14 president's address. 



The Magnesian Limestone, which abounds in this part of 

 England, may be examined with advantage in some of the pre- 

 cipitous sides of Castle Eden. Vol. iii. of the " Transactions of 

 the Geological Society of London," 1835, contains an elaborate 

 account of this great deposit of limestone, which not only possesses 

 peculiar interest in relation to the coal-mining operations of the 

 district, but has, of late years, been brought prominently into 

 notice, by the selection of building stones for the new Houses of 

 Parliament, derived from a continuation of the same formation in 

 Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. 



This selection became the subject of a local investigation, and 

 of scientific inquiry, in 1838-9, by four experienced Commis- 

 sioners — two of them well-known as Geologists, viz., Dr. Wm. 

 Smith and Sir Henry De la Beche, Sir Charles Barry, Architect, 

 and Mr C. H. Smith, an eminent Builder. These examinations 

 were commenced in this district, and one of the forms for making 

 the several requisite inquiries, which was printed in Newcastle, 

 may serve as an example of data for collecting such informa- 

 tion : — 



Topography. — Name of place? Name of county? Nearest 

 post town ? Name of quarry ? 



Ownership. — Owner or lessee of royalty? Address of the 

 agent ? Charge for royalty ? Name of the parties now working 

 the Quarry ? 



Nature of Stone. — ^Designation? Component parts? Colour? 

 Defects ? Depths of beds of workable stone ? Names, qualities, 

 and thickness of the different lifts in their order downwards ? 

 Cubic feet per ton ? Weight per 6-inch cube when quarried ? 

 Ditto when dry? Powers of absorption ? Besistance to pressure ? 

 Effects of freezing ? Specific Gravity ? 



State of Quarry. — When opened ? How much saved ? Thick- 

 ness of cover ? If in full work ? Means of working ? State of 

 quarry head ? Angle, or rate of dip ? Working, with reference 

 to dip ? If productive of wall-stone, and of what thickness ? 

 Distance of joints ? 



Supply. — Present and probable power of supply ? Price, at 



