The analysis of the fragment also revealed that it did not have a finish coat.  Typically plaster is composed of three layers; a scratch coat, a brown coat and a final finish coat that creates a smooth, finished surface.  However, if wallpaper was intended to be hung on the wall, then the finish coat was not always installed since the rougher surface of the brown coat plaster would be hidden under the paper.  Based on the fragment, it was determined that Madison may have originally intended to hang wallpaper in the North Passage.  A similar situation was found in the Drawing Room where much of the ca. 1812 plaster survived.  However, in the Drawing Room Dr. Buck was able to recover a small sample of a Madison-era paper that proved the room was papered in ca. 1812.  Why President Madison never installed wallpaper in the North Passage and instead left the walls coated with a yellow/orange distemper paint is unknown.