_Nickel_ is white, ductile and malleable, but of difficult fusion. It is attracted by the magnet, and has itself the property of attracting iron: but as the nickel of commerce always contains iron, this may disguise its properties, and prevent its nature being exactly known, Richter, in his Annales de Chimie, asserts, that this metal, in its pure state, is nearly as brilliant as silver, and more attractable by the loadstone than iron; that it is not liable to be altered by the atmosphere; and that its specific gravity when forged is 8.666. The ore of nickel is procured from various parts of Germany, and is often found with cobalt. It is chiefly used in China; and it is said, that the manufacturers of Birmingham combine it with iron, and melt it with brass, with great advantage. _Zinc_ possesses but a small degree of malleability and ductility, except under certain circumstances. When broken, it appears of a shining blueish white; and when exposed to the air, becomes covered with a pellicle which reflects various colors. If beaten out into thin leaves, it will take fire from the flame of a common taper. Its filings are mixed with gunpowder, to produce those brilliant stars and spangles which are seen in the best artificial fire-works. It is also one of the metals employed to form Galvanic batteries. It is the most combustible metal we have. It will decompose water without the assistance of heat. Next to manganese, it has the strongest affinity for oxygen of all the metals. Its specific gravity is 6.861. Its nature is such, that it seems to form the link between brittle and malleable metals. Some mineralogists consider zinc to be the most abundant metal in nature, excepting iron. Calamine, or lapis calaminaris, which is a native oxide of zinc, combined with carbonic acid, is found both in masses and in a crystallized state, and is generally combined with a large portion of silex. Zinc is also found in an ore called _blend_, in which state it is mineralized by sulphur. The miners call it Black Jack--a mineral employed till lately in Wales for mending the roads. Zinc is generally called by our artists _spelter_; and in England and elsewhere it is extracted from calamine, and other ores, by distillation. This metal abounds in China, where it is used for current coin, and for that purpose is employed in the utmost purity. These coins have frequently Tartar characters on one side, and Chinese on the other. They have generally a square hole in the centre, that they may be carried on strings, and more readily counted.