No. 200.] 
345 
Materials for Construction. 
Common building stone is obtained in many places along the course 
of the bituminous limestone formation. A very durable stone is quar- 
ried from the bed of the Genesee river at Rochester, and is being used 
for the foundation of the new aqueduct. Some of the stone is injured 
by the presence of thin seams of shale, admitting water which on freez- 
ing will expand and split the stone. The portions free from seams of 
this kind furnish one of the best and most durable materials in the 
county. A very good stone for ordinary purposes of construction is 
obtained at the rapids near Rochester, but owing to its geodal structure 
it cannot be used where a smooth and even surface is required. Dark 
bituminous limestone is quarried in several places in Penfield. Among 
the quarries may be mentioned those of Mr. Heath, Mr. Baker, and Mr. 
Brezee. This stone is durable for building, and some other purposes, 
but from its brittleness is unfit for construction where liable to concus- 
sion. The stones are usually obtained in blocks from four inches to two 
feet thick, and of any required dimensions. 
A siliceous limestone is quarried on the farm of Mr. Whittier in Og- 
den, and has been used as a building stone at Spencer's basin and other 
places. Limestone is obtained on the land of Mr. Abbott and Mr. Hill, 
in the south part of Ogden; the layers are from two to four inches thick, 
dark coloured and bituminous. Gray porous limestone is quarried on 
Mr. BisselPs farm in the north part of Ogden. 
In West Mendon the upper strata of the gypseous rocks are exten- 
sively quarried for step stones, door and window caps and sills, lintels, 
blocks for corners, pedestals, &c. The rock is a silico-aluminous lime- 
stone, sufficiently hard and compact for ordinary purposes. When first 
quarried it is soft and easily worked, but becomes harder on drying. 
This stone is much used in Rochester and the adjoining towns, and the 
demand is constantly increasing. The common thickness of the layers 
is from four to eight inches, and they can be procured of any required 
dimensions. Except the more siliceous portions, these stone should not 
be used where they will be subjected to the action of freezing water, 
farther than to rains, which seem scarcely to affect them. The princi- 
pal quarries are those of Mr. Wadham, at the village of West Mendon, 
and of the Messrs. Tinker, in the western part of the town. At the 
latter place we have a fine view of the alternations of siliceous and ar- 
gillaceous strata and the connection of this rock with carboniferous lime- 
stone above. Limestone for ordinary building purposes may be ob- 
tained in the towns of Penfield, Brighton, Ogden and Sweden. 
[Assem. No. 200.] 40 
