Banks in the Sea but the greatest of them when they fell either one upon another or in such a posture as to prop up one another their Heads and higher parts would stand out of the Water and make ISLANDS Thus I conceive the ISLANDS of the Sea were at first produc'd we cannot wonder therefore that they should be so numerous or faâ— more numerous than the Continents These are the Parents and those are the Children Nor can we wonder to see along the sides of the Continents several ISLANDS or Sets of ISLANDS sown as it were by handfuls or laid in Trains for the manner of their Generation would lead us to think they would be so plac'd So the American ISLANDS lie scatter'd upon the Coast of that Continent the Maldivian and Philippine upon the East-Indian Shoar and the Hesperides upon the Aâ—rick and there seldom happen to be any towards the middle of the Ocean though by an Accident that also might come to pass BVRNET's Theory of the Earth pag. 137 138 139. Athanasius Kircher amongst many considerable Remarks in his China Illustrata tells us that in China there were several Isles to the Number of 99. all turned into one under the same Extent of space they had when they were divided by Water As concerning the Situation of ISLANDS whether Comodious or not this saith Peter Heâ—lin is my judgement I find in Machiavel that for a City whose People covet no Empire but their own Towns a Barren place is better than a Fruitful because in such Seats they are compell'd to Work and Labour whereby they are freed from Idleness and by Consequence from Luxury But for a City whose Inhabitants desire to enlarge their Confines a fertile place was rather to be chosen than a Barren as being more able to nourish Multitudes of People The like Pet. Heylin says of ISLANDS If a Prince desire rather to keep than augment his Dominions no place fitter for his Abode than an ISLAND as being by it self and Nature sufficiently desensible But if a King be minded to add continually to his Empire an ISLAND is no fit Seat for him because partly by the uncertainty of Winds and Seas partly by the length and tediousness of the ways he is not so well able to supply and keep such Forces as he hath on the Continent An Example hereof is England which hath even to admiration repelled the most puissant Monarch of Europe but for the Causes above mentioned cannot shew any of her Conquests on the firm Land though she hath attempted and atchieved as many glorious Exploits as any Countrey in the World PET. HEYL. Cosmogr The Ingenious Dr. Sprat now Bishop of Rochester observes that the chief Design of the Antient English was the glory of spreading their Victories on the Continent But this says he was a Magnanimous mistake For by their very Conquests if they had maintain'd them this ISLAND had been ruin'd and had only become a Province to a greater Empire But now it is rightly understood that the English Greatness will never be supported or increas'd in this Age by any other Wars but those at Sea SPRAT's Hist. of the R. S. Pag. 404. ISLANDERS are for the most part longer liv'd than those that dwell in Continents For they live not so long in Russia as in the Orcades nor so long in Africa though under the same Parallel as in the Canaries and Tercera's And the Iaponians are longer liv'd than the Chineses though the Chineses are mad upon long life And this is no wonder seeing the Air of the Sea doth heat and cherish in cooler Regions and cool in hotter BACON's Hist. of Life and Death Of the Origine of Fâ—VNTAINS THat there is a Mass of Waters in the Body of the Earth is evident from the Origine of Fountains for the Opinion of Aristotle imputing them to the Condensation of Air in the Caverns of the Earth and that of other Philosophers ascribing them to the fall of rain-Rain-Water received into such Cisterns in the Earth which are capable of receiving it are both equally unsatisfactory unless we suppose a Mass of Waters in the Bowels of the Earth which may be as the Common-Stock to supply those Fountains with For it is very hard conceiving how meer Air should be so far Condensed as to cause not only such a Number of Fountains but so great a quantity of Water as runs into the Sea by those Rivers which come from them as the River Volga is supposed to empty so much Water in a Years time into the Caspian Sea as might suffice to cover the whole Earth by which likewise it is most evident that there must be some Subterranean Passages in the Sea or else of necessity by that abundance of Water which continually runs into it from the Rivers it would overflow and drown the World And from this Multitude of Waters which comes from Fountains it is likewise evident that the Origine of â—ountains cannot be meerly 〈…〉 Water which 〈…〉 which would 〈…〉 maintaiâ— so full 〈…〉 many 〈…〉 that 〈…〉 that Rain-Water doth never moisten the Earth above Ten Foot deep for of far greater profundity many Fountains are And besides the Rain-Water runs most upon the Surface of the Earth and so doth rather swell the Rivers which thereby run with greater force in their Passage to the Ocean and doth not lodge it self presently in the Earth especially if it descends in a greater Quantity which alone is able to fill such Cisterns supposed to be in the Earth especially in Mountains which may keep a Stream continually running Although therefore we may acknowledge that the fall of Rain may much conduce to the Overflowing and Continuance of Fountains as is evident by the greater force of Springs afâ—er continued Rains and by the dâ—câ—y of many of them in hot and dry Weather which yet I had rather impute to the Suns exhaling by his continued heat those moist Legs because it is equally dispers'd into all the parts from the Center of it so in the Body of the Earth it is as natural for the Water to ascend into the Tops of Mountains as it is to fall down into the Center of the Earth And that it is no more wonder to see Springs issue out of Mountains than it is to see a Man Bleed in the Veins of his Forehead when he is let Blood there So in all places of the Earth the parts of it are not dispos'd for Apertion for some of them are so hard and compact that there seems to be no passage through them which is the most probable Reason why there is no Rain neither in those places because there is no such Exsâ—dation of those moist Vapours through the Surface of the Earth which may yield matter for Rain as it is in many of the Sandy places of Africa but usually Mountainous Countries have more large and as it were Temple-Veins through whiâ—h the moist Vapours have a free and open passage and thence there are
