 
 in water in twenty-four hours, or from 2 per cent to 1 2 \ per 
 cent. The approximate amount which a stone may absorb with 
 impunity cannot, of course, be stated, since much depends on 
 its position in a building and the strength and structure of the 
 stone itself. It is not too much to say, however, that any 
 stone which will absorb 10 per cent of its weight of water dur¬ 
 ing twenty-four hours should be looked upon with suspicion 
 until, by actual experiment, it had shown itself capable of 
 withstanding, without harm, freezing when in this condition. 
 Half of this amount may be considered as too large when the 
 stone contains any appreciable amount of calcareous or clayey 
 matter. (See p. 460, also foot-note on p. 452.) 
 
 It is to their great absorptive power that is due the large 
 amount of disintegration and exfoliation seen in the softer 
 sandstones, as the Triassic of the eastern United States and 
 the sub-C'arboniferous of Ohio. When a stratified rock, and 
 especially one that is distinctly laminated, is placed on edge 
 the water filters into it from above, and, there freezing, from 
 necessity produces the scaling so often noted in the Connecti¬ 
 cut brownstones. If placed on the bed the effect is not nearly 
 as disastrous, but with a porous stone the effect of continual 
 freezing and thawing cannot but be injurious. It was with an 
 apparently entire disregard of the probable effect of these agen¬ 
 cies that was selected the soft and porous Juro-Cretaceous 
 sandstone from Acquia Creek, Virginia, for the construction of 
 the White House, central part of the Capitol, and other public 
 and private buildings in Washington, a stone so susceptible to 
 these influences that it is only by a most prodigal use of paint 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 441 
 
 and putty that the buildings are kept in a condition at all 
 presentable.* 
 
 Acid gases are naturally without effect upon the silicious 
 particles of a sandstone, and can be productive of injury only 
 in dissolving out the ferruginous and calcareous cements. 
 This is actually accomplished in many cases, and much disin¬ 
 tegration results as a consequence. Indeed, Egleston * seems 
 to regard the serious decay into which the stone of Trinity 
 Church, New York, has fallen, to be due chiefly to this cause, 
 supplemented by the action of frost after the cement had been 
 removed and the stone thus rendered porous. The relative 
 solubility of the various ferruginous cements has been already 
 alluded to {ante, p. 431). Oxidation is likely to play a more 
 noticeable part in sandstones than in most other rocks, owing 
 to their porous nature, which allows ready access of water and 
 air. Many of the fine-grained, gray sandstones, particularly 
 those belonging to the Carboniferous formations, contain 
 marcasite in the form of small, inconspicuous masses segre¬ 
 gated along the bedding lines. When such are dressed and 
 so placed that the water from rains permeates them, as in sills 
 and steps, the sulphide oxidizes and manifests itself in the pro¬ 
 duction of unsightly dark, nearly black, streaks and blotches, 
 
 * Other reasons than that of lack of durability can be given against the use 
 of a too porous stone in a house wall. “ A red sandstone house may be a very 
 handsome building, but then it may be holding tons of water, and such a wall, 
 if exposed to the north-west, in an open country, in our neighborhood, in a rainy 
 winter, would, no doubt, get saturated. This means expending more fuel to 
 convert part of this water into vapor. The difficulty is surmounted to a great 
 extent by building hollow walls, the inner wall being of brick. Woe unto the 
 man who has not taken this precaution.” (T. Mellard Reade, in Proceedings 
 Liverpool Geological Society, p. 445 and 446, i883-’84.) 
 
 f Cause and Prevention of Decay in Building-stone.—Transactions American 
 Society Civil Engineers, xv. 1886. 
 
442 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 sometimes variegated with streaks of dirty yellow and white. 
 A whitish efflorescence due to the formation of a soluble sul¬ 
 phate is often evident, and if the marcasite is sufficiently abun¬ 
 dant the material gradually falls away, leaving unsightly 
 rifts and cavities. Incidental to the marcasite decomposition 
 other salts may be formed. The writer recently described * a 
 case of this kind which may well be referred to here. 
 
 A block of Carboniferous sandstone carved in the form of 
 the Old Liberty Bell, was some years ago, owing to the 
 crowded condition of the Exhibition Halls of the National 
 Museum in Washington, removed to a point near the north¬ 
 west entrance, outside of the building. 
 
 When placed in position the stone was fresh, and surface 
 smooth throughout. Within the space of a couple of years 
 there appeared on the northwest side a slight roughening of 
 the surface and a whitish efflorescence, which during the two 
 ensuing years extended gradually two-thirds around the north¬ 
 ern and southern sides, but was always most marked on the 
 northwest. On examination the efflorescence was found to be 
 due to the formation of small gypsum crystals, and the rough¬ 
 ening of the surface to the falling away of the siliceous granules. 
 The process has gone on until more than an eighth of an inch 
 in thickness of material has been removed from the point of 
 surface first attacked, and the inscription in part obliterated, 
 as shown in Fig. 21. It is to be noted that the zone of dis¬ 
 integration is limited wholly to that portion of the bell just 
 above the middle, where the surfaces stand nearly vertical, 
 while elsewhere the material is almost as fresh and unaltered 
 as when first exposed. 
 
 An examination of the stone shows it to contain numerous 
 small segregations of marcasite, which are quite inconspicuous, 
 
 Science, N. Y., June, 1900. 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 443 
 
 or show up as small dark spots on the weathered surface. 
 Chips of the fresh rock effervesce slightly in dilute acid, indi- 
 
 FlG. 21. 
 
 eating the presence of calcite. The disintegration is doubtless 
 due, therefore to the oxidation of the marcasite through the 
 downward percolation of rain-water, and the reaction of the 
 sulphuric acid formed upon the calcium carbonate. The re¬ 
 sultant calcium sulphate solution is then brought to near the 
 surface by capillarity where crystallization takes place, and, as 
 growth is always from the base of the crystals the sand 
 granules are gradually forced off in the manner so often 
 exemplified in the lifting of soil through the formation of hoar 
 frost. 
 
 A somewhat similar form of disintegration, though brought 
 about by sodium salts and without the aid of pyrites, has been 
 recently described by Mr. A. Lucas, of the Survey Department 
 
444 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 of Public Works in Egypt. It was noticed that stones in the 
 walls of buildings, particularly those in the lower courses, dis¬ 
 integrated with surprising rapidity, and further that this disin¬ 
 tegration was accompanied by the appearance of an efflorescent 
 salt, which proved to be largely sodium chloride accompanied 
 by small amounts of the carbonate and sulphate. An exami¬ 
 nation of a large number of occurrences showed that this salt 
 was absorbed from the soil, being brought up by capillarity 
 while in solution, and then drawn by evaporation to the sur¬ 
 face, where it crystallized, as did the gypsum in the case above 
 described, and with similar results.* Obviously the “cure” 
 lies in prevention. 
 
 Sandstones and limestones of the compact and oolitic type 
 are of all stones the most likely to undergo a shade of change 
 in color through the higher oxidation of the iron salt or other 
 causes. Many of the light-colored Ohio sandstones turn buff 
 or rusty red-brown, while the dull blue-gray sub-Carboniferous 
 limestone, used so extensively in St. Louis, Missouri, becomes 
 cream-tinted. The Bedford oolitic limestone often becomes 
 dark and muddy-appearing, while a quite similar stone from 
 near Corydon, in the southern part of the same State, bleaches 
 out almost to marble whiteness. In this latter case the change 
 seems to be due to the amount and character of the hydro¬ 
 carbon compound they contain. 
 
 On account of their porosity and natural roughness of sur¬ 
 face sandstones are of all stones most likely to afford foothold 
 for the growth of algae, lichens, and mosses. While it is yet 
 to be proved that these are actually injurious, they are at least 
 suggestive of an unhealthy dampness. A stone once covered 
 by these organisms will absorb more water and give it up more 
 
 * The Disintegration of Building Stone in Egypt, by A. Lucas, Survey Dept. 
 Public Works Ministry, Cairo. 1902. 
 
THE WEATHERING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 445 
 
 slowly to evaporation than one whose surfaces are not thus 
 protected. 
 
 Serpentines when free from bad veins are as a rule non- 
 absorptive and not affected by gaseous atmospheres, hence are 
 durable if free from bad joints. The Pennsylvania serpentines 
 sometimes fade or turn whitish on exposure, but so far as ob¬ 
 served do not seriously disintegrate. 
 
 Soapstone, although too soft, and possibly too slippery for 
 general building, is nevertheless one of the most durable 
 stones, being not only proof against atmospheric and chemical 
 agencies, but, when well seasoned, fire-proof as well. Gypsum 
 is too soft and too soluble in ordinary terrestrial waters to be 
 of great value. 
 
 The roofing slates, being themselves composed of the 
 least destructible residue of pre-existing rocks, might, it 
 would seem, be expected to be among the most enduring 
 of rocks. Such in a general way is the case; but unfortu¬ 
 nately the conditions under which a slate is placed in a roof 
 are trying in the extreme, perhaps even more trying than 
 in any other part of a structure. Subject to the exposure 
 of the fiercest rays of the sun, spasmodically deluged with 
 water, and in winter covered by snow and occasionally ice, 
 even at times tramped upon by workmen, the wonder is that 
 they last as well as they do. The most conspicuous changes 
 which such undergo is a loss in strength and toughness, 
 whereby they split and break away causing bad leaks. This 
 is due in part at least to the removal in solution of a small amount 
 of lime carbonate. This removal also leaves the slate more 
 porous. A slight fading is often noticeable in some of the 
 black slates, and more conspicuously so in some of the green¬ 
 ish varieties. The fact that the “sea-green ” slates fade on 
 exposure, passing from a greenish-gray over to a brownish- 
 gray color, in exceptionally bad cases to a dark yellowish- 
 brown, is explained by the researches of Dale and Hillebrand 
 
44 6 STONES EOT BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 on the ground that such contain abundant minute rhombs in 
 sizes, but from 0.004 to 0.013 mm. in diameter, which are 
 composed of isomorphous admixtures of the carbonates of lime, 
 magnesia, and iron, the iron in time passing over into the 
 condition of limonite. The amount of carbonate (as shown 
 by the percentages of carbon dioxide, lime, magnesia, and 
 iron in the analysis given below) is surprisingly small, and the 
 case affords a fine illustration of the careful, detailed study 
 necessary to the solving of such problems, as well as the 
 relatively great importance of some of the minor constituents 
 of the slate. 
 
 Constituents. 
 
 Sea-green 
 
 Slates. 
 
 (Average of 3 
 Analyses.) 
 
 Unfading 
 Green Slates 
 (Average of a 
 Analyses 1 
 
 Silica (Si 0 2 )... . 
 
 Per cent 
 
 63 -33 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 59-37 
 
 Titanium Oxide (Ti 0 2 ).... 
 
 0-73 
 
 O. IO 
 
 Alumina (Al 3 0 ,) . 
 
 14.86 
 
 18.51 
 
 Ferric Oxide (Fe 2 O s ).... 
 
 I . 12 
 
 I.l8 
 
 Ferrous Oxide (FeO)..... 
 
 4-93 
 
 6.69 
 
 Lime (CaO). .. 
 
 1.20 
 
 0.49 
 
 Magnesia (MgO). 
 
 2.98 
 
 2.36 
 
 Potash (K 2 0 ).. .... . 
 
 4.06 
 
 3.78 
 
 Soda (Na s O) ....... .. . 
 
 1 22 
 
 I. 7 I 
 
 Carbon Dioxide (C 0 2 )... 
 
 1.41 
 
 0.30 
 
 Pyrite (FeS 2 ).... . 
 
 0.11 
 
 O. 14 
 
 Water above i io" C. (H 2 0 ). . 
 
 3-37 
 
 4.01 
 
 Sundry, and water below no° C. . . . 
 
 0.69 
 
 O.5I 
 
 
 100.01 
 
 lOO 05 
 
 
SELECTION OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 447 
 
 ON THE SELECTION AND TESTING OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 (i) GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 
 
 From what has gone before it must be evident that there 
 are many more factors which go to determine the value of 
 stone for structural purposes than are ordinarily taken into 
 consideration. It may therefore not be out of place here to 
 mention a few general principles to be observed in selecting 
 stone for any purpose in which durability, or stability of color 
 are matters of importance. It should be stated at the outset 
 that the problem of ascertaining by laboratory or other tests 
 the actual qualities, good or bad, of any stone, is peculiarly 
 complicated and difficult.* In the present state of our knowl¬ 
 edge nothing like definite rules of procedure with any proba¬ 
 bility of accurate and reliable results can be given. That the 
 difficulties may be better appreciated it may be well to note 
 here the main points to be considered. In the order of their 
 apparent importance they are : 
 
 (1) Resistance to changes in temperature. 
 
 (2) Resistance to chemical action of the atmosphere. 
 
 (3) Crushing strength and elasticity. 
 
 (4) Resistance to abrasive action of feet and wind-blown 
 sand. 
 
 The order as above given may be subject to modification 
 to suit individual cases. In many instances the actual strength 
 of a stone is a matter of little importance, and in protected sit¬ 
 uations the quality mentioned under (4) maybe left wholly out 
 of consideration. In still other cases, as in bridge abutments, 
 
 * See article “ On the Testing of Building-stone,” by the writer, in American 
 Architect for February 16, 1889. 
 
44 ^ STONES EOT BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 strength and elasticity are matters of greatest import, while 
 that of change of color can have no essential value. In the 
 arrangement given above, especial regard has been had to stone 
 exposed in the exterior walls of a building, and in a varied 
 climate like that of the northern and eastern United States. 
 
 The first item for consideration is then the matter of cli¬ 
 mate. This, together with the location in which a structure is 
 to be erected, with especial reference to proximity to large 
 cities and manufacturing establishments, and even the direc¬ 
 tions of the prevailing winds and storms, are of primary im¬ 
 portance and need consideration as well as do the physical and 
 chemical properties of the stone itself.* 
 
 Our Northern and Eastern States, with an annual precipi¬ 
 tation of some thirty-nine or forty inches and a variation in 
 temperature amounting in some cases to not less than 120°, are 
 necessarily more trying than those where the precipitation is 
 less or the temperature more uniform. There is many a por¬ 
 ous sand- or limestone which could endure an exposure of hun¬ 
 dreds of years in a climate like that of Florida or New Mexico, 
 
 As an instance of the difference in degree of durability in the same ma¬ 
 terial subject to the effects of atmosphere in town and country we may notice 
 the several frustra of columns and other blocks of stone that were quarried at 
 the time of the erection of St. Paul s Cathedral in London, and which are now 
 lying in the island of Portland, near the quarries from where they were ob¬ 
 tained. These blocks are invariably found to be covered with lichens, and al¬ 
 though they have been exposed to the vicissitudes of a marine atmosphere for 
 more than one hundred and fifty years they still exhibit beneath the lichens their 
 original forms, even to the marks of the chisel employed upon them, whilst the 
 stone which was taken from the same quarries and placed in the cathedral itself 
 is in those parts which are exposed to the south and south east winds found in 
 some instances to be fast moldering away.” (Gwylt’s Encyclopaedia, of Archi¬ 
 tecture p. 458.) 
 
 It is stated that in England the northern part of a building is always in a 
 better state of preservation than the southern, owing to the more uniform amount 
 of moisture and less heat from the sun. 
 
SELECTION OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 449 
 
 but which would probably be found in a sad state of disinte¬ 
 gration at the end of a single season in some more northern 
 State. 
 
 We are accustomed to hear a great deal regarding the wis¬ 
 dom of the ancients, and especially the Egyptians, as shown in 
 the selection of enduring materials for their obelisks and monu¬ 
 ments,* a wisdom or prudence which modern builders “admire 
 more than they imitate,” and we are referred to the still legible 
 inscriptions and sharp sculptures on the surfaces of these 
 obelisks, even after thousands of years of exposure, as proof of 
 this marvellous foresight on the part of a semi-barbarous people. 
 It must be borne in mind, however, that nature herself had 
 vastly more to do in this matter than Egyptian foresight, and 
 it is more than probable that at that time materials were select¬ 
 ed with as little knowledge of their lasting qualities as they 
 are to-day. The Syene granite, so durable under Egyptian 
 skies, is no better than those in common use in this country, 
 as the transported obelisks in New York and London have 
 plainly shown. It is a matter of climate more than of mate¬ 
 rial, and this fact should never for a moment be ignored. 
 Were the climate of the United States like that of Egypt, 
 southern Italy, or Mexico there would have arisen no occasion 
 for the compilation of this chapter, f 
 
 * VidI “ Materiaux de Constructipn,” par L. Malecot, p. 30. 
 
 f “ From the manner in which the buildings and monuments of Italy, formed 
 of calcareous materials, have retained to a wonderful degree the sharpness 
 of their original sculpturing, unless disfigured by the hand of man, it is clear 
 that a dry and smokeless atmosphere is the essential element of durability. In 
 this respect, therefore, the humid sky and gaseous atmosphere of British towns 
 must always place the buildings of this country at a comparative disadvantage 
 as regards durability.” (Hull, p. 282.) 
 
 “La Grece, la Basse-Italie, et notamment la Sicile, dit il, ont cet Strange 
 privilege que tout s’y conserve intact, presque sans se deteriorer, pendant des 
 stecles consecutifs. Aussi les monuments, les statues, les marbres blancs eux- 
 
45 ° STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORA TION. 
 
 ( 2 ) PRECAUTIONS TO BE OBSERVED. 
 
 The precautions which should be observed in selecting a 
 stone for building purposes may here be briefly noted. 
 
 In those portions of the northern and eastern United States 
 that have been subjected to glacial action,* * and where the 
 great mass of rotten rock that had accumulated during previous 
 geologic ages has been entirely removed, if the surface of the 
 rock as displayed in the quarry or natural outcrops presents a 
 fresh and undecomposed appearance, this may be construed as 
 a strong argument in its favor, though it can not in all case s 
 be accepted as conclusive.f A purely calcareous rock m ay 
 
 mernes, qui, chez nous (en France), deviennent noirs en deux ans, rouges en dix 
 ans, ruines en cinquante, chez eux sont a peine noircis au bout de trois ou qua- 
 tre si&cles d’exposition en plein air. Sous terre oudans un appartement ils gar- 
 dent intactes leur forme et jusqu’a leur blancheur, a perpfetuite pour ainsi dire. 
 
 “ J’ai vu retirer de terre a Pouzzoles. pres de Naples, des marbres enfouis de- 
 puis plus de deux mille ans, qui avaient l’air de sortir des mains du sculpteur. 
 
 “ A Palerme, les statues et les marbres en plein air sont, il est vrai, assez 
 noirs; mais ils n’ont jamais ete touch6s, m’a-t-on dit, depuis leur mise en place, 
 et il y a la des statues qui datent de dix siecles.” (E. Carrey, as quoted in 
 Mal&cot’s Mat&riaux de Construction, p. 31.) 
 
 * This includes all of New England and those portions of other States lying 
 north of a line running irregularly from a point near the western end of Long 
 Island across New Jersey ; thence northwesterly across Pennsylvania into New 
 York State south of Buffalo ; thence southwesterly to near central Ohio ; thence 
 due south nearly to the Ohio River ; westerly along the river to a point north of 
 Louisville, Kentucky ; thence northerly again nearly to Indianapolis, Indiana ; 
 thence southwesterly so as to include nearly all of Illinois ; thence northwesterly 
 to a point near St. Louis ; westerly toward Jefferson City, Missouri ; thence 
 along the Osage River and northwesterly through Kansas near Topeka; 
 through the eastern half of Nebraska, through Dakota west of Bismark, and 
 thence onward into Montana. 
 
 f “ No artificial structure or position will ever subject the stone to the same 
 degree of weathering influence to which it is exposed in its natural position. 
 
 . . . The rock which has withstood these influences is quite equal to withstand 
 
SELECTION OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 451 
 
 weather rapidly and yet leave no debris, since its constituents 
 are soluble and may all be carried away by running water, 
 leaving no traces to tell of the havoc going steadily on. Im¬ 
 pure limestones and all silicious rocks, however, leave more or 
 less debris as mark of their decay. 
 
 But in regions south of the glaciated area the rock is still 
 covered by the decomposed mass, and hence no clew can thus 
 be obtained. In such cases one can only have recourse to 
 structures that have already been erected from the stone in 
 question and there observe its weathering qualities, or, if these 
 are lacking, observe the stone in those parts of the quarry that 
 have not recently been worked. In opening a new quarry, 
 blocks should always be tested by allowing them to lie and 
 season for at least a year before using. At the end of this time 
 the presence of any readily oxidizable sulphide or carbonate 
 will have made its presence known, and the amount of disinte¬ 
 gration, or induration, as the case may be, will furnish a slight 
 clew regarding its future behavior. Indeed, this seasoning of 
 stone prior to its introduction into a building should always be 
 insisted upon, whatever its character. A good building stone, 
 whatever its kind, should possess a moderately fine and even 
 texture, with the grains well compacted, should give out a clear 
 ringing sound when struck with a hammer* * and show always a 
 clean, fresh fracture. It should also be capable of absorbing 
 only a proportionally small amount of water.f 
 
 The porosity of any stone is usually characteristically shown 
 by its manner of drying after a rain; some will dry quickly, 
 
 the exposure of a few centuries in an artificial structure.” (Hall, Report on 
 Building Stone, p. 24.) 
 
 * In a report on some experiments on the transverse strength and elastic¬ 
 ity of building stone, Mr. T. H. Johnson states “ the resonance of each piece 
 tested was proportional to the modulus of elasticity as found by the test.” 
 (Report State Geologist of Indiana, 1881, p. 38.) 
 
 f En un mot, les qualitds essentielles des pierres tant dures que tendres sont 
 d’avoir le grain fin et homogene, la texture uniforme et compacte ; de rdsister 
 
452 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 while others that have absorbed a larger quantity of water will 
 remain moist for a long time. In the case of a sandstone it 
 may be said that the grains should be closely compacted, so 
 that the proportion of cement necessary to entirely fill the in¬ 
 terspaces is comparatively small. Of all cementing materials 
 the argillaceous and calcareous are the least durable, and the 
 purely silicious the most so, the ferruginous cements standing 
 intermediate in the series. Indeed a purely silicious sandstone 
 cemented closely by a silicious cement may be classed as one 
 of the most durable of stones, although unfortunately on ac¬ 
 count of their hardness and poor colors such can be utilized 
 only at a considerable expense and not always with good effect. 
 Professor Geikie* mentions an instance in which a fine silicious 
 sandstone erected as a tombstone in Greyfriars church-yard 
 about 1646, and defaced by order of the Government in 1662, 
 still showed the marks of the defacing chisel upon its polished 
 surface after a lapse of over two hundred years. 
 
 Permanence of color, particularly in sandstones and lime¬ 
 stone, can rarely be guaranteed if quarried from below the 
 water level. As a rule the buff, yellow, and red-brown colors 
 are most stable, since the ferruginous constituent is here in a 
 superoxidized condition. As a very general rule it may be 
 stated that material quarried from above the water level is less 
 liable to change of any kind than that from below. 
 
 In this connection the following table upon the “ life ” of 
 various kinds of building stone in New York City is of inter¬ 
 est, by the term life being understood the number of years 
 
 & l’humidite a la gelee, et de ne pas elater au feu en cas d’incendie. (Chateau, 
 vol. 1. p. 272.) 
 
 “Any sandstone weighing less than 130 pounds per cubic foot, absorbing more 
 than 5 per cent of its weight of water in twenty-four hours, and effervescing 
 anything but feebly with acids, is liable to prove a second-class stone as regards 
 durability where there is frost or much acid in the air.” (Notes on Building 
 Construction, p. 36.) 
 
 * Geological Sketches, p. 175. 
 
SELECTION OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 453 
 
 that the stones have been found to last without discoloration 
 or disintegration to the extent of necessitating repairs.* 
 
 Life in years. 
 
 Coarse brown-stone. 5 to 15 
 
 Fine laminated brown-stone . 20 50 
 
 Compact brown-stone. 100 200 
 
 Blue-stone (sandstone), untried, probably centuries. 
 
 Nova Scotia sandstone, untried, perhaps. 
 
 Ohio sandstone (best silicious variety), perhaps from one to 
 
 many centuries. 
 
 Coarse fossiliferous limestone. 20 40 
 
 Fine oolitic (French) limestone. 30 40 
 
 Marble, coarse dolomitic .. _^ 0 
 
 Marble, fine dolomitic. 60 80 
 
 Marble, fine. . .... 50 too 
 
 Granit e. 75 200 
 
 Gneiss, 50 years to many centuries. 
 
 The fact that certain quarries have furnished good material 
 in the past is no guarantee of the future output of the' entire 
 quarry. This is especially true regarding rocks of sedimentary 
 origin, as the sand and limestones, different beds of which will 
 often vary widely in color, texture, composition, and durability, 
 though lying closely adjacent. In many quarries of calcareous 
 rocks in Ohio, Iowa, and neighboring States, the product is 
 found to vary at different depths all the way from a pure lime¬ 
 stone to magnesian limestone and dolomite. The cause of this 
 remarkable variation is little understood and can not here be 
 touched upon, but the fact that such occurs is of importance, 
 since in many and perhaps the majority of cases an equal varia¬ 
 tion exists in point of durability. By English as well as many 
 other authorities a dolomite is, other things being equal, con¬ 
 sidered more durable than a limestone, and beyond doubt this 
 is the case in localities where the atmosphere is at all acidic, 
 
 Report Tenth Census, 1880, vol. x. p. 391. 
 
454 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORA! ION. 
 
 since dolomite, as already noted, is but little affected by these 
 agencies. Aside from this it would seem yet to be proven 
 that, in the United States, a pure limestone was less durable 
 than one that contained the necessary magnesia to constitute a 
 true dolomite.* Indeed, Professor Hall considers the magne¬ 
 sian limestones, as a whole, “ more friable, more porous, and 
 less firm ” (and consequently less durable) than the pure lime¬ 
 stones. t With this statement the present writer fully agrees. 
 
 Stones which are mixtures of limestone (or calcite) and 
 dolomite are liable to weather unevenly, the calcite crystals 
 becoming eaten out, while the dolomite particles are left to 
 project and impart a rough and lusterless surface. 
 
 Coarsely fossiliferous stones are usually to be avoided for 
 exposed work, as they weather unevenly, owing to the unequal 
 hardness of the fossils and the matrix in which they are em¬ 
 bedded. X Thus the coarse gray Niagara limestone from Lock- 
 port, New York, used in the construction of the Lenox Library 
 building in New York City, began to show signs of decay even 
 
 * “ The nearer a magnesian limestone approaches a dolomite in composition 
 the more durable it is likely to be.” “ In the formation of dolomite some pecu¬ 
 liar combination takes place between the molecules of each substance ; they 
 possess some inherent power by which the invisible or minutest particles inter¬ 
 mix and unite with one another so intimately as to be inseparable by mechani¬ 
 cal means. On examining with a high magnifying power a specimen of gen¬ 
 uine magnesian limestone ... it will be found not composed of two sorts 
 of crystals, some formed of carbonate of lime and others of carbonate of mag¬ 
 nesia, but the entire mass of stone is made up of rhomboids, each of which con¬ 
 tains both earths homogeneously crystallized together. When this is the case 
 we know by practical observation that the stone is extremely durable.” (Smith’s 
 Lithology, Building Construction, p. 40.) 
 
 f Report on Building-stone, p. 40. 
 
 | The limestone of which was constructed the State capitol building at Nash¬ 
 ville, Tennessee, has proved so inferior, owing to the weathering out of the 
 numerous fossil orthocera, that the quarries have been discontinued on this 
 account alone. 
 
SELECTION OF BUILDING S7\ NE. 
 
 455 
 
 before the structure was completed. It should be remarked* 
 however, that this extreme rate was due in part to the fact that 
 the stone was laid on edge and not on the natural bed. Mr. 
 Wolff* mentions the case of a monument of shell marble in a 
 Boston cemetery, in which, after seventy years’ exposure, the 
 fossil shells stand out in bold relief; the stone is also covered 
 with fine cracks and is otherwise decomposed. 
 
 Veined stones are also subject to unequal weathering when 
 exposed ; this being due to the unequal hardness of the vein 
 matter and the mass of the rock. This is true of all stones, but 
 is especially noticeable in the so-called verdantique marbles, 
 where the white veins of calcite or dolomite lose their polish 
 and* crumble away more rapidly than the serpentine composing 
 the bulk of the rock. Good examples of this are to be seen in 
 the bases of the two statues in front of the City Hall in 
 Boston. Stones which, like many marbles, contain seams of 
 mica, talc, or other minerals, are objectionable for like reasons. 
 Thus the marble column supporting the statue of Lincoln in 
 front of the City Hall at Washington, though having been in 
 place but some twenty years, is to-day cracked from top to 
 bottom, owing to the opening of one of these seams of talc. It 
 may be stated further that in the majority of marbles and such 
 other stones as are used chiefly for decorative work, those 
 variously* colored lines and veins or structural features which 
 give the stone its chief beauty are in reality flaws and lines of 
 weakness. There is many a beautiful imported marble which 
 when sawn into a thin slab will scarcely bear its own weight* 
 but must be backed by cheaper and stronger material. 
 
 It may be said here that the essential qualities of a marble, 
 aside from color, which may vary almost indefinitely, are that 
 it shall possess a texture sufficiently compact and hard to take 
 a smooth surface and acquire a high polish. The chief defect in 
 nearly all American marbles, and one that does not as yet seem 
 
 * Report Tenth Census, vol. x. p. 290. 
 
45 6 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 to be fully realized, is that they are too coarsely crystalline. 
 This not only renders the production of a perfect surface diffi¬ 
 cult, but the cleavage facets frequently reflect the light from 
 below the surface in such a way as to destroy its uniformity. 
 However good the color may be, a stone of this nature must 
 always rank lower than one that is so fine grained as to appear 
 non-crystalline or amorphous. It is this fact, and this alone, 
 that renders the American marbles now in the market inferior 
 from the standpoint of beauty to such as are imported from 
 Belgium, the French Pyrenees, Italy, or northern Africa. 
 Those who are seeking new sources of material will do well to 
 bear this in mind.* 
 
 The season of year during which a stone was quarried 
 may, in certain cases, be worthy of note. It is well known 
 that many stones can be quarried with safety only during 
 the summer season, but Grueber goes a step further and 
 statesf that while the best time for quarrying is during the 
 summer, the freshly quarried material should not be allowed 
 to lie in the sun and dry too quickly, as it is liable thereby 
 to become shaky. This he regards as particularly likely 
 to happen to sandstone. Stone quarried in winter, or during 
 very wet seasons, is liable, according to this authority, to have 
 but slight tenacity when dried, and to remain always particu¬ 
 larly susceptible to the effects of moisture. Finally, he states, 
 a stone is liable to disintegration if built immediately into a 
 wall without seasoning. Stones for carved work are to be 
 quarried in the spring, since such longest retain their quarry 
 water, and this, if once lost, no subsequent wetting can restore. 
 
 * An English writer, signing himself W. E. M. (see “Stone” for March and 
 April, 1901, pp. 238 and 313) has recently accepted this statement as proving the 
 general inferiority of American marbles when compared with those of Europe. 
 If, however, the reader will take the trouble to peruse the entire paragraph it will 
 be seen that reference is made only to purely decorative marble, where a compact 
 surface, rich color, and high lustre is essential, as in the well-known Sienna 
 (Italy) and Algerian marbles. 
 
 ■j - Die “ Baumaterialien-Lehre,” p. 61. 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 
 
 457 
 
 (3) METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 
 
 How to ascertain by any series of tests that can be per¬ 
 formed in a laboratory the durability or general suitability for 
 construction of any stone is a problem with which builders 
 have long struggled and which is yet far from solution. 
 
 In order to appreciate the difficulty of the problem, we 
 must remember that stone in the walls of a building is exposed 
 to the chemical action of the atmosphere, the physical action 
 of temperature changes and to the crushing and shearing forces 
 incidental to its position in the wall. Satisfactory tests, then, 
 most show the ability of the stone to withstand to-day any of 
 the agencies enumerated above, and must also indicate its 
 ability to withstand them after years of exposure. 
 
 A stone which to-day will withstand effectively any of the 
 tests which can be applied may, through the prolonged action 
 of external agencies, become so weakened as to be valueless 
 or so discolored as to be unsightly. 
 
 In this chapter it is proposed to give a general summary of 
 the tests which have thus far been applied, to show in how 
 far they are successful, and to make such suggestions as seem 
 pertinent to the subject. It will not be necessary to give in 
 full all the details of these tests, as they have from time to 
 time been made. It will be sufficient, rather, to refer only to 
 such as are historically interesting or of value on account of 
 the results they may have yielded. 
 
