Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-07-31
AsBEsTos AND IT'S rRo1



One of the most peculiar products Of
the earth.is asbestos. 1t is a mystery,
says the New York Times. Half of q
mineral nature and half of vegetable
nature, capable of being spun into cloth
and yet be able to resist the strongest
acids and the fiercest flames, pliable
and yet often more endurable than the
rocks In which It can be found, it is in
deed mysterious substance. Appar-.
emily possessing all the soft qualities Of
combustible woods and vegetables, 1t
seems almost indestructible, and is older
than any known form of vegetable life
Records of It's use are found in the pages
of our earliest history.
Deposits of asbestos can be found in AL
most any region. The greater part Of
the present supply, however, comes from
the Canadian mines, which have not been
in operation very long. Large deposits
have been found in the United States,
some on Staten island, others in New
Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania, in
the east; Texas, Virginia and North and
South Carolina in the south. and Utah.
Colorado and Idaho in the west. The
product of this country, however, has
been found too heavy for use. The fiber
was not strong and pl.able. The blocks,
which greatly resemble petrifed wood,
could be split into long. thin pieces, like
shingles, but no use has yet been found
for 1t.
With the development of electricity, as
bestos has become of much greater inn
portance. The friction in electrical ma
chinery and the passage of the electrical
current through various parts thereof,
and through the wires, often causes such
intense heat that much damage would
be done IL these parts were not protect
ed by some substance which can not be
affected by heat. In these cases asbestos
is used. 1t is combined with rubber ana
~ nr. ho ,Ax.1k ne
electricity, and thus safety is assured.
Asbestos is also used on steam engines.
Clothing made almost wholly from as
bestos fiber is now worn by the firemen
of London and Paris. With sponges to
protect their faces, they can now brave
the worst flames. Firemen's gloves are
also made Of this material Theaters,
to guard against the spread OF fire from
the stage to the lobby, have ASBESTOS cur
| tains, which will insure safety to those
| in front. The danger of fire, which was
once the great dread of venturesome bal
| loonistS, need not be held when asbestos
| balloons are provided
| One of the important uses to which as
| bestos Is now put Is packing for steam
pipes. 1t retains the heat, preventing its
dissipation by the supply pipes. This
has been found of the utmost Importance
| on railroad trains, where the speed itself
1 was likely to carry away much of the
| heat from unprotected pipes. 1t is also
used to keep frost from the water and
| gas pipes, and to cover boilers. One oil
| the first uses to which asbestos was put
| was fireproof roofing. A roof with as
| bestos covering is not endangered by q
fire In neighboring building.
| Asbestos can be reduced to a pulp, an(
from it can be made a very good qualit.
of writing paper, invaluable for deeds
records, charters and such things Al
must be kept for many years. Heav,
cardboard is also made. Boxes mad
from such cardboard can be used for tn
preservation from fire of valuable papers
One of the last applications of asbesto
Is to the manufacture of a wall plaster
This does away with the tedious lathin
and plastering, One coat of the asbesto
lplaster, laid on the bricks themselve
and smoothed over, will give a smooth
hard wall, through which cold can no
penetrate. Decorations for ceilings ar
also made of asbestos Many design
are now obtainable They are found Il
many large ocean steamships, where
IS desirable to secure beauty with i'm
munity from fire. In the household, also
one may use an asbestos curtain for
blower on the open fireplace 1t is muc
more convenient and beautiful than tn
heavy iron blower.
Asbestos webs are used for straininI
many things where metal or cloth strain
ers would be melted or burned by the hea
or consumed by the acid. Molten metal
saccharine juice in beet sugar factorie
and the strongest acids in chemical lab
oratores are strained by its use. To cleal
the web 1t is necessary only to throw 1
into hot fire until all the foreign sub
/ stances are consumed