moisture like Oyl The Black or White AMBER-GRISE is adulterated with a little mixture of Musk and Civet with Storax Laudanum and Lignum-Aloes but may easily be known by the scent Observations concerning CORAL THere are several sorts of CORAL but the two Principal are the White and the Red but the Red is the best It grows like a Tree in the bottom of the Sea green when under the Water and bearing a White Berry and when out it turns Red. There is also a Black and Yellow kind of CORAL Nay Linschot in his Description of the East-Indies says That at the Cape of Bon-Esperance there are Rocks on which CORAL grows of all Colours CORAL but little valued in Europe is highly esteem'd in all the three other parts of the World There are three places where they Fish for it upon the Coast of Sardigna That of Arguerrel is the fairest of all The second place is called Boza and the third is near the Island of St. Peter There are two other places upon the Coast of France the one near the Bastion of France the other at Tabarque There is also another Fishery upon the Coast of Sicily near Trepano but the CORAL is small and ill-colour'd There is another upon the Coast of Catalogna near Cape de Quiers where the CORAL is large and of an excellent Colour but the Branches are short There is a Ninth Fishery in the Island of Majorque much like that near the Island of Corsica And these are all the places in the Mediterranean Sea where they Fish for CORAL for there is none at all in the Ocean TAVERN Trav. in India They Fish for CORAL from the beginning of April to the End of Iuly to which purpose there are employ'd above two Hundred Vessels some Years more and some Years less They are built all along the River of Genoa being very swift Their Sails are very large for more swiftness so that there are no Gallies can reach them There are seven Men and a Boy to every Barque They never Fish above forty Miles from the Land where they think there are Rocks for fear of the Pyrats whom they easily escape through the nimbleness of their Vessels Ibidem Monsieur Chapuzeau in his History of the Riches of the East and West-Indies says That the manner of Fishing for CORAL is with two big Beams of Wood laid cross-wise with a good piece of Lead on the middle to make it sink casting about it course Hemp carelessly twisted and tying this Wood to two Ropes whereof one hangs at the Stern and the other at the fore-part of the Boat and so letting this contrivance fall into the Current along the Rocks where the Hemp being turned about and engaged in the CORAL there is occasion sometimes for a great many Boats to draw away the Instrument The common Opinion That CORAL is soft under Water but waxeth hard in the Air hath been sufficiently reâ—uted by several Iohannes Begvinus in his Chapt. of the Tincture of CORAL undertakes to clear the World of this Error from the very Experiment of Iohn Baptista de Nicole who was Over-seer of the Gathering of CORAL in the Kingdom of Thunis This Gentleman saith he desirous to find out the Nature of CORAL and to be resolved how it grows at the bottom of the Sea caused a Man to go down no less than a Hundred Fathom on purpose to take notice whether it were hard or soft in the place where it grows Who returning brought in each Hand a Branch of CORAL affirming it was as hard at the bottom as in the Air where he deliver'd it The same was also confirm'd by a Tryal of his own handling it a Fathom under Water before it felt the Air. Boetius in his accurate Tract de Gemmis is of the same Opinion not ascribing its Concretion unto the Air but to the coagulating Spirits of Salt and the petrifying Juice of the Sea which entring the Parts of that Plant overcomes its Vegetability and converts it into a Stony substance And this says he doth happen when the Plant is ready to decay for all CORAL is not hard and in many Concreted parts some parts remain unpetrified that is the livelier parts remain as Wood and were never yet converted BROWN's Vulg. Errors The Lord Bacon in his Natural History tells us there are very few Creatures that participate of the Nature of Plants and Metals both but that CORAL is one of the nearest of both Kinds But the Ingenious Monsieur Guisony seems to be of another Opinion for he utterly denies CORAL to be a Plant affirming that it is a meer Mineral composed of much Salt and a little Earth and that it is formed into that substance by a precipitation of divers Salts thaâ— ensues upon the Encounter of the Earth with those Salts PHILOSOPH TRANSACT Numb 99. pag. 6159. Of the Nature and Generation of CORAL it is affirmed by the Honourable Mr. Boyle That whilst it grows it is often found Soft and Succulent and propagates its Species And by Georg. de Sepibus That of those who had been us'd for many Years to dive for CORAL in the Red-Sea Kircher learned thus much That it would sometimes let fall a Spermatick Juice which lighting upon any Steady body would thereupon produce another CORAL And further by Wormius and Tavernier from the Relations of others