Banks in the Sea but the greatest of them when they fell either one upon another or in such a posture as to prop up one another their Heads and higher parts would stand out of the Water and make ISLANDS Thus I conceive the ISLANDS of the Sea were at first produc'd we cannot wonder therefore that they should be so numerous or faâ— more numerous than the Continents These are the Parents and those are the Children Nor can we wonder to see along the sides of the Continents several ISLANDS or Sets of ISLANDS sown as it were by handfuls or laid in Trains for the manner of their Generation would lead us to think they would be so plac'd So the American ISLANDS lie scatter'd upon the Coast of that Continent the Maldivian and Philippine upon the East-Indian Shoar and the Hesperides upon the Aâ—rick and there seldom happen to be any towards the middle of the Ocean though by an Accident that also might come to pass BVRNET's Theory of the Earth pag. 137 138 139. Athanasius Kircher amongst many considerable Remarks in his China Illustrata tells us that in China there were several Isles to the Number of 99. all turned into one under the same Extent of space they had when they were divided by Water As concerning the Situation of ISLANDS whether Comodious or not this saith Peter Heâ—lin is my judgement I find in Machiavel that for a City whose People covet no Empire but their own Towns a Barren place is better than a Fruitful because in such Seats they are compell'd to Work and Labour whereby they are freed from Idleness and by Consequence from Luxury But for a City whose Inhabitants desire to enlarge their Confines a fertile place was rather to be chosen than a Barren as being more able to nourish Multitudes of People The like Pet. Heylin says of ISLANDS If a Prince desire rather to keep than augment his Dominions no place fitter for his Abode than an ISLAND as being by it self and Nature sufficiently desensible But if a King be minded to add continually to his Empire an ISLAND is no fit Seat for him because partly by the uncertainty of Winds and Seas partly by the length and tediousness of the ways he is not so well able to supply and keep such Forces as he hath on the Continent An Example hereof is England which hath even to admiration repelled the most puissant Monarch of Europe but for the Causes above mentioned cannot shew any of her Conquests on the firm Land though she hath attempted and atchieved as many glorious Exploits as any Countrey in the World PET. HEYL. Cosmogr The Ingenious Dr. Sprat now Bishop of Rochester observes that the chief Design of the Antient English was the glory of spreading their Victories on the Continent But this says he was a Magnanimous mistake For by their very Conquests if they had maintain'd them this ISLAND had been ruin'd and had only become a Province to a greater Empire But now it is rightly understood that the English Greatness will never be supported or increas'd in this Age by any other Wars but those at Sea SPRAT's Hist. of the R. S. Pag. 404. ISLANDERS are for the most part longer liv'd than those that dwell in Continents For they live not so long in Russia as in the Orcades nor so long in Africa though under the same Parallel as in the Canaries and Tercera's And the Iaponians are longer liv'd than the Chineses though the Chineses are mad upon long life And this is no wonder seeing the Air of the Sea doth heat and cherish in cooler Regions and cool in hotter BACON's Hist. of Life and Death Of the Origine of Fâ—VNTAINS THat there is a Mass of Waters in the Body of the Earth is evident from the Origine of Fountains for the Opinion of Aristotle imputing them to the Condensation of Air in the Caverns of the Earth and that of other Philosophers ascribing them to the fall of rain-Rain-Water received into such Cisterns in the Earth which are capable of receiving it are both equally unsatisfactory unless we suppose a Mass of Waters in the Bowels of the Earth which may be as the Common-Stock to supply those Fountains with For it is very hard conceiving how meer Air should be so far Condensed as to cause not only such a Number of Fountains but so great a quantity of Water as runs into the Sea by those Rivers which come from them as the River Volga is supposed to empty so much Water in a Years time into the Caspian Sea as might suffice to cover the whole Earth by which likewise it is most evident that there must be some Subterranean Passages in the Sea or else of necessity by that abundance of Water which continually runs into it from the Rivers it would overflow and drown the World And from this Multitude of Waters which comes from Fountains it is likewise evident that the Origine of â—ountains cannot be meerly 〈…〉 Water which 〈…〉 which would 〈…〉 maintaiâ— so full 〈…〉 many 〈…〉 that 〈…〉 that Rain-Water doth never moisten the Earth above Ten Foot deep for of far greater profundity many Fountains are And besides the rain-Rain-Water runs most upon the Surface of the Earth and so doth rather swell the Rivers which thereby run with greater force in their Passage to the Ocean and doth not lodge it self presently in the Earth especially if it descends in a greater Quantity which alone is able to fill such Cisterns supposed to be in the Earth especially in Mountains which may keep a Stream continually running Although therefore we may acknowledge that the fall of Rain may much conduce to the Overflowing and Continuance of Fountains as is evident by the greater force of Springs afâ—er continued Rains and by the dâ—câ—y of many of them in hot and dry Weather which yet I had rather impute to the Suns exhaling by his continued heat those moist Legs because it is equally dispers'd into all the parts from the Center of it so in the Body of the Earth it is as natural for the Water to ascend into the Tops of Mountains as it is to fall down into the Center of the Earth And that it is no more wonder to see Springs issue out of Mountains than it is to see a Man Bleed in the Veins of his Forehead when he is let Blood there So in all places of the Earth the parts of it are not dispos'd for Apertion for some of them are so hard and compact that there seems to be no passage through them which is the most probable Reason why there is no Rain neither in those places because there is no such Exsâ—dation of those moist Vapours through the Surface of the Earth which may yield matter for Rain as it is in many of the Sandy places of Africa but usually Mountainous Countries have more large and as it were Temple-Veins through whiâ—h the moist Vapours have a free and open passage and thence there are
COMPASS Observations concerning PETRIFICATION OF PETRIFYING Waters tho' I doubt not but their Kinds are as various as the Effects they produce and the Effects again as the Subjects they Work on yet I am inclin'd to believe that they all agree thus far that they proceed in the Main from the same Stock and Linage and are all more or less of the Kindred of SALTS which sublimed and rarified in the Bowels of the Earth into an invisible Steam are receiv'd by the Waters as their most agreeable Vehicle and brought hither to us at the Rising of Springs as invisibly as the Particles of Silver or Gold when each is dissolved in its proper Menstruum Where meeting perchance with an ambient Air much colder and chilling than any under Ground in all likelyhood are precipitated and thrown down on such Subjects as they casually find at the place of their Exit which they presently Cloath with a Crust of Stone or else where Precipitation or Cohesion will not suffice they pass with the Waters through the Pores of the Subjects and are left behind in them just as in a Filter The Reason of which difference may probably be that some of these PETRIFYING Steams or Atoms may be gross and more bulky than some others are and cannot be held up in the watry Vehicle without such a Heat as they have under Ground but fall and by Reason of their bigness do not penetrate but adhere to their Subjects whereas others that are fine more minute and subtile are easily supported in a Volatile Condition and pass with the Waters into the closest Textures If any body doubt whether Stones and so PETRIFICATIONS arise from SALTS let him but consult the Chymists and ask whether they find not all indurated Bodies such as Stones Bones Shells and the like most highly saâ—ed with the Saline Principle Some Mixture of Earth and Sulphur 't is true there is in them which give the Opacity that most Stones have from which according as they arâ— more or less free they have proportionable Transparency and some hardness too as the best of Gems the Diamant evinces And if he shall ask what SALTS are the aptest to perform this Feat of PETRIFICATION though the difficâ—lty of the Question might well excuse me yet I 'll venture thus far to give him an Answer That I have frequently seen at Whitstable in Kent how their Coperas or Vitriol is made out of Stones that 't is more than probable were first made out of That To the Spirit of which Vitriol if you add Oyl of Tartar they presently turn into a fix'd and somewhat hard Substance not much inferior or unlike to some Incrustations which seems to conclude that from these Two all such like Concretions are probably made and that could we but admit that Ocean of Tartar which Plato plac'd in the Center of the Earth and thought the Origin of all our Springs the business of PETRIFICATIONS were sufficiently clear To which I also add in the behalf of Vitriol what 's matter of Fact and prevails with me much That where-ever I find strong vitriol-Vitriol-Waters the PETRIFYING ones are seldom far off PLOT 's Nat. Hist. of OXFORD-SHIRE The Ingenious and Learned Mr. Hook saith that all the PETRIFIED Pieces of Wood that he ever saw seem'd to have been rotten Wood before the PETRIFICATION began And since I have Named this Industrious and knowing Gentleman I shall not think my time ill spent if for the Entertainment of the Reader I Transcribe the Observations he hath made of a Piece of PETRIFIED Wood taken from a Microscopical Examen This PETRIFY'D Substance resembled Wood in that First all the parts of it seem'd not at all dislocated or alter'd from their Natural Position whiles they were Wood but the whole Piece retain'd the exact shape of Wood having many of the Conspicuous Pores of Wood still remaining Pores and shewing a manifest difference visible enough between the Grain of the Wood and that of the Bark especially when any side of it was cut smooth and polite for then it appeared to have a very lovely Grain like that of some curious close Wood. Next it resembled Wood in that all the smaller and if I may so call those which are only to be seen by a good Glass Microscopical Pores of it appear both when the Substance is cut and polish'd Transversly and Parallel to the Pores perfectly like the Microscopical Pores of several kinds of Wood retaining both the shape and Position of such Pores It was differing from Wood First in Weight being to Common Water as 3¼ to 1. Whereas there are few of our English Woods that when dry are found to be full as heavy as Water Secondly in Hardness being very near as hard as a Flint and in some places of it also resembling the Grain of a Flint It would very readily Cut Glass and would not without difficulty especially in some parts of it be scratch'd by a Black hard Flint It would also as readily strike Fire against a Steel as also against a Flint Thirdly in the Closeness of it for though all the Microscopical Pores of the Wood were very Conspicuous in one position yet by altering that position of the Polish'd Surface to the Light it was also manifest that those Pores appear'd darker than the rest of the Body only because they were fill'd up with a more Dusky Substance and not because they were hollow Fourthly in its Incumbustibleness in that it would not burn in the Fire nay though I kept it a good While red-hot in the Flame of a Lamp made very Intense by the Blast of a small Pipe yet it seem'd not at all to have diminish'd its extention but only I found it to have chang'd its Colouâ— and to have put on a more Dark and Dusky Brown Hue. Nor could I perceive that those parts which seem'd to have been Wood at first were any thing wasted but the Parts appear'd as Solid and Close as before It was farther observable also that as it did not Consume like Wood so neither did it Crack and Fly like a Flint or such like hard Stone nor was it long before it appear'd red-hot Fifthly in its Dissolubleness for putting some drops of Distill'd Vinegar upon the Stone I found it presently to yield very many Bubbles just like those which may be observ'd in Spirit of Vinegar when it Corrodes Coral tho' I guess many of those Bubbles proceeded from the small parcels of Air which were driven out of the Pores of this PETRIFIED substance by the insinuating Liquid Menstruum Sixthly in its Rididness and Fâ—iability being not at all Flexible but Brittle like a Flint insomuch that with one knock of a Hammer I broke off a small piece of it and with the same Hammer quickly beat it to pretty fine Powder upon an Anvil Seventhly it seem'd also very differing from Wood to the Touch feeling more Cold than Wood usually does and much like other close Stones and Minerals The
prodigious quantities It is plain there are vast Vâ—â—ns of SULPHUR all along in tâ—â—s Soil and it seems in this Mountain they run along through some Mines and Rocks and as their slow Consumption produceth a perpetual Smoke so when the Air within is so much ratified that it must open it self it throws up those Masses of Mettle and Rock that shut it in but how this Fire draws in Air to nourish its Flame is not so easily apprehended unless there is either a Conveyance of Air under Ground by some undiscover'd Vacuity or a more insensible transmission of Air through the Pores of the Earth The heat of this Hill operates so much upon the Soil that lies upon it toward the Foot of it that it produceth the richest Wine about Naples and it also purifieth the Air so much that the Village at the bottom is thought the best Air of the Country so that many come from Naples thither for their Health Ischia that is an Island not far from Naples doth also sometimes spew out Fire Dr. BVRNET's Lett. Pag. 174 175. The Hill AETNA now call'd MONT-GIBEL is Ten Miles from the top to the bottom and may be easily discern'd by Sailers at an Hundred Miles distance The lower parts thereof are very Fruitful the middle being shaded with Woods and the Top cover'd with Snow a great part of the Year notwithstanding the frequent Vomiting of Flames and Cinders It was formerly observ'd and to this Day the same Observation holds That whenever any extraordinary Eruption happens it certainly portends some Revolution But these Eruptions of Fire are not now so ordinary as formerly the matter which gave Fuel to it being wasted by continual Burnings So that the Flames which issue from it are hardly visible but by Night tho' the Smoak shew it self the most part of the Day And when it doth break out which is commonly once in three or Four Years it falleth in great flâ—kes on the Vales adjoyning to the destruction of the Vintage and great loss of the Countrey But that they say is recompens'd by the plenty of the following Years the Ashes thereof so enriching the Soil that both the Vines and Corn-Fields are much better'd by it The Reason of these Fires is the Abundance of SULPHUR and BRIMSTONE contain'd in the bosome of the Hill which is blown by the Wind driving in at the Chaps of the Earth as by a pair of Bellows Through these Chinks also there is continually more Fuel added to the Fire the very Water adding to the force of it As we see that Water cast on Coals in the Smiths Forge doth make them burn more ardently PET. HEâ—LIN's Cosmogr Iohannes Alphonsus Borellus in his Historia and Meteorologia INCENDII AETNAEI Annâ— 1669 rejects the Opinion of those that â—aintain the AETNEAN Fires to have been perpetual and never extâ—â—guish'd asserting the frequent Cessation of them and withal assigning the Cause of that Cessâ—tion as well as that of their Renovation Concerning which and many other considerable Remarks and Reflexions too many to be here recited we refer the Reader to the Book it self Now whether these Eruptions are caused by actual Subterraneous Fires lighting upon Combustible Matter Or by Fire struck out of falling and breaking Stones whose Sparks meet with Nitro-Sulphureous or other inflamable Substance heap'd together in the Bowels of the Earth and by the Expansive violence of the Fire forc'd to take more room and so bursting out with