Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1901-07-17
GRANITE TO SCOTLAND.
Hancock County Quarries are Looking
for New Market.

Hancock County Quarries are Looking
for New Market.
An important event in the granite in
dustry in this country will take place
next month when John L. Goss, owner of
extensive qusrries at Stonington, in con-
junction with Hurricane Island quarries,
will ship the first cargo OF granite ever
sent from this country to European
port. The granite will 60 to Scotland.
The Importance of this innovation to
the granite industry Of Maine and New
England marks an era In this great BUSH
ness, and on its success depends great
deal. Should this enterprise prove salts
factory, it means the revolutionizing OF
the granite trade in the United States.
The question of shipping granite to
Scotland, which is akin to sending Goals
to Newcastle, in fgurative sense, has
been carefully studied by Messrs. Goss
man was sent to England and Scotland
to study the conditions and to report the
probable results of such shipment. The
report was favorable for an American
shipment and therefore the August cargo.
The conditions that make this move on
the part of American granite manufac-
turers possible have been brought about
through natural cause.-the playing out
of the famous Scotch granite quarries,
operated for centuries as the source of
supply for England, Scotland and Ireland.
The most famous of these quarries is at
Aberdeen, Scotland, where the best build
ing stone of Great Britain has for CEN
turtles been quarried. Into the structure
of the great cathedrals of Great Britain,
the government houses, and the palaces
of the aristocracy, Aberdeen, or Scotch
granite has entered.
From years of quarrying, the quarries
have become coal mines as to depth. One
result has been that it is no longer pos
sibie to quarry dimension stone of any
apprecia bic or commercial value, because
the strata which at first created the fame
of Scotch granite quarries, has almost
disappeared.
1t has become an architectural business
in England that the architect who wishes
to use granite in the house structure
must needs fashion his house to the stone
rather than the stone to the house. This
is solely on account Of the scarcity of
granite in the quarries which centuries of
building have robbed of their native
treasures.
England has become somewhat alarmed
over the scarcity of building stone, and
has been importing granite from Sweden
and Russia, and arrangements have been
made by importers of granite to delve in
to the granite mountains of Newfound-
land for supply for England.
| The Maine experiment, however, is sure
| to attract attention from the English
people. The vast and yet uncovered
| fields of granite in Maine and New Eng
land at tide water offer immeasurable ad-
vantsges and inexhaustiOIe sources Of
supply of granite for the world at large.
The first shipment, which will be di-
| vided equally between Crotch island
granite and Hurricane island granite,
will be from two to three thousand tons,
and will be sent direct to Liverpool
| England. The vessel will load direct at
the quarries at both places. There are
rev quarrlee Ill tnis couhtiy W"cre II cal
| go can be loaded upon vessel directly at
the quarries for foreign port.
| At present, in England, all pieces oil
granite under 40 cubic feet sell for 81 Is tc
81 25 foot, and all sizes above that al
| 1925 cubic foot. Ga account Of the
youth OF the Maine quarries, rs per cent
would be high priced sizes.
Basing on estimates OF transportation
| MIR. Goss says that they can put the
Maiue granite in Glasgow, Aberdeen, OF
Liverpool at 81 per foot where Scotch
| granite now sells at S2.25.
The first attempt at introducing Maine
| granite into British territory will be
watched with intense interest in Maine.