JVtY 2, 1883.] 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



19 



with, vermin ; all of which, no doubt, are positive advantages, 

 but in practice these advantages have been offset by the 

 lack of the instinctive care of the mother hen. The artificial 

 mother may frequently be used to advantage, however, in 

 supplementing that care. 



"The essential points of the artificial mother are a sheep- 

 skin tanned with the wool on, or a piece of buffalo robe 

 or similar material, fixed with the wool side down upon 

 a frame which will hold it just high enough for the chicks 

 to creep under, and which may be raised to suit their 

 growth; and a system of pipes, or a water-tank similar 

 to that used in the incubator, placed over the sheep-skin, 

 and warmed as in the, incubator. The 'mother' should 

 also be placed in a room warmed with a stove, for the 

 more easy regulation of the heat. 



■■ While the incubator and artificial mother are certainly 

 not what is claimed for them by some of the more san- 

 guine of their advocates — especially those who have a 

 pecuniary interest in selling them — there can still be no 

 doubt that they may be made of great service in the 

 poultry-yard, in the hands of persons who have the time 

 and natural adaptitude necessary to give that close and 

 judicious attention to the details of their management 

 which is absolutely necessary to success." — Southern Planter. 



ASBESTOS. ■ 



One of the most remarkable of all the products of 

 Natiu-e's mineral factory is that whose title hea<ls this 

 article. Everyone knows, of coui'se, that asbestos poss- 

 esses the strange and valuable quality of being mde- 

 structible by fii-e. Indestructible, that is, in the conventional 

 sense of the wo '.!, for, strictly speaking, fire can destroy 

 nothing — it can only decompose. But asbestos is the only 

 substance which is not affected by any heat, however great 

 or however long applied. It is from this fire-resisting 

 quality that it receives its name, asbestos, or amianthus — 

 the former signifying " indestructible," and the latter 

 "fhe undefiled." Every schoolboy knows — or in these 

 days ought to Imow — that the former title is derived 

 from the Greek negative " a " and " .ibe/tus" an inflection 

 of the verb ■' .</icfVii(»iiV' to destroy ; whUe the latter comes 

 from the Greek " ainiantos " — n, not and miaino, to 

 pollute. 



To give a history of this remarkable mineral product 

 would be a pleasant task, and one which would, for its 

 proper treatment, make considerable demands on the 

 learning, research, and hterary powers of the historian. 

 On such a task — seductive though it be — we have no in- 

 tention of entering. One or two points may, however, be 

 briefly noted. ^Vsbestos was certainly known to the ancients. 

 The Egyptians iuadE_ cloth of it ; while napkins, as well 

 as paper, and probably other articles, were made of it in 

 the time of Pliny. But there is little doubt that the sin- 

 gular power of asbestos to resist heat was utiUsed in by- 

 gone times for the piu'pose of performing many so-called 

 mu-acles. It is not improbable either that the ancient 

 ordeal by fire was frequently accomplished in safety by the 

 aid of asbestos, the fibres being imbedded in a kind of 

 paste which adheVed to the skin of the hands. About 

 the 3'car 1500 asbestos was manufactured at Venice, and 

 from that date it lias been applied to more legitimate 

 piu'poses. Some half century ago, an Italian gentleman, 

 the Chevalier AUlini, travelled tiu'ough EiU'ope for the pm-- 

 pose of demonstrating his method of utilising asbestos as 

 a life-saving agent. Some of the public exhibitions given 

 by the ingenious Italian were suflicieutly astonishing and 

 clearly showed the marvellous power of asbestos and its 

 usefulness as a protection to firemen. One very striking 

 incident occurred at some experiments which were con- 

 ducted in I'aris. A fireman bore on his back a wicker 

 basket, which was covered with metaUic gauze, and in 

 which was a child, whose sole protection was a cap made 

 of asbestos cloth. In opposition to all advice this man 

 rushed with his Uttle burden into a narrow place where 

 the flames were raging twenty-four feet high, and whence 

 a thick smoke issijed, so that that the spectators had to 

 seek a *' more removed ground." The man and child were 

 absent so long that fears began to be entertained for 

 their safety, but at length they issued from the fiery gulf 

 uniujured ; the man not a little proud of the success 

 with which he had braved so great a danger. Some thirty 



years later a person calling himself the Fu'e King gave 

 some similar exhibitions in London, but more as a pubhe 

 entertainment than as a means of showing the value of 

 asbestos. 