the impetuosity we see may not be unworthy of a Philosopher's Speculation PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 48. Pag. 969. Naturalists aâ—â—irm that these VULCANO's or Fiery Mountains nourish SULPHUREOUS Matter in their Bowels which is easily inâ—lam'd and issues out with more or less Vehemency and more or less frequency according as the Matter is more or less disposed and the Subterranean Winds kindle and eject these Fires and open the Mass of Earth under which they are shut up But the Opinion of certain Philosophers who maintain That meer Chance produces these extraordinary Events appears to me very Ridiculous affirming that one Stone striking another produces a Spark whence happâ—◠〈◊〉 great Inflammations Nay they proceed farther and would perswade us That a Lighted Lamp left by chance by those who scarched into the Bowels of these Mountains to discover the Secrets of Nature might make these Flames which lighting on a Combustible Matter and meeting with nothing that is contrary to 'em to extinguish them to cause these Surprizing Effects They also say That Lightning striking fiercely on some one of the Coasts on these Mountains may do the same thing as the Stones striking one against another or the Lamp left Lighted See LETTERS writ by a TVRKISH SPY at Paris Vol. 1. Pag. 126 127. That Learned Physician and most Sagacious Inquirer into Nature Dr. Martin Lyster saith That amongst Minerals the Pyrities both in Gross and in Vapour is actually of its one accord fired He instances the VULCANO's all the World over for a proof of it for saith he we with great probability believe them to be Mountains made up in great part of Pyrites the Breath whereof is SULPHUR Ex tota Substantia by the qualities of SULPHUR thence Sublimed and the Application of the Load-Stone to the Ejected Cinder And he proceeds telling us That these VULCANO's were naturally kindled of themselves at or near the Creation in all probability because there is but a certain known Number of them which have all continued burning beyond the Memoirs of any History few or none of them that he knows of have ever totally decay'd or been extinct unless possibly by the Submersion of the whole being absorpt in the Sea Though they indeed do burn more fiercely sometimes than at others for other Reasons So that it seems to me saith the Doctor as natural to have actual Fire in the Terrestrial World from the Creation as to have Sea and Water Again saith the Doctor if these VULCANO's did not kindle of themselves what cause can we imagine to 〈◊〉 done it Iâ— the Sun we 〈◊〉 Hecla placed in so extream Coldâ— Climate was kindled for ought I 〈◊〉 see by the Natural History of boâ—â— as soon as AETNA or FUEGOS or the most Southerâ—y Not the Acâ—â—dents hapning from Man for i Man was as we must believe created Solitary and Topical they were none of his kindling because they seem to be fired before the World could be all over Peopled besides they were mostly the very Tops of vast high Mountains and therefore the most unfit for the Habitation of Man MART. LYSTER in the PHILOS TRANSACT 157. pag. 516. Observations concerning EARTH-QVAKES EARTHQUAKES are too evident Demonstrations of the Hollowness of the Earth being the dreadful Effects or Consequences of it for if the Body of the Earth was sound and compact there would be no such thing in Nature as an EARTHQUAKE They are commonly accompanied with an heavy dead Sound like a dull Thunder which ariseth from the Vapours that
not only more frequent Springs there but Clouds and Rains too Now if this Account of the Origine of Springs in the Earth be as rational as it is ingenious and handsome and there is not much can be said against it but only that then all Fountains should be Salt as the Water is from whence they come then we easily understand how the Earth might be overflow'd in the Vniversal Deluge for then the Fountains of the Deep were broken up or there was an Vniversal opening of the Veins of the Earth whereby all the Water contained in them would presently run upon the Surface of the Earth and must needs according to its proportion advance it self to a considerable height But because the salving the difference of the Water in Springs from what it is in the Sea is so considerable a Phaenomenon in our present case I therefore rather take this following as the most rational Account of the Origine of Fountains viz. That there are great Cavities in the Earth which are capable of receiving a considerable Quantity of Water which continually runs into them from the Sea which as it continually receives fresh Supplies from the Rivers which empty themselves into it so it dispatcheth away a like quantity thorow those Spongy parts of the Eâ—rth under the Ocean which are most apt to suck in and convey away the Surplusage of Water so that by this means the Sea never swells by the Water conveyed into it by the Rivers there being as continual a Circulation in the Body of the Earth of the Water which passeth out of the Ocean into the Subterraneous Caverns and from thence to the Mountains and thence into the Sea again as there is a Circulation of Blood in Man's Body from the Heart by the Arteries into the Exteriour Parts and returning back again by the Veins into the Heart According to which we may imagine such a place in the Heart of the Earth like Plato's Barathrum 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 As Plato in his Phaedrus describes it out of Homer a long and deep Subterraneous Cavity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Into which Cavity all the Rivers at last flow and from which they again disperse themselves abroad Now this Cavity of the Earth thus fill'd with Water supplies the place of the Heart in the Body oâ— the Earth from which all those several Aquaeducts which are in the Earth have their continual supply But that which makes those passages of Water which we call Springs and Fountains properly I suppose is thus generated from those Cavities fill'd with Water in the Earth by Reason of the hot Steams which are in the Body of the Earth there are continually rising some Vapours or little Particles of Water which are dis-joyned from each other by the Heat by Reason of which they attain a greater Celerity of Motion and so pass through the inner Pores of the Earth till they come near the Superficies of it Which when they have approach'd to they are beat back again by the Cold which environs the Surface of the Earth or at least are so arrested by the Cold and condens'd by it that they lose the form of Vapours and become perfect Water again Which Water being now more gross than while it was a meer Vapour cannot descend again through the same Pores through which it ascended before because these are not now capable of receiving it And therefore it seeks out some wider passages near the Surface of the Earth by which means it moves in an Oblique manner and is ready to embrace any other Vapours which are arrested in the same manner now when these are grown to a Considerable Body in the Surface of a Mountain or a Plain and find a Vent fit for them there appears a proper FOUNTAIN whose Streams are still maintained by the same Condensation of Vapours which when they are once come abroad are in continual Motion whereby Rivers are made which are still finding a passage through the declivity of the Surface of the Earth whereby they may return to the Ocean again Now according to this Account that grand Phâ—â—nomenâ—n of the freshness of fountain-Fountain-Water when the Water of the Sea is Salt whence it Originally comes is sufficiently resolved For meer Transcolation may by degrees take away that which the Chymists call the Fixed Salt and for the Volatile Salt of it which being a more Spirituous thing is not removable by Distillation and so neither can it be by Transcolation yet such an Evaporation as that mentioned may serve to do it because it is evident that Fresh Water will fall from the Clouds which hath risen from those Vapours which have come out of the Sea and besides these Vapours or small Particles of Water in their passage throw the Earth especially when they come near the Surface of it do Incorporate with other Sweet Vapours as those which come from Rain and others by which means they insensibly lose their former Acidity and Sharpness But those FOUNTAINS which do retain their former Saltness as there are many such in the World may very probably be supposed not to have come from these Vapours condensed but to be a kind of a breaking of a Vein in which the Salt-Water was convey'd up and down the Body of the Earth STILLINGFLEET's Orig. Sacr. lib. 3. Cap. 4. Sect. 6. The Opinion of Mr. Edmund Halley in the Philos. Transact Numb 192. That Springs and Riveâ—s owe their Original to Vapours condensed on the sides of Mountains rather than unto Rains I acknowledg to be very Ingenious grounded upon good Observations and worthy of its Author and I will not deny it to be in part true in those hot Countrys in the Torid Zone and near it where by reason of the great heats the Vapours are more copiously exhaled out of the Earth and its likely carryed up high in the form of Vapours But in Europe and the more Temperate Countries I believe the Vapours condensed in the manner as Mr. Halley describes have but little Interest in the producing of their Springs IOHN RAY's Miscell Disc. of the Dissolut of the World Pag. 82. and 85. Dr. Tankred Robinson's Letter to Mr. John Ray. YOV may peradventure meet with some opposition against your Hypothesis of FOUNTAINS tho' indeed I am more and more confirm'd in your Opinion of them and the use of the Mountains Father TECHART in his second Voyage to Siam says when he went up to the top of the Table Mountain at the Cape of Good Hope the Rocks and Shrubs were perpetually dropping and feeding the Springs and Rills below there being generally Clouds hanging on the sides near the top The same Observation hath been frequently made by our English Merchants in the Madera and Canary Islands especially in their journeys up to the Pike of Teneriff in which at such and such heights they were always wet to the Skin by the droppings of the great Stones yet no Rain over head The same I have felt in passing over
Eight Days Journey from Surat and two Leagues distance from Amadabat Here the flat INDIGO is made There is also INDIGO little inferior in goodness and price which comes from the King of Golconda's Territories There comes INDIGO also from Bengala which the Dutch Company transports for Mâ—sâ—ipaâ—an But as Tavernier informs us the Merchants buy this INDIâ—O and that of Brampour and Amadabat cheaper by 24 in the Hundred than that of Agra INDIGO is made of an Herb which they sow every Year after the Rains are over Which when it is grown up is very like our Hemp. They cut it three several times the first cutting far exceeds the two latter The Second cutting is worse than the First by Ten or Twelve in the Hundred And the Third worse than the Second by Twelve in the Hundred The difference is found by breaking a piece of the Paste and observing the Colour The Colour of that INDIGO which is made of the First cutting is a Violet-Blue but more brisk and lively than the two others And that which is made of the Second is more lively than the Third When they have cut the Herb they throw it into Pits which they make with Lime which becomes so hard that you would judge it to be one entire piece of Marble They are generally 80 or 100 Paces in Circuit and being half full of Water they fill them quite up with the Herb. Then they bruise and jumble it in the Water till the Leaf for the Stalk is worth nothing becomes like a kind of thick Mud. This being done they let it settle for some days and when the settling is all at the bottom and the Water clear above they let out all the Water When the Water is all drain'd out they fill several Baskets with this Slime and in a plain Field you shall see several Men at work every one at his own Basket making up little pieces of INDIGO flat at the bottom at the top sharp like an Egg. Though at Amadabat they make their pieces quite flat like a small Cake Here you are to take particular notice that the Merchants because they would not pay Custom for an Unnecessary Weight before they transport their INDIGO out of Asia into Europe are very careful to cause it to be sifted to separate the Dust from it which they sell afterwards to the Natives of the Country to Dye their Calicuts TAVERN of the Commodities belonging to the Dominions of the Great Mogul Philippus Baldaeus in his Description of some of the Chief Parts of the East-Indies says That the Plant which yields the INDIGO beareth a Flower like that of Thistles and a Seed like that of Faenum Graecum He says That the principal Marks of good INDIGO are dryness lightness and swimming on Water yielding a high Violet-Colour and when put upon live Coals giving a Violet Smoak and leaving but few Ashes That the INDIGO Merchant is to beware of buying moist INDIGO because he will then find that in Eight Days time he loses three Pounds in Ten That the best way is to try it in a clear Sun-Shine by breaking some Lumps in pieces and viewing them well whether there can be observ'd in them any thing that glistens which if there be one may be sure there is Sand in it with which it hath been sophisticated to increase the Weight But for the greater assurance of the goodness of INDIGO his Advice is to pass the Nail of ones Thumb over the broken pieces and if it be good it will be of a Violet-Colour and the higher that Colour the better the INDIGO Monsieur Tavernier says That the penetrancy of the Powder of INDIGO is such that all the while they are sisting it they are fain to keep a Linnen Cloth before their Faces and to stop their Nostrils leaving only two little holes for their Eyes And that besides they are forc'd every half Hour to drink Milk which they find to be a great Preservative against the piercing Quality of the Dust And that notwithstanding all this caution they yet often find that having been for Nine or Ten Days together employ'd about this Work whatever they spit for a good while is Blueish And He also tells us That one Morning he laid an Egg among the Sisters and when he came to break it in the Evening it was all Blue within Observations concerning the COCONVT-Tree THis Tree when Young is very Tender but as it becomes more lofty so it grows more solid and strong The Body is streight and smooth and in Circumference equals the Wast of a Man at the full growth In height Twelve or Fourteen Foot Round about the top and so a Yard or two down Spring forth many Boughs or Branches but without any Fork in them bâ—sâ—â— very thick wich long and slender Leaves almost of a Sea-Green Colour At the Roots of these Bâ—ughs as low as they grow round about the Head of the Tree grow the COCO NUTS This Nut is at first whilst it is Young of a Green Colour but when they are Ripe they appear outwardly of a Brown or Whitish Brown Colour They are of several sizes some bigger and some less The largest of them are Husk and Rind two Foot in Circumference They are almost Oval and their outer Rind is very tough and thready so fast fixed to the Shell that it is hard to be gotten off This Rind is nigh an Inch thick under which is a rough strong hard Shell some of them Black and some Brown or Yellowish In the top of each of these Shells there are three Holes by which the inner Cavity receiveth a continual supply of Nâ—urishment Just within this Shell sticking close thereto is a Milk-White Kernel about half an Inch thick and the hollow Cavity within the Kernel is full of a thin clear sweet Water or Juice which is as a Viand to them HVGHES's American Physician They grow in Iamaica and in most of the Caribbee-Islands as also in the Islands of Maldiva and other places in the East-Indies But those that grow in the East-Indies seem to be of another kind growing to Forty sometimes Fifty Foot high Amongst other rare Fruits the Island Madagascar hath plenty of those which they call COCOS or COCO-NUTS a kind of Date as big as a Cabbage the Liquor in it about the quantity of a Pint tasts like Wine and Sugar the Kernel big enough to content two Men and like good Ale it affords not only Meat and Drink but Cloathing as also Furniture for their Houses Tackle for their Ships Fuel for the Fire and Timber for Building the Body of the Tree being streight and high and towards the top diversified into many Branches PET. HETLIN Linschoten says that this Tree grows in greater abundance in the Islands of Maldiva than either Olive-Trees in Spain or Willow-Trees in the Low-Countreys He says They grow no where but on the Sea-side or Banks of Rivers and in Sandy Grounds and that they grow not
