burst by the Airsmoisture page 274 Metals may be raised in the form of Vapors page 297 298 Of the ill Effects of Mineral Fumes page 293 Of the Celeftial and Aerial Magnets page 312 313 314 Of the Production of Magnetical Qualities page 315 316 317 Chymico-Magnetical Experiments page 318 319 320 321 322 Of Mists page 344 The Effects of the Air on Mineral Substances page 400 406 Of Maturation page 428 N. Nut-Kernels in a Receiver page 128 157 O. Oranges shut up in a Receiver page 67 83 84 88 119 149 Oyl per deliquium with Spirit of Wine page 145 Onyons in a Receiver page 69 81 159 Oysters page 177 207 Of the Effects of the Air on Odours page 403 Of the Mechanical Production of Odours page 429 430 431 432 P. Pears included in a Receiver page 75 92 126 136 160 171 Paste inclosed in a Receiver page 97 102 131 155 Pease in a Receiver page 104 128 Paper burnt in Vacuo page 113 Paste burnt in a Receiver page 114 Plums in a Receiver page 40 127 129 Peaches page 74 169 170 172 Antidotes against the Plague page 294 Why the Plague sometimes ceases unexpectedly page 295 The Vestigation of Plants c. page 410 Q. Quicksilver slacked in Vacuo page 12 Latent Qualities in the Air page 299 310 Whence p. 300 Of the Manifest Qualities of the Air page 375 376 394 Of the Production of manifest Qualities page 408 409 R. Roses in a Receiver page 83 89 165 Radishes with Claret page 142 Raisins of the Sun page 39 158 Rosemary and Water distilled in Vacuo page 191 A Roasted Rabbet in Vacuo page 195 Of Rain page 418 S. Whether Sounds be Propagated in Vacuo page 8 A Shrew-Mouse in a Receiver page 85 91 94 103 148 A Shrew-Mouse in a Wine-Gun page 94 A Snail in Artificial Air page 103 Sulphur Viv. in Vacuo page 114 A Solution of Salt in a Receiver page 138 Spirit Sal Armon with Copper page 145 151 Sal Armon and Oyl of Vitriol page 154 Sheeps Blood in Vacuo page 196 A Snake in Vacuo page 202 Steams elevated by the Air. page 222 A Slow-worm and a Leech in Vacuo page 123 The Reason of Suction page 232 236 238 Saline and Sulphureous Parts in the Air page 301 343 352 How raised Ibid. Seminal Principles of all sorts in the Air. page 304 Damasco Steel improved page 305 The Medium of Sounds 363 T. Tulips in a Receiver page 82. 120. 166 A Tube immersed in Water page 142 Venice Turpentine in a Wind Gun page 150 Calx of Tin page 167 Tadpoles in a Receiver page 217 Of Terrestrial Steams page 344 Of the Effects of the Air on Tasts page 404 Of the Mechanical Production of Tastes page 421 422. 423. 424. 425. 426. 427 V. Vinegar with Eels in Vacuo page 109 Vrine in Vacuo page 123 Violent Leaves page 196 A Viper in Vacuo page 201 213 215 Of the Production of Vitriol page 303 The Effects of the Air on Vegetable Substances page 398 W. Spirit of Wine and Oyl of Turpentine in Vacuo page 141 A Whiteing in Vacuo page 152 179 Of Winds page 359 Of the Production of Whiteness page 519 The End Books Printed for and sold by John Taylor at the Ship in St. Paul's Church-Yard In FOLIO POOL's Annotations on the Holy Bible with Mr. Clark's Concordance to the same in 2 Vol. the 3d Edition Much corrected Monsieur Thevenot's Travels into Persia and the East-Indies Phillips's New World of Words or an Universal English Dictionary containing the proper Significations and Derivations of all Words from other Languages c. the 5th Edition with large Additions and Improvements from the best English and Foreign Authors Systema Agriculturae The Mystery of Husbandry discovered treating of the several new and most advantagious Ways of Tiling Planting Sowing Manuring Ordering and Improving all sorts of Gardens Orchards Meadows Pastures Corn Lands Woods and Coppices with Monthly Directions for Husbandmen and the Interpretations of Rukick Terms the 4th Edit IMPRIMATUR Liber Cui Titulus THE WORKS Of the HONOURABLE ROBERT BOYLE Esq EPITOMIZED By RICHARD BOULTON JOHN HOSKYNS V. P. R. S. Vicesimo Septimo Martii 1699. THE WORKS OF THE HONOURABLE Robert Boyle Esq EPITOMIZ'D VOL. III. BY RICHARD BOULTON of Brazen-Nose College in Oxford Illustrated with COPPER PLATES LONDON Printed for J. Phillips at the King'-s Arms and J. Taylor at the Ship in St. Paul's Church-Yard MDCC TO THE Most Illustrious Prince WILLIAM Duke of Bedford Marquiss of Tavistock Earl of Bedford Baron Russel and Baron Russel of Thornhaugh Baron Howland of Streatham Lord Lieutenant of the Counties of Bedford and Cambridge and during the Minority of Wrichesly commonly called Marquiss of Tavistock his Grandson and Heir apparent Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex as also Custos Rotulorum for the said County and the Liberties of Westminster One of the Lords of his Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council and Knight of the most Noble Order of the Garter May it please your Grace THE Great and Noble Character which you have already obtained in the World hath justly obliged them both to applaud and admire You and no Wonder then that it should raise in me an Ambition to lay this at Your Feet where whilst I lye secure from the Censure of the World under your Grace's Patronage I have this great Advantage that in whatever I can say in relation to your Illustrious Character I cannot be Guilty of Flattery since the World universally agrees that Your Noble Qualifications are not unworthy so Noble a Prince Your Sagacity and Judgment not being less conspicuous in State Affairs than your Virtue and Piety in Divine things the Former having rendred You both acceptable and serviceable in Council as the Latter have made You an Eminent and Illustrious Example of Christianity so that You become serviceable to your Country upon a double score Your Virtues incite your Admirers to pursue and emulate Good Actions and your Wisdom and Prudence contribute to the well Governing of a People who are the more disposed to be Loyal and Good Subjects the more by Example you promote Religion which teaches them to obey Upon which Account we may truly say that You act not the Politician but what is much more difficult like a Wise and Prudent States-Man You gain the People not by Stratagem but Example But on this Ocasion I can make use of no greater Encomiums than what his Majesty hath been pleased to Honour You with in the Preamble to the Patent which creates you Duke where He declares in better Words than I am now Master of that as there was no Family in England more conspicuous in Virtue and Piety so he thought himself obliged to give Testimony of it by conferring that Honour on You which You long before deserved But not to enlarge too much on a Subject which the World is so well acquainted with I shall need to say no more than that in Your Illustrious Person
Symmetry and Complexion with Agreeable and Delightful Colours There are other States of Matter also as Rest and Motion Size and Shape usually call'd Qualities which are rather to be accounted Primary Modes of Matter But this concerning Names rather than Things I shall waving the usual Divisions of Qualities treat of them according to the following Division viz. First I shall consider them under two Heads to wit Manifest and Occult Qualities the former of which we shall divide gredients of a Body is evident since Water Hermetically Sealed being froze instead of retaining Fluidity and Transparency becomes Brittle Firm and sometimes Opacous which Qualities upon a Thaw it again loses Also fixt Metal barely by being hammer'd becomes brittle which Quality it presently loses when heated in the Fire And Silver by being hammer'd puts on Qualities which it by no means had when cold as a Power to melt some Bodies and to dry others with several others which it only acquires by Virtue of the invisible Agitation of its Parts put into Motion by hammering I might add several Instances of this Kind but having mention'd them in other succeeding Chapters I shall omit them here and pass to The Third Consideration which hath been prov'd in the preceding Chapter which is That we are not to consider the Effects of Mix'd Bodies as the bare Result of the Parts of Matter of such a determinate Texture but as plac'd amongst other Bodies on which they may variously act and be acted on But Fourthly to remove this Objection we must consider That the Peripatetick as well as Chymical Principles are incapable of accounting for the various Phaenomena of Nature which the Corpuscular Philosophy hath a greater Advantage in For neither the different Colours of the Planets nor the Generation and Perishing of Spots in the Sun are to be accounted for by the Doctrin of the Peripateticks nor Chymists besides several Phaenomena relating to Magnetism Musick Dioptricks Catoptricks and Staticks And indeed I should think it not a little strange that the various Textures The Difference in Agents and Patients diversify the Actions as well as Motions of Bodies would not more sufficiently account for the Phaenomena of Nature than the Cosideration of Quiescent Ingredients for as all Natural Bodies act on one another by Motion so that Motion is variously determin'd according to the different Textures of the Agents and Patients But to proceed to the Second Objection against the Corpuscularian Philosophy which is A Second Objection against the Corpuscularian Philosophy answer'd That it is impossible so great a variety of Qualities should arise from so few Principles as Matter and Motion In answer to this I shall endeavour to shew that it is possible those Catholick Affections of Matter should be deriv'd from Local Motion and that those Principles being variously combin'd and joyn'd together should afford Phaenomena as various as any to be observ'd in Nature And First If we allow what is undeniable viz. That the Tendency of Matter as to Motion is different in several Parts of the Universe it will follow that by Local Motion so diversify'd Matter must be divided into Parts distinct from one another and consequently being Finite must necessarily have a determinate Size as well as Shape And since all the Universal Bulk of Matter hath not its Parts in a constant Motion some of them being intangl'd together must needs be at Rest And hence the Primary Affections of Matter flow But there are yet other Affections of Matter belonging to the lesser Fragments of it in Respect of their Situation as Posture either Horizontal Erect or Inclining in reference to our Horizon and also a peculiar Order in Relation to each other the Union of which Parts collectively consider'd may properly be call'd Texture or Modification And since most Bodies are made up of Parts something Irregular it is impossible but that there should be Interstices or Pores left betwixt them And further some Parts of Bodies being very subtile and fine and easily put into Motion by Heat or other proper Agents such Bodies cannot but emit good store of Effluviums And when Particles of Matter are fitted and adapted so as to adhere together they form those similar Bodies call'd Elements which being mix'd with one another constitute Compound Bodies which being again associated with Compounds form Bodies still more Complex which Compounding and Decompounding of Bodies The Difference betwixt Mixture and Texture may be Properly call'd Mixture which differs from Texture because it implies a Heterogeneity of Parts which the latter does not And Lastly all Bodies whether Simple or Compound are to be consider'd as plac'd in the World as it is now constituted and rul'd by The Vniversal Fabrick of things as well as the Laws of Motion The Phoenomena exhibited by the Corpuscular Principles very numerous From hence it appearing That Matter is very Naturally diversify'd by eleven Primary Affections to which it self being added makes twelve we may by Parity of Reason consider that if such an inaccountable Number of Words may be made of the 24. Letters it will not be hard to think that so many different Modes of Matter may arise from such Finite Principles as could Reasonably be suppos'd to result from the various Associations of those ten Letters And indeed an inaccountable Number more since every one of these Principles admits of an Incredible Variety As first there may be a vast Variety of Associations in respect of the Figure or Number or Order of the Parts joyn'd as in Figure some may be Triangles or Squares others Pentagons c. There may also another Variety proceed from the Different Shapes and Sizes of the Parts of Matter united their Figures being either Spherical like a Bullet Elliptical like an Egg or Cubical as a Dye c. together with a great many others Examples of which the Instruments of Carvers Gravers c. afford those Tools being not only of different Sizes but also various Shapes And there is no less Variety in the Degrees of Motion since Motion may be infinitely different in Swiftness or Slowness Uniformity or Difformity as also according to the different Lines in which Bodies move as Streight Circular Hyperbolical Ellyptical c. as also according to the differently Figur'd Parts they strike against to which Causes of Variety may be added the different Sizes or Shapes of the Bodies mov'd as also the several Degrees of Compound Bodies and the different Modifications of their Ingredients and likewise of the Mediums through which they move as well as the Degreess of Impulse And the Effects of these may be vary'd again according to the different Situation or Determinate Natures of the Bodies they strike against Musical Instruments afford instances of the various Effects of Motion And that Motion is able to produce a vast Variety of Effects we may learn from Musical Instruments where according to the Difference of the Air 's Motion arising from the various
by Stool yet by taking away a thin Film which divides the Kernel into halves the Nut is as sweet as a Jordan Almond and has no sensible Operation Which Relation is also favour'd by Monardes under the Title of Fabae Purgatrices where he speaks of a Purgative Fruit brought from America from Carthagena and also from Nombre de Dios. And Vincent le Blank in his Survey of the World p. 260. Part. 2. gives an Account of a Golden Apple as bitter as Gall containing Five Kernels of an equal Bigness with Almonds whose Juice is sweet and he also relates That of a thick Film which encompasses the Nut in the Shell they prepare an Excellent Sweet-Meat OBSERVATION IV. Further Instances in Cheese We have also an Instance how Matter may be alter'd by a Variation of its Texture in Rotten Cheese which differs from the Sound both in Colour Taste Smell and Consistence In which likewise by a good Microscope we may perceive Clusters of Animals endu'd with Parts very differently modify'd and Qualities little different from Occult ones CHAP. IX A Continuation of Experiments concerning Forms and Qualities EXPERIMENT I. MIX a convenient Quantity of Camphire grosly beaten with Oyl of Vitriol and when it begins to dissolve and by shaking the Glass to mix with the Oyl it will first tinge it with a Yellow and afterwards a Colour not much different from Red which Tincture will be so deep as to render the Clear Oyl Opacous And from the Ingredients perfectly mix'd if in just Proportion may be obtain'd a Liquor void of a Camphire Smell yet by the sole Addition of Fair Water the Mixture will become Pale and the Camphire will again associate and form a floating Combustible Body as before dissolv'd and renew its Odour Several Phaenomena the Result of a Change in Texture From the Phaenomena of this Experiment may be drawn several Instances to our Purpose I. That a Light Body reduc'd into Parts conveniently Figur'd may be mix'd with a Body heavier than it self so that Gold the heaviest of Bodies may float in a Liquor if its Parts be dissolv'd and render'd minute enough by Aqua Regis From which two Observations we may Learn That the Textures of Bodies as well as the Rules of Hydrostaticks are concern'd in determining whether Bodies will sink or swim II. That several Colours may be produc'd by a Mixture of a Colourless Liquor and a White Concrete III. That those Colours may again be destroy'd and the former renew'd by Water which can neither afford the Colour it reduces Camphire to nor destroy that of the Liquor IV. That a Light Body emerges out of one much lighter which did not in a heavier Liquor which the Mixture was before the Addition of Water which may be an Argument against the Schools concerning Mistion since some of them assert That in Mistion the Elements depose their own Forms and put on new whereas the Camphire had not its Form destroy'd throughout the Process but still retain'd its own Qualities in a Disposition to be again united V. It is to be admir'd That Odours should depend on so slight a Texture