Employment of Platina in Porcelain Painting. 439 
of the fibres of the cotton, and render the colour perma- 
nent. 
NO. 85. 
Observations on the Employment of Platina in Porce- 
lain Painting. By Professor Klaproth.* 
IN the course of half a century since platina was in- 
troduced and known in Europe, the experiments made 
with it by various eminent chemists seem to have ex- 
hausted every thing that relates to the physical and che- 
mical properties of this remarkable metal. The imper- 
fect information, however, which relates to its mineralo- 
gical and natural history seems to require further inves- 
tigation, though it must at the same time be acknowledg- 
ed that our information in this respect appears to be wor- 
thy of confidence, as the Spanish government has en- 
trusted the inspection and management of its mines in 
South America to men who to a knowledge of mineralo- 
gy and mining unite great zeal for the improvement of 
these sciences. 
The real origin of platina is in all probability to 
be ascribed to revolutions which have taken place in 
the Cordilleras by volcanoes, earthquakes, and inun- 
dations ; and it is not improbable that these mountains 
still contain in their interior parts entire veins of plati- 
na, the discovery of which is perhaps reserved for future 
times. 
At present, Peru is the only known country where 
platina is found, and particularly the district of Choco, 
where it is collected in the valleys between the moun 
* Tilloch, vol. 17, p. 135. From Scherer’s Allgemcines Journal der Chemie, 
no.52, 1802. 
