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A 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES, 
 
 BY JOHN BECKMANN, 
 
 PUBLIC PROFESSOR OF ECONOMY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF 
 GOTTINGEN. 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN, 
 
 BY WILLIAM JOHNSTON. 
 
 THIRD EDITION, 
 
 CAREFULLY CORRECTED, AND ENLARGED BY THE ADDITION OF SEVERAL 
 NEW ARTICLES. 
 
 \ 
 
 IN FOUR VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. 1. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN ; 
 BALDWIN, CRADOCK, AND JOY ; R. PRIESTLEY ; R. SCHOLEY ; 
 T. HAMILTON; W. OTUIDGE ; J. WALKER; R. FENNER; J. 
 BELL; J. BOOKER; E. EDWARDS; AND J. HARDING. 
 
 1817. 
 
 
 V, j 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 ITALIAN Book-keeping 
 
 Odometer-— Instrument for measuring roads 
 Machine for noting down music .... 
 Refining gold and silver ore hy quicksilver 
 
 Dry gilding 
 
 Gold varnish 
 
 Tulips 
 
 Canary bird 
 
 Argol 
 
 Magnetic cures 
 
 Secret poison 
 
 Wooden bellows 
 
 Coaches 
 
 Water clocks, 
 
 Tur matin 
 
 Speaking-trumpet 
 
 Ananas 
 
 Sympathetic ink 
 
 Diving-bell 
 
 Coloured glass. Artificial rubies . . 
 
 a 2 
 
 Page 
 
 . . 1 
 . . 9 
 
 . . 20 
 . . 23 
 
 . . 31 
 
 . . 32 
 
 . . 36 
 
 . . 52 
 . . 58 
 
 . . 72 
 
 . . 74 
 
 . . 103 
 
 . . Ill 
 
 . . 135 
 
 . . 140 
 
 . . 152 
 
 . . 166 
 . . 173 
 
 . . 179 
 . . 192 
 
IV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Sealing-wax 208 
 
 Corn- mills <*27 
 
 Verdigrise, or Spanish- green 272 
 
 Saffron 278 
 
 Alum 288 
 
 Falconry 
 
 Tur f 333 
 
 Artichoke 
 
 Saw-mills • ggQ 
 
 . Stamped paper 376 
 
 Insurance 332 
 
 Adulteration of wine 2g5 
 
 Clocks and watches 41 q 
 
 Account of a scarce book , the Pirotechnia of Van - 
 
 nuccio Biringoccio 
 
 Bibliography of the history of inventions .... 475 
 Index to the authors and books quoted in the First 
 
 Volume .519 
 
 General Index to the most remarkable things men- 
 tioned in the First Volume . • .....531 
 
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 That the arts had their rise in the East, and that they 
 were conveyed thence to the Greeks, and from them to 
 the Romans, is universally admitted. Respecting the in- 
 ventions and discoveries however of the early ages, no- 
 thing certain is known. Many of those most useful in 
 common life must have been the production of periods 
 when men were little acquainted with letters, or any sure 
 mode of transmitting an account of their improvements 
 to succeeding generations. The taste which then pre- 
 vailed of giving to every thing a divine origin, rendered tra- 
 ditional accounts fabulous; and the exaggeration of poets 
 tended more and more to make such authorities less wor- 
 thy of credit. A variety of works also, which might have 
 supplied us with information on this subject, have been 
 lost ; and the relations of some of those preserved are so 
 corrupted and obscure, that the best commentators have 
 not been able to illustrate them. This in particular is the 
 case with many passages in Pliny, an author who appears 
 to have collected wdth the utmost diligence whatever he 
 thought useful or curious, and whose desire of communi- 
 cating knowledge seems to have been equal to his thirst for 
 acquiring it. 
 
/ 
 
 vi translator’s preface. 
 
 Of all those nations whose history has been preserved, 
 the most distinguished are certainly the Greeks and the 
 Romans; but, as far as can be judged at this remote period, 
 the former were superior to the latter in point of inven- 
 tion. The Romans indeed seem to have known little, ex- 
 cept what they borrowed from the Grecians ; and it is 
 evident, by their sending their young men of rank to finish 
 their education in Greece, that they considered that coun- 
 try as the seat of the arts and the sciences, and as a school 
 where genius would be excited by the finest models, while 
 the taste was corrected and formed. From some hints 
 given however by Pliny and other writers, we have reason 
 to conclude that the Romans possessed more knowledge of 
 the arts than the moderns perhaps are willing to allow, and 
 that some inventions, considered as new, may be only old 
 ones revived and again rendered useful. 
 
 When Rome, abandoned to luxury and vice, became an 
 easy prey to those hordes of barbarians who overran the 
 empire, her arts shared in the general wreck, and were 
 either entirely lost, or for a time forgotten. The deplo- 
 rable state of ignorance in which Europe was afterwards 
 plunged during several centuries, retarded their revival; 
 and it was not till a late period, when favoured and pro- 
 tected by a few men of superior genius, that they began to 
 be again cultivated. It cannot however be denied, that 
 several important discoveries, altogether unknown to the 
 ancients, which must have had considerable influence on 
 the general state of society, were made in ages that can 
 hardly be exempted from the appellation of barbarous. 
 As a proof of this may be mentioned the invention of paper,* 
 
 * Montfaucon, notwithstanding all his researches in France and 
 Italy, was not able to discover any charter or diploma written on 
 
translator’s PREFACE. Vll 
 
 painting in oil, # the mariner’s compass, f gunpowder, J 
 printing,^ and engraving on copper. |j After the invention 
 
 common paper, older than the year 12/0. Paper, however, made 
 of cotton, is said to be much older, and to have been introduced 
 into Europe by the Arabs. If we can believe an Arabian author, 
 who wrote in the thirteenth century, quoted by Casiri, in Biblioth. 
 Arabico-Hispana, vol. ii. p. 9, paper (doubtless of cotton) was in- 
 vented at Mecca by one Joseph Amru, about the year of the He- 
 gira 88, or of the Christian <era 706. According to other Arabian 
 authors, quoted by Casiri and Abulfeda, the Arabs found a manu- 
 factory of paper at Samarcand in Bucharia, when they conquered 
 that country in the year of the Hegira 85, or of our aera 704. The 
 art of making paper from silk was, as some pretend, known to the 
 Chinese 180 years before Jesus Christ. See a letter from Father de 
 Mailla to Father Etienne Souciet, in Memoires des inscript, et des 
 belles lettres , vol. xv. 520. 
 
 * The oldest picture, known at present, painted in oil-colours on 
 wood is preserved in the Imperial gallery at Vienna. It was 
 painted in the year 1297, by a painter named Thomas de Mutina, 
 or de Muttersdorf, in Bohemia. Two other paintings in the same 
 gallery are of the year 1357 ; one of them is by Nicholas Wurmser 
 of Strasburg, and the other by Thierry of Prague. It appears there- 
 fore that painting in oil was known long before the epoch at which 
 that invention is generally fixed ; and that it is erroneously ascribed 
 to Hubert van Eyck and his brother and pupil, John van Eyck, 
 otherwise called John of Bruges, who lived about the end of the 
 fourteenth century, and not the beginning of the fifteenth, as is 
 commonly supposed. 
 
 f The person who first speaks of the magnetic needle and its use 
 in navigation, is a Provencal poet, who lived in the beginning of 
 the thirteenth century, and who wrote a poem entitled Bible Guyot. 
 This work is a satire, in which the author lashes with great freedom 
 the vices of that age. Comparing the Pope to the polar star, he 
 introduces a description of the compass, such as it appears to have 
 been in its infancy. This invention however is claimed by the 
 Italians, who maintain that we are indebted for it to a citizen of 
 
viii translator’s preface. 
 
 of the compass and printing, two grand sources were 
 opened for the improvement of science. In proportion as 
 navigation was extended, new objects were discovered to 
 
 Amalphi, named Flavius Gioja, and in support of this assertion quote 
 commonly the following line of Panormitanus : 
 
 Prima dedit nautis usum magnelis Amalfis. 
 
 } Of the use of gunpowder in Europe no certain traces occur 
 till towards the middle of the fourteenth century. It seems pretty 
 well proved, that artillery was known in France after the year 1345. 
 In 1356, the city of Nuremberg purchased the first gunpowder and 
 cannon. The same year the city of Louvain employed thirty cannon 
 at the battle of Santfliet against the Flemings. In 1361, a fire broke 
 out at Lubec, occasioned by the negligence of those employed in 
 making gunpowder. In 1363, the Hanse-towns used cannon for the 
 first time, in a naval combat which they fought against the Danes. 
 After 1367, the use of fire-arms became general throughout Italy, 
 into which they had been introduced from Germany. 
 
 § The invention of printing has given rise to many researches. 
 Meermann in his Origines Typographic ce, published in 1768, en- 
 deavours to prove that Laurence Coster of Harlem was the inventor, 
 about the year 1430. Most authors however agree that John 
 Gutenberg was the inventor of moveable types, but they differ 
 respecting the place of the invention. Some make it to be Stras- 
 burg, others Mentz, and some fix the epoch of the invention at 
 1440, and others at 1450. 
 
 I] Vasari, in Vite de Pittori, vol. iv. p. 264, ascribes the inven- 
 tion of engraving on copper to a goldsmith of Florence, named 
 Maso Finiguerra, about 1460. The oldest engravers whose names 
 and marks arc known, were Israel de Mecheln, of Bokholt in the 
 bishopric of Munster; Martin Schoen, who worked at Colmar in 
 Alsace, where he died in i486 ; and Michael Wolgemuth of 
 Nuremberg, who was preceptor to the famous Albert Durer. It 
 may be proper here to observe, that the art of engraving on wood 
 seems to be older than the invention of printing, to which perhaps 
 it gave rise. The names of the first engravers on wood are however 
 not known. 
 
translator’s preface. 
 
 IX 
 
 awaken the curiosity and excite the attention of the learned; 
 arad the ready means of diffusing knowledge, afforded by 
 the press, enabled the ingenious to make them publicly 
 known. Ignorance and superstition, the formidable ene- 
 mies of philosophy in every age, began soon to lose some 
 of that power which they had usurped; and states, forget- 
 ting their former blind policy, adopted improvements 
 which their prejudice had before condemned. 
 
 Though it might be expected that the great share which 
 new inventions and discoveries have at all times had in 
 effecting such happy changes among mankind, would have 
 secured them a distinguished place in the annals of nations ; 
 we find with regret, that the pen of history has been more 
 employed in recording the crimes of ambition and the 
 ravage of conquerors, than in preserving the remembrance 
 of those who, by improving science and the arts, con- 
 tributed to increase the conveniences of life, and to 
 heighten its enjoyments. So little indeed has hitherto 
 been done towards a history of inventions and discoveries, 
 that the rise and progress of part of those even of modern 
 times is involved in considerable darkness and obscurity:* 
 of some the names of the inventors are not so much as 
 known, and the honour of others is disputed by different 
 nations ; while the evidences on both sides are so imper- 
 fect, that it is almost impossible to determine to which the 
 palm is due. To professor Beckmann, therefore, those 
 fond of such researches are much indebted for the pains he 
 has been at to collect information on this subject; and 
 
 * The authors who treat expressly on this subject are not nume- 
 rous. We have Polydore Vergil, Pancirollus, and his commentator 
 Salmuth, D’Origny, and a few others ; but the information they give 
 is very limited and defective. 
 
X 
 
 translator’s preface. 
 
 though he has perhaps not been able to clear up every 
 doubt respecting the objects on which he treats, he has 
 certainly thrown much light on many curious circumstances 
 hitherto buried in oblivion. 
 
 The author, with much modesty, gives to this work in 
 the original the title of only Collections towards a History 
 of Inventions : but as he has carefully traced out the rise 
 and progress of all those objects which form the subject 
 of his inquiry, from the earliest periods of their being 
 known, as far as books supplied information, and arranged 
 his matter in chronological order, the original title may 
 admit, without being liable to much criticism, of the small 
 variation adopted in the translation. The author, indeed, 
 has not in these volumes comprehended every invention 
 and discovery, but he has given an account of a great 
 many, most of them very important; and it is not impro- 
 bable that his labours in this respect may be continued. 
 Should that be the case, and should the present work be 
 favourably received, the rest of the original, when a suffi- 
 ciency is published to form another volume, will be trans- 
 lated, and presented to the public in the like manner. 
 
 Should any one be disposed to find fault with the au- 
 thor for introducing into his work some articles which on 
 the first view may appear trifling, his own words, taken 
 from the short preface prefixed to the first volume of the 
 original, will perhaps be considered as a better excul- 
 pation than any thing the translator might advance in his 
 favour. “ I am sensible,” says he, u that many here will 
 “ find circumstances which they may think unworthy of 
 “ the labour I have bestowed upon them ; but those who 
 “ know how different our judgments are respecting utility, 
 “ will not make theirs a rule for mine. Those whose 
 
translator’s preface. 
 
 XI 
 
 c{ self-conceit would never allow them to be sensible of 
 « this truth, and who reject as useless all ore in which 
 “ they do not observe pure gold, as they display very 
 <l little acuteness, must be often duped by the tinsel glare 
 “ of false metal ; and they give me as little uneasiness as 
 “ those who have no desire to know the origin of inven- 
 i( tions, or how they were brought to their present utility. 
 
 <c If my extending the term Invention farther than is per- 
 “ haps usual, by comprehending under it several police- 
 “ establishments, be a fault, it is at any rate harmless, 
 “ and on that account may be pardoned without much 
 11 apology.” 
 
 Germany, beyond all dispute, has given birth to more 
 important discoveries and inventions than any other part 
 of Europe ; and gunpowder, printing, and a variety of 
 useful machines, will remain lasting monuments of the 
 inventive genius of the Germans. In chemistry and me- 
 chanics they seem however to have made the greatest 
 figure, and for this a very satisfactory reason may be as- 
 signed. Germany, since the earliest periods, has been ce- 
 lebrated for its mines. To facilitate the labour of work- 
 ing these, machinery was necessary ; and to extract the 
 metal from the ore, and turn it to advantage, required a 
 knowledge of chemical operations. Necessity is said to be 
 the mother of invention ; and it is natural to suppose that 
 a people will always employ the efforts of their genius on 
 those objects from which they are most likely to derive 
 benefit. 
 
 In the history of chemical discoveries and mechanical 
 inventions, above all, professor Beckmann has enjoyed, 
 therefore, an advantage which might have been wanting 
 to a writer of any other nation. It will require no great 
 
xii translator’s preface. 
 
 sagacity to discover, that allusion is here made to the op» 
 portunities he had of consulting many German works, 
 little or perhaps not known in other parts of Europe, and 
 of searching ancient annals and public records never be- 
 fore drawn from their obscurity to give testimony in fa- 
 vour of the arts. He indeed seems to have applied to 
 every source that was likely to enrich his subject; and the 
 voluntary contributions of learned friends enabled him to 
 enlarge his work with much useful information, for which 
 he expresses on several occasions his grateful acknow- 
 ledgement. 
 
 The German original made its appearance in separate 
 parts at various times ; and the whole as yet published, a 
 few small tracts excepted, is now presented to the public 
 in an English dress. The different articles in the transla- 
 tion are not placed exactly in the same order as in the 
 original ; but as they were arranged by the author neither 
 alphabetically nor chronologically, this difference is of very 
 little importance to the reader. 
 
 As the original was published in parts at different times, 
 the author, when he found materials, gave additions to a 
 few of the articles in some of the subsequent parts. In 
 the translation these additions are incorporated into the 
 articles to which they belong, and, the translator flatters 
 himself, in such a manner as the author intended. The 
 translator must observe also, that he has taken the liberty 
 to abridge the original in a few places where he thought 
 it necessary, and to give some of the text in the form of 
 notes. The passages omitted were for the most part dry 
 etymological researches, which could not have been w'eli 
 understood except by those versed in the German language ; 
 and the parts of the text now to be found among the notes, 
 
translator’s preface. xiii 
 
 must undoubtedly appear to every reader of taste much 
 better disposed in that manner than as they were in the 
 original. The translator has likewise occasionally added 
 a few notes, which, to those who read for improvement, 
 may not appear superfluous. 
 
 A work of this nature, comprehending such a variety of 
 scientific subjects, could not but present difficulties to the 
 translator. The abundance of technical terms, not to be 
 found in common dictionaries, which every where oc- 
 curred, and the numerous notes and illustrations necessary 
 to be preserved, rendered his task, indeed, both arduous 
 and irksome. How far he has succeeded, it becomes not 
 him to determine. He has often appeared m the same 
 humble character before the tribunal of the public; and 
 he has the satisfaction of reflecting, that he never found 
 cause to be dissatisfied with the reception given to his 
 labours. He trusts, therefore, that he shall still meet 
 with the same indulgence ; and that the present perform- 
 ance, if entitled to no praise, may, at least, be allowed 
 to rank among others of the like kind which deserve no 
 censure. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 TO 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 The first edition of this work having experienced a very 
 favourable reception, the public are now presented with a 
 second, carefully corrected, and enlarged by a fourth volume. 
 The inventions which form the subject of the additional 
 part are no less interesting than those contained in the pre- 
 ceding volumes; and the history of them, while it tends to 
 throw new light on the progress of civilisation and refine- 
 ment, cannot fail of affording gratification to those fond of 
 archaeological researches. 
 
 To dwell on the merit of this w r ork is needless. Its im- 
 portance has been fully established ; and were farther testi- 
 mony required, it might be found in the use made of it, 
 both here and on the Continent, by the compilers of dic- 
 tionaries of the arts, and other' publications of the same 
 kind, who have taken copious extracts from it on different 
 subjects, and often without any acknowledgment.* Con- 
 sidering, therefore, its utility; the number of inventions 
 the history of which is still involved in obscurity ; and the 
 
 See the note, vol. iv. p. 324. 
 
XV’i PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 uncommon qualifications requisite in a task of this kind ; 
 it is much to be regretted that no farther continuation of 
 it can be expected from the author, as he has now paid the 
 last debt to nature. 
 
 The translator must again advert to the numerous diffi- 
 culties which, as in the preceding parts, occurred to him 
 while engaged on the additional volume. It was his anx- 
 ious desire to avoid errors as far as possible ; but he has 
 not the vanity to suppose that his exertions have been al- 
 ways successful. He, however, trusts that the reader, 
 should he find any cause for censure, will take into serious 
 consideration the nature of the original, and the variety 
 of the subjects on which it treats, before he proceeds to 
 pass sentence. 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 TO 
 
 THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 In regard to this edition, the translator thinks it necessary 
 only to observe, that it is enlarged by a bibliography of the 
 history of inventions, and several new articles, not before 
 translated from the original. Some of the articles also have 
 been arranged differently ; in order that the volumes might 
 be of equal size; and every care has been employed to 
 render the whole as correct as possible. 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 INVENTIONS. 
 
 ITALIAN BOOK-KEEPING. 
 
 Those who are acquainted with the Italian me- 
 thod of book-keeping must allow that it is an* 
 ingenious invention, of great utility to men in 
 business,, and that it has contributed to extend 
 commerce and to facilitate its operations. It re- 
 quires no less attention, care, and accuracy, than 
 many works which are styled learned : but it is 
 undoubtedly true, that most mercantile people, 
 without knowing the foundation of the rules on 
 which they proceed, conduct their books in as 
 mechanical a manner as many of the literati do 
 their writings. 
 
 The name, Italian book-keeping, Doppia scrit- 
 tura , with several words employed in this branch 
 of science and still retained in all languages, make 
 it probable that it was invented by the Italians ; 
 
 B 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
2 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 and that other nations borrowed it, as well as va- 
 rious short methods of reckoning, from their mer- 
 cantile houses, at the time when all the East-India 
 trade passed through Italy. 
 
 De la Porte says,* “ About the year 1495, 
 “ brother Luke, an Italian, published a treatise of 
 “ it in his own language. He is the oldest author 
 “ I have seen upon the subject.” Anderson, in 
 his Historical and chronological deduction of the 
 origin of commerce,')' gives the following ac- 
 count : “ In all probability, this art of double- 
 “ entry accounts had its rise, or at least its revival, 
 “ among the mercantile cities of Italy : possibly 
 “ it might be first known at Venice, about the time 
 “ that numeral algebra was taught there ; from the 
 “ principles of which science double-entry, or 
 u what we call merchants accounts, seem to have 
 “ been deduced. It is said that Lucas de Bur go, 
 “ a friar, was the first European author who 
 u published his algebraic work at Venice, anno 
 “ 1494 .” 
 
 This author, who was one of the greatest mathe- 
 maticians of the fifteenth century, and who is sup- 
 posed to be the first person w ho acquired a know- 
 ledge of algebra from the writings of the Arabians, 
 was called Lucas Paciolus, e Burgo S. Sepulchri. 
 He was a Franciscan, and so surnamed from a town 
 
 * La science des n^gocian* et teneur* de livres, Paris, 1754. 8vo. 
 
 p. 12. 
 
 f Vol. i. p. 408. 
 
ITALIAN BOOK-KEEPING. 
 
 3 
 
 in the duchy of Urbino, on the Florentine con- 
 fines, called Burgo S. Sepulchro.* 
 
 Anderson tells us,f that he had, in his pos- 
 session, the oldest book published in England in 
 which any account is given of the method of book- 
 keeping by double-entry. It was printed at Lon- 
 don, in 1569, in folio. The author, whose name is 
 
 * In Scriptores ordinis Minorum, quibus accessit syllabus eorum 
 qui, ex eodem ordine, pro fide Christi fortiter occubuerunt — Recen- 
 suit Fr. Lucas Waddingus, ejusdem inslituti theologus, Romae 1650. 
 fol. a work reckoned by Beyer, Vogt, and others, among the very 
 scarce books, is the following information, p.238, respecting this 
 author : “ Lucas Paciolus e Burgo S. Sepulchri, prope fines Etruriae, 
 omnem pene rationem mathematicae disciplinae Italica lingua com- 
 plexus est ; conscripsit enim De divina proportione compendium ; 
 De arithmetica ; De proportionibus et proportionalitatibus ; opus 
 egregium et eruditum, rudi tamen Minerva, ad Guidobaldum Ur- 
 bini ducem ; De quinque corporibus regularibus; De majusculis 
 alphabeti litteris pingendis ; De corporum solidoruin et vacuorum. 
 figuris, cum suis nomenclaturis. Excusa sunt Venetiis anno 150g. 
 Transtulit Euc'lidem in linguam Italicam, et alia ejusdem scientiae 
 composuit opuscula.” The same account is given in Bibliotheca 
 Umbriae, sive De scriptoribus Umbriae, auctore Ludovico Jacobillo. 
 Fulginiae 1658. 4to. p. 180. The oldest works of this author, as 
 mentioned in Origine e progressi della stampa, o sia dell’ arte ira- 
 pressoria, e notizie dell’ opere stampate dall’ anno 1457 sino all’ anno 
 lfiOO. Bologna 1722. 4to.; to the dedication of which is subscribed 
 Pellegrino Antonio Orlandi, are : Fr. Lucae de Burgo S. Sepulchri 
 Arithmetica et geometria, Italice; characteribus Goth. Ven. 1494. 
 fol. Liber de algebra. Ven. 14g4. This is the work quoted by An- 
 derson. Those who are desirous of further information respecting 
 Lucas de Burgo, may consult Heilbronneri Historia matheseos uni- 
 verse. Lipsiae 1742. 4to. p. 520. Histoire des mathematiques, 
 par M. Montucla. Paris 1768. 4to. t. i. p. 441 — 476. Histoire 
 des progres de l’esprit humain dans les sciences exactes, par Saverien. 
 Paris 1766. 8vo. p. 18 et 38. 
 
 f Vol. i. p. 40y. 
 
 B 2 
 
4 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 James Peele, says, in his preface, that he had in- 
 structed many mercantile people in this art, which 
 had been long practised in other countries, though 
 in England it was then undoubtedly new. One 
 may readily believe, that Mr. Anderson was not 
 ignorant of the difference between the method of 
 book-keeping by single, and that by double-entry ; 
 but he produces nothing to induce us to believe 
 that Peele taught the latter, and not the former ; 
 for what he says of debit and credit is of no im- 
 portance, as it may be applied also to the method 
 by single-entry. 
 
 Of this Peele no mention is made in Ames’ 
 Typographical antiquities ; but in that work* there 
 is an account of a still older treatise of book-keep- 
 ing, entitled, A brief e instruction and manner how 
 to heepe bookes of accompts , after the order of debitor 
 and creditor , and as well for prope r accompts, par- 
 tible, 8$c. by three bookes, named the memoriall, 
 jour nail, and leager. Newly augmented and set 
 forth by John Mellis schole maister. London 1588. 
 12mo. Mellis, in his preface, says that he is only 
 the re- publisher of this treatise, which was before 
 published at London in 1543 by a schoolmaster 
 named Hugh Oldcastle. From the above title, 
 and particularly from the three account books 
 mentioned in it, I am inclined to believe that this 
 work contained the true principles of book-keep- 
 ing by double-entry. 
 
 * P. 410. 
 
ITALIAN BOOK-KEEPING. 
 
 5 
 
 The oldest German work on book-keeping by 
 double-entry, with which I am at present acquaint- 
 ed, is one written by John Gotlieb, and printed at 
 Muremberg, by Frederick Peypus, in 1331.*' The 
 author, in his preface, calls himself a citizen of 
 Muremberg, and says, that he means to give to the 
 public a clear and intelligible method of book- 
 keeping, such as was never before printed. It 
 appears, therefore, that he considered his book as 
 the first of the kind ever published in Germany. 
 
 It is w orthy of remark, that even at the end of 
 the sixteenth, century, the Italian method of book- 
 keeping began to be applied to finances and pub- 
 lic accounts. In the works of the celebrated 
 Simon Stevin, published at Leyden in Dutch, 
 and the same year in Latin, we find a system of 
 book-keeping, as applied to finances, drawn up it 
 appears for the use of Maurice prince of Orange. 
 To this treatise is prefixed, in Dutch and Latin, 
 a dedication to the duke of Sully, in which the 
 author says, that his reason for dedicating the 
 work to Sully was, because the French had paid 
 the greatest attention to improve the method of 
 
 * The whole title runs thus : Em Teutsh verstendig Buchhalten 
 fur herren oder gesellschafter inhalt wellischem process, des gleychen 
 vorhin nie derjugent is fiirgetragen worden, noch in druck kumraen, 
 durch Joann Gotlieb begriffen and gestelt. Darzu etlich unterrichi 
 fur die jugent und andere, wie die posten so auss teglicher handlung 
 fliessen und fiirfallen, sollen im jornal nach kiintslicher und buch- 
 haltischer art gemacht, eingeschrieben und nach malss zu buch ge- 
 jpjacht werden. Cum gratia et privilegio. Laus Deo. 
 
6 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 keeping public accounts. The work begins 
 with a conversation, which took place between 
 Stevin and prince Maurice, respecting the ap- 
 plication of book-keeping to public accounts, 
 and in which he explains to the prince the prin- 
 ciples of mercantile book-keeping. This conver- 
 sation commences with explaining the nature of 
 debit and credit, and the principal accounts. 
 Then follow a short journal and ledger, in which 
 occur only the most common transactions ; and 
 the whole concludes with an account of the other 
 books necessary for regular book-keeping, and of 
 the manner of balancing. Stevin expressly says, 
 that prince Maurice, in the year 1604, caused 
 the treasury accounts to be made out after the 
 Italian method, by an experienced book-keeper, 
 with the best success ; but how long this regulation 
 continued I have not been able to learn. Stevin 
 supposes, in this system, three ministers, and three 
 different accounts : a qiuzstor, who receives the 
 revenues of the domains ; an acceptor , who re- 
 ceives all the other revenues of the prince ; and a 
 thesaurarius (treasurer), who has the care of the 
 expenditure. All inferior offices for receiving or 
 disbursing are to send from their books monthly 
 extracts, which are to be doubly- entered in a 
 principal ledger ; so that it may be seen at all 
 times how much remains in the hands of each re- 
 ceiver, and how much each has to collect from 
 the debtors. One cannot help admiring the inge- 
 
ITALIAN BOOK-KEEPING. 7 
 
 nuity of the Latin translator,* who has found out, 
 or at least invented, words to express so many 
 new terms unknown to the ancient Romans. The 
 learned reader may, perhaps, not be displeased 
 with the following specimen. Book-keeping is 
 called apologistica or apologismus ; a book-keeper 
 apologist a; the ledger codex accepti expensique ; 
 the cash-book arcarii liber ; the expense-book im- 
 pensarum liber ; the waste-book liber-deletitius ; 
 accounts are called nomina ; stock account sors ; 
 profit and loss account lucri damnique ratiocinium , 
 contentio or sortium comparatio ; the final balance 
 epilogismus ; the chamber of accounts, or counting- 
 house, logisterium , &c. 
 
 In the end of this work Stevin endeavours to 
 shew that the Romans, or rather the Grecians 
 (for the former knew scarcely any thing but what 
 the latter had discovered), were, in some measure, 
 acquainted with book-keeping, and supports his 
 conjecture by quoting Cicero’s oration for Roscius. 
 I confess that the following passage in Pliny, For- 
 tunes omnia expensa , huic omnia feruntur accepta , 
 et in tot a ratione mortalium sola utramque paginam, 
 facit^ as well as the terms tabulee accepti et expensi; 
 nomina translata in tabulas } seem to indicate that 
 the Romans entered debit and credit in their books, 
 on two different pages ; but it appears to me not 
 
 * Bayle says, that the Latin translation of Stevin’ s works was ex- 
 ecuted principally by Willebrord Snellius. 
 
 f Lib. ii. cap. 7 . 
 
8 HISTOEY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 yet proved, and improbable, that they were ac- 
 quainted with our scientific method of book-keep- 
 ing j with the mode of opening various accounts ; 
 of comparing them together, and of bringing 
 them to a final balance. As bills of exchange 
 and insurance were not known in the commerce 
 of the ancients, the business of merchants was not 
 so intricate and complex, as to require such a va- 
 riety of books and accounts as is necessary in that 
 of the moderns. 
 
 Klipstein is of opinion that attempts were made 
 in France to apply book-keeping, by double- 
 entry, to the public accounts, under Henry IV, 
 afterwards under Colbert, and again in the year 
 1716. That attempts were made, for this pur- 
 pose, under Henry IV, he concludes from a work 
 entitled An inquiry into the finances of France ; 
 but I do not know whether what the author says 
 be sufficient to support this opinion. 
 
 Those who have paid attention to the subject 
 of finances know that, for twenty or thirty years 
 past, mercantile book-keeping has begun to be 
 employed at Vienna, in order to facilitate the ma- 
 nagement of public accounts, which in latter 
 times, and in large states, have been swelled to a 
 prodigious extent. For this improvement we are 
 indebted to several works, some of them expen- 
 sive, intended as introductions to this subject. 
 One of these is by counsellor Puchberg, another 
 by Mr. St. Julian, chaplain to the charity-schools, 
 
ODOMETER. 
 
