382

General Hiftory of D Rtl G G S.

duced in the Mines of Negropont; ic willneither flame, nor corifume in the Fire j fomeAlchymifts ufe it for Wicks in their Lamps;"tis call'd Scifftle, becaufe 'tis ea(ie to breakand divide.

Of Alum of Rome.

Upman Alum, which we alfo callPomet. Alum of Civita Veccbia , becaufegreat Quantities are made in theNeighbourhood of that City, is a StoneAlum of a middle Size, red without, andwithin clear and tranfparent, and of a difa-greeable ftyptick Tafte: This Alum is of areddifh Colour ; the Mine from whence it isdrawn being of the fame.

Chufe the l{omm Alum that is reddiihthroughout, in the Infide as well as on theOutfide, becaufe there ate fome who colourthe Engl'ifh and Liege Alum of a dark Red,but the Cheat is eafily difcover'd; for if youfind it not as red within as without 'tis a Signit is counterfeited ; it ought to be as free offmall or broken Pieces as poffible ; whichyet is no Difadvantage to thofe who ufe it,provided the Alum be pure and genuine, butonly to fuch as retail it.

t\oman Alum is much in Ufe with Dyers,Tanners, and others, that make counterfeitPearl, but it ought to be very good for allof 'em.

Of Engliih Alum.

Englifh Alum, to which the Ancients havegiven the Name of Upch or {{pck. Alum,White and Glafs Alum, is an Alum clear andtranfparent as Cryftal, which is fent us fromEngland in Pieces of different Figure andBignefs; fince fometimes 'tis to be met within Lumps as big as a Man's Body, fome-times clear and white as Cryftal, and at otherTimes blackilh and mOift : In fine, the GlafsAlum is more or lefs beautiful, according asit has been more or lefs purified.

ksihis Alum is much made ufe of by fe-veral Sorts of Trades, particularly by Mint-Men or Coyners, ard Dyers ; as alfo formany Preparations in Phyfick, as will betaken Notice of hereafter ; Care ought tobe taken in the Choice of it, that it be white,clear and tranfparent, as dry and as free from

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any Sort of Filth as may be ; alfo Care mullbe had that it be not Liege or Meniere A-lum, which is greafier and fatter than thatof England, and not fo fit for Dyers \JCe,and which they never make ufe cf but forwant of the ttue Englifh. We had not longfince a greenifh Sort of Alum, like Saltpetre,drawn from a Stone taken out of the Minesin the Neighbourhood of Soijfons in Picard/ jbut as this Alum is of no Account, as wellby Reafonofits ill Looks, as becaufe we con-tinue ignorant of its Virtues, I fhall fay nomore concerning it. From the Englifh Alumis diftill'd a clear and acid Water, wich wecall Alum Water, and which is us'd as anOphthalcnick for the Eyes; after the Phlegmcomes over an acid Spirit, uleful in Fevers,whether continual or intermitting; and alfogood againft fmall Ulcers or Excoriations inthe Mouth, from four to eight Drops; thatwhich remains in the Veffel being a lightwhite Subftance or Mais, is what we callBurnt Alum: But as this Water and Spirit ofAlum is in Jittle requeft, thofe that have Oc-cafion for Burnt Alum do not trouble them-felves about diftilling, but only put the Aluminto a Pot, which they place in the Midft ofa good Fire ; and when the Alum is becomevery light and white, they take it out andkeep it for Ui"e.

Calcin'd or Burnt Alum ought to be lightand friable, that is, eafily redue'd to Pow-der, fo that Care muft be taken that it benot fuch as has been pafs'd through a SilkSearce or Sieve, which is put into a Bag tiedclofe, to make it into Stones or Lumps ,but this Cheat is eafily difcover'd ; the Coun-terfeit Alum, being heavy, extreamly white,more like Paint or Plaifter than any Thingelfe, and of a ftiptick Tafte.

True Burnt Alum is efteem'd a very goodEfcarotick to eat away proud luxuriantFle(h ; Perfons of Condition commonly wearit in little Bags under their Armpits, andtheir Feet to prevent Sweating, but then itought to be extreamly Fine.

Of Saccharine, or Sugar lik.e Alum.

Saccharine Alum, becaufe it refembles Su-gar, is made of Glafs Alum, R^fe-Water,and Whites of Eggs boil'd together 'till icis ftiff j and this Alum fo boil'd, and

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