The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-08

the waste rock and the refuse OF the quar-
~. Only about one-twenty-hfth Of the ma
terial quarried Is real asbestos and the
rocky parts have 10 be If-el OUT and car
ried away 70 the dumps az great expense.
As the asbestos co1nes from the mines
Il IS in small humps OF a greenish or yel-
ioWish hue and the edges aye furred with
loose hbers. The more nearly white the
asbestos is the better IFS grade The
length Of fiber Is also Of great Importance,
the largest being the most valuable
As II in keeping with the forlorn and
blasted appearance Of the country, the
miners are a hard. uncaury class Of men.
migratory In disposition and exceedingly
supersutious- Their wages range from 81
TO $50 a day.
From the mines the asbestos is taken by
rail to the manufacturers IN the United
States. Here the Jumps 0f the substance
are emptied from the sacks and fed into
the hopper Of a powerfully built machine
not unlike an Old-fashi0nei stone process
-four mill. They are crushed through a
series OF rolls until the 5res are all sep
arated into fluffy masses. when they
pass out along a trough and into sepa-
rator. Here the small pieces Of stone
and other refuse rattle out through
sieve and the longer hbres are separted
by series Of conb-like sleeves into various
lengths. The very short ones are taken
ground up fine for 1the manufacture Of
solid packing for steam pistons. mill
boards and other cOmm0 Iities. The long
or hbers are gatherd1 together. carded and
spun into yarn. just like cotton or wool.
After that the substance may be woven
into cloth in various ways The cloth is OF
a dirty white color and has a soapy feel
ing.
The uses of asbestos are almost innum-
cradle. Ground fine and combined with
collars and oils by secret process in
makes a beautiful paint which is said to
go far toward fire-proOfng the surface
to which it is applied. Various kinds OF
roofing are also made by treating strong
canvass with a combining Of asbestos and
felt and backing II with MANILA paper.
IL is extensively used for roofs Of factO-
ries, railroad shops, bridges. steamboat
decks and other places where there is
danger of fire.
Nearly every one has seen the thick as
bestos-felt coverings for steam pipes and
furnaces. Asbestos cement is sometimes
used for hot-blast pipes and fire-heated
surfaces. As a packing for locomotive
plstOns, valve stems and oil pumps II is
almost indispensable. II is also made into
ropes and mill boards, which can be used
almost everywhere. Asbestos cloth is be-
ing used more every year. Some states
require theaters to use an asbestos drop
curtain to protect the audience if the
scenery catches fire. Some very beautiful
drop curtains have been made. and the or
binary spectator cannot distinguish them
from real cloth
The yarn is knit into mittens for work
ers in iron and glass. Goldsmiths use
a block of asbestos to solder upon. Com
bined with rubber-vulcanized asbestos
has almost innumerable uses as an cleo
trical insulator. In this form the sub
stance resembles ebony, and is about as
hard. The cloth is also of the greatest
importance for acid filters in all kinds of
chemical processes. for the reason that no
acid will eat it.
Asbestos is found in n good many hun
dreds of places in the world besides Italy
and Canada. but the hbers are nearly all
too splintery and brittle Rich deposits
have recently been found in Wyoming
California and Montana, and the United
States my soon come 20 the front as
producer Of the substance. In 1898 Cali
fornia produced fifty tons of asbestos,
valued at s., 500 while Canada sent out
SAB tons valued at $3l3 S1G A good mine
Of asbestos is more valuable than a gold
mine, and as the substance becomes better
known and more used II will be still more
precious. The time may not be far dis
tant when firemen will be clothed in suits
made from asbestos.