The works of the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq., epitomiz'd by Richard Boulton ... ; illustrated with copper plates.

CHAP. IV. Of the Strange Subtlety of Effluviums.

THE subtlety of the Effluviums will be most aptly represented, by considering,

• I. The strange extensibility of some Bodies, whilst their Parts remain tangible.
• II. The Multitude of visible Corpuscles, that may be af∣forded by a small Portion of Matter.
• III. The smallness of the Pores, at which the Effluvia of some Bodies will get in.
• IV. The small De∣crement of Bulk or Weight that a Body may suffer, by parting with great store of Effluvia And,
• V. The great quantity of Space that may be filled, as to Sense, by a small quantity of Mat∣ter, when rarify'd or dispersed.

And First, I have observed that a Grain of Silver Wire amounted to 27 Foot, or 324 Inch∣es; and since half an English Inch may be divi∣ded into a 100 Parts by diagonal Lines, it must consist of 64800 true Metalline Parts, which may be well conceived to be made of Parts yet more minute. And I had a gilt Wire, an Ounce of which made a Wire 1000 paces long, al∣lowing Five Foot to a Pace, and 720 Foot a∣bove;

and had this Wire been drawn out to an equal smallness with the Silver Wire, the Gold would have been divided to an indefinite num∣ber of Parts, being sufficient to cover the su∣perficial Area of so long a Wire. And I have known Silk to be drawn out of the Mouth of a Worm, which, tho' it weigh'd but two Grains and a half, was 300 Yards long.

But to evince the great extensibility of Mat∣ter, we took six beaten Leaves of Gold, the sides of whose Squares were 3 Inches and 2/8, which Number being reduced to a Decimal Fraction, viz. 3125/100, and multiplyed by it self, affords 10••5••/10000 for the Area of each, and this multiplyed by 6, the Number of the Leaves amounts to 6313750/10000 square Inches for the Area of the six Leaves of Gold; which weighed but 1 Gr. ¼; so that 4 Grains was extended to above 50 square Inches. And if each of these Inches may, by Lines drawn from opposite Points, be divided each into 100 Parts, one Grain of Gold must be divided into 500000 little squares, discernable by a good Eye; and if an Inch were divided into 200 Parts, as I have one by me that is, then a Grain may be divided into 2000000 of squares. And to be satisfy'd further of the extensibility of Gold, I enquired, and was told that 8 Grains of Gold would gild an Ounce of Silver Wire as fine as a Hair, and which would reach be∣twixt 90 and 100 Miles. But supposing the Wire to be as fine as that first mentioned, and that 8 Grains of Gold went to gild it; a sheath of Gold weighing but 8 Grains, may be extend∣ed so as to reach 60 times as much (in weight) of Silver Wire as it covers; and consequently,

a grain of that Wire being twenty seven foot long, the ounce of Gold would reach to 777600 foot i. e. 155 ½ miles; and if this Gold Wire were cut into as small thongs or lists as posibly it might be, it must reach to a stupen∣dious length.

But secondly, to shew into what a number of visible Corpuscles a Body may be divided, we put an ounce of Water into an Aeolipile, and having placed it upon a Chafing-dish of Coals, we observed that Vapours streamed out or above sixteen minutes; and considering a few intermitting gusts afterwards, and what drops of Water were condensed in the top of it, I guessed, that had the whole been driven out in Vapours they would have continued twenty minutes; N. B. to the Orifice of the Aeoli∣pile we applied a long Tube twenty Inches long and an Inch in Diameter, the remoter end being continued about six Inches longer, and so far expanded that its Diameter was four or five Inches; and by the help this Pipe we were able tho' not actly to measure the Ex∣tension of the rarified Vapours. To this in∣stance I might add the prodigious expansion of some Inflamable Bodies, when turned into actual flame, as Spirit of Wine, &c. Which being burnt in a Glass Lamp, so contrived that the Surface of the Liquor was still Circu∣lar, the waste made in ¼ of an hour was very small, tho' the Physical superficies of the Li∣quor must needs be successively rarified and ex∣panded, and fly away in streams; and if so lit∣tle of this Liquor was able to afford matter for flame so long, the same bulk of a more compact

