FEcula's are commonly made out of five kinds of Roots chiefly, which are Arum, or Coockow-pint, Iris, Piony, Briony, and great Dragons. But it will suffice, to give an example of any of the five, which will be as a model for the rest, and all those that are of a like nature. First of all, the time wherein the Root must be gathered, is to be attended, when you will make the Fecula, and that is, when the Plant begins only to put out the least bud, otherwise, no good could be done upon it. ℞ then Briony Root at such a time, and wash it exactly; then scrape the out-side of the Root, and so get the substance by scraping very cleanly; then ex∣press hard the same, and let settle in the bottom of the Vessel a kind of white feculency, until the juyce be all cleared, which Page  245draw off softly by pouring down: and as you will find a mucilagi∣neous and yellowish substance, above the whitish Flower which settles in the bottom; you must pour upon it a little of luke∣warm clear water, to make the separation thereof, by a slow and circulary agitation; that being ended, you must put this farina∣ceous Substance or white Starch in a Marble Mortar, and agitate the same with clear water, until it be as white as Milk, then percolate this white Water through a new Tamy somewhat close, that the grosser part may remain within; then cover the Platter, and suffer the Fecula to make a settlement, re-iterating this agita∣tion with new Water three or four times, after which, you must separate the Water by a soft and slow inclination; then cover the Platter with a white Paper, bored through with many small holes of a Needle; then expose it to the Sun, until the Fecula be dry, which will be as white as any Starch, if you proceed in the opera∣tion with exactness and cleanliness.

This is the manner of artificially preparing your Fecula's: but, it were to be wisht, that they were endowed with the rare ver∣tues attributed unto them; for, there is no judicious man, never so little initiated in the mysteries of Chymistry, who doth not conceive, that this earthly and feculent portion, which by its own weight is severed from the juyce, is rather an excrement of the Root, than a substance containing its vertue; for, it is not with the family of Vegetables as with that of Minerals and Me∣tals: Since Vegetables have only their vertue contained in a saline and volatile substance, whereas the Metals and Minerals are fixt in a manner; and, that in this fixt substance and their ma∣terial and close center, is placed their chief vertue. Now this saline substance is, without doubt, in the juyce of the Plant; since it is a proper quality of Salts to dissolve themselves in Water, and if any part of it should remain amongst the Fecula's, the wash∣ings which are to be used with single pure Water to purifie them, carry away, without any doubt, the remainder of their vertue; so, that there is nothing left but a subtile Earth, of a mere white Starch or Flower: It would then be much better, to use those Roots, whereof the Fecula's are extracted, after they have been dryed, either whole, or cut in round slices; for, then may the Ar∣tist be confident, that their saline and mucilagineous vertue is Page  246concentrated in their own body by exsiccation, and, that nothing but the aqueous phlegmatick and unnecessary substance is vapoured away. I dare moreover affirm, that what is commonly thrown away after the expression of these Roots, is without compare, worth much more, then the feculas from them extracted It is much better to strain the juyce and depurate it, and then evaporate it in B. M. to a consistency of inspissated juyce or extract, to make use thereof in case of need, since it will be endowed with the vertue of the Root, and will not fail to produce the hoped for effects: with this I shall put an end to the exemplification of Roots, to come to the other parts of Plants, according to their Order.