s *57 ]

fourth its weight of alloy, the antimony is previously mixedwith about a fourth part of common sulphur; because ifantimony itself was used in sufficient quantity to scorifyall the alloy, the quantity of metal afforded by the anti-mony would be so large as to render its dissipation fromthe gold extremely tedious. As soon as the mixturesparkles upon the surface, and appears perfectly fluid, itis poured into a conical brass or iron mould, greased, andequably heated all over till it smokes ; and the support,which the mould stands on, is gently struck or jogged soas to produce a tremulous motion of the fluid matter, bywhich the settling of the gold is promoted. When thematter is fixed or grown solid, it is easily got out, byinverting the mould and striking a few blows on it witha hammer : the metallic mass, which had subsided intothe lower part of the cone, if it does not separate, incoming out, from the sulphureous scoria, is beaten off bya flight blow.

This metallic mass consists of the gold, mixed, insteadof its former alloy, with the metal of the antimony. Butas part of its alloy may have still escaped the action of thesulphur ; if the gold is required to be of a high purity, itmust be melted in the same manner with the same quan-tity of fresh antimony, and the process repeated a third oreven a fourth time. The gold does not receive much ad-dition from the antimony in these last fusions; the antirno-nial metal uniting with the gold only in proportion as thesulphur of the antimony is absorbed from its proper metalby the alloy of the gold.

In order to separate the antimonial metal from the gold*the mixt is put into a strong crucible, which being placedin a proper furnace, a fire is kept up, just sufficient tomake the matter flow thin with a clear surface. A blastof air being directed upon the mixt, by means of a benti coppec