 9 
 
 and another by Adam Von Heidfeld .* Stevin’s 
 work before mentioned shews clearly that this im- 
 provement is not new j and seems to lessen what 
 is said in a w'ork published in 1777,t that count 
 Zinzendorf was the author or patron of that ex- 
 cellent invention, the application of the Italian 
 method of book-keeping by double-entry to fi- 
 nances and public economy. 
 
 ODOMETER. 
 
 An Odometer, Pedometer, or Waywyser, is an 
 instrument or machine, by which the steps of a 
 person who walks, or the revolutions made by the 
 wheel of a carriage, can be counted ; and by 
 which the distance that one has travelled can be 
 ascertained. Vitruvius, in his tenth book, £ de- 
 scribes a machine of this kind for a carriage, and 
 which, in his opinion, would answer for a ship. 
 We are told by Capitolinus, in the Life of the 
 
 * A short account of this improvement, and the writings it gave 
 rise to, may be found in Klipstein, Grundsatze der wissenschqft reck - 
 nungen einzuricliten. Leipzig 1778. 8vo. and also in another work, 
 by the same author, entitled Grundsatze der reclinungswissenscliaft 
 auf das privatermogen angewendet. Wien 1774. fol. 
 
 f Denkwurdigkeiten von Wien 1777- 8vo. p. 210. 
 
 } C. 14. Nicolai, in the first part of his Travels, has translated this 
 description of an odometer, and illustrated it with a figure by H. Ca- 
 tel. Explanations of the above-mentioned passage of Vitruvius, which 
 throw little light on the subject, may be found in various editions of 
 that author, such as that by Gualterus H. Rivius Medic. etMathem. 
 Basiliae 1575. fol. 
 
10 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 emperor Pertinax, that among the effects of the 
 emperor Commodus exposed to sale, there were 
 carriages of various kinds, some of which “ mea- 
 sured the road, and pointed out the hours;”* 
 but whether by these words we are to understand 
 an odometer, cannot with certainty be determined. 
 
 That this instrument was known even in the 
 fifteenth century, can be proved from the carving 
 on the ducal palace at Urbino— an edifice erected 
 in an uncommon style of magnificence, by duke 
 Frederic, who died in 1482. The ornaments here 
 employed form, almost, a complete representation 
 of all the warlike apparatus used at that period, 
 both by sea and land ; and among these is the 
 figure of a ship, which seems to be furnished with 
 an odometer ; but whether the wheels and springs, 
 carved out apart, be intended to shew the con- 
 struction of it, I will not venture to decide, f 
 
 The celebrated John Fernel, physician to Ca- 
 therine of Medici, queen of France, measured 
 with an instrument of this kind, in 1550, a degree 
 of the meridian between Paris and Amiens, and 
 found it to be 680p6 geometrical paces, or about 
 
 * Vehiculaarte fabricae nova, perplexis diversisque rotarum orbi- 
 bus et exquisitis sedilibus, nunc ad solem declinandum, nunc ad 
 spiritus opportunitatem per vertiginem ; et alia iter metientia, ho- 
 rdsque monstrantia. 
 
 f This palace, with its ornaments, is described in the following 
 expensive work, Memorie concernenti la citta di Urbino. In Roma 
 1724 . fol. The figure to which I allude is in plate 53 . Bernardino 
 Baldi, the author of the descriptive part, considers it as an odometer. 
 
ODOMETER. 
 
 11 
 
 56747 toises ; that is, 303 toises less than Picard 
 found it to be ; or about 300 toises less than later 
 measurements have made it. Picard himself, in 
 his mathematical measurement, assisted by the 
 newest improvements, erred 123 toises. It is, 
 therefore, very surprising that Fernel should ap- 
 proach so near the truth with such an instrument. 
 The manner of constructing it however, as far as 
 I know, appears to be lost.* 
 
 Levin Hulsius, in his Treatise of mechanical 
 instruments, published at Francfort in 1604, de- 
 scribes an odometer, but without naming the in- 
 ventor. It appears, however, that it was the pro- 
 duction of Paul Pfinzing, born at Nuremberg 
 in 1554;t and who, besides other works, pub- 
 lished, in 159S, Methodus geometrica, or a Trea- 
 tise on measuring land, and how to use proper 
 instruments for that purpose, on foot, on horse- 
 
 * In Joannis Fernelii Amlianatis Cosmothcoria, Parisiis 1528, we 
 find only the following passage respecting this invention — Nec vulgi 
 supputatione satiatus, vehiculum, quod Parisios recta via petebat, 
 conscendi, in eoque residens tota via 17024 fere rotae circumvolu- 
 tiones collegi, vallibus et montibus ad equalitatem, quoad facultas 
 nostra ferebat, redactis. Erat autem rotas diameter — In Almagesti 
 novi parte posteriori, tomi primi, Bononiae 1651. fob The author, 
 Riccioli, says, that Fernel contrived his carriage in such a manner, 
 that the revolutions of the wheels were shewn by a hammer striking 
 on a bell. “ Preparato vero jam curru cum rota quadam, cujus re- 
 volutiones singulae singulis tympani ictibus numerati, iter Parisiis 
 rectum versus Boream docerent, pervenit.” Where that jesuit dis- 
 covered this I cannot learn. 
 
 f Doppelmayr, Nachricht von Nurnberg, kunstlern, p. 82. Will, 
 Nurnbergisches Gelehrten-Lexicon, iii. p. 156. 
 
32 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 back, or in a carriage. This treatise, which was 
 never sold, but given away by the author, contains 
 a description of the same instrument described by 
 Hulsius, and which, as Nicolai says, is still pre- 
 served in the collection of curiosities at Dresden. 
 
 In the same collection is an odometer which 
 Augustus, elector of Saxony, who reigned between 
 the years 1553 and 1586, employed in measur- 
 ing his territories. This instrument is mentioned 
 by Beutel, * without naming the inventor ; but I 
 think it very probable that it was made by Martin 
 Feyhel, who was born at Naumberg, and resided 
 at Augsburg; as Von Stettenf relates, in his His- 
 tory of the arts at Augsburg, that Feyhel made 
 a waywyser (probably odometer) for the elector 
 of Saxony, and that he himself called it a new in- 
 strument never before heard of. This artist was 
 an intimate friend of the celebrated Christopher 
 Schissler, also of Augsburg, who in 1579 con- 
 structed a quadrant, still to be found at Oxford ; 
 and in 1606 an armillary sphere, still preserved at 
 Augsburg. 
 
 The emperor Rudolphus II, who reigned from 
 1576 to 16 12, and who was fond of, and ac- 
 quainted with, the mechanical arts, possessed two 
 very curious odometers, which not only pointed 
 out distances, but also marked them down on pa- 
 per by the way. The description and use of one 
 
 * Cimelium geographicum tripartitum. Dresden 1680. 4to. p. 124. 
 t Kiinstgeschichte von Augsburg, p. 167. 
 
ODOMETER. 
 
 IS 
 
 of these is given by De Boot,* who was that 
 prince’s librarian ; and what he says has been 
 copied by Kircher, f and illustrated with a coarse 
 figure. It is not improbable that the before-men- 
 tioned Schissler was the maker of this instrument ; 
 as we are informed by Stetten that he constructed 
 a great many machines and automata for the em- 
 peror Rudolphus II. The other odometer, which 
 was much more curious, appears to have been 
 constructed by that emperor himself. J 
 
 About the end of the 17th century, an artist in 
 England, named Butterfield, invented an odometer 
 which met with great approbation. In the first 
 volume of the Philosophical Transactions there 
 are two papers wTitten by this ingenious man ; 
 but of his odometer I have not yet been able to 
 find a description. 
 
 In the beginning of the last century, Adam 
 Frederick Zurner, to whom we are indebted for 
 
 * Gemmarum et lapidum historia. Lugd. Bat. 1647. 8vo. p. 468. 
 f Magnes, sive De arte magnetica. Coloniae 1643. 4to. p. 221. 
 t Aliud instrumentum, isto elegantius et commodius, ab imperatore 
 Rudolpho II. domino meo gloriosissii^o et invictissimo inventum est. 
 JSam id translatione nulla opus habet, quia mappam ipsam in piano 
 chartaceo, aspiciente eo qui iter pedes facit, describit. In superiore 
 enim sui parte vitrum est, sub quo tota mappa solitariis punctis notatur, 
 quse non ab acu magnetica perforantur, sed ab orbiculo sub charta lati- 
 tante, quern cum alio illi adjuncto agitat in hanc vel illam partem 
 magnes. Id instrumentum, quia difficillimum est, a me nunc non 
 describetur ; narn reservatur pro volumine et theatro instrumentorum 
 mechanicorum. Boot. Hist. Gemmarum, p. 473. The intended 
 work, here mentioned, has not, as far as I know, been ever printed. 
 
14 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 good maps of the electorate of Saxony, invented 
 also an odometer, or geometrical carriage, a de- 
 scription and figure of which, taken from Schramm’s 
 Saxonia monumentis viarum illustrata is given 
 by Nicolai. This instrument is not now to be 
 found in the Dresden collection. 
 
 In Bion’s Treatise on the construction of ma- 
 thematical instruments, improved by Doppelmayr, 
 there is a description of a pedometer, and the au- 
 thor praises a new invention by one Sauveur.f 
 
 In the year 1724 Meynier laid before the Royal 
 academy of sciences at Paris an odometer, a short 
 account of which, without a figure, is given in 
 the history of the academy for that year. This 
 machine was afterwards improved by Outhier; 
 and a description of the improvements, but with- 
 out any figure, is to be found in the history of the 
 academy for 1742. A full description, together 
 with a figure, may, however, be seen in a work 
 entitled, The machines and inventions approved 
 by the academy. J 
 
 The newest and perhaps the most perfect ma- 
 chine of this kind is that made at Berlin, by an 
 artist named Hohlfeld, a short account of which 
 may be found in the ninth volume of the Ham- 
 
 * Vitembergae 1726. 4 to. 
 
 Bions Mathematische werkschule, vermehrt von Doppelmayr. 
 Nurnberg 1 74 1 — i. i. p. 99. 
 
 t Machines et inventions approuvees par l’academie, tome vii. 
 Paris 1777 . 4 to. p. 175. 
 
ODOMETER. 
 
 15 
 
 burgh Magazine. A complete description I have 
 not seen ; but I learn from professor Bernoulli’s 
 Tour through Brandenburg, Pomerania, &c., that 
 a model of it is preserved in the excellent collec- 
 tion of count de Podewils, at Gusow.* The in- 
 ventor of it was a man of such rare talents, and 
 rendered such benefit to the public, that the fol- 
 lowing anecdotes of his life may prove not un- 
 acceptable to many readers. It was written by 
 professor Muller at Berlin, and transmitted to me 
 by Dr. Bloch. 
 
 v Hohlfeld was born of poor parents, at Hennern- 
 dorf, in the mountains of Saxony, in 1711. He 
 learned the trade of lace-making at Dresden, and 
 early discovered a turn for mechanics by con- 
 structing various kinds of clocks. From Dresden 
 he removed to Berlin to follow his occupation. 
 As he was an excellent workman, and invented 
 several machines for shortening his labour, he 
 found sufficient time to indulge his inclination for 
 mechanics ; and he made there, at the same time 
 that he pursued his usual business, air-guns and 
 clocks. 
 
 In the year 1748 he became acquainted with 
 
 * This machine was used by Sulzer during his tour. See his 
 Journal, published at Leipsic 1780, 8vo. p. 3. It has been since im- 
 proved by Schumacher, a clergyman at Elbing. Neueste Mannig- 
 faltigkeiten , 1774, p. 1. The latest improvements are by Klind- 
 worth, Catel at Berlin, and by an anonymous clergyman in Schwa- 
 bisclien Magazin, 1777, p. 306. See Gottingisclies Taschenhich , 
 1778, p. 76 , and Nicolai Reise in the Appendix, p. 18. 
 
\6 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the celebrated Sulzer, at whose desire he under- 
 took the construction of a machine for noting 
 down any piece of music when played on a harp- 
 sichord. A machine of this kind had been before 
 invented by Mr. Von Unger; but Hohlfeld, from 
 a very imperfect description, completed one with- 
 out any other assistance than that of his own ge- 
 nius. Of this machine, now in possession of the 
 Academy of sciences at Berlin, Sulzer gave a 
 figure, from which it was afterwards constructed 
 in England. This ingenious piece of mechanism 
 was universally approved, though several things 
 may be wanting to render it complete ; but no one 
 was so generous as to indemnify the artist for his 
 expenses, or to reward him for his labour. 
 
 About the year 17 56 , the Prussian minister, 
 count de Podewils, took him into his service, 
 chiefly for the purpose of constructing water- works 
 in his magnificent gardens at Gusow. There he 
 invented his well-known thrashing-machine, and 
 another for chopping straw more expeditiously. 
 He also displayed his talent for invention, by con- 
 structing an apparatus, which, being fastened to a 
 carriage, indicates the revolutions made by the 
 wheels. Such machines had been made before, 
 but his far exceeded every thing of the like kind. 
 Having lost this machine by a fire, he invented 
 another, still simpler, which was so contrived as to 
 be buckled between the spokes of the wheel. This 
 piece of mechanism was in the possession of 
 
ODOMETER. 17 
 
 Sulzer, who used it on his tour, and found that it 
 answered the intended purpose. 
 
 In the year 1765, when the present duke of 
 Courland, then hereditary prince, resided at Berlin, 
 he paid a visit to Hohlfeld, and endeavoured to 
 prevail on him to go to Courland, by offering 
 him a pension of 800 rix-dollars ; but this inge- 
 nious man was so contented with his condition, and 
 so attached to his friends, that he would not, 
 merely for self-interest, quit Berlin. His refusal, 
 however, obtained for him a pension of 150 dollars 
 from the king. 
 
 Besides the before-mentioned machines, he 
 constructed, occasionally, several useful models. 
 Among these were a loom for weaving figured 
 stuffs, so contrived that the weaver had no need 
 of any thing to shoot through the woof;* a pe- 
 dometer for putting in the pocket; a convenient 
 and simple bed for a sick person, which was of 
 such a nature that the patient, with the least effort, 
 could at any time raise or lower the breast, and 
 when necessary convert the bed into a stool ; and a 
 carriage so formed, that if the horses took fright, 
 or ran away, the person in it could, by a single 
 push, loosen the pole, and set them at liberty. The 
 two last models have been lost. 
 
 Every machine that this singular man saw, he 
 altered and improved in the simplest manner. AH 
 
 * This model is preserved in the collection of the Academy. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 C 
 
18 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 his own instruments he made himself, and repaired 
 them when damaged. But as he was fonder of 
 inventing than of following the plans of others, he 
 made them in such a manner that no one except 
 himself could use them. Several of his improve- 
 ments were, however, imitated by common work- 
 men, though in a very clumsy manner. It is 
 worthy of remark, that he never bestowed study 
 upon any thing ; but when he had once conceived 
 an idea, he immediately executed it. He com- 
 prehended, in a moment, whatever was proposed; 
 and, at the same time, saw how it was to be accom- 
 plished. He could, therefore, tell in an instant 
 whether a thing was practicable ; if he thought it 
 was not, no persuasion or offer of money could 
 induce him to attempt it. He never pursued 
 chimaeras, like those mechanics who have not had 
 the benefit of education or instruction ; and though 
 this may be ascribed to the intercourse he had 
 with great mathematicians and philosophers, there 
 is every reason to believe, that he would have 
 equally guarded against them, even if he had not 
 enjoyed that advantage. The same quickness of 
 apprehension which he manifested in mechanics he 
 showed also in other things. His observations on 
 most subjects were judicious, and peculiar to him- 
 self; so that it may be said, without exaggeration, 
 that he was born with a philosophical mind. 
 
 With regard to his moral character, he was very 
 different from those of the same class. Though 
 
ODOMETER. 
 
 19 
 
 he still retained something of the manners of his 
 former condition, his mild and civil deportment 
 rendered his company and conversation agreeable. 
 He, possessed a good heart, and his life was sober 
 and regular. Though he was every day welcome 
 at the best tables, he stayed for the most part at 
 home, through choice; went to market for his 
 own provisions, which he cooked himself ; and was 
 as contented over his humble meal as Curius was 
 over his turnips. 
 
 A little before his death, he had the pleasure of 
 seeing a curious harpsichord he had made, and 
 which was purchased by his Prussian majesty, 
 placed in an elegant apartment in the new palace 
 at Potsdam. As he had for some time neglected 
 this instrument, the too great attention which he 
 bestowed on putting it in order contributed not a 
 little to bring on that disease which at last proved 
 fatal to him. His clock having become deranged 
 during his illness, he could not be prevented, not- 
 withstanding the admonition of his friend and phy- 
 sician Dr. Stahls, from repairing it. Close appli- 
 cation occasioned some obstructions which were 
 not observed till too late ; and, an inflammation 
 taking place, he died, in 1771, at the house of count 
 de Podewils, in the both year of his age. 
 
20 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 MACHINE FOR NOTING DOWN 
 MUSIC. 
 
 As I have occasionally mentioned in the preceding 
 article, a machine for noting down any piece of 
 music played on a harpsichord or other musical 
 instrument, I shall here add a short history of the 
 invention of it, as far as I know; and with the 
 greater pleasure, as another nation has laid claim 
 to it, though it belongs to my countrymen. 
 
 It appears incontestable, that a proposal for in- 
 venting such a machine was first made known by 
 an Englishman. In the month of March, 1747, 
 
 O 
 
 John Freke transmitted to the Royal Society a 
 paper written by a clergyman of the name of 
 Creed, which was printed in the Philosophical 
 Transactions under the following title : “ A De- 
 “ monstration of the possibility of making a ma- 
 “ chine that shall write extempore voluntaries, or 
 “ other pieces of music, as fast as any master shall 
 “ be able to play them upon an organ, harp- 
 “ sichord, &c ; and that in a character more na- 
 “ tural and intelligible, and more expressive of 
 “ all the varieties those instruments are capable 
 “ of exhibiting, than the character now in use.’’ * 
 The author of this paper, however, points out the 
 
 # Sec Philos. Transact, vol. xliv. p. ii. n°. 483. p. 446. Also 
 Martin’s Abridgement, vol. x. p. 226. 
 
MACHINE FOR NOTING DOWN MUSIC. 21 
 
 possibility only of making such a machine, without 
 giving directions how to construct it. 
 
 In the year 1745, John Frederic Unger, then 
 land bailiff and burgomaster of Einbec, and who 
 is known by several learned works, fell upon the 
 same invention without the smallest knowledge of 
 the idea published in England. This invention, 
 however, owing to the variety of his occupations, 
 he did not make known till the year 1752, when 
 he transmitted a short account of it, accompanied 
 with figures, to the Academy of Sciences at Berlin. 
 The Academy highly approved of it, and it was 
 soon celebrated in several gazettes, but a descrip- 
 tion of it was never printed. 
 
 A few days after Euler had read this paper of 
 Mr. Unger’s before the Academy, Mr. Sulzer 
 informed Hohlfeld of the invention, and advised 
 him to exert his ingenuity in constructing such a 
 machine. In two weeks, this untaught mechanic, 
 without having read Mr. Unger’s paper, and even 
 without inspecting the figures, completed the ma- 
 chine, which Mr. Unger himself had not been able 
 to execute through want of an artist capable of fol- 
 lowing his ideas. 
 
 Unger’s own description of his invention was 
 printed, with copper plates, at Brunswick, in the 
 year 1774, together with the correspondence be- 
 tween him and Euler, and other documents. A 
 description of Hohlfeld’s machine illustrated with 
 figures, was published after his death, by Mr. 
 
£2 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Suizer, in the new Memoirs of the Academy of 
 Berlin,* under the title of “ Description of a ma- 
 “ chine for noting down pieces of music as fast as 
 “ they are played upon the harpsichord.” Suizer 
 there remarks, that Hohlfeld had not followed 
 the plan sketched out by Mr. Unger, and that 
 the two machines differed in this — that Unger’s 
 formed one piece with the harpsichord, while that 
 of Hohlfeld could be applied to any harpsichord 
 whatever. 
 
 When Dr. Burney visited Berlin, he was made 
 acquainted with Hohlfeld’s machine by Mr. Mar- 
 purg; and has been so ungenerous, or rather un- 
 just, as to say in his Musical Travels, that it is an 
 English invention, and that it had been before 
 fully described in the Philosophical Transactions. 
 This falsehood Mr. Unger has sufficiently refuted. 
 Without repeating his proofs, 1 shall here content 
 myself with quoting his own words, in the follow- 
 ing passage : u How can Burney wish to deprive 
 “ our ingenious Hohlfeld of the honour of being 
 “ the sole author of that invention, and to make 
 “ an Englishman share it with him, because our 
 “ German happened to execute successfully what 
 (c his countryman Creed only suggested , J Such 
 “ an attempt is as unjust in its consequences, as it 
 “ is dishonourable to the English nation and the 
 “ English artists. When we reflect on the high 
 
 * See Nouveaux Me mo ires de l’Academie a Berlin, annee 177B 
 p. 538. 
 
REFINING GOLD AND SILVER ORE. 23 
 
 “ estimation in which music is held in England ; 
 “ the liberality of the English nobility, and their 
 “ readiness to spare no expenses in bringing for- 
 “ ward any useful invention, a property peculiar 
 “ to the English; it affords just matter of surprise, 
 “ that the English artists should have suffered 
 “ themselves to be anticipated by a German 
 “journeyman lace-maker. To our Hohlfeld, 
 “ therefore, will incontestably remain the lasting 
 “ honour of having executed a German invention ; 
 “ and the Germans may contentedly wait to see 
 “ whether Burney will find an English mechanic 
 “ capable of constructing this machine, from the 
 “ information given by his countryman Creed.” 
 
 REFINING GOLD AND SILVER ORE 
 BY QUICKSILVER. 
 
 AMALGAMATION. 
 
 It is well known that quicksilver unites very 
 readily with almost all metals, and when added in 
 a considerable quantity forms with them a paste 
 which can be kneaded, and which is called amal- 
 gam. On the other hand, as it does not suffer itself 
 to unite with earth, being a metallic substance, it 
 furnishes an excellent medium for separating gold 
 and silver from the earth and stones in which they 
 are found. The amalgam is squeezed through a 
 
24 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 piece of leather, in which these precious metals re- 
 main with a certain portion of the quicksilver ; and 
 the former are freed from the latter by means of 
 fire, which causes the semi-metal to evaporate. 
 This amalgam made with gold serves also for gild- 
 ing metals, if it be rubbed over them, and after- 
 wards heated till the quicksilver be dispersed by 
 evaporation. 
 
 The first use of quicksilver is commonly reck- 
 oned a Spanish invention, discovered about the 
 middle of the sixteenth century; but it appears 
 from Pliny, that the ancients were acquainted with 
 amalgam, and its use, not only for separating gold 
 and silver from earthy particles, but also for gild- 
 ing. # Vitruvius describes the manner of recover- 
 ing gold from cloth in which it has been interwoven. 
 The cloth, he says, is to be put into an earthen ves- 
 sel, and placed over the fire, in order that it may be 
 burnt. The ashes are to be thrown into water, and 
 quicksilver added to them. The latter attracts the 
 particles of the gold, and makes them unite with it. 
 The water is then to be poured off, and the residue 
 put into a piece of cloth; which being squeezed 
 with the hands, the quicksilver, on account of its 
 fluidity, oozes through the pores, and the gold is 
 
 * Argentum vivum exest ac perrumpit vasa, permanans tabe dira 
 — Optime purgat aurum, caeteras ejus sordes exspuens crebro jactatu 
 fictilibus in vasis.- — Sed ut ipsum ab auro discedat, in pelles subactas 
 effunditur, per quas sudoris vice defluens, purum relinquit aurum. 
 Ergo et cum aera inaurantur, sublitum bracteis pertinacissime re- 
 tinet. Vol. ii. p. 622 . edit. Hard, pr book xxxiii. chap. 6 . 
 
REFINING GOLD AND SILVER ORE. 25 
 
 left pure in a compressed mass.* Isidore of Se- 
 ville says also, that quicksilver is best preserved 
 in vessels of glass, as it penetrates all other sub- 
 stances ; and that without it neither silver nor brass 
 can be gilded. 'j' Modern mineralogists, however, 
 have this advantage over the ancient, that they 
 know how to separate the quicksilver from gold 
 and silver without losing it. Instead of applying 
 the amalgam to an open fire, as formerly, and 
 causing the semi- metal to evaporate, it is now put 
 into a retort, and the quicksilver is collected in a 
 receiver for further use. 
 
 Those also who wash gold from the sand found 
 near rivers, use quicksilver before their work is 
 completed ; and I am strongly inclined to believe, 
 that this method prevailed in Germany long before 
 the discovery of the mines in America. In the 
 year 1582, John Michael Heberer described the 
 washing of gold as he saw it practised at Selz, not 
 far from Strasburgh ; and at that time quicksilver 
 had been long employed for that purpose. £ In 
 Treitlinger’s Dissertation, also, concerning the col- 
 lecting of gold, and particularly in the Rhine, there 
 is a description of the manner in which gold sand 
 is washed by means of quicksilver, but no date is 
 mentioned. § 
 
 * Vit. lib. vii. c. 8. f In Origin, lib. xvi. c. 18. 
 
 X See Pfalzischen Robinsons und Kreuzbruders Heberers Reisen. 
 Frankf. und Leipzig 1747* 8vo. p. 46. 
 
 § F. L. Treitlinger’s Dissertation, de Aurilegio, prsecipue in 
 Rheno, p. 60. Argentorati 1776. 
 
26 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 The history of employing mercury in procuring 
 the American silver is, as far as I know, most fully 
 given by the jesuit Acosta,* whose Relation of 
 the Indies abounds with curious and useful infor- 
 mation. The quicksilver mines of Peru are situ- 
 ated in an extensive ridge of mountains near Gua- 
 manga, on the south side of Lima, and at no great 
 distance from it. They are called Guancabelica, 
 or Guancavilia. The mines were discovered about 
 the year 1566 or 1567, when Castro was viceroy 
 of Peru, by Henry Garces, or Graces, j* as he is 
 called by the Portuguese. This man was a native 
 of Porto, went to Peru in the Spanish service, and 
 after the death of his wife became canon of the 
 cathedral of Mexico. He translated the Lusiad of 
 Camoens from the Portuguese into Spanish, and 
 this has procured him a place in professor Dieze’s 
 translation of Velasquez’s History of Spanish poe- 
 try. J He caused a law to be enacted that no silver 
 bullion should be suffered to circulate in Peru ; but 
 his greatest service was the discovery of the quick- 
 
 * Historia naturale c morale delle Indie — novamente tradotta della 
 lingua Spagnuola nella Italiana da Gio. Paolo Galucci Salodiano. In 
 Venetia 1506 , 4 to. p. 70 . or Histoire naturelle et morale des Indes — 
 traduite en Franyois par Robet Regnault Cauxois. A Paris 1600 , 
 8 vo. p. 151. 
 
 •f Some account of Garces may be found in Bibliotheca Lusitana, 
 na qual se comprehende a noticia dos authores Portuguezes — por 
 Diego Barbosa Machado. Lisboa 1747, fol. t. ii. p. 448. 
 
 + See Dieze, Uebersetzung von Velasquez Geschichte der Spa- 
 nischen dichtkunst. Gottingen 1769 , 8 vo. p. 481. 
 
REFINING GOLD AND SILVER ORE. 27 
 
 silver mines. As he was one day examining the 
 red earth, which the Indians use for paint, and call 
 limpi, he observed that it was native cinnabar; and 
 as he knew that quicksilver was extracted from it 
 in Europe, he went to the place were it was dug 
 up, made some experiments, and thus laid a foun- 
 dation for the most important w'orks. No one, 
 however, thought of employing this semi- metal in 
 the silver mines, till the year 1571, when, Francis 
 de Toledo being viceroy, one Pero Fernandes de 
 Velasco came to Peru, and offered to refine the 
 silver by mercury, as he had learnt at the smelt- 
 ing-houses in Mexico. His proposal being ac- 
 cepted, and his attempts proving successful, the 
 old methods were abandoned, and that of amalga- 
 mation as practised at present was adopted in its 
 stead. * From this account it appears that Garces 
 was not the inventor of amalgamation; that it was 
 introduced into Peru in the year 1571, and that it 
 had been long before practised in Mexico : but at 
 what period it was first used there I have not been 
 able to learn. The abbb Raynal says, that quick- 
 silver was a free article of trade till the year 1571, 
 when it was declared to belong exclusively to the 
 crown; and this regulation was made in conse-„ 
 
 * The same account as that given by Acosta may be seen in Gar- 
 cilasso de la Vega, primera parte de los Commentaries reales — En 
 Lisboa 1609 , folio, p. 225 — inRycaut’s English translation, London 
 1688 , fol. i. p. 347 — 'and in John de Laet, Novus orbis, Lugd. Bat. 
 1633, fol. p. 447. 
 
28 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 quence of its being employed in refining. Robert- 
 son, in his History of America, tells us that the 
 mines of Guanacabelica were discovered in 1563, 
 and that amalgamation was introduced in 1574. 
 
 Anderson says, in his History of commerce,* 
 that in the second volume of Hakluyt there is a 
 letter which shows the use of quicksilver to have 
 been a new invention in the year 1572. This 
 letter I found, not in the second, but in the third 
 and last volume of the Voyages collected by Hak- 
 luyt.')' It was written in the above vear, by a 
 merchant named Henry Hawks, and contains only 
 the following information : “ A good owner of 
 “ mines must have much quicksilver; and as for 
 “ this charge of quicksilver, it is a new invention, 
 “ which they find more profitable than to fine their 
 “ ore with lead.” 
 
 Gobet, in a work intitled, The ancient mineralo- 
 gists of France, accuses Alphonso Barba of asserting 
 that he found out amalgamation in the year 1609. 
 To examine this charge, it will be necessary to give 
 some account of the metallurgic works of that 
 Spaniard, which, perhaps, may not prove unac- 
 ceptable to those who are fond of metallurgy and 
 mineralogy. — Alvaro Alphonso Barba was born at 
 Lepe, a small town in Andalusia, and officiated 
 
 * Vol. i. p. 414. 
 
 f Hakluyt’s Collection of Voyages. London 1600 , fol. vol. iii. 
 p. 466. 
 
REFINING GOLD AND SILVER ORE. 29 
 
 many years as clergyman of the church of St. Ber- 
 nard at Potosi. * The first edition of this work was 
 printed in quarto, at Madrid, in 1640, in the Spa- 
 nish language, and illustrated with cuts. I This 
 book the Spaniards for a long time concealed, 
 because they considered it as containing all their 
 metallurgic secrets ; though at that time there were 
 much better works of the kind in Germany, and 
 though amalgamation had been long known and 
 practised. Edward earl of Sandwich, being am- 
 bassador to Spain, found, however, an opportunity 
 of procuring a copy of it, as a great rarity; and he 
 began a translation of it into English, but translated 
 only the first two books. This translation was 
 published at London in octavo, in 1674, after the 
 earl’s death, and entitled, The first book of the art of 
 metals , in which is declared the manner of their ge- 
 neration , and the concomitants of them. Written 
 in Spanish by Albaro Alonso Barba , translated by 
 E. earl of Sandwich. From this English edition 
 several German translations have been made, of 
 which I am acquainted with the following: two 
 at Hamburgh, one printed in 1676, and the other 
 in 1696; and two at Francfort, one in I726, and 
 another in 1739. In the year 1749 a new edition 
 
 * See Antonii Bibliotheca Hispana nova. Rom* 1672, fol. t. i. 
 p. 45. 
 
 f El arte de los metallos, en que se ensena el verdadero beneficio 
 de los de oro y plata por azogue, y el modo de fundirlos todos, y 
 como se an de refinar, y apartar unos de otros. Madrid 1640. 
 
