OF EDUCATION 67 



cooler than any day we have had this week. The 

 wind blows quite roughly toward the northwest, and 

 at about the rate of eight or nine miles an hour. It 

 takes a good deal of dust along with it, as we have 

 not had any rain for several days. The sky is of a 

 light shade of blue, and there are a great many beau- 

 tiful cumulus clouds, some of them being rather dark 

 colored. We did several problems in Interest before 

 recess this morning, and then we went out and had a 

 very nice time. When we came in we had a lesson 

 on a mineral called Asbestus. 



"This is a very interesting as well as beautiful 

 mineral, more beautiful than any we have had this 

 year. It is called fibrous asbestus, because it is 

 made up of fibers. It is always found between two 

 banks of other kinds of rock. The fibers are of a 

 greenish-white color, and will not burn. For this 

 reason the Greeks and Romans used it to make nap- 

 kins of, as when they became soiled, the way to 

 clean them was to put them in a hot fire, which 

 would burn the dirt off. They also used it for wicks 

 for lamps, which they kept constantly burning in 

 their temples to the heathen gods and goddesses, and 

 it was known to burn for hundreds of years without 

 consuming. For that reason the Greeks named it 

 asbestos, meaning in the Greek language, not to be 

 consumed. The people now use it for firemen's 



