■'fp^ 
 

 \\ ^\.^ 
 
 
VALUABLE 
 
 SECRETS 
 
 IN 
 
 ARTS, TRADES, &c, 
 
 SELECfiD FROM THE BEST AUTHORS. 
 
 XSB 
 
 ADAPTED 
 
 TO THE SITUATION OF THE 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 Hce tibi erunt Artes ! Virg, 
 
 - .iT' 
 
 NEW- YORK : 
 
 I'UBLISHED BY EVERT DUYCKINCK, 
 
 NO. 102 PEARL^TREET. 
 
 G. Lon^f print. 
 
 1816. 
 
District op New-York, ss. Be it Remembered, that on the fifth 
 day of October, in the thirty -fourth year of the Inde- 
 pendence of the United States of America, Evert 
 L. S. Duyckinck, of the said District, hath deposited in this 
 office tlie title of a Book, the right whereof he claims 
 as Proprietor, in the words following, to wit : 
 " Valuable Secrets in Arts, Trades, &c. selected from the best 
 " authors, and adapted to the situation of the United States. 
 « Hse tibi erunt Artes ! — Virg." 
 In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, 
 entitled, " An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing 
 ** the copies of Maps, -harts and Books, to the authors and pro- 
 *< prietors, of such copies, during the time therein mentioned, and 
 ** also to an act entitled an act supplementary to an act entitled an 
 " act for the encouragement of learning by securing the copies of 
 •' Maps, Charts and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such 
 " copies, during the time therein mentioned, and extending the 
 ** benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving and etching 
 " historical and other prints." 
 
 CHARLES CLINTON. 
 Clerk of the District of JVetv-York- 
 
THE EDITOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 THE Arts cannot attain a higher degree of perfec- 
 tion till more exact enquiries are made concern- 
 ing every thing which can contribute towards facilita- 
 ting their progress. It ought, therefore, to be the 
 study of every individual to diffuse his observations, 
 and extend his researches in a country where he can 
 claim a liberal encouragement for new discoveries ; 
 and where every work which tends to the promulga- 
 tion of arts in general, meetii with ample reward. 
 
 Anjong those friends of the sciences who discharge 
 their duty in the most becoming manner, the Ameri- 
 can artists, and prolessed mechanics, are, undoubedly 
 entitled to the first rank,as their experiments and pro- 
 ductions are of evident, and real utility to their coun- 
 try. 
 
 It is but of a late date since those arts and trades 
 "which constitute the wealth and commerce of the Eu- 
 ropean Nations, began to receive the encouragement 
 and support of the citizens of the United States, and 
 to increase their lustre, their ceconomical order, and 
 their regular and necessary discribuiion in this rising 
 empire 
 
 The present work is a faithful compilation of va- 
 rious secrets in the refined arts and trades ; discove- 
 ries no way unworthy the attention of Americans. 
 
 The an of Engraving, yet in its infant state here, 
 will, if not very materially benefited, at least be set- 
 tled upon a more permanent basis,by a due observation 
 of the directions and receipts contained in this volume. 
 
 The various combinations and compositions of 
 metals j the art of Varnishing, of making mastiches 
 and cementations : curiosities in glass and precious 
 stones ; tne mixture of colours in painting ; ihe art 
 of gilding ; dying wood, ivoiy, Sec though seemingly 
 of little importance at the first view, will be found 
 useful if not absolutely necessary, towards facilita^ 
 ting the progress of those arts 'in the United States^ 
 
IV THE EDITOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 \vhere it is hoped that taste and elegance will claim 
 a proportionable share of the public's attention and 
 encouragenient. 
 
 Oiher matters are added, useful to those who wish 
 to be easily accommodated with the polite and useful 
 necessaries of a frugal life. They are intended chiefly 
 for those who have had few opportunities to learn the 
 proper methods of making the best use in art, of those 
 things which nature profusely lavishes for the pro- 
 motion and increase of domestic felicity. 
 
 Many of the following secrets and receipts are de- 
 rived from the works of the first artists in France, 
 Italy, Germany, and Great-Britain ; and the labours 
 of several eminent artists here have given great assis- 
 tance towards rendering them easily to be understood 
 by the most common capacity, and more extensively 
 useful to the infant manufactories of the United 
 States. 
 
 That the work might not be altogether uninterest- 
 ing to that great portion of the people of the United 
 States which constitute the agricultural part, many 
 and valuable essays on agriculture, rusal and domestic 
 economy are added, chiefly selected from American 
 works of known and acknowledged estimation and 
 value. 
 
 In the confidence that the American public will al- 
 ways be ready to give proper encouragement and 
 support to every work intended to promote the true 
 interest and lasting good of the United States, this 
 work is, without further preface, submitted to his 
 fellow-citizens, by THE EDITOR. 
 
SECRETS 
 
 IN 
 
 ARTS, TRADES, kc. 
 
 CHAP. I. V 
 
 SECRETS RELATIVE TO THE ART OF ENGRAVING. 
 I. j1 wax to lay on iron tr steel. 
 
 TAKE the bulk of a nut of white wax, melt it, and 
 add to it the size of a nnusket ball of ceruse of 
 Venice. — When both are incorporated, form this com- 
 position into small sticks. With them rub your piece of 
 steel, or iron, after having previously warmed it suffi- 
 ciently to melt the wax, which spread well over it with 
 a feather. When the wax is cold, trace whatever you 
 will on it, and pass afterwards, on the lines you have 
 drawn, the following water. 
 
 XL ji mordant water to engrave on steel. 
 
 1. Take the strongest verjuice you can find ; alum 
 in powder, and a little dried salt, pulverised. Mix all to- 
 gether till perfectly disolved : then pass some of that wa- 
 ter on the lines of your drawing, repeating the same till it 
 is sufficiently deep engraved. 
 
 2 Or else take verdigrease, strong vinegar, ammoniac 
 and common salts, and copperas, equal parts. Set all to- 
 gether a boiling for a quarter of an hour ; then stram it 
 through a rag, and run some of that water on your plate. 
 In about half an hour afterwards it will be perfectly en- 
 graved. 
 
 3- Callot's varnish, of which the composition shall 
 b^ found hereafter, in the Chafiter on Varnishes^ is an ad- 
 mirable composition to lay on the plate you propose to 
 -fin grave. 
 
 B 
 
6 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 Ill- To engrave ivith aquafortia, so that the work may aji' 
 pear like a basso relievo. 
 
 Take equal parts of vermillion and black lead, two 
 or three grains of mastich, in drops. Grind thenn all to- 
 gether, on marble, with lintseed oil ; then put this com- 
 position into a shell. Next to this operation, cut some 
 soft quills, and let your steel or iron be well polished. 
 Try Hrst whether your colour runs sufficiently with your 
 pens ; and if it should not, you must add a little more oil 
 to it, so as to have your pen mark freely with it, as if vou 
 were writing with ink on paper. Then rub well your 
 plate of steel with wood ashes, to clean and ungrease it ; 
 after which wipe it with a clean rag, and draw your design 
 upon it with your pen, prepared as before,and dipped into 
 your liquor. If you want to draw birds, or oth^r animals, 
 you must only draw the outlines of them with your pen, 
 then fill up the inside of those lines with a hair pencil ; 
 that is to say, you will cover all the space contained be- 
 tween the first outlines drawn with the pen, the same co- 
 lour, which you wilf lay with a brush to preserve all that 
 pare against the mordacity of the aquafortis. When that 
 is done, let your v;ork dry for a day or two; and when 
 dried, take some fire made with charcoal into a chafing 
 dish, and bake over it your colour by degrees till it 
 becomes quite brown. Take care notwithstanding not to 
 burn it, tor fear you should scale it when you come to 
 scratch, with the point of a needle, those etchings, or 
 places, whi^h you want to be engraved with the fol-^ 
 lowing aquafortis. 
 
 IV. Aquajortis for engraving. 
 
 Take verdigrease, roch alum, Roman vitriol, and com- 
 ir.on salt of each three ounces ; pound it into a very fine 
 powder. Have a new pipkin, put a little more than a 
 quart of water, and your drugs, all together. Let them 
 thus infuse a couple of hours; then place them over a 
 charcoal, fire and when the water has a little simmered, 
 take the pot from ofTt'ne fire and let it cool, that you may 
 dip your hand in without scalding. Then have an ear- 
 thern cup, with which vou take off that water, and pour it 
 over the work you mean to engrave ; so that it may run 
 freely over all the places which are to be marked, and 
 then off into a pan placed under to receive it. Con- 
 tinue thus to water yoiir works for three quarters of 
 an hour. Then vou will pour upon it clear pump wa- 
 ter, to wash off the mud whicli the aq».afortis shall 
 have occasioned. You are then to try with a nee- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, See. 7 
 
 die the depth of the lines of your engraving and, if not at 
 your liking, you nnust begin again watering it as before. 
 The only cave you are to have is, that your liquor should 
 not be too warnfi ; for then it would spoil the work. It is 
 better to use it lukewarm only, and be longer at it. 
 
 V. To engrave on brasSy or copjier, ivUh aquafortis- 
 
 You must put in your colour more mastich in drops, and 
 bake it also rather more over the fire after it is laid on vour 
 plate, so that it should almost turn black. And it it be a 
 flat work, as generally are alh'th^se on copper pintles, you 
 must raise around it a border of wax to prevent the aqua- 
 fortis, which you are to pour on it, frorr running off, and 
 which is to be a separating aquafortis, with wh'ch you cover 
 the plate to the tliickness of a crowrr piece, ^f^er it has 
 been tluis left covered with that aquafortis fc»r a ilttle while, 
 this becoAies green ; then is the time to throw it away, and 
 to pour in its place some pump water ; when you will ex- 
 amine whether the lines be sufficieiuly deep or not. If not, 
 pour again fr^-sh aq\iafortis on your plate, and thus you ob- 
 tain your works of basso-relievo bv contrary : that is to say 
 raised grounds. You may thus engrave all sorts of works- 
 
 VI. To engrave firints by aquafortis. 
 
 Take soine ceruse ; grind it well with clear pump water, 
 and size it with isinglass. Lay this composition with a 
 coarse brush, orpencl, ori the plate which \ou Mant to 
 engvave When it is dry, draw on it whatever design you 
 please Or, if you want to counteri'roof a copprr-plate 
 print, blacken all the back of your print, and placing that 
 blackened part on your plate, prepared as befor^j.^ over 
 all the str kes of your print, with a smooth ivory or wood- 
 en point, which will stamp the black of the print, in all 
 those places, on the plate Then yon u ill go a.i^ain over all 
 the black strokes which are laid on vour plate, with a pen 
 and ink ; and taking afterwards a steel ])oint, ver\ fire and 
 well tempered, you will etch your plate with it, in fuUow- 
 hig all the strokes marked on it, and pour aquafortis, as 
 before directed. 
 
 VII. The method of engraving with aquafortis. 
 
 1. You must have a very well polished plate, and per- 
 
 . fectlv clean. Set it to warm over a chafing dish, in which 
 
 there is a charcoal fire. W hile on it cover it with a vai nish, 
 
8 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 either dry or liquid, for there are two sorts. Then yoa 
 blacken that varnish with the flame of a candle, over 
 •which you pass and repass the plate on the varnished side 
 2. This being done, you have no more to do than to 
 chalk your design on that plate, which is infinitely more 
 easy than to engrave with the graver. For if you rub the 
 back part of your drawing with some sanguine stone (red 
 chalk) or any thing else, and lay it afterwards on your 
 plate, to trace it with a point, the sanguine which is on the 
 back ofihedraugTit will easily set off on tlie varnish. So that 
 you may follow afterwards al'l the lines of the design.and be 
 infinitely more correct ig all. the turns, and the expression 
 of the figures. This is the reason why all the painters who 
 have their own works engraved, take the trouble of draw- 
 ing also the outlines of their figures.that the spirit and beau- 
 ty of the design m ay Jbe preserved. Indeed it must be con- 
 fessed, that we always discover a great deal more art in 
 those pieces which are engraved witn aquaiortis,^ian there 
 is found in them that are done by the graver. And, even 
 in many of these, theaquafortis is often employed to sketch 
 lightly the contours, or outlines of the figures, and to have 
 them nr>ore correct 
 
 3. True it is, that it is sometimes found necessary to 
 touch a little over with the graver, certain parts which are 
 n t strong enough, or that the aquafortis has not eaten in 
 sufficientiv. For it is not easy, in a great plate, to get all 
 the se\ eral parts so proportionably, ax\6 a propoa , eaten in, 
 as there should be nothing to find fault with. 
 
 4. It is not enoujih for an engraver to woik with the 
 point of his needle, or }-cooper,.in all the difFert nt places of 
 his work, with thr strength and delicacy rectssary to 
 make appear, as he wants 'hem to be. the most remote and 
 nearest parts It is again requisite that he should take 
 care, whf n he conies to put the aquafortis on his plate, it 
 shduld not bite equallv everv where. This is prev- nted as 
 follows, by a mixture of oil and tallow, which you will drop 
 into it from a lighted candle 
 
 5. To this effect he must have a framed wooden board, 
 overlaid with wax. on which he fixes his piate a little slant 
 way, then pours aquafortis on it, so that it may only pass 
 over it, and run loto an eaahen pan, placed under to re- 
 ceive it. Therefore he takes car*- to examine when those 
 p rts. which an not to be sodeeplv eaten in, have received 
 a suffi'iei.t quantity of aquafortis; in which case, taking off 
 his plate, he washes it with pump water, by pouring it only 
 over, drif'S it gently before the fire, then covers the most re- 
 mote parts, and them which he wants to preserve weakest, 
 with the abovementioned niixture of oil and tallow, that 
 the aquafortis should not act any more on these places.— 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 8cc. 9 
 
 Thus, covering at several times, and as much as he plea- 
 ses.such places of his plate as he wants to keep not so strong 
 as others, it results that the figures which are forwards in 
 the picture, are constantly every time washed with the 
 aquafortis which eats in them, till_ he sees they are suffi- 
 ciently engraved, and according to the -degree' of strength 
 which he is desirous of giving them. 
 
 6. That sort of aquafortis we have mentioned and de- 
 scribed ill this chapter,. at the article of the Kvaterfor en- 
 graving on iron, and which is composed with verdigrease, 
 vinegar, common and ammoniac salts and copperas, is 
 also made use of to engrave on copper, in pouring it on 
 the plates, covered either with hard or soft varnish, and 
 scratched, or etched, agreeably to the design you iniend 
 to engrave on them. 
 
 7 As lor what concerns the refiner's aquafortis, com- 
 monly called "Af/iUe nvater, it is never used but upon the 
 soft varnish, and never as the former, which is called 
 green water, by pounng it only over the plate, and letting 
 it run off into a pan under it. A border of wax must be 
 made round the plate, on which this being laid flat upon 
 a table, some of that iv/iUe water is poured, after having 
 previously tempered it more or less with a proportionable 
 quantity of common water, which is ca,\lQd Jiickling. 
 
 "VIII. To engrave on wood. 
 
 You begin by preparing a board, according to the size 
 and thickness you want it, and finely polished on the side 
 it is to b.e engraved. The sort of wood which is generally 
 chosen for such a purpose, is either pear tree or box. 
 And of the two, this last is even still preferable, both on 
 account of its being of a superior hardness, and also less 
 liable to be worm eaten. On that board you driiw first 
 your design, such as you want it to appear in printing. 
 They who have not the talent of drawing, as there are 
 a great number who make use of the very drawing you 
 give them, which they paste on their board, by their right 
 side, with a paste made of good flour, water, and a little 
 vinegar. You must take care that all the strokes of the 
 drawing should touch well, and stick on the wood; and 
 •when the paper is very dry, wet it gently, and with the 
 tip of your finger rub it off by degrees, so' that the strokes 
 only of the drawing should remain on your board, as if 
 you had drawn it with ink and a pen. These strokes or 
 lines shew all that you are to spare or preserve ; all the 
 rest you are to cut off and sink down with delicacy, by 
 means of a sharp and well tempered penknife, small 
 B 2 
 
10 SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, &c. 
 
 chissel, or gouet, according to the size and delicacy of 
 the work, lor you have no need of any other tool. 
 
 IX, To engrave on cofijier mth the graver. 
 
 1. When the plate, which is to be of red copper, is 
 well polished, you draw your design on it with either the 
 black lead stone or a steel point- When that is done you 
 have no further need of any thing but a sharp and well 
 tempered graver to cut in, and give more or less strength 
 to certain parts, according to the subject, and the fine 
 figures you execute. 
 
 2 You must also have a certain tool of six inches long, 
 or thereabouts, one of the ends of which, called a scraper, 
 is made in the form of a triangle, sharp on each edge, with 
 which you scrape on the copper when you want it. The 
 other end called a burnisher, has very much the shape 
 ©f a fowl's heart, a httle prolonged by the point, round and 
 slender This serves to polish the copper, to mend 
 the faults, and soften the strokes, 
 
 3. In order to form a better judgment of your work, 
 you HRust now and then as you proceed on, make use of a 
 stump made with thg piece ot an old hat rolled up and 
 blackened} with which you rub your plate, on the place 
 you are working, which fills the strokes with black, and 
 makes you see better the effect of your work as you go. 
 You must be provided likewise with a leather cushionj ob 
 "Which you lay your plate while you engrave it. 
 
[11] 
 
 GHAP. II. 
 SECRETS RELATIVE TO METALS. 
 
 1. Transmutation of iron into the finest German steel 
 
 1 fllAKE clean soot one pound ; oak wood ashes 
 JL twelve ounces, and tour ot pounded garlics- Boil 
 all together in twelve pounds of comnion water, red^iced 
 to four pounds. Strain this, and dip in it the iron pegs, 
 which you will afterwards stratify with the following ce- 
 ment. 
 
 2. Take burnt wood coals, otherwise called cokes, and 
 quick lime, ot each'three pounds ; soot dried, and calcinat- 
 ed in an iron pan, one pound ; decripitate salt four ouixes. 
 Make of this and your iron several beds alternately, one 
 over another ; and having well luted the vessel in which 
 you shall have made those beds of iron and cenient, give 
 them a reverberating fire, for three times twenty-four 
 hours, and the operation is done. 
 
 IL I'o refine Pewter. 
 
 Take tine Pewter, melt it in a crucible. When done, 
 project over it at several times some nitre till you see it 
 calcined. Then pound it into powder, and njix it with 
 an equal quantity of charcoal pulverized very fine. It in 
 this condition you melt it again, it wiU resume its form of 
 pewter, only refined in a much superior degree. 
 
 III. Method of tempering edge-tools that are of too briU 
 tie a quality. 
 
 Plunge them in boiling fat for two hours then take them, 
 out, and let them cool gradually. They will retain their 
 hardness witkout being brittle. 
 
 IV. To make Pewter, 
 
 Melt together 1 cwt. Tin, 15 lb Lead, and 6 lb. Brass, 
 the whole forms what is called pewter, 
 
 V. To make fiinchbeck. 
 
 Melt one pound of zinc, -with five or six pounds of cop* 
 
12 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Ice. 
 
 per ; the purer these metals, the more malleable the 
 pinchbeck. Its colour niVich resembles gold. 
 
 VI. On Zinc, or sfielter^and its various useu. 
 
 Zinc combined wit^i gold in equal proportions forms a 
 hard white compound metal, that ad.nits of a fine polish, 
 and may be advantageously manufactured into specula 
 for optical instruments. 
 
 Zinc and Tin melted together form a kind of pewter. 
 
 Spelter and copper readily unite in the fire, provided the 
 combustion of the former be Cdrefully ])revented during 
 th'c process. In this state, it forms a metal distinguished 
 by the name of yellovv copper ; but which is divided into 
 several sorts according to the respective proportions 
 contained in the alloy. Thus three parts of copper and 
 one of zinc, constitute. brass ; five or six of. copper and 
 one of zinc, form ;)i)ichbeck : Tembac is composed of a 
 still larger proportion of copper than pinchbeck, is of a 
 deeper red, and bears the name of its inventor. Printes 
 metal requires a still larger proportion of zinc than either 
 of the preceeding compositions. 
 
 VII. 7o 7nake blue letters on Jwlished sword blades. 
 
 Take a well polished sword blade, and hold it over 
 a charcoal fire till it is blue, then with oil colour write 
 such Ittters, (or make such figures) as you wish should 
 appear, and reman, and let them dry ; theji warm some 
 strong vineijar, and pour all over the l)lade, which will 
 intalliably take oif the blue colour. After this process, 
 a htth common warm water will take off the oil colour, 
 and the letters or figures will appear and remain of a cu- 
 rious and indeliable blue, the same may be done on any 
 polished steel. 
 
 VIII. Method of giving a lustre to Silver. 
 
 Dissolve a quantity of alum in water, so as to make a 
 pretty strong brine, which you must scum vefy caretully ; 
 add some soap to it, and when you want to use it, dip 
 apifce of linen rag in it, and daub it over your pieces of 
 plate. This process will add much to their lustre. 
 
 IX. To extxact Mercury from Lead. 
 
 Take lead filings one pound ; ammoniac salt four oun- 
 ces ; bricks pounded into a powder, th. te pounds. Dis? 
 til this composition in a retort, on a gradual fire. The 
 receiver must be very large, half full of water,and the fir^ 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 13 
 
 wustbe continued for twelve hours, pushing it by degrees^ 
 to the very last. 
 
 X. To preserve fhtorightness of arms* 
 
 Rub them with hart's marrow. Or else, dissolve some 
 alum powder with the strongest vinegar you can find,(that 
 of Montpellier, which serves to make their famous verdi- 
 grease, is the fittest) and rub your arms with it- By these 
 means, they keep for ever bright and shining. 
 
 XI. To ofierate the transmutation of iron into iteel * 
 
 Take beech and willow, burn them together. Whrn in 
 coals, extinguish them, before they are consumed, with 
 'water, or rather, with chamber- lye. Pound them well 
 and sift them through a very fine sieve- Then burn like- 
 wise ox horns, and prepare them the same way. Sift well 
 also soot, vine ashes, burnt shoe ashes, and pomegranate, 
 shell powder, putting aside and separating each drug by 
 itself, and mix them afterwards, when used, in the follow- 
 ing proportions. Coals twelve pounds ; horns ten : 
 shoes, vine soot, and pomegranate, of each equal quanti- 
 ties three pounds, all well mixed together. To make 
 one hundred pounds weight of steel, there is required 
 one hundred and twenty pounds weight o: good, soft Span- 
 ish iron not streaky ; to which if you give the aforemen- 
 tioned dose of the said powders, prepared as directed, and 
 put to the fire, for the space of forty-eight hours, you will 
 get the best steel which can be had, • 
 
 XII. Anotherreceijit for the Same. 
 
 1. Take one bushel of beech coals pulverised and sift- 
 ed alder's coals, thus prepared, one ptck ; vine ashes and 
 soot, both well pulverised and sifted, equal parts, half a 
 peck. Mix well these powders, and stratify your iron bars 
 with them in a crucible well luted ; then give a good fire 
 for twenty-four hours. 
 
 JV B. Observe that you must take care to use new, and 
 not floted wood to make the said ashes. 
 
 2 If you want to have your steel white, you must add 
 to all the above powders one ptck of juniper wo( d ashes. 
 
 3- If you want it purple you must make a lexiviation of 
 vine and shoe ashes, soot and gailic, well pourded, equal 
 parts ; and a sufficient quantity wf wa'er to make the said^ 
 bullitorium, in which you will steep, cold, your iron bars 
 before vou cement them. 
 
 4. You must proportionate the quantity of wind holes.iii 
 
14 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 each kiln, to the quantity of bars, and ot crucibles, for 
 which vou intend tc fit it. 
 
 5. The stratum sufur strattuv ought to be nnadeaninch, 
 or an inch and a half inch thick of powder to each bed. 
 The bars ought to be. ranged cross way one over another ; 
 and large crucibles are to ^e preferred to small ones. 
 You must take care to have them so well luted, as not to 
 allow the least air to find its way in ; for there would 
 result an intire mi<5carriage!ofthe whole operation ; and 
 besides, your poAvder \yould hence lose all its virtue — 
 Sh •■.lid vou likewise letit'^etair before vou make use of it, 
 i| would becom^^.tjuite dead and flat. Therefore, vou are 
 cautioned to keep it alwavs very closely confined in well 
 stopped V sseh, of whatever kind they may be- That 
 ■which comes off fr .m the crucible, after the operation, is 
 not '.yo!*se for havi^ig been thus in use It wants therefore,' 
 nothing but an additional supply of fresh powder joined 
 to it> to make up what is lost or diminished, by the fre- 
 quent handling ot it, in taking it out, and putting it in thd', 
 cruciblf^s again. 
 
 6. The kiln ought to be wide by the inferior part, and 
 go narra vly towards the top, which must end in a conical 
 for n. B\' such means the heat contracted becomes strong, 
 ami acts with infinitely more power- Neither must vou 
 neglect to have it so constructed as to be provided with 
 an ash-hole, or a place underneath wherein the ashes may 
 fall, and several openings to let the wind escape. 
 
 XIII. To g'we iron a temfier to cut fiorfihyry. 
 % 
 Make your iron red hot, .and plunge it in distilled water 
 froo nettles, aca".thus, awr//?2/05e//a,^r mouse ears) or 
 in the very juice pounded out of these plants. 
 
 XiV. To sojten all sorts of metals- 
 
 Take sublimated i^ercurv, euphorbium, borax and am- 
 moniac salt of each equ d pu's pulverised Project some 
 of th-it po.vder over am- metal, w!ien in a state of fusion, 
 and you will obtain the desired effect of making it soft. 
 
 XV A vf-rij hard temper for arins. 
 
 Take nettle juice, bullock's gall, child's water or strong 
 vinegar, and a little salt. Incorpf<rate well all this toge- 
 ther, and plunge any red-hot iron in it« 
 
SECRETS IN At^TS, TRADES &c. 15 
 
 XVI. Ingndimts which serve to the melting of iron. 
 
 Iron is to be melted with anv of the following ingrKli- 
 ents; viz pewter. lead, marcasite, magtACsia, auripigrnent, 
 •antimonv, crowtt glass, sulphur, ammoniac salt, citrine 
 miribolans, green, or fresh pomegranate rinds, &c. &c. 
 
 XVII. Another method to refine fienvter. 
 
 Take fine pewter, and ptJt it into a -crucible When 
 melted project over it, at different times, some nitre, till it 
 comes to a perfect calcination. Repeat this thrte times, 
 pounding the matter into powder which mix with char- 
 COiil dust. Being thus melted, it will resume its former 
 substance of pewter, with this difference, that it wniib^nta| 
 refined to an infinitely superior degree. ^^^ij^^l 
 
 XVIII. To fix Mercury. ^ 
 
 Ik 
 
 Take verdigrease, in powder, which put in a crucible, 
 Make a hole in that powder and place in it a knot of mer- 
 cury previously impregnated with white ofeggs water. Co- 
 ver this knot over with borax, and add again r ver this some 
 more verdigrease and pounded glass, one or two finger's 
 deep. Lute well the lid of the crucible, and i^ve a pretty 
 smart fire, though gradually and not at once, for the 
 space of two hours. 
 
 XIX. To'txtract mercury from lead. 
 
 Take lead and beat itinto sheets, or laminas, very fine. 
 Put these in a glass vessel with common salts, a double 
 quantity of the lead. Cover this well, and bury it under 
 ground for nine days at least. After that time, if you open 
 the vessel again, you will find your lead turned all into 
 running mercury, or quicksilver at the bottom of it. 
 
 XX. The comfiosition ofmetalic mirrors, or looking glas- 
 ses, used among the alicienLs, 
 
 1. Take one pound of decapitated, or well purified cop- 
 per.'which melt, then throw over it three pounds of retin- 
 ed pewter As soon as they shall be b(jth in good fusion, 
 add six ounces oL c-^Jc'uated red tartar, two of arsenic, 
 half an ounce oL«s»^lrpetre, and two drachms of alum. 
 Leave all this inni8i©n together for the space of three or 
 
16 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 four hours that all the salts may well evaporate, then cast 
 this composition in the flat sand mould, prepared for it. 
 
 2. To i^ive these mirrors the requisite polish, proceed 
 as follows. Take the coarsest part away with the wheel 
 over a grinding stone, the same method as the pewterers 
 and braziers do, and then smooth them with water till they' 
 are sufficiently polished by attrition. Take the mirror 
 from that, wheel, and pit it on the wooden one covered 
 with leather, after having rubbed it well with emery, to 
 give it a fine polish, then take it again from this wheel, 
 and put it on another of the same kind, covered with lea- 
 ther, after having previously rubbed your mirror with pre- 
 pared blood stone, and washing it afterwards with magis- 
 ter of pewter. Take notice to make your mirrors observe 
 on both the last leathered wheels, the same oblique direc- 
 tion in turning them, and continue so long till the mirror 
 has acquired a sufficient fineness and brightness. 
 
 Convex and ardent mirrors are rubbed and polished in 
 the same manner. 
 
 XXI. To give, tools such a temfier as mil enable them te 
 sawmarblC' 
 
 Make the tool red hot in the fire, and when red cherry 
 oolour, take it off from the fire, rub it with a piece of can- 
 dle, and steep it immediately in good strong vinegar, ie 
 which you shall have diluted some soot. 
 
 XXII. To soften irony and harden it q/terwards more than 
 it ivas before. 
 
 1 Make a little chink lengthways in an iron bar, in 
 which pour melted lead. Then make it evaporate by a 
 strong fire, as that for copelling. Renew this operation 
 four or five times, and the bar will become very soft. You 
 harden it afterwards in steeping it, when red hot, in mere 
 forge water, and it will be of so good a temper, as to be fit 
 for lancets, and razors and knives, with which you will be 
 able to cut other iron, without its splitting or denting. 
 
 2 It has been found by experience that an armour can 
 npver be good proof against fire arms, if it has not first 
 been softened with oils, gums, wax and other incerative 
 things and afterwards hardened by steeping them several 
 times over in binding waters. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADESr&c. l^ 
 
 XXIII. The transmutation of iron into damask steel. 
 
 You must first purge it of its usual brittleness; and af- 
 ter havnig reduct^d it into filings, aiake it red hot in a cru- 
 cible ; steep it several tiaies in oil of olives, in which yoU 
 shall have before thrown several times melted lead. Take 
 care to cover the vessel in which the oil is contained, eve- 
 ry tinie you throw your steel into it, for fear the oil should 
 catch fire. 
 
 XXIV. To guard iron against rusting. 
 
 Warm your iron till you can no more touch it without 
 burning yourself. Then rub it with new SLud clean white 
 ■wax. Put it again to the fire, till it has soaked in the wax. 
 When doie, rub it over with a piece of serge, and this iron 
 •will never rust. 
 
 XXV. To cut fiebbles with ease. 
 
 Boil it a good while in some mutton suet, and then you 
 will cut it very easily. 
 
 KXVl. ./i projection on co/i/ier. 
 
 1. Take fine pewter two ounces, which you melt in 
 ^ crucible. When melted, throw in it by little at a time 
 fhe same weie.ht of flour of brimstone. Stir every time 
 with a rod, till you see both your pewter and sulphur well 
 calcinated. Then take the crucible out of the fire, and 
 throw in half an ounce of crude mercury. Let it cool, and 
 pulverise this. 
 
 2. Now melt four ounces of molton copper. When in 
 go- id fusion, project on it. by degrees, one ounce of the a- 
 bove powder, stirring carefully, whi^e you do it, with a 
 stick. Leave it thus in fusion for a little while, and then 
 you may use it for making all sorts of plates It is so beau- 
 tiful, that, if you test it on the coppel with lead, it will 
 stand it perfectly. 
 
 XXVU. The fir eparaiions of emery. 
 
 1. Calcine eastern, or Spanish emery, three or four 
 times in the fire ; then let it cool. Pound it and make stra- 
 ta super strata of it, with double the quantity of sulphur- 
 Vivum in powder. Leave this crucible in the furnace with 
 a strong fire during three or four hours. Repeat this pro- 
 cess tour different times over, then reduce your emery 
 Into an impalpable powder. Put it next into a matrassj 
 
la SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec. 
 
 pour over it regnl water, tliat it swim over by three fing- 
 ers deep. Put this in digestion for eight hours. Pour off 
 by inclination your regal water, impregnated with the 
 dye Put new wi.ter on your matter, and set it on digest- 
 ing again for eight other iiours, as the former. Then take 
 your thus tinged waters, which you will mix and put in a 
 retort. Distil most part of it, till you see what remains in 
 the r-: tort is yellow- This is the true oil of emery, in 
 which vou put the bigness of a filbert of camphire. 
 
 2. Exsulphurate in a crucible, on a good fire, and dur- 
 ing two hours, what quantity you please of arsenic. Then 
 take two ounces of the aforesaid oil of emery, one of your 
 exsulphurated arsenic, an equal quantity ot salt of tartar 
 drawn vvith distilled vinegar, two of sublimate, and two of 
 silver ; which you will have dissolved in an aquafortis 
 made with uitie and vitriol. Put all together in a matrass, 
 so large that the composition should occupy no more than 
 a third part of it, cf which you shall have cut the neck c^ff, 
 to obtain a more easy evaporation of the compounds from 
 it. Put this matrass in the sand as high as the m Uter, and 
 give it a moderate fire for two hours, then a strong one 
 for six ; let the fire go out of itself. ' Then you will find 
 your matter .n a stone in the matrass. Take it out, and 
 pound it into powder, projected upon another ounce of 
 salt in fusion ; if you keep it a little while in that state, and 
 throw it afterwards into oil or olives, will increase your 
 gold by a third of its primary quality, and rather more: 
 Ar.ci you may thus increase it again and again, by repeat- 
 ing the same operation. 
 
 XXVIII. To dye in gold silver medals, orlaminas, through 
 ajid through. 
 
 1. This curious operation is performed by means of the 
 admirable sait of Glauber, which is made with nitre and 
 -^ iiriul oil, in the following manner :— Take what quantity 
 you please of nitre salt, pour ( ver it a sj.fficient qu intity of 
 oil kA vitriol, to swim over. When the ebillitions arising 
 from that mixture shall be ended, distil to dryness ; there 
 remains a white salt, known under the name of salt of 
 Glauber. 
 
 2 Dissolve in what quantity of warm water you think 
 prcper, or be in need of, a sufficient quantity of that salt 
 *^s may saturate it, which you know, when you see the war 
 ter can diss< Ive no more of it. In this dissolution put a 
 drachm ct cAx, or, magister of gold. I hen put in digestion 
 in it Silver laminas cut sa.all and thin, for twenty-tour 
 hours, over a verv gentle lire. At the end of that 'erm 
 you will find theni thoiou^lily dyed gold cciour, inside and 
 outside. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 19 
 
 XXIX. To solder iron, or any other metal ivithout fae. 
 
 1. Take one ounce of ammoniac, and one of comiT,on 
 salts ; an equal quantity of calcined tartar, and as much 
 of bell-metal, vvith three our.ces of anlimony. Pcund all 
 together and sift it. Put this into a piece of linen, and in- 
 close it well all round with fuller's earth, about one inch 
 thick. Let it dry, then put it between two crucibles, over 
 a slow fire, to get heat by degrees. Push on the fire till 
 the lump contained in the crucibles becomes quite red 
 hot, and melt all together. Then let the vessels, and the 
 whole, cool gradually, and pound it into powder. 
 
 2, When you want to solder any thing, put the two 
 pieces you want to join on a table, approaching* their ex- 
 tremities as near as. vou can one to another. Make a 
 crust of fuller's earth so, that holding to each piece, and 
 passing under the joint, it should be open over it on the 
 top. Then throw some of your powder between and over 
 the joint. Have again some borax, whicli put into hot 
 wine till this is consumed, and with a feather rub your 
 powder at the place of the joint ; you will see it immedi- 
 ately boiling. As soon as the boiling stops, the consolida- 
 tion is made. If there be any roughness, you must smooth- 
 en it, by rubbing with a grinding stone, for the file will 
 have no power over it, 
 
 XXX. To solder with fre. 
 
 Make a paste of pulverised chalk and gum water, 
 which put around the two broken pieces placed on a table., 
 prepared as before- mentioned in the preced ng receipt. 
 The only difference is, that you are to rub over the two 
 united extn-mities with melted soap ; and, after having 
 thrown some of the above powder at the place of the 
 joint, hold a kindled piece of charcoal over it. This will 
 immediately set the matter in fusion, which is no sooner 
 done, but you may take off the paste, and you will find it 
 consolidated. 
 
 XXXI. To 7nake borax. 
 
 Take two ounces of roch-alum, dilute it, and mix it 
 with two out^ces of alkaline salt, which is used in making 
 of glass Put al' into a pewter pot, and set it a-doing, for 
 the space of half an hour, over a gentle fire ; then take it 
 out of the water. Take next two ounces of gem salt in 
 powder, as much of alkaline salt, two pounds of virgin 
 honey, and one of cow milk. Mix well all together, ai'd 
 set it in the sun for three days. Then the borax is done. 
 
20 SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, &c. 
 
 XXXIL To render iron as white and beautiful as siiv&r. 
 
 Take ammoniac salt in powder, and mix it with an 
 equal quantity of quick lime. Put them all together into 
 cold water, and mix well. When done, any iron piece, 
 which you shall have made red hot, will, if you steep it in 
 that prepared water, become as white as silver. 
 
 » 
 XXXIII. To calcine /leiufer, and render it as white and as 
 hard as silver. 
 
 Melt well your pewter in a crucible, so. that it may be 
 very fine and clear. Pour it afterwards into a very strong 
 vinegar, then into mercurial water. Repeat that opera- 
 tion as many times as you please, you will each time give 
 it an additional degree of hardness and whiteness, drawing 
 near to silver ; so much, that it will at last be very diffi- 
 Qult to distinguish it from silver itself* 
 
 XXXIV. To whiten brass. 
 
 Brass, copper, iron or steel, may also be easily whitened 
 by means of the butter from Cornwall tin, or pewter, 
 prepared with subhmate, proceeding as follows. 
 
 Take Cornwall pewter, about one pound ; add to it half 
 that quantity of sublimate. Set it on a strong fire, and 
 sublime. Throw away the first water. The second is 
 good, which you know by its white colour. Now, if you 
 make a piece of copper.' brass, steel, or iron, it does not 
 signify which, red hot, and steep it in that water, it will 
 become as white as silver. 
 
 XXXV. To extract gold from silver 
 
 1. Melt whatever quantity you please of lead, in a cru- 
 cible, over a fire of clear and bright live-coals. Have at 
 the same time in fusion an equal quantity of sulphur. 
 Then take your first crucible, in which the lead is melted, 
 off from the fire ; and, before the lead shall congeal, throw 
 in the same quantity in weight of quicksilver. Stir and 
 mix well this with a stick. When this is done, pour your 
 sulphur, from the other crucible, over the mixture of lead 
 and quicksilver you have just made, and which coagulates, 
 continually stirring carefully the matter with a spatula, 
 for fear the sulphur should blaze and be consumed, before 
 it is all poured in. When the v^hole is come quite cold, 
 grind it on a marble table with a mullar. Then put all 
 again into a crucible over the fire, and leave it in fusion 
 till all the sulphur is burnt out, and the matter be fluiii 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec 21 
 
 enough to be cast in an ingot. This will look like the re- 
 gulus of melted anii;nony. It will have even its brittleness. 
 2. Reduce this composition into powder, and with au 
 eqn il quantity in weight of it and of sdver laminas make 
 Virata tiu/icr strata of them, alterraately, in a crucible, be- 
 gintung and ending always with the powder. I'hen over 
 the last bed, put about halt an inch thick of Venetian 
 glass, or crystal, reduced into an impalpable powder. 
 Observe however that the crucible should not be filled so 
 near the brim as to let the glass boil over. Make a fire 
 strong enough to melt both the matters and the glass, and 
 set them thus in fusion all together for an hour at least. 
 Then take off, and let cool, your regulus ; in bn aking 
 your crucible, make a coppel or test, in which you will 
 put lead in tusion, till it is as fluid as it can be. Throw in 
 your reguius to purify it by that test, in the same nianner 
 as silver- smiths do. When your silver shall be fallen to 
 the bottom very pure, put in laminas, or granulate it ; then 
 put it to dissolve in aquafortis. You will see some small 
 particles of fine gold precipitating from it, in the f(.rm of 
 black powder. Wash these in warm water, then put 
 them in tusion, in a crucible, and you will have true jjieces 
 of good gold, fit for any of the chymical physics, and 
 sapable to stand any test. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 SECRETS FOR THE COMPOSITION OF VARNISHES, &e. 
 
 I. A gold varnish. 
 
 TAKE karabe, or amber, eight ounces, and two of guir,- 
 lac. Melt first the karabe.in a varnished earthen p< t,or 
 in the retort of an alembic, over a ve. y stn^ng fire. Vv hen 
 this is melted.throw in the gum-lac,ai.d let this melt in the 
 same manner. Then take some of the fire oif, and let it 
 cool ; observing with a stick, whether the mattt r has got 
 all Its fluidity. Mix mit six or eight ounces of turpentine'oiL 
 Keep stirring, in order to incorporate well this oil with 
 the rest. Add also a spoonful or lintseed oil, prepared 
 ■with /;t/iartca-al< es, which, in order to reduce to the thick- 
 ness ot a syrup, mix with a sufficient quantity of oil of 
 turpentine tinged with rocou. 
 C2 
 
22 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec 
 
 II. How to firefiare the lintseed oil with the hefiatica-alo&s]^ 
 
 Jor the above fiurfiose. 
 
 Prepare the lintseed oil with hepaiica-aloes, by mixing 
 four ounces of this in powder, with one pound ot the said 
 oil, over the fire, till it has acquired the consistence of a 
 very thick syrup, and you see your oil beginning to scum, 
 and to swell much. Then pass it through a piece of linen, 
 let it cool, and bottle it, to keep for the above mention- 
 ed use. 
 
 III. I'd draw the tincture ofrocou, used in the compodtio?^ 
 
 of the above varnish. 
 
 In order to draw the tincture of rocou, put four ounces 
 of it in oil of turpentine. Set this ovf r a genii, fire, in the 
 retort of an alembic, and, as soon as the oil begins to boil, 
 take it from the fire, stir it well with a stick, and filter it 
 through a paper, to use it as directed before- 
 
 IV. A varnish jor icing. 
 
 Concoct some turpentine with water and white wine, 
 %T brandy. When concocted, dissolve it in wine and oil of 
 turpentine. 
 
 V. jln excellent varnish- 
 
 m 
 
 Take'what quantity you please of verdigrease, grind it 
 •with vinegar, put it in a piece of dough, as you would aa 
 apple to make a dumpling. Bake it in an oven as bread ; 
 then cut open your dumpling, and get the verdigrease out 
 of it. Mix it with wine, and use it Lay over it a coat of 
 four ounces of gum arabic, then polish as usual You wiU 
 find it will answer your expectation, and be a very fine 
 tarnish. 
 
 VI. For colouring and preserving gates, poles, barns, iJfe. 
 
 Melt twelve ounces of rosin into an iron pot or kettle : 
 add three gallons of train oil, and three or four rolh of 
 brimstone. When the rosin and brimstone are melted., 
 and become thin, add as much Spanish brown, or red or 
 yellow oker (or any other colour you want, ground fine, 
 as usual with o\],) as will give the whole as deep a shade 
 as you like. Then lay it on a brush as hot and as thin as 
 you can. Some days after the first coat is dried, give it a 
 second. It is well attested that this will preseve planle 
 iti ages. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 23 V 
 
 VIL A red varnish. 
 
 1. Take three ounces of gum lac, half an ounce of san~ 
 darak, as much of mastich \n dmp, and a pint of French 
 spirit of wine. Put all in a matrass, which you must take 
 care to lute well with potter'^ clay, and stop with paper. 
 Have a large iron kettle, two parts of which shall be fil- 
 led with sand Place the ktttle over the coals, and lay 
 the matrass on the sand. — Get the composition to boil in 
 that situation for three hours, Strain it through a shter- 
 cloth bottle and stop it well, and keep it frr use. 
 
 2. To make this varnish red, yon put one ounce of ver- 
 milion to SiX of the said varnish. But to dilute the vermil- 
 ion, you must begin b\ pouring, first some oil of aspic over 
 it and then the six ounces of varnish, which will take 
 near a quarter of an hour to mix well together. 
 
 3 O^jserve thnt the wood on which you want to lay it, 
 has been first well polished. Rub it again besides with a 
 pounce stone and vinegar, that all the pores may be 
 •well filled, and should appear no more. Thtn lay with a 
 brush, first a coat of simple varnish, without verndlion. 
 Let this dry ; put on n^ xt your second coat, of that which 
 is prepart^d with the vermihon ; then a third and a 
 fourth, according as you want it of a more or less deep 
 red- 
 
 VHI. A black varnish. g 
 
 1. Take gum-lac, four ounces ; sandarak and black ro- 
 sin, equal quantities one ounce of each. Pulverise all 
 separately, and keep them distinct, to pn^ceed after- 
 ■wards in their mixture according to the following direc- 
 tions. Dissolve the rosin over the fire in a snfficient 
 quantity of spirit of wine, then add the sandarak to it. 
 A*^ soon as this is also dissolved, add the powder of gum- 
 lac, and stir well till all is melted together. — Strain it 
 %vhi!e warm, through a cloth. If any thing remain in 
 
 ^the linen afterwards, add some more spirit of wine, 
 to dissolve it as before, and strain it again. 
 
 2. The black colour is given to it by means of /we dr(t- 
 ehms only of ivory black to every two ouncea- 
 
 IX. To make ivory black/or the above fiur pose. 
 
 Burn any quantity of ivory you please, in the fire till 
 it is black. Put it into powder on a stone of porphyry. 
 Add some water to it, and make a paste, which you let 
 <ry. Then grind it again, as before, with spirit of wine. 
 
24 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. 6cc, 
 
 X. A varnish forjloors. 
 
 Put a little petroly or rnck oil with varnish and tur- 
 pentine, and stir well. Lay it on your floors with an old 
 hair oroom, after having mixed in it the colour you want 
 them to be. 
 
 XI. A varnish from Flanders- 
 
 Take scthereal oil of turpentine, and Venice turpen- 
 tine equal parts. Mix them over a moderate fire, and 
 use this boilii;g. 
 
 XII. A varnish to lay en canvas sashes. 
 
 Take fine and clear turpentir.e, four ounces ; oil of 
 nuts, two. Melt all together over a fire, and when it 
 begins to boil, tcum it, and use it hot with a brush. 
 
 XII J. A varnish oj shell lac for pictures. 
 
 1. Take spirit of wine, one pound ; pickled shell-lac, 
 five ounces ; sandarak,twoand a halt ; while karabe and 
 mastich, equal parts, two drachms of each. 
 
 2 First boil and skim the shell-lnc and sandarak togeth- 
 cr, to have them the whiter. Then add the mastich and 
 karabe to that, an I put all in a aiatrass over a sand tire, 
 to dige^ and concoct together by a gentle heat. 
 
 XIV- Another varnish for pictures. 
 
 Take four ounces of gum arabic, the clearest and 
 whitest you ca^ find Put it to infuse in a pound of water, 
 over e'l'.ber ashes, for one nigh'.. Strain it in the morning 
 through a cloth, havini^ added the bulk of a nut of Nar- 
 bnnne-honevj and half that quantity of sugar candy. It 
 is not to be used with a brush. 
 
 XV- Another sort. < 
 
 Take aquavits, sugar-candy, and white of eggs, a rea- 
 sonable quant ty of each. Beat all well together to a froths 
 Underneath is a liquor, that is your varnish. You may 
 lay it with a soft brush on any sort of picture. 
 
 XVI. The Chinese varnish. 
 t. Take pulverised and sifted sealing wax two ounces. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 25 
 
 I Put it in a matrass, with four ounces of turpentine oil. 
 Give a trentle fire that all mav nnelt Jf the wax be red, 
 you need add nothing but the oil If black, some lamp- 
 black is requisite to be added «itill. And with this first 
 composition, you lav on the first coat. 
 
 2. Next to this have aloes and karabe, of each two 
 ounces. Dissolve this in a varnished pipkin, along with 
 twelve ounces of lifstseed oil, till all is well incorporated- 
 There will fall a ground to the bottom, over which will 
 
 I swim a very fine and transparent liquor. Oi this\ou 
 are to make your second coat of varnish, laying it over 
 the other after it is dry. 
 
 I XVII. Toimitatejasfier, or variegated black marble. 
 
 Take suljihur vivum, quick lime, aquafortis^ and the 
 green rind of walnuts, one ounce of each. D.lute all to- 
 gether, then lay it with a brush on what you want to be 
 jaspered, whether a column, a table, or -any thing else. 
 This done, put your table or colunm, &c thus black- 
 ened, in a dunghill for the space of twelve days, and then 
 take it out again, you will find it well veined and varie- 
 gated- To give it a fine gl' ss, rub it with a varnish com- 
 posed as prescribed hereafter, see Art- xix. 
 
 XVIII. Another ivay. 
 
 Make a large ball, w ith the drugs prescribed in the 
 above receipt, to conr.pose > our black. Lay it for a wt ek 
 in a dunghill. When by that means it is well variega- 
 ted, rub your intended piece oi furniture with it. 
 
 XIX. An excellent varnish to give a fine gloss to jasper 
 orvadcgattd black marble. 
 
 Take oil of spikenard, three ounces ; sandarak, well 
 picked and clean, two. Have a new earthen pot well 
 glazed-' bet it before the fire a warming, without any 
 thing in it. When hot, throw in it one half of the san- 
 darak, and one half of the oil. Stir it well, lest it should 
 burn, or stick to the pot. — When it is nearly melted, 
 throw in the remainder of the oil and sandarak. When 
 all is well dissolved and mixed, add a piece of camphire, 
 to take away the smell of this composition, and let it dis- 
 solve ; then bottle and stop it for use. It requires to be 
 used hot. 
 
 XX. A varnish which dries in two hours time. 
 
 Melt four ounces of yellow amber, in a new eartheB 
 
26 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c, 
 
 pan, over kindled coals. Take care, in that operation^ 
 that the fire should but just reach and touch the bi ttom 
 of the pan, and none should rise along the sides. Never 
 cease to stir, from the moment it is melted, with a 
 deal stick, add directly one ounce of sealing wax. As 
 soon as this is also melted, add half an ounce of lintseed 
 oil, previously thickened with a little gold htharge, then 
 take it off from the fire, and stir it as before.— When 
 the matter bea^ins to be a lit'le cold, then is the time of 
 adding what quantity of turpentine oil you find necessary, 
 
 XXI. A varnish for copfierfilatefirints. 
 
 Prepare water with some isinglass. Lay, with a very 
 soft brush, a coat of this on the print. Next to this, lay 
 another ot the folio-wing varnish— True French spirit pf 
 win-, half a pound ; gum elemi, two drachms, and san- 
 darak, three. .- 
 
 XXII. jln ad?nirable varnish' 
 
 Take white mastich and lintseed oil, what quantity you 
 please ; a little turpentine, pounded glass, burnt verdi- 
 greuse and pounded amber. Boil and melt all together 
 in a new earthen pot- When done you will find it to be 
 an admirable varnish. 
 
 XXIII. A varnish fit to lay on all sorts of colours. 
 
 Take one ounce of white amber, half an ounce of spirit 
 of turpentine, four ounct- s of rectified spirit of wine, (the 
 true French sort) one drachm of mastich, and as much 
 of juniper gum. Put all together to infuse for eight days. 
 Evaporate two parts of it over a gentle fire. What re- 
 mains is a vai'nish fit for laying on all sorts of colours, and 
 which will hurt, spoil, or damage none. 
 
 XXIV. A varnish known under'the afifidlation o-^'Beaume^ 
 blanc, or white balm. 
 
 Take spirit of wine, four ounces ; gum lac, half an 
 ounce ; sandarak, two drachms ; mastich, one. Pulverise 
 the ingredients, and put them, with the spirit of wine, in 
 a square bottle, large enough to be but half full, after the 
 wh'>le is in it — Dissolve this over a slow firejand take care 
 the bottle be well stopped. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Ike, '2Y 
 
 XXV. ji varnish to be used on filaistery and any sort of 
 
 materials. 
 
 To the varnish of copal and spirit of wine, only add 
 some calcined chalk* 
 
 XXVI. ^71 excellent varnish^ in which may be puty and 
 diluted, whatever colour you like — It suits equally well 
 goldsmiths and limners. 
 
 Take aspic and turpentine oils, of each one ounce ; clean 
 picked sandarak pulverised, tour drachms ; gum copal, 
 two. The whole being well pulverised, put it along with 
 your oils in a matrass, with the addition of halt a pouTid of 
 spirit ot wine ; and ;>et it in a balneo marice. When the 
 matter is dissolved, strain and keep it for use, in a glass 
 bottle well stopped. 
 
 XXVII. A Chinese varnish suitable to all the sorts of 
 
 colours, 
 
 1. Take one ounce of white amber, one quarter of an 
 ounce of sandarak, as nniich of gum copal. Pound these 
 together, and put them in a matrass, perfr ctly dry. To 
 every ounce pounded and niiKed thus together, put three 
 ounces of spirit ot wme- Stop well the matrass with a rag, 
 some paste made with fl ur, and then another rag well 
 tied over. Boil the varnish thus, over ember ashes, tdl 
 the whole is dissolved : apply it as follows : 
 
 2. The piece intended for varnishin^^ being previously 
 ■well polish> d, you lay on it the proposed colour or colours, 
 diluted in aguavifcCy with some isinglass. When these are 
 dry, pass on thein two or three coats, according to discre- 
 tion ; allowing; proper time between each coat of varnish 
 tt) .Iry ; and, when dry. polish it with olive oil and tripoly, 
 then rub the oil with a rag. 
 
 JVote if you intend this varnish for miniature pictures, 
 you are to make an addition ot equal parts of gum copal 
 and white amber. 
 
 XXVIII. Chinese varnish, fiarticularly calculated for 
 
 miniature painting. 
 
 Take one ounce of white karabe, or amber ; and one 
 drachm of camphire, reduced into a subtile ptwder, and 
 put in a matrass, with five ounces of spirit ot wine. Set it 
 in the sun to infuse, during the hottest- days-, stir it two or 
 
28 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 three times a-day. After a fortnight's infusing thus, put 
 the matrass, for one hour, over hot ashes ; then pass all 
 through a cloth, and keep it in a bottle well corited' 
 
 XXIX. How to inake a red with varnish, of a much higher 
 hue than coral itself. 
 
 Take Spanish vermilion, grind it on a marble with 
 brandv, and add to it the sixth or eighth part of 1 ic. Wheni 
 done, mix this composition with as much varnish as you 
 may find it requisite to apply. ^ 
 
 XXX. To make it gridelin colour^ 
 
 Dilute with your varnish some blue verditure, lake, anS 
 -whitening. 
 
 XXXI. To make it green. 
 
 Substitute for the above ingredients, German green vet- 
 diture, pewter in grain, and white lead. 
 
 XXXII. Another way for the safne. 
 
 Grind, with water, on a marble stone, the finest orpine 
 you can find, and a little indigo. Let it dry, then pound 
 and niix it with varnish. 
 
 XXXllI. To make it yellow. 
 
 Take some Naples yellow, and mix it well with yout 
 varnisti ; then use it 
 
 XXXIV. To make it blue. 
 
 Take ultramarine, lake, and whitening, and proceed as 
 ordered in the other receipts above mentioned. 
 
 XXXV. Another sort of varnish. 
 
 Take shell-lac in grains, two ounces ; two of sandarak; 
 black rosin, two drachms ; and spirit of wine, one quar- 
 ter. Dissolve and prepare the whole as above. 
 
 XXXVI. A transfiaren: varnish fit for all sorts ofcoloun. 
 
 Take oil of nuts, aad a little of the finest Venice turpen- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 29 
 
 line. Boil them together. Add a little brandy to it, and 
 boil it also. Should the varnish prove too thick, thin it 
 with an additional quantity of oil Make use of a very soft 
 brush, and lay it carefully over the colours, 
 
 XXXVII. To make sashes with cloth which mil be very 
 transfiarent. 
 
 Take fine white cloth ; the finer, the niore transparent 
 the sashes will be. Fix the cloth very tight on a frame. 
 Then make some starch with flour of rice, and lav a coat 
 of it, as smooth as you can. on both side - your cloth, with 
 a stifFbrush ; let it dry- Then the following varnish, with 
 a soft brush, having care to lay it on as equally possible- 
 
 XXXVIiy. The varnish fit for the above sashes. 
 
 1. Take of the finest and whitest wax you can find, six 
 pounds ; of the finest and clearest Venice turpentine, two ; 
 one and a half of the most perfect lintseed oil. Have a new 
 and varnished pipkin, larger, at least by one third, than is 
 requisite to contain all these ingredients. Put first, in this 
 pot, the lintseed and turpentine oils together, and set it 
 over a small charcoal fire. 
 
 When this begms to be a little warm, put in the wax, 
 cut in small bits, and take care to mix all well with a clean 
 stick, till the wax is thoroughly incorporated with the 
 rest. 
 
 2 Now take the pot off from the fire, and. while this 
 composition is still a little warm, give a coat of it on both 
 sides, prepared as before directed, and let it dry in the 
 shade. 
 
 J^ote. You may render your sashes still more transpa- 
 rent, if, on both sides of them, you lay a smooth coat of 
 the following varnish, with a soft brush. 
 
 XXXIX. Af.Tie ivhitc varnish. 
 
 Take one pound of fine Venice turpentine, and as much 
 of spirit of turpentine. Put this in a glass matrass, larger, 
 at least by a third, than is wanted to contain the matter. 
 Stop this matrass with another smaller matrass. The neck 
 of which is to enter into that of the former. Have care 
 to lute well both necks together, with paste and paper ; 
 and when the luting has acquired a perfect dryness, set 
 the first matrass on a sand bath, then set the varnish a- 
 hoiling for near an hour, after which take it off from the 
 fire, and let it cool. When cold, bottle and stop it for use. 
 
 Note, Turpentine well purified from all its greasy parts, 
 is the best and fittest to make the varnish for sashes. 
 D 
 
30 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES,. &c. 
 
 XL. A varnish to fir event the rays of the sun from fias 
 sing through the panes of nvindoiv-glasses. 
 
 Pound gum adragant into powder, and put it to dissolve, 
 for twenty-four hours, in whites of eggs, well beaten. Lay 
 a coat of this on the panes of your windows, with a soft 
 brush, and let it dry- 
 
 XLI. To raise a relief on varnish. 
 
 1. Dissolve one ounce and a half of gum arable in two 
 pounds of water. Grind with it bol armeniac and whiten- 
 ing, on a porphyry stone, till all is well united and incor- 
 porated — With this composition fill up the vacancies be- 
 tween the outhnes of your design, and form, as it is pro- 
 per, the various reliefs, with the suitable proportions, and 
 according to the sorts of things you are to imitate or re- 
 present. Then smooth the parts, and let it dry. 
 
 2. Next have ready prepared, in shells, the different 
 sorts of metals which you want to use, diluted with gum- 
 water ; and, with a pencil, cover what places you are to 
 cover- When this is also dry, burnish it skilfully with an 
 ivory tooth, and lay a coat ofclear varnish over the whole. 
 A moderate heat is required for a moment, to help that 
 varnish to dry. 
 
 XLII To render silk stuff's transfiarejit, after the Chinese 
 ma7iner ; and fiaint tlum imth transfiarent colours like- 
 rvise^ in imitation of the India manufactured silks. 
 
 Take two pounds of oil of turpentine, very clear ; add 
 to it two ounces of mastich in grain, and the bulk of a fil- 
 bert of cair.phire. Let this dissolve by a gentle heat, then 
 strain it through a cloth Ot this oil lay one coat, or two, 
 en both sides of your stuff. Allow, however a sufficient 
 time between each coat, tor each to dry, and let the se- 
 cond lie two days on before you touch the stuff again- 
 Whsu that time is over, draw the oulhnes of your design, 
 and flowers, &c cover this with a preparation of lamp- 
 black and gum- water. Then fill the intervals with the 
 intended and proper colours, suitable to the purpose, and 
 \vh)Ch oighr to be all transparent colours, diluted with a 
 clear varnish. When this is done, and dry, lay on both 
 the right and the wrong sides of the stuff another coat of 
 clear varnish. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 31 
 
 LXIII. To make a transparent blue huc^ for the above 
 purpose. 
 
 Take nine drachms of ammoniac salt ; j,ixof verdigrease, 
 distilled and exficcated. Put both these into powder- Di- 
 lute these powders with tortoise oil. Put this on a very 
 thick glass, which stop well, and set over hot ashes for a 
 week. — After that time your colour will be fit for use, and 
 make your drawings with the clear varnish, as directed in 
 the preceding article- 
 
 XLLV. To make a transparent xjelloiv hue^for the same 
 7ise. 
 
 Take a new laid egg of that veiy day, make a hole in the 
 shelhto draw the white out of it. Replace,by the same hole, 
 ■with the yolk, two drachms of quicksilver, and as much of 
 am moniac salt ; then stop the hole with wax Set that egg 
 in hot dung, or over a lamp fire, for four or five and twenty 
 days. When that time is over, break the egg, ar.d you will 
 fijjd a very fine transparent yellow, fit for the use abo^- 
 mentioned. 
 
 XLV. To make a transparent green. 
 
 Take verdigrease, gold litharge, and quicksilver, equal 
 parts. Grind the whole in a mortar, withthe urjneol a child. 
 Fm it next into a bottle, and set it over a gentle and slow fire, 
 for the space of seven or eight days. This composition will 
 give a v( rv fine transparent green, for the above purpose. 
 
 ^o^f. We have given in the Sixth Chapter, several re- 
 ceipts for the composition of sundry transparent colours. 
 We shall therefore take the liberty thither to refer the 
 reader, for more ample satisfaction, and the completion of 
 the abovenientioned operation. 
 
 XLVI. 7b give the abovetnentioned painted silks all the 
 smell and fragrancy of the India ones. 
 
 It is well known, that the silk, and other things, we re- 
 ceive from India, are all tamted with a certain particular 
 smell, and agreeable fragrancy, which being their peculiar, 
 distinctive, and most obvious character, it not imitated also, 
 vyould help not a little in ruining the deception intended by 
 the above labour. To imitate therefore, even this, you must 
 observe the following direction. Have a small closet, if it 
 be for works at large ; or only a fine basket with a top to 
 it, playing upon hinges, stuffed and lined all over in the in- 
 
32 SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, &c. 
 
 side, if it be for one single piece of silk. Put in either of 
 them, and according to their extent, a proportionable quan- 
 tity of cloves, whole pepper, mace, nutmeg, all- spice, cam- 
 phire.&c.&c. Put your works among those ingredients.and 
 keep either the closet or the basket perfectly close shut, till 
 you see the*'- have received a tull impression from the odoui' 
 of those ingredients. 
 
 N B. With the various compositions of vsrnishes, and 
 preparations of colours, we have just given, there is ai;-nost 
 no sort of works, coming from the Indies, but can be per- 
 formed and imitated. 
 
 XLVII. The true receifit of the English varnish, such as 
 is laid on sticks and artijicial raade canes. 
 
 Smoothen and polish well your sticks ; then rub them, or 
 your artificial made canes, with a paste made of flour Then 
 having diluted in water a discretional quantity of Flennsh 
 glue and red orpine, give one coat of this, verv smooth and 
 equal, to your sticks. If after this is dry, you do not think 
 it sufficient, give them another, and let them dry Then, 
 gite them a third coat of clear varnish, made with tur- 
 pentine and spirit ot wine. After this is done, put a-soaking 
 in an equal quantity of water and chamber- lye, some turn- 
 sol, cut very small. With this colour you touch your sticks, 
 or canes, here and there with a hair brush. Then holding 
 them perpendicular, on their small ends, between both 
 your hands, ycu roll them quick and brisk, (aswhen you mill 
 chocolate) in contrary senses. This operation gives them 
 a negligent and natural like marbling, over which you are 
 to lay another coat of varnish, and set them to dry. 
 
 XLVIII. AJine varnish for all sorts of colours. 
 
 1. Take two pounds of double rectified spirit of wine j 
 seed lac, four ounces ; sandirak, as much ; gum copal, 
 one. Set all a dissolving on hot ashes, in a matrass, or a 
 vessel with a long neck. When perfectly dissolved, 
 strain it through a jelly bag, made of new cloth. Mix 
 with that which shall have strained out of the bag, one 
 spoonful of oil of turpentine ; then bottle and stop it well, 
 and set it in the sun- There will happen a separation, and 
 a certain coarser part will shew itself at the bottom, while 
 another more clear will appear syimming on the top. 
 Divide carefully, by inclination, the clearest from the 
 thickest part. 
 
 2. This last you may u.sewith finelampblack, well picked 
 and free from all sorts of hard knobs.to make a black colour 
 varnish. With it you rub whatsver you want tobevarnished. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. S3 
 
 andiay one, two, or three coats of it, more or less, accord- 
 ing as you think proper, letting it dry between each coat. 
 And, when this is done, you put of fhe first separated 
 clear part of your varnish, as iTiUCh as you find requisite 
 to give your work a fine lustre. 
 
 N. B. It is proper there should be some fire so near to 
 the work, as it nnay receive irom it some gentle heat 
 ■while all this is performing ; and when ihe whole is well 
 executed, you must let dry in the shade what is varnished, 
 and guard it agamst the dust. 
 
 3. if, instead of black, you want a red colour, you must 
 from the very beginning of the operation, join some taca^ 
 mahaca gum with the spirit of wme of double rectifica- 
 tion abovementioned ; and, in lieu of lampblack, in the 
 second part of the operation, you put some cinnabar in 
 powder. Then, when you have done with laying the sev- 
 eral coats of varnish, in which the cinnabar is, you put in 
 the clear varnish, which is destined to make the last coats 
 for lustring, some dragon's blood in tears. 
 
 4, You may put, in the same manner, whitening in your 
 varnish, if you want it white ; or verdigrease, if you want 
 it green ; and so on any other colour you want it to be, 
 proceeding, in respect to each of them, as before directed 
 for the others. 
 
 N. B. These varnishes when dry, do all require to be 
 polished. For that purpose, take a cloth, dip in tripoly, 
 and rub, with moderation, over the last coat of varnish, 
 till you find it has acquired a sufficient degree of lustre 
 and equalit)'. 
 
 XLIX, ^ varnish to lay on^ after the mnglass. 
 
 Take spirit of wine, four pounds ; white amber, four- 
 teen ounces ; mastich, one ; sand^rak, seven. Put all in 
 digestion for twenty-four hours. Ihen, set the matrass- 
 on the sand, and give the fire for three hours, till all is 
 perfectly dissolved. Add after four ouixes ot turpen- 
 tine oil. 
 
 L. A varnish to gild with, without gold- 
 Take half a pint of spirit of wine, in which dissolve one 
 drachmot saffron, and half a diachm of dragon's blood, both 
 previously well pulverised together. Add this to a cer- 
 tain quantity of shell lac varnish, and set it on the fire, 
 with two drachms of socco trine aloes. *'" 
 
 LI. ^ varnish water-proof. 
 
 1. Take lintseed oil, the purest you can find put it in ?. 
 D2 
 
34 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 well glazed pipkin, over red hot charcoals, in a chafing- 
 dish. With that oil add, while a warming, about the 
 fourth part of its weight in rosin. Make all dissolve to- 
 gether, and boil gently, lest it should run over the pot. At 
 first the oil will turn all into a scum ; but, continuing to 
 let it boil, that scum will insensibly wasie itself, and dis- 
 appear at last. Keep up the fire till taking a little of that 
 oil with a stick, you see it draw to a threadlike as varnish 
 does. Tlien take it off from the fire. But if, trying it thus, 
 it prove too thin, add some more rosin to it, and continue 
 to boil it. 
 
 2. When it is come as it ought to be, varnish whatever 
 you want with it, and set it in the sun to dry, or before the 
 ifire, for it cannot dry without the assistance of either 
 of these. 
 
 N. B This composition of varnish has this particular 
 property, viz- that if you lav it on wooden wares, hot wa- 
 ter itself cannot hurt it, nor have the least power on it. 
 You may therefore make a very extensive use of it- But 
 you must take care to choose the fiiiest and most perfect 
 rosin, and to boil it well for a long time. 
 
 Qu' re- Would not such varnish be extremely useful to 
 preserve what is muck exposed to the injuries of the 
 weather, in gardens and elsewhere, such as sashes, stat- 
 ues, frames, hot-houses, 4cc. 
 
 Lll. Callot's varnishy mentioned in Chafi. I. fi- 5. 
 
 1. Take two ounces of the finest lintseed oil ; benjaminj, 
 in drops, twod.achms; virgin wax, the bulk of a filbert. 
 Boil all his together, till it is reduced to one chird ; and, 
 while it is a boiling, never cease lo stir with a little stick. 
 When done, bottle, or put it in a laree mouthed vessel. 
 
 2 To use that variii>h, war n a I ttle the plate vou in- 
 tend to engrave upon ; ai)d taking a littie of the varnish 
 with the tip of your finger, spread ii delicately over the 
 plate. Observe to put as little of it as you can, and to lay it 
 on as smooth and equal as possi!)!e. When done, smoke 
 the plate on the varnishec sid , with a candle, passing 
 and repassinvj it gently over the fiane of it, till it is black 
 ^very where- Set it atj^ain.row, on the chafingdish, wherein 
 there ar-" kindled charcoals; and uhen the plate has done 
 fuming, then the varnish is si flBciently hardened You 
 may then chalk, dra.w and etch, whatever you will on it. 
 
 Such is the true receipt of the varnish, which the fa- 
 mous Callof made use of to engrave his most adcQired 
 aad truly admirable subjects. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 35 
 
 LIII. A varnish to lay on fiafier. 
 
 Begin by laying on your paper one first coat of very 
 clear and thin size. This being dry, melt three parts 
 of oil of spike and one of rosin together ; and, when 
 come to the consistence of a varnish, you lay one second 
 and light coat ot this over the first made with size. This 
 varnish is very fine, when very smoothly and equally laid 
 
 OD. 
 
 LIV. Another varnish. 
 
 Take mastich and sandarak, equal parts, of each 
 two ounces. Pound them into a fine powder. Have three 
 ounces of lintseedoil, and as much of spirit of wine, in 
 which being mixed, you put your powders. Set this in a 
 well stopped matrass, in a balneo mariea, to boil and con- 
 coct together for one hour ; and this varnish is done. 
 
 LV. L*Abbe Mulct's varnish. 
 
 Take of spike oil, one ounce, pulverised sandarak, half 
 an outice. Put all in a bottle, and set it in the sim till per- 
 fectly dissolved. This composition is particularly fit. to 
 varnish gold or silver,in shell, which has been laid on with 
 a hair pencil. 
 
 LVI. A varnish to layover filaister works, or figures. 
 
 Take fine white Alicante soap, rasp it fine, and put it 
 in a glazed pipkin. Dissolve that soap, in the pipkin, 
 with your finger and a littl ^ water, added gradually, and 
 little at a time, till it comes thick and milky. Cover this, 
 for fear dust should come to it, and let it rest so for seven 
 or eight days- Take, next, a soft and short hairy brushy 
 dip it in this soapy preparation, and wash the plaister fig- 
 ure all over with it, then set it a drying- When dry, rub it 
 gently with a pieceotcloth,placing yourself between it and 
 the light, that you may perceive better the places which 
 take the polish ; when done thus every where, your statue 
 will appear as white, shiny, and beautiful, as alabaster. 
 
 LVII. A very fine red varnish, 
 
 1. Take oil of spike, one pound, and litharge as much. 
 Boil bt)th together, for one quarter of an hour, in order 
 to clarify the oil, or, what is called, ungreasing it. When 
 thus clarified, take one pound of it, and six ounc -sof shell- 
 lac^ which melt together in a matrass, or a varnished 
 
36 SECRETS )N ARTS, TRADES, ace. 
 
 pipkin. Then» dilute it in some cinnabar, which had pre- 
 viously been grinded on a stone with, chamber-lye> and 
 the varnish is done. 
 
 2. Of this composition, lay first three or four coats on 
 your work, and allow tinne sufficient, between each coat, 
 to dry, when the last is given, lay on another of pure and 
 clear varnish, without cinnabar, made with one part spirit 
 of wine, and four of oil of spike, and some shell lac. 
 
 LVIII. A •varnish to gild certain fiarts ofstamfied leathers^ 
 silvered in some filaces with fieivter teaves) and othtrnvise 
 adorned with running stalks ofjiowers^ various colours, 
 figures, and other sorts of embellishmtnts- 
 
 .1. Take lintseed oih three pounds ; of that sort of var- 
 ri^ called Arabian sandarak, and rough pitch, equal 
 quantities, one pound each ; and saffron, half an ounce. 
 Instead of saffron, you had better, if you have that oppor- 
 tunity, make use of the staminus of hlies, which are infi- 
 nitely preferable. Put all into a varnished pipkin, and set it 
 over thi- fire. Take great care not to have it burn ; and, to 
 avoid it, keep continully stirring the matter wiih a spatula. 
 When you want to know whether it be or not sufficiently 
 done, have a hen's feather, just'dip it in, and off quiciily. If 
 the feather be grizzled, it is a proof the matter has suf- 
 ficiently boiled. Therefore, take it off from the fire and 
 throw in one pound of well chosen and picked hepatica 
 aloes, in powder. Mix well this with the spatula, and set 
 it again on the fire, to concoct well this addition whh the 
 rest. If you see that your matter boils and swells, you 
 must take it off, and let it rest awhile ; during which time, 
 take some of the coals away. Set it now again upon this 
 more moderate fire, stirring always well, that all may be 
 perfectly incorporated. As soon as this is done, take it 
 off, let it cool a little, and strain it through a strong coarse 
 cloth, and keep it for the following use. 
 
 2. Apply the silver, or pewter leaves, on the leather, 
 ■with the white of an egg, or gum- water. When these, 
 are properly laid on, give one coat of the above varnish, 
 quite warm, on such places as you want to appear gilt, 
 and set it in the sun. When dry, it looks like gold. 
 
 N- B, The Arabian sandarak, we have prescribed a- 
 bove, is known by some, under the denomination of Gum 
 of Jupiter • 
 
 LIX. An excellent varnish- • 
 
 Put in a glass bottle, one pound of white mastick. Pour 
 over it oil sufficient to cover it. Place the bottle over the 
 coals, or very hot asshes* The mastick will melt- Take 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 3/ 
 
 the bottle off the fire and shake it well, to see that the 
 whole be perfectly dissolved. This varnish is very good 
 to lay over prints, statues, columns, wood, &c. 
 
 LX. A curious and easy varnish to engrave with aqua- 
 fortis. 
 
 Lay on a copper plate, as smooth and equal a coat as 
 you can of Lintseed oil. Set tht plate on a c.hafingdish 
 in which there is a gentle heat of half consumed charcoal, 
 that the oil may congeal and dry itself gently on. When 
 it has acquired the consistence of a varnish, you may draw 
 with a steel point in order to etch your copper and put 
 on the aquafortis afterwards. 
 
 LXI. A most beautiful Chinese varnish. 
 
 Take one ounce of the whitest amber, or instead of this, 
 the same quantity of the whitest gum copal ; lour drachms 
 of sandarak ; two drachms of fine ma&tick in drops Put 
 all this reduced into a powder, in a fine glass matrass ; 
 then pour over it one of the finest turpentine oil. Stop the 
 iFiatrass first with a cork, then with a bladder wetted. Set 
 this to infuse over a slow fire for twelve hours. After 
 this uncork the matrass and let it cool ; then pour gently 
 in it, six ounces of good spirit of wine, and stop it again 
 as well as before. In that situation set it on ember ash- 
 es, or rather in balnea marie. In the space of another 
 twelve hours, you will find that the spirit of wine will have 
 dissolved all the gums. Then while the varnish is still 
 quite warm strain it through a cloth ; bottle and cork it, 
 to keep for use. 
 
 LXIJ. A varnish to render transparent the imfirfssion of 
 a/innt iv/iich has been glutd on gla&s^ and the /lujier 
 scratched off. 
 
 Take turpentine, and a very little oil of the same spirit. 
 Dilute all well toKether, and lay one coat on the strokes 
 of engraving which are left fixed on the glass. 
 
 LXIH. The varnish fit for Bronzing. 
 
 Pound into subtile powder, one ounce of the finest shell- 
 lac. Put it into a glass matrass of three half pints size. 
 Pour upon it half a pint of the best French spirit of wine. 
 Stop it well, and place it in the cool for four day s,that the lac 
 may have time to dissolve at leisure. During that time shake. 
 
38 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 the matrass, as if you were washing it, four or five times a 
 day, for fear the lac should make a glutinous lump, and 
 stick to the bottom. Should your lac, at the end of these 
 four days be vet undissolved, set it on a gentle sand bath, 
 to help finishing it ; and when dissolved to perfection the 
 varnish is done. 
 
 .Yote. Pour the spirit of wine on the lac gently, and a 
 little at a time, that it may penetrate the powder the 
 better. Also stop pouring by intervals, and shake the 
 matrass as it were for rmsing, in order to mix all well \ 
 thus do till you have poured all the spirit of wine upon the 
 lac. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 SECRETS RELATIVE TO MASTICHS, CEMENTS, SEAL- 
 ING-WAX, &c. &o. 
 
 I. A subtile mastich to mend all sorts of broken vessels, 
 
 TAKE whites of eggs and beat them well to a froth, 
 Add to this sett curd cheese and quick-lime, and begin 
 beating a-new all together. This m::y be used in mending 
 whatever you will, even glasses, and will stand both fire 
 and water. 
 
 II. A mastich for broken wares. 
 
 Pound a stone jar into an impalpable powder, and add 
 to it some whites of eggs and quick-lime- 
 
 III. Another Mastich. 
 
 Take quick-lime, cotton and oil, of each equal parts in 
 weight. 
 
 IV. A cement. 
 
 Take rosin, one ounce ; grinded tile, half aa ounce ; 
 mastich, four ounces- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 39 
 
 V. A glue to lay upon ^old. 
 
 Boil an eel*sskin» and a little quick-lime together; Avhen 
 boiled gently for the space of half an hour, strain it, and 
 add some whites of eggs beaten ; bottle, and keep it for 
 use. The method to use it afterwards, is to warm it, and 
 lay a coat of it on marble, delph. Worcester, Stafford, or 
 any other earthen wares, &c. ar.d when nearly dry, write, 
 paint, or draw what you please on with a pencil, and gold 
 in shell- 
 
 VI. A size. 
 
 Take half a pound of fresh cod's tripes, boil it«in two 
 quarts of white wine, reduced to one- third To take off 
 the bad smell, add, while it boils, a little cloves and cin- 
 naiBon. Then throw this size in whatever mould you 
 please, to make it in flakes. 
 
 VU. An exceeding good size^ called Orleans size. 
 
 Take the whitest isinglass you can find; soak it in 
 finely filtered quick-lime water.during twenty-four hours. 
 When that time is over, take it off bit by bit, and boil it in 
 common water. 
 
 VIII. Another for the same fiurfiose ^ which resists water. 
 
 Take quick lime, turpentine, and soft curd cheese. 
 Mix tliese well together ; and, with a point of a knife, put 
 of this on the edges of the broken pieces of your ware, 
 then join them together- 
 
 IX. A cold cement for cisterns and fountains* 
 
 Take litharge and boil in powder, of each two pounds ; 
 yellow ochre and rosin, of each four ounces ; mutton suet, 
 five ounces ; mastich and turpentine, of each two ounces ; 
 oil of nuts, a sufficient quantity to render malleable. 
 Work these all together ; and then it is fit for use- 
 
 X. A lute to join broken vessels. 
 
 Dissolve gum arabic in chamber-lye over a chafingdish ; 
 stir with a stick till perfectly dissolved, then add an 
 equal weight of flour, as you had of gum arabic, and con- 
 coct the whole for one quarter of an hour, or more, if re- 
 quisite. 
 
40 SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADP:S, 8cc 
 
 XI. A strong glue with soft cheese. 
 
 1. Take a cheese from Auvergne. Let it be the fattest 
 and newest you can find, neither dry nor moist; wash it 
 in very warm water, so long as it should remain clear ; 
 then set it to rot in clean water, till it begins to stink. As 
 soon as you find it is so, boil it in water wih quick-lime ; 
 and when dissolved into a glue, take it off from the fire, 
 it is done. 
 
 2 If you dry some whites of eggs in the sun, and then 
 pounding them into powder, you shall add some of that 
 powder with the cheese when you dissolve it along with 
 the 11 «:e, the glue will be so much the stronger. 
 
 N R, (3bserve that no other cheese, besides that which 
 coaies from Auvergne, has the quality requisite for this 
 composition. 
 
 XII. To make a strong masiich. 
 
 Take one pound of rosin, a quarter of a pound of shoe- 
 makers rosin, two ounces of new wax, two of black pitch, 
 and one of tallow. Boil all gently together on a slow 
 fire; and when well incorporated together, add some 
 br^ck dust, finely sifted, according to discretion. 
 
 N.B. The quantity of tallow is to be proportioned to the 
 degree of dryness you require in this composition ; so that 
 you may on that principle, discretionally increase or di- 
 minish the prescribed dose of that ingredient. 
 
 XIII. Sealing wax- Recipe 1st. 
 
 Take one pound of shell-lac, benjamin and black rosin, 
 half an ounce each, vermilion, eight drachms ; the whole 
 being melted, make your sticks on a marble table, rub- 
 bed over with oil of sweet almonds, and take care to have 
 done before the wax is cold. 
 
 XIV. Another, Recipe 2d. 
 
 Take turpentine and sailors's pitch, six drachms of 
 each ; either shall-lac, or dragon's blood, one ; sulphur 
 cricinum, two. Mix and incorporate all together over 
 the fire, and form your sticks. 
 
 XV. Another- Recipe 3d. 
 
 Take gum haderacea, shell-lac, sandarak of the ancients 
 otherwise printer's rosin, and mastich, two ounces of 
 
:«■■■ 
 
 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 41 
 
 each ; rosin, four ounces, turpentine, half an ounce. Mix 
 all in a very warm bell- metal mortar, and make your 
 sticks. 
 
 XVI. Another. Recipe 4th. 
 
 Take shell- lac and mastlch, of each one ounce; dra- 
 gons's blood, three ; cinnabar, half an ounce ; turpentinCj 
 one. Mix all, and make your sticks, 
 
 XVII. Another. Recipe 5th. 
 
 Take Greek pitch, one pound; white mastich, five; 
 frankincense, five ounces ; cinnabar, as much as you see 
 requisite to give the red colour. Put the pitch first on 
 the fire to melt ; next put the rr.astich, and the powder 
 of frankincense ; and last of all, the cinnabar grinded 
 ■with a little oil. Incorporate all well and take it from 
 the fire, to make your sticks- 
 
 XVIIL Another. Recipe 6th. 
 
 Take shell-lac, twelve ounces ; mastich and rosin, of 
 each one ounce ; dragon's blood, three ; minium, half 
 an ounce. Dissolve the shell lac in vinegar : add if you 
 will some turpentine oil and sulphur, to the quantity of 
 four ounces of each, and two of ammoniac salt. The 
 whole being melted, make as fast as you can, your sticks 
 of the form and size you like. 
 
 XIX. Another. Recipe Tth, Excessively good^ 
 
 1. Take shell-lac, &c. pound them all into a very 
 fine and impalpable powder. Then have two wooden 
 pallets present upon them, before the fire some powder 
 of one sort to melt, them move and stir it with the said 
 pallets. Take again of another povvdet in the same man- 
 ner, and mix it in the same way before the fire with the 
 first. Then another and another, till they are all by 
 this method, perfectly well amalgamated together. 
 
 2- Have now some cinnabar in powder, which put in 
 a pan with water. In that water and cinnabar powders, 
 set to infuse, or only touch your incorporated gums, to 
 make this composition take colour. When thus suf- 
 ficiently coloured, take it out of the water with both 
 your hands and the wooden pallets, and have a person 
 to help you. Thus having wetted his hand, will draw- 
 some of the said gum, and handling it on a table, wjU 
 form the sticks. For two pounds of gums, two ounces of 
 cinnabar are wanted- 
 
 K 
 
42 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, kc. 
 
 XX. Another. Recipe 8th. 
 
 Take gum-lac, four ounces, cinnabar, half an ounce, 
 rosin, four and a half. Melt the rosin with a little vine- 
 gar and skim it. Then take it out of the fire, then mix it 
 with the lac and vermillion both well pulverised, and 
 when the composition begins to cool, from your sticks 
 with it. 
 
 XXI. An excellent sealing wax, by Girardot. Recipe 9th. 
 
 Put four ounces of rosin, and four and a half of whiten- 
 ing, and melt them together in a non-varnished pipkin, 
 over kindled coals. While this is in fusion, have another 
 pot, similar to this, in which you keep two ounces of shell- 
 lac, in dissolution with vinegar- Now steep a wooden 
 stick in the first pot, and another in the other pot ; then, 
 hver a chafingdish turn quickly, one over another, the 
 ends of your two sticks toi^ether, to mix and incorporate 
 well what matter they shall have brought along with 
 them from each pipkin. And after having turned them 
 thus a reasonable time, you see both matters are well 
 embodified, steep them, at different times, in the follow- 
 ing liquor to colour them. 
 
 XXII. A colour for the above wax- 
 
 Grind upon a porphyry table, two ounces of cinnabar, 
 with a sufficient quantity of nut-oil, to make it a liquid. 
 In this you dip your sticks at several times, and take care 
 in doing it, the composition should not grow cold. Where- 
 fore you must each time you steep them in the colour, 
 carry them again «ver the chafingdish to keep them in 
 a due state ot mallability. And when you find the mat- 
 ter sufficiently tinged with red, form your sticks as usual, 
 on a marble or well polished table. 
 
 XXIII. To make sealing wafers. 
 
 Take very fine flour, mix it with glair of eggs, ising- 
 lass, and a little yeast ; mingle the materials ; beat them 
 well together, make the batter thin with gum water, and 
 spread it even on tin plates, and dry it in stoves; then 
 cut them for use. You may make them what colour you 
 please, by colouring the paste, say with Brazil, or Ver- 
 million for red ; Indigo 5;c. for blue, &c- 
 
[ 43 3 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 SECRETS OF GLASS MANUFACTORY, AND THE 
 MAKING COMPOSITIONS TO IMITATE PRECIOUS 
 STONES, COMMONLY CALLED FRENCH PASTE, 
 
 I. A cement to render crystal like diamonds^ mid give t/ic 
 sapphires of ALenson a hardness to cut glass toith ease. 
 
 Make a strong dough with sifted barley flour and petro- 
 ly (or rock oil ) Divide this paste in two equal parts. In 
 one of them range your stones, so that they should not 
 touch one another. With the other part of your paste co- 
 ver this. Wrap up the whole with a p;ood lute, and give 
 it a wheel fire for four or five hours, gradually increasing 
 the strength of the fire between every two hi urs. Then 
 you will have a lump of stones, which will sparkle like 
 true diamonds. 
 
 n. A way of making diamonds. 
 
 Grind on marble, equal quantities in weight of calcined 
 silver, and French loadstone. Stratify in a crucible, your 
 crystal stones, ready cut in imitation of diamonds, with this 
 powder. Cover it with another crucible, and lute it well. 
 Then set it in a glass-maker's furnace, for one month. 
 
 Ill 7b soften crystal, or any other coloured stone, so that 
 you may cut it like cheese ; a?id restore it afterwards to 
 its primary haraness- 
 
 1. Take, in the month of August, grose's and goat's 
 blood 
 
 Let each of them dry till very hard. When you want 
 to soften your stones, take an equal quantity of each blood, 
 pulverise it and put it in a pot. then pour over a strong lye 
 made of pearl ashes. Leave it so for a while, stirring of- 
 ten ; then add about a pint of strong vinegar In this pre- 
 paration, if you set your stones> and warm it a little over 
 the fire, they will become so soft, that you may take and 
 cut, or form them afterwards as you will. 
 
 2. To restore them attain to their former hardness, put 
 them in cold water, and let them there 1 ly for about one 
 hour and a quarter, it will be quite sufficient. 
 
44 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 3. But to give them their lustre again, you must take anti- 
 mony in powder, spread it on a very smooth leaden table, 
 then polish your stones on this. It will restore them to 
 their brightness as before. 
 
 IV. Another equally useful to soften crystal and steel 
 
 Make a strong lye of quick lime and pearl ashes, Run 
 it nine or ten times more over new lime and new pearl 
 ashes, each time. Then put to soak, in this preparation, 
 any piece of crystal or steel, for the space of twenty-four 
 hours, and you will see what a surprising degree of soft- 
 ness they will have acquired by it. 
 
 V. AjiastCj which will produce as beautiful euieralds as 
 natural ones- 
 
 Calcine, six different times, rock crystal, and plunge it, 
 as many times, in pure cold v.ater. Grind it into powder, 
 on a rock crystal stone, with a muUar of the same. When 
 you have rendered the powder very fine and impalpable, to 
 one pound of it, add another of salt of tartar, drawn from 
 red tartar, mixed well. Join to this, sixty grains of red 
 copper, and fifteen of silver, both in shell, but grinded se- 
 parately. Now mix the last powders with the former, on 
 a njarble stone, and put all together in a clean and double 
 nealed crucible. Lute it well with its lid, and when the 
 lute is perfectly dry, put the crucible for six days on a clear 
 but gentle fire ; then increase the fire till the crucible be- 
 comes red hot. place it immediately in the ardent and glass 
 melting furnace, and keep it there in the same degree of 
 heat for a month, without interruption. Then let the cru- 
 cible cool gradually in the furnace, which is done by let- 
 ting the fire go out of itstlf. having previously stopped all 
 the holes and openings of the furnace. When you break 
 it, vou will find a beautiful green, which is fit to cut by the 
 lapidary. 
 
 J\'ote. Be careful of this composition, for it has all the 
 merit and a-ivautage of the true emerald. It vies with it in 
 weight, colour, atid hardness. In short, the greatest con- 
 noisseurs cannot distinguish these emeralds from the finest 
 real ones. 
 
 VI. A comfiosUion^ the fundamental basis of all ena?7iels. 
 
 1. Grind on marble, and sift through a very fine sieve, 
 equal quantities of lead and pt- wter calx. Put it in a var- 
 nished pipkin filled over with water. Boil it som^ while ; 
 then pour it bv inclination, into another vessel. Put new 
 v/ater, to boil again uver ii»e calx, and decant it as before, 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 43 
 
 on the first water : >vhich process you repeat till you have 
 entirely dissolved all the calx. If some part of the metal 
 remain at the bottom, too gross to be entirely carried by 
 the waters, it must be put in a melting-glass furnace to 
 calcine, having care to take out, in proportion as it turns 
 into calx, the upper part of the matter. When it is all 
 calcined, continue dissolving it, by means of boiling water, 
 as you did at first. When you have got all your waters of 
 dissolution, vaporise them over a slow fire ; and particu- 
 larly towards the end of the evaporation, have a singular 
 care that the fire be not to fierce, which then remains at 
 the bottom, very fine and subtihzed. 
 
 2. To twenty- five pounds of this calx add an equal weight 
 of frit, made of tarce, or white sand, well pounded and sift- 
 ed through a very fine sieve, and four ounces of white salt 
 of tartar, pounded and sifted in the same manner. Put 
 these ingredients in a melting- glass furnace ; melt and 
 purge them there for ten hours. Then having taken the 
 pot off from the fire, take out the matter, which, after ha- 
 ving well pulverised, keep it in a close dry place, where 
 dust cannot come at it. —Such is the first and principle mat- 
 ter to be used in the composition of enamels, ot whatever 
 sort of colour you want to make them, 
 
 VII. To make an enamel as white as milk. 
 
 1. To six pound weight of the matter just described, put 
 forty-eight grains of magnesia, prepared as follows. 
 
 2. Put in an iron spoon, to the reverberating fire, the bits 
 of magnesia, rough as it comes from the mine. When it is 
 ■whitened, pour good vinegar over it, then break it small, 
 and wash it several times with warm water. Dry, pulve- 
 rise, and sift it, then preseve it in a covered pot for use. 
 
 3. This magnesia, and primary enamel matter, you put 
 in the above prescribed proportion, in a crucible, on a glass 
 melting fire, then throw the whole contents into clear wa- 
 ter ; dry it melt it again, as before, and. throw it in the 
 ■water again and so on. This operation repeat three times 
 Being thus well purified, if you find it not quite white 
 enough, add a little more magnesia, and begin the same 
 process as before. Then take it off the fire, and make it 
 into small round cakes. Such is the method of preparing 
 the enamel to paint with on gold, and other metals. 
 
 VIII. To make an enamel turquoise colour. 
 
 Put six pounds of the said enamel primary matter in a 
 varnished crown-glass pot. Melt and purge it three times 
 as usual as prescribed in the preceding article- On thcr 
 E 2 
 
46 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec. 
 
 third time project at four seperate times, three ounces ot 
 scories of copper, prepared as directed in Art. ix. mixed 
 ■with ninetv-six grains ot zaffar prepared the same way 
 exactly, and in the same manner as the magnesia, and 
 forty ei?ht of that very magnesia, in subtile powder. Stir 
 •well the matter on the fire, at the time of each projection, 
 with a long-handled iron hook ; and when the colour seems 
 to be to your liking, take it out of the fire, and make into 
 small round cakes as usual. This will make a most beau- 
 tiful turquoise enamel. 
 
 IX. Hoii) to fircfiare the scories ofcopfierfor the above, 
 p-urpose. 
 
 This preparation is very simple. Wash first, the scories 
 well, and set them to calcine three days at the entrance of 
 a reverberatinjj furnace. Then grind this and sift it. Cal- 
 cine again as before, grind and sitt the same, repeating this 
 operation three different times. When finished, it is cal- 
 led a calx of copper. Of this, mix three ounces with forty- 
 eight grains ofprepared magnesia, and ninety-six oi zaffar 
 also prepared, for a projection on enaiBel's primary mat- 
 ter, to make a fine sort ot turquoise colour- 
 
 X. To make blue enamel. 
 
 Put in a varnished crown glass pot, in a melting glass fur- 
 nace, four pounds of common primary enamel matter ; two 
 ounces of zaffar, and forty-eight grains of prepared scories 
 of copper, all previously well pulverised and mixed. 
 When this composition is in good fusion, throw it in water, 
 then dry it, and put it again in the same pot- Leave it there 
 till the matter is well incorporated, and proceed as direr 
 ted for the others. 
 
