BUILDING STONES 637 



used, and these are readily accessible. By far the most important, commer- 

 cially, are the granites and allied rocks which are especially characteristic 

 of the tract under view; but many other building materials can be utilized 

 in places where the structure is least confused. The discussion will be taken 

 up topically, according to the simple classification adopted in last year's Re 

 port. 



The constructive materials within our district have not yet attracted the 

 attention to which they are entitled from their abundance, quality, and va- 

 riety. Our granites have earned a deservedly high reputation, the marbles 

 have begun to meet appreciation, and some special grades of limestones have 

 found a limited market, to say nothing of the rougher uses for which inferior 

 quarry products have occasionally been locally employed. But with all the 

 popular clamor about the great resources of this character, very little result 

 has followed commercially, and it must be patent to any skilled observer that 

 there is yet a very inadequate appreciation of the stores of wealth awaiting 

 the application of industry impelled by capital. 



It is a strange peculiarity of those who have slight knowledge of building 

 materials to expend much energy in excavating rocks in an aimless manner 

 without first obtaining full information concerning their adaptability to eco- 

 nomic uses. There are numerous abandoned quarries in the Central Region, 

 but failure to make practical success of such ventures has not deterred others 

 from wasting time and money in further digging in places where no profitable 

 outcome could ever have been reasonably expected. On the other hand there 

 are many square miles of territory in which the outcrops of material for con 

 struction are not excelled by any which are now regarded as especially favor- 

 able deposits for working. It has been a common belief that Granite Moun- 

 tain, in Burnet County, monopolizes the granite of commercial importance, 

 but it only represents an iota of the vast treasures of this nature which lie 

 undeveloped in our district. So with the marbles and the tough dolomites 

 which pass for marbles in commercial parlance; the extent and quality of 

 this material are far superior to what is generally believed, notwithstanding 

 the fact that the injudicious foisting of inferior samples upon the market has 

 injured the reputation of all alike. The truth is the quarrying industry in 

 the Central Mineral Region is in an embryonic condition, and so it must re- 

 main until markets for the products are made available and cheaply accessible. 

 The census statistics make but a sorry showing, to be sure, although they 

 indicate substantial progress within the past two years, and express in unmis- 

 takable figures the superior quality of a part of our product. The appropria- 

 tions heretofore made have not been sufficient to permit the making of me- 

 chanical tests of our building stones. Perhaps no more profitable investment 

 could be made by the State in this district than the supplying of funds for 



