The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-12-05
NG TE1EGRAPH- LADELPHlA, THURSDAY,

DHAS AOOs'
employed in solid ware is o. the coin standard
one-tenth alloy. The platter can deposit upon
his woIk as little silver rs he chooses, either Oy
Weakening his solution or by leaving the articles
in It for very short time; and no man can
detect The cheat with Ger ainty except by an ex
pepsive and troublesome process. Nor VIII u
suffice for the operator to attend TO the strength
of his solutions, and keep his eye upon the
CLOCK. AS IN certain conditions OF the atInO-
sphere we can scarcely get aspark i1om the elec
trical machine, so there are times when the
galvanic battery works eebly, and when the
sllVeflnP goes on much more slowly than usual.
10 gusrd AGAINST errors from thus cause, there Is
no sure resource but system OF careful eigh-
lnPs. 10 such establishments as that of the
Gorh9m Com pany, OF Providence; Tiffany's or
Haughwoups, of New York; Baileys, of Phila.
delphia; and Bigelow Brothers, and Kennard's,
or Palmer Batchelder's oil Boston, eacn article
IS weighed before II Is immersed in the solution,
It's weight is recorded, and it is allowed to
remain In the solution until IL has taken on the
whole OF the precious metal 1t was designed to
receive.
There was lawsuit the other day in New
York, which turned upon the quantity of silver
deposited upon sundry gross OF forks and spoons.
The platter agreed to put upon them twelve
ounces OF silver to the gross, which is about as
much as IS ever deposited upon spoons or forks.
III ne had performed his contract he would nave
spread over each tablespoon about as much
silver as there is in ten-ceut piece; and such is
the nature OF silver that these spoons would
nave nave worn well for hye or six years. In fact,
there are no better plated spoons yet IN use than
these were designed to be- The platter meant
TO comply with the usages of the trade. He
meant to put upon those spoons the quantity of
silver which, in the trade, stands for twelve
ounces TO the gross, which is about ten ounces
10 the gross. Such was probably his vlrtuous
intention, and he supposed he had carried out
that intention. But when the spoons were put
to the test it was discovered that upon one
hundred and forty-tour tablespoons there were
but three ounces and half of silver 1t came
out on the trial that the platter never weighed
his work, and trusted wholly to the length OF
time he lett it in the solution. He appeared to
be honestly indignant at the testimony showing
that his spoons, which had been left four hours
subject to the action of the battery, had ac-
quired only film of silver. To the eye of the
purchaser, these spoons would have presented
precisely the same appearance as the best plated
ware in existence. For two or three months, or
even tor six months, they would have retained
their brilliancy. What their appearance would
have been at the end of a year or two we need
not say for most readers have encountered the
spectacle in their pilgrimage through world
which Is said to resemble plated articles of this
quality in being 'all a heeting show"
Every one is familiar with the gold lining that
is now o generally seen in silver vessels. This
Is laid on by the same process as that which
covers the outside with silver. The vessel is
filed with a solution of gold, and in this solu-
ton thin plate of gold is suspended. The elec-
trio current beng made to pass Though the in
terror thus prepared, the liquid bubbles up like
gold is deposited upon the inside surface for the
purpose designed. When this is accomplished
nothing remains but to polish the vessel, " thin
and without, and we have piece of ware which
is silver when we look at 1t, and golden when
we drink from it.
The obstacle to the introduction of the supe-
rlor plated ware now made by the Gorham
Company is its costlness The best plated ware
costs five times as much as the worst, and one
fourth as much as solid silver. We saw the
other day three large salvers, which at a dis
tance of six feet, looked very nearly alike. All
of them fore a most brilliant polish, and all
were elaborately decorated. One of them was a
trashy article, made of an alloy of lead and tin,
covered with "blush" of silver. 1t had been
Tt ns s1S shed e f m tSs 6Sw by
ton subject to the action of the battery for per-
haps fifteen minutes. II was very heavy, and
when IT was suspended and struck it gave forth
a dull leaden sound. The price of this abomna-
ton was $3.50, and it would last, with careful
occasional usage, for year. Daily use would
disclose its real quality in a few, weeks.
to which no objection could be made except
that its price was $3.50. The third was of
that superior plated ware introduced re-
dence. The base of this article was the metal
now called nickel-silver-a miXture of copper,
nickel, and zinc-a very hard and ringing COM
pound, perfectly white, and capable of high
polish. Upon this hard surface as much silver
had been deposited as upon the best Sheffield
plated-ware, which is about as much as can be
smoothly put upon it by the electro-plating pro-
cess. When the salver was struck, it rang like
a bell, and it would not bend under the weight
of a man. Such salver used continually, will
retain its lustre for q whole generation, and
when, after that long period, It begins to lose
its coating, 1t can be resllvered and made as
good as ever. But the price of this article was
$2O0-more than. five times the cost of the
leaden trash, and a fourth of the price of the
solid salYer. Nevertheless, plated-ware of this
quality is the only kind which 1t is good economy
to buy There are few more extravagant pur-
chases we can make III housekeeping than lead
and brass-ware covered with film of silver so
thin that an ounce of the precious metal can
actually be spread over two acres of it.
One fact can easily be borne in mind; good
serviceable plated articles cost, and must cost,
from one-foufth to one-thrd as much as
similar articles of solid silver. Anything of
much lower standard than this is trash and
vuparity.
For our part we prefer good plated ware to
solid plate. In plated ware we can now have
all the beauty of form. all the briliancy of sur
face all the durability aud utility of solid
silver, without its excessive costliness without
appearing to be guilty of ostentation, without
putting our neighbors to shame, and without
offering perpetual temptation to burglars.