The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-10-29
WORK AT GRANITE QUARRY
continued from Page 1.

found to be discOlored by what the
quarrymen call sap. the moisture that
has been absorbed for centuries. but the
extent of this discolorafion was found
to be less than is usual on the surface of
granite quarries. Often. according to Mr.
Olson, the sap penetrates a distance of
10 or i feet or more, but where stone
is now being gotten out I'm the West
Dummerston quarry discoloration is
wholly absent two feet below the surface
Here as in all quarries the deposit is
split by seams, due TO the cooling of the
earth's surface, and one of the aims is
to find sections of stone that will permit
the quarrying of blocks of the desired
size and quality and left by the seams
in such a position as to allow quarrying
under the most advantageous conditions,
that is, under conditions that prevent
heavy sheets of stone from sliding. Such
a situation has been found about 100
feet up the mountain from the track of
the West River railroad, and stone are
being gotten out there for a soldiers mon
ument to be erected in New Jersey.
At this point stones have been quar-
ried by explosives and wedges until a
block has been exposed which is II feet
or more in height and about % feet long.
of a thickness not vet determined. Ex-
cellent az is the quality of this stone, il
is believed the quality viii be even bet
ter az the operations lead down into the
deposit. 4 party of Brattleboro pen, in
Guiding III. 6. Barber, who is largely re-
sponsible for the opening Of the quarry,
and a member of The Reformer staff,
visited this spot yesterday, and as they
stood on the mountainside and gazed at
the vast expanSe of granite in full view
the fact was brought home to them that
the supply was absolutely inexhaustible,
no matter how many men might be em-
ployed and no matter for how many cen
turtles the quarry might be worked.
Two derricks are now available, the
mast of the larger one bring 102 feet tall
and the boom being about so feet long.
This derrick is located near the railroad,
but it is expected that another derrick
of similar size will be needed before many
months, to be erected on the side of the
mountain, near the present quarry open
ing.
Thus far about $50 carloads of granite
have been shipped. Most of this has been
surface stone and has been sold to the
railroad for rlprap work, but several
carloads of monumental stone have been
quarried and shipped More monumental
stone is being quarried now, designated
as Dummerston light granite. A block
weighing about l. tons is nearly ready
for shipment The stones to which at
tcntion is being given just now are for
a soldiers memorial monument to be
erected in kearney. y. J.. near Airing
4
at the base and 50 feet high, will include
some statues and will be surmounted by
a granite ball ON which will be perched
a bronze eagle 1t is to be dedicated next
| Memorial day.
As there are no cutting sheds in West
| Dummerston or Brattleboro the rough
blocks have TO be shipped to the Presbrey-
! Leland works in Barre 1t is hoped that
within few years the business will de-
velop to such an extent that buildings
will be erected here for finishing the
rough stone.
Government tests have shown the West
| Dummerston granite to have exceptional
compreSSive strength, in other words
! that it is very hard. This is borne out
| by a statement of one of the quarrymen
| yesterday that the granite was so hard
that his drills had to be sharpened much
oftener than was the case in some other
quarries. This fact also suggests that
the West Dummerston granite not
wanted for monumental or building pur-
poses would make ideal paving blocks
as they would be more durable than most
granite paving blocks and would not
lose their corners and become smooth 50
| soon.
| The drills are operated by compressed
air under 100 pounds pressure. and the
derricks are operated by electricity.