Chapter VII: Part 7

8. The ancient Romans were not ignorant of the process of gold-beating, although they did not carry it so far as we do. Pliny informs us that they sometimes made 750 leaves four fingers square, from an ounce of gold. At Præneste was a statue of Fortune, gilt with leaves of a certain thickness; hence those beaten to the same degree of thickness were called _Prænestines_. Those of another and less degree of thickness, were called _quæstoriales_, for a similar reason.

9. The Romans began to gild the interior of their houses immediately after the destruction of Carthage. The wainscots of the Capitol were first ornamented in this manner; and afterwards it became fashionable to gild the walls and ceilings of private dwellings, as well as articles of furniture.

10. _Gold wire._--The ductility of gold is more conspicuous in wire than in leaves. The wire thus denominated, is in reality silver wire covered with gold. It is formed by covering a silver rod with thick leaves of gold, and then drawing it successively through conical holes of different sizes, made in plates of steel. The wire may be reduced, in this manner, to a degree of extreme fineness, the gold being drawn out with the silver, and constituting for it a perfect coating.

11. Wire thus formed is often used in the manufacture of _gold thread_. Before it is applied in this way, it is flattened between rollers of polished steel, and then wound on yellow silk by machinery. The coating of gold on the silver wire employed in this way, does not exceed the millionth part of an inch in thickness.

THE JEWELLER.

1. The jeweller makes rings, lockets, bracelets, brooches, ear-rings, necklaces, watch-chains, and trinkets of like nature. The materials of the best quality of these ornaments are gold, pearls, and precious stones, although those of an inferior kind are often used.

2. There are several stones to which is applied the epithet _precious_, of which the following are the principal: the diamond, the ruby, the sapphire, the topaz, the chrysolite, the beryl, the emerald, the hyacinth, the amethyst, the garnet, the tourmalin, and the opal. To these may be added rock crystal, the fine flints of pebbles, the cat's-eye, the oculis mundi or hydrophanes, the chalcedony, the moon-stone, the onyx, the carnelian, the sardonyx, agates, and the Labrador-stone. These stones, together with different kinds of pearl, are also called gems or jewels.

3. The precious stones are valuable, as articles of merchandise, in proportion to their scarcity, weight, transparency, lustre, and hardness. In most of these particulars, the diamond is superior to any other; but those of the same size are not always of equal value, for all are not of the same color or brilliancy. The very best are said to be _diamonds of the first water_. The diamond was called adamant by the ancients, although this term was not confined exclusively to this stone.

4. The weight and consequent value of the most precious stones are estimated in _carats_, one of which is equal to four grains troy weight, and the value of each carat is increased in proportion to the size of the stone. In England, the cost of a cut diamond of the first water is thus estimated:

1 carat is = _l._8
2 do. is 2 × 2 × 8 = 32
3 do. is 3 × 3 × 8 = 72
4 do. is 4 × 4 × 8 = 128

By the foregoing examples, it will be seen that the weight is multiplied by itself, and the product by the price per carat, which may be some other sum, according to the general characteristics of the stone.

5. This rule, however, is not extended to diamonds of more than 20 carats in weight; nor is this or any other rule of estimate strictly adhered to in every case; nevertheless, it probably comes pretty near to general usage. In the same country, a perfect ruby of 3-1/2 carats is worth more than a diamond of equal weight. A ruby weighing one carat may be worth 10 guineas; two carats, 40 guineas; three carats, 150 guineas; six carats 1000 guineas. A ruby of a deep red color, exceeding 20 carats, is called a carbuncle; and of these, 108, weighing from 100 to 200 carats each, are said to have been in the throne of the Great Mogul.

6. Some of the European sovereigns have, in their possession, diamonds of great value, several of which were originally brought to England from India. The _Pitt_ or _Regent diamond_ was purchased in India by Robert Pitt, grandfather of the Right Honorable William Pitt, for £12,500 sterling. It was brought to England in a rough state, and £5000 were there expended in cutting it; but the cuttings themselves were worth £7000 or £8000. It was sold to the Duke of Orleans, for the King of France, at the enormous price of £136,000. Its weight is 136 carats; and, before it was cut, it was as large as a common pullet's egg.

7. A celebrated diamond, in the possession of the emperor of Russia, is denominated the _Effingham_ or _Russian diamond_. It was brought to England by the Earl of Effingham, while governor-general of India, and sold to the Empress Catharine for £90,000. It is inferior in shape to the last mentioned, but superior to it in magnitude, it weighing 198 carats. The Queen of England has a diamond which cost £22,000.

8. The largest diamond hitherto known was found in the island of Borneo, and it is now in the possession of the Rajah of Mattan. Many years ago, the governor of Batavia offered, in exchange for it, $150,000, and two large brigs of war with their equipments and outfit; but the rajah refused to part with the jewel, to which the Malays supposed miraculous power belonged, and which they believed to be connected with the fate of his family. The weight of this diamond is 367 carats.