within the Land That they have no great Root so that a Man would think it impossible for them to have any fast hold within the Earth and yet they stand so fast and grow so high that it makes one afraid to see a Man climb up to the top of them The Question â—eing put to Sir Philiberto Vernatti late Resident in Iava Major whether there be a Tree in Mexico that yields Water Wine Vinegar Oyl Milk Honey Wax Thread and Needles His Answer was The COCO-Tree yields all this and more The Nut while it is Green hath very good Water in it the Flower being cut drops out great Quantity of Liquor called Sury or Taywack which drank fresh hath the force and almost the taste of Wine grown four is very good Vinegar and distill'd makes very good Brandy or Areck The Nut grated and mingled with Water tasteth like Milk pressed yields very good Oyl Bees swarm in these Trees as well as in others Thread and Needles are made of the Leaves and tough Twigs SPRAT's Hist. of the ROYAL SOCIETY Pag. 170. The COCO is one of the most useful Trees in the World Of the Husk or outmost fibrous cover of the Nut all manner of Ropes and Cables are made throughout India Of the Shells the Indians make Ladles Wine-Bottles and many forts of Vessels The inmost Cover next the Kernel while it contains only Liquor they eat with Salt as a very pleasant Food The said Liquor is commonly us'd as a clear sweet and cool Drink Sometimes they cut away the Blossom of the young Nut and binding a convenient Vessel to the place thereby obtain a sweet and pleasant Liquor which they call Sura This standing an hour in the Sun becomes good Vinegar used throughout India The same Distill'd I suppose after Fermentation yieldeth a pretty strong Brandy called Fulo and is the first running The second is called Vraca the only Wine of India Of the same Sura being boil'd and set in the Sun they also make a fort of Brown Sugar which they call Iagra From the Kernel it self when fresh and well stamped they press out a Milk which they always mix and eat with their Rice-Meats Of the Kernel dried called Copra and stamped they make Oyl both to eat and to burn Of the Leaves of the Tree called Olas they make the Sails of their Ships As also Covers for their Houses and Tents and Summer-Hats Of the Wood they make Ships without Nails sewing the several parts together with the Cords made of the Huk of the Nut. GREW's Musaeum REG. SOCIET Pag. 199 200. Observations concerning the CACAO-Tree and its NVT of which CHOCOLATE is made OF these Trees there are several sorts which grow to a reasonable height The Bodies of the largest do usually arrive in bulk although not in tallness to the largeness of our English Plum-Trees They are in every part smooth and the Boughs and Branches thereof extend themselves on every side to the proportion of a well-spread Tree much resembling our HeartCherry-Tree but at its full growth 't is dilated to a greater breadth in compass and is something loftier there is little difference in the Leaves these being pointed but smoother on the Eâ—â—â—s and of a white kind of Pulp that 's agreeable to the Palate By the turning and Sweating their little Strings are broken and the Pulp is imbibed and mingled with the substance of the Nut. After this they are put to dry 3 or 4 Weeks in the Sun and then they become of a Reddish dark Colour as you see and so are Cured What is remarkable in this Fruit is that the Codds grow only out of the Body or great Limbs and Boughs and that at the same time and in the same place there are Blossoms Young and Ripe Fruit. This Tree requires to be shelter'd from the Sun while 't is Young and always from the North-East Winds and to have a fat moist low Soil which makes them to be Planted commonly by Rivers and between Mountains So that 't is ill living where there are good CACAO-Walks In a Years time the Plant comes to be 4 Foot high and hath a Leaf six times as big as an Old Tree which as the Plant grows bigger falls off and lesser come in their place which is another extraordinary Quality of this Tree The Trees are commonly Planted at 12 Foot distance and at 3 years old where the Ground is good and the Plant prosperous it begins to bear a little and then they cut down all or some of the Shade and so the Fruit increases till the 10 th or 12 th Year and then the Tree is supposed to be in its prime How long it may continue so none with us in Iamaica can guess but it 's certain the Root generally shoots out Suckers that supply the place of the old Stock when dead or cut down unless when any ill Quality of the Ground or Air kill both See this Accurate Account of the CACAO Tree given by a very Intelligent Person residing in Jamaica which you may find in the PHILOS TRANS ACT. Numb 93. These Kernels being well pounded as Almonds in a Mortar and mixed with a certain proportion of Sugar and Spices according as the Trader thinks or finds it best for Sale are commonly made up in Cakes or Rowles which are brought over hither from Spain and other parts But those that would have a good Quantity for their own private use had much better procure the NUTS themselves as fresh and new as may be and so prepare and Compound them to their own Constitution and Taste And for those that drink it without any Medicinal respect at Coffee-Houses there is no doubt but that of Almonds finely beaten and mixed with a due proportion of Sugar and Spices may be made as pleasant a Drink as the best CHAWCALATE GREW's Mus. REG. SOC Pag. 205. Dr. Stubbes in the last part of his Observations relating to Iamaica see the Philos. Transact Numb 37. takes notice of the Censure of Simon Paula in his Herbal Pag. 383. against CHOCOLATA and says He cannot forgive him for it being of Opinion that that Liquor if it were well made and taken in a right way is the best Diet for Hypochondriacs and Chronical Distempers for the Scurvy Gout and Stone and Women Lying-in and Children New-Born to prevent Convulsions and purge the Meconium out and many other Distempers that infest Europe but that 't is now rather used for Luxury than Physick and so compounded as to destroy the Stomach and to increase Hypochondriacal Diseases and that we now so Cook it as if it were to be transform'd into a Caudle or Custard The Native Indians seldom or never use any Compounds desiring rather to preserve their Healths than to gratifie and please their Palars until the Spaniards coming amongst them made several Mixtures and Compounds which instead of making CHOCOLATE better as they supposed have made it much worse And many of the English especially those that
know not the Nature of the CACAO do now imitate them For in Iamaica as well as other places when they make it into Lumps Balls Cakes c. they add to the CACAO Paste Chille or Red Pepper Achiote sweet Pepper commonly known by the Name of IamaicaPepper or some or one of them as also such other Ingredients as the place affordeth or as most pleases them that make it or else as the more skillful Persons may think it to agree with this or that Individual Person adding thereto as much Sugar only as will sweeten it First of all drying and beating every Ingredient apart and then at the last mixing them together as it is wrought up into a Mass. HUGHES's American Phisician Iosephus Acosta says that in several places in the West-Indies The CACAW-NUT is so much esteem'd that the Kernels are us'd instead of Money and commonly given to the Poor as Alms And that the Indians are wont to Treat Noble Men with CHACAWLATE as they pass through their Country IOS ACOST Hist. Lib. 4. Cap. 22. Observations concerning THEE or TEA THEE is a Shrub growing in most parts of China and Iapan it arises generally to the height and bigness of our Garden-Rose and Currant-Trees the Roots are Fibrous and spread into many little Filaments near the surface of the Earth the Flowers are like those of Rosa Sylvestris the Seeds round and black which being sow'd come to perfection in three Years time and then yield yearly a Crop but these are little valued the great and only Virtue of this Plant being supposed to consist only in the Leaves of which there are five sorts both as to bigness and valued for the largest at bottom are sold for about one Penny half Penny the Pound but the smallest at the top for Fifty nay sometimes one Hâ—ndred and Fifty Crowâ—s the Pound IOH. NIC. PECâ—LIN De potu THEâ—E This Plant saith the Learned Pechlin abounds with a brisk volatile Salt which he adjudges very agreeable to our Northern Constitutions whose Blood is naturally very heavy and sluggish it carries also with it a sine thinner sort of Oyl but so admirably well tempar'd that as this hinders the Spirit from Evaporating so that corrects the Inflammability of this from whence results the very agreeable latter Aâ—tringent All which together as they rectifie the Ferment of the Blood and at the same time strengthen and confirm the tone of the Parts contribute so much to the assisting of Nature in her Operations as to prevent if not to Cure most Chronical Distempers Because the discreet Choice of a proper Vehicle for this great Panacea may be very material the Learned Author therefore thinks good to shew his dislike of Milk in that it very much obstructs its more lively and quicker parts as always leaving behind it much acidity which how prejudicial to Hypochondriacal Persons is sufficiently obvious He dislikes the Custom they use in Iapan of drinking the Leaves powder'd supposing that it may dry the Body too much In short He concludes warm-Water to be the most Natural and Effectuâ—l Vehicle as being pure and voâ—d of all Saline or other ways pernicious Particles and being more ready to be impregnated with the Virtue hereof which when Armed with this powerful Vegetable Nature easily admits into its obscure Channels and dark Recesses He approves well enough of the use of Sugar as it serves not only to qualifie the bitter taste by its sweetness which at the same time is corrected by the Heat but as being good also for the Kindnies and Lungs He thinks the difference of Constitutions too great to be insisted on and therefore only says this viz. That those of a dryer Habit may take it more diluted because their Salts may more easily be carried off And for the Moister and Hydropical Temper He supposes this Water if more strongly impregnated may make way for the Evacuation of the other As to the Times of taking it He says the more empty the Stomach the passage will be the more easy and therefore in such the more effectual He condemns the use of it after Meals because the Volatiâ—e part flies off before the Meat is any ways digested after which the Concoction is difficulty perform'd because the Ferment as well as the Volatility of the Chyle is suppressed by the Astringent Quality which in those Circumstances oft proves a thing of very pernicious Consequence To conclude our Author notwithstanding all his Encomium's of this Exotick can be content to think we might receive as much benefit from some Plants of our own Growth were People industrious to search after them such as Veronica Lingua Cervina Marrhubium Hepatica Cichoreum and some others which he names PECâ—LIN Ibidem The Physicians of Tunquin in India do mightily admire the Herb TEA which comes from China and Iapan which latter Country produces the best It is brought to them in Tin Pots close stopp'd to keep out the Air. When they would use it they boil a Quantity of Water according to the proportion they intend to use and when the Water seeths they throw a small Quantity into it allowing as much as they can nip between their Thumb and Fore-Finger to a Glass This they prescribe to be drank as hot as they can endure it as being an excellent Remedy against the Head-ach for the Gravel and for those that are subject to the Griping of the Guts but then they order a little Ginger to be put into the Water when it boyls At Goa Batavia and in all the Indian Factories there are none of the Euiâ—â—â—â—â—ns who do not spend above four or five Leaves a day and they are careful to preserve the boil'd Leaf for an Evening Sallad with Sugar Vinegar and Oyl That is accounted the best TEA which colours the Water greenest but that which makes the Water look red is little valued In Iapan the King and great Lords who drink TEA drink only the Flower which is much more wholsome and of a taste much more pleasing But the Price is much different for one of our ordinary â—eâ—â—-Giasses is there worth a French Crown TAVERN of the Kingdom of Tunqin Chap. X. In Iapan there is a Plant called TSIA it is a kind of THE or TEA but the Plant is much more delicate and more highly esteem'd than that of THE' Persons of Quality keep it very carefully in Earthen Pots well stopp'd that it may not take Windâ— but the Iapponneses prepare it quite otherwise than is done in Europe For instead of infusing it into warm Water they beat it as small as Powder and take of it as much as will lye on the point of a Knife and put it into a Dish of Porcelane or Earth full of seething Water in which they slir it till the Water be all green and then drink it as hot as they can endure it It is excellent good after a Debauch it being certain there is not any thing that allays the Vapours and settles the
Coppers are lesser and thicker than the other which the Master-Workman doth always tend with a great deal of care till it be boil'd enough and then they put it into Wooden-Boxes made broad at the top and narrow at the bottom with a hole almost like a Mill-Hopper then they set it in the Curing-House in which there is a place made to set them all in Rows under the bottom of which Gutters or Troughs are placed to receive the Mallassus and convey it into a Vessel They cover the tops of these Boxes or Earthen Vessels with a temper'd white Earth and indeed there is great Art in whitening and making of good SUGAR See HVGHES's American Physician pag. 30 31 32 33 34. The principal Knack without which all their Labour were in vain is in making the Iuice when sufficiently boil'd to Kerne or Granulate Which is done by adding to it a small proportion of Lye made with Vegetable Ashes without which it would never come to any thing by boiling but a Syrup or an Extract But a little of that Fixed Salt serves it seems to Shackle or Chrystallize which is a degree of Fixation a very great quantity of the Essential Salt of this Plant. In reâ—ining the SUGAR the first degree of pureness is effected only by permitting the Molosses to drain a way through a Hole at the bottom of the SUGAR Pots the Pots being all the time open at the top The Second Degree is procur'd by covering the Pots at the top with Clay The reason whereof is for that the Air is hereby kept out from the SUGAR which in the open Pots it hardens before it hath full time to refine by Separation And therefore whereas the first way requires but one Month this requires four The finest SUGAR of all is made with Lime-Waâ—er and sometimes Vrine and Whites of Eggs. That which Dioscorides calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Galen Sacchar and Archigenes Sal Indium is the same thing for substance faith Matthiolus with that we call SUGAR saving that whereas this is made of the Juice expressed and boil'd that of the Ancients as is likely was only the Tears which bursting out of the CANE as the Gums or Milks of Plants are used to do were thereupon harden'd into a pure White SUGAR That the SUGAR of the Ancients was the simple concreted Juice of a CANE he well conjectures But that it was the Juice or Tears of the SUGAR-CANE he proves not Nor I think could be if as is supposed it was like Salt friable and hard And in affirming our SUGAR to be the same for Substance with that of the Anâ—ients he much mistakes that being the simple Juice of the CANE â—his a compounded Thing always mixed either with the Salt of Lime or of Ashes sometimes of Animals too GREW's Mâ—s. Reg. Societ pag. 224 225. In Iamaica the SUGAR cures faster in ten days than in six Months in Barbadoes and this happens in such places as it rains for many Months at the same time but you must know that Rains there are sudden and make no previous Alteration in the Air before they fall nor do they leave it moist afterwards Dr. STVBBES in the PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 36. pag. 705. Observations concerning DIAMONDS THE principal DIAMOND Mines now known are four That of Raolconda in the Kingdom of Visapour discover'd two hundred Years since In this Mine the DIAMONDS lie in sandy Vâ—ins in the Rocks Of all the