If, however, such a button is yellow, then, from its weight and depth of colour, a rough estimate can be made of how much gold is contained in it. Silver must be added to make the total weight 3-1/2 times as much as that of the gold supposed to be present. Thus, if the button weighs 10 milligrams and is supposed to contain 8 milligrams of gold, then 8 multiplied by 3-1/2 is 28; the button must, in such case, be made up to 28 milligrams by adding 18 milligrams of silver. In judging of the quality of the gold button, no ordinary error will very seriously affect the result. If, in the example just given, the quantity of gold present was really 7 or even 9 milligrams of gold, the resulting alloy would still have been suitable for such partings. In fact, in routine assays, where the quantity as well as the quality of the gold is known within fair limits, it is often the custom to add the silver for inquartation to the lead during the first cupellation. But in the assay of rich gold alloys such approximate work will not do. If the composition is not already known with a fair degree of accuracy _preliminary assays_ must be made. Weigh up two lots of 100 milligrams of the alloy and wrap each in 3 grams of lead. To one add 300 milligrams of silver. Cupel both. The button containing the added silver must be flattened and boiled with 15 c.c. of nitric acid; and the resulting gold must be washed, dried, ignited and weighed. This, in milligrams, gives directly the percentage of gold. The weight of the other button gives the percentage of gold and silver; the difference between the two gives the percentage of silver. The rest will, perhaps, be copper. The composition of the alloy being known, or having been determined as just described, the calculation of how much silver must be added is fairly simple. The following is an example. Suppose the bullion contains 92 per cent. of gold, 1 per cent. of silver and 7 per cent. of copper, and that .5 gram of it is to be taken for an assay. The .5 gram, then, will contain Gold .460 gram Silver .005 " Copper .035 " But the total silver required is .46 gram × 2.5. This equals 1.15. Allowing for the .005 gram of silver already present, 1.145 gram of silver must be added.