AbstractsEarth & Environmental Science

Exploitation of commercial “granite” (igneous stone) is aided by a knowledge of its mechanical properties and the geology of the quarry. A detailed petrographic study of “granite” from eighteen quarries in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia reveals that massive, unsheared granites and quartz monzonites of Devonian or later age are generally the best building and monumental stones. Geology and petrology are important aids in the search for new stone. Study of the features of better eastern Canadian “granites” suggests a set of rules which may prove useful in indicating first, the localities in which “granite” should be sought and second, the desirable qualities of a marketable stone. A graphic analysis is made of “granite” production during the years 1925 to 1949. It is suggested that the “granite” producing industry could strengthen its economic position by advertising, improving quarrying techniques, co-operative use of central finishing plants and providing better grades of “granite”.