Hearing that an Excellent Astronomer
of my acquaintance had oftentimes measurd the hight of Clouds, I enquird of
<him>[replacing 'it'], what hights he had observd them to have, & was answerd
that though he had measur'd 18 or 20, ev'n of white Clouds in fair weather, yet
he scarce observ'd any
<one> to be higher then tree[correct reading is three]
quarters['ers' altered from 's'] of a
Mile, & few of them he found to exceed half a mile.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
202 (above centre)
Twenty shillings & somewhat above {ounce} {half} of Sterling
Alloy being refind with a pound of Lead, (which weighs neer 4 times as much)
weighd after the Operation ended but 4 ounces wanting a drachm.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
203 (above centre)
Appletree
on a Willow
Transcrib'd
A very Learned & fully credible acquaintance of mine
informd me divers years agoe (,& lately averrd the same thing to me, that
in a place in Wiltshire
which he namd he saw a Cyons of an Apletree grafted upon a Willow which bore
very faire fuite, but when he came to tast of the Apple, thô it seemd
ripe enough yet it was almost insipid, & the litle Tast it had it seemed to
have borrowd from the sap of the stock not well assimilated or alterd: This
Experiment is the more considerable bec: it dos not only show upon how
unpromiseing stocks a Graft may prosper but that by Incision a Tree may be made
to bare fruite that naturally bares none at all, at least if we may beleive
husbandmen & others, who affirme that here in
England the Willow=tree bares a
kind of Blossomes but noe fruite, & something If I (misremember not,)
to[altered from 'with']
<the> same purpose is observd by
virgil of the same Tree in
Italy.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
204 (above centre)
Tbd
h
About 3 months before the late great
Plague began in London (in the
year 1665) there came to
Dr. M. a Patient
of his to desire his advice for her Husband, & the Dr. haveing enquird what
aild him, she answerd that his cheef Distemper was [BP 27, p. 7]a
swelling in his Groine, & upon that occasion added that her husband assurd
her of his being confident that the next Summer the Plague would be very rife
in London, for which Prædiction he gave this reason that in the last
great Plague he fell sick of that Desease; & he then had a Pestilentiall
Tumor['T' altered from 'h'], soe in 2
other Plagues that since happen'd though much inferior to that great one, each
of them had a riseing in his Body to be its forerunner, & now haveing
<a> great tumor in the forementiond place he doubted not but
it would be follow'd by a rageing Pestilence, which accordingly ensu'd. Haveing
heard much talk of something of this nature by the Dr. I enquir'd of him how
much of it was true, & receivd for answer the foregoeing narrative.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Notes about Man's
Blood
205
Tbd
The Spirit of
<Blood>[replacing 'it'] being put to Spirit of Salt they made a great hissing &
ebullition & disarm'd one another produceing a compounded Liquor not unlike
in tast to weak Sal Armoniack, & such a Salt I intended & little
doubted but to obtain the Sublimation of this Mixture, had one who knew not
what it was & likewise had throwne it away, the same Spirit being mixt with
Spirit of Nitre or Aq. Fortis made the like Ebullition as with Spirit of Salt,
& produc'd a Liquor of a Compounded tast.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Notes about Man's
Blood
206
Tbd
The same Spirit
[ 'mixt' deleted] mixt in a small Proportion of syrup of violetts
immediatly turnd it into a deep red or Crimson Colour.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Notes about Man's
Blood
207
Tbd
The same Spirit being dropt upon a
<Little>[replacing 'Lint of'] solution of Sublimate, instantly made the Mixture
milk-white.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Notes about Man's
Blood
208
Tbd
The same Spirit being dropt upon fileings of crude Copper &
lay'd upon a peece of white paper, quickly wrought upon part of them, &
made a solution of a fine blue colour.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Short notes about some
Mixtures.
209
A strong Solution of Coined Silver (looking of a greenish blue
because of the Copper) did, being mixt with a strong Solution of Sublimate,
immediatly afford a copious white Præcipitate over which a greenish blue
Liquor, but somewhat more faintly colourd, did swim.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Short notes about some
Mixtures
210
The same Lunary Solution being præcipitated with Spirit of Sal
Armoniack made with an Alkaly, took up more Spirit then one would imagine to
strike it all downe, & afforded a white Præcipitate, from whence I
seperated by Filtration a Liquor betwixt blue and green.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Short notes about some
Mixtures
211
The same Solution mixt with cleer deliqueated Oyle of Tartar, seem'd
at first to grow white at the top, & then let fall a white Powder, but
afterwards it let fall a copious Brick-colourd Powder, over which swamme a blue
green [BP 27, p. 8]Liquor, but in the Operation the Bubbles that
were raisd, were numerous, great & viscuous to our wonder.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Short notes about some
Mixtures
212
The same Solution turnd Syrup of Violets into a durty Colour, which
though retaining to red, seemd a kind of Murrey, & by a farther addition of
Copper dissolvd in an Armoniack Spirit was was[] turnd into a durty
green.
[Integral marginalia:]
Sept 22th:
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Distance
of Clouds
213
Tbd
h
I measurd with a Pendulum that
vibrates seconds the distance of time betweene the Apparition of severall
successive flashes of Lightning & the Arrivall of the thundering noise at
my
[ 'th' deleted] Ears The numbers of double vibrations were as follows.
5. 4. 2 1/2. 6. 16. 20. 23 1/2. 6. 5. 8. 7. 11 1/2. 9
1/2
[Retrospective marginalia:]
214
{cross}
To be
transcrib'd
[ 'An æquall' deleted] sea salt being distilld with an æquall
weight of oyle of {vitriol} diluted with about its weight of common water, not
only yeilded a yellowish spirit that rise almost from the beginning without
flegme & was very strong, but filld the Receiver with an opacous whitenes
producd by fumes of the same colour that come driveing into it, thô the
fire was not strong as when the decripitated salt is distilld with the Caput
mortuum igne nudo.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Distillation of Mutton with {oil}
wee tooke {ounce} ii{half} (for that happend to
be the weight) of the Leane part of a roasted shoulder of mutton & haveing
minced it with a knife we put to it in a wide mouthd glasse about halfe its
weight of strong
<{oil}> of {vitriol} which soone began to make it very hot
& after a while to dissolve it into a darke purplish Liquor then with a
gentle fire abstracting what flegme will come over in a Low body & head,
(which was a pretty proportion of Liquor) we distilld the rest in a Retort
placed in a sand furnace by degrees of fire makeing
<it>[in pencil ] at length
[ 'a' deleted] strong ,
<
[ 'fire' deleted]>[in pencil ] both above & below, a few howers after the
beginning of the distillation the Receiver, (which was not great) was filld
with white fumes that made it looke as if it had been full of milk, &
besides about a spoonefull of Liquor there was beyond that Liquor a pretty
deale of a [BP 27, p. 9]a substance white as new formd snow, which
to preserve we causd that Receiver to be taken off & another to be put on,
which also became full of white fumes but not soe white as the former, &
there sublimd to the neck of the Retort a pretty deale of white {sulphur}reous
salt that lined all the inside of it, but were in some places discolourd as if
it had been by some particles of oyle, when this last Receiver was taken off
thô the Retort & it had been a good while before removd from the
furnace the {sulphur}reous smell was soe strong that the youth that separated
them complaind they had like to have struck him downe. The Liquor also &
snowy substance of the first Receiver when we causd it to be powerd out into a
Violl had exceeding penetrant Sulphureous smell, when the youth that powerd it
out affirmed that it also smoaked, the Caput mortuum was very light & apt
to fall into powder at the least touch. many part of it were shining like
polishd Jet or the fattish kind of soote, & were as black as either.
whereas that which
[ 'was' deleted] came over into the first Receiver continued of a milky
whitenes.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Relation
of an Ign F.
216
h
Transcribd twice
An Eminent
mathematician & great virtuoso gave me divers years since an Account
of an Ignis fatuus he had observd, which he lately repeated to me to this
purpose That one night in Autumne soone after it had begun to grow darke as he
was riding along the highway the weather being then calme notwithstanding the
small raine that then fell he saw on one side of the way at the distance of
about a Carabine [BP 27, p. 10]shot a Body which by
<one that>[replacing 'w'] he showd me & compare it to, might be in his Eye as big as
a sheepe but of a rounder forme. this Body was Luminous but had only a very
faint Light & seemd to have litle or noe weight since it came swimming
along by him in the aire not much above the ground to which yet it did not
fall, but after it had continued this motion a pretty while in a Line almost
Parallel to the highway he travelld in, it was at length stop'd by a riseing
ground or Banck against which it seemd to dash itselfe in peices. For he
observd & was near enough to doe it, that a little before the extinction of
the fire it seemd to be scatterd into many small parts,
[ 'as if' deleted] which had some resemblance to sparkes but were much
bigger & soe much lesse vivid that their Pale Light seemd to be rather a
great whitenes then a brisk light, & upon this Extinction he plainely
perceivd a strong stincking smell that was somewhat Sulphureous but smelld more
ranckly of a moras or boggy Ground newly turnd up.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Od Obs.
about Anonymous Spirit
217
The Anonymous Spirit I describd in my
Scepticall Chymist
being put upon noe great Quantity (for I ghessd it to be lesse then two Ounces)
of Salt of Potashes dry but not warme, producd the smell when I applyd my nose
to the vessell that was almost like the smell of spirit of Sal Armoniack but
soe exceeding subtle & strong that it offended me very much. upon the
mixture of the salt & the Liquor, there was also producd an intense heat,
which made it some what uneasy for me to hold the glasse in my hand, but this
heat lasted not long, the spirit that came over in this rectification, was much
stronger at first & more flegmatick afterwards.
[BP 27, p. 11]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
218
Tinctures with the same spirit (margin, at first paragraph)
odd tincture of Coral (margin, at second paragraph)
The same spirit being put upon a small Quantity of Salt of Potashes
& soe likewise upon Salt of {tartar} did upon the former (&, as I
remember, upon the latter,) colour itselfe in the Cold,
<& that> in few howers with a reddish colour somewhat
muddy like that of claret=wine that
<but> yet a litle too new, in each of these Tryalls the
Liquor pourd on the salt dissolvd but a part of it, whether because the
proportion of the Liquor was not great enough, which seemd the most probable or
for some other Reason.
[ 'The same spirit' deleted]
<The Tincture of the Liquor upon alcalys thô they
stood
<in the>[replacing 'upon'] cold did in some days clear up & looke like good Claret
wine.>[insertion in line ]
The same spirit digested upon crude corall powderd tingd itselfe much
more slowly thereon for it was about two day before it could obtaine a pale
yellow but within a weeke or 10 days it came to have a pretty red (almost like
Corrall themselves) but not a deepe one.
A Rootlesse sprig put in about the End of sept: did in distilld raine water within the space of
about 8 days acquire Roots & thô dryd in Lining & paper before
t'was weighd the second time was found to have in Addition
[BP 27, p. 12]to its first weight amounting to a 7th part of it.
Another sprig put in at the same time (into distilld Rainewater) & weighing
somewhat lesse then 19 graines within a fortnight was found to have growne much
in length, & to have spread its roots, & to weigh 24 gr: or somewhat
better. Soe that in that time it acquird above a 4th part of it first
weight.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Cold
produced by 2 warme Bodys
220
<Common>[replacing 'ligned'] Water
<was> made somewhat warme soe as to make the spirit of wine
rise in a seald weather Glasse, & then powderd Sal Armoniack
<was>[replacing 'being'] likewise a litle warmd, soe as being put upon the Ball of the
weather glasse to impell it up more nimbly then the water had done; & yet
this salt & the weather glasse being presently removd into the water did
(in lesse then a minute by my ghesse) begin to grow colder then the water was,
when before I
[ 'f' deleted] warmd it, I kept the Thermoscope a while in it to reduce the
tincted spirit to the temper of it. And as this Refrigeration began this Early,
notwithstanding the precedent warmth both of the water & salt soe it
increasd very fast as appeard by the hasty subsiding of the Spirit of wine in
the weather glasse.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
A spunge
for Moist & dry Aires
221
About the latter End of September a
<fine> spunge that had been kept some time in the Roome I
lay in was put to the exact weight of halfe a drachm in an ordinary paire of
Gold scales, & being removd presently after (which was a little before
bedtime) into a Roome without a Chenmy (but divided from
<the>[in pencil in Boyle hand] former only by a
narrow Entry
<)>[in pencil ] the Ballance began manifestly to loose its
Equilibrium before I went to bed, & the next day about noone the Spunge
appeard to have gaind between 2 or 3 graines of Additionall weight. when the
scales were removd out of [BP 27, p. 13]this cold Roome into the
other, the
[ 'Sca' deleted] spunge would soone begin to grow sensibly lighter,
& being reducd to an æquilibrium when I went to Bed would in the next
day in the forenoone appear to have lost a graine or a graine & a halfe of
the weight it had over night.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Confirm.
of the way of makeing Gold white
222
Transcribd
I remember that to satisfie some scrupulous Inquirers that
the['y' at end of word deleted] white
powder or Calx I make out of refind Gold by dissolveing it in the Menstruum I
call peracutum need not be
<(>[in pencil ] as it might be suspected to be
<)>[in pencil ] anything of
[ 'the' deleted]{antimony}iall latitant in the menstruum I divers times
made an Aq. Regia by mixing spirit of salt with aq. fortis, &
<yet> by dissolveing water Gold
<in>[replacing 'by'] this Menstruum I had noe inconsiderable proportion of such a white
powder as is above mentiond, thô not soe much as I usually obtaine by the
help of the Menstruum peracutum. my proportion of the 2 Liquors
<was>[replacing 'will'] not still the same, but I remember the last Menstruum I made
consistd of 2 parts of Aq. fortis & one of strong spirit of salt; in
neither of which Ingredients any thing of {antimony}ii can be
[ 'suspe sp' deleted] suspected.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Quick
bearing of apple grafts
223
Divers Apple grafts that had blossome
buds upon them, being grafted in the Spring, bore good ripe fruit at the usuall
season of the Summer in the same year.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Apples
propagated by innoculation
224
An acquaintance of
mine haveing inocculated the Buds of Apples after midsummer (for they may
be later inocculated then the Buds of Apricocks, Peaches, & other stone
fruit) within two or 3 days after the middle of July in the following year,
gather'd pretty store of good Apples upon the shoots they had produc'd within
that time.
Take
<Apples>[replacing 'Apricocks', Boyle hand] & haveing warily pounded them soe as not to break the
<kernells>[replacing 'stones', Boyle hand] put them into a vessell that has a spigot about a hands bredth
or more from the bottome, & covering the Vessell let the masht Fruit lye
there for about 3 days or somewhat more, then takeing out the spigot, draw out
leisurely the juice that will freely run out, & to make it come the cleerer
poure it on once more & let it run out the 2d time carefully tying the
Spigot soe as the Liquor may have convenient Liberty to issue
[BP 27, p. 14]out, soe it may not run too fast for fear of running
thick & muddy, to prevent which the top also may be coverd with Sack-cloth
or hair Cloath, that only the cleer Liquor may passe through which being
suffer'd to stand a while & settle, must with the addition of a fift part
of Honey be carefully bottld up. And within 2 or 3 weeks 'twill be fit by
destillation to yeeld its Spirit.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
225
The remaining part of the masht fruit may be more strongly pressd
& orderd after the wonted Maner.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Oils with {vitriol} and
wax
226
Some cleer Oyle of Wax destill'd with the Addition of sand being
mixd with good Oyle of Vitrioll there presently subsided to the bottome a
somewhat turbid & almost Balsome-like substance.
[Integral marginalia:]
About the middle of Oct:
[Retrospective marginalia:]
227
A drachme of fine Spunge in one intire
peice being counterpoizd overnight & removd into the Roome formerly
mentiond thô that night the weather cleard up, & the next day were
very faire; yet before the Spunge was growne between 2 or 3 gr. heavyer then
when t'was counterpoizd overnight, & about 3 days after I found that it had
in all increasd its weight by 4 gr: & somewhat Better.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
[experiment] about Colours
228
Tbd
{tick}
I tooke strong spirit of salt & with it made of a solution of
filings of Copper. Solutions thus made I remember I have observd to have a
Blewish, wrinkled filme
<somewhat like
<seems>[replacing 'to that'] what they call a mother in Liquors> at the Top of them
after they had stood for some time in the glasse, which I have not taken notise
of in the solution of any other metall, & scarce in that
<of>[in Boyle hand] Copper made with any other
Menstruum this solution being a litle diluted with faire water was of a pale
blew & by affusion of an Alkaly presently grew more opacous & obtaind a
richer colour, but still not exceeding that of the best Turcois'. But if
insteed of an Alcalizate Liquor, I dropd into the diluted solution
<an>[replacing '&'] urinous spirit t'would immediately turne it into a Lovely
& almost ultramarine blew, which a litle oyle of vitrioll
<which> would
<presently> deprive both of its newly acquird & of its
former colours
[BP 27, p. 15]
[Integral marginalia:]
Great variation in the Baroscope (margin, at section written in hand F)
Oct: (margin, at beginning of entry)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
odd
change in the Barsocope
229
{tick}
upon
the 18th of oct: between 10 & 11 at
night the wind being then high & S. W.
& the weather rainy but not much, I observd though it had been a hard frost
in the morning continueing to freeze a pretty while after Sun riseing, &
though the most part of the day had been faire & clear; yet the {mercury}
in the Baroscope was fallen to 28 & but a litle more then a quarter, &
the next morning between 11 & 12 or thereabouts, the weather being not soe
windy
but['ut' altered from 'y']
<farre> more rainy, I found the Quicksylver to be sunck
beneath 28 very near
[ 'of a 1/16' deleted](if not full) an 1/8th.
About 5 or 6 in the afternoon the Quicksilver was
faln yet lower almost to 1/4
[ '4/1' deleted] of an Inche
[ 'ben' deleted] or 3/16 beneath 28. The next day between 10 & 11 at
night, the
<weather> haveing in the mean time, turn'd to be cold & fair
yet something windy, the Quicksilver was risen to 28 & about 7/8, and
the day after between 10 & 11 in the forenoon it was risen to 29 &
3/8, soe that in one day it rise at least an Inch, & the next half as
much.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Tincture made with the
Anonymous Spirit.
230
The Anonymous spirit above mentiond
number the [space of 5-7 chars]tho made
by drawing the Liquor off from minium, (not Corrall,) being powerd upon fine
salt of Potashes did not near soe soone as the other acquire any considerable
colour; (which I was somewhat inclinable to impute to it haveing too scant a
proportion of the Alchaly. but being digested about a weeke or ten days it
acquird by degrees a Tincture which made it when t'was warme looke like Claret
wine if not of a deeper colour.
[BP 27, p. 16]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Experiment of Sp. of {nitre} & Ol. Tereb.
An odd
experiment with sp of {nitre} {oil} Turpentine
of
explosions (margin, at 'which presently as we might well expect')
Example of fixation (margin, at 'Rr That part of the mixture')
231
To be
transcribd
Tb'd
{tick}
<We tooke> Halfe an ounce of
<very> strong spirit of nitre (made with two parts & a
halfe of beaten Tobacco pipes to one of Salt Petre) & as much common oyle
or spirit of Turpentine, & putting the latter into a somewhat small Retort
we pourd to it, a litle of the former, which presently as we might well expect
made a furious Commotion in the oyle: soe that there
<furiously> issued out at the mouth of the Retort a very
copious & opacous fume almost of an Orange colour, a litle more of the
spirit of nitre being put in the like effect ensued againe. But after more of
the Acid spirit had been warily put to the oyle two or 3 times
those['ose' altered from 'e'] hasty
& feirce
sallys['ys' altered from 'e'] &
as it wre explosions of the mixture ceased but yet when all the spirit of nitre
was put in, & a Receiver was joyned thô not luted to the Retort the
mixture did for a considerable while continue boyling with store of Bubbles
& litle waves thô both the vessells were held in the cold Aire: The
Retort being too hot to be conveniently indurd in ones naked
hand['n' inserted], & the copious
& reddish fumes that ascended (which yet had a stinck differing enough from
that of Spirit of nitre) condensing in the neck of the Retort into store of
drops that fell thence into the Receiver. That part of the mixture that would
not thus come over was distilld the ordinary way, & afforded besides a
spirit & an oyle distinct from each other, & both of a high yellow
& copious Caput mortuum here & there adornd with very fine & vivid
colours but for the most part black, & fixd enough to be brought to
Ignition like a coale.
[BP 27, p. 17]
[Integral marginalia:]
Nov:
19th
[Retrospective marginalia:]
232
Tb'd
To convince some strangers we tooke a new glasse Bolthead with a
neck not long, & filld it soe far with common water that being hermetically
seald the Liquor reachd within three Inches of the Top, as near as we could
ghesse by measuring with a ruler & makeing an Estimate of the sharp End
made soe for the conveniency of sealing up the glasse, which sharp end we
ghessd to be about a 1/4 of an Inch in length, then applying snow &
salt to the lower part of the Bolthead, we readily drove out the water further
& further into the neck till at length it was got up to the Basis of the
sharpe and Conicall End where the glasse was seald; & then just as I was
lookeing upon it the glasse flew with noise about my Ears being broken into
many peices, which argued the Compression of the aire to have been very great.
And Dr wallis who was
present & measurd it from time to time desird me to register the Experiment
with his Estimate of the Compression. which was that the aire was reducd into
the 40th part of its former extension.
[Integral marginalia:]
Nov: 19th
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Experiment about Light
& Aire
233
[ 'To be trans:' deleted]
Tbd
This
[ 'same' deleted] night after 10 of the clock I took a Pipe exhausted of
aire, where in the night before a peice of shining fish had been hermetically
seald up. this included body neither another nor I could discerne in a pretty
darke place, though it shone[BP 27, p. 18]just before it was
<perfectly clos'd up>[replacing 'seald up', Boyle hand]. & haveing carryd this Pipe into a darker place then before, I
looked upon it a pretty while without being able to discerne any thing at all
of Light, whereupon breakeing off the
<clos'd>[replacing 'seald'] End, to
<let in
closed end>[replacing 'let in', Boyle hand] the aire, which rushd in with a noise immediately part of the
Included fish, did manifestly though not vividly shine: As it has since done in
the very place where I could not perceive it yesternight.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Resp.
234
Tbd
{tick}
We seald up an Eft in a glasse with a long neck
[ 'but at' deleted] whose obtuse End was about the bignes of a large
Orange, we kept him there about 48 howers during all which time he continued
alive, but appeard some what swelld in his Belly. his under Chap
moveing['move' inserted, replacing 'goe' deleted] very the first
night but not the day & night following. By
<opening the Receiver>[replacing 'breakeing the glasse', Boyle hand] at length under water, we perceived that about halfe the aire had
been drawne out. As soone as the water was impelld into
[ 'the Back of' deleted] the glasse the Animal
[ 'made' deleted] that was very dull & torpid before, seemd by very
nimble & Extravagant motions to be strangely revivd.
[Integral marginalia:]
Nov. 25
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Increase
of mint in distill'd water
235
[ 'To be transcribed' deleted]
Tbd
This morning I weighd the mint above mentiond, which on the 26 of
Sept. weighd 19 graines & 1/2. & this day (being first carefully
dryd with a Linen cloath) it weight
[ '30 gr' deleted]30 gr: - soe that in lesse then 2 months notwithstanding
the cold weather 'tis increasd above 1/2 of its former weight, besides a
rotten string which I lost this morning in the Operation.
[BP 27, p. 19]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Experiment of a
<Pumpion>[replacing 'Cowcumber'] for the Sceptical Chymist
236
[ 'To be trans' deleted]
Tbd
Accordinge to your directions I caused
Cutler to set a Cowcumber in
earth in a box, and now the Cowcumber is ripe and weighed
[ ''tis' deleted]23 {pound}, and the stemme and leaves of it 10 {pound}. The
earth that it was set in was 80 {pound} when it was dried, and now the earth
beinge dryed againe wee find it wasted 4 {pound} for it weighs but 76 {pound}. The
Cowcumber is laid up safe but the stemme and leaves throwne away
[Retrospective marginalia:]
237
Tbd
October 2d 1661
A
<Stone>[replacing 'box', Boyle hand] taken out of a
<humane>[in Boyle hand] bladder (sent
<me>[in Boyle hand] by
Mr Hollier) weighed
<{ounce} iii{half},
and halfe a drachme, and somewhat more>[insertion in line in Boyle hand]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
238
Tb'd
Weighinge Jan: 8th {ounce}
i
<of {oil} {vitriol}li>[in Boyle hand] and againe
weighinge March 7th. followinge {ounce} i + {drachm}
v + gr. x. so the weight encreas'd
{drachm} v + gr 10; and againe Nov: 24th - it weigh'd
{ounce} ii + {drachm} i{half} + gr. 7
+.
[Integral marginalia:]
June 1659
[Retrospective marginalia:]
239
Tbd
{tick}
An Onion not Sprouted
weighing['ing' altered from 'd']
{drachm} ii & gr: 12 was layd up in the Springe and
taken out with 4 blades the longest whereof was about 5 inches It weighed
{drachm} ii & gr: iii May 14.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
240
Tbd
{tick}
The same time an other
weighinge['inge' altered from 'd']
{drachm} i{half} & gr: iii{half}
was taken out weighinge {drachm} i{half} & gr:
vii May 14;
[Retrospective marginalia:]
241
Tbd
{tick}
A 3d put up the same
<time> weighing {drachm} i{half} &
{scruple} i May the 14 weighed {drachm} i{half} & gr: xiiii And upon June the
[space of 1-2 chars]it weighed the same
haveinge not sprouted forth above an inch.
[Integral marginalia:]
May the 27th 1659
C.
x
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Great wast of
{mercury}iall gold
242
Tbd
The yellow mettall (made of coagulated {mercury}) when it was put
into the
Cimenting['Ci' inserted, replacing 'se' deleted] pott weighed
{ounce} ii + {drachm} iiii two
scruples and halfe: and when it was taken out it weighed one ounce wantinge ten
graines.
[Integral marginalia:]
May the 29th
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Rosebush bearing
differing kindes
243
Tbd
I saw a rose bush that had an ordinary Stocke and it beares Damaske
roses white roses Rosa Mudi's and yellow roses. The white were full blowne, the
red leaves of the Rosa Mundi began to appeare betwixt the green. The yellow
were not yet blowne but there was great
store['re' inserted, replacing 'w' deleted] of them.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Currents grafted on
gooseberry stock
244
Tbd
{tick}
I saw also a Currant Bush grafted upon a Goosberry-Stocke which was
2 or 3 dayes since casually broken but the Plant was yet faire and verdant
covered with large Currant leaves as if it would have prosper'd well if no
accident had hindred it.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
weight of Leaves of
Gold
245
Tbd
{tick}
Tr:
25 leaves of
[ 'Gold' deleted] Gold, each leafe beinge 3 inches square that is
containinge 9 square inches, beinge weigh't in the longest paire of scales,
weighed 4 graines and almost 13/20 of a graine.
[BP 27, p. 20]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Salt obtained by
{mercury} in makeing Turbith.
246
May the 28th 59
Put in oyle of Vitrioll {ounce} viii &
{mercury} {ounce} ii & taken out of a snow white Calx
{ounce} iii & {drachm} ii besides
what stucke to the broken Glasse & of the Oyle of Vitrioll {ounce}
vi.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Increase of Tinn by
Calcination
247
Transcrib'd
Wee weighed in good scales 24 Ounces
(Troy weight) of Tin, which was either almost all or quite all Block Tin, This
was calcin'd per se (within about two houres & a halfe in an Iron Pot to
gray Ashes, which I saw carefully weighed,
<in the same scales,> & I obtain'd as I expected halfe
an Ounce wantinge 8 graines increase of weight, which 8 graines might perhaps
have been made up by the dust that stucke to the Papers to the Pot & to the
Rake the Mettall was stirr'd with; besides that there remain'd some bitts of
Tin that could not be calcin'd (whatever the reason were) with the rest.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
248
Wee tooke Colcotar of Veneriall Vitrioll carefully dulcified, &
leavinge it in my Study in the Months of January & Feb: by weigheinge it
carefully before an Ounce of it was exposd to the Ayr & after it had
continued their some weekes wee found
<it> to have increas'd in weight 4 graines & about a
quarter besides some little dust that stucke to the Glasse.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
A Baroscopical
Observation.
249
About the 14th or 15th of Feb: tho the (Southerly) wind had
continued for about a day or more exceedinge high & blusteringe yet I
observ'd the Q S in the Baroscope to stand at
29 & but a little beneathe
[ '2' deleted]3 eights, but this day the same Wind havinge continued (tho
not uninteruptedly) 3 or 4 dayes longer, with a little raine, the
Q S wont 3 eights of 29 inches.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
250
Tbd
Dr S assur'd mee that at
Jamaica hee had knowne the
bitings of Scorpions cur'd only by washinge the part bitten with fresh Urine.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Observation about
Crocodills and alligators
251
Tbd
Hee likewise
told mee that hee saw divers both Crochodiles & alligators open their
mouths exceedinge wide, & that hee thought hee saw the Alligators move the
nether Jaw a little downwards, but was sure that hee saw the Crochodiles move
only the[BP 27, p. 21]Upper Jaw. Hee told mee hee found it true
which is affirm'd of the Musky
[ 'smell' deleted] sent
<of the glandules> of the Alligators (which sometimes
perfum'd the Ayre a good way of; that hee observ'd certaine kernalls uncut out
of their Bodys to be the cheife receptachles of the odour, & that
put[ting][tear in page] his finger into
a certaine
<part> in the Alligators Body it came out str[ong]ly perfum'd. Hee said their
Eggs were not so big as those of a Goose.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Hoggs poison'd by
Mandioca
252
Hee told mee
hee saw Hoggs poyson'd by drinkinge the juce of Mandioc[a]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
observations about
Mangraves['e' inserted] Trees. belong
to the Aire
253
Tbd
{tick}
Hee told mee
hee saw divers Mangrave Trees (q whether Mansenilla)
[in][tear in page] Jamaica & that tho they are so poysonous that
if the Raine that falles from of them drop upon Mens Bodys it blisters their
skins, & the sap & odour of the trees newly cut downe is offensive or
hurtfull, yet when the Timber is saw'd into boards, & after a little
seasoninge employ'd within doares its steames
<are>[replacing 'is'] neither offensive to the smell nor unwholesome.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Rodes of Cloudes
254
{tick}
Hee told mee
that the Clouds & Raines in that part of
Jamaica hee liv'd in did so
confine themselves to their trachts that hee himselfe had a Plantation was
barren for want of Raine tho another Plantation that was but within Musket shot
of it was to his great Vexation regularly supplied with Raine enough.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Notable observation
about winds.
255
Tbd
{tick}
Hee told mee
that at the Barbados, &
divers other places where they have no mountaines they have none of those
Brizes['i' altered from 'e'] that
blow the night from the land as they constantly have at
Jamaica, &
[on][tear in page]Countreys furnishd
with hills; tho they have in both sorts of Countreys the Sea-Brizes that raine
in the day time.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
somwhat about the
Aire.
256
Tbd
{tick}
Hee told mee
that the Dogwood by whose
Narcotick['N' altered from 'h' and first 'c' altered from 's']
smell they fox fish being made into boards & dried looseth all its stinke.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Observation of Salt
water
257
Hee told that
neare the Point (as they call it) at Jamaica the Soyle being all Rocky but of a soft sandy Rocke
if you digge anywhere a Well whether it be nearer (as within Musket shot) or
further of from the Sea it would be quickly full of water a little brackish,
but not salt whereas the sea-water before it be thus percullated is very
briny.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
258
Hee told mee
that hee observ'd that divers Nigros that had burnes that were not
considerable,
<had>[replacing 'a'] yet afterwards their skin white in their burn'd places &
even in those where there appear'd no scarre.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Growing blackness of
Nigro infants,
259
Hee told mee
that hee knew a Nigro woman brought to Bed at
Jamaica, whose new borne Child
hee found to be in colour so like that of a Spaniard that hee reproach'd her
with haveinge had a Bastard, which the Woman denyinge told him that the Child
would be blacke enough within foure or five dayes, which accordingly came to
passe.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
odd observation about
fruit trees bel. to the Aire.
260
{tick}
Hee told mee
that hee
<often> observ'd in one longe Alley a row of Trees (in a
certaine place at Jamaica.
which he nam'd to mee) that some trees of the same kind had a ripe fruit on
them whilst others had but very green fruit, & others againe had yet
nothing but blossomes.
[BP 27, p. 22]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Observation
[abt][tear in page] Seasons
261
Tbd
Hee told mee
that hee had observ'd at Jamaica a sort of wood which
<being>[replacing 'if'] cut at one time of the yeare would dye very well & was
usefull but if cut at another time of the yeare would afford no tincture at
all, and if cut at a third season the cloths to be died would indeed come forth
ting'd, but with all be spoyld as if they had been dipp'd in melted Rosin or
some other Gum.
