PORTLAND STONE QUARRIES. 189 



insulated wire cables attached to hand reels are fastened to the two 

 outside holes ; these are of sufficient length for the operator to keep 

 at a convenient and safe distance, and he, after connecting the cable 

 with the electric apparatus, fires the dynamite. Another method is 

 by wedging. To effect this iron pigs, or pieces of iron 16 inches 

 long, four broad, and two and a-half thick are used. Two of these, 

 placed one on the other, are inserted along the face of the bed in 

 several places ; sometimes there are as many as eight or ten of 

 them ; four large wedges are hammered in between the pig irons. 

 A man armed with a sledge hammer from 161b. to 201b. in weight is 

 required for each set of wedges. When all are ready every man 

 strikes with accurate precision to the time given by the leading 

 hand. This is termed reaming the upper cap. Each quarry is 

 worked by four or five men and a boy, termed a company. In case 

 more hands are wanted, others are borrowed from a neighbouring 

 quarry, who are expected to bring their own tools with them. These 

 are repaid by lending quarry men on the same terms. A block of 

 stone weighing two or three hundred tons can be moved by this 

 method. It is then blasted, and the pieces are removed by a crane on 

 a trolly and thrown away. The scull cap, which is equally valueless, 

 is treated in the same manner, but with less difficulty and trouble. 

 This is the lowest bed of the Purbecks, and is succeeded by the 

 Portland beds. The first of the series, called the roach, has several 

 joints passing through it named according to the direction they take 

 souther, east and wester, north-easter and south-easter, or 

 rainger. Fissures, termed by the islanders gullies, from one to three 

 feet in width in a south-west and north-west direction, and from 

 30 to 60 yards apart, form the headings of the quarries. The 

 quarryman's object is to find a suitable joint, which is sometimes 

 difficult, as they are often closed up. A thin layer of soil usually 

 covers the roach, and is very hard, but with the aid of a pointed 

 tool it will fly out along the joint. Holes, or trenches, eighteen 

 inches Icng, from eight inches to a foot deep, and six inches wide, 

 are worked through the joint, the number depending upon the size 

 of the rock which is to be moved. Iron pigs are then hammered 