clearest and of the whitest Water They pound and wash the Vein for the DIAMONDS just as we do some of our Ores for the Metal A second call'd the Gany about seven Days Journey from Golconda found out a hundred Years since They dig here not above fourteen foot deep Sometimes above sixty thousand Men Women and Children are at work It affords the largest DIAMONDS but not clear A Third that of Govel a River in the Kingdom of Bengala The DIAMONDS are found in the Sand of the River for the space of fifty Leagues From hence come those fair pointed Stones called Natural Points but not great The Fourth that of Succadan a River in Borneo But there are none come from thence but by stealth GREW's Mus. Reg. Societ pag. 281 282. There are in the DIAMOND-Rocks of Raolconda several Veins some half a finger some a whole finger-wide And the Miners make make use of Irons with Hooks at the end with which they pick out the Earth or Sand which they put into Tubs and among that Earth they find the DIAMONDS But because these Veins do not run always strâ—ight but sometimes down sometimes upward the Minâ—rs followâ—ng always the trace of the Veins are often constrain'd to break the Rock with great Iron-Leavers and sâ—â—iking with a violent force which often 〈◊〉 the DIAMOND and makeâ— it look like Chrystal Which is the reason there are found so many sofâ— Stones in this DIAMOND-Mine though they make a great shew When they have open'd all the Veins and taken out all the Sand then they wash it two or three times over to look for the DIAMONDS TAVERN Trav. in Inâ—ia Part II. Book II. Chap. xi The Water of those DIAMONDS which are drawn not from the Rock but thâ— Ground commonly partakes of the Colour of the Soil wherein they are found So that if the Earth be clean and somewhat sandy the DIAMONDS will be of a good Water but if it be fat or black or of any other Colour they will have some tincture of it BOYLE of Gems pag. 51. Whereas it is commonly said that as Gold is the heaviest of Metals so Diamonds are the hardest and heaviest of Stones The Honourable Mr. Boyle can by no means agree to this Assertion since as he tells us in his Discourse of GEMS pag. 52. He by his own Experience knows it to be false Boethius in his Treatise De Gemmis Lapidibus affirms that DIAMONDS receive no hurt but are rather mended by the Firâ— Garciâ—s lib. 1. cap. 43. tells us that some DIAMONDS being rubâ—'d will take up Straws just like Amber and other Electrical Bodies And Mr. Boyle in his forementioned Tract of GEMS pag. 109. mentions a DIAMOND of his which with a little friction attracts vigorously And that he had another DIAMOND in his keeping which by Water made a little more than luke-warm He could bring to shine in the Dark Ibidem pag. 112. 'T is the property of all true DIAMONDS to unite the Foyle closely and equally to it self and thereby better augment its Lustre than any other Gem. That which is called the Foyle is a mixture of Mastick and burnt Ivory The latter being one of the blackest of Colours used by Painters for Velvet the Pupil of the Eye c. GREWS's Mus. Reg. Societ pag. 282. Between the Grain and the Vein of a DIAMOND there is this difference that the former furthers the latter being so insuperably hard hinders the splitting of it Altho it seems that a Vein sometimes is nothing else
but a Cross-Grain Our European Jewellers when they split one they take a very small Iron Wyre and having daubed it with Oil and Powder of DIAMONDS draw it upon the DIAMOND by a Tool to and fro like a Saw so long as is needful for that purpose GREW ibidem As foâ— the Water of DIAMONDS it is remarkable that whereas in Europe we make use of Day-light to examine the rough Stones and to judge of their Water and the Specks that are found therein the Indians do all that in the Night-time setting up a Lamp with a large Wiek in a hole which they make in the Wall about a Foot square by the Light whereof they judge of the Water and clearness of the Stone which they hold between their Fingers The Water which they call Celestial is the worst of all and it is impossible to discern it so long as the Stone is rough The most infallible way to find out that Water is to carry the Stone under a Tree thick of â—oughs for by the verdure of that shade you may easily discern whether the Water be blewish or no. TAVERN TRAV in India Part II. Book II. Chap. xii To know the value of DIAMONDS if they be every way perfect Tavernier gives this Rule That if a good DIAMOND weigh one Carat viz. four Grains 't is worth 150 French Livres and then to know how much a good Stone weighing 12 Carats is worth you are to multiply 12 by 12 which makes 144 which Product is to be multiplyed by 150 the price of a Stone of one Carat which will make 21600 Livres the price of a DIAMOND of 12 Carats But if the DIAMOND be not perfect then you are to allow but 80 Livers for a Carat and if such a kind of DIAMOND should weight 15 Câ—rats then multiply 15 by 15 which is 225 and this into 80 makes 18000 Livres the value of that DIAMOND According to which Rule the DIAMOND of the Great Mogol wâ—ighiâ—g 279 and 9 16 th Carats being oâ— a perâ—ect gâ—â—d Water and of a good shape wâ—tâ— only a little flaw in the â—dg of the cutting below which gâ—es â—ound aâ—â—ut the Stone will an â—unt to 11723278 Livres Were it not for that little flaw which is mention'd the first Carat of this DIAMOND wâ—re worth 160 Livres but Tavâ—rnier allowing for that flaw he values the first Carat but at 150 Livres and so he has made his Computation He says that the Great Duke of Tuscany's DIAMOND weighs 139 Carats clean and well-shap'd cut in Facets every way but that in regard the Water inclines somewhat toward the Colour of Citron He does not value the first Carat above 135 Livres so that by the Rule the DIAMOND ought to be worth 2608335 Livres TAVERN ibid. Chap. 15. Observations concerning PEARL IN the first place there is a Fishery for PEARLS in the Persian Gulf round about the Island of Bakren Every one that fishes pays to the King of Persia five Abassi's every Abassi is worth about 18 Sols French Money whether he get any thing or no. The Merchant also pays the King some small matter for every thousand Oysters The second Fishery for PEARLS is right against Bakren upon the Coast of Arabia Felix near the City of Catifa which together with all the Country about it is under the Jurisdiction of an Arabian Prince The PEARLS that are fish'd in these Places are sold to the Indians who as Tavernier informs us are not so nice as we for they give a good price for all as well the uneven as the round ones There is another Fishery for PEARLS in the Sea that beats against the Walls of a great Town call'd Manar in the Island of Ceylan For their roundness and their Water they are the fairest that are found in any other Fishery but they rarely weigh above three or four Carats There are excellent PEARLS and of a very good Water and large which are found upon the Coast of Iapan but there are few fish'd for in regard Iewels are of no esteem among the Natives There are other Fisheries in the West-Indies in the first place all along the Island of Cubagna three Leagues in compass lying ten Degrees and a half of Northern Latitude a hundred and sixty Leagues from Santo Domingo The PEARLS are small seldom weighing above five Carats The second Fishery is in the Island of Margarita or the Island of PEARLS a League from Cubagna but much bigger This Fishery is not the most plentiful but it is the most esteem'd of all those in the West-Indies by reason the PEARLS are of a most excellent Water and very large Tavernier says He sold one Pear-fashion'd to Sha-est-Kan the Great Mogul's Uncle that weighed fifty five Carats The third Fishery is at Camogete near the Continent The fourth at Rio de la Hâ—cha all along the same Coast. The fifth and last at St. Martha's sixty Leagues from Rio de la Hacha All these three Fisheries produce very weighty PEARLS but they are generally ill shap'd and of a Water enclining to the Colour of Lead As for Scotch PEARL and those that are found in the Rivers of Bavaria though a Neck-lace of them may be worth a thousand Crowns yet they are not to be câ—mpar'd with the Eâ—stern and West-Indian PEARLS Some Years since there was a Fâ—shâ—ry discover'd in a certain place upon the Coast of Iapan Tavernier says He has seen some which the Hollanders have brought thence They are of a very good Water and large but very uneven TAVERN Trav. in India Part II. Book II. Chap. xvii Over all Asia they chuse the yellow Water inclining to white for they say those PEARLS that incline somewhat to a Gold Colour are more brisk and never change Colour but that the white ones will change in Thirty Years time through the very heat of the Weather and the Sweat of the Person that wears them turning them scandalously yellow Take this Observation along with you touching the difference of their Waters some being very White others inclining to Yellow others to Black others to a Leaden Colour As for the last there are no such but only in America which proceeds from the Nature of the Earth at the bottom of the Water which is generally more Ouzy than in the East I once met with Six PEARLS in the return of a Cargo from the West-Indies that were perfectly round but black like Iet which weigh'd one with another Twelve Carats I carried them into the East-Indies to put them off but could meet with no Chapman to buy them As for those that incline to Yellow it proceeds from hence that the Fishermen selling the Oysters to the Merchants in heaps while they stay Fourteen or Fifteen Days till the Oysters lose their Water the Oysters wast and begin to smell for which reason the PEARL grows Yellow by Infection which appears to be a Truth in regard that where the Oysters preserve their Liquor the PEARLS are White Now the Reason
Reasons of all which Phoenomena seem to be That this PETRIFIED Wood having lain in some place where it was well soak'd with PETRIFYING Water that is such a Water as is well impregnated with Stony and Earthy Particles did by degrees separate either by Straining and Filtration or perhaps by Praecipitation Cohoesion or Coagulation abundance of Stony Particles from that permeating Water Which Stony Particles having by means of the fluid Vehicle convey'd themselves not only into the Microscopical Pores and so perfectly stop'd them up but also into the Pores which may perhaps be even in that part of the Wood which through the Microscope appears most solid do thereby so augment the Weight of the Wood as to make it above three times heavier than Water and perhaps six times as heavy as it was when Wood Next they hereby so lock up and fetter the parts of the Wood that the Fire cannot easily make them fly away but the Action of the Fire upon them is only able to Char those parts as it were like as a piece of Wood if it be clos'd very fast up in Clay and kept a good while Red-hot in the Fire will by the heat of the Fire be Charr'd and not Consum'd which may perhaps be the Reason why the PETRIFIED Substance appear'd of a blackish Brown Colour after it had been burnt By this intrusion of the Petrified Particles it also becomes hard and friable for the smaller Pores of the Wood being perfectly stuffed up with these Stony Particles the Particles of the Wood have few or no Pores in which they can reside and consequently no Flexion or yielding can be caus'd in such a Substance The remaining Particles likewise of the Wood among the Stony Particles may keep them from cracking and flying as they are very apt to do in a Flint HOOK's Microg Observ. XVII Among the several Kinds of the PETRESCENT Liquors I have observed a sort that is of so fine a Substance and yet of so PETRIFYING a Vertue that it will Penetrate and PETRIFY Bodies of very different Kinds and yet scarce if at all visibly increase their bulk or change their Shape or Colour To which purpose I Remember that I have seen divers Animal and Vegetable Substances so PETRIFIED as scarce at all to be taken notice of by their appearance to have been alter'd by the Operation of the PETRESCENT Liquor I have with Pleasure seen a thin Cream-Cheese turn'd into Stone where the Size Shape and Colour even of the Wrinckles and the blueish Mold which it seems it began to have when the Liquor Invaded it were so well preserv'd that an Hungry Man would not have scrupl'd to have fallen upon it as a good Bit. And as for the Hardness that this PETRESCENT Juice can give to the Body that it Penetrates I shall only tell you that I have had and I think yet have a pretty quantity of Wood PETRIFIED in England which retaining its former Figure and Grain and scarce at all visibly increas'd in Bulk was so very hard that I could make Impressions with it upon Iron and Glass it self and make it strike Fire like an Excellent Flint To which I shall here add that the Stone parts did not suffer the Wood which they had Penetrated to be reduc'd in the Fire either to Ashes or Charcole And I have by me a Lump of Mineral Substances wherein a PETRESCENT Liquor that fills the large Intervals between them is Transparent enough and harder than most Stones as far as we could guess by some tryal of it made by a skilful Ingraver of Gems And to these Instances might be added many others if it did not by these few sufficiently appear that PETRIFICK Agents may insinuate themselves into the Pores of Various Bodies and turn them into Stone without otherwise destroying their Pristine Nature or so much as their Former Figure BOYLE of Gems Pag. 124 125. Where there are PETRESCENT Liquors mingled with common Water there may by divers accidents and particularly an hot Summer a sufficient Discharge be made of the superflous Moisture to make the more disposed parts of the PETRESCENT Liquor to Coagulate and afterwards the Coagulation may be suspended either by the supervening of a Colder Season as Winter or even in Summer it self by a plentiful Rain or the effect of it a Land-Flood which might check the progress of Coalitions by over much diluting the Liquor that might else have turn'd into Stone BOILE ibidem pag. 143. For ought we know in those very Places where now there is nothing to be seen but loose Stones and perhaps Beds of Stone themselves in those very Places I say there may in times past have been PETRESCENT Liquors whether Stagnant or Running For I have in another place shew'd that Earthquakes Inundations of Seas and Rivers Sinkings of Ground Incroachments of the Land on the Water Fiery Eruptions and other such Accidents some related by Authentick Authors and others happening in our own times in places some of which I had the curiosity to see have among other odd Effects been able to dry or choak up Pools and Lakes and to stop and quite divert the course not only of Springs but of Rivers so as to leave no Footsteps of them where they plentifully flow'd before IDEM Ibid. pag. 157. Observations concerning SALT Sâ—veral sorts thereof COmmon SALT is the Coagulum of Sea-Water or of Salt Fountain-Water but that of the Sea is the chief It is purified by Solution Filtration and Coagulation or Crystallization It is to be noted that the artificial SALT of Vegetables and Animals are subject to the same Preparations which common SALT is subject to If the Solution and Crystallization be often repeated this common SALT will at last be sweet The SAL ARMONIAC of the Ancients was a Native SALT which grew in the Lybic Sea unknown to us Ours is a Compound Artificial Volatile SALT boiled from the Ashes of Minerals Vegetables and Animals Salt of Soot common SALT and Sal Gemme The best comes from Venice and Antwerp being very white and pure Among all the SALTS that Nature alone produceth the scarcest but of greatest Vertue is the SALT-AMMONIAC they call it vulgarly ARMONIAC and from that Name conclude that it comes from Armenia but that is not the true name of it but AMMONIAC which in Greek signifies SALT of the Sand and underneath the Sand of the Sea-shore I suppose it is found congeal'd in little pieces by its internal Heat and the continual burning of the Sun baked so much that it is made the bitterest to tast of all kind of SALT Goldsmiths use it more than the Physicians It is one of those they call The four Spirits because the Fire will convert them into Smoak and so they fly away The other three are Quick Silver Sulphur and Salt Peter It hath a particular Property to cleanse and colour Gold and is put into the Composition of that Aqua fortis that dissolves it ALBARO ALONSO BARBA of
