A goodly gallerye with a most pleasaunt prospect, into the garden of naturall contemplation, to behold the naturall causes of all kynde of meteors, as wel fyery and ayery, as watry and earthly, of whiche sort be blasing sterres, shooting starres, flames in the ayre &c. tho[n]der, lightning, earthquakes, &c. rayne dewe, snowe, cloudes, springes &c. stones, metalles, earthes &c. to the glory of God, and the profit of his creaturs.

¶ Of liquors concreat.

WE take not lyquors cōcreat so lar∣gely, as the worde dothe signifie, for than should we comprehende, bothe

the other kyndes followyng. But onely those liquors, called in latin Succi, which are as it were midle betwene metals & stones, of whiche some being fat & only, do burne, as brimstone, séecoles, geate, bitumen, &c. and the kyndes of all these. other some doth not burne, as salt, alū, coperus, saltpeter, &c. and the kindes of these. Of the first sort, which are genera∣ted of earthy & ayry vapors, fumes & Exha¦lations, the chief & most notable, is brim∣stone, which semeth to be the matter of all drie & whot qualities, y^t ar in earthly Meteores. The rest are generated of such lyke vapors as brymstone is, but thē they be diuersly mixed. As y^e coles, haue much earth mixed with brimstone. Gette, sée∣meth to be all one, but better concocted then coles. Of amber is great contentiō whether it be a mineral, or y^e sperme of an whale, for it is foūd in the sea, cast vp on the shore. Now y^e whales séede, being of the very same qualities, is takē more & lesse cōcreate of diuers hardnes, som al most as hard as amber, som softer, & som liquid. Yet Cardan plainly defineth,* 1.1 that amber is a minerall. Whether he haue reason or experiēce, cōtrary to y^e vulgar

opinion, let them consider that list to cō∣tende. These minerals that will resolue with fyre, it is apparent, that they were concreat with colde. In that they burne it is manifest, they haue a fatte and clā∣my substaūce, mixed with them. As the other kynde hath not, whiche wyll not resolue so well with fyre, as w^c water, whiche be salt, coperus, saltpeters, &c. these burne not being watry, earthy, & not fatt, vnctuus, nor clammy.

These be of diuerse collours, black as coles and geat, because ther is much earthy substaunce mixed with their sul∣phureus matter. Some be shere as saltt and alume, hauing a substaunce watry, dryed, and concreat. Coperus is greane, because it hath muche colde matter that is blwe, mixed with it. Salt the most cō∣men and necessary of all these liquors concreat, that be moist & not fatty, hath two maner of generations, one natu∣rall, and the other artificiall. The natu∣rall generation, is when it is first gene∣rated, in the earth, after commeth the water of the sea, and is infected with it, out of whiche the salt is againe artifici∣ally gathered. Of these liquors concreat

be those strange wells and sprynges in∣fected, of whiche was spoken, in the lat∣ter ende of the fourth booke. Most nota∣bly brimstone causeth the whot bathes, and burneth in aetna, of Scicilia, and Ve∣suuius of Italye,* 1.2 casting vp the pumise stones, of whiche is no place here to en∣treate.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Cardanus
• * 1.2

  Aetna & Vesuuius