the Influence of Subterraneal fires for which Reason deep Cellars are generally warmest And it hath been observ'd That the deepest Mines in Hungary are always the hottest and tho' the upper Region in some measure seems Cold yet that may easily be caused by the Predisposition of our Sensories when out of the warm Air we find it comparatively Colder in the top of the Groove and in our ascent Colder in respect of those Regions which are nearer the Influence of Subterraneal fires And that the lower Regions are hotter than the uppermost is not only evident from what hath been elsewhere delivered but from what Arch-Bishop Vpsal hath observ'd in the deep Mountains in Poland from whence they dig Rock-Salt And tho' the Heat of Springs in the Winter may be alledged by some as a cause of Antiperistasis yet it is easily otherwise explain'd since the Subterraneal Effluvia of the Earth as well as the Comparative Coldness of the Air is sufficient to solve that Phaenomenon And that the Antiperistasis is not so powerful in the Winter as to have any effect on the Subterraneal Parts is evident since Capt. James tells us That he had a Well which remain'd unfroze all Winter so that by breaking the Ice on the top they could get fresh Water And it is attested by a Latin Author That in or near the Island Hueena wherein the famous Tycho built his Vrani-Burgum there is one Spring which is not froze in Winter and Olaus Magnus tells us That near Nidrosia one of the chief Cities of Norway there is a Lake that in that Northern Region never freezes And Josephus informs us of a hot Spring in Peru from whence the Waters issue out boiling hot yet a Spring which is just by it is Cold as Ice so that the Nature of the Soil through which Bodies flow may have a considerable stroak in altering the Temper of the Water And to favour what I have said of the Reason why Springs steam in the Summer I shall add That it is observ'd that our Breath as well as the steams of Issues are visible in the Winter tho' not discernable in the Summer and the very steams of a labouring Man have been froze on the outside of his wastcoat whilst he was working And it 's commonly observ'd That the steams of a River are very apparent in the Evenings tho' not discernable at Mid-day in Summer And that the Earth is not only heated by those Subterraneal steams but that those Meteors which we frequently see proceed from Subterraneal Effluvia will be rendred probable by observing That Miners usually foretel Storms and alterations in the Air by the damps which rise in their Mines And in Cornwall it is observ'd by the Fisher-men that those Sulphureous Exhalations which appear like fire up and down generally precede considerable Storms And the like hath been observ'd on the Coast of Ireland when a black Cloud like a Barrel rising out of the Water a violent Storm presently succeeded And an Anonymous Writer tells us That in Comitatus Zotiensis in Hungary a Clift of Ground emits such steams that Birds and Cats or Dogs being held over it are killed by the steams of it And the same Author tells us That near the City Buda there are such hot Springs that the River Danubius is not able to keep them cool and he tells us likewise that in the River Istroganum they may discover hot Springs by removing the sand with their feet And I am inform'd by credible witnesses That in the North of England there is a ditch which emits steams which are inflamable and probably there may be other places which emit such kind of Effluvia and afford matter for fiery Meteors and Winds And we are told That not only in Muscovy a Tract of Water a Mile long continued unfroze when the rest was and emitted hot steams But Olaus Magnus tells us of a Lake Veter which thaws with a considerable noise That as well as the River Peking near China which thaws in one Day beginning at the bottom and so thaws upwards and in these thaws it is observ'd That they are foretold by a great boiling of the Water first under the Ice And that such Effluvia being detained from flying away and kept up in the Earth may contribute to the Heating of Cellars appears further since in Muscow when a Cellar hath been long kept shut when first the door is opened the steams will affect the Men so Powerfully as almost to suffocate them So that from hence it appears That the Retention of hot Effluvia depend on a Constipation of the Pores of the Earth and not on the Disposition of hot Vapors to fly away from their contrary since we see that they have no such Disposition the Vapors of a Well rather dispersing themselves in the Air than flying away from it But to disprove the Doctrine of Antiperistasis further I shall add That a rod of Iron which had a piece of Iron fixed to one end of it having that end made red hot and quenched in Cold Water the Heat did not recede into the other end to avoid the Coldness of the Water But a more convincing Experiment is That a Weather-Glass being suspended in a wide-mouth'd Glass in Water when that Glass was placed in hot Water the Coldness of that in the wide-mouth'd Glass was so far from being drove upon the Weather-Glass that the Spirit of Wine did not in the least subside but when the Heat of the External Water was diffused through the other it manifestly rose And this Experiment being try'd with warm Water in the wide-mouth'd Glass and Cold Water about that the Heat was not more intense about the Weather-Glass but when the Cold had diffused it self through the warm Water the Spirit of Wine subsided Postscript Tho' from what hath been said it appears That the Doctrine of Antiperistasis is not without Reason exploded yet I shall suspend my Judgment whether Cellars are warmer in the Winter than the Summer or not since the learned Jesuite Zucchius tells us That having suspended a Weather-Glass 3 years in a Cellar the Water would rise in the Winter and descend in the Summer And another tells us That he knew a Well Colder in Summer than Winter yet I am far from believing this Observation universal since what hath been said evinces the contrary for tho' the superficial Parts of the Earth are subject to vary in their Temperature as the Weather influences them yet Subterraneal Cavities than are very deep are neither hotter or colder in the Winter or Summer and tho' Zucchius hath undertaken to measure it by the assistance of Weather-Glasses yet since ordinary Weather-Glasses are subject to be influenced by the Gravity of the Air as well as the Heat and Cold of it and since some places are fuller of Subterraneal Vapors than others and consequently the sudden ascent of Exhalations may presently increase the weight of it I think the following Experiment made by the
chrystallized Salts appeared The Oyl of the Fruit became very friable and of a milky-white Colour but the Train Oyl only lost its fluidity and became of the consistence of soft Grease And the same Night a Bottle of Rhenish Wine and another of strong White-wine were for the most part froze the Ice tasting weaker than the Wine but the Wine being several times froze and thawed again neither lost any thing of its Colour Taste or Strength Mr. Hook shewed me an oval Glass which had at one end a narrow Cane an Inch long in which Water tinged with Cochineel being froze the Ice on the out-side was colourless but in the middle of a deep Tincture and I have observed the like in Flasks containing the same Tincture froze Flesh Fish Eggs and Apples being held near the surface of Water and immersed in it are crusted over with Ice and I have observ'd that Mortar and Plaister of Paris will freeze I have seen Ice three Yards thick on the Banks of Thames the Water which flowed successively over the Ice being froze and gradually thickening it and I have froze a whole flask full of Water by gradually pouring it into a Pan which confirms what Olearius says of making huge heaps of Ice to preserve Bodies Tho' my Lord Verulam tells us that Eggs and Apples cover'd with a wet Cloth will not freeze yet I have not observ'd any difference betwixt them and others Oyls of Animals and vegetable Oyls by Expression subside Syrups freeze not Cold affects not Loadstones sensibly in their Operations Having exposed distill'd Waters of Plantan Poppies black Cherries Night-shade Scurvy-grass and Horse-radish to the Cold in order to make a Standard for Weather-Glasses I observ'd that the Black-cherry-water was froze first and the Horse-radish and Scurvy-grass Waters last The best way to discover when Liquors begin to freeze first is by drawing a Pin through the surface of those Liquors CHAP. IX A new Frigorifick Experiment shewing how a considerable degree of Cold may be suddenly produced without the help of Snow Ice Hail Wind or Nitre any time of the year comunicated in the Transactions of July 18. 1666. Cold produced by a mixture of Sal-Armon and Water IF a pound of powdered Sal Armoniack be mixed gradually with three pints of Water and the Liquor be stirred with a stick or a Whale-bone whilst the Salt is dissolving it will produce a considerable degree of Coldness which will not only be sensible to the touch but if it be contained in a Silver Tankard the outside of it will be covered over with a multitude of little drops of Condensed Vapours as high as the Mixture reaches and if some of it be quite wiped off before the Mixture hath lost its virtue it will again be covered over with dew And if the Ball of a sealed Weather-Glass be immersed in it the tinged Liquor will presently descend lower than it did in common Water and upon a Removal of it into the Air again or common Water the spirit will manifestly ascend And this Coldness is more or less lasting as the seasons of the Air contribute to its Coldness and as the Quantity of the Salt in proportion to the Water is greater or less or as it varies in Goodness or as the Salt is put in in grosser Powder and more leisurely And the degrees of Cold may easily be discovered by frequently immerging and removing a Weather-Glass out of it into Water and from the latter into it again Whether Sal Armoniack mixed with Sand or Earth will cool Drink better than without when the Mixture is sprinkled with Water I have not yet tryed But I have found the aforemention'd Mixture cool Liquors conveniently enough after Midsummer March 27. A sealed Weather-Glass being immersed in Water the Spirit that rested at 8 1 â— Inches descended to 7 â— 8 and then the Sal-Armon being put in within a quarter of an hour it descended to 2 1 â— â…™ Inches and before that time it began to condense the Vapours on the outside of the Glass And when the frigorifick Mixture was coldest Water placed thin on the outside would be froze in a quarter of a Minute About 3 â— of an hour after the Salt was put in the tinged Liquor being remov'd out of Water into it subsided an Inch below the