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For marble, being plentiful in Italy and France , thesecountries have been able to make a considerable use of it,even in the main walls of their edifices ; but being seldomfound in sufficient quantities, and of proper quality, in themore northern parts of Europe , it has been here chiefly con-fined to interior columns, pavements, chimney-pieces, andsometimes stairs.

The kinds of stone are as various as the countries in whichthe buildings are constructed. Sand-stone being very gene-rally found stratified, even in thin laminas, being readily cutinto different forms, and being, if properly selected and used,sufficiently durable, it has, in northern countries, been inmost frequent use. It is a general accompaniment of coalstrata, and is also often found where the latter does not occur.It varies in its component parts, being at different placesargillaceous, siliceous, and calcareous. Its position in theearth assumes all directions, from the horizontal to a verticalplane. The proportional thickness of its strata, laminae, orbeds, varies from that of thin slate to many feet each. Theupper beds are usually very thin or soft, or both ; if suffi-ciently hard, they are employed in floor pavements, and forcovering roofs. Under these the beds generally, in usefulquarries, increase in thickness, hardness, and tenacity. Theposition of the laminae always requires strict attention, thatthe worked stone may, if possible, be laid in the buildingupon its natural bed ; for although some instances occur, asin the Isle of Portland and at Grinshill, in Shropshire , wherethe difference is not apparently great, yet in all stone (evengranite) it is sufficiently well known to workmen. Somestone, as that of Bath, is so soft when taken out of the quarry,as to be very conveniently worked with tools resembling thoseused by carpenters; yet when exposed for some time tothe atmosphere, it becomes hard and durable. This last,indeed, cannot be deemed sand-stone, being nearly altogethercalcareous.

Besides the before-mentioned, there is a very beautifulstone, dug in the hills near Dunstable, in the parish of Tot-tenhoe, from whence the stone receives its name. It has theappearance of indurated chalk. It is easily worked, andhardens by exposure to the weather. It should, however, beplaced upon a plinth of some other stone, or kept by othermeans from contact with the ground ; otherwise it is, in thissituation, liable to be injured by the frosts. The house ofthe Duke of Bedford, at Woburn Abbey , is built chiefly withthis stone, as are various other large houses in the neigh-bourhood of the quarries. Proofs of its durability may beseen in many old churches. From the closeness of its tex-ture, the beauty of its colour, and the facility with which itis worked into mouldings, &c., it is peculiarly fit for house-building, both externally and internally.

The very perfect preservation of many beautiful churchesin the counties of Lincoln, Rutland, and Northampton, areevidences of the excellence of the stone of which they arebuilt.

In the central parts of Scotland , different varieties of sand-stone, which accompany coal, are used extensively in buildinghouses, &c.; and this circumstance has not a little contri-buted to the fine appearance of the new streets, squares,and public buildings in the cities of Edinburgh and Glagow.Flints, where they abound, and where other stone is scarce,are sometimes used in walls of considerable height; andnotwithstanding their small size and irregularity of shape,are broken so as to compose a face of considerable smooth-ness. The church and steeple of Rickmansworth, in Hert-fordshire , affords a fine specimen of this kind of building.But bricks or squared stones are generally used as quoins forthis sort of work.

In Scotland and Sweden , granite is made use of 33building material. It lies in large masses, generally se "rated by gunpowder into moderate, though still large dims

sions, which are again cut into suitable scantlings, by me 1

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of iron instruments called plugs and feathers. They areonly worked into plain square forms, but also moulding 3 ^considerable delicacy, by means of pointed tools, of ditf® re ^sizes and weights. At Aberdeen, in Scotland , where ex®lent granite is produced, and the working of it broug* 'perhaps, to the greatest perfection, there are handsoporticos, consisting of columns, bases, caps, and entablat" r ’executed in granite with great nicety. In the middle of j jcity, a public building, whose front is composed of a . jDoric order, is wholly completed with this excellent mater 1There are two sorts of granite, the one gray and the ot * 1red ; the last, being the hardest, is most difficult to worKconsequently the former is most frequently employed i ^consists of feldspar, mica, and quartz. It is much emp^ 0 ? ffor paving the carriage-way of streets, and in the curbing ^the flat side-pavements ; also for piers and footpath 3bridges ; and for facings and copings to quays and wha^ gAt Aberdeen , it is employed in constructing very extens^piers, for protecting the entrance of the harbour ; and inEddystone and Bell-rock lighthouses, it composes the facingwhere they are exposed to the action of the sea. ^

Whin, basalt, and schistus, are also used in rubble n 70The former dressing freely with the hammer, in one direct 1may readily be formed with good faces, but not being st ^ ^tied, their beds are uncertain, and not easily improve 3 'art; the latter—that is, schistus—is j ust the reverse, h aVlnaturally good beds, but being in few instances wifi 1 "'’'dress square across the laminse : they are, indeed, tv 1expense is not an object, worked to a face by the lab ° T '^ e ioperation of striking perpendicularly with a wedge-in° u (0 .hammer or stone axe : both kinds are laid, sometime 8 Pmiscuously, and at others in regular courses. 0 d

Limestone , where found regularly stratified, affords e ^building stone, and combines the advantages of both fformer, having naturally good beds, and dressing read";a face. ta )iy

A species of schistus affords a covering for roofs , t0unknown to the ancients, and which, when good of i t3 , ul iland properly prepared and laid on, is both very 3 " e iand beautiful ; for a farther account of which, see Si' AT)1 'jjyBricks have, in England, become a material very g ene un-employed in constructing all kinds of buildings,

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try is provided by nature with abundant supplies of c 0 "^ { 0 i))burning bricks, which can, by means of the sea or nm» ( |,einland navigations, be, with great facility, conveyed ^large towns and populous districts, where the deman ,jylong been very great. Clay of proper quality is u ^found either upon the spot or immediate vicinity; a un-limited number of workmen, properly arranged, can cll jifacture a great number of bricks in a stated time ; the 3 ®readily be removed to the place where they areemployed ; being light to handle, and of a rectangular 3 ^ ofthe workmen lay them with facility and ease. By rue £ ;l n/bricks, walls can be made much thinner than with aim 3 ^kind of stone ; they are therefore cheaper, and occoyJ (e Stspace ; in forming doorways, windows, chimneys, ap eand angles of all kinds, the facility they afford is great ethat of any other durable material. A building who*® ^ jfare made with bricks dries soon, is free from damp >properly made and thoroughly well burnt, bricks t J > 3equal to most, and longer than many kinds of stone,best modes of manufacturing them, see Brick . vE r ‘ 1 '^

Tiles have long been employed in England for c0