 XI. Tq make green enamel 
 
 1, Melt and purge, by the glass melting fire, and in a 
 varnished crown glass pot, four pounds of the primary 
 enamel matter. Leave it there twelve hours, after which 
 throw it in water, dry it, and put it again in the same fire, 
 for the same time, to cleanse it well 
 
 2- Grind into a very subtile powder, some of the afore- 
 said scories of copper, and some scories ot iron. Mix these 
 powders together, viz. two ounces ol the former, and forty- 
 eight grains only of the latter ; which, being divided {into 
 three different parcels, project, at three distinct times, on 
 the enamel matter in f usionjStirring well with an iron hook 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 4,^ 
 
 at the time of each projection, that the colour may better 
 incorporate ; and in twelve hours afterwards you will 
 find a very fine green enamel. 
 
 XII. To make a black shining enamel 
 
 Take of our primary enamel matter in powder, four 
 pounds; red tiirtar, four ounces; and of our prepared mag- 
 nesia, in subtile powder, two. Put all this into a varnish- 
 ed pipkin, so large that all these powders together shall 
 not come higher than the third part of the vessel, this 
 matter, when melted, swell very much. When in perfect 
 fusion, throw it into water ; take it out to dry, then put it 
 again in the pot, and purify it as before Do so till you 
 find it sufficiently purified ; then take the pot off the fire 
 and the matter out of ihe pot. 
 
 XIII. To make enameUfiurfile colour. 
 
 Reduce into subtile powder, and mix well together, six 
 pounds of our primary and general enamel matter ; three 
 ounces of prepared magnesia, and six ot scories of copper, 
 prepared as before mentioned. Melt and purity all this in 
 a varnish pipkin, by placing it in a melting glass furnace. 
 When in good fusion, throw this matter in water ; dry it, 
 and put it again in the same pot to purify it anew by the 
 some process, if you find your colour to your liking, 
 takethepot off from the fire, and keep your enamel for use. 
 
 XIV. Another, 
 
 Take six ounces of our general matter, twoof prepared 
 magnesia, and forty-eight grains of the aforesaid pre- 
 paration of scories of copper. Pulverise, and proceed as 
 above. This composition will give a very fine purple en- 
 amel, fit for all sorts of works which goldsmiths will em- 
 ploy it in. 
 
 XV. A ijellow enamel. 
 
 Take, and reduce into a very fine powder, six pounds of 
 the general matter ; three ounct s of tartar, and seventy- 
 two grains of prepared magnesia. Put all into a pot large 
 enough not to lose any thing of the matter when it comes 
 to swell at the time of its fusion. 
 
 XVI. To make a chrystaline matter ^ which serves as a ba- 
 sis to red-colour enamels. 
 
 1« Take twenty-four pounds of salt, drawn from tritura^ 
 
48 SECRET IN ARTS. TRADES, &c. 
 
 tion, lotion, filteration, and evaporation ; and sixteen 
 pounds of white tartar, that is to say, of white and transpa- 
 rent river pebbles, calcined and reduced into an impalpa- 
 ble powder. Both these ingredients being eqally redaced 
 into a subtile powder, mix and wet them so as to make a 
 hard paste of them, of which you will form small thin 
 cakes. Put these cakes in pipkins, and place th'^m in a 
 lime or potter*s kiln, where they are to calcine for ten hours. 
 2. When these cdkes are well calcined, reduce them in- 
 to a subtile powder, add four pounds of lead and pewter 
 calx (prepared and subtilized as before directed, Art. vi.) 
 and as much white tartar also calcined and purified by 
 lotion, &c. These three last ingredients being reduced 
 into a subtile powder, put chem in a varnished pipkin, and 
 place them in a melting glass furnace, there to be melted 
 and purified, by throwing the composition ,when in fusion, 
 into water, then drying, &c. three times^; after which the 
 whole is completed. 
 
 XVII. How to make a fine firefiaration o/" fusible magne- 
 sia, to be emfiloyedin the 7naking of red enamels. 
 
 1. Take whatever quantity of magnesia you please 
 Add to it an equal quantity of nitre prepared by lotion, 
 filteration, and evaporation. Set this matter in a pipkin to 
 calcine for twenty-tour hours by reverberating fire. Then 
 take it out, and wash it with warm water, to cleanse it from 
 all the nitre, and dry it When this'magnesia be dry, it 
 ■will be or a very fine red- 
 
 2. Now add to it its equal weight of armoniac salt. 
 Grind all well on a marble stone, wetting it with distilled 
 vinegar, so that it comes into a sort of clear paste, or col- 
 our for painting. 
 
 3. Then dry this matter ; and, having pulverised it, put 
 it a subliming in a strong glass matrass, with a long neck 
 and a large belly. Give it the sublimating fire for twelve 
 hours ; break the matrass ; weigh first the sublimed part». 
 and mix it with what remained at the bottom ; ac'd as 
 much new ammoniac salt as you had weight ot sublimation. 
 Grind these well together, wetting them with vinegar, 
 then dry and sublime again as before- Renew this opera- 
 tion so many times as will bo requisite, that the magnesia 
 remain at last in a state of fusibility at the bottom of the 
 matrass. 
 
 4 This liquid is fit for staining crystal of a very fine ru- 
 bv hue ; and, when employed with enamels, will rcndei": 
 them of a most beautiful red. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 49 
 
 XVIII. To make a red enamel, of a beatitrfiU ruby hue. 
 
 Put twenty ounces of the above fusible magnesia, to one 
 pound of the crystaline matter (Art. li ) in good fusion.— 
 Purify the whole well, and try the colour. 
 
 .Vote- According to the proportion of fusible magnesia 
 you put in this composition, you raise or lower the hue of 
 your enamel. And, if carried to the degree of rubies, it 
 will prove bright and beautiful, 
 
 XIX. To make an c?iatnelt (rue Balais-rwoy colour: 
 
 Take ten pounds of our crystaline matter. Purge it in 
 the melting glass furnace, by fusing it, then throwing it in 
 water, drying, pulverising and melting again. Sec three 
 times. Put it again for the fourth time in fusion ; and, 
 when in that state, give it the purple colour by means of 
 a proper quantity of fusible magnesia, as mentioned in the 
 preceding article. After this project on it, at eight dif- 
 ferent distances of time, as much, calcined alum, in subtile 
 powder, as you will find requisite to give it that degree of 
 red hue you desire ; which to imitate the Balais ruby 
 colour, must be fuller and deeper than that of the clear 
 rubies. 
 
 XX. To make a bright enamel, escarboucle colour- 
 
 1. Take very fine gold, one part. Purify it again, and 
 open it in the following manner. Dissolve it in good regal 
 water ; distil it first trom the gold, and recohobate it six 
 different times. A^ter this, take your gold powder from 
 the vessel, put it in a crucible, covered and luted as usual, 
 and place it in a lurnace to the reverberating fiie, where 
 it shall be left tu calcine till it becomes a veiy high and 
 deep red, which cannot happen till alter several days cal- 
 cination. 
 
 2. Then, by projecting this part of well opened gold on 
 twenty of the beforenientioned crystiln e matter, previous- 
 ly purged according to direction, and put in a slate of 
 good tusion, an enamel will be obtained, ot the most beau- 
 tiful, transparent, escarboucle colour. 
 
 XXI. To make transparent fravies. 
 
 Boil for a quarter of an hour only, nut oil, six ounces ; 
 "white wax, lour ; rosin, as much ; and Venice turpentine, 
 two. When lukewarm, lay it on with a soft brush. 
 
^0 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 XXII. To make a frame look as if made o/glass. 
 
 Take one of the finest and most perfect sheets of vellun* 
 you can find. Wash it.paste it on the frame.and let it dry. 
 I'hen boil in a glass vessel, over a sand bath, equal quan- 
 tities of nut or lintseed oil. in water, with a little crown 
 glass, pounded into a very fine powder. With this you 
 may at any time give a coat to your vellum, "and see the 
 pleasing effect it will have 
 
 XXIII. ^ white fiaint to preserve the fiutty round the 
 fianes qf' glass. 
 
 1. Grind white lead with water. Dry it, and grind it 
 again with oil, then lay a coat of >t over your putty. But 
 if you want it to be still more durable, put two coats of it, 
 after having added a part of foetid oil, made in the follow- 
 ing manner 
 
 2. Have a leaden plate with turned up edges to make a 
 border. Fill it with nut or linseed oil. Cover it with a 
 piece of glass, and expose it in the sun. It will soon be 
 foetid. 
 
 XXIV. To clear glass. 
 
 Rub the glass crystal with a piece of lead ; that will 
 make it clear and bright. 
 
 XXV. How to distinguish a true form oj a false stone. 
 
 Warm an iron plate ; rub some oil over it ; spread 
 glass dust on the middle, and cover that glass with kind- 
 led coals Hold the stone you want to try over these coals, 
 without letting it touch them. If the stone does not lose 
 its lustre, and look dull, it is a true stone. 
 
C 51 i 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 ^CBETS CONCERNING COLOURS AND PAINTING. 
 
 § I. TO PAINT IN TARNISH OW WOOD. UBEFTJL TO CARBIAGE 
 PAINTERS. 
 
 *< I. The firefiarations previous to the laying of colours, and 
 the general process observing in laying thtm on it. 
 
 1. TT'OU must first lay on the wood two coats ofTroyes- 
 
 1. white, diluted with s.ze- water. Next lay over 
 
 these a third coat of ceruse. Then nrtix the colour you 
 
 want with turpentine oil, add the varnish to it, and lay it on 
 
 the wood, previously prepared as follows 
 
 2. Polish the wood, first with shave- grass or horse tail, 
 then with pounce stone. Lay afterwards six or seven 
 coats of colour mixed with varnish, allowing after each 
 coat a sufficient time to try, before laving on the next ; 
 then polish over the last coat with pounce stone, grinded 
 on marble into a subtile powder. When this is done, lay 
 two or three coats of pure white varnish. As soon as this 
 is dry, rub it over with a soft rag, dipped into fine ohve 
 ■ oil, then rub it with tripoly reduced into subtile powder, 
 and having wiped with a clean piece of linen, pass a 
 piece of wash leather all over it- 
 
 II. To make a black, 
 
 1. The black is made with lamp of ivory black, grinded 
 on marble stone, with vinegar and water, till it is reduced 
 into the most impalpable powder Keep it in a bladder. 
 
 2. There if a sort of black which, from its hue, maybe 
 termed a velvet black I'his is made of sheep trotter 
 bones, burnt and reduced by grinding, like the other black, 
 into an impalpable powder. Keep it the same as the 
 other. 
 
 III. To make blue. 
 
 Burnt turnsol mixed with quick lime and water, the:^ 
 sized with leather size, makes the blue. 
 
6'2 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 4,^ IV. To make the Gridelin. 
 
 Grind cochineal with whitelead and a little Venetian 
 lake. According as you put more or less of this last in- 
 gredient, you make it darker or clearer. 
 
 § II. TO PAINT OK TAPEK. 
 
 V. For the red. 
 
 To make a red, take flat, or Venetian lake and Brazil 
 wood, and boil all together, with an addition of black lead. 
 
 VI. To make ajine yellow. 
 
 You must boil some kermes in water impregnated with 
 orpine. 
 
 VII. To make a green. 
 
 A mixture of vedigrease, sap green, Hungarian green, 
 and tervette. The whole grinded on marble with a pret- 
 ty strong leather size. 
 
 VIII. To transfer a print on vellumt and then paint it. 
 
 Chuse your print, and fit a sheet of transparent, or va- 
 nished paper to it, for width and breadth. Lay it on the 
 print, and fix it by the four corners and the middle part 
 of the four edges, on that print, by means of a little white 
 wax, the bulk of a pin's head. Then with a fine lead 
 pencil, sketch out on the varnished paper, all the outlines 
 and turns of the print, which you plainly see through — 
 V^hen done, rub the back of this varnished paper all over 
 with red chalk, and carrying it on the vellum, fix it on 
 it, as you did on the print. Then with a wooden or ivory 
 blunt point, pass over all the strokes which are delineat- 
 ed on the varnished paper, the red chalk of the back will 
 set of in all those parts, and lie on the velum, whereon you 
 will find the print perfectly sketched, and fit to receive 
 ^vhat colour you like. 
 
 § IlL COMPOSITfbNS FOR LIMNERS. 
 
 iX. How to prepare colours for limning. 
 
 Most colours are prepared, and grinded with gem- j*, 
 arabic. Ochre makes the yellow ; courant mouranty the ^ 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 5S 
 
 ■white ; verdigrease, the green ; ceruse, the grey ; lamp- 
 black, the black ; cinnaber, the red ; and gold in shell, 
 the gold. 
 
 X. To make what is called lamfiblack. 
 
 Put a large wick of cotton in a lamp, filled with nut oil, 
 and light it. Prop over the ftame an earthen dish, and 
 .now and then visit this dish, and gather all the black which 
 fixed itself to it. 
 
 XI. Another way of making black. 
 
 Burn some nut-shells in an iron pan, and throw them in 
 ^nother full.of water. Then grind them on marble with 
 cither oil or varnish. 
 
 XII. To make a blue. 
 
 Whitening grinded with verdigrease will make a very 
 fine blue. 
 
 XIIL To make a turquin blue, 
 
 German turnsol infused for one night in chamber-lye, 
 then grinded with a discretionable quantity of quick-lime, 
 in proportion as you want to have it paler or darker. 
 
 XIV. AJine green for limning. 
 
 Grind some verdigrease, with vinegar, and a very small 
 quantity of tartar; then add a little quick-lime and sap- 
 green, which grind with the rest, and put in shells for 
 keeping. If it become too hard, dilute it with a drop of 
 vinegar. 
 
 XV. Another for the same fyurfiose. 
 
 Grind on marble stone, verdigrease, and a third of tar- 
 tar, with white wine vinegar* 
 
 XVI. To make Sap-green, or blackberry green. 
 
 Express the blackberry juice, when full ripe. Add some 
 alum to it, put all in a bladder, and hang it in a chimney to 
 dry. 
 
 XVII. To make lake. 
 
 Take three parts of an ounce of Brazil wood ; a pint cf 
 F 
 
o4 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 clear water ; one drachm and ahalf of rochalum ; eighteeu 
 grains of salt of tartar; the bulk of two filberts of mineral 
 crystal ; three quarters of a pound of the whitest sound, or 
 cuttle-fish bones, rasped Put all toG:ether in a saucepan 
 to boil, till reduced to one third. Strain it three times 
 through a course cloth- To make a finer sort, strain it 
 four times. Then set it in the sun under cover to dry. 
 That which dries the soonest is the finest. 
 
 XVIII. To make a liquid lake. 
 
 Pound some cochineal and alum together ; then boil 
 them with a quantity of lemon-peels, cut very small. And 
 when it is come to the right colour you want, pass it 
 through a cloth. 
 
 XIX. Another ivay. 
 
 On a quantity of alum and cochineal pounded and boil- 
 ed together, pour drop by drop oil of tartar till it comes to 
 a fine colour. 
 
 XX. For the vermilion. 
 
 Vermilion becomes very fine in aquaxUce, or in child's 
 urine. Bat it will be still finer, if you put in aquavitce witli 
 a little saffron. It is used with whipped whites of eggs. 
 
 XXI. For the making of carmine. 
 
 1. Boil two quarts of spring water in a varnished pip- 
 kin, and when it boils throw in seven pugils of pulverised 
 chouam. After this has thrown two or three bubbles, take 
 it off the fire and decant it in another clean pipkin. Then 
 put in this water five ounces of cochineal in powder, and 
 boil it for a quarter of an hour. Add three pugils of autour» 
 in fine powder, and make it throw four bubbles. Then 
 add three pugils of Roman alum in powder, and take it out 
 directly from the fire, which must be made of live coals. 
 
 2. Strain all through a linen cloth, and divide this liquor 
 into several delph vessels, and so let it remain for three 
 weeks — At the end of that term, pour off the water by 
 inclination. You will find under a kind of mouldiness, 
 which you must carefully pick off;and then gather the car- 
 mine. 
 
 jVote. Every five ounces of cochineal give one of car- 
 mine — It i>. to be grinded on marble. A general opinion 
 prevails, th;it this operation is be^t done in the cre'^cent of 
 the moon. — How far it is needful to observe this precept, 
 is left to the wiic to determine. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 6cc. 53 
 
 XXII. Colours fit for exfiressing the -varmis com- 
 plexions. 
 
 1. For women and child ten, mix a little white and a 
 little tuvnsol. 
 
 2. For men, a mixture of white and vermilion is proper. 
 
 3. For old folks, you must use some white and ccher. 
 
 4. For horses, you must chuse bistre, ocher and white. 
 The dark brown horses require a little addition of black. 
 The gray want nothing but bistre and white. 
 
 § IV. TO MAKE TRANSPARENT COLOURS. 
 
 XXIII. For the green. 
 
 Put in very strong vinegar, verdigrease, rue-juice, and 
 gum-arabic. Set this in the sun for a fortnight, or, if you 
 have no sun, boil it on the fire. Strain it, bottle and stop it. 
 Shake it well before using. 
 
 XXIV. For the red. 
 
 Make a lye with salt of tartar. In it, put to infuse for 
 one night, some India wood, with a little alum. Boil all, 
 and reduce to one third. Run it through a linen cloth, and 
 mix some gum-arabic with it. With more or less alum, 
 you make it of a higher or paler hue. 
 
 XXV. For the yellotD. 
 
 Bruise Avignon seed, called French Berries, and put it 
 in a lye of salt and tartar to boil on the fire, to the re- 
 duction of two thirds. Run it, and boil it one bubble more. 
 Then bottle and cork it it must be shaken before using. 
 A small addition of saffron renders it more lively. 
 
 XXVI. For the blue. 
 
 Soak in chamber-lye, one night, a quantity o^ German 
 Falma Christi. Take it out and grind it with a liule quick- 
 lime — More or less quick-lime will raise or lower it in 
 hue. And nothing more is required to dilute it than 
 chamber-lye and gum-arabic. 
 
 XXVII. Another blue^ very like ultramaiine. 
 
 Grind some indigo on porphyry with turpentine oil. Put 
 
36 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c 
 
 it afterwards in a glassed pipkin, and lute it well. Let it 
 thus lay for the space of six weeks. The longer you leave 
 it, the more blue it will be. 
 
 XXVIIl. Afialered to fiaint on cnavid. 
 
 1. Take the filings of a piece of good iron. Put them io 
 a matrass with aquafortis, and set it on a slow fire. Let it 
 boil gently till the filings are all dissolved. 
 
 2. When this is done, pour a little warm water into the 
 matrass, and let it remain u few hours on the fire, then 
 pour all into another vessel. When the liquor shall be 
 quite clear, decant it out gently, and leave the powder^ 
 which is at the bottom, to dry. 
 
 3. Put this dried powder in a new crucible well covered 
 and luted, then neal it gently on a very regular fire, and 
 a little while after, take it out and let it cool. 
 
 4 Now one drachm of that powder, and three of yel- 
 low Dutch beads ground with mastich-oil, will give full 
 satisfaction. 
 
 XXIX. Process of making fiurple, for fiainting an 
 enamel 
 
 1. Take one drachm of very fine gold, forged weak. 
 Cut in small bits, and nt- al it. Put that gold into a matrass, 
 with one ounce of ammoniac salt, and two of good aqua- 
 fortis, a»)d set it on a gentle fire to run all mto liquor. 
 
 2. Havf two ounces of clear water, near boiling, and 
 throw it in the matrass. This done, p ur the whole in a 
 glass phial of more than a quart size, to which add one 
 ounce and a half of oil of t irtar drop by drop. It will oc- 
 casion an ebullition, which being ceased, you must fill the 
 bottle with water, and let it rest till the gold falls to the 
 bottom. 
 
 3 When the water is qtiite clear, decant it out gently, 
 for fear of di.sturbing the gold and 1 sir.g it. Ti:)en fill the 
 bottle with new water, repeating this operation till the 
 water is as clear when you decant it out, as when you put 
 it in and has no more smt 11. 
 
 4. Take your gold out of the bottle, and put it on a fine 
 brown pajier. folded in four or five doubles, and turned up 
 by the edges, in tornrj of a little case or mould. There 
 let it dry, and when dry, keep it for use. 
 
 5. Grind, nr.xt, some fine white frost glass ; mix it with 
 water, put it in a bottle, and shake it, then let it settle. 
 Wnen this powder is falh n to the bottom, decant off the 
 "water, and let the powder dry in the vessel. 
 
 6- The proportion to make the purple colour. Take 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 57 
 
 three grains only of your aforesaid ^old dust to thirty of the 
 white frost-glass, thus prepared. Mix both in a calcedony 
 mortar with clear water. After the powder has settled 
 to the bottom of the mortar, decant out the water, and let 
 the powder dry in the mortar. 
 
 7. This done, take the powder out of the mortar, and 
 putting it on a white bit of paper, dry it by a slow fire, till 
 you see it has acquired a fine purple hue. 
 
 8. Grind, now, this powder with a little oil of spike, and 
 put it in little cases made with cards, of which the edges 
 are turned up. When the card has soaked theojl, the 
 whole operation is accomplished. Preserve it, by putting 
 it in small boxes, in a dry place. 
 
 XXX. How to make a Jinejiesh colour, 
 
 9- The mere addition of a little black to the above 
 composition will make the finest colour for complexions, 
 or flesh-colour, and may justly be deemed a ninth article 
 in the process which is to be observed in its fabrication. 
 
 XXXI. A good way to make carmine. 
 
 Make a little bag, tied very close, of fine Venetian lake. 
 Put it in a little varnished pipkin, with rain-water and 
 cream of tartar, and boil it to a sirrup. Thus you will 
 have a fine carmine colour, 
 
 XXXII. For an amber colour- 
 
 To much yellow, add equal quantities of each red and 
 white. 
 
 XXXIII. The whole firocess of making ultramarine. 
 
 1. Make some of the brownest lapis red hot in a 
 crucible then throw it into vinegar. Rrpeat this three 
 times. When calcined, pound it in a mortar, and sift it. 
 Then grind it on porphyry, with a mixture of liniseed 
 oil and spirit of wine, in equal quantities, and previously 
 digested together in a matrass, and often shaken to pre- 
 pare them for this use. W^hen you shall have subtilized 
 yoar lapis powder, then incorporate it with the following 
 cement, 
 
 2. Lintseed oil, two ounces ; Venice turpentine, three ; 
 mastich.half a one ; assa fxtida, two; black rosin, as 
 much ; wax, half an ounce ; yellow rosin, three. Boil all 
 in a glazed pipkin, for a quarter of an hour ; then run it 
 
 F 2 
 
58 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 through a cloth into clear water. Takfe it out of that wa* 
 ter ; and, taking of this and of the grinded lapis, equal 
 quantities, incorporate them in a glazed pan, and pour 
 some clean warm water over, and let it rest for a quarter 
 of an hour- Stir this water with a wooden spatula ; and in 
 another quarter of an hour you will see the water all 
 azured Decant gently, that water into another glazed 
 pan. Pour new warm water on the grounds, and proceed 
 is before, continuing to stir and beat it well ; then decant 
 again this new azured water with the former Repeat 
 doing so, till the water is no more tainted with any azur- 
 ine particles. When done, set your azured waters in evap- 
 oration, and there will remain at the bottom a very fine 
 Azure of Ultramarine, viz. four ounces of it for every one 
 pound ot composition. Of the remainder you make what 
 is called cender blue. 
 
 XXXIV. Another very fine ultramarine^ 
 
 Take the finest lapis lazuli you can find ; break it ia 
 little bits, and make it red hot in a crucible, between 
 blasting coals. When red hot, throw it in white wine vine- 
 gar ; then dry it and pound it in a marble mortar with a 
 wooden pestle. Should it not pound easily, calcine it again 
 as before, and throw it again in vinegar, &c. then try it in 
 the mortar, and if it do not pound yet> repeat again the 
 same process till it easily submits to be pulverised. Af- 
 ter it has been put into a fine powder, grind it on a por- 
 phyry stone, with good aquavitse, till it is impalpable. 
 Then gather it up in little cakes, which set a drymg on 
 paper ot slates. When dry, if you pulverise it, you have 
 a fine ultramarine. 
 
 XXXV. A secret to comfiose a fine hlucyfor washing, in 
 drawings instead of ultramarine^ ivhich is too dear and 
 too strong to be ustdfor that pur fiose. 
 
 1 Gather in the summer, a large quantity of blowart, 
 whichgrows in the fields among the corn. Pick well iheir 
 blue leaves off. Have lukewarm water impregnated with 
 impalpable powder of alum. Put the picked blue leaves 
 into a n arble mortar, with a sufficient quantity of that 
 alum water, to soak them only. Then, with either a 
 wooden or marble pestle, pound them, till the whole is so 
 mashed, as to give the juice by expression through a new 
 cloth. Then strain it over a glass bowl, in which there is 
 water impregnated with the whitest gum-arabic you can 
 find. 
 
 2. Observe that you must not put much alum in the 
 fct water, if you are desirous of presei;vins the brightness 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c 59 
 
 of the colour : for by putting too much of that ingredient, 
 as well as for the water impregnated with it, you darken 
 the tone of the colour. 
 
 3. JVote By means of the same process, you may like- 
 wise draw the colours from every flower which has any 
 great eclat. You must not neglect to pound them with 
 alum water, which prevents the colrur from suffering any 
 alteration; as it sometimes happens at the very first 
 bruise. 
 
 4. To render these colours portable, set them a-drying 
 in the shade, in glass vessels, well covered, to fence them 
 against the dust. 
 
 XXXVL The true secrets of making ivis-green' 
 
 1. Take a large quantity of the flowers of that name 
 in the spring. Pick them ; that is to say, pick out the 
 green and the yellow, which are at the bottom of the pe- 
 tal of the flower. Next to this, pound them in a marble 
 mortar, with a little lukewarm water, impregnated with 
 alum. When pounded, express the juice through a new 
 cloth, over a china bowl. Then mix some gum-arabic 
 water with it. 
 
 2. If you want a tone of colour different from the na- 
 tural colour of the flower, you may chanj^e it by only add- 
 ing, after the flowers are pounded, a little quick-lime dust 
 in the mortar, and give two or three strokes of a pestle 
 more to the whole ; then strain it. 
 
 3. J\ote. If you should pound these flowers in a wood- 
 en mortar, you must be cautioned at least to take care it 
 should not be one of walnut tree wood, because it is apt 
 to tarnish the colours, and destroy their brightness, which 
 is one of the chief things always requned in colours. 
 
 4. In the month of March, you may by means of the 
 same process, obtain the colour from garden, or double 
 violets. But this is never so fine nor so lively. 
 
 XXXVII. To make a dark green, for miniture pictures, 
 washing on fiafier, on drafitries and terraces. 
 
 Take, towards the end of autumn, a good quantity of 
 wall-wort stalks, with their fruits on them, and very ripe. 
 Let them rot for five or six days in the cellar ; and when 
 you see the fruits have fomented sufficiently to give 
 easily their juice by expression, strain it through a new 
 cloth in alum water. Divide the whole into several glass 
 tumblers, to dry it niore easily. Set them in the air, but 
 not in the sun ; and lay some paper over them, to prevent 
 any thing from falling into the glasses, but which should 
 not at the same time stop the exhalation oJt the liquor, and 
 
60 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 thereby cause it to become mouldy. By these means you 
 shall have a colour fit for the wash of a green hue ; and 
 dark at the same time. 
 
 XXXVIII. To make the Bistre for the wash. 
 
 1 Grind on marble, with child's water, some chimney- 
 soot. Mullar it as fine as possible. When done, put it in a 
 wide-mouthed bottle, which fill up with clear water ; and 
 then, stir and mix all well with a wooden spatula. Let 
 the coarsest part settle to the bottom of the vessel. De- 
 cant out the liquor gently into another vessel. What re- 
 mains in the bottom in the coarsest bistre. 
 
 2. Proceed the same with respect to the second bottle, 
 and after having left this to settle for thee or iour days, in- 
 stead of half an hour, decant it into a third. This gives 
 you the finest bistre. 
 
 3. in the manipulation of all the colours which are in- 
 tended to serve in drawing for wash, whenever you will 
 not have them rise thick above the surface of the paper, 
 which would undoubtedly look very bad ; for the neatness 
 required in a draught, forbids the use of any coarse colour. 
 
 XXXIX. The secret for a fine red for the wash' 
 
 1. Make a subtile powder with cochineal. Put it in a 
 vessel, and pour rose-water over it as will exceed above 
 it by two fingers. 
 
 2. Dilute calcined and pulverised alum, while it is quite 
 warm, into plantain vvater> and mix some of the liquor in 
 which you have dissolved the cochineal. 
 
 3. This process will give you a very fine red, mi^ph pre- 
 ferable for the wash, to that which is made with ver nilion, 
 because this last has too much consistence, and besides 
 tarnishes too soon, on account of the mercury which enters 
 into its composition. 
 
 XL. J secret to make carmine at a small cxfience. 
 
 Break and bruise in a bell-metal mortar, half a pound 
 of gold colour Fernamborough Brasil. Put this to infuse 
 with distilled vinegar, in a glazed pipkin, in which boil it 
 for the space of a quarter ot an hour. Strain the liquor 
 through a new stroiig cloth ; then sct it again on the fire to 
 boil. When it boils, pour on it white wine vinegar, impreg- 
 nated with roman alum. Stir well with a v;onden spatula, 
 and the froth that will arise is the carmine. Skim it care= 
 fully in a glass vessel, and set it to dn'. 
 
I 
 
 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 61 
 
 i V. eOMPOSlTION OF COLOURS, TO DYE SKINS OR 
 GLOVES. 
 
 XLI. A lively Isabel 
 
 To make a lively Isabel colour, you must, to a quantity of 
 white, add one half of yellowj and two-thirds ot red and 
 yellow. 
 
 XLII. Fov a pale filbert colour' 
 
 1. Take burnt umber, a little yellow, very little white, 
 and Still less red. 
 
 f. This is made darker, by adding a quantity of burnt 
 umber, as much yellow, a little white, and as rrluch red. 
 
 XLII I. For the gold colour. 
 
 To ri^ch yellow. join a little more red; and this miX' 
 turewill give you a very fine bright gold colour. 
 
 XLIV. For the fiesh colour- 
 To imitate well the complexion, or flesh colour, you mix 
 a little white and yellow together, then add a little more 
 red than yellow. 
 
 XLV The straiv colow. 
 
 Much yellow; very little white ; as little red, and a 
 great deal of gum. 
 
 XLVI. .IfinebroviTi 
 
 1. Burnt umber ; much black chalk ; a l?ttle black.and 
 a little red ; will make a fine brown, when well incorpo- 
 rated together. 
 
 2 The saine is made paler, by decreasing the quantity 
 of black chalk, and no black at all in the above composi- 
 tion. 
 
 XLVII. To make a fine onusk colour. 
 
 Take burnt umber ; very little black chalk i little red 
 and a little white These irgredients well mixed will 
 produce as fine a musk colour as ever was. 
 
62 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 XLVIII. To make afrangijiane colour. 
 
 1. This is made with a little umber ; twice as much red, 
 and three ti'Ties as much yellow. / 
 
 2 The paler hue of it is obtained bv addins; only some 
 white, and making the quantity of red equal to that of yel- 
 low. 
 
 XLIX. An olive colour. 
 
 To make the olive colour, take umber, not burnt ; a lit- 
 tle yellow ; and the quarter part of it of red and yellow. 
 
 L, How to make skins and gloves take these dyes- 
 
 Grind the colours yon have pitched upon with perfumed 
 oil ofjes'^aTiine.or orange flowers. Thci ranf:;e-the grinded 
 colour on a corner of the marble stone. Grind of gum-adra- 
 gant, an eq.ial quantitv as that of the colours, soaking it all 
 the wh le with orange flower water. Then grind both the 
 gum and the colour together, in order to incorporate them 
 well. Put all into a pan, and Bour a discreti^nable qwan- 
 titv of water over it,to dilute sufficiently vour paste Then 
 with a briv>h,riih vour gloves or skins over with this tinged 
 liquor and hang them in the air to dry. Waen dry, rub 
 them with a stick. Give them again, with the same brush 
 another sirnilar coat of the same dye, and hang them again 
 to dry- When .dry tor this second time, you may dress 
 them, the colour is sufficiently fixed, and there is no tear 
 of its ever coming off 
 
 LI. To varnish a chimney. 
 
 Blacken it first with black and size. When this coat is 
 drv.lay anr;ther of white lead over it, dilute din mere sized 
 wat^-r. This being drv also, have verdigrese diluted and 
 grinded with oil of nuts and a coarse varnish, and pass 
 another coat of this over the white. 
 
 §. VI. TO COLOUR, OR VARNISH COPPER PLATE 
 PRINTS 
 
 l7lL To varnish coppc^-plate prints. 
 
 1. Have a frame made precisely to the size of your print. 
 Fix it with common flour paste, bv the white margin on 
 that frame. Let it drv, then fav the following transparent 
 varnish on it, which is to be made without fire. 
 
 2. Dilute in a new glazed pipkin, with a soft brush, asbig 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 8cc. 63 
 
 as your thumb, about a quarter of a pound of Venice tur- 
 pentine and two penn\ worth of spike, and turpentine oils, 
 and half a gill, or thereabouts, of spiiit of wine. This 
 varnish being no thicker than the white of an egg, lay with 
 your brush, a coat ot it on the wrong side of the print ; and, 
 imnrediately atioiher on the right. Ther- set it to dry, not 
 upright, but fiat. And, if it should not dry quick enough, 
 pass alight coat of spirit of whine en the whole. 
 
 LIII. Hov) to colour these firints> in imitation of pictures 
 in oil colours 
 
 1. To paint these prints, you must work thr m on the 
 back in the fcllowing manner ; Prepare first your colours 
 on a pallet, and then proceed thus ; 
 
 2. The flesh colour is made with a little white and Ver- 
 million, which mix with your pencil according to the de- 
 gree of redness you will have it. — For the green of tree- 
 leaves, you must have mountain-green, ready prepared 
 from the colnurman ; and for the finest green, some ver- 
 digrease. As for the bghter shades of these colours, you 
 only add some vellow to either of the above two, more or 
 less, according to the circumstances. To paint v oods and 
 trunks of trees, nothing more is rt quired than umber — 
 To express skv-coiours and clouds, you m.ix some blue 
 ceruse with white lead ; and with these two colours only, 
 you alter your blues to various degress of shades, dimin- 
 ishing or augmenting one of the two, according to the 
 darkness or lightness of the skies which you want to ex- 
 press. For the distances, a mixture ot yellow and white 
 lead, and so on for the other colours you may want. 
 
 3. You are to compose them yourself on the pallet with 
 the pencil ; and to mix or to unite them, use a little oil of 
 nuts, which take up with the point of the pallet-knife. — 
 Then, with your pencil, you apply them on the wrong 
 side of the print. 
 
 LIV. Jl varnish ivhich suits all sorts of prints and pictures ; 
 ■ stands -water ; and makes the nxori appear as shining- us §-!ass^ 
 
 Dilute one quarter of a pound of Venice turpentine, 
 with a gill, or thereabouts, of spirit of wine. If too thick, 
 add a little more of this last ; if not enough, a little of the 
 former, so that you bring it to have no more thickness 
 than the apparent one or milk Lay one coat of this on 
 the right, side of the print, and when dry, it will shine 
 like glass. If it be not tc your liking, you need only lay 
 another coat on it. 
 
64 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 LV. To make appear in gold the fgures of a print. 
 
 !• After having laid on both sddes of the print, one coat 
 of the varnish described in the above Art. Ivi. in order 
 to naaiie it transparent, let it dry a little while. Then, 
 before it is quite so, lay some gold in leaves on the wrong 
 side of the print, pressing gently on it with the cotton you 
 hold in your hand By these means all the parts, whereon 
 you lay these gold leaves, will appear like true massive 
 gold on the right side. 
 
 2. Now, when this is all thoroughly dry, lay on the right 
 side of it, one coat of the varnish described in the preced- 
 ing Art. Ivi it will then be as good as any crown-glass. — 
 You may also put a pasteboard behind the print, to sup- 
 port it the better in its frame. 
 
 LVI. A curious secret to make a print imitate the painting 
 on glass. 
 
 Chuse a crown-glass of the size of ycur print ; and lay 
 on it two coats of the following varnish ; 
 
 1. Put on the fire, in a glazed pipkin, and let boil for 
 the space of one hour, Venice turpentine, four ounces; 
 spirit of the same? and of wine, equal parts, one ounce and 
 a half of each mastice in tears, two drachms. 
 
 2. After it has boiled the prescribed time, let it cool, 
 and then lay the first coat on the glass ; This being dry, 
 lay another ; and, as soon as this is nearly dry, then lay 
 on it, as neatly as possible, the print, previously prepared 
 as follows. 
 
 3. Have a glazed vessel so broad at bottom as to admit 
 of the print flat with all ease in its full size. Let this ves- 
 sel be also as wide at top as it is at bottom, that you may 
 get the print in and out of it on its flat, without bending 
 it in the least. Pour aquafortis in this pan or vessel, 
 enough to cover all the bottom, then lay the engraved s«de 
 of your print on that aquafortis. Take it out, and wipe 
 the aquafortis off i^ently with soft rags, then steep it two 
 or three times in three diSerent clean fresh waters, and 
 wipe it each time in the sa we manner. 
 
 4. This bein'^ done, lay the right side on the before men- 
 tioned glass, before the second coat of varnish be quite 
 drv, and while it isslili moist enough for the print to stick 
 upon it unifornilv, eqaaliy ana smoothly, without making 
 any wrinkles or blacl-lers. When it is perfectly dried in 
 in that situation, wet ynur finger in common water, and* 
 moistening the priut on the back part in all the white 
 places, which have received no impression trom the en- 
 graving of the pla^eittrb it all off. By these means there 
 \n\\ i^j^Minothing but Tairly the printed parts. On them 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 65 
 
 you may paint in oil with a brush, and the most bright 
 and lively colours ; and you will have pictures, on which 
 neither dust nor any thins else, will be able to cause any 
 damage. To do this, there is no need of knowing either 
 how to paint or draw. 
 
 LVII. The method of chalking, for those nvho are not 
 acquainted lailh draiuing. 
 
 They who are not acquainted with the principles of 
 drawing, may amuse themselves with chalking some beau- 
 tiful prints on white paper, where they shall have nothing 
 more to do afterwards than shade, in the same manner as 
 they see done iathe original- When they shall have 
 practised for a while in that way, they will soon become 
 able to strike out themselves some good piece or design. 
 And to obtain that point, the following method is recom- 
 inend*^d 
 
 1. With a soft and one of the best bhjck lead ' pencils, 
 rub one side of a white sheet of paper cut to the size of 
 the print, so that nothing of the paper can be seen, and 
 only the black lead colour Lay this shfet on the clean 
 side, upon the face of the print, that it may not soil it ; 
 and on this sheet, the black side of which now lies upper- 
 most towards you, lay another sheet <if clean paper, and 
 fix these three sheets together by the four corners, and 
 on the edges with fine pins so that the sheets may not 
 vary one from another, v<'hich would quite confuse and 
 mar the whole design. 
 ^ 2 Now take a blunted needle, or ivory point, and slip 
 it, in pressing gently all over the turns of the prints, going 
 gradually and orderly, for fear of forgetting some places, 
 which may be prevented by laying a flat ruler acr-^ss the 
 print under your hands. When the whole is finished, 
 unpin the papers, and on the under part of that which 
 lays at top, you will find all the outlines of the print most 
 exactly drawn. 
 
 3 You may now on these outlines, pass a stroke with 
 India ink and a brush, or with ink and a pen ; after which, 
 with acrum of stale bread, you rub off clean all the use- 
 less marks of the pencil, andleave none but those marked 
 Avith ink. And to shade this design, wash it with India 
 ink, or colours, and a brush. 
 
 LVIIL To prepare a transparent paper to chalk -with. 
 
 In order to obtain the art of chalking neatly, and not to 
 ■go out of the fine turns and outlines of a drawing, begin- 
 ners should first know how to prepare a transparent pa- 
 G 
 
66 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec. 
 
 per, which as it lets them seethe minutest parts of the 
 strokes as through a glass, gives them ot course an oppor- 
 tunity of acquiring by practice,a correctness in the expres- 
 sion of all the turns of drawing. This preparation is as 
 follows. 
 
 1. Have one or several sheets ot fine and very thin pa- 
 per, arid rub them over with oil, or spirit of turpentine, 
 mixed in double thequantity of oilofnuts. To cause the pa- 
 per to imbide that mixture, steep a sponge or feather m it, 
 ■which pass on both sides of the paper, and then let it dry. 
 
 2. When you want to use it, lay it on a print Then, 
 ■with a brush, a pencil, or a pen, pass over all thfe strokes, 
 lines, and turns, of the design laid under You may even 
 thus learn to shade with neatness, if you wash that same 
 design, while fixed on th& original print, with India ink. 
 
 By practising ofien you may learn to draw verv neatly, 
 and even vvith boldness. Tiiis method will certainly prove 
 very useful and entertaining, for those who have not the 
 patience to learn by the common method, which seems 
 too tedious to some, and generally disgusts beginners. 
 
 § VII. FOR PAINTING ON GLASS- 
 
 LIX. How to dravi on glass. 
 
 Grind lamp-bl ck with gum-water and some common 
 salt. With a pen or hair pencil, draw your design on the 
 glass, and afterwards shade and paint it with any ot the 
 
 following compositions. 
 
 I.X. A colour for grounds on glass- 
 
 1 Take iron filings and Dutch yellow beads, equal 
 parts. It you want to have a httle red cast, add a little 
 ci/pper filings. With a steel mullav grind all these to- 
 get er on a diick and strung copper plate, or on porphyry. 
 Taen add a Itile' gum-arabic, borax, ccmmon salt and 
 clear wa^er. Mix these a httle fluid, and put the compo- 
 siti n in a phial tor use. 
 
 2. When yoa come to make use of it, you have nothing 
 to do but with a hair pencil lay it quite flat on the design 
 you liad drawn the- day be<o;e ; and having left this to 
 drv hKo for another,day with the quil of a turkey, the nib of 
 wijich shall not bt split, you heiehien ihe lights in the 
 ftn.me manner as \ ou do With crayons cii blue paj;er.— 
 Whenever you put more coats of the above composition 
 one upon another, the shade, you must be sensible, will na- 
 turally be stronger. And when this is finished, you lay 
 your colours for garments and complexions as follows. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &e. 67 
 
 LXI. Preparation of lakcy for glass- 
 
 Grind the lake with a water impregnated with gura and 
 salt, and then make use of it with the brush. The shading 
 is operated by laying a double, treble, or more coats of the 
 colour, where you want it darker. And so it is of all the 
 following compositions of colours. 
 
 LXII. Preparation of the blue purple^ for glass. 
 
 Make a compound of lake and indigo; grinded together 
 with gum and salt water ; and use it as directed in the 
 preceding article. 
 
 LX III. Preparation of the green for glass. 
 
 Indigo mixed with a proportionable quantity of gam- 
 boge, and grinded together as above, will answer the 
 intended purpose. 
 
 LXIV. Preparation of the yellow for the same. 
 
 Gamboge grinded with salt water only. 
 
 LXV. preparation of the ivhitC' 
 
 You have only to highten much the white parts with a 
 pen. 
 
 • ♦ 
 LXVI. The proper varnish to be laid on glass after 
 painting. 
 
 Boil oil of nuts> some htharge, lead filings, and white 
 copperas calcined. When done and cold, lay it all over 
 the colours which you put on^the glass. 
 
 LXVII. Honu to paint 071 glass -without f re 
 
 Take 8;um arable and dissolve it in water with common 
 salt, bottle and keep it. With this liquor, if you grind the 
 colours you intend to paint with, they will fix and eat in 
 the glass. Should you find they do not enough, increase 
 only the dose of salt. 
 
feiS SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 § VIII. PREPARATIONS OF COLOURS OF ALL SORTS 
 . FOR OIL, WATER, AND CRAYONS. 
 
 LXVllL .^n oil to griyid colours "i^ith^ tvJien the -works 
 are tnuch exposed to the injuries of the vocather. 
 
 Take two ounces of mastich in drops, very clear, and 
 grind k with linseed oil. Then put in a well glazed pipkin 
 any quantity of that oil, and set it on the fire to boil. By 
 little and little introduce in that boiling oil the above pre- 
 pared mastich, stirring well the whole to mix and incorpo- 
 rate the better. When done, take it from the fire and 
 let it cool. Such is the preparation of oil with which you 
 are to grind your colours, when they are to be much ex- 
 posed to the injuries of the weather, for they will resist it. 
 
 LXIX. To marble and jasper paper. 
 
 1. Grind all the colours you want to employ (such as 
 lake massicot, indigo, yellow and red ochre> &c. &c )with 
 bullock's gall ; grind each separately, and keep them so. 
 Then have a large and wide pan filled with lukewarm 
 gum water. Stir well that water with a stick. While it 
 is in motion and your colour-, being ready under your hand, 
 with a large brush, take of each separately, as much as the 
 tip of the brush will carry, and touch only the surface of 
 the water \v\t\^ it. The colours will immediately expand. 
 Each colour requires a particular'brush to itself There- 
 fore, with another brush, take of another colour, and do 
 the same ; and, with another of another, and so on, till you 
 have put on your water all those you have destined for 
 the purpose. 
 
 2. When the water ceases to turn, you will plainly 
 perceive all the variety occasioned by the diflferent colours. 
 Then, taking your sheet of paper, lay ii flit on the water, 
 leave it there for about two or three minutes, and, without 
 taking it out, give it one turn round on the water, then pull 
 it by one of the edges to the side of the pan, wash it, dry- 
 it, and burnish it afterwards. 
 
 JVote. The paper must be chosen good, and the water 
 fixed with gum adragrant. 
 
 LXX. To clean pictures. 
 
 Take the picture out of its frame. Lay a cl^an towel on 
 it, which for the space of ten, fourteen, or eighteen days, 
 according as you find it necessary, you keep continually 
 v-£tting,till it has entirely drawaout all the fikhiness from. 
 
SECRET^ IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 69 
 
 the picture. Then, with the tip of your finger, pass some 
 lintseed oil, which has been set a long while in the sun to 
 purify it, and the picture will become as tine as new. 
 
 LXXI. Another for the same purpose. 
 
 Put into two quarts of the oldest lye one quarter of a 
 pound of Genoa soap, rasped verv fine, with about a pint 
 of spirit of wine, and boil all together on the fire. Strain 
 it through a cloth and let it cool. Then with a brush 
 dipped in that connposition, rub the picture all over, and 
 let it dry. Do the same again once more, and let it dry 
 too. When dry, dip a little cotton in oil of nut, and pass 
 it over all the picture. Let this dry again ; and, after- 
 ward%> warm a cloth, with which rub the picture well 
 over, and it will be as fiae as just out of the painter's hahds. 
 
 LXXI I. A secret to render old pictures as fine as 7ieii:. 
 
 Boil in anew pipkin, for the space of a quarter of an 
 hour one quarter of a pound of griiy or Bril ash, and a lit- 
 tle Genoa soap. Let it cool to a lukewarm, and wash your 
 picture with it, then wipe it Pass some olive oil on it, and 
 then wipe it off again. This will make it just as fine as new. 
 
 LXXIIT. >4n oil to prf vent pictures from blackening. It may 
 serve also to make cloth to carry in the pocket against wet 
 weather. 
 
 Put some nut or lintseed oil in a phial, and set it in the 
 sun to purify it. When it has deposited its dregs at the 
 bottom, decant it gently into another clean phial, and set it 
 again in the sun as before. Continue so doing, till it drops 
 no more /ip res at all. And with that oil, you make the 
 above composition. 
 
 LXXIV. A wash to clean pictures^ 
 
 Make a lye with clear water and wood ashes ; in this dip 
 a sponge, and rub the picture over, and it will cleanse it 
 perfectly. The same may be done with chamber- lye onlyj 
 or otherwise , with white wine, and it will have the same 
 effect. 
 
 LXXV. A very curious and simple lony of preventing flies 
 from sitting on picturesy or any other furniture and making 
 their dung there. 
 
 Let a large bunch of leeks soak for five or six days in a 
 G2 
 
70 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 pail full of water, and wash your picture, or any other 
 piece of turniture, with it. The flies will never come near 
 any thing so washed. This secret is very important and 
 well experienced- 
 
 LXXVr. To make indigo. 
 
 Put some isatis. otherwise woad, or glastum, with slack- 
 ed line, to boil tcgeiher in water. Ihert will rise a 
 scum, which being taken off, and mixed with a little 
 starch, makes the indigo. 
 
 L XX V 1 1. To make a ydlov>. 
 
 What the luteola dyes yellow, becomes green by the 
 woad, or glastum. Whence we may justly conclude, that 
 green is not a simple colour,but a mixture of blue and yel- 
 low as the yellow itself is a compound ot red and white. 
 
 L XXVIII. An azure of mother-of-pearl. 
 
 Take any quantity of ^perfine tested silver in laminas. 
 Put it a little while in vinegar; then take it out, strew 
 over the laminas some pounce powder, to alcoholise th( m. 
 Next stratify them in a crucible ; and when red hot, take 
 them off from the fire, and you will have a fine azure- 
 
 LXXIX- Ji ~^hite for painters, -which may be preserved 
 for ever' 
 
 Put into a large pan three quarts of lintseed oil, with an 
 equal quantity of brandy, and tour of the best double dis- 
 tilled vinegar; three dozen of eggs, new laid and whole ; 
 three or tour pounds ot mutton suit, chopped small- Cover 
 all with a lend platCi and lute it well- Lay this pan in the 
 cellar tor three weeks, then take skilfully the white off, 
 then dry it. The dose of the composition' for use is six 
 ounces of that white to every one of bismuth- 
 
 LXXX. Another white for ladies paint' 
 
 To four parts of hog's lard add one of a kid. Melt them 
 together, then wash them. Re-melt and wash them again^ 
 Then add four ounces of ammoniac salt, and as much of 
 sulphur, in subtile powder. This white will keep a long 
 time- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 71 
 
 LXXXI. A good azure. 
 
 Take two ounces of quicksilver ; sulphur and ammo- 
 niac salt, of each one ounce. Grind all toiicther, and put it 
 to digest in a uic-itrass over a slow heat. Increase the fire a 
 little ; and, when you see an azured fume ari-^ing take the 
 matrass off from the fire. When cool, you will find in the 
 matrass as beautilul an azure as the very ultramarine 
 itself. 
 
 LXXXII> An azure from silver^ done in less ihan a 
 fortnight. 
 
 Dissolve in Very strong vinegar, as much gem-salt and 
 rochalum, asit will dissolve. Put this in anew pipkin; and 
 over it hang up laniinas of the finest tested silver. Cover 
 the pot, and lute it well- Bury it in the celkr ; and ten 
 or fifteen d ys after'vards take off the azure, which you 
 will find about the laniinas. Replace things asbelore; and, 
 ten days afterwards, the same again ; and repeat this pro- 
 cess as many times as you can get any azure by it- 
 
 LXXXIIJ. To make an azured toater- 
 
 1. Gather wall wort grains between green and ripe, and 
 bake or .tew them in a pan- When they have boiled a 
 considerable time, strain them through a cloth, and keep 
 the juice in a glass phial ; its colour will never change, and 
 •will keep for ever very fine. 
 
 2- Have next dog*s dung, very dry. Pulverise it very 
 fine, and sitt it through a silk sieve. Then grind it on a 
 a marble with the wallwortjuice,and a mullar.as painters 
 do their colours, and you will find this paste of a very 
 fine aziire colour. 
 
 3 Now, if you tinge any water with this, by putting it 
 in a phial to soak, you may dye whatever you will with it, 
 such as thread> cottoni cloth, &c. 
 
 LXXXIV' Another way of making azure- 
 
 Take the bulk of a filbert of amoniac salt, which 
 
 dissolve in a common half pint glass tumbler of water 
 
 Then pound and sift, all together, one ounce of vitriol, 
 and one and a half of quick-lime. Put this powder into 
 the water in which the ammoniac salt was dissolved.— 
 Leave this to infuse for the space ot forty-eight hours, anjj 
 at the end of that term the azure shall be done. 
 
72 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 LXXXV. Jljine azure. 
 
 Make an incorporation of three ounces of verdigrese, 
 and of an equ-il q lantity an anrimoniac salt, which dilute 
 with tartar vvater, so as to make a thick paste of it Put 
 this comjjosition into a glass, and let it rebtfor afew days, 
 and you will have a fine azure. 
 
 LXXXVI. Another -Ofay. 
 
 Pulverise and mix well together one part of ammoniac- 
 salt, and two ot verdigrease, with a little s: ruse Then 
 pour over it oil of tartar, enough to make a clear paste of 
 it. Put th's in a glass vessel, which take cure to stop and 
 lute well. When done, put it in an oven along with the 
 bread, and take it out with it also, then the azure will 
 be done. 
 
 LXXXVIT. Another -u^ty. 
 
 Take sublimed mercury, four parts ; ammoniac salt, 
 two; sulphur -yix'uw, one. Puhense the whtle, and put 
 the powder in a niatrass, which lute well with the lute of 
 sapience. Put this m^.trass on a mild and slow fire ; and, 
 when you see a white tume beginning to rise, stop the fire. 
 "When the matrass is cold, break it, and you will find a 
 very fifie azure at the bottom. Now take it, and work it 
 ■with lukewarm water first, and then with cold. 
 
 JVote. 1 here are some who absurdly wash it with lye, 
 or a strong lime-water; but they spoil their azure entirely 
 What is »nost adviseable, and indeed the only preparation 
 allowable, is to boil a little white honev in the water, and 
 and skim it ; and when that water becomes lukewarm, 
 ■wash the azure with it. This may contribute to give it a 
 fine colour, but the other will certainly hurt it. 
 
 LXXXVI IT: To make an admirable tvhite lead, Jit for 
 oil tainting and eolou ing oJpiintS' 
 
 Grind the finest white lead in flake you can find, on the 
 stone with vinegar. It will immediately turn black. Wash 
 it well in a pan ul of water, and let it settle. Pour the 
 •water off by inclination, and grind it again with fresh 
 vinegar, then wash it a-new. Repeat this operation four 
 or five times, and you will get a roost beauuiul white. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 73 
 
 LXXXIX. The preparation cfverdi^reasc 
 
 <jrind the verdigrease with vinegar, and put it in a piece 
 of brown bread dough. Bake it as you would bread ; arid 
 when done, cut it open and tnke it out. You will then 
 have a very fine v« rdigrease, fit to work with, either 
 in oil or water, as you like. 
 
 XC. A fine liquid greeii' 
 
 • Mix well together one pound of Montpelier verdigrease, 
 and half a pound of v,hite tartar from the same place. 
 Put this a soaking for twelve hours in two quarts of the 
 stroni^^est vinegar, then reduce it by boiling to oie half. 
 Let It re'^t for two days, and filter it afterwards in a bottle, 
 wherein you keep it for use. 
 
 XCI. To make the Siiil-de-graijiy ot^Brvion pink. 
 
 . Bruise and boil in three quarts of water, four ounces of 
 French berries, to the reduction of <:ne hal!. Strain all 
 through a cloth, <\m\ put in this juice a discret»onable 
 quantity of whitening, pcundt^d and sifted into a subtile 
 powder, so as to n.ake a thick pasie, which put into small 
 tied bags, and set to dry < n tiles. Wh* n dj> it is used with 
 gum. And to render it fii.er, you may-put some gamboge. 
 
 XCII. Tomake afirieverinilion. 
 
 Make a mixture of cochineal powder and burnt alum. 
 Stifle it quite hot in roi-e or pbiitain water. It will give 
 you the finest vermilion in the world. 
 
 XCIII 'A secret to druv} vjithout either ink or pencil. 
 
 Rub a sheet of paper with tripolv. Then with any 
 blunt point, form your drawing on it. Whatever you trace 
 will be visible, 
 
 XCI V. Tq make an imitation ofevatnel on tin, for chimney 
 branches, CfC' 
 
 Get a sheet of block-tin very clean, and cut it in the 
 form, shape, and figure you chuse to make your flowers 
 and other things. Grind what colours you purpose to 
 make use of, with clean water, and each separ aely, then 
 let them dry. When you want to employ iheni, dilute 
 them. each a part. with liquid varni?h,and lav theni on with 
 the brush. Set the work in the open air for tear the co- 
 lours should run, and when they are a little thick end and 
 consolidated, finish drying them before a gentle fire^ 
 
74 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c 
 
 XCV. A valuable secret to make exceeding good crayons, 
 
 as hard as red chalet discovered hy Prime Rupert, brother to 
 
 Prince Palatin. 
 
 Grind on the stone some tobacco-pipe clay, with com- 
 mon water, so as to matie a paste of it. Then take sepa- 
 rately each colour, and grind them, when dry, on the stone, 
 so Hue as to sift ihem throu»;h a silk sieve. Mix, of each 
 of thecolourb, with your first white paste as much as will 
 make it of a higher or paler hue, and embody the whole 
 •with a little common honey and gum-arabic water. 
 
 J^^ote. Y )u must be attentive to make crayons of various, 
 degrees of hues in each colour, for the chiaros and oscuros, 
 or lights and shadr-s. Then roll each crayon between 
 two boards very clean, and set them to dry on paper for 
 two days in theshide. To co nplete their drying lay them 
 in the sun ; and tiien you may use them with satisfaction 
 
 XCVI. To render the stone- cinnabar, and vermilion finer ; 
 and at the same time to prevent them from blackening 
 
 1. You raise the hue of the stone vermilion, if, in grind- 
 ing it, syou add gamboge water, tinged with a httle saffron. 
 This preparation extt-nds only to the red. 
 
 2. With respect to the orange colour, you must add 
 some nninium to it. 
 
 3 For the yellow, put a discretionable quantity of 
 orpine in cakes, prepared as follows:— lake the fiHest 
 orpine you can find, and grind it well with water. Make 
 it in little cakes, and set it to dry on paper- When dry, 
 pulverise and u^e it. 
 
 4. For the gridelin, take French sorrel and boil it in 
 water, to draw as strong a tincture from it as you possibly 
 can. Then have whitehead ( dried in cakes, and pre- 
 pared after the method abovementioned for the orpine) 
 and grind it a-new with this sorrel tincture, then dry it 
 Grind and dry it again, and repeat this operation with the 
 sorrel tincture, till you have obtained the d^ired point of 
 colour. 
 
 XCVII. Process used in making Eastern carmine. 
 
 1. Have a two quart glazed pipkin. quite new, wash itwith 
 boiling water, then fill it with water, very clean and filter- 
 ed. Set it on blasting coals, and when it begins to boil, 
 throw in a drachm of chouan in fine powder, which boil 
 very qu ck for near a quarter of an hour. Then strain thi% 
 water through a cloth washed in lye, but not with^ soap, 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 75 
 
 and receive it in another new glazed pipkin, washed as the 
 first. Put this on a fire not quite so blasting as the first ; 
 and, when it begins to give signs of boiling throw in an 
 ounce of the finest cochineal, pulverised very fine. Stir 
 often with a hazel stick, stripped of its peel, and let boil 
 gently for near a quarter of an hour ; then throw jjjfi&ixty 
 grains of autour in subtile powder and keep it boning^for 
 half aquarterof an hour. Take it offfrom thefire,andthrow 
 in sixteen graiv^s of Rojitan alum in powder, then strain it 
 irn mediately tlirough a clean cloth, washed with lie. and 
 no soap, and receive it in two different large china bowls, 
 new and perfectly clean. Place these m a room, where 
 they will be perfectly free from dust, at.d lei them rest 
 there for a week, that the carmine niay have time to 
 make a precipitation. 
 
 2- At the end of this term, decant out gently vour tinc- 
 ture into .two other china bowls, of the same size as the 
 two former and as pertecth cl- an, taking great care in 
 decanting, to doit sc g(-r<lv that the liqit^r niay not carry 
 the carmine along with it. Then dry in a sha^le the carmine, 
 ■which js lett in the bottom of >our btwls, gather it with 
 a little brush, and ke^p it very cleanlv- 
 
 3. Eight or ten days afterwards, more or less, decant 
 again the tincture which is in the secord boAl into a i ew 
 varnished pipkin, then dry and gather th- carmine, which 
 is at the bottom, in the same manner as the first. 
 
 4. Then set the pipkin, in which the cat n)ine has been 
 decanted for this second tin e, on the fire, ai.d vaporise fhe 
 liquor gently, till the ground remains in the ccnsisience of 
 a pap. Thispap-lfke ground must then be put in several 
 small china cups, and placed in the sun to dry, which will 
 procure you again anorhtr carmine, darker, ard nuch 
 less valuable than the first. Should there happen any 
 inoistness on your last cups, take it off immediately, but 
 gently, and with a great deal ot care. 
 
 5. In order to take the writer off from your china bowls, 
 you might make use ol another r. ethod. viz- a very fine 
 and clean sponge in the following manner : Dip your 
 spunge into very clear and pure water, and thete work 
 it well with vour haiid, soaiiing and |)ressir-g it alternately, 
 till you have rendered it very soft. 1 hen press and squeeze 
 it dry in a clean towel. Now if you only approach it to the 
 superfice < f the tincture water! it will imnjediateiy fill it- 
 self with it, and you may squeese it into another enpty 
 bowl, thus repeating the same process, till you have got 
 it all out of tlie first bvvls ; taking care every time you 
 approactt it to the surfc^ce ot the wat«r r, lest it should touch 
 the carmine ; for no doubt but it would carry some along 
 with the water. 
 
 6. if you dissolve one drachm of mineral crystal into 
 
76 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 this tincture, by boiling it to th it effect for five or six 
 minutes, it will heln a great deal the precipitation of the 
 colonr, ^'roTfi which you take out afterwards the water with 
 a sponi^e, as we said before- Should the water you have 
 thus drawn out be still tinged, vou mav add some mote 
 mineral crystal to it again ; boil it as before, st'ain it 
 throua;h a cloth, and let it settle. By these means you 
 will have very fine crimson carmine. 
 
 XCVIII. The process observed in making' the lakC' 
 
 1. Take one pound of Alicant kali, or Bril-ash, pulver- 
 ised, which put in a kettle with four quarts of spring wa« 
 ter. Boil the whole for the space of a quarter of an hf)ur, 
 keeping stirring all the while with a stick, then take it 
 fro n the fire, and let it cool, so as to be able to keep vour 
 finger in it without scalding. When it is ;n that state, 
 throw it in a jellv-bag, made of cloth, to filter it, and ren- 
 der it perfectly clr-ar. Pat it next in a new glazed pipkin, 
 with one ounce of finely pulverised cochaneal, previously 
 ' diluted bv degrees with some of the same lye. Set it a boil- 
 ing for half a quarter of an hour, and never cease to stir it 
 wifh a stick all the while it is on the five — You may, if you 
 chuse, add one drachm of serra merita in fii»e powder, at 
 the same time with that of the chochineal ; it will render 
 your lake the redder — When the whole shall have boiled 
 the prescribed time, take it offihe fire, and let the tincture 
 cool, in order to pass it through a cloth, or the abote men- 
 tioned jelly-bag. Set a large stone pan under the bag. to 
 receive the tincture which shall filter ; atid, when all is 
 well drained, take the bag, turn it to throw oif all the 
 dregs, and wash it well, inside and outside, in cL ar water, 
 and wring it quite dry- 
 
 2. Now hang again this same bag at two feetdistance, or 
 thereabout, above the pan wherein the tincture did run, 
 and now is. Dissolve, in about two quarts of warm spring 
 water, six ounces of Roman alum well poimded, that it 
 may more readily melt. When this dissolution is no more 
 than lukewarm, have somebody to pour it for you in the 
 above jelly-bag whileyou stir with a stick what runs from 
 it into your tincture, and do so till the whole is passed 
 through, and the tincture froths no more — I hen wring 
 well your bag again, to express all the alum's dissolution 
 from it into your tincture, and wash it again afterwards in 
 clear water, as before- 
 
 3- Hive another stone pan like the first, hang your bag 
 again over it, and pour all your tincture in it. It it run clear 
 like water, vou may then let it go so ; if not, put it again in 
 the bag over the other, and continue so to do till it abso- 
 lutely does run clear- 
 
Secrets in arts, trades, &c. 77 
 
 If, however, after having repeated this three or four times, 
 it should ct^ntinue to run tm^ed: dissolve t^vo or three 
 ounces more ot pulverisedUoman aluns in about two quarts 
 of that tingf d water, then stir and mix it well in the whole 
 quantity ot cincture, then pour it a^ain in the bag where 
 the lake is, re- pouring again and agiam what shall run first 
 from it, till it runs quite clear, and does not even stain the 
 paper. 
 
 4. Then let drain well the lake which is In the bag ; 
 and with a box- spoon take it, and spread it on pieces of 
 cloth, laid on plastered stones, and let it dry, in the shnde 
 •where there is no dust, or where, at least, you may pre- 
 serve it from any, 
 
 XCIX. To make the fine columbine lake, 
 
 1. Take half a pound of the finest Brasil wood you can 
 find. Cut it in small bits, and pound it m an iron mortar. 
 Put this in a new glazed pipkin ; pcur over it two quarts 
 ot strong wine vinegar Let this infuse without the assis- 
 tance of any heat tor three whole days. Boil it r.ext for 
 halt an hour ; then add <>ne ounce of pulverised Roman 
 alum, and boil it agam for the space ot three quarters of 
 an hour, that the alum mav the uore periectly be dissolv- 
 ed, and the stronger the colour. 
 
 2. Take the pot off the fire ; and rasping the softest 
 part of a dozen cuttle fish bones, add this powder to it. 
 Replace the jiot on the fire, and stir the contents till you 
 see a froth rising on the composition ; when inimediately 
 taking the pot off from the fire again, cover with its lid, 
 and let it stand for a week. During that space ot timeyou 
 must, however, carefully stir this matter four times a day. 
 
 3. Have next a glazed pan, filled with dry sand as high 
 as three finger from the brim. In this s md put your pot 
 half way in. Place all on a charcoal fire, till it nearly 
 boils ; then, taking the pot off from the fire, run the liquor 
 through a clean cloth. Put it in differt nt retorts, and set 
 them half way in the sar.d again, which, by this time, 
 ought to be q-.ute cold. Replace all on the fii e as before, 
 and keep it there till it begins to simmer ; then taking it 
 from the fire, let it cool, and the lake is done. But it must 
 not be used till twelve days after. 
 
 JVote. When the tincture is in the retorts, you may put 
 in each of them half a gill of lye, made with vine branch 
 ashes. When you put the powder of cuttle fish-bones in 
 the tincture, you must take care it is warm. The residue 
 which is found at the bottoms of the retorts ought not to be 
 thrown away, as it is very good to paint in water colours^ 
 
 H 
 
rs SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, &c. 
 
 C JJiiie rcdxoaterj for miniature painting. 
 
 1. Put in a new glazed pipkin one ounce oi I'e-namburg 
 Brasil wood, finely rasped. Pour thee pints of spring wa- 
 ter on it, with six drachms of fine white isine;lass chopped 
 very snnall Place the pot on warm ashes, for three days, 
 during which you are to keep up the same degree of heat. 
 
 2. When the isinglass is melted, add two ounces of 
 kermes in ^rain. one of alum, and three drachms of borax, 
 •well pounded. Boil this gently to the reduction of one half; 
 then strain the liquor through a cloth, bottle and stop it 
 ■well, and set it in the sun for a week before using. 
 
 J\'ote. This water may very properly be used as a wash 
 to give an agreeable bloom to pale faces. 
 
 CI. The receipt of the Jine Venitian lake. 
 
 1. Take one pound of good pearl ashes- Put it in a large 
 copper; then, pour over it six gallons of spring water. 
 Let the pearl ashes soak thus twenty-four hours, after 
 which, set the cop])er on the fire, and boil it for one quar- 
 ter of an hour Then filter through a cloth jelly-bag, and 
 receive th- hlteration in a stone pan- 
 
 2. If noi quite clear, filter it till it is ; changing the pan 
 only underneath, pour what ran thick in the bag attain. 
 When all is new filtered and clear, put it! the cop], er 
 again, which must have been previously washed, and set 
 it on the fiie to boil- When it bods, throw in two pounds 
 of fine sc:arlet fl^icks which boil to whitt-ness Ihtn hlter 
 again thisl'.e tinged with scarlet colour, in the before- 
 •mentioni-d jelly- bag, and press well the flocks, that there 
 mav not reuDain any colour in them. 
 
 Observe that your bag may serve both for the lake and 
 tincture, without being at the trouble of cleansing it, you 
 must not hi er through it the second Ive in whiCh the scar- 
 let is For should y< u pour this lye from your copper, di- 
 rectly into it, the scarlet flocks would undoubtedly run 
 Willi the lye, which \» uuld give you an infinite deal of trou- 
 ble to vei out the bag, alter ihe hkeruig of the tincture. 
 And the least bit ot it would entirely spoil the lake ; to 
 avoid all these inconveniences, strain your !^econd lye 
 either through a cioth, or another ba^ by itself 
 
 3 While thv^ tincture is filtering, get the copper well 
 Gleaned, and wiped dry. Put the filtered tincture in it. 
 Dissolve, over the fire, in a glazed earthen pan, half- a 
 pt-und of Ron-an alum in one quart of spring water Then 
 strain it quickly, and while w^rai, pour it in your tif.cture, 
 keep stirring all the wlnle, and a terwards, till all the 
 froth has quite subsided. Boil next altogether for the 
 space or halt a quarter of an hour. 1 hen throw it in the 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 5cc. 79 
 
 same bag, that filtered your first lye, and receive the fil- 
 teration into a clean stone pan 
 
 4. Besides this : boil aj^ain, in another quart of spring 
 water, half a pound of Fernamburg Brasil wood, cut and 
 bruised in an iron mortar- Strain it throujrh a cloth, and 
 pour it along with the above dissolution of Roman alum in 
 the jelly-bajr. '^^^^ stir it to run altogether. 
 
 5. After all is run out of the bag, throw in again half a 
 pint «f quite cl^ar and pure spring water. 
 
 6. When nothing runs any more out of the bag, the lake 
 is left in it- Take it out with a box-spoon, and spread it 
 on plaisterflat stones, three fingers thick, and about half a 
 foot square, covered with white cloth of the same size. 
 For should there be no cloth on the plai^ter, the lake 
 would stick to it. 
 
 J\fote- It often happens for the first water which runs 
 out ot the bag to be muddvj and to carry some lake>long 
 with it. But you must continue filtering till it comes bright 
 and clear. Then taking eft the pan from underneath, and 
 substituting another, put that muddy liquor into the bag 
 again. Should th^ filtration by chance continue to run red, 
 as it soiT etimt's happens, you must still keep filtering the 
 iiquor through the bag, till it is clarified. 
 
 CIL Directions for colouring prints, 
 
 1- All the colours which are used for colouring prints 
 are grinded with gum water ; the calcined green only 
 excepted, which grmds with vinegar. 
 
 2. The chief of these colours are, fine azure, vermilion, 
 Venetian lake, fine verditure, white lead, calcined green, 
 umber, Cologn earth, indigo, French berriesjuicej yellow 
 ocnre, yellow-massicot ; white massicot, brown ochre, 
 bistre, prepared soot lamp-black, and brown red. 
 
 3. For complexions, make a mixture of white and ver- 
 milion, n)ore or less, according a^ you want the colour 
 For the lips, it is a mixture of lake and vermilion, and the 
 shades are made with white and vermilion, and a great 
 deal of umber. 
 
 4. For fair hair, join a good deal of white with very little 
 umber. If a carrotty colour, take yellow ochre and brown 
 red i the shade with bistre and lake mixed together If 
 light, only mix some black and white and umber together. 
 
 5. Clothes, are made, if linen, with white lead and a little 
 blue ; it stuflTs, with white lead alone, and the shades with 
 a grey colour, made by means of a mixtuie of black and 
 white lead together, if a white cloth, you must make a 
 mixture ot white and umber together, and shade it with 
 a corr.pound of umber and black. If a red cloth, use 
 vermilion in the lighter parts of the folds, lake and ver- 
 
so SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec 
 
 milion for the clear shades ; the lake alone laid on the 
 vermilion, will form the dark shades- 
 
 CI (I. Directions for the mixture of cfAours' 
 
 1. The pale yellow for the lights, is made with white 
 massicot. The chiaro oscuro, with the massicot and um- 
 ber. The dark shade with umber alone- 
 
 2. The orange colour is made with black lead for the 
 lights, shade with the lake. 
 
 3 The lake is used very clear for the lights, in draperies, 
 and thicker for the shades- 
 
 4. The purple is made with blue, white, and lake, for 
 the lights ; blue and lake only for the clear shades' and 
 indigo and bJueforthe darker ones. 
 
 5. The pale blue is used for the lights, and for the 
 clear shades a little thicker ; but for the darker shades, 
 mix the indigo and blue together. 
 
 6. The gold like yellow is made with yellow massicot 
 for the lights ; and the clear shades with a mixture of 
 black lead and massicot ; the darker shade with lake, 
 yellow ochre, and very little black lead : and the darker 
 of all, with Cologn earth and lake- 
 
 7. The green is of two sorts- The first made with massi- 
 cot and blue, or blue and white ; and for the shades, make 
 the blue predominate in the mixture- The other is made 
 with calcined green ; and French berries juice, mixed 
 and calcined green ; and you may form their shades 
 by addition of indigo- 
 
 8- For trees you mix green and umber together- 
 
 9. The grounds are made in the same way ; wherever 
 
 there is any green, take calcined green, with French 
 
 berries juice. 
 
 10- For the distance, mix green and blue together ; and 
 mountains are always made with blue- 
 
 11- The skies are likewise made with blue, but you 
 must add a little yellow to them, when it comes near the 
 mountains to make the transition between that and the 
 blue mix a little lake and blue together t.3 soften it. 
 
 12. Clouds are made with purple ; if they be obscure ; 
 you must mix lake and indigo together. 
 
 15. Stones are made with white and yellow mixed toge^ 
 ther, and their shades with black. 
 
 CIV. Directions Jor painting fresco. 
 
 1. Lay on the intended wall a coat of rifted silver sands, 
 mixed with old slack lime, pulverised and sifted also- 
 This coat is not to be laid on the wall, but in proportion 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 81 
 
 as you paint : therefore prepare no more at a time than 
 you are sure to paint over in one day, while fresh and 
 moist. The body of the wall on which you lay this coat 
 must previously be pargetted with plaister, or mortar 
 made with sand and lime. And if tht- paintings ai e to be 
 exposed to the injuries of the weather, the m.ason's work 
 must be made of brick or freestones very dry. 
 
 2. Before you begin to pa-nt, ynu musr. prepare your de- 
 signs in their tuU intend- d size, on paper, and chalk them 
 one after another on the wall, in proi)ortion as you work, 
 and no longer than half an hour after the coatot prepared 
 river sand has be< n laid on.and wt 11 polished with a trowel. 
 
 3. In these sorts <if paintings all the compounded and 
 artificial made colours as well as most ot the mineralones, 
 are rejected They use hardly any otlier but earths, which 
 may preseive their hue and d-fend it trom bemg burnt by 
 thehme. x\ndthat the work may preserve its beauty, you 
 must employ the n quicKly wnile the coat underneath is 
 still moist ; and never as some do; touch them over after 
 they are dry, with colours diluted in yolks of eggs, glue, 
 or gum, because these colours always blacken, and never 
 keep that vvucity and brilliaiscy tiiose have which have 
 been laid at first when the ground was moist In the case 
 of paintings exposed in the air, this s^rt of touching up is 
 is never good, and too often scales otf in a short time. 
 
 CV. Directions for the choice, use and composition of 
 the colours emfiLoyed Jor the abovt purjtoae. 
 
 The colours made use of for the above purpose, are 
 such as follow. 
 
 1 I'he white is made with a lime which has been slack- 
 ed for a great while, and white marl)le in subtle ))owder, 
 mixed in about equal quantities. Sometimes no more 
 than a quarter part of the marble dust is required, which 
 depends entirely on the quality of the lime, and cannot be 
 known but when you come to use it; for if there be too 
 much marble, the white will turn black. 
 
 2 Ochre or brown red, is a natural earth. 
 
 . 3. Yellow ochre is also a natural earth, which becomes 
 red if you burn it. 
 
 4 The obscure yellow, or yellow ochre, which is also 
 a natural earth,*and slimy, is to be got by th. streams of 
 iron .-nines. It receives a fine colour from calcination. 
 
 5. Naples yellow, is a sort o; filth, which gathers round 
 the nriines of brimstone ; and though it be usrd in fresco 
 paintings, its colour nevertheless, is not so good as that 
 which is made of earth, or yellow ochre and white mixed 
 together. 
 
 H 2 
 
82 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c, 
 
 6. The purple red is a natural earth, the product of 
 England, and i.s used instead of lake. 
 
 7. The tervete from Verona in Lombardy, is a natural 
 e irth which is very hard and dark. There is also another 
 son of terxiertC' 
 
 8. The ultramarine, or la/iis lazuli, is a hard stone, and 
 of a difficult preparation. This colour subsists and keeps 
 itstlt fine much longer than any other colour. It is not to 
 be ground, but diluted only on the pallet with oil. As it 
 is very dear, vou may spare using it in fresco paintings, 
 and supi'ly it by smalt, which answers the same purpose, 
 particularly in skies. 
 
 9. Smalt is a blue-colour, which has a very little sub- 
 stance. It is used in great landscapes, and stands very 
 ■well the open air. 
 
 ^ 10. Umber is an obscure earth. It requireth to be cal- 
 cined in an iron box, if you want to make it finer, brown- 
 er, and of a better look. 
 
 1 1 C' tlogn earth is a sort of rusty black, which is apt to 
 discharge, and turn red. 
 
 12. The earthen bhck, is a black which comes from 
 Germany. There is another sort of German black, which 
 IS a natural earth, and makes a bluish black, lik&that of 
 charcoal. This sort of black is that which is used for mak- 
 ing printer's ink.. There is another still, which is made 
 with burnt wine lye. 
 
 Such are all the colours, which are preferably to be 
 used inyr^sco-painting. Grind and dilute them with wa- 
 ter. Before begmning to work, prepare your principal 
 colours, and put each by themselves, in small gaUipots. It 
 is necessary to know that except the purple red, the 
 brown red, the yellow ochre, and all the blacks, (those 
 particularly which have passed through the fire) turn 
 paler as the Jresco dries. 
 
 CVJ. Directions for fiainting in oil on a wall. 
 
 Method 1. 
 
 You must when the wall is perfectly dry, give it two dt 
 three coats of boiling oil, or morcj it necessary, so that the 
 face of the wall may remain greasy, and can soak in no 
 more ; then lay another coat ot ficcaiive colours, whch is 
 ^one as follows. Grind some common whitening, or chalk, 
 red, ochre, and other sorts of earth, pretty stiff, antl lay a 
 coat of it on the wall. When this is very dry, then draw 
 and paint on it whatever you will, observe to mix a little 
 varnish among your colours, that you may not be obliged 
 to varnish them afterwards* 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES.f&c. 83> 
 
 CVII. Method % 
 
 In order it may sooner dry.and that the dampness should 
 not occasion the colour to scale, as it sometimes hap- 
 pens, on account of the oil which resists it, make a ce- 
 ment with lime and marble dust, or tiles ; this lay on the 
 wall with a trowel, smoothen it, and then give it a coat 
 of iintseed oil, with a larf!;e brush. In the next place, pre- 
 pare a composition of Greek pitch, mastich, and coarse 
 varnish, which boil altogether in a pipkin, and lay after- 
 wards, fir^^t with a brush then smoothen with a hot trow- 
 el, in order to spread it more equally. When this is 
 done, lay on a coat of ficcative colours above mentioned, 
 then draw their design and paint. 
 
 CVlir. Methods. 
 
 Others again make a cement, or mortar,with lime brick= 
 dust and sand. Anti when this is dry, make another with 
 lime, sifted brick dust and smith*^ embers, or iron scum, 
 all in equil q'.idntities. Beat and incorporated t(>gether,with 
 ■whites of eggs and Imtseed oil, and it will make so strong 
 a cement as cannot be t qual bv any thing. Its nature is 
 such, that while you ate layuig it on, you must not stop 
 and leave it till you have fini-^hed, otherwise it will assur- 
 edly crack in every one of those places where you resum- 
 ed your work. Therefore go or. till the whole wall is en- 
 tir;^ly covered with it, ^nd totally polished. And when 
 dry lav the abovementioned coat of ficcative colours, and 
 proceed accord mg to the other directions. 
 
 CIX. Directionsjbr fiainting in oil on wood. 
 
 Lay first one coat ol size on the wood ; then another of 
 ■whitenmg diluted with size, then another again of boihog 
 oil. When this last is throughly dry, you draw yoor^J&^j- 
 sign and paint as usual. ^-x":' 
 
 CX, Directions Jor fiainting in oil on canvas. "^ 
 
 1. Chuse a fine and smooth tick or cloth, which nail on 
 a frame. Pass over it first a coat of siz-^ . and when dry, rub 
 it ov,r with a pounce stone to e.it off all the knobs and 
 knots. The size which you put first on the cloth is in- 
 tended to lay down all the threads, and fill up all the 
 small holes, that the colour may not pass through 
 
 2. When the cloth is dry, lay on a coat of simple colour, 
 ■which may not destroy the others ; or example, brown 
 red, which is a natural earth, full of substance and lasting. 
 
34 SFXRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec. 
 
 You may mix it, if you like, with a little white lead, it will 
 dry the sooner To grind this colour, they use nut, or 
 lintseed oil, and in order to lay it as thin as it is possible, 
 they use a large knife made on purpose. 
 
 3. When this colour is dry, you are to rub it again with 
 the pounc- stone, to render it smoother. Then lay ano- 
 ther coat of white lead and charcoal biack, to render the 
 ground grevish. In this as well as the preceding coats, 
 you must take care to put as little colour as you possibly 
 can, to prevent the cloth from era*, king, and for the better 
 preservation of the colours which are to be laid afterwards 
 in painting. For it is proper to observer, that could there 
 br no ground at all laid on the canvas of a pictu»'e, previ- 
 ous to the painting of it, and should one paint directly on 
 the bare cloth without any other preparation, the colours 
 "Would appear much more to their advantage, and pre- 
 serve their brightness much longer. A proof of this as- 
 sertion may be found in the practice of Paul Veronese and 
 Titian, who used to impregnate their cnnvas with water ^ 
 colours only, and paint afterwards in oil over that ground. 
 This custom has not a little contributed to rendt r their 
 pieces more livt-ly and bright, because the ground in wa- 
 ter colours draws and soaks the oil off the colours, which 
 must render th-m much finer, as the greatest cause of 
 their dulness arises only from the oil, with which they 
 are diluted. 
 
 4. Thev, therefore, who wish to see their works keep 
 bright and lively, use as little oil *as possible, and keep 
 their colours more stiff, mixing a little oil of spike amongst 
 them, which indeerl vaporises very soon, but assists in ren- 
 dering them more fluid and tractable in working- 
 
 5- Another cause of the colours not keeping a long 
 "while their beauty is, when they are too much tormented 
 on the pnllet as it often happens that painters conuse 
 them in working. Whenever this is the case, they must 
 needs be hurt, as there are many which adulterate and 
 otherwise corrupt the others and spoil the vivacity of 
 their teint. We cannot recommend too much to be cau- 
 tious and clean in employing them, taking care to lay them 
 as distinct and separate as possible, each by themselves,, 
 on the pallet, without mixing them too much with the 
 brush or pencil. Never mmgle together those colours 
 which are enemies to each other, as all the blacks are, 
 particularly, the lampblack ; but as much as possible 
 try to use them separately. When there is occasion of 
 giving more stren^h to some parts of a picture, stay till 
 it is dry before you touch it up again, if those colours are 
 obnoxious to the others with which you are to do it There 
 he shews his judgment in paiutingj who is not precipitate. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 85 
 
 in laying his colours on his pictures, but ia) $ them thick 
 enough, and covers at several times the carnations, which 
 in terms of art is called emfiater, 
 
 6. As to what concerui^the first laying of grounds on can- 
 vas, in water colours, it is a nnt thod not corr.nnojily prac- 
 tised, b( caii"<e they may scale, and cannot be rolled with- 
 out some difficulty. For this reason, the custom prevails of 
 gt nunding the canvas with oil colours. But when the can- 
 vas is good and very fine, the less colour you can lay or for 
 that purpose the better. Take care only those colours 
 and oils are good. The lead which some painters use to 
 help their colours to dry the sooner, soon destroys their 
 brightness and beauty. 
 
 CXI. Which colours are used for the above fiurpose. 
 
 1 Though all the different sorts of colours which are 
 used in painting in oil are not fit for that called/rf.sco, yet 
 it is true, that (except lime and marble dust, which can- 
 not strictly be called colours,) every one of those used in 
 fresco are good in oil. 
 
 2. White lead is made with lead which you bury. Se- 
 veral years after this lead turns into scrme sorts of flakes, 
 ■which are of a very fine white. Though this white exists 
 in painting, and is in positive use. it hcis, how- ver a very 
 bad quality, which the oil corrects a little wh'^n you grind 
 it on the stoge. 
 
 3. Certise, or flake white, is a sort of rust or gathered 
 from lead, but of a coarser nature than the other. 
 
 4. Massicot ; there are two sorts of this colour. The 
 one is yellow, and the other is white. It is made with cal- 
 cined lead. 
 
 5 Orpine, otherwise auripigment Is used calcined and 
 non-Calcined. Tocalcine it, they put it in an iron box, or in 
 a pot well stopped. But few either calcine it, or even use it 
 at all, the fumes are mortal, and if is very dangerous to 
 use it. 
 
 6. Back lead comes from lead mines. They make very- 
 little use of it, because it is a bad colour of itself, besides 
 that, it is a great enemy to the others. 
 
 7. Cinnabar, or vermilion, is drawn from the. mines 
 ■where they gather quicksilver. As it is a mineral, it is 
 the reason why it does not resist the impression of the air, 
 nor the injuries of the weather. 
 
 8. Lake. This colour, which is an artificial made one, 
 is composed with cochineal or with scarlet flocks; or 
 again, Brasil-wood, and some other sorts of woods. There 
 are several sorts of lake made. It does not stand the wea» 
 t^er. 
 
86 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 9. Blue verditure and green verditure is very seldom 
 used in any other works but landscapes. 
 
 10. Indijjo. This colour is generally used for making 
 skies, or draperies ; when properly used, its keeps its 
 beauty a great while You must not mix it with too great 
 a quantity of o.l, but lay it a little thick and dark, because 
 it dibcha'-ges very much. They use it with great success, 
 diluted with gum water. It is a good colour for the com- 
 position of greens. 
 
 11- Brown pink, otherwise called siill-de grain This 
 eoiour is drawn from what is called French berries, which 
 they soak and boil, then mix the result with vme-wcod 
 ashes, or calcined white chalk, to give it a proper consis- 
 tence. When this is done, it must be strained through a 
 very fine cloth. 
 
 12. Lanipblack. This is a bad colour, but handy to 
 paint black draperies 
 
 13. Ivory black. This black is made indifferently with 
 co;!imon bones, as well as ivory burnt. Ap,fieLLes discovered 
 this sort of black, if we believe Fliny, book. xxxv. chap. 5. 
 
 14. Verdigrease is the most pernicious of all the colours, 
 and capable to ruin a whole picture, if there were never 
 so little in the colour with which the canvas is first im- 
 pregnated. — It is however of a very agreeable look. They 
 sometimes calcine it to prevent its malignent effect ; but 
 it is as dangerous to use it that wa\ as orpine ; and it is an 
 undoubted trutii that, ho v. ever well prepared it may be, 
 it must be employed by itself, for it would spoil all the co- 
 lours with which it niay be mixed. It dries very much, 
 and for that purpose they mix a little of it with the blacks, 
 wh;ch can never dry with</Ut. some assistance- 
 
 N B You mu.st be very careful never to use, for other 
 colours, tne pencils with which you shall have laid any 
 verdigrease. 
 
 15. There are again some other sbrts cf compound co- 
 lours which are never used but in oil. 
 
 CXII. Which oils are used in /minting. 
 
 1. The bast oils which are used in painting are those of 
 nut and lintseed. To render the colours n.ore fluid, and 
 spread more easily under the pencil, they use also oil of 
 spike. This oil abscorbs itself in the canvas, and leaves 
 the colours without any gloss. It is made wnh the flowers 
 of a plant called spikenard, or lavender spike. 
 
 2 There is another oil drawn ftom Melezlan, rosin, firs, 
 &c wherefore it is called oil of turpentine. This oil iavery 
 good for touching up pictures ; but it is chitfly good for 
 mixing with ultramarine, and the different so: is ot smaV.s, 
 because it serves to make them spread with more facility , 
 
EGRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. SY 
 
 and evaporatesal most immediately. When you make 
 use of this oil, the less there is of any other oil in the colour 
 the better, as they all serve only to make it turn yellow. 
 
 3. There are other oils again which are denominated 
 ficcativeoils, because they serve to dry up the others the 
 sooner. These are many in number and species. One sort 
 is nothing but the oil of nut, boiled with gold litharge and 
 a w)iole onion peeled, which is taken off after boiling ; this 
 onion serving only to exsiccate the greasy parts of the oil, 
 and to clarify it. Ano-her sort is made with azure in 
 powder, or smalt, boiled in oil of nut. When the whole has 
 boiled, you must let it settle, and then skim off the top it 
 is fittest for diluting the white, and such of the other co- 
 lours as you want to preserve purest and neatest. 
 
 CXI II. 2^0 take off instantly a cofiy from a firint^ or a 
 /itcture. 
 
 Make a water of soap and alum, with which wet a 
 cloth or a paper ; luy either on a print or picture, and 
 pass it once under the rolling press ; then going round the 
 other side to take it up, vou will have a very fine copy 
 of whatever you shall have laid it upon. 
 
 CXIV. Directions for making the Spanish carnation. 
 
 Take bastard saffron, wash dry, and grind it well. 
 While you grind it, put in four ounces of pearl ashes to 
 every one pound of saffron Incorporate them well both 
 together, and throw it into a double cloth jelly bag. Then 
 set a half a pint of Spanish lenn.n juicr- « n the fire, and 
 when just lukewar'n, pour it on the saffron in the bag, 
 and lay under it what you want to dye. The stuff which 
 is to be dyed ought previously to have been boiled in alum 
 water, then rinsed and wiped bt-iweei. two clothes, as a 
 preparatory process to make it take the dye better. 
 
 CXV. To make the Spanish ladies royge. 
 
 Vermilion, carefully laid on a sheet of paper, from 
 which, by me ins of wetting the tip of your linger with 
 your spittle, then take it off at will, and rub your cheeks, 
 lips &c. The method of tuakiig it is as follow. 
 
 1. i'ake good scarlet flocks and spirit of wine, or in their 
 stead, lemon juice. Boil the whole in an earthen pot, well 
 glazed and well stopped, till the spirit ot wine or lemon 
 juice, has charged itst If wiihal the colour of the scarlet 
 flocks. —Strain this dye throuv h a cloth, and wring ilhard, 
 to express well all the colour out. Boil it titer wards with 
 a iitUe ariibiQ water, tdl the colour becomes very deep. 
 
88 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c, 
 
 2. On half a pound of scarlet flocks you must put four 
 ounces o* spirit of wine, and a sufficient quantity of water, 
 to soak, well the flocks. Tht-n in the colour you ex- 
 tract from it, put the bulk of a filbert of guTi arabiC) and 
 boil the whole in a silver porringer- When this is 
 rea'.ly, as .we said before, proceed as follows. 
 
 3. Steep some cotton in the colour, and wet some sheets 
 of paper with it ; then let them dry in the shade Re- 
 peat this wettuig, drying of the same shtrts over again, 
 many times, till you find they are charged with rouge to 
 your satisfaction. 
 
 CXVI. AJine lake made mth shell-lac. 
 
 1. Boil and skirq well, sixteen pounds of chamber-lye ; 
 then put in one pouod of fine shell lac, with five ounces of 
 rochalum, in powd-^r- Boil all together, till you see the 
 chamber-lye is well charged with the colour, which you 
 may easily know by steeping a bit of white- rag in it ; then 
 take it o\it again, to see whether or not the colour please 
 you ; and if it do not, let it boil longer, repeatmg the 
 same trial, till vou are nerkctly satisfied. 
 
 2. Throw now the liquor in a flannel bag, and without 
 suffering what runs into the pan under to settle, repour it 
 into the bag so many times, till the liquor runs at last 
 quite clear and not tinged Then with a wooden sp itula, 
 take off the lake, which is in form of curd, form it into 
 small cakes, or balls, and dry them in a shade on new 
 tiles ; then keep them for use. 
 
 CXVII. Directions to make cinnabar, or vermilioji. 
 
 1 Put merCurv (or quick silver) is a glazed dish. Set it 
 on a sand bath, and let it b' well surrounded with the sand 
 every way. Pour some melted bri-viStcne over it, and 
 •with an iron spatula keep constantly striking, till the 
 whole is coverted into a black powder- 
 s' With this powder,fill the quarter part of a retort with 
 a short and wide neck. Pi ace it first on a fire of cinders. 
 Increase the fire by degrees, and continue it for ten 
 hours ; after which, make a blastmg one for twelve hours. 
 
 3. Observations — By the fir«t fire, there will arise a 
 black fume. — By thf second, a yellow, — And by the ! ist, 
 a red ; which signifies the perfect accompUslvment of the 
 cinnabar. — As s(4on as this is the ca!»e, let the vessel cool, 
 and you will firid in the receiver, and in the neck of the 
 retort, a very fine cinnabar. 
 
 N. B. Many, instead of a glass retort, use earthen, or 
 stone which all equally bear the fire- Make a slow fire for 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 89 
 
 about half an hour, then increase it till the red fumes 
 arise. Both methods answer the same purpose. 
 
