MEDALS

For their composition, see Bronze and Copper . MEERSCHAUM (Germ.; sea-froth , Eng.; Ecume de Mer , Magnésie carbon atée silicifère , Fr.), is a white mineral, of a somewhat earthy appearance, always soft, but dry to the touch, and adhering to the tongue. Specific gravity, 2·6 to 3·4; affords water by calcination; fuses with difficulty at the blowpipe into a white enamel; and is acted upon by acids. It consists, according to Klaproth, of silica, 41·5; magnesia, 18·25; water and carbonic acid, 39. Other analysts give, silica 50, magnesia 25, water 25. It occurs in veins or kidney-shaped nodules, among rocks of serpentine, at Egribos, in the island of Negropont, Eski-Schehir in Anatolia, Bru a at the foot of Mount Olympus, at Baldi ero in Piedmont, in the serpentine veins of Cornwall, . When first dug up, it is soft, greasy, and lathers like soap; and is on that account used by the Tartars in washing their linen. The well-known Turkey tobacco-pipes are made from it, by a proce analogous to that for making pottery ware. The bowls of the pipes, when imported into Germany, are prepared for sale by soaking them first in tallow, then in wax, and finally by polishing them with shave-gra .