[Integral marginalia:]
March the 4th.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Strange electrical
Diamants
262
A greate Italian Virtuoso of the
Lincean Academy told
mee that the Prince
Leopoldo haveing tryed the Electricall virtue of many Gemms observed that
Diamonds cut flat or table wise had a very much fainter virtue than uncut
Diamonds that were Angularly shap'd as nature had produc'd them. & in
confirmation of what I told him about the uncertaine operation I had found in
Diamonds hee added that his Prince
<had>[replacing 'wore'] a large table Diamond that was very rich but
[ 'would not at' deleted] had soe very faint an attraction that it was
next to none at all. but when relateing this as a wonder to
Signior Cassini, that famous
Mathematician seem'd diffident of it, the Prince to convince him drew off from
his finger the ring (wherewith hee had made noe triall in about a yeare before)
but was amazed to find it then to have a very briske attractive virtue.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
odd way of poisening
vipers.
263
Hee alsoe told mee that
Signior Redi (he that writ de
Vipere) affirm'd to him that not only our poison of Tobacco would kill
vipers if they were wounded by haveing a silke dipt in it drawne through any
part of theire body, but that Sal Gemmæ or Nitre put into theire mouths
was venemous to them but nothing neere soe much as Sugar of Lead.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
264
2 pound & one halfe of English vitrioll
<being>[in Boyle hand] weigh'd when it was well
dry'd & thereby partly made white was mix'd with a pound & twelve
ounces of Salt peter, which in a bad earth'n retort haveing afforded by
distillation, 16 ounces of Spirite that
<always> filld the [BP 27, p. 23]upper part of
the pottle with red fumes, the remaining caput mortuum was laide aside in order
to a further Experiment.
[Integral marginalia:]
June 29th 1660
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Strangely tender
balance.
265
Transcrib'd
{tick}
In a paire of Scales of 11 7/9 Inches in length from one end of the
beame to the other; there was put the 512 part of a graine, which turn'd them
to either End readily, & very Notably; that piece of fine Venice Paper that
made that weight, was carefully with a pair of Sicers cut into two parts, as
equally as his Eye & hand that cut them enabl'd him to do, & as to
sense equall enough. one of these small peices of paper which amounted to
1/1024 being put into one of the scales swayd the ballance very sensibly to
that side makeing an Angle that we ghest to be about 7 degrees, & being
remov'd into the other scale it had the like Effect. And least it should be
objected that the lately mention'd 1/512 part of a graine was not exactly
divided, & that this part of it was the heavier, we tooke the other halfe,
& put it first into one scale & then
<into the>[replacing 'an'] other with the like successe.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Weight of a Cubic foot
of water
266
Tbd
The content of the brass measure fill'd with Raine water weigh'd 7
{pound} haberdupoise & 12 {ounce} & {drachm} i
Troy.
The whole content is 216 square Inches.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Weight of a Cubic foot
of water
267
Tbd
The weight of the Raine water that fill'd the same 216 Square
Inches, was 7 {pound} haberdupoise & 11 {ounce} & {drachm} 7 Troy
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Weight of a Cubic foot
of water
268
Tbd
The weight of a Mercurial Cylinder of 50 2/3 Inches long &
7/10 of an Inch in Diameter was 139 {ounce} 7 {drachm} Troy weight.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
the weight of a
Cylindrical inch of {mercury}
269
Tbd
A brasse Cylinder purposely made for Experiments of 3 Inches
precisely in length & one Inch in Diameter being counterpois'd in good
scales conteind 10 drachmes & 15 graines - of common water; which being
powrd out, the {mercury} that fill'd the same Cylinder amounted to 17 ounces
one drachme & 45 graines (both liquors being weigh'd with Troy weights).
Monsier
El L.J. confirm'd to mee, what hee had formerly told
mee that upon the highest
Mountaine['s' at end of word deleted]
of the Pyreneans, calld
Le[altered from 'Lepic']
Pic De Midi hee
ascended at the end of August or the beginning of September (in the morning) to
the very top, where hee & his company spread a Tent & stayd till the
evening. hee says hee found the Aire temperate where the Sun did not beate, but
on that side of
theire['i' inserted] bodys whereon
the Sun shone the heate was exceeding great, & was offensive even to them
that sat in the Tent of Oyl'd Cloath, if they sate too neare the sunny side of
the Tent, they sometimes had wind at this Top of the hill which they found to
blow coole enough
<(& found it very cold when they return'd to the
bottom)>. This Hill is soe high that it may bee seen from
Montauban which is 27
Leagues distant.
(I tooke a strong solution of Watergold & with it turn'd fresh
Syrup of Violets
<to>[replacing 'of'] a much fairer red than acid Menstruums are wont to doe, but an
Alcali or
<a> volatile Salt would not turne this red Liquor into a
greene but only to a kind of yellow.)
When I ask'd
<whether>[replacing 'if'] the aire in those places where the sun did not beate was
considerably cold, he told mee that
the exersise they had been put to in ascending the Top of the hill (for the
most part of the way they rid up) kept them from being very competent Judges of
that, but they found the wind [BP 27, p. 24]
<which was then northerly;>[insertion in margin ] though weake yet
very cooleing. & the North side of the mountaine was ev'n then coverd with
snow & scarce at all passible. I also enquir'd of him, whether hee found
the aire at Top as fit for respiration as common aire;
<which>[replacing 'but'] hee told mee they did not, but were faine to breath shorter
& oftner than usual. & because I suspected that might come from theire
motion, I ask'd whether they obs: it to cease when they came down to the bottom
of the hill, which he told mee they plainly did, besides that they stayd many
houres at the Top, too long to continue out of breath.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
273
A Learn'd friend of mine being displeas'd with beare that was
brought him to table, went down with the Buttler into the Cellar & caus'd
him to tap two fresh barrels
<that>[replacing 'he'] chanct to be plac'd in a corner, & finding
[ 'them' deleted] it sowre & wholly unfit to drink, hee orderd the
Butler to send back those barrels to the Bruer, which being forgotten to bee
donn, my friend comeing againe into the Cellar at Christmas found the two
barrels still there. for which haveing chid the Butler, (who Excus'd himselfe
by saying the Bruer had not come seasonably to fetch them away, by which meanes
& the darknesse of the place they were forgotten,)
<he> order'd them to be tap'd againe to see what change had been
produc'd in the Liquor since hee had tasted it at Mid=summer, but was surpris'd
to find it turn'd againe to very good beere, which was well drunke off.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Experiment with
{antimony} in the sun beames
274
Transcrib'd
{tick}
Ten graines of beaten Antimony being carefully weigh'd in good
Scales, were for a good while together calcin'd with an ordinary double convex
Burning Glasse, & emitted store of fumes. After which wee found that some
part of the Antimony was here & there turn'd white, & a not
inconsiderable portion of it was melted downe into Lump, a good part of which
was (as appear'd when wee broke it) Vitrifi'd though I could not perceive the
Glasse to be transparent. That which remain'd in the Scale where the
Calcination was perform'd amounted but
<to> about 7 graines & yet a pretty deale of the
antimony appear'd still Crude & to have beene either not at all or very
little Calcin'd.
[Integral marginalia:]
Taken out
of my owne note booke 1659.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Experiment about the
plenty of saline particles.
275
Upon one ounce of Oyle of Vitrioll there was pour'd one pound &
one ounce of Spirit of Urine, before the Ebullition & noise ceas'd, &
upon as much of Aqua Fortis, but seven of Spirit of Urine.
It hath pleased God to suffer me to be afflicted with a Sad
Infirmity in my eyes, that without his mercy in the use of good meanes
threat'ns blindnesse. my distemper is of 7 yeares continuance, & first
invaded me by much writeing & reading, which caus'd the similitude of a
perfect Raine=bow to appear about a Candle, or flame or window, & vanish'd
not till sleep took it away.
[BP 27, p. 25]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
odd operation of
sulphur Auratum.
277
Tbd
{tick}
An Ingenious Gentleman of my acquaintance who often gives &
takes Sulphur Auratum Diaphoreticum from
<gr. ii>[replacing '{drachm} ii'] to
<4 grs.>[replacing '{drachm} iiii'] pro Dosæ, assures me that if he take it or give it with
sweet wine (as Sack,) whereof a good glasse is to be drunk after the powder, he
has not found it to vomit but only to purge
[Retrospective marginalia:]
An observation of my
own.
278
Tbd
Haveing dissolv'd a
[ 'moder' deleted] sufficient Quantity of Sal Armoniacke in as little water
as I could, we put to it as much Oyle of Vitriol as the Salt weigh'd, &
destilling the mixture in sand (with a pretty strong fire) till 'twas very dry
we obtain'd a Spirit of Salt, yellowish enough in Colour to passe allmost for
oyle of Salt, & a very fusible Cap. Mortuum
exceeding acid upon the
Toung['u' inserted]. This being destill'd
with about 2 parts 1/2 of powder'd tobacco pipes in an Iron case, afforded
a Spirit exceeding strongly
scented['c' inserted] & a pretty
quantity of volatile Salt, which adhær'd (but not in Christalls) to the
necke of the Retort, & was not very sharp upon the toung, but tasted very
strong of Sulphur.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
279
Tbd
Instead of Sal Armoniacke wee added to the formerly nam'd liquor, as
much Spirit of fermented Urine as would satiate it, & having drawne off all
that would come over in our digestive furnace (which gives a greater heat than
ordinary ones) we found it to be very little better than a nauseous flame; the
remaining white salt was by the mistake of the Laborant mingl'd with above 3
parts of beaten tobacco pipes, & the destillation was perform'd as before
by putting the retort in an iron case: the spirit that came over was very
strong in its kind both in tast & smell; but seem'd
[ 'rath' deleted] not acid, but of the nature of Spirit of Sal Armoniack,
save that it was also sulphureous. there sublim'd up into the neck if the
Retort a good proportion of volatile Salt exceeding Sulphureous.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Odd Chymical
Mixture
280
Tbd
Of The simple Spirit of Venus {ounce} i was put
upon {ounce} iii of the Coagulum (of whose Ingredients the
proportion was that of 1. to 2.) & though much had been allready dissolv'd
by long standing, yet it did not soe easily dissolve the remaines as one would
expect. The mixture being distill'd in a tall head & Body, there came over
about an ounce & a halfe, as I guess'd, of a somewhat odd Spirit subtle
enough afterwards came the rest of the Liquor which though much weaker was
somewhat harsh in tast. There sublim'd also & partly remain'd, about a
dramme or 2 of salt finely figur'd &c.
[BP 27, p. 26]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Od Eys
& sight in the Darke
281
Tbd
An excellent Physitian of my acquaintance, being discours'd with by
me about some that I knew, who could (though not constantly) see in the darke,
affirm'd to me that he had knowne divers children doe soe, & particularly
that, haveing guess'd by the eys of a Boy about 5 year old or lesse (who he
say'd had eyes almost like a Ferret)
[ 'he as' deleted] that he was one of that number, he ask'd his parents
whether they had observ'd any such thing in him, & they answer'd that it
had been severall times wonder'd at, that he should in the night call for
things at a distance, & stretch forth his hands towards them as if hee saw
them, when noe body else in the roome could perceive any such thing, though
when light was brought in, they found the child was not mistaken.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
odd obser. about a
Tree
282
Tbd
A Learned Dr of my acquaintance had an Apricock Tree that bore
fruite for Divers yeares; the Stock on which the Cyons was grafted being a
Plumme. This spring it likewise bore Apricock leaves & blossoms as before;
but the weather proveing extraordinary unseasonable, all the leaves fell off,
& the Tree continu'd for a while as if it had been dead. After which the
weather comeing to be seasonable againe, the Tree put forth both shutes &
leaves that were perfectly of a Plum & not of an Apricock & a while
after, the leaves fell off & the Tree seem'd to be quite dead.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
283
Tb'd
The same Person caus'd some Miscelto to be gatherd from a large Oake
(which it had it growing very plentifully at the top & moderately in 3
other places). In one of the peices which he gatherd the Miscelto grows at the
end of a twig of the Oake soe as to make one entire body with it by continueing
of it.
[BP 27, p. 27]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Obser. about
water.
284
Tbd
{tick}
Dr St told me that in
Jamaica water kept in a glasse
in the sun stanck not, but setting glasses stopd close with a Corke, in two
days stanck; (the glasse was set upon the ground) in the shade.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
an other
285
Tbd
{tick}
The
same affirmed
<to> me that from a litle after they went out of
England till they came to
Barbados they generally drank
stincking water & found no harme by it.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
An odd Observ.
286
{Recipe}
{tick}
The same told
me that the Liver of a shark (which he takes to be the true Lamia) is yellow,
and runs all to oyle; that 'tis two stones of this fish that doe such wonders
against the stone; they lye in the skuff (as he calls it) & are soft at
first thô hard afterwards. This fish has no Bones but gristles, & his
Blood is felt to be actually warme, whereas that of the Tortoise is as cold as
he felt any water in the Indies.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Vessell to keepe water
Coole.
287
Tb'd
{tick}
He also told
me that Sir
C. L. Governor of
<the> Island keepes his water in nitrous Jarrs, in which
water will not stinck; & yet it will breed wormes, notwithstanding which
the Jarrs will keepe the Liquor very coole & there will be a sweat on the
outside as high as the Liquor reaches (he kept one 2 years that was but a
quarter of an Inch thick & yet keepes as coole as in snow, & makes not
the water tast of Petre, thô the Jarr doe.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
shell fish
288
Tb'd
{tick}
He had on
three or 4 severall Bookes that were never wet
[ 'cock' deleted] shell fishes (calld in
Ireland knives or sheaths)
& had perfect fishes in them; they stuck fast to the Leather Covers, &
were (shell & all) about 1/2 Inch long.
[Integral marginalia:]
All this is to be
inclosd in a Parenthesis.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
289
Short Notes about the Gold Beaters
Trade.
(1st. The Artificer told me that the skins they put betweene their
Leaves of Gold, (which skins are thinner then fine Venice Paper) are made of
the Guts of an
oxe['e' altered from 'f'], or rather,
(for I askd of which of them, of the only Intestinum Rectum, (which they draw
to a Breadth, & stretch & dry upon Ladders exposd
[BP 27, p. 28]to the sun & aire to dry) after which they beat
out
[ 'the' deleted] as much of the Fat as they can, (haveing before perfum'd
the Gut to preserve It) & so shave it & otherwise order, that they have
[ 'al' deleted] only this most thinne membrane freed from all
adhærencys, & this they say dos not only divid their Leaves of Gold,
but preserve them from being broken by the violence wherewith they are beaten.
To preserve these fine skins themselvs, & make them very sleeke, they rub
them (with a hares foot) with a certaine very fine snow white meale, which they
call Brien, but could not tell me what it was or
whence it came; yet
<haveing>[replacing 'upon'] examin'd it I conclude it to be an English Talk reducd to an
Impalbable Powder.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
290
2d I askd how many Leaves they could beat out of one Ounce of Gold,
but finding they had never taken notice of It, I inquird how much Gold they usd
to such a Number of Leaves, as they reckon by, & I was answerd that at the
most they tooke four penny weight sometimes 3 suffi'cd of water Gold (
<that is a 5th part of an Ounce of that metall>[replacing 'which is of the'] well refind) to obtaine
[ '64 such' deleted]64 such
[ 'square' deleted] Leaves as they showd me, which being pretty square I
<estimated>[replacing 'found'] the Area of them one with another at
[space of 3 chars]square Inches.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
291
3d They commonly likewise use
<>[replacing '6'] pennyweight (if I misremember not) of refind sylver to obtaine
64 Leaves of sylver, which I estimated to containe one with another an Area of
[space of 3 chars]Inches.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
292
4th They reckon a Booke of Gold Leaves to containe 25 or 26, &
usually beat with an exceeding heavy hammer 8 of these Bookes in one volume at
one Beating upon a great Marble Anvil On which the volum being layd, the hammer
rebounds
[ 'fro' deleted] so strongly, that the Labour of beating is not near so
great as one would think, being cheifely after the 2 or 3 first stroakes to
guide the hammer aright, which I observd haveing purposely[BP 27, p. 29]causd a Booke to be beaten whilst I stoode by.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
293
5th They usually beat the Plate of Gold they imploy for the first
Booke till it have spread so farr as to cover the Superficies of the 2 skins
t'wixt which it lyes, then they cut it into 4 Squares one of which they put
between the skinns againe, till it have attaind the foremention'd Breadth, then
they cut that also in 4 Squares & proceede as formerly,
[ 'so that' deleted]& the like they doe once more; so that in all the
Gold is beaten
[ 'between' deleted] the skins 4 times successively whereas Sylver is but 3
times
[Retrospective marginalia:]
294
6th They sometimes lay a thin peice of Gold Plate upon one of Sylver
exactly congruous to it, & by beating them together betwixt the skins, they
make them so that at length
<of> the
[ 'foliate' deleted] leaves produc'd the upper part was Gold, & the
other Sylver, tho in gilded Pills, of divers Apothecarys the Gold only is
seene, by which Artifice halfe the Price is sav'd.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
295
7th I noted also that if a Leafe chancd to be torn or not to have
sylver enough, they would carelessely enough tear a peice of a somewhat
convenient seize from some other foliated Gold &
<haveing> put it to the Deficient Leafe, they would by
beating so unite the parts as to make them passe for one intire Leafe.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
296
8th To keepe the Gold & Sylver from sticking to the leaves,
wherein they are at last put for sale they rub the Paper of those Bookes with
red oakes reduc'd to an impalbable Powder, of which afterward they rub of all
that is not well lodg'd in the Pores of the Paper.)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Vitriolate Plants
297
Tbd
{tick}
[A Chymist that purposely visited the Mines in
Hungary &
Transylvania, being
askd whethere ever he had observ'd on the Trees growing near the Golden Mines,
either any Gold in the Bodies or Rootes of the Trees, or any Gilding on either
side [BP 27, p. 30]of the Leaves answerd me noe, sayin that, he
only observ'd in the Bodies of some Trees, a certaine Substance, that was more
Stiptick than Vitriol, & tasted exceeding like it, & in short was found
to be perfectly of a Vitriolate Nature, & judg'd to be Vitriol a little
disguisd[altered from 'distinguishd', with 'tin' and 'h' deleted]
to the Eye.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
298
Metalline Ghûr
He answerd me
that he had there observ'd Ghûr in Mines of {gold} Sylver, Copper &
Iron, & that the consistence was thicker & more cohærent than
Creame & not unlike to a Jelly, but the Colour varyed much according to the
severall Mettals; & particularly, the Ghûr
of Gold was of a darke yellow]
<[>[insertion in line in red ]
The forementiond Visiter of
the Hungarian & other
Mines, being askd by me about the Heat & Cold he found in the deepest
of them answerd
<to my severall Questions> First that as he descended he
felt it cold till he came to such a depth as he had scarce attaind in a Quartar
of an howers descent. 2dly That the cold he felt seemd to him considerable
(except. very near the Orifice of the Grove) especially when he got to a good
depth. 3ly That after he had passd that cold Region he began by degrees to come
into a warmer one, which increasd in heat, as he went deeper & deeper, so
that in the deeper veines he found the workemen digging with only a slight
Garment over them, & the Subterraneall heat was much greater then that of
the free Aire on the Top of the Grove thô it were then summer, nor was it
by any stifeling steames or want of free Respiration that they felt this heat.
And as to those steames that
<(about which)> I inquir'd whether they observd them to be
foreruners of stormes, He answerd me that the miners told
[BP 27, p. 31]
<him> that even lesser damps were some Impediments to their
Respiration, but when the thick & copious damps chancd to rise out of the
Earth they were faine for fear of being stifeld to hasten out to the free Aire,
& stay there till the Damp were gone, &
<if>[replacing 'by'] these damps were copious & thick enough, they would
confidently & almost certainely foretell, that within a short time, there
would be rainy or stormy weather even
<when>[replacing 'with'] the sky was clear & cloudles.
<]>[insertion in line in red ] He answerd me that as to the
venomous Cave that is sayd to be on one side of the Groove in the deepe Gold
mine near Cremnetz,
they call it, the Cave of the Dead, & give it other like names, &
affirme that thô it be almost full of native Gold, yet the Corrosive
smell is so strong & noxious, that men have not dared to dig out that rich
metall being deterred by the ill fate of divers that venturd to worke in it. He
adds that he himselfe
[ 'haveing p' deleted] thô he passd by it in great hast, could
not avoid the being offended with the smell.
[ 'He' deleted]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Vitriol
soft & hard
300
He confirmd
<to> me upon his owne Experience what I had been informd
about the soft Vitrioll, that is there to be found, for in the deeper part of
the mine he gatherd a peice of Vitriol, which was there soft, thô when he
brought
[ 'in' deleted] into the aire, it harden, & had divers golden streakes
in It.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Fiery Meteors near
Mines
301
Tbd
{tick}
<
[ 'An ingenious visiter' deleted]>[in Boyle hand]
He likewise answerd me,
that 'twas very usuall to have among the
[ 'meteors' deleted] mines fiery meteors, that seeme to run like a Cat
('twas his comparison) along the surface of the Ground & he saw some of
them which agreed well with what a Learned
[ 'Country' deleted] Cornish Physitian told
<me> of large fiery
meteors[second 'e' inserted] often seene
in the Country, to shoot them directly against some
<particular> spot of ground [BP 27, p. 32]where they
disappear, & some curious mine seekers give mony to show them the Place
where they vanhish in, which I think
[ 'may' deleted] may be
no['t' at end of word deleted] great
Prodigality since probably these fires come from fat or Sulphureous inflammable
Exhalations issueing from some Mine, & kindled in the Aire at a distance
from the Place of their Egresse: betweene which,
[ '&' deleted] the once
<in the ferst>
flaming['ing' altered from 'ed']
<part of
[ 'a n' deleted] the> meteor
[ 'the E' deleted] there is as it were a Line of fewell, & the flame
moveing that way which its fewell determines, will at length come to that place
over the mine whence its Exhalations issue & being hinderd
<by> the ground from goeing any further must there vanish, &
thereby intimate, where a veine lyes hid under the ground.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Pretended Transmutation
of Iron into Copper
302
Tbd
He also
answerd me as to the pretended Transmutation of Iron into Copper, by a Spring
near Cremnitz, that
he had been there, & observd what passd, but that the bigger peices of
Iron, as for Instance a horse shoe being left there for some weekes, is not
taken out whole as t'was put in, but is reduc'd to a kind of Mudd which being
melted proves good Copper which I take to be præcipitated out of the
Vitriolated water by the Iron, which at the same time was dissolvd by that
Liquor, of this Copper he had some with him.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Vitrification of
flints
303
Tbd
[N. N. a Person of great
Experience in mineralls & stones, assures me that where he lives they make
a Lime with marble that needs so violent a fire to be calcind; that the flints
that are often found among the marble [BP 27, p. 33]are found often
perfectly vitrifyd into Lumps of Apparent glasse, which his Associate who was
present told me, he obserd to be greene, almost like a Dimme Emerald.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Perfume from a
dunghill.
304
An Eminent Professor
of Mathematicks affirmed
<to> me that chancing
[ '
<to meet>' deleted] one day in the heat of Summer, with another
mathematician of my Acquaintance (,& who I remember was by, when this was
told me) to passe by a large Dung-hill that was then in
Lincolns Inn feilds, when they
<came to>[replacing 'to'] a certaine distance from
<it> they were both
<of them> surprizd to meet with a very strong smell of Musk,
(occasiond probably by the Putrefaction,) which each was for a while shy of
takeing notice of, for fear his companion should have laught at him for It, but
when they came
[ 'to a' deleted] much
[ 'latter' deleted]
nearer['er' at end of word inserted] the
Dunghill, that pleasing smell was succeeded by a stinck proper
<to such to a
p heap of
Excrements>[replacing 'thereto']].
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Lac Lunæ
305
Tbd
I askd the same
Person whether he had in the mines he visited ever met with any of that
odd substance (whose very Existence is much questiond by
[ 'the wary' deleted] by the diffident) which by Chymicall writers is calld
Lac Lunæ, to which he answerd, that he had at least once met with it, in
the Cliffs of the minerall Rocks; at a good distance under ground that it was
white almost like Cerusse
[ 'b' deleted] but soft, as if it had been a
<white>(Minerall)
Ghûr['G' altered from 'g'].
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Putrefaction of wood
promoted by Aire
306
Tbd
He also
answerd me about the Ladders & other wooden workes imployd in the deepe
Hungarian mines, that those
that were in the upper part of the
Grooves['G' altered from 'g'] any
thing near the Aire, would by the fretting Exhalations be rendred
[BP 27, p. 34]unserviceable in not many months whereas those peices
of Timber &c that were imployd in the Lower part of the mine would hold
good for 2 or 3 times as long
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Note of golden
Vitriol.
307
Tbd
Haveing seene a peice of the vitriol that was taken out of a Golden
Mine in Hungary & observd
it to be of a fine Colour betwixt greene & Blew, I moistned it with a litle
spittle, & for Tryalls sake rubd it upon the cleane Blade of a Penknife,
& had my Curiosity somewhat satisfyd by finding that it superficially tingd
it, not with a Cuprious but a Golden Colour.
[ 'I' deleted]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
[ 'salo' deleted] Tradition about New Weight of Mineralls
308
Tbd
{tick}
I also discoursd with
him about the
[ 'vulgar' deleted] Tradition taken notice of by our
Verulam
that mineralls are very much lighter in the Bowells of the Earth or in their
proper veines then they are above ground & hereupon he told me that haveing
gone to Visit a great Mine of Sal Gem, in
Transylvania. he
found it the generall Beleife of the workemen & observd himselfe that great
Lumps of this fossill salt, might with ease be managd & lifted up in the
mine which when it came to the aire, seemd to be 3 or 4 times as ponderous,
which supposing the truth of the matter of fact, may perhaps be in part answerd
by the moist Vapours of the aire, which the salt long kept from it plentifully
imbibes, & by retaining them much increases the weight of the masse, &
perhaps
[ 'he' deleted] this
[ 'usuall' deleted] change observd in
<fossile> salt, may have been too farr
<extended>[replacing 'applyd'] by others & have
contributed['con' inserted, replacing 'a' deleted] to the Birth or
growth of the Tradition, which
[ 'reaches redefin' deleted] extends this property to all kinds of
mineralls in generall.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
The
thundring lake in Switz
309
(Meeting with an Inquisitive Traveller, who had
<passd>[replacing 'traveld'] thro that part of
Swizerland where the
Lake
commonly calld Pilots is, I askd him if he had visited that Lake, &
found that there is any truth in the Tradition that goes of It, viz. that if a
stone, or a peice of wood &c be cast into it, there will presently be
excited horrible noises & furious stormes which have obleigd the
Magistrates of the Country to forbid upon strict Penaltys that any such things
should be done & place guards
<at certaine fit places> to warne
<& awe> Passengers, from doeing, to which he answerd
that [BP 27, p. 35]he travelled along that Lake & found the
above mentiond Tradition unquestiond among the Inhabitants, & met with
severall of the guards that were set there to secure the Tranquillity of the
Lake; & was not only by those guards assurd of the truth of the Tradition,
but
[ 'was' deletedpencil] had it confirmd to him upon his owne
knowledge, by one of the considerablest men of
Zurick. (The like property a
Learned Germaine Physitian affirmd to me to belong to a River to be met with in
<a> famous great Cave that is seated in one of the Borders
of the vast Hyrcinian
Forest
<in>[replacing 'of'] Bohemia)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
A powerfully Petrescent
Spring
310
I asked him
also about the Petrifying springs he met with, to which answerd, that (in a
certaine place in Transylvania,
<whose Name occurrs not to me>[in Boyle hand] he was
brought to a water wherein the Petrifick faculty was so strong, that it would
in 24 howers turne fruites (for in
<wood &> other Bodys it wrought but not so well) into
perfect stone, as an Instance of which he showd me an Acorne that retaind its
shape, [& for ought I could ghesse
[ 'it' deleted] was not much increasd in Bulk,] which he himselfe layd in
that water, & after 24 howers tooke out againe, throughly petrifyd.]
[BP 27, p. 36]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Cold of
Deep Waters
311
Inquiring of a
famous Sea Commander who had been upon the
African Coast
<to> what depth he was wont to sinck his Bottles,
[ 'to' deleted] to preserve his wine any thing coole in that excessively
hot Climate, he answerd me that in the daytime he kept it
<in a>
tolerable['e' at end of word altered from 'y']
<temper>[replacing 'coole without being undrinkably warme'] soe as to be drinkable, by keepeing it in the Bottom of the
[ 'shipe' deleted] shipe, & in sand, but in the morning he had it coole
enough by sincking his Bottles over night into the sea, & letting them hang
all night at 20 or 30 fathome deepe under water whence I conclude that at least
in that depth, the sea is
[ 'cold' deleted] cold even in that torrid Region.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
About spouts
312
Meeting with
one of
our English Admiralls
<that is a virtuoso, & has> that had commanded
many['n' inserted] of the men of warr
in the streights,
<&>[replacing 'or', Boyle hand] elswhre, I inquird of him whether he had mett with or taken
notise of any of those strange meteors, that our seamen conmmonly call
[ 'th' deleted] spouts, he replyd
<To satisfie my Queries about particulars:)> that besdes those
he had seene afar
[ 'off' deleted] of he once
<saw one> so near at hand, that part of the water to a good
quantity fell upon his ship. 2dly the Quantity of water that falls
[ 'of' deleted] in one of these spouts is soe great, & may amount to so
many Tun of water that if the Bulk of it should fall directly upon a ship: (As
onely the edges of It did upon his) it would be capable of foundering & so,
sincking the vessell, 3ly: That a litle before the fall he perceivd a Wind;
perhaps made by Aire which the falling water drove before it 4ly that he saw
the rising of one of this spouts out of the sea; which seemd to him to be afarr
off, & to looke blackish, & not much [BP 27, p. 37]bigger
at first then a mans Thumb, but as it ascended upwards the higher we went the
bigger it grew, till at length when he had followed it with his Eye till t'was
out of sight it soone after
[ 'a' deleted] reappeard in forme of a great darke cloud, upon which the
seamen presently according to their wont made hast to take in their sayles,
which they had scarce time to doe before the Cataract was pourd upon them 5ly
That sometimes as farr as he could observe the rising of the spout, which not
accompanyd with any or at lest with any vehement, or peculiar wind, as a
[ 'while' deleted] whirle wind. 6th
[ '& yet felle' deleted] but after the falling of the spout, the
weather was tempestious
[ 'for' deleted]& some rainy for 2 or 3 howers 7th. that from the time
he first descryed the rising steames to the falling of the water
[ 'p' deleted] upon his ship he Estimated, that there had Effluxd
[ 'abo' deleted] between an hower or two or thereabouts. 8ly he added that
he had not only seene this
meteor['s' at end of word deleted] in the
Mediterranean,
where 'tis observd to be
[ 'pretty' deleted] not very
[ 'un' deleted] frequent, but in the channel itselfe,
[ 'wher' deleted] but he found
[ 'ed' deleted] It more formidable then in the streights, & to be
attended with
[ 'furioser stormes' deleted] furioser stormes.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
313
(An Experiencd way to make good
Birdlime)
{Recipe} the Inner Barke of holly & boyle it well till it be somewhat
soft & tender, then in the spring make a Bed of young Ferne, & upon it
make a layer of your boild rind of holly, & cover it with another Layer of
young Ferne, let these rot together for about 12 days or a fortnight, &
when the Barke is well [BP 27, p. 38]rotted take it out & beat
it well in running water so that all the Splinters & other hard &
useles parts, may by degrees be washd of, till there remaind nothing but pure
Birdlime, which if you will employ in Winter, take (to prevent its freezing) a
fit quantity of Goose grease, & haveing melted it, draw the Limd twiggs
thro it or anoint them carefully all over with it.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
314
A convenient proportion of Borax melted with the Ingredients of
glasse, will much
[ 'new' deleted] serve to toughen It, as
<to omit other Arguments> I am informd by
an Experiencd master of a Glasse
house.
[BP 27, p. 39]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Ascent of water in
Minium
315
Tbd
{tick}
In the Tube with very fine minium I could discerne the water to have
ascended by degrees about 38 Inches. But it seemd to me afterwards to have
ascended 41 Inches or more thô I did not take notice of the Ascent by the
differing colours of the Wet & dry Powders as I did at the height first
mentiond.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Observation about Sal
Talcosum.
316
Tbd
The last time I made the Saline Talke I made but one dissolution of
the solid Ingredient with the Liquid & the well figurd talke being put into
a
<pretty> good heat with a large Proportion of Alcool of wine
did readily dissolve in it, all but a very litle black Fæces, without
discolouring the Liquor.
My
sister in Leze hath a Monky which hath livd with her these 16 years
& was judgd 7 or 8 years old at that time, & smelt so strong of musk as
he was not company for all sorts of women, of a brindled colour, his haire
short & glossy, no tayll, now he is decrepit, & when a certaine old
woman comes thither that is a great Tobacconist, he never leaves plucking her
by the Coat to smoake him with Tobacco, which he Catches to him with his hand,
& after he drivells much, & he is importunate with her to catch him
Spiders. what Pins or mony or loose things he finds about the house he brings
to his mistresse; not taught, if any finds him in her absence he tells it three
days after by signes to the party. He hath lost his smell of musk.
