Year: 1879

1t does not Sappear to be generally
known that the article so commonly
used for household utensils, for cans,
for roofing, etc., called 'tin," really
contains very little tin, seldom more
than one part in forty or fifty. Tin
pure this a silvery white metal and
easiest melted of all the metals in com
mon use; it being only about five
.eighths AS heavy as lead, and requires
only about twO-thirds the heat to melt
it. Pure tin is called "blOck-tin," but
it is rarely used pure, the utensils, said
to be made of block-tin being alloys
with other metals. Our common tin
ware is really tta-ptGte-a thin sheet of
iron, coated with film of tin. Plates
of iron of the proper size and thickness
are secured with sand and acid until
perfectly clean, and then dipped sever
al times in melted tin; d coating of tin,
of variable thickness, sdheres to the
iron. The Object of coating iron with
tin in this manner is to protect the iron
from rusting. Tin when exposed to
the air does not rust or even tarnish,
while iron readily does so, but the thin
coating of tin completely protects it.
No doubt that many housekeepers will
be ready to assert that tinware does
rust-and they are cOrrect-tin-I -ICdre
does rust, bot tin itself does not; so long
as the coating of tin is perfect, no rust
ing can take place. The knowledge
of the fact that all tir-ware is only tin
upon the surface, but that the body is
iron, shonld lead to greater care in the
purchase and the use of such articles.
Aside from the fact that the iron plate
10 be covered with tin may be good or
bad. there is great difference in the
coating Of tin; for cheaper ware, not
only is the tin adulterated with lead,
but this put on in the thinnest possible
coating, various expedients being used
to quite cover the iron and yet make
the coating as thin as pOssible-a mere
film or wash. In this, as in many 9TH
er cases, the purchaser must rely upon
the honesty Of the manufacturer, for in
this as in silver-plate the bad looks
equally we'll with the good; the maker
of the ware can buy tin-plate on which
there are three or four times as heavy
a covering of tin as on the cheapest.
1t is important to have good ware at
the start. 1t will be understood that
when plate of tin is cut, the iron is
exposed at the edges; in making up
utensils careful manufacturers tin these
edges, j. e., cover them with a film of
tin. The neglect to do this is what
makes cheap ware show rusty spots a.
ter few days use. With the best of
ware the tin viii in time wear off and
lexpose the iron, but this is often hast
ened by improper cleaning. Some
persons, especially help. pride them
selves upon their bright tinware, which
is furiously secured with soap and
sand; one such securing will remove
the Timing from cheap Ware, and the
best can not stand many repetitiOns
unharmed. Nothing coarser than
whiting should be used upon tin-wsrt.
unless in the rare cases hen some sc-
cident has made it necessary; care in
its use, and the knowledge that the tin,
like beauty, sis but skin deep"-thst
the articles are really iron, with a thin
covering of a very soft metal-tin-
should lead to a more economical
treatment of these most useful house,
hold cOnveniences.-From American
Agriculturist for March 1.