The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1896-11-12
FACTS ABOUT MARBLE.
How the Rugged Rock Is Converted Init
Polished Nariugn1ed Slabs.

monument or mantel, or even soda water
fount in drug store, and admire the high
ly-polished yarse gated marble, says the New
York IOmmeIfl advertiser, reallze the
amount OF time and labor that mas been ex-
pended In the evolution of the completed
structure from the raw materials. The
highly,colored varieties are found chiefly in
Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, or PORTUGAL
though sometimes in Mexico or AltGria.
The white stone is common in this State
Among the marbles which most frequently
enter into composition of fancy apparatus
are.
Italiau-white, vernal and clouded with blu.
ish gray; Eruriatt-pure porcelain white, sara
gossa shaded cream white, veiRed with dark
gray Algerian and Mexican ouyx--translucen
white, veined with OPAQUE white, yellow, or
pink ;Bardig iglio-delicately veiled gray 'Sarran.
colIn-shaded pearl gray, dashed with camel.
ian red; S.enna-goldan yellow, clouded with
white and yeined with olive and brown, Ten.
neSsee-chocolate frosted with white; Gle ioa
green; Broeatel-rlchly motiled, yellow, plr-
pie brown, white and red; Violet Dfocltst-
purple, notified and veined with golden yellow;
L,sbon-redd sh; Gryuite Of France -dcep red
shaded with red and hruwn; GryOtta Fleure--
purplish red, mottled with pearl white; War
wick-bFilliant red. veined with white; BEL.
gian-yelvely black; African yellow, with
purple VEINS Rouge AntQue-deer red Knox
yille-grayish pink, with light blue vainiBg,
The c0lTed marbles retain their fresh.
ness longer and can be repolished after
many years use.
The marble is extracted from the quarry
IN oblong blocks cut out by means Of
wedges.
Except when designated for siatuary or
building purposes the first thing the manu-
facturer does is to place the block of marble
under gang-saw in order to saw it into
slabs. The gang-saw consists merely OF
series Of parallel saws, to which an oscilla.
ting motion Is impaired while they are kept
fed with sand and water, When they come
from the gang-saw the slabs are generally
about " inches thick, so that they may
dress to one inch when rubbed on both
sides, The slabs are then inspected To the
inexperienced eye the rough slabs are much
alike, and while the good qualities of the
slab are only fully brought out under the
polisher's mop the imperccptible defects
eaN alsl WY H4ulA- IL IL tllGEN-
fore necessary TO detect flaws before the
polishing begins,
The perfect slabs are cut into required
lengths by ripsaw and passed to the rub
bing bed to be rubbed smooth. The rubbing
bed consists Of q solid horizontal cast-irun
wheel about four inches thick and usually
about twelve or thirteen feet in diameter
This wheel is fixed in vertical shaft which
revolves on two chilled steel friction balls,
placed one upon the other and inclosed in a
cast-irun box which is kept well supplied
with oil The box itseE is firmly im0euded
in stone foundation, and the entire s.rucs-
ure is made us true and as steady rs pos
sibe. Ii requires great deal OF care and
attention to keep the rubbing-bed porfc :
true; and it is sometimes necessary To rub
It down for whole week with hluestone in
order to keep the surface smooth.
When the slab leaves the rubbing bed It
is comparatively smooth, and is ready to be
cut out By hand into It's final shape. 1t then
passes into the hands Of the polishers, who
are provided with ru0bers made of ordinary
ticking rolled up into q mop of about thlla
or four inches in diameter and sewed hrmiy
through and through With these they rub
the surface OF the slab back and forth, hour
after hour, until they bring out the high
polish so much admired The marble is
first rubbed with grit, then with puucs.
stone, and then with hone. On some white
marbles oxalic acid is then used, and finally
the finishing touches are given with putty
Of zinc On c0lnred marbles emery and
French putty, prepared with sulphur and
lead. are used Il is estimated that cacu
square foot Of surface polished costs one
man four hours Of steady work
In gliding, four or five gold leaves are
blown into cushion made OF board coy
cred with channels The glider cuts i, into
strips quarter Of an inch wide, lays ii on
the marble with his "tp,n then "eo;tons -
1t on, after which be rubs it down with
line hair brush in order to smooth the laps
and form an even and continuous surface.
he then cleans of the edges with cuttle fish.
Great dexterity is acquired By gilders, and
they seem to handle with the greatest ease
the delicate gold leaf which the slightest
breath Of air is sufficient to carry of. and
which in inexperienced hands is utterly un.
manageable.
The yariegated, dark-colored marbles are
most expensive, but they are also generally
harder and more durable, as well as more
beautiful, than those that are white or iight
eolored. The common white marble, which
is not so valuable from an ornamental point
Of view, has q separate value as being the
best basis for the production Of cslr0onic
acid gas for the manufacture Of " Soda wa
ter and all other carbOnated beverages. and
large trade is done in it for this purpose
II has succeeded whiting and bicarb0nale
Of soda in this respect on account Of its
cheapness. A barrel Of good marble-dust,
weighing about 4OOpUunds, costs SIS. An
equal quantity Of whiting costs about F3 30,
and produces no more gas A like weight
Of blcarbonate Of soda produces q double
amount Of gas, but costs about 81.
AS far as chemical composition is con-
cerned marble and whiting are analogous
both are carbonates Of lime, and when
equally pure both contain the same amount
Of carbonic acid Whiting, however, is
rarely, if ever, as pure as marble. 1t con
sists chiefly Of the remains Of extremely
small animalcules