That this Juice is White or Milky Which may seem the more Credible when we consider that the like Milky substance is found in divers Mines Sometimes inclosed as is observed in the Philos Transact Numb 100. by Mr. George Planton in great Hollows of the Metallick Rock And that Mr. Beamont Philos. Transact Numb 129. Pag. 730. hath found in the Hollows of some Stones call'd Entrochi and Rock-Plants or a-kin to them an evident Concretion of such Milky Juice GREW's Mus. Regal Societ Paracelsus makes an Amulet of CORAL against Fears Fright Melancholly Epilepsie Inchantment and Witch-Craft The Learned Dr. Brown in his Vulgar Errors seems to suspect That the Custome of Childrens wearing CORAL was at first superstitiously founded and that possibly in former times it might be lookt upon as an Amulet or Defensative against Witch-Craft Observations concerning BEZOAR THe Deer-Goat is a Creature bred both in the East and West-Indies That from Persia and the East-Indies yields the Oriental BEZOAR being partly like a Deer partly like a Goat That of Peru is like the former but without Horns yielding the Occidental BEZOAR The BEZOAR Stone is of an Oval Form or round hollow within the Oriental having Chaff Hair Sticks Grains Filth or the like in its Capacity the Occidental Not shining and smooth without having a Coat â—olded like an Onion of a various Colour but generally of a Blackishâ— Green Pale Ashâ—Colour or Hony-Colour without scent and much about the bigness of a Walnut The Occidental is rough without Whitish Ash-Colour'd Black or Blackish Green and generally bigger than the former BEZOAR says Tavernier comes from a
Eight Days Journey from Surat and two Leagues distance from Amadabat Here the flat INDIGO is made There is also INDIGO little inferior in goodness and price which comes from the King of Golconda's Territories There comes INDIGO also from Bengala which the Dutch Company transports for Mâ—sâ—ipaâ—an But as Tavernier informs us the Merchants buy this INDIâ—O and that of Brampour and Amadabat cheaper by 24 in the Hundred than that of Agra INDIGO is made of an Herb which they sow every Year after the Rains are over Which when it is grown up is very like our Hemp. They cut it three several times the first cutting far exceeds the two latter The Second cutting is worse than the First by Ten or Twelve in the Hundred And the Third worse than the Second by Twelve in the Hundred The difference is found by breaking a piece of the Paste and observing the Colour The Colour of that INDIGO which is made of the First cutting is a Violet-Blue but more brisk and lively than the two others And that which is made of the Second is more lively than the Third When they have cut the Herb they throw it into Pits which they make with Lime which becomes so hard that you would judge it to be one entire piece of Marble They are generally 80 or 100 Paces in Circuit and being half full of Water they fill them quite up with the Herb. Then they bruise and jumble it in the Water till the Leaf for the Stalk is worth nothing becomes like a kind of thick Mud. This being done they let it settle for some days and when the settling is all at the bottom and the Water clear above they let out all the Water When the Water is all drain'd out they fill several Baskets with this Slime and in a plain Field you shall see several Men at work every one at his own Basket making up little pieces of INDIGO flat at the bottom at the top sharp like an Egg. Though at Amadabat they make their pieces quite flat like a small Cake Here you are to take particular notice that the Merchants because they would not pay Custom for an Unnecessary Weight before they transport their INDIGO out of Asia into Europe are very careful to cause it to be sifted to separate the Dust from it which they sell afterwards to the Natives of the Country to Dye their Calicuts TAVERN of the Commodities belonging to the Dominions of the Great Mogul Philippus Baldaeus in his Description of some of the Chief Parts of the East-Indies says That the Plant which yields the INDIGO beareth a Flower like that of Thistles and a Seed like that of Faenum Graecum He says That the principal Marks of good INDIGO are dryness lightness and swimming on Water yielding a high Violet-Colour and when put upon live Coals giving a Violet Smoak and leaving but few Ashes That the INDIGO Merchant is to beware of buying moist INDIGO because he will then find that in Eight Days time he loses three Pounds in Ten That the best way is to try it in a clear Sun-Shine by breaking some Lumps in pieces and viewing them well whether there can be observ'd in them any thing that glistens which if there be one may be sure there is Sand in it with which it hath been sophisticated to increase the Weight But for the greater assurance of the goodness of INDIGO his Advice is to pass the Nail of ones Thumb over the broken pieces and if it be good it will be of a Violet-Colour and the higher that Colour the better the INDIGO Monsieur Tavernier says That the penetrancy of the Powder of INDIGO is such that all the while they are sisting it they are fain to keep a Linnen Cloth before their Faces and to stop their Nostrils leaving only two little holes for their Eyes And that besides they are forc'd every half Hour to drink Milk which they find to be a great Preservative against the piercing Quality of the Dust And that notwithstanding all this caution they yet often find that having been for Nine or Ten Days together employ'd about this Work whatever they spit for a good while is Blueish And He also tells us That one Morning he laid an Egg among the Sisters and when he came to break it in the Evening it was all Blue within Observations concerning the COCONVT-Tree THis Tree when Young is very Tender but as it becomes more lofty so it grows more