that Camphire by a bare Separation of its Parts should lose its Scent and upon the Mixture of a Body void of Odour should again recover its Smell and that so slight a Texture as that of the Oyl and Camphire should as to Sense wholly for a time alter the Qualities of the Latter And that several of the preceding Phaenomena are caus'd by the Particular Texture of the Liquors made use of to exhibit them is manifest because if Camphire be cast into Spirit of Nitre well dephlegm'd it will not afford those Phaenomena which it does with Oyl of Vitriol And when to the Red Mixture above-mention'd two or three parts of Spirit of Wine were added instead of Water no such Changes succeeded but the whole Mixture with its Accidental Colour was dissolv'd by it being in Colour much like Red Turbid Wine So that the Colour of the Mixture was wholly owing to the Mixture of the Oyl and Camphire and depended on their Union which is further confirm'd because when we added a sufficient quantity of Water to that Turbid Liquor it presently depos'd its Colour and the Particles of Camphire immediately emerged in the Form of a white Powder But there are other Phaenomena which by a prosecution of this Experiment the Mixture afforded us For VI. Having kept the Mixture moderately warm in a Glass Retort and distill'd it the Liquor drawn off had a Smell unlike both that of the Camphire and also that of the Mixture And the Ingredients united in this Mixture were both Transparent in the Sense that Fluid and Solid Bodies contus'd are said to be so yet the Remaining Mass not only became Opacous but of a very Black Colour some Parts of it being not unlike polish'd Jets which is the more Remarkable because Camphire Chimically handled usually ascends in White Flowers leaving behind them a Caput Mortuum of an Agreeable Colour VII The last Phaenomenon this Mixture afforded us was That tho' Camphire be a Body very much dispos'd to dissipate and fly away yet by the Association of the Oyl it might be kept together so that the Caput Mortuum above-nam'd was able to endure a pretty hot Fire in the Retort before it was reduc'd to that Pitchy Substance lately taken Notice of And further it was Remarkable That Part of the Substance being taken out of the Retort and kept in a Red-hot Crucible for half an Hour it afforded a considerable quantity of Black Brittle Matter without the least Smell of Camphire Fixedness and Volatility are so much vary'd by Texture EXPERIMENT II. Diversities of Qualities depend on Variety of Textures Amongst the various Experiments which might be produc'd to prove That the Diversity of Qualities depends on the various Alterations of Texture I shall instance those afforded me in Copper and Silver by the Intervention of Sublimate where we shall have a Considerable Number of Changes made by the Recess Addition and Trasposition of the Insensible Parts of Matter First then Having put a Pound of Venetian Sublimate grosly beaten into a Glass Retort we threw in Copper Plates an Inch broad and about as thick as a Grain of Wheat so that the Ascending Fumes might by Compulsion act on the incumbent Metal Which being done we plac'd the Retort in a Sand Furnace and having adapted a small Receiver we continu'd a Gradual Fire for seven or eight Hours and at the last increas'd it to a considerable degree which was as high as the Furnace would permit The Effects of which Operation were the following 1. Very little Liquor was carry'd over into the Receiver but about ten Ounces of Sublimate was crusted over the Neck of the Retort The Retort contain'd two Ounces and a Quarter of Running Mercury and what was to be admir'd was the Acid Spirit uniting with the Copper left the Mercury unaffected 2. When the
the Button I luted on a Receiver to prevent a Communication betwixt the External and Internal Air yet the Sound of the Watch might be perciv'd by holding One's Ears over that place where the Watch was suspended And I have often felt not only the striking of a Watch included in a double Case when I have worn it in my Pocket but even the gentler Motions of the Ballances To the Foregoing Instances I shall add That upon sudden Claps of Thunder the very Beds have been perceiv'd to shake by those that lay upon them And Agricola de Nat. eorum quae fluunt è terra Lib. 4. cap. 7. says Si Animal deijicitur in Antrum quod est in Carelia Regione Scandiae erumpit ut perhibent sonus intolerabilis magno cum flatu Si leve pondus in Specum Dalmatiae quamvis inquit Plinius tranquillo die turbini similis emicat procella But there are still some who are unwilling to believe That Motion is propagable through Liquid Bodies at least to any considerable Distance because of the easy Cession of their Parts But the contrary easily appears if we allow of the Corpuscular Notion of Light by Considering not only how far the Rays of Light are impell'd and propagated from a small Light but from the fix'd Stars which are plac'd at so immense a Distance But to proceed to Instances not so liable to Objections that the Parts of Liquids tho' in Motion and Separate one from another may communicate Motion and propagate it a considerable way is evident by casting a Stone into the Water which by that Impulse will successively propagate Motion in the Mass of Water which appears by the Curling and Circular Streams which flow from it And I am told by one who was us'd to Fish for Whales near Green-Land that sometimes upon the Thawing of the Ice it would give such Cracks as to cause Sounds much lowder than Claps of Thunder and when huge pieces of Ice upon a Thaw fell into the Sea they caus'd such a Disturbance in it as at two Leagues Distance to raise a considerable Storm And tho' some People are apt to think That the Air being a Body much more Fluid than Water Motion is less propagable in it I shall intimate that even in that Medium a very small Sound is propagated much further than we think of for tho' we are not able to take Notice of it beyond the Place where we stand yet we may learn from Ecchos that the Undulating Motion of the Air is continu'd a good way further and it is not improbable that it is continu'd further than the Place where the Eccho is made since the Learned Fromundus Professor of Philosophy at Lovain in the Year 1627 says That at the Siege of Ostend the Noise of the Cannon was heard an hundred and twenty English Miles To which may be added what Verenius Geogr. Gen. Lib. 1. Cap. 19. relates as observ'd by Traelichius at the Mountain Carpathus in Hungary His Words are these Explosi in ea summitate Sclopetum quod non majorem Sonitum primò prae se tulit quam si tegillum aut bacillum confregissem post intervallum autem temporis murmur prolixum invaluit inferioresque Montis partes Convalles Sylvas opplevit Descendendo per Nives annosos intra Convalles cum iterum Sclopetum exonerarem major ac horribilior fragor quam ex Tormento capacissimo inde exoriebatur hinc verebar ne totus Mons concussus mecum correueret duravitque hic Sonus per semiquadrantem horae usque dum abstrusissimas Cavernas penetrasset ad quas Herundique multiplicatus resiliit talia quidem objecta concava in summitate se non illico offerebant idcireo fere insensibiliter primum Sonus repercutiebatur donec descendendo Antris Convallibus vicinior factus ad eas fortius impegit V. The Effects of the Particular Modifications of the Invisible Motions of Fluids Prop. V. on Animal Bodies dispos'd to be work'd upon by them are not usually sufficiently noted Tho' it may be thought strange That the Impulse of so Slight and Languid Parts of Matter as those of Air should by their Motion produce any Sensible Effects yet if we consider what a number of those Parts succeed each other it is less to be admir'd that the Effects of their Joynt-Action should be considerable since we see that a Pendulum of a Clock is continued in a swinging Motion by a very Languid Force and the Air may be put into a Motion so powerful either by the Vibration of the Strings or the Mechanical Form of a Musical Instrument or Scraping the Edge of a Knife upon Metal as to cause an Involuntary Excretion of Urine upon a Body rightly dispos'd as it happened to a Knight of Gascony or to cause that Effect which is usually term'd Setting the Teeth on Edge Besides which Instances of the Effects of so Languid a Motion as that of the Air I shall add That I had a Servant whose Gums would presently bleed upon tearing of Brown Paper And Sir Henry Blount as well as Kircherus relates a Story of the like Nature the former having observ'd in Grand Cairo in Egypt a Nest of Serpents which upon the Sound of a Citron would presently crawl out of their Nests and upon a Cessation of that Sound run away again as fast and the Latter tells us of a Fish about the Streights which divide Sicily and Italy which will be entic'd to follow the Ships which pass by that way by the Sound of a Musical Instrument And that these Effects are produc'd by a sort of Disposition in those Bodies to be work'd on by such Sounds may be confirm'd by observing That a Man is sooner affected and awak'd out of Sleep by the Agreeable Sound of his own Name than any other And the Effects of a gentle if a Surprizing Sound are no less Remarkable which will raise a Body from the Ground which could not be so pois'd with some hundreds of Weights But the most Eminent Instance is in Persons bit by a Tarantula who upon the Playing of a peculiar Tune are compell'd to dance as long as it continues tho' other Tunes have no such Effects on them the Truth of which Relation is confirm'd both by Epiphanius Ferdinandus and several Others And I was acquainted with One who told me That a certain Lady could not forbear Weeping when she heard a particular Tune play'd and I have found several times a sort of Chilness upon my self upon the Repetition of two Verses in Lucan especially when I have been any thing Feverish To which Instances of the great Effects of Languid Motions may be added what is produc'd by the Subtile Effluvia the Rays of Light causing those that come out of a dark Place presently to Sneeze And Colours which are but several Modifications of Light have not less considerable Effects which is evident from the Influence Red Cloth hath upon Turky-Cocks And the Learned Valesius
compared with that of common Water will shew what Quantity of Mineral Substance the Water hath dissolv'd in it and whether Metalline or more Volatile as it is heavier or lighter where we are to observe that Mineral Waters are sometimes lighter than common Water partly because they are impregnated with Volatile Parts and partly because they are void of Saline Parts which makes common Water something heavier But to discover the different Weight of several Mineral Waters I caus'd a Glass-Viol with a flat Bottom and a long Neck three Inches long to be blown which was so light as to weigh but ʒvi + 42 Grains tho' it was capable of containing ℥ iij ss and 43 Grains of Water which made it more proper for a Nice Ballance by which I found the following Mineral Waters to differ thus in Weight Waters Ounces Drachms Grains Common 3 4 43 Common distill'd 3 4 41 Acton 3 4 48 ½ Epsom 3 4 51 Dulwich 3 4 54 Staton 3 4 55 Barnet 3 4 52 North-Hall 3 4 50 German-Spaw 3 4 40 Tunbridge 3 4 38 Islington from the Musick-House 3 4 36 Islington from the Vault with Steps 3 4 39 Islington from the Cellar 3 4 39 3. Of their different Degrees of Transparency or Opacity 4. Whether without being exposed to the Air it will afford a Pracipitate By which Observation the different Soils through which they pass will not only be discover'd but hence we may learn to distinguish such from the true Caput Mortuum of the Water German Spaw Water yielded a good Quantity of yellowish Oker N. B. the Water so try'd must not be expos'd to the Air for if it be the Air will precipitate a considerable Quantity of Matter in most Waters 5. What Microscopes can discover in Mineral Waters N. B. those moving Corpuscles discernible in a Solution of Pepper c. in Water are Animalcula and not Portions of Inanimate Matter which swim up and down such Liquors which is apparent if those little Animals be touch'd with Spirit of Salt for being kill'd by it they move much more slowly 6. Whether there be any variety of Colours in several Mineral Waters 7. Of their different Odours These are to be perceiv'd at the Spring-Heads where not only a Bituminous and Sulphurious Smell may easily be perceiv'd but I am inform'd that there is a Mineral Spring in France which hath a manifest vinous Odour 8. Concerning the different Tastes of Mineral Waters 9. Whether taking it up or keeping it stop'd or unstop'd or whether freezing or thawing it will alter the Colour Smell or Transparency of it For tho' some Waters retain their Purgative Virtue a good while yet I have observ'd an Exhalation of some fugitive Parts from those which are lighter than Water and abound with Spirituous Parts so that tho' they were carry'd but a little way from the Fountain they presently lost their Power of turning a Tincture of Galls into a Purple and instead of that turn'd it red and even the Strongest Waters if kept unstopp'd or not kept close presently lose that Property 10. Concerning the different Consistency of such Waters 11. Whether they be more apt to Expansion and Condensation or Heat and Coldness than Common Water 12. Whether they are apt to Putrify and how soon and what Phaenomena they afford 13. What Alteration in Colours ensues the Mixture of Astringent Juices with them as also their Mixture with several Juices of the Body N. B. in trying of Mineral Waters it is usual to make use of a Tincture of Galls without considering the Alterations which may be made in the Tryal by an Uncertain Proportion of Galls Wherefore I usually make use of a settled Proportion as 5 Grains to an Ounce tho' Mineral Waters may be try'd with much more Expedition and Certainty by making use of the Powder it self suspending about three Grains of Powder in an Ounce of the Waters and I have found by Experience that so small a Quantity as a Grain hath given German Spaw-Water a deep Purple Colour But it is not always necessary to make use of Galls in such Tryals since Rose Leaves or the Flowers and Bark of Pomgranates will have much the same Effect affording a Cloudy and Blackish Tincture And it is further to be noted That I made it one Part of this Quaere what Colours would be produc'd by a Mixture of Mineral Waters with Animal Juices because I have observ'd the Root of the Tongue sometimes Blackish upon the taking of Large Doses But to return to what I have observ'd concerning the trying of Mineral Waters by an Infusion of Galls I not only doubt whether all Martial Waters will turn a Tincture of Galls black but whether all liquors which will are to be esteem'd Martial for I have found that a Mineral of a Different Nature from Steel would give it a Black Colour and that a Liquor which was a Preparation of Steel would not which induc'd me to think that such a Tincture was rather the Effect of some Acid Fumes which had work'd on the Mars with which those Mineral Waters are Impregnated To which it may be added That I have found that if a Vitriolate Water be impregnated with Copper instead of Iron instead of turning a Tincture of Galls Blackish it only would render it Muddy and Thick And I had a sort of white Earth which I found by Tryals to be Lead that would turn a Tincture of Galls Blackish tho' it was altoger void of Martial Parts and probably would have very bad Effects if taken inwardly To which I might further add That a Tincture of Gold in Aqua fortis likewise turn'd an Infusion of Galls Black And those Observations I have been the willinger to lay down because tho' I would not be thought by them to slight the Use of Galls in such Tryals yet I would thence urge them to make such Tryals to be more warily made Observations requisite in Trying Mineral Waters And because it may be of some Use to observe the different Colours exhibited by such Tryals I shall add the following Considerations as Requisite to be thought on by him who designs to make such Experiments 1. That he ought to observe the Changes of Colours made by such Tinctures in a good Light which may help a Curious Observer to distinguish what Minerals such Tinctures are impregnated with 2. It way be of Use to vary the Shades of Colours produc'd by Mineral Waters either by dropping such Waters upon Paper whose Pores are saturated with Vitriol powder'd or ting'd with a Decoction of Log-wood Several Variations in Colours may be also made by dropping other Medicinal Liquors either into the Mineral Waters or the Infusion of Galls before Mixture or after 3. I would recommend for such Tryals not only the Parts of Astringent Plants but also Animal and especially Mineral Substances For besides the Astringents I have contriv'd a certain Substance which would not only turn a Vitriol Water impregnated with Iron
