THE NONMETALLIC MINERALS. 321 



work. The pulverized material is also used as a lubricator, for which 

 purposes it is remarkably well adapted. Rubbed between the thumb 

 and finger the powder is smooth and oily without a particle of grit. 

 It is also used in soap making, for which purpose it can, however, be 

 considered only as an adulterant, increasing the weight but not the 

 cleaning properties of the article. It is further used as a dressing for 

 fine leathers. Small quantities are used by shoe and glove dealers also. 

 The pure, creamy white talc, such as is obtained from North Carolina, 

 is used for crayons and slate pencils, while the still finer, cryptocrys- 

 talline varieties, such as are at present obtained almost wholly from 

 abroad, are used by tailors under the name of "French chalk" and 

 for making the tips for gas burners. Fine compact grades of a some- 

 what similar rock (agalmatolite) are used extensively in China and 

 Japan for small ornaments. The stone is readily carved in fine sharp 

 lines, and is a general favorite for making the grotesque images for 

 which these countries are noted, and which are often sold throughout 

 the country under the name of jadestone. 



The following account of the soapstone industry of China is taken 

 from the Engineering and Mining Journal of September 30, 1893. The 

 material referred to as soapstone is, however, very probably agalmato- 

 lite. (See p. 322.) 



The British consul at Wenchow, in his last report, gives some interesting details 

 respecting the manufacture of steatite or soapstone ornaments in China. The mines 

 are distant 42 miles from Whenchow, and are reached by a boat journey of 35 miles 

 up the river, followed by a land journey of 7 miles over rough ground. The hills 

 containing steatite are owned by 20 to 30 families, who in some cases work the 

 mines themselves, in others engage miners to do it on their account. The gal- 

 leries are driven into the sides of the hills, and are often nearly a mile in length. 

 The composition of the hills is soft, and the shafts require to be propped up by sup- 

 ports of timber; for the same reason the floors are full of mire and clay, so that the 

 miners wear special clothing, made principally of rhea fiber. They lead a hard life, 

 living in straw huts on the hillside. The stone when first extracted is soft, hardening 

 on exposure to the air. It is brought out of the mine in shovels, and is sold at the pit 

 mouth to the carvers at a uniform price of about one-half a penny per pound. This 

 would be when the purchaser buys it in gross, without first selecting it in any way. 

 When picked over, the mineral varies very considerably in value according to the 

 size of the lump, its shape, and above all, its colors. The colors are given as purple, 

 red, mottled red, black, dark blue, light blue, gray, white, eggshell white, "jade," 

 beeswax, and "frozen." Of these "jade" (the white variety, not the green) and 

 "frozen" are the most valuable. Indeed so valuable is the latter that good speci- 

 mens of it are said to fetch more than real jade itself. The industry finds employ- 

 ment at the present time for some 2,000 miners and carvers. A great impetus was 

 given to it by the opening of Wenchow to foreign trade. Previous to that event the 

 chief purchasers of soapstone were officials and literary men, and the article most 

 often carved was a stamp or seal. When it was discovered that foreigners admired 

 the stone, articles were produced to meet what was supposed to be their taste. Such 

 were landscapes in low or high relief, flower vases, plates, card trays, fruit dishes, 

 cups, teapots, and pagodas. If left to his own devices, the native carver proceeds 

 first to examine his stone, much as a cameo cutter would do, to discover how best he 

 can take advantage of its shape and shades of color. ( See further under Agalmatolite. ) 



NAT MUS 99 21 



