202 



Island. Some of these specimens belong to the group of actinoliti© 

 minerals like the deposits found in Potton and Bolton, but 

 among others observed from that country, were samples of vein asbestus r 

 equalling in quality any obtained at Thetford, and having a fibre from 

 two to three inches in length. Little attention has, however, been paid 

 to these deposits by the people of the island, and their extent is entirely 

 as yet, unknown. It cannot, however, be expected that this seeming 

 indifference will long continue, in view of the rapidly increasing demand 

 and consequent advance in prices. And it is probable that the time is 

 not far distant when Quebec's greatest rival as a source of supply for 

 asbestus will here be found. 



While the mode of occurrence of asbestus, and, to a 

 limited extent, its uses as well, have been known to a few, pro- 

 bably for the past twenty centuries, the discovery of its true economic 

 value and of its great commercial importance are matters of quite recent 

 date. Under the general term "asbestus," we find included several 

 varieties of minerals, or of rock matter, some of which present startling 

 and somewhat anomalous features. For instance, rocks as a rule, or 

 the ingredients of mineral veins are generally regarded as possessing a 

 weight or density several times greater than water, yet in one form, at 

 least, of this mineral, we have a substance so light that it will float 

 readily upon water, and has in consequence received the name of moun- 

 tain cork. To most people, also, in speaking of rocks, minerals, or ores 

 generally, the impression is conveyed that these are dense, heavy bodies, 

 which can be crushed to powder with the proper application of sufficient 

 force, yet here we have a mineral which can be pulled apart with com- 

 parative ease, teased out into fibre, and which thereupon presents the 

 characteristic appearance of fine floss silk or cotton, so much so that in 

 certain places this material is familiarly known by the name of cotton 

 rock — or as the French call it, pierre du coton. 



We have therefore here a substance which in some respects 

 presents features belonging to both the minei-al and vegetable kingdoms. 



While, however, asbestus in all its forms must be styled a true 

 mineral it possesses certain properties which distinguish it very clearly 

 from many others. Among these presumably the most important 

 is that of non-conductivity or its power of resisting the action of heat. 



