do no more but take it off the ground as clean as they can, and sell it to Merchant-Strangers. This is, sayes he, the Barbary Peter, which the Refiners buy commonly at twenty shillings per Cent.Much after the same manner (by the relation of an India Merchant) is that great quantity of Pe∣ter produced, which of late years hath been brought into England, and other parts of Christen∣dom, from about Pegu in East-India, saving that the Natives do refine it once, before they sell it to the Merchants: But being not so skilful, to discharge it from the common Salt, which attends Peter, our Workmen do refine it again, before it be fit for Gun-powder.The next remarque out of Pliny is, Aquae vero Nitrosae pluribus in locis reperiuntur, sed sine viribus Densandi (he means by the heat of the Sun in those places) Optimum Copiosumque in Clytis Macedoniae quod vocant Chalastricum candidum purumque proxi∣mum sali. Lacus est Nitrosus, exiliente è medio dulci fonticulo, ibi fit Nitrum circa Canis ortum, novenis diebus, totidemque cessat, & rursus innatat & deinde cessat, iis autem diebus quibus gignitur si fuëre imbres salsius Nitrum faciunt, Aquilones deterius quia Vali∣dius commovent limum. In Egypto autem confici∣tur multò abundantius sed deterius, nam suscum lapi∣dosumque est, fit penè eodem modo quo Sal: nisi quod Salinis mare infundunt, Nilum autem Ni∣trariis.How such great plenty of Nitre should be found in the Waters above mention'd will be no difficulty to conjecture, if we consider that Lakes are the re∣ceptacles of Land floods, and that great Rains may easily bring it to the Lake in Macedonia, from the 0