 CXVIII. Another method of making cinnabar- 
 
 * 1. Melt brimstone in a pipkin over a slow fire, thea 
 
 • take it out, and with one hand squeeze a knot of murcury 
 between your fingers through a cloth into the melted sul- 
 phur ; and with the other, stir well till the lump is be- 
 come quite cold and black. 
 
 2. Put this into a subtile powder.with which having filled 
 the fourth part of a very long retort, lute it well, and very 
 exactly,with a good lute. Place" it next,without a receiver, 
 for two or three hours,on a very mild fire; then introduce 
 
 • into the retort a long funnel, which will reach to the bot- 
 tom of the retort, through that funnel pass along spatula, 
 ivhich touching also the bottom of the retort, should come 
 out ot the funnel five or six inches. In the middle of the 
 spatula let there be a burg of lute round it, well dri- 
 ed, which will stop so well the retort as to prevent it from 
 breathing any air. When all this is done, push on the fire 
 to a pretty smart degree, and keep it for five hours. 
 
 3. At the end of this term, draw out the spatula, and 
 introduce, through the same way that it came out, two 
 spoonfuls, or thereabouts, of your prepared powder of 
 brimstone and quicksilver, with which you intend to make 
 cinnabar, which for that purpose, have kept warm in a 
 vessel by the corner of the fire, that it may not cool the 
 .retort in going in, and thereby retard the operation. 
 
 4. Continue so to do, adding ever hour new matter, by 
 means of the drawing out the spatula to introduce the new 
 powder, and replacing it quickly, till you have increased 
 your lump of cinnabar to the quantity of one hundred 
 weight. The spatula's use in tlie neck of the retort is to 
 prevent its fiUing itself up by the sublimation of the mat- 
 ter, which would occasion two evils, that of breaking of 
 the retort, and of preventing the introduction of new pow- 
 der to increase the lump of cinnabar. So that at the same 
 time it keeps a free passage into the retort.it nevertheless 
 stops,it too, by means of the ball of lute which is round it. 
 But in the last place, in order there should remain no va- 
 cancy in the middle of the cinnabar-lump, take off the 
 spatula for the last time, and inject fresh powder ; then, 
 without reintroducing the spatula, stop the retort with a 
 lump of lute only. Thus the longer you keep the fire up, 
 the harder and redder the lump of cinnabar becomes. 
 
 5. Observations.— This cinnabar is the very same which 
 empirics use in fumigation, along with aloes wood. 
 
90 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 myrrh, and other aromatics, to excite the mouth, or belly 
 flux, vvhich they reiterate two or three times, or till that 
 flux, is abundant enout^h to procure the cure of the vene- 
 ral disorcler It is the same also which painters make use 
 of, and which enters into the composition of sealing-wax. 
 
 CXIX. An azure as fine as, and which looks similar to, 
 ultramarinC' 
 
 Grind well together into powder three ounces of ammo- 
 niac salt> and six of verdigrease. Then wet it continu- 
 ing to grind it with oil of tartar, till you have made it 
 pretty fluid- Put this into a glass matrass, and bury it five 
 days in hot dung. At the end of that term you will find 
 your composition turned into a fine azure. 
 
 CXX. The same, as practised in Germany- 
 
 1, Distil in an alembic, one pound of vitriol, half a pound 
 of nitre, and three ounces of cinnabar. In this water put 
 tinsel or copper ; they will dissolve. When the dissolu- 
 tion shall be perfected, add a sufficient quantity of calcin- 
 ed pewter to render your liquid quite milk- white Let the 
 whole rest for three days, and then you will have a mid- 
 dling azure. 
 
 % The liquor which stills, from the vitriol, cinnabar and 
 nitre, has the power to dissolve any sort of metal what- 
 ever. It has again this additional virtue, that if you rub 
 the forehead ef a horse with it, the hair will instantly 
 turn, and remain white at that place. 
 
 §IX. PREPARATION OF THE LAPIS LAZULI, TO MAKE 
 ULTRAMARINE. 
 
 CXXL 1.9^ The general manifiulation of the ivhole firo- 
 cess : each single fiart of which shall be treated of in 
 particular ajterwards. 
 
 1. Takp one pound, or whatever quantity you please^ 
 oi lafiis lazuli Let your stones be wtll chosen, and of 
 that si>rt which are streaky ^ith gold. Try their quality 
 whether good or bad. which is donp thus. Break ( ne bit 
 of it, set it on red hot coals, and blow as hard as > ou can 
 for an hour, then take it off aud let it cool. If in touching 
 it, it drop like mould or dust, it is a sign it is not worth 
 any tl\ing ; but if it remains hard and preserves its col ur, 
 it is good. VVhen you have thus made your-elf sure of the 
 quality of the stone, break it all in small knobs, put them 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 91 
 
 in a crucible on a melting fire, which by strength of bel- 
 lows you push on for an hour and a quarter- Then throw 
 them into the strongest double distilled wine vinegar. 
 When they are thus extinguished, take them out to dry* 
 and prepare the following water. 
 
 2. Boil a little raw white honey, with twopintsof water.in 
 a glazed pipkin- Skim it so long as there comes any scum 
 on it ; then take it off to cool ; and, when cold, dissolve in 
 it the bigness -of a nut of the best dragon's blond, reduced 
 into a subtile powder. Run this dissolution through a white 
 cloth into a glazed earthen pot- Observe to make your wa- 
 ter(with that dragon's blood) neither too red. nor too clear, 
 but to keep a just medium between both, that the azure 
 may take a finer hue. With this liquor grind, for the space 
 of an hour and a half, the above mentioned lapis^azidi, then 
 gather it into a large glazed vessel, let it dry in the shade, 
 but guard off the sun, otherwise it will undoubtedly lose 
 its coloiir. W^hen it is perfectly dry, grind it a-new into 
 a very fine powder, then pack and keep it tied very closely 
 in fine white linen. Then proceed to the following paste. 
 
 3- Take two ounces of the best white rosin, an equal 
 quantity of Greek pitch, and the same quantity again of 
 mastich, lintseed oil, turpentine, and virgin wax. Powder 
 what is powderable, and cut small wha^s not- Put all into 
 a new glazed pipkin, and boil it to perfWtion ; which you 
 know by letting a drop fall into cold water, and taking it 
 out with your fingers. For if it do not stick to your fingers, 
 it is done to perfection. When it is done toperfection,run 
 it quite hot through a sheer cloth into a pan of cold water, 
 •wherein leave it till perfectly hard ; then take it out and 
 let it dry. When you want to incorporate it with the 
 powder, proceed as follows 
 
 4 Cut this paste into small bits, and put it to melt over 
 the fire in a well tinned saucepan. \\'h'^n the contents 
 come to make a noise, throw in two ounces of oil of hitter 
 almonds, and let it boil for about ten minutes. In t4ie mean 
 while have yowr la/its lazuli powder ready in a vessel, then 
 pour over it gently, and little at a time, what is boiling in 
 the pipkin, observing to stir carefully while you pour, in 
 order to incorporate well this liquid with the pov.der,which 
 being done let the whole cool. Then, having rubbed your 
 hands with oil of olive, take this composition and work it 
 well in order to incorporate all perfectly ; and, after hav- 
 ing given it the form of a loaf, put it in a glazed vessel to 
 ket^p It for use. 
 
 5. When you want to draw the azure from it (which 
 must Jiot be less than twelve days after this last operation) 
 begin first by making a strong lye with wine wood ashes, 
 which vou strain through a fiannel bag, to get it very clear- 
 Then, putting it in a copper boiler* on the fire, till it is so 
 
92 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 hot as not to be able to keep the hand in without scalding, 
 you pour some of it on \vhat quantity ot the above pasttyou 
 please, to extract the azure from, and stir it gently till it 
 beg'ns to come out. When, by thus stirring your past in 
 this lye, this la-^ is become well chare:ed with the colour, 
 decrint it out with aiiother glased vessel, of which sorts of 
 vessels you must have a good provision ready. Then pour 
 again so^re more ^^arm lye on your paste, and work it the 
 same as before, till this new lye seems sufficiently charged 
 •with teint, and decant it out again into another well glazed 
 vessel. Pour new warm lye again on your paste, and pro- 
 ceed as before, continuing so to do till the paste gives no 
 more teint to the lye. 
 
 5 Observe, that when the lapis is good, you loose but 
 four ounces of it out of one pound , and that you extract 
 twelve ounces of azure in the following proportion. Five 
 ounces of very fine ultramarine, by the first washes ; four 
 middling, out of the second, and three base ones,hy the last. 
 Each of the different qualities must be kept separately, 
 and washed in several clear lyes, by changing them from 
 vessel to vessel several times, with new lye each time. 
 And when they seem to you very bright, put them a-dry- 
 ing in a shade; but not in the sun, in a room perfectly free 
 from dust. ^ 
 
 7- When it is med, take a glass of brandy, in which you 
 have put a soaking a little Brasil wood, and asperge the 
 ultramarine with that tinged brandy, stir it, and let it dry ; 
 renew the aspersion for two or three days, till the azure 
 participates a little of this teint- When it is well dried, 
 for the last time, you will find it to be of a most beautiful 
 hue. Then put it in small leather bags, and keep them 
 well tied. 
 
 CXXII. 2^. Directions to be observed in the process of 
 prtfiarmg the strong cement in which the lapis lazuli is 
 to be Incor/ioratedy to draw afterwards the azure Jrom it, 
 
 1. Take first, clear and neat Venetian turpentine-, four 
 ^dunces; fine white rosin, six ; fine Greek pitch, as much; 
 clear and pure mastich, three; fine shining white wax, 
 an equal quantity ; purified lintseed oil, one and a half. 
 Then have a well glazed pipkin, quite new ; put in it 
 first the turpentine and set it on a small and mild char- 
 coal fire. Stir it with a wooden spatula, like that of 
 apothecaries, till it is well liquified ; introduce, n- xt, the 
 rosin to it, by little and little at a time, and incorporate it 
 •well ; when this is done, add the Greek pitch to it, in the 
 same manner, then the mastich in powder, at three or 
 four times; then the wax cat very small, also by degrees, 
 and stir well till the whole is perfectly incorporated to- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 93 
 
 gether. Above all, take care to do this with a slow fire, 
 otherwise these matters will undoubtedly burn,as they are 
 of an inflamable nature At last put the lintseed oil, and 
 set the pot on the fire, and let the composition simmer 
 till the cement is quite done which you know by the 
 following experiment. 
 
 2. Turn the spatula all round the pot in the composi- 
 tion, then rising it out, let a drop or two fall into a pan of 
 cold water. If the drop spread on the water, the compo- 
 sition, is not done, therefore you must let it simmer longer 
 on the fire. If on the second trial the drop keep in one 
 lump, the matter is done. 
 
 3 When the cement has acquired a tolerable degree of 
 coldness in the water, take it out in a lump: and with your 
 hands imbibed with lintseed oil, prepared and purified, as 
 hereafter directed, for fear it should stick to them, work it 
 so well, that there shall remain no more water about it. 
 When this is performed, ihe cement is perfectly complet- 
 ed ; and to. preserve it, keep it perpetually in cold water. 
 Therefore, in summer, you must change that water every 
 day, and with such precautions, you may preserve it eight 
 or ten years always good for strong cement. 
 
 CXXIII. Another cement of a softer nature. 
 
 1. Take fine Venice turpentine, four ounces ; fine white 
 rosin, six ; Greek pitch ; as much fine wax.one ; and lint- 
 seed oil, three parts of an ounce. Prepare this cement af- 
 ter the same way as the other ; and observe carefully in 
 the doing of it the same order. 
 
 2- Observe, that this son of cement is sooner done than 
 the first, and that it will sooner return you the azure than 
 the first, which is harder, will do. But neglect not, if you 
 intend to work the lapis lazuli with both these cements, 
 you must begin with the soft first. And yet you are not to 
 be kept ignorant, that if your lafiis lazulibe not of the best 
 sort (which is the gold streaked sort) you must guard 
 well from giving it the two cements, in the art of prepar- 
 ing and giving the cement or cements, consists entirely 
 ,that of making the ultramarine azure ; in that point 
 lies all your gain or your loss. Thereiore take great 
 care to doit well. 
 
 CXXIV. Directions tofirefiare and purify the lintseed oil 
 for the azure. 
 
 1. Take whatever quantity you will of fine lintseed oil, 
 ?f a fine saffron or gold colour. Put it in a glass, or bul- 
 13 
 
94 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 lock's horn perforated at the small end* Pour over thii 
 oil some cold water, and stir it well with a stick, to mix it 
 ■well, then let it settle. When the oil and the water, are 
 divided, open the little hole which is at the bottom of the 
 horn, and let the water out. Put some fresh water and 
 repeating the same process seven or eight times, till the 
 water runs off as clear as you first put it in. 
 
 2. Thus your oil ishall be. perfectly purified ; and in that 
 state you may keep it in a well stopped glass bottle foruse- 
 
 3. The oil of bitter almonds may absolutely supply the 
 want of this ; but besides its being dearer, it is not near 
 so good for the purpose. 
 
 f^ote. That whenever we shall speak of oil, we always 
 mean lintseed oil thus prepared and purified. 
 
 CXXV. The lye to ivash the ultramarine with, 
 
 l-Take eight or ten handfuls of pearl-ashes, made with 
 vinewood ashes. Put this into a box perforated at the 
 bottom, aiid large en'-ush to hold a couple of pailfuls of 
 water. Place this b -sket, and set it so that the water 
 cannot run out of it without carr\ing the ashes along with 
 it. Stop the whole on the outside, before putting the 
 ashes into it, and press these down ven hard, then pour, 
 by dt\grees,a pailful of warm water over these ashes- VVhen 
 these are settled again, unstop the hole, and put a bung, 
 made of an old list of white cloth, through which you will 
 make it run drop by drop into a pan- Repeat this distil- 
 lation again, by putting this same lye into another perfo- 
 rated box. without anv ashes, and stop it with another 
 bung of the same kind as the first, so thnt you may get 
 your lye fine and clear; and put it to keep in a well glaz- 
 ed vessel, carefully covered, for fear of the dust. 
 
 2. Now pour another similar quantity of warm water on 
 the same ashes as before ; proceed exactly with this se- 
 cond water as with the first, and keep these two sorts of 
 water for use. 
 
 3. Repeat again the same operation, by pouring a third 
 pailful of water on the same ashes, and proceeding in 
 every respect as with ihe two former, you will be possess- 
 ed of three sorts of lye, of three different degrees of 
 strength. 
 
 4. These various sorts of lyes serve to wash the cement 
 or paste in order to draw the azure out. nfter the method 
 hereafter prescribed. When you want to proceed to 
 work, take of these three different sorts of lye, and mix 
 them so a;* to give them the due degree of strength, ae= 
 cording as you think requisite. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 95 
 
 CXXVL Another sort oflyejor the same purfiose. 
 
 There is another sort of lye which can be made to 
 cleanse the cement of its unctuosity and grease, and which 
 they prepare in the following manner. 
 
 1. Take whatever quantity of calcined tartar you like- 
 Boil it for a quarter of an hour in a clear water 1 hen 
 let it settle, and decant it into a glass bottle, stop it well, 
 and keep it for use. 
 
 2. It is fit for taking the grease off the cement when too 
 unctious. Likewise to wash all the ultramarine with, and 
 thereby heighten its cohjur. 
 
 3 This lye has also another particular quality, which 
 is that of curing the mange, the itch, and other cutaneous 
 disorders, by washmg with it. It purifies and whitens the 
 skin prodigiously. 
 
 CXXVII. Directions for the choice of the vessels m ivhich 
 the most impure ultramarine is to be ivashea^ in order to 
 be mixed afterwarda with the other azure. 
 
 1 The vessel, if it be an earthen vessel, should be well 
 hardened in the baking, and finely glazed in the inside, or 
 if of brass or copper, should be of a perlect polish all 
 round, and at the bottom, in the inside. 
 
 2. It must be perforated by the side with three holes, to 
 admit of three cocks,one toward the middle part, the oth- 
 fer lower, and the third at two fingers breath from the bot- 
 tom. 
 
 3. Though the azure matter which is at the bottom of 
 the vessel appear not to you to be such, let it lest eight 
 or ten days, and you will be convinced of the contrary. 
 When vou plainly perceive somewhat of azure at the bot- 
 tom of the water, decant it out as gently as possible ; take 
 out that azure, wash it with clean water; and you will 
 find it as good as the rest 
 
 CXXVIIL Observations for discerning the good or bad 
 qualities of the lapis lazuli, yro/w which you intended to 
 comiiose utiramarine. 
 
 \st. Tnal. Wee first the lapis lazuli with common wa- 
 ter, and wrap it up in a piece of fine white cloih or serg. 
 It will thereby becouie of a fine lustre, and purple colour, 
 very agreeable to the sight. 
 
 M I rial It you want to know whether or not it be 
 fine., set it on blasting charcoals, and blow them continual- 
 ly f(^r u good while. Then take it off from the fire. If, 
 being . cold, it has not lost much of its colour, it is ^ne ; 
 
96 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 but if it has lost none of its colour, none can be finer. For 
 the lafiis which is of a superior degree of fineness.acquires 
 instead of loosing colour, when put to this trial. 
 
 ^d. TriaL For the third experiment, put the lafiis a red- 
 dening on an iron plate over the fire ; then extinguish it in 
 the best double distilled white wine vinegar. If by this 
 trial it acquire more colour, it is too fine ; if it only keep 
 its own without any alteration, it is good and such as } ou 
 can wish to have it The lafiis, which on that trial ac- 
 quires niore colour, may be worth between thirty and for- 
 ty shillings an our.ce. But that which keeps its own na- 
 tural colour after trials, is really scarce As to that 
 which loses the colour, you can make but very middling 
 and common ultramarine with it. 
 
 Atfi Trial When you buy it ready reduced into pow- 
 der in order to know whether or not it be.pure, and with- 
 out any mixture- It is this ; put some of this powder into 
 a goldsmith's crucible ; set it on a strong fire to make it 
 red hot, then take off the crucible- If it be enaniel, you 
 will find it melted, but if it be true pulverised lafiis, it 
 will remain a powaer. If there be only a mixture ot eua- 
 mel with the pulverised lafus that enamel, in meltini*, will 
 gather up iill the lafiis powder, and when cold, you will 
 find it in a little cake at the bottom of the crucible. This 
 deception is very common among colour makers. 
 
 Remarks' The three different azures, which, by means 
 of the cements abovementioned, you will get from the la- 
 fiis, will amount altogether to fifteen ounces for each 
 pound of lafis, that is to say, ten ounces of superfine ultf- 
 marine, winch will s>ell for twelve or thirteen ducats an 
 ounce ; three ounces of medium which will sell for be- 
 tween three or four half crowns, and two ounces of the 
 common base sort, which will sell for one half crown. 
 This last is little regarded, and is called ashy ; but it 
 ■will pay you for the expei.ce of the cement, therefore you 
 •will easily be able to judge of tne clear profit you can 
 make out of it. If you employ that sort of lafAs which 
 loses all its colour with the trial of the fire and vinegar, 
 you will neithi r get so fife ultramarine from it, nor so 
 much in quantity, as you can from the other. And if as 
 will be mentioned hereafter, you attempt to refine, it, it 
 •will lose a great deal of its weight. 
 
 CXXIX- The method of calcining and firefiaring the la- 
 fiis lazuli, in order to grind it afterwards. 
 
 1. Take that sort of lapis lazuli which is streaked with 
 gold veins, and which has undergone the above mentioned 
 trials, Break it in small bits, no larger than a filbert. 
 
 I 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 97 
 
 Wash them in warm water, then set them on the fire in a 
 crucible till red hot. When thus reddened take them out 
 one by one, and extinguish them in double distilled white 
 wine vm( gar, which shall have been previously run 
 through a hat three or four tinr.es When thus extinguis- 
 ed, take them all out from the vinegar, and calcine them 
 a-new, then extinguish them as before. Repeat this ope- 
 ration six or seven times that they may more easily submit 
 to the pestle in the mortar, and not stick to it. 
 
 2. As fur the lapis, which looses its colour by the fire, 
 you must dispense with the calcining of it, for as it would 
 lose it more, and more you would at last lose both your 
 trouble and your money. 
 
 3. Therefore put either that which is calcined, or that 
 " which is not, in a bronze mortar covered over, and pound 
 
 it well. Sift it through the silk sive, covered also with its 
 lid, that the most subtile part of the powder should not 
 evaporate, as it is the best. 
 
 CXXX. Directions for making the liquor fit to grind the- 
 lapis withy in order to make the ultramarine, 
 
 1. Take three half pints of rain water, after having run 
 through a hat three or four times. Put into a new pipkin, 
 and dilute as much raw honey in it as will render the 
 water,vellow ; boil it till it ceases to give any scum,which 
 take care to throw away as fast as it rises. When it is 
 quite clear and fine, take it off the fire, bottle it for the 
 following use. 
 
 2 Have fi»ie dragon's blood, grind It on a porphyry stone 
 with the above prepared honey-water ; put this when well 
 grindf^d, into another bottle. Over it pour so much honey 
 water, till it acquires a purple colour Decant it, when 
 settled, from the ground, and keep it by itself Such is the 
 sort of water which is to be used to t^rind iht* laltislazuliW\\.\\^ 
 
 3 Observation Should the tapis lazuli from which you 
 intend to draw yourultramarin*^ shew some purple colour 
 of a remarkable hue and beauty, you must encourage it by 
 means of the above mentioned honey water, which 
 manage as follows. As the degree of purple you are to 
 aim at, ought not to be deep but rather pale and drawing 
 towards the flesh more than the red, if the colour which 
 comes from the lapis should be t( o deep, you must dimin- 
 ish that ot the honey-water, and if that of the stone is too 
 pale, then render that of the liquor deeper By these 
 means you may make these thrtt- sorts of colours of what 
 degree you hke, by giving more or less of the liquor, and 
 colouring this at you will according as you see either of 
 these proceedings requisite for your purpose- 
 
98 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 J^ote. Chuse dragon's blood in tears, such as the gold- 
 smiths use, not that which is in powder. 
 
 CXXXI. The method of grinding the lapis lazuli on fior- 
 tihyry, and the signs which attend it. 
 
 1. WTien the lafiis is well pounded into powder, and that 
 powder has been sifted as before directed, set it on por- 
 phyry stone, and grind with the mullar, bathing it as you 
 grind it, with the honey water, by little and little at a 
 tioie. Keep your powder on the stone, in as small a com- 
 pass as you can. 
 
 To grind thus.one pound of pulverised la/iis you must di- 
 vide it into three parcels, grind one of each, and no more 
 at a time, and it must take two hours grinding at least, to 
 make money of it. Take care to keep your stone wet with 
 the above prepared honey water all about your paste, that 
 this should not stick to the stone while you grind it. This 
 ■wetting must take in all one tumbler full of the liquor for 
 the wliole pound of lapis powder. When you have grind- 
 -ed one part of tliat pound, take it out, and grind- the se- 
 cond on the same spot on the stone, the next, and so on, 
 as long as you have any to grind ; be sure in grinding it, 
 you use no other water than honey water. 
 
 2. To know weather or not it be sufficiently grinded, 
 take a little on the tip of your finger, and mash it be- 
 tween your fore teeth, if you do not feel it crack, as the 
 dry powder does, then it is sufficiently grinded. Do not 
 grind it too much, lest it should lose its colour, which hap- 
 pens sometimes. 
 
 3. To dry the la/iis after it is grinded, put it on a clean 
 stone, and set it to dry in the shade, not in the sun, for it 
 would spoil it. When it looks as if it were dry, touch it 
 with the finger, and if it rubs into powder as mould or 
 dirt wonld do, you may leave it longer. But if it resist 
 finger, and do not break it is time to take it off. 
 
 4 Then connes the washing of that ultramarine azure, 
 which is performed as follows. Take a china bowl, with- 
 out any crack or rivetting whatever, and of the most per- 
 fect polish or glaze in the inside, put therein you dried 
 lump of paste. Over it pour the soft lye above described, 
 and let it surpass the lump in the bowl by four fingers 
 breadth. Then wash it well between your hands, and di- 
 lute all entirely into that lye When this is done, let it 
 settle, and when the azure is entirely precipitated at the 
 bottom, and the lye swims quite clear over it, decant it 
 out i^ently, a*/ incUnatio!i,and set the azure a drying in the 
 shade, without nnoving it from the bowl. When you find 
 it pretty dry, take it ojit carefully, spread it on the por- 
 phyry stone to finish drying. And when it is thoroughly 
 dry, in that manner, give it the cement as follows. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 99 
 
 CXXXIT. The method of incorjiorating the ground la- 
 pis lazuli, ivith either of the strong or soft cements. 
 
 1 F^r one pound of the lapis lazuli, prepared as direc- 
 tefi n the preceding article, lake one of- he strong cements 
 di-^cribed. R^b this over with your hands as you take it out 
 of the water, in which preserve it ; then cut in small bits, 
 ar.d put it a melting over warm ashes, in a glazed new pip- 
 kin. Take care that, in melting, it should not fry. When 
 thi-i happens, put a little lintseed oil, it will immediately 
 cease to fry. 
 
 2. When the cement is well dissolved, take that same 
 spatula which before served you to make it with, rub it. 
 over with a littl*- of the same oil, and stir well the melted 
 cement with it Tlien with the other hand, taking a pound 
 of prepared lapis lazuli, let it run slowly into your cement, 
 till the whole pound is put into the cement, which you must 
 not cease to stir and mix with the spatula, as long as you 
 pour in the lapis. Continue to stir after that, till you are 
 well convinced that the lapis and the cement are well mix- 
 ed and amalgamated together. 
 
 3. When this is done, take the pot, and pour the con- 
 tents, quite boiling, into a vessel full of cold water, and with 
 the spatula takeout all that isaboutthesidesof it.and clean 
 it well. Then when the said cement shall be cold enough 
 to admit touching it with your hands, rub them all over 
 with purified lintseed oil, ar.d take it out of the A^^ater. If 
 in pulling it, you see it is W( 11 tinged and coloured, it is a 
 good omen. Work it well then between your hands, and 
 with your fingers, for near two hours, pulling it the same 
 time to the length and breadth, to see whether there are 
 not some bubbles inclosing little parcels of powder not well 
 divided and uicorporated, and that you may spread them 
 in the cement in working. The more the paste is thus 
 wrought, the better it will be afterwards, as it will require 
 less washing to get the azure out ot it. 
 
 4. When it is thus wrought, form it into a lump like a 
 loaf of bread, and put it into a china bowl, with fresh cold 
 water, where let it soak for te:^ or fifteen days longer, be- 
 btcause the longer it soaks, the finer and more perfect it 
 becomes, and the i. ore easv to get the azure out. But it it 
 be not soaked at least twelve days, it will not do at all. 
 
 CXXXIII. Directions for extracting the azure out of 
 the cement' 
 
 1. Take the lump of cem. nt just mentioned out of the 
 cold water "in which you left it to soak. Rib it softlv over 
 with yf'iir hands, and pj'.ce it in a fi.tly glazfd china 
 bowl, previously wet with the atoresaid lintseed oil. 
 
loo SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c 
 
 2. Pmir over it lukewarm common water, filtered 
 thro'ii^h a/hat before warming. Ob ,erve that this water, 
 when poured on the cement, be rather cool than warm, and 
 and let there be about two fingers breadth m the bowl above 
 the ceiient. Then let it soak about one quarter of an hour. 
 
 3. Have two sticks made of box, or other fine hard wood, 
 susceptible of a fine polish. These sticks must be made 
 round by a turner, of a foot long or thereabouts, a little 
 thicker than one's thumb, being larger at one of the ends, 
 and flattened in form of an almond. 
 
 4. With these sticks, move and turn gently at first, your 
 cement in lukewarm water. And if in so doing it should 
 stick to the bottom of the bowl, rub your hands with oil, 
 and detach it carefully, turning and returning it gently with 
 your hands in the water, till at last it begins to be tinged 
 ■with azure — The first signs by which you know that the 
 cement begins to render the ultramarine, are certain lines 
 and streaks which appear in the water, not unlike the rays 
 of the sun. And when this is the case, take notice, that 
 the water soon assumes a high hue of that colour, particu- 
 larly at the the first discharge of the cement, as it is always 
 the best azure which comes first. 
 
 5. As soon therefore as ycu see your water sufficiently 
 tinged, pour it through a sieve into the vessel with three 
 cocks, described before, supporting the cement on • two 
 sticks, for fear it should stick to the bottom of the bowl, 
 when thus left dry on it. The reason you are advised to 
 run this water through a sieve, is to prevent any bits of ce- 
 ment which have broken from the lump,and be loose in the 
 water, from running with it, so that you might stop and re- 
 join it to the other. 
 
 6. When you have got this first water out of the cement, 
 pour some more water, of the same degree of warmth, ra- 
 ther under lukewarm than above, and proceed as before 
 with sticks,movingaHd turning the cement, and so working 
 it as to get new azure from it, which decant into a vessel 
 separately from the first water. 
 
 7 Repeat again the same process, to draw the third a- 
 zure, and decant again this into a vessel by itself. 
 
 Observe not to hurry, particularly at first, the softening 
 of the cement in the water, by working too hastily, if you 
 force the azure too precipitately out of the cement, you 
 will manifestly spoil all. 
 
 CXXXlV. Observations on the colours of the azures, 
 at their coming out of the cement, and the signs which 
 attend the?n, 
 
 1. The most manifest sign of the first azure coming out, 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 101 
 
 is its apparant coarseness ; a character \vhtch is owing t© 
 the veins of gold which appeared in the prigir al stone* 
 and which give the first ultramarine that sort of look. 
 
 2. The second azure will seem much finer, but its 
 colour will not be so high nor so fine. 
 
 3. The third will increase again in appearance of fine- 
 ness, but diminish still more in hue, which ^ill be of a much 
 paler blue than any of the two others. These observations 
 are always on the supposition that the original stone was 
 a good one, and had gone fairly through all the trials. 
 
 CXXXV. The washing and fiurifying of the azures after 
 they are got out of the cement. 
 
 When the different azures are all got out of the cement, 
 let them settle and fall down, each at the bottom of their 
 vessels. When their waters appear quite clear and free 
 from them on the top, pour them out gently and carefully 
 by incUnation ; then supply them with soft lye, and wash 
 those azures in it with your hands, and each of them dis- 
 tinctly in separate vessels by themselves. Then let them 
 settle to the bottom, and decant out that lye, and repeat 
 again and again the same process, till you are sure they are 
 all well purged from the grease of the cement in which 
 they were. Rinse them afterwards in three or four differ- 
 ent clear waters, filtered through a hat, and they will be 
 perfectly purified and clean. 
 
 CXXXVI. Another way of/iimfying the same azures 
 with yolks of eggs<. 
 
 1. Take half a dozen of yolks of eggs, from hens fed 
 upon corn, and not suffered to run among the grass- Pierce 
 the pellicula which covers those yolks with the point of a 
 needle, and pour equally those yolks on the azure powder, 
 as you would do oil on a sailad. 
 
 2. Do the same on all your different azures, put sepa- 
 rately in different dishes. Then incorporate well the azure 
 and the yolks of eggs together with your hands. Wiien 
 done, wash it afterwards with the softest lye, so many 
 times that it shall at last come out as clear as you first put 
 it in ; then rinse it three or four times in clear water, 
 which has been filtered several times through a hat. 
 
 This method of washing the azures is an exc llent one. 
 It may be deemed a true secret to give them a fine luscre 
 and brilliancy. Nrver forget to let each of your waters 
 be well settled before you change them, otherwise you 
 will lose a great deal of the azures, 
 K 
 
102 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 CXXXVII. Another secret for purifying azures 
 
 To give the most admirable lustre to azures. Take a 
 bullock's gall, and pour it on your separate azures, after 
 they have been washed and purifyed in waters, lyes, and 
 yolks of eggs. Then 'ub and handle well those azures with 
 your hands, each by themselves, and one after another dis- 
 tinctly, for fear of mixing some of the one with any of the 
 others. Then wash them as above directed. 
 
 CXXXVIIT. Honv to run the azures, after having been 
 thus cleansedi washed and puri/ied. 
 
 1. The ultramarine azure, as well as all the others, 
 ought to be run, for fear there should remain some grease, 
 dirt, or bit of cement among them. Therefore, when they 
 come to the last water, run them through a fine sieve, then 
 through another more open, and through another again 
 more so still Each time let the water settle, till you have 
 them quite clear, or take them out by means of a sponge, 
 as before directed, but do it with such care as not to have 
 your azure get into the sponge with the water, which 
 ■would be very detrimental to your interest 
 
 2 When you have well cleared a'l the waters away, let 
 those azures all dry in their own dishes or bowls, and in 
 the shade, not in the sun, and guard well against dust and 
 dirt in working them. 
 
 3. When the azures are perfectly dry, gather them each 
 separately, and put them in small white bags. made of ani- 
 inals skins, with the smoothest side inwards. When the 
 little bag is tied, rub it all manner of ways, to refine the 
 azure in it ; and the more you shall have done so, the finer 
 colour the azure will acquire when you open it, and it 
 comes to the air again. 
 
 CXXXIX. The method of making the green azure. 
 
 1. With the Armenian stone, if we are to believe Alex- 
 ander Tiollvan, who says, that it is enough to reduce that 
 stone into powder on the marble or prophyry, then wash 
 it several times in clean water, and dry it afierwards. — 
 liut It must certainly be tar preferable to separate the 
 colour from the constituent, matter oftht stone, and all 
 its earthly particle s> which must undoubtedly render it 
 much finer and fitt*a' for punting, as it is m.ore purified of 
 its hetevogenou.s parts. Therefore, the following process 
 is n;ost advibeable. 
 
 2 Rr'duce he ^jtoiie into a subtile prwd( r, then put it 
 into brandy or distilled vinegar. Put this to digest on the 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, dec 103 
 
 hot ashes, bath, or balneo maru, till the liquor is perfectly 
 chained with the colour of the stone. Decant it then 
 gently into another vessel, and pour some more brandy 
 or vinegar on its ground, if you have reason to think that 
 there remains some cftlour still in the stone,throw away all 
 the ground, as perfectly useless, and then evaporate, on 
 warm ashes, the vinegar or brandy impregnated with the 
 colour ; or rather distill it, as bv that mesns you will get 
 your liquor pure again, and may use it another time for 
 the same purpose, instead of washing it away. 
 
 3. By this process, which seems most rational, you will get 
 the green colour quite pure at the bottom of the vessel- 
 Wash and clean it pure with water, and after dying, keep 
 it for use. This is a very fine colour in painting, and has 
 this advantage, that it never looses its brightness. 
 
 CXL. A very fine method for marbling ^lajier. 
 
 The paper must first be prepared, by wetting the paper 
 with a sponge dipped in roch-alum water, then letting it 
 dry. — When the sheets have been thus pre):>ared, have a 
 pan full of water, and with a large and long handled paint- 
 ing-brush, take of one colour, and shake it in the water ; 
 take of another and do the same, and so on till you have 
 taken of all the colours you intend to have on your paper. 
 Each of these colours fall to the bottom of the water ; but 
 take with a simdar brush as the first, a mixture of bullock's 
 gall, and of dissolution of soap in water, then shake on the 
 water, and all over the surface, and you will soon see all 
 the colours rising up again and swimming on the top of the 
 water each separately as you first put them. Then lay 
 the sheet of paper on it, give it a turn on one side or the 
 other, as you like, and take it up again ; wash and set it 
 to dry, then burnish it, and it is done. 
 
 CXLI. Another Method. 
 
 There are several kinds of marble paper, which vary 
 only in the form or figure of colouring ; some are dotted, 
 others drawe in irregular lines ; but the method of ti-iging 
 them, simply consists in dipping the paper in a thick so« 
 lution of gum tragacanth. over which the c lours are 
 uniformly spread, after having been ground with ox-gall 
 and spirit of wine. 
 
 Pr )cess- Fu St immerse the paper in clean water ; the 
 sheets being regularly folded ov« r each other, and covered 
 with a weight. It is now to be caretully laid on the co- 
 louring solution, and pressed softly down with the hand 
 that It may bear equally on the whole, nextHhe paper 
 roust be suspended, in order to dry ; and as soon as the 
 msisture is evaporated, the paper is pohshed by rubbing 
 
104 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 it with a little soap, and smoothing it with glass highly 
 burnishedv or with a poli-hed agate. 
 
 The colours usually emploved are,for red carminclake, 
 or Vermillion ; for, yelio.v, Dutch-pink and yellow ochre ; 
 for blue, Prussian blue and verditure ; for green, verdi- 
 grease, a mixture of Dutch-pink, and Prussian blue, in 
 various proportions ; for orange, the orange lake, or a 
 composition of vermilion or red-lead with Dutch-pink ; 
 and for purple, rose pink and Prussian blue. These co- 
 lours are first to be finely triturated wiih spirit of wine, 
 when a small proportion of gall is to be added, and the 
 grinding o^" the whole to be repeated- The proper quan- 
 tity of gall can be ascertained by comparative trials, be- 
 cause there must be only such a proportion of it used, as 
 will suffer the spots of the various tinging matter to unite, 
 when sprinkled on the solution of tragacanth, without 
 intermixing or running into each other. The whole being 
 thus prepared, the solution is to be poured into different 
 vessels, according to the colours e'nploved, whieh are to 
 ])e sprinkled on the surface, and the process of marbling is 
 completed by laying the paper on the mixture, in the 
 manner above directed. 
 
 CXLII. Hoiv tofirefiare a transfiarent flakier to chalk ivith. 
 
 In order to render themselves sooner and more easily 
 masters oi chalking neatly, and not to go out of the fine 
 turns and out lines of a drawing b' ginners should first 
 know how to prepare a transparent p iper which as it lets 
 them see the minutest parts of the strokes as through a 
 glass, gives them of course an opportunity of acquiring by 
 practice? a correctness, precision, and truth, m tlie ex- 
 pression of all the turns of a piece of drawing, be it what- 
 ever it may. This preparation is as follows. 
 
 1 Have one or several sheets of fine and very thin paper, 
 and rub them over with oil, or spiritofturpeuiine mixed in 
 double the quantity of oil of nuts. To cause the paper to 
 imbibe that mixture, steep a sponge or feather in it, which 
 pa-s on both side-s of the paper, and then let it dry. 
 
 2 When you want to use it lay ii on a print. Then with 
 a brush, a pencil, or a pen, pass over all the stmke lines 
 and turns of the design laid imder. You may even thus 
 learn to shade with neatiicss, if your colour that same 
 design while fixed on the original print, with India ink. 
 
 Thus practising often, aid for a certain while, you may 
 learn to draw very neatly, and even with boldness, provided 
 you apply with attention This method will certainly 
 prove agreeable, ustful, and entertaining, for those who 
 have not the patience to learn by the common method, 
 which seems too tedious to som.e, and generally disgust 
 beginners. 
 
[ 105 ] 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 SECRETS RELATIVE TO THE ART OF GILDIN€, 
 
 I. The method of gilding with sizCy or oil, 
 
 THE gold leaves which are commonly used in gilding 
 are of different sizets, as well as of various degrees of 
 thickness. 
 
 To gild on iron and other metals, the strongest and the 
 purest are preferable. That which is not so pure is com- 
 monly employed by carvers in wood, as it comes cheaper 
 to thern. 
 
 We are indebted to this discovery of the secret in paint- 
 ing in oil, for the means of gilding in such a manner as to 
 resist the injuries ot the weather. — An art the ancients 
 were not acquainted, with and they could not obtain from 
 their method of applying gold, since they used nothing else 
 but whites of eggs for gilding marb.!e,and such other bodies 
 as do not admit of being committed to the fire As for the 
 wood, they made a composition which was used with size. 
 But neither size nor whites of eggs can resist the water. 
 Thert-fore they could not, with propriety, gild any othes 
 works than such as were sheltered from the intemperance 
 of the weather, viz their arche.s, their ceilings, which 
 were all gilt in that manner. The composition they used 
 for gilding on wood was made of a shmy earth, which held 
 the place of the sized white we use now-a-days, and with 
 which guilders made that first coat, called by artists 
 ussiettCt or burni&h-gold size. 
 
 II. 7b gild with size^ or what is called in burnish gold. 
 
 1. Begin by preparing your size as follows. Take about 
 a pnund of cdd bits of pa^-chment, or leather, such as is 
 prepared for gloves or breeches. Put this a boiling in a 
 pailful of water.till it is reduced to one half,and your size is 
 done as it ought to be. 
 
 2. When you want to use it for wood which is to be 
 gilt,it must beboilhig hot,otherwise it would not penetrate 
 sufficiently into the wood. If you find it too strong, you 
 may weaken it by adding water to it. Then with a brush 
 lay the size in smooth, if it be a plain work ; but if a carv- 
 ed one, you must lay it in stumping with the brush ; el-* 
 ther of which ways is equally termed to size, 
 
 li2 
 
106 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 5cc. 
 
 3- When the wood is thus prepared vith size only:, 
 make another preparation, c?i\\td an in fusion uj ivfiite, 
 in the following manner : Take a quantity of size boil- 
 ing hot. as much as you think will be sufficient for your 
 work* Dilute a discretionable quantity of pulverised 
 whitening in it, and let it infuse some time. When it seems 
 well dissolved, strain it through a cloth to make it finer ; 
 than with a brush, as above, give seven or eight different 
 coats of it in stumping on your work, and two more coats 
 in smoothening, if it be on a carved work ; but if on a 
 plain one, you must give a dozen of coats at least ; for the 
 white is the nourishment ot gold, and serves to preserve it 
 a great while. Be careful not to give coat upon coat un- 
 less the last be very dry ; otherwise the work might acale. 
 Yuu must even have a great care that each coat should 
 be laid on as perfectly equal as possisble, both in the 
 strength ot tlie size, and thickness of the white, to avoid 
 the same inconyeniency. 
 
 4 When you have given the requisite number of coats, 
 v/heth^rin stumping, or in smoothening, you must let the 
 wnrii dry thoroughly before you polish it. As soon there- 
 fore as It is perecily dry, you must have a coarse rough 
 cloth, q'lite new. and as closely wove as possible, with lit- 
 tle deal sticks, cut square, angular, or pecked, according 
 as the nature and carving of the work t equire ; and 
 thrusting one of thes -.licks into the cloth, rub and smooth- 
 en the white. Then taking a brush made of boar's bris- 
 tles, which has been already used, because it is softer, dip 
 it into some clean water and wtt the work in proportion 
 as vou go on in polishing with your little stick wrapped 
 up in cloth. This precaution completes the smoothening of 
 the work by levelling the small bumps and impreceptible 
 undulations you tnay h ve made either in giving the white, 
 or in polishing it. For the smoother the work, the more 
 easy to burnish the gold, after having been applied. Wet 
 and brush it in proportion as you polish it, with a brush 
 a little worn, spare not to purge your brush of all the filth 
 it gathers abo\it the point of its hair, by washing and 
 squeezing it again as soon as you see them grow thick in 
 the least with that dirt. 
 
 5. When the white is once more dried, rub it with sha- 
 vegrass, or rushes, in order to level still better all the 
 grains and inequaliiies which may be on it. Do not, how- 
 ever, rub it too much v ith the shavegrass, because you 
 rnay thereby fall from one error into another, and make 
 your whne what is called greasy or smeary, which would 
 prevent it afterwards from uiLiting vvith the burnish gold 
 size, which is to precede the laying on of th.- gold- 
 6C Now as it is difficult that alter tenor a dozen of eoafs 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. lor 
 
 of white, the carving should not be choaked up they who 
 are fond of finishing their work highly, take an ir()n in- 
 strument, made on purpose, cutved by one end. (called by 
 the Frexich a Jer-a-rtiirtr,) with this rf:ffling crook they 
 go over all the turns, and open all the phicts which want, 
 it, to restore them totheir former sharj.ness. Or else, take 
 what is called ajermoi}', or gouge, and give to the orna- 
 ments the same torm which the carver observed wlien he 
 first cut thtnt, turning agreeably the sides of leaves accor- 
 ding to nature; tlen brtttUin^ with anoiher iistrnnient, 
 called the vei?nng crook {\u FrenchJo7?noi? d ntzronci)^ 
 all the ornaments, you thereb\ render neater, riud more 
 delicate than the carver had first made it. 1 hat jou tisay 
 cut vhe white more neat, observe only towtt it a httle with 
 a brush. 
 
 7 When works are not of great consequence, you may 
 easily save yourself all that trouble ; prii.cipally if the 
 carvii g is pretty neatly finished, by giving two or three 
 coats only ot white very cltar. Hut the white is tht prin- 
 cipal support of gold, this i peraiion is never so perfect as 
 when It has rec ived tenor twelve coats of \\hite. and 
 been atterwaids re-cut, carved, veined, and repaired over 
 again, as 1 saivl before. 
 
 8. Then dilute so ne yellow ochre, and grind it with 
 sized water, weaktrbv halt than that which \ou used for 
 the whitening. And having made it alittk fluid and warm, 
 lay one coat of it over all the work, jirii cipallv in such 
 deep places of the carving as you cannot come at to lay 
 the gi.ld leaf, that this col.iur may supply its want. 
 
 9. Wliei) the yellow is dry, lay over it (in all the raised 
 places, but not in the bottom grounds) three dilJt rent coats 
 ot another sort of coM.position, called in French asaicttey 
 and \\QVty burnished gold fdze, prepared in the following 
 manner : Bol armenian, about the bigness ot a nut, and 
 grii;d it by itself; blood stone, or red chalk, the bulk of a 
 hoise bean, and black lead pulverised a^ big as a pea, 
 grinded both together ; and at last one drop or two of 
 tallow, which grind afterwarcs with all the other drugs 
 and water, taking them a little at a time to grind and in- 
 corporate them the better. Put this composition in a cup, 
 and pour over it some of vour nforenientioned size, boil ng 
 hot, and strained through a cloth- Stir and mix all well 
 while yon pour that size, that the wh^ le may be well di- 
 luted. The brush you lav it on with ou,<ht to be sott, ai^d 
 the first coat lay y>reity thin ; but as for the two othe rs, 
 they mu■^t be so thick that the stuft should run with ('jffi- 
 culty trort) the brush. Each coat n»ust be well dried be- 
 fore givin,^ the next. Arid when the last is perftctl> dry, 
 take a stiffer brush, and dry rub the work all «.ver to 
 smoothen all the grains and little risings of the gold size, 
 and thereby facilitate the burnishing. 
 
iOS SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 10' The gilding is performed as follows. Have first a 
 pipkin very clean, in which put some very clean and filt- 
 ered water, and a few wetting pencils, which ought to be 
 made in the form of those ermine tales which hang in the 
 ermine skins. — Get next a cushion, which is to be made 
 ■with a light and flat square board covered with calf lea- 
 ther, fixed all around with nails, and stuffed underneath 
 with cotton. Let this cushion be also surrounded by the 
 back part, and two thirds of each of the two sides, with a 
 band of parchment of five or six inches high, to prevent 
 the air from blowing off the gold leaf. 
 
 11 Put what quantity of gold leaves you think proper. 
 With the gilding knife spread these leaves very smooth, 
 in doing of which you will assist yourself very much if you 
 breathe over them while you pass tue knife under- Then 
 cut it in as many parts and sizes as you want, or, if there 
 be occasion for it whole, take it with your tip, and lay it. 
 A tip (in Fvench, /laictte) is an instrument made with the 
 point of a squirrel's tail placed upon a round stick flatten- 
 ed, and about half an inch svide by one end,wiih a slit, to se- 
 parate and spread the better the sqirrel's tail. This tip 
 pass a long your cheek, and with it take of the gold leaf, 
 or what part of it you have divided, and thus lay it on the 
 work Previously, however, to this, you must have pas- 
 sed on the place one of your pencils immediately before 
 the laying of the gold, otherwise the gold would be inces- 
 santly slitting and cracking- As soon as the gold leaf is 
 laid on the work take \our water pencil quite wet, and 
 passing it above the work, let the water run from it under 
 the leaf just apphed ; this will quickly make it spread 
 and catch. But if it should pass over the gold leaf, it 
 would immediately spot rind spoil it ; and as it is impossi- 
 ble to lay on gold, especially when wet, you would not be 
 able to repair it unless you take the gold leaf entirely off, 
 and put another in the stead. On the contrary, by the wa- 
 ter slipping under the gold leaf just laid, you will find that 
 this spreads infinitely more easy, and almost of itstlt ; it 
 sticks faster on the gold size, never scratches, is more ea- 
 sily dusted for burnishing, or matting with size ; in short, 
 the work looks infinitely better in every respect. As it 
 is impossible with all possible care but there may happen 
 some little accident now and then, principally in carved 
 works, you must in such case, cut some small bits of gold, 
 which, with a pencil, take and put on the defective places, 
 when you look your work over. 
 
 12- When the work is perfectly dry, burnish it where 
 you th\'^k proper, in order to detach certain parts 
 from the other, to make them set off and shew to better 
 advantage. To that effect use an instrument called a 
 burnisher, made either of a real wqU's tooth, or rather 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 109 
 
 as they now use it, an ae;atte, made in the sanne form, 
 and finely polished, or el&e a pebble called blood stone- 
 Before burnishing you must, with the crookejd point 
 of your burnisher, push down all the parts of gold in the 
 hollow parts which you forr:ot to do with the pencil, then 
 dust it with a large one. When the work is burnished 
 where you w^nt it to be so,matt: and repass, with a very soft 
 pencil and burnish gold size, what has not been bwvnis) ed, 
 or, you may again put some vermilion, to raise the gold, 
 and make it look brighter ; which is called, in term of 
 art, repassing. 
 
 13. There is again another repassing you must not for- 
 get, which is to lay, in all the hollow places of a carved 
 work, a coat of a composition of a vermillion, as i ani go- 
 ing to prescribe, and which will give an incomparable fire 
 to the gold, and make it look as goldsmith's work '1 his 
 composition is such — Grind together, on marble, some 
 vermilion, gamboge, and red brown, v-hich mix with a 
 little Venetian turpentine, and oil of turpentine. If after 
 having burnished, matted, and repassed your work, you 
 find again some defective places, you may mend them with 
 gold in shell, which is diluted with a litrle arabic, and ap- 
 plied with a pencil. This sort of faulting is no small ad- 
 dition to the beauty and richness of the work; the French 
 call it buckling with gold vi shell. 
 
 \\\, 2 gild without gold. 
 
 Put in a crucible one ounce of ammoniac salt, and half 
 that quantity of common mercury. Cover and lute well 
 the crucible for fear the mercury, shoi.ld exhale. Give 
 this a small fire for the space of half an Iviur- Increase 
 th fire afterwards till the crucible i.> quite red hot. Then 
 throw the compositien into a pan of cold water. A> scon 
 as this matter is cold, it will be us hard as a stone. Break 
 and grind it, and dissolve it in gum water. Wherever 
 you lay a coat of this, it will look like gilt. 
 
 IV. Another to the same fiurfiose 
 
 To gild frames, and other common things, pulverise and 
 incorporate well together thr yolk of an egg with two oun- 
 ces of mercury, and one of ammoniac salt Put this into 
 a matrass, stop it well, and set it, for four and twenty 
 days, in hot horse dung. 
 
 V. A gilt without gold- 
 
 Grind some purpurine with water ; then put it to soak, 
 with chamber lye in a pan ; stir and sk^m it When it 
 has done throwing anv scum, decant the chamber lye.and 
 supply it by gum water. Whatever you write or draw 
 
110 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 with this composition, will look as gold itself ; and it acj- 
 mils even of being burnished with the burnisher. 
 
 VL The firefiaration of the gum water. 
 
 In half a pint of connmon water, put two ounces of guna 
 arabic, bruised in small bits. When dissolved, it makes 
 the right degree of gum water to be used for the above 
 purpose. 
 
 VII. To write i?i gold or silver. 
 
 Draw the juice of juniper leaves. In this juice throw 
 some gold or silver filings, which set there to infuse for 
 three days ; then make the trial- 
 
 VIII. To gild on glasses, earthen, or china wares 
 
 Take a glass, or china cup, wet it, and lay your gold 
 where and how you like, then let it dry. Dissolve some 
 borax in water, and of this liquor lay a coat on your gold, 
 Set it in the fire till your glass powder in melting makes 
 a varnish on the gilded parts, which will then appear very 
 beautiful 
 
 IX. To writcj or/iaintjn gold colour. 
 
 Pulverize some purpurine into subtle powder ; then 
 water it over gently, and by little at a time, with chamber. 
 lye, turning incessantly, while you pour, with a stick. 
 Let it settle, and wash it in common water so many times 
 till you see the water comes out at last quite clear. Each 
 time you change the water, take particular care to 
 allo'v a sufficient time for the settling- Then mix, after 
 the last water is poured away, some powder of saffron and 
 gu n water with your ground, and either write or paint, 
 which you like. T'lis secret is bv no means an iu'^liffer- 
 ent one ; and you will find it very agreeable if you try. 
 
 X. To write or fiaint in silver, esfitcially with a fiencil. 
 
 Pound well, in a bell-metal mortar, some tin glass; 
 then grind, and dilute, it on porphyry, with common wa- 
 ter Let it settle, and thrtw off the water, which will be 
 black and dirty. Reiterate this lotion so manv times, till 
 the water remains clear- Then dilute it in gum water.and 
 either write or pamt with it. It vvill appear verv hand- 
 some, and no ways inf. rior tc the finest virgin silver. 
 
 XI. To whiten and silver cofipermedals. 
 
 1. Take filings from Cornwall pewter.and make a bed of 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES 6cc. Ill 
 
 them at the bottom of a p'pk n. On th » bed lay or>e of 
 your medals, taking care, however, they should not touch 
 each otht-r Make another b d ot tihngs o\er these n.e- 
 dals, and one of n.edals again on these filings. Continue 
 this alternate stratification ot medal-s and filings, till you 
 have laid all the medals you wanted to whiten. 
 
 2. When this is dore, fill up your pan with water, and 
 put on it a powder composed ot roch alum and tartar from 
 Montpc liier, well grinded and mixed together. Boil the 
 ■whole till the whitening of the medals is coa.plete. 
 
 IS. B They must have previously been cleaned with 
 soft sand, or strong lye, to purge them from any grease. 
 
 XIL To %vri(e in gold letters on fiots, or boxes- 
 
 Dissolve isinglass in water. When reduced into a size 
 or glue, dilute some red tartar with it after having made it 
 into a very subtile powder. With this mixture and a pen, 
 or a pencil, write on your pots or boxes ; then put a thick 
 gold leat on it, of the same sort as metal gilders use. And, 
 when this is dry, burnish as usual. 
 
 XIII. 7 gild silver in ivater gildings without the assistance 
 of mercury. 
 
 1. Take first the finest gold, forge it weakish, then cut 
 it in bits and neal it, on an iron plate, or in a crucible. 
 
 2. Have next a glass matrass, put your gold in, and to 
 every drachm of gold, put half a pound of ammoniac salt, 
 and two ounces of good aquafortis. Cover the matrass 
 with a sheet of papf r, turntd conically by one of its cor- 
 ners upon one ot the long sides, so as to form a funnel w ith 
 the smallest, and not quite close, but terminated in a sn.all 
 orifice, to give a free passage to the fumes of the aguajor- 
 iis Set this matrass on a very slow firt , that the gold may 
 have time to dissolve gently and gradually, and shake of- 
 ten the a.atrass, to help the dissolution. Be very careful 
 not 10 make the fire too strong ; for the gold would infal- 
 libly sublime, and waste itself all into vapours. 
 
 3 When the gold is entirely dissolved, pour this liquor 
 into a glass, .t china bowl ; wet some old coarse linen rags 
 on them, which set to drain on sm.^ll sticks on another 
 bowl, doing the same with what drains from them till you 
 have used all your hquor ; thendry them belore agentle 
 fire. 
 
 4. When dry, lav them on a marble stone, and set them 
 on fire. And a-, soon as they are consumed grind them 
 into a fine powder, which put atttr>Yardb into a crucible 
 
112 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec. 
 
 on a lite fire- Wh-^n this powder is lighted like sparkles ■ 
 of fitv, put it on the marble a^ain, and stir it with an iron 
 rod till vou see no more fire. Grind it then again as be- 
 fore, as nnch as you possibly ca i, and it is fit for gilding 
 any sort of silver work you please. 
 
 XIV. The sance to be used for colouring silver plates, gilt 
 
 with the above described fiotvder, 
 
 1. Grind well together, into a subtile powder, sulphur 
 and pearl ashes.of each one ounce,and two of common salt, j 
 
 3. Then, when you want to colour your gilt plates, have m 
 a quart of water, and half a pint of chamber lye, in which ' 
 mix a large spoonful ot the above powder. Set this to 
 boil in a red copper pot, very clean- When the sauce 
 boils, hold the plate with a silver wire, and then plunge it 
 in ; there -leave it for about a minuet, or two at most; then 
 take it out again by the same wire without touching it with 
 your hands, and plunge it in the same manner in cold 
 clean water Should it then not look high coloured to your 
 satisfaction, put it again in as before, till you find it suf- 
 ficiently coloured. 
 
 3. The next step is to give the piece thus coloured to 
 the burnisher, with a strict charge not to use any vinegar 
 in his burnish. This receipt is a very good and particular 
 secret. 
 
 XV. A water which gilds cofifier and bronze- A secret 
 
 very useful for ivatch and pin-makers. 
 
 Dissolve equal parts of green vitriol and ammoniac salt 
 in good double distilled vinegar ; then/ vaporate, the vine- 
 gar, and put it in the retort to distil. If in the^roduct of 
 the distillation you steep your metal after being polished 
 and made hot, it will come out perfectly "well gilt. 
 
 XVI. Another. 
 
 Take burnt copper and ammoniac salt, equal parts ; 
 alumen filemeum^ four ounces ; common salt depreciated, 
 as much. Dissolve the whole in double distilled vinegar, ?| 
 then vaporate this vinegar. Distil from the rest an aqua- i 
 fortis, in which if you ext'nguish five or six tinaes, brass, 
 copper, iron, or silver, made hot, these metals will assume 
 the colour of gold. 
 
 XVII. To gild steel or iron, after being well polished. 
 
 Take seven ounces of orpine ; terra merita, one and a 
 halt; succotrine aloes,fourandahalf; gamboge,three an 2 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. ilS 
 
 & half. Put all into powder, and put it in a retort, with so 
 much of pickle water as will cover these powders by two 
 fingers. Stir well, and mix all together, let it infuse four 
 and twenty hours and distil. With the liquor which comes 
 from the distillation, keep by for use, rub the steel, iron^ 
 or copper, and set it to dry in the shade. 
 
 XVIII. To silver co/i/ier figures. 
 
 1. Cleanse well first the figures with a strong lye, made 
 with either pearl or brill ashes, or common salt, or alum^ 
 no matter which. Wipe them well when done, and rub 
 them with a composition of tartar and ammoniac salt, mix- 
 ed (by means oiaquafortis) with a little dissolution of silver^ 
 
 2. Now with a piece of leather, wetted in your spittle* 
 take of these powders, and rub the copper figures till 
 they are sufficiently silvered. 
 
 XIX. To silver or gild fiezvien 
 
 1. Take one of the finest and most delicate goldsmith's 
 wire brushes, rub your pewter with it so as to mark it with 
 the strokes of the brush. When done, lay a double gold or 
 silver leaf on that place of the pewter ; then put over it a 
 piece of skin or leather, and over that skin some putty. 
 With a burnisher rub, for a good while, on that putty ; 
 then with a piece of pewter on the naked gold, without 
 either skin or putty. 
 
 2. Have a care that the pewter be very clean, and that 
 your breath should not go over it. Therefore, to do that 
 operation, you must put your handkerchief before your 
 mouth, and manage it so in tying it, that there should be 
 a passage preserved on each side of your face, which 
 should drive your breath along your cheeks, round your 
 head, and quite up behind your ears. 
 
 XX ji composition to lay on leady tin or a7iy other me- 
 taly in order to hold fast the ready gilt leaves oj fiew- 
 ter which are a/i/ilied on it .° usejul for gilding on high 
 steefilesy domes^ i^c, 
 
 1. Melt together, on a slow fire, black pitch, two 
 pounds ; oil of turpentine, four ounces ; and a little rosin. 
 When the whole is dissolved and mixed well into a kind 
 of varnish, lay a coat of it on your work. 
 
 2 Upon steeples, the common method of gilding can- 
 not, on account of the wind, be practised ; have only the 
 exact measures and dimensions of the place intended to be 
 
114 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 gilt, then at home, and at leisure, cut to them some fine 
 leaves of pewter, and gild them as usual. When done, 
 you have no more to do but to carry up these pewter leaves, 
 rolled in a basket, and having burnished the place on which 
 they are to be applied with the above composition, lay the 
 gilt pewter leaves on it, and they will stand fast enough. 
 
 ^ XXI. To clean and ivhiten silver. 
 
 1. Rasp four ounces of dry white soap in a dish. Pour a 
 pint of warm water on it. In another dish put a penny- 
 worth of wine lye dried in cakes, and the same quantity of 
 the same water. In a third dish put also another penny- 
 worth of pearl-ashes, with another similar quantity of the 
 same water. 
 
 2. Then, with a hair brush steeped first in the wine lye, 
 then in the pearl ash, and lastly in the soap liquors, rub 
 your silver plate, and wash it afterwards with warm water, 
 and wipe it with a dry cloth kept on a horse before the fire 
 for that purpose. 
 
 XXIL The prefiaration of gold in shell. 
 
 Take ammoniac salt, and gold leaves, equal quantities. 
 Bruise this in a mortar for two or three hours ; and to- 
 wards the end add a di^cretionable quantity of honey. 
 
 XXIII. To bronze in gold colour. 
 
 Rub the figure first with aquafortis^ in order to cleanse 
 and luigrease it well. Then grind on porphvry, into a 
 subtile powder, and mix with lintseed oil, equal quantities 
 of terra merita and gold litharge. With this composition 
 paint the figure over. 
 
 XXlV How to matt burnished gold. 
 
 Grind together blood-stone and vermilion with the white 
 of an egg. 1 hen with a pencil lay it in the bottom grounds. 
 
 XXV. Hoiv to the same to burnish silver, 
 
 Grinf^ ceruse white with plain water first,then with a ve- 
 ry weak isinglass water ,and make the same use of this as 
 of the other. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, ike- 115 
 
 XXVI. The method of afitilying gold, or silver, in shell, on 
 the wood. 
 
 Black wood, or that which is dyed so, is the fittest to ad- 
 mit of this operation. The method of applying it is this. 
 
 1. Take a little gum adragant, which dilute in a good 
 deal of water,to make it weak- With this weak gum water 
 dilute your gold or silver, and with a pencil lay it on such 
 places of your work as receive and shew the light, v/ith- 
 out touching on those which are the shades. To express 
 these, touch the parts with indigo diluted in a very weak 
 gum arabic water. 
 
 2. When this is done, lay one coat of drying varnish, 
 made of oil of spike and sandarac. If tlie varnish be too 
 thick, thin it with a little oil ; and in mixing it, take care 
 not to boil it so hard but you may bear some en your hand 
 "without scalding the place. 
 
 N. B. Have attention to make your gum waters for this 
 sort of work always very weak ; otherwise they would 
 tarnish and spoil all the gold or silver. 
 
 XXVII. To gild sandy gold. 
 
 Take any colour, and grind it either with oil, or with 
 gum Lay a few coats of it on your work, according as 
 you think there may be need of it. When dry, lay one 
 coat of size, and while it is still fresh, sift some brass fil- 
 ings on it ; let it dry so, and varnish it afterwards. 
 
 XXVIII. Famish to be laid on gilding and silvering. 
 
 Grind verdigrease, on marble, with common vva'cr, in 
 which 'you have infused saffron for eight hours. 
 
 XXIX. The method of bronzing. 
 
 Take three pennyworth of spal, one of litharge, a gill 
 of lintseed oil, and boil the whole to the consist' nee of an 
 unguent. Before you apply it, dilute the quantity you in- 
 tend to make use of with turpentine oil, and lay a coat cf 
 Vermillion on the .vork before bronzing. 
 
 XXX A water to gild iron with. 
 
 1. Putin a glass, bottle, with a pint of river water, one 
 ounce of white copperas, and as much f>f white alum ; two 
 drachms of verd grease, and tlie same quantity of com mon 
 salt Boil all together to the reduction of one half. Then 
 
116 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 stop the bottle well, for fear the contents should lose the 
 strength. 
 
 2. To gild the iron with it, nriake it red hot in the fire, 
 and plunge it in this liquor- 
 
 XXXI- To make thejine writing gold. 
 
 1. Take gold in shell, and sulphur, in the proportion of 
 ten drachnnsof this,\vell grinded on porphyry and amal- 
 gamated, to every sequin worth of the other. Put this 
 mixture into a prcportioiiable leathtr bag, in which work 
 it continually for the space of two days, then pour all into a 
 crucible) and burn it on a slow fire. This done, wash what 
 remains \vith filtered lime water, and by filiration also, 
 get your water cut again from liie composition. Tf after 
 this operation, you do not find it high enough yet in hue, 
 wash it again and again in the same manner, till it looks 
 fine 
 
 % To apply it, dilute some bol armenian with isinglass, 
 and write what you please, and let it dry ; then apply your 
 gold, and when dry burnish it. 
 
 XXXII. How to get the gold or silver out of gilt /dates, 
 
 1. Mix together one ounce o^ a qua fort is, and one of spring 
 water, with n .If an ounce of common, and one drachm of 
 ammoniac salts- Put all on the fire, -and boil it : then put 
 in the plate to soak from \^hich you want to get the gold 
 or silver out. A little while after, take your plate out, 
 and scrape it over the liquor. 
 
 2. The gold will re.nain suspended in this regal water ; 
 and to make a separation of them, pour in it double the 
 the quantity of common water; or again, thro < a halfpen- 
 ny in it, and boil it, and all the gold will fix itself to it. 
 
 XXXlll. To gild /loper 071 the edge- 
 
 1. Beat the white of an egg in three times its quantity of 
 comnion wa*:er, and beat it till it is all come into a froth 
 Let it settle into water again, and lay a coat oi it on the 
 edge of your paper. 
 
 . 2. Next lay another of bol armenian and ammoniac 
 salt, grinded wjth soap suds. Then put the goldj and let 
 it dry before burnishing it. 
 
 XXXIV. Tq gild on vellum, y 
 
 Mix some saffron in pov^der with garlic juice. Put two 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 117 
 
 or three coats of this on the vellum, and let it dry a little, 
 but not quite. Then breathing on the coat apply the gold 
 leaf with cotton ; and when dry, burnish it. 
 
 XXXV. Another way. 
 
 Lay first a coat of lime and burnt ivory, grinded toge'- 
 ther with a weak isinglass water. Apply the gold on itj 
 and when dry burnish it. 
 
 XXXVI. Another way. 
 
 Grind and mix together four ounces of bol armenian.one 
 of aloes, and two of starch ; dilute it in water, and lay a 
 coat of it on the vellum, then the gold immediately. When 
 all is dry, burnish it. 
 
 XXXVII. A gilt without gold. 
 
 Take the juice from saffron flowers, in the season, or 
 dry saffron in powder, with an equal quantity of yellow 
 orpine well purified from its eartiiy particles Grind all 
 well together, and put it a digesting in hot horse dung for 
 the space of three weeks. At the end of that term you 
 may use it to gild whatever youhke. 
 
 XXXVIII. To gild without gold. 
 
 Open a hen's egg by one end, and get all out from the 
 inside. Refill it again with chahdonia.s jujce and mercury 
 then stop it well with mastich, and put it undt-r a hen 
 which just begins to set. When the time of hatching is 
 eome, the composition will be done, and fit for gilding. 
 
 XXXIX. To gild on calf and sheep, skin- 
 
 Wet the leather with whites of eggs- When dry, rub 
 it with your hand, and a little oUve oil ; then put the gold 
 leaf, and apply the hot iron on it. Whatever the hot iron 
 shall not have touched, will go-off by brushing. 
 
 XL. Gold and silver in shell. 
 
 1. Take salt-petre, gum arabic, and gold leaves, wash 
 them all together in common water- The gold will sink to 
 the bottom, whence pouring the water off you may the^ 
 put in the shell. 
 
 L2 
 
lis SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 2. The silver is worked in the same manner, except the 
 saltpetre, instead of which you put white salt- 
 
 XLI. To gild 7narble. 
 
 Grind the finest bol armenian you can find with lintseed 
 or nut oil Of this you lay a coat on the marble, ab a kind 
 of gold size- When this is neither too fresh nor too dry, 
 apply the gold ; and^when thoroughly dry burnish it. 
 
 XLII. To apjily gold on glazed <wares, christal^ glasst 
 china, is'c. 
 
 Take a pennyworth of lintseed oil, and as much of gold 
 litharge ; a half pennyworth of umber, and as much of 
 ceru-e. Grind all togethr on marble, and with a little 
 hair pencil, dipped into the said colour, draw whatever 
 you will on the abovementioned wares. As soon as dry, 
 ]ay your gold on it with cotton, which pass along your 
 chtek before taking the gold with it. And as soon as this 
 is perfectly dry, burnish it. 
 
 XLllI. Matt gold in oil- 
 Take yellow ochre, a little umber white and black 
 lead, which grind all together with greasy oil, and use it 
 when necessary. 
 
 XLIV' To dye any metah or stone ^ gold colour, nvithout 
 gold. 
 
 Grind together in a subtile powder ammoniac salt, 
 white vitriol.saltpetre and verdigrease. Cover the metal, 
 or stone, you Vyant to dye^ all over with this powder Set 
 it thus covered on the fire, and let it be there a full hour .; 
 then taking it out, plunge it in chamber lye. 
 
 XLIV. To luhiten cojijier. 
 
 Take one ounce of zinc, one drachm and a third part 
 of it of sublimed mercury.^ Grind all into a powder then 
 rub with it what you want to whiten. 
 
 XLVI. To whiten silver -witfiout the assistance of fire. 
 
 Take Mons martirum^s talo, which calcine well in an 
 oven till it can be pulverised Sifi i: vi ry fine. Th n dip- 
 ping a piece of cioth or stuffin it, rub the silver >Yith it. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 119 
 
 XLVII. To whiten iron like silver. 
 
 Mix ammoniac salt powder, and quick lime, in cold 
 water. Then make your iron red hot several times> and 
 each time plunge it in that solution. It will turn as white 
 as silver. 
 
 CHAP. VlII. 
 THE ART OF DYING, WOODS, BONES, &c, 
 
 I. The comfiosition for red. 
 
 1. /^HOPBrasil wood very fine, and boil it in common 
 \J water, till it has acquired an agreeable colour, then 
 strain it through a cloth. 
 
 2. Give your wood first a coat of yellow, made of saffron, 
 diluted in water. Then the wood, being thus previously 
 tinged with a pale yellow, and dried, give afterwards se- 
 veral coats ot the Brasil wood water, till the hue pleases 
 you 
 
 3. When the last coat is drv, burnish it with the burni- 
 sher, and lay another coat of drying varnish with the palm 
 of your hand, and you will have a red oranged very agree- 
 able. 
 
 4. If you want a deeper red, or rather a darker, boil the 
 Brasil wood m water impregnated with a dissolution of 
 alum, or quick-lime. 
 
 II. Another red. 
 
 Soak the chopped Brasil wood in oil of tartar ; and with 
 it rub your wood, proceeding for the rest as above directed' 
 
 III. Another way. 
 
 Pound orchanetta into powder, mix it with oil of nut, 
 make it luke warm, ardrub your wood v/ith it. The rest 
 as above. 
 
 IV. To dye wood of a fmrfilish colour. 
 
 Soak Dutch turnsol in water ; add a tincture of Brasil 
 wood made in lime water, and you wrll obtain a purple, 
 with which you may dye your Tvood, and then burnish and 
 varnish as usual. 
 
120 SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, 5cc. 
 
 V. A blue fiur file. 
 
 Take tliat sort of German turnsol which painters use 
 •with size. Dissolve it in water and strain it through a lin- 
 en cloth. Give a coat of this dye to the wood ; and if the 
 hue be too strong, give it another of a paler dye, by ad- 
 ding clear water to a part of the other. When dry, bur- 
 nish it as usual. 
 
 VI Another- 
 
 Four ounces of Brasil, and half a pound of India woods, 
 boiled together in two quarts of water, with one ounce of 
 common alum. 
 
 VII. A blue for wood. 
 
 Slack lime in water, and decant it out of the ground- In 
 three pints of this water dissolve four ounces of turnsol, 
 an4 boil it one hour- Then give several coats of it to your 
 wood. 
 
 VIII. A green. 
 
 Grind Soanish verdigrease into a subtile powder with 
 strong vinegar. Add and mix well with this, two ounces 
 of green vitriol. Boil all of it a quarter of an hour in two 
 quarts of water, and put your wood soaking till the colour 
 be to your liking. For the rest proceed as above- 
 
 IX. A yellow. 
 
 Dissolve turnsol in two quarts of water. Then grind 
 some indigo on marble with that water, and set it in a ves- 
 sel on the fire with weak size to dilute it. When done 
 give a coat of this dye to your wood with a brush, and 
 when dry, polish it with the burnisher. 
 
 X. Another yellow* 
 
 Boil in water some grinded terra merita, and soak your 
 wood in it afterwards. 
 
 XL Another finer yellow. 
 
 Four ounces of Fi-ench berries, boiled for about a quar- 
 ter of an hour in a quart of water, with about the bulk of- 
 a filbert of roch-alum. Then soak the wood in it> 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 1^1 
 
 XII. To dye wood of a Jine polished white. 
 
 Take the finest English whit^ chalk, and grind it in sub- 
 tile powder on marble. then let it dr\ ,and set it in a pipkin 
 on the fire with a weak sized waiter, havin,^ great care 
 not to let it turn brown. When it is tolerably hot, give 
 first a coat of size to your wood, a'.d let it dry ; then jrive 
 one or two coats of the aforesaid white over it. These 
 bei'ig dry also, polish with the rushes and burnisli with 
 the buri-isher. 
 
 XII T. To dye in fiolished black. 
 
 Grind lampblack on marble with gum water. Put it 
 next in a pipkin, and give a coat of this, with a brush to 
 your wood ; then polish it when dry. 
 
 XIV. .Another way' 
 
 Soak bitsof rusty iron in the best black ink. A few days 
 after rub your wood with it, and when you see it well pen- 
 etrated and dry, polish it with the burnisher. 
 
 XV. To imitate ebony- 
 
 Infuse gall nuts in vinegar, wherein you have soaked 
 rusty nails ; then rub your wood with this, let it dry, po- 
 lish and burnish. 
 
 XVI. Another way. 
 
 Chuse a good hard wood, and not veiny, such as pear, 
 apple or hawthorn trees, and black' n them. Whtn black, 
 rub thtm with a bit of cloth ; then with a reed brush 
 made on purpose, dipped in mehed wax. mixed in a i ot 
 with common black, rub 3 our wood till it shines like ebony. 
 
 XVII. Another wuy. 
 
 Hollv is a very fit sort of wood to take the dye of ebony 
 Fortn it first into the shape you intend to give it. thn. put 
 it in a hatter's copprr to boil, leave it till it has acquired a 
 perfect degree of blackness Then take off the film ot the 
 dye, and polish it as you would ebony, with rushes, &c. 
 
 XVIII. AJine black easily made. 
 Take good ink, put it in a stone pan, new and well neal- 
 
122 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, See. 
 
 ed. then set it in the sun to exficcate it into a cake. When 
 drv, take and scrape it out fronn the pan with a knite, and 
 grind it into an impalpable powder on marble. This pow- 
 der diluted with varnish, will produce a fine black. 
 
 XIX. To dye nvood diver fashion. 
 
 Pound tin glass, in a mortar, and reduce it into powder. 
 Add water to it by de.ejrees, till it come into a liquid like 
 liquor for, painting. Put it in a clean pipkin, with size, 
 and set it on the fire to warm. Brush your wood with this 
 liquor, and when it is dry, burnish it. 
 
 XX, To dye in gold, silver, or coji/ier- 
 
 Pound very fine, in a mortar, some roch- crystal with 
 clear water, set it to warm in a new pipkin, with a little 
 size, and give a coat of it on your wood with a brush. When 
 dry, rub apiece of gold, silver.or copper.on the wood thus 
 prepared, and it will assume the colour of such of these 
 metals as you rub it with. After this is done, burnish it 
 as usual. 
 
 XXI. To give nut, or fiear tree^ ivhat undulation you like 
 
 Slack some quick lime in chamber-lye. Then with a 
 brush dipped in it form your undulation on the wood ac- 
 cording to your fancy. And when dry rub it well with a 
 rind of pork. 
 
 XXII. To imitate the root of nut tree- 
 
 Give seven or eight coats of size to your wood, till it re- 
 mains shiny. Then before your size is quite dry, strike 
 here and there a confused quantity of spots with bistre 
 grinded with common water. When dry varnish it with 
 the Chinese varnish. 
 
 XXIII. To give a fine colour to the cherry-tree wood. 
 
 Take one ounce of orchanetta ; cut it in two or three 
 bits, and put it to soak for forty-eight hours in three 
 ounces of good oil of olive Then with this oil anoint your 
 cherry tree wood after it is worked and shaped as you in- 
 tencj it ; it will give a fine lustre. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 123 
 XXiV. To marble nvood. 
 
 1. Give it a coat of black, diluted iw varnish. Repeat it 
 t one, two, three or as many tinties as you think proper ; then 
 
 polish it as flsunl. 
 
 2. Dilute some white varnish made with white gum, or 
 shell lac, and white sandarac. Lny this white on the 
 black ground, tracing with it what oddities you hke 
 When dry, give a Ight rub with rushes, then wipe it, and 
 
 < give a last coat of fine transparent white varnish, in order 
 I to preserve the brightness. Let this dry at leisure, then 
 polish it. 
 
 XXV. To imii^te white marble. 
 
 Break and calcine the finest white marble you can find; 
 grind it as fine as you can, and dilute it with size. Lay 
 two coats of this on your wood, which, when dry, polish 
 ' and varnish as before directed. 
 
 XXVI. To imitate black marble. 
 
 Burn some lamp black in a shovel, red hot, then grind it 
 with brandy. For the bigness ot an ev^g uf black, put the 
 size of a pea of lead in drops, as much ot tallow, and the 
 same quantity of soap. Grind and mix these together, then 
 dilute it with a very weak size water. Give four coats of 
 this, and when dry, polish as usual. 
 
 XXVII. A count erf action of coral. 
 
 1. Reduce goat's horns into a subtile powder. Put it in 
 a clear lye made of lime and pearl ashes. Let it there 
 rest for a fortnight. When reduced into a palp, add cin- 
 nabar in powder, or dragon's blood in tears, pulverised ve- 
 ry fine, in what quantity you thmk necessary to give the 
 quantity of matter you have got afine and perfect corol hue. 
 
 2- Next boil this composition till it con es very thick, 
 then take it off from the fire and mould it \n moulds shap- 
 ed in forms of coral. Or else cast it again in what other 
 sorts of moulds y«u like, to make figures of it, and other 
 sorts of work, which will produce a fine effect. 
 
 Observation. This secret was wor h immense sums of 
 money to him who !ou d it out The Turks paid them 
 magnificently. But this branch of tra!e was soon put to 
 an end by rhe cheats which were pracUbed with the mer- 
 chants of Tunis and Algiers- 
 
124 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 XX VII I. To take the imfircssion qfany seal. 
 
 1. Take half a pound of mercury ; the same quantity oi 
 chrystalline vitriol; is much verdii^rease Pulverise well 
 these two last ingredients, and put them along l^ith the first 
 in a new iron pan, with smith's forge water- Stir all well 
 ■with a wooden spatula, till the mercury is perfectly incor- 
 porated with ihe powders. Then wash that paste with cold, 
 water and change it till it remains quite clear as when you 
 put it in. Put the lump in the air, it will harden. 
 
 2. When you want to take the impression of a seal with 
 it, place it over the fire on an iron plate. When there 
 appears on it some drops like pearls, then it is hot enough; 
 take it off and knead it in your hands with your fingers, it 
 ■will becomes phable like wax ; smoothen one side of it, and 
 apply it on the seal, pressing it to make it take the impres- 
 sion. When done, lift it up, and set it in the air, where it 
 will come again as hard as metal, and will serve you to seal 
 the same letter as the original seal, without probability of 
 discovering it, should even the real one be laid on it. 
 
 XXIX. Another way^ 
 
 Heat some mercury in a crucible, and silver filings in an- 
 other, in the proportion of two parts of mercury to one of 
 silver. As soon as the mercury begins to move, pour it on 
 the silver fihngs. Let this cool, and then put it in a glass 
 mortar. Pound it well with a pestle of the same, and add a 
 little water in which you have dissolved some verdigrease. 
 Stir this for three days, five or six times a day. Decant 
 out the verdigrease water, and replace it with good vine- 
 gar, with which pound it again in the same mortar, as be- 
 fore, a couple of hours, changing vinegar as soon as it 
 blackens. Pound it again two hours, with chamber lye in- 
 stead of vinegar, changing it the same, during that time, as 
 you did the vinegar^ Then take that matter, lay it on a 
 wash-leather skin, which bring up all round it, and tie it 
 above with a string. Press the lump well in that skin, so as 
 to separate and squeeze out all the superfluous mercury 
 ■which passes through the leather. When none comes out, 
 open the skin, take the lump in your hand, iand knead it, 
 and siioothen one side of it to take the impression you like, 
 pr'^ceeding for the rest, as above directed. It hardens in 
 the air, and softens with the heat of the hand as you would 
 do a piece of wax. 
 
 XXZ. To get birds with wite feathers^ 
 
 Make a mixture of semfier vvvum majus's juicCs and 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 125 
 
 olive oil, and rub with it the ej^gs on which the hen is sett- 
 ing. All the birds which shall come from those eggs will 
 be white leathered. 
 
 XXXL To soften ivory. 
 
 In three ounces of spirit of nitre, and fifteen of white 
 ■wine, or even mere spring water, mixed together, ]mt 
 your ivory a soaking. And in three or four days, it will be 
 so soft as to obey under the fingers. 
 
 XXXIl. To dye ivory thus softened. 
 
 1. Dissolve, in spirit of wine, such colour you want te 
 dye your ivory with. And when the spirit of wine shall 
 be sufficiently tinged with the colour you have put in, 
 plunge your ivory in it, and leave it there till it is suffi- 
 ciently penetrated with it, and dyed inwardly. Then give 
 that ivory what form you will» 
 
 2. To harden it afterwards, wrap it in a sheet of white 
 paper, and cover it with decrepitated common salt, and 
 the driest you can make it ; in which situation leave it 
 twenty -four hours. 
 
 XXXIII. Another way to soften rjory. 
 
 Cut a large root oi mandrake into small bits, and infuse 
 .first, then boil it in water. Put your ivory in this boiling 
 liquor, and boil it too, till as soft as wax. 
 
 XXXIV. To whiten ivory, which has been spoiled. 
 
 Take roch-alum, dissolve it in water, in a sufficient 
 quantity, to render the water all milky. Boil this liquor, 
 and soak your ivory in it for one hour, then rub it with a 
 hair brush. When done, wrap it in a wet piece of linen 
 to dry it leisurely and gradually, otherwise it would 
 certainly split. 
 
 XXXV. To whiten green ivory : and whiten again that 
 .|| which has turned of a brown yellow. 
 
 1. Slack some lime in water, put your ivory in that water, 
 after decanted from the ground, and boil it till it looks 
 white 
 
 2. To polish, set it on the turner's wheel, and after hav- 
 jng worked it, take rushes and pumice stone subtile pow- 
 der with water, rub it till it looks perfectly smooth. Next 
 tp that, heat it,by turnipg it against a piece of linen, ot 
 
 M 
 
 / 
 
126 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 sheepskin leather, and when hot, rub it over with a little 
 %vhitening diluted in oil of olive, continuing turning as 
 before; then with a little dry whitening, and apiece of 
 soft white rag. When this is performed the ivory will 
 look as white as snow. 
 
 XXXVl. Tofietrifynvood.lsfc, 
 
 Take equal quantities of gena salt, roch-alum, white 
 vinegar calx, and pebbles powder. Mix all these ingre- 
 dients together, and there will happen an ebullition. If, 
 after it is over, throw in this liquor, any porous matter, 
 and leave it there soaking for three,four, or five days, they 
 will positively turn into petrifactions. 
 
 XXXVII. To imitate tortoise shell ivith horn. 
 
 Take one ounce of gold litharge, and half an ounce of 
 quick linne. Grind all together, and mix it to the consis- 
 tence of pap, with a sufficient quantity of chamber-lye. 
 Put of this on the horn, and three or four hours afterwards 
 it will be perfectly marked. 
 
 XXXIII. A firefiarationfor the tortoise shell 
 
 Mike a mixture as above, of quick-lime, orpine, pearl 
 ashes, and aquafortis. Mixed well together.and put your 
 horn or tortoise shell soaking in it. 
 
 XXXIX. To dye bones and mould them in all manner 
 ofshafies. 
 
 1. Boil together twelve pounds of quick-lime, and one of 
 calcined roch-alam, in water to the reduction of one third. 
 Add two mor- pounds of quick-lime, and boil it again till 
 it can carry an egg without its sinking to the bottom. 
 Let it cool, then filter it. 
 
 2. Take twelve pounds of that liquor ; half a pound of 
 rasped Brasil wood, and four ounces o scarlet fl )Cks ; boil 
 all about five mmuteson a sIoa fire, then decant ihe clear- 
 est part of it. and put it by. P'it on the faects of Brasil 
 ■wood and scarlet about four pounds of the first water , boil 
 it the same time as the other, and decant the clearest part 
 of it on the other. Repeat this operafon, till the new 
 added water draws no more colour from the facts. 
 
 3. N'j ^ rasp any quantity ol bones, and boil iheu in cl ar 
 lime water. Ttiea take them out,put them in a matrass.and 
 
SECRETS' IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 127 
 
 over them pour some of the tinged water, so as to soak 
 them. Place the matrass on a mild sand bath and evapo- 
 rate the liquor. Add some more liquor and evaporate it 
 again, continuing to add and evaporate the tinged liquoFj 
 till the rasped bones are all turned into a soft paste. 
 
 4. Take this paste, and mould it as you like, in tin or 
 other moulds, to make whatever thing or figure you want. 
 Set it in the mould for a day or two. till it acquire the 
 ?hape you wish it ; to harden it boil it in a water of alum 
 snd salt petre first afterwards, in oil of nut- These 
 figures look incontestibly to be made of bones, without 
 conceiving how they can be made such,out of that matteri 
 and in one solid piece. 
 
 XL. To dye bones in black- 
 
 Take six ounces of litharge, and the same quantity of 
 quick lisne. Boil all in common water, along with the 
 bones. Keep stirring till the water begins to boil. Then 
 take it out, and never cease stirring till the water is cold 
 again ; by that time the bones will be dyed black. 
 
 XLI. To soften bones. 
 
 Take equal parts of Roman vitriol, and comrnon salt. 
 Distil the spirits out by the root. If in the water you get 
 from the distillation, you put the bones a-soaking, they 
 ■will become as soft as wax. 
 
 XLII. 2^0 dye bones in green. 
 
 Pound well together in a quart of strong vinegar, three 
 ounces of verdi.t?rease, as much of brass tilings, and a 
 handful of rue When done, put all in a glass vessel along 
 ■with the bones vou want to dye, aiid stop it well Carry 
 this into a cold cellar, leave it for a fortnight, the bones 
 ■will be dyt d green. 
 
 XLIII. ^ salt for hardening soft bones. 
 
 Take equal quantities of ammoniac, common decrepi- 
 tated and i<em sahs, as well as oi /diwuunj mecuririum^ 
 roch and shell alums. Pulverise and riiix altot:etlier, then 
 put it in a glass vessel well stoj^e^l, which bury in hot 
 horse dung, that the matter should:^ rrrelt into wa»er. Con- 
 geant Km "-«-«*.— o.«xWmv=> — -. J^v . . ■ .«. ■ . . . V - • i ■ — -— "- — ■— — - — 1^ 
 leqidum again by means of the horse durg, as before. 
 When thus liquified tor the second tinr-e, it is fit for use. 
 Keep it to harden and consolidate any thing; smear it over 
 ■with it. 
 
128 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. 5ie. 
 
 XLIV. ro makejiguresy or vasts, with egg shelly. 
 
 Put ep:g shells in a crucible, and place it in a potter's 
 furnace for two days, that they may there be perfectly 
 calcined, then grind thea. dry into a subtile powder 
 
 2 Next, with gum-arabic water and whites of eggg, 
 beaten together, nsake a liqucir, with which kneatl that 
 powder, and make a paste or dough or it. 
 
 3- With that dough, to which give the consistence of 
 potter's clay, make and form whatever figure or vase you 
 like, and set them in the sun to dry. 
 
 XLV. To dye bones and ivory of a fine red. 
 
 1. Boil scarlet flocks in clear water assisted with pearl 
 ashes to draw the colour the better ; then clarify it with 
 roch alum, and strain this tincture through a piece of linen. 
 
 2. To dye afterwards any bones or ivory in red you 
 must rub them first with aquafortis, and then immediate- 
 ly with this tincture. 
 
 XLVl. To make a fiast in imitation of black marble. 
 
 Dissolve two ounces of spalt on a gentle fire, in a glazed 
 pipkin. When in perfect fusion, add a third part of 
 harable, ready melted, stir altogether. Wlien both are 
 well mixed and united, take the pipkin off the fire, and 
 throw the contents, boiling hot, into a mould of a fine pol- 
 ish in the inside- When cold and dry, take the piece 
 from off the mould, and you will find that nothing can imi- 
 tate so well black marble as this deceptive composition^ 
 
 XLVIT. To dye marble^ or alabaster, blue orfiurpk' 
 
 1. Pound together in a marble mortar, parsnips and 
 purple lillies.with a sufficient quantity of white wire vine- 
 grT. Proportion the quantity of parsnips and lillies, to 
 each, other, according to the hue you wish to give the li- 
 quor. If you cannot get one of these two juices, make 
 use of that you can get ; and to every pound of liquor 
 mixed and prepared, put an ounce of alum. 
 
 2 In this dye put your marble or alabaster, and boil 
 them, supposing they are not too considerable to go into 
 
 ♦ hr •^' 2'^'^' ^T,:*u .K -s v./j,,^.. A r^fl if they be, >-" r.-iuot heat 
 
 one part ot it as much as you possibly can, then dye it 
 ■with the liquor boiling hot, as thus proceed from place ta 
 place, till you have dyed it all over' 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 129 
 XLVIII. To soften auibeTy otherwise Karabe. 
 
 Melt fine white and pure wax in a glass vessel. When 
 melted, put your amber in it, and leave it there till you 
 find it soft to your satisfaction. Then take it out and 
 give it what form you like. To harden it again put it Ir 
 a dry place in the shade. 
 
 XLIX. To whiten ivo^y which has been s/ioiled. 
 
 Take a little black soap, and lay it on the ivory. Present 
 it to the fire, and when it has bubbled a little while, wipe 
 it off. 
 
 L. To whiten bones. 
 
 Put a handful of bran and quick lime together, in a 
 new pipkin, with sufficient quantity of water, and boil it. 
 In this put the bones.and boil them all till perfectly freed 
 from greasy jjarticles. 
 
 LI. Td dye bones in green. 
 
 Grind well a discretionable quantity of verdigrease, 
 ■which you put with vinegar in a coy)per vessel, and the 
 bones in it- Cover this, and lute it so well that no air can 
 come at the contents. Put in hot horse dung, and leave 
 it there for a fortnight, aftt-r which time take your bones 
 out ; they will be coloured of a fine green, which will nc 
 ver rub off. 
 
 LII. To bronze wooden, filaister, ivory, or other figures 
 so that the bronze may stand water for ever. 
 
 1. Grind English brown red, as fine as possible, with 
 nut oil. With this paint all over the figure intended to 
 be bronzed, and let it dry. 
 
 2. Have next some powder of Germain gold in a shelly 
 and in another, some of the varnish described in Art. Ixiiio 
 Chap. iii. Dip a pencil in the varnish, and then in the 
 gold, and give as smooth and equal a coat of this to your 
 figure as you can. 
 
 3. To save expence, you may instead of the gold, take 
 some fine bronze which is much cheaper. 
 
 LIII. A water to dye bones and wood. 
 
 1. Put the strongest white wine vinegar in an earthe^i 
 M2 
 
130 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 pan, in which, set to infuse for seven days, copper filing's, 
 Ronti an vitriol, roch alum, and verdigrease. 
 
 2. Ill this liquor put a-boiling what you want to dye, and 
 it will take the colour perfectly. 
 
 3. If you want a red dye, instead of verdigrease put 
 some red; if yellow, put some yellow, &c- according to 
 the Colour you may require, with a discretionable quanti- 
 ty of roch- alum for either. 
 
 LIV. To dye bones and ivory an emerald green. 
 
 Put in aquafortis as much flos lenei as it can dissolve * 
 and in that water put a-soaking tor twelve hours only, 
 wliatever you want to dye, and they will take the colour 
 to perlectjon m that space of time. 
 
 LV. To whiten alabaster and white marble- 
 
 Infuse for twelve hours, some subtile pumice stone pow- 
 der, in verjuice ; ihen with a cloth or a spon.^e, wet yout 
 maible with the liquor, and it will become perfectly 
 wh.te. 
 
 LVI. To dye wood vermilion colour, 
 
 Smnothen and rub well the wood first ; then give it foul' 
 or five coats of vermilion, subtil^ly pulverised, and dilut- 
 ed with line and curd cheese water. When dry. pn^lish it 
 over again with rushes and t>il of spike ; then for the last 
 give it four or live coats of varnish, made with harabe 
 (amber) and oil of spike and let ii dry. 
 
 f^VlI To soften horn, so that you may cast it in a mould 
 as melted lead. 
 
 Make a strong lye with equal quantities of pearl ashes 
 and quick li u« Rasp your horns, and put these nispings 
 in that Ive They will soon turn into pr:p. Then put in 
 this pap vhatever colour you like, and cast it in w hate vet 
 mduld you choose. 
 
 Let these ^sta-^d in the mould a day or two to acquire the 
 shape you wa, t, more perf^ct:ly. a-'d to ii-trden rhfc:>v boil 
 thetn in a water of aluai and salt petre first and aft^r* 
 ^ards m oil of nut. 
 
