TIN.
OXIDE OF TIN.
Tin is a white metal, almost as white as silver, it is found chiefly in Cornwall. It is a light, soft metal, and, like lead, is easily melted; it is used chiefly for coating vessels of harder metal, such as iron and copper. It is used to mix with copper to produce bronze, bell metal, and gun metal, and with lead to produce pewter, which used to be so extensively used as table-ware before the manufacture of earthenware became general for that purpose. Tin does not easily tarnish or rust by exposure to the air, hence the use of tinned iron-plate. Tin, united with mercury, forms the silvering for looking-glasses. Tin is about seven-and-a-half times heavier than water.