West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1879-10-11
Metal, OF the Auc,cu,..

Lead, "a BLUSH gray metal. was known to
The Egyptians at am early date, and is mon
toned 10y Homer. 10 WAS used i'm Rome
Tor pipes Co convey water and i'm thin sheets
FOR rooUng purposes. Ih"powdcr tcculSsa)
used 10y the AthCnicu ladies To tint their
complications was their white lead Lead
owes its usefulness in the metallic state
chiefly TO It's SnttnCSs and fusibility. I'm an
Clcnt tunes tim was scarce, and the chief
supply was from india, Spain, and the
celebrated mines OF Cornwall, England.
which have been worked uniutcrruptCdly
from the earliest historic periods. Tin was
uSld 10y the Egyptians nearly 1000 years
ago. Mercury was well known 90 the nm
clients and was then supplied from Spain.
where 1t was obtained from Cinnahar low "A
process which appears to have been the
hrst crude example of distilatiun. The
power OF mercury TO dissolve gold was
known 10 Hluy i'm the first century, 4. ID.
with us mercury is much used in various
chemical preparations as n powerful med
lcinc, and as a developing agent i'm the
daguuo cutypc, 1t is also used To extract
gold from lbs earthly or rocky matrIN. The
chemist usvs rs instead ut water for collect
ing gases, which would hc uhsorbcd hy the
latter fluid. For many ages no addition
was made To the seven metals which have
been described u modern articles. II
was not even suspected that the number
could hc increased, hut towards the end of
the thirteenth century mtmouy was added
lo the metallic family 10 was discovered
10y Basil Valentine. 10 is found i'm Ger
many and in India % is of "a silver
white color with good deal of lustrc, and
neither furnishes nor rusts. II is valuable
in The arts from its hardness In making
alloys. \ second metal, bismuth, has
been known since 1929. 10 is readily dis
uh|ulshcd 10y lts peculiar reddish mstrc
and ijs highly crystalline structure Is
principal source is SaNouy. II Ia largely
employed in the arts. but rarely bv itself
Pearl powder, used TO whtcn ladies' fnccs
contains bsmuth. Zinc is perhaps the
most important of the newly discovered
metals, aud may have preceded the others:
II was certainly described long before. An
Obscure passage in Stnbo seems to show
That a certain stone was found to drop false
silver when melted, but there is little to
show That this false silver was zinc. II 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 in obscurity. II was first employed
by BASIL Valentine, but PamCclsus, who was
iona OF penetrating to the source of things.
was the first To associate the word with "A
metal possessing the character of zinc
Platinum, discovered 10y Ullou, Spanish
traveller in America, in lT31 is one of the
pure metals found only i'm lis nntiyc state
IN small gllstcning glohulos of gray steel
color, though occasionally i'm masses the
size ol pigeons egg. II is the heaviest
form of matter yet known. IL docs not
oNidilc I'm air at any temperature, no single
acid has any effect ON it,, and it is very in
iusiblc. 1t has been coined into money i'm
Russia. Cobalt is the name of certain
demons who were supposed To haunt mines.
and TO manufacture those ores which looked
well to the eye but wcrcrcally of little value.
Among these were supposed to be the ores
Of this metal and hence it's name. II was
discovered about the middle of the
eighteenth century. 1t is rcddish-gray I'M
color, and, is of mo- use i'm manufactures
ana the arts, except that beautiful blue and
green pigments are produced from itsoxid
Nickel was discovered by Cronstcdti i'm l75l.
Pure nickel is a brilliant silver white. due
tile, mallcablc metal. tits used as a Yhitcn-
ing agent I'm the manufacture OF German
silver, and has been COnvcntcd into coin at
the United States mint and has got LARGELY
INTO use in plating various metals our
nickel cents contain ~ parts copper and II
nickel. Manganese, made known i'm l7II,
U.s. ono oil the heavy metals of which iron
may bc taken as representative. II can
be highly polished; and is so very hard that
1t can scratch steel and glass. Arsenic was
produced as "A metal about l733 # was
HHs.H N..aNf H..