9. Other jewels, belonging to different sovereigns, as well as to private persons, might be mentioned; but a sufficient number has been noticed to enable the reader to form some idea of the extravagant expenditures often made for articles of imaginary value. We will merely add that the royal family of Portugal is in possession of a stone which was formerly supposed to be a diamond, but which has lately proved to be some kind of crystal of little value. The weight of this stone is 1680 carats; and, until its real character was discovered, it was valued at 224 millions sterling.

10. The value of precious stones was much increased in ancient times, by the absurd notion commonly entertained, that they possessed miraculous powers in preventing or curing diseases, as well as in keeping off witches and evil spirits. These notions still prevail more or less in heathen nations; and many, even in countries called Christian, wear them, or something else, as amulets for the same or similar purposes.

11. _The Gem-sculptor._--Figures and letters are often cut in precious stones by the gem-engraver, or gem-sculptor, whose art, according to the opinion of some writers, originated with the Babylonians; but, according to others, it had its commencement in India or Egypt. In the latter country, it was first employed in the production of hieroglyphical figures on basalt and granite rocks. This art, which is denominated lithoglyptics, or the glyptic art, was held in great estimation by the Greeks in ancient times. It arose to eminence with the other fine arts; and, like them, it had its zenith of perfection, was buried with them in the ruins of the Roman empire, and with them revived towards the end of the fifteenth century.

12. The productions of gem-sculpture are chiefly of two kinds. The first of these are _cameos_, which are little bas-reliefs, or figures raised above the surface. They are commonly made of stones, the strata of which are of different colors, so that the figure is different in color from the ground on which it has been raised. The other productions of this art are denominated _intaglios_. The work of these is the reverse of that first mentioned, since the figure is cut below the surface of the stone, so that they serve as seals to produce impressions in relief upon soft substances.

13. This artist performs his work by means of a lathe, with the aid of diamond dust. The instruments are made of soft iron, and are fixed in leaden chucks, which can be readily fastened to one end of the mandril. The diamond dust is made into thin paste with olive oil, and is applied to the point of the instrument. The small invisible particles insinuate themselves into the iron, where they remain permanently fixed. In producing figures and letters with a tool thus charged with the hardest substance in nature, the precious stone is brought in contact with it while in rapid motion.

14. The engraved gems of antiquity have been greatly esteemed, as works of art, by the curious, and various methods have, therefore, been devised to imitate them. This has been done in glass in such perfection, both as to form and color, that good judges can scarcely distinguish the imitations from the originals. The impression of the gem is first taken in some kind of fine earth; and, upon the mould thus formed, the proposed material is pressed, while in a plastic state.

15. The precious stones generally have likewise been imitated with great success. The basis of the different compositions is a _paste_ made of the finest flint glass, the materials of which have been selected and combined with great care. The desired color is produced with metallic oxydes. A great number of complex receipts are in use among manufacturers of these articles.

16. _The Lapidary._--The precious stones and imitations of them in glass are brought to the desired form by the lapidary. The instrument with which this artist chiefly operates is a wheel which is made to revolve horizontally before him. It is put in motion by means of an endless rope extending from another wheel, which is moved with the left hand of the operator, while, with his right, he holds, in a proper position, the substance to be reduced.

17. The precious stones, being of small size, cannot be held with steadiness on the wheel with the hand, nor with any holding instrument; they are, therefore, first fastened, by means of sealing-wax, to the end of small sticks. By this simple means, and a small upright post, against which the hand or the other end of the stick is rested, the workman can hold a stone in any position he may desire.

18. The lapidary's wheel is made of different kinds of metals. The diamond is cut on a wheel of soft steel, by the aid of its own dust mixed with olive oil. The Oriental ruby, sapphire, and topaz, are cut on a copper wheel in the same manner, and polished with tripoli and water. Stones of a less degree of hardness are cut and polished on a leaden or tin wheel with emery and rotten stone.

19. The ancients were not acquainted with any method of cutting the diamond, although they applied its powder to polishing, cutting, and engraving other stones. Gems of this kind, either rough, or polished by nature, were set as ornaments, and were valued according to the beauty and perfection of their crystallization and transparency. The value of any precious stone, or jewel, depends much upon the skill of the lapidary.

20. _The Pearl-fisherman._--Pearls are obtained from a testaceous fish of the oyster kind, found in the waters of the East and West Indies, as well as in other seas of different latitudes. These oysters grow in some parts of the globe, in clusters, on rocks in the depths of the sea. Such places are called _pearl-banks_, of which the most celebrated are near the islands of Ceylon and Japan, and in the Persian Gulf. The finest and most costly pearls are the Oriental.

21. Pearls are considered by some to be morbid concretions, or calculi, produced by the endeavor of the animal to fill up the holes which may have been made from without by small worms. Others suppose them to be mere concretions of the animal juice about some extraneous matter which may have been intruded by some means into the shell.

22. To collect the shells containing these singular productions, is the business of _divers_, who have been brought up to this dangerous occupation. They must generally descend from eight to twelve fathoms, and must remain beneath the surface of the water for several minutes, during which time they are exposed to the attacks of the voracious shark. In addition to the danger from this cause, the employment is very destructive of health.

