D. CHEMISTRY AND METALLURGY. 57 



ELECTROPLATING WITH NICKEL. 



An important improvement in the electroplating of metal- 

 lic objects with nickel has been patented by Mr. Adams, of 

 Boston, and is now worked in several of our cities with much 

 success, the result being to give to a* great variety of articles, 

 such as knives, forks, surgical and dental instruments, stair- 

 rods, andirons, students' lamps, plumbers' materials, etc., a 

 coating resembling polished steel, and quite as hard, and 

 which is proof against ordinary oxidizing or other 'influences, 

 retaining a high polish for a long period of time. 



The special feature of Mr. Adams's invention, and that 

 upon which the patent mainly rests, consists in the exclusion 

 of the smallest quantity of potash, soda, or other alkaline 

 earth from the bath containing the nickelizing preparation ; 

 pure double chloride of nickel and ammonium, or the perfect- 

 ly pure sulphate of nickel and ammonia, and perfectly pure 

 nickel being also required, as one of the electrodes, the nickel 

 adhering regularly and strongly in consequence, and only 

 needing polishing after the metal coated over is taken from 

 the bath. 



It seems, however, that this precaution, as indicated by Mr. 

 Adams, is not necessary, and that the general process may be 

 prosecuted by any one without infringement of the patent, 

 as, according to M. Becquerel, potassa in no way affects in- 

 juriously the deposition of nickel, since the double sulphate 

 of nickel and potassa can be applied as well as the double 

 sulphate of nickel and ammonia ; but if the positive electrode 

 is not made of nickel, it is necessary to add free ammonia in 

 order to saturate the sulphuric acid which is set free. 8 A, 

 October 1, 185. 



NICKEL AND COBALT PLATING IN THE WET WAY. 



Professor Stolba, of the polytechnic laboratory of the Poly- 

 technicon of Prague, a chemist who has been the first to an- 

 nounce to the world several important technical discoveries, 

 especially in reference to the plating of metals, has just pub- 

 lished, in Dingler's Polytechnic Journal, an article upon the 

 method of coating metals of all kinds with nickel and cobalt 

 in the wet way, or by boiling ; and he thinks that it will be 

 quite possible to imitate the effect of, and even to furnish a 



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