Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 15, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 April 1893 — Facts About Asbestos. [ARTICLE]

Facts About Asbestos.

Asbestos, which has come to bo largely uti'ized by electrical engineers, is one of the most interesting substances employed in tho arts. Many new beds of this material uro being discovered, but, except from the Canadian nnd Italian beds, the specimens secured are practically useless for manufacture. Large quantities of floss and powdered asbestos aro obtained from tho district of tho Bu»a Valley, Piedmont, Italy, and in tho second district, about thirty miles long, in the Aosta Valley, tho deposits arc said to be practically inexhaustible. A third district, which is still more important, centres at Vnltelllna, the route to which passes Milan aud Como to C'olico. The Canadian deposits aro in tho Black Lake district., between Quebec nnd Hherhrook. The asbestos bearing rock is usually some kind of n green serpentine, and in working it is first crushed in special machines so as not to destroy the fibre. The long fibre is shaken, carded and spun, much like cotton and wool, into yarns, tapes and cloths. In tho rubber department it is proofed and made into sheeting, tapes and rings for steam and other joints, or into cloth nnd millboard. A special kind of packing for high pressure cylinders, known as metallic cloth, is made by weaving together brass wire and asbestos, and is used in many marine engines.-—[New York Telegram.