of the United States of North America. 17 



The Astor hotel, the largest in America, and perhaps in tho 

 world, which is one of the very few stone-buildings in New 

 York, is built of this granite. 



In the neighbourhood of Boston, and also Philadelphia, a 

 species of soap-stone is found, which is quarried to some ex- 

 tent, and used in situations exposed to high temperatures in- 

 stead of fire brick. 



To the marble quarries, however, the Americans look for 

 their principal supply of materials. These are more numer- 

 ous, and are more widely distributed than the others I have 

 mentioned, although they also are confined to the northern 

 states. The principal marble quarries are in the states of 

 Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Vermont. I visited some 

 of them \^hen in the country, and had also the advantage of 

 receiving much information regarding them, as well as the 

 materials of the United States generally, from Mr Strickland, 

 architect at Philadelphia, and from Mr John Struthers, marble- 

 cutter, of the same place, to whom I am indebted for the 

 specimens of marbles and woods which I had the pleasure of 

 laying before the Society.* 



The marble quarries in Pennsylvania are situate in the 

 valley of the river Schuylkill, and are from thirteen to twenty 

 miles distant from Philadelphia. They produce white, blue, 

 black, and variegated marbles. Limestone is found resting on 

 the marble, and is blasted off with gunpowder, and burned for 

 making mortar. In some of the quarries which I visited, the 

 beds of marble dipped from north to south at an inclination of 

 60° with the horizon, and they were worked at considerable 

 disadvantage. In one quarry the men were working a bed of 

 white marble 14 feet in thickness, at a depth of 120 feet 

 below the natural surface of the ground. The blocks, some 

 of which weighed 12 tons, were raised to the surface by 

 means of a rudely-constructed horse-gin, there being* no road 

 to the bottom of the quarry, or rather pit, from which they 

 are taken, by which even a man could conveniently, or safely, 

 descend or ascend, without the use of a rope to prevent his 

 billing headlong to the bottom. In this respect the American 



* These specimens are now in the Museum of tho Society of Arts. 

 VOL. XXXI. NO. LXI. JULY 1841, B 



