Curiosities in chymistry being new experiments and observations concerning the principles of natural bodies / written by a person of honour ; and published by his operator, H.G.

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Title: Curiosities in chymistry being new experiments and observations concerning the principles of natural bodies / written by a person of honour ; and published by his operator, H.G.
Author: Person of honour.
Publication: London :: Printed by H.C. for Stafford Anson ...,; 1691.
Rights/Permissions: To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
Subject terms: Chemistry -- Early works to 1800.
Cite this Item: "Curiosities in chymistry being new experiments and observations concerning the principles of natural bodies / written by a person of honour ; and published by his operator, H.G." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A42035.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 1, 2024.

Pages

Sect. I.

The Ardent Spirits of Vegetables are nothing else but the Oleous Particles of these Vegetables subtilized by Fermentation, and thereby dissolved in, and united to some part of their own Phlegm.

FOR Lavender, Rue, Marjoram, &c. di∣stilled without addition, and without a previous Fermentation, afford an Oyl, but never yield any burning Spirit. Where∣as after Fermentation they yield an ardent Spirit, but no Oyl; which is a manifest proof, that the inflamable Oyl is conver∣ted into an inflamable Spirit: especially, since by the lasting action of the Air upon this Spirit, the Oleous part will at last be brought to separate it self from the phlegm

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and swim above it. Moreover if you pour Oyls in small quantity upon Fermenting Vegetables, they will come over in Distilla∣tion in the form of Spirits.

As for the Spirits of Aniseeds, Worm∣wood, and such other Oleous and Aromatick Vegetables, that are prepared with Spirit of Wine without any previous Fermentation; they are nothing else but the Oyls of these Ve∣getables that the Spirit of Wine has imbibed and carried up along with it in Distillation. For this Spirit, being it self no other thing than the Oyl of Wine Dissolv'd in Phlegm, will presently imbibe any Aromatick Oyl dropt into it. Hence it is, that, in the Pre∣paration of Spirit of Aniseeds, the Oleous part of the Spirit of Wine imbibes as much of their Oyl as it can receive, and the rest (for they abound with Oyl) being joyn'd with the Phlegmatick part of the Spirit of Wine, compose a Milk-coloured Liquor, (as all Oyls do when they are mixed with Water, which we see daily in the Prepara∣tion of Emulsions) whose Oily parts may be imbibed by fresh Spirit of Wine, and by that means yield Spirit of Aniseeds anew.

Finally, 'tis upon the account of their Oleous nature, that ardent Spirits are so Inflamable; and that they so much weaken

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the Corroding Acidity of Aqua fortis, as to render it innocent enough to be taken inwardly, though they themselves be en∣dowed with a certain Volatile Acid.