_ of Plinies Naturall Hiftorie. 
Phyficke, lead ought to bee ptepared and baked after this manner: Take an earthen pan of por- 
ters worke, and lay one bed therein of brimftone finely powdered; upon which, beftow another 
couch of thin leaves or plates of lead; anda third courfe over them of briotone andyron file- 
duft cogither,for to cover alll: this beeing done, fet the veffell in a furnace; burt while thefe things 
are calcining, meet itis and neceffarie thatthe veflell or pan aforefaid be well lured and ftopped 
clofe, that there bee no venting or breathing hole at all; for orherwife the lead within the faid 
pan, would fend foorth a noifome vapour and peftilent, moft daungerous to all that bee within 
thefent thereof, but to doggs efpectally, whome it killeth out of hand :and verely, as this ex- 
halation of lead is deadly unto them, fo the aire of all mettals in, general, is adverfe and con- 
trarie unto fliesand guiats ‘which isthe reafon, that aman ‘hall never fee any of thefe infects in 
mines, forges,and bloome-fmithies, where mettals bee ufually tied. Now in the calcining of 
lead, fome there bee who chufe rather to take the duft of lead gotten off witha file, andro mix 
the fame with brimftone: others thinke it better to ufe cerufle rather than brimftone. Further- 
more, lead doth yeeld from itfelfe acertaine fubftance by way of loture, which is of right greae 
and manifold ufein phyficke :the making whereof is in thismanner, They take aleaden mor- 
tar, they pun and ftampe the fame witha leaden peftill; cafting in raine water eftfoons ; and thus 
they labour at it continually untill fuch time asthe water growto fome contiltence and be thicke 
againe :this they permit to reft and fertle: the pure and cleare portion that is alofc, they fucke 
and foke away with fpunges: the grofleft part thar is feteled in the botcome, after it is dried, they 
reduce into trochifques. There be fome who {tampe inthe fame order, the fileduft which com- 
meth of lead :others put thereto fome leadore among : and as there bee wnany that ufe vinegre 
or wine in this operation, fo there are fome againe who take gteace or rofes in lieu thereof. You 
_ fall have thofe that for this purpofe make choice of aftone mortar, efpecially of Thebaicke 
marble, butthey takea leaden peftill rather than any other, to bray and pun withall: and by this 
means the medicinable lead will be the whiter, : 
Nowas touching the lead calcined in manner aforefaid, ic may bee wathed alfo after the er- 
der of Antimonieand Cadmia: and in this mauner prepared, itis of power aftringent, good 
to ftopany flux or rheume; proper alfo to skin and miake'a {mall skarre;Much ufe there is of lead 
~ thus bumt and wafhed, incollyties or eyefalves, and principally if the eyes either ftand out too 
farre, or be funke in too deepe: alo itis fingularto repreffe the excrefcenfe of flefh in ulcers, to 
heale the chaps in the feat or fundament, tocure the running hemorrhoids, and to difcufle or 
keepe downe the blind and {wolne piles: and for allthefe-accidents in generall, the loture of 
lead aforefaid is moft excellent. But the afhes of lead burnt and calcined, is more proper for the 
cure ofcorroding ulcers and filthiefores. Andin one word, the fame effects and operations it 
hath, thatthe athes of paper. Alfo, the mannerof burning and calcining lead, is to putintoa 
pancertaine little plates thereof, togither with brimftone, turning the fameever and anon ¢i- 
therwith fome yron tod or ftiffe ftalke and ftem of Ferulaplants, unull {uch time as both the. 
~ onevand the other being liquefied, be converted andturned into afhes: the fame, after that they 
be once cooled, ought to bee punned and beaten againé, and reduced intoamoft pure and €x- 
quific fine powder. Some there bee who take file-duft of lead, pur the fame in an earthen pot of 
greene potters clay, fer the fameinto an oven, aadfolet itcalcine therein untill {uch time as the 
ot be well andthrougly baked: othersagainethereare, who mix with !eadthelike quantitie of 
ceruffe, or elfe of barley,and punthe fame like crude-lead uncalcined ia manner aforefaid, for 
aleture ; and when it isreduced thus into apowder,they make more reckoning of it than of the 
Cyprian Spodium. oily 2irilewnA ind é tens 
«> Over and befides,the droffe or refufe of lead is medicinable:and the beft isthataceounted, 
which commerhneareft unto:a yellowcolour; without any.reliques at all ofthe lead among or 
elfeenclining tothe hewof brimftone, and cleanfed from all earthly fubftance: this alfo being 
- braied/and broken into {mall parcels, may be¢wafhed im manner aforefaid, and ftamped with 
water in a mortar, untill fuchtime asthe water looke yellow; then muftitbe powred forth into 
’ apure and cleane veffell ;and this tranfiiwarsoa ought fo long to be continued outof one vefiell 
Jatoanother, untill {uch time asit have done cafting any reftdence downward ; for the fediment 
that refteth inthe bottome isthe beft, working the felfefame effeéts as leaddoth, but with more 
acrimony. VVhen I confider all this,me thinks I cannot fufficiently admire the diligence of men, 
who shave made fuch experiments of all thingsin the world,{paring not fomuch as the veric 
Yy jj ordure, 
519 
