A choice collection of rare secrets and experiments in philosophy as also rare and unheard-of medicines, menstruums and alkahests : with the true secret of volatilizing the fixt salt of tartar / collected and experimented by the honourable and truly learned Sir Kenelm Digby, Kt., Chancellour to Her Majesty the Queen-Mother ; hitherto kept secret since his decease, but now published for the good and benefit of the publick by George Hartman.

His Menstruum is thus made:

TAke pure S. V. and pure Spirit of Urine, ana, put them together, and distill off the S. V. with very gentle heat, there will remain a flegmatick Liquor in the bottom: Cohobate the S. V. upon it till there remain only perfect flegm in the bottom, and that

all the Spirits and Volatile Salt of the Urine be in the S. V. This is a great dissolvent and Alkahest; but it will be stronger if you work it again with new Spirit of Urine, and so you may make it as strong as you will•• But this hath not the Properties of Helmont's pretended Alkahest, to come off from the Body it hath dissolved, as strong as you put it on, for it leaveth much of the Saline Spi∣rits with the opened Body, if you distill it off: He found some running ☿ in the filters after he had dissolved the ☉ only as far as Zwelfer teacheth; which solution openeth it exceedingly, and rendereth it apt to Mer∣curialization; but he useth most the follow∣ing Calx of ☉: Make an aaa of ☉ and ☿ in due manner, which grind well with Flow∣ers of Sulphur, and set it upon Coals, and so make a Calx of ☉ (ut artis est:) Re∣peat this Calcination two or three times, then take the Calx of ☉, and grind it exceeding well with twice as much pure decrepitated Salt; put these into a Crucible, which cover well, and set it to Cement or Reverberate during six hours (or more) in a Furnace where the heat may be increased by degrees, so that in due time the Crucible become red. Continue so a pretty time, but have a care the Salt melt not: When it is cold, take out the Matter, and grind it well, and pour hot

{water} upon it, to dissolve all the Salt, and filter it off, and pour on more {water}, doing so till you have severed all the Salt from the ☉ (as also a white Earthy substance, that will swim up∣on the {water}) then dry the ☉, which grind again with double its quantity of prepared Salt, (the same Salt will serve again when the {water} is distilled from it) and Cement it, and work all as before, taking care always, that the ☉ settle well to the bottom after you have stirred it in the {water}. Repeat this six, seven, or eight times (the more the better) till the ☉ come to be all a gray or white Powder: Then Cement it with double its quantity of pure Salt of Tartar, in the same manner as you did with Salt, and do always all as before. Repeat this two, three, or four times, dulcifying it every time very well from the Salt: Then put upon it (being very dry) the Menstruum of S. V. and Spi∣rit of Urine, mentioned before, and it will be Tincted Blood-red in twenty four hours: Pour off that, and put on more, till you have drawn out all the Tincture, which di∣still in a Cucurbite with very gentle {fire}, till it become a Gum, of which he putteth ℥j. into a Pint of Sack, and giveth a spoon∣ful for a Dose. It is a mighty Corroborant, as also a Sudorifick, where Nature requireth it. It will make one sweat twenty four hours.

The manner of making his Menstruum, is, to put the two Spirits into a long Cu∣curbite with a narrow mouth, on which he put a Head, ••itting it in the Orifice, but very large in the Body of it, and so distil∣leth off his S. V. and Cohobateth it upon the same Spirit of Urine, till the Volatile Salt be drawn out of it, or upon new, as you see occasion.

Quaere, Of putting this Menstruum upon a Spungy gray Calx of ☉, made after Van∣dykes way.