One process of preparing iron wire for tinning is as follows. The wire, after it is taken from the annealing pan or oven, goes into the cleaning room, an outbuilding well ventilated so that dangerous fumes may escape. By the side of a wall in this room are troughs, either of earthenware or of wood, containing the chemicals. Secured in the wall just over the trough are two or three strong iron rods. The first trough contains grounds (old sour ale) and vitriol - say 5qt. or 6qt. of vitriol to 8 gal. or 10 gal. of grounds; it is made stronger by adding vitriol. The wire is left in this trough for from ten to fifteen minutes; it is then taken out with hooks made of 1-in. or 1/2-in. iron rod, and put into another trough containing clean water. It is here examined by the cle.iner to see whether any scale, etc., is left on. If it is all right it is transferred to another clean-water trough, where it stays until all the vitriol is removed, the water then ceasing to bubble. The wire is then sometimes transferred to a trough containing a weak solution of blue-stone and spirit of salts for a minute or two only, as if it stays in this solution too long it turns copper coloured; therefore this bath is better omitted.

The colour can, however, be removed by flipping the wire in a solution of ammonia previous to tinning. The wire then goes to the tinning room (a little at a time, as if the wire is left in the open air it must be re-cleaned). It is dipped in a solution of muriate of tin. The rings of wire are then put on the winders of the tinning apparatus, and the wire passes first through a shallow trough containing killed spirit, then through the bath of " grain-bar " tin, and between two hard vulcanite blocks which remove excess of tin. Cleanei's wear clogs and rubber-covered leggings, and, as vitriol is used, not extra good clothes; therefore, when taking the wire from the chemical solutions it is advisable to use the hooks and to hang it on the rods above the trough so that the liquid runs back into the trough.

Immerse the wire in raw spirit (hydrochloric acid) and let it remain till the black scale on the iron is dissolved off. Then pickle the wire for a short time in killed spirit (chloride of zinc), when it will be ready for passing through the molten tin.