Maison rustique, or The countrey farme· Compyled in the French tongue by Charles Steuens, and Iohn Liebault, Doctors of Physicke. And translated into English by Richard Surflet, practitioner in physicke. Now newly reuiewed, corrected, and augmented, with diuers large additions, out of the works of Serres his Agriculture, Vinet his Maison champestre, French. Albyterio in Spanish, Grilli in Italian; and other authors. And the husbandrie of France, Italie, and Spaine, reconciled and made to agree with ours here in England: by Geruase Markham. The whole contents are in the page following

CHAP. LXIIII.

Generall precepts about the distilling of Waters.

AFter that the matter is in this manner and fashion prepared (as we haue said) there remaineth nothing more to be done, but the putting of it into the Stillitorie: and herein you must carrie your selfe very wisely and discreet∣ly, in obseruing certaine generall precepts for the ordering and directing of the whole worke vnto a good and perfect end.

First prouide, that your furnaces be set in such a place, as where they may not en∣danger the setting of your whole house on fire; as that they also may not be subiect to haue any thing to fall vpon them.

If you distill Quicksiluer, or any other such thing which hath a venimous malig∣nitie, come not neere vnto your Stills all the time of the distilling of such matter: for the smoake or fume which at that time they breath out, doth draw vpon a man the Palsie, exulceration of the Lungs, Lethargie, or oftentimes sudden death: as you may see by experience in such as are Plummers, and employed in melting of Mettals.

If you distill in Glasse vessels, you must make choice of such as are well baked and seasoned, hauing no bubbles or knots, but equall on euerie side, and smooth, thicke, and proued before hand.

The coales must be throughly kindled and halfe burned before you put any thing into the Still, that so the fume, or yet any other noysome qualitie of the coales, may not remaine to breath vpon it: or, at the least, put some few ashes or small quantitie of sand betwixt the Still and the furnace, that so the coales may not infect the water with the smoake. Likewise the fire is not to be made with wood halfe rotten, or that stinketh, or with charcoale burned and made in a pit, or of coale drawne and dig∣ged out of the earth, whether they be of stone, or earth, for feare the stilling ves∣sels and water should be infected and marred with the filthie and stinking vapour thereof.

The fire must not be hastie or headlong at the beginning, as well for the safetie of the vessels, which might thereby be broken, taking too sudden a heat, as also to the end, that the matter distilled may become acquainted with the fire by little and little, and that so farre, as vntill the fire be come to the third degree, if need doe so require.

You must not put into your Stills or Limbecke too great a quantitie of matter, for so it might runne ouer, and be cast forth againe; and furthermore, that vnderneath would be parched and dried away, and that aboue would remaine as it was put in: but it is rather the safer course to shift them oft, and so by this meanes you shall haue greater store and plentie of water.

The water of Maries bath may not be hoter than the finger may endure to slay in it: howbeit, oftentimes there come things to be distilled in the double vessell, for the distilling whereof, if it should come to passe that the heat of Maries bath should not be vehement ynough, then mixe therewith some small sand, to encrease the heat of the water.

If the glasse still happen to cracke being set vpon the fire, you shall let the spi∣rits from euaporating, if you dip diuers linnen cloathes in the whites of egges vvell beaten, and applie them vpon the cracke of the glasse hot one after another: in such sort that so soone as one shall be dried like a crust, another be readie by and by to put vpon it, and so to continue.

If you distill your waters in the heat of sand (as many doe and that verie often) or of ashes, or the filings or scales of yron made in powder, the bodie of the still must be armed (whether it be of glasse or brasse, or any other matter) with verie fine ashes

that haue beene sifted, or with sand, or with the filings of yron finely powdred, in such sort as that the ashes may be higher about the glasse than the matter is within by a hal••e foot good. The ashes shall be placed in the vpper part of the furnace, or in a place of hold made vpon the furnace, and heated with a coale fire which shall be be∣low in the bottome of the glasse. The waters so distilled indure much longer than those which are distilled in Maries bath: but in all other points they resemble and are like one vnto another.

If you haue not the leasure to make your distillation in a still, and that yet you would gladly distill some certaine juice or liquor: then cause your juice to boyle in some vessell, and ouer this vessell set a glasse: in this glasse the vapour will turne in∣to water: by this meanes vinegar is turned easily into a vvater vvhich is verie profi∣table for the spots and stayne of the eye, especially if before the distilling of it you cause some few slips of Rhue to be boyled in white vinegar.