freezing Mark. At 2 ½ hours after the first Solution it was at 5 ½ Inches or 4 ¾ which Mark the Liquor stood at in hard and lasting Frosts in the Winter Three hours after the first Dissolution the Liquor stood at the uppermost freezing Mark. In trying of which Experiment it was observable that some Water being shed it froze the Cucurbite to the Table it stood on In another Experiment before the Weather-Glass was put in it stood at 8 â…› but when immersed in Water it sunk to 7 â… or 6 8 in half a quarter of an hour in the frigorifick Mixture it subsided to 7 ¾ and in an hour below 5 and consequently within a quarter of the lowest freezing Mark. Salt which once hath been dissolv'd may by being crystallized in an Iron Vessel be fit for use again So March 29. the Thermoscope which in the Air stood at 8 â…ž in Water subsided to 8 and in the frigorifick Mixture made of Salt twice used before it subsided to 4 Inches but upon an addition of fresh Water it rose gradually CHAP. X. Of the positive and privative Nature of Cold. Arguments alledg'd in favour of its positive nature answered BEfore I proceed to enumerate what Arguments may be alledged either for the positive or privative Nature of Cold I shall briefly intimate that the word Cold may be either considered in reference to the effect such Bodies have upon the Sensory or upon other Bodies If in the latter then in frosty Weather the Sun may be said to warm the Air because it enables it to melt the Snow and thaw Ice as on the contrary warm Water is said to be cold in respect of a Hand that is much hotter The first Argument But to pass on to Arguments in favour of the positive nature of Cold The first Argument alledged is The considerable Effects it hath both upon the Sensory and other Bodies so that we may summ our Argument up in the words of Gassendus Ii sunt frigoris effectus quales habere Privatio quae actionis est incapax non potest To which it is answer'd That Heat and Cold depending only on a greater or less degree of motion of the parts of Matter than those about our Sensory and all Perceptions being carried to and distinguish'd in the Brain and being various as that Motion is different and it being likewise considered that when one Body communicates Motion to another it loses of its own it will follow that when I take a piece of Ice into my Hand and it is dissolved by the motion communicated to its Parts the motion which the Humors in my hand lost by putting
those of the Water into motion induces a sensation of Cold and consequently there seems to be a privation of that motion which before caused Heat The second Argument Another Argument alledged for the positive Nature of Cold is this from Gassendus Cùm per hyemem immittimus manum in labentis fluminis Aquam quod frigus in ea sentitur non potest dici mera privatio aliudque prorsus esse apparet sentiri aquam frigidam sentiri non calidam Et fac eandem aquam gelari sentietur haud dubie frigidior an dices boc esse nihil aliud quam minus calidam sentiri Atqui calida jam antea non erat quomodo ergò potuit minus calida effici To which it is answer'd That our Sensories may mis-inform us as when a Stick is partly immersed in Water should we judge of it by what appears to our Senses we should conclude it broke but our Reason rectifying the Error of our Senses we are satisfied it is not Besides Sensations may depend on alterations in the internal Parts as well as on the impressions of outward Objects as in Hunger Thirst Coldness in Agues and Titilation upon venereal Thoughts besides which Argument that urged against the former Objection may be offer'd against this And since Water is not so cold as Ice it may in a Philosophical Sense be said to be comparitively warmer and tho' in respect of the Humours of our Body it be cold yet by the same reason we might conclude warm Water cold when the Hand is removed out of hot Water into it A third But in favour of the positive nature of Cold it is further offer'd that Cold is sometimes introduced into Bodies not hot before To which it is answer'd That since Fluidity consists in an agitation of the insensible Parts of a Body and Heat in a tumultuary one those Bodies into which Cold is introduced by Congelation differ whilst they are fluid only in degrees of motion from Heat and even when Water is froze it is not absolutely and perfectly cold since the Ball of a Weather-Glass being immersed in a Glass of Water and taken out when the Water was froze about it the Glass having been before tallow'd over to make it part with the Ice the Ice being broken off the Ball of the Weather-Glass the Air which was colder caused the Liquor to subside And that there may be sensible Perceptions of several degrees of Privation of the impressions of outward Objects appears since we perceive a sensible privation of Light when the Moon is eclipsed nine Digits and a more sensible one when it is totally darkned But tho' I argue for the privative nature of Cold yet I would not be thought to mean that an absolute Privation of Motion is the cause of it and by which it is affected for I rather think them the occasion than the efficient cause the motion of the Blood and Humours being differently modifyed upon a privation of their motion and consequently a different Sensation impressed upon the Sensory and that a Privation of the motion of some Parts of matter about our Sensory may occasion a new Determination of the Motion of those Fluids may be inferr'd from easy Observations for a Tennis-Ball is variously determined in its motion according to the Angle of Incidence upon another Body and tho' the Arches of a Bridge be quiescent Bodies yet by throwing the Water together they render its Stream violent enough to turn Mills and even the rapid motion of a Bullet may receive a new determination of its motion by striking upon the surface of the Water if when it was first discharg'd it made a sharp Angle with the Water so that its Angle of Incidence might not be too blunt and that various effects may ensue a Privation of some principal cause of former Events appears further from observing that by stopping the motion of Water a Mill presently ceases to move tho' no positive violence be offer'd to it And upon a relaxation of the violence of Wind all that was perform'd by the Mill presently ceases for want of Wind And in Paralytick cases a viscous or narcotic Humour obstructing or disaffecting one part of a Nerve so that Spirits cannot freely circulate through it occasions several odd and terrible Symptoms And Animals included in an Air-Pump dye barely by a privation of Air tho' nothing else is present to disaffect them And even Insects tho' void of motion upon a privation of Air yet when it is again let into them they move about as the advantages of their Species enables them so that from what hath been said it appears that a privation of the Agitation of the Humours may occasion a contrary and probably the effects ascribed to Cold. A fourth The next Argument alledged by Gassendus and to be considered is this Fac manuum immitti in aquam nunc calidam nunc frigidam quamobrem manus intra istam non intra illam refrigeratur An quia Calor manus intra frigidam retrabitur manusque proinde relinquitur calida manus At quidnam calor refugit quod intra frigidam reperiatur nonne frigas At si frigus est Tantum Privatio quidnam calor ab illa metuit Privatio sane nihil est atque adeo nihil agere unde ejus motus incutiatur potest But without supposing insensible matter to be in the least capable of proscecuting or avoiding what is hurtful to it this Objection is easily answered for the Reason why warm Water feels hot and cold affects us upon immerging our hand in it is because the Parts of the one is more and the Parts of the other less agitated than those about the Sensory and the motion of Humours about our Sensory being increased we feel a hot sensation and a cold one upon a Privation of that motion A fifth And tho' it be urged by some in favour of the positive Nature of Cold that Water is froze by externally applying to the outside of a Glass a Mixture of Snow and Salt yet to shew that Argument proves not that Cold acts positively I shall add the following explication of des Cartes Quia materia subtilis partibus bujus aquae circumfusa crassior aut minus subtilis consequenter plus virium habens quam illa quae circa nivis partes herebat locum illius occupat dum partes nivis liquescendo partibus salis circumvolvuntur Facilius enim per salsae aquae quam per dulcis poros movetur perpetuo ex corpore uno in aliud transire nititur ut ad ea loca perveniat in quibus mortui suo minus resistitur quo ipso materia subtilior ex nive in aquam penetrat ut egredienti succedat quum non satis valida fit ad continuandam agitationem hujus aquae illam concrescere sinit And in a similar manner Calces or Precipitates or other Powders are dryed by being placed on a piece of Paper
are to work upon contribute much to their Effects appears from the Effects of Lightning For I have seen two tall drinking Glasses so alter'd in their shape by the influence of Lightning that the one was a little widened near the bottom and the other so far bent that it stood awry the Beams of Lightning being able in the twinkling of an Eye to melt Glass tho' in Glass Furnaces the Fire is sometime before it can produce that Effect And I once saw Lead melted by Lightning which left the Glass unaffected and likewise other combustible stuff that was near it and tho' it left these Things untouched yet it threw down part of a Wall belonging to the House by passing through it And it is a common Observation that Thunder either by giving a determinate Concussion to the Air or transmitting some Effluvia turns Beer sowre but having sealed some up in Glasses Hermetically the Thunder was not able to affect the Liquor contained in them and it is a common practice to prevent Beer from sowring upon Storms of Thunder to place Chafing-Dishes of Coals under the Barrels the sulphureous steams being by that means so alter'd as either not to be able to penetrate the Barrel or not able to alter the Liquor Another Way by which considerable Effects are caused by Effluvia is by exciting such a Motion in the Body they work upon as to make one part of it act upon another Instances of which may be brought from inanimate Bodies as well as living ones since some vigorous Loadstones destroy the attractive Virtues of an Excited Needle in a trice or give it a Virticity quite contrary to the former without touching it and these magnetical Emissions which must needs be very minute since they are subtle enough to penetrate Glass are able to take up a considerable weight of Iron so that I have seen a light one which would take up Eighty times its weight But the chief Instances I shall now insist on