BUILDING AND ORNAMENTAL STONES. 347 



hundretls of years iu a climate like that of Florida or New Mexico, but 

 which would probably be found in a sad state of disintegration at the 

 end of a single scasou in some more northern State. 



We are accustomed to hear a great deal r(>garding the wisdom of the 

 ancients, and especially the Egyptians, as showu in tlie selection of 

 enduring materials for their obelisks and juonuments,* 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 ol)e]isks, even after thousands of years of ex- 

 posure, as proof of this marvelous foresight on the part of a semi- 

 barbarous people. It must be borne iu mind, however, that uature 

 herself had vastly- more to do in this matter than Egyptian foresight, 

 and it is more than i)r()l)al)le that at that time materials were selected 

 with as little regard fur their lasting qualities as they are to-day. The 

 Syeue granite, so durable under Egyptian skies, is no better than 

 those in common use in this country, as the traus])orted obelisks iu 

 New York aud London have plainly shown. It is a matter of cliuuxto 

 more than of material, and this fact should never for a moment be ig- 

 nored. Were the climate of the United States like that of Egypt, 

 southerii Ital^', or Mexico there would have arisen no occasion for the 

 compilation of this cliapter.f 



(2) PKECAITTIONS TO BE OBSERVED. 



. The precautions wliicli should be observed in selecting a. stone for 

 building purposes may here be brietly alluded to. 



In those portions of the northern and eastern United States tliat 

 have been subjected to glacial action,| and where the great mass 



' Vide Matcriaiis do Construction, par L. Malccot, X). oU. 



+ "From tlio manner iu which the Luihlings and monuments of Italy, formed of cal- 

 careous materials, have retained to a wonderful degree the sharpness of their orginal 

 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 rcsiiect, therefore, the 

 humid sky and gaseous atmosphere of British towns must always place tlie buildings 

 of this country at a comparative disadvantage as regards durability." (llnll, p. 282.) 



"La Greco, la Basso Italie, et uotammeni} la Sicile, di|; il, out cet (Strange privildgo 

 que tout s'y conserve intact, i)resque sans so ddtdriorer, pendant des siecles consdcu- 

 lifs, Aussi les monuments, les statues, les marbres blancs eux-memes, q'li, chez nous 

 (en France), dcvienuent noirs en deuxans, rouges en dix ans, ruin6s en cinquante, chez 

 eux sont a peine noircis au bout do trois ou quatre siecles d'exposition en plein air. 

 Sous terre ou dans un appartement ils gardeut intactes leur forme et jusqu'i\ lenr 

 l)hincheur, a,perp6tuit6 pour aiusi dire. 



.J'ai vu retirer do terre a Pouzzole, pros de Naple, des marbres enfouis dtipwis jilus do 

 denx nnllo ans, qui avaient Fair do sortir des mains du sculpteiir. 



A Palerme, les statues et les marbres en ))hMn ;iir sont, il est vrai,assez noirs; raais 

 ils n'ont jamais 6t6 touch(is, m'a-t-on dit,d(>pnis leur miso en place, et il y a 1;\ des 

 statues qui datcut de dix siecles." (E. Carjey, .as (luoted in Malecot's Mat6riaiix de 

 Construction, p.3L) 



{This includes all of New Englainl and tlio.sci ijortions of other States lying north 

 of a line running irregularly from a point near the western end of Long Island 