[BP 27, p. 40]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Corall
soft under water
318
Enquiring of
an
eminent & inquisitive person that had spent some time upon the
Coasts of Africa, whether he had
been present at the fishing of Corrall, & learning from his answer that he
had seen it not far from Algiers; I askt him whether he had himselfe observ'd the
Corral to be soft & not Red when 'twas newly brought from the bottom of the
Sea; to which he reply'd that he had found it soft & flexible & that as
for the colour it was for the most part very pale, but with an Eye of Red; the
Bark being worse colourd, than the Substance it coverd was; but when this Bark
was taken off, & the other part expos'd to the Air the expected redness of
the Corral disclos'd it selfe.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
More
about Corall
319
When I demanded whether
he
had observ'd that any milky Sap ascended to nourish the stony Plant, &
whether he had seen any thing like Berries upon it, he ingeniously confessd to
me he had not been soe curious as purposely to make enquiry into those
particulars, but that he remembred that haveing broken some of the large peices
of Corral he took notice that the more internall Substance was much paler then
the other, & very whitish, & that at the extream parts of some branches
or spriggs he observ'd little blackish Knobbs which he did not then know what
to make of. And when I enquir'd what depth the Sea was of in this place, he
answer'd that 'twas nine or ten fathom.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Coldness
of the Sea
320
This Noble Man being himselfe
practisd in
<sea>[in Boyle hand] diveing, I enquird of him
whether he found upon the African
Coast to be much colder not a good depth than nearer the Surface, whereto
he answer'd me, that thô he had seldom div'd above three or four fathom
deep, yet at
that['at' altered from 'e'] depth he
found it soe much colder than nearer the top of the Water, that he could not
well endure the coldness of it.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Which
cooles the Air at the bottom
321
And when I further askt
him
whether when he was lett down to the Bottom of the Sea in a great diveing Bell
(as he told me he had been) he felt it very cold, thô the water could not
come in immediately to touch him, he replyd, that when the Bell came first to
the ground, he found the Air in it very cold, thô after he had staid a
while there, his Breath & the Steams of his Body made him very hot.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
[approximately 4-5 words illegible]
322
To my Question how long
he
had observ'd the Moores that were professd Divers to be able to continue under
water, & how long he himselfe could hold his breath, he answer'd me, that
the most expert he had observ'd, could continue under Water
[BP 27, p. 41]about six or seven Minutes, but for his own part, he
could not continue without breathing soe much as one full Minute; & when I
desir'd him to try by a Minute Watch the tryall made whilst I lookt on
confirm'd him in his Opinion.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Compression of Air at the bott. of the Sea
323
And to satisfy me about another Question,
he
told me that the deeper the Bell descended into the Sea, the more the Surface
of the Water swell'd into the Bell, but that even when it rested at the Bottom,
the Water was not risen in it more than between halfe a foote & a foote
above the Brim.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
324
Nr.
Conson.
Vocal.
Vocal
1
p
a
2
b
e
3
c
i
4
d
o
5
t
u
6
f
ar
ra
7
g
er
re
8
l
ir
ri
9
m
or
ro
0
n.
ur
ru.
[BP 27, p. 42]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
325
The weight of Metalls in the
exactest Scales of all.
Refind Sylver
In the Aire
{ounce} {half} +
gr. 22 +
6/16 -
In the water
{drachm} iii +
gr. 57 +
7/16 -
Difference
gr. 24
15/16
Proportion. one to 10 + 208/309 = 1/2 +.
Rose Copper
In the Aire
{drachm} vi +
gr. 44 +
9/32
In the Water
{drachm} v +
gr. 52 +
1/32.
Difference
gr. 8 +
1/4.
Proportion.
7 1233/1672 = 3/14 -
Block Tin
In the Aire
{drachm} iii +
gr. 54.
In the water
{drachm} iii +
gr. 21 +
1/4.
Difference
gr. 32 +
3/4
Proportion
7 19/131 = 2/13 -
Lead
In the Aire
{drachm} vi
In the water
{drachm} v +
gr. 28
Difference
gr. 32.
Proportion
11 1/4
Iron
In the Aire
{drachm} xii +
gr. 36 +
29/32.
water
{ounce} i +
{drachm} iii
Difference
i {drachm}
gr. 36 +
29/32
Proportion
7 + 1514/3101 = 15/31 -
Tinglass
In the Aire
{drachm} vii +
gr. 8 +
1/2
Water
{drachm} vi +
gr. 24 +
5/16
Difference
gr 44 +
3/16
Proportion
9 + 493/707 = 5/7 +
[BP 27, p. 43]
Brass
In the Aire
{drachm} ii +
gr 28
Water
{drachm} ii +
gr. 10 +
1/32
Difference
gr 17 +
31/32
Proportion
8 + 136
[ '136' deleted]/575 = 1/4 +
Zinck
In the Aire
{drachm} iii{half} +
13/16
water
{drachm} iii +
5/16
Difference
gr. 30 +
1/2
Proportion
6 + 425/488 = 6/7 +
[BP 27, p. 44]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
326
Tbd
{tick}
An ingenious Scotch Gentleman being
ask'd by me about the Oaks & other Trees that are found under ground in his
Countrey answer'd , that he had seen a great tree taken up two or three yards
beneath the surface of the ground, whose branches were so rotted off that there
remain'd only the manifest signs of those places in the Body of the Tree whence
they had been put forth: but
thô['ô' altered from 'ey'] the Trunk it selfe appear'd
plainly by the grain to have been that of an Oak, yet it was grown black as
Ebony; so that this Gentleman caus'd a Table to be made of it, which he has yet
in his house.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
327
Tbd
The same Gentleman together with another Virtuoso, his Countryman,
told me that he had visited a Well of Spring Water, formerly calld
St. Katherines Well, now the Oily Well because of the
quantity of oyl that
[ 'dos' deleted] is dayly brought by the Springing Water. He sayes this
Liquor is not transparent; That
[ 'which' deleted] 'tis within a League of
Edinburg that
<it>[replacing 'which'] yeilds oftentimes about two English Quarts in a morning: &
that
[ 'which' deleted] it has continu'd to yeild oyl beyond the Memory of Man.
[BP 27, p. 45]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
328
Tbd
At Newmarket
they commonly allow a pound loss of weight for the decrement
[ 'of R' deleted] accrueing from the Perspiration that is made by the Rider
in running the 4 mile Race. And whatever is said of greater swiftness
Mr Eliot assures me that
neither he, nor those he run against, would either run it under 7 minutes or
thereabouts. He also assur'd me that when the other day a famous match was run,
he lost.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
329
A virtuosa of my acquaintance that is very curious both in breeding
& ordering of Silkworms, had lately the curiosity to measure some of the
Silk
[ 'dr' deleted] that was drawn out as slender as she could, & found
[ '300' deleted]350 yards weighd but two graines & an halfe.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
330
Tbd
The
eminentest Person of one of our cheife Plantations being ask'd by me
concerning the vast bigness
[ 'of' deleted] ascrib'd to the Silk-Cotton Tree, assur'd me that he
himselfe had
[ 'from of one' deleted] the trunk of one of his owne trees built a Bark of
12 Tun, & made use of it for tradeing.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
331
August 13th
D T assures me that he hes this summer gathered some of
his prolifick corne & bot from on grain he hes 9 stalks & they one with
another 11 ears
[ 'so th' deleted] and one with another he reckons that one Grain hes
borne a thousand tho not sown
at[altered from 'in'] a seasonable
tyme
[BP 27, p. 46][BP 27, p. 47]
[Integral marginalia:]
Nov: 2d
[Retrospective marginalia:]
332
Short notes for entries
The loadstone weigh'd {ounce} i. gr. 35 + 6/8
[Integral marginalia:]
Nor 6th (margin, at first paragraph)
Nor 8th (margin, at second paragraph)
Nor 10th (margin, at fourth paragraph)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
333
The wooden cup weigh'd {ounce} ii {drachm}
v{half} & gr. iii
[ 'Clear d' deleted] At night the day being rainy it weigh'd gr:
v:
Clear day it weigh'd 6 gr: less after a clear & fair night 2 gr.
less
wet weigh'd 2 gr. more.
[Integral marginalia:]
Dr 2d
[Retrospective marginalia:]
334
the wooden cup was found to have encreas'd in weight 13 gr. the
weather rainy & foggy
[Integral marginalia:]
Jan 4th (margin, at first paragraph)
Jan: (margin, at second paragraph)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
335
[Integral marginalia:]
Jan 5th
[Retrospective marginalia:]
336
C. M. of verdegreas weigh'd
{ounce} iii {drachm} v & gr:
v & then expos'd to the air
[Retrospective marginalia:]
337
Tbd
C. M. of Dantzick {vitriol}
weigh'd {ounce} iiii gr. 10.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Tbd
A peic of loadston weigh'd {ounce} i {drachm}
ii + 3/4 gr.
the horn'd end drew the south
being heated red hot in a crucible t'was found to have lost gr: 41
1/4
[Retrospective marginalia:]
339
Tbd
{tick}
The Turn'd ball of iron being Just 1 inch in diameter weigh'd
{ounce} ii + {drachm} i gr:
i{half}.
[BP 27, p. 48][BP 27, p. 49]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
of
Jamaica Peper
340
By the
<Relation of>[in Boyle hand]
Coll: Linch who often saw
the plants that bear the
Piment['Pi' inserted, replacing 'fre' deleted] a growing in
Jamaica thos trees are much lyk
our Birch growing streight & furnish'd with a Skin instead of a rough
bark
[Retrospective marginalia:]
&
Benjamin in Jan.
341
The same
informs me that the trees which are in
that Island which yeeld
Benjamin ar scarce so big as our Cherry trees.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
sea and
Land Breezes
342
Tbd
A
He lykwayes
inform'd me that it was true what I heard that the winds which blow at night
from the shore towards the sea doe usually begin about 8 or 9 a clock at night
& continue blowing from the shore to about 3 or 4 or somewhat longer (in
the morning). He added that these winds
do[altered from 'are'] sometimes
intermit & that they reach but a little way into the sea as about a league
or two but that is enought to keep
off[a second 'f' at end of word deleted] ships from landing in the
night unknown to the inhabitants.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
small
tides & an odd Current in Jamaica.
343
He lykwayes
affirms he never found the tydes other than inconsiderable upon the coast of
the Island but that ther is a
notable current that sets sometime one way & sometimes the quite contrarie
(if I remember aright sometimes eastward sometimes westward) which he sayes he
found it to doe very irregularle
[Retrospective marginalia:]
to
subter. steams
344
A
Tbd
Sir
W. S. confirm'd to me what I had heard
of his park
<which abounds in mineralls>[insertion in margin ] viz that divers
minerall steams doe rise in particular tracts of ground whilst the ambient air
was clear & that
oftentimes['often' inserted, replacing 'some' deleted] Minerall
exhalations wold afford him variety of scints & sometimes very pleasant
& odoriferous ones this was afterwards confirm'd to me upon his own
observation
by[altered from 'fr'] an Ingenious
Gentleman that lives in his house.
[BP 27, p. 50]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
345
mineral
exhalations fired
Tbd
{tick}
The same
Gentleman answered me that as to fires proceeding from minerall
exhalations they wer sometimes to be seen in that place & that
particularlie he had at a tyme he nam'd me seen one so larg that it enlighten'd
the air round about it at a considerable distance
<so> that he could a good way off discern small plants
growing neer the place where the blaz appear'd
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Good tin
veins in Dartmoor
346
Tbd
A
Both this
Gentleman & Sir W. G.
affirmd to me upon their observation that In the Moors of thos parts (they namd
dartmoor['t' altered from 'k']) they find Tin oar free from
marchasites (& other lyk unwelcom minerals) which in other parts of the
countrie to the greif of the diggers accompany & incumber
<the>[replacing 'between'] veins & may be observ'd in some veins that reach to the
very Confines of the moor (beyond which) They are more free from Marchasites
&c
Coll:
L. answer'd me that in
Jamaica they observ the Iron
& steel instruments to be very apt to rust & particularlie the swords
to rust in their scabbards & that this happens more in the sea coast than
in places more remot from it
[Retrospective marginalia:]
east
winds at Jamaica
348
He also
answer'd me that at Jamaica the
Easterly winds are more coole then other except the Northerly which are yet
cooler than
<these>[replacing 'this'] were
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Presage
of a Wind
349
Tbd
Sir
W. S. &
his son answer'd me
that in their
Tin['Mines' at end of word deleted]
<Mines> (distant about 4 mile from the sea they observ the
water to rise notably & continue higher than ordinarie befor the comeing of
strong easterly winds insomuch that they can foretell an easterly wind for
divers hours & sometimes for a day or better before the wind manifestly
arives['ves' inserted, replacing 'se' deleted]
at['a' altered from 'f'] the
neighbouring part of the sea.
An Ingenious
person that is a great fowler answer'd me, that they often observ'd wild
Ducks & Mallards wold smell the powder a great way off when the wind blew
from him to them and the lyk he took notice of when he went a shooting to kill
pheasants.
This same
person inform'd me that the ducks
<of>[replacing 'have'] a great decoy wherin he had
<an interest>[replacing 'an interest'] the decoy ducks will distinguish by smell the men that
constantly look to them from other men & will usually suffer him to
approach them when they will fly away from others and this thô the
stranger came not in sight of them & the lyk they wold doe if the decoy-man
himself had a stranger with him in the places wher he was wont to hide himself.
Monsieur [space of 13-15 chars]Lately return'd from the east inform'd me that being
<
Judea>[replacing 'in Januarie'] at the foot of mount Sina he found it excessively
Cold[altered from 'hot'] but being
come toward the top wher the night before there had fallen great store of Snow
he found the snow to reach to his midleg & the air to be so excessively
cold, that the day
Chancing['Ch' altered from 'be'] to
be a festivall & a priest that was in their company having oblig'd them to
stay till he had said mass; not only the water but the wine they employed was
in part turn'd into ice
[Retrospective marginalia:]
About
Cedars
353
The same person answer'd me that he reckon'd up about 23 cedars in
mount
Lebanus['s' altered from 'n'] tho the mountain
aboundes['s' altered from 'd'] in
trees of differing Kinds as pines & mulberry trees. he saies also that the
Cedars afford a wel scented gum and that the soil seems to be meerly earth from
the top to the bottom
He answered me that he observ'd it
<to> rain both at
Alexandria & 3 or 4
times at Grand Cairo & elswher
that the drops wer great & the rain not considerably differing from that of
other hot countries. And that at Alexandria they drink their waters out of
great cisterns into which it is convey'd from the overflowing
nile But that is not drunk but
in case of necessity the first year the inhabitants of
[BP 27, p. 52]any note Keeping 2 Cisterns the on of newly supplyed
water the other of water of the forgoeing year that is wel setled of which
latter water they doe drink & find it sweet uncorrupted & pleasant
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Soil of
Ægypt & want of Springs
355
Tbd
He answer'd me that in the soil of
Ægypt he observ'd both by
pits dug to discover mummies & the great wide cleffs made in the ground by
the excessive heat of the sun that the earth or mould reacht but about 12 or 15
foot
[ 'and underneath' deleted] And underneath that
<there> was a great quantity of meer stone and he told me that
in all Ægypt he saw or heard of but 2 fountains one whereof is near
Grand Cairo in the garden wher the
balsom trees grew adding that all the wells he saw in Ægypt had salt
water in them
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Changes
of Air
Obs of
things seen from the Pyramids
356
Tbd
{tick}
He confirm'd me in what I had heard that the southside of the
pyramids of Ægypt was very
much decay'd & eaten out by the operation of the south winds. and added
that the beasts he & his company rode on appear'd to him no bigger than
Turkicocks & some not far distant flocks of black goats appear'd
indistinctly lyk great spots or plashaes
<upon>[replacing 'from'] the soil from the top of the pyramid which top tho from the
neighbouring parts every way it seem'd but lyk an apex or sharp point he found
by measure to be a square of 18 foot every way
[Retrospective marginalia:]
of
clearness of the Air in Egypt
About the small Refraction in
Egypt (margin, at 'what he answer'd me')
357
Tbd
{tick}
He answer'd me that the air of Ægypt was so pure that it very
rarely appear'd darkned with vapours but yet
the['y' at end of word deleted]
aer['h' at beginning of word deleted]
sometimes terrible thunders & lightnings but from clouds without rain &
I guessed that the crepuscular steams wer not
[ 'the' deleted] in that countrie as elswher by what he answer'd me about
the riseing of the sun there it scarce appear'd to be day till on could sie one
inch of the riseing suns body above the horizon and then suddenly it wold be
broad day
[Retrospective marginalia:]
About the
balsom trees
358
He told me that the balsam trees wer slit long wayes (not athwart)
& not with a mettallin Knife which they said was hurtfull to the tree but a
sharp stone
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Springs
of Mara still continuing
359
Tbd
{tick}
He answer'd me That the springs of
Mara[BP 27, p. 53]mention'd in Exodus ar yet
[ 'in bein' deleted] severall of them in being & that he found fyve
of them Springing from the top of sandie hillocks not neer a quarter of a mile
distant from the red sea notwithstanding which vicinity he could plainly find
the tast to be not salt but bitter.
[ 'the' deleted]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Want of
Port between Alexan. and Tangier
360
The Cisterns of Alexandria ar built of brick lin'd with
<a peculiar>[replacing 'an'] exceeding
<close>[replacing 'hard'] Cement from that town to the straits of
Gibraltar he affirms ther
is not on port that deservs the name of a haven
[ 'the sen' deleted] unless as 2 or 3 ar help by artificiall molds.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
A Human
body strangely light
361
Tbd
An Ingenious Gentleman that was engaged in the enterprise of
Gigery (in
Africa) related to me that as the
french wer casting up a work in a
<burieing> place wherin a superstitious conceit of the moors
had brought a great number of bodies to be interred they found many of the
carcasses not turned to mummy but consum'd & others half putrified
[ 'but among' deleted] which may be the more strang that among the rest
they met with the body of a man very tall & furnish'd with a great &
exceeding long gray beard which was dryed up in so unusuall a manner that the
relator
[ '&' deleted] having bought it of the souldiers sent it
[ 'in' deleted] into france
for a rarity had divers tymes occasion to weigh it to satisfie himself &
the curious & found it to weigh beard & all but six pound
(and what I. Vossius affirmed that in all
Holland ther ar but about
700000 souls.)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
fouls
tasting of fish
362
Tbd
{tick}
A very skilfull
fowler
<that livs within a league or 2 of the sea> being askt by me
whether he did not observ a differenc in the tast of waterfowl when they fed
upon seafish & when they did not told me that in some sort of fowle
(particularlie if I remember aright in pewets) he observ'd very manifestly that
at certain tyms at which they most frequented the sea & fed only upon
seafih their flesh tasted very rank & relish'd
<strongly> of the fish tho at othertymes it did not so.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Birds
presaging storms
363
Tbd
{tick}
Asking an observing inhabitant on the seashore what birds had the
cheif præsentiments of stormy weather he answer'd me that he constantly
took notice that befor an approaching storm the
stone['s' at end of word deleted]
lofors wold be so shy that he could scarce ever unless by chance come near
enough to them with his gun to have a shot at them (
<and>[replacing 'from'] the same wildenes he found them in, during actually storms)
insomuch [BP 27, p. 54]that he could surely foretell the approach
of the storm for half a day or a day before it came tho the weather wer clear
& calm. At othertyms thes fowl wer tame enough to let themselvs be easily
shot at.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
An
observation about the Pole starr
364
Mr Touching confirmed
<to> me,
[ 'that' deleted] upon his own observation lately made, that returning
out of the East Indies, he
could not see the Northern pole star, till he was come to about 6 degrees of
[ 'the' deleted] North latitude, and then the star seem'd to the
observer of it, allmost in the Horizon.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Magn
obser beyond the Line
365
Tbd
{tick}
He likewise
assured me, that Sir
Will. Langhearn had heedfully taken notice, that the Lilly of their
Compass which looked toward the north Pole when they went from
London, did when they had carryed
it beyond the Æquinoctiall continue in the southern Hemispher to looke
towards our North pole
[Retrospective marginalia:]
variation
at the Cap of good Hope
366
Tbd
He also
answered me, that at his passing in the sight of the
Cape of good
hope in october last, he found the variation of the compass to be 7
degrees westward, and was told by a chirurgeon, that was then in their Company,
and had been divers times at the Indies before, that he some years since, observ'd the
Variation there to be but
5['1' at beginning of number deleted]
degrees. He f
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Magn. of
line
367
Tbd
He further
answerd me, that they usually observed, that when they sailed so as to keepe in
the same latitude, they usually found very little or no variation of the
declination. But when they saild towards either of the poles they were wont to
find the variation much to vary. He added that at
St. Helena, when they
lately came from thence, they found the declination of the needle to be betwee
50
[ 'd' deleted] minutes and a degree westward.
[BP 27, p. 55]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Springs
of Mara still continuing
359
An ingenious Person Monsieur[approximately 6-8 characters] answer'd me that the springs of
Mara mention'd in Exodus are yet
severall of them in Being, and that he found five of them Springing from the
top of Sandy Hillocks, not near a quarter of a mile distant from the red sea
notwithstanding which vicinity he could plainly find the Tast to be not salt
but bitter.
[ 'the' deleted]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
361
An Ingenious Gentleman that was ingag'd in the enterprize of
Gigery (in
Africa) related to me that as the
French were casting up a work in a burying place, wherein a superstitious
conceit of the Moors had brought a great Number of Bodys to be interr'd they
found many of the Carcases not turn'd to Mummy, but consum'd, & others half
putrify'd, which may be the more strange that among the rest they met with the
body of a Man very tall, & furnisht with a great & exceeding long gray
Beard which was dry'd up in so unusual a manner, that the Relator having bought
it of the Soldiers sent it into France for a Rarity, had diverse times occasion to weigh it
to satisfy himself and the curious, and found it to weigh Beard and all, but
six {pound}
Remember the Straw of Flax us'd in
Ægypt, and what
I. Vossius affirm'd that in all
Holland, there are but about
700000 souls
[BP 27, p. 56][BP 27, p. 57]
[Integral marginalia:]
Taken out
of a Letter from New
England written by Mr Elliot
A.1670.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
402b['2' altered from '4' in ink]
The Lord hath this Summer wrought a strange work amongst us at Water
town.
There is a great Pond where on a sudden, all the Fish dyed, &
thrust themselves out of the water to dye on the shore, there was no less then
20 Cart-load of Fish round about the Pond, One Eele was got out alive, &
being cast into the water she hastn'd and riggled out to dye upon the shore.
The cattel refus'd to drink of the water for 3 days, but after 3 days dranke of
it again.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
401a
We weigh'd the Nest of a Humming Bird, sent out of
New England, &
found that it with 2 Eggs of the same Bird (which held against the Candle were
transparent except at one End) amounted but to 34 gr; whereof One of the Eggs weigh'd 5 gr, & a half;
the other 3 gr; & a half, and consequently both 9 Gr; & a half.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
404
Camphire, notwithstanding its whitenes, subtilty of Parts &
suppos'd Homogeneity, did when kindled and suffer'd to flame away under a
Glass-bell, afford a Soot (in a moderate quantity) which stuck all over to the
inside of the Glass, & was at least as black as the ordinary sort of Soot.
This I try'd more then once, & one time if not oftner by lighting the
Candle, with burning {spirit of wine} to obviate a foreseen Scruple.
[BP 27, p. 58][BP 27, p. 59]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
368
Jelly in
a Gold mine
Tbd
{tick}
A Learned Traveller that diligently visited the
Hungarian mines, inform'd me
that in one of the Gold Mines he had met with pretty store of a certain
[ 'subs' deleted] unctuous substance, that was of a consistence betwixt
[ 'a' deleted] jelly and soft sope and that he found it sticking by the
sides of the groves, and gatherd a quantity of it, with design to make
experiments upon it, but the contry being then full of robbers was forced to
leave it behind him. And when I ask'd at what depth he found this stuff, he
replyed, at a very considerable depth and pretty near the bottom of the Mine.
[ 'He likewise answerd me, that' deleted]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
369
Golden grafts
Tbd
{tick}
He likewise
answerd me that the EmperorsChamargafus
<that> had the oversight of the golden mine, assured him,
that from thence he had often times sent to his Imperial Majesty grapes gatherd
from Vines growing on some Earth abounding with particles of gold, in which
grapes are found divers little grains or Corpuscles of gold, that
<probably> had with the alimental juice passed from the
Earth thorough the Vine into the grapes, which, my Relator says, was confirm'd
to him at Vienna.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
370
How far off the Earth
discolours the sea
Tbd
{tick}
Demanding of an observing person, not long since returnd from the
Indies, at what distance he could
perceive by the colour of the water, that they begun to draw neare to some
great scope of Land, he replyed, that haveing saild long in a darke blew seas
they discoverd the Colour of the water
<to>[replacing 'and'] appear as it were muddy, about a 100 leags off the
Lisard Point.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
371
Depth of the Sea
Tbd
The same person answerd me that
<in> the deepest soundings he had seen tryall made of, they
reached ground at 150 fathom and found it to be (what the seamen call)
Ozy['zy' altered from 'sea'] ground
[Retrospective marginalia:]
372
fruitfull and barren
seas
Tbd
{tick}
He also confirmed to me what I told him I had red in
Oviedo, about the populous and
uninhabited tracts of the sea (if I may so call them) affirming that sometimes
especially between the tropicks they would allmost dayly meet multitudes of
fishes in scolles, and in other tracts of the sea, they might sail 100 leagues,
or perhaps 8 or 10 days together, and scarse meete, with a scolle of fish not
to say any fish at all, as if the sea had unfrequented deserts as well as the
Earth.
[BP 27, p. 60]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
373
Virgin {mercury} but no
{sulphur} in Hungarian
Mines
Tbd
{tick}
A Learned man
answerd me, that in the Hungarian golden Mines, he had more then once seen
{mercury} drop down without any application of fire, and that 'twas an
[ 'com' deleted] usuall thing in these mines to meet here and there with
running
<Mercury>[replacing '{mercury}'] which they call Virgin Quicksylver. He added that a neare kinsman
of his, who was master of a Mine assured him, that he has divers times found,
this Mercureus Virgeneus, in little Cavitys
<upon>[replacing 'under'] the surface of the Earth, under which the Mine lyes. But as for
sulphur my Relator remembers not that he met with any
[ 'in the' deleted](under that form) in the Hungarian Mines of gold or
Copper.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
374
Shineing fishes
Tbd
{tick}
A credible Traveller into the
East Indies informed me,
that crossing the torrid zone, they could very often in the night
though['t' at end of word deleted] it
were not very dark, perceive divers fishes so plainly, that about a fathom or
better under water,
<that by> the light their bodyes gave the marriners that he
saild with would often strike them at a fathom under the surface of the sea. He
added that of these fishes the most shineing that he saw were the Dolphins,
thô Albacores
[ 'also visi' deleted] and some other sorts were also visible by their own
light at a good distance under water.
shineing of England Seas. (margin, at second paragraph)
{tick} (margin, at second paragraph)
The same person assured me that he found the Thames water to putrify
2 several times, (after which time it cast down store of feces) in the voyage
to the East Indies, but as
much of the same water as they brought from the
East Indies kept good and
did not putrify at all.
He also answerd me that he observed the sea to shine as well beyond
as on this side of the Æquator,
[Retrospective marginalia:]
376 (margin, at first paragraph)
Tbd (margin, at first paragraph)
{tick} (margin, at first paragraph)
Differing Colors of the Sea (margin, at second paragraph)
Tbd (margin, at second paragraph)
And That when thy
[ 'sab' deleted] sailed over a sea whose depth made it seem black, if a
vessell came passing anything swift by them , the furrow
<or ridge> she made with her keel and perhaps her neighboring
parts, seemd to be of a fine blew.
He further answerd me that he observd the Colour of the sea to be
differing enof in devers parts of the great ocean.
[BP 27, p. 61][BP 27, p. 62]
Take on pound of rosen and about quarter
as much of Bees-wax melt these together in a Large pott that the mixture may
not run over.
When['W' altered from 'w'] you begin
to boile them the will
[ 'I' deleted] Swell exceedingly with very great bubels but you must
keep the mixture stiring
[ 'th' deleted] till these vanish and Leave the melted mixture Like
oyle or sum such uneforme Liquor then mixe with it by degrees as much very
finly poudrd litharge as conveniently, [as][word obscured by ink blot] you can, and keep it
continually stiring till it groe to stif to be stired any longer
Take shulled snales prick them well with a penknife at the small
ends put them in a bagg and with the Liquor that will straine thorough desolve
in a requisit degree of heat as much [ichchrocollo][unclear]
as conveniently you can and use the mixture before it gro cold
[BP 27, p. 63]
A Continuation From the 25th
of January
[Retrospective marginalia:]
377
[ '401' deleted] (margin, at first paragraph)
Tbd (margin, at first paragraph)
Camphire notwithstanding whitness & subtlelear parts. and
suppose it homogeneily, did being kindled and suffered to flame a way under a
glass-Bell afford a soot (in a modirate quantety) which stuck all over to the
inside of the Glass; and was at least as black as the ordenary sort of soot.
The I have tryed more then once.
Remember the Application of ball and socket, for the making of
percussions and waves under water.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
378
odd observations about
Aurum fulminans
Tbd
In the fireing of
Aurum['e' between 'r' and 'u' deleted] fullminans in a large and
round bolthead I observed that usually the flash that seemed to expand itself
so to fill the whole cavity of the Globe with a very vivid light
<which> was
[ 'usually' deleted] præceeded by or accompanied with Loude Crack,
made by the going off, of the pouder; but sometimes there was a greater noyse
or crack to be taken notice of, when no flash at all appeared, (on the
otherside) I observed three times or oftener that strong flashes were produced
when there was scearse any sound at all remarkable; though once or twice the
sound was
audible['i' altered from 'e']
<but>[replacing 'by t'] exceeding faint.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Observation about
Cuobalt.
Tbd
An eminent observer of mines answered me that in
Germeny (the did to his
knowledge['dge' altered from 'ge'])
from Kobolt dug out of the grounde seperate by a strong sublimation trew white
arsenick and that out of the remaines they collected pritty store of Tin Glass)
(or Bismith)
<which> was dispersed amonge the rest of the mineral from
which they sometimes also obtained a smal proportion of trew silver, he added
that with this Caput Mortuum fluxed for a dew time the conveniant quantity of
Potashes, or of calcin'd or finly pulverisd pibble stones they made the blew
smalt that is wont to be brought us from
Holland.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
380a['80a' altered from '78']
weight carried up by a
paperkite.
Tbd
A mach[approximately 1-2 characters ink blot]ion
of my acquintans affirmed to me that with
<a> Large paperkite (
[ 'but' deleted] not unlike those that boyes play with) he had rased to
a great hight a body of too and thirty poundewight.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
380b
Mines of Native
Steele
An inquisitive visiter of mines answered me that he had founde some
that were propperly mines of steele rather then of iron, (of which mettles he
had several times
<seene> the Latter turned into the former
[BP 27, p. 64]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
381
Sparkling Haire
Tbd
A Learned man of my acquintans whose hair is naturally black &
curled; assured me that having had occation to spende
some['me' at end of word inserted]
[ 'many' deleted] years in climents more northardly
<then that of> InLande he founde that when he comed his hair in
dry and frosti weather it would frequently emit sparks of fire which when he
lisen'd
attentively['tive' inserted, replacing 'pted' deleted] were
accompanied with Little cracks but he tooke notis
<that> when the weader was open and his hair by the
moistture['ture' at end of word inserted]
<of> aire or by the effluviums of his head was moist and limber
[ 'not now' deleted] no such thing will happen.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
382
Tbd
An ounce of weater being included in a pritty Large Æolipy
emit a viscible wind or streame of vapours for about a quater of an hour recned
by a minit-wach
[Retrospective marginalia:]
383
A Germans
speltar.
A Learned eye-witness asured me that in (a
Germaine) Mine whose Oer
contained
[ 'some' deleted] Lead accompanied with coper and some silver, he observed
that the great furness wherein the Ore was melted would in process of time have
sides Lin'd with a kinde of Mineral fulega which they
[ 'smelter' deleted] mined used to take out whilst the furness was yet very
hot. by which meanes he obtaind a
great['e' between 'g' and 'r' deleted]-many Large drops of spelter
the sides a great deal of the same mineral which though not melted by furness
as these Large drops had bin, were
afterwards[altered from 'as ever'] by
fution redused to spelter,
[Retrospective marginalia:]
384
Force of comprest
Aire
Tbd
An Ingenear of my acquintans that took much paines in pleasure in
making wine fountains haveing caused a Large and very thick glass bottle (he
holding about a gallon) & striveing to forse
<in> more and more are with his seringe at Length compressed
it so much that presently after he had left off seringing, the bottle flew in
peices with a great noise Like that of a Gunn, and threw
<about> the thick peices with such violens as much
indanigerd, another virtuosoe (well Knowne to me) [BP 27, p. 65]
as['a' altered from 'A'] well as the
Ingeneer
<who>[replacing 'when'] himself related to me the adventure.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
385
sand made firm
ground
A Learned traveler boarne in
Holland and for the most part
resideing there assured me
<upon>[replacing 'from'] his one observation that in some of the shoers where formerly
the Large
<tracts>[replacing 'coasts'] of Lande the sea had quit it consisted of meere sande moveable
to and fro by the winds there is now firme grounde which is also made verdant
enough and this by meanes of the plentefull groth of that plante which the
Latins call Spartum (in inglish
[space of 6-8 chars]whose intangled roots
binde the sande, and make sike firme
[Retrospective marginalia:]
386a
observation about a
Pendulum
Tbd
My Lord Bruckarde observes in
his exact clock that the
<long>[insertion in margin ] Pendolome that makes a part of it
[ 'is sens' deleted] has its motions sensably varied by very cold weather
induring which the clock goes slower then at other times.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
386b
Gemes in cold
Countrys
Tbd
A Learned eye witness affirmed to me that in
Pressia he severall times Gemes
of differing tincktures which were as fair and naturall as to color as those
that
are[altered from 'come']
brought['b' altered from 'f']
up[altered from 'as'] from
Æst Indies &
that in Hardness the much exceeded the fectitious Gemes that are
[ 'sold' deleted] made at Paris
and else where.
