LIST OF BUILDING STONES 



CONTAINED IN THE ECONOMIC COLLECTION OF THE STATE MUSEUM, 



The collection of Building Stones, arranged in the entrance 

 hall of the State Museum, from the number, variety and char- 

 acter of specimens which it contains, ranks, it is believed, 

 second to none other of its kind in the country. It owes its 

 origin to a tour of inspection made by Prof. James Hall, in 

 the year 1867, to the principal quarries in New York, the , 

 Eastern States and Ohio, under direction of the " Capitol Com- 

 missioners," with a view of obtaining such information as 

 would permit of the selection of the best material for the con- 

 struction of the new capitol at Albany. As a result of such 

 examinations, a number of blocks of granite, marble, limestone 

 and sandstone were contributed to the Museum by the owners 

 of the quarries visited, nearly all of which, for the proper dis- 

 play and convenience of comparison, had been prepared of a 

 uniform size of a cubic foot, and exhibiting on their several 

 faces the most approved styles of rock-dressing, and a polished 

 surface when practicable. 



The collection, thus commenced, has subsequently been much 

 enlarged hy contributions from other quarries, the proprietors 

 of which have recognized the benefit naturally to accrue from 

 a representation of their products in a public and central place, 

 where general attention would be drawn to them, or parties 

 desiring to select a building stone could be referred for exam- 

 ination, and for reliable information. 



The collection at present contains, as enumerated in the list 

 given below, seventy specimens of Granite, Gneiss, Syenite, 

 or their varieties ; forty-eight specimens of Marbles or meta- 

 morphic crystalline Limestone ; twenty-seven of Limestone 

 non-metam orphic ; and thirty-three of Sandstone and its varie- 

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