 (1) Tests to ascertain permanence of color .—The change 
 •of color in a rock on exposure in a building is due mainly to 
 a change in the form of combination of the iron. Rocks taken 
 from below the water level often carry iron in the form of 
 protocarbonate (FeC 0 3 ) or pyrite (FeS 2 ). Either on ex¬ 
 posure to the air is likely to become oxidized as noted under 
 the head of weathering. The tests that can be applied in the 
 
45 § 5 TONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 laboratory are made (ist) to ascertain the presence of sulphur, 
 indicating pyrite, and (2nd) the effects of an artificial atmos¬ 
 phere in accelerating oxidation. 
 
 The following is the method for this last-mentioned test as 
 adopted by Prof. J. A. Dodge.* 
 
 The specimens tested were rectangular in outline and from 
 an inch to an inch and a half in diameter. These were dried 
 in a water-bath (temp. 212° F.) till all the absorbed moisture 
 was expelled, cooled, and weighed. They were then placed 
 upon a set of glass shelves standing in a porcelain pan con¬ 
 taining strong muriatic (hydrochloric) acid. 
 
 An open bottle containing nitric acid and one containing 
 hydrochloric acid and black oxide of manganese were placed 
 close by, and the whole covered by a bell glass, forming an 
 air-tight chamber. The fumes from the acids, together with 
 the chlorine fumes from the manganese and hydrochloric acid, 
 filled the chamber and exercised a powerful corrosive and 
 oxidizing effect on the samples. After a period of seven 
 weeks the stones were removed and washed and the change in 
 color, if any, noted. A similar series of tests was made by 
 Prof. A. Wendell Jackson in 1887 on California building stones,f 
 and the efficiency of the method seems fairly well established. 
 
 (2) Tests to ascertain resistance to corrosion. The question 
 to be settled here is one relating chiefly to calcareous rocks, 
 to limestones and marbles, or to sandstones containing a cal¬ 
 careous cement. The most satisfactory method available is 
 apparently that of Prof. Dodge, given in the publication above 
 referred to, which is as follows: 
 
 A set of pieces of essentially the same size and shape as 
 those used in the last-mentioned tests were selected and dried 
 
 * Final Report Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota, vol. 1, 
 1872-82 (1884), p. 185. 
 
 •j- Seventh Ann. Report State Mineralogist of Cal., 1887 (1888), p. 205. 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 459 
 
 and weighed in the same manner. These were then sus¬ 
 pended by strings in a glass vessel of water, not in contact 
 with one another, and a steam of carbonic acid gas was run 
 through the water for several hours at short intervals, so as to 
 keep the water pretty well saturated. The gas was washed 
 before entering the vessel containing the stones, and the water 
 in the vessel was changed every few days by means of a 
 siphon. The action was continued for a period of six weeks, 
 when the specimens were removed, washed in pure water, 
 dried, and weighed. The difference between the first and 
 second weighing indicated the amount of material dissolved 
 by the carbonic acid water. In the case of some limestones 
 this was found to be over 1 per cent, though as a rule much 
 less, and in the case of some granites so small as to be scarcely 
 appreciable. 
 
 (3) Tests to ascertain resistance to abrasion .—Tests of this 
 nature are necessary only in cases where, as in steps and 
 walks, the material is subject to the friction of feet, or where, 
 as in dams and breakwaters, it is subject to the action of run¬ 
 ning water and waves. In the selection of Belgian blocks for 
 street pavements it is naturally an important matter. In 
 some instances it is possible that stones may be so situated as 
 to be subjected to the action of windblown sand. 
 
 The resistance to wear, it may be stated, depends not 
 more, perhaps even less, upon the actual hardness of the con¬ 
 stituent particles of a stone than upon the firmness with which 
 they adhere to one another. This is well illustrated in the 
 case of many sandstones, which though made up of the hard 
 and difficultly destructible mineral quartz are so friable as to 
 be practically worthless. In making a series of tests of this 
 nature, it is well to consider the uniform as well as actual hard¬ 
 ness of the stone. Many stones wear unevenly, owing to their 
 unequal hardness in various parts, and are even more objec- 
 
460 S TONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION . 
 
 tionable than though uniformly soft throughout. The serpen- 
 tinous steatite used many years ago for steps and sills in 
 Philadelphia wore very unevenly owing to the superior hard¬ 
 ness of the serpentine over the steatite, causing the former in 
 time to stand out like knots in decaying logs. 
 
 Resistance to the action of windblown sand could readily 
 be ascertained by subjecting prepared samples to the action 
 of an artificial sandblast such as is used in the Tilghman proc¬ 
 ess of stone-carving. A fairly accurate idea of the resistance 
 to actual wear can be obtained by the rate at which the samples 
 can be ground down on a common grinding bed. It is diffi¬ 
 cult to perfect this method, since so much depends on the 
 weight applied and the constancy of the supply of emery, sand, 
 or whatever may be the cutting medium. 
 
 It should be stated that this test as ordinarily made is 
 liable to quite erroneous interpretation, since a soft stone of 
 uneven texture full of hard spots would yield results altogether 
 too high. The writer had occasion not long since to com¬ 
 pletely reverse a decision made with reference to two marbles 
 submitted for floor-tiling purposes. The one was a hard silice¬ 
 ous dolomite full of slialy spots and the other a softer lime¬ 
 stone of very uniform composition. The first named gave the 
 best results when tested, but as experience had shown that it 
 wore so very unevenly as to be quite unsightly, it was rejected 
 for the softer but more uniform stone. 
 
 (4) Tests to ascertain the absorptive powers .—These tests 
 have a direct bearing upon those which are to follow, since it 
 is largely through freezing of absorbed water- that cold pro¬ 
 duces disintegration. The test of the absorptive powers is 
 therefore one of the most important, and for a single test per¬ 
 haps the most conclusive of any. For reasons noted below 
 it cannot be relied upon altogether. 
 
 There are two absorptive tests commonly made: the one 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 461 
 
 to determine the absorption of moisture from a damp atmos¬ 
 phere, and the other the amount of absorption of water through 
 actual soaking. Of the two the last is by far the more 
 important. 
 
 The method of determining the absorption from a damp 
 atmosphere as carried out by Prof. Dodge* is as follows: 
 
 The samples of stone were placed in the cells of a hot- 
 water bath for several days, to expel their hygroscopic moisture, 
 after which they were allowed to cool in desiccators, over sul¬ 
 phuric acid, and weighed. They were then placed upon a 
 set of glass shelves standing in a pan of water, and a tight 
 cylinder was inserted over the shelves, the mouth of the cylin¬ 
 der being sealed by the water, after the manner of a gas¬ 
 holder. The apparatus remained thus in a room the tempera¬ 
 ture of which was pretty uniform (from 6o° to yo° Fahrenheit) 
 for seven weeks, the water being replenished from time to time 
 so as to maintain a constant closure of the cylinder. The 
 stones were then removed to bell jars in which they were sup¬ 
 ported over water, and thus taken to the balance and weighed. 
 The samples submitted to this test were somewhat larger than 
 those used for making the determination of specific gravity. 
 They had an average weight of about 70 grams and were 
 roughly shaped. The minimum absorption of moisture, .03 per 
 cent of the weight of the stone, is so small in amount as to be 
 practically nothing. The maximum, 3.94 per cent of the 
 weight of the stone, seems quite considerable. It seems prob¬ 
 able that, in the atmosphere saturated with moisture in which 
 they were kept for seven weeks, some of the stones absorbed 
 all the moisture they were capable of taking up, while others 
 by a longer exposure to the same conditions would have 
 shown still higher figures. 
 
 Op. cit. , p. 439. 
 
462 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 In determining the amount of absorption by soaking it is 
 best to have the specimens as nearly rectangular as possible, 
 with faces ground smooth, and for purposes of comparison as 
 well as for possible subsequent use in other tests it is well to 
 have them approximately in the form of 2-inch cubes. These 
 should be thoroughly dried and weighed, as in the tests previ¬ 
 ously mentioned, and placed in a porcelain dish with sufficient 
 water to cover them and allowed to stand until fully saturated 
 —say a period of 3 or 4 days at least. The cubes should 
 then be carefully removed, the water absorbed from the imme¬ 
 diate surface by means of blotting or any form of bibulous 
 paper, and then weighed. The drying and weighing should 
 be accomplished with as little delay as possible, to avoid loss 
 by evaporation. The increase in weight of the cubes is of 
 course due to the water absorbed, and the percentages can 
 thus be readily calculated. The results of a few tests of this 
 nature are given on p. 471. As here shown, and as an almost 
 universal rule, the sandstones are the most absorptive. It 
 may be said further that the absorption takes place most 
 rapidly and in the largest amounts along the bedding planes. 
 While the absorption of more than 3 or 4 per cent of water is 
 a matter that can as a rule be regarded as detnmental, still it 
 does not necessarily follow that such a stone will suffer most 
 on freezing. This for the reason that a coarsely porous stone 
 will dry more quickly than one of finer grain and moreover 
 the size and shape of the interstitial cavities is such that the 
 expansive action of freezing water finds relief without forcing 
 apart, the granules as noted below. It is sufficient to note 
 here that a high rate of absorption is more detrimental to a 
 fine than a coarse grained stone, and also that experiment has 
 indicated that such stones are weaker, will crush under less 
 load, when saturated with water than when dry. 
 
 (5) Tests to ascertain resistance to freezing .—The power 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 463 
 
 of a stone to resist the action of frost is naturally largely de¬ 
 pendent upon its absorptive qualities, as noted above, since it 
 is the freezing of the absorbed moisture that produces disinte¬ 
 gration. It has been shown that water passing from the liquid 
 to the solid state, that is to the condition of ice, expands in the 
 proportion of 100 to 109. That is to say, an amount of water 
 occupying 100 cubic inches before freezing must occupy 109 
 cubic inches after. The pressure exerted by this expansion is 
 equal to 150 tons for each square inch of surface. Provided, 
 then, the interstices of a stone are filled with water, which there 
 freezes, it is easy to see that if there is no other way of relief 
 the stone must be sadly disrupted. Abundant evidences of 
 this are to be found in any sandstone quarry that has been 
 closed during the winter months without protection. That the 
 result is not more marked than it is, is due to the fact that re¬ 
 lief is found in the expansion outward through the pores of the 
 stone. It is for this reason that a coarsely porous stone will 
 often stand a freezing test better than one that is of fine grain, 
 the expansive force finding relief outward through the larger 
 pores. 
 
 The importance of the freezing test was early recognized, 
 and several methods have been devised for making such in the 
 laboratory. 
 
 Obviously, the best method to pursue is that of nature, and 
 to actually submit the samples to repeated freezings and thaw¬ 
 ings'. Unfortunately this cannot at all times be readily done, 
 and moreover nature’s methods are sometimes slow, so that 
 other schemes have been proposed with a view of showing the 
 relative rather than the actual powers of resistance of different 
 stones. Perhaps the best known method of determining the 
 resisting power of stones is that proposed by Brard, which con¬ 
 sists in saturating the stone with a solution of sulphate of soda, 
 which on crystallizing expands as does water on passing into 
 
464 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 the condition of ice. A modification of Brard’s original proc¬ 
 ess was used by Mr. C. G. Page with reference to the selec¬ 
 tion of material for the Smithsonian Institution building in 
 Washington.* The process as carried on by Mr. Page con¬ 
 sisted in boiling a carefully prepared and weighed cube for 
 half an hour in a saturated solution of the sulphate, and then 
 allowing it to dry, during which process the absorbed salt 
 crystallized and expanded. Although the results were found 
 to be not in all cases quite reliable, still they are not without 
 interest and may be given in tabular form as below. 
 
 Specific Loss in 
 
 Materials. Gravity. Grains. 
 
 Marble, close grained, Maryland.... . 2.834 0.19 
 
 Marble, coarse “alum stone,” Baltimore County, 
 
 Maryland. . . 2.857 0.50 
 
 Marble, blue, Maryland. 2.613 0.34 
 
 Sandstone, coarse, Portland, Connecticut. 14.3b 
 
 Sandstone, fine, Portland, Connecticut. 2.583 24.93 
 
 Sandstone, red, Seneca Creek, Maryland. 2.672 0.70 
 
 Sandstone, dove-colored, Seneca Creek, Maryland. 2.486 1.78 
 
 Sandstone, Little Falls, New Jersey. . 1.58 
 
 Sandstone, Little Falls, New Jersey. 2.482 0.62 
 
 Sandstone, coarse, Nova Scotia. 2.518 2.16 
 
 Sandstone, dark, coarse, Seneca Aqueduct, Peter’s 
 
 quarry. 5.60 
 
 Sandstone, Acquia Creek, Virginia . 2.230 18.60 
 
 Sandstone, 4 miles above Peter’s quarry, Maryland.... . 0.58. 
 
 Sandstone, Beaver Dam quarry, Maryland. 1.72 
 
 Granite, Port Deposit, Maryland. 2.609 5-°5 
 
 Marble, close-grained, Montgomery County, Penn¬ 
 sylvania. 2.727 0.35 
 
 Limestone, blue, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania... 2.699 0.28 
 
 Granite, Great Falls of the Potomac River, Maryland.. . 0.35 
 
 Soft Brick. 2.211 16.46 
 
 Hard Brick. 2.294 1.07 
 
 Marble, coarse dolomite, Mount Pleasant, New York... 2.860 o 01 
 
 *See “Hints on Public Architecture,” p. 119, by R. D. Owen; also “Stones, 
 for Building and Decoration,” p. 439. 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 4 6 5 
 
 The specimens operated upon, it should be stated, were 
 cut in the form of inch cubes. Each was immersed for half an 
 hour in the boiling solution of sulphate of soda and then hung 
 up to dry, this performance being repeated daily throughout 
 the four weeks which the experiment lasted. 
 
 Although as above noted this process is practically aban¬ 
 doned, the series of tests given was productive of certain results 
 which are well worth a moment’s consideration. Thus the 
 red sandstone from Seneca Creek, Maryland, with a specific 
 gravity of 2.672, or a weight per cubic foot of 167 pounds, 
 lost by disintegration but 0.70 grain. This was the stone 
 ultimately selected for the Smithsonian Institution building, 
 and the structure as a whole is to-day probably in as good a 
 state of preservation as any of its age in the United States. 
 The second stone, from Acquia Creek, Virginia, with a specific 
 gravity of 2.23, or a weight per cubic foot of but 139.37 pounds, 
 and which lost 18.6 grains, is the one used in the construction 
 of the White House and the old portions of the Capitol, Interior 
 Department, and Treasury buildings. This stone has proven so 
 poor and disintegrates so badly that the buildings are kept in 
 a condition anywise presentable only by repeated applications 
 of paint and putty. The results obtained with hard and soft 
 brick are also very striking, the one weighing at the rate of 
 138 pounds per cubic foot losing 16.46 grains, while the 
 harder brick, weighing at the rate of 143 pounds, lost but 1.07 
 grains. If anything can be learned from the series it is that 
 with substances having the same composition, those which are 
 the most dense—which are the heaviest bulk for bulk—will 
 prove the more durable. The results obtained on coarse and 
 fine varieties of Portland sandstone suggest at least that water 
 would freeze out of the coarser stone, and therefore create less 
 havoc than in that of finer grain, a probability to which I have 
 already referred. 
 
466 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 More recently this method has been reinvestigated by Dr. 
 L. Mcl. Luquer * with a view of ascertaining what relation may 
 exist between the sulphate of soda and the freezing methods 
 when both are carried on under the same conditions. In these 
 tests recognition is taken of the fact brought out a generation 
 or more ago to the effect that a hot solution of a sulphate of 
 soda is likely to undergo decomposition and give rise to free 
 alkali (Na 2 0 ), which exerts a powerful chemical effect and 
 weakens the cohesive power of the granules. The method 
 employed, as given in the paper above referred to, was as 
 follows: 
 
 The specimens, which had been carefully prepared, 
 brushed, dried, and weighed, were boiled in the sulphate of 
 soda for half an hour, in order to get complete saturation. At 
 the end of the half hour it was noticed in every case that the 
 solution was slightly alkaline, although at the start it had been 
 neutral. In order to prevent any continued chemical action 
 the beakers were emptied, the specimens rapidly washed with 
 water, and the beakers immediately refilled with the neutral 
 sulphate solution. After soaking for several hours the speci¬ 
 mens were hung up by threads and left for 12 hours (during 
 the night) in a dark room. 
 
 In the morning all the specimens were covered with an 
 efflorescence of the white sulphate of soda crystals; they were 
 then allowed to soak in the solution during the day and again 
 hung up at night. Efflorescing for about 12 hours and soak¬ 
 ing for about the same time constituted a period. The ex¬ 
 periments lasted for eight periods, and were conducted in this 
 way in order to make them correspond with those made with 
 freezing water, as in the cold-storage room the specimens 
 could only be changed night and morning. 
 
 Trans. Am. Soc. Civil Engineers, March, 1895, p. 235. 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 4 6 7 
 
 In two cases the specimens were allowed to effloresce for 
 thirty-six instead of twelve hours, to insure thorough action of 
 t he salt. The experiments thus really lasted for ten days. It was 
 deemed that eight periods or days were sufficient, as de Thury 
 states that if a specimen is acted on by this method of testing, 
 the effect will be noticed in five days. The general opinion 
 of others seems to be also that a week or eight days is long 
 enough to obtain good results. During the test the solution 
 was renewed from time to time, and appeared to remain neu¬ 
 tral. The temperature of the room varied from 6o° to ;o° 
 Falir. (i8° to 2i° Cent.). Those specimens most affected 
 began to show the disintegrating action of the solution very 
 early in the course of the experiments. At the end of the ten 
 days the specimens were sprayed with the sfeream from a wash 
 bottle to remove any adhering particles, washed in water to 
 remove the sulphate of soda, carefully dried in an air bath at 
 about 120° Cent., and weighed again. 
 
 The difference between the weights was taken as the loss 
 due to the action of the sulphate of soda. The results are 
 given in tabular form on pages 468-469. 
 
 In the experiments of Prof. Dodge* carefully prepared cubes 
 the dry weight of which had been previously ascertained were 
 placed in a shallow iron pan, nearly covered with water and 
 exposed to the open air, but in a sheltered place, to freezing 
 and thawing, for a period of eight weeks during February and 
 March. To thaw, the specimens were occasionally brought 
 into a warm room for a few hours. After the exposures, the 
 pieces were carefully examined, then dried for six days and 
 weighed, the difference between the first and second weight 
 indicating the loss of material by the frost action. In the 
 freezing experiments by Dr. Luquer, above referred to, the 
 
 Geol. and Nat Hist. Survey of Minnesota. Final Reports, vol. i, p. 186. 
 
468 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 specimens were allowed to thaw and soak in water during the 
 day, and were hung up and frozen at night. The experiments 
 lasted the same number of periods as did the sulphate tests. 
 The temperature of the cold room in which the freezing was 
 carried on varied from 4 0 to 10° Fahr. and that of the room in 
 which the soaking and thawing were done, 85° Fahr. After 
 the freezing the specimens were allowed to soak in water for 
 the same period as did those used in the sulphate of soda ex¬ 
 periments, after which they were dried and weighed. During 
 the progress of the experiments, it is stated the deterioration 
 was so slight that the effect was scarcely noticeable, the sand¬ 
 stones only showing the effect of a slight residue in the bottom 
 of the pails in which the experiments were performed. Below 
 are given in tabujar form the results obtained by both proc¬ 
 esses. It will be noted the action of the sulphate was by far 
 the most energetic, but it cannot be learned that there is any 
 definite relationship. Hence, all things considered, it seems 
 best that the sulphate method be abandoned and the actual 
 freezing test always resorted to. 
 
 RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS WITH SULPHATE OF SODA. 
 
 No. 
 
 Specimens Tested. 
 
 Original 
 Weight in 
 Grams. 
 
 Loss of 
 Weight in 
 Grams. 
 
 Loss of 
 Weight in 
 Parts in 
 10,000. 
 
 I 
 
 Coarse crystalline dolomitic marble .... 
 
 71.Q020 
 
 O.0775 
 
 IO.78 
 
 2 
 
 Medium crystalline dolomitic marble... 
 
 93.8861 
 
 0.1597 
 
 17.01 
 
 3 
 
 Fine-grained limestone. 
 
 67.0064 
 
 O.I744 
 
 25-99 
 
 4 
 
 Coarse-grained red granite... 
 
 71.8648 
 
 O.III5 
 
 15-51 
 
 5 
 
 Medium-grained red granite. 
 
 5 6 .4939 
 
 O.O370 
 
 6-55 
 
 6 
 
 Fine-grained gray granite. 
 
 43.5910 
 
 O.O225 
 
 5 .16 
 
 7 
 
 Rather fine-grained gneiss . 
 
 61.8687 
 
 O.0392 
 
 6.33 
 
 8 
 
 Norite, “ Au Sable granite ”. 
 
 35-1173 
 
 O.OI35 
 
 3-84 
 
 9 
 
 Decomposed sandstone. 
 
 39.4294 
 
 I.9OIO 
 
 482.12 
 
 10 
 
 Very fine-grained sandstone. 
 
 37.7760 
 
 O.1800 
 
 47. 6 5 
 
 11 
 
 Sandstone. 
 
 28.0^21; 
 
 O.4070 
 
 145.18 
 
 12 
 
 Pressed brick. 
 
 37.4025 
 
 O.O93O 
 
 24.86 
 
 5 i 
 
 Decomposed sandstone. 
 
 22.9660 
 
 3.7235 
 
 1 621.31 
 
 52 
 
 Sandstone. 
 
 23.9OOI 
 
 O.I381 
 
 57.78 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 4 6 9 
 
 RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS WITH FROST. 
 
 No. 
 
 Specimens Tested. 
 
 Original 
 Weight in 
 Grams. 
 
 Loss of 
 Weight in 
 Grams. 
 
 Loss of 
 Weight in 
 Parts in 
 
 10,000 
 
 I 
 
 Coarse crystalline dolomitic marble.. 
 
 63.6407 
 
 O.OI97 
 
 3.10 
 
 2 
 
 Medium crystalline dolomitic marble. 
 
 93-985I 
 
 0.0216 
 
 2.30 
 
 3 
 
 Fine-grained limestone. 
 
 55-2787 
 
 O.OII5 
 
 2.O7 
 
 4 
 
 Coarse-grained granite.. 
 
 52.2787 
 
 O.OO72 
 
 I.38 
 
 5 
 
 Medium-grained red granite. 
 
 63-4693 
 
 O.OH2 
 
 I.76 
 
 6 
 
 Fine-grained gray granite. 
 
 58.6149 
 
 Very slight, 
 about same as 
 No. 5. 
 
 
 7 
 
 Rather fine-grained gneiss. 
 
 52.7260 
 
 Very slight, 
 about same as 
 No. 5. 
 
 
 8 
 
 Norite, “ Au Sable ” granite. 
 
 44.4665 
 
 Very slight, 
 less than 
 No. 5. 
 
 
 9 
 
 Decomposed sandstone. 
 
 38.4055 
 
 0.2640 
 
 68.74 
 
 10 
 
 Very fine-grained sandstone. 
 
 39-5 120 
 
 0.0420 
 
 IO.63 
 
 11 
 
 Sandstone... 
 
 21-9437 
 
 0.0312 
 
 14.21 
 
 12 
 
 Pressed brick. 
 
 37.1790 
 
 0.0255 
 
 6.86 
 
 51 
 
 Decomposed sandstone. 
 
 24.1020 
 
 0.0610 
 
 25-3I 
 
 52 
 
 Sandstone.. 
 
 20.2285 
 
 0.0180 
 
 8.89 
 
 An important series of tests made with a view of ascertain¬ 
 ing the gradual weakening of stone by freezing when saturated 
 with moisture, and which incidentally yielded other interesting 
 results, was made in 1897 at the Iowa State Agricultural 
 College under the direction of Prof. Anson Marston.* The 
 specimens operated upon were limestones and sandstones which 
 were cut by means of a carborundum wheel into two-inch 
 cubes. One set of cubes was immediately crushed in a Riehle 
 testing machine. The second set was used for specific-gravity 
 determinations and absorption, freezing, and thawing tests. 
 The absorption tests were made in the ordinary manner, after 
 which, and while still saturated, the cubes were placed in a 
 box where, by means of a freezing mixture, they were subjected 
 to a temperature varying from two degrees above to four de- 
 
 * Proc. 10th Ann. Meeting Iowa Engineering Society, Jan., 1898, pp. 123-136. 
 
47 ° STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORA TION. 
 
 grees below zero, Fahr. After freezing the cubes were thawed 
 by placing in warm water, the process being repeated twenty 
 times and a record kept of the amount of material lost through 
 disintegration. At the close of the freezing and thawing tests 
 the cubes were dried in an oven and those showing no visible 
 signs of disintegration crushed in the Riehle machine. The 
 results are given in the table on page 471. 
 
 (6) Tests to ascertain ratio of expansion and contraction .— 
 Tests of this nature are of value for the purpose of (ist) mak¬ 
 ing proper allowance for expansion in parapet walls and sim¬ 
 ilar situations, and (2nd) because through expansion the 
 tenacity of the stone is weakened. As long ago as 1832 Col. 
 Totten, in view of the difficulty of making permanently tight 
 joints even with the strongest cements, instituted a series of 
 experiments to ascertain the actual expansion and contraction 
 of granite, sandstone, and marble when subjected to ordinary 
 temperature. He found the rate per inch for each degree of 
 temperature for granite to be .000004825 inch; for marble 
 .000005668 inch, and for sandstone .000009532 inch. That 
 is to say a block of stone one foot in length raised from a. 
 temperature of freezing (32°) to that of a hot summer day, say 
 90°, would be expanded to the amount of .005416 inch or 
 would be 1.005416 inches in length. The amount is appa¬ 
 rently trifling, yet it produces a weakening effect which is of 
 both economic and geologic significance. 
 
 Within recent years some good work in this line has been 
 done under the direction of the Ordnance Department of the 
 U. S. Army. The method of testing has consisted in placing 
 carefully measured bars of stone in baths of cold water (32 0 
 F.), hot water (212 0 F.), and back to cold water once more. 
 It was noted that in none of the samples tested did the stone 
 quite regain its first dimensions on cooling, but showed a slight 
 “permanent swelling.” Since this can only mean that the 
 
TESTS OF BUILDING STONE. 
 
 METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 
 
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4 7 2 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 particles composing the stone have separated, though ever so 
 slightly, it is an important matter, as it necessitates a weaken¬ 
 ing which is shown by actual pressure tests. The tables 
 given below show the amount of permanent swelling occur¬ 
 ring in stone bars of a gauged length of 20 inches.* 
 
 GRANITES AND ALLIED ROCKS. 
 
 Amount of 
 Permanent 
 
 Locality. Swelling. 
 
 Inch. 
 
 Syenite, Eraddock quarries, near Little Rock, Ark. (Light).0048 
 
 “ “ “ “ “ “ “ (Dark).0024 
 
 Granite, Millbridge, Maine, White Rock Mountain.0032 
 
 “ Broad Rock quarry, Chesterfield County, Virginia..0047 
 
 “ Korah Station, Virginia.0048 
 
 “ Exeter, Tulare County, California.0019 
 
 “ Rockville, Stearns County, Minnesota.0061 
 
 Quartzite, Sioux Tails, Minnesota.0059 
 
 Granite, Troy, New Hampshire. 0021 
 
 “ Branford, Connecticut.0043 
 
 .0033 
 
 “ Milford, Massachusetts...0071 
 
 Mean. 0090 
 
 MARBLES. 
 
 Amount of 
 Permanent 
 
 Locality. Swelling. 
 
 Inch. 
 
 Rutland, Vermont.0135 
 
 “ “ (second exposure).0029 
 
 Mountain Dark, Vermont.0064 
 
 Sutherland Tails, Vermont.0107 
 
 Lrom St. Joe, Searcy County, Arkansas.0196 
 
 Lrom De Kalb, St. Lawrence County, New York. °°55 
 
 Lrom Marble Hill, Georgia.0077 
 
 Mean.0090 
 
 * Rep. on Tests of Metals, etc., at Watertown Arsenal, U. S. War Dept., 1895, 
 pp. 322-23. 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 4/3 
 
 LIMESTONES AND DOLOMITES. 
 
 Amount of 
 Permanent 
 
 Locality. Swelling. 
 
 Inch. 
 
 Isle La Motte, Vermont.0081 
 
 Wasioja, Minnesota.0024 
 
 Fort Riley, Kansas. 0052 
 
 Beaver, Carroll County, Arkansas. 0060 
 
 Mount Vernon, Kentucky.0075 
 
 Darlington quarry, Rockwood, Illinois.0114 
 
 Bowling Green, Kentucky.0077 
 
 .0119 
 
 Bedford, Washington County, Indiana.0025 
 
 Mean. 0070 
 
 SANDSTONE. 
 
 Amount of 
 Permanent 
 
 Locality. Swelling. 
 
 Inch. 
 
 Cromwell, Connecticut.0067 
 
 Worcester quarry, East Longmeadow, Massachusetts.0022 
 
 Kibbe quarry, East Longmeadow, Massachusetts.0029 
 
 .0003 
 
 Maynard quarry, East Longmeadow, Massachusetts...0019 
 
 Kettle River quarry, Pine County, Minnesota.0018 
 
 Cabin Creek quarry, Johnson County, Arkansas.0018 
 
 Sebastian County, Arkansas.0015 
 
 Bourbon County, Kansas, “ Bandera stone ”.0017 
 
 Piedmont quarry, Alameda County, California.0174 
 
 Olympia, Washington. °°35 
 
 Chuckanut, Washington.0052 
 
 .0148 
 
 Tenino, Thurston County, Washington. °°35 
 
 Mean...0047 
 
 (7) Tests to ascertain the fireproof qualities of stone .—The 
 expansive power of natural temperatures is but slight in com¬ 
 parison with that induced by the heat of a burning building, 
 which is at times so great that no natural material can be ex- 
 
474 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 pected to remain uninjured. Several years ago H. A. Cut¬ 
 ting * made a small series of experiments to ascertain the 
 relative powers of resistance of various stones to artificial tem¬ 
 peratures. According to his results the heat-resisting capacity 
 of the various stones tested stands in the following order, the 
 first mentioned being the least affected: (r) marble, (2) lime¬ 
 stone, (3) sandstone, (4) granite, and (5) conglomerate. The 
 tests were, however, scarcely sufficient to fully establish any 
 such law. Prof. Dodge, to whose work on the Minnesota 
 Survey reference has already been made, proceeded as follows: 
 
 The prepared samples were first heated to a red heat in a 
 muffle furnace, the temperature being raised gradually. Twice 
 each sample was removed with tongs and carefully inspected 
 to note the effect of heating. 
 
 After this heating test the samples, while still very hot but 
 at a temperature below redness, were immersed in a tank of 
 water for a few minutes. The action of the water in causing 
 cracking or crumbling was noted. Such tests are really too 
 severe to be used in any but the most extreme cases, since no 
 stone can be expected to pass through such an ordeal unharmed. 
 
 (8) Tests to ascertain resistance to crushing. This is far 
 the most common test that is applied to stone. Concerning 
 the utility of such tests as usually applied, the writer has ex¬ 
 pressed himself elsewhere. 
 
 The first systematic and really exhaustive series of these 
 tests made in America were those of Q. A. Gillmore, of the 
 Engineer Department, United States Army, whose results 
 were published in the Annual Report of the Chief of En¬ 
 gineers for 1875. 
 
 The size of specimens operated upon by Gillmore in the 
 systematic part of his work was that of a 2-inch cube. 
 
 *' 11 Weekly Underwriter.” 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 475 
 
 During his preliminary experiments he found that at least 
 within certain limits the compressive resistance of cubes per 
 square inch of surface under pressure increases in the ratio of 
 the cubic roots of the sides of the respective cubes expressed 
 in inches. Thus the actual resistance of a J-inch cube, ex¬ 
 pressed per square inch, was about 6080 pounds, while that of a 
 4-inch cube, that is one having eight times the length of side, 
 was 11,720 pounds per square inch. The general conclusions 
 arrived at was that having ascertained from an average of sev¬ 
 eral careful trials the crushing resistance of a i-inch cube, an 
 8-inch cube of the same nature should show twice as much 
 resistance per square inch of crushing surface as the i-inch. 
 This conclusion was not fully borne out by later experiments, 
 but enough was gained to show that for purposes of fair com¬ 
 parison it was necessary that all tests be made on cubes of ap¬ 
 proximately the same size. Gillmore’s tests showed also that 
 much depends on the breadth when compared with the height 
 of the specimens tested. Thus he found that while an inch 
 cube of Berea sandstone crushed under a weight of 9500 
 pounds, a block of the same stone 1 inch thick by 2 inches square, 
 and which contained therefore only four times the amount of 
 material, sustained not merely 4X9500 or 38,000 pounds, but 
 76,000 pounds. When the height or thickness of the speci¬ 
 men was doubled, so as to have the form of a 2-inch cube 
 it sustained but 50,000 pounds, and when the height was in¬ 
 creased to twice that of the width, or base, it sustained only 
 44,000 pounds. 
 