black but also One saturated with Copper a Succedaneum to which may be made by adding to Sulphur as it melts over the Fire and equal Proportion of Salt of Tartar finely powder'd stirring them till they incorporate and become red Which Mixture being put into a Glass Retort with half it's weight of Sal-Armoniack dissolv'd in Water let it be distill'd in Sand shifting the Receivers as the Liquor drawn off is ting'd more or less so that the strongest may be preserv'd by it self And such Tryals as these will be of more use than those usually made with a bare Tincture of Galls since there are several Mineral Substances and other Bodies which Mineral Waters may be impregnated with which discover not themselves in an Infusion of Galls As Sulphur or Copper may be so lock'd up in these Waters as not to be perceiv'd till the Body of the Liquor is open'd by some proper Additament And even Arsenick it self may be so disguised as not to be perceiv'd when mix'd with the Waters yet if Spirit of Urine or Oyl of Tartar per Deliquium be dropp'd into a Solution of it it presently precipitates in the Form of a white Powder and so likewise if a Solution of Sublimate be added to it Whether Mineral Waters have Arsenick dissolved in them But to discover whether Mineral Waters be impregnated with Arsenick or not I put Dantzick or English Vitriol into a Solution of it either of which caus'd a dark precipitate gradually to subside 14. Whether Spirituous Acids volatile Alkalys or Lixivial Salts will precipitate such Waters 15. The Manner of Extracting Salts from such Waters and what Quantities may be extracted Guesses may be made concerning the Saltness of these Waters by trying whether they will Lather with Soap and if not what Quantity of Curdled Matter they will yield I have observ'd that even the lightest Waters will yield a small Quantity of common Salt 16. How to discover what Acidity is to be found without Evaporation Having taken a peculiar Method to try the Acidity of Mineral Waters by mixing them with an Infusion of Lignum Nephriticum in simple Water I found that tho' German Spaw yielded a small Quantity yet in that of Action there was none discernible 17. What may be observ'd by Distillation in Balnco 18. What and whether the same Quantity of Caput Mortuum be afforded by Evaporation and Distillation 19. Whether Mineral Waters will acquire the same Qualities and Texture by a Reunion of their Caput Mortuum when distill'd to such a Consistence in Glass-Vessels exactly luted which they had before 20. What Changes if any Mineral Waters undergo by being boil'd in Water in a Glass Hermetically seal'd From whence might be learn'd whether a Change of Qualities would succeed an Alteration of Texture without a manifest loss of Parts And whether an Agitation of Parts without the Influence of the Air would precipitate any thing or deprive it of it's Power to turn a Tincture of Galls Purple 21. How much the Mineral Waters exceed their Caput Mortuum in Proportien 22. What Parts are contain'd in the Caput Mortuum and whether dissoluble in Water 23. How much the Saline and Terrestrial Parts differ in Proportion 24. Whether in strong Fires the Salts be Volatile or Fix'd and to what Degree 25. Whether the Salts will Crystallize per se or with other Salts and what 's the Figure of the Genuine or Compounded Crystals 26. Whether Acid or Alkaline Qualities are most predominant The Acidity will either appear to the Taste or Smell or may be discover'd by turning Syrup of Violets red as also by making use of an Infusion of Lignum Nephriticum which upon a Mixture of Acids loses it's Blue Colour Their Acidity may likewise be discover'd by trying whether they will be precipitated by Alkalys or ferment with them And if Alkaly be predominant it on the contrary discovers it self by a Lixivial Taste and Smell and may be discover'd by turning Syrup of Violets Green or precipitating a Solution of Sublimate or Fermenting with Aqua fortis or lastly by increasing the Colour of a Tincture of Brasil or Log-wood in Common-water And tho' we have no such Springs here in England as afford Alkaline Salts yet without question in Egypt such may be found since their Latron or the Egyptian Nitre abounds with a Salt of an Alkaline Nature and I have obtain'd such an Alkaly from that Famous Water of Bourbon in France which would turn Syrup of Violets green and ferment with Volatile Acids If such Waters abound with Vitriol they 'll turn an Infusion of Galls black and Vomit those that drink them and if an Alkaly be added will yield a yellow Precipitate upon dropping of Spirit of Vrine or Salt of Tartar into them I have not found any of the Waters about London to be impregnated with Vitriol and I am told that in France the Mineral Waters are so far from being impregnated with Vitriol that there is a Vitriolate Spring in that Kingdom As for the Nature of the Salt which most Mineral Waters are impregnated with I think that it is not to be referr'd to any Glass but is either sui generis and a peculiar one or a Compound Salt made up of such as the Water is impregnated with in it's Passage through the Earth and that Purgative Salts may by a Change of Texture be made of Salts not at all Purgative I the rather believe because I have been told by an Ingenious Emperick That a Salt which I made of Salt of Tartar and Common Sulphur mix'd together had a gentle Purging Virtue 27. In what Menstruums the Caput Mortuum may be dissolv'd and in what it may not Whether Volatile or Fixt and what Qualities it hath in Respect of Colour or Smell What Proportion of Salt Mineral Waters afford It is to be admir'd what a great deal of Caput Mortuum some Mineral Waters yield in Comparison of others since those Waters which are purely Diuretick have very little if compared with the Caput Mortuum of Purging Waters For tho' a pound of Barnet Waters yielded a Drachm yet the same weight of Tunbridge afforded but a Grain And It is not a little strange that so small a Quantity of a Mineral should impregnate so much Water as I have by Tryal found a Grain of Iron Stone did enabling it to Tincture an Infusion of Galls deeper than Tunbridge or German Spaw Water would And I have try'd that half a Grain of Marchasite dissolv'd in Spirit of Nitre communicated a Tincture to 61440 Parts of Water tho' Part of that Marchasite was Sulphur and Part of it Caput Mortuum And here it may be seasonable to take notice That if so small a Portion of a Metalline Substance would when grosly dissolv'd impregnate so large a Quantity of Water how much more may it when rais'd in the Form of a Subtile Mineral Fume and as in such a Form it may impregnate a larger Quantity of Water so will it be
Parts are checked by Cold. But leaving this plausible tho' not satisfactory Experiment I shall proceed to another which is this Having filled a Glass Bubble capable of containing about three Ounces with near equal Parts of Oyl of Vitriol and Water half a dozen Iron Nails being cast into it we stopp'd the Cylindrical Neck of the Tube with Diapalma so close as to exclude the Air altogether which being done we immers'd the Neck of this Bubble into a Glass Vessel full of the same Liquor and in a little time perceiv'd Bubbles to rise to the Top of it being rais'd by the Heat produced by the Action of the Oyl upon the Nails and this Air was so much increas'd in a little time as to depress the Water quite out of the Bubble into the Cylindrical Neck of it But lest that Pressure should be thought to proceed from the Agitation of those insensible Parts of Matter we observ'd That tho' the Vessels were expos'd to the Air for four days to give the Motion of the Parts time to cease had the Effect proceeded from them we observ'd That the Liquor all that time continued depressed the Space beforementioned being filled with Air. And what was worthy to be noted Upon a small degree of Heat approaching the Bubble the included Air was further dilated And the like Phaenomena succeeded upon a Tryal with Nails corroded in Aqua fortis From which Experiments it might be inferred That if Water be not convertible into Air yet it seems probable that it may be generated anew And that Air and Water are mutually convertible into each other might further be urg'd as nothing but what the Aristotelians teach and allow of But we shall rather urge That if what Democritus Lucippus and Epicurus together with other Naturalists teach be allow'd of viz. That the Qualities of Bodies depend on the different Figures Shapes and Textures of the Parts of Matter they consist of it will be reasonable enough to think That the Texture of the Parts of Water being alter'd they may acquire the several Qualities of Air since it is certain That the Parts of Matter may by a lucky Concourse of Causes become springy So Silver by being beaten with a Hammer acquires Springiness which it loses by being heated in the Fire and becomes flexible EXPERIMENT XXIII The Subject of the former Experiment prosecuted IN Prosecution of what was deliver'd in the foregoing Experiments We filled a Glass call'd a Philosophical Egg with common Water about a Foot and a half high it being large enough to contain about nine Ounces and the Diameter of the Neck being at the Top half an Inch and at the Bottom an Inch this being put into the Receiver and the Pump ply'd when the Air was pretty well exhausted several Bubbles rose to the Top and broke but all of them finding an easy Passage through the Water did not elevate it as when they ascended in a narrower Cylinder but upon an Admission of Air into the Receiver again the Water was sensibly depressed To try whether distilled Water was more subject to expand than common Water I put two Ounces of it into a Glass Bubble which wrought to the Middle of it's Neck but it neither swelled nor yielded Bubbles upon an Exsuction of the Air. But having put distilled Water into two distinct Philosophical Eggs the Neck of the former being straitned with a Glass Tube we plac'd them in the Receiver and found a manifest Difference upon the Exsuction of the Air for in that which was straitned the Air manifestly elevating the Water several Bubbles were gather'd about the bottom of the Glass Tube whereas in the other Egg the Water was not in the least elevated and though the Bubble in the last-mentioned disappear'd upon the Re-ingress of the Air those above the Tube continu'd visible only a little contracted for a considerable time the Surface of the Water which was before elevated being depressed lower than when first put into the Egg. And after a days time having again ply'd the Pump we observ'd That the Bubbles were so much drawn out before that we could scarce discern a Bubble in either but that in which the Cylindrical Tube was plac'd swell'd the Breadth of a Barly Corn tho' the other did not yet in the former upon a Re-ingress of Air it subsided again and whether that Swelling was caus'd by the Rarefaction of the Water or the Spring of some latent airy Parts is not easy to determine EXPERIMENT XXIV The former Experiments prosecuted with other Liquors HAVING put Sallad Oyl into a Glass about the Size of a Turkey's Egg whose Stem was near â…“ of an Inch in Diameter the Liquor reaching up to the Middle of the Stem we plac'd it in the Receiver together with the like Vessel fill'd to the same Height with Water and upon drawing out the Air the Bubbles were not only more copious than those of the Water but rose much sooner as well as longer continuing till the Pumper was quite tired with Pumping and what was very remarkable in this Experiment was that when the Oyl was put into the Receiver before the Receiver could be closed and the Pump put into Action it subsided near half an Inch in the Stem Having put Oyl of Turpentine into a Glass Bubble we observ'd That it afforded a good Quantity of Bubbles which expanded themselves in their Ascent and would sometimes raise the Oyl in the Tube so much as to make it run over But besides the foregoing we try'd the like Experiments with other Liquors amongst which a strong Solution of Salt of Tartar afforded very few Bubbles and those much later than other Liquors Spirit of Vinegar likewise yielded very few Red Wine afforded Bubbles pretty plentifully which chang'd Places by moving in an oblique Ascent and formed a sort of Froth near the Top which presently disappear'd Milk afforded plentiful Bubbles which elevated that Liquor more than common Water We likewise put Eggs into the Receiver to see whether the Substance contain'd in the Shells would break them leaving the Film within it whole as that Substance frozen had done but it succeeded not We put Spirit of Urine into a Glass Egg filling another up to the Middle of the Neck with common Water to which we added as much Spirit of Wine as rais'd it half an Inch higher and into a Glass which differ'd from the former only in having a flat Bottom we pour'd rectify'd Spirit of Wine till it rose to â…” of the Neck And the Edges of these three being mark'd we put them into a Receiver Upon the Exsuction of the Air the Mixture of Water and Spirit of Wine afforded very few Bubbles The Spirit of Urin swell'd near an Inch and a half above the Mark affording Store of Bubbles which formed a Froth upon which several larger Bubbles lay which were plac'd one above another to the Top of the Tube The Spirit of Wine afforded Bubbles till we were weary
Mercury so easily the rarified Air would rather penetrate than buoy it up The Reason of Suction To shew in Opposition to Mr. Hobbs how much the Atmospherical Air is concern'd in Suction we took a Glass Bubble whose long Stem was Cylindrical and very slender and having by the help of heat expelled a good quantity of the Air contain'd in it when by immerging it in Water that Rarified Air which remained in it was condens'd the VVater was almost raised to the Top of the Pipe when this was done the Air in the Bubble being Rarified it forced out almost all the Water in the Stem only a few Drops which satisfi'd us that none of the Rarified Air had got out of the Pipe as the Depression of the Water so low assured us on the other side that the included Air was almost as much Expanded as when the Water began to ascend into the Pipe When the Air was thus Rarified we presently removed the Pipe out of the Water into the Stagant Mercury which ascended into it in a short time In which Experiment did the Mercury rise to prevent a Vacuum or did it's Ascent depend on any internal Principle of Motion or on the compression and propagated Pulsion of the Air that was expelled there would be no reason why the Mercury should not rise as high as the Water But from our Hypothesis the Reason is plain for as soon as the Cylinder of Water or Mercury together with the compress'd Air is equiponderant with the Atmosphere incumbent it rises no higer So that tho' the Air is less condens'd when the Tube is immers'd in Mercury yet the greater Weight of Mercury making a greater resistance than Water the external Air is not able to buoy it up any higher to compress the Air enclosed And this Experiment is confirm'd by the following For having expell'd a little Air out of the Bubble by heat so much Quicksilver ascended into it as fill'd a Fourth Part of the Pipe which being carefully removed so that no Mercury could run out we caused the Air in the globous part to be Rarified till almost all the Mercury was expell'd the end of the Pipe being all the while immers'd in Water as soon as the Air included began to cool the Water rose up into the Body of the Ball buoying up the Mercury before it whereit was observ'd that as the Air was more or less Rarifi'd and the Quicksilver exepll'd out of the Stem the Ascent of the Water would proportionably vary So that as the Body to be buoy'd up by the External Air varies in Weight so do the Degrees of it's Ascent Another Observation which shews that there is no Circulation of Wind such as Mr. Hobbs supposes to be the Cause of Suction is that Smoak will ascend without being in the least blown about But since Mr. Hobbs will not allow of a Vacuum but asserts that the Air makes it's Way through the close and solid Bodies I shall add that having expell'd the Air by Rarefaction out of a very thin Aeopile and stopp'd the Orifice up with Wax the External Air made such a violent Pressure on it as to thrust the Sides of it considerably inwards CHAP. VII The Cause of Attraction by Suction