Body may easily be supposed to be capable of be∣ing expanded to much greater Dimensions. And to these instances I shall add, that half a grain of Gun-Powder being exploded under a Vessel, whose Basis was eight Inches and its Altitude twenty; and its figure such, that it was more Capacious than a Cone of that size, the exploded Gun-Powder was observed to fill the whole Cavity of the Vessel as to sense, and successively issued out of the upper Orifice for half a quarter of an hour, so that the Diame∣ter of it being two Inches, many Myriads of visible Corpuscles, must be conceived to throng out in so long a time as they crouded out one after another: But to make a kind of an estimate of the Expansion of this Substance, we filled the Vessel full of Water, and found that the weight of it amounted to 320000 half grains: And if we suppose the specifick Gra∣vity of the Gun-Powder to be as much again as that of Water, we my probably guess the smoak to posses 500000 times the space that the Gun-Powder did. And as a further Ar∣gument of the great minuteness of small Parts of matter, I shall urge the smallness of Cheese-mites; which being so small as not to be dis∣cernable to a naked Eye, but when they move, must be made of extremely fine Parts, other∣wise there would not be room enough for an Organical Body; and if an Organical Body fur∣nished with all the Parts requisite for the Pre∣servation of Life be contained in so small a com∣pass, how minute must they be at the first, since the Eggs out of which they are formed bear but a small proportion to them, when perfectly for∣med,

and even comparative Observations tell us, that a Mite being ten days a hatching, the Rudiments of its Body at the first must bear but a small proportion to the bulk of that small Egg; and to this I shall add, that tho' these Creatures be so very small, yet I have been able to discern single hairs growing upon their Legs.

Another instance of the Extension of mat∣ter minutely divided is this, viz. We dis∣solved a grain of filings of Copper in Spirit of Sal-Armoniack; pouring the Solution into a tall Cylinder four Inches in Diameter, and suc∣cessively filling it four times with distilled Wa∣ter, still pouring it off into a Conical Glass; which being done, and the weight of the Glass Cylinder deducted from the Joint weight of the Liquor contained in it, we found that one grain of Copper was able to give à Tincture to 28534 times its weight of Water, tho' its specifick Gravity is not half so much as that of fine Gold: and if we estimate the proportion not by weight but the bulk of these Bodies, the bulk of Water to Copper being as nine to one, the aforementioned number multiplyed by nine will give us the proportion betwixt the tinged and tinging the Body, so that one grain of Copper gives a colour to 256806 parts of Limpid Water, and by prosecuting this Ex∣periment further, I found that it was able to give a manifest Tincture to above 385200, and a faint but discernable one to above 513620 times its bulk of Water.

To shew that the Effluvia of Bodies may enter in at very small Pores, I shall intimate the effects of Cantharides held in the hands of some Persons; and on the Neck of my own Bladder when applyed outwardly to my Neck. And not only Scaliger tells us of Spiders in Gascony, whose Virulent Poyson would pene∣trate the Shooes of those that trod upon them, but Piso speaking of a Fish called Amoreatim, and by the Portugals Peize sola, he says, Quae mira sane Efficacia non solum Manum vel le∣vissimo attactu, sed & pedem, licet optime cal∣ceatum, Piscatoris incaute Pisciculum conterentis, Paralysi & stupore afficit, instar Torpedinis Eu∣ropeae, sed Minus durabili, Lib. 5. Cap. 14.

And to shew that some Emanations, even of solid Bodies, may be subtle enough to get through the Pores even of the closest Bodies; I shall add, that a needle being Hermetically sealed up in a Glass Tube, and that laid upon Water, a Load-Stone would cause the Needle to leap up in it, and by the help of the Load-Stone, I could lead the Tube from one part of the Surface of the Water to another, as I moved the Load-Stone. And to shew that the Magneti∣cal Effluvia of the Earth, may penetrate so close and compact a Body as Glass, I shall add, that a Cylindrical piece of Iron being sealed up in a Glass Cylinder, and held in a Perpendicular Posture, it acquired such Mag∣netical Virtues, as to become a North Pole, and according to Magnetical Laws to drive a∣way the North Point of a Needle; but be∣ing inverted, and held under the Point of a

Needle, it became a South Pole, and attracted it.

