Of changing Metals. 1 6y

silver that may be gotten, and melt it amongst the metals before spoken of andcast them all together into some hollow place like a mould, and lo you shah obtainyour purpose. But that the surface and the utmost out-sides of the meia. may ap-pear white, you must throw it into the fire, that it maybe burning hot, and thentake it forth, and cast it into that water wherein the Lees of wine and ordinaryfait have been liquefied and diffoived; and there let it boil for a certain time, andso shall you make it very white, and moreover so pliant and so easie to be framed andwrought to any fashion, that you may draw it thorough any little hole, yea eventhorough the eye of a needle. Furthermore, this is not to be emitted nor buriedin silence, for it is a matter of great use, and special force in the colouring of metals,that they be inwardly cleansed and purged of their dross, that they may be tho-roughly washed and rid ot all such scum and offals, as are incident unto them ; forbeing thus handled, they will be more serviceable and operative for all experiments.As for example; let brass be molten, and then quenched invineger, and then redu-ced into powder with salt, so that the more gross and infectious parts thereof beextracted from it; and let it be so handled oftentimes, till there be nothing of itsnatural uncleanness remaining within it, and so shall it receive a deeper dye, andbe changed into a more lively colour. Let the vessel wherein you melt your me-tals to prepare and make them fit for your turn, be bored thorough in the bottomwith sundry holes, that the metal being melted may strain thorough, but the dross,and scum, and offals of it may be left behind, that there may be nothing but puremetal to be used in your experiments: for the less droffe and offals that your me-tal. hive, they are so much the more serviceable for yoar use in working. Let thistherefore be a general rule alwayes to be remembred and observed, that your me-tals be throughly purged and rid from their dross as much as may possibly be,beforeever you entertain any of ehem into your service for these intenaments. There isyet also another way whereby we may bring to pass that

Brass Jhtttld resemble fiver ,

and this by Arsnick Orpine, which is an effectual means to accomplish this matter:and whereas in tract of time the metal will somewhat recover it self to its ownformer paleness and dim colour, we will seek to remedy it and prevent it. Takethe best Arlhick Orpine that may be gotten, such as yawns and gapes as though ithad scales upon it; it must be of a very orient golden colour; you must meddle thisOrpine with the dust of brass that hath been filed from it, and put imo them iomcLees of wine j but they must be each of them of an equal weight and quantitywhen you drench them together within the liquor, and lo shall it bear a continualorient colour, and glister very brightly without ever any fading at all. After this,take you some silver, and dissolve with that kind of water which is called dqua-sor-jU ; but it must be such as hath in it very little stor^of moisture; for the most wa-terifh humour that is in it, must be evaporated in some scalding pot or other suchvessel, which you must fill up to the brim six or seven lcveral times, with the fameWater, after the vapours of it have been extracted by the heat of the fire that is un-der the vessel: when you have thus done, you must mingle your silvet that is sodissolved, with the brass filings, and the Arsnick Orpine which we spake of before ;and then you must plain it and smooth it all over with the red marble-stone, that theclefts or scales before spoken of, may be closed np ; and withal, you must water it bylittle and little, as it were drop after drop, With the oyle that hath been exprest orextracted out of the Lees of wine, or else out of the firmest Salt-ammoniack thatmay be had. And when the Sun is gotten up to any strength, that it shews forth icself in very hot gleams, you must bringforth chis confection, and let the force ofthe heat work upon it, even till it be thorough dry : afterward you must lupple icWith more of the fame oyle again, and then let it be dryed up again so long, tillthat which is remaining do weigh just so much as the silver weighed before it was

dissolved. Then close it up in a vessel of glass, and lay it under some dunghil tilt

it be diffoived again,and after the dissolution be gathered together imo aGdlyythen

" ' cast