Attraction what SUction being look'd upon to be a sort of Attraction before I descend to a more particular Consideration of the former I shall premise something of the latter And tho' Attraction is generally taken to be a kind of Pulsion yet both of them to me seem to be but extrinsical Denominations of the same Local Motion in which if a Body mov'd precede the Movent or tends to acquire a greater Distance from it we call it Pulsion and if upon the Account of Motion the same Body either follows or tends towards the Movent it is term'd Attraction so that the difference is no Physical one but only Accidental in respect of the Line of Motion to the Movent As when a Man draws a Chain after him tho' he goes before it yet he hath some Part of his Body behind one Link which draws the rest after it and so if that Chain draws any thing after it tho' the Cause of the Attraction goes before yet there is a certain Cohesion of Parts that enables it to drag that Body after it so that Attraction evidently appears to be a Species of Pulsion and such an one as is usually term'd Trusion as when a Gardiner drives his Wheelbarrow before him without letting go his Hold. But perhaps it may be said that there are Attractions where it cannot be pretended that the Attrahent comes behind any Part of the Body attracted as in Magnetical and Electrical Attractions or as when Water rises by pumping As for the two first Instances should we allow with Modern Philosophers of screw'd Particles and other Magnetical Emissions we might say that these coming behind either the Body attracted or it 's porous Parts on it's Superficies might cause such an Effect or by procuring some Discussion of the Air that may make it thrust the moveable towards the Attracting Body But were there none of these nor any other subtil Agents that cause this Motion by a real tho' unperceiv'd Pulsion I should to distinguish these from other Attractions term them Attraction by Invisibles But as for the last Instance I suppose it will be easily granted that the ascending Rammer only makes way for the Water to rise as it is buoy'd up by External Air for from the Torrecellian Experiment it is evident that since the Terraqueous Globe is continually press'd upon by the Atmosphere if in any part that Pressure be taken off the Incumbent Atmospherical Pillar will buoy up as much of that Liquor as a Pillar of Air of such a Diameter is able to counterpoise The Truth of which is further confirm'd by observing that if the Air from about a Syringe be exhausted the Sucker may be pull'd up without elevating the Water or drawing it up after it And indeed supposing two Men by thrusting equally on each side a Door to keep it shut one might as well say that he that left off thrusting on one side was the Cause of the Doors opening as that the Water rises by the drawing up the Rammer which only gives way to the Water as buoy'd up by the External Air. Thus much being said of Attraction I shall proceed to consider The Cause of Suction as laid down by others exanun'd that Species of it call'd Suction for which several Philosophers have thought on various Causes As Nature's Abhorrency of a Vacuum which were it true Water by Suction might be rais'd to any Height but we have found by Experience that it will not be rais'd above 33 ½ Foot which Weight the Atmosphere is able to buoy up as appears from the Torrecellian Experiment And further from an Experiment elsewhere laid down where tho' Water may presently be suck'd up to the Top of a Pipe 3 Foot long yet
Poyson and in some a Faintness and Dispiritedness according to the Testimony of several Physicians And that Mineral Expirations may cause a determinate Distemper we may learn from an Observation of mine which was That a Chymist rubbing very often Red Arsnick in a Mortar and endeavouring to make an Excellent Medicine of it first complain'd to me of a Difficulty of breathing and sometimes of Pains and Tumors in his Testicles And it will not be very much doubted whether Mineral Effluvia penetrate the Pores of the Body or not by those that shall know that the Fumes of Sulphur are so penetrating that at the Pic of Teneriff they blacken Silver in the Pockets of those that go up to it I made a Preparation of Sulphur which emitted Effluvia so powerful in the Cold that they penetrated a Leathern Purse and discoloured Silver contain'd in it But besides the forementioned Effects of Vapours on the Pic of Teneriff I was told that one that ascended that Mountain had the Colour of his Hair altered before he came down again which argues the Power of Mineral Effluvia to penetrate the Pores of the Body But lest it should be questioned by some whether such Mineral Effluvia would not be consumed and cease in less time than Endemical Diseases are continued in one Place I shall imtimate that I think several subterraneal Bodies may have a power of propagating their Virtue to Matter contiguous to them by some Seminal Principle or something Analogous to a Ferment or by bringing some more Crude Mineral Earths gradually and successively to a greater Degree of Maturity and Perfection For it hath been observed that in Tract of time a Mineral might be obtained from an Earth which at another time it could not be obtain'd from which Observation holds as to Nitre which is one of the most Catholick Fossils and most plentifully emits Effluvia Besides tho' Mineral Effluvia in the Region of the Earth discoverable by us should be consum'd I see not why supplies may not be brought from the Bowels of the Earth Indeed considering how closely the Matter of Minerals is crowded together and how long Magnets severed from their Mines emit Effluvia without a sensible Diminution the Stock of Mineral Earth from whence they flow cannot be thought suddenly to be exhausted for an Effluviating power is so durable that one had a perfumed Watch which tho' constantly worn preserv'd it's Scent 16 years and by the same Reason could perfume Marbles quite through so that they retain'd their Scent a long time But before I leave this second Proposition it is requisite that I should take Notice that noxious Effluvia may cause Distempers not only by Respiration and penetrating the Pores of our Body but by impregnating the Water made use of for preparing and Diluting our Aliment without any sensible alteration in the Water to be discern'd by us So Water by an Infusion of Crocus Metallorum becomes Emetick and indeed sometimes those Effluvia are so numerous that in the Borders of Lancashire the Mud in a Ditch is so strongly impregnated with subterraneal Exhalations that at the Surface of the Earth or Water they will take fire and flame like a Candle But besides that Distempers may be propagated by these subtle Effluvia impregnating Water they may be also prejudicial in as much as being mixed with the Nutriment of Plants they may deprave their Juices and consequently make them unfit to be eaten And that Mineral Effluvia may in a great measure deprave and influence the substances of Plants in their growth is confirmed by some who have noted that Oaks growing in Ground which abounded with Vitriolate Mines were much more heavy and solid than others and these Effluvia are sometimes so numerous and crouded into the Pores of Plants as not to be overcome and concocted by the Ferments of the Plants but to keep their own Natures for I have observed in a Vine near Paris several Marchasitical Particles throughout the Pores of the Root and Trunk And I have been told that at Tockay in Hungary the very Kernels of the Grapes are as if it were Guilt over with Leaf Gold But Besides the aforementioned Ways by which our Bodies may be affected with Noxious Effluviums we may not a little suffer by the deprav'd Humours which some Animals we Feed upon are nourished by and which vitiate their Bodies primarily and secondarily ours As from what hath been said it appears that Subterraneal Effluvia may cause Distempers so it may not be amiss to take Notice that possibly in some measure Mineral Effluvia may prevent Distempers for 't is Observed that several parts of Scotland are free from Agues and that very hot and large Regions in the East-Indies are rarely troubl'd with the Plague nor is it less remarkable that in Ireland the Air is impregnated with such sort of Emanations as prevent the Generation of any venemous Creatures To which I shall add the following Instance from Beguinus in his own words who says Dignum admiratione est quod quamvis in vicinia Hydriae Comitatus Gloricensis ubi reperitur copiosè ☿ singulis fere annis Lues pestifera grassatur illa tamen semper immunis ab hac manere soleat idque viri providae aetatis se observasse et a Majoribus suis accepisse mihi sancte confirmarunt to which I shall add further that the Learned Michael Magerus pronounces Mercury an Antidote against several Diseases and particularly the Plague PROPOSITION III. It is likely Proposition 3. that divers Epidemical Diseases are in great Part produc'd by Subterraneal Effluvia THo' several Epidemical Distempers are caused by manifest alterations in sensible Qualities of the Air yet to shew that some of them principally and others partly depend on the Effects of Subterraneal Effluvia I shall offer the following Considerations And First the Structure and disposition of the Parts of our Globe which are not much below the Surface of it and much more the deeper Subterraneal Regions are so plentifully stocked with Mineral substances so that it is not improbable but that Subterraneal Effluvia ascending thence into the Air may cause excessive Heat or Cold or some other manifest Qualities and consequently in part occasion most Epidemical Diseases For from what I have elsewhere shewn it not only appears that these Effluvia by acting on one another may excite sudden heats but also that Minerals of different Degrees of Maturity acting on one another may produce an Intense Cold. Besides the changes of the Air on which Epidemical Diseases depend are so considerable and instantaneous that they can scarce be attributed to the Influence of the Sun or Moon which are too regular and constant in their Influence to cause such Anomalous effects as we cannot but take Notice of in a few years time but are rather caused by an irruption of Subterraneal Steams which are frequently both impetuous and irregular And tho' some attribute them to the Influence of the
of Ice and Salt 2 hours it made an oblique crack in the Barrel Six Inches long and the Ice being taken out seemed full of Bubbles but very small ones and the like success we had with another Barrel of a Gun whose Muzzle and Touch-hole were stopped up with Metal nor had we less success when we buried a Pewter Bottle in a frigorifick Mixture both the Barrel of the Gun and the Bottle being burst in a quarter of an hour TITLE XII Experiments concerning a new way of Estimating the Expansive force of Congelation and of highly compressing Air without Engines A new way of Estimating the Expanâ—…e force of Congelation HOW far we were able to compress the Air by the Incumbent weight of a Cylinder of Mercury we have else where shewn but to reduce it to a greater degree of Condensation I made the following Experiments 1. Having filled a Glass-Egg with Water till it wrought about an Inch into the Stem we placed it in a Mixture of Snow and Salt and in a few hours the Surface of the Liquor was raised about 7 Inches and the Apex of the Stem being sealed up by a fresh application of Snow and Salt it was raised 8 Inches higher So that the Air being compressed into the space of an Inch possessed about nine Parts of ten of what it did before Whereupon the Stem being inverted and the seal'd end opened the Air which when the Stem was inverted rose up to the Ice and separated the unfrozen Water in the Stem from it powerfully expanding it self forced out about ten Inches of Water with Violence and Noise besides a great number of Bubbles ascended from the Bottom of the Glass to the Top. N. B. when the Air was compressed beyond seven Inches we several times observ'd That the Glass just above the Water on the inside was full of little drops of Dew which when the Apex was broke off Disappeared 2. A Vial whose neck was drawn out into a slender Pipe being filled till it wrought an Inch within the Pipe in a little time by the Expansion of the Water the Air being too much compressed the head of the Pipe flew off and the same happened to a round white Glass whose Stem filled with Air was about 3 Inches Nor was the success otherwise when we repeated the Experiment in a large single Vial whose Stem was four Inches long and it's Basis an Inch broad 3. An Oval Glass about the size of a Turkeys-egg with a neck almost Cylindrical was filled with Water within four Inches and a half and then a piece of Paper being pasted upon the Stem divided into half Inches and quarters and the Apex being sealed up by a moderate Heat the Surface of the Water was raised considerably but the Oval Part of the Glass being covered with a Mixture of Ice and Snow the Air was compressed into a 17th Part of the space it possessed before And the Ball of the Glass bursting afterwards with a considerable Noise the Ice appeared full of Bubbles which rendred it white and Opacous In another Glass whose Ball was larger in proportion to the Stem the Air was compressed into a 19th Part of it's former space before the Glass flew in pieces 3. And this way of trying how far the Air might be compressed and Water expanded by Cold we thought least Exceptionable because the Pores of Glass are more impervious to Air and Water than some Metalline Vessels for having broken open the Apex of the Stem of one of our Glass-Eggs we found that tho' the Water was but a little expanded yet not finding a way out at the Pores of the Glass the Water rose up a quarter of an Inch. TITLE XIII Experiments and Observations concerning the Sphere of Activity of Cold. Of the Sphere of Activity of Cold. IN estimating the Sphere of Activity of Cold we are not only to consider the Degree of it in the cold Body but also the Medium through which it is to pass and the Consistence and Texture of it as likewise the Instruments employ'd to receive or acquaint us with the Action of Cold Since from what hath been before laid down it appears That Weather-glasses give us a more nice account of the Degrees of it and that our Sensories may mis-inform us upon the account of their various Predispositions Besides the Sphere of Activity may be vary'd by the Bulk of the cold Body 1. But to consider the Sphere of Activity of small Pieces of Ice we have found it very small in comparison of the Atmospheres of odorous Bodies insomuch that I am perswaded we can have no sense of Cold without the immediate Contact of a cold Body since Ice approaching our Sensory or a Weather-glass affects neither tho' held as near as possibly they may without touching And the like hath been observ'd at Sea where in foggy Nights the Seamen have not been able to discern neighbouring Mountains of Ice Tho' by a Merchant who made the Observation in Greenland I am told That he perceived a manifest access of Cold upon the approach of a floating piece of Ice 2. And I am told that in Ispahan the Capital City of Persia the Ice being never much more than a Finger thick they usually pour Water upon it which as it runs over the Ice is in part froze by which means they thicken the Ice and preserve it in proper Conservatories This Experiment having been tryed in England by pumping of Water upon Flakes of Ice I found That the Pump-water being warmer than the Ice thawed it instead of increasing the Thickness of it And tho' here in England Water poured upon Snow promotes its Dissolution yet in Russia and Muscovy I am told That Water thrown upon Snow freezes it which they therefore make use of to incrustate several Bodies with Ice yet one thing is to be observ'd that generally at the same time the sharpness of the Air is so violent as to incrustate several Bodies with Ice when only Water is made use of so that in trying such Experiments we are to consider the Temperature of the Air at the same time which hath a great Influence in promoting or varying the Effects of such Tryals 3. How deep Frost penetrates into Water and Earth will be a very hard thing to determine since Earth especially may be more or less disposed to freeze according to the several Degrâ—es of Cold and its Duration the Texâ—â—â—… of the Earth and the Nature of the Juices dâ—â—â—…ed through it or subterraneal Steams Whence large Tracts of Land that lye over some Mines are always free from Snow good quantities of Lime-stone being near the Surface of the Earth 4. But tho' it be so difficult to know to what Depth Frost will reach yet that we may contribute as much as we can to the general History of Cold we shall add the following Notes After four Nights hard Frost the Ground in the Orchard was froze about 3 Inches deep and in the
