63 
HALL 68, 
BUILDING STONES. 
This Hall contains a systematic collection of building stones. 
Case 1 .— Ornamental stones. — The stones in this case con- 
sist of marble, travertine or “ Mexican onyx,” serpentine, usually 
called verde antique, though the term was originally applied to 
its green varieties, and alabaster, a pure form of gypsum. These 
are all easily worked, take a good polish and are stones of great 
beauty. They are abundant enough to allow of their general use 
for decorative purposes. 
Case 2.— Sandstones and limestones. Four-inch cubes of 
many of the sandstones and limestones of the United States used 
for building purposes. 
Case 3. — Marbles and granites. Four-inch cubes of many 
of the marbles and granites of the United States used for building 
purposes. These four kinds of rock constitute nearly all the val- 
uable building stones used in temperate climates. 
Case 4. — Building stones, United States. 
Case 5. — Building stones of Mexico and Ecuador. These 
are mostly volcanic rocks, lavas and tuffs, which are sufficiently 
durable for mild climates and yet soft enough to be easily worked 
with simple tools. The building stones from Ecuador are the 
ordinary pumice-stone. 
Case 6 . — Artificial stones for building. These are moulded 
like terra cotta. See also cement artificial stones in Hall 77. 
Platforms 7 and 8 . — Large cubes of building stones of 
various kinds. * These are dressed to show the following kinds of 
rock finish: rock face, pointed face, patent hammered, square 
drove, tooth chiseled and sawed face. 
Upon the walls are illustrations showing the appearance of 
the more common building stones as they are seen by the micro- 
scope. 
