Liais Stone. In France there is a type of compact limestone with a grain is finer than that of an ordinary beating stone. It is very strong and rings under the hammer when one works. It can be sawn into rather thin layers without breaking. Because one can make it rather smooth, one uses it to make mantlepieces and other fine work. It is the most estimeed stone, one uses it especially in the foundations of buildings, because soft stone would be worth nothing for this purpose. Masons and workers call it liere stone by corruption.