DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR

BUL.L.ETIN 354

CHIEF COMMERCIAL GRANITES

OF

MASSACHUSETTS, NEW HAMPSHIRE 

AND RHODE ISLAND

BY

T. NELSON DALE

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1908
,J K 
CONTENTS.

Pagre.

Introduction................................................................ 7

PART I. Scientific discussion.............................................. 9

General features....................................................... 9

Granite proper.................................................... 9

Definition.................................................... 9

Origin........................................................ 9

Mineralogical composition....................................... n

Chemical composition................................ v -...- 12

Texture...................................................... 14

Definition................................................ 14

Character and grade....................................... 14

Forms of minerals......................................... 14

Arrangement of minerals.................................... 15

Physical properties............................................ 15

Weight..................................................... 15

Cohesiveness............................................... 15

Elasticity................................................. 16

Flexibility................................................. 16

Hardness.................................................. 16

Expansibility............................................. 16

Porosity.................................................. 16

Vitreousness............................................... -17

Classification.................................................. 17

Scientific classification...................................... 17

Economic classification...................................... 18

General structure............................................... 18

Flow structure............................................ 18

Rif t and grain.............................................. 19

Sheets..................................................... 22

Joints.................................................... 29

Headings................................................. 30

Faults.................................................... 31

Microscopic fractures....................................... 31

Subjoints................................................. 32

Bock variations................................................ 32

Dikes (granitic)............................................. 32

Veins...................................................... 33

Dikes (basic)............................................... 33

Segregations (knots)...................................... 34

Geodes.................................................... 34

Inclusions................................................... 35

Discoloration ("sap," etc.)..................................... 35

Decomposition................................................. 36

3
4 CONTENTS.

PART I. Scientific discussion Continued. . Page. 

General features Continued.

Black granites...................................................... 38

Classification.................................................. 38

Origin........................................................ 38

Mineralogical and chemical composition:.......................... 39

Texture...................................................... 40

Physical properties............................................. 40

Text-book references on granite and black granites.................. 41

Special features...........:........................................... 41

Rift and grain related to fluidal cavities:............................. 42

Some subjoints due to strained veins............................... 48

Pegmatite dikes in groups.......................................... 48

Cylindrical and other irregular dikes. .............................. 49

Muscovite veins, "sand seams"..................................... 51

Feldspars........................................................ 51

Colors...............................................'.......... 51

Cut surfaces ................................................... 55

Granitic quartz, its texture and colors............................... 56

Granite discoloration, its causes.................................... 56

Ovoidal weathering within a heading............................... 58

Dikelike masses of schist in granite.............:.................... 59

Riebeckite and other minerals on joint faces......................... 60

Granite contacts in relation to sheet and flow structure.............. 62

Acidic segregations....................... i......................... 64

PART II. Economic discussion............................................. 65

General features...................................................... 65

Tests of granite ................................................... 65

Chemical analysis............................................. 65

Determination, of CaC03 ....................................... 65

Discoloration .................................. ^............... 65

Mineral composition........................................... 65

Proportions of minerals. ............................ ^ ........... 66

Polish........................................................ 66

Hardness...................................................... 66

Compressive strength........................................... 67

Transverse strength, shearing strength, and compressive elasticity. 67

Porosity.................................:.................... 67

Freezing and thawing............................................ 68

Absorption and compression ................ 1................... 68

Behavior under fire..................................... T ..... 68

Specific gravity............................................... 68

Weight per cubic foot .............:........................... 68

Coefficient of expansion........................................ 68

Adaptability to different uses....................................... 69

Economic factors in granite quarrying............................... 69

Method of describing the quarries................................... 72

. Special features....................................................... 73

Descriptions of the granites and quarries............................ 73

Massachusetts................................................. 73

Milford.................................................... 73

Topography........................................... 73

General geology........................................ 73

Description of granite................................. 75

Geology of quarries.................................... 77

The quarries........................................... 78
CONTENTS. 5

PART II. Economic discussion Continued. Page. 

Special features Continued.

Descriptions of the granites and quarries Continued. 

Massachusetts Continued.

Quincy................................................... 90

Topography........................................... 90

General geology........................................ 90

Description of granite................................. 91

Geology of quarries.................................... 95

The quarries........................................... 98

Rockport................................................. 121

Topography........................................... 121

General geology........................................ 121

Description of granite................................... : 121

Geology of quarries..................................... 125

The quarries........................................... 126

Rockport porphyry .................................... 139

Becket (Chester).. ..................................^..... 140

Topography............................................ 140

General geology........................................ 140

The quarry............................................ 141

New Hampshire............................................... 144

General statement...........................:............,. 144

Concord.................................................... 145

Topography........................................... 145

Geology of quarries.................................... 145

Description of granite................................... 146

The quarries........................................... 147

Milford.................................................... 156

Topography............................................ 156

Geology of quarries.................................... 158

Description of granite.................................... 159

The quarries........................................... 166

Con way................................................... 176

Topography............................................. 176

Geology of quarries.................................... 177

Description of the granites............................. 178

The quarries............................................ 179

Auburn.................................................... 186

Sunapee.................................................... 187

Rhode Island................................................. 188

General statement.......................................... 188

Westerly and Niantic....................................... 188

Topography........................................... 188

General geology........................................ 188

Geology of quarries.................'................... 190

Description of the granites............................. 191

The Westerly quarries................................. 194

The Niantic quarries........ .0. ....................... 205

Classification of the granites......................................... 210

Commercial values of the granites.................................. 213

Statistics of granite production, by Altha T. Coons........................ 213

Conclusions........................................................... 215

Bibliography of economic geology of granite............................. 215

Glossary of scientific and quarry terms.................................. 217
ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page. 

PLATE I. Map of part of New England, showing granite centers.............. '74

II. Map showing locations of Quincy granite quarries.................. 90

III. A, Dell Hitchcock quarry, Quincy, Mass.; B, Galvin quarry, Quincy,

Mass........................................................... 96

IV. Ball of polished Quincy granite.................................... 106

V. A, Pigeon Hill Granite Company's Upper quarry, Rockport, Mass.; 

B, Rockport Granite Company's Deep Pit quarry, near Bay View, 

Mass........................................................... 126

VI. A, Contact of granite and gneiss, Milford, N. H.; B, Pegmatite dikes,

Young quarry, Milford, N. H................................... 158

VII.. A, Granite quarries, Redstone, N. H.; B, Storage yard at Milford,

Mass., with blocks for Pennsylvania Railroad terminal at New York 178

VIII. A, Ovoidal weathering in statuary granite, Westerly, R. I.; B,

Effect of compressive strain on granite, West Dummerston, Vt.... 200

I.. A, Contact of granite and gneiss, Niantic, R. I.; B, Carving from.

Westerly blue granite.......................................... 206

'Fie. 1. Rift and grain in thin section of Redstone, N. H., granite ........... 43

2. Horizontal section of diabase dike in Deep Pit quarry, Bay View,

Mass............................................................ 50

3. Limonitic stain from a crystal of allanite in green granite, Redstone,

N. H............................................................. 53

4. Hematitic stain in altered Quincy granite........ . .................. 55'

5. Granite and gneiss contact at Pease quarry, Milford, N. H............ 63

6. Map showing locations of Milford, Mass., granite quarries............. 74

7. Structure at Cutting quarry, Milford, Mass........................... 79

8. Structure at East quarry, Milford, Mass............................. 82

9. Structure at Reinhalter quarry, West Quincy, Mass.................. 108

10. Structure at Swingle quarry, West Quincy, Mass.................... 109

11. Structure at Granite Railway quarry, West Quincy, Mass............. Ill

12. Structure at Rogers quarry, West Quincy, Mass...................... 117

13. Map showing locations of Rockport, Mass., granite quarries.......... 122

14. Structure at Pigeon Hill quarry, Rockport, Mass.................... 130

15. Structure at Upper Pigeon Hill quarry, Rockport, Mass............. 131

16. Structure and plan of Blood Ledge quarry, Rockport, Mass........... 136

17. Structure and plan of Deep Pit quarry, Bay View, Mass. ............ 138

18. Diabase porphyry from dike at Pigeon Cove, Mass................... 140

19. Structure at Anderson quarry, Concord, N. H........................ 152

20. Structure and plan of Fox quarry, Concord, N. H................... 155

21. Map showing locations of Milford, N. H., granite quarries............. 157

22. Structure and plan of Young quarry, Milford, N. H.................. 172

23. Map showing locations of Conway, N. H., granite quarries............ 177

/,4. Map showing locations of Westerly and Niantic, R. I., granite quarries 189

25. Structure at Smith quarry, Westerly, R. I ........................... 198

26. Diagram of east face of Catto quarry, Westerly, R. I.................. 199

27. Structure at Klondike quarry, near Niantic, R. I.................... 206

6
CHIEF COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASSACHUSETTS, 

NEW HAMPSHIRE, AND RHODE ISLAND.

By T. NELSON DALE.

INTRODUCTION..

In Bulletin No. 313, published in October, 1907, by the United 

States Geological Survey, the granites of Maine were described by the 

writer from both the scientific and the economic standpoint. The design of the present work is to extend the same method of treatment to 

the granites of greatest economic importance in Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, and Rhode Island. These are the granites of Milford, 

Quincy, Rockport, and Becket (near Chester) in Massachusetts, of 

Concord, Milford, and Conway in New Hampshire, and of Westerly in 

Rhode Island. In addition certain granites from Auburn and Sunapee in New Hampshire are incidentally considered. The granites of 

Monson and Graniteville, in Massachusetts, and of Troy, in New 

Hampshire, and of several other places in the three States named, 

will be taken up in a later publication. Bulletin No. 313 contains a 

scientific discussion of granite adapted to the general reader, and 

also, in its economic portion, material of general economic interest. 

For convenience of reference those parts of that bulletin are here 

republished, but in revised form. In both bulletins some purely 

scientific matter necessarily. appears in the economic part, in the 

geological summary which prefaces the description of each group of 

quarries.

The field work upon which this report is based, involving visits to 

88 quarries, was done in. 1906. The petrographic work necessitated 

the study of 350 thin sections. The writer is indebted to Dr. Albert 

Johannsen, of the United States Geological Survey, for critical 

revision of his determinations of the minerals of these sections, and 

to Messrs. E. C. Sullivan, George Steiger, and W. T. Schaller, chemists, 

of the Survey, for determinations of the percentages of lime soluble 

in hot dilute acetic acid in 23 granites. Miss A. T. Coons, of the Survey, has contributed a chapter of statistics on the granite produced 

at the centers referred to and in the States named. Prof. Charles 

Palache, of Harvard University, has consented to the insertion of a

7
8 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., 1ST. Hv AND R. I.

note on a dike at Quincy. Mr. E. W. Branch, C. E., of Quincy, has 

allowed the reproduction of .his copyrighted map of its quarries. 

Information as to the general geological relations of the various 

granites has been obtained from works on local geology .by Emerson 

and Perry, Shaler and Tarr, Sears, Crosby, C. H. Hitchcock, Kemp, 

and Rice and Gregory. These are quoted or referred to in the section 

preceding the descriptions of the quarries of each district.

The Rosiwal method of estimating mineral percentages has been 

applied to all the types of granite described. These types will be 

found defined and classified, both scientifically and commercially, in 

the table on pages 211-212, which is followed by a section on their 

relative commercial values.

The numbers of the specimens described, to which those of the thin 

sections correspond, are given, so that the descriptions can be verified 

by consulting the collections at the National Museum. All these 

specimens have been prepared from blocks selected by the foremen 

or superintendents.

Such scientific terms as have unavoidably been used are explained 

in the glossary at the end, where also some of the quarrymen's terms 

are made intelligible to the general or scientific reader.

The names applied to the various granites in this report are, with 

a few exceptions, merely local.or trade designations. Their employment in this economic bulletin does not affect the standing of any 

particular name as a geologic formation name.
PART I. SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION.

GENERAL FEATURES.

GRANITE PROPER. 

DEFINITION.

Granite, in a general sense, is essentially an entirely crystalline 

igneous rock, consisting mainly of quartz, potash feldspar, and a 

feldspar containing both soda and lime, also of a small amount of either 

white or black mica or both, and sometimes of hornblende, more 

rarely of augite, or both. Where granite has, subsequent to its crystallization, been subjected to pressure sufficient to produce a parallelism in the arrangement of its minerals that is, a schistosity it 

is no longer a true granite, but a gneiss or granite gneiss; a sedimentary rock, however, in becoming crystalline may resemble a 

granite gneiss and is called a sedimentary gneiss.

OKIGIN.

Granite is now regarded as the product of the slow cooling and 

crystallization of molten glasslike matter at a dull-red heat matter 

which contained superheated water, and was intruded from below 

into an overlying mass of rock of sufficient thickness not only to prevent its rapid cooling and its general extrusion at the surface, but also 

to resist its pressure by its own cohesion and powerfully to compress 

it by its own gravity. As carbonic acid can be liquefied only under 

pressure, its -presence in liquid form within some of the microscopic 

cavities in the quartz of granite is alone evidence that the rock was 

formed under pressure. That the temperature at which granite 

solidified was comparatively .low has been inferred from the fact that 

it contains minerals which Jose their physical properties at temperatures higher than dull-red heat. The relations of the mineral constituents of granite to one another show the order in which they must 

have crystallized. This order differs from that in which they would 

crystallize if molten in a dry state, but laboratory experiments have 

shown that the presence of even a small quantity of water suffices to 

change that order of crystallization. The presence of superheated 

water in the formation of granite, inferred from the arrangement of 

its minerals, and the pressure indicated from a study of the contents 

of the microscopic cavities of its quartz show that the conditions 

requisite to its formation included not only the pressure of a great

9
10 COMMEECIAL GEANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND E. I.

overlying mass of rock but also powerful expansive pressure from 

below. Had this molten matter been extruded at the surface it 

would have cooled so rapidly that but few of its constituent molecules would have had time to arrange themselves in geometric order. 

The process of crystallization would have been arrested by the sudden 

passage of the material into the solid state and the product would 

have been a volcanic glass somewhat resembling that which forms 

cliffs in Yellowstone National Park. In granite, however, the mass 

has cooled slowly enough to permit the complete crystallization of 

the originally molten glasslike matter, and no unarranged molecules 

remain.

The overlying rock mass which furnished so large a part of the 

pressure required to form granite has at many places been removed 

from it by erosive processes that operated through great stretches of 

time. Indeed, it is only by the removal of this mass that granite is 

any where-naturally exposed. Although this mass may have measured 

thousands of feet in thickness, its former presence is at some places 

attested only by a thin capping on the granite or by fragments which 

the lacerating action of the intruding granite has incorporated into 

itself.

The lacerating effect of an intrusive eruption and the subsequent 

erosion of some of the overlying strata have been reproduced experimentally.'1 The conversion of granite itself back into a material 

which upon cooling under ordinary conditions. has proved to be a 

glass, has been effected in the laboratory, and the chief mineral constituents of granite have been artificially crystallized at high temperature in the presence of water vapor under high pressure, but the 

conditions requisite for the production of a granitic rock from its 

chemical constituents have not yet been successfully imitated.

Some granite shows locally a certain alignment of its mica plates 

and feldspars, due to the flow of the mass while it was in a plastic 

state a structure which was probably controlled by the pressure and 

form of the bordering rock. This "flow structure" should not be 

confounded with the schistosity which is due to later pressure and 

which also involves mineral changes and is usually regional rather 

than local in extent.

The great differences in the grade of texture in granites the mineral particles ranging from an average diameter of one-fiftieth inch

a Howe, Ernest, Twenty-first Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 3, pp. 294-296, PI. XLIII. Reyer, 

of the Austrian Geological Survey, has illustrated a granite intrusion by this simple experiment: Upon a 

table a frame of clay, say 2 inches thick, is constructed about a square piece of board 1 inch thick. After 

removing the board a mixture of medium thick plaster and red coloring matter is poured into the 

inclosure. The surface of the red plaster is then sprinkled with a layer of white plaster powder. After 

making a lens-shaped perforation in the center of the board it is again fitted into the frame and pressed 

against the red and white layers until the white plaster exudes through the opening, and afterwards 

the red intrudes fhe white. The materials are allowed to harden and are then sawn to show the structure. See Reyer, Ed., Tektonik der Granit Ergiisse von Neudeck und Carlsbad, etc. Jahrb. K.-k. geol. 

Heichsanstalt, vol. 29,1879, pp. 432-433, fig. 6.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 11

(0.50 mm.) and even 0.0069 inch (0.175 mm.) to over half an inch 

is attributed to differences in the rate of cooling. The portions at 

the margin of the mass, which cooled rather quickly, crystallized in 

very small crystals, while the central portions, which cooled more 

gradually, became coarsely crystalline.

MINERALOGICAL COMPOSITION.

Feldspar is the most conspicuous and generally the most abundant 

mineral in granite. By its color or colors it usually determines to a 

large extent the general color of the rock; and by the light which it 

reflects it causes also its brilliancy. It is easily distinguished from 

the other constituents by its smooth cleavage surfaces and milky, 

bluish white, or- opalescent, or reddish, brownish, or greenish color. 

Granite usually contains two kinds of feldspar, the most abundant of 

which is generally potash feldspar, a silicate of alumina and potash. 

This occurs in one of two crystal forms, orthoclase or microcline, or 

in both, which, however, can be distinguished only by means of the 

microscope. The other feldspar (plagioclase), containing both soda 

and lime, although it may be of the same color as the potash feldspar, 

can often be distinguished from it by the very fine parallel lines on 

its surface. Usually it differs greatly in color from the first. The 

potash feldspar may be reddish or brownish; the plagioclase may be 

white or greenish. Under the microscope the soda-lime feldspar can 

be readily distinguished from the potash feldspar by its behavior in 

polarized light, which brings out its crystalline structure and indicates its particular variety and approximate chemical composition. 

A granitic rock that contains the two feldspars in equal proportions 

is distinguished by a special technical name.

Quartz (silica), the next most abundant constituent, is readily 

known by its glassy luster, uneven fracture, and brittleness. It may 

be colorless, bluish, opalescent or amethystine, or sm'oky. The quartz 

in the rock determines in some measure its shade. The vitreousness 

of the quartz greatly affects the granite.

The next most abundant constituent of granite is mica, which is 

present in two forms the white (muscovite, or potash mica), essentially a silicate of alumina with potash, soda, and ferrous oxide, and 

the black (biotite, or magnesia mica), essentially a silicate of alumina 

with potash, magnesia, and both ferric and ferrous oxide. Granite 

may contain one or both of these. The dimensions and number of the 

scales of black mica largely determine the shade of many granites.

Hornblende, a constituent of many granites, although greenish

(rarely bluish), may appear as dark as the black mica, but, unlike

'that mineral, it does not split into scales. Augite and hornblende

resemble each other so closely when in minute particles that they can

be distinguished only by means of the microscope. Both may occur.
12 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

In addition to these more important minerals, others are usually 

present in minute or microscopic quantities. Some of these, kaolin, 

sericite (a potash mica or muscovite), chlorite, epidote, zoisite, and 

calcite, as well as paragonite (soda mica), which may possibly be 

present, are the result of chemical changes in the feldspars or the 

biotite or hornblende and are therefore called'' secondary.'' Others 

like zircon, apatite, titanite, rutile, tourmaline, fluorite, garnet, magnetite, molybdenite, ilmenite, pyrite, allanite are regarded as original 

"accessory constituents." Calcite also occurs in microscopic quantity as an original mineral of some granites. a Of these minor accessories, pyrite (iron disulphide) and calcite (lime carbonate) alone have 

economic significance, for these may discolor or weaken the stone 

when dissolved or oxidized on an exposed surface.

The chemists of the United States Geological Survey have treated 

10 granites from Maine and 23 from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 

and Rhode Island with hot dilute acetic acid and find that the Maine 

granites contain 0.14 to 0.43 per cent of CaC03 (lime carbonate) and 

the others from 0.07 to 0.6 per cent.

During the preparation of the bulletin on Maine granites and of 

this bulletin the following accessory minerals have been detected: 

Garnet, zircon, titanite, magnetite, pyrite, molybdenite, fluorite, 

apatite, allanite, and rutile; also the following secondary minerals: 

Hematite, limonite, calcite, kaolin, muscovite, paragonite (probably) 

quartz, hornblende, riebeckite, epidote, and zoisite.

The arrangement of the important minerals in the stone will be 

described under the heading "Texture."

The percentages of the mineral constituents differ within wide 

limits in granites from different localities. The percentage of muscovite and of the ferromagnesian minerals (biotite, hornblende,

augite) is always small, while that of the feldspar and quartz is large. 

There is considerable variation in the relative amounts of feldspar 

and quartz and still more in the amounts of each of the feldspars.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.

The chemical composition of granite is of less scientific arid economic significance than its mineral composition, for, although chemical analysis shows the percentages of the constituent elements, the 

process by which these are determined necessarily mingles the elements of several minerals whose proportions vary and whose contribution to the physical properties of the rock differ greatly. When, 

however, a combination of elements occurs only in one or two of the 

minerals the chemical analysis serves to corroborate the evidence 

obtained by microscopic analysis.

a See Zirkel, Petrographie, vol. 2, p. 13, and Weinschenk, Abhandl. Math.-phys. Classe, k. Bayer. 

Akad., vol. 18, p. 730, PI. V.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 13

Many analyses of granite have been published, but it will suffice 

here to give the extremes of the percentages shown by some of the 

more important of these and to refer the reader to works containing 

complete analyses.0 Four analyses of granites from Scotland, Ireland, Italy, and Sweden show the following ranges: b .

Analyses of European granites.

Si02 (silica)...............................:......................... 70.60-74.82

A1203 (alumina)..................................................... 14.86-16.40

Fe203 (ferric oxide)................................................... . 10- 1.63

FeO (ferrous oxide)................................................... .36- 1.64

MnO (manganese oxide).............................................. . 00- . 48

MgO (magnesia)....................'.................................. .23- 1.00

CaO (lime)........................................................... . 89- 2.47

Na20 (soda).......................................................... 3.51- 6.12

K20 (potash)......................................................... 3.55- 5.10

Ten analyses, made at the laboratory of the United States Geological Survey, of granites from Arizona, California (2), Colorado 

(4), Maryland, Michigan, and Montana, show the following ranges:0

Analyses of American granites. 

Si02 (silica)......................................................... 66.68-77.68

A1203 (alumina)..................................................... 11.63-16.38

Fe203 (ferric oxide)................................................... . 00- 1. 66

FeO (ferrous oxide)................................................... .09- 3. 32

MgO (magnesia)...................................................... .04- 2.19

CaO (lime)............................................................ .12- 4.89

Na^O (soda) ......................................................... 2.36- 5.16

K20 (potash)................'......................................... 1.87- 6.50

Ti02 (titanium dioxide)............................................... . 07- . 45

P205 (phosphoric acid)................................................ Trace- . 10

The average of 21 analyses of even-grained Georgia granites made 

by Watsond yield the following percentages:

Analyses of Georgia yranites.

Si02 (silica).............................................................. «69. 97

A1203 (alumina).......................................................... 16. 63

Fe203 (ferric oxide)..........................:............................. 1.28

CaO (lime)................................................................ 2.13

MgO (rnajnesia)............................................................ .55

Na20 (soda)................................................:............. 4.73

K26 (potash).............................................................. 4.71

One hundred and thirty-seven analyses of Swedish granites will be 

found arranged in a continuous table in a recent work of Holmquist/

a See Washington, H. S., Prof. Papers U. S. Geol. Survey Nos. 14, 1903, and 28, 1904; also Clarke, 

F. W., Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 228,1904.

b Geikie, Archibald, Text-book of Geology, 4th ed., vol. 1, London .1903, p. 207.

c See Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 228, p. 54, analysis D; p. 197, analysis D; p. 231, analysis A; p. 232, 

analysis A; p. 185, analysis B; p. 161, analyses A, C, F; p. 78, analysis A; p. 145, analysis C.

d Watson, Thomas L., Bull. Georgia Geol. Survey No. 9-A, 1902, p. 241.

e Extremes C8.38-72.5G.

/ Holmquist, P. J., Studien iiber die Granite von Schweden: Bull. Geol. Inst. Univ. Upsala, VII, Nos, 

13 and 14, 1904-5, pp. 77-209. Upsala, 1906.
14 COMMERCIAL GRANITES' OF MASS., 1ST. H., AND R. I.

It should be noted that in all these analyses most of the lime is to 

be attributed to the lime-soda feldspar and nearly all the rest of it to 

apatite (lime phosphate), or to hornblende and augite when these are 

present.

It is of interest to note in this connection that certain Scotch and 

Irish granites contain from 1.6 to 2.8 volumes of gas per volume of 

rock. This gas is inclosed in microscopic cavities within the minerals, 

and in the Scotch granite consists of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and 

nitrogen in the following combinations and proportions: C02 , 23.60; 

CO, 6.45; CH4 , 3.02; N8 , 5.13; H2 , 61.68. a These gases are probably 

present in all granites.

TEXTURE.

Definition. By the texture of the rock is to be understood those 

characteristics which are apparent on its surface, or, more exactly, 

the forms and mutual relations of its minerals as seen without and 

with a microscope.

Character and grade. The most important feature of granite is 

the character of its grain. Some granites are even grained; others 

contain more or less thinly disseminated and complete crystals of 

feldspar in a mass of finer, even-grained material that is, they 

show what is called porphyritic texture. The next most important 

feature perhaps more important is the relative coarseness or fineness of grain in an even-grained granite. Three grades of texture 

of this sort may be distinguished: (1) Coarse, in which the feldspars 

generally measure over 1 cm., or two-fifths inch; (2) medium, in 

which they measure under 1 cm. (two-fifths inch) and over 0.5 cm. 

(one-fifth inch); (3) fine, in which they measure under 0.5 cm. (onefifth inch). In some coarse-grained granites the feldspars measure 

one or several inches, and in some fine-grained ones all the particles 

range from 0.25 mm. to 1 mm. (one twenty-fifth inch) in diameter, 

and some average as low as 0.50 mm., or one-fiftieth inch. Extremely 

fine ones average 0.175 mm., or about seven one-thousandths inch.

Forms of minerals. Even without the aid of the microscope it will 

be noticed that, except in granites of porphyritic texture, the minerals 

rarely attain their complete crystalline form. They have interfered 

with one another's growth. It will also be noticed that some of the 

crystals of feldspar in some granites are surrounded by a border of a 

different feldspar. Thus a red feldspar may be bordered by a white 

or greenish one, or vice versa. Either of these may be the potash 

feldspar and the other a soda-lime feldspar. It will also be noticed 

that many of the feldspars are not simple incomplete or complete 

crystals, but "twins," having the cleavage planes in one half at a 

different angle from those in the other half, so that when held in the 

sunlight only one half will reflect the light in one position.

aTilden, W. H,, Proa Roy. Soc. London, vol. 60, No. 366, Feb. 20, 1897, pp. 454, 455.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 15

Arrangement of minerals. A polished surface of any medium or 

coarse-grained granite shows that the quartz fills up the spaces 

between the feldspars that is, was formed after them also that 

both feldspars and quartz inclose particles of mica, etc., which must 

therefore have crystallized before them. Under the microscope the 

arrangement of the minerals is found to be such' that they must 

usually have crystallized in the following order: Magnetite, pyrite, 

apatite, zircon, titanite, hornblende, biotite, muscovite, the feldspars, and, last of all, the quartz. It should be noted, however, that 

many of the feldspar crystals contain intergrown quartz, so that 

some of the quartz must therefore have crystallized at the same time 

as the feldspar. The structure of the potash feldspar in some 

granites is very intricate, as it contains microscopic intergrowths of 

a lime-soda feldspar, both having evidently crystallized at the same 

time or in close alternation. Also, as stated above, the potash feldspar may be rimmed with soda-lime feldspar, or vice versa.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES.

Granite derives its physical properties from its mineralogical constitution, particularly from its large content of feldspar and quartz, 

and from its texture. Among these physical properties the most 

important are weight, cohesiveness, elasticity, flexibility, hardness 

expansibility, porosity, and vitreousness. Each of these qualities will 

be taken up in the order in which they are here stated.

Weight. In order to establish a fixed standard the weight of a 

rock is compared to that of an equal volume of distilled water. The 

weight thus determined is called its specific gravity. The specific 

gravity of granite ranges from 2.593 to 2.731. The average of these 

extremes is 2.662, which is equivalent to 2 long tons, or 4,480.pounds, 

to the cubic yard, or about 165 pounds to the cubic foot. Geikie a 

calls attention to the change in the weight of granite when immersed 

in sea water, as given by Stevenson. 6 A red granite having a specific gravity of 2.71, or 13.2 cubic feet to the ton in air, will in sea 

water of a specific gravity of 1.028 measure 21.30 cubic feet to the ton.

Cohesiveness. The amount of cohesiveness of a rock is ascertained 

by determining its crushing strength that is, the weight in pounds 

required to crush it or to destroy its cohesion. The ultimate compressive strength of granite ranges from about 15,000 to 43,973 

pounds per square inch,6 but the usual range is from 18,000 to 34,000 

pounds. Herrmann d gives the crushing strength of European granites as ranging from 1,100 to over 3,000 kilograms per square centimeter.

a Text-book of Geology, 4th ed., p. 568. 

& Stevenson, T., Harbours, p. 107.

= These extremes are from Wisconsin granites. See Buckley, Ernest B., On the building and ornamental stones of Wisconsin: Bull. Wisconsin Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey, No. 4, pp. 361, 390. 

dHerrmann, 0.. Steinbruchindustrie und Steinbruchgeologic, p. 43.
16 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

Elasticity. Tests made at the United States Arsenal at Watertown, Mass., to determine the compressive elasticity of specimens of 

granite from Arkansas, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, and New 

Hampshire, show that specimens of granite, in a gaged length of 

20 inches and a diameter of 5.5 inches at the middle, when placed 

under a load of 5,000 pounds to the square inch, suffered compression 

ranging from 0.0108 to 0.0245 inch, resulting in a lateral expansion 

ranging from 0.005 to 0.007 inch, and giving ratios of lateral expansion to longitudinal compression ranging from 1: 8 to 1: 47.a

Flexibility. Although granite contains a large amount of brittle 

material (estimated at from 30 to 60 per cent) and the interlocking of 

its various particles give to it great cohesion and rigidity, yet in sheets 

of sufficient thinness and areal extent it is flexible. Sheets hah6 an 

inch thick and 4 feet long may be bent, as noted in the description 

of the Lawton quarry, at Norridgewock, in Bulletin No. 313, page 

151. Whether flexibility in this case was conditioned upon a slight 

loosening of -the grains by chemical and physical change is uncertain.

Hardness. As will be seen by reference to the tests for hardness 

described on page 66, granites differ greatly in hardness. This dif- 

.ference is due not merely to differences in the percentage of quartz, 

but also to variations in the character of the feldspars.

Expansibility. The expansibility of granite has been variously 

tested. Bartlett 6 found that a piece of granite coping 5 feet long, 

under the effect of a winter temperature of 0° F. and a summer temperature of 96° F., expanded 0.027792 inch, or 0.000004825 .inch 

per inch for each degree. The ordnance department at the Watertown Arsenal 0 tested the granites referred to under the heading 

"Elasticity," and found that slabs of gaged lengths of 20 inches in 

passing-from a cold-water bath at 32° F. through a hot-water bath 

at 212° F., and back again to cold water at 32° F. ; expanded from 

0.0017 to 0.0059 inch, averaging 0.0040 inch. 

Porosity. Granite contains and absorbs water, which is held in 

microscopic spaces both within and between its constituent minerals. 

Anstedd states that granite generally contains about 0.8 per cent of 

water and is capable of absorbing about 0.2 per cent more. In other 

words, a cubic yard of granite weighing 2 tons contains in its ordinary state about 3| gallons of water and can absorb nearly a gallon 

more on being placed in pure water for a short period. Buckley6 

found that the pore space or porosity in fourteen Wisconsin granites

a Report of the tests of metals, etc., made with the United States testing machine at Watertown 

Arsenal, Mass. (1895), 1896, pp. 339-348.

6 Bartlett, Wm. C., Experiments on the expansion and contraction of building stones by variation 

. of temperature: Am. Jour. Sci., 1st ser., vol. 22, 1832, pp. 136-140. 

c Op. cit., p. 322.

d Ansted, D. T., quoted by Edward Hull in A treatise on building and ornamental stones of Great 

Britain and foreign countries, 1872, p. 30. 

e Op. cit., p. 400,
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 17

ranges from 0.17 to 0.392 per cent, and that the ratio of absorption 

(percentage of weight of absorbed water to the average dry weight 

of the samr^.e) of the same granites ranges from 0.17 to 0.50. Merrill a has shown that certain Maryland granites absorb from 0.196 to 

0.258 per cent of water after drying twenty-four hours at 212° F. 

and then being immersed for twenty-four hours.

Vitreousness. The vitreousness of granite is due to that of its contained quartz. Under extreme changes of temperature, as in a city 

fire, where water is thrown on the stone, granite exfoliates badly. 

This exfoliation or shelling is attributable to the unequal expansion or contraction of its outer and its inner portions under sudden 

changes of temperature. It is also probably connected with the 

vitreousness of the quartz, and possibly also in a measure with the 

liquids contained in microscopic cavities of the quartz. The unequal 

expansive ratios of the different constituent minerals would result in 

general disintegration, not in exfoliation.

Buckley 6 subjected 2-inch cubes of five Wisconsin granites to high 

temperature tests and found that they were all destroyed at 1,500° F. 

One of them cracked at 1,000°; two others began to disintegrate at 

1,200°. The most notable change was that "when struck with a 

hammer or scratched with.a knife they emitted the sound peculiar to 

a burnt brick." Cutting c applied a fire test to granites from eighteen 

quarries in Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, .Vermont, and Virginia, with the result that after saturation 

they all stood a temperature of 500° F. without damage, but showed 

the first appearance of injury at 700°-800° and were rendered worth 

less at 900°-1,000°. Twenty-three sandstones subjected to the same 

tests showed the first appearance of injury at 800°-900° and became 

worthless at 950°-1 ; 200°. His general results agree with those of 

experience as to the relative fire endurance of granite and sandstone.* 

The behavior of granite under very high temperature is not attributable to any one physical property. The physical properties of 

granite are further discussed in Part II, under the heading "Tests 

of granite" (pp. 65-68).

CLASSIFICATION.

The varieties of granite are. so numerous that for either scientific 

or economic purposes they need to be classified.

Scientific classification. For scientific purposes granites may be 

classified according to their less essential mineral constituents 

mica, hornblende, and augite. Thus a granite containing white mica

a Merrill, G. P., Maryland Geol. Survey, vol. 2, pp. 94, 95. 

6 Op. cit., p. 411.

c Cutting, Hiram A., Sixth Kept. Agric. Vermont, 1880, pp. 47-54; also, Durability of building 

stone: Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 21,1881, p. 410. 

d Merrill, G. P., Stones for building and decoration, p. 435.

50193 ^ull. 354 08 2
18 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

is termed a muscovite granite; one containing black mica, a biotite 

granite; one containing both, a muscovite-biotite granite. A granite 

containing black mica and hornblende is called a biotite-hornblende 

granite. Granites may also be classified according to both their 

mineral and their, chemical composition. These two form the basis 

of the latest classification of igneous rocks, which is too complex to 

be outlined here.0

Economic classification. For economic purposes granites may be 

classified first as to texture as even grained, or porphyritic, or as 

coarse, medium, or fine, according to the scale given on page 14. 

Those of extra coarse or extra fine texture can be distinguished by 

the prefix very. This scale gives five grades of texture. Granites 

should also be classified as to general color and shade as pinkish, 

reddish, lavender, or gray or warm gray (that is, a gray showing the 

presence of a slight reddish, reddish-purplish, or yellowish tinge),, 

and as dark, medium, or light; and the dark and light gray may be 

modified by prefixing the word very. They may be further classified 

and designated by the colors of their most conspicuous minerals, the 

feldspars, quartz, and mica. A stone may thus be called a coarse, 

even-grained, warm-gray granite, with lavender and white feldspars, 

smoky quartz, and black mica; or another may be called a fine, evengrained, very light gray granite, with white feldspar, clear quartz, 

and both white and black mica. Lastly, they may be' classified by 

their uses as constructional, monumental, inscriptional, polish, or 

statuary granites. This scheme of classification will suffice for 

ordinary economic purposes.. The outline of an exhaustive technical 

description of any granite can be constructed from the tests enumerated on pages 65-68.

GENERAL STRUCTURE.

The term "structure" embraces all the divisional planes that traverse the rock. These occur at intervals ranging from a microscopic 

distance to one measured by scores of feet, and either cross or, very 

rarely, give a course to the texture resulting from crystallization.

FLOW STRUCTURE.

WhJre two varieties of granite lie in contact, as at Redstone, N. H. 

(p. 177), the dividing line between them indicates the direction of their 

flow, for the same reason that the course of the flow of a stream would 

be shown by the demarcation between its water and that of a muddy 

tributary a little below their junction. In some places this direction 

is also indicated by streaks of sheets of mica scales parallel to the 

direction of the line between the granites. Such streaks, therefore,

a See Cross, Iddings, Pirsson, Washington, Quantitative Classification of Igneous Rocks based on 

Chemical and Mineral Characters, with a Systematic Nomenclature, Chicago, 1903; also Jour. Geology, 

voL 10,1902, pp. 555 et seq.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 19

[ when alone are regarded as indicating flow structure. They may be 

$ inclined at all angles or be in horizontal undulations with axes pitching 

s 10° to 40°. In some Massachusetts and New Hampshire quarries 

 the structure is parallel to the surface of the granite at its contact 

.,: with overlying rocks, or surrounds in parallel bands the surface of 

' large inclusions. (See pp. 62, 109, and fig. 5.) Flow structure also 

is conspicuous in the granite of Milford, Mass., and in some of the 

quarries of Milford, N. H. (See pp. 77, 158.) The very local character of such structural features indicates that they are not due 

to pressure which affected the entire region, but that they originated 

; while the granite masses were still plastic. A granite that exhibits

i flow structure is called by some writers a flow gneiss.

»

RIFT AND GRAIN.

( The rift in granite is a feature of considerable scientific interest

and of much economic -importance. It is an obscure microscopic 

I foliation either vertical, or very nearly so, or horizontal along 

,!' which the granite splits more easily than in any other direction. 

j The grain is a foliation in a direction at right angles to this, along 

/ which the rock splits with a facility second only to that of the fracl ture along the rift. After a little experience an observer can detect 

*- the rift with the unaided eye, where it is marked.

The earliest mention of rift in geological literature appears to be

that by J. F. W. Charpentier 0 in 1778,° who noticed that granite milli. stones which were cut with their largest diameter parallel to the rift

were much more readily worn than those cut at right angles to it, 

j that is, parallel to the "hard way." He attributed this to a parallel 

; arrangement of the mineral particles. The next reference to rift is

by Potsch 6 in 1803-, who described it in the granites of Lausitz, in 

( Saxony. In 1833 it was referred to by Enys and Foxc as character- 

; izing the granites of Penrhyn, and was referred to in 1834- by De la 

i- Beche; d also in 1855 by Adam Sedgwick," who attributed it to 

<" crystalline action at the time of consolidation. In 1860 C. F. Nau- 

\ mann^ attributed it either to local differences of cohesion or to an

inner strain possibly related to the direction of original consolidation.

In 1864 G. vom Rath.s' described a diorite.from Monte Adamello, in

the Tyrol, without dominant rift, and observed that the rift course

was, on the contrary, uniform in the granite of Monte Motterone

» Mineralogische Geographic des chursilschsischen Lande, 1778. See also his Beobachtungen uber die 

Lagerstiitte der-Erze, 1779.

6 Bemerkungen und Beobachtungen uber das Vorkommen des Granits in geschichtete Lagen, p. 140.

c London and Edinburgh Phil. Mag., 3d ser., vol. 2, pp. 321-327.

d Researches in theoretical geology, and Report on the geology of Cornwall.

« Trans. Geol. Soc. London, 2d ser., vol 3, pt. 3, p. 483.

/ Lehrbuch der Geognosie, vol. 2, 2d ed., Leipzig, 1860, pp. 191-192.

g Beitrage zur Kenntniss der eruptiven Gesteine der Alpen: Zeitschr. d. Dcutschen Geol. Gcscll., 

vol. 16, pp. 249-260.
20 COMMERCIAL GEANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND K. I.

(Baveno). In 1876 James D. Dana stated that "granite often has a 

direction of easiest fracture due to the fact that the feldspar crystals 

have approximately a uniform position in the rock bringing the 

cleavage planes into parallelism." a This is true in those places where 

the directions of flow structure and rift chance to coincide, and it may 

be true in some porphyritic granites that the porphyritic crystals are 

arranged with some reference to the rift, but that it is not the cause 

of rift is shown by the fact that the feldspar cleavages usually intersect the rift face at all angles. In 1879 Reyer 6 attributed .rift to an 

original arrangement of particles by flowage. As rift in places crosses 

flow structure this explanation is also inadequate. In 1893 Carl C. 

Riiber, in a work on the granite industry of Norway,6 described an 

augite syenite with inferior rift and grain, in which the cleavage 

planes of the individual feldspar crystals were parallel to the two 

cleavages, rift and grain, of the rock. Finally, in 1894, F. Zirkel, d 

after reviewing the opinions of his predecessors, tentatively suggested 

that rift may be the result of conditions of strain brought about by 

pressure from one side only, which failed to find adequate relief in 

jointing.

The only available recent American data on this subject are 

furnished by Tarr, Whittle, and Finlay.e

Tarr presents four figures reproduced from drawings made from 

enlarged views of thin sections showing the rift in Cape Ann hornblende-biotite granite. These figures and his descriptions indicate 

that rift consists of microscopic faults, most of which meander across 

feldspar and quartz alike, although some go around the quartz 

particles rather than through them. In the feldspars rift usually 

follows the cleavage. These minute faults are lined with microscopic 

fragments of the mineral they traverse and some of them send off 

short, minute diagonal fractures on either side. In examining such 

a structure it is important to make sure that the grinding of the 

section has not in any way modified the original fractures. Tarr 

adds that at Cape Ann the rift does not traverse the "knots" or 

the basic dikes that cross the granite.

Whittle gives two sketches made from polished surfaces of a wellknown granite quarried by the Maine and New Hampshire Granite 

Company at Redstone, N. H. One of these sketches, made from a 

surface running at right angles to the rift, shows quartz and feldspar

a Manual of Geology, 2d ed., 1876, p. 628.

6Reyer, Ed., Tektonik der Granit Ergiisse von Neudeck und Carlsbad, etc.: Jahrb. K.-k. geol. 

Reichsanstalt, vol. 29,1879, p. 415.

c Norges granit industri; Norges Geol. undersogelse: Aarbog for 1893, No. 12, p. 45.

d Lchrbuch der Petrographie, 2d ed., vol. 2, 1894, pp. 52-53, p. 415.

« Tarr, R. S., The phenomena of rifting in granite: Am. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., vol. 41, 1891, pp. 267-272, 

figs. 1-4; also Economic Geology of the United States, 1895, p. 124. Whittle, Charles L., Rifting and 

grain in granite: Eng. and Min. Jour., vol. 70,1900 p. 161, figs. 1 and 2. Finlay, G. I., The granite area 

of Barre, Vt.: Report of Vermont State Geologist, new ser., 1902, p. 54.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 21

grains traversed by a generally parallel set of lines corresponding to 

the rift planes. The lines are more numerous in the feldspar than in 

the quartz grains. The other sketch, made from another specimen, 

shows besides the rift lines another less pronounced set intersecting 

these at right angles. This second set corresponds to the grain. 

Whittle calls attention to the fact that notwithstanding the marked 

rift and grain at this quarry the stone .stood a compression test of 

22,370 pounds to the square inch, and was, therefore, not appreciably 

weakened by the microscopic fractures. A visit made by the writer 

in 1906 to the quarry at Redstone, N. H., has corroborated Whittle's 

observations. The details of the rift and grain structure observed 

are given on page 42.

Finlay, in describing the quartz of Barre granite, says: "The pronounced cracks which are seen to cross from one crystal to its neighbor, without interruption, are an indication of pressure phenomena 

in the magma after its consolidation. These cracks are notable as containing microscopic dendritic growths, which are analogous to the 

arborescent forms of Mn02 , and possibly identical with them."

Another peculiarity of rift is that the angle of its inclination may 

at some places be modified by gravity. Thus, in some localities a block 

will split at one angle from the top, but at another from the side; or, 

again, at one angle where the mass of the block is at the right and at 

another where it is at the left of the line of fracture. Experienced 

granite workmen at Concord, N. H., and Quincy, Mass., report that 

at some places a block that would show a horizontal rift when split 

from 'one point of the compass (say the north) acquires an inclined 

rift if split from the south or the east or west. 'The cause of this 

is not apparent. There are also indications that a slight alteration 

of the feldspars may improve the rift. Finally, as is well known to 

granite quarrymen, rift and grain are modified by temperature, the 

effect of winter cold in New England (frost?) being to intensify the 

rift and grain where they are weak.

Herrmann a states that in Saxony the rift is parallel to the horizontal sheets or joints. That is true for short distances in the New 

England quarries, but where the. rift is horizontal and the sheets 

curve it crosses the sheets, and of course where the rift is vertical it 

crosses them throughout. Exceptionally, in one of the quarries at 

Quincy, Mass., a foreman reported to the writer a deflection of the rift 

in apparent relation to the increasing inclination of the sheets.

Rift and gram am not always pronounced. Either or both may be 

very feeble or may be absent.

At the Armbrust quarry, in Vinalhaven, Me., there is a horizontal 

rift confined to a 4-foot mass striking across the granite hillock.

a Hermann, 0., Steinbruchindustrle und Steinbruchgeologie, Berlin, 1899, p. 109.
22 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

The presence of fairly good rift or grain is an important economic 

factor in the granite industry, for it diminishes both the amount of 

labor in drilling for blasts and in splitting.

That the rift is a factor in the crushing strength of granite is 

shown by the results of tests of Mount Waldo granite from Frankfort, blocks of which when placed on the bed that is, with pressure 

applied at right angles to the rift showed an ultimate strength to 

the square inch of 31,782 to 32,635 pounds (average, 32,208), but 

when placed on the side that is, with pressure applied parallel to 

the rift showed an ultimate strength of from 29,183 to 30,197 

pounds (average, 29,690). In the first test the first crack appeared 

in the block at a pressure of from 120,000 to 123,300 pounds (average, 

121,650) and in the second test it appeared at one of 107,400 to 

112,600 pounds (average, 110,000 pounds).a Rift and grain in their 

relations to fluidal cavities are discussed on pages 42-47.

SHEETS.

The division of granite into "sheets" or "beds" by jointlike 

fractures which are variously curved or nearly horizontal, being 

generally parallel with the granite surface, attracted the attention of 

geologists long ago. In 1797 De Dolomieu, and shortly before that 

De Saussure, described granite sheet structure. 6

In 1803 Potsch c published a paper on the subject. In 1841 Edward 

Hitchcock described what he termed the "Pseudo-stratification of 

granite," near Worcester and Fitchburg, Mass., as a concentric, 

onion-like structure generally conforming to the rock surface. d

In 1860 C. F. Naumann e dealt with the subject in his text-book.

In 1863 F. von Adrian described the structure in Bohemia and 

regarded it as the result of cooling.^

In 1879 Reyer^ described it from another part of Bohemia; and in 

1894 Zirkel & also treated the subject in his petrography.

Although this is the most striking feature in every granite quarry 

and largely makes the granite industry possible, there is a great 

diversity of opinion as to its cause. Whitney* writes:

The curves are arranged strictly with reference to the surface of the masses of rock, 

showing clearly that they must have been produced by the contraction of the material while cooling or solidifying, and also giving very strongly the impression that, 

in many places, we see something of the original shape of the surface as it was when 

the granitic mass assumed its present position.

a Reilfy, J. W., Ordnance Kept., tests of materials, etc. (1900), 1901, p. 1119. See also result of test 

of Concord granite, p. 147, this bulletin. 

6 Journal des Mines, VII, No. 43, p. 426. 

c Op. cit.

d Final Report, Geology of Massachusetts, p. 683. 

t Op. cit., p. 191.

/ Jahrb. K.-k. geol. Reichsanstalt, vol. 13, pp. 155-182. 

g Op. cit., p. 405.

ft Zirkel, Petrographie, vol. 2, p. 52. 

i Whitney, J. D., Geology of California, vol. 1, 1865, Geology, p. 372;. also pp. 227, 417, and figs. 49-54.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 23

Shaler, a few years later," attributed the sheet structure to expansion due to solar heat.

C. H. Hitchcock 6 notices in New Hampshire granite "numerous 

joints, the planes of which correspond very nearly with the slope of 

the hill," but does not undertake to explain them.

Vogt c states that the sheets in granites of southeastern Norway 

measure from 6 inches to 6 feet in thickness and dip from 8° to 33° 

on the sides of the mountains, toward the valleys, but that they are 

horizontal on top and approximately parallel to the surface. He 

shows that they are of preglacial origin, attributes them to the same 

cause that is postulated by Whitney for those in California, and 

regards them as parallel to the original surface of the granite masses.

Harris/ referring to the English granite quarries, writes: "In 

every quarry'we visited we found that the direction of. the 'beds' 

approximately corresponded with the outline of the hill on which it 

was situated." He offers no explanation of the phenomenon, however.

J. J. Crawford 6 describes the sheet structure at granite quarries in 

Madera and Tulare counties, California, as consisting of " concentric 

layers conforming in a general way to the contour of the hills," but 

suggests no cause for them.

Herrmann/ who made a special economic study of the granites of 

Saxony, writes: t

Upon closer inspection it appears that the granite sheets are elongated lenses overlying one another, of which the upper one, as a rule, has its bulging part lying in the 

depression formed by the two underlying lenses where they come together.

Branner o describes the exfoliation of the granitoid gneisses in 

Brazil, which he attributes only in part to changes of temperature. 

He calls attention to.the fact that the linear expansion of a mass of 

gneiss 300 feet long at a depth of 15 feet from the surface under a 

surface temperature of 103° F. would amount to only 0.072 inch; 

and he quotes the results of Forbes, Quetelet, and others to show 

that the annual change of temperature can penetrate' rock only to a 

depth of 40 feet in temperate regions and still less in the Tropics.

Merrill h describes Stone Mountain, in Georgia, as a boss of granite 

2 miles long by 1^ miles wide and 650 feet high, which owes its form

a Shaler, N. S., Notes on the concentric structure of granitic rocks: Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 

vol. 12, 1869, pp 289-293.

l> Geology of New Hampshire, vol. 2,1877, pp. 511-512 and plate opposite p. 158, showing sheet structure at the ' Flume."

cVogt, J. H. L., Sheets of granite and syenite in their relation to the present surface: GeoK Foreningens i Stockholm, Forhandl., 1879, No. 56, vol. 4, No. 14; also Nogle, Bemaerkninger om Granit: 

Christiania videnskabsselsk. Forhandl., 1881, No. 9.

(i Harris, George F., Granites and our granite industries, London, 1888.

« Twelfth Kept. State Mineralogist of California, 1894, pp. 384-387 and 3 plates.

/ Herrmann, O., Technische Verwerthung der Lausitzer- Granite 1. Zeitsch. fiir prakt. Geologie, Nov., 

1895, Heft 2, p. 435.

o Branner, John C., Decomposition of rocks in Brazil: Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 7,1890;'Exfoliation, pp. 269-277, Temperature and exfoliation, pp. 285-292.

h Merrill, George P., Rocks, rock-weathering, and soils, 2d edition, 1906, p. 2 31.
24 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

wholly to exfoliation parallel to preexisting lines of weakness. The 

mass appears to be made up of imbricated sheets of granite which 

he regards as the result of torsional strains. The bosslike form is 

incidental and consequent. Intermittent expansion and contraction 

from changes of temperature have so affected the sheets that bound 

the mass at the sides that they have found relief in expansion in 

an upward direction. These ruptured sheets are rarely more than 

10 inches thick, but are 10 or 20 feet in diameter.0

Herrmann6 sums up his conclusions on the subject substantially as 

follows: The so-called sheets are thin near the rock surface, generally 

only a few centimeters thick, but become gradually thicker with 

increasing depth. This downward increase in the thickness of the 

sheets is generally more rapid where the texture of the stone is coarser. 

The course of the sheets is not, as Vogt claims, parallel to the original 

surface of the consolidating rock. It is not governed by internal 

strains. The attitude of the sheets corresponds to the form of the 

present rock surface. The sheet structure is to be looked upon as 

the effect of the beginning and progress of weathering from the surface inward. These weathering cracks are determined by the form 

of the rock surface instead of that being determined by them.

Turner c calls attention to the sheet structure and exfoliation of 

Fairview Dome, in the Yosemite.

Gilbert d shows that sheet structure occurs in synclinal as well as 

in anticlinal attitude in other words, is parallel to hollows as well 

as hills which he considers unfavorable to the theoiy that it is an 

original structure. He suggests that sheet structure may possibly 

be due to expansive stress consequent upon relief from compressive 

stress brought about by the removal of the mass into which the 

granite was intruded. Subordinately he notes that in the Sierras, 

at least, the dome structure and the parallel joint structure do not 

occur in the same place and that the former has resisted general 

erosion more successfully than the latter.

Dr. G. F. Becker, in a recent conversation with the writer, stated 

that he had found the granites and gneisses at the bottom of the 

Colorado Canyon both vertically and horizontally jointed. If thfee 

are true granites and are still in contact with the rocks into which 

they were intruded and show genuine sheet structure the phenomenon

a For description and representations of Stone Mountain see Merrill, as above, PI. I; Purington, 

Chester W., Geological and topographical features of the region about Atlanta, Ga.: Am. Geologist, 

vol. 14, 1894, pp. 105-108 and PI. IV; also Watson, Thomas L., Bull. Georgia Geol. Survey No. 9-A, 

1902, p. 113, and Pis. I-VIII. See also description of another granite dome Stone Mountain, in North 

Carolina by Watson and Laney, in Bull. North Carolina Geol. Survey No. 2, 1906, PI. XXV.

b Herrmann, O., Steinbruchindustrie und Steinbruchgeologie, 1S99, pp. 109-111.

c Turner, H. W., The Pleistocene geology of the south-central Sierra Nevada, with especial reference 

to the origin of the YosemJte Valley: Proc. California Acad. Sci., 3d ser., Geology, vol. 1, No. 9. 1900; 

Formation of domes, pp. 312-315, and PI. XXXVII.

d Domes and dome structure of the high Sierras: Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., vol. 15, pp. 29-36, and pi. 3,1904.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 25

would conclusively prove that such structure may occur independently of solar heat and load.

Mr. S. F. Emmons similarly stated that in the Mosquito (Park) 

Range, in Colorado, the pre-Cambrian granite and schist are cut by 

horizontal joints to a depth of 50 feet below their contact with the 

overlying Cambrian, the joints diminishing in number downward. 

The original load upon the granite here consisted of at least 10,000 

feet of Paleozoic and between 5,000 and 6,000 feet of Cretaceous rocks. 

As the granite, however, was not intruded into Cambrian sediments 

it must have been exposed to atmospheric erosion before they were 

deposited. These horizontal joints may therefore have been related 

to solar temperature.

Mr. G. K. Gilbert has recently studied the granite domes of Georgia 

and attributes their sheet structure to compressive strains. He finds 

that the granite in these domes* is not naturally divided into plates, 

but that the outer parts of the granite the parts nearest the surface are in a condition of compressive strain, which results in slow 

exfoliation and which enables quarrymen, by means of carefully 

regulated blasts, to develop joints that run approximately parallel 

to the surface, so that the granite is detached in sheets. As these 

sheets are divided into blocks in the process of quarrying, the blocks 

expand horizontally as they are released from the general mass. In 

these granitic domes parting planes also develop naturally within a 

few inches of the surface, and the expansive force is there so great as 

to induce conspicuous buckling in the thin sheets thus formed. This 

buckling is illustrated in PI. VII, A, Bulletin No. 313, from a photograph taken by Mr. Gilbert. The jar of blasting precipitates this 

sheeting action, so that several of the domes at which quarrying is in 

progress show long lines of freshly formed disrupted arches. Mr. 

Gilbert found that the horizontal elongation, or rather the elongation 

coincident approximately with the contour of the dome surface, 

amounted, by one measurement, to three-fourths inch in a length 

of 40 feet.

The effects of compressive strain on granite were observed by the 

writer in 1907 at a quarry at the west foot of Black Mountain, a 

domelike mass in West Dummerston, near Brattleboro, Vt., and are 

illustrated in PI. VIII, B. New thin sheets have thus been formed 

and one of the sheet fractures opened 3£ inches.

The artificial production of sheets in granite, as practiced at 

Bangalore, in southern India, shows similar phenomena. It is 

described by H. Warth & in substance as follows: At the surface there 

is a horizontal sheet of rather weathered rock 4 feet tluck; below this

a Letters to writer dated May 4 and June 11,1906.

b The quarrying of granite in India: Nature, vol. 51,1895, p. 272.
26 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

lies a sheet of fresh rock 3 feet thick, but below this lies fresh rock 

without split. These sheets "are probably due to the variations of 

temperature, daily and seasonal." By means of wood fires plates 60 

by 40 feet by 6 inches in thickness are detached in one-piece. A line 

of fire 7 feet long is gradually elongated and moved over the granite. 

The effect of the fire is tested by hammering the granite in front of 

it, and then the fire is moved forward. The maximum length of the 

arc of fire is 25 feet. The burning lasts eight hours; the line of fire 

is advanced 6 feet per hour. The area passed over by line of fire is 

460 square feet. The amount of wood used is 15 hundredweight. 

The average thickness of stone is 5 inches and its specific gravity is 

2.62. These data show that 30 pounds of stone are quarried with 

1 pound of wood. Some plates are taken out in inclined, position. 

The action of fire is independent of the original surface of rock; also 

of the direction of lamination (the granite 'is gneissose) and of veins. 

The uniformity in the thickness of the sheets is attributed to the 

regulating influence of preexisting cracks.

Van Hise, in his treatise on metamorphism, a is inclined to attribute 

sheet structure to solar temperature.

Sheet structure, as exposed at the Maine quarries, is described in 

Bulletin 313, on pages 33-35, and is illustrated in Pis. II, B, III, V, 

VI, and IX, A of that bulletin. Sheet structure, as exposed at the 

quarries mentioned in this bulletin, is described under each quarry. 

Its general character is illustrated in Pis. Ill, A, and V, A; its 

relation to surface form in PL VII, A, and to overlying rocks in 

Pis. VI, A, and IX, A.

The observations as to sheet structure, made at over 100 granite 

quarries in Maine and at many of those described in this bulletin, are 

here summarized:

. 1. There is a general parallelism between the sheets and the rock 

surface, resulting in a wavelike joint structure and surface over large 

areas.

2. The sheets increase in thickness more or less gradually downward.

3. The sheets are generally lenses, though in some places their 

form is obscure. Their thick and thin parts alternate vertically with 

one another. The joints that separate these superposed lenses therefore undulate in such a way that only every other set is parallel.

4. On Crotch Island, Maine, the sheet structure extends to a depth 

of at least 140 feet from the surface, and at Quincy to 175 feet.

5. There are indications here and there that the granite is under 

compressive strain, which tends to form vertical fissures or to expand 

the sheets horizontally so as to fill up small artificial fissures or to 

extend the sheet partings horizontally. (See pp. 28, 96, 126, 191.)

a Mon. U. S. Geol. Survey, vol. 47, pp. 434-439.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. ' 27

The observations made in Europe and in this country, taken in 

connection with the various inferences geologists have drawn from 

them, indicate that sheet or " onion" structure in granite rocks is due 

to the following possible causes:

1. To expansion caused by solar heat after the exposure of the 

granite by erosion.

2. To contraction in the cooling of the granite while it was still 

under its load of sedimentaiy beds, the sheets being therefore approximately parallel to the original contact surface of the intrusive.

3. To expansive stress or tensile strain brought about by the diminution of the compressive stress in. consequence of the removal of the 

overlying material.

4. To concentric weathering due to original texture or mineral composition. This action would be chiefly chemical and would be aided 

by vertical joints and by any superficial cracks due to expansion and 

contraction under changes of temperature.

5. To compressive strain akin to that which has operated in the 

folding of sedimentary beds.

6. To the cause named under 1 at the surface, but to the cause 

named under 5 lower down.

These propositions will be considered in the order given:

1. Solar heat may produce a certain amount of exfoliation in thin 

sheets at the surface, as is proved experimentally in the fire method 

of granite quarrying in India (p. 25), but as it penetrates only to a 

depth of 40 feet and as'sheet structure is known to occur on Crotch 

Island, Maine, at a depth of 140 feet and at Quincy, Mass., at a depth 

of 175 feet, it is quite inadequate to account for sheets that are 20 to 

30 feet thick and 100 to 175 feet below the surface.

2. In view of the load under which granite was probably formed, 

as shown by the presence of liquid carbonic acid in its quartz" and the 

gradual rate at which, therefore, it probably cooled, which is also 

indicated by the general coarseness of its texture, it is very improbable 

that the temperature at its contact surface and the temperature at 

depths 100 or 200 feet below could have so greatly differed as to bring 

about such a system of joints by contraction.

3. As Gilbert states, in suggesting the theory of fracture by relief 

of tensile strain through the erosion of overlying masses, we have no 

distinct knowledge of it. It is a possible explanation.

4. Careful inspection of the rock on both sides of the sheet joints 

fails to show any difference in texture or mineral composition. The

« Sec also Sorby. H. C., On the microscopic structure of crystals, indicating the origin of minerals and 

rocks: Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. 14,1858, pp. 453 ct scq.; Ward, J. Clifton, On the granitic, 

granitoid, and associated metamorpliic rocks of the Lake district: Ibid., vol. 31, 1875, pp. 508-602. 

Rosenbusch claims that the great variation in the relative dimensions (amount) of the liquid and the 

vacuolos in the cavities of granitic quartz shows conclusively that the vacuolc was not due to the contraction of the liquid. Mikroskopische Physiog. der Min. und Gestcine, vol. ii (J),4th edition, pp. 41, 42. 

For drawings of these cavities and vacuoles see Judd, J. W., Volcanoes, 1881, figs. 8, 9, pp. 61-66.
28 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

sheet structure traverses both rift and flow structure, and it would be 

possible to procure specimens showing a sheet joint traversing a single 

crystal of feldspar. Whatever chemical action has taken place along, 

the sheet joints is of secondary character. Acid waters may have 

gained access to the joint, but have not caused it. See matter under 

heading Discoloration ("Sap," etc.), page 35.

5. The condition of strain described by Merrill and Gilbert as existing in the granite domes of Georgia and by Niles and Emerson in the 

gneiss at Monson, Mass., a and by the writer at West Dummerston, Vt. 

(p. 25 and PI. VIII, B), and occurring to a lesser extent in some Maine 

quarries, shows that granite and gneiss are in places still under compressive strain. Another instance occurs at the quarry of the New 

England Granite Works, at Concord, page 148. The foreman at this 

quarry was in the habit of calling certain sheets, marked by the absence of discoloration, "strain sheets," to distinguish them from the 

others. At one place a northwest-southeast compressive strain had 

actually extended the strain sheet about 5 feet, and also caused a 

vertical fracture that extended over 15 feet diagonally from the 

north-south working face to a point on a vertical east-west channel 5 

feet back of the face, closing up the channel to half its original width. 

Evidences of compressive strain were also noted at Quincy, page 96, 

and "Rockport, Mass., page 126, and at- Westerly, R. I., page 191, and 

have also been observed by the writer in some of the Barre and 

Woodbury, Vt., quarries. -The practicability of developing sheet 

structure by the use of explosives and compressed air, as is done in 

some of the North Carolina granite quarries, shows that the rock is 

under a compressive strain there. 6

All these observations bring this theory within the domain of 

inductive science. If sheet structure is due to compressive strain, it 

is due to such a strain as would produce a series of undulating fractures extending entirely across a granite mass several miles in diameter and to a depth, as far as observed, of 175 feet from the rock 

surface.

6. In view of the undoubted sheeting effect of expansion under 

solar heat within a short distance of the surface and of the fact that 

some of the sheets near the surface measure but a few inches in 

thickness, it is quite possible that very thin surface sheets have 

originated in this way; but in view of what was stated under heading 5 it seems probable that compressive strain is the main factor in 

producing massive sheets. At the surface both causes may have 

cooperated. The progressive thickness of the sheets downward indiaNiles, \V. H., Some interesting phenomena observed in quarrying: Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 

'vol. 14,1872, pp. 80-87, and vol. 1C, 1874, pp. 41-43. Emerson, B. K., Geology of Old Hampshire County, 

Mass.: Mon. U. S. Geol. Survey, vol. 39, 1898, pp. 63-65.

6 Watson, T. L., and Laney, F. B., The building and ornamental stones of North Carolina: Bull. 

North Carolina Geol. Survey No. 2, 1906, pp. 157-160.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 29

cates that the operation of this strain is evidently also dependent upon 

distance either from the present surface or from a former surface or 

contact.

According to this view sheet structure may be said to exert-a controlling influence upon surface forms, yet it seems quite admissible 

that granite domes as conspicuous as Stone Mountain, in Georgia, and 

Fairview Dome, in California, notwithstanding all the exfoliation 

that has taken place on them or the erosion they may have suffered, 

may still retain some degree of parallelism between their present 

form and the original contour of the granitic intrusions of which 

they are parts. This may be true, also, of the granite hills of Mount 

Desert.

The probability being admitted that the general parallelism between the present surface and the sheet structure is the result of 

erosion that followed the sheeting, the question still remains, What 

has determined the form and location of the domes? These may 

possibly be referred to major arches (anticlines) in the folds of the 

stratified rocks which originally overlay the granite. The crustal 

movement that produced these folds may also have brought about the 

intrusion of the material that formed the domes beneath them.

Although the sheet structure and the rock surface are very generally 

parallel, they are not universally so.

Sheet structure in granite so much resembles the structure of 

folded stratified rocks that underground water circulates in practically the. same way along the fracture planes of one and bedding 

planes of the other. The exudation of water along sheet joints .on 

vertical rock faces is seen in many of the Maine quarries, and is also 

shown in PI. V, A, and PL IX, A, representing Rockport and Niantic 

quarries.

JOINTS.

Herrmann a divides joints into two groups joints formed by lateral 

compression, whose distances from one another are related to the 

coarseness of the rock texture, and joints due to expansion, some of 

which are parted and filled with calcite, quartz, pegmatite, or volcanic rock. That many joints are due to compressive or torsional 

strain, and that every such strain resolves itself into two components, 

resulting in two sets of joints that intersect at an angle of about 90°, 

each forming an angle of about 45° with the direction of the strain, 

are facts now generally recognized. Crosby6 has suggested that 

torsional strains may have been supplemented by vibratory ones in 

causing joints. Becker,c in a recent paper, shows that four or even

«Herrmann, 0., Steinbruchindustrie und Steinbruchgeologie, 1899, p. 103.

&Crosby, W. O., The origin of parallel and intersecting joints: Am. Geologist, vol. 12, 1893, pp. 

368-375.

cBecker, George F., Simultaneous joints: Proc. Washington Acad. Sci., vol. 7, July, 1905, pp. 

267-275, PI. XIII.
30 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

more than four systems of joints may be due to a single force. He 

also shows that subsequent strain on a region thus jointed would 

tend to produce motion along the previously formed joints rather 

than a new system of jointing. - It is conceivable that if a region had 

been jointed and afterwards subjected to a tensile strain, some of its 

joints might be parted, 'and if they were very deep the openings 

might become filled with volcanic matter from below, or, if not, with 

matter from above, infiltrated from overlying rocks. That motion 

has occurred along some of the joints in the quarries is evident from 

the polished and striated surfaces of the joints as well as from the 

faulting of the sheets.

Joints are exceptionally as curved "as the side of a ship." (See 

Bull. 313, PL VI, B.) 

Possibly related to such curved joints are what some New England 

quarrymen term "toe nails.-" These joints strike with the sheets, 

but extend only from one sheet surface to the next, and have a curve 

which sharply intersects that of the sheet structure. Such joints 

seem to be due to a strain different from that which produced the 

sheets. They were noted at Quincy, Westerly, and Milford, N. H.

The spacing of the joints varies considerably, ranging from 1 foot 

to 500 feet, but usually from 10 to 50 feet.

In some localities the jointing is very irregular. The granite is 

broken up into various polygons, which at the surface, where weathering has made inroads, resemble bowlders. Quarries opened in such 

places are called bowlder quarries. Another sort of irregularity in 

joints consists in their discontinuity or intermittence, their strike and 

dip for the short spaces in which they occur being uniform. Joint 

courses at the quarries referred to in this work are given under the 

quarry descriptions in Part II and where numerous are shown in 

diagrams.

HEADINGS.

In some places joints occur within intervals so short as to break 

up the rock into useless blocks. For a space of 5 to 50 feet the joints 

may be from 6 inches to 3 feet apart. A group of close joints is 

called by quarrymen a "heading," possibly because, when practicable, 

such a mass is left as the head or wall of the quarry. (See Bulletin 

313, Pis. VIII, A, and IX, B, also this bulletin, PI. VI, B.} Headings 

afford ample ingress for surface water, and consequently the granite 

within a heading is generally badly stained, if not decomposed. 

This will be referred to more fully under the heading "Decomposition"

(p. 36). ....

An interesting feature of both headings and joints shown in some 

of the deeper quarries at Quincy, Mass. (p. 97), is their vertical discontinuity. A heading occurring at the surface may disappear
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 31

below, or a heading may abruptly appear a hundred feet below the 

surface and continue downward. .

Headings are not easily accounted for. They may be produced by 

vibratory strains that recur at intervals of time. If. the}7" are so 

caused, the character of the fractures in some headings indicate that 

the strains are very complex. (See Concord, p. 145.)

The courses of headings at each quarry are given in the descriptions of the quarries in Part II.

FAULTS.

The polished and grooved faces ("slickensides") observed on many 

of the joints at the quarries show that faulting has occurred along 

them. The discontinuity of the sheets at some of the joints, causing, 

where the joints are slightly inclined, what quarrymen call " toeing 

in," may probably be attributed to faulting. This supposition

assumes, of course, that the sheet structure was formed prior to the 

jointing. Faulting occurs also along sheets, displacing vertical flow 

structure, or vertical dikes. (See Bulletin 313, PI. VIII, B.) It 

may occur along one of two intersecting-dikes, displacing-the other, 

as at the Deep Pit on Cape Ann.* (See PL V, B, of this bulletin.)

MICROSCOPIC FRACTURES.

In some quarries the granite near the surface acquires a marked 

foliation, which appears to be parallel to the sheet structure, and 

in places to the rift. This foliation is known by quarrymen as 

"shakes." It occurs both at the top and at the bottom of the sheet, 

through a maximum.thickness of 6 inches. It is coextensive with 

the discoloration known as "sap" and occurs at many places near 

vertical joints. Under the microscope this structure proves to consist of minute, nearly parallel fissures, of no great continuity, which 

traverse the mineral particles and. which in the thin section examined 

are especially conspicuous in the quartz and the mica. The distance 

between these fissures measures from a tenth to a half a millimeter, 

or from one two hundred and fiftieth to one-fiftieth inch. The 

parallelism, both to4he sheets and the "sap" and its relation to the 

vertical joints, indicates that the structure may be due to the freezing 

of surface water which has found its way to the sheets through the 

vertical joints and has entered the rift fissures.

The writer's attention was called to a similar structure in a quarry 

at Milford, N. H., consisting of short, parallel fractures along the 

rift, from one-half inch to 2 inches apart, having ho apparent connection with joints or discoloration. This is probably due to strain 

affecting part of the granite mass and producing miniature sheet 

structure.
32 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

SUBJOINTS.

Careful inspection shows tjaat the joint structure in granites 

does not everywhere consist of a simple fracture, but that it is at 

many places complex. Minute fractures branch off from the joint 

at an acute or right angle and penetrate the rock a few inches, 

or the rock for a few inches on either side, of the joint is traversed 

by microscopic fissures that are roughly parallel to it. All such 

structural features may properly be called sub joints. (See further, 

p. 48, and PL III, B; also Bulletin 313, p. 41.)

Woodworth has studied analogous and related structures in various 

rocks and has described them as "joint fringe" and "feather 

fractures. " a

ROCK VARIATIONS.

Under the term "rock variations" are grouped all those-variations 

from typical granite that are due to injection, segregation, infiltration, 

inclusion, and steam cavities.

DIKES (GRANITIC).

The granitic dikes in the quarries are of three kinds: Extremely 

fine grained granite (aplite), very coarse grained granite (pegmatite), 

and fine or medium grained granite.

The courses of these dikes at each quarry are given in the diagrams 

or descriptions in Part II. In thickness they range from a fraction 

of an inch to over 20 feet, but usually from 2 inches to 2 feet.

Aplite differs from ordinary granite by the greater fineness of its 

texture and its scant content of mica. It is known by quarrymen as 

"salt horse" or "white horse."

Aplite dikes are supposed to have originated in the same deepseated molten mass as the granite they traverse, but they represent

a later stage of igneous activity. The fissures they fill were the 

result of various tensional strains or contractions, possibly consequent 

upon the cooling of the granite.

In color these dikes vary from bluish gray to light and dark reddish. 