Hot things, that they may proue effectuall, would be distilled three or foure times, putting & adding vnto euerie time new matter, or else to rectifie them by themselues: but as for cold things, such as the rose is, once distilling is sufficient: for by this means it holdeth still his cooling qualitie in better sort, seeing the force of the fire begetteth heat and sharpenesse in things.

When you would distill one vvater three or foure times, you must at euerie distil∣lation diminish the heat of your fire halfe a degree, and afterward a whole degree, and so consequently vntill in the end you come backe vnto the first degree spoken of before, and called such a heat as is but vvarme, the reason is, because that the mat∣ter becomming more and more subtile at euerie distillation, craueth not so great a heat at the end as it did at the beginning when it is in his gros••est state and conditi∣on. But it is contrarily practised in the extracting of quintessences out of any thing: 〈◊〉〈◊〉 then the heat is to be increased and augmented more and more.

In all manner of distillations of vvaters, you must carefully see to the seperating of the flegme, that is to say, the gros••est, thickest, and most waterie part of the hu∣mour distilled: and for the doing hereof you must carefully consider of the matter which you distill: because the ••legme commeth forth sometime first, sometimes the last in the distillation, as in the distilling of Aqua-vitae is stayeth the last, notwith∣standing that it be distilled diuers times: in the distilling of the most part of other things it commeth forth first, as in vinegar, honie, and such things: and the thing is discerned by tasting of the first and last distilled waters. And if it happen that the flegme be not seuered in this sort, as indeed it is not in some such, as with which it is mixt: then the next course is to set such vvaters in the Sunne certaine daies in vessells couered with linnen clothes, or parchment prickt full of small holes, that so the ex∣crementous part by such meanes may be consumed and wasted: or if the Sunne faile, as in Winter time, then you must set your vessell contayning your distilled waters in other vessells full of vvater, and cause them to boyle to the consumption of the third part.

The distillation is to be judged to be in good state and case, if betwixt the fall of euerie drop, you can account to the number of twelue: and hence also is the judging of the force and quantitie of the fire to be learned and fetcht.

If any man desire that waters should haue some smell, taste, or other qualitie of something, as of honie, cinnamome, camphire, muske, or other like sweet smelling thing, (whether it be to giue such smell to the thing that hath none at all, or vnto something that hath a bad and vnpleasant smell, as we will speake of by and by in the water distilled of mans dung) it vvill be good to annoynt and besmeare the head of the still vvith these things, or else to tie vp the same in some little knot of lin∣nen cloth, and hang them at the verie poynt of the spout or pipe, to the end that the vvater distilling through this matter, may retayne that smell or other qualitie in∣tended.

And vvhereas distilled vvaters by force of the fire are euermore seene to retaine some impressions and printes of the heat, it will be good presently after they be di∣stilled,

to let them stand some time vncouered in the vessells wherein you meane to keepe them, hauing yet therewithall regard, that neither their small nor any part of their force doe vvaste or spend: and therefore to take the fittest course, it will be best to set your vessell close and fast stopt in some cold place in moist sand to dimi∣nish and take away the great heat of the same. Notwithstanding you must marke and know that cold waters, vvhich shall be distilled in Maries-bath, will haue no great need to be so vncouered, but that they rather must be set in the Sunne in a glasse ves∣sell not altogether full: or else that they with their vessell be set ouer head and eares in hot sand for the space of fortie daies, to the end that their flegme and thickest hu∣mour may be consumed.

If your distilled vvaters become troubled, you shall restore them to their cleare∣nesse by putting thereinto some one or two drops of Vinegar for euerie pint of wa∣ter.

Notes

• Furnaces must be set in a place where they may not do•• or take hurt.
• When we are to stand farre off from the 〈◊〉〈◊〉, and not to come neere them.
• The chusing of Glasse-stilles.
• A gentle fire at the first.
• What quantitie of matter is best to be put in the still.
• To distill in the heat of sand.
• To make a spe••∣dier distillation than o••di••arie.
• Vinegar distil∣led in that sort.
• To distill one water many times.
• The heat requi∣red to the distil∣ling of one thing o••••.
• The extracting of quintessences
• To seperate the flegme in distil∣led liquors.
• The time of the flegme his com∣ming forth.
• When the still is in good temper, and stilleth not too fast nor too slow.
• To giue a good smell or taste to distilled wa∣ters.
• Troubled wa∣ters.