23. In preparing a diver for his descent, a rope is tied round the body, and a stone, weighing twenty or thirty pounds, is fastened to the foot to sink him. His ears and nostrils are filled with cotton, and a sponge dipped in oil is fastened to his arm, to which he may now and then apply his mouth, in order to breathe without inhaling water. In addition to these equipments, he is furnished with a knife, with which the shells may be detached from the rocks, and with a net or basket, in which they may be deposited.

24. Thus equipped, he descends to the bottom, and having filled his depository, or having stayed below as long as he may be able, he unlooses the stone, gives the signal to his companions above, who quickly draw him into the boat. At some pearl-fisheries, the diving-bell is employed, which in some degree obviates some of the dangers before stated.

25. The shells thus obtained are laid by, until the body of the animal has putrified, when they commonly open of themselves. Those which contain any pearls, generally have from eight to twelve. The pearls having been dried, are assorted according to their various magnitudes; and, to effect this separation, they are passed through nine sieves of different degrees of fineness. The largest pearls are about the size of a small walnut; but such are very rare. The smallest are called _seed pearls_.

26. Pearls are of various colors, such as white, yellow, lead-color, blackish, and totally black. The "white water" is preferred in Europe, and the "yellow water," in Arabia and India. In regard to their form, they vary considerably, being round, pear-formed, onion-formed, and irregular. The inner part of the pearl muscle is called _nacre_ or _mother of pearl_, and this is manufactured into beads, snuff-boxes, spoons, and a variety of other articles.

27. Pearls were objects of luxury among the ancients. A pearl valued by Pliny at a certain sum, which, reduced to our currency, amounts to $375,000, was dissolved by Cleopatra, and drunk to the health of Antony, at a banquet. These beautiful productions are not estimated so highly at present. The largest will sometimes command four or five hundred dollars, although very few, which are worth over forty or fifty dollars, are ever brought to this country.

28. The gem-engraver and the jeweller were both employed by Moses, in preparing the ornaments in the ephod and breast-plate of the high-priest. In the former were set onyx stones, and in the latter, twelve different stones. On the gems of both ornaments, were engraved the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

39. We, however, have evidence of the practice of the arts, connected with the production of jewelry, long before the days of the Jewish lawgiver. We learn from the twenty-fourth chapter of Genesis, that the servant of Abraham presented a golden ear-ring, and bracelets for the hands, to Rebecca, who afterwards became the wife of Isaac. Perhaps these were brought from Egypt by the patriarch, about seventy years before.

30. Men have ever been fond of personal ornaments, and there have been but few nations since the flood, which have not encouraged the jeweller in some way or other. In modern times, the art has been greatly improved. The French, for lightness and elegance of design, have surpassed other nations; but the English, for excellence of workmanship, have been considered, for ages, unrivalled.

31. In the United States, the manufacture of jewelry is very extensive, there being large establishments for this purpose in Philadelphia, and in Newark, N. J., as well as in several other places. So extensive have been the operations in this branch of business, and to such advantage have they been carried on, that importations from other countries have ceased, and this, too, without the influence of custom-house duties.

32. The capital necessary in carrying on the business of the jeweller, is considerable, inasmuch as the materials are very expensive. The operations likewise require the exercise of much ingenuity. These, however, we shall not attempt to describe, since our article on this subject has already been extended beyond its proper limits, and since, also, they could be hardly understood without actual inspection.

THE SILVERSMITH, AND THE WATCH-MAKER.

SILVER.

1. Silver is a metal of a fine white color, and, in brilliancy, inferior to none of the metals except steel. In malleability, it is next to gold, it being capable of reduction into leaves not more than the 1/160000 of an inch in thickness, and of being drawn into wire much finer than a human hair.

2. The relative value of silver and gold has varied considerably in different ages. In the prosperous period of ancient civilization, one pound of gold was worth twelve of silver. In Great Britain, the relative value of the two metals is one to fifteen and one-fifth, and, on the continent of Europe, it is about one to fifteen. In the United States, the relative value of these two metals has been recently established by Congress at one to sixteen. In China and Japan, it is said to be one to nine or ten.

3. There are two methods of separating silver from its various ores, and these are called _smelting_ and _amalgamation_. In the former method, the ore and a due proportion of lead are heated together; and the latter, from its great affinity for silver, unites with it, and separates it from other substances. The two metals are afterwards separated from each other, by melting them on a cupel, and then exposing them to a current of atmospheric air, by which the lead is converted into an oxyde, while the silver remains untouched. This process is called _cupellation_.

4. In the other method, the first thing done is to roast the ore, to expel the sulphur and other volatile parts. It is then reduced to an impalpable powder by machinery; and having been sifted, it is agitated sixteen or eighteen hours in barrels, with a quantity of quicksilver, water, and iron, combined in certain proportions. This agitation causes the several substances composing the _charge_, to unite according to their respective affinities.

5. The silver and mercury combine, forming an amalgam, which, having been put into a leather sack, a part of the latter is separated from the rest by filtration, still leaving six parts of this metal to one of the silver. The amalgam is next submitted to the action of heat in a distilling furnace, by which the mercury is sublimated.

6. The value of the silver annually taken from the mines in all parts of the world, is supposed to be about $20,000,000, of which Mexico and South America yield the greater part. The several silver mines of Europe and Asia produce about two millions and a half.