solid and strong The Body is streight and smooth and in Circumference equals the Wast of a Man at the full growth In height Twelve or Fourteen Foot Round about the top and so a Yard or two down Spring forth many Boughs or Branches but without any Fork in them bâ—sâ—â— very thick wich long and slender Leaves almost of a Sea-Green Colour At the Roots of these Bâ—ughs as low as they grow round about the Head of the Tree grow the COCO NUTS This Nut is at first whilst it is Young of a Green Colour but when they are Ripe they appear outwardly of a Brown or Whitish Brown Colour They are of several sizes some bigger and some less The largest of them are Husk and Rind two Foot in Circumference They are almost Oval and their outer Rind is very tough and thready so fast fixed to the Shell that it is hard to be gotten off This Rind is nigh an Inch thick under which is a rough strong hard Shell some of them Black and some Brown or Yellowish In the top of each of these Shells there are three Holes by which the inner Cavity receiveth a continual supply of Nâ—urishment Just within this Shell sticking close thereto is a Milk-White Kernel about half an Inch thick and the hollow Cavity within the Kernel is full of a thin clear sweet Water or Juice which is as a Viand to them HVGHES's American Physician They grow in Iamaica and in most of the Caribbee-Islands as also in the Islands of Maldiva and other places in the East-Indies But those that grow in the East-Indies seem to be of another kind growing to Forty sometimes Fifty Foot high Amongst other rare Fruits the Island Madagascar hath plenty of those which they call COCOS or COCO-NUTS a kind of Date as big as a Cabbage the Liquor in it about the quantity of a Pint tasts like Wine and Sugar the Kernel big enough to content two Men and like good Ale it affords not only Meat and Drink but Cloathing as also Furniture for their Houses Tackle for their Ships Fuel for the Fire and Timber for Building the Body of the Tree being streight and high and towards the top diversified into many Branches PET. HETLIN Linschoten says that this Tree grows in greater abundance in the Islands of Maldiva than either Olive-Trees in Spain or Willow-Trees in the Low-Countreys He says They grow no where but on the Sea-side or Banks of Rivers and in Sandy Grounds and that they grow not
number of Pieces is to be deliver'd to them at the rate of eight such Florins the Piece The great Pieces lie at Cracow about the Streets before the doors of the Citizens as also in the Countrey in the small Towns and Villages and before the â—orts and Houses of the Nobility where the Cattle passing to and fro lick of those SALT Stones which afterwards by Mills and other Engines are ground and beaten small for use These SALT-Works belong to the King of Poland who appoints and maintains the Officers of them and 't is one of his best ROYAL REVENUES amounting to a very considerable Sum. There are no less than a thousand Men that are constantly employ'd in these Mines and he saith There was then a Provision of SALT valued at two Millions He farther says There are in these Works three Horses that stay always below having their Stable and other Necessaries there the Horses after they have been a while under Ground grow blind from the sharpness of the SALT and that all the Three which then Labour'd there were quite blind PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 61. pag. 1099 c. In Iamaica they have a very pretty and easie way for the producing of good SALT which is thus Near the Sea-side they dig a low place as it were a Lough or Pond and pave it very even and with a Sluce let in some of the Sea-water an Inch two Inches or three Inches deep or more and there letting it remain the Sun in a short time turneth it into SALT And if they have occasion to use it quickly they let in the less but if they have a good Stock that they can stay longer then they let in the more for the more is let in the longer will it be e're it become SALT which being done they sweep it up and keep it for use and so let in more And thus are they well provided with SALT to Powder their Beef Pork c. which will not keep sweet otherwiâ—e many hours after it is kill'd HVGHES's American Physitian pag. 35. According to the Quality of the Earth or Ground of the Marish the SALT is made more or less white The Reddish Earth maketh the SALT more Gray the Blueish more white Besides if you let run in a little more Water than you ought the SALT becomes thence more White but then it yields not so much Generally all the Marishes require a fat Earth neither Spungy nor Sandy Unless it rain much the Rain-water does little hurt to the Marish and although it rain a day or a night they do not let the Water which is in the Marish run out the heat of the Sun sufficiently exhaling such Rain-Water Only if it have rain'd very plentifully that day no SALT is drawn for the three or four next following days But if it rain five or six days the People are then necessitated to empty all the Water of the Beds by a peculiar Channel conveighing it into the Sea which Channel cannot be opened but when 't is low Water But 't is very seldom that it rains so long as to constrain them to empty those Beds 'T is Obvious that the hottest Years make the most SALT where yet it is to be noted that besides the heat of the Sun the Winds contribute much to it in regard that less SALT is made in calm than in Windy Weather The West and North-West Winds are the best for this Purpose In the Beds of the Marish where the SALT is made the Water must not be above an Inch and an half deep Each of these Beds is fifteen Foot long and fourteen Foot broad Chiefly care is to be taken that the Earth at the bottom of the Beds mingle not with the SALT This Account was communicated to Mr. Oldenburg by a French Dr. of