MARBLE. 78 



seams of other magnesian minerals which could not be polished, or were quite too friable to 

 sustain the rough usage which is required for the dressing of marble. 



To this notice of our marbles, I might add, that beds which at present seem to be of infe- 

 rior importance for ornamental purposes, are found in the Counties of Albany, Saratoga, 

 Schoharie, Seneca, Ulster and Wayne. In Albany, in the town of Coeymans, it is grey, 

 and contains organic remains, but does not receive a good polish ; in Saratoga, it is oolitic ; 

 in Schoharie, it is black, and is found in the towns of Esperance and Broome ; in Ulster, it 

 is black ; and in Wayne, in the town of Sodus, it is a compact shell limestone, is used for 

 ornamental purposes, and is similar to that found in Niagara county. 



Such is a view of the principal depositories of marble in this State ; and from this it is 

 quite apparent, that both as it regards quantity and quality, our resources in this important 

 article are ample. Its value to us is as yet scarcely appreciated.* Every coming year must 

 serve to unfold it. The number of our public works, and the increasing attention to the 

 beauty and durability of building materials, must operate as inducements to the proprietors 

 of quarries to test the properties of the strata which they contain. Such is the nature of our 

 cUmate, that it is perhaps of more consequence here than in any other country, that materials 

 for important structures should be carefully examined, and such only be employed as are 

 proof against those destructive agencies which are so incessantly in operation. 



On this subject, the remarks of the late Secretary of State, the Hon. J. A. Dix, in his Re- 

 port to the Legislature in 1836, are so much in point, that I must take the liberty of intro- 

 ducing them entire. " The importance," says he, " of ascertaining the mineralogical com- 

 position of rocks employed for building, may be readily understood by a reference to some of 

 the circumstances attending the construction of the Rochester aqueduct, by which the Erie 

 canal is carried over the waters of the Genesee river. When this work was in progress, a 

 stone in the neighbourhood was quarried and dressed for some part of the exterior of the 

 structure ; but after being exposed to the action of the atmosphere for a short time, it was 

 found to have literally crumbled to atoms. Another stone somewhat different was obtained, 

 and after being subjected to some partial trials, it was selected for the arches and other parts 

 of the work, in which a firm and durable material was indispensable. This structure is now 

 so nearly in ruins in consequence of the disintegration of the stone, that contracts have already 

 been made for reconstructing it. The material referred to is a porous sandstone ; and it would 

 not have been difficult to foresee, if its mineralogical structure had been critically investigated, 

 the consequences which have ensued. In so severe a climate, water, insinuating itself into 

 the interstices of the stone, must freeze, and force its particles asunder." 



• According to the census returns of 1840, the value of granite, marble and other stone produced in this State, is 81,679,019 ; 

 and the number of men employed, 3715. 



Part I. 10 



