The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1904-01-07
vERMoNr's MARBLE QUARR1Es
lmmeass VaIue Of Extensive Beds II,
- THAT state a1d How They l
- Are worked . IS

= no SedTly-,sScItlcfS CT sN0W EnSldDu
did not know Whist mistake they
made when they called the mountains.
of New Hampshire White, and those
Of Vermont Green. It is true the beau
tiful color Of the verdure which covers
the Vermont peaks seems to give them
an appropriate name. but in places
where the top has been scraped of
masses Of marble. have been found
which are almost equal to the famed
'products of Italy. says the New York
Tribune. The story goes that one o.
these deposits. worth literally millions
Of dollars; vas traded by the mar. who
owned it Id the early days Of the state
for a, mule. 80 that he could move his
household, goods into.a country where
the. soil was richer. From this '1stonc
farm" have come monuments and stat
uary which can be seen in sall parts OF
the United States.
1T was in the colonial days that the
hrst. Vermont. marble. quarry was
opened in the little town Of Dorset,
but, like some of the other great re-
sources of New England, the extent of
the marble beds was not realized until
about 25 years ago. Since then. how.
ever, the industry has advanced so rap
idly that within the last ten years the
capital invested in IT. as well as the
production, has increased. over. so per-
cent AT present over s., ,00O, 900 worth
OF marble is being taken ont yearly by
3he '3.oOe men employed in the quarries,
while. nearly 1900 others are busily.
engaged with chisel and mailet or. pow-
.er tool in cutting 1t into various forms
for adornment and use While the mar
BILE embraces q variety of hues. from
deep black to the spurest white, the
bulk Of it IL Of an exceeding fine grain,
and so durable that it is being used
for public buildings and ediices.
throushout TIE country, as we'll as for
mere Or1amentation. am
In the vicinity of Rutland and. Proc
tor one can look sjnto holes in the
mountain side actually large enough TO
Accommodate! the biggest office builds
ing in NevsYorkscity Ter some of them
are over 800 feet in depth and. nearly,
half a mile IN length. yet the walls are
principally composed of solid marble,
althoughthe blocks have, been cut out
so regularly that they appear to be.
built up like the palaces of the eGreeks
and Romans. Eyen<at this depth, how-
ever; the beds continue downward as
far as the drill point hassyet pierced,
and onlya Few openings have thus far
been made. Such As the .abundancesof
the material that It is seldom sextracted
at q depth below 800 feet, owing 10 the
distanceit must be hoisted from fte
bed. but the most modern maehinery
is used for cutting md hauling f-ma-'
chimes, which swill DO the work Of q
hundred mens Marbles'is too valuable.
to be blown QUE with explosives. $50
what are called schannelfng machines
are used, which, operated by electricity
and compressed. air, cut out blocks
from the walls Of white, some Of. which
are 2Oefeet in lengthxanil eight feet in
thickness. The machine is composed
Of asset OF. powerful drills which bore
holes from six to eight inches apart III
the blocks. Thus weakened, the block
Is detached from the wallsby wedges
Perhaps at the very mouth Of the
opening from which the marble .was
taken a hundred men ana boys are
fashioning it into various FORMS, Some
Of these artisans have also become ex.
per Sculptors. a -