are those wrought upon Animals for it is evident that our Organs of smelling are chiefly affected by such minute Particles of Matter as the finest Odours consist of nor do they always affect us as Odours since violent smells whether stinking or sweet are able to cause very troublesome Head-achs And the smell of a very pleasing Perfume may produce in a humane Body which before was well and strong both faintness swoons loss of sensible Respiration Intumescence of the Abdomen seeming Epilepsies Convulsive motions of the Limbs c. And I had a Sal-Armoniack which would in a little time remove Hysterick fits and recover People who by the by-standers were judged to fall down in Epileptical fits which sudden effects seem to depend on the consent of the Genus Nervosum But besides these effects of Odorous Bodies upon Women I know a Man of a strong Body and a sanguine Constitution who will be put into a violent Head-ach by the smell of Musk and another to whom the smell of Roses was as offensive and I know a Lady who would presently swoon at the smell of Roses if they were not speedily removed And as these slight smells have proved offensive so it is not much less considerable that the smell of Sal-Armoniack cures the Head-ach Besides the aforementioned effects of Effluvia it is observed that Women have miscarryed upon the stink of a Candle carelesly extinguished And I not only know a Gentleman who will Vomit upon the smell of Coffee but a Physician who will Vomit and Purge if he does but smell at Electuarium Lenitivum And I know another whom the smell of the grease which is about the wheels of a Hackney-Coach will make sick and cause to Vomit if it does but pass by him And not only smoak is offensive to the Eyes and Lungs but the invisible steams of Sal-Armoniack And besides the aforementioned instances of the effects of Effluvia upon the Genus Nervosum I shall add one of their Effects on the humours for I know an Apothecary who upon the smell of Roses hath such a Colliquation of Humours in his Head that they set him a coughing make him run at the Nose and give him a sore Throat and also by an affluence of humours make his Eyes sore And as Effluvia may be enabled to perform several things on the account of the structure of particular Bodies so they may effect several things by Virtue of the Fabrick and Laws of the Universe for Bodies by Effluvia may be rendered fit to be wrought on by Light Magnets the Atmosphere Gravity or some other Catholick Agent of the Universe And to what instances have already been given of Bodies working upon others placed at a distance I might add the effects of contiguous Bodies as Bloodstones Cornelians Nephritick Sones Lapis Malacensis and some Amulets and other solid Substances externally applyed by Physicians as Cantharides c. CHAP. VI. Of the determinate Nature of Effluviums Of the determinate Nature of Effluviums THO' Aristotle and his followers have only distinguished the Exhalations of this Globe into those which he calls fumes and which rising from the Earth he terms hot and dry and those Vapours which rise from the Water which he calls hot and moist in these words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 yet besides these slight differences since the Earth contains several Bodies which have each of them distinct Atmosphere we may probably conceive them to have their distinct and determinate natures and even in fluid Bodies Heterogeneous Parts may swim which notwithstanding their fluidity may retain their determinate Nature since Rock-Allom and Salt-Petre being dissolved together in Water upon a gentle Evaporation will each of them shoot into Crystals of their respective and determinate Natures And that Effluvia retain their determinate natures tho' so small as to swim in the Air or Water appears since upon their Re-union they are of the same Nature with the Body that emitted them as Water raised in Vapours condenses again into drops of Water And Quick-Silver in Distillation if it be raised with a convenient fire will almost all be found in the Receiver in the form of running Mercury And if when Chymists are either making an Amalgama or forcing the Mercury away from it by the fire they hold a piece of Gold in their Mouths it will be white as if it were Silvered over And not only Sulphur but Camphire sublimed in close Vessels unites into a Substance of the same Nature as the other and tho' a Body be compounded of a Metal and another Mineral and two or three Salts yet upon the Purification of the Mixture from its grosser Parts if the remaining and finer Parts be minute enough and finely shaped the wholy Liquor will ascend and yet in the Receiver altogether recover its pristine form of a transparent fluid composed of differing Saline and Mineral Parts which is evident in the Distillation of Butter or Oyl of Antimony very well rectify'd for this Liquor
part without altering the Blood yet when once it hath caused a change in it the Blood it self as it successively circulates through that Part may in some measure act Specifically upon it And tho' a Medicine may communicate to the Blood Particles of matter so modified that they may not immediately relieve the Part by either strengthening it or causing the Distempered matter to be carried off by a gentle irritation yet it may do it by both these ways as when Rhubarb is taken it not only purges the Liver of Choler but strengthens the Tone of the Parts by its astringency And Osteocalla is observed to be a Specifick by promoteing the Generation of a Callus to cement broken Bones PROP. V. Sometimes a Specifick Medicine may act Prop. V. by producing in the mass of Blood such a disposition as may enable Nature by correcting expelling or other fit ways to surmount the Morbifick matter or other cause of the Disease And this is agreeable enough with what most Moderns hold viz. That Distempers chiefly depend upon the Temper and ill Constitution of the Humours And a change in the Humours may be effected By furnishing the Blood with some sort of active Corpuscles which may agitate and ferment it and to quicken the Circulation of the Blood Upon which occasion it may be necessary to advertise That the Medicines usually made use of for that purpose being very hot there are several Constitutions of Patients and several other Circucumstances upon which account they do more harm by their Heat than good by their Spirituousness besides the sluggishness and want of fermentation in the Blood may proceed from causes which this sort of Medicine will not correct for I have tryed that a Vinous Spirit would not dissolve Blood which was a little dryed nor draw a Tincture from it tho' an Urinous Spirit presently did so that a Specifick Medicine in such a case may perform what is intended without the inconveniences which other Medicines are liable to For we know that experienced Physicians call some Medicines cold Cordials as Sorrel which hath an Acid taste and it is possible sometimes those Humours whch make the Blood sluggish may not be of a cold but a hot Nature in which cases hot Remedies may rather increase than diminish their ill effects as if the white of an Egg be reduced to Water by beating Spirit of Wine will instead of diminishing increase its Viscidity And I once prepared a Vegetable Substance which upon an addition of Wine became much more Viscous than before But to proceed a Specifick Medicine may alter the mass of Blood by contributing to its Tenacity without respect to its Fermentation for if the Blood be too thick it cannot readily pass through the small Capillary Vessels by which Circulation is in a great means retarded as on the other Hand if it be too thin it gets out of the Capillary Vessels and first Stagnates and then Putrifies but these ill consequences may be prevented by such Medicines as either on the one Hand divide the Parts of the Blood and make them more minute or on the other such as associate them and stick them together Another way by which a Specifick Medicine may rectifie the state of the Blood is by working so upon the Heart as to make it transmit Blood more advantageously and that either by corroborating its fibres or dissolving some ill distempered matter that obstructs the Contraction of it and that a small alteration in the Constitution of the Heart may do much in respect of the Circulation of the Blood will be easily granted by any one that does but consider what insensible Agents actuate it And that the almost insensible Obstruction of Circulation produces considerable effects in the Body is evident from the effects of Sorrow which presently puts the whole Body out of order and also from the effects of Joy or shame both of which promote the Circulation of the Blood and it hath been observed that Joy hath had so sudden and considerable an effect as to take off the sharpness of Hunger and that Medicines may affect the Heart after the same manner I am inclined to believe especially since I knew a Lady who was so affected upon the smell of perfumed Gloves that the Blood flew into her Face and put such a colour into it as if she had blushed And if the state of the Blood may be thus altered it may much contribute to the removal of some very troublesome Distemper induced for want of a due Circulation of the Blood PROP. VI. Sometimes a Specifick Remedy may unite with the peccant matter and compose a Quid Nutrum which may be less offensive to Nature tho' not so easily expelled And this seems to me to be the most genuine effects of a Specifick Medicine and when peccant Acids are lodged in the Spleen or any other part less sapid Alkalies may unite with them without creating any manifest disturbance and form a harmless Liquor as Aqua Fortis by being digested and distilled with a very ardent Spirit loses its corrosive Acidity and ill scent and becomes a harmless sweet and fragrant Liquor and I knew one who relieved a Nephritick Patient with the use of inflamable Spirits And I have elsewhere shewn that Spirit of Wine acts not upon all Acids uniformly but variously according to the Nature and proportion of the Acid. And Spirit of Wine mixed with rectified Spirit of Urine will in a great measure take off the corroding Qualities of it and composes a Salt which is weaker than the Spirit and being sublimed or reduced to a Liquor becomes a good Medicine and with a little skill will make a very good Menstruum in several Chymical Experiments A few Grains of Glass of Antimony taken inwardly will both Vomit and Purge but if instead of Spirit of Wine we make use of that of Vinegar and when by digestion the Liquor is sufficiently impregnated it be abstracted Antimonial and Acetous Corpuscles will emerge several Grains of which may be taken without either Vomiting or Purging from whence it appears that all Correctors are not to be esteemed Alkalies since Acids themselves prove to be Correctors too And after a like manner not improbably the Poysons of Animals and others may be subdued And it is not improbable that by a Combination of a Distempered Humour with a Medicine a Salutiferous Liquor may be formed and tho' sometimes a Medicine is altered before it comes to the part affected yet that alteration may render it Medicinal An instance of the former we have in the Preparation of Mercurius Dulcis where by uniting Poyson with Quick-Silver an Efficacious Medicines is made and an Illustration of the latter may be brought from that Odour which it gives to the Urine of the Person who takes it different from any smell it had of it self before And tho' against what hath been been said for Specifick Medicines some may offer that there are some which are only