 Gillmore further found that there was a great difference in 
 the results obtained by crushing between plates of various 
 kinds of material, as wood, leather, lead, and steel, in every 
 case the tests between steel plates yielding the highest results, 
 a fact which was shown to be due to the lateral spreading- 
 action of the other substances mentioned. As a result of these 
 
4/6 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION . 
 
 and other trials which need not be given in detail here it seems 
 best that pressure tests be made on 2-inch cubes the faces 
 of which have been carefully sawn or ground so that no incipi¬ 
 ent fractures are developed, and those which are to come in 
 contact with the steel plates rubbed with a very thin coating 
 of plaster of Paris to fill in all inequalities. In the process of 
 testing it is customary to note (ist) the number of pounds reg¬ 
 istered by the crushing machine when the stone first begins to 
 show signs of fracture, and (2nd) the number registered when 
 it actually crushes. Both of these phenomena are noted in the 
 accompanying tables (pp. 498-508). 
 
 The result of many experiments has been to show that 
 most laminated or bedded rocks will bear a greater pressure 
 in a direction at right angles to their bedding than parallel 
 thereto. That is, a block will stand more if laid on its natural 
 bed than if stood on edge. This result may not always ap¬ 
 pear in a small series of tests owing to sundry imperceptible 
 differences in the specimens tested, but it is nevertheless true 
 in a general way. 
 
 Study of the results of large numbers of tests that have 
 been made at periods extending over many years have shown 
 that the results of recent tests are much higher than those of 
 •several years ago, even on the same class of material. This 
 result, which is simply due to the perfection to which the 
 methods have been brought, is so great that very unfair deduc¬ 
 tions may be drawn regarding the relative strength of materials 
 tested at different times under perhaps different conditions. 
 In fact there are few things more misleading than a tabulated 
 statement of crushing strengths, made at intervals covering 
 many years, on cubes of varying sizes and under conditions 
 which are not stated. 
 
 It may be well to note in this connection that a perfectly 
 homogeneous rock will on crushing give rise to conical or 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 
 
 477 
 
 pyramidal fragments, the apexes of which point inward. Bed¬ 
 ded stones, crushed on edge, naturally split up into flakes or 
 slabs. 
 
 In all this work of testing it is well to remember that stones 
 as a rule are apparently weaker when saturated with moisture 
 than when dry. It is true that we have not to-day sufficient 
 data for proving this conclusively, but such as are at hand 
 are more than merely suggestive. Thus MM. Tournaire and 
 Michelot have shown* that cubes of chalk io centimeters in 
 diameter crushed wet under a pressure of but 18.6 kilograms, 
 but when air-dried under 23.5 kilograms and when stove-dried 
 under 86.2 kilograms. Delesse’s experiments on 5-centimeter 
 cubes of chalk and the “ calcaire grossier ” found that the 
 chalk when wet crushed under a pressure of 12.9 kilograms, 
 when air-dried 23.6 kilograms, and when stove-dried 36.4 kilo¬ 
 grams. The limestone (calcaire grossier) crushed when wet 
 under 24.35 kilograms, when air-dried kilograms, and when 
 stove-dried under 42.7 kilograms. Inasmuch as stones in a 
 foundation are subject to periodic or perhaps constant satura¬ 
 tion, these facts are worthy of consideration. 
 
 It is well to note here too that the effect of temperature 
 changes upon stone is weakening. In the tests made by the 
 army engineers, to which we have already referred, it was 
 
 found that samples which had been submitted to the hot and 
 
 cold water tests to ascertain their coefficient of expansion and 
 contraction had suffered to a remarkable degree. The average 
 result showed that the stones from the water-baths lost in 
 strength on an average 34.9 per cent, the granites after 
 
 passing through both hot and cold water tests possessing but 
 
 83.7 per cent their original strength; the marbles 46.2 per 
 cent; the limestones 58.8 per cent, and the sandstones 66.9 
 per cent. 
 
 * “ Revue de Geologie,” 1875-76, par M. Delesse et M. De Laffarent, p. 15. 
 
4 78 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 Tests on bricks made by the United States army en¬ 
 gineers showed that the wet samples had as a rule but 85 per 
 cent the strength of the dry ones, the greatest loss occurring in 
 medium hard and hard brick. 
 
 (9) Tests to ascertain elasticity of stone. Tests to ascer¬ 
 tain the elasticity of stone when subjected to compressive and 
 transverse strains have also been made by the United States 
 army engineers, and the results obtained may well be noted 
 briefly here, though for details the reader is referred to the 
 original publications.* 
 
 The tests of elastic properties under compression were 
 made upon prisms approximately 4-in. by 6-in. by 24-in., the 
 power being applied from the ends (see Fig. 22), the com¬ 
 pressibility being measured by means 
 * of a micrometer. It was found here, 
 as in the tests for ascertaining expan¬ 
 sion, that the stones shortly developed 
 a permanent “set,” from which they did not recover during 
 the period of time over which the observations were extended. 
 
 The table given on pp. 479 and 480 will serve to show 
 what may be expected from tests of this nature. In explanation 
 it should be stated that the loads were gradually increased and 
 diminished several times in each case. In the abbreviated table 
 here given only the maximum and minimums are recorded. 
 It will be noticed that the permanent 
 set is greatest in the granites and 
 least in the slates. 
 
 The transverse tests were made 
 on similarlyprepared prisms supported 
 at the ends, the load being applied at 
 the middle as shown in Fig. 23. In the table on p. 481 is given 
 
 * Report of the Tests of Metals, etc., jnade at Watertown Arsenal. Years 1890, 
 1894, and 1895, Washington, D. C. 
 
 
 Fig. 23. 
 
 
 Fig. 22. 
 
COMPRESSIVE ELASTIC TESTS. 
 
COMPRESSIVE ELASTIC TESTS.— Continued. 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 
 
 48 £ 
 
 the results of a few selected tests, as determined by the auth¬ 
 orities referred to, the term modulus of rupture signifying the 
 weight in pounds under which the bar breaks; only the maximum 
 results are tabulated. 
 
 TRANSVERSE TESTS. 
 
 PINK GRANITE FROM MILFORD, MASS. 
 
 Dimensions. Ultimate Strength. 
 
 Distance Between 
 End Supports. 
 
 Breadth. 
 
 Depth. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Modulus of 
 Rupture. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 19 
 
 4 03 
 
 6.03 
 
 9,020 
 
 i ,745 
 
 
 GRANITE 
 
 FROM ROCKPORT, 
 
 MASS. 
 
 
 Distance Between 
 
 End Supports. 
 
 Dimensions. 
 
 Breadth. Depth. 
 
 Ultimate Strength. 
 
 Total. Modulus of 
 
 Rupture. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 19 
 
 19 
 
 4-03 
 
 4.01 
 
 6.02 
 
 6.06 
 
 12,320 
 
 12,450 
 
 2,404 
 
 2,416 
 
 (10) Tests to ascertain resistance to shearing. The terra- 
 shearing as used in geology includes a strain, due not merely 
 to pressure in one direction, but also those due to pulling 
 or thrusting in all directions up to those perpendicular to 
 the first. It is a form of strain likely to be brought to bear 
 on stone in many parts of a building, bridges, etc., and is by 
 no means unimportant. As performed by the army en¬ 
 gineers the test consists in subjecting prepared prisms sup¬ 
 ported at each end by blocks 6 inches 
 apart to pressure applied by means of a 
 “ plunger ” having a face 5 inches wide, 
 there being then a clearance space of half 
 an inch between the sides of the plunger 
 and the blocks on each side, below (see 
 Fig. 24. 
 
 The results of a few experiments of this nature are given; 
 
 1 
 
 
 n=ti- 
 
 Fig. 24. 
 
SHEARING TESTS 
 
 STONES FOE BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
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METHODS Of TESTING BUILDING STONE. 483 
 
 on p. 482. It is worthy of note that before the shearing 
 strength was reached during the tests, tension fractures were 
 developed on the under side of the stone midway the 6-inch 
 free span, and there were instances in which longitudinal 
 fractures opened in the ends of the stones, corresponding to 
 shearing along the grain in the tests of timber. 
 
 (if) Tests to ascertain the specific gravity. The deter¬ 
 mination of the specific gravity of a stone, or its weight when 
 compared with an equal volume of water, is of interest, and 
 sometimes of practical importance. Of two stones of the same 
 mineral nature, the one having the highest specific gravity, 
 that is the greatest weight bulk for bulk, will be the least 
 absorptive, and hence as a rule the most durable. Moreover, 
 the specific-gravity determination affords an easy method of 
 determining the weight of any stone per cubic foot. The 
 weight of a cubic foot of distilled water at a temperature of 
 4 0 C. is 62.5 pounds. Hence, if we find that a stone has a 
 specific gravity of 2.65, that is to say is 2.65 times as heavy 
 as water, we get its weight by simply multiplying 62.5 by 
 2.65, which gives us 165.62, the average weight per cubic 
 foot of granite. Specific-gravity tests are made by carefully 
 weighing a small piece of the rock in the air and then weigh¬ 
 ing it again in water, the weight in the last case, of course, 
 being less. The figures representing the weight in air divided 
 by those representing the loss of weight in water give the 
 specific gravity. It is customary in making the weighings to 
 have the rock fragment suspended to the arm of the balance 
 by a fine wire or hair, so as permit of its being readily im¬ 
 mersed in water for the second weighing. In very accurate 
 determinations the vessel of water containing the fragment 
 should be placad under the bell-jar of an air-pump and the air 
 exhausted in order to remove the air from and admit the water 
 to the pores of the stone. 
 
484 'STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 THE TESTING OF ROOFING SLATES. 
 
 The condition of exposure under which slates on a roof are 
 placed are such as to require a slight modification of the tests 
 as above outlined. 
 
 Obviously the matters of toughness and permanency of 
 color are of greatest importance. The first is readily ascer¬ 
 tained by direct tests made on the fresh slates, and on samples 
 which have been submitted to the corrosive action of acids. 
 The matter of permanence of color is not, however, so easily 
 solved, and indeed as yet the cause of the fading of some of 
 our slates is not well understood (see p. 445). 
 
 The best series of tests that, so far as the writer is aware, 
 have yet been inaugurated, are those of Prof. Mansfield Mer- 
 riman,* from whose paper the facts given below are mainly 
 derived. The tests here quoted were made wholly on Penn¬ 
 sylvania materials. Others made on Peach Bottom materials 
 are quoted on p. 507. 
 
 The strength and toughness of slate, writes Prof. Merri- 
 man, are important elements in preventing breakage in trans¬ 
 portation and handling, as well as in resisting the effect of 
 hail or of stone maliciously thrown upon the roof. They are 
 also brought effectively into play by the powerful stresses pro¬ 
 duced by the freezing of water around and under the edges. 
 Porosity is not a desirable property, for the more water 
 absorbed the greater the amount of disintegration through freez¬ 
 ing. Density tests are of value, since the greater the specific 
 gravity of one of several similar substances the greater is its 
 strength. Hardness may or may not be a desirable quality, 
 accordingly as it is related to density or to brittleness. Lastly, 
 
 * Trans. Am. Soc. of Civil Engineers, Vol. xxvii, 1892, pp. 331-349. 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 4^5 
 
 a test for corrodibility, or the capacity of being disintegrated 
 by the chemical action of smoke and of fumes from manu¬ 
 factories, is desirable. 
 
 (1) Strength and Toughness. —The tests were made upon 
 selected pieces 12 inches wide, 24 inches long, and varying 
 from T 3 g- to i of an inch in thickness. The pieces were sup¬ 
 ported in a horizontal, position upon wooden knife edges 
 22 inches apart and the loads applied upon another knife 
 edge placed half way between the supports, this load being 
 applied by means of sand running out of an orifice in a box 
 at the rate of 70 pounds per minute, the flow being checked 
 by means of an electric attachment the moment rupture took 
 place. The deflection or bending of the slate in the pieces 
 tested was sufficiently great to permit of easy measurement, 
 and both the amount of bending—indicating toughness—and 
 the actual strength of the slate could be thus ascertained by a 
 single test. The test of specific gravity of slate and the 
 porosity are made in the same way as with other stone. 
 
 (2) Corrosion by Acids. —In making these tests very dilute 
 solutions were prepared, consisting of 98 parts water, 1 part of 
 hydrochloric acid, and I part of sulphuric acid. In this solu¬ 
 tion pieces of slate some 3X4 inches in size were immersed 
 for 63 hours each after careful weighing. At the expiration 
 of this time they were removed, allowed to dry for two hours, 
 and again weighed, the differences between the first and sec¬ 
 ond weighing, of course, representing the amount of cor¬ 
 rosion. 
 
 (3) Softness or Capacity to Resist Abrasion. —This was 
 determined by simply holding a weighed block of slate some 
 4X4 inches against a grindstone under a constant pressure of 10 
 pounds. The table on p. 486 is given to show the mean results 
 of the tests above enumerated, on certain Pennsylvania slates, 
 
486 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 as made by the authority quoted. The general conclusions 
 adopted as a result of these tests are also given. 
 
 MEAN RESULTS OF PHYSICAL TESTS. 
 
 Property. 
 
 Measured by 
 
 Albion 
 
 Slates. 
 
 Old Bangor 
 Slates. 
 
 Mean 
 of Both. 
 
 Strength .... 
 
 Modulus of rupture, in pounds per 
 
 
 
 
 
 square inch. 
 
 7 , 15 ° 
 
 9,8lO 
 
 8,480 
 
 Toughness... 
 
 Ultimate deflection, in inches, on sup- 
 
 
 
 
 
 ports 22 inches apart. 
 
 0.270 
 
 0 - 3 I 3 
 
 O.29I 
 
 Density. 
 
 Specific gravity. 
 
 2.775 
 
 2.780 
 
 2.777 
 
 Softness. 
 
 Weight in grains, abraded on grind- 
 
 
 
 
 
 stone under the stated conditions.. 
 
 80 
 
 128 
 
 104 
 
 Porosity. 
 
 Per cent of water absorbed in 24 
 
 
 
 
 
 hours, when thoroughly dried.... 
 
 O.238 
 
 O.I45 
 
 0.191 
 
 Corrodibility. 
 
 Per cent of weight lost in acid solu¬ 
 tion in 63 hours. 
 
 0-547 
 
 0.447 
 
 0.496 
 
 Conclusions. —Prof. Merriman’s tests, taken in their en¬ 
 tirety, seem to indicate the following conclusions regarding 
 the soft roofing slates of Northampton County, Pennsyl¬ 
 vania : 
 
 1. Slates containing soft ribbons are by common consent 
 of an inferior quality, and should not be used in good work. 
 
 2. The soft roofing slates weigh about 173 pounds per 
 cubic foot, and the best qualities have a modulus of rupture of 
 from 7,000 to 10,000 pounds per square inch. 
 
 3. The stronger the slate, the greater is its toughness and 
 softness, and the less is its porosity and corrodibility. 
 
 4. Softness, or liability to abrasion, does not indicate in¬ 
 ferior roofing slate; but, on the contrary, it is an indication 
 of strength and good weathering qualities. 
 
 5. The strongest slate stands highest in weathering quali¬ 
 ties, so that a flexural test affords an excellent idea of all its 
 
METHODS OF TESTING BUILDING STONE. 4 %7 
 
 properties, particularly if the ultimate deflection and the man¬ 
 ner of rupture be noted. 
 
 6. The strongest and best slate has the highest percentage 
 of silicates of iron and aluminum, but is not necessarily the 
 lowest in carbonates of lime and magnesia. 
 
 7. Chemical analyses give only imperfect conclusions re¬ 
 garding the weathering qualities of slate, and they do not sat¬ 
 isfactorily explain the physical properties. 
 
 8 . Architects and engineers who write specifications for 
 roofing slate will probably obtain a more satisfactory quality if 
 they insert requirements for a flexural test to be made on sev¬ 
 eral specimens picked at random out of each lot. 
 
 9. Although the field of this investigation is probably not 
 sufficiently extended to fully warrant the recommendation, it 
 is suggested that such specifications should require roofing 
 slates to have a modulus of rupture, as determined by the flex¬ 
 ural test, greater than 7000 pounds per square inch. 
 
 Probably more can be learned regarding the lasting powers 
 of a slate by microscopic methods than in any other class of 
 rocks. As the present writer has elsewhere noted,* the roofing 
 slates occupy a very interesting position in the lithologic series. 
 Originally formed as a fine silt on a sea bottom, they owe their 
 fissile properties not to sedimentation, but to squeezing and 
 shearing forces such as are incidental to the formation of 
 mountain chains. But this shearing, while developing 
 schistosity, or cleavage, has also brought about other struc¬ 
 tural modifications in the slate which, although not so manifest, 
 are nevertheless of great importance. If we examine a thin 
 section of a slate under the microscope we shall find that the 
 individual particles of quartz and feldspar, etc., of which they 
 
 * Trans. Am. Soc. of Civil Engineers, Vol. xxxii, 1894, p. 540. 
 
488 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 are composed, are all arranged with their longer axes parallel 
 with each other and with the direction of cleavage. In fact, it 
 is to this cause that the finely fissile nature of the slate is 
 largely due. But this is not all. Pressure always causes heat, 
 and since all rocks lying in the ground contain more or less 
 moisture, the rock becomes permeated with warm or hot solu¬ 
 tions which may be productive of partial solution and recrys¬ 
 tallization. In fact, our roofing slates pass by insensible 
 gradations into crystalline schists. So far as the writer’s 
 experience goes, the greater the amount of crystallization, that 
 is, the more nearly the slates approach the crystalline schists 
 in structure and composition, the tougher and more durable 
 they are likely to be. It is unfortunate that this crystalliza¬ 
 tion interferes to some extent with the fissile property, the 
 slates of this nature yielding thicker slabs, and with less even 
 surfaces. Such, while more desirable, demand increased 
 strength in roofing timbers. The point to be made here is, 
 however, that the microscope, in showing the crystalline con¬ 
 dition of the slate, the presence or absence of pyrite, or of free 
 carbonates of lime, iron, or magnesia, such as are likely to be 
 corroded by rains, will enable one to draw some inference re¬ 
 garding its lasting power. A chemical analysis shows what 
 the slate contains, but it does not show the form of combina¬ 
 tion of various elements. 
 
METHODS OF PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION. 489 
 
 METHODS OF PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION. 
 
 (I) PRECAUTIONARY METHODS. 
 
 Position in wall .—All authorities agree that stratified stone 
 should be placed in the walls with the bedding horizontal, or 
 at right angles to the direction of greatest pressure. Not only 
 are they as a rule strongest in this position, but as they will 
 absorb less water they are correspondingly less liable to 
 suffer from the effects of frost. This fact has already been 
 sufficiently dwelt upon. The denser and harder stones should 
 as a rule be used in the lower courses; the lighter ones in the 
 superstructure. The non-absorbent stones should be used in 
 the ground and in plinths, sills, strings, courses, and weather 
 beds of cornices, etc.; the softer and more absorbent ones may 
 be used for plain walling.* 
 
 The necessity of laying non-absorbent stones in the ground 
 becomes apparent when we consider that in this position they 
 are in contact with more or less moisture, which, when ab¬ 
 sorbed, is liable to cause discoloration, and damp, unhealthy 
 walls. If from necessity porous stone are used, a coating of 
 water-proof material, as asphalt, should be interposed between 
 those courses that are in contact with the ground and those of 
 the superstructure.t 
 
 In laying the lower courses of Lee dolomite in the walls of 
 
 * Cyclopedia of Arts and Sciences, vol. vii. p. 839. 
 
 fT. Egleston, American Architect, Sept. 5, 1885. This authority states 
 further, that in the exterior walls of Trinity Church, New York, the stone for 
 the first 60 or 70 feet in height is more decomposed than above this point. 
 This is in part accounted for on the supposition that the atmosphere near the 
 ground contains a larger proportion of acid gases than at higher altitudes. 
 
49° STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 the Capitol at Washington, the stone was observed to show a 
 brownish discoloration, due to the absorption of unclean water 
 from the mortar. This difficulty was finally remedied by 
 coating the lower surfaces of the stones where they came in 
 contact with the mortar with a thin layer of asphalt which 
 prevented such absorption.* 
 
 No one who has given the subject any attention can have 
 failed to remark how, in town and city houses constructed of 
 the Connecticut or New Jersey brown sandstones, the blocks 
 in the lower courses—those in close proximity to the sidewalks 
 —almost invariably scale after an exposure of but a few years, 
 while those in the courses above remain intact for a much 
 longer period. This is due to the fact that these lower courses 
 are kept almost constantly wet, receiving not only the water 
 that falls as rain upon the walls above, but also that which 
 splashes from the walk or is absorbed from the ground. As 
 noted by Chateau,f it is not those portions of a wall that 
 receive the water from rains direct that are most and earliest 
 liable to decomposition, but the under and partially protected 
 portions, as those under the cornices, the entablatures and the 
 tablettes of balustrades upon which the water drips or runs 
 more slowly. It is for this reason that architects advocate the 
 under-throating of window sills and other projections in order 
 that the water may be thrown off from the building and not 
 allowed to run down over the face of the stone beneath. The 
 disastrous effects from neglect of this proceeding have been 
 dwelt upon by Julien in reference to buildings in New York 
 City. The author has in mind the costly residence of a former 
 Cabinet minister in Washington in which the middle portion 
 of the brownstone entablatures are almost continually wet 
 
 * Silliman’s Journal, xxil. 1856, p. 36. 
 f Op. cit., p. 11. 
 
METHODS OF PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION. 491 
 
 throughout the winter months by the soaking through of water 
 from above. The stone steps in the same house are constantly 
 wet and show a whitish efflorescence. Both these defects are 
 liable to appear in so porous a material, but might in large 
 part have been averted by exercising proper care in building. 
 
 It may not be out of place here to comment on the folly of 
 placing iron railing on steps, platforms, etc., of finely finished 
 granite, since in spite of paint and other means of protection 
 the iron invariably rusts, staining and badly defacing the entire 
 surface beyond possibility of repair. 
 
 The method of dressing a stone has an important bearing 
 upon its durability. As a rule it may be set down that the less 
 jar from heavy pounding the surface is subjected to the better; 
 this for the reason that the constant impact of the blows tend 
 to destroy the adhesive or cohesive power of the grains, and 
 thus renders the stone more susceptible to atmospheric in¬ 
 fluences. It is stated by Mr. Batchen that some of the dolo¬ 
 mites used in Chicago, although apparently perfectly sound 
 when quarried, shortly showed a tendency to scale on expo¬ 
 sure. On examination it appears that, in dressing, these surfaces 
 were both ax- and bush-hammered, the implements used weigh¬ 
 ing from 8 to 12 pounds, and capable of striking blows of not 
 less than 150 or 200 pounds. The effect of these heavy blows 
 was to “stun”* the surfaces for the depth of from one-six¬ 
 teenth to one-eighth, or even one-fourth, of an inch, and on ex¬ 
 posure scaling resulted, leaving them ragged and unsightly. 
 Sawn surfaces of the same stone, on the contrary, do not 
 usually show the slightest tendency to scale. 
 
 Results such as these are what-one is naturally led to ex¬ 
 pect, but further experiments are necessary before it will 
 answer to speak too positively regarding the merits or demerits 
 
 * I.e., to break the grains and produce minute fissures. 
 
492 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 of various kinds of finish. With compact crystalline rocks like 
 the granites and diabases it would seem probable that rock¬ 
 faced work, untouched by chisel or hammer, would prove most 
 durable, since the crystalline facets thus exposed are best fitted 
 to shed moisture and the natural adhesion of the grains has 
 not been disturbed.* 
 
 With the softer and more absorbent stones on the other 
 hand, the rock surface from its irregularity and roughness is 
 more susceptible to the attacks of moisture and atmospheric 
 acids, and hence would probably be found less durable, al¬ 
 though from its roughness at the start any disintegration is less 
 noticeable than on finely-finished work. With such stones a 
 smoothly-sawn or polished surface seems best adapted to our 
 variable climate, f 
 
 * The single experiment of Pfaff, in which a polished granite was found to 
 weather more rapidly than one unpolished, seems too anomalous to be accepted 
 until further proof is offered. A polished surface must naturally shed water 
 more readily than a sawn or tool-dressed one, and hence it would seem that it 
 should be more durable. It is of course possible that, owing to the manner in 
 which the smooth surface necessary for polishing was produced, the surface 
 minerals were badly shattered, and hence succumbed the more readily on expo¬ 
 sure. 
 
 f “ Professor Hall, writing on the methods of dressing certain argillaceous 
 limestones (Report on Building Stones, p, 36, 37),says : “ In the dressing of lime¬ 
 stone the tool crushes the stone to a certain depth, and leaves the surface with 
 an interrupted layer of a lighter color, in which the cohesion of the particles has 
 been partially or entirely destroyed ; and in this condition the argillaceous 
 seams are so covered and obscured as to be scarcely or at all visible, but the 
 weathering of one or two years usually shows their presence. 
 
 “The usual process of dressing limestone rather exaggerates the cause of 
 dilapidation from the shaly seams in, the material. The clay being softer than 
 the adjacent stone the blow of the hammer or other tool breaks the lime¬ 
 stone at the margin of the seam and drives forward in the space little wedge- 
 shaped bits of the harder stone. A careful examination of dressed surfaces will 
 often show the limestone along the seam to be fractured with numerous thin 
 wedge-shaped slivers of the stone which have been broken off and are more or 
 less driven forward into the softer parts. In looking at similar surfaces which 
 
METHODS OF PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION. 493 
 
 (2) PROTECTION BY MEANS OF SOLUTIONS. 
 
 Many methods have been devised for checking or altogether- 
 preventing the unfavorable action of the weather upon build¬ 
 ing stone of various kinds, but none of them can be considered 
 as really satisfactory. The problem, as may be readily under¬ 
 stood, consists in finding some fluidal substance into which the 
 stone may be dipped or which may be applied with a brush to 
 its outer surface in such a manner as to fill its pores and thus 
 prevent all access of moisture. Whatever the substance, it 
 must be of such a nature as in no way to discolor or disfigure 
 the stone. 
 
 Paint .—This is one of the substances most generally used, 
 and which has been employed on the porous sandstone of the 
 Capitol, White House, Patent Office, and other public build¬ 
 ings in Washington. It is found necessary to renew the coat¬ 
 ing every two or three years, and even then the results are un¬ 
 satisfactory. 
 
 Oil .—This always discolors a light-colored stone, while it 
 renders a dark-colored one still darker. The oil is applied as 
 follows: The surface of the stone is washed clean, and after 
 drying is painted with one or more coats of boiled linseed oil, 
 and finally with a weak solution of ammonia in warm water. 
 This renders the tint more uniform. This method has been 
 
 have been a long time exposed to the weather, it will be seen that the stone 
 adjacent to the seam presents an interrupted fractured margin, the small frag¬ 
 ments having dropped out in the process of weathering. Limestones of this 
 character are much better adapted to rough dressing, when the blows are 
 directed away from the surface instead of against it, and when the entire sur¬ 
 face shall be left of the natural fresh fracture. By this process the clay seams 
 have not been crushed, nor the limestone margining them broken, and the stone 
 withstands the weather much longer than otherwise. The attempt at fine 
 hammer-dressing is injurious to any stone, for the cohesion of the particles is 
 necessarily destroyed, and a portion of the surface left in a condition to be 
 much more readily acted upon by the weather.” 
 
494 
 
 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 tried on several houses in New York City, and the water-proof 
 coating thus produced found to last some four or five years, 
 when it must be renewed. 
 
 Paraffine. —This, dissolved in coal-tar naphtha, is spoken 
 of,* but is not recommended. A better method consists in 
 brushing over the surface of the building with melted paraffine 
 and then heating it gently until it has been nearly all absorbed 
 into the pores of the stone. This produces little or no dis¬ 
 coloration, but it is thought doubtful by some if the heating of 
 the stone is not more injurious than the paraffine is beneficial. 
 
 The preparation used in coating the Egyptian obelisk in 
 Central Park, New York, is said by Mr. Caffal f to have con¬ 
 sisted of paraffine containing creosote dissolved in turpentine, 
 the creosote being considered efficacious in preventing organic 
 growth upon the stone. The melting point of the compound 
 is about 140° Fahrenheit. In applying, the surface to be 
 coated is first heated by means of especially designed lamps 
 and charcoal stoves, and the melted compound applied with a 
 brush. On cooling it is absorbed to a depth dependent upon 
 the degree of penetration of the heat. In the case of the 
 obelisk, Mr. Caffal states that, in his belief, it was absorbed to 
 the depth of half an inch. Some 67! pounds of the material 
 was used in going over the 220 square yards of surface. An 
 equal surface of brown sandstone is stated to require ordinarily 
 about 40 or 50 pounds. The cost of treating an ordinary 25- 
 foot brownstone front, with a porch, is given by this authority 
 at from $200 to $300. This process, like the last, has been 
 objected to by some on the ground that the heating was liable 
 to injure the stone. Just how much injury is likely to result 
 from a temperature lower than that of boiling water, it is per- 
 
 * Notes on Building Construction. 
 
 f Transactions New York Academy of Science, November, 1885, p. 66. 
 
METHODS OF PROTECTION 4 ND PRESERVATION. 495 
 
 haps yet too early to say. It seems scarcely possible that a 
 good quality of sandstone laid on its bed could be at all 
 unfavorably affected; neither, it is safe to say, would brick. 
 
 Soft soap and alum solution; Sylvester s process .—This con¬ 
 sists of three fourths of a pound of soft soap to one gallon of 
 boiling water and one half a pound of alum in 4 gallons of 
 water. It is said to answer well in exposed situations in 
 England, but to require frequent renewal. It is stated,* how¬ 
 ever, that this solution was applied in 1863 to the stone-walls 
 forming the back bays of the gate-houses of the Croton reser¬ 
 voir in New York for the purpose of rendering them imper¬ 
 vious to water, and that up to 1870—the date of the report—it 
 had served the purpose intended. 
 
 Ransome s process .—This consists in saturating the stone as 
 far as practicable with a solution of silicate of soda or potash 
 (water glass) and afterwards applying a solution of chloride of 
 calcium. This last coming in contact with the silicate pro¬ 
 duces by double decomposition an insoluble silicate of lime, 
 cementing the grains of which the stone is composed firmly 
 together.f 
 
 “The solution of silicate is first applied in a dilute form so 
 as to be absorbed readily into the pores of the stone. Several 
 coats are applied with an ordinary whitewash brush and when 
 thoroughly dry the surface is washed with rain water, again 
 allowed to dry, and the calcium solution applied in the same 
 manner. The precautions to be used are: (1) the stone must 
 be clean and dry before applying the solution ; (2) the silicate 
 must be applied until the stone is fully saturated, but no excess 
 must be allowed to remain on the surface; the calcium must 
 
 * Transactions American Society Civil Engineers, vol. x. p. 203 
 f Dobson, Masonry and Stone-Cutting, p. 141. See also American Archi 
 tect and Builder, 1877, 11. p. 21, 38, and Notes on Building Construction, 
 P- 79 . 
 
496 STONES FOR BUILDING AND DECORATION. 
 
 not be applied until after the silicate is dry; a clear day or so 
 should intervene if possible; (4) care must be taken that either 
 solution is not splashed upon the windows or upon painted 
 work, as it cannot be removed therefrom; (5) upon no account 
 should the same brush be used for both solutions. Under 
 ordinary circumstances about 4 gallons of each solution will be 
 required for every 100 yards of surface.” 
 
 Szerelmey’s stone liquid is stated to be a combination of 
 Kuhlman’s process with a temporary wash of some bituminous 
 substance. The wall being made perfectly dry and clean, the 
 liquid is applied in two or three coats with a painter’s brush, 
 until a slight glaze appears on the surface. This composition 
 was used with some success in arresting for a time the decay of 
 the stone in the House of Parliament.* 
 
 Kuhlmaris process consists in simply coating the surface of 
 the stone with a silicate of soda or potash solution. It is open 
 to the objection that the potash absorbs carbonic acid from 
 the air and produces a disagreeable efflorescence, which, how¬ 
 ever, disappears in time. 
 
 M. Lewiris process consists in coating the surface of the 
 stone with solutions of an alkaline silicate (silicate of potash) 
 and alumina, the latter in the form of sulphate. It is stated 
 that this wash will give so close a surface to sandstone that it 
 can be polishe^d^?) Either of the solutions can be colored if 
 desired.f 
 
 Various other solutions, including those of beeswax, rosin, 
 and coal-tar, have been tried, both in this country and in 
 Europe, but in nearly every case with indifferent success. The 
 problem of devising a perfectly satisfactory preservative yet 
 remains to be solved. 
 
 * Notes on Building Construction, p. 79. 
 f Journal Franklin Institute, 3rd, lxix, 1875; p. 338. 
 
PART IV. 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 THE QUALITIES OF BUILDING STONE AS SHOWN BY THEIR 
 CRUSHING STRENGTH , WEIGHT, RATIO OF ABSORBTLON, 
 AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. 
 
