51 
Copper . 
may yet venture upon it ; but I have no experience ex- 
cept for about six months in a coal mine of my own ; 
and I am afraid of going out of my depth. 
I have said, that copper is of great moment for sheath- 
i-ng ships, but, I think the use of coal-tar will go a great 
way to preserve our vessels without it. The ship build- 
ers, brought it into disrepute in England for this very 
reason ; it preserved the ships too well. 
I have said that copper is of great moment for distilling 
vessels ; when I come to the article “ distillery,” I shall 
make this assertion of mine very problematical : probably 
in the next number. 
I have said that copper is of great moment for culinary 
vessels ; but iron, or iron coated with Hicklin’s porcelain* 
or with Dr. Boilman’s platina, may by and by supersede 
copper. 
Having now reduced (so far as my knowledge extends) 
the copper into a pure metalline state, I proceed to enume- 
rate its properties when in that state. 
Properties of Pure Copper . It is in colour of a yel- 
lowish red : it is ductile and malleable : it is harder than 
silver : it breaks with a hackly fracture : it is tougher than 
any other metal, excepting iron : it emits, when rubbed, 
a disagreeable smell : it has a nauseous taste : it fuses at 
low white heat : before it melts, it exhibits prismatic co- 
lours on its surface : it burns with a red flame edged with 
green when fused exposed to the air : it is easily oxyd- 
ed when in fusion : it is easily tarnished by common ex- 
posure to the air : when so exposed, it combines with 
oxygen and carbonic acid, turning green : it unites to 
oxygen, sulphur, to phosphorus, to oils, to all the acids 
and alkalies. The specific gravity of the purest or Ja- 
panese copper is 9, : of Swedish copper 8.89 : of com- 
mon copper 8,6, 
