thing we use.

Steel is iron made very hard. Knives, axes, hatchets, and other tools
are made of steel. Many little things are made of steel. Mention some of
them.

Which is the most valuable of all metals? Is all the gold made into
money? Is money made of pure gold? Why? Name articles of ornament made
of gold. Articles of use. Are gold watches, chains, and rings usually
made of pure gold? Why? What do you call the man who makes these
articles?

[Illustration: CASTING IRON FROM THE ORE.]

Silver is the whitest and most lustrous of all the metals. What does
"lustrous" mean? Is iron lustrous? Are silver articles usually made of
pure silver? Why?

Silver and gold are found among the mountains in the west. Sometimes
they are dug out of the ground. Sometimes they are found in rocks, and
the rocks must be broken up before they can be taken out.

[Illustration: "SOMETIMES MEN WASH DOWN THE HILLS."]

Sometimes men wash down the hills with streams of water in order to get
at the silver or gold among the rocks.

Gold and silver are called the _precious metals_ because they do not
rust, and on account of their scarcity.

Tin is white and bright, but too soft to make articles which shall be
light and strong. Therefore, thin plates of iron are dipped into melted
tin. The tin adheres to the iron and makes it bright like tin itself.

A thin sheet of iron, covered with tin, is called tin-plate. It is of
this that our tin cups, pans, and kitchen utensils are made. A tin cup
is really made of iron.

Lead is a very heavy metal. It is so soft that it can be cut with a
knife. It is used in making shot, and water pipes.

Do you know how shot is made? Did you ever see a shot-tower? Small shot
is made by dropping melted lead through a sieve in rapid motion, from
the top of a high tower. The drops fall into a vessel of water below.
They are next polished and made black, and then are ready for sale.

You think, I suppose, that the lead pencil with which you write is made
of lead. It is not made of lead, but of graphite, which is a kind of
coal.

Copper is softer than iron, but harder than lead. It will not rust.
Cooking vessels are often made of copper.

Zinc is another valuable metal, and is almost the color of tin. Brass is
made by mixing copper and zinc together.

Mention some articles made of brass.

Write five lines about tin.

Write five or more lines about coal.

Write what you know of iron, gold, silver, copper,