438 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



of stone for the foundation of the Capitol at Albany. The other 

 quarries are Hewitt's and Yanderveer's. 



Tribes Hill, Montgomery County. — There are two large 

 quarries near the station of the N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. at Tribes 

 Hill : that of Henry Hurst & Son, a few rods west of the depot, 

 and one east of it, belonging to James Shanahan. The former 

 is worked steadily and mainly for constructions in the neighbor- 

 ing towns ; the latter has been idle for several years. 



The upper strata in both quarries are of blue limestone suitable 

 for common rubble work or for lime making. The graystone of 

 the thicker and lower beds is fine-crystalline to sub- crystalline in 

 texture, and having a specific gravity of 2.718. The computed 

 weight per cubic foot is 169 pounds. It contains, according to 

 analysis, matters insoluble in dilute hydrochloric acid 2.48 per 

 cent ,and of lime 53.57 percent, or equivalent to 95.68 per cent., of 

 calcium carbonate. The absorption percentage was found to be 

 0.14. Freezing and thawing produced no change. At a red 

 heat it was reduced to lime. 



The markets for Tribes Hill limestone are Albany, Troy, 

 Cohoes, Stillwater, Mechanicville, Hoosick Falls, Johnstown and 

 Gloversville. 



The Edison House, Schenectady, is an example in construction. 



Fine-tooled surfaces are of a light-gray shade of color ; polished, 

 it looks almost like a black marble.* 



Quarries have been opened at many points in the valley of the 

 Mohawk between Amsterdam and Little Falls, and in the Trenton 

 and Birdseye limestone formations. Some of them have been 

 idle for many years ; others have furnished small quantities of 

 stone for home use, and hence are only of local importance. 



Canajoharie, Montgomery County. — There are three building- 

 stone quarries opened in and near Canajoharie, and in the Calcif- 

 erous formation, two of which are worked continuously. The 

 openings are large, and there is much variation in the beds. The 

 leading varieties area bluestone and a gray, sub-crystalline stone, 

 the latter of which is cut for monumental bases, sewer blocks, 

 house trimmings and canal lock construction. A specimen 

 of the gray variety from the quarry of A. E. Shaper was 



* There is a fine cubical block from Mr. Shanahan's quarry in the State Museum collection 

 whose polished face is almost jet black. 