Metals Transl. by the Earl of SANDWICH Chap. 8. Iohannes Alphonsus Borellus in his Historia Meteorologia Incendii Aetnoei Ann. 1669. takes particular notice of the great abundance of SAL ARMONIAC that was found in all the holes and vents of the Ground and in the Clefts of Stones And of this SALT He affirms that there had been sublimed for he makes it factitious so great Store that many thousands of Pounds might be gather'd adding that even a whole Year after the Extinction of the Fire in the Mouths of AETNA there were found remaining dâ—vers vents about Catania exhaling store of Smoak which had the like SAL ARMONIAC flicking to the sides and edges of the Stones At this day we have little knowledge of the true NITRE which was anciently made of the Water of the River Nilus although Albertus Magnus saith that in Goselaria there was a Mountain that contained a very rich Mine of Copper and that the Water which issued out at the bottom of it being dried became NITRE We know little also of Aphronitrum which is but as it were the froth of NITRE NITRE is bitterer than Salt but less Salt SALT PETER is the Mean between them two and consists of very dry and subtile parts it grows on the Walls of old Houses and in Stables Cow-Houses Hog-Sties and Dove-Coats it will grow again in the same Earth it was taken out of if that Earth be thrown in heaps and not stirr'd and taken care of or if ordinary Earth be cast up into heaps and water'd with Brackish Water after some Years it will give a great encrease as profitable as Crops of Corn. The use of it in making GunPowder and Aqua Fortis is very well known It is us'd also in the melting of Metals Ibidem Whether the NITRE of the Ancients be of the same Species with the SALT which is commonly known by the name of SALT PETER is variously disputed by very learned Authors amongst the Modern Physicians On the Negative side are Mathiolus and Bellonius the latter of which had the advantage by the opportunity of his Travels in Egypt to have often seen and handled them both and is so positive as to pronounce that in all Christendom there is not one Grain of NITRE to be found unless it be brought from other parts although at the time of his being in Grand Caire which was about the Year 1550 it was so common there as he says that ten Pounds of it would not cost a Moidin Among those that hold the Affirmative the most eminent are Cardan and Longius and it seems the general Vote of Learned Men hath been most favourable to that Opinion by reason that in all Latin Relations and Prescriptions the word NITRUM or HALINITRUM is most commonly used for SALT PETER I have often enquired amongst our London Drugsters for Egyptian NITRE and if I had been so fortunate as to have â—ound any I doubt not but I should have been able to have put an end to that Question by a Demonstration that is by turning the greatest part of it into SALT PETER However the Observations I have made in my own private Experiments and in the Practice of SALT PETER-Men and Refiners of SALT PETER seem to give me sufficient ground to suspect that the confidence of those who hold them to be several SALTS proceedeth chiefly from their being unacquainted with the various 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of SALT PETER in the making and refining of it And also their comparing double refin'd SALT PETER oâ— which Gunpowder is made with the NITRUM and APHRONITRUM describ'd by Pliny in the one and thirtieth Book of his Natural History which indeed is the only tolerable account of that SALT that hath been handed to us from Antiquitâ— where he tells us that APHRONITRUM was Colore penè purpureo and Egyptian NITRE Fuscum Lapidosum HENSHAW of the making of SALT PETER See SPRAT's Hist. of the R. S. pag. 260 261. NITRE is often adulterated by being mixed with common SALT but you may try it by burning for being fir'd upon a red hot Tile or Stone if all fly away it is pure but if any thing remain it is common SALT The Lord Bacon saith that NITRE is a kind of cool Spice in that it bites the Tongue and Palat with Cold just as Spices do with Heat and that NITRE is the only Vegetable which aboundeth with Spirit and yet is Cold. He further tells us that Cattle which drink of NITROUS Water do manifestly grow fat which saith he is a sign of its cold Quality BAC Hist. of LIFE and DEATH It is affirm'd by several that Gunpowder which consisteth principally of NITRE being taken in Drink doth conduce to Valour and therefore 't is often us'd by Mariners and Soldiers just before they are to fight even as the Turks do Opium The greater Part of Africa hath no other SALT but such as is digged out of Quarries and Mines after the manner of Marble or Free Stone being of a White Red and Gray Colour Barbary aboundeth with SALT and Nâ—midia is indifferently furnish'd therewith But the Land of Negros and especially the inner part of Ethiopia is so destitute thereof that a Pound of SALT is there sold for half a Ducat And the People of that Country use not to set SALT upon their Tables but holding a crumb of SALT in their hands they â—ick the same at every morsel of Meat which they put in their Mouths In certain Lakes of Barbary all the Summer time there is fair and white SALT congeal'd or kern'd as namely in divers places near the City of Fez PVRCH. Pilgr Vol. II. pag. 849. The Learned and Ingenious Dr. Brown in his Travels pag. 112. saith That near the City of Eperies in upper Hungary there is a SALT-Mine of great note being an hundred and fourscore Fathoms deep in which are pieces of Salt found of ten thousand Pounds weight The Principal SALT-Mines are in Poland and Calabria In the lesser Poland says Comer in his Description of that Country are some pieces of SALT as big as huge Stones so hard that Houses and even whole Towns are built with them In the Philosophical Transactions we have a Relation concerning the SAL-GEMME Mines in Poland lying within a Mile of Cracovia which Relation was communicâ—ted to Mr. Oldenburg by a curious Gentleman in Germany who some Years since descended himself into those Mines to the depth of 200 Fathoms and was led about in them for the space of three Hours He saith that out of these Mines they dig and cut out three sorts of SALT One is common course and black the Second somewhat siner and whiter the Third very white and clear like Crystal He says the course and black SALT is cut out in great pieces roundish and three Polonian Ells long and one Ell thick which câ—sts from fifty to seventy Polonian Florins In the mean time the Inhabitants of Cracow have a Priviledge whereby a certain
number of Pieces is to be deliver'd to them at the rate of eight such Florins the Piece The great Pieces lie at Cracow about the Streets before the doors of the Citizens as also in the Countrey in the small Towns and Villages and before the â—orts and Houses of the Nobility where the Cattle passing to and fro lick of those SALT Stones which afterwards by Mills and other Engines are ground and beaten small for use These SALT-Works belong to the King of Poland who appoints and maintains the Officers of them and 't is one of his best ROYAL REVENUES amounting to a very considerable Sum. There are no less than a thousand Men that are constantly employ'd in these Mines and he saith There was then a Provision of SALT valued at two Millions He farther says There are in these Works three Horses that stay always below having their Stable and other Necessaries there the Horses after they have been a while under Ground grow blind from the sharpness of the SALT and that all the Three which then Labour'd there were quite blind PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 61. pag. 1099 c. In Iamaica they have a very pretty and easie way for the producing of good SALT which is thus Near the Sea-side they dig a low place as it were a Lough or Pond and pave it very even and with a Sluce let in some of the Sea-water an Inch two Inches or three Inches deep or more and there letting it remain the Sun in a short time turneth it into SALT And if they have occasion to use it quickly they let in the less but if they have a good Stock that they can stay longer then they let in the more for the more is let in the longer will it be e're it become SALT which being done they sweep it up and keep it for use and so let in more And thus are they well provided with SALT to Powder their Beef Pork c. which will not keep sweet otherwiâ—e many hours after it is kill'd HVGHES's American Physitian pag. 35. According to the Quality of the Earth or Ground of the Marish the SALT is made more or less white The Reddish Earth maketh the SALT more Gray the Blueish more white Besides if you let run in a little more Water than you ought the SALT becomes thence more White but then it yields not so much Generally all the Marishes require a fat Earth neither Spungy nor Sandy Unless it rain much the rain-Rain-water does little hurt to the Marish and although it rain a day or a night they do not let the Water which is in the Marish run out the heat of the Sun sufficiently exhaling such Rain-Water Only if it have rain'd very plentifully that day no SALT is drawn for the three or four next following days But if it rain five or six days the People are then necessitated to empty all the Water of the Beds by a peculiar Channel conveighing it into the Sea which Channel cannot be opened but when 't is low Water But 't is very seldom that it rains so long as to constrain them to empty those Beds 'T is Obvious that the hottest Years make the most SALT where yet it is to be noted that besides the heat of the Sun the Winds contribute much to it in regard that less SALT is made in calm than in Windy Weather The West and North-West Winds are the best for this Purpose In the Beds of the Marish where the SALT is made the Water must not be above an Inch and an half deep Each of these Beds is fifteen Foot long and fourteen Foot broad Chiefly care is to be taken that the Earth at the bottom of the Beds mingle not with the SALT This Account was communicated to Mr. Oldenburg by a French Dr. of Physick residing in the Isle of Rhe where Salt is made in a great Quantity As you may finâ— in the PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 51. pag. 1025. SALT is that which gives Ligature Weight and Constitution to things and is the most manifest Substance in all Artificial Composts 'T is SALT which Fertilizes and Renders Egypt so Luxuriously Fruitful after the Inundations of Nile and the Nitrous Grounds of Iamaica and other places which cause so stupendious a growth of Plants and Trees In a Word SALT may be said to have a Dominion almost Monarchical in the great Work of Vegetation being so absolute an Ingredient in all our Dungs and Composts To Conclude you know who have Dignified SALT with the Prerogative of being Nam'd Element-Earth the Vigour and Close of all Things yea the first and last of Elementated Bodies What shall I say Quid Divinum the Original of all Fecundity nor can I say less since there was nor Sacrifice nor Discourse acceptable without it EVELâ—N's Discourse of Earth in several places Pag. 312 313 314. Fol. See an Account of the SALT Springs at Nantwich in Châ—shire by Dr. William Iackson in the PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 53. And of the SALT Waters of Droytwich in Worcester-shire by Dr. Tho. Rastell in the PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 142. And of the SALT Springs in Staffordshire by Dr. Rob. Plot in his Description of that County Observations concerning GOLD THE most perfect of all Inanimate Bodies and the most esteem'd of all Mettals is GOLD universally known and covered by all People It is made of the same Matter aâ—d in the sâ—me Manner as other Mettals are but of parts so pure and perfect and so well compacted together by Decoction that its substance is as it were incorruptible being out of the Power of any of the Elements to be Corrupted or Destroy'd The Fire that consumes all other Mettals only makes GOLD more pure The Air and Water diminish not its Lustre nor can Earth make it Rust or Waste By the Nobleness of its Substance it hath most deservedly obtain'd that Estimation which the World gives it and the Natural Virtue which flows from the admirable Equality of its Composition is the best Medicine against Melancholly and the greatest Cordial to the Hearts of Men which perpetually run after this Avaritious Mettal as the Needle doth after the Loadstone The Virtue ascrib'd to Aurum Potabile to preserve a Body perpetually in Youthfulness without Infirmity together with the Receit of making thereof depends upon the Credit of those Authors who have written concerning the same ALBARO ALONSO BARBA of Mettals Translat by the Earl of Sandwich Chap. 26. GOLD hath the least Variety of Regular Figure in the Ore of any Mettal Because more solid and therefore less wanton than the rest 'T is a rare Specimen mention'd by Georgius de Sepibus which he calls Aurum Ramescens The Ductility of GOLD is admirable One Grain in Leaves is extended to above Fifty Inches Square And one Ounce employ'd in Guilding small Hair-Wyre will be extended to almost an Hundred Miles in lenght as Mr. Boyle hath observ'd The Uses of GOLD for Vessels Coins Armour Garments c. are infinite
Fringe at each end being three Inches more so that the whole was just a Foot in length and the breadth was just half a Foot There were two Proofs of its resisting Fire given at London One before some of the Members of the R. Society privately Aug. 20.1684 when Oyl was permitted to be poured upon it whilst red hot to enforce the Violence of the Fire Before it was put into the Fire this First Tryal it weighed one Ounce Six Drams Sixteen Grains and lost in the burning Two Drams Five Grains The Second Experiment of it was publick before the SOCIETY Nov. 12. following when it weighed as appears by the Iournal of the SOCIETY before it was put into the Fire One Ounce Three Drams 18 Grains Being put into a clear Charcoal Fire it was permitted to continue Red hot in it for several Minutes When taken out though red hot it did not consume a piece of White Paper on which it was laid It was presently Cool and upon weighing it again was found to have lost one Dram Six Grains PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 172. That this LINNEN was very well known to the Ancients beside that of Pliny we have the further Testimony of Caelius Rhodiginus who agrees with the aforesaid Account in Mr. Waites Letter to Dr. Plot placing both the Materials and Manufacture of it in India and Paulus Venetus more particularly in Tartary the Emperour whereof He says sent a piece of it to Pope Alexander It is also mentioned by Varro and Turnebus in his Commentary upon him De lingua Latina And by all of them as a thing inconsumable by Fire In these latter Ages Georg. Agricola tells us that there was a Mantle of this LINNEN at Vereburg in Saxony and Simon Majolus says He saw another of it at Lovain exposed to the Fire Salmuth also acquaints us that one â—odocattarus a Cyprian Knight shew'd it publickly at Venice throwing it into the Fire without scruple or hurt and Mr. Lassells saw a piece of it in the Curious Cabinet of Manfred Septalla Canon of Milan Mr. Ray was shew'd a Purse of it by the Prince Palatin at Heidleberg which he saw put into a Pan of burning Charcoal till it was red hot which when taken out and cool he could not perceive had receiv'd any harm and we are told in the Burgundian Philosophy of a long Rope of it sent from Signior Bocconi to the French King and kept by Monsieur Marchand in the King's Gardens at Paris which tho' steeped in Oyle and put in the Fire is not consumed To which add that we have now seen a piece of this LINNEN pass the fiery Trial both at London and Oxford So that it seems to have been known in all Ages all describing it after the same manner as a thing so insuperable by Fire that it only Cleanses and makes it better Dr. ROB. PLOT in the PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 172. The said Dr. saith that this INCOMBUSTIBLE CLOTH is now of no Mean value even in the Country where made a China Covet that is a piece 23 Inches and three Quarters long being worth 80 Tale that is Thirty Six Pounds Thirteen Shillings and four pence PVRCHAS saith that in Fanfur a Kingdom of Iava in the East-Indies there is a Tree of a great bigness and length the Pitâ— whereof is Meal which they put in water and stir well the lightest dross swimming and the purest settling to the bottom and then the water being cast away they makethere of Paste which tasts just like Barly Bread The Wood of this Tree thrown into water sinks like Tron hereof they make Lances but short for if they were long they would be too heavy for use These they sharpen and burn at the tops which so prepar'd will pierce Armour sooner than if they were made of Iron PVRCH. Pilg. Vol. 3. Pag. â—04 In great Iava they say there is a Tree 〈◊〉 Pith is Iron It is very small â—et runs from the top to the bottom of the Plant. The Fruit that grows on it is not to be pierc'd with Iron IVL. SCALIG Exercit. 