much of "tule" and "adobe" bottoms in California. It is abundant in the coast range. A body of it is found in the form of selenite in the hills near Stockton, within a few miles of the San Joaquin river.

Considerable quantities of the same mineral are known to exist in most of the mountains which have been examined for silver in Alpine county, among the the high Sierras.

Sulphate of lime, in the form of alabaster, is found in Tuolumne, Los Angeles, Solano, and several other counties.

Near Silver City, Story county, Nevada, alabaster of great beauty is found, but it soon crumbles on exposure to the atmosphere. In 1862 this deposit was quarried as marble. It was soon discovered that blocks cut from it fell to pieces, and were useless for building and ornamental purposes; but it makes good plaster of Paris.

Beds of friable sulphate of lime exist in the vicinity of the Sulphur Springs, near Red Bluffs, Tehama county, in the form of loose grains, deposited by the waters of the thermal springs, which cover acres of ground in the vicinity. All the hot springs on this coast deposit sulphate of lime, in some form or other.

In the Granite mountains, between Chico, in Tehama county, and Idaho, there are numerous deposits of gypsum. Anhydrate, or dry sulphate of lime, is found in Plumas and Sierra counties. Professor Whitney, State geologist of California, has various specimens.

Excellent materials for the manufacture of plaster of Paris exist on this coast. Considering the simpleness of its preparation it is remarkable that its manufacture has not been attempted. The imports of plaster of Paris amount to about 6,000 barrels annually at San Francisco, at an average cost of $4 por barrel, or nearly $25,000 per annum. Nearly all imported is from New York.

DOLOMITE OR MAGNESIAN LIMESTONE.-This mineral has been found during the present year, on the Merced river, between Horseshoe Bend and Don Pedro's bar. It is fine grained, of a yellowish gray color, having much the appearance of "Turkey stone," and is prized for hones for sharpening razors, penknives, &c. It has been mistaken for lithographic limestone. The deposits are abundant, and it may ultimately be found an important resource.

HYDRAULIC LIMESTONE.-California contains deposits of this valuable mineral, of good quality. The best known are found in a range of hills at the back of Benicia, Solano county. Hydraulic, or Benicia cement, as it is called, is made here in considerable quantities, a company having been incorporated in 1860 for the purpose of carrying on its manufacture. The company has good machinery, kilns, and the necessary arrangement for making several thousand barrels per month. An impetus has been given to this business by the action of the State harbor commissioners, who having charge of the construction of the sea-wall, in the harbor of San Francisco, have had experiments made with the various cements. The Benicia cement proving satisfactory, has been selected for use in the wall, which will be several miles in length, and of great depth and thickness, and will consequently require many thousand tons of cement. This action of the commissioners has had a tendency to remove a prejudice that had been cultivated by interested parties against the California cement. The imports of cement have been heavy for several years at San Francisco, the damp nature of the foundations in the business portions of the city requiring the bricks or stones to be laid in cement for several feet in extensive buildings. In 1866, 23,812 barrels were imported, at a cost of $91,648. During the first six months of 1867, 14,517 barrels were imported, at a cost of $50,000. These figures show the importance of this business.

The mineral in the vicinity of Benicia is found in a series of deposits extending for several miles. Though there does not appear to be any regular stratum of it, there is sufficient to last for many years, should the consumption reach 100,000 barrels annually.

Hydraulic limestone is a sub-carbonate of lime, which owes its value to its property of hardening under water, to a certain proportion of clay in its composition. Too much clay causes it to set too slowly, while too little renders it unfit for use as a cement. It is necessary to make this explanation to render the following statements intelligible:

There are two varieties of this mineral at Benicia, the one making a cement which hardens very rapidly, the other very slowly. Experience and observation prove that a combination of the two makes a hard, durable cement, which may be regulated to harden in any required time. Common limestone exists near the cement rock. The workmen first employed in making the cement, not being aware of the difference, mixed all together in the kilns; the consequence was to spoil the whole, and give the product a bad character in the market. But the processes for its preparation are now better understood, and the workmen more experienced. Such contaminations are avoided, and a really good cement is prepared.

