<5 B OLE S.

them a trial, it is very evident, that any of them that fhou’d be found of use, mightyet easily be had: Since I have myself had the good fortune with no great diffi-culty to procure them all; some from the places where they are produced, and othersfrom the German Shops where many of them are yet in use and much esteem’d.

Sect. II. The yellow BOLES.

j, Bolus lutea purifftma ponder osa y quæ Bolus Armena ver a Galeni.

Bolus Armena lutea authorum.

Yellow, heavy , pure Bole , the Bole Armenic of Galen ; and the yellow

Bole Armenic of other authors .

T HIS is the Bolus Armena naturalis flava. Aldr. Muf. Met. 270. Bolus luteaTheophrasti. Kentm. 7. Bolus Armena lutea. Mont Exot. 13.

It is a very elegant and beautiful Earth, of a close compact texture, extreamlysmooth surface, and very hard ; it is more ponderous than most of the yellow Earths,very soft to the touch, and does not readily break between the fingers, nor at allstain the hands ; it is pretty readily diffusible in water, and remains long suspendedin it, it adheres firmly to the tongue, melts slowly in the mouth, is off a verymanifestly Astringent taste, .and perfectly pure as the white Armenian, giving not theleast sensation of hardness or grittyness between the teeth.

The Microscope shews it to be of a most close, equal and regular texture.

It makes a very brisk effervescence with Aqua Fortis.

In the fire it acquires a considerable hardness, and burns to a much deeper colour,biit without the least tendency to redness; and if urg’d by a very violent one is con-verted into a deep blueifh green glass.

In regard to the place where this is to be found, there have been some differences amongauthors. Ætius affirms, that the Armenian Earth was dug in the mountain Baganasain Armenia. Cardan, will have it only to have been from the island of Samos, andothers from other places in that part of the world. I have nothing to object to thefaille Earths being found in Samos and other places, but am very certain Cardan needilot' for that reason have deny’d it to Armenia, for my own specimen was from thatplace, where there is now a pit of it of near thirty foot depth, the Bole making thelowest stratum, and lying clean and pure to three or four feet thick, under fix orseven other different strata; the pit is in the mountains to the North East of Erzeron,and at about seventeen miles distance from that city, and a vast quantity of the Earthis annually dug there. ■ . . • ■■■ , ;

'• Aldrovandus mentions, that in his'time a dry yellow Earth was brought from Ar-menia, and: believ’d to be the true Bole of Galen; and notwithstanding that we areus’d from the Accounts of later writers to know a red and not a yellow Earth by thename of Bole Armenic; it is evident to me that this very Earth is the true substancethat deserves that name, - provided we mean by it; as we always fay we do, the Bole ofArmenia brought into use by Galen in the time of the terrible plague at Rome, whichhe was so successful in treating. The description of that author plainly agrees with thisEarth in every particular ; he fays, it was of a dry nature, a pale yellow colour, and sohard, that the person who gave it to him ignorantly thought it a stone; and adds, thatit was heavier than the Samian Earth, and of a more dense texture, and had not theleast hard or gritty particle in it; and every part of this description punctually agrees withthe specimen I have of it, and with all the Earth now brought from that place.

It is perhaps the best medicine of all the Earths. I have myself try d it in manyeases, and always found it to be a most valuable Astringent: Authors in general commendit also as an Alexipharmic and Sudorific; and Galen fays, that it often suddenly cured,the terrible disease in which he gave it; and adds,, that those whom it did not cure,were relieved by no other medicines.

If the present practice would encourage the. use of this excellent drug, it might beeasily had in any quantities, for much of it is continually imported into Germany, fromwhence some at times straggles to us; and when it does so is always fold by our Druggistsunder the.name of the Bole of Blois, tp be next mentioned : This is indeed a very naturalerror as it ; really much resembles that; Earth, and we have now taught ourselves neverto look for' a yellow. Bole Armenic, the reddish Bole of Avicenna to be describ’d here-after