The following may be taken as an example of the general operations of quarrying building-stones. If the stone be vertically below the surface of the ground, the quarrymen first remove the earth and surface soil, and then dig a perpendicular shaft, or pit, to afford access to the stone; but if, as frequently happens, the stone be within the flank of a hill, or mountain, the quarrymen excavate horizontal galleries into the hill, leaving pillars here and there to support the superincumbent mass. Supposing a large quarry about to be opened beneath the soil, the earth is first removed, and then a sort of inferior stone called “rag,” which generally lies between the soil and the good stone beneath. Large masses of available stone generally consist of distinct strata lying close together in a kind of cemented bulk, and the contiguous surfaces forming _cleavages_, greatly assist the quarrymen in detaching blocks from the mass. The block is always more easily separated in a direction parallel to these planes of cleavage than in any other direction, and the operations are, therefore, guided by this circumstance. The workmen drive a series of iron wedges into the mass of stone parallel to the cleavage-planes; and, after a few blows, a portion of the mass becomes separated in that direction. They then measure off a portion equal to the intended length and breadth of the stone, and drive their iron wedges similarly in these directions, by which the piece is entirely severed from the rocky mass. The cleavage-planes vary interminably in direction, so that the quarrymen have to work in various positions, according to the direction of stratification. The operations are more easily conducted when the cleavage-planes are vertical, than in any other direction. After the blocks have been severed, they are brought to an irregularly square shape, by means of a tool called a _kevel_; and are finally hoisted by cranes on to low trucks, and conveyed on tram-ways out of the quarry; or else are hoisted to the surface of the quarry at once, if the depth render that plan necessary.