 Note.— In tabulating results of pressure tests for purposes of reference and com¬ 
 parison, a fundamental difficulty is met with in that there is found not only a wide 
 variation in results obtained by different individuals on materials of the same kind, 
 and from the same quarry, but there is shown a most remarkable increase in strength 
 by the later results, a fact due probably to an increased refinement of method. 
 Two fairly typical cases may be cited. The granite of Rocklin, California, was 
 reported* by Jackson in 1888 as sustaining a pressure of but 5,239 lbs. per square 
 inch. Recent tests at the Watertown Arsenal yield results as high as 21,104 lbs. 
 The Stone Mountain, Georgia, granite, in like manner, has shown, in various series 
 of well authenticated tests, results varying from 12,190 lbs. to 28,130 lbs.f 
 
 Similar discrepancies will be shown in almost every instance where tests have 
 been made at intervals of but a few years, or under varying circumstances. For 
 this reason no comparisons can properly be made except between results obtained 
 during a single series of tests. This fact should be borne in mind in consulting the 
 accompanying tables. 
 
 * Rep. of State Mineralogist of Cal., 1888. 
 t The Granites and Gneisses of Georgia. 
 
 497 
 
TABLE SHOWING THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY, STRENGTH PER SQUARE INCH, WEIGHT PER CUBIC 
 FOOT, AND RATIO OF ABSORPTION OF STONES OF VARIOUS KINDS 
 
 498 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
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 165.6 
 
 164.4 
 
 170.5 
 
 162.5 
 
 162.5 
 
 175 
 
 175.1 
 
 187.5 
 
 169 
 
 Specific 
 
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 2.695 
 
 2.635 
 
 
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 2.656 
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 2. 720 
 2.861 
 
 2.580 
 
 2. 920 
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 2.65 
 
 2.670 
 
 1 2.670 
 
 2.646 
 
 2.630 
 
 2.727 
 
 2. 600 
 
 2.600 
 
 2.800 
 
 2.802 
 
 3. 000 
 
 2.704 
 
 Strength 
 per square 
 inch. 
 
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TABLE SHOWING THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY, STRENGTH PER SQUARE INCH, Etc.—C ontinued. 
 
 502 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 -joqiriy 
 
 
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 168.8 
 
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 2.310 
 
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TABLE SHOWING THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY, STRENGTH PER SQUARE INCH, E-rc.-Continued. 
 
 504 
 
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APPENDIX I. 
 
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TABLE SHOWING THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY, STRENGTH PER SQUARE INCH, Etc.—C ontinued. 
 
 APPENDIX /. 
 
 506 
 
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TABLE SHOWING THE SPECIFIC GRAVITY, STRENGTH PER SQUARE INCH, ETC. 
 
 ADDENDA FOR EDITION OF 1903. 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 i’lt.ioqjnv 
 
 O ft . 
 
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TABLES SHOWING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF STONES OF VARIOUS KINDS 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 510 
 
 10 w »o 10 in O O W O CO CO 
 
 50 
 
 
 owm .00010 
 
 ^ lO CO l>* 
 
 OOO o O O f 
 
 1 -HOOi-liCOOO 
 CO (M Tf (M (M OC O CO 
 
 o o o t— J o © © 
 
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 o o o ^ 
 
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 Oi 03 © 00 © 00 t- © ^ 
 
 S -3 
 
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 11 
 
 Magnesian 
 

TABLES SHOWING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF STONES OF VARIOUS KINDS.—Continued 
 
 5 32 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 
TABLES SHOWING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF STONES OF VARIOUS KINDS. 
 
TABLES SHOWING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF STONES OF VARIOUS KINDS. Continued. 
 
 5H 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 •A^uot^ny 
 
 h CM CMCMCMCMCM<NCOtF 
 
 10 CNN 
 
 9 :"® ® 
 
 h « O 
 
 hH 
 
 10 ^occo- 
 
 OCCCNCOW 
 
 OOt-hCOO 
 
 OCC(N 
 
 ohoo 
 
 ,h ^ tO H iO CO tJ-(N 
 COlClOOJ’tCOCrH 
 
 COCMt-H,-hCMCOCOCO 
 
 TtLOCD^tCCOCCCC(MCO^OTt*lOr 
 
 00 cm cm cc ic cm x co a 
 
 i-h (N Q CC 01 C T N X 
 
 CM 
 
 r-lXr^OOSGOCCCCCO^lCOiOrHTtH 
 
 O^t , C5C0C0XCCt^''tfl>O’'tC0Tf 
 
 rJ<iOiO‘OTt<CO*0'^rPTt<*OCM''tfCO 
 
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 O (MiOCINC ^ CO 
 
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 •OOOO^hOOCO 
 
 c-- 
 
 s § * 
 
 hcC 
 
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 C H 
 
 o o 
 
 CM Tj< 
 
 CO CO CO ^ CM <M r 
 
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 00 05 
 
 0 CCO 
 
 CM OUNC^N^ 
 
 '^OOO'^CO'^iO'^CMiOi-HCO^O’-H 
 
 CO iOOO)CMCO^COt-hCOi-hcOOC5»C 
 CO O ‘O 1^ Ip W 1> CO i> 
 
 
 S H . 
 
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 ® ££ ,2.2.2 6.2 O 
 
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 a; >> c _c a) ^ o rc 
 
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 aa kodococoooooco 
 
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TABLES SHOWING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF STONES OF VARIOUS KINDS. 
 
TABLES SHOWING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF STONES OF VARIOUS KINDS.—continued. 
 
 516 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 
 CO *“■ 
 
 O* O* rf Of i.- O 05 CO CO 
 
 McconiN^H 0 d 
 
 o'O 
 
 co a 
 
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 rj* t'- 10 
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 odd 
 
 0500 05 CO CO 
 
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 o’od d d 
 
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 o od 00 co o og X »o 
 
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 wdodrird ^£© '*"00 
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 00 00 ^ o? 
 
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 . , 10 CO ?? ^ - 
 
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 :2S$ 
 
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 (MtJ>CC005XC}0 
 
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 i.— 00 05 L- I- O 30 05 
 
 505 05 00 00 l- CO 00 GO CO CO 05 05 05 05 GO 
 
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 rtO-gHlaS ® 
 
 ^ 5 ?§ 20 i« “ 
 
 M0 g a « 
 
 « £ cS o 3 o 
 
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 d d d d d d d o 
 a p a a a p p a 
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 4 J p W 45 -*-> 
 
 M W CO W CO M W CZ5 
 
 T3 *0 'O r O T3 'O 'O T3 
 
 paaappp p 
 
 cj ^ Cu w cj w 93 
 
 wwwwwww w 
 
 CQ 
 
 S.sS 
 
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 c$ P^J 
 
 5 a 
 
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 ri P > 'O :£ 
 
 .2 C J> P O 
 
 ; .a 2 ^ o tT 
 
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 \S>SZ%-£ 
 
 au^r <35 pov o 2 ^ tj.ShRP 
 
 rBa % Q « ?fflao1*<IQ 
 
 ^ » «. «. r- •. C3 r- CtJ ^ r ^ 
 
 02 05 C/2 05 05 05 
 
 ^a k. a a p 
 a 1 0 - o o o 
 
 U* ■*-» 434 ) 
 
 05 02 (35 05 CC 0) 
 
 > T3 ;> ^5 r O 'O 
 
 cjflcjflCfl 
 
 §§5 ^ 
 
 d 
 
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 CO 2 t- 
 © P CtJ 
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 gap 
 5.03 cS 
 C^c fiw 
 
 p p p 
 
 WWW 
 
 <35 15 1 
 
 P P . 
 
 o o; 
 
 -4-» 4-3 : 
 05 CO 1 
 
 r a r c 1 
 P 3 < 
 
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 * CO a , 5.773C = 13.11# CciOO,. 
 
 t Silicii and iujOiuUic maiter. 
 
TABLES SHOWING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF STONES OF VARIOUS KINDS. 
 
 APPENDIX /. 
 
 517 
 
 ■A^uotpny 
 
 rH Ol CO TH »0 0NOCO5C 1 —1 CM CO Tf Tf 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 
 •CM CO • rH CM • 
 
 . rf 0 •■'TO ■ 
 
 'd rH -O O • 
 
 
 Pyr- 
 
 ite. 
 
 . ■ 
 
 • -c 
 
 • c 
 
 O CO • lO Tf O 
 
 DO -00^0 
 
 DO -COCO 
 
 
 Water. 
 
 W 
 
 CD COOO<N® f-concern CNI 
 
 CO OOOT^h tTCOiCCCCO t~ 
 
 Tf Tf CO CO CO rf CO CO Tf CO CO 
 
 “M CO CM *0 
 
 -0 Tf 10 Tf 
 
 Car¬ 
 
 bon. 
 
 0.82 
 
 •TjH • * : 
 
 •0 • • • 
 
 
 •asaueguej^ 
 
 
 0.10 
 
 0.30 
 
 3.76 
 
 0.586 
 
 0.09 
 
 0.13 
 
 0.70 
 
 0.79 
 
 Sul¬ 
 phuric 
 Acid, 
 SO 3 , or 
 
 Sulphur 
 
 S. 
 
 O • 
 co m • 
 
 2 N ■ 
 
 T c-1 ; 
 
 0 6 ■ 
 
 •CM -’ 
 
 •CM--- 
 • O • • ; 
 
 • • • O • • • 
 
 
 Ti¬ 
 
 tanic 
 
 Acid. 
 
 0.10 
 
 . 
 
 0.56 
 
 0.48 
 
 1 .27 
 0.68 
 0.99 
 
 CO • • • 
 
 Soda. 
 
 0.69 
 
 13 
 
 3.15 
 
 0.67 
 
 I 0.52 
 
 73 
 
 0.46 
 
 1 .26 
 
 1 .88 
 2.18 
 
 8ZZ‘* 
 
 0.93 
 
 2.17 
 
 1 .12 
 1.80 
 
 Pot¬ 
 
 ash. 
 
 2.51 1 
 
 Id 
 
 5.53 I 
 4.45 
 3.77 
 
 3.' 
 
 3.64 
 
 5.54 
 3.75 
 3.80 
 
 3.63 
 
 3.82 
 
 2.97 
 
 0.44 
 
 Mag¬ 
 
 nesia. 
 
 3.51 
 
 1.20 
 2.28 
 
 3.20 
 6.43 
 
 1 .495 
 2.92 
 
 2.21 
 2.39 
 
 2.00 
 
 2.92 
 
 5.81 
 
 3.23 
 
 0 
 
 s 
 
 A 
 
 4.35 
 
 0.30 
 
 0.52 
 
 0.11 
 
 5.11 
 
 1.30 
 
 0.155 
 0.50 
 0.42 
 
 1 .91 
 
 0.22 
 
 1 .30 
 1.14 
 0.98 
 
 Iron 
 
 Oxides. 
 
 5.78 
 
 10.661 
 4.46 
 ’ 6.56 
 4.90 
 
 4.20 
 
 9.034 
 
 6.81 
 
 6.70 
 
 7.79 
 
 7.65 
 
 7.83 
 
 7.95 
 
 9.07 
 
 11.14 
 
 S o3 
 
 2 a 
 
 < 
 
 18.83 
 
 21.98 
 
 24.14 
 
 13.20 
 11.59 
 
 12.68 
 21 .85 
 16.33 
 18.81 
 
 16.87 
 
 24.20 
 19.22 
 22.55 
 
 17.87 
 9.10 
 
 Silica. 
 
 58.20 
 
 58.37 
 56.42 
 
 67.61 
 56.49 
 
 68.62 
 55.88 
 61.33 
 59.27 
 60.65 
 
 60.15 
 61 .57 
 55.06 
 55.75 
 67.85 
 
 Argillites: Clay or 
 Roofing Slates. 
 
 Rockmart, Ga. 
 
 Peach Bottom, Maryland. 
 
 M on son, ivie. 
 
 Hampton N Y. (red).. .. 
 Granville, N. Y. (red). . . . 
 
 E. Bangor, Penn. 
 
 Delta, Penn. 
 
 S. Poultney, Vt,. (purple). 
 Poultney, Vt. (green). . . . 
 Buckingham, Va. 
 
 P 
 
 in onn vv aiew, . 
 
 Fumay Ardennes, France 
 Wigstadl, Austrian Silesia. 
 
 Danville, Canada.-] 
 
 > 
 
 « .8 
 <1) t- c 3 
 -CCQ 
 
 c a YS o 
 
 « c£o 
 
 -g-g PJ.'S ^ 
 
 c; 5 i tr' ^ aj 
 
 FT 5 
 
 11 
 
 o, 
 
 SffisS eigA - 
 
 C . C^Khj 
 
 06 oi C ri c 4 CO A 
 
 d pH 
 > 
 
 K '3 
 • -to 
 Kg-, 
 £ 
 Oj 
 
 col >> 
 t>>> S’ 
 
 OOO3 
 ... 0 
 
 ^ § 
 &£■&£ 
 PPKK d 
 
 c c cA 
 c c c 1 ^ 
 
 ooci 
 
 C r- 
 
 a 
 
 B 
 
 2 to 
 
 tc,g -' 
 
 :5 a 
 
 ^ r c 
 ^cc c 
 
 A « 
 
 : c3 c3 o3^h 
 C f— *-< ^ 
 
 C^QjDr^ 
 
 -£• 0 Q 0 O 
 
 zgSffig 
 
 CM CO Tf d d 
 
TABULAR STATEMENT SHOWING RESULTS OF COMPRESSION, TRANSVERSE AND SHEARING 
 TESTS, AND COEFFICIENT OF EXPANSION IN WATER * 
 
 APPENDIX E 
 
 Coefficient 
 
 of Expan¬ 
 
 sion in 
 Water. 
 
 .00000398 
 
 .00000337 
 
 .00000441 
 
 .00000202 
 
 .00000441 
 
 .00000177 
 
 .00000,167 
 
 Ratio of 
 Lateral Ex¬ 
 pansion to 
 Longitu¬ 
 dinal Com¬ 
 pression. 
 
 r+, ' ; J T rJ?,J ,r J” 
 
 . . J»f5 1 Oi | co 1 CO | CO | CO j 
 
 
 Compressive Moduli 
 of Elasticity. 
 
 lbs. 
 
 9090900 
 
 7272700 
 
 9523800 
 
 7692300 
 
 9090900 
 
 11764700 
 
 9756100 
 
 8888800 
 
 10810800 
 
 16783200a 
 
 5681800 
 
 3225800 
 
 2127600 
 
 lbs. 
 
 8333300 
 
 5128000 
 
 6666700 
 
 4545400 
 
 6896500 
 
 9090900 
 
 7843100 
 
 7547100 
 
 9090900 
 
 13563200a 
 
 5268800 
 
 2816900 
 
 1941700 
 
 Weight 
 
 per 
 
 Cubic 
 
 Foot. 
 
 lbs. 
 
 162.0 
 
 161.9 
 
 161.5 
 
 164.7 
 
 170.0 
 
 167.8 
 
 169.8 
 
 168.1 
 
 168.6 
 
 178.0 
 
 oo io 
 
 C1CO 
 
 icco 
 
 Shear¬ 
 
 ing 
 
 S’gth 
 
 per 
 
 Square 
 
 Inch. 
 
 lbs. 
 
 1833a 
 
 1825 
 
 1549a 
 
 2214a 
 
 1369 
 
 1237 
 
 1411 
 
 1242 
 
 1332a 
 
 1490a 
 
 1831 
 
 1203 
 
 Trans¬ 
 
 verse 
 
 S’gth, 
 
 Maxi¬ 
 
 mum 
 
 Fiber 
 
 Stress. 
 
 e : 
 
 O • • . 
 
 • <N . 
 
 
 Com¬ 
 
 pressive 
 
 Strength 
 
 per 
 
 Square 
 
 Inch. 
 
 lbs. 
 15675a 
 189885 
 196736 
 
 26174a 
 
 13466a 
 
 12618a 
 
 14052a 
 
 9562a 
 
 11505a 
 
 162036 
 
 22947 
 
 15284a 
 
 9880a 
 
 
 ! ! ! ! * .* * ; oj 
 
 
 o~5 
 
 O 
 
 a 
 
 c 3 
 
 n 
 
 & 
 
 — ^ <D 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2* 
 
 2 
 
 'So 
 
 *-< 
 
 o 
 
 2 
 
 ‘So 
 
 'So 
 
 t-. 
 
 o 
 
 *5b 
 
 o 
 
 0 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 0 
 
 O 
 
 0 
 
 a 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 o 
 
 m 
 
 a 
 
 6 
 
 o 
 
 6 
 
 O 
 
 G 
 
 o 
 
 G 
 
 0 
 
 
 0 
 
 • O nT 
 
 >h b£ > 
 r 0 O 
 
 £0 o3 
 03 
 
 0) 
 
 n © ^ 
 
 % 0^ 
 OO bfi 
 G 
 
 gig £ 
 
 PQ §Ph H 
 
 .-SO 
 E,* c 
 
 « S 
 
 
 „r 
 
 s S 
 
 i? a 
 
 a) 
 
 S ^ Q 
 
 H a; g g 
 
 A S'M 1 " 1 
 
 * sjl 
 
 .fiH 
 0 _ _ 
 >00 
 £ G G 
 H C o 
 
 X*JL Cfi 
 
 r-< 
 
 O c 
 
 c£o O o o w M g P fcahjg 
 
 x-c 
 
 G G 
 G o3 
 
 Average of two determinations. 
 Average of three determinations. 
 
APPENDIX I. 
 
 519 
 
 After all that has been said and written, there are no tests 
 or series of tests equal to an examination of the stone in its 
 natural outcrops, or in structures of long-standing,, How¬ 
 ever careful, elaborate and apparently exhaustive may be a 
 series of tests in the laboratory, they should always be supple¬ 
 mented, when possible by such field examinations. Indeed if 
 the writer were called upon to-day to decide a question of this 
 kind, upon any but the purely calcareous rocks, and was re¬ 
 stricted to either field examinations or laboratory tests, he 
 unhesitatingly declares that, with good natural outcrops, or 
 quarry openings of long standing, he would choose the field 
 examination, no matter how elaborate the other tests might 
 be. 
 
 A very essential item in this connection, is that all the tests 
 be made under the direct supervision of one thoroughly 
 acquainted with the mineral and chemical character of the 
 rocks, their structure, origin, mode of occurrence, and character¬ 
 istic manner of weathering. A purely theoretical knowledge 
 is worse than valueless, and only one who has devoted much 
 time to the work, both in the laboratory and in the field, can 
 hope to deal with the matter successfully. One great difficulty 
 with all such work, is that we are prone to expect too much, 
 to obtain immediately results which, in the ordinary course of 
 events, can be brought about only by months and perhaps 
 years of careful observation, experiment and study. 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 PRICES AND COST OF CUTTING. 
 
 The prices of stone and the cost of cutting vary with the price of 
 labor and the conditions of the market, hence exact figures can not be 
 given. Those given below are quoted from reliable sources, and will 
 doubtless be found as near correct as possible in a work of this kind. 
 The prices are for the rough stone and at the quarry, ordinary size. 
 
 
 
 Coat of dressing per square foot. 
 
 Kinds. 
 
 Price per cu- 
 bio foot. 
 
 Sawn. 
 
 Rub¬ 
 
 bed 
 
 Pointed. 
 
 Ai-ham - 
 mered. 
 
 Bush-ham- 
 mcrod or 
 chiseled. 
 
 Granites: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 $0. 35 to $0. 75 
 .75 to 1.50 
 
 
 
 $0. 25 to $0.40 
 .25 to .40 
 
 $0. 25 to $0. 50 
 . 25 to . 50 
 
 $0. 40 to $0.75 
 .40 to .75 
 
 
 
 
 Marbles : 
 
 
 
 Statuary. 
 
 7. 00 to 9.00 
 
 $0. 40 
 
 $0. 90 
 
 .25 
 
 .5* 
 
 . 75 
 
 Common. 
 
 1. 50 to 2. 50 
 
 .40 
 
 .90 
 
 .25 
 
 .50 
 
 .75 
 
 Decorative. 
 
 2.00 to 4. 00 
 
 .40 
 
 .90 
 
 .25 
 
 . 50 
 
 . 75 
 
 Monumental .. 
 
 4. 00 to 5.00 
 
 .40 
 
 .90 
 
 .25 
 
 .50 
 
 .75 
 
 Tennessee -- 
 
 Sandstones : 
 
 .75 to 3.00 
 
 .40 
 
 .90 
 
 .25 
 
 .50 
 
 . 75 
 
 Brown Tiiassic 
 
 1.00 to 2.00 
 
 
 
 . 10 to . 15 
 
 .30 
 
 
 Berea. 
 
 1. 00 
 
 
 
 
 B. Y. bluostone 
 
 . 03 to .10 
 
 
 
 .15 
 
 
 .25 
 
 Do. 
 
 . 10 to .20 
 
 
 
 
 Medina. 
 
 .60 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Limestones. 
 
 . 50 to . 75 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Serpentine, Penn¬ 
 sylvania. 
 
 . 20 to . 40 
 
 
 
 .10 
 
 .15 
 
 .15 
 
 
 
 Slates. 
 
 2.00 to 3.50 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Extra prices 
 for Mocks 
 abovo 25 cu 
 bic foot. 
 
 Per square 
 foot and 2 to 3 
 inches thick; 
 flagging. 
 
 Per square 
 footanil4to8 
 inches tliiok; 
 platform s, 
 etc. 
 
 Building 
 
 stone. 
 
 Per square = 
 100 squa r e 
 feet. 
 
 520 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 521 
 
 Price-list of Italian marbles. 
 
 Quality. 
 
 Kind of stone. 
 
 Quaury. 
 
 Price per cu¬ 
 bic foot. 
 
 Remark*. 
 
 First .... 
 Second... 
 
 First- 
 
 Second... 
 First.... 
 
 Do. 
 
 Second-.. 
 Third... 
 First.... 
 Second... 
 
 First- 
 
 Second... 
 
 First_ 
 
 Second... 
 
 First_ 
 
 Do_ 
 
 Do_ 
 
 Statuary. 
 
 ..do . 
 
 -do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 White or black marble. 
 
 .do.. 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 White veined. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Bardiglio. 
 
 Bardiglio, veined. 
 
 .do . 
 
 Portor, black and gold. 
 
 Red mixed. 
 
 Parmazo. 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Yellow. 
 
 Portor. 
 
 Black. 
 
 Breccia. 
 
 Yellow. 
 
 Green (serpentine). 
 
 . .. do. 
 
 Breccia. 
 
 Yollow. 
 
 Red. 
 
 Poggio Silvestro. 
 
 _do ... 
 
 Bettogli. 
 
 —do.. 
 
 Canal Bianco .... 
 
 Gioja. 
 
 Ravaccione. 
 
 Tanti Scritti. 
 
 Yara. 
 
 Gioja. 
 
 Para. 
 
 Gioja. 
 
 Serravezza....... 
 
 -do. 
 
 Spezia. 
 
 Levanto. 
 
 Miaeglia. 
 
 Pescina. 
 
 Bocca del Frobbi. 
 
 Sienna . 
 
 Monte d’Arma... 
 
 Colonnata. 
 
 Gragnana. 
 
 _do. 
 
 Garfagnana. 
 
 Genoa. 
 
 Serravezza. 
 
 Verona . 
 
 Castcl Poggio.... 
 
 Lira.* 
 
 35 to 40 
 15 to 18 
 30 to 35 
 12 to 15 
 10 
 
 9.50 
 6 to 6.50 
 4 to 4.25 
 
 10.50 
 
 7 
 
 8.50 
 
 6.50 
 
 a 75 
 7.2s 
 
 10 50 
 10.50 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 18 to 20 
 
 11 
 
 10.50 
 
 Exceptional. 
 
 ... .do. 
 
 .do 
 -do 
 .do . 
 .do 
 
 Prices reckoned on blocks 
 of sufficient size for an 
 ordinary aiatue 5 feet in 
 height. 
 
 Prices reckoned on blocks 
 containing not less than 
 20 cubic feet. 
 
 Prices of all of these de¬ 
 pend upon the sizes of 
 the pieces and the 
 beauty of the veining. 
 
 *A lira equals 19.3 cents American money. 
 
 Rote.— For this list of quarries and prices we are indebted to Hon. William P. Rioo, United State 
 jonsul at Leghorn, Italy, 1881. 
 
APPENDIX III 
 
 LIST OF SOME OF TTTF MORE IMPORTANT STONE STRUCTURES OF TEE 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 Date of 
 
 Locality. 
 
 Structure. 
 
 Material. 
 
 erec¬ 
 
 tion. 
 
 Akron, Ohio .. 
 Albany, N. T 
 
 Augusta, Me.. 
 
 Atlanta, Ga .. 
 Baltimore, Md 
 
 Bangor, Me .. 
 Boston, Mass 
 
 Memorial Chapel. 
 
 State Capitol. 
 
 City Hall. 
 
 United States court and post-of¬ 
 fice building. 
 
 State Capitol. 
 
 Asylum for the Insane. 
 
 United States Arsenal. 
 
 United States post-office and 
 court-house. 
 
 Eutaw Place Baptist Church. 
 
 Brown Memorial Presbyterian 
 Church. 
 
 Eranklin Street Presbyterian 
 Church. 
 
 City Hall . 
 
 Peabody Institute. 
 
 First Presbyterian Church. 
 
 City Prison . 
 
 Catholic Cathedral . 
 
 Post-office and custom-house. 
 
 King’s Chapel . 
 
 United States custom-house. 
 
 United States court-house. 
 
 Masonic Temple. 
 
 St. Paul’s Church. 
 
 Merchants ’Exchange. 
 
 Mount Vernon Church. 
 
 Unitarian Church, Jamaica Plains. 
 Bowdoiu Square Baptist Church.. 
 
 Bunker Hill Monument. t 
 
 United States post-office. 
 
 Boston Water-works. 
 
 St. Vincent de Paul Church. 
 
 Herald Building. . 
 
 Transcript Building. 
 
 Advertiser Building . 
 
 Massachusetts General Hospital.. 
 Massachusetts General Hospital 
 (addition). 
 
 Equitable Insurance Company’s 
 building. 
 
 Odd Fellows’ Memorial Hall (in 
 part). 
 
 Parker House, on School street.... 
 
 St. Cloud Hotel. . . 
 
 Hotel Dartmouth. . 
 
 Hotel Vendomo (old part). 
 
 Now York Mutual Life Insurance 
 Company’s building. 
 
 llotel Vendome (new part). 
 
 Hotel Pelham. 
 
 Second Unitarian Church. 
 
 Arlington Street Church. 
 
 Young Men’s Christian Union, 
 Bovlston street. 
 
 Young Men’s Christian Union... 
 
 Sandstone, Marietta, Ohio.. 
 
 Granite, Hallowell, Me. (in great 
 part). 
 
 Granite, Millford, Mass. 
 
 Granite, Maine... 
 
 Granite, Hallowell, Me ... 
 
 . do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Granite, Vt.. 
 
 White marble (dolomite), Texas 
 and Cockeysville, Md. 
 
 .do.. 
 
 .do.-. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Sandstone, New Brunswick, N. J.. 
 
 Gneiss, Jones’s Falls, Md. 
 
 Gneiss, Ellicott City, Md. 
 
 Granite, Frankfort, Me. 
 
 Granite (bowlders). 
 
 Granite, Quincy, Mass. 
 
 .do .—. 
 
 _ do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 . do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Granite, Cape Ann, Mass. 
 
 .do. 
 
 . do. 
 
 Granite, Concord, N. H.. -- 
 
 .do . 
 
 .do. 
 
 Granite, Westford, Mass. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Granite, Hallowell, Me. 
 
 .do.. 
 
 Marble, Rutland, Vt. 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Marble, Italy. 
 
 Marble (dolomite), Tuckahoe, N. Y. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Red sandstone, Portland, Conn., 
 and New Jersey. 
 
 Red sandstone, Newark, N. J...... 
 
 Red sandstone, Belleville and Lit¬ 
 tle Falls, N. J 
 
 Red sandstone, Bay View, New 
 Brunswick. 
 
 Sandstone, Amherst, Ohio. 
 
 1868-’82 
 
 1884 
 
 1829-'32 
 
 1837-’40 
 
 1828 
 
 1880 
 
 1806 
 1855 
 1749-’54 
 1837.’48 
 1830-’3l 
 1828-’29 
 1820 
 1842 
 
 1825-’42 
 
 1869-’82 
 
 1818’21 
 
 1816 
 
 1854 
 
 522 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 523 
 
 LIST OF SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT STONE STRUCTURES OF THE 
 UNITED STATES —Continued. 
 
 Locality. 
 
 Boston, Mass. 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y .. 
 
 Cambridge, Mass 
 Chicago, Ill. 
 
 Columbia, S. C 
 Denver, Colo .. 
 
 Denver, Colo... . 
 
 Hoboken, N. J_ 
 
 Houghton, Mich.. 
 Indianapolis, Ind. 
 
 Jersey City, N. J 
 
 Lansing, Mich. 
 Louisville, Ky. 
 Malden, Mass.. 
 
 Middletown, Conn . 
 Minneapolis. Minn 
 
 Mobile, Ala.. 
 
 Nashville, Tenn 
 
 Newark, N. J. 
 
 Now Orleans, La ... 
 New York City. 
 
 Structure. 
 
 Harvard College Building, Arch 
 street. 
 
 First Church, Marlborough and 
 Berkeley streets. 
 
 Brattle Square Church.. 
 
 Central Congregational Church 
 Emanuel Chuach, Newbury street 
 
 New Old South Church. 
 
 Second TJniversalist Church . 
 
 Tremont Street Methodist Epis¬ 
 copal Church. 
 
 Cathedral of the Holy Cross _ 
 
 St. James (Episcopal) Church... 
 St. Peter’s Church (Dorchester) 
 
 Trinity Church. 
 
 Academy of Design, Montague 
 street. 
 
 Soldiers’ Monument. 
 
 Court-house. 
 
 Material. 
 
 Date of 
 erec¬ 
 tion. 
 
 .do 
 
 Custom-house and post-office 
 building. 
 
 Chamber of Commerce__... 
 
 Palmer House. 
 
 Grand Pacific Hotel 
 
 St. Paul TJniversalist Church. . 
 
 Union League Club house. 
 
 Central Music Hall. 
 
 State House. 
 
 Post-office and court-house. 
 
 Windsor Hotel.. 
 
 Union Depot . 
 
 Union Pacific Freight Depot. 
 
 Rio Grande Depot. 
 
 State capitol building. 
 
 Stevens Institute building. 
 
 State Mining School buildings... 
 
 Court House. 
 
 State House... 
 
 Court House... 
 
 St. Patrick’s Cathedral. 
 
 State capitol building. 
 
 U. S. Custom House. 
 
 Converse Memorial Library. 
 
 Sandstone, Amherst, Ohio_ 
 
 Conglomerate, Roxbury, Maso.. 
 
 do. 
 do. 
 . do. 
 do. 
 .do. 
 do. 
 
 . do. 
 
 . do. 
 
 — do . 
 
 Granite, Dedham, Mass.. 
 
 Brown sandstone, Portland, Conu. j 
 
 Granite, Mason, N. H. 
 
 Dolomite, Lemont, Ill . 
 
 )Granite, Fox Island, Me. 
 
 (Oolitic limestone, Bedford, Ind 
 Sandstone, Freestone, Ohio. 
 
 Wesleyan University buildings. 
 Washburne Flouring Mills. 
 
 University of Minnesota. 
 
 Universalist Church. 
 
 City hall. 
 
 Westminister Presbyterian 
 Church. 
 
 Custom-House. 
 
 .do. 
 
 State capitol. 
 
 Custom - house and post -office 
 building. 
 
 County court-house. 
 
 Custom-house. 
 
 Monument to General Robert E. c 
 Lee. } 
 
 Columbia College. 
 
 Trinity Church, Broadway and 
 Wall street 
 
 Lenox Library, Fifth avenue and 
 Seventieth street. 
 
 Hospital, Sailors’ Snug Harbor, 
 Siaten Island. 
 
 Ludlow street .jail. 
 
 Granite, Fox Island and Hallo- 
 well, Me. 
 
 Sandstone, Amherst, Ohio. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Dolomite, Lemont, HI. 
 
 Brown sandstone, Springfield, 
 Mass. 
 
 Dolomite, Lemont, Ill. 
 
 Granite, near Columbia, S. C.. 
 
 Granite, Winnsborough, S. C. 
 
 Rhyolite-tuff, Douglas County, Colo 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do... 
 
 .do. 
 
 Sandstone, Gunnison, Colo. 
 
 Diabase, Jersey City... ' 
 
 Sandstone, Portage Entry Mich 
 
 Bedford Oolite. 
 
 ... do. .. 
 
 Diabase, Jersey City."’" ‘" 
 
 .do.‘. 
 
 Sandstone, Amherst, Ohio. 
 
