Illustration: OXIDE OF TIN.
Tin is a white metal, almost as white as silver, it is found chiefly
in Cornwall. It is a light, soft metal, and, like lead, is easily
melted; it is used chiefly for coating vessels of harder metal, such
as iron and copper. It is used to mix with copper to produce bronze,
bell metal, and gun metal, and with lead to produce pewter, which
used to be so extensively used as table-ware before the manufacture
of earthenware became general for that purpose. Tin does not easily
tarnish or rust by exposure to the air, hence the use of tinned
iron-plate. Tin, united with mercury, forms the silvering for
looking-glasses. Tin is about seven-and-a-half times heavier than
water.