THE SILVERSMITH.

1. The artisan who forms certain articles of gold and silver, is called indifferently a goldsmith or a silversmith. The former denomination is most commonly employed in England, and the latter, in the United States.

2. The most common subjects of manufacture by the silversmith are cups, goblets, chalices, tankards, spoons, knives, forks, waiters, bread-trays, tea-pots, coffee-pots, cream-pots, sugar-bowls, sugar-tongs, and pencil-cases. Many of these articles he sometimes makes of gold; this is especially the case in Europe, and some parts of Asia. In the United States, the people are commonly satisfied with the less expensive metal.

3. A great proportion of the silver used by this mechanic, has been previously coined into dollars. In working these into different utensils or vessels, he first melts them in a crucible, and casts the silver into solid masses by pouring it into iron moulds; and having forged it on an anvil, he reduces it still further, and to a uniform thickness, by passing it several times between steel rollers. In giving additional explanations of the operations of the silversmith, we will describe the manner in which a plain tea-pot is manufactured.

4. In forming the body, or containing part, the plate, forged and rolled as just described, is cut into a circular form, and placed on a block of soft wood with a concave face, where it is beaten with a convex hammer, until it has been brought to a form much like that of a saucer. It is then placed upon an anvil, and beaten a while with a long-necked hammer with a round flattish face.

5. It is next _raised_ to the proposed form by forging it on a long slender anvil, called a _stake_, with a narrow-faced hammer, which spreads the metal perpendicularly from the bottom, or laterally, according to the position in which it may be held when brought in contact with the metal.

6. After the piece has been thus brought to the proposed form, it is _planished_ all over by beating it with a small hammer on the outside, while it rests on a small steel head on the inside. During the performance of these operations, the silver is occasionally _annealed_ by heating it in the fire; but it is worked while in a cold state, except in the first forging, when it is wrought while a little below red heat.

7. The several pieces which compose a tea-pot of ordinary construction, amount to about fifteen, nearly all of which are rolled and forged in the manner just described. The knob on the lid, the handle, and the spout, are sometimes cast, and at other times, the two pieces of which they are formed are cut from a plate, and brought to a proper figure by impressing them with steel dies.

8. The figures seen on the cheaper kinds of silver tea-pots, as well as on other vessels and utensils, are commonly made by passing the plates or strips between engraved steel rollers, or by stamping them with steel dies. The dies are commonly brought in sudden and violent contact with the metal by means of an iron _drop_, which is let fall from a height upon it.

9. After the several parts have been brought to the proper shape, and to the requisite finish, they are firmly united together by means of a solder composed of about three parts of silver and one of brass and copper. Before the spout and handle are soldered on, the other parts, which have been thus united into one piece, are brought to a certain degree of polish.

10. This is effected chiefly in a lathe, by holding against the piece, while in rapid motion, first a file, then a scraper, and afterwards pumice stone and Scotch stone. It is then held against a rapidly revolving brush, charged with fine brickdust and sweet oil. The handle and spout are next soldered on. After this, the vessel is annealed, and put in _pickle_, or, in other words, into a weak solution of oil of vitriol. It is then scoured with sand and water, and the whole operation is completed by burnishing the smooth parts with a steel instrument.

11. In the more expensive kinds of wares, the raised figures and the frosty appearance are produced by a process called _chasing_. In executing this kind of work, a drawing is first made on the silver with a lead pencil. The several parts are then raised from the other side, corresponding as nearly as possible to it. The vessel or piece is then filled with, or placed upon, melted cement, composed of pitch and brick-dust; and, after the cement has become hard by cooling, the chaser reduces the raised parts to the form indicated by the drawing, by means of small steel punches. The roughness of surface, and frosty appearance, are produced by punches indented on the end.

12. The operations of the silversmith are exceedingly various, many of which could be hardly understood from mere description. We would, therefore, recommend to the curious, actual inspection, assuring them that the ingenuity displayed in executing the work in the different branches of the business, is well worthy of their attention. We will merely add, that spoons, knives, and forks, are not cast, as is frequently supposed, but forged from strips of silver cut from rolled sheets.

13. The earliest historical notice of gold and silver is found in the thirteenth chapter of Genesis, where it is stated that Abraham returned to Canaan from Egypt, "rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold." This event took place about 1920 years before Christ, it being but little more than 400 years after the deluge. From the authority of the same book, we also learn, that during the life of this patriarch, those metals were employed as a medium of commercial intercourse, and as the materials for personal ornaments, vessels, and utensils.

14. From the preceding facts, we have reason to believe that gold and silver were known to the antediluvians; for, had not this been the case, they could hardly have been held in such estimation so early as the time of Abraham. In short, they were probably wrought even in the days of the original progenitor of the human race, as was evidently the case with iron and copper.

THE CLOCK AND WATCH MAKER.

1. The great divisions of time, noted by uncivilized men, are those which are indicated by the changes of the moon, and the annual and diurnal revolutions of the earth; but the ingenuity of man was very early exercised in devising methods of measuring more minute periods of duration.

