328 Scientific Proceedings, Royal Dublin Society. 



of zinc in China may, however, be quoted : — " Tu-te-nag (i. e. the 

 name by which it was known in India) is, properly speaking, zinc 

 extracted from a rich ore or calamine. The ore is powdered and 

 mixed with charcoal- dust, and placed in earthen jars over a slow 

 fire, by means of which the metal rises in the form of vapour in 

 a common distilling apparatus. The calamine from whence this 

 zinc is thus extracted contains very little iron, and no lead or 

 arsenic, so common in the cadmium of Europe, and which ex- 

 traneous substances contribute to tarnish the compositions made 

 of it, and prevent their taking so fine a polish as the peh-tung of 

 China." 



Colonel Yule, in his Glossary (Art. Tootnague), quotes a number 

 of authorities who mention this substance as being an article of 

 trade from China to India. He points out that the name tootnague 

 is not only applied by the natives of India and in commerce to the 

 peh-tung, or white copper of the Chinese, but that, like spelter, it is 

 applied loosely to zinc or pewter {jpeh-yuen, or white-lead of the 

 Chinese). 



He also quotes the following, which, for convenience of refe- 

 rence, are in-ertedhere : — " M. Joubert 1 of the Gamier Expedition, 

 came to the conclusion that the Chinese peh-tung was produced (in 

 Yunnan) by a direct mixture of the ores in the furnace." And 

 " Wells Williams 2 says, ' The peh-tung argentine, or white copper 

 of the Chinese, is an alloy of copper 40-4, zinc 25 4, nickel 31 - 6, 

 and iron 2 - 6, and occasionally a little silver: these proportions are 

 nearly those of Grerman silver.' " Further information is to be 

 found in the work by St. Julien and P. Campion, quoted below. 3 



The following glossary is not exhaustive, as there are many- 

 named combinations mentioned by Savot and other early writers, 

 into the nature of which I do not propose to enter at present. 

 Savot's work, especially, contains some interesting information on 

 the subject. 



1 Voyage de Exploration, ii. 160. 



2 Middle Kingdom, Ed. 1883, 19. 



3 Industries Anciennes et Modemes de V Empire Chinois, 1869, p. 75. 