[ 131 3 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 SECRETS RELATIVE TO THE MAKING OF CURIOUS 
 AND USEFUL SuRTS OF INK. 
 
 I. j1 good shining ink. 
 
 1. T>UT four quarts of warm water in a glazed pipkin. 
 Jr Add eight ounces of turpentine oil, and one pound 
 of gall-nuts bruised in a mortar. Let the whole infuse 
 thus for a week, then boil it gently, till with a pen you may 
 draw a stroke yellow and shiny with it. Strain it through 
 a strong cloth. Set it on a blasting fire, and as soon as it 
 boils, add seven ounces of green vitriol to it, keep stirring 
 it with a stick till it is P' rtVctly dissolved. Let this rest 
 for two days» without disturbing it. There will be a skim 
 on the top, which must be fhiown off. Decant .next the 
 clearest part into another vesst 1, which you set on a gentle 
 fire, to evaporate about two fingers of the liquor, then let 
 it rest four or five davs, and it will be fit for use. 
 
 2 Rdin water, or that in which walnuts have been in- 
 fused, are both very good for making of ink. 
 
 3. Wtth while wine, or old beer, you u;ay likewise make 
 very good shining ink. 
 
 4. A carp's gall is very proper to mix among it 
 
 II. To write on grease ^ and make the ink run on it-. 
 
 1. Cut a bullock's gall open into a pan, and put a hand* 
 ful ot salt and ibout a quarter of a pint of vinegar to it, 
 which you stir and mix vvell. Thus you may keep the gall 
 for twelve months, without its corrupting. 
 
 2. When you are writing, and you find your paper or 
 parch uient greasy, put a drop of th.it gall amon>? your ink 
 in the ink-horn, and you will find no more difficulty to 
 make your pen mark, 
 
 HI. ^n ink-stone, with which ink-stands may be. made^ and 
 ivith which you may write wichout ink' 
 
 1, Take Rum arabic, fourteen ownces ; lamp bUck, 
 thirteen ; and burnt willow vood coals, three. Pound the 
 guai into an irnpalpabU* powder, and dis olvt it into a pint 
 of coM,'',:on water. This done, kneaUyour above- r en t inn* 
 s.d powders with part ot this gum water, so as to make a 
 
132 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 paste or dough of them, as it were for bread. With this 
 dough form ink- stands, ot the shape and form you hke 
 b'rst, and in th-se ink-stands, while the composition is still 
 soft, you may stamp a few small holes. 
 
 2 rhis done, dry these stands in an ardent furnace for 
 four hours, or in the shade, a sufficient time. When dry, 
 brush tiiem over wiih your aforementioned gum-water, 
 till they appear as black and shiny as jet, and as hard as 
 n^arble. 
 
 3, When you want to use them, put a few drops of wa- 
 ter in one of the holes, and put a pen to soak in it at the 
 same time. Ifthe watcrbe but just put in, the ink will not 
 be quite so black ; but if it have remained a little while, 
 it will be as black as the blackest of any inks. 
 
 IV. To tvr'ite with convncn clear water. 
 
 Take gall nut powder, and vitriolxalcined in the sun to 
 ■whitenes'^,of each four ounces. and sandarak,one and ahalf. s< 
 All being pulverised nnd mixi^d, rui) \ our paper with that 
 povvder ; then steeping your pen in any coniraon water, 
 and writing with it.it will appear black tike any other ink, 
 
 ' V. A good ink both for drawing and writing. 
 
 1 Bruise with a hammer one poand of gall-nuts, and put 
 it to in use for a fortnight in the sun, in two quarts of 
 clear wa'er, stirring it now a' d then. Strain this miusion 
 thi*oug»i a sieve or clorh in a glazed pipkin. 
 
 2. iu another vessel pui two ounces of gum-arabic, and 
 -halfof the above infusi'-n In the other halt which remains 
 ttj dissolve two ounces and a half of German green vitriol,, 
 and let it intuse for four- and twentyhours. Join afterwards 
 boch infusions tog ther ; and a week Hfterv\ ards, or there- 
 abouts, the ink w;!l be very good, and fit tor use- 
 
 VI. To make very good ink <mithout gall-nuts, which will 
 be equally guod to wash drawings and plans> and strike- 
 very neat Lines wiih the pen. 
 
 1. In half a pound of honey put one yolk of an egg, and 
 beat it a good while with a fl.it stick. Then asperse the 
 matter over with three drachtns ot gum arabic in subtile 
 powder. Let this stav about three davs, during which 
 beat it often with a stick of walnut-tree wood. 
 
 2 Next to this, put to it .-.uch a quantify ot lampblack as 
 will make it in consistence of a dnugh, which vou make in. 
 cakes, and dry it in the air, to render it portable- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 133 
 
 3. When you want to use, it dilute it with water, or with 
 a lye made eithf^r of vine- wood ashes, or walnut-tree, or 
 ©ak> or even peach bto^es. 
 
 VII. Anivisible ink. 
 
 4 Dissolve one ounce of ammoniac salt in a glass tuirbler 
 of water, and write- Whin you wish to maie the writing 
 appear, hold the pap. rto the fire, and it will beconne black. 
 
 2. The same may be done with the juice of an onion. 
 
 VIII. Another way. 
 
 Dissolve some alum, and write with the liquor. Steep 
 the paper in water, and the writing will appear white. 
 
 IX. To make good India ink. 
 
 Burn some lamp-black in a crucible till the fume which 
 arises in doing it, hiis eiitirely subsided ; grind it next on 
 porphry, or marble, witli a pretty strong water of t^nni- 
 tragacaiith. Add an equnl quanticy of indigo burot, and 
 gnnded in the ^ame manner. Then mix them both to- 
 geiher on the store, and grind them tor two hours. Gath- 
 er up the composition, in a flat square, of the height and 
 thickness you are willing to give to your stxks. Cut these 
 W!th a knife to your intended size, aud pat them, if you 
 chuse into an ir(»n mould ; and lest the paste should stick 
 to them, rub the mside ot the mould with ian»p or ivory 
 black, or with pe ach stones dust, which you burn in a cru- 
 cible .stifled with a brick to stop it wcll« 
 
 X. Red Ink. 
 
 Dissolve half an ounce of gum-arabic in three ounces 
 of rose water. Thc-n with tins water, dilute cinnubar, ver- 
 milion, or mimium. 
 
 Ink of any colour may be made in the same manner, by 
 substituting only a proper colouring ingredient to the afor- 
 mentioned cinnabar, 8cc. 
 
 XI. A green ink. 
 
 . Grind together vrrdigreasp s;^ffron, me juice, 't.^" «'»" 
 lute this paste in the above- mentionea gum rose water- 
 
134 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Szc. 
 
 XII. To make an ink which afifiears and disappears alter- 
 nately' 
 
 Write v/ith an infusion of gail-nnts filtered through 
 brown paper, and the writing will not be visible When 
 you vant to make it appear, steep a liille sponge, or bit 
 of cotton, into an infusion of vitriol, and pass it over the 
 written place of the paper ; the writing will in^nnediately 
 appear To rub it off, and nnake the paper look all white 
 again, do the same with the spirit of vitriol, and all the 
 writing will be gone. To make it V'S'ble ag-iin rub the 
 paper over wiih oil of tartar ; and thus continue for ever. 
 
 XIII. The invisible method of conveying secretS' 
 
 1st. Ink. 
 
 Infuse for twenty-four hours, half an ounce of gold lith- 
 arge in half a pint of distilled white wine vinegar, and 
 shake the bottle often during the first twelve hours of the 
 infusion. When all is well settled, decant the clt^ar part 
 in'to another phidl, which you must stop carefully, and 
 throw the faeces away. 
 
 If you have any secret to communicate to a friend, write 
 it with this liquor, and it will he no more vissible than if 
 you wrote it with clear pump water. 
 
 XIV. jln ink to ivrite over the other. 
 
 2d. Ink. 
 
 Over the secret, written with the first invisible hik, you 
 write any indifferent ntiatter with the following composi, 
 tion. 
 
 Burn some corks in the fire : and when they are so tho- 
 roughly burnt as to blaze no mr.re, p-it them into a bason, 
 and soak them with brandv ; then grind theni into a paste, 
 which when \ ou want tousp. vou dilute with distilled wa- 
 ter, till it is fit to write with like any other ink. 
 
 XV. AnAher ink ivhich effaces the second, and makes 
 the first appear. 
 
 Sd. 'nk. 
 
 Dilute rose water and sorrel juice separately. Put half a 
 
 — P^«-fc of^ach together in a bottle^ v^itlLtwo ounces of quick 
 
 lime, and niicTTf ,iur*plgnent. Stir this well, now and then, 
 
 and let it infuse during twentv-four hours, as you did the 
 
 fir-^t. Decant the clear part, and throw the grounds away. 
 
 When you want to find out what was written with the 
 
 first invisible ink, and which lies concealed under the se- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 136 
 
 cond black one.steep a sponj^e into this present liquor.and 
 passing quickly over, every line; what was written in 
 black vanishes at one stroke and what was invisible ap- 
 pears in its stead as black, and as much effaceable as if 
 written with common ink. 
 
 XVI. jin ink which will go offin six days. 
 
 Write with willow- wood cinders, pulverised and diluted 
 •with common water. 
 
 XVII. Another which you may rub off when you filease. 
 
 Dilute gun-powder in common water, and write with it 
 on a piece of parchment ; then when you want to efface it, 
 take your handkerchief and rub it off. 
 
 XVIII. Powder ink. 
 
 Take equal parts of black rosin, burnt peach, or apri- 
 cot stones, vitriol and gall nuts, and two of gum-arabic. 
 Put the whole in powder, or in a cake, as you like best. 
 
 XIX. An exceeding good writing ink' 
 
 1. Boil half a pound of India wood shavings in two quarts 
 of good vinegar, to the reduction of one half. Take off 
 the shavings, and substitute four ounces of gall nuts bruis- 
 ed, and put all into a strong bottle, whicli vou expose in 
 the sun for three or four days, shaking it during that time 
 three or four times a day. Then add a dissolution of two 
 ounces and a half of gum-arabic in half a pint ol either 
 water or vinegar Let the whole stand again in the sun 
 for a week, shaking it several timts every day. during that 
 term ; strain that liquor afterwards, and keep it for use. 
 
 2. 'f you should want to render this ij.k shiny, you nmst 
 dissolve both the vitriol arid gum arabic in an intusion of 
 India wood, made as before direct! d, with the addition of 
 one handful of pomegranate rinds in the bottle wherein 
 the gall nut is. 
 
 3. If instead of setting this composition in the sun, you 
 should boil it, it will take but a quarter of an hour a-doing 
 But it is never so good, and besides, ulway s turns muddy, 
 
 XX. A gold colour ink, without gold. 
 
 Put half a drachm oi saffron one of aur p:gment, and 
 one she-g at's, or five or sjx jack galls in a ylHS'> bottle; 
 ai'd set for afortnight in hot horse dung At tie end ot tiat 
 term, add a ^ill of gum wnter ; and j)lace t ^gtii tm the 
 same length of time in horse dung. Then it is fii tor us^. 
 
136 SECRET IN ARTS, TRADES, See. 
 
 XXI. Another way. 
 
 Pulverise into an impalpable powder one ounce of orpine, 
 and as much crystal. Put this powder in five or six whites 
 of eggs b. aten, then turned into water. Mix all well, and 
 it will be fit either to write or to paint in gold colour. 
 
 XXII. To nvrite in silver without silver. 
 
 Mix so well one ounce of the finest pewter and two of 
 quicksilver together, that both become quite fluid. Then 
 grind it on porphyry with gum-water, and write with it. 
 All the writing will look then as if done with silver. 
 
 XXIir A good shining ink. 
 
 Infuse for a day in quart of good table beer half a pound 
 of the blackest and most shiny gall nuts you can find. Add 
 three ounces of gum-arabic, and half an ounce of brown 
 sugar candy, with fo\ir ounces of green copperas. Then 
 boil the whole in a glazed pipkin for about an hour, strain 
 it through a cloth, and put it in the celler to keep for use. 
 
 'i^XlN. Ablueink. 
 
 Dilute half a pound of indigo with some flake white and 
 sugar, in a sufficient quantity of gum-water- 
 The same may be done with ultramarine, and gum- water. 
 
 XXV. A yellow ink. 
 
 .-DHute in gum-water some saflfron, or French berries, or 
 gamboge, and you will have a yellow ink. The same may 
 be done with any other colouring ingredient, to obtain an 
 ink of the colour one likes to have. 
 
 XXVI. A gveen ink which may keep, two years. 
 
 Put a pint of water on the fire in a varnished pipkin ; 
 and when it is ready to boil, throw in two ounces of ver- 
 digreasc pounded, and boil it gently on a slow fire for the 
 space of half an hour, stirring it often during that time 
 •with a wooden spatula. Then add one ounce of white 
 tartar, well pulverised, and boil it one quarter of an hour. 
 Strain two or three times through a cloth, then set it be- 
 fore the fire to evaporate part of it, in order to make it 
 more shiny. But observe, that the more it boils, the more 
 it loses of its green colour, and approaches to tbe t>lue. 
 
Secrets in arts, trades, &c. isr 
 
 XXVII. A shining tnk. 
 
 "Put in a clean brass cauldren six quarts of white wine, ol' 
 beer, or rain water, with one pound of gall-nut.'', and two 
 ounces of roch-aium in powder, which you boil all togeth- 
 er, to the reduction of one half. Take this liqur.r off trajja 
 the fire, and strain it through a cloth into a gl-ztd pipkin, 
 and set it on the fire again for two h' urs longer. Then for 
 the three or four following days, observe to stir it well only 
 with a little stick, without boiling it at all ; it will be fit for 
 use. Whenever you use it, it will be very pale, but in 
 twenty-four hours after, it will be as black as jet. 
 
 j XXVIII. A ivay of writing which will not be visible^ 
 \ unless you hold the fiafier to the sun, or the light of a 
 I candle. 
 
 Take flake white, or any other whitening, and dilute it 
 in a water impregnated with gum adragant. If you write 
 j -with this liquor, the writing will not be perceivable, unless 
 you apply the paper to the sun, or the light of a candle. 
 The reason why it is so, is, that the rays of light will not 
 find the same facility to pass through the letters formed 
 with this liquor, as through the other parts of the paper. 
 
 XXIX. A secret to revive old writings, which are almost 
 defaced' 
 
 Boil gall-nuts into wine : then steeping a sponge into 
 that liquor, and passing it on the lines of the old writing, 
 all the letters which were almost undecypherable will 
 appear as fresh as newly done. 
 
 XXX. To write in gold or silver letters. 
 
 Take gold or silver in shells, and dilute it with some 
 gum-arabic water. Then dip either a pen or a pencil in 
 it, and write. 
 
 XXXI. An iris on white fia/ier. 
 
 Boil in a new iron pot any quantity of sublimate with 
 common water, and a handful of small nails. When the 
 mercury begins to revivify, which happens after two or 
 three hours boiling, throw the whole in a pan <;f cold 
 water, half filled, and place it uncovered for one night, in 
 a bog-house. Then the colours will swim on the top. Ob- 
 serve that the pan must be perforated at the lowest part 
 
138 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 on one side, and stop it with a cork or any other common 
 thing; and that a sheet ot white paper must have been 
 placed at the bottom of it, previous to the half-filhng; it 
 Avith the cold water, in which you are directed to throw the 
 boiling composition. After this has been left in the bog house 
 the space of one night, and the colours do swim on the top, 
 unstop the hole, and let the pan empty itself. Then the 
 colours will settle, and fix themselves on the sheet of pa- 
 per ; and when this begins to dry, take it quite out of the 
 pan, to finish drying it in the shade. 
 
 XXXII. A shining ink. 
 
 1. In a quart of rain water settled, filtered and purified, 
 infuse for four or five hours, on a slow fire, one pound of 
 gall-nuts, chusing the smallest and blackest Let them be 
 previously bruised in a mortar, with some promegranate, 
 rinds, and raspings of fig-tree wood. Next to this make a 
 lye of six ounces of Roman vitriol, and boil it for the space 
 of one hour at least, stirring it with a stick of fig-tree 
 ■wood ; then let it rest twelve hours, and sitt it. 
 
 2. On the same ground you may add the same quantity 
 of water, and let it infuse three days ; then boil it, as above 
 directed, with new copperas. 
 
 XXXIII. ^ common ink. 
 
 1. Bruise six ounces of gall-nuts, and as much gum- 
 arabic, and nine of green vitriol. Put them afterwards in 
 three quarts, at least, of river, spring, or rain water. Stir 
 the composition three or four times a day. And after seven 
 days infusion, strain all through a cloth, your ink is made. 
 
 2. This ground, as well as that above, will admit of 
 fresh water being put to it, with an addition of vitriol also. 
 
 XXXIV. Huiv to firefiare firinters ink. 
 
 1. Take one pound of common tupentine,made with the 
 sandarak of the ancients, which is nothing else but juniper 
 and lintseed oil. Add to it of:e ounce of rosai black, 
 ■which is the smoke of it, and a sufficient quantity of oil of 
 nuts. 
 
 2 Set this composition on the fire, and boil it to a good 
 consistence. Such is the « hole secret. Obst rve h nvever, 
 that in the summt^r it must boil a little more, and a little l-ss 
 in fhe winter. For in the summer the ink must be thicker, 
 and thinner in the wmter ; because the heat makes it 
 more fluid. In which case it is ihere'ore proper t(^ boil it 
 alittlv: more, or to dimiiiish the quatitity of oil, allowed in 
 the proportion to that ot the turpentine. 
 
 i 
 
[ 139 J 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 SECRETS RELATIVE TO WINE. 
 
 I. 7'o jnake a -uine firoduce a sweet ivine. 
 
 ONE month before gathering the grapes, you must twist 
 such branches as are loaded with them, so as to inter- 
 rupt the circulation of the sap; then strip the leaves oflen- 
 tircly,that the sun may act with all its power on the grains, 
 and, by dissipating their superfluous moisture, procure a 
 sweetness to the liquor contained in theni, when they come 
 to be pressed. 
 
 II. To make a sweet wine of a very at^reeable favour^ 
 and besides very wholesome. 
 
 . Gather the grapes, and expose them for three whole 
 days in the sun. On the fourth day at noon, put them under 
 the press, and receive th^- first drop which runs of itself 
 before pressing. When this virgin drop shall have boiled.^ 
 or fer.iiented, put to every fifty quarts of it one ounce of 
 Florentine or rice in subtile powder. A few days after take 
 it out clear from its lye, and then bottle it. 
 
 III. To clarify in two days new wine when muddy. 
 
 Take a discretion able quantity of fine and thin beech 
 shavings, which put into a bag, and hang by the bung- hole, 
 in the cask. Two days after, take out the bag ; and it from 
 red you want to make it white, you nriay do it by putting 
 in the cask a quart of very clear whey. 
 
 IV. To make the wine keefi mout or unfermentcd for 
 twelve monthss 
 
 Take the first, or virgin wine, which runs of itself from 
 the grapes before pressing ; cask arid stop it well, then 
 smfar the chsJc all over with tar so that the water could 
 not penelrnte through any part of the wood into the wine. 
 Plunge thfse casks into a pond deep enough to cover them 
 entirely with water, and leave them there for forty days. 
 After which term you riiay takt' them out and the wine 
 contained in them will keep for twelve months. 
 
140 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec- 
 
 V. To darijy a ivine ivhich h tur7ied. 
 
 Take clean roch-alum in powder, half a pound ; sugar 
 of roses, as nnuch ; honey, whether skinimed or not, eight 
 pounds, and a quart of good wine. Mix all well, and put 
 it in a cask, o^ wine, stirring all as vou pour it in. Take 
 the hung off till the n^xt day, then put it on again. Two 
 or three daj's after this, it will be quite clear. 
 
 VI' To firevent wine from corrujiting. 
 
 Put to infuse in a cask a handful of gentian-root, tied m 
 a bag. 
 
 VII, To firevent mne from growing sour^ and turning 
 into vinegar. 
 
 Hang by the bung-hole, in the cask, a piece of bacon, of 
 about one pound and a half, and replace the bung. Or 
 else throw into the wine a little bagful of ashes of virgin vine^ 
 
 Vill. To restore a wine turned. 
 
 Draw a pailful of it ; or, take the same quanthy of 
 another good sort, which boil, and throw boiling hot over 
 that which is spoiled and stinking; then stop the cnsk • 
 quickly with its bung. A fortnight after taste it, and you 
 %vill find it as good as ever it was, or can be. 
 
 IX. To restore a wine fusted, or tasting of the cask. 
 
 Draw that^vine entirely out of its own lye, and put it in 
 another cask over a goo i lye. Then through the bung- 
 h.-.le, h.mg up a bag with four ounces of luirel berritrs in 
 powder, and a sufficient quantity of steel filings at the bot- 
 tom of the bag to prevent its swimming on the top ot the 
 "wine. And in proportion as you draw a certain quantity 
 of liquor, let down the bag. 
 
 X. To firevent wine from /iricking. 
 
 Put in the cask half a pound of spirit of tartar. Or 
 else, when the wine is still new and 7nout, throw in tw& 
 ounces ot common alum for every hogshead. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 14i ' 
 
 XL To make wine keep.. 
 
 Extract the salt from the best vine brarxhes ; and of 
 this put three ounces in every hogshead at Martiumass, 
 when the casks are bunged up. 
 
 XIL To clarify wine easily. 
 
 Put in the cask two quarts of boiling milk> after having 
 well skimmed it. 
 
 XIII. To firevent wine from turning. 
 
 Put in the cask one pound of hare's shot. - 
 
 XIV. To correct a musty taste in wine. 
 
 Knead a dough of the best wheat flour, and make it 
 in the form of a rolling pin, or a short thick stick. Half 
 bake it in the oven, and stick it all over with cloves. Re- 
 place it in the oven to finish baking it quite. Suspend it 
 in the cask over the wine without touching it, and let it 
 remain there ; or else let it plunge in the wine for a few 
 days, and take it quite out afterwards. It will correct 
 any bad flavour the wine might have acquired. 
 
 XV. To correct a sour, or bitter taste in wine. 
 
 Boil a quartern of barley in four quarts of water, to the 
 reduction of two. Strain what ren>ains through a cloth, 
 and pour it in the cask, stirring all together with a stick, 
 without touching the lye. 
 
 XV i. To restore a spoiled wine- 
 
 Chanee the wine from its own lye, upon that of good 
 wine. Pulverise three of four nutmegs, and as many dry 
 orange peels, and throw them in. Stop well the bung, 
 and let it ferment one fortnight After that term is over, 
 you will find it better than ever. This method has gone 
 through many experiments. 
 
 XVII. To sweeten a tart mne. 
 
 Put in a hogshead of such wine, a quarter of a pint of 
 good wine vinegar, saturated with litharge ; and it will 
 soon lose its tartness. 
 
 XVIII. To prevent tartness in wine. 
 
 Take in the month of March, two basonfula of rives?. 
 
 N S 
 
142- SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, See. 
 
 sand, and after having dried it in the sun, or in the dveu 
 throw it in the cask. 
 
 XIX. To heighte?! a wine in liquor ^ and give it an agreea- 
 bltjia-vour. 
 
 Take two dozen or thereabouts of myrtle berries, very 
 ripe. Bruise them coarsely after having dried them and 
 put them in a bag, which suspend in the middle ot the 
 cask then stop this well with its bung. A fortnight after- 
 "w jrds take off the bag, and you v/ill have a very agreeable 
 wine. 
 
 XX. To give wine a most agreeable flavour. 
 
 Take a pailful of moiit, which boil and evaporate to the 
 consistence of honey. Then mix with it an ounce of 
 Fl'irentine orrice, cut in small bits, and one drachm of cos- 
 tus. Put all into a bag, and let it down in the cask bv the 
 bung hole^ after having previously drawn out a sufficient 
 quantity ot wine to prevent the bag from coming at it This 
 bag being thus suspended bv a string which will hang out 
 of the bung hoi •, stop it well and there will drop from the 
 bag into th? wine a hquor which will give it a most agree- 
 able taste- 
 
 XXI. How to find out whether or not there be water mix- 
 ed in a cask of wine . 
 
 Throw in the cask one wild pear or apple. If either of 
 these fruits swim, it is a proof the re is no water in the 
 ■S7ine > for if there be any, it will sink- 
 
 XXIL To separate water from wine- 
 
 Put into the cask a wick of cotton, which should soak in 
 the wine by one end, and come out of the cask at the bung- 
 hole bv the other ; and every drop of water which may 
 happen to be mixed w.th the wine, will still out by that 
 wick or filter 
 
 You may again put some of this wine into a cup made 
 of ivy wood, and then the water will perspire through the 
 pores of the cup, and the wine remain. 
 
 XXIII. To ungrease wins in less tha?i twenty-four hours- 
 
 Take common salt, gum-arabic, and vine brush ashes, 
 of each halt" an ounce. Tie all in a bag, and fix it to a 
 hazel-tree stick then by the bnng-hole. stir well the wine 
 for a quarter ol an hour after which take it out, and stop 
 the cask- The next day the wine will be as sound as ev^t 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 143 
 
 XXIV. To cure those who are too much addicted to drink- 
 ing wine. 
 
 Cut in the spring a branch of vine, in the time whep 
 the sap ascends most strongly ; and receive in a cup the 
 liquor which runs from that branch. If you mix some of 
 this hq'ior with wine, and give it to a man already drunk, 
 he will never relish wine afterwards. 
 « 
 XXV. To recover a person Jro?n intoxication. 
 
 Make such a person drink a glass of vinegar, or some 
 cabba>;e juice, otherwise give him some honey You may 
 likewise meet with success by giving the patient a glass 
 of wine quite warm to drink, or a dish of strong ccffee, 
 ■without mjlk or sugar? adding to it a large tea-spoontul of 
 salt. 
 
 XXVI. To preserve wine good to the last. 
 
 Take a pint of the best spirit of wine, and put in it the 
 
 bulk of your two fists of the second peel of the alder tree, 
 
 ■which is green. After !t has nifused three days, strain the 
 
 liquor through a clothe and pour it into a hogshead of wine^ 
 
 ♦That wine will keep good for ten years, if you want it. 
 
 XXWl. To make currant wiJie. 
 
 Gather your currants when full ripe, which will com- 
 inonlv be aI)out the ritiddie of July ; break them well in a 
 tub or vat, (some have a mill constructed for the purpose* 
 cons)Sting of ahopper fixed upon two lignum vitse rollcr.v) 
 Press out, and measure your juice, and to each gallon put 
 two gallons of water; to one gallon of this mixture put three 
 pounds of Muscovada sugar, or well clarified coarse su- 
 gar ; stir it well till the sugar is quite dissolved, and then 
 turn it up. 
 
 Your casks should be sweet and clean, such as have not 
 had either beer or cider m them, and if new, let them be 
 first well seasoned. 
 
 As v^ine, made in the common manner, either of grapes 
 or currants, is long fermenting, we thmk that to filter it 
 through a sand filter, wr.uld be of great benefit. All li- 
 quors that require to ferment are injured in proportion to 
 the tinpe that is requisite to complete the fermentatioti ; 
 and this time is longer or shorter, in proportion as there is 
 more or less of those substances in the liquor that fermen- 
 tation throws off. 
 
 It may not be amiss to observe, that your juice shojld 
 not stand over night ; after bein^ pressed out it should be 
 
144 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. Scc^ 
 
 immediately mixed, and put up in casks, before fermenta- 
 tion commences. The casks should not be so full as to 
 work out at the bung:, but when the fermentation is done, 
 the casks should be filled. While fermenting, something 
 should lightly cover the bung hole, so as to prevent flies, 
 8cc. getting in ; as soon as the fermentation is over, the 
 casks should be stopped up If your wine has been filtered, 
 in the manner above mentioned, it will not require rack- 
 ing;, but may stand upon the lees, until drawn oflp-for use. 
 Wine that stands upon the lees attains a stronger body. and 
 is in a great measure divested of that sweet, luscious taste, 
 peculiar to made wines ; nay, if it is not wanted for pre- 
 sent use, it may without any damage stand two years on 
 the lee's. When the wine is drawn off. the ^es, by dis- 
 tillation, afford a fine spirit; some put this spirit into the 
 wine again, the practise is not, however, recommended. 
 
 When you make currant wine, do not be prevaiK d upon 
 to add more than one third juice, as above prescribed, 
 in hopes the wine may be richer, for that would render it 
 infallibly hard and unpleasant ; nor yet a greater propor- 
 tion of sugar, as it would certainly deprive itof us pure 
 vinous taste. 
 
 Bv this management you may have wine, letting it have 
 a proper age, equal to Madeira, at least superior to most, 
 wines commonly imported? and for much less money. 
 
 To make thirty gallons of wine, the proportion of each, 
 ingredient, is, eight gallons of juice, sixteen of water, and 
 seventy-two pounds of sugar, equal to six gallons, making 
 in all thirty gallons. 
 
 N B. An extraordinary good spirit for medicinal and 
 other uses, may be distilled from currant juice, by adding 
 one quart of molasses to a gallon of juice, to give it a pro- 
 per fermentation. 
 
 XXVIII. To make excellent nvine ofafifile cider. 
 
 Take of ripe and mellow fruit, the last of September,©!? 
 in October, grmd them fine, and let the pummice stand 
 over one ni^ht before pressing it out, if it can without dan* 
 ger of fermenting. When your cider is made, boil two 
 barrels of it down to one ; then strain it through clean sand 
 placed in a vessel made like a lye tub After it is strained 
 put it in a clean cask, set it in a cool cellar, and after 
 two yeais it will be fit for use If k.rpt for three or four 
 years, it is equal to Rhenish, or Malaga wines. Much, 
 however, depends upon the quality of your cider. 
 
 XXIX. Another Method. 
 
 Take of cider (made and clarified as directed in Art. ?•. ,| 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 145 
 
 Chap, xix.) one barrel ; add thereto of honey, sufRcient to 
 make it hear an e^g Stir the h 5n(.y well into it, and put 
 ' it into a clean cask to stand and ternient Wliile ft f iiicot- 
 ing fill the cask up eachdav, that the filth may work out 
 at the bung-hole When the fermentation has subsided, 
 put the bung loosely in, lest you burst the cask. At the end 
 of five or six weeks, draw the liquor off into a clean tub, 
 take the white of eight eggs, and if the hquor be not per- 
 fectly clear, put to them a pint of clean sand, beat the 
 eggs and sand well together, and put them into the liquor. 
 Then add a gallon of cider spirit, and a:ter the whole is 
 well mixed "and stirred together, and your cask well 
 cleaned, return it into the cask, bung it up tight, and 
 place it in a proper situation for racking off in the follow- 
 ing April. 
 
 . Wine has been made by following the preceding direc- 
 tions, equal or superior to most foreign wines, and at less 
 than a fifth ot the cost. 
 
 XXX. Matile wine. 
 
 Boil four, five, or six gallons of sap (according to its 
 
 ^trength) into one, and add yeast according to the quantity 
 
 you make- After it is fern ented, set it aside in a cool 
 
 place, well stopped, if kept for two or three years it will 
 
 become a pleasant sound wme. 
 
 CHAP. xri. 
 
 CONCERNING THE COMPOSITION OF VINEGARS. 
 
 I. 7b make good wine vinegar in a short lime. 
 
 T 
 
 ''IHROW some Taxus, wood, or yew-tree, in any wine, 
 and It will act be long be. ore it turns into vinegar. 
 
 II. To change, wine into strong vinegar. 
 
 Take tartar, ginger, and long pepper, of each equal 
 doses. Infuse all for one we^ k, in good strong viTiegar, then 
 take it out and let it dry When you Wc^nt to mdke vh e- 
 gnr, put a bag full of these drugs in wine, it will soon turn 
 into vinegar. 
 
 HI. To make very good and strong vinegar with the 
 worst 0/ wines. 
 
 Grind into subtile powder five pounds of «rude tartar. 
 
146 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 Pour on it one pound of oil of vitriol Wrap up the whole 
 in a bag, tie it and hang it by the bung-h.)le. in a cask of 
 bad and totally spoiled wine, M^ove and stir now and 
 then that bag in the wine, and it will turn into very good 
 vinegar. 
 
 IV. To turn wine into vinegar in less than three hours. 
 
 Put in the wine a red beet, and it will be quite sour and 
 true vinegar in less than three hours. 
 
 V. To restore such a wine to its Jirst taste. 
 
 Take off the red beet, and in its stead put a cabbage 
 root into that wine, and it will return to its primary taste 
 in the same space of tinne. 
 
 VI. ^w excellent prefiaration of vinegar. 
 
 1. Take white cinnamon, long pepper, and cyfirus, of 
 each an ounce ; round pepper, half an ounce, and two nut- 
 me.^s. Pulverise each drug separately, and put them in 
 so many distinct bags. Put them in six different and se- 
 parate quarts of the best vinegar, and boil them two or 
 three minutes, 
 
 2. Then buil separately six quarts of good wine- 
 
 3. S:;ason a cask, which is done by pouring i quart of 
 the best vinegar into it, with which you rnise it. Then pour 
 in vour boiled wine and vinegars, and till half way the 
 cask with the worst and most s. soiled wine. Stop the cask, 
 and keep it till the vinegar is done. Then draw from it, 
 and refil the cask with the same quantity of bad wine as 
 you take of vinegar. 
 
 VII. To render vinegar alkali. 
 
 Saturate any quantity of vinegar with |»alt of tartar 
 
 Vlil. '1 7nake in one hour, good rose vinegar. 
 
 Put a drachm of hare's marrow in a pint of wine, and 
 you will vee the con^equ<nce. 
 
 IX. Another method to muke such vinegar in an instants 
 
 1. Take common roses and unripe blackberries, which 
 grow in hedges, of each four ounces.and of barberry fruits 
 one. • Dry them all in the shade, and reduce them into 
 subtile powd -r. 
 
 2. Mix two drachms of this powder into a glass of white 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 147 
 
 o.r red wine. Then let it settle tn the bottom, and strain it 
 through a cloth. It will be a very fine vinegar 
 
 X- 2'o ofieratt the samt in one how's time^ on a larger 
 quuniuy of wine- 
 
 1 Take the best r\ e flour, which dilute in the strongest 
 vinegar, and make a thin round cake with it Bake it 
 quite dry m the o\ en ; then pound it into a very fine pow- 
 der, with which and vinegar, make again another cake as 
 before, and bake it like the first. Reiterate this operation 
 three or four times. 
 
 2. If you hang the last made cake. in a cask of wine 
 quite hot, you will turn the whole into vinegar in less than 
 an hour* 
 
 XI. The recd/it of the vinegar called the Grand Consta- 
 
 ble's Vinegar. 
 
 Take one pound of damask raisins, and cure them of 
 their stones. Put thes. raisins in a glazed jar, with two 
 quarts of good rose vinegar. Let all infuse for one night 
 over hot ashes, then boil it the next morning four of five 
 minutes only. Take it of the fire and let ii cool, strain it 
 •through a cloth, and bottle it to keep for use, afterwards 
 cork the bottle. 
 
 XII. ji secret to increase the strength and sharpness of 
 
 the vinegar. 
 
 Boil two quarts of good vinegar to the evaporation of one; 
 then put it in a vessel, and set it in the sun for a week. 
 Now if you mix this vinegar among six- times as lar^e a 
 quantity of bad vinegar in a small cask, it will not only 
 mend it, but make it very strong and agreeable. 
 
 XIII. Another way to do the same' 
 
 The root of rubus idaus, the leaves of wild pear-tree, 
 acorns roasted in -he fire, the liquor in which vetches 
 (peas) have been boiled, horse chr.snut powder put in a 
 bag, 8cc. &c. add greatly to the sharpness of vinegar. 
 
 XiV, The secret for making good vinegar, given by a 
 vinegar- man ui, Paris. 
 
 1. Pound coarsely ,or rather bruise onlv,one ounce of long 
 pepper, as much gineer.and the same quantity u\ fi.refhra. 
 Put ihesein aj^aiiover the fire with six quarts of wii i . H;at 
 this only to whteness, then put it in a sniall cask and set it 
 in tb«' sun.or Mvera bnker'soven or any other warui place. 
 
 2 No A and then add nevv wine m your cisk, aft -^ r having 
 IM-eviously heated it as bciore, and let that quantity be no 
 
148 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 more than two or three quarts at a time.till the cask is 
 quite full —If you add a few quarts of real vinegar, it will 
 be the stroTi^er- Before casking the wine, let it rest in the 
 pan in which it has boiled for two or three days. A glazed 
 earthen pan is preferable to a copper one for boiling the 
 wine in ; for during the three days infusion, the copper 
 might comnnunicate a dangerous quality of verdigrease to 
 the vinegar. When you put vinegar to meliorate this 
 coTiposition, instead of wine, you must take care to heat it 
 over the fire.but not so much as the wine. Let the cask be 
 well rinsed and perfectly clean.beforeputting the vinegar in. 
 3 The wild blackberries which grow in hedges, are 
 very good to make vinegar, but they must be used while 
 red ; then put them in the wine, heat this to whiteness, and 
 proceed in the same manner as you do vixih fiyrethra^ gin- 
 ger and long pepper. The dose of blackberries is not de- 
 termined ; you may take any discretionable .quantity of 
 them,and the vineg;u' which results from these is very good. 
 
 XV. To 7nake vinegar with water. 
 
 Put thirty or forty pounds of wild pears in a large tub, 
 where you leave them for three days to ferment, then 
 pour some water over them, and repeat this every day 
 for a month. At the end of which it will make a very- 
 good vinegar. 
 
 XVI. To make good vinegar -^vith spoiled wine. 
 
 Put a large kettle full of spoiled wine on the fire, boil 
 and skim it. When wasted of a third put it in a cask, 
 •wherein there is some very good vinegar. Add a few 
 handfuls of chervile over it in the cask, and stop the 
 vessel perfectly close. You will have very good vinegar 
 in a very short time. 
 
 XVII. ^ dry fiortable vinegar ^ or the vinaigre en poiidre. 
 
 Wash well half a pound of white tartar, with warm 
 water then dry it, and pulverise it as fine as possible. 
 Soak that powder with good sharp vinegar, and dry it 
 before the fire, or in the sun. Resoak it again as before 
 with vinegar, and dry as above, repeating this operation 
 a dozen times. By these means you shall have a very 
 good and sharp powder, which turns water itself instantly 
 into vinegar. It is very convenient to carry in the pocket, 
 especially when travelling. 
 
 XVI II. To make maple vinegar. 
 
 Expose the sap to the sun in the open air, and it will in 
 a short time become good vinegar- 
 
CHAP. XIII. 
 
 SiECRETS RELATIVE TO LIQUORS AND ESSENTIAL 
 OILS. 
 
 I. To make as good wine as Spanish wine- 
 
 2. fTIAKE one hundred pounds weight of dry raisins, from 
 JL which pick off the stems, and open the fruit with a 
 knife. Put these in a large wooden tub, very clean. Boil 
 fifteen gallons of rain water, purified by straining through 
 the filtering paper. Pour it over the raisins, and cover it 
 to preserve the heat of the water. Twenty- four hours after 
 take off the raisins, which will be swelled, and pound them 
 in a large marble mortar, then put them again in the tub. 
 Heat fifteen gallons more of water, which pour over the 
 other with the raisins, and throw in twenty-five pounds of 
 coarse sugar. Stir all well and cover the tub, over with 
 two blankets. TJree days after, by a cock placed at the 
 bottom of the tub, draw out all the liquor, and cask it, ad- 
 ding six quarts of brandy to it. Press the ground with an 
 apothecary's press, and put the juice in the cask, with 
 two pounds of white tartar pounded into a subtile powder, 
 in order to promote the fermentation, add five or six 
 ounces of polychrest salt, and a knot of garden cress seed, 
 of about sixteen or eighteen ounces weight, and another 
 knot of seven pugils of alder flowers. These knots are to 
 be suspended by a thread in a cask, 
 
 2. If the wine look too yelLnv, you must strain it through 
 ajelly bag, in which you shall put one pound of sweet al- 
 monds, pounded with milk. The older the wine, so much 
 the better it is. 
 
 3. To make H red, dissolve some cochineal pounded in 
 a certahi quantity of brandy, along with a little alum pow- 
 der, in order to draw the better the dye of the cochineal, 
 which put to digest on a sand bath. Till the brandy has 
 assumed a proper degree of colour, give it to your wine in 
 a sufficient degree. 
 
 4. it is preferable to clarify the sugar well, and to put 
 it in the cask instead of the tub. 
 
 IL To make the rossolis. 
 
 L Boil first some water, and let it cool till it is no more 
 than lukewarm. Take next all the sorts of fragrant flow- 
 ers the season can afford, well picked, keeping none but 
 the petals of each flower. Infuse these, separately, in some 
 
150 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 of that lukewarm water, to extract their odorous smell or 
 fragrancy. Then take them off, and drain them. Pour 
 all these different waters in one pitcher, and to every 
 three quarts of this mixture, put a quart or three pints of 
 of spirit of wine, three pounds of clarified sugar, one quar- 
 ter of a pint of essential oil of aniseed, and an equal quan- 
 tity of essential oil of cinnamon. 
 
 2. Should your rossolis prove too sweet and slimy in the 
 mouth, add half a pint, or more, of spirit of wine. 
 
 3. If you think the essential oil of aniseed should whiten 
 too much the rossolis, mix it with the spirit of wine, before 
 putting it in the mixed waters, 
 
 4. If you want to increase the fragrancy, add a few 
 spoonfuls of essential oils of different flowers, with one pu- 
 gil or two of musk, prepared amber, and lump sugar pul- 
 verized. Then strain the rossolis through a jelly bag to 
 clarify it, bottle and stop it well. Thus may it keep for 
 ten years and upwards. 
 
 HI. To make a rossolis ivhich may serve as ajoundation 
 to other liquors. 
 
 Put three quarts of brandy and one or" water, in a glaz- 
 ed earthen pot. Place this pot on a charcoal fire, adding 
 a crust of bread and one ounce of aniseed, and cover it till 
 it boils. Then uncover it and let it boil five minutes, and 
 put in a pound of sugar, or more if you chuse. Now beat 
 the white of an egg with a little of your liquor, take the pot 
 off the fire and throw in the white of an egg. Let this thus 
 rest for three days. 
 
 IV. To make Eau de Franchipane. 
 
 Put half a pound of sugar, in a quart of water, add a 
 quarter of a pound of jessamine flowers which infuse for 
 some time ^When you find theliq lor has acquired a suf- 
 ficient degree of fragrancy, strain it through a jelly bag, 
 and add a few drops of essential oil of ambergris- 
 
 Y. Orange Jlower water made instantly. 
 
 Put one handful of orange flowers in a quart of water, 
 with a quarter of a pound of sugar. Then beat the liquor 
 by pout ing it from one vessel to another, till the water 
 has acquired what degi ee of fragrancy you wish it. 
 
 VI Muscadine rose wal^r. 
 
 Put two handfuls of muscadine roses in one quart of wa- 
 ter with oht quarter of a poundof sugar. For the rest pro- 
 ceed as before. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec. 151 
 
 VII. To make raspberry, strawberry, cherry, or other 
 such luaters. 
 
 l.Takethe ripest raspberries, strain them througii a linen 
 eloth to express ail the juice out of tliem. Put this in a 
 glass bottle uncorked, and set it in the sun, in a stove, or 
 before the fire till cleared down. Then decant it gently 
 into another bottle, withojit disturbing ihejoeces which are 
 at the bottom, 
 
 2. To half a pint of this juice, put a quart of common 
 water, and a quarter of a pound of sugar. Beat all togeth- 
 ei*, by pouring backwards and forwards, from one vessel 
 into another, strain it through a linen cloth, and set it to cool 
 in a pail of ice- It is a fine cooling draught in the summer. 
 
 3. Strawberriesj cherries, 2cc. are done in the same man- 
 ner. 
 
 VIII. Lemonade water at a cheap rate. 
 
 Dissolve half a pound of sugar in a quart of water ; rasp 
 over it the yellow part of one, two, or three lemons, as you 
 like, and mix a few drops of essential oil of sulphur in the 
 liquor. Then cut three or four slices of lemon in the bowl, 
 when you put the liquor in it* 
 
 IX. ,4pricoi water. 
 
 Take a dozen of apricots, very ripe. Peel and stone 
 them. Boil a quart of water, then take it off from the fire 
 and throw in your apricots. Half an hour after put in a 
 quarter of a pound of lump sugar, which being dissolved, 
 strain all through a cloth, and put it to cool in i(fe as the 
 others. 
 
 X. To make exceeding good lemonade- 
 
 On a quart of water put the juice of three lemons, or 
 two only if they be verv juicv. Add seven or eight zests of 
 the'r. besides, withone quarter of a pound of sugar- When 
 the sugar is d ssolved, strain the liquor, and cool it in ice 
 as before mentioned- 
 
 XI. To make orangeade the same way-- 
 
 You proceed with vour oranges as with the lemons. If 
 these be good, but little juicy, you must squt-ezt* three or 
 four oranges, with the addition of eight or t' n zest?. If you. 
 love odour, you may add some musk, and prepared amber 
 
132 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 XII. To make a cooling cinnamon boater. 
 
 Boil one quart of water in a ^lass, vessel before the fire 
 Take it off, and put in two or three cloves, and about half 
 an ounce of whole cinnamon. Stop well the bottle, and 
 when the water is cold put half a pint only of it in two 
 quarts of water with sugar to your palate, a' quarter of a 
 pound is the proper quantity. Then cool it as usual in 
 ice, before serving. 
 
 Xril. To 7nak€ coriander water: 
 
 Take a handful of coriander, which shell, and put in a 
 quart of water half cooled again, after having boiled Add 
 one quarter of a pound of sugar, and when the water has 
 acquired a sufficient degree of taste, strain, cool, and serve 
 i x, as uSUfsi* 
 
 XIV. ^jiiseed ivater. 
 
 The aniseed water is made in the same manner as the 
 coriander water.^ 
 
 XV. Citron water. 
 • 
 
 Take a citron which strip of its peel, and cut in slices 
 crossways. Put these slices in a quart of water with a 
 quarter of a pound of sugar. Beat well this water by 
 pouring it backwards and forwards from one vessel into 
 another, and when it has a sufficient taste of the citron, 
 strain it, Sec. ■^ 
 
 XVI. Cinnamon water. 
 
 Bruise a pound of the finest cinnamon, and put to infuse 
 for twentv-four hours in four pounds of distilled rose wa- 
 ter, with half a pound or a pint of white wine, which put 
 all together during that time in a glass matrass on warm 
 ashes'^ and stop well the vessel, so that it breathe no air. 
 At the end of twenty-four hours increase the fire so as to 
 procure a distillation, bv putting the matrass in the bal- 
 neum mari<e, and keep this liquor in bottles well stopped- 
 
 XVII. To make cedrat water. 
 
 Have a dozen of fine lemons, which split in two parts 
 Take out all the kernels, and keep nothing but the pulp 
 wherein the juice is contained. Put them in a new glazed 
 earthen pan. Boil one pound of sugar to \.\\t plume degree, 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 153 
 
 then pour it in the pot over the lemons. Set this on a 
 good charcoal fire, and boil it till the sugar comes to the 
 fiearl degree, then bottle it- 
 
 XVIII. Junifier water. 
 
 Put two pounds of juniper berries with two quarts .of 
 brandy in a stone bottle, which stop well and place on hot 
 ashes to infuse for twenty four hours. Strain the liquor, 
 an(>add one pound of sugar, half an ounce of cinnamon, 
 as much cloves, a preserved half peel of a lemon, and two 
 pugils of aniseed. Put these in the bottle, stop it well, and 
 place it at two or three different times in a baker's oven, 
 after the bread is out, and when you may bear your hand 
 in it without burning- 
 
 XiX. To make good hydromel, otherwise metheglin. . 
 
 Take honey and water, equal q.iantities in weight* 
 Boil them together and skim the honey. When done 
 sufficiently you may know by putting an egg in, which must 
 swim at top. Pour then the liquor in a cask where there 
 has been spirit of wine, or good brandy, well soaked with 
 either, and still wet with the spirit, and add two or three 
 grains of ambergris. Stop well the cask, and set it in the 
 sun during the dog days. When it begins to ferment, un 
 stop the cask to let the scum out, which arises like thai of 
 new wine. During that time you must not stir the cask. 
 When the first fire of the fermentation has subsided, stop 
 the cask again, and the hydromel is fit tor keeping. 
 
 J\ote. Instead of the sun, you may in other seasons, make 
 use of the top of a baker's oven a stove or a hot-house. 
 
 XX. A light and delicate rossolis, known under the de- 
 nomination o/'populo. 
 
 1. Boil three quarts of water, then let them cool again. 
 Add one quart ot spirit of wine, one of clarified sugar, half 
 a glass of essential oil of cinnamon, and a very little of 
 musk and ambergris. 
 
 2, Observe the sugar should not be boiled too much in 
 claritying, for fear it should crystalize when in the rossolis 
 and cause clouds in it Observe also to boil the water 
 first, as prescribed before using it, to prevent the cor- 
 rupting ot the liquor; which would infalliably be the case 
 were you to employ it unboiled. 
 
 XXI. Angelic water. 
 
 3; Take half an ounce of angelic, as much cinnamon, st- 
 2 
 
154 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, gcc. 
 
 quarter part of cloves, the same quantity of mace, of co- 
 riander, add of green anjse seed, with half an ounce of 
 cedar wood. Bruise all these ingredients in a nDortar, and 
 and set them to infuse for twelve hours, with two quarts 
 of genuine brandy, in a matrass or retort. Then distil 
 the liquor by balneum marice, 
 
 2. Two or three ounces only of this essential spirit in two 
 quarts of brandy, with the addition of a very small quan- 
 tity of musk and ambergris, will make a very agreeable 
 liquor- • 
 
 XXII. T/ie cinnamon water. 
 
 In three quarts of once boiled water, and then cooled 
 again put half a pint of essential spirit of cinnamon, dis- 
 tilled like that of anise-seed. Add three pints of spirit of 
 -wine, and one of clarified sugar. Strain all through the 
 jelly bag, Sec. 5cc. 
 
 XXII I. Stro7ig anise-seed ivater, or animated brandy. 
 
 Put half a pint of essential spirit of anise-seed into three 
 quarts ot the best genuine brandy, with one of boiled 
 -water. If you want it swf;et, add clarified sugar. Strain 
 all through the jelly bag, &c. &c. 
 
 XXIV. To make white R^tasia, called otherwise Eaude- 
 Noaiu, or kernel wattv. 
 
 Pound three quarters of a pound of cherry-stones, wood 
 and kernels, or almonds in a stone pitcher, with twelve 
 quarts of brandy. Add one drachm of cinnamon, a dozen 
 of cloves, two pugils of coriander, and three pounds and a 
 half of sugar. Let all these infuse together, till sufficient- 
 ly tasty, and ready to strain, add four quarts of water that 
 has been boiled and is cool again. Then run it through the 
 jelly-bag, and next through the filtering paper ; bottle 
 and stop it for use. 
 
 XXV. An exceeding good Ratasia. 
 
 On a quart of E:ood brandy put half a pint of cherry 
 juice, as much of currants, and the same of raspberries. 
 Add a few cloves, a p;;gil of white pepper in grain, two of 
 green coriander, and a stick or two of cinnamon. Then 
 pound the stoties of nhe cherries, and put theni in, wood 
 and all together Add a lew kernels of apricots, thirty 
 or forty are sufficitnt. Stop well the pitcher, which must 
 be a new one, a«ter all these ingredients are in, let the 
 whole infuse a couple of months in the shade, shaking 
 twice or thrice during that space of time, at the end of 
 
 1 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, See. 155 
 
 which run the liquor through the flannel bag, and next 
 through the filtering paper, then bottle and stop it well 
 for use. 
 
 Mote. In increasing in due proportion the quantity (^f 
 the brandy, and the doses of each of the ingredients pre- 
 scribed, you may make what quantity you like ot this Ha- 
 tasia- 
 
 XXVI. A smelling water, 
 
 1. Put in any quantity of brandy, benjamin, and storax 
 Galaujite, equal parts ; a little cloves and mace, cc arsely 
 brujsed- Set this digesting for five or six days on wurm 
 ashes. When the liquor is tinged of a fine red, decant it 
 gently from the residue- in a glass bottle, and throw in a 
 Jew graint) of mubk, before stojjping it- 
 
 2. Three drops of this smeUing water in a common glass 
 tumbler of water, give it a very agreeable fragrance. 
 
 3. With the ground, or residue, you may make lozen- 
 ges, in adding a little gum-adragrant to bind them- 
 
 XXVII- Hoiv to make a Sherbet, a Ferdan species of 
 FuHch- 
 
 There are various ways of making Sherbet. Some 
 make punch here with rum only, others with brandy ; 
 others with arrach, and others with shrub- Some will 
 have it mixed with two of these spirits, and others will 
 make it with white wine- Some put acds, olhers do not; 
 and among the acids son.e chuse tartar o.nly, t thers le- 
 mons, and others Seville oranges ; some squeeze a little 
 of each of these two last tart fruits together in the same 
 bowl of punch 
 
 It is the same with respect to sherbet, the famous Per- 
 sian drink. They make it with the various syrups tK- 
 Iracted from all the odoriferous flowers ; and the dcse is 
 one part of such a syrup to ten parts of any spirituous li- 
 quor- Or again, they make a weak rossolis, with the 
 zests of oranges and lemons boiled together in water with 
 sugar. Some will make it with the essential spirit of 
 musk and amber only, put in boiling water with sugar as 
 we do our punch. 
 
 XXVIII. To make Vin des-Dieux- 
 
 Peel two large lemons and cut them in slices ; do the 
 same with two large golden pipins. Put all a soaking in 
 a pan with a pint of good burgundy, three quarters of a 
 pound of lump sugar in powoer, six cloves and naif a gill of 
 orange flower water. Cover the pan, and keep it thus 
 for five or six hours, then strain the liquor through the 
 
156 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 flannel bag. You may musk and amber it like the /i2//i- 
 ocras if you will. 
 
 XXIX. Burnt wine. 
 
 Put a quart of good Burgundy in an open pan, with a 
 pound of sugar, two leaves of »nace, a little long pepper, 
 a dozen of cloves, two or thr-e tops of rosemary branches, 
 and two bay leaves. Place that in the middle ot wheel- 
 fire of blasting charcoal- When the wine begins to be hot, 
 set the fire to it with a bit of paper, and thus let it kindle 
 and blaze till it goes out of itself. This wine is drank quite 
 hot, and it is an admirable drink,especialiy when the wea- 
 ther is very cold. 
 
 XXX. To imitate muscat nvine- 
 
 In a cask of new white wine (that is to say, before it has 
 worked) introduce by the bung-hole, five or six tops of al- 
 der fl uvers dried up- Let these flowers hang by a string, 
 antJ eigiht or ten days after take them out again- You 
 will obtain a wine which will not differ from muscat. 
 
 XXXI. A violet ivater- 
 
 Infuse some violets in cold brandy. When these have 
 lost their colour, take them out, and put in new ones- Re- 
 peat this till you are satisfied with your tincture. When 
 you take the violets out, you must press them gently ; 
 then svveeten that brandy according to discretit-n ; and, if 
 you choose, you may add again a htcle orange-flowers for 
 the sake ot the odour- 
 
 XXXII. To make a clear and ivhite hypocras. 
 
 To every one pint of claret add eight ounces of sugar, 
 and nine, if it be white wine ; half a lemon, four cloves, a 
 little cinnamon, wh ch should be double the quantity of 
 cloveS) three grains of pepper, four of coriander, a little 
 bit of ginger, and eight al uondscut in bits. Let the whole 
 be bruised and put into a pan, with the wine poured over 
 h ; stir, infuse one hour and strain through the flannel bag* 
 
 XXXIII. To make the true Eau-de-Noiau- 
 
 Pound ore pound of apricot kernels, without reducing 
 them into oil- Then bruise another pound of cherry-stones, 
 •wood, and kernels all together. Put all in a pitcher of 
 five or six gallons, in which put onlv three and a half, or 
 four gallons of the best brandy, and two of water ; five 
 pounds of sugar ; to every one quart of liquor, add tw* 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 157 
 
 grains of white pepper, and eight drachms of' cinnamon, 
 both bruised. Let all infuse forty- eight hours, and then 
 strain the liquor through tht flannel bag. 
 
 XXXIV.' .dn admirable oil of sugar. 
 
 Rinse a matrass "with vinegar, put in it some dry powder 
 sugar, or lump sugar pulverised. Keep that matrass on 
 hot ashes, turning and whirlirg it round aiid flat ways, by 
 means of the neck of the matrass which ) ou hold in ycur 
 hands with a cloth, and stop it not. The effV ct is such, the 
 heat occasions the vapours to rise about the matrass, 
 which by turning and whirling it, as above menlioi.t'd, 
 makes the sugar which is in it resoak and imbibe theai 
 again. This operation dissolves the sugar, and retluces it 
 into a sort of oil. 
 
 XXXV. An admirable essence of red sugar. 
 
 1. Pulverise five pounds of the best double refined, or 
 royal sugar ; which done, put along with eight ounces of 
 brandy in a large matrass, over a sand bath. Distil some 
 part of this first, on a slow fire, to avoid burning the sugar. 
 Re-put the distilled liquor over the sugar again in tht mat- 
 rass. Continue to distil and pour the liquor again in the 
 matrass over the sugar, till the sugar becomes red, which 
 ^vill happen at the seventh or eighth iteration of distillation. 
 
 2 Now distil out all the brandy, and on the remaiiiing 
 sugar pour common water, which distil" also, then add 
 some more, continuing so to do till you have drawn out all 
 the tincture of the red sugar. 
 
 3. Take next all these red waters, and run them through 
 the filtering paper, then distil the phlegm on a gentle fire 
 to siccity (or dryness). Put again this distilled plegm on 
 the res due. Which place all together in a cold cellar. 
 You will find some red crystals, which pick up, and v\ hen 
 dry, pulverise ; then pour brandy over to dissolve. This 
 admirable quintessence of sugar has the virtue of pre- 
 serving the radical moistness of the inside, and our health. 
 
 XXXVI. Another oil of sugar, excessively good. 
 
 Cut oflF the end of a large lemon, of which squeeze out 
 theju ce ; then fill it with fine sugar, and apply to it 
 again the cut-ofF pirce. Put it in a clean glaztd pij kin, 
 vhich pUce to boil a quarter ot an hour ; put it in a bot- 
 tle ; it will never congeal, and that dl is good for the sto- 
 mach, colds, catarrhs, 6cc. The dose is one table spoon- 
 ful at a time' 
 
158 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 XXX VII. How to extract the essence oil from any 
 Jlonver' 
 
 Take any flower you like, which stratify with common 
 sea salt in a clean earthen glazed pot. When thus filled 
 to the top, Cover it well, and carry it to the cellar. Forty 
 days after put a crape over a pan, and empty all on it to 
 strain the essence from the flowers by pressure Bottle 
 that essence, and expose it four or five weeks in the sun, 
 and dew of the evening to purify. One single drop of that 
 essence is enough to scent a whole quart of liquor, 
 
 XXXVin. Essence ofjessaminey rosesy and other Jloivcrs- 
 
 1. Take roses of a good colour, and fresh gathered. 
 Pick all the leaves, which expand in the shade on a pa- 
 per. For two or three days, during; which you are to 
 leave them there,asperse them,morning and evening.with 
 rose water, stirring them each time. 
 
 2 When this hath been performed, put them in a glass, 
 or varnished vessel, which stop as perfectly as you can, 
 and place in the hottest horse-dung, which renew evtry 
 five days. A fortnight after this, place the vessel in a dal- 
 neo marice, adapting a bolt-head to rt n.id a receiver, and 
 lute all v,'ell. Distil the water, on which you observe the 
 essence swimming. This you must d'vide by means of a 
 wick, or filtering paper. Put the essence in a glass phial 
 well stopped. 
 
 XXXIX. The oil of cinnamon. 
 
 Bruise first the cinnamon coarsely in a mortar and put 
 it a soaking in waer.in which add a little pounded tartar, 
 with a table srj';onful or two ot honev. E.ght or ten days 
 affer pi ice the vessel mi a sand bath, and you will obtain 
 by distillation, an excellent oil of cinnamon. 
 
 XL. To draw the essential oil of roses. 
 
 Pound in a mortar thirty pounds of Idves of roses with 
 three pounds ol common decrepitated s 'It ; then put all 
 in a pot well luted, which set \n a cool place. Fifteen or 
 eighteen days after, moisten well this matter with com- 
 mon vvater, stirring it till reduced into a pap. Then put it 
 in an alemb c with its* rt-frigentor. Make a smart fire, 
 which will se j(l first the wate*', next the oil, susceptible of 
 congealing by cold, and liquifying again by heat. One 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 159 
 
 drop cf that oil gives more smell a hundred times than 
 the distilled water from the same roses. 
 
 XLI. An essence of jessamine. 
 
 Dissolve over the fire, one quartar of a pound of sugar 
 in a quarter of a pmt ot com it. on water. After having 
 skimmed it, boil it to a perfect evaporation ; then take it 
 off the fire, and fling two handfuls of jtssamine flowers in 
 it. Cover the vessel, and two hours after, strain the es- 
 sence, and bottle it. It is an agreeable odour. The dose is 
 one drop only, or two per pint oi liquors. 
 
 XLII. Essense of ambergris, 
 
 . Set to infuse, half a dozen of lemon peels in three half 
 pints of spirit of wine, set them thus in a cold place for two 
 days, in a vessel well stopped. After that time take off -he 
 peels, which squeeze through a linen, and put as many 
 fresh ones in the stead, which reiterate three different 
 times. When you take of the last peels,grind three t^rains 
 of ambergris and one of musk, which put with the spin' of 
 wine in a matrass over a gentle fire, till the amber is per- 
 fectly dissolved. There will fall some ground at the bottom 
 of the matrass, decant the clear part from it m a bottle, 
 and keep it for use. 
 
 A'ote. This essence might be made with the burning 
 spirit of roses. 
 
 XLIII. Essense o/^capon and other fowls. 
 
 Cure the inside of any fowl, by taking away all the en- 
 trails. Fill it with lump sugar, pulverise and mixed with 
 four ounces of damask raisins, perfectly stoned. Sew the 
 fowl up again, and put it in a pipkin, which cover care- 
 fully with its lid, and lute all round with paste. Place this 
 pot in an oven, when the bread goes in. and take it cut 
 along with it. Then uncover it, and strain the liquor 
 through a cloth, with expression of the animal. This es- 
 sence in the greatest r^^storative for old or ^ nervared peo- 
 ple; likewise to h sten the recovery of health a'.ter long 
 ill less. Take two large table spocnluls early in ihe morn- 
 ing fasting, and as nmch at night after j»upper. 
 
 XLIV. Virginal milk. 
 
 1. Take one ounce and a half of benjamin ; storax as 
 mixh, and one ot eastern whitt* balm. Put all in a thick 
 glass phiai, with three half pmts ot spirit of wine, which 
 
160 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 pour over. Put this in digestion over hot ashes, till the 
 spirit of wine appears of a fiiie red colour. 
 
 2. To use it, put four drops in half a pi. t of water, and 
 it instantly turns as white as milk- 
 
 3. Exteriorly used, it whitens the skin, if you wash with 
 it ; it has likewise the same effect upon teeth, by rinsing 
 the mouth and rubbing them with it. Interiorly taken, it 
 cures the heats and burning of the extinction of the voice. 
 
 XLV. Mow to colour any sort of liquor. 
 
 Bruise into a coarse powder some santalum rubrum, 
 ■which put into a bottle with a discretionable quantity of 
 spirit of wine poured over it. In five or six hours time the 
 tincture will be very high ; therefore it will be fit to give 
 a colour to any liquor you chuse, by pouring some of it into 
 the liquor, and shaking it till you find it is coloured to 
 your liking. 
 
 XLVI. A ladies fine rouge not hurtful to their skin like 
 other rouges, wherein there always enters a mixture of 
 lead or quicksilver. 
 
 The above preparation of santalum rubru?7i, modified 
 with common water to take off the strength of the spirit 
 of wine and an addition of one clov*^, a little civet, a little 
 cinnamon, and the bulk of a filbert of alum, per quarter 
 of a pint of liquor, with safety. 
 
 XLVII. A fine smelling watery at a small ex/ience. 
 
 Take two quarts of rose-water drawn by distillation in 
 balneo marice, which put in a large bottle filled with fresh 
 rose leaves Stop this bottle well with a cork and wax, 
 then expose it to the sun, for a month, or six weeks; after- 
 wards decant the liquor into another bottle, in which, for 
 every one quart of liquor, add two grains weight of orien- 
 tal musk, and cork it well. This water is of a charming 
 fragrancy, and lasts a great while- It communicates the 
 odour to them you touch after having rubbed your hands 
 with it. 
 
 XLVIII. To make an imitation ofco^ee. 
 
 1. Take any quantity of horse beans, which put into a 
 pan to roast over the fire, till they begin to blacken. Then 
 take a little honey with the point of a knife and put it 
 among. the beans.turningthemwell with it.till soaked in the 
 beanS, repeating the same process till they are of a deep 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec. 161 
 
 brown ehesnut colour. Now take them from the fire, and 
 ■while they are quite burning hot, put for every large han- 
 fal of beans, half an ounce of casia mundata, with which 
 imbibe them well l3y stirring and shaking in the pan as 
 much as you can, and they are done. 
 
 2. These grind in the mill and make coffee of, it will 
 have the same taste and flavour as the true Moca-coffee, 
 so as not to be distinguished from it by the greatest con- 
 noisseurs. 
 
 J^oce. This coffee may be drank either thick or clear, 
 with sugar as usual. 
 
 XLIX. Another ivay- 
 
 Take a quart of rye, which clean and roast as the beans 
 in a pan till of a fine brown, then grind it. To use it, mix 
 it half and half with the true coffee, and make it asusualp 
 Ijy putting it in boiling water and lettmg it boil five min- 
 utes. 
 
 JSlote- This coffee is much used among the people of 
 quality, who prefer it to strengthen the stomach, espe- 
 cially when taken before going to bed. 
 
 L. Directi&nsfor prefiaring the true coffct' 
 
 1. True coffee must be roasted in an iron pan, or in a 
 glazed earthen pan, over a clear charcoal fire without 
 flames. Turn it with a stick while it is on the fire, to make 
 each grain roast more regularly and equally. It is well 
 roasted when it is all of a dark, brown. 
 
 2. There is a much better method of roasting it, by 
 means of a certain iron drum made in the form of a ladies 
 muff-box, with a handle at one end, an iron peg at the 
 other, and a latch door in the middle. By this door you 
 introduce the coffee, which y lU fasten in it by n:eans (A a 
 latch Then propping it on the top of a chafingdish made 
 on purpose, in which there is a charcoal fire, you roast the 
 coffee by turnmg the drum over it with the above mention- 
 ed handle ; and thus the coffee roasts in the most regular 
 manner. 
 
 3. When the coffee is roasted, grind it, keep it closely 
 confined in leaden boxes, with a screwing lid. However it 
 is still much preferable to grind no more at a time than 
 what one wants to use at once. 
 
 4. The liquor is made by putting one ounce of that 
 powder to three quarters of a pint of boihng water to 
 make three full dishes. And, after an infusion of ten 
 minutes, during which it is keptboiling, the coffee is fit for 
 drinking. 
 
 P 
 
162 SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES. &c. 
 
 hi. J! receipt Jor making chocolate- 
 
 1. Dissolve in a copper pan soniepMlverised royal lump 
 suj^ar, with a little orange water. When the sugar is 
 turned into a syrup throw in the coco?^, tlie vanellre the 
 cinnamon, Mexican pepper, and cloves, all, and every of 
 ■which ought to have been first reduced into an innpalpa- 
 ble powder. Stir all well while it boils ; and -when you 
 judge it to be sufficientlv done, pour the paste on a very 
 smooth and polished table, that you may roll it, and give it 
 whatever form and shape you like. 
 
 2. To prepare it with either milk or water, in which, 
 ■when boiling hot, you first dissolve it, then, with a box- 
 mill, with a long handle, you mill it to froth in the pot 
 in which it is making, and pour it afterwards in cups tc 
 drink. 
 
[ 163 ] 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 
 SECRETS RELATIVE TO THE CONFECTIONARY 
 BUSINESS. 
 
 I. Raafiberry syrup. 
 
 MASH the raspberries, and dilute them v/ith a mode- 
 rate addition of water, then strain tliem to divide the 
 thick from the clear part. To every quart of this cleai' 
 liquor put one pound of lump sugar pulverised, boil all 
 together on the fire in the preserving pan. Skim and cla- 
 rity carefully the sugar with the white of an egg beaten in 
 water. When the syrup is come to its right degree, (whjch 
 you may know by throwing a drop of it in a glass of water, 
 if the drop sinks whole to the bottom,and fixes itself there 
 without running out along with the water, when you throw 
 Ihis away) take it off the fire, and let it cool for bottling. 
 
 IT. apricot syrufi' 
 
 Cut in small bits six pounds of very ripe apricots, which 
 boil in a gallon of water till they are reduced to a pulp. 
 Let them cool, then squeeze them through a sieve. Now 
 strain again this liquor through the jelly-bag, and put it in 
 the preserving pan on the fire, with four pounds of sugar. 
 Skim, clarify, and boil the whole to a syrup, which try as 
 above directed in a glass of water ; and, when done, let it 
 cool, and bottle it to keep for use. 
 
 III. The verjus syrup. 
 
 Have verjus in grapes, which pick out of its stalks, and 
 pound in a marble mortar. Strain it through a sieve tir.^t. 
 then through a jelly bag to get it finer. To two quarts of 
 this juice, put into a preserving pan, add four pounds of 
 sugar, and boil it according to art to a syrup. 
 
 IV. yl general manner of making syrups, applicable Up 
 almost all sorts of fruits, especially currants. 
 
 1 Pick a quantity of red currants of all their stalks, and 
 squeeze them through a sieve in a commodious vessel. 
 Carry this vessel to the cellar, placing it on a stool, or any 
 suspending shelf from the ground ; and, after the juice 
 
164 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 shall have worked three or four days, strain it tlirftugh a 
 sieve in another vessel, then through the flannel bag to get 
 it as clear as possible. 
 
 2. Now for every tv;o quarts of such liquor, have four 
 pounds of sugar, which put in a preserving pan, and melt 
 over Uie fire, \mh a little common water to help the dis- 
 solution of it. Boil it thus to the consistence of caramel, 
 without burnhif^ it ; and, when at that degree, pour 
 through the holes of the skimmer the measured liquor, 
 which m.ust boil also to a periect syrup according to the 
 afore- prescribed trials. All this being well executed, take 
 it off, let it cool, and bottle it for use. 
 
 jYute. All sorts of syrups, such as cherries, raspberries, 
 and others, may be made in the same manner, with this 
 difference only, that they are not to be put to work in the 
 cellar, but employed directly as soon as the juice is 
 squeezed out of the fruits. 
 
 V. To make liquid currant jain. 
 
 Pick four pounds of currants, and clear them of their 
 stalks. Put aside two pounds and a half ot them in a diah, 
 
 and sqeeze the other one pound and a half remaining 
 
 Kow, in a preserving pan, dissolve four pounds of sugar ; 
 and, when come to a syrup, put in the two pounds and a 
 half of whole currants along with one pound and a half 
 of juice of the same, and boil all together to periection. 
 
 VI, , 7b make the same ivith cherries. . 
 
 Have two pounds of the finest cherries, take off both 
 tail and stones. Press out the juice of them and put it in 
 a preserving pan with a pint of water, and four pounds of 
 sugar. Boil all together, then add six other pounds of the 
 finest cherries, from which the tails only^ and not the 
 stones.have been picked. Boil all to a syrup, and when this 
 stands the trial of the glass of water, as mentioned above, 
 all is done, and fit for potting. 
 
 VII. Another way to fire&erve cherries. 
 
 Put eight pounds of cherries either with or without their 
 stones, in an earthen pan over a moderate charcoal fire? 
 to evaporate their superfluous moistness ; keep inces- 
 santly stirring, taking care to avoid mashing them. Then 
 add four pounds of lump sugar pulverised, continue to 
 stir the cherries, and boil all| so that the bubbles should 
 cover the fruit, and that the syrup might hereby be skim- 
 med till done to perfection when a drop of it runs with 
 difficulty, being cold ; then the chei . le? are fit to pot- 
 
 I 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES. &c. 165 
 
 VIII. To make the liquid raspberry jam. 
 
 Boil, to a strong syrup, four pounds of sugar. When 
 done, take the pan off the fire, and put in four pounds of 
 raspberries well picked, and not mashed in the least. Put 
 them in gently at first, and with a very particular care, 
 for fear of squeezing them ; for, when the heat of the 
 syrup has once seized them, they are not so apt after- 
 w^'ds to break. Stir them therefore a little in the sugar, 
 andwhen they have thrown in their juice, put them again 
 on the fire, to complete the rhaking of the syrup. 
 
 IX. To preserve apricots. 
 
 Chuse a quantity of apricots, just turned, but not ripe, 
 and the fruit of which has still all iis hardness and green- 
 ness. Take out the stones by means of a small bladed 
 knife, which introduce at the point of the apricot till you 
 feel the stone, and then push to make it come out at the 
 tail. When you have thus prepared four pounds of them 
 (weighed after stoning) have a large wide pan of boiling 
 water on the fire, in which throw them in order to blanch 
 them, taking great care that they should not spot in the 
 water. When blanched, take them out with a skimmer, 
 and set them a- draining on a sieve. Then boil and clarify 
 four pounds of sugar into a syrup. When done, take it 
 out, and put in your apricots softly, set them again on the 
 fire, and give them two or three bubbles ; take the pan 
 from the fire and let them cool. By this means they throw 
 off their superfluous moistness and take the sugar- When 
 cold, take them from the sugar with a skimmer, and set 
 them a-draining, while you put the syrup on the fire to 
 boil. When drained, put them again 'into the boiling 
 syrup, and give them five or six bubbles more,after which 
 let them rest till the next day, put them again on the fire, 
 and finish them. They will be what is called Liquid, and 
 you may pot them in that state. 
 
 X. How to make a dry preserve of them. 
 
 Proceed as above directed, till the time they are fit for 
 being potted in liquid, instead of which take them" again 
 out of the syrup,and set them a-draining.then range them 
 on slates at regular distances, so that they may net touch 
 one another. When thus prepared, powder on them, 
 through a silk sieve, some of the finest loaf sugar pulveri- 
 sed, and put them in the stove to dry. When dry on th?i 
 side, take them out from the slates, and turning them the 
 other side upwards on a sieve, or same sort of small light 
 P 2 
 
166 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 willow grates made on purpose ; powder them with sugar 
 as before, and when equally dried and cooled, you may 
 put them in boxes with white brown paper. 
 
 N'ote- All sorts of plums admit of the same mode of 
 operation, to make them into dry or liquid preserves- 
 
 XI. To fireserve green afiricots. 
 
 1- Gather apricots, when green and tresh Then pound 
 some salt in a mortar, and make it as fine as possible, 
 and putting a handful of this salt in a napkin, with as 
 many apricots as you can well manage, fold the napkin, 
 lengthways, bringing the long sides of it over the apricots, 
 and taking the ends of it gathered one in each hand, shake 
 and roll them backwards and forwards wiih the sal^in 
 the napkin, adding a spoonful or two of vinegar, which 
 pour over them when thus agitated- 'Ihisis to cure them 
 of their down, and when this is obtained, throw them in 
 cold water, and continue so to do with the rest. 
 
 2. Having well washed them in that first water, put 
 them into new cold water, after which put them drammg 
 on a sieve. Then boil some water, and throw them in, 
 where they are to be kept boiling till they are soft, which 
 try now and then,by taking onexDr two with the skimmer, 
 and thrusting in a fine skewer ; if this gets an easy ad- 
 mittance in the apricots, they are sufficiently done- Now 
 take the pan from the Hre.and with the skimmer take the 
 apricots from that boiling water into some cold. 
 
 3. When your apricots are in this condition, make a 
 syrup with as many pounds of sugt-r as you have fru:t, and 
 having put in your apricots, let them boil very gently — . . 
 They will immediately turn of a very fine green- You 
 must not press on the finishing of them ; on the contrary, 
 take them off the fire, and give them a couple of hours 
 rest, during which they throw off their moistijess,and take 
 the sugar. After they have thus rested, set them again 
 on the fire, and finish them as fast as you can, that they 
 may preserve their greenness. 
 
 XII. To make the Cotignac liquid. 
 
 Pare the quinces, and cut them small, after having ta- 
 ken away the cores and kernels. Put a gallon of water 
 a boiling, then put them in, and let them boil till reduced 
 almost to a pulp. Strain all through a cloth, and squeeze 
 ^;t well into a bowl. Then set it on the fire in the preserving 
 'pan, with four pounds of sugar, and boil it gently, till ta- 
 kmg some with the skimmer, and letting it fall on a plate, 
 Jt shall rise u]) like a jelly, push on tlie fire, and in five 
 minutes after the Cotignac is done. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 167 
 
 J\/ote. If you put the peel and kernels into a knot, and 
 boil them in that manner m the water, the jam will soon- 
 er be red. 
 
 XIII. To preserve quinces in red. 
 
 1. Chase the most even quinces not stony. Cut them 
 into four or eight quarters as you hke best, then pare and 
 core them, if you mett with any stones in the quarters, 
 cut them off too. As you prepare them thus, throw them 
 into cold water, have the peels and cores and mixing 
 among them whm all yr.ur fruits are prepared, such of 
 them as are small, crooked, and otherwise ill fornied, and 
 unfit, to go along with the othris, boil all in a sufficient 
 quantity oi water, to make ft strong decoction which pass 
 when done, and strain throuiih a strong cloth into a pan. 
 
 2. In this decoction put other q larters and boil them in 
 the preserving pan. When sufficiently done, put as many 
 pounds of sugar as vou had fruit. Boil this gently, and in 
 a short time the quinces wli becorr e most beautifully red. 
 When thev are come to perfection, take them off the fire 
 and pot them, but do not cover them for a day or two 
 after. 
 
 XIV. To do the same in white. 
 
 1. You must not make the decoction of the parings. 
 When the fruit is pared, you must tlirow it into boiling wa- 
 ter, and let it continue to boil on the fire, till sufficic ntly 
 done ; then take it out with the skimmer,and put it drain- 
 ing on the sieve. 
 
 2. While they are thus draining, make a syrup ; and 
 when this is skimmed and clarified properly, put yous 
 fruit in it boihng. Ten miimies after, take the pan from 
 the fire, and let all rest a while,then squeeze on it the juice 
 of a lemon to whiten the quinces ; and setting them again 
 on the fire, finish them quickly. 
 
 XV. Tofireserve rousselet, muscadine, and other pears. 
 
 1. Chuse rousselet pears, which should be neither too 
 ripe nor too green ; which pare very neatly, and boil in 
 water till properly done. Before boiling them observe to 
 strike them to the heart from the head, with the point of a 
 knife. When properly done in the boiling water, take 
 them out with the skimmer, and throw them into fresh 
 water. 
 
 2. Make next a syrup, with as many pounds of sugar 
 as you have pears, in which put these, and boil them five 
 or six minutes at first, then take them from the fire, and 
 
168 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 let chem rest a while to throw out their superfluous moist- 
 ness. and take the sugar. That done, set them again on 
 the fire, to complete them quickly. 
 
 JVote. By doing as above, you will have a liquid preserve 
 of pears, it you want to have them dry, follow the direc- 
 tions in Art. x. with respect to apricots. 
 
 XVI, A fireacrve of green almonds. 
 
 1. Prepare a lye of pearl-ashes, in which wash yoiir al- 
 monds to rub their down off Wash them in another wa- 
 ter, then in boiling water, where they are to boil till soften- 
 ed, but not to open, which try now and then, by thrusting. 
 a line skewer in some of them. When done enough, skim 
 them out from this water, and throw them into cold, then 
 set them draining in a sieve. 
 
 2. Now make a syrup, and throw your almonds in while 
 boiling. They will immediately recover their green ; then 
 finish them as expeditiously as you can, for fear they should 
 turn black. If you want to keep them, you must put 
 pound for pound of fruit and sugar. 
 
 XVII. To make dry fiortable cherries. 
 
 Prepare four pounds of fine Kentish cherries, by depri- 
 ving them of their stones and tails Then have one pound 
 of sugar which put a dissolving on the fire in a pint of wa- 
 ter. When this begins to boil, throw your cherries quick- 
 ly in, and make them boil thus in the sugar till the syrup 
 begins to thicken. When they are sufficiently.dcne, take 
 them from the fire, and let it cool, after which put them 
 a draining in a sir^ve ; then range them on slates, and pow- 
 der through a sieve some sugar all over them, and place 
 them in the stove, or for want of this conveniency, in a ba- 
 ker's oven, after the bread has been taken out. When 
 dry on one side turn them on the other, and powder them 
 over with sugar as you did before ; dry them in the same 
 manner, and box them when cold to keep for use. 
 
 JSTote Plumbs may be done in the same manner. This 
 sort of preserve is very agreeable, and may be carried 
 any where. 
 
 XVIIl. To make an afiricot, orfieachjam. 
 
 1. Chuse the ripest apricots, which clean of all hard 
 knobs, spots and rotted parts- Cut them in small bits in a 
 preserving pan, which have previously weighed. If you 
 have put four pounds ot apricots in it, reduce them by 
 boiling over a gentle fire to two pounds only, which you 
 must find out by weighing pan and fruit together, now and 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 169 
 
 then,tiUyou find your right weight. When this is the case, 
 put among your apricots thus reduced to op^p half, two 
 pounds of iuifip sflgar pulverised, and mix all well for the 
 space of five rninutt-s over the fire, then take all off, let it 
 cool, and pot. 
 
 2 This cnrriposition you may put into paste, on slates or 
 in tin moulds- 'I'here iS not more exquisite eating. . You 
 mav also with two of three roasted, or baked apples, mix 
 two spoonlulsof this marmalade, and make excessive nice 
 larts with it, or again, with ptars baked under ashes. 
 
 XIX. j^n apricot jaiUi after the French %vay. 
 
 1. Chuse such ripe apricots as are fit to eat. Peel their 
 skin off very neatly, and give them a bubble or two in boil- 
 ing water, so as not to have them dissolve in the water, 
 and put them draining. When done, mash them through 
 a sieve, and let them rest a ticiie to evaporate their super- 
 fluous moistness.* 
 
 2. While this is doing, make a syrup with as many 
 pounds of 5;;gar as you haye frui:, arid t«ke it i-ff the fire; 
 when the syrup is cooled, put your fruit in, which stir well 
 with the spatula, then put all again on the fire for ten 
 irinutes, in order to make the fruit take well the sugar- 
 When the jam is well done, fine and transparent, pot it. 
 
 XX- To make rasfiberryy currant, and cherry jam. 
 
 All these fruits must be squeezed through a sieve, then 
 clarify the sugar, and throw in the juice, bring to perfec- 
 tion afterwards as directed in the last receipt- 
 
 XXI. To make a good currant jelly. 
 
 Have four pounds of currant^ after picking. Then dis- 
 solve in water four pounds of Icmf sugar, which make into 
 a pretty strong syrup. Now put the currants in, and boil 
 so as to have them covered with the bubbles- Six minutes 
 after such a boiling, take the pan from the fire, and pour 
 the contents in a sive, to strain off all the liquid. Put this 
 liquor aejain in the pan and boil it, till taking a drc.p with 
 the skimmer, and pouring it on a plate, it congeals as it 
 cools. Then it is fit to pot- 
 
 They who want to spare the sugar, and have a great 
 deal of jelly, at a smaller expence, m.ay employ four 
 pounds only of sugar to six of currants, after picking, and 
 proceed as above. They must however observe to do the 
 jelly rather more than in the preceding case, when ths 
 fruit and sugar are pound for pound. 
 
170 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c^! 
 
 XXII. To ?nake an ap file jelly. 
 
 • 
 
 1. Cut in small bits a dozen ofgoldretmets, and put them 
 in the preserving pan, with three quarts of water, which 
 boil to the reduction of one half. Throw all in a cloth to 
 strain it throu;^h, and draw all the juice from the apple?» 
 Then to this put four pounds of sugar, which boil to a jelly. 
 
 2. To give a fiointe to that jelly, you may add the juice 
 of one lemon, and even the rasping of one half of its rind. 
 
 XXIII, A conserve nvith raspings of Portugal oranges 
 
 and lemons, co?ijointly or separately. 
 
 Put your raspings to dry in a plate. Prepare some su- 
 gar mto a syrup. Take this from the fire, and stir it with 
 a spoon, round the pan and in the middle ; then throw m 
 your raspings of lemon or orange, or both together, and 
 having stirred all well, put it in the moulds and make your 
 drops 
 
 XXIV. To whiten cherries, currants, raspberries, grapes^ 
 
 strawberries, and such like fruit' 
 
 Beat one or two whites of eggs with orange flower water, 
 then steep your fruit in, and roll it afterwards in a dish' 
 ■wherein there is lump sugar pulverised and sifted very Ij 
 fine. When it is well covered over with sugar, put it on a 
 sheet of paper, and set it in the sun to dry. You may thus- 
 ice ail sorts of fruits susceptible of icing. 
 
 XXV. To make Savgy biscuits. 
 
 1. Separate the whites pf four eggs from their yolks. 
 Beat them by themselves to a very hard froth, at uhich 
 time put the yolks, previously well diluted, and continue 
 beating all together. Now introduce half a pound of su- 
 gar pulverised, and beat them all together again. 
 
 2. When you are ready to dress your biscuits, have a 
 quarter of a pound of seperfine flour, which incorporate by 
 beating well, then dress it on a sheet of paper in the form 
 you like best, and ice, them over with sugar in powder to 
 prevent their running- Put them in an oven, no hotter than 
 tor massepins, and after a reasonable time they willbe'done. 
 
 XXVI. To make bitter almond biscuits. 
 
 Pound in a mortar, three quarters of a pound of bitter 
 and one quarter of sweet almonds- When thus pounded 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 171 
 
 haveeight ornine yolks of eggs.which beatup and mix wiih 
 your paste of almonds, and two pounds of pulverised lump 
 sugar. I'his paste must be a deal harder than that of the 
 Savoy biscuits. Then with the end ot a knife taking 
 some of that paste, place it in rows on a sheet of paper, in 
 ^vhatform or shape you like, and ice is with pul.erised 
 sugar, then put it in the oven as you do the Savoy biscuits 
 or massepins. 
 
 XX VII. Ho%v to fireser-ue orange fieels all the year but es- 
 pecially in Xlay- 
 
 Cut some oranges, in four quarters and peel them. 
 Then put the peels to soak in water for about ten or 
 twelve days; then dry them between two cloths, and 
 put them in a caldron with^a sufficient quantity of honey 
 to hal^ cover them. Boil them thus one minute or two, 
 stirring them incessantly. Then take them oft" the fire, 
 and let th^m rest till the next day, put them on again, 
 and let them boil ten minutes or a quar'er of an hour. 
 For six or seven days repeat the same operation, taking 
 great care incessantly to stir, tu'n them all the while they 
 are on the fire- On the eighth day change the honey, and 
 in the fresh honey boil them five minutes, then pot them 
 "with that new honey in which they boiled last, and keep 
 them for use after having added some ciiinan»on, cloves, 
 and white ginger, mixed and both reduced into subtile 
 powder. 
 
 XXVIII. To make a paste "with whatever fruit it may be* 
 
 Take whatever quantity you please of any fruit, which 
 peel and boil well in water, then strain the juice 
 through a sieve or flannel. Now weigh ten pounds of that 
 paste of fruit, and ten more of sugar pulverised. Mix first 
 live pounds of sugar with ten pounds of fruit, and put it a- 
 doing on the fire ; then mix four more pounds of your sugar 
 When done, put with a spoon (on iron plates previously 
 powdered with some of the sugar which was left) some of 
 that paste. Set these to dry on a chafingdish, in the sun, 
 or in the open air, turning and returning them often, and 
 powdtringthem morning and evening with sugar. When 
 these little cakes are perfectly dry, put them in Dutch 
 deal boxes, and in white papers, that they may not touch 
 each other. 
 
 J\Jote. In the same manner you may make the conserve 
 ^i roses, bugloss, burrage, red currants, &c. 
 
 XXIX. Genoa biscuits. 
 Tak,e four ounces of sugar in powder, one pound of 
 
172 SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, Sec. 
 
 flour, a little coriander and aniseeds in powder, -whick 
 mix with four eggs and as much lukewarm water as needs 
 to make a dough of the whole. Bake it in the oven, and 
 when baked, cut it in five or six slices, which you bake 
 again. 
 
 XXX. The queen's cakes or biscuits. 
 
 Take twelve ounces of flour, one pound of fine sugar 
 in powder, and twelve eggs, from which take out three 
 yolks, with coriander and aniseeds. Beat and mix all to- 
 gether, till it comes to a thick but runn ng paste Some 
 add veast to make it lighter and rise higher. Divide this 
 paste into several paper cases, ot the width o^ two fingers, 
 and twice as long, which pu^ in an oven to bake ; but 
 take care that it be not too warm. ^ 
 
 XXXI. Macaroons. 
 
 Pound well one pound of sweet almonds, moistening 
 them with rose water, introduce one pound of sugar, and 
 beat all well m a soft paste, which- put r <nnd a dish, and 
 half bake in a lukewarm oven. When the paste is half 
 done,c(it it in small round pieces, and having ranged them 
 on a sheet of paper, finish baking them. 
 
 XXXII. Particular method of making cakes- 
 
 Wash and clean well a dozen of eggs, and wipe them 
 thorouglv dry Then break them and take their whites 
 only, which beat in a mortar along with their sh'-lls till 
 these latter be perfectly dissolved. Now add sugar and 
 flour, though not so much flour as sugar. " When all is 
 ■well mixed, spread the paste, which ought to be a little 
 firm, on a sheet of paper, and after having glazed it, bake 
 it in a slow oven. 
 
 XXXIII. A cream which cuts as a rice fiudding. 
 
 • 
 
 Beat in a dish two whites of eggs and one yolk, in which, 
 •while you beat, introduce bv degrees a quarter of a pound 
 of sugar, in proportion as it jnelts, and a pap spoonful of 
 rose water. When completed, pour in the dish, and stir, 
 a quart of milk and cream mixed half and half, then set 
 it gently on warm cinders", to take without boiling, not 
 disturbing it any more. In aa hour's time it generally is 
 suffic'ently taken. Then col ^u^ it in passing a red lipt 
 shov^ 1 over it. It is to be served cold, after having rasp- 
 ed some sugar on it. ^ 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. ITS 
 
 XXXIV. To make an exceeding good boiled cream. 
 
 Take cream from the cow, which boil with a crum of 
 stalebread, rasped very, fine, and a little fresh butter. As 
 soon as it begins to quake, stir it continually with a spoon ; 
 and having diluted some yolk of eggs strain them through 
 a cloth. Put as much salt and sugar in your cream as 
 you think it requires. And when it boils and begins to 
 rise, pour the yolks of eggs in, never ceasing to stir it in 
 order to prevent its rising so far as to run over. As soon 
 as you see it begins to render the butter, take it out of the 
 lire, and to serve, glaze it over with sugar in power. 
 
 XXXV. A method of making cakes exceedingjine. 
 
 Take two whites of eggs, which beat well to a froth» 
 after having taken away their germen. Add one quarter 
 of a pound of fine flour, and as much powdered sugar. 
 Beat all well, and add a little brandy and coriander seed 
 powdered. All being well mixed, spread the paste on 
 sheets of white paper, glaze it over with powdered sugar j-. 
 ^Bd put it to bake* 
 
[ 1^4] 
 CHAP. XV 
 
 SECRETS RELATIVE TO THE ART OF PREPARING 
 SNUFF. 
 
 L How to reduce tobacco into fiowder. 
 
 IyNCORD the tobacco, and spread the leaves to 
 J dry in the sun. Then pound them in a nnortar, and 
 sift through a coarse sieve to get the coarsest powder out 
 of it. As for sifting, observe to do it in due proportion as 
 you pound it, and not to pound nnuch at a time. You may 
 also take another method, that of grinding it in one of those 
 small mills which are mai'e on purpose for grinding to- 
 baccu- By these means you may, without much trou- 
 ble, make ic as coarse and as fine as you like, by screwing 
 tighter or slacker the nut. 
 » 
 11. How to jiurge snuff, and firefiare it Jor admitting of 
 ^ odours. 
 
 Have a small tub pierced with a hole at bottom, which 
 you may stop and unstop with a cork as >t)u want it- In 
 this tub put a verv th.ck and close weaved cloth, which 
 turn over ih^ rim of the tub and fix there by the outside. 
 Pur Vi>n'' snwft in it, and pour water over ii. After it has 
 soaked itius twentv-four hours, unstop the hole of the tub 
 and let the wa er drain away, wringing the cloth in which 
 it is to help th^ expression of the water. Repeat this op- 
 ercitiin three different tinr.es to purge it the better. When 
 this operation is p-rforck.ed, set the snuff to drying in the 
 sun When dry, put it again in the tub in the sanfie man- 
 ner as before, ann soak it again, not with common water, 
 but wth soine snielling ones, such as f <- r example: orange 
 flpwcr wuter, tau d' ange, 8cc Twenty-four hours after 
 let the water run off c.nd drain, then s-- 1 it in the sun to dry 
 as betlre. In the mean while scir and asperse it again 
 with sri<-lline water- Such is iheindi.^pensible p'-eparation 
 abso'i :teiv requisite to aisnose snuff to receive the odour 
 of fl )urs. If you d^ not care to h.tve it so perfectly nice, 
 and should -lOt like to 'vaste so n.uch of ityou nr^ay tfive it 
 but a-^'e wuih of the com -non water. This moderate pur- 
 gat on will do prnty well especially if, wh^le it is a drving 
 in ihe sun vou knead it the more often in proportion with 
 vour fragrant water, and let it dry each time between. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, 5cc. "iTS 
 
 III. Mow to fierjume inuff %vuhJloiverS' 
 
 The tuberose, the jessamine, the orange ffowers, &:c. 
 and those which corrimunicate the more easily their fra- 
 grancy to the snuff. To produce this, have a box lined 
 with white paper perfectly dry, in which riiake a bed of 
 snuff of the thickness of an inch, then one of flowers, ano- 
 ther of snuff, and another of flowers again, continuing so 
 to do till you have employed all your snuff- After having 
 let this stratification subsist for twenty-four hours, sepa- 
 rate the flowers from the snuff bv means of the sieve, and 
 renew the same stratification again as before with new 
 flowers. Continue thus to do till you find that your snuff 
 has acquired a sufficient fragrancy from the flowers ; then 
 put it in lead boxes to keep it. 
 