2. The earliest contrivance for effecting this object was the sun-dial. This instrument was known to the ancient Egyptians, Chaldeans, Chinese, and Bramins. It was likewise known to the Hebrews, at least as early as 740 years before Christ, in the days of Ahaz the king. The Greeks and the Romans borrowed it from their Eastern neighbors. The first sun-dial at Rome was set up by Papirius Cursor, about 300 years before Christ. Before this period, the Romans determined the time of day by the rude method of observing the length of shadows.

3. The sun-dial, as it is now constructed, consists of a plate, divided into twelve equal parts, like the face of a clock, on which the falling of a shadow indicates the time of day. The shadow is projected by the sun, through the intervention of a rod or the edge of a _plate stile_ erected on the plane of the dial. But, since the dial was useful only in the clear day, another instrument was invented, which could be used at all times, in every variety of situation; and to this was given the name of _clepsydra_.

4. This instrument is supposed to have been invented in Egypt; but, at what period, or by whom, it is not stated. Its construction was varied, in different ages and countries, according with the particular modes of reckoning time; but the constant dropping or running of water from one vessel into another, through a small aperture, is the basis in all the forms which it has assumed. The time was indicated by the regularly increasing height of the water in the receiving vessel.

5. The clepsydra was introduced into Greece by Plato, near 400 years before Christ, and, about 200 years after this, into Rome, by Scipio Africanus. It is said that Pompey brought a valuable one from the East, and that Julius Cæsar met with one in England, by which he discovered that the summer nights were shorter there than in Italy.

6. The use which Pompey made of his instrument, was to limit the length of speeches in the senate. Hence he is said, by a historian of those times, to have been the first Roman who put bridles upon eloquence. A similar use was made of the clepsydra in the courts of justice, first in Greece, and afterwards in Rome.

7. A kind of water-clock, or clepsydra, adapted to the modern divisions of time, was invented near the middle of the seventeenth century; and these were extensively used, in various parts of Europe, for a considerable time; but they are now entirely superseded by our common clocks and watches, which are far more perfect in their operation, and, in all respects, better adapted to the purposes to which they are applied.

8. The invention of the clock is concealed in the greatest obscurity. Some writers attribute it to the monks, as this instrument was used in the twelfth century in the monasteries, to regulate the inmates in their attendance on prayers both by night and by day. Others suppose that a knowledge of this valuable instrument was derived from the Saracens, through the intercourse arising from the crusades. Be this as it may, clocks were but little known in Europe, until the beginning of the fourteenth century.

9. Richard, abbot of St. Alban's, England, made a clock in 1326, such as had never been heard of until then. It not only indicated the course of the sun and moon, but also the ebbing and flowing of the tide. Large clocks on steeples began to be used in this century. The first of this kind is supposed to have been made and put up in Padua by Jacobus Dondi.

10. A steeple clock was set up in Boulogne, in 1356; and, in 1364, Henry de Wyck, a German artist, placed one in the palace of Charles V., king of France. In 1368, three Dutchmen introduced clock-work into England, under the patronage of Edward III. Clocks began to be common both in England and on the Continent, about the end of the fifteenth century.

11. The clock of Henry de Wyck is the most ancient instrument of this kind of which we have a description. The wheels were made of wrought iron, and the teeth were cut by hand. In other respects, also, it was a rude piece of mechanism, and not at all capable of keeping time with accuracy. But, rude as it was, it is not likely that it was the invention of a single individual; but that, after the first rude machine was put in motion, it received several improvements from various persons. This has, at least, been the case with all the improvements made on the clock of Henry de Wyck, to the present day.

12. The application of the pendulum to clock-work appears to have been first made by Vincenzo Galileo, in 1649; but the improvement was rendered completely successful, in 1656, by Christian Huygens, a Dutch philosopher. The laws of the oscillation of the pendulum were first investigated by Galileo, the great Italian philosopher, and father of the Galileo just mentioned. His attention was attracted to this subject by the swinging of a lamp suspended from the ceiling of the Cathedral, at Pisa, his native city.

13. The clocks first made were of a large size, and were placed only in public edifices. The works were, at length, reduced in their dimensions, and these useful machines were gradually introduced into private dwellings. They were finally made of a portable size, and were carried about the person. These portable clocks had, for their maintaining power, a main-spring of steel, instead of a weight, which was used in the larger time-keepers.

14. The original pocket-watches differed but little, if at all, in the general plan of their construction, from the portable clocks just mentioned. The transition from one kind of instrument to the other was, therefore, obvious and easy; but the time of the change cannot be certainly determined. It is commonly admitted, however, that Peter Hele constructed the first watch, in 1510.

15. Watches appear to have been extensively manufactured at Nuremburg, in Germany, soon after their invention, as one of the names by which they were designated, was _Nuremburg eggs_. These instruments, as well as clocks, were in common use in France, in 1544, when the company of clock and watch makers of Paris was first incorporated.

16. In 1658, the spring balance was invented by Doctor Nathaniel Hooke, an English philosopher. At least the invention is attributed to him by his countrymen. On the Continent it is claimed for Christian Huygens. Before this improvement was made, the performance of watches was so defective, that the best of them could not be relied upon for accurate time an hour together. Their owners were obliged to set them often to the proper time, and wind them up twice a day.

