198 [Assembly 



western counties of the State, however, some of the beds are dur- 

 able, and make a valuable bnildin<i^ stone. 



TJie extension of the same formation into Ohio yields the famous 

 finegrained standstone of Berea, and the gray freestone of Amherst 

 and vicinity ; the latter of which is now so largely used for building 

 in New York and Philadelphia, Cleveland and Bufi'alo, and which 

 enters into the construction of the Houses of Parliament at Ottawa. 



This sandstone, like all others of the same class of rocks, is very 

 variable in its character at different points along the outcrop of the 

 formation ; owing chiefly to the greater or less proportion of argil- 

 laceous matter contained in the mass, and sometimes the almost 

 entire absence of that material. The latter condition exists in some 

 of the beds at Berea, but more particularly in those of Amherst and 

 neighborhood. 



7. The sandstone and argillaceous sandstone of the Che- 

 mung GROUP are very irregularly distributed over the southern 

 counties of the State. The beds fit for building-stone are usually 

 intercalated between shaly beds, andsometimes continuous for many 

 miles; while the coarser masses are not frequently lenticular in form, 

 thinning away in ever}'^ direction, or ending in thinly laminated 

 beds which are unfit for building stone, but may be used for flag- 

 stones. 



The stone varies in different localities and in different beds, from 

 fine sandy layers of a light gray color, to more or less of an argilla- 

 ceous character with a dark olive-brown color. It is not possible to 

 trace any set of beds continuously through the country, and the 

 rock can scarcely come into general use for building purposes. In 

 certain localities, the arenaceous beds will prove of great value to the 

 immediate neighborhood. 



8. New red sandstone. Within the State of New York, this 

 rock is limited to the county of Rockland; extending from Haver- 

 straw along the river, beyond the limits of the State into New 

 Jersey. The same sandstone has a wide area in the Connecticut 

 river valley, and it is from this region that we chiefly know it in its 

 uses as a building stone. Within the State, the stone has been 

 quarried at Haverstraw, and on the river bank below; though it has 

 not been extensively used from these localities, so far as I know. 

 The quarries in New Jersey have been more extensively w^orked; 

 and from the stone there obtained, some fine structures have been 

 erected. The same formation extends through Maryland, where it 

 has furnished material for the erection of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion and other buildings in Washington. 



The hroum stone, in its varieties, is well known in all the Atlan- 

 tic cities, and has been more extensively used than any other in the 

 country, 



I have sketched, in a hasty manner, the general geological and 

 geographical distribution of the principal building stones which may 

 be brought before you for consideration. The portions of the 