Vibrations of the Strings c. different Sounds are produced which as they are more or less coincident cause either Concords or Discords in Sound But it would be too tedious to mention all the Diversities which might happen in Qualities by the various Combinations of our Ten Principles and therefore since from hence their Fertility may sufficiently appear I shall proceed to A Third Objection answered The last Difficulty raised against the Corpuscular Philosophy which is That if the Qualities of Bodies depend on the Size Shape and Textures of Bodies all Bodies of the same Colours must have the same Textures and if the same Textures the same Qualities in other respects But we see it is contrary since the Calx of Harts-horn is insipid and yet the Volatile Salt of Harts-horn is very strong Scented and of as strong a Taste To which a great many more Examples might be added were it necessary Considerations in order to remove the Difficulty But I shall rather since it is not requisite offer the following Considerations to remove the Difficulty First That several Heterogeneous Parts may be lodged in the Pores of a Body which tho' of a different Nature from the Body it self yet they may produce some considerable Effects as in Perfumed Gloves the Odoriferous Parts are both different in Substance and have different Qualities from the Leather the Gloves are made of The Second Consideration is That Parts of very different Natures may be linked together not in an Essential Structure but a Juxta-Position or Peculiar kind of Composition and yet afford the same Qualities notwithstanding their Essential Differences for invisible changes in some Parts of Matter may be sufficient to cause new Qualities tho' the Essential Parts of those Bodies be unaltered and not only so but diversified enough to denominate them of different Species So a Bar of Iron by being hammer'd may feel hot though there be no visible alteration in the Nature of the Metal by an intense Agitation of the Insensible Parts of it But to illustrate this Consideration a little further tho' a Piece of Iron Wood or Tin should have sharp protuberant Parts yet are they distinct Substances notwithstanding they all agree in that Quality of Roughness and if those rough Parts were worn off and the Body endowed with a smooth Quality yet still would they in respect of their Substance remain unaltered And tho' the superficies of Steel Brass Flint or Marble should be polished as to become Specular their Essential Differences would still be the same And as I took notice before tho' Air be put into an Undulating Motion by different Instruments yet if the Motion be raised to the same degree it causes the same Sound and produces the same Note So that Bodies may agree in some Extra-Essential Attributes and yet be different in their Essential Modifications To confirm the Truth of which Heat will afford us an Eminent Example which may be produc'd in a Body by putting its Parts into Agitation without destroying the Essential Properties of the Body so affected So that the Essential Nature of a Body may not be concern'd in reflecting the Rays of Light which produce those Extra-Essential Qualities which are called Colours since to produce Whiteness in a Body it is sufficient that the Surface of that Body be so modified as to reflect the Rays of Light copiously and undisturbed whatever the Essential and proper Texture of that Body is Different Qualities afforded by Bodies Homogeneous as to Sense And here it may be proper to take notice that there are several Bodies Homogeneous as to Sense which afford different Qualities as Salt-Peter becomes fluid and transparent when briskly agitated in a Crucible whereas it hath other Qualities when cool being a hard and white brittle Substance And the Powder of Alabaster being duly exposed to a convenient heat acquires several Qualities not different from those of fluid Bodies So Aqua Fortis although it be transparent and clear yet if rais'd in the form of Fumes it puts on a red Colour The Third thing I would propose to remove this difficulty is what hath been several times hinted before viz. That a Body is not to be considered barely as a determinate Substance but as a part of the Universe and placed amongst other Bodies But Fourthly As to that part of the Objection which questions the Corpuscular Principles in making it appear why a Body so qualified as to cause whiteness should have other Qualities which are of no Affinity with it what hath been already delivered may be sufficient to remove it viz. That the Extra-Essential Parts may be so qualified though the Essential Parts be not altered which we have more reason to believe since most sensible Qualities are only relative Attributes and may result from an accidental Motion or more than ordinary Laxity or Density of Parts or some other such like Affections Several Qualities exhibited by Venice Turpentine To illustrate which if a Third part of Venice Turpentine be evaporated we may obtain from it a Colophony of a Reddish Colour which being beaten small will lose its Transparency and be turned into a white Opacous Powder which with a Moderate heat will again be restored to its former Transparency Fludity and Colour into which fluid Body if one immerges the end of a Quill something below the Surface and blows Artificially it will rise in Bubbles curiously adorn'd with vivid and lively Colours and if in that state you take it into your Hands it is Viscid enough to draw into Strings and if put into a Triangular Figure will like a Triangular Glass yield a variety of Colours When cold it is very brittle and if moderately rubbed it is endowed with an Electrical Virtue of attracting Straws The same Phaenomena will appear upon managing purified Rosin after the same manner Another Experiment of the like Nature tried upon Putrified Urine To this I shall subjoyn another instance to shew that a Homogeneous Body may by shape or other Mechanical Affections have different Qualities in respect of our Senses and the Attributes assigned to it upon that Score The instance is in Putrified Urine Distill'd the Spirit of which when it hath by frequent Distillations been dephlegmed hath a pungent Taste and swims in a Phlegmatick Vehicle being also of a very offensive Smell whose Salts when freed from the Water are of a white Colour and are sharp and caustick if applied to an Excoriated Part besides which Qualities they likewise make the Eyes water and cause Sneezing And in respect of Physick their Qualities are no less noted being Diuretick Diaphoretick and Specifick in Hysterick Fits when mixed with Filings of Brass they turn them into a green Colour yet if mixed with Blew Juices of Plants they change that Colour for a Green one They dissolve Copper yet destroy the Corrosive Virtue of other Acid Menstruums and precipitate the Copper when dissolved by them Yet if common Salt be associated with
Influences or Effluviums in the Air. SIR Celestical Effluvia in the Air IN order to discover the several affections of Winy Liquors and the several Distempers incident to them and how to preserve them it is requisite to consider the Qualities of the Air it 's Temperature and Motion And this puts me in mind to beg our Friends Assistance who would do well to make some progress in perfecting the Theory of the Planets for if that be not clear we cannot be free from Errors in respect of their Motions and Calculations and if we be mistaken in these i'ts impossible to know either their Places in the Heavens or their Aspects and consequently the Phisical way of their Motion must be uncertain and of no use or advantage But tho' by some they are looked upon to have little or no influence upon our Globe yet all the Arguments alledged against that Opinion are rather levelled against Astronomy in Relation to some Superstitions about this Doctrine than that they shew why when the Rays of each make different Angles upon one another they may not at the last affect us Since that they do is evident by undeniable Experiments not only on inanimate and vegetative Bodies but likewise from the Observations of Physitians in all Lunatick Epileptick Paralitick or Lethargick Persons And indeed since Rarefaction and Condensation are mediate Motions which dispose Bodies to Corruption and are assisting in Generating New ones and since all the Affections and dispositions of Moisture Heat Cold Drought the Course of all Winds Showers Thundering or whatsoever else is used by Nature to produce these two General Effects of Rarefaction and Condensation do in a great Measure if not wholly depend upon and are altogether regulated by the Course and Aspects of the Celestial Bodies it will not be irrational to teach that every one of those emitting Rays peculiar to themselves have by the Influence of those different Effects on our Atmosphere The subtle parts of the Air being not only subject to be worked upon by them but likewise our Spirits and other Humours whose Parts by the impression of these subtle Rays may acquire a new determinate Motion and consequently be altered whence may arise Convulsions Cramps Lameness c. Accordingly as the Humours influenenced by them are differently acted on and disposed to shew their ill Effects in this or that Part. So that it would be of considerable Import to Natural Philosophy and of no small use in Husbandry Gardening as well as Physick to make such Observations as might tend to the Improvment of the Theory of the Planets by keeping exact Dià ries in several Places of the Changes of the Weather and at the same time of the Mutual Aspects places and Motions of the Planets Besides it would not a little conduce to the Perfecting of the Natural Histories of Countries and particular Places But in instituting and perfecting Observations of this kind we are not yet Furnished with Thermometers sufficiently improved for First We are not yet acquainted what Proportion the Diameter of the Cylinder ought