The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-03-30
AMERICAN BUILDING STONE
The Strongest Bears Pr.ssurs Of "a 600
Pounds Per Cable Inch.

The Strongest Bears Pressure of "a. 900
Pounds Per Cullc Inch.
The modern system OF construction. by
which .lht- az che tail buildu-s now 20
great feature OF most American citic- are
transferred from the walls 70 the steel or
iron TRUSS framing. has brought about
curious change a. tu the qualities demand
ed boo building stone. Formerly ID was es-
sent.al that the stone Of the walls of % nigh
building should Boz capable 81 BEARING eu0r-
NOUS weights without crushing Now 10
l. only necessary that the stone should be
handsome iu appearance and Of moderate
strength, a- DO is used only facing ia
Abe tall buildlug-
II H. the application Of the truss princi-
pie 60 tAe framing of buildings. indeed.
that renders The 10 and 20 story CONNER
cial and industrial towers OF today practi-
cable, for TO make the walls thick enough
in the lower courses Co stand the wei ght Of
some oi the high structures nowadays put
on narrow lots boz many cases would be TO
Use up hall Che area devoted to the build.
ing with foundation walls.
The strongest stone known 70 American
builders viii bear a pressure of2fOO0 pounds
to the cubic inch The trap rocks OF New
jersey aud the d0lcritc- OF Staten Island
viii both take this weight, which is some
what IN excess of the capabilities OF the
grauites. Thus the granite of Rhode Island
brushes when the pressure reaches more
than 400 pounds TO the cubic inch. that
OF Virginia viii bear ~ go pounds and
that of Maryland 1880 pounds The
strength of the GRANTEES Of Maine, New
Hampshire aud Vermont varies somewhat,
but not greatly from these figures, and the
strength Of granite hns been the quality
that has most recommended it in the past.
The strongest marbles In the world are
from American quarries and come from
Lee, Mas. They will bear the weight OF
10 40 pound, TO the cubic inch The mar
bic Of TuchahOe, y. y, will bear l. $50
pounds 90 the inch, and this Is in exces Of
the strength Of some OF the Fundy red
granite,, which are capable OF bearing only
ll,sl2 pounds. The statuary marble Of
Carara viii bear only g,723. The strongest
limestone will support 1890 pounds u Tie
cubic inch aud b. l. quarr.ed in the vicinity
Of Kingston. y. Y. The Empire Sdstss Is
especially rich in limestone quafIirs. tine
products u which are greatly valued for
their variety of color. That Of GlenE abs
Is jet black and viii take On a high pol sh.
The stone Of Medina, Albion and Lock port
is Of various gray shades. and there are
cream and dove tinted stones found in other
libtA4DlAa7 u Alit ri|AhNs sum- Oh tnt Hhll-
soonest light shaded limestone i. found in
Florida and the Bermudas.
The Ohio iime-tOne- are quite the equal
Of any in America aud are k,yorites ia Gin
cinuati, Cleveland and Columbus a most
valuable propUJy OF the OHIO limestones
is their power Of resisting fire, a quality
shared by the limestoncs Of northern Iudi-
ana and Illinois These stone. are auarfied
in slabs, and at one time IN the geological
history OF the earth formed part OF the
beach or bottom Of the seas Of the Niagara
period.
Americans are much more lavish in the
use Of bright colored building stones than
the English or any other northern people,
fact that was noted 90 years ago by a
titled English visitor to this country who.
in a letter to a British periodical, drew "A
parallel between the cheerful aspect pre-
scented by American facades and the som Der
appearance Of the English fronts, TO the de-
cided disadvantage Of the latter -Philadel-
phia North American.