30 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 appeared at Vienna. This edition, which is very 
 different from any of the former, was translated 
 from the French by one Godar, who was not a 
 German, and who on that account apologises in the 
 preface for the badness of his style. All these 
 editions, however, are imperfect ; for the original 
 contains five books, as we learn from Leibnitz, 
 who caused them to be transcribed. * In the year 
 ]751 a new translation came out at Paris, entitled 
 Metallurgy, or the art of extracting and purifying 
 metals, translated from the Spanish of Alphonso 
 Barba, by M. Gosfort, with the most curious dis- 
 sertations on mines and metallic operations ; j~ of 
 this translation the celebrated abbe Lenglet de 
 Fresnoy is said to have been the editor. $ 
 
 To judge by two of the German editions, Gobet 
 has done Barba an injustice. In that of 1676, I 
 find Barba expressly says, he does not believe the 
 ancients were acquainted with the art of extracting 
 silver from pounded ore by the means of quick- 
 silver. This, certainly, does not indicate that he 
 laid claim to the invention : besides, he every where 
 speaks of amalgamation as an art long used in 
 
 * See Prodromus bibliotheca; metallic®. Wolfenbuttle 1732, 8vo. 
 
 p. 20. 
 
 f Metallurgie, ou l’Art de tirer et purifier les metaux. Traduite 
 de l’Espagnol d’Alphonse Barba, par M. Gosfort; avec les disserta- 
 tions les plus rares sur les mines et les operations metalliques. Paris 
 1751, 12mo. 2 tom. 
 
 X La France liuiraire. Paris 1769, 2 vol. 8vo. ii. p. 410. 
 
DRY GILDING. 
 
 31 
 
 America, but complains of the negligence with 
 which it was practised. In a passage, however, in 
 the Vienna edition, and which has probably been 
 added by Gobet, we are told that, in the year 1609, 
 Barba attempted to fix quicksilver, and with that 
 view bethought himself of mixing it with fine 
 pounded silver ore; that he at first imagined, with 
 surprise, that he had obtained a mass of silver, but 
 that he soon perceived that the mercury was not 
 changed into silver, but had only attracted the 
 particles of that metal. “ I was,” adds Barba, 
 “ highly pleased with my new discovery of ma- 
 “ naging ore, of extracting its contents, and of 
 “ refining it; and this method I continued to prac- 
 “ tise.” — I imagine that Barba was still in Europe 
 in lb09, and made that experiment before he was 
 acquainted with the smelting-works in America. 
 I am, however, of opinion, that one will see by 
 the original, that Barba did not wish to claim the 
 invention of amalgamation as practised in the 
 mines of America. 
 
 DRY GILDING. 
 
 i 
 
 Dry gilding, as it is called by some workmen, 
 is a light method of gilding, by steeping linen rags 
 in a solution of gold, then burning them ; and, with 
 a piece of cloth dipped in salt-water, rubbing 
 
32 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the ashes over silver intended to be gilt. This me- 
 thod requires neither much labour, nor much gold, 
 and may be employed with advantage for carved 
 work and ornaments. It is however not durable. 
 
 I am of opinion, that this manner of gilding is a 
 German invention, and that foreigners, at least the 
 English, were first made acquainted with it about 
 the end of the last century ; for Robert Southwell 
 describes it in the Philosophical Transactions for 
 the year 1698, and says, that it was known to very 
 few goldsmiths in Germany. 
 
 GOLD VARNISH. 
 
 As mankind could not have every thing that they 
 wished for of gold, they were contented with in- 
 crusting many articles with this precious metal. 
 For that purpose the gold was beat into plates, with 
 which the walls of apartments, dishes, and other 
 vessels were covered. In early ages, these plates 
 were thick, so that gilding in this manner was 
 very expensive;* but in process of time the ex- 
 pense was much lessened, because the art was dis- 
 covered of making these gold plates thinner, and 
 of laying them on with a size. Articles, however, 
 
 * One may see in Homer’s Odyssey, book lii. v. 432, the process 
 employed for gilding, in this manner, the horns of the cow brought 
 by Nestor as an offering to Minerva. 
 
GOLD VARNISH* 
 
 33 
 
 ornamented in this manner were still costly, and 
 the valuable metal was always lost. Yellow golden 
 colours of all kinds were then tried ; but these did 
 not fully produce the required effect, as they want- 
 ed that splendour peculiar to metals, and appeared 
 always languid and dull. It was not till modern 
 times that artists conceived the idea of overlaying 
 with silver, or some cheaper white metal, such 
 things as they wished to have the appearance of 
 gold, and then daubing them over with a yellow 
 transparent varnish, in order to give to the white 
 metal the colour of gold, and to the colour the 
 splendour of metal. “ When we cover our houses 
 “ with gold,” says Seneca, “do we not show that 
 “ we delight in deception ? for we know that coarse 
 “ wood is concealed under that gold.* ” 
 
 This ingenious process, which at present is em- 
 ployed all over Europe in gilding wooden frames, 
 coaches, and various articles, and which was for- 
 merly used in the preparation of the now old-fa- 
 shioned leather tapestry, was invented towards the 
 end of the 17th century. Anderson, in his Historical 
 and chronological deduction of the origin of com- 
 merce, says, that it was introduced into England 
 by one Evelyn in the year 1633; and quotes, in 
 support of this assertion, The present State of 
 England, printed in 1683. 
 
 This invention, however, does not belong to 
 
 * Cum auro tecta perfundimus, quid aliud quam mendacio gaude- 
 mus ? Scimus enim sub illo auro foeda ligna latitare. Epist. 115. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 D 
 
g4 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the English, but to the Italians, and properly to 
 the Sicilians. Antonino Cento, an artist of Pa- 
 lermo, found out the gold varnish, and in the year 
 1 680 published there an account of the method of 
 preparing it. That work I have never seen ; but 
 I found this information in a book printed at Pa- 
 lermo in 1 704, and entitled The Innentions of the 
 Sicilians.* Among the few important things 
 contained in this book, the greater part of which 
 is compiled from old Latin writers, there is, in the 
 additions, a receipt how to prepare the gold var- 
 nish ( 'VCTfiicG d’oro J* The whole account I shall 
 transcribe, as the authors of the French Journal of 
 agriculture, commerce, and the arts, thought it 
 worth their trouble to make it known in that 
 work in 1778. 
 
 “ Take gum lac, and having freed it from the 
 filth and bits of wood with which it is mixed, put 
 it into a small linen bag, and wash it in pure water, 
 till the water no longer becomes red ; then take it 
 from the bag and suffer it to dry. When it is per- 
 fectly dry, pound it very fine ; because the finer it 
 is pounded it will dissolve the more readily. Then 
 take four parts of spirit of wine, and one of the 
 gum, reduced as before directed, to an impalpa- 
 ble powder, so that for every four pounds of 
 
 * La Sicilia inventrice ; overo, le invenzione lodevoli nate in Sici- 
 lia, opera del Dottor. D. Vincenzo Auria, Palermitano : con li diverti- 
 menti geniali, osservazioni, e giunte all’ istessa, di D. Antonio Mon- 
 gitore, sacerdote Palermitano. In Palermo 1704. 300 pages in quarto. 
 
GOLD VARNISH. 
 
 35 
 
 spirit you may have one of gum: mix these to- 
 gether, and, having put them into an alembic, 
 graduate the fire so that the gum may dissolve 
 in the spirit. When dissolved, strain the whole 
 through a strong piece of linen cloth; throw away 
 what remains in the cloth, as of no use, and pre- 
 serve the liquor in a glass bottle closely corked. 
 This is the' gold varnish which may be employed 
 for gilding any kind of wood. 
 
 “ When you wish to use it, you must, in order 
 that the work may be done with more smoothness, 
 employ a brush made of the tail of a certain qua- 
 druped called the vari, well known to those who 
 sell colours for painting; and with this instrument 
 dipped in the liquor wash gently over, three times, 
 the wood which has been silvered. You must, 
 however, remember every time you pass the brush 
 over the wood to let it dry; and thus your work 
 will be extremely beautiful, and have a resemblance 
 to the finest gold.” 
 
 After this invention was made known, it was not 
 difficult to vary, by several methods, the manner 
 of preparing it. Different receipts, therefore, have 
 for that purpose been given in a number of books, 
 such as Croker’s Painter, and others : and, on this 
 account, young artists are frequently at a loss 
 which to choose ; and when a receipt is found better 
 than another, experienced artists keep it always 
 secret. 
 
 With the preparation of that varnish used for 
 
 D 2 
 
36 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 gilding leather-tapestry Reaumur was acquainted, 
 and from his papers it was made known by Fou- 
 geroux de Bondaroy. The method of making the 
 English varnish was communicated by Scarlet to 
 Hellot, in the year 1720; and by Graham to Du 
 Fay, in 1738 In the year 1761, Hellot. gave the 
 receipt to the Academy of Sciences at Paris, who 
 published it in their Memoirs for that year. 
 
 If it be true, as Fougeroux says, that gilded 
 tapestry was made above two hundred years ago, 
 it might be worth the little trouble that such an 
 examination would require to investigate the me- 
 thod used to gild it. Nothing would be necessary 
 but to rub a piece over with rectified spirit of 
 wine, which would dissolve the varnish, and dis- 
 cover the metal. 
 
 TULIPS. 
 
 The greater part of the flowers which adorn 
 our gardens have been brought to us from the 
 Levant. A few have been procured from other 
 parts of the world ; and some o four own indige- 
 nous plants, that grow wild, have, by care and 
 cultivation, been so much improved as to merit a 
 place in our parterres. Our ancestors, perhaps, 
 some centuries ago paid attention to flowers ; but 
 it appears that the Orientals, and particularly the 
 
TULIPS. 
 
 37 
 
 Turks, who in other respects are not very sus- 
 ceptible of the inanimate beauties of nature, were 
 the first people who cultivated a variety of them 
 in their gardens for ornament and pleasure. From 
 their gardens, therefore, have been procured the 
 most of those which decorate ours ; and amongst 
 these is the tulip. 
 
 Few plants acquire through accident, weakness, 
 or disease, so many tints, variegations, and figures, 
 as the tulip. When uncultivated, and in its na- 
 tural state, it is almost of one colour, has large 
 leaves, and an extraordinary long stem. When it 
 has been weakened by culture, it becomes more 
 agreeable in the eyes of the florist. The petals 
 are then paler, more variegated, and smaller; the 
 leaves assume a fainter or softer green colour: and 
 this masterpiece of culture the more beautiful it 
 turns, grows so much the weaker; so that, with 
 the most careful skill and attention, it can with 
 difficulty be transplanted, and even scarcely kept 
 alive. 
 
 That the tulip grows wild in the Levant, and 
 was thence brought to us, may be proved by the tes- 
 timony of many writers. Busbeque found it on 
 the road between Adrianopleand Constantinople;* 
 
 * As we passed, we saw every where abundance of flowers, such 
 as the narcissus, hyacinth, and those called by the Turks-tulipan, 
 not without great astonishment, on account of the time of the year, 
 as it was then the middle of winter, a season unfriendly to flowers. 
 Greece abounds with narcissuses and hyacinths, which have a re- 
 markably fragrant smell : it is, indeed, so strong as to hurt those vvht) 
 
SB 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Shaw found it in Syria, in the plains between 
 Jaffa and Rama; and Chardin on the northern 
 confines of Arabia.* The early-blowing kinds, 
 it appears, were brought to Constantinople from 
 Cavala, and the late-blowing from Caffa ; and on 
 this account the former are called by the Turks 
 Cavala laic, and the latter Cafi laic . Caval is a 
 town on the eastern coast of Macedonia, of which 
 Paul Lucas gives some account ; and Caffa is a 
 town in the Crimea,! or peninsula of Gazaria, as 
 it was called, in the middle ages, from the Gazares, 
 a people very little known-! 
 
 Though florists have published numerous cata- 
 logues of the species of the tulip, botanists are ac- 
 quainted only with two, or at most three, of which 
 scarcely one is indigenous in Europe.^ All those 
 
 are not accustomed to it. The tulipan, however, have little or no 
 smell, but are admired for their beauty and the variety of their colour. 
 The Turks pay great attention to the cultivation of flowers ; nor do 
 they hesitate, though by no means extravagant, to expend several 
 aspers for one that is beautiful. I received several presents of these 
 flowers, which cost me not a little. Buslequii omnia qua extant. 
 
 Basiliae 1740. 8vo. p. 36. 
 
 * Voyages. A Rouen 1723, 8vo. iv. 5g. 
 
 d - Hactenus tuliparum bulbi nobis Byzantio missi sunt, praacocis 
 quidem Cafe lale, serotinae vero Cavala lale, a locis nimirum unde 
 primum Constantinopolim illati sunt, appellatione indita. Caffa urbs 
 est in peninsula Gazaria dicta, rpi® inter Propontidem et Euxinum 
 pontum sita est ; Cavalla vero in 'Macedonia urbs maritima. Clusii 
 variorum plantarum historia. Antverpiae 1601. fob p. 150. 
 
 + See some account of them in Memoria populorum ad Danulium , 
 
 by Stritter. 
 
 § The tulipa sylvestris Linn, grows in the southern parts of 
 France. Dodonceus says, in his Florum coroniarum herlarum historia, 
 
TULIPS. 
 
 39 
 
 found in our gardens have been propagated from 
 the species named after that learned man, to whom 
 natural history is so much indebted, the Linnaeus 
 of the sixteenth century, Conrad Gesner, who first 
 made the tulip known by a botanical description 
 and a figure. In his additions to the works of Va- 
 lerius Cordus, he tells us, that he saw the first in 
 the beginning of April 1559, at Augsburg, in the 
 garden of the learned and ingenious counsellor John 
 Henry Herwart.* The seeds had been brought 
 from Constantinople, or according to others from 
 Cappadocia. This flower was then known in Italy 
 under the name of tulipa, or tulip, which is said to 
 be of Turkish extraction, and given to it on account 
 of its resembling a turban, f 
 
 Antverpias 156g. 8vo. p. 204. In Thracia et Cappadocia tulipa exit ; 
 Italiae et Belgio peregrinus est flos. Minores alicubi in Gallia Nar- 
 bonensi nasci feruntur. Linnaeus reckons it among the Swedish 
 plants, and Haller names it among those of Swisserland, but says, 
 afterwards, I do not believe it to be indigenous, though it is found 
 here and there in the meads. Hist, stirp. ii. p. 115. It appears that 
 this species is earlier than the common tulipa gesneriana, though 
 propagated from it. The useless roots thrown perhaps from Ges- 
 ner’s garden have grown up in a wild state, and become natu- 
 ralized, as the European cattle have in America. See Miller s Gar- 
 dener's Dictionary , iv. p. 518. 
 
 * Stetten, in his History of the arts at Augsburg, celebrates Her- 
 wart’s gardens and his collection of coins. See Stetten’s Kunst-Ge - 
 schichte der Reichs-Stadt Augsburg. Augsb. 1779, 8vo. p. 122 and 
 509. 
 
 f See Martini Lexicon philologicum. Trajecti Batav. 1711. 
 2 vol. fol. ii. p. 780. and Megiseri Diction. Turcico-Lat. where the 
 word tulbent , a turban, is derived from the Chaldaic. 
 
40 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Balbinus asserts, that Busbeque brought the first 
 tulip-roots to Prague, from which they were after- 
 wards spread all over Germany.* * * § This is not im- 
 probable; for Busbeque says, in a letter written 
 in 1554, that this flower was then new to him; 
 and it is known that besides coins and manuscripts 
 he collected also natural curiosities, and brought 
 with him from the Levant. Nay, he tells us that 
 he paid very dear to the Turks for these tulips; 
 but I do not find he any where says that he was 
 the first who brought them from the East. 
 
 In the year 1565 there w r ere tulips in the gar- 
 den of Mr. Fugger, from whom Gesner wished to 
 procure some.')' They first appeared in Provence, 
 in France, in the garden of the celebrated Peyresc, 
 in the year 161 1. J 
 
 After the tulip was known, Dutch merchants, 
 and rich people at Vienna, who were fond of 
 flowers, sent, at different times, to Constantinople 
 for various kinds. The first roots planted in Eng- 
 land were sent thithel* from Vienna, about the end 
 of the sixteenth century, according to Hakluyt; § 
 
 * Balbini Miscellanea Bohemias, p. 100. 
 
 + Gesneri Epistolae medicinales. Tiguri 1577, 8vo. p. 79 and 80. 
 
 J Vita Peirescii, auctore Gassendo. Hag® Comit^m 1 655. 4to. 
 
 p. 80. 
 
 § Hakluyt says, And now within these four years, there have been 
 brought into England from Vienna in Austria, divers kind of flowers 
 called tulipas, and those and others procured thither a little before, 
 from Constantinople, by an excellent man, M. Carolus Clusius. See 
 Biographia Britannica , ii. p. 164. 
 
TULIPS. 
 
 41 
 
 who is, however, wrong in ascribing to Clusius 
 the honour of having first introduced them into 
 Europe; for that naturalist only collected and 
 described all the then known species. 
 
 These flowers, which are of no farther use than 
 to ornament gardens; which are exceeded in beauty 
 by many other plants, and whose duration is short, 
 and very precarious, became, in the middle of the 
 17th century, the object of a trade such as is not to 
 be met with in the history of commerce, and by 
 which their price rose above that of the most pre- 
 cious metals. An account of this trade has been 
 given by many authors ; but by all late ones it has 
 been misrepresented. People laugh at the Tulipo- 
 mania,* because they believe that the beauty and 
 rarity of the flowers induced florists to give such 
 extravagant prices : they imagine that the tulips 
 were purchased so excessively dear in order to or- 
 nament gardens ; but this supposition is false, as 
 I shall show hereafter. 
 
 This trade was not carried on throughout all 
 Europe, but in some cities of the Netherlands, 
 particularly Amsterdam, Harlem, Utrecht, Alk- 
 mar, Leyden, Rotterdam, Hoorn, Enkhuysen, and 
 Meedenblick ; and rose to the greatest height in 
 the years 1634,-35,-36, and -37. f Munting has 
 
 * This word was coined by Menage. 
 
 f The principal works in which an account of this Tulipotnania 
 is to be found are : Eerste tzamenspraak tusschen TVaermondt en Gaar- 
 gocd nopens de opkomil en ondergang van Flora. Amsterdam lG43, 
 
42 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 given, from some of the books kept during that 
 trade, a few of the prices then paid ; of which 
 I shall present the reader with the following. For 
 a root of that species called the Viceroy the after- 
 mentioned articles, valued as below expressed, 
 were agreed to be delivered. 
 
 florins 
 
 2 lasts of wheat . . 448 
 
 4 ditto rye . . . 55 8 
 
 4 fat oxen . . . 480 
 
 8 fat swine . . . 240 
 
 12 fat sheep . . . 120 
 
 2 hogsheads of wine . 70 
 
 4 tons of beer . . 32 
 
 2 ditto butter . « 192 
 
 1000 pounds of cheese . 120 
 
 a complete bed . . ' 100 
 
 a suit of clothes . . 80 
 
 a silver beaker . . 60 
 
 Sum 2300 
 
 12mo. Meterani novi or New History of the Netherlands, part 
 fourth. Amst. 1040. folio, p. 518. from which Marquard, Dc jure 
 mercatorum, p. 181, has taken his information. Naauwkeurige 
 leschryving der aardgewassen , door Abraham Munting. Leyden en 
 Utrecht l6'g6. folio, p. 907. De Koophandel von Amsterdam, door 
 Le Long, ii. p. 307. Le Negoce d' Amsterdam, par J. P. Ricard. A 
 Rouen 1723. 4to. p. 1 1 . Breslauer Samlung von Natur-und Kunst - 
 Geschichten, 1721, May, p. 521. Francisci Schaubuhne , vol. ii. 
 p. 639. Tenzel, Monatliche Unterredungen, 1690, Noveijib. p. 1039- 
 , Annee Liter air e, 1 773, xv. p. lb. Martini Zeiler Miscellanea, p. 2Q- 
 Christ. Fundi Orbis politicus, p. 879- 
 
TULIPS. 
 
 43 
 
 These tulips were sold afterwards according to the 
 weight of the roots. Four hundred perils* of 
 Admiral Liefken cost 4400 florins ; 446 ditto of 
 Admiral Van der Eyk, 1620 florins; 106 perils 
 Schilder cost l6l5 florins; 200 ditto Semper 
 Augustus, 5500 florins ; 410 ditto Viceroy, 3000 
 florins, &c. The species Semper Augustus has 
 been often sold for 2000 florins; and it once 
 happened, that there were only two roots of it to 
 be had, the one at Amsterdam and the other at 
 Harlem. For a root of this species, one agreed 
 to give 4600 florins, together with a new car- 
 riage, two grey horses, and a complete harness. 
 Another agreed to give for a root twelve acres of 
 land: for those who had not ready money, pro- 
 mised their moveable and unmoveable goods, 
 houses and lands, cattle and clothes. A man, 
 whose name M unting once knew, but could not 
 recollect, won by this trade more than 60,000 
 florins in the course of four months. It w'as fol- 
 lowed not only by mercantile people, but also by 
 the first noblemen, citizens of every description, 
 mechanics, seamen, farmers, turf-diggers, chimney- 
 sweeps, footmen, maid-servants, and old-clothes- 
 w'omen, &c. At first, every one won and no one 
 lost. Some of the poorest people gained in a few 
 months houses, coaches and horses, and figured 
 away like the first characters in the land. In every 
 
 * A peril is a small weight less than a grain. Trans. 
 
44 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 town some tavern was selected which served as a 
 change, where high and low traded in flowers, and 
 confirmed their bargains with the most sumptuous 
 entertainments. They formed laws for themselves, 
 and had their notaries and clerks. 
 
 When the nature of this trade is considered, it 
 will readily be perceived, that to get possession of 
 these flowers was not the real object of it, though 
 many have represented it in that light. The price 
 of tulips rose always higher from the year 1634 to 
 the year 1637; but had the object of the pur- 
 chaser been to get possession of the flowers, the 
 price in such a length of time must have fallen 
 instead of risen. “ Raise the prices of the pro- 
 “ Auctions of agriculture, when you wish to reduce 
 “ them,” says Young; and in this he is undoubtedly 
 right, for a great consumption causes a greater re- 
 production. This has been sufficiently proved by 
 the price of asparagus at Gottingen. As it was 
 much sought after, and large prices paid for it, 
 more of it was planted, and the price has fallen. 
 In like manner plantations of tulips would have 
 been formed in a short time in Holland, and 
 florists would have been able to purchase flowers 
 at a much lower price. But this was not done; and 
 the chimney-sweeper, who threw aside his besom, 
 did not become a gardener, though he was a 
 dealer in flowers. Roots would have been im- 
 ported from distant countries as asparagus was 
 from Hanover and Brunswick to Gottingen; (he 
 
TULIPS. 
 
 45 
 
 high price would have induced people to go to 
 Constantinople to purchase roots, as the Europeans 
 travel to Golconda and Visapour to procure pre- 
 cious stones: but the dealers in tulips confined 
 themselves to their own country, without thinking 
 of long journeys. I will allow that a flower might 
 have become scarce, and consequently dearer ; but 
 it would have been impossible for the price to rise 
 to a great height, and continue so for a year. How 
 ridiculous would it have been to purchase useless 
 roots with their weight of gold, if the possession 
 of the flower had been the only object! Great 
 is the folly of mankind; but they are not fools 
 without a cause, as they would have been under * 
 such circumstances. 
 
 During the time of the Tulipomania, a specu- 
 lator often offered and paid large sums for a root 
 which he never received, and never wished to re- 
 ceive. Another sold roots which he never pos- 
 sessed or delivered. Oft did a nobleman purchase 
 of a chimney-sweep tulips to the amount of 2000 
 florins, and sell them at the same time to a farmer ; 
 and neither the nobleman, chimney-sweep, or 
 farmer had roots in their possession, or wished to 
 possess them. Before the tulip season was over, 
 more roots were sold and purchased, bespoke, and 
 promised to be delivered, than in all probability 
 were to be found in the gardens of Holland ; and 
 w'hen Semper Augustus was not to be had, which 
 happened twice, no species perhaps was oftener 
 
46 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 purchased and sold. In the space of three years, 
 as Munting tells us, more than ten millions were 
 expended in this trade, in only one town of 
 Holland. 
 
 To understand this gambling traffic, it may 
 be necessary to make the following supposition. 
 A nobleman bespoke of a merchant a tulip-root, 
 to be delivered in six months, at the price of 1000 
 florins. During these six months the price of that 
 species of tulip must have risen or fallen, or re- 
 mained as it was. We shall suppose, that at the 
 expiration of that time the price was 1500 florins; 
 in that case, the nobleman did not wish to have 
 the tulip, and the merchant paid him 500 florins, 
 which the latter lost and the former won. If the 
 price was fallen when the six months were expired, 
 so that a root could be purchased for 800 florins, 
 the nobleman then paid to the merchant 200 
 florins, which he received as so much gain ; but if 
 the price continued the same, that is 1 000 florins, 
 neither party gained or lost. In all these circum- 
 stances, however, no one ever thought of delivering 
 the roots or of receiving them. Henry Munting, 
 in 1636, sold to a merchant at Alkmar, a tulip- 
 root for 7000 florins, to be delivered in six 
 months ; but as the price during that time had 
 fallen, the merchant paid, according to agree- 
 ment, only ten per cent. ££ So that my father, 
 says the son, £C received 700 florins for nothing ; 
 “ but he would much rather have delivered the root 
 
TULIPS. 
 
 4 7 
 
 u itself for 7000.” The term of these contracts was 
 often much shorter, and on that account the trade 
 became brisker. In proportion as more gained by 
 this traffic, more engaged in it; and those who 
 had money to pay to one, had soon money to re- 
 ceive of another; as at faro, one loses upon one 
 card, and at the same time wins on another. The 
 tulip-dealers often discounted sums also, and trans- 
 ferred their debts to one another; so that large sums 
 were paid without cash, without bills, and without 
 goods, as by the Virements at Lyons. The whole 
 of this trade was a game at hazard, as the Missi- 
 sippi trade was afterwards, and as stock-jobbing is 
 at present. The only difference between the tulip- 
 trade and stock-jobbing is, that at the end of the 
 contract the price in the latter is determined by the 
 Stock-exchange ; whereas in the former it was de- 
 termined by that at which most bargains were 
 made. High and low-priced kinds of tulips were 
 procured, in order that both the rich and the poor 
 might gamble with them; and the roots were 
 weighed by perits, that an imagined whole might 
 be divided, and that people might not only have 
 whole, but half and quarter lots. Whoever is sur- 
 prised that such a traffic should become general, 
 needs only to reflect upon what is done where lot- 
 teries are established, by which trades are often 
 neglected, and even abandoned, because a speedier 
 mode of getting fortunes is pointed out to the 
 lowei classes. In short, the tulip-trade may very 
 
48 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 well serve to explain stock-jobbing, of which so 
 much is written in gazettes, and of which so many 
 talk in company without understanding it ; and I 
 hope on that account, I shall be forgiven for em- 
 ploying so much time in illustrating what I should 
 otherwise have considered as below my notice. 
 
 At length, however, this trade fell all of a sudden. 
 Among such a number of contracts many were 
 broken ; many had engaged to pay more than 
 they were able ; the whole stock of the adven- 
 turers was consumed by the extravagance of the 
 winners; new adventurers no more engaged in 
 it; and many becoming sensible of the odious 
 traffic in which they had been concerned, returned 
 to their former occupations. By these means, as 
 the value of tulips still fell, and never rose, the 
 sellers wished to deliver the roots in natura to the 
 purchasers at the prices agreed on ; but as the 
 latter had no desire for tdlips at even such a low 
 rate, they refused to take them or to pay for them. 
 To end this dispute, the tulip-dealers of Alkmar 
 sfcnt in the year 1637 deputies to Amsterdam; and 
 a resolution was passed on the 24th of lebruary, 
 that all contracts made prior to the last of Novem- 
 ber 1636 should be null and void; and that, in 
 those made after that date, purchasers should be 
 free on paying ten per cent, to the vender. 
 
 The more people became disgusted with this trade 
 the more did complaints increase to the magistrates 
 of the different towns ; but as the courts there would 
 
TULIPS. 
 
 49 
 
 take no cognizance of it, the complainants applied 
 to the States of Holland and West Friesland. 
 These referred the business to the determination of 
 the provincial council at the Hague, which on the 
 27 th of April 1637 declared, that it would not de- 
 liver its opinion on this traffic until it had received 
 more information on the subject; that in the mean 
 time every vender should offer his tulips to the 
 purchaser; and, in case he refused to receive them, 
 the vender should either keep them, or sell them to 
 another, and have recourse on the purchaser for 
 any loss he might sustain. It was ordered also, 
 that all contracts should remain in force till further 
 inquiry was made. But as no one could foresee 
 what judgment would be given respecting the va- 
 lidity of each contract, the buyers were more obs- 
 tinate in refusing payment than before ; and ven- 
 ders, thipking it much safer to accommodate mat- 
 ters amicably, were at length satisfied with a small 
 profit instead of exorbitant gain: and thus ended 
 this extraordinary traffic, or rather gambling. 
 
 It is however certain, that persons fond of 
 flowers, particularly in Holland, have paid, and 
 still pay, very high prices for tulips, as the cata- 
 logues of flowers show.* This may be called the 
 lesser Tulipomania, which has given occasion 
 
 * In the year 1769 , the dearest kinds in England were Don Que- 
 vedo and Valentinier ; the former cost 2l. 2s. and the latter 2 1 . 12s. 6d. 
 See Weston’s Botanicus Universalis, part 2d. In the German cata- 
 logues none of the prices are so high. The name Semper Augustus 
 is not once to be found in new catalogues. 
 