 Bedford Oolite... * 
 
 Sandstone, East Long Meadow. 
 Mass. 
 
 Brown sandstone, Portland, Conn 
 Magnesian limestone, Minneapo¬ 
 lis, Minn. 
 
 — do... 
 
 .do. 
 
 do.. . 
 
 Brown sandstone, Fond du Lac, 
 Minn. 
 
 Granite, Quincy, Mass.. 
 
 Oolitic limestone, Bowling Green, 
 
 Ky. 
 
 Limestone near Nashville, Tenn.. 
 Sandstone, Little Falls, N. J_ 
 
 Granite, Quincy, Mass. 
 
 Granite, Georgia. 
 
 Gray marble, Knoxville, Tenn. 
 Red sandstone, Potsdam, N. Y . 
 Brown sandstone, Little Falls, N.J. 
 
 .1886 
 
 1873-’85 
 
 1881-*’83 
 
 1872 
 
 Limestone, Lockport, N. Y 
 Granite, Spruce Head, Me.. 
 Granite, Hallowell, Me. 
 
524 
 
 APPENDIX III. 
 
 LIST OF SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT STONE STRUCTURES OF THE 
 UNITED STATES —Continued. 
 
 Locality. 
 
 New York City 
 
 New York City and 
 Brooklyn. 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa, ... 
 
 Portland. Me 
 
 Structure. 
 
 Material, 
 
 Date of 
 erec¬ 
 tion. 
 
 Halls of justice or “ Tombs ” __ 
 
 Seventh Regiment armory. 
 
 Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
 
 New York post-office . 
 
 Court-house in City Hall Park_ 
 
 Astor House 
 
 Reformed Church, La Fayette 
 Place. 
 
 Egyptian obelisk in Central Park . 
 St. Patrick’s Cathedral (in part).. 
 Old city halt, east, south, and 
 west fronts. 
 
 Treasury building, Wall street ... 
 St. Patrick’s Cathedral (in part).. 
 
 Stock Exchange.. 
 
 St. Patrick’s Cathedral (in part).. 
 
 Union Dime Savings Bank.... 
 
 .do. . 
 
 Granite, Round Pond, Me. 
 
 Granite, Mt. Desert, Me. 
 
 Granite, Dix Island, Me. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Granite, Quincy, Mass. 
 
 ..do. 
 
 Hornblende granite, Egypt. 
 
 Dolomite (marble). Lee, Mass. 
 
 Dolomite (marble), West Stock- 
 bridge, Mass. 
 
 .do . 
 
 Dolomite (marble), Tuckahoe, N.Y. 
 
 .do . . 
 
 “Snowflake” marble (dolomite), 
 Pleasantville, N. Y. 
 
 Marble (dolomite), Pleasantville, 
 N. Y. 
 
 1883 
 
 Fortifications, Fort Richmond- 
 
 Fortifications. Fort Lafayette- 
 
 Fortifications at Willets Point .. 
 Fortifications at Governor’s Isl¬ 
 and. 
 
 Fortifications at Bedloe’s Island.. 
 
 Fortifications at Ellis Island. 
 
 Fortifications, Fort Schuyler, 
 Throgg’s Neck. 
 
 Fortifications, Fort Wadsworth, 
 Staten Island. 
 
 Fortifications, Fort Hamilton. 
 
 Fortifications, Fort Diamond- 
 
 ( 
 
 New York and Brooklyn bridge. " 
 
 ; Girard Bank 
 
 Granite, Dix Island, Me. 
 
 Brown sandstone, New Jersey .. 
 
 Granite, Spruce Head, Me. 
 
 do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Gneiss. 
 
 Granite, Maine. 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Granite, Frankfort, Me.; Concord, 
 N. H.; Spruce Head, Me.; Cape 
 Ann, Mass.; Hurricane Island, 
 Me.; Westerly, R. I.; East Blue 
 hill, Me.; Stony Creek, Conn.; 
 Mt. Desert Island, Me.; Chance- 
 burgh, N. J. 
 
 Limestone, Rondout, N. Y.; King¬ 
 ston, N. Y.; Isle La Motte, 
 Lake Champlain; Willsborough 
 Point, Lake Champlain; near 
 Catskill, N. Y. 
 
 Limestone (marble), Montgomery 
 County, Pa. 
 
 1798 
 
 United States custom-house. 
 
 United States mint. 
 
 United States Naval Asylum .. 
 
 Merchants' Exchange. 
 
 Girard College. . 
 
 Philadelphia National Bank. 
 
 First National Bank .. 
 
 New Masonic Temple. 
 
 New Post-Office. . 
 
 St. Mark’s Protestant Episcopal 
 Church. 
 
 Bank of Commerce. 
 
 Bank of North America . 
 
 Holy Trinity Episcopal Church .. 
 
 Fifth Baptist Church. 
 
 New city buildings... 
 
 University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 Memorial Baptist Church.— 
 
 Holy Communion Church . 
 
 Academy of Natural Sciences 
 Young Men’s Christian Associa¬ 
 tion 
 
 Forts Preble, Scammel, and Gorget 
 Post-office. 
 
 _do . 
 
 ../.--do. 
 
 do. 
 
 .do . . 
 
 -do. 
 
 Granite, Quincy, Mass. 
 
 do. . 
 
 Granite, Fox Island, Me.; Cape 
 Ann, Mass. 
 
 Granite, Dix Island, Me.; Rich¬ 
 mond, Va. 
 
 Sandstone, Portland, Conn. 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Dolomite (marble), Lee Mass. 
 
 Serpentine, Chester County, Pa... 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do . 
 
 .do . 
 
 Sandstone, Ohio. 
 
 Granite, Mount Waldo, Biddeford, 
 and Spruce Head, Me. 
 Crystalline limestone (marble), 
 Vermont. 
 
 1819 
 
 1829 
 
 1830 
 
 1832 
 
 1833 
 1850-’GO 
 
 1865 
 
 1872 
 
 1885 
 
 1849 
 
 1850 
 1850 
 1857 
 1863 
 
 1871 
 
 1874 
 
 1875 
 
 1876 
 1868 
 
 1872 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 525 
 
 LIST OF SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT STONE STRUCTURES OF THE 
 UNITED STATES —Continued. 
 
 Locality. 
 
 Providence, R. I. 
 
 Saint Paul, Minn. 
 
 Salt Lake City, Utah. 
 
 San Francisco, Cal... 
 
 Savannah, Ga. 
 
 Trenton, N. J. 
 
 W ashingfon, D. C .. 
 
 Structure. 
 
 Custom-house. 
 City hall . 
 
 Soldiers’ and sailors’ monument .. 
 
 Post-office and custom-house. 
 
 Roger Williams’s monument. 
 
 New Catholic cathedral. 
 
 Grace Church... 
 
 First Congregational Church. 
 
 Catholic cathedral. 
 
 Unitarian church.,. 
 
 St. Paul’s Episcopal church. 
 
 United States custom-house and- 
 post-office. 
 
 Adams school. 
 
 Franklin school. 
 
 County jail . 
 
 Assembly house. 
 
 New Mormon Temple. 
 
 Bank of California. 
 
 United States mint. 
 
 Presbyterian church. 
 
 Custom-house. 
 
 State capitol. 
 
 State prison. . 
 
 Executive Mansion. 
 
 Treasury Building, old portion.. . 
 Treasury Building, new portion... 
 Patent Office Building, old portion. 
 Patent Office Building, extension 
 
 Chapel in Oak Hill Cemetery_ 
 
 Georgetown College (now build¬ 
 ing-) , 
 
 Cabin John’s Bridge, parapets 
 and coping. 
 
 Washington Monument, exterior, 
 in part. 
 
 Washington Monument, exterior. 
 Washington Monument, interior.. 
 
 General Post-Office, old portion .. 
 
 General Post-Office, extension_ 
 
 United States Capitol, old portion. 
 United States Capitol, extension.. 
 United States Capitol, extension, 
 columns. 
 
 Smithsonian Institution. 
 
 St. Dominick’s Church .. 
 
 Corcoran Art Gallery (in part) ... 
 
 State, War, and Navy Building. | 
 
 Butler house, Capitol Hill. 
 
 Congressional Library building... 
 
 Material. 
 
 Granite, Hallowell, Me., Concord, 
 N. H. 
 
 Granite, Hurricane Island, Me.; 
 Westerly, R. I., and Concord, 
 N. H. 
 
 Granite, Westerly, R. I. 
 
 Granite, Quincy, Mass.. 
 
 Granite, Westerly, R. I. 
 
 Sandstone, Portland, Conn.. 
 
 Sandstone, Little Falls, N. J. 
 
 Granite. Smithfield, R. I. 
 
 Magnesian limestone, Saint Paul, 
 Minn. 
 
 -do . 
 
 Maguesian limestone, Kasota, 
 Minn. 
 
 ..do.. 
 
 .do. 
 . do. 
 .do 
 
 Granite, Littlo Cottonwood Canon, 
 Utah. 
 
 .do.. 
 
 Blue sandstone, Angel Island, 
 San Francisco Bay. 
 
 Sandstone, New Castlo Island, 
 Gulf of Georgia, British Colum¬ 
 bia. 
 
 Granite, Quincy, Mass. 
 
 .do . 
 
 Sandstone, Trenton, N. J. 
 
 _do . 
 
 Sandstone, Acquia Creek. 
 
 . do--- .. 
 
 Granite, Dix Island, Maine . 
 
 Sandstone, Acquia Creek, Va_ 
 
 Dolomite (marble), Cockeysville, 
 Md. 
 
 Mica schist, near Washington ... 
 .do . 
 
 Sandstone, SenecaCreek, Md.... j 
 
 Dolomite (marble), Lee, Mass., j 
 
 Dolomite (marble), Cockoysvillo, 
 Md. 
 
 Mica schist, near Washington ; 
 granite, Massachusetts and 
 Maine. 
 
 Dolomite (marble), Westchester, 
 N. Y. 
 
 Dolomite (marblo), Cockeysville, 
 Md. 
 
 Sandstone, Acquia Creek. 
 
 Dolomite (marble), Lee, Mass... 
 
 Dolomite (marble), Cockeysville, 
 Md. 
 
 Sandstone, Seneca Creek, Md .... 
 
 Gneiss, Port Deposit, Md. 
 
 Sandstone, Belleville, N. J. 
 
 Basement and sub-basement gran¬ 
 ite,Maine ; superstructure gran¬ 
 ite, near Richmond. Va. 
 
 Granite, Cape Ann, Mass. 
 
 Granite, Concord, N. H. 
 
 Date of 
 erec¬ 
 tion. 
 
 1872 
 
 1858 
 
 1873-’74 
 
 1872 
 
 1«65 
 
 1874 
 
 1852 
 
 1836 ’41 
 1855 
 1837-’42 
 1849-’64 
 
 1848-’55 
 
 1848-’84 
 
 1839 
 
 1855 
 
 1793 
 
 1851-’65 
 
 1847-’56 
 
 1871-’86 
 
 Begun 
 
 .... 1890 
 
526 
 
 APPENDIX III. 
 
 ADDENDA FOR EDITION OF 1903. 
 
 LIST OF SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT STONE 
 STRUCTURES OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Locality. 
 
 Structure. 
 
 Material. 
 
 Allegheny, Pa. 
 Ashland, Wis.. 
 
 Astoria, Ore.. . 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 Boston, Mass.. 
 
 Bridgeport, Conn. 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y.. . 
 Camden, N. J. • • • 
 Charleston, S. C.. 
 
 Chicago, Ill. 
 
 Cincinnati, Ohio. , 
 Columbus, Ohio. 
 Dayton, Ohio. .. 
 Des Moines, la.. . 
 
 Detroit, Mich . . . 
 Duluth, Minn. . . 
 Evansville, Ind.. 
 Fort Wayne, Ind 
 
 Frankfort, Ky.. . 
 Jacksonville, Fla. 
 Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 Lafayette, Ind.. 
 Little Rock, Ark. 
 Lowell, Mass.. .. 
 Madison, Ind.. .. 
 
 Post-office. 
 
 Post-office. 
 
 Custom-house. 
 
 Court-house and P.0. 
 
 Tremont Building. 
 
 Chamber of Commerce. . 
 
 Exchange Building. 
 
 S. Union RR. Station. . . 
 Post-office. 
 
 Post-office. 
 
 Custom-house and P.O... 
 Custom-house. 
 
 Newberry Library. 
 
 Chamber of Commerce. . 
 Court-house and P.O.. . . 
 
 Post-office. 
 
 Court-house and P.O. . . . 
 
 a ft (f 
 
 ft t( ft 
 
 tt (( <( 
 
 ft a << 
 
 a ft a 
 
 Post-office. 
 
 Court-house and P.O. .. . 
 Post-office. 
 
 Granite, Hollowed, Me. 
 
 Sandstone, Prentice Quar¬ 
 ry, Houghton, Wis. 
 
 Sandstone, near Astoria. 
 
 Granite, Cape Ann, Mass. 
 
 Granite, Milford, Mass. 
 
 “ Stony Creek. Conn. 
 
 Sandstone, Middlesex Co., 
 Conn. 
 
 Granite, Vinalhaven, Me. 
 
 Marble, Proctor, Vt. 
 
 Marble, Hastings, N. Y., 
 and Tuckahoe, N. Y. 
 
 Granite, Stony Creek, 
 Conn. 
 
 Granite, Milford, Mass. 
 
 Sandstone, Berea, Ohio. 
 
 Limestone, Keokuk, Ill., 
 and Joliet, Ill. 
 
 Limestone, Bedford, Ind. 
 
 Sandstone, Sand Point, 
 Mich. 
 
 Limestone, Bedford, Ind. 
 
 Georgia marble. 
 
 Granite,SouthPark,Colo., 
 and Llano Co., Tex. 
 
 Berea Sandstone. 
 
 Granite, Deer Island, Me. 
 
 Sandstone,Portage,Mich., 
 and Limestone, Bed¬ 
 ford, Ind. 
 
 Milwaukee, Wis. ., 
 
 Minneapolis, Minn 
 New Albany, Ind. 
 
 Newark, N. J. 
 
 New Haven, Conn 
 
 New York City.. . 
 
 Court-house, Post-office, 
 and Custom-house.... 
 
 Post-office. 
 
 Court-house and P.O.. 
 Custom-house and P.O. . 
 Osborn Memorial Hall.. . 
 
 Court-house and P.O. . . • 
 Library, Columbia Univ. 
 
 Granite, Frankfort, Me. 
 Sandstone, Berea, Ohio. 
 
 Sandstone,Belleville, N.J. 
 Granite, Stony Creek, 
 Conn. 
 
 Granite, Dix Island, Me. 
 Granite, Stony Creek, 
 Conn.,and Milf ord,Mass . 
 
APPENDIX III. 
 
 5 2 7 
 
 ADDENDA FOR EDITION OF 1903. 
 
 IMPORTANT-STONE STRUCTURES OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Continued. 
 
 Locality. 
 
 Structure. 
 
 Material. 
 
 Pensacola, Fla.. . 
 
 Peoria, Ill. 
 
 Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Pittsburg, Pa.. .. 
 
 Portland, Me. 
 
 Portland, Ore. 
 
 Port Townsend, Wash.. . 
 
 Providence, R. I. 
 
 Quincy, Ill. 
 
 Raleigh, N. C. 
 
 Rochester, N. Y. 
 
 Rockford, Ill. 
 
 San Francisco, Cal. 
 
 San Jos6, Cal. 
 
 Savannah, Ga. 
 
 Scranton, Pa. 
 
 Sioux City, la. 
 
 Sioux Falls* S. D. 
 
 Springfield, Ill. 
 
 Springfield, Mass. 
 
 St. Augustine, Fla. 
 
 St. Louis, Mo. 
 
 Stanford University, Cal. 
 
 Trenton, N. J. 
 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Wichita, Kansas.. 
 Wilmington, N. C. 
 Worcester, Mass. . 
 
 Court-house and P.O. . . . 
 
 Custom-house. 
 
 Court-house and P.O. . . . 
 Allegheny Co., Court¬ 
 house.■. 
 
 Pittsburg Bank. 
 
 Custom-house. 
 
 Custom-house and P.O. 
 
 State-house. 
 
 Custom-house and P.O. . 
 Court-house and P.O. .. . 
 
 Post-office 
 
 Court-house and P.O. .. . 
 
 Post-office. 
 
 Court-house and P.O. .. . 
 
 Post-office. 
 
 Court-house and P.O. 
 
 University Buildings. . . . 
 
 Custom-house and P.O, . 
 
 Post-office. 
 
 New Corcoran Art Gal.. . 
 
 New Public Library. 
 
 Court-house and P.O. . . . 
 Custom-house and P.O. . 
 City Hall. 
 
 Limestone, Bowling 
 Green, Ky. 
 
 Sandstone, Amherst, Ohio. 
 
 Marble, Montgomery Co., 
 Pa. 
 
 Granite. E. Blue Hill, Me. 
 
 Granite, Milford, Mass. 
 
 Granite, Troy, N. H. 
 
 Granite, Concord, N. H., 
 and Hollowed, Me. 
 
 Sandstone, near Astoria. 
 
 Sandstone, Bellingham 
 Bay, Washington. 
 
 Marble, Pickens Co., Ga. 
 
 Granite, Ouincy, Mass. 
 
 Oolitic limestone, Bed¬ 
 ford, Ind. 
 
 Granite, Goldsboro, N. C. 
 
 Sandstone, Portland, 
 Conn. 
 
 Red Sandstone, Portage, 
 Mich. 
 
 Granite, Rocklin (?), Cal. 
 
 Sandstone, San jos6, Cal. 
 
 Cherokee marble, Pickens 
 Co., Ga. 
 
 Granite, Hurricane Isl¬ 
 and, Me. 
 
 Limestone, Bedford, Ind. 
 
 Quartzite, East Sioux 
 Falls, S. D. 
 
 Limestone, Nauvoo, Ill. 
 
 Sandstone, Longmeadow, 
 Mass. 
 
 Coquina, St. Augustine, 
 Fla. 
 
 Granite, Hurricane Isl¬ 
 and, Me. 
 
 Sandstone, Santa Clara 
 Co., Cal. 
 
 Sandstone, Amherst, O. 
 
 Granite, Vinalhaven, Me. 
 
 Marble, Pickens Co., Ga. 
 
 Marble, Proctor, Vt. 
 
 Limestone, Bedford, Ind. 
 
 Sandstone, Sanford, N. C. 
 
 Granite, Milford, Mass. 
 
APPENDIX IV. 
 
 bibliography of works on building stone. 
 
 The following list includes all the principal works on the 
 subject of building stone which have come under the writer’s 
 notice. It does not include isolated and special papers which 
 have appeared from time to time in various journals and per¬ 
 iodicals, or State geological reports. Such, when containing 
 matter of sufficient importance, have been mentioned in the 
 text and reference given in the foot-notes. Ihe list is arranged 
 alphabetically by authors. 
 
 Blum, Dr. J. Reinhard. Lithurgik oder Mineralien und Felsarten nach ihrer 
 Anwendung in okonomischer, artistischer und technischer Hinsicht sys¬ 
 tematised abgehandelt. Stuttgart, 1840. 
 
 Bohme, Dr. Die Festigkeit der Baumaterialien. Resultate der Untersuchungen 
 in der Station zur Prufung der Festigkeit von Bausteinen an der konig- 
 lichen Gewerbe-Akademte zu Berlin, etc. Berlin, 1876. 
 
 Burgoyne, Sir John. Rudimentary Treatise on the Blasting and Quarrying of 
 Stone. London: J. Wale, 1852. 
 
 Burnham, S. M. History and Uses of Limestone and Marbles. Illus¬ 
 trated, with colored plates. Boston: S. E. Cassino & Co., 1883. 
 Chateau, Theodore. Technologie du Batiment ou Etude Complete des 
 Materiaux de toute Espece employes dans les constructions, etc. 2. ed. 
 Paris, 1880. 
 
 Davies, D. C. Slate and Slate Quarrying. London: Crosby, Lockwood & 
 Co., 1878. 
 
 Delesse, A. Materiaux deConstruction de l’Exposition Universelle de 1855. 
 Paris, 1856. 
 
 Dobson, Edward. Masonry and Stone-cutting. Weaie’s Rudimentary series. 
 London: Crosby, Lockwood & Co., 1873. 
 
APPENDIX IV. 
 
 529 
 
 Gerstenbergk, Heinrich von. Katechismus der Bauraaterialkunde, etc. 
 Berlin, 186S. 
 
 Gottgetreu, Rudolph. Physische und Chemische Beschaffenheit der Baum- • 
 a.erialien. 2 vols. Berlin, i88o-’8i. Verlag von Julius Springer. 
 
 Grueber, Bernhard. Die Baumaterialien-Lehre. Berlin, 1863. Verlag von 
 Ernst & Korn. 
 
 Gwilt, Joseph. An Encyclopedia of Architecture. London, 1851. 
 
 Hall, PRof. James. Report on Building Stones. 
 
 Harris, George F. Granite and our Granite Industries. London; Crosby, 
 Lockwood & Son, 1888. 
 
 Hartmann, Dr. Carl. Vollstandiges Handbuch der Steinarbeiten, etc. 
 Weimar, 1862. 
 
 Hauenschild, Hans. Katechismus der Baumaterialien. Wien: Lehmann 
 & Wentzel, 1879. 
 
 Hull, Edward. A Treatise on the Building and Ornamental Stones of Great 
 Britain and Foreign Countries. London: Macmillan & Co., 1872. 
 
 Kersten, E. Die Baumaterialienkunde, etc. Leipzig (not dated). Verlag 
 von Eduard Hahnel. 
 
 Kollsch, Carl. Die Baumaterialienkunde fur ausfuhrende Bautechniker und 
 fur Studirende der Bauwissenschaft. Schwetschke & Sohn. Bruhn, 1861. 
 
 Kunz, George F. Gems and Precious Stones of North America. Scientific 
 Publishing Company, New York. 1890. 
 
 Malecot, Leon. Materiaux de Construction employes en Belgique. Bruxelles 
 & Liege, 1866. 
 
 Newberry, J. S. Building and Ornamental Stones. Report of Judges, Group 
 1, U. S. International Exposition, 1876, Vol. in. Washington, 1880. 
 
 Notes on Building Construction. Part in. Materials. (South Kensington 
 Educational Series). London, Oxford, and Cambridge, 1879. 
 
 Schlegel, Carl Friedrich. Die Lehre von den Baumaterialien und den 
 Arbeiten der Maurer. Leipzig: Verlag von Heinrich Matthes, 1857. 
 
 Schmidt, Otto. Die Baumaterialien. Berlin, 1881. Verlag von Theodor 
 Hofmann. 
 
 Smock, John C. Building Stone in the State of New York. Bulletin No. 3, 
 New York State Museum of Natural History, March 1888, 8vo, 152 pp. 
 
 Report on the Building Stones of the United States, and Statistics of the Quarry 
 Industry for 1880. Vol. x. Report of the Tenth Census of the United 
 States. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1884. 
 
 Thurston, R. H.' Materials of Construction. New York: Wiley & Sons, 1885. 
 
 Violet, Adolph. Les Marbres et les Machines atravailler le marbre. (Rap 
 ports sur l’Exposition de 1878, xxvm.) Paris, 1879. 
 
530 
 
 APPENDIX. IV. 
 
 Visser, J. E. Die Baumaterialien. Handbuch fiir Architecten, etc. Emden, 
 1861. 
 
 Webber, Martin. Das Schleifen, Poliren, Farben und kunstlerische Verzieren 
 des Marmors. Weimar, 1878. Bernhard Friedrich Voigt. 
 
 Wenck, Dr. Julius. Die Lehre von den Baumaterialien, etc. Berlin, 1863. 
 
 The works mentioned below bear upon the subject only 
 indirectly. They are given up largely to metals and timber. 
 
 Anderson, John. The Strength of Materials and Structures. London: Long¬ 
 mans, Green & Co., 1880. 
 
 Barlow, Peter. A Treatise on the Strength of Materials, etc. New Edition^ 
 revised. London: Lockwood & Co. 1867. 
 
 B(5hme, Dr. Die Festigkeit der Baumaterialien. Berlin, 1876. 
 
 Gillmore, L. A. Notes on the Compressive Resistance of Freestones, Brick 
 Piers, Hydraulic Cement, Mortars and Concretes. New York, Wiley & 
 Sons, 1888. 
 
 Morin, Arthur. Resistance des Materiaux. Paris: L. Hachette & Co., 1862. 
 
 Merriman, Mansfield. The Strength 01 Materials. New York: John Wiley & 
 Sons, 1897 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 Buckley, E. R. On the Building and Ornamental Stones of Wisconsin. Bulletin 
 No. IV, Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, 1898. 
 
 Herrman, O. Steinbruchindustrie und Steinbruchgeologie. Berlin, 1899. 
 
 Hopkins, T. C. Marbles and Limestones Vol. iv, Ann. Reports Geological Sur 
 veys of Arkansas, 1890. 
 
 Mathews, E. B., and Merrill, G. P. The Building and Decorative Stones of 
 Maryland. Vol. 11, Special Publications Geological Survey of Maryland, 
 1898. 
 
 McCallie, S. W. A Preliminary Report on the Marbles of Georgia. Bull. No, I, 
 Geological Survey of Georgia, 1894. 
 
 Watson, Thomas. The Granites and Gneisses of Georgia. 
 
V 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 GLOSSARY OF TERMS. 
 
 ZEolian rocks. Fragmental rocks, composed of wind-drifted materials. The 
 “drift sand rock,” the common building-stone of Bermuda, is a good 
 example. 
 
 Argillaceous. Containing clayey matter. 
 
 Ashlar masonry. Cut stone laid in continuous courses. 
 
 Bardiglio. This is a favorite Italian marble obtained on Montalto, on the 
 southern borders of Tuscany. It is a gray or bluish color, traversed by 
 dark veins. In some specimens the veining assumes the appearance of 
 flowers, when it is known as Bardiglio fiorito. The name is now com¬ 
 monly applied to any marble having this color and veining. 
 
 Bastard granite. A somewhat indefinite name given by quarrymen to gneissic 
 or schistose rocks, resembling granites in a general way, but differing in 
 structure. The name is frequently applied by quarrymen to any vein or 
 dike rock occurring in a granite quarry. 
 
 Bird’s-eye-marble. A term used in Iowa to designate a fossil coral (Acerv 
 ularia davidsoni), and used for making small ornaments. See-under Marble. 
 
 Bituminous. Containing bitumen. 
 
 Breast. The face or wall of a quarry is sometimes called by this name. 
 
 Breccias. Fragmental stones, the Individual particles of which are large and 
 angular in form, 
 
 JBIueatone. In Maryland a gray gneiss ; in Ohio, a gray sandstone ; in the 
 District of Columbia a mica schist ; in New York a blue-grav sandstone • 
 in Pennsylvania a blue-gray sandstone. A popular term , not suffi¬ 
 ciently definite to be of value. 
 
 Butt. The butt of a slate quarry is where the overiying rock cornes in contact 
 with an inclined stratum of slate rock. 
 
 Calcareous. Containing lime. 
 
 Cavernous. Containing irregular cavities or pores, due in most cases to the 
 removal of some mineral, or in limestones of a fossil. 
 
 Cellular or vesicular. Containing cells or vesicles. This structure is very 
 
 53i 
 
532 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 common in recent eruptive rocks, especially the glassy forms. Some¬ 
 times the stone contains so many cells that it will float on water, as is 
 the case with common pumice. These cells are in many cases subse¬ 
 quently filled with other minerals, and the rock is then called amygda- 
 loidal. The Brighton melaphyr is the best example of amygdaloidal 
 structure found in our building stones. 
 
 Ohoncoidal fracture. When the surfaces of a chip broken off by a hammer 
 are curved like a bivalve mollusk the stone is said to have a choncoidal 
 fracture. Compact stones, like lithographic limestones, obsidians, and 
 flints, usually break in this manner. 
 
 Olay-holes. Cavities in stone which are usually filled with fine sand or clayey 
 material often of a lighter color than the stone itself, and so loosely 
 coherent as to fall away immediately or to weather out on exposure. 
 They are especially prevalent in many of our Triassic sandstones, and, 
 besides being unsightly, are elements of weakness and should always be 
 avoided. 
 
 Concretionary. Made of concretions, or rounded particles formed by the col- 
 lecting of mineral matter around some centre so as to form a rounded 
 mass composed of concentric layers like the coatings of an onion. When 
 the concretions are small, like the roe of a fish, the structure is called 
 oolitic, or if large as a pea, pisolitic. The best examples of this struct¬ 
 ure in our building stones are the oolitic limestones of Bedford, Indi¬ 
 ana, and other places. A rare structure in crystalline rocks. 
 
 Conglomerates. Fragmental stones composed of large, rounded fragments. 
 (See p. 126.) 
 
 Coquina. The Spanish name for a shell limestone which occurs abundantly in 
 Florida, and composed simply of a mass of shells cemented together. 
 (See p. 202.) 
 
 Coral limestone, A rock composed of fragments of corals. 
 
 Crystalline. Consisting wholly of crystals or crystalline particles, not frag- 
 mental. Rocks which like granite or crystalline limestone are made up 
 wholly of crystalline grains are called crystalline-granular ox granular- 
 crystalline rocks. The term micro-crystalline and crypto-crystalline are 
 often applied to rocks in which the individual particles are too small to 
 be readily distinguished by the unaided eye. Such rocks are sometimes 
 called compact, a term which is also applied to fragmental rocks of simi¬ 
 lar texture. 
 
 Curb. A flat piece of stone placed vertically, bounding the street edges of 
 sidewalks. 
 
 diabase. An eruptive rock composed essentially of a plagioclase feldspar and 
 augite. (See p. 106.) 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 533 
 
 Dikes (or dykes). Masses of igneous rocks which have been forced up from 
 below in a molten condition to fill fractures or fissures in the earth’s 
 crust. Such are also called trap-rocks. The diabases and a variety of 
 eruptive rocks frequently occur in the form of dikes. 
 
 Biorite. An eruptive rock composed essentially of a plagioclase, feldspar and 
 hornblende. (See p. 118.) 
 
 Dip. The slope or pitch of the strata, or the angle which the layers make with 
 the plane of the horizon. 
 
 Dolomite. A stone composed of mixed calcium and magnesium carbonates, 
 (See p. 203.) 
 
 A “Dry.” A natural seam usually invisible when the rock is freshly quarried, 
 but which is brought out on exposure to weather or sometimes during 
 the process of cutting. A very serious defect in many scones. 
 
 Escarpment. A nearly vertical natural face of rock or ledge. 
 
 Feldspathic. Containing feldspar. 
 
 Ferruginous. Containing iron oxides. 
 
 Fibrous. Having a structure as though made up of bundles of distinct fiores. 
 This structure is not found in any building stone, but is common in some 
 forms of gypsum and of calcite, which are used for making small orna¬ 
 ments. 
 
 Flagstone. Any kind of a stone which separates naturally into thin tabular 
 plates suitable for pavements and curbing. Especially applicable to 
 sandstones and schists. 
 
 Flint. Quartz in any kind of rock is commonly known to quarrymen as flint. 
 True flint is amorphous silica, occurring in nodular form in chalk beds. 
 
 Foliated or schistose. Terms applied to rocks which, like gneiss and schist, 
 have their constituents arranged in more or less definite nearly parallel 
 planes. 
 
 Fragmental or clastic. Terms which are applied to rocks composed of frag¬ 
 ments, like ordinary sandstone. When the fragments are the size of a 
 pea or larger, and rounded in form, the structure is called conglomerated , 
 or if the particles are angular, brecciated. 
 
 Freestone. This is a term which has been applied to stories that work freely 
 in any direction. Especially applied to sandstones and limestones. A 
 term of no special value, as it is too indefinite. 
 
 Gneiss. A rock of the composition of granite but in which the ingredients are 
 arranged in more or less parallel layers. (See p. 377 -) 
 
 Gneissoid, Like gneiss. 
 
 Grain. The direction in a rock at right angles with the rift. (See p. 39.) 
 
 Granite. A rock consisting of quartz, orthoclase, and mica or other accessory 
 minerals. In the stone-cutter’s nomenclature no distinction is made 
 
534 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 between the varieties ; all stones which are hard, granular, and crystal 
 lized are called granite. (See p. 76.) 
 
 Granitoid. Thoroughly crystalline and massive, like granite. 
 
 Granular. A term applied to rocks composed of distinct grains, whether frag¬ 
 mental and water worn or crystalline. 
 
 Greenstone or Griinstein. A term formerly used to designate certain basic 
 eruptive rocks occurring in the form of dikes. Through mistaken 
 notions regarding their true nature and from a general similarity in their 
 appearance the name was made to include a variety of compact, dark- 
 greenish or nearly black rocks, which microscopic examination has shown 
 to be principally diabase and diorite. 
 
 Grit. Any sharp, gritty sandstone or schist used as a whetstone or hone. 
 
