of Cornwall found its way to Italy in the times of the first Roman Emperors; but long before that period the wild inhabitants of Cornwall must have discovered the use of the metallic treasures of their barren soil and the way to barter them for the commodities of the rude tribes of their own island or of the neighbouring nations of Gaul. When we consider the various and important uses to which tin may be applied, we cannot wonder at its importance in the commerce of the ancient world. The discovery of bronze marks one of the great epochs in the progress of human civilization, and the nations that could command its use became at once superior, in peace and war, to the tribes who had only flint spear-heads for their defence or flint hatchets for the construction of their huts. At a later period, when iron gradually supplanted the use of bronze for many purposes, tin still continued to be highly esteemed for its many excellent qualities. Possessing a lustre but little inferior to that of silver, it is not soon tarnished, and not only retains its metallic brilliancy a long time, but when lost easily recovers it. Under the hammer it is extended into leaves called tin- foil, which are about one-thousandth of an inch thick, and might easily be beaten into one-half that thickness if the purposes of trade required it. The application of tin to the coating of other metals has been carried to great perfection, and it forms the chief ingredient in various kinds of pewter and other white metallic alloys, such as Britannia metal, which are manufactured into domestic utensils by casting, stamping, and other ingenious processes. Tin is the substance which, coated with quicksilver, makes the reflecting surface of glass mirrors. It is also very important in dyeing processes, as its solutions in nitric, muriatic, and other acids gives a degree of permanency and brilliancy to several colours not to be obtained by the use of other mordants. A compound of tin with gold gives the fine crimson and purple colours to stained glass and artificial gems, and enamel is produced by the fusion of oxide of tin with the materials of plate glass.