Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-06-06


| bins Nothing more beautiful than the ma
terial at this stage can be Imagined. What
few moments before was dark. sheeny
rock, has been TRANSMITTED into a white.
| shining mass Of delicate, qulvering down.
Protection of Walls.
The process Of manufacture is intensely
interesting. more especially from the fact
that as the industry Is constantly entering
upon novel phases, new methods of treat
ment and special machinery have to be de-
vised. 1t will suffice to say that the asbes-
! tos is graded in the bins, according to its
| length of fiber: No. l. which is the highest
grade, is used for cardingsf spinning and
weaving. No. is used to some extent for
! carding, as well as for cement, and for pipe
covering, and as a substitute for No. l
where the material permits Of a shorter
for many kinds of filters. ,I,
one of its special uses is for wall plaster
Ihls is new application which will have a
distinct effect In modifying the practice of
indoor plasterlng. Instead of the ordinary
tedious and elaborate prepare ton of studs
and strips, and the use of inferior and dust
creating mortar, with its after-scorine.
which is necessary to give cohesion to the
final coat of plaster of Paris, a single cont
Ing Of the asbestos is laid on 1t has a glossy
surface that will not crack, as while firm
II Is perfectly flexible. 1t can be put on
the raw brick; and room of which the
walls have been built in the morning can
before night have a smoothly finished in
terror surface, shining like glass ard hard
as rock. kindred application of asbes-
tos is now coming into vogue in the shape
or untnflammable decorations for walls ard
ceilings. These are used a great deal for
the saloons of steamships. They are en-
bossed in very beautiful designs and can
be treated with gold, varnish, lacquers or
any other substance, for the enhance ment
or their ornamental effect.
Its Innumcrable Uses.
The applications Of asbestos are now go
Infinite that it is impossible to enumerato
them here; but few Of the more impor-
tant of them may be mentioned.
Firemen clad in asbestos clothing and
masks. are those of London and Paris,
can walk through the hottest flame with
comparative impunity. Asbestos freproof
curtains have reduced the mortality of
theater fires in very appreciable degree
In torpedoes, the difficulty of dealing with
the charges of wet gun cotton is overcome
by inclosing them in asbestos, the employ
ment of which has also. in great measure,
brought the dynamite shell to Its present
ef1lclency. Asbestos is made into a cloth
available for aeronautical purposes A
balloon made Of this uninfammable ma
terial escapes one of the most terrible dam
gers to which an ordinarily constructed bal
loon Is liable. Probably one of the frs; ap-
plications Of asbestos in this country was
to roofing. To buildings covered with this
material the shower Of sparks from a
cOnUdSTdtlon involves no QEn-
ger. One of the largest branches Of ashes
tos manufacture is that of sectional cyiin-
ders for pipe coverings, for retaining the
heat of steam and other pipes. felt protec-
tive coverings for boilers, frostpro pro-
tections for gas or water pipes. and cement
telling. which can be laid on with tro@el,
for the covering of steam pipes. boilers or
stills.
An interesting innovation in this class Of
manufacture is asbesto-sponge. 1t IL not
generally known that sponge has great
powers of fire resistance. The discovery was
made accidentally not long ago, and the
result was that a consignment of scraps of
sponge picked up on the southern coasts
vas ordered for experimental purposes.
The sponge was finely comminuted and
mixed intimately with asbestos fiber. The
combination found SO successful for
any covering which had TO be fireproof as
well as heatproof that the material has
become standard. Being full of air cells. 1t
necessarily makes an excellent non-con-
ductor. Another very extensive depart
nlent in asbestos manufacture is that of
pGckings. OF these there are infinite
number of forms.
For Electrical Purposes.
To the electrical engineer asbestos is alb
solutely Indispensable. Many parts Of cleo
trical devices and machinery and wires
through which the electric current passes
become heated, and We're it not for the
electrical Insulating and fredericksburg
qualities which asbestos possesses the ap-
pGratus would be completely destroyed,
particularly in the case known to cleo
tricians short crcuttinR. For such
purposes has been found advisable to
combine asbestos with rubber and other
gums, and this on1b,nation' Is now used
universally for not only electrical, but also
steam and mechanical purposes.
y considerable part of an asbestos factory
is devoted to weaving, the asbestos being
first drawn into thread for that purpose.
Here again is an apparently endless d.
There o11rt oil
blower, which, with an automatic spring
roller attachment, takes the place in the
frame of the fireplace of the less slightly
sheet iron blower; and flterng cloths for
many purposes, from straining molten
metal to clarifying saccharine juices in
beet root sugar retineries. cloth is made
for straining and filtering acids and aka
lies in chemical laboratories. This is spe-
clally useful when the liquid to be treated
IS of a caustic or strongly acid nature
The hitter can be thrown in the fire, and
after the residual matter has been con-
sumed the web is as good as new For
hiterlng purposes generally asbestos has
unique adaptabity. and In tropical coun-
tries 1t is held in grateful estimation as a
cooler and purifier of water.
The newest departure in the asbestos
Held is the construction of electrothermic
apparatus. The heating effect of the cleo
trio current is utilized by Unfolding the
WIRE IN an asbestos sheet pad. The pad
is used by physicians and nurses for main
tanning artificial heat in local applications
ana is SAID to be already largely used in
hospitals. Another application of the same
principle is to car heaters A sheet of as
bestos. with the imbedded wires is clamped
between two thin steel plates, and the
portable heater thus provided, or a series
if need be, is connected to the car circmit
quickly and easily. 1t gives an even and
healthy heat and can be SO regulated as
not to overhead the car
AL FRESCO LIVING.