Agricola, Georgius
,
De re metallica
,
1912/1950
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a
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sicilicus
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of copper is added; and if it contains no copper, then half an
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uncia,
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because copper must be added to
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stibium
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in order to part gold from
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silver. </
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>The gold is first placed in a red hot earthen crucible, and when
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melted it swells, and a little
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stibium
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is added to it lest it run over; in a
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short space of time, when this has melted, it likewise again swells, and
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when this occurs it is advisable to put in all the remainder of the
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stibium,
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and to cover the crucible with a lid, and then to heat the mixture for the
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time required to walk thirty-five paces. </
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<
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>Then it is at once poured out into
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an iron pot, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, which was first
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heated and smeared over with tallow or wax, and set on an iron or wooden
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block. </
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>It is shaken violently, and by this agitation the gold lump settles
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to the bottom, and when the pot has cooled it is tapped loose, and is again
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melted four times in the same way. </
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<
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>But each time a less weight of
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stibium
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is added to the gold, until finally only twice as much
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stibium
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is added as
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there is gold, or a little more; then the gold lump is melted in a cupel. </
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<
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>The
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stibium
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is melted again three or four times in an earthen crucible, and each
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time a gold lump settles, so that there are three or four gold lumps, and
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these are all melted together in a cupel.</
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<
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líbrae
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and a half of such
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stíbíum
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are added two
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librae
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of argol
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and one
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libra
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of glass-galls, and they are melted in an earthen crucible,
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where a lump likewise settles at the bottom; this lump is melted in the
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cupel. </
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<
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>Finally, the
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stibium
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with a little lead added, is melted in the cupel,
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in which, after all the rest has been consumed by the fire, the silver alone
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remains. </
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<
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>If the
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stíbium
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is not first melted in an earthen crucible with argol
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and glass-galls, before it is melted in the cupel, part of the silver is consumed,
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and is absorbed by the ash and powder of which the cupel is made.</
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<
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>The crucible in which the gold and silver alloy are melted with
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stíbíum,
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and also the cupel, are placed in a furnace, which is usually of the kind </
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