38 
THE HALL. 
Marble Table-Tops. — Nos. 115, 117. 
On each side of the base of the large statue of Hercules is a 
table inlaid with a large display of marbles and other orna- 
mental stones. These inlaid table-tops were obtained from the 
late Mrs. Bury Palliser, whose husband, Capt. Palliser, had 
purchased them from Prof. Corsi, of Rome, the eminent authority 
on ancient stones, and author of the treatise “ Delle Pietre 
Antiche ” and other works. Each table contains 1,012 specimens, 
in the form of square slabs, measuring about an inch and a 
quarter in the side. The stones in one of the tables (No. 117) 
are from ancient buildings in Italy, Greece, and Africa ; those 
in the other table (No. 115) are from modem sources. Although 
it is not the purpose of this Museum to display foreign marbles, 
an exception has been made in favour of these tables, in con- 
sideration of the fact that the specimens were collected by Corsi 
and named on his authority. A Catalogue is in the custody of 
the Doorkeeper, for consultation by visitors. 
Grinding and Polishing Stones. — Table Case VIII. 
There are many mineral substances used for the purpose of 
giving fine edges to cutting instruments or a polish to metal and 
other surfaces ; and the collection in this case, mostly presented 
by the late Mr. R. Knight, is intended to illustrate this class of 
materials. The series is in course of re-arrangement. 
Newcastle grindstones , proverbially said to be found every- 
where, are formed from sandstones which abound in the coal 
districts of Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, and Derby- 
shire. 
At Bilston, in Staffordshire is found lying above the coal a 
peculiar sandstone, finer than the above, and of a very sharp 
nature. This is quarried entirely, for the Bilston grindstones , 
which are of great excellence. 
The carpenter’s millstone is a hard and close variety of 
Yorkshire sandstone. The northern counties yield several 
varieties of grindstones, which are much in request for different 
descriptions of work : Yorkshire grit , for example, is used for 
polishing marble and the copper plates for engravers. The 
Sheffield grindstone is a hard and coarse stone used for common 
purposes ; it is found at Hardsley, 14 miles north of Sheffield. 
The Sheffield blue stone is a fine-grained stone, used for finishing 
fine goods. The act of grinding on a blue stone is termed 
“ whittening ”■ — the Sheffield whittle from the earliest periods 
having been in all probability ground on this stone. Wickersley 
stones are obtained about nine miles from Sheffield, and are much 
used by the cutlers for grinding. 
Devonshire bats are in much repute. These are porous fine- 
grained sandstones found in the quarries of the Black Down Hills, 
near Cullompton. 