to bear to the Diameter of the Head to make our Observations of the Alterations in the Air regular Secondly We are not told what Length the Cylinder ought to be nor hath it as yet been well graduated 16 being the greatest Number whereas to make Observations on the more Minute alterations every Inch may be divided into 10 and consequently the whole into a 1000 Degrees Thirdly We are not yet told what Liquors are most proper to make such Experiments with Whether such as Attract the Air and preserve their first Quantities such as Ol. Sulph per Campanam Ol. Vitriol or Liquors such as Sal Tartar c. or whether Liquors whose Parts are more subtle and fine such as Spirit of Wine or Turpentine or Lastly Spirit of Vinegar or well refined Quicksilver In making such Experiments it may be convenient to fix several Glasses in one Frame with several sorts of Liquors in them and that Observations should be made in several Rooms together the Glasses being neither exposed to the Sun Beams nor to the injury of Storms Rain or Winds In the History it self it will be requisite to give an Account of the very place such Experiments were made in taking Notice whether the Experiments are not influenced by the Air in the Chimney the Cranny of a Wall or Door or the Breath of People It will be requisite likewise to note the Proportion betwixt the Warmth of Day and Night in constant Weather The agreement or disagreement of the Motion of the Air and Bodies above it in uncertain Weather How far these may foretell Winds or Rain the disposition of Air when it Thunders under times of Mildews or Blasting eminent Eclipses Conjunctions It is a Received Tradition in Java that the Beams of the Moon if one stays long under them will cause Contractures so that a Physitian who Slept under them had his Mouth strangely contorted and his Neck stiff which Symptoms he removed sooner than they are wont to go off by the use of Aromatick Medicines TITLE XIV Of the Height of the Atmosphere TITLE XV. Of the Motion of Air and of Winds Storms of Wind. AT Porta Nova Nov. 22. 1667. There was so violent a Rain and Wind that most of the Houses were Ruined Men and Beast carried into the Water by the Violence of the Winds and Flood the Town Wall was most of it thrown down and few Trees left standing I am told that Hurricanes are very frequent about the Island Mauricius where one lasted four days in one of which it had seven Exacerbations each of which differed two Points of the Compass from the Preceding The surface of the Sea by the Collision of the Waves was covered with a White Froath the Day was darken'd by it and the Noise like that of Thunder so that those on the Shrouds could not hear those on the Decks A Learned Physitian that Travelled into America told me that those Countries are supplyed with a constant Wind from the Hills but Barbadoes which wants Hills hath no such Winds In the Island of Teneriff Breezes constantly flow from the Sea but all Night a sharp Wind blows on each side from the Land Sea-ward I am told by a Traveller that tho' the Tops of Mountains are generally calm yet he had met with Winds considerably strong In Lettere di Venetia MArtedi sui li 29. Agosto 1679. alle hore 19. incirca si leuolevò nelle Paludi della Villa di Fauis del Dominio Cesareo tre miglia lontana da Palma Noua Dominio Veneto un ucnto chiamato Bissa boua che allargandosi per circa cinquanta passi scorse con â—anto empito e furore che portò per aria diuersi huomini che tagliauano il fieno in quei Prati e anco alcuni Carri carichi di fieno con i Buoui precipitandoli assai lontano con la rouina delli animali de Carri e
shall alledge the following Experiment viz. That Experiments alledged against their Doctrine If a Bolt-head with a long Stem be made use of to try the Torrecellian Experiment with the space deserted by the Mercury in the Cavity of the Bolt-head and from whence the Mercury drove the Air continues void the Pendulous Cylinder remaining at 30 Inches without offering to ascend to prevent a Vacuum Nor will the Quick-silver rise ¼ of an Inch higher upon the application of cold Bodies outwardly tho' in a common Thermometer the same degree of Cold would make Water ascend several Inches To this I shall add another Argument taken from the consideration of sealed Weather-glasses see Plate 1. Fig. 3. in which it is observed See Plate 1. Fig. 3. That the Air instead of contracting upon an increase of Cold expands it self If it be said That the Water contracting the Air follows it to prevent a Vacuum it may be demanded Why since Nature causes the one to contract in common Glasses and the other in sealed ones to avoid a Vacuum she does not rather make the Air retain its natural extension than suffer it to be condensed and then put her self to double trouble in compelling the Water to ascend contrary to its nature But not to insist on these Arguments I shall rather urge that what is offered by them will not solve the Difficulty for whether the Water or Air be expanded into a large space since Glass is impervious to Air and Water I see not how a Vacuum interspersum and coacervatum can be avoided For if upon the expansion no other Body is added and penetrates the Glass to fill the space deserted by some Parts of the expanded Body there must remain Vacuities betwixt them Because it is impossible the same quantity of Matter should compleatly and adequately fill a greater space by being expanded the Parts of the Body being only able inadequately to fill it by receding from each other But were it allowed that upon the expansion of one of these Bodies and the condensation of the other a third Substance harboured in the space deserted by the one it may be questioned how such Matter should make its way out again Mr. Hobbes his Doctrine examined The second Opinion I shall take notice of is that of Mr. Hobbes which is to me partly precarious partly insufficient and scarce intelligible for tho' when he asserts That the coldness of Liquors depends on their being pressed with a constant Wind besides that he asserts it without Proof it will appear from an Experiment shortly to be alledged That Liquors sealed up in Glasses and suspended in Liquors not subject to freeze may be refrigerated tho' it appears not how they can be raked on by the Wind as his Hypothesis requires Secondly I see no necessity that the Cold should press upon the superficies of the Water in the Shank since by Cold it will be raised in a Weather-glassess kept in a still Place and void of any sensible Wind. Besides he ought to shew Why Air insensibly moved deserves to be styled Wind and how it is possible such a Wind should raise Water so many Inches by pressing upon it Nay further Water poured into a Bolt-head till it reaches into the Stem will subside when refrigerated and not rise And if the Ball of a Weather-glass be encompassed with a mixture of Ice or Snow and Salt the Water will readily ascend which how it will be explained by Mr. Hobbes's Hypothesis I do not see Thirdly Mr. Hobbes allowing not of a Vacuum I wonder he should tell us That by a bare Pressure the Water finding no other Place to recede into is forced to rise into the shank of the Weather-glass For since according to him the shank of the Weather-glass must be full before I see not how it should be able to receive the ascending Water except to use Mr. Hobbes's own words it can be fuller than full Besides it may be further alledged against Mr Hobbes his Doctrine that it gives us no account of the condensation of the Air by Cold in Weather-glasses in which the Water descends with Cold and rises with Heat Fourthly whereas Mr. Hobbes in explaining the depression of Water in Weather-glasses attributes it solely to it 's own Gravity it will easily appear that we must likewise have recourse to the spring of the included Air For if a Thermometer be placed in the Sun when the Water in the shank is but a little above the Surface of the Water without the Tube the rarified Air will depress the Surface of the Water in the Pipe below the other and sometimes so far that some of the rarified Air making it's way out of the Pipe as soon as the remaining Air is refrigerated again the Water will be able to rise up higher into the Tube than it did before A Modern Opinion examined The third and last Opinion I shall consider is one held by some modern Naturalists which ascribes the Ascent of the Water to the Pressure of the Air gravitating upon the Surface of that Water without the Pipe but supposes that the Air contained in it is contracted by Cold alone As for the first Part of this Hypothesis I readily Assent to it and the Author 's proposed but am apt to believe that the contraction of the included Air depends on the same Cause and that the spring of it being weakened by Cold it is condensed by the same Pressure of the Atmosphere the weight of the External Air over-powering the weakened Spring of the Internal In favour of this Opinion I shall add the following Experiments See Plate 1. Fig. 5. and First having filled a Vial capable of holding five or six Ounces half full See Plate 1. Fig. 5. and having inverted a Glass Tube into it about 10 Inches long much bigger than a Swan's Quill it being first sealed at one end and filled with Water the Orifice of the Vial was closed with Cement so that the External and Internal Air had no communication with each other It was placed in a Mixture of Snow and Salt till the Water in the Bottom of the Vial began to freeze yet notwithstanding so great a degree of refrigeration the Water in the Tube did not at all descend so that either the Air was not condensed by Cold or the Water descended not to prevent a Vacuum The Glass being left in this Posture in our absence the sealed end of the Pipe flew off being beaten out by the Intumescence of the freezing Water Having fixed another Pipe as the former which was some Inches longer and drawn very slender at the sealed end that it might easily be broken this was set to freeze as the other yet the Water descended not but as soon as the top of the Glass-Tube was broke off the external Air pressing upon the Water and by the intercourse of that upon the Air the Water in the Tube subsided 8 or 10 Inches but rose
