QUARTZYTES AND SANDSTONES. 77 



North-west of the belt of country above described, flag-stone is 

 obtained along the lines of the N. Y., O. & Western railroad, and of 

 the Ulster & Delaware railroad at Westfield Flats, Trout Brook, 

 East Branch, Margaretville. Roxbury and Grand Gorge, and in lesser 

 amounts at other localities. As it comes to the market with that of 

 the quarries in Ulster county, it is included in the "blue-stone " pro- 

 duction. All of these quarries are in the Catskill group of rocks 

 and the stone is more generally a reddish or a brown-tinted sand- 

 stone. As a rule it is more open-grained and not so dense and strong 

 as the Ulster county stone. A well-marked division is the watershed 

 or divide between the Hudson and the east branch of the Delaware 

 river. The "blue-stone " belt cannot be said to extend beyond the 

 head waters of the Esopus, the Rondout and the Neversink, or, in 

 other words, is confined to their drainage valleys. 



As has been indicated, the product of the blue-stone territory reaches 

 the market by the Hudson river (boats), the Ulster and Delaware, 

 the New York. Ontario and Western, and the New Yoi'k, Lake Erie 

 and Western railroads and the Delaware and Hudson canal. The 

 principal shipping points are Maiden, Saugerties and Kingston (in- 

 cluding Wilbur and Rondout). A great deal of stone is cut for 

 house trimmings in mills at Maiden, at Broadhead's Bridge, West 

 Hurley, Wilbur, Kingston and Rondout, but, probably, the larger 

 number of feet are sent into market, simply quarry dressed, for flag- 

 ging and curbing. It is the flagging par excellence. All the resi- 

 dents of New York city and the adjacent towns in New York and 

 New Jersey, recognize its superiority for sidewalks, crosswalks and for 

 curbing. It so compact as not to absorb moisture to any extent, and 

 hence soon dries after rain or ice ; it has the hardness to resist abra- 

 sion and wears well ; it is even-bedded, and thus presents a good and 

 smooth natural surface ; and it has a grain which prevents it becom- 

 ing smooth and slippery as some of our granites, our slates and our 

 limestones, when so used, in walks. It is strong, and is not apt to 

 get broken. But owing to the many thin beds and the use of too 

 thin stones, sidewalks often become unsightly and bad because of 

 breaks, a fault common to all flag-stone when laid in such thin 

 beds or blocks. 



For use in houses and business buildings Hudson river blue-stone 

 is having an increasing market. It is admirably adapted for lintels, 

 window caps, sills, door steps, water tables, etc., with brick, both 

 because of its strength and its durability. None of our sandstones 



