282

GILDING.

CHAP. XXVI.

sumption of gold is much larger; in one caseit was found to have been from twenty to thirtyounces, and in some others from fifteen to twentyounces. It was impracticable to visit and col-lect accurate returns from a number of trades-men, amounting, in the two classes here treatedof, to more than one hundred and fifty in Bir-mingham alone, besides some in London . It wasdeemed sufficient to see some of the most respect-able and intelligent, and from their accounts toframe the most probable average of the whole. Inthis way, and considering that, especially in Lon-don , a large portion of silver goods is gilded,either internally or wholly, we have been inducedto calculate the weekly consumption of gold inthe gilding of the description here noticed at sixhundred ounces weekly, or at thirty-one thousandtwo hundred ounces annually.

The plating of gold, which will be furthernoticed when the subject of jewellery is under con-sideration, is supposed, by those well acquaintedwith the trade, to employ about fifty ounces offine gold weekly, or two thousand six hundredounces yearly.

The use of gold in the potteries has very muchincreased of late years, as must be obvious to anyperson of observation who notices how profuselyit is applied to tea, to table, and to ornamentalchina. From the great number of the manu-