 IV. Snuff of fnille-fleurs- 
 
 The mille-Jleurs^ or snuff of one thousand and one flow- 
 ers is made by mixing together a number of various odour- 
 ing flowers, managing the quantity of each of thenn ac- 
 cording to the greater or lesser degree of fragrancy they 
 are empowered with, so that none could be found to have 
 a predominancy over the other. When that is executed, 
 you proceed, as before directed, to the alternate stratifica- 
 tion of this mixture and of the snuff powder. 
 
 V. The odouring snuff after the method practised at 
 Rome. 
 
 Take the snuff after its being perfumed with flowers, 
 and put it in a large bowl or other proper vessel Pour 
 over it some white wine with an addition ot essences of 
 musk and amber, or any other such like odours- Then 
 stir your snuff and rub it all between your hands In this 
 manner you may have snuff of whatever odour you desire, 
 which, to distinguish from each other you put into sepa- 
 rate lead boxes with a particular mark. 
 
 VI. Amber-snuff, 
 
 Heat the bottom of a mortar, and pound it in twenty 
 grains of amber, adding by degrees a pound of snuff ro it, 
 which rub and mix afterwards with your hands to intro- 
 duce the odour the oetter among it. 
 
 VII. The odouring snuff, Malthese fashion. 
 
 Take a snuff ready prepared with orange flower water, 
 
X7& SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 (as directed art. ii.) then perfume it with amber as yre 
 have just said ; after which with ten grain's of civet, pound 
 with a little sugar in a mortar, introduce again your snuff, 
 by degrees, to the quantity o* a pound for these ten grains, 
 increasing either the snuft or the odours in the same pro- 
 portion to each other. 
 
 yill. 'JVie true Malthese method offirefiarmg snuffl 
 
 Take rose tree and liquorice roots, which peel and re- 
 duce them into powder and sift it, then give it what oriour 
 you like, addmg wh'te wine, brand)' or spirit of wine, and 
 mix your snuff well with this. Such is the true Malthese 
 method of preparing snuff. 
 
 IX. The Sfianish method of firefiaring fitrfumed snuff, 
 
 1. Pound in a small mortar twenty grains of musk with 
 a little sugar. Add by degrees as much as a pound of 
 snuff to it ; then poun-l ten grains of civet, and introduce 
 your musked snuff to it in a gradual manner as before, 
 and rub altogether between your hands. 
 
 2. The Seville snuff is tiie same with only an addition 
 of twenty grains of vanilla, an ingredient w hich enters in 
 the composition of chocolate. 
 
 3- They who are found cf a milder and sweeter odour 
 in their s'luff may increase the quantity of snuff for the 
 prescribed doses of odours, or diminish the doses of odours 
 prescribed ff^r the quantity of snuff. Take care not to let 
 odouring snuff be exposed to the air, but keep it very close 
 for fear it should lose its fragancy. 
 
 4. As the Spanish snuff is excessively fine and drawing 
 towards a reddish hue. to iiriitate it in the above prescrip- 
 tion you must chuse fine Holland well purged, reddened 
 and granulated pound and sift it through a very fine silk 
 sieve. Then give it whatever odour you like, after having 
 purged it in the manner we prescribed in this chapter 
 art. ii. 
 
 5 There is no inconveniency in taking a snuff already 
 prepared with flowers, to give it afterwards an odour of 
 amber, musk, and other perfume. On the contrary, such 
 a snuff is the readier to take the other odours, and pre- 
 serve them so much the longer. 
 
CHAP. XVI. 
 SECRETS OF TAKING OUT SPOTS AND STAINS. 
 
 I. To take of irorfmouldsjrom linen. 
 
 PUT boiling water into a bowl, and spread the stained 
 parts of your linen over it, as to be well penetrated 
 with the steam of the water. Then rub the places with 
 sorrel juice and salt till they are perfectly soaked. Such 
 linen washed afterwards in the lye of wood ashes, will be 
 found to return entirely free from the iron mould spots it 
 had before. 
 
 II. To take off" carriage wheel grease from cloatha* 
 
 Rub the place with butter. Then with blotting paper 
 and a hot iron you may take all off as you would a drop of 
 wax or tallow on a cloth. 
 
 III. Agaxnat fiisa spots. 
 
 Boil some chamber-lye and wash the place with it. 
 Then rinse it with clear water. 
 
 IV. To take off sfiots from cloth oj any colour. 
 
 Take half a pound of crude honey, the volk of a new 
 laid egg. and the bulk of a nut of ammoniac salt- Mix all 
 tog» ther,and put some on the spots. Having left it there a 
 while, wash the place with clean water, and the spot will 
 disappear. 
 
 V. A receipt against all sorts of spots upon stuff. 
 
 A water impregnated with alkaline salt, black soap 
 and bullock's, gall take offextremely well the greasy spots 
 from any cloth or silk stuff. 
 
 VI. Against oil spots. 
 
 Take a piece of white soap, shaved vry fine, and put 
 in a quart bottle with a wide mouth and neCk, half filled 
 with lye. Add to this the bulk ol a nut of ammoniac salt, 
 two yolks of eggs, cabbage juice and bullock's gall a dis- 
 
 Q2 
 
178 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 cretionable quantity, one ounce of salt of tartar in subtiie. 
 powder sifted. Stop the bottle well, shake it and expose 
 it to the sun for four days. After that time if you pour off 
 that liquor on any oil spot, and rub it well with it in and 
 cutside,theii let it dry, and wash it again with clear water. 
 
 VII. ^ washing ball to take out sfiots* 
 
 Take fuller's earth, or soft soap incorporated with vine 
 brush ashes, white chalk, alum and tartar, pounded all to- 
 gether in a mortar and siftr^d through a fine silk sieve. 
 When all is made into a paste icrm your balls with it, and 
 let them dry in the shade. To use them, rub any spotted 
 place with it, and wash it afterwards with clear water. 
 
 VIII. To take out pitch and turpentine spots. 
 
 Rub well the spot with oil of olive, which set to dry for 
 one day. Then with warm water and the above washing 
 ball, you will entirely ungrease the place. 
 
 IX, jigainst ink spots, whether on cloth or linen- 
 Wet immediately the place with lemon, or sorrel juicej 
 or with white soap diluted in vinegar. 
 
 X. Another simple remedy against ink when just spilled* 
 
 The time spent in lamenting over an accident just hap- 
 pened, is but too often the only one which could have sav- 
 ed and prevented the dire consequences of it, nay perhaps 
 have reprtired it entirely without leaving the least scar 
 behind had we ran instantly to the remedy. If the ink be 
 -spilt on a ruffle or apron, &c. while you have it on, let one 
 hold the aff«-cted part between his two hands over a bason 
 and rub it while another is pouring gradually water from 
 a decanter, and let a whole pitcher full be used if neces- 
 sary. If the ruffle, apron, &c. beat liberty and not on, 
 the place dipped into a bason full of water, and there 
 squeezed and dipped in again, may do, provided you 
 change the water in abundance every two or three squee- 
 zes If the ink be spilt on a green carpet table, it may 
 immediately be taken out with a tea spoon so dexterous- 
 .ly that any water at all shall hardly be wanted afterwards 
 provided it was only that instant spilt, as the down of the 
 [•Eloti prevents the itumediate soaking of the ink or any 
 ^tber liquor, (except oil) bmiiith^^s laid ever so Jong, 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &a 17'$ 
 
 provided it is still wet» by pouring a little fresh clean water 
 at a time on the place, and gathering it up each time with 
 a spoon, and pressing hard to squeeze it out ot the cloth m- 
 to the spoon again, you will at last bring it to its natural 
 colour, as if no such accident had ever happened. 
 
 XI. jigainst oil spots on satiny silks ^ stuffs, or fiafier* 
 
 If the spot is fresh done, heat on the shovel some ashes- 
 from calcined sheep's trotters ; put some under and upon 
 the place Tlien laying something heavy upun it, let it stay 
 for one night ; the next morning the spot ought to be gone ; 
 but if not quite renew the precept- 
 
 XII. yi /ire/iaration of balls against spots. 
 
 Take half a pound of soap, four ounces of clay, and one 
 of quick Hme. Dilute all with a httle water, and make it 
 into pills or small balls. With these rub the spots, and 
 wash the place afterwards. 
 
 XIII. I'or silks. 
 
 If you rub the spots which are upon a silk with spirit of 
 turpentine, they will disappear ; because the volatility of 
 that spirit exhaling into vapour, carries along with it the 
 oil of the spot to which on account of its homogeneous quali- 
 ty, it communicates its volatility, by penetrating and sub- 
 dividing it infinitely' 
 
 XIV. To restore gold and silver laee to their Jormer 
 beauty. 
 
 Mix equalquantities of water, bullock's and jack's gal]. 
 With this coniposition, rub your gold or silver, and you 
 will see it changing colour directly- 
 
 XV. To restore Turkey carpets to their first bloom. 
 
 Beat the carpet well with a rod, till perfectly free frottj 
 dust. Then if there be any spots of ink, take them out with 
 a lemon, or with sorrel, and wash the place afterwardil 
 with clear water. Shake the rest of the water off, and let 
 it dry, rub the carpet very hard all over with the smoak- 
 ing hot crura of a white loaf; and when you find in the 
 evening the skies clear and a likelihood of being a fiqe 
 Bight, let the carpet be put out lor two or three such nigb^s^ 
 
180 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 5cc. 
 
 XVI. To make tajiestries resume their first brightness, 
 when their colours have been tarnished and sfioiled. 
 
 Shake and clean well the tapestry by rubbing it all over 
 with white chalk, which leave on it for about one day. 
 Next with a rough hair brush get all that chalk out again, 
 and put on fresh, which leave as before. Then with the same 
 rough hair brush get this out also, and beat it soundly with 
 a rod, and brush it afterwards with the soft cloth-brush. 
 This operation will restore a tapesty to its pristine state. 
 
 XVII. To take off sfiots of wax from velvet of any co- 
 
 lour except the crimson. 
 
 Take the crum of a stale loaf, and cut a thick slice out 
 of it, which toast and apply, while burning hot on the spot 
 of wax; when cooled, renew it till all the wax is soaked 
 out of the velvet. 
 
 XVIII. To take the same from silks and camblet. 
 
 Put on each wax spot, some soft soap, and set it in the 
 sun till grown warm; then by washing the place with clean 
 water, the spot will disappear. 
 
 XIX. To wash a gold or silver, or silk embroidery ^ or 
 any stuff whatever, and render it like new. 
 
 Take bullock's gall, a pound, soap and honey, three 
 ounces of each, and Florentine orrice, about the same 
 quantity in subtile powder. Put all in a glass vessel, in 
 ■which mix it well into a paste, and let it be exposed for 
 ten days in the sun. When you are ready to use it, make 
 an infusion of bran, which boil in water and strain through 
 a cloth. Then smear the work over with the above de- 
 scribed paste, in such places as you want to clean, and 
 "wash them afterwards with bran water, renewing this till 
 il receives no more alteration in its colour. Wipe well the 
 places with a white cloth, and wrap the work in a clean 
 napkin to set it in the sun to dry, after which pass it through 
 the polishing and lustring press, and the work will be as 
 fine and bright as when new. 
 
 ^X. To take the sfiots off from silk and "Moollen stuffs. 
 
 Take French starch without any mixture of indigo or 
 bhie whatever, which dilute in a c«p with geod brandy like 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 181 
 
 a thick pap. Of this paste, put on each spot, and when 
 dry rub it off and brush it- If the spot is not quite gone 
 the first time, renew the operation and it certainly will 
 the second. 
 
 XXI To colour velvet in red- 
 
 Take four ounces of adragant. and one of arabic gums, 
 both of v'hich ptilverise. Put this powder in clean water, 
 wherein let it dissolve for two or three days ; then steep 
 a sponj^e in tht hquor, and rub the wrong side of the vel- 
 vet, if after beir.g dry, you find it not high coloured 
 enough, renew it, and the effect will surprise you. 
 
 XXIL To revive the colour of a doth. 
 
 Pour one quartof water on onepound of burnt pot-ashes. 
 Twelvt- hcyrs after decant the water off in another vessel, 
 and put in a handful of dry moth mullein leaves, with two 
 bv>lock's ,eai]v Boil all together till the leaves go to the 
 bo-.tom. i'h^^in set this water for a few days in the sun* 
 Then putting in it whatever colour you want, boil it with 
 the cloth in that lye, and let it thus soak afterwards four- 
 teen or fifteen days, then the cloth Will have resumed its 
 primary colour. 
 
 XXIJI. To take the s/iois off from a nvhite cloth- 
 
 Boil two ounces of alum for half an hour, in a pint, or a 
 pint and a half of water ; then put in a p'ece of white soap, 
 with another pound of aiu n ; and having soaked thus 
 three days in the cold, you may with it wash all the spots 
 of any white cloth whatever. 
 
 XX iV. To take off the sfiots from crimson and other 
 velvets. 
 
 1. Take a pint of lye made of vine branch ashes, in 
 which dissolve half an ounce of alum dregs. When set- 
 tled, strain it through a cloth ; then take another drachm 
 of alum, half a drachm of Spanish, and as much of soft 
 soap, a scruple of common, and half a drachni of ammo- 
 niac salts, a calfs gall, and a little calendine juice- All 
 being well mixed, strain and keep it for use. 
 
 2. Before using, take the quantity you think to have 
 need of in a cup, in which put a little brazil wood and 
 hourre d' ecarlatte (or goaf's hair, from the dyers, dyed 
 with madder) to boil a bubble or two, then strain through 
 a cloth. In that state, your preparation will be fit to take 
 aff the spots from crirason, either cloth or velvet. 
 
182 SECRETS INARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 J^ote. For cloths or velvets of other colours, tinge your 
 liquor with hourre^ or goat*s hair of the same colour. 
 
 XX V. To take off an oil sfiotfrom cloth. 
 
 Take oil of tartar, which put on the spot, then wash it 
 immediately with lukewarm water, then with two or three 
 cold waters, and it will be perfectly cleansed. 
 
 XXVI. A com/iQuiiion of soa/i to take off all sorts of 
 
 s/iots. 
 
 1 Take a pound of Venetian white soap, six yolks of 
 eee:s and half a spoonful of salt pounded. Incorporate all 
 together with a sufficient quantity of the juice from the 
 leaves of white beet Make this composition into small 
 cakes, which dry in the shade. 
 
 2- To use them, wet the place of the cloth where the 
 spot i.s, with clear water, and rub it over on both sides 
 with the said soap. then washing it the spot will disappear. 
 
 XXVII. To take the sfiotsfrom a white silk or crimson 
 
 velvet. 
 
 Wet the place well with brandy of three rectifications 
 or with the best spirit of wine, then smear it over with 
 the white of an ee^g, and set it to dry m the sun. When 
 drv wash the place with clean water, passing and squee- 
 zing it betv een your fihgerS} and if the spot is not gone at 
 the first operation, it will not fail at the second, therefore 
 renew it. 
 
C 183 ] 
 
 CHAP. XVII. 
 
 ESSAYS ON VARIOUS ARTS AND TRADES. 
 
 I. A very strong glue 
 
 SOAK the finest ichthyocolla (isinplass) twenty-four 
 hours in spirits nf wine or strong brandy ; then boil all 
 very gently together, continually stirring it that it may 
 not burn, until it becomes one liquor. Then strain it while 
 hot through a coarse linen cloth, into a vessel whtre it 
 may be kept close stopped ; a gentle heat will melt this 
 glue for to use- 
 
 II. Another glue. 
 
 Glue is made in Europe of the ears, feet, trimmings, 
 sinnews and scrapings of the skins of oxen, calves, sheep, 
 &cold leaiher,and fresh or raw hides n ixed are nanufac- 
 tur^ d together ; and this mixture is" said to yield one third 
 of its weight in good strong glue. The best glue is from 
 the hides of old animals. WhoU skins are very seldom 
 used, unless they are much injijied by the worm, ratted, 
 or otherwise rendered unfit to make leather ; but the 
 smallest pitcesare saved for the purpose. 
 
 In making glue of pieces of fresh skins, let them be steep- 
 ed in water for tw o or three days- Dvied hic'e may require 
 longer tinne, and bits of leather much longer V\ hile 
 soaki!>g they should be stirred occasionally. Then put 
 them to drain in ha id barrows with grated bottoms, or in 
 boxes with sloping sides and grafed bi'toms- VV hen 
 drained, let them be well washed in several waters. The 
 ears and o^hc-r dirty parts should be steeped and '^a.shed 
 by themselves. After they be Wi shed clean, put them in- 
 to a weak lime-watrr, in iron hooped tubs Leather will 
 require to be kept in a weak lime-water a considerable 
 time, and a little fresh lime should be added occasirnally. 
 Allnmed skins, tallowed, gr.-asy. Moody, or hairy skins 
 should be put into a strong-.-r lime-water, and kep« longer 
 in it. They sometimes rcqutie to be tpken cut. so as to 
 permit the iime to drvon the n, and to remain for a consider- 
 able time ; after which they must be again soaked, and 
 well stirred; then press them out as dry as possible, and 
 pnt them into a copper kettle h^r boiling, at the bottom 
 ot which kettle should be a wooden gratt . The copper 
 should be filled with the materials pressed close, and as 
 much water poured on as will run among the pieces. 
 Make a moderate fire, which increase by degrees, till 
 it boils. As the materials melt into glue, some decrease 
 
184 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. 8cc. 
 
 • s 
 
 the fire without stirring them ; others stir them as they 
 dissolve. When the glue, on coolir.g, forms a pretty thick 
 jelly, it is done. The ti>ie of boiling is from twelve to fif- 
 teen hours, according to the fire. Violent heat is to be 
 avoided. 
 
 After this a box is made with wooden gratings for the 
 bottom ; the inside of the grating bottom it is to be lined 
 with horse hair cloth, and the box to be placed over a large 
 tub ; the glue is to be passed througii this horse hair cloth, 
 or strainer, quickly, while it is very hot. The dregs are 
 left to drain 3ometime,and are called by the workmen glue 
 dung ; they make an excellent fuel, mixed with wood- 
 The room shpuld be kept warm while the glue is settling. 
 In the tub there should be cocks to draw off the hot liquid 
 glue. The first s^lue will be brightest, but the last will be 
 equally good. Through the cocks it must ran into flat 
 moulds, previously wet. When cool, cui it out with a 
 wet knife into squares, and hang it on a line to drv and 
 harden, in a draught of air. Some place it on a net, hung 
 on four posts, turning it occasionally. Ten days of dry 
 weather, or fifteen days of wet (under cover) are requi- 
 red in Europe ; but less time will dry it in America. To 
 polish the cakes, wet them, and rub them with new lime. 
 The best glue has few dark spots, and no bad smell, and 
 shines when broken To try glue, put it into cool- water 
 for three or four days, where it must not dissolve> but when 
 dried must preserve its weight. 
 
 III. A fiarchment glue. 
 
 Put two or three pounds of scrapings or cuttings ofparch- 
 ment into a bucket of water ; boil the whole till it be re- 
 duced to half. Pass it through an open linen, and then 
 let the liquor cool, when it will be parchment glucr 
 
 IV. A streng paste. 
 
 Common paste is made of wheat flour boiled in water till 
 it be of a gluttenous or viscid consistance ; but when used 
 by book-binders and paper hangers, it is requisite to mix 
 a fourth, fifth, or sixch of the weight of the flour of pow- 
 dred resin or rosin ; and where it is wanted still more te- 
 nacious, gum arabic. or any kind of size, may be added. 
 In order to prevent the pa.ste ust d in papering rooms, &c» 
 from being gnawed by rats and mice, powdered glass is 
 sometimes mixed with it. But the most effectual and ea- 
 sy remedy is to diisolve a little .sublimate, say a drachm 
 to a quart of the water used in making the paste, which 
 will hinder not only rats and mice, but any other kind of 
 vermin and insects trom preying on the paste* 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 185 
 
 V. Process for dying- leather red and yellow, as firac- 
 tised i7i Turkey, ivith directions for fireparing and tan- 
 ning the skins, as communicated by Mr' PhiLiiifio, a na- 
 tive of Armenia s ivho received from the society for the 
 encouragement of arts in London, one hundred fiounds 
 sterling, and also the gold medal of the society, as a re- 
 ivardfor discovering this secret' 
 
 First preparation of the skins, both for red and yellow leather, 
 by dressing them in lime. 
 
 Let the skins, dried with the hair on, be first laid to 
 soak in clean water for three days ; let them then be bro- 
 ken over the flesh side.put into fresh water two days^long- 
 er, and afterwards hungup to drain for half an hour. Let 
 them now be broken on the flesh side, limed in cold lime 
 on the same side, and doubled together with the grain side 
 outward. In this state, they must be hung up within doors, 
 over a frame, for five or six days, till the hair be loose, 
 ■which must then be taken off", and the skins be returned 
 into the lime pit, for about three weeks. Take them out» 
 and let them be well worked, flesh and grain,every sixthor 
 seventh day during that time ; after which let them be 
 washed ten times in clear water, changing the water each 
 time. They are next to be prepared in drench, as here- 
 after mentioned. 
 
 Second preparation of the skins, for both the red and yellovt djest 
 by drenching. 
 
 After squeezing the water outof the skins.put them into a 
 mixture of bran and water,warm as new milk in the follow- 
 ing proportion, viz-about threepounds of bran for five skins, 
 and water sufficient to make the mixture moderatelyflued, 
 which will be about a gallon to each pound of bran. In this 
 drench let the skins lie three days,at the end of which time 
 they must be well worked, and afterwards returned into 
 the dronch two days longer ; they must then be taken out 
 and rubbed between the hands, the water squeezed from 
 them, and the bran scraped off clean from both sides of 
 the skin. After this they must be again washed ten times 
 in clear water, and the water squeezed out of them. 
 
 Thus far the preparatory process of all the skins is the 
 same, whether intended to be dyed red or yellow ; but 
 afterwards those which are to be dyed red.must be treat- 
 ed as follows : 
 
 Preparations, in honey and bran, of the skins that are to be dyed, 
 red. 
 Mix.one pound of honey with three pints of lukewarm 
 R 
 
186 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 water, and stir them together till all the honey is dissolved^ 
 Then add two double-handfuls of bran, and taking fouf 
 skins(for which the above quantity of mixture willbe suffi- 
 cient) and workthenn well in it one after another. After- 
 wards fold up each skin separately, into a round form, with 
 the flesh side inwards, and lay them in an earthen pan, or 
 other proper vessel ; if in the summer, by the side of 
 each other, but in the winter on the top of each other. 
 Place the vessel in a sloping position, so that such parts 
 of the ftuid as may spontaneously drain from the skins may 
 pass from them. An acid fermentation will then rise in 
 the liquor, and the skins will smell considerably. In this 
 state they must continue for seven or eight days, but the 
 moistwre that drains from them must be poure;! off once 
 or twice a day, as occasion may require. After this, a 
 farther preparation in salt is necessary, which must be 
 performed in the following manner. 
 
 Preparation, in salt, for the skins to be dytd red. 
 
 After the skins have been fermented in the honey and 
 bran, as before mentioned, let them be taken out of that 
 mixture on the eighth or ninth day, and well rubbed with 
 dry common sea salt, in the proportion of a bout half a 
 pound to each skin, the salt must be well worked and rub- 
 bed v.'ith them. This will make them contract again, and 
 part with a further considerable quantity of moisture, 
 ■which must be squeezed out by drawing each skin sepa- 
 rately through the hand. They must next be scraped 
 clean on both sides from the bran, superfluous salt and 
 moisture that may adhere to them. After which dried 
 salt must be strewed on the gram side, and well rubbed in 
 with the hand. They are then to be doubled with the 
 flesh sjde outward, lengthways, from head to tail, and a 
 little more dry salt must be thinly strewed over the flesh 
 side, and rubbed in ; for the two last operations, about a 
 pound and a half of salt will be sufficient for each skin. 
 They must then be put, thus folded on each other, be- 
 tween two clean boards,placed sloping breadthwise, and a 
 heavy weight laid on the upper board, in order gradually 
 to press out -what moisture they will thus part with. In 
 this state of pressure they must be continued two days, or 
 longer, till it is convenient to dye them, for which they 
 will then be duly prepared. 
 Preparations of the red, dye, in a proper proportion for four skins. 
 
 Put eight gallons of water into a copper, with seven oun- 
 ces of Hheuan, the root of alkanet is also used, tied up in 
 a linen bag- Light a fire under the copper, and when the 
 water has boiled about a quarter of an hour, take out the 
 bagof shenan» and put into the boiling flaid or lixivium, 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 187 
 
 1st. two drachms of alum ; 2clly. two drachms pomegra- 
 nate bark; 3dly- three quarters of an ounce of turmeric ; 
 4thlv. three ounces of cochineal ; 5thly. two ounces of loaf 
 sugar Let the whole mixtare boil about six minutes, then 
 coVer the fire, and take out a quart of hquor, putting it 
 into a flat earthern pan ; as when it is as cool as new milk, 
 take one skin, folded lengthwise, the grain side outwards, 
 and dip it in tlie liquor, rubbing it gently with the lunnds 
 Then taking cut the skin, hang it up to drain, and throw 
 away the superfluous dye- Proceed in the same manner 
 with the remaining three skins ; and repeat the operation 
 of each skin separately eight tim.es, sqeezing tb.e skins by 
 drawing them through the hands before eacli fresh dip- 
 ping Lay them now on one side of a large pan, set slop- 
 ing, to drain off as much of the moisture as will run Irom 
 them without pressure, for about two hours, or till they 
 are cold ; then tan them as hereafter directed. 
 
 Tannivg the red skins. 
 
 Powder four ounces of the best white galls in a marble 
 mortar, sifting it through a fine sieve. Mix the powder 
 "with about three quirts of water, and work the skins well 
 in this mixture for half an hour or more, folding up the 
 skins fourfold. Let them lie in this tan for twenty-four 
 hours, when they must be worked again as before ; then 
 taken out, scraped c'ean on both sides from the first galls 
 and put into a like quantity of fresh galls and water In 
 this fresh mixture they must be again well uorked for 
 three quarters of an hour ; then folded up as before, and 
 left in the fresh tan for three days- On the fourth day they 
 must be taken out, u ashed clean from the galls in seven 
 or eight fresh quantities of water, and then hung up to dry, 
 
 Marnier of dressing^ the skins after they are tanned. 
 
 When the skins have been treated as above, and are 
 very near dry, they should bt scraptd with the proper 
 instrument or scraper on the fltsh side, to reduce them to 
 a proper degree of thickness. They are then to be laid on 
 a smooth board, and glazed by rubbing them with a smooth 
 glass ; after which they must be oiled, by rubbing them 
 •with olive by means of a linnen rag, in the proportion of 
 one ounce and a half of oil, for four skins ; they are then 
 to be grained on a graining board, lengthwise, breadth- 
 wise, and from corner to corner. 
 
 Preparation -with galls for the skins to be dyed yello'vc' 
 
 After the four skins are taken out of the drench of bran, 
 and clean washed as before directed in the second article, 
 they mast be well worked half an hour or more, in a mix- 
 
188 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, See. 
 
 ture of a pound and a half of the best white galls, finely 
 powdered, with two quarts of clean water. The skins are 
 then to be separately doubled lengthwise, rolled up with 
 the flesh side outwards, laid in the rraxture, and close 
 pressed down on each other, in which state they must 
 continue two whole days. On the third dav, let tliem be 
 again worked in the tan, and afterwards scraped clean 
 from the galis with an ivory or brass instrument, (for no 
 iron m.ust touch them.) They must then be put into a 
 fresh tan, made of two pounds of galls finely powdered, 
 and about three quarts of water, and well worked therein 
 fifteen times After this they must be doubled, rolled up 
 as before, and 1-iid in the second tan for three davs- On 
 the third day a quarter of a pound of whte ^ea salt must 
 be worked into each skin and the skins doubled up as be- 
 fore, and returned into the tan till the day following, when 
 they are to be taken out, and well washed six times in 
 cold v/ater and four times in water lukewarm. The wa- 
 ter must be then well squeezed out, by laving the skins 
 under pressure for about haU an hour.between two boards, 
 with a weight of two or three hundred pounds laid upon 
 the uppermost board, when they will be ready for the dye 
 
 Preparation of the yello%v dye^ in the proper proportion '^or/our' 
 siins. 
 
 Mix six ounces of cassiare gehira, or degenira, or the 
 berries of the eastern rhamnub buck thorn; sumach is also 
 used, with the same quantity of alum, and pound them to- 
 gether till they be fine, in a mjarble or brass mortar, with 
 a brass pe>tle Then dividing the materials thus powder- 
 ed, into thrte equal pans, of four ounces each, put one of 
 those three parts into a pint and a half of%oiling water, 
 in a china or earthen vessel, and stir the mixture togeth- 
 er. Let the fluid dve, thus prepared, stand to cool till it 
 Will not scald the hand ; then spreading one of the skins 
 flat on a table, in a warm room, with the grain side upper- 
 most, pour a fourth part of the mixture first made, over 
 the upper, or grain side, spreading it equally over with the 
 hand and rubbmg it well in. Afterwards do the like with 
 the other three skins, for which the mixture first made 
 will be sufficient. This operation must be repeated twice 
 more on each skin, separately, with the remaining eight 
 ounces of the powder of the berries and allum, with the 
 abovementioned due proportion of hot water put to them 
 as before directed. 
 
 The skins, when dyed, are to be hung up on a wooden 
 frame without being folded, with the grain side outwards, 
 about three quarters of an our to drain, when they must 
 be carried to a river or stream of running water, and well 
 washed therein six times or more^ After this they must 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 1H9 
 
 be put under pressure for about an hour, till the water 
 be. squeezed out ; afterwards the skins must be hung up 
 to dry in a warm room. This being done, the skins are 
 to be dressed and grained ^as before directed for those 
 dyed red ; except the oiling, which must be omitted. 
 
 "VI. Another process of mamifacturing and dying morocco, th'c 
 quantity of materials calculated for 36 skins. 
 
 Fold the skins in the middle lengthwise, tie them six in 
 a bundle, and put them in the lime vat ; when sufficiently- 
 limed, take them out rinse them in clear water, drain 
 them, and hang them in the shade to dry, till the hair will 
 come off. After carefully taking off the hair, put in the 
 lime vat again to remain from fifteen to twenty days; they 
 are then to be rinsed, and passed repeatedly through a de- 
 coction prepared of 30 pounds dogs dung, and an equal 
 quantity of water. As soon as the skins are thus gradual- 
 ly impregnated, they are thrown into a large vessel for 
 the space of twelve hours, after which they are cleaned 
 with pure water, and immersed for seven or eight days in 
 a watery decoction made of bran. 
 
 The skins are now wrung, and thoroughly washed in 
 clear water, to render them soft and pliable ; next they 
 are cured by spreading a thick layer of common sea salt,in 
 the proportion of aboiJt half a pound to each skin, and pil- 
 ing them up, till they are rendered sufficiently suple. The 
 last process which the skins undergo, previous to being 
 dyed, is immersion in ahquor prepared by boiling twenty- 
 four ounces of dried figs for each skin, in a copper, (it is 
 believed that treacle molasses would answer the same pur* 
 pose as figs) in which they remain till they are about to be 
 suspended in the air for drying ; lastly, they are dip|ied 
 in a solution of alum, that disposes them for the dye. 
 
 The red colour is prepared by mixing together various 
 articles in the following proportions, which are required 
 for a parcel of 36 skins- Cochineal, 130 drachms; round 
 suchet, (crocus indicus,) 45 ; gutta gambia, 15 ; gum ara- 
 bic, 10 ; white alum, pulverised, 10 ; bark of the pome- 
 granate tree, 10; citron juice, 2 ; common water, clear 
 and good, 120 pounds. 
 
 The alum is gradually added to the other articles, which 
 are thrown into a copper, where they should be boiled 
 for about two hours, till one tenth part of the water be 
 consumed. In this mixture the skins are repeatedly im- 
 mersed, and when suffi.cientjy imbued with the colour, 
 they are dried, and again steeped in a vessel, containing 3 
 pounds of hot water (for every two skins) together with 
 R 2 
 
190 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 one pound of sumach, and the same quantity of gall- nutS; 
 pulverised and sifted. As soon as the skins are complete- 
 ly impregnated with this liquor, they are slightly rubbed 
 over with a sponge dipped in pure water, and suspended 
 three quarters of an hour to drain. They are now carried 
 to a river, or in running water, where they are repeatedly 
 rinsed, then pressed with weights in order to extract the 
 moisture, and hung up in a warm room to dry- The last 
 process which red morocco leather undergoes, is that of 
 pohshing ; this is affected by various wooden instruments, 
 that contribute at the same time to remove such of the 
 particles ot the gall and sumach as may adhere to the skin^ 
 
 The yellow colour is prepared in a manner nearly simi- 
 lar to that just described ; the conjmon avignon or yellow 
 berries (grain de Avignon) being substituted for cochineal 
 and employed in similar proportions. 
 
 The only variation between the two processes of dyeing 
 red and vellow, is, that the red is tinged with the colouring 
 matter before it is worked or polished with the wooden 
 instruments ; whereas the polishing is done to the skins 
 intended for yellow, previous to dyeing thera. 
 
 VII. On the use of acids in bleeching. 
 
 The use of acids, in bleeching of linen has been long 
 known. Formerly milk was chiefly "employed ; but it had 
 several inconveniences. The quantity requisite could 
 scarcely be obtamed, its effects was slow, and containing 
 animal matter, it was apt to s])oil the cloth. 
 
 It is now known that the fossil acids, when properly dil- 
 uted with water.answer much better.and do more in a few 
 hours in whitening cloth, than animal acids do in a week, 
 ii#facilitating the operation. It was at first feared, that 
 mineral acids would corrode, or burn the linen substances. 
 Experience has dispelled these fears, and convinced the 
 bleachers, that by proper management, the danger is next 
 to none. 
 
 According to the strength of acids, they must be mixed 
 w"'th water, sometimes to seven hundered times their bulk. 
 
 The vitriolic acid is that which has been universally 
 employed ; as it could be bought in large quantities, and 
 at a small expence. 
 
 The muriatic acid being now sold nearly as cheap as 
 the vitriolic, and answering in a superior degree, will, no 
 doubt, be generally used. 
 
 VIII. *^n excellent dye^ the basis of many colours^ 
 A^Iecoction of the seeds of red Trefoil is mixed with 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 391 
 
 different mineral substances ; the dyes produced are very 
 beautiful, and of a threat variety. Among these are yel- 
 low and green of different shades, as also citron and orange 
 colours. 
 
 These dyes arewell adapted to woollen andcotton man- 
 ufactures ; they resist the action of the substances, with 
 •which trials are usually made, much better than the com- 
 mon dyes ; and promise many advantages, if adopted, to 
 the manufactures of this country. 
 
 IX. Discovery for dyeing cotton and hnen, in scarlet, crimson, 
 and other colours. 
 
 Cotton or linen, either in yarn or in the piece, should be 
 perfectly wet with hot water, and then wrung out, as is 
 the common practice. This being done, it must be per- 
 fectly soaked in a solution of tjn, diluted with an equal 
 quantity of clear soft wat- r The cotton or linen being so 
 far prepared, must be wrung out, but not forcibly ; then it 
 is to be nearly dried, lying horizontally upon a hurdle, with 
 a double linen sheet between, and covered with the same. 
 The solution of tin being for scarlet, must be made of 
 nitrous acid, and not of aquatortis- But for crimson, aqua- 
 fortis must be used, and the bloom is to be given, aftt^r it 
 comes out of the dye, by a small quantity of sal ammoniac 
 and pearl-ashes dissolved perfectly in warm water, but 
 this water must not be more than milk warm. The col- 
 ouring vat, for the scarlet or crimson, is simply cochineal 
 in water, no hotter than the hand cai. bear ; and as veg- 
 etable matter receives only the small particles of the co- 
 lour from the nature of its pores> two ounces to a pound 
 of the materials dyed, may be necessary. But cotton, or 
 linen, fresh prepared, will draw from the same vat, heat- 
 ed as before, all the inferior shades from scarlet and crim- 
 son, and, if any colour still remains in the vat, it may be 
 taken out entirely, by wool prepared in the usual manner. 
 The same preparation of tin serves for the green, and yel- 
 low, with the same materials only as are used by the dyers, 
 except the best yellow, which is produced from turmeric. 
 
 It is n<;Ces8ary to observe, that after the preparation of 
 tin has been used for scarlet or crimson, the residue conti- 
 nues sufficiently strong for green and yellow, even after it 
 has been kept for a considerable time. 
 
 N. B To make the best solution of tin with nitrous acid, 
 it is U'^cessary to have the strong smoaking spirit, to which 
 an equal quantity of the purest river water must be added, 
 and the proportions of the following ingredients are to the 
 weight of spirits ; one sixteenth sal ammoniac ; one thir- 
 ty-second refined nitre, dissolved by a little at a time, in 
 this aquanegia. Dissolve also, one eighth of granulated 
 
192 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 grain tin, by small quantities, to«prevent too great an ebul- 
 lition, which would weaken the solution considerably. 
 
 The ingredients and proportions are the same, when a 
 solution is to be made with aquafortis ; but that spirit, in 
 general will not bear any water, when a perfect solution 
 is intended. 
 
 X. Simple method of trying the quality ofgunpoivder. 
 
 Put upon dry white paper a thimble full of powder ; 
 lightly touch it with a burning coal- If it be excellent, 
 every grain will instantly rise in smoke, only leaving on 
 the paper a round spot, pearl colour. If bad^ it burns the 
 paper. The mean effects between these two extremes will 
 exactly show the quality. The powder burning the paper 
 a little, is better than that which burns it much ; only 
 blackens it, it is better than if it burns it. 
 
 By this trial, the defects in its composition may also be 
 discovered' If it blacken the pnper, it contains too great 
 a proportion of coal ; does it leave yellow spots, too much 
 sulphur ; if their remain on the paper small grains like pin 
 heads, and they should burn by applying fire, it is nitre, 
 and the powder has not been well pulverized. If these do 
 not burn, the nitre has not been properly refined. 
 
 XL On dressing sheep skins» 
 
 Tanned sheep skins, at this day, are in great demand 
 for a variety of uses; but for want of proper attention in 
 taking off^the wool, the skin is sometimes so far injured as 
 scarcely to be worth dressing. The following method will 
 be found beneficial. As soon as the skin is taken off" the 
 sheep, spread it on a horse or cow, and in six or eight 
 hours the wool will come off better than any other way« 
 After the wool is off, spread the skin on a pole, and let it 
 hang in the shade (as the sun is very detrimental to it) till 
 convenient to send it to a tanner. — This practice will ren- 
 der sheep skins of four times the value they now are, and 
 save thousands of' pounds to the country. 
 
 XII. To prevent worms injuring booh. 
 
 During the months of July, August and September, but 
 most in August, there is a very small insect that deposits 
 its eggs in books,especially on those leaves nearest the cov- 
 er. Thesegradually producea sort of mites, similar to what 
 are produced in cheese, which afterwards change their 
 state.and become beetles. When the time of their transfer • 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 193 
 
 oiation approaches they eattheir way through till they gain 
 the extremity of the book. To guard against their attacks, 
 it is recommended to use mineial salts, to wh ch most in- 
 sects have a great aversion. A composite salt of alum and^ 
 vitriol, are proper for this pui pose, a small quantity of 
 •whxh may be u.ed with the pa.ste made use of by book- 
 binders. It is also advised that book-binders make their 
 paste of sturch instead of flour. A little pulverised alum, 
 should also be strew eft between the book and its cover 
 and also on the shelves were books are kept. 
 
 XIII. ^7iother method, by paste made of chesnurs. 
 
 For this paste see Art-xliii. Chap, xviii. on the culture of 
 the chesnut tree. 
 
 XlVj A p'-eparaliottjhr the hatv. 
 
 Take of olive oil and spirit of rosemary, equal parts ; 
 add to these a little oil ot nutmeg. Rub the hair every 
 night with a little of this liniment, increasing the propor- 
 tion gradually, aod every purpose of the most boasted 
 preparation will be answered. 
 
 XV. On making hair powder- 
 
 Hair powder is generally prepared from starch made 
 of flour, which, after being thoroughly dried, is ground and 
 passed through the finest sieves If pure, it should be per- 
 fectly white, and possess no smell. It is frequently scent- 
 ed with the essences of jessamine, violets, roses, &c. 
 
 XVI. To make London Court Plaster. 
 
 Dissolve the best isinglass (previously cHiit in small pie- 
 ces) in any proof spirit.so as to obtain a strong viscid solu- 
 tion ; then take taffety, or other thin silk, and spread the 
 liquor uniformly over it, with a soft brush ; when thi first 
 coat is perfectly dry, repeat the application a second and 
 third time, till at length the whole suriace sould be sparing- 
 ly anointed with Peruvian balsam. 
 
 XVII* Chinese method of making cloth, (yc, water-proof. 
 
 Dissolve white wax in spirits of turpentine, in the pro- 
 portion of one ounce of wax to one quart of spirits of tur- 
 pentine. Let the cloth be dipped in this solution, and then 
 be suspended in the air till it be perfectly dry By this 
 method, the most open muslin, as well as the strongest 
 
194 SECRET IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 cloths, may be rendered impenetrable to the heaviest 
 sh jwers ; nor will such composition fill up the intercices 
 of the finest latvn, or in the least degree affect the most 
 brilliant colours. 
 
 XVII J.- To make -utrdiif reuse. 
 
 The best verdigrease is mostly manufactured at Mont- 
 pelier, in France, by forming altefnate strata of copper 
 plates, and the husks, of grapes, during ther vinous fer- 
 mentation ; whtrn they speedily become acid, and corrode 
 the copper. After the plates have stood in such situa- 
 tion f )r a sufficient time, they are moistened with water, 
 and exposed to the air, the verdigrease being successive- 
 ly scraped off as it collects on the surface In this state 
 the verdigrease, or acetite, is called fresh> or moist verdi- 
 grease, hriving the form of paste ; which after triturating 
 it in proper troughs, is put in bags and dried in the sun. 
 
 Verdigrease, is chiefly consumed for striking a black 
 colour,when combined with a decoction of logwood; but,as 
 it is apt to corrode the texture of the cloth, a substitute 
 has been discovered for it, in dving black. Dissolve se- 
 parately equal parts by weight of vitriol of copper, and 
 potash, or other strong alkaline salt: the solutions are 
 then to be gradually mixed, and if the vitrid be saturated 
 the water on the surface v/ill become trar.sparent on add- 
 ing a few drops of thf- alkaline soluiion ; in the contrary 
 case, '1 blue colour will be produced, so tiiat more ashes 
 should he added, till a coruplete saturation be effected — 
 These proportions of vitriol and alkaline salt, will be equi- 
 valent to a similar quantity of verdigrease, and on being 
 combined with decoctions of logwood^ they impart a fine 
 black dye, which is not injurious to the teKture of cloth, 
 hats,or any other article that may be tmged of such colour. 
 
 XIX- To make vitriol. 
 
 Vitriol is a compound salt, formed by a combination of 
 zinc, copper, or iron, with the sulphuric.or vitriolic acid ;. 
 and which is either white, blue,or green according to the 
 metal employed. 
 
 White vitriol is generally prepared by mixing 5 parts 
 of sulphuric acid with 20 parts of distilled water, and 
 gradaally adding 3 parts of zinc , when the ebullitioe 
 ceases, the liquor is strained, and after being evaporated, 
 it is deposited in a cool place, where it shoots into white 
 christals. 
 
 Green vitriol consists of sulphuric acid diluted with ten 
 or twelve times its weight of water, in which iron filings. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 195 
 
 are dissolved ; when the effervescence ceases, the mix- 
 ture is for some time placed in a sand bath ; next, the 
 liquor is strained throligh paper ; and, after beinp evapo- 
 rated, it shoots into rhomboidal chnstals, which are also 
 termed salt of steel. 
 
 Blue vitriol is made by stratifying plates of copper with 
 sulphur; and, on slow combustion, the sulphuric acid 
 corrodes the copper; the metal is then boiled in v/ater, 
 till the sahnc particles are dissolved ; when after repeated 
 solution, and subsequent evaporation, the whole is redu- 
 ced to the christalizing point. 
 
 XX. To make aquafortis, * 
 
 Distil equal parts of calcined vitriol, and crude nitre ; 
 or mix one part of oil ol vitriol with nine of pure spirit of 
 nitre. 
 
 XXI. To make •German black. 
 
 Take of the lees of wine, and ivory, bone, or peach 
 stones ; let these be burnt and afterwards ground to a 
 fine powder. The lees of wine should be washed previous 
 to burning, and of the other materials, the ivory is best. 
 This black is used principally in rolling-press or copper- 
 plate printing. 
 
 XXII. To make ivory black. 
 
 Ivory black in made by burning ivory till it is quite 
 black ; this is usually done between two crucibles well 
 luted together. It may be used either as an oil or a water 
 colour. * 
 
 XXIII. To make bone black. 
 
 Bone black is prepared from bones burnt in the same 
 manner as to make ivory black. It is used by painters, &c. 
 
 XXIV. To make Spanish black. 
 
 Spanish black is burnt cork. Used also by painters. 
 
 XXV. To make lamp, black. 
 
 Lamp black is the sooty smoak of rosin. The first 
 black called by this name vvas produced from the smoak 
 of lamps of a certain constiuction, in which various sub- 
 stances wet e burnt. The kind now used is made of rosin, 
 v^hich is first cut into small pieces, melted and purified in 
 
1^ SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 iron vessels; it is then set fire to under a chimney, ci 
 suitable place made for the purpose, the top of which is 
 lined, or covered with sheep skins, or pieces of coarse 
 linen cloth, to receive the vapour or smoke, which is the 
 black. 
 
 XXVI. To make currier's black. 
 
 That kind called the /irst black is made with gall-nuts, 
 sour beer, and old iron. The second black, or best kind, 
 is composed of gall-nuts, copperas, and gum-arabic. This 
 is used prior to giving the leather a gloss. 
 
 XXVII. A preparation Jor sole leather. 
 
 Heat the leather by exposing the flesh side to the fire ; 
 then with a brush apply warm tar. Repeat the process 
 of heating the leather and applying the tar, three or four 
 times, according to the thickness of the leather, till the 
 tar has nearly penetrated through the skin. Care must 
 be taken not to make the leather or tar too hot, as that 
 injures it in the wearing- 
 Various preparations of rosin, pitch, turpentine, tar, 
 oils, &c. are made tor the purpose of rendering leather 
 •waier proot. Some of them answer equally well on uppei: 
 and on sole leather- 
 
!P' 
 
 [ 197 3 
 
 .CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 ASSAYS ON AGRICULTURE, AND RURAL ECONOMY, 
 
 I. Pretiaring of the land for Wheat. 
 
 Ib the winter season, carry on a sufficient quantity of ma- 
 nure ; and as soon as the frost is out of the ground^ plough 
 it over smooth, furrow it, and plant it with potatoes iu 
 hills, leaving just room between the hills to plough both 
 ways. When they are grown tp the height of two or three 
 inches, plough them one way, turning the furrow upon 
 the hills on each side, having a person to follow and weed 
 them out. 
 
 About the end of June, cross plough them, turning upon 
 the hill again, and let the person following the plough, 
 mould the hills ; and about the twentieth of August you 
 will find that the tops die ; then pull ihem, for the longer 
 they remain in the earth the more water they will collect 
 in their substance. 
 
 As soon as the potatoes are gathered, turn in your hogs^ 
 and let them remain there till the beginning of October.-- 
 They will by this time have torn up, and mixed the ground 
 better than any ploughing. Then harrow the ground for 
 sowing wheat. 
 
 The advantages are, that the potatoes kill the weeds 
 and turf; and the hogs by rooting and turning the soil, in 
 search of potatoes, effectually destroy all kinds of vermin 
 which have been left in the ground, besides a considerable 
 saving in their keeping. 
 
 •:, II. Prefiaring of the Seed Wheat. 
 
 Let the wheat be thrice thoroughly washed ; and let the 
 water drain from it, after the third washing. Then steep 
 it eighteen hours, in brine strong enough to float an egg, 
 and spread it on a floor, to let the brine run off ; but while 
 the wheat is yet moist, let quick lime be equally sifted 
 over it, stirring it very well with a shovel, and continue 
 sifting on more lime, until the wheat be equally dusted 
 with it, in the proportion of half a gallon of lime to a 
 bushel of wheat By stirring it well with a shovel, the 
 wheat will soon be dry and fit for sowing. 
 
 The produce of some exceedingly smutty wheat pre- 
 pared for sowing in the above method, has been good- 
 clean, well filled graia. 
 
 S 
 
198 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c, 
 III. On the culture of wheat. 
 
 A more beneficial discovery has not been made in agri- 
 culture, thnn that of clover being an infahble preparative 
 to a crop d" wheat. It has seldom been known to fail on 
 poor land, and is particularly advantageous to rich, as the 
 straw will b( strong, the ear large, and the number of 
 stems from a root incredible. If ever a marvellous crop of 
 ■wheat be raised on very rich ground it must be in this 
 way ; for rich fallows pi oduce a luxuriant tall straw, weak 
 at the root, with a small ear which will fall. 
 
 In proof of the foregoing observations, let reason be at- 
 tented to ; clover grass affords rest to 1 tnd, and keeps out 
 ■weeds; the pasture produces feed in abundance for cattle; 
 the dung ot the cattle, with the vegetable salts contained 
 in the large top root and heart of the clover afford vivid 
 manure for wheat. One other advantage of this mode of 
 culture, is, that the root of the grain growing in them the 
 ■water drains from the root, aiid tht- surface of the ground 
 ■will not rise with the frost, as fallows of a fine mould are 
 apt to do— the wheat, therefore> must stand the winter 
 much the best, if sowed upon a clover turf ; the method 
 to be adopted is as follows : 
 
 In the September of the second summer after your 
 clover was sowed, pasture it close to the ground, and turn 
 your furrows over, very clean and even ; but before the 
 the two last furrows of each land is split, take a handful 
 of wheat, and drop along in each furrow, throwing it be- 
 fore you as you step along, and then spht the two furrows, 
 turning them on the wheat ; if this be not done the sides 
 of the iand will be bare, the same day it Is ploughed, sow 
 on e ach acre three pecks of clean seed- wheat, broad-cast ; 
 after it .is sowed, take a roller and run over the land the 
 same way it is ploughed. When this is done, harrow it 
 over two or three times the sam.e way, until the seed be 
 covered ; but by no means harrow across the land, or fur- 
 rows ; make the water furrows (if nted be) with the 
 spade, and turn the grass side of the sods downwards. 
 
 IV. On the gathering of wheat. 
 
 When this valuable grain has attained its full plump- 
 ness, and begins to shew its ripening colour, it should be 
 reaped, and laid a few days with the ears a little elevated 
 to liarden, before it is bound up, and afte»wards stand a 
 ■week or ten days in shock, which will be the means of its 
 proving swfeter, weighing heavier, and yielding a much 
 greater proportion of flour, and less bran, than when it is 
 suffered to stand on the ground till the ears become invert- 
 ed, and the corn parched and shrivelled ; but this is Jar 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 199 
 
 from being the whole of the evil ; for the straw, when 
 cut in a dry and brittle state is not so valuable for 
 thatch, fodder, or litter, as it is, when cut in a greener , 
 state, and when a brisk wind happens, there is frequent- 
 ly a loss sustained by one third of the crop- 
 
 V. On firefiaring seed corn. 
 
 Dissolve saltpetre in water, so as to make it very 
 strong. Soak your seed corn therein, until it becoiiies 
 swelled; then plaiU it in the usual way, taking care not 
 to let it be long out of the brine before it is covered, . it 
 ■will produce three times the crop, and will be ripe sooner, 
 than the same sort of corn, planted without soaking, on 
 ground of the same quality. 
 
 VI. Another method- 
 
 Go through your field, when the corn first begins to 
 i'ipen, mark all such large and fine ears as are turned 
 ■white, and where there are two on a stalk ; when 
 thoroughly ripe, gather them, by pulling off the ear, husk 
 and all, hang them up where no wet will come to them, 
 and let them thoroughly dry. By taking the fii st corn 
 that ripens, where there are two ears on a stalk, for 
 seed> you will have your crop earlier, by ten days, or a 
 fortnight,the following year, and the quantity considerably 
 encreased. 
 
 VIL Observations on increasing the quantity of Indian 
 Corn by selecting the seed ; communicated by Mr. John 
 She/ifierd, of Greenwich, Cumberland- County A'cw- 
 Jersey- 
 
 Having heard it suggested, that Indian corn tnii'ht be 
 improved by a careful attention to plant only such seed as 
 is gathered from those stalks which produce two ears, I 
 collected in the fall of 1786, a sufficient quantity of such 
 ears for to plant my next crop. In the spring of 1787, I 
 planted this seed ; and was vA:\\ pleased lo find my crops 
 increased much beyond the quantity I had been accus- 
 tomed to. In the first year 1 estimated the encrease at 
 near or quite ten bushels per acre, and by following the 
 same rule in saving m.y seed, for three years, my crops 
 have encreased to sixty bushels per acre, and I have now 
 three and four ears upon a stalk> 
 
 VIII. On the advantages of steeping seed Barley. 
 
 The advantages of steeping seed barley is made known 
 in a cemmunication from Mr. James Chappie to the Bath 
 Society, he observes. 
 
500 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 The last spring being remarkably dry, I soaked my 
 Barley in the black water taken from a reservoir which 
 constantly receives the draining from my dung heap and 
 stables. As the light corn floated on the top, I skimmed 
 it off, and let the rest sta: d twenty four hours. On taking 
 it from the water, I mixed the seed grain with a sufficient 
 quantity of sifted woodash.s to make it spread regularly, 
 and sowed ihree fields with it. I began the sixteenth, 
 and finished the twenty-tliird of April. The produce 
 was sixty bushels per acre, of good clean barley, without 
 any small or green corn. No person in this country had 
 better grain. 
 
 I sowed also several other fields with the same seed? 
 dry and without any preparation ; but the crop, like those 
 of my neighbours, was very poor, not more than twenty 
 bushels per acre, and much mixed with green corn, and 
 weeds, when harvested- I also sov/ed sorie of the ^eed, 
 dry, on one ridge in each of my forxner fields ; but the 
 produce was very poor.in comparison with the other part 
 of the field. 
 
 IX. On the advantage oj preparing seed Oats with plais" 
 ter of Fdris—^in a letter Jroni E. Handy to S. Puwell, 
 
 Late in the month of April, having a piece of ground in 
 the vicinity of the borough of Lancaster, prepared to be 
 sown with oats, which I suppose would take sixteen bush- 
 els of seed; the evening btlore it was S)wn, 1 had eight 
 bushels put into a trough and covered with water. The 
 next m.orning, the water was drawn off, aod the oats iaid 
 in a heap to tlrain for half an hour, then plaister of Paris.in 
 powder,was thrown on, by small quantities at a time, and 
 mixed with the oats, till they acquired a sufficient degree 
 of dryness, to be evenly sown. In the process, one bushel 
 of plaister was consumed. The seed thus prepared, and 
 dry seed from the same original heap, v/ere sown on al- 
 ternate lands throughout the field. The whole came up 
 together, and in due time, and no difference was visible 
 for seven or eight days. From that time forward, the 
 distinction became very evident, the oats on the lands 
 sown with the prepared seed, were much more luxuriant, 
 and of a deeper green, until they began to rip^n. On the 
 second of August, they were cut, being then perfectly 
 ripe, while those on the Tands sown with the unprepared 
 seed, were yet green, the heads much smaller, and pro- 
 missing in every respect a worse crop. 
 
 The' produce of the eight bushels of prepared seed was 
 one hundred and twenty two bushels and a peck ; of the 
 eight bushels of unprepared seed, ninety-six bushels; 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, ^cc. 201 
 
 the former yielding an increase of fifteen and a quarter for 
 one, or thirty and a half bushels to the acre ; the latter on- 
 ly twelve for one, or twenty four bushels to the acre. The 
 produce of the prepared seed weighed thirty three and a 
 half pound per bushel ; that of the unprepared, only thirty 
 two and a quarter pounds. Thus for the expenc-e of one 
 bushel ot plaister I have gained twenty six-bushels of oats, 
 and in the extra weight, equal to four and a half bushels 
 more. 
 
 X. On the culture of Oats, 
 
 Of oats there are ten species that are known in England, 
 the uanneijOf which are, the naked oat, orpilcorn- The 
 tall oat. The bc-arded or Aild oat. The rough, downy or 
 hairy oat. The yellow oat. The meadow or yellow leav- 
 ed oat. The common oat. The skegs pat. The Tarta- 
 rian or reed oat And the Fneseland and Poland oats, of 
 which that called the sativa, or common oats is most gen- 
 erally cultivated. 
 
 Thia species thrives on almost any soil ; and being ex- 
 tremely productive «>n land newly broken up, it is emi- 
 nently adapted to most parts of the United States. It is 
 divided into three varieties, namely — 
 
 !■ The vvh:te oats, which are the most valuable, and re- 
 quire a soil somewhat dner than that for the other species; 
 thus variety is. chiefly cultivated in the southern counties 
 of Britain. 
 
 2 The black oats, which are principally raised in Scot- 
 land and the novthc-rn counties of England- For feeding 
 cattle they are of equal quality with the white oats, 
 though 'lot affording so sweet a meal for culinary purposes 
 as the white oats. 
 
 3. rhe brown or red oats, produces good meal ; ripens 
 somewhat earlier than either of the two preceding variet- 
 ies, and does not shed its seed- It is chiefly cultivated in the 
 northwestern parts of England, for the feeding. 
 
 All these varieties are propagated by seed which may 
 be sown from the first of April, till the middle of May in 
 the proportion of from three to six bushels per acre, 
 broad cast. It is some-times sown with grass see^ds, such 
 as clover, ray grass, See The management of this kind 
 ot gram, does not materially differ from that of barley, 
 rye, &c. Oats Ivave in some instances, been both dibbled, 
 and drilled ; but as this method has been attempted but 
 by few, how it may answer h:^s not been fully assertain- 
 ed ; there is but little doubt, however, but ^at either 
 method, if properly conducted, would be preferable tothe^ 
 broad cast sowing. 
 
 The last mentioned species or that called the Sativa or 
 S2 
 
203 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec. 
 
 common oats is raised on account of its ferJLaceous pro- 
 perties. The grain is given to horses, for which it affords 
 a very strengthening food ; and, before barley came into 
 general cultivation, it was converted into malt. 
 
 The meal is made into cakes, biscuit, &c. or boiled into 
 a kind of pottage. Its straw is also, usefully employed in 
 feeding cattle, when mixed with potatoes. 
 
 XI. On the culture of Potatoes' 
 
 Potatoes require a rich loam not too moist. Wet land 
 produces too much top, and watry fruit, strong to the 
 taste, and not good to keep through the winter. Very 
 dry land produces a small crop, and knotty fpuit. Land 
 that is apt to brake should also be avoided. . 
 
 For this crop, theearth should Be well ploughed and kept 
 clear of weeds,and should not be shaded. The principle er- 
 ror, however, in cultivating potatoes, is too much hiHing : if 
 planted in a suitable soil,they will always bed themselves at 
 that depth most suitable to their growth, which is about four 
 inches. If you are necessiated to plant them upon a hard bot- 
 tom a little hilling may be useful. It has no doubt, been ob- 
 servedby most people who cultivate potatoes,that ifthetops 
 are partly, covered with earth,smal! potatoes willgrow upon 
 thera.this hinders the growth ot the first crop. We conclude 
 with a short remark relative to the time of gathering this 
 crop. 
 
 Every production of the earth has its maturity. The 
 sign of ri;>eriess in this fruit, is the fading of the. leaf and 
 shrinkint? of the stalk- If gathered betcre they are ripe 
 they will be unpleasant to the taste, and not keep so well 
 as if suffered to grow longer. 
 
 XII. To encrease your variety of Potatoes, and obtain eX- 
 cellent kinds. 
 Take of the balls when ripe in Autumn, open them and 
 dry the seed in the sun, so that they -may be preserved 
 through the winter ; plant these in good mellow ground in 
 the spring, and ketp them clear of weeds &ۥ The first 
 years produce will be small, take of the largest oi these, 
 and the best kinds, to plant the following year, and youj? 
 potatoes will be much improved- 
 
 XIII. To fireserve Turnips from insects. 
 
 1. To each quart or' turnip-seed, add one ounce of brim- 
 stone fineU' powdered, put both into a bottle, large enough 
 to afford i4)om to shake them well together every day, for 
 four or five days, previous to sowing, keeping the bottle 
 yrell corked. 
 
 2, Take stsch a quantity of elder leaves, as when bruisj: 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, &c. 203 
 
 ed, will yield juice, sufficient to cover the turnip-seed you 
 intend to sow. lawhicJi let it soak ^(mt twelve hours ; the 
 next day mix it with thebi uisedicaves.and sowall together. 
 Turnip-seed is generally covered with a brush harrow ; 
 take elder bushes for this purpose ; if the berries a. e on, 
 the efft-ct will be encreased. If notwithstanding these 
 precautions the fly should attack the young plant, draw 
 elder bushes gently over them. 
 
 Turnips sowed upon ground where a crop of flax has 
 be^n taken off, are not so likely to be injured by the fly ; 
 it is also, well to sow turnip w hile it rains, they do not re- 
 quire to be harrowed in, and grow so rapidly, as soon to 
 get beyond the power of the fly. 
 
 XIV. On the culture of 2"urmps. Another method. 
 Turnips for fall and vvinter use, are generally sown the 
 last of Juiy i have been long apprehensive that this sowing 
 is too e-ivly. The weather at this season of the year, is 
 generally very hot> and very dry ; anO droughts has a di- 
 rect tendency to dwarf and spoil a field of young tuinips ; 
 the black fl> also, a natural enemy of the turnip, is at this 
 period very voracious, and the crop is too often destroyed, 
 or rendered unprofitable from one or other of these causes. 
 With a view to rer.vedy these evils, I sowed my turnips, 
 the last year, very late m August. My neighbours laughed 
 at me, and said I should not nave a single mess ; 1 had 
 however, more and better turnips than any of them. En- 
 couraged bv this success, I sowed this year on the 25th of 
 August, a small piece of ground, eight rods only with tur- 
 nips. They came up well and not a fly touched them. 
 Wiien ihey had four or five leaves I directed one of my 
 men to weed, and thin them, so as to have them and stand 
 tenor twelve inches a part. The ground was afterwards 
 slightly stirred with a garden hoe- the leaves grew rap- 
 idly — Covered the jjround — and prevented the further 
 growth of weeds. On the 11th November, I pulled the 
 turuips, trimmed and measjiired them, and had on the 
 eight rods of gr<;und (the twentieth part of an only acre) 
 forty-five bushels of as large and well flavoured turnips as 
 I ever saw. This produce is at the rate of nine hundred 
 bushels per acre. The soil is a sandy loam, in good 
 heart, but by no means in high tilth. 
 
 I sowed two other sniail pieces of ground, the one on the 
 first, the oth^T on the eighth of September. Neither of 
 these yielded like one sowed on the twenty- fifth ot August ; 
 but each of them produced much larger, and better tur- 
 nips, than any I have seen, that were sowed at the usual 
 'timt. 
 
 I attribute my siiceess altogether to the late sowing ; 
 the hea: .s then less intense — the rain more fr-'quent — the 
 dews copious— the fly harmless and the crop abundant. 
 
20i SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 XV. On the culture of Carrots. 
 
 It is oot long since carrots were first raised in Europe, 
 for the use of cattle. Since the introduction, however, of 
 this culture , ^t has rapidly spread, and is now universally 
 attended to by thr graziers there 
 
 In rich, loamy and deep soils the product of this valua- 
 ble root hds been known to be four and e\f n five hundred 
 bushels p r acre ; this however, only were great atiention 
 Wis paid CO them. We must not estimate them at this r^te 
 in field cultivation, where the lab- ur and experce are 
 comparatively small. In common fit-Ids, however, uitha 
 comir.on proportion of manure and l-.b mr, takir;g the di- 
 vet'sity of soils, and difference of seasons the average pro- 
 duce of -^n acre would be two hundred bu!>hels. Ni kuid 
 of husbatidrv can he practised that will keep so mar y cat- 
 tle upon a t^iveii qiantitv of la; ci, a"n(i at so httle expence. 
 Cattle ot all kinds cire exceedin?^lv tond of tnem, and pre- 
 fer th'^m lo the best hay. Swme wiU eat then; i^reeJily, 
 and farren upon them. They mcrease the milk of cows ; 
 and even horses keep in as good condi'ion upon theu^, as 
 upon griin. 
 
 For tlieir cultivation a rich, loamy and deep soil, rather 
 dry, than wet, s'nould be cnosen. Lrt this be well jdough- 
 ed, and cross-ploughed, and made level with a harrow, 
 then in trenches drawn about two feet apart, the seed is to 
 be sown Thev .viU irqtire one or two plouehir.gs and 
 hoeing in the i-nonths of June and July and about the first 
 of August. From. ten to twelve hundred cabage plants for 
 Qpcch acre, may be transplanted between the rows of car- 
 rots ; the necessary ho<rmt< for these will keep the carrots 
 in good order until it is time to gather the whole. 
 
 XVI. Eurofiean method of cultivating Hops^ 
 
 Hod plantations should always be upon new land, if you 
 want to plant in the spring,your ground should be prepared 
 in the preceding autua)n, by being well ploughed, and laid 
 even. 
 
 Some plant hops in March and April, but the most ex- 
 perience d pr<-fer October, which season, however we, 
 woul-i observe, is not so proper in America, as in Europe ; 
 most trees, plants, &c. that require transplanting, do bet- 
 ter, if moved in the spring, than if moved m the fall, in the 
 United States. The ground being prepared, let the hills 
 be marked out, they should be about eight feet apart each 
 way the holes for planting them should be from eight 
 to ten inches deep, and a foot square. The largest plants 
 are to be chosen, they should be about nine inches long, 
 and have three or four joints or buds to each ; set one 
 in each corner, of the holes, and if planted in October, cover 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 205 
 
 them an inch over the top, but if planted in the spring-, 
 when they have shot from the joints, they must not be 
 buried ; after this the ground must be carefully kept clear 
 of weeds. 
 
 Dressing'. 
 
 This is* preparing the ground, in the autumn, winter, 
 and spnrg tor making a good summer crop. In doing this, 
 the hills upon which the plant stand, iViUsi be all pulled 
 down, and undermined on every side, till the spade (or 
 hoe) comes near the principal root ; then shake off, or re- 
 move with the har.d, the loose mould from the upper or 
 loose roots, that you may see where the new roots grow 
 out of the old sets. The ok^ sets are to be carefully pre- 
 served, but the 'jiher roots may be cast away. Whatever 
 may be the time tliat the tuiU are pulled down, the roots 
 must not be cut till March When your hops art dressed 
 for the first time after plaiiting, all the recti: are to be cut 
 away that grew the year b- fore, aiid the sets are to be cut 
 off withir: one Inch of '.he old s^etting ; and every year af- 
 ter, they musi^ be cut as close as mav b«#6 the old roots, 
 or settings. Observe, however, that thrse roots which 
 grow downwards are not to be injured, those only, which 
 run horizontally are to be cut. The old roots and the 
 young ones may be easily distinguished, as the old ones are 
 always red. Hid the young ones white. Wild hops, should 
 by no means b? perniitted to grow in your f^eld ; it any 
 get there, mark the hill, when gathering your hops, des- 
 troy such hills when dressing the ground, and replant it. 
 Wiien you cat and dress your hc^p field m the spring, your 
 land should be manmed with the richest compos; -o. you 
 can make. The hills when first made should not «c too 
 hif?h, lest they hmder the youn^ sho4)ts ; at the second 
 hilling they may be finished. Two or more ploughiugs is 
 required during the months of May and June, which com- 
 pletes their dressing. 
 
 Gathering and drying. 
 
 Hops blow in July, b'll in August, and are ripe by the 
 first of September. When they begin to change colour, 
 they are easily pulled topieccs^and their seeds lock brown 
 -within them, they are ripe, and are then to be gather- 
 ed as soon as posr-^ible. if the Weather be fine, the vines 
 may be cut and the pole? left standing, for one, or two 
 days, in which time the h^ps will be nearly dried ; it is, 
 however, preferable to dry them in the sh^.de, or not e:^- 
 posed to the sun, and dev/ ; they should, therefore, be 
 picked off, and spread thin upon floors, and be frequently 
 
206 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &a 
 
 moved and stirred about, that they may quickly, and 
 evenly dry. In the dannp and humid atnr.osphere of Eng- 
 land, it is almost always neces:^ary to dry them in kilns, 
 this may be dispensed with in America, if the season is 
 any way favourable : however, care should be taken to 
 dry the hops as fast as they are picked; for in, lying 
 undried, they are apt to heat, and change colour, Vrry 
 quickly. The dryini^ of hops is, cenaiulv, one (,f the most 
 material p^rt of their Trarufricture, for, if they be ill dried, 
 they loose all their agreeable flavour. 
 
 Bagging them. 
 
 The last thine done to hops is putting them up in bags 
 of coarse cloth tor carriage. When hops have been p'ck- 
 ed and dried on the cast, or tin floor, they are so britUe 
 that they wonid brerik to pieces, and be spoiled, if tiiey 
 were ii?. mediate!) to be put up ; th< y are therefore to lie 
 together for about three week^^, till they become tough, or 
 if covered from the air, with blankets, in a heap, they may 
 be bag^::;cd sooner. The manner of bagging them is as 
 follows : A holers rrade through an upper floor, sor large, 
 as that a 'nan can conveniently go up and down in it ; thea 
 a hoop is fitted to the mouih of the bag, and so firmly sew- 
 ed on. that it cannot be torn ofl^, the bag is then let down 
 through the hole ; the hoop remaining above prevents the 
 bag from being quite pulled tlirough, as the hoop. is larg- 
 er than the hole. A few hops are first thrown into the 
 bag, and taken up into each corner, and tied, making a 
 sort of tassel, or handle by which the bag is easier handled. 
 When this is done, one man must go down into the bag> 
 and, while another cast in the hops, he must tread them 
 down equally every way with his teet ; and when the bag 
 is in this manner fiHed, it is ripped from the hoop, and 
 sewed up, leaving two tassels at the corners of the top, 
 same as at the bottom- A bag of hops so prepared, may 
 be kept for several years. 
 
 XVII.- On the culture of flax. 
 
 A skilful flax-raiser always prefers a free» open, deep 
 loam, and grounds that produced the preceding year a 
 good crop of turnips, cabbage, potatoes, barley, or broad 
 clover ; or has been formerly laid down rich, and kept 
 for sonie years in pasture. 
 
 A clay soil, manured with ashes, will answer well for 
 flax, as well as soils of a lightt r quality ; provided it be 
 brought to a proper mould, by being tilled after harvest, 
 tojexpose it to the winter frost ; and by repeated, plough- 
 ing, in the. spring, to make the ground fine. A little old 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 2or 
 
 stable (lung, or that of p'geons Or sheep, may bespread 
 upon the ground inn mediately before sowing. 
 
 Ground ^nriched with shell, or other marls, will ans- 
 wer i/ell for flax, if the marl has been mixed with the soil 
 for some time. 
 
 In dry soils, the broader and more level the ridges are 
 laid the better ; as by chat means, the i.ntural moisture 
 will be longer retained, and the crop rendered more equal 
 and u'iifoi m ; a great advrinMge to crops of flax 
 
 Allnew ;c,roands, orsuciiashavelai' longin grassorpas- 
 ture, prodacf clear cro()s of -jtrotig flax ; but ought to be 
 ploughed bhv-ill jvv.and the furrowlaid fl t- After ploughing, 
 a heavy roller should be us^d, to press the sod smooth, and 
 clnse to the :^round This will makethe grass rot the sooner. 
 
 Flaxseed ought nevef to be sown on grounds either too 
 wet or dry, but on such as retain a natural moisture ; such 
 gioijrids as are iuclmed to weeds, ou^ht to be avoided, 
 unlfSft prepared by a careful summer tallow, or by crops 
 of turnips, caf)ba^e, or potatoes. 
 
 Before sowing, the bulky clods should be broken and 
 stones, &c. that will hinder the growth ot flax, be removed. 
 
 Choice of seed. 
 
 The brighter in colour, and heavier the seed is, the bet- 
 ter ; that which appears, when bruij^ed, of a light or yel- 
 lowish green and fresh in the heart, oily, and •, weet to the 
 taste and smell, may be depended upon. Seed should be 
 repeatedly passed through screen, that there may not be 
 left in it any vine seed, or light defective flax-seed. 
 
 Of sowing lin-seed. 
 
 The quantity of linseed sown, should be proportioned to 
 the condition of the soil ; for if the ground be in good con- 
 dition and the seed b^ sown thick, the crop will be in dan- 
 ger of tailing, before it is ready for pulling. On the gene- 
 rality of soils, about two bushels of seed is required to an 
 acre ; the time for sowing is from the middle ot March to 
 the end of April, as the ground and 'season answer- 
 It ought always to be sown on a dry bed, and if the soil 
 be light, it should be rolled ; especially if grass seeds are 
 sown along with it If sown on grass ground, ploughed 
 shallow, it cannot be harrowed, even length- ways, a har- 
 row would tear up the sods, A heavy brush is best. 
 
 ^ iveedingjlax. 
 If the seed is clean, and sowed on grass ground, all tte 
 trouble and expence of weeding may be avoided ; shoul# 
 it however be necessary, it ought to be done, when the 
 
208 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 flax is about four inches high ; if longer, deferred, the 
 weeders will so nnuch break and crook the stalks, that 
 they will never, perhaps, recover their straitness again, 
 and flax that gro^s crooked is very liable to be injured in 
 the rippling and swinghng. 
 
 If there is an appearance of a settled drowth, weeding 
 should be omitted it is then injurious. 
 
 Weeds when pulled, sfiouid be carried off the field, if 
 lef^, ihey otten take root again and obstruct the growth of 
 the flax. 
 
 A'i young and unskilful persons, frequently pull up and 
 spo'l the fl.ix. while weeding, they should not weed alone, 
 but witti experienced persons and all care should be taken, 
 not to tread down and injare the^ax. • 
 
 Of /lulling JIujC. 
 
 If it is intended to save both the flax and the seed, the 
 pulling should not begin till the stalk becomes yellow, al- 
 most all the leaves are fallen, and the balls turned so sharp 
 that they will stick to the finger, when pressed upon their 
 points ; also one of the lower balls, cut across the grain* 
 appears full of seed well formed, and firm. Butiftfie 
 stalk is small, with few balls upon it, which is a sign that 
 the fl IX is fine.it ought to be pulled when the stalk first be- 
 gins to grow yellow, when only the undermost leaves fall, 
 before the bloom is quite over, before the balls turns sharp 
 pointed, and when one of the balls, cut across the seed ap- 
 pears soft and watry. It is a rule with persons of skill, to 
 follow this last method, when they think that about eight 
 hauks or more, may be spun from a pound. 
 
 When flax hasf alien, such as lies ought to be immediately 
 pulled, other^vise it will rot ; and that being pulled, the rest 
 of the crop will receive the more air, and be less apt to fall. 
 
 When parts of the same field grow unequally, so that 
 some is ready tor pulling before other, that which is ready 
 should be pulled, and the rest be suffered to stand till fit. 
 
 The flax raiser ought to be at great pains to pull, and 
 keep by itself, each different kind of lint; what is long and 
 fine, by itself ; long and coarse, by itself ; short and fine, 
 by itself; and short and coarse, by itself; and, in hke man- 
 ner, every other kind by itself , for if the different kinds 
 are not thus kept seperate, tht flix will be much damag- 
 ed in the watering, and other succ eding operations. 
 
 While pulling and sorting the flax, tne w^eds ought to 
 be picked out, otherwise they will huri the flax m the ope- 
 M|ions of watering and dressing ; and what is commonly 
 ^pied under-gro'vrh, may be thrown away as useless. 
 
 Few persons that have seen flax, pulled are ignorant of 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 209 
 
 the method of laying it in handsfull across each other, 
 upon bands composed ©f some of the stalk?. Laying 
 handsfull in this way, admit fresh air, and keep them 
 ^ separate, and ready for the rippler. 
 
 Process after fiulling the Jiaxy and before ripfiling it. 
 
 If the flax is not of the finest kind, the cross handsfull, 
 after lying twenty-four hours, as above describe d.should be 
 turned upon the band ; and, after lying other twenty-four 
 hours, should be bound up in sheaves •and stacked. If the 
 weather is dry, in about a fortnight's time, it will be 
 ready for rippling, and may be removed to the barn. But 
 if the flax is fine, it should be put into stacks, in about 
 twelve hours after it is pulled, and in two or three days it 
 may be rippled. 
 
 Keeping the flax unwatered till the next spring, is at- 
 tended with many bad consequences For, when too much 
 dryed by long keeping, it is not so easily, nor so safely 
 watered, the quality ot the flax is harsher and coarser ; 
 it is subject to danger from vermin, and other accidents^ 
 during the winter ; the water in the spring, or beginning 
 of summer, is not so soft and warm, as in harvest, a''d 
 near a year is lost, of the use of the lint, by the practice 
 of keeping it over the winter. 
 
 Ofrijifilin^ flax. 
 
 The seed ought by all means to be seperated from the 
 flax before watering, for if put into the water along with 
 the Ahx. it is apt to breed vermin, and discolour the flax. 
 The seed is also worth saving as fted for horses and cattle, 
 when not ripe enough for sowing. 
 
 When the seed is ripe enough forsowing and intended, 
 to be saved for that use, it should be rippled within doors, 
 for rain and damp will discolour it, and rendef it unfit for 
 sowing. 
 
 The handsfull for rippling should not be large, as that 
 endangers the lint in going through the comb. After rip- 
 pling, the flax raiser will see that he is able to assort each 
 size and quality of the flax more exactly than he could 
 do before. 
 
 Of nvinnowing the seed. 
 
 The balls, after rippling, should be well threshed with 
 flails, or in some other way broken, and then passed 
 through a riddle to take out the ends of the flax, that have 
 broken off"in npphng. After this the whole should pass 
 through tanners, and different sieves, to clear the seed as 
 much as possible from broken husk's, dust, week seed 
 Being thus cleaned, it should be carried to a free-aire 
 
 r 
 
210 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Bcc. 
 
 loft, and spread thin, and often turned for some time, to 
 prevent it from heating ; and as the seed dries, it may be 
 laid up thicker, and seldomer turned, till at last it is fit n^ 
 for the market or for sowing. «|^ 
 
 Management ojtkejiax^ajter rifi/iling.and bejore ivatering. 
 
 Rushes should be pulled, and dried during the summer, 
 for tying the handsfull of flax for the water. Tney save 
 flax ; they do not sa easily rot in the water, and may be : 
 dried for next year. 
 
 The flax from the rippling comb, being properly assort- / 
 ed, as before mentioned, should be put up in bundles, not ii 
 larger than a man can grasp with both his hands, and tied t 
 slack with rushes. Should the flax be in the least bent, or i 
 crooked, by having stood in the field, it must be carefully ; 
 straightened with ones hands and knees, and laid even to- • 
 gether, in a mow, in a shade or barn. The mow ought to t 
 be raised regularly one row upon another, and be pressed i 
 down with logs or boards, and a sufficient weight above 
 them. In this situation it should remain from twelve to 
 twenty four hours, according as the flnx is dry or damp. 
 This laying, and conn pressing of the flax tr-gether, mel- • 
 lows it also, and prepares it the better for watering. 
 
 Of ivatering Jlax. 
 
 Running streams, and large lakes are not suitable for ■? 
 watering flax,Ahey waste the lint, and sometimes carry 
 the flax away ; canals are most suitable. They should, if ; 
 possible, be dug in clay ground, as that ground retains the 
 water best : but if a firm retentive soil cannot be found, 
 the bottom and sides of the canal may be lined w'lth clay, 
 or iivgtead gf lining the sides with clay, a ditch may be 
 dug on each side of the canal, and filled with clay, which 
 will prevent extraneous water from entering, and the 
 water within from running ofif. 
 
 A canal sixty feet long, seven feet broad, and three feet 
 deep, will generally water the growth of an acre of flax. 
 It ought, if possible, to be filled with fresh soft water from 
 a river or brook, and exposed to the sun, a sufficient time 
 to give it the necessary warmth, which is known by small 
 .plants rising and numbers of insects generating in it, and 
 bubbles of air rising on the surface. Should no such signs 
 appear, the water must not be warm enough, or is other- 
 wise unfit for flax. 
 « Water from coal, or iron, is very bad for flax. A little 
 *the powder of galls thrown into a glass of water, will 
 imediatcly discover if it comes from iron, by turning it- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &:c. 211 
 
 a dark colour, more or less tinged, in proportion to the 
 quantity of that mineral it contains. 
 
 The canal ought not to be under any shade ; as this 
 besides preventing the sun from softening the water would 
 make part of the canal cooler than other parts, and by 
 that means water the flax unequally. 
 
 The sooner flax is watered in the same season, in which 
 it is pulled, the better; in the middle states, however the 
 water will be warm enough to rot flaxj or hemp, until 
 October. 
 
 The small bundles, or sheaves of flax, before descri- 
 bed, should be laid into the canal, in rows across it ; the 
 first row with the tops leaning upon the end of the canal, 
 about a foot from the bottom, and the root ends sloping 
 downwards ; the top ends of the second row, overlapping 
 the bands of the first row ; and so on till the canal be lull- 
 ed. The top ends require the warmest water, and are, 
 therefore to be put uppermost. 
 
 The whole of the flax in the canal should be kept under 
 water ; this may be done with poles and weights ; it 
 should not however, be pressed down so hard as to pre- 
 vent the water from freely penetrating through all the flax- 
 The flax, while in the water, should be carefully cover- 
 ed from the sun ; it will otherwise be much discoloured. 
 Soft water, in warm weather will rot flax in four days ; 
 sometimes it will require, six, eight, or ten days ; there- 
 fore some other rule is required to know when it is suffi- 
 ciently rotted- It is observed that flax, while rotting in a 
 canal, undergoes a fermentation, that while fermenting, it 
 continues to float, or bear up under the weights, and that 
 ■when the fermentation is over, it will sink to the bottom, 
 and should then be drawn out, and spread on the ground; 
 but previous to taking it out, it should be washed clean, in 
 the manner hereafter to be described. 
 
 Great care should be taken that no part is overdone; 
 the coarsest is soonest done ; if different kinds be put in 
 together, one kind will be watered, before the rest is 
 sufficiently rotted. 
 
 The same water, should not by any means, have two 
 rottings of flax put into it, indeed, could the water be 
 changed several times for each rotting, it would be an ad- 
 vantage, p»'ovided the fresh supply of. water was let upon 
 thi' flax quite warm, the lint would be of a belter cclonr, 
 anrt require less bleeching, when made into cloth. 
 
 From the preceding description of the canal, and the 
 manner of rotting flax in it, it will be seen that an extra 
 canal, or a pond above will be of inr^mense advantage. 
 The shape and size of the canal, or pond above, is im- 
 material, provided it is sufficiently large to contain watet 
 
212 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 rnough to fill the lower canal, and open to the sun, that 
 the water may be warmed- From this canal the lower one 
 can be filled as often as it is thought necessery to change 
 the water! Inrinriediately before taking the flix out, clean 
 water should be let in, and as the small bundles of flax are 
 taken up, they should be gently rinced, and as the lint is 
 then tender, and the bandies slackly tied, it cannot be too 
 carelully handled. Wiien letting water into your canal, 
 it should not run in a swift stream, directly upon any part 
 of the flax ; it would injure that that it run upon, espe- 
 cially if nearly rotted. 
 
 When changing the water upon flax, that which is let 
 in, .should be at least as warm as that which islet out» 
 otherwise it is apt to stop the fermentation, and is attend- 
 ed with other bad consequences. 
 
 As many successive rottings ot flax can be watered inthe 
 same season, in one canal ; those who raise only from five 
 to ten acres of flax will not need a canal more than a third 
 or a quarter of the size abovenr;entioned,and could the sides 
 and bottom of it be lined v/ith strips of boards, or lath, so 
 as to prevent the flax touching ihe ground, it would be still 
 cleaner, and would rot more evenly- The expence of 
 lining a small canal would be but trifling in any part of 
 the United States. 
 
 . A canal once well made, with last for many j'cars, and 
 certainly is to be preferred to rotting flax on the grass. 
 
 On the margin of your pond, or canal, should be pla- 
 ced an inciinmg platform, or table made ot smooth boards. 
 on which to lay your flax when taken out of the water. 
 
 Of drying Flax after 'wateiing. 
 
 When your flax is taken cut of the water, and has 
 drained sufficiently, it must .be immediately spread open 
 to the sun and wind to dry. Some preftr to slip the bands 
 up to the top of the bundles, and opening the root end of 
 the bundles as much as possible, set them up against fen- 
 ces, or poles fixed up for thp purpose. Others choose to 
 spread it out upon a smooth meadow or pasture, where the 
 grass is short, provided there is a prospect of drying wea- 
 ther. In fact, the mode of drying it must be determined, 
 more by the prospect of the weather, than any other cir- 
 cumstance. The flax being sufiiciently rotted, should not 
 be exposed to rain or dew, if it can possibly be avoided. If 
 taken out in the morning of some hot and drying days, 
 and properly opened, it would be nearly or quite dry 
 enough by evening to put up. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, kc. 213 
 
 XVIII. Further remarks on the culture of Flax. 
 
 To insure a good crop*the seed should be changed every 
 two or three years ; indeed, could it be changed every 
 year it would be bettet. How far it might improve the flax 
 of the Uniied States to bring seed from Europe, has not, 
 perhaps been sufficiently tried, but should this be thought 
 too inconvenient or be attended with too much expence, 
 let them exchange with different states from fifty to five 
 hundred miles apart 
 
 Unless the drill method of sowing is adopted, flax should 
 be sown after sunset, on land well prepared, and harrow- 
 ed in early the next morning, before the sun -rises. Thus 
 the seed is moistened with the night's dew, and is easily 
 enveloped with earth, which renders it invisible to birds, 
 who would otherwise'commit great depredations upon it. 
 Flax requires more care, and nicer culture than any 
 crop we are concerned in. It should never be sown on a 
 soil that is not rich and well wrought. Being a plant that 
 does not require much heat, it answers well in cold lati- 
 tudes. The cooler kinds of soil, such as clay and loam, 
 and the black earth of drained lands are suitable for it, if 
 they are well pulverized and manured. In wet seasons it 
 commonly does better than in dry ones ; so that though it 
 may sometimes do well upon high land, it is best not to 
 risk it, rather choose a soil that is naturally low and moist. 
 If it is too wet it may be drained by trenches, thirty or for- 
 ty feet asunder. Land should be in good heart either na- 
 turally, or made so by manures. It should not. however, 
 be manured at the time of sowing, nor should any thing 
 be done that will make the weeds increase ; in no crop 
 are weeds more pernicious than flax. Many of the plants 
 are killed, others are bushy and mishapen, and the coat- 
 light, being too much deprived of the rays of the sun. 
 
 A green sward ploughed up, well dunged with such 
 manureHas are suitable to flax, and planted with potatoes 
 is a good preparation for this crop. This does not abate 
 the strength of the soil, but rather increases. It makes 
 the ground mellow, and destroys weeds. The grcund is, 
 therefore in fine order for flax the following year. 
 
 A light frost happening alter flax is up will not kill it. 
 That which is sown early, grows 'slowest, Snd has the 
 strongest coat ; early sowing is therefore recommended. 
 Flax is a very exhausting crop to land ; when it is pul- 
 led, therefore.the ground should be ploughed without delay 
 and turnips or buckwheat be sowed upon it, to plough un- 
 der, which if the flax was sowed upon a sward, is an ex- 
 cellent preparative to wheat Turnips or Buckwhtfat if 
 they gre'W well will be equal to twenty loads of jnanuTC 
 T3 
 
ili SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c, 
 
 per acre, and the previous preparation of the land for ^a.% 
 the ploughing of it in the sumnier, and again when 30U 
 sow your wheat, brings it into good order for your winter 
 grain. This arrangement, however, can only take place, 
 ■where the -soil is naturally suitable for wheat. 
 
 It is of the greatest importance to render the lint fine, 
 soft, and equal to silk in spinning. This object is in a 
 great measure attained by boiling it (previous to spinning) 
 lor several hours in sea water, to which is added ley made 
 of unslacked lime and two or three parts of pot ash : thus 
 is the coarsest part of flax or tow considerably chang- 
 ed in its texture, so as to resemble the finest lint 
 
 There are various other methr.ds of •softening the lint, 
 such as making it damp, and rolling it between iron rol- 
 lers fixed for the purpose, beating while damp, drying it 
 and combing or hatcheling it through fine hatchels ; and 
 repeating thf operation ai»am, and again, roUmg or beat- 
 ing and hatcheling it, using still finer hatchels, till the lint 
 is brought to the requisite degree of fineness. In these 
 operations very liitle of it is wasted, as the tow is always 
 useful for various purposes. 
 
 We cannot close our remarks upon this useful plant, 
 without obsei ving, that so great is its value^ that not even 
 the chaff trom the seed, the shivs, or tow from the first 
 Satchel, should be suffered to be lost. If useful for no- 
 thing else, they make a most valuable man-.n-e it piled 
 in' heaps, or put into comp(-st beds But if burned, they 
 produce nothing Even that which is left upon the ground 
 where it grt- \v, if ploughed underdoes benefit ; the ground 
 where it is spread to rot is much enriched by the wash of 
 it, or the water ot i)onds where it may have rotted, if 
 sprinkled upon the ground would do much good. 
 
 XIX On the culture of Hemp. 
 
 The raising of hemp in the United States, is aAiatter of 
 such consequence, as to demand the attention ofrvery one 
 who has the real interest of his country at heart. 
 
 The usual height of this plant when grown is from five 
 to six fer-t, but this varies considerably, according to the 
 ;ittention paid to its cultivation, and the nature of the soil. 
 it, nnay be. cultivated upon ground of every kind ; the 
 poorer land producing less in quantity, though of a finer 
 quali-ty ; 33 it does not exUnust the soil like flax, it is prob- 
 able that if care was -aken in its cultivation it might al- 
 most entirely siipercede it. If the ground be well manur- 
 ed, it may b? raised for several years successively upon 
 th^ same spot In the choice of land for its cultivation, a 
 rich, sandy baan, and a dtep dry black mould. should be 
 
^SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 2B 
 
 preferred ; cold, clayey, wet and gravelly lands should 
 not be used. It it be new land it should be broke up the 
 summer or fall preceding, and in the spring be brought to 
 a great degree ot fineness by tillage, or proper manure 
 and tillage jointly if manure is required- The season for 
 sowing is from the middle of April to the last of May ; 
 however the earliest time should be preferred, if the sea- 
 son is favourable. 
 
 As hemp is a plant of quick growth, and requires a 
 great deal of nourishment in a little time, the land cannot 
 be too well prepared by tillage, and proper manure ; 
 there is also an advantage in making your land mellow 
 by your hemp pulling so much easier. The quantity of 
 seed required to an acre if you use the drill is trom four 
 to six pecks, but if you sow it in the comm m way, from 
 eight to ten pecks will l^e ntcessary We recommend the 
 drill method, being 'he most certain, producing the best 
 stalks, exhausting the land, the least, and, in the end, we 
 believe the most profitable. The quantity usualy produced 
 per acre, is fro.r. seven to ten cwt- much however, depen- 
 ding upon thr tillage given to the land ■ It is not consider- 
 ed as of more difficult culture than flax ; it bears the 
 drought Hs well or better than Indian corn, and is not so 
 liable to be cat off by an early frost. In some countries the 
 male and female hemp are pulled together, but in others 
 they are separated ; when this is done paths should be 
 made through the field lengthways, at about seven feet dis- 
 tant from each other, to allow a passage for the person 
 • who pulls up the male hemp from the other, the latter re- 
 quiring to stand more than a month after for the purpose 
 of ripening the seeds. Thfr male hemp is known to be ripe 
 by the fading of thr flowers, the falling of the farinafecun- 
 dans, and some of the stalks turning yellow. 
 
 It is better to pull hemp a little before it is perfectly 
 ripe, than let it stand after, and if possible it ought to be 
 worked#while green ; the hemp thus produced, being 
 much finer than that which is previously dryed. The rea- 
 son of this is, that this plant contains a great quantity of 
 glutinous matter, which being once dried, aglutinates the 
 fibres ot the coat in such a manner, that they can never bes 
 afterwards pefectly separated. 
 
 After the hemp is pulled, it is taken in handsfull afid 
 the leaves, steds, and latteral branches dressed off with a 
 wood dressing knife ; and the roots sometines cut off! It 
 is then made up into bwidles in order to be steeped in wa- 
 ter to rot it, a process similar to the rotting of flax, this 
 method being much preferred to dew rotting, especially 
 ■where clearer running water can be had. The length of 
 time required for steeping hemp is various, being from six 
 
.216 SECRETS 1N« ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 to eleven days, the slenderest hennp requiring the most 
 soaking, and warm weather greatly facilitating the ope- 
 ration ; it is better, however, for it to remain too long, 
 than too short a time ; the operation is known to be finish- 
 ed by the bark separating easily from the reed. 
 
 After the hemp is sufficiently steeped, the next operation 
 is to separate the bark from the reed this is generally 
 done by drying it and breaking it like flax, theinstruments 
 generally used for this purpose are all worked by hand ; 
 we think, however, that considerable improvement may 
 be made in the dressing of both flax and hemp. 
 