Garden about 2 after ten Nights Frost the Ground in the Garden was froze about 6 Inches ½ and that in the Orchard was froze 8 ½ or more Eight Days after it was froze about a Foot Deep 5. A Pipe of Glass 18 Inches long being thrust down into a Hole in the Ground the Surface of the Water contained in it being level with the Earth the next Morning the whole Capacity of the Cylinder was froze 3 Inches from which Stick of Ice a Part of the Cylinder was froze 6 Inches deep but the rest of the Water remained unfroze The Ground in the Garden that Night was froze ten Inches deep 6. It hath been observ'd that in Moscow the Ground in a Garden was not froze above two Foot deep but Capt. James says in Charlton-Island he observ'd the Ground froze ten Foot deep and the same Author in his Journal p. 86. says That the Water does not freeze naturally above six Feet One Particular referrable to the XIII Title I am told That a Lee-ward of great Banks of Ice they may discover them by the access of Cold twenty Leagues TITLE XIV Experiments concerning the Different Mediums through which Cold may be diffused Of the Mediums through which Cold may be diffused IN trying these Experiments we are to take Notice that the Mediums are not to be too thick since from Experiments already deliver'd it appears That a compact Medium very thick will not give way to Cold. 1. Having placed a Mixture of Snow and Salt in a Pipkin and another in a white Basin glazed within and without they were both incrustated with Ice And that Cold will penetrate Pewter-Bottles appears from Experiments already laid down 2. Having caused two Cups to be made of Lattin or Plates of Iron covered over with Tin the Convex Part of one of which was less than the Concave of the other and the less having a broad Ledge by the help of which it rested on the Brim of the other so as to leave an Interval betwixt its Convex Superficies and the Concave of the other we filled that Interval with Water and putting a Mixture of Ice and Salt within the less Cup and on the outside of the other we had Cups of Ice made of the inclosed Water 2. The Learned Erasmus Bartholinus in his discourse De figura Nivis mentions an Experiment by which Air is turned into Water in the midst of Heat viz. Ice or Snow being put into a a funnel which he supposes refrigerates and condenses the Ambient Air but I rather think That the Dew which he supposes to be condensed Air is made up of moist Vapours swimming in it which is so small in Quantity That having suspended a Tunnel in the Air with a Mixture of Snow and Salt which is much more refrigerating than either Ice or Snow by themselves it gathered but a very small Quantity and that too lasted no longer than whilst the Mixture was dissolving besides those condensed Vapours were first Froze before they dropped down in the form of Water 3. That in Hermetically sealed Glasses a Mixture of Snow and Salt will freeze Vapours on the outside is evident from what hath been laid down but that Cold should not only penetrate Glass but afterwards act upon Water in Vacuo was a little more strange For having suspended a Tube of Water in Vacuo and piled Snow and Ice about it as high as the Included Water wrought it worked upon it and Froze it from the top to the bottom 4. But what is yet more strange is That Cold will act through a evidently hot Medium for drinking a good quantity of Mineral Waters timely in the Morning I observ'd a Manifest Coldness through the Muscles of my Abdomen which was in a higher degree remarkable in a Gentleman who drunk much greater quantities 5. To try whether the fluidity of Water depended on a Congenite motion in the Parts of it or whether it was conveyed to it by impulse from the Ambient Air we provided a Glass-Bubble about the size of a Wall-nut and of a Pear like shape whose Stem was purposely made crooked and suspending it by a thread in Oyl of Turpentine contain'd in a narrow Glass and this being placed in a Mixture of Snow and Salt tho' the Oyl continued fluid yet the Water in the Bubble was froze And when we went to take it out the Bubble being crack'd the greatest Part subsided to the Bottom of the Mixture but we perceiv'd That that which was pulled out was divided by a line through the middle from the top downwards And it was further observable in this Tryal That the two separable Pieces of Ice being left in a Mixture of Ice and Salt for 14 hours were very little wasted The like success we had with a Bubble of Water suspended in Spirit of Wine but another suspended in Sea-Salt was not froze at all nor was another that we hung in a sharp brine But the same Experiments being tryed another time the Water was froze both in the Bubble suspended in Spirit of Wine and in that which was immersed in the strong Brine the Bottle which contain'd the latter being crack'd which cracks were not much unlike the lines drawn from the Pole of a Globe to the Meridian reaching from the top of the Bubble downwards 6. A Bubble suspended with Water in it in a Glass immersed in Snow and Salt was froze without the Intervention of any Liquor TITLE XV. Experiments and Observations concerning Ice Concerning Ice 1. THO' in the East-Indies it hath been thought strange That Water in England should without any Artificial means be turned into a consistent Body yet it is related by some That in Russia the Ice on the contrary is found much harder than Ours 2. To make an Estimate of the Cohesion of the Parts of Ice we thought to have tryed what weight Cylindrical pieces of Ice of different Diameters would bear But being frustrated in such Tryals we try'd how much weight a Plate of it placed betwixt two Iron-Bars would bear but having not convenient weights we were forced to be content to know That it bore a much greater weight than one could suppose it capable of 3. A peice of Ice 3 Inches long and as many broad and about 4 of an Inch thick was laid cross a frame and a peice of Iron of this Figure 7 having a scale hung at the longer Leg the Horizontal Leg was placed upon the middle of the Ice and then 117 Ounces Troy-weight being put into the Scale when the Iron had melted half the Ice through on one side and a third Part of the other the weight was able to break it The Experiment being repeated when the piece of Ice was 2 Inches and a half long it bore 17 pound Averdupois and 48 Ounces Troy-weight when the Iron on one side had melted ⅔ and on the other ½ Parts of the thickness of it 4. Plates of Ice being laid upon a stool
in both successively And the Salt it self being cast into Water scarce made it sensibly colder nor did the Glass wherein this Salt was kept disclose any remarkable degree of Coldness And even the frigorifick Mixture it self when the Ebullition was over appear'd not colder than common Water in a Night's time so that the Coldness depended purely upon the Texture of the fermenting Liquor And to this I shall add that tho' I made use of a Spirit that was drawn off at the same time with this Salt and which in the Judgment of my senses appeared to be of the same kind yet instead of a cold Ebullition it produced a Luke-warm Heat And to these I shall further subjoyn that tho' the Liquor above mention'd would produce a cold Ferment with the dry Salt yet with the Spirit it grew warm tho' some of the same frigorifick Spirit kept warm by the fire till the Liquor in the Weather-Glass rose yet upon the injecting of some of the dry'd Salt it would be manifestly depressed Nay tho the Spirit and Salt were both warm yet upon their Mixture they would produce a manifest Coldness And to this Experiment I shall add that Salt of Tartar mix'd with Spirit of Vinegar produced upon their Ebullition a degree of Coldness greater than that of Water and when a Weather-Glass was removed out of Water into it an hour after the ferment the Spirit was depressed about half an Inch tho' Salt of Pot-ashes mix'd with Spirit of Vinegar produced Heat as appeared by the same Weather-Glass successively immersed in either CHAP. XII Of the Mechanical Origin or Production of Heat Of the mechanical Production of Heat HEAT being a quality whose nature seems to consist in a mechanical Motion of the Parts of the Body said to be hot it may be requisite to note that the three following Conditions are necessary in modifying that Motion First That the Motion be more rapid than in Bodies barely fluid so Water becomes hot by an increase of the motion of its Parts which argue their vehement motion by dissolving Butter and rising in the form of Vapours Which effects are more conspicuous as the degree of Motion is greater or less Another Instance to shew that the Parts of hot Water are in a more violent agitation than those of cold is in Water cast upon a hot Iron for they presently acquire such an additional Motion from that hot Body that it hisses and boils yielding Steams copiously But a stronger instance of the vehement Agitation of the parts of hot Bodies is in actual Flame since they move so impetuously as to dissolve and shatter whatever lies in their way A second Condition requisite to render a Body hot is that the motion of its Parts be variously determined which variety of Determination is apparent in Fire which produces the same effects on the same Bodies whatsoever is their Scituation in respect of that Fire so a red Coal melts Wax whether held above below or on one side of it and that a variously determin'd Motion is requisite appears if we observe that the rapid motion of Water in a River which is only one way contributes not to the increase of its heat A third requisite is that the Parts in such a Motion should be very minute so as to be insensible since it is manifest that tho' Sand be put into a violent motion it acquires not a heat by it This account of heat being considered it will appear that a Body may become hot as many ways as it is capable of having its parts put into such a Motion To illustrate which Observation I shall subjoin some instances of the Production of Heat several ways as first by an effusion of Oyl of Vitriol upon Salt of Tartar Aq. fortis upon Silver But to pass over these common Instances I shall proceed to some not so frequently known having first taken notice of the Heat which succeeds an effusion of cold Water upon Quick-lime which Phaenomenon tho' it be commonly held to be an effect of an Antiperistasis upon the enclosure of the Lime in cold Water yet that the effect is produced by another cause appears since the like succeeds if hot Water be made use of instead of Cold and further because tho' Oyl of Turpentine be poured on it cold no such Effect follows EXPERIMENT I. Tho' Helmont ascribes the Incalescence of Quick-lime upon an Affusion of Water to a conflict of an Alkalizate and an acid Salt set at liberty by being dissolv'd in the Water yet since no such acid appears to be latent in Quick-lime the account is unsatisfactory For I might as well suppose an Acid latent in other Alkalies in as much as Salt of Tartar mixed with Water either in the Palm of ones Hand or in a Vial affords a sensible Heat EXPERIMENT II III IV. Others think that the cause of the Heat of Quick-lime proceeds from some fiery Empyrumatical Atoms lodged in the substance of the Stone when calcin'd and set at liberty in the form of Effluvia but this Hypothesis is not without some difficulties since no such Heat succeeds an affusion of Water upon Minium or Crocus Martis per se tho' their increase of weight argues that they are stuffed with fiery and metalline Particles To which I shall add that I knew two Liquors which being several times separated and reconjoined without addition did at each Congress acquire a sensible heat so Salt of Tartar several times freed from Water The effects of a mixture of Salt of Tartar and Water will produce Heat when mixed again with that Water which shews that the violence of the Fire is not requisite to impress upon all calcin'd Bodies that will heat with Water what passes for an Empyreum And this Phaenomenon I am apt to believe proceeds from a disposition of the Texture of the Salt being stocked with store of igneous Parts which upon an ingress of Water pressed into the Pores of the Body by the weight of the Atmosphere are apt to break the Texture of that Body and to put them in motion so as to produce a sensible Heat And that the Ferment depends upon the peculiar Texture of the Salt I am perswaded and a constipation of the Pores of it since Sal-Armon dissolv'd in Water and boiled to a dry Salt was not so much impregnated with fiery Parts as to cause a Heat upon its mixture with Water again but a considerable degree of Cold and tho' one would expect a greater cognation betwixt the Particles of fire adhering to Quick-lime and Spirit of Wine wholly inflammable yet the latter poured upon the former did not produce any sensible incalescence or dissolution of it and when this Spirit was soak'd into it I poured Water upon it without perceiving the least Heat or the Lime broken till within a few hours after so that the Spirit being sucked into the most capacious Pores of the Lime and associating with the Water rendred it more unfit to
Mace as with Oyl of Cinamon yet upon further Tryals I found that it succeeded And to what hath been deliver'd on this Subject I shall further add when the Noctiluca was wholly consum'd to a Caput Mortuum that as soon as it was turned with the other side upwards it would immediately take Fire a-fresh THE WORKS Of the HONOURABLE ROBERT BOYLE Esq EPITOMIZED BOOK V. PART I. CHAP. I. New Experiments of the Positive or Relative Levity of Bodies under Water Arguments against the Positive Levity of emerging Bodies WHEN any Body that is lighter in Specie than Water is immersed in it and upon the removal of that force which depressed it it rises again it is usually attributed to the Positive Levity of that Body but since the instance of Wood emerging is that which is usually offered as an Argument to it I shall answer That Wood being a Body full of Pores except some which will not swim in Water and upon that account specifically lighter than Water the Water by the Pressure of that which is incumbent getting betwixt the Superficies of the Vessel and the Body immersed causes it to rise the Water which succeeds it in its place making a more powerful Pressure against it than its Specifick Gravity enables it to resist And that Bodies Specifically lighter than Water will be thus buoyed up by it will appear from the Hydrostatical Paradoxes hereafter to be laid down And tho' it be usually urged that the Bodies imimmersed are too closely contiguous to the bottom of the Vessel for the Water to insinuate themselves betwixt yet from the following Experiment it will appear that were the contiguous Surfaces so close the positive Levity of the Wood would not be able to raise it for two black Marbles being so exactly polished as to be as contiguous as possibly they might we tyed a Bladder full of Air to the uppermost and then causing them both to be immersed in Water the positive Levity of the Bladder would not cause the Bladder to rise but as soon as by a servant the uppermost Marble was gradually slipped half off the Polished Surface of the lowest the Water which before was not able to insinuate it self betwixt the Surfaces of the contiguous Marbles and to separate them presently caused the Bladder to rise with a considerable swiftness and force above the Surface of the Water Which Event that it did not depend on Nature's abhorrency of a Vacuum is evident since that would have an equal force when the Polished Surfaces were wholly contiguous the Power of Nature's abhorrency of a Vacuum being held by its Assertors to be unlimited And that it was not the heaviness of the upper Marble nor want of lightness in the included appeared since when the Surfaces of the polished Marbles were not contiguous the Bladder was able to lift up a weight of six or seven pound besides the Marble And to shew that the Bladder might be raised by the Pressure of the Water according to the laws of Hydrostaticks usually buoying up Bodies Specifically lighter than it self having pressed out the greatest part of the Air contained in a Bladder I tyed a piece of Iron to it and immersed it in a wide-mouth'd Glass which was so deep that the Bladder was totally immersed and yet not far below the Surface of the Water and this being convey'd into our