either from particular Earthquakes or from the General Deluge according to the common notion and Explication of it these not being Causes answerable to such vast Effects let us try our Hypothesis again which hath made us a Channel large enough for the Sea and room for all Subterraneous Cavities and I think will find us Materials enough to raise all the MOUNTAINS of the Earth We suppose the great Arch or Circumference of the first Earth to have fallen into the Abyss at the Deluge and seeing that was larger than the Surface it fell upon 't is absolutely certain that it could not all fall flat or lie under the Water Now as all those parts that stood above the Water made dry Land or the present Habitable Earth so such parts of the dry Land as stood higher than the rest made Hills and MOUNTAINS and this is the first and General Account of them and of all the Inequalities of the Earth THO. BVRNET's Theory of the Earth Lib. 1. Cap. XI The Height of MOUNTAINS compar'd with the Diameter of the Earth is not considerable but the Extent of them and the Ground they stand upon bears a considerable proportion to the Surface of the Earth And if from Europe we may take our Measures for the rest I easily believe that the MOUNTAINS do at least take up the Tenth part of the Dry Land Ibidem The Height of the highest MOUNTAINS doth bear no greater a proportion to the Diameter of the Earth than of the Sixteen Hundred and Seventieth part to the whole supposing the Diameter of the Earth to be Eight Thousand Three Hundred Fifty Five Miles as Pet. Gassendus computes both And it is more than probable that Men have been exceedingly mistaken as to the height of MOUNTAINS which comes so far short of Sir Walter Raleigh's Computation of Thirty Miles that the Highest MOUNTAIN in the World will not be found to be Five direct Miles in height taking the Altitude of them from the plain they stand upon Olympus whose Height is so extoll'd by the Poets and Ancient Greeks that it is said to exceed the Clouds yet Plutarch tells us that Xenagoras measur'd it and found it not to exceed a Mile and a half perpendicular and about 70 paces Much about the same height Pliny saith that Dicaearchus found the Mountain Pâ—lion to be The Mount Athos is suppos'd of extraordinary height because it casts its shadow into the Isle of Lemnos which according to Pliny was 87 Miles yet Gassâ—ndus allows it but Two Miles in height but Isaac Vossius in a Learned Discourse concerning the height of MOUNTAINS in his Notes on Pomponius Mela does not allow above 10 or 11 Furlongs at most to the Height of Mount Athos Cancasus by Ricciolus is said to be 51. Miles in height Gassendus allowing it to be higher than Athos or Olympus yet conceives it not above three or four Miles at most but Vossius will not yield it above Two Miles perpendicular for which he gives this very good Reason Polibius affirms there is no MOUNTAIN in Greece which may not be ascended in a Days time and makes the highest MOUNTAIN there not to exceed Ten Furlongs Which saith Vossius it is scarce possible for any one to reach unless he be a Mountainer born any other will scarce be able to ascend above Six Furlongs perpendicular for in the Ascent of a MOUNTAIN every pace doth reach but to an hands breadth perpendicular but if we do allow Eight Furlongs to a Days Ascent yet thereby it will appear that the Highest MOUNTAINS in the World are not above Twenty four Furlongs in height since they may be ascended in Three Days time And it is affirmed of the top of Mount Caucasus that it may be ascended in less than the compass of three Days and therefore cannot be much above two Miles in height Which may be the easier believ'd of any other Mountain when that which is reputed the highest of the World viz. the Pike of Teneriffe which the Inhabitants call Pica de Terraria may be ascended in that compass of time viz. Three Days For in the Months of Iuly and August which are the only Months in which Men can ascend it because all other times of the Year Snow lies upon it although neither in the Isle of Teneriffe nor any other of the Canary Islands there be Snow ever seen the Inhabitants then ascend to the top of it in Three Days time which top of it is not Pyramidal but plain from whence they gather some Sulphureous Stones which are carried in great quantities into Spain So that according to the proportion of Eight Furlongs to a Days journey this Pike of Teneriffe will not exceed the Height of a German Mile perpendicular as Varenius confesseth than which he thinks likewise that no Mountain in the World is higher For what Pliny speaks of the Alpes being Fifty Miles in height must be understood not perpendicular but in regard of the Obliquity of the Ascent of it so that he might account so much from the Foot of the Alpes to the top of them and yet the Alpes in a perpendicular Line not come near the Height of a German Mile STILLING FLEET 's Orig. Sacr. Lib. 3. Cap. 4. pag. 