Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1867-12-12
RUTLAND HERALD.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1857.
LooALIrY-wHsRs YocSD.

Meal, asd covered by earth, the surface
Indications are boulders and detached
fragments OF marble character, mixed
in the oyerlping earth. Marble Is rare
ly found In the vicinity Of Platonic rocks,
except in the case Of Trap, in the form OF
dykes or needles. This frequently APP
pears among the marbles, having pushed
its way up from below through the crew
ices of the vertical masses, or meeting
The resistance OF the horizontal strata, it
hss bulged them upward, cracking and
shattering the layers in all directions,
and often forcing Its way to the surface.
Limestone deposits containing marble
are usually backed up, or covered by
fossiliferous slate. But organic fosils are
rarely found In marble. Whenever or
ganic remains are discovered in marble
it is always upon the extreme edge OF
the layers, as though fioated by wind or
current into some quiet indentstion on
The shore OF the ancient sea, where sink
ing, they remained imbedded in the cal
careous deposit at the bottom.
In America marble Is usually found in
valleys, although sometimes appearing
upon the summit or sides of mountain
ranges, and even upon isolated hills.
That discovered in valleys, in this coun-
try, is, as a general rule, finer and more
valuable than that upon the mountains.
The most extensive range of marble yet
discovered in America, Is found to COM
mence near the sea board in Massachu-
sets, and extending in northerly d.
rection strikes the State Of Vermont in
Bennington county, thence bending
slightly to the west, passes through
that State, along the valleys of Otter
Greek and Lake Champlain, till 1t inter-
sects the valley of the st. Lawrence. On
this range there are quarries worked at
intervals along It's whole extent. The
first, near its southern end, at Stock
bridge, where the marble is of coarse
texture and only suitable for building
purposes. Proceeding northerly we find
more extensi'e quarries in Bennington
county, VT, producing somewhat bet
Ter grade OF marble. In Rutland and
Addison counties, on the same general
range, are the most extensive quarries
yet opened in this country. And In
these two counties alone, most Of the
American marble, which is suitable for
mural monuments, statusry and indoor
ornamental work, Is produced. AtRut-
land, VT, very large amount OF marble
of superior quality is annually quarried
and prepared for market. About four
hundred thousand cubic feet OF marble
is raised from the bowels of the earth
and scattered over the country in every
direction each year, from this one local
ity.
In the old world the mountains Of
Italy were, and still are, emphatically
the home of the marble, and from their
exhaustless storehouses, came the ma
terial for the stupendous monuments of
art that adorned both Greece and Rome,
and while the celebrated Grecian sculp.
tors chiseled the purest marble from the
island of Paros, into the life.like stat
ues of her Gods and heroes, they also
adorned and beautifed the homes Of the
ancients with the finely wrought mar.
bles from Penteli, Mt. Hymettus and the
valley of the Nile. The land of David
and Solomon was rich in marble, as wit
ness the magnificent ruins of Palmyra
Balbec and Tadmai's crumbled palaces
and the glowing descriptive history O.
that splendid structure erected by Solo
mon on Mt. Zion, which by its lavish
display Of massive blocks, its hewn ant
sculptured marble, became the wondel
and admiration Of the world. MANY
other countries OF Europe furnished
marble OF different varieties and Of pc
culiar characteristics. France, Spail
and Ireland, have their quarries, mucl
more wrought In former times than now
In Spain the famed ALEXANDRA" wa
built OF marble taken from the quarrie
of Grenada by the dark-browed Moo
from Africa.
The marble monuments of Rome hav
been the wonder of succeeding ages
sud the traveller while viewing the stand
ing monuments of her greatness, o
wondering overwhelmed amid the vast
ness Of her ruins, exclaims; "Fron
whence this world of marble "--and i
pointed to the sunny hills that boun'
his visions limit, beyond the spplal
way.
In America, marbles are found to ex
ist in very many localities. North @
the quarries already mentioned, in Ver
mont, the marble seems to deteriorat
although quarries are worked near Bui
lington, at Isle Is Mott, and at Swan
Ion on the borders of Canada. Their
are extensive quarries, of coarse msrbl
at Hastings and Tuckahoe, in West
chester Co., N. Y, and also, high up i