DESCRIPTIVE NOTES OF QUARRV DISTRICTS AND QUARRIES 257 



Mrs. Charles Cox, Thomas S. Clarkson and the Potsdam 

 Red Sandstone Company have quarries along- the river, at an 

 average distance of three miles, east-south-east of the village. 

 The beds range in thickness from a few inches to six feet, 

 and afford blocks of varying sizes. In most of the beds 

 there is a more or less laminated structure, especially in the 

 darker-red colored stone. 



The color is light-pink, light-red or salmon colored, and 

 red to reddish-brown, varying in the several openings. 



A representative specimen, taken from the company's 

 quarry, has a specific gravity of 2.604, equivalent to a weight 

 of 162 pounds to the cubic foot. Its percentage of silica is 

 relatively large, and the cementing material appears to be 

 siliceous also. The oxide of iron, as determined by analy- 

 sis is 0.36 (ferrous oxide) in amount. 



In the absorption test 2.08 per cent of water was ab- 

 sorbed by the dry stone. There was no loss of weight in 

 repeated treatment with water containing carbonic acid gas 

 and with sulphurous acid gas. A solution of i per cent 

 of sulphuric acid occasioned a slight loss in weight, equiva- 

 lent to 0.02 per cent. The test of freezing and thawing left 

 the stone apparently unchanged. When heated to 1200*^- 

 1400° F. and suddenly cooled, the color was unaltered, there 

 were no checks, and the strength of the specimen was but 

 little impaired. 



Potsdam sandstone has been tested severely in its home. 

 The wide range of temperature between the maxima of 

 summer and the minima of winter, and the large annual 

 precipitation, of which a considerable part is in the form of 

 snow, present the conditions which demand material with 

 resisting capacity. The houses of Gen. Merritt and Sena- 

 tor Erwin, and other buildings, erected about sixty years 

 ago, are solid structures to-day. The arris and corners are 

 as sharp as when first cut, and the faces show no sign of 

 scaling or flaking. The pavements also show how well the 

 stone wears under use, not becoming smooth and slippery 

 33 



