The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-10-28
Metals OF tho hncICnts.

.hca't, plulSli-Sray nlclai, was known TO
the Egyptians at an carly date, and is men
toned by Homer. IT was used in Rome
for pipes to convey water, and in thin sheets
for roofiing purposes. The powder (ccrussa)
used by tho Atlcnicn ladies to tint their
compilations was their white lead. Lead
owes its usefulness in tho metallic state
chiefly to its softncss and fllsibility. In an
cient times tin was scarce, and The chief
supply was from India, Spain, and tho
celebrated mines of Cornwall, England,
which have been worked uninterruptutlly
from the earliest historic periods. Tin was
used by the Egyptians nearly 1000 years
ago. Mercury was well known TO the an
clients and was then supplied from Spain,
where it was obtained from cinnabar by u
process which appear" to have been the
first crude example of dsillution The
power OF mercury TO dissolve gold was
known to- Pliny in the first century, a. ID.
With lis mercury is much used in various
chemical preparations as u powerful med
icinc, and as Il developing agent in the
dagucl o!cotypc. 1t is also used to extract
gold from its earthly or rocky matrix The
chemist uses is instead of water for collect
ing gases, which would be obsorbcd by the
latter fluid. For many ages no addition
was made to the seven metals which have
been described III modern articles. 1t
was not even suspected that the number
could be increased, but towards the end of
the thirteenth century antimony was added
to the metallic famly. 1t was discovered
by Basil Valentine. 1t is found in Ger
many and also in India. 1t is of Il silver
white color, with good deal OF llstre, and
neither furnishes nor rllsts. IT. is valuable
III the arts from its hardness in making
alloys. second metal, bismuth, has
been known since 1929. 1t is readily dis
tmguishcd by its peculiar reddish lustrc
and its highly crystalline structure. Its
principal source is Saxony. 1t is largely
+ employed in the arts, but rarely by itself.
l'earl powder, used to whitcn ladies' faces,
Contains bsmuth. Zinc Is perhaps tho
most important of the newly discovered
metals, and may have preceded the others
it was certainly described long before. An
obscure passage in Strabo seems to show
tliat Il ccrthin stone was found to drop false
silver when melted, but there is little to
show that this false silver was zinc. 1t Is
positive, however, that its alloys were
known to the later Romans for numerous
coins have been found containing coppcr
and zinc nearly in the proper proportions to
form brass. The origin Of the term zinc is
lost III obscurity.. 1t was first employed
ny Basil Valentine, but Paracclsus, who was
tond OF penetrating TO the source of things,
was the first to associate the word with q
metal possessing the character of zinc.
Platinum, discovered by Ulloa, Spanish
traveller in America, in 1875 is one of the
pure metals found only in its natiye state,
III small glistcning gIobulcs of gray steel
color, though occasionally in masses the
size OF pigeons egg 1t is the heaviest
form OF matter yet known. 1t does not
oXlulze in dir at any temperature, no single
acid has any effect on ii, and it is very in
fusiblc. It has been coined into money in
Itussa. Cobalt is the name or cerLul,l
demons who were supposed to haunt mines
and TO manufacture those ores which looked
we'll to the eye but wcrcrcally of little value
Among these were supposed to be the ores
OF this metal, and hence its name 1t was
discovered about the middle of tho
eighteenth century. 1t is rcdtlish-gray IN
color, and, Is of no use in manufactures
and the arts, except that beautiful blue and
green pigments are produced from its oxides
Nickel was discovered by Cronstcdtin 175I.
Pure nickel is a brilliant silvcr-whitc, due
tile, mallcablo metal 1t Is used rs whitcn-
ing agent In the manufacture of German
silver, and has been conventcd into coin at
tho United States mint and has got largely
into uso in plating various metals Our
nickel cents contain 80 parts copper and 10
nickol. Manganese, made known in l774,
is one of the heavy metals of which iron
may be taken as representative. 1t can
DC highly polished; and is so very hard that
1t can scratch steel and glass. Arsenic was
produced as metal about 1898. 1t was a
very soft, brittle and cmincntly poisonous
metal OF stccl-gmy color. 1t is scattered
In great abundance over the mineral king
dom and Is sometimes found in the free
state, but moro frequently combined, chief
ly with iron, nickel, etc. II Is used In the
arts and also as a medicine. In addition
TO tho above thcre arc at least thirty five
metals, most of them discovered since 1774.
'The best known of these arc tungsten, 1881,
palladinm and rhodum, by DR.. Wallaston,
who first fused platinum potassium, sod
dum, calcium, barium, and strontium, in
1928, magnesium, in 1920. The very last
In date Is sdianium, discovered in 1860.
'''I' '"G Glass Pafnter's Studio.