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Ordinary Meeting, December 27th, 1859. 
Wm. Fairbairn, Esq., F.U.S., &c., President, in the Chair. 
A Letter having been read from Professor Christie, 
announcing his resignation of the office of Secretary, a 
resolution was unanimously passed expressing the thanks 
of the Society for the efficient services he had rendered. 
Mr. Binney read a short communication, entitled A few 
Remarks on the Building Stones used in Manchester.” 
A stranger visiting Manchester, on having his attention 
directed to the modern buildings in it, will doubtless notice 
the substantial nature of the bricks of which they are built. 
Of the stone employed for building, he will most probably 
be of opinion that it is not of the most enduring character 
for the climate and atmosphere it is subject to, and the unfair 
usage which architects and builders think proper to test it. 
For however well it may be established in theory, that a 
sedimentary stone in a building ought to lie in the same 
position as that in which it was originally deposited in the 
earth, unfortunately in practice architects will persist in 
attempting to make the stone accommodate itself to their 
designs of buildings, rather than design their buildings in 
accordance with the nature of the stones they have to employ. 
No doubt beds of stone of great thickness and uniform 
composition are difficult to find, especially in sedimentary 
rocks, but still that is scarcely an excuse to place it on its 
end or at right angles to the planes in which it was 
deposited. 
Of late years a considerable number of experiments have 
been made as to the strength of building stones, just after 
they have been taken from the quarry, by pressure. This 
no doubt will give an idea of their power of resisting force 
at the time of the experiment being made, but it will give 
little evidence of the strength of a building stone after some 
Proceedings — Lit. & Phil. Society— No. 7.— Session, 1859-60. 
