68 THE NEW METHOD 



gloves, and other things. It is of various shades of 

 green, beautifully mixed, and when held in the light 

 it sparkles like very bright silver. When the fibers 

 are separated, which is very easily done, they can 

 be twisted into a verj^ strong cord. They are very 

 fine, and it irritates the skin if rubbed against it. It 

 is composed of oxygen, silicon, magnesium and cal- 

 cium, but the percentage is not known for certainty, 

 as it is very difficult to analyze. Each little fiber is 

 a crystal. It is very heavy, but it is not known what 

 the degree of hardness is. It is a variety of Horn- 

 blende, and the only variety that is used for anything. 

 It is found on the Alleghany Mountains in the eastern 

 oart of the United States, Sierra Nevada Mountains 

 in the western part of the United States, the Sierra 

 Madre Mountains in Mexico, the Apennines in Italy, 

 the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, in the northwestern 

 part or Africa, the Himalaya Mountains in Asia, and 

 the Hecla Volcano in Iceland. The market-places 

 for asbestus are at Uittle Rock, the capital of 

 Arkansas, Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, 

 Reykjavic, the capital of Iceland, Mexico, the capi- 

 tal of Mexico, Sacramento, the capital of California, 

 Rome, the capital of Italy, Calcutta, the capital of 

 Hindostan, and Morocco, the capital of Morocco. 

 Also Quebec, the capital of Canada." 



