Spirit of Salt, in Latin, Spiritus Salis.
Dry Salt over a little fire, or else in the Sun; then powder finely two pounds of it, mix it well with six pounds of Potters earth powdred, make up a hard past of this mixture, with as much rain water as is necessary; form it into little pellets of the bigness of a nut, and set them in the Sun a good while a drying; when they are perfectly dry, put them in∣to a large earthen pot, or glass one luted, whereof a third part must remain empty; place this Retort in a reverberatory Furnace, and fit to it a large ca∣pacious Receiver, without luting the junctures; give a very moderate heat a•• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 〈◊〉〈◊〉 〈◊〉〈◊〉 the Retort, and make an insipid water come forth drop by drop; when you perceive some white clouds succeed these drops, pour out that which is in the Receiver, and having refitted it, lute the junctures close, increase the fire by degrees to the last degree of all, and con∣tinue it in this condition twelve or fifteen hours, all this while the Receiver will be hot, and full of white clouds; but when it grows cold, and the clouds disappear, the operation is at an end; un∣lute the Junctures, and you will find the Spirit of Salt in the Receiver; pour it into an earthen of glass bottle, and stop it well with Wax.
Virtues. It is an aperitive, and is used in juleps to an agreeable acidity, for such as are subject to the gravel, it is also used to cleanse the teeth, being tempe∣red with a little water, and to consume the rottenness of the bones.