Physick residing in the Isle of Rhe where Salt is made in a great Quantity As you may finâ— in the PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 51. pag. 1025. SALT is that which gives Ligature Weight and Constitution to things and is the most manifest Substance in all Artificial Composts 'T is SALT which Fertilizes and Renders Egypt so Luxuriously Fruitful after the Inundations of Nile and the Nitrous Grounds of Iamaica and other places which cause so stupendious a growth of Plants and Trees In a Word SALT may be said to have a Dominion almost Monarchical in the great Work of Vegetation being so absolute an Ingredient in all our Dungs and Composts To Conclude you know who have Dignified SALT with the Prerogative of being Nam'd Element-Earth the Vigour and Close of all Things yea the first and last of Elementated Bodies What shall I say Quid Divinum the Original of all Fecundity nor can I say less since there was nor Sacrifice nor Discourse acceptable without it EVELâ—N's Discourse of Earth in several places Pag. 312 313 314. Fol. See an Account of the SALT Springs at Nantwich in Châ—shire by Dr. William Iackson in the PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 53. And of the SALT Waters of Droytwich in Worcester-shire by Dr. Tho. Rastell in the PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 142. And of the SALT Springs in Staffordshire by Dr. Rob. Plot in his Description of that County Observations concerning GOLD THE most perfect of all Inanimate Bodies and the most esteem'd of all Mettals is GOLD universally known and covered by all People It is made of the same Matter aâ—d in the sâ—me Manner as other Mettals are but of parts so pure and perfect and so well compacted together by Decoction that its substance is as it were incorruptible being out of the Power of any of the Elements to be Corrupted or Destroy'd The Fire that consumes all other Mettals only makes GOLD more pure The Air and Water diminish not its Lustre nor can Earth make it Rust or Waste By the Nobleness of its Substance it hath most deservedly obtain'd that Estimation which the World gives it and the Natural Virtue which flows from the admirable Equality of its Composition is the best Medicine against Melancholly and the greatest Cordial to the Hearts of Men which perpetually run after this Avaritious Mettal as the Needle doth after the Loadstone The Virtue ascrib'd to Aurum Potabile to preserve a Body perpetually in Youthfulness without Infirmity together with the Receit of making thereof depends upon the Credit of those Authors who have written concerning the same ALBARO ALONSO BARBA of Mettals Translat by the Earl of Sandwich Chap. 26. GOLD hath the least Variety of Regular Figure in the Ore of any Mettal Because more solid and therefore less wanton than the rest 'T is a rare Specimen mention'd by Georgius de Sepibus which he calls Aurum Ramescens The Ductility of GOLD is admirable One Grain in Leaves is extended to above Fifty Inches Square And one Ounce employ'd in Guilding small Hair-Wyre will be extended to almost an Hundred Miles in lenght as Mr. Boyle hath observ'd The Uses of GOLD for Vessels Coins Armour Garments c. are infinite
Also that at Anneberg a Bâ—ue Water was found where Silver was yet in its first Being which coagulated was reducâ—d into the Powder or Calx of fixâ—d and good Silver BOTLE's Sâ—ept Chym. pag. 360. Observations concerning DAMPS in Mines THE Learned and Ingenious Dr. Plot speaking of DAMPS in Coal-Mines reduces them to either Superterraneal or Subterraneal both which sorts He saith He takes to proceed from Stagnations in the Subterraneal Vaults of the Earth for want of due Ventilations and Commerce between the Inâ—â—â—ior and Superior Air. The Material Causes saith the Dr. may be various either Simple or Compound As the meer Corruption of the simple Air alone upon a long Stagnation in the Coal-Rooms and the Rifts and Clists of the Rock of Coal it self may be its Material Cause indeed but the Causa sine quâ— non of such a Damp he takes to be the want of motion in those Cavities without which the Air would never have Corrupted no more than Water which never Corrupts till it Stagnates when indeed like the Air it becomes poysonous tho' possibly not to that Degree the Air being a Body much finer and convey'd to the more tender parts of the Body Whence it is that in the Old Works wherein there has been no digging for a long time no laveing drawing or pumping of Water all which keep the Air in motion and the Water from Cankering these DAMPS are most frequent and most dangerous Whence it is too that the Works where the Bed of Coal is thin and admits of but few or no such Rifts or Clefts for the Air to Stagnat or Corrupt in are seldom or never troubled with them Upon which account 't is likewise that tho' a Bed of Coal have many of these Rifts and large Ones too yet as long as there is a profluence of Water through them there is no Danger of their Entertaining such DAMPS which as soon as made dry by a Sough or Free-Level the same Mine shall become much more lyable to them the wholesome Air that was in them whilst kept in motion by the Flux of the Water having little or no Communication with that above Ground now Stagnating and Corrupting to that Degree that it not only extinguishes the glowing heat of Coals and the Flame of Candles Torches c. but the Flammula Vitae too in most living Creatures so that the Animal which respires it sometimes Subterraneous Waters are at the lowest They fancy it proceeds from the multitude of Red Trifoil Flowers by them call'd Honey-Suckles with which the Lime-Stone Meadows of the Peak where they have this sort of DAMP do much abound Dr. Plot says that he enquiâ—'d concerning this Sort in the East part of Staffordshire where the Moore-Lands bound upon