 Beating of hemp is the next operation, which formerly 
 was performed entirely by hand, but now in most places 
 by a water-mill, which raises three or four heavy beaters 
 that fall upon it alternately ; the hemp being turned all 
 the while to receive the strokes equally. The finer it is 
 wanted, the more beating it must have." It is then hatch- 
 eled or combed through hatchels similar to those used for 
 flax, and made fine or coarse as the hemp is required. 
 
 Further remarks on the culture of Hemju 
 
 When pulled, it should be spread out upon the ground 
 not more than an inch thick, and remain two or three days, 
 being turned once, or twiccj it will in this time be fit to 
 house if the weather has been good, the sooner it is dried 
 and housed the better. If the quantity be small, so.that 
 it could be dried under cover it would be better, heavier, 
 and of a brighter greenish colour when dressed, more re- 
 sembling foreign hemp. The attentive cultivator of this 
 useful article neglects ail other affairs to take care of his 
 hemp at this stage of the business, if exposed when a show- 
 er or storm threatens, and fails not to.get it under shelter, 
 where it remains until Indian harvest time, when it is ta- 
 ken out and put to rot- When rotted enough it is taken 
 up, washed and removed to dry ground, and sefewith the 
 but end downwards, leaning against poles arranged for 
 the purpose on crotches about three feet high, placing a 
 bundle on one side of the pole, and another on the other 
 side, alternately until the whole is set up ; or it may be 
 set against a rail fence in the same manner, being secured 
 ffom blowing down. It is there to remain exposed to all 
 the varieties of weather until the following spring. The 
 first brake in which it is broken should have the teeth 
 from three and a half to four inches asunder, the second 
 the same as a flax brake- 
 
SECRSTS IN ARTS, TRADES, 5cc. 217 
 
 m 
 
 XX. Alsthod offireveniing the smut in grain, and which 
 may fiossibly be e^cacious in destroying the Hessianjiy* 
 
 Put a half hundred weight of stone lime into about seven- 
 ty gallons of water, stir it well tor half an hour, then let it 
 stand for thirty hours, draw off the water, add to it three 
 p^'cks of salt or so nriiich as will make it bear an egg, (if 
 sea water has been used, less salt will be required) ; when 
 the salt is dissolvetl, the preparation (which you will ob- 
 serve, is salted hme- water) is fit for to be used. In this li- 
 quor, steep your grain by putting small quantities in a 
 basket, and setting the basket in the liquor. VVhilethe grain 
 is in the liquor, stir it that all rriay be wet and that the 
 light grain inay come to the top, these sk im off, they should 
 not be sown, most of them being irfictious ; this done 
 draw up the basket, and let it drain a few minutes* and 
 proceed to stet p the remainder. This seed will be fit for 
 sowing in twenty four hours ; but for driUnig forty-eight 
 hours are better. 
 
 XXI. On the Hesdan Fly. 
 
 These fli s first appear towards the end of September, 
 and soon atr.er. their eggs aj>]Kar hatched, in colour and 
 size like a flaxseed. 'Fhey are very low at the joints of 
 ■wheat plants*, some .even in the ground and here they har- 
 bour all winter. 
 
 On their first appearance in any district, their numbers 
 being; small, they seldom cut of}' the crops, which is oiten 
 the case the second ai:d third y- ar. 
 
 In the spring after vvarin weather, thev again appear 
 as a small worm, twist thems' Ives round the wheat, as it 
 begins to pij^e ; eat canker, and hill it ; being gorged .they 
 beco.me a chrysalis, from whence the aurela takes vnngs. 
 
 I would therefore propose — 1st. That wheat should not 
 be so ATI on poor land, but on that which is naturally rich, 
 or that has been highly, manured. 
 
 2dly. In such ground, it will be early enouj-h to sow the 
 first week in October, when the fly is mostly over. 
 
 3dly. When the fly first appears, prepare a large bush 
 of elders, the more leafy the better ; draw this over the 
 wheat, as this shrub is obnoxious to all sorts of flies it will 
 probably scare them off 
 
 4thly. Prepare a log roller, 18 inches diameter, four and 
 half or five feet long, with a goage or gudgeon and nuts in 
 the centre of each end, and a wooden frame fixed on it, on 
 which may be placed a box to receive stones, to any weight 
 required. It is beheved that this roller if drasvn over the 
 wheat when the wofms come out in the spring will crush 
 ithem, besides being of great benefit in levelling the earlh. 
 
218 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 A roller is of so great a service in this way, that even 
 should the fly happily leave us, no farmer should be with- 
 out it, the expence is a mere trifle. 
 
 XX II. Method of destroying or fir eventing the HessianFly, 
 
 Take of the twigs and leaves of young elder of the sum- 
 mers growth, bruise them, cover them with water, and let 
 them stand in an open vessel in the sun and air, twenty- 
 four hours. In this preparation, steep, your seed wheat 
 twelve hours, and sow it in the common manner. 
 
 XXIII. On the culture of Tobacco^ as firnctised in Mary- 
 
 land. 
 
 In March a bed is prepared in some rich spot on the 
 plantation, by burnmg a large quantity of brush upon it, 
 and raking the surface fine. About the first of May, the 
 seeds are sown in it, broad cast, and generally mixed with 
 ashes, in order to disperse it more equally. The young 
 p'ants are kept clear of weeds in the same manner as 
 seedling onions, or cabbage plants, and like the latter, are 
 fit to be transplanted, when about two inches high. 
 
 The ground to receive them, when set out or transplant- 
 ed, is prepared with a narrow lioe, by digging holes of 
 about a toot: square*, and the same depth, and three 
 feet a part every way, in rows. This is termed holing. 
 The earth about the hole, and that which came out of it 
 is next formed into a hill over the hole, like cabbage hills, 
 only larger. This is termed scraping. The hills being 
 thus prepared, ilie first succeeding rain which wets the 
 ground sufficiently, the plants are drawn from the beds, 
 and planted in the s^ame manner as cabbages, and where 
 they fail, are replanted. When the plants are well fixed, 
 and begin to grow, they must be kev>t clean from weeds,' 
 until their growth is completed. The Plant must be topt 
 when the flower stalks begin to appear; this is performed 
 by breaking off the the top with the finger and thumb, 
 leaving from six to ten leaves, according to the apparent 
 strength and vigour of the plants. The suckers also, 
 which it puts out between the leaf and stalk, must be con- 
 stantly broken nff^as they appear. About the first of Sep- 
 tember, and from that till frost comes, the tobacco ripens, 
 and rnust be cut. 
 
 It is difficult describing it in this state so as to be certain- 
 ly known. However, it is in general known to be ripe by 
 the leaf putting fnrth yellowish spots, pretty thick over it ; 
 and having attained a considerable substance and richness. 
 It is then cut down near the ground, and let lie till the sun 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 219 
 
 ha? softened it from its brittle state, that it may be housed 
 without its leaves snapping off- It is then hung up in 
 houses or sheds so thick as that the plants touch each oth- 
 er, where it remains for six or eight weeks to dry ; and in 
 damp weather, a gentle fire is made under it to prevent its 
 moulding. Many planters give the fine Kitefoot a colour 
 by curing it all together with hickory fires under it until it 
 is dry. It is then stripped off the stocks in damp weather, 
 and put up in bundles, th< ends of the leaves being fastened 
 together by having one leaf lapped round them. Upon be- 
 ing stript, tied up in bundles, and sorted, which should 
 always be done while stripping, it is packed up in bulk 
 till a convenient season for packing in hogsheads. This 
 operation is performed in the follning manner ; the pack- 
 er gets into a hogshead placed under a press, and has the 
 tobacco handed to him wnich he places with the heads 
 next the staves, all a.round and across the cask, until it is 
 one fourth filled. This quantitv they press down to abnut 
 three inches depth, and let it remain under press several 
 hours, and then pack the same quantity, and press it a- 
 gain ; thus the cask is filled to ihe top. quite solid. A 
 hogshead weighs froni 750 to 1150 pounds in Maryland, 
 in Virginia much heavier. 
 
 XXIV. On the benejit of Salt in agriculture. 
 
 .The advantages of Salt in agriculture, are greater, per- 
 haps, than is generally supposed. It may be put directly 
 upon the land, or mixed with the fodder you give your 
 * cattle. Upon no crop is it more beneficial than Flax. It 
 should be used in the proportion of about one bushel of 
 salt to one bushel of flax-seed. Your flax will be well 
 coated, taller and fuller of seed. The increase of this last 
 article will generally pay the expence of the salt, being 
 in most cases three bi'shels for one produced by the ordi- 
 nary way of cultivating Flax. 
 
 It is also recono mended to try salt upon oats, winter 
 wheat and rye, and also upon Indian corn, at the rate of 
 two bushels of salt to an acre. There is no doubt but that 
 it will amply repay the expence. 
 
 XXV. On the advantages of Flats ter of Paris, 
 
 Mr. J. Woolston, of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, pre- 
 pared 14 acres of good new land, in the fall of 1787, upon 
 which he sowed white wheat. In the beginning of March, 
 1788, he sowed 4 pound of clover seed, and three bushels 
 of plaister of paris upon each acre of this ground. It ].«ro- 
 duced 16 bushels of clean wheat per acre' Scon alter the 
 
220 SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, Sec. 
 
 harvest, a series of rainy weather came on, which lasted 
 fourteen days, during this tinne the clover grew as high 
 as the wheat stubble, and some time after, fully blossom- 
 ed When ripe, he cut and threshed it, the produce was 
 twenty one bushels of clean seed, which with the wheat, 
 he sold for 140 pound the price he had given for the land. 
 By the use of piaister, clover may be kept in the ground for 
 three years longer than its usual period. On a tough 
 sward, it is necessary to sow four or five bushels to the 
 acre. It meliorates and lightens the soil, turning it to a 
 darker colour, so as to be plainly visible ; and produces 
 clover. For Indian corn it is better to strew it over the 
 whole ground, th^^n to put it in the hills, as when the fine 
 roots, by which the corn plant is nourished, push them- 
 selves from the hills where the piaister is, into poorer soil, 
 they must dwindle for want of that nourishment which 
 the piaister affords. 
 
 An experiment was also made of piaister upon Indian 
 corn, by a Mr. Longstreth of the same county Of fifty 
 acres of Indian com, he plaistered thirty with about one 
 eighth of a gill, to each hill, alter the corn was come up, 
 and before it was harrowed. The soil was a light loam ; 
 the hills five f«ret three quarters, by four feet asunder. 
 On the thirty acres, he computes that there was an in- 
 crease of two hundred bushels of corn more than the land 
 "Would have produced without the piaister of paris, judg- 
 ing trom the produce of the twenty, acres on which no 
 piaister was put. Twenty six bushels of the piaister was 
 put on the thirty acres. 
 
 XXVI. Method ofimfiroving Old Ground, to wake it suit- 
 able for the culture of FlaX' 
 
 Let your land run over with grass, until June, then 
 plough it in and dung the. ground with sheeps dung, or 
 yard your sheep upon it, plow it eight or nine times before 
 winter. Early in the succeeding spring, plough it three 
 times more, and at the last time plough in your seed with 
 some ashes ; roll the ground with a roller, to make it 
 smooth, and beat it down hard. 
 
 To increase the quantity of nitrous salt in the ground,let 
 the ploughing be done while the dew is on ; this is of ma- 
 t rial benefit ; Wet land, where the water stands in the 
 spring, or after a heavy rain should not be ploughed until 
 it is dry. The ploughing of the land often prevents the 
 generation of devouring insects. Part of the land may be 
 sown early, the rest at or rear the full moon in May. 
 You may expect both crops to be good but one of these 
 certainly will succeed. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 2^21 
 
 XXVII. On Clover. 
 
 In Concord there was a farmer who raised in the year 
 1791 fifty two bushels and a peck of clover seed fronn thir- 
 teen acres, and sold it for four pound ten shillings per 
 bushel, which amounted to two hundred and thirty five 
 pound, five shillings. Another had twelve bushel off six 
 acres, besides many others who had lesser quantities ; all 
 sowed on their wheat, and had also many tons of hay the 
 first crop. I saw the six acres, and think there was 
 nearly two tons of hav per acre. Two of the plantations I 
 have known near fifty years, and formerly they could 
 hardly raise their own bread. They have very little na- 
 tural meadow, and have used much plaister of paris ; but 
 by so iiig clover, their land is so much improved that their 
 crops of wheat are now vei7 good. 
 
 XXVIII. On the culture of the Gooseberry. 
 
 Gooseberries may be raised from cuttings, from seeds, 
 or from suckers ; this last way is not, howrver, recom- 
 mended, as bushes raised in this manner, are more apt to 
 throw out suckers.than those raised from cuttings, or seed. 
 A rich loamy soil suits this plant best.and for planting cut- 
 tings, the first of April is the proper season- The cuttings 
 shuuld be from six to eight inches long, and be set about a 
 foot apart each way in rows, leaving about three inches 
 of the cutting out of the ground. As they require the 
 ground to be put in good order, previous to setting them 
 out, so also is it requisite to keep it mellow, and clear of 
 weeds until they are fit for transplanting Frequent water- 
 ing may be necessary during the first spring and summer, 
 after the cuttings are set out,especially if the season is dry. 
 
 If the soil and situation is suitable, and the seasons have 
 been favorable, they will be ready for planting out th© 
 third spring, after they were set out. Preparat'.ry to this, 
 the ground where vou mean to plant them, should be well 
 manured, and ploughed from ten to fifteen inches deep. 
 Plant your gooseberries in rows, about six feet apart each 
 way, taking care to cut out all dead and superfluous 
 branches. The ground where gooseberries stand, should 
 be kept clear of weeds, and every thing that would shade 
 it, that they may have the full benefit "of the sun and air. 
 Gooseberries in general bear their fruit on wood of the 
 second years growth ; care should be taken, therefore, 
 each spring, while pruning them, to preserve so much of 
 the growth of the preceding year, as will make a good 
 bearing stock for the succeeding year ; and to take a way 
 all of the bush that is more than four years old- The 
 U 
 
222 SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES. &c. 
 
 iTiicldle of the bushes should be kept clear in summer, tc 
 admit a free air into them ; for which purpose the finest 
 and strongest shoots should stand from six to ten inches 
 from each other. Some give them an autumn, or winter 
 pruning ; thining them out, and shortening the bearing 
 shoots by cutting them off over the first wood bud, above 
 the fruit buds : the fruit buds are known by growing in 
 clusters, whereas the wood buds grow singly. 
 
 During the spring, and summer, all suckers that grow 
 from the roots (except such as you want to save to renew 
 the stock) should be taken out, leaving their stems clear 
 and unincumbered. 
 
 Gooseberries are generally eaten, or used for culinary 
 purposes before they are ripe ; yet being one of the most 
 saccharine productions we possess, they might with more 
 advantage be made into wine. Each pound of the juice 
 expressed from the ripe berries requires only one ounce 
 of soft sugar, whereas the ripest currants require double 
 the quantity to induce the vinous fermentation. See 
 further remarks upon currant and gooseberry wine. 
 
 XXIX. Remarks on Pruning Fruit Trees, 
 
 To the particular remarks that we have made upon the 
 pruning of fruit trees when treating of the culture of the 
 several kinds, we add these general observations. The 
 pruning of fruit trees should be commenced in the nursery, 
 and regularly continued until you cut your trees down. — 
 Begin with the first superfluous branches, that you observe 
 grow ; by taking them off when quite small, far less injury 
 is done to your trees, the wounds given them soon heal, 
 and few blemishes are left. You can also give your trees 
 to the shape and form you wish them to have, much more 
 easily when small, then if kft without pruning till they 
 are large. — American Editor. 
 
 The proper age, aud season, for pruning fruit trees, is 
 of the first consequence ; as we seldom meet with an 
 orchard that has been judiciously managed, in this res- 
 pect To ensure success, there is required not only the 
 eye of an accurate obsei ver,but also a complete knowledge 
 of the various kinds of fruit bearing trees, their peculiar 
 natures, and habits ; because almost every diff rent sort 
 must be treated in a different manner. Many of these 
 commonly produce their fruit on the shoots of the pre- 
 ceding year, such as peaches, nectarines, &c. others again 
 on branches which have attained the age of three, five, 
 fifteen, or twenty years ; for instance, pears, plums, 
 cherries, &c For the proper nursing and training of all 
 these U'ees, it will be indispensably requisite to attend to 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 8cc. 223 
 
 this circumstarce, that a sufficient portion of fertile, or 
 bearing wood be left in every part of the tree ; at the 
 same lime it would be prejudicial to the growth and 
 health of a tree, to leave too many useless branches which 
 only tend to exhaust their nutritive powers and eventually 
 to accelerate their decay. 
 
 On the whole, it deserves to be noticed that peaches, 
 nectarines, apricots, cherries and plums will thrive rriora 
 vigorously, when they are pruned with a sparing hand ; 
 as otherwise, they are apt to bleed profuse!)', or to part 
 with such a quantity of gum, as will often prove fatal ; hence 
 the safest method is, to remove supeifluous twigs as soon 
 as they appear- By such management, the trees above 
 aluded to, may be preserved in a prosperous condition ; 
 and they will grow with greater regularity, and less 
 trouble, than by the common method of clipping them 
 promiscuously. 
 
 Apple, pear, plum, and cherry trees yield their fruit 
 on young" sprigs that proceed from boughs of several 
 years growth, a sufficiency of such branches should> 
 therefore be left, that room may be afforded for the quan- 
 tity of fruit that the tree is supposed able to bear- On the 
 contrary as peaches and nectarines bear their fruit mostly 
 on branches of the preceding years growth, such branches 
 should be left in numbers proportioned to the degree of 
 strength observed in the tree ; and to make room for a 
 future stock, cut out those that have already borne fruit 
 for one or two years past> never leaving more of such 
 small branches upon any main limb of a tree than it seems 
 capable of supporting. 
 
 XXX. Method of preventing the destruction of A^hjile 
 Trees by Canker Worms. 
 
 The insects from which the canker worms are produc- 
 ed, are hid in the ground, near the root of the tree, rot far 
 from the surface, and make their appearance, as soon as 
 the snow is off, and the top of the ground soft (which some- 
 times happens as early as February). The males have 
 wings, and frequently fly directly to the limbs, without 
 touching the body of the tree ; fortunately the females 
 have none, but are a very clumsy bug, and very easily 
 stopped by tarring the tree. To do this with success, it 
 is very necessary that the tar made use of, be of a proper 
 consistence. Tar, that being exposed to the sun through 
 the day becomes so soft, as that it can be laid on with a 
 brush, is the kind. The rough bark i«honld be first scrap- 
 ed off with a hoe, or some convenient instrument, and the 
 tar put round the tree about four inches wide ; this must 
 
. SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec. 
 
 be repeated every day when the state of the ground will 
 permit them to move> till they have done going up. As 
 they seldom begin to move till the middle, or last of 
 March, if the weather continues warm, they will all be 
 out of the ground in about fourteen days ; it will gene- 
 rally be necessary, however, to tar twenty times, perhaps 
 oftener, as they are .sometimes interrupted with snow or 
 cold. The time generally chosen to begin, is, about two 
 hours before sun set, (which is the time the insects begin 
 to move) and if not finished till an hour after the sun is 
 down (after the first time) it is immaterial, for the tar 
 that is already on the tree, softened by the warmth of the 
 sun, will be sufficient to stop them till that time. A barrel 
 of tar will be sufficient to do an orchard that will make 
 an hundred barrels of cyder ; and four persons in two 
 hours will be able to tar the whole once over Jf the tree 
 be thrifty, it will be necessary, some time in the summer 
 following to scrape off the tar, or make a few incissions 
 through it, to prevent the bark from being confined. 
 
 Remarks on the culture of Fruit Trees. 
 
 Seedlings from apples will scarcely ever produce fruit 
 exactly similar to the original, yet may produce excellent 
 fruit, some even superior to that from which the seeds are 
 taken. Seeds from the largest and best kind of fruit, and 
 from trees of a strong and rapid growth, should be taken 
 to plant. Young trees, which produce a strong shoot, and 
 large rich looking leaf, should be left to bear truit, before 
 being grafted : such generally bear fruit of a good quality. 
 
 It is best to perform the operation of grafting in, or near 
 the ground, except on such stems as incline horizontally, 
 or are small weak shoots ; these may be grafted high 
 enough to form a top. The nature of the stock grafted 
 upon, has great influence upon the fruit, in respect to 
 bearing, size, and flavor, and also on the durability of the 
 tree. If possible, winter fruit should be grafted upon a 
 stock which naturally would bear winter fruit ; summer 
 fruit upon a summer stock, &c. All fruit will in some 
 degree partake of the nature of the original stock, even in 
 their disposition to bear annually or biennially, to bear 
 early or late fruit and to bear fruit good for keeping, or 
 liable to quick decay. 
 
 In nothing so much as pruning is great care necessary, 
 and experimental knowledge useful. In general it may be 
 observed that, apple trees should be so pruned, as to leave 
 a round, even, open and rather flat, than high top, if any 
 difference is made, let there be more branches on the 
 west and south west sides, than on the opposite ; this is 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 223 
 
 to shelter the trunk of the tree from the direct rays of the 
 sun. which is frequently injurious. A top formed upon the 
 foregoing plan of pruning, will be must benefitted by the 
 ■warmth of the sun, the dews, and rain, and must conduce 
 to the regular, and quick growth, and great duration of 
 the tree ; the fruit also will be better in quality, and more 
 in quantitv, than if the top is crowded together. 
 
 Pruning should cominer.ce the second or third year af- 
 ter your trees have sprouted from the ground, or so soon 
 as you see unnecessary, useless, or hurtful branches grow- 
 ing upon them The sooner these are cut off, the sooner 
 the wounds heal ; and pruning should be continued every 
 year until your trees are finally cut down. 
 
 Pennsylvania method of preventing the nvorm injuring 
 Peach Trees, 
 
 Clear away the gum that issues out of the tree affected 
 by the worm, strew a little flour brimstone round the root 
 cover it lightly with fine mould, that it may not blow 
 away, yet so that the sun may operate through, and cause 
 the brimstone to fumigate, which destroys the worm — 
 On pound of brimstone will be sufficient for near two 
 hundred trees. 
 
 XXXI. On Thorn Hedges, 
 
 The most permanent hedge fence is the thorn ; but 
 being troublesome to propogate, and slow in its growth, 
 "we think a few words upon its culture, will not be unim- 
 portant to farmers. 
 
 The acquisition of quicks has hitherto been the greatest 
 difficulty But the writer happily has learned the method 
 practised by those who follow rasing quicks in Europe, 
 and ^vhich he with pleasure communicates to the public. 
 Gather the haws when full ripe, perhaps in November ; 
 dig a pit or hole in a dry bank or hill, from two to three 
 feet deep ; put in the bottom a layer of dry straw ; throw 
 your haws upon the straw, and covt- r them with the same 
 then fill in the earth, and do it so neatly, as to prevent the 
 water soaking to them- In March, or April according to 
 the season, raise them, and with an open riddle, sift the 
 sand or mould from them (though getting them clear is no 
 ■way material) : they will now be clear of their meat, and 
 |ust their nut or kernel remaining, which immediately sow 
 in beds of well prepared ground, nearly in the same man- 
 ner parsnips are sowed, leaving sufficient sj'ace between 
 for a person to pass to weed them. It should be observed, 
 that the nearer the quality of the soil, in which they are 
 U2 
 
226 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 sown, is like that into which thev are to be transplanted, 
 the more likely they are to thrive, after being rennoved ; 
 and by the way, the same remark may be made upon 
 every product of the vegetable kingdom. If the ground 
 for the haws, be well prepared, they will come up as soon 
 as any garden seeds ; and if kept clean and weeded, they 
 may be transplanted in hedges in two years. 
 
 In no stage of the business of raising hedges,is there more 
 errors committed, than preparing to transplant them 
 Some suppose that a bank, three or four feet high, should 
 be raised, to set them upon, even upon high and sandy 
 land; others are of opinion that a ditch should be dug to set 
 them in, and that when upon a low flat clayey soil. Ihese 
 methods, common sense should inform us, were the ex- 
 tremes of error. There are some soils where neither bank 
 or ditch is required, and where either would be injurious. 
 In such, no other preparation is necessary, than to draw 
 two or three deep furrows, throwing the soil on each 
 side towards the centre, or where the hedge is to stand ; 
 then by one turrow, open a channel to set your thorn plants 
 in. In fact, could your land have two or three good 
 ploughings, the autumn previous to your setting them out, 
 it would be a good preparation. If you desire to have a 
 good hedge, set two or three rows of plants, five or six 
 inches from each oth' r, and the plants in each rovv, about 
 the same distance apart, always letting a plantin onerow, 
 staad against a vacancy in another. As it is of great ad- 
 vantage to have your ground in good order, previous to 
 setting out your hedges, so also is it neces»sary to keep it 
 clear of weeds, stones, and everything that could obstruct 
 the growth of your young plants ; many a promising hedge 
 has been completely choaked up, by having small stones 
 thrown into it, till the thorns could no longer grow* 
 Large trees should not be suffered to grow in a hedge ; 
 their shade hinders the growth of, and finally kills the 
 thorns. 
 
 From the remarks made upon setting out hedges, where 
 neither bank or ditch is required, the variations necessary 
 to be made, in different soils will be obvious to every intel- 
 ligent farmer. In low flat clay land, a bank may be re- 
 quired one, two, three, or even four feet high ; these 
 should always be of sufficient width for two or three rows, 
 of thorns, the same as jf planted without a bank. Where 
 a bank is required, it should always be thrown up long 
 anough be fore hand, for the inner turf, &c. to become mel- 
 low, and fit to receive the thorns. It is hardly necessary 
 vto observe again, that the ground should be put in a good 
 ^te of prepiuration, and be kept clear of weeds, stones. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 8cc. 227 
 
 &c. as much when your hedge is on a bank, as when it is 
 on a level. 
 
 With respect to planting in ditches, it can so rarely be 
 done to advantage, that it is not worth while to remark 
 upon it- 
 It will perhaps be expected that something should be 
 said upon pruning of hedges* if set as thick as they ought 
 to be (and while doing it, very little more trouble or ex- 
 pense is required to set them thick, than to set them thin 
 provided you have a supply of plants; they will require no 
 lopping or topping, especially for the first three or four 
 ye;irs such branches as grow out on each side should be 
 cut off, once a year, with a proper pair of hedge or 
 pruning shears. This is a work that may be very expe- 
 ditiously performed by a person acquainted with the pro- 
 cess, and having proper shears. It would also, much for- 
 ward the growth of your hedge to loosen the soil round the 
 roots, once or twice ayear,for the first three or four years 
 after it was set out ; this would give an opportunity of 
 cleanng out every thi-.g that was likely to hinder the 
 growth of your plants. Let it always be remembered, 
 that a thorn hedge should have nothisjg but thorns in it, 
 the same as a corn field should havinji, nothing but corn in 
 .it ; and that the same soil and nearly the same cultiva- 
 tion, is most suitable to both. 
 
 Should pains betaken to plant your haws in rows across 
 your field or nursery, they may be taken up with a ploughj 
 and if planted \u a furrow again, the trouble of transplant- 
 ing a hedge will be reduced to a mere trifle. 
 
 XXXII. On the cultivation of the Chesnut Tree. 
 
 This tree being very valuable for many purposes, ought 
 to be carefully attended to by the people of the United 
 States. The durability of the timber, the lacility with 
 which it can be split, the little sap it contains, compared 
 with rnobt other tt ees, and the quickness of its growth, all 
 recommend it to the attention ot every lover ot rural eco- 
 nomy i not to mention the value of the nuts, which are no 
 inconsiderable article of profit. 
 
 The timber of old Chesnut trees having been found by 
 experience to be more brittle than that of ) oung, it is 
 recommended that they be not suffered to stand longer 
 than while they continue growing. If cut while the> will 
 square from six to eight inches, the timber is very durable 
 having but little sap compared with other trees. 
 
 This tree may be propagated by planting the nuts, 
 which should be left in the burr, as a detence against fif Id 
 mice, the Spring is recommended as the best time foy 
 planting, 
 
223 SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, See. 
 
 Your seed may be selected either from the Chesnuts of 
 Spain, Portugal, or theUnied States, and either the com- 
 mon smnll, or Horse chesnut ; the latter is recommended 
 where the object is the timber, and not the truit. 
 
 In the culture of this tree (and indeed of all forest trees) 
 we shall probably differ from all nursery m n and garde- 
 ners, who have heretofore wrote upon the subject. Instead 
 of recommending them to be planted in nursery's, and af- 
 terwards transplanted to the fields where they are to 
 grow, we advise to plant them in the field at once, making 
 a nursery of that, and save the trouble of transplanting. 
 
 The transplanting of forest trees can only be recom- 
 mended where the use of a few acres of land for three or 
 four years is a very :naterial object, and where labour is 
 poorly rewarded ; no other circumstance can induce ihe 
 planting in nurseries. 
 
 As in no parts of the United States, (except in the 
 neighborhood of large cities) is the use of a few acres of 
 land of such material value, we recommend the prepar- 
 ing of, and planting the whole of the lar d you wish to cov- 
 er with forest trees, whatever the kind may be ; and in 
 the planting of Chesnuts the following directions will be 
 of use to observe. 
 
 The Chesnut may be planted upon almost every soil, 
 but moist or marshy lands. A light loam, or loam and 
 sandy soil suits it best. Let the fields that your are going 
 to plant, be ploughed two or more times the summer, and 
 fall preceding the spring when you intend to plant ; this 
 ploughing should, if possible, be to the depth of twelve 
 or fifteen inches. If your land be thoroughly broken up, 
 and made mellow in the fall, no spring ploughing will be 
 necessary ; if not, it will be requisite to plough it again 
 in the spring and harrow it level Should it not require 
 ploughing in the spring, it may be planted somewhat ear- 
 lier, and in either cases you must plant as soon as the sea- 
 son will permit. 
 
 When your land is in proper order for planting, proceed 
 to set your nuts, or nuts in the burrs, making a drill with 
 a hoe about four inches deep, and not less than twelve, 
 nor more than eighteen inches apart each way through- 
 out your field. Possibly steeping the nuts, or the burrs (if 
 planted in burrs) previous to planting them, might be of 
 advantage, perhaps as much or more so, than steeping 
 grain ; 1 do not recollect, however, that this method has 
 been tried, but this much we may remark, that the seeds 
 of every vegetable production, that nature plants without 
 our assistance, is previous to its sprouting, steeped by a 
 •winters rain or snow. How far we can benefit by taking 
 the hint, and steeping all such seeds as we save dry 
 through the winter, e>jperience must determine. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 229 
 
 My reasons for planting the seeds of forest trees in the 
 fields where they are to grow, are, 1st, that most, if 
 not all vegetable productions flourish best when they 
 originally sprout in that soil where they are destined to 
 grow. 2dly, that the trouble and expense of transplanting 
 them is saved- 3dly, the riskof transplanting them is avoi- 
 ed. 4thly, the expense and trouble of preparing the 
 ground to plant them in, in the first instance, is no m.ore 
 than the expence and trouble of preparing the ground to 
 transplant them to in the second case, and Sthly, the trou- 
 ble ot attending them is increased in a very inconsidera- 
 ble degree. 
 
 It should be remarked further, that they are recom- 
 mended to be planted much closer together than they can 
 possibly continue to ^row long ; this is a provision against 
 a part of them failing ; it is also extremely beneficial to 
 young trees to grow so near together, as that their joint 
 shade may nearly cover the ground in summer, and their 
 joint stock of leaves cover the ground in winter,their roots 
 are thereby kept warm, and a valuable manure is spread 
 upon the ground. 
 
 It is perhaps one of the wisest provision of nature, that 
 the decayed substances of each kind of vegetable, is the 
 best manure for to aid and assist in reproducing such ve- 
 getable. In this view the decayed leaves, the young trees, 
 and the decayed roots of such trees as are taken out to 
 thio. them, will very much benefit the tre s that remain. 
 
 For four or five seasons aitt r planting your trees, ihey 
 should have at least one dres-mg with a hoe in each sea- 
 son, to keep down wteds, &c. and to make the lircund 
 mellow ; the dressing tnat they may want, will much de- 
 pend upon the previous preparation that the ground has 
 had, and the state it was in at the time of planning. 
 
 Upon thining them out, either by dieging them up, or 
 cutting them down, we remark that the small, st and least 
 flourishing plants should always be taken, leaving the best 
 to grow, that they should be taken out, evenl> over the 
 field, and be taken out no faster, than just to leave room 
 for those left standing, to grow, and keep the ground shad- 
 ed- 
 
 Chesnuts, upon a congenial soih plated and dressed in 
 the manner above directed, would in six or seven years 
 afford a considerable profit from the cuttings, and would 
 shortly pay a sum equal to the interest of the cost of the 
 land, and the expense of planting ; this income would in- 
 crease till you might think proper to cut your forest down, 
 ■which supposing it to be at the end of fifty years, the in- 
 come would probably be for the last twenty years not less 
 than one hundred per cent per annum In a country like 
 the United States, where property is secured to its rigii*- 
 
230 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 ful owners, a more productive legacy could not be left by 
 a parent to an infant, than a plantation of chesnut trees. 
 Among ihe various uses to which the nut may be appli- 
 ed, that of making paste for shoe- makers, book-binders, 
 card manufactorers, and paper hangers, are not the least. 
 To prepare it for their respective uses, take off the hard 
 shell, as well as the inner skin ; then divide it into three 
 or four parts, let it be dried hard in an oven, and reduced 
 to a fine flour, either in a mortar, or mill; to this flour, 
 rain or other soft water is added, and the whole stirred 
 well together till it acquire the proper consistence of 
 paste. This paste possesses a great advantage over the 
 common size ; as no moths, or vermin, will breed in the 
 articles cemented with it- Should it be necessary to let 
 this paste stand more than forty-eight hours after being 
 made, before using, it is apt to sour, or become mouldy ; 
 to prevent this, let a little alum be dissolved in the water 
 before using it ; such precaution, however, is net necessa- 
 ry, when intended for immediate use. 
 
 XXXIIL Remarks on the culture of the Oak- 
 
 In speakin.5 of the chesnut, we have remarked general- 
 ly upon the cultivaiion of forest trees. As each kind will, 
 however, require some little variation, either in soil and 
 situation, or in their management at some period of their 
 growth, we shall occasionally remark upon each particu- 
 lar forest tree, the cultivation of which we think it imjibr- 
 tant to recommend. 
 
 The oak thrives better in hilly than in boggy ground, 
 but flourishes most luxuriantly on rich black soils, or in 
 strong moist, deep loams ; and, while it is young, in largs 
 plantations. 
 
 The best method of propagating it, is by sowing the 
 acorns in ground prepared as for a ruseiy They should 
 be sowed so thick as to be a protection to each other, from 
 the heat of summer, and cold of winter, perhaps every 
 nine or twelve inches each way over your field. Could they 
 be planted with a drill, it would save time, less acorns 
 would be taken and they would be more equally and re- 
 gularly distributed over the ground. 
 
 As thev advarxe in size, select the stronger ones to 
 stand, and occasionally cut the weaker ones down. The 
 roots ot the oak strike deeply into the ground ; trans- 
 planting of them, therefore, should not be thought of, as 
 they rarely grow well if removed from where they origin- 
 ally sprout. 
 
 Thij tree is remarkable for the slowness of its growth, 
 its great bulk, and longevity. It is observed that the 
 
SECHETS IN ARTS, TRADES, See. 231 
 
 trunk in general does not attain to more than from four- 
 teen to eighteen inches in diameter, in the course of eigh- 
 ty years. But after anving at a certain age its bulk 
 rapidly increases. 
 
 So many are the uses to which the various parts of this 
 valuable tree may be applied, it is unnecessary to urge 
 any thing in reco.nniendation of its culture. To increase 
 the strength, weight, hardness, ar-d durability of the 
 timber, the tree should be barked, and left standing for 
 three or four years ; it thus becomes perfectly dry, and 
 the inspissated sap renders it much stronger than the 
 heart of any other oak tree, which has not been stripped 
 of its bark. 
 
 Besides the timber, the bark, the leave, the acorns, the 
 galls, the oak-apples, or their expressed juice, are useful 
 in various manufactories. 
 
 In forming plantations of the oak, pains should be taken 
 to procure the acdrns from the most valuable spec;es,and 
 from thirfty growing trees of a middle age. The tollow- 
 ing are the kinds considered most valuable. The white 
 oak, great black oak, Spanish oak, iron oak, and (for the 
 southern states), the hve oak, all ot which are wc>rtb the 
 attention of those who wish to improve the value of their 
 estates. 
 
 XXXIV. On the cultivation of the Poplar Tree. 
 
 Of the various species of this tree, the Italian, or lom- 
 bardy poplar is thought to be the most useful, and orna- 
 mental. All the kinds of poplars may be propagated ei- 
 ther by layers, cuttings, or suckers,which should be plant- 
 ed in a nur^ery two or three years previous to their re- 
 moval. The most proper time for planting suckers is in 
 the month of April. It cut from twelve to eighteen inches 
 long, and set from eight to twelve inches in the ground, 
 they will speedily take root, and if the soil be moist, will 
 in a few years attain to a considerable size. 
 
 The lombardy poplar is a native ot the northern parts 
 of Italy ; it also flourishes in moist situations ; but will not 
 succeed if its roots are to long covered with water. On 
 account of its rapid growth, this species is greatly esteem- 
 ed tor ornamentdl plantations ; its cuttings are useful for 
 hop poles ; the wood being soft, free froT knots, and ea- 
 sily worked, it is much employed by juiners, carpenters, 
 and cart-wrights; it may be wrought into very flexible 
 shafts f.)r carriages.or fellies for wheels. Farther it forms 
 excellent masts for small vessels, and when sawed into 
 boards, is excellei t for packing boxes, because yielding 
 to the nail, it is not liable to split. Lastly, it appears from 
 
232 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 numerous experiments, that the ItaHan poplar affords a 
 dye of as delicate a lustre, and equally durable, as the 
 iinest yellow wood ; its tinging matter is more readily ex- 
 tracted, but instead of strikin*^ a proper green wiih indigo 
 it changes into an olive shade. The dry branches are 
 preferable to those in a green state , nor should they be 
 cut or bruised ; being possessed of the property of fixing 
 the colours obtained from brazil aod logwood. 
 
 XXXV. Method of destroying CatterfiWars ufion Trees. 
 
 Take live coals (of wood) in a chaffing dish ; throw 
 thereon some pincht's of brimstone in powder ; place 
 the same under th- branches that are loaded with catier- 
 pillars. The vapour of the sulphurr whirh is mortal to 
 these insects, will not only destroy all ihat are on the tree, 
 but prevents its being ii fested by them afterwards. A 
 pound of sulphur will clear as many trees as grow on se- 
 veral acres A chaffing dibh, or something to contain the 
 coals may be fixed upon a pole, and put near to their 
 nests. 
 
 XXXVI. AcertayicurefortheMedselsinSwine. 
 
 Abont once a week, mix two spoonfuls of madder in 
 their food.^nd on •some other day in the week give a spoon- 
 ful (ir two of in equal quantity of flmr of sulphur and salt 
 petre well pouuded and mixed. These may be given in 
 their food. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 ESSAYS IN DOMESTIC ECONOMY, &c. 
 
 I. To make Cyder that will keefi any length of time ^ 
 ivithout tfie trouble of frequently drawing off. 
 
 Take the largest cask you have, from a barrel up- 
 wards ; take out one head, put in a few sticks, so as to 
 raise a vacancy of two or three inches from the bottom ; 
 over these sticks lay a clean old blanket, or, if that be not 
 at hand, a quantity of the swingling of flax, so as to make 
 a coat of about a quarter of an inch thick when it is well 
 pressed down ; then put in so much clean washed sand 
 from a beach or road, as will cover about six or eight 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, &c. 233 
 
 inches in depth ; have this cask fixed where you can con- 
 veniently pour your Cyder on this filterer, and draw it off 
 Then first pass your Cyder through a cloth as it comes 
 from the press, which takes out the pumice, and then pour 
 it gently upon the sand, through which it must be suffered 
 to filter gradually, and be drawn off by a tap fixed in the 
 side, and near the bottom of your vessel By this easy 
 method your Cyder will be made as clear as could be ex- 
 pected, after the most laborious process of refining ; and all 
 the mucilaginous matter, which causes the fermentation 
 and souring of Cyder, will be so separated as to prevent 
 that disagreeable consequence- 
 
 N. B Other methods mav easily be invented of passing 
 the Cjder through the sand, which is the only essential 
 part of the above process. 
 
 II. To make Mead. 
 
 Take the white of twelve eggs, mix them well in twenty- 
 four gallons of water, to this put forty pounds of honey 
 Boil the whole one hour ; then put in a little ginger, and a 
 little cloves, or cinnamon, or mace, or pimento, or a very 
 small quantity of eachtas may be convenient. When the 
 Mead is cool, add a spoonful of yeast, and pour it into a 
 cask, which should be full that it may work out at the bung. 
 When the fermentation is over, close the ca^k, and put it 
 into a cellar.'or vault, where no changes in the tempera- 
 ture of the atmosphere will aff ct it. When it has stood 
 six or eight months it will be fit tor use, and may be bot- 
 tled off. Some prefer to omit the spices, which may be 
 done, and good Mead still be made. 
 
 III. An approved method of fireservingthe finejiavor of 
 
 Butter^ and of preventing its groiving rancid. 
 
 To a peck of fine salt add one ounce of crude sal am- 
 moniac, and two ounces of salt-petre, both finely powder- 
 ed ; mix them very well with fine salt. With a little of 
 this mixture, work your butter, until the butter-milk be 
 entirely extracted- Then pack it in wooden firkins, salt- 
 ing it with the same mixed salt, to such a degree as to be 
 palatable, when eaten with bread, and no salter- The 
 mixture is stronger than fine salt, of consequence some- 
 thing less is required. 
 
 IV. Another excellent composition for preserving Butter. 
 
 Take of common salt, two ounces ; salt petre, one 
 Ounce ; sugar, one ounce ; beat them up together, so tha 
 
234 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 5cc. 
 
 thf^v may be completely blended. This quantity will be 
 suffieient for four pounds of butter, with which it must be 
 v,-ell mixed, and the butter closed up for use. Butter pre- 
 pared in this manner, is more effectually preserved from 
 any taint of rancidity ; looks better, tastes sweeter, richer 
 and more marrowy,thanif it had been cured with common 
 salt alone. It will also keep good for three years.and cannot 
 be distinguished from that recently salted. It should, 
 however be remarked, that Butter thus cured, does not 
 taste well until it has stood a fortnight or three weeks. 
 
 V. On salting Beef. 
 
 In cutting up your Beef, use a long sharp knife to cut 
 the flesh, and a steel back saw to cut the bone. To each 
 barrel put half a bushel of. Liverpool salt, two or three 
 pounds of coarse brown sugar and four ounces of salt- 
 petre. Let your cask be well hooped and pickled, and 
 pack your meat close. This is particularly recommended 
 for beef to ship. 
 
 VI. J^'kthod of curing Hams, to resemble those of West- 
 phalia. 
 
 Rub each Ham over with dry salt, and let it stand 24 
 hours to drain off the blood. Then prepare a pickle of the 
 following ingredients ; the quantities mentioned being suf- 
 ficient for one ham of a middle size. Take one pound of 
 brown sugar, a quarter i)ound of salt-petre, half a pint of 
 bay salt, and three pints of common salt ; incorporate 
 these ingredients in a iron pan over the fire, stirring them 
 continually till they acquire a moderate degree of heat 
 These make a pickle, and in this your hams most remain 
 for three weeks, frequently turning them that every part 
 may have the benefit of the pickle ; in this time they will 
 be ready to smoak. 
 
 VII. Method of purifying Tallow, to make Candles. 
 
 Take five eights of Tallow, and three eights of mutton- 
 suet ; melt them in a copper cauldron, with half a pound 
 of hot v;ater to each pound of grease. As soon as they 
 are melted, mix eight ounces of brandy, one of salt of tar- 
 tar, one of cream of tartar, one of sal ammoniac and two 
 of pure dry pot-ash. Throw the mixture into the cauldron; 
 and make the ingredients boil a quarter of an hour ; then 
 let the whole cool- The next day the tallow will be found 
 upon the surface of the water, in a pure cake. Take it 
 out, and expose it to the action of the air, on canvass for 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 5cc. 23 J 
 
 some davs. It will become white, ami almost as hard as 
 wax. The dew is very favorable to bleechmg. Make 
 your wicks of fine, even "cotton ; give them a coat of mel- 
 ted wax ; then cast your mould candles. They will have 
 much the appearance of wax ; and one of six to the pound 
 Nvill burn fourteen hours and never run. 
 
 VIII. To Jire serve Farsni/is and various ether roots. 
 
 Take them up in April, wash the earth from them, and 
 dry them, either in an oven after bread has been taken 
 out, or in the sun. If made perfectly dry, they will keep 
 any length of time, even for a voyage round the world. 
 
 To prepare them for cooking, soak them in warn^ wa- 
 ter, for about an iiour ; tliey become tender, and sweet to 
 the taste as if fresh drawn from the ground. 
 
 We remark further, that there is no doubt but that 
 many kinds of roots, and fruit might be preserved by dry- 
 ing and be very useful either in families, or to take upon 
 long sea voyages. 
 
 IX. Chinese manner of curing Ginseng. 
 
 They gather the root sound and good, (not when the 
 plant is in flower) and gently wash the earth from it, 
 being careful not to break the skin. Then in a very flat 
 iron stew pan, boil some water, put in the root, and let it 
 lie three or f-our minutes, but not so long as to injure or 
 break off the skin, when oncuttingthe root, the inside will 
 appear of a light straw colour. Tiiey then take a clean 
 linen cloth, and having wiped the ginseng clean and dry, 
 they place the stew-pan over the gentlest fire, and lay in 
 it a row of ginseng. Here they let it dry gradually, turn- 
 ing it leisurly, till it is something elastic, but not too dry ; 
 afterwards they take a damp clean cloth in which they 
 roll up the longest pieces in parallel lines, and wrap them 
 up very tight, binding them hard round with thread ; after 
 being dried a day or two by a very slow fire, they unpack 
 the same, and repeat the packages of the inside and moist 
 part, until it is all like the outside, and the whole dry 
 enough to sound like a piece of wood, when dropped upon 
 a table. The heaviest pieces, of a straw, or light brown 
 colour, are the best. 
 
 To preserve the same. 
 
 They take a box well lined with lead, and put into a 
 larger one with quick lime, (to prevent vermin) and close 
 the whole against air and weather. 
 
236 SECRET IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 X- 0?! the culturcand curing of Ginseng. Another vjay. 
 
 Ginseng should be collected in the driest days in Octo- 
 ber, and immediately after it comes out of the ground, 
 should be spread on boards under a shelter where the wind 
 can blow freely, and when dry, the dust can be brushed 
 off. It should have no connection with the heat of the sun 
 or tire, or be washed. When one barrel is put up so, it 
 will fetch more than fifty ban.els cured the other way. 
 
 XI. On the manufactory of Kclfi- 
 
 Kelp is made of the different sorts of sea weeds thrown 
 upon the, shore or gathered upon the rocks, which must be 
 dried a little in the sun, and afterwards burnt in a kiln made 
 of stones found upon the shore ; this kiln is made in a 
 cylindrical form, 'about two feet in diameter. In this is 
 burnt a small parcel of the weed, and before it is reduced 
 to ashes> more is thrown on till the kiln is full, or the me- 
 terials are expended. This reduces the ashes to a hard and 
 solid cake, by the he^t of the kiln, and quantity of salt in 
 the herb. Thus the Kelp is reduced to a kind "^of pot-ash 
 which is used for making alum, common glass bottles, and 
 hard soap. 
 
 XII. On making Barilla. 
 
 Barilla is made from a weed commonly called sweet 
 fern, which when it has attained its growth, is cut down, 
 and let dry, afterwards it is burnt, and calcined in pits, 
 hke iime kilns, dug in the ground for that purpose, which 
 are closely covered up with earth, so that no air may 
 come at the tire. The matter by this means, in not redu- 
 ced into ashes only, but is made into a very hard stone, 
 like rock salt, which is forced to be broken with hammers 
 to get it out. Barilla is used in soap and glass manufac- 
 tories, 8cc. 
 
 In addition to the above, it may not be amiss to observe, 
 that there are many plants and weeds that grow in great 
 abundance in the United States, and which could, no 
 doubt, be converted into ashes, &c. and very useful in 
 many manufactories. 
 
 XIII. Method of making Pearl- Ashes as practised in 
 Hungary and Poland. 
 
 Most of the manufactories of calcined, or pearl-ashes 
 in Hungary are carried on in the woods. The buildings 
 they use, are wooden sheds slightly put up, so as to be 
 taken to pieces and carried from, one forest to another. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, kc. 23r 
 
 They find the oak tree, which bears acorns, to be the 
 best, wood, and always prefer the oldest. Twelve and a 
 half bushels of ashes makes one hundred weight of calci- 
 ned, or pearl ashes. There is, however, a great difference 
 in the nature of ihe wood ; that cut in the forests of Ca- 
 nissa and Tjagadorn yields double the quantity of lixivial 
 salt which the wood does in the forests near Eperie^nder 
 •the Carpathian mountains. This ought to make people 
 cautious in their choice of proper wood ; too much atten- 
 tion cannot be had to this point, although to some its im- 
 portance may not appear at first view. 
 
 When the wood is felled and cut into billets, it is burnt 
 on a large hearth in a kind of kiln ; they commonly place 
 them at the side of a hill, and throw the wood down the 
 chimney into the fire. They keep the ashes several 
 months in a dry place, as the salts are discharged more 
 readily after the ashes have been preserved some time, 
 than from new ashes ; they also sift the ashes to get the 
 charcoal out, for when the charcoal, left in the ashes 
 comes into the lye vats, it soaks in a good deal of the lye, 
 which is a great loss. 
 
 0/ lixivating the ashes- 
 
 To lixivate, or draw the salts out of the ashes by filter- 
 ing them, they use casks about the size of a hogshead ; 
 tht*y are about two feet ten inches high, and have a double 
 bottom, the uppermost is placed nine or ten inches above 
 the under one, and is bored with several holes to let the lye 
 through ; the undermost has a hole to let the l>e drop 
 gently into a trough or receiver ; the space between the 
 two is filled with straw. Twelve or fourteen such casks 
 being ranged in a row, upon a trough, are filled with ashes 
 and by means of a gutter laid upon the casks, with a hole 
 corresponding to each crisk, water is conveyed into them 
 from a pump; this water passing through the ashes,carries 
 their salts along with it, and so'long as it is coloured, they 
 continue to let it run through, after which they shift ihe 
 ashes, and the last of the lye thus procured, not being 
 strong enough, is poured upon a second or third cask, till 
 it so strong that an egg will swim in it. The casks used 
 for this purpose are made of oak ; pine is improper ; it 
 impregnates ihe lye with a resinous matier, which is found 
 to give a bad colour to the pearl ashes. Though we have 
 mentioned oak casks, as preferable to pine, yet oak is sub- 
 ject to an inconvenience ; the staves warp by means of the 
 iye, and the casks soon leak. White cedar vessels are 
 best, this wood being equally free from the inconveniences 
 r.f both the former. Where this wood is not readily pro* 
 X 2 
 
238 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &g. 
 
 cured, cypress or white pine might answer in its place 
 The lye when drawn off, is kept to settle and depurate in 
 receivers on cisterns ; they are careful in this part of the 
 process, to have the lye as clear as possible, for on this 
 point depends the fine colour of the pearl-ashes. Indeed, 
 too nnuch attention cannot b*e paid to having the lye clear, 
 andjliiould it still remain impure, after standing to settle, 
 the detect may be remedied in this manner : — When the 
 lye first boils in the kettle hereafter described, the dregs 
 will settle, and maybe lifted from the bottoms of the 
 kettles with a ladle. 
 
 Of eyafiorating the lye. 
 
 When the lye is thus procured, they proceed to evapG= 
 ate the wartery particles by ebullition, or boiling ; this 
 they call making black pot ash. For this purpose they 
 use iron pans, much like those used in making salt : they 
 are about four feet diameter at the top, and near three 
 feet at the bottom. Between every pair of these pans, they 
 have a brass boiler, considt-rably less than. the pans — 
 They are fixed in masonry like a sugar baker's row of 
 ot pans, with a fire place below them, and an open chim- 
 ney to carry off the steam. They use, according to the 
 largeness of tiie work, three, six, nine, or twelve pans and 
 boilers. Suppose they work only two iron pans, and the 
 boiler, they begin by filling one pan, and the boilt- r with 
 lye, and then making a fire : in proportion as the lye eva- 
 porates and diminishes in the iron pan, it is supplied with 
 boiling lye from the boiler, which is again supplied with 
 cold lye. 
 
 When the first pan has boiled ten or eleven hours, they 
 begin the second, and supply it continually from the boiler 
 as the first was supplied, and when the salts begin to 
 thicken in the first pan, no more lye is added, but the fire 
 is continued, and the mass becomes thick and hard, this 
 is what is/Called black pot-ash; it is cut into pieces, takea 
 out, and fresh lye put into the pan, and the operation con- 
 tinued. When the first pan is half evaporated, the second 
 is begun, by which means they never discontinue the 
 «vork, till they have finished the lye. 
 
 Of calcining the black pot-ash. 
 
 The process of calcining the black pot-ash, rendering it 
 of a fine whitish blue colour, and able to stand the wea- 
 ther, without running into a hquid, is performed in an 
 oblong furnace, in the midst of which, there is a hearth, 
 with a border of bricks somewhat raised, to prevent th& 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 239 
 
 pot-ash from falling into the fire during the calcination. 
 There is a door to the hearth, through which the pot-ash 
 is put into the furnace, and a door on each side to put 
 wood and fire into the fire places. The furnace is arch- 
 ed over with a double arch ; three holes are contrived 
 in the centre of it, to carry off the smoke and vapors into 
 the chimnej', which is placed at the front of the furnace. 
 
 When a sufficient quantity of black pot-ash is ready, 
 they begin to calcine, and make it a rule never to leave off, 
 or let the furnace cool, till they have finished the whole. 
 The black pot*ash is broken into lunr.ps, about the bigness 
 of a man's fist, and spread upon the heurth five or six 
 inches thick, the iron door is then shut, and a gentle fire 
 is made, taking care to prevent the pot- ash from running 
 or melting, which too violent a heat would occasion. — 
 When the pot-ash grows red hot, it n'ust be stirred with 
 an iron rake to make it calcine equally ; when it whitens 
 the flames becomes bright, and the fire is increased to the 
 greatest degree, but so as by no means to melt the black 
 pot-ash. When they want to know if the calcination has 
 succeeded, they take a few lumps out, and if, in breaking 
 them, they fiiid them white in the middle, it is a sign they 
 are enough done. 1 he iron hearth door is always kept 
 shut, except when they are stirrmg the black pot-ash ; but 
 in order to observe the progress of the calcination, they 
 have a small hole.or door, in the iron hearth door, through 
 ■which they look into the furnace. When the calcination is 
 finished, the pearl- a^hcs are raked out upon a pavement 
 before the furnace, and packed into casks of fifteen or 
 sixteen hundred weight. When the furnace has cooled 
 a little, more black pot ash is put in to ciilcine ; and by 
 the workmen relieving one another, they continue calci- 
 ning till all the black pot-ash is done. Four men and a 
 boy will make forty-two tons of pearl-ash in a twelve 
 month, if the work is rightly understood, and properly 
 carried on. 
 
 Pear] ashes thus prepared by calcination, are more va» 
 lued ; consequentv bear a higher price, than a common 
 vegetable salt melted in the pan. The pearl- a.shes can be. 
 put to every purpose, on account of the colour ; whereas, 
 that melted, cannot for the same reason. Calcined, or 
 pearl-ashes stand the weather better, and do not so readily 
 run to a liquid, as the melted. The same quantity of lye 
 will make a ton of calcined, or pearl-ashes, as goes to 
 make a ton of melted pot ash of the same strength But 
 the former will be more valuable, and fetch abetter price 
 at market. 
 
 In addhion to the foregoing essay on the manufacture 
 of pearl-ashes, the following remarks upon the method 
 practised in the United States are not thought improper. 
 
240 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 When the lye is prepared, and made clear by standing 
 as before directed, the watery parts are to be evaporated 
 by boiling. 
 
 For this end, two or more pans are fixed in mason 
 work, side by side, with a fire-place under the whole, and 
 an open chimney to carry of the steam These pans are 
 usually about four feet diarrteter, their depth about half 
 the breadth, rounding regularly from the margin to the 
 bottom, so as to form the half of a hollow globe, or a figure 
 nearly similar The pans are to be filled witli lye and a 
 strong fire kept un<!er them. As the watery part evapo- 
 rates, the salt forms upon the bottom and side of the pans, 
 from whence they are taken by a ladle, and put into a 
 small pan (fixed also in mason-work) with a fire under it, 
 to evapor te the remaining watry panicles. 
 
 As the lye diminishes, and the salts form and are lifted 
 from the large pans, fresh lye must be added, and this 
 operation continued, as long as a supply of lye can be had, 
 %vithout suffering the kettles to cool. Two, four, or six 
 kettles may be made use of according to the extent of the 
 design. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 MEDICAL RECEIPTS, &c, • 
 
 I. The most ea^y. and certain method of iirescrving 7ne?i, 
 and animals ivno have been bitten by mad creatures^ 
 Jrom being seized noith the dn^order usually called the 
 canine madness, or hydrophobia. 
 
 This remedy is made known by professer de Meder of 
 Friburgh, and is pre i are d r;s follows: 
 
 Dilute thirty grains of the surgeous caustic stone (called 
 the Lapis infernalis, b\ drugisti*-) in one pound of water. 
 If the wound be small and deep, dilute it according to art, 
 and then cleanse it well with the aforementioned lye. If 
 the sensibihty of the part will permit, let it be bound up 
 with pledgets well soaked m the lye, laid thereon ; but if 
 the part be very sensible let it be well washed with the 
 lye, which may be again washed off with common warm 
 water, and then bound up wiih drv bandai^es. 
 
 This cleansing by means of the lye, may be often 
 repeated every day, provic'ed there be no inflamation- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 241 
 
 All the wounds that have been treated as above, are to be 
 healed in the usual manner. 
 
 IL Receipt for the cure of the Scurvey, Le/irosy, i^'c. 
 
 This medicine is an agreeable vegetable syrup, easily 
 made, pleasant to take, mild in its operution, and attend- 
 ed with the advantage of knowing every ingredient of 
 which it is composed ; they are, of a male speed well, 
 four ounces ; bark of eider, two ounces ; winters bark, 
 three ounces; angelica root, sliced thin, eight ounces ; 
 cumfrey root, and fennel root sliced, of esch four ounces. 
 Boil these together over a slow fire m two gallons of salt 
 water, till one half is consumed ; thensirain (>ff the decoc- 
 tion into a clean earthen pan, and let it stand all night to 
 settle ; in the morning, carefully pour off the liquor from 
 the sediment, and in this liquor,dissoive thr e p<;und of 
 treble refined sugar, and two pounds of virgin honey, 
 "which are to be gently simmered into a thin s\ rup. 
 
 The dose is a large tea-cupful, night and morning, or 
 in some cti{>es, mornins; noon, and n:^ht, adding to each 
 dose, at the time of taking it, a small tea-spoonful of Dr. 
 Huxam's essence of antimony, which greatly improves 
 the medecine. 
 
 III. The negro Casar^s cure for fiohon,Jor discovering 
 which the assembly of South Carolina purchased his 
 freedom^ and gave him an annuity of one hundred 
 pound S' 
 
 Take the roots of plantane, and wild hoarhound, fresh 
 or dried, three ounces, boil them together in two quarts 
 of water to one quart, and strain it ; of this decoction let 
 the patient take one third part three mornings fasting, 
 successively, from which, if he finds any relief, it must be 
 continued until he is perfectly recovered ; on the contra- 
 ry, if he finds no alteration after the third dose, it is a sign 
 that he is not poisoned, or that it has been with such poison 
 thatCxsar's antidote will not remedy it, so he may leave 
 off the decoction. 
 
 During the cure, the patient must live on spare diet, 
 •and abstain from eating mutton, pork, butter, or any other 
 fat or oily food. 
 
 N. B. The plantane or hoarhound will either of them 
 cure alone, but thty are most efficacious together. 
 
 In summer you may take one handful of the root and 
 branches of each, instead of three ounces of the roots of 
 each. 
 
 For drink during the cure, let them take the following : 
 
242 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 Take of the roots of the golden rod, six ounces, or in i 
 summer, two large handsful of the roots and branches, ' 
 and boil them in two quarts of water to one quart, to i 
 "which also may be added, a little hoarhnund and sassafras; 
 to this decoction> after it is strained, add a glass o^ rum or 
 brandy, and sweeten it with sugar for ordinary drink. 
 
 SoT.etiii«^s an inward fever attends such as are poison- 
 ed, for which he ordered the following : 
 
 Take one pint of wood ashes and three pints of water, 
 stir and mix them well together, let them stand all night 
 and strain or decant the lye off in the morning, of which 
 ten ounces may be taken six mornings following, warmed 
 or cold according to the weather. 
 
 The symptoms attending such as are poisoned, are as 
 follows: 
 
 A pain of the breast, difficulty of breathing, a load at 
 the pit of the stomach, an irregular pulse, burning and 
 violent pains of the viscera above and below the naval, 
 very restless at night, sometimes wandering pains over the 
 whole body, a reaching inclination to vomit, profuse 
 sweats (which prove always serviceble) giimy stoolsj 
 both when costive and loose, the face of a pale and yellow 
 colour, sometimes a pain and inflamation of the throat, 
 the appetite is generally weak, and some cannot eat any ; 
 those who have been long poisoned, are generally very 
 feeble, and weak in their limbs, sometimes spit a" great 
 deal, the whole skin peels, and Hkewise the hair falls off. 
 
 IV, Cesar's cure for the bite of a Rattle-snake. 
 
 Take of the roots of plantane or hoarhound, (in sum- 
 mer, roots and branches together), bruise them in a mor- 
 ter, and squeeze out the juice, of which, give as soon as 
 possible one large spoonful ; if the patient is swelled, you 
 must force if down his throat, this will generally cure ; 
 but if he finds no relief in an hour, you may give another 
 spoonfuU, which never hath failed. 
 
 if thp roots are dried, they must be moistend with a lit- 
 tle water. 
 
 To the wound may be applied a leaf of good tobacco, 
 moistened with a little rum. 
 
 V. On the cultivation of the Pofi/iy -plant, and the method 
 offirocuring o/iiiim. 
 
 Opium is the produce of the papaver somniferum of 
 Linnxus, which as a genus, comprehends two species, viz. 
 
 1. The double, 2. the single ; each of which includes se- 
 veral varieties, as to the* colour of thfe flowers, some being 
 white, some red, others purple and varigated- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 343 
 
 The poppy seeds, in this country should be sown or 
 planted about the middle of M^}\ in rich moist ground. 
 
 The ground should be formed into plats of about four 
 feet broad. The seeds should be planted in rows ab( >ut 
 ten or twelve inches apart each way. Shallow holes, of 
 an inch in depth, should be n.ade in the rows, at the dis- 
 tance above mentioned ; the seeds put in and covered over 
 evenly : aft^r which they are to remain till the plants are 
 grown about four inches high, when they may be fre- 
 quently watered and manured, especially, if j^be land is 
 dry, and not fertile ; the best manure is said to be a com- 
 post ot dung, ashes, and nitrous earth. 
 
 The ground should be kept clear from weeds, which 
 may be done with ver>' little trouble, with a small hoe, 
 especially if the poppies are planted in rows, as before di- 
 rected. 
 
 This is all that is necessary to be said on the cultivation 
 of the plant, I shall now describe the method of obtaining 
 its juice, which when inspissated to a pilular consistance, 
 is called opium. 
 
 I'he states of the plants, wherein they are found to yield 
 the most juice, are just before, in the time of, and im- 
 mediately after flowering. I'he method of procuring the 
 juice is this ; in a sunny day cut off the stalks about an 
 inch below their flowers, and as soon as the juice ap- 
 pears, ' (which it does at first, equally well on the 
 part of the stalk cut off, as on the part left standing) col- 
 lect it with a small scoop or pen-knite, which last answers 
 the purpose very well. After the juice ceases to appear 
 on the top of the standing stalk, it should be cut off about 
 an inch lower, and it will yield almost as freely as before ; 
 and this cutting off is repeated, as long as any juice ap- 
 pears. 
 
 The juice when collected, should be put into an evapo- 
 rating pan, placed in the sun*s heat, and frequently stir- 
 red till it becomes of a consistance to be formed into pills, 
 or made into rolls for keeping, or transportation. 
 
 VI. Recei/igfor the Whoofiing Cough. 
 
 Take of dried colts-foot leaves, (that has not been ga- 
 thered more than a year), a good handfull, cut them small 
 and boil them in a pint of spring water, till half a pint is 
 boiled away ; then take it off the fire, and when it is al- 
 most cold, strain it through a cloth, squeezing the herb as 
 dry as you can, and then throw it away. Dissolve in the 
 liquor, an ounce of brown sugar-candy, finely powdered, 
 and to a child three or four years old, give one spoonful of it, 
 cold or warm, as the season proves, three or four times a 
 
244 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 day or oftener, if the fits of coughing come frequently, till 
 well. For older or younger persons, the quantity may be 
 increased, or decreased as t-nay be thought proper. 
 
 This preparation is useful also in asthma's phthysic, 
 shortness of breath, consumption's, &c. 
 
 N. B. When sugar-candy cannot conveniently be had, 
 perhaps honey or good clean brown sugar would answer ; 
 Bugar-candy, is however to be preferred. 
 
 VII. Bfcei/itfor curing' weak and ivee/iing Eyes. 
 
 Make a strong decoction of cammomile boiled in sweet 
 cows milk ; with this let the patient eves be bathed se- 
 veral times a day as warm as can be suffered without un- 
 easiness. Persons almost blind, have been cured bv per- 
 severing in the use of this prescription, it is proper how- 
 ever, to observe that trequently five or six weeks bathing 
 of the eyes is necesbary. 
 
 VIII. ^ receifit for a Cold. 
 
 Take a large spoonful of lintseed, four penny worth of 
 stick licorice, and a half a pound of sun raisons. Put them 
 into a gallon of soft water, and let it simmer over a slow 
 fire, till it be reduced one half ; then add to it half a 
 pound of brown sugar candy, fine powdered- Drink half a 
 pint ot this at going to bed. adding thereto, a little white 
 wine vinegar, or lemmnn juice : this should be added to 
 each quantity as you take it; not to the whole. A little of 
 this may be taken, whenever the cough is troublesome. 
 It is useful, even in the first stages of a consumptioo. 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 SECRETS ENTERTAINING AND USEFUL. 
 
 I. To whiten Wax, 
 
 Melt it in a pipkin without boiling. Then take a wood- 
 €Jn pestle, which steep in the wax two fingers deep, and 
 plunge immediately into cold water to loosen the wax 
 from it, which willcom.e off like sheets of paper. When 
 you have got all your wax out of the pipkin and made into 
 flakes, put it on a clean towel, and expose it in the air on 
 the grass till it is white. Then melt it and strain it 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 245 
 
 through a muslin to take all the dirt out of it, if there be 
 any. 
 
 II. Another method of whitening Wax in large manu- 
 
 faccories. 
 
 1. Melt your wax in a large copper, such as brewing ov 
 washing coppers fixed in mortar ; have a kind of trough, 
 made of oak or deal, and six or seven feet long, at the far- 
 ther end of which a cock of cold water will be placed in 
 the wall to fill it, and at the other, towards the copper, a 
 tub laid upon it, to receive the wax from the copper. Let 
 that tub have also acock at four fingers breadth from the 
 bottom, and in that tub pour the melted hot wax from the 
 copper. Cover it with a blanket in four doublets to make 
 it retain its heat, and let it rest thus a couple of hours, to 
 give time to the dirt and nastiness, which may happen to 
 be in it, to settle at the bottom of the tub. When that is 
 done, fill vour trough with cold water ; then have a kind 
 of tin basket to fit the width of the trough so as to sit upon 
 its edges, and bored at bottom with twelve or sixteen small 
 holes, at equal distances, so as to receive the melted wax 
 from the cock of the tub, and render it in the trough 
 through the said small holes of its bottom, while with a 
 polished wooden stick or roller, under the tub, and arm- 
 ed at both ends with iron in the form of a spit, and half of 
 the thickness of which enters into the water, while the 
 other keeps above it, you keep continually turning equally 
 and regularly. This process will make the wax flake in 
 the water into small ribbons as thin as silver paper. Now 
 in fine clean hampers, or hand-baskets, made of white 
 peeled willow twigs, take your wax from the trough with 
 a wooden shovel, and carry it to an open field, where lay 
 it thick upon a coarse cloth in the sun, and turn it every 
 other day for two weeks running, after which time it will 
 be of a very perfect whiteness. 
 
 2. Now clean well your copp6r, and put in alum-water 
 to warm, in which throw your whitened wax, and stir 
 well. When melted, renew the operation as before, and 
 carry it again in the open field to expose it in the sun. In 
 a week's time it will have its whiteness in the highest de- 
 gree it can be carried to. 
 
 3. Melt then for the last time, and put in small round 
 cakes, which is done by casting it in small moulds carved 
 purpovsely on several boards. 
 
246 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 III. To 7}iake mutton suet candles, in imitation of wax 
 candles. 
 
 1. Throw quicklime in melted mutton suet ; the lime 
 will fall to the bottom, and carry along with it all the Has- 
 tiness of the suet, so as to leave it as pure and fine as wax 
 itself 
 
 2. Now if with one part of that suet, you mix three of 
 real wax, you will never be able to find out the mixture, 
 not even in the moulding and casting wax for figures or 
 ornaments. 
 
 IV. To make soafi. • 
 
 The white, or as it is called, the Genoa soap, is made 
 with wood ashes, Alicant kali, lime and olive oil. The 
 black is made of the same materials, with this exception, 
 that it is made with the faeces and tartar of the oils. The i 
 marble is made with Alicant kali, bourde, and lime ; and j , 
 when it is almost done, they take some red earth, which 1) 
 they call cinnabar, with copperas; they boil these togeth- i j 
 er and throw it in the copper where the soap is. It oc- ic 
 casions a blue marbling, as long as the copperas keeps the J 
 better of the two ingredients ; but as soon as the cinnabar , ' 
 has at last absorded the vitriol, this blue hue subsides en- i 
 tirely, and the red alone predominates. Therefore, to u 
 form the soap, make different lyes with all these sorts of I ,. 
 matters, and when they are sufficiently charged (which !v 
 ^beginners know by their cari7ing an egg swimming, with- il} 
 out its sinking to the bottom, and experienced soap-boil- !'( 
 ers are judges of by dejustation, and the time they have 
 been at work) they put all these lyes in proper coppers, \ i 
 and pour at the same time in Provence and Languedoc, i 
 oil of olive ; in Germany, grease ; and in England, oil of ; ' 
 fish. Then boil all together with a great blasting fire ; and ! 
 eighteen or twenty days afterwards these oils have so well i < 
 aspired all the salts of the lye, that this is left quite flat and h 
 untasty. Then by the cocks which are at the bottom of 
 the coppers, the water or lye is let out and the lup of soap 
 taken out and placed to dry in houses built on purpose to 
 make it take a sufficient consistence. 
 
 V. To jirevent any thing from burning in the firC' 
 
 Pound into powder cherry-tree gum and alum in equal 
 quantities, and imbibe that powder with strong wine-vine- 
 gar, which leave thus a digesting on warm ashes, for the 
 space of twenty four hours. Jf with this composition you 
 rub any thing and throw it in the fire, it will not be con- 
 sumed by it. 
 
 I 
 
SECRIiijf S IN ARTS. TRADES, &c. 249 
 
 XII. Fruit. 
 
 To preserve trees from being injured by worms, cater- 
 pillars, 6cc. Clear away the gum that issues out of the 
 tree affected by the worm ; strew a httle flour of brimstone 
 around the root, and cover it with fine mould, that it may 
 not be blown away,yet so that the sun may operate through 
 and cause the brimstone to fumigate, which will destroy 
 the worm. One pound of brimstone is sufficient for near 
 two hundred trees. The same kind of sulphur is destruc- 
 tive to caterpillars. Split the end of a pole or stick, put 
 therein a few brimstone matches, set thenj on fire, and 
 hold the pole under the nest. 
 
 XIIL 7^0 kill all sorts of worms in cattle. 
 
 Take saven, chop it small, and beat it with fresh butter, 
 make it in small balls, and give it to the beast in a pro- 
 portionable quantity. Sweet wort and a little black soap 
 mixed together as a drink, maketh all sorts of beasts 
 void the worms. 
 
 XIV. To kill maggots in sheep.. 
 
 Take goose grease, tar and brimstone, mix them to- 
 gether on the fire, and when cold anoint the troubled 
 places therewith. 
 
 Y 2 
 
05 
 
 DISTILLING. 
 
 (From the works o/' A. Cooper, Distiller, J 
 
 B 
 
 ISTILLx\TION is the art of seperating, or drawing 
 off the spirituous, aqueous, and oleaginous parts a mixt 
 body from the grosser, and more terrestrial parts, by 
 iTieans of fire, and condensing them again by cold. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 OF THE DISTILLATION OF SPIRITS. 
 
 By the distillation of spirits is to be understood the art 
 by which all imfiammable spirits, brandies, rums, arracks, 
 and the like, are prcKiured from vegetable substances, by 
 the means of a previous fermentation, and a subsequent 
 treatment of the fernr anted liquor by the alembic, or hot 
 still, with its proper worm and refrigeratory. 
 
 But as it is impossible to extract vinous spirits from any 
 vegetable subject without fermentation ; and previous to 
 this. Brewing is often necessary, it will be aequisite first 
 to consider thes^ operations. 
 
 Article I. 
 
 0/ Brewings in order to the Production of inJiaminabU 
 Spirits. 
 
 By Brewing, we mean the extracting a tincture from 
 some vegetable substance, or dissolving it in hot water, 
 by which means it becomes proper for a vinous ferment- 
 tion. 
 
 A solution, or fermentable tincture of this kind, may be 
 procured, with proper management, from any vegetable 
 substance, but the more readily and totally it dissolves in 
 the floid, the better it is fitted for fermentation, and the 
 larger its produce of spirits. All inspissated vegetable 
 juices, therefore, as sugar, honey, treacle, manna, &c. are 
 very proper tor this use, as they tot-^.Uy dissolve in water, 
 forming a clear and uniform solution : but malt, for its 
 cheapness, is generally preferred in England, though it 
 but imperfectly dissolves in hot water. The worst sort is 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 251 
 
 commonly chosen for this purpose ; and the tincture, with- 
 out the addition of hops, or trouble ot boiling it, is directly 
 cooled and fermented. 
 
 But in order to brew with malt to the greatest advan- 
 tage, the three following particulars should be carefully 
 attended to : First, The subject should be well prepared; 
 that is, it should be justly malted, and well ground : for if 
 it be too little malted, it will prove hard and flmty ; and 
 consequently, only a small part of it dissolve in the water : 
 and.on the other hand if too much malted, a great part of 
 the finer particles, or fermentable matter, will be lost in 
 the operation. With regard to grindmg, the malt should 
 be reduced to a kind of coarse meal ; for experience has 
 shewn,that by this means, the whole substance of the malt 
 inay,through the whole process, continue mixed with the 
 tincture, and be distilled with it ; whereby a larger quantity 
 of spirit will be obtained, and also great part ot the trouble, 
 time, and expence,in bre wing saved. This secret depends 
 upon thoroughly mixii^,or briskly agitating the meal, first 
 in cold water,and then in hot ; and repeatmg this agitation 
 after the fermentation is finished ; when the thick turbid 
 wash must be immediately committed to the still. And 
 thus the two operations of Brewing and Fermenting may 
 very commodiously be reduced to oncj to the no small 
 profit and advantage of the distiller. 
 
 The second particular to be attended to, is, that the 
 water be good, and properly applied. Rain water is the 
 best adapted to Brewing ; for it not only extracts the tinc- 
 ture ot the malt better than any other, but it also abounds 
 in fermentable parts, whereby the operation is quickened 
 and the yield of the spirit increased. The next to that of 
 rain is the water of rivers and lakes, particularly such as 
 -wash any large tract of a fertile country, or receive the 
 sullage of populous towns. But whatev r water is used, it 
 must stand in a hot state upon the prepared malt, espe- 
 cially if a clear tincture be desired ; but the greatest care 
 must be taken to prevent the malt from running into 
 lumps or clods ; and, indeed, the best way to prevent this 
 is to put a small quantity of cold water to the malt first, 
 and mix them well together, after which the remaining 
 quantity of water may be added in a state of boiling, with- 
 out the least danger of coagulating the malt, or, what the 
 distillers call, making a pudding. 
 
 it has been found by experience, that a certain degree 
 of heat isnecessary to extract the whj)e virtue of the malt; 
 this degree may, by the above method, be determined to 
 the greatest exactness, as the heat of boiling water may 
 at once be lessened to any assigned degree of warmth, by 
 a proper addition of cold water ; due regard being had 
 
252 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 to the season of the year, and the temperature of the air. 
 This improvement, with that mentioned above, of redu- 
 cing the two operations of Brewing and Fermentation to 
 one, will be attended with considerable advantage. 
 
 With regard to the proper quantity of water, it must b^ 
 observed, that if too little be used, a viscid clammy mix- 
 ture will be produced, little disposed, to ferment,' nor 
 capable of extracting all the soluble parts of the malt. On 
 the other hand, too much water renders the tincture thin 
 and aqueous, and by that means increases the trouble and 
 expence^n all parts of the operation. A due medium, 
 therefore, should be chosen ; and experience has shewn, 
 that a wash about the goodness of that designed by the 
 London brewers for ten shilling beer, will best answer the 
 distiller's purpose. When a proper quantity of water is 
 mixed with the malt, the whole mass must be well agita- 
 ted that all the soluble parts of the malt may often come 
 in contact with the aqueous fluid, which being well satu- 
 rated after standing a proper tirT\e, must be drawn off, 
 fresh water poured on, and the agitations repeated, till the 
 whole virtue, or saccharine sweetness of the malt is ex- 
 tracted, and only a fixed husky matter remains, incapable 
 of being dissolved by either hot or cold water. 
 
 The third requisite particular is, that some certain ad- 
 ditions be used, or alterations made according to the sea- 
 son of the year, or the intention of the operator The sea- 
 son of the year is very necessary to be considered. In the 
 sumnter, the water applied to the malt must be colder 
 than in the winter ; and, in hot sultry weather, the tincture 
 must be suddenly cooled, otherwise it will turn eager ; and 
 in order to check the too great tendency it has to fermen- 
 tation, when the air is hot, it will be necessary to add 
 a proper quantity or unmalted meal, which being much 
 less disposed to fermentation than malt, will greatly 
 moderate its impetuosity, and render the operation suit- 
 able to the production of spirits, which by a too violent 
 fermentation, would in a great measure be dissipated^, 
 and lost. 
 
 Article IL 
 
 Of Fermentation. 
 
 The tincture, or, as the distillers call it, the wash being 
 prepared as in the foregoing article, it is next to be fer- 
 .mented ; for without this^peration, no vinous spirit can 
 be produced. 
 
 By fermentation is meant that intestine motion perform- 
 ed by the instrumental efficacy of water, whereby the 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec 253 
 
 salt, oil and earth of a fermentable subject, are separat- 
 ed, attenuated, transposed, and again collected, and re- 
 composed in a particular manner. 
 
 The doctrine of fermentation, is of the greatest use, and 
 should be well understood by every distiller, as it is the 
 very basis of the art ; and, perhaps, if more attef ded to, 
 a much purer spirit, as well as a greater quantity of it, 
 might be procured from the same materials than at pre- 
 sent We shall therefore lay douna concise theory of 
 fermentation, before we proceed to deliver the practice. 
 
 Every fermentable subject is composed of salt, oil, and 
 a subtle earth ; but these partici s are so small, that, 
 when asunder, they are in preceptible to the senses ; aid, 
 therefore, when mixed with an aqueous fluid, the> leave it 
 transparent ; neither have fermentable bodies any taste, 
 except that of sweetiier,s. 
 
 These particles are each composed of salt,oil and earth, 
 intimately mixed in an actual cohesien, connexion, and 
 union ; and, therefore, when any one of those principles 
 too much abounds in any Mibject, so that an intimate union 
 is pi^evented, the whole efficacy of the fermentation is ei- 
 ther stopped or impaired, or at least limited to one cer- 
 tain species. 
 
 This equal connexion of salt, oil, and earth, into a single 
 compound particle, forms a corpuscle soluble in water; 
 or to speak more philosophically, this compountl corpuscle 
 is, by mean of its sahne particles, connected ' th the ..que- 
 ous corpU'>cles. and moved up and down wj h them. But 
 "wliere these corpuscles are not thus connected wiili the 
 •water, a number of them j^in together, and from either 
 a gross, or a 1 -ose chaffy, and spungy matter. 
 
 When these comp' und p.-irriCles are diluted with a 
 small quantity of an eqn^ous fluid, tlu y feel slippery, 
 clumriy, and unctuous to the touch, aid effect the taste 
 with a kind of roj^y sweetii; ss. And when a proptr quan- 
 tity of the fluid 's added, a comuiouon is presently excit- 
 ed, and afterwards a subsle separation. 
 
 Thi> comiootion and st paraiion first begins in the whole ^^ka • 
 substance ; for l)efore tlTe a(iditit)n of uattr, the subject 
 may rem.iin in dry, solid, and large puces, as mmalt, su- 
 gar, &c. wh^ch being reduced to povder. each grain 
 thereof is an agreement ot many sn»aller et mpourd cor- 
 pwscles ; these being put into water dissolve, ai»d sepa- 
 rately float therein, till at length, the\ become so sniall as 
 to be invisible, and only thicken the consistance of the li- 
 quor. 
 
 These corpuscles being thus separated from one ano- 
 ther, there next ensues a separation ot their component 
 particles ; that is, the salt, the oil, and the earth, are di- 
 vided by the interposition of the aqueous particles. 
 
254 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, See 
 
 The first commotion is no more than a bare solution ; 
 for the saline particles being easily dissolvable in water, 
 they are immediately laid hold of by the aqueous parti- 
 cles, and carried about with them. But the succeeding 
 separation, or fermentative motion, is a very different 
 thing : for by this the saline particles are divided from 
 those of oil aixl earth, partly by the impulse of the others 
 in their motion, and partly by the force of the aqueous 
 particles, which are now continually meeting and dashing 
 against them. 
 
 This motion is performed by the water, as a fluid, or 
 ag^reg^te of an infinite nuaiber of particles, in actual 
 and perpetual motion ; their smallness being proportion- 
 able to that ot the fermenting corpuscles, and their motion, 
 or constant suscf-ptibility of motion, by warmth, and the 
 motion of the air, disposing them to move other subtle 
 moveable corpuscles also. 1 he certain agreement of fig- 
 ure, or size, between the aqueous particles, and those of 
 the salt in the fermentable subject, tends greatly to in- 
 crease this commotion ; for by this means, they are readi- 
 ly and very closely connected together ; and therefore 
 move almost like one and the same compound corpuscle; 
 whilst the water is not at all disposed to cohere immedi- 
 ately with either the oil or earth, And thus an unequal 
 concussion is excited in the compound corpuscles of the 
 fermentable subject ; which concussion at length strikes 
 out the saline particle, loosens the others, and finally pro- 
 duces a separation of the original connexion of the sub- 
 ject. 
 
 x^n aqueous fluid, therefore, is the true, and indeed, the 
 only iiisti undent for procuring a fermentable motion in 
 these c mpound corpuscles of the subject ; for were an 
 oily fluid poured upon any fermentable subject, no vinous 
 fermentation would ensue ; as th- oil could neither give a 
 sufficient impulse on the compound corpuscles, which are 
 grosser than its o>vn constituent particles, nor divide the 
 oily or saline particles of the subject from their connexion 
 with the others, which detain, an^|, as it were, envelope 
 or defend them from its action. 
 
 The compound corpuscles of the fermentable subject 
 bfing aff-cted by the perpetual motion of the particles of 
 the aqueous flu d, a proi)er degree of motion is necessary, 
 or that the particles move with a proper degree of veloci- 
 ty, which principally depends on external he at A con- 
 siderable degree of cold, indeed, will not absolutely pre- 
 vent fermentation, though it will greatly retard it ; and a 
 boiling heat will |)revent it still more. A tepid, or middle 
 degree of heat between freezing or boiling, is therefore the 
 most proper for promoting and qu ckening the operation. 
 
 The admission of air>also though not of absolute neces^ 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 255 
 
 sity, yet greatly promotes and quickens the action, as 
 being a capital instrument in putting in a proper degree of 
 motion, the oily particles of the subject. But whilst the 
 air thus contributes to hasten the etfVct, it causes at the 
 same time bv its activity snme remarkable alterations in 
 the oily particles ; for it not only moves, but absolutely 
 dissolves and displaces them from their original connex- 
 ions ; and thus carries them o^ itself from tht whole mass. 
 And, therefore, though the consideration of the air does 
 not so properly belong to feraientation in the general, yet 
 it does in particular ; as having an accidental power to al- 
 tar every species ot this operation ; consequently its agen- 
 cy ought to be well understood, either to procure altera- 
 tions at pleasure in the fermenting mass, or to prevent 
 and correct impending dangers. 
 
 The oily particles thus separated and dissolved by the 
 air, are also elastic, though they probably derive that 
 property from their intercourse with the air itself, and 
 there being rendered extremely minute. 
 
 When.therefore.an aqueous fluid is added to a fernrienta- 
 ble subject, exposed to a temporate heat, a fermentative 
 struggleimmediately arises,the saline part of the compound 
 particles being dissolved by the continual intestine motion 
 of the "water, and carried up and down with it in all di- 
 rections, amidst an infinite number of other particles, as 
 "vvell fermentable as aqueous ones ; whence by this colhs- 
 ion and attrition, the saline particles are dissolved, and se- 
 parated from their connexion with the oily and earthy. 
 And as the oily particles are the most subtle and elastic, 
 they would, by this means, be thrown up to the surface of 
 the liquor, and carried ofFby the air, were they not close- 
 ly connected with the earthy ones.whose gravity prevents 
 their evaporation, and, by coming in contact with others 
 of the same kind, form aggregations, and ^ink down with 
 the oily particles, to the bottom. But before these can 
 form a bulk too large to be supported by the water.many of 
 the oily particles are, by their frequent collisions with the 
 aqueous fluid, separated from the earthy ones ; and by 
 degrees more strongly connected again with the saline 
 ones : whilst, on the other hand, the same sahne particles 
 imbibe some of the earthy ones, which being lett single, 
 upon their separation from the oily particles, floated about 
 separately in the fluid. 
 
 And hence proceed the several different consequences of 
 fermentation; VIZ. 1 From theseparationof the saline par- 
 ticles of the fermentable subject proceeds the tart, saline, 
 or acid taste of the liquor ; which is more sensible at first, 
 before the liquor is duly composed and settled, or the due 
 arrangement and connexion of the saline particles with 
 
^56 SFXRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec. 
 
 those of the oily and earthy kinds, connpleted ; after whicU 
 the liquor proves milder, softer, or less pungent. 2. From 
 the oily particles being set at liberty, proceeds the strong 
 smell of the liquor, and the head or shining skin upon the 
 surface. 3. The earthy particles collecting together in 
 clusters, cause the ftuid to appear turbid, and afterwards 
 a visible earthy, or clay- like matter to be precipitated : and 
 some of the eanhy, parts, in their motion, arriving at the 
 head or oily skin on the surface, cause it to thicken ; and 
 afterwards taking it down along with it, thus constitute the 
 lees which abound in oil. 4. From this new struggle or 
 collision, which is productive both of solution and a new 
 connexion in this saline and earthy corpuscles, proceeds 
 the ebullition in fermentation. And, lastly, by the same 
 repeated coalition of the oily with the aqueous and sahne 
 particles the. inflammable spirit is produced. 
 
 Having thus laid down a concise theory of fermentatioiit 
 we shall now proceed to the practice. 
 The wash being brought to a tepid, or hike- warm state in 
 the backs, a proper quantity of a good conditioned ferment 
 is added; but if the ferment be soiled.it should be previous- 
 ly broke into small pieces, and gently thinned either with 
 the hand, wisp, &c. in a little of the tepid liquor. A com- 
 plete and uniform solution, however, should not be at- 
 tempted, because that would greatly weaken the power 
 of the ferment, or destroy its future efficacy. The whole 
 intended quantity, therefore, being thus loosely mixed 
 with a moderate parcel of the liquor, and kept in a tepid 
 state, either by setting it near the fire or otherwise, atid 
 free from the too rude commerce of the external air ; more 
 of ^e insensibly warm liquor ought to be added, at pro- 
 per intervals, till at length, the whole quantity is properly 
 set to working together. And thus, by dividing the busi- 
 ness into parts, it may much more speedily and eflfcctually 
 be performed, than by attempting it all at once. 
 
 The whole quantity of liquor being thus set to work, 
 secured in a proper degree of warmth,and defended from 
 a too free intercourse of the external air, nature itself as 
 it were, finishes the process, and renders the liquor fit for 
 the still. 
 
 By ferments, we mean any substance> which being add- 
 ed to any rightly disposed fermentable liquor, will cause 
 it to ferment much sooner and faster than it would of it- 
 self ; and, consequently, render the operation shorter ; in 
 contradiction to those abusively called so, which only cor- 
 rect some fault in the liquor, or give it some flavor. Hence 
 we see, that the principal use of ferments is to save time, 
 and make dispatch in business ; whilst they only occasion- 
 ally, and, as it were by accident, gave a flavor, and in- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 257 
 
 crease the quantity of spirit. And, accordingly, any fer- 
 mentable liquor, may, without the addition of any I'er- 
 ment by a proper management of heat alone, be brought 
 to ferment, and even more perfectly, though much slower, 
 than with their assistance. 
 
 These ferments are, in general, the flowers and faeces of 
 all ternientable liquors, generated and* thrown to the 
 surface, or deposited at the bottom, either during the act 
 of fermentation, or after the operation is finished. 
 
 Two of these are procurable in large quantities, and at 
 a small expence ; we mean beer-yeast and winc-lees ; a 
 prudent and artificial management, or use of which, 
 might render the business of distillation much more facile 
 certain and advantageous. 
 
 It has been esteemed very difficult, and a great dis- 
 couragement in the business of distillation, to procure a suf- 
 ficient stock, of these materials, and preserve them at all 
 times ready for us . The whole secret consists in dexter- 
 ously freeing the matter from its supeiflious moisture ; 
 because in its fluid state, it is subject lo a farther fermen- 
 tation, which is productive of corruption ; in which state 
 it becomes intolerably loetid and cadaverous. 
 
 The method of exposing it to the air till it has required 
 a proper consistence is subject to great inconveniences; 
 and so peculiar and careful a management necessary, that 
 ^t rarely succeeds. 
 
 The best way, therefore, is to press it very slowly and 
 gradually, in a thick, close, and strong canvas bag, after 
 the manner of wine- lees, bv the tail press, till it becomes a 
 kind of cake ; which, thoui^h soft, will easily snap or 
 break dry and brittle between the fingers. Being reduced 
 to that consistence, and closely packed up in a tight cask 
 it will remain a lon.i^ time uncorrupted, preserve its fra- 
 grancv, and consequently fit to be used for fermenting "the 
 finest liquor. 
 
 The same method is also practicable, and to the same 
 advantage, in the flowers or yeast of wine, which may be 
 thus commodiously imported from abroad : or, if tiiese 
 cannot be procured, others of equal efficacy may be pro- 
 cured from fresh wine-lees, by barely mixing and stirrmg 
 them into a proper warm liquor, whence the lighter or 
 more volatile and active partsof the lees will be thrown to 
 the surface and may easily be taken off and preserved, by 
 the above-mentioned method, in any desired quantity And 
 hence, by a very easy process, an inexhaustable supply of 
 the most useful terments may be readily and successively 
 procured, so as to prevent for the future all occasion of 
 complamt for want of them, in the distiller's business. 
 Experience has demonstratedj that all ferments abound 
 z 
 
25S SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec- 
 
 much mere in essential oil, than the liquor which produc- i^ 
 ed them : and consequently they retain, in a very high jr 
 degree, the snnell and flavour of the subject. It is there- jv 
 fore requisite, before the fernient is applied, to consider i>' 
 what flavor is intended to be introduced, or ^vhat species ja 
 of fernnent is most proper for the liquor. it, 
 
 The alteration thus caused by ferments is so considera- jj* 
 ble, as to render any neutral fermentable liquor of the }| 
 same flavor with that which yielded the ferment. This Is 
 observation is of n.uch greater moment than will presently jlj 
 be conceived, for a new scene is hereby opened, both in the i 
 business of distillation, and others depending upon fermen- ia, 
 tation It must, however, be observed, that its benefit If} 
 does not extend to malt, treated m the common meth« d ; 
 nor to any other subject but what affords a spirit tolerably 
 pure and tasteless. For otherwise, instead of produc- 
 ing a sim^ple, jure and uniform flavor, it causes a com- 
 pound, mixed and unnatural one. How far the fine stiller 
 may profit by it, well deserves his attention ; a;id whether 
 our native cyder spirit, crab, spirit, &c. \vhr'v;-'vave very jj 
 iittl/ flavor of their own, may not, by thVs^tihce, be iii 
 brought nearly, if not entirely, into the state of some foreign b 
 brandies, so highly esteemed, is recommended to expe- r; 
 rience. ' "" 
 
 It is common with distillers, in order to increase the ii 
 quantity of spirit, to give it a particuli^r flavor, ro in iproVe i 
 its vinosity, to add several things to the liquor during the 1 
 time it is in a state of fermentation ; and these additions 
 mav properly be reduced to salts, acids, aromatics and oils. 
 
