220 REFINING WITH QUICKSILVER. 



LIB. iv. anc j qui c ke-silver, and vnderneatli they put fire by little and 

 little in furnaces made for the nonce vnderneath ; so as in 

 five or six daies the quicke-silver is incorporate with the 

 silver. And when they finde that the mercurie hath done 

 his part, and assembled all the silver, leaving nothing 

 behinde, but is well imbrued, as a sponge doth water, 

 dividing it from the earth, lead and copper, with the which 

 it is engendered. Then after they separate it likewise from 

 the quicke-silver, the which they do in this sort ; they put 

 the mettall in caldrons, and vessels full of water, where 

 with certaine wheeles they turn the mettall round about, as 

 if they should make mustard, and so the earth and drosse 

 goes from the mettall with the water that runs away. The 

 silver and quicke-silver as most ponderous remaining in the 

 botome, the mettall which remaines is like unto sand, then 

 they take it out and wash it againe in great platters of 

 wood, or keelers full of water, still drawing the earth from 

 it, vntil they leave the silver and quicke-silver well clensed. 

 There slippes away also some small portion of silver and 

 quicke-silver with the earth and dross, which they call 

 washings, the which they after wash againe and draw out 

 the remainder. When the silver and quicke-silver are 

 clensed and beginne to shine, and that there remaines 

 no earth, they put all the mettall into a cloth, which they 

 straine out very forcibly, so as all the quicke-silver passeth 

 out, being not incorporate with the silver, and the rest 

 remaines as a loafe of silver, like to a marke of almonds 

 pressed to draw oyle. And being thus pressed the re 

 mainder containes but the sixt part in silver, and five in 

 mercurie. So as if there remaines a marke of threescore 

 pounds, ten are of silver, and fiftie of mercurie. Of 

 these markes they make pinas, as they call them, like 

 pine apples or sugar loaves, hollow within, the which 

 they commonly make of a hundred pound weight ; then 

 to separate the silver from the quicke-silver, they put it 



