NEWTON Notes Alchimiques - Ms 3975 (1ère partie)

Isaac Newton
(1643-1727)
Portrait par Godfrey Kneller, 1689




I  S  A  A  C     N  E  W  T  O  N


Notes Alchimiques 


Isaac Newton's Alchemical Notes in "Laboratory Notebook" 1664-1696
Portsmouth Collection Add. MS. 3975, Cambridge University Library, Cambridge University


PART 1

Note informative de L.A.T. - Avril 2012

Sa théorie de la gravitation universelle, la création (avec Leibniz) du calcul infinitésimal, diverses recherches en optique, en astronomie, en mathématiques, font d'Isaac Newton une figure emblématique des sciences.

Les recherches qu'il effectua en alchimie sont moins connues. Son "Laboratory Notebook" (MS Add.3975), qui contient également des notes sur l'optique, les pierres précieuses et les couleurs, et dont je vous propose ici la lecture en version originale, démontre cependant un intérêt prononcé pour la Tradition hermétique. Il tente également, à travers ces notes, d'effectuer une synthèse entre le mécanisme philosophique et l'alchimie. 

Notons encore qu'Isaac Newton fut membre en 1699 et président en 1703 de la Royal Society of London (créée en 1660 et toujours active de nos jours), dont l'influence dans le processus de "création" de la Franc-Maçonnerie dite spéculative, en 1717, fut sans doute prépondérante.

 Idea Of a table booke of the <illeg.> & <illeg.>i Sand

To the Diamonds

• Ruby 1::6 . 5 
• Espinela 1 . 5
• Balax 1 . 6
• Esmerald orient 1 . 10
• Saphire 1 . 40
• Topaz 1 . 20
• Jacynt 1 . 240
• Amatyst 1 . 360
• Crisolin 1 . 660
• Pearle 1 . 40
• Seed pearle under a
  Quilate = the price of
  Gold & more.

Other stones

• Beryll.
• Chrysoprasus.
• Granate.
• Jasper. <illeg.> 
• Chrysolith.
• Sardonix 
• Onyx = Chalcedony.
• Onyx = Sardius.
• Turquois
• Agate.
• Opales.
• Cornelian.
• Crystal.
• Cats Eyes.

 Query Is not the Crisolin the
Chrysolith or Grisolett. Ruby the <illeg.>
zar name of the Carbuncle
Anthrax. Balax. (Roberto Vallensi
(Theat. Chem. Vol. 1. p 26) <illeg.> a la<illeg.>
sive Palatius, the Opale
a stone of various colours, shining
gloriously wth a mixture of
thin fire of the Carbuncle the
fulgent purple of the Amethist
& the green sea of the Emerauld
to which ( Emerauld)
Pliny) tis next in value. P
sets down the value of Gemms 
this order. Diamond. Pearl <illeg.>
rald, Opale, Carb<illeg.>
Topaz. Schroder reccons the To<illeg.>
& Chrysolith all one.

  The hardest Gems are
diamonds Next to them in
hardness are Rubies. Topazes as
Saphires & these seem to equal
one another in hardnes
to differ only in their colour
Red yellow & Blew. Whence
some Jewellers take them 
be one kind of stone diff<illeg.>
only in their colour. For stones
distinguished by the hardness
more certainly then by the
colour. So that coloured stone
which equal Diamonds in
hardness (as some do being yellowish
blewish greenish) are accounted Diamonds & coloured
stones which equal Saphires in hardness are white
saphires & sometimes Saphires have the colour of
Chacedonian. The Jasper Sardonix Onix Turquois are p<illeg.>
The Agat Opales Cats eyes Cornelians Spar<illeg.>
<The rest of this page is beneath a repair and is illegible.>

<illeg.>sh stone The Grisolet is a hard Gem of a
blewish colour brought from the East Indies
Rock crystal will cut glass, & is in weight
to Rain water as 2 3/5 or 2 5/8 to 1; & so are
white flints & allmost all solid pure
transparent stones. Those which are heavier (as
Granates) have their weight from metallick tinctures.
Chymists tell us the Crystal, Granate, Topaz, Saphire
Emerauld, Ruby, Carbuncle are
related to ,  , , , ,  respectively. Pliny
l 37 c 5 tells us that in Cyprus a stone was
found which was one half an Emerauld the other
half a Jasper the humours not being wholy
transformed: & reccons Berylls of the same nature with Emeraulds & those Berylls the best which
are purely green like the sea, those next which are
paler with a glittering verging to a golden colour &
which are called Chrysoberilli, those next which are
paler verging more from a green to a golden
colour & which are called Chrysoprasi & after
them he puts the Hyacintizontes, the aeroides the cerini & the
oleagini, that is of the colour of a Hyacinth, of aer
of wax & of oyle. A Topaz (our Chrysolith) is the largest of
gemms & the only gemm (of pretious ones) cut with a
file It weares with use & is of two sorts, the
Prasois & the Chrysopteros like the Chrysoprasius
<illeg.>ll<illeg.>r the proper colour of this stone is that of a
Leek. The Callais or Turquois is of a pale
green: the greener the better. the Jasper is sometimes
pellucid, tho not so much as other stones & is purple,
Indico blew or green. The best has an eye of purple.
the next of the colour of a rose the next to that of an
emerauld. the next of blew or sky colour. Its sorts are the
Saphire (one i<illeg.>t of which is the Cyanus of a sky-like blew)
the Amethist of a violet or purple inclining to
the colour of wine, the Jacynth of the colour of
wine, the Chrysolite pellucid with a golden colour.
One had a rare saphire of mixt colours blew & reddish purple
another a saphire mixt with a carbuncle which the
lapidaries <illeg.>d <illeg.>phire or saphirorubinus. See Pliny
commentator Lib. 37.

1

Of Colours

 1. The rays reflected from Leafe Gold are yellow
but those transmitted are blew, as appeares by holding
a leafe of Gold twixt your eye & a Candle.

 2. Lignum Nephriticum sliced & about a handfull
infused in 3 or 4 pints of faire water for a Night the
liquor (looked on in a cleare violl) reflects blew
rays & transmits yellow ones. And if the liquor
being too much impregnated appeares (when looked through)
of a darke red it may bee diluted with faire water
till it appeare of a Golden Colour.

 3 The flat peices of some kinds of Glase will
exhibit the same Phaenomena with Lignum Nephriticum.
And these Phaenomena of Gold & Lignum Nephriticum
are represented by the Prisme in the 37th experiment
as also in the 22th & 24th Experiment.

 4 But Generally bodys which appeare of any colour
to the eye, appeare of the same colour in all
positions; Nay Gold if it bee not soe very thin
as to bee transparent appeares onely yellow
& perhaps the yellow colour of Lignum
Nephriticum would vanish if the tincture bee strong
& the liquor of a greate thicknesse. And perhaps
there are many coloured bodys which if made so thin
as to bee transparent would appeare of one colour
when looked upon & of another when
looked through. Perhaps Motes in the Sun doe so, for
they appeare coloured. And

 5 The tincture of Lignum Nephriticum may bee
deprived of its blew colour without any alteration
made in the yellow by putting a little of any
acid salt into it (as spirit of Salt, of vinegar, of Vitrioll,
Lemmon juice, oyle of Vitrioll, Aqua fortis etc). And
Sulphureous Salts (whither Urinous (i.e. Volatile salts of
Animal substances) as Spirit of hartshorne of Urin, of blood, of
Sal Armoniack; Or Lixiviate Unctuous Alcalizate & fixed
salts made by incineration, as the Solution of Salt of Tartar
of pot ashes, of common wood ashes, of lime water, Oyle of
Tartar etc) doe restore the blew colour without making
any change in the yellow.

2

Of Colours.

Experiments with the Prisme

 6 On a black peice of paper I drew a
line opq, whereof one halfe op was
a good blew the other pq a good deepe red
(chosen by Prob.   of Colours). And looking on it
through the Prisme adf, it appeared broken in
two betwixt the colours, as at rst, the blew parte rs being
nearer the vertex ab of the Prisme then the red parte st.
Soe that blew rays suffer a greater refraction then red ones.
‡ <in mg:>Note ‡ [I call those blew or red rays etc, which make the Phantome of such colours.

 The same Experiment may bee tryed with a thred of two
colours held against the darke.

 7 Taking a Prisme, (whose
angle fbd was about 60°)
into a darke roome into
which the sun shone only
at one little round hole
k. And laying it
close to the hole k in such manner that the rays, being
equally refracted at (n & h) their going in & out of it,
cast colours rstv on the opposite wall. The colours should
have beene in a round circle were all the rays alike
refracted, but their forme was oblong terminated at
theire sides r & s with streight lines; theire bredth rs
being 2 1/3inches, theire length tv about 7 or eight
inches, & the centers of the red & blew, (q & p) being distant
about 2 3/4 or 3 inches. The distance of the wall trsv from
the Prisme being 260 inches.

 8 Setting the Prisme in the midst twixt the hole k & the
opposite wall, in the same posture, & laying a
boarde xy betwixt the hole k & the Prisme close
to the Prisme, in which board there was a small hole
as big as the hole k (viz: 1/8 of an inch in Diameter)
soe that the rays passing through both those holes to the Prisme might
all bee almost parallell (wanting lesse then 7',
wheras in the former experiment some rays were
inclined 31'). Then was the length & breadth of the
colours on the wall every way lesse then halfe the former by
about 2 inches viz rs = 3/8inch, tv = 2 3/4 inch , &
pq = 1 1/4inch.          Soe that the Red & blew rays which
were parallel before refraction may bee esteemed to be

3

generally inclined one to another after refraction (some
more some lesse then) 34'        And that some of them
are inclined more then a degree, in this case. And
therefore if theire sines of incidence (out of glass into
aire) be the same, theire sines of refraction will
generally bee in the proportion of 225, to 226
& for the most extreamly red & blew rays, they
will bee as 130 to 131 +, .      For by the
experiment if their angle of incidence out of the glasse
into the aire bee 30°. The angle of refraction of the red
rays being 48° 35': the angle of refraction of the blew
rays will bee 48°, 52', generally: but if the rays bee
extreamly red & blew the angle of refraction of the
blew rays may bee more then 49°, 5'.

 9 In the 7th Experiment the
colours appeared in this order,
but in the 8th experiment where the
rays were more distinct &
unmixed

 10 Painting a good blew & red colour on a peice of paper
neither of which was much more luminous then the other (for
carrying them gradually into the darke, both grew faint alike
almost & disappeared together) if the Prismaticall blew
fell upon the colours they both appeared perfectly blew
but the red paint afforded much the fainter & darker
blew, but if the Prismaticall red fell on the colours they
both appeared perfectly red but the painted blew afforded
much the fainter Red. The Prisme was ordered as in the
8th experiment. Note that the purer the Red< or >Blew is the lesse tis
visible with blew< or >Red rays.

4

Of Colours

11 If the plate abcdsr bee
painted with any two colours
& abcd bee the lighter
colour, the partition edge
of the Colours, cd will
appeare through the prisme txy of a redd colour, but
if cres bee the lighter colour, their common edge cd
will through a prisme looke blew.

12 And this will
happen though the colours differ not in species but only
in degrees, as if acdb bee black & cdsr darkness or
‡ <in mg:> ‡ blacker then abdc the edge dc will bee red & much
more conspicuous then the black, which is strange.

 13 But if in a darke roome (as in Experiment 10) the
prismaticall blew or redd fall on a paper abdc
the edges of the paper will not appeare otherwise coloured
through another Prisme then to the naked eye, viz: of the
same colour with the rest of the paper. [For the first
Prisme perfectly seperats the blew & red rays
whereas I beleive all the colours proper to bodys are a little
mixed.]

 14 Prismaticall colours appeare in the eye in a contrary
order to that in which they fall on the paper.

 15 If a foursquare vessell abcd bee
made with two parallell sides of
well pollished glasse AC BD, & bee
filled with water; And if the sunns
rays passing into a darke roome
throughe the hole k doe fall very
obliquely on the glasse sides of the vessell
the rays at their egresse shall paint colours on
the paper EF on which they fall. [The blew & red
rays being seperated by the first refraction.]

 16 The colours are not made broader (as they would be
were the prisme triangular) by removing the paper
farther from the vessell. [becaus the blew & red rays
become parallell againe after the second refraction]
if the rays pass through two holes near or close to the vessell on either side the colours

5

Of Colours.

 17 The window k being opened that the Sun or other terminated light might shine in freely,
If I limited the rays by an opace body held twixt the wall
& the vessel the edge of that bodys shaddow would not appeare
coloured. But if the said body were on that side the vessel
towards the sun its shaddow would be coloured on its edges

 18. But in the Triangular Prisme whither the said body bee
held on the one side or on the other the edges of its
shaddow appeares coloured.

 19. If you looke upon some uniformely luminous body (as
on the cleare sky or a sheet of white paper etc) through a
triangular prisme. & hold the said opace body on the
further side of the Prisme soe as to obscure parte
of the said luminous body; the farther the said opace
body is held from the Prisme, the more its edges will bee
coloured; & the nearer, the lesse; untill the colours almost
vanish when the said body is held close close to
the Prisme.

 20 But if instead of the triangular Prisme you use the
said 4square vessell ABDC, held obliquely that the rays
may bee much refracted in passing through it to your eye;
when the opake body is placed as neare to the vessell
as you can distinctly see it, your eye being close to the
vessell, the edges of the said body will appeare coloured:
which colours are diminished by removing the said body farther
from the vessell, & quite vanish when the distance of
the said body is very greate. Thus the Sun, by
reason of his distance, appeares not coloured on his edges when looked
on through the said vessell, & yet in the 15th Experiment
hee trajects colours on a peice of paper.

 21 The colours made by this vessel appeare
immediatly to the eye in the same order in which they fall on paper.
but by the triangular Prisme that order is divers.

 Note, That the more the glasse sides of the vessell ABCD are distant, the
better it is; that distance should not bee lesse then 6 or 8
inches to make the Phaenomena conspicuous. Some of the
Phaenomena may bee tryed by tying two Prismes thus
together: But the distance of theire sides is two little to exhibit them all

6

Of Colours

 22. If the sun S shine upon the Prism
def, some of his rays being transmitted
through the base ef will make colours
on the wall cb at b, others will bee
reflected to
the wall at c making only a white
without colours; Now if the Prisme bee soe inclined as that
the rays ab bee refracted more & more obliquly, the
blew colour will at last vanish from b; soe that the
red alone being refracted to b, the blew will bee
reflected to c & make the white coloure there to
appeare a little blewish. But if the Prisme bee yet more
inclined, the red colour at b will vanish too & being
reflected to c will make the blewish colour
turne white againe.

 23. If in the open aire you looke at
the Image of the Sky reflected
from the basis of the Prism
ef, holding your eye O almost
perpendicular to the basis you will see one part
of the sky ep (being as it were shaded with a thin
curtaine) to appeare darker then the other qf.
[ For all the rays which can come to the eye from
qf, fall soe obliquly on the basis as to bee all
reflected to the eye. Whereas those which can come
to the eye from ep are so direct to the basis as to
bee most of them transmitted to g]: & the
partition of those two parts of the Sky, pq, appeares
blew; [For the rays , which can come
to the eye from pq, are so inclined to the basis that
all the blew rays are reflected to the eye whilst
most of the red rays are transmitted through to g,
as in Experiment 22].

 24 Tying two Prismes basis to basis
def & bef together: I
so held them in the
sun beames, transmitted
through a hole into a
darke roome, that they

7

Of Colours.

falling pretty directly upon the base ef (in fig 1) were
most of them transmitted to B on the paper CB; though
some of them were reflected to C by the filme of aire
ef betwixt the Prismes. But both C & D were white Then I inclined the Basis
(ef) of the Prismes more & more to the rays untill
B changed from white to Red, & the white at C
became blewish; & inclining the Prisme a little more
the Red at B vanished, & the blewish colour at C became
white againe. As in the 22th Experiment.

 25 If I held the said Prismes in the open air as in the 23d
experiment, holding my eye at O (in the 2d fig) to see
the reflected sky the Phaenomena were the same as in that
23d experiment; ep appearing darker then qf, & pq being
blew. But if I held my eye at N to see the sky
through the base of the Prismes ef (or rather through the
plate of aire betwixt those bases) there appeared the
contrary Phaenomena but much more plaine; ep being very light, qf very
darke, & pq very red. [The reason was given in
the 23d experiment <]>

 Note, That the 22th & 24th (& all such like experiments that
require that the rays coming from a
luminous body be all wholly or almost parallell) would
bee more conspicuous were the suns Diameter lesse, &
therefore for such like experiments his rays may bee
straitned through two small holes at a good distance
assunder, as was done in the 8th Experiment.

 Also the 23th & 25t Experiment (most most other such like
in which the rays passe immediatly from
the prisme to the eye) would bee more conspicuous were the
Pupill lesse then it is, And therefore it would bee
convenient to looke through a small hole at the Prisme.

 26 The colours in the partion pq appeared to the Eye O in
this order

8

Of Colours.

 27 The two Prismes being tyed harder together
then in trying the 24th Experiment, there appeared
a white spot in the midst of the red colour
B, & a darke spot in the blewish colour C.
And after the base ef of the Prismes was more
inclined to the rays , so that the red colour
vanished & that (by the laws of Refraction) noe light could
penetrate the filme of aire ef, yet the white spot
remained at B & the darke one in the midst
of the light at C.

 28 Holding my eye at O or N (in trying the 25t Experiment)
very obliquely to the basis ef; To my
eye at O appeared a black spot (R) in the midst of the
white basis (or filme of aire) ef, & to my eye at N
appeared a white spot (R) in the midst of the black basis
(or plate of aire) ef; through which spot (as through a
hole in the midst of a black body) I could distinctly see
any object, but could discerne nothing through any other
parte of the appearingly black basis ef.

 29 By variously pressing the Prismes together at one end more
then at another I could make the said spot R run
from one place to another; & the harder I pressed the
prismes together, the greater the spot would appeare.
to bee. [Soe that I conceive the Prismes (their sides being
a little convex & not perfectly plaine) pressed away the
interjacent aire at R & becoming contiguous in that
spot, transmitted the Rays in that place as if they
had beene one continuous peice of glasse; whereas the
plate of aire (ef) is a very reflecting body: soe that the
spot R may bee called a hole made in the plate of
aire (ef)].

 32 The colours of the circles (in the 30th & 31th Experiment) appeared
more distinct at C then at B, & to the Eye O then to the
Eye N. There being I conceive
some colourlesse light reflected with the coloured light to
O, & C but much more colourlesse light transmitted to
N & B; which must needs whiten & blend
the colours.

9

Of Colours

 30 In the 27th Experiment when the colour white or red was
trajected on B, there would apeare severall circles of
colours about the white spot at B & also about the darke
one at C. But those colours vanished together with the red colour
at B: Growing greater & distincter untill they vanished.

 31 Likewise in the 28th Experiment when the spot was on that side the
partition pq next the eye, it appeared to my
eye both at O & N, encompassed with divers circles of
colours. Which circles would grow greater & distincter by
how much the coloured partition pq came nearer & nearer
to them (that is by how much the base ef was more &
more oblique to the rays) & soe vanished by degrees
as the said limb pq came to them. Before they began
to vanish they appeared round or Ellipticall thus
But in their vanishing (especially if looked on
through a hole much smaller
then my pupill) they appeared
incurved thus.
But I could see the most circles when I
looked on them through a long slender
slit, held parallel
to the coloured limb pq, when the circles
halfe disappeared: for then I have numbered 25
circles esteeming each consecution of red & blew to bee one circle & could perceive there were
many more so close together that I could not number
them; whereas with my naked eye I could not discern
above nine or ten .

 33 The circles are the broadest
nearest to the center & so beeing
narrower & narrower doe (I conceive
by the exactest measure I could make)
increase in number as the interjacent aire doth in
thicknesse. (Sit cd = radio curvitatis vitri; efghik circuli
colorum; & el = fm/2 = gn/3 = hp/4 = iq/5 = kr/6 = crassitiei aeris <.)
And this I observed by a sphaericall object glasse of a
Prospective tyed fast to a plaine glasse, so as to
make the said spot with the circles of colours appeare.

10

Of Colours.

 34 By the fore named Prospective glasse
I observed (though not very exactly) that
the more obliquely the ray tc was
incident to the filme of aire ef twixt
the glasses, the greater the coloured
circles are in this proportion: 

 35 When the rays were perpendicular to the aire ef, the
diameter of 5 of the circles was one parte, whereof
400 was the radius dC of the glasses curvity. the said
radius being 25inches Soe that (el) the thicknesse of the aire
for one circle was 1/64000inch, or 0,000015625.
[which is the space of a pulse of the vibrating medium.]by measuring it since more exactly I find 1/83000 = to the said thicknesse.

 36 Accordingly as the glasses are pressed more or lesse together
the coloured circles doe become greater or lesse.
& as they are pressed more & more together new circles
doe arise in the midst untill at last the said pellucid
spot R doth appeare.

 37 The circles of colour appeare in this order from the
center to the eye O Or on the paper at C viz
Darke (or pellucid), white,        yellow, greene, blew, purple,
Red, Yellow, greene, blew purple, Red, Yellow, Greene, blew etc.
But to the eye N or on the Paper at B they appeare in
this order Light (or pellucid) black,        blew, Greene,
yellow, Red, purple, blew, greene           
soe that those circles which appeare Red to the eye O, appeare
blew to the eye N, & thos which appeare blew to the
eye O appeare of the contrary colour red to the Eye N.

11

Of Colours.

 38 Those circles which appeare Red to the eye O, & blew
to the eye N are almost as broade againe as those
which appeare blew to the eye O & Red to the eye N.

 39 Holding the said circles in a darke roome in the
blew rays made by a Prisme (as the 10th Experiment)
all the said circles appeared blew but those which in the
discoloured light appeared red appeared of a blew
much more diluted then the others. And if the
Red Prismaticall rays fell upon those circles all the
circles appeared red but those circles which in the clear
light appeared blew, in the Prismaticall red rays
appeared of a much darker & obscurer
red then the others.

 40 Whither these circles were held in the
Prismaticall blew or red rays they still appeared of the
same bignesse.

 41 Putting water betwixt the two Prismes instead of
the filme of aire; There appeared all the Phaenomena
of the said circles, & also of the 22, 23, 24, & 25t
Experiments etc. Onely somwhat more obscurely because
there is lesse refraction made out of glase into
water then into aire; & yet

 42 The coloured circles appeared as big when
there was a filme of water as when there was
a filme of aire betwixt the Prismes.

 43 If you make the pellucid spot R nimbly to run to
& fro, There will appeare another spot S
to follow it, which spot S exhibits such
Phaenomena as it ought to doe were it a Spot of
aire, viz: To the eye O it appeares white next the
Spot R & then Red etc, But to the eye N it
appeares black next the Spot R & then blew etc: which
colours it ought to have were it a filme of aire
(by experiment 37). But it is not a filme of aire because
if the Spot R rests a little, the water creepes into the
said spot S & makes it vanish. It seemes therefore that the
water cannot nimbly enough follow the spot R, but leaves

12

Of Colours

the space S empty to bee possessed by Aether alone, untill
the water have time to creepe into it.

 44 Refracting the Rays through a Prisme into a darke
rome (as in the 7th Experiment) And holding another
Prisme about 5 or 6 yards from the former to
refract the rays againe I found First that the blew
rays did suffer a greater Refraction by the second Prisme then the Red
ones.

