Insipid, without taste.

Was not this curious mineral better known to the ancients than it is at present?

The linen made from it was highly esteemed by them; it was not only better known, but more common, than among us, being equally valuable with the richest pearls; but the superiority of all other cloths to this in every respect, except the resistance to fire, has caused incombustible cloth to be regarded in modern times merely as a curiosity, but it is still employed in chemical preparations.

     Incombustible, remaining undestroyed in fire.

To what use did they put it?

In royal funerals, it formed the shroud to wrap the body in that its ashes might be prevented from mingling with the wood, &c., that composed the pile.  Some of the ancients made themselves clothes of it, particularly the Brahmins among the Hindoos; it formed wicks for their perpetual lamps; thread, ropes, nets, and paper were also made of it.  Pliny, the Roman naturalist, says he has seen napkins of asbestus taken soiled from the table after a feast, which were thrown into the fire, and by that means better scoured than if they had been washed with water.

     Naturalist, a person who studies nature, especially in
     what relates to minerals, vegetables, and animals.

     Brahmins, Hindoo priests.

Where is the Asbestus found?

This mineral is found in the greatest quantity in the silver mines of Saxony; at Bleyburg, in Carinthia; in Sweden, Corsica, and sometimes in France, England, and the United States; also in Tartary and Siberia.

What method is used in preparing the Asbestus?

The stone is laid in warm water to soak, then opened and divided by the hands, that the earthy matter may be washed out.  This washing is several times repeated, and the flax-like filaments collected and dried; these are easily spun with the addition of flax.  The cloth when woven is best preserved by oil from breaking or wasting; on exposure to the fire, the flax and the oil burn out, and the cloth remains of a pure white.  The shorter threads, which separate on washing the stone, may be made into paper in the usual manner.

What is Salt?

A saline crystallization of a sharp, pungent taste, and cleansing quality, used to season flesh, fish, butter, &c., and other things that are to be kept.  It is distinguished, with reference to the general sources from which it is most plentifully derived, into three different sorts, namely, fossil, or rock salt; sea, or marine salt; and spring salt, or that drawn from briny springs and wells.

     Marine, belonging to the sea.

     Saline, consisting of salt.

     Briny, consisting of brine; which means water tasting of
     salt; it is used to signify the waters of the sea, or any
     salt water.

What is Fossil or Rock Salt?