The texture of some aplites is so fine that the mineral particles can not 

be distinguished with the unaided eye; that of others is so coarse that 

the feldspar and mica may be thus detected. Under the microscope 

the dimensions of the particles range from 0.05 to 0.75 mm., the average being about 0.16 mm. for the finer ones and 0.50 mm. for the 

coarser ones. Some aplites have a porphyritic texture.

Most aplites contain a slightly higher percentage of silica than 

granite. Five analyses of aplites from the Far West made at the 

laboratory of the United States Geological Survey6 show a range of

«Woodworth. J. B., On the fracture system of joints, with remarks on certain great fractures: 

Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. 27, 189C, pp. 169-173, pis. 1, 2. 

b Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 148,1897, pp, 124,150, 206, 219.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 33

silica from 71.62 to 76.03 per cent and an average of 74.08, which is 

near the maximum of silica for granites generally.

Pegmatite lies at the other extreme. Its mineral constituents range 

usually from one-half inch to 1 foot or even several feet in diameter. 

It is reported that the crystals in some pegmatite dikes measure from 

10 to 30 feet in length by 1 to 3 feet in width. The chief minerals in 

pegmatite dikes are the same as in granite, but they occur in different 

though varying proportions. With these minerals are often associated 

tourmaline, garnet, beryl, etc. Chemically these dikes generally contain more silica than the granite. Dikes of pegmatite are, as a rule, 

more irregular in width than those of aplite. They generally range 

in thickness from 1 inch to 10 feet.

The origin of pegmatite has been much discussed both in Europe and 

in this country. 0 The coarseness of its constituent minerals indicates

slow crystallization, and the irregularity of the dikes shows tensional

rather than torsional strain. The banding of some pegmatite dikes 

and the isolated lenticular character of others indicate that the dikes 

were filled, from heated solution, while many of them differ in no 

respect from dikes of igneous origin except by the coarseness of their 

texture. For these reasons it is thought that pegmatite dikes in 

granite have been formed in openings and fissures that were due, 

possibly, to contraction while the granite was still hot and that some 

of these openings were filled with matter in a state of both molten 

plasticity and solution under pressure, and others by heated solutions 

that gathered matter from the adjacent granite. Howsoever derived, 

this dike material crystallized very slowly.

Granite. Finally, there are dikes that, differ from all those just described, formed simply of fine or medium-grained granite. (See pp. 

81, 186.)

VEINS.

Quartz veins occur rarely in the Maine granite quarries (see Bulletin 

313, p. 46) and at but few of the quarries here described (see pp. 

104, 105). Some of these seem to be clearly of pegmatitic origin.

DIKES (BASIC).

Dikes of dark-greenish or black, hard and dense rock (diabase, rarely 

basalt) are of very common occurrence in the Maine and Massachusetts 

quarries. The courses of some of these dikes and their relation to the 

joints are shown in figs. 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17. Some of them are 

represented in PL V, A and B, and described on pages 125, 131,138.

a The principal American writings on the subject are: Williams, G. H., The general relation of the 

granitic rocks in the middle Atlantic Piedmont Plateau; Fifteenth Ann. Kept. IT. S. Geol. Survey, 1895, 

pp. 675-684; Crosby, W, 0., and Fuller, M. L., Origin of pegmatite: Techn. Quarterly, vol. 9,1896, pp. 

326-356; Am. Geologist, vol. 19, 1897, pp. 147-180; Van Hise, C. R., A treatise on metamorphism: Mon. 

U. S. Geol. Survey, vol. 47,1904, pp. 720-728.

50193 Bull. 354 08 3
34 COMMEECIAL GKANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND E. I.

Most of these dikes are so firmly welded to the granite that hand 

specimens that are one-half granite and one-half diabase are readily 

obtained. Thin sections of the glassy rims of dikes show that the 

dike sent out microscopic branches for short distances into the granite, 

in places surrounding some of its quartz particles. (See further on 

the relation of dike rims to granite, p. 50.)

The geologic age of these dikes has not been precisely determined. 

They are considerably more recent than the granite they traverse or 

the dikes of aplite and pegmatite which traverse the granite.

The diabase dikes are the result of an earth movement that either 

opened previously formed joints or made new ones deep enough to be 

injected with volcanic material. How far this may have penetrated 

the rocks which overlay the granite, or whether it overflowed at their 

surface, can not even be conjectured.

At the granite quarries, wherever this course is possible, the dikes 

and the headings are left to form the bounding walls of the excavations.

SEGREGATIONS (KNOTS).

Quarrymen know too well that granite is often disfigured by gray or 

black "knots" of circular or oval irregular curved outline, ranging in 

diameter from half an inch to 3 feet and exceptionally even 10 feet. 

These were studied by geologists long ago-.0 They are finer grained 

than the granite in which they occur, contain nearly 10 per cent less 

silica, much more black mica or hornblende (which accounts for their 

darkness), and a little more soda-lime feldspar, and their specific 

gravity is about 0.09 per cent higher.

PI. V, A, of Bulletin 313 shows twelve small knots in one of the 

Sullivan quarries, and on pages 49 and 50 of that bulletin thin sections 

of knots from the Maine quarries are described. Several varieties

from the Quincy quarries are described on page 95 of this bulletin and 

one of exceptional character from Rockport on pages 64, 125.

In none of the knots is there a definite boundary separating them 

from the granite, excepting such as is caused by the change in the proportionate abundance of the darker minerals. The cause of knots is. 

not perfectly understood. They are collections (segregations) generally of the darker, heavier, iron-magnesia minerals that took place 

while the rock was in a plastic state.

GEODES.

Small cavities lined with crystals occur in granite. They have 

been found by the writer at the Jonesboro and Marshfield quarries

a Phillips, J. A., On concretionary patches and fragments of other rocks contained in granite: Quart. 

Jour. Geol. Soc. London, vol. 36,1880, pp. 1-22, PI. I. Merrill, G. P., On the black nodules or so-called 

inclusions in the Maine granite; Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 6,1883, pp. 137-141. Grimsley, G. P., Basic 

segregations: The granites of Cecil County in northeastern Maryland: Jour. Am. Soc. Nat. Hist., Apr.- 

and July, 1894. Daly, Reginald A., Basic segregations: The geology of Ascutney Mountain, Vermont: 

Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 209,1903, p. 164.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION". 35

in Maine and at Redstone, N. H. Their greatest diameter was about 

12 inches, and the lining crystals were quartz, more or less amethystine, and feldspar. These were usually coated with epidote, chlorite, 

and calcite; the calcite generally in very obtuse rhombohedra up to 

half an inch across. A geode at Redstone is surrounded by a band 

of aplite.

Such cavities are attributed to bubbles of steam or gas that were 

in the rock while it was in a molten state, which gave room for the 

growth of crystals and later became filled with epidote and calcite.

INCLUSIONS.

Not to be confounded with "knots," although some of them are 

equally dark and occur near them, are irregular or angular particles 

of various schistose rocks which the granite incorporated into itself 

during its intrusion. They can usually be distinguished from the

knots by their different microscopic structure. In the Maine quarries they range from an inch to 40 feet in length. Part of the jagged 

edge of the lower part of a .large schist inclusion in granite at Freeport, Me., is shown in PI. VII, B, of Bulletin 313.

Inclusions in the granites of Concord and Milford, N. H., are 

described on pages 151, 153, 169, 176 of this bulletin.

DISCOLORATION ("SAP," ETC.).

Rusty (limonite) staining along the upper and lower parts of the 

sheets and also along the joints and headings is common in granite 

quarries, although some quarries are almost entirely free from it. 

The zone of discoloration along the sheets in the Maine quarries is 

from one-half to 12 inches, exceptionally even 18 inches, wide on each 

side of the sheet parting. Its width, however, decreases gradually 

from the surface sheets downward. In places the sap consists of two 

parts an outer dark -brownish zone from three-fourths to 1^ inches 

wide and an inner more yellowish zone from one-fourth to one-half 

inch wide. Generally, however, the discoloration diminishes gradually from without inward. In some quarries there seems to be a 

connection between the "shake" structure and the discoloration, since 

these are coextensive.

When the stone is intended for facing or trimming buildings the 

presence of sap is a serious matter as the stained edge of each block 

must be split off, which adds somewhat to the cost of production.

This discoloration has been supposed to be always due to the oxidation of the ferruginous minerals of the granite, biotite, hornblende, 

magnetite, and pyrite, but the Maine thin sections examined by the 

writer do not bear out this theory. (See Bulletin 313, p. 53 and fig. 2.)

These observations lead to the inference that the discoloration 

called "sap" is, in some Maine granites, not due chiefly to theoxida-
36 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

tion of the ferruginous minerals of the granite by "underground 

water," but chiefly to the deposition of .limonite by ferruginous surface water. The water descended along the vertical joints and then 

flowed along the sheet partings and permeated the rock above and 

below them. Whether the postglacial submergence of the Maine 

coast had anything to do with the discoloration is not clear.

Another kind of discoloration, which is even more serious in its 

consequences, appears on fresh faces of granite, either in the quarry 

or after its removal. This consists of sporadic rusty stains from 

half an inch to 1 inch in diameter, arising from the oxidation of 

minute particles of some undetermined ferruginous mineral, possibly 

allanite. Such stains usually, however, arise from pyrite particles 

or crystals.

Daly ffl describes a bluish-gray syenite, from Windsor, Vt. (feldspar, quartz, hornblende, augite, biotite), that after twenty-four 

hours' exposure assumes a greenish tinge, which eventuaUy becomes 

more or less brownish. He has demonstrated by experiment with 

oxygen that this change is due to the oxidation of minute blackish 

granules of ferrous oxide within the feldspar, giving a yellow which, 

in combination with the original bluish tint of the feldspar, produces 

a green. The large columns of the library of Columbia University, 

in New York, are made of this rock.

Another kind of discoloration occurs on either side of diabase or 

basalt dikes, caused mainly by various alterations of the feldspars 

and their consequent change in shade or color. See Bulletin 313, 

page 91, and the examples at Rockport, Mass., and Milford, N. H., 

described on pages 125,163 of this bulletin. Discoloration is thus of 

five kinds: That due to the infiltration of ferruginous water, that 

due to the oxidation of the generally disseminated ferruginous minerals (biotite, hornblende, and magnetite) by nonferruginous water, 

that due to the oxidation of sporadic ferruginous minerals, that arising from the oxidation of ferrous oxide within the feldspars, and that 

due directly or indirectly to dikes and veins. , The subject of granite 

.discoloration will be found discussed further on pages 51-55.

DECOMPOSITION,

Notwithstanding the strength and durability of granite, it is liable, 

under certain conditions and in the course of long time, to decompose 

into a clayey sand. This is the result of its physical, mineralogical, 

and chemical constitution and properties. One of the most striking 

illustrations of this is the occurrence in some of the Maine quarries 

of "beds" of sand or decomposed granite within the fresh granite, 

either between the sheets away from headings or within the headings

aDaly, Eeginald A., The geology of Ascutney Mountain, Vermont; Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 

209,1903. pp. 51-53.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION". 37

and along or across the sheets. Thus at the Palmer quarry, in Vinalhaven, 20 feet below the surface in the face of the quarry, there is a 

bed of granite sand 18 inches thick between two sheets, which at 

that point dip about 10° into the hill. On the southeast side of the 

Longfellow quarry, near Hallo well, some of the sheets within a wide 

heading include granite sand beds,that are about 10 inches thick. At 

the Shattuck Mountain quarry, near Redbeach, a 6-foot heading 

includes a vertical layer of granite sand 8 inches thick. Specimens 

taken from these various sand beds show that the disintegration begins with microscopic fractures; in some cases the enlarged rift 

cracks, producing the "shake" structure described on page 31, and is 

followed by more or less kaolinization of the feldspars. This process 

consists in the loss of alkali and the taking up of water, resulting in 

the passing of the feldspar into a white clay (kaolin). 

The joint and sheet structure affords ingress to surface water,

containing its usual percentage of carbonic acid, and the "rift" or 

"shake" structure facilitates the kaolinization of the feldspar on 

either side of the sheet parting by this water. As the feldspars pass 

into clay the rock crumbles into sand consisting of quartz, mica, and 

kaolin, and of feldspar in various stages of kaolinization. In some 

places within the range and depth of frost a large part of this work 

may have been done by frost alone. The sand would there be mainly 

the product of the "shake" structure.

In regions which have not been swept by a continental glacier any 

granite mass would be covered with the products of the decomposition of its own surface. In the Tropics the abundant rainfall and 

the organic acids from a luxuriant vegetation materially hasten the 

decomposition, and granitic rocks in such regions are for these reasons 

often covered with many feet of sand and soil. 0

The incipient stage of weathering may be observed in any longexposed granite ledge in the milky whiteness of the feldspars. This 

change usually attacks the soda-lime feldspars first. The black mica, 

owing to its content of iron oxide, is also liable to early-decomposition. The process of weathering, as it affects the rock as a whole, 

involves the following chemical changes: A loss of lime, magnesia, 

potash, and soda; a gain of water, and a relative gain of silica, alumina, and iron oxide that is, relative to the reduced weight of the 

weathered rock. The subject of weathering of granite is fully treated 

in the writings of Merrill, Keyes, and Watson. 6

oBranner, John C., Decomposition of rocks in Brazil: Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 7,18%; Exfoliation, 

p. 31.

& Merrill,Geo. P., Disintegration of the granitic rocks of the District of Columbia: Bull. Geol. Soc. 

America, vol. 6, p. 321, 1895; also A treatise on rocks, rock-weathering, and soils, New York, 1897, pp. 

206-214, 236, 244, 245, 257. Keyes, Charles R., The origin and relations of central Maryland granites: 

Fifteenth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1895, p. 725, and pis. 42-45. See also Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., vol. 

1, pt. 3, pp. 22-24, and vol. 2, pp. 27-31, Pis. II-IV, 1895. Watson, Thomas L., A preliminary report on a 

part of the granites and gneisses of Georgia, 1902, pp. 299, 300, 308, 329, 331, 333.
38 COMMEECIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

The changes in granite after it has entered into buildings or other 

constructions are less marked than those in the natural rock, because 

the blocks are not then traversed by anything analogous to sheet and 

joint structure, and also because the years of historic time are few 

compared to those of geologic time. Much has been written on the 

decay of granite in monuments and buildings. a Such decay is mainly 

attributable to microscopic fissures produced by the unequal and 

repeated expansion and contraction of the different minerals of the 

granite under changes of solar temperature. In countries where the 

winter temperature is very low the action of frost within such fissures 

powerfully assists the process of disintegration. Thus the obelisk 

now in New York suffered more from three years' exposure to our 

climate than it had during over three thousand four hundred years 

in Egypt, although the fissures along which frost operated were started 

long before it reached this country. A minor factor in decay is the 

chemical action of water along fissures. b

It is supposed that these causes of decay operate more effectively 

in coarse granites than in fine ones. Merrill points out that a sawn or 

properly prepared polished surface resists weathering more effectively 

than a cut or hammered one, as the latter is full of minute fractures, 

parallel to the surface, produced by impact, which facilitate scaling.

BLACK GRANITES. 

CLASSIFICATION.

The term "black granites," although sufficient for general commercial purposes, includes a variety of rocks of different character, 

origin, and appearance gabbros, diorites, diabase, etc. They have, 

however, three mineralogical features in common they contain comparatively little or no quartz, their feldspar belongs entirely or almost 

entirely to the series which contains both soda and lime, and they 

contain a considerable amount of one of the pyroxenes, or hornblende 

or biotite, and magnetite, which accounts for the general darkness of 

their shade or their greenish color.

ORIGIN.

The gabbros and diorites are more or less granitic in texture, as 

they crystallized under conditions resembling those which attended 

the formation of granite. But the diabase was in part erupted 

through narrow fissures, forming dikes or sheets, and at many places 

reached the surface, always crystallizing with comparative rapidity.

a Julien, Alexis A., The durability of building stones in New York City: Tenth Census, vol. 10,1884; 

Granite, pp. 370-371'. Merrill, Geo. P., Physical, chemical, and economic properties of building stones: 

Maryland Geol. Survey, vol. 2, 1898; Granite, pp. 92-94. Also Merrill's Stones for building and decoration, 3d ed., 1903; Weathering of granite, pp. 434, 435.

b See Julien, Alexis A., A study of the New York obelisk as a decayed bowlder: Annals New York Acad. 

Sci., vol. 8,1893, pp. 93-166.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 39

Diabase, however, occurs in Vinalhaven, Me., as stated by George 

Otis Smith, "in large bodies which have the form of neither dikes 

nor sheets, being, in fact, part of the same masses as the diorites and 

gabbros."

MINEKALOGICAL AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITION.

Gabbro consists essentially of a lime-soda feldspar and one or both 

of the varieties of pyroxene known as diallage and hypersthene. 

The former is a foliated silicate of iron and lime with about 12 per 

cent of magnesia; the latter is a silicate of iron with about 24 per 

cent of magnesia, and each of these minerals crystallizes differently. 

When hypersthene alone is present the rock is called a norite; when 

both are present it is a hypersthene gabbro. When the mineral 

olivine (a greenish silicate of iron with 50 per cent of magnesia) is

present also the name olivine may be prefixed to the rock name. 

The accessory minerals in gabbros are ilmenite (a titanate of iron), 

magnetite, pyrite, apatite, biotite, garnet, and rarely, quartz and 

metallic iron. The secondary minerals that is, those derived from 

the alteration of the primary ones are hornblende, chlorite, epidote, 

zoisite, analcite, serpentine, a white mica, and calcite. The percentage of silica in gabbros varies a little on either side of 50. Iron oxides 

and lime average 9 per cent each; magnesia, 6 per cent.

Diorite consists essentially of feldspar (of. the series containing 

lime and soda) and hornblende with biotite, or biotite alone. Quartz, 

augite, and potash feldspar may or may not be present. The accessory minerals are magnetite, pyrite, titanite, zircon, apatite, garnet, 

allanite. The secondary are epidote, chlorite, a white mica, and 

calcite. When quartz is present the rock is called a quartz diorite. 

When black mica or augite are the preponderating iron-magnesiumsilicates the rock becomes a mica diorite or an augite diorite. In 

diorites the silica ranges from about 49 to 63 per cent, but in quartz 

diorite it rises to about 69 per cent, which is the minimum in granite. 

The iron oxides range from 0.52 to 9.70 per cent, the magnesia from, 

less than 1 to over 11 per cent, but usually from 2 to 7 per cent.

Diabase consists essentially of a feldspar of the series containing 

lime, or soda and lime, together with a pyroxene or augite '(alumina, 

lime, magnesia, iron), which, however, is frequently altered to hornblende or other secondary minerals; also magnetite or ilmenite, or 

both. Olivine may or may not be present, and some specimens contain a little quartz. The accessory minerals are orthoclase, biotite, 

pyrite, hypersthene, apatite. The secondary ones are hornblende, a 

white mica, chlorite, epidote, serpentine, calcite. The percentage of 

silica in diabase ranges from about 45 to nearly 57, of iron oxides 

from about 9 to 14, and of magnesia from 3 to 9.
40 COMMERCIAL 6BANITES 0> MASS., 2ST. H., AND R. I.

These "black granites," as will be seen by the foregoing description, 

are distinguished chemically from the ordinary granites by their low 

percentage of silica (45 to 67 per cent), their high maxima of iron 

oxides (9 to 14 per cent), and of magnesia (9 to 11 per cent), and 

mineralogically by their dom.in.ant feldspar not being a potash feldspar, and generally also by their considerable content of the darker 

iron-magnesia minerals.

TEXTURE.

The general texture of the black granites corresponds in grade to 

that of the fine and medium granites. In the diorites the arrangement and order of crystallization of the minerals always correspond 

to those of the granites described on page 14. In some of the gabbros 

this is also true, but in others and in diabase the arrangement greatly 

differs. The feldspars are in needle-like crystals, between which the 

pyroxene has afterwards crystallized.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES.

Aside from their great toughness, the diorites and the granitic gabbros probably differ but little in physical properties from granites of 

the ^ame grade of texture. By reason both of their peculiar texture 

and their mineralogical composition, the diabases and gabbros with 

"ophitic" texture should differ considerably in physical properties 

from the granites. As these stones are rarely used in large buildings, 

owing to the difficulty of quarrying them either in blocks of sufficient 

size or at low enough cost, data as to their compressive strength and 

other useful physical properties are not available.

The specific gravity of gabbro ranges from 2.66 to about 3, that 

of diabase from 2.7 to 2.98, and that of diorite averages 2.95. In 

these rocks it thus usually exceeds that of granite.

As the black granites are used chiefly for monumental purposes, 

and particularly for inscriptions, their color, susceptibility to polish, 

and the amount of contrast between their cut or hammered and 

their polished surfaces are the physical properties of chief economic 

importance.

Doctor Merrill a explains the cause of these contrasts very satisfactorily:

The impact of the hammer breaks up the granules on the immediate surface, so that 

the light falling upon it is reflected, instead of absorbed, and the resultant effect upon 

the eye is that of whiteness. The darker color of a polished surface is due merely to 

the fact that, through careful grinding, all these irregularities and reflecting surfaces 

are removed, the light penetrating the stone is absorbed, and the effect upon the eye 

is that of a more or less complete absence of light, or darkness. Obviously, then, the 

more transparent the feldspars and the greater the abundance of dark minerals, the

a Merrill, Geo. P., The physical, chemical, and economic properties of building stones: Maryland 

Geol. Survey, vol. 2,1898, p. 64.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 41

greater will be the contrast between hammered and polished surfaces. This is a matter 

worthy of consideration in cases where it is wished',' as in a monument, to have a 

polished die, surrounded by a margin of hammered work to give contrast.

The ordinary granites, while taking a high polish, do not afford 

such strong contrasts between hammered and polished surfaces as 

do the "black granites." In'some black granites this seems clearly 

to be due to their larger percentage of the black minerals, but in 

others, as some of the quartz diorites, in which the black minerals do 

not exceed those in some gray granites, the cause, of this marked 

contrast must be sought in some optical property of the soda-lime 

feldspar and in its relative abundance.

TEXT-BOOK REFERENCES ON GRANITE AND BLACK GRANITES.

As the matter contained in the foregoing pages may not fully provide answers to all questions that may arise in the minds of persons 

interested in tracing the phenomena in granite quarries to their 

causes, the names of a few reliable general works in English on the 

subjects considered are here given.

Diller, Joseph S. Educational series of rock specimens collected and distributed 

by the United States Geological Survey: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 150. 

1898.

Granites, pp. 51,170-180; gabbro, pp. 51, 52,278-288; diorite, pp. 241-244; diabase, pp. 264-278; 

basalt, pp. 51, 52, 254-256.

Geikie, Archibald. Text-book of geology, fourth edition. London. 1903.

Granite, etc., pp. 89,90,203-209,402-415, 71.5-809; gabbro, pp. 231,232,256; diorite, p. 223; 

diabase, p. 233; basalt, p. 234.

Harker, Alfred. Petrography for students: An introduction to the study of rocks 

under the microscope, second edition. Cambridge, Eng. 1897. 

Granites, pp. 27-41; gabbros, pp. 67-83; diorite, pp. 54-66; basalts, pp. 188-203.

Hatch, Frederick H. Text-book of petrology, fourth edition. London. 1905.

Johannsen, Albert. A key for the determination of the rock forming minerals in thin 

section. New York. 1907.

Kemp, James F. A handbook of rocks for use without the microscope, third edition. 

New York. 1904.

The granites, pp. 33-38; gabbros, pp. 72-74; diorites, pp. CO-62; diabases, pp. 70-72. 

Luquer, Lea M. Minerals in rock sections, revised edition. New York. 1905.

Merrill, Geo. P. A treatise on rocks, rock weathering, and soils. New York, second 

edition. 1906.

Igneous rocks, pp. 52-60; granites, pp. 61-64; diorites, pp. 76-77; diabases, pp. 82,85; basalts, 

pp. 86, 87; weathering, pp. 150-273.

SPECIAL FEATURES.

The following thirteen sections contain such interesting illustrations, either of subjects already touched upon in the general discussion of granite (pp. 18-38) or of closely related ones, as were found 

in visiting the quarries for the preparation of this bulletin.
42 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I. 

RIFT AND GRAIN RELATED TO FLUIDAL CAVITIES.

Rift and grain structure was described on pages 19-22, where 

reference is made to Mr. Whittle's paper on this structure as shown 

at Redstone, N. H.«

During the writer's visit to Redstone a specimen of the pink 

granite was obtained, with a face 4f by 4 inches cut and polished 

parallel to the "hard way," that is, at right angles to both rift and 

grain; also a specimen of the green granite from the adjoining 

western quarry, 5 by 4 inches, cut and polished in the same way. 

Material for a thin section of the pink was also obtained and a section 

1J by 1 inch in area was cut at right angles to both rift and grain 

directions. The direction of the rift at the quarries was found to be 

horizontal, crossing the sheets which curve in anticlinal attitude 

across the axis of the hill with a dip of 15° both to the east and west, 

while the grain is vertical with an east to west course, and corresponds with the most prominent set of joints.

A careful examination of these specimens shows rift cracks in both 

the feldspar and quartz of the pink granite, though they are more 

conspicuous in the quartz, partly because of the darkness of its shade. 

Grain cracks are less abundant. The green granite shows both rift 

and grain cracks, if anything, more abundant, though not as easily seen 

as in the quartz of the pink granite. The large thin section shows 12 

prominent rift cracks in the quartz areas in a space of 1.2 inches 

measured along the grain, that is, with an average distance apart of 

one-tenth inch. The grain cracks are far less frequent and less 

continuous. That these rift and grain cracks were not caused by 

hammering or by cutting the section is shown by the fact that some 

of them are filled with secondary fibrous mica. The quartz areas

also show two intersecting sets of lines, really sheets or planes of gas

or liquid inclusions, the latter with vacuoles. Many of these cavities 

are very irregular in outline, some having several ramifications. They 

all range in diameter from less than 0.00285 to" 0.063 millimeter. The 

strike of these two sets of sheets corresponds respectively to that of 

the rift and grain. Some of the rift or grain cracks appear to have 

followed the sheets of cavities, for they coincide with them. Portions 

of this section are shown in fig. 1.

In reexamining the thin section of granite from near Pleasant Beach, 

in Maine, represented in fig. 1, p. 28, of Bulletin 313, sheets of cavities 

were found in it, some parallel to the rift cracks and some coinciding 

with them, but they are not so conspicuous or continuous as those in 

the granite from Redstone, N. H., and thus at first escaped the 

writer's notice. Emerson 6 in describing the granite of Becket, Mass.,

a Whittle, C. L., Eifting and grain in granite: Eng. and Min. Jour., vol. 70,1900, p. 16], figs. 1 and 2 

b Emerson, B. K., The geology of eastern Berkshire County, Mass.: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 159, 

1899, p. 73.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 43

uses these words: "The quartz grains were full of sheets of cavities, 

with large moving bubbles." Washington" refers to streaks of inclusions in the greenish granite of Bay View on Cape Ann: "Gas and 

liquid inclusions, the latter carrying a movable bubble, are quite 

abundant though small and occur in streaks."

.; i: : ,

/.I * v' V h^ ;-... K M' iji-

 ', -.:! I ! '?

;.- v t £> 5-a. ?/.

w

B

Rift

D

FIG. 1. Camera lucida drawings of quartz areas in an enlarged thin section of biotite granite from 

Redstone, N. TI., cut parallel to the "hard way." A, enlarged C2J diameters, shows sheets of cavities 

and incipient cracks in both rift and grain directions. JB, from a different quartz area, enlarged 175 

diameters, shows the variation in the size of the cavities and their a rrangement in both rift and grain 

directions. C, from still another quartz area, enlarged 23£ diameters, shows conspicuous rift and 

graincracks, filled with fibrous white mica, coinciding here and therewith the sheets of cavities, also 

two parallel exceptional fractures crossing the rift and grain directions diagonally. D shows part 

of one of the grain sheets of cavities of C, enlarged 175 diameters in order to show the shapes of the 

cavities. As most of these sheets of cavities in the section appear to undulate in the direction of the 

line of vision when placed under the microscope the outlines of all the cavities become visible only 

by altering the focus.

At the Kedstone quarry at Westerly, R. L, the quartz has cavities 

in sheets with rift cracks parallel to them. In a veinlet of quartz and 

feldspar at the Calder & Carnie quarry at the same place (p. 203) the 

quartz particles are crowded with cavities in sheets parallel to the side 

of the vein and also in line with streaks of kaolinization in the feldspars. A smoky quartz vein (averaging 0.35 inch thick) of pegmaa Washington, H. S., The petrographical province of Essex County, Mass., I: Jour. Geol., vol. 6 (8) 

Nov.-Dec. 1898, p. 790.
44 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OP MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

title origin, observed by the writer in 1907 in the A. Milne quarry at 

Barre, Vt., shows many roughly parallel diagonal fractures. In thin 

section it has a largely feldspathic border, 0.2 inch thick, which is 

partly micacized, and inside of it the quartz is in places granulated. 

Discontinuous sheets of cavities with vacuoles extend both in the 

direction of the vein and at right angles to it, and some cracks with 

granular quartz zigzag along these directions. In places the cavities 

are abundant but without apparent arrangement.

At the Milford Granite Company's quarry, Milford, N. H. (p. 173), 

the quartz of a quartz-augite diorite gneiss overlying the granite has 

cavities arranged in sheets intersecting one another. Sheets of cavities 

intersecting one another at right angles and with rift and grain cracks 

parallel to them were also observed in granite sections from the 

Becket, Mass., quarry (p. 141); and in several other granites described 

in this bulletin the cavities are arranged in rectangular sheets. This 

has also been found to be true in many sections of Vermont granites 

quite recently studied. One of these from Cobble Hill near Barre 

shows quartz with sheets of cavities with conspicuous rift cracks 

parallel to or coinciding with them. Some of the rift cracks polarize 

brightly and extend into the feldspars where they are clearly filled 

with fibrous muscovite. But in other sections, cut without reference 

to rift or grain directions, the sheets of cavities intersect at all angles 

or the cavities have no apparent arrangement. Many such irregularities thus result simply from the haphazard direction of the section. 

For this reason .probably Rosenbusch refers to their occurrence in 

apparently irregular groups or courses only.

In the thin section of Redstone, N. H., granite, described on page 

42, some of the sheets of cavities pass uninterruptedly, and without 

deflection from one quartz particle to another and the rest do not 

appear to terminate abruptly at the edge of the particle. The passage 

of sheets of cavities from particle to particle without interruption or 

deflection can be observed also in a section (109, specimen 36, b) 

from the adjoining green granite of Redstone, also in one (150, specimen 38, a) from the White Mountain quarry near North. Conway. 

This is also the case in several sections of Quincy granite (234, specimen 79, f, from the Hardwick quarry, and 206, specimen 85, a, from 

the Mount Pleasant quarry, Milton).and in some (221, 228, specimen 

91, f) from the Becket (Chester), Mass., quarry. There is also in all 

these sections a general parallelism in the sheets, which lie either in 

the rift or the grain directions or between these and the rift or grain 

cracks, but some sections also have sheets of cavities diagonal to those 

directions. Even sections cut parallel to rift or grain or at right 

angles to both usually show cavities, more or less abundant, which are 

without any apparent arrangement.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 45

These facts point to the probability of an intimate relation between 

the arrangement of the inclusions and the rift and grain structure. If 

the cavities, containing water or liquid carbonic acid, or either of 

these in a gaseous form, in the quartz of granite, are correctly regarded 

as having originated at the time of the crystallization of the material 

of the granite, then the rift and grain structure would seem to be either 

original also or, if secondary, to have had its directions generally determined by those of the sheets of inclusions.

No such rows of fluidal cavities which Rosenbusch a describes as 

connected by fine cylindrical canals and as occurring especially in 

granites containing quartz with crush borders, have been detected 

in the New England granites studied by the writer. Rosenbusch 

regards these as possibly of secondary origin or else caused by mountain pressure.

Van Hise 6 points out that in a certain quartzite of the Black Hills

rows of minute gas- or liquid-filled inclusions running in parallel lines 

across the entire section, transverse to the longer axes of the quartz 

grains, with rows of black ferrite and secondary quartz similarly 

oriented, are of secondary origin. He regards them as probably clue 

to the fracture of the grains by mechanical action and the introduction 

of liquid along the cracks with the later deposition of secondary quartz, 

which has retained the liquid as inclusions.

Some vitreous Cambrian quartzite collected by -the writer near Fort 

Ann, Washington County, N. Y., Mettawee quadrangle, in 1899, 

shows in thin section enlargement of the original quartz grains by secondary interstitial quartz and also sheets oFliquid inclusions intersecting one another at various angles within the quartz grains. As 

these sheets of cavities stop abruptly at the edge of the original quartz 

grains, and the courses of the sheets in different grains are not parallel 

but quite discordant with one another it is evident that these liquid 

inclusions antedate the metamorphism which produced the quartzite.0 

A thin section of a calcareous sandstone from the same vicinity shows 

similar sheets of cavities in its quartz grains, but their directions are 

such that they can have had no relation whatever to the bedding 

planes of the sandstone or to any secondary fractures in it, but their 

origin must date back to the granite or gneiss from which they came.

The inference to be drawn from the Black Hill and Fort Ann quartzites is that lines or sheets of fluidal cavities within the quartz grains 

of a quartzite may be secondary or primary that is, they may have 

originated in the process of the formation of the quartzite or they may

a Mikroskopische Physiographic, 4thedition, 1907, vol. 2 (1), pp. 41-42.

bVan Hise, C. R., Pre-Cambrian of the Black Hills: Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 1,1890, pp. 216-218 

and fig. 4; also A treatise or metamorphism: Mon. U. S. Geol. Survey, vol. 47, p. 620.

cSee also Merrill, G. P., Fluidal cavities in quartz grains of sandstones: Science, vol. 1,1883,p. 221. 

He calls attention to the same Fort Ann sandstone or quartzite and to the rapid movement of the 

vacuoles within the fluidal cavities.
46 COMMERCIAL GKANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

have been associated with that of the parent granite or gneiss itself. 

The thin sections themselves will indicate in most cases the mode of 

origin.

Still another mode of origin of fluidal cavities is illustrated in a thin 

section of an inclusion of plicated fine-grained biotite gneiss (quartz, 

microcline, biotite, muscovite, rarely allanite) in a granite (quartz 

monzonite) at the Morrison quarry, on Blue Mountain, in South Ryegate, Vt., visited by the writer in 1907. This section shows parallel 

sheets of cavities with vacuoles, passing from one quartz grain to another, without interruption or deflection, in a direction at right angles 

to the foliation of the gneiss. Had these cavities been formed at the 

time of the intrusion of the original granite from which the gneiss was 

formed the sheets would hardly have preserved their parallelism under 

the distortion of the quartz grains. Sections across the contact of 

schistose inclusions with their inclosing granite from other localities 

in Vermont show sheets of cavities in the quartz of the granite stopping 

abruptly at the quartz particles of the inclusion. A thin section 

across the contact of granite and its original schist capping at the 

Marr & Gordon quarry in Barre, Vt., shows many sheets of cavities 

with vacuoles crossing the quartz particles at distances of from 0.094 

to 0.3 mm. and roughly parallel to the contact plane of the two rocks. 

A few shorter sheets of cavities also cross the first set at right angles 

and presumably in the grain direction. Although the two rocks are 

firmly welded. together, the sheets of cavities do not extend into the 

quartz particles of the schist. The presumption, therefore, is that 

the cavities in this Ryegate specimen originated during the last 

stages of the formation of the gneiss and under conditions of pressure, 

moisture, and heat quite as great as those accompanying the granite 

intrusion. The sheets of cavities observed in the gneiss capping the

granite at Milford, N. H. (p. 173), and in the diorite schist capping the 

granite at Becket, Mass. (p. 143), probably originated in the same way 

as those in the Ryegate inclusion.

That these fluidal cavities in the quartz of granite are not the only 

factor in the origin of rift and grain structure is evident from the 

parallelism which exists between the arrangement of the mica scales 

and the rift of many granites. (See p. 146.) The detection of this 

arrangement of the mica is the principal means of determining the 

course of the rift before actual experiment. Similarly the course of 

the hardway in a quarried block is ascertained by the greater roughness 

of the particles to the touch on the hardway side than on either of the 

others.

A remark by Buckley a as to the rift in certain Wisconsin porphyritic rhyolites covers several possibilities as to the mode of origin of 

that structure in granite. "The rift may be the result of flowage

a Buckley, E. R., On the building and ornamental stones of Wisconsin: Bull. Wisconsin Geol. and Nat. 

Hist. Survey, No. 4, 1898, p. 446.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 47

planes developed before the rock was completely solidified, it may 

have been occasioned by alterations since the formation of the rock, 

or it may be the result of both."

The observations at Redstone, N. H., indicate that the arrangement of fluidal and gaseous cavities took place in rectangular directions during consolidation, and probably governed the courses of 

rift and grain produced by strains after consolidation; and any 

parallelism between the mica scales in the rift direction must be 

regarded as having originated at the same time as the arrangement 

of the fluidal cavities, and to have been governed by the same general 

cause.

That any alignment of the mica scales in the direction of the sheets 

of fluidal cavities and the rift cracks is not necessarily identical with 

their arrangement or that of the fedlspar by flow structure is shown

by the following observations in New England granite quarries: At

Mount Waldo, Frankfort, Me., flow structure strikes N. 20° W., rift 

is horizontal and grain vertical with N. 85° W. course. At the Tayntor quarry, Hallowell, Me., flow strikes N. 35° W., rift is horizontal 

and grain vertical with N. 70° W. course. At North Jay, Me., flow 

is horizontal in undulations 20 feet wide and rift is horizontal without 

grain. At Dodlin Hill, Norridgewock, Me., rift is horizontal, flow and 

grain are both vertical with N. 60° E. course. The Norite at the Hall 

quarry, near Baileyville, Me., has horizontal sheet, flow, and rift 

structured

At Milford, N. H. (p. 158), flow varies greatly, N., N. 15°, 20°, 50°, 

70° E., and N. 75°-80° W-, rift is horizontal or nearly so, and grain 

about vertical with N. 60°-90° W. and 80° E. course. At the Klondike quarry, near Niantic, R. I., flow is N. 10°-20° W., dipping west, 

intersecting a feeble horizontal rift. At Milford, Mass., there is a 

wide range in both strike and dip of flow, but rift is everywhere 

reported as horizontal and grain as vertical with N. 40°-90° E. course. 

In places flow and rift are parallel (p. 77).

Incidentally, attention may here be directed to a fact familiar to 

all geologists engaged in the microscopic examination of granites; that 

is, the movement of the bubbles (vacuoles) within the fluidal cavities 

of the quartz particles. Whether due to the effect of light or to other 

causes, visible motions within a rock of such density and antiquity as 

granite is very suggestive. These motions were found to be as perceptible within the quartz grains of the Fort Ann quartzite (noted 

also by Merrill, see p. 45) as in the quartz particles of the Redstone, 

N. H., granite. The writer has also observed them in the quartz of 

segregation veins in 'Cambrian slate from Vermont, in which the 

fluidal cavities obviously originated at the time of the origin of the 

vein.

a See for all these facts Bull. 313, pp. 82,121,151,155,162.
48 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I. 

SOME SUBJOINTS DUE TO STRAINED VEINS.

On page 32 the term subjoints was applied to certain minor joints 

which either branch off at various angles from main joints or are 

parallel and close to them. It is here extended to include also series 

of minor parallel joints traversing quartz veins.

Such jointed veins occur, in several quarries at Quincy on the North 

Commons. They are made conspicuous by a zone of light discoloration in the granite on either side of the vein. At the Field & Wild 

quarry (see p. 105) these veins recur at intervals of 2 to 25 feet, 

with a north and northwest strike and a southwest dip. They are 

crossed every inch or two by subjoints about 1 foot long, which strike 

about N. 15° W. and dip east like the chief joints of that quarry. 

At the Galvin quarry (see p. 104) similar quartz veins, striking N. 25° 

W. and dipping south-southwest, are crossed by vertical subjoints an 

inch apart and a foot long, with a northerly strike like that of the 

major joints. These relations are shown in PI. Ill, B. Workmen 

report that the granite near such veins is harder than elsewhere.

These subjoints may be accounted for by the greater rigidity and 

vitreousness of the veins and the adjacent granite, thus causing them 

to fracture more readily than the surrounding rock under the jointforming movements. Although parallel to the major joints such 

subjoints may have been formed at a different time.

PEGMATITE DIKES IN GROUPS.

The granite of Milford, N. H., is crossed by the usual pegmatite 

dikes, but at several quarries instead of being single or ramifying they 

occur in parallel sets of three to twelve and have sinuous courses. 

This grouping is exceptional in the 284 granite quarries thus far visited

by the writer. At the old Field quarry, near the village, the individual dikes measure from one-fourth of an inch to 1 inch in width 

and number up to ten in a set, and the sets recur at intervals of 15 to 

20 feet. At the Hayden quarry, a mile south, such dikes, from onefourth to 1 inch wide and up to twelve in a group, recur at intervals 

of 20 to 30 feet. At the Young quarry, midway between these localities, the sets consist of three to eight dikes up to 3 inches thick and 

recur at intervals of 20 feet. The dikes here meander and unite in 

the most intricate manner, occupying bands of granite 5 to 10 feet 

thick, which in quarrying have to be discarded. PL VI, B, shows 

four sets of these dikes. Somewhat similar dikes were noted by the 

writer in a small quarry 3 miles northeast of Lewiston, Me., where a 

fine-grained biotite gneiss is traversed in a space of 30 feet by 27 pegmatite dikes ranging from 1 inch to 2 feet in thickness and all dipping 

80°. The pegmatite of Milford, N. H., consists of oligoclase, smoky 

quartz, microcline, biotite, and accessory magnetite, allanite, and 

zircon.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 49

It is difficult to explain the grouping and spacing of these dikes 

without supposing some periodicity in the application of the tension 

which made openings for them. The sinuosity of the courses of such 

dikes has been regarded as evidence that the openings were the result 

of tension rather than of compressive or other strain. (See Bulletin 

313, p. 44.) . .

CYLINDRICAL AND OTHER IRREGULAR DIKES.

At the Ballou quarry, inQuincy (see map, PL II), the attention of 

geologists has been. often drawn to a vertical cylindrical pegmatite 

dike about 2 feet in diameter, a horizontal section of which has for 

many years been exposed at the gradually deepening bottom of the 

quarry, which has now reached a depth of 150 feet. A block containing an entire cross section of this dike was shown to the writer by 

Mr. F. Wesley Fuller, of the Quincy Granite Company, at West

Quincy. The general color of the dike is a light greenish gray, much 

lighter than the surrounding granite. Prof. Charles Palache, of Harvard University, who had been studying this dike before the writer's 

visit, gives the results of his observations in these words : a

I determined the presence in the pegmatite of segirine and riebeckite, the latter 

probably the original mineral and the other formed from it. With them is fluorite, 

sphalerite (zinc sulphide), and galena (lead sulphide) in minute amounts,, molybdenite more abundantly, danalite doubtful. The pegmatite is in no proper sense a dike 

as I saw it; it seems to occupy a pipe-like branching cavity with a rude radial arrangement of its constituents inward from wall to cavity. It merges outwardly insensibly 

.into the riebeckite granite of the region. My interest in the occurrence was aroused 

by the unusual size of the rare forms of amphibole and pyroxene found in it.

The writer's observations follow: The section of the cylindrical 

mass at the Quincy Granite Company's yard has an outer rim with 

abundant blue-black riebeckite crystals slightly larger than those 

of the surrounding granite. Within this is an intermediate zone 

(specimen D. XXIX, 80, b) of light greenish gray feldspar and 

slightly milky quartz (particles up to four-fifths inch in diameter), 

containing bright grass-green crystals of aegirite in sizes up to 1 by 

one-half inch, with some purple fluorite and rusty metallic spots. 

The center consists mainly of quartz, with coarse feldspar outside of 

it. Under the'microscope the feldspars prove to be orthoclase with 

a finely intergrown plagioclase, also particles of albite and probably 

oligoclase-albite. Both feldspars have the minute crystals of riebeckite and particles of epidote typical of Quincy" granite. The 

quartz has many fluidal cavities. There are slender epidote crystals 

in feldspar and quartz. The riebeckite is intergrown with segirite, 

and magnetite is somewhat plentiful. The feldspars are somewhat 

kaolinized and there is some hematite and Jimonite stain. The brovvna From a personal letter to the writer, dated May 8,1907, published here with thoconsent oi Professor 

Palache.

50193 Bull. 354 08 4
50 COMMERCIAL GBANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND E. I.

ish metallic areas of the middle zone consist of magnetite, titanite, epidote, zircon in double pyramids, allanite, fluorite, asgirite, and quartz. 

This cylindrical dike is thus a riebeckite-segirite granite; that is, 

a granite containing varieties of hornblende and augite rich in soda 

and ferric oxide, but poor in alumina, magnesia, and lime, and thus 

resembles the surrounding granite, but its particles'are much coarser 

and radially arranged; some of its accessory minerals are exceptional 

and the others, as well as its secondary minerals, are more abundant. 

The accessory minerals noted either by Professor Palache or by the 

writer include sphalerite, galenite, molybdenite, magnetite, fluorite, 

allanite, titanite, and zircon. The secondary minerals are kaolin, 

epidote, hematite, and limonite. Both aegirite and riebeckite are regarded as primary. (See p. 97.) Mr. Fuller stated that the mass as 

then exposed seemed to ramify downward.

Another dike of unusual form, composed of fine-grained black 

hornblende diabase, is exposed at the bottom of the Rockport Granite

Company's "Deep Pit," 

near Bay View, on Cape 

Ann, 195 feet below the surface, as shown in PL V, B, 

and in more detail in fig. 2. 

It dips to the north. Its 

original upper surface, 30 

feet above its present surface, is reported as not over 

8 feet in diameter. As 

shown in PL V, the quarry 

is traversed by two intersecting basic dikes. The 

one nearest to this -mass, 10 feet west of it, is not a hornblende diabase (ophitic texture with hornblende and biotite), but a lamprophyre 

without biotite (porphyritic texture with augite). The large dike 

on the east side, which from its dip must traverse the granite about 

80 feet east of the mass in question, proves to be also a hornblende 

diabase. The connection, therefore, of the central mass will, if excavations proceed deep enough, very probably be found to be with the 

dike on the east, not with that on the west.

Thin sections of the fine-grained rim of one of the dikelets protruding from this mass and of the granite next to it bring out interesting 

facts. The rim sends out branches, from an eighth to a fourth of a 

millimeter long, into the granite. In places both rocks are dovetailed into one another. The rim consists of minute roundish particles 

of hornblende and incipient crystals of feldspar and fine particles of 

magnetite. There are crowds of apatite crystals along the contact 

and a little secondary calcite. In one place the hornblende and magFIG. 2. Diagram sketch of horizontal cross section of injection of hornblende'diabasc at Deep Pit granite quarry, 

near Bay View, on Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Length, 

north to south, 25 feet, and east to west 8 feet. The fine 

ramifications are up to 3 feet by 1 inch in size.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 51

netite of the dike are thickly disseminated in the granite; in another 

both rocks are merged into one containing the minerals .of both.

This diabase mass appears to have been injected at the time of the 

intrusion of the other diabase dikes of the cape and to owe its shape 

to an irregular east-west fissure with a northern inclination. That 

the intrusion probably took place under considerable pressure and 

heat is shown by the commingling of the minerals of both rocks, along 

their contact.

MUSCOVITE VEINS ("SAND SEAMS").

At some of the Concord, N. H., quarries the muscovite-biotite 

granite is traversed here and there by what quarrymen term "sand 

streaks" or "sand seams." These are veins of white mica from onetenth to two-fifths inch wide with a border of quartz and feldspar

about another tenth inch on each side. The mica plates measure up

to 0.07 inch in diameter. Some of these veins, however, consist almost 

entirely of 'mica plates without any regular arrangement, attain a 

thickness of 1^ inches, and have mica plates up to 0.2 inch.

Veins of kindred but not identical character were observed at Milford, N. H. At the disused Field quarry muscovite veins, half an inch 

wide, with a central parting, recur at intervals of 15 to 20 feet. 

They strike like the pegmatite dikes referred to on page 48, and are 

discontinuous, not exceeding 6 feet at a stretch and being in places 

but a few inches. At the neighboring quarries of the Milford Granite 

Company there is a heading striking N. 30° E., the joints of which 

inclose segregation veins of muscovite and quartz, the quartz in the 

center. These are from 0.1 to 0.5 inch wide and the granite is discolored up to half an inch on each side. This is due to the oxidation of 

ferruginous matter within the soda-lime feldspars, which turns them 

bright reddish. The biotite is also chloritized.

It will be noticed that these Concord and Milford, N. H., veins differ 

in that the former usually have muscovite in the center, but in the 

latter quartz occupies that position. Both kinds of veins may be 

attributed to the percolation of mineral solutions along fissures. In 

either case the outer mineral was deposited first. The proximity and 

parallelism of many of these veins to pegmatite dikes suggest that 

although deposited from solutions they were probably intimately 

related to the pegmatite dikes and formed at the same time. In that 

case the heading referred to at Milford antedates the sheet structure.

FELDSPARS.

COLORS.

Although the shade of a granite is largely determined by that of its 

quartz particles and the relative abundance and size of its black mica 

scales, its color is almost always determined by that of its feldspars.
52 COMMEECIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND E. I.

The colors of feldspars in commercial granite are so varied as to be an 

object of interest not only to the-geologist but to the quarryman and 

the architect. Even the small number of granites considered in this 

bulletin have feldspars of eight colors bluish, greenish, olive-green, 

pea-green, cream color, pink, reddish, and greenish brown. Some are 

colorless and transparent, others are dark or light gray, while the colored ones may be either transparent, translucent, or opaque. The 

relative opacity is mainly determined by degree of kaolinization and 

micacization.

In some cases the origin of the color is not easily deterrninable. 

Thus the feldspar of Concord granite is translucent, with a slight bluish 

tinge, but the sections show no mineral which would produce such a 

tinge. In other cases, however, the results of microscopic examination are more satisfactory. Thus one of the Rockport granites (p. 132) 

owes its greenish tinge to chlorite scales and limonite stain. The Milford, Mass., granites (p. 75) have a delicate pink orthoclase and a 

yellow-greenish plagioclase. The greenish tint is due to innumerable 

minute crystals of epidote and a few scales of chlorite. The smallest 

of these epidote crystals measure about 0.001 millimeter. The orthoclase is much kaolinized and the cause of the pinkish tinge is not 

apparent but is supposed to be due to the presence of infinitesimal 

particles of reddish, hematite (Fe2 03 ).

The reddish biotite granite of the Redstone quarry at Westerly, 

R. I. (p. 200), contains a pinkish potash feldspar and a cream-colored 

plagioclase, both translucent and more or less micacized. They are 

both stained reddish here and there by hematite (Fe203 ) proceeding 

from the oxidation of magnetite particles (Fe304 ). This shows how 

the reddish color may be brought about. A similar reddening of the 

feldspar along the joint faces at Redstone, N. H., is due to hematite

plainly proceeding from magnetite particles (p. 181).

The olive-green granite of Rockport (p. 135) contains a grayish 

olive-green orthoclase which appears crowded with opaque particles, 

presumably kaolin, the largest of which range from 0.0028 to 0.014 

millimeter. There is yellow limonitic (Fe4O9H6 ) staining both along 

the rift cracks and about the opaque particles, some of which may be 

ferrous iron (FeO) instead of kaolin. This limonite stain, in connection with an original bluish tinge unaccounted for, produces the olive 

green. This granite contains also biotite and allanite. The similar 

olive-green granite from Redstone, N. H. (p. 182), owes its green tinge 

more to the color of the quartz than to that of the feldspar. The feldspar is a medium bluish gray with an occasional yellow-stained cleavage or rift crack. The limonite stain here clearly proceeds from the 

alteration of somewhat abundant particles and crystals of allanite,0 

as shown in fig. 3, and also from particles of hornblende.

a See glossary (p. 217), also Iddings and Cross, On the widespread occurrence of allanite as an accessory 

constituent of many rocks: Am. Jour. Sci. (3) vol. 30,1885, pp. 108-111..
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 53

The bluish and greenish tints of the medium to dark gray feldspar 

of Quincy granite (p. 92) are due to finely disseminated crystals of 

bluish riebeckite, measuring from about 0.001 to 0.1 millimeter in 

length by about 0.001 wide, and to innumerable still more minute 

particles of grass-green epidote.

This bluish-greenish gray feldspar of Quincy granite assumes very 

different colors as the result of various alterations. In places it 

becomes cream colored, in others a delicate pea-green or pink, or dark 

greenish-brownish gray, in others a light olive gray, and in others it 

becomes spotted with a deep red. The mode of these occurrences, the 

appearance of the changed feldspars in thin section, and the probable 

causes of the changes are as follows:

At the Galvin quarry (PI. Ill, B, and p. 104) the granite on either side 

of the quartz veins, which contain a little ilmenite and carbonate, is 

changed for 4 inches from its 

usual bluish gray to cream 

'color. At the Field & Wild 

quarry (p. 104) these veins are 

bordered by 3-inch zones of 

greenish, pinkish, or light grayish discoloration. The cream 

and light gray seem to be due 

not so much to the kaolinization of the feldspars and to 

limonite stain from the ilmenite of the vein as to a diminution of certain minute black 

particles which abound in the 

unaltered feldspar. The pinkish and greenish colors are due 

to hematite and epidote. The 

reduction of the black particles and any kaolinization of the feldspars along these veins must 

be attributed to carbonic-acid waters, and these must either have 

come from below with the silica of the vein or from above by 

infiltration along the vein courses."

At the Cashman quarry in West Quincy (p. 113) the granite at both 

the north and the south ends, to a depth of over 70 feet from the rock 

surface, has delicate pea-green feldspars, but normal gray granite 

occupies the center of the quarry. Similar pea-green feldspar occurs 

on the south side of the.Lepage quarry (p. 112) in West Quincy to a 

depth of 30 to 40 feet, and at the Djerf & Winquist quarry on the 

North Commons (p. 101) to a depth of 125 feet from the rock surface. 

This pea-green tint seems to be due mainly to a large addition of mia Van Hise, C. B., Treatise on metamorphism: Mon. U. S. Geol. Survey, vol. 47,1904, pp. 720-728.

FIG. 3. Part of a thin section of green biotite-hornblende granite from Redstone, N. H., enlarged 31J 

diameters, showing a crystal of allanite with radiating cracks, which are filled with yellowish limonite stain, also bands of such stain apart from these 

cracks. The dotted areas are quartz, the rest feldspar. Such crystals in part account for the color of 

the rock.
54 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N.' Hv AND R. I.

nute particles and crystals of light-green epidote, and secondarily to the 

absence or removal of the minute riebeckite crystals. There is also 

here and there a secondary light yellowish brown hornblende in minute 

prismatic crystals. The epidotization of the feldspars in a superficial 

zone from 30 "to 125 feet thick is intelligible, but some structural feature seems necessary to account for the separation of two vertical belts 

of light-green granite by a normal gray one at the Cashman quarry. 

As epidote is a hydrous silicate of iron, alumina, and lime, and. as 

potash feldspar is a silicate of alumina and potash, the alteration of 

the latter into the former involves access of calcium and iron. Some 

of this calcium may have been supplied by the soda-lime feldspar intergrown with the other, or both calcium carbonate and iron may have 

been brought into the rock.a

As all the orthoclase of Quincy granite contains a little epidote the 

process of epidotization must in a measure have affected the entire 

granite mass, at least as far as 225 feet, the greatest depth reached. 

But in these light-green granites the process was carried much farther.

A pink granite occupies one-half of the Savo quarry (p. 114) in West 

Quincy, to a depth of 30 feet, and the pea-green granite the other half. 

The feldspars of the pink stone have been kaolinized and made pink. 

The larger riebeckite and aegirite particles have passed into masses 

(pseudomorphs) of quartz, magnetite, and carbonate, with some 

epidote and chlorite. Magnetite crystals are conspicuous in them. 

The minute crystals of riebeckite have disappeared. These changes 

in the feldspar and the ferro-soda silicates could be explained by access 

of carbonated surface waters and metamorphic action. The color of 

the feldspar must be attributed either to the reduction of limonite particles or to the oxidation of magnetite.

At the Sartori quarry (p. 120) the feldspar haS become largely 

kaolinized and micacized, and also somewhat stained with hematite. 

It has lost its translucence and acquired a dull greenish-brown hue. 

The black silicates have passed largely into an aggregate of biotite, 

magnetite, carbonate, and quartz and there are no minute riebeckite 

crystals in the feldspars.

At the Rogers quarry in West Quincy (p. 117) the feldspars at the 

south end and west side become a light olive gray after exposure. In 

thin section faint yellowish limonite stain appears along the rift and 

grain and along cleavage and irregular cracks. The yellow of the 

stain combined with the bluish green of the riebeckite yields an 

olive gray. In one section bright limonite stain is seen to ramify 

from the large particles of intergrown riebeckite and segirite.

At several Quincy quarries some of the granite is spotted with 

deep cherry-red and muddy-olive stains up to an inch in diameter. 

These stains surround the larger riebeckite and segirite particles from

a Van Hise, C. 11., op. cit., p. 255.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 55

which they penetrate the adjacent feldspars. This discarded spotted 

granite is called "orei" by the workmen (p. 219). In thin section 

many of its feldspars are seen to be permeated by bright red hematite stain, which ramifies within them from the cleavage and rift 

cracks, as shown in fig. 4. This stain is also accompanied here .and 

there by yellowish limonite stain probably of later date; and there 

are long slender particles, probably epidote, up to 0.33 by 0.0002 

millimeter, which are all parallel in the same feldspar^crystal. Radiating, needle-like, and fibrous felty crystals of secondary yellowish or 

muddy green hornblende are attached to the riebeckite. and aegirite 

particles. Soma of the segirite crystals are completely altered to 

chlorite, magnetite, and quartz. The immediate cause of the staining 

of the feldspar and of the formation of the fibrous hornblende and 

possibly of the epidote is thus the alteration of the riebeckite-aegirite 

particles, but the cause of that alteration is not so apparent. Their 

alteration to magnetite, alone, 

implies metamorphism. At 

the Cashman quarry some 

"orei" was found next to a 

steep heading, and at the 

Hardwick quarry the granite 

within a heading has a hematitic color. ' These occurrences 

suggest that the change in the 

black silicates may have been 

brought about by access of

Surface Water along pint FlG. 4._Thin section of altered Quincy granite (orei),

planes, liydrating and Oxidiz- enlarged 62£ diameters, showing hematite stain in the

ii £ j.i -V j feldspar. The large particle from which streams of ing the iron of the Silicates, rtain proceed is «tfrito. Its altered parts are shaded.

and that the granite thus

stained by limonite has become reddish as the limonite under metamorphism became reduced to hematite. It is also possible that, the 

black silicates having under metamorphism passed partly into magnetite, this may by oxidation have yielded hematite.

This reddening of the feldspar also characterizes the gray quartz 

monzonite of two of the Milford, N. H., quarries (pp. 1.63, 166) for a 

thickness of 10 to 50 feet from its contact with basic dikes. The change 

takes place chiefly in the soda-lime feldspar, which is also much kaolinized. The source of this hematite is probably the magnetite particles.

CUT SURFACES.

Reference was made in Bulletin 313 (p. 59) to the fact that if one 

of two commercial "granites" of identical shade be a diorite, that is, 

a granite with only a soda-lime feldspar, and the other a normal 

biotite granite, that is, with very little of that feldspar and considerable potash feldspar, the cut surface of the diorite will be very
56 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OP MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

much lighter than that of the normal granite; and it was pointed out 

that this is probably due to some optical property of the soda-lime 

feldspar. In the preparation of the material for this bulletin it has 

been found that the quartz monzonites of Westerly, R. I., and 

Milford, N. H. ; in which the soda-lime feldspar is in excess of the 

potash feldspar, cut lighter than normal granites even of lighter 

shade. Dr. G. P. Merrill suggests that the optical property involved 

here is the multiple twinring of the soda-lime feldspar which must 

greatly facilitate its breaking up under the hammer and thus increase 

the diffusion of light. As the dark purplish porphyritic rhyolite 

("granite") of Montello, Wis., in which potash feldspar makes up 

half the rock and which has no other feldspar, hammers quite as light 

as the Westerly quartz monzonite, this shows that the same effect 

may be produced in some other way.a

GRANITIC QUARTZ, ITS TEXTURE AND COLORS.

The observations here brought together show that granitic quartz 

is far from possessing the homogeneous texture or color popularly 

attributed to that mineral. Not only is the quartz apt to contain 

cavities with and without vacuoles, as was shown on p. 42, in intersecting sheets related to rift and grain cracks, but it also contains 

minute opaque particles, particularly abundant in smoky quartz. 

Some of it abounds in hair-like crystals, probably of rutile. The 

.quartz of some granites shows by its behavior in polarized light that 

the arrangement of its molecules has been disturbed by mechanical 

strain. In two Massachusetts granites, Milford and Quincy Goldleaf quarry, this strain has been carried far enough to granulate the 

quartz. The granules generally measure under a millimeter in 

diameter. The quartz of the granites described in this bulletin 

varies from colorless to blue, amethystine smoky, rose colored, and 

smoky of various shades. At Redstone, N. H. (p. 182), an amethystine smoky quartz has become greenish by the coating of its 

rift and grain cracks with limonite. Colorless quartz has the fewest 

cavities or particles. The smokiness appears to be due to' minute 

black particles. But the microscope fails to show the cause of the 

blue, rose, and amethystine tints.5

GRANITE DISCOLORATION AND ITS CAUSES.

In investigating the yellow-brownish discoloration, "sap," of 

the Maine quarries, thin sections showed that the limonite stain did 

not proceed from the ferruginous minerals and the inference was

a See Buckley, E. R., On the building and ornamental stones of Wisconsin: Bull. Wisconsin Geol. and 

Nat. Hist Survey, No. 4,1898, p. 94 and PI. V.

SRosenbusch, H., Mikroskopische Physiographic der Mineralien und Gesteine, 4th ed., 1905, vol. 1, 

pt. 2, Granit Quarz, pp. 93, 94.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 57

therefore drawn that it was due to the infiltration of ferruginous 

surface waters along the joint planes. (See pp. 35-36 and Bulletin 

313, fig. 2.)

In the granites described in the present paper this limonitic stain 

occurs in varying thickness up to 2 feet. It is very abundant in the 

Rockport quarries, where its brightness has led to its architectural 

use. Thin sections of the Rockport "sap" show the stain along the 

boundaries of particles and in all cleavage and rift cracks as well as in 

streaks across them. , It is conspicuous about hornblende and magnetite particles. The stain has also proceeded from the cracks 

inward into the intervening areas. The zonal arrangement of the 

rust stain is also noticeable. The medium gray of the fresh granite 

becomes at first greenish toward the surface; this is followed by a 

zone of deep yellow brown; and that in turn by a much lighter 

yellow brown. The greenish zone is that of advancing limonitization, 

the next of maximum stain, and the outside is that of delimonitization, or deoxidation due to organic acids, and made still lighter by the 

greater kaolinization of the feldspars of the surface. In some Rockport specimens this outer paler zone is covered by an extremely thin 

crust of bright yellow brown, as though a secondary infiltration of 

limonite had taken place after the deoxidation. Although in the 

Rockport granite the ferruginous minerals have furnished some of the 

stain, it is doubtful whether they could have supplied enough to color 

so many sheet and joint surfaces so intensely. A thin section of 

discolored Westerly granite also shows the rust stain arising from 

biotite and magnetite particles (p. 202).

A specimen of Quincy granite from the Dell Hitchcock quarry 

has a rim of "sap" from 1 to 1$ inches wide, of which the inner tenth 

to three-tenths are dark brown' and the rest light brown. The inner 

boundary is very uneven, the rusty part having encroached upon the 

granite in roundish protuberances. Some of the limonite streaks 

start from eegirite particles. In a piece from the Wigwam quarry 

the stain proceeds from magnetite particles and not from the black 

silicates, but some of the magnetite particles are within crystals of 

riebeckite. In a specimen from the pea-green granite of the Lepage 

quarry, out of a rusty band 1£ to 2 inches thick, an inner one-fifth inch 

is deep brown, but the fresh granite next to it is dark greenish." The 

rest, or outer part, ranges from a very light brown to cream color at 

the surface. The stain proceeds from the black silicates and from 

the vicinity of zircon crystals, which are often associated with iron in 

some form. An segirite crystal is one-half hematite. The central 

parts of others are altered to limonite before the outer.

The following shows how large a zone of discoloration small particles of magnetite may produce. In one of the fine-grained granites
58 COMMEBCIAL GEANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND B. I.

of Milford, N. H. (p. 170), there are occasional porphyritic crystals of 

black mica up to 1 inch long, 0.5 inch wide, and very thin, around 

which, after exposure, a circle of slight limonitic stain 20 inches in 

diameter appears on the rift surface. The stain has no appreciable 

thickness. The biotite probably contains, as usual, small particles of 

magnetite.

The conclusion from all these data is that the superficial discoloration of granite originates partly in the limonitization or rusting of 

particles of magnetite, biotite, or other black silicates by access of 

surface water, and partly also by the infiltration of ferruginous water 

along joint and sheet partings. These rusty rims often show three 

zones an inner, in which the color is a mixture of that of the original 

granite and of limonite brown; a middle, in which it is exclusively 

limonitic, and an outer paler one caused by the deoxidation of the 

limonite by organic acids and the greater kaolinization of the feldspars.

As bearing on the time involved in this process, attention should 

be called to the very slight discoloration produced in the course of 

twenty-five years along a vertical blast crack in Quincy granite at 

the Dell Hitchcock quarry. Under the higher powers of the microscope a slight stain can be detected about the small epidote particles 

in the feldspars, and here and there along the boundaries of the quartz 

and feldspar.

OVOIDAL WEATHERING WITHIN A HEADING.

Shaler called attention to spheroidal weathering in the granite of 

Rockport,a and gave a plate showing "decomposition bowlders," 

which are the result of the progress of decay working inward from 

both sheet and joint surfaces. This is not unusual in granite regions. 

This decay is mainly due to the chemical processes described under 

"Decomposition" (p. 36). Spheroidal weathering in granite may, 

however, be partly of different origin. The writer many years ago 

made some colored sketches of a concentric cylindrical structure in 

granite at a railroad cut at Unter Brambach in Saxony, in which the 

surfaces an inch or two apart were coated with limonite stain. The 

cylindrical forms, although brought out by weathering, were apparently 

due to internal structure. Of like structural origin are also the concentric shelly spheroids of granite about an inner concretion of mica,. 

a foot in diameter, described from central'Bohemia by Jokely. 6

PL VIII, A, represents an ovoid mass of extremely fine quartz 

monzonite (45 by 33£ by 25 inches) from the Redstone quarry, near 

Westerly, R. I. (p. 201). This mass came from a point 30 feet below

a Shaler, N. S., The geology of Cape Ann, Mass.: Ninth Ann. Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1889, p. 567, 

PI. LI.

& Jokely, Johann., Geognostische Verhaltnisse in einem Thelle des mittleren Bohraen: Jahrb. K.-k. 

geol. Reichsanstalt, vol. 6,1855, p. 375 and figure.
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 59

the surface within a heading 40 feet wide at the north end of the 

quarry, where much decomposition had taken place. As there are 

no indications at any of the Westerly quarries of an original spheroidal 

structure, this mass must be classed with those of Cape Ann, but the 

decomposition, instead of working on 5 sides of an exposed mass, has 

operated on the sides of a block formed by intersecting joints and 

sheets considerably below the general surface, and the egg shape is 

due'to the unequal spacing of these partings.

DIKELIKE MASSES OF SCHIST IN GRANITE.

The dikes ordinarily occurring in granite are either granitic, including pegmatite, aplite, and granite proper, or basic. If a granite after 

the intrusion of such dikes be itself subjected to metamorphism so as 

to become schistose that is, a gneiss then these various dikes will 

also become more or less schistose. In the granite of Milford, Mass., 

however, there are schistose basic dikes without an equally gneissic 

or a parallel gneissic structure in the granite.

At the Cutting quarry (fig. 7) the west wall is formed by a vertical 

dikelike mass of biotite schist 2 feet thick striking N. 25° W. The 

east wall is formed by a heading of almost identical strike, N. 20° W., 

but dipping 70° E. As shown in the figure, neither of the flow directions nor the trend of rift or grain corresponds to the strike of the 

schist dike. "The only corresponding structure is that of the heading 

and the inclosing walls of the dike. At the West quarry, 1£ miles 

southsouthwest of the last, there are two dikes of similar schist, one 

striking N. 67° W. and dipping 65° NNE., the other striking about 

N. 45° W. with nearly vertical dip. The nearest parallel structure is 

a joint striking N. 60° W. and dipping 47° SSW. At the Massachusetts Pink quarry, three-fifths mile southwest of the Cutting quarry, 

there is another schist dike, 2 feet thick, striking N. 3° W., and dipping 55° E. without other corresponding kinds of structure. The 

general schistosity of all these dikes is parallel to the joint faces which 

inclose them, and no merging between granite and schist was observed. 

Emerson and Perry (p. 73) note the rudely parallel films of biotite in 

the granite, which give it a gneissoid look, but which seem to be partly 

. due to flow structure, and they note the undulatory extinction of the 

fractured quartz particles as showing a state of strain. The granular 

structure of the quartz areas is very noticeable on a polished face, and 

this very possibly resulted from the pressure which converted the 

dikes into schist.

In thin section the fine-grained dark greenish gray schist of the 

Cutting quarry dike is seen to consist of biotite, quartz, epidote in 

roundish grains from the alteration of feldspar and a little pyrite. 

The slightly more greenish schist of the dike at the second quarry consists of hornblende, quartz, biotite, epidote, and zoisite from altera-
60 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

tion of feldspar, a brownish, cloudy mineral (leucoxene?), and pyrite 

altered to limonite. Both are evidently altered dikes of mica diorite 

that is, diorite schist.

Emerson and Perry regard these dikes as a "basic differentiate of 

the Milford granite" (p. 73).

It is evident from the facts given that whatever may have been the 

relation of the deep sources of the two rocks to which Emerson and 

Perry refer, the dike material was intruded between parted joints in 

the granite. It is also evident that the change of the eruptive into 

schist and the alignment of its particles with reference to the inclosing 

walls was brought about chiefly by compression which, although sufficient to metamorphose the dikes, affected the granite but slightly; 

nor was the vertical pressure sufficient to plicate the dike or its inclosing walls.

Thus a basic dike traversing a mass of granite in a highly inclined 

position may under lateral compression become schistose without the 

inclosing granite acquiring a corresponding schistosity.

RIEBECKITE AND OTHER MINERALS ON JOINT FACES.

Many granite joint faces are coated with secondary minerals. 

These minerals include hematite, pyrite, limonite, calcite, epidote, 

chlorite, stilbite, quartz, muscovite, etc. (See Bulletin 313, p. 51.) 

All these may owe their origin to alteration of the minerals of the 

granite, but where calcite occurs in considerable quantity, it probably 

came from originally overlying calcareous rocks.

Some of the joint and even sheet faces in the Quincy quarries are 

coated with a blue-black mineral with a peculiar sheen due to fibrous 

structure parallel to the face, and with a bluish gray streak. Such black 

faces can be seen at the Dell Hitchcock, the Field & Wild, the Granite 

Railway) and Rogers quarries and at the Mount Pleasant quarry in 

Milton (PI. II). On one side of this last quarry both sheet and joint 

faces are thus coated, and at the Rogers quarry such black joint faces, 

spaced, from 6 inches to 4 feet, make up a heading. These black 

joints are apt, however, to be intermittent, extending only a few yards 

or even inches at a stretch.

A thin section cut diagonally to one of these joints and its parallel 

sub joints shows six meandering or intersecting cracks from one-eighth 

to 1J millimeters apart, filled with crystals, of riebeckite (a dark-blue 

soda hornblende), the smallest of which are 0.02 and the largest 0.1 

millimeter long, together with fibrous white mica, limonite, and very 

little carbonate. The granite between these fissures is broken up 

here and there into minute angular fragments and the feldspar is 

granulated. The cement of this microscopic breccia is also riebeckite, 

the crystals of which lie with their axes either parallel to the fracture
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 61

or across them or even projecting into the feldspar fragments. Some 

of the feldspars next to the joint are unusually crowded with riebeckite crystals, which probably originated in the same manner and at 

the same time as those within the joints.0

The secondary and relatively recent origin of this riebeckite is 

evident, and its formation by segregation from the ferro-soda silicates 

of the granite seems also quite probable.

0 Prof. James P. Smith has recently explained the alteration of a 

certain California arkose (decomposed granite or diorite) and a 

sandstone, with varying proportions of impure clay, into schists 

consisting largely of glaucophane (a soda hornblende closely related 

to riebeckite) as due to a process of recrystallization under heat and 

pressure.*

In the case of the riebeckite-coated joints and sheets of the Quiney 

riebeckite-aegirite granite some transfer of material into the joint 

spaces must also have taken place. The presence of this mineral 

oh them shows that the granite of Quiney was subjected to a certain 

amount of metamorphism after the development of its sheet and 

joint structure.