 45 And secondly that the purely Red rays refracted by the
second Prisme made noe other colours but Red & the
purely blew ones noe other colours but blew
ones.

 46 If three or more Prismes
A, B, C, bee held in the sun soe
that the Red colour of the Prisme B
falls upon the Greene or yellow colour
of the Prisme A & the Red colour of the
Prisme C falls on the Greene or yellow
colour of the Prisme B; the Said colours falling
upon the Paper DE at P, Q, R, S. There will
appeare a Red colour at P & a blew one
at S but betwixt Q & R where the Reds,
yellows, Greenes, blews, & Purples of the severall
Prismes are blended together there appeares a white.

 47 Or if you cleame a peice of

13

Of Colours

Paper on one side of the Prisme with severall
slits a, b, c, d, in it parallel to the edges of the Prisme
soe that the light passing through those slits make colours
on the Paper DE; If the said paper be held neare
to the Prisme there will appeare for each slit
a, b, c, d, a coloured line r, s, t, v. The paper being
held farther of untill the said coloured lines bee
blended together, there will appeare white twixt
p & q where those colours are blended; at m
there appeares Reds & at n blews. But if
the paper bee still held farther of the white
colour (pq) will appeare narrower & narrower untill
it vanish. & then gh on one side appeares Red
& gf on the other side is blew.

 49 A single superficies of Glasse reflects many
rays whither they passe out of glasse into aire or
out of aire into Glasse & yet two surfaces
of Glasse when contiguous (by the 27th 28th &
29th Experiment) reflect the Rays noe more then
if the glasses had beene one entire peice without
such a superficies betwixt them.

 48 As white was made by a mixture of all sorts
of colours (in the 46th & 47th Experiment) Greene is made
by a mixture of blew & yellow, purple by a
mixture of red & yellow, etc

 50 Thin Flakes of Muscovy Glasse, Bubbles which
children make of sope & water, the thin skum
of molten leade, of cooling iron, water wiped
very thin on glasse, glasse blowne very thin, etc
represent the Phaenomena of the coloured circles in the
30th and 31st Experiments etc. To which may bee referred coloured
motes in the Sun or in liquors, or pouders, or sollid
bodys; the slender coloured threds of some
cobwebbs, of silke wormes, & of flax finely dressed
(though the flax in spining looseth its glosse, because
the flat thredds cleave together againe into
two greate a thicknesse see Experiment 49).

14

Of Colours

 51 If the Sun S shine
upon a large glasse
Globe abd filled with
water And if you
hold your eye very
neare to the globe, the
rays bp will
appeare coloured redd & the farther you hold your eye from
the glasse the lesse they appeares coloured, untill the
colour vanish. But the Rays rd & fq appeare
coloured at what distance so ever your eye bee placed
from the Globe. The like you may observe by letting
the colours fall on a peice of paper.

 52 Though one termination of light trajected through
the Prisme will not make both blews & reds; yet
in this globe it doth (see Cartesii Meteora
cap 8 sec 9) For the rays rd & fq make all sorts
of blews & reds; indeed by the rays bp the red is
very distinct but the blew is scarce discernable.

 53 The colours of the Rainbow must bee
explicated by the rays rd & fq (vide Cartesii Meteor
Cap 8 sec 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15<) For the bow may bee mad by drops of water forcibly cast up into the aire.

 54 The spot R (mentioned in Experiment the 52d) grows
lesse & lesse by how much the rays fall more &
more obliquely on the intermediate filme of aire ef.
[which seemes to intimate that the thinness of the
intermediate filme of aire (or rather Aether) augments its
refraction, untill (when the glasses become contiguous) it
bee aequall to that of glasse]

 55 The surfaces of Glasse doe not reflect soe much light
when the glasse is in water as when it is in aire
& the lesse any two mediums differ in refraction the
lesse their intermediate surface reflects light [which
intimates that tis not the superficies of Glasse or any
smoth pellucid body that reflects light but rather
the cause is the diversity of Aether in Glasse &
aire or in any contiguous bodys though the parts
of the Glasse must necessarily reflect some rays.

15

Of Colours

 56 The pouders of Pellucid bodys is white soe is a cluster
of small bubles of aire, the scrapings of black or cleare
horne, etc: [because of the multitude of reflecting surface]
soe are bodys which are full of flaws, or those whose
parts lye not very close together (as Metalls, Marble, the
Oculus Mundi Stone etc) [whose pores betwixt their parts admit
a grosser Aether into them then the pores in their parts], hence

 57 Most Bodys (viz: those into which water will soake as
paper, wood, Marble, the Oculus Mundi Stone, etc) become
more darke & transparent by being soaked in water
[for the water fills up the reflecting pores]

 58 I tooke a bodkin gh
& put it betwixt my
eye & the bone as
neare to the
backside of my eye
as I could: & pressing
my eye with the end of
it (soe as to make the
curvature a, bcdef in my
eye) there appeared severall
white darke & coloured circles
r, s, t, etc. Which circles were
plainest when I continued to rub my eye with the
point of the bodkin, but if I held my eye & the
bodkin still, though I continued to presse my eye
with it yet the circles would grow faint
& often disappeare untill I renewed them by moving
my eye or the bodkin.

 59 If the experiment were done in a light roome so
that though my eyes were shut some light would
get through their lidds There appeared a
greate broade
blewish darke circle outmost (as ts), & within that
another light spot srs whose colour was much
like that in the rest of the eye as at k. Within
which spot appeared still another blew spot r,

16

Of Colours

espetially if I pressed my eye hard & with a small
pointed bodkin. & outmost at vt appeared a verge of light

 60 But on the contrary if I tryed the Experiment in very
darke roome the circle ts apeared of a Reddish light
sr of a darkish blew & the middle spot r appeared
lighter againe; & there seemed to be a circle of
darke blew tv without the circle ts the outmost of all.
[I conceive (in the 60th experiment) where the curvature of the Retina at
ma & fn began & was but little the blew colour
tv was caused; at ab & ef where the Retina was
most concave, the bright circle ts was caused: at bc,
& de where the Retina was not much incurved nor
strained the darke blew circle sr was caused &
at cd where the Retina was stretched & made
convex the light spot r was caused. In the
59th Experiment the spirits were perhaps strained
out of the Retina at ab, ef, & cd or otherways made
incapable of being acted upon by light & soe
made a lesse appearance of light then the rest of the Retina]

 61 That the same circle ts which appeared light in
the darke, appeared darke in the light I found
by suddenly letting in light into a darke
roome for then the bright circles would imediatly turne
into darke ones & the darke ones into bright ones.

 62 I could sometimes perceive vivid colours of blew
& red, made by the said pressure & perhaps a criticall eye might have
discerned this order of colours. in the 60th
experiment viz from the center greene, blew, purple,
darke, purple, blew, greene, yellow, red like flame,
yellow, greene, blew, broade purple, darke.

 63 Looking on a very light object as the Sun or his
image reflected; for a while after there would
remaine an impression of colours in my eye: viz:
white objects looked red & soe did       all
objects in the light, but if I went into a dark
roome the Phantasme was blew.

 64 That vision is made in the retina appeares because colours are
made by pressing the bakside of the eye; but when the eye turns
towards the pressure soe that it is pressed before the colours cease.

17

Of Colours.

 The Tunica Retina grows not from the sides of the opticks
nerve (as the other two which rise one from the dura, the other
from the Pia mater) but it grows from the middle of the nerve
sticking to it all over the extremity of its marrow. Which
Marrow if the nerve bee any where cut cross wise twixt the eye
& the union of the nerves, appeares full of small spots or
pimples, which are a little prominent, especially if the nerve
be pressed or warmed at a candle. And these shoot into the very
eye & may bee seene with in side where the retina grows to the
nerve: and they also continue to the very juncture EFGH.
But at this juncture they end on a
suddein into a more tender white
pap like the interior part of the
braine & soe the nerve continues
after the juncture into the braine
filld with a white tender pap
in which can bee seene noe
distinction of parts as betwixt
the said juncture & the eye.

 Now I conceive that every point
in the retina of one eye hath
its correspondent point in the
other, from which two very
slender pipes filld with a most lympid liquor doe
without either interruption or any other
uneavenesse or irregularity in
their processe, goe along the
optick nerves to the juncture EFGH where they meete
either twixt GF or FH, & there unite
into one pipe as big as both of them, & so continue in one
passing either twixt IL or MK into the braine where they are
terminated perhaps at the next meeting of the nerves twixt
the Cerebrum & cerebell, in the same order that their extemitys
were scituate in the Retinas. And so there are a vast multitud
of these slender pipes which flow from the braine the one halfe
through the right side nerve IL till they come at the juncture
GF where they are each divided into two branches the one passing
by G & T to the right side of the right eye AB the other
halfe shooting through the juncture EF & soe passing by X to
the right side of the left eye α;β. And in like manner
other halfe shooting through the left side nerve MK divide
themselves at FH & their branches passing by EV to the
right ey & by HY to the left, compose that 1/2 of the Retina

18

in both eys which is towards the left side, CD, & γδ.

 Hence it appears 1 why the two images of both eyes make but
one image abcd in the braine. 2 Why when one eye is
distorted objects appear double, For if the image of any object
bee made upon A in the one ey & β in the other, that
object shall have two images in the brain at
a & b. Therefore the pictures of any object ought to
bee made upon the corresponding points of the two Retinas
if upon A in the right ey then upon α; in the left. If
upon B then also upon β. And soe shall the motions
concurr after they have past the juncture GH & make one
image at a or b more vivid then one ey alone
could doe. 3 Why though one thing may appeare in two
places by distorting the eys yet two things cannot appear
in one place. If the picture of one thing fall upon A
& of another upon α;, they may both proceed to p but
noe farther, they cannot both be carried on the same pipes
pa into the braine, that which is strongest or most
helped by fantacy will there prevaile & blot out the
other. 4 Why a blew seene by one eye & a yellow by
the other at the same time produces a greene unlesse
the fantasy make one colour praedominant. 5tly Why if
one of the branches of the nerve beyond the juncture as at
GF or FH should bee cut: That halfe of both eys
toward the wounded nerve would bee blind, the other halfe
remaing perfect. 6tly Why the juncture is almost as broad again twixt
G & H then twixt E & F, becaus all the tubuli of both
eys pass twixt G & H & but 1/2 of them twixt E & F. It is not quite so broad again because the tubuli crossing <illeg.> etc: also the thicknes of the tunicks
7tly why the nerve GILF buts not directly
upon the nerve XEHY, but deviates to stand deviates
a little towards TV because its Tubuli are to passe only into
that side of the nerve EHYX towards EX. The like of FMKH 8thly why the
marrow of the nerve TVEG grows soft on a suddein when
it comes at the juncture EF & more suddenly on that side
towards G then towards E. And the like of the nerve EXYH
For it being necessary that the nerve TVEG should bee stretcht
& bended severall ways by the motion of the eye: Therefore
the tubuli are involved or wrought up with in the
substance of severall tough skins which being foulded up
together compose the marrow of the nerve, pretty sollid & flexible
least the tubuli should be prejuced by the severall motions
of the nerve. And those small pimples or prominences which
appeare in the nerve cut crosse wise I conceive to bee made
by the foldings of these crasser skins. But the nerve at the
juncture EGFH being well guarded from all violence &

19

motion by the bones into which it is
closely adapted: tis not necessary the said membranus substance
should be continued any further then EG therefore the tubuli
there on a suddein unsheath themselves those on the inner side
of the nerves towards VE & XE may severally crosse
twixt EF & bee united with their correspondents on the other
sides YH & TG. Now because the inner tubuli must first crosse
before they can convene with the outmost tubuli of the opposite
nerve hence it is that the nerves grow soft sooner on the inner
side at E then on the outer side at G & H.
  

 9thly why the two nerves meet a second time in the braine,
because the two half images caried along IL & MK may bee
united into one complete image in the sensory.
Note that the nerves at their contact meeting are round about disjoyned
from the rest of the braine, nor are they soe thick there as a
little before their meeting. But by their externall figure
they seeme as if the capillamenta concentered like the radii of a hemisphere to a point in
the lower part of the juncture. And tis probable that the visive
faculty is there for else why doe the nerves swell there to so great a bulke as
it were preparing for their last office, why doe they run directly crosse
from eitherside the braine to meet there if the designe was to have the motions coveyed by the shortest
cut from the eye to the sensorium before they grew too weak.
If they were to proceed further , they might have gone a shorter cut & in a lesse
channell. There is indeed a marrow shoots from under them toward
the cerebrellum to which they are united but the greatest part of
their substance if not all of it lys above this marrow
& also shoots cross beyond it to the center of the brain where they meet.
Lastly the substance here is most pure, the scituation in the mist of
the brain, constituting the upper part of that small
passage twixt all the ventricles. where all superfluous humors have the
greatest advantages to slide away that they may not incumber that
precious organ

 Light seldom striks upon the parts of grosse bodys (as
may bee seen in its passing through them), its reflection &
refraction is made by the diversity of aethers, & therefore it effect
on the Retina can only bee to make this vibrate which motion then
must bee either carried in the optick nerve to the sensorium or produce other
motions that are carried thither. Not the latter for water is too
grosse for such subtile impressions & as for animall spiritts

20

though I tyed a peice of the optick nerve at one end &
warmed it in the middle so see if any aery substance by that
meanes would disclose it selfe in bubbles at the other end, I
could not spy the least bubble; a little moisture only & the
marrow it selfe squeezed out. And indeed they that know how
difficultly aire enters small pores of bodys, have reason to suspect
that an aery body though much finer then aire can pevade easily &
without violence (as it ought to doe) the small pores of the braine
& nerves, I should say of water, because those pores are filld with
water, & if it could it would bee too subtil to bee imprissoned
by the dura mater & Skull, & might passe for aether. However,
what need of such spirits much Motion is ever lost by
communication especially twixt bodys of different constitutions: and
therefore it can noe way bee conveyed to the sensorium so
entirely as by the aether it selfe. Nay granting mee but
that there are pipes filld with a pure tranparent liquor
passing from the ey to the sensorium & the vibrating motion
of the aether will of necessity run along thither. For nothing
interrupts that motion but reflecting surfaces, & therefore
also that motion cannot stray through the reflecting
surfaces of the pipe but must run along (like a sound in
a trunk) intire to the sensorium. And that vision bee thus made
is very conformable to the sense of hearing which is made
by like vibrations.

 From the whitenes of the brain & nerves the thicknesse of it vessells may
be determined & their cavitys guessed at. And its pretty to
consider how these agree with the utmost distinctnesse in vision.
As also with the extent of nature in conveying distinctly the
motions of the Aether.

21

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Of colours

 If rays be incident out of glasse upon a film of
air terminated twixt two glasses, the thicknesse of
a vibration is 1/81000, or 1/80000 part of an inch

 If water was put twixt the glasses the thicknes of
a vibration was 1/100000inch, of 3/4 of its former
dimensions. viz as the densitys of the interjected mediums.

 If the rays were incident obliquely, the circles increase
so that their diameters are as the secants of the
rays obliquity
within the film of air, or reciprocally as their
celerity within the said film.

 And the thicknesse belonging to each vibration is as
the squares of those secants of celeritys, And the
lengths of the rays belonging to each vibration
as their cubes.

 The first pulse ends at the first dark circle

 The thicknesse of a pulse of extream rubiform rays to that
of purpuriform ones perpendicularly incident is greater
then 3 to 2 & lesse then 5 to 3. viz as 9 to
14 or 13 to 20. And the thicknesse belonging to
each coulour is 13, 14 14 1/2, 15 1/2 16 1/2. 17 1/2. 18 1/2. 19.
for extreame purple, intense purple, Indico, blew,
green, the terminus of green & yellow, yellow,
orange, red, extream red.

 Mr Boyle mentions one that by sickness became so
tender sighted as in the dark night to see & distinguish plainly the
colours of ribbans (& other objects) on purpose pinned on the
inside of his curtains against he awaked. Of the determinate
nature of Effluviums p 26, And of another that by a feaver
became of so tender hearing as to hear plainly soft whispers
at a distance which others could not at all perceive, but
when he grew well his hearing became but like that of other
men. Ibid.

 Stipic vegetables, as gall, oaken bark, red roses,
Logwood, Sumach & turn vitriol to a black precipitate

23

To make excellent Ink.

 1/2lb of Galls cut in pieces or grosly
beaten, 1/4  of Gumm Arabick cut or
broken. Put 'em into a Quart of strong
beer or Ale. Let 'em stand a month
stopt up, stirring them now & then. At
the. end of the moneth put in 1 or
1 1/2 of copperas (Too much copperas
makes the ink apt to turn yellow.) Stir
it & use it. Stop it up for some
time with a paper prickt full of
holes & let it stand in the sunn.
When you take out ink put in so
much strong beer & it will endure
many years. Water makes it apt to
mold. Wine does not. The air also
if it stand open inclines it to mold.
With this Ink new made I wrote this.

<This page is blank except for possible shelfmarks and indications of library ownership.>

25

Of Cold & Heate

To know the present density of the aire (whither it bee caused by heate
& cold or by the gravity of the Atmosphaere or pressure of the Moone etc) use
an open weather=Glasse either with the included
aire above (fig A), or Below (fig B), or having
it seperated from the outward aire by a
movable drop of water onely (fig C) soe that the
instrument may bee capable of all positions.

The like may bee done (by filling the Glasse C with water etc)
if you would know the present density of water or any other
liquor. Or if you would know the present density of any sollid
body; fill one Glasse with water, & another with water & that solid
together, soe that the quantity of water in both glasses bee knowne
etc. AND note that heate & cold or the Atmosphaers gravity etc may
cause the glasse it selfe to rarify or Condense perhaps considerably
which may render the instruments the lesse exact & certaine untill
the expansion of Glasse be knowne

To know the Density of Liquors caused by heate etc without the
weight of the Atmosphaere; seale those liquors up (fig D),
leaving a little aire in the top of the Glasse which may
give leave to the water to contract & dilate. And this
May pretty exactly discover the heat & coldnesse of the
weather, or of any sollids or liquors tis Applyed too; but
to find how much hotter or colder any body is then the present
aire is better don by the former instruments (fig C or B)

To know the present Elasticity of any spring weakened
or strengthened by heate or cold; hang
a weight at the spring (fig E), or to
a spindle to which the (spirall) spring is
fastened (fig F) & the point of the
spring (fig E) or the handle of the spindle
(fig: F) will shew its strength &weakness & consequently the heat & coldnesse of the weather.
But note that it is heare supposed that
the weight of a body is always the same, & that tis only the
variation of heate & cold which varys the strength of a spring.
Which things deserve a further inquiry after. And indeed the
weight of the Atmosphaere varying will somwhat vary the weight
of other Bodys though not much. & this may bee remedyed by

Of Cold & heate

sealing up the instrument in a glasse receiver.

There may bee made a Staticall Baroscope to find
the Gravity of aire water or other liquor occupying a given quantity
of space at all times. see Fig G

And a Mercuriall Baroscope to find the weight of all the
Atmosphaere above us. & a Hygroscope for the moisture of the
aire. All which instruments being observed & compared together
in the same or divers times altitudes & places may discover
many things about heate & cold, vapors, rarity & density of bodys,
their gravity, & Elasticity the pression of the Moone, state
of the weather etc.

The Best liquor for the sealed Thermoscope is highly
rectifyed spirit of wine, brought to a lovely red with
Cochineele opened by the most subtile volatile spirit of Urin
by which meanes the liqour becomes visible, free from freezing
& yet very apt to bee rarifyed by the least impressions
from externall bodys such as would but faintly worke
on water though that bee easily apt to freeze. Boyle, p: 57

Mr. Boyle onece poyzed a Bubble of Glasse soe
exactly in water that it would ascend or descend more or
lesse accordingly as the water was more or lesse heated.
And in some parts of France watermen observe that Rivers
beare boats heavyer loaden in winter then in sommer
And some seamen observe their ships to draw lesse water
on the coasts of frozen Regions (though the water bee
fresher there) then on our British Seas. Mr. Boyle; pag 69 & 70 History of Cold

Our Senses are noe competent judges of cold because
our bodys doe heate those things to which they are contiguous
& hence things appeare lesse cold then others which are
more easily susceptible of the heate of our bodys (though really
they bee more cold. Thus aire appeares warmer then water
& water then quicksilver & yet by the Thermoscope tis
evident that quicksilver is warmer then water & water then aire.
& thus wee see the more sollid any Body is, the higher
degree of heate it will receive from fire or the sommer sunn
& retaine it the longer as also tis the longer in acquiring it
Mr. Boyle pag 6, 9, 10, 11, of his History of Cold

27

Of cold & heate

Hence winds are cold because they remove the contiguous
warmed aire from our bodys faster then our bodys can warm the
adventitious aire. And if wee blow violently on our hands it appears
cold because our breath agitating the neighbouring aire into vortices
makes it suceede the warme aire contiguous to our hands. But if
wee breath gently soe that our warme breath come to our hands
without agitating the neighbouring cold aire then wee feele it
warme.

But besides there may bee other causes of our senses being
imposed upon, as severall steams in the aire. Thus a little opium
is able to chill & coole the whole masse of blood in a man
though ten times a greater quantity of it dissolved in ten
times a lesse quantity of water is not able sensibly to coole
it. & in China (whose greatest latitude is but 42°) from the
midst of November to the begining of March the Rivers are
all so frozen up that ships are laid fast where the frost
first seizeth them & carts & horses etc securely passe
over them: & yet the inhabitants feele not so much cold
as would produce ice in Europe or compell an European
to the Chymney Corner. Which divers effects on theires & our
senses must bee referred to subterraneous exhalations. The
frost is mostly made in one day though dissolved in many.

Also hee that compares the reports of his senses to that of a
sealed Thermoscope will find some disagreement twixt them
that often shewing the aire to hotter when men judg it
colder & colder when they judg it hotter. Boyle: p: 6, 7, 15, 16, 

And if heat bee nothing but the agitation of a bodys parts
there may be frigorifick steames which by fettering the parts of a
body may coole it (as well as the adjacency of cooler bodys)
& steames which are frigorifick to one body neede not bee
soe to another. as the instances of Opium & China seeme to
prove, thus the steames of leade deprive Mercury of it
fluidity but not water & yet water will freze when mercury
will not. And there bee severall liquors which mixed with
the agitated spirit of wine will bring it to a consistency etc
& there is a certaine substance which mixed with a certaine
liquor makes it appeare cold to sense, which has noe such effects
on water. Boyle: pag 50, 51, 52, 53.

And there may bee calorifick steames too which are so to one
body & not to another. for there are severall liquors & other
substances, which when mixed with other bodys produce an intense degree of heat in some but not in all bodys.

Of cold & freezing

And a sealed Thermoscope filled with spirit of wine beeing put
into a certaine liquor, the included liquore rose exceding slowly
& to a wonderfull height (8 or 9 inches in a stem of 12
inches long) & the Thermoscope being taken out & put into
cold water that       the liquor might subside in 5 or more
howers it              subsided not more then halfe an inch
& standing           all night in the aire it subsided not
sensibly           more. how much it at last subsided I know
not. Boyle      pag 60, 61.

Oyle of Annis=seeds which is a very hot & strong liquor freezes
sooner then water, & some liquors noe lesse peircing then aqua fortis
are easlyer congealeable then the generality of Chymicall Oyles &
salines spirits. Boyle: p 49.

