222, Geology, Mineralogy, Scenery, ec. 
Stone houses properly constructed, the inside plastering 
not being laid upon the stone but on lath at a little distance, 
or, in the language of the workmen, the walls being furred, 
are much warmer in winter, and much cooler in summer, are 
in a great measure indestructible by fire, and by time, need 
little repair* and are never damp ; on the contrary, if furred, 
they are perfectly dry. : 3 
If plastered upon the inside, directly upon the stone, they 
will be damp, not however from moisture passing throu 
the walls, aH is never the case in a well built house, but 
from condensation of the vapour of the atmosphere, the 
thick masses of stone not suddenly changing their tempera- 
ture, ‘and stone being a pretty good conductor of heat, when 
the atmosphere becomes charged with vapour and warm 
withal, the vapour appears on the wall in drops, as it does 
ona tankard or other vessel filled with cold water, and sud- 
denly brought into a warm and moist air. 
From this digressiongwhich will perhaps be pardoned 
from the practical importance of the subject, we return to 
our geological investigation. 
. Beds of primitive white Marble. . 
The ridge of gneiss, on which New-Preston stands, stretch- 
es away South and somewhat West to New-Milford. De- 
scending its eastern declivity I turned abruptly to the right, 
and followed the direction of the ridge of gneiss, travelling 
parallel to it. The beds of marble soon made their appea!- 
ance in a valley through which runs the little river, the eas- 
tern Aspetuck, issuing from the Raumauglake, in the north- 
ern part of Washington, and emptying into the Housaton- 
ick at New-Milford. Along this little stream; and at small 
distances from it, are situated the principal marble quarries, 
and they are opened and wrought at short intervals througli 
an extent of seven or eight miles, almost to the main street 
of New-Milford. The marble, as it lies in its native beds, 
has a very beautiful appearance, being, as already observed, 
very white and looking almost like beds of snow. Some 
of it is large grained, composed of plates of perceptible 