181. Sect. 27. In the Island Câ—mbubon there grows a Tree whose Leaves fallen upon the ground do move and creep It hath Leaves like the Mulberry Tree They have on both sides that which looks like two little feet pressed they yield no Liquor If you touch them they flye from you One of them kept eight days in a Dish liv'd and moved as oft as one touch'd it IVL. SCALIG Exercit. 112. The SENSITIVE PLANT is somewhat of this Nature which contracts it self if any one puts his hand to it and if you pull back your hand it recovers it self again Observations concerning MOVNTAINS SOme have thought that MOUNTAINS and all other Irregularities in the Earth have rise from Earthquakes and such like Causes Others have thought that they came from the Vniversal Deluge yeâ— not from any Dissolution of the Earth that was then but only from the great agitation of the Waters which broke the ground into this rude and unequal Form Both these Causes seem to me very incompetent and insufficient Earthquakes seldom make MOUNTAINS they often take them away and sink them down into the Caverns that lie under them Besides Earthquakes are not in all Countries and Climats as MOUNTAINS are for as we have observ'd more than once there is neither Island that is Original nor Continent any where in the Earth in what Latitude soever but hath MOUNTAINS and Rocks in it And lastly what probability is there or how is it credible that those vast Tracts of Land which we see fill'd with MOUNTAINS both in Europe Asia and Africa were rais'd by Earthquakes or any Eruptions from below In what Age of the World was this done and why not continued As for the Deluge I douâ—t not but MOUNTAINS were made in the time of the General Deluge that great Change and Transformation of the Earth happen'd then but not from such Causes as are pretended that is the bare rowling and agitation of the Waters For if the Earth was smooth and plain before the Flood as they seem to suppose as well as we do the Waters could have little or no power over a smooth Surface to tear it any way in pieces no more than they do a Meadow or low Ground when they lie upon it for that which makes Torrents and Land Floods violent is their fall from the MOUNTAINS and high Lands which our Earth is now full of but if the Rain fell upon even and Level Ground it would only sadden and compress it there is no possibility how it should raise MOUNTAINS in it And if we could imagine an Vniversal Deluge as the Earth is now constituted it would rather throw down the Hills and MOUNTAINS than raise new ones or by beating down their Tops and loose parts help to fill the Valleys and bring the Earth nearer to evenness and plainness Seeing then there are no hopes of Explaining the Origin of MOUNTAINS
either from particular Earthquakes or from the General Deluge according to the common notion and Explication of it these not being Causes answerable to such vast Effects let us try our Hypothesis again which hath made us a Channel large enough for the Sea and room for all Subterraneous Cavities and I think will find us Materials enough to raise all the MOUNTAINS of the Earth We suppose the great Arch or Circumference of the first Earth to have fallen into the Abyss at the Deluge and seeing that was larger than the Surface it fell upon 't is absolutely certain that it could not all fall flat or lie under the Water Now as all those parts that stood above the Water made dry Land or the present Habitable Earth so such parts of the dry Land as stood higher than the rest made Hills and MOUNTAINS and this is the first and General Account of them and of all the Inequalities of the Earth THO. BVRNET's Theory of the Earth Lib. 1. Cap. XI The Height of MOUNTAINS compar'd with the Diameter of the Earth is not considerable but the Extent of them and the Ground they stand upon bears a considerable proportion to the Surface of the Earth And if from Europe we may take our Measures for the rest I easily believe that the MOUNTAINS do at least take up the Tenth part of the Dry Land Ibidem The Height of the highest MOUNTAINS doth bear no greater a proportion to the Diameter of the Earth than of the Sixteen Hundred and Seventieth part to the whole supposing the Diameter of the Earth to be Eight Thousand Three Hundred Fifty Five Miles as Pet. Gassendus computes both And it is more than probable that Men have been exceedingly mistaken as to the height of MOUNTAINS which comes so far short of Sir Walter Raleigh's Computation of Thirty Miles that the Highest MOUNTAIN in the World will not be found to be Five direct Miles in height taking the Altitude of them from the plain they stand upon Olympus whose Height is so extoll'd by the Poets and Ancient Greeks that it is said to exceed the Clouds yet Plutarch tells us that Xenagoras measur'd it and found it not to exceed a Mile and a half perpendicular and about 70 paces Much about the same height Pliny saith that Dicaearchus found the Mountain Pâ—lion to be The Mount Athos is suppos'd of extraordinary height because it casts its shadow into the Isle of Lemnos which according to Pliny was 87 Miles yet Gassâ—ndus allows it but Two Miles in height but Isaac Vossius in a Learned Discourse concerning the height of MOUNTAINS in his Notes on Pomponius Mela does not allow above 10 or 11 Furlongs at most to the Height of Mount Athos Cancasus by Ricciolus is said to be 51. Miles in height Gassendus allowing it to be higher than Athos or Olympus yet conceives it not above three or four Miles at most but Vossius will not yield it above Two Miles perpendicular for which he gives this very good Reason Polibius affirms there is no MOUNTAIN in Greece which may not be ascended in a Days time and makes the highest MOUNTAIN there not to exceed Ten Furlongs Which saith Vossius it is scarce possible for any one to reach unless he be a Mountainer born any other will scarce be able to ascend above Six Furlongs perpendicular for in the Ascent of a MOUNTAIN every pace doth reach but to an hands breadth perpendicular but if we do allow Eight Furlongs to a Days Ascent yet thereby it will appear that the Highest MOUNTAINS in the World are not above Twenty four Furlongs in height since they may be ascended in Three Days time And it is affirmed of the top of Mount Caucasus that it may be ascended in less than the compass of three Days and therefore cannot be much above two Miles in height Which may be the easier believ'd of any other Mountain when that which is reputed the highest of the World viz. the Pike of Teneriffe which the Inhabitants call Pica de Terraria may be ascended in that compass of time viz. Three Days For in the Months of Iuly and August which are the only Months in which Men can ascend it because all other times of the Year Snow lies upon it although neither in the Isle of Teneriffe nor any other of the Canary Islands there be Snow ever seen the Inhabitants then ascend to the top of it in Three Days time which top of it is not Pyramidal but plain from whence they gather some Sulphureous Stones which are carried in great quantities into Spain So that according to the proportion of Eight Furlongs to a Days journey this Pike of Teneriffe will not exceed the Height of a German Mile perpendicular as Varenius confesseth than which he thinks likewise that no Mountain in the World is higher For what Pliny speaks of the Alpes being Fifty Miles in height must be understood not perpendicular but in regard of the Obliquity of the Ascent of it so that he might account so much from the Foot of the Alpes to the top of them and yet the Alpes in a perpendicular Line not come near the Height of a German Mile STILLING FLEET 's Orig. Sacr. Lib. 3. Cap. 4. pag. 544 c. Mr. Muraltus of Zurich in a Letter to Mr. Haak a Fellow of the R. S. concerning the Icy MOUNTAINS of Helvetia call'd the GLETSCHER gives him this Account The Highest ICY MOUNTAINS of Helvetia about Valesia and Augusta in the Canton of Bern about Paminium and Tavetsch of the Rhaetians are always seen cover'd with Snow The Snow melted by the heat of the Summer other Snow being faln within in a little while after is hardned into ICE which by little and little in a long tract of time depurating it self turns into a Stone not yielding in hardness and clearness to Crystal Such Stones closely joyned and compacted together compose a whole MOUNTAIN and that a very firm one though in Summer time the Country People have observ'd it to burst asunder with great cracking Thunder-like Which is also well known to Hunters to their great cost for as much as such Cracks and Openings being by the Winds cover'd with Snow are the Death of those that pass over them PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 49. Monsieur Iustel in an Enlargement upon this very Subject says that the ICY-MOUNTAIN call'd the GLETSCHER is very high and extends it self every year more and more over the Neighbouring Meadows by increments that make a great noise and cracking There are great Holes and Caverns which are made when the ICE bursts which happens at all times but especially in the Dog-days Hunters do there hang up their Game they take during the great heat to make it keep sweet by that means Very little of the Surface melts in Summer and all freezes again in the Night When the Sun shineth there is seen such a variety of Colours as in a Prism There is such another MOUNTAIN near
Geneva and upon the Alps. A certain Capucin told Monsieur Iustel that he had been upon the highest of these MOUNTAINS with a Trader in Crystal who having driven his hammer into one of these Rocks and sound it hollow and resonant made a hole into it and thence drew forth a Substance like Talk which to him was a sign there was Crystal After which he made a great hole with Gunpowder and found Rock-Crystal in it PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 100. I have had the Curiosity to enquire of more than one Traveller that had Visited the Famous Pico of Tenariâ— at whose upper part there are found scatter'd parcels of Sulphur and divers manifest Tokens of a Vulcan whether the Sulphureous Steams that I suppos'd to be copious near the top of the Mountain did not work upon the Silver they had in their Pockets and discolour it To which he answer'd that 't was no uncommon Observation to find at Mens return from visiting the top of the Hill that the Money they carried about them was blackn'd and that he himself had particularly observ'd it to be so Which might easily gain Credit with me who have divers times made a Preparation of Sulphur which even in the Cold sends out exhalations so penetrant that having for Tryals sake put some pieces of Coyn which ought not to be Golden into a Leather Purse they were able and that not in very many Minutes to discolour manifestly the Money in spight of the interposition of the Purse that contain'd it But I had a more considerable instance of the Efficacy of the Sulphureous Expirations of the Pico of Tenariâ— by a Sober Person that is one of the Chiâ—f Directors of the Famous East-India Company of London who being question'd by me about some Circumstances of his Journey to visit the top of that stupendious MOUNTAIN answered me that among other Effects the Sulphureous Air had upon â—im who is of a very fine Complexion he found at his return to the bottom that his light-colour'd hair had manifestly changed colour and was in many places grown sorked at the ends ROB. BOYLE's Experim Disc. of the Insalubr and Salubrity of the Air pag. 31 32. Though there are some who think MOUNTAINS to be a desormity to the Earth as if they were either beat up by the Flood or else cast up like so many heaps of Rubbish left at the Creation yet if well consider'd they will be found as much to conduce to the Beauty and Conveniency of the Vniverse as any of the other parts Nature saith Pliny purposely framed them for many excellent uses partly to tame the violence of greater Rivers to strengthen certain joynts within the Veins and Bowels of the Earth to break the force of the Seas inundation and for the safety of the Earths Inhabitants whether Beasts or Men. That they make much for the protection of Beasts the Psalmist testifies The Highest Hills arâ— a refuge for the Wild Goats and the Rocks for Conies The Kingly Prophet had likewise learnt the safety of those by his own experience when He also was fain to make a MOUNTAIN his Resuge from the sury of his Master Saul who Persecuted him in the Wilderness True indeed such Places as these keep their Neighbours poor as being most barren but yet they preserve them safe as being most strong witness our Unconquer'd Wales and Scotland whose greatest protection hath been the natural strength of their Country so fortified with MOUNTAINS that these have always been unto them sure reâ—reats from the Violence and Oppression of others Wherefore a good Author doth rightly call them Natures Bulwarks cast up at God Almighty's own Charges the scorns and curbs of Victorious Armies which made the Barbarians in Curtius so conâ—ident of their own safety when they were once retir'd to an inaccessible MOUNTAIN that when Alexander's Legate had brought them to a Parley and perswading them to yield told them of his Masters Victories what Sâ—as and Wildernesses he had passed They replied that all that might be but could Alexander flye too Over the Seas he might have Ships and over the Land Horses but he must have Wings before he could get up thither Such safety did those Barbarous Nations conceive in the MOUNTAINS whereunto they were retired Certainly then such useful parts were not the effect of Man's Sin or produced by the Worlds Curse the Flood but rather at the first Created by the Goodness and Providence of the Almighty WILKIN's World in the Moon pag. 114 115 116. It may be objected that the present Earth looks like a heap of Rubbish and Ruines and that there are no greater Examples of Confusion in Nature than Mountaiâ— singly or jointly considered and that there appear not the least footsteps of any Art or Counsel either in the Figure and Shape or Order and Disposition of MOUNTAINS and ROCKS Wherefore is is not likely they came so out of God's hands who by the Ancient Philosophers is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and to make all things in Number Weight and Measure To which I answer that the present â—ace of the Earth with all its MOUNTAINS and Hills its Promontories and Rocks as rude and deformed as they appear seems to me a very beautiful and pleasant Object and with all that variety of Hills and Valleys and Inequalities sat more grateful to behold than a perfectly level Countrey without any rising or protuberancy to terminate the Sight As any one that hath but seen the Isle of Ely or any the like Countrey must needs acâ—nowledge Neither is it only more pleasant to behold but more commodious for habitation which is so plain that I need not spend time to prove it Secondly A Land so distinguished into MOUNTAINS Valleys and Plains is also most convenient for the Entertainment of the various sorts of Animals which God hath Created some whereof delight in Cold some in Hot some Moist and Watery some in dry and upland Places and some of them could neither find nor gather their proper food in different Regions Some Beasts and Birds we find live upon the highest tops of the Alps and that all the Winter too while they are constantly cover'd with Snow as the Ibex and Rupicapra or Chamois among Quadrupeds and Lagopus among Birds Thirdly The MOUNTAINS are most proper for the putting forth of Plants yielding the greatest variety and the most Luxuriant sort of Vegetables for the maintenance of the Animals proper to those places and for Medicinal Uses partly also for the Exercise and Delight of such ingenious Persons as are addicted to search out and collect those Rarities to Contemplate and Consider their Forms and Natures and to admire and Celebrate the Wisdom of their Creator Fourthly All manner of Metals Minerals and Fossils if they could be generated in a level Earth of which there is some question yet should they be Dug or Mined for the Delss must necessarily be so slown with water which to drive and rid away no Adits or