544 c. Mr. Muraltus of Zurich in a Letter to Mr. Haak a Fellow of the R. S. concerning the Icy MOUNTAINS of Helvetia call'd the GLETSCHER gives him this Account The Highest ICY MOUNTAINS of Helvetia about Valesia and Augusta in the Canton of Bern about Paminium and Tavetsch of the Rhaetians are always seen cover'd with Snow The Snow melted by the heat of the Summer other Snow being faln within in a little while after is hardned into ICE which by little and little in a long tract of time depurating it self turns into a Stone not yielding in hardness and clearness to Crystal Such Stones closely joyned and compacted together compose a whole MOUNTAIN and that a very firm one though in Summer time the Country People have observ'd it to burst asunder with great cracking Thunder-like Which is also well known to Hunters to their great cost for as much as such Cracks and Openings being by the Winds cover'd with Snow are the Death of those that pass over them PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 49. Monsieur Iustel in an Enlargement upon this very Subject says that the ICY-MOUNTAIN call'd the GLETSCHER is very high and extends it self every year more and more over the Neighbouring Meadows by increments that make a great noise and cracking There are great Holes and Caverns which are made when the ICE bursts which happens at all times but especially in the Dog-days Hunters do there hang up their Game they take during the great heat to make it keep sweet by that means Very little of the Surface melts in Summer and all freezes again in the Night When the Sun shineth there is seen such a variety of Colours as in a Prism There is such another MOUNTAIN near
to grow up to a Tree This Bird is shap'd like a Cuckoo and the Dutch prohibite their Subjects under pain of Death to kill any of them THEVENOT's Trav. into the Indies Pag. 109. 'T is to be Noted that the Oyl of Mace or NUTMEGS by Expression is the Ground Foundation and Body of all Great Nâ—ble and Generous Artificial Balsoms As for Example if to Oyl of Mace or NUTMEGS by Expression you add a small proportion of Oyl of CINNAMON you then have Balsam of CINNAMON c. The best NUTMEGS are those which are fresh heavy fat and which when pricked force out Oyl Observations concerning PEPPER THere are divers sorts of PEPPER viz. Black White and Long PEPPER The Black is the commonest The Plant that beareth the Black PEPPER groweth up like a Vine among Bushes and Brambles where it naturally grows but where it is manur'd it is Sown at the bottom of some Tree where it climbs up to the top The Leaves are few in Number growing at each joint one first on one side of the Stalk then on the other like in shape to the long undivided Leaves of Ivy but thinner and broader The Plant that bears White PEPPER is not to be distinguish'd from the other but only by the Colour of the Fruit no more than a Vine that beareth Black Grapes from that which bringeth White And by some it is thought that the self same Plant does sometimes change it self from Black to White The Tree that beareth long PEPPER is quite different from the Two former and grows in another Country It is much hotter than the common ' Black PEPPER yet sweeter and of better taste GERRARD's Herbal Tavernier says there are two sorts of PEPPER one is very small another sort much bigger both which sorts are distinguish'd into Small and Great PEPPER The larger sort comes from the Coast of Malavare and Tuticorin and Calicut are the Cities where it is brought up Some of this PEPPER comes from the Territories of the King of Visapour being vended at Rejapour a little City in that Kingdom The Hollanders that purchase it of the Malavares do not give Money for it but several sorts of Commodities in Exchange as Corten Opium Vermilion and Quick-Silver and this is the PEPPER which is brought into Europe As for the little PEPPER that comes from Bantam Afchen and some other parts toward the East there is none of it carried out of Asia where it is spent in vast quantities especially among the Mahumetans For there are double the Grains of Small PEPPER in one pound to what there are of the Great PEPPER besides that the Great PEPPER is hotter in the Mouth TAVERN of the Commodities of the Dominions of the Great Mogul Philippus Baldaeus in his Description of some of the Chief Parts of the East-Indies says that PEPPER grows best in shady places that it hath a weak Stem to be supported like Vines having on each Branch commonly six Clusters each a Foot long in Colour like unripe Grapes that they gather it being Green in October and November exposing it to the Sun to dry whereby it grows Black in a few Days Ligon says that in the Island of Barbadoes there is a kind of Red PEPPER which is of two sorts the one so like a Childs Coral as not to be discern'd at the distance of two paces a Crimson and Scarlet mixt the Fruit about two Inches long and shines more than the best Polisht Coral The