CHINESE TRADE. 425 



forth from the fire purified on tlie out fide ; 

 and the Chinefe having imprinted a falfe 

 mark on it, fell it for gold of a fuperior 

 quality. Great attention, therefore, is ne- 

 celfary to avoid deception in purchafmg 

 this article. 



The method employed by the Chinefe 

 to afcertain the finenefs of gold^ and to 

 guard againfl: fraud, is as follows. — They 

 put a piece of gold into a crucible, and 

 purify it thoroughly, by making the alloy 

 evaporate. This is done by means of a 

 certain powder, which they throw into the 

 crucible, Athickfmoke immediately arifes 5 

 and the fame operation is renewed till the 

 fmoke ceafes, which fiiews that the gold ts 

 perfedly pure. A fmall quantity of the 

 liquid gold is then poured into a hole made 

 on purpofe between two pieces of marble, 

 where it affumes the form of a fmall plate, 

 4U inch in length, three lines in breadth, 



and 