Since "then asbestos has been somewhat spasmocUcally 

 dealt with as an article of commerce and manufacture, 

 aud it is only quite recently that its marvellous adapt- 

 abihtytomany different purposes has been fully recognised. 

 AYhat these jjurpo.ses are aud the means by which asbest- 

 os is applied to them would make demands on our space 

 which could not well be met. Some of the principal 

 may, howevei", be noted. Asbestos millboard is largely 

 used as a material for steam joints, and for this pmjiose 

 it must be manufactured not only from the best mater- 

 ial, but in the best manner, for to produce a perfect 

 material for steam joints it is necessary that special 

 knowledge be appUed to the selection of the right fibre 

 for the pm'pose, and that this be manufactmed in the 

 proper manner. Another similar preparation is ^e Asbestos 

 and Indiarubber ^^'oveu Sheeting. Hitherto whenever a 

 joint has been e.xposed to much moisture, indiarubber 

 sheeting has been largely employed, but by combining 

 indiarubber and asbestos there has been produced a 

 material which defies alike the influences of heat and 

 moistm'e, and which afl'ords in consequence absolute .secur- 

 ity to any joint. This is one of the most valuable and im- 

 portant of this class of productions, for every user of steam 

 power knows the full meaning of the term " imperfect 

 joints." Somewhat analogous preparations are the Asbestos, 

 Indiarubber and Woven Tape, and Asbestos Fibre. The 

 former is so constructed that it cau be bent to any circle 

 without puckering, and being composed principally of 

 asbestos is practically indestructible. Manhole cover joints 

 made with this material, after fifteen months' working, 

 and having been lifted nine or ten times during that 

 period, have been found to be as good as when first made. 

 The fibre is for special engineering purposes, and is made 

 from the long Italian variety, carded and combed by special 

 machinery, without the intervention of any acids. One 

 very valuable preparation of asbestos is the Patent Asbestos 

 Covering for Steam Pipes. This is a combination of 

 asbestos aud ban- felt, and is a simple, cheap, and eft'ectivc 

 means of preventing radiation, and of thus sa\'ing fuel. 

 The modns operandi is as follows : — Flexible asbestos mill- 

 board, .specially prepared so as not to tear, is wrapped 

 round the pipe to be protected, aud over this is put a 

 layer of hair felt, the final layer being oil-cloth. The men- 

 tion of this brings us to the Asbestos Boiler Covering 

 Composition, an effective and econonncal coating for boilers. 

 It is quickly and easily applied, whether the steam bo 

 up or not ; it ailheies readUy, and preserves the nu-tal 

 from rust; while seven humiredweight mil cover 2-lS 

 square feet to a thickness of two inches. As a preventer 

 of radiation and a consequent saver of fuel it has no 

 superior. 



The basis of nearly all of these ] iroductions is, of course, 

 Asbestos Yarn, and this is manuf.wtiu'ed without any ad- 

 mixture of vegetable fibre, and so strong that six folds 

 possess forty pounds tensile strength. From this yarn is 

 obtained Asbestos Cloth, which is much used m filtering 

 acids and in some very excellent patent filters. It is also 

 used as a protection against fire in theatres. The pure 

 asbestos yarn is also made into a .steam-tight rope, form- 

 ing, without any covering, a most efficient and dmabl, 

 packing. This packing is prepared without the use of an 

 chemicals, aud, while of groat strength, is as soft an^j 

 flexible as silk. It is, and has been for the past threi 

 years, used in the British Navy, and has also been 

 adopted by several foreign Governments, including that of 

 Germany. Another similar production is the New .\sbestos 

 Tarn and Soapstone Paclring. This is a combination of 

 asbestos yarn and soapstone, which, after haring been bounii 

 together, are plaited over with a covering of the yarn, thu.'i 

 forming a packing which will not harden as so many .similai 

 preparations ilo. Asbestos Fuel for gas fires is auothei- and 

 well-known preparation, but indeed the forms in which the 

 famous mineral is prepared, and the pm'poses to which 

 it is applied are not only numerous, Irat appear to be on the 

 increase. It is satisfactory to know that modern scieuci 

 seems to be quite alive to the value of asbestos, and equalh 

 determined that the world shall enjoy the full benefit 

 obtainable from it. — Home and Colonial Mail. 