Some joint faces at Milford and Becket, in Massachusetts, and 

Concord and Redstone, in New Hampshire, present different features. 

At the East quarry of Milford (p. 82) the parted joint which forms 

the west wall is filled with a fine-grained greenish brownish and 

cream-colored mass with transverse and longitudinal slickensided 

cracks. In thin section this proves to be a brecciated granite 

cemented with calcite; chlorite, fibrous muscovite, and limonite. 

The amount of calcite in this mass is so considerable that it seems 

improbable that the granite alone could have supplied it.

At the quarry of the Hudson & Chester Granite Company in Becket 

(p. 141) some of the joint faces of the bluish gray muscovite-biotite 

granite are dark greenish for one-fourth inch from the face. The 

granite in this zone has undergone these alterations: Formation of 

fibrous mica with limonite stain along cracks transverse to the face 

and along feldspar cleavages; formation of mica in the feldspars 

and of calcite both in the lime-soda feldspars and between the particles. These secondary minerals added to the original ones make 

these small rims quite complex.

At the "Upper or Granite Railway quarry" of John Swenson 

(p. 151) at Concord certain joints with a N. 65° W. course and short 

parallel subjoints are coated with minute quartz crystals and obtuse

a This and the occurrence of secondary riebeckite in rift and grain cracks, mentioned on p. 107, partly 

confirm the suspicion expressed by A. Sauer in 1888 as to the origin of this mineral. See Zeitschr. 

Deutsch. geol. Gesell.. vol. 40,1888, p. 145.

t> Smith, James Perrin,Paragenesis of the minerals in the glaucophane-beariug rocks of California: 

Proc. Am. Phil. Soc., vol. 45,1906, p. 183. See also summary, pp. 238,240, 1907.
62 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H.; AND R. I.

calcite rhombs standing edgewise on the joint face, and "also here 

and there with the beginnings of 2-inch cubes of deep purple and 

white fluorite. Similar fluorite occurs exceptionally within the granite 

near the face.

At the Bedstone, N. H., quarry (p. 181) the light-pink granite for 

an inch back of one of the major joints is a yellowish pink with 

patches of grass-green, while the face itself is pale brick-red, rust 

color, bluish, and grass-green. Thin sections snow the feldspars 

much altered to white micas, and crossed by veinlets of them. They 

are also kaolinized and stained pink by hematite from the magnetite 

particles. There is some carbonate, limonite, chlorite, and epidote.

While nearly all the secondary minerals in these joint coatings 

(chlorite, epidote, muscovite, hematite, limonite, calcite, and quartz) 

may be accounted'for by processes of " deep-seated weathering" 

that is, by the alteration, largely chemical, of the minerals of the 

granite itself the fluorite is more likely to have been brought from 

the same source as the granite itself but at a later time, and the calcite 

of Milford from once overlying calcareous sedimentary beds.

GRANITE CONTACTS IN RELATION TO SHEET AND FLOW STRUCTURE.

Several interesting contacts between granite and its overlying 

rocks were found and are shown in fig. 5 and Pis. VI, A, and IX, A. 

These contacts throw light on the origin of sheet structure and illustrate the nature of flow structure antl of certain pegmatite dikes.

CONTACT AT MILFORD, N. H.

At the southwest corner of the Pease quarry at Milford, N. H. 

(p. 163), about 6 feet of mica diorite gneiss overlies the fine-grained 

quartz monzonite, as shown in fig. 5, with a foliation striking N. 75° W. 

and a dip of 20° south. The granite has a flow structure about 

parallel to the contact surface, but sheet structure crosses both 

gneiss and granite and flow structure.

At the quarries, now idle (p. 173), of the Milford Granite Company 

there is a working face on the west about 1,000 feet long. At its 

southern and northern ends granite and gneiss contacts are finely 

exposed. The fine-grained quartz monzonite is overlain by about 

15 feet of gneiss, with a foliation striking N. 75° W. and dipping 75° 

south. PI. VI, A, shows the contact at the north end of the cut. 

The sheet structure is lenticular horizontal, but does not continue 

into the gneiss, which seems to have an independent and discontinuous sheet structure of its own. The gneiss varies greatly in 

texture, composition, and color. In places it is coarse, black, 

biotitic, and hornblendic; in others medium grained, gray or white, 

and more quartzose and feldspathic. It appears to be a quartz-mica 

diorite 'gneiss, but contains streaks of a finely banded, light-greenish, 

fine-grained rock, which in thin section shows quartz, soda-lime
SCIENTIFIC DISCUSSION. 63

feldspar "(otigoclase-andesine), augite, hornblende, and biotite, and 

thus appears to be a quartz-augite-diorite gneiss. There are also 

dikes of pegmatite starting from the surface of the granite and 

tapering out in the gneiss.

CONTACT AT NIANTIC, R. I.

At the Klondike quarry (p. 205) near Niantic, R. I., as shown in 

fig. 27, the fine-grained quartz monzonite is overlain on the west side 

by 50 feet of medium-grained biotite gneiss with porphyritic lenticular potash feldspars (microcline) up to H inches long, most of them 

rimmed with white soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-andesine). The 

foliation of this gneiss is about horizontal. As shown in PI. IX, A, 

the contact between the granite and gneiss dips somewhat steeply, 

and sheet structure crosses both granite and gneiss at a lesser angle. 

There are also dikes of pegmatite beginning at the contact and 

tapering upward in the gneiss. On the east side the same gneiss 

underlies the granite, the granite intrusion having apparently reached

FIG. 5. Section showing relations of granite and gneiss at the Pease quarry near Milford, N. H.; 

height, 10 feet. The flow structure is parallel to the contact surface, and sheet structure traverses 

both rocks. ' ,

 at least the altitude of the present surface between two masses of the 

older gneiss; in other words, the original contact surface between 

the granite -and the gneiss into which it was intruded was very irregular, having large denticulations.

CONTACT AT BECKET, MASS.

At the Becket, Mass., quarry (p. 141) a fine-grained, bluish-gray, 

muscovite-biotite granite partially incloses or is overlain by a mass 

up to 40 feet thick of very fine-grained, heavy, black, micaceous 

rock (quartz-mica diorite schist) described more fully on page 143. 

It has small white quartz and plagioclase veins of tortuous courses. 

There are also, several small dikes of pegmatite or quartz starting 

from the contact and tapering out upward. Along the contact the 

granite shows undulating bands generally parallel to the contact 

surface. These consist of white bands of quartz and feldspar, up 

to one-fourth inch wide, recurring at intervals of 1 inch, the intervals
64 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS./ N. H., AND R. I.

being darker and of biotite, muscovite; epidote, and titanite. The 

courses of some of these bands are sharply- undulate. These bands 

constitute a flow structure which generally conforms to the under 

surface of the diorite schist.

CONCLUSIONS.

In order to make these contact phenomena intelligible to the general reader, it should be stated that the gneisses capping the granite 

are rocks of similar origin to the granite itself, but they have been 

subjected to an amount of pressure and heat sufficient to recrystallize 

their minerals and arrange them in parallel order, thus giving the 

rock a foliation or schistosity; also, the. present thickness of the 

overlying gneisses probably represents but an insignificant part of 

the great masses which originally capped the granite. From the 

fact that the granite has not been changed in like manner, it follows 

that these changes must have taken place before the intrusion of the 

granite. The pegmatite dikes are granitic matter which in a molten 

condition or in heated solutions appears to have forced its.way from 

the molten granite through fissures caused by the intrusion itself 

into the overlying gneiss.

The geological principles illustrated by these various contacts are: 

(1) Sheet structure in granite can not be the result of any property 

inherent in the granite alone, for it passes uninterruptedly from the 

granite into the overlying gneiss, and it is also quite independent of 

flow structure; (2) the course of flow structure in granite is governed 

in places by the form of the under surface of the masses into which 

the granite was intruded. Thus also at the Daniels quarry, in Milford, N. H. (p. 168), it accommodates itself, to the form of a large 

inclusion, forming bands around it; (3) pegmatite dikes, are apt to 

originate at the Surface of the granite and to penetrate the rpck into

which it was intruded.

These pegmatite dikes were not studied in sufficient detail to obtain 

conclusive evidence, that the pegmatization of the gneiss could not 

have taken place in an earlier crustal movement than that of the 

granitic intrusion.

.ACIDIC SEGREGATIONS.

Segregations in granite consist generally of the darker, more 

ferruginous minerals, but in some instances they are lighter in shade 

than the surrounding granite and consist largely of feldspar and 

quartz, as are several at the Quincy quarries, described on page 95. 

Here also belongs the very coarse-grained large segregation found in 

the Rockport granite at Halibut Point, which is fully described on 

page 125. Although it measures 8 By 4 by 1\ feet, all but a core, 

6 by 2 inches, which is bronzite, consists of potash feldspar and 

quartz.
PART II. ECONOMIC DISCUSSION.

GENERAL FEATURES.

The practical side of the granite industry "will now be considered. 

A list of the more important works on granite quarries and quarrying 

and other matters of economic character will be found at the end, 

together .with a glossary of both scientific and quarry terms.

TESTS OF GRANITE.

The testing of granite is a subject of considerable importance, as 

may be seen by its literature. 0 As pointed out by Merrill, there is

danger of attaching undue importance to tests of compressive strength 

alone, the results of which in nearly all cases far exceed the generous 

margin allowed by architects beyond that required by the weightiest 

structures. On the other hand, there is danger of losing sight of several other important qualities which ought to be carefully tested and 

upon which the economic value of granite in part depends. The 

following tests include all the kinds made at European testing institutions or recommended by American authorities, as well as some 

suggested by the investigation of Maine granites. . Chemical analysis. Chemical analysis is made in order to determine the amount of iron and lime, or to detect anything abnormal in 

the composition.

Determination of CaC03 . Tests are made to determine the presence of lime not combined with silicates in order to ascertain the 

percentage of CaC03 (lime carbonate) present. This is done by 

powdering and treatment with warm dilute acetic acid.

Test for discoloration. The method applied by Daly (Bull. U. S. 

Geol. Survey No. 209, p. 52) seems to be well adapted for this purpose. 

A piece of fresh rock is immersed in a stream of carbon-dioxide 

gas for 20 minutes and then kept in an atmosphere of that gas for 

24 hours. Another piece of fresh rock is placed in an atmosphere 

of purified oxygen overnight and then exposed for 30 minutes to 

a temperature of 150° C. (302° F.). Any discoloration due to the 

carbonization or oxidation of the minutest particles of any mineral 

would be sure to show itself under these tests.

Mineral composition. This is determined by the microscopic examination of a considerable number of typical thin sections. All the 

mineral constituents are noted, and the average size of the mineral

« See Bibliography, p. 215. 

50193 Bull. 354-08 5 65
66 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

particles in the case of the fine-textured granites is estimated. Any 

peculiarities of texture, rift, etc., can also be noted.

Proportions of minerals. A method has been devised by Rosiwal, 

of the Austrian Geological Survey,® by which the approximate proportions of the chief minerals (feldspar, quartz, mica, hornblende) 

and their average size can be determined. This consists in tracing 

a network of lines intersecting one another at right angles upon a 

polished granite surface, at intervals so far distant that no two 

parallel lines will traverse the same mineral particle. The total 

length of the lines is measured, then the diameters of all the particles 

of each kind of mineral are added separately and their proportion 

to the total length of the lines obtained. The average size of the 

particles of each mineral can be also calculated from the same 

measurements. Although this method was primarily designed for 

application to the coarse and medium granites, it can be extended 

also to the finer ones by drawing the lines upon camera-lucida drawings made from thin sections of such granites under polarized light. 

As the quartz is the source of the vitreousness of the rock the determination of its amount is important. The incompleteness of the collection of polished specimens of Maine granites and the short limit 

of time available prevented the application of this method in the preparation of the report on Maine granites, but the method was experimentally applied to the coarse reddish granite from Hardwood Island, 

near Jonesport, 6 and has been much used in this bulletin.

Polish. Besides the manifest object of this test it also facilitates 

exact descriptions of color and comparisons between different granites. 

The size of the mica plates determines the brilliancy arid durability 

of the polish more than does their number that is, a considerable 

number of very minute mica plates is not objectionable.

Hardness. As pointed out by Hawes, c the hardness of certain 

granites is not due entirely to the quartz, which is always equally 

hard and brittle and which the tools do not cut but crush, but to the 

feldspar, which is of variable hardness and, it might be added, has 

different cleavages, and the proportion of which in relation, to quartz 

also varies. Rosiwal/ adopting a principle established by Toula, 

takes a piece of smooth unpolished granite of about 2 grams weight 

and rubs it with emery (of 0.2 mm. diameter of particle) upon a 

glass or metal plate for 6 or 8 minutes until the emery loses its

o See Rosiwal, August, Ueber geometrische Gesteinsanalysen; ein einfacher Weg zur zifTermassigen 

Feststellung des Quantitatsverhaltnisses der Mineralbestandtheile gemengter Gesteine: Verhandl. 

der K.-k. geol. Reichsanstalt, vol. 32, pp. 143-175.

6 The result of this test is given on page 173 of Survey Bulletin 313.

c Hawes, G. W. (edited by Merrill), Granite; Building stones of the United States and statistics of 

the quarry industry: Tenth Census, vol. 10. 1888, pp. 16-18.

d Neue Untersuchungsergebnisse iiber die Harte von Mineralien und Gesteinen: Verhandl. K.-k. 

geol. Reichsanstalt, 1890, p. 488.
GENERAL ECONOMIC DISCUSSION. 67

effectiveness. The granite is then weighed again and its loss of 

volume calculated. lie found, assigning to emery an arbitrary value 

of 1,000 as representing its average hardness, that granite from 9 

localities showed the following degrees of hardness: 31.7, 38.1, 41.7, 

44.8, 48.4, 50.7, 52.9, 56.6, and 67.1. The extremes of these figures 

show that some granites have a general hardness more than twice as 

great as others.

J. F. Williams 05 proposed to determine the relative hardness of 

granites by noting the rate of penetration of a drill of a given diameter, 

or by measuring the distance to which such a drill will penetrate 

without being sharpened, or the amount of surface of rough-pointed 

granite which can be reduced to a bush-hammered surface per hour. 

Since the introduction of pneumatic drills and surf acers- these methods 

can be easily applied.

Compressive strength The methods of testing the strength of 

building stones have grown in precision. The first requisite is that 

the cubes to be tested should be sawed by diamond saws and not hammered out. The next'is that the direction of both rift and grain 

should be indicated thereon, and that three cubes should be tested, one 

with pressure applied parallel to the direction of the rift, one applied 

parallel to that of''the grain, and the third at right angles to rift 

and grain. Where the rift and grain are pronounced the three 

results will differ. As in the reports of tests made with the testing 

machine at the Watertown Arsenal, Mass., the number of pounds 

pressure at which the first crack is produced should always be given, 

as well as that at which the cube is crushed. It is assumed that 

these tests are made in a dry atmosphere.

Transverse strength, shearing strength, and compressive elasticity. 

It has been found useful for certain architectural purposes to test 

these qualities in granite. b

Porosity. Buckley c points out that the danger from, frost depends 

not upon the amount of absorption but upon the size of the pore 

space. Rocks with large pore spaces stand frost better than those 

with small ones, because they do not retain the water that they absorb. 

Tests of porosity are therefore important. Buckley used the dry and 

saturated weights obtained for the samples used in computing the 

specific gravity.

The difference in these weights was multiplied by the specific gravity of the rock. 

This amount was added to the dry weight, giving the sum. The difference of the 

dry and saturated weights multiplied by the specific gravity of the rock was then 

divided by the sum. This last result is the actual percentage of pore space compared 

with the volume of the sample tested.

« Igneous rocks of Arkansas: Ann. Kept. Geol. Survey Arkansas, vol. 1,1890, p. 41.

b See Buckley, Building and ornamental ctones of Wisconsin, pp. 300-398. Also Kept, of tests of 

metal, etc., Watertown Arsenal.(1895), 1890, pp. 319-322, 339-351, 407-411. Some of the results as to 

elasticity are given on page 16 of this report.

c Buckley, op. cit., pp. 08, 09, 372-370, 400, 413.
68 COMMEBCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND K. I.

Freezing and thawing. Buckley's method" consists in drying 

1-inch, and 2-inch cubes at a temperature of 110° C. and weighing 

them. After being saturated in distilled water they were exposed 

overnight to a temperature below freezing. They were then thawed 

out and soaked in warm distilled water. This process was continued 

for thirty-five days, when they were again dried at 110° C. and 

weighed. Finally the same stones were subjected to the tests for compressive strength and the results compared with those for stones not 

thus treated.

Absorption and compression. The complete saturation of a stone 

and the determination of the amount of absorption are effected by a 

method described at length by Buckley.6 The saturated stone should 

then be tested for compressive strength and the result compared with 

that obtained from dry stone.

Behavior under fire. This test is best applied to saturated specimens, which are then exposed in a laboratory furnace to a temperature up to 1,500° F. and the effect noted. Some of them can be 

allowed to cool gradually, but others should be immersed quickly in 

cold water; or they may be exposed to high temperature while under 

compression and then cooled slowly or quickly/'

Specific gravity. The specific gravity is the weight of the stone 

at 16° C. compared with that of the same volume of distilled water 

at 4° C. All air should first be removed from the piece to be tested 

by boiling in distilled water. The specific gravity is also required 

for the test of porosity. . " Weight per cubic foot. The weight of the dry stone per cubic 

foot is obtained by multiplying its specific gravity by the weight of 

a cubic foot of water, but from this there should be deducted "the 

weight of a quantity of stone of the same specific gravity equal in 

volume to the percentage of the pore space in the stone." (/ This 

gives the actual weight of the stone free from interstitial water.

Coefficient of expansion. Finally, it may be desirable to obtain 

the coefficient of expansion of a granite intended for some particular 

construction. The expansion of certain granites was determined at 

the Watertown Arsenal by hot and cold water baths. The stones 

thus tested were afterwards subjected to the test of transverse 

strength, when it was found that they had lost 16.93 per cent of their 

original strength.6

A list of the various tests applied to building stones by German 

testing institutions is given by Herrmann. /

"Buckley, op. cit., p. 71.

&Buckley, op. cit., pp. 64-07.

cBuckley, op. cit., pp. 73, 411.

c?Buckley, op. cit., p. 70.

«Rept. of tests of metal, etc , p. 320.

/ Stembruchinciustrie und Steinbruchgeologie, pp.'10. et seq.
GENERAL ECONOMIC DISCUSSION. 69 

ADAPTABILITY TO DIFFERENT USES.

The successful use of granite depends upon a careful consideration 

of its various adaptabilities. The granites proper include stones 

which vary greatly in texture, color, and shade. The coarse-textured ones are best adapted to massive structures, while the finetextured ones are better adapted to lighter structures, monuments, 

and statues. The reason for this is that in coarse-textured granites 

the large feldspars crossing the various sculptural designs at all 

angles produce lines and reflections that interfere with the lights 

and shades produced by the sculptor's design, and thus mar their 

effect. The fine granites are well adapted to light structures and to 

fine sculpture, as is shown in the delicately carved granite flowers 

represented in PL IX, B. Some coarse granites, however, lend 

themselves well to coarse carvings, especially when these are to be 

placed in the higher parts of buildings. Then there is the matter 

of color and shade. There is large room for the exercise of artistic 

taste in deciding which colors and shade will best harmonize or 

contrast with one another in a granite structure or with the colors 

of other stones or materials in a composite structure. The rustcolored "sap" of Rockport has been used successfully for trimming 

in connection with the fresh gray granite of that place, on account 

of the resulting contrast (p. 125). There is also room for choice 

between different granites in ornamental work, because of the different amount of contrast between the polished, hammered, and 

rough surfaces of stones of different color and texture, although 

the polished surface is always darkest and the hammered lightest. 

The black granites and the quartz monzonites are obviously -best 

adapted for inscriptions where legibility" at a distance is the prime 

object, and also for all ornamental work in which more marked 

contrasts are desired than the ordinary granite can furnish. The 

black granites ure sometimes combined with ordinary granite of 

light shade in monumental work, the die being of black granite. 

Some granites are noted chiefly for their high polish and its durability, and are therefore in demand for columns and wainscoting.

ECONOMIC FACTORS IN GRANITE QUARRYING.

The factors upon which the successful operation of a granite 

quarry depends are various. The first are petrographical and geological. These include (1) the mineral composition and texture of 

the rock and its physical properties; (2) its structural features that 

is, the directions of the flow structure, rift, and grain, compressive 

strain, and contact surface with overlying or adjacent rocks of other 

kinds; (3) the character of the sheet structure, of the jointing, and 

of headings, dikes, and veins; (4) the size and number of inclusions
70 COMMEKCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., 1ST. Hv AND E.' I.

and " knots," and (5) the thickness of the rusty rims of sheet and 

joint surfaces. The ecdnomic importance of minute structural features, such as the great variation in its fissility, is exemplified in 

the range of the number -of paving blocks which equally skilled 

workmen can make of different granites in one day. Thus at Quincy 

a paver averages 75 blocks a day (size, 12 by 8 by 4 inches). In 

Maine the number is from 80 to 100 of New York size (11 to 14 by 

7 by 4 inches). At Milford, N. EL, the average number of Philadelphia size is 200, and at Redstone, N. H., 130 of New York size, 

which is from 33 to 50 per cent more than is usual in Maine. At 

Becket (Chester), Mass., the average is 150, size not stated. Another geological factor is the " stripping" or amount of surface 

material, sand, etc., to be removed from the granite surface. 

. Other factors, such as facilities for drainage and water supply, the 

location of the quarry with reference to transportation facilities by 

land and water, and the disposal of waste, are hydrographical and 

geographical.

Then there is the artificial factor: The equipment of machinery for 

pumping, drilling, hoisting, loading, and transfer to car or ship. In 

the larger quarries this includes air compressors and air drills and in 

places stone crushers for the utilization of waste.

But when all these factors are satisfactory, success will still largely 

depend upon the experience and judgment of the foreman or superintendent who directs the blasting and splitting. Without his intelligent control, suitable stone, favorable natural conditions, adequate 

capital, equipment, and labor are of little avail. The selection of 

the place for blasting, the size and shape of the hole, the selection 

of the powder, and the size of the charge are all matters requiring 

careful consideration. The thickness of the sheet, the proximity of 

joints, the vitreousness of the stone, its rift and grain structure, the 

physical laws governing 'the action of explosives, and the direction 

in which the quarryman desires to split the mass are all factors in 

each problem.

The principles of rock blasting are set forth mathematically in a 

recent book by Daw,0 and a general description of quarry methods 

will be found in a report by Walter B. Smith. 6

The practice of foremen in the thirty principal granite quarries of 

Maine, as explained by them to the writer, is described in Bulletin 

313, pages 69-71.

In visiting the quarries described in this bulletin a few notes on 

the use of explosives were made, which are here summarized.

a Daw, A. W. and Z. W., The blasting of rocks in mines, quarries, and tunnels, etc., pt. 1, London, 

1898.

b Methods of quarrying, cutting, and polishing granite: Mineral Industries; Eleventh Census, 1892, 

pp. (112-618; also Sixteenth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 4 (1894-5), pp. 446-456.
GENERAL ECONOMIC DISCUSSION. 71

Although the general practice in the Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island quarries is essentially the same as in the 

Maine quarries, yet in some localities, owing to different conditions 

of rift, grain, and strain, other modes prevail, as in the following 

quarries:

Becket (Chester] quarry. Blasting along a vertical grain, which is 

pronounced, with a free face and one free side is found to work 

successfully. . -

Milford, Mass., quarries. Blasting along a feeble grain or the 

hard way, but preferably along the former, with one free face and a 

free side.

Quincy quarries. Blasting along the grain parallel to the free face 

and with a channel on one side parallel to the rift.

Roclcport. (1) Blasting along the rift parallel to a free face and 

with one free side. But the lewis holes extend at least three-fourths 

of the distance from the free side to prevent the crack slanting to 

the face. (2) Blasting along the hard way parallel to the free face 

and with one free side. The crack slants away from the face, if at 

all. In one place 15 .contiguous knox holes 35 feet deep, along the 

rift, which dipped 75° to 80°, were blasted with a free face and one 

free side. By this means a block 125 by 60 by 40 feet deep was 

loosened.

Concord. Blasting along a north-south hard way parallel to a free 

face 30 feet long, with both ends tight; then channeling' along the 

east-west grain on one side, and blasting with knox holes on the 

other. The hard way blast proves effective, it is thought, because of 

a compressive northwest-southeast strain. In other places blasting 

along the grain with two free sides, or, if that is not practicable,, with 

one only.

Bedstone, N. H. Blasting along the grain, which is marked, with 

one free face and one free side.

Milford, N. Ii. Where rift and grain are feeble, blasting in any 

direction with a free face and one or no free side.

Westerly. Blasting along a north-south hard way parallel to a 

free face and with one free end, thus utilizing a strain which operates east-west in the direction of the grain. Very little powder is 

used in the fine-grained Westerly granites, owing to their delicacy.

A difference is found in blasting and splitting granite in winter and 

summer. A low temperature increases its cohesiveness, but, probably 

in connection with water, increases its fissility where the "rift" is 

feeble.

It is reported that in quarries in Finland the expansive power of 

freezing water is regularly used in splitting. This is in line with the 

ancient Egyptian use of the expansion of wet woody tissue. A
72 COMMEKCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND K. I.

method of blasting in.use in some of the English coal mines by means 

of the expansion of slaked lime may be susceptible of adaptation to 

the quarrying of the more delicate granites. 0

In this connection should be mentioned the method, recently 

adopted in the granite quarries of North Carolina, of developing an 

incipient sheet structure by the use of high explosives followed by 

the application of compressed air. (See footnote I, p. 28.)

METHOD OF DESCRIBING THE QUARRIES.

The quarries of the granite centers visited in Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, and Rhode Island will now be described. Those of each 

center will be prefaced with a brief reference to the general geology 

of the region and also with an outline of its typical granites. The 

particulars as to each quarry will be taken up in the following order:

1. Name and location of quarry; name and office address of 

operator.

2. The granite its trade and technical names, color, texture, and 

minerals; its mineral percentages estimated by the Rosiwal method 

as explained on page 66; its chemical composition and physical qualities as shown by any available analyses or tests. The words 

"coarse," "medium," and "fine," as applied to texture, are to be 

understood as in Bulletin 313, and as defined on page 14 of this 

bulletin: Coarse, having feldspars generally over two-fifths inch or 1 

centimeter; medium, having feldspars under that and over one-fifth 

inch or one-half centimeter; and fine, having feldspars under onefifth inch.

3. The quarry, with date of its opening and size.

4. The rock structure, comprising sheets, joints, headings their 

strike, dip, and thickness rift and grain, flow structure, dikes, veins, 

"knots," discoloration, and weathering. Where the structure is complex a diagram is given.

5. The plant, with the number of machines and air tools to show 

its capacity.

6. Transportation, including distance to dock or railroad and 

method of transport.

7. The product, its uses, with names and location of a few specimen 

buildings or monuments.

o See Mosley, Paget, On a new method of mining coal: Jour. Iron and Steel Institute, London, 

1882, pp. 53-62.
MASSACHUSETTS. 73

SPECIAL FEATURES.

DESCRIPTIONS OF THE GRANITES AND QUARRIES. 

MASSACHUSETTS.

Topography. Milford lies in the eastern half of Massachusetts, in 

Worcester County, .16£ miles southeast of Worcester. (See map, 

PI. I.) It is a region of low hillocks with northerly, northeasterly, 

and northwesterly trends. The quarries, as shown in fig. 6, lie between 

N. 10° W. and N. 45° E. of Milford. Two are in Hopkinton, in Middlesex County, and twelve in the town of Milford. All are between 

the 300 and 500 foot levels.

General geology. The granite of Milford has, under the name 

"Milford granite," been classified by Emerson and Perry as postCambrian.'1

They represent an area of it extending from Woonsocket, R. L, 

south to beyond the southern boundary of Providence County, a distance of about 21 miles. They have traced a diorite, in places a 

diorite schist, entirely around the granite of Milford, and regard it as 

a "basic differentiate of Milford granite." 6 By this term is intended 

a basic eruptive originating in the same source as the granite, but 

either succeeding or preceding the intrusion of the latter. If this, 

diorite preceded the granite it has no relation to the diorite dikes which 

traverse it. The fine-grained white quartzite (metamorphic sandstone) which crops out 3 miles north of Milford on the road to Hayden 

Row is regarded by these geologists as of Cambrian age and belonging 

to the "Grafton quartzite," of which there are several areas in Rhode 

Island along Blackstone River, also west of Providence. It is thus 

older than the granite.

Emerson and Perry describe "Milford granite" in these words:

A great granite area of a constant type that extends across Massachusetts and Rhode 

Island in the western part of the area here studied has been named by the writers from 

the well-known quarries in Milford, Mass. This is a compact, massive rock, somewhat 

above medium grain, and of light color. The light flesh color of the feldspar and the 

blue of the quartz give it in some places a slight pinkish tint, and it is now much used 

as a structiiral stone under the name "pink granite." Its two especially characteristic 

constitutents, constantly present, are blue quartz and a microcline microperthite, in 

which albite is always dusted with minute crystals of muscovite and epidote, especially 

centrally, while the microcline is free from these minerals. These perthitic bands of 

albite also generally extend out beyond the surface of the microcline, and cover it with 

a more or less continuous veneer. The rock also shows a fine micrographic structure in 

contact with quartz. The feldspars project idiomorphically into large fields of quartz, 

which seem to have been single grains, but are now somewhat cracked. Most of this 

quartz is blue, and this color appears also in the contact zones and even in the second-

<» Emerson, B. K., and Perry, J. H., The green schists and associated granites and porphyries of 

Rhode Island: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 311,1907, PI. 1. 

t> Personal letter from Professor Emerson dated May 1,1907.
74 COMMEKCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND B. I.

ary quartz that is found in fragments of schist which are inclosed in the granite and 

which have been greatly altered by it. The fractured grains of quartz show with

7I°30'

Contoxu? interval 20 feet

Quarry site

FIG. 6. Map of Milford, Mass., showing locations of granite quarries. 1, Maguire quarry, Norcross 

Milford Pink Granite Company. 2, Echo Lake quarry, same company. 3, Hopkinton quarry, Massachusetts Pink Granite Company. 4, Cutting quarry (Milford Stone Company, in 1906). 5, Massachusetts Pink quarry, Massachusetts Pink Granite Company. 6, North Milford quarry, North 

Milford Granite Company. 7, Quarry No. 8, Webb Pink Granite Company. 8, Quarry No. 7, Webb 

Pink Granite Company. 9, Quarry No. 5, Webb Pink Granite Company. 10, Quarry No. 3, Webb 

Pink Granite Company. 11, Quarry No. 4, Webb Pink Granite Company. 12, West quarry (Milford Stone Company, in 1906). 13, East quarry (Milford Stone Company, in 1906). 14, Norcross 

quarry (Milford Stone Company, in 1906).

polarized light the strongest undulatory extinction, which indicates a state of strain 

that has probably produced the blue color. The biotite is in small amount, and is
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 354 PL. I

10 o 10 20 30 40 50 miles

MAP OF PART OF NEW ENGLAND, SHOWING GRANITE CENTERS DESCRIBED.
MASSACHUSETTS. 75

here and there associated with epidote grains. In specimens of granite taken at the 

quarries at Graniteville it is evenly distributed or gathered in small blotches, as in 

the Milford type, and the rock in these quarries can hardly be distinguished from the 

Milford granite. In the northwest portion of the area, near Woonsocket, the biotite 

occurs in distant, interrupted, rudely parallel films, as in the rock at the Fayville 

quarries north of Milford. a

Description of Milford, Mass., granite. The following epitomizes 

the descriptions of rough and polished specimens and thin sections of 

granite given beyond. Analyses and tests are also summarized. Milford granite is a biotite granite. Its general color ranges from a light 

gray or light pinkish gray to a medium slightly pinkish or pinkish and 

greenish gray, but always with spots rich in black mica from 0.2 to 0.5 

inch across and in some cases tapering out to an inch in length.

Its texture varies from medium to coarse, not porphyritic; but, 

owing primarily to a marked flow structure and secondarily to compression, there is some alignment of particles, giving the stone a 

slightly gneissoid appearance. The feldspar, quartz, and biotite are 

 each apt to form continuous lenticular areas up to an inch in length. 

On the polished face the quartz is seen to be finely granular. The 

general appearance of the stone varies according to the relation of the 

direction of the cut face to that of the flow structure. Whenever the 

plates of black mica, which lie with their major axes in the plane of 

the flow structure, coincide with the face of the stone, it will show 

much larger black spots than when the face intersects that plane at 

right angles.

Its constituent minerals, in descending order of abundance, are 

(1) a more or less delicate pink, rarely cream-colored, potash feldspar 

(orthoclase and microcline), minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar and in places somewhat kaolinized; (2) faintly blue quartz fractured into particles up to 1.75 millimeters, in some specimens not over 

0.75, showing some arrangement of cavities in sheets and in places 

with hair-like crystals presumably of rutile; (3) a slight yellowish 

green to milk white, rarely clear, striated soda-jime feldspar (albite 

to oligoclase-albite). When this feldspar is not clear it abounds in 

minute crystals and particles of epidote and zoisite, scales of white 

mica, and some chlorite and kaolin. The last constituent is biotite 

(black mica), some of it chloritized and associated with epidote. The 

accessory minerals are garnet, pyrite, magnetite, ilmenite, zircon, 

allanite, 6 usually rimmed with epidote, and apatite. The secondary 

minerals are kaolin, white mica, epidote, zoisite, calcite (usually in 

the soda-lime feldspars), titanite (about probable ilmenite in biotite), 

and hematite. There is some radiate intergrowth of quartz and 

feldspar.

a Op. cit., pp. 45, 46. 

j See glossary.
76 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS./N. H., AND R. I.

The color of the stone is governed mainly by its feldspars, pink from, 

the potash and green from the soda-lime feldspar. These are but very 

slightly modified by the pale-bluish tinge of the quartz.

The somewhat gneissoid arrangement of the minerals, giving the 

feldspar and quartz particles uncertain boundaries in the direction of 

the flow, prevents the accurate application of the Rosiwal method/ 

which provides that no one particle should be crossed more than once 

by lines parallel. A specimen from quarry No. 8 of the Webb Pink 

Granite Company, in which there is little if any flow structure, contained the following percentages:

. Estimated mineral percentages in Milford, Mass., pink, even-grained granite.

Feldspar...........................:..................................... 55.91

Quartz.. ............................................................... 35. 66

Biotite.................................................................. 8.43

100. 00

Five tests on three specimens of the more gneissoid granite showed 

the following ranges:

. Estimated mineral percentages in Milford, Mass, pink gneissoid granite.

Feldspar...... ...I.................................................... 49.92-70. 83

Quartz.............................................................. 23.04-41.08

Biotite............................................................. 4.72-11, 29

These variations are due partly to the very different proportion of 

biotite on the different faces of the rock, as already explained.

Three complete analyses of this granite, made by L. P. Kinnicutt 

and R. H. Richards, are given under the respective quarries. They 

show these extremes:

Extremes of analyses of Milford, Mass., granite.

Si02 (silica)......................................................... 72.02-77.08

A1203 (alumina)..................'.........................:........ 12.54-14.43

FeO (iron oxide).................................................... .52- .95

Fe203 (iron sesquioxide).............................................. . 00- 1. 25

MnO (manganese oxide).............................................. . 24- . 33

CaO (lime)..........................:.............................. . 75- 1.18

MgO (magnesia)..:................................................... Trace- . 01

K20 (potash)....................................................... 4.99- 5.41

Na-jO (soda)....................................\.................... 3. 64- 5. 85

The following analysis of the granite from one of the Norcross 

Brothers quarries was made by Prof. C. F. Chandler, of Columbia 

University: 6

« See for details p. GO.

b Day, Win. C., 29th Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. G, continued, 1898, p. 221.
MASSACHUSETTS. 77

Analysis of Mil/ord, Mass., granite.

Si02 (silica)............................................................... 76.07

A1203 (alumina).......................................................... 12.67

Fe203 (iron sesquioxide)................................................... 2.00

MnO (manganese oxide) .............................. ....'.................. .03

CaO (lime)............................................................... .85

^MgO (magnesia)............................................................. .10

K20 (potash)............................................................. 4.71

Na20 (soda)............................................................... 3.37

 99.80

Mr. E. C. Sullivan, a chemist of the United States Geological 

Survey, extracted, by means of hot dilute acetic acid, 0.06 per cent 

of CaO (lime) from an average specimen from the Cutting quarry. 

This lime was thus present in the form of CaC03 or calcite (lime carbonate) to the extent of 0.107 per cent, its presence being recognizable also under the microscope. It probably was formed from the 

decomposition of the lime-soda feldspar.

Six crushing tests made at the United States arsenal at Watertown 

show an ultimate strength of 20,000 to 29,200 pounds per square 

inch for Milford granite.

Those sections of the stone in which mica is least abundant take 

a good polish, but the others are not likely to preserve their polish in 

prolonged outdoor exposure. The scarcity of pyrite and magnetite 

on the polished face is very noticeable.

Geology of Milford, Mass., quarries. The diorite schist dikes which 

traverse this granite have already been described on page 59, and 

the probable connection between the development of schistosity in 

these dikes and the stress which granulated the quartz of the granite 

has been pointed out. There are also dikes of aplite from half an 

inch to 4 feet thick, some of it a quartz monzonite in composition, 

and dikes of porphyritic granite with N. 10° and 35° E. and N. 20° W. 

courses. Some of these contain elliptical biotitic segregations (or 

inclusions ?).

The flow structure strikes N. 10°, 35°, 40°, 45° W. and N. 77° E., 

dipping from 40° E. to 90°. In places it is nearly horizontal.

There are inclusions of biotite gneiss or mica diorite from a few 

inches to 2, feet thick, showing that this rock overlay or adjoined 

the granite at the time of its intrusion.

The rift is reported as everywhere horizontal and the grain as 

vertical with a N. 40° E. to an east-west direction. Rift and plane 

of flow structure are in places nearly parallel.

; Sheets from 6 inches to 18 feet thick are generally irregular or 

undulate horizontally with inclinations up to 20°.

As will be seen from the quarry diagrams, there is a wide range in 

the joint courses. They are N., N. 10°, 20°-25°, 45°, 50°, 60° E.,
78 COMMEBCIAL GEANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND E. I.

and N. 60°, 70°, 80° W. Those occurring at the largest number of 

quarries are N. to N. 10° E., N. 45°-60° E., and N. 55°~70° W. The 

filling of a parted joint with calcite probably derived from once overlying calcareous rocks has been noted on page 61.

TTie Milford, Mass., quarries. The Cutting quarry is in Milford 

Township, 3 miles N. 5° E. of Milford and half a mile south of Echo. 

Lake (fig. 6). Operator in 1906: Milford Stone Company, Milford, 

Mass. a

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 13, a, b, c) is a biotite granite 

of light-gray shade, with a very slight pinkish tinge and conspicuous 

black spots. Its texture is somewhat gneissoid, medium to coarse, 

with particles up to about 0.5 inch. In faces cut parallel to the 

plane of flow structure the black spots measure fully 0.5 inch, but 

when cut in the transverse direction about 0.3 inch. The quartz 

areas are always granular, the particles up to 1 millimeter in diamter and exceptionally 1.5 millimeters. The rock consists of the following minerals, in descending order of abundance: A very delicate 

pink potash feldspar (orthoclase and microcline, both with minutely 

intergrown soda-lime feldspar); quartz with minute cavities arranged in sheets, appearing colorless in isolated particles, but in the 

aggregate having a very pale bluish tinge; a milk-white to palegreenish striated lime-soda feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite), 

usually crowded with particles and crystals of epidote and zoisite 

from 0.0094 to 0.076 millimeter in length; biotite (black mica), 

some of it altered to chlorite and associated with epidote. Both 

feldspars are somewhat kaolinized,- particularly the soda lime. 

The accessory minerals are: Garnet, rare pyrite and magnetite, titanite, zircon, allanite crystals up to 1 millimeter long, coated with 

epidote, and apatite. The secondary minerals are: Kaolin, epidote, 

zoisite, chlorite, calcite, and hematite.

An estimate of the mineral percentages with half-inch mesh and 

total linear length of 45.5 inches yields:

Estimated mineral percentages in Milford, Mass., pink granite from Cutting quarry.

Feldspars................................................................... 65.67

Quartz.....................'.................................,............ 23.04

Biotite. ..................................... ^.:..............-...:....... 11.29

100.00

The following analysis was made by Leonard P. Kinnicut, of the 

Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in 1898, and is given here for 

reference. - ,

a This company went out of existence with the completion of its contract for the Pennsylvania Railroad terminal station in New York, and on January 1, 1907, all the quarries here reported as operated 

by this company passed into the hands of Ralph A. Stewart, Sears Building, Boston, as receiver, and 

became idle pending the issue of complex litigation.
MASSACHUSETTS. 79

Analysis of granite from the Cutting quarry, Milford, Mass.

Si02 (silica).............................................................. 77.08

A1203 (alumina)........................................................... 12.54

FeO (iron oxide)..........-............................................... .95

CaO (lime).............................................................. .75

MgO (magnesia)........................................................... .01

K20 (potash)............................................................. 4.99

Na20 (soda).............................................................. 3.64

- 99.96

Mr. E. C. Sullivan, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, 

extracted 0.06 per cent of CaO (lime) from this granite by hot dilute 

acetic acid. This indicates the presence of 0.107 per cent of CaC03 

(lime carbonate) or calcite, the presence of which mineral is shown 

in thin sections.

Two tests made at the United States arsenal at Watertown, Mass., 

in 1898, give it an ultimate strength of 25,252 and 27,226 pounds 

per square inch. The

quarry, opened before N 

1889, measures about 

500 feet north-northwest to south-southeast by 150 feet eastwest, and from 20 to 

50 feet deep.

The sheets are from 

6 inches to 18 feet 

thick and are horizontal but irregular in 

places. The rift is reported as horizontal, 

and the grain as vertical. The peculiar mica diorite schist dike on the west side is described on page 59. Aplite dikes are 5 inches to 2 feet thick. 

The courses of joints, flow structure, dikes, and grain are shown 

in fig. 7.

Heading A dips 70° east, and joint B, occurring only at the north 

end, dips 65° south-southeast. Bands of more biotitic granite with 

groups of black elliptical schistose knots or inclusions indicate the 

direction of flow. In thin section these show particles all under 0.1 

inch, mostly biotite, next a plagioclase much altered to epidote and 

zoisite, and lastly quartz. Garnets in roundish grains are also present. 

Rusty discoloration along the sheets is from 6 to 12 inches thick.

The plant at the quarry consists of 5 derricks, 5 hoisting engines, 3 

steam drills, 4 steam pumps, and 1 locomotive; at the cutting shed 

there are 2 compressors (capacity 1,300 and 290 cubic feet of air per

FIG. 7. Structure at Cutting quarry, Milford, Mass.
80 COMMEKCIAL GKANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND K. I.

minute), 12 surfacers, 30 air plug drills, 113 air hand drills, 2 vertical 

polishers, 1 polishing lathe for columns of indefinite length and 40 

inches diameter, 1 revolving saw for dentals, 7 derricks, 5 hoisting 

engines, and a 20-ton overhead crane.

Transportation is effected by a siding from the New York, New 

Haven and Hartford Railroad and a track from quarry to cutting 

shed.

The product is used mainly for buildings. Specimen structures 

are the bank building, Newton, Mass.; the Washington-Georgetown 

street railway depot at Georgetown, D. C.; the New York State 

monument on Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tenn., which consists of a shaft 6 feet in diameter and 50 feet high made in sections. 

This quarry furnished part of the base and all the lantern for the 

Pennsylvania Railroad terminal station at New York.

Eighty-four 31-foot sectional granite columns for the Pennsylvania Railroad station at New York were finished at the cutting shed 

of this quarry, but the granite blocks for them came from the other 

Milford quarries operated by this company. Each column is made in 

four or five sections the blocks for which are first roughly hewn by air 

plug drills and then* centered, attached to an iron pivot at each end, 

and put in short improvised, lathes. After cutting a narrow circular 

edge by hand on each side two or more sides are first made flat by 

. surfacers, and the sectional column is revolved on its pivot by hand 

aiid bars while the rest of the work is done by surfacers. In making 

the dentals sets of circular steel saws with rectangular teeth are used 

in connection with chilled iron shot to make vertical incisions in the 

granite block at the required intervals, and the rest is done by hand.

TTie East quarry is in Milford Township, If miles northeast of 

Milford (fig. 6). Operator in 1906: Milford Stone Company, Milford, 

Mass."

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 14, d, e, g, h) is a biotite granite 

of light pinkish gray color with more or less conspicuous black spots. 

The general color is more pinkish than that of the Cutting quarry. 

Its texture is somewhat gneissoid, medium to coarse. Feldspar and 

mica measure up to 0.5 inch but the feldspar individuals merge into 

lenses an inch long, as do also the quartz and biotite. The length 

and width of the biotite spots in any surface depends upon whether 

that surface is parallel to the plane of the flow structure or to its 

side, or crosses it. The quartz areas are always granular, with particles up to 1.75 millimeters across. The rock consists of these minerals 

in descending order of abundance: A light-pink potash feldspar 

(microcline and orthoclase) with some intergrown soda-lime feldspar, 

slightly kaolinized; quartz (with minute cavities arranged in sheets), 

which in the aggregate has a very pale bluish tinge; a milk-white

a gee footnote, p. 78.
MASSACHUSETTS. 81

to light-greenish striated soda-lime feldspar (albite to oligoclasealbite), partly kaolinized and crowded with minute particles and 

crystals of epidote and zoisite with a few scales of white mica and 

rarely calcite; biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized, rarely 

containing ilmenite, with a rim of leucoxene. The accessory minerals are: Garnet, apatite, magnetite and pyrite (rare), ilmenite, 

zircon, and allanite (up to 0.6 mm.)', rimmed with epidote. The 

secondary are: Kaolin, a white mica, epidote, zoisite, leucoxene, 

chlorite, and calcite. The merging of the particles by the gneissoid 

structure vitiates somewhat the application of the Rosiwal method 

of estimating the mineral percentages, and the great variation in 

the amount of biotite on different specimens also "affects the results. 

Four tests on two specimens with meshes 0.5 inch and a total linear 

length of 28.8 inches yielded these results:

Estimated mineral percentages in Milford, Mass., gneissoid granite from the East quarry.

Biotite. .......................................................

49.92

41.08

9.00

100. 00

58.47

35.08

fi dt;

100.00

68.22

26.92

4 86

100.00

7C\ fc3

4 79

100.00

The following analysis of this granite, made for the company by 

Prof. K. H. Richards at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 

is given here for reference:

Analysis of Milford, Mass., granite from the East quarry.

Si02 (silica)..............................:............................... 72.02

A1203 (alumina).......................................................... 14.43

FeO (iron oxide)......................................................... .89

Fe203 (iron sesquioxide)................................................... 1. 25

MnO (manganous oxide)................................................... .33

CaO (lime)..............'.'................................................. 1.18

MgO (magnesia)........................................................... Trace.

K20 (potash)................................................................ 5.41

Na20 '(soda)............................................................... 5.85

Loss in ignition........................................................... .35

The durability of the polished face on outdoor exposure will vary 

according to the size and number of the biotite particles.

The quarry is about 100 feet from north to south, by 300 feet from 

east to west, and from 40 to 80 feet deep.

The chief structural feature is a vertical granite dike 4 feet thick 

crossing the quarry diagonally. It is a biotite granite, medium to 

dark greenish to gray in color with pinkish spots. Its texture is 

fine to medium, with porphyritic feldspars up to 0.6 inch, and exceptionally to 1.3 inches in length. The matrix consists largely of 

greenish soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite) partly kaolinized and 

epidotized, a slightly bluish granular quartz, the colors of these two 

50193 Bull. 354 08 6
82 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

minerals giving the rock a general bluish-green tinge, and biotite 

(black mica). The large pink crystals are potash feldspar (orthoclase with minutely intergrown soda-lime feldspar, also microcline). 

There is also some potash feldspar in the groundmass. The accessory minerals are: Garnet, apatite (fairly abundant), zircon, and 

allanite. The secondary minerals are: Kaolin, muscovite, chlorite, 

epidote, zoisite, and calcite. This dike contains black segregations 

(inclusions?), mainly of biotite with slightly bluish quartz and epidote. 

The granite has a flow structure marked by darker bands striking 

N. 10° W. and dipping 40° E. The granite also contains irregular 

inclusions, from 1 to 2 feet in diameter, of a dark gray and black 

banded, very fine "grained, somewhat schistose mica diorite (quartz, 

biotite, and plagioclase, with pyrite, magnetite, and epidote). The 

rift is reported as horizontal and the grain as vertical. The sheets, 

from 1 to 15 feet thick, dip 10°-15° SSW. The courses of dike,

FIG. 8. Structure at East quarry, Milford, Mass.

flow, grain, and joints are shown in fig. 8. Joints A dip 80° E. and 

recur at intervals of 100 to 200 feet. Joints B dip 45°-50° SSW., 

and are spaced 3 feet and over; joints C dip 45° N.; joint D, one 

only, dips 60° NW.; joints E dip 45° W. The face of joints A on 

the west wall is coated with a mass of minutely brecciated granite If 

inches thick, cemented with calcite, chlorite, fibrous muscovite, and 

limonite. Joints E are slickensided horizontally. Ferruginous discoloration occurs along the sheets from 6 inches to 2 feet thick.

The plant consists of 10 derricks and 10 hoisting engines, a locomotive crane, a locomotive, an air compressor (capacity 1,900 cubic 

feet of air per minute), 16 surfacers, 8 large air rock drills, 40 air 

plug drills, 30 air hand tools, 2 saws for 13-foot granite blocks, a 

revolving saw for dentals, 2 polishing lathes for columns 25 by 4 

feet, 5 vertical polishers, and 2 steam pumps.

Transportation is effected by a siding from the Boston and Albany 

Railroad.
MASSACHUSETTS. 83

The product is used for buildings and monuments. Specimen 

structures: Hanover National Bank, New York; the entire Boston 

Public Library, and the Public Library, Columbus, Ohio. In 1906 

this quarry was furnishing part of the stone for the basement of the 

new National Museum at Washington, and also part of that for the 

Pennsylvania Railroad terminal at New York. PI. VII, B, shows the 

storage yard of the blocks for this structure from this and other 

Milford quarries, and illustrates the mode of handling large contracts.

The Norcross quarry is in Milford township, nearly 2 miles northeast of Milford and about one-fourth mile east of the East quarry. 

(See fig. 6.) Operator, Milford Stone Company."

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 15, a) is a biotite granite of 

light pinkish-gray color with more or less conspicuous black spots. 

The general color is like that of the East quarry described on page 80, 

but is marked by light blood-reddish stains not over 0.25 inch across 

and an inch or two apart. Its texture is like that of the East quarry. 

The quartz grains measure up to 1.1 millimeters. Its constituents 

are also the same, but with the additiono of red hematitic stains, which 

originate presumably in the oxidation of magnetite particles.

The quarry measures 175 feet from northeast to southwest, by 

100 feet from northwest to southeast, and about 70 feet in depth.

The sheets, which are up to about 15 feet thick, have a low northerly dip. Joints, striking about northeast and dipping over 50° 

northwest, form the northwest and southeast walls. Another'set 

with a similar strike dips 30°-45° SE., and is spaced 3 to 10 feet. 

A third set strikes about north or diagonally to quarry, and appears 

on the southwest wall. The rift is reported as better than at some 

of the other Milford quarries. Rusty stain, 'measuring up to 2 feet, 

appears on the east side of the quarry.

The plant consists of 9 derricks, 6 hoisting engines, a locomotive 

crane, an overhead electric crane (capacity, 25 tons), an air compressor (capacity, 550 cubic feet of air per minute), a large air drill, 

15 air plug drills, 40 air hand tools, 3 surfacers, a circular saw for 

dentals, 3 polishing lathes (2 for stones 20 by 1\ feet, 1 for stones 

30 by 4 feet), 4 vertical polishers, a steam pump, and a stone crusher 

with a capacity of 80 tons in ten hours.

Tlie West quarry is in Milford township, If miles north-northeast of 

Milford. Operator in 1906, Milford Stone Company, Milford, Mass/'

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 16, a, b) is a biotite granite 

of light pinkish gray color, like that of the Cutting quarry (p. 78), 

but with more conspicuous greenish feldspars and much smaller 

black mica spots. Its texture is medium to coarse, and is evengrained, with very little if any gneissoid structure. The feldspars 

measure up to 0.5 inch, the black mica to 0.3, rarely 0.4, and the

« See footnote, p. 78.
84 COMMERCIAL' GRANITES OF MASS. ; N. H.; AND R. 1.

quartz is granular. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: A delicate pink potash feldspar (orthoclase and microcline, 

both inclosing large particles of soda-lime feldspar); quartz with 

some cavities in sheets, clear not bluish; a milk-white to lightgreenish soda-lime feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite), partly 

kaolinized and epidotized, also with some white mica and calcite; 

biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized. The accessory minerals 

are: Garnet, magnetite, pyrite; the secondary: Kaolin, -a white 

mica, epidote, zoisite, and calcite.

A partial analysis, leaving out potash and soda, made for the company by Prof. R. H. Richards, of the Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology, is given here for reference:

Partial analysis of Milford, Mass.. granite from West quarry.

Si02 (silica).............................................................. 75.77

ALj03 (alumina).. ....................................................... 13. 59

FeO (iron oxide)........................................................... .52

Fe203 (iron sesquioxide).................................................. 1.14

MnO (manganese oxide)................................................... .24

CaO (lime).....:...............'...'....................................... .94

MgO (magnesia).................................,......................... Trace.

Loss on ignition.................................................... 1...... .49

92.69

The quarry, opened about 1887,.measures about 300 feet by 175 

feet and is 40 feet in depth.

There are on the east side conspicuous vertical dikes of mediumgray, fine-grained quartz monzonite, from 0.5 inch to 2 feet thick, 

striking N. 20° W., which occur at intervals of 20 to 100 feet. This 

consists of clear potash "feldspar and cloudy light-gray soda-lime feldspar in almost equal amounts, the latter kaolimzed, micacized, and 

altered to epidote and zoisite; quartz, with hairlike crystals of rutile 

and cavities; biotite, some of it altered to chlorite. Acessory minerals: Garnet, etc. Secondary minerals: Kaolin, a white mica, 

epidote, zoisite, chlorite, and calcite. There are two. schist dikes 

already described on page 59. One on the north wall, 2 feet thick, 

strikes N. 65°-70° W., and dips 65° north-northeast;"another, farther 

south, 20 inches thick, strikes about northwest and is vertical. The 

sheets, from 2 to 15 feet thick, are nearly horizontal at the north end of 

the quarry, but dip 15°-20° at the. south end. The sheets become 

irregular at the bottom. Vertical joints strike N. to N. 10° E., are 

spaced 10 to 100 feet, and form a heading on west side. One at the 

north end strikes N. 60° W. and dips curving 45°-50° southwest.

The plant consists of 6 derricks, 6 hoisting engines, a locomotive 

crane, a 50-horsepower engine, an air compressor (capacity, 900 cubic 

feet of air per minute), 5 surfacers, 8 air plug drills, 12 air hand tools, a 

saw for 14-foot blocks, and'2 steam pumps.
MASSACHUSETTS. 85

Transportation is effected by a half-mile track to the New York, 

New Haven, and Hartford Railroad.

This quarry furnished the stone for the Bo.wenville station, at Fall 

River, Mass.; the John'Hancock Insurance Company building, on 

Federal street, Boston; the Rhode Island Hospital Trust building, on 

Westminster street,-Providence; the Twelfth street station of the Illinois Central Railroad at Chicago, and the base and die of theMcKinley 

monumeijt at Toledo, Ohio. In 1906 it was supplying part of the 

stone for the Pennsylvania Railroad terminal at New York and the 

basement of the National Museum at Washington.

This quarry is regarded as nearly worked out, owing to imperfect 

sheet structure at the bottom.

The Massachusetts Pinlc quarry is in Milford township, 2$ miles 

north of Milford, at the north end of a low north-south ridge. (See 

fig. 6.) Operator, the Massachusetts Pink Granite Company, Milford,

Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 21, b) is a biotite granite of 

light-gray shade with a very slight pinkish tinge and conspicuous 

black.spots. Its texture is somewhat .gneissoid, medium to coarse, 

in other respects and in mineral composition closely resembling the 

stone of'the Cutting quarry, described on page 78.

The quarry, opened in 1902, is 300 feet from east to west by 200 feet 

across and. from 1.0 to 35 feet deep.

 A schist dike 2 feet thick on the west side, striking N. 3° W. and 

dipping 55° E., has already been mentioned on page 59. The sheets, 

from 4 to 25 feet thick, dip low east. There are 3 sets of joints: Set A 

strikes N. 35° W.,"dips 65° E., and is spaced 100 feet; set B strikes 

N. 55°-60° E., dips 90°, and is spaced 30 feet; set C strikes N. 55° W. 

and dips 40° W. The rift is reported as horizontal, and the grain as 

vertical from east to west. Rusty discoloration is up to 3 inches 

thick on the lower sheets.

The plant consists, at the quarry, of 3 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, 

2 steam drills, an air compressor (capacity, 130 cubic feet of air per 

minute), 4 air plug drills, a saw for stories 12 feet long, and 2 steam 

pumps. At the cutting shed there are 1 derrick, 1 hoisting engine, 

a locomotive crane, an air compressor (capacity, 314 cubic feet of air 

per minute), 4 surf acers, and 20 air hand tools.

Transportation is effected by a cartage of 3 miles to cutting shed at 

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad track.

The product is used for buildings, bridges, and mausoleums. 

Specimens: Bridge over Bronx River in Bronx Park, New York; 

Rochester Safe Deposit and Trust Company building, Rochester, N. Y.; 

Bloomingdale mausoleum in Greenwood Cemetery, N. Y. In 1906 

this company was executing a contract for the McKinley national 

memorial at Canton, Ohio.
86 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

The Hopkinton quarry is in Hopkinton, Middlesex County, Mass., a 

mile south of Hayden Row and about 3| miles north-northeast of 

Milford. Operator, the Massachusetts Pink Granite Company, Milford, Mass. This is a small opening near the company's cutting shed, 

not worked in 1906.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 22, a) is a biotite granite of 

medium slightly pinkish gray color with fine black specks. Its texture is even-grained, medium, with feldspars generally up to 0.4 inch 

and mica to 0.2 inch. It is thus pinker and finer grained than that of 

the Massachusetts Pink quarry. Its constituent minerals, in descending order of abundance, are: A pinkish potash feldspar (orthoclase 

and microcline), inclosing particles of soda-lime feldspar and slightly 

kaolinized; faint rose-colored granular quartz in particles up to 

1.37 millimeters; a grayish . or greenish-gray soda-lime feldspar 

(albite to oligoclase-albite), a little kaolinized and epidotized with 

some white mica; biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized. Accessory minerals are: Garnet, magnetite, apatite, zircon, and allanite 

(bordered with epidote). Secondary minerals: Kaolin, epidote, 

zoisite, chlorite, and a white mica.

The quarry is 50 feet square and 25 feet deep.

The Bishop mausoleum in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, at Tarrytown, 

N. Y., is made of this stone.

The Maguire Quarry a is in Hopkinton, one-half mile west of Echo Lake 

and 3| miles N. 5° W. of Milford. (See fig. 6.) Operator, Norcross Milford Pink Granite Company, Milford, Mass.

The granite is a biotite granite of light-gray shade with a very 

slight pinkish tinge and conspicuous black spots. In texture and constituents it is reported as corresponding to the stone of the Cutting 

quarry described on page 78.

The quarry, opened in November, 1906, measures 300 .by 100 feet 

and up to 15 feet in depth.

The sheets are reported as dipping about 20° northeast.

The plant consists of 2 derricks, 2 hoisting engines, and 2 steam 

drills.

Transportation involves cartage of 1 mile to the cutting shed on a 

railroad siding.

In 1906-7 this quarry was engaged in finishing, work on the Pennsylvania "terminal concourse" in New York.

The Echo Lake quarry b is in Milford township near the Hopkinton 

line and Echo Lake, 3J miles N. 5° E. from Milford. (See fig. 6.) 

Operator, Norcross Milford Pink Granite Company, Milford, Mass.

«The data for this quarry were obtained in writing from Mr. F. A. Whipple, the superintendent, 

as the quarry was opened after the writer's visit to Milford.

'> The data for this quarry were obtained in writing from Mr. F. A. Whipple, the superintendent, as 

the quarry was opened after the writer's visit to Milford.
MASSACHUSETTS. ' 87

The granite is a biotite granite of light gray shade, with slight pinkish tinge, reported as a little more pinkish than that of the Cutting 

quarry described on page 78. .

The quarry, opened in October, 1906, measures 60 by 40 feet and up 

to 20 feet in depth.

The sheets are reported as dipping about 20° west, but as irregular, 

making this a "bowlder quarry" A "soft heading," that is a schist 

dike like that at the Cutting quarry, described on page 59, is reported 

as-forming the west side of quarry with a north-northwest strike. 

' The plant consists of a derrick and hoisting engine and a steam 

pump.

Transportation involves cartage of 1 mile to the cutting shed which 

is on a railroad siding.

In 1906-7 the quarry was furnishing material for the completion of 

the Pennsylvania " terminal concourse" in New York.

The North Milford quarry is in Milford township, 2£ miles about 

N. 7° W. from Milford and one-third mile southwest of the Massachusetts 

Pink quarry. (See fig. 6.) Operator, North Milford Granite Company, 

116 Purchase street, Milford, Mass.

The granite is a biotite granite of light gray shade with a very 

slight pinkish tinge and conspicuous black spots. In texture and 

constituents it is identical with the stone of the Cutting quarry 

described on page 78.

The quarry, opened in 1905, is 100 feet square and averages 5 feet 

in depth.

Owing to the irregularity of sheets this is a bowlder quarry. Vertical joints strike N. 80° E. and N. 25° E. The rift is reported as horizontal and the grain as vertical with N. 80° E. course.

The plant consists of 2 small derricks and 2 hoisting engines.

Transportation is by cartage 2£ miles to the New York, New Haven, 

and Hartford and the Boston and Albany railroads.

The product is used for construction only. Specimen buildings: 

The granite part of Redmoncl Bank building, 31 Pine street, and the 

trimmings for tenements of Homes Suburban Company, One hundred 

and fifty-sixth street, New York. Contract in 1906: The trimmings 

for the residence of Hennen Jennings, northeast corner of Massachusetts avenue and Sheridan Circle, Washington, D. C.

The Carroll quarry is in Milford township, If miles north of Milford 

and one-half mile north-northwest of Cedar Swamp pond. (See fig. 6.) 

Operator, Webb Pink Granite Company, office, 40 Crescent street, 

Worcester, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 18, b) is a biotite granite of lightgray shade with conspicuous black spots. This is the whitest of the 

Milford granites. Its texture is somewhat gneissoid medium to
88 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. T.

coarse, with feldspars and mica up to 0.5 inch across and with finely 

granular quartz. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, 

are: A cream-colored to.palest pink potash feldspar (orthoclase and 

microcline), with minutely intergrown soda-lime feldspar and slightly 

kaolinized; clear, not bluish, quartz in grains up to 0.5 mmillimeter, 

and with cavities some of which are in sheets; clear to cloudy, some 

very pale greenish, soda-lime feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite), not 

a little kaolinized and epidotized; biotite (black mica), some of it 

chloritized. Accessory minerals are: Garnets (minute and usually in. 

rows), apatite, fluorite, allanite (rimmed with epidote), and zircon: 

Magnetite and pyrite not observed. Secondary minerals are: 

Kaolin, epidote, zoisite, chlorite, calcite, white mica.

The following analysis of this granite, made for the company by 

Robert C. Sweetzer, of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in 1905 is 

given here for reference:

Analysis of Milford, Mass., granite from the Carroll quarry.

Si02 (silica)............................................................. 76.52

A2103 (alumina).......................................................... 12. 21

FeO (iron oxide):........................................................ 2. 66

CaO (lime)............................................................... .79

MgO (magnesia) ........................................................... .13

K20 (potash)............................................................ 4.68

Na^O (soda)............................................................. 2. 86

H20 (water). ......................'...................................... .41

100.26 

Specific gravity 2.633.

The quarry, opened in 1905, measures about 500 by 200 feet and 

up to 30 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 15 feet thick, undulate horizontally. 

The rift is reported as horizontal and the grain as vertical, with N, 65° 

E. course. Joints A strike N. 60° W., dip 90° and are spaced 10 to 

60 feet. Joints B strike N. 20° E., dip 90°, and form headings at the 

northwest and southeast sides and in the middle. Joints C strike 

N. 80° W. and dip 45° south, of which one is in the middle and another 

25 feet east of it. There is a quartz vein up to 0.1 inch wide, with a 

N. 10° E. course. Rusty discoloration is 2 inches thick on sheet 

surfaces.

The plant, which includes that of Webb quarry No. 8 and the 

cutting machinery for the product of both, consists of 8 derricks, 

6 hoisting engines, 6 locomotive cranes, 2 overhead cranes (capacity 

20 tons each),-2 air compressors (capacity, 1,200 and 1,800 cubic feet 

of air per minute), 2 large air drills, 55 air plug drills, "84 air hand 

tools, 8 surfacers, and an air-driven pump. There is also a 200 

kilowatt direct-current generator for operating the railroad and cranes.
MASSACHUSETTS. 89

Specimen structures: The Commercial National Bank, Chicago, 

and the John Hancock Building No. 2, in Boston, were built partly 

of stone from this quarry and partly from that of Webb quarry No. 8.

The Webb quarry .No. 2 is in Milford township, 2 miles north of 

Milford. (See fig. 6.) Operator, Webb Pink Granite Company, 

office, 40 Crescent street, Worcester, Mass.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 17, a, b) is a biotite granite of 

medium pinkish and greenish-gray color with black spots which are 

not as conspicuous as those of the Carroll or Cutting quarry stone. 

Its texture is even-grained, medium, with feldspars up to 0.4 and 

mica up to 0.2 inch in diameter, and finely granular quartz. Its constituents, arranged in descending order of abundance, are: A delicate 

pink potash feldspar i(orthoclase and microcline), minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar and with quartz and more or less 

kaolinizexl; a very faintly bluish and finely granular quartz with 

cavities some of which are in sheets; a yellow greenish to clear sodalime feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite), generally kaolinized and 

epidotized also with some scales of white mica and chlorite; biotite 

(black mica). Accessory minerals are: Magnetite, apatite, and zircon. Secondary minerals are: Kaolin, epidote, "zoisite, chlorite, and 

a white mica. Calcite not observed.

An estimate of the mineral percentages by the Rosiwal method 

with half-inch mesh and total linear length of 46.5 inches yields these 

results:

Estimated mineral percentages in Milford, Mass., granite jrom Webb quarry No. 8.

Feldspar................................................................. 55.91

Quartz,. ..............................r....................:.............. 35. 66

Biotite................................................................... 8.43

100.00

Mr. W. T. Schaller, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, 

extracted from an average specimen of this granite, by means of hot 

dilute acetic acid, 0.04 per cent of CaO (lime), which indicates the 

presence of 0.07 per cent of CaC03 (lime carbonate), or calcite. This 

lime is, of course, irrespective of that combined with silica in the 

oligoclase feldspar and epidote.

The stone takes a fair polish, but the mica particles are sufficiently 

large to detract from the durability of the polish in prolonged outdoor 

exposure.

The quarry, opened in. 1905, measures about 250 by 200 feet and 

up to 30 feet in depth.

A flow structure, shown by biotitic streaks, strikes N. 40° W., and 

dips 50° northeast. The sheets, from 5 to 12 feet thick, are horizontal 

in irregular undulations. Joints A strike N. 40° W., dip 90°, and are
90 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

spaced 3 to 10 feet. Joints B strike N. 15° E., dip 75° E., and recur 

at an interval of 8 and one of 50 feet. The rift is reported as horizontal, and the grain as vertical with an east-west course.

The description of the plant connected with this quarry, of the 

plant of the Carroll quarry, and of the cutting shed for both was 

given under Carroll quarry on page 88.

Transportation from both of these quarries is effected by tracks 

to sidings of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. 

These tracks are 3,750 feet long.

Specimen structures: Pedestal of General Devens statue at Worcester, Mass. In 1906 the company was filling a contract for the power 

service plant of the Pennsylvania Railroad in New York with stone 

from this and the Carroll quarry.

The Webb Pink Granite Company, besides the two quarries described, has several other openings or prospects on the same property.

QUINCY.

Topography. There is a conspicuous range of low hills south of 

Boston, known as the Blue Hills, which curves from a point (Great 

Blue Hill) 11 miles csouth-southwest of the city to a point (Forbes 

Hill) 7£ miles south-southeast of it, and whose tops lie between the 

180 and 640 foot levels. See Boston and Dedham topographic sheets 

of the United States Geological Survey. t The Quincy granite district 

lies at about the northeastern end of this range, in the townships of 

Quincy and Milton of Norfolk County. Some of the quarries are 

on the North Commons from about one-half mile west-southwest to 

a mile west of Quincy Center, others are in West Quincy from 11 to 2 

miles about west-southwest of the Center, and 2 are in Milton some 

3 miles west of the Center. Quarry locations are shown on the 

map, PL II. The reader will find some interesting historical matter 

on the Quincy quarries in a chapter on the early history of the granite 

industry in New England by George P. Merrill.0

General geology. The geology of the vicinity of Quincy and Boston 

is very complex and difficult, &nd has long been under investigation 

and discussion by several resident and other geologists.6 As the 

results of these investigations have not yet been published in final 

form the following outline of the salient geological features must be 

regarded as only provisional. The granite of Quincy was part of a 

great deeply buried mass of molten granitic material of various

a- Kept. Smithsonian Institution, 1885-6, pt. 2, pp. 285-288.

fcCrosby, W. 0., Genetic and structural relations of the igneous rocks of the Lower Neponset Valley: Mass. Am. Geol., July-August, 1905, pp. 39-41; Emerson and Perry, The green schists and associated granites and porphyries of Rhode Island: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 311, 1907, Quincy granitic group, p. 51; Professor Crosby's forthcoming Part IV, Boston Basin Series (Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist.), 

will contain Prof. Florence Bascom's complete work on both the volcanics and plutonics of the Boston 

basin; Mansfield, G. R., T.he origin and structure of the Roxbury conglomerate: Bull. Mus. Comp. 

Zool. Harvard Coll. (Geol. Ser., VIII, 4) vol. 49,1906. General summary, pp. 259, 260, also p. 161, map, 

pi. 7, section pi. 6.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 35+ PL. II

MAP SHOWING LOCATIONS OF QUINCY GRANITE QUARRIES.

1. Wigwam quarry, Badger Brothers.

2. Reinhalter quarry, Thomas F. Mannex.

3. Swingle quarry, J. S. Swingle.

4. Granite Railway quarry. Granite Railway Company.

5. Lepage quarry, Lepage Granite Quarry Company.

6. John Cashman quarry.

7. Gold-leaf quarry, Quincy Quarries Company.

8. Savo Granite Company's quarry.

9. Rogers quarry, Quincy Quarries Company.

10. Maguire & O'Heron quarry, Milton.

11. Mount Pleasant quarry, Mount Pleasant Quarry 

Company, Milton.

12. Angelo Sartori & Brothers' quarry.

13. Dell Hitchcock quarry, Quincy Quarries Company.

14. Merry Mount quarry, Merry Mount Granite Company.

15. Ballou quarry, John C. Ballou.

16. Djerf & Winquist quarry.

17. Sahlsten quarry, Theodore Sahlsten.

18. McKenzie & Pattison quarry.

19. Hardwick quarry, C. H. Hardwick & Co.

20. Field & Wild quarry.

21. Fuller quarry, Quincy Quarries Company,
MASSACHUSETTS. 91

kinds, which was intruded into a considerable mass of overlying 

slates, etc., of Cambrian and possibly of later age, which in places 

were entirely removed by subsequent erosion. . That these slates 

were originally marine clayey sediments is shown by the presence of 

fossil crustaceans in some of them in the town of Braintree. After 

a long interval a large part of the region became again submerged 

during the Carboniferous period, and the advancing sea either deposited a conglomerate or covered a torrential one containing pebbles 

from the exposed igneous and sedimentary rocks of Cambrian or 

post-Cambrian time. The granite pebbles of the conglomerate area 

which adjoins the Blue Hills on the north are not Quincy granite, 

but contain pink and green feldspars like the granite of Dedham and 

Randolph.0

This submergence continued until the conglomerate was overlaid 

by a considerable accumulation of clayey sediments. During the 

post-Carboniferous crustal movement, which affected a large part of 

the continent, these clays became slate and .were powerfully folded; 

basic dikes were also intruded into the granite and the ftverlying 

beds. The corrugation and elevation of the surface in post-Carboniferous time exposed the Carboniferous beds to erosion, so that portions of the granite surface which had been covered by them again 

became exposed. In Triassic time more basic dikes forced their way 

through fissures in the granite. Events in this region were further 

complicated by the occurrence of eruptions of very siliceous rocks at 

various points and times. It should also be borne in mind that 

although the granitic material was intruded into what appear to be 

Cambrian beds, there is some uncertainty as to when, between Cambrian and Carboniferous time, the intrusion took place. In this connection attention might be directed to the possibility that a granitic 

intrusion in Cambrian rocks may point to more than a local crustal 

movement toward the close of Cambrian time. b

Descrifrtion of Quincy granite. The following epitomizes the writer's 

descriptions of rough and polished -specimens and thin sections of 

granite from all the quarries as given farther on. The more recent 

scientific accounts of this granite are by Wadsworth, Merrill, White, 

and Washington.0

Quincy granite is a riebeckite-segirite granite, riebeckite and segirite 

being varieties of hornblende and augite, respectively, both rich in

"See Mansfield, op. cit.