Pneumatick Engine when by exhausting the Air part of the Pressure was taken off the Air in the Bladder expanding it self and takeing up more Room in the Water and consequently becoming so much more Specifically lighter and the resistance of the Water which endeavours to buoy it up becoming respectively greater it was together with the suspended weight raised to the Surface of the Water and continued there till the outward Air was let in again and then the Air being contracted into its former dimensions it subsided again In which Experiment the positive Levity of the Air was not varyed but only its relative and respective weight in reference to its proportion of Water And that Rarefaction alters not the positive Levity of Bodies may appear from the following Experiment for having oyled a Bladder and when the Air was expressed tyed it to the neck of a Vial I found that in the exhausted Receiver tho' the Air in the Vial was so far expanded as to fill the whole capacity of the Bladder yet the Vial neither rose higher nor subsideded lower when the Air was drawn out or let in again CHAP. II. New Experiments about the Pressure of the Air 's Spring on Bodies under Water The Pressure of the Air 's Spring on Bodies under Water TO shew that the Spring and Weight of the Air hath manifest effects on Bodies separated from an immediate contact by the Interposition of Water I shall subjoyn the following Experiments EXPERIMENT II. We luted the neck of a Vial which was capable of containing above a point of Water upon that pipe which conveys Air out of the Receiver into the Pump which being done we whelmed over this Receiver our large one and having poured in a sufficient quantity of Water we closed it up with the Turn-key that no Air might get out that way and then the Air being exhausted out of the Vial if flew into a great many peices the sides of the Glass being not able to resist the Pressure of the Air that lay upon the Surface of the Water in the large Receiver EXPERIMENT II. The greatest part of the Air being squeezed out of a Bladder and the Bladder tyed to a weight which kept it something below the Surface of Water contained in a wide-mouth'd Glass this being convey'd into a Receiver the Air in the Bladder expanded as the Air on the Superficies of the Water was extracted EXPERIMENT III. A Brass Plug being fitted to a Cylinder which was closed with a Plate of the same Metal at one end we put a Bladder half blown into the Cylinder and placing the Plug upon it with a weight of a Conical figure upon that we poured so much Water into the Receiver in which it was placed as covered the top of the Conical weight but left the Ring which was fixed to the top of it and which was fastned to the Turn-key by the help of a string and things being thus ordered when the Air above the water was considerably exhausted the Spring of the Air in the Cylinder raised the Plugg and Weights a considerable height tho' the whole weight amounted to twenty eight pounds EXPERIMENT IV. A Glass Vial being closed with Cement and immersed in a deep Brass Cylinder of Water this was convey'd into our Receiver and when the Air which pressed upon the Water was drawn off the Vial in the bottom of the Water was violently shattered in pieces by the Spring of the included Air for want of a sufficient Pressure of the Air incumbent on the Water to resist the force of that Spring EXPERIMENT V. To shew that the Expansion
or Rarefaction of Air increases not the positive Levity of Air we suspended a Bladder half full of Air with a Counterpoise at a ballance in our Receiver and tho' when the Air was exhausted the Bladder was sufficiently distended yet it seemed to retain the same weight whether dilated or contracted CHAP. III. New Experiments concerning an effect of the varying weight of the Atmosphere upon some Bodies in the Water Communicated in the Transactions of Feb. 24.1672 3. Of the Effects of the differing weight of the Atmosphere on Bodies under Water COnsidering that the Pores of most Liquors are plentifully stocked with Aery Particles and that upon that account the Atmosphere may according to its several degrees of weight have considerable Effects on them I caused three small Glass-Bubbles with slender Stems to be blown which were so equally poised in Water by their weight that a little thing would make them emerge or sink And I observ'd that these being put into Water contained in a wide-mouth'd Glass sometimes they would emerge and sometimes subside and sometimes emerge again as the Atmosphere varyed in weight or degrees of Heat and Cold. And it was easie to observe that when the Heat of the Air raised one of these Bubbles the heat of the Sun-Beams would so rarisie the Water included in them as to cause some of it to get out upon which the Bubbles emerged but when those Beams were intercepted the Water being condensed and getting into the Bubble again it would subside But when their subsiding depended on the weight of the Atmosphere if the Mercury in the Baroscope stood high the Heat of the Sun would not raise the Bubbles N. B. 1. That the Bubbles not being all equally poised sometimes one and sometimes two would rise as the Air was heavier or lighter and consequently capable of affecting the lightest only or all 2. The Success did not always answer for when the subsiding depended on some occult cause they would continue there as if some airy Parts had insinuated themselves into the Water 3. The fittest time for these Experiments and in which they best succeed is in the Spring the Air being more subject to vary in its Weight as well as other things CHAP. IV. New Experiments about the differing Pressure of heavy Solids and Fluids Of the different Pressure of Solids and Fluids ONE great reason why some Learned Men believe that the Air hath no such a considerable Pressure on subjacent Bodies as we teach is because they think it would be too heavy for Animal Bodies to live or move under it but since we have positive proof of it we may as well doubt whether the Load-stone be endewed with an attracting and other Virtues because we cannot understand how they are perform'd Besides Men being born under such a Pressure their Bodies seem not only accustom'd to it but proportionably strong But could we suppose a Man born somewhere without the incumbent weight of an Atmosphere doubtless such Bodies would not be so able as ours to resist its Pressure But it is urged by some that were there such a Pressure of the Atmosphere it would cause Pain but to this it may likewise be answered that our Bodies being from the Birth accustomed to it we only feel Pain upon some new unaccustomed and additional Pressure so when we are accustomed to wear heavy Cloaths we are not sensible of their weight nor are we sensible of the Heat of the Blood in our Heart because it 's habitual to those Parts whereas if our finger be put into the Heart of a newly dissected Animal we shall find it sensibly hot But further from what I have elsewhere laid down it appears that a Cubick Inch of Air will be able to resist the weight of the whole incumbent Atmosphere and that a little quantity of Air resists a further compression as well as a greater and I have likewise shewn that the Pores of the Parts of Animals whether fluid or consistent are plentifully stocked with numerous Aerial Bubbles which cause those Bodies to swell or expand in our exhausted Receiver And as for those membranous and fibrous Parts which are not altogether so porous they are of so strong and firm a Texture as to resist external Pressure upon that account Besides there is a great deal of difference betwixt the partial Pressure of a solid Body and the Pressure of an Ambient Fluid which presses uniformly and is resisted either by the solidity of the Parts or the Spring of those Airy Particles contained within their Pores And that the uniformness of the Pressure makes it less sensible is evident since it hath been observed that tho' the Atmosphere is so much lighter upon the tops of some high Mountains as not to elevate Mercury so high in a Baroscope by three Inches as at the bottom yet those that have been upon those Mountains tell us that they perceived no considerable difference in the Pressure of the Atmosphere above and below nor are Miners sensible of any great weight upon them tho' in deep Mines in Mountainous Countrys nor are Divers sensible of any Pressure when under Water but that Air weighs in Air and that Water weighs in Water I have elsewhere made it evident yet I don't think that a Diver is violently depressed by the weight of the incumbent Water since from what we have elsewhere delivered it appears that if a Man's Body were of an equal specifick Gravity with the Water the subjacent Water would sustain him but his Body being heavier than an equal bulk of Water the Surplusage of weight depresses it for which Reason in some Sea-Water which is near of the same specifick Gravity with their Bodies Divers find it very difficult to dive However it is not a little strange that at so great a depth as one hundred fathom Divers should not perceive a sensible Pressure especially upon their Thorax and Abdomen But I am apt to believe that the inadvertency of some of them rather than any thing else makes them not take notice of it or else the haste which they rise and sink in since I have been told by some that they have perceived a manifest Pressure when they sunk leisurely And I was likewise told by another that when he descended a great depth under Water the Blood was squeezed out of his Nose and Eyes and another who dived in a Leathern-case told me that it was so much pressed against his Thorax and Belly that he was forced suddenly to come up again But since these Relations are not altogether to be relied on I shall endeavour to give a Reason why the Pressure is no more sensible which I take to be the strong Texture of a Human Body and the uniformity of the Pressure As to the first to what I have said of the Resistance made by our Bodies to external Pressure I shall only add that a Bladder being tyed upon the end of a Cylinder about an Inch in Diameter
Deliquium instead of Water and Spirit of Wine instead of Oyl of Turpentine these Liquors being not disposed to mingle with one another and instead of fair Water 06 we may make use of a filtred Solution of Sea-Salt when the other is not easily got And when we have a mind to vary the Experiment we may make use of Oyl of Turpentine along with the other two and by depressing a Tube into them with Water in the bottom exhibit very pleasing Phaenomena PARADOX II. That a lighter fluid may gravitate or weigh upon a heavier paradox 2 The truth of this is evident since all Bodies have a tendency towards the Center by which they are always disposed to press downwards tho' sometimes they have a respective Levity as when a piece of Wood emerges in Water yet nevertheless that relative Levity argues not that it hath no weight at all since tho' when a Man stands in a pair of Scales and lifts up a weight notwithstaning the Ascent of the weight he will perceive a manifest tendency of it downwards But to make it more plain See Plate 2d Fig. 2. where supposing a Cylinder of Water I G See Plate 2. Fig. 2. to be immersed in Oyl of Turpentine to the immaginary Surface E F the Water in the Pipe I H being heavier in Specie than the Oyl it will equally ponderate upon the Surface E F as the lighter Oyl K E L I and if the Pipe be immersed deeper the Cylinder of Water being not equiponderant with the extenal Oyl the Oyl will tho' a lighter Body in Specie rise in the bottom of the Tube and buoy up the Water Again the Bubble X which consists of a Glass heavier than Water and Air which is lighter See Plate 2. Fig. 3. or partly of Water it self which is specifically as heavy as long as the whole aggregate is lighter than Water of an equal bulk it will float but if it grows heavier it will sink and if any heavy Body presses upon it which is specifically heavier than Water by which the included Air may be compressed the Bubble will subside but when that Pressure is taken off and the Air expands it self again it will as soon emerge the Water that was before sucked in being by that means expelled But for a further Confirmation of this second Paradox I shall add the following Experiment viz. That having put a Glass-Bubble pretty well poised into a Tube filled within a foot of the top with Water it swam there till a good deal of Oyl of Turpentine was poured upon the Water but then more Water being forced into the Bubble by the weight of the incumbent Oyl it presently subsided but when part of that Oyl was taken off the spring of the Internal Air forcing the impressed Water out again the Bubble presently immerged And For a further Confimation of this Paradox as well as the first I shall add that a Bubble swimming in a Tube as in the former Experiment tho' depressed to the bottom by a Wier yet when that Pressure is taken off again it will rise up as before but if it be held under Water till more is poured in and till it rises about a foot above it in the Tube the weight of the incumbent Water will depress it but if that Water be gradually taken off the Bubble will presently emerge If it should be asked why in these Tryals I did not make use of Oyl of Tartar per Deliquium instead of Water I shall answer That in such slender Pipes as the first Experiment was made in as the Oyl of Tartar flowed down one side the Oyl of Turpentine would rise on the other which makes me wonder that Monsieur Paschall should teach that if a Tube filled with Mercury be immersed fourteen foot under Water if the Tube be fourteen foot long the Mercury will not wholly run out but continue to the height of a foot in the bottom of it and I the more wonder at it since probably the Impetus would make it descend and since the like would not succeed with much more favourable circumstances betwixt Oyl of Turpentine and Oyl of Tartar PARADOX III. paradox 3 That if a Body contiguous to the Water be altogether or in Part lower than the highest level of the said Water the lower part of the Body will be pressed upward by the Water that touches it beneath This may be proved from what hath been delivered under the first Paradox for where-ever an imaginary Surface is beneath the real one the weight of the Water being incumbent on all other Parts of the same Superficies that part on which the immersed Body chances to lean must have a Proportionable endeavour upwards and if that endeavour be greater than the specifick Gravity of the immersed Body is able to resist then it is buoyed up and tho' the Gravity of the immersed Body is so great as to over-power the tendency of the Water upwards yet the tendency of that Water is not therefore to be denyed for as much as it in some measure resists the subsiding of that Body And this may be confirmed by the Experiment tryed in the second figure for as more Oyl is externaly poured on the Water is impelled and buoyed up in the Pipe by the subjacent Oyl which could not be if the Oyl did not press against it beneath and even when the Water and Oyl are in an Aequilibrium the latter presses upwards in as much as it resists the descent of the Water out of the Tube And the truth of this Proposition is equally true whether we suspend Oyl in Water or Water in Oyl And that the Water makes a resistance to Bodies that descend in it See Plate 2. Fig. 4. will appear from the following Scheme for supposing the Pipe E F to contain Oyl specifically heavier than Water and when the Oyl and Water without were in an Aequilibrium the Pipe be raised drops of Oyl will fall out but much more slowly than in the open Air where if the drop G were not specifically heavier than the Water it would not break the imaginary Surface of the Water H I. But further it not only from hence appears that since as long as the two Liquors are in Aequilibrium they are not able to remove each other out of their places but from hence we may infer that a Liquor of an equal specifick Gravity with Water being placed in any part of that Liquor would remain in the place assigned But to illustrate what we have said of Water obstructing the descent of Bodies heavier than it self I shall add that if twelve ounces of Lead be counterpoised in the Air when the Lead is let down below the Surface of the Water the Scale in the Air will manifestly preponderate which shews that the Water hinders the descent of the other And the resistance of Fluids to the lower superficies of Bodies may be further confirmed by observing that Bodies specifically lighter than
