ON PURE NICKEL. 77 



the fame time appeared to coagulate. There were likevvife 

 portions of reduced metal in it, that could not be miftaken. — 

 I could not, however, accompli fli its fufion in a wind-furnace, Very refractory, 

 furmounted with a cupellating furnace dome, and having a 

 long chimney. In contequence, I divided it into feveral por- 

 tions, which I expofed in crucibles to the ftrongeft heat of a 

 potter's furnace, in which capfules of the raoft refractory clay 

 are frequently foftened. 



In thole crucibles which were placed where the porcelain Fufed in the 



is longeft taking, the matter had experienced no change but a ftron S eft h ^ at of 



i • t , , •,,-., i • a Potter's fur- 



coagulation. in the other crucibles it had entered into com- nace. 



plete fufion, yet not into a liquid fufion, and the crucibles had 

 partly experienced the fame effect. Here and there in the 

 melted mafs metallic globules were found, the Iargeft of which 

 were the fize of a fmall nut, and the leaft that of a cherry- 

 ftone. Their brilliancy was a mean between that of filver and 

 that of Englifli tin. The fcoriae were greenifh brown, mixed Scoria, 

 with an ameth) ft colour, and in fome places a deep blue en- 

 tirely like fufed oxide of cobalt. The brown colour arofe from 

 the oxide of copper, which was completely vitrified, and the" 

 blue from that of cobalt. The green, on the contrary, pro. Arfeniate of ' 

 ceeded from arfeniate of nickel, which, as I have learned by mckeJ * 

 experience, flrongly refills fufion, without the addition of 

 fome combuftible fubftance. 



I attempted to hammer the metallic globules on an anvil, The metal mal* 

 and to my great fatisfaaion I found that they pofiefled confider- ^^tle* 

 able malleability. They were eagerly attracted by the mag- 

 net. 



As it was tmpoffible to feparate the fcorie with the hammer Re-fufion. 

 from the little globules to which they adhered, I collected 

 them together by trituration and decantation, and expofed them 

 to fufion afrefh. It was again complete only in the places of 

 the furnace moil heated. 



Convinced from thefe refults, that nickel is reducible in the Reduced with- 



fire without the addition of any combuftible matter, I at- °. ut any addi * 



^ J ^^ ' tion. 



tempted to reduce lome oxide of this metal, obtained by the 



decompofition of the triple ammoniacal fait of nickel, which 

 during an uninterrupted labour of eighteen months, J had pro- 

 cured in a very large quantity. On this occafion the fame phe- 

 nomena occurred as in the preceding reductions. 



I repeated the melting till the metal had undergone a com- A button of aa 

 plete fufion, and was found collected together in a button at 7 " c u e re j nd half 



the 



