BUILDING AND ORNAMENTAL STONEH. .3G5 



greater tliaii that of marble." An analysis oi" the deep-green variety 

 gave the following resnlts : 



I'er amt. 



Mii<^nesi;i 39. Oii 



Wiitor 1-i.lO 



Maguetic irou 3. 02 



lUO, (K) 



Pit cent. 



Silicic acid 40. 0(5 



Alnniina ].:$7 



Chromic oxido 0.20 



NiccroloiKs t>.\iilo 0. 71 



FerndLS oxido ;?. 43 



Maiigiiuous oxido 0. O'J | 



Specific gravity 2.068, equal a weight of 106| pounds per cubic foot, 

 or practically the same as granite. S])ecime]is of this stone received at 

 the National JMuseum admitted of a very high lustrous polish, the colors 

 being quite uniformly green, slightly mottled with lighter and darker 

 shades. It is not a true verde anti<iue in the sense in which this name 

 was originally enq)loyed. So far as can be judged from appearances, 

 this is a most excellent stone, and admirably suited for interior decora- 

 tive work. 



About miles north of the city of Baltimore, at a locality known as 

 the Bare Ilills, occurs an outcrop of a coarse light-green serpentine 

 covering many acres. The rock is (piito porous, of a dull light-green 

 color, and unfitted for auy kind of ornamental work, but admirably 

 fitted for general building, especially in rock-faced .and rubble work. 



At the tiujc 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 hud 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. II. Will- 

 iams as an altered gabbro.* The supply is inexhaustible. Portions of 

 Ihe ro(;k carry a very considerable amount of chrome iron, which was 

 at one time mined here quite extensively. In the quarry the rock oc- 

 curs in a very badly jointed condition, and the blocks are rounded and 

 irregular. Firm blocks several feet in length can, however, be obtained, 

 which cut uj) readily into sizes suitable for house walls and similar 

 pur[)oses. 



The Museum has received from the farm of Mr. George W. Leakin, in 

 this vicinity, samples of a fine dark-green rock, which took a fair polish, 

 and perhaps might prove suitable for decorative work. 



M((.smchi(i)€lts. — Serpentine exists in Massachusetts in great abun- 

 dance, paiti(uilarly in the lloosac JNluuntain Bange. " The most exten- 

 sive bed occurs in Middlefield, in the southern part of the town. This 

 bed cat! not be less than a quarter of a mile in breadth and 5 or G miles 

 long. The (colors of the rock are various and its hardness unequal. 

 If wrought, it might sui)ply the whole world. It yields both the prec- 

 ious and the common varieties. There is another bed in the same town, 

 associated with steatite or soapstone. In the west part of Westfield is 

 found another extensive bed of this rock, extending into liussell, of a 

 much darker color, and containing green talc. This has been used in 



* liull. U. S. bcoTTsurvciy, No. 28. " 



