The Portland daily press., 1896-06-12

IN arriving at the factory, the crude
aspesSos IL placed under a huge roller
wa!o ~, instantly reduces it to clinging
.'1"s-nKe hbrous mass. This is rapidly
psssseu through a succession of sifters and
sseparators which tear, strip and clean the
nber urtil 1t is ready for the different
4qel'arGIments for which it is to be graded.
~ ~ ~ shen taken up by blowers and shot
IA ieathery, snowlike stream into can
vas plns. Nothing more beautiful than
.hs material at this stage can he imag-
lnou' what few moments before was
iooK' sheeny rock, has been transmitted
inIo white, shining mass of delicate
quivering down.
Inc process of manufacture is intensely
interesting, more especially from the fact
.uaU as the Industry is constantly enter
Jug upon novel phases, new methods OF
treatment and special machinery have to
| 90 devised. 1t will suffice to say that
| cordlng TO its length of fiber. No. /,
which is the highest grade, is used for
eardlng, spinning and weaving. No. 2
is used to some extent for earding as well
az Tor cement and for pipe covering and
as q substitute for No. / where the ma
terlai permits of a shorter fiber. No. 8
Is Is used largely in paper, and for many
kinds Of filters.
One of It's special uses is for wall plas-
Yer; This is new application which
VIII have a distinct effect in modifying
the practice of indoor plastering. Instead
OF the ordinary tedious and elaborate
preparation of studs and strips, and the
| use Of inferior and dust creating mortar,
with it's after scoring, which is necessary
TO give cohesion to the final coat of plas-
| ter OF Paris, a single coating Of the as
| bestos is laid on. 1t has q glossy surface
that will not crack, as, while firm it is
perfectly flexible. 1t can be put ON the
raw brick; and room OF which the walls
have been built in the morning can be-
fore nightmare smoothly. finished inter
| 1or surface, shining like glass and hard
as rock. A kindred application of
| asbestos is now coming into vogue in the
shape of uninfamma5le decorations for
walls and ceilings. These are used a
great deal for the saloons of steamships
They are embossed in very beautiful de-
signs, and can be treated with gold, var
| nish, laoquers or any other substance, for
the enhancement of their ornamental
| effect.
| The applications of asbestos are now
| so infinite that it is impossible to enum-
crate them here; but few of the more
| important of them may be mentioned.
Firemen clad In asbestos clothing and
masks, as are those Of London and Paris
can walk through the hottest fame with
comparative IMMUNITY. Asbestos fire proof
| curtains have reduced q the mortality
OF theatre tires in very appreciable de-
gree. In torpedoes, the difficulty of deal
Ing with the charges of wet gun cotton
is overcome by inclosing them in asbes-
tos. the employment of which has also.
in great measure, brought the dyna-
mite she'll to its present efficiency. AS
bestos is made into cloth available for
aeronautical purpose. A balloon made of
| this uninfiammable material escapes one
of the most terrible dangers to which an
ordinarily constructed balloon is liable.
Probably one of the frs applications or
asbestos in this country was to roofngs.
10 buildings covered with this material
the shower of sparks from q nighboring
conHagration involves no danger. One
OF the largest branches of asbestos man u
facture Is that of sectional cylinders for
pipe coverings, for retaining the heat of
steam and other pipes, felt protective
coverings for boilers, frostproof proteo-
tions for gas or water pipes, and cement
| felting, whioh can be laid on with a
trowel, for the covering of steam pipes,
| boilers or stills.
An interesting innovation in this class
of manufacture is asbestos sponge. 1t Is
not generally known that sponge has
great powers of fire resistance. The dis
| covery was made accidentally not long
| ago, and the result was that censign-
| ment of scraps OF sponge picked up on
the southern coasts was ordered for ex-
! per1mental purposes. The sponge was
| finely comminuted and mixed intimately
with asbestos fiber. The combination
| was found so successful for any covering
which had to be fireproof as well as heat
| proof that the material has become stand
| ard. Being full of air cells, it necessarily
| makes an excellent non conductor. AM
other very extensive department in as.
bestos manufacture is that Of packings.
| OF these there are an infinite number Of
| forms.
| To the electrical engineer asbestos Is
absolutely indispensable. Many parts
OF electrical devices and machinery and
wires through which the electric current
passes become heated and were it not
for the electrical insulating and heat
resisting qualities which asbestos pos
sesses. the apparatus would be completely
destroyed, particularly in the case known
TO eleotricians rs "short oircuiting. F"
For such purposes it has been found ad-
visablo to combine asbestos with rubber
and other gums, and this combination is
now used universally for not only electri-
cal, but also steam and mechanical pur-
poses
A oonsidera Bile part of an asbestos fac
tory Is devoted to weaving, the asbestos
being first drawn into thread for that
purpose. Here again is an apparently
ndless diversity There is the fireplace
curtain blower, which, with an auto
matio spring roller attachment, takes
the place in the frame of the fireplace of
the less slightly sheet iron blower, and
| filtering cloths for many purposes, from
straining molten metal to clarifying
sHcharine juice IN beet root sugar refin-
cries. A cloth is made for strRining and
filtering acids and alkalies in chemical
laboratories. This is specially useful
when the liquid to be treated Is of caus-
tic or strongly acid nature. The filter
can be thrown in the fire. and after the
| residual matter has been consumed the
web is as good as new. For unique adap-
liability, and in tropical countries it is
held in grateful estimation as a cooler
and purifier Of water
The newest departure in the asbestos
field is the construction of trotherlnic
apparatus. The heating effect of the
electric current is utilized by Embedding
the wire in an asbestos sheet or pad The
pad is used by physicians and nurses for
maintaining artificial heat in local ap-
plications. and is said to be already
largely used in hospitals. Another APP
plication of the same principle is to car
heaters. A sheet of asbestos, with the
imbedded wires, is clamped between two
thin steel plates, and the portable heater
thus provided, or series if need be, is