17. After the great improvements had been effected in the clock and watch by Huygens and Hooke, several others of minor importance were successively made by different persons; but our limits do not allow us to give them a particular notice; we will only state that the repeating apparatus of both clocks and watches was invented, about the year 1676, by one Barlow, an Englishman; that the compensation or gridiron pendulum was invented by George Graham, of London, in 1715; and that jewels were applied to watches, to prevent friction, by one Facio, a German.

18. Clocks and watches are constructed on the same general principles. The mechanism of both is composed of wheel-work, with contrivances to put it in motion, and to regulate its movements. The moving or maintaining power in large clocks is a weight suspended by a cord to a cylinder. In watches, and sometimes in small clocks, this office is performed by a steel spring. In the clock, the regulation of the machinery is effected by the pendulum, and in the watch, by the balance-wheel, or spring balance. In either case, the maintaining power is prevented from expending itself, except in measured portions.

19. The time is indicated by hands, or pointers, which move on the dial plate. The minute hand is attached to the axle of the wheel which makes its revolution in sixty minutes, and the hour hand to the one which makes the revolution in twelve hours. Greater and smaller divisions of time are kept and indicated on the same principle. The part of a clock which keeps the time, is called the going part; and that which strikes the hour, the striking part.

20. The division of labor is particularly conspicuous in the manufacture of watches, as the production of almost every part is the labor of a distinct artisan. The workman who polishes the several parts, and puts them together, is called, among this class of tradesmen, the _finisher_ or _watch-maker_. Those, therefore, who deal largely in watches in England, purchase the different parts from the several manufacturers, and cause them to be put together by the finisher.

21. Watches are extensively manufactured in various parts of Europe, but particularly in French Switzerland, France, and England. The London watchmakers have been celebrated for good workmanship, for more than a century and a half. This manufacture has not yet been commenced in the United States, although the machinery, or _inside work_, is very often imported in tin boxes, and afterwards supplied with dial plates and cases. This is especially the case with the more valuable kinds of watches.

22. Brass clocks are manufactured in most of our cities, and in many of our villages, and wooden clocks, in great numbers, in the state of Connecticut. These last are carried by pedlers into the remotest parts of the country, so that almost every farmer in our land can divide the day by the oscillations of the pendulum.

THE COPPERSMITH, THE BUTTON-MAKER, AND THE PIN-MAKER.

COPPER.

1. Copper is a ductile and malleable metal, of a pale yellowish red color. It is sometimes found in a native state, but not in great quantities. The copper of commerce is principally extracted from the ores called sulphurets. Copper mines are wrought in many countries; but those of Sweden are said to furnish the purest copper of commerce, although those of the island of Anglesea are said to be the richest.

2. In working sulphureted ore, it is first broken into pieces, and roasted with a moderate heat in a kiln, to free it from sulphur. When the ore is also largely combined with arsenic, a greater degree of heat is necessary. In such a case, it is spread upon a large floor of a reverberatory furnace, and exposed to a greater heat. By this treatment, the sulphur and arsenic are soon driven off.

3. The ore is then transferred to the fusing furnace, and smelted in contact with fuel. The specific gravity of the copper, causes it to sink beneath the _scoria_ into a receptacle at the bottom of the furnace. To render the metal sufficiently pure, it requires repeated fusions, and, even after these, it usually contains a little lead, and a small portion of antimony.

4. _Alloys of copper._--Copper is combined by fusion with a great number of metals, and, in such combinations, it is of great importance in the arts. When added in small quantities to gold and silver, it increases their hardness, without materially injuring their color, or diminishing their malleability. An alloy, called white copper, imported from China, and denominated, in that country, _pakfong_, is composed of copper, zinc, nickel, and iron. It is very tough and malleable, and is easily cast, hammered, and polished. When well manufactured, it is very white, and as little liable to oxydation as silver.

5. Copper, with about one-fourth of its weight of lead, forms _pot-metal_. _Brass_ is an alloy of copper and zinc. The proportion of the latter metal varies from one-eighth to one-fourth. Mixtures, chiefly of these two metals, are also employed to form a variety of gold-colored alloys, among which are _prince's metal_, _pinchbeck_, _tombac_, and _bath-metal_.

6. A series of alloys is formed by a combination of tin and copper. They are all more or less brittle, rigid, and sonorous, according to the relative proportions of the two metals; these qualities increasing with the amount of tin. The principal of these alloys are, _bronze_, employed in the casting of statues; _gun-metal_, of which pieces of artillery are made; _bell-metal_, of which bells are made; and _speculum-metal_, which is used for the mirrors of reflecting telescopes.

7. The alloys of copper were very prevalent among the nations of antiquity, and were used, in many cases where iron would have answered a much better purpose. The instruments of husbandry and of war, as well as those for domestic uses generally, were usually made of bronze, a composition which furnishes the best substitute for iron and steel. The Corinthian brass, so celebrated in antiquity, was a mixture of copper, gold, and silver.

8. The earliest information of the use of this metal by mankind, is found in the fourth chapter of Genesis, in which it is stated, that "Tubal-Cain was the instructer of every artificer in brass and iron." This individual was the seventh generation from Adam, and was born about the year of the world 500.