 Gruh-saw. A saw made from a notched blade of thin iron, and provided with 
 a wooden back. Used with sand for sawing stone by hand power. (See 
 Plate xxxiii.) 
 
 Guys. Ropes or chains used to prevent anything from swinging or moving 
 about. 
 
 Hackly fracture. A term applied when the surfaces of a fracture are rough 
 and jagged. 
 
 Joints. Divisional planes which divide the rock in the quarry into natural 
 blocks. There are usually two or three nearly parallel series called by 
 quarrymen end joints, back joints, and bottom joints, according to their 
 position. (See p. 383.) 
 
 Ledge. Any natural solid body of rock. 
 
 Lewis hole. The Lewis* hole consists of a series of two or more holes drilled 
 as closely together as possible, and then connected by knocking out the 
 thin partition between them, forming thus one wide hole, having its 
 greatest diameter in a plane with the desired rift. Blasts from such 
 holes are wedge-like in their action, and by means of them larger and 
 better-shaped blocks can be taken out than would otherwise be possible. 
 This style of hole is saidf to have been devised by a Mr. Joseph Rich¬ 
 ards, of Quincy, though at about what date we are not informed. This 
 same gentleman was also the inventor of the bush hammer, which, how¬ 
 ever, when first patented, about 1831, consisted of a solid piece, instead 
 of several pieces bolted together as now. 
 
 Limestone. Under this term almost all the calcareous quarried rocks, whether 
 fragmental or crystalline, are classified. (See p. 198.) 
 
 Liver rock. This term is applied to that variety of the Ohio sandstone which 
 
 * This word is spelled by some Louis, 
 f Potter’s History of Quincy,"Massachusetts. 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 535 
 
 breaks or cuts as readily in one direction as in another. In other words, 
 the working of the stone is not affected by stratification. 
 
 Marble. A stone composed mainly of carbonate of lime or carbonates of lime and 
 magnesia and of such color and texture as to be of value for ornamental pur¬ 
 poses. In color marbles range from pure white through all shades of gray 
 to black; yellow, pink, red, violet, drab, and green are also common, the 
 gray and black colors being due to carbonaceous matter, the others mainly 
 to iron oxides. Color and susceptibility to a high polish are the chief essen¬ 
 tials. There are many varieties, to which are given special names based 
 upon texture or structural features, or more commonly upon color and con¬ 
 figuration or locality whence derived. 
 
 VARIETIES OF MARBLE. 
 
 (I) Bardiglio: A favorite Italian stone obtained on Montalto, on the 
 southern borders of Tuscany. Three varieties are' commonly recognized : 
 («) Bardiglio proper, of a gray or bluish-gray color and traversed by dark 
 lines ; ( b) bardiglio fiorito, of similar color, in which the veins assume the 
 appearance of flowers; and (y) bardiglio scuro, a saccharoidal stone contain¬ 
 ing sufficient carbonaceous matter to impart a uniform blue-gray color. (2) 
 Bird's-eye marble: A local name given to several varieties in which the mark¬ 
 ings assume the appearance of a bird’s eye. Ex. Bird's-eye gnotte : In Iowa 
 a fossil coral (acervularia) used for small ornaments. (3) Black and gold. See 
 Portor. (4) Bongard ; A dark gray and white mottled stone with streaks and 
 clouds of yellow, brown, and pink; from Nassau, Germany. (5 ) Breccia 
 marble ; Any marble made up of angular fragments. See Breccia. ( 6 ) Broc- 
 atclle : A beautiful variety from the French Pyrenees. The body of the 
 stone fine and compact and of light-yellow color traversed by veins and 
 blotches of dull red. The name signifies a coarse kind of tapestry, which it 
 somewhat resembles. Sp. Brocado , It. Broccato. (7) Camp an: A beauti¬ 
 ful pale yellowish-green stone mottled with white. A dark-green variety 
 containing red blotches is known as campan rouge. (8) Carrara : A general 
 name given to all the marbles quarried near Carrara, in Italy. 1 he prevail¬ 
 ing colors are white to bluish, or white with blue veins ; a fine grade of 
 statuary here included. (9) Calico marble : A local name for a Triassic 
 conglomerate used in the columns of the old Chamber of Representatives in 
 the Capitol at Washington. The source is Frederick County, Maryland. 
 (10) Cannes. See Griotte. (11) Cipolino: A white crystalline limestone 
 traversed by veins of greenish mica; a favorite Italian marble. (12) Eolian : 
 A name given by Hitchcock to the crystalline granular limestones of Mount 
 Eolus, in Vermont. (13) Fior di Persicor: A white marble with veins and 
 clouds of purple or red, from Albania. (14) Fire marble. See Lumachelle. 
 (15) Forest marble: An argillaceous limestone which when cut along certain 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 530 
 
 planes shows the dark coloring matter so distributed as to be imitative of 
 woodlands and forests; also called landscape marble. (16) Formosa marble: 
 A high grade of marble of a dark-gray and white color variously mottled 
 and blotched with yellow and red; from Nassau, Germany. (17) Gial'lo 
 antico ; A yellow marble used by the ancient Greeks and Romans ; hence 
 the name Giallo antico or antique yellow. The source is Algeria. (18) Gri- 
 otte; A favorite French marble of a beautiful red color and often variegated 
 with small dashes of purple and spots or streaks of white, as in the variety 
 locally known as “ gnotte ceil de perdrix ”; from the French Pyrenees. 
 (19) Landscape marble. See Forest marble. (20) Languedoc marble: A 
 brilliant red or scarlet marble blotched with white; from the Montagne Noire, 
 in the French Pyrenees. (21) Lepanto; A trade name given to a gray 
 marble enlivened by pink and white fossils ; from the Lower Silurian, near 
 Plattsburg, New York. (22) Lumachelle or Lumachella : A shell limestone 
 in which many of the included shell fragments still retain their nacre or 
 pearly lining. Such show a beautiful pearly, often opalescent iridescence, 
 and are often designated fire marbles ; from Bleiberg and Hall, in the Tirol. 
 (23) Lyonaise : A trade name for a chocolate red and white variety of dolo- 
 mitic marble used mainly for wainscoting and tiling ; from Mallett’s Bay, 
 Lake Champlain. See also Winooski marble. (24) Madrepore marble : A 
 fossiliferous limestone of Devonian age and of a variety of colors. It admits 
 of a high polish and is used as a marble. Takes its name from its most 
 characteristic fossil, a species of madrepore. (25) Mischio: A violet-red 
 breccia from Serravezza, in Italy ; also known as African breccia ( breche 
 africame). (26) Nero Antico de Prato. See under Verdantique. (27J A T u- 
 midian marble : A general name given to some celebrated marbles of cream, 
 yellow, pink, and red colors, found in northern Africa. According to the 
 best authorities the name Numidian is incorrect, the true source of the stone 
 being not Numidia, but the provinces of Africa and Mauritania. The quar¬ 
 ries were worked by the ancient Romans. (28) Onyx marbles ; See Traver¬ 
 tine. (29) Paonazza (see (30) Pavonazetta) : A siliceous limestone of vari¬ 
 ous shades of green, varying upon blue or gray, alternating with bands of 
 white. Formerly much used in southern Italy. So called from its resem¬ 
 blance to the plumage of a peacock ; also called Phrygian marble. (31) Pa¬ 
 rian marble : One of the most famous of ancient statuary marbles ; from the 
 island of Paros in the Grecian Archipelago. (32) Parmazo: A white 
 marble traversed by a coarse network of dark lines ; from northern Italy. 
 ( 33 ) Pent el lie ; One of the most famous of ancient statuary marbles ; from 
 Mt. Pentellicus, near Athens, Greece. (34) Petit granite : A bluish marble 
 studded with innumerable fine white points caused by fossil crinoids and 
 polyps; from Ecausines, Belgium. (35) Phrygian. See Pavonazetta. 
 (36) Portor : A siliceous limestone of a black color, traversed by gold-colored 
 veins; called also black and gold marble. The source is Porto Venere, and 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 53 7 
 
 the Isle of Palmeria in the Gulf of Spezia. (37) Ricolite. See Verdantique. 
 (38) Rosso Levanto : Ditto. (39) Rosso antico: A red marble used by the 
 Etruscans and ancient Romans ; said to have been obtained from Cynopolis 
 and Damaristica. (40) Rouge antique. See Rosso antico. (41) Ruin marble : 
 A light-colored brecciated limestone, which, when cut and polished, shows a 
 configuration and coloring suggestive of ancient ruins ; from the environs of 
 Florence, Italy. (42 ) Saccharoidal: Any marble having a granular crys¬ 
 talline structure like that of loaf-sugar. (43) St. Anne : A deep blue-black 
 white-veined marble from Biesme, in Belgium. (44) St. Baume ; A yellow 
 stone veined with brown or red ; from the province of Var, France. (45) Sar- 
 rancolin: One of the most beautiful of foreign marbles. The prevailing 
 colors are red, white, brown, green, and orange, in veins and blotches; from 
 the valley of Aure, in the French Pyrenees. (46) Serpentine. See Verdan¬ 
 tique. (47) Siena : One of the most highly esteemed of marbles for interior 
 decoration. The prevailing color is yellow, but often variegated with white 
 and violet or purple. From Monte Arenti, in Montagnola, Tuscany. 
 (48) Stalactitic and Stalagmitic ; Marbles obtained from the calcareous de¬ 
 posits on the roofs and floors of caves. Such are often beautifully banded 
 and are known commercially as onyx marbles. (49) Statuary : A pure 
 white saccharoidal stone suitable for the purposes of the sculptor. The finest 
 varieties are now brought from the Apuan Alps. (50) Verdantique : Any 
 green or variegated marble composed mainly of serpentine, or of serpentine 
 and calcite. (51) Winooski: A siliceous dolomite of a mottled chocolate, 
 red, pink, yellow, and white color, and used as a marble for tiling and 
 wainscoting ; from Mallett’s Bay, on Lake Champlain. 
 
 Massive ; unstratified. Having no definite arrangement in layers or strata, 
 but the various ingredients being thoroughly commingled, as in granite 
 and diabase. 
 
 Nigger head. (1) The black concretionary nodules found in granite ; 
 
 (2) Any hard, dark, colored rock weathering out into rounded nodules 
 or bowlders ; 
 
 (3) Slaty rock associated with sandstone. A quarryman s term. 
 
 Oolite. A stone composed of small globules resembling the roe of a fish. 
 
 Ophiocalcite, ophiolite, or ophite. A mixture of serpentine and limestone or 
 
 dolomite. (See p. 353.) 
 
 Perch. In Philadelphia, 22 cubic feet are called a perch. A perch of masonry, 
 contains 24f cubic feet, 16^ x 1J x 1. It is usually taken at 25 cubic feet. 
 The term is falling into disuse. 
 
 Plucky. A term often used by stone-cutters to designate stones which under 
 the chisel break away in irregularly conchoidal chips, and which are 
 
538 
 
 APPENDIX V. 
 
 therefore difficult to trim to a line or to bring to a perfeci surface. Com¬ 
 mon in compact and impure limestones. 
 
 Porphyry. Any stone composed of an extremely fine ground mass in which 
 larger crystals are developed. (See p. 94.) 
 
 Porphyntic. When a rock consists of a compact or fine and evenly crystal¬ 
 line groundmass, throughout which are scattered larger crystals, usually 
 of feldspar, the structure is said to be porphyritic. This structure is 
 quite common in granite, but is not particularly noticeable, owing to 
 the slight contrast in color between the larger crystals and the finer 
 groundmass. It is most noticeable in such rocks as the felsites, in 
 which, as is the case with some of the “porphyries” of eastern Massa¬ 
 chusetts, the groundmass is exceedingly dense and compact and of a 
 black or red color, while the large feldspar crystals are white and stand 
 out in very marked contrast. This structure is so striking in appearance 
 that rocks possessing it in any marked degree are popularly called por¬ 
 phyries whatever may be their mineral composition. The term porphyry 
 is said to have been originally applied to certain kinds of igneous rocks 
 of a reddish or purple color, such as the celebrated red porphyry or 
 V roseo antico ” of Egypt. The word is now used by the best author- 
 ities almost wholly in its adjective sense, since any rock may possess 
 this structure whatever its origin or composition may be.* 
 
 Putty powder, or polishing putty, is a fine whitish powder, consisting in the 
 commercial form of about equal parts oxide of tin and lead. Used in 
 polishing stone and glass. 
 
 Quarry. Any opening in a ledge for taking out stone. 
 
 Quarry Water. All rocks when first taken from the quarry contain more or 
 less water, which evaporates on exposure, leaving the stone considerably 
 harder. In sandstones this quarry water is considered by Newberry to 
 be a solution of silica (“ Report of Judges,” Group t. p. i 79 ) Its com¬ 
 position probably varies greatly in different classes, of rocks. See 
 P- 43 2 • 
 
 Rhyolite. A post-Tertiary volcanic rock of the composition of granite. See 
 p. too. 
 
 Rift. The direction in a rock parallel to the lamination or foliation, and along 
 which it splits with greatest ease. 
 
 Rubberstone. A sharp-gritted Ohio or Indiana sandstone used for sharpening 
 shoe-knives ; also called a shoe-stone. 
 
 Rubble masonry. Rough, unsquared stone laid in irregular courses. 
 
 * Hull, “Building and Ornamental Stones,” p. 75. 
 
APPENDIX V. 
 
 539 
 
 Eaccharoidal. Having a grain and structure like that of loaf sugar. Common 
 in crystalline limestone. 
 
 Salt veins. A term applied by the quarrymen to the coarse granite veins from 
 2 inches to 2 or more feet thick, and which are found intersecting gran¬ 
 ites and older crystalline rocks. 
 
 Scab. A local term used in certain sandstone quarries in Iowa. The stone is 
 very massive and is broken from the quarry in irregular lumps by blast¬ 
 ing. These lumps are then trimmed down to a shape approximately 
 rectangular by means of heavy picks. This process is denominated 
 
 scabbing. 
 
 Sap. The term originated from imagined analogy between the decomposed 
 layer and the sap wood of trees. A term applied to the stained and 
 worthless portions of the stone extending inward from the joint. 
 
 Sculp. To sculp slate is to break up the large blocks into long slabs, suitable 
 to split. 
 
 Segregated. A term applied to the veins and nodular masses of finer or 
 coarser texture that have formed in granite and othei crystalline rocks , 
 as for example, the black patches in granite. 
 
 Serpentine. A rock composed of hydrous magnesia silicate. (See p, 353.) 
 
 Shell limestone. Rock composed of consolidated shells. 
 
 Siliceous. Containing silica. 
 
 Spalls. This is a term which is used quite generally by stone-cutters to denote 
 the chips and other waste material cut from a block in process of dress¬ 
 ing. 
 
 p~^o r „ we b. A term applied to the wavy lines in the Ohio sandstones, and 
 which are caused by stains of iron oxide. Frequently seen in sawed 
 stones, especially where the lamination is slightly oblique or irregular. 
 It is very like the grain of wood which shows in a planed board. 
 
 Split rock. This term applies to those rocks possessing tabular structure, or 
 which cleave easily in the lines of lamination, and are consequently 
 applicable to the preparation of flagging and for curbstones. 
 
 Stalactite or Stalagmite marble. 1 his is a marble which is formed by the 
 deposit of lime carbonates from waters percolating into cavities or caves. 
 
 Strata. Layers or beds of rock of the same kind lying one upon another. 
 
 Stratified; bedded. Composed of layers or beds lying parallel to one another, 
 as is so frequently seen in sandstone and limestone. When the strata 
 are fine and leaf-like the structure is called laminated or shaly. 
 
 Streaked. Having some of the mineral constituents so arranged as to give 
 the rock a striped or streaked appearance. In the eruptive rocks this 
 
540 
 
 APPENDIX V, 
 
 structure is often produced by the flowing of the mass in a partially 
 cooled condition. It is best seen in obsidian, rhyolite and quartz por¬ 
 phyries. 
 
 Stock. The useful rock taken from a quarry. 
 
 Strike. The direction in strata at right angles to the dip, or the course of a 
 horizontal line on the surface of inclined beds. 
 
 Syenite. A granular massive rock with the structure of a granite, but con¬ 
 taining no quartz. (See p. 102.) # 
 
 Trachyte. A post-Tertiary volcanic rock of the composition of syenite. (See 
 p. 104.) 
 
 Trap or trap-rock. (See Dikes and Greenstone.) The name applies to the 
 manner in which a rock occurs, and is not itself a name of specific 
 value. 
 
 Travertine. A calcareous rock deposited by water from solution, and which 
 was used as a building stone in Rome. 
 
 Verde antique. Antique green. A rock composed of a mixture of serpentine 
 
 and calcite. (See p. 353.) 
 
 Vitreous or glassy. These terms are applied to rocks that have a structure 
 like glass, as obsidian. Rocks of this type are at present little used fosr 
 any kind of work. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Aberdeen granite, 92 
 
 Abrasion, test for resistance to, 459 
 
 Abrasive action of wind-blown sand, 
 
 425 
 
 Absorption, ratio of, tables, 498 
 Absorption, test to ascertain, 460 
 Accessory minerals defined, 18 
 Acid gloss surface, 402 
 Acids in atmosphere, 427 
 Africa marble, 326 
 Agalmatolite, 344 
 Aggregation, state of, 38 
 Alabama, limestone, 296 
 Alabama, marbles, 204 
 Alabama, resources of, 15 
 Alabama, sandstone, 127 
 Alabaster, 341 
 Alabaster, England, 342 
 Alabaster, Egypt, 284 
 Alabaster, how distinguished from 
 marble, 343 
 Alabaster, Italy, 342 
 Alabaster, origin of name, 243 
 Alabaster, Spain, 343 
 Alexander column, weathering of, 433 
 Algeria marble, 326 
 Algeria onyx marble, 281 
 American decorative marbles, de¬ 
 fects of, 455 
 
 Amphibole, characteristics of, 24 
 Andesites, 121 
 Antique porphyry, 107 
 Aqueous rocks, the, 122 
 Aragonite, characteristics of, 26 
 Argillaceous fragmental rocks, 175 
 Argillite, Montana, 346 
 
 Arizona, onyx marble, 263 
 Arizona, resources of, 15 
 Arizona, sandstone, 127 
 Arkansas, limestone, 296 
 Arkansas, marble, 204 
 Arkansas, resources of, 15 
 Arkansas, slate, 182 
 Arkansas, syenite, 103 
 Arkose defined, 127 
 Artificial heat, effect of, 424 
 Atmosphere, chemical action of, 427 
 Atmosphere, composition of, 427 
 Augusta, Me., early quarrying, 4 
 Austrian marble, 334 
 Ax-hammered face, 401 
 Ax, or pean-hammer, 415 
 Azurite, 347 
 
 Bangor slate region, 193 
 Bardiglio marble, 338 
 Barite, 345 
 Barre granites, 84 
 Basalt, 117 
 Bastard granite, 48 
 Bath stone, 329 
 Bay of Fundy granite, 91 
 Bedford oolite, 303 
 Belgian marble, 331 
 Berea grit, 155 
 Bermuda limestone, 324 
 Bibliography of works on building 
 stone, 528 
 
 Bird’s-eye marble, 213 
 Bituminous limestone, 300 
 Black and gold marble, 339 
 Black granite (see Diabase), 106 
 
 541 
 
542 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Bluestone, New York, 150 
 Boston Court-house, erection of, 2 
 Boston, first stone building in, 1 
 Bougard marble, 334 
 Boulders, glacial, for building, 379 
 Boulders on Quincy Commons, 2 
 Braintree granite in Hancock House, 2 
 Brard’s process of testing stone, 463 
 Breccia defined, 126 
 Breccia marble, 339 
 British Columbia granite, 90 
 British Columbia marble, 325 
 British Columbia sandstone, 171 
 Brocatelle, defined, 334 
 Brocatelle marble, 339 
 Building stone, distribution of, in the 
 U. S., 10 
 
 Building stone, minerals of, 17 
 Bunker Hill Monument, swaying of, 
 421 
 
 Bush-hammer, 415 
 Bush-hammered face, 401 
 
 Caen stone, 333 . 
 
 Caffal process of preserving stone, 494 
 
 Calcite, characteristics of, 25 
 
 Calcium carbonate, solubility of, 431 
 
 Calico marble, 214 
 
 California granite, 51 
 
 California marble, 205 
 
 California onyx marble, 267 
 
 California quartz diorite, 51 
 
 California, resources of, 15 
 
 California sandstone, 128 
 
 California serpentine, 357 
 
 California slate, 182 
 
 Canada granites, 90 
 
 Canada marble, 325 
 
 Canada serpentine, 375 
 
 Canada slate, 197 
 
 Cape Ann granites, 69 
 
 Carbonic acid in atmosphere, 427 
 
 Carlisle stone, 171 
 
 Catlinite, 345 
 
 Cave marbles, 245 
 
 Cementing material of sandstone, 124 
 Channelling-machine, 404 
 Cheat River sandstone, 166 
 Chemical action of atmosphere, 427 
 Chelmsford granite, 2 
 
 Chemical agencies acting on stone, 427 
 Chemical properties of building stone, 
 32, 4 i 
 
 Chilled iron used in stone sawing, 
 413 
 
 Chlorite, characteristics of, 28 
 Church of the Saviour, Moscow, no¬ 
 rite in, 116 
 Clay slate, 175 
 
 Coefficient of expansion of minerals, 
 
 434 
 
 Color of rocks, 22, 40 
 Color of stone, permanence of, 452 
 Color, permanency of, test, 457 
 Colorado, granite, 53 
 Colorado limestone, 296 
 Colorado marble, 208 
 Colorado onyx marble, 273 
 Colorado, resources of, 15 
 Colorado sandstone, 132 
 Colorado slate, 182 
 
 Composition of building stone, table, 
 
 5 10 
 
 Compressive elastic tests, table, 479 
 Compression, transverse, and shearing 
 tests, table, 518 
 Concord granites, 76 
 Conglomerate defined, 126 
 Conglomerates of Massachusetts, 143 
 Congregational House, erection of, 2 
 Connecticut diabase, 109 
 Connecticut, granite, 53 
 Connecticut marble, 209 
 Connecticut, resources of, 15 
 Connecticut sandstone, 135 
 Connecticut serpentine, 358 
 Contraction, test to ascertain ratio 
 of, 470 
 Coquina, 297 
 
 Corrosion, test for resistance to, 458 
 Corse Hill sandstone, 171 
 Cost of cutting stone, 520 
 Crotch Island, Me., granite, 57 
 Crushing strength, tests to ascertain, 
 
 474 
 
 Cutting and dressing stone, methods, 
 39i 
 
 Cuttings, experiments, 424 
 Dakota slate, 182 
 
INDEX. 
 
 543 
 
 Deacon John Phillips, house of, i 
 Dedham granite, 71 
 Delaware, gneiss of, 
 
 Delaware, marble, 209 
 Delaware, resources of, 15 
 Delaware, serpentine, 360 
 Density and hardness, 32 
 Deoxidation, effect on stone, 430 
 Diabase, 106 
 
 Diabase, Connecticut, 109 
 Diabase, Maine, 109 
 Diabase, Massachusetts, no 
 Diabase, Missouri, no 
 Diabase, New Jersey, no 
 Diabase, Pennsylvania, 112 
 Diabase, Triassic, in U. S., 107 
 Diabase, Virginia, 112 
 Diamond channelling-machine, 407 
 Diamond gadding-machine, 409 
 Diorite and kersantite, 118 
 Discoloration of stones through ab¬ 
 sorption of water, 489 
 Distribution of building stone in the 
 U. S., 10 
 
 Dolomite, characteristics of, 26 
 Dolomite defined, 201 
 Dolomite, Maryland, 213 
 Dolomite marble, Massachusetts, 215 
 Dolomite, N. Y., 218 
 Dolomites, other than marbles, 296 
 Dolomite, relative durability of, 454 
 Dolomites, weathering of, 435 
 Dolomite Will Co., Ill., 298 
 Dressing stone, effect on durability, 
 491 
 
 Dressing stone, methods of, 381 
 Drift boulders for building, 379 
 Drills and drilling-machines, 403 
 Duluth granite (see Gabbro), 113 
 
 Eclipse rock-drill, 403 
 Efflorescence on stone, 491 
 Egyptian alabaster, 284 
 Egyptian granite, 93 
 Egypt, onyx marble, 284 
 Elseolite syenite, 103 
 Elasticity of stone, tests to ascer¬ 
 tain, 478 
 
 England, alabaster, 342 
 England, granites, 92 
 
 England, marble, 328 
 England, serpentine, 375 
 Epidote, characteristics of, 28 
 Essential minerals defined, 17 
 Essential qualities of marble, 455 
 Euclid bluestone, 158 
 Exfoliation of stone, 420, 490, 491 
 Expansion and contraction of stone, 
 421 
 
 Expansion, test to ascertain ratio of, 
 470 
 
 Face-hammer, 415 
 Feldspars, the, characteristics of, 21 
 Finish applied to stone, 401 
 Finland, granite of, 92 
 Fine sand finish, 402 
 Fire-proof qualities of stone, 424 
 Fire-proof qualities, tests to ascertain, 
 473 
 
 Flagstone defined, 127 
 Florentine marble, 343 
 Florida, limestone, 297 
 Florida, resources of, 15 
 Foreign granites, 90 
 Foreign limestones, 324 
 Foreign porphyries, 99 
 Foreign sandstones, 169 
 Foreign serpentine, 375 
 Foreign slate, 197 
 Formosa marble, 334 
 Fossil coral, 346 
 
 Fossiliferous rocks, unequal weather¬ 
 ing of, 454 
 
 Fourche mountain syenite, 103 
 Frankfort Granite Co., 5 
 France, marble, 332 
 France, onyx marble, 295 
 Freestone defined, 127 
 Freezing of water in stone, 423 
 Freezing, tests to ascertain resistance 
 to, 462 
 
 Friction, effects of, 425 
 Frost, effect on stone, 421 
 
 Gabbro and norite, 113 
 Gadding machine, 408 
 Garnet, characteristics of, 28 
 Geological Record, table, 43 
 Georgia, granite, 55 
 
544 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Georgia, marble, 209 
 
 Georgia, resources of, 15 
 
 Georgia, sandstone, 138 
 
 Georgia, serpentine, 360 
 
 Georgia slate, 182 
 
 Germany, marble, 334 
 
 Gettysburg granite (see Diabase), 112 
 
 Glacial boulders for building, 379 
 
 Glaciated area, outlined, 450 
 
 Glossary of terms, 531 
 
 Gloucester, Mass., early quarrying, 3 
 
 Gneiss, Delaware, 55 
 
 Gneiss, Massachusetts, 71 
 
 Gneiss, New Jersey, 77 
 
 Gneiss, Pennsylvania, 81 
 
 Gneisses, the, 377 
 
 Grain of rocks, 39 
 
 Granites and gneisses, 46 
 
 Granite, age and occurrence, 48 
 
 Granite, British Columbia, 90 
 
 Granite, California, 51 
 
 Granite, Canada, 90 
 
 Granite, Colorado, 53 
 
 Granite, Connecticut, 53 
 
 Granite, East Blue Hill, Me., 60 
 
 Granite, England, 92 
 
 Granite, Egypt, 93 
 
 Granite, Finland, 92 
 
 Granite, fire-proof qualities of, 433 
 
 Granite, Georgia, 55 
 
 Granite, Hallowell, 63 
 
 Granite, Leete’s Island, 54 
 
 Granite, Maine, 56 
 
 Granite, Maryland, 66 
 
 Granite, Massachusetts, 68 
 
 Granite, Minnesota, 72 
 
 Granite, Missouri, 72 
 
 Granite, Montana, 75 
 
 Granite, Mount Waldo, Me., 61 
 
 Granite, New Brunswick, 91 
 
 Granite, New Hampshire, 75 
 
 Granites, New York, 78 
 
 Granites, North Carolina, 79 
 
 Granite, Norway, 93 
 
 Granites, Nova Scotia, 92 
 
 Granite quarrying, method of, 387 
 
 Granite, Red Beach, Me., 58 
 
 Granite, Rhode Island, 81 
 
 Granite, Scotland, 92 
 
 Granite, Stone Mountain, 55 
 
 Granite, Stony Creek, 54 
 Granite, South Carolina, 82 
 Granite, South Dakota, 82 
 Granite, Sweden, 93 
 Granite, Tennessee, 82 
 Granite, Texas, 83 
 Granite, uses, 50 
 Granite, Utah, 83 
 Granite, varieties, 49 
 Granite, Vermont, 83 
 Granite, Vinalhaven, Me., 62 
 Granite, Virginia, 85 
 Granite, Washington, 86 
 Granite, weathering of, 433 
 Granite, Wisconsin, 87 
 Granite, Wyoming, 90 
 Granite and sandstone, relative fire¬ 
 proof properties, 435 
 Graphic granite, 349 
 Graywacke defined, 127 
 Great Britain slate, 198 
 Greece marble, 340 
 Grinding-machine, 410 
 Grindstone Island granite, 78 
 Griotte marble, 332 
 Grub saw, 417 
 Gypsum, 341 
 
 Gypsum, characteristics of, 26 
 
 Haddam Neck, Conn., early quarrying, 
 3 
 
 Hallowell, Me., early quarrying, 4, 5 
 Hammering stone, effects of, 491 
 Hancock house, Boston, 2 
 Hand-drill, 417 
 
 Hand implements used in stone-work¬ 
 ing, 415 
 
 Hardness of rock, what dependent on, 
 33 
 
 Heat and cold, effect on stone, 421 
 Hematite, characteristics of, 32 
 Hornblende, characteristics of, 24 
 Houses of Parliament, disintegration 
 of stone, 420 
 
 Hummelstown sandstone, 159 
 Hydraulic limestone, 200 
 
 Idaho, marble, 211 
 Idaho, resources of, 15 
 Idaho, sandstone, 138 
 
INDEX. 
 