Remember the mixture of one pound of tinn with four of the other
mettle,
[Retrospective marginalia:]
387
observation about
Glass
Tbd
Enquireing of an
eminent maker
of tellescops, whether he had not observed a sensable
differens in working very thick peeces of Glass, in case the edge of the Glass
were
<wrought>[replacing 'wright'] upon as if it had bin the flat part of the Glass, he answerd
me that sometimes in working a peices of Glass of an
inch['c' altered from 's'] thick or
more he observed that by making the thik edge of the Glass plate to be the flat
or broadest parte of the Glass produced; it would make the object lookt on
thorow it appeare straingely confused though the Glass plate were very clean
and free from vaines.
[BP 27, p. 66]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
388
Tbd
R M Asured me that in making the experiment of
measuring the depth of the sea without a Line the Ball of woode would ascende
from the bottome of the water
<to> the top
[ 'will' deleted] in equall spacis of time whether (the water
[ 'being calme' deleted] having no streame Like motion) the emerging body
ascended perpendicularly or it hapned to be by the tyde or it used to move
oblightly and rise perhaps twenty paces distent from the perpendicular Line
according to which it was sonke.
By a Letter brought yesterday to my hands promised
Mr Eliot an ancient Minester in
new England I finde
that none of the Indeans were ever observed to have had the stone before one
old man that he
[ 'names' deleted] names who died of it the Last year, and in another
place['c' altered from 's'] he mentioneth
by name another Indean yet alive whom he takes notis of as being the second
person of the natives that hath bin troubled with
that[t' at beginning of word altered from 'w'] disease
[Retrospective marginalia:]
390
Hen eggs
[ 'hatchd by' deleted] artificially hatched in England
Tbd
The Hen-eggs that were hatched
<by my friend
N. N.>[in Boyle hand] were brought to have all
the requisit parts and even feathers themselves in aboute thre weeks, the
chikins were less then ordonary and none of them was founde able to breake the
shell
[Retrospective marginalia:]
391
Useful New English
furr
The fur of the Animal called Racool is to be founde frequently
enough in new Englande
is affermd to me by considerable persons; whereof some have Lived there; and
others trade theither to be much more affectuall against obstinate aches or the
like paines then skines of beavers themselves.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
392
Ascent of tinn
Tbd
Having put some quicksilver into the bottom of a Glass vial I put a
rod of Tinn into the same vial soe as that the bottom of rode was covered by
the stagnate quicksilver and the whole rod was keept almost perpendicular to
the surfis of
<the> Liquor - all this being let alone in a quiet place the
Tinn rod [BP 27, p. 67]apeared to somwhat sweled and discolored for
Little space above the serfis of the mercure, but afterwards this amalgamation
as
well[altered from 'of'] as
filteration appeared to have bin caried onto the hight of several fingers
breaths above the mercure by
[ 'the' deleted] changes that
[ 'app' deleted] were desernable in the Tinn and espetial by the
brittleness it had aquired.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
393
A Gentle-woman (whose husband is A Dr of phisick) that by the
delicateness of her complection seemes Likely to have
<exquisite>[replacing 'her'] sensores hath severall times affirmed to me that she can
easily peceive
by[altered from 'the'] sence
<partly of smelling partly of
seeying['y' altered from 'h']>
when any person comes into the Roome comes
[ 'from' deleted] newly from being abroade in the snow.
[ 'often' deleted]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
394
odd observation about
sound
Tbd
Asking an Ingeneer that had been seaven yards under water in a
Leaderne case furnished with two flexable pipes that reached above the surfes
of
<the> water wethe he cold hear those noises that were made
else where then at or very neer Orifises of the pipes he replyed that he cold
not And enquireing farther whether he could heare men speake at the Orifis of
one of the pipes whilst the were blowing doune Air at the other to inable him
to respire, he replyed that if noe Air were blowing doune he colde
[ 'he' deleted] very plainly & distinctly hear what was
[ 'said to him' deleted] spoaken to him at the Orifis of the othe pipe but
could not at all heare a man speake distinctly whilst the bellowes were plyed
[ 'it seeme' deleted] which phæmonina seemes manifestly to proceede
fron hence that the Air which was impelled in by the bellowes returing
<with> the motion brisk enough up the other pipe hindred the
sounde of the words that was poaken at the Orifis of that pipe
[BP 27, p. 68]and being regularly
propagated[first 'a' altered from 'i'] to
the bottom of it.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
496
An intelligent Gentleman that
lives in Kent, and is well acquainted
with Romney Marsh
answers me that the wholl scope of Land amounts to about 20000 acres, that it
was formerly Sea, but appears to have been before that forest or well woodded
Land, on which score they often digg up
bodys['od' altered from 'ur'] of
trees and meet some times with
[ 'the' deleted] foundations that seeme to have been so, to large
houses and other buildings.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
497
An
Ingeneer that dealt much in the Lead Mines of
Darbeshire answer'd me
that the damps there happen'd very uncertainly as to time, and that frequently
you may smell the stinke of them, and sometimes see the thin fumes, ascending
at the mouth of the Grove.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
498
An eminent
Virtuoso that is master of a salt worke in
Cheshier assures me, that
after great shower of raine the workmen observe the water not only to rise in
the pitts, which may be between 30 or 40 foot deepe, but to
[ 'the' deleted] be more richly inpregnated with salt, which they cannot
give a reason of, but wonder to find by experience, that thô the water
would rise after the rains from which the orefices of the pitts are well
shelter'd about 2 or 3 foot yet the same quantity of this water would yield
more salt, than if no rain had fall.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
499
The gentleman mentiond No 395 assures me he observed that in some
places of a runing arch that the sea has of its own accord forsaken the Land
for mor a mile from the boundaries that kept it out.
The Virtuoso
mention'd no 97 answerd me that some of the salt wiches in
cheshire have afforded salt
ever since the Conquest and that mention is made of them in the famous Doomsday
booke
An Ingenious Master of
a glass house answerd me that
[ 'upon' deleted] out of 100 weight of sand and a convenient proportion of
Barellia or fixt salt, he made account be usually had betwixt 6 and 7 score
pound of good glasse
[BP 27, p. 69]
A Continuation of Promiscuous
Experiments
Observations
and
Notes
from
[ 'March 15' deleted] March 15
[Integral marginalia:]
weight of a
hummingbirds Nest and eggs
[Retrospective marginalia:]
401
[ '401' deleted]
Tbd
We weighed the
nest['a' between 'e' and 's' deleted]
of a Humming-bird sent out of
New England, and found
that it with two egges of the same bird (which held against the Candle were
transparent except at one end)
[ 'and' deleted] amounted but to 34 graines, whereof one of the egges
weighed 5 gr. and an half; the other 3 gr. and an half and (consequently) both
9 gr. and an half.
[Integral marginalia:]
Taken out
of a letter from New
England written by Mr Elliot
Anno
1670['7' altered from '6']
[Retrospective marginalia:]
402
[ '402' deleted]
Tbd
The Lord hath this summer wrought a strange worke amongst us at
Water town.
Their is a great pond where on a sudden all the fish dyed and thrust
themselves out of the water to dye on the shore, their was no less then 20
cartload of fish round about the pond; one eale was gott out alive and being
cast into the water she hastned and wrigled out to dye upon the shore: the
cattle refused to drinke of the water for 3 dayes, but after 3 dayes dranke of
it again.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
403
[ '403' deleted]
foramen ovale in
man
An excellent Anatomist of my Acquaintance affirms to me, that in
divers human bodyes of full growen persons he had found the foramen ovale open,
being only covered on one side with a thin membran, that hung over it like a
curtain, which did more then cover the orifice, and opened out of the right
ventricle into the left but not the contrary way: These holes he sometimes
observed and particularly malefactors some time since hanged, to be so large
that he could without violence put thorow it the top of his little finger.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
404
[ '404' deleted]
Soot of Camphire
black
Tbd
Camphier notwithstanding its whiteness subtilty of partes and
supposed homogeniety, did when kindled and sufferd to flame away under a glass
bell, afford a soot (in a moderat [BP 27, p. 70][BP 27, p. 71]Quantitie) which stuck all over to the inside of the glass and was
at least as black as the ordinary sort of soot. This I try'd more then once and
one time if not oftner by lighting the candle with burning spirit of wine, to
obviat a foreseen scruple.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
405
odd apparition of
Light
A Domestick of mine, that was no undiligent observer, travelling in
a faire night, being willing to stretch his legs before he came to his Inn,
tooke notice that
<very often> when his horse by whom he walked on foote
chanced to tread upon dewy grass, their was made an apparition of light.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
406
An experiment relating
to Diaphaneity.
Tbd
[sed][unclear]
To shew['To' altered from 'S' of 'Shew' and 's' inserted inline]
that 'tis not so necessary as generally it is held, that light should coexist
penetrative (as the Schooles speake) with a diaphanous body, because their is
no visible part of that body can be perceivd not to be illuminated
[ 'I' deleted] we tooke a single grain weight of a pigment (which was not
metalline nor minerall) and with it brought about 2 thousand times its weight
of a menstruum (which had indeed a power to dissolve and open it, but was) as
cleare and colourless as rock water, to that degree of redness that it rather
exceeded then fell short of the colour of good claret wine; so
<that>
there['re' altered from 'ir'] was no
discernible part of the whole liquor that was not deeply tinged by a pigment
that amounted not to the two thousand part of it, (either in weight or bulk
[ ')' deleted] (for it was in specie heavier then
the menstruum)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
407
Of the effects of Mr
Smiethwecks burning glass
A
Tbd
Mr
Smithweck answerd me, that with one of his peculiar sort of burning
glasses, which was but 6 inches in Diameter he could burn by the help of the
beames of a fire that
<was> at 9 or 10 foot distance from the speculum And he
further answerd me that with the same burning glasse, he could in a north
window, (where the sun never directly shines) collect light enough to produce
[ 'a verr' deleted] a manifestly sensible
<(though not a great)> degree of heat.
[BP 27, p. 72][BP 27, p. 73]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
408
weight of Coral
[ 'of' deleted] in water
C[altered from 'See']
Tbd
A thick piece of verry well colourd Corall, of above half an ounce
in
[ 'whe' deleted] weight, being Hydrostatically examind appear'd to be in
proportion to water of the same bulke as
[ 'two' deleted]2, 6 tenths to 1
[Retrospective marginalia:]
409
[ 'The' deleted] Effect of the Air & the Vapors of a glass
Eolipil
C
Tbd
Haveing caus'd an Eolopil with a long Angular neck to be made
[ 'in a gl' deleted] of glass and haveing made some spoonfulls of waters
that were convay'd in to it, to boyle with the heat of sand, the vapors came
out in cloudy streames as in ordinary eolipils
[ 'and' deleted] of Metal, but not so strongly and uninterruptedly
(probably
<by>[replacing 'the'] reason of the length and shape of the neck) but thô, we held
the boyling water against the light yet we
<did>[replacing 'could'] not perceive, that the ascending vapors did
[ 'darken' deleted] appear under that form
<or>[replacing 'and'] or darkend the cavity of the glass either in the globulous part or
even in the
remoter['r' at end of word inserted, replacing 'st' deleted] parts
of the neck. But as soon as ever these vapors issued into the Aire they
appear'd darke like a mist.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
410
How much water ashes
will imbibe
C
Tbd
We tooke a glass pipe as cylindrical as we could get, and of about 6
10th of an inch in diameter this being Hermetically seald at one end, we powred
into it a foot of water, placeing a mark for the surface of each, and then
powrring out that water into a glass by its self, we put in to it a foot of
clean sifted wood ashes, with out pressing them down or much shakeing them.
Then haveing restord by degrees to the pipe the foot of water, that
[ 'should' deleted] had bin powred out of it (in to a glass by it self) we
gave it time to soak to the verry bottom of the ashes (which it did not in less
then 24 howers). And lastly haveing measurd the heigth of the water and ashes
together, we found it
[ 'taken by about' deleted] to amount to above 21 inches and a quarter, so
that their was not above a 4th part of the water receivd into the interstricia
of the corpuscles of the Ashes.
[BP 27, p. 74]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
411
Thickness of a whales
bone
C
Tbd
The whales rib bone I measurd in
Essea was
<in length> about 17 foot 3 inches and in thickness (that is
in compass) 3 foot 5 inches 3/4
(Taken out of the same notebooke with the former measure. {Recipe}
Brandee 2 quarters, good sea salt 2 pound, of the oyle till it
volatilize['li' inserted] one pound,
distill them together, &c.)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
412
swiftness of a shipps
motion
An eminent Sea Commander being asked
<by>[replacing 'of'] me, what was the greatest expedition he bin able to make in a
ship of war, he told me he had some years since, run in 2 watches
[ 'of' deleted](or 8 houres) 18 leages and a half, that is 7 mile one with
an other dureing that time - but he added that the wind was so high, that this
hast was not committed with out
[ 'some' deleted] damage to the rigging of the
<frigget>[replacing 'ship'] and some danger of their being cast away.
<on which occasion a publique minister and a virtuoso
affirm'd to me that in one of his majesties light vessells he had, but twas in
a storm, saild 17 leagues in one watch that is 4 howrs and continued at that
rate of celerity till he had run 40 leagues adding the circumstances of time
place and person.>[insertion in margin ]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
413
odd Phenomena
consequent upon the loss of an Arm.
Transcrib'd
A Person of
Qualitie and witt, who had his arm shott off 5 or 6 years agoe being askd
by me whether he found
<now and then>[replacing 'not'] paines as it were in the hand he had lost especially upon
change of the weather not only answerd me that he did so, but added, that
haveing formerly
[ 'had on it' deleted] been run thorow the hand near the root of his thumb,
which hurt tho heald up, did very often trouble him with a dull pain, he did at
the time that he was takeing to me, thinke he felt that verry pain in the same
part of the hand that had been shott off, he further told me, that for some
yeares he fancied that he could bend and clutch the lost hand as when he had it
on, but of late that hand seemd to him verry stiff and unwilded, so that he
[ 'tho' deleted] imagind he could now only a little bend the back part
[BP 27, p. 75]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
414
Tilling and odd
husbandry of mace
An antient Divine that spent divers years in
America as a planter, being
askd of me what increase he found of macez when 'twas manur'd with the heads of
cod fish (a piece of
husbandy[altered from 'his brandy']
usd in some parts of England)
told me that he and his Domesticks, were wont to set the graines of mace single
in distinct holes purposely made in little hillocks, consisting of partly of
earth and partly of pieces of cods heads and that to make the
[ 'corn' deleted] grain he expected to be the larger and better nourished,
he sufferd but 3 stalks to remain of those that shott up out of one seed,
[ 'and such wo' deleted] each of which would usually beare 5 or 6 eares a
piece: of which eares
<most>[replacing 'some'] would contain one hunderd graines or more, many 150 and others
near 200.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
415 (margin, at first paragraph)
Observations relating to Tin Mines. (margin, at second paragraph)
odd observation about
Efflu (margin, at seventh paragraph)
Prognostic of weather. (margin, at eighth paragraph)
h (margin, at end of entry)
Mr
Being askd
divers questions by me about particulars that I thought he might have observd
in the place of his abode, upon the score of his course of life return'd me
divers answers, whereof the Summe insues
Num I That the Pales (as they call 'um) or earthy parts, that they
wash off, from
the['ir' at end of word deleted]
[ 'powderd' deleted] Metalline of their powderd tinn Oar make excellent
manure for Oarchards (which prosper much neare and over the tinn'd Mines) and
being
[ 'si' deleted] siften over seedes, præserve them excellently from
worms as well as fertilizes them. This his own tryalls assurd him of
II That in his
fathers tinn'd moine
[ 'against an a' deleted] the windes turninge East, he usually for some
howres foretold by [BP 27, p. 76]the copiousness and troubledness
of the water in a large spring belongeing to the moine, and somewhat before the
change of the wind to the opposite side, the same spring runs less plentifully
but more clear.
III That in the Decoy belongeing to his house, the Ducks would not
swimm about freely if a stranger came neare them: though they could not see
them. Though they would not at all be frighted, if any of the persons imploy'd
about the Decoy approachd much nearer to 'um: which argued their being able to
winde 'um at a considerable distance.
IV That divers animals
[ '(' deleted] especially Hares
[ ')' deleted],and some Deare, would goe to feede earlier then ordinary, in
case the insueing night were to be stormy, thô
[ 'when they w' deleted] at the time of their goeing out their were no
appearance of foull weather, but
[ 'the' deleted] a most manifest præsage, he said, was a wildness of
a sort of
<fowells>[replacing 'flowers'] he calld
[space of 10-12 chars]which constantly
præsag'd the approach of foul weather, how faire soever the weather there
was, whereas after the bad weather was past, these birds would be verry
tame.
V That in hunteing the scent would not lye at all well against rainy
weather but would lye excellently after a little rain.
VI That the scent of an otter will lye two dayes or more upon the
brinke of the water, where he has
<passd>[replacing 'for rest'] and that the water dogs will pursue him under water by the scent
when they can't possibly see him.
[BP 27, p. 77]
These things he delivers upon his own observation, adding that when a
hare not accidentally or upon being frighted but voluntarily betakes himself in
the morning to a brake, or otherwise lyes close in some covert place, 'tis a
certain sign
[ 'of'' deleted] that
there['re' altered from 'ir'] will be
rain or ill weather that day
[Retrospective marginalia:]
416
weight of sea
water
Tbd
Mr [space of 10-12 chars]
being by me discours'd with about what he had observd
of['o' altered from 'in']
the['th' altered from 'm'] saltness
of the sea in his East Indian voyages, assurd me, that he had for tryalls sake
fill'd a bottle containing 2 quarts with sea water as he saild under the
Æquinoctical, and having carefully weighd it, they again filld it with
sea water
<as they saild> off from the Cape of Good hope, and
compareing the weights of both water, he scarse found in that Quantity any
sensible difference between them.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
417
Emerealds in
China.
Mr
H
answerd me, that in the Northern partes of
China he had seen to be sold at
[ 'a' deleted] moderate rates considerable numbers of Emmarads that were
good thô but of the smaller size, that he suppos'd there might be greate
ones also found if they were lookd after.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
418
About Barnacles
Tbd
An ingenious Gentleman, that spent divers years in the
East Indies being talk'd
with by me about barnacles told me that he had
[ 'taken' deleted] observ'd many of them, not only sticking to the sides of
the ships, and after a long voyage they began to be foul but also
adhæring to those great sea weedes jointed like
Kanes['K' altered from 'C'], that they
some times meet (especially near the hight of the cape of Good Hope) in sailing
betwixt Europe and the
East Indies, and thô
he told me he had sometimes [BP 27, p. 78]found a pritty number of
them upon
[ 'a s' deleted] one of those single large
Kanes['K' altered from 'C'], that when I
desird him to tell me ingeniously, whether among all those barnacles of
severall sizes, (which by their shells seeme to be a sort of muscles) he had
found any that he could judge really to be birds, he frankly confessd he had
not, thô some resemblance did usually deceive the less
<critical>[replacing 'heedful'] spectators.
A Gentleman
[Retrospective marginalia:]
419
About the China
varnish
Inquireing of a Traveller that spent some years in
China, whether he had seen
<them>[replacing 'and'] apply their Varnish to the wood and whether they apply'd it
hot and had the materials of it growing in their own Country he answerd me,
that he saw them apply it considerably warm in the Cold wood, and laid it on
with a kind of
<stick or> stick-like Pencill, and that
<the gumm>[replacing 'begun'] that he
saw['w' altered from 'i'] us'd, to
make the Varnish, was as far as he could judge proper to that Country. nor
could I learn by him, that they us'd Spr. either of wine or any such fermented
liquor to
dissolve['solve' inserted, replacing 'order' deleted] it.
[BP 27, p. 79]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
420
Strange Induration of
Crabbs
Transcrib'd
A Gentleman that liv'd a good while in the Island of Formosa, and
had been upon the Coast of China
and Japan, being ask'd what Truth
there was in the relation made about Petrifying Crabs in the
Isle Hainan, answerd me, that
he had not been there, but that in Formosa he had often seen, a sort of Crabs of a verry like
kind, which, when freshly drawen out of the water, had the consistency of other
Crabs, but
[ 'yet' deleted] if they were laid to dry for some time, (as 3 or 4 dayes)
especially in the Sun, their flesh (as some call the edible part) would grow as
hard as wood, to use his own
[ 'repeated ex' deleted] reiterated expression, and all together uneatable;
though if
[ 'the' deleted] before they were let alone in the Aire they were
seasonably boyld, they would be dress'd and eat salt like other Crabs.
Doctor
B. who in February visited the
<famous gold>[replacing 'Isles of'] Mines of
Kremnitz, answerd
me, that at that season, not only the ground over the Mines, was like the rest
of the Country coverd with Ice or snow, but that
[ 'some of the verry' deleted] mouths of some of the verry groubes
themselvs were allmost choack'd up by the driven snow.
He added that he found it at that time cold in goeing down
<at first> but when he came to a pretty depth the cold
remitted, and then it began to be warm, so that he could
[ 'not' deleted] guess that the warmth increasd the lower he descended, but
yet he did not judge the greatest heate to exceed that of the surface of the
Earth in the midst of summer. He said that that cave where naturall Vitrioll
was generated (which I gues to be the same that is mention'd by
Morinus) was
considerably warm
[Retrospective marginalia:]
422
Of the growth of
Gold
Tbd
He also
answerd me, that he did not learn from the Miners, whether
<or no> the
[ 'Gold' deleted]
Oares['Oa' altered from 'un'] of gold
&c did really grow or were generated in tract of time by being exposd to
the Air or upon any other account.
But the Grand overseer who was Lord over [BP 27, p. 80][BP 27, p. 81]part of the soil, told him that
<he thought> the whole mountain
[ 'did' deleted] to abound with particles of Gold, and therefore was wont
when the diggers had allmost exhausted the vein to cast in store of earth, and
dug up other
[ 'p' deleted] neighbouring places: which being kept there as in a
conservatory would afterwards afford Gold as the Mine had done before.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
423
odd appearance of
Gold
Tbd
He told me
that he saw verry good Gold oare and such as they accounted the best, that did
not betray itself by shineing particles, but seem'd to be
<a kind of>[replacing 'of'] white marble full of blackish spotts.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
424
Prodigious Elephants
Teeth
Tbd
A Gentleman that had
[ 'visited' deleted] travelled very much in the Eastern parts of the world
being ask'd by me
[ 'which was the' deleted] what Country produc'd the largest Elephants, he
reply'd that the greatest by far that ever he saw, was one rod upon by the king
of Tonquin (whose kingdome lyes
not verry far from the
<borders>[replacing 'kingdom'] of China; for he
affirm'd this Elephant to have teeth of
18['8' altered from '5'] Cubits long, and
[ 'th' deleted] when,
[ 'the' deleted] because he spoke to me in a language he was not master of,
I ask'd him whether he did not mistake the measure, he returnd answer by
pointing at his elbow and the remoter part of his hand, and saying by the Cubit
he meant That. which by reason of the lowness of his stature seem'd to be
somewhat shorter then the Cubit of an ordinary man: so that the whole may be
guessd to be about 25 foot.
[BP 27, p. 82][BP 27, p. 83]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
337
C.
M. of Dantzick {vitriol} weigh'd {ounce} iv gr.
x.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
338[ '8' altered from '7']
A Peice of Loadstone weigh'd {ounce} i +
{drachm} ii + gr; 3/4 The Horn'd End drew the South,
being heated red hot in a Crucible 'twas found to have lost gr. 41 1/4.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
339
The turn'd Ball of Iron being just one Inch in Diameter weigh'd
{ounce} ii + {drachm}. i gr:
i1/2.
[BP 27, p. 84][BP 27, p. 85]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
501
ad scrophulas.
Dr. C: formerly Phisitian to
the Hospitall at Smithfeild used
to give against the kings evill a decoction of Jacobea made with faire water
(to which it gives a high tincture) for a very long time together, and if there
were neede for a whole yeare.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
502
The variation of our pills is made by takeing but halfe as much of
the Nitrous, as of the other Cristalls, and keeping the Mixture in a gentle
fusion, 'till by incessantly stirring it, it will melt noe more in that heate,
but bee reduced to a kind of grosse calxe or powder, whereof about three
graines may bee the dose.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
503
If the preparition of the pills be not varyed eight graines of the
pillulæ ex duobus may bee mingled with the weight of our pills for one
dose.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
504
The Mettall may alsoe bee præpar'd by
[ 'dessolvein' deleted] Cementing it
[ 'with' deleted] for sixe or seaven dayes with our Tartarum Vitriolatum,
which will soe open it, as to make it dissoluble in water, when the cementing
powder is wiped from it.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
505
The same Mettall may alsoe be cemented with our fixed Nitre; made by
the helpe of oyle of Vitrioll.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
506
Take four partes of Silver and one of Mercury, and haveing dissolved
together in good spirit of Nitre or aquafortis, abstract the solution fully ad
siccitatem that it may bee powderd, then take up a little of the powder with a
peice of lint or cotten, and haveing laid it upon the parte to bee wrought
upon, bind on with a swatheing band, and if you thinke fitt, you may alsoe
secure it before hand with a plaister of Diapalma or the like and twill begin
to operate early
Remember the use of Taragon for the plauge.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
507
Ab. the fretting
Menstruum
{star}
In the devoureing Menstruum there is both salt of Tartar acid salts,
and urinous ones. Butt 'twas by digesting them upon the Minerall that makes
Helmonts
Mettallum Anonimum, that the salts were reduced into permanent liquor the
Minerall remaineing unfusible, and unsublimable.
[BP 27, p. 86]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
508
Tinct. of
Tassapha
{star}
Take Tassapha and keep it fusion tenn or twelve houres then beat it
to powder in a warme mortar; and poure on it waxe oyle and Arna a sufficient
quantity lett them boyle together till the colour please you, abstract gently
what will come over cleare and untinctured, then shift the receiver, and drive
over the rest, with a briske fire (haveing a care of fulminations) unless you
think fitt before distillation to putt some of the extract into a cold place.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
509
This distilld' liquor being digested with our præpared Copper
will, from the calxe draw a fine blew Tincture easily made volatile leaveing
the rest a mettalline substance of more difficult fusion then before and
deprived of its native colour.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
510
Sp. of
[ 'the' deleted] Tasapha
{star}
Take of the Republican body sixe ounces, and of the flegmatique
spirit one quarte, cohobate them together (in an alembick) sixe or seaven
times, abstracting the liquor each time not soe farr as ad siccitatem, last of
all distill with a very gentle fire and when the flegme begins to come change
the receiver, and receive that by it selfe, and continue the distillation ad
siccitatem, lastly dry the remaineing matter very well, and abstract once from
it the spirit above reserved.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
511
Remember the grinding of Salt of Tartar with Alchool in the open
aire.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
512
Paracelsus
his plaister and emplaistrum de mineo æquall parts, melt them well
together into a mass whereof make plaisters to bee applyed to the parte
affected, and to bee kept on as long as there is neede.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
513
E. x.
Take two partes of water Silver, and twelve of good quicksilver,
heate these aparte, and mixe them in a well warmed Mortar, take alsoe halfe an
ounce of Japan Copper, and amalgamate it with two ounces of Mercury. lastly
take halfe an ounce of Regulus of Antimony (without mars) and rub it as well as
you can with an ounce of good quicksilver. mingle these three mixtures very
carefully together; digest them for 3 months in a fitt heate, and give of the
præcipitate [space of 10-12chars]graines for the Lues Hungarica &c
[BP 27, p. 87]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
514
Rubis & Saphirs of
Kin
One that was in Cylon
confirmed to me
<both> that there grow very good Rubyes there as well as in
Pegu (where he had alsoe been)
and that the Iland produces many Saphyres, of which he had seene severall faire
ones) as likewise that in the places where they find the most Rubies, among
many of them they diverse times meet also with Saphirs.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
515
floates made of
wind
9
The same person answered me that nere
Bagdat he had seene the people
cross the river upon leatherne baggs (made for the most part of buffe skins)
filld with wind and to bee emptyed at pleasure, and that he saw some of them
soe bigg that a country man and his wife would goe to markett upon one of them,
the man sitting astride on the narrower part, and the woman sitting as on a
side saddle on the other,
[Retrospective marginalia:]
516
old Bituminous
Wells.
3 or 4
The same person confirmed to me that they yett build on the parts
nere Bagdat not with mortar, but
with the Bitumen that is copiously afforded by certaine wells or springs within
a few miles of that Citty, which wells he visited.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
517
Sweet Corrosive
6
He alsoe told me that
<the> sweete corrosive fruit is ananas.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
518
observation of piercing
rocks and mines
Digging
through Iron
5
{tin}
Mr. Gr.
informes me that in the Darby-Sheire mines, when they meet with Lime stone, (which is
a very hard stone) they are able with their boarers by the help of punching to
worke through about a yard a day, especially in case the mine lye low, that the
weight of a good parte of the Boarer facilitate the Operations if they meet
with ordinary stone they can peirce about 2 yards in a day, but if they meet
with a black stone, they call Churk, they find it soe hard, that they can
hardly find the way through halfe a yard in a day.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
519
Belo. to parts
& figures
N. N. confirmed to me that
with Respublica Assidorum it will sometimes dissolve crude gold, whereas the
same Menstruum being highly rectifyed will not all touch it.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
520
Tales of
Tanger
<I ask'd>[in Boyle hand]
My Lord
of Sandwich
when[altered from 'who']
<he> gave me
<his last>[replacing 'a'] visit,
[ 'I askd him' deleted] whether the sea did ebb & flow regularly at
the mouth of the streights as elswhere notwithstanding the Common opinion that
would have the water flow in out of the Ocean without returning. He answerd
that at Tangier he observd them
to ebb as well as flow, but both irregularly enough.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
521
The
unequal Bottom of the Sea
I also inquird of
his
Lordship whether he had not observd [BP 27, p. 88]the bottom
of the sea to be very unæquall in neighbouring places: to which he replyd
that he had found it exceedingly soe, And to satisfy me that he spoke not upon
meere Conjecture, he told me that sayling once with his Fleet evn in our
Channell he perceivd the water to make
<a>[in Boyle hand] rippleing noise (as
<the seamen>[replacing 'they', Boyle hand] call it) as the
<Thames>[replacing 'Tham', Boyle hand] dos under London
Bridge, so that he was affraid they were falling upon some great shoale,
wherefore forewarning the ships to avoid the danger, he had
[ 'himselfe' deleted] the Curiosity to goe himselfe in a shallop to the
place, & found by sounding, that there was no true shoale, the water being
12 or 14 fathome deepe, & goeing on a litle further,
<he>[replacing '&', Boyle hand] cast out the Plumet againe, & found it about 30 Fathom, he
added that he made divers such observations, but tooke notice of such rippling
waters only when the Tide was ebbing, & that in a deepe sea meeting with
the like appearance in the upper part of the water, & thinking it
improbable that
<there should>[replacing 'And', Boyle hand] be any shoale there, he orderd the Depth to sounded, &
found it to exceed 30 Fathom, & after he had passd on a very litle further
he found the sea soe deepe that he could not Fathom it with his ordinary
Line.
Haveing inquird of a great Traveller, that had
<assisted>[replacing 'been', Boyle hand] at the Pearll Fishing in the
East Indys, whether he had
not learnd by his conversation with the Divers, that stormes reach not to the
bottom of the sea, if it be of any considerable depth, he answerd, that he had
seen the Divers take the water, when the sea was so very rough, that scarce any
vessells would hazard themselves out of Port. That those returning Divers told
him, that at the Bottom, they had found no disturbance of the water at all.
