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. LXXVI.

What manner of Vessels must be vsed for the distilling of Oyles.

CErtaine it is, that manie doe vse diuerse sorts of Vessels for the distil∣ling of Oyles: but leauing the examination of this varietie for such as propound vnto themselues to entreat exactly of Chymicall mat∣ters, as intending my selfe onely to giue some instructions vnto the good Huswife, being Commaundresse of this our Countrey House; I will here set downe but two sorts o•• Vessels for the distilling o•• Oyles: The one being fit and verie conuenient to distill Hearbes, Flowers, Seedes, Fruits, Rootes, and Beasts, or parts and excrements of Beasts: And the other, for Woods, Gummes, gummie droppes, and other thicke and vnctuous Liquors. And now for to speake of the first.

[illustration]

Let there be made a vessell of verie choice earth, such as is verie cleane and verie well kneaden, made vp with like paine and industrie as the Potters make vp theirs; let it be of the thicknesse of a finger, or thereabout, fashioned like an egge, and yet not like an egge when it is whole, but when it is cut round away, almost to the one halfe: it must be great, and conta••ning much, after the greatnesse and widenesse of the Copper ves∣sell: and yet notwithstanding so great onely (especi∣ally in respect of his height) as that it may agree with the third and last loft of the furnace, and the wide∣nesse euen and iumpe with the mouth of the furnace wherein it must stand: and in like manner the bottome must beare such breadth, as that it may be a little flatter than the space which is betwixt the two rods of yron, made fast and set ouerthwart at the end of the second distance of the fu••nace, to the end that it may rest vpon them the more firmely. And therefore to doe well herein, the furnace would be builded before that the vessell be made. When there is need of a great fire to distill withall, then it is prouided, that the pot, in this place, be not of earth, but of yron: as I my selfe haue seene at the Apothe∣caries.

This second vessell shall be of Copper, or of La••ten, and shaped also like vn••o an egge, or a gourd, hauing a wide mouth, whereunto there must be fitted a long or stretched-out necke, being at the least a foot in length, comming downe from the head, by the which necke the vapours in the gourd shall rise vp into the said head. This vessell shall hold twelue or fifteene pi••ts, or otherwise shall be made of greatnesse answerable vnto the quantitie of the matter which you meane to distill, which generally is (as wee will declare by and by) that for euerie pound of matter, as of hearbes or seedes, &c. there be put into this vessell nine or tenne pound of wa∣ter. Besides this, there must be such an agreement betwixt the greatnesse of this Copper vessell and capacitie of the earthen vessell which standeth within the fur∣nace, as that they may be free one of another some two or three fingers, for the fil∣ling in of sand, as we will hereafter declare: And as concerning the height there∣of; it, together with his head, must stand aboue that of earth a foot and a halfe at the least.

The third vessell shall be the head, which shall be round aboue, and not sharp••-pointed, to the end that the vapour arising out of it may not fall downe againe: and it must be set about (as it were) with a little Stand, or Tub, wherein must be put coole water, for the easier thickening and fixing of the vapours: at the one side of this little Tub there shall be a spout, or pipe, which shall come out of the head, and by this the Oyle shall drop downe into the vessell receiuing; on the other side of this little Stand must be a tappe with a spiggot, and it must come from the ca∣pacitie of the same, that so it may emptie it of the water which it holdeth when it is become too hot. This head shall be ioyned with the orifice and throat of the last afore-named vessell, by the meanes of a large and wide pipe, which shall come dow••e from the head, and set it selfe in the mouth and throat of the said Copper vessell verie closely, to the end that no vapours in rising may passe ou•• thereby anie way: and for the better perfecting of this inarticulation, there are two edges or brimmes, that so they may the better ioyne together. This sh••••ke may be called the necke of the bladder, by which the vapours shall rise vp into the head.

The fourth vessell shall be the receiuing vessell, which shall receiue the Oyl•• distilled, and it must be of Glasse, because of the clearenesse and cle••••enesse of the same.

This is the proportion and shape of the first sort of the vessels, and it is to distill Oyles of hearbes, seedes, flowers, and so forth.

[illustration]

A Doth represent the bladder, containing the matter from which you meane to draw your Oyle.

B The mouth or throat of the bladder, which is articulated or close ioined with the shanke that commeth downe from the head.

C Is the shanke, which must be a foot long at the least, and is otherwise called the neck of the Stillitorie, which setteth it selfe as into a ioint vpon the mouth and throat of the bladder.

D The round head not sharpe pointed aboue.

E The little Stand or Tub which compas••eth the head, and containeth cold water for the cooling of the head.

F The vessell which receiueth the Oyle, and is made somewhat long.

G The spout or pipe by which the oilie liquor droppeth downe into the receiuing vessell.

H The tap, which with his spiggot emptieth the water out of the little tub when it is too hot, that so there may fresh and cold be put in his place.

The two distilling vessels, that is to say, the Gourd and the Head, for as much as they are of Copper or Latten, must be tinned within, to the end that the Oyle may not get anie strange qualitie by these mettals, seeing especially that the Copper being 〈◊〉〈◊〉, and not tinned, may cause the Oyle to smell of the Brasse, or of some other 〈◊〉〈◊〉 qualitie. It is true, that besides the helpe comming by this tinning of the vessels, the ve••ie action of the fire, which worketh and dispatcheth speedily and violently whe••e as there is great quantitie of water, doth keepe the Oyle from being ••ainted with anie euill smell, or other accident that is not naturall, and therefore there needs no feare to be taken for the vsing of Copper vessels in the distilling of Oyles for the occasions aforesaid, although that earthen or glasse-vessels would be farre better and more naturall (seeing in them there resteth no iot of mettall-like matter) than either those that are of Copper, or molten, or of anie other mettall, saue onely there is some danger of breaking or cracking of them, being the things whereunto earthen and glasse-vessell are verie subiect when they are hot, yea, though they were armed with mo••tar, fat earth, cement, or anie other matter of defence; and then such breach or cracke proueth a matter of no small dammage or consequence in the distillation of Oyles, especially those which are precious. Notwithstanding, it is free for euery man ••o vse vessels of earth or glasse, vpon paine that they be carefull to keepe them that they neither cracke not breake: and the rather, seeing that in the extracting of some Oyles there must needs be vsed glasse-vessels, or earthen ones, vernished and leaded, and not Copper or Latten; as which will verie hardly let runne anie Oyles from things that consist of an eager taste, whether it be that the Copper hath the like it selfe, or of some secret vertue and facultie which is in it. And this thing wee see suffi∣ciently tried in the seedes of Grapes, whose Oyle conuerteth and turneth rather into a greene rust in such vessels, than into anie airie or thinne exhalation, doe a man what he can either about the fire, or anie other way whatsoeuer: but in the distillation of fragrant and aromaticall things, as also those which are sweet in taste, or haue a diuers qualitie from the Copper, it might seeme that a molten vessell might be more con∣uenient.

Notes

• Two sorts of vessel•• for th•• distilling of Oyles.
• The head.
• The Gourd and the Head.