are striving in the Womb of Nature when her Throes are coming upon her And that these Caverns where the Vapours lie are very large and capocious we are taught sometimes by sad Experience for whole Cities and Countries have been swallow'd up into them as Sodom and Gomorrah and the Region of Pentapolis and several Cities in Greece and in Asia and other parts Whole Islands also have been thus absorpt in an EARTHQUAKE the pillars and props they stood upon being broken they have sunk and saln in as an House blown up I am also of Opinion that those Islands that are made by divulsion from a Continent as Sicily was broken off from Italy and great Britain as some think from France have been made the same way that is the Isthmus or Necks of Land that joyn'd these Islands with their Continents before have been hollow and being either worn by the Water or shak'd by an EARTHQUAKE have sunk down and so made way for the Sea to overflow them and of a Promontory to make an Island For it is not at all likely that the Neck of Land continu'd standing and the Sea overflow'd it and so made an Island for then all those Passages between such Islands and their respective Continents would be extreamly shallow and unnavigable which we do not find them to be Nor is it any more wonder if such a Neck of Land should fall than that a Mountain should sink or any other Tract of Land and a Lake rise in its place which hath often happen'd Plato supposeth his Atlantis to have been greater than Asia and Africa together and yet to have sunk all into the Sea whether that be true or no I do not think it impossible that some Arms of the Sea or Sinus's might have had such an Original as that and I am very apt to think that for some Years after the Deluge till the Fragments were well settled and adjusted great alterations wou'd happen as to the Face of the Sea and the Land many of the Fragments would change their posture and many would sink into the Water that stood out before the props failing that bore them up or the Joynts and Corners whereby they lean'd upon one another and thereupon a new Face of Things would arise and a new Deluge for that part of the Earth Such removes and interchanges I believe would often happen in the first Ages after the Flood as we see in all other Ruines there happen lesser and Secondary Ruines after the first till the parts be so well pois'd and settled that without some violence they scarce change their posture any more But to return to our EARTHQUAKES and to give an instance or two of their Extent and Violence Pliny mentions one in the Reign of Tiberius Caesar that struck down Twelve Cities of Asia in one Night And Fournier gives us an Account of one in Peru that reach'd Three Hundred Leagues along the Sea-Shore and Seventy Leagues Inland and levell'd the Mountains all along as it went threw down the Cities turn'd the Rivers out of their Channels and made an Universal havock and Confusion And all this â—e saith was done within the space of Seven or Eight Minutes There must be dreadful Vaults and Mines under that Continent that gave passage to the Vapours and liberty to play for Nine Hundred Miles in length and above Two Hundred in breadth Asia also hath been very subject to these Desolations by EARTH-QUAKES and many parts in Europe as Greece Italy and others The Truth is our Cities are built upon Ruines and our Fields and Countries stand upon broken Arches and Vaults and so does the greatest part of the outward Frame of the Earth and therefore it is no wonder if it be often shaken there being quantities of Exhalations within these Mines or Cavernous passages that are capable of rarifaction and inflâ—mation and upon such Occasions requiring more room they shake or break the Ground that covers them THO. BVRNET's Theory of the Earth Pag. 119 120 121. Many have written of the Causes of these dreadful Effects of Nature of these Tremblings and Shiverings of the Earth or rather Aguish shaking Fits whereunto we find her Body is as subject as the Body of Men or Lions who are observ'd to have their Montâ— Paroxisines The Babilonian Philosophers think the Cause of these impetuous Motions happeneth by the force of some Planet meeting with the Sun in the Region of the Earth Others hold it to be a Vapour a long time engendring in some Concavities of the Earth and restrain'd from Sallying forth into the Air Others affirm that it is a Wind penn'd up in the Entrails of the Earth Pliny says that the Earth never quaketh but when the Sea is very Calm and the Air so still and clear as the Birds can hardly bear themselves up and that the Winds are then shut up in the Bowels of the Earth their improper Sâ—ation He addeth further that an EARTHQUAKE is nothing else but as Thunder in the Air or an overture and Crevice in the Earth or as Lightning breaking forth violently and making irruptions from the midst of the Clouds the Wind inclos'd therein and struggling to come forth by force The Stoicks speak of divers Sorts of EARTHQUAKES that cause the gapings of the Earth the swellings of the Water and bolling of the same a horrid confus'd Sound commonly proceedeth and accompanieth this Quaking sometimes like to the roaring of a Bull sometimes to the lamentable Cry of some Humane Creature or like the Clattering of Armour according to the quality of the Matter which is inclos'd or according to the Form of the Cave and Hole or SPELUNCA through which it passeth which resounds in Vaulty and hollow places It waxeth hot in sharp and dry places and causeth defluxions in those that are moist and humid Now amongst all EARTHQUAKES the Agitation of the Waters is most dangerous for Lightning is not so hurtful nor the shaking of Buildings or when the Earth is pusâ—'d up or falleth down by an interchangeable Motion because the one keepeth back the other The safest Buildings are those upon Vaults the Corners of Walls and on Bridges leaning one against another beside Brick Buildings are less dangerous in such Accidents Your skilful Navigators can foretel these EARTHQUAKES at such time as they pâ—rceive the Waves to swell on a sudden without a Wind and likewise those on Land may also foretel them when they behold Birds in a maze to stay their flight or when Waters in Wells are troubled more than ordinary having a bad unsavoury smell All these are Presages of such hidious Motions Pherecydes the Syrian drawing Water out of a Well â—oretold an EARTHQUAKE and so did Anaximander Milesius And the truest Signs are either when the Wind blows not Or when the Sea and Region of the Air are Calm for an EARTHQUAKE never happeneth when the Wind blows or the Sea swells IAMES HOWELL's Hist. of Venice Pag. 75 76. If we may Credit
will not believe this Account should have the same Confirmation which I had If there be any thing in it worth your notice it may engage me hereafter to recollect some more Particulars In all things I shall endeavour to assure you that I am c. Were it not sufficient that a Relation much of this Nature was presented to his Majesty and that the Ship after it return'd lay at Anchor a long time in the River of Thames not without Signal Marks of the HURRICANE I might have been scrupulous enough to have desir'd the Subscriptions of several others who could atâ—est the Truth of this Narrative I should only wish that some of those Reflections which the Ingenious Captain is pleas'd to make upon this Occasion were enquir'd into by those who live in any of the Caribbe-Islands Whether the HURRICANES of the NEW-MOON begin constantly by Night and those at the Full in the Day Which would be remarkable tho' I never remember to have met with the like Observation in any other Description However wâ— can by no means exclude the Operations of this Influential Planet which has a very great Dominion over both the Winds and Tydes whether from its Pressure or by what means soever it produces these Effects Some have thought that the MOON has an Atmosphere of its own and sends out Effluvium's to the Neighbouring World and therefore acts more powerfully in the Perigaeum when it approaches nearest the Earth That wonderful Light which appear'd during this HURRICANE might be from the Collision of the Lucid Salts with which the sea-Sea-Water is so deeply impregnated Light happily being nothing else but the Motion of some Subtil Matter Not only the Winds but the Currents are observ'd to change and run round in Eddys before the beginning of the Tempest It 's likewise esteem'd a sure Prognostique that the Birds led by an instinct of Nature come down before hand in Flocks from the Mountains to secure themselves in the Vallies against the injury of the Weather I believe there might be excellent use made of the Barometer for predicting of HURRICANES and other Tempests especially at Sea since I am credibly inform'd that a Person of Quality who lives by the Sea-side though happily there may not be so considerable Alterations in the gravity of the Atmosphere far off at Land can by the Barometer almost infallibly foretel any great Tempest for several Hours before it begins I find no mention of Salt Rains in any of the English Narratives but the most Inquisitive of the French and Dutch have reckon'd it as a very infallible Presage that the Rain which falls a little before is bitter and Salt as the Sea-Water Which happily may argue a Collection of some Saline and Sulphureous Spirits in the Regions of the Air that encountring each other may by their violent Displosion be principally concern'd in the Production of HURRICANES R. BOHVN Ibid. Dr. Stubbes says that he had enquir'd of some that had been in HURRICANES if it were so Cold then as Vincent le Blanc relates it They said they had not found it to be so Cold but yet in Comparison of other times it was much colder then He also enquired of the Nature of those Tempests whether the Wind varied all the Points of the COMPASS as 't is said They answer'd No but it began always with a North-Wind and when it came EAST it ceas'd But betwixt the NORTH and EAST-Point it varied so fast and with such a violent Gust always that it was impossible for any Ship in the Water to answer the Veering of the Wind. PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 36. Pag. 706. Observations concerning the TORNADOS THe TORNADOS are variable Winds call'd in the Portugal Language TRAVADOS but most significantly by the Greeks ECNAPHIAS from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Nubes for their surest Prognostique is a Thick Cloud suddenly rising above the Horizon which is easily visible in those Countries where the Air is generally defecate and serene The Cloud for its smalness at first was call'd Olho de Boy the Bull 's Eye yet this from so insensible a beginning diffuses it self by degrees and at last covering the whole Face of the Heavens with a Canopy of Darkness causes horrible Storms Thunder and Lightning swells the raging Seas up to the Clouds which pour them down in Deluges of Rain falling rather in huge Cascades and by Buckets-full than Drops sometimes together with Hailstones of prodigious bulk So variable and unsteady are the TORNADO-Winds so little obliged to any certain Law that they commonly shift all the Points of the Compass in the space of an hour blowing in such sudden and impetuous Gusts that a Ship which was ready to overset on one side is no less dangerous assaulted on the other sometimes they shift without intermission and otherwhile they blow in Starts so that you shall have a perfect Calm between every puff Let a Fleet of Ships sail as near as they can without falling foul on each other and they shall have several and contrary Winds You shall be allarm'd with many of them in the same Day most towards the Coasts of Africk for half an hour or three quarters at a time And were they equally lasting as impetuous few would be invited thither by the Guiny Gold or venture to cross the Line for the richest Merchandise of the East Our Sea-Men commonly meet with the TORNADOS from the 10 th sometimes the 11 th and 12 th Degree of Northern Latitude likewise in the Tropick of Capricorn near the Promontory of Cape Bon â—sperance where the Fatal Cloud rises as only a small Spot in the Air and then displays it self spreading like a Carpet or'e the top of the Mountain which the Sea-Men espying though in the Calmest Weather immediately furle their Sails and provide for the ensuing Storm that not long after descends 〈◊〉 Lightning and Winds being the more terrible because it begins with the utmost Fury at first and the Changes of the Points sudden as the twinckling of an Eye You shall have a treacherous Calm a dreadful Tempest and in an hours space the Sky clear again and the Sea Smooth as Glass The Portuguese in their Discoveries of the Oriental Indies lost Nine Ships out of Twelve which was overset by the Prodigious Impetuosity of these sudden Gusts But we seldom hear of such Disasters now adays our Seamen being more expert to govern themselves in these Dangerous Attacks and always jealous of Surprize in the African Seas For the nearer you are to the Coasts of Africk as was observ'd by an Inquisitive Traveller of late in the Philosophical Transactioâ—s Numb 50. Pag. 1004. so much more dreadful is the Thunder and Rain but the further Westward you go the Thunder and Rain will be less and the Winds not so uncertain so that if you go as far West as the Meridian of the East side of Brasile there is little Thunder neither doth the Wind come down in such sudden Puffs and Flaws
but between the 4 and 8 Degree it is most inclin'd to Calms and thick Foggs and the Rains come not in such dangerous Showers I have not only consulted the most Experienc'd of our Sea-Men from whom I had information in these Particulars but I find that many others both English and Forreigners have in their Travels given uâ— Descriptions of the TORNADOS which would be Superfluous to recite I shall only add a Relation out of Sir Thomas Roe in his East-India Voâ—age to confirm the precedent Discourses These TORNADO Blasts were so variable that sometimes within the space of an hour all the several Winds of the Compass will blow so that â—f there be many Ships in Company you shall have them Sail so many several ways and every one of them seem to go directly before the Wind. These strange Gusts came with much Thunder and Lightning and extreme Rain so noisome that it made their Cloaths who stirr'd much in it to stink upon their Backs and the Water of these Hot and Unwholsome Showers would presently bring forth Worms and other offensive Animals The TORNADOS met with us when we were about Twelve Degrees of N. Latitude and kept us Company till Two Degrees Southward of the Aequinoctial This ECNEPHIAS not only visits the Coasts of Malaguta and Guiny producing vehement Gusts of Wind and Rain but reaches as far as Terra de Natal lying to the East-North-East towards St. Lawrence and at Cape Gardafui near the entrance of the Arabian Gulf it infests those parts in May as was collected by Varenius from the Dutch Iournals In the Sea towards the Kingdom of Loango and that part of the Aethiopique Ocean the TORNADOS are most frequent in Ianuary February and March On the Shores of Guiny when no other Winds blow in those Climats and within Five Six or Seven Degrees of the Aequinoctial they reign in April May and Iune which is the time of their Rains and in other parts of Africk they observe other Months For they have not only Etesian Winds but Anniversary Tempests in some Seas Yet to be fuller satisfied in the History of this Ecnephias I address'd my self to Mr. George Cock of Greenwich a Gentleman of a Generous and Communicative Temper who being interested in the Royal Company is well vers'd in all Occurrences of the African Trade and at my request procur'd me this following Account of the TORNADOS on the Coast of Guiny from a Person long employ'd in their Service The place of the TORNADOS rising is E. N.E to the N.N.E. they frequently give 2 or 3 hours notice of then coming by a thick black Cloud gather'd in the Horison with much Thunder and Lightning Sometimes the Wind comes first very â—orceable and then a great quantity of Rain otherwhile the Rain begins and is follow'd by a Tempestuous Wind. At this Season the Blacks count it good Planting Corn or Roots They make the Air very clear â—o that a Man may see 5 times further than before I my self lying at Anchor in the River have seen the Isle of Princes at least Six Leagues up when before I could not see the Isle of Fernando do Poâ— During the TORNADOS it's exceeding Cold insomuch that the Natives and other Inhabiâ—â—nts are very sensible of it for the time Their Continuance is about an Hour or two Hours at most I lately made enquiries