BUILDING STONE. 103 



every neighborhood good stone for building purposes may be had within a 

 convenient distance. 



Very few quarries have been opened to any extent, and those only to sup- 

 ply a local demand ; and besides every builder has opened his own quarry, and 

 its location was determined more by the nearness of the quarry to the edifice 

 to be constructed and the convenience for quarrying than anything else. 



The stone suitable for building purposes may be had in all the formations 

 examined, but is more abundant in the Cretaceous and Carboniferous than in 

 the Silurian. 



A particular description of the stones found at various localities will give 

 an idea of their fitness for building purposes. 



Everywhere on top of the Cretaceous is a bed of hard limestone, ranging 

 from 2 feet to 10 feet in thickness. The bed is sometimes divided by a thin 

 stratum of siliceous shell conglomerate, and when that is the case, there is a 

 difference of structure in the stratum above and below the shell conglom- 

 erate. This is Mr. Robt. T. Hill's "Caprina limestone." (See his report.) 



These two classes of stone are found in the quarries near Lampasas, where 

 they are both used extensively for building purposes. One of them is more 

 compact and is whiter than the other, and, as a matter of course, is more 

 desirable. They are both easily quarried, and are soft when first taken out, 

 but harden on exposure to the atmosphere. So durable and compact is the 

 upper stratum of this rock that it is extensively used for the bases of tomb- 

 stones, for which purpose it is shipped to different parts of the State. It is 

 also used extensively for facings in buildings erected of other material. This 

 stone is easily dressed when taken from the quarries, having no siliceous 

 material in it whatever. These same beds are found on the top of the Santa 

 Anna Mountain, in Coleman County, where it has been quarried and shipped 

 to various localities. They are also found on top of the Brady Mountains, in 

 McCulloch County; but, so far as I am informed, no quarry has been opened 

 at that place. 



They are found on top of the hills west of the town of San Angelo, in 

 Tom Green County. These stones have not been used very extensively at 

 this place, for the reason that the Permian sandstone and limestone are more 

 convenient to the town, and are said to be more easily worked — at least such 

 is said of the Permian sandstones. 



The sandstone of the Carboniferous is found in many places, and has been 

 used in preference to any other when it could be obtained. I first found it 

 on this expedition near the head of Lynch's Creek, in Lampasas County. No 

 use has been made of the stone there except for building chimneys. It is 

 there found in layers from 1 foot to 4 feet thick, This is a yellowish, soft, 