Perhaps a wind striking deeper into our skin then the calm
aire may therefore appeare colder then really it is pag 6.

Severall acid Salts (as spirit of Sugar, & vinegar; but better of
Salt, & oyle of vitriol & best the spirit of Nitre)
being mixt with Snow or ice in a thin glasse bottle
would condence vapors on the out side of the Glasse
& freeze it into flakes of ice. The like might bee
done by Urinous salts though not so well (as with spirit
of Urin, & better of Sal Armoniack drawne from quick
lime). Also it may bee done with grosser salts as Sall Gem
with loafe & Kitchin Sugar, with a strong solution of pot
ashes, with a sweet solution of Minium in spirit of vinegre.
& very well with spirit of wine (though Chymists generally
esteeme it a Vegetable Sulphur). In Generall any thing
which hastened the dissolution of the Snow produced the effect
of freezing or condensing vapors with out side the Glasse. & therefore the fyery Oyle of Turpentine had small effect because it
dissolved the Snow or ice noe faster then common water. But warme
water powred into Snow (or heated Sand) produced store of
vapors on the out side of the Glasse & perhaps if prosecuted
might have produced Ice. The same effects were produced
though the Snow & salts were hermetically sealed
up in the Glasse. And the Glasse being weighed during the
experiment A mixture of Snow & Sal Gem or spirit of wine
weighing almost foure ounces produced an accession
of vapors weighing 18 or 20 graines in about a spoonefull. Boyle
from pag 108 to Pag 132.

29

Of Freezing

Of all bodys common sea salt dissolves Snow & beaten Ice the fastest
& makes it freze other bodys the soonest & hardest (pag 113), there
being mixed about 1/3 or 1/4 part of soe much salt as snow either at once
or gradually, & if you would freze an inclosed liquor begin at
the bottom or sides & let the top be last frozen least it break the Glasse pag 181.

Common Water, Urin, Beer Milk, Ale, Vinegar freze pretty easily,
French & Rhenish wine will freeze in cold weather but not so
easily, & so will a strong solution of Gum Arabick, white sugar,
nay of Alume Vitriol salt=peter, seasalt, & verdigrease
& so did spirit of Vinegre & Urin, & the lixiviate salt of Pot ashes
The last froze with branches like Christalls of Rocked Peetre some
lying level others shooting downe, & many other salt liquors are
prettily figured in freezing. Oyle of Tartar (at least a strong solution of
fixed salt of Tartar) was once frozen by snow & salt. pag 134, 135.

Common expressed Oyles may be deprived of their fluidity
so as to bee cut in peices but not frozen into truely brittle ice though the cold be more intense then tis
in England ( yet some say they may bee frozen to brittle ice)
And in Muscovy common Annised water and weake
spirits may bee turned into imperfect ice & very strong
spirits to a substance like oyle. pag 137, 139.

Aqua fortis Spirit of Nitre, of Salt, Oyle of Turpentine
& most Chymicall Oyles (yet the essentiall oyle of Anniseds etc freezes sooner then
common water so will the Empireamaticall oyle of common Oyle)
also spirit of wine & sack if very good & a strong brine of
common salt & Quicksilver could not be brought to freze. If the spirits of Sack
were burnt away the Flegme would freze. Traine oyle is
lesse apt to freeze then other Vegetable expressed oyles (which oyle is made of the fat
of animalls commonly of whalls). A solution of sugar of
Lead will not freze though its ingredients lead bee cold & spirit
of Vinegre will freeze. Sea Water will very difficultly
freeze but the ice dissolved is pretty fresh so that divers
in Amsterdam make beere of it. from pag 140 to 148.

The heate of liquors may bee knowne by immersing the
Thermoscope into them & the heate of Sollids by immersing
the Thermoscope into the pouder of the Sollid, or by making
the Thermoscope with a flat bottome so that it may bee closly
applyed to the Sollid. The actuall heat of liquors is lesse divers then one would think

Oyle of Turpentine of a moderate coldnesse being immersed
in water which began to freze shrunke one 94th parte & being
further refrigerated by snow & salt shrunke as much more

Of Cold & Freezing

so that in all it lost one 47th parte. It being put againe into
freezing water, it expanded. Common water of a moderate
state as to warmness could not be bee brought to shrinke more
then one 230th parte before it expanded by freezing. pag 161, 168

As heat extends farthest upwards (by reason that flame
& aire rarifyed with heate ascend) so perhaps cold may act
farthest downwards because the contiguous aire or water etc: condensed by cold
will descend: but experiments doe not manifest much difference twixt
the ascent & descent of cold: but the sphaere of its activity is very
small not reaching to freze much above 1/2 a barly corne length from
a mixture of snow & ice. pag 

Perhaps as aire about a hot body (as red hot glasse etc)
ascending in refractive clouds makes remote objects seeme to
quaver soe aire condensed by cold bodys may descend in clouds
& have the same refractive property.

Bodys are preserved from corruption longest in the greatest
cold if they freize not. As in frozen regions beere & meate may
bee preserved in hogsheads under the ice without any decay
for many Months. And Bodys frozen during the time of
theire continuing frozen they manifest noe corruption. As
some say that in Greenland nothing corrupts & frozen carkasses
being buried have continued 30 yeares free from any
rotennesse. Bodys when thawed againe they manifest some chang
in their texture & that much more when thawed suddenly by the
fire then when leisurely of themselves or by being immersed in
water or rubbed over with snow. Thus bere & beef & chese
apples etc if long frozen & thawed by the fire become almost or
wholly insipid (the apples presently rotting etc), if thawed with water or snow
they will bee decayed but nothing neare so much. Frozen meat
layd to the fire to roast would not be well roasted & after
many hours it would yet continue raw in the midst & would
eate scurvily, but if it was first thawed in water it would roast
& eate pretty well. When a mans nose ears cheeks etc: are
frozen hee feeles it not, & if hee goe immediately to a fire
or stove hee loses the parts frozen, but not if hee rub them with
snow or dip them in water. A man frozen all over &
rigid being immersed into a tub of water hee was presently incrusted
with ice all over And soe recovered loosing only his finger & toe
ends. Another was recovered by being rubbed all over with snow

31

and all the while felt noe paine but a little prickling at his recovery.
Eggs, Apples, Chese men etc well frozen & thawed in water produce
a crust of ice about them; perhaps some solids as Glasse iron etc
may have the same effect pag: 605 etc. Frost makes stones iron (as the laths of
crosbows) mens bones nay horne p. 607 etc brittle, it cleaves wood (perhaps by swelling
it) & makes it very hard so that a tree well frozen cannot bee
cut downe unlesse first thawed with fire. & yet some in
England observe that wood will cleave best in frosty weather.
Things thaw faster in water then aire & therefore produce a
crust of ice in the water though they gather noe vapors on their
outsides in the aire, as a dissolution of snow by salt doth. In frozen
beere the strength & spirits recede into the unfrozen yeast. The
Christtalline humor frozen becoms white & some such thing happens in
frozen eggs, & they have severall concentric sphaeres involving one another from pag 184 to pag 222.

Water Milke urin Rhenish wine a solution of Dantzick Vitriol and perhaps solids etc shrinke with cold untill
they begin to freze & then they swell againe in frezing as appeares
by their breaking Glasses, their rise in the Thermoscope when froze at the bottom, the
convex swelling of ice in broad strong vessells, the swiming
of ice in the liquor unfrozen the standing of frozen clocks the cracking of frozen eggs, wood
pewter or iron vessells filld with water of solid brasse etc. Milk swells more by frezing
then Rhenish wine & Urin then milke, though Urin
is longer before it freze. Spirit of Wine though it will not
freeze yet after it had shrunke much by extreme cold began
to swell againe though not so much as it shrunke before.
Quicksilver by cold shrinks considerably, more then all the aire in its
pores amounts to, but it swells not againe noe more doe any
oyles whither common (expressed) oyles or essential oyles (drawne
in Lymbecks by the helpe of water & fire<)>, or empyreamaticall
oyles driven out of retorts by violent fires; though they
will all shrinke considerably & some of them (as oyle of Anniseeds)
will freze. The ice of that & other oyles sinke in the fluid oyle. from pag 222 to p 244

The ice of common water & of other liquors appeares
full of bubbles (which may bee the cause of its expansion)
Some greate as a pease others like haile Shot mustard seed or
lesse. Which bubbles are not wholly filled with true aire For a glasse
full of water being wholly frozen & then sealed up hermetically
& then thawed againe, the water would subside to its station
before frezing; If you then inverted the glasse & immersed it
in water & broke of the tip of the stem, the externall water
would rush in till it had filled almost all the space of the stem which the
water had deserted (excepting sometimes a 4th, 10th parte or
lesse) so that the aire did not fill more then one 4th 10th parte or less
of the bubbles. whither that aire bee generated by frost (which

Of Freezing

may bee tryed by often frezing the same water sealed up
hermetically) or whither it lurked in the water before frezing
(for that water yeilds ice the most transparent & with fewest
& least bubbles looked on either with the naked eye or Microscope which has beene freed from aire by the aire pump
or whither both together is worth inquiry. Many bubbles ascend from
thawing ice to the top of the water.     from pag 245 to p 278.

Water expands about one ninth parte in freezing & noe more
& yet there were Islands of ice 16, 20 etc fathoms above water & but 36, 40 etc
beneath it. (but they were made up of snow & fragment of ice
conteining much aire betwixt them & probably rested on the ground. & from p 279 to p 296

The expansive force of frezing water is so greate as to burst
peuter vessells & iron postell barrells etc And water being
hermetically sealed up with some aire left in the stem of the vessell
the swelling water crouded the aire into 19 times lesse roome before
it broke the glasse. At other trialls when the aire was compressed
into 9 times lesse roome the glasse being inverted that the
unfrozen water & the aire might change places, & the tip
of the stem being broken of so much water rushed out
into another vessell till the aire expanded
itselfe into nine times more roome from pag 296 to p 327. & p 587.

Snow & salt will freze through glasse, iron, brasse, space
voyd of aire, or filld with (the not freezing liquors) oyle of
Turpentine, spirit of wine & Brine (though more difficultly through the last)
& Tunbridg Minerall waters feele cold to the hand through
the abdomen.     from pag 345 to pag 363.

Frost in England seldom peirces the earth more then a yard
in Charlton Iland 2 yards & water not so much yet a
pipe of water frezes not so deepe when thrust into the earth
as when swiming on the earth: (water has beene frozen to many cubits pag 389) Dubito&lt. pag 329 etc.

A peice of Ice 3< or >2 1/2 inches broade & 1/8< or >1/10 inch thick being
laid on two leavers 3 inches distant was broke by the weight
of 17 lib: Averdupois & 117< or >48 ounces Troy hanging on its midst
which argues ice much stronger then one would thinke so soft
a body. Ice two fingers thick beares a man, 3 fingers a
horsman, 6 fingers a Regiment, 12 vel< 16 fingers an
army. but all ice is not alike strong, & when it thaws it
grows brittle. A corne of bay salt layd upon
ice by dissolving it sinks into it & makes it freze in that
place to the board or stoole that the ice lys upon the like doe common salt & Saltpeter. Oyle of
Vitriol dropped on ice quickly soakes through it & appeares
in corrosive drops on the other side. So dos good aqua fortis but
not so powerfully & yet it makes a cracking in the ice which Vitrioll
doth not; soe salt throwne upon ice makes a cracking &

33

Of cold Freezing Subterraneous vapors, etc

besides a steame to ascend like the smoak of warme meate
The icy islands (which are 1, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 miles long etc in
some places mixed with earth, eggs etc& some peices the ice being of
an azure colour etc) make a very great noyse sometimes like canons
perhaps partly by islands clashing together or peices falling downe or
being burst by rarefyed warme exhalations or by the swelling power
of extreame cold etc. from pag 364 to 394.

 Equall peices of ice were dissolved in oyle of Vitrioll in 5min
spirit of wine in 12min, Aqua fortis in 12 1/2min, Water in 12min
Oyle of Turpentine in 44min, aire in 64min. Again ice of the same
bignesse was dissolved in Oyle of Vitriol in 3min, Spirit of wine 13min water 26m
Oyle of Turpentine 47m, Sallet oyle 52m, aire 152min. Ice is not so
easily dissolvable as one would imagine In Italy they
preserve it in conically barded pits flat at the bottom with a grate for
the melted water to run through, twixt every cake of
ice well & hard beaten together they lay a layer
of straw & thatch it, they are usually 25 foot wide at the top
& 50 in depth     from pag 396 to 412.

Water begins both to freze & thaw next the aire & land it never
frezes at the bottom or midst of maine seas though never so
northward yet water apeares extreamely cold to Divers at the bottom
of the sea to which the suns rays scarcly penetrate, & those countrys are coldest (ceteris paribus<) which are
nearest the seas & shores are colder then maine land or sea & maine Sea colder then maine land. &
the icy islands are generated in straights & neare shoares. The
suns heate scarce penetrates more then six or seaven foot into the
earth whence to about 80 or a 100 fathoms reaches a pretty coole region
of earth, & after that they feele it perpetually hotter then in the
open air & in some places intollerably hot accordingly as
the earth abounds with veines of vitriol or other hot mineralls. And this is observed
in all the Hungarian Mines some of which are 1800 or 2400 foot
deepe. After about 180 foot the heate of the Mine is not sensibly
increased by its greater depth. Out of these mines there ascends a vapor
visible enought above the mouth of the pit & sensibly warme though
it hath passed through 100 or 500 feet of the cold upper region. Perhaps both that steame
& heate may arise from a dissolution of Vitrioll or other mineralls
in water (Or bee the ascent of the gravitating streames in another
forme & impregnated with minerall vapors) And yet there is found
the same heate in a salt mine of Poland (50 ladders deepe or more
in the mountaine) where there is noe vitrioll. These exhalations are
mostly saline fretting noysome & combustible though they much differ
in divers mines for out of a gaping peice of ground in Hungary there
issue such mortall fumes as kill even birds that fly over it & in
the North of England is a ditch where fumes ascend that take fire
at a Candle & burne as long as you please. so at the fresh opening
of some close vaults & cellars ascends a very visible dampe vapor (which will
sometimes take fire at a Candle) and the stagnating fumes in many

Of Cold Freezing & Subterraneous vapors

mines are often soe grosse as to suffocate men & very often in
most (or all) deepe mines they take fire which will bee hot enough to
scorch a mans skin (unlesse hee nimbly retire or fall flat downe
whilst the inflamed vapor ascend with a report at the top like a
musket. Miners can foretell by the more or lesse copious ascent
of these steames (which they perceive by the blewness of their
candles) when & how great stormes shall ensue though the present sky bee cleare. And the fishermen in Conwell
(where the tin mines abound with most pestilent damps) when
they perceive shining fires in the night make to shore to
shun the ensuing storme. And not long since some royall ships
in a Calme neare Ireland were almost wracked by a sudden
tempest which a Pilot predicted from a black cloud ascending
out of the water not much unlike & unequall to a Barrell. Cellars are
Much cooler in sommer then the free aire & somwhat
cooler in winter then in sommer though somtimes they may
be a little warmer in winter by reason of subterraneous
vapors pent up by exteriors frosts which closes the pores of the earth as some country men
observe that snow keeps the ground warmer, thus the
Lake Vetor (pag 777) when the weather grows warmer on a
suddeine boyles at the bottome with horrible noyses & the
ice cracks & becomes clifted & presently dissolves. And at
‡ <in mg:>See p: 502 & 778 ‡ The Royall City in China Peking the Lakes & Rivers which
were many days in frezing are thawed in one beginning at
the bottom of the ice which must needs bee effected by the sudden
ascent of vapors pent up with cold till their copiousnesse &
warme weather caused an eruption. Water newly drawne out
of wells in winter reeks especially if a little agitated, not
because it is warmer then in sommer but because the vapors
like our breaths are quickly made invisible being rarifyed
by the hot summer aire. Thus a steame may bee seene upon
rivers in a summer morning which disappears at noone. A
solution of Salt peter in water is warmer then common aire but it may be frozen.
& perhaps saltpeter sea salt & severall other bodys volatile in the
aire may cause frezing by driving the frigorifick attomes into
water out of the aire & earth (or evocating some active subtil
matter from the water). From pag 412 to pag 463 & from pag 741 to pag 803.

The thermoscope subsides but very little more in the Receiver
exhausted then full of aire which perhaps too may not bee so much
caused by the coolness of the vacuum above aire as by the streaching
of the Glasse thermoscope freed from externall pression, For the
liquor suddenly ascended at the intromission of the aire. Yet aire
conveys heate through it perceptibly better then a vacuum. Aire
contracted one 22th parte by the cold of a very frosty night &
one 10th parte by the application of ice & salt: (as
much as water swells by freezing). neare the Line there are
high hills on whose tops at noone day men & beasts are benumbed

35

Of cold & freezing.

with cold & yet Greenland (whose Lattitude is 80°) is habitably warme
& beares grass which Nova Zembla (whos Latitude is 74°) by reason of its
great cold doth not. In Russia where the Summer is warmer then in
England the winter is so cold as to freze spittle or water throwne
up before it fall to the ground. The like of al?u of new England whos latitude is 43° & Charlton Island (whos
Latitude is 52°) nay in the same day that Island is intollerably hot in
the day time & freezes an inch thick in the night. Constant
winds may perhaps have as much influence on the Temperature
of places as theire Latitude; but yet winds much partake of the
nature of the place they move over & the same wind (pag 511) in
divers countrys may have divers qualitys. Thus aire blowne through
the refrigerating mixture is colder then otherwise; & in some parts
of the Indys there are winds which fret & rust Iron & make it
friable. From pag 464 to pag 520. & some winds feele hot pag 824.

In one night at Nova Zembla the salt sea was frozen two inches
thick & the Holanders burnt their clothings before they could feel fire. At Musco the Market place cracked by frost one foot
wide & many yards long. At Charlton Island a brass pan of
water set so neare the fire as to be warme on one side
was frozen an inch thick on the other. Extreame Cold alters
mens voyces, makes the skins of many animalls white, the gutts
of men (frozen there to death with much torment) black. from p: 520, to p: 549.

The weight of water frozen & unfrozen seems to bee
the same pag 550 etc & yet in frosty weather the Atmosphaere
seems to bee heaviest (though it is then clearest & freest from
vapors) pag 483.

The ice of fragrant or stinking liqours Smells much fainter
then the liquors pag 579, 581. The Russians in winter usually goe naked
out of their stoves (if ready to faint with heate) & cast themselvs
into snow or cold water. p 583. A large concave discovers not
the Moones beames to bee either hot or cold though trajected
on a Thermoscope. p 584.

Nitre dissolved in thrice as much water cools it sensibly
during the solution (yet nothing neare to congelation) but after the
Nitre is dissolved the water grows warme againe. p: 594 & see
pag 458. Cold water sooner freezeth then hot & as soone as
cold water that once was hot. p 615, 621. The pure & cold wind in
Iceland (with the Sun) hardens & preservs fresh flesh & fish better then
if it were salted p. 627. Fishes (Gudgeons) though quite frozen
up as to become rigid yet recovered, & perhaps if they dy in
Ponds frozen up the cause may bee subterraneous vapors or a
stifling sudor from themselves pag 635 etc. Cold retards
fermentation making beere tast new & preserving wine in
the must a long time; nay wine if before fermentation begin
it bee put under water in a Coole well for 6 or 8 weeks is
so satled in its constitution of Must that it continues so without
fermenting for many Months after p 649.

A solution of Minium or quick lime in water will coagulate a
just proportion of good (expressed) Sallet Oyle to an Unguent

Of heate cold & freezing.

which by a Thermoscope appeares noe colder then the liquors before
coagulation p. 688. The liquid parts of frozen apples by swelling bruize
their sollid parts now an apple quickly corrupts where tis bruized p:663.
the ice of severall liquors is variously branched with pretty figures
& severall fumes diversly ascending (according to more or lesse
heate) depaints various figures of trees etc though the fumes bee
minerall, but to make the shape of a tree by freezing water
tinged with the juice or ashes of that tree is improbible or accidentall
pag 675 etc. The pores & texture in severall vegetable & animall
substances (as carrots greene wood neves the braine eyes
muscles livers tongues etc) may perhaps bee best discovered by
frezing the juice in the pores & then cutting it squezing it out etc
pag 657. A glasse egg filled almost with water & sealed
Hermetically, & frozen at the bottom to try if the unfrozen water
was capable of compression, when the apex of the stem was broken
of the compressed aire flew out with greate noise & the stem
where the water reached not was filled with white smoke & froth many
bubbles also rising from the bottom of the water (as when
bottle beere is opened) & the water it selfe rose 3/4 inch more
then the lurking aire could expand it selfe, but it is dubious
whither to ascribe that expasion to the water or ice or the glasses
contraction pag 691.

If a man drinke in summer (when hot) it presently maks him sweat.

Quick lime quenched in cold water maks it hot, in hot water
maks it hotter, in water just done boyling makes it boyle againe
vehemently. It grows much hotter if quenched in spirit of salt then
in water but in oyle of Turpentine or spirit of Wine etc it
produces scarce any heate at all, though for many howers immersed
because it was not dissolved by those liquors.

Towards the end of January in frosty weather fell a verygreate haile storme
(though they fall most in summer) in which storme a maid was
misled by an Ignis fatuus&lt);. In those parts of Egypt where it
raignes plentifully (as about Alexandria & Pelusium etc but not
at Grand=Cairo), it never snows nor hailes & so in hotter
Countrys. Haile has often snow in the midst. p 737. 739.

---

Water freezes almost as soone in Boyles exhausted receiver as in the
open aire, but the ice in the Receiver appeared whiter & fuller of bubbles
A solution of Alume frezes sooner then water & to a milk white & very firme
ice Solutions of Vitriolls freeze sooner then that of Allum & almost to as
white & firme an ice pag 4 of Dr. Merret. Most Stinking & sweet liquors
frozen when thawed againe their scent is almost lost p. 6. And frost
often makes the salt, spirits & colours of divers liquours recede from the
ice to the unfrozen liquor p. 6, 9, 12, 13, 29, 48.

Perhaps severall salts where they abound in water or aire etc most
by heating those mediums coole the vicine regions (as may
appeare by the solution of snow & salt) & tis worth trying whither

37

saltpeeter or common salt etc agited much in water to
dissolve doth not expand the water by heate though it seme cold
to the touch & Thermoscope. For such solutions are very difficult to
bee frozen & perhaps would hasten the freezing of other liquors though themselves freze not. Sal Gem is most difficult of all salts to bee frozen p 8

Oyle of Vitriol frezes neare as soone as water whose ice (or
coagulum) shrinks in freezing has a strong vitriolate tast & is paler then the unfrozen oyle
& much longer in thawing then any other ice. This frozen &
unfrozen oyle mixed together well in glass violl heated it so hot
then none can endure to touch it p 8.

Some Liquors are not impaired by frost p: 11 & 48

Freezing may bee of great use (in cold countrys) for seperating salt or
spirits from the flegmatick water, a stinking bottle filled with water &
frozen becoms sweete.

Some Ice has bubbles like haile shot with sharpe tailes
pointing towards the outside of the ice p 21.

Snow balls moistened with water & then strongly crouded
together & frozen will somtimes sinke in water. p 34. Newcastle
cole preserves from freezing better then sand or ordinary earth.

