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built of stone. But there are several varieties of that stone, 
which is commonly made use of in buildings. Sometimes it 
consisted of a black or grey glimmer, running in undulated 
veins, the spaces between their bendings being filled up with 
grey, loose, small grained limestone, which was easily friable. 
Some transparent particles of quartz were scattered in the 
mass, of which the glimmer made the greatest part. It-was 
very easy to be cut, and with proper tools could readily be 
shaped into any form. Sometimes, however, the pieces 
consisted of a black, small grained glimmer, a white small 
grained sandstone, and some particles of quartz, and the 
several constituent parts were well mixed together." Here 
follows a description of the method of building the houses, 
which when erected, "the inside of the wall is made smooth, 
covered with mortar and white-washed. It has not been 
observed that this kind of stone attracts the moisture in a 
rainy or wet season." 
November 13, 1748, Peter Kalm spent two days in 
Germantown and records principally the smaller animals 
which frequented its streams and woods. He also wrote, 
"The leaves were at present fallen from all the trees; both 
from oaks, and from all those which have deciduous leaves, 
and they covered the ground in the woods six inches deep. 
"The great quantity of leaves which drop annually would 
:necessarily seem to encrease the upper black mould greatly. 
However, it is not above three or four inches thick in the 
woods, and under it lays a brick colored clay, mixed with a 
sand of the same colour. It is remarkable, that a soil which 
in all probability has not been stirred, should be covered with 
so little black mould; but I shall speak of this in the sequel." 
We shall now part from Kalm and his lifelike account to 
which for complete details, those interested are referred to 
Volume 1, of his important book. 
Contemporaneous with Peter Kalm, and one of the most 
observing visitors to Germantown was Gottlieb Mittelberger, 
who in 1754 wrote, "The people live well, especially on all 
sorts of grain, which thrives very well, because the soil is 