This Benicia cement stone is of a dark yellowish color, speckled with black, tolerably soft; breaks with a dull, earthy fracture, without any appearance of crystalization.

The following table gives the results of some of the experiments made with various kinds of cements, to test the time each requires for "setting" in the air and under water:

Composition.

Time setting Time setting

in air.

in water.

1st quality Benicia cement...

2d quality Benicia cement..

Mixture of both....

Roman cement.......

Eastern cement.

Mixture of equal parts Benicia cement and sand..

Mixture of one part of Benicia cement and two parts sand.......

This cement is much used in the manufacture of drainage and water pipes. There are several factories of these articles in California. Miles of such pipe are laid down in San Francisco. Other places in the Coast range and foot hills have been found where cement stone is known to exist. On the banks of Hospital creek, a few miles south of Corral Hollow, San Joaquin county, there is a deposit of it similar in appearance and composition to that worked at Benicia.

Within the past few months a hydraulic limestone has been discovered in Washington Territory, on the Columbia river, about seven miles north from Astoria. Works are in course of erection to manufacture cement at this place. There can be but little doubt that this mineral will be found abundantly all along this coast whenever an intelligent search shall be made for it. The metamorphosis of the rocks in the Coast range has been of a nature to form it extensively.

OREGON.-Limestone and marble are not so abundant in this State and the Territories north and west as in California. As mentioned in the report on iron, the Oregon smelting works have to import the limestone used in that establishment from the Island of San Juan. The limestone formation extending from Siskiyou to Los Angeles, in California, does not appear to extend into Oregon. At all events, its existence has not been reported.

The recent discovery of a bed of limestone on Beaver creek, Clackamas county, about 18 miles from the Willamette, is considered of much importance by the local press. It is presumable this mineral is scarce in that part of Oregon.

NEVADA. In addition to the alabaster mentioned above, in Story county, cement rock has been found in the Pinewood district, Humboldt county, and at many other places. No marble has thus far been found in this State, but there is sufficient carbonate of lime in other forms, in nearly all parts of it, to supply material for making lime for building purposes.

BUILDING MATERIALS.-The mountainous nature of the Pacific coast, and the geological formations to which the rocks composing the mountains belong, suggest the existence of a great variety of building materials. Few countries possess greater abundance or variety of these materials than California, and there are few cities in the United States where equal opportunities are afforded for comparing the merits of the materials used in other countries with those obtained at home, than are presented at San Francisco. In the early days of this city everything was imported, from bread and clothing for its inhabitants to lumber, brick and stone for their houses. The city hall is built of Australian freestone, several of the banks and other large edifices are built of China granite, and there are hundreds of steps, pillars, lintels, and other portions of buildings, of sandstone and granite imported from the Atlantic States and Europe. The founda tions of many of the old buildings in the city are laid on imported bricks. None of these materials are found to be as durable or as handsome as those since obtained in California. In this, as in other mineral resources, the cost of labor and transportation has impeded development. It is only under favorable conditions that stone for building will pay to ship to San Francisco from the interior of the State; while the cheapness, excellence, and abundance of the lumber, and the general adaptability of the soil for the manufacture of bricks, cause these materials to be used for building almost everywhere throughout the State. The introduction of iron mouldings for the decorative portions of large structures prevents a demand for stone for such purposes. The Bank of California building, at San Francisco, is the only structure of cut stone of any magnitude, outside of the government fortifications, on the Pacific coast. Under such circumstances little attention is paid to opening quarries to test the quality of the stone. The consumption of stone is confined to granite for curbing and paving the streets, and the basements and steps for a few of the more costly buildings at San Francisco.

