3o6 BULLETIN OF THE NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



first streets, West End avenue, St. Nicholas avenue, Convent 

 avenue and Lenox avenue have many such buildings. 



The large size of the blocks which these quarries yield ; 

 the homogeneous texture and composition ; the softness of 

 the stone and its fitness for carved work ; and low freight 

 rates, making prices competitive with eastern stones, have 

 all tended to a greatly increased use of the Indiana oolitic 

 limestones. Their durability in New York remains to be 

 proven by longer periods of exposure to the action of the 

 atmosphere than they have as yet had. 



Caen stone, a light-colored, soft, oolitic limestone, 

 from Normandy, France, has been used in New York city 

 for interior decorative work, and in exterior walls. In 

 Trinity chapel, Dr. Egleston reports, that *' the stone is a 

 little clouded with dirt, but otherwise is apparently as sound 

 as the day it was erected.""^* Where put in outside walls it 

 has failed to resist decomposition and decay, and has very 

 generally been replaced by other stone. An example of the 

 active disintegration of this stone may be seen in the trim- 

 mings of All Souls' Unitarian church and parsonage, corner 

 of Fourth avenue and East Twentieth street. The water- 

 tables particularly are in bad condition. 



Slate 



Slate is so rarely seen in the composition of exteriors in 

 New York city, excepting for roofing, that it is hardly ad- 

 missible in the list of building stone. For interiors, as 

 wainscoting, floors, tiling, etc., it is used largely. Sawed 

 slate lintels, sills and steps have been put in some private 

 houses and other smaller structures, but a comparatively 

 small amount of stone has been used in this way. For 

 pitch-roofs slate has been in fashion for many years and 

 has proved to be a superior roofing material. It is put on 

 the larger, business and public buildings generally ; very 



*The Cause and Prevention of Decay of the Building Stone, p. 28. 



