The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-01-03
HOW TO MAKE GOLD.
Recipe For the Manufacture of the
Yellow Metal.

Just now, when the whole country is
agitated over reported success in the
transmutation of minerals, the follow
ing description of how Indian alchemists
manufactured the yellow metal will be
of interest:
For long time in India the apparent
transmutation of tin, zinc, copper and
mercury into precious metals has been
practiced, says Paris Cosmos We
have seen there with our own eyes a
metal like gold issuing from the cruel
BILE of the Indian alchemist-a metal
that could not be told from real gold
by means of the tombstone. We may
say, however, that in old India, as we'll
as in young America, they have not yet
succeeded in giving to the metal thus
obtained the chemical properties of
gold. On this point they are not more
advanced in the one country than in
the other. and the problem seems to
us not to be near solution. The metal
obtained can, in fact, be decompoSed
into its constituent elements. Never
theless it may be interesting to pre-
sent to public notice the Indian al
chemists and to describe their methods.
Around these persOnages many le-
gends have sprung up. The people as
Sert that they never come into a city
except by divine inspiration in order to
cure illness and to enrich certain per-
sons. There is a belief among the Hin
docs, very widespread. but purely fabu-
lous, that they disappear at certain
hours to rejoin the cittars-divine ma
turalists of the early ages Of India,
who, according to HindoO tradition,
meet with their divinity, Hari Ishari,
on the SUBMITS of the Himalayas, to
learn the secrets of nature.
The following is the method employed
by these Indian alchemists to make
-. -
forming to the weights and measures
in use in India, the list of substances
necessary for this delicate operation.
These are, according to our documents:
Sulphur of Nelli-Kai Phylanthus
Iemblica), "a rupees weight & ounces).
White seeds of Abra precatOrius, 8
rupees weight (212 ounces).
One whole garlic.
Cinnabar, rupees weight q ounces).
English orpiment, rupees weight.
Sal ammoniac, 6 rupees weight.
These are powdered separately, and
then a paste is made of the whole, with
three quarts of paddy" made of the
milky juice of Aselepias g;gantea. The
whole is ground up with this milk
Then little hard balls are made of the
mixture, and finally two sattis are
taken of fine. hard eartbenware, of
such size that the material to be dis
titled couples only one-third or one
fourth of the vessel. On the lower yes
sci another satti is soldered with pot
ter's earth. after an opening has been
made in the end of this second vase.
Over this hole is fitted a bottle whose
end is pierced, and it is carefully sealed
to the vase Into the lower vase are
put the little balls described above, and
the whole is then sealed up.
The powder, when vaporized rises
along the sides of the bot
tie and cOndenses around the
hole. 1t is collected with
feather. Then zinc is taken. For each
rupees weight of zinc is allowed a
quantity of the powder as large as
two or three rice grains. The zinc and
powder are wrapped up together in a
bit Of paper or linen or a leaf. The
whole is put into a crucibIe, which is
then sealed with paste composed of
one part of COW dung, one of charcoal
and one of potter's earth. This is
placed on fire of wood charcoal and
heated white hot, after which it is al
lowed to cool. Open the crucible-you
are a rich man.