''Sec Dale, T. N., The geology of the north end of the Taconic*range: Am. .Tour. Sci. (4). vol. 17, p. 

1ST), 1904; also Geology of Hudson Valley between the Hoosic and the Kinderhook: Bull. U. S. Geol. 

Survey No. 242, 1904, pp. 47, 53, 55.

c Wadsworth, M. E., Notes on the petrography of Quincy and Rockport: Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. 

.Mist., vol. 19,1881, pp. 309-316; Merrill, G^P., The collection of building and ornamental stones in the 

United States National Museum: Kept. Smithsoniau Institution, 1885-6, pt. 2, pp. 409, 418; White, 

T. G., A contribution to the petrography of the Boston Basin: Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. 28, 

1897, pp. 128-132; Washington, H. S., Solvsbergite and tinguaite from Essex County: Mass. Am. Jour. 

Sci. (4), vol. 6,1898, p. 181.
92 COM MRRCTAL aiUNTTES OP MASS., K. H., ANt> .R. I. '

soda (8 to 10 per cent) and in iron sesquioxicle (about 28 per cent) 

but poor in alumina, magnesia, and lime. The general color of the 

fresh normal .granite ranges from a medium gray or bluish or greenish 

or purplish gray to a very dark bluish gray, all with black spots 

which, on closer inspection, are blue-black or green-black or a mixture of both.

Its texture is medium to coarse and even grained, with feldspars 

up to 0.4 and 0.5 inch, and the black silicates up to 0.3 and 0.4 inch.

Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: (1) A 

medium to dark bluish or greenish-bluish gray feldspar (orthoclase, 

much of it twinned) always with minutely intergrown soda-lime feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite). It is apparently more or less darkened by a varying number of extremely minute particles of a black 

mineral, which are not absolutely distinguishable from opaque particles of kaolin, arid is always slightly epidotized by minute particles 

of grass-green epidote, and whitened by partial kaolinization or black 

streaked by clusters of radiating fibrous crystals of dark brown hornblende. The fresh feldspar always contains crystals of blue-brownish 

riebeckite from 0.01 to 1.0 millimeter long by up to 0.01 millimeter in 

width. These crystals, and also the epidote, are in many specimens 

arranged in two rectangular directions, one that of the twinning plane, 

the other that of the intergrown soda-lime feldspar. In some sections (p. 107) the feldspars were found crossed by rift and grain cracks 

filled or overlain by minute crystals of riebeckite, thus evidently of 

secondary origin like those on joint planes described on page 60. 

(2) Medium to dark smoky quartz, some of it with.a slight bluish 

tinge. It contains cavities (many with liquid and movable vacuoles) 

arranged in streaks and sheets and measuring from 0.0028 to 0.02 

millimeter in length. This quartz also incloses minute black particles, and in places hairlike crystals, presumably of rutile, more rarely 

minute crystals of riebeckite, one measuring 0.178 by 0.0047 millimeter. (3) A little lime-soda feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite). 

(4) Riebeckite (blue-black in hand specimen, but Prussian blue and 

brownish gray in thin section) and ssgirite (green-black in hand specimen, but light green to emerald green in thin section), both minerals 

being in many specimens intergrown. The. segirite may surround 

riebeckite or these relations may be reversed. In some specimens 

riebeckite in slender crystals appears like a secondary growth on 

[Bgirite. The segirite in others appears as filling spaces between the 

other minerals. Basal sections of it appear as if corroded. All of 

the riebeckite can not be secondary, because it appears in minute 

crystals within the quartz and forms the center of large crystals of 

a3girite. Nor can all the aegirite be secondary, because crystals of it 

also occur within quartz particles and also surrounded by radiating
MASSACHUSETTS. 93

crystals of riebeckite. (See* page 110. a ) The segirite is apt to contain particles of magnetite and carbonate.

The accessory minerals are: Ilmenite, magnetite (probably), pyrite 

(very rare), zircon in doubly terminated crystals, fluorite, titanite, 

and the minute black particles in quartz. The secondary minerals 

are: Kaolin, epidote, yellow-brown to orange hornblende in fibrous 

crystals, chlorite, calcite, leucoxene, hematite, limonite (associated 

with zircon and aegirite), and part of the riebeckite. One of the 

altered granites (Sartori quarry) contains spherulites which polarize 

like zircon.

Estimates of the mineral percentages by the Rosiwal method yield, 

the following figures for the "medium," "dark," and "extra dark:"

Estimated mineral percentages in Quincy granite, extremes and averages.

Average. 

Feldspars, 55.80 to 69.51.............................................. ^..... 60.02

Quartz, 22.06 to 33.74................................................:.... 30. 60

Riebeckite and segirite, 7.47 to 11:10........................................ 9. 37

Of course the microscopic particles of the soda-iron silicates are not 

included in these figures.

The following analysis of Quincy granite was published by Henry

S. Washington in 1898: 6

o 

Analysis of riebeckite-segirite granite from the Hardwiclc quarry, Quincy, Mass.,

Si02 (silica).............................................................. 73. 93

Ti02 (titanium dioxide) .................................................... .18

A1263 (alumina)........................................................... 12. 29

Fe203 (iron sesquioxide) ................................................... 2. 91

FeO (iron oxide).........................:............................... 1. 55

MuO (manganese oxide)................................................... Trace.

MgO (magnesia)........................................................... .04

CaO (lime)................................................................ .31

Na20 (soda)............................................................. ' 4. 66

K20 (potash)...............^................. : ........................... 4. 63

HaO (water above 110°)........................ .. .'. ...................... .41

100. 91 

Specific gravity 2.642 at 22° 0.

Messrs. E. C. Sullivan and G. Steiger, chemists, of the United States 

Geological Survey, extracted by means of hot dilute acetic acid per-

« For analyses and optical features of riebeckite and aegirite see Rosenbusch, H., Mikroskopische 

Physiog. d. Min. u. Gesteine, 4th ed., 1905, vol. 1, pt. 2, pp. 213, 244; for discussion as to their origin 

sec Murgoci, G. M., On the genesis of riebeckite and riebeckite rocks: Am. Jour. Sci. (4) vol. 20, 1905, 

pp. 133-145; and Cross, W., ou some secondary minerals of the amphibole and pyroxene group: Am. 

Jour. Sci. (3), vol. 39,1890, pp. 359-370. Murgoci (op. cit., p. 138) sums up the views on the origin of 

these two minerals thus: " Some petrologists have considered the aegirite as a transformation product 

of riebeckito, and others have taken the riebeckite for a secondary product of segirite. Most petrologists state, however, that riebeckite and segirite are primary in their rocks." On the next page in a 

footnote he adds: "The best argument for the primary existence of the ajgirite is its occurrence in the 

same rock, with little thiu needles of riebeckite, which could not resist even the slowest and slightest 

action of transformation."

i> See Am. Jour. Sci., 4th ser., vol. 6,1898, p. 181; also Jour. Geol., vol. 0,1898, p. 793.
94 COMMEKCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

centages ranging from 0.11 to 0.28 per cent of CaO (lime) from specimens from four quarries in Quincy and Milton. This lime indicates 

the presence of from 0.196 to 0.50 per cent of CaC03 (lime carbonate) 

or calcite.

Quincy granite for monumental purposes goes under the names of 

"medium," "dark," and "extra dark." The estimated mineral percentages show that these differences in shade are due in part to a 

variation in the amounts of the black silicates and of the smoky 

quartz. In part they are also due to a variation in the degree of 

kaolinization of the feldspars and in the abundance of black particles 

and of hornblende in them. The smokiness of the quartz appears 

to be due to infinitesimal particles of some black mineral. The bluish 

tint of the feldspars is due to microscopic crystals of riebeckite and 

its greenish hue to minute epidotes. The contrast of shade is chiefly 

between the black silicates and the combined quartz and feldspar 

except where the feldspar is whitened by kaolinization, which causes 

it to stand out from the quartz. "Light Quincy granite," which is 

of medium-gray shade, is considered second grade and sells for rock 

face and hammered work.

Quincy granite is noted for its high polish, which comes out strikingly on columns and balls, as shown in PI. IV. This susceptibility 

to high polish is due to thePabsence of mica and to the coarser cleavage of the varieties of hornblende and augite which take its place. 

The imperfections which occur in the polish of some blocks are due 

to particles of aegirite partially altered before quarrying. (See p. 55.)

A peculiar variety of Quincy granite, known as "Gold leaf," 

described on page 115, is the lightest monumental stone quarried there. 

Its general color is medium bluish-green gray, speckled with black 

and light yellow brown. The quartz, clear to light smoky, is finely 

granular, like that of Milford, Mass., and sparkles on the polished face. 

Wherever the yellow spots, which are caused 'by limonite stain, coincide with the granular quartz, they are more conspicuous. In other 

respects its constituents are identical with those of the riebeckiteaegirite granite of Quincy. A minor variety is that of the Ballou 

quarry, which has sparsely disseminated minute cherry-red dots, 

probably from the oxidation of magnetite particles.

Other and cheaper varieties of Quincy granite are suitable only for 

building purposes. Such are the "extra light" (pea-green), the pink, 

and the greenish brown, described on pages 112,114,120. The "oreii" 

(hematitic) finds its way to the dumps. These various colors are due 

to changes in the feldspars or segirite, brought about by underground 

alterations which have been long in process. (See further p. 55.) The 

yellow, rusty discoloration (sap) referred to on page 35 is of still later 

date, affecting the stone for a few inches only along the sheet and 

joint surfaces.
MASSACHUSETTS. 95

Geology of Quincy quarries. The cylindrical pegmatite dike with 

large segirite crystals at the Ballou quarry, first studied by Prof. C. 

Palache, has already been described on page 49. Quartz veins up to 

an inch thick, probably of pegmatitic origin, and giving rise to subjoints and zones of lighter color, occur at several quarries and are 

described on page 48 and illustrated in PL III, B. Some of these 

veins contain ilmenite and a carbonate besides a little fluorite. Some 

minute ones (0.04 to 0.1 inch wide) are also apt to contain fluorite and 

calcite.

At the Granite Railway quarry in West Quincy there is a 15-foot 

diabase dike striking about N. 75° W. in which the feldspar is altered 

to a white mica. It has a greenish rim, in which the. augite is all 

chloritized. At the Merry Mount quarry on the North Commons a 

5-foot dike, striking about north, appears to be a garnetiferous biotite 

lamprophyre. At the Djerf & Winquist quarry, near the last, two 

basic dikes strike about east, and another occurs near the Dell Hitchcock quarry, but these were not microscopically studied.

The segregations (knots) are of three kinds: (1) Very fine-grained 

aplitic, dark bluish gray with a matrix of potash feldspar, quartz, 

and more or less soda-lime feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite), with 

particles from 0.025 to 0.3 millimeter, containing porphyritic crystals 

of segirite (with some riebeckite) up to 0.84 by 0.09 millimeter, which 

appear as if corroded. Zircon, magnetite, orilmenite, and abundant 

apatite occur as accessories. There are also minute crystals of 

riebeckite and titanite, with secondary limonite and carbonate.

(2) Medium-grained and medium gray, lighter or of same shade as 

the inclosing granite. These are identical with the granite, but the 

orthoclase tends to complete its crystals. One such knot contains 

a complete section of an segirite crystal in the center of a quartz area 

many times its size. Another has secondary orange fibrous hornblende growing on aegirite. Zircon and fluorite are accessory.

(3) Some muddy yellow to greenish knots consist of potash feldspar 

(orthoclase) minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar, in twins 

from 0.2 to 1.0 millimeter long, and quartz, with asgirite and 

riebeckite, which usually appear to fill spaces between the other 

minerals. The soda-silicates are more or less altered to fibrous 

muscovite and carbonate; the feldspars are also streaked with white 

mica and contain secondary epidote. . The usual magnetite, apatite, 

and riebeckite are present.

The dimensions of the large knots given in the quarry descriptions 

were obtained from the foremen. It is assumed that they are 

segregations, not inclusions. The sizes range from half an inch to 

2 feet by 1 foot 6 inches, 2 feet 6 inches by 2 feet 6 inches, 3 feet by 4 

inches, and 6 feet by 2 feet. They are usually small and roundish or 

elliptical.
96 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND H. I.

Rift in the Quincy quarries is reported as generally vertical or 

nearly so with a course from N. 65° W. to due west, and the grain as 

vertical or nearly so and about north to south. The grain is generally 

feeble. Rift courses of N., N. 10° E., and N. 30° W. are reported at 

a few quarries, and at three the grain is reported as horizontal. At the 

Swingle quarry, which is crossed by a diagonal heading striking north, 

the rift is reported to be north-south on the west side of that heading 

but as east-west on its east side. The angle of inclination of both 

rift and grain is reported as subject to modifications, some of which 

are probably only local; others are due to general physical principles. 

At the Reinhalter quarry the rift is vertical below but not quite 

vertical near the surface. Mr. Cashman states that in his quarrythe grain is 90° when the sheet is split from the top, but if split from 

the side it is steeply inclined. Mr. Galvin reports that the grain is 

horizontal when the drilling is done from east to west, but dips 20° 

when it is done from north to south. The degree of dip of rift and 

grain is affected by gravity; that is, it is proportioned to the heft of 

the block on one side or the other of the fracture. Two foremen find 

that when the sheets are inclined the dip of the rift swerves from 

the vertical. At the Field & Wild quarry rift and grain are reported 

as varying greatly in different blocks. The subject of rift will be 

found more fully discussed on page 19, and its apparent relation to 

the sheets of fluidal cavities is explained on page 42.

The crushing of cores between drill holes made in channeling 

shows that the Quincy granite mass is now under compressive strains 

from the north and south and the east and west. This strain in 

some quarries appears to increase with their depth. At one quarry 

not only are north-south channels closed by it, but diagonal sub joints 

are started from the channel.

Sheet structure in Quincy is regular in places, as at the Dell 

Hitchcock quarry (PI. Ill, A}, where it consists of lenses with an 

undulating course usually parallel to the rock surface, and increasing 

in thickness downward. But it is oftener obscure and irregular 

owing to the shortening and thickening of the lenses, which results 

in "bowlder quarries." Sheet structure extends to a depth of 150 

feet from the rock surface at the Ballou quarry on the North Commons 

and to a depth of 175 feet in the Reinhalter quarry in West Quincy. 

The inclination of the sheets js in places as high as 45°, and their 

thickness ranges from 6 inches to 27 feet. They are rarely intersected by sharp curving joints or partings known, as "toe nails." 

The origin of sheet structure will be found somewhat fully discussed 

on pages 22, 29. In quarrying it is safe to count on a gradual increase 

in the thickness of the sheets downward. If for a spaee thin sheets 

recur they may be expected'to give way to thicker ones below. The 

quarry adjacent to the Dell Hitchcock is reported to have been
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

A. DELL HITCHCOCK GRANITE QUARRY, NORTH COMMONS, QUINCY, 

MASS., FROM THE WEST SIDE.

Showing lenticular sheets and their increase in thickness downward. Depth, 

100 feet.

IS. SO

Show
MASSACHUSETTS. 97

abandoned because of the appearance of thin sheets below and the 

assumption that they would not be succeeded by thicker ones. 

At the Reinhalter quarry, which in 1906 was 225 feet deep, the 

lowest mass, already 45 feet thick, had not then been penetrated.

The general character of the jointing can be inferred from the 

quarry diagrams, figs. 9-12. The principal joint systems are: (A) 

That striking N. 60° to 85° W. to N. 83° E., and its complementary 

set (B), N. to N. 20° E.; then a single set (C), striking N. 10° to 30° 

W., and lastly one (D) striking N. 25° to 55° W., with its complementary set (E) striking N. 45° to 50° W. A noticeable feature in 

some of the deeper quarries is the vertical discontinuity of the 

headings. Some of the bottom ones disappear upward within 100 

feet of the surface; others again which occur at the surface disappear below. Some of the joints are also intermittent. The 

possibility of a bad heading dying out below is as encouraging to 

the quarryman as the possibility of the appearance of a new one 

below is discouraging. This discontinuity in the joints and headings 

reflects the complex character of the stresses to which the region was 

exposed.

The remarkable black joint coatings of riebecki.te have been 

described on page 60. At one of the Milton quarries this appears 

on the sheet surfaces also, and the adjacent granite is lighter in 

shade.

From these summaries on the granite and on its geology as exposed 

at the quarries the following inferences may be drawn: The riebeckitegegirite granite of Quincy had segirite as one of its original constituents 

and riebeckite as another, but some of its riebeckite is clearly secondary, 

as shown by its occurrence in rift cracks and on sheet and joint faces. 

The formation of this mineral 011 these faces indicates that the 

granite after acquiring its sheet and joint structure was subjected to 

metamorphism, probably that which accompanied the post-Carboniferous crustal movement. The source of this secondary riebeckite 

may well have been the segirite itself. The hematite-spotted granite 

("ore!"); the pink granite, and the greenish-brown granite (described 

on pages 54, 55), while evidently due to the alteration of the segirite 

particles to magnetite, hematite, green hornblende, biotite, and 

chlorite, owe these mineral changes partly to processes of deep-seated 

alteration and partly to regional metamorphism, and the pea-green 

variety is due to deep-seated epidotization of its feldspars, which 

may have involved access of calcareous and ferruginous waters. The 

latest change was the brownish iron staining along sheet and joint 

surfaces, which is attributable to percolating surface water oxidizing 

the magnetite, and soda-iron silicates and possibly also adding fresh 

supplies of iron sesquioxide obtained from deposits once overlying 

the granite.

50193 Bull. 354 08 7
98 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OP MASS., N. H.; AND R. I.

The Quincy quarries. The Dell Hitchcock quarry is on the North 

Commons, south of Quarry street. (See map, PI. II, No. 13.) 

Operator, The Quincy Quarries Company, Quincy, Mass.

The granite (specimen, D, XXVIII, 67, d), "dark Quincy," is a 

riebeckite-aegirite granite of somewhat dark and slightly bluish-gray 

color with black spots. Its texture is medium to coarse, even 

grained, with feldspar up to 0.5 inch, and black silicates usually not 

over 0.3, but occasionally 0.5 inch. Its constituents, in descending 

order of abundance, are: A medium bluish and greenish gray potash 

feldspar (orthoclase, usually twinned) minutely intergrown with 

soda-lime feldspar, and inclosing minute crystals of riebeckite and 

particles of epidote, and in places somewhat kaolinized; smoky 

quartz with cavities (some with liquid and vacuoles), and black 

particles in streaks or sheets; a little separate soda-lime feldspar 

(albite to oligoclase-albite); aegirite, much of it intergrown with 

riebeckite. The accessory minerals are: Magnetite, zircon, and 

fluorite. The secondary: Kaolin,.calcite, epidote, and brown fibrous 

hornblende and chlorite in rift cracks in feldspar.

The contrast in the rough stone is entirely between the black 

silicates and the combined quartz and feldspar.

A specimen (D, XXVIII, 67, c) of the "light Quincy" is more 

of a medium gray with a slight greenish tinge. Its general composition is the same as the "dark Quincy" with probably more 

kaolin and epidote in the feldspars. The contrasts are more marked.

The quarry, opened before 1826, is about 500 feet N. 25° E. by 

500 feet N. 65° W. and 100 feet deep. (See PL III, A.)

The sheets, from 6 inches to 12 feet thick, are lenticular, undulating 

horizontal. As shown in the plate the upper 30 feet'consists of very 

thin sheets which, owing to their thinness and rustiness, are valueless. 

Joints A strike N. 70° W., dip 90°, and are spaced irregularly, but 

never completely cross the quarry. A set with similar strike, but 

dipping 30°-35° north-northeast, is represented by two or three 

at the north end, and two on the east wall near the south end. 

Joints C strike N. 20° W., dip 90°, and are spaced 14 to 30 and 400 

feet. At the bottom there are short intermittent joints dipping 

east and in other directions, which are coated with riebeckite and 

thus have blue-black surfaces. (See further on p. 60.) The rift is 

reported as vertical with a N. 65° W. course, and the feeble grain as 

at right angles to it and vertical. A dark bluish-gray knot (67, e) 

contains porphyritic crystals of aegirite, as described under group 1 

on page 95. There are also some-of group 3. The boundaries 

between the "light" and "dark" granite are not well defined. 

Kusty discoloration is from 2 to 18 inches thick. Where it is only 

2 inches the feldspar is usually slightly greenish for several inches 

back.
MASSACHUSETTS. 99

The plant consists of 3 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, 1 "tag engine," 

an air compressor (capacity 313 cubic feet of air per minute), 4 steam 

drills, 11 air-plug drills, and 2 steam pumps.

Transportation involves a cartage of three-fourth mile to railroad, 

and averages about a mile to local cutting sheds.

Specimen: Three bases and die of the Jefferson monument at 

Louisville, Ky. '

The Merry Mount quarry is on.the North Commons, north of Quarry 

street. (See map, PL II, No. 14.) Operator, Merry Mount Granite 

Company, Quincy, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXIX, 86, a), "dark medium Quincy/' 

is a riebeckite-eegirite granite of somewhat dark, slightly purplish 

gray color. Its shade is slightly darker than that of 67, d. The 

texture is medium to coarse, even grained, with feldspar up to 0.5 

inch and black silicates up to 0.3 inch. Its constituents, in descending 

order of abundance, are: A medium and dark or slightly greenishgray potash feldspar (orthoclase, generally twinned), always minutely 

intergrown with soda-lime feldspar (albite to ojigoclase-albite), in 

places somewhat kaolinized and inclosing riebeckite crystals up to 

0.094 by 0.0094 millimeter and particles of epidote, also hematite 

stain; smoky quartz with streaks or sheets of cavities and minute 

black particles; a little separate soda-lime feldspar (oligoclaseandesine); blue-black riebeckite and green-black segirite, either 

separate or intergrown. The accessory minerals are: Zircon (abundant in crystals up to 0.47 millimeter) and fluorite. Secondary: 

Kaolin, epidote, limonite, and hematite.

The purplish tinge of this granite is evidently due to hematite'in 

the feldspar. The contrast in the rough stone is entirely between 

the black silicates and the general gray of the quartz and feldspar.

Mr. E. C. Sullivan, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, 

extracted 0.11 per cent of CaO (lime) from this granite by means of 

hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates the presence of 0.19 per cent 

of CaCO3 (lime carbonate) calcite. The presence of this mineral is 

also shown by the microscope.

A specimen of "medium Quincy" (D, XXIX, 86, b) is a trifle 

lighter in shade and has a slightly greenish tinge. Its texture and 

constituents are the same, except that the feldspar borders on lightgray, hematite stain is absent, and a particle of pyrite appears. The 

'quartz is darker than much of the feldspar.

The quarry, opened in 1856, measures about 300 feet north to 

south by 200 across and from 130 to 150 feet in depth.

On the west wall is a 5-foot dfke of lamprophyre, described on p. 95, 

which has a N. 10° E. strike. The sheets are lenticular in all directions and mainly horizontal, ranging from 1 to 16 feet in thickness. 

They thicken downward, but with thin sheets at intervals, to a depth
100 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H.; AND B. I.

of 40 feet. Joints B strike N. 10° E., dip 90°, or steep west, are 

spaced 5 to 20 feet, and form a heading near the dike. One diagonal 

joint (D) strikes N. 50° E. and dips 70° northwest. The rift is reported 

as striking N. 10° E. and vertically or steeply west, and the grain as 

east to west, dipping steeply north. In individual blocks the rift is 

considerably affected by gravity. Knots, both dark and light, are 

from 1 to 6 inches across, but some are reported as 2 feet 6 inches in 

two diameters. Rusty discoloration on sheet surfaces is from 1 to 

6 inches thick.

The plant consists of 4 derricks, 2 hoisting engines, 2 air compressors (capacity 100 and 250 cubic feet of air per minute), 2 steam drills, 

14 air-plug drills, 8 air hand tools, and a steam pump.

Transportation involves cartage of a mile to railroad or cutting 

shed.

The product consists chiefly of the "dark medium." Specimen: 

The Barney mausoleum at Springfield, Mass.

The Ballou quarry is on the North Commons, north of Quarry street. 

(See map, PI. II, No. 15.) Operator, John C. Ballou, 6 Rogers street, 

West Quincy, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXIX, 80, a), "dark Quincy with 

minute red dots/' is a riebeckite-segirite granite of dark slightly purplish-gray color, with sparse inconspicuous reddish stains. Its shade 

is slightly darker than that of 86, a (Merry Mount "dark medium"). 

Its texture is medium to-coarse, even grained, with feldspars up to 

0.5 inch and black silicates to 0.3 inch. Its constituents, in descend- . 

ing order of abundance, are: A dark-gray potash feldspar (orthoclase 

twinned), minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar, in places 

somewhat kaolinized, rarely with hematite stain along its cleavage 

planes, and inclosing particles of epidote and crystals of riebeckite up to

0.114 millimeter long; smoky quartz of very slight bluish tinge, with 

abundant cavities up to 0.0094 and exceptionally 0.037 millimeter in 

diameter, in streaks or sheets intersecting one another at all angles, 

and with very minute black particles. The quartz incloses a riebeckite crystal 0.178 by 0.0047 millimeter;, a little separate soda-lime 

feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite); and finally riebeckite, some of it 

intergrown with aegirite, the latter containing magnetite and carbonate. The accessory minerals are: Zircon and magnetite. The secondary: Kaolin, epidote, hematite, limonite (about the zircon), and 

calcite.

The contrast is confined to that between the black silicates and the 

dark gray of the feldspar and quartz with its faint reddish spots.

Mr. George Steiger, chemist, of the?United States Geological Survey, 

extracted 0.28 per cent of CaO (lime) from this stone by means of hot 

dilute acetic acid, which indicates a content of 0.5 per cent of 

CaC03 (lime carbonate) calcite, the presence of which mineral is also 

shown by the microscope.
MASSACHUSETTS. 101

The quarry, opened before 1856; measures about 200 feet from 

north to south by 100 feet across, but with a recess on the south \yall 

16 by 18 feet. Its depth is 150 feet.

An interesting cylindrical pegmatite dike, a section of which is 

exposed at the bottom of the quarry, has been described on page 49. 

The sheets, from 8 inches to 20 feet thick, increasing in thickness 

downward, are lenticular, irregular, dipping both north and south. 

The sheet structure extends at least to a depth of 150 feet from the 

rock surface, below which there is no parting for 16 feet. Joints A 

strike about N. 80° W., dip 70° north, are spaced 3 to 30 feet, form "a 

short heading in about the center and one on the northeast side. 

Joints B strike nearly north, dip 90° and steeply west, form headings 

at east and west walls, one, 100 feet from west wall, and another (30 

to 40 feet wide) 75 feet west of east end. Joints C, striking N. 10° 

to 30° W., form a heading at the northwest corner of the quarry. 

The rift is reported as about north-south, the grain as east to west, 

both vertical. .Discoloration is up to 3 inches wide along the joint 

faces, but is scarcely present on sheet surfaces.

The plant consists of 3 derricks, 2 hoisting engines, an air compressor (capacity 174 cubic feet of air per minute), 3 steam drills, a 

surfacer, 6 air plug drills, 4 air hand tools, and 2 steam pumps.

Transportation involves cartage of 1 mile to railroad and various 

distances to cutting sheds.

The product is used mainly for monuments and the inferior stock 

for paving. The chief market is Philadelphia. Specimen structure: 

Masonic Building, Philadelphia.

The Djerf & Winquist quarry is on the North Commons, south of 

Quarry street. (See map, PI. II, No. 16.) Operator, Djerf & Winquist, Quincy, Mass.

The granite, "extra light," is a riebeckite-aegirite granite of light 

pea-greenish gray color and medium to coarse texture. It is identical in composition with that of the Lepage quarry (specimen D, 

XXVIII, 76, a), described on page 112. It owes its green color to 

the epidotization of the feldspar. The quartz is amethystine, not 

smoky. The contrast is chiefly between the black silicates and the 

feldspar, but there is also some between the purplish tinge of the 

quartz and the light green of the feldspar. Were the stone suitable 

for monumental work its colors would be attractive on the polished 

surface.

The quarry, opened in 1887, measures about 300 by 250 feet and 

125 feet in depth.

There is a basic dike 6 feet thick, along the south side dipping 

steeply to the south; a like one a little north of the north wall dips 

steeply to the north. The sheets, from 2 to 22 feet thick, dip low 

north. In. places they are tliick at the top. The quarry is unusually free of joints. Joints A strike about N. 80° W., dip steeply
102 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

north, and from north and south walls only. Joints B strike nearly 

north, from east and west walls only; one diagonal joint (E) striking 

N. 45° W., dips 45° to 50° southwest. The rusty stain along sheet 

surfaces is from one-fourth inch to 6 inches thick.

The plant consists of 2 derricks, 2 hoisting engines, a steam drill, 

3 air plug drills, and a steam pump. Compressed air is obtained 

from the Dell Hitchcock quarry.

Transportation involves cartage of 1 mile to railroad.

The product is used entirely for building and hammered work. 

Some of it finds a market in New York.

The SaMsten quarry is on the North Commons, north of Quarry 

street, about 1,000 feet east of the last. (See map, PL II, No. 17.) 

Operator, Theodore Sahlsten, 34 Mattson street, Quincy, Mass.

The granite, "medium,".is a riebeckite-segirite granite, like that of 

the Hardwick quarry described below.

The quarry is triangular in area, with sides measuring 100, 75, and 

145 feet, respectively, and being'from 50 to 75 feet deep.

The sheets from 1 to 10 feet thick, dip 40° southwest. Joints C 

strike N. 20° W., dip 90°, and are spaced 10 to 20 feet. Joints D, 

striking N. 55° E., dipping 90°, are spaced 60 feet, and form the 

south wall. Joints E are diagonal, strike N. 45° W., dip 70° northeast, are spaced 10 to 20 feet, and occur at northeast corner only. 

Gray knots measure up to 12 by 18 inches. Rusty stain is up to 6 

inches thick on the sheet surfaces.

The product is used for monuments and bases, cellar stone, and 

paving.

The Hardwick quarry is on the North Commons opposite the corner 

of Quarry and Smith streets. (See map, PI. II, No. 19.) Operator, 

C. H. Hardwick & Co., Quincy, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXIX, 79, d), "medium," is a riebeckiteaegirite granite of dark, slightly purplish gray color, a trifle darker 

than 86, a (the "dark medium" of Merry Mount quarry), and a little 

darker and more purplish than 67, d (the "dark" of Dell Hitchcock 

quarry). It is of medium, even-grained texture with feldspars and 

black silicates up to 0.4 inch. Its constituents, in descending order 

of abundance, are: A medium and dark, slightly purplish gray potash feldspar (orthoclase, usually twinned), always with minutely 

intergrown soda-lime feldspar and exceptionally with quartz also. 

In places it is somewhat kaolinized, contains minute epidotes and 

crystals of riebeckite from 0.0094 to 0.066 millimeter long up to 

0.0094 millimeter wide; light smoky quartz with intersecting streaks 

or sheets of cavities from less than 0.0043 to 0.02 millimeter long, 

also with very minute black particles; riebeckite and aegirite, the 

latter with black nonmetallic particles (limonite ?); a little .soda-lime 

feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite). Accessory: Magnetite. Sec-
MASSACHUSETTS. 103

ondary: Kaolin, epidote, brownish-yellow fibrous hornblende on 

riebeckite, and limonite (?).

The contrast is largely between the black silicates and the gray of 

the quartz and feldspar.

The "light" of the same quarry (specimen D, XXIX, 79, f) is a 

similar granite of medium gray, inclining to dark, shade without 

bluish or greenish or purplish tinge, with blue-black and very dark 

green spots, and of medium texture with feldspar and riebeckite up 

to 0.4 inch. Its constituents are identical with those of the "medium " 

already described, except that the feldspar is in places stained with 

hematite, in others with limonite, proceeding from limonite associated with zircon, and that the segirite appears to b& slightly altered. 

There is some leucoxene adjacent to ilmenite. The aegirite contains 

not a little magnetite. Fluorite is among the accessory minerals.

The contrast between the black silicates and the other minerals in 

the "light" is greater than in the "medium," because the feldspars 

are lighter.

The "dark" (specimen 79, e) is darker than the "medium" and 

of same shade as the "dark" of the Granite Railway quarry (68, b), 

page 109, but of marked purplish tinge. Its texture is medium to 

coarse. . An analysis of a granite from this quarry is given on page 93.

The quarry, first opened in a small way in 1790, but first operated 

by the Hardwick family in 1848, measures about 300 feet east and 

west by 150 feet across, and 125 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 8 inches to 20 feet thick, 'usually increasing 

in thickness downward, but in places thin to a depth of 50 feet, are 

lenticular and horizontal. Joints A, striking N. 80°-85° W., dipping 

55°-65° N., are spaced 10, 30, and 60 feet, and form a heading on the 

west wall. . Joints C, striking N. 30° W., dipping 70° SW., are spaced 

5, 25, and 150 feet, and form a heading 30 feet wide in the eastern 

half of quarry. These joints are intermittent. The rift is reported 

as vertical, with a course not far from N. 30° W., and the grain as 

horizontal. The boundary between the "medium" and the "light" is 

irregular. Within the headings the stone has a marked purplish tint 

from hematite stain. There are rows of riebeckite particles up to half 

an inch wide with a N. 85° W. course and a dip of 55° S. There are 

also quartz veinlets with a N. 20° W. course and a dip of 50°-75° E., 

less than 0.1 inch thick, which in places give way to black silicates. 

In thin section this black part consists chiefly of quartz, segirite, and 

magnetite, with a little zircon (in doubly terminated pyramids), purple fluorite, and carbonate. Aplitic knots of group 1, described on 

page 95, measure up to 3 feet by 4 inches. Light-gray knots of 

group 2, with porphyritic feldspar, occur also. Rusty stain along 

the sheet* surfaces is from three-fourths inch to 6 inches thick. The
104 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H. ; AND R. I.

drainage of the quarry is said to contain magnesia, iron, and lime. 

The rock surface is covered with 6 to 16 feet of sand and bowlders.

The plant consists of 5 derricks, 2 hoisting engines, an air compressor (capacity 275 cubic feet of air per minute), 3 steam drills, 

4 air plug drills, 3 air hand tools, 5 polishers, and a steam pump.

Transportation involves cartage of 1 mile to railroad and varying 

distances to local cutting sheds.

The product is chiefly the "medium," but includes some "dark" and 

"light," the last being used for bases and hammered work. Specimen 

structures: The addition to Gore Hall at Harvard University, erecteU 

in 1870; the custom-house at New Orleans; the Lewis Cass monument at Detroit, JVEich.; a 5-foot polished ball in Fairmount Cemetery, 

Newark, N. J.

The Galvin quarry is on the North Commons, between the McKenzie & Pattison and the Hard wick quarry. (See map, PL II.) Operator, The Galvin Granite Company (John P. Galvin), Quincy, Mass.

The granite, similar to that of the Hardwick quarry, is a riebeckitesegirite granite of dark or medium gray shade.

The quarry is 150 feet square by 100 deep and has 10 feet of 

stripping.

The chief geological feature is the presence of pegmatite quartz 

veins at intervals of 2 to 10 feet, striking N. 25° W. and dipping 50° 

S. 25° W. These veins, up to 1 inch thick, occupy the center of belts 

of light granite 10 inches wide, and are crossed by vertical subjoints 

striking about north and not over 1 foot long. They have already 

been referred to on page 48, and are shown in PI. Ill, B. The sheets, 

from 1 to 14 feet thick, are lenticular and horizontal. Joints A strike 

N. 80° W., dip 90°, and form the north and south walls. B strike 

north, dip 90°, and form the east wall. C strike and dip with the 

veins, are spaced 2 to 25 feet and form a heading on the east wall. 

The rift is reported as vertical, with a N. 80° W. course, and the grain 

as horizontal, but dips 20° W. when the drilling is done from north 

to south. Black and gray knots measure from 1 inch up to 2 feet 6 

inches in two diameters. Rusty discoloration on sheet surfaces is 

up to 1 foot thick, in cases even 2 feet.

The plant consists of 2 derricks, 2 hoisting engines, a steam drill, 

and a steam pump.

The product is carted to local cutters.

The McKenzie & Pattison quarry, idle in 1906, is on the North 

Commons. (See map, PI. II, No. 18.) This has on its northwest side 

quartz veins, like those of the Galvin quarry, striking N. 50° W. and 

dipping 50° S. 50° W., forming the center of bands of whitish and 

brownish discoloration.

The Field <& Wild quarry is on the North Commons between the 

last quarry and Cranch street. (See map, PL II, No. 20.) Operator, Field & Wild, Quincy, Mass.
MASSACHUSETTS. 105

The granite, "dark/' "medium/' and "light/' is a riebeckitesegirite granite of dark and medium gray shade.

The quarry, opened in about 1840, measures about 600 feet from 

northwest to southeast by 150 feet across and from 75 to 100 feet in 

depth.

The rock surface on the northeast side dips steeply east with sheets 

from 1 to 3 feet thick parallel to it. Some thin sheets occur also in 

the upper 20 feet on the southwest side. Joints B, striking N. .15° E., 

dipping 90° and steeply east, spaced 10 to 50. feet, occur at the northwest end only. Joints C, striking N. 15° W., dipping 80° E., are 

spaced 1 to 8 feet. Joints D, striking N. 45° E., dipping 70°-85° N. 

45° W., are spaced 20 to 50 feet. Joints E; striking about N. 45° W., 

dipping 30°-50° S. 45° W-, are spaced 2 to 8 feet. These are conspicuous in the southeastern half of the quarry.- Some intermittent 

joints are coated with riebeckite. The rift is said to vary greatly 

in direction both in the quarry and in different blocks. There are 

numerous quartz veins like those at the Galvin and McKenzie & Pattison quarries, striking about N. 45° W., dipping 45° S. 45° W., at 

intervals of 2 to 25 feet. They are mostly crossed by subjoints 1 foot 

long, parallel to joints C, an inch or two apart. Some of them have 

a central fracture. In places they are only one-fiftieth inch thick. 

A thin section of one shows quartz crowded with cavities in intersecting streaks, crystals of ilmenite (probably), and carbonate. The 

hand specimen shows fluorite along the edge of the vein. The feldspars adjacent to the vein are traversed by fibrous muscovite, also 

kaolinized, epidptized, stained with limonite, and otherwise altered. 

(See p. 95.) Knots up to over 6 inches, some of them of group 2 

(p. 95), with prophyritic feldspars, occur.

The plant consists of 3 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, an air compressor (capacity 195 cubic feet of air per minute), a large air drill, 

6 air plug drills, 6 air hand tools, and 2 steam pumps'.

Transportation involves cartage of 1 mile to railroad.

The product consists of "dark" and "medium" for monuments 

and "light" for bases, etc. Specimen monuments and structures: 

The Ho we monument at Greenwood Cemetery, New York; Gerkin 

monument at Great Barrington, Mass.; Joseph Robertson monument 

at Mount Wollaston Cemetery, Quincy; Payne Building at Cleveland, Ohio.

The above quarries include all which were in operation in 1906 on 

the North Commons. The following are in West Quincy:

The Wigwam quarry is on Willard street, 570 feet south of West 

Quincy station. (See map, PI. II, No. 1.) Operator, Badger Brothers, 107 Willard street, West Quincy, Mass.

The granite, chiefly "dark" and "extra dark," with some "medium" 

and "light," is a riebeckite-aegirite granite of dark, very dark, or medium bluish gray color and of medium to coarse, even-grained texture.
106 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

Its constituent minerals are similar to those of specimens D; XXVIII, 

68, b ("dark"), and D, XXIX, 78, a ("extra dark"), described on 

pages 107,109, but the stone is reported as coarser in parts of the 

quarry than in adjacent quarries. The stone of the east side becomes 

lighter on exposure, even after polishing.

A polished specimen (D, XXVIII, 73, a) of the "medium" shows 

the feldspars ranging from a dark gray to a greenish medium gray, 

and cream colored in spots owing to kaolinization. . The contrasts 

between the black silicates, the grayish quartz and feldspars, and the 

cream-colored parts of the feldspars are marked and give the stone a 

mottled shading.

An estimate of the mineral percentages made by applying the 

Rosiwal method to this specimen, with a mesh of 0.6 inch and total 

linear length of 20.4 inches, yields these figures:

Estimated mineral percentages in Quincy granite from the Wigwam quarry.

Feldspars................................................................ 69.51

Quartz ................................................................... 8.43

Riebeckite and segirite.................................................... 22.06

100.00

The quarry, opened between 1820 and 1830, measures about 250 

feet in a N. 65° W. direction by 100 feet across, and from 100 to 160 

feet in depth.

The sheets at the surface, on the north and west sides, are from 1 

to 3 feet thick, and dip 50° northeast. On the south and east sides 

there are traces of sheet structure in the upper 40 feet but none below 

that. Joints A, striking N. 83° E. and vertical, are spaced 6 to 20 

feet. Joints B, striking N. 10° E. and vertical, are spaced 3 to 18 

feet, and form the southwest wall. Owing to its irregular sheets and 

the spacing of the joints this is technically a "bowlder quarry." The 

rift is reported as vertical, with an east-west course on the south side, 

but on the north as dipping steeply north, and the grain as vertical 

north to south. Black knots are reported up to 6 feet by 2 feet. 

Greenish and .muddy yellow ones of group 3, page 95, measure up to 

1 foot in length by a few inches in width. Keddish and greenish 

spots ("orei," p. 54) occur in the upper 3'0 feet. Rusty stain, from 

one-half inch to 18 inches thick, is abundant along the joint faces.

The plant consists of 5 derricks, 2 hoisting engines, 2 air compressors (capacity 225 cubic feet of air per minute), 3 steam drills, 

6 air plug drills, 6 air hand tools, 6 polishers, and a steam pump. The 

compressors and polishers are run by a 150-horsepower engine.

A siding reaches the quarry, but blocks for finishing are carted a. 

few hundred feet to the cutting shed, which is on the main line.

The product finds its market through local dealers. .It consists 

chiefly of the "dark" and "extra dark" for monuments. Specimens: 

Polished columns in monument to Solomon Willard, architect of
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OULLETIN NO. 354 PL. IV

BALL OF POLISHED QUINCY GRANITE FROM THE WIGWAM QUARRY. 

Diameter, 76 inches; weight, 22,000 pounds.
MASSACHUSETTS. . 107

Bunker Hill monument, in Hall Cemetery, West Quincy; polished 

columns in New Orleans custom-house, and a polished ball, 6 feet' 

6 inches in diameter, at Rock Island, 111., cemetery. A photograph of 

this is reproduced in Plate IV.

The ReinJialter. quarry is 570 feet south-southwest of the West 

Quincy station. (See map, PI. II, No. 2.) Operator, Thomas F. 

Mannex, West Quincy, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXIX, 78, a), "extra dark," is "a riebeckite-segirite granite of very dark bluish gray color and of medium 

to coarse, even-grained texture, with feldspars up to 0.5 and black 

silicates up to 0.3 inch. Its constituents, in descending order of 

abundance, are: A dark and medium gray potash feldspar (orthoclase, 

mostly twinned) minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar, darkened probably by a black mineral in very minute particles. It 

incloses minute crystals of riebeckite, and particles of epidote; smoky 

quartz with intersecting streaks and sheets of cavities, very minute 

black particles and isolated crystals of segirite; blue-black riebeckite 

and green-black segirite, in places intergrown; a little separate sodalime feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite). Accessory minerals are: 

Zircon (rather abundant), ilmehite, and pyrite. Cracks in orthoclase 

and quartz, intersecting at right angles, probably rift and grain cracks, 

contain or are crossed by secondary minute riebeckite crystals. The 

feldspar is much darker on either side of these cracks. The secondary 

minerals are: Epidote, leucoxene, and part of the riebeckite.

The "medium" of this quarry is a dark, very slightly greenish gray 

stone of the same texture. Its shade is like the "medium" of the 

Hardwick quarry (p. 102), but its tint is different. It is darker than 

the "dark" of the Dell Hitchcock quarry, but differs from that also 

in tint.

The quarry, opened before 1871, measures 200 feet by 150 on one 

side and 200 feet on the other, and is 225 in depth.

.The sheets, from 14 inches to 20 feet thick, extend to within 50 feet 

of the bottom or 175 feet from the rock surface. At a point on the 

east side, 150 feet down, they dip east. On the south side, 175 feet 

down, they strike N. 85° W. and dip 25°-35° S. Below the sheet 

structure there is a mass 55 feet thick (100 by 45 feet) without horizontal parting. The joint and rift courses are shown in fig. 9. Joints 

A. dip 90°, form the north and south walls, and recur at intervals of 

10 and 35 feet. At 35 feet from the north wall they form a 10-foot 

heading which extends from a point 100 feet below the surface to the 

bottom. Joints B. are vertical, form the east wall, are intermittent, 

and are spaced 30 and 60 to 70 feet. The east wall is intersected by a 

wide heading striking N. 20° E. and dipping steeply east. Joints C 

dip 90° and form the west wall. Joints D are vertical and exceptional. 

In about the center of the top of the north wall is a 25-foot heading, 

which at a point 50 feet down disappears behind it. The heading A
108 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

has "dark" and "medium" granite on its south, side and "extra dark" 

on its north side. The sheets at a point 175 feet down are intersected 

by several convex southward curving partings, "toe nails." The rift 

is reported as 90° below, but not quite 90° near the surface, and the 

grain as horizontal. Black knots are usually but a few inches in 

diameter, but some 2 feet by 1 foot 6 inches are reported. Gray knots 

are from one-half inch to -8 inches. Rusty stain measures up to

3 inches on joint faces, but down to one-half inch on sheet faces near 

the bottom.

The plant consists of 5 derricks, 4 hoisting engines, 3 air compressors 

(capacity 348, 260, and 80 cubic feet of air per minute, respectively),

4 steam drills, 6 air plug drills, 6 air hand tools, a surfacer, 3 polishers 

and a steam pump.

Transportation is provided for by a siding at the quarry, a cartage

of one-fourth mile to the

 N' wal cutting shed and a

shorter cartage from 

there to the railroad.

The product consists of 

"extra dark," "dark," 

and "medium," but most 

of it is "extra dark." 

It is used for monuments and columns. The 

largest block obtained 

weighed 50 tons.

The Swingle quarry is 

about 600 feet southwest FIG. 9. Structure at Reinhalter quarry, West Quincy, Mass.

of the West Quincy station, and adjoins the Reinhalter quarry on the 

west. (See map, PL II, No. 3.) Operator, J. S. Swingle, Quincy, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 72, a), "extra dark," is a riebeckite-segirite granite of very dark bluish gray color, and of medium 

to coarse, even-grained texture, with feldspars up to 0.5 and black 

silicates up to 0.3 inch. Its constituents are like those of the adjacent 

Reinhalter quarry stone (specimen 78, a), page 107.

The contrast in the polished stone is confined to that between the 

black silicates and the dark gray of the other minerals.

An estimate of the mineral percentages in specimen 72, a, by the 

Rosiwal method, with a mesh of 0.5 inch and a total linear length of 

20 inches, yields these results:

Estimated mineral percentages in Quincy granite from the Swingle quarry.

Feldspars................................................................ 56.00

Quartz..:................................................................ 33. 50

Biebeckite and segirite.................................................... 10.50

100.00
MASSACHUSETTS. 109

The quarry, opened about 1846, measures about 200 feet from north 

to south by 175 feet across and 200 in depth.

Irregular horizontal sheets are apparent only to a depth of 100 feet, 

below which point joints and headings predominate. This is a bowlder 

quarry and its management is difficult. Joint and rift courses are 

shown in fig. 10. Joints A are vertical or dip 75° south, form a heading 

on the north wall, and are spaced 10 to 30 feet. Joints C are vertical 

and form a heading on the east, 30 feet wide, which separates this 

from the Reinhalter quarry. Joints D, diagonal, form a heading on 

the west wall dipping 75° SE., and another extending from east to 

south walls. They are spaced 2 to 10 feet, and some dip 90°. Joints 

B, also diagonal, dip 70° east, and form a heading intersecting the 

south wall and another at the northwest corner. The rift is reported 

as vertical with a north-south course west of heading C, but with an 

east-west course east of it. This anomaly may be due to faulting. 

Knots, green or black, are 

reported as measuring from 

6 inches to 2 feet in diameter. Rusty stain is from 

one-half inch to 2 inches 

thick on sheet surfaces at 

the bottom.

The plant consists of 2 

derricks, 2 hoisting engines, 

an air compressor (capacity 

348 cubic feet of air per 

minute), 4 steam drills, 12 

air plug drills, and 4 steam 

pumps.

Transportation is by a 

railroad siding for out of

town shipments, but by cartage, averaging about 1 mile, to local 

dealers.

The product is used mostly for monuments. Shipments have been 

made to Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, New 

York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 

Michigan, Wisconsin, and Missouri. The usual maximum size of blocks 

quarried is 150 cubic feet, but blocks 40 by 6 by 8 feet are obtainable.

The Granite Railway quarry derives its name from a primitive railroad constructed in 1826 to bring the granite for Bunker Hill Monument from a neighboring opening to tide water at Neponset River. 

The quarry now worked is about 1,050 feet west-southwest of West 

Quincy station. (See map, PI. II, No. 4.) Operator, The Granite 

Railway Company, Quincy, Mass.

. The granite (specimens, D, XXVIII, 68, b, h), "Quincy dark blue 

railway," is a riebeckite-segirite granite of dark bluish gray color, and 

medium to coarse, even-grained texture, with feldspars up to 0.5 inch

FIG. 10. Structure at the Swingle quarry in West Quincy. 

Mass.
110 COMMEBCIAL GKANTTES OF MASS., N. Hv AND K. I.

and black silicates up to 0.3 inch. Its constituents, in descending 

order of abundance, are: A dark bluish-greenish gray, black-streaked 

potash feldspar (orthoclase, in twins), minutely intergrown with sodalime feldspar, apparently darkened by microscopic black particles and 

also somewhat kaolinized, containing blue-brownish crystals of riebeckite down to 0.009 millimeter long, also irregular particles of green 

epidote and some slender ones up to 0.37 millimeter long arranged 

either along the twinning plane or the plane of intergrowth with the 

soda-lime feldspar. The black streaks are due to clusters of radiating 

fibrous crystals of a brown hornblende; smoky quartz with intersecting streaks or sheets of cavities, from less than 0.0028 to 0.0085 

millimeter, also with abundant microscopic black particles; blueblack riebeckite and green-black segirite in many cases intergrown. 

Basal sections of the latter appear corroded; separate soda-lime feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite) in very small amount. The accessory 

minerals are: Ilmenite, zircon in doubly terminated pyramids, and 

apatite. The secondary: Epidote, kaolin, leucoxene, hematite and 

limonite stain (rare), brown hornblende, and, as shown by test, calcite.

The contrast between the smoke shade of the quartz and the slightly 

bluish-greenish gray of the feldspar is small. It lies mainly between 

these and the black silicates.

An estimate of the mineral percentages by the Rosiwal method 

yields the following results, with a mesh of 0.4 inch and a total linear 

length of 71.2 inches.

Estimated mineral percentages in Quincy granite from the Granite Railway quarry.

Feldspars.................................................................. 58.79

Quartz................................................................... 33.74

Riebeckite and segirite.................................................... 7.47

100.00

Of course the last figure does not include the microscopic particles 

of the two black silicates.

Mr. E. C. Sullivan, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, 

extracted 0.13 per cent of CaO (lime) from this granite by means of 

hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates the presence of 0.25 per cent of 

CaC03 (lime carbonate) calcite.

The "extra dark" of the same quarry (specimen D, XXVIII, 68, c). 

is darker than 68, b, but a trifle lighter than the " extra dark" of the 

Swingle quarry. The feldspar seems to be darkened by more brown 

hornblende and more abundant other black particles. There is also a 

dark orange hornblende. The minute riebeckite crystals and long 

slender epidote particles are both arranged with reference to the 

twinning of the feldspars. An aegirite particle (0.2 by 0.14 millimeter) 

coated with radiating crystals of riebeckite (up to 0.09 millimeter
MASSACHUSETTS. Ill

long) occurs within a quartz area. Purple fluorite is mingled with 

the riebeckite.

The quarry, opened in 1826, is roughly T-shaped, the l top of the 

T measuring about 800 feet N. 75° W. by 450 feet N. 10° E., and 

the stem being about 250 by 20 feet. Its'depth ranges from 50 to 70 

feet, but 30 feet of rock had been removed from, the present edge 

of the quarry. In 1906 a mass about 100 feet square, rising 30 to 40 

feet above the edge and devoid of sheet structure, projected into the 

quarry west of the stem of the T.

A 15-foot diabase dike dipping 60° NNE, with a greenish rim a foot 

thick on its under side, bounds the quarry on the southwest. (See 

p. 95.) The granite under the dike has three sets of joints, one 

dipping about 50° in the opposite direction, one parallel to the dike, 

.and a third striking N. 22° E. with the dip of the dike. The sheets 

are in places regular, in other 

places they are in short lenses, 

and in others are altogether 

absent. This is a bowlder 

quarry. The courses of dike, 

joints, and rift are shown in 

fig. 11. Joints A dip 55° southwest, form a heading on the 

northeast, and are spaced 1 to 

12 feet. Joints B are vertical, 

form the east and west walls, 

and are spaced irregularly up 

to 300 feet. Joints C, diagonal 

and dipping 70° west, form a

heading at the west angle of *" "^^"^S^* <"""y' 

the T in the projecting mass.

Joints D, diagonal and dipping about 55° east, are coated with 

riebeckite and hence are called "black seams." . (See p. 60.) They 

occur intermittently on the south side of the quarry. The rift is 

reported as vertical with a N. 80° W. course, and the grain as also 

vertical at right angles to it, but feeble. In the western part of the 

top of the T there is a mass of hematitic and chloritic granite ("oreii") 

extending 30 feet down from the surface. This is described fully on 

page 54. Knots of dark-gray shade measure up to 12 by 6 inches. 

Rusty stain is from 3 to 12 inches thick on joint and sheet faces in the 

deeper part of quarry.

This company operates another quarry, opened in 1905, known as 

No. 4, Nos. 1, 2, and 3 being designations of parts of the last quarry. 

No. 4 lies west of the Swingle quarry and measures about 200 feet 

N. 15° E..by 75 to 100 feet east and is from 15 to 40 deep. The sheets, 

from 6 inches to 8 feet thick, are horizontal or dip north with the hill
112 COMMERCIAL GEANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

surface. The Bunker Hill quarry, which furnished stone for that 

monument, lies about 1,800 feet south of No. 4, but is now idle. (See 

map, PL II.)

The plant at these quarries includes 8 derricks, 7 hoisting engines, 

4 steam drills, and 4 steam pumps. The cutting shed at the foot of the 

hill contains an air compressor (capacity, 630 cubic feet of air per 

minute), 40 air-plug drills, 15 air hand tools, 3 surfacers, 8 polishers, 

and 2 overhead cranes of 10 and 20 tons capacity.

Transportation is effected by a siding from the New York, New 

Haven and Hartford Railroad.

The product is used mostly for monuments and polished building 

fronts. Much of it goes to the Middle West. Specimens: The Bunker 

Hill Monument and a polished monument 23 feet high to W. C. Whitney, Secretary of the Navy, at Woodlawn Cemetery, New York. The 

waste is used for cellar stone, riprap, and paving.

The Lepage quarry is between the Granite Railway and the Cashman 

quarries. (See map, PI. II, No. 5.) Operator, Lepage Granite 

Company, West Quincy, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 76, a), "extra light," is a 

riebeckite-aegirite granite of light pea-greenish gray color, and medium 

to coarse even-grained texture, with feldspars up to 0.5 inch and 

black silicates to 0.4 inch. Its constituents, in descending order of 

abundance, are: A light pea-green potash feldspar (orthoclase, 

mostly twinned), minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar. It is 

somewhat kaolinized and more epidotized than that of the gray 

granites of the region, but contains far fewer minute crystals of riebeckite. The epidote is apt to be parallel to the twinning plane of the 

orthoclase or the plane of intergrowth of the two feldspars; amethystine quartz, showing effects of strain, and containing intersecting 

streaks and sheets of cavities, also minute black particles; blue-black 

riebeckite and green-black segirite, in cases intergrown; soda-lime 

 feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite). The accessory minerals are: 

Zircon, pyrite, and fluorite. The secondary: Kaolin, epidote, carbonate, limonite, and slender crystals of orange-yellow hornblende 

radiating' from segirite particles.

As pointed out on page 53, the color of the granite and its feldspar 

seems to be due to the increase of epidote and to the absence or 

alteration of the minute riebeckite crystals. Kaolinization has also 

. lightened its shade.

The chief contrast is between the black silicates and the rest of the 

stone, the next between the feldspar and quartz. It takes a poor 

polish and is only used for bridges, curbing, paving, etc. On the 

north side of the quarry there is some "dark" adapted to monumental work.
MASSACHUSETTS. 113

The quarry, opened in 1905, is about 100 feet north to south by 

60 to 80 feet across and from. 30 to 45 feet deep.

The sheets, from 1 to 5 feet thick, dip 10° south. Joints A strike 

N. 80°-85° W., dip 70°-80° north, form the south wall, and are spaced 

4 to 10 feet. Joints C strike N. 15° W., dip 90° and 70° east, form 

the west wall and a heading on the east wall, and are spaced 3 to 10 

feet. The rift is reported as 90° with an east-west course, and the 

grain as vertical, north-south. The abundance of joints has proved 

a drawback. Rusty stain, already referred to on page 57, is from 

1 to 2 inches thick. Blocks of the pea-green stone bordered by the 

bright yellowish-brown stain afford striking contrasts. (Specimen D, 

XXVIII, 76, b.)

The plant includes a derrick, hoisting engine, steam drill, and 

steam pump. Two plug drills are operated by compressed air from 

the Granite Railway plant.

Transportation involves cartage of 1 and 2 miles.

The product consists of some dark for monuments, but of more 

"extra light" for construction and street work.

The Cashman quarry is about 1,800 feet west of the West Quincy 

station. (See map, PL II, No. 6.) Operator, John Cashman, 49 Cross 

street, West Quincy, Mass.

The granite, "extra dark," "medium," and "extra light," is a 

riebeckite-segirite granite of very dark, or medium bluish gray, or 

of light pea-greenish gray color, and of medium to coarse, evengrained texture. Its constituents correspond to those of the several 

varieties of Quincy granite as described on .pages 109, 110, 112.

The quarry, opened about 1876, is of irregular area owing to several 

offsets or projecting parts on the north, east, and west sides. It is 

roughly about 350'feet long, north-south, by 225 feet across and from 

70 to 100 feet deep. Mr. Cashman controls and operates only the 

southern two-thirds of the opening, the rest being idle.

The sheets, from 1 to 5 feet thick, are lenticular and flat on the 

south side, but dip north with the surface at the north. They extend 

to the bottom of the quarry. Joints A strike nearly east-west, dip 

steeply north or south, form a heading on the north side, and are 

spaced 10 to 75 feet. Joints B strike about north, dip 90°, form 

headings on east side and 35 feet west of it, and are spaced 10 to 30 

feet. The rift is reported as vertical, about east-west, but in places 

dipping away from the vertical, north or south. When split from the 

side"the rift in those places is vertical. The grain is said to dip steeply 

with north-south course. A workman stated that the rift in the 

"extra light" was superior to that in the dark stone, and the blocks in 

sight showed smooth rift breaks. The "extra light" occurs at both 

north and south ends of the quarry and the dark in the center. Near 

50193 Bull. 354 08 8
114 COMMERCIAL GKANITES OP MASS., N. Hv AND K. I.

a heading at southeast corner the granite is hematitic ("oreii"). 

(See p. 54.) Rusty stain is from 1 to 3 inches thick on both light 

and dark stone. The rock surface is covered with 5 to 10 feet of 

fragments of weathered granite, sand, and bowlders.

The plant consists of 3 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, 2 swinging 

engines, an air compressor (capacity, 134 cubic feet of air per minute), 

2 steam drills, 4 air plug drills, and 2 steam pumps.

Transportation involves cartage of 2 miles.

The product is monumental and bridge work, the former being four 

times more in value than the latter. Specimen structures: Arch 

bridge across Furnace Brook Parkway in West Quincy; five bridges 

between South Braintree and Whitman on the Plymouth division of 

the New York, New Haven and Hartford Eailroad.

The Savo quarry is about four-fifths mile west-northwest of West 

Quincy station. (See map, PL II, No. 8.) Operator, Savo Granite 

Company, 16 Quarry street, Quincy, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXIX, 84, a) is an altered riebeckitesegirite granite of pinkish medium gray color and medium to coarse 

even-grained texture, with feldspars up to 0.5 inch and greenish silicates up to 0.2 inch. Its constituents are, in descending order of 

abundance: A light-pinkish, not transparent potash feldspar (orthoclase, twinned) with minutely intergrown soda-lime feldspar, considerably kaolinized, but containing little epidote and no riebeckite. 

Its pinkish color must be attributed to hematite, arising either from 

the oxidation of FeO in the feldspar or of magnetite in the other 

particles; smoky quartz with intersecting streaks or sheets of cavities 

and minute black particles; riebeckite and aegirite altered to quartz, 

magnetite, carbonate, epidote and in some cases chlorite; a little sodalime feldspar (oligoclase-andesine). The accessory minerals are: 

Zircon (rather large), and fluorite. The secondary: Kaolin, epidote, 

carbonate, magnetite (some in crystals), chlorite, and hematite. 

A veinlet crossing several feldspars consists for a part of its course 

of epidote, in another part of quartz and in another of calcite. (See 

further on this granite, p. 54.) The pink tint fades somewhat on 

exposure.

The quarry, opened in 1905, measures about 135 feet N. 55° W. by 

50 feet across and 40 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 1 to 8 feet thick, dip 45° N. 25° E., without reference to present surface. Joints A strike N. 70° W., dip about 60° N. 

20° E., and S. 20° W. Of this set there are two at the south end. 

Joints C strike N. 30° W., dip 90° and steeply west, and form east and 

west walls. The pink granite occupies the southern half of the quarry 

and the pea green the northern half. The rift is reported as vertical, 

north-south, and the grain as horizontal. Rusty stain is from 8 to 12 

inches thick. The stripping is from 8 to 13 feet thick.
MASSACHUSETTS. 115

The plant consists of 2 derricks, a hoisting engine, a steam drill, 

and a steam pump.

Transportation involves cartage of nearly 1$ miles to West Quincy.

The product up to October 17, 1906, had been confined to cellar 

stone and curbing. It was hoped, however, that as the quarry 

deepened unaltered gray granite suitable for monumental use would 

be found. If the pink is part of a zone of slightly metamorphosed 

surface alteration that hope will be realized.

The Gold-leaf quarry is 4,500 feet N. 80° W. from the West Quincy 

station. (See map, PL II, No. 7.) Operator, The Quincy Quarries 

Company, Quincy, Mass.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 71, a, b) "Gold-leaf Quincy" 

is a riebeckite-segirite granite of medium bluish-green gray color 

(a trifle lighter than 67, c, the "light" of Dell Hitchcock-quarry) 

speckled with black and yellow brown. Its texture is medium to 

coarse, even grained, with feldspars up to 0.5 inch and black silicates 

to 0.3 inch, and yellow brown stains to 0.5 inch, but the quartz areas 

are finely granular. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: Medium bluish-green-gray potash feldspar (orthoclase, 

twinned) minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar, in places 

granulated, somewhat kaolinized and epidotized, and containing 

many minute crystals of riebeckite, to which with the epidote the 

feldspar owes its peculiar color; quartz, clear to light smoky, almost 

without cavities, all granulated in particles mostly under 1 milimeter, 

rarely 2 millimeters in diameter; blue-black riebeckite and greenblack segirite, in places associated with limonite (and hematite?); 

soda-lime feldspar (albite and probably oligoclase-albite) in small 

amount. Fluorite is accessory. Secondary limonite occurs in irregular areas, mostly not related to the particles of black silicate, and' 

this produces the yellow-brown stains. The epidote is secondary 

also.

An estimate of the mineral percentages by the Rosiwal method, 

with a mesh of 0.5 inch and a total linear length of 74 inches, yields 

these figures:

Estimated mineral percentages in Gold-leaf Quincy granite. 

Feldspars................................................................ 67.37

Quartz................................................................... 23.01

Riebeckite and segirite.................................................... 9.62

100.00

As compared with other Quincy granites these proportions approximate those of the Wigwam quarry stone. It is the lightest of the 

Quincy monumental granites. The contrasts between the light 

bluish green of the feldspar and the black particles and the yellowbrown stains are marked. The minute particles of granulated quartz
116 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

reflect the light and, as it were, spangle the surface, and where the 

limonite stain coincides with the quartz areas the yellow brown spots 

are the more conspicuous. Hence the trade name "Gold leaf." It 

takes a high polish, but as small pits are apt to appear in the quartz 

areas, probably owing to the dropping out of minute quartz particles, 

it seems better adapted to indoor ornamentation.

The quarry is about 125 feet square, and from 20 to over 50 in 

depth.

Joints A strike N. 80° W., vertically and steeply north, form the 

north wall and are spaced about 50 feet. Joints C strike N. 10° W., 

dip 30° east, form 3 headings in the eastern half, and are spaced 4 to 

15 feet. These apparently serye as, or in fact are, sheets. Fine-, 

grained gray knots of group 1 (p. 95), measure 6 inches in diameter.

The Quincy Quarries Company owns a large cutting plant a few 

hundred feet southeast of this quarry, which in 1906 was let to 

Robert Cantley. It includes an overhead crane of 20 tons capacity, 

an air compressor (capacity 290 cubic feet of air per minute), one 

air plug drill, 35 air hand tools, 5 lathes for stones 21 feet by 5 feet 6 

inches, 6 double polishing lathes for stone up to 22 feet by 5 feet 6 

inches, one for balls, balusters, and small work, 3 polishers, a stone 

crusher, and a 151-horsepower engine for driving the lathes, polishers, 

etc. a

This "quarry was idle in 1906 as were also 2 other openings controlled by the same company, situated a few hundred feet south and 

southeast of it. 6 Twelve columns, 19 feet 6 inches by 3 feet 4 inches 

have been obtained from the "Gold-leaf" quarry.

Transportation from both quarry and cutting shed is by sidings 

connected with the Granite branch of the New York, New Haven and 

Hartford Railroad, as shown in PL II.

The Rogers quarry, is at the north foot of the "Blue Hills," 1,500 

feet northwest of the West Quincy station on Willard street. (See 

map, PL II, No. 9-.) Operator, The Quincy Quarries Company, 

Quincy, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 70, d), "extra dark," is a 

riebeckite-aegirite granite of very dark purplish gray color and of 

medium to coarse texture, with feldspars up to 0.5 and black silicates 

up to 0.3 inch. Its constituents are like those of the Reinhalter 

and the Granite Railway "extra dark" granite, described on pages 

107,109. The feldspars have more whitish kaolinized streaks, hence 

the general shade is slightly lighter than the granites referred to

a In 1906 500 balusters of Milford, Mass., pink granite were being finished at this plant for the Pennsylvania Terminal Station at New York under a contract with the Milford Stone Company. (See p. 78.)

6 One of these openings, known as the Fuller quarry (PI. II, No. 21), is owned by the Quincy Granite 

Company but let to the Quincy Quarries Company. It was opened about 1850, and measures about 

600 by 400 feet and 150 feet in depth. The Quincy Granite Company now confines itself to cutting and 

polishing.
MASSACHUSETTS. 117

(78, a, and 68, c), and minute hematitic stains account for its more 

purplish hue. This quarry also yields the "dark."

The quarry, opened in 1832, measures about 600 feet from north to 

south by 175 feet across and from 40 to 150 feet, or an average of 95 

feet in depth.

The sheets are short arid thick lenses, which render the structure 

obscure and irregular. Joint courses are shown in fig. 12. Joints A 

dip 90° or steeply north and are spaced 10 to 20 feet. Joints B, dipping steeply east, form headings on east and west walls and are spaced 

10 to 20 feet. 4 Joints C, dipping 50° east, form a heading at the northwest corner, the faces of which are coated with riebeckite, and are 

spaced 6 inches to 4 feet. (See on these black joints, p. 60.) This 

heading intersects a - heading of B. Joints D, diagonal, dip 40° 

S. 45° W., and are spaced 2 to 20 feet. At the south end several 

faces dipping 30°-60° N. 

may belong to A. The 

rift is reported as vertical 

with east-west course and 

the grain as also vertical, 

at right angles,, but feeble.

A basic dike, 2 feet 

thick, at the north end 

dips 65° north. Finegrained aplitic knots probably of group 1, page 95, 

occur. The largest knot 

reported was 3 by 1£ feet. 

Rusty stain is from 1 to 

12 inches thick. In places 

all the granite to a depth 

of 30 feet is somewhat stained, but in others good stone occurs at 

the top. At the south end, west side, the granite upon exposure 

discolors readily to a medium slightly olive gray. Specimen D, 

XXVIII, 70, b, described on page 54, had been exposed three years 

at a point 30 feet down. In thin section the stain is seen to proceed from particles of riebeckite and segirite. This feature marked 

the stone at that point as far down as excavations had gone in 1906.

The plant consists of 5 derricks, 5 hoisting engines, an air compressor (Capacity 290 cubic feet of air per minute), 2 steam drills, 8 

air plug drills, and a stone crusher (capacity 150 tons per day).

Transportation is effected by a siding from the New York, New 

Haven and Hartford Railroad.

The product is used for monuments, and the waste for road material, etc.

FIG. 12. Structure at Rogers quarry, West Quincy, Mass.
118 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

The following two quarries are in Milton:

The Mount Pleasant quarry is at the northwest foot of the Blue 

Hills, in Milton Township, on Lyman road, off Pleasant street. (See 

map, PL II, No. 11.) Operator (1906), The Mount Pleasant Quarry 

Company, H. H. Folsom, receiver, East Milton, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXIX, 85, a), "dark Quincy," is a 

riebeckite-aegirite granite of dark bluish gray color, a trifle lighter than 

68, b ("dark blue railway"), and with a more bluish tinge. Its texture is medium to coarse, even-grained, with feldspars up to 0.5 inch 

and black silicates to 0.3 inch. Its constituents, in descending 

order of abundance, are: A medium to dark bluish gray potash 

feldspar (orthoclase, mostly twinned) minutely intergrown with sodalime feldspar, in places somewhat kaolinized, with unusually abundant minute crystals of riebeckite and some particles of epidote, also 

minute orange-colored hornblende crystals; quartz, dark smoky, 

with very slight bluish tinge, containing minute cavities and black 

particles in intersecting streaks and sheets; blue-black riebeckite and 

green-black gegirite in cases intergrown; soda-lime feldspar (albite 

and probably oligoclase-albite) in very small amount. Accessory: 

Fluorite and allanite. Secondary: Kaolin, epidote, calcite, limonite, 

and probably the orange hornblende.

The blueness of this stone is clearly due to the abundant riebeckite 

crystals in the feldspars. This comes out on the polished face. (See 

specimen 88, a, which is identical, but from the adjoining quarry, 

p. 119.)

Mr. George Steiger, chemist of the United States Geological Survey, 

extracted from this granite by means of hot dilute acetic acid 0.15 

per cent of CaO (lime), which indicates a content of 0.26 per cent of 

CaC03 or calcite, the presence of which mineral is also shown by the 

microscope.

The quarry, opened in 1901, measures about 125 by 100 feet and 

100 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 5 to 27 feet thick, are horizontal and turn to dip 

gently east. Sgrhe of the sheet surfaces on the west side are coated 

with riebeckite. (See p. 60.) Joints B strike N. 10° E., dip 90° 

and steeply east, form the east wall, and are spaced 5 to 11 feet. 

Joints A strike N. 60° W., form a heading on the south side, and are 

spaced 2 to 15 feet. Joints E, diagonal, strike about northwest and 

form a heading near the west wall, which has a dark-bluish stone 

northeast of it, but inferior light stone southwest of it. Black 

riebeckite-coated joint and sheet faces abound in this part. The 

rift is reported as vertical with a nearly N. 10° E. course. Rusty 

stain is up to 2 inches thick on the lower sheets. The surface has 

from 5 to 10 feet of stripping.

The plant includes 3 derricks, a hoisting engine, a hand derrick, 

3 steam drills, and a pump.
. MASSACHUSETTS. 119

Transportation involves cartage of 2| miles to the railroad at West 

Quincy or of 3 miles to cutting sheds at Quincy.

The chief product is used for monuments.