This minded me to ask the same question of my Lord of Sandwich, who replyd that
he had lately been at a place, where the sea was often tempestuous enough &
that they found by a sure marke, that the storme did
<not>[in Boyle hand] reach with any Efficacy, 4
fathom, beneath the surface of the water.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
522
Madrid
Air
I also inquird of
his
Lordship & a couple of Gentlemen that accompanyd him whether if it be
true which is reported of the Purety of the Aire at
[ 'madr' deleted] Madrid,
that thô they have no houses of office, but every night throw out their
Excrements into the streets, yet by the morning there remaines
[BP 27, p. 89]no more smell of them. To which I was answerd that
t'was true the Excrements were so disposd of, but that madrid is the
stinknest[second 'n' inserted] Towne they
ever came into, yet that
<t'> was difficult to discern in the morning, any pecular smell,
of what had been cast in to the street by night, but they joyntly affirmd that
the place where the Embassadors numerous family resorted to make water in, did
not smell of pisse, & that they often observd the dogs & Cats that lay
dead in the streets, were devoid of stench; & his Lordship supposd that evn
the stinck of a Dead Mule would in few howers vanish.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
523
Coldnesse
of Water at the Bottom of the Sea
A person that curiously visited the
pearle fishing at ,Manar; being
asked by me whether the
divers['s' at end of word inserted, replacing 'se' deleted]
<die> at the bottom of the sea (which is there deep enough)
find the water cold or hot, answered me that they found it warmer then at the
top, and I therupon asked whether it was not in the winter, he told me that it
was in our summer indeed but in theire winter. He likewise told me that he
there saw a Diver whoe could stay underwater nere 3 quarters of an hour without
takeing any oyle in his mouth, or useing any other help, and that there were 3
or 4 others at least, that by the help of oyle would stay halfe an hour under
water.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
524
Stones for building
fetched up by divers
stones fetched up by
Diver's (margin, against 'stone soe fetcht up')
stones forced from the bottom of the sea (margin, at end of entry)
9
He alsoe confirmed to me what I had beene told, that the Dutch fort
at Batavia (where he was
a prisoner) was built of stones fetcht up
[ 'by' deleted] from the bottome of the sea by Divers whoe loosed and if
they were too unweildy tyed roapes about them, and those that attended in
boates drew them up, He alsoe told me that he often saw a Portugall porte, (not
far as I remember from the Aguada) which was in great parte built with stone soe fetcht
up, the Divers driveing in kinde of wedges into the clefts of the rocks (which
there are not hard till they come to the aire) and fastning to them the end of
roape whose other ends are fastned to Engines by helpe of which the seamen in
theire boates teare the rocks.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
525
Cabells made of
Canes
Od Cabels (margin, at end of entry)
6 or 9
Ess. 6, or
last
The same person answered me that he had in the
Molluccas seene Cabells for
anchors made of canes, much like our Japan canes,
[ 'whi' deleted] each of which the inhabitants split into four parts, and
then twisted them
[ 'as fine' deleted] as they could, and
Sir Jer: Smith alsoe
told me that he had seene Cabells made [BP 27, p. 90]of canes , but
had not time to me how they were made.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
526
Fishes hearing under
water
7
An ingenious Traveller in confirmation of my opinion that fishes may
heare under water, Related to me that a few weeks agoe at a
[ 'freinds' deleted] place here in
England which he named, a gent.
whome he went to visit at his countrey house, showed him this Experiment. he
had a Belconi which was almost over a fair pond well stocked with Carpes from
this place he hollowed to the fishes many of which came presently as nere as
they could, and he haveing throwne them some bread they eat it and departed,
but because it might well be expected that the fishes came not because they
heard him but because they sawe him he appeared againe upon the Belconi without
makeing any noise, whereupon twenty or thirty approached as neare as they
could, and when noe more came, he began to hollow as before which brought in
great numbers from all parts of the pond, and for further sasitisfaction he
shutt the doore of the Belconi and the windows of the roome, and then withdrew
quite out of sight, leaveing the Relator to looke out at a little peeping hole,
and last of all hollowing to the fish as before but somewhat louder, they
flocked in troops to the wonted place from all parts of the pond.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
527
[approximately 2 characters] of Lowres
8
That Excellent Anatomist
Dr. L. tells me that when he disects a dogg that is not
cleane bodyed, and the next urine he makes (and
<often> the next to that) smells very rank like doggs piss.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
528
[D[???]ing][unclear] Silver
A famous Turner complaineing to me of the weakness of his eyes,
which makes him think of quitting his profession, answered me that he finds
them very much more offended when he turnes silver then when he turnes Ebony
lignum Vitæ or other bodys.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
529
Mermaids
7
One that had been long enough in
Congo, being asked by me, about the
Mermaides that are said to be found in the great river there, answered, that he
could never see any taken alive, but that in the great
river Quanza if I
mistake not the Name, he had diverse times seene of them at a distance, and
sometimes soe neare, as to have musketts fired at them (though in rain) and
that he had seene one of them which had beene alive but the day before, and
found that from the Navell upwards it resembled a woman (but with small, round
and firme brests) and from the Navell downewards is was like a very large
Salmon, or some such other scaled fish.
Motion of sap in Trees. (margin, at second paragraph)
6 (margin, at second paragraph)
Froggs not observed to be rain'd (margin, at third paragraph)
2 or
7 (margin, at third paragraph)
Dr
T: answered me that he had tryed diverse lime
trees that a good Zone of the barke being taken of very cleare neare the
bottome of severall branches, those branches did not thereupon decay or wither
but continued to flourish for a great while (I think 2 or 3 year)
that['tha' altered from 'bu'] he
observed them and perhaps longer afterwards.
Hee answerd me about the Runing of Sapp and told me that in wallnutt
trees which run about 2 monthes in the spring) he observed the runing to cease
about four a clock in the afternoon on the North side of the tree, and at about
five on South.
On the same tree hee successfully inocculates on the rootes the
earth that covered them being removed. butt he answered that in all his various
travells in hott Countryes he never sawe it raine froggs.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
531
Rain generative of
Insects
2
Tbd
A Traveller that lived at Goar answered me that he had diverse times observed there
that the raine which fell in great drops (like Nutmeggs or Wallnutts) would in
a very shorte time, as in a quarter or halfe an houre breed store of wormes,
<or>[replacing 'and'] other insects, some of which he observed at that time to have
[gott][unclear] haire upon them.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
532
Death of
lice
Tbd
The same confirmed to me that when they pass't the line all the lice
dye and he told me he observed when he passt in a great Portugall Carracke,
which had aboard it not onely store of seamen and Passengers but of land
souldiers too, which soe pestered the ship that they were extreamely lowsie
till they came under or neare the line, wher in a shorte time all their lice
dyed. He told me too that there was a very manifest change made in the
consistence of theire bisket, that most of their meate and even their salt fish
was much impaired soe that they were scarce able to eat it, and that theire
Pilate whoe had been 23 times In the Indies assured them he observed when they came to the
Æquinoctiall, that fresh water would not there bee att all troubled or
stinking but cleare and sweet as if it were
<butt newly>[replacing 'then'] putt into the caske.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
533
Antiquity of Guns and
the Compass in China
11
9)
This same person told me that he saw a peice of Ordinanc That the
Portugalls tooke when they took Macao, that was above twenty foot long and had an inscription
in Chinas characters intimateing that it would carry 2 miles or leagues, he
alsoe answered me that he
[ 'was con' deleted] being at Macao he was convinced by sufficient proofes
that the Chinesess had the use of printing and of gunns very many hundred
yeares, before wee had it in Europe, and as for the use of the sea compass he told me that
being in Pegu he inquired of a Portugall that was overseer of the kings
Maritime affaires, whoe assurd him that he had found by theire Records of the
Customes paid to the ancient possessors of
Pegu, that the Chinesess had
traded thither by sea at least eight hundred yeares before.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
534
An obser. about
whiteness
Houses fird'd by the sun (margin, at end of entry)
Being asked whether at
Mozambique which is
thought the hottest place in the knowne
<world> he had never observed the houses to bee sett on fire
with the
meere[second 'e' inserted] heat of
the sun. He answered me that [BP 27, p. 92]In the 3 monthes he
stayd there he saw noe such thing himselfe but the Inhabitants affirmed it not
to bee very unfrequent and as he passed too and froe showed him diverse houses
that had been soe burnt, which was the less strange, because the houses are not
built of ordinary stone whereof they have none there, but fetcht from another
place he named where the stone is mingled with a substance, much of the nature
of Sulphur Vivum; and he added tho he himselfe had diverse times seene the
stones soe heated in hollow places, that musketts bullets being expose there to
the direct beames of the sun were in noe very long time melted. He said farther
that much of the excessive heat at Mozambique proceeded from the soile, which
is exceeding bare and dry consisting of white sand, that is not covered with
grass nor shaded with trees; and when I asked if that whiteness did not much
offend the eyes, he answerd it did; and that many souldiers of the Garrison if
they continued there above seaven or eight yeare they lost their sight.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
535
Trees that bear at differing seasons. (margin, at first paragraph)
Hurricanes about Goa. (margin, at second paragraph)
Asking him likewise about the trees that are said to beare fruit on
one side at such a season, and on the other about halfe a yeare after, he told
me that he saw severall of them at
Goa['r' at end of word deleted], but that they were made by Insistions
(cheifly of Bonans) made of plants that naturally beare fruit at a very distant
season from that of the stock.
He told me that the Hurricanes about
Goa['r' at end of word deleted] are observd to come usually but at two
seasons, about the begining of March, and the fourth of October.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
536
Subtilty & Saltness
of Brasilian Dew.
I asked him about the subtilty of Brasilian dew, and its power to
rust Mettalls,
<about>[replacing 'to'] which he told me that it was certainely very great and would
not onely rust knifes and such Instruments but likewise money, which he assured
me he
<had> particularly observed, adding that in severall places
the Portagalls in severall places kept their great gunns cased over that the
dew might not fall upon them, and by its corrisiveness soe rust them as to bee
apt after a while to break in the dichardge, and when I asked and demanded
whether he tasted the dew to observe the saltness of it he replyed that he had
not, but that he had in diverse places observed that it left the grass &c.
that it had rested on covered over with a pure white salt as if it had beene a
hoare frost.
Dr. C:
confirmed to mee by his owne observation, that in Russia the
hares['i' between 'a' and 'r' deleted] grow in winter not soe
properly greay as white, and in
summer[altered from 'some'] turne to
theire naturall colour, which is somewhat lighter then that of our haires but
this is to bee understood, in case these animals be putt to
live['s' at end of word deleted]
abroad in the winter, when the snow keeps them from other food then barkes of
trees, (which makes it somewhat doubtfull to mee, whether the penury of Aliment
does not contribute to this change) for if they bee kept in the house they will
indeed change theire colour (to a kind of
[ 'a' deleted] greay) but nothing neare soe much as in the fields. but what
is said of foxes in Russia he
confirmed it not, for those Animals which the English for want of a proper name
call foxes,
have['ing' at end of word deleted] a
distinct name given them by the Russians, and are indeed though like a foxe
especially in bigness, yett different much from them in the shape of theire
heads, and live like Amphibia sometimes
<on the>[replacing 'under'] land, and sometimes
<on the>[replacing 'under'] water.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
538
Ab. cold
& hott wind at Archangel
4th Tr:
Tb'd
He alsoe
confirmed to me that at Arch-angell (where he was more then once) they aver'd to him
that in winter time a Northerly wind (which comes from the sea) produceth a
kind of thawe, soe as to make the eves drop, though a North-East wind rather
confirmes the frost, but on the contrary a southerly wind blows over a thousand
or twelve hundred mile of froze
<land
[ 'Region' deleted]> does rather encrease the frost then bring a
thawe.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
539
Fresh sea
fish at Musco.
9 or 7
Tbd
Hee tells
me that at Musco they can brew
beere well in winter, and that he and others had fresh herrings plase, and
smelts conveyed to them above a thousand mile without being at all impaired by
haveing them packt up in snow prest pretty hard about them.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
540
The province where the worst muske-catt is found is called
Caberdine,
[Retrospective marginalia:]
541
makeing of
Caviar
Ab. Caviar (margin, at end of entry)
9 or 7
He
confirmed to me that Caviar is made in
Muscovey of the spawne of
common Sturgeon, and alsoe of that fish which is either Sturgeon or very nere
akin to it that they call Balugâ. this spawne, they putt some salt to,
and [BP 27, p. 94]Place it on boards that by shelveing, that the
oyley part may little by little dreine away from the rest. toward the latter
end they putt salt to it, both for the better sequestration of what oyle may
bee remaineing, and to give a greater durableness, and relish to the Caviar:
[Retrospective marginalia:]
542
Ab.
Sperma Ceti
7
Hee answerd
me that an eye wittness had informed
[ 'me' deleted] him, that Sperma Ceti is found in a peculiar sorte of
whales.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
543
Ab.
Iseinglass
7
Tbd
Iseing-glass is made of the filmes or skins (which some fishermen
call souns) that are found in the belly (or Abdomen) of the Sturgeon and the
Pralugâ, which filmes are first softned by being soaked and boyled for a
competent time in water, and then are rowled up one upon another.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
544
Ab.
passing from baths to cold water
8
Tbd
Hee
confirmed to me from his owne observation, that it is usuall in
Russia for both men and women to
goe naked out of the hott bath and wash themselves in the rivers or other cold
waters, or else wallow in snow, and that in winter.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
545
Ab.
sparkling cloathes
8
Tbd
Dr.
L:
[ 'hath' deleted] assured me that a Phisitian came lately to advise with
doctor Willis about a
patient of his a Gentlewoman, whoe
<as well> for a pretty while before she married, and afterwards,
(at what time this consultation was held about her was much troubl'd to find
that when she shifted, her smock would seeme to bee of a light fire, almost
like
[ 'the' deleted] flame of
<spirit of> wine, and if shee shooke her cloathes though not
[ 'scarce' deleted] soe neare her body as her linen, they would send forth
multitudes of sparkeles, and in some places seeme to have a flame.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
546
A like
Obs
8
Tbd
Hee alsoe told
me another Lady whome he named to me, and is now married to
<a> brother of
my Lord
P that has beene this good while, and is yett
troubled with the like distemper, but she was for a good while, if shee bee not
still somewhat distracted.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
547
Of an
ignis Lambens
Tbd
Hee alsoe told me of a Student (whose name I remember not) whoe when
he was in a sweet, had often-times by his Chamber fellow, from whome the Dr.
had the relation, a flame like an ignis lambens play upon the extant parte of
his body which was cheifely manifest, when the Relator chanced to open a little
of the curtaine [BP 27, p. 95](and looked upon him in the darke) to
enquire how he did
[Retrospective marginalia:]
548
Blossoms
of Corrall
6 or 3.
The
Portugais answered me that
upon the coasts of the East
Indies he had seene black Corrall pulled up haveing little white flowers
or blossomes growing on the Twiggs, and some of these had very small yellow
leaves within them, but that he had never seene the like
<on>[replacing 'and'] red
[ 'colourd' deleted] Corrall.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
549
A great
lump of Amber
10. or 5.
Hee likewise told me that
he saw presented
<at
Goa['r' at end of word deleted]> to
Don P. M.
then Vice-roy of the Portugall Indies, a Mass of good Amber-greese weighing nere five
hundred pound that had beene
cast['d' at end of word deleted] upon
upon the shore at
Mosambique[altered from ''bique' altered from 'biuqe']
Hee confirmed to me as an
eye wittness what Olearius relates of the grapes of Astrachan, of which this
P.P sayes that chanceing to bee there
in harvest he saw many clusters halfe a yard long and proportionably great, and
that they make excellent wine.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
551
Caspian
Sea
3
Hee likewise told
mee['m' altered from 'h'] that
sayleing upon the Caspian
sea, he could not observe it to have any sensible ebb and flow, though
sometimes strong winds blowing one way upon the
river Volga (doe
occasion some imitation of the Tide) and that he observed not that sea to be
any nere soe salt as others, with whome he could not learne in those partes
that it had any communciation; Hee told me further that by reason of the
shortness and nearness of the waves it is farr more dangerous to saile upon the
Caspian sea then the greate Ocean, and that he heard not of any that had cruzed
it over from side to side, but had onely coasted it along.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
552
Bitumenous Springs
4 or 5
The same person answerd
me; that he was in those Bitumenous springs or wells in
[ 'the' deleted] Babilonia
[ 'that' deleted] or Asyria
that are mentioned in Genesis, and by my late french traveller, and that he
observed them to the time he was there to cast forth Bitumen plentifully
[BP 27, p. 96]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
553
Muscovian
earthquakes
4
Dr. C:
answered mee that they have sometimes earquakes even in
Muscovey, and that they had one
not long since and he was there, but such as was accompanied with noe irruption
or subterraneall fire that was taken notice of.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
554
Russian
hills
4
Alsoe, that although in those partes of
Russia where
he had beene, and as
he was informed by diverse others, the hills was but small, yett in
Siberia, they have great, and
very high mountaines.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
555
of
difficult Respiration
He likewise
confirmed to mee, that being in Russia in the winter, when the frost was very hard, and the
East, or North-East wind blew cold, if he turn'd his face toward the wind, and
walked['l' inserted] against, (which
at other times he was wont, and tooke a delight to doe) he found himselfe
unable to fetch his breath and almost stifl'd, as if the aire were very thick
or rather a great stiffness brought upon the Organ of respiration, whereby he
was unable to move them as at other times, soe that he was faine to turne his
head from the wind, that he might be able to fetch his breath,
[Retrospective marginalia:]
556
externall
purge
6
Tbd
P. P. confirmed to me that in the I'le of
Sylon there growes
a['n' at end of word deleted]
<low> herbe (which he described to mee) whereof the
inhabitants make use, When they have a mind to take any Phisick, and he added
that
<haveing>[replacing 'hav had'] made tryall of it on himselfe he found, that after he had held
it about a quarter of an hour or less in his naked hand, it wrought with him
downewards six or seven times with little or noe
gripeing['s' at end of word deleted].
[Retrospective marginalia:]
557
A hill
that lookes like the Moone
1
Tbd
Monsieur V
informed mee upon occasion (of a like Phænomenon I related to him) that
he had oftentimes from Mismis
looked at Sun-sett and cast his eyes upon the famous
[ 'mountaine' deleted] mountaine from whence the winds proceed and which
stands just East from the Citty and that the hill being naturally whiteish,
appeared at that greate distance as bright as the moone does in a cleare sky.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
558
The wind
hill
2 or 3
Tbd
Hee alsoe
told mee, that though he had not visited that greate caven in the hill, out of
whose wide mouth there almost constantly blows a considerable gale of wind,
yett 'twas the generall
<tradition> and affirmed to him by the men of the place,
that, the wind blowing at some seasons soe boysterously, that it would blow
downe the corne, and sometimes the trees, of all the neighbouring feilds that
stood in its way, the country people to prevent such mischeifs walled up the
mouth of the cave, after which,
<those, and other neighbouring grounds became
barren, which though at first imputed to chance, but by its continuance induced
them to remove the walls. upon which the land returned to its wonted
fertility.>[insertion in margin ]
[BP 27, p. 97]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
559
fresh
water out of salt
5
He told me upon occasion of the [Tuofio][unclear] whereof I spoke to him that on some parts on the
coast of Angola where he stayd
long, they had no fresh water, but made use of sea water, which they pourd
commonly over night into great Cisternes of a certaine greyish & spongy
stone (which they did not find in those places but brought from else-where,
thro which the water slowly straining left its saltnes behind,
[ 'as he very often saw' deleted]& was as well very potable &
not unwholesome, as very clear. And whereas I doubted that salt water may not
be of the same kind as the water in the open sea, he told me that afterwards
sayling thence to Goa in a Galion the
Capt. carryed one of those Cisternes along with him, & by it
<obtaind>[replacing 'had'] fresh water out of the sea water from time to time, of which
water the Relator usually drunk
but['b' altered from 'B'] he confessd
to me that in processe of time (as perhaps in some years) the stone will be so
choakd as to
[ 'cease be' deleted] be spoild.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
560
Great
differenc of weather in neighbouring places.
When I askd him about the difference of seasons at the same time in the
same mountaine, he told me that he passd over one of them by name
[space of 32-35 chars]on the one side of
which it was excessively hot near the Top, or ridge, as well thô not
quite so much as in the Lower Regions on that side of the mountaine. But within
a mile or two of the other side of the ridg he found winter weather as to Cold
& stormynes, & yet there was snow as well on the otherside as on this
[Retrospective marginalia:]
561
Snow in
hot Climates
He told me
also that on the high mountaine in the Island of
<Ceylon>[replacing 'Silam'], notwithstanding the heat of the Country there was snow, &
the like he saw on the Tops of the Mountaines of
Congo, thô in the lower
[ 'groun' deleted] parts of the Country they never have that he heard of,
either Ice, snow, or haile.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
562
The
Brasilian hills of water
He told that
it was true what I had learnd from
the
Governors son of Brasile, of
the great Mountaines of water that sometimes appear on the Coasts when the
winds are calme, for he says he observd them particularly 2 or 3 severall times
not far from the fort St. Antonio near the great Bay affirming that
<thô> the winds were then still yet the waves went so
very high, as if they had been near the Cap of good hope,
[ '&' deleted] so that the fishermen durst not venture abroad to fish
for fear of being over set.
[BP 27, p. 98]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
563
About
Diamonds
He confirmd
to mee upon his owne observation what had been long since told me by
Mr S. (who also visited the same
mines) in the Mogulls
Country, that the Diamonds were not found in veines, but often times in
loose stones (as also in fragments of the Rock) which stones were many of them
not unlike pibble-stones, & being broken had some of them Diamonds within
them.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
564
Macasser poyson
11
Tbd
He answer'd
me that he livd a good while at Mecassar but never saw the Experiment of the
<poison>[replacing 'fire', Boyle hand] upon men, but divers times he had seene that a knife being
annointed with it a peice of bread cut with that knife throwne to a Dog or
other animal would kill him in about 2 howers but he added that they had in the
Island a good Antidote against that poison
[Retrospective marginalia:]
565
Mending
of broken China
1 Ess
The same eye wittness confirmed to me what had beene told me
by another of the way
used['d' altered from 'ing'] in
China and the the East, of mending
<broken>[replacing 'earthen'] vessells of
<Porcellane>[replacing 'Pursula'], by sticthing the peices together with very slender wyer which
they doe soe neatly, that it can scarce be perceaved, and the vessell becomes
serviceable as before
[Retrospective marginalia:]
566
Artificiall hatching of Chickens.
9
He likewise
confirmed to me the truth of the artificiall way of hatching chickens & he
told me that
<he> saw it practised alsoe in the
East Indies and
particularly at
Goa['t' at end of word deleted].
He alsoe
informed me more circumstantially of what I had heard concerneing one use of
the
<Cinnamon>[replacing 'Laccrell', Boyle hand] tree in Cylon, telling me that before the fruite (which is
almost like a double akorne) be ripe, they breake it of with a little of the
twigg it grew on, and fitt to the remaineing part; a vessell shaped almost like
a cage into which a viscuos liquor that would else have served for the aliment
of the fruite is continually though slowly dischardged and does there
[BP 27, p. 99]by degrees concrescere into a gummous or resinuous
substance almost like soft wax, very odiriferous, of which alone with weikes
they make perfumed candles
[ 'to burne' deleted] for theire Temples and theire greate men, that
burne very pleasently but smell yett better.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
568
Usefulness of the liquortree
11
Tbd
He likewise
confirmed to me, that at the Maldivian Ilands (where for a while he lived) it is noe
wonder to see a ship with the provision and merchandize to be all furnished by
a
<Coco>[replacing 'Coqura'] tree. for he sayes that the plankes of the ship are sawed out
of the body of the timber, and are sewed together by a kind of packthred made
of[altered from 'by'] the huske of
the fruite. of which alsoe they make theire cordage, the masts are made of the
trees themselves, and the sayles of the leaves sowed together, the two parts of
the fruite serve them for meate and drinke;
<and the shells for cupps> the same fruite, and the oyle
obtainable by expression from it makes
[ 'the' deleted] parte of their merchandize,
[ 'and' deleted] the other parte of it being a kind of brandy which they
call Nympa, which they distill from the juce afforded by the wounded tree,
suffered for awhile to ferment.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
569
Unicorns
7
He answered
mee that as for Unicornes he never
<saw> any or mett with any body that had seene any in all
his travells through Asia,
[ 'a' deleted] Affrica, and
America, but had
<often> seene
<and sometimes>[replacing 'them'] killd a certaine
<animal>[replacing 'beast']
<bigness and> shape like to a Mule, but cloven footed like an
Ox, which had in the forehead a single horne, about a foot and a halfe long
often times somewhat shorter, but sometimes
<neere> two foot long which horne is straight, (save in very old
animalls somewhat crooked) very large towards the basis, this horne they
esteeme much as an Antidote; and the flesh of the animal which they call
Macarse they esteme very good meate
[Retrospective marginalia:]
570
White
Elephant
7
He affirmes
that it is not true what is reported of the
[ 'p' deleted] greate rarity of the white Elephant, and that besides those
he saw in Pegu, he saw divers
others, one in one place, and
<one> another, and particularly he saw a couple at
Goar: and he added that as farr as
could enquire all that he saw if not all others of that colour came from the
Iland of Cylon.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
571
Bezoars kill'd
7
He answerd
me that he had often at the
Iland called
of Goates killed the Animal that beares the
Bezoar['a' inserted], and that he is
shaped very like a wild goate, and has the stone in its Stomach. which
[ 'to bee' deleted] to the beast itselfe
<seemes> a disease or a signe of one, for those that have the
Stone are very
leane['s' at end of word deleted], and
are deprived of theire haire insomuch that the hunters will not shoot at any
[ 'th' deleted] but those that are plump
<and hairy> as takeing it for granted they have yett noe Bezoor
Stones. He positively confirmes [BP 27, p. 100]what I had beene
told that those very Animals will not breed such stones without they be fedd
with a peculiar sorte of herbe wherewith the Iland abounds whose leafe grows
flatt to the ground and are not soe broad as plantine leafes, but resemble most
those of Dandilion.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
572
6
He confirmes
that Camphire is gumm of a tree pretty large whereof the best is found in
Borneo, where he often saw it
growing and where they obtaine it by circular incisions made onely in the
knotts, into which they insert broad leaves, for the Camphire which which comes
out somewhat liquid, and would otherwise fall of
<to> stick to
[Retrospective marginalia:]
573
6 or 9.
He alsoe
confirmed to me that an oyle smelling almost like Camphire is obtain'd in
Cylon from the greene and
succulent roote of the Cinamon tree.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
574
Changes of Thames
water
The fresh
<Thames> water that was carryed to our Ilands from the
Downes['D' altered from 'the'] began to putrify in the caske in
about tenn days (if the time be not misremembred) after a while it stunck like
Carrion, and lookt almost black, but if the bung were opn'd and it were
continually and strongly stirred about with a stick for 5 or 6 houres and then
suffered tor rest a while, there præcipitate store of darke coloured
fæces to the bottome, and the water will loose all its muddiness and
stink, and continue sweet and cleare.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
575
Water stinking in
Earthen Jarrs
In the same voyage it was observed, that the water carryed in great
earthen jarrs did putrify as well as in barrells, which barrells were washt
with salt water to make the fresh water keep the longer.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
576
{star}
And in glasses in the
shade
And at
Jamaika['ai' inserted, replacing 'e' deleted]
Dr. S himselfe told mee that in a great bolt (with a
long neck) that held about a gallon, the water when it is keept in the hott sun
will not putrify, but would if it were kept in the shade:
[Retrospective marginalia:]
577
Observ. about seeming
Heat & Cold
2.
The same
person
[ 'observed' deleted] observed in the same bolt head, that about seven a
clock in the morneing when men are ready to faint away for weakness and heate,
the water the water was not wont to rise at all in the stem, but about noone,
when the fresh winds cooled the aire and made mens bodys strong and lively the
water would rise
<an inch> an inch, and a halfe sometimes 2 inches, in all these
observations the bolt head was kept stopt with a corke.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
578
Durably sweet
water.
The same Dr.
told me that in one place of the
Iland the ships used to furnish themselves with water that will not
putrify, that the white wood growing there breeds noe wormes in the water, that
the dews alone fertilize many sandy grounds where noe raine falls, and that
Lancetts &c. being once exposed to the aire though not used
[ 'and' deleted] but wiped before they be putt up will contract a rust.
[BP 27, p. 101]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
579
odd obser. of seeing in
the dark
Transcrib'd the 2d
time.
An Ingenious Acquaintance of mine
haveing in the Company of a friend to a Neighbour of his in the Countrey, stayd
there till it was a pretty while within night; & then he & his friend
tooke their leave to walk over the fields,
[ 'as' deleted] being well acquainted with the way, thô the night
was darke. As they were walkeing into a close out of an open place my
Acquaintance perceivd
<it> very lightsome about him, & imagin'd it to be from
the moon which he supposd to gave got from some cloud that hid it before he
began to take notice to his friend of the lightsomness of the night but others
thinkeing['ing' inserted inline] he
had jested answer'd him accordingly;
[ 'w' deleted]& my Acquaintance wonderring at the answer askt him
if he did not see such a stile which they were
<to> pass over; & his Brothers House which they were
goeing to, & stood a pretty distance off on the top of an hillock? upon
which the other affirmd he was soe far from seeing either of those things that
he could scarce see the path that was under his feet; my Acquaintance turnd
back to see whether the Moon did not shine clearly out, but finding nothing in
the Sky that
[ 'did' deleted] was not agreeable to the darkness of the night which
his companion asserted he imputed it to something in his Eyes the Light seeming
to shine about him which
<did not a little surprise his friend & soe
[ 'as it did not a litt' deleted]> put him into noe small fright
where 'twas great
[ 'o' deleted] enough to make him
see['m' at end of word deleted] his
way & the objects on either side of it, as [BP 27, p. 102][BP 27, p. 103]well as in a clear Moon shine night
<
He>[replacing '& continued'] (for that I particularly askt) till it had brought him to his
Brothers House where the light of the Candles & the Discourse this
[ 'A' deleted] occasion'd kept
<him>[replacing 'them'] from takeing notice how long it lasted. I askt him whether he
had never
<seen> the like apparition since nor before? to the latter
part of which question he answerd me negatively; but as to the other part he
told me, that once some years before the Accident I have been relateing, as he
was rideing in a dark night, he was suddenly amazd to see the way at a pretty
distance very plain before him, & even the small stones that chanced to ly
here & there in it; whilst one that was along with him could scarce discern
a step of his Way, & would not beleive what this Relatour told him, till by
clear proofe, he was forc'd to acknowledge it I askt him whether this provd not
a Presage of some great Distemper in his Eyes or Body? to which he reply'd that
it did not, thô when it first happen'd to him it did not a little terrify
him
[Retrospective marginalia:]
580
2 or 4
the lasting tast of
seeds
odd
observ. about Seeds (margin, at end of entry)
<J. N.
observd>[replacing 'I observd', Boyle hand] by Tryalls that the seeds of Angelico & those of Coriander
kept in a dry place did when the first was 7 or 8 years old, & the other 11
or 12 year old, tast more [BP 27, p. 104]strongly & bitingly on
the Tongue, then if they had been gatherd but the same year I tasted them. And
Dr. N confirmd me in what I writ in the
thirteenth Treatise
by assuring me that if the seeds of
Angelica['e' inserted] & divers
other Plants of that species were buryed under Ground 1/2 a foot or a
foot, they would not Rot there, but if the Earth they lye in being turnd up,
they were exposd to the Aire, as near as seeds use to be when they are sowne,
they would Germinate & be fit to produce Plants of their owne kind, as if
the seed were not a year old.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
581
Remember['R' altered from 'Th'] the
use of Meum [space of 8-10 chars]
[ 'of' deleted] frequently imployd in
Scotland with wonderfull
Effect to restore & fatten the over wrought & wasted Cattle. Remember
also the use of virga Aurea dryd to brew beer with instead of hops
[BP 27, p. 105]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
582
Earth allways
frozen
Dr
C. confirmd to me from the Relation of an
Intelligent Friend of his imployd by the Zaar into
Siberia that in some places of
that Province the Ground is frozen all the year long as appears in that any
time in the summer they dig halfe a yard or 2 foot deepe, notwithstanding which
the surface of the ground being thawd in the long summer days they sow &
reape Corne very well upon these frozen Lands
[Retrospective marginalia:]
583
He likewise
confirmd to
<me> that in the year 1664 or, 63. during the long days of
summer the season
[ 'being' deleted] happening to be extraordinarily dry great scopes of Land
were set on fire & miserably wasted by the bare heat of the Sun: & he
added that the very last year he found the like to have happend in
[ 'Sw' deleted] Norway,
particularly in a place calld by us
Bear Haven; where haveing
seene the Ruine of divers wood houses burnd, & inquiring
[ 'ho' deleted] into the Cause he was answerd that the weather haveing been
very dry & hot, not only the grasse & such like vegetables were
scortch'd up, but those wooden houses among others were set on fire, which was
confirmd to him by the Governor of the Place, & countenancd by this
Circumstance, that he saw the Country coverd with a fresh & verdent Livery
of new-grasse, brought up instead of that which was burnd by some Raines that
fell a while before.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
584
Mosk Animal in
Ciberia
7
11. (margin, at end of entry)
He told me
also that in Cyberia they have
musk animals whose musk he bought at Mosco for about 10 or 11 pound sterl.
Rushian pound (which is somewhat above 14 {ounce}) but that in another Province
nam'd [space of 10-12 chars]where the
difference is not so much in the structure of the Animal, as in the goodnes of
the soyle & food, they make Musk which they bought for five pound sterl. or
lesse in the Pound.
He['H' altered from 'h'] also saw
brought from those quarters good Porcellane & Thè, which the
bringers affirmed they had fetchd from
Catay[second 'a' inserted]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
585
Thunder and other
Meteors in Russia
2
He answerd
me that he had observd very great Thunders in
Rushia, & seene odd Effects
of them, & that he had seene divers falling starrs there, & store of
great haile which coverd the feild in Summer time, but fell not that he
remembers in any other season.