The following details concerning the supply of building materials will show how varied and valuable they are in California:

GRANITE.-Quarries of this rock are in nearly every county, including portions of the foot-hills or sierras. But as none of them are convenient to railroads or rivers, except the following, only these will be referred to:

The oldest and best known is located near Folsom, Placer county; another quarry worked to some extent exists at Natoma, in the cañon of the American river, a few miles from the first; another at Rocklin, 22 miles from Sacramento; and a fourth at Penryn, 28 miles from that city. The last two are on the line of the Central Pacific railroad.

There is a marked difference in the appearance of the rock from these several quarries. That from Folsom is hard and dark, containing feathery crystals of black hornblende in patches, on a dark bluish-gray ground of quartz and feldspar. Very little mica exists in any of the California granite. That from Natoma is as dark as that from Folsom, but the components being more evenly distributed gives it a lighter appearance. The stone-cutters consider this the best rock for smooth blocks. It has a clean and fresh appearance, never changing color. The granite from Rocklin is of a nearly snowy whiteness, remarkably fine grained, and free from stains and blotches, and is susceptible of a fine finish. The upper portion of the State capitol at Sacramento is being built of this stone. The mouldings and other architectural ornaments are cut with sharpness and elegance. The lower portion of the structure is built of the Folsom stone, which has a dark and dingy appearance in comparison with the lighter and marble-like stone above.

The fortifications in course of construction near San Francisco are being built of Penryn granite, which is somewhat darker than that from Rocklin, but lighter than the others described above. The basements of nearly all the large stores and warehouses in San Francisco are built of Folsom rock. The quarries at Rocklin are very extensive. It is possible to break off blocks of large dimensions-masses 100 feet long by 100 feet deep, and 10 feet thick, have been quarried out and afterwards split into smaller blocks, of any required thickness, across the grain, by means of gads and sledges. The rock splits evenly. There is a body of this rock several miles in length and breadth and of unknown depth. In San Francisco are 10 stone-yards, at which about 350 men are employed dressing and trimming granite for building and paving purposes. These yards use about 400 tons of stone per month. The curbs and crossings of the principal streets are made of this rock. There are 20 miles of such curbing and crosswalks. The Central Pacific railroad carries about 5,000 tons of granite from Rocklin and Penryn to Sacramento, the greater portion of which is brought to San Francisco by schooners. About 1,000 tons per month are brought from the quarries at Folsom and Natoma.

The price of granite at San Francisco is $1 50 per cubic foot, or $21 per ton in blocks delivered at the wharf. The cost of trimming it is high; stone-cutters being paid $4 per day in gold for nine hours work.

SANDSTONES, &c.-Brown stone of good quality for building purposes is quarried near Hayward's, Alameda county. Some of this stone is used in the city cemeteries as bases for monuments and for building vaults. Its sombre appearance is considered an advantage.

Greenish-gray sandstone is obtained from Angel island, in the Bay of San Francisco. Of this beautiful stone the new building of the Bank of California has been built. The scroll-work and sculpture on the front are fine and smooth in outline as if cut in marble, while the color is soft and pleasant to the eye. Each pillar, lintel, and post of the doors and windows is formed of a single block, some of them 10 feet in length. The wheels used in the linseed oil factory at Steamboat Point are also made of Angel Island stone. These wheels are seven feet in diameter and 18 inches thick, each weighing five tons.

In several of the interior counties are deposits of a variety of trachytes, forming portions of table mountain, which make good materials for buildings. It is generally of a pinkish or gray color, fine in grain, and when first taken from the quarry is sufficiently soft to be trimmed with a common hatchet, but a few months' exposure to the air renders it quite hard. A valuable deposit is found near Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras county. Wells & Fargo's office, several hotels, and other buildings in that town are made of it. 14 years old, and the stones in them retain the marks and edges as when first Some of these buildings are made.

A quarry of freestone, of a pale drab color and fine texture, is found near Marsh's creek, six miles from the Mount Diablo coal mines.

Near the Merced river, in Mariposa county, on the road between Bear Valley and Stockton, there are beds of freestone well adapted to building purposes. The stone is of a pleasant pinkish tint, with wavy lines of brown and purple, and is compact and stands exposure well. With cheap transportation it would become a favorite for many purposes, as it can be cut cheaper than granite, and is better adapted to building than marble, and is more elegant and durable than

brick.

