of the Pyrites. 349 



iidered rather as a patient * ana* fo far good, than 

 as an agent in any degree : confequently, there re- 

 main only fulphur and iron, which from all cir- 

 cumftances and experiments we may conclude to 

 be the principal agents in the bufmefs of the re- 

 paration, precipitation, fcorification, or by what- 

 ever other name the procefs be denominated. That 

 the fulphur contributes not a little, we may cer- 

 tainly conclude from defulphurated pyrites, never 

 yielding any ft cne or regulus ; and fo being un- 

 fit for the principal view of this operation. Its 

 efficacy appears chiefly on the rocky, flony, and 

 earthy matters, adhering to the good ore, or where- 

 in rather the good ore lies entangled. The large 

 quantity of crude, unmetallic, unfluxile earth, which 

 is not to be forced by the addition of foft flowing 

 fcoriae, wants fomething, which, with the aid of 

 the fulphur of the ore itfelf, may macerate, foften, 

 diflblve, and bring it to fcorifa&ion ; an effect de- 

 pending certainly on the acid fait of the fulphur : 

 but though fpirit, or oil of vitriol act little or no- 

 thing upon ftony and earthy matters ; yet we are 

 not from the effects of bodies in their feparated, 

 to conclude to thofe of their mixed, ftate ? oil of 

 vitriol, or of fulphur, as diftilled from vitriol or 

 fulphur, has a different habitude from what it has, 

 while lodged in the fulphur, and combined with 

 the inflammable earth, and (till as different as it 5 

 nay, the fulphur itfelf ftands inj.the pyrites mix- 

 tion. 



As tothefecond, the iron •, its' neceflity of co- 

 operation appears clearly hence, that (1) The ful- 

 phur is, in its feparated ftate, entirely unfitted for 

 the procefs of fmelting, and would only burn away 

 too focn. (2) That in another, even a combined 



ftate 5 