the Peak-Country of Darbyshire and found it not only there but as far as he could learn to be the most common DAMP in the Country it making their Candles first to diminish to burn round and at length to go out persuming the Stauls at the same time with a faint Sweet smell as those in Darbyshire do only with this Difference that these in Staffordshire are said to be sometimes visible shewing like a thin Smoak which may be seen not only in the Groves but fuming out at the top of the Pit But in Staffordshire says Dr. Plot they are wiser where they go for their Coal Forty or Fifty Yards deep and have no such thing us Trefoil for many Miles and yet have this DAMP than to think it proceeds either from Pease or Trefoil it being rather apprehended to arise from the Workmens Breath and Sweat mixt with the Steams of the Golden Marchasite or Brass Lumps than any thing else The Third sort of DAMP is the strangest and most Pestilential of any if all be true which is said concerning it Those who pretend to have seen it for it is visible describe it thus In the highest part of the Roof of those Passages which Branch out from the main Grove they often see a round thing hanging about the bigness of a Foot-ball cover'd with a Skin of the thickness and Colour of a Cob-Web This they say if by any Accident as the Splinter of a Stone or the like if it be broken immediately disperseth it self and Suffocates all the Company Therefore to prevent Casualties as soon as ever they espie it they say they have a way by the help of a Stick and a long Rope of breaking it at a distance which done they purifie the place well by Fire before they dare enter it again Mr. Iessop says He dares not avouch the Truth of this Story in all its Circumstances because the Proof of it seems impossible since they say it kills all that are likely to bear Witness to all the Particulars Neither dares He deny but such a thing may have been seen hanging on the Roof since He has heard many affirm it Perhaps the General Tradition they have amongst them hath made them ascribe all Strange and Surprizing Effects unto this Cause They are not without a Reason for it which is not altogether irrational if the Matter of Fact be true for they say the Steam which arises from their Bodies and the Candles ascends unto the highest part of the Vault and there condenseth and in time hath a Filme grows round about it and at length Corrupting becomes Pestilential Thus saith Mr. Iessop have I heard many of our Vnder-Ground Philosophers Discourse The Fourth which they also call a DAMP although how properly I will now not argue is that Vapour which being touch'd by their Candle presently takes Fire and giving a Crack like a Gun produceth the like Effects or rather those of Lightning Hence it is commonly call'd the Fulminating DAMP PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 117. pag. 391 392. Mr. Iessop in a Letter to the Ingenious Mr. Oldenburg concerning a further Account of DAMPS says That DAMPS are most generally observ'd to come about the latter End of May and to continue during the Heat of Summer and in those places which have DAMPS all the Year long yet they observe them to be most violent at that Season And that He could meet with no other certain Rule for any Periodical returns except this Annual although it be certain they do often return in the same Summer He also saith There are some DAMPS that will quite extinguish all those Fires that are let down into them be they never so many Successively or never so great and Fire is observ'd to be so far from Curing that it often creates DAMPS in places not otherwise Subject to them Indeed they are a present Remedy if you can so order them as by their help to make a Circulaâ—ion of the Air through the Infected place otherwise they do hurt and those Groves wherein they are forced to break their Rocks by the help of great Fires are seldom free from DAMPS PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 119. pag. 453 454. Mr. George Sinclar says That the Fire of Fulminating DAMP
Aristotle he tells us that EARTHQUAKES are most frequent in Spring and Autumn which remark though slighted by Gâ—ssendus who generally affects to contradict that Philosopher is notwithstanding confirm'd by that great Naturalist Pliny and several other Learned Men in all Ages who do not deny but that EARTHQUAKES may and have several times happened both in Summer and Winter tho' not so commonly as in the other Two Seasons in which there is generally a greater abundance of Moisture sucked up more Vapours and a larger quantity of Nitrè as Experience doth demonstrate all which Ingredients may conspire to the producing of an EARTHQUAKE For if we consider how capable they are of a large Expansion how forcible they are when ratified in Vessels closed and placed over the Fire in Aeolypiles or vents from which they break out with forcible Blasts or in Winds which frequently proceed from the rarisaction of such Principles we may suppose that those Vapours which produce such great Commotions in the Air may cause a considerable Disturbance in the Earth when pent and locked up by Cold or any such like Accident It is generally observ'd that some little time before an EARTHQUAKE there is not only a great Calmness but likewise a sudden Coldness and Chillness in the Air which was observ'd just before the EARTHQUAKE that happen'd at Oxford and the parts adjacent Sept. 17. 1683. And the like Observations of Cold preceeding are in Dr. Wallis's Account of an EARTHQUAKE Numb 10. of the Philosophical Transactions as also in that of Mr. Boyle Numb XI concerning the same EARTHQUAKE THOMAS PIGOT's Account of the EARTHQVAKE at Oxford c. Sept. 17. 