DESCRIPTION OF M4RBLE AND LIMESTONE QUARRIES 447 



Buffalo. — The Cornif erous limestone and the Onondaga lime- 

 stone are quarried extensively in this city for all common wall 

 work. 



The Buffalo Cement Company's quarry is the northernmost. 

 South of it is the Yamarthal group of quarries. The drift-earth 

 is thin, covering the quarry beds to a depth of one to four feet, 

 as opened thus far. The limestone is in courses, lying horizontal, 

 and from nine inches to two and a half feet thick. The stone is 

 dark-colored, hard, compact and strong, and is well liked for 

 walls and foundations. It is delivered in wagon loads, in the 

 city, at six dollars per cord. 



Black Rock, Erie County. — The Corniferous limestone at this 

 place was formerly quarried for canal construction. 



Niagara Limestone. 



Rochester. — Nearly all of the common building stone used in 

 Rochester is obtained from quarries in the northeastern and in 

 the western quarters of the city. A very small part of the best 

 gray stone is used for rock-face ashlar work. The business is 

 entirely limited to the city. 



Lockport, Niagara County — The Whitmore and Carpenter 

 quarries are on the Erie canal, in the southwestern part of the 

 town. The upper layers of stone are thin, but are succeeded by 

 thick beds, to a depth of twelve to twenty-four feet. The dip is 

 southward at a low angle. The stone is known as the Lockport 

 gray limestone. It is light-gray, in places variegated with red ; 

 dense, solid and made up of comminuted crinoidal stems and cor- 

 alline masses. The fine-cut surface does not differ greatly in 

 shade of color from that of the rock-faced stone. These quarries 

 were opened when the Erie canal was dug, in 1S25, and the Car- 

 penters began work here in 1829. The production has diminished 

 greatly, owing to the general use of sandstones. 



It has been used in Lockport for common wall work ; for house 

 trimmings and monumental uses it has had a wide market. The 

 various buildings in the town show how well it has withstood the 

 action of the weather for years. 



The Lenox Library building, Fifth avenue and Seventieth to 

 Seventy-first streets, New York, is an example of its use, but one 