not so hard as common Ice And I am inform'd that in Moscow the Spirit of Wine would freeze leaving some dissolv'd in the middle which was much stronger than ordinary Brandy And I am told that in Russia it is usual to have Wine froze French Brandy being exposed to the Air in Russia froze and Sallet-oyl become as hard as Tallow but Water at the same time did not freeze TITLE III. Experiments touching Bodies indisposed to be frozen Bodies not disposed to freeze 1. THE subtil parts of several Bodies being brought over by distillation would not freeze by such an application of Snow and Salt as froze other Bodies Of this sort were Aqua-fortis Spirit of Nitre of Salt Oyl of Turpentine and almost all the Chymical Oyls we had then in possession Spirit of Wine and of other fermented Liquors and Sack if good would scarce freeze but the inflammable Part being spent by burning it would easily freeze 2. Two drachms of Salt of Pot-ashes being dissolv'd in an ounce of Water the mixture would not freeze tho' the outside of the Vessel was cover'd with Ice At another time a strong Solution of Salt of Tartar would not freeze tho' at the same time Salt of Pot-ashes being dissolv'd did 3. That common expressed Oyls of Vegetables will freeze after their manner and curdle in cold Weather is commonly observed yet Train-oyl which is usually made of the Fat of Whales by the help of Fire continued fluid in Weather that was very sharp but in an excessive cold night it lost its fluidity which seems to disfavour what Olaus Magnus writes who says That in the Northern Regions it is usual to cast Train-oyl upon the Water in their Ditches to keep the Water from freezing and thereby unpassable the Oyl as he says not being subject to congele with Cold but it may be worth while to enquire Whether the Train-Oyl he speaks of be the same as is used by the Swedes Laplanders and Muscovites and whether they have a different way in keeping of it or not 4. Tho' a Solution of Sugar would freeze yet a strong Solution of Sugar of Lead would not in a mixture of Snow and Salt which is remarkable since the Spirit of Vinegar it self would freeze Besides there must needs be some Water in the Solution and the Sugar being but a Vitriol of Lead it is not a little strange that it should not freeze as well as common Vitriol tho' in this latter concrete Metal be corroded by a Spirit which if we may judge by the Liquor afforded in Distillation is very much sharper and stronger than Spirit of Vinegar 5. Quick-silver would not freeze in the sharpest Air tho' expos'd to it in very thin Glasses and in such a manner that a little quantity of it made a large Surface 6. A very sharp Frost was not able to freeze a strong Brine tho' at the same time other saline Solutions were congeal'd But a Solution consisting of twenty Parts of Water and one of Salt was froze in a very sharp Night the Ice swimming at the top in Figures almost like Broom spreading from the surface of the Water downwards The Salt dissolv'd in this Water is double the proportion of that which is usually in Sea-water I thawed Ice of Salt-water to try whether the dissolved Ice would be fresh or not but it retain'd a little brackishness which I suppose it receiv'd from the contiguous Brine tho' I am inform'd That in Amsterdam they make use of thaw'd Ice instead of common fresh Water in Brewing And Bartholinus de usu Nivis Cap. 6. p. 42. says De Glacie ex marina aqua certum est si resolvatur salsum saporem deposuisse quod etiam non ità pridem expertus est Cl. Jacobus Fincbius Academiae Nostrae Senior Physices Professor benemeritus in Glaciei frustis è portu nostro allatis Particulars referrable to the III Title 1. Spirit of Sal-Armoniack made with Quick-lime volatile Oyl of Amber a small quantity of Oyl of Vitriol being exposed two Nights and a Day froze not A Solution of Silver in Aqua fortis was and Spr. Sanguinis Humani being froze swelled so much as to force out the Cork 2. Unrectify'd Oyl of Turpentine exposed to the Cold in a Bottle would not freeze but another Portion being contain'd in an earthen Porringer did 3. I am inform'd That there is a Lake of Water in Scotland out of which a small River runs the Water of both which is never froze but dissolves Snow or Ice if cast into it 4. Sallet-oyl being made use of to keep the Locks of Guns from freezing hinder'd them from being discharg'd but Oyl of Hemp or Train-oyl kept them from freezing TITLE IV. Experiments and Observations concerning the degrees of Cold in several Bodies Of the degrees of Cold in several Bodies TO discover the different degrees of Cold we have proposed several Thermometers in the preceeding Chapters concerning which we shall add this Advertisement viz. That tho' those which are to be immersed in Liquors have the Ball end round yet when we are to try the degrees of Cold of consistent Powders it is better to make use of such as have flat Bottoms that they may be able to stand on their own Basis For so it will be pleasant to see the suspended Bubble in one of our Thermometers rise and fall as it is removed from one Body to another 2. Freezing hath been so generally esteemed the utmost Effect of Cold That most have been content without examining strictly the several degrees of it Nor indeed is it very easily done since if we do it with common Weather-glasses it will be a hard thing to distinguish whether the Cold of one Day exceeds that of another since there intervening so much time betwixt the Observations the Alterations may be caused by an increase in the weight of the Atmosphere And should we make an estimate by the Testimony of our Senses we should easily be mistaken since it is believed That the different sensations of Cold which we perceive depend on the various Dispositions of our Bodies But allowing that vulgar Thermometers might give us a true Information of the degrees of Cold which Nature affords yet they acquaint us not whether Art may not produce greater much less will they help us to make an estimate of this Disparity And though we may make some guess by the Operation of Cold on Liquors exposed to it yet some as Aqueous Liquors freeze too soon and vinous Liquors here in England will not freeze at all except French Wine which happens seldom and leaves too great an Interval betwixt the degrees necessary to congeal Wine and sufficient to freeze Water besides the uncertainty proceeding from the several strengths of Wines Wherefore to discover the Intensity of Cold produced by Art above the highest degree that Nature affords See Plate 1. Fig. 1. we furnished a sealed Weather-glass Such as Plate 1. Fig. 1. Delineates with
condensed by Cold the Air breaks in to prevent a Vacuum For that Water is expanded by Cold appears from what I have said besides nothing is more commonly observ'd than that Water being froze in a Vessel whose sides are strong enough to keep it from bursting them the Superficies of the Ice is generally protuberant and convex And that the breaking of Bottles depends not on Nature's abhorrency of a Vacuum appears since should we suppose That the Fluid contain'd in a Bottle would be so far condensed as to possess less space than before it is possible there might be a Vacuum there and the Bottle not burst since Glass-Bubbles much thinner than ordinary Bottles will endure the frost tho' stopped close with Air in them But not only Water expands it self upon freezing but other Aqueous Bodies so Eggs being froze burst their shells asunder And Milk Urine Rhenish Wine and good Spirit of Wine being set to freeze in distinct Glass-Eggs the Wine being froze swell'd an Inch above the first Surface the Milk two Inches and the Urine six or seven And a Solution of Dantzick-Vitriol did not only become Opace but rose considerably higher in a Cylindrical Pipe upon Congelation Whether more stable and consistent Bodies are capable of being expanded by Cold would be worth enquiring since it hath been observ'd That in Nova Zembla the very Clocks have been froze so that they would not goe and the like hath been observ'd by Capt. James in his Voyage at Charlton-Island his Watch being froze as well as his Clocks Whether these Effects depended on any Swelling of the Ropes or whether the Spring of his Watch might be weakned by Cold or whether some Iceicles stuck to the Internal Parts of it I shall leave as bare Conjectures to be further examined into by Experience The Phaenomena of an Experiment about Freezing referrable to the VII Title read before the Royal Society Having filled a Bolt-head which was as big as two Turkey Eggs with Water till it rought a pretty height into the slender Stem being put into a Mixture of Snow and Salt it subsided a little but when it began to freeze it would sensibly swell The Experiment being repeated with a Glass whose Stem was as thin as a Raven's Quill when first the Ball of it was immersed in the frigorifick Mixture the Water presently ascended the height of a Barly-corn and presently subsided again which the Florentine Virtuosi would attribute to a Constriction of the Glass upon the Application of the frigorifick Mixture Secondly And tho' the Florentine Virtuosi relate That they have observ'd the Water after it had subsided a little to rest and then subsided again yet in all the Tryals I made I did not observe it Thirdly When the Water had subsided a little it would be at a stand till the Liquor began to freeze Fourthly The Experiment being try'd with Glasses whose Stems were unequally big upon Glaciation the Ascent of the Water in the large ones would be indiscernible but in a slender one it would ascend several Inches in a Minute till it rose up to the top of the Stem Fifthly Tho' the Forentine Academians say they have observ'd the Water to rise again before Glaciation yet I could never see such a Phaenomenon Sixthly If the Glass was taken out of the Mixture when first it began to freeze as soon as the small Iceicles were melted it would subside again yet if reapply'd to the Mixture a second time it would freeze in half a Minute TITLE VIII Experiments concerning the Contraction of Liquors by Cold. Of the Contraction of Liquors by Cold. 1 THO' the Liquors we have mention'd expand themselves upon an Intense degree of Cold yet we are not thence to couclude that all will since we have found it by experience not only in Spirit of Wine Aqua fortis Oyl of Turpentine and several other Liquors which would not be brought to freeze but also in Oyl congeal'd by the vehemence of the Cold. 2. Amongst the several Experiments made of the Efficacy of Cold to condensed Liquors I shall lay down the following 3. Spirit of Wine being put into a small Glass-Egg with a slender Stem in a Mixture of Snow and Salt subsided ¾ of an Inch. 4. Mercury being freed from Air and placed in a Bold-head in a Mixture of Snow and Salt subsided 2 Inches Common Oyl placed in the same Mixture subsided till it froze but if it were immediately thaw'd near the fire it would expand it self so much as to rise about the Mark. The Experiment succeeded a second time and being try'd a third time the Lumps of the congeal'd Oly would sink in the fluid Oyl Oyl of Aniseeds artificially froze subsided considerably in a small Pipe Empyreumatical Oyl of Gaujacum being exposed to the utmost degree of Cold would not freeze but evidently subsided Particulars referrable to the VIII Title 1. Two seal'd Weather-Glasses