The Maguire & 0''Heron quarry is at the northwest foot of the Blue 

Hills, in Milton. Township, about 800 feet southwest of the last quarry, 

off Pleasant street. (See map, PI. II, No. 10.) Operator, Maguire & 

O'Heron, East Milton, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXIX, 88, a), "dark Quincy," is a riebeckite-segirite granite of dark bluish gray color like that of the 

adjoining Mount Pleasant quarry (specimen 85, a). Its texture,and 

constituents are also identical.

The polished face brings out the marked bluish tinge of the feldspars, 

which are streaked with whitish kaolinized parts and contrast somewhat with the smoky quartz, but much more with the black silicates.'

This stone differs from the " dark blue railway" (specimen D, XXVIII, 

68, h, p. 109) by its slightly more bluish tinge, which is due to the 

greater abundance of microscopic riebeckite crystals in the feldspars. 

An estimate of the mineral percentages by the Rosiwal method, 

with a mesh of 0.5 inch 'and a total linear length of 20 inches, yields 

these figures:

Estimated mineral percentages in Quincy granite from the Maguire & O'Heron quarry.

Feldspars................................................................ 55.80

Quartz................................................................... 33.10

Riebeckite and segirite (excluding microscopic particles).................... 11.10

100.00

The quarry, opened in a small way about 1882, but in a larger way 

in 1901, measures about 250 feet, N. 35° E. by from 75 to 150 feet 

across and 70 feet in depth. Its width at north and south ends is 

irregular, averaging about 100 feet.

The sheets, from 3 to 15 feet thick, dip as high as 20° southwest. 

Joints B strike north, dip steeply east, form a 50-foot heading on the 

southwest wall, and are spaced 3 to 20 feet.. Joints C strike N. 20°-25° 

W., dip 75° ENE., and form a heading in the middle of the south end. 

Joints D strike N. 35° E., dip vertically and steeply west, form the 

east and west walls, and are spaced 3 to 100 feet. The rift is reported 

as nearly vertical, with a north course, and the grain as -horizontal. 

Quartz veins, from 1 to 3 inches thick, dipping 30° southeast and 

inclosed in belts of whitish discoloration, recur at intervals of 3 to 18 

feet. (See pp. 48, 53.) Rusty stain is from 3 to 18 inches thick on 

the lower sheets.

The plant consists of 3 derricks and 2 hoisting engines, 2 air compressors (capacity 130 and 230 cubic feet of air per minute), a steam 

drill, 12 air plug drills, 18 air hand tools, 3 polishers, a steam pump, 

an overhead crane (capacity 15 tons), and a 35-horsepower engine 

for the cutting shed.
120 COMMERCIAL GBANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND B. I.

Transportation involves cartage of nearly a mile and a half to the 

cutting shed at East Milton and of another mile to the railroad at 

West Quincy.

The product is used mostly for monuments and the waste for cellar 

stone. Specimen monuments: The Bradley monument, at Purdy 

Station N. Y., monument to Samuel Neilson, the Irish patriot, at 

Poughkeepsie, N. Y.; the Long monument, at Mansfield, Ohio; the 

Patterson monument, at Ashland, Pa.; the Meehan monument, at 

St. Joseph's Cemetery, Boston, and the Mead Chapel, at Lake Waccabuc, N. Y.

The last of the Quincy quarries is on the southeast side of the Blue 

Hills.

The Sartori quarry is on Pine Hill, in Quincy Township, close to the 

Braintree line. (See map, PI. II, No. 12.) Operator, Angelo Sartori 

& Brothers, 66 West street, West Quincy, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXIX, 82, a) is an altered riebeckitesegirite granite of very dark dull greenish-brownish gray, almost without contrasts, and of medium to coarse even-grained texture, with 

feldspars up to 0.5 inch and altered black silicates up to 0.3 inch. 

Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: A dark 

greenish-brownish gray nearly opaque potash feldspar (orthoclase, 

twinned), some of which is minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar. It is mostly much kaolinized and in places much micacized, 

and here and there is stained with hematite (no epidote or riebeckite 

crystals were detected in it); smoky quartz, in places pinkish from 

hematite stain, with intersecting streaks or sheets of cavities and 

minute black particles; riebeckite and segirite particles completely 

altered to masses of greenish biotite, magnetite (mostly octahedral), 

carbonate, and quartz with some chlorite or delessite; very little sodalime feldspar (oligoclase); magnetite, zircon, allanite, and fluorite. 

There are also (spherulites) brownish balls of radiating fibrous crystals, 0.02 to 0.1 millimeter in diameter, some of which polarize like 

zircon. Secondary: Biotite, a white mica, carbonate, chlorite or 

delessite, hematite, and magnetite.

This granite differs by its greenish-brownish color from all the 

other Quincy granites, although microscopically it 'approaches the 

pinkish of the Savo quarry (p. 114), but it differs from that by the 

different alterations of its feldspars and black silicates.

The quarry, opened in 1903, measures 50 by 30 feet, and 15 to.20 

feet in depth.

This is a bowlder quarry. Joints A strike N. 77° W., dip 45° NNW., 

and are spaced 3 to 10 feet. Joints C strike N. 10° W., dip 90°, and 

are spaced 3 to 20 feet. The rift is reported as parallel to A.

The product in 1906 had been found adapted only to bases, curbing, 

and paving.
MASSACHUSETTS. 121

ROCKPORT.

Topography. The, township of Rockport occupies the eastern and 

northern part of that insular mass on the Atlantic coast known as 

Cape Ann. . (See Gloucester sheet of United States Geological 

Survey topographic atlas.) It is in the county of Essex, in northeastern Massachusetts, in a region of low, roundish or oval, granitic 

or sandy hillocks, never exceeding 180 feet in height, and of marshes 

and bowlder-strewn sand flats. The most conspicuous of these hillocks is Pigeon Hill, about a mile north of Rockport village, which is 

regarded as a drumlin. The quarries are in the northern part of the 

Cape, scattered along the shore or within three-quarters mile of it, 

from Rockport to Bay View. (See fig. 13.)

General geology. The physiography and geology of Cape Ann 

have been interestingly described by Shaler and Tarr. a

The entire Cape is represented in Shaler's map, PI. LXXVII, as of 

granite but traversed at very frequent intervals by diabase dikes and 

at a few points by quartz porphyry dikes. According to Sears's. 

geological map of Essex County, hornblende granite covers Halibut 

Point, Rockport, and the area half a mile east of Bay View, but a 

quarter of a mile east of Bay View there is a small area of "augite 

syenite." b

The geological age of the granite is not yet fully determined. The 

basic dikes may be Triassic. They range from one-half inch to 40 

feet in width. Of 361 observed by Shaler and Tarr 266 lie in the 

northwest quadrant and more than half in the 45 degrees between 

north and northwest. They conclude from numerous observations 

of dike and joint courses that the number of dikes does not appear 

to have been determined by the number of incipient fissures afforded 

by the joints; in other words "that the conditions which guided the 

direction of the dikes were probably due to some feature or condition 

no t inherent in the j oints themselves.''

Description of Rockport granite. The more recent scientific accounts 

of Rockport granite are those of Wadsworth, Merrill, Washington, 

and Sears. c Cooke, Clarke, Penfield, and Forbes have described certain new or unusual minerals in Rockport granite. d

The following epitomizes the descriptions of rough and polished 

specimens and thin sections of this granite from all the quarries as

a See Shaler, N. S., The geology of Cape Arm, Mass.: Ninth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1889, pp. 

529-611.

& Sears, J. EL, The physical 'geography, geology, mineralogy, and paleontology of Essex County, 

Mass.: Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1905.

c Wadsworth, M. E., Notes on the petrography of Quincy and Rockport: Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 

vol.19,1881; Merrill, G.P., Report Smithsonian Institution, 1885,1889,pt. 2,p. 419; Washington, H. S., 

The petrographical province of Essex County, Mass.: Jour. Geol., vol. C (8), 1898, pp. 790-79G; Sears, 

J. H., op.cit., pp. 150,153.

d Cooke, J. P., Oncryophyllite, a new mineral species of the mica family with some associated minerals 

in the granite of Rockport, Mass.: Am. Jour. Sci.(2), vol. 43, 1807, pp. 217-230; also, On danalite from 

Rockport: Ibid., July, 1866 (p. 73); Clarke, F. W.,0n cryophyllite from Rockport: Ibid. (3), vol. 32, 

1886, p. 358; Penfleld, S. L., and Forbes, E. H., Fayalitefrom Rockport, Mass., etc.: Ibid. (4), vol. 1,1896, 

pp. 129-131.
122 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OP MASS., N. H.; AND R. I.

described on the following pages. Analyses, mineral percentages, 

and results of physical tests follow the rock description.'

Rockport granite is of two sorts, the first and most abundant, 

known commercially as "gray granite/' is a hornblende granite of

70°40'

OV6: 

Andr.ews Point

Ocean View

Quarry site Roads

FIG. 13. Map of part of Cape Ann, Mass., showing the locations of Rockport granite quarries. 1, Flat 

Ledge quarry, Rockport Granite Company. 2, Upper Pit, Rockport Granite Company. 3, Pigeon 

Hill quarry, Pigeon Hill Granite Company. 4, Upper quarry of Pigeon Hill Granite Company. 

5, Babson Farm quarry, Rockport Granite Company. 6, Nickerson quarry, W. E. Nickerson. 

7, Breakwater quarry, Breakwater Construction and Engineering Company. 8, Canney quarry, 

Edwin Canney. 9, Devils Rock quarry, William R. Cheves. 10, Cheves Green Granite quarry, 

William R. Cheves. 11, Blood Ledge quarry, Rockport Granite Company. 12, Deep Pit, Rockport 

Granite Company.

medium gray shade (in places with slight greenish or bluish tinge) 

spotted with black. Its texture is medium to coarse and even 

grained, with feldspars up to 0.3 or 0.5 inch, and hornblende up to 0.2
MASSACHUSETTS. 123

inch. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are a light 

gray potash feldspar (orthoclase with or without microcline) of a 

silghtly greenish or bluish or buff tinge, generally twinned .and minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar (albiteto oligoclase-albite), 

more or less kaolinized; quite smoky quartz with abundant cavities 

(many with liquid and vacuoles), from 0.0043, or under, to 0.02 milimeter in diameter, mostly in sheets; black hornblende, in places 

with a little bluish-black riebeckite (p. 91); very little separate 

soda-lime feldspar like above; and very little black mica (biotite or 

lepidomelane). a The accessory minerals are: Magnetite, pyrite, 

allanite, fluorite, zircon, and apatite. The secondary are: Hematite, 

limonite, kaolin, some black hornblende, and calcite.

Estimates of the mineral percentages by the Rosiwal method yield 

the following results:

Estimated mineral percentanes in "Rockport Gray Granite."

Average. 

Feldspar, 55.50 to 59.60................................................... 57.97

Quartz, 33.88 to 38.90..................................................... 35. 82

Hornblende and mica, 5.60 to 7.26......................................... 6.20

Rockport granite is said to be "hard." These estimates show 

quartz averaging 35.83 per cent, or if the green of Bay View, given 

beyond, be averaged with the gray, 34.85 per cent, whereas the 

average amount of quartz in five tests of Quincy granite is 30.60 

per cent (p. 93), in Conway red granites 28.62 per cent (p. 180), and 

in the Redstone granite of Westerly, R. I. (p. 200), 29.87 per cent. 

This extra 6 per cent of quartz may be sufficient to account for the 

hardness.

H. S.,« Washington b gives the following analysis of Rockport

granite:

Analysis of Rockport granite.

[By H. S. Washington.]

Si02 (silica).............................................................. 77. 61

Ti02 (titanium dioxide)................................................... .25

A1203 (alumina).......................................................... 11. 94

Fe203 (iron sesquioxide).................................................. .55

FeO (iron oxide)......................................................... .87

MnO (manganese oxide)................................................... Trace.

MgO (magnesia)........................................................... Trace.

CaO (lime).............................................................. .31

Na20 (soda)..................................,.................'.......... 3. 80

K2 0 (potash)............................................................... 4. 98

H2 0 (water) 110-......................................................... Trace.

H20 (water) 110-{-ignition.................................................. .23

100. 54 

Specific gravity 2.618 at 18° C.

^"Washington, H. S., op. cit., p. 793, reports 2 varieties of biotite, one very pale green, probably cryophyllite of Cooke, the other darker greenish gray, lepidomelane (annite). Clarke, F. W., op. cit., shows 

that several varieties of biotite occur.

&0p. cit., p. 793. On p. 794 he gives these estimates of the mineral percentages based partly on 

the analysis and partly on microscopic observation: Feldspars 50.2 per cent, quartz 35.5 per cent, 

hornblende and two biotites 3.8 per cent, accessory minerals 0.5 per cent. The figure for quartz 

agrees very closely with that obtained by the Kosiwal method.
124 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

Messrs. Steiger and Sullivan, chemists, of the United States Geological Survey, find that this granite contains from 0.14 to 0.20 per 

cent of CaO (lime) soluble in hot dilute acetic'acid, which indicates 

the presence of from 0.25 to 0.35 per cent of CaC03 (lime carbonate), 

calcite. (See pp. 125, 129.)

Owing to the black silicate being almost entirely hornblende the 

stone takes a very high polish. The contrasts of shade between the 

gray feldspar,- smoky quartz, and black hornblende are much more 

marked on the polished than on the rough face.

The other variety of Rockport granite, known as " green granite," 

is also a hornblende granite, but of somewhat dark olive-gray color 

spotted with black.

Its texture is medium to coarse, even grained, with feldspars up to 

0.3 and 0.5 inch and hornblende up to 0.2 inch. Its constituents, 

in descending order of abundance, are: Medium olive-gray feldspars; 

like those of the gray variety, slightly yellow-greenish smoky quartz, 

black hornblende and biotite (black mica), together with accessory 

magnetite, zircon, and allanite, and secondary kaolin, limonite, and 

calcite. The feldspar varies in the same particle from an olive green 

to a scarcely greenish milk-white. Limonitic stain is visible in the 

rift and other cracks of both feldspar and quartz. This stain seems 

to originate in particles of allanite and magnetite, in the biotite and 

hornblende, and partly in minute ferruginous particles in the feldspars 

not distinguishable from kaolin. Quarrymen state that this stone, 

which when first quarried is a dark gray, becomes greenish after an 

exposure of three to four hours to rain. It is also stated that the 

green granite loses some of its color on continued exposure about the 

quarry. Specimens of this slightly faded green granite show that, 

while the feldspars have lost a little of their greenness, that color is 

preserved in the quartz.

An estimate of the mineral percentages in, this granite 'by the 

Rosiwal method yields the following results:

Estimated mineral percentages in Rockport green granite. 

Feldspars.....................,...................................:...... 58. 45

Quartz................................................................... 31. 95

Hornblende............................................................... 9. 60

100. 00

This granite takes as high a polish as the gray but its contrasts 

are less marked.

Besides these granites there is near Bay View a dark brownishgray riebeckite-aegirite-biotite granite, which has only been prospected, and is described on page 139, and also near Pigeon Cove a 

beautiful diabase porphyry, which is as yet little worked. This is 

described on page 139. Finally there is the bright rust-colored "sap"
MASSACHUSETTS. ' 125

referred to on page 57, which is unusually abundant in some of the 

Kockport quarries. This has been used by architects in the basements 

of several private residences on the Cape. The office of the Rockport Granite Company and the Rockport Carnegie Library are made 

of it. In both buildings the fresh gray granite has been.used for 

trimmings. The resulting contrast is pleasing.

Geology of Rockport quarries. The conspicuous feature of the 

Rockport quarries is the large number of basic dikes which traverse 

them. Some of these are shown in PL V, A and B. Their courses 

are given in the quarry descriptions. One attains a thickness of 18 

feet. They are mostly diabase (soda-lime feldspar, augite more or 

less altered to hornblende; magnetite, and biotite). Qne was found 

to contain both augite and hornblende but no mica. The dike 

matter was erupted through deeply parted joints. Contemporaneous 

with them was the irregular-shaped injection described on page 50 

and also shown in PL V, B. The faulting of the large dike in the 

same quarry shows that a crustal movement affected the region 

after the crystallization of the dike material. The injection of 

molten matter into cold granite was not without effect, for the stone 

on either side of these dikes is apt to be darkened. A thin section 

of this darkened granite from the Flat Ledge quarry (p. 127) shows 

xit traversed by minute parallel or converging fractures, 0.004 to 0.04 

inch apart. The intervening material, is broken into angular 

slivers, and the walls of the fractures are coated with chlorite, and 

the adjacent feldspars are partly altered to mica. The darker shade 

of the granite is thus due to the secondary minerals, the formation of' 

which .was made possible by the cracking of the quartz and feldspar.

Segregations (knots) are not uncommon in Rockport granite, but 

at Halibut Point, the extreme north end of the Cape, in the Babson 

Farm quarry, there is one of unusual character. It is 8 by 4 by 1\ 

feet, and consists mainly of feldspar and quartz. The feldspar is a 

somewhat kaolinized light - grayish potash feldspar (microcline) 

minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-talbie) and 

containing a few particles of quartz. The cleavage of the feldspar 

has in places a marked curvature. The quartz is amethystine 

smoky, in particles up to 2 feet across, and has cavities from 0.00285 

to 0.0285 millimeter in diameter. In the center of this knot is a 

mass, 6 by 2 inches, of a yellow-brownish mineral of the augite group, 

which Mr. Johannsen determines as bronzite, a silicate of magnesia 

with 60 per cent of silica and 40 per cent of magnesia.

The pegmatite dikes contain some bright green feldspar (amazon 

stone). A 4-inch dike of aplite is bordered by pegmatite 1 to 2 

inches thick.

. Although some of the data obtained from the quarrymen as to 

rift and grain appear to be incorrect, owing to their confounding rift
126 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H.; AND R. I.

and grain or else to inaccurate observation, the course of the rift 

appears to be east-west and generally vertical and the grain horizontal. Rift and grain cracks can be detected in the quartz areas of 

polished surfaces.

Sheet structure is generally imperfect, owing either to the shortening 

of the lenses by increase in the curvature of the fractures or to the 

low-dipping joints which intersect them, or else to incomplete development. In some places the "toe-nail structure'' enhances the 

difficulties.

The joints at the 11 quarries in operation have the following 

courses: About north, N. 25° E., N. 30°-40° E., N. 60°-75° E., about 

east-west, N. 15°-20° W., N. 30°-45° W.,° and N. 55°-70° W. The 

courses noted at the largest number of quarries were: N. 30°-40° E., 

N. 30°-40° W., N. 60°-75° E., and the east-west ones.

At the Upper Pigeon Hill quarry a compressive strain in all lateral 

directions results in undulating fractures and binds the chisels in 

channeling.

The Rockport quarries. The Flat Ledge quarry is half a mile northnorthwest of Rockport and 80 feet west of Sandy Bay. (See fig. 13.) 

Operator, Rockport Granite Company, Rockport, Mass.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 24, a, f), " Rockport gray," 

is a hornblende granite of medium-gray shade with a slight bluishgreen tinge and inconspicuous black spots. In large masses its 

general color is bluish gray. Its texture is medium to coarse, even 

grained, with feldspars up to 0.5 and hornblende to 0.2 inch. Its 

constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: A light-gray, 

slightly blue-greenish potash feldspar (orthoclase, some of it twinned, 

and microcline), minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar and 

somewhat kaolinized; very smoky quartz; black hornblende; and 

very little separate soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite); together 

with accessory magnetite, molybdenite, purple fluorite, and zircon; 

and secondary kaolin and calcite.

Mr. George Steiger, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, 

finds that it contains 0.20 per cent of CaO (lime) soluble in hot dilute 

acetic acid, which indicates the presence of 0.35 per cent of CaC03 

(lime.carbonate) calcite.

The stone takes a very high polish and hammers somewhat light.

The quarry, opened about 1855, measures about 1,100 feet from 

northwest to southeast by 1,000 feet across and from 45 to 120 feet 

in depth, but it is only worked in its northern part.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 30 feet thick, are horizontal in the 

southern part, dip 25° NW. on the east side, and in the center dip 

about 20° S. One set of joints, striking N. 15° W. and dipping 65° 

WSW., is spaced 8 to 15 feet. Another set, striking N. 60° W. and 

dipping 80° NNE., is spaced 2 to 25 feet. The rift is reported as
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

.1. UPPER QUARRY OF PIGEON HILL GRANITE COMPANY, ROCKPORT, MASS., LOOKING SOUTHWEST.

Showing thick granite sheets intersected by basic dikes. The black streal<s in 

the front dike are underground water from sheet surfaces.

/>'. DEE

B

Showing in 

thin dike 

center, b

of which 
MASSACHUSETTS. 127

dipping 20° about S. and the grain as vertical with a N. 15°-20° E. 

course. A medium-grained pegmatite dike 5 feet thick, striking 

N. 30° W. and dipping 25° E., consists of potash feldspar (microcline 

and orthoclase), smoky quartz, soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase to 

andesine), garnet, and zircon. A coarse-grained dike, not examined 

microscopically, consists of a cream-colored feldspar, in places bright 

green, smoky quartz, black and possibly other varieties of mica, and 

garnets. Basic dikes strike N. 10° E., N. 15° W., and N. 60° W., 

dipping 40°, 70°, and 90°. The discolored granite adjacent to one of 

these was. examined and has been described on page 125. Rusty 

stain, from one-fourth to 2 inches thick, is very abundant and bright, 

particularly along the joint faces. (See pp. 57,125.) '

The equipment of the quarry, combined with that of the adjoining 

"upper pit" quarry of same firm, will be found on page 128.

Transportation is effected by means of an 800-foot track to cutting 

shed and wharf.

The lower story of the Providence, R. I., post-office is made of 

stone from this quarry. Paving and crushed stone and riprap form a 

considerable part of the product, in tons, of the several quarries 

operated by this company. In 1905, 32,000 tons of paving blocks 

and 30,000 tons of riprap were produced, as against 50,000 of rough 

stone and 12,000 of dressed stone.

The "upper pit" of Rockport Granite Company lies west-southwest 

of the Flat Ledge quarry, about half a mile northwest of Rockport. 

(See fig. 13.) Operator, Rockport Granite Company, Rockport, 

Mass.

The granite, "Rockport gray," is a hornblende granite identical 

with that of the Flat Ledge quarry. (See p. 126.)

An estimate of the mineral percentages in this stone, made by the 

Rosiwal method, with half-inch mesh and total linear length of 

20 inches, jnelded the following results:

Estimated mineral percentages in Rockport gray granite from "upper pit" of Rockport

Granite Company.

Feldspars...,..........................'.................................. 55. 50

Quartz................................................................... 38. 90

Hornblende.............................................................. 5. 60

100. 00

The quarry measures about 625 feet from northwest to southeast 

by 325 feet across, and averages 100 feet in depth, but there is an 

intermediate opening, 150 by 125 feet, averaging 40 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 4 to 35 feet thick, dip 20° about east. One set of 

joints strikes N. 30° E., dips 50° W., and is spaced down to 10 feet; 

another strikes about N. 30° W., dips 30°-50° E., and is spaced 

down to 5 feet. A third set, in the intermediate opening, strikes
128 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H. ; AND R. I.

N. 70° E. ; dips steeply south-southeast, and is spaced 10 to 25 feet. 

A fourth set, "blind seams/' strikes east-west, dips 50° S., recurs at 

very irregular intervals, and is not stained with limonite. The rift is 

reported as striking N. 80° W. and dipping 75°-80° S. The grain 

is probably like that in the Flat Ledge quarry. There are 4 basic 

dikes on the east and west sides striking N. 15° .W. and dipping 70° 

E., and an 8-foot dike in the smaller opening striking N. 70° W. and 

dipping steeply north-northeast. A dike of aplite, 4 inches wide, 

with a border of pegmatite 1 to 2 inches thick with bright green 

feldspar, strikes N. 55° E. Gray knots measure up to 12 inches.

The combined plants of the "upper pit" and Flat Ledge quarry 

include 14 derricks, a hoisting engine, 7 large air drills, 25 air plug 

drills, and 6 steam pumps. Compressed air is furnished by the cutting plant on the wharf.

The cutting plants of the Rockport Granite Company are on the 

wharf near the Flat Ledge quarry and at Bay View near the other 

quarries of the company. They comprise 3 " stiff -legged" derricks, 

one of them with "bull wheel" and a three-drum engine, 3 locomotive cranes, 2 air compressors (capacity 1,400 and 350 cubic feet of 

air per minute), 10 air plug drills, 6 air hand tools, 6 surfacers, a 

McDonald surfacer for stones up to 8 feet wide, a set of 6 saws for 

blocks 20 feet long, 3 stone lathes (one for stones 30 by 3 feet, two for 

stones 12 feet by 20 inches), 3 polishing lathes for stones of above sizes, 

6 vertical polishers, and 4 horizontal polishers; also a stone crusher 

with a capacity of 200 tons per day.

Transportation is effected by a track of 1,500 feet to wharf.

In 1906 this quarry was furnishing part of the granite for the piers 

and tower of the Cambridge-Boston bridge over the Charles River, 

and also for the anchorage of Manhattan Bridge No. 3 on the New 

York side.

The Pigeon Hill quarry ("lower quarry" of this company) is at the 

south foot of Pigeon Hill, one-third mile west of the shore and a mile 

north-northwest of Rockport. (See fig. 13.) Operator, Pigeon Hill 

Granite Company, Rockport, Mass.

The granite (specimens T)^ XXVIII, 34, a, b) is a hornblende 

granite of medium-gray shade with a slight bluish-green tinge and 

inconspicuous black spots. Its texture is medium to coarse and 

even grained. In texture, general color, and constituents this stone 

appears to be identical with that of the Flat Ledge and "upper pit" 

of the Rockport Granite Company. The only discernible difference 

is that the Pigeon Hill stone shows less quartz and a slightly lighter 

shade in the feldspar. The thin sections also show the presence 

along with the black hornblende of a little blue-black riebeckite (soda 

hornblende) and of a little biotite (black mica). Allanite, apatite, 

and pyrite appear also among the accessories. There is some sec-
MASSACHUSETTS. 129

ondary brown hornblende filling microscopic cracks in the feldspar, 

also a little secondary hematite and limonite stain. Some cavities of 

irregular outline in the quartz measure up to 0.02 millimeter, others 

of oval or roundish form, with liquid and vacuoles, measure up to 

0.0043 millimeter.

An estimate of the mineral percentages in this granite, made by 

the Rosiwal method, with'half-inch mesh and a total linear length of 

30 inches yields the following results:

Estimated mineral percentages in gray Rockport granite from the Pigeon Hill quarry.

Feldspars.:.............................:............".................... 58. 86

Quartz................................................................... 33. 88

Hornblende.............................................................. 7. 26

 100.00

A chemical analysis of this stone by H. S. Washington is given on 

page 123. Mr. E. C. Sullivan, chemist, of the United States Geological 

Survey, finds that it contains 0.14 per cent of CaO (lime) soluble in 

hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates a content of 0.25 per cent of 

CaC03 (lime carbonate), calcite.

The following data as to the compressive, compressed elastic, shearing, and transverse strengths of this granite were obtained by tests 

made at the United States arsenal at Watertown, Mass., in 1894 

from stone quarried during the previous month:

Compressive strength. Tests Nos. 6871, 6872, 6870, cubes about 4 inches square. 

First crack at .79,000, 86,000, 94,000 pounds. Ultimate compressive strength in 

pounds per square inch, 20,716, 20,522, and 17,772. Direction of rift and grain in 

cubes not given.

Compressed elastic strength. The block tested measured 24 by 4.01 by 6.06 inches. 

Weight, 54.5 pounds. Weight per cubic foot, 161.5 pounds. Sectional area, 24.3 

inches square. Pressure applied endwise. Under a pressure of 1,000 pounds per 

square inch the compression in a gauged length of 20 inches was 0.0031 inch. Under 

2,000 pounds it ranged from 0.0063 to 0.0078 inch.- Under 4,000 pounds it ranged 

from 0.0116 to 0.0129 inch. Under 6,000 pounds it ranged from 0.0162 to 0.0175 inch. 

Under 8,000 pounds it ranged from 0.0208 to 0.0209 inch. Under 10,000 pounds 

from 0.0253 to 0.0258 inch; and under 12,000 pounds it was 0.0297 inch.

Shearing strength. Dimensions of block 12 by 6 by 4 inches, .distance apart of supports 6 inches, width of plunger 5 inches. Tests Nos. 6879, 6880. First tension 

fractures midway between supports at 45,400 and 38,600 pounds. Shearing fractures 

developed later near edge of one support. Shearing strength 2,047 and 1,052 pounds 

per square inch "of shearing area.

Transverse strength. Dimensions of block, length 24, width 6, breadth 4 inches 

(decimals .omitted). Length between end supports 19 inches. Tests Nos. 6882, 

6883. Ultimate strength 12,320 and 12,480 pounds per square inch, equaling a 

modulus of rupture of 2,404 and 2,416, respectively. This was computed by the 

formula:

K 3pl 

' K~2 b d2

It takes a very high polish and hammers rather light.

50193 Bull. 354 08 9
130 COMMEKCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

The quarry, opened about 1871, measures about 625 feet on the 

northeast side and 700 feet on the southwest side by 450 to 500 feet 

across and from 40 to 80 feet in depth.

The sheets, 6 to 10 feet thick, dip northeast about 10° in the 

northern part of the quarry, but 10° to 30° SE. in the southeastern 

part. The joint and dike courses are shown in fig. 14. Joints A dip 

75° N., are spaced 3 to 10 feet, and abound in the southern part. 

Joints B dip 55° W., exceptionally 55° E., and are spaced 2 to 20 

feet. In the southwestern part the closeness of these joints precludes the quarrying of large blocks. Joints C dip steeply west. 

The rift is reported as horizontal but feeble, and the grain as vertical with northwest course. Dike a, 10 to 12 inches thick, dipping 

65° W. and forming the west side of quarry, is a fine-grained diabase 

consisting of soda-lime feldspar (andesine), hornblende from alteration of augite, magnetite, and black mica. Dike 6, 18 inches thick,

FIG. 14. Structure at Pigeon Hill quarry, Rockport, Mass.

dipping 75° SW., forms the north wall; and dike c, 12 inches thick, 

dipping 75° WSW., crosses the center of quarry. Knots measure 

up to 10 by 7 inches and rusty stain up to 6 inches on sheet surfaces.

The plant consists of 3 derricks, a hoisting engine, a large air drill, 

3 air plug drills, and a steam pump. The company's cutting plant, 

which receives material from both 'of its quarries, comprises 3 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, a locomotive crane, an air compressor 

(capacity 1,000 cubic feet of air per minute) which supplies both 

quarries, 5 surfacers, 2 air plug drills, 16 air hand tools, and a stone 

crusher with a capacity of 160 tons per day.

Transportation is effected by horsepower and an inclined track 

one-third mile long to wharf.

The product goes chiefly into buildings, but partly into paving 

and riprap for breakwater use. Specimen structures: The Charlestown, Mass., High School, entire; Bradford Memorial Chapel, at
MASSACHUSETTS. 131

Gloucester, Mass.; The Chelsea, Mass., viaduct over Boston and 

Maine Railroad at Mystic Wharf. In 1906 this quarry was furnishing stone for the Union National Bank at Pittsburg.

The Upper Pigeon Hill quarry is about a mile northwest of Rockport, and one-third mile southwest of Pigeon Hill. (See fig. 13.) 

Operator, Pigeon Hill Granite Company, Rockport, Mass.

The granite is a hornblende granite of medium gray shade, with 

slight bluish-green tinge and inconspicuous black spots. Its texture 

is medium to coarse and even grained. It is identical in composition 

with the stone of the lower quarry of this firm described on page 12$.

The quarry, opened about 1876, measures about 800 feet in a 

N. 35° E. direction by 450 feet N. 65° W., and from 50 to 100 feet in 

depth.

The sheets, from 4 inches to 12 feet thick, dip mainly west as high 

as 10°. Thin sheets are confined to the upper 20 feet. The sheet

structure is generally regular, as shown in PI. V, AJoint and dike courses are 

given in fig. 15. Set A is 

vertical and spaced- from 

7 to 50 feet. Set B dips 

20° south, and is spaced 

50 feet. Its low inclination confuses the sheet 

structure in places. Set 

C dips 55° west, and is 

spaced 10 to 50 feet. 

Set D, exceptional and 

intermittent, dips 75° NE. 

Set E, also exceptional, 

dips 75°.SSE. The rift is 

reported as vertical with N. 70° W. course and the grain as horizontal. 

There are 3 or more basic dikes from 12 to 18 inches thick: Dike a 

forms the northeast wall; dike 6, about 350 feet from a, dips 80° northeast, and dike c, 300 feet southwest of a, is vertical. The intersection 

of the sheets by the central dike is well shown in PI. V, A. Knots are 

reported as not over 2 feet, but rarely up to 10 by 5 feet. Rusty stain 

is from one-half inch to 12 inches thick.

The plant consists of 3 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, 3 large air rock 

drills, 5 air plug drills, and 3 steam pumps. The cutting plant nas 

been given on page 130.

Transportation is effected by an inclined track of half a mile to the 

wharf.

The product is used largely in construction. In 1906 some of it was 

being used, under a subcontract', in the tower on the southeast corner 

of the Cambridge and Boston bridge over the Charles River.

FIG. 15. Structure at Upper Pigeon Hill quarry, Rockport, 

Mass.
132 COMMEECIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

The Babson Farm quarry is at the north end of the cape, near Halibut 

Point, 21 miles north-northwest of Rockport. (See fig. 13.) Operator, Rockport Granite Company, Rockport, Mass.

The granife (specimen D, XXVIII, 25, d) is a hornblende granite of 

somewhat dark greenish-gray shade. It is markedly darker than the 

granite of the Flat Ledge and Pigeon Hill quarries. Its texture is 

medium to coarse, even grained, with feldspars up to 0.5 inch and 

hornblende up to 0.3 inch. Its constituents, in descending order of 

abundance, are: Medium greenish-gray potash feldspar (orthoclase) 

intergrown with soda-lime feldspar, and in places much kaolinized; 

very smoky quartz with parallel sheets of cavities and abounding in 

prismatic grayish crystals up to 0.02 millimeter; black hornblende and 

very little separate soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite). Accessory 

minerals are: Magnetite, zircon, and apatite. Secondary: Kaolin, 

limonite, hematite, and chlorite, the last in cracks and isolated particles within the feldspar, also along the boundaries of particles. To 

this mineral and to the limonite the feldspar owes its greenish tinge.

The quarry, opened about 1897, measures about 350 feet in a northeast direction by 150 feet across and from 40 to 50 feet in depth.

Sheet structure is normal. The sheets, from 4 inches to 15 feet 

thick, increasing in thickness downward, are horizontal or dip 10° 

NW. There are 4 sets of joints. Set A, striking N. 40° E., dipping 

75° SE. or 90°, spaced 10 to 40 feet, forms the northwest and southeast 

walls. Set B, striking N. 40° W. and dipping 45°-50° SW., is spaced 

100 to 200 feet. Set C, striking N. 65° W. and vertical, forms the 

northeast and southwest walls. Set D, striking N. 80° E., and vertical, forms a short heading near the north corner and recurs at rare 

intervals. The rift is reported as marked and vertical, with N. 50° E. 

course, and the grain as horizontal. A segregation of uncommon 

composition, measuring 8 by 4 by 2^ feet, from this quarry is described 

on page 125. There is some pyrite on the joint faces. Rusty stain 

from 1 to 6 inches thick occurs along the sheet surfaces.

The plant consists of 5 derricks, 3 hoisting, engines, an air, compressor (capacity, 550 cubic feet of air per minute), 2 large drills, 10 air plug 

drills, and 2 steam pumps.

Transportation is effected by cartage of one-fourth mile to wharf, 

which affords 30 feet of water at low tide.

No buildings constructed of this granite are reported.

The Breakwater quarry is on Folly Point, west of Folly Cove, 2£ 

miles northwest of Rockport. (See fig. 13.) Operator, Breakwater 

Construction and Engineering Company, 5. Nassau street, New York.

The granite is a gray hornblende granite, which, because of the use 

it was being put to, was not specially examined.

The quarry, opened in 1905, measures about 250 feet in a west-northwest direction by 100 feet across and from 5 to 30 feet in depth.
MASSACHUSETTS. 133

Sheet structure is scarcely perceptible, but the intersecting joints 

and headings are so numerous as to facilitate quarrying for the purpose 

in view.

The plant consists of 8 traveling cranes of 10 to 20 tons capacity, an 

air compressor (capacity, 150 cubic feet of air per minute), 10 steam 

drills, 1 "stiff-legged derrick," and a rotary engine for loading onto 

barges.

Transportation is effected by a track of 300 feet to wharf.

The product is riprap for the Rockport breakwater, for the construction of a section of which, measuring 165 feet in length by 150 in width 

at low-water level, the company had a contract in 1906. The average 

weight of each block was to be 4,000 pounds and the minimum 200.

The Nickerson quarries are one-fourth mile southeast of Folly Cove, 

and 2 miles N. 30° W. of Rockport. (See fig. 13.) Operator, W. E. 

Nickerson, Lanesville, Mass.

The granite, like specimen D, XXVIII, 29, a, from the Devils Rock 

quarry, described on page 134, is a hornblende granite of medium-gray 

shade with a slight buff tinge and weak contrasts.

The main quarry, opened in 1896, is triangular, measuring about 

350 feet N. 40° W. by 350 feet E. and 400 feet N. 40° E., and up to 25 

feet in depth. The other opening measures about 100 by 60 feet and 

60 feet in depth.

The sheets from 9 inches to 6 feet thick undulate horizontally. 

There are 4 sets of joints: Set A, striking nearly east-west and vertical, 

is spaced 10 to 100 feet. Set B, striking N. 40° E., occurs but exceptionally. Set C, in the smaller pit, striking north and vertical, is 

spaced 10 to 20 feet. Set D, in the smaller pit, striking N. 30° W. and 

dipping 70° E., is spaced from 10 feet up. The rift is reported as vertical with east-west course and the grain as horizontal. A vertical diabase dike 6 feet thick, weathering spheroidally, strikes N. 40° W. and 

forms the northeast wall of the main quarry near the smaller one. Another east of the quarry has a like course. Knots are reported as 

not exceeding 1 foot in diameter. Rusty stain is 2 inches thick on 

lower sheets and 9 on the upper ones.

The plant consists of 4 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, a steam drill, and 

3 steam pumps.

Transportation involves cartage of one-half mile to Lanesville 

wharf.

The product consists largely of paving stone, with some "random" 

stone, and finds a market mostly through the Rockport Granite 

Company.

The Canney quarry is on the east side of Lanesville, about 2 miles 

N. 50° W. from Rockport. (See fig. 13.) Operator, Edwin Canney, 

Pigeon Cove,.Mass.
134 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

The granite is a hornblende granite of medium gray, not bluish, 

shade and of medium texture, like that of the "deep pit" of the Rockport Granite Company. (See p. 137.)

The quarry, opened about 1861, measures about 500 feet in a 

N. 40° E. direction by 400 feet across, and averages 65 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 25 feet thick, increasing in thickness 

downward, dip about 10° in a general S. 45° W. direction. Joints, 

striking N. 60° E. and vertical, are spaced 3 to 30 feet. The rift is 

reported as vertical with N. 25° E. course and the grain as horizontal. 

Three vertical basic dikes, from 18 to 24 inches thick, strike N. 40° W. 

One forms the west wall; another is 100 feet east of it, and another 

75 feet east of that. Knots up to 5 inches are reported.

The plant consists of 5 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, an air compressor 

(capacity 470 cubic feet of air per minute), 4 steam pumps, and a stone 

crusher with a capacity of 100 tons per day.

Transportation is effected by an inclined track of 2,500 feet to 

wharf when water is smooth, but by cartage to Lanes Cove in rough 

weather.

The product is mostly paving, with some curbing, flagging, crushed 

stone, and foundation stones. It goes to Boston, New York, and 

Philadelphia.

The Devils Rock quarry is about half a mile southeast of Lanesville 

and about If miles N. 58° W. of Rockport. (See fig. 13.) Operator, 

William R. Cheves, Lanesville, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 29, a) is a hornblende granite of 

general medium gray, not bluish, shade and of medium to coarse, evengrained texture, with feldspars up to 0.4 inch and black hornblende up 

to 0.3 inch. It consists, in descending order of abundance, of: Lightgray potash feldspar (microcline and orthoclase), from slightly greenish to cream-colored, minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar 

(albite to oligoclase-albite) and somewhat kaolinized; very smoky 

quartz with cavities; and black hornblende. Accessory: Magnetite, 

pyrite, zircon, and allanite. Secondary: Kaolin.

The quarry, opened in 1876, measures about 400 by 200 feet and 

averages about 50 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 1 to 18 feet thick, dip 10° N. There are 3 sets of 

joints. Set A, striking N. 25° E., dipping 70° E. to 90°, is spaced 3 to 

90 feet and forms a heading on the west side. Set B, striking N. 70° W. 

and dipping 45° to steeply north, is spaced from 1 to 50 and 100 feet 

and forms a heading on the south side and the wall on the north. 'Set 

C, diagonal, striking N. 25° E. and dipping about 65° NW., is 

spaced 20 feet at the south end, but does not recur. The rift is 

reported as good, vertical, and with east-west course. There is a 

6-inch basic dike on the east side. Gray..knots are reported up to 

14 by 6 inches. Rusty stain is from 1 to 6 inches thick.
MASSACHUSETTS. 135

The plant, including that at the green granite quarry of the same 

firm, comprises 9 derricks, 2 hoisting engines, an air compressor 

(capacity 560 cubic feet of air per minute), 2 steam drills, 6 air plug 

drills, and 3 steam pumps.

Transportation involves cartage of a mile to Lanesville wharf, 

which affords 13 feet of water at high tide.

The product is used for building and paving. In 1906 this firm 

had a subcontract for material for the naval dry dock at Kittery, Me.

The Cheves Green Granite quarry is about 250 feet south of the 

Devils Rock quarry and If miles N. 60° W. from Rockport. (See 

fig. 13.) Operator, William R. Cheves, Lanesville, Mass.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 30, a), "green granite," is a 

hornblende granite of somewhat dark olive-gray color, spotted with 

black, and of medium to coarse even-grained texture, with feldspars

up to 0.5 inch and hornblende up to 0.3 inch- When first quarried

the yellowish-green tint is scarcely perceptible, but after a few hours 

exposure to rain it becomes marked. Its constituents, in descending 

order of abundance, are: A medium olive-gray potash feldspar 

(orthoclase and microcline, much of it twinned), minutely intergrown 

with soda-lime feldspar (many of the feldspars are much kaolinized 

and contain minute particles, possibly of an oxide of iron); very 

smoky quartz with cavities and black particles; some separate sodalime feldspar (albite to oligoclase-albite); and black hornblende. 

Accessory: Magnetite, allanite (most of it within hornblende particles), and zircon. Secondary: Calcite, and limonite stain, some of 

it proceeding radially from allanite particles, also in cracks and along 

boundaries of particles.

The contrast in this stone, owing to the dark shade of the quartz, 

is mostly between the feldspar and the combined quartz and hornblende.

The quarry is somewhat triangular in outline, measuring about 200 

'feet N. 70° W. by 100 to 200 feet across and from 30 to 90 feet in 

depth.

The sheets are up to 35 feet thick. The joints correspond to sets 

A and B of the Devil's Rock quarry, and the rift is said to be like 

the rift of that quarry, but less marked.

The Blood Ledge quarry is three-fifths mile east-northeast of Bay 

View and 2 miles N. 62° W. of Rockport. (See fig. 13.) Operator, 

Rockport Granite Company, Rockport, Mass.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 28, b, e), "Bay View green," 

is a hornblende granite of general somewhat dark olive-gray color, 

with black spots, and of medium to coarse, even-grained texture, 

with feldspar up to 0.5 inch and hornblende up to 0.2 inch. Its 

constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: A more or less 

kaolinized medium olive-gray potash feldspar (orthoclase and micro-
136 COMMEKCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND B. I.

cline, mostly twinned), minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar 

(albite to oligoclase-albite); very smoky quartz with cavities and 

black particles; black hornblende; and rarely a little biotite. Accessory: Magnetite, allanite, zircon. Secondary: Kaolin, chlorite, and 

limonite stain. This stain occurs in meandering cracks in both feldspar and quartz, and along the boundaries of particles, and also radiates from allanite particles, which are one of the primary causes of 

the yellowish-green tint of the granite. Part of this quarry yields a 

gray granite like that of the " Deep Pit" (p. 137) and part a granite-of a 

darker gray which, however, after wetting, becomes, in three to four 

hours, olive green, the "green granite" described above. After continued exposure about the quarry the green tint is said to become 

less marked.

An estimate of the mineral percentages in this stone, obtained by 

the Rosiwal method, with a mesh of seven-tenths inch and a total 

linear length of 16.8 inches, yields the following results:

Estimated mineral percentages in "green granite" from Blood Ledge quarry, Rockport,

Mass. 

Feldspar................................................................. 58.45

Quartz. .............................\.................................... 31. 95

Hornblende.............................................................. .9. 60

100.00

This stone takes a very high polish and hammers rather light. 

Some particles of feldspar vary on the polished face from an olive 

green to a scarcely greenish milk white. The contrasts between the 

three minerals are more marked on the polished face. This granite 

is well adapted for indoor decorative use.

The quarry, opened 

about 1868, forms an inequilateral quadrangle, 

the longest side of which 

measures about 400 feet,' 

and which is bisected by 

a basic dike and contains 

an unexcavated central 

mass upon which the derrick stands, as shown in 

fig. 16. Its depth ranges 

from 28 to 100 feet below the general surface,

FIG. 16. Structure and plan of Blood Ledge quarry, Rock- *rom which, however, 50

port, Mass. , feet had already been

. . quarried away.

The sheets, 10 to 30 feet thick, dip 15° west. There are 5 sets of 

joints, whose courses are given in fig. 16: Set A, dipping 55° east, is 

spaced 3 to 30 feet and forms the west wall. Set B, exceptional,
MASSACHUSETTS. 137

dips 50° west. Set C dips 30° north. Set D, dipping 90° or steeply 

south, forms the short south wall and recurs intersecting the north 

wall. The rift is reported as vertical with a N. 85° W. course, and 

the grain as also vertical and about north-south. The stone is said 

to split most readily from the ends of the blocks, both along rift and 

grain. The basic dike, shown in fig. 16, is 2 feet thick and dips 70° 

southwest. Dark knots a few inches in diameter were collected, 

but they are reported as occurring up to the size of half a barrel. 

Rusty stain is up to 3jnch.es thick on sheet faces.

The plant consists of 6 derricks, 4 hoisting engines, 3 steam drills, 

and 2 steam pumps.

Transportation is effected by a locomotive (p. 139) and track about 

1 mile long to the wharf at Bay View.

The product is used for buildings, monuments, docks, and paving. 

Specimen structures: Of gray granite, the first story (outside) of

Suffolk County court-house, Boston. Six polished columns and 

two pilasters in the Madison Square Presbyterian Church, New 

York. Of green granite, the base of the General Logan monument 

in Chicago.

Tlie "Deep Pit" is about one-fifth mile from tidewater at Bay View, 

on the west side of the Cape, 2£ mile's N. 73° W. of Rockport. (See 

fig. 13.) Operator, Rockport Granite Company, Rockport, Mass.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 27, a, b), "Bay View gray," 

is a hornblende granite of medium-gray shade (lighter than 25, d, 

Babson quarry, p. 132, and darker than 24, a, 34, a, and 29, a, Flat 

Ledge, Pigeon Hill, and Cheves quarries, pp. 126, 128, 134), with a 

slight cream and greenish tinge, spotted with black. Its texture is 

medium even grained, with feldspars up to 0.4 and hornblende up to. 

0.3 inch. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are a 

cream-colored and pale-greenish, more or less kaolinized potash feldspar (orthoclase and microcline, mostly twinned) minutely intergrown 

with soda-lime feldspar; very smoky quartz with cavities; a little 

separate soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite), and black hornblende. 

Accessory: Magnetite, zircon, and allanite. Secondary: Kaolin, chlorite, calcite, and hematite and limonite stain. The colors of feldspar 

are evidently due to the chlorite and limonite.

An estimate of the mineral percentages in this granite, by the 

Rosiwal method, with half-inch mesh and total linear length of 

20 inches, yields the following results:

Estimated mineral percentages in Bay View gray granite, Rockport, Mass.

Feldspar................................................................. 59.60

Quartz................................................................... 34.70

Hornblende.............................................................. 5.70

 ' __

100.00
138 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H. ; AND R. I.

There are 5 sets of joints:

This granite takes a very high polish.. In the rough its contrasts 

are less marked than those of the Flat Ledge and Pigeon Hill stone, 

and the color of the feldspar is different, but the contrasts are more 

marked on the polished face owing to the lighter shade of the feldspar. 

The quarry, opened about 1848, measures about 800 feet N. 20° W. 

by 500 feet across, but owing to a recess its actual area is about 750 

by 500 feet. Its depth is from 60 to 150 feet. A diagonal view of 

this quarry is given in PL V, B, and a rough plan of it in fig. 17.

The sheet structure is hardly perceptible, *but at the south end 

seems to dip 20° E., and at the northeast corner to undulate horizontally. In the absence of sheets horizontal channeling has to be 

resorted to. Steeply downward curving partings, "toe nails/' are 

conspicuous in the central part. Joint and dike courses are shown 

in fig. 17.

Set A is vertical. Set B dips 60° E. 

Set C dips 55° northeast. 

Set D is vertical. The rift 

is reported as vertical with 

N. 85° W. course, and the 

grain as horizontal. The 

stone is said to split readily from the top. There 

are 5 basic dikes. The 

central one, a, of hornblende diabase (soda-lime 

feldspar and esine 

micacized, augite, hornblende, magnetite, and 

black mica biotite), from 

FIG. 17.-Structure and plan of Deep Pit quarry, near Bay 12 to lgfeet ^1 ajld v

View, Mass. ; r

pmg 55°-60° NE., crosses

the quarry diagonally,but with marked curvature, from N. 20°-45° W., 

and is also faulted along dike & with a lateral displacement of about 

15 feet. Both of these dikes and the fault are shown in PL V, B. 

Dike &, a lamprophyre without biotite (soda-lime feldspar andesine 

altered to white mica, zoisite, and epidote, also with hornblende, 

augite, and magnetite) is 18 inches thick and dips 55° WNW. 

Dikes c, d, and e are vertical. In the northern part a small branching 

and curved basic dike intersects and branches off from dike a. The 

relations of these dikes are shown in fig. 17. In about the center of 

the quarry at a depth of 125 feet is an irregular mass of injected hornblende diabase, more fully described on page 50, and also shown in 

PL V, B, and fig. 2, which is probably connected more or less remotely 

with dike a. Rusty stain along sheet surfaces measures up to 6 inches 

in thickness.
MASSACHUSETTS. . . 139

The plant comprises 4 derricks, 4 hoisting engines, a Blondin carrier, a locomotive, an air compressor (capacity 1,750 cubic feet of air 

per minute), which supplies this and the Blood Ledge quarry, 2 steam 

drills, and 2 steam pumps.

Transportation is effected by a half-mile track to the wharf at Bay 

View, which affords 15£ feet of water at low tide.

Specimen structures: The Boston and Baltimore post-offices.

The Bay View dark-granite prospect is between the Blood Ledge 

quarry and the "Deep Pit" near Bay View, and was opened by the 

Rockport Granite Company, of Rockport, Mass. It may be in the small 

area of augite syenite shown on Sears's geologic map of Essex County. a- The granite (specimens D., XXVIII, 28£, a, b) is a riebeckiteaegirite-biotite granite of dark brownish gray color and medium to 

coarse, even-grained texture, with feldspars up to 0.5 inch in diameter. 

It consists, in descending order of abundance, of a brownish gray 

potash feldspar (orthoclase and microcline), somewhat kaolinized, 

mostly in twins and minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar; 

slightly smoky quartz; brownish gray soda-lime feldspar (albite to 

oligoclase-albite); blue-black riebeckite (soda-hornblende) and greenblack segirite (soda-augite), and black mica. The accessory minerals 

are: Magnetite, allanite, zircon, fluorite, and apatite; the first three are 

somewhat abundant. Secondary calcite is present in small amount and 

a little limonite stain occurs to which the feldspars owe their brownish 

tinge. They also contain minute particles of all the black silicates.

This rock takes a very high polish and hammers rather light. The 

quartz and feldspar being of about one shade, the only contrast on the 

polished face is between these and the black silicates. On the rough 

face the contrast is slight.

Rockport porphyry. The Pigeon Cove diabase porphyry prospect is 

on a dike of altered diabase porphyry, 18 feet wide, which was 

represented by Shaler 6 and Tarr as exposed for half a mile on the 

hillock west of Pigeon Cove, with a N. 21° W. course, also as reappearing in Rockport three-fourths mile west of Gap Head with a N. 9° W. 

course. Washington c refers to this dike as cutting the quarry pit at 

Pigeon Cove, and describes it microscopically as a labradorite porphyry.

Fuller, Foley & Co., of West Quincy, Mass., have quarried a few 

carloads of this rock and have made a polished ball of it, 2 feet 7 

inches in diameter, mounted on a cubical base.. Fig. 18 was prepared from a photograph of it taken by the writer.

This diabase porphyry (specimens D, XXIX, 89, a, b) has a very 

dark green or black fine-grained groundmass, with porphyritic felda Sears, J. H., The physical geography, geology, mineralogy, and paleontology of Essex County, 

Mass., Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1905.

bShaler, N. S., The geology of Cape Ann, Mass.: Ninth Ann. Kept. U. S. Geol. Survey, 1889, p.609, 

PL 77.

c Washington, H. S., The petrographical province of Essex County, Mass.: Jour. Geol., vol. 7 (3) 

p. 290.
140 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

spars of medium greenish gray color, measuring from 0.2 to 4.42 

inches in length by about 0.78 inch in width. Many of the crystals 

are from 1 to 2 inches long. Their striation shows plainly. Fig. 18 

shows the general character of the rock. The groundmass consists 

of the following minerals, in descending order of abundance: Limesoda feldspar (andesine-labradorite) partly micacized, augite largely 

altered to a green hornblende and chlorite, biotite (black mica), 

magnetite, and apatite. Rarely a little secondary calcite.

______________ This rock takes a very high polish

and the contrast between the black 

groundmass and the large pale-greenish 

crystals is most striking. 

BECKET (CHESTER).

Topography. The town of Becket 

is on the southern continuation of the 

Green Mountain range in the eastcentral part of Berkshire County, Mass. 

The range attains thereabouts elevations of 1,750 and 1,845 feet, but 

is deeply cut by south-southeasterly 

valleys, through which flow the 

branches of Westfield River, and by 

minor north-south and east-west hollows tributary to those valleys.

General geology. The geology of the 

region has been described by Emerson," and will appear in a revised 

form in the forthcoming Housatonic 

folio of the United States Geological 

Survey. There is a long north-south 

area of so-called Becket gneiss, which is 

of pre-Cambrian age. In some places, 

as at the quarry, to be described, it is a true granite, which has undergone only a very slight textural change. East of it lies a belt of marine 

sediments, now called Ordovician by Emerson, once clayey but afterwards metamorphosed into mica schist. The granite at the quarry" 

contains a large inclusion of somewhat coarse muscovite-biotite garnetiferous gneiss. It is also overlain by or incloses a considerable 

mass of a black schistose quartz-mica diofite, containing both potash 

and soda-lime feldspar, along the contact with which the granite has a 

banded flow structure. It is, therefore, evident that the granite of 

Becket is more receni than these two rocks; in other words there were 

gneisses (probably of granitic origin) and schists (originally quartz-mica

a Emerson, B. K., Geology of eastern Berkshire County, Mass: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 159, 

1899, PL IX, pp. 75, 99.

FIG. 18. Labradorite feldspars in polished surfaces of diabase porphyry from 

the dike at Pigeon Cove on Cape Ann, 

Mass., one-thirteenth natural size. The 

largest crystal is 4.4 inches long.
MASSACHUSETTS. 141

diorite) in this region before the intrusion of the Becket granite. 

The diorite schist once overlay the surface of the granite and, either 

alone or with other rocks, possessed a considerable thickness. The 

granite of the Becket quarry has been described by Kemp and Emerson. a

Tlie quarry. The Hudson and Chester Granite quarry is in the 

town of Becket, 1,400 feet above sea level, 6| miles southeast of Becket 

village, in Berkshire County, Mass., and 2f miles (3$ by road) southwest of the village of Chester, on the Boston and Albany Railroad, in 

the town of Chester in Hampden County. (See the Becket, Chesterfield and Housatonic topographic sheets of the Geological Survey.) 

Operator, Hudson & Chester Granite Company, Chester, Mass.

The granite (specimens D, XXIX, 91, f, g, k), "Chester dark" 

and "Chester light," is a muscovite-biotite granite of medium inclining 

to dark bluish gray, to medium bluish gray color and of fine texture 

with feldspars up to 0.15 inch and mica in very fine particles. The 

texture of this granite is neither exactly gneissoid, porphyritic, nor 

even grained. In thin section the coarser particles of quartz and 

feldspar are seen to lie in a somewhat micaceous matrix of very fine 

texture, and there is not a little granulation about the feldspars. The 

average diameter of the particles of this matrix, estimated by the 

Rosiwal method, is less than 0.005 inch, which is finer than the finest 

Westerly granite (p. 192), although the stone as a whole is coarser 

textured than that. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: Light bluish-gray potash feldspar (microcline, rarely 

orthoclase); slightly bluish quartz, with sheets of cavities (up to 0.02 

millimeter in diameter) in two rectangular directions with brightly 

polarizing rift and grain cracks parallel to them; light bluish gray 

soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite).; white mica (muscovite); and 

black mica (biotite). The only difference between the dark and 

light varieties is in the percentage of the black mica. The accessory 

minerals are: Titanite, pyrite, ilmenite, allanite, fluorite, apatite, and 

zircon. The secondary: Muscovite, carbonate, and epidote (as run 

about allanite). The amount of titanite is relatively large..

An estimate of the mineral percentages in this granite, by the applir 

cation of the Rosiwal method to a camera lucida drawing of a thin section enlarged 37 diameters, with a mesh of 1.2 inch and a total linear 

length of 25.85 inches, yields the following results:

Estimated mineral percentages in Becket, Mass., granite. 

Quartz ............_..................................................,.. 49.35

Potash feldspar (orthoclase 17.05, microcline 11.50)......................... 28. 55

Soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite)................................... '..... 15. 37

Mica (muscovite, 4.10, biotite, 2.47)........................................ '6. 57

Titanite. ............................................. .^...............'.. .16

100.00

oKemp, J. F., On the granite quarried at Chester, Mass.: Trans. N. Y. Acad. Sci. vol. 11,1891-2, 

pp. 129-130. Emerson, B. K., Geologyof Old Hampden County, Mass.: Mon. U. S. Geol. Survey, vol.29, 

1898, pp. 33, 34, 36-38; and Bulletin No. 159, pp. 75, 99.
142 COMMEECIAL GEANITES OF MASS., N. H.; AND E. I.

The following analysis, by Prof. L. M. Dennis of Cornell University, 

is quoted 'by Kemp. a

Analysis oj Becket, Mass., granite.

Si02 (silica).............................................................. 69.465

Al203 (alumina)............................................................ 17. 50

Fe203 (iron sesquioxide)............................"...................... 2. 30

CaO (lime)................................................................ 2. 57

MgO (magnesia)........................................................... .305

KjO (potash).............................................................. 4.07

Na-jO (soda by difference)................................................. 2. 93

H20 (water at 110°)...................................................... .08

Loss on ignition........................................................... .74

99.960 

Specific gravity 2.684 to 2.688.

Mr. George Steiger, chemist of the United States Geological Survey, 

finds that this granite contains 0.53 per cent of CaO (lime), soluble in 

hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates a content of 0.94 per cent of 

CaCO3 (lime carbonate), the presence of which carbonate is also 

shown by the microscope and by a slight effervescence with cold dilute 

muriatic acid.

ProfessorKemp a states that a cube of this stone was tested at Columbia University by boiling in dilute muriatic acid (1 part of HC1 of 

specific gravity 1.20 to 20 parts of H20) for 5 hours, when it was 

found to have lost 0.59 per cent in weight. Another boiled for the 

same length of time in dilute sulphuric acid (1 part of H2S04 of 

specific gravity 1.84 to 20 parts of H2 0) gave a loss of 0.48 per cent.

Absorption and crushing tests, made- at the same time and place, 

yielded the following results: Four cubes of specific gravities, 2.688, 

2.687,2.684, and 2.688, after 3 weeks' soaking, absorbed 0.0021,0.0021, 

0.00224 and 0.0026 per cent: The crushing test was applied to five 

cubes, which showed a crushing strength per square inch ranging 

from 25,350 to 28,841 pounds.

The stone takes a fair .polish and hammers somewhat light. The 

fineness of the particles precludes any marked contrast. Feldspar 

and quartz appear light gray, and the mica, black, producing a fine 

mottling.

. The quarry, opened in 1886, measures about 600 feet east-west by 

100 feet across and from 50 to 100 in depth.

The sheets are normal lenticular and horizontal, becoming thicker 

downward and measuring 6 inches to 30.feet in thickness, but there 

is some irregularity in this increase in different parts of the quarry. 

There are two sets of joints. Those of set A strike N. 10° E., dip 30° 

to 35° W., and are spaced from 18 inches to 20 feet. They are intermittent and have a thin coat of discoloration, the microscopic character of which is described on page 61. Those of set B strike N. 80°

oLoc. cit.
MASSACHUSETTS. 143

W., are vertical, and are spaced 10 to 25 feet, exceptionally curved so 

as to dip as low as. 55° W. On the north side a mass of fine-grained, 

heavy, hard, black schist, 40 feet thick, overlies the granite. It is 

traversed by horizontal and vertical quartz veins, the latter taking 

their rise at the contact with granite and tapering upward. Emerson 0 

represents this mass as also overlain by the granite at one end, but 

that part had probably been quarried away before the writer's visit in 

1906. A thin section of this rock, crossing also a tortuous white 

veinlet, is found to consist, in descending order of abundance, of: 

Quartz, with sheets of cavities and rift cracks parallel to them polarizing brightly; black mica; potash feldspar (microcline); soda-lime 

feldspar (oligoclase); muscovite, and hornblende. The accessory 

minerals are: Ilmenite, titanite, pyrite, apatite, and zircon. The 

secondary: Epidote, carbonate, and limonite. The white veinlets 

are mainly quartz and soda-lime feldspar. This rock thus appears to 

be a quartz-mica diorite schist, but with potash feldspar apparently 

exceeding the soda-lime. It is an eruptive rock made schistose, by 

pressure before the intrusion of the granite, and probably formed part 

of the original cover into which granite was intruded. That the 

granite is the later rock is evident because of the marked flow structure which, for a space of 2 feet below the diorite schist, runs parallel 

to the contact surface, as has been observed in some New Hampshire quarries (p. 62). This flow structure consists of parallel white 

bands from 0.1 to 0.3 inch wide, recurring at intervals of 1 inch. The 

gray granite between these light bands is darker than that beyond 

them. A thin section of one of these bands shows it to consist of 

quartz and feldspar, the quartz with many sheets of cavities up to 

0.03 inch, and with rift cracks parallel to them. In the darkef 

bands biotite, epidote, titanite, and muscovite are very abundant. 

At the northeast comer the flowage bands have very sinuous 

courses, the rock taking on the appearance of a true gneiss. On the 

west side the flow structure, shown by a band of lighter granite 2 feet 

thick, strikes N. 55° E., and dips 40° SE. At the northwest corner,' 

several feet below the granite surface, is an inclusion, 10 by 8 feet, of 

coarse garnetiferous muscovite-biotite gneiss with accessory magnetite, apatite, and zircon. It is a very different rock from either the 

granite or the diorite schist, and was evidently broken off from some 

overlying or adjacent formation during the granite intrusion and 

inclosed by the molten matter.

The rift is reported as dipping about 20° W. and the grain as vertical 

with a N. 10° E. course.

At the northwest corner there is a pegmatite dike (feldspar and 

quartz, coarse) up to 2 feet thick, with a northwest course. In thin 

section the feldspar is orthoclase with fissures from 0.37 to 1.85

a. Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 159, fig. 16, p. 75.
144 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OP MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

millimeters wide, filled with fragments of microcline and quartz and 

stringers of white mica. It has evidently been subjected to pressure 

and some metamorphism. '

Rusty stain along the sheet surfaces is from 3 to 12 inches thick.

The plant, including the cutting machinery at Chester, comprises 7 

derricks, 6 hoisting engines, a Blpndin.carrier arid engine, 2 overhead 

cranes (capacity 4 tons), 2 air compressors (capacity 500 and 150 

cubic feet of air per minute), 4 large drills, 14 air plug drills, 8 air 

hand tools, a surfacer, 4 vertical polishers, and a steam pump.

Transportation is effected by the Chester and Becket Railroad, a 

branch of the Boston and Albany, which connects the quarry through 

Walker Brook hollow with the main line at Chester, a distance of 3^ 

miles. The rough stone is shipped direct from the quarry; the rest is 

taken to the cutting shed at Chester and reshipped there. The granite thus comes to be known as Chester granite although the quarry is 

in Becket.

The product is used mostly for monuments and finds its chief 

markets in Pennsylvania, New York, and Michigan. Specimens: 

Doctor Hoover monument at Chambersburg, and the McCormack 

monument at Pittsburg, Pa., and. the W. A. Harder monument at 

Hudson, N. Y.

NEW HAMPSHIRE.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

Some of the New Hampshire granite quarries to be described are 

near Concord, in Merrimac County, and Milford, in Hillsboro 

County, which are both in the Merrimac River basin in the southern 

=part of the State. The rest are near Conway, on the south side of the 

White Mountain region, in the east-central part of the State. (See 

.map, PL I.) The Concord and Milford quarries are in an area designated by Prof. C. Ii. Hitchcock "Lake Winnepesaukee gneiss,"' 

which on his geological map has a northeast.to southwest trend, and 

is dovetailed both on the northeast and the southwest into a schist 

formation designated "Rockingham schists," which he regarded as 

forming the base of the Cambrian. Both the Concord and the Milford 

granite carry inclusions of gneiss, but the relations of these to the 

Rockingham schists is as yet undetermined. Some gneisses which 

cap the Milford granite are evidently of igneous origin, so can not be 

the Rockingham schists. The Conway quarries are in an area of 

granite designated on the same map "Conway granite," which 

measures about 35 by 20 miles and extends from the Franconia 

Mountains on the west to Conway on the east, and from the foot of 

Mount Washington on the north to Mount Chocorua on the south. 0

a See Hitchcock, C. H., The geology of New Hampshire, Concord, 1878, Atlas. Also The geology of 

northern New England, printed by the author, apparently between 1885 and 1892. New Hampshire 

map is dated 1877.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 145

The Auburn arid Sunapee quarries were not visited, but the granite 

from these localities will be found described on pages 186,187.

CONCORD.

Topography. The Concord, quarries are .on the east side and top 

of a north-south ridge known as .Rattlesnake Hill, which is said to 

attain an elevation of 580 feet above the high-water mark*of Merrimac River; and they lie within a radius of 1£ to 2 miles from about 

N. 25° W. to N. 50° W. of the statehouse. Some of them are at the 

foot of the ridge on North State street at about the level of the city; 

others are from 70 to 360 feet above it.

Geology of the quarries. The salient geological feature is the occurrence here and there within the granite of inclusions of coarse and 

fine banded gneisses measuring from a few inches to 30 feet in diameter. The largest of these (seepage 153) is a bright, dark biotitemuscovite gneiss with fine bands of varying shades, .according to the 

proportions of the micas or of the quartz and feldspar. Its feldspar 

is a soda-lime (oligoclase-albite to oligoclase), and the accessory 

minerals are garnet, zircon, apatite, etc. Others again are biotite 

gneisses and consist of alternating bands of very light feldspathic 

quartzose rock and of dark, coarse, very fine micaceous schist, the 

particles of the latter not exceeding 0.02 inch. The geological age 

of these gneisses is uncertain. The pegmatite dike which traverses 

this large inclusion seems, from its relation to the granite, to have 

been formed before the block was surrounded by granite. Of general 

interest is also the occurrence of fiuorite on joint faces, referred to 

on page 61, which implies deep-seated origin of -the solutions out of 

which it crystallized, and raises the question as to whether the associated calcite and quartz may not have come from the same source.

Joint planes at the Concord quarries divide themselves into 8 sets, 

of which those occurring at the largest number of quarries strike 

N. 15° E., N. 20°-30° E.,'N. 60°-65° E., and N. 60°-75° W. Of less 

frequent occurrence are those striking N. 10° W., N. 45° W., N. 80° 

E. and E.-W. The number and variety of fractures within'one of the 

headings at the Granite Railway quarry indicate the localization and 

sharpness of the strain which produced the heading.

Flow structure appears at only one quarry, where it is vertical 

with a N. 60° W. course. The rift is reported as either horizontal or 

inclined from 5° to 15° (N. 65°, 75° W., S. 45° W.), and the grain as 

vertical with east-west course, but exceptionally N. 45° E., N. 70° E., 

N. 80° W. The effect of heat and cold on the quality of rift and 

grain is recognized, and also the fact that the degree of dip of rift is 

affected by the direction in which the sheet is split. If the splitting 

is done from the north or south the rift will prove horizontal, but if 

50193 Bull. 354 08 10
146 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

from the west it will be inclined. Whether the east-west compressive 

strain which affects Rattlesnake Hill has anything to do with this 

deflection is uncertain.

There are pegmatite dikes with courses of N. 30° E., N. 45° E., 

N. 45° W., and N. 85° W» and segregations of very fine porphyritic 

granite. (See p. 155.)

Description of Concord granite. The following combines all the 

more detailed descriptions of rough and polished specimens and thin 

sections given on pages 147-156.

"Concord granite" is a muscovite-biotite granite of medium bluish 

gray color. The significance of the term "medium gray" becomes 

apparent upon comparing the terms applied to the principal light 

granites of New England. Hallowell, Me., granite is light gray; the 

"white granite" of North Jay, Me., is very light gray; and the granite 

of Bethel, Vt., is white mottled with gray. The general shades of these 

light or whitish granites forms a descending series in which Concord 

granite stands fourth, the granite of Bethel, Vt., being the lightest. The 

texture of Concord granite is fine to medium, somewhat porphyritic, 

with sparse, slender, isolated feldspars up to 0.5 inch. Although the 

micas occur in very minute particles, especially the biotite, they 

measure up to 0.2 inch and exceptionally 0.4 inch. Its constituents, 

in descending order of abundance, are: Slightly bluish, translucent 

potash feldspar (microcline, usually in longish twins, and some 

orthoclase), inclosing particles of quartz and of soda-lime feldspar 

(in some specimens these minerals with biotite are zonally arranged 

within a crystal of feldspar); clear to pale amethystine quartz with 

hairlike crystals, probably of rutile, and with cavities in sheets which 

in some sections are parallel; milk-white, striated soda-lime feldspar 

(oligoclase-albite) more or less kaolim'zed and centrally micacized; 

white potash mica (muscovite); and black mica (biotite) some of it 

chloritized, generally in smaller scales than the muscovite. In some 

cases the mica plates have their flat sides parallel to the rift direction; 

in some the biotite appears to predominate over the muscovite, 

possibly owing to the different alignment of its scales. The accessory 

minerals are: Magnetite, apatite, zircon (some in doubly terminated 

slender prisms), and rutile. Purple and white fluorite occurs here 

and there on and near joint planes. Calcite and quartz are associated with it on these joints. The secondary minerals are: Kaolin, 

muscovite, in veinlets, a white mica without potash, chlorite, and 

calcite. a

There is so much irregularity in the dimensions of the particles of 

this granite that the Rosiwal method of determining the mineral 

percentages was not practicable.

a A microscopic description of Concord granite by G. W. Hawes will be found in Ms Mineralogy and 

lithology of New Hampshire, which forms vol. 3, pt. 4, of C. II. Hitchcock's Geology of New Hampshire,

1878.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. ,

But one chemical analysis of Concord granite is available. That is 

given on page 150. The specific-gravity of the stone was determined 

by Crosby as 2.64 and 2.65, averaging 2.65, or 155.6 pounds per cubic 

foot.

Messrs. Steiger and Schaller, chemists, of the United States Geological Survey, find as the result of two tests that Concord granite 

contains from 0.15 to 0.17 per cent of CaO (lime) soluble in hot dilute 

acetic acid, which indicates a content of from 0.26 to 0.30 per cent of 

CaC03 (lime carbonate), and the microscope also shows the presence 

of carbonate.

Two tests of compressive strength, made at the United States 

arsenal at Watertown, Mass., show a compressive strength of 30,830 

pounds per square inch with pressure applied at right angles to rift, 

and of 23,860 pounds when applied parallel to it. There is thus a 

loss of 12^ per cent of compressive strength in the rift direction. A 

more recent test made at the same place gave this stone a compressive 

strength of 23,670 pounds, direction of rift and grain not stated.

