102 Of the Irox 



quickfilver ; a circumflance to be afcribed to its 

 earthinefs, as to a crude, unprepared metalleity. 

 In the next degree to iron ftands copper, which 

 alfo refills quickfilver, as we fhall afterwards per- 

 ceive. (6. ) Iron is a metal generable not only from 

 all forts of crude, particularly loamy, claiey, mar- 

 ly, fatty earths, as Becher's famous experiment 

 iliews, but alfo gives itfelf forth, both by nature 

 and art, from vegetable and animal earths, and 

 thus from earths already derived from the mineral 

 kingdom •, as there, M. Lemery mews *, by the 

 magnet, from wood reduced to allies -, M. Sei- 

 pius -f, from a piece of wood found reduced to 

 iron in a certain fpring : and I myfelf, in my fmall 

 collection, can mew from the like peculiar pieces 

 from Bohemia ; and M. Liebknecht §, from the 

 like famples : and here, from the bones of men 

 turned to iron ||. Now I would gladly fee half 

 thefe obfervations, nay, Becher's fingle experi- 

 ment only, as eafily applicable to other metals. 

 So greatly does iron differ from all its filler metals, 

 as to claim the right of primogeniture ! Only we 

 mud guard againft running into the alchemiflical 

 conceit of the other metals being derived from 

 iron. And here we may, with Stahl **, juftly 

 complain of Becher's not having dillinclly enough 

 communicated Paracelfus's experiment on the 

 tranfmutation of iron into lead. 



Now, fmce a crude, loamy, and flimy earth 

 may ib eafily become metallic, particularly irony, 

 'tis no wonder we fhculd look for an iron ore in 

 claiey, luty, fhivery, talcky, loamy, &V. beds : 



and 



* Kift. de Pacad, &c. Can. 1706. 



•f Vom Pyrmonter Sauer brunen. p. 51. 



^ De licrni in mineram ferri fait* raetamorphofi. 



|| AdaKrudit. An. 1682. 



** Spec. Bech. p. 159. 