peculiar modification of Rays of Light on the superficies of Bodies different from each other in other Qualities EXPERIMENT VI. Having put into a Glass-Vessel an Oculus Mundi whose Diameter was about a third part of an Inch the Colour of which was white and its figure Convex by degrees the whole was turned brown and in nine minutes time being taken out of the Water was Semidiaphanous which being a gain put into the Water and after a little less than half an hour taken out again was almost as yellow and Diaphanous as Amber But being for some time exposed to the Air it began gradually to grow Opacous and to be marked in several places with white streaks which by degrees expanding themselves united so as to make the whole Surface of the Stone of a cream white EXPERIMENT VII Remarkable Observations about Hurricanes Observatious about Hurricanes I am informed by the Governour of the Bermudas Islands that these are the foreruners of them First at some distance from the shore the Sea would swell Secondly the Water about a day after would beat violently against the shore and adjacent Rocks which could neither be attributed to Winds or Tydes or any other cause besides which it would sometimes on a sudden invade the shore successively as suddenly subsiding again without any manifest cause where it is observable that as the incroachment upon the Shore is greater the recess of the Water is proportionable Thirdly an unpleasant smell in the Air would preceed the Hurricane Fourthly long and visible streaks appeared in the Air of very different Colours as white blue red or green without the least appearance of Clouds EXPERIMENT VIII A Monstrous Pearl Of a Monstrous Pearl Yester day was brought to me a Pearl of an Orient colour except one spot which I suposed was the place where the Umbelical Cord fastened it to the Shell it was an Inch and a half long and about 8 10 of an Inch broad EXPERIMENT IX A strange Observation about the Influence of the Moon Observations on the Influence of the Moon I am informed by a Gentleman that upon a fall had several pieces of his Skull taken out that he not only observed pricking Pains at the full of the Moon about the Meninges but likewise that the Chirurgeons perceived an Intumescence and expansion of those Parts EXPERIMENT X. An uncommon Experiment about Heat and Cold. For a further Confirmation of our Doctrine of the Origin of Heat and Cold Of Heat and Cold. I shall lay down the following Experiment we immersed the Ball of a Thermoscope Hermetically sealed in a Cylindrical Vessel which contained Oyl of Vitriol and presently cast Sal-Armoniack into the Oyl upon the Mixture of which there succeeded a violent Ebullition and likewise a gradual succession of coldness which was both perceived by touching the Vessel and likewise by the descent of the Spirit of Wine in the Thermometer yet this Mixture instead of a cold Effervescensce presently upon the addition of an equal quantity of Water became violent Hot. CHAP. VIII A Collection of Chymical Experiments A collection of Chymical Medicines MY design in following Experiments being rather to lay down such as may be instructive to the Reader than Ostentations of my own skill I shall give this short Advertisement that I have upon that account rather made choise of such as are easie than those that are difficult to be prepared those being more proper for my design which is to lay down Fundamentals for compiling of natural Phylosophy because they are likely to be most Intelligible for it does not always happen that that which is most pleasing to the Eye is most useful for tho' Gold and Diamonds are valuable in themselves yet a piece of Steel or Flint are in effect in some respects of greater use to Mankind EXPERIMENT I. To dissolve crude Gold with dry Bodies Tho' Chymists so much boast of their Aurum Potabile Crude Gold dissolved by a dry Body as to think it a curious preparation yet it is possible to make one without the help of a furnace or so much time after the following manner Having ground four Parts of pure Nitre with two of Rock-Allom and one of Sal-Armoniack I put the Mixture into a new Crucible keeping it in a moderate Heat till the Mixture contained in it was dry which being taken out and presently pulverised it afforded a Golden Tincture in highly rectifyed Spirit of Wine EXPERIMENT II. Luna Cornea by Distillation Luna Cornea by Distillation Three ounces of Silver being put into a Retort upon six ounces of strong Sublimate by a strong Fire the Sublimate was carried to the top of the Vessel leaving the Silver half melted and turned into a Semidiaphanous horny Substance which would melt at the flame of a Candle like Wax N. B. That if there be any Phaenomena in this or other Experiments above what the Title promises the Apology I make for them is that as they may tend to the promoting of natural Philosophy as well as the other so I was not willing to pass them by without Notice EXPERIMENT III. Mercury growing warm with Silver Mercury growing warm with Silver Having gradually mixed the precipitate of Silver made with Copper with two drachms of Antimonial Mercury in a Man's hand till it had reduced to a yielding consistence three quarters of its own weight we put the Amalgama which was noted to be sensibly warm during the Mixture and of an uniform consistence into a Glass Vial which in two Nights time became a hard and brittle Concrete EXPERIMENT IV. The lasting Disposition of a certain preparation of Mercury to grow Hot with Gold I sent a Mercury to the Royal Society which was prepared with a great deal of pains in my Furnaces Mercury growing Hot with Gold which being mixed in one hand with a due proportion of Calx of Gold might be perceived to acquire a sensible Heat which faculty it retained being Hermetically sealed in a Glass Egg ten or twelve years And what is more remarkable is that the Mercury being separated by Distillation would when mixed again with Gold reiterate the former Incalescence EXPERIMENT V. An uncommon method of working upon Antimony A particular way of working upon Antimony In the common method of operating upon Antimony the Air not only influencing the fire in its Operation but also bearing up several of its Particles which work upon each other as in a Medium I took the following method to try what effects the fire would have upon it viz. I laid S S S of common Chalk and Antimony powdered in an Earthen Pot and placed it in a digestive Furnace where it continued about twenty four hours having taken care that the first and last Stratum should be of Chalk and that the Layer of Antimony should be pretty thin EXPERIMENT VI. A method very uncommon of making a Calces of Gold Calces of Gold Preparations of Gold
and if an Organical Body furnished with all the Parts requisite for the Preservation of Life be contained in so small a compass how minute must they be at the first since the Eggs out of which they are formed bear but a small proportion to them when perfectly formed and even comparative Observations tell us that a Mite being ten days a hatching the Rudiments of its Body at the first must bear but a small proportion to the bulk of that small Egg and to this I shall add that tho' these Creatures be so very small yet I have been able to discern single hairs growing upon their Legs Another instance of the Extension of matter minutely divided is this viz. We dissolved a grain of filings of Copper in Spirit of Sal-Armoniack pouring the Solution into a tall Cylinder four Inches in Diameter and successively filling it four times with distilled Water still pouring it off into a Conical Glass which being done and the weight of the Glass Cylinder deducted from the Joint weight of the Liquor contained in it we found that one grain of Copper was able to give à Tincture to 28534 times its weight of Water tho' its specifick Gravity is not half so much as that of fine Gold and if we estimate the proportion not by weight but the bulk of these Bodies the bulk of Water to Copper being as nine to one the aforementioned number multiplyed by nine will give us the proportion betwixt the tinged and tinging the Body so that one grain of Copper gives a colour to 256806 parts of Limpid Water and by prosecuting this Experiment further I found that it was able to give a manifest Tincture to above 385200 and a faint but discernable one to above 513620 times its bulk of Water To shew that the Effluvia of Bodies may enter in at very small Pores I shall intimate the effects of Cantharides held in the hands of some Persons and on the Neck of my own Bladder when applyed outwardly to my Neck And not only Scaliger tells us of Spiders in Gascony whose Virulent Poyson would penetrate the Shooes of those that trod upon them but Piso speaking of a Fish called Amoreatim and by the Portugals Peize sola he says Quae mira sane Efficacia non solum Manum vel levissimo attactu sed pedem licet optime calceatum Piscatoris incaute Pisciculum conterentis Paralysi stupore afficit instar Torpedinis Europeae sed Minus durabili Lib. 5. Cap. 14. And to shew that some Emanations even of solid Bodies may be subtle enough to get through the Pores even of the closest Bodies I shall add that a needle being Hermetically sealed up in a Glass Tube and that laid upon Water a Load-Stone would cause the Needle to leap up in it and by the help of the Load-Stone I could lead the Tube from one part of the Surface of the Water to another as I moved the Load-Stone And to shew that the Magnetical Effluvia of the Earth may penetrate so close and compact a Body as Glass I shall add that a Cylindrical piece of Iron being sealed up in a Glass Cylinder and held in a Perpendicular Posture it acquired such Magnetical Virtues as to become a North Pole and according to Magnetical Laws to drive away the North Point of a Needle but being inverted and held under the Point of a Needle it became a South Pole and attracted it Another Proof of the great subtlety of Effluviums may be taken from the small decrease of Weight by parting with store of such Emanations as Vitrum Antimonii Crocus Metallorum and Quick-silver the two first of which give a Vomitive Virtue to a vast quantity of Wine without growing sensibly lighter and so Quick-silver impregnates Water with a Virtue of killing Worms And a piece of Ambergrease which weighed about 100 or 120 Grains being suspended three days in the open Air lost not sensibly of its Weight notwithstanding the quantity of odoriferous Steams it must have parted with in that time Assa Foetida in about six Days lost about half a quarter of a Grain one Ounce of Nutmegs in six Days lost 5 Grains ½ and an Ounce of Cloves 7 grains â… And tho' Loadstones emit Effluvia without a sensible loss of weight yet I suspect that as these Magnetical Particles fly out of one Pole they enter in at the other and so make the Pores of the Load-stone their constant Thorow-fares To these Instances I shall add that a Grain of Copper being dissolved in a spoonful of a Menstruum and that put into a Glass-Lamp the Metal tinged the Flame which continued half an Hour and six Minutes so that supposing the Flame to have streamed through a Cylindrical Pipe so long that small parcel of Metal must be divided into a vast Number of small Parts for Water which ran through a Cylinder whose Diameter was but half as great as that of the Flame amounted to above Nine Gallons or Seventy two Pounds The last Particular I shall insist upon to shew the strauge subtlety of Effluviums is the great quantity of space a small parcel of Matter may be extended to and as to Sense possess it this we may be enabled to guess at by considering how long a Dog will distinguish the Scent of Partridges Hares c. after they have left the Place and will almost give one sufficient grounds to guess how long the Animal hath been gone from thence before And I am told that a Blood-hound will not only perceive the Seent of a Man that hath gone over a piece of Ground several Hours before but that the scent of a Deer will continue upon the Ground from one Day to the next And if we consider that the eighth part of a Grain can scarce be suppos'd to be left on the Ground where such an Animal hath stood and likewise at what distance it may be scented and how long that scent continues it will be sufficient to convince us of the extraordinary minuteness of those Parts of Animals which were rendered more apt to be dissipated in Effluviums by their having been first strained through the Pores of their Bodies Nor is it less remarkable that Birds especially Crows are able to discover the smell of Gun-powder at a considerable distance and that they are I am satisfi'd by my own Observations as well as the Relations of others And on this occasion I shall add That Julius Palmarius in his Tract de Morbis Contagiosis observes that Horses Beeves Sheep and other Animals have grown mad by eating the Straw that mad Swine have lain on which may give us Reason to suspect that the Feet of distempered Animals may leave an Infection upon the Grass they tread on But to prosecute the chief aim of our Discourse I shall add That since Corpuscles that are too minnte to be visible may affect an Organ of Sense it is not improbable but that there may be a great many which may be so fine
to leave them as thin as a piece of Paper and lined with a white Substance which seemed to be some of the Alkali of the Glass and Sand corroded by the Saline Spirits of the Menstruum and coagulated with them into this odd kind of concrete and this wrought no higher than the Liquor contained in the Glass And besides this I had another Vial corroded by a distilled Liquor of Vitriol which contained more Phlegm than Oyl and to this Relation I shall add That a Pound of Dantzick Vitriol and a Pound of Sea-Salt the one calcin'd lightly and the other decrepitated being distilled in a well coated Retort by degrees of Fire giving at the last a very strong one when the Vessel was taken off we found that the Heat had here and there melted it and that the Fluxed Caput Mortuum had corroded the Glass fetching off Films from it and those Parts which did not appear to the Eye manifestly wasted seemed by their brittleness to have been penetrated so that their Texture was spoiled by the Saline and Vitriolate Particles PROP. II. Common Glass is not ordinarily permeable by Chymical Liquors tho' strong and subtle nor by the directly visible or odorable expirations of Bodies tho' absolutely speaking it is permeable to some corporeal Substances And First It is manifest not only that several Spirituous Liquors and Menstruums may be kept in Glass Vessels without sweating through them but even distilled in them and I have found that neither Salt of Tartar would lent by being held in a Glass Bubble in the Water nor would Sal-Armoniac penetrate it so as to make its way out But it is to be considered that some Circumstances may vary these Observations as when the Texture of Glass is too lax and open or when the Bodies are vehemently agitated with Heat or are too subtile and have a certain congruity with the Pores of the Glass For I have seen a sort of Glass so soft that not only hot Liquors but moderately Corrosives would work upon it and I have heard that some sort of Glass is apt to be prejudiced by corrosive Liquors And I was told by one That he several times observed Gold to penetrate the Pores of Glass and I have observ'd Fumes to make their way through the Pores of ordinary Glass upon distilling of Spirit of Harts-horn with a strong Fire And that the Pores of Glass are penetrated by some Substances is evident by the Effects of Cold and Heat on Bodies contained in sealed Glasses and that so gross a Body as the Effluviums of Earth will penetrate Glass and work on Iron contained in it And Light it self appears evidently to be contained in closely sealed Glasses and by a cantinued Heat I have found the Parts of Fire to penetrate Glass and add to the weight of Iron sealed up and having tryed this Experiment with Filings of Copper I found that their Colour was much altered some of them being adorned with exceeding vivid Dyes which they yet retain without being increased in weight as if they were not able to stick themselves fast enough in the Pores of the Metal to add to its Gravity And I had a Liquor which would vary its Colour as if something in the Air was successively communicated to it and receded again And to these other Instances may be brought from what may be observed in painting Glass for the Pigment being laid upon the Glass and that placed upon a Bed of Lime and then continued in a violent Heat the Pores of the Class will be so opened as either to imbibe the Parts of the Pigment or to vitrifie and mix with it