 All rich vegetable juices, as tr^^acle, honey, Sec which ei- 
 ther want a natural acid, have been deprived of it, or con- 
 tain \t in too small a quantity, will be greatly improved by 
 adding at the beginning oi the operation, a small quantity 
 of the vegetable or fine mineral acids ; as oil of sulphur, 
 G'auber's spirit of salt, juice ot lemons, or an aqueous so- 
 lu ion of tartar These additions will either give, or great- 
 ly improvt the vinous acidity of the subject, but not in- 
 crease the quantity of the spirit, that intention being per- 
 for Vied by aromatics and oils. 
 
 Ail pimgent aroinat'.Co have a surprising quality of in- 
 creasing tne quantity of the spirit as well as in altering or 
 improving the flavor; but their use requires that the fer- 
 me atioii should be performed in close vessels. And if a 
 lar e quantity be intended to be added, care must be ta- 
 ke., not to do it all at once, lest the oiliness of the ingredi- 
 en - should chtck. the operation. But if the flavor be the 
 pr ci, al intention, they should not be added till the ope- 
 ra on is ne-rly finished. After the same manner a very 
 considerable quantity of any ebsential vegetable oil may 
 
 I 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 259 
 
 be converted into a surprisingly large quantity of inflam- 
 mable spirit : but great caution is here also necessary not 
 to drop it too fast, or add too large a quantity at a time, 
 which would damp the termentatiou ; it being the surest 
 lYiethoJ of checkin;:; or totally stopping this operation at 
 any point of tiine required. The best method, therefore, 
 of adding the oil so as to avoid all inconveniences, is to rub 
 the oil in a mortar with su^ar, which the chem.ists call 
 making an Olcesacchariim, by which rrear.s the tenacity ot 
 the oil will be destroyed, and the whole readilv mix with 
 the liquor and immediately W rment with it. The distiiler 
 would do well to consider these observations atteiitively, 
 as he may thence forn) an advantageous method ct ir> 
 creasing the quantity of spirits, and at the same time 
 greatly improve their quality and flavor. 
 
 But in order to puttiiese observations in practice, par- 
 ticular regard must be had to the containing vessel in 
 which the fermentation is performed, the exclusion of the 
 air, and the degree of the external heat or cold* 
 
 With regard to the containing vessel ; its purity, and 
 the provision for rendering it occasionally close, are chief- 
 ly to be on^idered. In cleansing it, no soap, or other unc- 
 ^vtuous body should be used, for fear of checking the ieinS^"^, 
 ^ tation ; and, for the same reason, all strong alkaline lixi- 
 riums should be avoiueu. Lime-water, or a turbid solu- 
 tion of quick-lime may be employed for this purpose, 
 without producing any ill-effect ; it will also be of great 
 service in destroying a prevailing acetous salt, which is 
 apt to generate in the vessels uhen the warm air has free 
 access to th^m ; and tends to prevent the order of fer- 
 mentation, and instead of a v/ine or wash, prodvice a vine- 
 gar. Special care ivuist also be had. that no remains of 
 yeast, or cadaverous remains o*^" former fermented mat- 
 ters, hang about the vessels, which would infect whatever 
 should be aitt^rward)- put into then; ; and cannot, Avithout 
 the utmost d\fficults- be perfectlv cured and sweetened. 
 
 The occasional clos-^ ess of the vessels may, in the 
 large way. be provided for by covers pn perly adapted ; 
 and, in the small way, by valves, placed in light casks. 
 These valves will occasionallv <>ive the necessary vei\t to 
 preserve the vessel, during the height of the fermentation; 
 the vessel otherwise remainir.g perfectly close, and im- 
 pervious to the air. 
 
 it is a mistake of a very prejudicial ratr.re, in the busi- 
 ness of fermentation, to supjiose. that there is an absolute 
 neressity for a free admission of the external air. Ihe 
 express pontrarv is the truth, and very great advant.oges 
 will be found by practising according to this supposition. 
 A constant ii.flux of the external air, if it does not c^rry 
 off some part of the spirit already generated, yet certainly 
 
260 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 catches up and dissipates the fine, subtle, or oleaginous 
 and saline particles, whereof the spirit is made, and thus 
 considerably lessens the quantity. Bv a close ferrrentation 
 this incoiiveniency is avoided ; all air, except that includ- 
 ed in the vessel, being excluded. The whole secret con- 
 sists in leaving a moderate space for the air at the top of 
 the vessel, unpossessed bv the liqior. When the liquor 
 is once fairly at »vork to bung it down close, and thus suf- 
 fer to finish the fermentation, without opening or giving 
 it any more vent than that afforded it by a proper valve 
 placed in the cask ; which, however, is not of abolate 
 necessity, when the empty space, or rather that possess- 
 ed by the air, is about one tenth of the gage ; the artificial 
 air, generated in the operation being then seldom suf- 
 ficient to open a strong valve, or at most not to endanger 
 the cask. 
 
 This method may be practised to good advantage by 
 those whose business is not very large ; but it rtquires 
 too much time ro be used bv the large dealers, who are in 
 a manner forced to admit the free air, and thus sustain a 
 considt-rable loss in their quantity of spirit, that the fer- 
 mentatioti may be finished in the sn, all time allowed for 
 that purpose. It n>ay, however^ be said, that the silent, 
 slow, and almost imperceptible vinous fermentation, is 
 universally the most perfect and advantageous. 
 
 During the whole course of this operation, the vessel 
 should be kept from all external cold, or considerable 
 heat, in an equal, uniform ?.nd moderate temperature. In 
 the winter, a stove room, such as is common in Germany, 
 would be very convenient for this purpose ; the vessel be- 
 ing placed at a proper distance from the stove : but at 
 other seasons no particular ap:;.aratus is necessary with us 
 in England, if the place allotted for the business be but 
 well defended from the summer's heat, and the ill effects 
 of cold bleak northern winds. 
 
 The operrtrion is known to be perfected when the hiss- 
 ing, or sm^all bubbling noise can be no longer heard, upon 
 applying the ear to the vessel ; and also bv the liquor itself 
 appearing clear to the eye, and having a pungent sharp- 
 ness on the tongue. And thai it may fully obtain these 
 properties, and be well fitted to yield a pure and perfectly 
 vinous spirit by distillation, it should be suffered, to stand 
 at rest in a somewhat cooler place, if practicable, than 
 that in which it was fermented ; till it has throughlv de- 
 posited and cleansed itself of the gross lee, and become 
 perfectlv transparent, vinous and fragrant ; in which 
 state it should be committed to the still, and the spirit ob- 
 tained will not only exceed that obtained in the common 
 way in quantity, but also in fragrance, pungency, and vi» 
 nosit}'. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, kc. 261 
 Article III. 
 Of Distillation in general. 
 
 Having in the two preceding articles laid down the best 
 methods of brewing and fermentation, we shall now pro- 
 ceed to the method of distillation- 
 
 x\nd in order to lead our readers methodically through 
 the path which lies bef«)re them, we shall begin with ex- 
 plaining the principles of distillation ; or, the method ot" 
 extracting the spirituous parts of bodies. 
 
 To extract the spirits is to cause such an action by heat, 
 as to cause them to ascend in vapour from the bodies 
 which detain them. 
 
 If this heat be natural to bodies, so that the separation 
 be made without any adventitious means, it is called fer- 
 mentation, which we have already explained. 
 
 If it be produced by fire, or other heating power, in 
 which the alembic is placed, it is called digestion, or dis- 
 tillation ; digestion if the heat onh prepares the materials 
 for the distillation of their spirits ; and distillation, where 
 the action is of sufficient effic.^cy to cause them to ascend 
 in vapour, and distil 
 
 This heat is that which puts the insensible parts of a 
 body, whatever it be. into moti(;n, divides them, and causes 
 a passage for the spirits inclosed herein, by di.sengaging 
 them from the phlegm, and the earthy panicles by which 
 they are inclosed. 
 
 Distillation considered in this light, is not unworthy the 
 attention and countenance of the learned. This art is of 
 infinite extent ; whatever the whole earth produces, 
 flowers, fruits.i^eeds, spices, aromatic and vulnerary plants, 
 •doriferous, drugs. &c. are its objects, and come under its 
 cognizance ; but we generally cor fine it to liquids of taste 
 and smell ; and to the simple and spirituous waters of" 
 aromatic and vulnerary slants With regard to its utility, 
 we shall otnit saying any thing here, as we shall give 
 sufficient proofs of it in the sequel. 
 
 Article IV. 
 
 Of Bodies prosier for Distillation. 
 
 This article alone might make a volume, were we to 
 make a particular enumeration of all its p arts ; but, as we 
 have already observed, we shall confine ourselves to the 
 distillation of simple and compound waters 
 
 If we acquit ourselves to the satisfaction of the public, 
 "we shall enjoy the pleasure of having treated of one par^- 
 - Z2 
 
262 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, $Ct 
 
 entirely new ; and, indeed, the only one that has beTis 
 overlooked. 
 
 The bodies proper for distillation, are flowers, fruits, 
 seeds, spices, and aromatic plants. 
 
 By distillation and dii^estion, we extract the colour and 
 smell of flowers, in simple waters and essences. 
 
 We extract from fruits, at least from some, colour^ 
 taste, &c. 
 
 From aromatic plants, the distiller draws spirits, essen* 
 ces, simple, and compound waters. 
 
 From s^-ices are procured essences, or, in the language 
 of the chemists, oils and perfumes, and also pure spirits. 
 
 From seeds, or be ries, are drawn simple waters, pure 
 spii it-, and from some, as those of annise, fennel, and ju- 
 niper, oil. 
 
 1 he colour of flowers is extracted by infusion, and like- 
 wise by digestion m brandy or spirit of wine ; the smell is 
 extracted bv distillation ; the simple water with brandy, 
 or spirit of wine. 
 
 What is extracted of the colour of flowers, by infusion 
 in water by a gentle heat, or by digestion in braiidy, or 
 spirits of wine, is called in the distiller's phrase, tincture 
 of flowers. 
 
 The colour of fruits is extracted in the same manner, 
 either by infusion or digestion ; their taste is also procur- 
 ed by the same processes But let it be observed, 
 that the time oi these operations must be limited ; for 
 otherwise the fruit, after fermeniation, vscuild render it 
 acid. The taste is also extracted by distillation in spirit 
 ©f wine. 
 
 From aromatic plants, are extracted by the alembic, 
 pure spirits, odours, and simple wtt^^rs But thes,e rf qu.re 
 different methods of distillation. The first by water, or 
 brandy only, the second by rectified, spirit "^iiich will give 
 theiTi the greatest excellency they are capable of 
 
 The plants themselves with their flowers may also be 
 distilled, which is still better. 
 
 Fr .m spices are dra.vn spirits, and oilv, or spirituous 
 quintessences. The spirits are drawn by brandy, or spirit 
 of vvip.e, with very little water ; the oils are distilled per 
 descnifium ; and the spirituous quintessences by pounding 
 the spices, and after infusing them in spirit ot wine, de- 
 canting it gently by inclination. 
 
 Fro.ii seeds are extracted simple waters, spirits, and 
 cils. Very few of the first and last spirits being what is 
 generally extracted from seeds and berries. 
 
 Some distillers, through a notion of frugality, distil seeds 
 with water ; but their liquors are not to be compared with 
 Ibose which are distilletj yf'^ spirits. When oils a^e 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 26:r 
 
 <Jrawn from seed> the operation is performed either by the 
 Balneum Maria, or the vapour-bath. 
 
 We only deliver in this place, the first elements of each 
 of these operations, which will be turther illustrated in the 
 sequel when we treat more particularly of these subjects. 
 
 Article V. 
 
 Of what is procured by Distillation. 
 
 By Distillation are procured spirit, essence, simple 
 waters, and phlegm. 
 
 Spirits are very difficult to be defined I consider them 
 as the most subtle and volatile parts of a body. 
 
 All bodies without exception have spirits more or less. 
 
 These parts are an ignited substance, and consequently 
 by their own nature dispostd to a violent motion 
 
 Tliese volatile particles are more or less disposed to 
 separate themselves, as the bodies are more or less po- 
 rous, or abound with a greater or lesser quantity of oiL 
 
 By the term esseiice, we understand the oleaginous parts 
 of a body. An essential oil is found in all bodies, being one 
 of their constituent principles. I have ob-erved in all 
 distillations, spirit ot wine excepted, a soft unctuous sub- 
 stance floating on the phlegm ; and this substance is oiJ, 
 which we call essence, and this is what we endeavour to 
 extract 
 
 SiiTiple waters are those distilled from plants, flowers, 
 &c. without the help of water, brandy, or spirit of wine. 
 These waters are commonly odoriferous, containing the 
 odour vA the body from whence it is extracted, and even 
 exceeds in smell the body itself. 
 
 Phlfgm is the aqueous particles of bodies, but whether 
 an active or passive principle, we shall leave to the deci- 
 sion of chemists. 
 
 It is of the last importance to a distiller to be well ac- 
 quainted with its nature ; many mistaking for phlegm se- 
 veral white and clouded drops, which first fall into the re- 
 ceiver, when the stiil begins to work. These, however* 
 are often the most spirituous particles ofthe matter in the 
 alembic, and consequently ought to be preserved. What 
 has given occasion to this mistake, is some humidity re- 
 maining in the head, &c. of the alen bic And had it been 
 thoroughly wiped, the first drops would have been equally 
 bright with any during the whole operation. 
 
 The following remark deserves attention. In bodies that 
 have been digested, the spirits ascend first ; whereas jn 
 charges not dfgested the phlegm ascends before the spirift. 
 The reason of ^is is very plain and natural. 
 
264 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 In substances previously digested, the action of the fire 
 no sooner causes the matter in the alembic to boil, than 
 the spirits, being the most volatile parts, detach them- 
 selves and asceiidinto the head of th^,' alembic But when 
 the matter to be distilled has not undergone a proper di- 
 gestion, the spirits being entangled in the phlegm, are less 
 disposed to ascend till the phlegm itself separates and 
 gives them room to fly upwards 
 
 The phlegm being aqueous rises first : this is more par- 
 ticularly observable in apices. I am, however, inclined to 
 believe, that wer- the operation periormed in an alembic, 
 \vhose head was at a great distanc- from the surface of 
 the charge, they would not ascend high f^nough to come 
 over the helm, but fall back, again by their own gravity, 
 and by that means leave the spirits at hberty t^. Hbcend. 
 But in the common refrigeratory akmbic this always 
 hajjpens. 
 
 If this observation be not readily admitted. I appeal to 
 experience, which I desire maybe the test of every thing 
 I shall advance. 
 
 Another observation, which has verified the above as- 
 sertion by innumerable instances, is, that in an extraor- 
 dinary run of business, when I had not time sufBcient to 
 digest the substances, 1 used to bruise them in a mortar; 
 butnot vithstanding the trituration the phlegm rtrst came 
 over and afterwards the spirits. But I desire to be under- 
 stood, that I speak here only of the volatde parts ot the 
 plants not drawn with vinous spirits, but contained in a 
 simple water. 
 
 Another remark I must add, and which I hope will be 
 acceptable to the curious, as it has not yet been made pub- 
 lic, thotigh doubtless the observation has often occurred to 
 others ; it is this ; that in mixed chnrges, consisting of 
 flowers, truits. and aromatic plants, put into the alembic 
 ■without a previous digestion, ths spirits of the flowers as- 
 cend first ; and notwithstanding the mixture* they con- 
 tracted nothing of the smell or taste of the truits and 
 plants. Next after the spirits of thc^ flowers, those of the 
 fruits ascend, not in the least impregnated with the smell 
 or taste of either of the flowers or plants. And in the last 
 place, the spirits of the plants distil no less neat than the 
 former. Should this appear strange to any one, experience 
 will convince him of the truth. 
 
 Another observation Ihave made on aromatic herbs, is, 
 that whether they are or are not digested, whether the 
 spirits or phlegm ascend first, the spirits contain very lit- 
 tle of the taste and smell of the plants from v hence they 
 ■were extracted ; and I have always been obliged to put to 
 these spirits a greater or lesser quaotity of the phlegm. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 265 
 
 in order to give the spirits I had drawn the taste of an 
 aromatic odour ot ihe plants, the phlegm containing the 
 greatest quantity of both. 
 
 This observation I insert as of a great use to those who 
 practice distiliation. 
 
 As the term digestion often occurs in this essay, ! cannot 
 avoid pointing nut its advantages, and even shew the ne- 
 cessity of using it in several circumstar.ces. 
 
 Substancesare said to be iii digestion \vhpnthev are in- 
 fused in a tnei^struunr! over a very slow fire This prtpa- 
 ration is often necessary in distillation, for it tends to open 
 the bodies, and tliereby free the spirits from their cor line- 
 ments, whereby they ate better enabled to ascend. 
 
 Cold diku scions are ^h^ best ; those mace b\ fire, or in 
 hot materials, dimmish the quality ot the gof'ds, or some 
 part, as the most vnUtile, will be lost 
 
 In order to procure v-ssences, the bodies vrAi^i be prepa- 
 red by digestion. It is even of ab^tViuce necessity for ex- 
 tracting the spirits and essences of spices. 
 
 Article VI- 
 
 Of the prufiei S- anon for Disfilling-- 
 Flowers r.f all kinds must be distilled m their proper sea- 
 sons. To begin with the violet, its colour and sir. ell can 
 only be extracted wheti it is in its greatest vigour, which 
 is not at its first appearance, nor when it bei-ins to decay. 
 jifiril is the month in which it is in its izreatcsi pertection ; 
 the season being never so forward in March^ as to give the 
 violet its whole fragra» cy. 
 
 The same must be observed of all other flowers. And 
 let them be gathered at the hottest time ot the day ; the 
 odour and fragrancy ot flowers being then in their great- 
 est perfection. 
 
 The same observation holds good with regard to fruits; 
 to which must be added, that they are the finest, and of the 
 most beautiful colour, especially those from whence tinc- 
 tures are drawn ; they must be free from all detects, as 
 the goods would by that means be greatly detrimented. 
 
 Berries and aromatics may be distilled at any season, 
 all that is necessary being a good choice. But m thi> dis- 
 tillers are sometimes mistaken, as may easily happen 
 without a very accurate knowledge. We shall theretore» 
 in the sequel, lay down more particular directions for. 
 making a proper choice of materials. 
 
 Article VII. 
 Of the Filtration of Liquors 
 Filtration consists in passing liquors through some pq- 
 
266 SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, &c. 
 
 rous substance, in order to free them from those particles 
 which ob'^cure iheir brightness 
 
 Nothing is finer than a liquor newly distilled; but the 
 svrup anri colouring particles render it thick and opa- 
 que : in order therefore to restore their brightness, they 
 are filtrated which is done by passing them through sand, 
 paper, cloth, Sec 
 
 All the attention of the distiller cannot, in ordinary ope- 
 rations, nlway prevent some aqueous particles from rising 
 with the spirits, either in the beginning of the i)rncess, in 
 those co^npositions where they ascend first or at, the con- 
 clusion when they rise last- As this is almost unavoida" 
 ble, so it is also sometimes necessary. 
 
 In distilling flow«rs, or aromatic plants, fresh gathered, 
 the phlegm rises first ; and this part cannot be taken out of 
 the receiver, without depriving the spirits of a considera- 
 ble part of their fragraicy. 
 
 In distilling spices, their odour being more entangled, 
 will remain in the alembic, till part of the phlegm is 
 drawn off But when inste.id of these substances, their 
 quintessences are used, the necessity ceases. But the 
 phlegm coinmonlv causing a cloudiness in the liquor, it may 
 be rendered tolerably fine, by pouring it ge-itls f ff by incli- 
 nation, without the trouble of filtration ; the aqueous par- 
 ticles, by their gravity, falling to the buttom. But to ren- 
 der, it entirely bright and fine, put some cotton in a fun- 
 nel, nnd pour the liquor through it, by which n-earis the 
 aqueous particles will be retained in the cotton. You must 
 ho A ever remember to cover the tcp of the funnel, to pre- 
 vent the most volatile parts of the spirits from evaporating. 
 
 Article VIII. 
 
 Of the Distillation of Mult Spirits. 
 
 The wash, or liquor, b°ing prepared by brewing and 
 ferment ition, as directed in th- first and .-^ecorid articles of 
 this treatise, the still is to be ch irged wrth it, and worked 
 off with a oretty brisk fire. But it bhould be observed, that 
 the only apparatus, used in this process, is the alembic 
 with a refrigeratory^ 
 
 The Nvash being of a mucilaginous nature, a particular 
 management is necessa- y to prevent its burning, and cause 
 it to work ki'.dlv in the still ; if it should happen to be 
 burnt in the operation, the spirit will have a most disa- 
 greeable flavor, which can hardlv ever be removed ; and 
 therefore to prevent this ill effect, the wash should be 
 made dilute or thin, the fire well regulated, and the whole 
 kept in a continual agitation during the whole process. 
 The most judicious distillers always take care to have their 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 26? 
 
 wash sufficiently diluted, and constantly find their spirit 
 the purer tor it. With regard to the fire, it may be easily 
 kept regular, by a constant attendance, and observii.g ne- 
 ver to stir it hastily, or throw on tresh tuel ; and the stir- 
 ring of the liquor in the still is to be effected by mt an^ of a 
 paddle, or bar kept in the liquor, till it jusi begins tobiJl, 
 which is the time for luting on the head ; and alter vhich 
 there is no great danger, but froM. the improper nian;ige- 
 ment of the fiie : this is the common way ; but it is no 
 easy matter to hit the exact tiuie, and the doing it either 
 too Utfi, or too soon is attended with great inconvenience, 
 so that several have discovered other ui thods ; some put 
 more solid bodies into the still with the wa^h ; others place 
 some priiper matter at the bottom and bides ot the still, 
 ■which are the places where the tire acts with the greatest 
 force. 
 
 The use of the paddle, would, however, answer better 
 than either of these methods could it be continued during 
 the whole tiiiie the still is working ; imd this may be d<.ne 
 by the following method : let a short tube of iron or cop- 
 per be soldered in the centre of the still-head, and let a 
 cross bar be placed below in the same head, with a hole 
 in the middle, corresponding to that at the top ; through 
 both these, let an iron i)ipe be carried down in the si ill, 
 and let an iron rod be passed through this with wooden 
 sweeps at its end ; this rod njay be continually worked 
 by a winch at the still-head, and the sweeps will continu- 
 ally keep the bottnm and sides scraped clean, the inter- 
 stices of the tube being all the time well crammed with 
 tow, to prevent any evaporation of the spirit. 
 
 The same effect may in a great measure, be produced 
 by a less laborious method, namely, by placing a parcel of 
 cylindrical sticks lengthways, so as to cover the whole bot- 
 tom of the still, or by throwing in a loose parcel oi faggot 
 sticks at a venture ; for the action of the fire below mov- 
 ing the liquor, at the same time gives motion to the sticks, 
 making thtm act continually like a parcel of stirrers upon 
 the bottom and sides of the still, which niight, if necessary 
 be turnished with buttons and loops, to prevent them from 
 starting. Some also use a parcel of fine hay laid upon 
 the loobe sticks, ami secured down by two cross poles, laid 
 froa> side to side, and iii the same manner fastened down 
 with loops, uare is to be taken in this case, not to prv-ss 
 the hay against the sides of the still ; for that would scorch 
 nearly as soon as ihe wash itself ; butthe sticks never will: 
 these are simple but effectual contrivances, and in point 
 ot elegance, they may be improved at pleaNure. 
 
 There is another inconvenience attending the distilling 
 of malt spirit, which is, when all the bottoms, or gross 
 
268 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 mealy foeculence is put into the still along with theliquoi% 
 the thinner part of the wash going off in form of spirit; the 
 mealy naass grows by degrees more and more stiff so ast« 
 scorch towards the latter part of the operition. The best 
 method of remedying this, is to have a pine with a stop- 
 cock, leading from tiie upper part of the worm-tub into the 
 still ; so that upon a half, or a quarter turn, it may con- 
 tinuiUv supply a little stream of hot water, in the same 
 prop;)rtion as the spirit runs off, by which means the dan- 
 ger of scorching is avoided and the operation, at the 
 same time, not in the least retarded. 
 
 In Holland^ the malt distillers work all their wash thick, 
 •with the* whole body of meal among it; yet they are so care- 
 ful in keeping their stills clean, and so r*^ gular and nice 
 in the managemeot of their fires, that though they use no 
 artifice at all on this head, onlv to charge the still while it 
 is hot and moist, they very rarely have the misfortune to 
 scorch, except now and then in the depth of winter. 
 Wi>en such an accident has once happened in a still, they 
 are extremely careful to scrape, scrub, and scour off the 
 re.uains of the burnt matter, otherwise they find the 
 same accident very liable to happen again in the same 
 place. Bat beyoi)d all the other methods in use on this oc- 
 casion, would be the working the stills, not by a dry heat, 
 but in a Balneum Murix^ which might pos'jibly be so con- 
 trived by the bason being large, and capable of workmg a 
 great many stills at once, as to be extremely worth the 
 proprietor's while in all respects. 
 
 Another requisite to be observed is, that the water in the 
 worm-tub be kept cool ; this may be effected, by placing in 
 the middle of the tub a wooden pipe or gutter, about three 
 inches square w.thiw, reaching from the top almost to the 
 bottom ; by this contrivance cold water may, as often as 
 necessary, be conveyed to the bottom of the worm tub, 
 and the hot water at the top forced either over the sides of 
 the tubjor.which is better, through a ledden pipe of mode- 
 rate size, called a waste-pipe, soldered into the top of the 
 tub, and extended to the gutter formed to carry away the 
 •water. 
 
 Article IX. 
 
 Of the Distillation of Molasses- Sfiirits, 
 
 The spirit distilled from molasses or treacle, is very 
 clean or pure. It is made from common treacle dissolved 
 in water, and fermented in the same manner as the wash 
 for the common malt spirit. 
 
 But if some particular art is not used in distilling this spirit, 
 it will not prove so vinous as malt spirit, but more flat and 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 26? 
 
 less pungent and acid, though otherwise much cleaner tast- 
 ed, as its essential oil is of a less offensive flavor. There- 
 fore, if gond fresh wine-lees, abounding in tartar, be ad- 
 ded and duly fermented with the molasses, the spirit will 
 acquire a much greater vinosity and briskness, and ap- 
 proach much nearer to the nature of foreign spirits. 
 
 Where the molasses, spirit is brought to the commoR 
 proof strength, if it be found not to have a sufficient vino- 
 sity, it will be very proper to add some good dulcified spi- 
 rit of nitre 1 and if the spirit be clean worked, it may by 
 tliis addition only, be made to pass on ordinary judges for 
 French brandy. 
 
 Great quantities of this spirit are used in adulterating 
 foreign brandy, rum and arrac. Much of it is also used 
 alone in making cherry- brandy, and other drams by infu- 
 sion ; in all which, many, and perhaps with justice, pre- 
 fer it to foreign brandies. 
 
 Molasses, like other spirits, is entirely colourless when 
 iirst extracted ; but distdlers, always give it, as nearly as 
 possible, the colour of foreign spirits ; the methods of per- 
 forming which we shall explain in a subsequent article. 
 
 Article X. 
 
 Of the J^ature of Brandies, and Method of Distilling them 
 in France. 
 
 The general method of distilling brandies in France 
 need not be formally described, as it differs in nothing. 
 Irom that commonly practised here in working from wash 
 or molasses, nor are they in the least more cleanly or ex- 
 act in the operation. 
 
 They only observe more particularly to throw a little of 
 the natural lee into the still along with the wine, as find- 
 ing this gives their spirit the flavor for which it is general- 
 ly admired abroad. 
 
 But though brandy is extracted from wine experience 
 tells us, that there is a great difference in grapes, from 
 "which the wine is made. Every soil, every climate, every 
 kind ot grapes varies with regard to the quantity and 
 quality of spirits extracted from them. There are some 
 grapes which are only fit for eating, others for drying, as 
 those of Damascus, Corinth, Frovmce and Avignon ; but 
 not fit to make wine. 
 
 Some wines are very proper for distillation .others much 
 less so. The wines of Langucdoc and Provence afford a 
 great deal of brandy by distillation, when the operation is 
 made in their tuU strength : the Orleans wmes, and those 
 of Blois aff.)rd yet more ; but the best are those of the 
 territories of Cogniac and of Andaye^ which are however 
 A a 
 
Sro SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, die. 
 
 in the number of those the least drank in France. Whereas 
 lhos*f of Burgundy and of Chamfiaign, though of a very 
 fine flavor, are improper, because they yield but very lit- 
 tle in distillation- 
 It must also be farther deserved, that all the wines for 
 distillation, as those of S/iain. the Canaries, of ALicant, of 
 Cyjirus, of 6Y. Peres, of Toquet, of Grave, of Hungary^ 
 and others of the &anne kind, yield very little brandy by 
 distillation; and consequently would cost the distiller con- 
 siderable more than he could sell it for- What is drawn 
 frorri them is indeed verv good, always retaining the sac- 
 charine quality and rich flavor of the wine from whence it 
 is drawn ; but as it i^rows old. this flavor often grows aro- 
 matic, and is not agreeable to all palates. 
 
 Hence we see, that brandies always differ, according 
 as they are extracted from different species of grapes. 
 Nor would there be so great a similarity as there is be- 
 tween the different kinds of French brandies, were the 
 strongest wines used for this purpose : But this is rarely 
 the case, the weakest and lowest flavored wines onl) are 
 distilled for their spirit, or such as prove absolutely unfit 
 for any other use. 
 
 A large quantity of brandies is distilled in France, dur- 
 ing the time of the vintage ; for all those poor grapes that 
 prove unfit for wine, are usually first gathered, pressed, 
 their juice fermented, and directly distilled This rids 
 their hands of their poor wines at once, and leaves their 
 casks empty for ther< ception of better. It is a general rule 
 with them not to distil any wine that will fetch any price 
 as wine ; for, in this state, the profits upon them are vast- 
 ly greater than when reduced to brandies. This large 
 stock of small w;jics, with which they are almost overrun 
 in France, sufficiently accounts fortkeir making such vast 
 quantities ot brandy in France, more than other countries, 
 which lie in warmer climates, and are much better adap- 
 ted to the production of grapes. 
 
 Nor is this the only fund of th'^ir brandies ; for all the 
 wiae that turns eager is also condetr'ned to the still ; and, 
 in short, all that they can neither export nor con- 
 sume at home, which amounts to a Urge quantity ; since 
 much of the wine lard in for their family provision is so 
 poor as not to ke'.-p during the tiirie in spending. 
 
 HcTiCe many of our American spirits, with proper 
 management are convertable int i brandies, that shall 
 hardly be distinguished from the foreign in many respects, 
 jjfovided ihis nper^tion be neatly pertornied. And, in par- 
 ticular, how far a cyder spirit and a crab spirit may, even 
 from the fiist extraction, be ir.ade to resemble the fine and 
 thin brandies of Fa7ice. we would recommend to those 
 distillers whose skill and curiosity proniptsthem to under- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec. 271 
 
 takings condemned by those who only work mechanically, 
 and scorn to deviate from the beaten track, though they 
 have the fairest prospectof acquiring profit to themselves 
 and a lasting emolument to their conntry. 
 
 Article XI. 
 
 Of the Distillation of Rum. 
 
 Rum differs from what we simply call' sugar spirit, as it 
 contains more of the natural flavor, or essential oil, of the 
 sugar cane ; a great deal of raw juice, and even parts of 
 the cane itself b^ing often fermented in the liquor, or solu- 
 tion, of which the rum is prep?.Ted. 
 
 Hence Ave see from whence rum derives its flavor ; 
 namely, frnm the cane itself. Some indeed, are of opinion, 
 that the unctuous or oily flavor of the rum proceeds from 
 the large quantity of fat used in boiling the sugar. This 
 fat, indeed, if coarfe. will give a stinking flavor to the 
 spirit in our distillations of the sugar liquor, or wash, from 
 our refining sugar-houses ; but this is nothing like the flav- 
 or of the rum ; which, as we have already observed, is the 
 effect of the natural flavor of the cane. 
 
 Great quantities of rum are nnade at Jamaica, Barha- 
 does, Aniigua and other sugar islands. The method of 
 making it is this : 
 
 When a sufficient stock of the materials is got together, 
 they add water to them, and ferment them in the common 
 method though the fermentation is always carried on very 
 slowly at first ; because at the be ginning of the season for 
 making rum in the islands, they want yeast, or some oth- 
 er ferment to make it work ; but after this, they, by de- 
 grees, procure a sufficient quantity of the ferment, which 
 rises up as a head to the liquor in the operation ; and 
 thus they are able afterwards to ferment antl make their 
 rum with a gi eat deal of expedition, and in very large 
 quantities. 
 
 When the wash is fully fermented, or to a due degree 
 of aciditv, the distillation is carried on in the common 
 way, and the spirit is made up proof ; though sometimes 
 it is reduced to a much greater degree of strength, nearly 
 approaching to that alcohol, or spirit of wine ; and it is 
 then called donble-distilled rum. 
 
 It would be easy to rectify the spirit, and bring it to a 
 much greater degree of purity than we usually find it to be 
 of ; for it brings over in the distillation a large quantity of 
 the oil ; and this is often so disagreeable, that the rum 
 must be suffered to lie by a long time to mellow before it 
 can be used ; whereas, if well rectified, its flavor would 
 be much less, and consequently much more agreeable t© 
 the palate. 
 
272 SECRETS IN ARTS, TR^\DES, 6£c. 
 
 The best state to kee]) rum both for exportation and 
 other uses, is doubtless that of alcohol, or rectified spirits. 
 In this manner, it would be contained in half the bulk it 
 usually is, and might be let down to the common proof 
 strength with water when necessary; for the common use 
 of making punch, it would likewise serve much better in 
 the state of alcohol ; as the taste would be cleaner, and 
 the stren.^'th might always be regulated to a much greater 
 degree of exactness than in the ordinary way. 
 
 If the business of rectifying rum was more nicely man- 
 aged, it seems a very practicable scheme to throw out so 
 much of the oil as to reduce it to the fine light state of a 
 clear spirit, but lightly impregnated with the oil ; in this 
 state it would nearly resemble arrac, as is easily proved 
 by mixing a very small quantity of it with a tasteless spirit; 
 for it then-bears a very near resemblance to arrac in flavor. 
 
 Article XII. 
 
 0/ Sugar- Sfiirit. 
 
 We mean by a sugar-spirit, that extracted from the 
 v;ashlngs, scu'mmings, dross, and waste of a sugar-bakers 
 refining-house. 
 
 These recrementitious, or drossy parts of the sugar,are 
 to be diluted with water, fermented in the same manner 
 as m.olasses or wash, and then distilled in the common 
 method. And if the operation be carefully performed, 
 and the spirit well rectified, it may be mixed with foreign 
 brandies, and even arrac in a large proportion, to great 
 advantage; for this spirit will be found superior to that 
 extracted from treacle, and consequently more proper for 
 these uses. 
 
 Article XII-I. 
 
 Of Raisin- S/drits. 
 
 By raisin-spirits, we understand that extracted from 
 raisins, after a proper fermentation. 
 
 In order to extract this spirit, the raisins must be infused 
 in a proper quantity of water and ferm.ented in the man- 
 ner described in the article on fermentation. When the 
 fermentation is completed, the whole is to be thrown into 
 the still, and the spirit extracted by a strong iire. 
 
 The reason why we here direct a strong fire, is, because 
 by that means a greater quantity of the essential oil will 
 come over the helm with the spirit, which will render it 
 much fitter for the distillers's purpose ; for this spirit is 
 generally used to mix with common malt goods : and it is 
 surprising how far it will go in this respect, ten gallons of 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 273 
 
 itbein^ often sufficient to give a determining flavor, and 
 agreeable vinossity to a whole piece of malt spirits. 
 
 It is therefore well worth the distiller's while to endea- 
 vour at improving the common method of extracting 
 spirts from raisins ; and perhaps the following hint may 
 merit attention : 
 
 When the fermentation is completed, and the still 
 charged with fermented liquor, as before directed, let the 
 whole be drawn off with as brisk a fire as possible; but 
 instead of the cask or can, generally used by our Ameri- 
 can distillers for a receiver, let a large glass, called by 
 chemists, a separating- glass, be placed under the nose of 
 the worm, and a common receiver applied to the spout of 
 the separating glass ; by this means the essential oil will 
 swim upon the top of the spirit, or rather low wine, in the 
 separating glass, and may be easily preserved at the end 
 of the operation. 
 
 The use of this limpid essential oil is well known to dis- 
 tillers ; for in this resides the whole flavor, and conse- 
 quently may be used to the greatest advantage in giving 
 that distinguishing taste, and true vinosity, to the common 
 malt spirits 
 
 After the oil is separated from the low wine, the liquor 
 mav be n ctir.ed in jialrii^um Maria, into a pure and almost 
 tasteless spirit ; and theretore well adapted to make the 
 finest CiVP pound cordials, or to imitate, or mix with the 
 finest French braiidie^i. arracs, &c. 
 
 In the same manner a sptrit may be obtained from cy- 
 der. But as its particular flavor is not so desirable as that 
 obtained from raisins, it should be distilled in a more gen- 
 tle manner, and carefully rectified in the manner wc shall 
 shew in the article on rectification ; by which means a 
 very puri. and almost ins pid spirit will be obtained, which 
 may be used t(. very great advantage in imitating the best 
 brandies of France^ or in making the finest compound 
 waters or cordials. 
 
 Article XIV. 
 
 Of Arracs. 
 
 ^/ 
 
 What is properly meant by the term arracs, are spirits- 
 extracted from the fern-ented juice ot certain trees com- 
 mon in the East- Indies, particularly those of the cocoa, 
 palm-vree '1 he whole proces's of making arrac, is per- 
 formed in die following maimer : 
 
 In order to procure the ve^^etable juice for this opera- 
 tion, the person provides himself with a s\;fiicient num- 
 ber of small earthen pots, with bellies and necics, resem- 
 bling our common glass bottles ; a number of these he 
 Aa 2 
 
274 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c; 
 
 fastens to his girdle, or to a belt across his shoulders, and 
 climbs lip the tall trunk of the cocoa-tree ; having reached 
 the boughs of the tree,he cuts off with a knife certain small, 
 buds, or buttons, applying immediately to the wound one 
 of his buttles, and fastens it with a string to the bough. In 
 this manner he proceeds, till he has fixed his whole num- 
 ber of bottles, which serve as receivers to the juice distil- 
 ling from the wounds. This operation is generally per- 
 formed in the evening, a greater quantity of juice flowing 
 from the tree in the night than in the day. The bottles are 
 next morning taken off, and the liquor emptied into a pro- 
 per vessel, where it spontaneously ferments. As soon as 
 the fermentation is completed, the liquor is thrown into 
 the still, and drawn down to a low wine ; but so very poor 
 and dilute, that they are obliged to rectify it in another 
 still, to that weak kind of proof spirit, we generally see it ; 
 for though it appears bubble-proof, it rarely contains more 
 than a sixth, and soaietimes only an eighth of alcohol. All 
 the rest being no more than an acidulated water, which 
 might be supplied from any common spring Why arrac 
 appears bubble-proof, when in reality so far below what 
 ■we mean by proof, is not so great a mystery as at first 
 sight it appears to be ; for this kind of proof is entirely 
 owing to a certain tenacity of the parts of the liquor* or to 
 the particular property of the oil incoi'pnrated in the 
 spirit ; as we shall abundantly shew in a subsequent article. 
 
 From this account of arrac, it should seem no very- 
 difficult matter to imitate it here. And, perhajs, the 
 ■whole difficulty lies in procuring a pure and insipid spirit; 
 for it IS ridiculous to attempt it with our common malt 
 spirit. With regard to the flavor oi the arrac. it may 
 i>e effectually imitated by some essential oils easily pro- 
 curable. 
 
 Hence we see of what prodigious advantage a pure and 
 insipid spirit would be of to distillers, and consequently the 
 great encouragement there is to attempt the discovery. 
 Perhaps a spirit of this kind may be extracted from sugar 
 properly refined. The hint ia worth prosecuting, and the 
 writer of this essay, from repeated experiments, is abun- 
 dantly convi »^-2d that the thing is practicable Had he 
 entirely succeeded, he would readily have communicated 
 the whole for the benefit of his country ; but is now obliged 
 to defer, to some future oi)portunity, the result of his en- 
 quiries. In the mean time, he would recommend the pro- 
 secution of this hint to those distiilers who endcayo€r to 
 improve their art, and to advance it nearer to perfection. 
 
 Since arrac is a spirit extracted from the juice of the 
 cocoa-tree, it may perhaps be worth enquiring how nearly 
 2t may be imitated 'by fermenting an4 distilling the juig|.s 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c, 275- 
 
 of the birch and sycamore-trees. We should by this means 
 obtain an American arrac ; and, perhaps, a spirit equal 
 in flavor to that imports d troiri Batavia. • 
 
 When the cask, in which the arrac is imported. happens 
 to be decayed, or the liquor touches any nails.or other iron, 
 it dissolves part of it, and at the same time extracts the 
 resinous parts of the oak, by which means the whole liquor 
 in the cask acquires an inky colour In order to whiten and 
 clarity arrac, whch has contracted this colour, a large 
 quantity of new or skimmed milk must be put into the cask, 
 and the whole beat together, as vinters do to whiten their 
 brown wines 4 by this meani> the inky colour will be ab- 
 sorbed by the milk, and tall with it to the bottom, so that 
 the greatest part of the anac may be drawn off fine, and 
 the remainder procured in the same condition by being 
 filtrated through a conical flannel bag. 
 
 Article XV. 
 
 Of Rectification, 
 
 There are several methods of performing this opera- 
 tion ; though some, and indeed those in general practised 
 by our distiIlers,hL.rdly deserve the name; because, instead 
 of rectifying, that is, freeing the spirit ♦rom its essential oil 
 and phlegm, they alter the natural flavor of the spirit that 
 comes over in the operation. 
 
 The principle business of rectification is to separate the 
 spirit irom the essential oil of the ini^redient, which is 
 very apt to adhere strongly to the spirit. And in order to 
 this, care should be taken in the first distillation ; that is 
 the apirit, especially that from malt, should be drawn by 
 a gentle fire, by which means great part of the essential 
 oil will be kept from mixing with the spirit ; for experience 
 has abundantly proved, that it is much easier to keep 
 asunder, than to separate them when once mixed. 
 
 But as it is almost impossible to draw low wines without 
 the spirit being in some measure impregnated with the 
 essential oil, it is absolutely necessary to be acquainted 
 with some methods of separating the spirit from the oil, 
 and also of freeing it from its phlegm 1 he best methods 
 0^ doing this to perfection, are re-distillation and per- 
 colation. 
 
 In order to rectify low wines, they should be put into a 
 tall body, or alembic, and gently distilled in Balneum 
 Maria ; by this means a large proportion, both of the oil 
 and phlegm will remain in the body. But it the spirit 
 should be found, after this operation, to contain some of 
 the essential oil, it must be let down with fair water, and 
 re-distilled, in the same gentle mangier* And thus it may 
 
2^6 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 be brought to any degree of purity ; especially if in the 
 working, the spirit be suffered to fall into a proper quan- 
 tity of Balneum Marix. But it must be remembered, that 
 it is much more difficult to cleanse alcohol, or proof-spirit 
 than low wines, because the oil is more intimately mixed 
 with the two former than with the latter. Thjs oil may 
 however be separated from proof-spirit,&c by the method 
 already proposed, especially it it be previously filtrated 
 through paper, thick flannel, sand, stone, &c. 
 
 But this method, though it effectually answers the in- 
 tention, is generally rejected by our distillers, because of 
 the slowness of the operation ; and others substituted in its 
 stead, though instead of freeing the spirit fro u the oil,they 
 only abohsh the natural flavor of the spirit, and make a 
 more intimate mixture between the particles of the 
 spirit, and those of the essential oil. 
 
 It is impossible to enumerate all the methods practised 
 by distillers, as almost every one pretends to have a secret 
 nostrum for this purpose. The principal methods in use 
 for rectifying mialt spirits, are however reducible to three, 
 namely, by fixed alkaline salts, by acid spirits mixed with, 
 alkaline salts, and by saline bodies, and flavoring addi- 
 tions. 
 
 The method of rectifying by alkaline salts is thus per- 
 formed,: To every piece of proof-spirit, add fourteen 
 pounds of dry salt of tartar, fixed nitre, or calcined tartar; 
 lute on the head, and distil by a gentle heat, but be very 
 careful to leave out the faints. By this method a large 
 proportion of the foetid oil will be left in the still ; and what 
 comes over with the spirit will be greatly attenuated— 
 But this operation is generally performed in a very differ- 
 ent manner ; for instead of distilling the spirit in a gentle 
 and rqaable manner, the still is worked in its full force ; 
 by which means the oil, which should have remained m 
 the still, is driven over, and intimately mixed with the 
 sj)irit ; and const^quently, the whole operation frustrated, 
 and the spirit rendered much harder to cleanse than it was 
 before. 
 
 But even when the operation is performed according to 
 the rules of art, it is far from being perfect ; for it is well 
 known, that part of the fixed salts become volatile in the 
 operation, pass over the helm, and intimately mixes with 
 the essential oil still contained in the spirits ; by this means 
 the oil becomes more perfectly united with the spirits, and 
 cons<-quently much harder to be separated by repeated 
 distillations. Nor is this all for the still being worked in 
 its full force, the bitter oil of the -malt, formed into a kind 
 of liquid soap in the still, by means of the alkaline sa't, is 
 brought over the helm with the faints, and suffered to mix. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 27? 
 
 with Ihe spirit, whereby it is rendered almost as nauseous 
 and ill-tasted as before the operation. Besides, if this ope- 
 ration were performed in its utmost perfeci'.'^n, it wohld 
 never answer the intention ; for the alkaline salt destroys 
 the vinosiiy of the spirit, and consequently deprives it of 
 one of its most valuable properties. Our distillers are well 
 acquainted with this detect in the operation, and endea- 
 vour to supply it by an addition of acids. This is what we 
 call the second method by alkalies and acids. 
 
 The operation of rectifying by the method of fixed al- 
 kalies and acids, is the same as that above described ; the 
 spirit is drawn over from fixed alkalies as before ; but in 
 order to mortify the alkali in the spirit, and lestore its 
 vinosity, a proper quantity of some acid spirit is added — 
 Various kinds of acids are used on this occasion ; but prin- 
 cipally those of the mineral kind, because of their cheap- 
 ness ; as oil of vitriol, spirit of nitre, oil of sulphur, and 
 the like. We would, however, caution a young distiller 
 from being too busy with these corrosive acids ; the sul- 
 phureous spirit of vitriol, dulcified spirit of nitre, or Mr. 
 Boyle's acid spirit of wine well rectified, will much better 
 answer his purpose. 
 
 The third method of rectification is that by saline bodies 
 and flavoring ingredients. 1 here is no difference in the 
 operation between this and the two foregoing methods ', 
 fixed alkaline salts, common salt depreciated or dried, 
 calcined vitriol, sandiver, alum, &c. is put into the still 
 with the low wines and the spirit draun over as before -— 
 When the quantity is drawn off, the fl;<voring ingredients 
 are added to give the spirit the flavor irtenu. Eut as the 
 spirit is not by this means rend* r.' d sufficiently pure, the 
 disagreeable flavor of the spirit gf neraily overpowers that 
 of the ingredients, whereb^ the whole intention is either 
 destroyed, or a compound flavour produced, very different 
 from that intended. 
 
 Some disiillers, instead of alkaline salts, use quick lime 
 in rectifying their malt spirit ; this en^redient cleanses 
 and dephlegmates vhe spirit considerably ; but like that 
 rectified from alkaline salts, it requires an alkaline dispo- 
 sition, and also a nidorous flavor. Acids, therefore, are as 
 necessary to be mixed with those spirits rectified with 
 quick lime, as with those rectified with an alkaline salt. 
 If chalk, calcined and well purified animal bones, &c. 
 were used instead of quick lime, the spirit would have a 
 much less alkaline or nidorous flavor ; and, consequenly, 
 the flavoring ingredients might be added to it with more 
 success than can be expected from a spirit rectified from 
 alkaline salts. 
 
 But, perhaps, if neutral salts were used instead of the 
 alkaline ones, the spirit might be rendered pure, withait 
 
27S SECRETS IN ARTS, TRAgES, &c. 
 
 contracting an alkaline flavor ; soluble tartar mightfbe used 
 for this purpose, though the spirit acquires from hence a 
 little saponjcenus flavor. Dr. Cox has mentioned another 
 method for this purpose, namely, to deprive the volatile 
 salts of their oil, by rendering them neutral with spirit of 
 salt, and afterwards subliming them with salt of tartar ? 
 the acid may be varied, if the spirit of salt should not be 
 found so well adapted to the purpose as could be wished : 
 but fine dry sugar seems the best adapted to the purpose 
 of rectifying these spirits ; as it readily unites with the es- 
 sential oil, detains and fixes it, without imparting any uri- 
 nous, alkaline, or other nauseous flavor to the spirits rec- 
 tified upon it. 
 
 Thus have I considered the principal methods used by 
 our distillers in rectifying their spirits ; and shall conclude 
 this article with remarking, that there is no other way of 
 rectifying to perfection, besides what we first laid down, 
 namely, by gentle distillation. But then it must be re- 
 membered, that the whole process must be of a piece ; we 
 mean, that the first distillation from the wash must be per- 
 formed in a gentle manner ; for otherwise the esscntil oil 
 will be so intimately blended with the spirit, as not to be 
 easily separated by re-distillation- Another good proper- 
 ty attending this method is its universality ; all kinds of spi- 
 rits, from whatever ingredients extracted, require recti- 
 fication ; and this is adapted to all kinds. 
 
 Article XVI. 
 
 OJ (he I'lavoring of Spirits. 
 
 We have observed in the preceding article, that the 
 common method of rectifying spirits from alkaline salts, 
 destroys their vinosity, and in its stead introduces an urin- 
 ous or lixivious taste. But as it is absolutely necessary to 
 restore, or at least to substitute in its room, some degree 
 of vinosity, several methods have been pr. posed, and a 
 multitude of experiments p^^rforned, in order to discover 
 this great desideratum: but none has surct ed-^d equal to 
 the spirit of nitre ; and accordingly this spirit, either 
 strong or dulcified, has been used by most distillers, to 
 give an agreeable vinosity to their spirits. 
 
 Several difficulties, however, occur in the method of 
 using it, the principal of which is. its being apt to quit the 
 liquor in a short time, and consequently depriving the Siquor 
 of that vinosity it was intended to give, In order to re- 
 move tjiis difficulty, and prevent the vinosity from quit- 
 ting the goods, the dulcified spirit of nitre, which is much 
 better than the strong spirit, should be prepared by a 
 previous digestion continued for some time with alcohol ; 
 the longer the digestion is continued the more intimately 
 
SECRETS IK ARTS, TRADES, &c. 279 • 
 
 will they be blended, and the connpound rendered the 
 milder and softer. 
 
 After a proper digestion, the dulcified spirit should be 
 mixed with the brandy, by which means the vinosity will 
 be intimatelv blended with the goocls, and disposed not to 
 fly off for a very considerable time. 
 
 No general rule can be given for the quantity of this 
 mineral acid requisite to be employed, because different 
 proportions of it are necessary in different spirits. It 
 should, however, be carefully adverted to that though a 
 small quantity of it will undoubtedly give an a greeable 
 vinosity resembling that natnrallv found in the fine subtile 
 spirits drawn from wines yet an over large doseof it will 
 not only cause a disagreeable flavor, but also rei;der the 
 whole design abortive, by discovering the imposition. 
 Those therefore, who endeavour to cover a foul taste in 
 goods by large doses of dulcified spirit of nitre, will find 
 themselves deceived. 
 
 But the best, and indeed the only method of imitating 
 JFrench brandies lo perfection,is by an essential oil of wine ; 
 this being the very thing that gives the French brandies 
 their flavour. It must, however, be remembered, that in 
 order to use even this ingredient to advantage, a pure, 
 tasteless spirit must be first procured ; for it is ridiculous 
 to expect that this essential oil should be able to give the 
 agreeable flavor of French brandies, to our fulsome malt 
 spirit, already loaded with its own nauseous oil, or strongly 
 impregnated with a hxivious taste from the alkaline salts 
 used in rectification. How a pure msipid spirit may be 
 obtained has been already considered in some of the pre- 
 ceding articles i it only therefore remains to shew the 
 method of procuring this essential oil of wine, which is this. 
 
 Take some cakes of dry wine-lees, such as are used by 
 our hatters, dissolve them in six or eight times their 
 weight of water distil the liquor with a slow fire, and se- 
 parate the oil by the separating glass ; reserving for the 
 nicest uses that only which comes over first, the succeed- 
 ing oil being coarser and more resinous. 
 
 Having procured this fine oil of wine, it may be mixed 
 into a quintessence with pure alcohol ; by which means it 
 may be preserved a long time fully possessed of all its fla- 
 vour and ^lirtues ; but without such management, it will 
 soon grow resinous and rancid- 
 
 When a fine essential oil of wine is thus procured, and 
 also a pure and insipid spirit, French brandies may be 
 imitated to perfection with regard to the flavor. It must, 
 however, be remembered, and carefully adverted to, that 
 the essential oil be drawn from the same sort of lees as 
 the brandy to be imitated was procured from ; we mean, 
 
2B0 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 in order to imitate Cogniac brandy, it will be necessary te 
 distil the essential oil from Cog7iiac If es ; and the same for 
 any other kind of brandy. For as different brandies have 
 different flavors ; and as these flavors are owing entirely to 
 the essential oil of the grape, it would be preposterous to 
 endeavour to imitate the flavor of Cogniac brandy, with an 
 essential oil procured from the less o\ Bordeaux wine. 
 
 When the fl ivour of the brandy is well imitated by a 
 proper dose of the essential oil, and the wliole reduced in- 
 to one simple and homoj^eneous fluid, other difficulties are 
 still behind : the flavor, though the essential part, is not 
 however the only one ; the colour, the proof and the soft- 
 ness must be also regarded, before a spirit, that perfectly 
 resembles brandy, can be procured. With regard to the 
 proof, it may be easily hit, b\ u^iny; a spirit rectified above 
 proof; which, after being intimately mixed witli the es- 
 sential oil ot wme, may be let down to a proper stai dard 
 by fair water. And the softness may in a ^^reat n.easure 
 be obtained by distilling and rectifying the sphit with a 
 gentle fire; and what is wanting of this criterion in the 
 liquor, when first made, will be supplied by time; for it 
 must be remembirred, that it is time alone that gives this 
 property to French brandies ; they being at first like our 
 spirits, acrid, foul and fi* ry. But with regard to the co- 
 lour, a particular method is necessary to intimate it to per- 
 fection : and how this may be done, bhall be considered ia 
 the next article. 
 
 Article XVII. 
 
 Of the Methods of Colouring Sfiirits* 
 
 The art of cnjnuring spirits eves its rise to observations^ 
 on foreign brandies. A piece of Frmch brandy that has 
 acquir d by age a great degree of softness and ripeness, is 
 observed at the same time, to have acquired a yellowish 
 brown colour ; and hence our distillers have endeavoured 
 to imitate this colour in such spirits as are intended to 
 pass for French brandy. And in order to this a great va- 
 riety of expenaientshas been made on various substances> 
 in order to discover a direct and sure method of imitating 
 thiscolour to perfection. But, in order to do this, it is ne- 
 cessary to know from whence the French brandies them- 
 selves acquires their colour ; for tiil we have made this 
 discovery, it will be in v^in to attempt an imitation ; be- 
 cause if we should be able to imitate exactly the colour, 
 which is indeed no difficult task, the spirit will not stand 
 the test of d^fterent experiments, unless the colour in both 
 hz produced from the- same ingredit nt. 
 
 This being undeniably the case, let us try if we c£:nnot 
 
SECRETS m ARTS. TRADES, Sec 2le 
 
 discover this mighty secret ; the ingredient from whence 
 the French brandy acquires its colour. 
 
 We have already obsierved, that this colour is only found 
 in such brandies as have acquired a mellow ripeness 
 by age ; it is therefore not given it by the distiller, but 
 has gained it by laying long in the cask. Consequently? 
 the ingredient from whence this colour is extracted, is no 
 other than the wood of the cask, and the brandy in reahty 
 is become a dilute tincture of oak. 
 
 The common experiment used to prove the genuineness 
 of French brandy proves, that this opinion is well founded. 
 The experiment is this : they pour into a glass of brandy a 
 few drops of a solution of calcined vitriol of iron in a dilut- 
 ed spirit of sulphur, or any other mineral acid, and the 
 Tvhole turns of a blue colour ; in the same manner as we 
 make ink of a tincture of galls and vitriol. 
 
 Since, therefore, the colour of Frtnch brandies is ac- 
 quired from the oak of the cask, it is no difficulty to imi- 
 tate it to perfection. A small quantity of the extract of 
 oS.k> or the shaving of that wood properly digested, will 
 furnish us with a tincture capable of giving the spirit any 
 degree of colour required. But it must be remem- 
 bered, that as the tincture is extracted from the cask by 
 brandy, that is alcohol and water, it is necessary to use 
 both in extracting the tinctur ; for each of these men- 
 struums dissolves different parts of the wood. Let, there- 
 fore, a sufficient quantity of oak shavings be digested in 
 strong spirit of wine ; and also at the same time other oak 
 shavings be digested in water : and wh^n the liquors have 
 acquired a strong tincture from the oak, let both be pour- 
 ed off from the shavings into different vessels, and both 
 placed over a gentle fire till reduced to the consistence of 
 treacle. In this condition, let the two extracts be inti- 
 mately mixed together; which maybe done effectually by 
 addiag a small quantity of loaf sugar, in fine powder, and 
 well rubbing the whole together. By this means a liquid 
 essential extract of oak will be procured, and always 
 ready to be used as occasion shall require. 
 
 There are other methods in use for colouring brandies ; 
 but the best, besides the extract of oak above-mentioned, 
 are common treacle and burnt sugar. 
 
 The treacle gives the spirits a fine colounnearly resemb- 
 ling that of French brandy ; but as its colour is but dilute, 
 a large quantity must be used ; this is not however at- 
 tended with any bad consequences ; for notwithstanding 
 the spirit is really weakened by this addition, yet the bub- 
 ble proof, the general criterion of spirits, is greatly mend- 
 ed by the tenacity imparted to the liquor by the treacle. 
 The spirit also acquires from this mixture a sweetish or 
 Bb 
 
282 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 luscious taste, and a fullness in the mouth ; both which 
 pro|,erties render it very agreeable to the palates of the 
 common people, who are, in fact, the principal consum- 
 ers of these spirits 
 
 A oiuch smnller quantity of burnt sugar than of treacle 
 ■will be sufficient for cninuring the same quantity of spirits ; 
 the taste is also very differerU ; for instead of the sweet- 
 ness imparted by the treacle, the spirit acquires from the 
 the burnt sugar an agreeable bitterness, and by that means 
 recommends itself to MJcer palates, which are offended 
 with a luscious >pirit. The burnt sugar is prepared by 
 dissolving a proper quantity of sugar in a little water, 
 and scorching it over the fire till it acquires a black colour. 
 
 Either of the above ingredients, treacle or burnt sugar, 
 will nearly imitate the genuine colourof old -Frew c/i bran- 
 dy ; but neither of them will succeed, when put to the 
 test of the vitriolic solution. 
 
 Thus have I traced the subject of distillation from its 
 origin shewn the methods commonly made use of by dis- 
 tillers, and pointed out various improvements, that n.ig^ht 
 be introduced into this art with great advantage; and 
 shall conclude this chapter with recommending the seve- 
 ral hints to those distillers who are desirous of improving 
 their art, and proceeding on a rational found ition, it being 
 from such only that improvements are to be expected ; 
 for where the operations are constantly carried on in the 
 same beaten track, it is in vain to expect ; improve- 
 ments, unless chance should be kind enough to throw that 
 in their way, which a rational theory would have easily 
 led them to discover. 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 THE METHOD OF DISTILLING SIMPLE WATERS. 
 
 Article I. 
 
 Of Rose- Water, 
 
 The damask rose is the species intended to be used in 
 this operation ; it is of a ver> fragrant smell, and flowers 
 in June and July. The water may be made either by the 
 hot still, the cold still, or the Jialneum Maria If the hot 
 still be used, the leaves picked from the stalks must be 
 put into the still with a sufficient quantity of water to pre- 
 vent an empyreuma, and the water drawn off by a gentle 
 fire. The receiver must be luted with a bladder to the 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 2£^3 
 
 nose of the worm, to prevent the finest and most volatile 
 parts from evaporating, whicli they would otherwise do, 
 to the great prejudice of the water 
 
 If the cold still be used, the rose leaves, either with the 
 dew on them, or sprinkled with water, must be laid on 
 the iron plate and covered with ihe coriical head. A gen- 
 tle fire must then be made under the plate, and a receiver 
 luted with a bladder to the nose of the still. The water 
 wil] gndually distil into the receiver, and be strongly im- 
 pregnated with the odoriferous parts of the roses. 
 
 The same method with regard to the Balneum JIaride 
 must be used in the distillation of roses as in that of orange- 
 flowers, and therefore need not be repeated here. We 
 shall therefore only observe, that rose-water, drawn eith- 
 er by the cold still, or the Balneum Marie, is much pre- 
 ferable to that drawn by the hot still. 
 
 The essence, or essential oil of roses is looked upon as 
 one of the most valuable f)erfumes in the world ; but at 
 the same time the most difficult to be , procured in any 
 quantity. A small quantity of^'t is made in Italy, but it has 
 always been thought impossiole to procure it here ; and, 
 therefore, a method of acquiring this valuable commodity 
 will not, I presume, be disagreeable to the reader. 
 
 Tafee a quantity of datrasfe rose leaves, put them intd a 
 proper vessel, with a sufficient quantity of water, adding 
 some mineral acid, as spirit of salt, vitriol, &c. In this 
 menstruum let the roses be digested for fifteen days ; af- 
 ter which put the whole into an alembic, and draw off the 
 water with a pretty brisk fire. But.instead of the common 
 receiver, a separating-glass must be placed under the nose 
 of the worm, and a receiver added to the tube of the sepa- 
 rating glass.By this means all the oil or essence will float on 
 the surface of the water in the separating-glass, and may 
 easily be separated from it when the operation is finished. 
 
 Article II. 
 
 Of Cinnamon- Water. 
 
 Cinnamon is a thin fine bark, rolled up in a sort of little 
 pipes, from the thickness of a goose-quill, to that of a man's 
 thumb, and sometimes more, and about two or three feet 
 long. Its colour brownish, with a mixture .of red. It is 
 of an extremely aromatic smell, and of an acrid and pun- 
 gent, but very agreeable taste. It is the interior or second 
 bark of a tree that grows plentifully in Ceylon. The 
 people who gather it take off' the two barks together, and 
 immediately separating the outer one, which is rough, and 
 has very little fragrancy, they lay the other to dry in the 
 shade in an airy place, where it rolls itself up into the form 
 wherein we see it 
 
-284 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 6tc. 
 
 The greatest cheats in the sale of cinnainon, are the sell- 
 ing such as has already had its essential oil distilled from 
 it, and dried again, and the imposing cassia lignea in its 
 place, Thefirst of these is discovered by the want of pun- 
 gency in the cinnamon ; the second by this, that the cassia^ 
 •^vlien held a little time in the mouth, becomes mucilagi- 
 no'29., which the true cinnamon never does. <3innamon is 
 a noble drug, endued with many capital virtues ; it streng- 
 thens the visctra, assists concoction, dispels flatulencies, 
 and is a pleasant cardiac. 
 
 Receijie for one gallon ofsimfile Cinnamon- Water. 
 
 Take a pound of the best cinnamon groi^slv powdered, 
 digest for twe»ty-four hours, in two gallons ot water ; put 
 the whole into an alembic, and draw over one gallon with 
 a pretty brisk fire. 
 
 The oil of cinnamon, in which the specific virtue of the 
 (hug consists, is very ponderous, and thereiore will not 
 come over the helm unless the ,fire be pretty brisk, es- 
 pecially with a simple water. Itwill therefore be in vain 
 to attempt distilling simple cinnamon-water by the Bal~ 
 v.eiim Mari.f, 
 
 Article III. 
 
 Fennel-water Is extracted from a seed larger and more 
 beautiful than thdt produced by our common fennel ; it is 
 called Sweet Fennel seed, being of a frairrant smell, and 
 aromatic sweet taste, and is cultivated in France and haly 
 It is to be chosen, new, large, and fair ; but when damp 
 or dusty to be rejected. 
 
 Receifiefor one Gallon of Fennel- Water. 
 
 Take one p'^und of sweet fennel-seeds, and two gallons 
 of water ; i>ut them into an alembic, and draw off one 
 gallon with a gentle fire. • 
 
 Article IV. 
 
 Of Pefifiermint- Water, 
 
 Pepper-mint is a very celebrated stomachic, and on that 
 account greatly used at present, and its simple water of- 
 ten called for. 
 
 Recifiefor a gallon of P cfifierinint- Water. 
 
 Take of the leaves of dried peppermint, one pound and 
 a half; water, two gallons and a half; put all mto an 
 alembic, and draw off one gallon, with a gentle fire. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 285 
 
 The water obtained from peppermint by distillation in 
 Balneum Marue, is more fragrant and more fully impreg- 
 nated with the virtues of the plant than that drawn by the 
 alembic. The same may be said with regard to that ex- 
 tracted by the cold still ; when the cold still is used the 
 plant must be green and if possible committed to the still 
 with the morning dew upon it. 
 
 Article V. 
 
 Of S/iearmint- Water. 
 
 Spearmint is also like peppermint, a great stomachic, 
 and therefore constantly used. 
 
 Recifiefor one gallon of Sjiearmint- Water. 
 
 Take of the leaves of dried spearmint one pound and a- 
 half ; water two gallons and a half ; draw off by a gentle 
 fire one gallon. 
 
 This water, like that drawn from pepperment, will be 
 more fragrant if distilled in Balneum Maria, or the cold 
 stili ; but if the latter be used, the same caution must be 
 ©bserved of distilling the plant green. 
 
 Article VI. 
 
 Of Balm- Water. 
 
 Balm is a plant well known in our gardens. It flowers 
 m July, and is of a fine cordial flavor ; but so weak, that it 
 is soon dissipated and lost ; nor is it easy to dry it so as to 
 preserve its natural scent 
 
 Bdlm-water, therefore, should be drawn when the plant 
 is green ; and in order to procure the water in full per- 
 fection, it should be cohobated, or returned several times 
 upon fresh parcels of the plant ; by this means a water 
 may be procured from balm extremely rich, and of con- 
 siderable use as a cordial. 
 
 If the Balneum MarLt be use*, the water is much better 
 than that drawn by an alembic. The water drawn from 
 this plant by the cold still will also be very fragrant> and 
 highly impregnated with the virtues of the plant. 
 
 Article VII. 
 
 Of Pennyroyal- Water. 
 
 Pennyroyal, a plant very common in America, is very 
 warm, and its parts very subtile and penetrating : it is one 
 of the first plants in esteem in the present practice, as 
 well as in former ages, as attenuant and uterine. It is good. 
 Bb2 
 
286 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 in flatulencies and suppressions of urine, and by many is 
 grr ally recon mended in dropsies, jaundices, and other 
 chronic distempers. It communicates its virtues to water 
 in infusion, and its simple water has, perhaps, more virtue 
 than any other kept in the shops. But as it is requisite in 
 order to obtain a water fully impregnated wiih the virtues 
 of balm, to cohobate it on fresh parcels of the plant ; the 
 water drawn from green pennyroyal, on the contrary, ge- 
 nerally contains so large a portion of the essential oil, that 
 it is necessary to separate what floats on the surface of the 
 water, by the seperating- glass. 
 
 Recijiejor one gallon of Pennyroyal- Water. 
 
 Take of the dried leaves of pennyrnval one pound and a 
 halt of water three gallons ; draw off one gallon with a 
 gentle fire. 
 
 The water drawn from green pennyroyal by the cold 
 still, is VL-ry fragrant, and fully impregnated with the 
 virtues of the plant. 
 
 GHAP. III. 
 OF MAKING COMPOUND WATERS Al^D CORDIALS. 
 
 Article I. 
 
 Of strong Cinnamon- Water. 
 
 WE have already [Chap. II. Art. II.] described this 
 drug, and given some directions tor chusing the best sort, 
 to which the reader is referred. 
 
 Recifiefor sixteen gallons of strong Cinnamon- Water. 
 
 Tnke eight pounds of fine cinnamon bruised, seventeeri 
 gallons of clean rectified spirit, and two gallons of water. 
 Put them into your still, and digest them twenty-four 
 hours with a gentle heat ; after which draw off sixteen 
 gallons by a pretty strong heat. 
 
 1 have ordered a much larger quantity of cinnamon than 
 is common among distillers ; because, when made m the 
 manner above directed, it is justly looked upon as one of 
 the noblest cordial waters ot the shops \ but when made 
 in the common way, ot two pounds to twenty gallons of 
 spirits as some have ordered, is only an imposition on the 
 buyer. Some also, to rerider the gooda cheaper, use equal 
 quantities of cinnamon and cassia and lignea ; but by this 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 2Br 
 
 means the cordial is rendered much worse; and, therefore, 
 if you desire a fine cinnamon water, the above recipe will 
 answer you intention ; but if a cheaper sort be desired, you 
 may lessen the quantity of cinnamon, and add cassia lignea 
 in its stead. If you would dulcify your cinnamon-water, 
 take double-refined sugar, what quantity you please ; the 
 general proportion is about two pounds to a gallon, and 
 dissolve it in the spirit after you have made it up proof with 
 clean water. One general caution is here necessary to be 
 added, namely, that near the end of the operation you 
 carefully watch the spirit as it runs nito the receiver, in 
 order to prevent the fa;nts mixing with the goods. '1 his 
 you may discover by often catching some of it, as it runs 
 from the worm, in a glass, and observing whether it is fine 
 and transparent ; for as soon as ever the faints begin to 
 rise, the spirit will have an azure, or bluish cast. As soon, 
 therefore, as you perceive this alteration, change the re- 
 ceiver immediately ; for if you suffer the faints to mix with 
 your other goods, the value of the whole will be greatly 
 lessened. With regard to the faints, they are to be kept 
 by themselves,and poured into the still when afresh parcel 
 of the same goods is to be made. 
 
 It is also necessary to observe here, once for all, that 
 the distillers call all goods made up proof, double goods ^i 
 and those which are below proof, single. This observa- 
 tion will be alone sufficient to instruct the young distiller 
 how he may at any time turn his proof or double goods 
 into single. 
 
 Article II. 
 
 Of Clove- Water, 
 
 Cloves, from whence this water takes Us name, are the 
 fruit of a tree growing in the Molucca islands. The figure 
 of this fruit is oblong, and not very thick, resembling, in 
 some measure, a nail. The surface of it is rough, and the 
 colour a dusky brown, witl*»an admixture of redish 1 he 
 whole fruit is of an extremely fragrant smell, and ot an 
 acid, pungent, and very aromatic taste Cloves are to be 
 chosen the largest, fairest, darkest coloured, the heavieit, 
 and most unctuous on the surface, when pressed between 
 the fingers. Cloves are carminative, and good against all 
 distempers of the head arising from cold causes They 
 strengthen the sight, ard are good against faintings, palpi- 
 tations of the heart, and. crudities in the stomach. 
 
 Recipe for fifteen gallons of Clove- Water., 
 
 Take of cloves bruised four pounds, piniento or allspice, 
 clean proof of spirit sixteen gallons ; let it digest twelve 
 
288 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 hours in a gentle heat, and then draw off fifteen gallons 
 with a prettv brisk fire. Or, 
 
 Take JVmter*s bark four pounds, pimento six ounces, 
 Glover one pound and a quarter, clean proof of spirits six- 
 teen gallons : digest, and draw off as before. 
 
 The Winter's bark, added in the second recipe, is the 
 bark of a large tree, growing in several parts of America, 
 and has its nam'e from its discoverer, Captain Winter, 
 
 The outer rind of it is of an uneven surface, and of a 
 loose texture, very brittle, and easily powdered. The 
 inner part, in which principal virtue resides, is hard, and 
 of a dusky redish brown colour. It is of an extremely fra- 
 grant and aromotic smell, and of a sharp, pungent, and 
 spicy taste, much hotter than cinnamon in the mouth, and 
 leaving in it a more lasting flavor It is to be chosen in 
 pieces not too large, having the inner or brown part firm 
 and sound, and of a very pungent taste It is apt to be 
 v/orm-eaten ; but in that case it should be wholly rejected 
 as having lost the most essential part of its virtue. 
 
 If you desire to have your clove-water red, it may be 
 coloured either by a strong tincture of cochineal, alkanet- 
 root. or corn-poppy flowers. The first gives the most 
 elegent colour, but it is not often used on account of its 
 dearness. 
 
 You may dulcify it to your palate, by dissolving in it 
 double-refined sugar- Some for cheapness use a coarser 
 kind of sugar : but this renders the goods foul and unsight- 
 ly. Some also, to save expences, make what they call 
 clove-water, with cloves and caraway seeds ; the propor- 
 tion they generally use is half an ounce of cloves and 
 two drachms of carraway-seeds to a. gallon of spirit* 
 
 Article III. 
 
 Of Citron- Water* 
 
 The citron Is an agreeable fruit resembling a lemon in 
 colour, smell, and taste. The'lnside is white, fleshy and 
 thick, containing but a small quantity of pulp, in propor- 
 tion to the bigness of the fruit. 
 
 Redfie for making ten gallons of Citron- Water, 
 
 Take of dry yellow rinds of citron four pounds, clean 
 proof spirit ten gallons and a half, water one gallon ; di- 
 gest the whole twenty-four hours with a gentle heat ; draw 
 off ten gallons with a gentle fire ; or, which is much 
 better, in Balneum Marix, and dulcify it with fine sugar 
 to your palate. Or, 
 
 Take of, dry yellow rinds of citrons three pounds^of 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 289 
 
 orange peel two pounds, nutmegs bruised three quarters 
 of a pound ; digest, draw off, and dulctfy as before. 
 
 This is one of the most pleasant cordials we have; and 
 the addition of the nutmegs, in the second receipt, increa- 
 ses its virtue as a cephalic and stonnachic* 
 
 Article IV. 
 
 OJ Anisud- Water. 
 
 Aniseed is a small seed of an oblong shape, each Avay 
 ending in an obtuse point ; its surface is very deeply stria- 
 ted, and it is of a soft and lax substance, very light, and 
 easily broken. Its colour is a kind of pale olive or gi een- 
 ish grey ; it has a very strong and aromatic smell, and a 
 sweetish but acrid taste* but in the v/hole not disagreeable. 
 Aniseed should be chosen large, fair, new, and clean, (fa 
 good smell, and acrid taste- "Fhe plant that produces it is 
 cultivated in many parts of France ; but the finest seed 
 comes from the island of Malta, where it is raised for sale, 
 and whence a great part of Europe is supplied. 
 
 Recipe Jot ten gallons of Aniseed- Water. 
 
 Take o' aniseed bruised two pounds, proof spirit twelve 
 gallons and a ucti*, .. u.iv.» «^w^ ^-nv^w, ^.^,, ^.. — g^^..\.^.^ 
 ■with a moderate fird^ Or, 
 
 Take of the seedof anise and angelica, each two pounds, 
 proof spirit twelve trallcms and a lialf ; dmw ( ff as bf f' re. 
 
 Aniseed- vvater should never be reduced below proof, 
 because of the lark'e quantity of oil with which thespiriiis 
 impretjnated, and wh ch will render the goodbuilkv and 
 foul, whi n brought down below proiit ; but it here be a 
 a necfssity for doing this, the poodb n ust bt filtrated 
 either through jiaper or the filtrating bag, which will res- 
 tore their transparency 
 
 Aniseed water is a good carminative, and therefore in 
 great request among the conr.mon people against the cholic= 
 
 Article V. 
 
 Of Mint- Water. 
 
 The mint intended in this receipe is the common spear- 
 mint, an account (d which has already been given, [Chap 
 II. Art v.] 
 
 Recipe for ten gallons of Mint- Water. 
 
 Take of dry spearmint leaves fourteen pounds, proof 
 spirit ten gallons and a half, water two gallons; draw off 
 ten gallons by a gentle heat. You may dulcify it with su- 
 gar if required' 
 
290 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 Mint-water is greatlv recommended by the learned 
 Botrkaave and Hoffman against vomiting, nauseas, and 
 tjie ciioiic. 
 
 Article VI. 
 
 Of Pefifiermint- Water. 
 
 The peppermint has been already described, [Chap II. 
 Art. IV.] to which the reader is referred. 
 
 Recei/iefor ten gallons of Pefifiermint- Water. 
 
 Take of dry peppermint leaves fourteen pounds, proof 
 spirit ten gallons and a half, water one gallon draw off 
 ten gallons by a gentle fire. You may either dulcify it or 
 not. 
 
 Peppermint -water is a noble stomachic, good against 
 vomiting, nauseas, chohc, and other gripin.;^ pains in the 
 bowels ; in all which intentions it greatly exceeds the 
 common spearmint-water. 
 
 Article VII. 
 
 Of Usquebaugh. 
 
 tJsquebaugh, is a very celebrated jfordial, the basis of 
 which is saffron. There are different ways ot making this 
 famous compound ; but the following are equal to any I 
 have seen^ 
 
 Recifie for ten gallons of common Usquebaugh. 
 
 Take of nutmegs, cloves, and cinnamon, of each two 
 ounces ; of the seeds of anise, caraway, and coriander, of 
 each four ounces ; liquorice-root sliced, half a pound ; 
 bruise the seeds and spices and put them together with 
 the liquorice into the still with elevf n gallons of proof 
 spirits, and two gallons of water ; distil with a pretty brisk 
 fire till the faints begin to rise. But as soon as your still 
 begins to work, fasten to the nose of the worm two ounces 
 of English saffron tied up in a cloth, that the liquor may 
 run through it, and extract all its tincture ; and in order 
 to this you should often press the saffron with your fin- 
 gers. When the operation is finished, dulcify your goods 
 with fine sugar. 
 
 Receifiefor making ten gallons of Royal Usquebaugh. 
 
 Take of cinnamon, ginger, and coriander-seed, of each 
 three ounces ;' nutmegs, four ounces and a half; mace, 
 cloves, and cubebs, of each one ounce and a half. Bruise 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 6cc. 291 
 
 these ingredienis, and but them into an alenibic with elev- 
 en gallons of proot spirit, and two gallons of watei ; and 
 distil tiil the faints begin to rise ; fastening foi.r ounces and 
 a hilf of English saffron tied m a cloth to the end of the 
 -worm as directed in the preceding recipe, lake rais:i%, 
 stoned, tour pounds and a half ; dates, three poui ds ; 
 liquorice-r-ots sliced, two pounds; digest these tv. « Ive 
 hours in two gallons of water ; stiain out the ckai liquor 
 add it to that obtained by distillation, and dulcify the 
 whole with fine sugar. 
 
 Recetfie for ten gallons oj Usquebaugh by digestion. 
 
 Take of raisins stoned, five pounds ; figs sliced, one 
 pound and a half ; cinnamon half a pound ; nutmegs three 
 ounces ; cloves and mace, of each one out ce and a half; 
 liquorice two pounds ; saffron four ounces ; bruise tlie 
 spices, slice the hquonce, and pull the saffron in pieces ; 
 digfc-st these ingredients eight days in ten gallons of pr<,K)f 
 spirit, in a vessel close stopped ; chen filter the liquor, and 
 add to it two gallons of Canary wine, and half an ounce of 
 the tincture of ambergris. 
 
 Rtceipefor making ten gallons of French Usquebaugh, 
 
 Take of saffron three ounces of the essential oil or es- 
 sence of Florentine citron, bergamot,/'c/nw^''a^ orange, and 
 lemon, of each a hundred drops ; angelca seed, vanellos, 
 and mace, of each one ounce and a half ; cloves and co-" 
 riander-seed, of each three quarters of an ounce ; bruise 
 the seeds and spices, and put all into an alembic with ele- 
 ven gallons of proof spirit, and two gallons of water ; and 
 draw off with a gentle fire till the faints begin to rise, fast- 
 ening to the nose of the worm four ounces of saffron in a 
 cloth. When the operation is finished dulcify the goods 
 "with fine sugar. 
 
 These waters are excellent cephalic cordials, and alex- 
 ipharmics ^tand are excelled by nothing in suddenly reviv- 
 ing the spirits when depressed by sickness, &c. 
 
 Article VIII. 
 
 Of ratafia. 
 
 Ratafia is a liquor in great esteem, and most persons 
 are acquainted with it ; though the true method of mak- 
 ing it is known only to a few Thi re are various kinds of 
 ratafia made from different fruits. 1 shall give recipes for 
 making those which are at present in most esteem ; which 
 may serve as instances for making these goods Jrom any 
 other kinds of fruit' 
 
292 SECRETS IN ARTS. TRADES, &c. 
 Of red Ratafia, 
 
 There are three sorts of ratafia drawn from red fruits, 
 distinguished by the ephitbets.y^Tze, dry, and common^ 
 
 The fruits most proper to n.ake the rf d ratafia are the 
 black heart cherry, the common red cherry, the black 
 cherry, the inerrv or honey cherry, the strawberry, the 
 raspberry, the red gooseberry, and the mulberry. 
 
 These fruits should be gathered in the height of their 
 respective seasons, and the largest and most beautiful of 
 them chosen for that pupose. 
 
 Thus with regard to the heart cherry, it should be large 
 fleshy, and thorough but not over ripe i for then a part of 
 its juice will be evaporated on the tree; care must be 
 also taken that its colour be not decayed ; but clear and 
 almost transparent, and well tasted. 
 
 The black cherry, or as it is often called, the black 
 arvon. must be extremely ripe, because it is used to colour 
 the ratafia when that of the other fails. The criterion of 
 judging when it is thoroughly ripe, is its blackness ; for, 
 when in perfection, it is perfectly black. It should also be 
 remeribered that this fruit is better and more profitable in 
 proportion to its sweetness ; as the flavor of the ratafia 
 will be rendered more agreeable, and a less quantity of 
 sugar necessary. 
 
 As the gooseberry is an acid fruit, it must be chosen as 
 ripe as possible. The fruit large, and the skin and husk 
 so transparent as to see the seeds through it. The goose- 
 berry should be used immediately after its being gathered, 
 for it is very liable to ferment, which will inevitably spoil 
 the ratafia. Gooseberries are chiefly used to render the 
 ratafia dry or sharp» and consequently less soft, and there- 
 fore their quantity should always be proportioned to that 
 intention. 
 
 The merry cherry to be good should be small, black, 
 the skin transparent, full of liquor, of a deep black purple 
 colour. The greatest care should be taken, that it be fresh 
 gathered, and not rotten. It corrects the acid juices of 
 the other fruits by its sweetness, softens the composition, 
 and is of great service in colouring the ratafia. 
 
 The mulberry is of the greatest service in colouring the 
 ratafia. It should be «hosen large, and fully ripe, at which 
 time it is of a black purple colour. Its taste also greatly 
 contributes to render the ratafia of a pleasant and agreea- 
 ble flavor. 
 
 The strawberry greatly contributes to increase the rich 
 flavor of the ratafia ; but it must be chosen ripe and 
 large, fresh gathered and not bruised. Another caution 
 necessary to this fruit is, that they are gathered in dry 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, Sec. 29S 
 
 warm weather ; for if gathered in rainy weather, they 
 will want that fine tasie, for which they are so greatly 
 valued. 
 
 The raspberry is also added to augment the richness of 
 the liquor, to which its elegant perfumy taste greatly con- 
 tributes ; by its agreeable acidity it renders the flavor 
 more brisk and agreeable. It must be fresh gathered, full 
 ripe, and free from spots and mouldiness, which the fruit 
 is particularly subject to. 
 
 Having thus concisely enumerated the qualities requisite 
 in the several fruits to render the ratafia of a rich ele- 
 gant flavor, we shall proceed to give the best methods for 
 making ratafia from them. 
 
 Recipe for making red Ratafia fine and soft- 
 
 Take of the black heart cherries, twenty-four pounds, 
 black cherries, four pounds, raspberries and strawberries, 
 of each three pounds, pick these fruits from their stalks 
 and bruise them, in which condition let them continue 
 twelve hours, press out the juice, and to every pint of it 
 add a quarter of a pound of sugar. When the sugar is dis- 
 solved, run the whole through the filtrating bag, and 
 add to it three quarts of clean proof spirits. Then take 
 of cinnamon four ounces, of mace an ounce, and of cloves 
 two drachms. Bruise these spices, put them into an alem- 
 bic, with a gallon of clean proof spirits and two quarts of 
 water, and draw off a gallon with a brisk fire- Add as 
 much of this spicy spirit to your ratafia as will render it 
 agreeable to your palate, about one fourth is the usual 
 proportion. 
 
 Ratafia made according to the above recipe will be of a 
 very rich flavour, and elegant colour* It may be render- 
 ed more or less of a spicy flavor, by adding or diminishing 
 the quantity of spirit distilled from the spicts." 
 
 Some in making {ratafia, suffer the expressed juices of 
 their fruits, to ferment several days ; by this means the 
 vinosity of the ratafia is increased ; but, at the same time, 
 the elegant flavor of the fruits greatly diminished. Where- 
 fore, if the ratafia be desired stronger or more vinous, it 
 may be done by adding more spirits to the expressed 
 juice by which means the flavor of the fruits may be pre- 
 served, as well as the ratafia rendered stronger. 
 
 It is also a method with some to tie the spices in a linen 
 rag, and suspend them in the ratafia. But if this me- 
 thod be taken, it will be necessary to augment the quanti- 
 ty of spirit first added to the expressed juice. There is 
 no great difference in the two methods of adding the spices, 
 except that by suspending them in the ratafia, the liquof 
 is generally rendered less bright and transparent, 
 Cc 
 
394 SECRET IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 There is also another method practised in making ra- 
 tafia, which is this : take the quantity of fruit proposed* 
 bruise it, and immediate ly pour the spirit on the pulp. Af- 
 ter standing; a day or two, express the juice and spirit, fil- 
 trate it, and add the sugar and spices as before. But this 
 method requires more spirit than the former, as it will be 
 impossible to press it all out of the skins, and other parts 
 of the fruit remaining, after the juice is extracted. 
 
 Of making fine and dry Ratafia from red Fruit. 
 
 Though the ratafia we have just mentioned will doubt- 
 less please the palates of many people, yet there are others 
 who vvould prefer a different sort ; it is therefore necessa- 
 ry to know how to make dry as well as sweet ratafia, if 
 we are desirous of pleasing all sorts of palates. 
 
 Dry ratafia is prepared in the same manner as the 
 preceding, but the ingredients are different. 
 
 An equal quantity of cherries and gooseberries are ne- 
 cessary m making dry or sharp ratafia : because the acidity 
 of the gooseberries gives the requisite flavor to this sort of 
 liquor. But, at the same time care must be taken that the 
 gooseberries be fully ripe, for otherwise, though goose- 
 berries are more acid before they are ripe than after- 
 wards, yet that acidity is not the flavour desired ; it is 
 acerb and rough, and will render the flavor of the ratafia 
 disagreeable. The same observation holds good also with 
 regard to the cherries, they must be fully ripe, as in 
 making the soft ratafia. 
 
 Instead of black cherries used in the composition of the 
 preceding ratafia, mulberries should be used in this : ^he 
 reason of this change is. that the juice of the black cherry 
 is more sweet and glutinous than that of the mulberry, 
 and therefore less fit for making the ratafia. But the mul- 
 berries must be the ripest and blackest possible, in order 
 to give the better colour to the liquor. 
 
 More spirit and less sugar in proportion to the juice of 
 the fruit is also required in this composition than in the 
 foregoing ; but with regard to the spices, the same quan- 
 tity is generally added to both. 
 
 Recipe for making red Ratafia, fine and dry. 
 
 Take of cherries and gooseberries, of each thirty 
 pounds, mulberries, seven pounds, raspberries, ten pounds. 
 Pick ail these fruits clean from their stalks. &c. bruise 
 them, and let them stand twelve hours, but do not suffer 
 them to ferment. Press out the juxe, and to every pint 
 add three ounces of sugar ; when the sugar is dissolved, 
 run it through the filtrating bag, and to every five pints of 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 2cc. 293^ 
 
 liquor add four pints of clean proof spirit, together witli 
 the same proportion of spirit drawn from the^spices in the 
 foregoing composition. 
 
 But it may not be amiss to observe here, that different 
 distillers use dff^rent quantities of the spirit drawn from 
 the spices The best method, therefore is to imitate 
 the flavor most universallv approved of, which may be ea- 
 sily done, by adding a greater or less proportion of the 
 spiced spirit. 
 
 OJ mixed Ratafia. 
 
 By mixed ratafia is meant the juices of fruits prepared, 
 and ready to be mixed with the spirit when called for. 
 
 Keceifitfor making mixed Ratafia. 
 
 Ratafia is composed of cherries and gooseberries; of 
 these the best are to be chosen, bruised, and in that con- 
 dition suffered to remain some days to ferment. The 
 juice is then to be strained off, the quantity of sugar and 
 brandv added, and the whole put into a cask, and close 
 stopped. A lee or sediment will fall to the bottom of the 
 cask, which sedioient will be of great use in preserving 
 the ratafia. 
 
 The proportion of black cherries will be large in this 
 ratafia, because the colour, which this is greatly valued 
 for, chieflv corner from the juice of that fruit. 
 
 The su-^nr mast not be put in at once, because the acid- 
 ness of the liquor would cause a considerable effervescence, 
 buibv a little at a time. 
 
 These instructions being observed, a ratafia of this kind 
 may be easily made : and as the spirit is not to be mixed 
 with it, till the ratafia is called for, a large quantity of it 
 mav be made at a small expence, when the fruits are in 
 perfection, which cannot be done by the common methods, 
 
 Rccei/itsfor making mixed Ratafia 
 
 Take of common cherries, thoroughlv ripe, ^our hun- 
 dred and fifty pounds ; gooseberries large and rijie, two 
 hundred and twenty- five pounds ; black cherries, ripe and 
 large, fifty pounds. Bruise these fruits, and in that condi- 
 tion let them continue three or four davs to ferment : then 
 press out the juice, and add one fifth part of spirit ; that 
 is, if you have two hundred and fittv pints of juice, vou 
 must add to it fifty pints of spirit. When your sj^irit and 
 juice are mixed, put them into a cask, and for every pint 
 add three ounces of sugar- By this means your ratafia 
 will be always ready to mix with spirit 
 
 But as the proportion of spirit is but small, it will be ne- 
 
^96 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 eessary to taste your ratafia, at least, every month, lest it 
 should ferment, and by thai means lose both its flavour 
 and colour. As soon, therefore, as you perceive the least 
 alteration in your ratafia, more spirit must be added to 
 stop the fermentation ; and by this method it may be kept 
 the v/hole year. 
 
 If you have any ratafia remaining at the end of the year, 
 you must mix it with that just made, adding a large pro- 
 portion of black cherries ; because the colour in the old 
 ratafia will not be equal to that of the new. Or you may 
 add to your old ratafia a proper quantity of the fresh juice 
 of black cherries, which will restore its colour, and in a 
 great measure, its flavour too : so that if your ratafia has 
 been well preserved, it will, when n"ii>;ed with fresh juice 
 of black cherries, be but little inferior to the new. 
 
 Of white Ratafia. 
 
 As red fruits are the basis of that called red ratafia, so, 
 on the contrary, that made from the juices of white fruits 
 is denoaiinated white ratafia- 
 There are various kinds of ratafia made from various 
 fruits ; but I shall only give recipes for making three or 
 four sorts, which will be sufficient for all the rest, as the 
 method is nearly the same in all. 
 
 Recipe for making Ratafafrom the Muscat^ or white 
 Fronliniac Grape. 
 
 The berries of this kind of grape are large, and grow 
 extrem.ely close upon the bunches, which are very long, 
 and have commonly two shoulders; the fruit when ripe, 
 has a rich musky flavor ; but it is commonly very late in 
 autumn before the^e grapes are in perfection ; and the 
 berries being so very close upon the bunches, detain the 
 moisture in the centre, so that thty often perish : to pre- 
 vent which, some curious persons look ovt r their vines, 
 scon after the grapes are formed, and with a pair of scis- 
 sars cut out all snrialler ones, so as to leave the others at a 
 moderate distance, whereby the sun and air are easily ad- 
 mitted, which dissipates the moisture. and])revenVs their 
 perishing. There is another ki.d of this grape, called by 
 some the white Frontiniac of Alexandria, and by others 
 the Jerxisaltm muscat, which is a very lar.^e grape, and 
 when ripe an excellent fruit- The berries of the Jeru- 
 salem muscat are of an oval shape, and very large. They 
 grow very lose on the bunches, and very fleshy and firm, 
 and when ripe, are of a greenish white, and a delicate fla- 
 vor. 
 
 Either of these kind of grapes will make very fine rata-. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 8cc. 297 
 
 fia ; but whichever of them are chosen, they must be pick= 
 ed from the stalks, and only the finest berries made use 
 of. The stone must also be picked out ; for, if they are 
 bruised with the berries, the fine flavour of the juice will 
 be greatly diminished. 
 
 VVhen you have picked the grapes from the stalks, and 
 taken out the stones, press out the juice, and fikrate it 
 through a flannel bag. Then add the quantity of sugar 
 and spirit, and flavor it to your mind, with a spirit distilled 
 from spices, in the manner explained below- 
 
 Ti:ie general proportion of sugar and spirit is, to twenty 
 pints of the juice, five pounds and an half of sugar, ten 
 pints of spirit, and what quantity you please of the spicy 
 spirit. 
 
 To make the spicy spirit, take of mace, one pound : 
 nutmegs, four ounces ; spirit, three gallons, and draw off 
 the whole in Balneum J\Tarice. 
 
 By the same method you may make red ratafia from 
 the Ted Frontiniac ; except that the grapes when bruised, 
 must be suffered to ferment three or four days before the 
 juice is pressed out; because the colour, which resides 
 principally in the skins of the grapes, will by that means 
 be extracted. 
 