The polish of Concord granite is fair, but the abundant mica plates 

and the size of some of them do not favor the durability of the polish 

under long-continued outdoor exposure. The muscovite appears 

much darker when polished. No pyrite was detected in the polished 

specimens or thin sections, although the chemical analysis indicates 

its probable presence. There is considerable contrast between the 

rough and hammered faces. Its general bluish cast is marked particularly on the polished face, but the rough face becomes lighter on 

continued exposure. There is some variation in the amount of mica 

apparent on the different faces of a block, as well as a difference in the 

actual amount of black mica and in the sparseness of the large feldspars in the stone from different quarries. Only on close inspection 

do strong contrasts appear between the bright muscovite plates, -the 

fine black biotite scales, and the glassy feldspar.

The Concord quarries. Tlie New England Granite Works qiuarry is in 

the upper part of Rattlesnake Hill, roughly northwest of Concord. 

Operator, The New England Granite Works, 20 Ferry street, Concord, 

N. H.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 39, a, b, f, g), "Concord 

granite," is a muscovite-biotite granite of medium bluish-gray color, 

and fine to medium, somewhat porphyritic texture, with sparsely 

disseminated larger feldspars up to 0.4 inch (exceptionally 0.5 inch), 

and micas, from very minute size up to 0.2 inch (exceptionally 0.4 

inch). It consists, in descending order of abundance, of a slightly 

bluish translucent potash feldspar (microcline, mostly in long twins, 

less orthoclase), inclosing quartz and soda-lime feldspar particles; 

clear to faintly amethystine quartz with abundant hairlike crystals, 

probably of rutile, also with sheets of cavities; milk-white more or
148 COMMEECIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND. E. I.

less kaolinized and micacized soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite) 

containing rare particles of carbonate, probably calcite; white 

potash mica (muscovite); and black mica (biotite), mostly in smaller 

scales than the muscovite or with their flat sides at right angles to the 

muscovite scales. The accessory minerals are: Magnetite (some 

within biotite), apatite, zircon, and rutile. The secondary are: 

Kaolin, muscovite in veinlets, white mica without potash, and calcite.

Mr. George Steiger, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, 

finds that this granite contains 0.15 per cent of CaO (lime) soluble 

in hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates a content of 0.26 per cent 

of CaC03 (lime carbonate), the presence of which carbonate is also 

indicated, by the microscope.

A test of the compressive strength of this granite, made at the 

United States arsenal at Watertown in 1907, gave the following 

results: A cube of approximately 2-inch edge showed the first crack 

at 86,000 pounds and was crushed at 94,200 pounds, thus having an 

ultimate compressive strength of 23,670 pounds per square inch. It 

does not appear whether the pressure was applied in the rift or grain 

direction.

The granite of this quarry appears to be more biotitic and to have 

its larger feldspars more sparse than the stone of the other Concord 

quarries.

The quarry, opened in 1812, is about 350 feet from northeast to 

southwest by 300 feet across and has a working face on the southwest 

130 feet in height.

The sheets range from 6 inches thick in the upper 30 feet of the 

working face to 40 feet at the bottom, and dip from 10° to 15° SE. 

S.ome of the sheets, owing to their freedom from rusty discoloration, 

are regarded by the foremen as of recent origin and are called '' strain 

sheets;" and even now a northwest-southeast compressive strain 

occasionally extends these sheets. °

There are two sets of joints: Set A, striking N. 62° E. and vertical, 

forms headings on the northwest and southeast sides and recurs in 

the middle, but is apt to be discontinuous. Set B, striking N. 45° W. 

and dipping 35° NE., is represented by only two on the northwest wall which are 5 feet apart. The rift is reported as horizontal 

and the grain as vertical and exactly east-west. Two 6-inch pegmatite dikes, 20 feet apart, and several an inch thick, traverse the 

quarry vertically with a N. 30° E. course. The thick ones are banded, 

consisting of a central 1$- to 2-inch band of aplitic material with a 

half-inch border on one or both sides made up of coarse pegmatite, 

milk-white oligoclase and microcline, and smoky quartz. Very fine 

garnets occur throughout these dikes, some in bands, and here and

a See p. 28,
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 149

there a small beryl. There are also half-inch muscovitic veins, 

"sand streaks" (p. 51), striking N. 45° W., and consisting of a central band of muscovite and quartz, with borders of quartz and feldspar. Gray and black knots of the micas measure up to 6 by 5 

inches. Light rusty stain measures from 6 inches to 2 feet on the 

sheet surfaces, but for 100 feet vertically in the center of the quarry 

the sheets have- little or none of it.

The plant, including the cutting machinery at the company's sheds 

in Concord, comprises 6 derricks, 6 hoisting engines, 4 overhead 

electric traveling cranes (capacity 15 and 20 tons), 4 air compressors 

(capacity three of 750, one of 500, cubic feet of air per minute), belt 

driven from a dynamo, 4 large rock drills, 15 air plug drills, 24 air 

hand tools, 8 surfacers, a stone saw (Lincoln patent with Hawley 

sand feed) for blocks 15 feet long, 4 stone lathes (2 for stones 20

and 23 feet long, and 2 for balusters), and 3 steam pumps.

Transportation is effected by cartage of about five-eighths mile to a 

siding of the Boston and Maine Railroad, but the laying of a gravity 

track was in contemplation in 1906.

The product consists mainly of building stone. Thin sheets and 

waste furnish about 100,000 paving blocks per annum as a by-product. 

Specimen structures: The four outer walls and the covered driveway 

of the Congressional Library, the outside and inner court walls of the 

basement of the United States Senate Office Building; Blackstone 

Library, Chicago; German Savings Bank and Christian Science 

Church in New York; Camden County court-house, at Camden, N. J.; 

German-American Savings Bank, at Pittsburg, Pa.; Manufacturers 

and Traders' Bank, at Buffalo, N. Y.; Assabet River bridge, Northboro, Mass., and Early Settlers monument, at Galveston, Tex.

The Granite Railway quarry (of Concord) or Upper Swenson quarry ° 

is on Rattlesnake Hill, about N. 40° W. from the statehouse at Concord and 260 feet above it. Operator, John Swenson, Concord, N. H.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 40, c, e), "Concord granite," 

is a muscovite-biotite granite of medium bluish gray color and fine 

to medium somewhat porphyritic texture, with feldspars up to 0.5 

and mica plates to 0.2 inch. Feldspar appears to be relatively more 

abundant and biotite less so than in the stone of the New England 

Granite Works quarry (p. 147). In other respects the two granites are identical. A section cut at right angles to the rift shows 

that the mica plates, both black and white, lie with their flat sides 

parallel to the rift.

The following analysis of this granite was made by Sherman and 

Edwards, chemists, from a "thoroughly composite sample carefully

o This quarry owes its first name to the fact that it was originally operated toy the Granite llailway 

Company of Quincy, Mass., referred to on p. 1U9.
150 COMMEECIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND B. I.

selected" by Prof. W. 0. Crosby, of the Massachusetts Institute of 

Technology. This analysis forms part of a report made by him for 

the firm in 1907, and is published here merely for reference.

Analysis oj Concord granite jrom Swenson quarries.

Si02 (silica) .............................................................. 74.47

A1203 (alumina)........................:...........................:..... 14.15

Fe203 (iron sesquioxide).................................................. 1.16

FeO (iron oxide)......................................................... 1.21

MgO (magnesia)........................................................... .63

CaO (lime).............................................................. 1.70

Na20 (soda).............................................................. 1.97

K20 (potash)............................................................ 4.14

S (sulphur)............................................................... . .27

C02 (carbonic dioxide).................................................... .25

H20 (water not combined)................................................. .06

H20 (water combined).................................................... .20

100.21

Professor Crosby, in the same report, gives two determinations of 

specific gravity: 2.64 and 2.66, average 2.65, which is equivalent to 

155.6 pounds per cubic foot.;

Mr. W. T. Schaller, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, .finds that this granite contains 0.17 per cent of CaO (lime) 

soluble in hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates the presence of 

0.30 per cent of CaC03 (lime carbonate).

Compression tests made at the United States arsenal at Watertown, Mass., in 1906 show it to have an ultimate compressive strength 

of 30,830 pounds per square inch with pressure applied at right 

angles to rift, but of 23,860 pounds with pressure applied in the 

direction of the rift, the rift thus weakening the stone 12^ per cent 

when pressure is applied parallel to it.

The quarry, opened in 1863, measures about 500 feet north-northeast to south-southwest by 400 and 200 feet in width, and from 10 to 

100 feet in depth.

The sheets are irregular, lenticular, and from 4 inches to 14 feet 

thick, but mostly from 2 to 7 feet, and dip northwest at a low angle. 

There are two sets of joints: Set A, striking N. 20° E. and dipping 

70°-75° E., is spaced 10 to 100 feet and forms the west wall and a 

heading 50 feet wide on the east side. Set B, striking N. 65° W. and 

vertical or dipping 75° S, is spaced 10 to 300 feet, and forms the 

north wall and a heading 6 to 15 feet wide on that side. The rift is 

reported as dipping 15° W., with a strike of N. 5°-10° E., and the 

grain as vertical east-west. In summer time'it is not necessary to 

follow the grain closely in splitting. There are pegmatite dikes up 

to 1J inches wide. Segregations of the micas are said to be very, 

rare and to measure only 4 inches. Rusty stain is up to 8 inches 

wide, but is confined to the proximity of headings. A little com-
NEW HAMPSHIEE. 151

pressive strain in an east-west direction is reported. The joint faces 

of headings B are dull greenish in color, owing to chloritization of 

biotite and the formation of fibrous muscovite in the feldspar and 

between the particles. The soda-lime feldspars also contain chlorite 

and .carbonate. Other joint faces of the same set carry secondary 

quartz and calcite crystals and apparently also fluorite, deep purple 

and white. (See p. 61.)

The plant, including that of the lower quarry of same firm, described on this page, and that of the firm's cutting shed on North 

State street, comprises: 7 derricks, 4 hoisting engines, an electric 

overhead crane (capacity 15 tons), a Rand air compressor (capacity 

750 cubic feet of air per minute), 4 large drills, 12 air-plug drills, 55 

air hand tools, 3 surfacers, 3 "Jenny Lind" polishers, a vertical 

polisher, 5 pendulum polishers, and 2 steam pumps.

Transportation involves cartage of one-third mile to cutting sheds,

which are on a siding of the Boston and Maine Railroad.

The product is used for buildings and monuments, and finds a 

market mostly in the West. Specimen structures: City hall and 

Christian Science Church, Boston; Northampton County Savings 

Bank, Easton, Pa.; Post-offices at Lincoln, Nebr., Adrian, Mich., 

and Hammond, Ind.; pedestal of the Monaghan monument, Spokane, 

Wash.; New Hampshire soldiers' monument, Vicksburg, Miss.; pedestal and exedra of McKinley Memorial, McKinley Park, Chicago. 

In 1906 the firm was filling contracts' for the Citizens' National Bank, 

St. Clair, Pa.; Medico-Chirurgical Hospital, Eighteenth and Cherry 

streets, Philadelphia; and the electric station of the New York Edison Company, East Thirty-ninth street, New York.

The Hollis quarry (Lower Swenson) is about 600 feet northeast of 

the last and 70 feet below it. It is also operated by John Swenson, 

Concord, N. H.

The granite is identical with that of the upper quarry just described.

The quarry, opened about 1864, measures about 450 feet northsouth by 300 feet across and from 40 to 50 feet in depth.

The sheets are irregular lenticular and horizontal or dip 15° W. 

They are from 6 inches to 35 feet thick. There are two sets of 

joints. Set A, striking N. 25° E. and dipping 65°-70° E., is spaced 

10 to 50 feet, and forms headings on the west and east sides and 

another 50 feet east of west wall. Set B, striking N. 65° W. to eastwest and about vertical, is spaced 20 to 75 feet and forms the northeast wall. There are several inclusions of banded gneiss, one 3 feet 

6 inches by 2 feet, another, originally much larger, now measures 

4 feet 6 inches in diameter and is roughly quadrangular. Part of this 

is pegmatitic and part a biotite gneiss, with soda-lime feldspar 

(oligoclase-andesine) and. garnets. In the finer parts the particles 

do not exceed 0.37 millimeter in diameter. The rift and grain are
152 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

reported as the same as at the upper quarry. One-inch pegmatite 

dikes cross the quarry diagonally. Rusty stain on the upper sheets 

is up to 8 inches thick. The granite along heading A on the west wall 

is much kaolinized and in places very limonitic. The surfaces have 

frostlike crystallizations (dendrites), probably of limonite also.

The plant and product of this quarry have been combined with 

those of the Granite Railway quarry on page 151.

The Anderson quarry is about 2 miles, roughly, N. 25° W. of the 

statehouse and 300 feet west of North State street, opposite Park 

street. This is the most northerly of the Concord quarries. Operator, Ola Anderson, Concord, N. H.

The granite, "Concord granite," is a muscovite-biotite granite of 

medium bluish-gray color and fine to medium, somewhat porphyritic

texture, like that of the Granite 

Railway or Lower Swenson quarry, 

described on page 149.

The quarry, opened between 

1860 and 1870, measures about 

200 feet northwest-southeast by 

175 feet across and 35 feet in 

depth. A second adjacent opening is 50 feet square and 10 to 15 

feet deep.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 6 

feet thick, are irregular lenticular 

and dip low west.' There are five 

sets of joints, whose courses are 

shown in fig. 19.

Set A, vertical, is spaced 3 to 

10 feet and forms the west wall. Set B, vertical, is spaced 10 to 30 

feet and forms the northwest wall. Set C dips 55°-75° E., is spaced 

200 feetj and occurs at north and southwest corners. Set D dips 

50° SE. and forms heading on the southeast side. Set E dips 70° 

E. and forms a heading^on the same side, intersecting Set D. The 

rift is reported as about horizontal and the grain as vertical with 

east-west course. Knots are reported up to 2 inches in diameter and 

rusty stain from one-fourth to 10 inches thick.

The plant consists of 5 derricks, 2 hoisting engines, an air compressor (capacity 237 cubic feet of air per minute), a large drill, 

4 air plug drills, 8 air hand tools,.and 3 surfacers.

Transportation is effected by a siding from the Boston and Maine 

Railroad.

The product is used chiefly for buildings and the waste for paving 

blocks. Specimens: Soldiers and sailors' memorial arch in front of 

statehouse, Concord; post-offices at Kankakee, 111., and Gloversville,

FIG. 19. Structure at Anderson quarry, Concord, N. H.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 153

N. Y.; base course and first story of post-office at Jamestown, N. Y.; 

sarcophagus monument to Mrs. Gilbert, Goodland, Ind.; Gerhardt 

mausoleum at Bushwick Junction, Long Island.

The Crowley quarry is about 300 feet south of the Anderson quarry, 

near North State street. Operator, P. Crowley, 434 North State 

street, Concord, N. H.

The granite, "Concord granite," is a muscovite-biotite, mediumgray granite, presenting no special variations from the general type 

described on page 146.

The quarry, opened in 1865, is about 240 feet northeast-southwest 

by 100 feet across, and from 35 to 50 feet deep.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 25 feet thick, are horizontal or dip 

gently southwest. There are four sets of joints. Set A strikes N. 

30° E., dips 65°-70° E. ; and is spaced 3 to 25 feet. Set B strikes

N. 60°-65° W., is vertical, and is spaced 50 feet. Set C strikes 

north, is vertical and diagonal, and occurs on the northwest wall. 

Set D strikes N. 10° E.,' dips 50° E., and is spaced 100 feet. In 

the center of the quarry is an inclusion of dark banded biotitemuscovite-oligoclase gneiss of slight purplish hue. It was originally 

30 feet high and pointed at the top. It measures 30 feet in diameter 

at the base, which is nearly round on one side, but rectangular on 

the other. A 2-inch pegmatite dike crosses the schistosity of the 

gneiss, but ends abruptly at the granite contact. Another part of 

this inclusion consists of porphyritic granite with feldspars an inch 

long. The rift is reported as horizontal or dipping N. 65° W. In 

splitting sheets from the west the rift is said to be inclined, but in 

splitting from the east horizontal. The grain is said to be vertical 

with east-west course when frozen, but in summer to be very feeble. 

A 1 to 2 inch pegmatite dike with a N! 45° E. course branches irregularly. There are geodes of coarse feldspar, smoky quartz, and muscovite of half-bushel size. Rusty stain measures from 6 to 18 inches 

thick, but less on the lower sheets.

The plant consists of 2 derricks, a hoisting engine, and a steam 

drill.

Transportation is by a siding from the Boston and Maine Railroad, but by cartage to local cutters.

The product is used for buildings, monuments, curbing, and paving. 

Specimen: The trimmings on the new high school at Concord.

The Henneberry & Halligan quarry is on Rattlesnake Hill, onefourth mile west of North State street and 70 feet above it, at a 

point one-fourth mile north of the State prison. Operators, Henneberry & Halligan, Concord, N. H.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 49, a, c), "Concord granite," 

is a muscovite-biotite granite of medium bluish gray color, and fine 

to medium, somewhat porphyritic texture, with feldspars up to 0.5
154 COMMEBCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

and white mica scales up to 0.2 inch. This stone resembles more 

closely that of the New England Granite Works quarry than that of 

the Swenson quarries, being more micaceous and less feldspathic than 

the latter, but the black mica scales are generally finer than in the 

former, so that it has a larger number of fine particles. The firm 

regards the stone as harder than that of the other Concord granites. 

The constituents are the same as in the sections already described on 

pages 147, 148. The soda-lime feldspar is oligoclase and contains 

some secondary calcite.

The quarry, opened in 1900, is about 200 feet N. 25° E., by 100 feet 

across, and from 50 to 65 feet deep.

The sheets, from 2 to 15 feet thick, are somewhat irregular and 

horizontal or dip 17°-30° NE. There are 2 sets of joints. Set A, discontinuous, strikes N. 25° E., is spaced 3 to 15 feet, and forms a 

heading at the northeast end. SetB, strikes about northeast, diagonal, 

and is spaced 12 to 25 feet. The rift is reported as horizontal or 

nearly so, and the grain as vertical with a'northeast course. Three 

garnetiferous pegmatite dikes, 1 to 4 inches thick, in a space of 2^ 

feet, strike about N. 45° W. and dips 60° SE. Rusty stain is about 4 

inches thick on sheet surfaces.

The plant, at the quarry, includes 3 derricks, a hoisting engine, a 

steam drill, and a steam pump. At the cutting shed in Concord it 

comprises 2 derricks, 2 air compressors (capacity 135 and 78 cubic 

feet of air per minute), 2 electric motors, an air plug drill, a surfacer, 

and an air hand tool.

Transportation involves cartage of one-eighth mile to Boston and 

Maine Railroad, or 1J miles to cutting shed on Prospect street.

The product is used entirely for monuments. Specimens: Fay 

sarcophagus, Dewitt, Iowa; Sielaff sarcophagus, Milwaukee, Wis.; 

Raines sarcophagus, Memphis, Tenn.; McElwee sarcophagus, Homer, 

111.; .Alten cross, Elyria, Ohio. In 1906 an elaborately carved sarcophagus (Crippen) was being cut for the Blossom Hill Cemetery, 

Concord, and several for Syracuse, N. Y.

The Fox quarry is on Rattlesnake Hill, 110 feet above North State 

street, N. 43° W. from the statehouse, and about half a mile N. 40° E. 

from the New England Granite Works quarry. Operator, Thomas 

Fox, 272 North State street, Concord, N. H.

The granite, "Concord granite," is a muscovite-biotite granite of 

medium bluish gray color and fine to medium somewhat porphyritic 

texture, resembling that of the Granite Railway quarry more than 

that of the New England Granite Works quarry. (See p. 149.)

The quarry, opened in 1884-5, a plan of which is given in fig. 20, 

measures about 200 and 300 feet by 175 feet across and from 40 to 

70 feet deep.

The sheets are, for this region, exceptionally regular, dip 10° SW., 

and from 2 to 20 feet thick. There are 3 sets of joints. (See fig. 20.)
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 155

Set A, vertical to steep east-southeast, is spaced 3 to 30 feet and 

forms east and west walls and the headings on the east side and 

center. Set B, vertical to steep east, is spaced 10 feet and over. Set 

C, spaced 10 to 70 feet, is apt to be discontinuous. The rift is reported 

as dipping 5°-7° SW. and the grain as vertical with a N. 70° E. course. 

The stone splits more easily along the rift in winter than in summer. 

In the northern part a 10-foot band of granite, without the bluish 

tint of the rest, strikes N. 60° W. and dips 90°. The cause of the 

difference is not clear, unless it be the micacization of the potash feldspar. It contains zonally arranged particles of quartz and oligoclase. 

The course of this band presumably indicates the flow direction of 

the granite. On one or both sides of it is an inch vein of muscovite. 

Pegmatite dikes measure up to 1^ inches in thickness. There are 

spheroidal segregations, from 6 inches to 3 feet by 2 feet 6 inches, 

of a. porphyritic granite of bluish gray shade, darker than any Concord granite. The matrix is 

fine-textiired (particles 0.18 

to 0.74 millimeter); the feldspars measure up to 0.4 

inches, and the mica to 0.2 

inches. The constituents are 

the same as those of Concord 

granite. The sheet surfaces 

are mostly free from rusty 

stain, and it is said never to 

exceed 4 inches in thickness. 

One of the joint faces carries 

chlorite, calcite, and pyrite.

The plant, including that 

of the cutting shed on North 

State street, comprises 3 derricks (one with a 95-foot mast and a 75-foot boom), 2 hoisting engines, 

an air compressor (capacity 140 cubic feet of air per minute), 2 steam 

drills, an air plug drill, 15 air hand tools,.a surfacer, 3 "Jenny Lind" 

polishers, and a steam pump.

Transportation involves cartage of one-fourth mile to a siding of 

the Boston and Maine Railroad, or of three-fourths mile to the cutting shed.

The pro'duct is used for buildings and monuments. Specimens: 

Church of Christ, Scientist, Concord, N. H.; Shelden Library, St. 

Paul's School, Concord; entrance to Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo; 

Soldiers' monument, Warner, and Carpenter tomb, Manchester, N. H.

The Perry quarry is on Rattlesnake Hill, N. 50° W. from the statehouse and 360 feet above North State street. This is the most 

southerly of the Concord quarries. Operator, W. H. Perry & Co., 

Concord, N. H.

FIG. 20. Structure mid plan of Fox quarry, Concord,

N. H.
156 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

The granite, "Concord granite," is a medium bluish gray muscovitebiotite granite of fine to medium somewhat porphyritic texture, 

closely resembling that of the New England Granite Works quarry 

described on page 147.

The quarry, opened in 1873, measures 250 feet N. 75° W. by 125 

to 250 feet N. 10° E., and from 60 to 100 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 1 to 18 feet thick, are about horizontal. There 

are 4 sets of joints. Set A, striking N. 10° E. and dipping steeply 

east, is spaced 5 to 20 feet. Set B, striking N. 75° W. and vertical, 

is spaced 18 to 35 feet. Set C, striking N. 30° E. and dipping 50° 

E., is spaced 200 feet. Joint D, striking N. 45° W. and dipping 

75° S. 45° W., occurs only at the northeast corner. That corner is 

much jointed and some of the joints are exceptional. The rift is 

reported as horizontal, and the grain as vertical with N. 80° W. 

course. A 4 to 5 inch pegmatite dike occurs with a N. 85° W. 

course and a vertical dip. Rusty stain does not exceed 4 inches 

and is absent from some sheets.

The plant, including that of the cutting shed in Concord, comprises 4 derricks, a hoisting engine, an air compressor, 7 air hand 

tools, 2 surfacers, a steam drill, 3 "Jenny Lind" polishers, a polishing 

lathe for stones 8 by 4 feet, an electric motor, and 2 steam pumps.

Transportation involves 3 miles' cartage from the quarry to the 

cutting shed, which is on the Boston and Maine Railroad.

The product is used mostly for monuments. Specimen: George 

Fogg monument, in Blossom Hill Cemetery, Concord, N. H.

The.Duffy prospect is on Rattlesnake Hill, N. 50° W. from the statehouse and 40 feet lower than the Perry quarry. Operator, N. J. 

Dufly, Concord, N. H.

.The granite, "Concord granite/' corresponds to that of the New 

England Granite Works quarry described on page 147.

The quarry, opened in 1906, measures about 50 feet east-west by 

25 feet across and but a few feet in depth.

The sheets are thick. Joints will probably be found to be similar 

to those at the Perry quarry. Knots, 2 inches hi diameter, and a 

2-inch pegmatite dike were noted.

The plant consists of 2 derricks and 1 engine.

Transportation is by cartage of a mile to the cutting shed, which 

is on the Boston and Maine Railroad.

MILFORD, N. H.

Topography. The Milford quarries lie within a radius of 4 miles of 

Milford village and between southwest, south, and southeast directions from it. A few lie northwest of it. The region about Milford, 

as shown on the Milford, N. H., topographic sheet of the United 

States Geological Survey, is marked by hills and short ridges, from 

440 to 760 feet above sea level, trending north to south or north-
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 157

northeast to south-southwest. The highest of these hills are, Burns 

Hill (720 feet) and Badger Hill (760 feet), southwest of the village, 

and Federal Hill (700 feet) southeast of it. This hilly surface is, 

however, bisected east and west by the valley of Souhegan River,

.7l"40'

. Quarry site Roads

FIG. 21. Map of vicinity of Milford, N. H., showing locations of granite quarries. 1, New Westerly 

quarry, New Westerly Granite Company. ' 2, Carlton quarry, A. E. Carlton. 3, Bishop quarry, John 

B. Bishop. 4, Corn/Dili quarry, Coniolli Bros. & Co.' 5, Paradise quarry, Milford, Nashua Lake Street 

Granite Company, 6, Tonella New quarry, Tonella & Sons. 7, Souhegan quarry, Daniels Granite 

Company. 8, Lovejoy quarry, Lovejoy Granite Company. 9J Pease quarry, Milford Quarry, and 

Construction Company. 10, Kittredge quarry, Edward L. Kittredge. 11, Tonella Old quarry, 

Tonella & Sons. 12, Hayden quarry, Henry W. Hayden. 13, Young quarry, Young's Sons & Co. 

14, Milford Granite Company, south opening. 15, Milford Granite Company, north opening.

which hereabouts flows between the 206 and 240 foot levels. The 

locations'of the quarries, shown on the map-(fig. 21), are not governed 

by the topography. None of them are above the 400-foot level or 

130 feet above the bench mark at Milford village.
158 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

Geology of Milford, N. H., quarries. The. most interesting 

geological features of the Milford granite quarries are the contact 

phenomena and inclusions. The former have been fully described 

on page 62 and are illustrated in fig. 5 and PI. VI, A. At these 

places remnants of the gneisses which once probably overlay the 

granite mass of the entire region are preserved. As these gneisses 

are evidently themselves granitic rocks which under powerful compression have undergone chemical and textural changes and become 

schistose, we are led to conclude that the Milford region has been the 

scene of two intrusions of rock material in molten condition, with an 

intervening period of metamorphism. The gneiss now capping the 

granite at the quarries of the Milford Granite Company (p. 173) represents the earlier granitic rock metamorphosed, the presence of 

which supplied part of the pressure which made possible as granite the 

stone which is now" quarried." The strike of the gneiss foliation is 

N. 75° W., which furnishes a clue to the direction from which came 

the compression which metamorphosed the earlier granite. It is 

assumed, of course, that these few feet of gneiss are but the shreds of 

a mass which originally measured many hundred feet in thickness, but 

which was eroded mainly in preglacial time. The pegmatite dikes, 

which, apparently starting at the contact, run up into the gneiss, as 

shown in PI. VI, A, were probably formed at the time of the intrusion 

of the underlying granite. This original gneiss of the region is also 

exposed at the T.onella quarries. (See pp. 164, 165.) At two 

quarries fragments of coarse biotite gneiss occur as inclusions in the 

granite. (See pp. 169, 176.) These probably formed part of the 

same overlying gneiss, which indeed they closely resemble. This 

was fractured by the vertical and lateral strain accompanying the 

intrusion, and fragments fell into the rising semiliquid fused mass. 

There is also at several quarries a marked banding in the granite, 

with courses of N., N. 15°, 20°; 50°, 70° E., and N. 75°-SO° W., which 

must have been caused by the granite current (flow structure). At 

the Daniels quarry (p. 169) a roughly diamond-shaped inclusion of 

gneiss, over 3 feet in diameter, has a flow structure about it parallel 

to its surface, showing that while the plastic material was adjusting 

itself to the foreign body a zonal rearrangement of the mineral constituents of the granite took place. The occurrence of pegmatite 

dikes in groups of parallel courses in Milford granite has already 

been discussed (p.' 48), and is shown in PL VI, B. The courses 

of pegmatite dikes at the quarries are N. 20°, 25°, 30°, 75° E. and 

N. 20°, 25°, 50°, 65° W. These must be attributed to a secondary 

intrusion in the granite in openings possibly due to contraction. The 

pegmatites thus represent a third access of heated matter to this portion of the crust. Finally the basic dikes, noted on pages 162, 163, 167,

« See Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 313, pp. 14-16,
A. CONTACT OF GRANITE AND OVERLYING GNEISS AT MILFORD 

GRANITE COMPANY'S QUARRY, MILFORD N H., LOOKING WESTNORTHWEST.

Pegmatite dikes in gneiss. Sheet structure in both rocks, but disconnected.

H. P

QU

A typ
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 159

represent a fourth and probably much later injection of. rock material 

in molten condition. The effect, direct or indirect, of these dikes 

in reddening the adjacent granite is very noticeable (see pp. 

163/167), and appears to be due to the hematitization of the feldspars 

either by the oxidation of magnetite by water or by the deoxidation 

of limonite by heat. The most abundant set of joints strikes N. 

70°-85° W., its complementary set striking N. 10°-30° E. Others 

strike N., N. 35°-40°, 45°-50°, 60° E. and N. 30°, 50°, 60° W. The 

rift is reported at all the quarries as either horizontal or inclined at 

a very low angle south or S. 70° W. or west. The grain is reported 

as vertical or dipping 70° north with a course of N. 60°-90° W., in 

one place N.80°E. The sheets are from 3 inches to 30 feet thick.

Description of Milford, N. H., granite. The following combines all 

the more detailed descriptions of specimens and thin sections given 

on pages 160-176.

Milford, N..H., granites are quartz monzonites a of light, medium, 

and dark-gray shade, in places of a slight bluish, pinkish, or buff 

tinge, and always spangled with black mica. Their texture is, with 

one exception, even grained, and very fine to fine, with feldspars 

and mica in the very fine up to 0.1 inch and in the fine to 0.2 inch. 

The constituents of these monzonites, in descending Order of abundance, are: Clear to slightly smoky quartz with cavities (in sheets) 

up to 0.008, 0.017, 0.03 millimeter, and in some quarries with hairlike crystals, probably of rutile; clear, colorless to milk white, or 

bluish, greenish, or pinkish soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), somewhat kaolinizecl and micacized; clear, colorless to milk white, or 

bluish, greenish, pinkish, or cream-colored potash feldspar (microcline 

with or without orthoclase), in places slightly kaolinizecl and micacized; black mica (biotite), some of it chloritized or bleached. 

Both feldspars are intergrown with quartz circular in cross section. 

The accessory minerals are: Magnetite, pyrite, apatite, zircon, 

allanite, and rutile; the secondary: Chlorite, two white micas, 

carbonate, kaolin, limonite, and hematite.

Estimates of the mineral percentages by the application of the 

Rosiwal method to camera lucicla drawings of 3 thin sections of 

the very fine Milford granite from 3 widely separated quarries 

(pp. 164, 170, 173) yield the following results:

Average estimates of mineral percentages in Milford, N. H., monumental granite.

Quartz-................................................................... 27.09

Soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase) ............................................ 34.03

Potash feldspars (microcline 14.15; orthoclase 15.57) ....................... 29. 72

Black mica............................................................... 8.58

Magnetite................................................................. .25

Minor accessories......................................................... .33

100.00

i See Glossary, p. 219.
160 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

As the percentages of quartz, soda-lime feldspar, and mica varied 

considerably in the separate estimates, the averages for these minerals are more dependable.

The average diameter of the particles in these three granites, as 

determined by the same method, is 0.0095 inch, which is about 

the same as the average .of three Westerly, R. I., "blue granites," 

given on page 192 as 0.0099 inch.

Messrs. Sullivan, Schaller, and Steiger, chemists, of the United 

States Geological Survey, found that granite from 5 Milford, N. H., 

quarries contained from 0.11 to 0.26 per cent of CaO (lime) soluble 

in hot dilute acetic acid, or an average of 0.16 per cent, which indicates a content of from 0.19 to 0.46 per cent, or an average of 0.29 

per cent, of CaC03 (lime carbonate). The presence of this carbonate is also shown by the microscope and by effervescence with 

cold dilute muriatic acid.

The finer Milford granites, which are properly monumental granites, 

take a high polish; to which the fineness of the mica contributes. 

The hammered face of these quart zmonzonites offers quite a little 

contrast to the polished face, owing to their large percentage of 

soda-lime feldspar. The particles are so fine that the only contrast, 

that between the mica and the other particles, is only visible at a 

short distance. In the coarser Milford granites, in which the mica 

measures 0.2 inch in two of its diameters, this contrast is more 

marked. The chief characteristics of all these finer granites are the 

uniformity and delicacy of their shade or tint, the variety of tints 

obtainable at the different quarries, and the adaptability of the stone 

for fine carving. The coarser Milford granites are entirely constructional.

The Milford, N. H., quarries. The Lovejoy quarry is in South 

Milford, about 2 miles S. 25° W. of Milford village, on the 380-foot 

level, on the southwest side of an oblong hill 440 feet high; (See 

fig. 21.) Operator, Lovejoy Granite Company, Milford, N. H.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 51, b) is a quartz monzonite of 

light-gray shade spangled with black mica. Its texture is even 

grained, fine, inclining to medium, with feldspars and mica up to 0.2 

inch. It consists, in descending order of abundance, of a milk-white 

potash feldspar (microcline and orthoclase); in almost equal amount 

a clear to milk-white soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), partly kaolinized and micacized; light smoky quartz; biotite (black mica), some 

of it chloritized. Accessory minerals are: Allanite, zircon, apatite. 

Secondary: Chlorite, two white micas, kaolin, carbonate, and 

hematite.

 Mr. George Steiger, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, 

finds that this granite contains 0.14 per cent of CaO (lime) soluble in 

hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates the content of 0.25 per cent
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 161

of CaC03 (lime carbonate); the microscope also shows the presence of 

a carbonate, and the stone effervesces slightly witlj. dilute muriatic acid.

The quarry, opened about 1886, measures 477 feet N. 35° E. by 

150 feet across and from 5 to 20 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 3 inches to 10 feet thick, but mostly up to 5 feet 

6 inches, dip 5° to 10° east and southeast. There is but one set of 

joints, which is vertical, striking N. 85° W., recurs at intervals of 

40, 100, and 330 feet, and forms a 4 to 10 foot heading 140 feet from 

the north end. The rift is reported as horizontal but tending to 

incline with the sheets, the grain as vertical with N. 85° W. course. 

In summer the rock splits without reference to rift and grain. A 

flow structure, shown by more micaceous bands alternating with 

some 2-inch white ones, strikes N. 40° W. and dips 25° NE. Pegmatite dikes, up to 2 inches thick, strike N. 65° W., exceptionally 

N. 25° E. They consist of half-inch particles of clear to milky striated.

soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), light smoky quartz, and black mica 

with magnetite and pyrite. There are no knots. Rusty stain is light, 

and up to 6 and 18 inches thick, but is not present on all sheets.

The plant consists of 3 derricks, 2 hoisting engines, an air compressor (capacity 935 cubic feet of air per minute), 2 large drills, 12 

air plug drills, 2 surfacers, and a steam pump.

Transportation, as shown on the map (fig. 21), is by siding from 

the Boston and Maine Railroad.

Specimen structures: Pier 4 of Haverhill bridge, Essex County, 

Mass.; piers 4 and 6 of the railroad bridge at the same place; trimmings of Majestic Theater, Chicago; and Ferguson- mausoleum at 

Kenrico Cemetery, New York.

The Kittredge quarry is in South Milford, about 1£ miles S. 15° W. 

of Milford village, on the 360-foot level, on the opposite side of the 

same hill the Lovejoy quarry is on. (See fig. 21.) Operator, Edward L. Kittredge, Milford, N. H.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 50, b) is a quartz monzonite 

of light-gray shade (with very slight bluish tinge apparent when the 

stone is in large masses) spangled with black mica. Its texture is even 

grained, fine, inclining to medium, with feldspars up to 0.2 and mica 

to 0.1 inch. In 4 thin sections the particles do not exceed 2.96 milimeters, or 0.012 inch, and most of them are ribt 2.2 milimeters or 

0.08 inch. At very rare' intervals porphyritic feldspars occur up to 

1£ inches in diameter. Its constituents, in descending order of 

abundance, are: Very slightly bluish milk-white potash feldspar 

(microcline intergrown with quartz, and orthoclase); in almost if 

not quite equal amount clear, colorless to milk-white soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), partly micacized and kaolinized; light smoky quartz 

with sheets of cavities and rift or grain cracks parallel to them; and 

.biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized. Accessory minerals are: 

50193 Bull. 354 08 11
162 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS.,. N. H., AND R. I.

Magnetite, allanite, zircon, and apatite. Secondary: Kaolin, chlorite, white mica, and limonite. In the upper sheets the stone is of 

light, cream color owing to limonite proceeding from magnetite and 

allanite particles.

A very fine monumental granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 50, a), 

forming a band 20 feet wide at the south end of the quarry, is also a 

quartz monzonite of light-gray shade with very, slight bluish tinge 

and spangled with fine black mica. Its texture is very fine, with 

feldspars rarely over 0.1 and mica not over that. In thin section the 

feldspars measure up to 1.85 millimeters and the mica 0.74 millimeter. The constituents are like those of the coarser stone but the 

potash feldspars appear to predominate. The quartz contains hairlike crystals, probably rutile, and sheets of cavities intersecting at 

right angles, with cracks parallel to at least one of the sets of sheets.

The main product (specimen 50, b) is a constructional granite 

closely resembling that of the Lovejoy quarry on the other side of 

the hill but with slightly finer mica scales and a more bluish tinge 

in large masses. It effervesces very slightly with dilute muriatic 

acid.

The quarry, opened about 1890, measures 800 feet north-south by 

200 feet across and from 5 to 40 feet in depth. The working face is 

on the southwest.

The sheets are lenticular, from 4 inches to 2 feet 10 inches thick, 

and dip at a low angle north and east. There are 3 sets of joints: 

Set A striking N. 22° E. and vertical, forms a heading 5 to 7 feet wide 

on each side of a basic dike. Set B, striking N. 70° and vertical, is 

spaced 200 feet. Set C, striking N. 45° E. and dipping 55° N. 45° 

W., is exceptional. The rift is reported as horizontal and the grain 

as vertical with a N. 80° E. course. A flow structure marked by

parallel bands of abundant black mica strikes N. 20° E. also N. 50° 

E., with a dip of 20° NNW. and NW. A basic dike, a foot thick, 

striking N. 22° E. and vertical forms the east wall: This is intimately 

related to joint system A. Pegmatite dikes, 1J to 3 inches thick, 

strike N. 20° and 50° W., forming in one place a network with meshes 

15 feet square. An obscure whitish vein, 1 inch thick, probably 

quartz, strikes N. 10°-15° W. Rusty stain, 4 to 8 inches thick, 

occurs on some of "the sheet surfaces. The top sheets are cream 

colored from a slight general discoloration. (See p. 56.)

The plant consists of 7 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, an air compressor (capacity 210 cubic feet of air per minute), 2 large drills, and 

12 air plug drills.

Transportation is by a siding from the Boston and Maine Railroad, 

as shown on map (fig. 21). Seven-eighths of the product consists of 

paving, curbing, flagging, and crossings, the remainder being dimension stone and bases for monuments. Its markets are chiefly Boston, 

Albany, and their vicinities.
NEW HAMPSHIBE. 163

The Pease quarry is in South Milford, about 1$ miles S. 25° W. of 

Milford village, on the 350 feet level, on the same hill the Lovejoy 

and Kittredge quarries are on. (See-fig. 21.) Operator, Milford 

Quarry and Construction Company, Milford, N. H.

The granite in the east half of the quarry is a quartz monzonite 

of light-gray shade (with very slight bluish tinge apparent only in 

large masses of the stone) and spangled with black mica. Its texture is fine, inclining to medium, with feldspar and mica up to 0.2 

inch. Its constituents are identical with those of specimen 50, b, 

from the Kittredge quarry, page 161.

The granite from the west half of the quarry (specimen D, XXVIII, 

64, a), "pink stock/' is a quartz monzonite of light buff-gray color 

spangled with black mica. Its texture is even grained, fine, inclining to medium, with feldspar and mica up to 0.2 inch. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: Light smoky quartz

with cavities in sheets, many parallel; colorless, transparent to milkwhite soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase); light buff-gray potash feldspar 

(microcline); both feldspars are somewhat kaolinized and micacized; 

and biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized. Accessory minerals 

are: Magnetite, apatite, and zircon. Secondary: Kaolin, white micas, chlorite, and carbonate. It effervesces slightly with cold dilute 

muriatic acid.

This is a constructional granite of warm tint with conspicuous 

small black micas.

The quarry, opened in 1886, measures about 600 feet east-west by 

400 and 300 feet from north to south, and from 35 to 60 feet in depth.

The sheets are lenticular, from 2 to 22 feet thick, and have a slight 

northerly dip. There are 2 sets of joints: Set A, striking N. 15° E., 

vertical, and spaced 50 to 200 feet, forms headings on west wall and 

200 feet east of it next to the dikes. Set B, striking N. 80° W. and 

dipping 75° south, is spaced 5 to 50 feet and occurs on north and 

south walls. The rift is reported as horizontal and the grain as 

vertical with N. 65° W. course. A flow structure, shown by biotitic 

bands, alternating with more feldspathic and quartzose ones, strikes 

N. 70°-75° W., and dips 25° south. This is conspicuous on the south 

side but at the southwest corner, where the granite is overlain by a 

gneiss as shown in fig. 5 (p. 63), the flow structure has a N. 70°-75° E. 

course and dips 20°-25° S. The strike of the gneiss is N. 75° W. 

and the dip 20° S. This gneiss consists of light-gray to milkwhite soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), smoky quartz, biotite, with 

magnetite, -apatite, and zircon. It is thus a mica diorite gneiss. 

There are 2 basic dikes striking N. 15° E. and vertical, one, 4 feet 

thick, makes the west wall; the other, 12 to 18 inches thick, forms a 

jog 200 feet east of it. Within 50 feet of the thicker dike the granite 

passes from a light buff gray to a medium pinkish gray,owing to the 

darkening of the feldspars and to hematitic stain. These dikes are
164 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

also the probable cause of the difference between the color of the 

granite in the western and eastern halves of the quarry, the amount 

of hematitic stain increasing with the nearness of the dikes. (See 

pp. 36,55.) A 4-inch pegmatite dike strikes N. 65° W. and consists of 

quartz, white feldspar, and biotite, the particles being up to 2 inches 

hi diameter. Limonitic stain up to 2 inches thick occurs on some 

sheets only.

The plant consists of 4 derricks (2 with a capacity of 25 tons), 

3 hoisting engines, an air compressor (capacity 345 cubic feet of 

air per minute), a large drill, 12 air plug drills, 2 surfacers, and a 

steam pump.

Transportation is effected, as shown on the map (fig. 21), by a 

siding from the Boston and Maine Railroad.

The product is used for bridges and buildings and the waste for 

paving. Specimen building of "pink stock:" Thayer Memorial 

Library at Franklin, Mass. Contracts in 1906: Neponset, Mass., 

railroad bridge; piers 12, 25, 26, and 32 on the Prison Point Street 

bridge (Boston and Maine Railroad), East Cambridge, Mass.; and 

east side coping of the Atlantic Avenue Bridge, Boston.

The Tonella old quarry is in South Milford, 1J miles south of Milford village. (See fig. 21.) Operators, Tonella & Sons, Milford, N. H.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 54, a, b) is a quartz monzonite of light-gray shade (without either bluish or greenish tinge), with 

very minute black spangles..

Its texture is fine, even grained, with feldspars up to 0.15 inch,- 

and black mica in slender scales but exceptionally over 0.1 inch. 

Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: Very light 

smoky quartz with hairlike crystals, probably of rutile, and cavities 

in sheets; colorless clear to milk-white soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase) 

slightly kaolinized and micacized; very light gray potash feldspar 

(microchip and orthoclase), mostly intergrown with quartz circular 

in cross section, and in some cases very slightly kaolinized; and 

biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized. Accessory minerals are: 

Magnetite, zircon, allanite, apatite, and rutile. No pyrite detected. 

Secondary: Kaolin, chlorite, and 2 white micas.

An estimate of the mineral percentages, made by applying the 

Rosiwal method to a camera lucida drawing of a thin section enlarged 

40 diameters, yields the following results with a mesh of 1.7 inches 

and. a total linear length of 42 inches.

Estimated mineral percentages in Milford, N. H., granite from the old Tonella quarry.

Quartz..................................................................... 36. 76

Soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase).............................................. 29.16

Potash, feldspars (microcline 14.00, orthoclase 13.58).........;.............. 27. 58

Black mica............................................................... 6.50

100.00
NEW HAMPSHIBE. 165

The average diameter of the particles obtained by the same 

method is 0.011 inch.

This is a fine-grained monumental granite, in shade a trifle lighter 

than Hallo well, Me., granite, but not as light as that of North Jay, Me. 

It takes a high polish. The only contrast, visible but a few fexet off, is 

between the black mica and the. combined quartz and feldspars. 

The polished face shows many minute particles of magnetite.

The quarry, opened in 1900, measures about 300 feet north-south by 

100 feet across and from 20 to 35 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 2 to 14 feet thick, are lenticular horizontal and 

regular. There are 2 sets of joints: Set A, striking N. 85° W. and 

vertical or dipping steep south, is spaced 20 to 50 feet, and forms a 

heading 3 feet wide, 125 feet from the south end. Set B, striking 

N. 35-40° E. and vertical, is intermittent and confined to upper sheets. 

It forms a heading on the east wall, and recurs 30 feet from west wall. 

From the large blocks of gneiss attached to granite lying pn the 

dumps and from the occurrence of this gneiss in a much weathered 

condition in or under the drift on the edge of the quarry, it is evident 

that the rock surface originally included a mass of gneiss which either 

capped the granite or formed a large inclusion in its upper part. This 

gneiss is coarse, biotitic, with lenses of pinkish potash feldspar (microcline) bordered with clear to milk white-soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase). 

Its quartz is smoky. Its accessory minerals are: Pyrite, magnetite, 

allanite, and zircon. The rift is reported as horizontal, and the grain 

as vertical with N. 85° W. course. There are no dikes, veins, or knots. 

Rusty stain occurs only along the headings, where it is 6 inches thick. 

The original rock surface was covered with 10 to 20 feet of till. This 

quarry is remarkably free from the common structural difficulties.

The plant, including cutting machinery at the village, comprises a 

derrick (with a mast of Georgia pine 105 feet high), a smaller derrick, 

2 hoisting engines, an air compressor (capacity 108 cubic feet of air 

per minute), a large drill, an air plug drill, 18 air hand tools, a surfacer, 

and a steam pump.

Transportation is effected by cartage of one-half mile to railroad for 

rough stock, but of 2 miles to the cutting shed for blocks to be finished.

The product is used principally for monuments and the waste for 

paving. The firm makes a specialty of fine carved work, most of which 

finds a market in the West. Specimen: The Morgenthaler monument in Greenwood Cemetery, Hamilton, Ohio. This is a 5-ton block, 

6 feet high, with a delicately carved branching ivy vine entwined 

about a cross, all in high relief on a roughly chipped face. As only 

ordinary hand tools were used the outlines in this are sharper than 

they would have been with the use of pneumatic tools.

The Tonella new quarry is 2£ miles S. 25° W. of Milford village. 

(See fig. 21.) Operator, Tonella & Sons, Milford, N. H.
166 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 55, a) is a quartz monzonite of 

medium buff-gray shade, spangled with fine black mica. Its texture 

is generally even-grained and fine, with feldspar up to 0.2 and mica to 

0.1 inch, but with rare porphyritic light pinkish feldspars an inch in 

diameter. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: 

Light amethystine to pale smoky quartz; colorless, clear to milkwhite soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), partly kaolinized and micacized; 

light-buff to cream-colored potash feldspar (microcline much intergrown with quartz circular in cross section); and black mica, some of 

it chloritized. Accessory minerals are: Magnetite, allanite, apatite, 

and zircon. Secondary: Kaolin, a white mica, chlorite, hematite 

from magnetite, and limonite from allanite.

In general color this rock resembles specimen 64, a, of the Pease 

quarry (p. 163), but its mica scales are finer. It-may become pinkish 

as the excavation deepens.

A finer granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 55, c) from the upper part of 

the quarry is also a quartz monzonite of medium buff-gray color, 

spangled with extremely fine mica. Its texture is even grained, very 

fine, with feldspars up to 0.1 and mica rarely over 0.05 inch. Its constituents and stain are the same as the other.

A pinkish granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 55, d) occurring next to 

the dike described beyond, is of pinkish medium-gray color, like that 

adjoining the dike in the Pease quarry (p. 163), but its general texture 

is fine, with feldspars and mica up to 0.15 inch, and with sparse 

porphyritic feldspars from 0.02 to 0.04 inch. Its constituents, in 

descending order of abundance, are: Pale amethystine to light smoky 

quartz with hairlike crystals, probably of rutile, and cavities in two 

sets of sheets intersecting at right angles with rift and grain cracks 

parallel to them; a translucent to opaque pinkish soda-lime feldspar 

(oligoclase) partly kaolinized and micacized, the kaolinized parts 

showing hematite by incident light; pinkish potash feldspar (microcline and orthoclase, in twins), intergrown with quartz circular in cross 

section; biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized. Accessory minerals are: Magnetite, allanite, zircon, apatite, and rutile. Secondary: Kaolin, a white mica, carbonate, and hematite. It effervesces 

slightly with dilute muriatic acid.

The quarry, opened in 1905, measures 100 feet north-south by 80 

feet across and has an average depth of 20 feet.

The sheets, from 18 inches to 6 feet thick, are lenticular and horizontal, or dip as high as 20° E. Only one set of joints occurs, striking 

N. 30° W., dipping 35° W., and spaced 5 to 20 feet. The granite is 

capped on the east and west sides by about 5 feet of coarse biotite 

gneiss, but on the west this is overlapped by 2 to 3 feet of granite, and 

hence the gneiss may be merely a large inclusion. This gneiss (specimen D, XXVIII, 55, b) consists of pinkish potash feldspar (micro-
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 167

cline), and milk-white soda-lime feldspar, both intergrown with quartz; 

smoky quartz with cavities in sheets; and biotite. The accessory 

minerals are magnetite, zircon, apatite, and allanite. The foliation 

of the gneiss strikes about N. 45° W. The rift is reported as horizon- . 

tal and grain as vertical, with N. 80° W. course. A flow structure 

shown by more biotitic streaks and planes strikes north and dips 

20° W. At the top there is a band of fine-grained granite, 2 feet thick, 

in the flow direction. On the south side a vertical dike 2 feet 6 

inches thick of augite camptonite strikes N. 10° E. This consists of 

soda-lime feldspar (andesine), augite, brown hornblende, magnetite in 

octahedra and skeleton crystals, apatite in slender prisms all through 

the feldspar, and pyrite, together with secondary chlorite and carbonate from alteration of augite. The granite for a thickness of 8 feet on 

the south side of this dike has a marked pinkish color, already shown 

under specimen 55, d (p. 166), as due to the presence of a very small 

amount of hematite.

The plant consists of 2 derricks and a hoisting engine.

Transportation involves cartage of one-fourth mile to a railroad 

siding, but of 2^ miles to cutting shed.

The product in 1906 had not yet been put upon the market pending 

further excavations.

The Comolli quarry is 3^ miles southwest of Milford village, at the 

east foot of Badger Hill, S. 10° W. of Burns Hill. (See fig. 21.) 

Operator, Comolli Brothers & Co., Milford, N. H.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 58, a) is a quartz monzonite of 

light, inclining to medium, bluish gray color, and of very fine, evengrained texture, with feldspars and mica up to 0.1 inch. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: Light smoky quartz with 

hairlike crystals, probably.of rutile, and with cavities; bluish milkwhite soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), partly kaolinized; colorless 

clear potash feldspar (microcline and orthoclase) much intergrown 

with quartz circular in cross section; and biotite (black mica), some 

of it chloritized. Accessory minerals are: Magnetite, zircon, apatite, 

and rutile. Secondary: Kaolin and chlorite. It effervesces slightly 

with dilute muriatic acid.

This stone is so fine grained as to afford no contrasts except under 

close inspection, when only that between the mica and the general 

bluish gray of the rest appears. It is a monumental granite.

The quarry, opened in 1905, is about 70 by 50 feet and 5 to 15 feet 

deep.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 6 feet 6 inches thick, are lenticular and 

irregular. There are 2 sets of joints: Set A strikes N. 10° E. and dips 

45° E. Set B strikes N. 80° W., is about vertical, and occurs at the 

south end. At the southeast corner the granite is overlain by 6 feet 

of coarse biotite gneiss. . The rift is reported as horizontal and the
168 COMMEECIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H.; AND E. I.

grain as vertical with N. 80° W. course. A pegmatite dike strikes 

N. 75° E. The amount of rusty stain on sheets is insignificant.

The. plant consists of 2 horse derricks and 12 air hand tools at the 

cutting shed at Milford, where-compressed air is obtained from another 

plant.

Transportation involves cartage of about 4£ miles to the cutting 

shed.

The product is used entirely for monuments.

The Paradis quarry is on the Milford and Brookline township line, 

3f miles S. 35° W. of Milford village and about one-half mile southeast of Badger Hill. (See fig. 21.) Operator, Milford Nashua Lake 

Street Granite Company, Milford, 'N. H.

The granite is a quartz monzonite of light inclining to medium 

bluish gray color, and very fine, even-grained texture, identical with 

that of the Comolli quarry, three-tenths mile north of it, described 

on page 167.

The quarry, opened in 1905, is about 150 by 72 feet and is 4 feet 

deep.

The sheets, from 2 to 7 feet thick, are lenticular and undulating. 

There are 2 sets of joints: Set A, striking N. 60° E. and vertical or 

dipping steeply south, is spaced 4 to 30 feet. Set B, striking north 

and vertical, forms the east wall only. The rift is reported as horizontal and the grain as vertical north-south. - Pegmatite dikes, from 

1 to 12 inches thick, strike N. 20° E. and dip 40° W., also N. 25° W. 

and vertical, but turning to N. 50° W. Kusty stain is 6 inches thick.

The plant consists of 2 horse derricks and 1 hand derrick.

The product is used for monuments and curbing, the former in 

Boston, the latter in Nashua, N. H.

The SouJiegan quarry is 2| miles S. 12° E. from Milford village 

and three-fifths mile southwest of Federal Hill. (See fig. 21.) 

Operator, The Daniels Granite Company, Milford, N. H.

The granite, (specimens D, XXVIII, 53, a, b, c) is a quartz monzonite of dark gray shade with very slight pinkish tinge arid very fine 

scales of black mica. .Its texture is even grained and fine, with 

feldspar and mica not over 0.1 inch. Its constituents, in descending 

order of abundance, are: . Light smoky quartz with few cavities, 

some in sheets; milk-white soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), slightly 

kaolinized and micacized; colorless to dull greenish gray potash 

feldspar (microcline), intergrown with quartz circular in cross section, 

and biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized. Accessory minerals 

are: .Magnetite, pyrite, apatite, allanite, and zircon. Secondary: 

Kaolin, a white mica, chlorite, carbonate, and some irregularly 

disseminated hematite stain which gives the pinkish hue.

Mr. George Steiger, of the United States Geological Survey chemical 

laboratory, finds that this granite contains 0.26 percent of CaO (lime)
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 169

soluble in hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates a content of 0.46 

per cent of CaC03 (lime carbonate), the presence of which carbonate 

is also shown by the microscope and by a slight effervescence in cold 

dilute muriatic acid.

The stone takes a high polish and offers quite a contrast of shade 

between its hammered and polished faces. The polished surface 

shows rare particles of pyrite along with the usual abundance of 

magnetite particles. The only contrast between its minerals, that 

between the black mica and the general color of quartz and feldspar, 

is visible but a few feet off.

The quarry, opened in 1896, measures 150 by 50 feet and is 10 to 25 

feet in depth.

The sheets, generally normal and from 6 inches to 5 feet thick, dip 

low west and south, but are intersected by sharply curved planes, 

"toenails." There are two sets of joints: Set A, striking N. 80° W.

and vertical, occurs only in the southern part. Set B, striking 

N. 22° E. and vertical, forms headings on the east and west walls, and 

recurs discontinuously at intervals of 10 feet. There is a rhombshaped inclusion at the south end, about 3 feet 6 inches across, of 

very coarse biotite gneiss, consisting of milk-white soda-lime feldspar 

(oligoclase-andesine), smoky quartz, and biotite, with a little copper 

pyrite. There is some banding in the granite parallel to the surface 

of the inclusion. (See p. 19.) The rift is reported as in places 

horizontal but generally dipping south at a very low angle, and the 

grain as vertical with N. 70° W. course. A pegmatite dike, up to 2 

inches thick, with a little magnetite, strikes N. 30° E. and dips 50° W. 

Rusty stain on the" sheet surfaces measures up to 6 inches.

The plant, including that of the cutting shed at Milford, comprises 

5 derricks, a hoisting engine, a 12-ton traveling crane, an air compressor (capacity 100 cubic feet of air per minute), several air hand 

tools, 2 polishers, a steam drill, and a steam pump.

Transportation is by cartage of 3 miles to cutting shed on siding of 

Boston and Maine Railroad.

. The product is used for monuments. Specimens: Seaver monu-. 

ment in cemetery at Brookline, N. H.; Captain Randall monument 

in Riverside Cemetery, Milford, N. H.

The Hayden quarry is If miles S. 25° E. of Milford village, over 

one-half mile N. 35° W. from Federal Hill. (See fig. 21.) Operator, 

Henry W. Hayden, Milford, N. H.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 57, a, c) is a quartz monzonite 

of dark medium-bluish gray color with very fine black mica. Its 

texture is even grained, fine, with feldspar, and mica up to 0.1 inch, 

but with rare porphyritic feldspars 0.2 inch. Its constituents, in 

descending order of abundance, are: Very light smoky quartz, some 

of it with cavities up to 0.03 millimeter in sheets; milk-white soda-
170 COMMEBCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND K. I.

lime feldspar (oligoclase), partly kaolinized and micacized; bluish 

translucent potash feldspar (microcline); and biotite (black mica), 

some of it chloritized. Accessory minerals are: Magnetite, pyrite, 

apatite, allanite, and zircon. Secondary: Kaolin, white micas, 

chlorite, and carbonate. Both feldspars are intergrown with quartz 

circular in cross section.

The stone takes a good polish. The polished face shows many fine 

particles of magnetite and rare ones of pyrite. The only contrast, 

that between the mica and the rest of the stone, is not visible at a 

distance.

The quarry measures about 150 feet N. 30° E. by 60 feet across 

and 15 to 20 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 4 inches to 5 feet thick, dip 10° S, 70° W. There 

are two sets of joints: Set A, striking N.. 30° E. and vertical, is spaced 

15 to 40 feet, and forms three 5-foot headings near the middle and on 

east aad west sides. Set B, striking N. 60° W. and vertical, is spaced 

20 to 30 feet. The rift is reported as dipping like the sheets and the 

grain as vertical with N. 60° W. course. In a part of the quarry the 

lower sheets are affected by short parallel fractures one-half to 1 inch 

apart. This resembles "shake" structure, but is much coarser. 

These incipient sheets seem to be due to some local strain. About 

200 feet east of the quarry the granite is in contact with a coarse 

gneiss with a foliation striking east-west. Meandering pegmatite 

dikes, from one-fourth inch to 2 inches thick, in groups numbering 

up to 12, strike N. 50° W., with vertical or steep southeast dip, and 

recur at intervals of 20 to 30 feet. Another set of these dikes strikes 

nearly at right angles to the first. The pegmatite consists of creamcolored oligoclase, light smoky quartz with cavities in sheets, a little 

microcline, black mica, and magnetite, together with accessory pyrite, 

apatite, allanite, and zircon. Muscovite veins ("sand streaks") 

strike N. 60° W. at intervals of 1 to 12 inches near the pegmatite 

dikes. The granite contains here and there porphyritic crystals of 

biotite (black mica) up to 2 inches by 0.4 inch, with their flat and 

veiy thin sides parallel to the rift. (See p. 57.) Rusty stain on the 

sheet surfaces is from 2 to 6 inches thick. Pyrite occurs on the joint 

faces.

The plant comprises 2 derricks, a hoisting engine, and a steam 

pump.

Transportation is by cartage of If miles to Milford.

The product is dimension stone, blocks for monuments, and paving. 

The quarry is worked only from April to December of each year.

The Young quarry is 1£ miles southeast of Milford village and 

three-fourths mile southwest of East Milford, or Laurel post-office. 

(See fig. 21.) Operators, Youngs Sons & Co., Milford, N. H.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. '171

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 52, aa, c), "dark-blue New 

Westerly," is a quartz monzonite of general dark-gray shade (neither 

bluish, greenish, nor pinkish, but of smoke color) with very fine black 

spangles. Its texture is- even-grained and fine, with feldspar up to 

0.1 rarely 0.15 inch, and mica to 0.1 inch. Its constituents are, 

in descending order of abundance: Very light smoky quartz with cavities; slightly greenish-gray soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), somewhat 

kaolinized and micacized; clear, colorless to grayish potash feldspar 

(microcline and orthoclase), very slightly kaolinized; and black mica, 

some of it chloritized. Accessory minerals are: Magnetite, pyrite, 

apatite, allanite, and zircon; secondary: White mica, kaolin, chlorite, 

carbonate, and a little hematite and limonite stain, the latter about 

the allanite.

An estimate of the mineral percentages obtained by applying the 

Rosiwal method to a camera lucida drawing of part of a thin section 

enlarged 40 diameters yields these results with a mesh of 2 inches 

and a total linear length of 34 inches.

Estimated mineral percentages in Milford, N.-H., granite from, the Young quarry.

Quartz.................................................................. 27.40

Soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase)............................................ 27.70

Potash feldspars (microcline 12.87, orthoclase 17.41) ....................... 29.28

Black mica (biotite)...................................................... 13.51

Magnetite............................................................... .11

Allanite................................................................. 1.00

(Accessory, 1.11.) 

100.00

' 

The percentages of magnetite and allanite are not perfectly reliable,

for a slight shifting of the mesh would have changed the figures for 

one or both, but as representing together the accessories they are not 

far from the truth. The average diameter of all the particles, by the 

same method, is 0.0084 inch.

Mr. W. T. Schaller, of the United States Geological Survey chemical 

laboratory, finds that this granite contains 0.18 per cent of CaO (lime) 

soluble in hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates a content of 0.32 

per cent of CaCO3 (lime carbonate), the presence of which carbonate 

is also shown by the microscope and by a very slight effervescence 

with cold dilute muriatic acid.

A crushing test, made for the firm by Professor Bicketts, of the 

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, at Troy, N. Y., is reported as 

showing an ultimate crushing strength of 24,950 pounds to the square 

inch.

The stone takes a fine polish. The polished face shows some 

magnetite and a little pyrite. There is much contrast of shade 

between the hammered and the rough or polished face, the hammered
172 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., K. Hv AND R. I.

face being light, slightly bluish gray. The contrast between the . minerals, only visible near to them, is that between the black mica 

and the general color of the others.

The quarry, opened in 1886, a plan of which is shown in fig. 22, has 

a length of 370 feet, a width of 75 to 100 feet, and an average depth 

of 50 feet. Only the northwest bend was being worked in 1906.

The sheets, from 2 to 10 feet thick, are lenticular and generally horizontal. Joint courses are given in fig. 22. Set A is vertical, forms 

a heading at the west end, shown in PI. VI, B, and recurs 70 feet 

.east only. Set B dips 40° north, is spaced 5 to 10 feet, and occurs 

only at the northwest corner. The rift is reported as horizontal, 

but with a slight inclination to the west. There is no perceptible 

grain. Flow structure, shown by biotitic streaks, strikes N. .15° E. 

and dips 45° west. The marked feature of this quarry is the recurrence, at intervals of 20 

feet, of dikes of pegmatite and aplite, already 

_ described on page 48 

and shown in PL VI, B. 

These dikes are from 

one-fourth inch to 3 

inches thick, occur in 

sets of three to eight, 

with a N. 25° W. course 

and a vertical dip. A 

few strike N. 25° E. and 

dip40°ESE. They consist of cream-colored oliFIG. 22.-Structure and plan of Young quarry, Milford, N. H. gOClaSC, SHloky qiiaitz,

cream-colored or pink

microcline, and biotite, with magnetite, allanite, and zircon. The 

biotite crystals measure up to 2 inches in length. Rusty stain 

measures up to 8 inches on sheet surfaces. Joints A are coated 

with pyrite, which has mostly passed into limonite.

The plant, including that of the cutting shed, comprises 4 derricks, a hoisting engine, an air compressor run by a 22-horsepower 

gasoline engine, 2 steam drills, 12 air hand tools, and a steam pump.

Transportation is by cartage of three-fourths mile to the cutting 

shed, on the Boston and Maine Railroad, although a siding extends 

to within a few hundred feet of the qu'arry.

The product is used for monuments, the stained and veined parts 

and small sheets for paving. The monuments go mostly to Troy, 

N. Y. Specimens: The Senator E. Murphy and W. Fitzpatrick 

monuments at St. Mary's Cemetery; the Mrs. R. J. Stark monument 

at Oakwood Cemetery, Troy,.N. Y.; the Mrs. J. Craig monument at 

Rural Cemetery, Albany, N. Y,
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 173

TJie Milford Granite Company's quarries are a mile southeast of 

Milford village and 130 feet above it, on the east side of a hill. 

(See fig. 21.) The quarries were idle in 1906. Address, H. H. 

Barber, Milford, N. H.

The granite generally is like that of the Young quarry, described 

on page 171.

The quarries comprise 2 openings, along a N. 20° E. line. The 

southern opening is about 120 feet N. 20° E. by 60 feet across and 

is 40 feet deep. The northern opening, separated from the other by 

an interval of 150 feet, is about 900 feet N. 20° E. by 50 to 75 feet 

across and from 10 to 30 feet deep.

The sheets, from 1 to 5 feet thick, are lenticular and horizontal. 

Joints, striking N. 1.0° to 30° E. and vertical, are spaced 1 to 5 feet 

and form headings on the east and west walls of both quarries and 

also in the middle of southern one. Some of the joints of these headings are "sand seams," or veins up to one-half inch thick of a central band of quartz crystals with borders of muscovite. (Seep. 51.) 

The granite of the west, wall of both quarries is overlain by a 

mass of many-colored banded gneiss, 12 to 16 feet thick, with a foliation striking about N. 75° -W. and dipping 75° south, with injections of pegmatite starting at the contact and tapering out within 

the gneiss. (See PI. VI, A.) There is much variety in the composition and texture of the gneiss. The quartz of the finer augitediorite gneiss has cavities, up to 0.047 millimeter, which are in sheets 

intersecting at right angles. The granite on either side of the muscovite veins in the heading is much reddened for half an inch; the 

biotite is mostly chloritized, the oligoclase is much kaolinized and 

micacized, and much limonite and hematite stain proceeds from 

particles of magnetite arid pyrite.

The plant comprises, at the quarries, 4 derricks (6 to 20 tons),, 

2 hoisting engines, a steam drill, and a steam pump. At the cutting shed are a 45-horsepower engine, an air compressor (capacity, 

212 cubic feet air per minute), a crane (capacity, 20 tons), a surfacer, 

and 2 polishers.

Transportation involves cartage of half a mile to a cutting shed 

on the Boston and Maine Railroad.

The New Westerly quarry is 2| miles northwest of Milford village. 

(See fig. 21.) Operator, New Westerly Granite Company, Milford, 

N. H. ' .

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 60, a, b), "New Westerly blue," 

is a quartz monzonite of medium slightly bluish-gray color, spangled 

with fine black mica. Its texture is even-grained, fine, inclining to 

medium, with feldspar and mica up to 0.2 inch and a marked parallelism in the mica scales. Its constituents, in descending order 

of abundance, are: Light smoky quartz with cavities up to 0.008 

millimeter in sheets; slightly greenish-blue soda-lime feldspar
174 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., Nr Hv AND R. I. -

(oligoclase), partly kaolinized and micacized; slightly pinkish-gray 

potash feldspar (microcline, some twinned); biotite (black mica) 

some of it chloritized. Both feldspars are intergrown with quartz. 

Accessory minerals are: Magnetite, pyrite, allanite, apatite, and 

zircon; secondary: Kaolin, 2 white micas, chlorite, hematite, and 

carbonate.

An estimate of the mineral percentages, obtained by applying the 

Rosiwal method to a camera lucida drawing of part of a thin section, 

enlarged 40 diameters, yields the following results with a mesh of 1J 

inches and a total linear length of 34.5 inches:

Estimated mineral percentages in Milford, N. H., granite from the New Westerly quarry.

Quartz................................................................... 17.10 

Soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase).............................................. 45.22

Potash feldspars (microcline 15.59; orthoclas'e 15.71).......................... 31.30

Black mica (biotite)...................................................... 5.74

Magnetite................................................................. .64

100.00

The average diameter of all the particles, obtained by the same 

method is 0.009 inch.

Mr. George Steiger, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, finds that this granite contains 0.12 per cent of CaO (lime) 

soluble in hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates a content of 0.21 

per cent of CaC03 (lime carbonate), the presence of wnich carbonate 

is shown by the microscope and by a slight effervescence with cold 

dilute muriatic acid.

The stone takes a high polish, which brings out the greenish and 

reddish tints and darkens the shade so that the general color becomes 

a medium greenish gray. The polished face shows a few grains of 

magnetite and rare ones of pyrite.

The quarry, opened in 1876, is about 150 feet from east to west 

by 100 feet across and from 15 to 65 feet in depth.

The sheets', from 6 inches to 30 feet thick, increasing in thickness 

downward, dip south at a low angle. There are 2 sets of joints: 

Set A, striking N. 10° E., dipping 60° E. and 90°, is spaced 3 to 50 

feet and forms a heading on east side. Set B, striking N. 75°-80° W. 

and vertical, is spaced 30 to 40 feet and forms a heading on the 

south side. The rift is reported as horizontal and the grain as vertical with a N. 80° W. course, but it is so feeble that the stone can 

be split almost as well across it.

The plant, including that of the cutting shed, comprises 3 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, 3 air compressors (capacity of two being 

140 and 177 cubic feet of air per "minute, the third one requires a 

22-horsepower engine to run it), 2 large drills, 5 air plug drills, a surfacer, 16 air hand tools, a polisher, and 2 steam pumps.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 175

Transportation requires cartage of about 2f miles to the cutting 

shed and railroad at Milford.

The product is used for monuments.

The Carlton quarry is 2 miles northwest of Milford village. (See 

fig. 21.) Operator, A. E. Carlton, Milford, N. H.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 61, a) appears to be also a 

.quartz monzonite, but probably with more of the potash feldspar. 

Its shade is medium pinkish gray, spangled with black. Its texture 

is porphyritic; the groundmass is fine, with feldspar and mica up 

to 0.1 inch and the isolated feldspars up to 0.4 and exceptionally 

1 inch. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: 

Light smoky quartz with hairlike crystals, probably of rutile, and 

cavities in sheets, with rift cracks parallel to them; light pinkish-gray 

potash feldspar (microcline), intergrown with quartz circular in 

cross section, inclosing particles of soda-lime feldspar, and somewhat 

kaolinized and micacized, making up part of the groundmass and 

also the porphyritic crystals; in almost equal amount a milk-white 

soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), somewhat kaolinized, micacized, 

and intergrown with-quartz; and biotite (black mica), some of it 

chloritized. Accessory minerals are: Magnetite, apatite, allanite, and 

rutile; secondary: Kaolin, 2 white micas, chlorite, and hematite.

At the north corner of the quarry there is a band of quartz monzonite of medium slightly bluish-gray color, with fine black mica, like 

the stone of the New Westerly quarry described on page 173.

The chief product of this quarry differs from all the other Milford, N. H., granites by its marked porphyritic texture. It is a 

constructional granite.

The quarry, opened in 1881, is about 110 by 100 feet and averages 30 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 1 to 16 feet thick, dip west at a low angle. 

There are 2 sets of joints: Set A, striking N. 50° W. and about vertical, is spaced 20 to 60 feet and forms a heading on the west side 

and the east wall. Set B, diagonal, striking north, and dipping 

75° east, forms but one joint. The rift is reported as slightly 

inclined to the west and the grain as dipping 70° N.. Flow structure, shown by streaks of black mica, also by the band of fine granite, strikes N. 70° E. and dips 40° to 50? N. 20° W. Rusty stain is 

up to 8 inches thick.

The plant consists of a horse derrick and a hand derrick, a steam 

drill, and an air compressor with a capacity of 50 cubic feet of air 

per minute.

Transportation is by cartage of 2 miles to Milford.

The product is mostly for street work in Boston and Cambridge. 