Speculums of ice like burning glasses produce noe (sensible) heat
in their focus, but water frozen in sphaericall glasses would heat
a little p 38. Distilld Snow leaves a foule earth behind it. p 40
White of Eggs or water beaten to a froth & frozen looks like snow.

The Duke of Tuscany distilld spirit from wine without fire
by putting snow on the Alembick. & the Duke of Mantua had a
pouder which in summer congealed water quickly into ice p 44

Apples etc frozen & immersed deep< or >shallow in water will not< or >will bee
cased with ice. p: 50. If water bee often spread thinly over ice it makes
ice of a far greater thicknesse then otherwise it would bee. p: 51.

---

Aqua fortis without any sensible heate will make Camphire
cast on it assume the forme of a liquor distinct from it, & a
strong fire will but melt Camphire. & there is a liquor into which
certaine bodys being put (though both it selfe & they are
actually cold) will speedily dissipate many of their parts into
smoke & leave the rest black & burnt almost like a Coale
pag 55 of Mr. Boyles Origin of formes. Two peices of
Resinous wood rubbed hard & long one against another will
visibly smoke & turne their superficiall parts into a kind of
Coale. pag 77

---

A pound (or lesse) of Sal Armoniack put into 3
or 4 times as much water will produce a considerable
degree of cold both to the sence & Thermoscope
condensing vapors into dew on the out side of the vessell & sometimes
(if the weather bee not too hot) producing ice. If you would
have an intense (but short) degree of cold, pouder the salt
finely, put it in all together & stir it well to hasten
the dissolution. But if you would have the cold rather

lasting then intense: put the salt in grosly beaten at
3 or 4 severall times, & stir it but a little, &
to make the cold both longer & more intense you
must use the more salt & water. And this may
serve to coole drinks, the hands of Patients, or the aire to
adjust weather glasses. etc.       March 27 A Thermoscop
(whose ball was big as a walnut its shank 16inches long
& 1/8 or 1/9inch diameter) stood at 8 5/8inches in the aire, & at
7 5/8 in water but when the Salt was put in
it begun in 1/8 of an howr to freeze the vapors without
the vessell. & in 1/4ho the thermoscope descended to 2 11/16inch
& water thinly placed without would (while the mixture
was nimbly stirred) freez in 1/4min by a minute watch.
after 3/4 hower the Thermoscope stood at 3 3/4inch. afer
2 1/2ho at 5 1/8; after 3ho at 5 1/2inch, the mark at
which water begins to freeze in winter; The hardest
frost making the liquor descend but to 4 3/4inch.

 In Christmas January 28, 29, & 30, 1669
It being extreame cold weather I tooke
a violl bottle & filling it with water
up to the mouth I put a glasse pipe into
it AE soe that the bottom of it E
might reach almost to the midst of
the glasse or about a third part into
it, & I sealed it close with wax soe that
noe aire or water could get in twixt the
pipe & bottle. Then I set it up almost to the mouth in snow & salt
well mixed & stirred together & often supplyd
afresh to make the freezing the smarter. & when
the bottom was frozen above haff way up
I applyed snow & salt higher & higher till
I froze it up to the mouth; in the meane while
putting a wier downe the pipe &
often stirring it to keepe the passage open for
the water to ascend freely as it was swelled by

39

freezing, which it did to a considerable height,
Then I set the glasse in warme
water to halfe its height to thaw the ice at
the bottom first that there might bee noe violence
done to the wax at the mouth D to let in any aire there. And I observed
1st that the ice thawed fastest by much towards the superficies
of the water though in all probabily the water
was couldest there being contiguous to the cold
aire. 2dly That the bubles with which the
ice was full (& thereforelooking white) that those bubles I
say continually ascended to the top of the
thawed water & contined in the forme of
permanent aire. When the ice was thawed up to the
bottom of the pipe & a little higher that the said
aire might rest above the mouth of the pipe
I put a wire downe the pipe to thrust the ice
out of the pipe into the bottle that the thawed
water might move freely in the pipe, & I
observed that the water sunk suddenly a pretty way
in the pipe & afterwards it sunk gradually
as the remaining ice thawed. But it not halfe
soe much as it ascended in freezing The ice being all thawed
there remained a considerable quantity of aire
in the top of the violl which
extruded the water to a pretty height in the pipe
Suppose D the height of the water in the pipe
before it was frozen B its height when frozen
C its heigh when thawed againe, FGD the aire
made by freezing. I froze the same water again
after I had let it stand some howers to observe
whither there would bee any change made in the new

produced aire, & all the same effects suceeded
againe & about as much aire was produced
more so that now there was twice as much aire as
before & I doubt not but by repeating the
freezing the aire three or foure times more there might bee aire enough
produced to reach down to the bottom of the pipe

Not having measured the quantitys of aire &
water in these two tryalls (for I made
them only to satisfy my selfe whither those bubbles
made in Ice were true aire or noe) I repeated the
experiment with other water,
first I weighed the water that filled the bottle &
found it foure ounces, 1/64 parte; Then freezing it
it ascended from D to B 13 2/3 inches, then thawing it
it descended from B to C 4 1/2 inches, where it
stayed descending only a little for an hower or
two till the water had recovered it selfe from the
effects of the cold. By weight I found the
cavity CD to conteine 1/4 ounce & BD 3/8ounce of
water, Soe that of the 3 3/5 ounces of water which was
frozen (for about one tenth part thereof in the
pipe was not frozen) tooke up about a tenth part
of space more when frozen then before, then it
lost about a 30th part of that space by its
contraction in thawing & the aire which it yeilded
tooke up the remaining 15th part. But these
proportions I conceive may vary 1st according the various
degrees of freezing for a violent freezing by snow
& salt makes a white ice fuller I beleive of aire
then otherwise. 2dly By the nature of the water. 3dly
by the temper of the weather which according to
its more or lesse coldnesse may variously condense
the aire in the glasse after the water is thawed.

I further observed that in the action of frezing
severall bubbles ascended from the increasing ice to
the top of the glasse & there stayed in the forme of
aire

41

A Bolt head filld with spirit of wine up to
half its stem & set in water ready to freeze shrunk
not after ward in the freezing of the water, though
it was frozen round about, nor did it rise in the chang
of weather till the ice was thawed. Being set in snow
it shrunk a little, perhaps by reason that there was made
a little dissolution of the snow; & being set in snow
& salt it shrunk very much below the mark it
stood at when frozen round in water.

A furnace of sand grows hotter at top for some
considerable time together, (it may bee a 1/4ter of an
hower) after the fire is taken out or decays, then
when it was hottest: & if the fire bee put in againe
it grows colder at the top 

There are liquors which will grow hot by the bare
mixing of cold water, & a mentruum into which nothing
but flesh being put without ebullition cause an
intens heat. Boyles Philos. part 2. p 44.

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Rarity, Density, Elasticity, Compression etc

Hot water (though not boyling hot) put into the Receiver, when
the aire was exhausted, it seemed to boyle afresh & very
vehemently Mr. Boyles Experiments, Experiment 43. And spirit of
vinegar when it corroded Corrall in the exhausted Reciver
boyled vehemently, though it did not so in the aire, & yet
for all its boyling the liquor was not sensibly warme

Spirit of wine in the exhausted Receiver (after it had
emitted a very great number of aeriall bubbles, for spirits
are most apt to have aire intersperced) seemed to bee
considerably expanded beyond it former dimensions
& the aire being let in it yet retained its expansion or
lost but very little of it in a nights time. Experiment 24

Silver etc by Hammering attaines a Springinesse pag 169 of Form Boyle
& by fire becomes flexible againe

The sealed Thermometer or another wholy like it but made with oyle with the heat of my
body (to which I equal that of a bird hatching her
eggs) stands at the degree of 17 3/4. March 10 1692/3
When water begins to freez it stands at the
degree      When water begins to boyle, at
the degree      When water boyles vehemently
at the degree      When water is as hot
as the hand can endure to stay long in
at the degree 26. When tin begins to melt
at the degree      When wax begins to
melt at the degree.      When molten
tin sets, at the degree      When molten
lead sets, at the degree      When molten
wax sets, at the degree     

By dipping a bolthead with a short neck
into hot water & holding it with its neck under
water for 6 or 8 minutes till the glass be as hot
as the water; then stopping the glass with my
finger, inverting it into a vessel of cold water,
taking away my finger letting it stand for an hour
to cool; putting my hand into the cold water &
stopping it again with my finger when the

water within & without the glass, taking it out &
weighing the water drawn up into the glass &
the water which will fill the glass & making
allowance for the ascent or descent of the
Barometer I found how much the air
was rarefied by the heat of the the water: &
by a barometer of Lintseed oyle I
found also how much the oyle was
rarefied by the same heat. The experiment
I made twice & found the first time that the
rarefaction of air was to the rarefaction of
water in equal heats as 10 1/9 to one, the second time as
9 14/15 to one. Tis therefore in round
numbers as 10 to 1. By another way of
recconing I found that the rarefaction of this oyle
was to the rarefaction of spirit of wine
in equal heats as 15 to 1 or thereabouts for I did not
mesure this proportion accurately. So then the
rarefaction of air was to that of  in equal
heats as 150 to one.

The space which Lintseed oyle took up with
such a heat as I could give to a little bolthead
with my body was to the space which it took
up in such a degree of coldness as made water
begin to freez, as 41 to 40. And therefore
the spaces which Air took up in the same
degrees of heat & cold were as 50 to 40 or
5 to 4.

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Of fire, flame, the heate & ebullition of the heart &
Divers mixed liquors & Respiration

The flame of spirit of wine is hotter then one would imagine,
being able to distill liquors & melt crude Gold. post (after) Experiment 41.

Drebble made a vessell for King James saile under water with 12 Rowers
besides other passengers, & to continue the included aire fit for
Respiration hee often unstopped a bottle of a certaine liquor whose
spirits flying about into the aire made it againe fit for
respiration untill those spirits were spent upon the lungs &
heart. Digression after the 41 Experiment

A Bitch big with whelps dissected. & One of the puppys
taken out into the free aire began presently to open its mouth
wide, move its tongue & exercise respiration & being opened
hee continued an endeavor to respire moving his Diaphragme
& intercostall mustles notably & his heart continued beating
4 or six howers. But the other puppys
being taken out & opened before they could
have time to breath shewed noe perceptible motion of their
heart, (whereas had they beene kept much longer in the
secundines after the opening of the bitch, they might have livd
& at their being taken out of the liquor into aire
might have began to breath & livd. Digres: to Experiment 41.

 Fire Coles, & flame goe out much quicklier in the
receiver emptied then full of aire. soe Animalls dy
speedily upon the exsuction of the aire, though indeed small
insects recover againe after the aire is let in though they
have long beene kept in the Receiver exhausted of aire
Experiment 40, 41 & Digress to Exper 41.

It may bee worth trying how long peices of the same heart
continue beating in the free aire, in the Receiver & in water.

A man having drawne in his breath & detained it as
long as he can: if hee then expire it, it refresheth< or >easeth him not
unless hee immediatly draw in fresh aire. But if a man expire his
breath & continue as long as hee can without it & then draw
in fresh aire that refreshes him & hee may continue as long
before hee expire that aire as hee did before hee drew it in.
& a man may continue with his lungs full of breath longer
then hee can with them empty

Observing that a match of brimstone being melted soe
as not to burne, that it might send forth its exhalation if
it were held in a place but moderately hot soe that the

match it selfe did not fire yet the exhalations issuing
from tooke fire & made a faint blew & large flame
not so hot but that one might endure one finger in it for
some time. Hence I conclude that flame is nothing
but exhalations set one fire & that a burning coale
& a burning flame differ onely in rarity & density.
flame being nothing but a company of very
little burning coales dispersed about in the aire. And that
flame & vapour differ onely as bodys red hot & not red
hot or cold. Flame seemes to bee nothing but the particles of vapor
made so hot as to shine

And this seems to bee confirmed in that the flame burnt
at a distance from the match & kindled first at the top of all
when the fume was thinnest, the like may be some times
observed of a candle when its going out that the flame
riseth from the weeke. That the fumes of a candle
are more crasse & stinking when the flame is out then
when its in: which difference must arise from the
beeing burnt in the flame. 3 that a candle newly out
will catch fire at a distance from annother candle
by meanes of its fume, especially if the candle
bee held over it, for so you shall see flame
manifestly descend by the fume. That spiritous
fumes as of strong beere wine strong water etc
will take fire at a candle. That bodys which fume
not flame not, as metalls which yet if they can bee soe
opend as to fume they will flame: as may bee
seene in metalline filings which (by reason of their grat
proportion of superficies to their bulk) emit fumes more
plentifully then greater bulks of metall. That any fume
eaven that of water may by heat bee made
a flame. It might bee tryed whither vapor of water
driven through a pretty long red hot pipe will not come out a
flame. In a word that degree of heat which can make
a gross body luminous must needs make the parts of that
body when raised into fume become luminous, for the
smaller bodys are, the more they are capable of the
impresse of heat as may bee seen in making gunpouder etc

51

Hence it appeares why flame in the exhausted receiver descends
not. That were fumes permanent as grosse shing bodys
(suppose coales) are the flame would need noe supply: Unlesse
perhaps to conserve the heat which I guesse is made by division of
parts: for when two particles are parted it makes the Aether rush
in betwixt them & so vibrate: just a drop of  (if lively & cleare)
when tis gently parted into two the parts will leap assunder
& that to a good distance if the drop bee very small & laid
upon an eaven smooth plane.

The Phosphorus

Take of Urin one Barrel. Let it
ferment in the sommer for thre months. Then
evaporate it to a dry masse. Take of
this masse eight ounces, Of sand or
Bole Armenic two pounds. Put them
mixed together into a Flanders Retort
& place it in a reverberatory fire.
Lute to it a Receiver full of water,
& give a very strong fire & the
Phosphorus will come over.

Note the Retort must be good & close
which you will know if you put it
into water & blow into it.

The fire must be exceeding strong

When the desillation is done put
the receiver into a sand heate & the
Phosphorus will melt together.

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Of Formes & Transmutations wrought in them.

Quicksilver may bee turned to a red pouder Vermilion being the fumes of  & sulphur or a fusible &
malleable body by the fumes of lead or a fugitive smoak & yet remaine recoverable
Quicksilver    pag 72 of Formes Mr. Boyle.

Camphire put into spirit of wine will dissolve in it
without making it looke lesse cleare then faire water. But if
you poure in a competent quantity of faire water the
Camphire will emerge & become white as before. pag 73 of Formes

Leade kept long in a hot fire is turned into a glasse brittle
reddish & a little Transparent pag 173 of formes.

A very sleight blending together of Nitre charcoale &
Brimstone produce Gunpowder a body of more stupendious
operations then ever Nature made & Glass is as usefull
durable & close as any thing of Natures making.

Corrall that growing in the bottom of the sea is a succulent,
soft & tender plant & propagats its species yet soe soone as it
comes into the open aire it changes to a Lapideous forme
& may bee corroded with good vinegar or by its Spirit like Lapis stellaris
& many minerall stones. Soe in the Island Hainan (which
belongs to China <)> There are Crabbs or Crawfishes which drawn
out of the water in a moment loose both life & motion
& become petrifyd without any apparent change of theire
shape. And in Sombrero not far from Sumatra in the East
Indys there grow (neare the shore) twiggs which have a greate
worme for theire roote & the worme grows lesse as the
tree grows greater untill the tree take roote in the ground
when the worme is spent. If you pluck it upwards
will shrinke downewards & sinks into the earth unlesse you
hold very hard but being plucked up by that time the
leaves & Pill being being stripped of it turned to a stone
much like white corrall. Soe at Brasill there is an
ordinary sorte of Animalls (like Grashoppers) transmuted
into vegetables pag 245 246, 247, 248 of Formes.

Common Amber by Distillation (with much difficulty) yeilded neare 1/2 its
weight in partly Oyle partly spirit & flegme & partly volatile
salt, the remaining matter being a cole black cake more
exquisitly polished above then any speculum. Which cake being broken &
againe put to what was distilld from it & closely luted up
& set in warme sand in a small time returned to a mass like
Turpentine, when the Glasse broke. At another triall the masse
was turned to a deepe blood Red when the Glass againe broke.

Allome in the same manner (but with more difficulty <)> beeing
distilled & the Flegme & spirit which came over being powered

back upon the Caput Mortuum generated more & more
Christalline graines of Allome till the Glass was broke. Soe the flegme
Spirits & Oyle distilld from Vitrioll being againe put to their
caput Mortuum & set in the cold aire did by degrees generate new graines of Vitrioll
which in time came to broade cakes, the chang in the substance
(& colour too into a fine blew) still increasing till the glas
broke. pag 261 of Formes etc. This had other Phaenomena.

Poudered Antimony with a greater weight of Oyle of
Vitrioll by halfe being for divers weeks digested together &
then distilld there came over (besides a little water) a greate
quantity of Combustible Antimoniall, or Antimonio=Vitriolate
Sulphur, & the remaining caput Mortuum (which was friable
white at the top like wood ashes & the rest looked like a
Cinder) being againe committed to the naked fire in
a small glasse retort with a Receiver for many howers
there came nothing over but a very little Sublimed Sulphur,
& the Caput mortuum was found covered over with a
thin cake of colourles glasse transparent as common white glasse, which
being broken, that underneath was perfect black
Antimony adorned with long Shining streakes like
common Antimony. The purenesse of this redintigrated Antimony
seemed to proceede from the recesse of so much Sulphur
which is not at all necessary to the constitution of Antimony
though perhaps too the vitrum a top might proceede from
the avolation of two much Antimony from the
superficciall parts. pag 265

But redintegration of Bodys succeded best in Turpentine
for a very cleare liquor being distilld from it was againe
put to the caput Mortuum (which was very dry brittle
Transparent sleeke & red but purely yellow when poudered)
it was immediatly dissolved part of it into a deepe red
Balsome. And by further disgestion in a large well
stopt Glasse became perfect Turpentine againe
as all men judgd by the smell & Taste. pag 268 of forms

Camphire dissolved in well deflegmed spirit of niter will
make a colourlesse solution. But if it bee cast into good Oyle

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of Vitriol & shaken into it as it dissolves, the liquor will bee
first yellow & then of a deepe reddish colour. & (if your materialls
bee good & their proportion right which is hard to be hit on) will
not have the least scent of the Camphire but upon powring in
a due quantity of water the Camphire will in a trice emerge into a white
& strong scented froth or pouder at the top as at the first. And note that
the Camphire was detained from emerging in a liquor much heavier
then it selfe (as dissolved Gold is kept from sinking in a liquor lighter
then it selfe) & yet emerged when the liquor was made lighter
by a mixture of water; That a Colourles liquor turnd its whitnesse
to a deepe red & another colourlesse liquor redeemed its whitnesse
againe; & that a liquor not odorous should deprive it of its scent
(chaining its parts from being valatile) & another inodorus liquor
should restore it. If into the said red mixture bee put spirit of
wine the colour will bee a turbid red (though either of the ingredients
severally mixed with spirit of wine make a cleare mixture)
& if you then power water into it the mixture will bee white
because of the parts of Camphire associated into little masses
which by degres ascend into a white pouder leaving the rest cleare
If the Red mixture bee distilled, what comes over has a scent
very divers both from Camphire & the mixture & the caput
mortuum (which was the greatest part of the mixture) was black
as jet, though neither distilld liquors by redistillation nor
camphire in a retort (which notwithstanding the fire continues white) affords that colour . And though Oyle of Vitrioll
bee a distilld liquor & Camphire very fugitive yet when mixt
they endured a good fire before the caput Mortuum could bee
reduced to the said pitchy substance & afterward it endured a
greate heate in a crucible for 1/2 an hower without much
diminution. pag 271 of the Origin of Formes.

Raine water whilst distilling appeares full of
motes & (when all distild) it leaves the bottom all covered
over with a pretty white sustance which is Earth in all proof
more then twice heavier then water & almost as heavy as pure (wood ashes. (the weight of Glasse, wood ashes
this pouder & water being as 2 1/2. 2 1/6 +. 2 1/6 -
1) absolutly fixed & immutable in the greatest fires. undissolvible in water
of exceeding small granulae, (for fine sand mixed with it
appeared like pebble stones in the finest flower with the best
Microscopes) on which good oyle of Vitriol & also strong & well
deflegmed spirit of Salt will work with bubles & hissing
(& that without the assistance of heat) as they will doe on

Lapis Stellaris Ossifragus & the earthy part of wood ashes & other soft stones washt in boyling water. insipid & a
little gritty betweene the teeth, dry white & in the Microscope
absolutely opake.          One by distillation of an ounce of well
clarifid raine water neare 200 times in cleane glasses
got 3/4 of an ounce of this pouder there remaining
1/8ounce of fluid water & this without any sensible injury
to his glasse: Though it would seeme as strang that
so insipid & mild a menstruum as raine water should
with so gentle a heate dissolve the almost indestructible body of Glasse into
it primitive sand & ashes (which Aqua fortis & Regis will
not injure.). The latter operations afforded as much
if not more pouder then the first. A great parte
of this earth remained undissolved in Oyle of Vitrioll
though the oyle was not glutted as appeared by
its working upon fresh pouder thrown in. Runing
mercury will by a circulatory distillation with
a proportionable heat be transmuted to a pouder
more fixt then the running Mercury. And Boyle knows
two other liquors Oyle of Vitriol & Spirit of wine in the following experiment that digested together afford good store
Substance insipid very fixd & indissoluble in water.
And highly rectifyed Spirit of wine that will burne
all away may without additaments. (& other ways
too) bee turned a good part of it into flegme. If
Helmont rightly affirm that water is the principle
of all things becaus at last all things may (by
successive operations) bee reduced to it ; wee may upon
the same reason conclude earth the generall principle
Stony particles lying in water ram
themselves into the pores of bodys thrown in & make them
appeare turned into stone. Boyle of Forms Experiment 9. pag 388

Put an equall weight of good Oyle of Vitrioll &
Spirit of wine in a bolt head of glass egg with a long neck
carfully stopt to digest in a Moderat heate for 3 or
2 weeks or lesse, & in a tall Glass cucurbit draw of
the spirit with a graduall heate which will bee exceeding
fragrant pleasant & subtile & differing in scent from all things else & may bee of excellent
use in Physick for the vertues of Volatile Sulphur of Vitrioll are wonderfull. When the liquor which comes over begins
to bee soure change the receiver & increase the fire
& what coms over will stink like brimstone enough to
take away ones breath. And besides there is in these
operations produced a liquor very subtile pleasant &
Aromaticall

65

that will not mix with the said fragrant & faetid
spirit & is also as differing from the spirit of wine
& oyle of Vitrioll. Still urge the remaines with more
heate (enough & no more then will make fætid liquor
ascend (least the Caput Mortuum rise & run over)
& there will at last remaine a Caput mortuum
consistent like pitch (Or if you have urged it far enough
brittle) black, not mingling with water, very fixed,
incombustible & almost tastlesse; Though the ingredients bee
cleare, will mix with water & are volatile (especially
the spirit of wine) & The spirit most inflammable & the oyle
most corrosive of any liquor. This will succeede with
oyle of Sulphur per Campanam & spirit of wine
though not so well, & with Oyle of Vitrioll &
Spanish wine.

