Chaf. ir. GRANITE.

485
parts are variable in quantity, so that sometimes one, sometimes th? other, and frequently
two of them, (iredoniinate ovir the third. Tiie felspar is, however, generally in excels,
as mica is the least cons derable ingredient of the rock. In some varieties the quartz is
wanting, in others the mica ; but where these peculiarities occur, the granites must be con-
sidered as varieties, not as distinct species.
1669. The constituent parts differ in their magnitude, alternating fiom large to small
and very fine granular. The colour, moreover, is very variable, depending principally on
the predominating ingredientthe felspar, the quartz, and the mica liaving usually a grey
colour. The felspar is mostly white, inclining to grey and yellow, sometimes red, and even
grey, seldom milk-white, and alwajs translucent. The mica is usually grey, and some-
times nearly black. 'I'he felspar in granite has usually a vitreous lustre, and of perfectly
foliated fracture
;
yet in some varieties it becomes quite earthy, with the loss of its hardness
and lustre; in other words, it has passed into porcelain earth. 'J'he apjjearance in
question is sometimes produced iiy the weathering of the felspar, and sometimes it
appears to be in its original state. When pyrites are found in the veins which traverse
granite, the vicinous felspar and mica are converted into a species of steatitical matter
by the action of the sulpliuric acid formed during the decomposition of the pyrites.
In Cornwall, there is a considerable portion of its granite in which eaithy fels|iar is
found. When felspar occurs in abnormal quantities, the granite becomes porphyritic, ;:s
the Devonshire granite, and that of St. Ilonorine (Calvados): the name being derived
from the colour, which is purple. Schorl takes the place of the mica in some parts of
Devonshire; and even the quartz is sometimes wanting, as is often the case in the ehans
or courses laden with mineral matters in that district. When hornblende occurs instead of
mica, the granite becomes syenite, as at Malvern, and at Syene, in Egypt ; and when
present with mica in about etjual quantities, the material is called Syenitic granite. When
mil a is present in such quantities as to cause the rock to assume a slaty cleavage, it is
called gneiss.
1670. Granite is not decomposed by acids, and is only Imperfectly and slowly calcin.ahle
in a great heat. Those species which contain much white felspar, and only a small portion
of quartz, like the greater part of the granites of Cornwall and Devonshire, are liable to
decomposition much sooner than many of the Scotch granites, in which the quartz is more
abundant, and equally disseminated. In the selection of the Cornish and Devon granites,
those are to be preferred which are raised in the largest blocks and are easiest worked,
which, for common purposes, answer well enough, such as for paving-stones and the like
;
i)ut harder granite must be sought for than Devonshire or Cornwall produces, where the
cDiistruction is of importance
;
lor the masses in these counties are mostly in a condition of
rapid disintegration and decay, which seems chiefly attributable to their containing a large
jioition of potassa. The Naval Hospital at Plymouth is built of a granite whose parts
appear to have been well selected. It was erected between the years 1756 and 17r4, and,
except in the columns of the colonnades, does not exhibit symptoms of decay. In these,
on their more exposed sides, the disintegration of the felspar has commenced, and lichens
have already attached their roots to soiue parts of the surfaces.
I(j70a. The cause of tiie f/eco;H/)os/<7'o/j of granite is a point yet unsolved by chemists.
Some state that the felspar, being acted upon by the carbonic acid in rain water, becomes
decomposed, and is then easily removed, leaving the mica and the quartz in relief without
any cementing material
; and that the decay of the felspar does not take place by any
known rules, for the more crystalline it may be, more perfectly does it resist the decom-
posing action of atmospheric agents. Other scientific men are of opinion that the felspars
i.ontaining soda generally decompose, whereas those which contain jjotash do not decay-
It has also been considered that the kaolin or China clay was produced by the decoiripo-.
^ition of the felspar with the granite ; but it has been stated that so far as human observa-
tion could go, China clay never was true granite, and that atmospheric decomposition
acting upon felspar, had never gone to the depth of 300 feet, at which dejith finer China
clay was found than nearer the surface: miles of country could be shown strewed witU
felspar; the quartz was gone, but the felspar remained. We must leave the decision in
far more able hands.
1671. Hed granite, sometiines yellowish, and generally interspersed with black mica, is
found in Devonshire; at Mount Edgeoinbe there are tables of it equal to the finest oriental
granite, and it is found also in other parts of England. Eor hardness, and in works where
durability is indispensable, the granites from Mount Sorrel, in Leicestershire; Aberdeen and
Dundee, in Scotland; and the Cheesewring of Cornwall, are to be preferred by the architect.
These take an admirable jjolish, and are superior to all others which this island produces.
The increasing demaiid of late years for this material, has caused many new (juarries to be
oiiened up in various localities. The red is generally harder than the grey sorts, and
more difficult to work. The Peterhead, f om the vicinity of Aberdeen, is jierhaps the best,
ar.d it is, moreover, in appearance the most beautiful which Scotland atl'ords; indeed, in
point of beauty, it is only surjiassed Iiy the oriental granites.
1671a. Dartmoor granite is, in general, coarse grained, varying much in colour. The grey