Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1859-08-25
MisttIlant0us.
Tin---Its Uses and Commerce.

There are thousands of persons who have
no further knowledge of tin than that of be-
holding it in the form Of common pals and
pans. Well, to use an expressive Irishsm,
" such tin is no tin at all" 1t is simply thin
plates of iron coated with tin metal, the pro-
per name of which ought 10 be timed sheet-ir0u
Tin is one of our most useful metals, because
it is employed for a great number of purposes
We purpose to give some information respect
ing it, which will be new to most of our people
and interesting, we think, to ALL
Tin is one of the most ancient metals
that is, it was wellknown to the ancieuts and
it is very well established as a fact that the
PhGnicianS, those olden masters of the sea when
Tyre was in her glory made voyages to Corn
wall, and obtained tin from the mines in that
district, long before Britannia was known to
the Romans. 1t was this tin, alloyed with cop
per, which formed the Old brouze armur of the
Asiatic warriors and il may have been furnish
ed also by the removed Hiram, King of Tyre,
the great architect and friend of Solomon, for
the building of the first and unapproached
Jewish temple. In appearance, this metal re-
sembles silver when first polished but it sooner
becomes dim because thin coat of OXyd forms
early on its surface when exposed TO a moist
atmosphere 1t is quite ductjle and may be
rolled out into very thin sheets, called tin foI
When undergoing this rolling operation, it is
kept at temperature of about 2l2 Fab, at
which heat its maeabty is greatly increased
A common method of making tin foil is to form
ugotS of lead and tin-the former in the heart
of the iugOt, the latter on the outside-and to
roll these into foil. By this process, the tin
is retained on the outside, however thin the
ing, IS may be rolled out, while the poisonous
lead is kept inside and by this means the cost
of the material is not ore-halr what it other
wise would be if made entirely of pure tin A
patent has been secured for this invention, and
by the reduction caused By it in the price of
foil, the latter is now employed for hundred
purposes such as wrappers for tobacco, labels
on bottles, &c, for which paper and other sub
stances were formerly used.
Tin is also extensively employed in the chem
ical arts such as by cacO-printerS and dyers,
for making what are called "spirit modants
and stannate salts" It is this metal which
gives its brilliant hues to the rich crimson
shawl and the azure-blue robe Of the fashiona-
ble lady and it forms the basis of many other
coIorS on silk, cotton and wooden fabrics For
this purpose, the metal is commonly dissolved
in an acid, such as hydrochoric or nito muriatic,
which, in diluted state, forms the chemists
spirits" Instead of dSSOlving it as an acid
for such purpose, as was exclusively done in
former years, it is now combined with an akali.
and forms the stannate of soda, a salt resem-
bling pearash. In this form it is now exten-
sively employed in Europe, and the writer of
this has had some of it in his possession for
more than year, but has endeavored in vain
to make some of our practical chemists appre-
cate its advantages Tin dissolves in some
acids like white sugar in hot water but the
action which takes place in the former case is
chemical-in the latter merely mechanical.
The tinned-plates employed by our white
smiths " for making milk pans, pals, and such
like articles, are all imported from England to
which country their manufacture is confined
We alse import great quantities of this metal
IN pigs, called block tin" 1t is principally
used Tor making bronze alloys for machinery
and " white metal, formerly called Britannia
metal" which is an alloy composed of tin, cop
per and antimony. Very small portions Of
the latter two metals are used in the allow
only Sufficient quantity to render the tin hard
and at the same time retain its ductla ouaIity
A very great amount Of this metallic ALLOW is
employed in the manufacture oftea-tabie ware