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177
The Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry
·
M. M. Pattison Muir
76
Fig.
XII.
p.
89,
represents
a
retort
with
a
receiver.
Some
of
the
pieces
of
apparatus
for
distilling,
which
are
described
by
French,
are
shown
in
the
following
figures.
Besides
describing
apparatus
for
distilling,
subliming,
and
other
processes
in
the
laboratory,
French
gives
directions
for
making
tinctures,
essences,
essential
oils,
spirits
of
salt,
and
pure
saltpetre,
oil
of
vitriol,
butter
of
antimony,
calces
(or
as
we
now
say,
oxides)
of
metals,
and
many
other
substances.
He
describes
processes
for
making
fresh
water
from
salt,
artificial
mineral
water,
medicated
hot
baths
for
invalids
(one
of
the
figures
represents
an
apparatus
very
like
those
advertised
to-day
as
"Turkish
baths
at
home"),
and
artificial
precious
stones;
he
tells
how
to
test
minerals,
and
make
alloys,
and
describes
the
preparation
of
many
substances
made
from
gold
and
silver.
He
also
gives
many
curious
receipts;
for
instance,
"To
make
Firre-trees
appear
in
Turpentine,"
"To
make
a
Plant
grow
in
two
or
three
hours,"
"To
make
the
representation
of
the
whole
world
in
a
Glass,"
"To
extract
a
white
Milkie
substance
from
the
raies
of
the
Moon."
The
process
of
making
oil
of
vitriol,
by
burning
sulphur
under
a
hood
fitted
with
a
side
tube
for
the
outflow
of
the
oil
of
vitriol,
is
represented
in
Fig.
XIII.
p.
92.
Fig.
XIV.
p.
93,
is
interesting;
it
is
an
apparatus
for
rectifying
spirits,
by
distilling,
and
liquefying
only
the
most
volatile
portions
of
the
distillate.
The
spirituous
liquor
was
heated,
and
the
vapours
caused
to
traverse
a
long
zigzag
tube,
wherein
the
less
volatile
portions
condensed
to
liquid,
which
flowed
back
into
the
vessel;
the
vapour
then
passed
into
another
vessel,
and
then
through
a
second
zigzag
tube,
and
was
finally
cooled
by
water,
and
the
condensed
liquid
collected.
This
apparatus
was
the
forerunner
of
that
used
to-day,
for
effecting
the
separation
of
liquids
which
boil
at
different
temperatures,
by
the
process
called
fractional
distillation.
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