450 W. F. PROUTY CRYSTALLINE MARBLES OP ALABAMA 



It is not possible to secure as high a percentage of sound marble from 

 the Alabama marble quarries as from the quarries of Vermont and Geor- 

 gia, but the percentage of marketable stone can be very largely augmented 

 by skillful quarrying, sawing, and finishing. As the Alabama marble has 

 many characteristics unlike other marbles, it is commercially advanta- 

 geous to have the marble quarried, sawed, and finished under the same 

 management. 



On account of the lower percentage of marketable stone to be gotten 

 from the quarry blocks and the slightly higher cost of sawing and finish- 

 ing, the Alabama marble must be sold at a slightly higher price than 

 other competing marbles, such as from Vermont, Georgia, and Tennessee ; 

 but despite this handicap in price, the Alabama marble has a well estab- 

 lished and rapidly growing market, as shown by its extensive use and 

 popularity in many of the great cities in all parts of this country and in 

 Canada. 



The demand for Alabama marble warrants the establishment of a num- 

 ber of large plants for quarrying, sawing, and finishing. These com- 

 panies should have large capital in order to carry the development to a 

 point where the profits will be substantial. 



MAPPING THE MARBLE 



In mapping the marble area the author has found that a careful study 

 of the topography is of the greatest aid, since the marble usually occupies 

 the lowest ground of any of the associated rocks. The study of the soil 

 is also very helpful. It has been found that the residual soil from the 

 marble beds is less intensely colored by iron oxide than is the soil from 

 the dolomite bordering it and frequently interbedded with it. A micro- 

 scopic study of thin sections of marble and of dolomite show that the 

 dolomite has larger amounts of associated iron oxide. It must be borne 

 in mind that in many places the mantle rock above the marble is trans- 

 ported and not residual; furthermore the surface wash on nearly level 

 lands, which have stood for some time without being plowed, will con- 

 centrate the sand at the surface and give to the land an abnormally gray 

 appearance, thus causing one to think the rock below is marble rather 

 than dolomite. Sinks are somewhat more common in the marble than in 

 the dolomite. In some places the marble area is bounded on the west by 

 a distinct line of massive chert boulders marking the position of the 

 boundary fault. Lines of springs are more common on the borders of 

 the area than in it, as would be expected from its fault-block character. 



