HALL MARKS. The ‘Hall Marks’ on articles in gold and silver not only inform us of their fineness, but furnish us with other important particulars.
The Hall Mark (proper) denotes the place of manufacture or assay, being an anchor, for Birmingham; a dagger or 3 wheat sheaves, for Chester; Hibernia, for Dublin; castle and lion for Edinburgh; castle with 2 wings, for Exeter; tree and salmon with a ring in its mouth, for Glasgow; leopard’s head for London; 3 castles, for Newcastle-on-Tyne; a crown, for Sheffield; and five lions’ heads and a cross, for York.
The Duty Mark is the head of the Sovereign, showing that the duty is paid.
The Date Mark is a letter of the alphabet, which varies every year, and with the different companies, thus: the Goldsmith’s Company of London have used from 1716 to 1755, Roman capital letters; from 1756 to 1775, small Roman letters; from 1766 to 1795 old English letters; from 1796 to 1815, Roman capital letters, from A to U, omitting J; from 1816 to 1835, small Roman letters, a to u, omitting j; from 1836, old English letters.
The Standard Mark for gold is, for England, a lion passant; Edinburgh, a thistle; Glasgow, a lion rampant; Ireland, a harp crowned. For silver, a figure of Britannia. If under 22 carats, gold has the figures 18.
The Manufacturer’s Mark is the initials of the maker, as S. H., W. T., C. E., &c.
HAL′OGENS. In chemistry, a name given by Berzelius to chlorine, bromine, iodine, and fluorine. These elements unite with metals to form compounds called ‘haloid salts.’
HAMBURGH POWDER. The material known under this name is used to adulterate chicory. It is composed of roasted and ground peas, coloured with Venetian red.
HAMS. These are usually prepared from the legs of bacon pigs, but those of the sheep are also sometimes used for the same purpose. Smoked ham is strong eating, and rather fit for a relish than for diet, and should be particularly avoided by the dyspeptic and by convalescents.
Choice. A sharp knife thrust under the bone should have a pleasant smell when withdrawn. The recently cut fat should be hard and white, the lean fine-grained, and of a lively red. Those short in the hock are the best.