1683. in the PHILOS TRANSACT Numb 151. Pag. 312 313. In EARTHQUAKES the tremulous Motion sometimes extends so very far that tho' it seems highly probable that the Shake that is given to one part of the Earth by the Firing and Explosion of Subterraneal Exhalations if that be the true and only cause of EARTHQUAKES is not capable of reaching near so far as divers EARTHQUAKES have done but that the Fire passes through some little Subterraneal Clefts or Channels or hidden Conveyances from one great Cavity or Mine to another yet 't is not improbable but that the vehemently tremulous Motion does oftentimes reach a very great way beyond the places where the Explosions were made Since tho' Seneca would confine the Extent of EARTHQUAKES to two Hundred Miles yet Observations made in this and the last Century warrant us to allow them a far greater spread The Learned Iosephus Acosta affirms that in the Kingdom of Peru in the Year 1586. an EARTHQUAKE reached along the Shoar of the Pacifick Sea 160 Leagues And adds that sometimes it has in those parts run on from South to North 300 Leagues And in the beginning of this our Age Anno Dom. 1601 good Writers relate a much larger EARTHQUAKE to have happened since it reached from Asia to that Sea that washes the French Shoars and besides some Asiatick Regions shock Hungary Germany Italy and France and consequently a great part of Europe And if that part of the Narrative be certain which relates that this lasted not much above a quarter of an Hour it will be the more likely that this EARTHQUAKE shook great Tracts of Land beyond those places to which the fired Matter passing from one Cavity to another could reach in so short a time As you will the more easily guess if you try as I have done that in Trains of Gun-powder it self the Fire doâ—s not run on near so swiftly as one imagines ROB. BOYLE 〈◊〉 the great Effects of even LANGVID MOTION Pag. 49 50 51. where they â—age with the greatest Violence HURRICANES are no strangers to the Moluccas and Philippines and we have most incredible Relations of the Storms in the way to Iapan which have carried Ships a considerable distance from the Sea up the Dâ—y-Land Some have been miserably wrackâ— and buried in the Waves others split in a Thousand pieces against the Rocks that scarce one Ship in five escapes these Disasters in the Tempestuous Months about Autumn or at the Change of the Monsoons From thence we may collect this Considerable Remarque That they never happen but on the Eastern Shoars where they are Fatal to the Chinese and Caribbee-Seas and so as far as the River of Plate likewise to that part of Afric from the Cape to St Lawrence and the Adjacent Isles When they are altogether unknown to the African Ocean from the Canaries to Cape Bon Esperance nor are they ever heard of at New-Spain or the Coasts of Peru nor towards any other Western parts of America because there the Winds which blow off from Land make no Opposition against the General Brise but comply with the constant Motion of the Air between the Tropiques from East to West For the shifting of the Trade-Wind from the Easterly Points is usually the first On-set of an approaching HURRICANE Yet however these Suspicions of Mine be receiv'd I think it cannot be rationally disputed but that those diresul Tempests have their first Rise from the Western Continent For we seldom meet them very remote from Land and the Experienc'd Masters of Ships are never jealous of HURRICANES in the Spacious Ocean Or iâ— they perceive them coming imediately make out to Sea where their Fury is much less than near the Shoaâ—s HURRICANES are most to be dreaded about the end of Summer in the Months of Iuly and August For both the Winds and Seas imitate the Motions of the Sun and being dilated by the Celestial Heat annually revert from North to South and from South to North again So that the Sun hastening from one Tropique to another causes the like suddain Conversions in the 〈◊〉 and Winds and being the moâ—â— Vâ—iversal Efficient must neeâ—s â—â— principally concern'd in all Vicâ—â—â—â—udes of the Sublunary World HURRICANES are usually preceeded by an extraordinary Tranquillity of the Heavens and Seas Possibly some Counter-Winds may for a short space ballance one another and bring the Air to an equal poisâ— So that â—â—ose who hâ—ppen to be in the Center of the Whirl-Wind are at first sensible of no disturbance as we see in Eddys or Whirl-Peo's of Water that while the Circumference is violently agitated in the middle it continues for some time quiet and calm R. BOHVN's Disc. of the ORIGINE and PROPERTIES of WIND Pag 255 256 c. This following Account of the Nature of HURRICANES is given us by an Ingenious Frenchman in his History of the Caribbe-Islands quoted by the aforesaid Mr. Bohun Pag. 280 281 c. HURRICANES are terrible and violent Tempests which may be term'd the true Images of the last Conssagâ—ation of the World Formerly they happen'd but once in Five or Seven Years but they are now become more frequent since the Antilles were inhaâ—â—ted for there was One in 51 another in 52 Two in 53 and Two in 50 Nay in the Islands of Gardaloupe lying about the 16