BRICKS.-The manufacture of bricks is carried on extensively in nearly every county in the State. The tough clay of the Sacramento valley probably makes the best. Some of the earth used in one or two localities along the coast in early times, contained a per centum of soda and potash. Such bricks are illsuited for a climate as humid as that of San Francisco. The moisture causes the alkali to exude, injuring the paint or plaster with which the bricks are covered.

The consumption of bricks at San Francisco amounts to about 100,000,000 annually. The average price is $12 per 1,000. About 20,000,000 are used annually in the interior of the State, at an average cost of $16 per 1,000. Until recently the bricks made were the product of hand labor. A brick-making machine was introduced in July, 1867. The increase of building consumes all that are made. The city corporation uses many millions annually in the construction of sewers, of which there are 10 miles within the city limits.

ROOFING SLATES.-Notwithstanding the abundance of slate on this coast, but little of it fit for roofing purposes has thus far been found. The use of shingles, asphaltum, and tin for roofing, which are so much cheaper and lighter than slate, is almost general, so that but little inducement is held out to furnish slate. In 1865 a company was organized in Amador county for the purpose of working a slate quarry found in that county. Experienced Welsh slaters were interested in the enterprise. They say the Amador slate is quite equal to any found in Wales. The causes above stated, together with the cost of labor and transportation, rendered the enterprise unprofitable, and it was abandoned. No doubt a proper search would result in the discovery of an abundant supply of roofing slates on this coast.

STEATITE, OR SOAPSTONE, though not strictly a building material, is classed under this head because it is valuable in various departments of arts and manufactures. There are localities in all the States and Territories on this coast, except Arizona, where this mineral is known to exist in great abundance, but its consumption is limited at present. Only one or two deposits are found profitable to work, and these only to an inconsiderable extent. There is but one establishment on the coast for the manufacture of articles from soapstone. This is at San Francisco, where it was commenced in 1866. As marble can be obtained cheaper than this stone, its use is confined to blocks for lining furnaces, slabs for the chemical works, linings for stoves, beds for ovens, &c. Its peculiar property of standing a high temperature, and retaining the heat a long time, makes it valuable for such purposes. About 200 tons are used at San Francisco annually; part of it in the form of powder by soap-makers, chemists, boot-makers, and others. Twenty tons of this powder are sold annually at $3 per 100 pounds. The price of the stone, in blocks, is $4 80 per cubic foot, or $40 per ton. In slabs of one inch thick, 75 cents per superficial foot.

Most of that used at San Francisco is brought from near Placerville, El Dorado county, where the company owning the factory have a claim containing 3,000 feet in length on a bed of this material 363 feet wide, and there are "extensions" on the same "lead" for miles on both sides of the original claim. Other quarries are worked to some extent-one near Sonora, Tuolumne county; another on Santa Catalina island, off the southern coast, near Santa Barbara; another on the south of the San José valley, near the city of San José, in Santa Clara county; another at Copperopolis, in Calaveras county, &c.

The cost of transportation from Placerville amounts to $12 per ton for freight alone, divided as follows: For hauling by team from quarry to railroad, nine and a half miles, $6 per ton; by railroad to Sacramento, 40 miles, $4 per ton; to San Francisco by steamer, $2 per ton.

The California steatite is superior to that obtained in the Atlantic States or Europe for many important purposes. It contains neither mica nor iron. The Golden City Chemical Works, an extensive establishment, uses steatite to line the retorts for distillation of nitric and sulphuric acids. When commencing operations this company imported steatite from New York, which, owing to its containing mica and iron, was soon destroyed by the fumes of the acids. Induced to try some of the California stone, it was found to last for a long time, the acids having but little effect on it.

Don Abel Stearns states that when he came to California, in 1825, the common people cooked their food in vessels made of this stone, which is abundant