ASBOLAN. 



bones were presei"ved separately for subse- 

 quent preservation in vases. They also made 

 napkins of it, which, when soiled, were 

 cleansed by being thrown into the fire ; and 

 used it for wicks of lamps, which maintained 

 perpetual fire in their temples ; which lamps 

 were called ^irSfo-ra, unextinguislied or per- 

 petual The people of Greenland make wicks 

 of lamps of it at the present day. It is said 

 that certain tribes of Indians used to make 

 dresses of Asbestos, which, when dirty, had 

 only to be thrown into the fire to be ren- 

 dered clean again. At the present day it is 

 chiefly used for wicks of lamps, and for 

 making fire -proof safes. It is from the pro- 

 perty of resisting the action of fire that it 

 has received the name of ^'O-Sia-To; (Asbestos) 

 or unconsumable. 



Localities. — English. Cornwall, at the 

 Lizard, St. Cleer, Goonhilly Downs, and 

 near Liskeard. — Scotch. Portso}^ in Banff- 

 shire, Glenelg, Inverness-shire, and Swina- 

 ness, Batta and Fetla, in the Shetland 

 Islands. — Irish. Near Strabane, and at 

 Bloomfield, co. Wexford. — Foreign. Savoy, 

 the Tyrol, Saltzburg, and in Corsica in 

 such abundance as to have been used by 

 Doloniieu for packing minerals. The 

 Corsicans mix it with clay, which they 

 make into pots, which, though light, are 

 less fragile than if made of clay alone, at 

 the same time that they bear sudden changes 

 of temperature better. 



Brit. Mus., Case 34. 



AsBOLAN, Breithaupt ; Asbolane, Brooke 

 ^ Miller. See Earthy Cobalt. The 

 name is derived from aa-QoX-zi, soot. 



Asparagus Stone. A translucent wine- 

 3'ellow coloured variety of Apatite, found 

 imbedded in Talc at Zillerthal in the Tyrol, 

 and Villa Kica in Spain. 



Brit. Mus., Case 57 B. 



AspASioLiTE. A variety of lolite, occur- 

 ring in six-sided and twelve-sided prisms, 

 like Fahlunite, but with a less perfect cleav- 

 age. Itisofgreenish-grey toawhitish colour, 

 with a weak lustre. H.'S-S. S.G. 2*76. 



Comp. lolite + Al Si + 5 H. 



Analysis by S cheer er : 





Silica . . . . 



. 50-40 



Alumina 



. 32-38 



Peroxide of iron . 



. 2-34 



Magnesia . 



. 8-01 



Water .... 



, 6-73 



99-86 

 BB infusible. 

 ' Locality. Krageroe in Norway, associated 

 with Quartz and lolite. 



ASPHALT. 29 



Name. From "4 priv. and a-'^ivrjoi^ to extin- 

 guish. 



Brit. Mus., Case 32. 



3L P. G. Horse-shoe Case, Nos. 1148 to 

 1150. 



AspHALTic Oil. See Asphaltum — Se- 

 neca Oil. 



Asphalt, Kirwan, Phillips, Asphaltum, 

 Hatchett, 'a.o-(fKXTo;, Dioscorides. A compact 

 species of Bitumen. Solid and opaque, of 

 a velvet-black colour, sometimes approach- 

 ing to brownish-black ; with a shining re- 

 sinous lustre, and a brilliant conchoidal 

 fracture. Sectile. Feels greasy, and emits 

 a bituminous odour when rubbed. Soft. 

 S.G. 1 to 1-2. Fuses at 100° C. (212° Fahr.). 

 Burns with a bright light and a smoky 

 flame, leaving a small quantity of ashes. 

 An Asphaltum from the island of Brazza, 

 in Dalmatia, consists, according to Kersten, 

 of petrolene (volatile oil) O'O, brown resin, 

 soluble in ether, 20-0, asphaltene (bitumen 

 soluble in alcohol and ether) 74-0, yellov,^ 

 resin, soluble in alcohol, 1-0 = 1000. (Dana). 



Asphaltum is the most common variety of 

 Bitumen. It is found in great abundance of 

 a black colour, with a fracture like ordinary 

 pitch, on the shores, or floating on the surface 

 of the Dead Sea ; in the islands of Barbadoes 

 and Trinidad ; and a large deposit of it oc- 

 curs in Tschetschna, between Terek and 

 Argun. " The Pitch Lake in Trinidad, three 

 miles in circumference, covers an area of 

 99 square miles, and is of unknown thick- 

 ness. The Bitumen is solid and cold near 

 the shores, but gradually increases in tem- 

 perature and softness towards the centre, 

 where it is boiling. The solidified bitumen 

 appears as if it had cooled as the surface 

 boiled, in large bubbles. The ascent to the 

 lake from the sea, a distance of three- 

 quarters of a mile, is covered with a hard- 

 ened pitch, on which trees and vegetables 

 flourish ; and about Point La Braye, the 

 masses of pitch look like black rocks 

 among the foliage. The lake is underlaid 

 by a bed of mineral coal." (Manross, quoted 

 by Dana). The Pitch Lake of Trinidad, ac- 

 cording to Mr. G. P. Wall, yields three 

 kinds of Asphaltum, viz. : — 



1. Asphaltum Glance, which is hard and 

 brittle, of an intensely black brilliant lustre, 

 and eminent conchoidal fracture. It con- 

 tains but a small proportion of earthy im- 

 purity, and only a little water. This is the 

 rarest and most valuable kind. 



2. Ordinary Asphaltjim, of a brownish - 

 black colour, dull, and generally with an 

 even fracture. It contains 20 to o5 percent, 

 of earthy admixture, a considerable proper- 



