454 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



[December, 



Saugno. a kind of white Carrara marble, so called because it is 

 of a coarse hard grain, like salt. 

 Savel(jy Marble, I'tde Cervellata. 



Seme Santo, or Virgin Breccia. Very small red, chocolate, 

 brown, bluish, white and yellowish angulous fragments. It is very 

 rare, and is found in small fragments at Pompeii. — Seme Santo de 

 Sette Basi formed of fragments of seven colours. 



Serpentine. A Porphyry. This stone is sometimes called Ophite. 

 Green ground, with small yellow or yellowish spots in long squares 

 and in crosses. Tliere is some with a brown black ground and white 

 spots. — Sehpkntino nero antico. Black ground, large oblong black 

 spots. 



Serpentello, Serpetrello and Serparello. M. White, with 

 little tortuous red rays or streaks. 



Serrancolin. M. Modern. Straight bands and in great fragments, 

 bluish grey, rosy, deep red and yellowish. Extracted from the Pyrenees, 

 the same block of this fine marble often presents great varieties. 



Sette basi. M. White veined with red, and mixed with several 

 other colours. — Seme Santo de Sette Basi. Br. formed of frag- 

 ments of seven colours. 



SiLicions Breccia. Universal or Egyptian Breccia. A mixture 

 of pebbles, porphyry and granite of all colours, particularly green, 

 yellow and reddish. This fine breccia extremely hard, is very rare. 

 Pietra Fnicticulosa, which see. 



Statuary Marble. JVfarinore Slaluario jlntico of the Italians re- 

 sembles Parian, but it is translucent, and has some relation to the 

 phengite of the ancients. — White Statuary. Modern. An immense 

 quantity in very large blocks, and of very good quality is found in the 

 mountains of Rapp, at the gate of St. Beat, on the Garonne, some 

 leagues from St. Gaudens, in the Upper Garonne. It has large grains 

 like some kinds of Parian. The first quality of a mild white may be 

 easily worked any way. In tlie exhibition at the Louvre in 1827, 

 were some statues of it very well executed. That of Henry IV. when 

 a child, by M. Bosio, is of second rate St. Beat marble. This beauti- 

 ful marble used by some of the French sculptors, was discovered by 

 M. Layerle Capel, one of the principal proprietors of marble quarries 

 in the Pyrenees, and who has found out most of the new quaries. The 

 statuary marble of Sost, five leagues from St. Beat, in the valley of 

 Barrousse, is a very fine white, and very fine grain, but it is subject to 

 a number of threads, which prevents its being wrought in large blocks. 

 Much harder than that of St. Beat, it is dry, brittle, scales off, and 

 often contains rock crystals, which make it hard to work, There are 

 other statuary marbles in the south of France, even in the department 

 of the Loire, but they are not worked. The white marble of Loubie 

 Soubiran in the department of the Lower Pyrenees, near Gave, is of a 

 greyish white, and fine grain, works well, but is in layers, and peels 

 off. 



Straw Green Breccia. I'erde de Pagliocco. Br. Straw green 

 with greenish and yellow spots. — Straw Yellow. Mar. A very clear 

 antique yellow. 



Syenite. Rose Oriental Granite seems to be the Syenite of the 

 ancients. It has little spots of rose, white and black. 



Tartarucato. a kind of brown veined, undulated half transparent 

 alabaster, so called because it is like tortoiseshell. 



Tracagnina. Br. The same as Arlecchino, a kind of Seme Sauto 

 but of darker colours. 



TuRCHixo. Italian for Blue, which see. 

 Universal Breccia. Vide Breccia Egyptian. 

 Venturino. M. Red and white. 

 Verde Antico. Italian for Green, which see. 

 Violet. (Paronazzo, Italian.) Mar. White with violet spots and 

 veins. Perhaps the Symiadic marble of the ancients. 

 Virgin Breccia. T'ide Seme Santo. 



Volterra Marble. Gypseous. Milk white colour, transparent, 

 very soft, may be scratched with the nail, and does not effervesce with 

 nitric acid. Specific weight of a pound cube, 151 Itjs. 



VoLTRi Green Marble. Modern. Like Egyptian Green, but 

 shells off in the open air. 



Weights. M: Brard, in his Traile des Pierres Precieuses, gives the 

 following as the specific weight of a cubic foot of various stones. 



lt)S. 



