A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c18.s7.13

v1.c18.s7.13

The old method of obtaining pure gold from such a mixture as this is said to have been as curious and interesting as certainly it was laborious and protracted. The alloy was first of all beaten into leaves of extreme thinness, about 5 inches square in size. Each leaf was then covered with a thin layer of a paste of brick dust and common salt. The leaves were finally arranged one above another and exposed to the heat of fire. After a certain number of days, depending on the nature of the alloy and the temperature of the fire, the gold was found to be very nearly pure.