Mark Thorson > wrote in
:

> Michel Boucher wrote:
>>
>> Marble is a calcium silicate. Its crystals have both soluble and
>> insoluble faces. Cutting marble along the insoluble face will mean
>> that the stone will not decay as quickly as cutting along the soluble
>> face.
>
> Marble is polycrystalline. How does one cut
> a polycrystalline material along one face?

As part of the research I did on marble production in Canada in the 19th
century, I discovered that marble which was cut along the insoluble face
was much more durable than marble cut along the soluble face. Specifically
with respect to tombstones, one can see the result in expensive and cheap
headstones (the cheaper ones being for small children, whose inscriptions
are largely erased by climactic conditions).

Not being a geologist (it was a history paper), I cannot say why that is
the case, that marble has two different faces, but it was definitely a
factor affecting the cost of a headstone in the 19th century.

Nowadays, marble is used much more as crushed stone than polished slabs and
it may not be a consideration anymore as little in the way of polished
marble is intended to be exposed to the elements.

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