Other of the same Colour and glistering as much but shap't like a large Button of a Cloak both of one and the same Quality both so violently strong that when they break but the Skin it sends out such a vapour into their Lungs as makes them fall a Coughing which lasts a quarter of an hour after the Fruit is remov'd but as long as they are garbling it they never give over The Spaniards are so much in love with this Spice that they will have it in all their Meat that they intend to have piquant for a greater Haut-goust is not in the World Garlick is faint and cool to it It grows on a little Shrub no bigger than a Gooseberry Bush. LIGON's Hist. of Barbadoes Pag. 79. Piso Describes and Figures nine or ten sorts of Guiny-PEPPER all growing in Brasile and there called Quiya The Guiny-PEPPER is used as a great Stomachick Medicine and in Sauces both in substance and infusion in America Spain and other Countries and by many preferr'd before the best PEPPER GREW's Mus. Regal Societ Pag. 231. Mr. Hughes in his Treatise call'd The American Physician mentions a sort of PEPPER called the Sweet-Scented PEPPER which he says he never saw but in Iamaica it groweth much after the same manner as the East-India PEPPER does He also says that the Red PEPPER-Tree grows in many Plantations in Iamaica Observations concerning CLOVES THe CLOVE-Tree groweth in Form much like to our Bay-Tree the Bark of an Olive Colour The CLOVES grow Ten and Twenty together among the Leaves The Blossoms at the first are White then Green and at last Red and hard which are the CLOVES The Leaf Bark and Wood being Green is as strong as the CLOVE When the Blossoms are Green they have the pleasantest smell in the World The right Colour of CLOVES when they are dry is a dark Yellow and to give them a black Colour they are commonly smoakt The CLOVES are gathering from September unto the End of February not with hands as we gather Apples Cherries and such like Fruit but by beating the Tree as we do Walnuts The CLOVES that stay on the Tree ungather'd are thick and continue till the next Year and these are called The Mother of CLOVES This Tree grows in great plenty in the Molucca Islands as also in Amboyna where they grow of themselves without Planting by the falling of the Fruit and when they are of Eight Years growth they bear Fruit and so continue bearing for an Hundred Years together In the place where these Trees stand there is neither Grass Weed nor any sort of Herbs for that the Tree draweth unto it self all the moisture round about The CLOVES are so hot by Nature that whensoever they are made clean and separated from their Garbish if there chance to stand either Tub or Pail of Water in the Chamber where they clâ—anâ—e them or any other Vessel with Wine or any kind of moisture it will within two Days at the furthest be wholly dried up although it stand not near them by reason of the great heat of the CLOVES that draw all moisture to them Of the same Nature is the unspun Silk of China so that whensoever the Silk lieth any where in a House upon the Floor that is to say upon Boards a Foot or two above the Ground and that the Floor is cover'd with Water although it toucheth not the Silk in the Morning all that Water will be in the Silk for that it draweth all unto it And this trick the
Metals Transl. by the Earl of SANDWICH Chap. 8. Iohannes Alphonsus Borellus in his Historia Meteorologia Incendii Aetnoei Ann. 1669. takes particular notice of the great abundance of SAL ARMONIAC that was found in all the holes and vents of the Ground and in the Clefts of Stones And of this SALT He affirms that there had been sublimed for he makes it factitious so great Store that many thousands of Pounds might be gather'd adding that even a whole Year after the Extinction of the Fire in the Mouths of AETNA there were found remaining dâ—vers vents about Catania exhaling store of Smoak which had the like SAL ARMONIAC flicking to the sides and edges of the Stones At this day we have little knowledge of the true NITRE which was anciently made of the Water of the River Nilus although Albertus Magnus saith that in Goselaria there was a Mountain that contained a very rich Mine of Copper and that the Water which issued out at the bottom of it being dried became NITRE We know little also of Aphronitrum which is but as it were the froth of NITRE NITRE is bitterer than Salt but less Salt SALT PETER is the Mean between them two and consists of very dry and subtile parts it grows on the Walls of old Houses and in Stables Cow-Houses Hog-Sties and Dove-Coats it will grow again in the same Earth it was taken out of if that Earth be thrown in heaps and not stirr'd and taken care of or if ordinary Earth be cast up into heaps and water'd with Brackish Water after some Years it will give a great encrease as profitable as Crops of Corn. The use of it in making GunPowder and Aqua Fortis is very well known It is us'd also in the melting of