 VOL. I. E 
 
50 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 to many laughable circumstances. When John 
 Balthasar Schuppe was in Holland, a merchant 
 gave a herring to a sailor who had brought him 
 some goods. The sailor, seeing some valuable tulip- 
 roots lying about, which he considered as of little 
 consequence, thinking them to be onions, took 
 some of them unperceived, and ate them with his 
 herring. Through this mistake the sailor’s break- 
 fast cost the merchant a much greater sum than if 
 he had treated the Prince of Orange. No less 
 laughable is the anecdote of an Englishman who 
 travelled with Matthews. Being in a Dutchman’s 
 garden, he pulled a couple of tulips, on which 
 he wished to make some botanical observations, 
 and put them in his pocket ; but he was appre- 
 hended as a thief, and obliged to pay a considerable 
 sum before he could obtain his liberty.* 
 
 Reimman and others accuse Just. Lipsius of the 
 Tulipomania but if by this word we understand 
 that gambling traffic which I have described, the 
 accusation is unfounded. Lipsius was fond of 
 scarce and beautiful flowers, which he endeavour- 
 ed to procure by the assistance of his friends, and 
 which he cultivated himself with great care in his 
 garden ; but this taste can by no means be called 
 a mania. J Other learned men of the same age 
 
 * Blainville’s Travels. 
 
 •f Reimman’s Introductio in Histor. Litterariam, iii. 3. p. 92 . 
 
 t That he might relax and refresh his mind worn out by study, 
 he amused himself with the cultivation of his garden and of flowers. 
 
TULIPS, 
 
 51 
 
 were fond of flowers, such as John Barclay,* 
 Pompeius de Angelis, f and others, who would 
 probably have been so, even though the cultiva- 
 tion of flowers had not been the prevailing taste. 
 It however cannot be denied, that learned men 
 may be infected with epidemical follies. In the 
 present age, many have become physiognomists, 
 because physiognomy is in fashion; and even 
 animal magnetism has met with partisans to sup- 
 port it. 
 
 and particularly of tulips, the roots of which he was at great pains 
 to procure from all parts of the world, by means of Dodonaeus, Clu- 
 sius, and Boisotus, men singularly well skilled in horticulture, and by 
 others of his friends. — Here, at a distance from civil tumult, with a 
 cheerful countenance and placid eye, he sauntered through his plants 
 and flowers, contemplating sometimes one declining, sometimes an- 
 other springing up, and forgetting all his cares amidst the pleasure 
 which these objects afforded him. See the Life of Lipsius, prefixed 
 to the edition of his works printed at Antwerp in 1637- The like 
 account is to be found in Adami Vita philosophorum. This is con- 
 firmed by what Lipsius says himself in his book De Constantia, ii. 
 2, 3. in praise of gardening. 
 
 * He rented a house near to the Vatican, with a garden, in which 
 he had planted the choicest flowers, and those chiefly which are not 
 propagated from seeds or roots, but from bulbs. These flowers were 
 not known about thirty years before, nor had they been ever seen at 
 Rome, but lay neglected in the Alps. — Of these flowers, which have 
 no smell, but are esteemed only on account of their colours, Barclay 
 was remarkably fond, and purchased their bulbs at a great price. 
 Erythrai Pinacoiheca. Lipsiae 1712. 8vo. iii. 17. p. 623. See also 
 Pauli Freheri Theatrum, p. 1515. 
 
 f Erythr. Pinacoth. iii. 24. p. 650. 
 
HISTORY OF INVENTIONS* 
 
 3 % 
 
 CANARY BIRD. 
 
 This little bird, highly esteemed for its song, 
 which is reared with so much care, particularly by 
 the fair sex, and which affords an innocent amuse- 
 ment to those who are fond of the wild notes of 
 nature, is a native of those islands from which it 
 takes its name. As it was not known in Europe 
 till the fifteenth century, no account of it is to be 
 met with in any of the works of the old orni- 
 thologists. Bellon, who about the year 1555 de- 
 scribed all the birds then known, does not so much 
 as mention it. At that period it was brought from 
 the Canary Islands. It was therefore so dear that it 
 could be procured only by people of fortune, and 
 those who purchased w r ere even often imposed on.* 
 It was called the sugar-bird, because it was said to 
 be fond of the sugar-cane, and that it could eat 
 sugar in great abundance. This circumstance seems 
 to be very singular; for that salt is to many fowls 
 a poison. Experiments have shewn, that a pi- 
 geon to which four drams of sugar were given 
 died in four hours, and that a duck which had 
 swallowed five drams did not live seven hours 
 after. It is certain, therefore, that the power of 
 poison is relative. 
 
 The first figure of this bird is given by Aldro- 
 
 * Gesneri Historic Animalium liber tertius. Tiguri 1555. fob 
 p. 234. 
 
CANARY BIRD. 
 
 53 
 
 ivandi,* but it is small and inaccurate. That 
 naturalist reckons the Canary bird among the 
 number of those which were scarce and expensive, 
 as it was brought from a distant country with 
 great care and attention. The first good figure of 
 it is to be found in Olina : 'j* it has been copied by 
 both Johnston and Will ugh by. 
 
 In the middle of the 17 th century these birds be- 
 gan to be bred in Europe ; and to this the follow- 
 ing circumstance, related by Olina, seems to have 
 given occasion. A vessel, which, among other 
 commodities, was carrying a number of Canary 
 birds to Leghorn, was wrecked on the coast of 
 Italy; and these birds, being thus set at liberty, 
 flew to the nearest land, which was the Island of 
 Elba, where they found the climate so favourable, 
 that they multiplied, and perhaps would have be- 
 come domesticated, had they not been caught in 
 snares ; for it appears that the breed of them there 
 has been long since destroyed. J Olina says, that 
 the breed soon degenerated ; but it is proba- 
 ble that these Canary birds, which were perhaps 
 all males, did at the Island of Elba what the 
 European sailors do in India. By coupling with 
 the birds of the island, they may have produced 
 
 * Aldrovandi Ornithologiae tomus alter. Francofurti l6l0. fol. 
 p. 355. tab. 14. fig. 31. 
 
 f Uccelliera, overo Discorso della natura di diversi uccelli — opera 
 di Gio. Pietro Olina. In Roma 1()22. 4to. p. 7. 
 
 t They are not named by Kostlin among the birds which he ob- 
 served at Elba. 
 
54 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 mules. Such bastards are described by Gesner 
 and other naturalists.* 
 
 The breeding of these birds was at first at- 
 tended with great difficulty; partly because the 
 treatment and attention they required were not 
 known, and partly because males chiefly, and few 
 females, were brought to Europe. We are told, 
 that the Spaniards once forbade the exportation 
 of males, that they might secure to themselves the 
 trade carried on in these birds, and that they 
 ordered the bird-catchers either to strangle the 
 females or to set them at liberty. f But this order 
 seems to have been unnecessary; for, as the fe- 
 males commonly do not sing, or are much inferior 
 in the strength of their notes to the males, the latter 
 only were sought after as objects of trade. In 
 the like manner, as the male parrots are much su- 
 perior in colour to the females, the males are 
 more esteemed, and more of them are brought to 
 Europe than of the females. It is probable, there- 
 fore, that, in our system of ornithology, many fe- 
 male parrots belonging to a species already well 
 known are considered as a distinct species. It 
 
 * Gesneri redivivi, aucti et emendati tomus ii. Franc. 1669. fol. 
 p. 62. More information respecting such bastards may be found in 
 Ornithologie par Brisson, t. iii. Paris 1760. 4to. p. 187- Hallens 
 Naturgeschichte der Thiere, ii. p.370. and Frisch, Vorstellung der 
 vogel in Teutschland, the twelfth plate of which contains several 
 good figures. 
 
 t Coleri CEconomia ruralis et domestica. Franc. 16SO. folio, 
 i. p. 621. 
 
CANARY BIRD. 
 
 55 
 
 was at first believed, that those Canary birds bred 
 in the Canary Islands were much better singers 
 than those reared in Europe ;* but this at present 
 is doubted. f In latter times various treatises 
 have been published in different languages, on the 
 manner of breeding these birds, and many people 
 have made it a trade, by which they have acquired 
 considerable gain. It does no discredit to the in- 
 dustry of the Tyrolese that they have carried it to 
 the greatest extent. At Y mst, there is a company, 
 who, after the breeding season is over, send out 
 persons to different parts of Germany and Swisser- 
 land to purchase birds from those who breed them. 
 Each person brings with him commonly from 
 three to four hundred, which are afterwards 
 carried for sale, not only through every part of 
 Germany, but also to England, Russia, and 
 even Constantinople. About sixteen hundred are 
 brought every year to England ; where the dealers 
 in them, notwithstanding the considerable ex- 
 pense they are at, and after carrying them about 
 on their backs, perhaps a hundred miles, sell 
 them for five shillings a piece. This trade, hitherto 
 neglected, is now carried on in Schwarzwalde ; 
 and at present there is a citizen here at Gottin- 
 gen who takes with him every year to England 
 several Canary birds and bulfinches ( loxia pyr- 
 
 * General history of America, with Baumgarten’s preface, vol. i. 
 p. 557- 
 
 f Barrington’s paper in the Philos. Trans, vol. lxiii. p. 249» 
 
56 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 rhula ), with the produce of which he purchases 
 such small wares as he has occasion for. 
 
 The principal food of these birds is the Canary 
 seed, which, as is commonly affirmed, and not 
 improbably, was first brought, for this purpose, 
 from the Canary Islands to Spain, and thence dis- 
 persed all over Europe. Most of the old botanists, 
 however, are of opinion, that the plant which 
 produces it is the same as that called pkalaris 
 by Dioscorides.* Should this be true, it will 
 follow that this kind of grass must have grown 
 wild in other places besides the island it takes 
 its name from ; which is not improbable. But 
 those who read the different descriptions which 
 the ancients have given of j bhalaris, will, in my 
 opinion, observe that they may be equally applied 
 to more plants ; and Pliny seems to have used this 
 name for more than one species of grass, f 
 
 However this may be, it is certain that this seed, 
 when it was used as food for these birds, began to 
 be cultivated first in Spain, and afterwards in the 
 southern parts of France. At present it is culti- 
 vated in various parts, and forms no inconsiderable 
 branch of trade, particularly in the island of 
 Sicily, J where the plant is called Scagliuola , or 
 
 * Phalaris Canariensis. The best figure and description of it are to 
 be found in Schreber’s Beschreibung der Grdser, ii. p. 83 . tab. x. 2 . 
 
 t Lib. iii. c. 159. and lib. xxvii. c. 12 . 
 
 X Agricoltura, prodotti e commercio della Sicilia 5 dell’ Ab. Do- 
 menico Sestini 1778. 8vo. 
 
CANARY BIRD. 
 
 57 
 
 Scaghiola. The seed is sold principally to the 
 French and the Genoese. In England, the indus- 
 trious inhabitants of the Isle of Thanet, particu- 
 larly those around Margate, gain considerably by 
 this article, as they can easily transport it to 
 London by water. * * * § 
 
 That this plant might be cultivated with little 
 trouble in Germany, is shewn by the yearly expe- 
 rience of those who raise it in their gardens, and by 
 its having become so naturalized in some parts of 
 Hesse, | that it propagates by seed of itself in the 
 fields. The use of the seed might also be ex- 
 tended, for it yields good meal ; but the grains 
 are not easily freed from the husks. 
 
 I shall here take occasion to remark, that Savary + 
 has been guilty of an error, when he says that 
 argol is cultivated in the Canary Islands in order 
 to be sold as food for Canary birds. One may 
 easily perceive that this mistake has arisen from 
 his confounding that moss used for dyeing, with 
 this kind of grass; and I should not have con- 
 sidered it worth notice, had it not been copied 
 into Ludovici’s Dictionary of Trade, § from which, 
 perhaps, it may be copied into the works of 
 others. 
 
 * Miller’s Gardener’s Dictionary. Museum Rusticum. 
 
 f C. Moench, Enumeratio plantarum Hassiae inferioris. Ctssellis 
 1777- 8vo. i. p. 24. 
 
 X Dictionnaire de Commerce, t, v. Copenhague 1765, fol. p. 1 14Q. 
 
 § In the last edition of 1765, ii. p. 128. 
 
58 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 ARGOL. 
 
 Under the names Orseille, Orceille, Orsolle, 
 Ursolle, Orcheil, Orchel, in Italian Oricello,* 
 Orcella, Roccella, in Dutch Orchillie, and in 
 English Argol, Canary weed, or Orchilla weed, is 
 understood a moss used for dyeing, and from 
 which a kind of paint is also prepared. This 
 species of moss, of which the best figure and a 
 full description may be seen in Dillen,'|' is by 
 Linnaeus called Lichen roccella. It is found, in 
 abundance, in some of the islands near the Afri- 
 can coast, particularly in the Canaries, and in 
 several of the islands in the Archipelago. It 
 grows upright, partly in single, partly in double 
 stems, which are about two inches in height. 
 When it is old, these stems are crowned with a 
 button sometimes round, and sometimes of a flat 
 form, which Tournefort, very properly, compares 
 to the excrescences on the arms of the sepia. Its 
 colour is sometimes a light, and sometimes a dark 
 grey. Of this moss with lime, urine, and alkaline 
 salts, is formed a dark red paste, which in com- 
 merce has the same name, and which is much 
 
 * In the Dictionary of the Academy della Crusca the word oricello 
 is thus explained : Tintura colla quale si tingono i panni, che si fa 
 con orina d’uomo, e con altri ingredienti. 
 
 f Dillenii Historia muscorum, Oxonii 1741. 4to. p. 120. 
 
AllGOL. 59 
 
 used in dyeing. That well-known substance called 
 lacmus is also made of it. 
 
 Theophrastus,* Dioscorides, 'f and their tran- 
 scriber Pliny, J give the name of Phycos thalcission 
 or pontion to a plant, which, notwithstanding its 
 name, is not a sea- weed but a moss; as it grew on 
 the rocks of different islands, and particularly on 
 those of Crete or Candia. It had, in their time, 
 been long used for dyeing wool, and the colour it 
 gave when fresh was so beautiful, that it excelled 
 the ancient purple, which was not red, as many 
 suppose, but violet. Pliny tells us that with this 
 moss dyers gave the ground or first tint to those 
 cloths which they intended to dye with the costly 
 purple. At least, I so understand, with Hardouin 
 and others, the words conchy liis sub st emit ur, which 
 
 * Alga marina, to no-jTtov <pvxoj, quam spongiarii pelagicam defe- 
 runt, in Creta insula, juxta terram, super saxa plurima optimaque 
 provenit, qua non solum vittas, sed etiam lanas vestesque inficiunt, 
 et quamdiu recens infectio sit, color longe purpuram praestat. Hist. 
 Plant, iv. c. 7. p. 82. ed. Heinsii. 
 
 1“ E phyci marini generibus tertium candidum, nascens in Creta, 
 floridum valde, quod nulla corruptionis labe polluitur. — Hoc fuco 
 quidam putant mulieres suum colorem mentin, cum tamen sit radi- 
 cula ejusdem nominis qua se fucant. Lib. iv. c. Q5. 
 
 X Phycos thalassion, id est fucus marinus, lactucae similis, qui 
 conchyliis substernitur. Tria autem genera ejus. Tertium crispis 
 foliis, quo in Creta vestes tingunt; omnia ejusdem usus. Lib. xxvi. 
 c. 10. 
 
 Algae maris plura genera, uti diximus, longo folio et latiore, 
 rubente, aliave crispo. Laudatissima quae in Creta insula juxta ter- 
 ram in petris nascitur ; tingendis etiam lanis ita colorem alligans, ut 
 elui postea non possit. Lib. xxxii. c. 6. 
 
6'0 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the French dyers express by the phrase donner 
 le pied. 
 
 Though several kinds of moss produce a similar 
 red dye, I agree in opinion with Dillen, that phycos 
 thalassion is our argol ; for, at present, no species is 
 known which communicates so excellent a colour, 
 and which corresponds so nearly with the descrip- 
 tion of Theophrastus. Besides, it is still collected 
 in the Grecian islands, and it appears that it has 
 been used there since the earliest ages.* 
 
 Tournefort'j' found this moss in the island 
 Amorgos, which lies on the eastern side of Naxos, 
 and which, at present, is called Morgo. In his 
 time it was sent to England and Alexandria, at 
 the rate of ten rix-dollars per hundred weight; 
 and he says, expressly, that it was common in the 
 other islands. He shews from Suidas, Julius Pol- 
 lux, + and other ancient writers, that this island 
 was once celebrated for a kind of red linen cloth, 
 which in commerce had the name of the island ; 
 
 * Hardouin quotes Aristot. Hist. Animal, vi. c. Q. edit. Scaligeri. 
 But that naturalist speaks of a sea-weed which was cast on shore by 
 the Hellespont. A dye or paint was made of it, and the people in 
 the neighbourhood imagined that the purple of this sea-weed, which 
 served as food to certain shell-fish, communicated to them their 
 beautiful dye. A proof that sea-weed (fuel) can communicate a red 
 colour, may be found in the Transactions of the Swedish Academy, 
 iv. p. 29 - 
 
 •f Voyage du Levant. Amsterd. 1718 . 4to. i. p. 89- 
 X Prffiterea Amorgina, optima quidern in Amorgo fiunt, sed et 
 hcec e lino esse asserunt. Tunica autem Amorgina, etiam amorgis 
 nuncupatur. Onomasticon, vii. c. 16 . 
 
ARGOL. Gl 
 
 and he conjectures, not without probability, that 
 it might have been dyed with this moss. 
 
 Imperati* says, that the roccella of which he 
 gives a figure, was procured from the Levant. 
 This naturalist gives the figure also of a moss in 
 Candia, used for dyeing, which was then called ru- 
 bicula , and which, as may be seen in Bauhin,j' is 
 comprehended under the name of Roccella. Whe- 
 ther this be a variation from that species cannot 
 with certainty be determined, from the few obser- 
 vations on which the characterizing of the crypto- 
 gamia class of plants depends. Dillen and Lin- 
 nosus, however, make it a distinct species; and 
 the latter names it Lichen fuciformis. This distinc- 
 tion is, perhaps, not improper; for the ruhicula 
 does not grow like a shrub or bush, as the roccella, 
 but belongs rather to the leafy-formed mosses. 
 Be this as it may, it is certain, as Dillen has re- 
 marked, and as I know from my own observation, 
 that L. fuciformis is often mixed with the real 
 roccella, and particularly with that brought from 
 the Canary Islands ; but whether it be equally 
 good, experience has not yet taught us. 
 
 From what has been said, I think, I may ven- 
 ture to conclude that our argol was not unknown 
 to the ancient Grecians. But when was it first 
 employed as a dye by the moderns, and intro- 
 duced into our commerce? Some writers are of 
 
 * Histor. nat. Colonise 1695, 4to. lib. xxvii. c. 11 . 
 f Pinax plant, p. 365. Hist, plant, iii. 2 . p. 796. 
 
62 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 opinion, that this drug was first found in the 
 Canary Islands, and afterwards in the Levant 
 The use of it, therefore, is not older than the last 
 discovery of that island. That this opinion is 
 false, will appear from what follows. 
 
 Among the oldest and principal Florentine fa- 
 milies is that known under the name of the Ori- 
 cellarii or Rucellari, Ruscellai or Rucellai, several 
 of whom have distinguished themselves as states- 
 men, and men of letters.* This family are de- 
 scended from a German nobleman named Ferro 
 or Frederigo, who lived in the beginning of the 
 twelfth century.'}' One of his descendants, in 
 the year 1300 , carried on a great trade in the 
 Levant, by which he acquired considerable riches, 
 and returning at length to Florence,- with his for- 
 tune, first made known in Europe the art of 
 dyeing with argol. It is said, that a little before 
 his return from the Levant, happening to make 
 water on a rock covered with this moss, he ob- 
 served, that the plant, which was there called respio 
 or respo , and in Spain orciglia, acquired by the 
 urine a purple, or, as others say, a red colour. 
 He, therefore, tried several experiments; and when 
 
 * Bayle, in his Dictionary, mentions several distinguished persons 
 of this family, some of them under the name of Oricellarius, and 
 others under that of Rucellai. He shews that they all belong to 
 one stock ; but of the origin of the name he seems to have been 
 ignorant. 
 
 'f' Other accounts say that he was an Englishman} but the name 
 Frederigo confirms his German extraction. 
 
ARGOL. 
 
 63 
 
 he had brought to perfection the art of dyeing 
 wool with this plant, he made it known at Flo- 
 rence, where he alone practised it for a consider- 
 able time, to the great benefit of the state. From 
 this useful invention, the family received the name 
 of Oricellarii, from which, at last, was formed 
 Rucellai.* 
 
 As several documents, still preserved among the 
 Florentine archives, confirm the above account of 
 the origin of this family name, from the discovery 
 
 * A particular account of this celebrated family is to be found in 
 Giornale de Letterati d' Italia , t. xxxiii. parte i. p. 23 1 . As that ex- 
 tensive work is not common, I shall here transcribe the whole pas- 
 sage. “ Among the most ancient and most illustrious families of the 
 city of Florence is that of the Rucellai, which is said to have been 
 transplanted thither, a little after the eleventh century, by a certain 
 military gentleman named Ferro or Frederigo, who came from Ger- 
 many, where he was honoured on account of the nobility of his birth. 
 This family were called, according to the Latin mode of termination, 
 Oricellarii, which surname was afterwards variously corrupted into 
 Rucellarii, Ruscellai, but more commonly into Rucellai. This sur- 
 name, we are told, took its rise from one of the family, who, about 
 the year 1300, having returned from the Levant, where he had traded 
 many years, and acquired great wealth, brought with him the art of 
 dyeing wool purple, which is called dyeing in oricello : for, being 
 about to embark for his own country, he happened to make water on 
 certain plants •, and observing that some of them, which had been 
 only besprinkled by the urine, from being green became red, he 
 plucked up one of them, and, having shewn it, found that, in that 
 country, it was called respio, and in Spain orciglia, and that it was 
 the same as that to which the name of corallina was given by bota- 
 nists. In remembrance of this discovery, he and his posterity were 
 afterwards called Oricellarii •, which name, by being pronounced 
 short, and a little mutilated, was changed into Rucellari, and lastly 
 into Hucellai.” 
 
64 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 of dyeing with oricello,* we may, in my opinion, 
 consider it as certain that the Europeans, and 
 first the Florentines, were made acquainted with 
 this dye-stutf, and its use, in the beginning of 
 the fourteenth century. At that time, the Ita- 
 lians brought from the East the seeds of many 
 arts and sciences, which, afterwards sown and 
 
 * These documents from the Florentine records may be found in 
 Dominici Maria; Manni de Florentinis Inventis Commentarium. 
 Ferrariae 1?31, 4to. p. 37- from which I have extracted the follow- 
 ing: “One of this family resided, formerly, a long time in the Le- 
 vant, where he carried on trade, according to the custom of the Flo- 
 rentine nation. Being one day in the fields, and happening to make 
 water on a plant, of which there was great abundance, he observed 
 that it immediately became extraordinarily red. Like a prudent 
 man, therefore, he resolved to make use of this secret of nature, 
 which till that time had lain hid; and having made several experi- 
 ments on that herb, and finding it proper to dye cloth, he sent some 
 of it to Florence, where being mixed with human urine and other 
 things, it has always been employed to dye cloth purple. This plant, 
 which is called respo, is in Spain named orciglia, and by botanists 
 commonly corallina. The mixture made with it is called oricello, 
 and has been of great utility and advantage to the woollen manufac- 
 ture, which is carried on to greater extent in Florence than in any 
 other city. From this circumstance, the individuals of that family, 
 by being the inventors of oricello, have been called Oricellai, and 
 have been beloved by the people for having procured to them this 
 particular benefit. Thus has written John di Paolo Rucellai [Manni 
 says, that this learned and opulent man wrote in the year 1451] ; and 
 the same account is still given by dyers in our city, who relate and 
 affirm that their ancestors have for a century exercised the art of dye- 
 ing, and that they know the above from tradition. , 
 
 This is confirmed by another passage: “One of this family, on 
 account of the trade carried on faithfully and honestly by the Floren- 
 tines, travelled to the Levant, and brought thence to Florence the 
 art, or rather secret, of dyeing in oricello. 
 
ARGOL. 
 
 65 
 
 nurtured in Europe, produced the richest har- 
 vests ; and nothing is more certain than that the 
 art of dyeing was brought to us from the East by 
 the Italians. I do not believe that the merit of 
 having discovered this dye, by the above-mentioned 
 accident, is due to that Florentine ; but I am of 
 opinion that he learned the art in the Levant, 
 and, on his return, taught it to his countrymen, 
 which was doing them no small service.* After 
 that period, the Italians long procured argol from 
 the Levant for themselves, and afterwards for all 
 Europe. I say for a long time, because since the 
 discovery of the Canary Islands the greater part of 
 that substance has been procured from them. 
 
 These islands, after being a considerable time lost 
 and forgotten, were again discovered about the end 
 of the fourteenth or the beginning of the fifteenth 
 century, and since that time they have been much 
 frequented by the Europeans. One of the first 
 who endeavoured to obtain an establishment there 
 was John de Betancourt, a gentleman of Nor- 
 
 * In the genealogical history of the noble families of Tuscany and 
 Umbria, written by P. D. Eugenio Gamurrini, and published at 
 Florence 1668— *1673, 3 vols. in folio, is the following account, 
 vol. i. p. 274, of the origin of this family. — This family acquired 
 their name from a secret brought by one of them from the Levant, 
 which was that of dyeing in oricello, never before used in this coun- 
 try. On that account they were afterwards called Oricellari, as ap- 
 pears from several records among the archives of Florence, and then 
 by corruption Rucellari and Rucellai. Of their origin many speak, 
 and all agree that they came into Tuscany from Britain. 
 
 VOL. I. F 
 
66 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 mandy, who, in 1400, or, as others say, in 1417, 
 landed on Lancerotta. Amongst the principal 
 commodities which this gentleman and other Eu- 
 ropeans brought back with them was argol, which 
 was found there more beautiful, and in greater 
 abundance, than any where else; and Betancourt 
 enjoyed in idea the great profit which he hoped to 
 derive from this article in commerce. Glass is 
 surprised that the Europeans, immediately upon 
 their arrival, sought after this moss with as much 
 eagerness and skill as they did after gold in Ame- 
 rica, though they were not so well acquainted with 
 the former as the latter, before the discovery of 
 these new lands.* But as this is not true, the 
 wonder will cease. 
 
 According to information procured in, the year 
 1731, the island of Teneriff produced annually 
 five hundred quintals of this moss ; Canary, four 
 hundred ; Forteventura, Lancerotta, and Gomera, 
 three hundred each; and Fero, eight hundred; 
 making in all two thousand six hundred quintals. 
 In the islands of Canary, Teneriff, and Palma, the 
 moss belongs to the crown; and in the year 1730, it 
 was let by the king of Spain for one thousand five 
 hundred piastres. The farmers paid then for col- 
 lecting it from fifteen to twenty rials per hundred 
 weight. In the rest of the islands it belongs to 
 
 * The history of the discovery and conquest of the Canary-Islands, 
 by George Glass. London 1764, 4to. 
 
AllGOL. 
 
 67 
 
 private proprietors, who cause it to be collected on 
 their own account. In the beginning of the last 
 century a hundred weight, delivered on board at 
 Santa Cruz, the capital of Teneriff, was worth 
 from only three to four piastres; but since 1725 
 it has cost labour amounting to ten piastres, be- 
 cause it has been in great request at London, Am- 
 sterdam, Marseilles, and throughout all Italy.* 
 In the year 1726 this moss cost at London eighty 
 pounds sterling per ton, as we are told by Dillen; 
 and in 1730 it bore the same price. 
 
 Towards the end of the year 1730, the captain 
 of an English vessel, which came from the Cape 
 de Verd islands, brought a bag of argol to Santa 
 Cruz, by way of trial. He discovered his secret to 
 some Spanish and Genoese merchants, who, in the 
 month of July 1731, resolved to send a ship to 
 these islands. They landed on that of St. An- 
 thony and St. Vincent, where, in a few days, they 
 obtained five hundred quintals of this moss, which 
 they found in such abundance, that it cost them 
 nothing more than a piastre per cent, by way of 
 present to the governor. The argol of the Cape 
 de Verd islands appears larger, richer, and longer 
 than that of the Canaries ; and this, perhaps, is 
 
 * This information is to be found in Hellot’s Art of Dyeing, into 
 which it has been copied, as appears by Dictionnaire d'histoire natu- 
 relle, par Valmont de Bomare, from an account written by M. Por- 
 lier, who was consul at Teneriff in 1731. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 owing to its not being collected every year* 
 Adanson, in 1749, found also the greater part of 
 the rocks in Magdalen island, near Senegal, co- 
 vered with this moss. I Though the greater part 
 of our argol is, at present, procured from the Ca- 
 nary and Cape de Verd islands, a considerable 
 quantity is imported also from the Levant, from 
 Sicily as Glass says, and from the coast of Bar- 
 bary ; and some years ago the English merchants 
 at Leghorn caused this moss to be collected in the 
 island of Elba, and paid a high price for it. J 
 
 Our dyers do not purchase raw argol, but a paste 
 made of it, which the French call orseille en pate. 
 The preparation of it was for a long time kept a 
 secret by the Florentines. The person who, as far 
 as I know, made it first known was Rosetti; who, 
 as he himself tells us, carried on the trade of dyer 
 at Florence. Some information was afterwards 
 published concerning it by Imperati§ and Mi- 
 cheli the botanist. |j In latter times this art has 
 been much practised in France, England, and 
 
 * As the argol grows in the African islands, and on the coast of 
 Africa, Glass supposes that the Getulian purple of the ancients was 
 dyed with it; but this opinion is improbable, for Horace praises 
 Gaetula murice tinctas vestes. 
 
 f Histoire naturelle du Senegal. Paris 1757, 4to. p. 66. 
 
 J Lettres sur l’histoire naturelle de l’isle d’Elbe, par Koestlin. 
 Vienne 1780, 8vo. p. 100. Pini Beobachtungen iiber die eisengru- 
 ben bey Rio; iibersetzt von I. F. Gmelin. Halle 1780, 8vo. p. 97. 
 
 § Lib. xxvii. c. 9. 
 
 || Nova plantarum genera. Florenciae 1729- 
 
AllGOL. 
 
 69 
 
 Holland. Many druggists, instead of keeping 
 this paste in a moist state with urine, as they 
 ought, suffer it to dry, in order to save a little 
 dirty vrork. It then has the appearance of a dark 
 violet- coloured earth, with here and there some 
 white spots in it. 
 
 The Dutch, who have found out better methods 
 than other nations of manufacturing many com- 
 modities, so as to render them cheaper, and there- 
 by to hurt the trade of their neighbours, are the 
 inventors also of lacmus,* a preparation of argol, 
 called orseille en pierre, which has greatly lessened 
 the use of that en pate , as it is more easily transport- 
 ed and preserved, and fitter for use ; and as it is 
 besides, if not cheaper, at least not dearer. This 
 art consists, undoubtedly, in mixing with that com- 
 modity some less valuable substance, which either 
 improves or does not much impair its quality, and 
 which at the same time increases its weight . '[ Thus 
 they pound cinnabar and smalt finer than other 
 nations, and yet sell both these articles cheaper. In 
 like manner they sift cochineal, and sell it at a less 
 price than what is unsifted. 
 
 It was for a long time believed that the Dutch 
 prepared their lacmus from those linen rags which 
 in the south of France are dipped in the juice of 
 
 * Some translate this word lacca musica, musiva. 
 
 f As dry lacmus is much cheaper than moist, it may be readily 
 supposed that it is adulterated with sand and other substances. Va- 
 lentini Historia simplicium. Francof. ad Moen. 17 16, fol. p. 152. 
 
