Cha?. it, slate.

521
1799. 3Iicii slatf. is a species of gneiss, distlngiiisliable by containing little- or no felspar,
so that it consists chietly of quartz and mica. It has a laminated or slaty structure, with
the silky lustre of mica ; it is a tough material in directions jjarallel to its layers, but is
more perishable than gneiss. In thin layers it may be used for rooting purposes. Chlorite
s/a'e is also laininated. soft, and easily cut. but more opaque than talc, and is sometimes
used for rooting purposes. It has a green or greenish grey colour and silky lustie.
Hornblende slate is hard, tough, durable, and impervious to water, and is used for flagstones.
Gruuwacke slate is a laminated claystone, containing sand and sometimes fragments of mica
and other minerals. It is used for roofing and Hag stones. All these descriptions of slate
are inferior to the ordinary rZay sla'e.
1800. Slate quarries usually lie near the surface ; and, independent of the splitting grain,
along which they can be cleft exceedingly thin, they are niosily divided into stoc/is, by
breakings, ciacks, and fissures. Slate is separated from its bed, like other stt)nes, by means
of gunpowder, and the mass is then divided into scantlings by wedges, and. if necessary,
sawn to its respective sizes by machinery. The blue, green, purple, and darker kinds are
most susceptible of thin cleavage, the lighter-col lured slates being coarser. The instru-
ments used in quarrying and splitting slates, are slate knives, axes, bars, and wedges.
1801. The tenacity of slate is from 9,600 to 12,800. The modulus of elasticity varies
from 13,000,000 to 16,000,000. The resistance to rupture is 5000. The weight of a
cubic foot is from 175 lbs. to 181 lbs. The transverse strength of Welsh slate is greater
than any other mineral product of .the stone kind. For such qualities as strength, space,
and cleanliness, no other uiaterial is so cheap as slate.
1802. The slates used about London are brought chiefly from Bangor in Catnarvon.shire,
The slate quarries of North Wales are the most important in tliis country. Tiie chief works
are situated as follows, and belong respectively to the geological formations named :

Tenrhyn, Bangor 1 p
,
Llangollen, Llangollen : Upper Silurian.
Llanberis, Dinorwic
J
'-'^"'"^'''^"-
IMachynlleth, .\berdovey, L^Aver Silurian.
Ffestiniog, Port Madoc : Lower Silurian. Royal Slate, Bangor :
Cambrian.
The large quarries at Penrhyn near Bangor, belonging to Colonel Pennant, and from
whicii the best Bangor slates a'e obtained, are worked in successive terraces; the slate
is obtained in immense masses by blasting, therefore the waste is enormous, but being got
rid of without difficulty, the price is kept moderate. These quarries have been variously
estimated as yielding from 30,000/. to 40,000/. worth of slates per annum. INIany smaller
ones have lately been opened near Bangor, all supjilying "best Bangor" slates, will. out
affecting the [noduce of the well-estahlislied works at that place. Tlie Llangollen quarries
are remarkable for the size of the slates they can obtain.
1S0:3. The Uelabole ()uarries in Cornwall have been worked for a considerable period
;
these slates are shipped from Tintagel and Boscastle. This grey-blue slate, confined till
lately to the western counties, is now obtained in London
;
the Wellington College at
Sandhurst, Berkshire, is roofed with tlicni. The Tavistock slates from Devonshire were
at one period in considerable demand. One of the most esteemed slates is of a palo blue-
green, brought from Kendal in Wesimoreland, and called Westmoreland slate. There are
quarries in the neighbourhood of Ulverstone, in Lancashire; and the Cumberland sea-
green slate works are at Maryport.
1804. The extended use of this material for paving, shelving, cisterns, &c., has caused
numerous companies to he formed for tiie working of old, and of many new, quarries,
chiefly in North and South Wales. Amongst the companies putting foith peculiarities of
slate, are the Dorothea W\'st, Green, Blue, and Red, Slate Company, situate in Carnar-
vonshire, which supplied the pale green slates for the Charing Cross Railway Hotel, the
London Bridge Hotel, and the Star and Garter Hotel at Richmond. The Llaufair Green
and Blue Slate Company is also to be noticed.
1805. The slates of Scotland are not in much repute. The Balahulish quarries in
the north of Scotland are very extensive, as between five and seven millions of rooting
slates are quarried annually. The weight of this number would be about 10,000 tons,
and the quantity of rubbish being generally five or six times as much as the slate.s, some
50,000 or 60,000 tons of refuse have to be disposed of, which in this case are thrown directly
into the sea, securing an immense saving of expense.
1806. The more important slate quarries in Ireland are in the southern division of the
country, viz., Kilbloe, county Tipperary ;
Valentia, county Kerry; Benduff, near Glan-
dore Harl)our, county Cork ; and near Ashford Bridge, county Wicklow. The chief
one is at Curraghbally, situate about six miles from Killaloe. The colour of the slates is
a dull bluish grey, preferred by many to the decided blue of the Bangor quarries; tliey
are greatly used in the west of Ireland, where they have superseded the Welsh slates. The
colour of the Valentia slates is rather greener than those above mentioned. They are
generally thicker and more uneven on the surface, and so are better suited for the exposed