 545 
 
 Igneous rocks defined, 45 
 
 Illinois, limestone, 297 
 
 Illinois, resources of, 15 
 
 Illinois, sandstone, 138 
 
 Important stone buildings, list of, 522 
 
 Indiana, limestone, 302 
 
 Indiana, resources of, 15 
 
 Indiana, sandstone, 138 
 
 Indian, pipe-stone, 345 
 
 Induration of stone, 431 
 
 Ingersoll Standard Gadder, 410 
 
 Inyo marble, 206 
 
 Iowa, limestone, 304 
 
 Iowa, marble, 211 
 
 Iowa, resources of, 15 
 
 Jowa, sandstone, 140 
 
 Ireland, marble, 330 
 
 Ireland, serpentine, 376 
 
 Irish black marble, 330 
 
 Iron pyrites, characteristics of, 29 
 
 Italy, alabaster, 342 
 
 Italy, marble, 337 
 
 Italy, onxy marble, 293 
 
 Italy, serpentine, 377 
 
 Jade, 348 
 
 Joints in rock, cause of, 386 
 Joints in rocks, effect of, 383 
 
 Kansas, limestone, 306 
 Kansas, resources of, 15 
 Kansas, sandstone, 140 
 Kennebec Bridge, building of, 4 
 Kentucky, limestone, 308 
 Kentucky sandstone, 140 
 Kersantite 118 
 
 Kinds of finish applied to stone, 401 
 King’s Chapel, Boston, date of erec¬ 
 tion, 2 
 
 Kuhlman’s stone preservative, 496 
 
 Labradorite, 346 
 Lake Superior sandstone, 144 
 Languedoc marble, 332 
 L’Anse sandstone, 144 
 Lapis lazuli, 346 
 
 Lathes used in stone-working, 411 
 Leete’s Island granite, 54 
 Lehigh slate region, 194 
 
 Leopardite, North Carolina, 98 
 Lepanto marble, 220 
 Lewin’s process of stone preservation, 
 496 
 
 Lewis hole, 387 
 Life of stone, 452 
 Limestone, 296 
 Limestone, Alabama, 296 
 Limestone, Arkansas, 296 
 Limestone, Bermuda, 324 
 Limestone, Colorado, 296 
 Limestone, Florida, 297 
 Limestone, Illinois, 297 
 Limestone, Indiana, 302 
 Limestone, Iowa, 304 
 Limestone, Kansas, 306 
 Limestone, Kentucky, 308 
 Limestone, Maine, 309 
 Limestone, Michigan, 309 
 Limestone, Minnesota, 310 
 Limestone, Missouri, 310 
 Limestone, Nebraska, 314 
 Limestone, New York, 315 
 Limestone, North Carolina, 319 
 Limestone, Ohio, 319 
 Limestone, Pennsylvania, 321 
 Limestone, Tennessee, 322 
 Limestone, Texas, 322 
 Limestone, Wisconsin, 323 
 Limestone, bituminous, 300 
 Limestone, composition of, 198 
 Limestone, defined, 198 
 Limestone, foreign, 324 
 Limestone, hydraulic, 200 
 Limestone, lithographic, 200 
 Limestone, oolitic, 200, 307, 308 
 Limestones, weathering of, 431 
 Liparites, 99 
 Lisbon marble, 336 
 Lithographic limestone, 200 
 Louisiana, resources of, 15 
 Lower California, onyx marble, 280 
 Lumachelle marble, 335 
 Lyonaise marble, 237 
 
 Machines used in stone-working, 403 
 Magnetite, characteristics of, 31 
 Maine, diabase, 109 
 Maine, early quarrying, 3 
 Maine, granite, 56 
 
54 ^ 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Maine, limestone, 309 
 Maine, resources of, 15 
 Maine, sandstone, 141 
 Maine, serpentine, 360 
 Maine, slate, 183 
 Malachite, 347 
 
 Marble belt of western New England, 
 
 232 
 
 Marble defined, 200, 203 
 Marble, essential qualities of, 455 
 Marble, Africa, 326 
 Marble, Alabama, 204 
 Marble, Algeria, 326 
 Marble, Arkansas, 204 
 Marble, Austria, 334 
 Marble, Belgian, 331 
 Marble, British Columbia, 325 
 Marble, California, 205 
 Marble, Canada, 325 
 Marble, Colorado, 208 
 Marble, Connecticut, 207 
 Marble, Delaware, 209 
 Marble, English, 328 
 Marble, Formosa, 334 
 Marble, France, 332 
 Marble, Georgia, 209 
 Marble, Germany, 334 
 Marble, Greece, 340 
 Marble, Idaho, 211 
 Marble, Iov-a, 211 
 Marble, Ireland, 330 
 Marble, Isle La Motte, 209 
 Marble, Italy, 337 
 Marble, Lumaehelle, 335 
 Marble, Maryland, 213 
 Marble, Massachusetts, 215 
 Marble, Michigan, 215 
 Marble, Missouri, 216 
 Marble, Montana, 217 
 Marble, Nevada, 217 
 Marble, New Jersey, 217 
 Marble, New York, 218 
 Marble, North Carolina, 221 
 Marble, Numidian, 326 
 Marble, Pennsylvania, 222 
 Marble, Portugal, 335 
 Marble, South Dakota, 224 
 Marble, Spain, 335 
 Marble, Tennessee, 224 
 Marble, Texas, 230 
 
 Marble, Utah, 231 
 
 Marble, Vermont, 231 
 
 Marble, Virginia, 240 
 
 Marble, Washington, 241 
 
 Marble, Wyoming, 242 
 
 Marble, Bardiglio, 338 
 
 Marble, bird’s-eye, 213 
 
 Marble, black and gold, 339 
 
 Marble breccia, Italian, 339 
 
 Marble, Florentine, 343 
 
 Marble, onyx, 242 
 
 Marble, Parian, 340 
 
 Marble quarrying, early, 5 
 
 Marble quarrying in Pennsylvania, 6 
 
 Marble quarrying, method of, 389 
 
 Marble ruin, 340 
 
 Marble, Siena, 338 
 
 Marble slabs, bending or sagging of, 
 437 
 
 Marble, statuary, 337 
 Marble, varieties of, 535 
 Marble, verdantique, 353 
 Marble, weathering of, 436 
 Marmor Lacedaemonium viride, 107 
 Maryland, granites of, 66 
 Maryland, marble, 213 
 Maryland, resources of, 15 
 Maryland, sandstone, 141 
 Maryland, serpentine, 361 
 Maryland, slate, 184 
 Massachusetts, diabase, 110 
 Massachusetts, granite of, 68 
 Massachusetts, marble, 215 
 Massachusetts, porphyry of, 97 
 Massachusetts, resources of, 15 
 Massachusetts, sandstone, 143 
 Massachusetts, serpentine, 363 
 Massachusetts, slate, 186 
 Massachusetts, slates, early quarrying 
 of, 9 
 
 McDonald stone-cutting machine, 414 
 
 Medina sandstone, 152 
 
 Melaphyr, 116 
 
 Mellowing of stone, 428 
 
 Mexican onyx, 274 
 
 Micas, the, characteristics of, 22 
 
 Mica, effect of, in rocks, 23 
 
 Michigan, limestone, 309 
 
 Michigan, marble, 215 
 
 Michigan, resources, 15 
 
INDEX. 
 
 547 
 
 Michigan, sandstone, 144 
 
 Michigan, serpentine, 364 
 
 Michigan, slate, 186 
 
 Microscopic structure of rocks, 34 
 
 Milford granite, 20 
 
 Minerals of building stone, 17 
 
 Minerals, coefficient of expansion, 434 
 
 Minnesota, granites of, 72 
 
 Minnesota, limestone, 310 
 
 Minnesota, resources of, x 5 
 
 Minnesota, quartzite, 146 
 
 Minnesota, sandstone, 145 
 
 Minnesota, slate, 187 
 
 Minor ornamental stones, 344 
 
 Mississippi, sandstone, 146 
 
 Missouri, granites of, 73 
 
 Missouri, diabase, 110 
 
 Missouri, limestone, 313 
 
 Missouri, marble, 216 
 
 Missouri, resources of, 15 
 
 Missouri, sandstone, 147 
 
 Montana, granites of, 75 
 
 Montana, marble, 217 
 
 Montana, resources of, 15 
 
 Montana, sandstone, 148 
 
 Mount Eolus, section of, 233 
 
 Nebraska, limestone, 314 
 Nebraska, resources of, 15 
 Nebraska sandstone, 148 
 Nephrite, 348 
 Nevada, marble, 2x7 
 Nevada, resources of, 16 
 Nevada, sandstone, 148 
 New Brunswick, granites, 91 
 New Brunswick, sandstone, 170 
 New Hampshire, granite of, 75 
 New Hampshire, resources of, 16 
 New Hampshire, slate, 187 
 New Jersey diabase, no 
 New Jersey, gneisses of, 77 
 New Jersey, marble, 217 
 New Jersey, resources of, 16 
 New Jersey, sandstone, 149 
 New Jersey, serpentine, 365 
 New Jersey, slate, 188 
 New Mexico, onyx marble, 273 
 New Mexico, resources of, 16 
 New Mexico, sandstone, 149 
 New Mexico, serpentine, 365 
 
 New South Church, erection of, 2 
 New York bluestone, 151 
 New York, granites and gneisses of, 
 78 
 
 New York, limestone, 315 
 New York, marble, 218 
 New York, resources of, 16 
 New York, sandstone, 150 
 New York, serpentine, 366 
 New York, slate, 188 
 Norite, 113 
 
 North Carolina, granite of, 79 
 North Carolina, limestone, 319 
 North Carolina, marble, 221 
 North Carolina, porphyry of, 98 
 North Carolina, resources of, 16 
 North Carolina, sandstone, 154 
 North Carolina, serpentine, 369 
 Norway, granite of, 93 
 Nova Scotia, granite, 92 
 Nova Scotia, sandstone, 170 . 
 
 Numidian marble, 326 
 
 Obsidian, 101, 349 
 Ohio, limestone, 319 
 Ohio, resources of, 16 
 Ohio, sandstone, 154 
 Oil as a stone preservative, 493 
 Oklahoma, resources of, 16 
 Olivine, characteristics of, 27 
 Onyx marbles, 242 
 Onyx marbles, composition of, 250 
 Onyx marble, early uses, 255 
 Onyx marble, Algeria, 281 
 Onyx marble, Arizona, 263 
 Onyx marble, California, 267 
 Onyx marble, Colorado, 273 
 Onyx marbles of the Eastern Appala¬ 
 chians, 271 
 
 Onyx marble, Egypt, 284 
 Onyx marble, France, 295 
 Onyx marble, Italy, 293 
 Onyx marble, Lower California, 280 
 Onyx marble, Mexico, 274 
 Onyx marble, miscellaneous localities, 
 295 
 
 Onyx, origin of name, 243 
 Onyx marble, New Mexico, 273 
 Onyx marble, Persia, 287 
 Onyx marble, Tabriz, 287 
 
548 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Onyx tapestry, 253 
 Onyx marble, Utah, 273 
 Oolitic limestone, 200, 303, 307, 308 
 Ophicalcite, see Serpentine, 353 
 Oregon, resources of, 16 
 Oregon, sandstone, 159 
 Organisms, effect of, 426 
 Original constituents of rocks, 18 
 Oxidation, effect on stone, 428 
 
 Paint as a stone preservative, 493 
 Paraffine as a stone preservative, 494 
 Parkman house, erection of, 2 
 Parian marble, 340 
 Parmazo marble, 338 
 Patent hammer, 415 
 Patent-hammered face, 401 
 Peach-bottom slate, 185 
 Pean-hammer, 415 
 Pegmatite, 349 
 Pen Argyl slate region, 193 
 Pennsylvania, diabase, 112 
 Pennsylvania, gneisses of, 81 
 Pennsylvania, limestone, 321 
 Pennsylvania, marble, 222 
 Pennsylvania, resources of, 16 
 Pennsylvania, sandstone, 159 
 Pennsylvania, serpentine, 369 
 Pennsylvania, slate, 192 
 Pennsylvania, slates, early quarries, 9 
 Persia, onyx marble, 287 
 Peterhead granite, 92 
 Philadelphia, first stone house in, 6 
 Philadelphia, Pa., first stone used in, 5 
 Phonolite, 104 
 
 Physical agencies of disintegration, 421 
 Physical properties of building stone,32 
 Planers used in stone-working, 411 
 Plug and feather, uses of, 391 
 Pneumatic stone-cutting tools, 412 
 Point, 417 
 
 Pointed-face finish, 401 
 Polished surface, 402 
 Polishing-machines, 410 
 Polishing stone, method of, 397 
 Polish on marble, lasting qualities of, 
 438 
 
 Porosity of stone, how shown, 451 
 Porphyry, 94 
 Porphyry, Maine, 98 
 
 Porphyry, Massachusetts, 97 
 Porphyry, New Hampshire, 97 
 Porphyry, North Carolina, 98 
 Porphyry, Wisconsin, 98 
 Portland, Conn., early quarrying, 6 
 Portland stone, 329 
 Port or marble, 339 
 Portugal marble, 335 
 Position of stone in wall, effect of, 489 
 Potsdam sandstone, N. Y., 152 
 Potsdam sandstone Wisconsin, 168 
 Precautions observed in selection of 
 stone, 450 
 Prices of stone, 520 
 Protection and preservation of stone, 
 489 
 
 Protection by solutions, 493 
 Pumice finish, 402 
 Pyrite, effect of oxidation of, 428 
 Pyrites, characteristics of, 29 
 Pyroxenes, the, characteristics of, 24 
 
 Qualities of stone as shown by tests, 
 table, 498 
 Quarry-bar, 404 
 
 Quarrying and dressing stone, 381 
 Quarrying, season of, 456 
 Quarry water, 126, 432 
 Quartz, 20, 349 
 Quartzite, Minnesota, 146 
 Quartzite, South Dakota, 162 
 Quebec sandstone, 169 
 Quincy Commons, boulders on, 2 
 Quincy, Mass., early quarrying, 3 
 Quincy granite, 68 
 
 Ransome’s process of preservation, 495 
 
 Rapakivi granite, 92 
 
 Rhodochrosite, 350 
 
 Rhodonite, 351 
 
 Ricolite, 365 
 
 Ribbons in slate, 178 
 
 Rift and grain, defined, 39 
 
 Rock-face finish, 401 
 
 Rockmart slate, 182 
 
 Rockport, Mass., early quarrying, 3 
 
 Rock structure, 33 
 
 Rhode Island, granite of, 81 
 
 Roofing-slates, 175 
 
 Roofing-slate, cause of fissility, 178 
 
INDEX. 
 
 549 
 
 Roofing-slate, composition and origin, 
 175 
 
 Roofing-slates, testing of, 484 
 Rosso Antico of Egypt, 120 
 Ruin marble, 339 
 
 St. Anne marble, 331 
 St. Peter’s sandstone, 168 
 Sand, abrasive action of, 425 
 Sand-blast in stone-working, 397 
 Sandstone, absorptive properties of, 
 440 
 
 Sandstone, cementing material of, 124 
 Sandstone, colors of, 125 
 Sandstone, composition of, 125 
 Sandstone described, 123 
 Sandstone disintegration through ab¬ 
 sorbed salts, 444 
 
 Sandstone disintegration through for¬ 
 mation of gypsum, 443 
 Sandstone quarrying, beginnings of, in, 
 U. S., 6 
 
 Sandstone quarrying, enactment re¬ 
 lating to, 7 
 
 Sandstone quarrying, method of, 390 
 Sandstone, Triassic area of, 136 
 Sandstone, varieties of, 126 
 Sandstone, weathering of, 439 
 Sandstone, Alabama, 127 
 Sandstone, Arizona, 127 
 Sandstone, British Columbia, 171 
 Sandstone, California, 128 
 Sandstone, Cheat River, 166 
 Sandstone, Colorado, 132 
 Sandstone, Connecticut, 135 
 Sandstone, Corse Hill, 171 
 Sandstone, foreign, 169 
 Sandstone, Georgia, 138 
 Sandstone, Hummelstown, 159 
 Sandstone, Idaho, 138 
 Sandstonf, Illinois, 138 
 Sandstone, Indiana, 138 
 Sandstone, Iowa, 140 
 Sandstone, Kansas, 140 
 Sandstone, Kentucky, 140 
 Sandstone, Maine, 141 
 Sandstone, Maryland, 141 
 Sandstone, Massachusetts, 143 
 Sandstone, Medina, 152 
 Sandstone, Michigan, 144 
 
 Sandstone, Minnesota, 145 
 Sandstone, Mississippi, 146 
 Sandstone, Missouri, 147 
 Sandstone, Montana, 148 
 Sandstone, Nebraska, 148 
 Sandstone, Nevada, 148 
 Sandstone, New Brunswick, 170 
 Sandstone, New Jersey, 149 
 Sandstone, New Mexico, 149 
 Sandstone, New York, 150 
 Sandstone, North Carolina, 154 
 Sandstone, Nova Scotia, 170 
 Sandstone, Ohio, 154 
 Sandstone, Oregon, 159 
 Sandstone, Pennsylvania, 159 
 Sandstone, Potsdam, N. Y., 152 
 Sandstone, Quebec, 169 
 Sandstone, Scotland, 171 
 Sandstone, Seneca Creek, 142 
 Sandstone, Tennessee, 163 
 Sandstone, Texas, 163 
 Sandstone, Utah, 164 
 Sandstone, Vest Island, 169 
 Sandstone, Virginia, 164 
 Sandstone, Washington, 165 
 Sandstone, West Virginia, 166 
 Sandstone, Wisconsin, 167 
 Sandstone, Wyoming Valley, 162 
 Satin spar, 341 
 
 Saunders channelling-machines, 405 
 
 Sawed face, 402 
 
 Saws for stone-working, 412 
 
 Sawing slates, 400 
 
 Schists, the, 378 
 
 Schistose or foliated rocks, 377 
 
 School slates, 400 
 
 School slates, beginnings of manufac¬ 
 ture of, 10 
 
 Secondary constituents of rocks, 18 
 Selection of building-stone, 447 
 Seneca Creek sandstone, 142 
 Scotland, granites of, 92 
 Scotland sandstone, 171 
 Sculping slates, 399 
 Septarian nodules, 351 
 Serpentine, 353 
 
 Serpentine, characteristics of, 26 
 Serpentine, California, 357 
 Serpentine, Canada, 375 
 Serpentine, Connecticut, 358 
 
.550 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Serpentine, Delaware, 360 
 Serpentine, England, 375 
 Serpentine, foreign, 375 
 Serpentine, Georgia, 360 
 Serpentine, Ireland, 376 
 Serpentine, Italy, 377 
 Serpentine, Maine, 360 
 Serpentine, Maryland, 361 
 Serpentine, Massachusetts, 363 
 Serpentine, Michigan, 364 
 Serpentine, New Jersey, 365 
 Serpentine, New Mexico, 365 
 Serpentine, New York, 366 
 Serpentine, North Carolina, 369 
 Serpentine, Pennsylvania, 369 
 Serpentine, Texas, 372 
 Serpentine, Vermont, 372 
 Serpentine, Washington, 374 
 Serpentine, poor weathering qualities 
 of, 445 
 
 Shearing tests, 481, 518 
 Siena marble, 338 
 Silicified wood, 350 
 Soapstone, weathering of, 445 
 Solution, effect on stone, 430 
 South Carolina, granite of, 82 
 South Carolina, resources of, 16 
 South Carolina, slate, 195 
 South Dakota, granite of, 82 
 South Dakota, marble, 224 
 South Dakota, resources of, 16 
 South Dakota, quartzite, 162 
 Spain, alabaster, 343 
 Spain, marble, 335 
 
 Specific gravity, determination of, 483 
 Splitting-chisel, 417 ' 
 
 Splitting stone with wedges, inven¬ 
 tion of method, 392 
 Slates, composition and origin, 175 
 Slate, Arkansas, 182 
 Slate, California, 182 
 Slate, Canada, 197 
 Slate, Colorado, 182 
 Slate, Dakota, 182 
 Slate, foreign, 197 
 Slate, Georgia, 182 
 Slate, Great Britain, 198 
 Slate, Maine, 183 
 Slate, Maryland, 184 
 Slate, Massachusetts, 186 
 
 Slate, Michigan, 186 
 Slate, Minnesota, 187 
 Slate, New Hampshire, 187 
 Slate, New Jersey, 188 
 Slate, New York, 188 
 Slate, Peach Bottom, 185 
 Slate, Pennsylvania, 192 
 Slate, Rockmart, Ga., 182 
 Slate, South Carolina, 195 
 Slate, Tennessee, 195 
 Slate, Texas, 195 
 Slate, Vermont, 195 
 Slate, Virginia, 197 
 Slate, cause of fading, 445 
 Slate, microscopic examination of, 487 
 Slate-quarrying, beginnings of, 9 
 Slate-quarrying, method of, 398 
 Slate-splitting, method of, 398 
 Slate, testing of, 484 
 Slate, use§ of, 180 
 Slate, weathering of, 445 
 Square, a, of slate, 181 
 Square-stone finish, 402 
 Stalagmite marble (see Onyx), 245, 
 271 
 
 Statuary marble, 337 
 Stone buildings, list of, 522 
 Stone preservatives, 493 
 Stony Creek granite, 54 
 Strength of stone, unfair comparisons, 
 476 
 
 Structure of rocks, 33 
 
 Stunning stone by hammering, 491 
 
 Sweden, granite of, 93 
 
 Syenite, 101 
 
 Syene granite, 93 
 
 Syene granite, durability of, 449 
 
 Syenites of Arkansas, 103 
 
 Sylvester’s process of preservation, 495 
 
 Szerelmey’s stone liquid, 496 
 
 Talc, characteristics of, 27 
 Tennessee, granite, 82 
 Tennessee, limestone, 322 
 Tennessee, marble, 224 
 Tennessee, resources of, 16 
 Tennessee, sandstone, 163 
 Tennessee, slate, 195 
 Testing of building stone, 447 
 Texas, granite, 83 
 
INDEX. 
 
 551 
 
 Texas, limestone, 322 
 
 Texas, marble, 230 
 
 Texas, resources of, 16 
 
 Texas, sandstone, 163 
 
 Texas, serpentine, 372 
 
 Texas, slate, 195 
 
 Thulite stone, 352 
 
 Tooth-chisel, 417 
 
 Tooth chiseled finish, 402 
 
 Totten, Col., experiments of, 422 
 
 Trachytes and phonolites, 104 
 
 Transverse tests, 481,^518 
 
 Travertine, 200, 242 
 
 Tuffs, volcanic, 172 
 
 Unakite, 86 
 
 Underthroating of sills, 490 
 University Hall, erction of, 2 
 Utah, granites of, 83 
 Utah, marble, 231 
 Utah, onyx marble, 273 
 Utah, resources of, 16 
 Utah, sandstone, 164 
 
 Variation in stone from same quarry, 
 
 453 , . 
 
 Veined stones, weathering of, 455 
 
 Verdantique marble, 353 
 Verde di Levante, 377 
 Verde di Prato, 377 
 Verdolite, 372 
 Vermont, granite, 83 
 Vermont marble, 231, 
 
 Vermont, marble, early quarrying of, 5 
 Vermont, resources of, 16 
 Vermont, serpentine, 372 
 Vermont, slate, 195 
 Vermont slate, early quarrying of, 10 
 
 Vert de Genes, 377 
 Vert Island sandstone, 169 
 Virginia, diabase, ix 
 Virginia, granites of, 85 
 Virginia, marble, 240 
 Virginia, resources of, 16 
 Virginia, sandstone, 164 
 Virginia, slate, 197 
 Volcanic fragmental rocks, 172 
 Volcanic tuffs, 172 
 
 Washington,' granite, 86 
 Washington, marble, 241 
 Washington, resources of, 16 
 Washington, sandstone, 165 
 Washington, serpentine, 374 
 Weakening of stone through expansion 
 and contraction, 477 
 Weathering, defined, 420 
 Weathering of building stone, 418 
 Weathering of stones of various 
 kinds, 433 
 Wedge or plug, 417 
 Westerly, R. I., granite, 87 
 West Virginia, resources of, 16 
 West Virginia, sandstone, 166 
 Winooski marble, 237 
 Wire saw for stone working, 413 
 Wisconsin, granites of, 87 
 Wisconsin, limestone, 323 
 Wisconsin, porphyry of, 98 
 Wisconsin, resources of, 16 
 Wisconsin, sandstone, 167 
 Williamsite, 372 
 Winooski marble, 237 
 Wyoming, granite of, 90 
 Wyoming, marble, 242 
 Wyoming Valley stone, 162 
 
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 Siebert and Biggin’s Modern Stone-cutting and Masonry. 8 vo, 1 50 
 
 Smith’s Manual of Topographical Drawing. (McMillan). 8 vc, 2 50 
 
 Soper’s Air and Ventilation of Subways.Large nmo, 2 50 
 
 Tracy’s Plane Surveying.i6mo, mor. 3 00 
 
 * Trautwine’s Civil Engineer’s Pocket-book.i6mo, mor. 5 00 
 
 Venable’s Garbage Crematories in America.8vo, 2 00 
 
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 Sheep, 6 50 
 
 Law of Contracts. 8vo ’ 3 00 
 
 Law of Operations Preliminary to Construction in Engineering and Archi¬ 
 tecture. 8vo ’ 5 00 
 
 Sheep, 5 50 
 
 Warren’s Stereotomy—Problems in Stone-cutting.8vo, 2 50 
 
 * Waterbury’s Vest-Pocket Hand-book of Mathematics for Engineers. 
 
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 Webb’s Problems in the Use and Adjustment of Engineering Instruments. 
 
 i6mo, mor. 1 25 
 
 Wilson’s (H. N.) Topographic Surveying.8vo, 3 5 ® 
 
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 BRIDGES AND ROOFS. 
 
 Boiler’s Practical Treatise on the Construction of Iron Highway Bridges. .8vo, 2 00 
 
 Burr and talk’s Design and Construction of Metallic Bridges.8vo, 5 00 
 
 Influence Lines for Bridge and Roof Computations.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Du Bois’s Mechanics of Engineering. Vol. H. ....Small 4to, 10 00 
 
 Foster’s Treatise on Wooden Trestle Bridges.4to, 5 00 
 
 Fowler’s Ordinary Foundations.8vo, 3 50 
 
 French and Ives’s Stereotomy.8vo, 2 50 
 
 Greene’s Arches in Wood, Iron, and Stone.8vo, 2 50 
 
 Bridge Trusses.8vo, 2 50 
 
 Roof Trusses.8vo, 1 25 
 
 Grimm’s Secondary Stresses in Bridge Trusses.8vo, 2 50 
 
 Heller’s Stresses in Structures and the Accompanying Deformations.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Howe’s Design of Simple Roof-trusses in Wood and Steel.8vo, 2 00 
 
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 Treatise on Arches.8vo, 4 00 
 
 Johnson, Bryan, and Turneaure’s Theory and Practice in the Designing of 
 
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 7 
 
Merriman and Jacoby’s Text-book on Roofs and Bridges: 
 
 Parti. Stresses in Simple Trusses.8vo, 2 50 
 
 Part II. Graphic Statics.. 2 50 
 
 Part III. Bridge Design.8vo,' 2 50 
 
 PartIV. Higher Structures..8vo, 2 50 
 
 Morison’s Memphis Bridge.Oblong 4 to’, io oo 
 
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 * - Specifications for Steel Bridges.i2mo, 50 
 
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 Wright’s Designing of Draw-spans. Two parts in one volume.8vo> 3 50 
 
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 Barnes’s Ice Formation. g v0 
 
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 an Orifice. (Trautwine). 8vo 
 
 Bovey’s Treatise on Hydraulics.. 
 
 Church’s Diagrams of Mean Velocity of Water in Open Channels. 
 
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 Coffin’s Graphical Solution of Hydraulic Problems. ..r6mo, mor. 
 
 Flather’s Dynamometers, and the Measurement of Power.12010, 
 
 Folwell’s Water-supply Engineering. g vo 
 
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 Water-filtration Works.i2mo 
 
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 Hubbard and Kiersted’s Water-works Management and Maintenance.8vo, 
 
 * Lyndon’s Development and Electrical Distribution of Water Power. . . . 8vo, 
 Mason’s Water-supply. (Considered Principally from a Sanitary Standpoint.) 
 
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 Merriman’s Treatise on Hydraulics.8vo, 
 
 * Michie’s Elements of Analytical Mechanics.8vo, 
 
 * Molitor’s Hydraulics of Rivers, Weirs and Sluices.g vo 
 
 Schuyler’s Reservoirs for Irrigation, Water-power, and Domestic Water- 
 
 supply.Large 8vo, 
 
 * Thomas and Watt’s Improvement of Rivers . 4 to, 
 
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 Whipple’s Value of Pure Water.Large r2mo, 
 
 Williams and Hazen’s Hydraulic Tables.8vo, 
 
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 Turbines. 8vo, 
 
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MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING. 
 
 Baker’s Roads and Pavements.8vo, 
 
 Treatise on Masonry Construction.8vo. 
 
 Birkmire’s Architectural Iron and Steel.Svo, 
 
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 Black’s United States Public Works.Oblong 4to, 
 
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 * Bovey’s Strength of Materials and Theory of Structures.8vo, 
 
 Burr’s Elasticity and Resistance of the Materials of Engineering.8vo, 
 
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 i6mo, 
 
 Church’s Mechanics of Engineering.8vo, 
 
 Du Bois’s Mechanics of Engineering. 
 
 Vol. I. Kinematics, Statics, Kinetics.Small 4to, 
 
 Vol. II. The Stresses in Framed Structures, Strength of Materials and 
 
 Theory of Flexures.Small 4to, io oo 
 
 7 50 
 
 •Eckel’s Cements, Limes, and Plasters.Svo, 
 
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 Fowler’s Ordinary Foundations.8vo, 
 
 Graves’s Forest Mensuration.8vo, 
 
 Green’s Principles of American Forestry.nmo, 
 
 * Greene’s Structural Mechanics.8vo, 
 
 Holly and Ladd’s Analysis of Mixed Paints, Color Pigments and Varnishes 
 
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 Johnson’s (C. M.) Chemical Analysis of Special Steels. (In Preparation.) 
 
 Johnson’s (J. B.) Materials of Construction.Large 8vo, 
 
 Keep's Cast Iron.8vo, 
 
 Kidder’s Architects and Builders’ Pocket-book.i6mo, 
 
 Lanza’s Applied Mechanics.8vo, 
 
 Maire’s Modern Pigments and their Vehicles ... .i2mo. 
 
 Martens’s Handbook on Testing Materials. (Henning) 2 vols.8vo, 
 
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 Merriman’s Mechanics of Materials.8vo, 
 
 * Strength of Materials.izmo, 
 
 Metcalf’s SteeL A Manual for Steel-users.mmo, 
 
 Morrison’s Highway Engineering.8vo, 
 
 Patton’s Practical Treatise on Foundations.Svo, 
 
 Rice's Concrete Block Manufacture.8vo, 
 
 Richardson’s Modern Asphalt Pavements.8vo. 
 
 Richey’s Handbook for Superintendents of Construction.iOmo, mor. 
 
 * Ries’s Clays: Their Occurrence, Properties, and Uses.8vo, 
 
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 * Schwarz’s Longleaf Pine in Virgin Forest. IJ ™°’ 
 
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 Taylor and Thompson’s Treatise on Concrete, Plain and Reinforced.8vo, 
 
 Thurston’s Materials of Engineering. In Three Parts. ^... .. v0 ‘ 
 
 Part I. Non-metallic Materials of Engineering and Metallurgy.»vo, 
 
 Part II. Iron and Steel. f 7 ?’ 
 
 Part III. A Treatise on Brasses, Bronzes, and Other Alloys and their 
 
 Constituents.^ v0 ’ 
 
 Tillscn’s Street Pavements and Paving Materials.8vo, 
 
 Tumeaure and Maurer’s Principles of Reinforced Concrete Construction . 8vo, 
 Waterbury’s Manual of Instructions for the Use of Students in Cement Labora¬ 
 tory Practice. (In Press.) 
 
 6 00 
 
 So 
 
 00 
 
 2 50 
 
 2 50 
 
 6 00 
 
 5o 
 
 2 o 0 
 
 3 00 
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 5 00 
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 3 50 
 
 2 OO 
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 5 00 
 8 00 
 
 2 00 
 
 3 50 
 
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Wood’s (De V.) Treatise on the Resistance of Materials, and an Appendix on 
 
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 .. 4 00 
 
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 Transition Curve.*.i6mo, mor.’ 1 50 
 
 * Crockett’s Methods for Earthwork Computations.8vo, 1 50 
 
 Dawson’s “Engineering” and Electric Traction Pocket-book.i6mo, mor. 5 00 
 
 Dredge’s History of the Pennsylvania Railroad: (1879).Paper, 500 
 
 Fisher’s Table of Cubic Yards.Cardboard, 25 
 
 Godwin’s Railroad Engineers’ Field-book and Explorers’ Guide. . . i6mo, mor. 2 50 
 Hudson’s Tables for Calculating the Cubic Contents of Excavations and Em¬ 
 bankments.8vo, 1 00 
 
 Ives and Hilts’o Problems in Surveying, Railroad Surveying and Geodesy 
 
 i6mo, mor. 1 50 
 
 Molitor and Beard’s Manual for Resident Engineers.i6mo, 1 00 
 
 Nagle’s Field Manual for Railroad Engineers.i6mo, mor. 3 00 
 
 Philbrick’s Field Manual for Engineers. ..i6mo, mor. 3 00 
 
 Raymond’s Railroad Engineering. 3 volumes. 
 
 Vol. I. Railroad Field Geometry. (In Preparation.) 
 
 . Vol. II. Elements of Railroad Engineering.8vo, 3 50 
 
 Vol. III. Railroad Engineer’s Field Book. (In Preparation.) 
 
 Searles’s Field Engineering.i6mo, mor. 3 00 
 
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 *Trautwine’s Field Practice of Laying Out Circular Curves for Railroads. 
 
 i2mo. mor. 2 50 
 
 * Method of Calculating the Cubic Contents of Excavations and Embank¬ 
 
 ments by the Aid of Diagrams.8vo, 2 00 
 
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 Barr’s Kinematics of Machinery.8vo, 2 50 
 
 * Bartlett’s Mechanical Drawing.8vo, 3 00 
 
 * “ “ “ Abridged Ed.8vo, 1 50 
 
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 Coolidge and Freeman’s Elements of General Drafting for Mechanical Engi- 
 
 neers .Oblong 4 to, 2 50 
 
 Durley’s Kinematics of Machines.8vo, 4 00 
 
 Emch’s Introduction to Projective Geometry and its Applications.8vo, 2 50 
 
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 Jamison’s Advanced Mechanical Drawing.8vo 2 00 
 
 Elements of Mechanical Drawing.8vo, 2 50 
 
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 Mechanical Drawing. . 4 00 
 
 Velocity Diagrams. 8vo, 1 50 
 
 10 
 
McLeod’s Descriptive Geometry.Large nmo, 
 
 * Mahan’s Descriptive Geometry and Stone-cutting.8vo, 
 
 Industrial Drawing. (Thompson).8vo, 
 
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 Text-book of Mechanical Drawing and Elementary Machine Design.8vo, 
 
 Robinson’s Principles of Mechanism.8vo, 
 
 Schwamb and Merrill’s Elements of Mechanism.8vo, 
 
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 Smith (A. W.) and Marx’s Machine Design.8vo, 
 
 * Titsworth’s Elements of Mechanical Drawing.Oblong 8vd, 
 
 Warren’s Drafting Instruments and Operations.nmo, 
 
 Elements of Descriptive Geometry, Shadows, and Perspective.8vo, 
 
 Elements of Machine Construction and Drawing. \. .8vo, 
 
 Elements of Plane and Solid Free-hand Geometrical Drawing.nmo, 
 
 General Problems of Shades and Shadows.8vo, 
 
 Manual of Elementary Problems in the Linear Perspective of Form and 
 
 Shadow.12 mo, 
 
 Manual of Elementary Projection Drawing.nmo, 
 
 Plane Problems in Elementary Geometry.nmo, 
 
 Problems, Theorems, and Examples in Descriptive Geometry.8vo, 
 
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 Klein).8vo, 
 
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 Free-hand Perspective.8vo, 
 
 Woolf’s Elementary Course in Descriptive Geometry.Large 8vo, 
 
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 * Abegg’s Theory of Electrolytic Dissociation, (von Ende).nmo, 
 
 Andrews’s Hand-Book for Street Railway Engineering ... .3X5 inches, mor. 
 