70 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the croton tinctorium ;* and this idea appeared the 
 more probable, as most of these tournesol en dra- 
 peaiLV were bought up by the Hollanders : but, as 
 they are the greatest adulterators of wine in Eu- 
 rope, they may perhaps have used these rags to 
 colour Pontack and other wines. It is, however, 
 not improbable that they at first made lacmus of 
 them, as their dye approaches very near to that of 
 argol. At present, it is almost certainly known 
 that orseille en pate is the principal ingredient in 
 orseille en pierre, that is in lacmus; and for this 
 curious information we are indebted to Ferber. f 
 But whence arises the smell of the lacmus, which 
 appears to me like that of the Florentine iris? 
 Some of the latter may perhaps, be mixed with 
 it ; for I think I have observed in it small indis- 
 soluble particles, which may have been bits of the 
 roots. The addition of this substance can be of 
 
 * This plant grows in the neighbourhood of Montpelier, and, 
 above all, in the flats of Languedoc. In harvest, the time when it 
 is collected, the peasants assemble from the distance of fifteen or 
 twenty leagues around, and each gathers on his own account. It is 
 bruised in a mill, and the juice must be immediately used : some mix 
 with it a thirtieth part of urine. It is poured over pieces of canvass, 
 which they take care to provide, and which they rub between their 
 hands. These rags are dried in the sun, and then exposed, above a 
 stone stove, to the vapour of urine mixed with quick-lime or alum. 
 After they have imbibed the juice of the plant, the same operations 
 are repeated till the pieces of cloth appear of a deep blue colour. 
 They are called in commerce tournesol en drapeaux. Large quan- 
 tities of them are bought up by the Dutch, who make use of them 
 to colour wines and the rinds of their cheese. Trans. 
 
 •f Beytrage zur Mineralgeschichte verschiedener Lander, i. 381. 
 
AllGOL. 
 
 71 
 
 no use to improve the dye; but it may increase 
 the weight, and give the lack more body; and 
 perhaps it may be employed to render imper- 
 ceptible some unpleasant smell, for which purpose 
 the roots of that plant are used on many other 
 occasions. 
 
 Another kind of moss, different from the roc- 
 cella, which in commerce is known by the names 
 orseille de terre , orseille d? Auvergne, is used also 
 for the like purpose; but it contains fewer and 
 weaker colouring particles. This species, in botany, 
 is called Lichen parellus* and is distinguished from 
 the roccella by its figure, as it grows only in a thin 
 rind on the rocks. It is collected in Auvergne, on 
 rocks of granite and volcanic productions, and in 
 some parts of Languedoc; the greater part of it is 
 brought from St. Flour. Its name, perelle, comes 
 from an old Languedocian word pere ( pierre , a 
 rockf); as roccella, afterwards transformed into 
 orseille , is derived from rocca. The use of perelle 
 is very trifling: the Dutch purchase it to make 
 lacmus, perhaps on account of its low price. This 
 moss has been found also in Northumberland, but 
 it is not collected there for any purpose. J 
 
 * Linn. Mantissa plant, i. p. 132. 
 
 f See Garcin, in Savary’s Dictionary of commerce, iii. p. 130. 
 
 X The natural history and antiquities of Northumberland. By 
 John Wallis. London 1769, 2 vols. 4to. i. p. 279. 
 
72 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 MAGNETIC CURES. 
 
 The external use of the magnet, to cure the tooth- 
 ach and other disorders, is a remedy brought into 
 fashion in modern times, but not a new discovery, 
 as supposed by Lessing, who ascribes it to Para- 
 celsus.* It was known to Aetius, who lived so 
 early as the year 500. That author says, We are 
 assured that those w'ho are troubled w'ith the gout 
 in their hands or their feet, or with convulsions, 
 find relief when they hold a magnet in their hand.']' 
 He does not, however, give any proof of this 
 from his own experience; and perhaps he doubted 
 the truth of it. The above passage contains the 
 oldest account known at present respecting this 
 virtue ; for the more ancient writers speak only of 
 the internal use of the magnet. 
 
 It is evident, therefore, that this cure has not 
 been discovered in latter times, but that it has 
 been preserved by the old physicians copying it 
 from each other into their works. In the like 
 manner, many things are mentioned in the ma- 
 
 * In his Kollektaneen. Berlin I 79 O, ii. p. 117* 
 
 f See the Aldine edit, of the works of Aetius. Venetiis 1534, 
 fol. 1. ii. c. 25. The passage is thus translated by Cornarius : Tra- 
 dunt (magnetem) detentum manu chiragrorum ac podagricorum 
 dolores ipsorum sedare. iEque convulsis opitulatur. In some edi- 
 tions, the last words are wanting. Perhaps they are not of Aetius. 
 
MAGNETIC CURES. 
 
 73 
 
 teria medica which were used or proposed by the 
 ancients, but into the properties of which they 
 never made sufficient inquiry. 
 
 Marcellus, who lived in the fifteenth century, 
 assures us that the magnet cures the tooth- ach. # 
 The same virtue is ascribed to it by Leonard Ca- 
 millus,'j' who lived in the sixteenth century: and 
 Weeker, J who was nearly contemporary, says that 
 the magnet, when applied to the head, cures the 
 head-ach; and adds, that Holler had taken this cure 
 from the works of the ancients. § We read also in 
 Porta, || that it was recommended for the head-ach; 
 and in Kircher, that it was worn about the neck 
 
 • Magnetes lapis (qui antiphyson dicitur) qui ferrum trahit et ab- 
 jicit, et magnetes lapis qui sanguinem emittit et ferrum ad se trahit, 
 collo alligati aut circa caput, dolori capitis medetur. De medi- 
 camentis, cap. 1. In Stephani Artis med. princip. ii. p. 253. 
 
 t Magnes gestatus spasmum arthriticum doloremque curat. De 
 lapidibus, lib. ii. p. 131. 
 
 t Ad capitis dolores : magnes ipse capiti admotus dolorem omnes- 
 que querelas ejus obliterat. Quod ex veterum commentariis se trans- 
 tulisse scribit noster Hollerius. J. J. JVecker de secretis libri xvii. 
 Basiliae 1613, 8vo. lib. v. p. 107- 
 
 § I took the trouble to search for this passage in Jac. Hollerii lib. 
 de morbis internis , Parisiis 171 1 , 4to. but I could not find it, though 
 the beginning of the book treats expressly of head-achs. 
 
 || Legimus et capiti admotum magnetem dolores omnes auferre. 
 J. Bap. Porta Magics naturalis libri xx. Francofurti 159 1, 8vo. 
 lib. vii. p. 332. 
 
 F.x collo gestatus magnes spasmum sanare, ac nervorum dolores 
 compescere, manuque detentus partum accelerare, perhibetur. Athan. 
 Kircheri Magnes, sive De arte magnelica. Colonise Agrip. l6’43, 
 4to. lib. iii. c. i. p. 679. 
 
74 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 as a preventive against convulsions, and affections 
 of the nerves. About the end of the 17th century 
 magnetic tooth-picks and ear-pickers were made, 
 and extolled as a secret preventive against pains 
 in the teeth, eyes, and ears.* However this may 
 be, later and more accurate experiments have fully 
 shewn that the magnet has an external effect on 
 the bodies of animals — a phaenomenon, the in- 
 vestigation of which has employed the ingenuity 
 of several physicians and naturalists of the present 
 day.t 
 
 SECRET POISON. 
 
 Under this name are generally understood all 
 poisons, which can be administered imperceptibly, 
 and which gradually shorten the life of man, like 
 a lingering disease. They were not first disco- 
 vered, in the 17th century, in France and Italy, as 
 many believe ; but were known to the ancient 
 Greeks and Romans, by whom they were used. I 
 
 * Scalpella magica : Quidam sunt qui dentiscalpia auriscalpiaque 
 habent, quae tactu solo dolores dentium, aurium, et oculorum tollant; 
 ego vero, cum certo acceperim esse tantum magnete tacta, id tibi re- 
 velare volui. Petri Borelli Hist, et observ. medico-physic. Cent. iv. 
 Franc, et Lips. 1676, 8vo. Cent. 4. obs. 75. p. 37^* 
 f J. D. Reichel Dissert, de magnetismo in corpore humanoj 
 resp. C. Ludwig. Lipsise 1772. 
 
SECRET POISON. 
 
 75 
 
 must, however, allow that they were never pre- 
 pared with more art, at any period, or in any 
 country, or employed 'oftener and with more suc- 
 cess, than they were in these countries, and at that 
 time. If it be true that they can be prepared in 
 such a manner as to occasion death at a certain 
 period previously determined, or that the person 
 to whom they are given Mill die within a cer- 
 tain time limited, it must be confessed that the 
 ancient poisoners have been far exceeded by the 
 modern. But this advantage will be considered 
 as scarcely possible, when one reflects, upon the 
 many variable circumstances which have an in- 
 fluence on the operation of medicines and poi- 
 son ; and it has often happened, that a company 
 have swallowed the same poison, at the same 
 time, and in the same quantity, some of whom 
 have died sooner and some later, while some have 
 survived. Thus pope Alexander VI. died in the 
 year 1503, and Cassar Borgia recovered without 
 any loss of health, though, by the bottles being 
 changed through mistake, he drank of the poison 
 that had been prepared for the other guests alone. 
 At any rate, I am of opinion that the celebrated 
 Tophania, when she engaged to free wives from 
 disagreeable husbands within stated weeks and 
 days, must have had certain and very accurate 
 information respecting their constitution and man- 
 ner of living, or, as the physicians say, their 
 idiosyncrasy. 
 
76 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Some physicians have doubted respecting secret 
 poison ;* and others have only denied that its ef- 
 fects can with certainty be regulated to a fixed 
 time.')' I agree in opinion with the latter; but 
 the former can be confuted by many examples 
 both of ancient and modern times: for that the 
 ancients were acquainted with this kind of poison, 
 can be proved by the testimony of Plutarch, 
 Quintilian, and other respectable authors. We 
 are told by Plutarch, that a slow poison, which 
 occasioned heat, a cough, spitting of blood, con- 
 sumption, and a weakness of intellect, was admi- 
 nistered to Aratus of Sicyon; J and Quintilian, in 
 his declamations, speaks of this poison in such a 
 manner as proves that it must then have been well 
 
 * Heberdeen in Neuem Hamlurgischen magazine, xvii. p. 21Q. 
 I am convinced that many of the accounts we have of the extraordi- 
 nary effects of poison are fabricated, like those mentioned in Frid. 
 Hoffmanni Dissert, de lasionihus externis , abortivis venenis ac phil- 
 tris. Francof. 1729, et recusa Lips. 1755. That author, however, 
 denies some which are true. It is, for example, certain that cam- 
 phor and rue do not produce the effects ascribed to them by Diosco- 
 rides, Paul us iEgineta, and others; but there are, without doubt, 
 other substances which will produce these effects. 
 
 f Sennerti Institut. medicinse, ii. 2, 12. edit. Witteberg. 1767* 
 4to. p. 279. 
 
 X He gave to Aratus a poison, not speedy and violent, but of 
 that kind which at first occasions a slow heat in the body, with 
 a weak cough, and then gradually brings on a consumption — 
 oux o£i> xai ctpodpov, iWa r uiv %ep/J.u; to ^aXaxaf te %puiT0v iv Tip trwjAXTt 
 »a) xivo(ivtw)i a/x§\e7(X v, lira o Sraif Kara fxmpov ei; <p9opav 7T£patv6vTuiv- 
 
 One time, when Aratus spat up blood, he said, “ This is the effect 
 of royal friendship.” See Plutarch, vit. Arati. Basil. 1533, 
 ,p. 358. 
 
SECRET POISON". 77 
 
 known.* It cannot be said that such an inven- 
 tion was too great for that period ; or that it re- 
 quired more knowledge of chemistry than any one 
 then possessed ; for the Indians, in America, are 
 acquainted with a most perfect poison of this kind, 
 and can employ it with so much skill, that the 
 person to whom it is given cannot guard against 
 the treachery, even with the utmost precaution; 
 but infallibly dies, though in a lingering manner, 
 often after the expiration of some years. f 
 
 Theophrastus speaks of a poison which could 
 be moderated in such a manner as to have effect 
 in two or three months, or at the end of a year, or 
 two years; and he remarks that the death, the 
 more lingering it was, became the more miserable. 
 This poison was prepared from aconitum, a plant 
 which, on that account, people were forbidden to 
 have in their possession, under pain of capital pu- 
 nishment. J He relates also, that Thrasyas had 
 
 * Venenum putabis quidquid dederint has manus. Et virus prse- 
 sentaneum paro, quod statim, quod subito corripiat ? At quemad- 
 modum mihi supersit ulla defensio? An lentum, et quod tarda peste 
 consumat, scilicet, ut non statim exclames, ut te meum virus bibisse 
 non credas. Quint, declamat. xvii. n. p. 341. 
 
 t With the poison of the Indians, however, the ancients could not 
 be acquainted, as it is prepared from a plant not known in Europe 
 before the discovery of America. Kalm, in his Travels, does not 
 name it : and in that he has done right 5 for, as the plant is now to 
 be found every where, no government could guard against a misap- 
 plication of it, were it publicly known. 
 
 + They say a poison can be prepared from aconite (aconitum) so 
 as to occasion death within a certain period, such as two, three, or 
 
78 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 discovered a method of preparing from other 
 plants a poison which, given in small doses of 
 a dram, occasioned an easy but certain death 
 without any pain, and which could be kept back 
 for a long time without causing weakness or cor- 
 ruption. This Thrasyas, whose scholar Alexias 
 carried the art still farther, was a native of Man- 
 tinea, a city in Arcadia,* and is celebrated by 
 Theophrastus on account of his abilities, and par- 
 ticularly his knowledge of botany ; but those are 
 mistaken who ascribe to him the discovery of 
 secret poison. f 
 
 This poison was much used at Rome about two 
 hundred years before the Christian sera. As several 
 persons of distinction died the same year at that 
 period, and of the like distemper, an inquiry 
 being made into the cause, a maid-servant gave 
 evidence against some ladies of the first families, 
 who, she said, prepared and distributed poison; 
 
 six months, a year, and even sometimes two years. Those, we are 
 told, whose constitutions are able to hold out longest, die in the 
 greatest misery; for the body is gradually consumed, and must perish 
 by continual wasting. Those die easiest who die speedily. Ivo 
 remedy has been found out for this poison. Theophr. Hist. Plant. 
 ix. c. l 6 . p. I 89 . 
 
 * Of this Thrasyas and Alexias we know no more than what is 
 to be found in Fubricii Bibliotheca grteca, vol. xiii. p. 53 and 437- 
 He remarks, that in Theophrastus we must read Umrtveu;, instead of 
 
 MoDiTieu;. 
 
 f This is done in a work, collected without judgment, entitled 
 Nachricht von erjindungen und erfindern. Hamburg 1707, 12 mo. 
 p. 154. The author of this work is, undoubtedly, Paul Jacob Mar- 
 perger. 
 
SECRET POISON. 
 
 79 
 
 and above a hundred and fifty of them were con- 
 victed and punished.* As so many had learned 
 this destructive art, it could not be suppressed; 
 and we find sufficient proofs in the Roman history 
 that it was continually preserved. Sejanus caused 
 such a secret poison to be administered by an 
 eunuch to Drusus, who gradually declined after- 
 wards, as by a consumptive disorder, and at length 
 died.f Agrippina being desirous of getting rid 
 of Claudius, but not daring to dispatch him sud- 
 denly, and yet wishing not to leave him sufficient 1 
 time to make new regulations respecting the suc- 
 cession to the throne, she made choice of a poison 
 which should deprive him of his reason, and gra- 
 dually consume him. This she caused to be pre- 
 pared by an expert poisoner, named Locusta, who 
 had been condemned to death for her infamous 
 actions, but saved that she might be employed as 
 a state engine. The poison was given to the em- 
 peror in a dish of mushrooms ; but as, on account 
 of his irregular manner of living, it did not pro- 
 duce the desired effect, it was assisted by some of 
 a stronger nature. { This Locusta prepared also 
 
 * Neque de veneficiis ante earn diem Romse qugesitum est. Li~ 
 .vius, lib. viii. c. 18. 
 
 r t Igitur Sejanus, maturandum ratus, deligit venenum quo pau- 
 latim inrepente fortuitus morbus adsimularetur. Taciti Annul. 
 lib. iv. c. 8. 
 
 t The account given by Tacitus deserves to be read ; Turn Agrip- 
 pina, sceleris olim certa et oblatse occasionis propera, nec ministrorura 
 
80 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the poison with which Nero dispatched Britanni- 
 cus, the son of Agrippina, vrhom his father Clau- 
 dius wished to succeed him on the throne. As 
 this poison occasioned only a dysentery, and was 
 too slow in its operation, the emperor compelled 
 Locusta by blows, and by threatening her with death, 
 to prepare, in his presence, one more powerful. 
 It was first tried on a kid : but as the animal did 
 not die till the end of five hours, she boiled it a 
 little longer, until it instantaneously killed a pig 
 < jto which it had been given, and this poison dis- 
 
 egens, de genere veneni consultavit ; ne repentino et praeciplti facinus 
 proderetur ; silentum et tabidum delegisset, ae admotus supremrs 
 Claudius, et dolo intellecto, ad amorem filii rediret ; exquisitum 
 placebat, quod turbaret mentem et mortem differret. Deligitur ar- 
 tifex talium vocabulo Locusta, nuper veneficii damnata, et diu inter 
 instrumenta regni habita. - - - Soluta alvus subvenisse videbatur. 
 
 Igitur exterrita Agrippina Xenophontis medici conscientiam ad- 
 
 hibet. Ille, tanqnam nisus evomentis adjuvaret, pinnam rapido ve- 
 neno illitam faucibus ejus demisisse creditur. J. C. W. Mohsen, in 
 his excellent Beschreibung einer Berlinischen medaillen-iammlung, 
 part i. Berlin and Leipsic 1773, 4to. p. 26 1 , is of opinion that Ta- 
 citus contradicts himself in his account: because he says that Agrip- 
 pina made choice of a slow poison; and, afterwards, that she was 
 surprised it had not operated more speedily. But Agrippina wished 
 not only that Claudius might be destroyed slowly, but also, and prin- 
 cipally, that he might be suddenly deprived of his understanding. 
 As that, however, did not happen, and as she had to apprehend 
 both a change in the succession to the throne, and a detection of the 
 secret poison, she bethought herself of one that was stronger. What 
 Mr. Mohsen says in apology for Xenophon, I shall leave to the 
 judgment of others. With me, the fidelity of the Roman historian 
 has more weight than the integrity of the emperor’s physician, who, 
 notwithstanding his love for his country, and the liberality and con- 
 fidence of the emperor, may have been liable to waier. 
 
SECRET POISON. 
 
 81 
 
 patched Britannicus as soon as he had tasted it.* 
 For this service the emperor pardoned Locusta, 
 rewarded her liberally, and gave her pupils whom 
 she was to instruct in her art, in order that it might 
 not be lost. 
 
 The art of preparing this poison must have 
 been well understood also at Carthage. When 
 M. Attilius Regulus, the Roman general, who had 
 been taken by the Carthaginians, was sent to 
 Rome to propose to the senate that the Carthagi- 
 nian prisoners might be restored in exchange for 
 him, he prevented this negotiation, because he 
 knew that a poison had been administered to him, 
 by which the state would soon be deprived of his 
 
 * The history of this horrid affair may be found both in Tacitus 
 and Suetonius. From the former, I shall quote only the following 
 words: Primum venenumab ipsis educatoribusaccepit, transmisitque 
 exsoluta alvo parum validum, sive temperamentum inerat, ne statim 
 saeviret. Sed Nero, lenti sceleris impatiens, jubere supplicium vene- 
 
 ficse. Promittenti dein tarn praecipitem necem quam si ferro 
 
 urgeretur, cubiculum Caesaris juxta decoquitur virus, cognitis antea 
 venenis rapidum ; - - - quod ita Britannici cunctos artus pervasit, ut 
 vox pariter et spiritus ejus raperentur. Tacit. Annul, xiii. c. 15, 16. 
 
 Suetonius says : Britannicum veneno aggressus est. Quod accep- 
 tum a quadam Locusta, venenariorum indice, cum opinione tardius 
 cederet, ventre modo Britannici moto; accersitam mulierem sua 
 manu verberavit, arguens pro veneno remedium dedisse. Excusan- 
 
 temque minus datum ad occultandam facinoris invidiam, coegit 
 
 se coram in cubiculo quam posset velocissimum ac prasentaneum 
 coquere. Deinde in hasdo expertus, postquam is quinque horas pro- 
 traxit; iterum ac saepius recoctum, porcello objecit. Quo statim 
 exanimato, inferri in triclinium, dariqut^ccenanti secum Britannico 
 
 imperavit. Et cum ille ad primum gustum concidisset Suet. vi. 
 
 c. 33. Respecting Locusta, see also Juvenal, sat. i. i. 71- 
 
 G 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
82 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 services. He returned, therefore, to Carthage, 
 in compliance with the promise he had made to 
 the enemy, who put him to death with the most 
 exquisite torture.* 
 
 All these poisons were prepared from plants, par- 
 ticularly aconite, hemlock, and poppy, or extracted 
 from animal substances. Among those made from 
 the latter, none is more remarkable than that sup- 
 plied by the sea-hare, lepus marinus, with which, as 
 Philostratus says,f Titus was dispatched by Domi- 
 tian. Without here attempting to define the sub- 
 stances employed by the ancients to compose their 
 poisons, I shall only observe, that the lepus marinus , 
 the terrible effects of which are expressly mention- 
 
 * This account is given by Aulus Gellius, from the now lost 
 works of Tuditanus, who makes Regulus say : Venenum sibi Car- 
 thaginenses dedisse non praesentarium, sed ejusmodi quod mortem in 
 diem proferret ; eo consilio ut viveret quidem tantisper quoad fieret 
 permutatio ; post autem grassante sensim veneno cor tabesceret. Ci- 
 cero often speaks of the magnanimity of Regulus ; as, for example, 
 in his Oration against Piso, and in his Offices, book iii. chap. 27 ; 
 but he makes no mention of his having been poisoned. Regulus 
 said, Captivos adolescentes esse et bonos duces, se jam confectum 
 senectute. Valerius Maximus, also, book i. chap. i. 14, says nothing 
 of poison. 
 
 f Titum autem, cum post mortem patris annos duos regnasset, a 
 marino lepore interfectum dicunt. Is autem piscis humores quos- 
 dam occultos habet mortiferos supra omnia venena quae mari terrave 
 nascantur. Et Neronem hunc ipsum piscem epulis miscuisse quan- 
 doque tradunt adversus homines sibi inimicissimos. Domitianus 
 quoque hoc eodem contra Titum fratrem usus fuisse putatur. quod 
 grave molestumque sibi videretur sirnul cum fratre humano, benig- 
 noque viro imperare. Jpollonii Fit. lib. vi. c. 14. 
 
SECRET POISON. 
 
 83 
 
 ed by Dioscorides,* Galen, Nicander, iEtius,f 
 jElian, J Pliny, § and others, is that animal 
 called, at present, in the Linnsean System, aplysia 
 depilans , || as Rondelet conjectured, and has been 
 since fully proved by Bohadsch.^f This animal 
 poison, however, seems to have been seldom used, 
 as it easily betrays itself by some peculiar sym- 
 ptoms. It appears that it was not known to Ari- 
 stotle, at least he makes no mention of it A* 
 With the far stronger, and now common, mineral 
 
 * Lib. ii. c. 18. and vi. c. 30. 
 
 f Lib. xii. 
 
 X Histor. Animal, lib. ii. c. 45. 
 
 § Lib. ix. c.48. and lib. xxxii. c. 1. 
 
 || In Sy sterna Nat. through an error of the press, stands Laplysia, 
 which word has since become common, a ti-xud-w signifies an un- 
 cleanness which cannot be washed off ; and in Aristotle’s History of 
 Animals, b. v. ch. 15, and Pliny, b. ix. ch. 45, it is the name of a 
 kind of mushroom. In the like manner, other errors, in the System 
 of Linnaeus, have been copied into the works of others, such as Dy~ 
 tiscus instead of Dyticus, &c. 
 
 IT J- B. Bohadsch de quibusdam animalibus marinis. Dresdae 
 1761, 4to. p. 1 — 53. In this work there is a full description, with a 
 figure, of this fish, under the name of Lernoea, which was used in 
 the first editions of Linnaeus. 
 
 * * The accounts given by the ancients of the sea-hare have been 
 collected in Jacobi Grevini lib. de venenis, Antverpiae 1571, p. 20 Q. 
 In the Annals of Glycas, iii. p. 185, the edition of Venice in 1729, 
 fol. it is said, that Titus was dispatched by this poison. In the first 
 book, p. 27, Glycas says, 6 Xotycuo? o S'aXao'iX/Of Tayfiav xai a.xapa.(ry\TOV tyi* 
 f 0o pax imfepovTou : The sea-hare occasions speedy and inevitable de- 
 struction to man. In Gesner’s edition of Stephen’s Lexicon, there 
 is a double error, where lepus marinus is explained by piscis ex lacer- 
 torum genere. So faulty are the best dictionaries, in regard to the 
 appellations of naturalists. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 poisons the ancients were not acquainted; for their 
 arsenic was what we call orpiment, and not that 
 pernicious metallic calx which formed the prin- 
 cipal ingredient of those secret poisons which, in 
 latter times, were in France and Italy brought to a 
 diabolical perfection.* 
 
 No one was ever more infamous by this art than 
 Tophana, or Toffania, a woman who resided first 
 at Palermo, and afterwards at Naples. She sold 
 those drops, which from her acquired the name of 
 aqua Topliania , aqua della Toffana, and which were 
 called also acquetta di Napoli . or only acquetta ; but 
 she distributed her preparation by way of charity 
 to such wives as wished to have other husbands. 
 From four to six drops were sufficient to destroy a 
 man ; and it was asserted that the dose could be 
 so proportioned as to operate in a certain time. As 
 she was watched by the government, she fled to 
 
 * See C. G. Stenzelii Diss. de venenis terminatis et temporaneis. 
 qua; Galli les poudres de succession vocant ; resp. J. G. Arnold. 
 Vitebergae 1730. This work contains several historical relations} 
 but the reader is often referred to authors who either do not say that 
 for which they were quoted, or who must relate the same thing in a 
 different manner in some other place. As for example, Galen in 
 b. ii. c. 7. de antidotis speaks of poisons, without mentioning secret 
 poison in particular. Avicenna is made to say, in his book de viri- 
 hus cordis, that the Egyptian kings often employed this poison ; but 
 if by that quotation we are to understand Fen. undecima de disposi- 
 tionihus cordis, I have sought for this information in vain. In 
 lib. iv. fen. 6. tract. 2. c. 14. or according to the beautiful edition 
 Venetiis apud Juntas 1608, 2 vol. fol. ii. p. 210. it is said Fel canis 
 aquatici interjicit post hebdomadam. Rhodiginus also does not relate 
 that for which he is quoted by Stenzel. p. 7. 
 
SECRET POISON". 
 
 85 
 
 an ecclesiastical asylum ; and when Keysler was at 
 Naples in 1730, she was then still living, because 
 no one could, or was willing to, take away her life, 
 while under that protection. At that time she was 
 visited by many strangers out of curiosity. 
 
 In Labat’s travels through Italy * we also find 
 some information which may serve, still further, 
 to illustrate the history of Tophania. She distri- 
 buted her poison in small glass phials, with this in- 
 scription, Manna of St. Nicholas of Bari, and orna- 
 mented with the image of the saint. A miraculous 
 oil, employed by folly in the cure of many dis- 
 eases, drops from the tomb of that saint which is 
 shown at Bari, in the kingdom of Naples ; and on 
 this account it is dispersed in great abundance 
 under the like name. It was therefore the best 
 appellation which Tophania could give to her 
 poison, because the reputed sanctity of it prevented 
 the custom-house officers from examining it too 
 closely. When the viceroy w 7 as informed of this, 
 which I think was in 1709, Tophania fled from 
 one convent to another, but was at length seized, 
 and thrown into prison. The clergy raised a loud 
 outcry, on account of this violation of ecclesiasti- 
 cal freedom, and endeavoured to excite the people 
 to insurrection. But they were soon appeased, on 
 a report being spread that Tophania had confessed 
 she had poisoned all the springs in the city. Be- 
 
 * Vol. iv. p, 33. 
 
86 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 ing put to the rack, she acknowledged her wick- 
 edness; named those who had protected her, who 
 were immediately dragged from churches and mo- 
 nasteries; and declared that, the day before she 
 had absconded, she had sent two boxes of her 
 manna to Rome, where it was found in the cus- 
 tom-house, but she did not accuse any one of hav- 
 ing ordered it. She was afterwards strangled, and 
 to mitigate the archbishop, her body was thrown, 
 at night, into the area of the convent from which 
 she had been taken. Tophania, however, was not 
 the only person at Naples who understood the 
 making of this poison; for Keysler says, that, at 
 the time he was there, it was still secretly pre- 
 pared, and much employed. # 
 
 In the year 16.59, under the government of pope 
 Alexander VII, it was observed at Rome, that 
 many young married women w ere left widows, and 
 that many husbands died when they became dis- 
 agreeable to their wives. Several of the clergy de- 
 clared also, that for some time past various persons 
 had acknowledged at confession, that they had been 
 guilty of poisoning. As the government employed 
 the utmost vigilance to discover these poisoners, 
 suspicion fell upon a society of young married wo- 
 men, whose president appeared to be an old woman 
 who pretended to foretell future events, and who 
 had often predicted very exactly many deaths to 
 
 Keysler’s Fortsetzung neuester reisen. Hannover 1741, p. 234. 
 
SECRET POISON. 
 
 87 
 
 persons who had cause to wish for them. To ascer- 
 tain the truth, a crafty female, given out to be a 
 person of considerable distinction, was sent to this 
 old woman, pretending that she wished to obtain 
 her confidence, and to procure some of her drops 
 for a cruel and tyrannical husband. The whole 
 society were by this stratagem arrested ; and all 
 of them, except the fortune-teller, whose name 
 was Hieronyma Spara, confessed before they were 
 put to the torture. — “ Where now,” cried she, 
 “ are the Roman princes, knights, and barons, who 
 “ on so many occasions promised me their pro- 
 “ tection ! Where are the ladies who assured me 
 Cc of their friendship ! Where are my children 
 “ whom I have placed in so distinguished situa- 
 “ tions !” In order to deter others from commit- 
 ting the like crime, one Gratiosa, Spara’s assist- 
 ant, three other women, and the obstinate Spara 
 herself, who still entertained hopes of assistance 
 till the last moment, were hanged in the presence 
 of innumerable spectators. Some months after, 
 several more women were executed in the same 
 manner; some were whipped, and others were ba- 
 nished from the country. Notwithstanding these 
 punishments, the effects of this inveterate wicked- 
 ness have been from time to time remarked. Le 
 Bret, to whom w 7 e are indebted for the above 
 account, says,* that Spara was a Sicilian, and 
 
 * J. F. le Bret, Magazin zum gebrauche der staaten und-kirchen* 
 geschichte, partiv. Francf. and Leips. 1774, 8vo. p, 131—141. 
 
