132 TRANSACTIONS OF THE [Fres. 27 
(1500) are many coarse woodcuts representing distillations 
conducted under different planetary aspects ; also a noteworthy 
interior of a pharmacy of the fifteenth century, the apothecary’s 
assistant busy with a pestle, gallipots on shelves, scales on a 
hook, and the licence and certificates of the master conspicu- 
ously displayed. 
The remarkable and abundant illustrations of the operations 
of mining, treatment of ores by washing and smelting, in George 
Agricola’s De re metallica (1556), are too well known to need 
mention, 
The Alchymia of Andreas Libau (or Libavius), published at 
Frankfort in 1595, is conspicuous for accuracy of description and 
systematic arrangement of topics. He treats in this work of the 
Encheria, or manual operations, and of the Chymia, or substances, 
in separate books. The former he divides into two sections, one 
dealing with laboratory apparatus, and one with the construc- 
tion and management of furnaces. He describes and figures 
an ideal laboratory provided not only with every requisite for 
chemical experimentation, but also the means of entertaining 
visitors, including such luxuries as baths, enclosed corridors for 
exercise in inclement weather, and a well stocked wine-cellar. 
This work, sometimes called the ‘‘ First Text-book of Chem- 
istry,’’ contains woodcuts of a great variety of alembics having 
peculiar forms for special uses ; also a distilling apparatus fitted 
with an ingenious system of condensers for very volatile liquids. 
Besides the usual funnels for filtering Libavius describes the 
now neglected method of filtering by capillary fibres of wool 
or asbestus ; a process which, however, was known as early as 
400 B. C., as I have shown in a paper read to the Academy, 
October 13, 1879. Filtration was often styled ‘‘ destillatio per 
filtrum,” and the method just named was known as “‘ destillatio 
per lacinias ;’’ it is practically capillary siphoning. 
Libavius’ sumptuous plans were never realized, but towards 
the close of the seventeenth century the first public laboratory 
was opened at Altdorf (near Nuremburg) under Prof, John 
Moritz Hoffman. In the same year (1683), the first government 
laboratory was established by Karl XI. at Stockholm; of this 
the first director was Urban Hjarne. 
A woodeut ina work published in 1570 depicts in a very 
interesting way all the steps in the manufacture of sugar, men 
chopping the cane, others grinding and pressing it, large cauld- 
rons for boiling the juice, conical moulds in a frame, and the 
completed sugar-loafs. 
Distilling apparatus in great variety is figured in the Elixir 
vie of the Italian author Donato d’ Eremita, published in 
