liOADS AND RAILWAYS. 77 



Avill 1)e foniic'il bv ;i line of .swift steanier.-*, and the transmission 

 .of ilaily mails will .soon follow. It is not difficult to conceive 

 that at no distant date tliis may become the shortest route be- 

 tween the two liemispheres. By it the ocean i)assage proper 

 jnay be n-dmid to a little over three days — a weighty considera- 

 tion with the majority of traveller.s. 



ASBESTOS MIXING. 



Tlicre is a new industry springing up along the western coast, 

 wliicli is likely lo prove important and renmnerative. The very 

 valuable mineral sulj.stance called asbestos lias been discovered in 

 so many dittVreut places that there can no longer be a douljt that 

 >s'ewtouiidl;nid will become one of the very few sources of .su^jply 

 which at jaesent e.\i<t. Asl)e.stos, as is well known, is one of the 

 scarcest minerals, while its use is extending .so rapidly that the 

 demand is constantly increasing. The Province of Quel)ec is at 

 prc-icnt the chief .source wlieni;c manufacturers on this side of 

 the Atlautie derive tlieii' -uj}i)lies. It is there found in the 

 magiiesiau roiks known as the (^)ueliec (ilrou]). There are im- 

 mense areas in this island covered by the same maguesian rocks; 

 .and in I'ccent years the effoi-ts of prospectors liave been rewarded 

 by the discovery of an excellent (piality of this mineral in several 

 localities. Sf) far thc^e iliscoveries have been chiefly confined to 

 the neighbourhood of Port-au-Port. Here Mr. Jones, an Eng- 

 lish gentleman, author of an excellent work on asbe.«to.s, has been 

 .at work foi- two seasons with very encouraging results. Two 

 .other ile]iosits have been found in the .same locality, and a .still 

 more impoi'taut one between Bay of Islands and Bay St. George 

 near the line of railway, to which reference has already been 

 made. The total absence of roads has greatly retarded progress 

 at these mines. AVhen supplies of food, tools and all equipments 

 ha\-e to be cairied ou men's backs for miles through the woods 

 in order to reach these mines the cost of working l)ecomes enor- 

 mous and cajntalists are discouraged. Eoads in many directions 

 to connect with the railway will soon be found nece.s.'^ary- As 

 the rocks hohliug this mineial are widely developed, Ijoth along 

 the sea coast and in the interior, it is highly probable that 



