Copper has a peculiar reddish colour, and will bear a brilliant polish; its smell and taste are both disagreeable. It is one of the most malleable of metals, and can be so readily worked by the hammer that it is beaten out into thin leaves, which, under the name of “Dutch metal,” are employed in ornamenting toys, &c. in imitation of gilding. It is also so ductile that it can be drawn out into finer wires than any ordinary metal, except gold, silver, and iron, and its tenacity is so great that a wire one-tenth of an inch in diameter will bear a weight of 175 lbs. This wire is very flexible, and not very elastic, but when rolled into sheets copper is one of the most elastic, and when struck one of the most vibratory and loud sounding metals. If taken into the animal system all preparations of copper are violent poisons; and, as this metal is directly acted upon by vinegar and other acids, it should not be employed for making vessels used in cooking or preparing food. The easy malleability of copper allows it to be rolled into thin sheets, which can easily be hammered into any form that may be desired, and it is this operation which belongs to the trade of the Coppersmith. Sheet copper is employed in covering the bottoms of ships, to protect them from the attacks of marine animals; it is also used for coins, which are punched out of the sheet of metal and stamped with dies, and for plates on which pictures are engraved; the metal being soft enough to yield to the tool of the engraver, but yet sufficiently hard to resist the pressure necessary to print the picture. As an ingredient in alloys copper is most valuable, especially in bell metal, which is composed of three parts of copper and one part of tin; in bronze, which is nine-tenths copper and one-tenth tin; and in German silver, argentine, nickel silver, and other alloys used for making forks, spoons, dishes, &c. which are composed of copper, zinc, and nickel. These are very beautiful alloys, closely resembling silver; but the copper they contain is liable to be partially dissolved by any long exposure to the action of acids. Copper is used in small quantities as an alloy for gold and silver both in coinage and in plate, to give the requisite degree of hardness. Gold used for coins, or what is called standard gold, is formed of eleven parts of pure gold and one part of copper. Being a better conductor of electricity than any other metal, it is largely employed in the formation of telegraphic wires; and, as it is not hard enough to strike fire with flint or grit, it is used in gunpowder mills and magazines instead of iron.