NSIN FARMER.



in quantitie- varying from 2 to 40 ounces t
the ton.
  The production of the lead mines of th



United Kingdom in 1860, was. of lead ore 89.



OPI tons (yielding t8,0i50  tons of lead), an
i49.720 ounces of silver.
   By the earlier, indeed by the quite recen
 methods. less than 20 ounces of silver to th
 ton scarcely paid for the expense of working
 ut by ta new procests discovered by the lat
 Hugh Lee Paittinaon, ores containing nnly
 ounces to the ton are economically worked
 According to Mr. Patertson,
 ;Thal proce  of desilvering lead is founded on th
 physical rFc thtat lead crystise at a temperature abov
 that at which silver stclidiies, and in thin proe of ag
 Lreaion, the silver is separated from the commonsa
 metl  It ieffectedbystoseofh hmisphericalrattroi
 pan., boldizg about three tons of metal, which are beat
 .d bv a fire below them: the silver-bearing lead is place
 in this and melted, after which the fire is withdrawn an(
 alt1 ade air-tight bkew. The workman now begin. ti
 agitate the ins, which he does with an iron ralke, re
 moving the solid parts from the edges, as the soliditfra
 tion take place. With an iron striner tbe solid crystal1
 are removed a. 'at as they are formed; these are unarl,
 pure lead, tle liquid ma. left behind being- rich in silver
 Trhia proces is repeated three or ibur tiues; the mae
 leftafter the last operation, wIch contains from mO t4
 480 ounces of silver to the tou, is then submitted to th,
 procem rf cupellatlon (beating in shallow cruciblesi, h3
 which tbe lead is oxedw~ed, and the siver left in a stat,
 of purity behind.t
 THE TI MINEit al IoANw 4.%1. . ANti r'RvoSuiiiRl,
   Are famous as being the chief source for the
whole world of this beautiful metal.  Thete ie
but little dotibt that they were worked long
before the invasion ,t the island by the Ro-
man,.   The l'htenicians certainly traded with
the early Britons for tin, and it has been sur-
mised, not without good ground, that the bronz-
es which decorated the palaces of ancient Niu-
eveh and Babylot   derived their tin froni this
same source.
  But notwithstatiditg this drain upon them
for two or three thousand years, the mines of
Cornwall and Devonshire are still highly pro-
ductive. vielding in 11W.  more than ever be-
fore, to-wit :It0.1if tons of ore, or (1,9P6 tons
of metallic tin.
            M ANI oTHER METALS,
  Including nearly all the precious metals used
in the arts, mechanical and decorative, and
some which are utsed solely in the chemical
and medicinal, are either found natively in the
British Kingdom or are imported into that



country in the crude state for manufaoture,
Beautiful specimens of gold, silver, platinum,
iridium, arsenicum, sodium, potassium, &c.,
he, were on exhibition in this department ol
thie British Court.
  But the most interesting of all-becuse ol
its more recent discovery, its peculiar proper-
ties, and the many usev to which it is being
put-is



      THE BRAUTIVIt. METAL ALtUNisiU5I.
   A few years ago, who could have imagined
that the clay trod under foot in street and field,
as dirt or a very troublesome kind of mud, was
really based upon one of the most beautiful of
metals in the world ? And yet such is the case,
for the babe of clay is Alumina, and this is
binmply the oxide of the metal Aluminium or
Aluminum.
  According to NI. Deville, in his report to the
French Academy in 1b5i, the most common
clays contain 25 per cent, of their own weight.
lie therefore concludes that '-it is eminently
suited to become a commonly used mnetal. It
is at present obtained with considerable troub-
le and expense, but the experience of the past
should teach us that the method must be event-
ually so simplified and economized as to insure
its cheap manufacture.
  When pure it possesses a beatltiful greyish-
white listre, and is so inoxidizable as to be
handled for any length of time without tar-
nishing; indeed it is capable of resisting the
action of the air in a " muffle" furnace, heated
to the temperature at which gold is assayed;
while it is not thc least affected by a heat which
consumes lead, or melts litharge. Its great
ightness adapts it to many uses for which the
other metals are inconvenient. The oxide of
he metal is pttre in the sapphire and the ruby.
With copper it forms a most beautiftl gold-
:olored alloy, which was exhibited under the
name of Aluminium Bronze. This alloy also
resists the acti6n of the atmosphere, and is
excessively hard. The polished surface is ex-
ceedingly smooth and soap-like; which pro-
perty, added to its lightness, and hardness must
give it great value in the construction of those



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f;                  THE WISCON