4 ° The Iff I T U R A ^ IB v I S T O R Y $ ƒ
he Commanded his Daughter . ter,Brink of| thé. Water of M7<?,
that (he might make her Husband happy in a numerous Off-
Spring ; By the Teftimony therefore of Hyfaerates, Galen, Ma-
ihiolus, Diafcorides, Pliny, and Agricola, it appears to have been
of great ufe in Phyfick. But here. it is. to be noted, that when
Nitre is preferibed by the foremention’d Authors, thit Nitre
which is an ingredient in Gun-Ppwd^ri is not; to be underftood;
Amongft the Moderns we have this account of % Monfieur du
Oofs is; of Opinion, that moft oftheMineralvWatersffnPrance,
are impregnated with this Tort of Nitre , and that all their;Cures
aredone by it. Molenbrochim, affirms a Tin&bre, of Aphronitum
to be of wonderful Efficacy in the Stone, this I the rather Credit,
becaufe it is faidby Junken, in his Medicus,, the Nitre of Nitrib is
of fo piercing a Spirit, that it will not permit either Stone or
Rock to be thereabout; And Ten Rine in his Meditations efeTTe-
teri Medicina, affirms it to be of* wonderful fucéefs in the 1'apie
Diftempers.
The next thing to be confider’d is jts ufe in Agriculture^ iand
in Treating of this, I think", it convenient topremife m&Pbte-
nomenon which it afforded in Evaporation : when,, the Salts had
fpread themfelves over the Water in an Ice, tbofe; thin Plates after
a while wou’d break, and alcend in perpendicular linestothe
top of the Glafsj I do fay therefore, that Nitre- may belaid to
fertilize the ground after this manner ; lts völatifé Particles bé-
ing by fome fubterraneous Fire, or. elfe by the heat of the Sun,
they do quickly afeend into the fmall Tubes of the Plant, and
by their Elaftick Nature carry along with them, or force before
them, thofe Particles which as they differently convene, conftir
tute the different parts of the Plant.
But this conjecture will be made fomething the more probable,
by an Experiment in Kircher, where he fays, if you take a wooden
Tube,and put into it Tartar,Quick-Lime, Salt, and the Urine
of a Wine Drinker, reduced into a Mafs, which is to behardned
in the Sun, and after that fet in a cold Cellar, by the help of
Salt-Petre from the beforemention’d Mafs, you will not without
admiration fee Flowers branch out Of it; yea, fuch is the force
of
am a, 4 1
oiMitvefsthkt ifiima Gla-fs keptrclofe ffiut^syOnpUtatljeljuiee^ of
feme Nitrous1 Hpth$,k®0i‘th©M^ iffitne>btav£:
taindqwithin'it , tteing1 p?egpiff with‘Spirits ^ wlRfcft&ifc M i
tyoUghi^h®i^f|Bibfe^o'f.the Glafsi: ?ilso L-'\.un7'T omi jtfbodF
‘ ;.dMuc£i M €hambxe -fay % iPdahtido„groi^t%l£jy^ in4 h6h'<aburi^
«fefcfcej?; tftit fhe^cwOardiChoak fcorieiajidther; | ifsnob hindredtby
thtowingjSaria up®n|Aefpeid$^t|(bmud3p 2 ,thab t\s&i'Mgypmmi
mbft (takers1 i$a&i pains! in 1 fatnefs oftfreife Land, as
other'Nations cfo' tolnkreafethe •/;
ln! MechanickZ wei 'hlyOSJ tfeis^leotM^Ol' -ffyitffMMd bpv‘PMk
Cap. ‘dg.Vitri inventione,, that a pfppaoy‘,d fIlVfeIf^^^beiO^
thrown lujfioh ® fhore , whete
found]! vs!eref(ffircM to takergreatf p&oessdf
theibShips,1 and make WaHs^iupop/wychftl^djU^etfeeiin Boik
ieg'RMtk^\the.dffffr<? beingl-heated by^theiFir©imixyfwith'fhe
Sand',criran irtto-feveralj Streams bf Glai|s^ > vvhtcli tafteryvlinfe»
hinted' the way of making :Glafs, it'is? likewife of Ufe' iiri i Dyin^ y
for attdi0tri®i«f affirm^thae by Azurei®
made, iaod ihauwitbout thisAhere cahmbfihea.trhei'fliadowiBo I
In the laft place,I come to confldef j vtherein: itsdifferifroEffi Sajf
Petre, and SakArmoniac, it niay;be diftinguifhed from Salt Petre;
Firft byrits fermenting ;*:it wiff ferment -with anyiaCid,rbu£Salh
Pet#© -will not, I* fouhebifc wookj ffermentpwith Vinegar, as the old?
Commentatorsobferve in theiriGbmriaeQts'U^o®^@rkte?a& andrthd
P r o v e r b s ; but Salt Petre will not, which gave ocbafion [to fame
in thofe'Texts?to alter the Mora >0
io Secondly,. Its may be diftiuguifhSf from SsItiPefare'TihiltKidffe,
fori Natron hat Ra Lixivial taAbpithb other not.!m\
: Thirdly, By [the. volatile Spif it itiaffords;: sFor from one comes
over! ai vhlatile Alkaly^i butfrom theother :a CorvOfives Acid I hdi
VjdSoUitWy^uTh? Natrou^ffardeth a.Mdaclammy &hffance^
pid,ibuf thd other.not, thisCfemffiyifebftahc^iifoIfmiftake; noi^
isf hat1 which by P/iny is called> MxugT\Salkj thisi6teth^fcofcn.ithe
Eafth,kand therefdrejit is a&aub&iil bytTli^ ifuipnbiMitrariatt
qdlms^ ^jrufuaieTitnkmlgre ■‘IprikhhB sib m xp% gn
Fifthly, Like Salt Petre? it will riot ^hryftallizbJ
L Sixthly,