512, 
The foutd silk Wiebe Booke 
furnace :and much of it fticketh to theroufe and uppermoft part thereof, differing onely from 
foot in whitenefle. That which is not fo.white asthe reft,fignifieth that the furnace was rot quick 
ynough, and that itis not yetcome tothe full perfection and conco@tion:and this,(ome there be - 
who call Pompholyx. But looke how much thereof is found of a redder colour, the fame hath 
much acrimonic in it,and is of amore biting nature: yea, fo fretting and corrofive itis, that in 
thewafhing, if it chaunce totouch a mans eyes, it will pueout their lightand make him blind. 
Theteis a kind of Spodos befides that looketh yellowith like honey ,wherin a man may perceive 
that it flandeth very much upon braffe : but of what fort foever it is, wafhing mendeth it much, 
Firft,before ic be wathed,they ufe to cleanfe it lightly with awing ora briftle brufh:and then af- 
terwardsto wath it in a proffer manner,untill the water be thick and muddie, rubbing it well with 
the fingers, untill it have loft allthe roughneffe that it had, That which is wafhed in wine, is 
thought to be of a middle and indifferent operation. And when I {ay wine,you muft thinke there 
isfome difference therein alfo.F or being wafhed in a{mall and mild wine, it is thought to be very 
good for thofe collyries which ferve to comfort and fortifie the eyes that have beene wearied and 
weakened with long watching : the fame alfo thus prepared, is more efleCtual toheale ulcers that 
be matterie and run: the fores likewife inthe mouth that are moift and rheumaticke:and gene- 
G 
‘ eat 
lel a i 
rally itferveth well to goe into thofe falves and plaftres which are devifedagainft gangrenes,ten- » 
ding to mortification, Anotherkind there is befides of Spodos called Lauriotis, found in the 
furnaces where filver is tried . Butcommonly itisheld, and for certaine affirmed, That the beft 
*Spodoris eal. *Spodosfor the eyes,is that which commeth in the furnaces where goldis fined, Neither inany 
led 2¢2/,wherof 
commeth the 
thing belonging to our life,is the wit and invention of manmore admirable than in this.For,be- 
pretic ambigu. Caufe we fhould not take the paines to fearch into mines and furnaces for fuch matters, they have 
ous fpeech. Nw devifed meanes to helpe themfelves withall in the fame cafes,even by the bafeft things thatbe in 
prodesé oculis, 
ftead of Spodos, which thereupon they tearme by thename of Antifpodos ; forfo they call the 
afhes of the Figwee,whether it bee the gentle or the wild; the afhes likewife of the Myrtle tree 
leaves,and the tendereft parts of the branches; as alfo of the wild Olive,the Quince, & the Len- 
tiske trees. They have a kind of Antifpodos befides made of the unripe Mulberries,thatis tofay, 
whiles they be whire,dried in the Sunne: likeas,of the tops of the Box tree or the baftard Cype- 
rus,of brier crops,the leaves of the Terebinth or the wild vine Oenanthe flowers. Finally they ufe 
in {teed of Spodos, the afhes of {trong Buls glew,or of linnen rags: which is found to be as effe- 
Gtwallas the right Spodos. Now forto have the faid afhes for this purpofe, the manner isto 
burne and calcine all thefe mattersabovenamed within fome veflell of cley,andto fet it intothe 
oven or furnace,where they are to be torrified untill the faid veflell be throughly baked, 
In the {mithies where braffe is made and wrought, there commeth a certaine refufe or offall 
thetof,called Pfegma:to wit, when after the braffe ore is fufficiently melted and concoGted,there 
benew coales put thereto,and the fame fet on fire and kept burning with the blaft of bellowes:for 
then of afuddaine (as it were by {ome extraordinaric {trong pufte) there are rejected and caft 
forth from it certaine huls or chatfe(if I may fo fay) of brafle. Nowthe ground or floorto receive 
this refufe as itfalleth ought to be well paved. | of | 
There is another ftuffe found in the faid forges or bloome-fmithies, eafily difcerned from this 
Pfegma,which the Greeks(for that it is,as icwere,twifeburnt or concocted)call Diphryges. And 
this is made three manner of waies : For firft they fay it commeth of the Marquefit ftone burnt 
in a furnace untill it be calcined and reduced inthe red chalke Rubrica. It.is engendered. alfo:of 
the earth orcley within a certaine cave in Cyprus, firft dried and foon after gently burntinafire 
round aboutit, maintained with {mall ftickes put thereto by little and little. There isa third way 
of making it, to wit of the grofle dregs or drofie of braffe fettling downe to the bottome of the 
furnace :in which furnace a man fhall perceive thefe differentmatters, to wit, the braflcit felfe, 
which being melted, runnethinto pans and veflels readic for to receive it :the refufe,called'Sco- 
tia,which flieth out of the furnace ; the florey that floteth aloft; & the Diphryges or drofle which 
remaineth behind.Some yeeld another teafon and making of Diphrygesin thismanneérjname- 
ly, That there be certaine round bals or pellets (as it were)of hard ftones found withinthe mines 
of brafle, whichtogether with theMatquefit ot braffe ore doth not meltinthe furnace, & aman 
fhall feethe braffe it felfe boile about the fame: which round hard ftones are united andfoude- 
xed.onely, one-to another by this meanes;butthemfelvesrefolvenot nor mele perfitely; unlefle 
they be. uanflared into other furnaces: for they be the very heart(as it were)of the whole matter, 
; But 
M 
