Asbestos is a fibrous silicate of
magnesium and calcium. However, the “extender”,
known as “asbestine”, that has come to the forefront in
paint making, is really a ring silicate of magnesia and
slightly alkaline, but without the fibrous texture of
asbestos or amianth. Asbestine pulp (as a certain variety
of the material mined at the foot of the Adirondack
mountains is known to the trade), although it is sold
in the dry powdered form, belongs really to the soapstone
or talc variety. But it is not as unctuous as either
of those, has a harder texture, and is of whiter color
than either soapstone or talc.
