Litchfield enquirer., 1874-11-26

EAST CANAAN Probably no 1 industry in Western Connecticut is in 8 more thriving condition than the quarr1es in East Canaan, which are supplying mar ble for Enc construction of the State House in Hartford. Between trains last Saturday gave us thirty five minutes at these quarfies, which time we found was
 proftably and pleasantly spent in looking aboat ttheEvpr1! glEonfsteafn drills are
 now emplsyed pBerka out the marble, and an examinatieaS Sof these alone, as they
 were at work, boring and channeling the beaptifal iaafble is to . n0vice well worth the trouble and expense of visiting the Lquarries- Anew diamond drill channeler, which has but very recently been put at work here, is marvel It works two spin de drills, which, having conical points, l with diamonds set in them, will bore with astonishing rapidity two holes at time. It can be made to drill two holes, 3-4 inches in. diameter a foot each, a minute,
 but this extraordinary speed is not man.
 tained as an average. Besides this new machine, there are two steam channeling gangs of drills, working one on each side of it; also horizontal or gadder drill, for cutting out the blocks from, the bot tom After the dirt IS removed and sec tion of the surface of the marble made clean, channels are cut from ten to forty l or fifty feet in length, according as the
 condition of the surface will admit, and six feet deep. These longitudinal sections
 are then sliced into blocks of various
 thickness, as may be required for the diff ferent kind of work, after which they are
 taken to the saw mill near by and split, the saws leaving a very smooth and beau, tiful surface for the exterior of the build ing. This mill for saving the stone ap- pears to have been built with view to permanent business of stone saving at
 that place saws, of which there are
 four, are IS feet long, IA inches wide, and 18th of an inch thick. On the cutting edge of the saws are groups of diamonds placed, twelve inches apart. They are sufficiently large to saw through a stone
 l2 feet long and 5 feet deep, and are driv- en by 501 horse power engine. These
 diamond saws are also capable of cutting
 with extraordinary rapidity, the twenty
 feet blocks being sawed from 10 inches to
 foot in an hours time. The diamonds
 are imported from Brazil, and cost, on an
 average, about $4.O0 each, and as each
 saw carries ninety diamonds, the expense
 of this one item alone would be regarded ttS ucoFys O1u uOb LIl0 SE0ab duOuub O4 work they will do, before being worn out, come into the consideration. This East Canaan marble IS very beautiful, and the fact that it was selected from among a large number of samples, as of a quality superior to all the others, for building purposes, is evidence enough of it's merits
 and we are informed there is every evi-
 dence of the supply being inexhaustible, which if trua will astahliSh thara a
 branch ofindustry of no small importance.
 The quarries are owned and worked by
 Alex. Maxwell, Esq. of New York city.
 who has spent already, fin the preparation
 for the work, about $70, 900. and it lsn't
 done yet. The cost of this marble is
 about M. .O0.p per cubic foot, delivered at
 the depot in East Canaan; and, with their
 present facilities, they are able to ship
 from three to four car loads a day to
 Hartford. Two huge derricks, strong
 enough to lift the universe and part of
 Rhode Island, are now employed here;
 but there are not euough. Another, and
 a much larger and stronger one, is in pro-
 cess of erection, as we'll as other improve
 ments constantly being added to facilitate
 the work. About fifty men are employed
 here; but the introduction of improved
 machinery is taking the place and doing
 the work of the men, till the number re-
 quired is now not nearly 30 large as at
 first. t.-,Salis6ury NeaOs.