the one made of a Tincture of Cochineele in Spirit of Wine and the other of a blew Tincture of Spirit of Man's Blood and Copper in Spirit of Wine were immersed in Water till it began to freeze and then being remov'd into Oyl of Turpentine set in a Mixture of Snow and Salt we observ'd That the Liquor in both Thermometers subsided Oyl of Aniseeds being put into a small Glass with a large Stem and placed in a frigorifick Mixture made by a Solution of Sal-Armoniack subsided 3 Inches the substance of the Oyl being turn'd into a white Concrete which when it was leasurely dissolv'd the fluid Part emitted several Bubbles and it was further observ'd in this Concrete That tho' when thaw'd it swims upon Water yet when congeal'd it will not TITLE IX Experiments concerning the Bubble from which the Levity of Ice is supposed to proceed Of the Levity of Ice and its Cause 1. IT is usually accounted an Argument of the levity of Ice above Water that it swims upon it For tho' the superficies of small Portions of it are not sensibly emergent above the Surface of the Water yet in Greenland where huge Rocks of Ice float in the Sea they are observ'd to be as high above the Water as the Masts of Ships which could we suppose to float in an erect Posture and to be of a prismatical Form that Part immersed would be nine times as much as that above the Water As for the Reason why Ice is born up above the surface of the Water so much in Greenland more than in our Climate besides that the size of those pieces of Ice contributes to the rendring the Observation more remarkable the Water's expansion in that cold Climate may cause it to be further expanded there than here and consequently lighter 2. Pieces of Ice free from Bubbles floated in Spirit of Wine drawn from Brandy and likewise from Quick-lime and tho' if that Spirit were warmed it would presently subside yet as it cooled the Ice would ascend nevertheless some part of it being thaw'd
of Ice and Salt 2 hours it made an oblique crack in the Barrel Six Inches long and the Ice being taken out seemed full of Bubbles but very small ones and the like success we had with another Barrel of a Gun whose Muzzle and Touch-hole were stopped up with Metal nor had we less success when we buried a Pewter Bottle in a frigorifick Mixture both the Barrel of the Gun and the Bottle being burst in a quarter of an hour TITLE XII Experiments concerning a new way of Estimating the Expansive force of Congelation and of highly compressing Air without Engines A new way of Estimating the Expanâ—…e force of Congelation HOW far we were able to compress the Air by the Incumbent weight of a Cylinder of Mercury we have else where shewn but to reduce it to a greater degree of Condensation I made the following Experiments 1. Having filled a Glass-Egg with Water till it wrought about an Inch into the Stem we placed it in a Mixture of Snow and Salt and in a few hours the Surface of the Liquor was raised about 7 Inches and the Apex of the Stem being sealed up by a fresh application of Snow and Salt it was raised 8 Inches higher So that the Air being compressed into the space of an Inch possessed about nine Parts of ten of what it did before Whereupon the Stem being inverted and the seal'd end opened the Air which when the Stem was inverted rose up to the Ice and separated the unfrozen Water in the Stem from it powerfully expanding it self forced out about ten Inches of Water with Violence and Noise besides a great number of Bubbles ascended from the Bottom of the Glass to the Top. N. B. when the Air was compressed beyond seven Inches we several times observ'd That the Glass just above the Water on the inside was full of little drops of Dew which when the Apex was broke off Disappeared 2. A Vial whose neck was drawn out into a slender Pipe being filled till it wrought an Inch within the Pipe in a little time by the Expansion of the Water the Air being too much compressed the head of the Pipe flew off and the same happened to a round white Glass whose Stem filled with Air was about 3 Inches Nor was the success otherwise when we repeated the Experiment in a large single Vial whose Stem was four Inches long and it's Basis an Inch broad 3. An Oval Glass about the size of a Turkeys-egg with a neck almost Cylindrical was filled with Water within four Inches and a half and then a piece of Paper being pasted upon the Stem divided into half Inches and quarters and the Apex being sealed up by a moderate Heat the Surface of the Water was raised considerably but the Oval Part of the Glass being covered with a Mixture of Ice and Snow the Air was compressed into a 17th Part of the space it possessed before And the Ball of the Glass bursting afterwards with a considerable Noise the Ice appeared full of Bubbles which rendred it white and Opacous In another Glass whose Ball was larger in proportion to the Stem the Air was compressed into a 19th Part of it's former space before the Glass flew in pieces 3. And this way of trying how far the Air might be compressed and Water expanded by Cold we thought least Exceptionable because the Pores of Glass are more impervious to Air and Water than some Metalline Vessels for having broken open the Apex of the Stem of one of our Glass-Eggs we found that tho' the Water was but a little expanded yet not finding a way out at the Pores of the Glass the Water rose up a quarter of an Inch. TITLE XIII Experiments and Observations concerning the Sphere of Activity of Cold. Of the Sphere of Activity of Cold. IN estimating the Sphere of Activity of Cold we are not only to consider the Degree of it in the cold Body but also the Medium through which it is to pass and the Consistence and Texture of it as likewise the Instruments employ'd to receive or acquaint us with the Action of Cold Since from what hath been before laid down it appears That Weather-glasses give us a more nice account of the Degrees of it and that our Sensories may mis-inform us upon the account of their various Predispositions Besides the Sphere of Activity may be vary'd by the Bulk of the cold Body 1. But to consider the Sphere of Activity of small Pieces of Ice we have found it very small in comparison of the Atmospheres of odorous Bodies insomuch that I am perswaded we can have no sense of Cold without the immediate Contact of a cold Body since Ice approaching our Sensory or a Weather-glass affects neither tho' held as near as possibly they may without touching And the like hath been observ'd at Sea where in foggy Nights the Seamen have not been able to discern neighbouring Mountains of Ice Tho' by a Merchant who made the Observation in Greenland I am told That he perceived a manifest access of Cold upon the approach of a floating piece of Ice 2. And I am told that in Ispahan the Capital City of Persia the Ice being never much more than a Finger thick they usually pour Water upon it which as it runs over the Ice is in part froze by which means they thicken the Ice and preserve it in proper Conservatories This Experiment having been tryed in England by pumping of Water upon Flakes of Ice I found That the Pump-water being warmer than the Ice thawed it instead of increasing the Thickness of it And tho' here in England Water poured upon Snow promotes its Dissolution yet in Russia and Muscovy I am told That Water thrown upon Snow freezes it which they therefore make use of to incrustate several Bodies with Ice yet one thing is to be observ'd that generally at the same time the sharpness of the Air is so violent as to incrustate several Bodies with Ice when only Water is made use of so that in trying such Experiments we are to consider the Temperature of the Air at the same time which hath a great Influence in promoting or varying the Effects of such Tryals 3. How deep Frost penetrates into Water and Earth will be a very hard thing to determine since Earth especially may be more or less disposed to freeze according to the several Degrâ—es of Cold and its Duration the Texâ—â—â—… of the Earth and the Nature of the Juices dâ—â—â—…ed through it or subterraneal Steams Whence large Tracts of Land that lye over some Mines are always free from Snow good quantities of Lime-stone being near the Surface of the Earth 4. But tho' it be so difficult to know to what Depth Frost will reach yet that we may contribute as much as we can to the general History of Cold we shall add the following Notes After four Nights hard Frost the Ground in the Orchard was froze about 3 Inches deep and in the
not freeze near so hard near the 79th degree as in the 73d And tho' Nova Zembla lies near 4 5 and 6 degrees more Southerly from the Pole than Greenland yet the latter hath Grass and Trees and such Beasts as feed upon them whereas in Nova Zembla there is no Grass and only such Beasts as feed on Flesh To which I shall add That Josephus Acosta tells us That under the Line when the Sun was in the Zenith and just entred into Aries in March he felt himself very Cold and he likewise tells us That under the Burning Zone in Quitto and the Plains of Peru the Air is temperate at Potofi very Cold and in Aethiopia Brasile and the Moluccoes very Hot. And he observes further That Snow lyes on the tops of the Hills and that it is extremely Cold when the Sun is for their Zenith under the Line Mr. Hudson in his Voyage hath observed That one Day they were much disturbed with Ice and that the next Day it was very Hot And we are further informed by Acosta That tho' the Seas of Mozambigus and Ormus in the East and Panama in the West are very Hot yet that of Peru of the same height is very Cold. And Capt. James's Observes That tho' Charlton-Island is Colder than Nova Zembla yet is it of the same Latitude with Cambridge To which I shall subjoyn That an English Navigator tells us That tho' Pustozera in Russia is 68 ½ degrees yet it is well inhabited and a Town of great Trade And in Hudson's Voyage it was observed that beyond 80 degrees they found it moderately warm 2. The next Observation is That the degree both of Heat and Cold in the Air may be much greater in the same Climate and the same Place at several seasons of the year or even at several times of the same Day than most Men would believe In Proof of this Proposition we shall produce the following Testimonies of Travellers and of Navigators And 1. That there is a great variety Weather in Russia Dr. Fletcher witnesses who observes that tho' all Winter the Ground is covered with Snow and the Fields frozen up yet the Fields in the Summer are covered with flowers and filled with the delightful noise of Birds and then the Weather is as much too Hot as it was before Cold June July and August being warmer than the Summer in England And the like is confirmed by the Observations of others amongst whom Olearius tells us that at Moscow he