[ 'He told me that' deleted]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
586
Native {nitre}
4
He told me
that at the place calld the step
[ 'near' deleted] upon the edge of the great wildernes he observd
<great lumps of saltpetre> near the surface of the Earth, where
the Raines had made Gutters that flashd well in the fire & made good
Gunpowder of which powder he had pretty store [BP 27, p. 106]&
in the houses of some Persons of Quality there abouts, he saw intire Lumps
about the bignes of a mans head, which he had not liberty to make tryalls with,
but by the solidity & christalline clearnes, tooke it to be rather sal Gem,
these Peices were sayd to be dug up about 1/2 a yard or 2 foot beneath the
surface of the Ground.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
587
To
the Changes of Air
He confirmd
to me what he had some years since told me in a Letter that one night which was
exceeding cold & clear being awakend out of
<his> sleepe by a shok, that had like to have overturnd his
sled, he lookd out & saw more starrs by farr then
<ever he>[replacing 'either', Boyle hand] had seene in England, or the neighbouring parts of
Europe, & particularly that
he saw many about the 7 starrs or the Pleiades, & divers others he had not
seene before in severall other parts of the sky. He further told me that these
starrs seemd farr more beautyfull & bright then was usuall insomuch that he
[ 'durst' deleted] doubts not, that if it had not been for the
[ 'snow' deleted] snow, some of them would have been able to cast a
discernable shadow. For confirmation he says
<that> the Phænomena were not only taken notice of by him,
but by others that traveld with him, & that though he often gaz'd at the
sky time that time he never could see
<there> near so many starrs nor so bright,
[Retrospective marginalia:]
588
{silver} in
Russia
To
Ess. the 6
He confirmd
to me that a German Chymist refiner to the Zaar affirmd to him that being in
Ptermia a Bore brought him
about {pound} i of oar which upon Tryall he found to be
richer then Sylver, then that of any sylver mine yet known. but when he inquird
after this Bore the fellow suspecting some danger would never come at him any
more
[Retrospective marginalia:]
589
Russian Leather
They give the Odorr to the Rushia Leather with a certaine Tarr, which they make with the
barke of Birch-tree, which they imploy as for other uses so to
[ 'the' deleted] fix the colour in the Leather.
[BP 27, p. 107]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
590
Submarine Fruit
In the Sea of
Manar there grows at the bottom
great store of Trees bearing leaves allmost like the Laurall tree, &
bearing also a certaine fruit. And near
Mosambick there grows at
the bottom of the sea store of Trees that beare a certaine fruite like small
Nuts but round, & some of one colour & some of another.
The
<famous> Maldivian Nut.
[ 'that is fre' deleted] grows under water upon a sort of Cocoe Trees. it
has noe distinct shell & kernell when 'tis tak'n out of the water but is
soe soft that it may be easily cut with a knife, & is eat'n like other of
their fruits but in about a weeke grows solid and soe hard as to require good
steele tooles to worke upon it; & if you please to boyle it it will then
within some hours acquire that extraordinary hardnesse.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
592
Plant of
Thé.
6
The Tree that bears the leavs of Thee is propagated by cuttings of
Branches, as also by laying the growing Branches underground the Leaves are
gather'd twice a year & are dry'd very slowly & at length in a stove,
but are never
[ 'permitted' deleted] expos'd to the sun. The flowers are much more
esteem'd than the leavs The Tree grows wild in the Mountaines as well as in
gardens; & when 'tis old bears a kind of berry.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
593
Expressd Oyl of
Leaves
6
There is a Plant almost like Burrage
<& call'd Badera, of> whose leavs well beat'n they doe
by expression draw an Oyle.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
594
The Fish-Bird
Respirat.
In Cochin in
the river of
Mangate there is a bird in bignesse & colour not unlike a blacke bird,
which during the 4 months of continuall raine in those parts lives
<or sleepes>[in Boyle hand] in the water of the
River like a fish
<thô it be still a Bird, as swallow
ar sayd to do>[in Boyle hand].
Macedo affirms
<to me>[in Boyle hand] that he has seen them tak'n
with nets, & at other times hath seen the same birds upon Trees & has
kill'd them there & found noe heat in them. Adding that the Jewes who first
told him of it refus'd to eat them in the rainy months because they were Fishes
without fins & scales, & consequently unclean, & that in those
months the Portugalls eat them on Fish days.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
595
Sura
9
An ey witnesse told me that he had oft'n made use of Sura or sugar
made of the Juice of Palme Trees, tis somewhat browne but sweet like our Sugar,
& when the Sweetmeats that are made with it were eat'n warme you cold not
distinguish them from the same kind of sweet meats made with ordinary sugar,
but if they were kept till they were cold they had somewhat a differing tast.
the same liquor that lets fall this sura ferments in a
[BP 27, p. 108]few hours & grows Vinous, & if it be kept
till night turns to strong Vinegar, which he says was the only Vinegar he &
others us'd in those Parts.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
596
Snake-stones
7
The Snakes Stones are plentifully found at the
Island of Bedez near
Goah. Those that are best are tak'n out
of the snakes heads;
[ 'bein' deleted] when those beasts being caught in Springes or Gins have
their head opn'd being yet alive; The Stones found in dead Serpents (which are
the most numerous being oft'n of litle or noe virtue. This man saw many Tryalls
of their Efficacy & made some upon himselfe being casually bitt'n; The pain
was quickly tak'n off, but the swelling & other Symptoma requir'd the
application of the stone for divers hours. He puts it not in milk 'till be
tak'n off for good & all. It alsoe cures the biteing of mad Apes which are
Venemous like those of the Serpents.
[BP 27, p. 109]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
597
Pearle Julip
{Recipe} aq. Ceras. nigr. Borrag. Citri
{ana} {ounce} iii aq. Cinnam. hord. {ounce} i margarit.
ppæ {drachm} ii
Sacch. Christ {drachm} x M. F. Julapium.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
598
Receit
{Recipe} Conserv. Ros. rubr. {ounce} {half} (vel {drachm} vi) syr. violar. {ounce}i, contandantur
simul & per setaceum traiiciantur. dein ad. Syr. de Mecurio {ounce}
i, seminum Papav. albi aq. Lactricæ irrorat. contus.
& deinde trajectorum {drachm} iii, ol. nuc. Mosch. per
Express. parati gr vi
[Retrospective marginalia:]
599
{Recipe} the differing salts of the Caput mortuum of {aqua fortis}.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
600
{Recipe} the separation of parts in the Essence of Violets made in
Languedock
{Recipe} the Juice of 2, 3, 4 Oranges to be given at a time cold, or at
most Lukewarme, in small Beere or ale for a good
continuance[first 'n' inserted]
&c.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
601
Torpedos
7
Tbd
An Acquaintance of mine answerd me that upon the coast of
Brasil
<in>[replacing 'upon'] the Rio
de['l' at end of word deleted]
San
Francesce, he had met with many torpedo's, & thô he dust not
touch any of them (,out of an excessive fearfulnes) because in that place at
some times of the year some of them are observd to be Venemous yet when he
pulld back the
[ 'he' deleted] lines that held the hookes at which they hung, he presently
found his hand & Arme benum'd, & grow both very weeke & Affected
with such a pricking paine as if a multitude of litle Ants (
<as>[replacing '&'] he expressd it) were got within his Arme.
<Another>[replacing 'another that had'] who had often fishd for them in the
coast of Affrick told me that
when he & others did (which was there way of takeing them) strike them with
speares[first 'e' inserted] at a pretty
depth under water, the hand & Arme that held the
speare[first 'e' inserted], would
presently be affected with a weeknes, & with a pricking paine like that of
an Arme asleep; but the paine was not great nor accompanyd with much coldnes.
nor was the weaknes such as hinderd him to pull up the fish with the spear.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
602
Shining
Diamant
An Eye witnes told me that the Diamond of
Don Phillippo
Mascanni, Governor of Goa, weighd
32 gr. & did actually shine in the darke (&
[ 'cen' deleted] not by Reflection) as himselfe had observd by the great
Light it would cast on Paper near it, & the Governor haveing dropd it when
he livd with him in a magazine, & missing it when he was returnd thence to
[BP 27, p. 110]supper, sent his servant to seeke it, with direction
not to enter in with a Light, but to find it out in the darke by its owne;
which he accordingly did. The same person answerd me that he divers times saw
the famous diamond of the King
of Pegu, which was far bigger then that former & of much more value,
& by which the Relator saw in a darke roome soe great a light cast upon
Paper, that if it had been written upon he could have read the writinge.
One that livd in Guiny
<confirmd to>[replacing 'told'] me that oyle of Cacoes is made by expression like that of
Almonds, but then the
[ 'coco's m' deleted] Coco's must be somewhat old, else they yeild milke
insteed of oyle. & that the Palme oyle that come from Guiny is made by
boyling of a peculiar kind of small coco that are too dry & hard to be
eaten
[Retrospective marginalia:]
604
Putrefaction of the Surface of the Sea
One that was in hot weather
<(but in March)>[in pencil in Boyle hand] for 12
or 14 days becalmd in the Bay
of Bisky (soe famous for stormes answer'd me that the sea for want of
motion, & by reason of the heat began to stinck so much, that he thinks, if
the calme had continued much longer the stanch would have poisond him:
<and> They were freed from it as soone as the wind began to
agitate the water &
<had> breake the superficies, which also drove away store of
<Sea> Tortoises, &
<a
also sort of>[replacing 'Gellyd'] fish
<(whose English name I know not)> that lay basking before on
the Top of the water.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
605
Putrefaction of fresh Water
3
Tbd
Fresh water will putrifie in Earthen Jarrs & stinck almost like
Carryon, but being once recoverd, will not in those Vessells putrifie againe.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
606
obs. about Casks
I L
Tbd
The most usuall Cask for our fresh water is Oake, but much the best
for long voyages is made with chesnut tree.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
607
Corall
hard under Water
6
An acquaintance of mine saw divers peices of corrall brought up out
of the sea of a hard & stony consistence, when they just gatherd, & of
a red but pale colour, but this heighthen'd in the aire to deeper red, divers
of these peices had barke of the same colour upon them, but there was not
perceivd any thing of milke or fruite.
[BP 27, p. 111]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
608
Shining
Sea
3
Tbd
About 10 at night in June the
<sea> water beateing against the beach at or neare
[space of 8-10 chars]seemd to sparkle
tho['se' at end of word deleted] the
weather were calme enough & without haveing any regard to the wind. The
Light was so great the observeing Relator told me that he stoopd to take up
some Luminous parts upon the seaside thinking they had been glowormes & if
[ 'sle' deleted] touchd the wetted stones with his stick they seeme to
strike fire, & his urine falling into the sea water sparkld so much as made
him brag he could pisse fire.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
609
A
A potable['a' deleted after 'p']
preparation of {antimony}
Remember the solid salt at
[ 'some' deleted] a certaine seasons of the year, as also the Amber found
on divers sea shores. Two parts of Aq. fortis or spirit of nitre abstracted
with a strong fire at last (else the best will be left behind) from one part of
decripitated salt was the menstruum I usd to get the flores of antimony, of
which I had not above {ounce} i out of {pound} i, the remaining substance may be for 1/4 or 1/2
hower well ignited in a Crucible (after haveing been diligently dulcifyd with
Ablutions with faire water) to drive away what fugitive saline Particles
<may> have remaind. The
<{ounce} i of> flores is to be
sublimd['b' altered from 'p'] once per se
to free it from the fæculent Part.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
610
{Recipe} two parts of Brick dust to one of the dry Salt made to run
afterwards per deliquium,
[ 'thees' deleted] mingle these together & with a naked fire distill
Gently first the flegme, & then without changing the Receiver, drive with a
strong fire the spirit into the flegme.
There is upon the coast of
Africk a certaine kind of shell fish
[ 'of' deleted] bigger then a mans fist, & furnishd on the outside with
prickles almost like an hedgehog. the meat at a certaine season lookes like
yolkes of Eggs & tasts more like them then like fish (& is therefore by
the seamen calld
[ 'calld' deleted] the Eggfish) but if it be opend at other seasons as has
been purposely dryd, the meat is of
dirty['d' altered from 'g'] grey colour
& of a quite differing tast.
[BP 27, p. 112][BP 27, p. 113]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
612
Hatching
of Eggs by Art (in Boyle hand)
{star} and 'q'
A Freind of mine that had many Eggs to hatch in a peculiar
kind of digestive Furnace, found above halfe a score or a dozen to have
attained in the shell not only all their Limbs, but Feathers too, though this
were in February. But these Chickens were much smaller than Eggs hatcht by Hens
are wont to produce, & none of them were able to make its way out of the
shell; nor was taken out thence alive.
Asking a great Traveller in both
Indies whether he had
not observed in Fishes either with or without shells that there were sensible
changes produced in them at the New or full Moon. He answered me that there
were,
[ 'and more' deleted] and more particularly not very farr from
Goa['r' at end of word deleted], there was a Fish somewhat bigger than a
Salmon, & there called Serres which at the New moone was of soe
flaccid['ccid' inserted, replacing 'xed' deleted] & Mankish a
Tast, that neither others nor he could endure to eat it; which yet at or neare
the full Moone was in request for good Meat, & on the contrary there were
other Fishes which were only in season at or about the New Moone.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
614
Purple
Talking to the same Person of the little Fish that staines Purple,
he told me that at [space of 8-10 chars]in the East Indies he had seen such a fish wherewith the Natives
used to staine their Callicoes of a fine Violett.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
615
To
the Changes of Aire (in Boyle hand)
Inquireing of him whether in
Brasiel the Air had not a great
Influence upon colours of Flowers he told me it had, and even upon Blacks
insomuch that a kind of black Taffity which is the usuall Wear of the better
Sort will after it hath been worne a very few Dayes degenerate into an Ironish
colour, yet he answered that in the Shops where it is carefully kept from the
Air it is of a good Black.
Nor['N' altered from 'n'] is it only
upon the colours of Stuffs but of Animalls too that he sayes the Brasilian Air
has an operation For he sayes that at a place 50 Leagues beyond
Parigua there is a Region
where White People doe in a very short Time grow Basannez thô a little
way out of that Particular Region, as for Instance beyond it they quickly
recover their wonted Colour.
At Magoti Javana in the midst of
the IslandDr. S. affirmes to me that the raine in two hour time
will settle about the Seames of Cloths, & turn into small Maggots,
thô it doe soe noe where else in the Island, & yet this is an healthy
place being a Tract of about 12 or 14 miles of ground.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
617
Od observ
about Cold.
2 or 4
The same Dr.
told me that when he lay in his Hamack about 3 or 4 foot from the Ground
thô he had much clothes under him he felt it cold beneath & hot
above.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
618
Eggs hatchd by the
sun.
He inform'd me
that a Turky would lay about 200 Eggs in a Night, they lay them in the Sun
& cover them, & the Sun Hatches them, as it alsoe doth those of the
Aligators
Being askt by me whether
he found any sensible
& peculiar operation of the new or full Moone upon the Sea or Fishes at
Jamaica, he answered me that he
observd those they call Sea Eggs to be manifestly & indeed
[ '(' deleted] almost incredibly fuller at one Season of the Moon, (but at
the New
<or Full>[replacing 'Moone'] he could not certainly remember) than at the other . Soe he had
alsoe seen Crabs at one differing Season
[ 'season' deleted] of the year, & Oysters Green & well tasted at
one time of the Moone (he thinks 'twas the Full) & at the other very
luscious & not greene, Experto crede.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
620 (margin, at first paragraph)
The stinking of the sea in Calms (in Boyle hand) (margin, at first paragraph)
3 (margin, at first paragraph)
& the Unhealthynesse of such Calms (in Boyle hand) (margin, second paragraph)
3
and 2 (margin, at second paragraph)
Enquireing of an eminent Navigator whether he had
<not observed>[replacing 'met'] in great Calms the Sea it selfe to ferment & stink? He
answered me that he had been once for some weekes together becalm'd in the
long Reach as the Seamen
call it & that he observ'd the Sea to be very frothy as if it had been
Working & to
[ 'send for t' deleted] exhale a very ill sented Vapour.
I learn'd further from him on this occasion that he had divers times
found long Calms to have been more fatall to his Seamen than he could have
[ 'k' deleted] apprehended looseing considerable numbers of them before he
had time (to use his owne Expression) to looke about him. And he told me that
some times he observ'd them to dy not of any precedent manifest disease or
Weaknesse [BP 27, p. 115]but as they were eating their meat they
were suddenly surpriz'd with a Faintnesse that quietly ended in Death.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
621
A Relation
of a Thunderbolt of Stone (in Boyle hand)
A noble & inquisitive
Person
<assur'd>[replacing 'has shew'd', Boyle hand] me that some years since being
[ 'in' deleted] upon the borders of
Catalonia['loni' altered from 'rin'] there happend a very terrible
thunder to shelter themselves from which
3[altered from '2']
[ 'servants of his' deleted] Mule keepers 2 of which belonged to his father
& one to himselfe being abroad on the feilds to look to their Lords mules
[ 'did to shelt retired them' deleted] betook themselves (to
<avoid>[replacing 'shun'] the storm)
<to>[replacing 'under'] the shelter of a great tree upon which soon after the thunder
falling one of them was strook dead
[ 'what not' deleted] without
<appearing
[ 'ne' deleted] to>
have['ing' at end of word deleted]
<any>[replacing 'any'] visible hurt upon
[ 'his Bod' deleted] the outside of his Body
<an>[replacing 'the'] other seem'd to be killd
too[second 'o' inserted] but the third
being more frighted than harm'd soon after escaped away to the neighbouring
[ 'to' deleted] Camp to bring the news to the Relatour who
[ 'a w' deleted] attended his father (then cheife Commander of the Forces
there) to the place where among other odd things which I must not stay to sett
down, the
<noble> Relatour
<found> one of the two Men that
<
[ 'no' deleted]> had been
<suppos'd>[replacing 'judged'] to be dead (
<which>[replacing 'as'] the other of them really was) to have been but stun'd &
wounded the thunder seemeing to have made a great gash in the hinder part of
his head & struck him dumb, which he continued to be many moneths after his
wound was heald:
<The>[replacing '& the'] other odd observation for whose sake I cheifely sett down this
story, was this that the Relatour & others lookeing up did easily perceive
where the thunder Bolt had made its way thorow the branches of the great Tree
& lookeing downwards they perceived an hole in the ground which they guessd
it had made whereupon finding by thrusting down a Pike into it that it was
deep, they
[ 'order' deleted] tooke a care to have
[ 'it' deleted] the ground digg'd along
[ 'with' deleted] the Ductus of that hole & by that time they had dugg
about 9 or 10 foot they came to a stone which had the marks of
<that which>[replacing 'a thun w', Boyle hand] men call a Thunder Bolt
<for>[replacing '&'] besides the Circumstances that inducd them to
[ 'bel' deleted] digg it up I enquird
[ 'partic' deleted][BP 27, p. 116]particularly whether there
were near about it any other Stones of the like kind & whether it
<were heavy &> had a Sulphureous smell to the first of which
Questions I was answerd that they found noe Stone in that place anything like
it & to the other it was replyed that the Stone was very ponderous &
did rankly stink of Brimstone.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
622 (above centre)
An eminent
Canary Merchant that livd long in
those Isles
[ '[Savrine][unclear]' deleted] related to
<me> that sayleing
<about>[replacing 'in'] the year 1640 a good many Leagues off the
Island Tercera (one
of the Azores) the Captain
of the Ship told him that they were then just over the Place were 2 or 3 year
before there had happend soe terrible
<& lasting> an eruption of fire from the Bottom of the Sea
(which the Merchant answerd me he tooke to be there above 150 fathom deep) that
besides the great numbers of fish that it killd many of which were taken up
dead & as it were parboild, it had thrown up soe vast a quantity of Pumice
& other Stones that overtopping the surface of the Sea they constituted a
rocky Island, which continued there a pretty while but afterwards was
overwhelmed by the Sea & seen noe more.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
623 (above centre)
The same
Person resideing in the Isle of Tenerifee (one of the
Canaries) (famous for the
hight of its
[ 'Pike' deleted] Pico) when the neigbouring
Island of Palma was on fire being
askt of me among many other questions how long that Conflagration lasted
answer'd that it was near 14 Weeks before 'twas quite extinguisht.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
624 (above centre)
(And
[ 'when' deleted] on the occasion of
Vulcans['p' between 'l' anc 'c' deleted]
he told me that in
the Island of St
Nigoet, (in the Azores) he had in goeing 3 or 4 leagues met with 6 or 7
Vulcanian['p' between 'l' and 'c' deleted]
[ 'hols holes' deleted] mouthes at which from time to time smoake &
Ashes were puffed out)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
625 (above centre)
vomitts from sharp
Aire
use of Jesso with
Canary wine
He
likewise answer'd me that he had attempted to ascend up to the Top of the
Pike, but
could scarce get up above halfe way being by the sharpness of the Air put into
great fits of
Vomiting['ting' inserted]. In the
makeing
<of> their
<true> Canary Wine at
Tenneriffe he answerd me
that
<to>[replacing 'in'] that
[ 'which' deleted] whence they hope to make the richest Wine they adde
[ 'mixd' deleted] by sprinkling either halfe a pound or a pound at the most
of gesso to as many Grapes as they think will yeild a
<But of Wine. He alsoe told me that
[ 'when' deleted] if
when the wine
was['as' altered from 'ere'] not fully
setled but was about a moneth old the Pipe
[ 'runnd I' deleted] unskilfully roul'd thô but the but the length
of a Hall
[ 'within a Ring' deleted] we then were in it would make
[ 'such a' deleted] soe rude a Commotion as when the bung came to be
opened to throw violently out a Gallon or two of Wine into the unwary Openers
face or else if it were kept too close stopt it would
<divers>[replacing 'often'] times beat out the very bottom of the Vessel by which means
[ 'very' deleted] many a Pipe of Wine hath been lost of both which cases
he told me he was an Eye witness.>[insertion in margin ]
A Person of Quality to whom I am near allyed related to me that to
make a tryall whether a young Bloud-hound were well instructed, as the Huntsmen
call it made,
<he>[replacing 'be'] caused one of his Servants who had not killd or soe much as
toucht any Dear to walk to a
[ 'Far' deleted] Countrey Town four Mile off & then to a Market Town 3
miles distant from thence which done this Noble-man did a
<competent> while after put the Bloud-hound upon the Sent of a
man & causd him to be followd by a Servant or two the Master himselfe
thinkeing it alsoe fit to goe after them to see the event which was
<that>[replacing 'y'] the Dog without ever seeing the Man he was to pursue followed him
by the sent to both the above mention'd Places notwithstanding the Multitude of
Market People that went along in the same way & of Travellers that had
occasion to cross it And when the Bloud-hound came to the cheife Market-Town he
passed through the Streets without takeing
<notice> of any of the People there & left not till he had
gone to the house where the man he sought rested himselfe & found him in an
upper room to the wonder of those that had follow'd him. The Particulars of
this Narrative the Nobelmans wife a Person of great veracity that happen'd to
be with him when the tryall was made confirm'd to me.
To the Subtility &
Distinctness of Effluv: (in G hand) (margin, at the second paragraph)
Enquireing of a studious Person that was Keeper of a Red Deer Park,
& vers'd in makeing Blood-Hounds
<in> how long
<time after Man or a>[replacing 'one of those Doggs among the'] Deer had passd by a grassy place one of those Doggs would be
able to follow him by the Sent, he told me that it would be 6 or 7 hours
(whereupon a ingenious Gentleman that chancd to be present & liv'd near
that Park assured us both that he had old Doggs of soe good a Sent, that if a
Buck had the Day before pass'd into a Wood they will when they come
[ 'with' deleted] where the Sent lyes, though at such a distance of time
after it presently find the Sent & run directly to that part of the Wood
where the Buck is) he alsoe told me that thô
<in> an
[ 'dr' deleted] old Blood-Hound will not soe easily fix upon the sent of a
single Deer, that presently hides himselfe in a whole herd yet
[BP 27, p. 118]if the Deer be chasd a little till it be heated the
Dogg will goe nigh to single him out thô the whole herd also be chasd.
The above nam'd Gentleman then affirm'd that he could easily distinguish
whether his Hounds were in chase of an Hare or of a Fox by their way of running
& by their holding up their noses higher than ordinary when they pursue a
Fox, whose scent is more strong.
They both answer'd me that in frosty Weather the Scent Lyes butt a
little, & that a little rain makes it ly better but that excesive rain
drownes it quite. They alsoe both told me that good Spaniels as Faulconers
generally affirm will
<manifestly> take notice of the Places where Partridges have
Lain the day after they have been gone from thence.
Two very sober persons that have, especially one of them, often
try'd it, affirm'd to me (in answer to a question of mine) that they find the
Spots made in Linnen by the Juyces of fruit particularly that of red Currans in
straining baggs will best wash out (nay scarce otherwise)
[ 'I say' deleted] at
the['e' altered from 'at'] time of the
year when those Fruits are in Season the ensueing year.
[Integral marginalia:]
July the 5th
[Retrospective marginalia:]
629
q
Some
Raritys seen
I saw a Crab totally petrefy'd
Solid['S' altered from 's'] spunge
growing
<like>[replacing 'out of'] a Tree
<upon>[replacing 'like'] a white Stone & hollow Spunge
[ 'as' deleted](i.e.)
<[space of 1-2 characters]> with a great Cylindricall Cavity growing alsoe
like a Tree which was in great part rooted upon an oyster shell. I saw likewise
a Sharks Tooth perfectly the same as to
[ 'Size &' deleted] Shape with the
[ 'Gos' deleted] Glosso
[ 'of' deleted]
Petra['a' altered from 'æ'] of
Shereness & some
[ 'of those &c' deleted] that were brought from
Malta. I saw likewise an empty
shell of a Helmetts Stone, & compar'd it with
[ 'the' deleted] another almost of the same bigness that was turn'd,
together with what fill'd it, into Flint. I saw alsoe a fair black Corall Tree
some long Gourds & crooked that are quite hollow within, & of a
Cylindricall Shape when open at both ends the Indians use them for Trumpetts
& if stopt for Vessells to carry Water in
[ 'They sa' deleted] I saw likewise
[ 'in' deleted] the Bill of a very large Bird that had a double Beak
whereof the uppermost was somewhat shorter than the other but very capacious,
<which>[replacing 'wherein'] when the Bird was alive used to be kept full of Water I saw
likewise the Egg of a [space of 4-6 chars]-way which was
somewhat less than that of an Ostrich, but curiously speckled with multitudes
of small specks. I saw also the Leggs of those two great Birds, & the
Ant['A' inserted, replacing 'a' deleted]
Bear, as they call it together with the heads of a common Buffalo & an
African one which latter was towards the roots broader flatter & furrowed
[BP 27, p. 119]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
630
An odd
Antipathy to White Wine R (in G hand)
An Eminent Person complained to me that haveing in his Youth taken a
churlish Vomit of Crocus Metallorum in White Wine it left soe deep an
impression upon him, that though he were a robustrous Person & a Traveller
yet for 20 nay 30 years after he could not endure to drink White Wine which now
at length he is reconcild
to['o' at end of word deleted].
[Retrospective marginalia:]
631
about a large
Diamond & its Shape (in G hand)
Lookeing upon a parcell of
<rough> Diamonds which an Acquaintance of mine received
lately from East India there
were some of them that lookt like ordinary Pebble Stones or very great Gravell
without regular Shape 2 or 3 of them
[ 'ha' deleted] seemeing to have been formed in too strait & irregular
a mold or to have been broken oftimes when they were taken from the Rock or
Stone they grew in Among these there were some as clear & colourless as
Chrystall another there was
[ '(' deleted] about the bigness of my rough Diamond
[ ')' deleted] that was shaped like it but had
<divers>[replacing 'many'] parts of it here & there that lookt of a reddish yellow but
the fairest Diamond was one that had a very yellow water & was bigger than
an
Hasell['s' altered from 'z'] nutt
weighing as
<the Owner>[replacing 'he'] told me eleven Carects
<For> this Stone seem'd to be made up of 2 Pyramids whose Bazes
met in the middle each Pyramid consisting of 4 Triangular Sides
<whose Angles>[replacing 'that'] met regularly
[ 'wh' deleted] in
[ 'one' deleted] an Apexe that seemd to be perpendicular to the midd'st of
the Imaginary Plain that served for
Bazes['z' altered from 's'] to both
Pyramidall Bodies
[Retrospective marginalia:]
632
an odd
stinkeing New English Animall. (in G hand)
Enquireing of Major
Toms
about the Animalls in New
England he told me he had severall times observd one peculiar for ought he
knows to that Countrey they call it a
Skonke['ke' inserted, replacing 'ck' deleted] 'tis something lesse
than an Hare of the Size & Shape of a large Rabbet the Colour Pyebald &
the Tail like that of a Fox this Animall makes Burroughs but they are not
[BP 27, p. 120]deep nor much windeing into which if it be pursued
by other Animalls, Nature has given it the Defence of a certain Liquor of soe
[ 'very' deleted] stinking a
<sent>[replacing 'Nature'] that this
[ 'intell' deleted] diligent Person
<assurd>[replacing 'shewed'] me that neither he nor any of his Family could for 3 Weekes
endure the approach of a Dog that had been perfumed with it.
Captaine Pride
told me, that being in the Red Sea where he sometimes traded he learnd that
there were
<somewhat> near the Mouth of that Sea divers great bancks of
a certain white Stone growing in branches like Corrall, (but very much bigger
than the largest colourd Corrall) which makes
[ 'navigato' deleted] seamen
[ 'C' deleted] call those places the Banks of white Corrall. These he sayes
being fetcht up by Divers are carried to Batavia because being burnt they make
a strong & excellent Lime made use of for the cheife Buildings of that
<famous> Place where he has been & near which
[ '&' deleted](
[ 'noe' deleted] nor within many Leagues
<distance from it>) he sayes they have not yet been able to find
any Stones fit to build with
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Strange
Multiplication of Fish (in G hand)
LB
Tbd
The
E
of W shewing me the other day his little Pond where
his Horses are wont to be watred, affirmd to me (as did alsoe my
Sister) that haveing a few years since put into it a single
Male & a single Female Carp & finding them at 3 years end to have
greatly multiplyd, he did out of curiosity cause all the Water to pass out of
the Pond, & the Fishes to be taken up that he may know their number; which
amounted to above 4000 besides those many that got out with the Water at the
Sluce when that was opened.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
634
Richness of
Marsh Land (in G hand)
Tbd
The
same Person likewise informs me that haveing
[ 'caus'd' deleted] some few years since causd a Salt Marsh
[ 'to be draind' deleted] now about 9 score Acres to be draind & sow'd
with Barley, it has yeilded him one Acre with another about 9 or 10 Seam as
they here call it that is 80 or 90 Bushells upon an Acre.
[BP 27, p. 121]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
635
Tbd
Makeing severall Inquirys of an observing Sea Captain (
<N>[replacing 'Cr'] Parricke) Captain of an East India Ship newly
returnd from the South Sea
I had in Substance these Answers.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
636
Appendix
to Cosmicall Qualitys. (in G hand)
transcrib'd
That he had
divers times seen toward the South Pole the Clouds that some few Navigators
mention to be there & to move about the Pole in 24 hours.
<That>[in Boyle hand] He
[ 'sayes he' deleted] began to discover that plainly
<when he was in> about 18 degrees, (as I remember,) of South
Latitude.
<That>[replacing 'He further answer'd me that', Boyle hand] they were white, in number three (thô two of them be not
very distinct from each other)
[ 'o' deleted] the greatest being far from the South Pole, the other not
many degrees remoter than that Starr which of the conspicuoust ones they reckon
to be nearest to the Pole thô it be
[ 'ex' deleted] about 11 degrees distant from it / He sayes some call them
the Magellanik Clouds, for my part I should guess that if they were lookt on
through a good Telescope they would be found Constellations of small &
singly inconspicuous Starrs, like those of the Galaxy
[ 'B' deleted] the Belt of Orion &c.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
637
1.
Transcribd
transcrib'd
He answerd
me that that part of the Milky way which
<is
to be seen>[replacing 'rises'] not upon our Horizon (for he says, the Galaxy is a Circle) he
hath severall times observd in the Southern Hemisphe[re][edge of page] two or three places that lookt like Clouds,
& mov about regularly with the white part of the Circle 24 hours. But these
are not black but blew & seem to be but perforations thorow the milky way
(ie) parts of the Azure Sky, that are sufferd to be seen by the
discontinuations of the parts of the Galaxy.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
638
Variation
of the compas
Tbd
He observd
noe dipping of the magnetick Needle towards the Southern Pole, nor any
vareing['vere' at end of line deleted, with 'vere' inserted inline at beginning of next line]
about to the Points.
He answerd
me that in the vast Ocean betwixt the
Cape of Good
Hope & India (especially
Bantam) he found the needle to
vary often & sometimes many degrees (& this far from any Shore)
[BP 27, p. 122]insomuch that they differd 16 or 17 degrees of what
it was in someone other.
He told me
that in the Venetian
Gulph which he much practisd, he often found the Needle to vary 1, 2, or 3
degrees in sayling but a few hours, & then perhaps it would return to its
former Declination, & this Extravagancy he observd to happen more than once
in a days time.
He answer'd
me that in the South Sea he
likewise observd the Sea to shine very much, & especially with Westerly
Winds as in our Hemisphere he observd it to doe most with Southerly Winds. Some
times it would shine, not only in the way of the Ship, or where the Water was
broken, but at a great distance off in calm Weather upon the least breath of
Wind that would but curl the water
[Retrospective marginalia:]
642
odd obs. about
shineing
To the
same (in G hand)
3
He further
answerd me that takeing it up oftentimes in the hollow'd Palm of this Hand it
would there continue to shine, & thô at other times the Water would
not shine ev'n in the Ships way where it was broken by the Prow.
