Note 8 — Chapter I
Reading edition
Incombustible cloth made of this substance was formerly in use, not only for domestic purposes, but, also to retain the ashes of the dead from those of the funeral pile. Cloth made of amianthus, when greased, or soiled, may be cleansed by throwing it into a bright fire. It is then restored to a dazzling white colour. Pliny, the naturalist, saw table cloths, towels, and napkins of amianthus taken from the table of a great feast, thrown into the fire, and burnt before the whole company; and by this operation, he says, they became better cleansed than if they had been washed.
Pontoppidan (Natural History of Norway) remarks, that he has a piece of paper made of the Norway asbestus, which, when thrown into a fierce fire, is not in the least wasted, but what is written on it totally disappears. In Norway, the stone flax is prepared by beating it in water, till the fibres separate, which are repeatedly washed, and then dried in a sieve. It is afterwards spun, observing to moisten the fingers with oil.