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in which respect it possesses some of the properties of wood, which also 

 is in one sense a slow conductor, though in much greater perfection ; 

 since wood under the action of sufficient friction rapidly becomes 

 charred and even ignited, whereas iriction apparently exercises very 

 little influence upon asbestus, no matter how long it may be applied. 

 This property of non-conductivity, or of resistance to fire or heat, is one 

 of the principal reasons for its extensive application in certain lines at 

 the present day. 



The term asbestvs is derived from the Greek and signifies literally 

 inextinguishable, while the other term frequently applied to the same 

 mineral, viz., amianthus, is also of Greek origin and signifies undefiled t 

 from the property possessed by the mineral of being purified by the 

 application of flame without injury to the substance i self. This was a> 

 property well recognized by the ancients, since we read in several 

 of the earliest authors that the custom prevailed of wrapping the dead 

 bodies of their important personages in an incombustible cloth by 

 which the ashes resulting from their cremation were retained intact. 

 The process of weaving this cloth from the fibres of amianthus shews 

 that considerable scientific skill in the textile arts had been acquired 

 by those people, judging from the difficulty which has been experienced, 

 even in modern applications of the art, and it is supposed that the 

 requisite degree of tenacity was imparted by the admixture of threads 

 of flax or silk, which could afterwards, if necessary, be removed by 

 burning. The wicks of the lamps in the early heathen temples, which 

 were supposed never to be extinguished, were also held to have been . 

 made of this material. 



The resistant action of the asbestus fibre, or of the cloth woven 

 from this fibre, to heat, is one of its most wonderful properties. 

 Temperatures of 2000° to 3000° are easily withstood, while with some 

 varieties a temperature of 5000° Fahr. has apparently produced nc 

 visible effect. Its property also of successfully resisting the action of 

 acids is one of great value, and these properties render this substance 

 of great importance in certain chemical operations, so much so that its 

 use in this direction is rapidly increasing. 



In addition to the cloth used by the ancients in the process off 

 cremation, napkins were also woven and specimens of these are preserved. 