88 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 acquired her knowledge from Tophania at Palermo, 
 If that be true, the latter must have been early 
 initiated in villany, and must have become when 
 very young a teacher of her infamous art. Keysler 
 calls her a little old woman. 
 
 The art of poisoning never excited more attention 
 than it did in France about the year 1670.* Mary 
 Margaret d’Aubray, daughter of the lieutenant- 
 civil Dreux d’Aubray, was, in the year 1651, 
 
 , married to the marquis de Brinvillier, son of Go- 
 belin president of the Chamber of accounts, who 
 had a yearly income of thirty thousand livres, and to 
 whom she brought a portion of two hundred thou- 
 sand. He was mestre de camp of the regiment of 
 Normandy, and during the course of his campaigns 
 became acquainted with one Godin de Sainte 
 Croix, f a young man of a distinguished family, 
 who served as a captain of cavalry in the regiment of 
 Trassy. This young officer, who was then a needy 
 adventurer, became a constant visitor of the marquis, 
 
 * The fallowing account is collected from Causes celebres et in- 
 t^ressantes, par M. Guyot de Pitaval, tome i. a la Haye 1737, 8vo. 
 p. 267 — 326. Rectleil des lettres de Mad. la marquise de Sevign£. 
 A Paris 1754, iv. p. 44— rig8. Histoire du regne de Louis XIV, 
 par M. de Reboulet. Avignon 1746, v. p. 15g. Histoire de la vie 
 et du regne de Louis XIV, publi^e par M. Bruzen de la Martiniere, 
 a la Haye 1740, iv. p. 22g. Le siecle de Louis XIV, par Voltaire. 
 Berlin 1751, ii. p. 5g. M^moires et reflexions sur les principaux 
 evenemens du regne de Louis XIV, par M. L- M. D. L. F. A Rot- 
 terdam 1716, p. 20g — 214. 
 
 f In the account of Martiniere there are several errors ; among, 
 these is, that he calls Godin, l’abbd de la Croix. 
 
SECRET POISON. 
 
 S 9 
 
 and in a short time paid his addresses to the mar- 
 chioness, who lost her husband after she had helped 
 to dissipate his large fortune, and was thus enabled 
 to enjoy her amours in greater freedom. Her in- 
 decent conduct, however, gave so much uneasiness 
 to her father, that he procured a lettre de cachet, 
 had Sainte Croix arrested, while in a carriage by 
 her side, and thrown into the Bastille.* Sainte 
 Croix there got acquainted with an Italian named 
 Exili, who understood the art of preparing poison, 
 and from whom he learned it. As they were both 
 set at liberty after a year’s imprisonment, Sainte 
 Croix kept Exili with him until he became per- 
 fectly master of the art, in which he afterwards in- 
 structed the marchioness, in order that she might 
 employ it to improve the circumstances of both. 
 When she had acquired the principles of the art, 
 she assumed the appearance of a nun, distributed 
 food to the poor, nursed the sick in the Hotel- 
 Dieu, and gave them medicines, but only for the 
 purpose of trying the strength of her poison un- 
 detected on these helpless wretches.')' It was said 
 in Paris, by way of satire, that no young physician, 
 in introducing himself to practice, had ever so 
 
 * Voltaire says, that the father did not get Sainte Croix thrown 
 into the Bastille, but sent to his regiment. This, however, is not 
 the case ; for this reprobate was at that time not in the army. 
 
 f This circumstance is denied by Voltaire, but only, as appears, 
 to contradict Pitaval, whom he calls un avocat suns cause. 
 
90 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 speedily filled a church-yard as Brinvillier. By 
 the force of money, she prevailed on Sainte 
 Croix’s servant, called La Chauss6e, to administer 
 poison to her father, into whose service she got 
 him introduced, and also to her brother, who was 
 a counsellor of the parliament, and resided at his 
 father’s house. To the former the poison was given 
 ten times before he died ; the son died sooner; 
 but the daughter, mademoiselle d’Aubray, the 
 marchioness could not poison, because, perhaps, 
 she was too much on her guard; for a suspicion 
 soon arose that the father and son had been poi- 
 soned, and the bodies were opened. She would, 
 however, have escaped, had not providence brought 
 to light the villany. 
 
 Sainte Croix, when preparing poison, was accus- 
 tomed to wear a glass mask; but as this once hap- 
 pened to drop off by accident, he was suffocated, 
 and found dead in his laboratory. Government 
 caused the effects of this man, who had no family, 
 to be examined, and a list of them to be made out. 
 On searching them, there was found a small box, 
 to which Sainte Croix had affixed a written re- 
 quest, that after his death it might be delivered to 
 the marchioness de Brinvillier, or, in case she 
 should not be living, that it might be burnt.* 
 
 * This request was as follows : “ I humbly beg that those into 
 “ whose hands this box may fall, will do me the favour to deliver it 
 “ into the hands only of the marchioness de Brinvillier, who resides in 
 
SECRET POISON. 
 
 91 
 
 Nothing could be a greater inducement to have it 
 opened than this singular petition ; and that being 
 done, there was found in it a great abundance of 
 poisons of every kind, with labels on which their 
 effects, proved by experiments made on animals, 
 were marked. When the marchioness heard of 
 the death of her lover and instructor, she was de- 
 sirous to have the casket, and endeavoured to get 
 possession of it, by bribing the officers of justice; 
 but as she failed in this, she quitted the kingdom. 
 La Chauss6e, however, continued at Paris, laid 
 claim to the property of Sainte Croix, was seized 
 and imprisoned, confessed more acts of villany 
 than were suspected ; and was, in consequence, 
 broke alive on the wheel in 1673. 
 
 A very active officer of justice, named Desgrais, 
 was dispatched in search of the marchioness de 
 Brinvillier, who was found in a convent at Liege, 
 to which she had fled from England. , To entice 
 her from this privileged place, which folly had 
 
 “ the street Neuve Saint Paul, as every thing it contains concerns her, 
 “ and belongs to her alone ; and as, besides, there is nothing in it that 
 “ can be of use to any person except her ; and in case she shall be dead 
 <f before me, to burn it, and every thing it contains, without opening 
 “ or altering any thing; and, in order that no one may plead igno- 
 “ ranee, I swear by the God whom I adore, and by all that is most 
 “ sacred, that I advance nothing but what is true. And if my in- 
 “ tentions, just and reasonable as they are, be thwarted in this point, 
 “ I charge their consciences with it, both in this world and the next, 
 “ in order that I may unload mine, protesting that this is my last 
 “ will. Done at Paris this 25 th of May in the afternoon, 1672. 
 
 “ DE SAINTE CROIX.” 
 
92 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 consecrated for the protection of vice, Desgrais 
 assumed the dress of an abbe, found means to get 
 acquainted with her, acted the part of a lover, 
 and, having engaged her to go out on an excursion 
 of pleasure, arrested her. Among her effects at the 
 convent, there was found a confession, written by 
 her own hand, which contained a complete cata- 
 logue of her crimes. She there acknowledged that 
 she had set fire to houses, and that she had occa- 
 sioned the death of more persons than any one ever 
 suspected. She remarked also, that she had conti- 
 nued a virgin only till the seventh year of her age. 
 Notwithstanding all the craft which she employed 
 to escape, she was conveyed to Paris, where she 
 at first denied every thing; and, when in prison, 
 she played picquet to pass away the time. She was, 
 however, convicted, brought to a confession of her 
 enormities, became a convert, as her confessor 
 termed it, and went with much firmness to the 
 place of execution, on the 16th of July, 1676; 
 where, when she beheld the multitude of the spec- 
 tators, she exclaimed in a contemptuous manner, 
 “ You have come to see a fine spectacle!” She 
 was beheaded, and afterwards burnt; a punish- 
 ment too mild for such an offender.* As she had 
 been amused with some hopes of a pardon, on ac- 
 
 * Martiniere says that she was burnt alive, together with all 
 the papers respecting her trial. The latter is improbable, and the 
 former certainly false, notwithstanding the account given in the 
 Encyclopedic. 
 
secret PorsoN. 93 
 
 count of her relations, when she mounted- the scaf- 
 fold, she cried out “ C’est done tout de bon /”* 
 Among a number of persons suspected of being 
 concerned in this affair, was a German apothe- 
 cary, named Glaser, who, on account of his know- 
 ledge in chemistry, was intimate with Exili and 
 Sainte Croix. From him they had both procured 
 the materials which they used, and he was some 
 years confined in the Bastille; but the charge 
 against him being more minutely investigated, he 
 was declared innocent, and set at liberty. He was 
 the author of a treatise of chemistry, printed at 
 Paris in ] 667, and reprinted afterwards at Brussels 
 in 1676, and at Lyons in 1679- 
 
 By the execution of this French Medea, the 
 practice of poisoning was not suppressed ; many 
 persons died from time to time under very suspi- 
 cious circumstances ; and the archbishop was in- 
 formed, from different parishes, that this crime 
 was still confessed, and that traces of it were re- 
 marked both in high and in low families. For 
 watching, searching after, and punishing poisoners, 
 
 * The following description of Brinvillier may perhaps be of use 
 to our physiognomists : “ In order to satisfy the curiosity of those 
 “ who may be desirous of knowing if such a celebrated criminal par- 
 t( took of the beauties of her sex, I shall observe that nature had not 
 been sparing of them to the marchioness 3 her features were ex- 
 “ ceedingly regular, and the form of her face, which was round, was 
 << V ery graceful. This beautiful outside concealed a heart extremely 
 ,e black. Nothing proves more that metoposcopy , or the science of 
 “ physiognomy, is false 3 for this lady had that serene and tranquil 
 tf air which announces virtue.” Pitaval, p. 269. 
 
94 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 a particular court, called the Chambre de poison , 
 or Cham re ardente, was at length established in 
 1679- This court, besides other persons, detected 
 two women, named La Vigoreux and La Voisin,* 
 who carried on a great traffic in poisons. The latter 
 was a midwife. Both of them pretended to foretell 
 future events, to call up ghosts, and to teach the art 
 of finding hidden treasures, and of recovering lost 
 or stolen goods. They also distributed philtres, and 
 sold secret poison to such persons as they knew 
 they could depend upon, and who wished to em- 
 ploy them either to get rid of bad husbands, or re- 4 
 cover lost lovers. Female curiosity induced several 
 ladies of the first rank, and even some belonging 
 to the court, to visit these women, particularly La 
 Voisin ; and who, without thinking of poison, only 
 wished to know how soon a husband, a lover, the 
 king or his mistress, would die. In the possession 
 of La Voisin was found a list of all those who had 
 become dupes to her imposture. They were ar- 
 rested and carried before the above-mentioned 
 court, which, without following the usual course of 
 justice, detected secret crimes by means of spies, 
 instituted private trials, and began to imitate the 
 proceedings of the holy inquisition. In this list 
 were found the distinguished names of the countess 
 
 * Some information respecting La Voisin may be found in Lettres 
 
 hisloriques et galantes par Madame de C . A Cologne 1709— - 
 
 1711, 4 vols. 12mo. ii. p. 101, and iv. p.376. The authoress of these 
 letters was Mad. du Noyer. 
 
SECRET POISON. 
 
 95 
 
 de Soissons, her sister the duchess de Bouillon, 
 and marshal de Luxembourg. The first fled to 
 Flanders to avoid the severity and disgrace of im- 
 prisonment; the second saved herself by the help 
 of her friends ; and the last, after he had been 
 some months in the Bastille, and had undergone a 
 strict examination, by which he almost lost his re- 
 putation, was set at liberty as innocent. Thus did 
 the cruel Louvois, the war minister, and the mar- 
 chioness de Montespan, ruin those who opposed 
 their measures. La Vigoreux and La Voisin were 
 burnt alive, on the 2 2d of February 1680, after 
 their hands had been bored through wdth a red- 
 hot iron, and cut off. Several persons of ordinary 
 rank were punished by the common hangman; 
 those of higher rank, after they had been declared 
 by this tribunal not guilty, were set at liberty ; and 
 in 1680 an end was put to the Chambre ardente, 
 which in reality was a political inquisition. 
 
 ^ It is certain that, notwithstanding such pu- 
 nishments, like crimes have given occasion to 
 unjust succession both in Italy and in France, and 
 that attempts have been made for the same pur- 
 pose even in the northern kingdoms. It is known 
 that in Denmark count Corfitz de Ulfeld was 
 guilty, though it was not proved, of having in- 
 tended to give the king a poison, which should gra- 
 dually destroy him like a lethargy.* Charles. XI, 
 
 Leben des Grafen von Ulfeld, von H. P. aus dem Danischen 
 ubersetzt. Copenhagen und Leipzig 1775, 8vo. p. 200 . 
 
9 6 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 also, king of Sweden, died by the effects of such 
 a poison. Having ruined several noble families 
 
 by seizing on their property, and having after 
 that made a journey to Torneo, he fell into a 
 consumptive disorder, which no medicine could 
 cure. One day he asked his physician, in a very 
 earnest manner, what was the cause of his illness ? 
 The physician replied, “ Your majesty has been 
 “ loaded with too many maledictions.” “ \ es,” 
 returned the king, “ I wish to God that the reduc- 
 “ tion of the nobility’s estates had not taken place, 
 
 « and that I had never undertaken a journey to 
 “ Torneo !” After his death his intestines were 
 found to be full of small ulcers.* 
 
 The oftener poisoning in this manner happens, 
 the more it is to be wished that preventives and 
 antidotes were found out, and that the symptoms 
 were ascertained ; but this is hardly possible as long 
 as it is not known of what the poison properly 
 consists. Governments, however, have wisely en-^ 
 deavoured to conceal the recipes, by suppiessing 
 the criminal procedures. Pope Alexander VII 
 caused them to be shut up in the castle of St. 
 Angelo; in France, it is said, they were burnt 
 together with the criminals; in Naples only, 
 the same precaution was not taken. I do not 
 know that observations on the bodies ofpeisons 
 
 * This anecdote was told to me by the celebrated Linnaeus. An 
 account of what appeared on opening the body of this prince may be 
 seen in Baldingers Neuem magazinfiir cerzte, vol. 1. p. gi- 
 
SECRET POISON. 
 
 97 
 
 destroyed by slow poison have been ever publish- 
 ed ; for what Pitaval says on that subject is not 
 sufficient.* People talk of powders and pills, but 
 the greater part of this kind of poison appears to 
 be a clear insipid water, and that prepared by Tof- 
 fania never once betrayed itself by any particular 
 effects on the body. The sale of aqua-fortis was 
 a long time forbidden at Rome, because it was 
 considered as the principal ingredient; but this 
 is very improbable. At Paris it was once be- 
 lieved that succession powder consisted of diamond 
 dust pounded exceedingly fine. Without assent- 
 ing to this idea, one may contradict Voltaire, who 
 conceives that diamond dust is not more pre- 
 judicial than powder of coral. It may be rather 
 compared to that fine sand which is rubbed off 
 from our mill-stones, and which we would con- 
 sider and guard against as a secret poison, were 
 we not highly negligent and careless of our health 
 
 * The lieutenant-civil continued still to grow worse. After having 
 languished a long time, being seized with a loathing of every kind of 
 food presented to him ; his vomitings still continuing, and nature 
 being at length exhausted, he expired without any fever. The three 
 last days he had wasted very much; he was become extremely 
 shrunk, and he felt a great heat in his stomach. When opened, that 
 part and the duodenum were found to be black, and sloughing off 
 in pieces ; the liver was mortified, and as it were burnt. The 
 counsellor was ill three months, had the like symptoms as the 
 lieutenant-civil, and died in the same manner. When opened, 
 his stomach and liver were found in a similar state. Pages 274, 
 275. 
 
 VOL. I. H 
 
98 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 in the use of food. # In the casket of Sainte 
 Croix were found sublimate, opium, regulus of 
 antimony, vitriol; and a large quantity of poi- 
 son ready prepared, the principal ingredients of 
 which the physicians were not able to distin- 
 guish. Many have affirmed, that sugar of lead 
 was the chief ingredient ; f but the conse- 
 quences of the poison did not seem to indicate 
 the use of that metal. For some years past a 
 harmless plant, which is only somewhat bitter and 
 astringent, the cymbalaria, that grows on old walls, J 
 
 * In one year a ton of sand, at least, which is baked with the flour, 
 is rubbed off from a pair of mill-stones. If a mill grinds only 4385 
 bushels annually, and one allows no more than twelvebushels to one 
 man, a person swallows in a year above six pounds, and in a month 
 half a pound of pulverised sand-stone, which, in the course of a long 
 life, will amount to upwards of three hundred weight. Is not this 
 sufficient to make governments more attentive to this circumstance? 
 
 -}■ For the following important information I am indebted to pro- 
 fessor Baldinger. It is to be found in Christiani Henrici Erndl 
 Dissert, de veneno salutem sistens ; resp. T. Taut. Lipsiae 1701, §21. 
 ** There is no doubt that the slow poison of the French and Italians, 
 “ commonly called succession powder (poudre de la succession), owes 
 “ its origin to sugar of lead. I know a chemist, who superintends 
 ** the laboratory of a certain prince on the confines of Bohemia, and 
 t( who by the orders (perhaps not very laudable) of his patron, has 
 
 spent much time and labour in strengthening and moderating 
 “ poisons. He has often declared, that of sugar of lead, with the 
 “ addition of some more volatile corrosive, a very slow poison could 
 “ be prepared ; which, if swallowed by adog or other animal, would 
 “ insensibly destroy it, without any violent symptoms, in the course 
 “ of some weeks or months.” 
 
 J Antirrhinum eymbalaria. See Onomotologia medica completa. 
 Ulm 1753, 8vo. article Cymlalaria . 
 
SECRET POISON. 
 
 99 
 
 has been loaded with the opprobrium of producing 
 this slow poison, while at the same time it has been 
 celebrated by others on account of its medicinal pro- 
 perties ; * but it is, perhaps, not powerful enough to 
 do either mischief or good ; and it is probable that 
 it has been added to poisons either through igno- 
 rance, or to conceal other ingredients ; for the 
 emperor Charles VI, who was king of the Two 
 Sicilies at the time when Toffania was arrested, 
 told his physician Garelli, who communicated the 
 same in a letter f to the celebrated Hoffman, in 
 1718 or 1719, that the poison of that Italian 
 Circe was composed of an arsenical calx, dis- 
 solved in aqua cymbalarice , and which I suppose 
 was rendered stronger and more difficult to be de- 
 tected by a salt that may be readily guessed. It 
 
 * J. J. Wepferi Historia cicut® aquatic:®. Adject® sunt disserta- 
 dones de thea helvetica ac cymbalaria ; curanteT. Zwingero. Lugd. 
 Bat. 1733, 8vo. 
 
 ■f- Garelli, the emperor’s principal physician, lately wrote to me . 
 something remarkable in the following words : — Your elegant dis- 
 sertation on the errors respecting poisons brought to my recollection 
 a certain slow poison, which that infamous poisoner, still alive in pri- 
 son at Naples, employed to the destruction of upwards of six hundred 
 persons. It was nothing else than crystallised arsenic, dissolved in a 
 large quantity of water by decoction, with the addition, but for what 
 purpose I know not, of the herb cymbalaria. This was communi- 
 cated to me by his imperial majesty himself, to whom the judicial 
 procedure, confirmed by the confession of the criminal, was trans- 
 mitted. This water in the Neapolitan dialect, is called aqua de 
 Toffnina. It is certain death, and many have fallen a sacrifice to it.” 
 Fred. Hoffmanni Medicinal rationalis systematica tomus secundus. 
 Hal® 1729, 4to. p. ii. c. 2. § 19 . p. 185. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 is dreadful to think, that this secret poison is ad- 
 ministered as a febrifuge by ignorant or unprin- 
 cipled physicians, quacks, and old women. It 
 drives off obstinate fevers, it is true ; but it is 
 equally certain that it hastens death : it is there- 
 fore a cure, which is far worse than the disease, and 
 against which governments and physicians cannot 
 exclaim too severely. Let me here be permitted to 
 recommend to the latter the ideas of Mr. Mohsen 
 on this subject,* and to chemists the means Mr. 
 Bell employed to analyse these stygian drops. j~ It 
 was remarked at Rome, by accident, that lemon 
 juice and the acid of lemons are, in some mea- 
 sure, counter-poisons ; and a physician named 
 Paul Branchaletti, respecting whom I can find no 
 information, wrote a book expressly on this anti- 
 dote to these drops, according to the account of 
 Keysler, who however adds, “ Every thing hitherto 
 found out, supposes that one has taken the drops 
 only for a short time, or that one has had an op- 
 portunity to be upon one’s guard when suspicious 
 circumstances occurred, and to discover the threat- 
 ened danger.” 
 
 It seems to be almost certain that the poisons 
 prepared by Toffania and Brinvillier were arseni- 
 cal mixtures, or, as Dr. Hahneman J rightly con- 
 
 * Beschreibung einer medaillen-sammlung, i. p. 148. 
 
 •f- The same, p. 186. Of the internal use of arsenic, see Baldingers 
 neue magazin fur arztS, ii. p. 418. 
 
 t Ueber die Arsenikvergiftung, ihre hulfe, und gerichtliche aus- 
 mittelung. Leips. 1786, 8vo. p. 35. 
 
SECRET POISON, 
 
 101 
 
 jectures, arsenical neutral salts. Loss of appetite, 
 faintness, gnawing pains in the stomach, loss of 
 strength without any visible cause, a continual in- 
 disposition, followed by a wasting of the lungs, a 
 slow fever, &c., are all symptoms which seem to 
 announce that dangerous semi-metal. The opi- 
 nion, however, that it was composed of opium and 
 cantharides has, in latter times, received so many 
 confirmations, that one is almost induced to be- 
 lieve that there are more kinds than one of this 
 stygian water. The information given by the 
 abbe Gagliani seems to carry too much weight 
 with it to be denied.* It is confirmed also by 
 
 * On the 20th of December, 1765, died the dauphin, father of 
 Louis XYI, and in 1767 died the dauphiness. It was a public re- 
 port that they were both dispatched by secret poison : and the gra- 
 dual decline of their health, the other circumstances which accom- 
 panied their illness, and the cabals which then existed at cour t, make 
 this at least not improbable. Many private anecdotes respecting 
 these events may be found in a book entitled L’ Espion devalise . 
 Feliciter audax. London 1782. In page 6l it is said, that on ac- 
 count of the suspicions then entertained, it was wished that infor- 
 mation might be procured respecting secret poison, and the methods 
 of preparing it ; and that the abbe Gagliani, well known as a writer, 
 has given the following : — “ It is certain that in Europe the prepa- 
 ration of these drugs renders them pernicious and mortal. For ex- 
 ample, at Naples, the mixture of opium and cantharides, in known 
 doses, is a slow poison ; the surest of all, and the more infallible as 
 one cannot mistrust it. At first it is given in small doses, that it* 
 effects may be insensible. In Italy we call it aqua di Tufania, 
 Tufania water. No man can avoid its attacks, because the liquor 
 obtained from that composition is as limpid as rock water, and with- 
 out taste. Its effects are slow and almost imperceptible ; a few drops 
 of it only are poured into tea, chocolate, or soup. Sec. There is not 
 
102 
 
 HISTOItY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Mr. Archenholz;* bat what he says of the use 
 made of Spanish flies, by the Chinese, to invigo- 
 rate the sixth sense, gives reason to suspect that 
 his voucher is VEspion devalise, to whom the abbe 
 Gagliani ascribes the same words. It appears to 
 me, however, if I may be allowed to judge from 
 
 a lady at Naples who has not some of it lying carelessly on her toi- 
 lette with her smelling bottles- She alone knows the phial, and can 
 distinguish it. Even the waiting-woman, who is her confidant, is 
 not in the secret, and takes this phial for distilled water, or water 
 obtained by precipitation, which is the purest, and which is used to 
 moderate perfumes when they are too strong. 
 
 “ The effects of this poison are very simple. A general indisposi- 
 tion is at first felt in the whole frame. The physician examines you, 
 and perceiving no symptoms of disease, either external or internal, no 
 obstructions, no collection of humours, no inflammations, orders de- 
 tergents, regimen, and evacuation. The dose of poison is then dou- 
 bled, and the same indisposition continues without being more cha- 
 racterized.' — The physician, who can see in this nothing extraordi- 
 nary, ascribes the state of the patient to viscous and peccant humours, 
 which have not been sufficiently carried off by the first evacuation. 
 He orders a second— a third dose— a third evacuation— a fourth dose. 
 The physician then sees that the disease has escaped him, that he has 
 mistaken it, and that the cause of it cannot be discovered but by 
 changing the regimen. He orders the waters, &c. In a word, the 
 noble parts lose their tone, become relaxed and affected, and the lungs 
 particularly, as the most delicate of all, andoneof those most employed 
 in the functions of the animal oeconomy. The first illness then car- 
 ries you off; because the critical accumulation settles always on the 
 weak part, and consequently on the lobes of the lungs; the pus there 
 fixes itself, and the disease becomes incurable. By this method they 
 follow one as long as they choose for months, and for years. Robust 
 constitutions resist a long time. In short, it is not the liquor alone 
 that kills, it is rather the different remedies, which alter and then 
 destroy the temperament, exhaust the strength, extenuate and render 
 one incapable of supporting the first indisposition that comes.” 
 
 * England und Italien, ii. p. 354. 
 
WOODEN BELLOWS. 
 
 JOS 
 
 probabilities, that the poison known in the East 
 Indies under the name of poxvst, is also water which 
 has stood a night over the juice of poppies. It is 
 given in the morning fasting to those persons, and 
 particularly princes, whom people wish to dispatch 
 privately, and without much violence. It consumes 
 them slowly, so that they at length lose all their 
 strength and understanding, and in the end die 
 torpid and insensible.* 
 
 WOODEN BELLOWS. 
 
 After the discovery of fire, the first instrument 
 employed to blow it, and strengthen it, has un- 
 doubtedly been a hollow reed, until the art was 
 found out of forming a stick into a pipe by boring 
 it. Our common bellows, which consist of two 
 boards joined together by a piece of leather, and 
 which probably are an imitation of the lungs, ap- 
 pear to have been early known to the Greeks. I 
 have, however, met with no passage in any ancient 
 author from which I could learn the oldest con- 
 struction of this machine, which in latter times has 
 received many improvements. Had I found such 
 information, I should have endeavoured to explain 
 it, as it would have contributed to enlarge the 
 
 * Universal History, xxiii. p. 299 . 323. — The information con- 
 tained there is taken from Fraser’s History of Nadir Shaw. Aureng- 
 zebe also caused one of his sons to be put to death by this poison. 
 
104 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 knowledge we have of the metallurgy of the 
 ancients. 
 
 It may be remarked on the following lines of 
 Virgil, 
 
 — — Alii taurinis follibus auras 
 Accipiunt, redduntque - 
 
 that bull’s leather is unfit for bellows, and that ox 
 or cow leather only can be used for that purpose ;j" 
 but accuracy is not to be expected in a poet : and 
 besides, Virgil is not the only author who employs 
 the expression folles taurinos ; for Plautus says 
 also : Quam folles taurini habent , cum liquescunt 
 petra, fcr rum ubi fit .J 
 
 Strabo § tells us, from an old historian, that 
 Anacharsis, the Scythian philosopher, who lived 
 in the time of Solon, invented the bellows, the 
 anchor, and the potter’s wheel : but this account 
 is very doubtful, as Pliny, Seneca, || Diogenes 
 Laertius, 5[ and Suidas, who likewise speak of 
 the inventions ascribed to that philosopher, 
 mention only the last two, and not the bellows : 
 besides, Strabo himself remarks that the potter’s 
 wheel is noticed in Homer, and this poet is cer- 
 tainly older than Anacharsis. The latter, perhaps, 
 became acquainted with that useful instrument dur- 
 ing the course of his travels : and, on his return, 
 
 * Georg, iv. 171. 
 
 f Though this requires no confirmation, I shall here add the testi- 
 mony of Agricola : Corium est bubulum vel equinum ; sed bubulum 
 Jonge multumque praestat equino. De re metall. lib. ix. p. 294. 
 
 + In Fragments. § Lib. vii. || Epist. 90. Lib. i. 8. 
 
WOODEN BELLOWS. 
 
 105 
 
 made his countrymen first acquainted with it. How- 
 ever this may be, it is well known that the person 
 who introduces a foreign invention among a people, 
 is often considered as the author of it. 
 
 In the oldest smelting-houses the bellows w r ere 
 worked by men. Refuse, therefore, and other re- 
 mains of metal are found in places where, at pre- 
 sent, no works could be erected, on account of the 
 want of water. 
 
 Bellows made with leather, of which I have 
 hitherto spoken, are attended with many incon- 
 veniences. They require careful management; are 
 expensive in their repairs ; and besides last often 
 not more than six or seven years. If thin leather 
 is employed, it suffers a great deal of the air to 
 escape through it: an evil which must be guarded 
 against by continually besmearing it with train-oil, 
 or other fat substances ; and this is even necessary 
 when thick leather is used, to prevent it from 
 cracking in the folds. Damage by fire and water 
 must also be avoided; and every time they are re- 
 paired, the leather must be again softened with oil, 
 which occasions a considerable loss of time. 
 
 In wooden bellows these inconveniences are 
 partly lessened, and partly remedied. As these 
 bellows, except the pipe, consist entirely of wood, 
 many, who are not acquainted with the construction 
 of them, can hardly conceive the possibility of 
 making such a machine. Though they cannot be 
 properly described without a figure, I shall endea- 
 
106 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 vour to give the reader some idea of them by the 
 following short sketch. The whole machine con- 
 sists of two boxes placed the one upon the other, the 
 uppermost of which can be moved up and down 
 upon the lower one, in the same manner as the lid 
 of a snuff-box, which has a hinge, moves up and 
 down when it is opened or shut ; but the sides of 
 the uppermost box are so broad as to contain the 
 lower one between them, when it is raised to its ut- 
 most extent. Both boxes are bound together, at 
 the smallest end, where the pipe is, by a strong iron 
 bolt. It may be readily comprehended, that when 
 both boxes fit each other exactly, and the upper 
 one is raised over the under one, which is in a state 
 of rest, the space contained by both will be in- 
 creased; and consequently more air will rush in 
 through the valve in the bottom of the lower one : 
 and when the upper box is again forced down, this 
 air will be expelled through the pipe. The only 
 difficulty is to prevent the air, which forces its way 
 in, from escaping any where else than through the 
 pipe ; for it is not to be expected that the boxes 
 will fit each other so closely as to prevent en- 
 tirely. the air from making its way between 
 them. This difficulty, however, is obviated by 
 the following simple and ingenious method. On 
 the inner sides of the uppermost box there are 
 placed moveable slips of wood, which, by means 
 of metal springs, are pressed to the sides of the 
 other box, and fill up the space between them. As 
 
WOODEN BELLOWS. 
 