He told me
that the greatest Thunders he had ever met with in the
South Sea, or elsewhere he
heard upon the Coast of Sumatra, where the Lightnings would be soe numerous that the
whole Sky seem'd to be fire, & where he saw many great fiery Balls, (as it
were) passing to & fro through the Air, but could never perceive that any
Thunder Stones fell.
He told me
that the changes of the Air were very great & very frequent passing the
Line, & that the greatest depth of the Sea he found by sounding was a good
way off the Cape of
Good Hope he had sometimes
<an>[replacing '&'] 100 & sometimes 120 fathom, beyond which depth
<of the sea> he made noe Tryalls.
The 2 Capt. P's confirmd to me what
had been long since told me about Butter, For
the eldest told
<me> that near the
[ 'Æquinoctiall' deleted] Line & in other parts of the
Indies in very hot weather, even
our English Butter would [BP 27, p. 123]be fluid, & was wont to
be taken up with Ladles, &
the younger affirmd to
me that tho the English at Bantam are able by some Artifices to keepe the
Butter in almost as firme a Consistence as in
Europe; yet the Common Natives
that are not carefull to keepe their Butter coole, & doe not Salt It, have
their Butter always fluid & take it up with Spoones or Ladles.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
646
Of the tides
not reaching to the Bottom of deep Seas (in G hand)
Beyond the
Cape of good
Hope sailing in the south
seas
<old> Capt.
Pr. made Tryalls of the motion of the upper part of the water above the
Lower, where sometimes casting out a large & heavy Plummet he
[ 'could' deleted] let it downe to severall depths short of 50 fathom,
without any sensible operation upon the motion of the Boat or shallop
<he> stood in to make the Tryall, But when he let downe the
Plummet lower to about a 100 fathom or more, then
[ 'there was as it were a c' deleted] he found that tho the Plummet reachd
not to the Bottom of the Water yet upon the score of the standing water beneath
the
[ 'Boat would' deleted] superior water would make the boat turne towards
the Tide or Currant as if it lay at Anchor & the water would run by the
side of the Boat at the rate of about 3 mile an hower.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
647
Appearance of
the Sun & Starrs in the South Sea (in G hand)
1
The young Capt. Pa. answerd me that in the southerne
hemisphære, the starrs of that nothorne Constellation, which they calld
the great Bear, did appear to him manifestly lesse, then in the Northern
hemisphære & that the Sun did often rise from the sea ovall, but
presently recoverd his roundnes as soone as he was but a very litle way above
the Horizon.
[BP 27, p. 124]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
648
The hight of
the Cape of Good Hope &c (in G hand)
4
11 (margin, at end of entry)
Capt Pr. answerd
me, that he had seene that Part of the
Cape of good
hope which they call the
Table Land, near
50 miles of in a moone shiny night & that comeing near enough to it in a
ship, he tooke the measure of it, & found it to be a mile in perpendicular
height above the surface of the sea which he tooke for his Basis, He added that
he could see the Island S.
Helena from the Topmast of a ship, when he was faine to sayle 65 mile
before he could make any part of it bare South of him.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
649
Kindling of
Thames Water (in G hand)
Capt.
Petr:
answerd me that he had himselfe observd the Thames water brought back from the
Indies to emit upon the first
opening of the Tap (the Cask haveing been very close & tight) a certain
vapour which by the flame of a Candle would be kindled & burn for a little
while like Spirit of Wine,
[ 'the Cask' deleted] And he further answerd me that he had made the
like observation in other Water besides Thames Water. The Cask was made of well
seasond Oak.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
650
Drink kept
tolerably cool in the Torrid Zone (in G hand)
11.
Tbd
Capt. Pa.
answer'd me that they kept their Beer drinkable whilst they sayld through the
Torrid Zone by burying the Cask pretty deep in the Ballast of the ship.
He also
answer'd me that he had seen that fiery meteor the Mariners call
Corpo['o' altered from 'us'] Santo,
& the Meteorologists Helena, fasten'd itselfe as it were to the Top Mast of
the Ship & continued there for a good while without doeing any harm
thô it appeard much bigger than the flame of a Candle & seemd to burn
all the while.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
652
Beefe long
kept. (in G hand)
11.
Capt. Pe. told me
that
<foot> Beefe well sav'd & salted & press'd freed
from the superfluous Pickle would as he had try'd, keep good for two year ev'n
in East-Indian Voyages.
[BP 27, p. 125]
[Integral marginalia:]
July 7th
[Retrospective marginalia:]
653
Varying
Variation at the Cape of Good Hope (in G hand)
transcrib'd
Inquiring of that old navigator
Capt. Proud whether
<
[ '& ho' deleted]> he had taken the Variation of the
Compasse
<at the Cape of good hope>
<& whether, if at all, he had taken it
more than once. To which>[in Boyle hand] he answerd, that he had often done it, whereupon
asking him what he found the Variation to be, & whether he had observd any
change of
<It>[replacing 'the variation'] in his severall Voyages, he replyd that when he was a young
seaman he observd the variation to be about 2 degrees Westward, and afterward
during many years that he sayld to & fro t'wixt
East India &
Europe, he found the Variation to
increase by degrees, & whereas he had learnd from Antient Writings &
the Tradition of old seamen, that before his time, they had found no Variation
at all, he about 15 year agoe (which was the last time he tooke It) found it by
accurate Instruments to be 6 degrees, & about 48 minutes. So that during
the time that he practisd the seas about the Cape of good hope, the variation
<still> Westward had decreasd near 5 degrees.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
654
Declination of
the Needle in the South Sea
&c (in G hand)
1.
Tbd
And when I askd him about the greatest Declination of the neddle in the
southerne Hemisphære, which I had learnd by other Inquiriys to be about
the Island Mauritius, he
Answerd me that he had severall times observd it, sometimes at sea, &
sometimes at shoare,
<at>[replacing 'upon'] a lesser Island, depending upon that, & found
<the needle>[replacing 'thocti'] in no long tract of time,
[ 'twa' deleted] to vary a degree or better from its first declination; so
that in i voyage he found it 24 & in another 25
degrees westward.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
655
Odd Obs: about
the Var: of the Needle. (in G hand)
1
And when I askd him, whether he did not observe a quicker
<change>[replacing 'Variation'] of the Declination in the same
[ 'p' deleted] climates then in others, he replyd that somewhat near the
Line he usually observed, that the Variation [BP 27, p. 126]alterd
near a Degre in sayling about 100 Leagues, whereas near the Tropick
<or without it> he was wont to sayle litle lesse than 200
Leagues to find the declination vary a degree.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
656
New Var: at
the Cape of good Hope (in G hand)
1
Meeting with a Sea-Capt. P) that is newly come home
from
[ 'un vi' deleted] some lesse frequented parts of the
East Indys & haveing
Inquird of him, whether he had taken the Variation of the Compas, at the
Cape of good
hope
<he told me he had done it both goeing & comeing &>[replacing 'four deeg'] it once, five degrees & a half, & another six degrees.
[ '& when' deleted]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
657
Declination of
Mauritius Island & Newfound Land (in G hand)
1
q
And when I inquird of
him about the
Variation of the Compasse at Mauritius Island, he told me that he found there the greatest
Declination in the southern hemisphare, the needle declining 23 or 24 degrees
(for he had not
[ 'bri' deleted] probably his
Journalls['a' altered from 'iy'] with him
<to determine whether>,) to the
[ 'wes v' deleted] Westward.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
658
1
Haveing also learnd of
him, that he had been
at newfound-Land,
[ 'furnisd th' deleted]& observd the variation of the Compasse there
<I askd him what it was, & he told me th> that he found
<it> to be westward, & to amount to no lesse then 23
degrees.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
659
Vomits producd
by the sight of a Toad (in G hand)
I know an eminent Physitian who though
he be a robustious man & a great Traveller has yet such an
<horrour>[replacing 'harrow'] at the sight of a Toad that if at any time he lookes
attentively upon one (that is anything near him) it sets him a Vomiting as if
he had taken an Emetick
[Retrospective marginalia:]
660
Great
Antipathy to a Breast of Mutton (in G hand)
There is now a Lawyer at Bristoll whose name is Mr
[space of 8 characters]who as the
foremention'd Dr. his particular freind
<told> shews me has soe great an Antipathy to a
[ 'b' deleted] Breast of Mutton that he is very sick at ready to swound
at the sight of it, & yet if it be
<carvd>[replacing 'cut'] into Bones, he cannot only endure it, but (as the Dr has seen
him doe) [BP 27, p. 127]eat of it.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
661
Tarr of the
Birch tree (in G hand)
9
In Muscovy they make
a kind of Tarr of the Birch Tree much after the same manner that else where
they make it of the Firr tree.
This Day about 3 a Clock in the Afternoon we tryed the Prince of
Tuscanys broad Concave. Within less than a Minute it
<would>[replacing 'will'] make the Pales of the Garden 'twas in to smoak copiously &
sometimes it produced an
Actuall['uall' altered from 'ive']
Flame of noe very small size. Holding a Shilling
[ 'up' deleted] to the Point of Concourse it would discolour it & neal
it a little
[ '&' deleted] but it would well neal the brass Wier by which the
Shilling was held. It would very readily melt an Indian Mettall (Teutinagg)
that was held to it. It gave a blew Colour to a peice of Brass or Copper of
about the thickness of a Shilling & made it much more flexible than before
but would not at all melt it nor a Plate of like thickness of the other newly
named Mettall. It readily melte a Sheet of leafe Gold, but not soe readily a
Sheet of Leafe Silver. I had nothing but a String where with to measure the
distance betwixt the Focus & the Glass, which I found to be about 11 foot
(an Inch or two more or less)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
663
The other
Concave (in G hand)
With the other great Mettalline Concave we tryed between 3 & 4 a
Clock that this Speculum would not melt a Queen Elizabeths Sixpence but only
made it Smoake & neal it a little & discolourd it on both sides but it
presently melted down the edge of a Groat & the Beam being cast upon a good
& not overworn Groat, melted a round hole in the middle of it in less than
halfe a minutes by my Minute-Watch. It alsoe melted down though not suddenly a
peice of the Specular mettall consisting of 5 parts of one Ingredient to two of
the
[ 'White' deleted] other which was the White. In These operations the Brass
Wier that held the expos'd Bodies was soe neal'd as to be very flexible though
the other part of the same Wier to which the Beams reached not
[ 'were' deleted] continued very stiffe.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
664
Magnetick
Smoake (in G hand)
LB
I caused also a small English Loadstone [BP 27, p. 128]uncappt (being about the bigness of an Hazell Nutt) to be tyed with
Wier & exposed to the point of Concourse where it emitted a pretty store of
Smoake & continued to send forth some Smoake for a considerable while &
at length began, though not to drop
[ 'yet to' deleted]
<drop>[replacing 'melt'] yet to melt in one place where a fluxed matter remaind
afterward upon the Stone
[Retrospective marginalia:]
665
odd
Communication of Heat. (in G hand)
Note First that the Artificer confess'd to me that the Princes
Speculum was soe little Concave that it would not send forth an Image but soe
confusd, that 'twas not worth lookeing after
[ 't' deleted]2dly that haveing causd a Body to be tyed with a peice of
Wier the other End whereof was held by a pare of Players that the observer
might not burn his Fingers by the Heat of the Sun Beams upon the Body to be
burnt the heat being communicated but by the slender Wier to the Players did
[ 'it' deleted] yet convey soe much heat to them that for a pretty while
after I could not hold the Players between my Fingers.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
666
Abt the
shineing of a killd Glow Worme. (in G hand)
I tooke a Gloworme & haveing with
a paire of scissers clipd off the Luminous Tayle, I found it continued to shine
almost if not quite as well as before, I also squeezd out the yellow &
Juicy matter that remaind in the other part of the Glo-wormes Body, which
matter, was also Luminous, tho somewhat les
[ 'so' deleted] then the Tayle.
[ 'After' deleted] I was when these Tryalls were made a bed, when after
I had within the drawne Curtains contemplated
them['m' altered from 'ir']
<for a while the Luminous Juice>[replacing 'for a while, the Luminous yellow Juice'] was put into a glasse of faire water, where it continued to
shine as before, &
<upon> the tayle of the Insect, was dropd a litle spirit of
Sal Armmoniack
<which>[replacing 'which'] presently made it shine farr more vividly then before. This
Luminousnes it retained for a good while till I fell asleep, & when as
soone as I awaked the next morning I had them brought to my bed that I might
looke upon them within the Curtaines, before the day Light had indisposd my
Eyes to discern
[ 'sh' deleted] such faint
<Lights>[replacing 'Colours'] I found that the yellow matter underwater, had not lost its
shining, & the Tayle moistned with the saline
[ 'spirit' deleted] spirit showne very vividly in that degree of Light
[ 'the' deleted]& after I was up & ready, I saw it shine, not
in spight of the daylight,
[BP 27, p. 129]
A Continuation of
Promiscuous Entrys from November the First.[red]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
667
The
Hæmorrhoids with our Balsome of {sulphur} (in G hand)
Dr. G. brought me
[ 'an acc' deleted] the following account. He was calld to a man that
had been long sick of a flux of Blood at the Hæmorrhoids, which in
process of time brought him to great weakness; & this was accompanyed with
a very frequent procidentiâ Ani, which would sometimes happen to him 5 or
6 times in a day) which
<would> soe torment him that he would wish for death to ease
him. When the Dr came to him his Intestinum Rectum was swell'd, & lookt soe
ill as
pityed['i' altered from 'y'] him
& frighted him together. But when he had anointe'd the part with our Balsom
of Sulphur made with express'd oyle & continu'd for divers days the
application as well to the outside of the Gutt, when the prolapses requird it,
as
<well as> to the orifices & neighbouring parts of the
Hæmorrhaidall Veins, the Tumor, & Pain, & flux of Blood in a
short time did by degrees cease & left the Patient recoverd, as he still
continues.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
668
Cure of an odd
Distemper by Ens Ven: (in G hand)
This Dr was also
call'd to a Woman that was much troubled with a
<swelling>[replacing 'swe'] in her mouth, & with an odd Distemper in the Coutrys where
he practises Suffolk and
Norfolk, the common People call
it Figgit, which, when they are abed causes such a tingling & troublesom
itching in severall parts of their Body as
<forces the Patients out of their Beds &> & often
drives
them['m' at end of word inserted inline]
[ 'Patients' deleted] to keep their Beds
<again>. Of both these Inconveniences the Dr affirms that he
cured a great many by the use of Ens Veneris.
[BP 27, p. 130]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
669
[ '303' deleted]
Asthma cur'd
by Sp: Sang: humani (in G hand)
The Same Physitian
<Dr G>[in pencil in Boyle hand] related to me
that being call'd to a young woman that seemd to be almost ready to dy of a
violent
[ 'Æst' deleted] but not ancient Æsthma he gave her
[ '20' deleted] upon my recommendation 20 drops of Sp: Sanguinis humani
which restord her her freedom of breathing almost like a charm (to use his
expression) And when long after it happend that she fell into another Fit, he
being again sent for did by the like dose of the same Spirit free her from it
almost in a trice.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
670
[ '664' deleted]
[ '66' deleted]
[ '304' deleted]
The Efficacy
of Millipedes. (in G hand)
He also told me that
he found
<very>[replacing 'such']
good[second 'o' inserted] Effects of
the Millipedes I commended for the sharp humors of the Eyes
[Retrospective marginalia:]
671
[ '665' deleted]
Observations
about Bezoar Stones. (in G hand)
the
Continuation of them (in G hand) (margin, against 'The one, that in the middle of almost every stone')
*
Haveing had occasion to buy some
Bezoar['o' inserted] Stones I had the
opportunity of
<viewing>[replacing 'being'] at a Curious Druggists a great number of them which were newly
brought in severall parcells directly out of the
East Indies; & had a
great appearance of being right or genuine. And I generally observd them
[ 'to be either' deleted] whose figures were less irregular, to be either
oblong or almost Cylindricall, or somewhat near an ovall shape or that of a
Rabbets Kidney And all the kinds did as far as I could judge agree in this,
that their outer coats were darker colour'd than those of American Bezoar
Stones use to be; & that they were not only smooth but as it were polish'd
And lastly, that in those which were broken either by chance or design,
[ 'they' deleted] the stone appear'd to consist of Coats or Rinds
embraceing one another, almost as in an Onion, which Coats in most Stones, but
not in all, were of the same colour, & in very many of them the inner Coats
seem'd smoothe
<or> polisht as well as the Outer. Awhile
[BP 27, p. 131]after haveing the opportunity of breakeing
[ 'of breakeing' deleted] & causeing to be broken, whilst I was present
another parcell of Eastern Bezoar Stones that seemd to be true, I was confirmd
in my former observations, &
[ 'had a' deleted] particularly tooke notice of these 2 things. The one,
that in the middle of almost every Stone
[ 'that' deleted] there was a kind of kernell, that was sometimes loose
from the environing part of the Stone, & sometimes also smooth
[ 'or' deleted]& as it were polisht like the outside of the Shell; of
which sort I keep one by me, that is
[ 'partly' deleted] part in the shell, & part out of it. The other
thing that I tooke notice of was, that sometimes these kernells
<or>[replacing '& P'] rather these internall Substances were not of any matter
homogeneous to the Stone, but quite of another nature; as I remember that in an
oblong one that I broke I found a
straite['te' altered from 'g']
[ '&' deleted] long
[ 'peice' deleted] & slender peice of stick about which the Stone was
concreted; & the like texture I observd in divers other stones that were
broken
[Retrospective marginalia:]
672
[ '666' deleted]
[ '306' deleted]
Large Size of
Batts (in G hand)
7
An eminent Physitian affirm'd to me that
<in Spain> at
St John de Luz
in Biscay he had seen live Batts as bigg as Hens, one of which sort I saw
[ 'br' deleted] that was brought from the
East-Indies but dead)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
673
[ '667' deleted]
A Relation
about an Unicorn (in G hand)
7
The same curious Person told me that he saw at
[space of 22 characters]the Skin of a
true Unicorn; and when I inquird about the shape &c he answer'd, that the
Animalls Shape Bignes, & Hair was much like a large Goat, & that in the
middest of the forehead about 2 or 3 fingers above the Eyes it had an Horn
about 2 foot long or better but differing in shape from the Horns
<(or teeth of seamonsters)> that are wont to pass for those
of Unicorns. For this Horn at the bottom [BP 27, p. 132]
<was>[replacing 'B'] nubbed round about like a Staggs Horn &
[ 'seem' deleted] was divided by divers transverse circles
parallel[a second 'r' between 'r' and 'a' deleted] to each other
like the points of a Cane; of which
[ 'the first' deleted] those
<nearer>[replacing 'next'] the root were still nearer one another; & the remotest
from the root was the longest of all the Horn.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
674
[ '308' deleted]
Efficacys of
Metalls outwardly applyd (in G hand)
I know a Lady very curious about Physicall things who has more than
once had a Distemper which (whether Critically or Symptomatically) producd in
the Habit of the Body divers odd tumors, some of which would break & run,
& others not)
<were
she>[replacing 'for'] cured
[ 'of which' deleted], ( as herselfe assurd me) only by first applying to
the Tumors Plates of Lead of the thickness of ordinary Sheat-lead; which would
take them down by degrees in no very long time: & upon the Sores made with
those that were broken, she afterwards apply'd, instead of Plates of Lead
Plates of Gold by which alone they were all heal'd up
Consistence of Butter in Guiny (in G hand) (margin, at end of entry)
11
To the
[approximately unknown illegible]
Inquiring of an
Intelligent
Gentleman that was imployd to the
River of Gambra, &
sayld up 700 miles in it, in a Frigat of 80 Tun whether he had observd that in
the sea even of those hot Climates wine may be preservd coole he told me that
it might, & that by the meanes I hinted to him, which was, to let downe
when the ship came to an Anchor in the Evening severall Bottles full of wine
<(they usd that of Madera)> exactly stopt, to ten, 12, or 14 fathoms depth,
whence being the next morning drawne up they found the Wine coole and fresh
<(as if the vessells had been drawne up out of a well),>
provided it were presently drunk for if that Circumstance were omitted
[ 'the heat' deleted] the heat of the Aire
<& of>[replacing 'in', Boyle hand] the upper part of the water would quickly warme the Liquor.
[ 'The' deleted] Butter also
<might>[replacing 'may'] be made in Guiny
provided the Arts of keeping creame coole were usd, but this Butter tho for
about 2 howers it may keepe its consistence within which time our English were
wont to eat it, yet soone after t'would melt.
Beyond the
Cape of Good
Hope
[ 'saileing' deleted]
into['to' inserted, in Boyle's hand]
the South Seas,
[ 'old Capt.
Pride' deleted] made Tryalls of the motion of the upper part of the Water
above the Lower, where sometimes casting out a large & heavy Plummet, he
let it down to severall depths short of 50 fathom, without any sensible
operation['s' at end of word deleted]
upon the motion of the Boat or Shallop, he stood in to make the Tryall; but
when he let down the Plummet lower to about a 100 fathom or more, then he found
that thô the Plummet reachd not to the Bottom of the Water, yet upon the
score of the standing Water beneath, the Superior Water would make the Boat
turn towards the Tide or Current as if it lay at Anchor & the Water would
run by the side of the Boat at the rate of about 3 mile an hour.
[BP 27, p. 134][BP 27, p. 135]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
676
[ '310' deleted]
Raine breeding
Worms (in G hand)
2
The same Person confirmd to me That if
the Raine that fell in Guiny upon
our mens woollen Cloaths, were not timely washd off, it would quickly breed
wormes or maggots there.
He
answerd me that in Guiny he never
saw nor heard of any Golden Mine, found in that Country, all the Gold the
natives get there being taken out of the Sand (,which uses to be finer then
ordinary sand, & is often of a blewish colour) but above the Cataracts of
the Rivers he presumes there may be Golden Mines whence this graine Gold may be
washd
He also
answerd me that he had never seene, or heard of any Snow or Ice in
Guiny but that in some parts of
Barbary
wherein['in' at end of word inserted]
[ 'C' deleted] the Plaines & vallys he found the heat scarce
supportable he could see the Tops of the mountaines coverd with snow, in which
state they continud all the year.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
679
[ '313' deleted]
Strange heat of Sand in
Barbary.
2. or 4.
He
furthar answerd me that tho not in Guiny, yet in some parts of
Barbary he found the sand where
it lay constantly exposd to the sun
<so> very hot, that he was once or twice faine to run near a
quarter of a mile to a shelterd place bec. if he
did but walke the heat of the sand would scorch his feet quite thro the soles
of his shoes.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
680
[ '314' deleted]
Negro's
Children early black (in G hand)
8
The same
gentleman answerd me that he had divers of his Nigro slaves, severall time
brought to bed when he was by, & that he sufficiently observd that within
24 howers or lesse after they came into the world, the Infant were as black as
their Parents
[BP 27, p. 136]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
681
[ '315' deleted]
[ 'Od Obs' deleted] An odd Obs. about Animall flame (in G hand)
Tbd
An eminent French Physitian related to
me
<upon> an occasion of my
Paradoxes about
Flame & some Questions I made him about them, that in a mountain
<calld in French)>[replacing 'of Dauphane'] [space of 7 characters]
& in Latine Montilium, in
the Province of
Dauphine; as he was undressing himselfe at night he perceivd many Sparks,
& sometimes as if Flashes of Fire proceed first from his cloathes &
then from his shirt as he pull'd them off; at which being somewhat surprisd,
<he took> more notice of it afterwards for severall nights.
But thô this Phenomena were exhibited; yet when he went to another place
it ceasd; which made him apt to ascribe it to some subtill peculiarity of the
Air in that hill, as well as in his own Body.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
682
[ '316' deleted]
An odd obs. about Ignis
Lamb:
Tbd
The same Curious Person informd me; that whilst he was in the same
Country going one night
<in the Summer> by a Gibbet at which a man was
hanging['ing' altered from 'd'] he
perceivd the Head & neck to be the subjects of a thin light Flame like an
Ignis Lambens seemd to & fro about there as the fat Exhalations gave
occasion.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
683
[ '317' deleted]
Hydrostaticks.
11.
Tbd
An Ingenious Physitian born & bred in hot Countrys, & skilld
in diveing answerd me that he observd as especially when once he divd for a
Diamond ring he had let fall
[ 'th' deleted] in the depth of 2 o 3 fathom, that
[ 'if he went into' deleted] thô at the bottom of the water he felt
no sensible weight of the incumbent water; yet if he went leasurely in with his
leggs first, he should at the beginning find a sensible Compression against his
Abdomen & Breast, & if he entred the water [BP 27, p. 137]slowly with his head foremost, he could plainly observe when his
Body came
<to be> first under water, a compression of his Thorax seemd to
him to begin from about the Claviculæ & send downwards.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
684
[ '318' deleted]
A Strange Obs. about
Ignis Lambens
Tbd
An Ingenious Physitian that lookt to
<in> the Southern parts of
France those that were infected
with the Plague answerd me that, among other Patients that he had under his
hands, there was a young
Friar['a' altered from 'e'] very
corpulent, whose Body being laid out upon a table in a room whose windows were
left wide open, this Relator comeing in 7 or 8 hours after plainly perceivd to
his wonder a thin faint flame that seem'd to feed upon the exhalations of that
Fat & youthfull
<Corps>[replacing 'body'], as it were & Ignis lambens, that almost totally cover'd
that part of it that touchd not the table. This gave the Physitian, a Person
very learned & inquisitive in curiositys, to observe the duration of that
Flame, which from the time he first saw it lasted near 4 hours; & when I
enquird about the season of the year & day, he answerd me that 'twas in
vintage time, & former part of the night; & that he observd not the
like Phænomena in any of those numerous
[ 'places' deleted] patients which that plague swept away.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
685
[ '319' deleted]
Strange
Property of Harts Horn (in G hand)
A Physitian that had liv'd in
Piedmont affirm'd to me with
great asseveration, that in the Castle where he resided, there
were['ere' altered from 'as'] a great
pair of Staggs horns
[ 'in that' deleted](connected by part of the Skull) which had been taken
out of an old
Idolaters['ers' altered from 'rous']
Temple; where they had been suspended many ages before,
[ 'which' deleted] this head was
[ 'be' deleted] hung up freely in the Air in a room where the wind could
not come at it (as the Relator answerd me [BP 27, p. 138]that he
diligently markt) where for a long time it had been by the Residers in that
Castle taken notice to turn the Horns directly against the Wind from what part
soever of the Sky that happend to blow. And he assured me that for above a year
he livd in that Castle; he constantly observd the like strange Property in
these Horns to show the Change of the Wind & the Quarter wherein it sat at
the time of the observation. And he further said that in some very ancient
heads in that Country a resembling Quality, thô not altogether so
conspicous[second 'c' inserted] as this,
had been taken notice of by the Inhabitants.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
686
[ '320' deleted]
Solidity of
Woods over Mines. (in G hand)
6
Meeting with another Physitian that had the curiosity to
[ 'T' deleted] visit the ruder part of
Piedmont
<where store of Mines had lately been discoverd> I enquird of
him whether he had observd that the tender trees growing over the Mines were
more solid & ponderous than others; whereupon he told me that he remembred
that the Peasants therabouts did
[ 'C' deleted] complain to him that such trees especially the Ilex or Oak
that affords Cork, were so exceeding compact & hard that when they came to
hew or cleave them their ordinary Instruments as Wedges, Hatchets &c if
they were but of the usuall temper, would be presently blunted & have their
edges turn'd or broken off.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
687
[ '321' deleted]
Shod brought
down in
[ 'tg' deleted] great lumps by Waters. (in G hand)
difference of loose & fast Earth. (in G hand) (margin, at end of entry)
[ 'Mrs' deleted] Mr.
S. answered me that in his Fathers Tin-mines
in Devonshire he made a
while since above an hundred weight of Tin of one Stone or peice of Shod that
[ 'clear' deleted] by clear proofes he found to have been brought down by
the Waters from one of the neighbouring Hills abounding with Tin Oar. The same
person assured me that even in his Fathers park there are peices of Shod (or
loose Tin oar) bigger then 40 horses can draw, which may
by['y' altered from 'e'] training, (as
they
speak['c' between 'a' and 'k' deleted])
[ 'be made' deleted] or traceing them up to their first place, be made
appear to have been remov'd by the Waters. He likewise answers me that the
[BP 27, p. 139]loose or adventitious Earth where they find their
Shod, in the lower ground is usually about 12 foot deep before they they come
to the fast Earth, as they call that which was never mov'd by the Waters, in
which the Mines both of Tin & Lead stone are.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
688
[ '322' deleted]
Od Obs:
ab. Loose Earth
He also
answerd me, that which seemd strange, that
on['n' altered from 'f'] the
<very> Top of the Hill whence much of this Shod comes, there
is near 12 foot deep of the like loose Earth that is found in the lower ground
And['A' altered from 'a'] when I
enquird whether there were no neighbouring whence that Earth may have been
brought? he reply'd that this was a round
Hill['o' at end of word deleted] of
itself divided by environing vales from all the other Hills.
He further
told me that in 2 days with but 2 men he train'd a Loadstone Mine, from whence
my magnets came, a mile & an halfe from the place where he discover'd the
first tokens of it.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
690
Heat
& Moysture of the Air
An Intelligent
Gentleman that staid an year in Guiny related to me that he & his Company found a great
heat & moisture of the Air to dispose Bodies so to putrefaction that he
observ'd the white sugar to be sometimes full of Maggots, & found that
divers Druggs Salves & other Medicinall Things that were brought with him
<had> quite lost their Vertues And some of them especially
oyntments were verminous. And he added that in the
Island St
Jago (one of those of Cabo verde) where they make store of Sweet meats with Sugar
brought them from Madera, he
often observd the Inhabitants for divers mornings consecutively to expose their
Sweet-meats upon Tables to the Heat of the Sun to dry up the Superfluous
Moisture which in strange abundance they had contracted the preceding night,
which otherwise would quickly spoil the Sweet-meats & bring them to
putrefy.
He told
me that in the River of
Gambra he had observd it to lighten sometimes with horrid Claps of Thunder
for 48 hours together & that so fast that there seldom interceeded a minute
between 2 flashes of Lightning.
He answerd me that he observd the Sea to shine at least in the Ships
way as well upon the Coast of Africk, as elsewhere
[BP 27, p. 140]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
692
Cold ev'n
in
Guiny[altered from 'Guinny']
He also
answerd me that notwithstanding the excessive heat of the Climate, he was
divers times about 4 of the Clock in the morning, reduc'd to be ready to
tremble
<for>[replacing 'with'] Cold as he lay in his Hamack, for about an hour together
(Dureing his stay in Africk he never observ'd Earthquake or Thunderbolt)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
693
Spouts
2
He
answerd me: that
<had> he divers times seen Spouts both in the
[ '&' deleted] Mediterranean & upon the
Coast of Africk; & that on
this Coast he once observ'd a great Spout which past pretty near his ship that
seemd to be so well poisd in the Air that it wav'd to & fro like one of the
highest Streamers of a Ship; it exhibited Variety of Colours almost like a
Rainbow, &
[ 'was gave them' deleted] made them wonder at it in regard the Sky was
then very cloudless & clear. The Wind carried this Spout a pretty way off
from my Relators Ship, & then it fell & pourd out many Tun of water, as
he was assurd by a friend of his, very near whom it fell into the Sea.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
694
Od obs.
about Blacknesse
8
He
further answerd me that he observd divers of the Criolians, thô generated
of Portugall Fathers upon Negresses to be as
black['s' at end of word deleted] as
the African Blacks themselves.
<An Intelligent>[replacing 'the same', Boyle hand] Gentleman
<that liv'd in
Africk>[in Boyle hand] being askt
<by>[replacing 'of'] me how far off he was able to see the top of the
Pic of
Teneriff at Sea, replyd, that by the Estimate of the Capt. of the Ship it
was near 50
Leages['a' altered from 'g']; &
yet it appeard to him so high above some clouds & so near that he was fain
to cast his head up to see it
He
<
[ 'An Intelligent' deleted]>[in Boyle hand] further answerd me that being at
the very top, which he estimated to contain about halfe
<
[ 'or' deleted]> an Acre
<or>[replacing '&'] an Acre of ground, he observd that besides the mouth of the
chimney, if it may be so calld, at which Smoake & Flowers of Brimstone
&c came forth; there was a
[ 'pretty large' deleted] Pit or deeper Cavity with a very dark-colourd,
& almost black Liquor in it, which he concluded must be either a Spring, or
some stagnant Water occasiond by Rains. And he answerd
[ 'd' deleted] me, agreeably to what other had told me before, that the
Shadow of the Mountain when he was at the Top, seemd toward the further end of
it, not to rest [BP 27, p. 141]upon the Surface of the Sea, but to
be thrown (as it were,) a great way into the Air.
He told me he found it very cold in ascending the Mountain; & on
that occasion added, that passing into Italy by the Mount Cenis, one of the famousest
of the Alps; thô it were
in August,
[ 'yet he felt at' deleted]& the weather very clear, yet he felt at the
top a wind so cold that he could scarce possibly endure it and seemd to him the
coldest that
[ 'he' deleted] in all his various Travells he had ever felt; & yet
some of the Mountains seemd much higher, being then coverd with Snow.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
698
Submarine
Plants.
