Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1895-04-25
Something About Asbestos.

meaning lnc0nSumaOle. Flre Will hot
burn it, acids will not gnaw it, wealth
er will not corrode it, 1t is the para
dox of minerals-for a mineral it is,
ouarried Just like marble. The fibers
of which it is composed are as soft as
silk, and fine and feathery enough to
float on water Yet in the mines they
are so compressed that they are hard
and crystalline like stone.
Although the substance has been
known for ages in tie form of noun
tain cork or mountain leather, COM
paratively little has been learned as to
its geological history and formation.
A legend tells how Emperor Charlie
magne, being possessed of table,
cloth woven of asbestos, was accus-
toned to astonish his guests by gath
ering it up after the meal, casting it
into the fire and Withdrawing it later,
cleansed but unconsumed.
Yet, although the marvellous attri-
butes of asbestos have been known for
so long, they were turned to little
practical use until about twenty years
ago. Since that time the manufacture
of the material has grown until 1t can
take its place shoulder to shoulder with
any of the giant industries of this
country. Indeed, so rapid has been
its progress and development that there
is almost no literature of any kind on
the subject, and to the popular mind
it is still one of those dim, inexplain-
able things.
Up to the '70s nearly all the ashes
tos used came from the Italian Alps
and from Syria, but one day party
of explorers discovered a rich deposit
in what is known as the eastern town
ships of Quebec in Canada. Compa-
MES were at once formed and in 1879
the mines were opened.
The Canadian mines are located in
wild, rough country almost outside OF
the pale of civilization. The sides Of
the hills cape with great holes in
which the men-mostly French Cana
dians-are at work. The veins of
chrysotile, as the Canadian asbestos Is
called, are from two to four inches in
thickness and are separated by thin
layers Of hornblende crystals. The
nearer to the surface the veins run the
coarser are the fbers and the less val
liable.
The mining is done by means Of the
most improved quarrying machinery.
Holes are drilled in long rows into the
sides of the cliffs by means Of steam
drills. They are then loaded with
dynamite and exploded simultaneously
by wires connecting with an electric
battery in such way that whole
ledge of the rock falls into the bottom
of the pit at once Then the wOrkmen
break out as much of the pure asbestos
as possible, load it into great tubs or
trucks, which are hoisted out by means
of steam derricks, and run along to
the "cob house" Here scores Of boys
are kept busily employed crumbling
or "cobbing' the pieces Of rock away
from the asbestos and throwing the
Jumps of good fiber to one side, where
it is placed in rough bales or sacks
ready for shipment to the factory.
The greatest work in connection
with the mining Of asbestos is IN dis
posing of the waste rock and the re-
fuse of the quarry. Only about one
twenty-ffth of the material quarried
is real asbestos and the rocky parts
have to be lifted out and carried away
to the dumps at great expense.
As the asbestos comes from the
mines it is in small Jumps Of green
ish or yellowish hue and the edges are
furried with loose fbers. The more
nearly white the asbestos is the better
its grade The length of fiber Is also
of great Importance, the largest beng
the most valuable
From the mines the asbestos IS taken
by rail to the manufactures III the
United States. Here the Jumps OF the
substance are emptied from the sacks
and fed into the hopper of a power
fully built machine, not unlike an old
fashioned stone process -four mill.
They are crushed through series OF
rolls until the fbers are all separated
into fluffy masses, when they pass out
along trough and into a separator.
Haro The small nieoes of stone and