296 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
I have a letter from Mr. S. R. Gridley, of Bristol, 
Conn., who is one of the oldest breeders of Jersey 
cattle in the country, and who comes to my aid in 
the attempt to dissuade breeders from deferring to 
a very modern, and, it seems to me, a very absurd 
fashion, that sprung up a short time ago, in favor 
of solid (or uniform) color. Mr. Gridley says : “I 
will say that, twenty years ago, when I first com¬ 
menced breeding this kind of stock, they were 
nearly all fawn and white. Mr. Buck had some 
black and white, Mr. Taintor’s were fawn and 
white, (what he called ‘patchy ’), and Mr. Norton’s 
were French-gray and white. L. C. Ives and Geo. 
Beach had eacli a fawn and white cow, white enough 
to condemn them at the present time with the modern 
breeders ; still the former made 171, and the latter 
17} lbs. of butter per week. Then a solid-colored 
Jersey was looked upon with suspicion. Even as 
late as 1860 I bought one of Daniel Buck ; she was 
dark-fawn, with black points, (a gentleman from 
eastern Connecticut, who said that he had visited 
the Island of Jersey, denounced this solid-colored 
cow as an impure Jersey), the first that I ever heard 
of the full black-point merit, I was informed that 
it was the ‘ peculiar taste ’ of Mr. J. P. Swain, and 
I have no disposition to deprive him of his taste. 
Still the best Jersey cows 1 have ever seen, were 
not all of one color. It is true, I have two or three 
solid-colored cows, and ask more for them, as they 
are fashionable colors.” 
Mr. Swain can not be accused of originating this 
notion, which I believe to have been entirely a crea¬ 
ture of the Messrs. Fowler, the principal English 
dealers in Jersey cattle. Their purpose in resort¬ 
ing to the dodge is, I think, sufficiently clear ; and 
Mr. Swain, I fancy, adopted it from its supposed 
bearing on one of his favorite theories concerning 
the buffalo origin of this race of cattle. It seems 
to me that the best presentation of the case has 
been made by a correspondent of the Country 
Gentleman, who compares the black tongue and 
black switch mania, to the wag’s suggestion that 
Horace Greeley, in “ What I Know About Farm¬ 
ing,” said that the best broom-corn seed to plant, 
was that which had a black stripe around the han¬ 
dle. Logically viewed, I think the two cases are 
fairly parallel. 
"What is Asbestos? 
It frequently happens that a substance which has 
only been known in the laboratories and in the cab¬ 
inets of scientific collectors, is put to some new 
use, and at once becomes an article of general in¬ 
terest. This is the case with asbestos, of which 
specimens were regarded as remarkable mineral cu¬ 
riosities, but the applications of which were very 
limited until a few yeara ago, when its incombusti¬ 
ble and non-conducting qualities were turned to ac¬ 
count in various ways by Mr. H. W. Johns, who 
has set the word before the public so prominently, 
that there is a general desire to know something 
about the material. It has already been hinted 
that asbestos is a mineral, and one not very familiar 
with minerals, would be surprised to find in a well 
arranged collection, that some black glassy-looking 
crystals with well marked angles, labelled horn¬ 
blende, occupy a place very near some pure white 
specimens, with a fibrous appearance, and a satiny 
lustre, which do not look like a mineral at all— 
asbestos; if the collection is at all full, there will 
be fibrous masses like figure 1, of yellowish-white, 
and though soft and flexible, have no luster, and 
specimens like fig. 2, in which the fibres are dis¬ 
tinctly seen, but are compacted closely together. 
Much of what is called asbestos, is a variety of the 
very common mineral hornblende, which in its most 
perfect form, exists as handsome black crystals. 
These minerals, hornblende and asbestos, so unlike 
in appearance, are placed near together on account 
of their similar chemical composition, which is 
mainly silica, magnesia, and lime, with a small 
amount of iron in some. Asbestos gets its name 
from Greek words, meaning unchanged by fire, as 
it is not affected by any ordinary heat. The com¬ 
mon acids do not attack it, hence it is of use in the 
chemist’s laboratory for various purposes, such as 
filtering acids. The non-combustible properties 
were known to the ancients, who made a cloth 
from it in which the dead were wrapped prepara¬ 
tory to b arning, and in which the ashes of the body 
were saved; they also employed it for lamp-wick- 
ing. Among the minor uses to which asbestos has 
been put, is that of making gloves for the use of 
those who have to handle hot iron. The finer 
kinds, which are pure white and silky, are compar¬ 
atively rare and expensive, while the colored and 
more compact forms are quite abundant, and are 
found in various parts of the country. Some of 
the largest deposits being controlled by Mr. Johns, 
who, at his factory, reduces it to various degrees 
Fig. 2.— SOLID ASBESTOS. 
