MINERAL RESOURCES. 85 
BUILDING STONE. 
The building stones of Mississippi include sandstones and limestones. The limestones 
have already been described under the heading " Cement materials " (pp. 76-84). 
Sandstones from three different geologic formations occur in the northeastern, central, 
and southern parts of the State. The sandstone from the Chester formation of Tishomingo 
County is well suited for a durable building stone, but in no place has it been worked, on 
account of the distance from a railroad or navigable stream. The stone would be easily 
worked. It occurs in strata 150 feet thick or more along Bear Creek. 
The buhrstone of Carroll, Attala, Leake, and Neshoba counties furnishes a hard quartzitic 
sandstone, which would be well adapted for building stone, railroad ballast, and perhaps 
glass sand. The cementing material is silica. When freshly dug from below the surface 
the sandstone is very white, and soft enough to be easily worked. No use is made of this 
stone except for local purposes, such as foundation stones for houses, etc. 
The old capitol building at Jackson was built of Grand Gulf sandstone from near Ray- 
mond. The large amount of iron pyrites, in changing from the sulphide to the oxide condi- 
tion, cracked the stone, and on this account the stone has been abandoned. 
Investigation of sandstone from various parts of the Grand Gulf group has shown that the 
rock varies from a very soft, loosely cemented sand to a hard though somewhat clayey sand- 
stone practically free from iron pyrites. 
A quarry is now being opened at Star, Rankin County, by the Indiana and Mississippi 
Stone and Timber Company. The following is an analysis and test made of the stone by 
R. W. Evans, director of the chemical laboratory of Purdue University: 
I have made an examination of the sample of stone received from you and described as " Eureka stone 
from Star, Rankin County, Miss., the deposit being the property of the Indiana and Mississippi Stone 
and Timber Company (Limited)." 
Pieces of the sample were subjected for a considerable time to the greatest heat of the gas-blast lamp, 
some specimens being heated gradually, others as suddenly as possible, to a bright red heat. In no case 
was there any sign of melting or of cracking or crumbling, the pieces retaining their original form per- 
fectly, and being quite unchanged in appearance. From the nature of the stone (sandstone) it is also 
certain that no general chemical change results from this heating, as would occur in limestone. 
ROAD MATERIALS. 
Limestones suitable for making roads are found in Tishomingo CouYity. They belong to 
the Paleozoic rocks and are found only along Tennessee River and its tributaries. The 
white oolitic limestone of the St. Louis and the more siliceous limestone of the Tullahoma 
make excellent ballast and road material when crushed. 
Sandstone is more widely distributed than the limestones. It overlies the limestone along 
Bear Creek in Tishomingo County and extends several miles farther south. The Paleozoic 
sandstone is not good, lasting road material. Constant travel over it soon pulverizes it and 
reduces it to sand. 
The most desirable sandstone for common road material and railroad ballast is the semi- 
quartzite belonging to the Tallahatta buhrstone. It would be more expensive to crush than 
the limestones, but when once reduced to the proper size it would be more lasting. The 
largest deposit of the Tallahatta occurs 4 to 5 miles north of Kosciusko. 
The Grand Gulf sandstone has been tried for a road material, but has been found to be too 
soft and rotten. 
GRAVEL OK SHINGLE. 
The cheapest and most available road material in the State is shingle or Lafayette gravel. 
These deposits are widely scattered over various parts of the State, but in only two sections 
are they of sufficient thickness and extent to become of great economic importance. One 
of the areas is along the eastern border of the Cretaceous near the foothills of the older 
rocks in Tishomingo and Itawamba counties. These deposits are often 50 to 75 feet thick 
and cover large areas. A large per cent of the gravel is quartz, which makes a very desirable 
road material for constant wear. Intermingled with the gravel is a ferruginated mixture of 