degree of N. Latitude there happen'd no less than three HURRICANES in one Year The Manner of them is as foâ—lâ—â—â—th Ordinarily the Sea becomes Calm on a sudden and smooth as Glass Then presently aâ—ter the Air is Darkned and fill'd with thick and gloomy Clouds after which it 's all as it were on Fire and opens on every side with dreadful Lightnings that last a considerable time After which follow wonderful Claps of Thunder that seem as iâ— the Heaven was reâ—t asunder The Earth trembles in many places and the Wind blows with so great Imperuosity that it Rooâ—s up the tallest and greatest Trees which grow in the Woods beats down almost all the Houses and tears up the Vegetables destroying every thing that grows upon the Earth and very often compels Men whilst this dreadful Tempest lasts to catch hold of the Trunks of Trees to secure themselves from being carried away by the Winds some lye in the Caves of the Rocks or retire into the Huts of the Negroes and Caribbians which are built exceeding low on purpose to elude the Shocks of these Tempests But that which is most dangerous of all and which causes the greatest Mischief is that in Four and Twenty Hours and sometimes in less space it makes the whole Circle of the Compass leaving neither Road nor Haven secure from its raging force so that all the Ships that are at that time on the Coast do perish most Miserably At the Island of St. Christophers several Ships in the Harbour being laden with Tobacco were all cast away by an HURRICAN and afterwards the Tobacco poyson'd most of the Fish on their Coasts When these Storms are over a Man may behold the saddest Spectacles that can be imagin'd There may be seen Pieces of Mountains shaken by the Earthquakes and Forrests overturn'd Houses beaten down by the Violence of the Winds abundance of poor Families undone by the loss of their Goods and the Merchandize in their Cottages of which they can save but very little There one may see the poor Sea-Men drown'd and rowling in the Waves with many brave Ships broken in pieces and batter'd against the Rocks 'T is a thing so Woful and Deplerable that should this Disorder happen often I know not who could have the Heart or Confidence to go to the Indies A Letter from a Sea-Captain to Mr. R. BOHVN SIR IN Answer to your Request concerning the HURRICANE I can say little of its Effects more than what concerns our particular dammage and terrour It happen'd upon the 18 th of August last 1670 Sixteen Hours after the New-Moon in the 14 th Degree of North Latitude about Ninety Leagues from Barbadoes It succeeded a Storm of 48 Hours continuance at North-East an unusual way of its appearing for it commonly follows a Calm Its presage being a shifting of the Wind about the Compass with the Appearance of a troubled Sky the only advantage we have to prepare for its reception The Fury of it begâ—n about 10 at Night and continu'd till 12 the next Day I'ts observ'd that the HURRICANES of the New-Moon begin at Night and those at the Full in the Day as was noted two Fears since when the Lord Willoughby perisht with Eight Ships and near a Thousand Persons During its 14 Hours Fury with us it shifted 14 Points from the N. E. to the S. S. West keeping a Method of Changing One Pâ—int an Hour and then shifted backward and in its retreat still abated until it returned to the Original Point where it wholly ceas'd In the height of it we had some Hâ—â—l the Stones whereof were very great which seem'd to be thrown upon us for the space of the twentieth part of a Minute and then an intermission of Five or Six Minutes before any more came The Sea in the Night seem'd as a real Fire and I believe we might have distinctly perceiv'd any Object at a great distance In the day time we seem'd rather to Sâ—il in the Air than Water the Wind forcing the Sea so high that we could scarce make a distinction of either Element The Terrour of it was such that I thought it the Emblem of Hell and the last Dâ—ssolution of all things especially the first two Hours which were attended with so much Thunder and Lightning so asâ—onishing as if we had been wrapt up into the Clouds or the whole Air set on Fire The strength of the Wind was so great that it blew a Boat of 18 Foot long fastned to four Ring-â—olts and each bolt through a Ring of the Ship clear off the Deck Iâ— blew away a piece of Timber of great Substance and Weight called the Cross-Piece of the Bits to which we fasten our Cables It tore off the Sails from the Yards though fast furled the Yards from the Masts and the upper Masts from the lower It blew away four Men of Fâ—ve who were upon the Fore-Yard three of which by a Strange Providence were thrown in again upon the Deck by the Sea and saved The last remain of its Fury was a Weighty Grinding Stone which it left fastned between two Timber Heads but it blew away the Trough from under it I had several Accounts from Particular Friends how terrible it was in other places but to me it seem'd beyond all Expression These HURRICANES are most frequent between the AeQUINOCTIAL and the Tropique of CANCER They more rarely happen between the LINE and the Tropique of CAPRICORN But that which to me is the greatest Wonder is that they should be so terrible among the Caribbe-Islands that in some of them they have neither lâ—ft House Tree nor Plant in the Ground beginning at St. JOHN De Porto Rico and so running Eastward but the ISLANDS of HISPANIOLA CUBA and JAMAICA are never troubled with them though within few Leagues of the Rest. There are some Old INDIANS that have given notice of them three or four Days before their Coming By what Râ—les I was never curious to understand It being enough for us to study how to defend our selves and Ships from them rather than by any nice Enquiries to sâ—arch into their Causes Only thus much I observ'd that they have an influence upon the SEA as well as the MOON both upon them and it for I found by Observation of the SUN and STARS that there was a Current tending so violently Northward that in 24 Hours it would force us as many Leagues from our Easterly Course which did so confound us having neither Card nor Compass left to Steer by which with several other Goods were swept away in a Breach which the SEA made into our Ship that I think it was as great a difficulty for me to find out BARBADOS this place being nearest for our relief as COLUMBUS who first discover'd those Countries Sir I have been as modest as I could in giving you this Relation because I know many who are acquainted with the violence of these Tempests will be incredulous But I should be sorry that all who