( ^55^ ) 
aft flat quadrangular figure ^ and when I obfcrvcd thcfe 
Sand-^ inre(t, I judged that the original fhape of many 
of them were hexangular, and ffi'any were pointed like 
Diamonds, and thofe points proceeded or iflued forth of 
fniooth, flat fides. 
The chips and pieces of the /?e///Aew-ftone,as well thofe 
that are found in the Pits, as thofe that are chizel'd off in 
the working of the fame by our Stone-cuiters, are not 
thrown away asufelefs^ but they break them with Ham- 
mers almoft asfmall as Sand, and the Powder or Crumbles 
of em is what wccall Bikcfiom^zi\A isufed to clean Wooden^- 
\\ orkjbeing very proper to fetch off the filth from Wooden 
Vefiiels,which isnotftrangejConfidering what fliarp Angles 
fuch beaten Stone confilts of, not unlike our common 
Sand. I took a fmall bit of the faid Stone which was very 
hard, and wrapping it upin Paper, with a little Hammer 
broke it in pieces, but could obferve no other difference 
between the former Sand and this, excepting, that the 
particles of the lafl: were much fmaller, 
I took a piece of another Stone, which we call Alabafter 
Stone, and of which, little or none comes to us, fave 
what is wrought into Images, d^c. and having viewed it 
fevcral times, I obferved after breaking or beating it very 
fmall, that the little particles were very thin and. pellucid, 
and their figure a long and flat fquare, with two fharp 
corners and two blunt ones 5 and tho I faw among them 
fome others that were not quite fo regular, yet I fancy d 
that that exaftnefs and regularity of their figures had 
been loft in the violent feparating them from one ano- 
ther. 
The above-mentioned particles, were for the moft part 
fo exceeding fmall, that they could hardly be feen thro ray 
beft Microfcope, but fome of th^m f whofe figure being 
greater, I could moreeafily difcern) appeared to becom- 
pofed of very thin parricles lying upon each other. 
Now, when I viewed thofe particles of Stone that were 
as iarge as grains of Sand, I found that each of them w^is 
' com- 