of several Ships that during the Winter Months never met with any TORNADOS all the way from Brasile They being most violent when the Sun is near their Zenith and in the time of their Rains when the Air is Moist and affords greater Quantities of Flatulent Vapours R. BOHVN of the Origine and Properties of Wind Pag. 235. c. Observations concerning ISLANDS WE must in the first place distinguish between Original Islands and Factitious Islands Those I call Factitious that are not of the same Date and Antiquity with the Sea but have been made some at one time some at another by accidental Causes as the Aggestion of Sands and Sandbeds or the Sea leaving the tops of some shallow places that lie high and yet flowing about the lower Skirts of them These make sandy and plain ISLANDS that have no high Land in them and are but mock-ISLANDS in Effect Others are made by divulsion from some Continent when an Isthmus or the Neck of a Promontory running into the Sea sinks or falls in by an Earthquake or otherwise and the Sea entring in at the gap passeth through and makes that Promontory or Country become an ISLAND Thus the ISLAND Sicily is suppos'd to have been made and all Africa might be an ISLAND if the Isthmus between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea should sink down And these ISLANDS may have Rocks and Mountains in them if the Land had so before Lastly there are ISLANDS that have been said to rise from the bottom of the Sea History mentions such in both the Archipelago's Aegean and Indian and this seems to argue that there are great Fragments or Tracts of Earth that he loose at the bottom of the Sea or that are not incorporated with the Ground But besides these ISLANDS and the several Sorts of them there are others which I call Original because they could not be produc'd in any of the forementioned ways but are of the same Origin and Antiquity with the Channel of the Sea and such are the generality of our ISLANDS They were not made of heaps of Sands nor torn from any Continent but are as Ancient as the Continents themselves Namely ever since the Deluge the common Parent of them both Nor is there any difficulty to understand how ISLANDS were made at the Dissolution of the Earth any more than how CONTINENTS were made for ISLANDS are but lesser CONTINENTS or CONTINENTS greater ISLANDS and according as CONTINENTS were made of greater Masses of Earth or greater Fragments standing above the Water so ISLANDS were made of less but so big always and in such a posture as to bear their tops above the Water Yet though they agree thus far there is a particular difference to be taken notice of as to their Origin â—or the CONTINENTS were made of those three or four primary Masses into which the falling Orb of the Earth was divided but the ISLANDS were made of the Fractures of these and broken off by the fall from the Skirts and Extremities of the CONTINENTS we noted before that when those great Masses and primary Fragments came to dash upon the Abysse in their fall the sudden stop of the Motion and the weighty Bulk of the descending Fragment broke off all the Edges and Extremities of it which Edges and Extremities broken off made the ISLANDS And accordingly we see that they generally lie scatter'd along the sides of the Continents and are but Splinters as it were of those greater Bodies 'T is true besides these there were an infinite Number of other pieces brake off that do not appear some making Rocks under Water some shalâ—ows and
to grow up to a Tree This Bird is shap'd like a Cuckoo and the Dutch prohibite their Subjects under pain of Death to kill any of them THEVENOT's Trav. into the Indies Pag. 109. 'T is to be Noted that the Oyl of Mace or NUTMEGS by Expression is the Ground Foundation and Body of all Great Nâ—ble and Generous Artificial Balsoms As for Example if to Oyl of Mace or NUTMEGS by Expression you add a small proportion of Oyl of CINNAMON you then have Balsam of CINNAMON c. The best NUTMEGS are those which are fresh heavy fat and which when pricked force out Oyl Observations concerning PEPPER THere are divers sorts of PEPPER viz. Black White and Long PEPPER The Black is the commonest The Plant that beareth the Black PEPPER groweth up like a Vine among Bushes and Brambles where it naturally grows but where it is manur'd it is Sown at the bottom of some Tree where it climbs up to the top The Leaves are few in Number growing at each joint one first on one side of the Stalk then on the other like in shape to the long undivided Leaves of Ivy but thinner and broader The Plant that bears White PEPPER is not to be distinguish'd from the other but only by the Colour of the Fruit no more than a Vine that beareth Black Grapes from that which bringeth White And by some it is thought that the self same Plant does sometimes change it self from Black to White The Tree that beareth long PEPPER is quite different from the Two former and grows in another Country It is much hotter than the common ' Black PEPPER yet sweeter and of better taste GERRARD's Herbal Tavernier says there are two sorts of PEPPER one is very small another sort much bigger both which sorts are distinguish'd into Small and Great PEPPER The larger sort comes from the Coast of Malavare and Tuticorin and Calicut are the Cities where it is brought up Some of this PEPPER comes from the Territories of the King of Visapour being vended at Rejapour a little City in that Kingdom The Hollanders that purchase it of the Malavares do not give Money for it but several sorts of Commodities in Exchange as Corten Opium Vermilion and Quick-Silver and this is the PEPPER which is brought into Europe As for the little PEPPER that comes from Bantam Afchen and some other parts toward the East there is none of it carried out of Asia where it is spent in vast quantities especially among the Mahumetans For there are double the Grains of Small PEPPER in one pound to what there are of the Great PEPPER besides that the Great PEPPER is hotter in the Mouth TAVERN of the Commodities of the Dominions of the Great Mogul Philippus Baldaeus in his Description of some of the Chief Parts of the East-Indies says that PEPPER grows best in shady places that it hath a weak Stem to be supported like Vines having on each Branch commonly six Clusters each a Foot long in Colour like unripe Grapes that they gather it being Green in October and November exposing it to the Sun to dry whereby it grows Black in a few Days Ligon says that in the Island of Barbadoes there is a kind of Red PEPPER which is of two sorts the one so like a Childs Coral as not to be discern'd at the distance of two paces a Crimson and Scarlet mixt the Fruit about two Inches long and shines more than the best Polisht Coral The Other of the same Colour and glistering as much but shap't like a large Button of a Cloak both of one and the same Quality both so violently strong that when they break but the Skin it sends out such a vapour into their Lungs as makes them fall a Coughing which lasts a quarter of an hour after the Fruit is remov'd but as long as they are garbling it they never give over The Spaniards are so much in love with this Spice that they will have it in all their Meat that they intend to have piquant for a greater Haut-goust is not in the World Garlick is faint and cool to it It grows on a little Shrub no bigger than a Gooseberry Bush. LIGON's Hist. of Barbadoes Pag. 79. Piso Describes and Figures nine or ten sorts of Guiny-PEPPER all growing in Brasile and there called Quiya The Guiny-PEPPER is used as a great Stomachick Medicine and in Sauces both in substance and infusion in America Spain and other Countries and by many preferr'd before the best PEPPER GREW's Mus. Regal Societ Pag. 231. Mr. Hughes in his Treatise call'd The American Physician mentions a sort of PEPPER called the Sweet-Scented PEPPER which he says he never saw but in Iamaica it groweth much after the same manner as the East-India PEPPER does He also says that the Red PEPPER-Tree grows in many Plantations in Iamaica Observations concerning CLOVES THe CLOVE-Tree groweth in Form much like to our Bay-Tree the Bark of an Olive Colour The CLOVES grow Ten and Twenty together among the Leaves The Blossoms at the first are White then Green and at last Red and hard which are the CLOVES The Leaf Bark and Wood being Green is as strong as the CLOVE When the Blossoms are Green they have the pleasantest smell in the World The right Colour of CLOVES when they are dry is a dark Yellow and to give them a black Colour they are commonly smoakt The CLOVES are gathering from September unto the End of February not with hands as we gather Apples Cherries and such like Fruit but by beating the Tree as we do Walnuts The CLOVES that stay on the Tree ungather'd are thick and continue till the next Year and these are called The Mother of CLOVES This Tree grows in great plenty in the Molucca Islands as also in Amboyna where they grow of themselves without Planting by the falling of the Fruit and when they are of Eight Years growth they bear Fruit and so continue bearing for an Hundred Years together In the place where these Trees stand there is neither Grass Weed nor any sort of Herbs for that the Tree draweth unto it self all the moisture round about The CLOVES are so hot by Nature that whensoever they are made clean and separated from their Garbish if there chance to stand either Tub or Pail of Water in the Chamber where they clâ—anâ—e them or any other Vessel with Wine or any kind of moisture it will within two Days at the furthest be wholly dried up although it stand not near them by reason of the great heat of the CLOVES that draw all moisture to them Of the same Nature is the unspun Silk of China so that whensoever the Silk lieth any where in a House upon the Floor that is to say upon Boards a Foot or two above the Ground and that the Floor is cover'd with Water although it toucheth not the Silk in the Morning all that Water will be in the Silk for that it draweth all unto it And this trick the
Indians oftentimes use to make their Silk weigh heavy when they sell it for it can neither be seen nor found in the Silk PVRCH. Pilgr Vol. 2. Pag. 1783. The same Author Vol. 1. Pag. 699. says That in Machan one of the Molucca Islands there is a CLOVE-Tree differing from all others in its Fruit which is called The Kings CLOVE much esteem'd by the Country People both for the variety as also for the goodness nor is there any other but this in all the Molucca's they are not to be bought for any Mony but are given away to Friends by handfuls and half handfuls There is extracted from the CLOVES a certain Oyl or rather thick Butter of a Yellow Colour which being Chased in the hands smelleth like the CLOVES themselves wherewith the Indians Cure their Wounds as we do with Balsam GERARD's Herbal Avicenna affirms that the Gum of this Tree is like Turpentine but he is mistaken it being certain that it does not produce any at all MANDELSLO's Trav. into the Indies Pag. 132. Observations concerning GINGER GINGER is the Root of neâ—ther Tree nor Shrub but of an Herbaceous Plant resembling the Water Flower-De-Luce as Garsias first describ'd or rather the common Reed as Lobelius since affirm'd Very common in many parts of India growing either from Root or Seed which in December and Ianuary they take up and gently dried role it up in Earth whereby stopping the Pores they preserve the Natural Moisture and so prevent Corruption BROWN's Vulg. Errors GINGER groweth in many places of India yet the best and most carried abroad is that which groweth on the Coast of Malabar It grows like thin and young Netherland Reeds of two or three Spans high the Root whereof is GINGER being Green it is much eaten in India for Sallets as also sod in Vineger The time when they are most gather'd and begun to be dried is in December and Ianuary They dry it in this manner They cover it with Pot-Earth which they do to stop and fill up the Holes thereby to make it continue the fresher for the Pot-Earth preserves it from Worms without the which it is presently consum'd by them GINGER is little esteem'd in India notwithstanding there is much Shipp'd off as well to the Red Sea as to Ormus Arabia and Asia PVRCH. Pilgr Vol. 2. Pag. 1782. Mr. Ligon says that in Barbadoes the GINGER being a Root brings forth Blades not unlike in shape to the Blades of Wheat but broader and thicker for they cover the Ground so that one cnanot see any part of it They are of a Popinjay Colour the Blossom a pure Scarlet When 't is ripe they dig up the Roots cutting off the Blades and put them into the Hands of an Overseer who sets many of the Young Negroes to scrape them with little Knives or small Iron Spuds ground to an edge They are to scrape all the outward Skin off to kill the Spirit for without that it will perpetually grow Those that have GINGER and not hands to dress it thus are compell'd to scald it to kill the Spirit and that GINGER is nothing so good as the other for it will be as hard as Wood and Black whereas the scrapt GINGER is White and soft and hath a cleaner and quicker taste LIGON's Hist. of Barbadoes Pag. 79. Dr. Grew in the Musaeum Regalis Societatis Pag. 228. says There are some GINGER Roots so large that sometimes one single Root will weigh fourteen Ounces He also observes what great variety of Opinions there is concerning this Plant. Acosta compares it to that call'd Lachryma Iobi Lobelius to a Reed Garsias to a Flag and Bauhinus Pictures it accordingly with a trivalvous Cod. Piso out of Bontius's Papers gives two Figures one of the Male the other of the Female And supposes that the reason why this Plant is so variously describ'd may proceed partly from the not distinguishing betwixt them Mr. Glanius in his Voyage to the Eâ—â—t-Indies says that in the King of Bantam's Dominions there is a Plant call'd Ganti a Root so like GINGER that the Bantamites have given it the same Name but it is dearer and with it they rub their Bodies Pag. 107. GINGER is brought in great quantities from Amadabat where says Tavernier there grows more than in any other part of Asia and that it is hardly to be imagin'd how much there is Transported Candited into Forreign Parts Observations concerning MANNA MANNA or the Dew of Heaven a delicate Food wherewith God fed the Children of Israel it falling from Heaven in manner of a Dew White and somewhat like Coriander Seed with which the Israelites lived Forty Years in the Wilderness till they came to the Borders of the Land of Canaan At first sending hereof the People were in such admiration that they said each to other Manhu id est Quid est hoc What is this Which seems to be the Cause why it was afterwards call'd MANNA In Physick it is taken for a kind of Dew or grained MANNA which falling in hot Countries upon Trees and Herbs before break of Day doth there congeal almost like Crums of White-Bread and is gather'd and choicely kept as a gentle purger of Choler BLOVNT's Glossogr The MANNA of Calabria is the best and in most Plenty They gather it from the Leaf of the Mulberry Tree but not of such Mulberry Trees as grow in the Vallies And MANNA falleth upon the Leaves by Night as other Dews do It is very likely that before those Dews come upon the Trees in the Vallies they dissipate and cannot hold out And in all probability the Mulberry Leaf hath some Coagulating Virtue which thickens the Dew for that it is not found upon other Trees And we see by the Silk-Worm which feedeth upon that Leaf what a dainty smooth Iuice it hath and the Leaves also especially of the Black Mulberry are somewhat Bristly which possibly may help to preserve the Dew Certainly it were not amiss to observe a little better the Dews that fall upon Trees or Herbs growing on Mountains For it may be many Dews fall that spend before they come to the Vallies And I suppose that he that would gather the best May-Dew for Medicine should gather it from the Hills BACON's Nat. Hist. The Learned and Ingenious Mr. Evelyn says that the MANNA of Calabria is found to exsude out of the Leaves and Boughs of the Ash. This is also confirm'd by Mr. Iohn Ray in his Historia Plantarum Vol. 2. Pag. 1703. Christophorus Vega Writes that MANNA is made by a sort of little Bees like thick Gnats from whom sitting by Swarms upon Trees Sweat as it were drops from them But Sennertus Lib. 4. Cap. 8. thinks that they are rather drawn thither by the Sweetness of the MANNA and that they make it not It hath been controverted among the Learned whether the Iews MANNA was the same with Ours They do indeed in many Things agree but in this they differ that Theirs ground in a