THE COPPERSMITH.

1. Copper, being easily wrought, is applied to many useful purposes. It is formed into sheets by heating it in a furnace, and compressing it between steel rollers. The operation of rolling it constitutes a distinct business, and is performed in mills erected for the express purpose.

2. The rolled sheets are purchased according to weight by the coppersmith, who employs them in sheathing the bottoms of ships, in covering the roofs of houses, and in constructing steam-boilers and stills. He also fabricates them into a variety of household utensils, although the use of this metal in preparing and preserving food, is attended with some danger, on account of the poisonous quality of the verdigris which is produced on the surface.

3. An attempt has been made to obviate this difficulty, by lining the vessels with a thin coating of tin. This answers the purpose fully, so long as the covering of tin remains entire. But, in cases of exposure to heat, it is liable to be melted off, unless it is kept covered with water.

4. This metal can be reduced by forging to any shape; but, during the process, it will bear no heat greater than a red heat; and, as it does not admit of welding, like iron, different pieces are united with bolts, or rivets, of the same metal, as in the case of the larger kinds of vessels, or by means of solder made of brass and zinc, or zinc and lead, as in the case of those of smaller dimensions.

5. Brass is applied to a greater variety of purposes in the arts than copper. This preference has arisen from its superior beauty, from the greater facility with which it can be formed into any required shape, and from its being less influenced by exposure to the ordinary chemical agents.

6. Some of the articles manufactured of brass, are forged to the required form, and others are made of rolled sheets; but, in most cases, they pass through the hands of the brass-founder, who liquifies the metal, and pours it into moulds of sand. For the sake of lightness, and economy of material, many articles are made hollow; in such cases, they are cast in halves or pieces, and these are afterwards soldered together.

7. Pieces which have been cast are generally reduced in size, and brought more exactly to the proposed form, either in a lathe, with tools adapted to turning, or in the vice, with files and other suitable instruments. The operators in brass form a class of mechanics distinct from those who work in copper.

THE BUTTON-MAKER.

1. Trifling as the manufacture of buttons may appear, there are few which include a greater variety of operations. The number of substances of which they are made is very great, among which are gold, silver, various alloys of copper, steel, tin, glass, mother-of-pearl, bone, horn, and tortoise-shell, besides those which consist of moulds of wood or bone, covered with silk, mohair, or similar materials.

2. In making gilt buttons, the _blanks_, or bodies, are cut from rolled plates of brass, with a circular punch driven by means of a fly wheel. The blanks thus produced, are planished with a plain die, if they are intended for plain buttons; or with one having on it an engraved figure, if they are to be of the ornamental kind. In either case, the die is usually driven with a fly press.

3. The shanks are next placed on one side of the proposed button, and held there temporarily with a wire clasp. A small quantity of solder and rosin having been applied to each shank, the buttons are exposed to heat on an iron plate, until the solder shall have melted. The shanks having been thus firmly soldered on, the buttons are turned off smoothly on their edges in a lathe.

4. The buttons are next freed from oxyde, by immersing them in diluted nitric acid, and by friction in a lathe. They are then put into a vessel containing a quantity of nitric acid supersaturated with mercury. The superior attraction of the copper for the acid, causes a portion of it to be absorbed; and the mercury held in solution by it, is deposited on the buttons, which are next put into a vessel containing an amalgam of mercury and gold.

5. The amalgam is formed by melting the two metals together, and afterwards pouring them into cold water. The composition having been put into a bag of chamois leather, and a part of the mercury pressed through the pores, the remaining portion is left in a condition approaching the consistency of butter, and in a fit state for use. Before the buttons are put into the amalgam, a small quantity of nitric acid is added.

6. The buttons having been covered with the amalgam, as before stated, the mercury is discharged, that the gold may adhere directly to the brass. This object is effected by heating the buttons in an iron pan, until the amalgam begins to melt, when they are thrown into a large felt cap, and stirred with a brush. This operation is repeated several times, until all the mercury has been volatilized. The whole process is finished by again burnishing them, and putting them on cards for sale.

7. White metal buttons are made of brass alloyed with different proportions of tin. They are cast, ten or twelve dozens at a time, in moulds formed in sand, by means of a pattern. The shanks are placed in the centre of the moulds, so that, when the metal is poured in, they become a part of the buttons. The buttons are next polished in a lathe, with grindstone dust and oil, rotten stone and crocus martis. They are then boiled with a quantity of grained tin, in a solution of crude red tartar or argol, and lastly, finished with finely-pulverized crocus, applied with buff leather.

8. Glass buttons are made of various colors, in imitation of the opal and other precious stones. While manufacturing them, the glass is kept in a state of fusion, and a portion of it for each button is nipped off out of the crucible with a metallic mould, somewhat similar to that used for running bullets, the workman having previously inserted into it the shank.

THE PIN-MAKER.

1. There is scarcely any commodity cheaper than pins, and none which passes through the hands of a greater number of workmen in the manufacture, twenty-five persons being successively employed upon the material, before it appears in these useful articles, ready for sale.