 107 
 
 these long slips of wood might not be sufficiently 
 pliable to suffer themselves to be pressed dose 
 enough ; and as, though planed perfectly straight 
 at first, they would, in time, become warped in 
 various directions, incisions are made in them across 
 through their whole length, at the distance of from 
 fifteen to eighteen inches from each other, so as to 
 leave only a small space in their thickness, by which 
 means they acquire sufficient pliability to be every 
 where pressed close enough to the sides.* 
 
 The advantages of these wooden bellows are 
 very great. When made of clean fir-wood without 
 knots, they will last thirty or forty years, and even 
 longer, though continually kept in action forty- 
 six or forty-eight weeks every year : nay, Polhem 
 assures us that, when properly made, they will last 
 a century. The effect produced by them is 
 stronger, as well as more uniform, and can be 
 moderated according to circumstances. They are 
 worked also with greater facility. The slips of w ood 
 on their sides are apt to become damaged ; but they 
 can soon and easily be repaired. Every three or 
 four months, however, the outer sides only of the 
 
 * A complete description and a figure of these bellows may be 
 found in Schluters Unterricht von hiltten-werken. Brunswick 1738, 
 fol. p. 51 ; in Cramers Anfangsgrimde der metallurgie. Blankenburg 
 and Quedlingburg 1777, fob iii. p 5g ; Memoires sur I'art de fabric 
 quer le fer, J>ar Grignon. Paris 1775, 4to. p. l(jg ; Traite de la fonte 
 des mines par le feu du charbon de terre ; par M. de Genssane. Paris 
 1770, 2 vol. 4to. i. p. y6; Pini de venarum metallicarum excoctione. 
 Vindobonaj 1780, 4to. vol. i. p. 107. 
 
108 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 inner box, and the bolt which keeps the boxes to- 
 gether, must be smeared with oil. If we reckon 
 up the price of such bellows, and the yearly 
 expence, they will, according to Grignon’s ac- 
 count, be only a fifth part of those of the old lea- 
 ther bellows. 
 
 That the invention of these wooden bellows be- 
 longs to the Germans, is certain. Grignon* ex- 
 pressly affirms so; and in BecherVj' time they were 
 to be found in Germany, but not in England. 
 Genssane, who ascribes the invention to the Swiss, 
 is certainly mistaken; and perhaps he was led into 
 this error, because these bellows were first made 
 known in France by a Swiss. I cannot, however, 
 ascertain the name of the real inventor. In 
 the middle of the sixteenth century lived at 
 Nuremberg an artist called Hans Lobsinger, 
 who, in the year 1550, gave to the magistrates of 
 that city a catalogue of his machines. From this 
 catalogue Doppelmayer concludes that he under- 
 stood the art of making small and large bellows 
 without leather, and entirely of wood, which 
 could be used in smelting-houses and for or- 
 gans, and likewise copper bellows that always 
 
 * Germany is the country of machines. In general the Germans 
 lessen manual labour considerably by machines adapted to every kind 
 of movement; not that we are destitute of able mechanics ; we have 
 the talent of bringing to perfection the machines invented by our 
 neighbours. P. 200. 
 
 f Bechers Narrische weisheit und weise narrheit. Frankfort 
 1683, 12mo. p. 113. 
 
WOODEN BELLOWS. 
 
 109 
 
 emitted a like degree of wind. As Lobsinser 
 made organs, he, perhaps, fell upon this invention: 
 but in what it actually consisted, or whether it 
 might not die with him, I have not been able to 
 learn. Agricola, who died in the year 1555, makes 
 no mention of wooden bellows. 
 
 Samuel Reyher, formerly professor at Kiel, in a 
 dissertation on air,* printed there in 1669, tells 
 us, that about forty years before that period, two 
 brothers, Martin and Nicholas Schelhorn, millers 
 at the village of Schmalebuche in Cobourg, first 
 invented wooden bellows. Both the brothers, he 
 says, kept the invention secret, though he thinks 
 they did not conceal it so closely as to prevent its 
 being guessed at ; and he relates also how he him- 
 self formed an idea of it.'f' 
 
 * In this dissertation, the time of the invention is stated to be about 
 forty years before, which would be the year 1629 or 1030; but in an 
 improved edition, printed with additions at Hamburg, in 1725, and 
 entitled De pneumatica, sive De aere et aerometria, a different period 
 is given. “About eighty years ago,” says the author, “ a new kind of 
 “ bellows, which ought rather to be called the pneumatic chests, was 
 “ invented in the village of Schmalebuche, in the principality of Co- 
 “ bourg, in Franconia. Two brothers, millers in that village, Martin 
 “ and Nicholas Schelhorn, by means of some box made by them, the 
 “ lid of which fitted very exactly, found out these chests, as I was 
 “ told by one of their friends, a man worthy of credit. These chests 
 “ are not of leather, but entirely of wood joined together with iron 
 “ nails. In blacksmiths’ shops they are preferred to those construct- 
 “ ed with leather, because they emit a stronger blast, as leather suf- 
 <c fers the more subtile part of the air to escape through its pores.” 
 
 •f 1° many places these bellows were at first put in a wooden case, 
 to prevent their construction from being known. 
 
110 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 To these bellows Schluter has assigned a much 
 nobler inventor, who, perhaps, was the first per- 
 son who made them known by a description. He 
 says expressly that they were invented by a bishop 
 of Bamberg :* but of this I have been able to find 
 no confirmation; and I am inclined to ascribe that 
 service rather to an organ-builder, or a miller, than 
 to a bishop. According to Schluter’s account, 
 these bellows were employed so early as the year 
 1620, in the forest of Harze, to which they were 
 first brought by some people from Bamberg. What 
 Calvor says respecting the introduction of these 
 bellows into the forest of Harze is much more 
 probable: that in the year 1621 Lewis Pfannen- 
 schmid, from Thuringia, settled at Ostfeld near 
 Goslar, and began to make wooden bellows. The 
 bellows- makers of that place conspired therefore 
 against him, and swore they would put him to 
 death ; but he was protected by the government. 
 He would disclose his art to no one but his son, 
 who, as well as his grandson a few years ago, had 
 the making of all the bellows in the foiest. 
 
 We are told by French authors, that the art of 
 making these bellows was introduced into Fiance, 
 particularly into Berry, Nivernois, and Franche 
 Comte, by a German. 
 
 * In J. P. Ludewig, Scriptores rerum cpiscopatus Bamlergensis. 
 Francofurti et Lipsia; 1718, fd. Where any bishop of latter times 
 is praised, I find no mention of this useful and ingenious inven- 
 
COACHES. 
 
 Ill 
 
 COACHES. 
 
 If by this name we are to understand every kind 
 of covered carriage, in which one can with conve- 
 nience travel, there is no doubt that some of them 
 were known to the ancients. The arcera, of which 
 mention is made in the twelve tables, was a covered 
 carriage used by sick and infirm persons.* It ap- 
 pears to have been employed earlier than the soft 
 lectica, and by it to have been brought into disuse. 
 A later invention is the carpetitum, the form of 
 which may be seen on antique coins, where it is 
 represented as a two- wheeled car, with an arched 
 covering, and which was sometimes hung with 
 costly cloth.f Still later were introduced the car - 
 ruccc, first mentioned by Pliny; but so little is 
 know n of them, that antiquaries are uncertain whe- 
 ther they had only one wheel, like our wheel-bar- 
 rows, or, as is more probable, four wheels. J This 
 much, however, is known, that they were first- 
 rate vehicles, ornamented w 7 ith gold and precious 
 stones, and that the Romans considered it as an 
 
 Arcera vocabatur plaustrum tectum undique et munitum, quasi 
 area quaedam magna vestimentis instrata, qua nimis segri aut senes 
 portari cubantes solebant. See Leges XII. tabularum illustratae a 
 J. N. Funccio. Rintelii 1744, 4to. p. 72. Gellius, xx. 1. 
 
 f Scheffer de re vehiculari, in Utriusque thesauri antiquitatum 
 nova supplementa congesta aPoleno. Yenetiis 1737, fol. v. p. 1380. 
 Spanhem. de przestant. numismatum. Amst. 1671, 4to. p. 613. Pro- 
 pertius, iv. 8. 23, mentions serica carpenla. 
 t Scheffer, 1. c. p. 1472. 
 
112 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 honour to ride in those that were remarkably 
 high.* In the Theodosian code, the use of them 
 is not only allowed to civil and military officers of 
 the first rank, but commanded as a mark of their 
 dignity.']' 
 
 After this, covered carriages seem more and more 
 to have become appendages of Roman pomp and 
 magnificence ; but the manner of thinking which 
 prevailed under the feudal system, banished the use 
 of them for some time. As it was of the greatest 
 importance to the feudal lords that their vassals 
 should be always able to serve them on horseback, 
 they could not think of indulging them with ele- 
 gant carriages. They foresaw, that by such luxuiy 
 the nobility would give over riding on horseback, 
 and become much more indolent, and less fit for 
 military service. IVTasters and servants, husbands 
 and wives, clergy and laity, all rode upon horses 
 or mules, and sometimes women and monks upon 
 she-asses, which they found more convenient. The 
 minister rode to court; and the horse, without any 
 conductor, returned alone to his stable, till a sei- 
 vant carried him back to court to fetch his master, ijl 
 
 * Alii summum decus in carrucis solito altioribus ponunt. In 
 my opinion the height here alluded to is to be understood as that of 
 the body, rather than that of the wheels, as some think. 
 
 -f- Omnes honorati, seu civilium seu militarium, vehiculis digni- 
 tatis sues, id est carrucis, intra urbem sacratissimi nominis semper 
 utantur. Codex Theodos. lib. xiv. tit. 12. and Cod. Justin, lib. xr. 
 
 tit. 19- ,. . 
 
 X C. A. Geutebruck, Gedanken und anmerkungen uber die em- 
 
 richtung einer kammer-verwaltung. Erfurt 1765 , 8vo. p. 11. 
 
COACHES. 
 
 113 
 
 In this manner the magistrates of the imperial cities 
 rode to council, in the beginning of the sixteenth 
 century; so that, in the year 1502, steps to assist 
 in mounting were erected by the Roman gate at 
 Francfort.* The members of the council, who, 
 at the diet, and on other occasions, were em- 
 ployed as ambassadors, were, on this account, 
 called rittmeister ;f and even at present the ex- 
 pression riding servant is preserved in some of the 
 imperial cities. The public entry of great lords 
 into any place, or their departure from it, was 
 never in a carriage, but on horseback ; and in all 
 the works which speak of the papal ceremonies, 
 there is no mention of a state coach, or body coach- 
 man, but of state horses, or state mules. It was 
 necessary that a horse for his holiness should be of 
 a grey colour; not mettlesome, however, but a 
 quiet tractable nag; that a stool with three steps 
 should be brought to assist him to mount, and the 
 emperor and kings, if present, were obliged to 
 hold his stirrup, and to lead the horse, J &c. Bi- 
 shops made their public entrance on horses or asses 
 richly decorated. § At the coronation of the em- 
 peror, the electors and principal officers of the em- 
 
 * Lersner, Chronica der Stadt Frankfurt, i. p. 23 . 
 
 t Lehmanns Chronica der Stadt Speier. Frankfurt 1698, fol. 
 
 p. 618. 
 
 + Sacrarum casremoniarum Romanse ecclesiae libri tres, auctore 
 J. Catalano. Romse 1750, 2 vol. fol. i. p. 131. 
 
 § See J. P. Ludewigs Gelehrte anzeigen, welche vormals den 
 Wochentlichen Hallischen Anzeigen einverleibt worden, nunmehro 
 VOL. I. 
 
 I 
 
114 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 pire were ordered to make their entrance on horses, 
 and to perform their service on horseback.* For- 
 merly it was requisite that those who received an 
 investiture should make their appearance on horse- 
 back : the vassal was obliged to ride with two at- 
 tendants to his lord’s court, where, having dis- 
 mounted from his horse, he received his lief. 
 
 Covered carriages were known in the beginning 
 of the sixteenth century ; but they were used only 
 by women of the first rank, for the men thought 
 it disgraceful to ride in them. At that period, 
 w'hen the electors and princes did not choose to be 
 present at the meetings of the states, they excused 
 themselves by informing the emperor that their 
 health w 7 ould not permit them to ride on horseback; 
 and it was considered as an established point, that 
 it was unbecoming for them to ride like women.']' 
 What, according to the then prevailing ideas, was 
 not allowed to princes, was much less permitted to 
 their servants. In the year 1544, when count 
 Wolf of Barby, was summoned by John Frederic, 
 elector of Saxony, to go to Spires to attend the 
 convention of the states assembled there, he re- 
 quested leave, on account of his ill state of health, 
 
 aber zusammen gedruckt. Halle 1743, 3 vol. 4to. i. p. 426, where 
 the following passage is quoted from Ceremoniale Episcoporum, lib. i. 
 c. 1 1 . Episcopus ascendet mulam ornatam pontificahbus ephippiis et 
 stragula violacei colons, ac ita equitabit. 
 
 * Ludewdgs Erlauter. der Guldenen Bulle. Franc. 1719, 2 vol. 
 4to. i. p. 56 g. 
 
 t Von Ludolf, Electa juris publici, v. p. 417. 
 
COACHES. 
 
 115 
 
 to make use of a close carriage with four horses. 
 When the counts and nobility were invited to the 
 marriage solemnity of the elector’s half brother, 
 duke John Ernest, the invitation was accompanied 
 with a memorandum, that such dresses of ceremony 
 as they might be desirous of taking with them 
 should be transported in a small waggon.* Had they 
 been expected in coaches, such a memorandum 
 would have been superfluous. The use of covered 
 carriages was, for a long time, forbidden even to 
 women. In the year 1545, the wife of a certain 
 duke obtained from him, with great difficulty, per- 
 mission to use a covered carriage in a journey to 
 the baths, in which, however, much pomp was dis- 
 played ; but with this express stipulation, that her 
 attendants should not have the same indulgence.! 
 It is nevertheless certain, that the emperor, kings, 
 and princes, about the end of the fifteenth century, 
 began to employ covered carriages on journeys, 
 and afterwards on public solemnities. 
 
 In the year 1474, the emperor Frederic III 
 came to Francfort in a close carriage; and as he 
 remained in it on account of the wetness of the 
 weather, the inhabitants had no occasion to support 
 the canopy which was held over him, but while he 
 went to the council-house, and again returned. In 
 
 \ 
 
 * Von Ludolf, Electa juris publici, ut supra. 
 
 t Sattler, in Historischer bescreibung des herzogthums Wurtem- 
 berg, im ersten theile, bey erlauterung einer urkunde vom jahr 138,9- 
 
 i 2 
 
116 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the year following, the emperor visited the same city 
 in a very magnificent covered carriage.* In the 
 description of the splendid tournament held by Jo- 
 achim elector of Brandenburg, at Ruppin, in 1509, 
 we read of a carriage all gilt over, which belonged 
 to the electress ; of twelve other coaches, orna- 
 mented with crimson, and of another of the 
 duchess of Mecklenburg, which w'as hung with red 
 satin. At the coronation of the emperor Maxi- 
 milian, in the year 1562, the elector of Cologne 
 had twelve carriages. In 1594, when the margrave 
 John Sigismund did homage at Warsaw' on ac- 
 count of Prussia, he had in his train thirty-six 
 coaches with six horses each.'f Count Keven- 
 hiller, speaking of the marriage of the emperor 
 Terdinand II with a princess of Bavaria, says, 
 “ The bride rode with her sisters in a splendid car- 
 “ riage studded w ith gold ; her maids of honour 
 ie in carriages hung with black satin, and the rest 
 “ of the ladies in neat leather carriages.” The 
 same author mentions the entrance of cardinal 
 Dietrichstein into Vienna, in 161 1, and tells us that 
 forty carriages w ? ent to meet him ^ At the elec- 
 tion of the emperor Matthias, the ambassador of 
 
 * Lersner, i. p. 106 and 108. 
 
 •f- Suite des Memoires pour servir a I’ Hist, de Brandenburg, p. 63, 
 where the royal author adds, “ The common use of carriages is not 
 “ older than the time of John Sigismund. 
 
 X Annal. Ferdin.V. p. 21Q9; and vii. p.375. Von Mosers Teuts- 
 ches hofrecht. Franc, und Leipsic J755, 4to. ii. p. 338. 
 
COACHES. 117 
 
 Brandenburg had three coaches.* * * § When the 
 consort of that emperor made her public entrance, 
 on her marriage in 1611, she rode in a carriage 
 covered with perfumed leather. 'f' Mary, infanta 
 of Spain, spouse of the emperor Ferdinand III, 
 rode, in Carinthia, in 1631, in a glass carriage in 
 which no more than two persons could sit.J The 
 wedding carriage of the first wife of the emperor 
 Leopold, who was also a Spanish princess, cost 
 together with the harness 38,000 florins. § The 
 coaches used by that emperor are thus described 
 by Rink : “ In the imperial coaches no great mag- 
 “ nificence was to be seen : they were covered over 
 “ with red cloth and black nails. The harness was 
 “ black, and in the whole work there was no gold. 
 “ The pannels were of glass, and on this account 
 11 they were called the imperial glass coaches. On 
 “ festivals the harness was ornamented with red silk 
 “ fringes. The imperial coaches were distinguished 
 “ only by their having leather traces ; but the la- 
 “ dies in the imperial suite were obliged to be con- 
 “ tented with carriages the traces of which were 
 u made of ropes.” At the magnificent court of 
 duke Ernest Augustus, at Hanover, there were, 
 
 * In the last-quoted work but one, p. 63, it is remarked that 
 they were coarse coaches, composed of four boards put together in a 
 clumsy manner. 
 
 't' Kevenhiller, Annal. i. p. 34. 
 
 J Kevenhiller, xi. p. 1503. 
 
 § Rink, Leben k. Leopold, p. 607. 
 
118 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 in the year 1681, fifty gilt coaches with six horses 
 each.* So early did Hanover begin to surpass 
 other cities in the number of its carriages. The 
 first time that ambassadors appeared in coaches, 
 on a public solemnity, was at the imperial com- 
 mission, held at Erfurth, in 1613, respecting the 
 affair of Juliers.'f' 
 
 The great lords at first imagined that they could 
 suppress the use of coaches by prohibitions. In the 
 archives of the county of Mark there is still pre- 
 served an edict, in which the feudal nobility and 
 vassals are forbid the use of coaches, under pain of 
 incurring the punishment of felony. J In the year 
 1588, duke Julius of Brunswick published an 
 order, couched in very expressive terms, by which 
 his vassals were forbid to ride in carriages. This 
 curious document is in substance as follows: — “As 
 “ we know from ancient historians, from the an- 
 “ nals of heroic, honourable, and glorious achieve- 
 “ ments, and even by our own experience, that the 
 “ respectable, steady, courageous, and spirited 
 “ Germans were, heretofore, so much celebrated 
 “ among all nations, on account of their manly 
 “ virtue, sincerity, boldness, honesty, and resolu- 
 “ tion, that their assistance was courted in war, and 
 “ that, in particular, the people of this land, by 
 
 * Lunigs Theatr. cer. i. p. 289- 
 
 Ludolf, Electa juris publici, v. p. 4l6. Von Mosers Hofrecht, 
 ii. p. 337. 
 
 J Ludewigs Gelehrte Anzeigen, i. p. 426. 
 
COACHES. 
 
 119 
 
 u their discipline and intrepidity, both within and 
 “ w ithout the kingdom, acquired so much celebrity, 
 “ that foreign nations readily united with them : 
 “ w T e have, for some time past, found, wuth great 
 “ pain and uneasiness, that their useful discipline 
 <c and skill in riding, in our electorate, county and 
 “ lordship, have not only visibly declined, but 
 “ have been almost lost (and, no doubt, other 
 “ electors and princes have experienced the same 
 “ among their nobility) : and as the principal cause 
 “ of this is that our vassals, servants and kinsmen, 
 “ without distinction, young and old, have dared 
 “ to give themselves up to indolence and to riding 
 <c in coaches, and that few of them provide them- 
 “ selves with well-equipped riding horses, and 
 “ with skilful experienced servants, and boys ac- 
 “ quainted with the roads : not being able to suffer, 
 “ any longer, this neglect, and being desirous to 
 “ revive the ancient Brunswick mode of riding, 
 “ handed down and bequeathed to us by our fore- 
 “ fathers, we hereby will and command, that all and 
 u each of our before-mentioned vassals, servants 
 “ and kinsmen, of whatever rank or condition, shall 
 “ always keep in readiness as many riding horses as 
 “ they are obliged to serve us with by their fief, or 
 “ alliance; and shall have in their service able, ex- 
 “ perienced servants, acquainted with the roads ; 
 “ and that they shall have as many horses as pos- 
 “ sible, with polished steel furniture, and with 
 u saddles proper for carrying the necessary arms 
 
120 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 “ and accoutrements, so that they may appear with 
 “ them when necessity requires. We also will and 
 “ command our belore-mentioned vassals and ser- 
 “ vants to take notice, that when we order them to 
 “ assemble, either all together, or in part, in times 
 “ of turbulence, or to receive their fiefs, or when on 
 “ other occasions they visit our court, they shall not 
 “ travel or appear in coaches, but on their riding 
 <c horses, &c. ,,# Philip II, duke of Pomerania- 
 Stettin, reminded his vassals also, in 1608, that 
 they ought not to make so much use of carriages 
 as of horses.'}' All these orders and admonitions, 
 how ever, were of no avail, and coaches became 
 common all over Germany. 
 
 It would be difficult to give an exact description 
 of these carriages without a figure, and drawings or 
 paintings of them do not seem to be common. 
 
 In the month of October 1785, when I visited 
 the senate-house at Bremen, I saw in the tax-cham- 
 ber a view of the city, painted on the wall in oil 
 colours, by John Landwehr, in 1661. On the 
 left side of the fore-ground I observed a long qua- 
 drangular carriage, which did not appear to be sus- 
 pended by leather straps. It was covered with a 
 
 * Liinig. Corp. jur. feud. Germ. ii. p. 1447. 
 
 f An attempt was made also to prevent the use of coaches by a 
 law, in Hungary, in 1523. The words are: Et quod nobiles unius 
 sessionis per singula capita pariter insurgere et ad venire teneantur ; 
 et non in Kotsi, prout plerique solent, sed exercitantium more, vel 
 equites, vel pedites, ut pugnare possint, venire sint obligati. Schwarz ^ 
 Pommerschen lehen-historie, p. 497. 
 
COACHES. 
 
 121 
 
 canopy supported by four pillars, but had no cur- 
 tains, so that one could see all the persons who 
 were in it. In the side there was a small door, and 
 before there seemed to be a low seat, or perhaps a 
 box The coachman sat upon the horses. It was 
 evident, from their dress, that the persons in it 
 were burgomasters. 
 
 In the history of France we find many proofs 
 that at Paris, in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and even 
 sixteenth centuries, the French monarchs rode 
 commonly on horses, the servants of the court on 
 mules, and the princesses, together with the prin- 
 cipal ladies, sometimes on asses. Persons of the 
 first rank frequently sat behind their equerry, and 
 the horse was often led by servants. When 
 Charles VI wished to see incognito the entrance 
 of the queen, he placed himself on horseback 
 behind Savoisy, wdio was his confidant, with 
 whom, however, he was much incommoded in 
 the crowd.* When Louis, duke of Orleans, that 
 prince’s brother, was assassinated in 1407, the two 
 ecuyers who accompanied him rode both upon 
 the same horse . \ In the year 1534, queen Eleo- 
 nora and the princesses rode on white horses (des 
 haquenees blanches ) during a sacred festival. That 
 private persons also, such as physicians for ex- 
 
 * Histoire des antiquitesde Paris, par Sauval, i. p. I87. 
 
 •f* Sauval; also, Abrege chronologique de l’histoire de France, par 
 M. de Mezeray. Amst. 1696, 3 vols. 12mo. iii. p. 167. 
 
122 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 ample, used no carriages in the fifteenth century, 
 is proved by the principal entrance to their public 
 school, which was built in 1472, being so narrow 
 that a carriage could not pass through it, though 
 it was one of the widest at that period.* In 
 Paris also, at all the palaces and public buildings, 
 there were steps for mounting on horseback, such 
 as those which the parliament caused to be erected 
 in 1599; and Sauval says on this occasion, that 
 though many of these steps in latter periods had 
 been taken away, there still remained several of 
 them in his time at old buildings. 
 
 Carriages, however, appear to have been used 
 very early in France. An ordinance of Philip the 
 fair, issued in 1294, for suppressing luxury, and 
 in which the citizens’ wives are forbid to use car- 
 riages {chars), is still preserved.! Under Francis 
 I, or rather about 1550, somewhat later, there 
 
 * Varietes historiques, physiques et litteraires. Paris 1752, 3 vol. 
 12ino. ii. p. 87* 
 
 t The author of the last-quoted work says, C’est une ordonnance 
 de Philip le bel, de l’an 1292, qui est a la chambre des comptes au 
 folio 44 d’un petit livre, lequel contient les ordonnances faites par 
 Saint Louis pour la tranquillite du royaume; et qui se trouve aussi 
 dans le registre noir du Chatelet de Paris ; elle est meme rapportee 
 dans les notes et observations de la Thaumassiere surles coutumes de 
 Beauvoisois, page 37 1. Cette ordonnance est intitulde, L' ordonnance 
 que le roi Philippe le lei afaitfaire des superfiuites osier de toutes 
 per sonnes, l' an 12g4. Le premier article est con?fi en ces termes : 
 Premierement nulle lourgeoise n aura char. This ordonnance is to 
 be found also in Traite de la police, par De la Mare, i. p. 418. 
 
COACHES. 
 
 123 
 
 were at Paris, for the first time, only three coaches, 
 one of which belonged to the queen, another to 
 Diana de Poictiers, the mistress of two kings, 
 Francis I and Henry II, by the latter of whom 
 she was created duchess of Valentinois, and the 
 third to Renb de Laval, lord of Bois-dauphin 
 The last was a corpulent unwieldy nobleman, who 
 was not able to ride on horseback.* Others say, 
 that the three first coaches belonged to Catherine 
 de Medici; Diana duchess of Angouleme, the 
 natural daughter of Henry IT, who died in 16 19 
 in the eightieth year of her age ; and Christopher 
 de Thou, first president of the parliament. The 
 last was excused by the gout ; but the rest of the 
 ministers of state soon followed his example, 'j' 
 Henry IV was assassinated in a coach ; but he 
 usually rode through the streets of Paris on horse- 
 back, and to provide against rain, carried a large 
 cloak behind him. For himself and his queen he 
 had only one coach; as appears by a letter still pre- 
 served, in which he writes to a friend, “ 1 cannot 
 “ wait upon you to-day, because my wife is using 
 “ my coach.” J We, however, find two coaches 
 at the public solemnity on the arrival of the Spa- 
 nish ambassador, don Peter de Toledo, under 
 
 * Variet^s histor. p. 9 2 * 
 
 f Valesiana. Paris 1695, 12mo. p. 35 . 
 
 X Variety historiques, p. 96. 
 
124 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Henry IV.* This contradiction is not worth fur- 
 ther research ; but it shows that all writers do not 
 speak of the same kind of carriages or coaches, and 
 that every improvement has formed as it were an 
 epoch in the history of them, which perhaps would 
 be best elucidated by figures or engravings. 
 
 Roubo, in his costly treatise on joiners’ work,')' 
 has given three figures of such {chars) carriages 
 as were used under Henry IV, from drawings pre- 
 served in the king’s library. By these it is seen 
 that those coaches were not suspended by straps ; 
 that they had a canopy supported by ornamented 
 pillars, and that the whole body was surrounded 
 by curtains of stuff or leather, which could be 
 drawn up. The coach in which Louis XIV made 
 his public entrance, about the middle of the 
 seventeenth century, appears, from a drawing in 
 the king’s library, to have been a suspended car- 
 riage. 
 
 The oldest carriages used by the ladies in Eng- 
 land were known under the now forgotten name 
 of zvhirlicotes. When Richard II, towards the 
 end of the fourteenth century, was obliged to fly 
 
 Sauval says, I shall here remark, that this was the first time 
 coaches were used for that ceremony (the entrance of ambassadors), 
 and that it was only at this period they were invented, and began to 
 be used. 
 
 ”1 Lart du menusier-carossier, premier section de la troisieme 
 partie de l’art du menusier. Par M. Roubo le fils, maitre-menusier, 
 177 1 , fol. p. 457, planche 17 1. fig. 1, 2, 3 et4. 
 
COACHES. 
 
 125 
 
 before his rebellious subjects, he and all his fol- 
 lowers were on horseback; his mother only, who 
 was indisposed, rode in a carriage. This, however, 
 became afterwards somewhat unfashionable, when 
 that monarch’s queen, Ann, the daughter of the 
 emperor Charles IV, showed the English ladies 
 how gracefully and conveniently she could ride 
 on a side-saddle. Whirlicotes therefore were 
 disused, except at coronations and other public 
 solemnities. # Coaches were first known in Eng- 
 land about the year 1580, and, as Stow says, were 
 introduced from Germany, by Fitz-allen, earl of 
 Arundel, t In the year 1598, when the English 
 ambassador came to Scotland, he had a coach with 
 him. X Anderson places the period, when coaches 
 began to be in common use, about the year 1605. 
 The celebrated duke of Buckingham, the unworthy 
 favourite of two kings, was the first person who 
 rode with a coach and six horses, in 1619- To 
 ridicule this new pomp, the earl of Northumber- 
 land put eight horses to his carriage. 
 
 Towards the end of the thirteenth century, when 
 Charles of Anjou made his entrance into Naples, 
 the queen rode in a carriage, called by historians 
 caretta, the outside and inside of which were co- 
 
 * The Survey of London, by John Stow. London 1633, fol. 
 p. 70- 
 
 f Anderson’s Hist, of commerce, iv. p. 180. 
 
 % The Hist, of Edinburgh, by Hugh Arnot. Edin. 1779, 4to. 
 p. 5[)G. 
 
126 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 vered with sky-blue velvet, interspersed with gold- 
 en lilies, a magnificence never before seen by the 
 Neapolitans. At the entrance of Frederic II into 
 Padua, in the year 1239, it appears that there were 
 no carriages, for the most elegantly dressed ladies 
 who came to meet him were on palfreys ornament- 
 ed with trappings ( sedentes in phaleratis et arnbu - 
 lantibus palafredis). It is well known that the 
 luxury of carriages spread from Naples all over 
 Italy. * 
 
 Coaches were seen for the first time in Spain 
 in the year T546. Such, at least, is the account 
 of Twiss, who, according to his usual custom, 
 says so without giving his authority, f 
 
 Towards the end of the sixteenth century, John 
 of Finland, on his return from England, among 
 other articles of luxury, brought with him to 
 Sweden the first coach. + Before that period, 
 the greatest lords in Sweden, when they travelled 
 by land, carried their wives with them on horse- 
 back. The princesses even travelled in that 
 manner, and, when it rained, took with them a 
 mantle of wax-cloth. 
 
