UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 57 



process of silvering, so as to make looking- 

 glasses. " The coating a plate of polished glass 

 with a thin pellicle of quicksilver, in order to 

 give it the power of reflecting, is a very pretty 

 and easy operation. I think Wentworth might 

 readily perform it on a small piece of glass. 

 Blotting paper is first spread on the table and 

 sprinkled with powdered chalk ; and over the 

 paper is laid a sheet of tin foil; that is, tin. 

 beaten out in the same manner as gold leaf. On 

 the tin foil quicksilver is poured and equally dis- 

 tributed, and cleaned from every speck by means, 

 of a hare's foot. Over that a sheet of thin 

 smooth paper is to be spread : fan paper is the 

 best ; and on this paper the glass is placed. 

 With the left hand you are to press down the 

 glass, while with the right the paper is drawn 

 out, and with it most of the superfluous quick- 

 silver. The plate is then to be loaded with a 

 great weight, to squeeze out more of the mer- 

 cury ; and lastly the glass is set nearly upright 

 that every particle that is not amalgamated with 

 the tin may ooze out; for the thinner the 

 coating of mercury, the more perfectly the metal 

 adheres to the ;lass." 



O 



If ever I should be in the neighbourhood of a 

 plate-glass manufactory I will endeavour to see 

 the whole process ; in the mean time even the 

 little knowledge one can pick up from a general 

 description is better than entire ignorance. 