of fineness, according to the uses to which it is to 
be put. The largest quantity is consumed in pre¬ 
paring roofing material, for which the material is 
reduced to a kind of flock, and forms the basis of 
a compound which is applied to a strong canvas. 
This is nailed upon the roof, and afterwards paint¬ 
ed over with Asbestos Roof-Coating, which con¬ 
sists largely of the mineral. Various non-conduct¬ 
ing articles, such as felt, board, cement, etc., for 
protecting wood-work which is exposed to fire, are 
made largely of asbestos, and are also used to cov¬ 
er boilers and steam-pipes to prevent the loss of 
heat. The material has also been employed in mak¬ 
ing fire-proof safes. One of the most recent appli¬ 
cations of asbestos is in the making of steam-pack¬ 
ing, to use around the piston-rods and other mov¬ 
ing parts of an engine, where a steam-tight joint is 
needed ; for this purpose it is spun into ropes of 
different sizes. Indeed so many uses have been 
found for what was not long ago a nearly worthless 
substance, that we shall by and by wonder how the 
world managed to get along without asbestos. 
Extension Ladders. 
BY L. D. SNOOK, YATES CO., N. Y. 
Extension ladders are useful for various pur¬ 
poses, especially about a farm, yet not one farmer 
in ten has an extension, or even a common ladder 
of sufficient length to reach the roof of his build¬ 
ings in case of fire or any accident requiring their 
use. A ladder of 25 
feet or more in length 
is a cumbrous affair 
for common use, while 
one of 14 feet and one 
of 16 feet may be easily 
handled, and are the 
most desirable lengths 
for general use, and two 
ladders of the above 
lengths are easily con¬ 
verted into extension ladders at will. The side- 
pieces of ladders should be straight grained, and 
free from knots or any decay. A pole of chestnut 
orpine of suitable size, when split or sawed, is pre¬ 
ferable to 6awed pieces obtained at the mill. Con¬ 
necting rounds or rungs should not be less than 
1} inch in diameter at the ends, enlarging as they 
approach the center, and made of the best and 
toughest seasoned wood to be obtained. In fig. 1 
the top rounds of each ladder serve as a hinge, and 
the figure shows the ladder partly folded; when 
opened, the ends of one, H, H, rest against the 
round, E, of the other ; small rivets or bolts should 
pass through the ends near H, H, to keep it from 
Fig. 1.— EXTENSION LADDER. 
splitting. Fig. 2 shows a more desirable plan, in 
which A is an iron band or clasp that is placed up* 
on the side-piece, X, and when the ladder is ex¬ 
tended, slips down over the end of side-piece, S, as 
far as the round M. Both sides being thus made, 
the ladder can be turned over without becoming 
disengaged. Both ladders, when partly folded, 
make a good, serviceable step-ladder for picking 
fruit, etc. In making the one shown in fig. 3, place 
the rounds an equal distance apart, say 14 inches, 
then exactly two inches below each round, bore a 
half-inch hole in the opposite direction, as shown 
at P, P, P, P, ; so that when the end of one ladder is 
lapped over the other, the holes will be directly op¬ 
posite ; you can then make them of the desired 
length, by uniting them with four one-half inch 
bolts, B, B, B, B, furnished with easy turning or 
winged nuts. The coupling of this ladder takes a 
few minutes’ time, but it is perfectly safe when 
Fig. 2.— EXTENSION LADDER. 
properly united. The upper, lower, and middle 
rounds of long ladders should be one inch thick, 
and two-and-a-half or three inches wide, projecting 
and keyed at the ends, as shown at T, which pre¬ 
vents spreading apart. Ladders should be painted 
and kept under shelter when not in use. Farmers 
should also have more stationary ladders about 
their buildings, especially the bams, giving easy 
Fig. 3.— EXTENSION LADDHE. 
access to the most frequented parts of th? J 
without incurring danger to life and limb. 
