QUARTZYTES AND SANDSTONES. 65 



earth. The north and south seams or joints are not as common and 

 not so regular. The stone is brown in color, with thin, gray-green 

 layers at the bed parting. On the faces of the seams it is often a 

 rusty red. The color generally, is not so bright as that of the stone 

 of the Albion Stone Company's quarry. The quality varies greatly 

 in narrow belts from east to west. The best stone is found at the 

 extreme front, on the south. On the west side of the quarry the 

 beds are of a darker-brown shade and coarse-grained ; and this stone 

 breaks unevenly. It is split up into blocks. Unlike the other 

 Albion quarries, the greater part of the output is building stone, and 

 is the best material of the quarry. Only that which is not good for 

 building purposes is split into blocks. The total thickness of the 

 quarry beds is 14 feet. The upper surfaces of the beds here also are 

 smooth, and marked by lines of wind-drifted sand, as are seen to-day 

 on the strand at the seaside. The working of the quarry is largely 

 determined and helped by the regular joints ; and it moves south- 

 ward, taking a section between these vertical seams at a time. As 

 the northern end is free, the beds are readily wedged off and raised 

 up. Very little powder is used. Steam drills are employed to put 

 down holes, in line from joint to joint, for splitting apart. There are 

 fourteen derricks, all of which are worked by hand, not counting 

 the derricks at the canal dock, which are used for loading. A road 

 follows the face of the quarry around from east to west, and the 

 stone are loaded directly on wagons, and carted to canal or railroad. 

 As the excavation moves south the area worked over is filled again 

 with waste stone and earth, and is thus returned to farm land. This 

 quarry has been worked more than thirty years by Mr. Brady. It 

 is a model for neatness, convenient arrangement and economic man- 

 agement, as well as one of the best quarries for superior building 

 stone. The stone are cut and dressed at the yard of Gilbert Brady 

 & Company, in Rochester. Examples of this stone in construction 

 are : the Guernsey building, Broadway ; Marquand house, Madison 

 avenue and Sixty-eight street, in New York city ; Gen. McDougal's 

 house in Auburn ; and the steps of the new staircase, west side of capitol 

 at Albany. In Rochester and Buffalo there are numerous structures 

 in which it has been used. 



The total output of the Albion sandstone quarries is estimated by 

 Mr. Gilbert Brady to amount to 45,000 tons. About 400 men are 

 employed during the season of quarrying, and the value of the stone 

 for all uses is estimated at $250,000. 



