This book is the outgrowth of a set of mimeograph notes pre pared in 1911 and intended for use in the course in fire assaying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The mimeograph notes were succeeded by a book of 150 pages published by the author in 1915. The present volume has been revised and en larged and is offered as a small contribution toward the scientific explanation of the ancient art of fire assaying. It contains some hitherto unpublished results of research, as well as considerable new data derived from a careful search of all the available litera ture, none of which have previously appeared in book form. Although intended primarily as a college textbook, it is not en tirely elementary in character and it is hoped that it will be found sufficiently complete and fundamental to be of service to the more mature student of the science. Every effort has been made to avoid the old cook-book method of presentation so common in books of this kind and to give the underlying scientific reasons for the many phenomena which occur, as well as the rationale of each process and detail of manipulation.