The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1909-07-22

/ the gua that settles around tho limo
| kiln The burning of lime consists IN
| applying such a degree Of heat That
/ the n1rbonIc acid gas is expelled from
| the limestone. leaving simple form
of lime which rcunjtrs with oxygen
/ when waiter is admitted to it. 1t is
/ this caybunic acid expelled by heat
! which forms the deadly gas Of lime
| NIna making it dangerous for chill
/ drcu or animals TO lie down and sleep
. IN close proximity to them.
The forms OF sea life which have
contributed to build mp the starta Of
! limestone are exceedingly various
| Among the most interesting ar" "a,
| Corals which have contributed to this
result from the earliest times to IN,
| present Corals are forms Of animal
| NJ" which are attached to the sea bot
/ tom-the animal leaving his shell be
! low him MS he dies. and continuing &C.
| live in the upper story, thereby grad
ually adding to the solid foundation
from which he started.
In the Pacific ocean and Indian
ocean. aud indeed in most tropical ro
Eiuus. curJls are still vigorously nj
| work building up reefs around the
shallow shores of islands and CONT
nonts In the Pacific ocean these reefs
take upon themselves a circular shape
oticntIm"s with deep water upon tn,
outside, and iuClosing a larg" area OF
shallow water within the circle
most interesting theory Of Oar
win and Dana to account for these
circular reefs or "atols." ms they arc
called, IL that the coral insect began
to build up his structure In the sha.
low water surrounding n mountain
peak when the whole bed Of the ocean
was slowly sinking. As the coral
could not endure the deeper water be
you'd, he continued to build up. with
n perpendicular face outward, while
as the ocean bed sank. the inclosure
between the newly started reef and
the mountain peak would remain free,
because of the sediment washing down
from the mountain which would In.
torfcrc with the growth Of the coral
Thus It II brought about that in many
cases these circular reefs surround u
body Of shallow water, from whose
center mountain peak arises, while
In other cases the settling Of the
ocean bed has gone so far that the
mountain peak has disappeared aud
there Is within simply n body OF pro
tectcd water. which makes an excel
lent harhor. If there Is any entrance
to IT,
Among the limestones of great in,
tcrcst are the various forms Of mar
Bile which have been sought for the
world over for their beauty of color
and their hnencss of texture. These
marbles mostly belong to the very
oldest geological formations. and ap
pear in close proximity to granite
rocks whore they have evidently been
subjected to heat and great pressure
ms they were buried deeply in the
earth and transformed or mctamor
phused into their present shape The
usual color of marble is white. but
they are often variegated with almost
every beautiful color derived from
mineral ingredients. especially iron
and copper giving them a red OF
green or yellow cast
There are also extensive deposits
of lime which are not dependent upon
the action of animal life, but are
chemically deposited, especially in the
vicinity of springs whose water IL
overcharged with carbonate of lime In
solution. As this water tricklcs down
from the roofs Of caverns and falls
upon the bottom. the evaporation
leaves certain amount which ar.
ranges itself In the form Of stalactites
at the top and stalagmites at the bot.
tom of the cavern. the material being
arranged in layers, which are often
somewhat yarieEated In color and
form objects of great beauty. The
more extensive deposits are formed In
connection with warm springs In the
volcanic regions, making what Is
called travertine. which is much
r sought after as an ornamental stone
| But, rs already said, the main
source Of limestone Is shells of ami
I mails living in the sea. The material
l. is brought to them by the rivers which
X come down from the continents
charged with carbonate of lime IN SO
# luton. the animals being so consti
l. tuted that they can collect this from
{ the water which surrounds them
+ much as the leaves of the trees collect
y the carbon from the atmosphere ant
Q convert It into solid chunks of wood.
y Thus these forms of animal If,
e serve n double purpose, of cleansinl