Salts if they bee often dissolved in water & dryed
againe turne to a limus or calx & that the more by
how much the better they are dryed. The calx remaining
like a sediment in the water wherin the salt is
dissolved. And if salt of Tarter bee exposed
to the sun on a plate of glasse for some time as
1/4ter of a year together it will turne to a
pellucid stony substance indissoluble in water

Salts & Sulphurs are seminum tori, disguises in which
the crasis of concretes are masked, which are successively
transmutable into one another. So the juice of Grapes (if
decocted) the aqueous parts exhaling the residue becomes
a Rob [or thick extract] which is gummous & viscous; this by
fermentation is made volatile & become a spiritual  or
burning spirit, which by the rectified Spirit of Urin is wholly
turned into a volatile salt [viz: Offa alba.] Thus a terrestreity or
gummous viscosity is turned into a volatil spirit wholly inflammable
& this into a real pure salt not inflammable: & so on the
contrary salt is turned into  in the distillation of
Tartar which being wholly saline & dissolvable in water, by
bare distillation is turned the major part of it into an
oyle impermiscible with water. G. Starkey's Pyrotechny
asserted. pag. 116.

In Peru neare unto Guancavelica there is
a water which they take & put into molds of
what form & bignes they please & expose
it to the Sun for a few days, whereby it is
made perfect stone & they build their houses
with it: all cattel that drink of it dy. In a
mountain called Pacocava a league from the
mines of Verenguela de Pajages, there are springs of
this liquor (the colour wherof is whitish inclining to
yellow) that as it runs along condenses into very
hard & weighty stone of different shapes. Moreover
any kind of porous substance that can suck this kind
of liquor into it is apt to be turned into stone.
Chap 12 of the Art of metals translated out of Spanish
by the Earle of Sandwich.

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Of Salts, & Sulphureous bodys, & Mercury
& Mettalls.

Stones calcined to Lime (whence an Alcalizate Salt is produced), or
vitrifyed, ashes & Metalline flowers of divers kinds & flowers
of Sulphur sublimed, & severall other strangely compound
masses are found about burning mountaines. perhaps Mineralls
in the Earth may bee generated & destroyed in the same
manner by subterraneall heats. Boyle of Formes pag 208

The fumes of Sulphur & Mercury unite into the lovly
red masse calld Vermilion, which is so like the Minerall
Cinnabaris that the Latins calld both by that name &
probably that Minerall may bee nothing but a stony concretion
penertrated by such fumes. For tis usuall to get mercury
out of it. & Mr. Boyle having obtained good Store of
running Mercury out of it, out of the Caput mortuum got
a considerable quantity of good combustible Sulphur pag 209.

The mixture & union of the particles of Sand with the saline
parts of ashes by fire make one of the clearest closest &
hardest bodys in nature viz glasse    of forms pag 183.

If Filings of steele be dissolved in (the acid & saline) Oyle of
Vitriol or in Spirit of Salt & the solution bee diluted with
raine or common water that it may be filtrated & if after
it is filtrated the aqueous parts bee evaporated & the remaining
liquor set in a Cellar (or other Coole place) to Christallize
the Christall will bee a factitious Vitrioll of Iron having
most or all the propertys of Naturall Vitrioll extracted out
of Vitrioll stones or Marchasites by being immersed in raine
water which solution being filtrated & the water evaporated &
the rest set to christallize will afford you naturall Vitrioll.
Both these Vitriolls have a greene Transparency, brittlenesse solublenes in water, easinesse of
fusion, stipicall Tast, reducibleness to a red pouder by
calcination, emitousness, a power to turne solution of Galls black
& the having their christalls finely figured as salts. etc. But
factious Vitriolls are more apt to resolve by the moisture of the aire
then naturall ones, but some naturall Vitriolls have beene fusible enough
by the moist aire. Soe that Vitrioll seemes to bee not a true salt but a Magistery (i.e.
a praeparation wherein the bodys principles are not seperated (as in
distillation incineration etc) but only changed by having the parts of
another body (as of salts) united per minima to its parts) in which the
metalline & Saline particles are after a peculiar manner associated
and by juxtaposition of parts united together. so as to compose
particles of a new texture & consequently a body of new virtues

& indeede the Saline ingredient or much the greatest parte of it may by
distillation (& reduction) bee seperated leaving the Metalline behind.
& soe there may bee other sorts of Vitrioll made of other
metalls by having their particles united with saline ones
as a blew vitrioll may bee made of Copper answering to that
of nature if you dissolve filings of Copper in Aquafortis &< or >or
spirit of Nitre, etc: but the solution will bee so unctuous as
that it will bee very hard to bring any part of it to
drinesse. Oyle of Vitrioll or spirit of Salt (though they corrode
copper), so aqua fortis & spirit of Nitre (though they corrode
Mars) are not good Menstruums to dissolve & make Vitriolls the first of
Copper the last of Mars. There is a white Vitrioll of
which tis not certaine what mettall it holds, though it holds
some copper. The sun beames concentred turne Vitrioll from Greene
to white making it loose its Transparency, & then by a good
Glasse they turne it to a deepe Red. Pag 212 etc Boyle of Formes.

Aqua fortis or spirit of Nitre making a dissolution
of Quicksilver or of Silver or of leade would afford
Christalls (each of divers pretty figures & qualitys) which may
bee esteemed to bee vitriolls of those Mettalls (though noe
such Magisterys are yet found in Nature). The christall
of leade is pretty curious & much thicker then that of Silver & more like the
christalls of Common Vitrioll. pag 240. of Formes. Soe Gold
dissolved in Aqua Regis after the superfluous moisture was
evaporated, in a Coole place would Christallize, nay though
the body of Gold was subdivided by another menstruum so
powerfull as to make it sublimable the volatile parts of
Gold with the salts wherewith they were elevated afforded (
somtimes) store of prettily regular (though not equall) Christalls.
Boyle of Formes pag

The figures of christallizing salts depend much upon the
hasty & leisurly shooting of christalls & the scanter or
fuller proportion of they have to shoote in & are varied by them. for the variation
of such circumstances may vary the manner of the coalition of the particles
& consequently the figures of the Christall. And this
appeares in the making of Vitrioll in greate & little
quantitys. Thus Alkalys (as salt of Tartar, Pot=ashes etc) are
wont to bee obtained in the formes of white pouder or
Calces (because of the way whereby the water or Lixivium
that containes them is wont to bee drawne of): But well
purifyd Alkalys dissolved in cleare water & evaporated till the

73

top was covered with a thin (Icelike) crust & then kept in
a very gentle heate for a good while without breaking
that skin (least, as in the ordinary way where the water is all forced of, the particles should
want a sufficient quantity of liquor to play up &
downe in till they could hit upon congruous coalitions)
When the ice=like cake was broken there was divers
figured lumps of Christall transparent almost like white
sugar Candy. Soe Oyle of Vitrioll distilld with a
solution of Sea salt exhibits various figures ( &
yet all of them curiously figured) according to the various
proportion or strength of the liquors distilld etc. So Silver
dissolved in Aqua fortis or spirit of Nitre, sometimes has
shot leisurly into pretty lunar Christalls though it usually
shoots into thin plates like muscovy glasse. pag 224 of Formes

A solution of divers salts together will Christallize with figures
very divers from the christalls of any of those salts severally.
Thus the Venetian Borax (which is compounded by art of
severall Salts<)> Christallizes very Geometrically. And the
Caput mortuum of Aqua fortis which abounds with Nitre
& Vitrioll etc & has beene exposed to a greate Violence
of the fire Christallizes into figures various from one another
& from the Christalls of the single ingredients & yet all of
them very regular like Triangles Hexagons Romboids Prismes
Pyramids with many sides ending in a point etc. pag 234.

But unlesse the salts bee mixed per minima&lt they
christallize severally first one & then another (& lastly
perhaps some compounded particles may christallize into
other figures). As happens in the refining of impure Petre
(called Barbary Nitre) which much abounds with common salt.
The like somtimes of a vitriolate matter mixed with that which yeilds
Allome. pag 233 of Formes.

The like may bee observed of Chymicall salts & in
saline spirits made by distillation espetially if they worke
upon one another with Ebullition (for in such a Conflict
the saline particles best associate & besides thereby loose much of
theire volatility<)>. Thus spirit of Urin satiated with spirit of
Salt & both gently but not too far evaporated yeilds
Christalls very divers from the Christalls of the same spirit of
urin satiated with Oyle of Vitrioll or spirit of Nitre. pag 237.

If a plate of Copper bee suspended in a solution of silver
in aqua fortis
& diluted with many parts of raine water to one of the solution
(for common water will often makes such solutions white
or turbid). in a little while the metalline particles assotiate
into little thin flat opake & glossy shining plates hanging
about the copper like fish scales, divers of them being
prettily figured at their edges. Soe the Silver parts did
assotiate by themselves without being conjoined to saline
ones, as well as Saline ones will without mettalline parts.
pag 231 of Formes.

Hartshorne Blood & Urin resolved & Analised by
distillation, not=with=standing the comminuting action of the fire afforde
Christalls of Saline particles. pag 229 of Formes.

Dissolve Pot ashes in faire water, coagulate the filtrated solution
into a white salt, & on that pour spirit of Nitre till they
have done hissing, evaporate the superfluous water & there
will shoote christalls of a Nitrous Nature as appeares by
their prismaticall shape, easy fusion, accention, deflagration
& all other propertys. pag 250, in Boyle of Formes.

Sublimate its fumes strangly opens & Volatizeth Antimony, & a
pound of grosly beaten Ventian Sublimate put into a glasse
retort with 1/2 a pound of thin copper plates cast upon
it, & put into a hot sand furnace for 8 or more howers
there came little or noe liquor into the Receiver but the
upper parte of the Retort was Candid by the ascended fumes
which weighed 10 ounces. There was about 2 ounces of running
Mercury in the bottom of the retort which the acid salts that corroded the Copper had foresaken,
& the Metalline lump at the bottom was increased 2 1/4 ounces.
some of the the Copper plates were untouched at the bottom malleable &
sometimes white like silver throughout (though the
sublimate was good & free from Arsnick which would have made
the Copper brittle with its whitenesse). But the other thiner plates were
melted into a lumpe brittle, transparent, & coloured with
various Reds & Amber colours, which by imbibing the aire changed by
little to a blewish greene. fragments of This lump laid one coales a little
blowne would partly melt like rosin & partly flame like sulphur
with a lasting greenish flame, & it would speedily flame by
a candle: so much had the fumes of Sublimate opened it. Soe
very thin plates of Silver cast on thrice as much beaten Sublimate
were melted into a Masse heavier by a quarter then before, silvered
over where it lay next the Glasse with a thin skin,
transparent

75

like amber, & partly of a lemmon or Amber colour & partly very
very deepe & darkly coloured, brittle & unflexible (& yet it might bee
cut with a knife like horne) & very fusible on coales or with a
candle but not flammable like the former Resin or Gum of Copper.
This Experiment succeded in other Mettalls as Tin etc but not in
Gold: but there may bee new sublimates made (as one by subliming
common sublimate & Sal Armoniak well poudered together etc) which
(besides moe notable operations on other metalls) may perhaps bee so
penetrant as to act upon Gold. pag 283 Boyle of Formes.

Dissolve Refined silver in twice its weight of Aqua Fortis
filtrate the solution that it may bee cleare (& you may evaporate it too
till it christallize which christall must bee dryed on broune paper with
a moderate heate, ): Upon which solution drop good spirit of Salt
till it have done curdleing the liquor & put it into a funnell
lined with cap paper that the moisture may draine away then dry
the remaining substance with a gentle fire (first powering faire water
often into the funnell to wash away the adhaering salts if neede bee)
which dryed substance (being a white pouder) if melted into a masse
in a glasse violl & kept a while in fusion will bee Luna
Cornea or a substance tough & flexible, Transparently
yellow, easily fusible almost like wax, undissolvible in water
(though the Lunar solution & Spirit of Salt will severally dissolve
in it) & scarce if at all soluble in aqua fortis or spirit of
Salt, without almost any tast or with but a little somwhat
unpleasant one much differing from the most bitter tast of solution of
silver & the most sower tast of Spirit of Salt, & very fixed
& induring the fire without the avolation of the saline particles
though they bee of themselves volatile enough. If the Lunar
solution bee praecipitated with Oyle of Virtioll the masse will
bee brittle. The making of this Luna Cornea affords many
variations of Colours by Colourles liquors & by melting the white
pouder to transparent yellow Luna. pag 303 of Formes.

Though Oyle of Tartar is an Alcalizate & Spirit of
salt an acid salt yet both praecipitate & neither dissolve
silver     pag 306 of Formes.

Besides Acid, urinous, & Alcalizate salts Mr. Boyle knows
how to make another sort of Salt, which (made fluid with a little water) mixeth quietly with
Oyle of Tartar per deliquum, Or spirit of Sal Armoniack or
strong spirit of Salt or Oyle of vitrioll etc without making any
ebullition or praecipitation or destroying the virtues of those salts. Whereas each of
the ordinary family of salts may be destroyed by either of the
other two, & yet this salt for some things is more powerful

then any other. It will not turne syrup of violets red
like acid salts nor greene as both fixed & volatile salts
will doe, etc. And though the saline ingredients of which
tis composed are more salt then Brine or sowre then vinegre
yet this liquor tast's rather sweetish then otherwise. And
its smell is neither strong nor offensive unlesse it bee
made copiously to evaporate by a little heate for then
it stinks worse then Aqua fortis or spirit of Sal
Armoniack it selfe: And yet these fumes setling into a liquor
againe become inoffensive as before. This salt, though
volatile & easily sublimable into fine christalls, yet being dissolved in
liquors you may evaporate almost all the liquor before
any of the salt ascends whereas other volatill salts ascend
sooner then the liquor. Also this runs sooner per
Deliquium then any fixed salts.
& may be melted into a lymped liquor with an easy
heate. & may bee dissolved in almost any liquor
whereas other salts are dissoluble but by some
liquors & that by a much larger quantity of them then this salt requires pag 311 Boyle of Formes.

Two parts in weight of good Aqua fortis or spirit of Nitre being
powered upon one of good Sea salt well dryed & poudered, &
kept some while in a praevious digestion & then distilld till
the remaining matter bee dry & no more. The water which
comes over will bee an Aqua Regis dissolving not silver
but gold & praecipitating silver dissolved in Aqua fortis.
And the Remaining Caput mortuum tasts much milder then
sea Salt or Aqua fortis, is as fusible as salt peeter & very
inflammable, though sea Salt is not fusible (when once freed
from the windy substance which blows it) nor inflammable.
And if the volatile parts of this Caput mortuum
bee evaporated by as many deflagrations as can bee
made upon it the remaining masse will bee an Alcaly
in all proofs, (as having a lixiviate rellish, turning Syrup
of violets to greene, making an ebullition with acid spirits, nay
with Spirit of salt it selfe) soe that two volatile acid
salts (aqua fortis & sea salt) are turned to a fixed

77

lixiviate salt   Boyle of formes Experiment 5.

Strong Lixiviums (viz: solutions of Alcalys) readily dissolve
common sulphur and divers other sulphurious bodys, which the highly
acid liquors Aqua fortis & Aqua Regis will not at all. see pag 326. Experiment 5. of Formes.

If upon two parts of common Salt dissolved in common
water you pour one part of A, you have Glaubers Sal
Mirabilis. And if upon the said solution of or perhaps of salt petre
in water you pour B it will make an Aqua fortis.
Mr. Boyle by powering one parte of Oyle of Vitrioll upon one
parte of Niter dissolved in water & setting it in sand can draw from it a
pretty good spiritus nitri readily dissolving silver before rectification. And the
remaining caput mortuum kept in the fire till dry
affords a white Salt difficultly flowing in the aire, easily fusible by
heate (contrary to fixt Nitre) inflammable (contrary to crude
salt peter) though by melting a while in a crucible with a bit of
charcoale for it to work upon grows red strongly scented
like sulphur with an Alcalizat tast like a fire coal on the
tongue if licked before it imbibe the airs moisture. Its
christals are large well shaped & of a peculiar figure (divers
from crude & fixt Nitre & Oyle of Vitriol<)>. pag 337. experiment 6.

Mr. Boyle also by pouring one part of Oyle of Vitrioll
upon a solution of one part of Bay Salt (i:e: common sea salt), the
liquor abstracted in a glas cucurbit placed in Sand seemed
to bee spirit of Salt (for mixed with some spirit of Nitre it would
dissolve gold, & poured on the spirit of fermented Urin till
the conflict ceased the moisture being evaporated it would
afford christalls like combs thereby disclosing themselves
to bee of the nature of Sal Armoniack). And in this mixture both the Salt
and oyle of Vitriol are so changed that the salt ascends by a
gentle heate which alone will scarce rise by a very violent
fire though intermixed with beaten bricks or clay to keepe
it from fusion; & the Oyle of vitriol is fixt & stays behind (though in
a far greater heat then the operation requires) though alone it bee
noe gross & corporeal Salt but a volatil distilld liquor.
The remaining Masse (consisting of the Oyle of Vitriol & grosse
remains of the Sea Salt) being poudered & dried in a crucible
with quick coles will become a white (perhaps Glaubers) Salt
not insipid nor yet pungent or corrosive ( as Sea Salt & Oyle of Vitriol
are). And this white salt disolved in water filtrated &
evaporated affords christalls much clearer & as wel figured as those
of Sea Salt though the figures bee divers both from those of Sea Salt
& from one another. But this Experiment often failes whither from
the various nature of Sea Salt or Oyle of vitriol I know not. Hee has
tryd this experiment by distilling the said Salt & Oyle without the
intervention of water, (which is the quicker way) as also by using Oyle of
Sulphur instead of oyle of Vitrioll. Experiment 6. pag 341 of Formes.

78

 On the rectifyd oyle of the Butter of Antimony
poure as much strong spirit of nitre as will precipitate
out of it all the Bezoarticum Minerale, & with a good
smart fire distill of all the liquor that will come over
& (if neede bee) cohobate it upon the Antimoniall pouder
This liquor is Mr. Boyls Menstruum Peracutum. And if
gold (by mixing it once & againe with 3 or 4 times as
much copper (thoug refiners use silver) & dissolving the Copper in
spirit of Nitre (i.e. Aqua fortis) & with a competent degree of
heate bringing the golden pouder to its native colour & lustre)
bee exceedingly wel refined A good quantity of this
Menstruum (for gold requires a copious solvent) will quietly
& slowly enough dissolve it letting fall a white pouder
to the bottom; a little spirit of salt will promote the solution; & the operation being repeated more of the said
pouder will fall down though not quite so much as
before which pouder is Silver in all proof. Other
Menstruums & good Aqua Regis it selfe will make a little white
pouder fall down. And one with a certaine sort of Aqua Regis
by reiterated operations turned much if not the greater part of an ounce of
gold into silver. Perhaps there may bee some nobler &
subtler matter in gold (its anima or tinctura) which when
united to the particles of silver make them have all
the Phaenomena of gold & which let goe the silver when
they meete with some body with which they more easily
unite. Thus a strict coalition of the parts of (white)
Mercury & (pale yellow) sulphur makes (hyly red) vermilion
in which they will in many cases act together as one Physical
body (rising together in sublimatory vessells etc) And yet a
dew proportion of Salt of Tartar exquisitly mixed with
the Cinnaber (vermilion) will associate it selfe with
the sulphur & let goe the running Mercury. Perhaps the
Menstruum peracutum might change the Texture it selfe
of gold to turne it from yellow to white, etc: but not soe
probably for Copper being first reduced into small
parts by a dissolution in Aqua fortis & then put into a certaine Menstruum
the menstruum without a further dissolution will extract
blew tincture from it & leave a white pouder which by fusion is reduced to white Malleable
copper.     Some Authors affirme Iron transmutable into
Copper. Experiment 7 of Forms pag 351 etc:

79

Dissolve the finest granulated or laminated Gold with a moderat
heate in the Menstruum Peracutum: decant it into a conveniently
sizd Retort, distill of the Menstruum gently in a Sand Furnace (if out
of the Caput mortuum you would elevate the more gold either powr back
the same Menstruum againe or, which is better, a fresh one upon it, &
againe abstract the liquor. And urging the remaining matter
by degrees of fire noe stronger then what may bee
easily given in a Sand furnace. And a considerable quantity
of gold will rize & either fall downe in a golden shower or
(which is more usuall) guild the Receiver in forme of a yellow
or reddish Sublimate. And somtimes the neck of the Retort is
inriched with store of large thin red glorious
rubylike Christalls which in the aire will run per deliquium.
& by reaffusions of fresh Menstruum upon the remaining Calx
the whole gold might bee made perhaps to ascend. Soe that the parts
of the most fixed bodys may help to make up subtil &
volatile fluids, without loosing their texture since this gold may bee recovered, & tis more then probable there may bee a
volatile gold or silver in some oars or other Mineralls where
Mineralists find none. Which possibly may bee recovered
by some additament which (without hurting the gold) will
work upon & mortify those volatile particles of other Mettalls or Salts that being
united to the gold would carry it up; Or associate with them
& disable them from carrying it away. Or by its fixednesse
& cognation of nature make the dispersed Gold embody
with it. Thus pouring some drops of cleane running Mercury
into the said golden liquor the drops were covered with golden films
shake it till it will guild noe more (all the gold being then
I suppose praecipitated on the Mercury) decant the clarifyd liquor
& mix the remaining Amalgam (as I may call it) of gold &
Mercury with severall times its weight of Borax & melt
them in a crucible & the gold will bee gathered into one
intire masse. Thus also good gold being cuppelled with a
greate deale of leade, instead of being advanced in
colour & goodnesse, grows paller & heavier the volatile
Silver in soe much lead meeting & incorporating with & being detained by the fixed
particles of the Gold. Experiment 7 of Forms pag 370.

Vitrioll of Silver & also of Lead (cald saccarum Saturni)
(that is their christalls made by evapation of the dissolving Aqua
fortis) though one is most bitter the other sweete, if urged with a
very strong fire there comes over very good Aqua fortis
(which is sowr) readily dissolving Silver or lead; & the filing
of copper with much violence, presently making with it a blew
colour like good Aqua fortis. Though Silver is so fixed
as to endure the Cuppel yet the mixture of noe more then

a third or 4th part of these saline particles of the aqua fortis elevated so much of the
silver as to silver over the Retort to a great height which could scarce
be scraped of. And the Caput mortuum of the Saccarum Saturni
was turned from white & sweete to black & insipid, having
som granulae of perfect lead in it (the rest being also
reducible by fusion with a convenient flux into malleable lead
& yet the Aqua fortis which was distild from it (which would
have corroded perfect lead) being poured back upon it did
at length though slowly exhibit some granes of Saccharine
Vitrioll. Experiment 8 Boyle of Forms pag 380.

In Aqua fortis 2 dissolve  1 or as much
as it will dissolve. Then put an ounce of Lead
laminated or filed into it by degrees & the lead
will bee corroded dissolving by degrees into  & besides
there will fall downe a white praecipitate like a
limus being the  praecipitated by the  of . Out
of an ounce of  may bee got 1/3  of 
If the remaining liquor bee evaporated there remaines
a reddish matter tasting keene like sublimate.
The same liquor will extract the  of .
If  bee put into it, it is presently covered with 
I know not whither that  come out of the liquor
or of  for the liquor dissolves . Also 
will draw  out of the limus which falls down
in dissolving  or  & also out of the liquor
both during the solution & afterward.

