DESCRIPTION OF SANDSTONE QUARRIES 



407 



railroad line. The stone here is known as the blue sand- 

 stone, and resembles in appearance the Hudson river bluestone, 

 but is harder to work and apparently a little more dense. Stone 

 from this quarry is seen in the large vault in Grove cemetery, 

 Trumansburg. A part of the product.is monumental bases. 



The stone from these quarries is carried by boats to Cayuga, 

 whence it goes to New York and to cities in the central and 

 western part of the State. 



Ithaca, Tompkins County. — Nearly all of the stone for 

 foundations and retaining walls, and much of the flagging-stone 

 used in Ithaca, comes from local quarries. There are two quar- 

 ries on the hill south of the town whence flagging-stone is taken. 

 Some of the stone for the university buildings was quarried on 

 the University grounds. The sandstone of these quarries is of a 

 greenish-gray shade of color, fine-grained, and 'is durable, when 

 selected with care. The natural-face blocks are often rusty- 

 looking, ironstained, or dirty yellow. Cascadilla Hall is an 

 example of the best of it. 



Penn Yan, Yates County. — Sandstone for foundation work 

 is quarried near Head street, and on the east side of the lake, 

 three miles north of the village. 



Portage, Livingston County. — The Portage Bluestone Com- 

 pany's quarry is on the west side of the Genesee river, two miles 

 south of Portageville and three miles from Portage Station, 

 on the New York, Lake Erie and Western railroad. The Western 

 New York and Pennsylvania railroad line is a few rods east of 

 the quarry. The quarry beds have a total thickness of twenty- 

 five feet. The best stone is olive-green in color, fine-grained, 

 homogeneous in texture, and soft enough to dress well and to be 

 easily cut. It is said to harden on exposure to the weather. A 

 representative specimen from this quarry was found to have a 

 specific gravity of 2.695 and equivalent to a weight of 168 pounds 

 per cubic foot. The absorption test indicated 2.97 per cent, of 

 water absorbed ; treated with dilute solution of sulphuric acid 

 the loss amounted to 0.42 per cent.; freezing and thawing tests 

 produced slight scaling. In the test, at a temperature of 1200°- 

 1400° F., the color changed to dull red. There were no checks, 

 and the strength of the specimen was but little impaired. 



