Fleta minor the laws of art and nature, in knowing, judging, assaying, fining, refining and inlarging the bodies of confin'd metals : in two parts : the first contains assays of Lazarus Erckern, chief prover, or assay-master general of the empire of Germany, in V. books, orinally written by him in the Teutonick language and now translated into English ; the second contains essays on metallick words, as a dictionary to many pleasing discourses, by Sir John Pettus ... ; illustrated with 44 sculptures.

CHAP. XXII. How the Ingredients are to be prepared for distilling of the Aqua fort.

[Section. 1] FOR distilling of the common Aqua fort. there are used only two Ingredients, Ni∣tre and Vitriol, which must be prepared * 1.1before they are put in: first, the Vitriol must be calcined which is to be done thus, Take at once four pound of those Ingre∣dients,

[Section. 1] and put them in an earthen glazed Crucible, set it over the fire, that the Vitriol may melt to a water, * 1.2let it boil gently, and stir it about continually with a woo∣den spatula, until the wateriness be evaporated away, and the Vitriol begins to be thick, then take with the wooden spatula, some part out of the Crucible while it is warm, and grind it upon a Grinding-stone before it be cold, then take more out of the Crucible, upon the Grindingstone until all the Vitriol is out of the Crucible and ground small, for if you do not take the Vitriol warm out of the Crucible, but lettest it be cold in it, then it will become as hard as a stone, and so 'tis difficult to be brought out, neither is it easy to grind: Thus the Vi∣triol is to be prepared for the distilling of the Aqua fort.

[Section. 2] * 1.3Concerning the Nitre, it needs not be calcin'd, yet one may set it upon a Oven that it may be dry, and then beat and grind it fine and small, then is it also pre∣pared: But because it is not all pure, but some part of it is very Salt, therefore it is first to be clarified and purified from its Salt (which every one who converseth with Distillation of Aqua fort. certainly should know) and that with the hand: But how the clearing should be done▪ see full Instruction in the first Book.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Calcining of Vitriol.
• * 1.2

  Calcining of Vitriol.
• * 1.3

  Salt-Petre.