1867.] 147 [Fleury. 



the petrifying liquid fine white sand or pulverized quartz, marble 

 dust, or other suitable material, we could make statuary, monuments, 

 fountains, column?, in short any ornamental stone, not by a slow pro- 

 cess of cutting and chiselling, but by a very quick and most econo- 

 mical process : by simply casting the flint-marble statues like plaster 

 of Paris in moulds, without any heat or pressure. "The building of 

 a temple without the sound of a hammer" might thus be realized, as 

 the cast stones could be cemented together with the same petrifying 

 liquid, and thus make one solid, durable structure. 



The cost of white flint-marble statuary, tombstones, monuments, 

 fountains, tables, mantel-pieces, &c., Avould be much reduced. This 

 art could become what photography is now to painting, a propagating 

 and diffusing agent of the art of sculpture. How quickly and cheaply 

 we could multiply and diffuse the master-pieces of this art, and adorn 

 our public and private buildings, parks and gardens ! 



The liquid flint might be mixed with proper materials and applied 

 like mortar or plaster of Paris to the outside of our brown stone, 

 brick, and perhaps even wooden houses, giving them the appearance 

 of fine marble buildings. AYe might cover the walls and ceilings of 

 our churches, halls, theatres, parlors and rooms with a most durable 

 flint coating, colored or painted in fresco. These silicified colors 

 would be as durable as those of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The 

 floors might be inlaid with colored stones, in so-called mosaic style. 



Another highly important application of the liquid quartz sug- 

 gests itself in rendering wood non-injlammahle, rot, and water-proof. 

 The amount of property lost by fire during the present year will 

 probably reach 100,000,000 of dollars, against 44,000,000 lost during 

 the past year. We could reduce the danger from fire in a great 

 measure by making wood non-inflammable, water and rot-proof. 

 How could this be done ? you will ask. Simply by steepino- the 

 wood when thoroughly dry in the liquid flint, and then expelling 

 the moisture by proper evaporation. Canvass, cloth and paper might 

 thereby be rendered non-inflammable, rot and water-proof, because 

 the moment we stop up the pores of wood or other texture with a 

 non-conducting substance of heat, and one that next to being incom- 

 bustible in itself, covers the wood or other fibrous particles with an 

 impervious coating, we not only prevent the wood from burning when 

 coming in contact with flame, but also from decomposition and water. 

 The silicification of house, ship, and bridge timber, of railroad sleepei-s 

 and cross-ties, telegraphic poles, &c., deserves our full attention. 

 Mixed with paper pulp or other material it might be made into many 

 useful articles, such as trunks, boxes, moulds, parts of machinery, 

 photographic instruments, piano keys, boot and shoe soles, &c. 



The petrifying liquid might be used for protecting the bottoms of 