Volcanic Basalt - - 210 



Verde Antico Porphyiy - 2U3 

 Breccia marble of the Ta- 



rentuise ... 200 

 Rosso Antico, Egyptian 



Porphyiy - ' - - 190 



White Parian marble - 19o 



lbs. 



St. Anne's marble - - 105 



Giallo Antico marble - 191 



Campan marble - - 190 

 Red Egyptian Granite, or 



Pompey's column - 189 



Ancient Grev Granite - 169 



Black Dinan Marble - 189 



lbs. 



189 St. Baume Marble - 



ISO Nero Antico Marble 



189 Calcareous Alabaster 



189 Gypseous Alabasters 



18S 



lbs. 

 185 

 182 

 181 

 154 



Spanish Brelloet ca - 

 White Carrara Marble 

 Griotte Marble 

 Cipolino Antico 

 Turquino Marble 



These weights give 197-4 as the mean weight of a cubic foot of 

 porphyry, granite and basalt, and ]S0'33 for that of marbles. 



Yellow. Giallo jlnltco. Antique Yellow. Mar. A fine yellow, 

 of uniform colour, with a few slight violet veins. There is some quite 

 clear. That called Carnation has a rosy hue. Antique Yellow is one 

 of the rarest marbles, and is supposed to have come from Macedonia, 

 there are several varieties of it, and it was nrach used by the Emperor 

 Adrian in his magnificent villa. — Breccia Yellow, of clear colour, 

 spotted with deep yellow. — Straw Yellow (Pagliocco). Very clear. 

 — Ringed Yellow (Annellato). Yellow and black circles. — Yellow 

 and Black, with large spots. — Yellow, with net work (rezziato). — ■ 

 Yellow with red veins, interspersed with black, a sort of brocatelle. 

 Weight of a foot cube, 191 lbs. 



COMPETITION DESIGNS. 



Sir — Towards the close of last year, an advertisement was published 

 in several country papers, addressed "To Architects," for a new Athe- 

 naeum at Sunderland, and the plans directed to be sent to the chairman 

 on the 20th February last, a young architect, who Wiis a candidate, 

 applied for information, composed and completed a design and esti- 

 mate, and transmitted them to the party : in the May following, not 

 having any tidings of his design, he wrote to the party, on hearing 

 that a builder was the successful candidate, who was proceeding with 

 the working plans and specification ; after waiting a few days he 

 received an answer, of which the following is a copy : — 



" To J.B.C., Architect. 



In consequence of the committee of the Sunderland 

 Athenaeum requiring the architect whose plan vias selected, to satisfy 

 them that it could be effected for 3000/., they have thought it best to 

 retain thy plan along with two others, until they know the result. 



I am, respectfully. 



For Edward Backhouse, 

 E. Backhouse, Jun." 

 Leeds. 



Now it appears by notice in the papers, that the first stone is to be 

 laid immediately, and yet, for some purpose or other, the plans are 

 retained, and very possibly the two others — yes, retained nine months 

 to satisfy a committte; some years ago I was a candirlate for a public 

 buildiaig in the same neighbourhood, and had my plans returned within 

 three months, and during the last month I had an opportunity for the 

 first time of inspecting the building erected after the design, therefore 

 selected, and could scarcely imagine, that it was the institution com- 

 peted for; if, as in the opinion of tlie publisher of a Guide to Modem 

 jithe7ts, London street architecture is very inferior, I wonder at what 

 rate of discount this building would stand ; in another case I had my 

 plans soiled and torn after four months' retention, which so disgusted 

 me, that I have never since ventured on a public competition, altliough 

 I had been successful in several former instances. For a public building 

 in Leeds some years back, five architects were applied to, and paid for 

 their plans, though the result in that case was not satisfactory, as none 

 of the competitors were employed, but canvassing and jobbing were 

 resorted to, and a worse design than any of the five was taken, furnished 

 by a stranger, by way of easing party spirit : the committee measured 

 all the rooms, passages, holes and corners, entresols, &c., added all 

 the lengths together, and all the breadths, and thereby give some acres 

 of floorboardiug ! It was a most irregular, filled an irregular piece of 

 gromid, and was supposed to give quantity rather than quality. In 

 this Sunderland case, for which the young architect competed, there 

 appears something so very indecorous, tliat it ought to be recorded 

 among the many instances of modern deference, paid to architects, of 

 these days of the march of intellect. Apologising for this trespass on 

 your time, I beg to subscribe myself. 



Your very faithful servant, 



DiONYSlUS. 