2. The wire having been reduced to the required size, is cut into pieces long enough to make six pins. These pieces are brought to a point at each end by holding them, a handful at a time, on a grindstone. This part of the operation is performed with great rapidity, as a boy twelve years of age can sharpen 16,000 in an hour. When the wires have been thus pointed, the length of a pin is taken off at each end, by another hand. The grinding and cutting off are repeated, until the whole length has been used up.

3. The next operation is that of forming the heads, or, as the pin-makers term it, _head-spinning_. This is done with a _spinning-wheel_, by which one piece of wire is wound upon another, the former, by this means, being formed into a spiral coil similar to that of the springs formerly used in elastic suspenders. The coiled wire is cut into suitable portions with the shears, every two turns of it being designed for one head. These heads are fastened to the _lengths_ by means of a hammer, which is put in motion with the foot, while the hands are employed in taking up, adjusting, and placing the parts upon the anvil.

4. The pins are now finished, as to their form; but still they are merely brass. To give them the requisite whiteness, they are thrown into a copper vessel, containing a solution of tin and the lees of wine. After a while, the tin leaves the liquid, and fastens on the pins, which, when taken out, assume a white appearance. They are next polished by agitating them with a quantity of bran in a vessel moved in a rotary manner. The bran is separated from them, as chaff is separated from wheat.

5. Pins are also made of iron wire, and colored black by a varnish composed of linseed oil and lamp-black. This kind is designed for persons in mourning. Pins are likewise made with a head at each end, to be used by females in adjusting the hair for the night, without the danger of pricking. Several machines have been invented for this manufacture, one of which makes a solid head from the body of the pin itself; but the method just described still continues to be the prevailing one.

6. Pins are made of various sizes. The smallest are called minikins, the next, short whites. The larger kinds are numbered from three to twenty, each size increasing one half from three to five, one from five to fourteen, and two from fourteen to twenty. They are put up in papers, according to their numbers, as we usually see them, or in papers containing all sizes. In the latter case, they are sold by weight.

7. It is difficult, or even impossible, to trace the origin of this useful little article. It is probable, however, that it was invented in France, in the fifteenth century. One of the prohibitions of a statute, relating to the pin-makers of Paris of the sixteenth century, forbid any manufacturer to open more than one shop for the sale of his wares, except on new-year's day, and on the day previous.

8. Hence we may infer, that it was customary to give pins as new-year's presents, or that it was the usual practice to make the chief purchases at this time. At length it became a practice, in many parts of Europe, for the husband to allow to his wife a sum of money for this purpose. We see here the origin of the phrase, _pin-money_, which is now applied to designate the sum allowed to the wife for her personal expenses generally.

9. Prior to the year 1443, the art of making pins from brass wire was not known in England. Until that period, they were made of bone, ivory, or box-wood. Brass pins are first mentioned in the English statute book, in 1483, when those of foreign manufacture were prohibited.

10. Although these useful implements are made in London, and in several other places in England, yet Gloucester is the principal seat of this manufacture in that kingdom. It was introduced into that place, in 1626, by John Silsby, and it now contains nine distinct manufactories, in which are employed about 1500 persons, chiefly women and children. Pins are also manufactured extensively in the villages near Paris, and in several other places in France, as well as in Germany.

11. The business of making pins has been lately commenced in the city of New-York, and it is said that the experiment has been so successful, both in the perfection of the workmanship, and in the rapidity of the production, that pins of American manufacture bid fair to compete, at least, with those of foreign countries.

THE TINPLATE WORKER, &c.

TIN.

1. Tin is a whitish metal, less elastic, and less sonorous than any other metal, except lead. It is found in the mountains which separate Gallicia from Portugal, and in the mountains between Saxony and Bohemia. It also occurs in the peninsula of Molucca, in India, Mexico, and Chili. But the mines of Cornwall and Devonshire, in England, are more productive than those of all other countries united.

2. There are two ores of tin, one of which is called _tin stone_, and the other _tin pyrites_; the former of these is the kind from which the metal is extracted. The ore is usually found in veins, which often penetrate the hardest rocks. When near the surface of the earth, or at their commencement, they are very small, but they increase in size, as they penetrate the earth. The direction of these veins, or, as the miners call them, _lodes_, is usually east and west.

3. The miners follow the lode, wheresoever it may lead; and, when they extend to such a depth, that the waters become troublesome in the mine, as is frequently the case, they are pumped up with machinery worked by steam, or drawn off by means of a drain, called an _adit_. The latter method is generally adopted, when practicable.

4. The ore is raised to the surface through shafts, which have been sunk in a perpendicular direction upon the vein. At the top of the shaft, is placed a windlass, to draw up the _kibbuts_, or baskets, containing the ore. Near St. Austle, in Cornwall, is a mine which has not less than fifty shafts, half of which are now in use. Some of the veins have been worked a full mile, and some of the shafts are nearly seven hundred feet deep.

5. At St. Austle Moor, there is a mine of _stream tin_, about three miles in length. The tin, together with other substances, has been deposited in a valley, by means of small streams from the hills. The deposite is about twenty feet deep, and the several materials of which it is composed, have settled in strata, according to their specific gravity. The ore, being the heaviest, is, of course, found at the bottom.