4 or 3.
Tbd
Talkeing with a Physitian that livd upon the Sea Coast of
Biscay['cay' inserted, replacing 'kay' deleted] about some
Suspitions I had concerning
Plantes['n' inserted] growing at the
Bottom of the Sea, he
[ 'told conf' deleted] told me, that what I said might well be for haveing
been at the opening of a vast Whale; which had been taken at
St.
Jaine de Luz, &
was so great that
[ 'it after' deleted] the Body besides the Tongue afterwards yeilded 68
Hoggsheads (he called them Tonnesaux) of oyl, he observd in the Stomach &
Bowells of this whale
[ 'a go' deleted] divers barrells of Plantes, that seemd to have been newly
cropt off from some waterish
Meaddow[second 'd' inserted], or such
like place on shoar; and particularly he observd
<among the weeds> great store of Sedges & Plantane Leaves.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
699
Shining
Fishes
Tbd
*
A curious Physitian of my acquaintance that liv'd a while at
Rochell related to me
that heareing of some shineing Fishes that were wont to be seen
<about>[replacing 'in'] a place
<in>[replacing 'of'] the sea not very far off, he & some other Inquisitive Men
caus'd themselves to be landed upon a certain sandy bank, which the sea did not
quit cover which was near the above mentiond place. And this was purposely done
in a dark but not stormy night; the success was, that he had the pleasure to
see there a great number of Fishes playing up & down, that seem'd
[ 'each' deleted] like so many
[ 'fiery Animalls' deleted] Bodies moveing in the midest of the water,
shineing [BP 27, p. 142]not with the head or tail onely but the
whole Body, as if they were so many liveing Carbuncles: To my question about
the bignes of those fishes, he answerd, that they were about the size of those
Sardinees which I had seen in the
Ligustick Sea, & of
which our Anchovies are made.
<
[ 'And' deleted]> to my scruple whether the sea itselfe were not
thereto dispos'd to shine so that the luminous appartition
might['ight' inserted, replacing 'ay' deleted] be producd by the
motion of the fishes in the water, as oftentimes that part of the sea shines,
which the prow of a Ship or Boat cutts in its passage, he reply'd, that the sea
it selfe did not
<then> shine, but the Fishes did so
<whether>[replacing 'so the'] they were swimming up & down or rested for some time in a
place.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
700
Strong
Lixivium from French furzes
It has been observ'd by Soapboilers & others, that the plant,
which men call French Furzes, being burnt to ashes, yeilds a copious Salt,
& a stronger Lee than any plant they know of; without excepting Fern or
Bean-stalks.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
701
Prospering of a Plant upon Tin mines
{slash}
Tbd
There grows upon the Tin-mines in
Devonshire, especially
where they run under plashy & marish places, a certain plant which they
call Osmund Royall; & it prospers so well there, as to grow up to the hight
of a Mans Shoulders.
The cheife
at of the English Factory at
Hispahan assur'd
me, that he had there seen it both freeze & Snow severely enough, &
answerd me that they make their
[ 'I' deleted] Winter provision of Ice against the Sommer by
[ 'puttin' deleted] keeping great quantities of water in
<very> large Vessells like Cisterns, so defended by situation
& otherwise, that the water freezes from time to time in frosty weather,
& the Ice dos not considerably thaw between one fit of frosty Weather &
another.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
703
Embalming
of Juices
{cross}
*
Tbd
A Virtuoso that learnt of me the Aeriall way of preserveing Juyces
assur'd me that by the help of it, thô I only twice
[BP 27, p. 143]season'd the bottle, he has kept the Juyce of Balm
for a whole 12-moneth very sweet & good; & by a single seasoning
wherein Linnen was employed he preserv'd another Body for above 3 moneths so as
to make even an induration of it.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
704
Mushrooms
in Distillation
*
Tbd
{slash}
A Learned & Sober
[ 'Chymist' deleted] Gentleman affirm'd to me, that
[ 'distilling' deleted] for a few years ago distilling a certain Vegetable
Liquor that had before been very long digested, & the Distillation being
made very slowly with a very mild heat, he after a while perceivd
<that> between the Head & the Body there were grown divers
small but perfect Mushrooms; which he not only saw himselfe, but shew'd to a
Learned Gentleman whom he knew to be a great friend of mine, (in one of whose
furnaces the Digestion & Distillation were made,) whom I have not since
seen to enquire what he had observ'd about this odd Acident.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
705
Fila
Virginis
2
Tbd
The same Person upon my telling him what had happen'd to me in
distilling one time Sp: of Saffron, & afterward other things, related to
me, that he also sometimes
had['d' altered from 's'] had
[ 'his Receiver' deleted] a multitude of as it were Spiders threds
confusedly drawn cross his Receiver, (& that he had observd the like in a
by-groove[second 'o' inserted] of a mine
in Piedmont) & that he
was the Receiver was clean from any such thing when 'twas luted on.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
706
Flames
about the Mines in Norway
The Viceroy of
Norway related to me, that in
that Countrey they divers times see great Flames that appear'd to be twice as
big as the chamber
<next [space of 5-6 chars]to that> I ly in at
London (where
[ 'in' deleted] his Excellency & I then where) to fly in the Air from
place to place, & perhaps from one hill to another, the Country people call
them flying Dragons, & take them for signs that there are mines in the
places they appear in.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
707
Silver
Mines there
with (margin, at mid-point of entry)
Metall Granatts (margin, at end of entry)
5
The same illustrious Person answerd
me that ther are Silver Mines in Norwey which they now work to about
[ '60 th 6' deleted]60 thousand Crowns a year profit; adding that for some
years the Silver afforded a [BP 27, p. 144]considerable proportion
of Gold which of late it has not yeilded, either because the vein degenerates,
or because of the unskilfullness of the Persons now employd to work it. He says
further that the he lately presented the Queens Almoner with a large Lump or
Mass of Silver, that nature herselfe had made good & malleable, in that
Norwegian Mine, Near which or about the Oar he answer'd me that they find
Metalline granatts.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
708
Virgula
Divina
11
He also answer'd me that he had seen
very clear & convincing Proofes that the Virgula divinatoria will in some
of the Mines mens hands incline very strangely to subjacent Mines &
Metalls; insomuch that he has seen it bend down so forcibly as to break in the
Holder's hands; & that ev'n in his excellencies owne hands these rods would
alter sensibly, thô not so strongly.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
709
Subterraneal Timber in Ireland
4
My Brother Orery being enquird of by
me about the Firr trees that are
[ 'di' deleted] in divers parts of
Ireland found in moorish lands,
related to me that there is
a['t' at end of word deleted]
Turbery
<(or>[replacing 'a', Boyle hand] place where they dig up Turfe
<)>[in pencil ] or
<Peat>[replacing 'Teat', Boyle hand] in a peice of land of his situate in the county of
Kerry wherein it appears by
the records of the Mannor that there has been Turfe diggd near
there['ere' altered from 'is', in Boyle's hand]
[ 'f'i' deleted] 500
years['s' at end of word inserted in Boyle's hand], & that when
they digge Turfe to
<as
or greate a>[replacing 'the'] depth as they can thrust a pike to, & at the bottom of that
Cavity can perceive no wood, within a year or two the cavvity will be again
filld with Turfe
[ 'in which' deleted] wherein which is stranger, they often meet with
Firr-trees: insomuch that a few years since rideing that way a hawkeing &
perceiveing['eing' altered from 'd'] an
unusuall number of
men['e' inserted, in Boyle's hand, replacing 'a' deleted] &
horses at the Turbery, he turn'd aside to see what they were doing & found
that they were drawing off a
<strait> tree which [BP 27, p. 145]prov'd to
<be>[replacing 'me', Boyle hand] five or six & fifety foot long, & which was concluded to
be a Firr tree by the length, straitness, grain, Inflammability, & also by
the inspection of the roots which in divers of the trees there taken up (some
of which are found
[ '(' deleted] in a perpendicular posture as if they were growing)
[ 'are' deleted] are found unconsumd.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
710
Anchor
dug up 6 miles from the Sea
18
He further told me that in a peice of
land of his not very distant from this
Turbery
there['re' inserted, in Boyle's hand , replacing 'y' deleted] is a
gutt, as they call it, or narrow lift of land that bears Turfe thô it
[ 'be' deleted] ly almost at the top of a hill, which thô but low is
parted by vales from the neighbouring higher hills;
<in>[replacing '&'] this elevated peice of ground they dugg up some years ago a
compleat Iron Anchor of a small Vessell, which Anchor he saw (it being brought
him as Lord of the Soile & Governor of the Countrey.) When I
<enquird>[replacing 'askd'] how far this hill was from the Sea, he answerd that 'twas 4 Irish
Miles (which amount to 6 English Miles) And when I further ask'd how high the
place was above the Levell of the ground or water, he, (who is versd
<& much delights> in practicall Geometry) reply'd that 'tis
at least 80 foot in a perpendicular height.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
711
Maturation of Tin ore
*
Tbd
An ancient Master & Worker of Tin Mines answer'd me, that
haveing had divers heaps of refuse Stuffe throwne by, as is usuall; because the
Workmen had separated from it so much Tin that 'twas not worth putting into the
Furnace, these heaps after about 20 year, haveing lain all the while expos'd to
the open air, were (I dispute not whether by Maturation, Impregnation, or both)
so improv'd that Workmen that neglected them before, were very desirous they
should then be wrought, which they were to good advantage; by reason of the Tin
they [BP 27, p. 146]had obtain'd by lying in the Air.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
712
Maturation of Tin-ore
*
Old Sir W.
S. affirm'd to me in the presence of persons well acquainted with the
place he spoke of, that
[ 'there' deleted] near him there was a vast quantity laid up in heaps of
[ 'Tin' deleted] the refuse of what, haveing been dugg out of the Tin
Mines, had been wrought till there was not Tin enough left to be worth
workeing; & that some years ago an ancient & experienc'd Tinner
<whom he namd, as being yet alive> purchas'd these
rejected['re' altered from 'pra'] heaps,
which he knew partly by memory, & partly by Tradition, to have lain in the
Air about 80 year, & to his great profit found the workeing of them to be
more beneficiall than the workeing of good new Tin Oar.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
713
Another
proofe of it
*
Tbd
Another Gentleman
<an> ingenious &
[ 'a' deleted] diligent observer of Tin Mines assur'd me, that he had not
long since observd that in some veins,
<belonging to a near relation of his> where the Skillfull
Workmen had carefully diggd out the Oar about 8 or 10 years before
[ 'the' deleted] there was generated
[ 'new' deleted] in the inside of the Veins, where the air had access,
fresh particles of Tin so copious, that they seemd to line the Cavitys made in
the Earth; & were judged & found by the Tin-men to be worth the
workeing over again; &
[ 'it seemd' deleted] his Discourse seem'd to confirm much my Conjecture,
that
[ 'Met' deleted] a Minerall lying still in the vein where it grew will in a
much shorter time affor'd fresh metall in those places
<where>[replacing 'that'] the air has access to it, than if it were diggd out of the Mine
before 'twere expos'd to the air.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
714
Emery at
Tanger
5
Mr R. G.
assur'd me, that being a while since at
Tangiers he saw divers large
stones of true Emmery that had been dug up
hardly['h' altered from 'p'] since
the English came thither
[BP 27, p. 147]
A Continuation of
Promiscuous Entrys[pencil]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
715
Obs about
Springs in Mines
{cross}
Tbd
An
Engineer much employd about the deep Lead Mines in
Darbyshire answer'd me
that they find the
<Springs in the> Mines to be the most penurious of Water in
the former part of November, if not to the end of the moneth, thô
considerable rains have fallen
<in> the preceding Autumn; the water of those Rains being
soe soakt up by the Earth, that
<usually> till about the beginning of December, it dos not
sensibly reach to the supply of the Springs; which from that time forwards are
wont to increase apace.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
716
Insensible Transpiration at horse race
*
Tbd
Inquireing of some Persons addicted to Horse-raceing what they had
observd about the decrement of the Weight of Men by the insensible Perspiration
& Sweat causd by the vehement motion of their Horses & themselves in
rideing races? I was answerd that usually
<in their Country>[replacing 'to'] the Riders were bound to weigh either of themselves, or with
what they were to carry about them 10 Stone a peice before they got an
horseback; (and least they should cast off some weight by the way) they were to
weigh near as much at the end of the Race. But experience haveing shewn, that
<ev'n> those that proceeded bonâ fide, lost much of
their weight by the way,
[ '&' deleted] thô, to prevent fraud the Rider was weighed in a
Ballance, before he got on horseback, yet after he was weighed he was allow'd
to drink a quart of Liquor
[ 'which' deleted](i.e.) near about two pound
[ '&' deleted] because 'twas presumd he would loose that weight by the
way. And therefore when he came to the end of the Race if he weighed within an
ounce or two of his former weight, they accounted [BP 27, p. 148]that he had
<not> fraudulently cast away any thing to make himselfe lighter.
The length of the Race where this Custom was observd, was reckon'd 4 miles,
& fleet Horses use to run it in about 8 minutes.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
717
Another
to the same purpose
On['O' altered from 'o'] this
occasion an
<observeing>[replacing 'Ingenious'] Gentleman assur'd me that he
[ 'knew' deleted] not long since knew a Jocky who with his ordinary Boots
& rideing Clothes weighed not above 10 Stone; but had his Body of a loose
& flaggy Texture
<who> when rideing a Heat, as they call it, over this 4 mile
Race & weighing himselfe before he began and as soon as he had ended it,
would loose two pound & an halfe of his weight.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
718
staining of
Callicoes
7
Talking to
Father M. of the
little Irish
<fish> that staines purple he told me that at
[space of 7 characters]in the
East Indies he had seen
such a fish, wherewith the Natives us'd to stain there
<Callicoes>[replacing 'Calacathes', Boyle hand] of a fine violet.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
719
Magotts produc'd by
raine
7
At Magoti Javana in the midst of
the IslandDr. S. affirm's to me that the rain in two howers time
will settle about the Seams of
cloaths[altered from 'cloths'], and
turn into small maggotts, tho it doe so no where els in
the Island, and this is a
healthy place being a tract about 12 or 14
[ 'inches' deleted] of ground.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
720
7
He inform'd me
that a Sea Turtle would lay about
200['2' altered from '3'[?]] eggs in
a night, they lay them in the
sun[a second 'n' at end of word deleted] and cover them, as it does
also those of the Alligators.
I ask'd an
ingenious man that had been at
Mosambique, whether he
did not find the Sea in that hot place exceedingly hott, to which he answerd me
that comming thither in a great Caract, when he came back from the town to the
Ship, he observ'd two hand breadths [BP 27, p. 149]of the vessell
to be above the ordinary part to which it us'd to sinke, in so much that he
tooke notice of it to the Captain, as fearing that part of the Loading had by
stealth
<been> carryed to shoar: but the Pilat who had made 23 or 24
voyages to the Indies assured
him, that what he had observ'd about the ship was not unusuall in that place
where the tast it self discoverd the
[ 'salt' deleted] water exceeding salt.
[BP 27, p. 150][BP 27, p. 151]
Observations about Divers obtain'd by
Questions propos'd to an inquisitive Travailer who was present
at the famous Pearle- Fishing at
Manar between the Iland
Of
Ceylon['C' altered from 'S'] & the Neighbouring
Continent.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Tbd
Hee told me that the Divers (who were allmost all
Negros not Indians)
<though>[replacing 'thatgh'] they went downe with a rope ti'd to each of them to be drawne
up againe by, yet they did not sinck themselves by weights, but swamme to the
bottom with their heads downwards & that this solemne pearle Fishing is
usually perform'd about the month of August.
Hee
told me that in some places they Dive about 30 braccia (as
<they>[replacing 'the'] call the measure about 5 foot long;) in some places, 40 50 or
60. & in some 150 or 200 braccia: but in some places they were not able by
their fathoming lines to reach any bottom.
Hee
told me that they oftn met divers great Fishes, in the depths but were seldom
much harm'd by any but those they call Tuberones (perhaps our Sharks), that
would sometimes bite off an Arme or a Leg or a great gobbet of flesh.
That
the deeper the places were that afforded the pearles, the better qualify'd (for
the most part) those jewels were; nor were the Divers permitted by the King's
Officers, though yet they would doe it by stealth, to seeke for pearles beyond
such a depth, beyond which the Fishing was reserv'd for the King.
That the Fish wherein they found the pearles is a kind of Oyster
(but larger than ours) whereof
the Relatour did
eate many. they lay them in heaps to op'n & putrifye: & then takeing
out the Pulpy part, they crush & rubb it between their hands to find out
the pearls.
Hee
told me that the Divers did not, ev'n at the greatest depths, complaine of the
weight of the water above them.
That Hee observ'd some of them by his watch to continue
under the water 1/4 of an houre & many of them to endure halfe that
time or some of them us'd only a kind of whistle, but very
<much larger than an ordinary one to help them to
some respiration, but others us'd noting at all.>[insertion in margin ]
That
the Divers when they were at the bottom of the sea at a great depth could not
see before them near 1/2 yard, but were environ'd with much darknesse,
which
[ 'oblig'd' deleted] reduc'd them to find out the Fish by groaping not by
sight.
When I ask'd him
<whether>[replacing 'whether'] they found not the bottom of the sea very unev'n, hee answer'd
that they did, insomuch that, the soile being for the most part very stony,
they found divers rocks (some of them worthy to be call'd litle Hills) some
very steepe & others that seeme to consist of many vast stones with store
of Sand about them. [BP 27, p. 152]as some of the divers found by
groaping along for Fish.
When I ask'd him whether they did not find it cold at the bottome
of the Sea, hee reply'd that they complain'd very much of the great cold they
felt there, especially if they had gone very deep; & that hee saw divers of
them come shivering out of the water with soe much sense of cold that
notwithstanding the heat of the climate, there was usually a fire kept to warme
themselves at before they
were['re' inserted, replacing 'nt' deleted] to
Dive['D' altered from 'd'] againe.
And some
<of those told him that when they had occasion to
dive deepe neare the disemboging of rivers they found it much colder than in
those parts of the Sea that were remote from fresh water.>[insertion in margin ]
When I ask'd him whether the sea water were not salter at the
bottom than at the top he answer'd it was,
<&> that not only the Divers found it soe by the tast
but, that they oft'n times brought up with the oysters certaine stony Lumps to
which the Fishes were joyn'd, which were very salt (as he found by the tast);
being divers of them cover'd with a thick crust of somewhat a darker colour
than French Bay Salt, & soe strongly saline that severall of the Fishermen
& other poore people imploy'd it to salt their Fish with.
When I ask'd him whether the Divers could at the bottom of the Sea
perceive any operation of the rough winds that blow'd at the top or of the
Currents; He told me that as to the winds they cold not, but the motion of the
Currents were sometimes soe sensible at a great depth under water, that the
Divers were faine to take hold of great stones or shelter themselves among them
to avoid being carry'd away or very much disturb'd in the worke of the
Currents.
When I ask'd him whether it were not very easy to draw up the
Divers from the bottom, he reply'd that 'twas soe very easy that sometimes for
curiosity sake at one pull of the rope rais'd a Diver that was near the bottom,
about 4 or 5 Fathom (as he found by the laxity of the remaineing rope.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
h. (margin, at end of entry)
Hee
answerd me also that 'twas true that at the Fort of
Batavia (where he had
been a Prisoner) most of the Stones (some of which were very exceeding large)
had by reason of the penury of such materialls on the shore been fetch from the
bottom of the Sea by the help of Divers, who there fastn'd them to the ropes by
which they were drawn up.
On this occasion I remember that Speakeing with one that liv'd at
Goah, I ask'd him whether 'twere true
that Fresh water was fetchd thence from the bottom of the Sea by Divers; to
which he answer'd that he had severall times been present when
the['y' at end of word deleted]
Divers brought up fresh water near Goah, but that it did not come (as some have written) from a
fresh Spring riseing at the bottom of the Sea, but, according to his opinion,
from a river of fresh water that runs impetuously enough into the sea near the
Iland, & by two wheeling Tides is cover'd with Salt water, whence he
observd that near the surface the Liquor was very Salt
[BP 27, p. 153]& afterwards lesse & lesse brackish; &
when the Divers came to a considerable depth beneath the surface the water
would be found Fresh.
I askd
an Ingenious man that
had been at Mosambique
whether he did not find the sea in that hot place exceedingly salt, To which he
answerd me that
coming['com' inserted, replacing 'be' deleted]
thither['ither' altered from 'ere']
in a great Caract, when he came
<back> from the Towne to the ship he observd 2
handbreadths['t' inserted] of the
vessell to be above the ordinary part to which it usd to sink in so much that
he tooke notice of it to the Capt. as fearing that part of the Loading had by
stealth carryd to shoar, but the Pilot who had made 23 or 24 voyages to the
Indies, assurd him that what he
had observd
about['a' altered from 'in'] the ship
was
<not> unusuall in that place, where the Tast itselfe
discoverd the water to be exceeding
[ 'sharp' deleted] salt.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
2
He
likewise answerd me that the soyle of
Mosambique, being for the
most part where 'tis not shaded with trees, very sandy, he found the Sun which
was almost in
the['ir' at end of word deleted]
zenith to heat the ground so much, that he was not able to stand still for
sometime, but was faine to keepe walking to avoid burning the soales of his
feet.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
2
A person that
was in the cheife
[ 'Ile' deleted] Island
of the Manilla's(whence the road take their name,) told me that on the
mountaine['ta' between 'n' and 't' deleted] which
<is> almost in the midst of the Isle, he observd store of snow
in the upper part, notwithstanding the Excessive heat of the plaine.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
2
The same
person answerd me
that he had severall
<times> seene great Quantity of
[ '[mixture][unclear]' deleted] water amounting sometimes to
[ 'Tuns' deleted] very many Tuns, & let fall againe in many places in
the sea, where they made a horrid noise.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
2
He likewise
answerd that he had divers times in great stormes seene those those[]
fiery
[ 'spouts' deleted] metoors [BP 27, p. 154]that seamen talke
of, but that when
<men> endeavord to come near them they seeme to shun them or
flye before them, & did at all seeme to to[] burne the whole
Tackle of the
Ship['S' altered from 'ss'] to which they
seeme to stick.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
3
The same
person answerd
[ 'me' deleted] that in those
East Indian
Sees he observd the water to shine or,
<as they call it> burne,
[ 'the which' deleted] cheifely if not
[ 'at' deleted] only when a strong south wind Blew.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
11.
A
Traveller that was at the
Maldivian Islands[second 'a' altered from 'e']
[ 'tell' deleted] told me that even in those parts they reckon them to have
been about 11000, & so much is expressd in the title the King gives himself
but not one halfe of them is inhabited, & 'tis in some of these suncken
& submarine Islands, that the Maldivian nuts
<seemes to>
grow['s' at end of word deleted]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
9.
He also
told me that he saw the way of bouying up ships, practiced there, the ship
being unloaded by pumping, as
soone[second 'o' inserted] as part of
it came to be raisd above water
[Retrospective marginalia:]
6
Tbd
A person that was at the Corrall fishing between
Sardinia &
Corsica answerd me that the red
Corrall was for the most part
<
[ 'saltish' deleted] softish> under water & when newly taken
out of the water lesse
soft['ft' altered from 'ught'] then
to yeild to the Pressure made of it between the fingers but yet much of the
softnes of a Greene & slender Branch, soe that he cut divers trees of
Corral with his knife & perceivd them to be foraminous almost like a lime
& moist, thô after some howers those Pores would no longer appear,
but the Corrall would grow red & hard. But as for the Black Corral (of
which there is litle near Sardinia in Comparison of what is in the
East indies, he observ'd
that to be when freshly gatherd so soft, that by
chrushing['chrush' inserted, replacing 'press' deleted] it between
ones fingers one might have a strong Impression of it, but
<being boyld in water they would soone acquire the
hardnes they that are sold, have.>[insertion in margin ]
[BP 27, p. 155]
[Integral marginalia:]
:May 8th 1668
[Retrospective marginalia:]
To the
change of Aire
The learned
Mr
G
inform'd me, that he has a house in Suffolke within six miles of the Sea, & though the house
be but 4 score years old yet the Iron barrs of the Windows that looke towards
the sea are swell'd & (as he calls it) rotten, being brittle & easy to
be crumbled into powder; & when I ask'd him whether the winds that came
from the sea to those windows were not Southerne, he answer'd affirmatively.
And to confirme what I was saying of the operation I had observ'd of
sea['t' at end of word deleted] salt
upon Iron, he told me that haveing had occasion to cause many barrs of Iron to
be laide
in['i' altered from 'o'] a place on
the neighbouring shore aboute the High watermarke a great storme chanc'd to
increase the tide soe farr as to drench these bars for some hours, after which
remaining in the aire they were very much impar'd, great thick flakes being
easy to be struck off from them when they came to be hammer'd. Hee also confest
to mee, that he never found that frequent ignitions would any thing neare soe
considerably harden Iron, as fewer if it were also very well hammer'd &
weilded togather, which confirmes what the Spring maker told me, that he was
wont to weild togather his Venetian Steele 4 or 5 time & forge it out as
often, to bring to be fit to make Springs of. Hee likewise confess'd to mee,
that he was faine sometimes to cast in cinders of Iron to bring
[ 'in' deleted] some sorts of Oare to fusion & that of (Swedish)
Iron, the bullet Iron which is much the softest, is much fitter to be harden'd
into steele than the other harder oare, which rarely or difficultly makes good
Steele. Hee told me that 30 load of his Mine (each load being about 12
bushells) & 20 load of Coale (each of them near 80 bushells) usually gives
7 Tun of cast Iron, which will make about 5 Tun of barr Iron, whereof if they
have one Tun out of 2700 or 2800 weight of cast Iron, they think 'tis well, the
rest being spued out in the hammering, in the forme of an Excrement which they
call hamslaw
[Integral marginalia:]
May 13th 1668
Mr G. confirm'd to me,
that those whose trade it is to fell wood about March, (or if the Spring be
early the later end of Feb:) observe that if the wind blow north when they cut
downe the wood, they find the sap to be falling towards the roote of the tree,
& he added that this observation holds [BP 27, p. 156]though
perhaps but the day before (the south wind blowing the sap did rise.
>Dr
C. who was then present assur'd me that in an old large Oake that had been
sawn assunder, he & a friend of his togather did reckon 200 & odd
circles one within another; which they cold crearly distinguish besides those
that had a confusd appearance.
Mr H. confirm'd to
me what I had long since learn'd, that some sorts of sand will be dissolv'd in
a greater proportion than others by Alcalys.
Also that some salts make glasse much more or lesse britle than
others, as that Borellia makes it more tough than the Salt of common ashes;
& that the Salt of Tartar makes it yet
more[a second 'r' between 'o' and 'r' deleted] tough than that
When I ask'd him
whether he had
<not> observ'd that glasses, though as well neal'd as is
ordinary; would sometimes of themselves break with noise long after; he
answer'd me affirmatively; adding that particularly one time haveing occasion
to lay by for about half a year or longer a numerous parcell of glasses, when
he came to take them out he found that about a 4th part of the whole Batch was
broken of themselves; & that
<in> most or all of them
<the>[replacing 'were']
cracks['s' altered from 'ed']
proceeded from some seeming stone or great
graine['ine' inserted, replacing 'vell' deleted]
<of> sand (which yet indeed was not sand but some part of
the Salt that had not obtain'd a Sufficient comminution)
[Retrospective marginalia:]
High Palmetta Tree
6
Tbd
Col. G. affirm'd
to me that he had measur'd a Palmetta Tree that he found to be about 200 foot
long, & Hee judg'd divers of those that he saw growin to be about 260 or
250 foot high.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
Poisonous Juice of Mandioca
Drinke made of Cassave (margin, at end of entry)
6
Tbd
Hee affirm'd to me
that hee had lost near 100 {pound} worth of Cattel (whereof one was a Horse &
8 or 10 Cows amongst them) by the crude juice mandioca, though he gave his
beasts, & particularly Hogs, the shaveings & substance of the root
itselfe without hurting them. The poison kill'd his Cattel very speedily,
though Hogs &c be very desirous of It though not soe much as of the root
itselfe. Of the Casavy bread after 'tis bak'd he puts one pound to a Gallon of
Water, & keeping the liquor not boyling [BP 27, p. 157]but
scalding hot for about 12 hours, he afterwards draws it out, into barrels
casting in a little sugar to helpe the working. Within about a fortnight or
somewhat more 'tis ready to drink. But if instead of one pound to a Gallon of
water you put two pound the liquor will be too heady.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
2
Tbd
Hee likewise told
me that he had divers times observ'd in the sea goeing between
England and the
Barbadoes, the fall but
seldom the riseing of what they call sucking spouts; & that particularly he
observ'd one from which he was about a mile distant, which fell in the sea in
the visible forme of water not discontinu'd like raine but pouring down like a
præcipita[te][ink smudge] river,
& makeing in its fall a terrible noise like that of a Cataract.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
2
or 10
Tbd
Hee also told me
that Hee & his Wife had at the Barbadoes in the daytime & the sun shineing out clear
observ'd a fire to run Swiftly along the skie & make a fiery tract, which
to them seem'd from end to end about a mile long.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
2
Tbd
Hee likewise told
me that the thunder clouds there seem'd to him to be much lower & blacker
than with us: but that traceing those fulmina that had done much mischeife, he
could not find any thunder stone or other permanent substance, he added that
often times, he could not looke up any where into the skie in the night time
without seeing falling Stars.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
11. or 4
Hee also told me
that he saw the pic of Teneriffe about 50 leagues off at sea but he could
discover only at that distance the upper part which appear'd though at that
distance of a great height.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
18
He told that
Montjac did run out of
a hill in Barbadoes sometimes
[ 's' deleted] accompany'd with water & sometimes weeping out by its
selfe; & that in the summer it haveing been occasionally fir'd 7 or 8 year
agoe the hill continues burning, as he thinks, to this time, at least he saw it
burning before he came out of the Island; it sometimes in the night appears to
flame but in the day time very seldom seems to doe more than smoake.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
11.
Father [space of 8-10 letters]Confirm'd to me that in the ships
wherewith['with' inserted] he set
Sayle from Lisborne towards
Goah they put
[ 'h' deleted] into great Casks furnish'd with good Earth the roots of
Vines newly prun'd, & that they soe well flourish'd by the way
And[altered from 'that'] particularly
these that were in the ship he set saile in,
<that they did> did when they came to the Cape of good hope,
afford them good rype grapes of which he himselfe did there eat; adding that
the
<same vines being planted in the
Indies would never bear any
grapes, but were fruitfull in exceeding large leavs.>[insertion in margin ]
[BP 27, p. 158]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
11. or 5.
Hee told me that in Pegue they use to take their rubies out of the Sand in the
Rivers with certaine long hollow Canes or poles with a contrivance at the End
to take up Rubies, Sand, & all, & that the water in those rivers at
Pegue that he saw was soe very clear that both others & hee could from the
top of the water discerne rubies lying at the bottom at a very considerable
depth.
[Retrospective marginalia:]
11.
Colonel G. Told
me that one year with another there comes out of the
Barbadoes [2]00 Ships or thereabouts
of 100 Tunne apiece lad'n with Sugar, which amounts to 20000 Tun of Sugar.
He told me alsoe
that
<ordinarily>[replacing 'gener'] in the Barbadoes they have but about 2 foot in depth of Earth,
whereof usually but on foot or a litle more is good mold.
Major H.
told me that some times in Wales in
Leadmines that hold Silver they find great Shods (as they call them) amounting
to divers Tuns of Oare, which sometimes have noe particular coats of sparre but
of clay & are usually somewhat near & beneath the veins sometimes with
& sometimes without any
[ 'visible' deleted] manifest connection to them or between them selves;
& sometimes with strings as 'twere that passe frome one shod to another,
& the miner think that there was an extravasation &c.
To about 100 {pound} weight of the other ingredients take about 8 {pound}
of borax, & you need not calcine your metall into Frittæ alsoe about
1/20 of borax to ordinary Fritta will make the salts take up a far greater
proportion of sand, than if the borax were an other Salt, & the product
will be very clear & gentle.
Take about {ounce} i or a litle more of
Borellio to 1 {pound} of Lead Oare, when you are to use it in the glasse
Furnace.
Sandiver, though but in a moderate Quantity being melted downe with
Lead oare makes the metall somewhat britle.
Remember the Steele to be temper'd with the juice of branca
Ursina.
Remember the Observation of the Portugal Governour who told the
English Unguie (from whom I had it) that in some
[ 'cases' deleted] places (as I remember) near
Angola they imploy women to dive
for pearles & other things, because the ravenous Fishes there are observ'd
never to bite them, though they devour their Negro husbands, who yet are oft'n
times noe blacker than they.
[BP 27, p. 159]
[Retrospective marginalia:]
708
He also answer'd me that he had seen
very clear and convincing Proofs, that the Virgula Divinatoria will in some of
the Myne
[ 's' deleted] Mens hands incline very strangely to subjacent Mynes
& Metals, insomuch that he has seen it bend down so forcibly as to break in
the Holder's hands and that even in his Excellencys own hands these Rods would
alter['l' altered from 't'] sensibly,
thô not so strongly.