Metals Ibidem Whether the NITRE of the Ancients be of the same Species with the SALT which is commonly known by the name of SALT PETER is variously disputed by very learned Authors amongst the Modern Physicians On the Negative side are Mathiolus and Bellonius the latter of which had the advantage by the opportunity of his Travels in Egypt to have often seen and handled them both and is so positive as to pronounce that in all Christendom there is not one Grain of NITRE to be found unless it be brought from other parts although at the time of his being in Grand Caire which was about the Year 1550 it was so common there as he says that ten Pounds of it would not cost a Moidin Among those that hold the Affirmative the most eminent are Cardan and Longius and it seems the general Vote of Learned Men hath been most favourable to that Opinion by reason that in all Latin Relations and Prescriptions the word NITRUM or HALINITRUM is most commonly used for SALT PETER I have often enquired amongst our London Drugsters for Egyptian NITRE and if I had been so fortunate as to have â—ound any I doubt not but I should have been able to have put an end to that Question by a Demonstration that is by turning the greatest part of it into SALT PETER However the Observations I have made in my own private Experiments and in the Practice of SALT PETER-Men and Refiners of SALT PETER seem to give me sufficient ground to suspect that the confidence of those who hold them to be several SALTS proceedeth chiefly from their being unacquainted with the various 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of SALT PETER in the making and refining of it And also their comparing double refin'd SALT PETER oâ— which Gunpowder is made with the NITRUM and APHRONITRUM describ'd by Pliny in the one and thirtieth Book of his Natural History which indeed is the only tolerable account of that SALT that hath been handed to us from Antiquitâ— where he tells us that APHRONITRUM was Colore penè purpureo and Egyptian NITRE Fuscum Lapidosum HENSHAW of the making of SALT PETER See SPRAT's Hist. of the R. S. pag. 260 261. NITRE is often adulterated by being mixed with common SALT but you may try it by burning for being fir'd upon a red hot Tile or Stone if all fly away it is pure but if any thing remain it is common SALT The Lord Bacon saith that NITRE is a kind of cool Spice in that it bites the Tongue and Palat with Cold just as Spices do with Heat and that NITRE is the only Vegetable which aboundeth with Spirit and yet is Cold. He further tells us that Cattle which drink of NITROUS Water do manifestly grow fat which saith he is a sign of its cold Quality BAC Hist. of LIFE and DEATH It is affirm'd by several that Gunpowder which consisteth principally of NITRE being taken in Drink doth conduce to Valour and therefore 't is often us'd by Mariners and Soldiers just before they are to fight even as the Turks do Opium The greater Part of Africa hath no other SALT but such as is digged out of Quarries and Mines after the manner of Marble or Free Stone being of a White Red and Gray Colour Barbary aboundeth with SALT and Nâ—midia is indifferently furnish'd therewith But the Land of Negros and especially the inner part of Ethiopia is so destitute thereof that a Pound of SALT is there sold for half a Ducat And the People of that Country use not to set SALT upon their Tables but holding a crumb of SALT in their hands they â—ick the same at every morsel of Meat which they put in their Mouths In certain Lakes of Barbary all the Summer time there is fair and white SALT congeal'd or kern'd as namely in divers places near the City of Fez PVRCH. Pilgr Vol. II. pag. 849. The Learned and Ingenious Dr. Brown in his Travels pag. 112. saith That near the City of Eperies in upper Hungary there is a SALT-Mine of great note being an hundred and fourscore Fathoms deep in which are pieces of Salt found of ten thousand Pounds weight The Principal SALT-Mines are in Poland and Calabria In the lesser Poland says Comer in his Description of that Country are some pieces of SALT as big as huge Stones so hard that Houses and even whole Towns are built with them In the Philosophical Transactions we have a Relation concerning the SAL-GEMME Mines in Poland lying within a Mile of Cracovia which Relation was communicâ—ted to Mr. Oldenburg by a curious Gentleman in Germany who some Years since descended himself into those Mines to the depth of 200 Fathoms and was led about in them for the space of three Hours He saith that out of these Mines they dig and cut out three sorts of SALT One is common course and black the Second somewhat siner and whiter the Third very white and clear like Crystal He says the course and black SALT is cut out in great pieces roundish and three Polonian Ells long and one Ell thick which câ—sts from fifty to seventy Polonian Florins In the mean time the Inhabitants of Cracow have a Priviledge whereby a certain