Sublimate , 1/2, , , , , or their Reguluses
or the Regulus of  1/2. First bake the  &  together
& put the mettall poudered of filed into a crucible & the
salts upon it & in gentle fire the salts will act upon
the metalls & you shall have their  ruining at the
bottom. You must but just let them begin to boyle on
 because his  is very volatile. but for other
metalls let them stand longer

Venetian Sublimate is made of  2 parts, refined  2 parts
 calcined to red 1 part & salt decrepitated 1 part. The
Hollanders sophisticate it with Arsnic. The sophisticated is in
long splinters & turns black with oyle of  dropt on it.
But the true turns yellow & is in little grains like hempseed.

81

To make Regulus of , , , our  etc. Take of
 12  of  4 1/2 or 5 1/4 or  6 or 6 1/4, or of  8 1/2 or proportionably
more to the  if it will beare it. When they are melted
pour them of & you will have a Regulus. You may when
they are molten throw 2 or 3  of  on them
which having done working pour them of. If the scoria
of  bee full of small eaven rays there is two little
 in proportion. If any regulus swell much in the
midst of the upper surface it argues two much
 if it bee flat it argues two little. The better
your proportions are the brighter & britler will the Regulus
bee & the darker the scoria & the easier will they
part: And also the more perfect the starr, unlesse
the salts on the top worke & bubble in the cooling
to disturbe the said superficies. The work succedds best
in least quantitys. If there bee stuff like pitch
long in cooling tis noe good signe & often argues too
much Antimony.        Twelve ounces of  gives
4 1/3 of Regulus of  3 1/3 of Regulus of  or  when
refined. To refine it, so soone as it is molten
throw in 1/4 or 1/5 part as much salt peeter as
there is regulus in weight; then blow to give a good
heate till the mettall & salt boyle well together, & also till
they have done boyling & working, then poure them of. This you
may repeate till the salt come of. white, which will
bee at the second or 3d refining. Mix noe
charcoale with the peeter least the peeters force be otherwise
spent then upon the mettall. Tin may bee 5 1/3 to
12 of  or 4 to 9. If the quantity bee but small as
2  of tin then take 4 1/4 of  but if bigger take 4 to 9.
Note that in Tin & Lead if the scoria bee full of very
small stiriae like haire or rays tending from the center
of the metal it argues too much . If it bee branched with grosser
graines (which in tin especially will appeare continuous to the centrall metal)
it argues two little . Tis best when the scoria is

is haire-grained inwards towards the center of the metall
but not quite to the outside, unlesse it happen that the
scoria look black.

These rules in generall should bee observed. 1st
that the fire bee quick. 2dly that the crucible bee through
heated before any thing bee put in: 3dly that metalls bee
put in successivly according to their degree of fusibility
. . . . . 4tly That they stand some time after fusion before they
bee poured of accordingly to the quantity of regulus
they yield, , .< or >.< or >. 5tly That at the first time noe
salt bee thrown on, unlesse upon  to keep it
from hardening on the top & then let it bee poured
of when the fury of the salt is over before it
have quite done working. 6 That if you would have the
saltpetre flow without two great a heat, you may quicken it by
throwing in a little more saltpeter mixed with 1/8 or 1/16 of
charcoal finely poudered.

Also these signes may bee observed in generall. That
if the scoria & Regulus part not well there is two much
metall; that if they doe part well & yet yeild not
a dew quantity of Regulus there is too little metall (unlesse
the fire hath not been quick enough or the regulus not
had time to sattle) That if the regulus bee
tough it argues too much metall unlesse in tin which is
therby made the brittler. That possibly the proportions
of the metalls may alter in the refining Thus  of
 being more volatile then that of ; if there bee two
much  at first, it may in 3 or 4 times refining
come to a good proportion. That the degrees of fire
may cause some variations in the proportions. Thus with a
good quick & smart fire 4 of  to 9 of  gave
a most black & filthy scoria & the Regulus after a
purgation or two starred very well. But in a lesse heat
a greater proportion of  gave the blackest scoria.

If the Regulus be poudered & mixed with 1/2 or 1/3 of Niter
& so thrown gradually into a crucible, the better half of the
regulus will be lost in the Salts, but if a little charcoal
be mixed with the salt (suppose an 1/8 or 1/12
part<)> to make the salt deflagrate, it will not consume so
much of the metall.

83

 1 + Regulus  1, Or Regulus  1 +  1/2, or Regulus  1 +
Regulus  1 +  1 1/3 or Regulus  2 +  1 or Rete 3 + Regulus  2 +  2 or  2 +  5 or Rete 3 +  will amalgam before the  fly.

If Regulus  melted bee dropped upon  it will
amalgam but noe other Regulus.

R  9 1/4,  4 gave a substance with a pit
hemisphericall & wrought like a net with hollow work
as twere cut in

R  8 1/2,  4 gave noe pit but a net work forme
spread all over the top, yet more impressed in the middle

R  2  1 gave net worke but not so
notable as the former, & so did R  5  2

The best proportion is about 4, 8 1/2 or 9.

Salt or oyle of Tartar put into Aqua fortis gradually till it
be satiated after ebullition becomes saltpeter by incorporating the acid spirit, yet
without any praecipitation of earth in the action.

If Sal Armoniack be put into Oyle of Tartar per
deliquium, its acid salt will let go the urinous & work
upon the Alcaly. And the urous thus let loos becomes
very volatile so as to strike the nose with a strong scent
& fly all away if it be not soon inclosed in a
vessel.

So if to a solution of crude Tartar in water be put by degrees Salt
of Tartar, or Tartar calcined suppose to black, the acid
spirit of the Tartar will forsake the Alcalisate (or
urinous) to work upon the fixt Salt of Tartar. And the
Alcalisate (or urinous) salt thus let loos becomes very volatile
so as to fly suddely away. And in the remaining Solution
will be a salt compounded of the acid spirit of Tartar &
sulphureous or volatile part of the Alcaly, which salt is volatile
but not more volatile then Sal-armoniack or its flowers.
But by the addition of new Salt of Tartar (perhaps after
it hath been sublimed) in which the acid may work the
urinous will be let loos & become exceeding volatile as before & in the action the earthy parts of the fixt salt will be praecipitated.

If Tartarum Vitriolatum (which is commonly known, & to
be had in shops being a precipitate made by dropping oyle of  upon salt of ) be put into oyle of Tartar per deliquium

it makes a great effervescence, & an earthy sediment
is praecipitated out of the salt of Tartar by the
acting of the acid spirit of the Vitriol upon it. This
precipitate some fools call Magisterium Tartari Vitriolati

Sal Armoniack consists of an acid & urinous salt
both which are severally volatile enough but together
they fix one another yet not so much but that
the whole salt will rise with a round heate, there
ascending first white flowers & then gradually yellowe ones
but the yellow being more sluggish will scarce ascend
so high as the white & settle into a harder mass.

David Vonder Becke ad Joelem Langelottum saith that
volased salt of Tartar may be again fixed by addition
of another volatile, & again made volatile by an easy
labour.

Sal ii evap iii 1/4;  4 vel 5 ; 
ii circiter, & per fermentationem in calido
calcinabitur ex  ii 1/2 et calcis pondus totum erit iii 1/4.

 1,  ss,  ss simul colliquefacta et
evaporata linquebant in fundo ss ferè, praeter
nonnihil solutionis quod per vitri fissuram dilabatur in
arenam. sed , , &  electus, femineus, arsenicalis,
penitus avolabant, demptis granis quasi 20. Et vitrum per
durabat infractum. adeoque  volatizat em arsenicalem.
<

If Urin be digested in a close glass with a moderate
heate for 6 or 8 weeks its salt will thereby be so
volatised as to rise before the flegm, which otherwise
requires a good heat to raise it. And the virtue
of this salt is hereby much exalted. For whereas
upon putting spirit of salt to fresh urin the two
liquors readily & quietly mix: if the same spirit
be dropped upon digested urin there will presently
ensue a hissing & ebullition, & the volatile & acid
salts will after a while coagulate into a third
substance, somewhat of the nature of Salarmoniac.

85

And whereas the syrup of Violets is but
diluted by being dissolved in a little fresh urin, a few
drops of fermented urin presently turns it into a
deep green. And the same digested urin being dropped
upon a solution of Sublimate made in fair water
presently turned it white by precipitating the mercury.

Exquisitely deflegmed spirit of fermented humane
urin & as highly rectified spirit of wine mixed in
a just proportion suppose two parts of spirit of Urin to 3 parts of spirit of wine, do suddenly coagulate into a white
mass like snow which Helmon calls Offa alba & thereby attempts
to explain the generation of the Duelech (i.e. stone in the
bladder) because urin hath in it a little potential vinous spirit
easily extricable by purification which may in that manner coagulate with the
salt & at the same time lay hold on the earthy sediment. If the spirits be not highly rectified they will
not coagulate, but yet if distilled together their
fumes will coagulate in the head of the still like
a sublimed salt. Boyle of naturall Philosophy part 1 p 32

Urin if distilld before fermentation leaves in
the bottom an earthy substance & commonly some
gravel. And rectified spirit of Urin after long keeping
lets fall a pretty copious sediment, & if kept yet
much longer there will gather to the sides of the glass
little grains of gravel such
as are often found sticking to the insides of Urinals
imployed by calculous persons.

If fresh urin be poured upon quick lime till
it swim some fingers breadth above it, & then as soon as you pleas distilled, it will yeild
with a very easy heat a subtile penetrant spirit
without the assistance of any putrefaction. Yet this spirit
though even without rectification very strong & subtile
yet will not coagulate with spirit of wine like that of
putrified Urin, thoug perhaps for some other purposes it
may be more powerfull.

There being a strong fire required to force up the
salt of unfermented urin, out of that part which after

the abstraction of 8 or 9 parts of flegm remains of the consistency of
honey & then requires a strong heat to force up the salt, the volatile salt may be obteined better &
more pure with a scarce credibly small heat, by
tempering the urinous abstract with a convenient
quantity of good wood ashes, whereby the volatile part
of the salt is so freed from the grosser substance that it
will very easily ascend fine & white to the top of very tall
glasses.

The spirit of Sal Armoniac may be drawn
much after the same ways with spirit of Urin
For if two parts of this salt be mixed with 3 or 4
parts of quick lime whose virtue hath not been
impaired by being exposed to the air. This distilled
in a strong fire affords (together with some dry
sublimate in the neck of the retort & a little volatile
salt in the receiver<)> a very strong & yellowish
spirit so exceeding penetrant & stinking that it
is not easy to hold ones nose to the open mouth of
the vial wherin it is kept, without danger of
being struck down or for a while disabled to take
breath. But this so exceeding vigorous liquor was
inconsiderable as to its quality. Wherefore it may
be better to let the lime lie open protected from all
moisture but that of the aire for severall days till it
become somewhat britler then before for then being
mingled with the salt & distilled with a fire graduated
if you please till the matters flow by heaping up coales on the upper part of the Retort, you will obtein a
copious & pretty strong Spirit in form of a liquor
which yet if kept long will coagulate (at least in
part) into the form of a chrystalised salt swiming upon
the liquor yet retaining a very strong subtilety.
Which seems to argue it to be onely the resolved
salt of soot & urin a little subtilised by the fire
& freed from the sea salt; though the great energy
of this spirit may imply that something comes over
with it from the lime. If you have not the
convenience of drawing it with so great a heat,

87

then dissolve the  in as little water as is sufficient
& fill the Cucurbit up to the 5th or 6th part of it with
strong quick lime poudered, & water it well by degrees with
the solution & immediately clap on an Alembick
& close well the joynts & by the gentle heat of a
bath or lamp you may obtein a liquor that smels
like spirit of Urin & seems to be much of the same
nature. If you rectify it once or twice gently it
grows exceeding fugitive & penetrant & perhaps is
not much inferior to either of the former spirits.

If you would have the spirit of  in a dry form
mingle exquisitely a quantity of  with about thrice its
weight of about strong wood ashes. For the spirit thus drawn
out of a retort in sand will quickly in the receiver
coagulate into a salt, extremely subtile & volatile that it
seems much of the same nature with that of urin. But I
know not whither this coagulation will always suceed.

The spirit of  may also be drawn by mixing the
 with as much salt of tartar & incorporating them
with a little water, but the success of this way is more
unconstant. Divers times the upper part of the receiver
(carefully luted on to a large retort) hath been
candied over within with volatile salts of severall shapes.
& the liquor afterwards forced over hath sometimes
remained long enough in form of a subtile spirit &
sometimes coagulated into a lump of crystalline salt. The
sucess hath been much the same when the salts have
been mixed with out water, by grinding them well
together without being deterred by the fetid smell, & distilling
in a large retort. with a graduated strong fire. For the top
& neck of the Retort will be lined with a pure white
sublimate partaking somthing of the nature of the salt
of  though not so much as of the , yet differing from them
both. The faetid liquor which comes over is sometimes very
little sometimes more copious & the Caput mortuum
which is almost all a compound salt by solution filtration & coagulation affords a pure salt
of a greater dieureticall virtue then almost any
other to be met with, & this salt differs enough from either
of the ingredients, especially from the Alcaly, in tast & som other qualities.

Glauber prescribes to draw this spirit from lapis calaminaris
but the greatest part of the liquor which Mr. Boyle obteined
this way though it seemed to be good spirit, yet upon
rectification coagulated into perfect sal Armoniac.

Factitious sal Armoniac is made of Urin, soot &
sea salt.

If sal Armoniac be sublimed 2 or 3 times per se its
flowers ascend yellow especially towards the latter
end of the sublimation.

Soot, hartshorn, blood, etc by distillation yeild flegm
spirit, salt, & oyle. The hartshorn must be in great
bits, for in shavings the spirit will rise so fast as to
indanger the receiver, the blood may be putrified if you
please, Mr. Boyle prescribes to digest it with spirit of
wine to keep the blood from corruption, but by that
way the salt is scarce at all Volatized. See Boyles
Philosophy part 2 from p 316 to p 350. Blood yeilds
a double oyle, one yellow swimming upon the spirit the
other muddy adust & ponderous sinking to the bottom,
by long putrefaction it hath somtimes yeilded a tripple
oyle, red, ambler & blackish, of which the red & black
will not mingle.

Urinous spirits will extract tinctures out of
severall sulphureous & resinous concretes, &
particularly out of the flowers of Sulphur, in a
convenient degree of heat. But it must be put into a vessel
which may be inverted, least the spirits that will sublime become
useless. Some draw the tincture of flowers of
Brimstone with common oyle, but oyle of Turpentine may
better be used. About 3 parts thereof to one of 
set in a heat of sand onely great enough to
make the liquor with a little crackling noise
work upon the Sulphur till it be all perfectly
resolved into a blood red balsom, which will bee in
7 or 8 howers. You may put this in a Retort &
distill first as much oyle as will come over, then
changing the receiver & luting it well, by a gradual
fire in sand there will arise a deep & darkish red
liquor extremely penetrant but of a smell so
Sulphureous & diffusive of it self that it is scarce to be restraind
by corke.

89

When the oyle is drawn of to a stiff thickness, well
deflegmed spirit of wine will extract from it a red tincture
(which will not act upon the immediate flowers of 
unless perhaps it be most highly rectified & long digested with
it) which may be again by evaporation reduced to balsam
& further distilled. But note that the first balsom must
be almost dryed, otherwise the  will not act upon it; also
when the  is sufficiently tincted it must be poured of
least by too long digestion it let fall what it had acquired
before.

The way of making balsam of  with oyle olive see pag 156 & 360
part 2 of Boyles Philosophy. Viz by dissolving 1 part of flowers
of  in 4 or 5 of oyle in a good heat, perhaps set in a vessel
of boyling water, till it come to the consistence of honey.

Oyle of Turpentine will also extract a eous tincture from
crude Antimony finely poudered, by boyling it therewith, which
by evaporation may be reduced to balsam, & again extracted
with highly rectified spirit of wine.

Spirit of french Verdegriece drawn in naked fire
extracts from poudered glass of  a blood red tincture
in 3 or 4 howers. The menstruum drawn of may be
made use of to extract more of the tincture. And 
digested with the remaining calx will from thence also
abstract a second red tincture. A liquor drawn from
an obvious vegetable, of which a pound may be safely
eat at a time (I suppose spirit of brown bread) will
draw a deep red tincture even from crude  without heat.

Take slices of brown bread (or wheat, or better of
Rie) dry them a little, & almost fill a glass retort with
them & in Sand draw of the liquor separate the oyle by
a tunnel or filter, & if you will you may free the spirit from
some of its flegm by rectification. A pound of bread yeilds severall ounces thereof. This spirit will work
upon the hardest concretes. In a short time & that in cold it
will draw tinctures not onely from crude coralls &
some of the more open minerals but likewise from
very hard stones, such as the blood stone, granates, yea &
rubies, that hardest body yet known save diamonds. This is
the menstruum that Mr. Boyle mentioned in the last, & another
former Essay. p 42 & p 78. part 2. of his Philosophy

Quick lime seems to abound with a Alcaly for it precipitates

a solution of sublimate, turns syrup of Violets from blew
to a fair green & like other Alcalies, sets the spirits of
urinous salts at liberty. But whether this salt be
separarable by water is disputable.

Arsnick by a preparation with saltpeter whereby
some of the more noxious & volatile parts are driven
away & the remaining body somwhat fixed & corrected
by the Alcaly of the niter, it hath by a farther
dulcification with spirit of wine or vinegar been prepared
into a kind of balsamum fuliginis, very effectuall against
venereal Ulcers. part 2 p 124 of Philosophy.

Tin-glass prepared with common sublimate (carried
up by which, it hath afforded a very prettily figured body)
is made into a white pouder like mercurius vitae
purging gently without being emetick like mercurius vitae. Ibid.

By an unusuall method elswhere delivered Mr. Boyle
hath obteined from a mixture of crude Tartar & 2
or 3 mineral bodies good store of volatile salt. But
this is rather Volatile  of  then  of  volatised
And one told me he had seen a true volatile  made
of the Alcaly of Tartar & strange things done with
it which makes Helmonts reports credible. part 2. p 198 of
Philosophy.

Vegetable poisons, & particularly Napellus may be so
corrected by a slight digestion with volatile  of  as to loose
all their poysonous quality.

By A liquor not very rare among chymists poured
upon saltpeter the spirit of the niter will ascend in an easy heate
in Sand. Perhaps this is oyle of vitriol
for oyle of Vitriol poured upon sea salt will set the spirit
thereof at liberty.

A chemist by Mr. Boyles directions obteined  of 
p 14. part 1 of Philosophy

The liquor drawn out of the Earth Persicaria or
Arsmart in co common rosewater Still is very effectual
against the stone. p. 69 part 1 of Philosophy.

There is a pure crystalline Salt to be made by fire
as readily dissolvable in well dephlegmed spirit of wine as
common water, totally volatile, really sweet, yet as

91

truly saline as salt of Tartar. And whereas common
salts are either urinous acid or Alcalisate so that one
will precipitate what another dissolves: a red tincture of Glass
of  drawn with a menstruum that was but a degree to this
liquor [or Salt] (perhaps spirit of bread , or of Verdegrece) would not
precipitate either with spirit of Urin or solution of alcaly.
And though it would readily mix with acid spirits as oyle of
, with urinous spirits as spirit of Urin, & with Alcalisate solutions
yet would none of these make any ebullition with it, or
seem to work at all upon it. part2. p 199 of Boyles Philosophy.

Aqua fortis dissolves Tin, but after a while let's it
fall again into a calx of its own accord

Those that use much salt peeter find the East Indian to
be the best.

A Friend of Mr. Boyles does sometimes, (but cannot
always) make salt peter chiefly out of Sea salt

A friend of Mr. Boyles prepared for him a spirit of
salt so highly deflemed from flegm & humidity, that it dissolved
gold of a yellow solution much like that made with common aqua
Regis. But neither he nor Mr. Boyle could since with the
greatest industry make a spirit of Salt again that would perform
that effect.

Sometimes aqua fortis digested a few howers with common
oyle will coagulate it to the consistence of butter, but not
always.

Menstruums may be sometimes to well rectified to
perform their actions. Aqua fortis will work more readily on
lead if allayed with water then if purely rectified. Mr. Boyle
had an  so highly rectified that it would not work upon
silver untill it was diluted with water. His menstruum
peracutum too (as I take it) which before rectification would
dissolve , he once rectified so highly that it would not
work upon it at all till again diluted with water.

Dr. K: in Holland made an Aqua fortis of severall
compositions to imploy about making his famous scarlet
dy: wherewith he extracted a yellow tincture or 
from gold & made it volatile, the remaining body growing
white. And so much of this tincture as was drawn out of an
ounce of gold would turn an ounce & a half of silver
into pure gold. Boyles essays. p 76. But the Dr. could not
make it again.

Common Aqua fortis may be inabled to dissolve Gold by
the addition of Spirit of Salt, yea of crude salt dissolved in it. yea
crude niter dissolved in spirit of Salt may make it serve for an

Aqua Regis.

 ‡ <in mg:> ‡ Some refiners separate copper from silver by dissolving
it in aqua fortis & weakening the solution by pouring
into it 12 or 15 times as much fair water & putting
severall clean copper plates into the liquor for the silver
to precipitate upon which it will all do in 8 or 12
howers. And this may perhaps be one of the best ways to
refine silver.          Afterwards they pour the solution
which will be of a deep blewish green upon whiting (a white calx or clay finely poudered
cleansed & made up into balls) wherewith the tincted
parts incorporating themselves, will in some howers
constitute a Verditer for the use of painters, leaving
the remaining part of the Menstruum a pretty
clear liquor, whence they afterwards by boyling
reduce a kind of saltpeter fit with the addition
of Vitriol & some fresh niter, to yeild them a new
Aqua fortis. Boyles essays p 84, & 193

They who distill much spirit of Urin find a great
difference, that of a healthy young man abounding
much more with volatile salt then that of an aged
or sickly person: & that of those which drink wine frely
being much fuller of spirituous & active parts then
that of those which onely drink beer or water.

Spirit of wine if very highly rectified will draw a good
yellow tincture of Amber in a very gentle heat. But
unles highly rectified it will not touch it.

Pure Spirit of wine will likewise draw from pure
salt of Tartar a pretty high tincture & of a tast
worth taking notice of. Boyles essays p 66.

Spirit of wine is best dephlegmed by putting upon
Tartar calcined to white, or upon Quick lime of Salt
of potashes, & distilling it once or twice in a tall slender
body shifting if you will the receiver when half
is come over, though the spirit comes pretty strong to the
last, if the spirit have been but once rectified
before. The Calx may conveniently be an inch thick There may be so much spirit poured on the
Calx as to stand a finger above it when shaken
together. Essays p 71, 72, 73. The spirit may be also
deflegmed by letting it stand upon the calx
without distilling

The volatile Spirits of Soot Urin, harts horn, blood etc are much

93

of a nature, though one something more powerfull then the
other, perhaps by their differing degree of digestion or
deflegmation. Thus well rectified spirit of harts horn
will (without being fermented) coagulate with , whereas
that of urin will not do it without fermenting, though drawn
by quick lime, whereby it becomes as volatile as if
fermented.

Note that this coagulum if kept in a gentle heat for some
weeks or months, resolves for the greatest part if not
totally into a lympid liquor. And there is a certain very
dry & fixt body which by the common way of distillation
even in naked fire yeilds nothing (perhaps quick lime)
by the sole addition of which this coagulum which is also a
consistent body may in a few howers be brought into a permanent liquor
quite distinct from the dry body. p 238 of Essays.

