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General Btfiory o/DRUGGS.

Vol. If.

Pitch, that were it not for the ftrong Smellof Pitch, and that it is not fo hard as the

Afphaltum, no one could diftinguifh the onefrom the other.

The Ufe of this 'Bitumen is to make thefine fhining Blacks of China. It alfo is offome fmall Ufe in Medicine, for that it en-ters the Compofition of the Venice Treacle,for which Purpofe it needs no other Prepara-tion than to be true or genuine, that is tofay, of a moft beautiful, fhining, polifh'dBlack, reflecting the Image of the Sun, andof no Manner of Smell ; and to fee that itbe not adulterated, or mix'd with Black.Pitch, which is what is eall'd the Artificial orFaBitiow P iff afphaltum ; it is no difficult Mat-ter to difcover this artificial Bitumen, beingof a very bale Black, and a ftrong Smell.'Tis a Miftake to believe as fome Authors do,particularly Monfieur Furetiere, that we haveno Bitumen of Judea brought us now a-Days; and that the Apothecaries, inftead ofit, fell a Compofition which they make ofPitch, and the Oil of Petre, a Thing thatdon't ftand to Reafon, nor can I conceive'Poihecaries to be fuch Knaves and Fools, todo any fuch Thing, fince the true Bitumenis realonable enough in its Price j fo that itwou'd have been better for thefe Scribblers,and all fuch as have undertaken to write ofDruggs, without underftanding them well,to have been filent; for they have made, andftill do make horrid Blunders about quid proquo, or in fubftituting fuccedaneous Druggs orMedicines, which is a Mattes concerns theKing and the Commonwealth.

Bitumen Judaicum , BitumenLemery. Babylonicum , Afphaitus , is afolid, brittle, black Matter, re-fembling Black, Pitch that is fulphureousand inflammable, and in Burning lends fortha ftrong difagreeable Smell : It is foundfwimming upon the Surface of the Lake, orAfphaltite Sea, otherwife eall'd the Dead Sea,where Itood, fome Time ago, the Cities ofSodom and Gomorrha. This Bitumen is caftup from Time to Time in the Nature of li-quid Pitch, from the Earth that lies underthis Sea, and being thrown upon the Waterit fwuns like other fatty Bodies, and is con-dens'd by little and little thro' the Heat ofthe Sun, and the Salt that is in it.The Inhabitants of the Country are ccn-

ftraio'd to take it from thence and carry it aShore, not only becaufe it brings them Pro-fit, but alfo becaufe the Lake being too muchloaded with this Bitumen, yields a ftinkmgand malignant Smell, which fpoils the Air,affecls their Health, and lhortens their Days :The Birds that fly a-crofs it fail down dead,,and it is eall'd the Dead Sea, becaufe of theStench, Bittemcfs, and exceffive Saltnefs ofit ; fo that neither Filh or any other Creaturecan live upon it. The Arabs ufe this Bitu-men of Judea to pitch their Ships as we docommon Pitch, and there was a great deal ofit imploy'd in the Embalming of the An-cients.

Chufc fuch as is clean, of a fine fhiningBlack, folid, and harder than Pitch, havingno Smell but when it is held to the Fire ;take Care it be not mix'd with Pitch, whichmay be known by the Smell: They ufe thisto make your fine (Tuning Blacks of China ■it yields a good deal of Sulphur, partly ex-alted, with volatile Salt and a little Earth;it fortifies and refifts Putrefaction, refolves,attenuates, and cleanfes cicatrizes Wounds,and is us'd externally and internally.

It is fuppos'd that the Word Bitumen comesfrom the Greek Word -mms, which fignifies aPine, and which has been chang'd by Cor-ruption, the w being alter'd into a £, fromwhence they pronoune'd it Bitumen infteadof Pitumen : This Etymology is taken fromthe Opinion of the Ancients, that the Bitu-men of Judea was a Pitch that fiow'd fromPines and feveral other Trees about the Lakeof Sodom : So were the Jews of that Opinionbefore; the Prophet Efdras fpeakingof Sodomand Gomorrha, fays, that the Earth is found-ed upon Pitch and Heaps of Afhes.

4- Of Pit Coal.

~C Arch or Pit Coal, is a Sore of Bi--*—' tumen chiefly us'd by Farriers Pometand other Sorts of Smiths to heattheir Iron ; that of England is efteem'd thebeft, though there are fome that fay ours ofAuvetjne comes very little behind it j 'cismade a great Traffick, being a Commoditymuch us d in France ; the beft is pretended tobe moft void of Sulphur, and confequentlythat which will keep Fire longeft. Some

will

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