17 



scepticism let him turn to the pages of this precious compilation. 

 Some of the collections, however, are a little more practical and 

 more rational than the preceding, but in all of them there is 

 a conspicuous empiricism. 



A few years later, in 1723, Dr. William Salmon, a great com- 

 piler of books, issued a work containing " Choice experiments and 

 observations on Building, Husbandry, Gardening, Mechanics, 

 Chemistry, Painting, t&c." London, 8vo. Of this I have no copy, 

 but I have here another similar and earlier work by the same 

 author. It is entitled " Polygraphice, or the Arts of Drawing, 

 Engraving, Etching, Limning, Painting, Varnishing, Japanning, 

 G'ilding, <Lx. . . . Eighth edition." London, 17()L Though pro- 

 fessing to deal with the arts of design it is far more comprehensive 

 and includes the arts of dyeing and staining, alchemy, chem- 

 istry, chiromancy, arts of beautifying and perfuming, and 

 so on. 



I possess also two small treatises; one is without date but be- 

 longs obviously to the last century. It is entitled " Arts Treasury 

 of Rarities : and choice Inve^itions. . . . Theffth edition. London 

 . . . G. Congers. . . . Price Is." This is really a book of prac- 

 tical receipts, including such subjects as tlie dyeing of cloth, silk, 

 hair, bone, leather; gilding, lacquering; i-emoving spots of 

 tar, grease, oil ; preserving from moths ; cementing broken 

 glass, and so on. The other is entitled "La Magie des 

 Artistes . . . ou collettion comijlette des secrets utiles. . . . 

 Harlem. . . 1783." 12mo. Tliis work is similar in contents 

 to the preceding and both are free from the absurdities already 

 s[)oken of. 



With the progress of the sciences and with insight into the 

 causes of chemical and physical change, books of secrets like tho 

 preceding can no longer show any reason for existence. If, 

 therefore, they circulate at all it is as chap books, tlie hawkers' 

 reprints of Aristotle, Albertus JMagnus, &c., already referred 

 to, which have little interest from a bibliograi)hical, and none 

 from a scientific point of view, or else as collections of trivial 

 receipts which are of no practical use. Any one wishing sound 

 information on a practical matter will now go to such a work as 

 Cooley's Cycloi)iedia of Practical licceijits, or Lire's Dictionary 

 of the Arts, or to some of the numerous works on ai)[)lied science 

 and technology in which the rationale of the processes, or at least 



