i8o TJic Irish Naiiiralist. 



that after all, the souls of gas-workers and dock-hands are as 

 worthy of artistic surroundings as the city-clerks of College- 

 green. The chimney of the pumping-station at Grosvenor-road 

 in I^ondon is an example of what may be done in this direc- 

 tion ; and a love of the plain Irish limestone, arising from a 

 scientific insight into its qualities, may yet end in beautify- 

 ing many structures in our poorer districts, and in employing 

 artistic labour in quarters where, at the present time, life seems 

 invited to be ugly. 



Where the colder grey seems undesirable, Ireland provides 

 a superb pale-yellow building-stone for cities in the sand- 

 stones of Fermanagh and southern Donegal. The Mount- 

 charles stone, as used by Sir Thomas Deane in the Museum 

 in Kildare-street, Dublin, will serve as an example of the 

 sharp edges that can be cut out of this hard material. No 

 doubt it may be more costly to work than Portland stone, but 

 any chemist or mineralogist will predict for it remarkable 

 freedom from decay. London, in particular, is seeking for 

 materials that will retain their form and colour despite the 

 penetrating rain and fog. Though the smoke of such an 

 atmosphere clings to almost everj'-thing but polished granite 

 and terra-cotta, a fine-grained, pale-coloured, well-cemented 

 sandstone should be able, by its durability, to drive limestones 

 out of the field; and these Carboniferous sandstones of north- 

 west Ireland seem to be more reliable than many English 

 varieties, especially than the red, while they are, at the same 

 time, not too difficult to work. 



Granites require careful selection, as the Provost's wall at 

 Trinit}' College shows; but the National Bank in College- 

 green illustrates how even somewhat delicate caps of columns 

 can be cut in this material. It will be interesting to note 

 whether the light-coloured granites or the Mountcharles sand- 

 stones discolour more readily in a city atmosphere. For 

 polished blocks, the grey granites of Newry are well known ; 

 and it is possible that, when people have enough of the ubi- 

 quitous Peterhead, the red and green granite of Galway, and 

 the red of Donegal, may have a fair chance of public favour. 



The brick-and-marble architecture of Italy suggests how 



two Irish industries might be pleasingl}^ combined ; but a 



white marble gives the most pleasing contrast when laid 



, alternatel}' with the courses of red brick. The real use of 