Another Proof of the great subtlety of Efflu∣viums, may be taken from the small decrease of Weight, by parting with store of such Ema∣nations; as Vitrum Antimonii, Crocus Metallo∣rum, and Quick-silver, the two first of which give a Vomitive Virtue to a vast quantity of Wine, without growing sensibly lighter, and so Quick-silver impregnates Water with a Virtue of killing Worms. And a piece of Amber∣grease which weighed about 100 or 120 Grains, being suspended three days in the o∣pen Air, lost not sensibly of its Weight, not∣withstanding the quantity of odoriferous Steams it must have parted with in that time. Assa Foetida, in about six Days, lost about half a quarter of a Grain; one Ounce of Nutmegs, in six Days, lost 5 Grains ½; and an Ounce of Cloves, 7 grains ⅝. And tho' Loadstones emit Effluvia without a sensible loss of weight, yet I suspect, that as these Magnetical Particles fly out of one Pole, they enter in at the other, and so make the Pores of the Load-stone their con∣stant Thorow-fares. To these Instances I shall add, that a Grain of Copper being dissolved in a spoonful of a Menstruum, and that put into a Glass-Lamp, the Metal tinged the Flame, which continued half an Hour and six Minutes; so that supposing the Flame to have streamed through a Cylindrical Pipe so long, that small parcel of Metal must be divided into a vast Number of small Parts; for Water, which ran through a Cylinder, whose Diameter was but half as great as that of the Flame, amounted to

above Nine Gallons, or Seventy two Pounds.

The last Particular I shall insist upon, to shew the strauge subtlety of Effluviums, is the great quantity of space a small parcel of Matter may be extended to, and as to Sense possess it; this we may be enabled to guess at, by consi∣dering how long a Dog will distinguish the Scent of Partridges, Hares, &c. after they have left the Place, and will almost give one sufficient grounds to guess how long the Animal hath been gone from thence before. And I am told that a Blood-hound will not only perceive the Seent of a Man that hath gone over a piece of Ground several Hours before, but that the scent of a Deer will continue upon the Ground from one Day to the next. And if we consider that the eighth part of a Grain, can scarce be sup∣pos'd to be left on the Ground where such an Animal hath stood, and likewise at what di∣stance it may be scented, and how long that scent continues, it will be sufficient to convince us of the extraordinary minuteness of those Parts of Animals, which were rendered more apt to be dissipated in Effluviums, by their having been first strained through the Pores of their Bo∣dies. Nor is it less remarkable, that Birds, especially Crows, are able to discover the smell of Gun-powder at a considerable distance; and that they are, I am satisfi'd by my own Obser∣vations, as well as the Relations of others.

And on this occasion I shall add, That Julius Palmarius, in his Tract de Morbis Contagiosis, observes, that Horses, Beeves, Sheep, and other Animals, have grown mad by eating the Straw that mad Swine have lain on; which may give

us Reason to suspect, that the Feet of distemper∣ed Animals may leave an Infection upon the Grass they tread on.

But to prosecute the chief aim of our Dis∣course, I shall add, That since Corpuscles that are too minnte to be visible, may affect an Or∣gan of Sense; it is not improbable, but that there may be a great many which may be so fine as not to affect any one of our Senses, and consequently may continue an Atmosphere much longer than we are able to take notice of. So Forestus tells us of a Pestilential Contagion that was a long time preserved in a Cobweb. And Alexander Benedictus tells us of a Flock-Bed, which, when several Years after the Plague, it was beaten, it presently infected the By-stand∣ers. And Sennertus tells us that in Ʋratisla∣via, in six Months, six Thousand Men dyed of the Plague; and that from that time, the In∣fection was preserved in a Linnen Cloth, and being displayed in another Place, 13 Years after, it infected that Place likewise. And Trincavel∣la tells us, that an Infection was preserved a long time in Ropes, by which dead Persons were let down into their Graves. And an In∣stance of the like kind we are furnished with by Diemerbroeck, who acquaints us that an Apothe∣cary of his, turning over some Straw, upon which a Bed had lain which held an infected Person, the Steams immediately caused Blisters upon his Legs, and a Carbuncle which was a For∣tnight in healing. And to conclude this Chapter, I shall add, that I have a pair of Spanish perfum'd Gloves, which have continu'd their scent about Thirty Years, tho' they were not so much as shut up in a Box.

Notes

• Of the sub∣tlety of Ef∣fluviums.