assaying (asaing)

The act or art of testing metals, ores, or alloys in order to ascertain the quantity of gold or silver or any other metal present in them. There are two modes of a aying, one of which is sometimes employed to corroborate the other. The one is called the humid or wet proce , in which the solution of the metals is effected by means of acids, after which those sought for are precipitated by proper reagents. The other is called the dry proce , and is performed by the agency of fire. The first is generally employed for the purpose of estimating the quantity of gold or silver in an alloy, and the second is chiefly applied to ores. Tests are also made by comparison of specific gravities, and by the color of the streak or trace made by rubbing the ore upon a rough surface. In Great Britain each article of silver or gold plate is a ayed at Goldsmiths' Hall previously to being sold, in order to determine the exact richne of the metal of which it is made. See hall - mark. a ay-master (a-sa' måster), n. 1. An a ayer; a chief officer appointed to try the weight and finene of the precious metals.-2. An officer appointed, in the provincial period in Ma achusetts, to test the quality of potash and pearlash intended for export, or the composition of the worms and still-heads used in distilling. a elt, n. Obsolete spelling of a 1. a e2 (as), n. A name of the caama, a small African fox, Vulpes caama. a ealt, v. t. [