 Anthony and Brackett’s Text-book of Physics. (Magie).Large nmo, 
 
 Anthony’s Lecture-notes on the Theory of Electrical Measurements. . . .nmo, 
 Benjamin’s History of Electricity.8vo, 
 
 Voltaic Cell.8vo, 
 
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 Classen’s Quantitative Chemical Analysis by Electrolysis. (Boltwood).. 8vo, 
 
 * Collins’s Manual of Wireless Telegraphy.i2mo, 
 
 » Mor. 
 
 Crehore and Squier’s Polarizing Photo-chronograph.8vo, 
 
 * Danneel’s Electrochemistry. (Merriam).i2mo, 
 
 Dawson’s “Engineering” and Electric Traction Pocket-book . . . . i6mo, mor. 
 Dolezalek’s Theory of the Lead Accumulator (Storage Battery), (von Ende) 
 
 nmo, 
 
 Duhem’s Thermodynamics and Chemistry. (Burgess).8vo, 
 
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 * Hanchett’s Alternating Currents.nmo, 
 
 Hering’s Ready Reference Tables (Conversion Factors)... .i6mo, mor. 
 
 * Hobart and Ellis’s High-speed Dynamo Electric Machinery.8vo, 
 
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 Lob’s Electrochemistry of Organic Compounds. (Lorenz).8vo, 
 
 * London’s Development and Electrical Distribution of Water Fower ... .8vo, 
 
 11 
 
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* Lyons’s Treatise on Electromagnetic Phenomena. Vols. I. and II. 8vo, each, 
 
 * Michie’s Elements of Wave Motion Relating to Sound and Light.8vo, 
 
 Morgan’s Outline of the Theory of Solution and its Results.i2mo, 
 
 * Physical Chemistry for Electrical Engineers.i2mo, 
 
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 * Norris’s Introduction to the Study of Electrical Engineering.8vo, 
 
 * Parshall and Hobart’s Electric Machine Design.4to, half mor. 
 
 Reagan’s Locomotives: Simple, Compound, and Electric. New Edition. 
 
 Large 12 mo, 
 
 * Rosenberg’s Electrical Engineering. (Haldane Gee—Kinzbrunner). .. .8vo, 
 
 Ryan, Norris, and Hoxie’s Electrical Machinery. Vol. 1 .8vo, 
 
 Srhapper’s Laboratory Guide for Students in Physical Chemistry.i2mo, 
 
 * Tillman’s Elementary Lessons in Heat.8vo, 
 
 Tory and Pitcher’s Manual of Laboratory Physics.Large nmo, 
 
 Ulke’s Modern Electrolytic Copper Refining. . ..gvo, 
 
 LAW. 
 
 * Davis’s Elements of Law.g V0) 
 
 * Treatise on the Military Law of United States.8vo, 
 
 * Sheep, 
 
 * Dudley’s Military Law and the Procedure of Courts-martial . . . .Large i2mo, 
 
 Manual for Courts-martial.i6mo, mor. 
 
 Wait’s Engineering and Architectural Jurisprudence...8vo, 
 
 Sheep, 
 
 Law of Contracts.. 
 
 Law of Operations Preliminary to Construction in Engineering and Archi¬ 
 tecture.. 
 
 Sheep, 
 
 MATHEMATICS. 
 
 Baker’s Elliptic Functions.. 
 
 Briggs’s Elements of Plane Analytic Geometry. (Bocher).nmo, 
 
 * Buchanan’s Plane and Spherical Trigonometry.8vo, 
 
 Byerley’s Harmonic Functions.8 V0 
 
 Chandler’s Elements of the Infinitesimal Calculus.121110, 
 
 Compton’s Manual of Logarithmic Computations.nmo 
 
 * Dickson’s College Algebra.Large nmo, 
 
 * Introduction to the Theory of Algebraic Equations.Large nmo, 
 
 Emch’s Introduction to Projective Geometry and its Applications.8vo, 
 
 Fiske’s Functions of a Complex Variable.•.8vo, 
 
 Halsted’s Elementary Synthetic Geometry.8vo 
 
 Elements of Geometry.gvo 
 
 * Rational Geometry.i2mo 
 
 Hyde’s Grassmann’s Space Analysis.8vo 
 
 * Jonnson’s (J. B,) Three-place Logarithmic Tables: Vest-pocket size, paper, 
 
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 * Mounted on heavy cardboard, 8X10 inches, 
 
 10 copies, 
 
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 Curve Tracing in Cartesian Co-ordinates.nmo, 
 
 Differential Equations.8vo, 
 
 Elementary Treatise on Differential Calculus.Large nmo, 
 
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 Theory of Errors and the Method of Least Squares.nmo, 
 
 Treatise on Differential Calculus.Large i2mo, 
 
 Treatise on the Integral Calculus.Large nmo, 
 
 Treatise on Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations.. Large nmo, 
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Laplace’s Philosophical Essay on Probabilities. (Truscott and Emory)..nmc, 2 00 
 * Ludlow and Bass’s Elements of Trigonometry and Logarithmic and Other 
 
 Tables.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Trigonometry and Tables published separately.Each, 2 00 
 
 * Ludlow’s Logarithmic and Trigonometric Tables.8vo, x 00 
 
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 Manning’s Irrational lumbers and their Representation by Sequences and 
 
 Series.i2mo, 1 25 
 
 Mathematical Monographs. Edited by Mansfield Merriman and Robert 
 
 S. Woodward.Octavo, each 1 00 
 
 No. 1. History of Modern Mathematics, by David Eugene Smith. 
 
 No. 2. Synthetic Projective Geometry, by George Bruce Halsted. 
 
 No. 3. Determinants, by Laenas Gifford Weld. No. 4. Hyper¬ 
 bolic Functions, by James McMahon. No y. Harmonic Func¬ 
 tions, by William E. Byerly. No. 6. Grassmann’s Space Analysis, 
 by Edward W. Hyde. No. 7. Probability and Theory of Errors, 
 by Robert S. Woodward. No. 8. Vector Analysis and Quaternions, 
 by Alexander Macfarlane. No. 9. Differential Equations, by 
 Wiiliam Woolsey Johnson. No. 10. The Solution of Equations, 
 by Mansfield Merriman. No. 11. Functions of a Complex Variable, 
 by Thomas S. Fiske. 
 
 Maurer’s Technical Mechanics.8vo, 4 00 
 
 Merriman’s Method of Least Squares.8vo, 2 00 
 
 Solution of Equations.8vo, 1 00 
 
 Rice and Johnson’s Differential and Integral Calculus. 2 vols. in one. 
 
 Large i2mo, 1 50 
 
 Elementary Treatise on the Differential Calculus.Large i2mo, 3 00 
 
 Smith’s History of Modern Mathematics.8vo, x 00 
 
 * Veblen and Lennes’s Introduction to the Real Infinitesimal Analysis of One 
 
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 * Waterbury’s Vest Pocket Hand-Book of Mathematics for Engine rs. 
 
 2s X 5l inches, mor. 1 00 
 
 Weld’s Determinations.8vo, 1 co 
 
 Wood's Elements of Co-ordinate Geometry.8vo, 2 00 
 
 Woodward’s Probability and Theory of Errors.8vo, 1 00 
 
 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING. 
 
 MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING, STEAM-ENGINES AND BOILERS. 
 
 Bacon’s Forge Practice.i2ino, 1 50 
 
 Baldwin’s Steam Heating for Buildings.i2mo, 2 50 
 
 Bair’s Kinematics of Machinery. 8vo, 2 50 
 
 * Bartlett’s Mechanical Drawing v .8vo, 3 00 
 
 * “ “ “ Abridged Ed.8vo, 1 50 
 
 Benjamin’s Wrinkles and Recipes.i2mo, 2 00 
 
 * Burr’s Ancient and Modern Engineering and the Isthmian Canal.8vo, 3 50 
 
 Carpenter’s Experimental Engineering.8vo, 6 00 
 
 Heating and Ventilating Buildings.8vo, 4 00 
 
 Clerk’s Gas and Oil Engine.Large i2mo, 4 00 
 
 Compton’s First Lessons in Metal Working.. . . 12mo, 1 50 
 
 Compton and De Groodt’s Speed Lathe.i2mo, 1 50 
 
 Coolidge’s Manual of Drawing.8vo, paper, 1 00 
 
 Coolidge and Freeman’s Elements of General Drafting for Mechanical En¬ 
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 Cromwell’s Treatise on Belts and Pulleys.12mo, 1 50 
 
 Treatise on Toothed Gearing.i2mo, 1 50 
 
 Durley’s Kinematics of Machines.8vo, 4 00 
 
 13 
 
Flather’s Dynamometers and the Measurement of Power .nmo, 3 00 
 
 Rope Driving...nmc, 2 00 
 
 Gill’s Gas and Fuel Analysis for Engineers.nmo, 1 25 
 
 Goss’s Locomotive Sparks.8vo, 2 00 
 
 Greene’s Pumping Machinery. (In Preparation.) 
 
 Hering’s Ready Reference Tables (Conversion Factors).i6mo, mor. 2 50 
 
 * Hobart and Ellis’s High Speed Dynamo Electric Machinery.8vo, 6 00 
 
 Hutton’s Gas Engine.8vo, 5 00 
 
 Jamison’s Advanced Mechanical Drawing.8vo, 2 00 
 
 Elements of Mechanical Drawing.8vo, 2 50 
 
 Jones’s Machine Design: 
 
 Parti. Kinematics of Machinery.8vo, 1 50 
 
 Part II. Form, Strength, and Proportions of Parts.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Kent’s Mechanical Engineers’ Pocket-book.i6mo, mor. 5 00 
 
 Kerr’s Power and Power Transmission.8vo, 2 00 
 
 Leonard’s Machine Shop Tools and Methods'.8vo, 4 00 
 
 * Lorenz’s Modern Refrigerating Machinery. (Pope, Haven, and Dean).. .8vo, 4 00 
 
 MacCord’s Kinematics; or, Practical Mechanism.8vo, 5 00 
 
 Mechanical Drawing.4to, 4 00 
 
 Velocity Diagrams.8vo, 1 50 
 
 MacFarland’s Standard Reduction Factors for Gases.8vo, 1 50 
 
 Mahan’s Industrial Drawing. (Thompson).8vo, 3 50 
 
 * Parshall and Hobart’s Electric Machine Design.Small 4to, half leather, 12 50 
 
 Peele’s Compressed Air Plant for Mines.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Poole’s Calorific Power of Fuels.8vo, 3 00 
 
 * Porter’s Engineering Reminiscences, 1855 to 1882 .8vo, 3 00 
 
 Reid’s Course in Mechanical Drawing.8vo, 2 00 
 
 Text-book of Mechanical Drawing and Elementary Machine Design.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Richard’s Compressed Air.nmo, 1 50 
 
 Robinson’s Principles of Mechanism.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Schwamb and Merrill’s Elements of Mechanism.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Smith’s (O.) Press-working of Metals.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Smith (A. W.) and Marx’s Machine Design.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Sorel ’ s Carbureting and Combustion in Alcohol Engines. (Woodward and Preston). 
 
 Large 12mo, 3 00 
 
 Thurston’s Animal as a Machine and Prime Motor, and the Laws of Energetics. 
 
 nmo, 1 00 
 
 Treatise on Friction and Lost Work in Machinery and Mill Work... 8vo, 3 00 
 
 Tillson’s Complete Automobile Instructor.i6mo, 1 50 
 
 mor. 2 oo- 
 
 * Titsworth’s Elements of Mechanical Drawing.Oblong 8vo, 1 25 
 
 Warren’s Elements of Machine Construction and Drawing. 8vo, 7 50 
 
 * Waterbury’s Vest Pocket Hand Book of Mathematics for Engineers. 
 
 2 | X Sf inches, mor. 1 00 
 
 Weisbach’s Kinematics and the Power of Transmission. (Herrmann—- 
 
 Klein).8vo, 5 00 
 
 Machinery of Transmission and Governors. (Herrmann—Klein).. ,8vo, 5 00 
 
 Wood’s Turbines. ..8vo, 2 50 
 
 MATERIALS OF ENGINEERING. 
 
 * Bovey’s Strength of Materials and Theory of Structures. 8vo, 7 50- 
 
 Burr’s Elasticity and Resistance of the Materials of Engineering.8vo, 7 50 
 
 Church’s Mechanics of Engineering.8vo, 6 00 
 
 * Greene’s Structural Mechanics.Svo, 2 50 
 
 Holley and Ladd’s Analysis of Mixed Paints, Color Pigments, and Varnishes. 
 
 Large i2mo, 2 50 
 
 Johnson’s Materials of Construction. 8vo, 6 00 
 
 Keep’s Cast Iron.8vo, 2 50 
 
 Lanza’s Applied Mechanics. 8vo., 7 50 
 
 14 
 
Maire’s Modern Pigments and their Vehicles.i2mo, 2 00 
 
 Martens’s Handbook on Testing Materials. (Henning). 8 vo, 7 5 ° 
 
 Maurer’s Technical Mechanics.'■. 8vo > 4 00 
 
 Merriman’s Mechanics of Materials. 8vo ’ 5 00 
 
 * Strength of Materials.. x 00 
 
 Metcalf’s Steel. A Manual for Steel-users.i2mo, 200 
 
 Sabin’s Industrial and Artistic Technology of Paints and Varnish.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Smith’s Materials of Machines..12mo, 1 00 
 
 Thurston’s Materials of Engineering. 3 vols., 8 vo, 8 00 
 
 Part I. Non-metallic Materials of Engineering and Metallurgy.. . 8 vo, 2 00 
 
 Part II. Iron and Steel. 8v °’ 3 50 
 
 Part III. A Treatise on Brasses, Bronzes, and Other Alloys and their 
 
 Constituents. 8vo ’ 2 
 
 Wood’s (De V.) Elements of Analytical Mechanics. 8 vo, 3 00 
 
 Treatise on the Resistance of Materials and an Appendix on the 
 
 Preservation of Timber._. 8vo ’ 2 00 
 
 Wood’s (M P.) Rustless Coatings: Corrosion and Electrolysis of Iron and 
 
 Steel... 8vo ’ 400 
 
 STEAM-ENGINES AND BOILERS. 
 
 Berry’s Temperature-entropy Diagram.. 1 25 
 
 Carnot’s Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat. (Thurston) . i 2 mo, 1 50 
 
 Chase’s Art of Pattern Making.. 2 50 
 
 Creighton’s Steam-engine and other Heat-motors. . 8v0 ’ 5 00 
 
 Dawson’s “ Engineering” and Electric Traction Pocket-book.i 6 mo, mor. 5 00 
 
 Ford’s Boiler Making for Boiler Makers.i 8 mo, 1 00 
 
 Gebhardt’s Steam Power Plant Engineering. (In Press.) 
 
 Goss’s Locomotive Performance. 8vo > 5 00 
 
 Hemenway’s Indicator Practice and Steam-engine Economy.xzmo, 2 00 
 
 Hutton’s Heat and Heat-engines. 8v0 ’ 5 00 
 
 Mechanical Engineering of Power Plants. 8vo > 5 00 
 
 Kent’s Steam boiler Economy. 8vo > 4 00 
 
 Kneass’s Practice and Theory of the Injector. 8vo > 1 50 
 
 MacCord’s Slide-valves. 8v0> 2 00 
 
 Meyer’s Modern Locomotive Construction.4to, 10 oc 
 
 Moyer’s Steam Turbines. (Tn Press.) 
 
 Peabody’s Manual of the Steam-engine Indicator.i 2 mo. 1 50 
 
 Tables of the Properties of Saturated Steam and Other Vapors. 8 vo, 1 00 
 
 Thermodynamics of the Steam-engine and Other Heat-engines. 8 vo, 5 00 
 
 Valve-gears for Steam-engines. 8v0 ’ 2 50 
 
 Peabody and Miller’s Steam-boilers. 8v0 > 4 00 
 
 Pray’s Twenty Years with the Indicator...Large 8 vo, 2 sc 
 
 Pupin’s Thermodynamics of Reversible Cycles in Gases and Saturated Vapors. 
 
 (Osterberg).. ,i2mo, 1 25 
 
 Reagan’s Locomotives: Simple, Compound, and Electric. New Edition. 
 
 Large i2mo, 3 5 ° 
 
 Sinclair’s Locomotive Engine Running and Management . xzmo, 2 00 
 
 Smart’s Handbook of Engineering Laboratory Practice.i2tno, 2 50 
 
 Snow’s Steam-boiler Practice. 8v0 > 3 00 
 
 Snangler’s Notes on Thermodynamics. I2m0 ’ 1 00 
 
 F , T , _ .8vo, 2 50 
 
 Spangler, Greene, and Marshall’s Elements o Steam-engineering . 8 vo, 3 00 
 
 Thomas’s Steam-turbines.’ " ’ " ’ ’ ‘ ’ ' r &V °.’ 4 °° 
 
 Thurston’s Handbook of Engine and Boiler Trials, and the Use of the Indi¬ 
 cator and the Prony Brake. 8vo > 5 00 
 
 Handy Tables.:”’ 8v0 ’ 1 5 ° 
 
 Manual of Steam-boilers, their resigns, Construction, and Operation.. 8 vo, 5 00 
 
 15 
 
Thurston’s Manual of the Steam-engine..... 2 vols., 
 
 Part I. History, Structure, and Theory.8voj 
 
 Part II. Design, Construction, and Operation.8vo, 
 
 Steam-boiler Explosions in Theory and in Practice.i2mo', 
 
 Wehrenfenning’s Analysisand Softening of Boiler Feed-water (Patterson) Svo,' 
 
 Weisbach’s Heat, Steam, and Steam-engines. (Du Bois).8vo, 
 
 Whitham’s Steam-engine Design. 8vo' 
 
 Wood’s Thermodynamics, Heat Motors, and Refrigerating Machines'. .8vo,’ 
 
 Svo, IO oo 
 6 oo 
 6 oo 
 i 50 
 
 4 oo 
 
 5 oo 
 5 oo 
 4 oo 
 
 MECHANICS PURE AND APPLIED. 
 
 Church’s Mechanics of Engineering. 
 
 
 
 Notes and Examples in Mechanics. 
 
 
 
 Dana s Text-book of Elementary Mechanics for Colleges 
 Du Bois’s Elementary Principles of Mechanics: 
 
 Vol. I. Kinematics. . . . 
 
 and Schools. .i2mo, 
 
 i 50 
 
 Vol. II. Statics. . . . 
 
 
 
 Mechanics of Engineering. Vol I 
 
 
 f 00 
 
 Vol. H . 
 
 
 
 *«Greene’s Structural Mechanics . 
 
 
 ) oo 
 
 James s Kinematics of a Point and the Rational Mechanics of a Particle. 
 
 . Large i2mo, 
 
 * Johnson’s (W. W.) Theoretical Mechanics . T -,r™ 
 
 2 OO 
 
 Lanza’s Applied Mechanics . 
 
 
 3 oo 
 
 * Martin’s Text Book on Mechanics, Vol. I, Statics 
 
 
 
 Vol. 2, Kinematics and Kinetics . .i2mo, 
 Maurer’s Technical Mechanics . q t ,„ 
 
 1 50 
 
 * Merriman’s Elements of Mechanics. . 
 
 ’ 
 
 4 oo 
 
 Mechanics of Materials. . 
 
 
 I oo 
 
 * Michie’s Elements of Analytical Mechanics. . . 
 
 
 3 rw 
 
 Robinson’s Principles of Mechanism. . 
 
 
 
 Sanborn’s Mechanics Problems . 
 
 
 3 ° C 
 
 Schwamb and Merrill’s Elements of Mechanism. .. 
 
 
 
 Wood’s Elements of Analytical Mechanics. . 
 
 
 3 
 
 Principles of Elementary Mechanics . 
 
 
 3 0( 
 
 MEDICAL. 
 
 
 
 * Abderhalden’s Physiological Chemistry in Thirty Lectures. 
 
 von Behring’s Suppression of Tuberculosis. (Bolduan) . 
 
 * Bolduan ’s Immune Sera . 
 
 . (Hall and Defren) 
 8vo, 
 
 5 oo 
 
 I oo 
 
 Davenport’s Statistical Methods with Special Reference to Biological Varia- 
 
 I 50 
 
 Ehrlich’s Collected Studies on Immunity. (Bolduan).8vo 
 
 Fischer’s Physiology of Alimentation.Large i2mo, cloth, 
 
 de Fursac’s Manual of Psychiatry. (Rosanoff and Collins).Large i2mo, 
 
 Hammarsten’s Text-book on Physiological Chemistry. (Mandel).8vo, 
 
 Jackson’s Directions for Laboratory Work in Physiological Chemistry. ,.8vo,' 
 
 Lassar-Cohn’s Practical Urinary Analysis. (Lorenz).i2mo, 
 
 Mandel’s Hand Book for the Bic-Chemical Laboratory.i2mo, 
 
 * Pauli’s Physical Chemistry in the Service of Medicine. (Fischer).nmo, 
 
 * Pozzi-Escot’s Toxins and Venoms and their Antibodies. (Cohn).i2mo, 
 
 Rostoski’s Serum Diagnosis. (Bolduan).i2mo, 
 
 Ruddiman’s Incompatibilities in Prescriptions.8vo, 
 
 Whys in Pharmacy.i2mo, 
 
 Salkowski’s Physiological and Pathological Chemistry. (Orndorff).8vo, 
 
 * Satterlee’s Outlines of Human Embryology.i2mo, 
 
 Smith’s Lecture Notes on Chemistry for Dental Students.8vo, 
 
 16 
 
 oo 
 
 oo 
 
 50 
 
 oo 
 
 25 
 
 oo 
 
 50 
 
 25 
 
 2 00 
 
 1 00 
 
 2 50 
 
 1 25 
 
 2 50 
 
Steel’s Treatise on the Diseases of the Dog. 8vo, 3 50 
 
 * Whipple’s Typhoid Fever.Large i2mo, 3 00 
 
 Woodhull’s Notes on Military Hygiene.i6mo, 1 50 
 
 * Personal Hygiene.nmo, 1 00 
 
 Worcester and Atkinson’s Small Hospitals Establishment and Maintenance, 
 
 and S ggestions for Hospital Architecture, with Plans for a Small 
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 METALLURGY. 
 
 Betts’s Lead Refining by Electrolysis.8vo, 4 00 
 
 Bolland’s Encyclopedia of Founding and Dictionary of Foundry Terms Used 
 
 in the Practice of Moulding.nmo, 3 00 
 
 Iron Founder.nmo, 2 50 
 
 “ Supplement.nmo, 2 50 
 
 Douglas’s Untechnical Addresses on Technical Subjects.nmo, 1 00 
 
 Goesel’s Minerals and Metals: A Reference Book.i6mo, mor. 3 00 
 
 * Iles’s Lead-smelting. i2mo, 2 50 
 
 Keep’s Cast Iron.8vo, 2 50 
 
 Le Chatelier’s High-temperature Measurements. (Boudouard—Burgess) nmo, 3 00 
 
 Metcalf’® Steel. A Manual for Steel-users.nmo, 2 00 
 
 Miller’s Cyanide Process.nmo, 1 00 
 
 Minet’s Production of Aluminium and its ^Industrial Use. (Waldo) . . .nmo, 2 50 
 
 Robipe and Lenglen’s Cyanide Industry. (Le Clerc).8vo, 4 00 
 
 Ruer’s Elements of Metallography. (Mathewson) (In Press.) 
 
 Smith’s Materials of Machines.i2mo, 1 00 
 
 Thurston’s Materials of Engineering. In Three Parts.8vo, 8 00 
 
 Part I. Non-metallic Materials of Engineering and Metallurgy . . . 8vo, 2 00 
 
 Part II. Iron and Steel.8vo, 3 50 
 
 Part III. A Treatise on Brasses, Bronzes, and Other Alloys and their 
 
 Constituents....'..8vo, 2 50 
 
 Ulke’s Modern Electrolytic CoppertRefining.8vo, 3 00 
 
 West’s American Foundry Practice. nmo, 2 50 
 
 Moulder’s Text Book .nmo, 2 50 
 
 Wilson’s Chlorination Process.nmo, 1 50 
 
 Cyanide Processes.nmo, 1 50 
 
 MINERALOGY. 
 
 Barringer’s Description of Minerals of Commercial Value.Oblong, mor. 2 50 
 
 Boyd’s Resources of Southwest Virginia.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Boyd’s Map of Southwest Virginia.Pocket-book form. 2 00 
 
 * Browning’s Introduction to the Rarer Elements.8vo, 1 50 
 
 Brush’s Manual of Determinative Mineralogy. (Penfield).8vo, 4 00 
 
 Butler’s Pocket Hand-Book of Minerals.i 6 mo, mor. 3 00 
 
 Chester’s Catalogue of Minerals.8vo, paper, 1 00 
 
 Cloth, 1 23 
 
 * Crane’s Gold and Silver.8vo, 5 00 
 
 Dana’s First Appendix to Dana’s New “ System of Mineralogy..” . . Large 8vo, 1 00 
 
 Manual of Mineralogy and Petrography.nmo 2 00 
 
 Minerals and How to Study Them.nmo, 1 50 
 
 System of Mineralogy.Large 8vo, half leather, 12 50 
 
 Text-book of Mineralogy.8vo, 4 00 
 
 Douglas’s Untechnical Addresses on Technical Subjects.nmo, 1 00 
 
 Eakle’s Mineral Tables.8vo, 1 25 
 
 Stone and Clay Froducts Used in Engineering. (In Preparation.) 
 
 EHeston’s Catalogue of Minerals and Synonyms.8vo, 2 50 
 
 Goesel’s Minerals and Metals: A Reference Book.i6mo,mor. 3 00 
 
 Groth’s Introduction to Chemical Crystallography (Marshall). nmo, 1 25 
 
 17 
 
* Iddings’s Rock Minerals.g VOj 5 OQ 
 
 Johannsen’s Determination of Rock-forming Minerals in Thin Sections.8vo, 4 00 
 
 * Martin’s Laboratory Guide to Qualitative Analysis with the Blowpipe. 12010, 60 
 
 Merrill’s Non-metallic Minerals: Their Occurrence and Uses.8vo, 4 00 
 
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 * Penfield’s Notes on Determinative Mineralogy and Record of Mineral Tests. 
 
 8vo, paper, 50 
 
 Tables of Minerals, Including the Use of Minerals and Statistics of 
 Domestic Production.8vo, 1 00 
 
 * Pirsson’s Rocks and Rock Minerals.i2tno, 2 50 
 
 * Richards’s Synopsis of Mineral Characters...i2mo, mor. 1 25 
 
 * Ries’s Clays: Their Occurrence, Properties, and Uses.8vo, 5 00 
 
 * Tillman’s Text-book of Important Minerals and Rocks.8vo, 2 00 
 
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 * Beard’s Mine Gases and Explosions.Large nmo, 3 00 
 
 Boyd’s Map of Southwest Virginia...Pocket-book form 2 00 
 
 Resources of Southwest Virginia.8vo, 3 00 
 
 * Crane’s Gold and Silver .8vo, 5 00 
 
 Douglas’s Untechnical Addresses on Technical Subjects.12mo 1 00 
 
 Eissler’s Modern High Explosives...8vo, 4 00 
 
 Goesel’s Minerals and Metals: A Reference Book.i6mo, mor. 300 
 
 Ihlseng’s Manual of Mining.8vo, 5 00 
 
 * Iles’s Lead-smelting.nmo, 2 50 
 
 Miller’s Cyanide Process.nmo, 1 00 
 
 O’Driscoll’s Notes on the Treatment of Gold Ores.Svo, 2 00 
 
 Peele’s Compressed Air Plant for Mines.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Riemer’s Shaft Sinking Under Difficult Conditions. (Corning and Peele). . .8vo, 3 00 
 
 Robine and Lenglen’s Cyanide Industry. (Le Clerc).Svo, 400 
 
 * Weaver’s Military Explosives.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Wilson’s Chlorination Process.nmo, 1 50 
 
 Cyanide Processes. nmo, 1 50 
 
 Hydraulic and Placer Mining. 2d edition, rewritten.nmo, 2 50 
 
 Treatise on Practical and Theoretical Mine Ventilation.nmo, 1 25 
 
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 Association of State and National Food and Dairy Departments, Hartford Meeting, 
 
 1906. 8vo, 3 00 
 
 Jamestown Meeting, 1907.Svo, 3 00 
 
 * Bashore’s Outlines of Practical Sanitation.nmo, 1 25 
 
 Sanitation of a Country House.nmo, 1 00 
 
 Sanitation of Recreation Camps and Parks.nmo, 1 00 
 
 Folwell’s Sewerage. (Designing, Construction, and Maintenance).8vo, 3 00 
 
 Water-supply Engineering.8vo, 4 00 
 
 Fowler’s Sewage Works Analyses.i2mo, 2 00 
 
 Fuertes’s Water-filtration Works.nmo, 2 50 
 
 Water and Public Health.nmo, 1 50 
 
 Gerhard’s Guide to Sanitary House-inspection.i6mo, x 00 
 
 * Modern Baths and Bath Houses.8vo, 3 00 
 
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 Hazen’s Clean Water and How to Get It.Large nmo, 1 50 
 
 Filtration of Public Water-supplies.8vo, 3 00 
 
 Kinnicut, Winslow and Pratt’s Purification of Sewage. (In Press.) 
 
 Leach’s Inspection and Analysis of Food with Special Reference to State 
 
 Control.Svo, 7 00 
 
 Mason’s Examination of Water. (Chemical and Bacteriological).nmo, 1 25 
 
 Water-supply. (Considered Principally from a Sanitary Standpoint).. 8vo, 4 00 
 
 18 
 
* Merriman’s Elements of Sanitary Engineering. 8vo 
 
 Ogden’s Sewer Design. i 2 mo 
 
 Parsons ’ s Disposal of Municipal Refuse.8vo' 
 
 Prescott and Winslow’s Elements of Water Bacteriology, with Special Refer! 
 
 ence to Sanitary Water Analysis. I2mo 
 
 * Price’s Handbook on Sanitation. .i 2 mo' 
 
 Richards’s Cost of Food. A Study in Dietaries. I2mo ’ 
 
 Cost of Living as Modified by Sanitary Science... I2mo ’ 
 
 Cost of Shelter. I'.'.'.'.'.'.'.', r 2 mo', 
 
 * Richards and Williams’s Dietary Computer.8vo 
 
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 P° int .. 
 
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 Soper’s Air and Ventilation of Subways.Large i 2 mo' 
 
 Turneaure and Russell’s Public Water-supplies.8vo' 
 
 Venable’s Garbage Crematories in America.8vo 
 
 Method and Devices for Bacterial Treatment of Sewage.8vo 
 
 Ward and Whipple’s Freshwater Biology. (In Press.) 
 
 Whipple’s Microscopy of Drinking-water. 8vo 
 
 * Typhod Fever......'.Large i 2 mo,’ 
 
 Value of Pure Water.Large 12mo> 
 
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 Winton’s Microscopy of Vegetable Foods.. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Emmons’s Geological Guide-book of the Rocky Mountain Excursion of the 
 
 International Congress of Geologists.Large 8vo 
 
 Ferrel’s Popular Treatise on the Winds. 8vo' 
 
 Fitzgerald’s Boston Machinist.i8mo 
 
 Gannett’s Statistical Abstract of the World. 24mo 
 
 Haines’s American Railway Management. iemo 
 
 * Hanusek’s The Microscopy of Technical Products. (Winton).8vo' 
 
 Ricketts’s History of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 1824-1394. 
 
 Large 12 mo, 
 
 Rotherham’s Emphasized New Testament......Large 8vo 
 
 Standage’s Decoration of Wood, Glass, Metal, etc. 12mo ’ 
 
 Thome’s Structural and Physiological Botany. (Bennett).x6mo* 
 
 Westermaier’s Compendium of General Botany. (Schneider).8vo' 
 
 Winslow’s Elements of Applied Microscopy.i 2 iro 
 
 HEBREW AND CHALDEE TEXT-BOOKS. 
 
 Green’s Elementary Hebrew Grammar. r 2 mo 
 
 Gesenius’s Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scr ptures! 
 
 (Tregelles).Small 4to ; half mor. 
 
 2 00 
 2 00 
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 1 5o 
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 1 00 
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