practices could have but one origin. If not the devil himself, this man certainly could be no other than one of his emissaries. So off they went in a body to the manager and demanded his instant dismissal, loudly asseverating that they would no longer eat, drink, or work in company with such a monster. Enquiry being at once set on foot, it turned out that some time before leaving England the man had worked at an asbestos factory, where he had learned to appreciate the valuable properties of this mineral; and being of an ingenious turn of mind, he had managed to procure some of the fiberized material and therewith knit himself a pair of socks, which he was accustomed to cleanse in the manner described. He was, as has been said, an unusually good workman, consequently his employers had no wish to part with him. Explanation and expostulation, however, were all in vain; nothing could remove the horrible impression that his conduct had made upon the minds of his superstitious fellow-workmen; go he must and did, nor could the tumult be in any way allayed until he had been dismissed from his work and had left the yard.

Leaving this digression, however, it may be said that the peculiar properties of the mineral were known long before Charlemagne's time. The ancients, who believed it to be a plant, made a cere-cloth of it, in which they were accustomed to enwrap the bodies which were to be burned on the funeral pyre, so that the ashes might be retained, separate and intact, for preservation in the family urn, an aperture being left in the cloth to allow a free passage for the flames. How they succeeded in weaving this cloth is now unknown. It has been suggested that its accomplishment was effected by weaving the fibres along with those of flax, and then passing the whole through a furnace to burn out the flax.

The lamps used by the vestal virgins are also said to have been furnished with asbestos wicks, so that the modern adaptation of it to this purpose is only another exemplification of the truth of Solomon's saying that "there is nothing new under the sun."

The mineral has been variously described. In general terms it may be said to be a fibrous variety of serpentine, closely allied to the hornblende family of minerals, the Canadian variety of which is called by mineralogists "chrysotile." In the local vernacular of the mining districts this is "pierre-à-coton" (cotton-stone), perhaps as expressive a term as can be found.

The ore takes a variety of forms; much of it (especially that found in the States) is of a coarse woody character, of but little value for mercantile purposes.

Sir William Logan, in his "Geology of Canada," says that foliated and fibrous varieties of serpentine are common in veins of the ophiolites of the Silurian series, constituting the varieties which have been described under the various names of baltimorite, marmolite, picrolite, and chrysotile. The true asbestos, however, he says, is a fibrous variety of tremolite or hornblende.

In Le Génie Civil for September, 1883, Canadian asbestos is thus described: "La chrysotile du Canada n'est pas comme l'amiante ordinaire formée d'un paquet de fils d'un blanc verdâtre et remplissant des cavités irrégulières: c'est une véritable pierre d'une densité comprise entre 2 et 3, qui se trouve en couches de 3 à 10 centimètres d'épaisseur. Cette pierre possède la propriété de se reduire en fibres perpendiculairement à sa longueur sous un effort très faible. Ses fibres transversales sont plus résistantes et beaucoup plus facile à filer, à tisser, et à feutrer que l'amiante ordinaire." This is as good a description of chrysotile as can be found anywhere.

Until the discovery of the Canadian mines, the variety here spoken of as amiante (amianthus), was esteemed the most rare and delicate kind, on account of its beautifully white, flexible, long, and delicately laid fibres. This variety is generally found buried in the centre of the older crystalline rocks in the Pyrenees, the Alps of Dauphiny, on Mount St. Gothard, in North America, in the serpentines of Sweden, the Ural Mountains, Silesia, and New South Wales. The most beautiful specimens, such as are preserved in museums and mineralogical collections, have mostly been brought from Tarantaise in Savoy, or from Corsica.[1] In this latter place it is said to be so abundant that, its mercantile value being unknown, it has often been used, instead of tow, as a material for packing.

In a handbook published by the Dominion Government in 1882 (before the discovery of the mines of chrysotile) on the mineral resources of Canada, it is said that—

"What is commercially known as asbestos is really a term used to denote a peculiar fibrous form assumed by several distinct minerals, rather than to designate any particular species. Tremolite, actinolite, and other forms of hornblende and serpentine, passing into fibrous varieties, assume the name of asbestos, and the 'Geology of Canada' does not give the mineral as a distinct one, but recognizes it under these different headings. As yet comparatively little asbestos has been found in Canada."

This is sufficient to show how small was the interest, even so recently as that, attaching to this substance in the very country which was so soon to find it taking important rank amongst her natural productions.

That singularly beautiful mineral termed "crocidolite," which displays such sheens and radiances of gold and bronze and green as give it the appearance of satin changed into stone, is nothing more than compressed asbestos. The derivation of its name is not happy. It is said to be from κροκος λιθος, simply crocus-coloured or yellow stone. This is doubtless its general colour, but the finest crocidolite is anything but yellow.

Having heard that there were some fine specimens of asbestos on view at the recent exhibition of the United States products at Earl's Court, I made a journey there specially to see them. In this, however, I was disappointed. There was but one small tray of so-called asbestos (amphibole) on view; and this was of a coarse woody character, very similar in appearance to a sample I had had sent to me recently from California. It was, moreover, of a very poor colour and certainly not of the kind that would readily find a market. I found there, however, a piece of unmistakable chrysotile, grouped amongst a miscellaneous lot of American minerals. The exhibitor at once told me, in reply to my questions, that this was not an American product at all, but that it was a "vegetable matter" found in Canada. He evidently did not know much about it, and said it was not asbestos at all. It was not by any means a fine specimen: it had somewhat the appearance of ordinary Thetford No. 1, though differing slightly in colour. I could get no further information about it, except that it had come from near Ottawa.

At this exhibition I found a splendid display of crocidolite, the sight of which well repaid the visit. I secured a good specimen, but found, on enquiry, that like all the superior qualities of this mineral, it had been brought from Griqualand (South Africa). The sample I secured was of the kind that in the States is called "Tiger-eye," as I presume, from its general tawny-coloured streaky brilliancy. The exhibitor said it was a silicate of iron occurring in asbestos-like fibres. It is of an exceedingly hard, densely compact nature; from its hardness difficult to work, but susceptible of a very high polish. A few years ago it was thought to be a precious stone and accordingly commanded a high price, but recent discoveries of large deposits considerably reduced