A S B 



[38] 



ASH 



It is amorphous. Texture foliated 

 or striated. Specific gravity from 

 3' to 3 '30. Colour olive or green. 

 It consists of silica 46, oxide of iron 

 25, lime 11, oxide of manganese 10, 

 magnesia 8. 



ASBE'STOS. j ao-ySeo-ro?, Gr. nomen 

 ASBE'STUS. j lapidis, unde telse fiunt, 

 quoa non comburuntur in igni ; 

 asleste, Fr. asleste, It.) A mineral 

 of which there are several varieties, 

 all marked by their fibrous flexible 

 quality. Asbestos is itself a variety 

 of hornblende. It was well known 

 to the ancients, by whom a kind of 

 cloth was made of one of its varie- 

 ties, which was esteemed to be 

 incombustible. It is found abun- 

 dantly in most mountainous coun- 

 tries, and in the isle of Anglesea 

 it lies in considerable quantities 

 between the beds of serpentine. 

 Yeins of asbestus may be seen in 

 almost all the serpentine formation 

 of the Lizard ; some of them are as 

 wide as half-an-inch ; but their 

 width, in general, is that of a line, 

 running in all directions. Veins 

 of asbestus occur also in the green- 

 stone. Although fire acts slowly on 

 its fibres, yet it will, in the course 

 of time, consume them. It is 

 commonly amorphous. Texture 

 fibrous. Lustre from to 2. 

 Hardness from 3 to 7 . It absorbs 

 water. Colours white, green, blue, 

 yellow, and brown. Its constituent 

 parts are, silica 60, magnesia 30, 

 lime 6, alumina 4. It feels soapy 

 or greasy. For one of its varieties, 

 flexible asbestos, see Amianthus. 

 Another variety has obtained the 

 name of mountain cork, from its 

 swimming when thrown into water. 

 This variety has a strong resemb- 

 lance to common cork. Its fibres 

 are interwoven. Specific gravity 

 from 0-6806 to 0-9933. It feels 

 meagre ; yields to the fingers like 

 cork, and is somewhat elastic. 

 Colour white or grey. Its con- 

 stituent parts are, silica 62, car- 



bonate of magnesia 23, carbonate 

 of lime 12, alumina 2*7, oxide of 

 iron 2 -3. One variety is called 

 rigid or common asbestos. Of this 

 the colours are usually green, and 

 disposed in straight, pearly, rigid 

 fibrous concretions. Soapy or unc- 

 tuous to the feel. Another variety 

 is known by the names of rockwood, 

 mountainwood, or ligneous asbestos. 

 The colour of this variety is brown, 

 and its general appearance greatly 

 resembles fossil wood. 



ASBE'STIFOKH ACTYNOLITE. j A sub- 



ASBE'STOUS ACTYNOLITE. ) species 

 ofcvariety of the mineral actynolite, 

 of a green, greenish-grey, or brown- 

 ish-green colour. It occurs in beds 

 in gneiss, mica slate, and granular 

 limestone. Specific gravity 2-5 to 

 2-8 Those varieties of asbestiform 

 actynolite which occur in very thin 

 scopiformly aggregated acicular 

 elastic flexible crystals, have by 

 some mineralogists been deemed a 

 distinct species, and named, by 

 Saussure, Byssolite, by Haiiy, 

 Amianthoid, and by others, As- 

 bestoid. 



A'SCARIS. (afficapl?, Gr.) Cuvier 

 placed the ascaris in the order 

 Xematoidea, class Entozoa. The 

 thread- worm. 



ASCI'DIA. A genus of animals found 

 in the sea, adhering to the rocks. 

 Class Vermes, order Mollusca. 



ASCI'DIOIDA. Having the characters 

 of ascidia; resembling ascidia. 

 Just as we see the ascidioida and 

 helianthoida of our seas fixed to the 

 boulders and rocky skerries. Hugh 

 Miller. 



Ascidioida, or Tunicata, con- 

 stitutes the third order in the class 

 Molluscoidea ; these have EO fossil 

 representative's, as they have no 

 hard parts likely to be preserved. 

 ASCITI'TIOUS. (ascititius, Lat.) Sup- 

 plemental; additional; not origin- 

 ally forming part of. 



ASHBUENHAM BEDS. The lowest 



division of the "Wealden strata, 