 The berries of the red muscat, or red Froiitiniac, are 
 about the size of those of the white ; but grow much thin- 
 ner on the bunches. This grape, when thoroughly ripe, 
 has the richest and highest flavor of any yet known ; but 
 it must have a dry soil and a south aspect, otherwise it 
 seldom ripens well. Besides the above grape, there is 
 another, called by some, red muscat of Alexandria, and by 
 others, red Jerusalem muscat. This is not quite so late in 
 ripening as the white muscditoi Alexandria, above descri- 
 bed ; and for that reason more esteemed. The berries of 
 this kmd are not quite so large as those of the white, but 
 ef the same form, and equal in goodness. 
 
 Of Ratajia jrom Peaches. 
 
 The ratafia made from the peach is the finest and richest 
 flavor of any made from stoned fruits. It is, however, ne- 
 cessary to gather the peach when thoroughly ripe, but at 
 the same time not to suffer it to hang too long on the tree : 
 for, as on the one hand, it will not acquire its delicious fla- 
 vor and smell till thoroughly ripe, so.on the other, it will lose 
 both if suffered to hang on the tree after it has attained to 
 a full maturity. Another necessary caution is to gather it 
 in fine warm weather, and near the middle of the day, 
 because then both the flavor and smell are in the grcatetst 
 perfection. 
 
 C c2 
 
298 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &C. 
 
 It is also requisite to make choice of the proper sorts of 
 peaches ; for there is a remarkable difference in thefiavor 
 of these fruits. Gardeners reckon above thirty sorts of 
 peaches ; but not more than half that number are proper- 
 for making ratafia- I shall therefore give a short des- 
 cription of those that are most proper, that the young 
 distiller may not be disappointed in making ratafia from 
 peaches. 
 
 1. The early purple (called by the French-, lafiourjirie 
 fidiive.J This tree hath smooth leaves : the flowers large 
 and open ; the fruit is large, round, and of a fine red col- 
 our ; the flesh is white, but very red at the stone ; very 
 full of juice, which has a rich vinous flavor. This peach 
 is ripe about the middle of August. 
 
 2 The large, or French mignon. The leaves of this tree 
 are smooth., and the flowers large and open. The fruit is a 
 little oblong, generally swelling out on one side, and of a 
 fine colour The juice is very sweet, and of a high flavor ; 
 the flesh white, but very red at the stone, which is small, 
 and easily separates from the flesh. This peach is ripe in 
 the middle of August. 
 
 3. The chevreuse, or belle chevreuse. This tree hatli 
 smooth If aves, and its flowers are small and contracted. 
 The fruit is of a middling size, a little oblong, and of an ele- 
 gant colour. The flesh is white, but very red at the stone, 
 from which it separates ; full of a rich sugary juice, and 
 ripens toward the latter end of August. 
 
 4 The red magdalen, called by the French about Paris, 
 Magdeleine de Courson, The leaves ofthis tree are deeply 
 sawed, and the flowers large and open The fruit is large, 
 round.and of a fine red colour. The flesh is while,but very 
 red at the stone, from which it separates. 1 he juice is very 
 sugary and of a rich flavor. It is ripe the latter end of 
 August. 
 
 5. Smithes JS/ewington. This tree hath sawed leave 3 
 and large open flowers. The fruit is of a middling size> 
 and of a fine red next the sun. The flesh is very firm and 
 white, but very red at the stone, to which it closely ad- 
 heres. It has a rich sugary juice, and is ripe the lattey 
 end of August. 
 
 6. The chancellor. The leaves of this tree are smooth 
 and the flowers small and contracted. The fruit is shaped 
 somewhat like the belle chevreuse, but rounder. The flesh 
 is white aod melting, and separates frotn the stone, where 
 it is of a fine red colour. The skin is very thin, and the 
 juice remarkably rich. It ripens about the end of August* 
 
 7. The bellegarde ; or, as the French call it, the gal- 
 lande. This tree hath narrow leaves, and small contracted 
 flowers. The fruit is very large and round, and of a deep 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, 8cc. 299 
 
 purple colour on the side exposed to the sun. The flesh is 
 Avhite, melting and separates from the stone, where it is of 
 a deep red colour. The juice is very rich. This peach is, 
 ripe about the beginning of Sef;tember, 
 
 8. The bourdine. The leaves ot this tree are smooth, 
 and the flowers small and contracted The fruit is large, 
 round, and of a fine red colour next the sun. The flesh 
 is white, melting, and separates from the stone, where it 
 is oi a fine red colour. The juice is vinous and rich. It is 
 ripe the beginning of Septemben and greatly esteemed 
 by the curious. 
 
 9 1 he Lisle ; or, as the French call it, la pejietite vio^ 
 lette hdtive. This tree hath smooth leaves, and small con- 
 tracted flowers. The fruit is of a middle size, and next the 
 sun of a fine violet colour. The flesh is of a pale yellow, 
 melting, lull of a rich vinous juice ; but adheres to the 
 stone, where it is very red. This fruit is ripe the begin- 
 ning of September, 
 
 10. I'he old JVewmgton. The leaves of this tree are 
 sawed, and ihe flowers large and open. The fruit is fair, 
 large, and of a beautitul colour next the sun. The flesh is 
 white, melting, and closely adheres to the stone, where it 
 IS ot a deep red colour. 'Ihi juice is very rich and vinous. 
 It ripens about the middle of September. 
 
 11. The rambouillet, commonly called the rambullion. 
 This tree hath smooth leaves, and large open flowers. The 
 fruit is ot a middling siztr, rather round than long, deeply 
 divided by a furrow in the middle ; of a fine red colour 
 next the sun, but of a light yellow next the wall. The flesh 
 is meitug, of a bright yellow colour, except near the 
 stone, trom which it separates, where it is of a deep red. 
 The juice is rich and of a vinous flavor. This fruit ripens 
 about itii: middle of September. 
 
 12 The pourpree, or, as the French generally call it, 
 Pour/iree tardtvtyXhe late purple. The leaves of this tree 
 are very large, and sawed, the shoots strong, and the 
 flowers small and contracted. The flesh, except near 
 the stone, from which it separates, and where it is red, is 
 white, melting, and of a rich sugary juice. It is not ripe 
 till near the end of September. 
 
 13. 1 he nevette. The leaves of this tree are sawed, and 
 the flowers small and contracted. The fruit is large, 
 somewhat longer than round, oi a bright red colour next 
 the sun, and of a pale yellow on the other. The flesh is 
 melting, full of a rich juice, and very red at the stone, 
 from which it separates. It ripens about the middle ol 
 September, and is esteemed one of the best peaches. 
 
 14. The royal. This tree hath smooth leaves, and 
 small contracted flowers. The fruit is large, round, and of 
 a deep red on the side exposed to the sun, but of a pale 
 
300 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 yellow on the other. The flesh is white, melting, and full 
 of a rich juice, of a white colour, except near the stone, 
 from which it separates where it is of a deep red. This 
 fruit is ripe about the middle of September. 
 
 15. The monstrous pavy of pomponne The leaves of 
 this tree are smooth, the flowers large and open. The 
 fruit is very large and round, many times fourteen inches 
 in circumference. The flesh is white, melting, and closely 
 adheres to the stone, where it is of a deep red colour. — 
 The side next the sun is a beautifu: red, and the other of 
 a pale flesh colour. It ripens about the end ct October, 
 and when the autumn is warm,, is an excellent peach. 
 
 The above description of the different kmds of peaches 
 proper for making ratafia, will be of use to the young artist, 
 as the fine flavor of this Tquor in a great measure depends 
 on a proper choice of the truits used in the composition ; 
 and if the instructions relating to the perfections and ripe- 
 ness ot these fruits are observed, an excellent cordial may 
 be easily made in the following manner : 
 
 Take your peaches, bruise them, and instantly strain 
 out their juice through apiece of strong linen. Inthisjuice, 
 without anv mixture of water, dissolve your sugar ; and 
 when the su<ar is melted, add the quantity of spirit. No 
 spices must be used in this ratafia, the fine flavor of the 
 peach being far preferable to all sp ces in the world. The 
 quantity of either the sugar or spirit may be augmented 
 or lessened acc-irding to your own judgement, or in pro- 
 portion to the price of your ratafia. 
 
 As soon as the spirit is added to the dulcified juice of 
 the peaches, the whole must be filtrated thr ugh a flannel 
 bag, put into bottles close stopped ; for the fine flavor of 
 the peach will soon be lost, unless the bottles are very well 
 corked. Some also cover the cork with sealing-wax, which 
 is not a bad caution. 
 
 If you would have your ratafia of a bright red colour, 
 you must let your bruised peaches ferment a day or two ; 
 by which means ihe colour of the skin, and that of the 
 flesh near the stone, will be extracted, and give your ra= 
 tafia the colour desired. 
 
 Of Orange -Jlotver Ratafia. 
 
 The orange-flowers used in making ratafia should be 
 large, in their full perfection, gathered before the rising 
 of the sun, and carefully picked from their stalks, &c — 
 Some blanch the orange-flowers, by putting them into a 
 small quantity of water, and boiling them a few minutes 
 over the fire. But by this method the most volatile parts 
 of the flower are evaporated, by whieh the ratafia >viU 
 lose much of its delicate flavor. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 301 
 
 riie best way, therefore, is to use the orange- flowers 
 without any previous boiling. 
 
 Re£ip€for making ten gallons of Orange- flower Ratafia, 
 
 Take of orange-flowers fresh gathered and clean pick- 
 ed from their stalks, &c five pounds, and infuse them six 
 days in five gallons of clean proof spirit. Dissolve fourteen 
 pounds of sugar in five ?;allons of water ; and after strain- 
 ing the spirit from the flowers, nnix it with the syrup, and 
 filtrate the whole through a flannel bag. 
 
 Some instead of coimnon water use the orange-flower 
 water ; but it will be necessary in pursuing that method 
 to take care that the water be fresh made, and very fra- 
 grant ; for, otherwise, instead of improving, you will 
 greatly injure the fine flavor of your ratafia. 
 
 The foreign distillers keep two sorts of orange-flower 
 ratafia ; one they call single^ and the other double. The 
 former is made according to the above recipe ; but in 
 making the lattf r, ihey use double the quantity of orange- 
 flowers, and considerably augment the ])roportion of su- 
 gar- It will be needless to give a recipe for making that 
 sort of ratafia, which they call double, as the process is 
 exactly the same. 
 
 Ratajia of Portugal Orange. 
 
 Ratafia may be made from any sort of orange, but that 
 of the Portugal or2>.x\gQ is rtckoned the best. 
 
 The oranges must be chosen fair', lar^e, and ripe ; and 
 the outer or yellow pe- 1 be carefuiiy taken off" The 
 juice of the oranges must be then pressi-d out, dulcified 
 with sugar : and mixed with the spirit : after which the 
 outer nnds are to be added, and alter a proper infusion, 
 the whole filtrated through a fiance! oag. 
 
 Recijie for wak'mg three gallons of Portugal Orange 
 Raiajia 
 
 Take of the juice of Portugal oranges, two gallons ; 
 clean rectified spirit, one gallon ; four pounds of sugar ; 
 and the peel of ten oranges. Let the whole infuse a fort- 
 night, and the'.i filter the liquor through a flannel bag. 
 
 Some instead of infusing the peel as directed in the a- 
 bove recipe, put the peel into the spirit, and distil it in 
 Palneum Maria ; after which they add the spirit to the 
 dulcified orange juice, and filtrate it as before. 
 
 The foregoing recipes for making ratafia from different 
 fruits, &c. will be suflRcient to instruct the young distiller 
 in the method necessary to be pursued for making cordir.'s 
 of this kind ; for it would be tedious to give formulas f v 
 
302 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 making all kinds of ratrifia kept by diflerent distillerso 
 The method in all is nearly the sanrie ; and the propor- 
 tion of su^ar and spirit may be easily discovered by a few 
 experiments. 
 
 Article IX. 
 
 Of Geneva, 
 
 There was formerly kept in apothecaries shops a distill-' 
 cd spirituous water of juniper ; but the vulgar being fond 
 of It as a dra-n. the distill-^rs supplanted the apothecaries 
 and sold it under the naiTje of Tieneva. The common sort 
 however, is not made from juniper-berries, as it oaght to 
 be, but from oil of turpentine ; the method of which we 
 shall give in the spquel of this chapter. 
 
 Juniper-berries are a roundish Truit, of the size of a pea. 
 They wither and wrinkle in the drying, and we meet with 
 theTi variously corrugated, and usually covered with a 
 bluish resinous d'lst when fresh. They should be chosen 
 fresh, plump, full of pulp, and of a strong taste and smell 
 Some of th'i juniper shrubs are males, some females of the 
 same si.>ecies ; the --r.iAlei-hrubs produce in April or May a 
 small kind oi juli with spices on them, very large, and full 
 of farina ; the females produce none ol the juli, but only 
 the berries, which do not rippn till the second year, and 
 thc-n do noti i mediately f -Jl r.ff, so that it is no uncon^mon 
 thing t ■> see three sets of berries, or the berries of three 
 different yenrs at once on the same tree. 
 
 ^ If you make use of American berries, let them be fully 
 ripe before tht-v are gathered : ind in order to preserve 
 them, spread the^' very thin on a b-^ardtd floor, leaving 
 the wmdo-vs and doors, open, and turn them once a day 
 till they are drv ; atter which pack them up in barrels, so 
 that no air may co -le to them they ^vill keep good all the 
 year. Some, when thev are dry, throw the n altogether 
 in a heap in a corner of the room, where they coiitij)ue till 
 wanted for use : but the berries will not keep so well by 
 this method, as by being packed in casks, they are subject 
 to contract a mouldiness, which will give a taste to the 
 goods greatly to their disadvantage 
 
 Sfj.nne distillers, as soon as their berries are gathered, 
 put them into casks, and cover them with spirts of wine 
 by this method the berries are indeed well preserved 
 Avithnut any danger of contracting an ill smell, which they 
 are very apt to do by the other methods, unless the great- 
 est cae be taken; but then it must be ren.embered, 
 that the spirit will extract great part of their essential 
 oil, in which their virtues consists, and consequently the 
 b.erries themselves will be rendered of little value, if. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. SOS 
 
 therefore, you preserve your berries in this manner, you 
 should put into each cask or jar, oi.ly the quantity \ou 
 use for one charge of your still ; and when you have oc- 
 casion to use them, put both the spirits and berries into 
 your alembic. 
 
 Thus your berries will be finelv preserved, without any 
 loss either of their essential oil, or the spirits made use of 
 to preserve them. 
 
 Receifiefor making' ten gallons of Geneva. 
 
 Take of juniper berries, three pounds ; proof spirit, 
 ten gallons ; water, four gallons Draw off by a gentle 
 firt- till the faints begin to rise, and make up your goods 
 to the strength required with clean water. 
 
 Thedistillers generally call those gools which are made 
 up proof bv the name of Royal Geneva ; for the common 
 sort is much below proof, ten gallons of spirit being suf- 
 ficient for fifteen gallons of Geneva. Nay, what is gene- 
 rally sold at the common alehouses is made in the follow- 
 ing manner. 
 
 • Take of the ordinary malt spirits, ten gallons ; oil of 
 terpentine, two ounces ; bay salt, three handfuls. Draw 
 off by a gentle fire till the fanits begin to raise, and make 
 up your goods to ihe strength required with clean water. 
 
 In this manner is the commr^n geneva made, and it is 
 surprising that people should accustom themselves to 
 drink it for pleasure. 
 
 There is a sort of this liquor called Holland's geneva, 
 from its being imported from Holland^ which is greatly 
 esteemed. 
 
 These ingredients used by the Dutch a>e, however, the 
 same as those given in the first recipe of this article, only 
 instead of malt spirit they use French brandy. In the first 
 part of this Treatise we have sufficiently shewn the nature 
 of i^rencA brandy, and in what its excellence consists; and, 
 also, that by the help of a clean spirit, cordial waters may 
 be made with the same goodness as those drawn with 
 French brandy. If, therefore the distiller be careful in 
 distilling and rectifying his malt spirit, he may make gene- 
 va equal to that of the Dutch, provided it be kept to a 
 proper age ; for all spirituous liquors contract a softness 
 and mellowness by age, impossible to be imitated by art. 
 
 Article X. 
 
 Of Cherry- Brandy' 
 
 This liquor is greatly called for in the country ; and is 
 made different ways. Some press out the juice of the 
 
'304 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 cherries, and having dulcified it with sugar, add as mucU 
 spirit to it as the goods will bear, or the price it is intend- 
 ed to be sold for. But the common method is to put the 
 cherries clean picked into a cask, with a proper quanti- 
 ty of proof spirit, and after standing eighteen or twenty- 
 days, the goods are drawn off into another cask for sale, 
 and about two thirds of the first quantity of spirits pour- 
 ed into the cask upon the cherries- This is suffered to 
 stand about a month to extract the whole virtue from the 
 cherries, after which it is drawn off as before ; and the 
 cherries pressed to take out the spirit they had absorbed. 
 The proportion of cherries and spirit is not very nicely 
 observed ; the y;eneral rule is to let the cask be about 
 half filled with cherries, and then filled up with proof 
 spirits. Some add to every twenty gallons of spirit, half an 
 GU!ice of cinnamon, an ounce of cloves, and about three 
 pounds of sugar, by which the flavor of the goods is con- 
 siderably increased. But in order to save expences, not 
 only the spices and sugar are generally omitted, but also 
 a great part of the cherries, and the deficiency supplied 
 by the juice of elder-berries. Your own reason, therefore, 
 and the price you can sell your goods for, must direct you 
 in the choice of your ingredients. 
 
 By the same method you may make raspberry brandy ; 
 and if the colour of the goods be not deep enough, it may 
 be improved by an addition of cherry-brandy. 
 
THE 
 COMPLETE 
 
 FAMILY BREWER , 
 
 OB, THE 
 
 BEST METHOD OF BREWING OR MAKING 
 
 Ajvr quAj\rTiTT of 
 
 GOOD STRONG ALE AND SMALL BEER. 
 
 IN THE GREATEST PERFECTION, 
 
 FOR THE USE OF PRIVATE FAMILIES f 
 
 From a Peck of Malt to 60 Bushels- 
 
 1^ 
 
 THIS Treatise being intended principally for the use of 
 private faniilies, it will be necessary to begin with 
 Directions. 
 
 How to choose good Malt' 
 
 Malt is chosen by its sweet smell, mellow taste, full 
 flower, round body and thin skin. There are two sorts in 
 general used, the pale and the brown ; the forir eris most 
 used in gentlemen's houses, and private families ; the lat- 
 ter in public brew houses, as seeming to go further, and 
 make the liquor high coloured. Others again mix one 
 third brown with two thirds pale ; but this depends upon 
 the liking of the drinkers. The sweetest Malt is that 
 which is dryed with coak or cinders. 
 
 In grinding It, see that the mill be clean from dust, cob- 
 webs, 8cc. and set so as to crush every grain without grin- 
 ding it to powder ; for you had better have some small 
 grains slip through untouched.than have the whole ground 
 too small, which will cause it to take together, so that you 
 cannot get the goodne<^ out of it. 
 
 OfBo/is. 
 
 Hops are chosen by their bright green colour, sweet 
 smell, and clamminess, v;hen rubbed between the hands. 
 
 Of water for Brewing. 
 
 Water out of rivers or rivulets is the best, except pol- 
 luted by the melting of sncw or land water from clay or 
 Dd 
 
CDS SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES. &c. 
 
 ploughed lands. Snow water will take near one fifth part 
 more of malt to make the beer good. If you have no ri- 
 ver water, a pond that has a bottom not over muddy, and 
 is fed bv a spring will do ; for the sun will soi't^n and rare- 
 fy it. Very hard water drawn from a deep well, into a 
 wide cistern or reservoir, and exposed to the air or sun, 
 in twoor three days has been brewed with success, by the 
 addition of malt. Rain water comes next to river for 
 brewing, in short, all water that will raise a I^therwith 
 soap, is good for brewing. 
 
 Of the brewing vessels. 
 
 To a copper that holds 36 gallons, the mash tun ought 
 to be at least big enough to contain six bushels of malt, and 
 the copper of liquor, and room for mashing or stirring it : 
 The under bick, coolers and working tuns, may be rather 
 fitted for the convenience of the room, than to a particu- 
 lar size ; for if one vessel be not sufficient to hold your li- 
 quor, you may take a second. 
 
 Of cleaning and sweetening casks and Brewing vessels. 
 
 If a cask, after the beer is drank out, be well stopt to 
 keep out the air, and the lees remaining in it till you want 
 to use it again, you will need only to scald it well, and take 
 care of the hoops before you fill it ; but if air gets into a 
 foul emptv cask, it will contract an ill scent in spite of 
 scalding. A handful of bruised pepper boiled in the water 
 you hca'ld with, will take out a little musty smell ; but the 
 surest way is to take out the head of tiie cask, and let the 
 cooper shave and burn it a little, and then scald it for use ; 
 if ydu cannot conveniently have a cooper to the catsk, get 
 some stone hme, and put about three pound into a barrel, 
 (and proportiunably to smaller or bigger vessels) and put 
 to it about six gallons of cold water, bung it up, and shake 
 it about for som time, and afterwards scald it well : or 
 for want of lime, take a linnen rag, and dip it in melted 
 brimstone, a'id fasten one end to the bung, and light the 
 other, and let it hang on the ca-.k. You must give it a lit- 
 tle air else it will not burn ; but keep in as m.uch of the sul- 
 phur as you can. Scald it aftervferds, and you will find 
 110 ill smell. 
 
 If von have new casks, before you fill them, dig places 
 in the earth, and lay them half their depth with their bung 
 holes d wnv. ard for a week ; and after well scalding them, 
 you may venture to Htl them. 
 
 Another way to proceed, if vo\ir brewing vessels are 
 tinged with any ill sn>ell, is to take unslac"'- ed lime and wa- 
 ter, and with an old broom scrub the vessel whilst the wa- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. S07 
 
 rev is hissing, with the lime ; ar.d afterwards take all this 
 lime and water away, and put fresh water into the vessel, 
 and throw some bay cr con. n on salt into each, and let it 
 stand a day or two ; and when you come to brew, scald 
 your vessel, throw into them a little malt-dust or bran ; 
 and this will not only finish their sweetening, but stop them 
 from leaking. 
 
 But since there is so much trouble in getting vessels 
 sweet after they have been neglected, you ought to make 
 all thorough after brewing, and once a month to fill your 
 vessels with fair water, and let it oft' again in two or diree 
 days. 
 
 Of Mashing or taking your Liqiwrs. 
 
 Suppose you take six bushels of malt and two pounds of 
 hops, and would make of it one barrel cf strong and t'wo 
 barrels of small beer : 
 
 Heat your first copper of li(Juor for mashing, and strew 
 over it a doi.bie handful of bran or malt, by which you 
 will see when ir begins to boil ; for it will break and curl, 
 and then it is fit to be let (.ff into the mash-tun, where it 
 must remain until the steam is quite spent, and you can 
 see vV'urface in it, before you put in your malt ; and then 
 yoube^in to mash, stirring it all the while you are putting 
 in the malt: but ketp out about half*a bushel dry, which 
 you an to strew ovt-f the rest, when you havt- done stir- 
 ring it, which will be a^ soon as you have well mixed it 
 ■with the liquor, and prevented it from clodding. 
 
 After the dry m.alt is laid on, cover your mash-tun with 
 the sr^cks or cloths, to prevent losing any spirit of ihe malt, 
 and let it so remain for two hours- • Meanwhile have ano- 
 ther copper of liquor hot ; and at two hours end being to 
 let off your first wort into the under-ba<?k. Receive a" 
 pailful of the first running, and throw it again upon the 
 malt. You will find that the malt has sucked up half of 
 your first copper of liquor ; and therefore to make up 
 your quantity of wort for your strong beer, you must gradu- 
 ally lade out of the second cop» er. and strew bowl after 
 bowl over the malt, giving it time to soak through, and 
 keeping it running by an easy stream, till you perceive you 
 have about forty galh^ns, which in boiling and working will 
 be reduced to thirtv-six. 
 
 If you throw into the under-back (whilst vou are letting 
 oflT) about Iialf a pound ol hops, it will preserve it from 
 foxing, or growing sour or ropy. 
 
 Your first wort being all rurt off, you must soften the tap 
 of the m;ish-tun ; and take a copper of hot liquor for your 
 second mashing, stirring up the malt as you did at first, 
 and then cover it close for two hours more. Meanwhile 
 
o08 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 you fill your copper with the first wort, and boil it with the 
 remainder of the two pounds of hops, for an hour and a 
 half, an(i then lade it off into the coolers. 
 
 Contrive to receive the hops in a sieve, basket, or thin 
 woolen bag that is swe: t and clean ; then inimediatf ly fill 
 your copper with cold liquor ; renew your fire under it, 
 and begin to let off your second wort, threw a handiul of 
 hops into the under-back, for the same reason as before : 
 you will want to lade a few bowls full of liquor over the 
 ir-alt to make up the copper full of stcor-d wort ; and when 
 you have enou'^h, fasten tlie tap and mash a third time 
 after the same manner, ar.d cover it close for another two 
 hours ; and then charge your copper with the second wort, 
 boiling it for an hour with the same hops. 
 
 Bv this time you may shift your first wort out of the 
 coolers into a working- tun, to make room for the second 
 wort to come into the coolers ; and then your co per be- 
 ing empty, V' u may heat Jis much liquor as v ill serve you 
 to lade over the malt, or, by this timej rather grains, to 
 make up your third and last copper of wort, which must 
 be bottled with the same hops over again ; and then youp 
 coolers are discharged ot your second wort, to make room 
 for the third ; and when they are both of a proper, cool- 
 ness, they may be put together betore you set them a work- 
 ing- <y 
 
 If you would extract almost all the goodness of the malt 
 in the first wort, by way of mak n'g October beer, you 
 must begin to let off soon after you have mashed, (by a 
 small stream) and throw it upon the malt again pail, af- 
 ter pail, for an hour, stirring it frequently in the mean 
 time, and then let it all run c ff, by a very small stream. 
 Bat when you have your quantity of strong beer, ycu must 
 proceed in yoyr second mashing as before. 
 
 Duriiig the time of shifting your liquors out of the cop- 
 per, it is of consequence to take c.ire to preserve it from 
 receiving damage by burning : you should alwavs contrive 
 to have the fire low, or else to damp it at the time of emp- 
 tying, and be very expeditious to put in fresh liquor. 
 
 0/ Working the Liquor. 
 
 In this, regard must be had to the water ; liquor natu- 
 rally grows warm in working ; therefore in mild weather 
 it should be cold before it be set on^ but a little warm in 
 cold weather. The manner of doing k is, to put some good 
 sweet yeast into a hand-bowl or piggin, with a little 
 warrh wort ; then put the hand-bowl to swim upon the 
 wort in the working tun, and in a little while it will work 
 out, and leisurely mix with the wort ; and when you find 
 the yeast is gotten hold of the wort, you must look after 
 
SECRETS IN arts; TRADES, &c. 309 
 
 it frequently ; and if you perceive if begins to heat and 
 ferment too fast, lade some of it out into another tub ; and 
 when grown cold, it may be put back again ; or il you re^ 
 serve some of the raw wort, you niay check it leisurely, by 
 stirring it in with a hand-bowl. The cooler you work 
 your liquor the better, provided it does but work well. 
 
 If you happen to check it too much, you may forward its 
 working, by filhng a gallon stone bottle with boiling water. 
 Cork it close, and but the bottle into the working tun. An 
 ounce or two of powdered ginger willhave the same effect. 
 
 There are variety of methods in managing liquors 
 whilst they are working. In the North they beat the 
 yeast of Strong Beer and Ale once in two or three hours, 
 for two or three days together- 
 
 This they reckon makes the drink more heady, but 
 withal hardens it so as to be drinkable in two or three days; 
 the last day of beating it in, (stirring the yeast and beer 
 together) the yeast, as it rises, will thicken ; and then 
 they take off part of the yeast, and beat in the rest, which 
 they repeat as often as it rises thick ; and when it has 
 done working, they tun it up, so as it may just work out 
 of the barrel. 
 
 Others again do not beat it in at all, but let their strong 
 drink work about twodajs.or till they see the ferment is 
 over; and tht n they take off the top yeast, and either by a 
 tapnear the bottom, let it offline, or else laid it out gently, 
 to leave the sediment and yeast at the bottom. This way 
 is proper for liquor that is to be drank soon; but if it be 
 to keep, it will want the sediment to teed upon, and may 
 probably grow stale, unles.syou make artificial lees : This 
 you may make of a quart of brandy, and as much flour 
 of wheat or beans as will make it into dough ; put them in 
 lumps into the bunghule as soon as it has done working. 
 Or else take a pound of the powder of oystei-shells, or of 
 fat ch ilk, and nnx it with a pound of treacle or hcney, and 
 put it in soon after it has done working. 
 
 It would add to the goodness, as well as fining of your 
 malt liquor, if you took two quarts of wheat or beans, and 
 make them very dry and crisp in an oven, or before the 
 fire, and boil them in your first copper of wort. They 
 v/ould strain off with your hops, and might be put with 
 them into the second copper. 
 
 Of the fining of Malt Liquors. 
 
 It is most desirable to have beer fine of itself, which it 
 seldom fails to do in due time, if rightly brewed and work- 
 ed ; but as disappointments some times happen, it will b^ 
 necessary to know what to do in such cases, 
 
 Dd2 
 
310 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES; &c. 
 
 Ivory shavings boiled in your wort, or hartshorn shav- 
 vings put into your cask just before you bung it down, will 
 •do nnuch towards fining and keeping your liquor trom 
 growing stale. 
 
 Isingla-s is the most common thing made use of in fining 
 all sorts of liquors ; they first beat it well with a hammer 
 or mallet, and lay it in a pail, and then draw off about two 
 gallons of the liquor to be fined upon it, and let it soak two 
 or three days ; and when it is soft enough to mix with the 
 liquor, they take a wisk, and stir it about till it is all of a 
 ferment, and white froth ; and they frequently add the 
 whites and shells of about a doze-n evrgs, which they beat 
 in with it, and put all together into the cask : then with a 
 clean mop-stick," or some such thing, stir the whole to- 
 gether ; atid then lay a cloth, or piece of paper over the 
 bung-hole, till the ferment is over ; and then bung it up 
 close, in a few days it will tall fine. 
 
 But if you want to fine only a small quantity, take half 
 an ounce of unslack-d lime, and put it into a pint of water, 
 and stir it well together, and let it stand for two or three 
 Ijours, or till the lime settle to thtr b^ Uom ; then pour the 
 water off clear, and throw away the sediment ; then take 
 half an ounce of isinglass cut small, and boil it in the lime 
 water till it dissolves; then let it cool, and pour it into the 
 vessel, &c. 
 
 Of recovering and preserving Malt Liquors. 
 
 Stormy weather, but especially thunder, will greatly 
 affect your beer, and often ferments it, thoy^h brewed six 
 munths.bt fore In such we ather you shculci examine your 
 cellar, and draw your veftt pegs ; and where you perceive 
 it upon the fret, draw out the bung, and let it remain 
 some days till you are sure it is quiet. Tis a fault to be 
 loo hasty in bunging up liquor ; it had better be a weak 
 too lug out, than stop an hour too soon. Were it not for 
 preifcrvini^ th' colour of the liq^ior, seme cherry brandy 
 thrown into iht- bung-hole would stop it from fetting. 
 
 If your strong beer grows flat you may quicken it by 
 drawirg off one liallo.i of every ten, and boil it with as 
 many pounds of honey, as you boil gallons ; and when it is 
 cold, put it to the rest and stop it close. 
 
 A spoonful cf tne juice of the herb horehound, strained 
 into a'piichcr of stale beer, (and cover it close for two 
 hours,) will make it drink like new. 
 
 Or, if ) ou would bottle beer that is stale and l^at, you 
 should contrive to do it when you have liquor working in 
 your tun ; and leave room in every bottle to hold the quan- 
 tity of a coffee cup, and fill them up with new drink out 
 of the tun, and cork them, and in three daysit will bo 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 311 
 
 very brisk, and drink pleasant ; but you must not propose 
 to keep it long, for it will burst the bottles. 
 
 Of the Season for BrenviTtg. 
 
 The season for brewing keeping beer is certainly best 
 before Christmas, for then. your nrialt is in perfection, not 
 having time to contract either a musty smell, dust or wea- 
 vels, (an insect that eats out the heart of the m^lt) and 
 the waters are then seldom mixed with snow ; and then 
 four pounds of hops will ^o as tar as five in the spring of 
 the year : for you must increase in the quantity of hops 
 as you draw towards sumnier. But, in short, chu«e mode- 
 rate weather as much as you can for brewing, and if you 
 have of kindly cellar besides to keep your liquor in, that 
 ■will not be much aff.cted by extremity of heat or cold, 
 you nriay reasonably expect great satisfaction in your 
 brewery. 
 
 Avoid as much as possible brewing in hot weather ; but 
 if you are necessitated to brew, make no more than for 
 present drinking, for it will not keep. 
 
 To make Elderberry- Beer ^ or Ebulum, 
 
 Take a hogshead of the first and strong wort, and boil 
 in the same one bushel of picked Elderberries, full ripe ; 
 strain off, and when cOld, work the liquor in the hogshead, 
 and not m an open tun or tub ; and after it has lain in the 
 cask about a year, bottle it ; and it will be a most rich 
 drink, which they call Ebulum ; and has often been pre- 
 ferred to port-wine, for its pleasant taste, and healthtul 
 quality. 
 
 N. B. There is no occasion for the use of sugar in this 
 operation ; because the wort has strength and sweetness 
 enough in itself to answer that end ; but tht-re should be 
 an infusion of heps added to the liquor, by way of preser- 
 vation and relish. 
 
 Some likewise hang a small bag of bruised spices in the 
 vessel. Ynu may make a white Ebulum with pale malt, 
 and white Elderberries. 
 
 To make improved and excellent wholesome Purl. 
 
 Take Roman wormwood two dozen, gention-root six 
 pounds : calamas aromaticus (or the s^veet flag root) two 
 pountls : a pound or two f galien-g^le-root ; horseraddish 
 one bunch ; orange peel dried, and juniper-berries, each 
 two pounds ; seeds or kernals of sevelle oranges cleaned 
 antldryed, two pounds 
 
 These bein< cut and bruised, put them into a clean 
 butt, and start your mild brown, or pale beer upon them. 
 
312 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &C. 
 
 so as to fill up the vessel, about tHe beginning of Novem- 
 ber, and letifstand till the next season ; and make it, 
 thus annually. 
 
 To brew Strong Beer. 
 
 To a barrel of beer take two bushels of wheat just 
 cracked in the mill, and some of the flour sifted out of it ; 
 when yx)ur water is scalding hot, putit into your mash-vat, 
 there let it stand till you can see your' face in it; then 
 put your wheat upon that, and do not stir it ; let it stand 
 two hours and a half; then let it run into a tub that has 
 two pounds of hops in it, and a handtul of rosemary fl.jw- 
 ers ; and when it is all run, put it into the copper, and boil 
 it two hours ; then strain it off, setting it a cooling very thin, 
 and setting it a working very cool ; clear it very well be- 
 fore you put it a working ; put a little yeast to it ; when 
 the yeast begins to foil, put it into your vessel, put in a 
 pint of whole wheat, and six eggs : then stop it : Let it 
 stand a year, and then bottle it. 
 
 A good Table-Beer may be made, by mashing again, af- 
 ter the preceding is drawn off; then let it stand two hours, 
 and let that run, and mash again, and stir it as before ; 
 be sure to cover your mashing-vat well ; mix the first and 
 second running together. 
 
 To make China Ale. 
 
 To six gallons of Ale, take a quarter of a pound or more 
 of china root, thin sliced, and a quarter of a pound of 
 coriander seeds, bruistd ; hang tiiese in a tiffany, or 
 coarse linen bag, in the vessel, till it has done working ; 
 and let it stand fourteen days before you bottle ; though 
 the common sort vended about town, is nothing more at 
 best th'-ui ten shilling beer, put up in small bottles, with a 
 little spices, lemon-peel and sugar. 
 
 To make Ale^ or any other liquor, that is too new, or 
 sweet, drink stale. 
 
 To do this to the advantage of health, put to every 
 quart of Ale, or other liquor, ten or twelve drops of the 
 true spirit of salt, and let them be well mixed together, 
 which they will soon do it by the subtle spirits penetrating 
 into all parts, and have their proper effect. 
 
 To recover sour Ale- 
 
 Scrape fine chalk a pound, or as the quantity of liquor, 
 requires, more ; pat it into a thin bag into the Ale. 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 31; 
 
 To recover liquor that is turned bad. 
 
 If any liquor be pricked or fading, put to it a little syrup 
 of clay, and let it lermet^..with a little balm, which will 
 recover it ; and when it is 'wfefcii settled, bottle it up, put in 
 a clove or two, with a lunrjp of loaf sugar- 
 
 Directions for Bottling. 
 
 You must have firnn corks, boiled in wort, or grounds of 
 beer ; fill within an inch of the cork's reach, and beat it 
 in with a m-iUet; then, with a small brass wire, bind the 
 neck of the bottle, britig up the ends, and twist them over 
 with a pair of pinchers. • 
 
 To make a quarter of a hogshead q/ jile, and a hogshead 
 of Beer y ofcoaked malt. 
 
 Take five strike of malt not ground too small : put in 
 some boiling water, to cover the bottom of your mashing- 
 vat. be^brt you put in youriT;alt : mash it with more bod- 
 ing water, putting in your malt at several tinies, that it may 
 be sure to be all wet alike, cover it with a peck of wheat 
 bran ; then let it stand thus mashed four hourj> then draw 
 off three gallons of wort, and pour it upon that you have 
 mashed ; so let it stand half an hour m' re, till it runs clear 
 tht-n draw off dl that will run, and take two quarts of it 
 to begin to v.ork up wiih the balm, which n ust be sbout 
 a pint and a half ; put in the two quarts of wort at three 
 times to the balm ; you need not stir it till you begin to put 
 in the boiled wort. 
 
 You will not have enough to fill your vessel at first ; 
 wherefore you must pour on more boiling water, immedi- 
 ately after the other has done running, till \ ou have enough 
 to fill a quarter of a hogshead ; and then pour on water 
 for a hogshead ot beer. 
 
 As soon as the ale wort has run off put a third part into 
 the boiler : when it boils up. take cff the scum, uhich you 
 may put upon the grains for the sniall beer : when it is 
 skummed, put in a pound and a half ot heps, having first 
 sifted out the seeds, then put m all the wort, and let jtboil 
 two hours and a half, afterwards strain into two coolersj 
 and let it stand to cool and settle, then put it to cool a 
 little at a time, to the balm, and two quarts of wort, and 
 beat it well together : every time you put the wort in, be 
 sure you keep the settling out 
 
 Suppose you brew early on Thursday morning, you may 
 tun it at nine or ten on Saturday morning. 
 
 Do not fill your vessel quite full, but keep about three 
 
314 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 gallons fo put in, when it has worked twenty-four hoursj 
 which will make it work again.?j 
 
 As soon as it hath done working, stoptit up ; put the 
 drink as cool as 5^ou can together, dius it will work well. 
 
 To make Treacle- Beer. 
 
 Boil two quarts of water, put into it one pound of treacle 
 or molasses, stir them together till they are well mixed; 
 then put SIX or eight quarts of cold water to it, and about 
 a tea cup full of yeast or balm, put it up in a clean cask or 
 stein, cover it over with a coarse cloth, two or three times 
 double, it will be fit to drink in two or three days. 
 
 The second and third time of making, the bottom of the 
 first Beer will do instead of yeast. 
 
 If you make a larijje quantity, or intend it for keeping, 
 you must put in a handful of hops and another of maltj.for 
 it to feed on, and when done working, stop it up close. 
 
 The above is the best and ch^-npesi way of making 
 treacle Beer, though some people add raisins, bran, worm- 
 wood, spices, suclf Fruit, &c. as are in season, but that 
 is just as you fancy. 
 
 Indeed many pleasant, cheap, and wholesome drinks 
 may be made from Fruits, &c- if they are bruised and 
 boiled in water, before the Treacle is added. 
 
ON TANNING. 
 
 fl^ANNING is the art of converting the raw skins of 
 J. animals, into leather. As the methods of tanning in 
 general use have been iound tedious and expensive in their 
 operation, various schemes, at different times, have been 
 suggested to shorten the process and lessen the expence. 
 
 Much light has been thrown bv moilern chemists upon 
 the theory of Tanning. M Seguin, in France has particu- 
 larly distinguished himse-lt by his researches on this sub- 
 ject, and much improved the art in his country. 
 
 A few years since VV. Lesinond obtained a patent for 
 practising Sequins method in Ens^land. He obtained the 
 Tanning principle by digesting oak burk, or other proper 
 materials, in cold water, in an apparatus nearly similar to 
 that used in the salt-petre works That is to say, the wa- 
 ter which has remained upon the powdertd bark a cer- 
 tain time in one vessel, is drawn off by a cock, and pour- 
 ed upon fresh tan- This is again to be drawn off. and pour- 
 ed upon fresh tan ; and in this way the process to be con- 
 tinued to the fifth vessel. The liquor is then highly colour- 
 ed, and marks from six to eight degrees upon the hydro- 
 meter tor salts. This he calls the tanning lixivium. The 
 criterion for ascertaining its strength, is the quantity of the 
 solution o? gelatine whicli a given quantity of it will preci- 
 pitate. Isinglass is used for this purpose, being entirely 
 composed of galatine. And here it may be observed, that 
 this is the mode of ascertaining the quantity of tanning 
 principle in any vegetable substance, and consequently 
 how far they may be used as a substitute for oak bark. 
 
 The iiides, after being prepared in the usual way, are 
 immersed for some hours, in a weak tanning lixivium of 
 only one or two degrees : to obtain which the latter por- 
 tions of the infusions are set apart, or else some of that 
 which has been partly exhausted by use in tanning. The 
 bids are then tobe put into a stronger lixivium, where, in 
 a few days, they will be brought to the same degree of 
 saturation with the liquor in which they are immersed. 
 When the hides are by this Oieans completely saturated, 
 that is to say, perftctly tanned, thvy are to be removed, 
 and slowly dried in the shade. 
 
 The length of time necessary to tan leather completely, 
 according to the old process.is a very great inconvenience; 
 and there is no doubt that it may be much shortened by 
 following the new method. It has been found, however, 
 that the hather so tanned, has nor been so durable as that 
 which has been formed by a slower process. 
 
316 SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 
 
 The public is much indebted to Mr. Davy, professor of 
 chemistry in the Royal Institution, for the attention hehas 
 paid to the subject. From his excellent paper *' on the 
 constitutent parts of astringent vegetables," in the philo- 
 sophical transactions, we present the reader with the fol- 
 lowing extract : 
 
 *' The different qualities of leather nnade with the 
 sanne kind of skin, seem to depend verv m ich upon the 
 different quantities of extractive matter t c ntains. The 
 leather obtained bv means of an infusion wf kjalls, is gene- 
 rally found harder, and more liable to crack, than the lea- 
 ther obtained from an infusion of bark-; and in allcnsesit 
 contains a much larger proportion of tannin, and a small- 
 er proportion of extractive matter. 
 
 " When skins are very slowly tanned in weak solutions 
 of the barks, or of catechu, it combines with a considera- 
 ble proportion of extractive matter ; and in these cases, 
 though the increase of weight of the skin is comparative- 
 ly small, yet it is rendered perfectly insoluble in water, 
 and is found soft, and at the same tisne strong. The sa- 
 turated astrmgent infusions of bark contain much less of 
 extractive matter in proportion to the taimin, than the 
 weak infusions ; and when skins are quickly tanned in 
 them, common experitnce shews that it produces leather 
 less durable than the leather slowly formed. 
 
 *• Besides, in the cise of qjick tanning by mgans of in- 
 fusions of bark, a quantity ot vegetable extractive matter 
 is lost to the manufacturer, which might have been made 
 to enter into the composition of his leather b> a slower 
 process. These observations shew, that there is some 
 foundation for the common opinion of workmen, concern- 
 ing what is called in technical language, the feeding of lea- 
 ther in the slow method of tanning ; and though the pro- 
 cesses of the art may, in some cases, be protracted for an 
 unnecessary length of time, yet, in general, they appear 
 to have, by means of repeated practical experiments, ar- 
 rived at a degree of perfection which cannot be very far 
 extended by means of any elucidations of theory that have 
 as yet been known.'* 
 
 It was first suspected by Sir Joseph Banks, and after- 
 wards confirmed by the experiments of professor Davy 
 that a substance called catechu or terra-japonica, brought 
 from the East indies, contained a vast quantity of tannin ; 
 so much so, that It far excels every other known substance 
 in this respect. One pound of catechu contains as much 
 tannin as eight or ten pounds of oak bark, and would con- 
 . sequently tan proportionately as much more leather- It 
 *S js an extract made from the wood of a species of mimosa. 
 e^^by decoction and subsequent evaporation- 
 
SECRETS IN ARTS, TRADES, &c. 139 
 
 Oak bark being a very expensive article in the process 
 of tanning, various substances have been propos»ed as sub- 
 stitutes for it. All the parts of vegetables which aie of an 
 astringent nature, contain lannin (which maybe known by 
 their given precipitates with gelatine* insoluble in water,) 
 and will answer this purpose. The leaves, branches, fruit, 
 flowers, of a vast number of plants ; every part of the 
 oak, as the leaves and acorns, oak saw-dust.and the barks 
 of most trees contain more or less of tannin. 
 
 Of Currying. 
 
 Currying is the art of dressing cow-hides, calves-skins, 
 &c. The principal object in this process, is to soften and 
 suple cow and calf- skins, which are usually employed in 
 making the upper-leathers of shoes and boots, the^covers 
 of saddles, coaches, &c. As soon as these skins are 
 brought from the tanner's yard the currier first soaks 
 them for some time in common water, when he takes them 
 out, stretches them on a smooth wooden horse, scrapes off 
 ■with a paring-knife all the superfluous flesh, and immerses 
 them again. They are next put on a wet hurdle, and 
 trampled with the heels till they become soft and pliant, 
 ■when they are steeped in train-oil, and afterwards spread 
 out on large tables, and their ends tightly secured. Then 
 by means of a pummel (an instrument consisting of a thick 
 piece of wood, the lower side of which is full of furrows 
 or teeth, crossing each other,) the currier folds, squares, 
 and moves the skins in various directions to render them 
 supple. This operation is properly called currying ; and, 
 with a few immaterial exceptions, is that now generally 
 followed. 
 
 After the skins are thus dressed, they are coloured, 
 black, white, red, green, ^;c. which process is performed 
 either on the flesh or grain side. When a skin is to be 
 made white, rub it with chalk, or white-lead, and after- 
 wards with pumice stone. But when a black colour is 
 "wanted, the skin must be first oiled and dried, then passed 
 over a pufF, dipped in water impregnated with iron, when 
 it is immersed in another water prepared with soot, vine- 
 gar, and gum-arabic. Thus it gradually acquires a deep 
 dye, and the operations are repeated till it becomes of a 
 shining black. The grain and wrinkles which contribute 
 to the pliancy of calves and cows leather, are made by the 
 reiterated folds given to the skin in every direction, and 
 by the great care taken to scrape off every excrescence 
 and hard place on both the grain and flesh sides. 
 
 Ee 
 
INDEX. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 OF THE ART OF ENGRAVING. 
 
 Art. Page 
 
 1. A wax to lay oa iron or steel ... 5 
 
 2. /\ A mordant water to engrave on steel . . ib, 
 
 3. To engrave with aquafortis, so that the work may ap- 
 
 pear like a basso relievo . . . . 6 
 
 4. Aquafortis for engraving . . . . ib. 
 
 5. To engraje on brass, or copper with aquafortis . 7 
 
 6. To engrave prints by aquafortis . . . ib. 
 
 7. The method of engraving with aquafortis . . ib. 
 
 8. To engrave on wood . ... . • 9 
 
 9. To^engrave on copper with the graver . 10 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 OF METALS. 
 
 1. Transmutation of iron into the finest German steel . 11 
 
 2. To I'efine pewter ..... ib. 
 
 3. Method of tempering edge tools that are of two brittle 
 
 a quality ....,', ib. 
 
 4. To make pewter ..... ib. 
 
 5. To make pinchbeck ..... ib. 
 
 6. On zinc, or spelter, and its various uses . . 12 
 
 7. To make blue letters on polished sword blades . ib. 
 
 8. Method of giving a lustre to silver . . ■ ib. 
 
 9. To extract mercury from lead . . . ib. 
 
 10. To preserve the brightness of arms . . 13 
 
 11. To operate the transmutation of iron into steel . ib. 
 
 12. Anodier receipt for the same . . • ib. 
 
 13. To give iron a temper to cut porphyry . . 1^ 
 
 14. To soften all sorts of metals . . , . ib. 
 
 15. A very hard temper for arms . . • ib. 
 
 16. Ingredients which serve to tlie melting of iron . 15 
 
 17. To refine pewter ..... ib. 
 
 18. To fix mercury . . . . • . ib. 
 
 19. To extract mercury from lead . . . ib. 
 
 20. The composition of raetalic mirrors, or looking-glasses 
 
 used among the ancients . . . . ib. 
 
 21. To give tools such a temper, as will enable them to saw 
 
 marble . . • . . • • 16 
 
 22. To soften iron, and harden it afterwards more than it 
 
 was before ...... ih. 
 
 23. Tlie transmutation of iron into damask steel . 17 
 
 24. To guard iron against rusting . . . ib. 
 
 25. To cut pebbles with ease , . . . ib. 
 
 26. A projection on copper . . . . ib. 
 
 27. The preparation of eraerj- . . . . ib. 
 
 28. To dye in gold, silver medals, or larainas, through and 
 
 through . . .... 18 
 
NDEX. 
 
 Art 
 
 29. To solder iron, or any other metal without fire 
 
 30. To solder with fire ..... 
 
 31. To make borax 
 
 3'2. To render iron as white and beautiful as silver 
 3a To calcine pewter, and render it as white and hard as 
 silver . . 
 
 34. To whiten brass . . . . • 
 
 35. To extract gold from silver .... 
 
 CHAP. m. 
 
 Pag© 
 10 
 
 ' ib. 
 ib. 
 
 20 
 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 OF THE COMPOSITION OF VARNISHES^ &c. 
 
 I . A gold varnish ~ . • • • . ' 
 
 - 2. How to prepai-e the lintseed oil with the hepatica aloes 
 
 for the above puipose . . . 
 
 3. How to draw the tincture of rocou used in the compo- 
 
 sition of the above varnish 
 
 4. A varnisii for icing .... 
 
 5. An excellent varnish . . . ., 
 
 6. For colouring and preserving gates, poles, barns, 8cc. 
 
 7. A leil varnish .... 
 
 8. A black varnish . . . . 
 
 9. T% make ivoiy black for the above purpose . 
 
 10. A varnisii for floors . . • . . 
 
 11. A varnish fron. Flanders 
 
 12. A varnish to lay o\ canvass sashes 
 
 13. A varnish of siiell-lac for pictures 
 
 14. Another varnish for pictures 
 
 15. Another sort ..... 
 
 16. The Chinese varnish .... 
 
 17. To imitate lasper, or variegated black marble 
 
 18. Another way ..... 
 J 9. An excellent varnish to give a fine gloss to jasper 6r 
 
 variegated black marble 
 20 A varnish which dries in two hours time 
 
 21. A varnish for copperplate prints 
 
 22. An admirable varnish 
 
 23. A Varnish fit to lay on all sorts of colours 
 
 24. A Varnish known under the appellation of Beaumeblanc, 
 
 or white balm . , . • 
 
 25. A varnish to be used on plaister, and any other sort of 
 
 materials . . . y 
 
 26. An excellent varnish, in which may be put and d 
 
 ted, wliatever colours you like.— It suits equally 
 well, goldsmith's and liinners. 
 
 27. A Chinese varnish suitable to all sorts of colours 
 
 28. Chinese varnish, more particularly calculated for mmi 
 
 ature painting . . . . 
 
 29. How to make a red, with a varnish of a much higher 
 
 hue than coral itself 
 30 To make it gridlin colour 
 
 31. To make it green .... 
 
 32. Another way for the same 
 23. To make it vellow 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 23 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 24 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 25 
 ib, 
 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 26 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 27 
 
IXDEX. 
 
 Art 
 
 :54. To make it blue . . . . 
 
 .'35. Another sort of varnisli .... 
 
 35. A transparent varnkh fit for aU sorts of colours 
 
 37. To make sashes with cloth, which will be very trans- 
 parent . . . . , , 
 
 ■38. The varnish fit for the above sashes . 
 
 39. A fine white varnish ..... 
 
 •iO. A varnish to p event the rays of the sun from passing 
 through the panes of window glasses 
 
 il. To raibe a rehefou varnish .... 
 
 42. To render silk stuffs transparent, after the Chinese 
 manner ; and paait them with transparent colours 
 likewise, iu imitation of the india manufactured 
 silks ....... 
 
 iS. To make a ti-ansparent blue hue for the above purpose 
 
 4-4. To make a transparent yellow hue for the same use . 
 
 45. To make a transparent green 
 
 45. To give the abovementioned painted silks> all the smell 
 and fragraiicy of the india ones 
 
 AT. The true receipt of ihe Englisli varnish, such as is laid 
 on Pticks and artificial mnde canes 
 
 48. A firie varnish for all soils of colours 
 
 49. A varnish to lay on after the isinglkss . . ' 
 
 50. A varnish to gid with, without gold . 
 
 51. A vi-.riiish water proof .... 
 
 52. Callot's varnish mentioned in chap. I. p. 5, 
 
 53. A varnish to lay on paper 
 
 54. Another varni'h ..... 
 
 55. L'Abbe Mulot's varnish .... 
 
 56. A varnish to Iny over plaister-works or figures 
 
 ff7. A very fine red varnish .... 
 
 58. A varnish to gild certain parts of stamped leathers, sil- 
 
 vered in some places with pewter leaves, and other- 
 wise adorned with running stalks of flowers, various 
 colours, figures, and other sorts of embellishments 
 
 59. An excellent varnish . . . 
 
 CO. A curious and easy varnish to engrave with aquafortis 
 
 61. A most beautiful Chinese varnish . . . 
 
 62. A varnish to render tranparent the impression of a print 
 
 which has been glued on glass, and the paper scratch- 
 ed off ...... 
 
 03. The varnish fit for bronzing 
 
 Page 
 28 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 29 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 30 
 ib. 
 
 10, 
 
 31 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 32 
 ib. 
 33 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 34 
 35 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 OF MA.STICHS, CEMENTS, SEALING WAX, &c. 
 
 1. A substile mastich to mend all sorts of broken vessels 
 
 2. A mastich for broken wares . 
 
 3. Another mastich .... 
 
 4. A cement ..... 
 
 5. A glue to lay upon gold 
 
 6. A size ..... 
 7^: An exceeding good size, called Orleans size 
 
INDEX 
 
 Art. 
 
 8. A cement foi' delph and other earthern v/ares, which re- 
 
 sists water . . " • 
 
 9. A cold cement for cisterns and fountains 
 
 10. A lute to join broken vessels . 
 
 11. A strong glue with soft cheese 
 
 12. To make a strong mastich 
 
 13. Sealing wax : Recipe 1st .. . . 
 
 14. Another sealing wax : Recipe 2d 
 
 15. Another. Recipe 3d ... 
 
 16. Another. Recipe 4th ... 
 
 17. Another. Recipe 5th 
 
 18. Another. Recipe 6th 
 
 19. Another. Recipe 7th Excessively good 
 
 20. Another. Recipe 8th 
 
 21. An excellent sealing wax, by Girardot. Recipe 9th 
 
 22. A colour for the above wax 
 
 23. To make sealing wafers 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Pagt 
 
 39 
 ib. 
 jb, 
 40 
 ib. 
 'lb. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 41 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 42 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 OF GLASS MANUFACTORY. AND THE MAKING COMPOSITIONS 
 TO IMITATE PRECIOUS STONES, COMMONLY CALLED 
 FRENCH PASTE. * 
 
 1. A cement to render crystal like diamonds, and give the 
 
 sapphires of Alenson a hardness to cut glass with ease 43 
 
 2. A way of making diamonds . . . . ib. 
 
 3. To soften crystal, or any other coloured stone, so that you 
 
 may cut it like cheese, and restore it afterwards to its 
 
 primary hardness ..... ib. 
 
 4. Another equally useful to soften crystal and steel . 44 
 
 5. A paste which will procure as beautiful emeralds as natu- 
 
 ral ones ...... ib. 
 
 6. A composition the fundamental basis of all enamels . ib. 
 . 7. To make an enamel as white as milk ... 45 
 
 8. To make an enamel turquoise colour . . . ib. 
 
 9. How to prepare the scories of copper for the above pur- 
 
 pose .... . . 46. 
 
 10. To make blue enamel . . . . . ib . 
 
 11. To make gi'een enamel .... ib. 
 
 12. To make a black shining enamel . . 47 
 
 13. To make an enamel, purple colour ... ib. 
 
 14. Another . •. . . . . ib. 
 
 15. A yellow enamel ..... ib. 
 
 16. To make a crystalline matter which serves as a basis to 
 
 red coloiu' enamels . . . . ib/ 
 
 17. How to make a fine preparation of Fusible Magnesia to 
 
 be employed in the making of red enamel . 48 
 
 18. To make red enamel of a beautiful ruby hue . 49 
 
 19. To make an enamel, true Balais ruby colour . ib. 
 
 20. To make a bright enamel, escarboucle colour . ib. 
 
 21. To make transpareht franaes ... ib. 
 
 22. To make a frame look as if made of glass . 50 
 23; A white paint to preserve the putty round the panes of 
 
 gla^s . . . . . „ i^ 
 
• 50 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Art. 
 
 24. To clear glass ..... 
 
 25. How to distinguish a true from a false stOne 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 CONCERNING COLOURS AND PAINTING. 
 § I. To paint in varnish on -wood. (Useful to carriage Painters.) 
 
 1. The preparations previous to the lying of colours, and the 
 
 general process observed in laying them on it 
 
 2. To make a black ..... 
 
 3. To make a blue . . . . ' 
 
 4. To make the Gridelin . . . ' 
 
 § n. To Paint on Paper. 
 
 5. For the red . ... 
 
 6. To make a fine yellow .... 
 
 7. To make a green 
 
 8. To transfer a print on vellum, and then print it 
 
 § m. Composition for Limners. 
 
 9. How to prepare colours for limning 
 
 10. To make what is called lamp-black 
 
 11. Another way of making black 
 
 12. To make a blue 
 
 13. To make a tarquid blue 
 
 14. A fine green for limning 
 
 15. Anotherforthd same purpose 
 
 16. To make Sap green, or blackberry green 
 
 17. To make lake 
 
 18. To make a liquid lake 
 
 19. Another way 
 
 20. For the vermilion . 
 
 21. For the making of carmine . 
 
 22. Colours fit for expressing the various complexions 
 
 § IV. To make transparent colours. 
 
 23. For the green » . . . 
 524. For the red . . . . 
 
 25. For the yellow 
 
 26. For the blue .... 
 
 27. Another blue, ver}' like ultramarine 
 
 28. A pale red to paint on eiian: el 
 
 29. Process of making purple for painting on enamel 
 ;iO. How to make a fine flesh colour 
 3L A good way to make carmine 
 
 32. For an amber colour 
 
 33. The whole process of making ultr&marine 
 
 34. Another very fine ultramarine . ' 
 
 35. Another secret to compose a fine blue, for washing in 
 
 drawings, instead of ultramarine, which is too dear 
 ^f and too strong to be used for thf<t purpose 
 
 36. The true secret of making Iris green 
 
 51 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 52 
 
 52 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 52 
 53 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ih. 
 54 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 55 
 
 55 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 56 
 ib. 
 57 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 58 
 
 ib. 
 
 59 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Art. > Pag«^ 
 
 37. To make a dark green for miniature pictures, washing on 
 
 paper, or draperies and terraces . . 59 
 
 38. To make the bistre for the wash . . . .60 
 
 39. The secret for a fine red for the wash . . ib. 
 
 40. A secret to make carmine at a small expence . ibi 
 
 § V. Composition of colours to dye skins or gloves. 
 
 41. A lively Isabel . . ' . . . 61 
 
 4'2. For a pale filbert colour .... ib* 
 
 43. For the gold colour .... ib. 
 
 44. For the flesh colour .... ib. 
 
 45. For the straw colour . . . . ib. 
 
 46. A fine brown . . . ... ib. 
 
 47. To make a fine rausk colour . . . i(}. 
 
 48. To make a frangipane colour ... 62 
 
 49. An olive colour ..... ib. 
 
 50. How to make skins and gloves take these dyes . ib. 
 
 51. To varnish a chimney .... ib« 
 
 § VI. To colour or varnish Copperplate Prints^ 
 
 52. To varnish copperplate prints . * .62 
 
 53. How to colour these prints, in imitation of pictures in oil 
 
 colours . . . . . . 63 
 
 54. A varnish which suits all sorts of prints and pictures 
 
 stands water, and makes the work appear as shining 
 
 as glass . . . . . . ib. 
 
 55. To make appear in gold, the figure of a print . 64 
 
 56. A curious secret to make a print imitate the psrtnling on 
 
 glass . . . . . . ib. 
 
 57. The method of chalking for those w ho are not acquaint- 
 
 ed with drawing . . . . . 65 
 
 58. To prepare a transparent paper to chalk with » . ib. 
 
 § Vn. For painting on glas^, 
 
 59. How to draw on glass ..... 66 
 
 60. A colour for grounds on glass . . . ib, 
 
 61. Preparations of lake for glass . . . . 67 
 Ct2. Preparation for the blue purple, for glass . ib* 
 
 63. Preparation of the green, for glass •. . . ib, 
 
 64. Preparation for the yellow for the same . . ib* 
 
 65. Preparation of the white . . . . ib* 
 
 66. The proper varnish to be laid on glass after painting ib, 
 
 67. How to paint on glass without fire . . . ib. 
 
 ^ Yin. Preparations of colours of 
 crayons. 
 
 all sorts for oily rvater, and 
 
 68. An oil to grind colours with, when the works are much 
 
 expossed to the injuries of the weather . . 68 
 
 69. To marble and jasper paper . . ... ib. 
 
 70. To clean pictures . , . . » ib. 
 
 71. Ajiother for the same purpose . ^ . ^9 
 
INDEX 
 
 Art pagt 
 
 72. A secret to render old pictures as fine as new . 69 
 
 73. An oil to prevent pictures from blackening — It may serve 
 
 also to make cloth to carry iu the pocket against wet 
 
 weather , . . . , . jb. 
 
 74. A wash to clean pictures . . . . ib. 
 
 75. A very curious and simple way of preiventing flies from 
 
 sitting on picture*, or any other furniture, and mak- 
 ing their dung there . , . . . ib. 
 
 76. To make indigo . . . " , . 70 
 
 77. To make a yellow . . . . . ib. 
 
 78. An azuie of mother of pearl . . . ib. 
 
 79. A wlnte for painters which may be preserved for ever ib. 
 
 80. Anoilier white for ladies' paint . . . ib. 
 
 81. A good azure ...... 71 
 
 82. An azure from silver, done in less than a fortnight . ib. 
 
 83. To make an azured water . . . . ib. 
 
 84. Another way of makmg azure ,. . . ib. 
 
 85. A fine azure . . , . . . 72 
 
 86. Another way . ..... ib. 
 
 87. Another way . . , . . . ib. 
 
 88. To make an admirable white lead, fit for oil painting and 
 
 colourmg ot prints . . . . . ib. 
 
 89. The preparation of verdigrease . . . 73 
 
 90. A fine liquid green ... . ib. 
 
 91. To -iiake the Stil de-graiuy or broivn pink . . ib. 
 9'2. To make a fine vermilion . . . . ih. 
 
 93. A secret to draw without either ink or pencil . ib, 
 
 94. To make an imitation of enemal on tin, for chimney- 
 
 branches, &c. ..... ib. 
 
 95. A valuable secret to make exceeding good crayons, as 
 
 hard as red clialk. Discovered by Prince Rupert, 
 
 brother to Prince Palatine- .... 74 
 90. To render the stone-cinnabar and verraiUon finer, and 
 
 at the same time to prevent them from blackening ib. 
 
 97. Process used in making Eastern carmme . . ib. 
 
 98. The process observed in making the lake • . 76 
 
 99. To make the fine coluuibine lake . . . . 77 
 
 100. A fine red water for miniature painting . . 78 
 
 101. The receipt for the fine Venetian lake . . . ib. 
 10-. Directions for colouring prints ... 79 
 
 103. Directions for the mixture of colours . . 80 
 
 104. Directions for painting fresco . . . ib. 
 
 105. Directions for the choice, use, and composition of the 
 
 colours employed for the above purpose . . 81 
 
 106. Directions for painting in oil on a wall. Method 1 . 82 
 
 107. Method 2 . . . . ' . . 83 
 
 108. Method 3 ...... ib: 
 
 109. Directions for painting in oil on wood . . ib. 
 
 110. Directions for painting in oil, on canvass . . ib. 
 
 111. Which colours are used for the above purpose . 85-* 
 
 112. Which oils are used in painting ... 86 
 
 113. To take off instantly a copy from a print or a picture 87 
 
 114. Directions for making the Spanish carnation . ib. 
 
 115. To make the Spanish ladies rouge . . . ib, 
 11^. A fine lake made with shelf -lac . , ^ 88 
 
ib. 
 
 Art. Page 
 
 117. Directions to make cinnabar, or vermilion . . 88 
 
 118. Another method of making cinnabar . . 89 
 119- An azure as fine as, and which looks similiar to ultrama- 
 rine ' .90 
 
 120. The same as practised in Germany . . . ib, 
 
 § IX. Preparations of the lapis lazuli to make tdtramarine, 
 
 121. 1st. The general manipulation of the whole process : 
 
 each* single part of which shall be treated of in parti- 
 cular afterwards . . . • • 90 
 
 122. 2d. Directions to be observed in the process of prepar- 
 
 ing the strong ceinent, in wluc.!i tlie lapis lazaii is to 
 
 be incorporated, to <iiaw afterwards the azure from it 92 
 
 123. Another cenietit of a softer nature . . . 93 
 
 124. Directions to prepare and purify' the liutseed oil for the 
 
 azure ....... 
 
 125. The lye to wash the ultramarine with . . 94 
 
 126. Another sort of lye for the same purpose . . 95 
 
 127. Din ctions for the choice of the vessels in which the 
 
 most impure ultramariiue is to be wafched, &c. . ib. 
 
 128. Observations for discerning the good or bad qual ties 
 
 of the lapis lazuli, from which you intend to compose 
 ultramiirnie ...... 96 
 
 129. The method of calcining, and preparing the lapis lazuli 
 
 in order to grind it afterv/ards . . . ibk 
 
 130. Directions for m akin tc the iufuor fit to grind the lapis 
 
 with, in or';er to make the ultramarine . . 97 
 
 131. The metho'l of grindii g the lapis lazuli on porphyry, and 
 
 the signs which attend it . . . . 98 
 
 132. The method of incoriiorating the grinded lapis lazuU, with 
 
 either of the strx)ng or soft cements . . 99 
 
 13.3. Drections for extracting the Hzure out of the cement ib. 
 
 134. Observations on the colouis of the azures at their coming 
 
 out of the cement, and the signs which attend them 100 
 
 135. The Avasiiir,^ and purifying of the azures after they ar-e 
 
 got out of the cement • . . . . 101 
 
 136. Another vrav of |tur)f\ing the same . . . 102 
 
 137. Another secret for purif\ ins; azures . . ib. 
 
 138. How to run the azures, after having been thus cleansed, 
 
 washed and purified .... ib. 
 
 139. The method of making the green azure . . ib. 
 
 140. A very fine method for marbling paper . . 103 
 14j. Another method ..... ib. 
 142. How to prepare a transparent paper to chalk with 104 
 
 CHAP vn. 
 
 RELATIVE TO THE ART OF GILDING. 
 
 1. The method of gilding with size or oil . . 105 
 
 2. To gild with size, or what is called burnish gold . ib., 
 
 3. To gild with gold . . . . ,109 
 
 4. Another to the same purpose .... ib. 
 
 5. A gold without gold . . . . ib* 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Art Page 
 
 6. The preparations of the gum -water . . , no 
 
 r. To write in gold or silver .... ib. 
 
 8. To gilij on glasses, earthern, (jr china wares . . ib. 
 
 9. To wnie or paint in goltl colour . . • . ib. 
 
 10. To vviiie or paint in sliver, especially with a pencil . ib. 
 
 11. To wnilen and s,l\ei copper medals . . . ib. 
 
 12. To write in gold letters on pots or boxes . . Ill 
 
 13. To gild siker in water-gilding without the assistance of 
 
 mercury . . . . - . . ib. 
 
 14. The sauce wh eh is to be used for colouring silvej* plates 
 
 gilt with the above described powder . . 112 
 
 15. A water which gilds copper and bronze. A secret very use- 
 
 ful for watch and pjn-makers . . , jb^ 
 
 16. Another ...... ib. 
 
 17. T) gild steel or iron, after being well polished . ib. 
 
 18. To silver copper fi.^ures .... US 
 
 19. To sil\er or f;ild prwter . . . , ib. 
 
 20. A composition to lay on lead, tin, or any other metal in or- 
 
 der to hold fast the read gilt leaves of pev/ter which 
 are applied on it ; useful for gilding on high steeples, 
 
 domes, &c. ..... ib. 
 
 21. To clean and whiten silver .' . . • 114 
 
 22. The preparation of gold in shell ... ib. 
 
 23. To bronze in gold colour .... ib. 
 24 ?low to matt burnshed gold .... ib. 
 
 25. How to do ihe same to burnished silver . . ib. 
 
 26. The method of appling gold, or silver in shell on the wood 115 
 
 27. To gild sandy gold . . . . ' , ib, 
 
 28. The varnish fit to be laid on gilding and silvering . ib. 
 
 29. The method of bronzing . . . • . ib. 
 SO. A writer to gild iron with . . . . ib, 
 
 31. To make the fi e writing gold . . . . 116 
 
 32. How to get the gold or silver out of gilt plates . ib. 
 
 33. To gild paper on the edge . . . . ib. 
 
 34. To gild on vellum ..... ib. 
 
 35. Another way . . . . , . 117 
 
 36. Anotlier way . . , . T , ib. 
 
 37. A gilt without gold ..... ib. 
 
 38. i o ijild without gold . . . ' . . ib. 
 
 39. To slid on calf and sheep skin .... ib. 
 
 40. Gold and silver in shell .... ib, 
 
 41. To gild marble . . . . . 118 
 
 42. To apply gold on glazed wares, crystal, glass, china, &c. ib. 
 43._Matt gold in oil ..... ib. 
 44."To <lye any metal, or stone, gold colour, without gold ib. 
 
 45. To wlnten copper ..... ib. 
 
 46. To whiten silver without the assistance of fire . ib. 
 
 47. To whiten iron Uke silver . .. . . 119 
 
 CHAP. vni. 
 
 THE ART OF DYING WOODS, BONES, &c. 
 
 1. Composition for red 
 
 2. Another red 
 
 119 
 ib. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Art. 
 
 3. Another way .... 
 
 4. To dye wood in a purplish colour 
 
 5. A blue puqjle .... 
 
 6. Another . . . 
 
 7. A blue for wood 
 
 8. A green ■ . . . . 
 
 9. A yellow .... 
 
 10. xViiKthcr yellow 
 
 11. Another tiner yellow . 
 
 12. Jo dye wood ni a fine polished white . 
 
 13. To dye in polished black 
 
 14. Another way .... 
 
 15. To iniitate ebony 
 
 16. Aiiodier way . . 
 
 17. Another wav .... 
 
 18. A fine black, easily made . , ) . 
 
 19. To dye wood s;lver fashion 
 
 20. To dye in gold, silver, or copper 
 
 21. To give nut, or pear-tree, what undulation you like 
 
 22. To ^imitate «tlie root of nut-tree 
 
 23. To give a fine colour to the cherry-tree wood 
 
 24. To marble wood 
 
 25. To imitate white marble 
 
 26. To imitate black marble 
 
 27. A counter-faction of coral . 
 
 28. To take the impression of any seal 
 
 29. Another way 
 
 30. To get birds with white feathers 
 
 31. To soften ivory 
 33. To dye ivory thus softened 
 
 33. Another way to soften ivory 
 
 34. To whiten ivory which has been spoiled 
 
 35. To whiten green ivory : and whiten again that which has 
 
 turned a brown yellow 
 
 36. To petrify wood, &c. 
 
 37. To imitate tortoiseshell with horn 
 
 38. A preparation for the tortoiseshell 
 39 To dye bones, and mould them in all manner of shapes 
 
 40. To dye bones in black 
 
 41. To soften bones 
 
 42. I'o dye bones in green 
 
 43. A salt for hardening soft hones 
 44- To make figures, or vases, with egg shells 
 45. To dye bones and ivory of a fine red 
 46 To make a paste in imitation of black marble 
 
 47. To dye marble, or alabaster, blue or purple 
 
 48. To soften amber, otherwise karabe 
 
 49. To whiten ivory which has been spoiled 
 
 50. To whiten bones .... 
 
 51. To dye bones in green ... 
 
 32. To bronze wondeii, plaister, ivory, or other figui 
 
 that the bronze may stand water forever 
 
 53. A water to dye boTies and wood 
 
 54. To dye bones and ivory an emerald green 
 
 55. To whiten alabaster and white marble 
 
 Page 
 119 
 
 ih, 
 120 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 121 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 122 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib- 
 123 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 124 
 
 ib. 
 
 ih. 
 125 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 126. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 127 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 128 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 129 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 130 
 
 ib. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Aii. Page: 
 
 56. To dye wood vermilion colour . , , 13© 
 
 57. To soften horn, so that you may cast it in a mould as mel- 
 
 ted lead . . ' . . ibi 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 
 SECRETS RELATIVE TO THE MAKING OF CURIOUS AND 
 USEFUL SORTS OF INK. 
 
 1. A good shining ink . . . . - . 
 
 2. To w> ite on grease and make the ink run on it 
 
 3. An ink-stone, with which ink-stands maybe made, and 
 
 with whicii you may write wthout ink 
 
 4. To write wtth common clear water 
 
 5. A good ink both for drawing and writing 
 
 6. To make very good ink without gall-nuts, -which will be 
 
 equally good to wash drawings and plans, and strike 
 very neat lines with the pen. 
 
 7. An invisible ink . , 
 
 8. Another way 
 
 9. To make good India ink 
 
 10. Red ink . . 
 
 11. A green ink 
 
 12. To make an ink which appears and disappears alternately 
 
 13. The in vissible method of conveying secrets. 1st ink. 
 
 14. An ink to write over the other. 2d ink 
 
 15. Another ink which . effaces the second and makes the 
 
 first a]>pear. 3d ink . . . . 
 
 16. An ink which will go off in six days 
 
 17. Another which you may rub off when you please , 
 
 18. Powder ink . . 
 
 19. An exceeding good writing ink 
 
 20. A gold colour ink, without gold . 
 
 21. Another way . . • 
 
 22. To write in silver without silver . . 
 
 23. A good shining ink ..... 
 
 24. A blue ink . . . . > * 
 
 25. A yellow ink ...... 
 
 26. A green ink whicli may keep two years 
 
 27. A shining ink ..... 
 
 28. A way of writing which will not be visible, unless you 
 
 hold the paper to the sun, or to the light of a candle 
 
 29. A*8ecret to revive old writings which are almost defaced 
 
 30. To write in gold or silver letters 
 
 31. An iris on white paper 
 
 32. A shining ink 
 
 33. A common ink 
 
 34. How to prepare printers ink 
 
 CHAP. XI. 
 
 131 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 132 
 
 ib. 
 
 ibi 
 133 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 134 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 135 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 13& 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 137 
 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib, 
 138 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 SECRETS RELATIVE TO WINE 
 
 1. To make a vine produce a sweet wine . ' a ^^^ 
 
 3, To make a sweet wine of a very agreeable flavor, and 
 
 besides very wholesome . , • • ^P 
 
INDEX 
 
 Art. 
 
 3. To clarify in two days new wine when muddy 
 4 To make the wine keep mout, or unfermented, for 
 twelve months .... 
 
 5. To clarify a wine which is turned 
 
 6. To prevent wine from corrupting 
 
 7. To prevent wine from growing sour, and turning into 
 
 vinegar ..... 
 
 8. To restore a wine turned 
 
 9. To restore wine fusted or tasting of the cask 
 
 10. To prevent wine from pricking 
 
 11. To make wine keep . . . • 
 
 12. To clarify wine easily 
 
 13. To prevent wine from turning 
 
 14. To correct a musty taste in wine 
 
 15. To correct a sour and bitter in wine . 
 
 16. To restore a spoiled wine 
 
 17. To sweeten a tart wine 
 
 18. To prevent tartness in wine 
 
 19. To heighten a wine in liquor, and give it an agreeable 
 
 flavour ..... 
 
 20. To give a most agreeable flavour 
 
 21. How to find out whether or not there be water mixed in 
 
 a cask of wine . . » . 
 
 22. To separate the water from the wine 
 
 23. To ungrease wine in less than twenty-four hours 
 
 24. To cure those who are too much addicted to wine 
 
 25. To recover a person from intoxication 
 
 26. To preserve wine good to the last 
 
 27. To make currant wine 
 
 28. To make excellent wine of apple cider 
 
 29. Another method .... 
 
 30. Maple win* ..... 
 
 CHAP, xn- 
 
 Page 
 
 ik* 
 
 140 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 141 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 ib, 
 ib. 
 ib. 
 
 142 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 143 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 !b. 
 144 
 
 ib. 
 145 
 
 CONCERNING THE COMPOSITION OF VINEGARS. 
 
 J. To make good wine ^^negar in a short time . 145 
 
 2. To change wine into strong vinegar • . . ib. 
 
 3. To make very good and strong vinegar with the worst 
 
 ofwines ...... ib, 
 
 4. To turn wine into vinegar in less than three hours . 146 
 
 5. To restore such a wine to its ewn taste . . ib. 
 
 6. An excellent preparation of vinegar ... ib. 
 
 7. To render vinegar alkali ..... ib. 
 
 8. To make in one hour good rose vinegar . . ib. 
 
 9. Another method to make such vinegar in an instant ib' 
 
 10. To operate the same in one hour's time on a larger 
 
 quantity of wine ..... 147 
 
 11. The receipt of the vinegar called the Grand ConsUble's 
 
 tn A ^'"^g*"^ .... . ib. 
 
 12. A secret to increase the strength and shari>ness of the 
 
 Tinegar ... , . \h 
 
 13. Another way to do the same , ♦ . jb. 
 
 F f 
 
Art^ 
 
 INDEX 
 
 14. The secret for making good vinegar, given by a vinegar- 
 
 man at Paris • • . . . 
 
 15. To naake vinegar with water 
 
 16. To make good vinegar with spoiled wine 
 
 17. A dry portable vinegar,or the viaaigreen en poudre 
 
 18. To make maple vinegar .... 
 
 CHAP. xni. 
 
 Page 
 
 147 
 
 148 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib 
 
 se:rets relative to liquors and essential oils. 
 
 1. To make as good wine as Spanish wine . . 149 
 
 2. To make the rossolis .... ib. 
 
 3. To make a rossolis which may serve as a foundation to 
 
 other liquors ..... 150 
 
 4. To make Eau de Franchipane ... ib. 
 
 5. Orange-flower-water made instantly . . ib. 
 
 6. Muscadine rose-water .... ib. 
 
 7. To make raspberry, strawberry, cherry or other waters 151 
 
 8. Lernonade-water at a cheap rate . . ib. 
 
 9. Apricot-water . . . . • . ib. 
 
 10. To make exceeding good lemonade . . ib. 
 
 11. To make orangeade the same way . . ib. 
 
 12. To make a cooling cinnamon-water . . 152 
 
 13. To make coriander-water ... ib. 
 
 14. Aniseed-water ..... ib. 
 
 15. Citron-water ..... ib. 
 
 16. Cinnamon-water ..... ib. 
 
 17. To make cedrat -water .... ib. 
 J8. Juniper-water ..... 153 
 
 19. To make good hydromel, otherwise metheglin . ib. 
 
 20. A light and delicate rossofis, known under the denomi- 
 nation of populo .... ib. 
 
 Angelic-water . . . . » ib. 
 
 The cinnamon -water .... 154 
 
 Strong aniseed-water, or animated brandy . ib. 
 
 To make white ratafia, called otherwise eau-de-Noaiu, 
 
 or kernel-water .... ib. 
 
 An exceeding good ratafia , . ' . ib. 
 
 A smelling water ..... 155 
 
 To make a sherbet, a Persian species of punch . ib. 
 
 To make Vin des dieux .... ib. 
 
 Burnt wine . . . » . 156 
 
 To imitate muscat wine .... ib. 
 
 A violet-water ..... ib. 
 
 To make a clear and white hypocras . . ib. 
 
 S3. To make the true eau-de-Noiau . . . ib. 
 
 Si. An admirable oil of sugar . . . 157 
 
 35. An admirable essence of red sugar . . ib. 
 
 36. Another oil of sugar, excessively good . . ib. 
 
 37. To extract the essential oil from any flower . 158 
 
 38. Essence of jessamme, roses and other flowers . ib. 
 
 39. The oil of cinnamon .... ib. 
 
 40. To draw the essential oil of roses . • »b. 
 
 41. An essence of jessamine .... 159 
 \2, Essence of ambergris , . . - v>' 
 
 21. 
 22. 
 23. 
 24. 
 
 25. 
 26. 
 37. 
 
 31. 
 
 S2. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Art. Pag:e 
 
 43. Essence of capons and other fowls . IL'J 
 
 44. Virginal milk . . . . . ib. 
 
 45. How to colour any sort of liquor . . 160 
 
 46. A ladies fine^ rouge, not at all hurtful to their skin like 
 
 other rouges, wherein there always enters a mixture 
 
 of lead or quicksilver .... ib. 
 
 47. A fine smelling water at a small expenee . ib. 
 
 48. To make an imitation of coffee ... ib. 
 
 49. Another way ..... 161 
 
 50. Directions for preparing the true coffee . . ib. 
 
 51. A receipt for making of chocolate . . . 162 
 
 CHAP. XIV. 
 .SECRETS RELATIVE TO THE CONFECTIONARY BUSINESS. 
 
 1. Raspberry syrup . . . . . 163 
 
 2. Apricot syrup ... . . . jb. 
 
 3. The verjus syrup • . . . . ib. 
 4 A general manner of making syrups applicable to most 
 
 sorts of syiups, especially currai its . . Jb, 
 
 5. To make liquid currant jam . . . 164 
 
 6. To make the same with cherries ... ib. 
 
 7. Another way to presene cheiries ... ib. 
 
 8. To make the liquid raspberry jam . . . 165 
 
 9. To preserve apricots .... Jb. 
 
 10. How to make a dry preserve of them . . ib. 
 
 11. To preserve green apricots . . . i66 
 
 12. To make the cotignac liquid ... jb. 
 13 To preserve quinces in red . , , iqj 
 
 14. To do the same in white .... jb, 
 
 15. To preserve roussflet, muscadine, and other pears ib. 
 
 16. A preserve of green almonds . . . jgg 
 
 17. T© make dry poitable cherries . . . if,^ 
 
 18. To njake an apricot, or peach jam . , jb, 
 l'.>. An apricot jam, after tlie French way . . i^q 
 
 20. To make rasjjberry, currant and cherry jam . ib. 
 
 21. To make a good currant jelly . . . j|j* 
 
 22. To make an apple jelly .... j^q 
 
 23. A conserve with raspings of Portugal oranges and le- 
 
 mons, conjointly or separately ... j|j 
 
 24. To whiten cherries, currants, raspberries, grapes, straw- 
 
 berries, and such like fruits ... jf,^ 
 
 35 To make savoy biscuits .... Jb' 
 
 ib. 
 
 To make bitter almonds biscuits 
 
 27. How to preserve orange peels all the year, but especially 
 
 in May ..... i/j 
 
 28. To make a paste with whatever fruit it may be . ib. 
 
 29. GenoH biscuits . . . . - . jj,' 
 
 30. The Queen's cakes or biscuits . . . 172 
 
 31. Macaroons ..... Jb 
 
 32. Particular method of making cakes • . i|ij[ 
 
 33. A cream Avhich cuts as a rice pudding , , i^] 
 
 34. To make an exceeding good boiled cream . 173- 
 
 35. A method of making cakes exceeding fine . ib. 
 
INDEXr 
 CHAP. XV. 
 
 SECRETS RELATIVE TO THE ART OF PREPARIKG SNUFF. 
 
 Art Page 
 
 1. How to reduce tobacco into powder . . 174 
 
 2. How to purge snuft' and prepare it for admitting of odours ib. 
 
 3. How to perfume snuff wiih flowers . . . 175 
 
 4. Snuff of raille-fleurs . . . . • ib. 
 
 5. The odoring snuff, after the method praticed at Rome ib. 
 Q. Amber snuff ...... ib, 
 
 7. The odoring snuff, Mallhese fashion ... ib. 
 
 8. The true Maltliese method of preparing perfumed snuff 176 
 
 9. The Spanish method of preparing iierfumed snuff . ib. 
 
 CHAP. XVI. 
 
 SECRETS OF TAKING OUT SPOTS AND STAINS. 
 
 1. To take off iron moulds from linen . . . 177 
 
 2. To take off carriage wheel grease from clothes ib. 
 
 3. Against piss spots ..... ib. 
 
 4. To take off spots, from cl./.h of any colour . . ib. 
 
 5. A receipt against all sorts of spots from stuffs . ib. 
 
 6. Against oil spots ..... ib. 
 
 7. A washing ball to take off spots . . . 178 
 
 8. To take out pitch and turpentine spots . . ib. 
 
 9. Against ink spots whether on cloth or linen . . ib. 
 
 10. Another simple remedy against ink when just spilled ib. 
 
 11. Against oil spots on satin, silk, stuff, or paper . 179 
 If. A preparation of balls against spots ... ib. 
 13. For silk . . . _. . . ib. 
 l4' To restore gold and silver laces to their former beauty ib. 
 
 15. To restoj-e turkey carpets to their first bloom . ib. 
 
 16. To make tapestries resume their first brightness when 
 
 their colours have been tarnished and spoiled . 180 
 
 17. To take off spots of wax, from velvet of any colour except 
 
 the crimson ...... ib. 
 
 18. To take tlie same from silks and camblet . . ib. 
 ID. To wash a gold or silver, or silk embroidery, or any stuff 
 
 whatever, and render it like new . . . ib. 
 
 20. To take the spots from silk and woUen stuffs . . ib. 
 
 21. To colour velvet in red .... 181 
 
 22. To revive the colour of a cloth . . . ib. 
 
 23. To take the si)ois off from a white cloth . . ib. 
 
 24. To take off the spots from crimson and other velvets ib. 
 
 25. To take off an Qil spot from cloth . . . 182 
 
 26. A composition of soap to take of all sorts of spots . ib. 
 
 27. To take the spots from a white silk or crimson velvet ib. 
 
 CHAP. xvn. 
 
 ESSAYSX)N VARIOUS ARTS AND TRADES. 
 
 1. Avery sti'ong glue = . , ... 183 
 
 2: Another glue , , , . - ib. 
 
INDEX. - 
 
 Art, 
 
 3. A Parchment glue . . • • 
 
 4. A strong paste . • • • 
 
 5. Oa the nianufactoring of morocco 
 
 6. Another process of raanufactoring moroftco . 
 
 7. On the use of acids in bleac!>ing 
 
 8. An excellent dje, the basis of many colours . 
 
 9. Discovery for dyeing cotton and linen, in scarlet, crimson 
 
 and other colours • . . . . 
 
 10. Simple method of trying the quality of gun-powder 
 
 11. On dressing sheep skins 
 
 12. To prevent worms injuring hooks 
 
 13. Another method, by paste made of chesnuts, 
 
 14. A j)reperation for the hair 
 
 15. On making hair powder . 
 
 16. To make London court plaister 
 
 17. Chinese method of making cloth, &c. water proof 
 
 18. To make verdigrease 
 
 19. To make vitriol 
 
 20. To make aquafortis . . . . 
 
 21. To make Cerman black 
 
 22. To make ivory black .... 
 
 23. To make bone Wack .... 
 
 24. To make Spanish black 
 
 25. To nriake lamp black .... 
 
 26. To make currier's black 
 
 27. A preparatioa for sole leather 
 
 Page 
 184- 
 ib. 
 185 
 189 
 190 
 ib. 
 
 191 
 192 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 193 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 194 
 
 ib, 
 195 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ib. 
 
 ip. 
 
 ib. 
 196 
 
 ib. 
 
 CHAP. xvm. 
 
 ESSAYS ON AGRICULTURE, AND RURAL ECONOMY. 
 
 Preparing the land for wheat . . . 197 
 
 Pre|)aring of the seed wheat ... ib. 
 
 On tiie culture of wht at .... 198 
 
 On the gathei'ing of wheat .... ib. 
 
 On preparing the seed corn .... 199 
 
 Another method ..... ib. 
 
 Observations on increasing the quantity of Indian corn, by 
 
 selecting the seed ..... ib. 
 
 On the advantages of steeping seed barley . . ib. 
 On the advautHges of preparing seed oats with plaister of 
 
 paris ...... 200 
 
 On the culture of oafs ..... 201 
 
 V>n the culture of potatoes .... 202 
 
 To increase your variety of potatoes, and obtain some ex- 
 cellent kinds ..... ib. 
 
 To jireserve turnips from insects ... ib. 
 
 On the culture of turnips. Anotlier method . 203 
 
 On the culture of carrots .... 204 
 
 European method of cultivating hops . . ► ib. 
 
 On the culture of flax . . . . 206 
 
 Further remarks on the culture of flax . . 213 
 
 On the culture of hemp . • . . 214 
 Method of preventing the smut in grain, and which may 
 
 possibly be efficaaious in destroying the Hessiap fly ' 217 
 
Page 
 
 FNTDEX. 
 
 Art. 
 
 21 On the Hessian fly .... . 217 
 
 22. Method of destroying or preventing the Hessian fly 218 
 
 23. On the culture of tobacco as practised in Maryland ib. 
 
 24- On the benefit of salt in agricuhure . . , 219 
 
 25- On the advantages of plaister of Paris . . ib. 
 
 26- Method of improving old, ground, to make it suitable for 
 
 the culture of flax • . . . 220 
 
 27. On clover ...... 221 
 
 28. On the culture of the gooseberry ... ib. 
 £J. Remarks on pruuning fruit trees . . . 222 
 
 30. Method of preventing the destruction of apple trees by 
 
 canker worms ..... 223 
 
 Remarks on the culture of fruit tree . . 224 
 Pensylvania method of preventing the worm injuring 
 
 peach trees , . . . . . 225 
 
 31. On thorn hedges . . • . , ib. 
 
 32. On the cultivation of the chesnut tree . . 227 
 
 33. Remarks on the culture of the oak . . . 230 
 
 34. On the cultivation of the poplar tree . . 231 
 
 35. Method of destroying catterpillars upon trees . 232 
 
 36. A certain cure tor the measela in swine . . ib. 
 
 CHAP. XIX. 
 
 ESSAYS IN DOfvIESTIC ECONOMY. 
 
 1. To make cyder that will keep any length of time, with* 
 
 out the trouble of frequently drawing off" . . 233 
 
 2. To make tnead ..... ib. 
 
 3. An approved method of preserving the fineflavor of but- 
 
 ter, and of preventing its growing rancid . ». ib, 
 
 4. Another excellent coniposition for presening butter ib. 
 
 5. On salting beef .... . , 234 
 
 6. Mctlmd of curing hams, to resemble those of Westphalia ib. 
 
 7. M'lhoil of purifying tallow, to make candles . 234 
 
 8. To pres'vve parsnips and various other roots . 235 
 
 9. Chinese manner of curing Genslng ... ib. 
 
 10. On the culture and curing of Gensing. Another way 236 
 
 11. On the manufactory of kelp . . . ib. 
 
 12. On making ba; ilia ..... ib. 
 
 13. Method of making pearl-ashes as practised in Hungary 
 
 and Poland . , ; • ib. 
 
 CHAP. XX. 
 
 MEDICAL RECEIPTS, ikc. 
 
 1. The most easy and certain method of presen^ng men and 
 
 animals who have been bitten by mad ci'eatures, from be- 
 ing seized with the disorder usually called the canine 
 
 madness, r)r hydrophobia .... 24d 
 
 2. Recipe for the cure nf the scurvy, leprosy, &c . 241 
 
 3. The negro Caesar's cure for poison, for discovering which, 
 
 the assembly of South Carolina perchased his freedom, 
 
 and give him an anuity of an hundred pound . ih.. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Art. Page 
 
 4. Caesar's cure for tlie bite of a rattle-snake . . 242 
 
 5. On the cultivation of the poppy-plant, and the method of 
 
 prncuring opium ..... ib. 
 
 6. Receipe for the whopping cough . . , 243 
 
 7. Receipt for curing weak and weeping eyes . . 244 
 
 8. A i-eceipt for a cold ..... ib, 
 
 CHAP. XXI. 
 
 SECRETS ENTERTAINING AND USEFUL. 
 
 1. To whiten wax . ..... 224 
 
 2 Another way of whitening wax in large manufactories 245 
 
 S. To make mutton suit candles, in imitation of wax candles 246 
 
 4. To make soap . . • . . ib. 
 
 5. To prevent ony thing from burning in the fire . ib. 
 
 6. To prevent burning one's fingers in melted lead . 247 
 
 7. A fire which cannot be extinguished by water . ib. 
 
 8. To prevent the oil of a lamp from smoaking . ib. 
 
 9. To make an incombustible wick ... ib. 
 
 10. A stone which is inflammable with water . . ib. 
 
 11. A receipt to make the true phosphorus, extracted from 
 
 urine, and which is inflammable by theair, so that pieces 
 of wood may be lighted by it . « . 248 
 
 12. Fruit. To preserve trees from being injured by worins^cat- 
 
 erpillars, &c. ..... 249 
 
 13. To kill all sorts of worms .... ib. 
 
 14. To kill maggots in sheep ... . . ib. 
 
 On DISTILUNG. , . . .250 
 
 On BREWING j 305 
 
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GETTY CENTER LIBRARY 
 
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