294 BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



the Drexel and Morgan building, Wall street. A coarse- 

 crystalline marble, known as " snowflake marble," from 

 Pleasantvllle, in Westchester county, is in the lower part of 

 the walls of the St. Patrick Roman Catholic cathedral, on 

 Fifth avenue, with Lee marble above and Cockeysville, 

 Maryland, marble in the towers. The several kinds appear 

 quite sharply defined in their differences due to exposure 

 in weathering. 



These references give proof of the wide variation in the 

 enduring properties of the marbles which have been in gen- 

 eral use in the city. Some of the Westchester marbles ap- 

 pear to be as durable as the best sandstones. That there is 

 a gradual decomposition and wear of the surface is evident 

 in the loss of polish on the best marbles, when exposed for 

 many years to the corrosive action of the atmosphere of 

 the city. An objection to some of the marbles in the 

 market is their granular structure, in which the grains 

 fall out on weathering, and the ruin of the stone is only 

 a question of a comparatively short period of time. 

 Marble is apparently again coming into favor in New York, 

 in combination with light-colored brick. The pleasing 

 effect of these materials commends it to the attention of 

 architects and builders. 



For the ornamentation of interiors, for wainscoting, til- 

 ing, etc., the black marbles from Glens Falls; the white and 

 varigated marbles from Vermont ; Tennessee marbles; 

 Mexican onyx ; and various colored marbles from France, 

 Belgium, Spain, Italy and Algeria are in common use. 



Sandstone 



The variation in color, texture and other physical proper- 

 ties among the sandstones, is nearly as wide as their range 

 of occurrence, and they are well represented in New York. 

 Commercial conditions have had much influence, however, 

 in determining the great use of some kinds, and to the ex- 