Specimen monument: The Abbie H. Patten monument, North 

Cemetery, Milford, N. H.
176 COMMEKCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H.; AND K. I.

The Bishop quarry is about If miles northwest of Milford village. 

(See fig. 21.) Operator, John B. Bishop. Milford, N. H.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 62, a) is a quartz monzonite 

of light-gray shade and faintly cream colored, with exceedingly 

minute black spangles. Its texture is even grained, fine, with 

feldspars and micas very rarely exceeding 0.1 inch. The mica 

plates measure much less than this in width. Its constituents, 

in descending order of abundance, are: Clear to pale smoky quartz 

with hairlike crystals, probably of rutile, and cavities in sheets; 

milk-white to cream-colored soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase) somewhat kaolinized and micacized; clear, colorless potash feldspar 

(microcline), in places very slightly kaolinized; biotite (black mica), 

some.of it chloritized and either partially bleached or interleaved 

with muscovite. Both feldspars are intergrown with quartz. 

Accessory minerals are: Magnetite, apatite, and zircon. Secondary: Kaolin, 2 white micas, chlorite, and carbonate.

This stone resembles most closely in fineness that (specimen 54, a, b) 

of old Tonella quarry (p. 164), and that (specimen 50, a) of the small 

band in Kittredge quarry (p. 162), but differs'from both in tint. It 

ought, from the fineness of its mica, to take a high polish.

The quarry, opened about 1831, measures about 250 feet by 100 

or 200 feet in width, and has an average depth of 25 feet.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 3 feet thick, are somewhat irregular and 

dip west and north at low angles. There are 2 sets of joints: Set A, 

striking N. 50° E. and vertical, is spaced 10 to 20 feet and forms a 

heading on the east side and west wall. Set B, striking N. 75°-80° W., 

seems to be consequent on the flow structure and is spaced very 

irregularly. Flow structure, shown by biotitic bands up to one-half 

inch wide and light bands up to 2 inches wide, strikes N. 75°-80° W.,

and dips 50° N. 10°-15° E.^also 90°. There are angular inclusions, 

3 inches in diameter, of very coarse gneiss, consisting of a pinkish 

and a cream-colored feldspar, smoky quartz, and biotite. In the 

eastern part of the quarry pegmatite dikes, up to 2 inches wide, strike 

N. 20° E. across the flow structure and dip about 90°. Their 

feldspars resemble those of the gneiss in color, and the quartz is smoky.

The plant consists of 5.horse derricks, an air compressor (capacity 

69 cubic feet of air per minute), a large drill, 2 air plug drills, and a 

steam pump.

Transportation is by cartage of If miles to Milford.

The product is mostly curbing.

CONWAY.

Topography. The Conway quarries are in Carroll County, N. H., 

near North Conway, some of them on the east and west sides of the 

Saco Valley. The Redstone quarries, on the east, are at the south 

foot of a series of summits ranging from 1,550 to 2,375 feet above sea
NEW HAMPSHIRE.

level (Black Cap, Middle Mountain, and Rattlesnake Mountain), 

known collectively as the Green Hills, and the White Mountain 

quarry on the west is on a 765-foot lenticular granite mass lying 

about 2 miles S. 25°-45° E. of the granite domes known as White 

Horse and Cathedral ledges. Also belonging to this group of quarries 

is the Fletchei1 & Lahey quarry,in the town of Madison, which adjoins 

Conway on the south. This quarry lies southeast of Moat Mountain 

and about 2£ miles southwest of Conway Corners.

Contour interval 20 feet

Quarry site Roads

FIG. 23. Map of part of Conway, N. I-L, showing locations of granite quarries. 1, Eedstono red, 

granite quarry, Maine and New Hampshire Granite Corporation. 2, Redstono green granite quarry 

of the same firm. 3, White Mountain quarry, Henry A. Hitners Son's Company, 1907. The boundary between pink and green granite is shown by dotted line.

Geology of the quarries. The geological feature of general interest 

in Conway granites is their marked rift and grain and the manifest 

relation of these to the sheets of microscopic cavities, as shown in 

fig. 1 and described on page 42. The rift is reported as uniformly 

horizontal and the grain as vertical .with N. 80°-90° W. courseAnother feature is the contiguity of a yellowish-green biotite-hornblende granite to the pink biotite granite at liedstone (PL VII, A, 

and fig. 23). The writer attempted to trace the boundary between 

these two granites above the quarries, but found it impracticable 

50193 Bull. 354 08 12 '
178 COMMEECIAL GBANITES OF MASS., N. H. ; AND E. I.

without using much time, owing to the reddening of both granites at 

the surface by forest fires. However, between the 500 and 800 foot 

levels the boundary has a N. 23° E. course and is said to continue in 

that direction toward Rattlesnake Mountain. Although the feldspars 

of both these granites are equally kaolinized, their original colors 

probably differed as greatly as do their present ones. The feldspar 

of the green stone seems to have been a bluish gray and that of the 

pink probably clear and colorless or slightly pinkish. Their present 

colors are due to the formation of limonite in the green and hematite 

in the pink. This limonite is largely traceable to somewhat abundant 

allanite and to the hornblende, while the hematite may be attributed 

to the oxidation of magnetite or of ferrite in infinitesimal particles in 

the feldspars. These two granites side by side represent originally

different materials, and the line of their contact indicates the direction >

of their flow. A 20- by 30-foot segregation or dike of porphyritic 

biotite-hornblende granite, and geodes, coated internally with calcite rhombs and chlorite, should also be noted as occurring at the 

red quarry. The joint systems at the four quarries have courses of 

N. 70°-90° W., N. 35° W., N. 15° E., and N. 30° E. As shown in 

PI. VII, A, the sheets dip gently east and west from the axis of the 

ridge.

Description of Conway granites. Conway granites are all coarse 

constructional granites, mostly of pinkish color mottled with amethystine gray and spotted with black; but one is dark yellow-greenish 

gray spotted with black. They are biotite or biotite-hornblende 

granites, and consist, in descending order of abundance, of: More 

or less pinkish potash feldspar (orthoclase), always minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar (oligbclase-albite); amethystine-smoky 

quartz; a little separate oligoclase-albite; and biotite (black mica) 

with or without a little hornblende. The accessory minerals are: 

Magnetite, (ilmenite?), pyrite, apatite, fluorite, zircon, and allanite (abundant in the green granite). The secondary are: Kaolin, 

chlorite, titanite (leucoxene), calcite, hematite, and limonite stain 

(the latter abundant in the green granite from which hematite is 

absent), and epidote.

Estimates of the mineral percentages, obtained by applying the 

Rosiwal method to 4 specimens from 3 quarries, yields the following 

results (see pp. 179, 180, 183, 185):

Estimated mineral percentages in Conway f/ranites.

Average. 

Feldspar, 54.79 to 68.00..................................:................. 63.15

Quartz, 26.00 to 38.26...................................................... 31.04

Mica, 4.20 to 6.95........................................................... 5. 81

Analyses of the red and green granites are quoted on pages 180, 

183. They show 1 per cent more of iron oxides in the green. ' The 

estimates show 9.61 per cent more quartz in the green.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN MO. 354 PL. \ II

A. REDSTONE LEDGE, CONWAY, N, H., LOOKING N. 30° E.

Showing;, on the left, quarry in green granite and, on the right, one in pink granite; also the sheets dipping away 

from axis of hill. Boundary between the two granites runs diagonally up the hill. In foreground is stone 

crusher for waste.

IS. STORAGE YARD AT MILFORD, MASS., WITH FINISHED BLOCKS OF MILFORD PINK GRANITE 

FOR THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD TERMINAL AT NEW YORK. - . :

Elevated rails are for traveling crar.e.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 179

The percentage of CaO (lime) soluble in hot dilute acetic acid in 

granites from two quarries was found by Messrs. Schaller and Steiger, 

chemists, of the United States Geological Survey, to average 0.205 

per cent, and the CaC03 (lime carbonate) thus indicated to average 

0.353 per cent.

A compression test of the Redstone pink shows it to have a compressive strength of 22.370 pounds per square inch. This test does 

not bear out the damaging judgment passed on Conwa}^ granites by 

Hawes in Hitchcock's Geology of New Hampshire/1 although all 

very coarse granites weather more easily than those of finer grain.

The Conway quarries, The Redstone red quarry is in the town of 

Conway, about 3 miles S. 35° E. of North Conway, on the base of 

Redstone Ledge, one-third mile N. 50° E. of Redstone station on the 

Maine Central Railroad, and 180 feet above it. (See North Conway, 

N. H., topographic sheet of the United States Geological Survey; 

also fig. 23 and PL VII, A.) Operator, Maine and New Hampshire 

Granite Corporation, Portland, Me.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 35, a, b, j, k), "red granite," 

is a biotite granite of light pink color with large dark gray and small 

black spots. Its texture is even grained, coarse, and with feldspars 

up to 0.75 inch, exceptionally 1.25, and black mica up to 0.3 inch. 

Its constituents,' in descending order of abundance, are: A light 

pink nearly opaque potash feldspar (orthoclase, mostly twinned) 

minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar; smoky-amethystine 

quartz with cavities, up to 0.012 millimeter, in sheets, intersecting 

at. right angles and parallel to rift and grain cracks (see fig. 1 and 

p. 42); translucent, very light gray to milk-white striated sodalime feldspar (oligoclase-albite); and biotite (black mica) with but 

little of it chloritized. The orthoclase is much kaolinized, the 

oligoclase less so. The orthoclase in places surrounds oligoclase; in 

one specimen a small crystal of orthoclase is inclosed by oligoclase 

and that has a zone of orthoclase about it. The accessory minerals 

are: Magnetite (ilmenite?), pyrite, apatite, fluorite,. and zircon. 

The secondary: Kaolin, chlorite, titanite (leucoxene), calcite, and 

hematite stain mostly combined with the kaolin and only visible 

under incident light.

Estimates of the mineral percentages by the Rosiwal method 

yield the following results:

Estimated mineral percentar/es in Redstone, N. II., "red f/ranile." 

[Specimen cut at right angles to both rift and grain; mesh 0.8 inch, total linear length 39.2 inches.]

Feldspars....'..........................'.................................. 62.60

Quart/,.................................................................... 31.00

Mica (biotite)............................................................. 6.40

100.00

a Vol. 3, pt. 4, p. 195.
180 COMMEBCIAL GBANITES OF MASS., F. H. ; AND R. I.

Estimated mineral percentages in Redstone, N. H., "red granite."

[Specimen cut parallel to rift showing larger feldspars; mesh 1.2 inches, total linear length

28.8 inches.]

Feldspars. ............................................................:.. 68.00

Quartz................................................................... 26. 30

Mica (biotite)............................................................. 5. 70

 100.00

Averaf/e of both above estimates. 

Feldspars................................................................ 65.30

Quartz.................\.....:..".......^................................... 28. 65

Mica (biotite).............................................................. 5. 55

An analysis of this granite, made for the firm in 1898 by Franklin 

C. Robinson, State assayer of Maine, is here given merely for reference. '

Analysis of "red </ranite" from Redstone, N. H. 

Si02 (silica).............................................................. 71.44

A1203 (alumina)........................................................... 14. 72

Fe203 (iron sesquioxide).................................................. 2. 39

FeO (iron oxide)............. '. :.......................................... .46

(Total iron oxides, 2.85.) 

MgO (magnesia)........................................................... .96

Na20 (soda)...............'............................................... 7. 66

K20 (potash).............................................................. .89

Rare elements, mostly Ti02 and Zr02 (titanium and zirconium dioxides)....... .78

Manganese, sulphur, calcium, phoshates............... j,...........'...'...... Traces.

Loss at red heat (mostly water)............'................................. .61

99.91 

Specific gravity 2. 635.

Mr. W. T. Schaller, of the United States Geological Survey's chemical laboratory, finds that this granite contains 0.16 per cent of CaO 

(lime), soluble in hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates a content of 

0.267 per cent of CaC03 (lime carbonate), the presence of which carbonate is also shown by the microscope.

A test made at the United States arsenal at Watertown, Mass., 

in 1887, gives this granite a compressive strength of 22,370 pounds 

per square inch.

The stone takes a high polish, but the large size of its mica scales 

is not favorable to the durability of the polish under long-continued 

outdoor exposure. Polished faces show some magnetite. As the 

relative amount of gray to pink feldspar is small the contrast is mostly 

between the pink feldspar and the smoky amethystine quartz, which 

is "very pleasing. The minor spots of black mica give it still more 

character. This is a constructional granite, but is also, by its polish 

and contrasts, adapted to internal decorative uses.

The quarry, opened about 1887, is about 500 feet from east to'west 

by 300 feet across and from 30 to 80 feet deep, with a working face 

80 feet high on the north. (See PI. VII, A.)
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 181

The sheets, from 4 to 30 feet thick, are normal and arch across the 

axis of the hill, clipping 15° to the east in this quarry. There are 

3 sets of joints: Set A, striking east-west and vertical, is spaced 5 to 

40 feet, and not everywhere continuous. Set B, striking N. 35° W. 

and dipping 80° S., forms a heading in the west part but does not 

recur. Set C, striking N. 15° E. and vertical, recurs at 160 feet. The 

rift is reported as horizontal and the grain as vertical with east-west 

course.. Both are marked and appear as delicate cracks in the quartz 

particles on polished surfaces parallel to the "hard-way." This interesting textural feature is fully discussed on page 42 and is illustrated in fig. 1. There are small dikes of deep pinkish aplite (fine 

textured, particles 0.185-0.555 millimeter) consisting of pinkish 

orthoclase, clear quartz, clear oligoclase, and very little biotite, with 

secondary muscovite and hematite stain. In the eastern part of 

quarry is a mass about 30 feet north to south by 20 feet east to west 

and with an exposed depth of 10 feet, which may be a very large knot 

or quite possibly the upper part of a dike oval in cross section. 

Streaks of black mica 10 feet long radiate from its upper surface; 

also irregular pegmatitic bands with small dark-gray knots. Its 

matrix (particles 0.074 to 0.59 millimeter) is of medium purplishgray color with porphyritic, light-pinkish feldspars up to 0.7 inch, 

light smoky quartz to 0.03 inch, and black silicate to 0.2 inch. The 

matrix consists of orthoelase, quartz, oligoclase-albite, hornblende, 

and biotite, with accessory_jntiagnetite, apatite, fhiorite, titanite, and 

zircon. The large feldspars are orthoclase with intergrown oligoclase 

and quartz. There are elliptical and spherical knots from one-half 

inch to 14 inches in diameter of exceedingly fine-grained, very dark 

gray, largely biotitic material with sparse porphyritic feldspars. 

Lenses of pegmatite up to 2 feet by 6 inches also occur, and lenticular 

geodes, mainly of intergrown quartz and feldspar surrounded by a 

half-inch band of aplite. These geodes are lined with crystals of 

smoky amethystine quartz and orthoclase incrusted with chlorite and 

calcite. Some obtuse rhombs of calcite are one-half inch wide. Joint 

C is coated with epidote and chlorite, and the granite for one-half 

inch back of it is much altered to kaolin and mica, and stained by 

hematite and limonite. (See p. 62.) Rusty stain is an inch thick 

along sheet surfaces, but up to 4 inches along the joints.

The plant, including also that of the adjacent quarry (p. 182) 

and of the cutting shed, comprises 12 derricks, 6 hoisting engines, 

2 locomotive cranes, 2 air compressors (capacity 690 and 80.cubic feet 

of air per minute), a large drill, 8 air plug drills, 29 air hand tools,

2 surfacers, a lathe for stones 12 feet by 2 feet 6 inches, 2 polishing 

lathes for stones 22 feet by 4 feet and 15 feet by 2 feet 6 inches,

3 polishers, 2 stone crushers, and 3 stationary engines for crushers, 

lathes, and polishers.
182 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H. ; AND R. I.

Transportation is by a gravity track 1,100 feet long from quarryto shed and by siding from there.

The product is used mainly for buildings. Specimens: First 

National Bank, Chicago; First and Fourth National banks, Cincinnati, with polished columns; Franklin Savings Bank, New York; 

Temple Bar Building, Brooklyn; Union station, Pittsburg; City hall, 

Lowell; High school, Springfield, Mass.; base of Longfellow monu-. 

ment, Portland, Me.; State Libra^, Concord, N. H. The pilasters 

and trimmings of this library are of Concord granite, the columns, 

at the entrance, are of polished green granite from the next quarry, 

and the rest is of the " red granite."

The Redstone green quarry is in the town of Conway, about 3 miles 

S. 25° E. of North Conway, on the base of Redstone Ledge, about 

800 feet west-northwest of the red quarry, described above, less than 

one-half mile N. 15° E. from Redstone station and about 140 feet 

above it. (See fig. 23 and PI. VII, A.) Operator, Maine and New 

Hampshire Granite Corporation, Portland, Me.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 36, a, b, c), "green granite," 

is a biotite-hornblende granite of dark-yellow greenish-gray color 

with black spots. Its texture is even grained, coarse, with feldspars 

up to 0.8 inch and mica to 0.3 inch. Its constituents, in descending 

order of abundance, are: Medium-gray potash feldspar (orthoclase) 

with some yellow-green stained cleavage 'faces. (This feldspar is 

always minutely intergrown with lime-soda feldspar, oligoclase-albite, 

some of it is twinned and it is all much kaolinized); dark yellowgreen smoky quartz with cavities in 2 or 3 sets of intersecting sheets 

with rift and grain cracks parallel to two of them and in places coinciding with them (see p. 42); very little separate soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite), slightly micacized; biotite (black mica) and

hornblende, some of it corroded. Accessory minerals are: Magnetite 

(ilmenite?), fluorite, allanite (mostly in biotite), and zircon. Secondary: Kaolin, a white mica, calcite, epidote in veinlets, chlorite, 

and limonite. There is a faint yellowish limonitic stain along the 

rift and grain cracks of the quartz, and along these and the cleavage 

planes of the feldspar, and along borders of all particles. This stain 

is deeper in the quartz because there are more cracks in it, and this, 

in combination with its original slightly amethystine hue, gives the 

quartz a greenish tint; and this yellow stain also, in connection with 

the original slightly bluish gray of the feldspars, gives them in places 

a greenish color. Much of this limonite stain comes from allanite 

particles, as shown in fig. 3, some also from the hornblende, biotite, 

and magnetite. (See p. 52.)

An estimate of the mineral percentages, obtained by the Rosiwal 

method, yields the following results with one-half inch mesh and 

total linear length of 71 inches:
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 188

Estimated mineral percentages in "green granite" from Redstone, N. H.

Feldspar................................................................. 54. 79

Quartz..................................................................... 38'. 26

Mica (biotite)............................................................. 6. 95

100.00

An analysis made for the firm by Franklin C. Robinson, State 

assayer of Maine, in 1899, is given here merely for reference:

Analysis of "green granite" from Redstone, N. H.

Si02 (silica)....... ..........................................'............. 70.42

A1203 (alumina).......................................................... 14.64

Fe203 (iron sesquioxide).................................................. 1. 54

FeO (iron oxide)......................................................... 2.34

(Total iron oxides, 3.88.) 

MgO (magnesia) ........................................-...- -------- 1.20

Na20 (soda)............................................................... 7.80

K2 0 (potash).............................................................. .71

Rare elements, mostly Ti02 and ZrO., (titanium and zirconium dioxides)....... .48

Manganese, sulphur, calcium, and phosphates.............................. Traces.

Loss at red heat, mostly water........................:.................... .61

99. 74 

Specific gravity 2.634.

It will be noticed, on comparing the amounts of iron oxides in this 

and the red granite (p. 180), that this exceeds the other by 1 per 

cent, which is attributable to its larger content of hornblende and 

allanite and of the limonite proceeding therefrom.

When first quarried this stone is more greenish than after a few 

years' exposure, when its feldspars become more grayish, but its general color is even then still "markedly greenish. The cause of this 

change is not apparent, for organic acids do not reach the quarried 

blocks. It takes a high polish, but its large-sized mica plates furnish 

vulnerable points of attack by the weather under prolonged exposure. 

The polished face shows a little magnetite. The contrasts are weaker 

than in the red granite, owing to the darker shade of its feldspar. 

Whether in the rough or polished, its color is striking. Though not 

unsuitable for purposes of construction, it is a coarse decorative 

granite well adapted for sheltered positions.

The quarry, opened about 1887, is about 150 feet north to south by 

100 feet across and up to 50 feet in depth, which is the height of the 

working face on the north. It is worked at intervals only.

The sheets, from 11 inches to 14 feet thick, dip about 15° W. 

(See PI. VII, A.) The joint sets are the same as in the red quarry, 

and the rift and grain are likewise the same.

The plant has been included in that of the red quarry.

Transportation is by cartage of 500 feet to the cutting shed.
184 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

The product has been used for buildings and polished columns. 

Specimens: Front of the first three btories of Fidelity Mutual Life 

Insurance Building, Philadelphia; polished columns in the Northwestern Guarantee Loan Company's Building, Minneapolis; in the 

Baxter Building, on Congress street, Portland, Me., and in the upper 

and lower vestibules of the State Library, Concord, N. H.

The White Mountain quarry is in the town of Conway, If miles 

southwest of North Conway, on the west side of a hill between Saco 

River and Moat Brook, southeast of White Horse Ledge. (See fig. 

23.) Owner, Henry A. Hitner's Sons Company, Pennsylvania Building, Philadelphia.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 38, a, b) is a biotite granite 

of medium pinkish buff gray color with black spots. Its texture is 

even grained, coarse, with feldspars up to 0.8 inch and mica to 0.3 

inch. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: Pinkish buff potash feldspar (orthoclase) in twins and minutely intergrown with soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite), also intergrown 

with quartz and kaolinized; amethystine quartz with cavities in sheets 

intersecting at right angles, those in the rift direction being very close 

together; slightly greenish gray soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), also 

intergrown with quartz, kaolinized, and partly micacized, in cases 

inclosed in orthoclase; biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized. 

Accessory minerals are: Fluorite, allanite, zircon. Secondary: Kaolin, a white mica, chlorite, and limonite and hematite stain.

This is a coarse constructional granite with good rift.

The quarry, not operated since December 1, 1903, lies between 

the 645 and the 735 foot levels, measures about 400 feet N. 75° W. 

by 250 feet across and from 35 to 90 feet in depth. The top of the 

working face is 30 feet below the top of the hill.

The sheets, from 3 to 30 feet thick, are horizontal or dip low north 

and also south. Joints A, striking N. 30° E. and dipping 60° N. and 

90°, are spaced 20 to 70 feet. Joints B, striking N. 70° to 80° W. 

and vertical, are spaced 2 to 50 feet. A geode of pegmatite with 

smoky amethystine quartz crystals an inch long was noticed. Rusty 

stain is from 1 to 8 inches thick on the sheets and up to 2 feet along 

the joints.

The plant consists of 11 derricks, 4 Lidgerwood hoisting engines, 

6 Lidgerwood " skeleton engines," 2 Lambert engines, 2 air compressors (Rand No. 10), 6 large drills, 16 air plug drills, a locomotive 

engine, and 4 steam pumps.

Transportation is by a private siding, If miles long, from the main 

line of the Boston and Maine Railroad. (See fig. 23.)

This quarry was opened by the contractors for the Boston dry dock 

at the Charlestown Navy-Yard, in which the stone was used. It but 

recently passed into the hands of its present owners.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 185

Tlie Fletcher <& Lahey quarry is in the town of Madison, about 

2£ miles southwest of Conway Corners and a mile about west of the 

main line of- the Boston and Maine Railroad. Operators, Fletcher & 

Lahey, West Chelmsford, Mass.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 37, b, d) the more pinkish 

variety is a biotite granite of light pinkish gray color, mottled with 

dark purplish gray and with small black spots. Its texture is even 

grained, coarse, with feldspars up to 0.7 inch and mica to 0.2 inch. 

Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are a light pinkish gray potash feldspar (orthoclase, mostly twinned), minutely intergrown .with soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite) and considerably 

kaolinized; dark amethystine-smoky quartz with cavities; translucent slightly greenish white striated soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase) 

partly micacized; and biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized. 

Accessory: Magnetite and allanite. Secondary: Kaolin, a white 

mica, and chlorite.

An estimate of the mineral percentages, by the Rosiwal method, 

yields the following results with mesh of one-half inch and total 

linear length of 20 inches:

Estimated mineral percentages in Madison, N. JL, granite. 

Feldspars. ............................................................... 67. 20

Quartz................................................................... 28. 60

Mica (biotite)..........................................:.................. 4.20

100.00

.Mr. E. C. Sullivan, of the United States Geological Survey's chemical laboratory, finds that this granite contains 0.25 per cent of CaO 

(lime) soluble in hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates a content of 

0.44 per cent of CaC03 (lime carbonate).

This is a coarse-textured constructional granite of warm tint, 

.possessing marked contrasts of color, which come out strongly on the 

polished face (delicate pink, mottled with purplish smoke and clotted 

with black). The somewhat large.mica scales are not favorable to 

the durability of the polish under long-continued outdoor exposure.

The less pinkish variety (specimen 37, a) is like the other except in. 

that the orthoclase is more nearly cream colored. Apatite and zircon 

appear among its accessory minerals. Its contrasts are, if anything, 

a trifle more marked than those of the other.

The quarry, opened between 1888 and 1.891, is at the east foot of a 

granite bluff 200 feet high, which also has a steep south side. It is 

about 500 feet square, with an extension on the bluff where there, is 

a working face 100 feet high. Its depth is from 15 to 50 feet.

The sheets, from 2 to 20 feet thick, are horizontal but dip 10° E. 

on the east and on the bluff 10° E. to NE. There are two sets 

of joints: Set A, striking N. 80° W. and vertical, is spaced 5 to
186 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

100 feet and forms a 10-foot heading in the northern half of quarry 

and another at the north wall. Set B, striking N. 15° E. and vertical, 

is spaced 5 to 100 feet and forms a heading on the east side. The 

rift is reported as horizontal and the grain as vertical, with N. 80° W. 

course. The pinkish variety occurs on the south side and the 

lighter on the north. Rare granitic dikes, 1 to 6 inches wide, consist 

of a groundmass of medium-gray shade and fine to medium texture, 

spangled with biotite and with porphyritic pinkish feldspars up 

to 0.4 inch. The groundmass consists of orthoclase, microcline, 

oligoclase-albite, quartz, and biotite. Rusty stain is from 1 to 4 inches 

thick on upper sheets, decreasing below. Joint faces are coated with 

epidote.

The plant consists of 4 derricks, 4 hoisting engines, an air compressor (capacity, 250 cubic feet of air per minute), 3 large drills, 

9 air plug drills, and 3 steam pumps. The firm has a cutting plant 

at West Chelmsford, Mass.

Transportation is by a siding 1 mile long to the main line of the 

Boston and Maine Railroad.

The product is used almost entirely for bridges and buildings. 

In 1906 the firm was filling contracts for certain piers on the Boston 

and Maine Prison Point Street Bridge, at East Cambridge, Mass, (see 

p. 164), and also for a bridge at South Acton, Mass. Specimen 

monument: Dudley Porter memorial fountain, at Haverhill, Mass.

AUBURN.

The granite described in this section is quarried at a point 7 

miles east of Manchester, in the township of Auburn, Rockingham 

County. Hitchcock's geological map of New Hampshire (1877 and 

1885) shows at about that point a belt of "Huronian" schist and conglomerate on the southeast in contact on the northwest with the belt 

of " Winnepesaukee " gneiss (referred to on p. 144) as including the Concord granites. Both belts have a northeasterly trend. The Auburn 

granite apparently belongs to the same general granite area as the 

Concord granite.

The granite (specimens, D, XXVIII, 46, a, b), "deep-pink Auburn," 

is a quartz monzonite of medium pink-buff color with very fine black 

dots. Its texture is fine, with feldspar and mica up to 0.1 inch. Its 

constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: Slightly pinkish 

potash feldspar (orthoclase and microcline); almost, if not quite as 

abundant, clear to milk-white soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), some 

of it kaolinized and micacized; smoky quartz; and biotite (black mica), 

some of it chloritized and bleached. Accessory minerals are: Magnetite, apatite, and zircon. Secondard: Kaolin, a white mica, chlorite, 

and hematite stain.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. 187

The stone takes a fair polish, and the hammered face by its lightness offers not a little contrast to the rough and polished faces. It is 

used for monumental work.

The quarry is operated by W. H. Perry & Co., of Concord, N. H.

SUNAPEE.

The granite and diorite of the Sunapee quarry district are reported as occurring in vertical contact at a point-about 2$ miles 

roughly east of Sunapee. Hitchcock's geological map of New Hampshire (1877 and 1885) shows very near this locality a contact between 

a belt of his "Atlantic system/' which includes " Winnepesaukee" 

gneiss and the granite of Sunapee, Concord, and Milford, on the west, 

with a belt.of his older "Laurentian" porphyritic gneiss on the east. 

The operator of the quarry states that the rift is horizontal in the 

granite but vertical in the adjacent diorite.

The granite (specimens, D, XXVIII, 47, a, b), "light Sunapee," 

is a biotite-muscovite granite of a light gray, slightly bluish color 

and very fine to fine texture, with feldspars up to 0.15 inch and 

mica to 0.1 inch. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: Colorless, clear potash feldspar (microcline and orthoclase, 

the latter with hairlike crystals probably of rutile, both being intergrown with quartz circular in cross section); clear, colorless quartz, 

also with rutile needles; translucent to milk-white soda-linie feldspar 

(oligoclase-albitc), somewhat kaolinized and intergrown with quartz; 

biotite (black mica), and muscovite (white mica). Accessory: 

Magnetite, garnet, zircon, and rutile. Secondary: Kaolin and 

carbonate.

This, as will be seen by comparing the descriptions, is finer grained 

than Concord granite. It lends itself well to fine carving. Its particles are too fine to afford contrasts. It takes a fair polish.

The "blackgranite" (specimen D, XXVIII, 48, a, b), "black pearl" 

or "dark Sunapee," is a quartz diorite of very dark bluish-gray color 

and fine, inclining to medium, texture, with feldspars up to 0.2 inch. 

Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: Clear, colorless to milk-white soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-andesine to andesine), 

but little kaolinized, rarely intergrown with quartz; biotite (black 

mica); clear colorless quartz (possibly equal in amount to feldspar); 

and titanite. There is so much of this molasses-colored mineral 

present that it is easily seen with a loop. Accessory: Magnetite 

(ilmenite?), p}rrite, allanite, and zircon. Secondary: Kaolin, epidote (about allanite), calcite, and hematite. It effervesces slightly 

with dilute muriatic acid.

When polished the rock appears black mottled with white. The 

polish is poor owing to the large size and abundance of mica. It
188 COMMEECIAL GKANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND E. I.

shows magnetite and a little pyrite. The hammered face is light 

gray and thus is in marked contrast to both rough and polished faces. 

The stone is used for monuments and is suitable for inscriptions. 

The quarry is operated by W. H. Perry & Co., of Concord, N. H.

RHODE ISLAND.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

The granite industry of Rhode Island centers at Westerly. Some 

of the quarries are near Westerly, others near Niantic. Westerly is at 

the extreme western edge of the State, 5 miles north-northeast of 

Watch Hill on the Atlantic shore, and Niantic is 4| miles east-northeast of Westerly. (See map, PL I, and Stonington and Charlestown, 

R. I., topographic sheets of the United States Geological Survey.)

WESTERLY AND NIANTIC.

Topography. Some of the Westerly quarries are on an east-west 

ridge about a mile northeast of the city. This ridge attains an elevation of 200. feet above sea level and 160 feet above the city. Others 

are about" a mile southeast of Westerly on the 130-foot level, and one 

lies a mile east of it on the 100-foot level. The Niantic quarries lie 

from a mile south-southeast to If miles southeast of the village of 

Niantic, some being in the town of Westerly, and one in the town of 

Charlestown. (See fig. 24!)

General geology. The granites of Westerly and the closely related 

granites of Niantic have been briefly described by Merrill, by Kemp, 

and by Rice and Gregory; 0 and in Gregory and Robinson's geologic 

map 6 of Connecticut the granite gneiss area into which the Westerly 

granites were intruded in the adjacent parts of Connecticut is shown.

According to these geologists, the "white" and "blue" fine-grained

Westerly granites were intruded as dikes in a molten state into certain older granite gneisses (Sterling granite gneiss), which formed 

extensive parts of the surface along the Atlantic shore. The mediumgrained reddish granite of the Redstone quarry northeast of Westerly 

and the very coarse gneisses exposed at the other quarries all belong 

to this granite gneiss formation. These granite gneisses were originally granites which had likewise been intruded into an earlier 

overlying gneiss, a metamorposed sedimentary rock ("Putnam 

gneiss," etc.) of which no remnants are reported as occurring at Westerly. Prior to the intrusion of the Westerly granite these older

« Merrill, G. P., Report of building stones': Tenth Census, vol. 10,1885, p. 20. Kemp, J. F., Granites 

of southern Rhode Island and Connecticut, with observations on .Atlantic coast granites in general: 

Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 10, 1899, pp. 361-382, especially pp. 365-370, 375, 376, and pi. 35. Rice, 

W. N., and Gregory, H. E., Manual of the geology of Connecticut: Connecticut State Geol. and Nat. 

Hist. Survey, Bull. 6, 1906, pp. 115, 136, 152, 154, 155.

6 Gregory, H. E., and Robinson, H. H., Preliminary geologic map of Connecticut, Sterling granite 

gneiss (24), also the accompanying Outline of the geology of the State: Conn. State. Geol. and Nat. Hist. 

Survey, Bull. 7, 1907, p. 36.
RHODE ISLAND. 189

granites had been subjected to an amount of lateral compression 

sufficient to crush, elongate, rearrange, and recrystallize their paroQ

CD -

t)«-

tides and thus change them into a gneiss. The amount of this 

change is not always uniform. At some time prior to the intrusion
190 COMMEECIAL GKANITES OF MASS., N. H. ; AND E. I.

of the Westerly granite the granite gneiss was traversed by pegmatite dikes. The Westerly granites themselves were later also 

traversed by pegmatite dikes and at a still later time by basic dikes. 

These dikes are probably of Triassic age, as are the trap ridges of 

New Haven and the Connecticut Valley. Thus the Westerly region 

bears records of at least five periods of igneous activity.

Geology of Westerly and Niantic quarries. That the fine statuary 

granite is of later date than the coarser red granite (Sterling granite 

gneiss) is clear from their relations at the Redstone, Smith north, 

and Calder & Carnie quarries. That the red granite itself is older 

than a banded biotite gneiss follows from its containing inclusions 

of it. Northeast of Westerly the fine statuary granite was intruded 

into the red granite, but at the Smith and Catto quarries (figs. 25, 26) 

it or its associated fine blue granite was intruded into a finely banded 

biotite gneiss not unlike that in the red granite, and at the Klondike, 

Newall, and Crumb quarries, near Niantic (PI. IX, A, and fig, 27), 

it was intruded into a porphyritic biotite gneiss, which may be 

simply a more gneissic phase of a coarser Sterling granite gneiss 

than that exposed at the Redstone and Dixon quarries. But the 

finely banded gneiss of the other quarries and of the inclusions resembles the inclusions in the Redstone granite and diffe'rs from that 

granite itself both by the absence of microcline and by the predominance of oligoclase or of oligoclase-andesine to andesine so as to 

indicate that these finely banded gneisses belong to another formation, possibly to the Putnam gneiss of Connecticut geologists. The 

strike of the banded biotite gneiss is N. 35° W. at the Smith quarry.

The fine-Westerly granites appear in dikelike masses from 50 to 

150 feet thick, striking N. 75°-90° W., and dipping 30°-45° about 

south. At the Smith quarry they are underlain by a parallel mass 

of aplitic granite of similar character, carrying also inclusions of 

finely banded biotite gneiss. At the Klondike quarry the granite 

has a flow structure striking N. 10°-20° W., intersecting the course 

of the apparent dike. It is uncertain whether these are granite 

dikes or protuberances from a broad intrusive mass which have 

become exposed by the erosion of the thinner parts of tne overlying 

gneiss.

The phenomena at the quarries indicate the following as the probable 

order of geological events about Westerly: (1) A finely banded biotite 

6 gneiss forms the-surface; (2) intrusion by the red granite of the hill 

northeast of Westerly with a northeasterly flow structure, and also 

by the gray granite of Niantic; (3) metamorphism of the red and 

gray granite converting it about Niantic into a porphyritic gneiss 

(Sterling granite gneiss); (4) intrusion of the Westerly and Niantic 

fine granites, in some places into the earlier banded biotite gneiss, 

in others into the more or less altered Sterling granite gneiss; (5) peg-
RHODE ISLAND. 191

matite and aplite dikes traverse both the Westerly granites and 

the Sterling granite gneiss> some in the latter, however, are connected with the intrusion of the finer granite; (6) a diabase dike 

traverses both the Westerly and the Sterling granite and the pegmatite dikes in the latter at the Redstone quarry. This occurred 

probably in Triassic time.

The chief joint course in the fine granites is N. 10°-25° E. but the 

following also occur: N. 35°-40° E., N. 50°-60° E., N. 10°-22° W,, 

N. 45°-55° W. In the older red granite the courses are N. 35°-45° E. 

and N. 60° W. The rift is reported, in the fine granites, as either 

horizontal or inclined 10° north or south, and the grain as either 

vertical or 75° north, with an east-west or N. 65° W. or N. 70° E. 

course, in one instance with a dip of 45° S. 20° W., in another as 

scarcely perceptible. In the coarser granite the rift is reported as 

dipping 20° east or west. A compressive strain is reported as coming from the north and south, east and west, and northeast and 

southwest.

Description of Westerly granites. The following summarizes the 

more detailed descriptions of specimens and thin sections, from both 

Westerly and Niantic quarries, given on pages 194-209.

"Westerly white statuary" granite is a quartz monzonite of more 

or less pinkish or buff medium-gray color, and of very fine evengrained texture, with slender feldspars not over 0.1 inch long and 

slender micas not over 0.15 inch long. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: Pale smoky quartz; clear, colorless to 

milk-white soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite to oligoclase); in 

nearly equal amount, slightly pinkish or cream-colored potash feldspar (microcline and orthoclase); and black mica. Magnetite and 

pyrite are among the accessory minerals, and calcite is among the 

secondary.

" Blue Westerly " granite is a quartz monzonite of more or less bluish 

medium-gray color, with fine black particles and of fine even-grained 

texture, with feldspars up to 0.1 or 0.2 inch and mica to 0.1 or 0.15 

inch long. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance are: 

Clear to milk-white, pinkish or cream-colored soda-lime feldspar 

(oligoclase-albite to oligoclase); more or less transparent bluish or 

greenish potash feldspar (microcline and orthoclase); and black 

mica. Magnetite and pyrite are among the accessory minerals, and 

calcite is among the secondary.

"Red Westerly" granite is a biotite granite of reddish-gray color 

speckled with black and of even-grained medium, inclining to coarse, 

texture, with feldspars under 0.4 inch, exceptionally 0.5 inch, and 

mica up to 0.2 inch long. Its constituents, in descending order of 

abundance, are: Reddish potash feldspar (microcline and orthoclase-albite); and black mica. Both feldspars are in places stained
192 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

red from hematite, resulting from the oxidation of magnetite particles, which with pyrite is among its accessory minerals. Secondary 

calcite is present.

Estimates of the mineral percentages in the statuary granite, 

obtained by applying the Rosiwal method to camera lucida drawings 

of parts of two thin sections enlarged 40 diameters, yield the following results, with mesh of 1 and 1.4 inches and total linear lengths of 

40 and 33.6 inches.

Estimated mineral percentages in Westerly statuary granite.

Quartz.... ............................................................... 36.09

Oligoclase-albite to oligoclase (soda-lime feldspar)........................... 30.63

Microcline and orthoclase (potash feldspar).................................. 28.44

Biotite (black mica)...................... 1............................... 3.59

White mica............................................................... .50

Magnetite................................................................. .75

100.00

The average diameter of the particles, obtained by the same measurements, is 0.175 millimeter or 0.0069 inch. Measurements of 

the larger particles in four thin sections of this granite, made with 

the micrometer, give the following figures: Microcline and orthoclase 

0.50 to 0.95 millimeter, oligoclase 0.56 to 1.122 millimeters, biotite 

0.39 to 0.56 millimeter, white mica 0.168 to 0.392 millimeter, 

quartz 0.50 to 1.122 millimeters, magnetite 0.112 to 0.224 millimeter. 

The feldspars, quartz, and biotite in their coarser particles thus range 

from 0.39 to 1.122 millimeters, or 0.015 to 0.0439 inch.

Two estimates of the mineral percentages in "Westerly blue" 

granite (pp. 195, 208), made in the same way,0 average:

' Estimated mineral percentages in Westerly blue, granite. 

Soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite to oligoclase)............................ 44.48

Quartz"................................................................... 25.28

Potash feldspars (microcline 11.03, orthoclase 9.26)......................... 20.29

Biotite (black mica) ............. ^........................................ 5.90

White mica..................................'.............................. 1.53

Magnetite................................................................. 1.16

Pyrite................................................................... .05

Allanite and apatite................................................... i... 1.31

100.00

The average diameter of the particles, obtained by the application 

of the same method to three Westerly blue granites, is 0.0099 inch, 

or about 50 per cent larger than that of the statuary.

An estimate of the mineral percentages in red Westerly granite 

will be found on page 200.

a As bearing upon other methods of making such estimates of the mineral percentages in Westerly 

granites see Williams, I. A., The comparative accuracy oi the methods for determining the percentages 

of the several components of an igneous rock: Am. Geol., vol. 35, Jan., 1905, pp. 34-46.
KHODE ISLAND. 193

Kemp a gives two analyses of Westerly granite made by F. ,WLove, then of Cornell University, which are repeated here for reference.

Analyses of Westerly granites by F. W. Love..

SiOt(smc&).... ....................................................................

Gray 

granite.

Per cent. 

71.64

15.66

] 2.34

2.70

1.578

5.60

489

100. 000

Red

granite.

Per cent. 

7t fi<\

14.53

2.96

2.06

1.72

5.39

.29

100. 00

Kemp gives 2^.654 as the specific gravity of the gray analyzed.

Messrs. Sullivan and Schaller, chemists, of the United States Geological Survey, find that 5 specimens of Westerly granites contain 

the following percentages of CaO (lime) soluble in hot dilute acetic 

acid, which indicate the presence of the percentages of CaC03 (lime 

carbonate) shown in the second column. All these granites effervesce slightly with cold dilute muriatic acid. °

Lime and lime carbonate in Westerly granite.

Name of granite.

]3lue \Vesterlv

CaO.

0.34

.176

.25

CaC03 .

0.6

.312

.446

The "white," really buff to slightly pinkish gray, and the "blue," 

really bluish gray, Westerly granites are strictly monumental granites, but the former may be called a statuary granite, as it lends itself 

to the most delicate carvings. The fineness of its texture becomes 

more apparent in comparing it with that of statuary marbles. Vogt 

classifies European marbles by texture in five groups: 6 Extremely 

fine, in which the particles measure from 0.02 to 0.03 millimeter; 

very fine (Carrara ordinary), from 0.1 to 0.3 millimeter; moderately 

fine. (Carrara statuary), from 0.25 to 0.75 millimeter; somewhat 

coarse, from 0.75 to 2 millimeters, and moderately coarse, from 1 to 3 

millimeters. West Rutland, Vt., statuary marble measures from 

0.07 to 0.3 millimeter, averaging 0.15 by micrometer. 6 As the 

Westerly statuary granite averages by the Kosiwal method 0.175 

millimeter, and its coarse particles by micrometer from 0.39 to 1.122

a Kemp, J. F., Granites of southern Rhode Island and Connecticut, with observations on Atlantic coast 

granites in general: Bull. Geol. Soc. America, vol. 10,1899, p. 375.

>> Vogt, J. H. L., Der Manner, seine Geologic, Struktur, und seine mechanische Eigenschaften: Zeitsch. 

prakt. Geol., 1898, p. 12.

cBull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 195, 1902, p. 14.

50193 Bull. 354 08 13
194 COMMERCIAL GBANITES OF MASS., 1ST. H.; AND E. I.

millimeters, its texture is but a trifle coarser than West Rutland 

statuary marble and between Carrara statuary and Vogt's "somewhat coarse" grade. It takes a high polish and its hammered .surface is light, offering, as quartz monzonites generally do, a marked 

contrast of shade to the polished surface.

Although "blue Westerly" granite is 50 per cent, coarser in texture 

 than the "white Westerly statuary" it lends itself well to monumental and sculptural work, as is shown by PL IX, B. Its polish is 

not quite so high as that of the "white," owing to the larger size of its 

mica scales, but its contrast of shade is equally strong.

"Red Westerly" granite is used only for constructional purposes.

The Westerly quarries. The New England quarry is nine-tenths of 

a mile southeast of the Westerly station and 100 feet above it. (See 

fig. 24.) Operator, The °New England Granite Works, Westerly, 

R.I.

The granite is of two varieties: The first (specimens D, XXVIII, 

1, f, i), "white Westerly statuary," is a quartz monzonite of very 

slightly pinkish medium-gray color, and of very fine even-grained 

texture, with very slender feldspars not over 0.1 inch long and 

slender mica scales rarely 0.1 or 0.15 inch long. The average 

diameter of all its particles, including the magnetite, as determined 

by the Rosiwal method, is 0.0069 inch or 0.175 millimeter, as 

given on page 192. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance are: Pale smoky quartz with hairlike crystals of rutile and 

a few cavities; clear colorless to milk-white soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite to oligoclase), partly kaolinized and micacized; in almost 

equal amount, slightly pinkish of cream-colored potash feldspar 

(microcline and orthoclase), some of it intergrown with quartz circular in cross section; biotite (black mica); some of it chloritized and

interleaved with white mica or else partially bleached; some separate 

muscovite may be present also. Accessory minerals are: Magnetite 

(ilmenite?), titanite, pyrite, allanite, apatite, zircon, and rutile. 

Secondary: Kaolin, one or two white micas, chlorite, and carbonate. 

On the west side of a pegmatite dike referred to on page 196 this 

granite is decidedly pinkish, strictly a medium pinkish gray, owing, 

apparently, to hematitic stain in the kaolinized oligoclase. Some of 

the microcline is also kaolinized and micacized (specimen D, XXVIII,

1|6)'. 

Estimates of mineral percentages in this stone have been given

on page 192.

Mr. W. T. Schaller, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, 

finds that it contains 0.34 per cent of CaO Qime) soluble in hot dilute 

acetic acid, which indicates a content of 0.6 per cent CaC03 (lime carbonate), the presence of which carbonate is shown by the microscope 

and by a slight effervescence with cold dilute muriatic acid.
KHODE ISLAND. 195

. A compression test made for the firm at the United States Arsenal 

at Watertown, Mass., in 1907, with a cube of about 2-inch face, 

gave this granite an ultimate compressive strength of 39,750 pounds 

per square inch. The direction of rift or grain with reference to 

pressure was not noted. 

The sculptural qualities of this stone have already been dwelt upon. 

The great fineness of its particles contributes to its high polish. The 

polished face shows minute particles of magnetite and a few of pyrite. 

It hammers light gray and the contrast between this and the shade of 

the polished face is some what, marked.

The second variety (specimens D, XXVIII, 1, c, cc), "old blue 

Westerly," is a quartz monzonite of very slightly bluish medium-gray 

color with fine black particles. Its texture is even grained fine, with 

feldspars up to 0.2 inch and mica to 0.15 inch. Its constituents, in 

descending order of abundance, are: Clear to milk-white or pinkish

soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite to oligoclase), much of it kaolinized and micacized; pale smoky quartz with a few needle-like crystals, probably of rutile, and with cavities in sheets; clear to blue- 

 greenish and grayish potash feldspar (orthoclase and microcline), 

intergrown with quartz, circular in cross section, and slightly micacized; biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized, and with needlelike crystals of rutile (?); muscovite or bleached biotite. Accessory: 

Magnetite (ilmenite?), pyrite, apatite, allanite, zircon, and rutile. 

Secondary: Kaolin, two white micas, chlorite, carbonate, and rarely 

hematite and epidote.

An estimate of the mineral percentages, obtained by applying the 

Kosiwal method to a camera lucida drawing of part of a thin section 

enlarged 40 diameters, yields the following results with a mesh of 

1.7 inches, and total linear length of 42 inches.

Estimated mineral percentages in "blue Westerly" granite from the quarry of the Neiv

England Granite Works. 

Quartz................................................................... 21.15

Soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite to oligoclase)........................... 52.64

Potash, feldspars (microcline 4.14, orthoclase 10.51).......................... 14.65

Biotite (black mica)...................................................... 5.52

White mica............................................................... 3.05

Magnetite................................................................. 1.71

Allanite.................................................................. 1.28

100.00

No great value need to be attached to the figures for allanite, as a 

shifting of the mesh wpuld have thrown it out altogether.

The average diameter of the particles obtained by the same method 

is 0.0112 inch.

Mr. E. C. Sullivan, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, 

finds that this stone contains 0.20 per cent of CaO (lime) soluble in hot
196 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

dilute acetic acid which indicates a content of 0.35 per cent of CaCO3 

(lime carbonate), the presence of which carbonate is also shown by 

the microscope and by a very slight effervescence with cold dilute 

muriatic acid.

A compression test made for the firm at -the United States Arsenal 

at Watertown, Mass., in 1907, with a cube of about 2-inch face, gave 

it an ultimate compressive strength of 31,970 pounds per square inch. 

The direction of rift or grain with reference to pressure was not noted.

This stone takes a high polish, but the mica scales, being a little 

larger than in the "white statuary," show more on the surface. The 

polished face shows not a little magnetite in fine particles, with rare 

grains of pyrite. The combination of a slightly bluish with a slightly 

pinkish feldspar, both in fine particles, results in a peculiar gray in the 

polished face. The hammered face is light gray and in contrast to 

the shade of the polished surface.

The quarry, opened about 1860, measures about 300 feet in a westnorthwest direction by 200 feet north-northeast, and from 40 to 80 

feet in depth. Within 20 feet west-northwest of it is another opening, 

not used in 1906, of about the same size, which it was proposed to 

unite with the main opening so as to obtain a working face 600 feet 

long.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 12 feet thick, are horizontal but somewhat irregular, owing to incomplete development, "growing on." 

There are two sets of joints: Set A, striking N. 15°-25° E. and vertical, is spaced 8 inches to 30 feet, and forms a heading 15 to 20 feet 

wide on the west side, separating it from the older excavation, and 

another 5 to 10 feet wide on the east side, which divides this from the 

adjacent Smith quarry. Set B, striking N. 50°-55° W. and vertical, is spaced 18 inches to 30 feet. The rift is reported as horizontal 

and the grain as vertical with N. 65° W. course. There is a 2-inch 

pegmatite dike striking N. 37° E. and dipping 75° E., consisting of 

pink potash feldspar, amethystine quartz and muscovite; the feldspar is partly altered to light-green epidote. Pegmatite dikes also 

traverse the heading on the west side. Rusty stain is from 1 to 7 

inches thick on the sheet surfaces. There is much kaolinization of 

feldspar and limonite stain adjacent to the pegmatite dikes. On the 

south-south west wall the granite is in contact with a southerlyinclined overhanging mass of dark biotite gneiss with a vertical foliation. This is also crossed by pegmatite dikes. The line of contact 

between granite and gneiss is jagged in places. The relations on the 

north wall are now'largely concealed by dumps, but their character 

is well exposed in the adjoining Smith quarry and they are described 

on page 198. . The structural relations of the pinkish-gray and bluishgray granite to one another are not clear. At one point on the 

south-southwest wall the former seems to underlie the latter and
RHODE ISLAND. 197

there seem to be also lateral changes in the color of both near the dike 

which are possibly caused by it. The width of the granite from 

north-northeast to south-southwest does not exceed 150 feet measured at right angles to dip.

The plant includes 6 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, 3 engines for 

hoisting and general work, a 10-ton locomotive crane, a small locomotive, 3 air compressors (capacity 540,250,125 cubic feet of air per 

minute), 3 large drills, 8 air-plug drills, 40 air-hand tools, 4 surfacers, 

2 saws for stones 13 feet long, 4 lathes for stones 3 to 6 feet long, 

7 polishers, a polisher for moldings, 2 polishing lathes for stones 4 

feet long, 2 stone borers, and 3 steam pumps.

Transportation is by a siding from the New York, New Haven and 

Hartford Railroad. (See map, fig. 24.)

Ninety-eight per cent of the product is used in monumental work, 

the rest, "old blue," only in buildings, and the waste for- paving; 

particularly, small blocks for electric roads. Specimen monuments: 

National monument, Gettysburg, Pa.; Antietam monument, Maryland. The Home monument, with a 7 foot 6 inch figure of the statuary granite, Homewood Cemetery, Pittsburg, Pa. PL IX, B, 

shows lilies and passion flowers on the base of a recently finished 

cross of the "blue" stone. Specimen buildings of the "blue": Connecticut Mutual .Insurance Building, Hartford; Mutual Life Insurance Building, Philadelphia.

The Smith quarry adjoins on the east the one just described, and is 

about nine-tenths of a mile southeast of Westerly station and 100 feet 

above it. (See fig. 24.) Operator, The Smith Granite Company, 

Westerly, R. I.

The granite consists of the identical two varieties, "Westerly 

white statuary" and "Westerly blue," already described from the 

New England quarry. Both are quartz monzonites; the first, a 

slightly pinkish medium gray of even-grained very fine texture; the 

second, a slightly bluish medium gray of even-grained fine texture. 

(For full descriptions see pp. 194, 195.)

The quarry, first opened in 1846, consists of two openings. The 

"New East quarry," separated from the New England quarry only 

by a heading, is 250 feet east-southeast by 200 feet across and 65 feet 

deep; the other, older one, contiguous to the last on the east, is about 

400 feet east southeast by 125 feet across and 150 feet deep.

The sheets in the upper 25 feet are from 2'inches to 2 feet thick, 

and below that from 9 inches to 5 feet thick, and all horizontal. 

There is only one set of joints, which strikes N. 20°-22° E., is spaced 

100 to 300 feet, and forms a 50-foot heading between the two openings, and a 5 to 10 foot one between the western opening and the New 

England quarry. The rift is reported as horizontal and the grain as 

vertical, with a N. 65° W. course. The apparent relations of the
198 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H.; AND R. I.

granite are shown in fig. 25. On the south-southwest the granite is 

overlain by a mass of dark-gray banded biotite-hornblende gneiss of 

somewhat fine texture, "black horse," which strikes N. 30Q W. and 

dips 45° SSW. The rock contains much soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-andesine to andesine), but no microcline. On the north-northeast the granite is apparently underlain at 45° by a mass of granite 

(quartz monzonite) of more or less pinkish-gray color and of somewhat fine texture with a variable amount of black mica, so as in 

places to resemble an aplite. It is also marked in places by dark 

brownish stains, one-quarter inch in diameter and an inch or so apart, 

which are due to the alteration of allanite particles into hematite and 

limonite. This rock contains many angular inclusions, large and 

small, of a somewhat finely banded biotite gneiss which itself contains 

lenses and dikes of pegmatite parallel to its schistosity and evidently 

formed before the intrusion of the quartz monzonite. The northward extent of this mass has not yet been determined. The foreman 

states that the "blue granite" at the bottom of the larger opening 

contained an inclusion 10 feet in diameter like the inclusions of gneiss

above described. In this openNNE- ssw- ing about 40 feet of blue inAplite with inclusions 1_ j. j.1 1 ot biotite gneiss Granite Biotite.gneiss___. tervene between tile overlying

gneiss and the white statuary, 

as shown in fig. 25, but in the

no. 25.-structuro at the" smith quarry, westerly, smaller opening these relations 

R. i., looking east-southeast. are reversed. The entire width

of the mass of blue and white

granite appears to be between 80 arid 100 feet, measured at right 

angles to its inclination. There can be no question as to the extension of these granites below, but whether they continue downward at

the same angle or widen out horizontally under the gneiss mass on 

the south can only be determined by core-drilling. The heading 

which separates the two openings is much broken by sub joints parallel to it. For a thickness of 8 feet on the west it is altered to a dull 

greenish-reddish color. In thin section this shows the feldspars 

kaolinized, micacized, and chloritized, most of the biotite bleached, 

the magnetite passing into hematite and the pyrite into limonite. 

As its soda-lime feldspar is oligoclase-andesine, differing from that 

of the adjacent granite, this heading may be a transverse granite dike. 

The plant comprises 8 derricks (one with a capacity'of 50 tons), 

8 hoisting engines, an engine for general work, 2 air compressors 

(capacity, 400 and 150 cubic feet of air per minute), 3 large air drills, 

2 air plug drills, 27 air hand tools, 2 surfacers, a MacDonald surfacer, 

2 stone lathes for stones 19 by 5 feet and 5 feet by 15 inches, a hori- ~ 

zontal polisher, 5 vertical polishers, 2 polishing lathes, and 2 steam 

pumps.
RHODE ISLAND. 199

Transportation is by a siding from the New York, New Haven and 

Hartford Railroad, but paving stones are carted one-third mile to 

wharf on Pawcatuck River.

The product is nearly all used for monuments; the waste goes into 

paving blocks of various sizes. Specimen monuments: Equestrian 

statue of Washington erected by the United Order of American 

Mechanics at Allegheny, Pa.; Roger Williams monument at Roger 

Williams Park, Providence, R. I.; First Massachusetts Volunteer 

Infantry monument, Gettysburg, Pa.; Ohio State monument, Vicksburg, Miss.; Jay Gould mausoleum, Woodlawn Cemetery, New York; 

J. G. Fair mausoleum, San Francisco.

The Catto quarry is about a mile east-southeast of Westerly station, 

60 feet above it, and one-half mile northeast of the Smith and New 

England quarries. (See fig. 

24.) Operator, Catto Granite Company, Westerly, R. I.

The granite (specimen D, 

XXVIII, 9, a), "blue 

Westerly," is a quartz 

monzonite of very slightly 

bluish medium-gray color 

with fine black particles.' 

It is a trifle more bluish than

that of the New England FIG. 26. Diagram of east face of Catto quarry, Westerly,

quarry. Its texture is fine 

with feldspar and mica up 

to 0.1 inch, the former exceptionally 0.16 inch. It is thus a trifle finer than specimens D, 

XXVIII, 1, c, cc (p. 195). As its constituents are identical with 

those of that granite, they are not repeated here.

The quarry, opened before 1886, is about 350 feet east-west by 200 

feet across and from 75 to 100 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 10 feet thick, dip north at a low angle. 

But one set of joints occurs. This strikes N. 22° W., is vertical, 

spaced 3 to 50 feet, and is discontinuous below. The rift is reported 

as horizontal, and the grain, as scarcely perceptible. Rusty stain 

measures up to an inch thick on sheet surfaces. The east face of 

quarry shows the relations of the granite to overlying banded gneiss. 

(See fig. 26.) This strip of gneiss extends the entire width of the 

quarry, with a foliation striking N. 65° W. and dipping 65° NNW. 

As the granite crops out in places above the gneiss this may be a very 

large inclusion, but probably from immediately under the original 

capping. The gneiss was so broken up here that hand specimens, 

half granite and half gneiss, with granite cutting the gneiss foliation 

can be readily obtained. The gneiss is rather fine grained and conR. I., showing granite overlain by a mass of biotito 

gneiss, each with its own sheet structure. Length, C5 

feet; height above quarry water, 50 feet.
200 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

sists of 'dark-gray very biotitic bands, 0.1 to 0.3 inch wide, alternating with light-gray bands with little biotite and with yery light 

ones without an}7". The dominant feldspar is oligoclase. There is 

no microcline.

The plant consists of '3 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, 2 steam drills, 

and 3 steam pumps. .

Transportation is by a siding from the quarry to the main siding of 

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

In 1906 the firm was filling a contract for 500,000 paying blocks 

for Jersey City.

The Redstone quarry is less than 1£ miles east-northeast of Westerly 

station, at the east foot of an east-west ridge, one-fourth mile north 

of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. (See fig. 24.) 

Operator, the New England Granite Works, Westerly, R. I.

The chief granite of this quarry (specimens D, XXVIII, 2, b, h), 

"red Westerly/' is a biotite granite of reddish-gray color speckled 

with black. Its texture is even grained, medium, inclining to coarse, 

with feldspars under 0.4 inch, exceptionally 0.5 inch, and mica to 0.2 

inch. * Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: Reddish potash feldspar (microcline and orthoclase), some of it slightly 

micacized, intergrown with quartz in vermicular structure, in places 

also with soda-lime feldspar; smoky quartz with hairlike crystals, 

probably of rutile, also with cavities in sheets with rift cracks parallel" 

to them; cream-colored striated soda-lime feldspar (oligoclasealbite), kaolinized and micacized, and intergrown with quartz like 

the other; and biotite (black mica), some of it bleached. Accessory: 

Magnetite, pyrite, apatite, zircon, and rutile. Secondary: Kaolin, 

two wlu'te micas, hematite stain from magnetite particles, in places 

reddening both feldspars, and calcite.

An estimate of the mineral percentages by the Rosiwal method 

yields the following results with a mesh of one-half inch and total 

linear length of 33£ inches:

Estimated mineral percentages in "red Westerly" granite from the Redstone quarry.

Potash feldspar (microcline and orthoclase)................................. 35.40

Quartz...................................................:............... 29.87

Soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite) ...................................... 28.35

Biotite (black mica)...................................................... 6.74

(Both feldspars, 63.39.) 

100.00

An analysis of this granite by Love has been given on page 193.

Mr..W. T. Schaller, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, 

finds that it contains 0.25 per cent of CaO (lime) soluble in hot dilute 

acetic acid, which indicates a content of 0.446 per cent of CaCO3
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN NO. 354 PL. VIII

A. OVOIDAL BLOCK OF FINE STATUARY GRANITE (QUARTZ MONZONITE), PRODUCED BY 

WEATHERING WITHIN A HEADING AT REDSTONE QUARRY, WESTERLY, R. I.

* Hammer 20i inches long.

It. GRANITE QUARRY AT WEST FOOT OF BLACK MOUNTAIN, WEST DUMMERSTON, VT.

Showing thin sheets formed after opening of quarry and parted by a compressive strain operating about north and 

south. Hammer about 30 inches long; head 6 inches long.
EHODE ISLAND. 201

(lime carbonate), the presence of which carbonate is shown by the 

microscope and also by a slight effervescence with cold dilute muriatic acid.

A compression test made for the firm at the United States arsenal at 

Watertown, Mass., in 1907, with a cube of about 2-inch face, showed 

the first crack with 106,000 pounds and final fracture with 113,000 

pounds, indicating an ultimate compressive strength of 28,540 

pounds per square inch. The direction of rift or grain with reference 

to pressure was not noted.

The contrasts between the colors of the two feldspars come out 

strongly on the polished face which shows considerable magnetite 

and some pyrite. The size of the mica plate is not favorable to the 

durability of the polish in long-continued outdoor exposure. It is 

a constructional granite of warm tint.

The quarry, opened in 1880, measures about 850 feet, northsouth by 250 feet east-west with a working face 100 feet high on 

west..

The sheets, from 1 to 20 feet thick, are somewhat irregular. In 

the upper part most of them dip 10° about west-northwest, a few 

are horizontal, but lower down all are so. At the south end the 

sheets are intersected by sharply curved partings ("toe nails"). 

There are inclusions of finely banded biotite gneiss resembling the 

capping at the Smith and Catto quarries. The rift is reported as 

horizontal and the grain as fairly defined and vertical with a N. 20° E. 

course. There is but one set of joints, and that strikes N. 35° E., 

dips 70° S. 35° E. to 90°, is spaced 15 to 50 feet, and forms a heading 

in the center of the quarry and a heading at extreme north end 

which is 40 feet wide. A dike 5 to 10 feet thick runs the whole 

length of the quarry, with a dip of 10° S., consisting of alternating 

reddish aplite and coarse pegmatite (reddish feldspar, smoky quartz, 

and biotite), some of the surfaces of which are coated with iridescent 

drusy hematite. Beneath this almost horizontal dike is a mass of 

unknown extent of fine pinkish-gray statuary granite (quartz 

monzonite) like that at Smith and New England quarries described 

on page 194. This reaches the surface at the north end of quarry, 

but excavations at the south end will not expose it until 1908. The 

ovoidal mass, shown in PI. VIII, A, and described on page 58, came 

from the 40-foot heading which crosses this quartz monzonite at 

the north end of quarry. Near the center is a meandering vertical 

dike, 6 inches thick, of porphyritic olivine diabase, striking N. 45° E., 

probably, of-Triassic age. The dike rock is almost black with decomposing greenish crystals up to one-half inch long and with 

less abundant minute black crystals. It is incrusted with fibrous 

calcite and generally is slightly calcareous. In thin section the 

groundmass is of minute soda-lime feldspar crystals altered to white
202 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

mica, a little black mica, and magnetite. The large greenish crystals 

are olivine altered to serpentine and epidote and veined with, calcite. 

The black ones are augite. The rock has undergone alteration and 

weathering but not metamorphism. Ten feet west of this dike is a 

vertical meandering mass of coarse biotite schist about 6 inches 

thick, striking about northeast with foliation parallel to its course. 

In thin section this consists of biotite, muscovite, quartz, an opaque 

cream-colored mineral (probably kaolinized feldspar), calcite, and 

magnetite. This is probably a basic segregation or '' knot'' elongated 

in the direction of the flow. Rust stain on the sheet surfaces is up 

to 3, rarely 4, inches thick. A thin section of it shows both feldspars stained with limonite. It follows irregular cracks in the 

microcline and the quartz, as well as the boundaries between 

them. It proceeds in some cases clearly from the larger grains of 

magnetite and from biotite scales.

The plant consists of 4 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, 2 air compressors (capacity 750 and 500 cubic feet of air per minute), 2 large 

drills, 25 air plug drills, 2 surfacers, and 2 steam pumps.

Transportation is effected by a siding from the New York, New 

Haven, and Hartford Railroad not shown on fig. 24.

The product is used entirely for buildings. Specimens: Washington Life Insurance, American Exchange, American Tract Society, 

and Travelers Insurance Company buildings in New York.

The Smith North quarry is a mile N. 60° E. from the Westerly 

station, 120 feet above it, in a saddle on the east-west ridge north of 

the railroad. (See fig. 24.) Operator, The Smith Granite Company, Westerly, R. I.

The granite is of two sorts, "red Westerly," a medium-grained 

biotite granite of reddish-gray color identical with that of the Redstone quarry (specimens D, XXVIII, 2, b, h), described on page 200, 

and "pink Westerly" (specimen D, XXVIII, 4, a), which is a quartz 

monzonite of medium buff-gray color and of very fine even-grained 

texture, with feldspars mostly up to 0.057 inch, exceptionally 0.1 

inch, and mica to 0.028, exceptionally 0.15 inch. It is identical 

in composition with the "white Westerly statuary/' described on 

page 194, but is of more pinkish tint. Its soda-lime feldspar is oligoclase.

The quarry, opened before 1892, is about 200 feet east-west by 

150 feet across, with a working face 75 feet high on the west and 

25 feet on the east.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 10 feet thick, are lenticular, but very 

irregular and without uniform dip. The only set of joints strikes 

N. 10° E., is vertical or nearly so, and is spaced 20 to 40 feet. The 

rift is reported as dipping 10° S. and the grain 75° N. Sixty feet 

of the fine granite overlie the "red," the plane of their contact dip-
RHODE ISLAND. 203

ping 40°-50° about south. At the top of the working face a pegmatite dike 10 feet thick dips 45° S. Rusty stain is only 2 inches thick 

on sheet faces.

The plant consists of 3 derricks, 3 hoisting engines, a steam drill, 

and 3 steam pumps.

Transportation is by cartage of one-fourth mile to New York. New 

Haven and Hartford Railroad. The cutting of the fine stone is done 

at the company's sheds at Westerly.

The product, thus far, has consisted mostly of the pink statuary, 

the underlying constructional granite not being yet much exposed.

The Colder <& Carnie quarry is nine-tenths mile N. 50° E. from the 

Westerly station, and 160 feet above it, on the western hump of the 

ridge north of railroad. (See fig. 24.) Operator, Calder & Carnie 

Westerly Granite Company, Westerly, R. I.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 8, a), "Westerly pink statuary," is a quartz monzonite of medium pinkish-buff gray color, 

more pinkish than any of the other fine Westerly granites excepting 

specimen I, e, from next to the pegmatite dike in the New England 

quarry. Its texture is even grained, very fine, with feldspars not 

over 0.1 inch and mica still less. Its constituents are the same as 

those of the fine stone from the Smith north quarry, but with a 

little more hematite stain. The thin section shows carbonate, and 

the stone effervesces slightly with dilute muriatic acid. The quarry 

also yields the "red" constructional granite described on page 200.

The quarry, first opened in 1882 and recently reopened, is about 

400 by 250 feet and 90 feet deep.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 8 feet thick, are horizontal and irregular. There are two sets of joints: Set A, striking N. 20° W., dipping 

45° S. 70° W., spaced 2 to 8 feet, and discontinuous, forms a heading 

10 feet wide in the center. One of these joints has sub joints, striking 

N. 30° W., one-half to 1 inch apart. Set B, striking N. 35°-40° E., 

dipping 80° N. 37° W. and 90°, is spaced 2 to 8 feet. The rift is 

reported as dipping north at a low angle and 'the grain as striking 

N. 70° E. and dipping 45° S. 20° W. The fine granite occurs here 

as a dike dipping 45° S. and 50 feet thick, with the medium grained 

"red" on both sides of it. It also contains pegmatite dikes parallel 

to its course. Light pinkish streaks (veinlets ?) from 0.1 to 0.3 

inch thick cross the quany in the flow direction. In thin section 

these are found to consist of slightly altered granite. Both feldspars 

are much kaolinized, and the oligoclase is also much micacized; the 

biotite is chloritized and epidotized. The quartz particles are 

crowded with sheets of cavities (with liquid and vacuoles), and these 

are parallel to the sides of the veinlet as well as in line with streaks 

of kaolinization in its feldspars. Along joints A the granite is much 

reddened for 1 to 2 inches. In this reddish zone the feldspars are
204 COMMEEGIAL GBAN1TES OF MASS., N. H., AND B. I.

much kaolinized and micacized, the biotite is chloritized, epidote 

occurs, and the magnetite is altered to hematite, which has reddened the feldspars. Rusty stain is up to 4f inches thick on sheet 

'surfaces.

The plant consists of 2 derricks, a hoisting engine, a steam drill, and 

pump.

Transportation involves cartage of three-fourths mile to a siding 

of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.

The product is used for monuments and buildings. In 1906 the 

firm had contracts for monuments for Quincy, Mass.; Manchester, 

N. H., and Erie and York counties, Pa.

The Dixon guarry is about one-half mile northeast of Westerly 

station at the west foot of the east-west ridge north of the railroad. 

(See fig. 24.) Operator, Sweeney Granite Works, Westerly, R. I.

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 7, a) is a biotite granite of 

medium buff-gray color with fine black particles. Its texture is 

medium inclining to coarse with feldspars up to 0.4 inch, exceptionally 0.5 inch, and mica to 0.15 inch. Its constituents, in descending 

order of abundance, are: Pinkish-gray potash feldspar (rhicrocline 

and orthoclase), slightly kaolinized and intergrown with quartz and 

soda-lime feldspar; smoky quartz with cavities; greenish-gray striated 

soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase-albite), some of it much micacized and 

kaoliriized; and biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized. Accessory: Magnetite, pyrite, apatite, allanite, and zircon. . Secondary: 

Kaolin, two white micas, chlorite, limonite, hematite, and carbonate.

This is a constructional granite which is closely related to the 

"red" of the Redstone quarry, but in which the potash feldspars 

are less reddish and the soda-lime feldspars are greenish instead of 

cream colored.

The quarry consists of 3 openings: One 150 by 100 feet and 20 

to 40 feet deep, one 100 by 75 feet and 40 feet deep, and another 

100 by 50 feet and 10 to 30 feet deep.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 6 feet thick, are generally horizontal. 

There are 2 sets of joints: Set A, striking N. 45° E. and vertical, is 

spaced 50 to 100 feet and forms several headings. Set B, striking 

N. 60° W. and vertical, is spaced 50 feet and over and is less frequent 

than set A.

The plant comprises several derricks, hoisting engines, and a stone 

crusher which turns out material of 3 sizes.

Although the stone is adapted for buildings, only crushed stone 

was being produced in August, 1906.

The Frazer'quarry is less than one-fourth mile west of the Redstone quarry, on the east-west ridge north of railroad. (See fig. 24.) 

No longer operated; owner, W. L. Frazer, Westerly, R. I.
EHODE ISLAND. 205

The granite (specimen D, XXVIII, 5, a), "Westerly statuary," is 

a quartz monzonite of medium buff-gray color with very fine black 

particles. Its texture is even grained, very fine, with feldspars and 

mica up to 0.1 inch. Its constituents are the same as those of the 

other fine-textured grayish-pinkish Westerly granites described on 

page 191.

The quarry is about 250 by 200 feet and over 50 feet deep.

The sheets, 6 inches to 5 feet thick, are horizontal. Joints, striking 

roughly about north and dipping 60°-70° W. or 90°, are spaced up 

to 20 feet and form headings on the east and west. There are inclusions of biotite gneiss on the dumps, also pieces of pegmatite consisting.of pinkish microcline intergrown with'quartz and oligoclase; 

smoky quartz, cream-colored oligoclase, and .biotite.