Spirit of wine will also coagulate a strong solution of corall in vinegar, or whites of eggs if
shaked together with them, but it will not coagulate the
serum of the blood, although that coagulate as soon if not
much sooner over a gentle heat of Embers then whites
of Eggs. As much strong spirit of niter poured on the coagulum of corall reduces it all again to a transparent liquor.

Oyle of Turpentine by often distillations coagulates
great part of it into a whitish & consistent body

If good oyle of Vitriol be gently poured on crystals of Salt
peter well dryed but not poudered, till it stand a finger breadth or
more above it & the glas be let stand quietly & covered
the vitriolate oyle will slowly thicken so as not to run out upon
turning the glas upside down.

Spirit of Vinegar makes an ebullition with salt of Tartar or Alcaly of Niter
& grows with it into saltpeter and if often poured on & abstracted to satiation it
leaves almost a fluid salt, most easily fusible.

Oyle of vitriol easily mixes with common oyle & oyle of Turpentine

Their vitriol in the Copperas works sometimes by mistaking
a circumstance in point of time, turns to an unctuous substance
not reducible to good vitriol again but by exposing it to the Sun
afresh amongst the other vitriol stones & working it over again.

The alcaly of Nitre calcined by injection of a coale
is like other Alcalies saving its colour which is between blew
& green. And this colour it keeps though resolved per
deliquium

& congealed so often till it will no longer be
reduced to a dry salt but to an unctuous body easily
flowing in heat like wax.

Salpeter while in fusion is really a liquor & yet wetteth not

Tis not always the frequent ablutions with warm water
that will suffice to carry of the salts from some bodies
& therefore Helmont & Paracelsus prescribe somethings
to be dulcified by the abstraction of the water of whites
of eggs, (which though insipid is a great disarmer of
corrosives) & other things by frequent abstraction of spirit of
wine which hath a good faculty of carrying up the saline
particles of vinegar its spirit.

In Madagascar there is found a gold called the gold of
Malacass, pale, & not worth above 50s an ounce, and
almost of as easy fusion as lead, though other gold requires
so strong a heat that they use to faciliate the heat with borax.

Basil Valentine saith there are divers sorts of 
principally two, one more all & of a golden property
witnessed by the shining streaks or beams it abounds with, the
other more full of  & destitute of the golden nature.

Out of a certain red earth found in a copper
mine & guessed to be but Bolus a skilful tryer of
Metalls by melting it with Regulus Martis Stellatus
got many grains of fine gold.

Silver if kept long on the fire will grow more
thin so as to run into the small haire strokes of molds
much better then if but newly melted.

Take 2 ounces of Quicksilver, 2 1/2  of the best
verdegrece, ss or 1 of common salt, a pint or
pound of white wine vinegar, & as much fair water
Mingle the , verdegrece & salt well & putting it
into a frying pan with a little of the the vinegar & water
fry it for divers howers keeping it continually styrred
& pouring in fresh vinegar & water as the former
consumes away. Then dry the mixture with a clean
linen cloth & you shall have a bright Amalgam
almost like  which will keep fluid for a good while
after it is cold (so that it may bee cast in molds,) &
then will grow so hard as to rebound if thrown against

95

the floor, & be brittle like over hardend steel. But in
this amalgam there is much of the copper as may appear by
separating it with strong fire, also some of the salts incorporate
with it, for in time the outside would turn to a kind of verdegrece
in the open air by the action of the salts.

Good spirit of Urin praecipitates gold out of aqua fortis &
dissolves copper. Whence gold may be parted from copper by
dissolving it in  & precipitating it with spirit of Urin.

Oak leaves turn black by steeping in mineral water
impregnated with Iron.

Mr. Boyle saith he hath with a cetain flux pouder (
composed of Tartar sulphur & Arsnick if he forget not) made
Iron run even with a charcoal fire into a Mass
exceeding hard & very polishable. And that an ancient virtuoso
purchased for a great Prince [Rupert perhaps] the secret of a
rare Artist of ordering Iron so as to be preserved very
long from rust, which was done chiefly by tempering it
in a water well impregnated with the bark of a certain
tree

To foliate a sphericall glass withinside Mr. Boyle used
an Amalgam made by melting Lead 1 & Tin 1
together & then forthwith adding Tinglass ii, & carefully
skimming of the dross & taking the crucible of the fire
& before the mixture be cold adding  10. When you
would use it strain it through a cloth & it will take
upon clean glass in cold. Some use other ways. Philosophy Tom 2
p 30

Iron will not be guilded with such an amalgam of
gold &  as goldsmiths guild silver with, unles it be
first cased over with Copper which is best done by
dipping it in a solution of Vitriol abounding with copper.
but it must be first made bright, & often dipped
letting it dry every time till the copper be thick enough
on it.

To silver over copper or brass, first cleans the copper by
washing it slightly with Aqua fortis & suddenly immersing
in water. Then dissolve fine silver in  in a flatbottomd
glass or glased earthen vessel; evaporate the , upon the
remaining dry calx pour on as much water as is needfull
to dissolve it (5 or 6 times its quantity) & evaporate that
also, repeat this once or twice more to ducify the calx
which if the silver has been good will be of a good white
Of this calx take one part & as much in quantity, not in

weight of common salt, & as much of Crystals of
Tartar or of good white Tartar, all which must
be poudered very finely & mixed exquisitely. Then dip
the brass into fair water, & taking up as often as
is necessary some of the pouder with your wet fingers
rub it on well till every cavity of the metall be
sufficiently silvered over. Lastly wash well the
Metal in fair water & rub it with a dry cloth to
make it appear smoth & white.

Rosin or Salarmoniac either of them may be used
for the tinning over brass or copper vessels.

In Peru they separate the gold & silver from
baser Metals by grinding the Oare well with 
(strained first through a cloth & the oar sifted) & salt
& decocting them 5 or 6 days together in
convenient furnaces. For the  licks up the  &  without
touching the baser Metalls. And being inriched with
as much as it can imbibe & washed from the
adhering sordes, the  is drawn of by distillation.
By the same means our Gold smiths get gold & silver
filings out of the dust of their houses.

Vitrum saturni is made by melting 3 parts of
calcined lead & one part of poudered flints or
sand together.

The Bononian stone which shines in the the dark a while
after it has been exposed to the Sun is prepared by
chymical calcination.

Recently calcined Alabaster mixed with so much
water as will bring it to the constency of the thicker
sort of honey grows hard of it self in about a
quarter of an hower. If any mold or a mans face be
thinly annoynted with oyle & then covered with this batter
it takes of the impression very curiously.

Diamond cutters make their cement (wherewith
they hold their Diamonds) chiefly of Rosin melted &
brought to a stiff past with fine brick dust or better with
Plaister of Paris, & one of the skilfullest added a little
sealing wax. In cements for holding water tis
best to use no other liquid ingredient then oyle.
The cement used by Mr. Boyle to cement the
stopcock to the receiver of his air Pump was made
of pitch Resin & wood ashes wel incorporated. But
his entempory cement for stopping the mouth of
the receiver etc was the common plaister called

97

Diaculum. Ripley in his clavis aureae portae, p 276
praescribes glasses to be luted with a past compounded
of honey, Bole armanac & scales of Iron well mixt
& strongly boyled to stifness & blackness: And this
for glasses where  &  are to be digested to fixedness.
And in his Pupilla Alchemiae he prescribes a past made
of Iron scales, bran & white of eggs well ground
together to lute vessels for distilling , p 304.
Another Philosopher prescribes calx of egg shells 1
calcined for 3 days together, & poudered enammel ii
tempered with whites of eggs to lute vessels where the
fumes of the inclosed  are deadly. Quick lime
mixed with whites of eggs & suddenly done on a
suppled bladder & layd on before the whites harden is a
close lute if not urged with too great a heat. For
these uses the white of egg must be beaten well till it
be thin like water: which may be done with a quill slit
thus  if the quill be rolled between the hands till the
slit end of it by moving which in the liquor agitate it into
a white froth. Then let the froth stand a little till it
subside into water

One person so improved the drawing of aqua fortis as to
make it much better then that which is ordinarily sold, & for
almost half the price & Mr. Boyle by adding instead of brick
or clay about an 8th or 10th part of the weight of  of an

Aqua fortis much stronger at the 1st distillation & that
in a sand furnace, the double or rectified  sold by
refiners.

Vegetables by no known way, unless reduced
to soot do afford any dry volatile salt like that of
animal substances, yet (by a secret way) out of divers of them
gathered & laid together at a certain season &
distilld also at a certain nick of time will yeild
a volatile spirit, instead of their wonted acid juices,
which in smell tast, hissing with acid spirits, turning syrup of violets
green etc resemble other volatile spirits.

Though Authors teach to make the salt of
violently distilld or calcined Vitriol by forthwith pouring
water upon it to extract it: yet those that have tryed
it complain that they cannot thus get any salt out of
it at all. Yet if this Caput Mortuum be layd
a good while in the open air it will become
impregnated with new saline particles so as to yeild
more Menstruum & be worth another distillation.

If sulphur be opened by fluxing it with an
equall weight of salt of Tartar, throughly deflegmed
spirit of wine will in a few minutes with a gentle
heat draw a tincture from as red as blood. Which
by abstracting the menstruum affords a balsam much
finer then the vulgar one made with oyle of
Turpentine

Spirit of Salt which dissolves Copper & Iron will
precipitate Silver dissolved in , & so doth crude sea salt.

Thames water & divers other waters which by
standing long grow putrid, if let stand still
longer they grow sweet again. And Pump water which
will not beare soape will by standing some time be
made to bear it.

The steams of , , Arsnic & divers other
Minerals are able to make those stagger, or
perhaps strike them down that without a competent
wariness unlute the vessels wherein they have been
distilld or sublimed; of which there have been divers sad
examples.

The steames of spirit of salt & of fermented urin or 
precipitate one another in the air into a visible fume.
they being highly contrary to one another.

The skilfullest Salt peter men when they have

99

drawn as much Niter as they can out of the nitrous earth
preserve the earth on heaps for 6 or 7 years & then
find it impregnated with new saltpeter.

Oyle of Vitriol convenes into a third salt with spirit of
Urin, as also with salt of Tartar, called Tartarum vitriolatum,

 drawn with  dissolves not silver.

In almost all saltpeter there is some sea salt &
consequently the spirit thereof is mixed with some spirit of
the sea salt. Whence refiners to clear their  (as they
phrase it) put in a little silver, the solution of which
precipitates soon after with the spirit of  & so leaves the 
freed from the saline spirits. Otherwise some silver would
precipitate with the gold in quartation.

Salarmonic sublimed from corals carrys up a little of
them, as red as the coralls themselves, & sublimed from
copper either crude or calcined it carries up some of the
metall as appeard by the blew colour of some parts of the
sublimate, & sublimed from well dulcified Colcothar
it carried up somthing also so as to make a noble medicine thereof
Boyles Philosophy p 336. Tom 2.

The spirit of Verdigreas which tasts but like vinegar
is not onely powerfull in extracting tinctures, but drawn
of from crude  after a short digestion with it, elevated
a great Deale of its  to the top of the retort. And
drawn of from any dissolved body will serve more then
once for the same operation (Ibid p 171, 172) without being
spoiled like other menstruumes.

The juyce of the wounded Coco Tree turns to vinegar
in an hower if it stand in the sun. And the expressed juce
of sugar canes if not suddenly boyled, begins in 24 howers
to grow sower & unfit to make sugar of, but very fit to turn
into good vinegar. Ibid p 237. And thunder & earth quake conduces much to
the souring of liquors. p 238.

If oyle olive (i.e. salet oyle) be digested for a while in a gentle
heat with copper filings, it dissolves (i.e. the acidity in it does)
the copper & grows of a high tincture between green & blew.
p 272.

The spirit of Tartar consists of acid, flegmatic
& spirituous parts, of which the acid dissolves coral & unites
with spirit of Urin loosing thereby its soureness, but the
spiritual parts will do neither but may be separated by
evaporation p 282.

Urinous spirits will readily mix with almost all chemicall

oyles except oyle of Turpentine

Volatile salts (especially that of soot hartshorn & Urin etc
are very apt to break glasses if urged with too much
heat, yea if they be digested with a heat not very
moderate they will do the same. p 375.

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101

Antimony 1lb,  1 gives butter of  1/2, which
precipitated with water gives 1/4 or 4 1/2 of white precipitate. But
the  dissolves not all the metalline part of the  for by
addition of fresh  more butter may be got out of it.

Ten ounces of Butter of  if it run per deliquium becomes
11 ounces. If it lye open to the air it precipitates in time
by the evaporation of the spirit with which tis dissolved

In dissolving  the best way is to warm the menstruum
at first to the heat of the blood in the heart, & keep
it all the while at that heat. For if it be cooler at first
it will boyle over suddenly at last.

  18,  vivi 1,  vivae 1,  viridis 2. funde , inice
et misce citò caetera, & absque mora inice per gradus  limaturas 4
et  2, vel 3, sed praestat forte primo inicere aliquid nitri
vel forte ante  limaturas vel una cum eâ. Purga dein
exitum semel vel bis. Dein  hujus p 5,  p 2, misce & purga
semel, iniciendo 6tam vel 8vam partem .

Antimony 2 parts Lead Oar 1part melted together
with 1/2, 1/4, or 1/6 of Iron filings put in afterward gives about as
as much Regulus as the Iron filings weighed.

 12,  vulgar 6 or 7,  1,  duplex 1 gives 3 2/3 Regulus
pure & at one purging with  very pure.

 6,  ore 6,  duplex 1 boyle so as almost
to run over in fusion. Melt the  & then put
in the ore &  mixed.

 1,  ore 4 became thickish in fusion, the
 being put in by degrees

 12,  ore 6, 7, 8 , or 9 gave a very little
Regulus.

 1,  vit. 3 gave a substance like Amber.

 acts not on Iron Ore, nor on Spar, nor on 
viridis or any seed metal. Its acts on , Bismuth, Lead
oar & Copper ore, but carries up nothing of the Copper
ore. It carries up a little of the lead ore in flowers
more of Bismuth in flowers, all the all metal in a fusible salt

Lead Ore 12parts  12parts gave flowers 1 part, which
flowers were tastless & lost no weight by washing.

Iron filings 4, minera tis 1/2,  9
gave Regulus 5. the scoria clamy with some grains
of Regulus in it, the Regulus purer then without minera tis.

 9, Terra i 1 gave a thickish liquor
which with  4 grew hard. & yeilded little Regulus
but the fire was scarce hot enough.

 4,  8 1/2 gave a Regulus. This the second time
melted with  1 1/2; terra i. 1/2, & then purged
twice with  gave a starry Regulus very pure & bright
If more terra ni was put to it at 2d
melting it did not do so well

 8 1/2,  4, terra ni 1/2 gave Regulus 5 which
the 2d time melted with terra ni 1/2. & then
purged twice with  gave a Regulus pretty pure
but scarce so pure as when no terra ni
was melted with it the first time

Regulus  1, is dissolved with  3 1/4. This
washed with water yeilds a calx like dirt 1 &   2 7/16., The Calx melted down with Arsnick
gives a glass yellow like Amber very brittle & easily fusible
This glas mixes not with metal. With  Antimonial
1/4 part or there abouts it becomes clammy
like bird lime & when cold is tougher, harder ,
less brittle & not transparent as before, nor
does it yet mix with metal in melting.
The afforesaid glas melted with the first & last 
1/2 or 1/3 part became dryed up to a crust.

The 1st & last  ana 1, with virga 3 or 4
& perhaps 2, melts into a black glas without
bubling which glass will not mix with metall.

 duplex 1, Regulus solut per  &
precipitated per  1,  6,  13, gave Regulus
7 1/2 or 7 2/3. which melted first with  1 1/2, terra i
3/8, (perhaps better 1/2) & Regulus praedict solut & praecipitated
& then melted twice per se gave Regulus

103

purer then any other. Note that at the first fusion
the Iron filings be put in after all the rest
are melted together only about 1/4 or 1/6 of the
Iron filings may be put in so soon as the salts
begin to work to keep them from boyling over
And when all the filings are put in &
almost melted throw in a little  to make all
flow together freely. And then when all has
stood quiet for a while, cast it. At the 2d
melting put about 1/5 or 1/6 of , at 3d & 4th
1/7 or 1/8.

Regulus  1,  2 melted together is dissolved
with  9. & there remains a red calx in
which the  inheres. This calx neither retains more  nor
running  but  dulcis perhaps it may.

 4,  4, sublimed together into  dulcis &
a little  adhered to the top of the glas.
This  dulcis put in with its weight of fresh
 would imbibe none of it but left the 
running: So that  4 will imbibe but  3 or
3 1/2. Note that  dulcis is much less volatile then
.

Regulus  dissolved in  & washed, the calx
30grains melted with Arsnick 20grains (the
Arsnick grosly poudered put in first with twice as much of the calx into a crucible
heated red hot & then the rest of the calx put in by degrees) gave 210 grains of blakish
glass inclining to red & a little transparent, &
fusible with a less heate then a red one, & in the
crucible there stuck about 30 grains more: In
all 240 grains.

Oyle of  well rectified from flegm, grows
hot by mixing with water or spirit of wine or of  or perhaps
with any liquor. This & spirit of wine mixed ana
& digested together for ten days in destillation
there ascended. a spirit more fragrant then the
spirit of wine (viz spirit of wine & spirit of  mixed)
& on this spirit there swam an oyle which in a
few days was dissolved by the spirit & became one

with it. The caput mortuum was black & in the
air resolved (a good part of it) into a black
liquor. The spirit towards the latter end was
more acid then towards the beginning.

The spirit of  once destilled grew warm
also by mixing it with water, & much more
would it after a full
separation from the flegm by the next preparation

This spirit once destilled draws the Salts of
some metals (of , , Wismuth, Cobalt, ) but not
of  yet with heat it works on . The Lyons blood dissolved a praecipitate
of saccarum saturni drawn out of Lead ore
by vinegre, & perhaps will dissolve Lead ore.
Oyle of  works on Lead ore with heat & ebullition
Oyle of  mixt with twice as much water in weight
dissolved Iron filings with ebullition & some heat.
Two ounces of  in a coated Retort after
about 3 howers in naked fire yeilded all it's
spirit & then the red or blackish corrosive oyle began
to come in a vein which looked very red in the
neck of the receiver. Spirit of  &  mixed
wrought on Lead ore without ebullition &
made an odor something faetid. The like faetid
odor was made by dissolving iron filings in
spirit of  allayed with two parts of water.
Lead ore corroded with oyle of  grows white, so
it does if degested for 3 or 4 days in oyle of  & spirit  ana mixed

spirit of  4 parts, Lead ore 9 parts circiter
Distill & there ascends two volatile salts
one after another: the first more
volatile then the last. These salts are heavy
as Lead & dissolve not (I think in water
but melt like wax, & rise like .

105

Or rather they
are no salts but brimstone set loose from the
Lead ore by the spirit of 

Spirit of  4parts, Iron ore 4 or 5parts. In
a small heat the spirit extracts a salt, turning
almost all the ore to salt so as to leave
not above 1part or 1 1/2 part of feces but the
solution must be diluted toward the latter
end with water so much as is sufficient to
dissolve the extracted salt & keep it fluid
that the rest of the spirit may come to the
iron & do its work.

Spirit of  one part diluted with a
gradual addition of water so much as to keep the
extraction in a fluor, is satiated with
about 3 parts of copper ore ground, &
extracts in heat a salt almost white.

Spirit of  one part is satiated with Bismuth
ore        parts, Cobalt ore            parts
Tin ore          parts, & out of these
extracts a salt. Item with Lead ore
2 1/4. Spar 2 1/4 or thereabouts & extracts
no salt. Item with clay out Lead mines
'      parts & partly extracts a salt
partly stays in the clay.

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On the net poudered I poured undistilled
vinegre of . It soaked almost all into it
without extracting any considerable quantity
of salt & the salt which it extracted (which
was inconsiderably little) did not look blew,
& consequently no extraction of the copper
but more probably the spar in the Vinegre
which upon distilling the Vinegre remains
like a fixt salt in the bottom. Upon
this impregnated net I poured further some
distilled liquor of  so much as to
make it moist like a soft lute &
in a small heat it drank up also
all that more quickly then the former.
But if distilled liquor of  were first
poured on the net, it would not touch
it, no not in so great a heat as was
sufficient almost to evaporate the liquor.
Whence I understood the oak must be
first prepared in a metallic form, & then
the serpent undistilled fixed to it & if
need be, more serpent either distilled
or undistilled added. & then all melted
together.

What the effect of fusion may be I
gather from these experiments.

I melted (with Arsnick) Regulus of  &
white  viridis ana ground together &
they made a glassy mass very brittle,
viscous in fusion, easily fusible, reddish &
somewhat transparent when cold. The
like mass was made with two parts of Regulus
& one of  viridis. These appeared like

107

glass of  but not so transparent. By the
white  viridis I meane that which turns
from a greenish red to white by longer
digestion & more copious precipitation made
thereby.

I melted Regulus of  & vitriol made with 
& vinegre of  undistilled, the  being well
dried, ana: & these made the like mass. Only
in pouring out it ran thicker & was more
brittle & less transparent.

I melted Regulus 8parts Copper 4parts & the said
 1part, & they let fall a regulus & on the
top swam a glassy matter more transparent
then the former. I melted Regulus & thereon
threw a mixture of Copper filings & the
said  in the aforesaid proportions, & some
of the copper fell down into the regulus as I
perceived by the colour of the Regulus when cold.
& so probably some of the regulus rose
into the glass which swam o'th' top. So that
that glass seems to have the nature of the
scoria which is made in making Regulus. If
the metall be not too much it eats it all
if more then it can eat it lets the rest
fall down. And I find that salt mixes with
the glassy matter.

 whether melted with tinglass ana or
made into a regulus will not by melting
it with Arsnick mix with Leo viridis

 two parts,  3 parts, tinglas 4 parts
melted together make a very fusible
metal which in summer will melt in the Sun.  4 +  2 + tinglas 4 is as fusible or
rather a very little more fusible then  4 +  3 + tinglas 3
but  4 +  2 1/2 + Tinglas 3 1/2 stil more fusible &  2 + 2 1/2
+ tinglas 3 1/2 still more. Tinglas is more fusible then  &  then 

I melted crude  4 parts & Copper one
part together & had a substance without a
Regulus breaking in plates like Regulus.
This sublimed with  gave a sublimate as
foule & dirty as the Sublimate of  alone is.

I made a Regulus with Copper 1 part &
 2 parts & sublimed six grains of this
Regulus with 14 of . There remained
3 1/2 grains in the bottom. So that the 
carried up 2 1/2 grains.

I made a Regulus with iron 4parts  8 1/2
parts. The scoria 207 grains I sublimed
with   227grains. The sublimate which
rose first & ascended to the top of the glass
was red & foule as in the sublimate of
crude , & in water let fall a
red precipitate. Then ascended (but
not so high) a sublimate mixed with
dirty blackness as also happens in the
sublimate of crude  & this gave
a black precipitate. Afterwards rose
a crystalline white salt, & this gave
no precipitate at all, but dissolved
cleare, & consequently had carried up
nothing. And the matter remaining in
the bottom weighed 207grains, That is, as
much as before sublimation. But it
tasting saltish I put it in a fireshovel
& urged it with a stronger heat. The new
sublimate which adhered to a glas whelmed
over it, was yellowish, & let fall a
white precipitate. Whence I concluded
it had carried up some of the Regulus

109

which was mixed with the scoria, which held down
the salt so that it could not rise without a
greater heat. The remaining matter weighed
166 grains. So that in all 41 grains was carried
up. From all which it should seem that little
was carried up besides a combust dirty Sulphur
& some Regulus.

