201 / 1042
e
H
E
M
tion, the erFd t wheredf is
lO
clr:lnge the e!ifporation of
the ¡,,,,ne'l,les of mixls, With this vicw he dried fome
excremem in Ihe watcr·b'.lth, and, h.lving IlItlverifc,1 it,
ponrcd Ihereon lix. limes ils wciglu of ¡,hl<gm tl10ll h:,J
been fep",",ee! from u by diflill:uion.
~nd
pUl the \Vh"le
,into a
lar~e
gl.fseueurbit, eovcr,d wilh 3n invertl'll vef.
fel that filtCd
exa~ly
into it. alld
IV.'S
clofe Imed. This
\'CiTe!
he fet in a
b"ln,uln
I/Inilf
for rax wecks. keeping
IIp fueh a
~cnde
heat as would not burn on,·'s hand; af
ter whieh he uneovered the eucurt'it, and h.ving liued
thereto a lIead and a reeci\'er, diOilled off all he aqueo
ou\ moiOure in the
b" ¡''''/lJ1
m.""
with a
very
gentle
heat.
h
had now loO almoOall its baJ fmell, whieh
was <hanged into a fai nt one,
It
carne over fomewhat
turbid, whereas it was very clear when p;,t ,nto tbe eu.
curbit. Mr Homberg found this
w~ter
10
ha.e
~
eofme·
lie "inlle : he gavefnme of it tO perfons whofe eompkxi·
on, neek, and
~rms,
were quite fpoiled, being lurned
brown, dry, rough, and like a goofe Oún: they wafhcd
with it once a day, and, by eonlinuing the ufe of this
water, their
(lún
beeame very foft and white,
.. The dry malter left in Ihe eueurhil af,er the fi,O
diOillation, had not the leaO fmell of feces : onIhe con
trary, it h,d an
.~reeable
aromatic odour; and the vef·
fel in u'hich Mr Homberg hae! digeOed it, being left o·
pen in a corner of his laboratory, acquired in time a
Ilrong fnlell of ambergris.
h
is fu rprirang, 's Mr Hom·
berg juOly obferves, that digef!ion alone fhould change
the abominable fmell of excremen! ¡mo an odour as agree·
able as Ihat of ambergris.
" This dry maner he powdered eoarfely, and put
IWO ounees thereof at once into a glafs reton that would
hold about a pound or a pound and ahalf of water. nis
he dif!illed in a fand·bath with a very gende heat. A
fmall quantity of an aqueous liquor carne over firf!, and
then on oil as colou,lefs as fpring.water. Mr Homberg
continued the fame gende degree of heat till the drops
began tO come off a litde redifh ; and then he ehanged
the reeei"er, f!opping that which eontained the elear oil
very clore with a eork Having carried on the diflilla,
tion with a fire gradually augmented, there carne
over
a
confiderable qu.,ntity of red oil ; and there remained
in the relOn a eharred matter which burot very readily."
Theelcar oil, wit" out 'ny ill fmell, whieh Mr Hom·
berg ob..ined from ,he fecal m' ttcr by this proeefs, was
thc very thing he was in (eareh of, and which he had
becn alfured would ennver! OIcreury into fine fixed ralver;
yct he ingenuouOy owns, that, whmver ",ay he applied
it he eould never produce any ehange in that met. llic
fuhHance. W,· fhall nowprocecd tO the other difcoveries
made hy Mt Homberg on this oeearaon.
In his ammpt tOobra in aclcar oil f' omexerement, he
diO:lled it with diffmnt aJdi"ments, and amongOthe
reH \Vi'h ,'itriol and alum. He foune! that the matters
left ,n the reton. when he nMde ufe of thefe fahs, be–
ing ex pofed tOtheopen air, look fire of themfdves; that
Ihe\' kindlcd romhunible m",ers; in a word, that they
",ere a \l ue phofphoru., of a fpeeie. dilferent from all
lhen knowo. Purfuing thefe firll hin\!, he fought and
fOllod the means of preparinc tbis pho(phoru$ by a way
s
T
R
Y.
mueh more expedidous, cenain, and eafy. His proeef.
is this.
" Take four ounces of fcccl neIVly excreted: mi"
therewith an equAI lVeigh t of roeh 31um coarfely pow·
d<red: pUt the \Vhole into a liule i,on ran that will hold
aboul o quan of water, ond fet it ov(r a gen
ti :
Gre un·
der a ehimncy. The mixture will meh, and become as
liquid as W:ltcr
Let it boil with a gentle fi,e, conOandy
lIirring it, bl'l'oking il into Imle crumbs, and feraping
off with a fp.llula " hatever flieks to
lh~
botloOl or rades
of the pan, till it be perfeélly dry. The pan ",uf! from
time to time be rem"ved from the rare, that it may not
grow red hot; anJ lhe OIarter OIuf! be f!irred, even
while it is off the firc, to prevent too much of
:1
IrolD
Oieking tOthe pan. ' Wh, n the mmer is perfeélly dried,
and in litrle elo",
I~t
it eool. and powder it in a metal
momr, Then pUl it again into the pan, fet it over the
fire antl f!ir it eontinually
It
will again grow a little
",oifl. ond adhere together in clots, whieh mul! be eoo·
tinually roaf!ed and b, uifed till lhey be perfeélly dry ;
afler whieh theyOIun be fulfered to eool, and then be
pulvelifcd. This powder muf! be returned a third time
to the pan, ret on the fire" roa(led, and perfeélly dried :
after whieh it muf! be redueed to a fi ne po",der, aod
kept in a paper in a dry place. This is the firf! or pre·
paratory operation.
" Take tIVO or three drams of this powder. Put it
into a liule matras, the belly of wbich will hold on
ounce, or an ounce and half of water, and baving a neck
about rax or feven inehes long. Order it fo that your
powder fhall take up no mOte than about a third pan of
the matras. StOp the neek of the matras Oighdy with
paper : thentake a erueible four or five inehes deep: in
the boltom of the crucible PUt three or four fpoonfulls of
fand: fet thematras on this fand, and in the middle of
the erueible, fo as not
10
toueh its fides. Then fill up
the cruciblewith fand, fo that the bcllyof thematra, may
be quite buried therein . This done, place your erucible
with th · matras in tbe midf! of a liule earthen furnace,
eommonly called ajl"", about eight or ten inches wide
above, and rax inches deep from the mouth tO lhe grate.
Round the eruclble pUl lighted coals about h,If way up,
and
w~en
it hath flood thus hal' an hour, fill up with
eoal, to the very tOP of the erucible. Keep up this fire
a full half hour longer, or till you fee the infide of the
matras begin tO be red. Then inereafe your 6re,
by
rairang your eoals above the crucible. Continue this
f!rong heat for a full hour, and Ihen let the fire go out.
" At the beginning of this operation den fe fumes will
rife out of the matras, through the f!op ple of paper,
Thefe fum,s iffue fometimes in fueh ahundance as to
pufh out the f!opple; which you mul! then replaee,
~od
Oaeken the fire. The fumes eeafe when the inrade of the
matras begins to gro.., red : and then you m.,y incrCll(e
the rare without any fm of fpoi ling your 0perAtion.
" When the crueible is fo eold th." it m.,y be Jafcly
taken out of the furnace with one's hand, you mun
grao
dually draw the matras out of the
f.nd. tbat it n\.ly cuol
f!owly, and then fiop it clore with a co,k.
" Ir
me
mauer at
the
botlomof the matras appear to
be