■^M&Sf-'*' I

■B

Book IV.

O/BITUMENS.

melted or diffolv'd together, which is call'dBalfam of Sulphur annifated, and has greatQualities given to it, as will be ken here-after.

Monfieur Cbaras fays in his Book, p. 470,that fome are of Opinion this Balfam is inQuality but little behind the Natural Balfam,or Balm of GileaJ, becaufe it heats and driesmoderately, and refifts Corruption or Putre-faction ; it therefore is a celebrated Medi-cine in pectoral Cafes, being very benefi-cial in Coughs, Afthma's, Pleurifies, and Ul-cers of the Lungs: It is good alio againftWeakneffes and Indigeftions of the Stomach,reftores the Appetite, expells Wind, eafes allSorts of Colicks: 'Tis faid to be good alfo a-gainft the Plague, and all epidemical Dif-eafes, venereal Affects, continual or intermit-ting Fevers, and the Epilepfie ; it may betaken internally in any agreeable Liquor,from three to ten or twelve Drops; the Sto-mach or Navel may be annointed therewithin any Illnefs of the former, or in Colicks,&c.

The diftill'd or chymical Oil of Annifeedmight be made ufe of for this Compofirion,were it not that in the Operation it is apt toevaporate and fly off, do what you can,more than the green or exprefs'd Oil.

The fecond Wav or Method of makingit is with Oil of Walnuts cold drawn, Flo-wers of Sulphur, Salt of Tartar, and WhiteWine mix'd together, which by Afliftance ofthe Fire is made into a Balfam very good todigeft, difcufs, or refolve any crude Fluxionimpacted in any Part of the Body, made ufeof by Way of Unction ; it is alio the Baflsof the Emp Sulpbun's.

Some ufe Oil of Sweet Almonds, WhitePoppy-Seed and Turpentine inftead of Oilof Walnuts in the Compofition of this Bal-fam, in which every one may do as feems beftto him.

Some again add to this Balfam, Myrrh,Aloes, Saffron, and the like.

Befides the Sulphurs afore-mention'd, wehave a Sort of Earth or yellow Stone, whichMount JEtna cafts forth, call'd by us NaplesYellow, which Painters make ufe of: But thisSort of Earth is fcarce enough amongft us.Note, The Marks of its Goodnefs are, thatit be fandy, and of as high a Colour as maybe. This Earth is nothing but a Sulphur

m

harden'd in the Bowels of the Earth, whichmakes it dry and brittle.

You may make a Balfam of Sul-phur in a fmall Time, by taking to Lemery,one Part of Flowers of Sulphur fouror fiveTimes as much good Oil of Turpentine,Oil Olive, or the like, and boiling them in■a Pipkin, fo big, as it may be but half full,'till the Flowers are perfectly difTolv'd, into aBlood-red Balfam; let the Fire be prettyquick, yet not too quick, and continuallyftir it all the While it is a making 'till it iscold, otherwife the Flowers will be apt tocoagulate into a Mafs, and fo you will haveno Balfam : It is good againft Coughs, Colds,Afthma's, Confumptions, &c. outwardly ap-ply'd, and is taken inwardly from fourDrops to twenty.

8. Of Naphtha.

"KTAphtha is a Bitumen or Slime■* ^ found in many Places of Europe, Pontet.and the Name Maltha has beengiven firft of all to a Sort of Bitumen foundnear Comagene in Syria : And Pliny tells usthat this Bitumen is fo glutinous that it flicksto whatfoever it touches, from whence comesits Names of Maltha; and accordingly herelates, that at the Siege of Samo^ata, whichLucullus undertook, it was of great Advan-tage to thofe in the Town ; for that as foonas it touch'd any of the'Soldiers it fet themon Fire in fuch Sort as could not be extin-guilht but by throwing Earth upon them, be-ing of the Nature of other Bitumens, whichthe more you caft Water upon them the morethey blaze. There is another Sort of Bitu-men found near [{agufa, which has the Smellof, and ferves for the fame Purpofes as com-mon Pitch, and therefore has the Name ofMaltha, or Natural Piffafphaltum, or Earth-Pitch beftow'd upon it : But thefe twoSorts being unknown to us, and we havingnone of 'em in France, I (hall content my-felf to (peak of that of Auvergne only.

The Bitumen then of Auvergne is a Sortof Pitch of a difagreeable Smell enough,found between Clermont, Montferrat andRJon, in a Place call'd Pege-xoell, where it isin fuch Abundance, that it makes its Wayout of the Earth, and caufes a great deal ofVol. II. Z Un.