The scoria of Regulus of  made with
Niter after edulcoration yeilds to water
no salt. To vinegre it yeilds a sweet
red tincture like syrrup. If vinegre be put
on it & let stand till it be almost dry, it
yeilds afterward the same red tincture to
water in frigido&lt in two days time & that
being poured off, it yeilds more tincture to
fresh water, a second & third time if not
oftener. It yeilds also to the distilled
Vinegre of  a fixt salt which on a
red hot iron neither smoaks nor melts
nor is any of it carried up by
sublimate of .

Distilled liquor of  poured on its glass
soaks into the glass without extracting any
considerable quantity of salt. Of this
impregnated glass washed from all its salt 4grains
sublimed with 8grains of Antimonial sublimate
left one grain in the bottom.

Glass of  dissolved in  yeilds a
solution much like that of crude Antimony.

Glass of  4 parts Sublimed with  five
parts made the glass crack & fly in the
bottom, in two trials, soon after the
sublimate began to rise. I took some of this
sublimate which rose before the glass cracked

vizt 15grains & subliming it from 6grains of Saturn
iate there were 7grains left in the bottom
which on a red hot iron flowed not nor
fumed much. So that this sublimate
volatiseth not so much as that of crude 

Sublimate of crude antimony volatizes
much more then sublimate of white precipitate
of  out of .

If sublimate of crude  be precipitated
with water, oyle of  poured on the dry
precipitate & digested in a good heat to
make the brimstone sulphur sublime from
the . Then the oyle of  be washed
away from the  & the  sublimed
a fresh. This sublimate will have no
volatizing virtue. And yet tis not the
loss of the sulphur but the action of
the oyle of  on the  which destroys
the volatising virtue. For if brimstone
be added to sublimate of crude  the
volatizing virtue is thereby diminished.
And if oyle of  be added without
adding or taking away any Sulphur the
volatising virtue is also diminished. And
particularly  antimoniate in these cases
is less raized & after sublimation remains
less fusible on a red hot iron then
when sublimate of crude  alone is
used.

Sublimate of crude  sublimed from
salt of  or  extracted with liquor of
, & this second sublimate sublimed
again from  iate, it carries up nothing of
the  iate but leaves it unfusible & fixt.
especially if salt of  be used. So also

111

it happens if salt of  viridis Extracted with
distilled liquor of  be used, the salt being
mixed with the  iate. Or if  viridis in its
terrestial form be mixed with  iate. And
in general the sublimate of crude 
Sublimed a second time from any salt on which
it acts, does by the action loos of its
volatising virtue.

 ‡ <in mg:>N ‡  iate 5parts, sublimate of crude 
8 or 10 parts. One of the  iate is carried
up. The 4 parts remaining in the bottome
become fusible on a red hot iron &
in a Quarter of an hours time in a red
heat fly almost all away if laid on a
glass & the glass put in the fire. But if
sublimate of salt of  be sublimed from
this fusible , it makes it unfusible &
fixt. The like does sublimate of salt of
 though in a less degree.

 ‡ <in mg:>N ‡ The sublimate of  for this use must
be drawn from  dry. For if water be
added to dissolve the , it works more on
the  then it should, & separates a copious red
light sublimate from the heavier dark grey
sublimate neither of which are of that
virtue the sublimate in arido&lt has. And the light regulus
sublimate is of no vertue at all.

I melted  2 parts with iron Ore one
part & sublimed it with  & that
sublimate 10grains I sublimed from 5grains of
 iate & there remained 4 3/4grains in
the bottom, which was not so volatile
as when sublimate of crude  is

sublimed from the same  iate.

Sublimate of crude  sublimed from
Iron ore ground fine ascends white & the
precipitate of that sublimate is also white
& the caput mortuum after much urging
tasted saltish. But if crude  2 parts
be melted with iron ore 1part, the sublimate
thereof precipitated is a light green: If with
copper ore 1 part, a dark green, And
in sublimate of iron ore melted with 
the  seems to carry up a considerable
part of the iron ore.

 dissolves sublimate of  precipitated
much after the manner of crude .
This sublimate precipitated, by calcination
turns not red, but the green sublimate
praecipitate drawn from  does after it has
first turned from green to a blackish
ial dirty colour like that of precipitate
of crude  sublimate This green precipitate
of  sublimate dissolves not in vinegre unles
calcined.

I dissolved iron ore in equal parts of
distilled liquor of  & oyle of  & of
the extracted salt a fift part was
carried up with sublimate of crude . But
extracts of ores made with liquor of 
alone are in greater measure volatized.
For two parts of sublimate of crude  to
one of   &  & Leo viridis impregnated
or vitriolized with liquor of  carries
up 1/5 of  1/3 of  2/5 of  & Leo viridis
& though you add more sublimate or
 yet it carries up no more. It leaves
the  fusible & almost totally volatile

113

yet not distillable unless perhaps per descensum
the  unfusible & fixt, the  fusible &
almost totally volatile. In subliming it melts
& boyles with the  as soon as the sublimate
begins to rise especially if there be three
parts of sublimate to two (perhaps to four) of
. The caput mortuum of  is very little of
it dissolvable in water, & that which does
dissolve does not look blew. The sublimate
made with one part of  & two of ial
sublimate dissolved in water let fall 1/8
part thereof in the form of an ash coloured
calx. So that about 3/4 or 2/3 of what was
carried up will not precipitate in water.
The sublimate of  &  are both white
& again sublimed from  carry up nothing
thereof but leave the  unfusible & fixt
especially that of . The sublimate of
,  & Leo viridis here spoken of are made
with liquor of  distilled, that of  with
undistilled. The ore of  &  are taken,
the metal of . The salt of  1 part
of ore of  1 part, of filings of  4
or 6 parts carried up with sublimate of crude
 equall in weight to the
mixture of the salts, left only 1/4th part
of the salts in the bottom. salt of
 rises in subliming with a rushing
wind, so as to require a retort to
distill it in, & is of all salts most freely
volatized.

Salt of tartar satiated with liquor of
 distilled becomes a gross corporal salt which will

not at all rise in sublimation with sublimate of

Spar, a good part of it dissolves readily in
Vinegre to a salt, almost all of it in .
Distilled liquor of  acts on it as on
lead, & much in the same proportion,
that it imbibes about 2/5 of the liquor
without letting go any salt. But with
this difference that whereas impregnated
lead ore is volatized by sublimate of
, that of Spar is not in the least
volatized thereby not lets go any spirit.

Nor is the salt in the caput mortuum of the distilled
liquor of  volatised by that means

Nor the salt extracted out of the
clay of Lead mines with undistilled liquor
of ; only it becomes something lighter
by the loss perhaps of some flegm or
nitrous spirit. This salt 3parts mixed
& ground together with  of  iate 5parts
& sublimed with sublimate of  left
5 parts in the bottom

 ‡ <in mg:>N ‡  impregnated with distilled spirit of 
volatizes better then  impregnated with
undistilled liquor of  & so of
salt of .

I do not yet find any way of cleansing
the sublimate of  from it's impure 
without destroying its volatizing virtue.
If  be melted with 1/2 1/3 or 1/4th part
of , the nitre does not hold down the
impure  of the  at all. But let the
whole body of the  rise & remains
itself in the bottom without much addition of 

115

I poured oyle of  on Lead ore ground 49grains.
till it became a pap. & dried it in a good
heat. it weighed 57grains. I poured on more till
it became a pap & dried it. It weighed 65grains.
But the oyle of  had not wrought much
on the ore for it tasted keen & in a few
howrs relented in frigido&lt & grew soft again.

Three parts of sublimate of crude 
sublimed from 2 of iate  of  carried
up one part of the  & being dissolved in
water let fall one part of precipitate.
Quaere&lt what remains in the sublimate? Of
this sublimate with its precipitate one part
distilled liquor of  one part,  3 parts
Iron ore 1 1/2 parts gave a fat
yellowish salt which would run per deliquium &
not flow on a red hot iron. Six grains
of this salt by the fuming away of the
 in heat became five. And of these
five, half a grain only was carried up
by 12 grains of sublimate of .

Sublimate of Venus made with Sublimate
of , dissolved & philtred to separate the 
& dried & mixed either with iron filings or with
spar would not rise in a second
sublimation but stayd behind with the iron or spar
& made the spar of a keen tast. The
design was to separate the  from the salt
of  but the  did not fasten of the spar
nor much on the iron, but rose alone
without the . And if Spar &  were
taken alone, the  rose from the spar without
being destroyed by it.

Salt of tartar, as it destroys the , so it
precipitates the Venus
in a blew form & holds it
down & therefore is no fit medium to
separate the salt of  & 

Sublimate of ate 5parts, ate 1part,
Venus ore ate Vitriol 1part, Antimonial
Sublimate 7parts, dissolved in  20parts &  ground 10parts being added
for the  to work on & destroy the .
Then filterd & distilled, there rose first
a substance like  in view but not
in tast, being keener. This fell to the lower
part of the neck of the retort. Then with
a greater heat rose a very white salt much of which
stuck to the top of the neck, This last
salt was all dissolvable in water, the
first salt some of it indissolvable, setling
to the bottom of the water like a white
curd. When dissolved the water smelt strong.
I suppose by reason of the spirit of 
much volatised & altered by the operation.
The matter in the bottom during the
distillation was fluid almost till the latter
end of the distillation & the salt
which rose last was fusible. There
remained much matter in the bottom which
upon affusion of water let go a
saline solution of a blew colour &
vitriolick tast. So then a good part of
the  was fixed by the fixed salt
or dissolved spar of the  & consequently
 which had been sublimed & precipitated

117

ought to have been used. or els regulus of .
That part of the salt which stuck loosly to
the neck of the glass being rubbed off did not
in the air run per deliquium.

Spar & Venus volatilis ana, sublimed together, the  alone
rose first & being dissolved & evaporated flew
almost all away in a gentle heat. The caput
mortuum tasted of the Venus & in the air in 3
or 4 days time grew moist. Being dried again
& urged with a great heat almost a red heat
it flowed like wax & bubled & let go some
fume, but not so freely as the caput mortuum following

Lead ore 2parts Venus volatilis 1part sublimed together the
 rose alone first & the matter in subliming
melted but not freely. Venus volatilis alone in a good
heat melts. After the  & perhaps some spirit
of the matter was gone I poured on the caput
mortuum ground distilled spirit of . The
matter in heat boyled & the spirit flew away.
The residue urged with a red heat of a candle would
not melt nor scarce fume but some of the  in it melted
& ran into common malleable shining Lead.
Another part of the poudered caput mortuum on which
no spirit of  was poured melted in that

heat readily melted like wax & in part fumed
away.

Lead ore & Venus volatilis ana sublimed together, the 
flew first away alone. The residue melted
no easier then before. 13grains 3/4
left 8grains. which on a glass in a red heat melted
like wax & boyled away to 2 1/2grains or
thereabouts, So that the Venus carried up 3/5 of the
Lead ore or thereabouts. It melted at first with
less then a red heat but afterwards required
a red heat to make it fume all away to
siccity.

Spar 8grains, Venus volatilis 10grains sublimed together in
a gentle heat sufficient to make the 
all rise left a white pouder weighing 10grains
in the bottom. To this 4grains more of
Venus volatilis added & sublimed again in a heat
a little bigger by accident: There were
only 9grains left in the bottom. This put
into a new glass & urged with a red
heat the matter began to melt so soon
as the glass began to be red hot, but the
glass being stopt the rarified air within it
made it soon burst in the bottom so soon as it
was so hot as to be soft. The matter
had then let go a little fume which gave
the inside of the glass a faint soile but
scarce amounted to half a grain, nor tasted
much. The
matter did not melt so as to flow but only
to be soft like stiff birdlime. Nor did it
bubble. Of the remaining matter in the
bottom I took five grains & laid them
on a glass plate & set it on live coales

so

119

 as to be red hot for almost half an hour
The glas with the matter I weighed together
before I set it on the fire & also when I
took it of & found it did not loose in the
heat above 1/4 of a grain, no not though
the glass was so hot as to bend of it self
on the coales. Nor did the matter bubble at
all or run, but only grow soft like stiff
birdlime. That which was next the glass was
as soft as melted glass, or almost, but that
which was further from the glass was not so soft
as to sink down or change its figure.
Whence Spar is not to be spiritualized
immediately by Venus volatilis

 ‡ <in mg:>N. ‡ Salt of  extracted with spirit of  25grains
Salt of red calx of  extracted with spirit of 
25grains. Vitriol ate 150grains. Sublimate
of  200grains, in sublimation wherein the
matter was at last urged till the glass
began to melt left 75 or 80grains in the
bottom, so that 3/5 of the matter
was sublimed. The matter melted at first
with an easy heat even before the 
began to rise, & that which remained in
the bottom continued liquid in heat till
the last not only like birdlime but
so as to flow like a thin liquor. The
sublimat of  with which the Experiment was
made was drawn from  which
abounded much with stony concretions & that
with a greater proportion of  then 
so that the sublimate was pore in  &

looked of a colour not so dark & dirty
as when better  & in a greater
proportion was used.

 ‡ <in mg:>N ‡ Of this sublimate I added 18grains to 12grains
of Lead ore & subliming them on a candle
there remained 16 1/2grains. Item I added 6grains of
the said sublimate to 12grains of Lead ore & by
like sublimation till the matter had done
fuming there remained 14 1/2grains. Of
the former remainder 16grains urged with a red
heat till the matter had done fuming
left 4 1/2grains or almost 5grains of a reddish very hard earthy
matter. The fumes which arose first in this
last sublimation tasted a little vitriolique but
those which rose afterward had no tast
at all. Of the latter remainder 13grains
urged with like heat left about 8 or
9grains. But being uncertain of the quantity
left, I took fresh sublimate of 
8grains Lead ore 16grains & subliming them on
the fire there remained 11 or 11 1/3 grains
in the bottom. And some of the Lead was
melted into drops or globules of good
malleable Lead. So then the sublimate of 
takes hold but of so much Lead ore as is
sufficient for it. The rest melts into Lead
& if there be too much Venus volatilis the surplus
retains its tast. And since 8grains or Venus volatilis
carries up of 16grains of Lead ore, 5grains so as to
Leave but 11 grains in the bottom, 16grains of Venus
volatilis must carry up 10grains so as to leave but 6grains
in the bottom, & more then that a greater
quantity of Venus volatilis will scarce carry up.

121

To 60grains of Lead ore I added 60 of  
& after sublimation there remained 81grains
of a dark colour like that of ground  &
sweetish tast

The sophick  carries not up nor lays hold on
the eagle of  . 10grains
of  with 10 grains or Iron ore left in a
gentle sublimation 13 grains in the
bottom, & 22grains of  with 10 grains of Iron
ore left 14 1/2grains in the bottom, which in a
red heat fumed not at all & besides
3 or 4 grains which fell into the fire, the
residue taken out weighed 12grains & rather
more suppose 12 1/3grains. Before 'twas put in
a red heat it tasted vitriolique. I conceive
the acid spirit of salarmoniack had laid
hold on the ore.

Of salt of Tinglas extracted with
spirit of  48grains,
Antimonial sublimate 48grains ground & sublimed
together. The matters upon grinding together
fumed a little, & was moist, for the
tinglass would not let go all the water in
drying. In sublimation the matters flowed
a little together, & after sublimation there
remained 28grains of fixed & almost tastles

matter. This urged in the flame of a candle to
a red heat, did not flow nor fume. The rest let
stand in the air for some days did not attract any
moisture out of the air, though before
sublimation the salt was very apt to run per
deliquium. Of this      grains sublimed again with
     grains of fresh prepared  left
grains in the bottom whence tis not to be
volatized this way

Jun 10 ad opus redii.  praeparatus 8grana tis 5grana
Liquescebant materiae in calido, et post
sublimationem restabant in fundo 2 1/3grana. Item
tis 80grana,  caeruleum 80grana,  praeparatus 200grana
commista linquebant in fundo 59grana, vel 60grana
facta sublimatione in arena tantum, et
quod sublimabatur pendebat 204grana tantum
Etenim Salis Armoniaci pars bene magna
(nempe 96grana circiter) vertebatur in liquore
qui sub initio sublimationis
ascendebat et destillabat. Grana 59 quae restabant
in fundo, igne majori ad ruborem fere calefacta.
nec fluebant nec fumos emittebant. Grana
204 sublimati commista cum minerae plumbi
contritae granis 190 post lenem sublimationem
linquebant in fundo 326grana vel 32      cujus
sapor non erat vitriolicus et stipticus sed fortis
tamen et valde dulcis.

123

Maii 4to 1682 salia duo &  praeparatus cum 
postquam in 5 ad 6 vel 4 ad 5 proportione ante sex menses comista fuerant
destillavi per retortam. Materia difficulter
liquescebat multum aquae fumi aliqui
sulphurei;  sine  reliqua materia
volatilior post aquam ascendebat et in collo
retortae haerebat ad grana 248. Huius
particula in aqua soluta nullas faeces
deponebat sed in aquam claram solvebatur.
In lateribus Retortae et orificio interiori
haerebant salia metallica volatizata cum
 et  ad grana 634. Manebat in fundo
materia pendens 302 grana.

June 1682 Saturn destilled per se
in a red heat sent up 60grains & there
remained in the bottom 90grains. This spirit carries
not up  nor tinglas ore nor a mixture
of these melted with the Greene Lyon nor 
impregnated with the Spirit of , nor Regulus made of Bismuth &  ana 1part & Lead ore 4parts.

 ‡ <in mg:>N ‡  21 parts mixed with as much crude 
made cleane & poudered carried up 10 parts If the Lead be too great the sublimate will be foule.

Of this sublimate 240grains, salt of 
60grains salt of  60grains in a quick heat,
was left in the bottom like a black scoria of a
vitriolick tast 55grains, the new sublimate
weighed 265grains, wasted in water which
distilled over in the beginning of the sublimation
40grains. The matter in the sublimation boyled
not but only simpered. The sublimate
was of a light yellow colour.

Lead ore 12grains, Ore of Tinglas ground fine 8grains
 12grains sublimed together, the matter
boyled but little, rose more heavily,
then without Ore of Tinglas &
after in a red heat in the open air
it had done fuming there remained
16grains in the bottom. So that the Tinglas
ore fixed part of the Lead ore.

Of Regulus made with  6,  2,  1,
&  3, 16grains sublimed with  18grains
left 7grains in the bottom. This again
sublimed with 14grains of  left 3 1/5grains in the bottom
which again sublimed with 8grains left 1 2/3grains
in the bottom.         Of the same Regulus
but scarce ground so fine as the
former 16grains sublimed with 12grains of 
left 10grains in the bottom & 16grains
sublimed with 24grains of  left 7 1/5grains
in the bottom. Also 16grains of this Regulus
& 4grains of red ial precipitate
sublimed with 24 grains of  left 13 1/4grains
in the bottom, so that the precipitate holds
down the 

 ‡ <in mg:>N ‡ 1,  2 confusa & contrita; 3 ounces
in sublimation with 2 1/4 ounces of  left
in the bottom 1 4/5 ounces so that there was
carried up 1 1/5 ounce. That is 15 parts of 

125

carries up 8 of the compound. And this
sublimate was cleaner then that of crude
 & looked of an ash colour inclining
to a light willow green but more upon
a blew. To the top of the glass ascended
a reddish sublimate. Of this sublimate
24grains the doubled  12grains left 8grains in the
bottom & 36grains of the same with 12grains of the
 left in the bottom also 8grains. So that it
carries up but 1/3 of the .

 6parts  5parts,  4parts confusa et
contrita;. Of
this mixture 16parts,  16parts There
remained in the bottom 9 parts.

Regulus made of  4,  1,  1, 
4  12 thirteen drachms sublimed with  17 1/2 drachms
left in the bottom 10 1/2drachms But all the volatile was not sublimed. For in another experiment 12 grains of the same Regulus sublimed with 16grains of left only 4 1/3grains in the bottom . The sublimate
arose first grey & dirty then red in the upper part of the glas white in the lower.

Monday June 26 Regulus  8, serpens non destil 1, destill: 1, Of
this without being melted
15 parts,  20 parts, there remained in the bottom
3 parts. The sublimate was white & with water
gave a very white precipitate not readily
dissolvable in , fusible in a great heat
like  & something more
volatile. Out of the water nothing
more was precipitated by salt of  so that
all that sublimed besides  was precipitated
before by water alone. The white
sublimate 18parts salt of  9 left in the
bottom 7 parts, so that it carries up but 2/7.
& perhaps the salt was not
throughly dried before.

Regulus  10 or 12 parts, serpens non destil 1 part
dried & melted, There sank a Regulus of 
& swam on it a scoria with striae like
the scoriae of other Reguluses of a dull
metallic colour but cleaner. The scoria
was in proportion to the Regulus as 5 to 4
12 grains of the scoria sublimed with 12 of 
left 5 grains in the bottom. These 5grains I
sublimed again with  6grains & there remained
3 1/2 grains in the bottom, so that the matter
is more fixed by melting then without
melting. This sublimate was white & with water
gave a white precipitate as the former.

Regulus of  4 or 4 1/2 parts serpens non destil
1 part in fusion ran thick like bird lime,
made no Regulus, & when cold was very
hard & looked of a dull metallic colour
There was therefore too much of the
serpent. About 1 to 6 of Regulus may.
be a good proportion to let fall no
Regulus just.

Bismuth ore & Tin ore melted
together with  equal quantities of each
& sublimed gave a sublimate dirty:
Lead ore impregnated with salt of  &  & this
sublimate together ana did not melt so
much as with salt of  &  alone nor
was made more volatile then with salt
of  alone. But  2 &  1 melted
together & sublimed with  & this
sublimate & the sublimed salt of  & 
ana did make the  ore
something more fusible & volatile

127

then the salt of  &  alone. Yet of 16 parts
of Lead ore after evaporation in a glass
laid on red hot sand there remained 6
parts fixed. So then  &  are not
to be used this way for volatizing  but
rather sublimate of  or at least
something better which that may lead to.

Monday. June 26 1682 I melted Tinglas
1,  2,  4 & had a little Regulus. Item
 1,  2,  2 & had more Regulus. Item
Tinglas 1,  3,  2 & had as much more
Regulus as I put in  more then before that is increased by almost 1/2. Item
 1,  4,  2 & had the Regulus increased
almost 1/3 that is made double almost to
what it was in the 2d Experiment but the Regulus
was not so pure as when there was less
Lead, nor separated so well from the
scoria, & therefore I added 1/2 of
saltpeter to the metal in fusion. And thus
an ounce of
 two ounces of  four ounces of 
gave me 1 1/2 ounce of Regulus. If I had
added as much more niter I beleive it
would have done better. In refining this Regulus did not melt well.

Tuesday July 4 1682 I melted  1
 1 1/2,  1 1/2 together & had a thick
tough & difficultly melting scoria without
any metall.

Item I melted  2,  4, & had a
thick viscous mixture like birdlime, to
which I added Regulus of  3 per se poudered &
yet the mixture would not flow nor let
the Regulus run well in a body from it.

(End of the first part - Fin de la première partie)


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