saw Melons of 40 Pound weight better than those in Italy And at Pequin the Royal City of China tho' it is but 42 degrees Latitude yet in the Winter Martinius the Jesuit tells us it is a hard frost for four Months together so that all the Rivers are froze up And Prosper Alpinus tells us that Grand Cairo which is only 6 degrees from the Tropick of Cancer tho' the Summers are insupportably Hot yet the Winters are considerably Cold And one thing he there takes notice of is That in that Place they are seldom or never troubled with Distillations or Rheums And Purchase tells us That in Greenland one Day will be extremely Cold and the next as violent Hot so that at Mid-night Tobacco may be lighted at the Sun-beams by the help of a Glass To which Relations I shall add That Capt. James tells us That in Charlton-Island tho' the Winter was excessive Cold yet in June it was so Hot with Thunder and Lightning That the Men were forced to go a shore to cool themselves in the Water Alpinus tells us likewise that in Aegypt the Air is some part of the Day extremely Hot and at other times very temperate and cool And Olearius tells us That travelling over Mount Taurus in Persia tho' it was too Hot in the Day for them to proceed in their Journey yet at Night they were so benummed with the Cold That they were scarce able to light off their Horses and the same Traveller observ'd at Fallu in Persia both Lightning and Thunder Winds Snow Rain and Ice in one Night And in Charlton-Island tho' the Heat of the Sun in June be insupportable in the Day yet at Night the Cold is strong enough to freeze Water in Vessels an Inch thick 3. The third Observation is That in many Places the Temperature of the Air as to Cold and Heat seems not to depend so much on the Elevation of the Pole as upon the Nature and Circumstances of the Winds that Blow there It is commonly known That in this Part of the World Northerly and North-easterly Winds are accompained with Cold and in Winter with Frost But I once observ'd here in England a South-Wind when it froze hard and Capt. James in his Voyage hath observ'd the like And Prosper Alpinus observes in Aegypt That the North-Winds are extraordinary cooling and that upon the Blowing of the Aetesian Winds the Plague ceases at Grand Cairo That this cooling Quality depends on the changes it receives from the Places it passes over is highly probable as well as that it acquires other Qualities the like way Acosta Lib. 3. Cap. 9. Takes notice of Winds That in some Parts of the Indies so corrode Iron-gates That they will crumble away in one's Fingers And the same Author tells us That tho' in Spain an Easterly-wind is Hot and troubles one yet in Murria it is Cold and healthful but in Carthagena not far from the former Place it is troublesome and unhealthful The Meridional which they of the Ocean call South and those of the Mediterranean Sea Mezzo Giorno is commonly Rainy and Boysterous and in the same City I speak of it is wholesome and pleasant And in Peru he says the South and South-west-winds are very pleasing How the Winds come by these Qualities I shall not now dispute but to give some light into the matter I shall propose the following Experiment Setting a Weather-Glass with a flat Basis upon a Board and Blowing several times upon it with a large pair of Bellows tho' the Air seemed Cold to my Hand yet the Pendulous drop ascended a little the Air being a little heated in the Bellows But if the Clack of the Bellows was so fastned That the Air must wholly enter in at the Nose of it the stream of Air which was by that means drawn toward the Weather-Glass from the Window being cooler would cause the Bubble to subside But having provided such a Tile as they lay on the ridges of Houses and filled the hollow side with a Mixture of Snow and Salt and Part of that Mixture being placed about the Bellows I found That the Air blown upon my Hand was by that means highly refrigerated And this Air being blown upon the Ball of a common Weather-Glass the Water manifestly ascended but subsided again when we left off blowing But to prosecute the Tryal we drew back the Nose of the Bellows and upon that the Wind blowing along that Cavity upon the Weather-Glass manifested a higher
externally applyed yet from what hath been said of the Porosity of Bodies and the effects of Effluvia it will easily appear how they may influence the Body and alter the Humours which circulate in it and to what is there offered we may reasonably add the ill effects of Amulets of Arsenick mentioned by Diemerbreck and the effects of Cantharides upon some Persons who only wore them in their Pockets And indeed there are a great many Medicines externally Specificks which one would not take to be so as Camphire which internally is very hot and good in some Malignant Fevers yet outwardly it is used to take off Heat Pimples in the Face and in cooling Oyntments and against Burns and Spirit of Wine tho very hot when internally used yet it if presently applyed takes out the fire of Burns And so mild a Body as Bread if chewed and outwardly applyed hath considerable Virtues in external affections And I have several times eaten a thing without any such effect which a Physician told me externally applyed would Purge Children being neither offensive in colour smell or Gripeing And to these instances I shall add That Galen tells us that an Epileptick Boy was free from such Fits as long as he wore only Piony Root as an Appensum And I knew one who was Paralitick that was suddenly relieved in violent Cramps only by handling the Tooth of a River-Horse and I as well as others have been relieved in the Cramp by putting a Ring made of an Elks Hoof upon my finger And I knew another cured of an Incontinentia Vrinae by the sole use of an Appensum And a Lady had a Scrophulous Tumor dispelled only by successively applying the Body of a dead Man to the part affected till the cold sensibly penetrated into it And I my self had not only a violent Haemorrhage speedily stopped by holding moss of a dead Man's Skull in my hand but a Gentleman told me that if when he was let Blood he held it in his hand no Blood would flow out till he laid it aside And another told me that he had been freed from a Palpitation of his Heart which usually fell upon him after a few hours sleep with great terror only by wearing smooth and flat Cornelians in a bag over the pit of his Stomach Galen tells us That Jaspers worn after the same manner are good for the Stomach and Monardes tells us that the Bleeding of the Hemorrhoids have been stopped by wearing a Ring made of a Blood-Stone upon the fingers And not only Boetius and Johannes de Laet commends Lapis Nephriticus but the experienced Monardes and others And Untzerus tells us that by wearing this Stone some Parts of the Stone were made so minute as to be expelled out at the Eyes And that one that had a Catarrh was Purged fourteen times in one day by wearing of it and it had the like effect tho' not so strongly upon another But To conclude this Discourse I shall here advertise the Reader that tho' I have laid down several ways by which Specifick Medicines might operate yet I think not those always singly effectual but that sometimes they joyntly contribute to the producing of the effect without enlarging upon this account I shall only subjoyn that I hope from what hath been already delivered it may appear that the Doctrine of Specifick Medicines is not irreconcileable to the Principles of the Corpuscular Philosophy CHAP. XII A short account of Ambergrease communicated in the Transactions of October 6. 1673. I Received the following account from one of the Committee of the East-India Company Ambergrease is not the Scum or Excrement of the Whale c. but issues out of the Root of a Tree which always shoots out its Roots towards the Sea seeking the warmth of it thereby to deliver the fattest Gum that comes out of it Which Tree otherwise by its copious fatness might be burnt and destroyed Wherever it is shot into the Sea it is very tough and can scarce be loosened from the Root except by its own Weight or the Motion of the Sea If you Plant the Trees where the stream sets to the shore it will cast it up to great advantage March 1. 1672. in Batavia Journal Advice From c. FINIS ADVERTISEMENT THE Works of the Honourable Robert Boyl Esq Vol. 1st and 2d Sold by J. Phillips at the Kings-Arms and J. Taylor at the Ship in St. Pauls Church-yard The Table A AIR not the Primum Frigidum Page 103 Of the Air 's Temper p. 107 The Doctrine of Antiperistasis examined p. 145 Of the Pressure of the Airs Spring on Bodies under Water p. 268 271 Of the â—tmospheres of Consistent Solids p. 412 Of Ambergrease p. 551 B To preserve Birds c. p. 353 Of the Bladders of Air in Fishes Ibid. The natural History of Human Blood p. 459 Of the Colour of Human Blood p. 460 516. Of its Taste Ibid. Of its Odour Ibid. Of its Heat Ibid. Of its Inflamability Ibid. Of the Acid Parts naturally mixed with Human Blood p. 461 Of its Specifick Gravity Ibid. Of the Specifick Gravity of the Consistent part p. 462 Of the Consistence of Human Blood Ibid. Of its Disposition to Concretion Ibid. What Liquors or Salts Coagulate it Ibid. What hinder its Coagulation Ibid. What Liquors preserve it c. Ibid. Of the Volatile Salt of Human Blood Ibid. Of the Phlegm and Oyls of Human Blood p. 465 Of the fixed Salt of Human Blood p. 467 Of its Terra Damnata p. 468 What substances may be Chymically obtained from it Ibid. C Of the Mechanical Production of Cold p. 1 189 Cold produced by a Solution of Sal-Armoniack p. 2 by a Mixture of Spirit of Salt and Vrine p. 3 by Spirit of Rock Allom. Ibid. by oyl of Vitriol and Sal-Armoniack p. 4. Potential Coldness Mechanically explained p. 5 Degrees of Cold neither to be judged of by our Sensory nor Weather-Glasses p. 11 Of the degrees of Coldness in several Bodies p. 48 Of the Circumscription of the Sphere of activity of Cold. p. 53 85 Of the Preservation of Bodies by Cold p. 55 Of the Contraction of Liquors by Cold. p. 66 Of the Expansive force of Congelation p. 83 What Mediums Cold may be diffused through p. 88 Of the strange effects of Cold. p. 120 Promiscuous Experiments concerning Cold. p. 129 Mr. Hobbes's Doctrine of Cold examined p. 158 Of the Positive and Privative Nature of Cold. p. 180 D Observations about Diamonds and other shining Bodies p. 138 139 141. E What the success of Experiments depends on p. 9 The Earth not the Primum Frigidum p. 100 Earth the Summum Frigidum p. 102 Experiments about Explosions p. 232 Of the strange Subtlety of Effluviums p. 415 Of their Efficacy p. 424 Of their determinate Nature p. 431 F Of Bodies capable of Freezing others p. 38 Of Bodies disposed to be Frozen p. 42. Of Bodies not disposed to be Frozen p. 45 The effects of Frost on Solid Bodies