WELL KNOWN BUILDING MATERIALS 
213 
■ , SOME WELL KNOWN BUILDINO MATERIALS. 
NICHOLAS KNIGHT. 
I. THE ANSTON STONE -FROM KIVETON PARK, ENGLAND. 
A specimen of the rock of which the Houses of Parliament, 
London, are constructed was sent us some months ago, for analy- 
sis, by the Honorable John Burns, member of the British Cab- 
inet. We had read in one of the popular magazines that the 
rock in the Parliament buildings is quite rapidly weathering 
and crumbling. We desired to make the chemical analysis to 
ascertain, if possible, the reason for the decay. The rock has 
a buff color when first quarried or on a fresh fracture, but it 
is darkened by the London smoke except in some of the protected 
angles. The smoke is so thick on the rock that it can easily be 
rubbed off with a piece of paper, or a handkerchief, as we 
tested in many places throughout the building. The result 
of the analysis is as follows: 
Per cent. 
Ca CO 3 . 46.32 
Mg CO 3 .... 49.70 
Si Oo 1.85 
AI 2 O 3 1.54 
Fes O 3 0.60 
Total 100.01 
The specific gravity of the rock is 2.60 which is a fair average 
for rocks of this type, and the buff color of such rocks seems 
uniformly due to the presence of the iron oxide, even though 
it is often present in very small amounts. 
The following communication in regard to this rock was re- 
cently received from J. Allen Howe, Curator of the Geological 
Survey and Museum. 
^'At the request of Sir Archibald Geikie I have pleasure in 
sending you the following short note on ^Anston Stone’ used in 
the Houses of Parliament. 
^‘Anston Stone is, as you say, a dolomite, and light buff in 
color on the fresh fractured surface. It still retains traces of 
this tint in some of the inner quadrangles of the building, but 
where more exposed it has become a dark gray. I am quite un- 
