DESCRIPTION OF SANDSTONE QUARRIES 419 



favorable conditions, the quarry is worked on a large scale, and 

 steam machinery is employed in quarrying and handling the 

 stone. A channeling machine is part of the equipment. The 

 stone is handled in the quarry by derricks worked by steam, and 

 is taken out by carts and a wire tramway. The stone is of very 

 fine quality. Its color is a good blue and very uniform through- 

 out the bed. It is softer than Ulster county stone and easily 

 worked, which makes it desirable for ornamental purposes. The 

 lifts are too heavy for small flagstones, but many large ones, 

 measuring from fifteen to twenty feet or more on a side, are 

 taken out. Stone up to six feet thick can be obtained at this 

 quarry. Powder is used instead of plugs and feathers in get- 

 ting out large blocks. Deep holes are drilled with steam drills 

 and reamed out, making a hole about two inches in diameter. A 

 small charge is placed in each hole, which is tamped so that the 

 force of the explosion is exerted against an elastic cushion of air, 

 and the block is thus loosened from its bed without unnecessary 

 splitting. The charges are fired simultaneously by electricity. 

 This method is found more satisfactory than channeling. 



Stone is quarried at Norwich for local and foreign consump- 

 tion. A very dark stone is quarried here which is valuable for 

 ornamental purposes. 



Triassic or New Red Sandstone. 

 Nyack, Rockland County. — Two quarries, located on the 

 shore of the river, are worked more or less steadily ; one by 

 Daniel T. Smith, the other by Nelson Puff. The stone of these 

 quarries is worked into lintels, sills and platforms. The product 

 is mainly for the local market. 



Haverstraw, Rockland County. — The sandstone quarries at 

 Haverstraw are worked only at long intervals, and then for com- 

 mon building stone which is used in the place. 



Formerly these Nyack and Haverstraw quarries were worked 

 on a large scale, and stone for building was shipped thence to 

 New York and cities along the Hudsm valley. 



The house still standing near the Smith quarry, which was 

 built in 1768, shows the durable nature of the stone. The Cor- 

 nelius house in Nyack is another example. 



