286 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 
he former was confidently say pera ane building material equal 
in durability to any in the world; the latter was pronoun need inferior, 
both in beauty and durability, yet pe of furnishing a very lasting 
material a the selection was made with care. Being less tough than 
the finer-grained variety, it was thought less suitable for ornaments hav- 
ing bold projections and ne liable to chip off where there was 
much un ing. 
“2d. That se granite quarries of Maryland, in the vicinity of Wood- 
stock, on the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, and about sixteen 
miles beyond the Relay House, furnish a granite equal to that of Quin- 
in the United States; splitting, also, with remarkable facility, so that nh 
a block twelve or fourteen he in length, the face of cleavage may n 
more than a single in om a true level; im short, a building ma- 
rial of unsurpassed cathy and uniformity, and to which, as to.the 
or a in, the Clarksville quarries, no possible objection, 
except on the score of expense, could be found, unless, indeed, it be 
Fie 5 one, thas in this material the effect of light and shade from 
projecting surfaces is in a measure lost, while in marble and good tint- 
ed freestone every shadow is sharply marked 
«3d. That the Aquia creek ri aie heretofore used in public build- 
ings in Washington, is a material not to be trusted, being pervaded 
by dark specks of the protoxyd and peroxyd of iron, which in perox- 
ydating acquire a yellowish or reddish color, and having Ape clay 
holes, such as disfigure the Treasury and the Patent A portion 
of this freestone was, indeed, considered durable and Pid from mate- 
rial blemish; but the chance of aetually procuring it free from disfig- 
uring spots and stains was considered so uncertain, that it was recom- 
mended to refrain from using it in the institution building. 
“4th. That the freestone of the arene Potomac, in- the vicinity of 
Seneca creek, and found in quarries close to the line of the Chesa- 
peake and Ohio canal, is the best and most ican of all the Potomac 
freestones. 
“ The lilac-gray variety found in the Bull Run quarry, twenty-three 
miles from Washington, was especially recommended, and pronounced 
to be equal, if not i 8 to that supplied for Trinity church, New 
York, from the quarries of ~— Jersey. 
ie ace to this latter material, it was stated that it possessed a 
quality that should especially recomend it to the attention of builders. 
Wh n first wiemaieig it is co ely soft, working freely before the 
wear and tear.. Thus, on the tow-path of the aqueduct, near Seneca 
creek, over which horses and mules shave been traveling almost daily 
for upwards of twenty years, this freestone was found still unimpaired. 
Even the corners beget ae which the heavy lock-gates swing, showed no 
signs of chipping or decay ; and on the perpendicular wall of the aque- 
duct, where the water is continually oozing through the joints and trick- 
ling ‘down its face, forming an incrustation of carbonate of lime, this 
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