And I have found that by laying prepared Silver upon Glass and placing that upon live Coals when it was nealed a while by giving it a sufficient degree of Heat the Glass will acquire a Yellow and almost a Golden Colour which is not to be washed off the way of preparing this Silver is not always the same the Glass-painters usually adding to it Antimony Yellow Okre or the like But since the Colour proceeds from the penetration of the Silver into the Pores of the Glass I usually make use of the Powder of Silver calcined by burning Sulphur upon thin Plates and I have often coloured Glass barely by the use of Leaves of Silver laid upon the surface of the Glass and moistened with something to keep it from flying away And I have often observed that tho' the Glass betwixt and the Light appeared Yellow yet being held from it it appeared Blue which is a Confirmation of what we have inferred from the variation of Colours in a Tincture of Lignum Nephriticum Viz. That they may be solved by Mecharical Principles And that the Colour of Glass tinged proceeds from an Incorporation of the Parts of a Pigment with it tho' they penetrate not the whole Substance but tinge the superficies as I observed in Glass Plates which were part of the Windows of St. Paul's Church before it was burnt may be urged since the Parts of the Silver may be wrought on by the fix'd Salts in the Glass and afford different Colours according to the difference of the Bodies that work upon them as Copper with Spirit of Urine give a deep Blue with Spirit of Salt a fair Green and with Aqua Fortis a Colour partaking of both And in making Glass of Lead with Minium and White Sand or Crystal the Glass will be of an Amethystine Colour but if you add a due proportion of calcin'd Copper the Metal will give it a good Green so as to pass for no bad Eâ—nerâ—uld and I remember that distilling some Gold in a Retort amalgamed with such Mercury as would grow Hot with it in the Cold the Matter did before it flew away perfectly stain an Inch in the Diameter of the bottom of the Glass with a Colour which held from the Light appeared like that of the better sort of Turquoises but when interposed between the Window and the Eye appeared of a some what Golden Colour And Gold incorporated with Mercury and kept in digestion when the Fire was once very vehement it burst the Vessel and flew away but tinged the lower part of the Glass quite through with a glorious Red Colour not inferior to that of Rubies CHAP. VIII Of the Porousness of Animal Bodies Of the Porosity of Animal Bodies THE First Argument I shall urge for the Porosity of Animal Bodies is from their Structure for since they are most of them compounded of dissimilar or similar Parts we cannot suppose those so exactly united as not to leave Pores and Intervals betwixt them whose Number and Variety must be very great A Second Argument of their Porosity may be deduced from the apposition and consumption of their Nutriment and which may be illustrated by observing that those moist Particles with which the Earth is moistened being agitated by the Heat of the Sun and Air those that happen to be commensurate to the Pores of
that not to intimate that a Body may have many similar Qualities in respect of another Body and yet distinct Operations on a third Substance I say not to intimate that there may be a considerable difference betwixt Volatile Salts or Spirits as they are commonly prepared and when prepared as they may by reiterated Rectifications and other ways of Depuration by a dextrous Chymist to bring them to a greater degree of Purity and Simplicity a greater degree I say because it may be difficult to bring them to an absolute Purity since unheeded commixtures may be made upon the Account of some Corpuscles of Fire with the Body they work upon And that there is a manifest difference betwixt Spirit of Human Blood and other Alkalies as Spirit of Urine and Harts-horn is evident to several People who tho' they abhor the Odour of Spirit of Blood yet they will with Pleasure hold their Noses a great while over Spirit of Urine and Sal-Armoniack And tho' from a due proportion of Spirit of Urine or Sal-Armoniack with Spirit of Salt I have got a Salt which shoots into the shape of that of Urine or Sal-Armoniack yet I have seldom if ever obtained a Salt of the like shape from a Mixture of the Spirit of Humane Blood with that of Common Salt for tho upon an Evaporation of the superfluous Moisture the Salts would coagulate together yet the Concretion seemed confused and not of the Regular shapes of those Salts resulting from a Mixture of the Spirit of Sea-Salt with Urinous Spirits And Helmont tells us that the Spirit of Human Blood will cure Epilepsies which Spirit of Urine will not do TITLE V. Of the Quantity of Spirit contained in Human Blood whether accompanied with its Serum or dryed THIS is not easie to determine since some Mens Blood is much more Phlegmatick than others or more Serous which may of it self be more Spirituous according to the Complexion Age Sex c. of the Person that Bleeds Twelve Ounces of Healthy Human Blood afforded us seven Ounces and a half of Phlegm and consequently about Four Ounces and a half of dry stuff And haviâ—g distilled in a Retort in a Sand Furnace seven Ounces of well dryed Blood we obtained about an eighth part of Spirit which tho' not rectified left in the Receiver and Viol I kept it in a good deal of Volatile Salt undissolved which a Phlegmatick Liquor would not have done And if Spirit of Blood be but a Salt and Phlegm united We may well suppose that Human Blood yields a far greater Proportion of Spirit than this since from the seven Ounces of dryed Blood we obtained about five Drachms of Volatile Salt which had it been united with a due quantity of Phlegm it would probably have afforded us near two Ounces more of a Liquor deserving the Name of Spirit TITLE VI. Of the Consistence and Specifick Gravity of Human Blood A Compact Body which in the Air weighed fifty eight Grains and in Water weighed six Grains and ¾ in rectifi'd Spirit of Human Blood weighed but five Grains and ¼ and what was considerable was That a piece of Amber would not subside to the Bottom but kept floating upon the Top and if plunged into it would emerge again As for the Degree of the Fluidity of the Blood or its immunity from Tenaciousness tho' divers other Alkalizated Liquors as Oyl of Tartar per deliquium fixed Nitre resolved per deliquium a Solution of Pot-Ashes are sensibly unctuous and but languidly fluid yet I observed that Spirit of Human Blood did not appear more Unctuous than common Water And whereas it is commonly found That as Liquors are more spirituous so the Bubles raised by Agitation soonest disappear I have observed that the Spirit of Blood was almost as soon clear of them as Spirit of Wine and when some Drops of it were let fall they manifestly appeared less than Drops of Water To discover the subtlety of the Parts of Human Blood we so prepared common Water by Infusions made in it without Heat that by putting one single Drop of our Rectified Spirit of Human Blood into ten Ounces and four Scruples of the prepared Water and lightly shaking the Viol there appeared throughout the Liquor a manifest Colour whereof no Degree was discernible before so that it dispersed it self through a thousand times as much Water and produced a manifest Change in the Colour of it And tho' this Computation is made upon the common supposition that a Drop of Water weighs a Grain yet tho' it weighs more a little the Difference is recompensed since having dropped ten Drops of common Water into a common Ballance well adjusted and having likewise dropped ten Drops of this Spirit we found that the last were not only less in bulk but lighter since they weighed not above four Grains so that the Proportion to which it extended it self may be said to be as one to betwixt 4000 and 5000 and this subtlety of the Parts of the Spirit of Human Blood will appear to be yet much greater if we consider that some Part even of this Drop must needs be Phlegm TITLE VII Of the Odour Taste Colour and Transparency of the Spirit of Human Blood THat the Spirit of Human Blood is in respect of some Liquors potentially Cold since it refrigerates them and with reference to others potentially Hot since being mixed with them it renders them Hot may appear from the following instance for having put the lower end of an Hermetically sealed Weather-Glass into a slender Cylindrical Glass we poured as much moderatly strong Spirit of Blood into it as covered the Ball and then dropped on that Liquor some good Spirit of Salt upon which ensued a conflict accompanyed with a Noise Bubbles and Heat which made the Spirit of Wine presently ascend above two Inches and a half which Experiment seems to be the more remarkable because several other Volatile Alkalies being mixed with Acids produce a notable degree of coldness and whereas I had several times found by Tryal that the Spirt of Verdigrease would with Volatile Salt of Sal-Armoniack or Urine produce a real coldness This Spirit of Verdigrease being mixed in the small Cylindrical Glass with Spirit of Blood moderately strong not only produced a hissing Noise and store of Bubbles but an actual Heat upon which the Liquor in the Thermoscope ascended above an Inch and a half tho' both the Liquors employed amounted not to above two spoonfuls TITLE VIII Of the dissolutive power of Spirit of Human Blood THAT this Spirit is not only a good Medicine for several Diseases but is also a good Menstruum will appear from the following instances And first having poured Spirit of Human Blood upon Crude Copper in about a quarter of an hour the Liquor was tinged blueish which colour grew higher and higher till in some hours it was deeply Ceruleous And to this I shall add that having dropped a drop or two of Spirit of Blood upon a piece of
believe that there are such by the common Observations of a great many learned Men and able Physicians and to favour this common Observation viz. That there are such Substances which have peculiar effects which can be ascribed to no manifest Qualities I shall urge the effects of Poysons taken in a very inconsiderable quantity And I am told that something that fell from a Spider into a Man's Eye caused him to lose his sight to which I shall add that Spiders are observed to kill flies much sooner than cutting off their Heads or running them through with Pins will do it To which instances we may add that most Poysons are cured by appropriated Antidotes and as perfumes cause ill symtoms in many Histerick Women so the fumes of Feathers burnt relieve them And I have found that the smell of Spirit of Harts-horn or Sal-Armoniack hath recovered People made sick by fragrant Odours But beyond all other Arguments is experience for Galen tells us That the ashes of a burnt Craw-Fish will cure the biting of a mad Dog and that their effects are much more considerable if to ten Parts of burnt Craw-Fish we add five of Gentian and one of Frankincense And Diascorides commends them against the same Disease that the Pergamenian does And tho' the stings of Scorpions usually produce very acute Pains and formidable Symtoms yet the mischief is easily remedied either by crushing the Body of the Scorpion upon the Hurt or by anointing the Part with Oyl of Scorpions tho' the Liquor appears not to have any sensible Qualities to which their Efficacy may be ascribed And to these Instances I might add that Verginian Snake-weed cures the sting of a rattle Snake and the Jesuit's Powder is a specifick in Agues And tho' it be argued against the Virtues of specifick Medicines that they are altered by the ferment of the Stomach and other strainers of different Textures and that a great deal is carried off by Excrements or is assimilated and converted into the Substance of our Bodies yet to these things it may be answered that not only Oyntments Plaisters Periapta c. work upon the mass of Humours but even those Medicines which are allowed to work by manifest Qualities perform what they do upon the account of their Particles alterering and differently disposing the Humours of our Bodies and in doing of that they are liable to the same objections offered against specifick Medicines Besides it is observable that Rhubarb will tinge the Urine of those that take a considerable Dose And there is a Fruit called prickled Pears in the English American Colonies which passes by Urine so much unaltered that the People think when strangers to it that they piss Blood And Elaterium so much impregnates the Milk of a Nurse that it will Purge the Child that takes it And I remember that in the confines of Savoy and Swizerland when the Cattle fed on a Herb called wild Garlick the butter would sensibly taste of it And in Ireland they have a kind of Sea-Fowl which feed upon Fishes which is so little altered as to make some question whether it be Flesh or Fish And tho' it be further urged against Specifick Medicines that so little is dispersed through the habit of the Body that it can have no considerable effects yet their Efficacy may answer for their smallness in quantity For I am told that the Negroes have a Poyson which tho' it work slow is nevertheless Mortal and this they conceal under the Nails of their Fingers and drop into the Aliment of those they have spite to And I know a Vegetable Substance half a Grain of which will be too violent a Purgative and sometimes Mortal And tho' English Vipers are looked upon as no Poyson yet by the Wound of a single Tooth I knew one who was taken with violent Vomitings To which may be added the terrible effects of Scorpions in the Island of Java And we see that several Women otherwise strong and lusty will fall into Swoons upon the smell of Musk or Civet tho' all the Effluvia that affect them would not amount to the hundredth part of a Grain and by Effluvia perhaps not more plentiful these Symptoms may be again removed And the Portions of Crocus Metallorum in Wine or of Quick-Silver in Water tho' small have very considerable effects so that when a Child who obstinately refused all Medicines drank small Beer impregnated with Mercury he was much relieved in a violent worm Fever That their Operations may be Mechanically solved is proved in the following Propositions Having said thus much of specifick Medicines I shall now proceed to lay down some things in the following Propositions to shew that they be mechanically explicated But first I shall premise that I would not have the Body to be considered as a dull lump of matter but as an admirably contrived Mechanical Engin consisting of Parts exquisitely contrived and adapted to their particular Uses and that the effects of Bodies upon it may be considered in reference to that Disposition of their Parts This being premised there is no need to think that all specificks act after the same manner or the same way and sometimes the specifick may operate by a joynt and in a compound way But to proceed to the following Propositions PROP. I. Prop. I. Sometimes the specifick Medicine may cure by discussing or resolving the Morbifick matter and thereby making it fit for Expulsion by the greater common shores of the Body and the Pores of the Skin Thus the Blood impregnated with Medicinal Particles may act upon gross Humours which obstruct the Parts and are not to be resolved without specifick Solvents which by their figure and agitation may get in betwixt and separate those Viscous Parts so Blood impregnated with Sal-Armoniack dissolves Copper not by manifest Qualities but by Virtue of the Shape Bulk Solidity and other Mechanical affections of its Parts which concur to enable it to disjoyn the Parts of a Body of such a determinate Texture And indeed there are not only a great number of Menstruums very different from one another but their effects evidently appear not to depend upon manifest Qualities since it several times happens that a Menstruum less Acid may dissolve this or that Body which a much stronger Menstruum will not work upon so Water will dissolve the white of an Egg which Spirit of Wine will coagulate and so will Spirit of Salt and Oyl of Tartar it self and thus dephlegmed Spirit of Urine will more readily dissolve filings of Copper than Spirit of Vitriol and yet the latter will speedily dissolve Crabs Eyes tho' the other leaves them untouched so Quick-Silver will dissolve Gold in the cold tho' Aqua Fortis assisted by Heat leaves it untouched yet Aqua Fortis will dissolve Iron and Quick-silver will not And Brimstone will be dissolved by common Oyl tho' not by Aqua Fortis And I know a Liquor of which one may safely drink a Wine