The Chapman quarry .is about south of the Frazer quarry near the 

foot of the ridge. (See fig. 24.) It is abandoned, but is mentioned

here only because of its geological features.

A joint face forming the west wall and working face strikes N. 10° 

W. It is intersected at intervals of 1 to 3 feet by vertical joints 

striking N. 50° E. At the top is an inclusion of biotite gneiss 10 feet 

in diameter. Dipping 10° south across this face is a pegmatite dike 

about a foot thick. Between 20 and 30 feet below it is an aplite 

dike a few inches thick with like dip. The sheets are only from 1 to 

3 feet thick, and the joint intervals are too short to make quarrying 

profitable. The granite is the fine-textured statuary (pinkish-gray) 

quartz monzonite, already described.

The Niantic quarries. The Klondike quarry is in Charlestown, 

If miles southest of Niantic station and 5f miles about east of 

Westerly station. (See fig. 24.) Operator, Gourlay Granite Works, 

Westerly, R. I..

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 11, c, g), "blue-white Westerly," is a quartz monzonite of medium bluish-gray color with very 

fine black particles. Its texture is fine with feldspars up to 0.1, 

exceptionally 0.2 inch, and mica to 0.05, exceptionally 0.1 inch. Its 

constituents, in descending order of abundance, are: Clear to milkwhite or cream-colored striated soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), partly 

kaolinized and micacized. In some crystals the altered part is 

central; in others it forms a zone with unaltered feldspar within and 

without it; slightly smoky quartz with hairlike crystals, probably of 

rutile, and very few cavities; more or .less transparent bluish potash 

feldspar (microcline and orthoclase, the first intergrown with quartz); 

and biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized. Accessory: Magnetite, titanite, pyrite rare, apatite, allanite, zircon, and rutile. Secondary: Kaolin, a white mica, and carbonate.

Mr. E. C. Sullivan, chemist, of the United States Geological Survey, 

finds that this granite contains 0.18 per cent of CaO (lime) soluble in
206 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

hot dilute acetic acid, which indicates a content of 0.32 per cent of 

CaC03 (lime carbonate), the presence of which carbonate is also shown 

by the microscope and by a slight effervescence in cold dilute muriatic acid.

A compression test made for the firm at the United States Arsenal 

at Watertown, Mass., in 1907, with a cube of about 2-inch face, 

showed the first crack with 107,000 pounds, and final fracture with 

118,000 pounds, showing an ultimate compressive strength of 29,500 

pounds per square inch. The direction of rift or grain with reference 

to pressure-was not stated.

This is a monumental granite of fine texture and bluish tint. Its 

texture is a little finer than that of the "old blue" of the New England 

quarry, and about the same as that of the Newall quarry (p. 207). 

It is more bluish than the former, not containing any pinkish feldspar, 

and, its mica particles being finer, it takes a higher polish. The 

pblished face shows magnetite in fine particles, but scarcely any

pyrite. There is quite a 

s little contrast of shade 

between the hammered 

and polished faces.

The quarry, opened in 

1897, is about 600 feet eastwest by 100 feet across 

and from 75 to 100 feet 

deep. (See PI. IX, A.) 

On the south side the 

stripping of drift increases 

from 5 feet in thickness at the west wall to 35 feet at the east wall, 

owing to the inclination of the rock surface.

The sheets, from 1 to 8 feet thick, dip generally 5° S. There is but 

one set of joints, which strikes N. 25° E., dips 70° W., and is spaced 

5 to 50 feet. The rift is reported as horizontal, but feeble. A flow 

structure, indicated by streaks of black mica, strikes N. 10°-20° W. 

and dips west. There is a dike of aplite striking N. 25° E., dipping 

70° W. The structural relations are shown in fig. 27 and PI. IX, .A. 

The granite appears to have reached the present surface in a dikelike 

mass, the sides of which dipped about 30° S., and cut a mass of porphyritic biotite gneiss, to be described beyond. The granite mass is 

about 75 feet thick, measured at right angles to its inclination. 

The foliation of the gneiss is not far from horizontal. Within the 

gneiss are dikes of pegmatite and aplite, which appear to begin at the 

granite contact meander and taper out upward. On the south side 

the sheet structure extends into the gneiss, as shown in PI. IX, A. 

Fifteen feet below the gneiss the granite contains one or more angular

FIG. 27. Approximate structure at the Klondike quarry, 

near Niantic, R. I.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

A. CONTACT OF GRANITE WITH OVERLYING GNEISS ON WEST 

SIDE OF KLONDIKE QUARRY, NEAR N1ANTIC, R. I.

Showing pegma'ite dikes in the gneiss apparently starting from the granite 

surface; also sheet structure passing from granite into gneiss,
RHODE ISLAND. ^ 207

inclusions of finely banded biotite gneiss. The problem presented 

by the structure here is whether this belt of granite 75 feet thick is 

simply a dike of indefinite depth or a minor protuberance in the 

undulating surface of a wide granitic' intrusion which became exposed 

by the erosion of the overlying gneiss where it was thinnest. The 

gneiss (specimen D, XXVIII, 11, a) is of very dark gray shade and 

fine to medium texture, but with porphyritic feldspars from one-half 

to 1£ inches in diameter, consisting of a light pinkish-buff potash 

feldspar (microcline and orthoclase), rimmed with milk-white sodalime feldspar (oligoclase-andesine). The groundmass consists of the 

same potash feldspar, smoky quartz, the same soda-lime feldspar, 

and biotite. The granite is crossed at irregular intervals by pinkish 

and pyritiferous "streaks/' veinlets from 0.1 to 0.4 inches wide, with 

a central thread of epidote. Their course is parallel to the joints. 

In thin section the soda-lime feldspars of these veinlets are much 

kaolinized and micacized. Rusty stain along sheets is from 1 to 6 

inches thick. Some joint faces are coated with a thin film of calcite; 

others with epidote from the alteration of feldspar.

The plant consists of 7 derricks driven by 4 hoisting engines, 2 air 

compressors (capacity 550 cubic feet of air per minute each), 5 large 

drills, 25 air-plug drills, and 2 steam pumps.

Transportation involves a cartage of 2£ miles to New York, New 

Haven and Hartford Railroad.

The product is used entirely for monuments.

The Newall quarry is in the town of Westerly just west of the 

Charlestown line, 5| miles about east of Westerly station, and 1£ 

miles southeast of Niantic station. (See fig. 24.) Operator, Joseph 

Newall & Co., Westerly, R. I.

The granite (specimens D, XXVIII, 6, a, c), "blue Westerly," is 

a quartz monzonite of medium bluish-gray color, with very fine black 

particles. Its texture is even grained, fine, with feldspars, and mica 

up to 0.1 inch. Its constituents, in descending order of abundance, 

are: Clear to milk-white striated soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase), somewhat kaolinized and micacized; pale, smoky quartz, with few hairlike 

crystals, probably of rutile, and cavities; clear bluish to translucent 

potash feldspar (orthoclase and microcline), intergrown with quartz 

and slightly kaolinized; and biotite (black mica), some of it chloritized. Accessory: Magnetite, pyrite, allanite, zircon, and rutile. 

Secondary: Kaolin, a white mica, and carbonate.

An estimate of the mineral percentages, obtained by applying the 

Rosiwal method to a camera lucida drawing of part of a thin section 

enlarged 40 diameters, yields the following results with a 2-inch mesh 

and a total linear length of 38 inches.
208 COMMEKCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N". Hv AND E. I.

Estimated mineral percentages in "blue Westerly" granite from the Newall quarry near

Nidntic, R. I.

Soda-lime feldspar (oligoclase)............................................... 36.32

Quartz............................................. 1...................... 29. 38

Potash feldspars (microcline 17.91, orthoclase 8.00)......................... 25. 91

Biotite (black mica)...................................................... 6.27

Magnetite................................................................. .60

Pyrite.................. ............................................. .10

Apatite................................................................... .95

Allanite.................................................................. ,47

100.00

Much weight should not be attached to the figures for apatite and 

allanite, for the mesh could have been shifted to avoid intersecting 

these particles, but their sum can be safely regarded as standing for 

the more abundant accessory minerals next to magnetite and pyrite.

The average diameter of all the particles obtained by the same 

measurements is 0.0087 inch.

Mr. W. T. Schaller, of the United States Geological Survey's chemical laboratory, finds that it contains 0.15 per cent of CaO (lime) 

soluble in dilute acetic acid, which indicates a content of 0.26 per 

cent of CaC03 (lime carbonate), the presence of which carbonate is 

also shown by the microscope and by a slight effervescence with cold 

dilute muriatic acid.

This is a fine-grained monumental granite susceptible of high polish 

and fine carving. It is of the same texture as the stone of the Klondike quarry, and a little finer than the blue of the New England and 

Smith quarries. Its shade is a trifle darker than that of the Klondike 

quarry. The polished face shows many minute particles of magnetite and a few of pyrite. There is marked contrast between the 

hammered and polished faces.

The quarry, opened in 1883, measures from 400 to 450 feet eastwest by 250 feet across and from 50 to 100 feet in depth. In 1906 

quarrying was confined to the deeper and wider part.

The sheets, from 1 to 9 feet thick, are horizontal at the east end, 

dip 10°-15° W. at the west end and 15° S. at the bottom. There 

are 2 sets of joints: Set A, striking N. 25° E., dipping 75° ESE., is 

spaced 5 to 200 feet. Set B, striking N. 45° W. and, vertical, is 

exceptional. The rift is reported as dipping 20° about east, but in 

places west, and the grain as striking east-west and vertical. The 

granite occurs in a dikelike mass about 100 feet thick, dipping 45° S. 

and both underlain and overlain by "white horse," which here is a 

light pinkish-gray biotite gneiss consisting of light pinkish potash 

feldspar (microcline) in elongated crystals, smoky quartz, clear to 

milk-white oligoclase, and biotite. The foliation of this gneiss appears 

to strike about east-west and to dip with the surface 45° S. A pegmatite border separates granite from gneiss. Minute brownish veins
EHODE ISLAND. 209

traverse the gneiss. Rusty stain is up to 14 inches thick on sheet 

surfaces, and ferruginous water exudes from between them halfway 

down the surface.

.The plant, including .that at the firm's cutting shed at Westerly, 

comprises 5 derricks, "5 hoisting engines, a 20-ton traveling crane, an 

engine for general work, 2 air compressors (capacity 350 and 135 

cubic feet of air per minute), 6 steam drills, 2 air plug drills, 48 air 

hand tools, 3 surfacers, 3 polishers, and a steam pump.

Transportation is effected by cartage of 1J miles to the New York, 

New Haven and Hartford Railroad at Niantic, and thence 4£ miles 

by rail to the cutting shed at Westerly.

The product is used exclusively for monuments. Specimens: Sarcophagus monument to Senator Sherman, Mansfield, Ohio; Obelisk 

to Gen. Lew Wallace, Crawfordsville, Ind.; W. L. Elkins and P. A. B. 

Widener mausoleums, Central Laurel Hill, Philadelphia; monument 

to J. D. Putnam erected by Fourteenth Wisconsin Regiment on the 

battlefield of Shiloh; reproduction of the elaborate Celtic cross of 

St. Martin in the. island of lona, erected by Mrs. McNeil in Rosedale 

Cemetery, Los Angeles, Cal.; also the T. M. Newall monument at 

Westerly, which has a delicate bas-relief of an entire poppy plant 

and a butterfly (design copyrighted).

. The Crumb quarry is in Westerly, a mile S. 32° E. of Niantic station, and 5 miles about east of Westerly station. (See fig. 24.) 

Operator, The Crumb Quarry Company, Westerly, R. I.

The granite, "blue Westerly," is a quartz monzonite of medium 

bluish-gray color, with very fine black particles and even grained, 

fine texture, identical with that of the Newall quarry described on 

page 207.

The quarry, opened in 1857, is about 400 feet east-west by 125 

feet across and 40 feet in depth.

The sheets, from 6 inches to 8 feet thick, are undulating horizontal. 

There are 2 sets of "joints: Set A, striking N. 25° E., dipping 50°-70° 

WSW.,is spaced 10 to 150 feet and forms a heading across the center. 

Set B, striking N. 60° E. and vertical, is exceptional and discontinuous: The rift is reported as horizontal, but with a "run" dipping 

low east and the grain as vertical east-west. The granite occurs in 

a dikelike mass, apparently continuous with that of the Newall 

quarry, which is about 850 feet east-southeast of it. It is about 100 

feet thick and is underlain on the north by 'a gneiss, "white horse," 

with a foliation and surface dipping 20°-40° S. Owing to the quarry 

wall on the south being vertical, the dip of the foliation on that side 

could not be determined. This gneiss (specimen D, XXVIII, 12, b) 

is a light pinkish-gray biotite gneiss identical with that of the Newall 

quarry (p. 208). The light-pinkish feldspars (orthoclase and microcline) are in elongated lenses from 0.2 to 0.3 inch wide. The biotite 

50193 Bull. 354 08 14
210 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

is fine and sparse. Although the schistosity of the stone may possibly be great enough to impair its strength, its contrasts of color are 

very attractive. The granite is crossed by a 1-inch pegmatite dike 

dipping 45° E. Rusty stain is 10 to 15 inches thick along sheet surfaces. The faces of joints A are in places bright reddish and thinly 

coated with radiating pearly crystals of a silicate, stilbite (?).

The plant comprises 5 derricks (1 with 50 tons capacity), 3 hoisting 

engines, 2 steam drills, a polisher and engine, and 3 steam pumps.

Transportation requires cartage of 1J miles to the railroad at 

Niantic.

The product is used for monuments, which are made mostly in 

Quincy, Mass. Specimens: Alexander Thompson and Oliver Hazard 

Cooper monuments, Swan Point Cemetery, Providence; Rhode Island 

monument, Andersonville, Ga.

CLASSIFICATION OF THE GRANITES.

The "granites" described in this report fall into.the following ten 

petrographical groups: Biotite granite, biotite-muscovite granite, 

muscovite-biotite granite, quartz monzonite, hornblende granite, 

biotite-hornblende granite, riebeckite-aegirite . granite, riebeckiteaegirite-biotite granite, quartz diorite, and diabase porphyry.

For economic purposes these granites fall naturally into the two 

classes of constructional and monumental granites. Some granites, 

however, are noted for their susceptivity of a high polish or possess 

colors which only become effective on a polished face. Such are, 

therefore, termed polish granites. To this class belong also several 

of the constructional and monumental granites. Still other granites, 

by virtue of the contrast between their hammered or cut and their 

polished surfaces, are peculiarly adapted to inscriptions and are there-. 

fore classed as inscriptional granites. Here belong the quartz monzonites and diorites because of their large content of soda-lime feldspar. One of the monumental and inscriptional granites, from its 

remarkable fineness of texture, lends itself to the very finest carving 

and is therefore also classed as statuary granite. In the following 

table all the granites treated in this bulletin are grouped in these five 

economic classes. The trade name, the scientific name, the real 

general color and shade, and the texture of each stone are added in 

separate columns, and page references to the detailed descriptions 

and quarries are also given. In defining their general color reference 

to the black spots or spangles produced by the black silicates has been 

omitted.
CLASSIFICATION OF THE GRANITES. 211

Economic classification ofchiefommercial thegranites Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhoe Island.

Described on page 

Scientific name.

Texture.

General color andshade.

Trade name.

>> 4* 

1

O

1-3

r- ,-ICO CO'* t-OOOO 3<3i

aS i-T IM to

to" CJ 

<N CO .

Biotite granite............ Riebeckite-aegirite granite. . Hornblende granite.. . .....

Ho

Medium tocoarse gneissoid. slightly Medium tocarse .

1 Ho

Light pinkish, medium topinkish-greenish or gray .

Milford pink......... Extra, lieht ...... 

Milford, Mass. ....

Mediumrav ...............................

>

c3 

ffl

>

b

 s

_=

c. 0

«

g

t

1

C

c c

>

£ bl 

f

'c

£ bi

1 ? 

t!

1

01

1a

5 : : 8 : :

Muscovite-biotite >- g

Biotite granite. . ... .....do............. 

Fine medium, to sme what porphyritic. Coarse............... .....do...............

Ho

1

>

£ 

 ; 

2

-E

a

Light pnkmottled withdark gray. .................. Light pinkish mottled withdark purplish gray gr. . Medium oinkish-buff erav............................

Quartz monzonite. . Biotite granite. . .

Fine tomedium 

Medium tocoarse...

light Medium blushbuff-gray gray, ...... 

Reddish erav........... ......... ....

gra'y. View 

Babson farm......... Concord granite...... Redstone redgranite. . Fletcher Lahy and .Mountain WhiteI. 

quarry. 

N. Milford, H., granite. . Westerl Redv........ 

>

3

 »

Rockport, Mass .... N. Concord, H..... Redstone, H.... NN. Madison, H... .Conway, North. E N. Milford, H....... 

Westerly, R. I

-I-onon^saoo

OS ^5* CO h- h-COOQO10>

CD r*. O5

s

" « : : :& :

Riebeckite-asgirite grani . Muscovite-biotite grani . Quartz monzonite. ....

Medium tocarse. .Fine................. 

Fine (0.011 inch)

Dark bluish, (orgreenish, purplish) dark togray very 

bluish purplistl or gray. 

Medium blushand medium-dark gray gay... Light lighmedium tobuff,lish gray, or gray. .-.. 

.....do.................. Biotite-muscovite grani . Quartz monzonite. . ....

Fine (0.009 inch)fine Very fine. to

Fine.. ...............

Medium blushgray. .............. Light bluish sightly gray. ....... Medium pink buff. ................ Bluish mediumerav ..............

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bluish purplish gray.or 

Medium bluish withyellow brown spots. gray........ Mediumrav .................................. .

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Riebeckite-tegirite . 

granite, 

Diabase porphyry. j Biotite granite. . ...

.....do............... Fine larg< and matrixporphyritic crystals Coarse ..............

Dark brownish gray. ................................. Black withmedium ground crystals. gry........... mottled Light with darkpinkish purplish gray .

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Economic classification of the chief commercial granites of Massachusetts, New H

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02

Locality.

Milford, N. H........

Westerly, R. I .......

Westerly, R. I.......

Westerly, R.I.......

Trade name.

erly ana Spuhegan.

. erly.

uary.

General color and shade. 
GRANITE PRODUCTION. 213 

COMMERCIAL VALUE OF THE GRANITES.

These granites represent quite a range in commercial value from 

25 cents to $3.25 per cubic foot. The following prices were obtained 

from the larger concerns as current in .1906. All are f. o. b. and per 

cubic foot in the rough.

Constructional granites. Milford, Mass., pink, in blocks up to 10 

tons, SO.60 to $0.70. Foundation and bridge rubble work, $0.25.' 

Quincy, light, for bases and hammered work, ordinary sizes, $0.50 

to $0.85. Extra light, for bridge work, without reference to size, 

$0.35. Rockport, gray, ordinary sizes (3 to 15 feet long, 1£ to 4 feet 

wide, and 1$ to 3 feet high), best quality, $0.50. Concord, blocks 

under 9 feet square in base, $0.60. Bedstone, N. H., red, ordinary 

sizes, $0.40 to $0.50. 'Milford, N. II., dimension stone in blocks up 

to 100 cubic-feet, $0.40. Westerly, red, ordinary sizes, $0.60.

Monumental granites. Quincy, medium, in blocks up to 40 cubic 

feet, $1 to $1.10; 40 to 55 cubic feet, $1.15. Dark, in blocks up 

to 40 cubic feet, $1.3.0 to $1.35; 40 to 55 cubic feet, $1.40. Extra 

dark, in blocks up to 40 cubic feet, $1.60. Becket (Chester], in blocks 

up to 40 to 50 cubic feet, $1.30 to $1.40. Bedstone, N. H., green, 

ordinary sizes, $0.65 to $0.75. Milford, N. H., in blocks up to 10 

cubic feet, $0.75 to-$1.25, averaging $0.85. Westerly, blue, in blocks 

up to 10 cubic feet, $1.10 to $1.15. Up.to 50 to 60 cubic feet, $2.60 

to $2.75. White and pink statuary, in blocks up to 10 cubic feet, 

$1.10 to $1.25. Up to 50 to 60 cubic feet, $2.70 to $3.25. When 

the Milford, Mass., pink is ordered finished for ornamental work the 

following prices prevail: Rock-faced ashlar building work, $1.50. 

Cut building work, $3.50. Polished building work, $6. Cut monumental work, $7. Polished monumental work,

STATISTICS OF GRANITE PRODUCTION.

By ALTHA T. COONS.

In this section is shown the value of the stone produced at Becket, 

Chester, Milford, Pigeon Cove, Rockport, Quincy, and West Quincy, 

Mass., at Concord, Milford, and Redstone, N. H., and at Niantic and 

Westerly, R. I., by uses, and the total value of the production of each 

State from 1902 to 1906.

The figures in the following tables represent the selling value of 

the stone to the quarrymen, exclusive of any freight charges. When 

the stone is cut or dressed by the quarrymen and sold in this manner the value of the dressed stone is given. This applies especially 

to the stone quarried and sold for use as building and monumental 

stone.

The principal uses of the stone as shown in the following tables are 

for building stone, rough and dressed, and monumental stone, rough
214 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

and dressed. Under stone sold for "other" purposes is included 

stone for curbstone, flagstone, some used for jetty purposes, stone 

posts, covers, a small quantity of crushed stone, and stone for various other rough work.

The total value for each State includes stone of all classes, rough 

and dressed building and monumental stone, flagstone, curbstone, 

riprap, rubble, crushed stone, and stone, sold for various other purposes. A large quantity of trap rock quarried in Massachusetts and 

used chiefly for crushed stone is not included in the Massachusetts 

State total.

Production of granite by uses in the granite areas of Chester, Becket, Milford, Pigeon Cove, 

Rockport, Quincy, and West Quincy, Mass., and the value of the production of the entire 

State from 1902 to 1906.

Uses.

Total...............................

1902.

875,461

559,351

468,016

290. 678

140,214

73,011

137, 672

1,744,403

3,080,857

1903.

888,900

364, 788

357, 449

231,375

211,279

91,951

90, 700

1,436,442

2,351,027

1904.

$56,301

556, 478

319, 448

201,877

212, 254

67,962

86,559

1,500,879

2,554,748

1905.

$85,796

485,448

396, 187

187,361

175, 712

35,085

50,563

1,416.152

2,251,319

1900.

893,726

346,311

239,310

132,254

24,476

cc 747

O AKA OflQ

3,327,416

a This does not include trap rock, used for road metal, etc.

Production of granite by uses in the granite areas of Concord, Milford, and Redstone, N. H., 

and the value of the production of the entire State from 1902 to 1906.

Uses.

Other. ....................................

Total...............................

1902.

867,704

272,385

' 32, 727

233,647

28,001

5,169

25,996

665, 629

1,147,097

1903.

000 1CX

239, 201

47,774

204,937

 34,907

7,283

' 38,707

605,963

854,513

1904.

832,733

367,610

63,962

199,538

40,045

1,685

23,378

728,951

927,487

1905.

315,752

178, 757

88,414

171,099

48,484

1,759

35,866

540, 131

838,371

1906.

829,022

198,931

49,825

102, 296

76, 229

5,886

58,689

521,478

818, 131

Production of granite by uses in the granite areas of Niantic and Westerly; R. I., and the 

value of the production of the entire State from 1902 to 1906.

Uses.

Total...............................

1902.

84,478

80,967

111,502

438,472

13,884

3,364

652,667

734,623

1903.

$4,275

101,914

111,308

359,618

36,634

2,298

616,047

710,291

1904.

$6,225

203, 649

118,236

153,930

41,791

3,123

526,954

684,952

1905.

8250

62,688

134,063

203, 267

79,641

5,538

485,447

556,364

1906.

$160

184,614

159,525

171,700

28,332

5,988

550,319

622,812
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 215

CONCLUSIONS.

In reviewing the very numerous details brought together in the 

preceding pages several general ideas will impress themselves upon 

the reader: First, the long and complex geological history of the 

rock masses which are being quarried. Next, the very intricate 

microscopic character of the various granites described, both in their 

mineral composition and texture and in the changes which have 

taken place in them. Then, also, the great ingenuity shown in the 

various mechanical devices for quarrying the stone, and especially 

in the modern pneumatic machinery for working and finishing it; 

and, finally, the architectural and sculptural skill displayed in the 

structures and monuments made of it. Among the more notable of 

those made or being made of these granites are: The Pennsylvania 

Railroad terminal at New York, the Congressional Library, the Cambridge and Boston bridge, the Bunker Hill Monument, and the 

National Monument at Gettysburg.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ECONOMIC GEOLOGY OF GRANITE.

Buckley, Ernest B. Building and ornamental stones of Wisconsin: Bull. Wisconsin 

Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey, No. 4, Madison, Wis., 1898. Granite, pp. 88-100, 

107-115, 121-160; tests, pp. 46-74, 358-415.

Buckley, Ernest B., and Buehler, H. A. The quarrying industry of Missouri: Missouri Bureau of Geol. and Mines. 2d series, vol. 2. 1904. Granite, pp. 60-85.

Coons, Altha T. The stone industry in 1904: Min. Kes. U. S. for 1904. 1905. Granite, pp. 17-32.

Dale, T. Nelson. The granites of Maine, with an introduction by George Otis Smith: 

Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey, No. 313, 1907, pp. 63-183.

Daw, A. W. and Z. W. The Blasting of Rock in Mines, Quarries, and Tunnels [etc.]. 

Pt. I: The Principles of Rock Blasting and their General Application. London. 1898.

Day, William C. Stone: Min. Res. U. S. Twenty-first and prior Ann. Repts. U. S. 

Geol. Survey. Granite.

Gillette, H. P. Rock Excavations: Methods and Cost. New York. 1904.

Gilmore, Q. A. Report on the comparative strength, specific gravity, and ratio of 

absorption of building stones in the United States. Official report Chief of 

Engineers, 1875.

Guttman, Oscar. Handbuch der Sprengarbeit. Braunschweig, 1892.

Harris, G. F. Granite and our Granite Industries. London, 1888.

Hcnning, G. C. Diamond tools. Trans. Am. Soc. Mech. Eng., vol. 26, 1904, pp. 

409-417.

Herrmann, 0. Steinbruchindustrie und Steinbruchgeologie. Berlin, 1899.

Herrmann, 0. Technische Verwerthung der Lausitzer Granite. Zeitschr. prak. 

Geol., November, 1895 (II), pp. 433-444.

Hull, Edward. A Treatise on the Building and Ornamental Stories of Great Britain and foreign countries. London, 1872.

Julien, Alexis A. Building stones; elements of strength in their constitution and 

structure: Jour. Franklin Inst., Pennsylvania, vol. 147, No. 4. April, 1899, 

pp. 257-442.
216 COMMEECIAL GRANITES OP MASS., N. H.", AND K. I.

Julien, Alexis A. Comparison of methods of graphic analysis of rocks. Bull. Geol. 

' Soc., America, vol. 14, pp. 460-468. 1903. '

Lord, E. C. E. Examination and classification of rocks for road building, including 

the physical properties of rocks with reference to their mineral composition 

and structure. U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, office of public roads. Bull. 31, 

1907. Physical properties of granite for road making. Table 2.

Lundbohm, Hjalmar. Summary of his various papers on granite and granite quarrying in Europe, by William C. Day: Min. Res. U. S.- for 1893. U. S. Geol. 

Survey, 1894.

Mathews, Edward B. The granite quarries of Maryland: Kept. Maryland Geol. 

Survey, vol. 2, 1898, pp. 136-160.

Mathews, Samuel W. The granite industry of Maine: Sixteenth Ann. Rept. Bureau 

of Industrial and Labor Statistics for the State of Maine, 1902, pp. 7-51.

Merrill, George P. On the collection of Maine building stones in the United States 

National Museum: Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 6, 1883, pp. 165-183.

Merrill, George P. Collection of building and ornamental stones in the United 

States National Museum: Ann. Rept. Smithsonian Inst., 1886, pt. 2, 1889.

Merrill, George P. Physical, chemical, and economic properties of building stones: 

Rept. Maryland Geol. Survey, vol. 2, 1898, pp. 47-123.

Merrill, George P. Stones-for Building and Decoration, 3d ed. New York, 1903.

Merrill, George P. Stone (granite): Special reports of the Census Office; Twelfth 

Census; mines and quarries. (1902.) 1905.

Perkins, George H. Report on the marble, slate, and granite industries of Vermont, 

1898. Granite, pp. 51-68.

Perkins, George H. Report of State Geologist on the mineral resources of Vermont, 

1899-1900. Granite, pp. 57-77.

Perkins, George H. Report of State Geologist on the mineral industries and geology 

of certain areas of Vermont, 1903-4. 1904. Granite, pp. 23-44.

Reusch, Hans. Granite industrien ved Idefjorden, etc. Norges geologiske undersogelse: Aarbog for 1891. Kristiania, 1891.

Rich, George. The granite industry of New England: New England Magazine, February, 1892, p. 742.

Riiber, Carl C. Norges granit industri: Norges geologiske undersogelse No. 12: 

Aarbog for 1893, with English summary.

Rosiwal, August. Ueber geometrische Gesteinsanalysen. Ein einfacher Weg zur 

ziffermassigen Feststellung des Quantitatsverhaltnisses der Mineralbestandtheilo gemengter Gesteine: Verh. der K.-k. geol. Reichsanstalt, vol. 32, 

1898, pp. 143-175.

Rosiwal, August. Ueber einige neue Ergebnisse der technischen Untersuchung

von Steinbaumaterialien. Eine neue Methode zur Erlangung zahlenmassiger

Wcrte fur die "Frische" und den ' ' Verwitterungsgrad" der Gesteine: Verh.

der K.-k geol. Reichsanstalt, vol. 33, 1899, pp. 204-225. 

Rosiwal, August. Ueber weitere Ergebnisse der technischen Untersuchung zur

Erlangung zahlenmassiger Werte fur die "Zahigkeit" der Gesteine: Verh

K.-k. geol. Reichsanstalt, 1902, pp. 234-246. 

Smith, Walter B. Methods of quarrying, cutting, and polishing granite. Mineral

Industries: Eleventh Census, U. S. (1892), pp. 612-618. Also Sixteenth Ann.

Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey, pt. 4, pp. 446-456.

Speer, F. W. Quarry methods: Tenth Census, U. S., vol. 10, 1888, pp. 33 et seq. 

Tarr, Ralph S. Economic Geology of the United States, with briefer mention of 

Foreign Mineral Products, 2d ed., New York, 1895.
GLOSSAEY. . 217

Watson, Thomas Leonard. A preliminary report on a part of the granites and

gneisses of Georgia: Bull. 9 A, Georgia Geol. Survey, 1902.

Watson, Thomas Leonard, and Lariey, Francis B., with the collaboration of George 

P. Merrill. The building and ornamental stones of North Carolina: Bull. 

' North Carolina Geol. Survey, No. 2, 1906.

Williams, Ira A. The comparative accuracy of the methods for determining the 

percentages of the several components of an igneous rock: Am. Geologist, vol. 

35, January, 1905. 

Wolff, John E. Details regarding quarries (granite): Tenth Census, vol. 10, 1888.

See also the successive reports of the tests of metals and other materials for industrial 

purposes made at Watertown Arsenal, published by the United States War Department.

The German periodicals named below also give results of tests of granite: 

Mitteilungen der technischen Versuchsanstalten zu Berlin.

Mitteilungen der Anstalt zur Priifung von Baumaterialien am Polytechnikum in 

Zurich. 

Mitteilungen aus dem mechanisch-technischen Laboratorium der Koniglichen

technischen Hochschule in Mtinchen.

The substance of the paper by Merrill in vol. 10 of the United States Tenth Census, 

1888, and by Merrill in the Proceedings of the U. S. National Museum, vol. 6, 1883, 

has reappeared in more modern form in his other works.

GLOSSARY OF SCIENTIFIC AND QUARRY TERMS.

ACCESSORY MINERALS in granite are original constituents of the rock, found only in 

small, often only in microscopic quantity.

ACIDIC. A term applied to rocks in which silicic acid (silica) or quartz predominates.

ALLANITE. An opaque black mineral (silicate), brown in thin section, one of the primary less common accessory constituents of granite, which contains from 12 to 

17 elements, including 6 of the rarer ones. For analyses see Dana, E. S., System of Mineralogy, 6th ed. 1892. pp. 522-526.

ANTICLINE. A term applied to granite sheets or sedimentary beds that form an arch.

APLITE. Fine-grained granite, usually occurring in dikes and containing little mica 

and a high percentage of silica.

BASIC. A term applied to rocks in which the iron-magnesia minerals and feldspars

with lime and soda predominate, such as diabase or basalts. 

BLACK HORSE. Term used by quarrymen in Rhode Island to denote a dark biotite

gneiss in contact with the granite. 

BLIND SEAMS. . Quarrymen's term for incipient joints. 

BOWLDER QUARRY. One in which the joints are either so close or so irregular that no

very large blocks of stone can be quarried. 

CHANNEL. A narrow artificial incision across a mass of rock, which, in the case of a

granite sheet, is made either by a series of contiguous drill holes or by blasting

a series of holes arranged in zigzag order. 

CLEAVAGE, when applied to a mineral, designates a structure consequent upon the

geometrical arrangement of its molecules at the time of its crystallization. 

CLOSE JOINTED. A term applied to joints that are very near together. 

CROCUS. A term used in the Milford, N. H., quarries to denote gneiss or any other

rock in contact with granite. , 

CRUSH-BORDER. A microscopic granular structure sometimes characterizing adjacent

feldspar particles in granite in consequence of their having been crushed

together during or subsequent to their crystallization.
218 COMMERCIAL GRANITES OP MASS., N. Hv AND R. I.

CUT-OFF. Quarrymen's term for the direction along which the granite must be channeled, because it will not split. Same as "hardway."

DENDRITBS. Plantlike crystallization of iron or manganese oxides on the. surfaces of 

fissures in any rock or mineral. Frost crystals on window panes are of like 

character.

DIKE. A mass of granite, diabase, basalt, or other rock which has been erupted 

through a narrow fissure.

DIMENSION STONE. A term applied to stones that are quarried of required dimensions.

DIP. The inclination from the horizon, given in terms of degrees, of a sheet, joint, 

heading, dike, or other structural plane in a rock.

DRIFT. Sand and bowlders deposited by the continental glacier.

DRUMLIN. Oval hillock of clay and bowlders formed beneath the ice sheet of the glacial epoch.

EROSION. The wearing away of portions of a rock by such natural agencies as stream 

or ice action.

EXFOLIATION. The peeling of a rock surface in sheets owing to changes of temperature 

or other causes.

FAULTING. The slippage of a rock mass or masses along a natural fracture.

FLOW-STRUCTURE. The parallel arrangement of the minerals in granite or other 

igneous rock in the direction of its flowage during its intrusion.

GEODE. A rock cavity lined with crystals. Geodes in granite are attributed to 

steam or gas bubbles.

GRAIN in granite is practically the direction in which the stone splits "next easiest," 

the "rift" being that in which it splits most readily.

GROUT. A term applied to the waste material of all sizes obtained in quarrying stone.

GROW-ON. Quarrymen's term to designate the place where the sheet structure dies 

out, or the place where two sheets appear to grow onto one another.

HARD-WAY. The direction at right angles to both rift and grain in which granite does

not split readily. (See Cut-off.) 

HEADING. A collection of close joints. 

HEADING-SEAM. See Joint. 

HEMATITE. An oxide of iron (Fe203) which when scratched or powdered gives a

cherry-red color.

IGNEOUS. A term applied to rocks that have originated in a molten condition.

JOINTS. More or less steeply inclined fractures which cross the granite sheets and 

which are attributed to various stresses.

KAOLIN. A hydrous silicate of alumina derived from the alteration of feldspar.

KAOLINIZATION. The process by which a feldspar passes into kaolin.

KNOTS. A term applied by quarrymen to dark gray or black objects, more or less oval 

or circular in cross-section, which are segregations of black mica or hornblende 

formed in. the granite while in a molten state. English quarrymen call them 

"heathen."

KNOX HOLE. A circular drill hole with two opposite vertical grooves which direct 

the explosive power of the blast.

LEWIS HOLE. An opening made by drilling two or three holes near together and chiseling out the intervening rock.

LIMONITE. A hydrous oxide of iron (2Fe203 , 3H20); a hydrated hematite, which, 

when scratched or powdered, gives a brownish rust color.

MATRIX. The general mass of a rock which has isolated crystals; sometimes called 

groundmass.
GLOSSARY. 219

MILLIMETER. French decimal lineal measure, the thousandth part of a meter or the 

tenth part of a centimeter. It is equivalent to nearly 0.04 inches, the meter 

being 39^ inches.

MONOLITH. A column or monument of one stone.

MOTION. A term used in granite regions to designate small paving-block quarries.

OPHITIC. A term applied to microscopic rock texture to designate a mass of longish

interlacing crystals, the spaces between which have been filled with minerals

of later crystallization.

OREI. A term applied in the Quincy quarries to Quincy granite which has been rendered valueless by the alteration of its segirite particles:

PEGMATITE. A very coarse granite occurring in irregular dikes or lenses in granites 

and some other rocks.

PLAGIOCLASE. A term applied to all those feldspars that are not potash feldspars.

POLARIZED LIGHT: Light whose vibrations, unlike those of ordinary light, which are 

in all directions, are in only one plane. Polarized light is used in the microscopic study of rocks.

PORPHYRITIC. A term applied to rock texture to designate the presence of isolated 

crystals in a general mass (matrix or groundmass) of finer material.

PSEUDOMORPH. Signifies false form, and designates a crystal in which, owing to various chemical changes, the original mineral has been more or less replaced by 

others. The form of the crystal no longer corresponds to the mineral.

QUARTZ MONZONITE. Technical designation for a granite in which the percentages 

of soda-lime and of potash feldspar are nearly the same or in which the former 

exceeds the latter. In ordinary granites the amount of soda-lime feldspar is 

relatively small.

RANDOM STONE. A term applied by quarrymen to quarried blocks of any dimensions. 

(See definition of dimension stone.)

RIFT. A quarrymen's term to designate an obscure microscopic cleavage in granite 

which greatly facilitates quarrying.

RUN. A term used by quarrymen in connection with "rift," apparently to denote 

the course of the deflection of the rift due to gravity, strain, or other not yet 

understood cause.

SALT-HORSE. Quarrymen's term for aplite.

SAND SEAMS. Quarry term for more or less minute veins or dikes of muscovite (white 

mica) with some quartz, in cases also with feldspar. (See p. 51.)

SAND STREAKS. Same as sand seams.

SAP. Quarrymen's term for ferruginous discoloration along sheet or joint surfaces.

SCHIST. A rock made up of flattish particles arranged in rough parallelism, some or 

all of which have crystallized under pressure.

SCHISTOSITY. The quality of being like a schist.

SEAM. Quarrymen's term for joint.

SECONDARY MINERALS. Minerals whose presence is due to the alteration of the original minerals.

SEDIMENTARY. A term designating those rocks that consist of particles deposited 

under water.

SEGREGATION. The scientific term for "knot;" a collection of material separated 

from other material. A VEIN OF SEGREGATION is one formed by the filling of 

a fissure with mineral matter originating in the surrounding rock.

SERICITE. A more or less fibrous form of muscovite (potash mica), often resulting 

from the alteration of feldspar.
220. ' COMMERCIAL GRANITES OF MASS., N. H., AND R. I.

SHAKES. Quarrymen's term to designate a somewhat minute close-joint structure, 

which forms along the sheet surface as a result of weathering.

SHEET QUARRY. . A quarry in which the granite lies in sheets, crossed by wide-spaced 

steep joints. ;

SLICKENSIDES. The polished and grooved faces of a joint or'bed caused by motion 

and friction.

SPECIFIC GRAVITY. The weight of a rock or mineral compared to that of a body of distilled water of the same bulk.

STRAIN-SHEET. Quarrymen's term for granite sheets produced by present compressive strain.

STRATIFIED. A term applied to rock cousisting of originally horizontal beds or strata.

STRIKE. The direction at right-angles to the inclination of a plane of bedding, a sheet, 

or joint, etc.

STRIPPING. The material (sand, clay, soil, etc.) overlying a rock of economic value, 

which must be removed before quarrying.

SUBJOINT. Minor joints diverging from or parallel to the regular joints.

SYNCLINE. A geological term for the trough part of a wave-like sheet or bed of rock.

TILL. A mixture of clay and bowlders deposited by glaciers.

TOEING-IN. Quarrymen's term for the wedging in of the end of a granite sheet under 

 an overhanging joint, probably in consequence of the faulting of the sheets 

along the joint. It is also applied to the overlapping of lenticular sheets.

"ToE NAILS." Curved joints intersecting the sheet structure, in most cases striking 

with the sheets, in some differing from them, in strike 45° or more.

TWIN CRYSTALS. Two adjacent crystals which have formed with the poles of their 

main axes in opposite or different directions.

WEATHERING. The decomposition of a rock owing to the action of the weather.

WHITE HORSE. Term used by quarryrnen to denote a light-colored gneiss, aplite, 

or pegmatite.
INDEX.

A.

Accessory minerals, character of............ 12,217

Acidic, definition of...'...................... 217

Acidic segregations, occurrence and character

of............................... 64

Acknowledgements to those aiding.......... 7-8

Adrian, F. von, on sheets................... 22

Allanite, definition of....................... 217

. American granites, analyses of.............. 13

A. Milne quarry, inclusions at.............. 44

Anderson, Ola, quarry of.................... 152

Anderson quarry, description of...:......... 152

granite of............................. 152-153

structure in, figures showing............ 152

Ansted, D. T., on porosity.................. 16

Anticline, definition of...................... 217

Aplite, definition of......................... 217

Aplite dikes, occurrence and character of.... 32-33

 Armbrust quarry, rift at.................... 21

Auburn, N. H., geology near................ 186

granite at............................. 186-187

classification of...................... 211

color of........................... 186,211

B.

Babson Farm quarry, description of......... 132

granite of............................... 132

knots in......f. ...................... 125,132

Badger Brothers, quarry of.................. 105

Ballou, J. C., quarry of..................... 100

Ballou quarry, description of.............. 100-101

dike in........................... 49-50,95,101

granite................................ 100-101

sheets in............................... 96,101

Barre, Vt., granite at........................ 44,46

Bartlett, W. C., on expansion............... 16

Basic, definition of.......................... 217

Basic dikes, description of................... 33-34

schistosity of............................ 59-60

Bay View dark granite prospect, description

of............................... 139

granite of............................... 139

Becker, G. F., on joints..................... 29-30

on sheets................................ 24-25

Becket, Mass., blasting at................... 71

contact at............................... 63-64

geology near.......................... 140-141

granite from............................ 44,46

analysis of..............'....... ..... 142

classification of...................... 211

color of............................ 141,211

description of..................... 141-144

lime carbonate in ................... 142

minerals in.......................... 141

Page. 

Becket, Mass., joint faces at................ 61

quarry at............................. 141-144

topography near........................ 140

Bibliography.......................... 41,215-217

Bishop, J. B., quarry of..................... 176

Bishop quarry, description of................ 176

granite of................................ 176

Black granite, bibliography of............... 41

chemical composition of................. 39-40

classification of.......................... 38

contrast in............................... 40-41

mineral composition of................... 39-40

origin of................................. 38-39

physical properties of.................... 40-41.

texture of................................. 40

Black Hills, Wyo., quartzite from........... 45-46

Black horse, definition of.................... 217

Blasting, methods of......................... 71

Blind seams, definition of......'.............. 217

Blood Ledge quarry, description of........ 135-137

granite of.............................. 135-137

structure in, figure showing.............. 136

Bowlder quarries, definition of............... 217

occurrence and character of.............. 30

Branner,'J. C.. on sheets..................... 23

Breakwater Construction and Engineering Co,

quarry of........................ 132

Breakwater quarry, description of......... 132-133

granite of.............. '................ 132-133

Buckley, E. B., on porosity.............. 16-17,67

o*n rift................................... 46-47

on vitreousness.......................... 17

Bunker Hill quarry, granite of............... 112

C. 

Calcite, discoloration from.................... 12

Calder & Carnie, quarry of................... 203

Calder and Carnie quarry, description of... 203-204 

granite of....'........................... 203-204

veins at.............................. 43-44,203

Canney, Edwin, quarry of................... 133

Canney quarry, description of............. 133-134

granite of................................. 134

Cape Ann, map of, showing quarry locations.... 122

Carlton, A. E., quarry of.................... 175

Carlton quarry, description of................ i75

granite of................................ 175

Carroll quarry, description of................ 87-89

granite of................................ 87-89

analysis of........................... 88

Cashman, John, quarry of................... 113

Cashman quarry, description of........... 113-114

granite of.............................. 113-114

color of.........:................ 53-55,113

221
222 INDEX.

Page. 

Catto Granite Co., quarry of................. 199

Catto quarry, description of............... 199-200

granite of.............................. 199-200

structure in, description of............... 199

Channel, definition of........................ 217

Chapman quarry, description of............. 205

Charpentier, J. F. W., on rift................ 19

Chemical composition, relative importance

of............................... 12

Cheves, W. R., quarries of................ 134,135

Cheves Green Granite Co.. description of..... 135

granite of............................... 135

Classification, scientific and economic 17-18,210-212 

Cleavage, definition of....................... 217

Close jointed, definition of................... 217

Coarse grained, definition of................. 14

Cohesiveness, data on....................... 15

Color. See Granite; Feldspar.

Comolli Brothers & Co., quarry of........... 167

Comolli quarry, description of............. 167-168

granite in............................. 167-168

Compressive strain, effects of.......... 25,27,28-29

effects of, view of........................ 200

Conclusions, statement of................... 215

Concord, N. H., blasting at................. 71

granite of, analysis of.................... 150

granite of, classification of............... 211

color of......................... 52,146,211

lime carbonate in ................... 48

joint faces at............................ 60-61

quarries of, description of............. 147-156

geology of......................... 147-156

topography near........................ 145

Conway, N. H., granite of, analyses of.... 180,183

granite of, description of.............. 178-186

lime carbonate in............. 179,180,185

minerals in ........178,179-180,182-183,185

map of, showing quarries................ 177

quarries of, description of............... 179

geology of......................... 177-178

topography near...................... 176-177

Conway granite, distribution of............. 144

Cooling under pressure, sheets dpe to........ 27

Coons, A. T., statistics by................. 213-214

Crawford, J. J., on sheets.................... 23

Crocus, definition of......................... 217

Crosby, W. O., on joints.................... 29

Crowley, P., quarry of...................... 153

Crowley quarry, description of .............. 153

granite of............................... 153

Crumb quarry, description of............. 209-210

granite of............................. 209-210

Crumb Quarry Co., quarry of............... ' 209

Crush-border, definition of.................. 217

Crushing strength, relation of, to rift......... 22

Cut-off, definition of......................... 218

Cutting, H. A., on vitreousness.............. 17

Cutting quarry, description of............... 78-80

dikes at................................. 59

granite of................................ 78-80

analysis of........................... 79

D.

Daley, R. A., on discoloration............... 36

Dana, J. D., on rift.......................... 20

Daniels Granite Co., quarry of............... 168

Page. 

Daniels quarry, flow at...................... 64

inclusions at............................. 158

See also Souhegan quarry. 

Daw, A. W. and Z. W., on blasting.......... 70

Decomposition, occurrence and character of.. 36-38 

Deep Pit quarry, description of............ 137-139

faulting in............................... 31

granite'of.............................. 137-139

structure in, figure showing............. 138

view of...............................'... 126

Dell Hitchcock quarry, description of........ 98-99

discolora ion at....................... 57,58,98

granite of................................ 98-99

minerals in.............................. 60,98

sheets in................................. 96,98

view of.................................. 96

Dendrites, definition of...................... 218

Devils Rock quarry, description of........ 134-135

granite of.............................. 134-135

Diabase, occurrence and character of......... 39

See also Black granite. 

Dikes, definition of.......................... 218

occurrence and character of.............. 49-51

See also Granitic dikes; Basic dikes; Pegmatite; particular quarries. 

Dimension stone, definition of............... 218

Diorite, occurrence and character of.......... 39

See also Black granite. 

Dip, definition of............................ 218

Discoloration, occurrence and character of... 31, 

35-36,56-58, 

test for.................................. 65

Dixon quarry, description of... ............ 204

granite of................................ 204

D jerf & Winquist, quarry of................. 101

Djerf & Winquist quarry, description of... 101-102 

dike in................................. 95,101

granite of.............................. 101-102

color of............................. 53,100

Domes, origin of............................. 29

Drift, definition of...........I.:............. 218

Drumlin, definition of....................... 218

Dufly,N. J., prospect of..................... 156

Duff y prospect, description of............... 156

granite of............................... 156

East quarry, description of.................. 80-83

granite of............................... 80-83

analysis of.......................... 81

joint faces in............................ 61,82

structure in, figure showing............. 52

Echo Lake quarry, description of........... 86-87

granite of................................ 87

Elasticity, dataon.......................... 16

Emerson, B. K., on granite................. 42-43

Emerson, B. K., and Perry, J. H., on Milford ,

granite.................... 59,60,73-75

Emmons, S. F., on sheets................... 25

Enysand Fox, on rift....................... 19

Erosion, definition of........................ 218

work of................................. 10

European granite, analyses of............... 13

Exfoliation, definition of.................... 218

Expansibility, dataon...................... 16,68

Expansive stress, sheets due to.....:........ 27

Explosives, use of.......................... 70-71
INDEX. 223

F. Page.

Faulting, definition of ....................... 218

Faults, occurrence and character of .......... 31

Feldspar, colors of .......................... 51-55

cut surfaces of ........................... 55-56

occurrence and character of. .......... 11, 14, 15

Ferruginous waters, discoloration by ..... 36, 57-58

Field & Wild, quarry of ..................... 104

Field & Wild quarry, description of ....... 104-105

granite of ............................... 105

color of ............................. 53, 105

minerals in ............................. 60, 105

rift in..... ............................. 96,105

subjoints in. ........................... 48, 105

Field quarry, dikes in ....................... 48

veins at. ................................ 51

Field work, extent of ........................ 7

Fine grained, definition of ................... 14

Finlay, G. I., on rift. ....................... 21

Fissility, relation of, to paving-block manufacture. ......................... 70

Flat Ledge quarry, description of ......... 126-127

dikes in, effect of ........................ 125

granite of ............................. 126-127

Fletcher & Lahey, quarry of ................ 185

Fletcher & Lahey quarry, description of.. . 185-186 

granite of ............................. 185-186

Flexibility, data on. ........................ 16

Flow gneiss, definition of .................... 19

Flow structure, direction of ................ 47

nature of ......................... 10, 18-19, 218

relation of, to contacts. .................. 62-64

Fort Ann, N. Y., quartzite from ............ 45-46

Fox, Thomas, quarry of ..................... 154

Fox quarry, description of ................ 154-155

granite of ............................. 154-155

structure in, figure showing. ............ 155

Fractures, occurrence and character of ....... 31

Frazer, W. L., quarry of ..................... 204

Frazer quarry, description of .............. 204-205

granite of ................................ 205

Freezing, effects of .......................... 68

utilization of, in splitting ................ 71-72

Fuller, Foley & Co., quarry of.. ............. 139

Fuller quarry, description of ................ 116

G.

Gabbro, occurrence and character of ....... 39

See also Black granite. 

Calvin Granite Co., quarry of ................ 104

Galvin quarry, description of. ............... 104

granite of ................................ 104

color of ............................. 53, 104

subjoints in. ............................ 48

view of .................................. 96

Geodes, definition of. ....................... 218

occurrence and character of. ............. 34-35

Georgia granites, analyses of.. ............... 13

Gilbert, G. K., on sheets.................... 24,25

Glossary of terms. ......................... 217-220

Gold-leaf quarry, description of. ........... 115-116

granite of.. ......................... 94, 115-116

Gourlay Granite Works, quarry of. .......... 205

Grade, classes of. ............................ 14

Grafton quartzite, occurrence and character

of............................... 73

Page. 

Grain, definition of......................... 19,218

Sec also Rift and grain. 

Granite, absorption by...................... '68

analyses of.............................. 13,65

bibliography on.................... 41,215-217

chemical composition of.............. 12-14,65

classification of.................. 17-18, 210-212

cohesiveness of...............'........... 15

color of............................ 18,38,52-55

contacts of, relations of.................. 62-64

conversion of, to glass................... 10

cut surfaces of..................... 40-41,55-56

definition of............................. 9

discoloration of. See Discoloration.

elasticity of............................. 16

expansibility of......................... 16,68

fire tests of.............................. 17,68

flexibility of............................. 16

freezing test of........................... 68

gas in.................................... 14

hardness of........................... 16,66-67

intrusion of, laboratory experiment showing.................................... 10

mineral composition of............ 11-12,65-66

mineral constituents of, percentage of.... 12,66

mineral particles of...................... 10-11

origin of"................................. 9-11

physical properties of.................... 15-17

polish of.................................. 66-67

porosity of............................. 16-17,67

quarries of. See particular quarries. 

quarrying of, terms used in............ 217-220

schist masses in......................... 59^60

specific gravity of........................ 68

strength of............................... 22,67

structure of.............................. 18-32

structure of. See also Faults; Flow structure; Fractures; Grain; Headings; 

Joints; Sheets; Shakes, 

technologic terms of................... 217-220

tests of.................................. 65-68

texture of......................... 10-11,14-15.

variations in............................. 32-35

See also Dikes; Geodes; Inclusions;

Segregations; Veins, 

varieties of, uses for...................... 69

vitreousness of........................... 17

weight of................................ 15,68

Granite and gneiss, contact of................ 62-64

contact of, view of..................... 158,206

Granite Railway Co. (Quincy), quarry of.... 109

Granite Railway quarry (of Concord), description of.................... 149-151

granite of.............................. 149-151

analysis of........................... 150

Granite Railway quarry (of Quincy), description of.......................... 109-112

dikes in................................ 95,111

granite of.............................. 109-112

joint faces in......................... 61-62,111

minerals in......................... 60,110-111

structure in, figure showing.............. Ill

Granitic dikes, description of................ 32-33

Granitic quartz, character of................ 56

Grout, definition of.......................... 218

Grow-on, definition Of....................... 218
224 INDEX.

H.

Page. 

Hardness, data on........................... 16

test of................................... 66-67

Hard-way, definition of....................... 218

Hardwick, C. H., & Co., quarry of........... 102

Hard wick quarry, description of........... 102-104

inclusions at.............:.............. 44

graniteof.......................... 102-103,104

analysis of............................ 93

Harris, G. F., on sheets...................... 23

Hawes, G. W., onhardness.................. 66

Hayden, H. W., quarry of................... 169

Hay den quarry, description of............. 169-170

dikes in................................ 48,170

granite in.............................. 169-170

Headings, definition of...................... 218

occurrence and character of.............. 30

Heading seam, definition of................. 218

Hematite, definition of...................... 218

Henneberry & Halligan, quarry of.......... 153

Henneberry & Halligan quarry, description

of............................. 153-154

granite of............................. 153-154

Herrmann, O., on joints...:...........-...... 29

on rift................................... 21

on sheets................................ 23-24

Hitchcock, C. H., on New Hampshire geology....................... 144,186,187

on sheets................................ 23

Hitchcock, Edward, on sheets............... 22

Hitners (H. A.) Sons Co., quarry of......... 184

Hollis quarry, description of.............. 151-152

. granite of............................. 151-152

Hopkinton quarry, description of........... 86

granite of............................... 86

Hornblende, occurrence and character of.... 11

Howe, Ernest, experiment by............... 10

Hudson & Chester Granite Co., quarry of.... 141

Hudson & Chester Granite Go's quarry, description of.................... 141-144

granite of.............................. 141-144

joint faces in........................... 61,142

I. 

Igneous, definition of........................ 218

Inclusions, occurrence and character of...... 35

Irish granites, gas in........................ 14

J.

Joint faces, minerals on..................... 60-62

Joints, definition of.......................... 218

origin and occurrence of................. 29-30

See also Subjoints.

K.

Kaolin, definition of......................... 218

Kaolinization, definition of.................. 218

Kittredge, E. I., quarry of.'................. 161

Kittredge quarry, description of........... 161-162

granite of.............................. 161-162

Klondike quarry, contact at................. 63

description of......................... 205-207

flow at.................................. 47

graniteof...................'........... 205-207

structure in, figure showing............. 206

Knots, definition of......................... 218

occurrence and character of.............. 34

L.

Page. 

Knox hole, definition of..................... 218

Lake Winnepesaukee gneiss, occurrence of.. 144 

Lepage Granite Co., quarry of............... 112

Lepage quarry, description of............. 112-113

discoloration in......................... 57,113

granite of.............................. 112-113

color of............................. 53,112

Lewis hole, definition of..................... 218

Lime carbonate, percentage of, in granite.... 12,65

See also particular localities. 

Limonite, definition of...................... 218

Longfellow quarry, decomposition in........ 37

Lovejoy Granfte Co., quarry of.............. 100

Lovejoy quarry, description of............. 160-161

granite of.............................. 160-161

Lower Swenson quarry. See Hollis quarry.

M.

McKenzie & Pattison quarry, granite of..... 104

Madison, N. H., granite at................. 185-186

granite at, classification of............... 211

color of............................ 185,211

Magnetite, discoloration from................ 57-58

Maguire & O'Heron, quarry of............... 119

Maguire & O'Heron quarry, description of. 119-120 

granite of.............................. 119-120

Maguire quarry, description of............... 86

granite of................................ 86

Maine and New Hampshire Granite Co., quarries of......................... 179,182

Mannex, T. F., quarry of.................... 107

Maps of Conway, N. H., showing quarry

locations........................ 177

of Milford, Mass., showing quarry loca-

 tions............................ 74

of Milford, N. H., showing quarry locations............................ 157

of New E ngland, showing granite centers. 74 

of Quincy, showing quarry locations..... 90

of Rockport, showing quarry locations... 122 

of Westerly and Niantic, showing quarry

locations........................ 189

Marr & Gordon quarry, inclusions at........ 46

Massachusetts granites and quarries in,

descriptions of................ 73-144

granites and quarries in, production 

from.................................. 214

Massachusetts Pink quarry, description of... 85 

dikes at. ................................. 59,85

granite at............................... 85

Massachusetts Pink Granite Co., quarries of. 85,86 

Matrix, definition of......................... 218

Medium grained, definition of............... 14

Merrill, G. P., on cutting of granite....... 40-41,56

on porosity.............................. 17

on sheets................................ 23-24

on weathering............................ 38

Merry Mount Granite Co., quarry of......... 99

Merry Mount Quarry, description of........ 99-100

dike in.................................. 95,99

granite of............................... 99-100

Mica, occurrence and character of............ 11

Milford, Mass., blasting at................... 71

flow structure at.....................'... 19

geology at............................... 73-75

granite at, analyses of....... 76-77,79,81,84,88
INDEX. 225

Page.

Milford, Mass., granite at, classification of... 211 

granite at, color of............ 52,55,75,76,211

cut surfaces of....................... 56

description of........................ 73-90

lime carbonate in................ 77,79,89

minerals in................. 75-76,78,81,89

joint faces at............................ 61

quarries at........................... 73,78-90

geology of........................... 77-78

location of, map showing............ 74

rift and grain at........................; 47

schistose dikes at........................ 59

storage yard at.......................... 178

topography at........................... 73

Milford, N. H., blasting at................... 71

contact at............................... 02-63

figure showing....................... 63

view of.............................. 158

dikes at, view of......................... 158

discoloration at.......................... 58

flow at............................... 19,47,64

granite at................................ 44,46

classification of.................... 211,212

color of........................ 159,211,212

description of...................... 159-lfiO

lime carbonate in...... 160-161,168-169,171

minerals in................ 159,104,171,174

map of, showing quarries................ 157

quarries of, descriptions of............. 160-176

geology of......................... 158-159

topography near....................... 156-157

Milford granite, description of............... 73-77

Milford Granite Co.'s quarries, contact in.... 62-63

description of............................ 173

dikes and capping in.................. 158,173

granite of. ................................ 173

inclusions at............................. 44

seams at................................. 51,173

Milford Nashua Lake Street Granite Co.,

quarry of........................ 168

Milford Quarry and Construction Co., quarry

of............................... 103

Milford Stone Co., history of................. 78

quarries of............................ 78,80,83

Millimeter, definition of..................... 219

. Milton, quarries in, descriptions of......... 118-120

Minerals, arrangement of.................... 15

character of.............................. 11-12

forms of................................. 14

paragenesis of........................... 15

particles of, size of....................... 10-11

percentage of............................ 12

estimation of........................ 8,66

See also particular localities. 

Monolith, definition of....................... 219

Morrison quarry, inclusions at............... 40

Motion, definition of......................... 219

Mount Pleasant quarry, description of..... 118-119

granite in............................. 118-119

inclusions at............................. 44

minerals in .............................. 00,118

Mount Pleasant Quarry Co., quarry of....... 118

Muscovite veins, occurrence and character of. 51

N.

Naumann, C. F., on rift..................... 19

Newall, Joseph, & Co., quarry of............ 207

50193 Bull. 354 08 15

Page. 

Newall quarry, description of............. 207-209

granite of.............................. 207-209

New East quarry, granite of. ................. 197

New England, map of, showing granite

centers.......................... 74

New England Granite Works, quarries

of......................... 147,194,200

New England Granite Works quarry, description of.................... 147-149

granite of............ ................. 147-149

strain at................................. 28,148

New England quarry, description of....... 194-197

granite of.............................. 194-197

New Hampshire, geology of............... 144-145

granites and quarries in, descriptions of. 144-188 

production from..................... 214

New Westerly Granite Co., quarry of......... 173

New Westerly quarry, description of...... 173-174

granite of.............................. 173-175

Niantic, R. I., contact at.................... 63

contact at, view of...................... 206

flow at.................................. 47

geology at............................. 188-190

granite at, analyses of................... 193

description of......................... 191-194

lime carbonate in.............. 193,20.5-206,208

minerals in........................ 192,207-208

map of, showing quarries................ 189

quarries of, description of.............. 205-210

geology of......................... 190-191

topography near........................ 188

Nickerson, W. E., quarries of............... 133

Nickerson quarries, description of........... 133

granite of................................ 133

Norcross quarry, description of.............. 83

granite of................................ 83

Norcross Milford Pink Granite Co., quarry of. 80 

North Con way, granite at................... 184

granite a.t, classification of............... 211

color of............................ 211,184

North Milford Granite Co., quarry of........ 87

North Milford quarry, description of........ 87

granite of................................ 87

0. 

Ophitic, definition of....................... 219

Orc'i, definition of........................... 219

occurrence and character of.............. 55

Ovoidal weathering, occurrence and character

of............................... 58-59

Palacho, Charles, on Ballou dike............. 49

Palmer quarry, decomposition at............ 37

Paraclis quarry, description of............... 168

granite of................................ 168

Paragenesis, character of..................... 15

Paving blocks, production of, relation of fissility to......................... 70

Pease quarry, contactat..................... 62-63

contact at, figure showing............... 63

description of......................... 163-164

granite in............................. 163-104

Pegmatite, definition of..................... 219

dikes of................................. 48-49

view of.............................. 158

occurrence and character of........... 33,48-49
226 INDEX.

Page.

Perry, J. H., and Emerson, B. K., on. Milford granite. .'.............. 59,60,73-75

Perry, W. H., & Co., quarries of....... 155,187,188

Perry quarry, description of................ 155-156

granite of.............................. 155-156

Pigeon Cove.prospect, porphyry of......... 139-140

porphyry of, figure showing.............. 140

Pigeon Hill Granite Co., quarries of........ 128,131

Pigeon Hill quarries, description of......... 128-131

granite of.............................. 128-131

strength of..........:................ 129

structure in, figure showing.............. 130

view of................................... 126

Plagioclase, definition of..................... 219

Pleasant Beach, Me., granite from ........... 42

Polarized light, definition of.................. 219

Polish, testof................................ 66

Porosity, data on......-...:.................. 16-17

Forphyritic, definition of. ..................... 219

Po'tsch, , on rift.......................... 19

Pressure, necessity for, in formation of granite............................... 9-10

Production, data on.......................... 214

Pseudomorph, definition of.................. 219

Pyrite, discoloration from..................;. 12,36

Quarries, description of...................... 73-210

description of, method of................. 72

location of, maps showing................ 74,

. 90, 122,157,177,189 

Quarrying, factors in......................... 69-72

Quarry terms, meaning of.................... 217

Quartz, occurence and character of........... 11

Quartz, granitic, character of................. 56

Quartz monzonite, definition of.............. 219

Quincy, Mass., blasting at................... 71

dikes at.....:....................'........ 95

geology near........................ 90-91,95-97

granite of, analysis of..................... 93

ballot, view of....................... 106

classification of....................... 211

color of........................... 53-55,211

description of........................ 91-94

discoloration of....................... 57,58

lime carbonate at................... 93-94

99,100,110,118 

minerals in........................... 60,

92-93,106,108,110,115,119 

joints in................................. 97

quarries of.............................. 98-120

geology of..............1.............. 95-97

location of, map showing............. 90

rift at....... 1............................ 96

segregations at........................... 95

sheet structure at........................ 96-97

topography near......................... 90

Quincy Quarries Co., quarries of........ 98,115,116

R. 

Random stone, definition of.................. 219

Rath, G. von, on rift........................ 19-20

Redstone quarries, N. H., blasting at........ '71

contact at............................... IS

description of.......................... 179-183

Pgae. 

Redstone quarries, N. H., granite of...... 179-184

granite, analyses of. ^................. 180,183

classification of...................... 211

colorof................. 56,179,180,182,211

joint faces at........................... 62,181

rift and grain at.............. 42,44,47,181,183

figures showing...................... 43

section of, figure showing................ 53

view of.................................. 178

Redstone quarry, R. I., description of..... 200-202

granite at............................. 200-202

color of............................. 52,200

Reyer, Ed., on. rift.......................... 20

Rhode Island, granites and quarries of...... 188-210

granites and quarries of, production from. 214 

Riebeckite, occurrence and character of...... 60-60

Reinhalter quarry, description of.......... 107-108

granite of.............................. 107-108

rift in.................................. 96,108

sheets in........................ 96-97,107-108

structure of, figure showing.............. 108

Rift, definition of............................ 219

Rift and grain, discussion of................. 19-22

relation of, to fluidal cavities............ 42-47

relation of, to strength................... 22

Riiber, C. C., on rift......................... 20

Rockport, Mass., blasting at................. 71

geology near............................. 121

granite at, analysis of.'................... 123

classification of...................... 211

color of............................. 52,211

discoloration of...................... 57,69

description of........................ 121

lime carbonate in.................. 126,129

minerals in........ 122-124,127,129,136,137

location of; map showing................ 122

porphyry at........................... 139-140

quarries of, description of.............. 126-139

 dikes in............................. 125

geology of.......................... 125-126

topography at........................... 121

Rockport Granite Co., quarries of.............. 50,

126,127,132,135,137,139 

Rockport Granite Co.'s quarry, dike in...... 50-51

dike in, section of, figure showing....... 50

Rogers quarry, description of.............. 116-117 .

granite of.............................. 116-117

minerals in..................... 60,116-117

structure in, figure showing............. 117

Rosenbusch, H., on fiuidal cavities.......... 44,45

Rosiwal method, use of ..................... 8,66

Run, definition of........................... 219

S.

Sahlsten quarry, description of.............. 102

. granite of................................ 102

Salt horse, definition of...................... 219

Sand seams, definition of.................... 219

See also Muscovite veins. 

Sand streaks, definition of................... 219

Sap, definition of............................ 219

discoloration from.............. 31,35-36,56-58

Scotch granites, gas in....................... 14

Sartori (Angelo) & Bros., quarry of.......... 120
INDEX. 227

 Page. 

Sartori quarry, description 01................ 120

granite of................................ 120

color of............................. 54,120

Savo Granite Co. quarry of................. 114

Savo'quarry, description of................ 114-115

granite of.............................. 114-115

color of............................. 54,114

Schist, definition of.......................... 219

dike-like masses of...................... 59-60

Schistosity, nature of....................... 10> 219

Scientific terms, definitions of............. 217-220

Seam, definition of.......................... 219

Secondary minerals, character of...........; 12,219

Sedgwick, Adam, on rift.................... 19

Sedimentary, definition of................... 219

Segregations, definition of................... 219

occurrence and character of.............. 34,64

Sericite, definition of........................ 219

Shakes, definition of......................... 220

occurrence aud character of... '........... 31

Shaler, U.S., on sheets.....................: 23

on weathering........................... 58

Sheet quarry, definition of.................. 220

Sheet structure, artificial production of... 25-26,72 

discussion of............................. 22-26

origin of................................. 26-29

relations of, to contact................... 62-64

water in................................. 29

Sl-Ckensides, definition.of.................... 220

Smith, J. P., on California arkose............ 61

Smith, W. B., on quarry methods........... 70

Smith Granite Co., quarries of............. 197,202

Smith North quarry, description of........ 202-203

granite of.............................. 202-203

Smith quarry, description of.............. 197-199

granite of.............................. 197-199

structure in, figure showing.............. 198

Solar heat, sheets due to.................. 27,28-29

Souhegan quarry, description of........... 168-169

granite of.............................. 168-169

Specific gravity, data on..................... 68

definition of............................. 220

Stone Mountain, Ga., sheets at.............. 24.29

Strain-sheet, definition of.................... 220

Stratified, definition of...................... 220

Strength, data on............................ 22,67

Strike, definition of......................... 220

Stripping, definition of...................... 220

Structure, nature of......................... 18-32

Subjoints, nature of........................ 32,220

origin of................................. 48

See also Joints. 

Sunapee, N. H., geology at..................' 187

granite at............................. 188-189

classification of.................... 211,212

color of........................ 188,211,212

Swedish granites, analyses of................ 13

Sweeney Granite Works, quarry of.......... 204

Swenson, John, quarries of................ 149,151

Swingle quarry, description of............. 108-109

granite of............................. 108-109

rift in..'................................ 96,109

structure in, figures showing............ 109

Syncline, definition of....................... 220

T. Page.

Tarr, R. S., on rift.......................... 20

Temperature, relation of, to blasting........ 71

Tests, scope of.............................. 65-68

Texture, character of............... 10-11,14-15,40

Till, definition of............................ 220

Toeing-in, definition of...................... 220

Toe nails, definition of...................... 220

occurrence and character of............. 30

Tonella & Sons, quarries of................ 164,165

Tonellaquarries, description of............ 164-167

dikes and capping in.............. 158,165,166

granite in............................. 164-167

inclusions in.......................... 158,165

Turner, N. W., on sheets.................... 24

Twin crystals, definition, of.................. 220

U.

Upper Pigeon Hill quarry, description of.... 131

granite of............................... 131

strain in................................ 126

structure in, figures showing............ 131

Upper Swenson quarry. See Granite Hallway quarry of Concord.

V.

Value, data on............................ 213-214

Van Hise, C. K., on fluidal cavities......... 45

Veins, occurrence of......................... 33

straining of, effects of..................... 48

Vitreousness, data on....................... 17

Vogt, J. H. L., on sheets......... r.......... 23

W.

Warth, H., on sheets........................ 25-28

Washington, H. S., on granite............. 43

Water, discoloration due to................. 35-36

Weathering, definition of................... 220

. effects of...........:................... 37-38

sheets due to........................... 27-28

Weathering, spheroidal, nature of........... 58

view of................................. 200

Webb quarry description of................ 89-90

granite of............................... 89-90

Webb Pink Granite Co., quarries of..... 87,89,90

Weight, data on......................... 15,40,68

West Dummerston, Vt., compressive strain

at.............................. 25,28

compressive strain at, view showing.... 200

Westerly, R. I., blasting at................. 71

geology at............................ 188-190

granite of, analyses of................... 193

carving from, view of............... 206

classification ot........'.........-.. 211,212

color of........................ 52,211,212

cut surfaces of...................... 56

description of.................... 191-194

lime carbonate in. 193,194,195-196,200-201 

minerals in................... 192,195,200

map of, showing quarries............... 189

quarries of, description of............. 194-205

geology of........................ 190-191

rift and grain at........................ 43-44

topography of.......................... 188
228 INDEX.

 Page. 

Westerly, R. I., weathering ac............. 58-59

plate showing..'.................... 200

West quarry, description of................ 83-85

dikes at................................ 59,84

graniteof...................... ........ 83-85

analysis of......................... 84

West Quincy, granite at, color of........... 53-54

White horse, definition of.................. 220

White Mountain quarry, description of..... 184

granite of............................... 184

inclusions at............................ 44

Whitney, J. D., on sheets.................. 22

Whittle, C. L., on rift................... 20-21,42

Wigwam quarry, description of........... 105-106

Page. 

Wigwam quarry, discoloration at.......... 57,106

granite of............................. 105-107

Williams, J. F., on hardness................ 67

Woodworth, J. B. ; on subjoints............ . 32

Young quarry, description of............. 170-172

dikes in............................... 48,172

view of.............................. 158

granite of............................. 170-172

structure in, figure showing............ 172

Young's Sons & Co., quarry of............. 170

Z. 

Zirkel, F., onrift........................... 20

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