 * This account is taken from Observations sur Vltalie et sur les 
 Italiens, par M. Grosley. London 1774, 4 vol. 12mo. i. p. 326. The 
 author quotes, as his authority, Scriptores rerum Italicarum , and 
 Ttollandino Chron. lib. iv. c. Q. 
 
 f Twiss’s Travels through Spain and Portugal. 
 
 J Dalin, Geschichte des reichs Schweden, ubersetzt von Dahnerl, 
 iii. 1. p. 3C)0 and 402. 
 
COACHES. 
 
 127 
 
 It appears that there were elegant coaches in 
 the capital of Russia so early as the beginning of 
 the 17th century.* 
 
 But to what nation ought we to ascribe the in- 
 vention of coaches ? If under this name we com- 
 prehend covered carriages, these are so old as not 
 to admit of any dispute respecting the question. 
 To the following one might rather expect an 
 answer. Who first fell on the idea of suspending 
 the body of the carriage from elastic springs, by 
 which the whole machine has undoubtedly been 
 much improved ? To this question, however, I 
 can find no answer, except the information before 
 mentioned, that suspended carriages were known 
 in the time of Louis XIV. 
 
 As the name coach is now adopted, with a little 
 variation, in all the European languages, some 
 have thought to determine the country of this in- 
 vention from the etymology of the word, f But 
 
 * Essai sur la bibliotheque de 1’ Academie des sciences de S. Pe- 
 tersburg, par J. Bacmeister, 1776 , 8 vo. p. 38. 
 
 •f Joh. Ihre, Glossarium Sueogothic. i. coi. 1 1 78 . Aws^acoachman. 
 It seems properly to denote the carriage itself. Gall, cocker. Hisp. 
 id. Ital. cocchio. Ang. coach. Hung, cotczy. Belg. goetse. Germ. 
 kutsche. The person who drives such carriages is by the English 
 called coachman, which in other languages is made shorter, as the 
 French say cocker, and we husk. It is difficult, however, to determine 
 whence it isderived, aswe do not know by whom these close carriages 
 were invented. Menage makes it Latin, and by a far-fetched deriva- 
 tion from vehiculum ; Junius derives it somewhat shorter from lyjm 
 to carry. Wachter thinks it comes from the German word kutten , to 
 
128 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 even allowing that one could fix the origin of the 
 word, it would by no means be ascertained what 
 kind of a carriage we ought properly to understand 
 by it. Mr. Confides * has lately endeavoured 
 to prove, that the word coach is of Hungarian ex- 
 traction, and that it had its rise from a village in 
 the province of Wieselburg, which at present is 
 called Kitsee , but was known formerly by the name 
 of Kotsee, and that this travelling machine w r as even 
 there first invented. However this may be, the 
 grounds on which he supports his assertion deserve 
 to be here quoted, as they seem at least to prove 
 that in the sixteenth century, or even earlier, a 
 kind of covered carriages were known, under the 
 name of Hungarian carriages, + As the word 
 
 cover; and Lye, from the Belgie koetsen, to lie along, as it properly 
 signifies a couch or chair. 
 
 * Ungrisches Magaz. ersten bandes erstes stuck. Pressburg 1781, 
 8vo. p. 15. 
 
 ■f Stephanus Broderithus says, speaking of the year 1526, “ When 
 <e the archbishop received certain intelligence that the Turks had en- 
 “ tered Hungary, not contented with informing the king by letter of 
 (f this event, he speedily got into one of those light carriages, which, 
 
 from the name of the place, we call kotcze, and hastened to his ma- 
 “ jesty.” Siegmund baron de Herberstein, ambassador from Louis II 
 to the king of Hungary, says, in Commentario de rebus Moscoviticis, 
 Basil 157L fol. p. 145, wherehe occasionally mentions some stages in 
 Hungary; “ The fourth stage for stopping to give the horses breath is 
 ,c six miles below Jaurinum, in thevillage of Cotzi, from which both 
 “ drivers and carriages take their name, and are still generally called 
 “ cotzi .V That the word coach is of Hungarian extraction is confirm- 
 
COACHES. 
 
 129 
 
 gutschi , and not gutsche, was used at first in Ger- 
 many, the last syllable gives us reason to conjec- 
 ture, that it is rather of Hungarian than German 
 extraction. As Hortleder * tells us that Charles V, 
 because he had the gout, laid himself to sleep 
 in an Hungarian gutsche, one might almost con- 
 clude, that the peculiarity of these carriages con- 
 sisted in their being so constructed as to admit 
 people to sleep in them. This conjecture is sup- 
 ported by the meaning of the word gutsche, which 
 formerly signified a couch or sopha. f As the 
 writers quoted by Mr. Cornides call the Hunga- 
 rian coaches sometimes ( leves ) light, sometimes 
 ( yeloces ) swift, they ought rather to be considered 
 as a particular kind of carriages for travelling with 
 expedition. It is, however, still more worthy of 
 
 ed also by John Cuspinianus (Spiesshammer) physician to the em- 
 peror Maximilian I, in Bell’s Appar. ad histor. Hungarice, dec. 1. 
 monum. 6. p. 292. “ Many of the Hungarians rode in those light 
 
 “ carriages called in their native tongue kottschi." In Dav. Czvit- 
 tinger’s Specimen Hungarie litterata , Franc, et Lips. 17 11, 4to. we 
 find an account pf the service rendered to the arts and sciences by the 
 Hungarians; but the author no where makes mention of coaches. 
 
 * In his Account of the German war, p.6l2. 
 
 t Examples may be seen in Frisch’s Dictionary. From this 
 meaning, those beds, it appears, which are used for raising tobacco 
 plants are at present called tobacks kutschen, tobacco beds. This ex- 
 pression is old ; for I find in Pet. Laurembergii Eorticultura , Franc. 
 1631, 4 to. p. 43, the following passage: Solet a (piXonij^o/f in pa- 
 ratu haberi peculiarc terrae genus, quod ipsi praegnans stratum, ein 
 schwanger Lett oder gutsche, vocant. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 remark, that, so early as the year 1437, the ambas- 
 sador of Ladislaus V, king of Hungary and Bo- 
 hemia, brought with him to the queen of France, 
 besides other presents, a carriage which excited 
 great wonder at Paris, and which, as an old histo- 
 rian says, was branlant et moult riche* Does not 
 the first word of this expression seem to indicate 
 that the carriage was suspended ? 
 
 A peculiar kind of coach has been introduced 
 in latter times under the name of berlin. The 
 name indicates the place which gave birth to the 
 invention, as the French themselves acknowledge ; 
 though some, with very little probability, wish to 
 derive it from the Italian.! Philip de Chiese, a 
 native of Piedmont, and descended from the Ita- 
 lian family of Chiesa, was a colonel and quarter- 
 master-general in the service of hredeiic William, 
 elector of Brandenburg, by whom he was much 
 esteemed on account of his knowledge in architec- 
 ture. Being once sent to France on his master’s 
 business, he caused to be built, on purpose foi this 
 journey, a carriage capable of containing two per- 
 sons; which in France, and every where else, was 
 
 * Roubo, p. 457. The historian, however, gives it no name, 
 f Berlin. A kind of carriage, which takes its name from the city 
 of Berlin in Germany ; though some persons ascribe the invention 
 of it to the Italians, and pretend to find the etymology of it in her- 
 lina, a name which the latter give to a kind of stage on which cri- 
 minals are exposed to public ignominy. Ency elope die, ii. p. 20g. 
 
COACHES. 
 
 131 
 
 much approved, and called a berline. This Philip 
 de Chiese died at Berlin in I6'73. # 
 
 Coaches have given rise to a profession which 
 in large cities affords maintenance to a great num- 
 ber of people, and which is attended with much 
 convenience; I mean that of letting out coaches 
 for hire, known under the name of Jiacres , hack- 
 ney-coaches. This originated in France; for 
 about the year 1650 one Nicholas Sauvage first 
 thought of keeping horses and carriages ready to be 
 let out to those who might have occasion for them. 
 The Parisians approved of and patronised this 
 plan ; and as Sauvage lived in the street St. Martin, 
 in a house called the hdtel S. Fiacre , the coaches, 
 coachmen, and proprietor, were called jiacres. In 
 a little time this undertaking was improved by 
 others, who obtained a license for their new insti- 
 tutions on paying a certain sum of money. J 
 Some kept coaches ready in certain places of the 
 streets, and let them out as long as was required, 
 to go from one part of the city to another. These 
 alone, at length, retained the name of fiacre, which 
 at first was common to every kind of hired car- 
 
 * Nicolai Beschreibung von Berlin, anhang, p. 67. 
 
 t* At Rome, however, there were carriages to be let out for hire : 
 Suetonius calls them, i. chap. 57, rheda meritoria, and, iv. c. 39, 
 meritoria vehiculu. 
 
 t Charles Villerme paid in 1650, into the king’s treasury, for the 
 exclusive privilege of keeping coaches for hire within the city of 
 Paris, 15,000 livres. 
 
132 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 riage without distinction. Others kept carriages 
 at their houses, which they let out for a half or 
 whole day, a week, or a month; these coaches 
 were known by the name of carosses de remise . 
 Others kept carriages which at a certain stated 
 time went from one quarter of the city to another, 
 like a kind of stages, and took up such passengers 
 as presented themselves; and in the year 1662 
 some persons set up carriages with four horses, for 
 the purpose of conveying people to the different 
 palaces, at which the court might be ; these were 
 called voitures pour la suite de la cour. The pro- 
 prietors often quarrelled respecting the boundaries 
 prescribed to them by their licenses ; and on this 
 account they were sometimes united into one com- 
 pany, and sometimes separated. The police esta- 
 blished useful regulations, by which the safety and 
 cleanliness of these carriages were promoted ; 
 marks were affixed to them, by which they might 
 be known ; and young persons and women of the 
 town were forbidden to use them, &c.* 
 
 A particular kind of hackney carriage, peculiar 
 to the Parisians, in the opinion of some, does no 
 great honour to their urbanity. I mean the brouettes, 
 called sometimes roulettes , and by way of derision 
 
 * A full history of the Parisian fiacres, and the orders issued re- 
 specting them, may be seen in Continuation du traite de la police. 
 Paris 1738, fol. p. 435. See also Histoire de la Ville de Paris, pat 
 Sauval, i. p. 192 . 
 
COACHES. 
 
 133 
 
 vinaigrettes. The body of these is almost like that 
 of our sedans, but rolls upon two low wheels, and 
 is dragged forwards by men. An attempt was 
 made to introduce such machines under Louis 
 XIII; but the proprietors of the sedans prevented 
 it, as they apprehended the ruin of their busi- 
 ness. In the year 1669 they w ? ere however 
 permitted, and came into common use in 1671, 
 but were employed only by the common peo- 
 ple.* Dupin, the inventor of these brouettes, 
 found means to contrive them so that they did not 
 jolt so much as might have been expected; and 
 he was able to conceal this art so well, that for a 
 long time he was the only person who could make 
 them.j' The number of all the coaches at Paris 
 is by some said to be fifteen thousand ; the 
 author of Tableau de Paris reckons the number 
 of the hackney coaches to amount to eighteen 
 hundred, and asserts that more than a hundred 
 foot passengers lose their lives by them every 
 year. 
 
 Coaches to be let for hire were first established 
 at London in 1625. At that time there were only 
 twenty, which did not stand in the streets, but at 
 the principal inns. Ten years after, however, 
 they were become so numerous, that king Charles I 
 
 * Continuation du traite de la police, p. 451. 
 
 f An account of the manner in which these Irouettes were sus- 
 pended, may be seen in Roubo, p. 588. He places the invention of 
 post-chaises in the year 1664. 
 
134 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 found it necessary to issue an order for limiting 
 their number. In the year 1637, there were in 
 London and Westminster fifty hackney coaches, 
 for each of which no more than twelve horses 
 were to be kept. In the year 1652, their number 
 had increased to two hundred; in 1654, there 
 were three hundred, for which six hundred horses 
 were employed; in 1694, they were limited to 
 seven hundred, and in 1715 to eight hundred.* * * § 
 Hackney coaches were first established in Edin- 
 burgh in 1673. Their number was twenty; but 
 as the situation of the city was unfavourable for 
 carriages, it fell in 1752 to fourteen, and in 1778 
 to nine, and the number of sedans increased.'}' 
 Fiacres were introduced at Warsaw, for the first 
 time, in 1778. In Copenhagen there are a hun- 
 dred hackney coaches. J 
 
 In Madrid there are from four to five thousand 
 gentlemen’s carriages ;§ in Vienna three thousand, 
 and two hundred hackney coaches. 
 
 At Amsterdam coaches with wheels were in the 
 3 ^ear 1663 forbidden, in order to save the expen- 
 sive pavement of the streets ; {} for coaches there, 
 even in summer, are placed upon sledges, as those 
 at Peters burgh are in winter. The tax upon car- 
 
 * Anderson’s History of commerce, v. p. 6, 162 , 187, 326, 347* 
 
 f Arnot’s Hist, of Edinburgh, p. 5g8. 
 
 % Haubers Beschreibung von Copenhagen, p. 173- 
 
 § Twiss’s Travels through Spain and Portugal. 
 
 || Handvesten van Amsterdam, ii. p. 739- 
 
WATER CLOCKS. 
 
 135 
 
 riages in Holland has from time to time been 
 raised, yet the number has increased ; and some 
 years ago, the coach horses in the Seven United 
 Provinces amounted to twenty-five thousand.* 
 When prince Repnin made his entrance into 
 Constantinople in 1775, he had with him eighty 
 coaches, and two hundred livery servants. 
 
 WATER CLOCKS. 
 
 We are well assured that the ancients had ma- 
 chines by which, through the help of water, they 
 were able to measure time. The invention of them 
 is by Vitruvius j- ascribed to Ctesibius of Alex- 
 andria, who lived, under Ptolemy Euergetes, or 
 about the year 2 45 before the Christian sera. 
 They were introduced at Rome by P. Cornelius 
 Scipio Nasica, in the year 594 after the building of 
 the city, or about 157 years before the birth of 
 Christ. % How these water clocks were con- 
 structed, or whether they were different from the 
 clepsydrae, I shall not inquire. If under the latter 
 
 * Des abbe Coyers Reise nach Italien und Holland. Niirnberg 
 1776, 8vo. 
 
 f Les dix livres d’architecture de Vitruve, par Perrault. Paris 
 1684, fol. p. 286. See also the original, lib. ix. c. 9. 
 
 + Scipio Nasica collega Laenatis primus aqua divisit horas aeque 
 noctium ac dierum. Id horologium sub tecto dicavit, anno dxcv. 
 Tamdiu populo Romano indiscreta lux fuit. Plin. 1. vii. c. 60. 
 
136 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 name we understand those measurers of time which 
 were used in courts of justice, the clepsydra is a 
 Grecian invention, first adopted at Rome under 
 the third consulship of Pompey.* The most 
 common kinds of these water clocks all, however, 
 corresponded in this, that the water issued drop 
 by drop through a hole of the vessel, and fell into 
 another, in which a light body that floated marked 
 the height of the water as it rose, and by these 
 means the time that had elapsed , They all had this 
 failing in common, that the water at first flowed out 
 rapidly, and afterwards more slowly, so that they 
 required much care and regulation.'}' 
 
 That ingenious machine, which we have at 
 present under the name of a water clock, was 
 invented in the 17th century. The precise time 
 seems to be uncertain; but had it been before the 
 year 1643, J Kircher, who mentions all the then 
 
 * Eloquentiam illud forum magis exercebat, in quo nemo intra 
 paucissimas horas perorare cogebatur, et liberse comperendinationes 
 erant, et modum dicendi sibi quisque sumebat, et numerus neque 
 dierum neque patronorum finiebatur. Primus tertio consulatu Cn. 
 Pompeius adstrinxit imposuitque velut fraenos eloquentiae. Auctor. 
 dialog, de cans. cor. eloq. 38.-— The orators were confined to a cer- 
 tain time; and hence Cicero says, latrare ad clepsydram. Trans. 
 
 t 1 Some account of the writers who have spoken of the water 
 clocks of the ancients may be found in Falricii Bibliograph. anli- 
 quaria, p. 1011. They were formerly used for astronomical obser- 
 vations. The authors who treat of them in this respect are men- 
 tioned in Riccioli Almagest, novo, i. p. 117. 
 
 t In that year Kircher’s Ars umbra et lucis was published for the 
 first time. In the edition of 167 1, several kinds of water clocks are 
 described, p. 698. 
 
WATER CLOCKS. 
 
 137 
 
 known machines of this kind, would in all pro- 
 bability have taken notice of it. It consists of 
 a cylinder divided into several small cells, and 
 suspended by a thread fixed to its axis in a 
 frame on which the hour distances, found by trial, 
 are marked out. As the water flows from the one 
 cell into the other, it changes very slowly the 
 centre of gravity of the cylinder, and puts it in 
 motion ; * much like the quicksilver puppets in- 
 vented by the Chinese, f 
 
 These machines must have been very scarce in 
 France in 169 1; for Graverol at that time gave 
 a figure and description of the external parts of 
 one, but promised to give the internal construc- 
 tion as soon as he should become acquainted with 
 it. % This was the only one then in Nismes. He 
 says, also, that they were invented a little before 
 by an Italian Jesuit, who resided at Bologna, but 
 were brought to perfection by Taliaisson, professor 
 of law at Thoulouse, and a young clergyman 
 named De l’isle. 
 
 Alexander says more than once that this ma- 
 chine was invented at Sens in Burgundy, in 1690, 
 
 * A particular account of these water clocks is to be found in Re- 
 creations mathematiques et physiques par M. Ozanam. Paris 1696, 
 2 vol. 8 vo. ii. p. 311, 473. Bion on Mathematical instruments. 
 Dom Jacob Alexanders Abbandlung von den uhren, Lemgo 1738, 
 8vo. p. 82. and Abbandlung von Wasseruhren, von • M. G. H. B. 
 Halle 1752, 8vo. 
 
 f Muschenbroek, Introductio in philos. natur. i. p. 143. 
 
 X Journal des Sgavans pour l’annee 169 1, quarto edition. 
 
138 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 by Dom Charles Vailly, a Benedictine of the bro- 
 therhood of St. Maur, and that he brought it to 
 perfection by the assistance of a pewterer there, 
 named Regnard. This account is in some mea- 
 sure confirmed by Ozanam; for he says expressly, 
 that the first water clocks were brought from Bur- 
 gundy to Paris in 1693, and he describes one 
 ■which was made of tin at Sens. * Dom Charles 
 Vailly was born at Paris in 1646, and died in 
 1726; he was celebrated on account of his mathe- 
 matical knowledge, though he is known by no 
 works, as he burned all his manuscripts, f 
 
 Alexander, however, who was of the same 
 order, seems to have ascribed to his brother Bene- 
 dictine an honour to which he was not entitled ; 
 
 * Did I know the inventor of a clock so simple and so extraor- 
 dinary, I should here do him justice. I know only that the first 
 seen at Paris, this year, 1693, was brought from Burgundy. I have 
 seen one of tin, made at Sens, the measure of which I shall here 
 give. Ozanam , Recreations, ii. p. 311. 
 
 t This monk may be considered as the restorer of the clepsydra, 
 or clock which measures time by the fall of a certain quantity of 
 water confined in a cylindric vessel. These clocks were in use among 
 ancient nations. They are said to have been invented at the time 
 when the Ptolemies reigned in Egypt. Dom Vailly, who applied 
 particularly to practical mathematics, having remarked the faults of 
 these clocks, bestowed much labour in order to bring them to perfec- 
 - tion ; and by a number of experiments, combinations, and calcula- 
 tions, he was at length able to carry them to that which they have 
 attained at present. At the time of their revival they were very much 
 in vogue in France. Histone litteraire de la congregation de St. Maur , 
 ordre de S. Benoit. Bruxelles 1770, 4to. p. 478, The same article, 
 without any variation, maybe found in Bibliotheque generate des ecri- 
 vains de l' ordre de S. Benoit. Bouillon 1778, 4 vol. 4to. iii. p. 1 7 1 . 
 
WATER CLOCKS. 
 
 139 
 
 for Dominic Martinelli, an Italian of Spoletto, 
 published at Venice, in 1663, a treatise written 
 expressly on these water clocks, which Ozanam 
 got translated into French, by one of his fiiends, 
 and caused to be printed with his additions.* 
 This translator says, that water clocks were known 
 in France twenty years earlier than Ozanam had 
 imagined. It appears, therefore, that they were 
 invented in Italy about the middle of the 17th 
 century, and that Vailly, perhaps, may have first 
 made them known in France. t 
 
 It may, perhaps, afford some pleasure to those 
 who are fond of the history of the arts, to know 
 that Salmon, an ingenious pewterer at Chartres 
 in France, has given very full and ample direc- 
 tions how to construct and use this machine. J 
 He is of opinion, that the invention is scarcely a 
 century old 5 and that these w 7 atei clocks, which 
 are now common, were first made for sale, and 
 brought into use among the people in the countiy, 
 by a pewterer at Sens in Burgundy. What this 
 artist affirms, that they can be constructed of no 
 metal so easily, so accurately, and to last so long 
 as of tin, is perfectly true. I have, however, in 
 my possession, one of brass, which is well con- 
 
 * Ozanam, Recreations, ii. p.475. 
 
 f Alexander, who mentions Martinelli only in a cursory manner, 
 will not admit this to be the case. “ It is possible,” says he, “ that 
 two persons of penetrating genius may have discovered the same 
 thing.” 
 
 J Art du potier d’etain, par Salmon. Paris 1781, fol. p. 131. 
 
140 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 structed ; but it suffers a little from acids. Among 
 the newest improvements to this machine may be 
 reckoned an alarum, which consists of a bell and 
 small wheels, like those of a clock that strikes the 
 hours, screwed to the top of the frame in which 
 the cylinder is suspended. The axis of the cylin- 
 der, at the hour when one is desirous of bein<* 
 
 o 
 
 wakened, pushes down a small crank, which, by 
 letting fall a weight, puts the alarum in motion. 
 A dial- plate with a handle is also placed, some- 
 times, over the frame. 
 
 TURMALIN. 
 
 The ancients, though ignorant of electricity, were 
 acquainted with the nature of amber, and knew 
 that, when, rubbed, it had the power of attract- 
 ing light bodies. In like manner, they might 
 have been acquainted with the turmalin, and 
 might have known that it also, when heated, at- 
 tracted light bodies, and again repelled them; for 
 had they only bethought themselves, in order to 
 search out the hidden properties of this stone 
 (which on account of its colour and hardness is 
 very remarkable), to put it into the fire, they would 
 have then seen it sport w ith the ashes. Some learned 
 men have thought they found traces of the pro- 
 perties of this stone, in what the ancients tell us 
 respecting the lyncurium , theamedes , and carbun - 
 
TURMALIN. 
 
 141 
 
 cuius . The fruit of my researches respecting this 
 subject I shall here lay before the reader. All 
 that we find in the ancients to enable us to cha- 
 racterize the lyncurium is, that it was a very hard 
 stone, which could with difficulty be cut; that seals 
 were formed of it; that it was transparent, and of 
 a fiery colour, almost like that of yellow amber ; 
 that it attracted light bodies, such as chaff, sha- 
 vings of wood, leaves, feathers, and bits of thin 
 iron and copper leaf, in the same manner as am * 
 ber ; that the ancients procured it from ^Ethiopia, 
 but that in the time of Pliny no stone was known 
 under that name.* 
 
 This information proves, in my opinion, that 
 the lyncurium cannot be the belemnites, as some 
 old commentators and Woodward have affirmed ; 
 for the latter has not the celebrated hardness and 
 transparency of the former, neither has it the pro- 
 perty of attracting light bodies, nor is it fit for 
 being cut into seals. That opinion probably has 
 arisen in the following mannner : The ancients sup- 
 posed that the lyncurium was the crystallized urine 
 of the animal which we call the lynx. As some 
 belemnites contain bituminous particles which 
 give them an affinity to the swine-stone, natural- 
 ists, when they have rubbed or heated yellow and 
 somewhat transparent pieces of this fossil, have 
 
 * See Theophrast. de lapidibus, edit. Heinsii. Lugd. Bat. 1613, 
 fol. p. 395. and Plin. lib. xxxvii. c. 3. and lib. viii. c. 38. 
 
142 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 imagined that they smelled the fabulous origin of 
 the lyncurium. 
 
 Less ridiculous is the opinion of some old and 
 modern writers, that the lyncurium was a species 
 of amber. Theophrastus, however, the ablest and 
 most accurate mineralogist of the ancients, would 
 certainly have remarked this, and not have sepa- 
 rated the lyncurium from amber. Besides, the 
 latter has not the hardness of the former, nor can 
 it be said that it is difficult to be cut; for, at pre- 
 sent, it is often made into various toys with much 
 ingenuity. The opinion of Pliny is here of little 
 weight; for it is founded, as ours must be, on 
 the information of Theophrastus. 
 
 Epiphanius, who considered the Bible as a system 
 of mineralogy, but could not find the lyncurium in 
 it, supposes that it may have been the hyacinth. * 
 However ridiculous the cause of this conjecture 
 may be, it must be allowed that it is not entirely 
 destitute of probability ; and I say with John de 
 Laet, “ The description of the lyncurium does not 
 “ ill agree with the hyacinth of the moderns.”')' 
 If we consider its attracting of small bodies in the 
 same light as that power which our hyacinth has 
 in common with all stones of the glassy species, I 
 cannot see any thing to controvert this opinion, 
 
 * Epiphanius de xii gemmis. 
 
 f J de Laet de gemmis. Lugduni Bat. 1647, 8vo. p. 155. Sane 
 •descriptio lyncurii non male convenit cum hyacintho neotericornm. 
 
TURMALIN. 
 
 143 
 
 and to induce us to believe the lyncurium and the 
 turmalin to be the same. The grounds which 
 Watson produces for this supposition, are more in 
 favour of the hyacinth than the turmalin. * * * § Had 
 Theophrastus been acquainted with the latter, he 
 would certainly have remarked that it did not ac- 
 quire its attractive power till it was heated. At 
 present at least, no turmalin is known to attract 
 until it is heated ; though it would not appear 
 very wonderful if a stone like the magnet should 
 retain its virtue for a long time. 
 
 The duke of Noya Caraffa believes the thea- 
 medes of the ancients to have been the tur- 
 malin. t Of that stone we are told, by Pliny, 
 only that it possessed a power contrary to the 
 power of the magnet; that is, that it did not 
 attract but repel iron.J But this only proves, 
 that it had then been remarked that the magnet 
 repelled the negative pole of a piece of magnetic 
 iron. This account has been thus explained by 
 Boot. § To induce us to consider the theamedes 
 as the turmalin, Pliny ought to have said that it 
 attracted iron and then repelled it. 
 
 * Philosophical Transact, v. li. 1. p. 394. 
 
 -f- Recueil de memoires sur la tourmaline, par Aepinus. St. Pe- 
 tersburg 1762, 8vo. p. 122. 
 
 J Alius rursus in eadem ^Ethiopia non procul mons gignit lapi- 
 dem theamedem, qui ferrum orane abigit respuitque. Compare with 
 this passage lib. xx. c. 1. 
 
 § Gemmarum et lapidnm historia, Lugduni Bat. 1647, 8yo. 
 p. 441, 450. 
 
144 
 
 HISTORY" OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 With much greater probability may we consider 
 as the turmalin a precious stone, classed by Pliny 
 among tne numerous varieties of the carbuncle ; * 
 for, however perplexed and unintelligible his ac- 
 count of the carbuncles may be, and however, 
 much the readings, in the different copies, may 
 vary, we still know that he describes a stone which 
 was very hard ; which was of a purple, that is a 
 dark violet colour, and used for seals, and which, 
 when heated by the beams of the sun, or by fric- 
 tion, attracted chaff and other light bodies. Had 
 Pliny told us that it at first attracted and then re- 
 pelled them, no doubt would remain ; but he 
 does not say so, nor do his transcribers Solinus 
 and Isidorus, f 
 
 A much later account of a stone that, when 
 rubbed, is, like the magnet, endued with an at- 
 tractive power, is to be found in a passage of 
 
 * At inter has invenio difterentiam ; unam quae purpura radiat ; 
 alteram quae cocco; a sole excalfactas, aut digitorum attritu, paleas, 
 et chartarum folia ad se rapere. Hoc idem et carchedonius facere 
 dicitur, quamquam multo vilior prsedicti9. So reads Hard uin ; but 
 Saumaise, from the authority of manuscripts, says the passage ought 
 to run thus: Et inter has invenio difterentiam. Una purpura radiat, 
 altera cocco. A sole excalefacta, aut digitorum attritu, paleas et 
 chartarum fila ad se rapit. PUn. lib. xxxvii. c. 7. 
 
 t India produces also the lychnites, the splendor of which is 
 heightened when seen by the light of lamps; and on this account it 
 has been so called by the Greeks. It is of two colours; either a 
 bright purple, or a clear red, and if pure is thoroughly transparent. 
 When heated by the rays of the sun, or by friction, it attracts chaff 
 and shavings of paper. It obstinately resists the art of the engraver. 
 Solinus, c. lii. p. 59. ed. Salmasii. Trajecti ad Rhenum lft89, fol. 
 
TURMAL1N. 
 
 145 
 
 ,John Serapion, the Arabian, pointed out to me 
 by professor Butner.* This stone, indeed, can- 
 not with much probability be taken for the tur- 
 malin, as all precious stones, v'hen heated, have 
 the same property; but it is worthy of remark, 
 that, like the lyncurium of the ancients, it belongs 
 to the hyacinths, the colour of which many of the 
 real turmalins have; and among those of the 
 island of Ceylon there are, perhaps, some which 
 ought to be classed among the hyacinths, rather 
 than among the shirls. 
 
 The real turmalin was first brought from 
 Ceylon, and made known by the Dutch, about 
 the end of the seventeenth or beginning of the 
 eighteenth century. It is commonly believed, 
 that the first account of it ever published is that 
 to be found in the Memoirs of the Academy of 
 Sciences at Paris, for the year 1717; but it ap- 
 pears, that fuller and more accurate descriptions 
 of the properties of that stone were given in 
 German works ten years before. The earliest 
 
 * Hager albuzedi is b red stone, but less so than the hyacinth, the 
 redness of which is more agreeable to the eye, as there is no obscu- 
 rity in it. The mines where this stone is found are in the East. 
 When taken from the mine it is opaque ; but when divested of its 
 outer coat by a lapidary, its goodness is discovered, and it becomes 
 transparent. When this stone has been strongly rubbed against the 
 hair of the head it attracts chaff, as the magnet does iron. Joan. Se - 
 rapionis Lib. de simplicibus medicinis. Edit. Othonis Brunfelsii. 
 Argentorati 1531, fol. p. 263. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Ir 
 
146 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 information that I know respecting it is in a book, 
 now almost and justly forgotten, entitled Curious 
 speculations during sleepless nights .* In a pas- 
 sage, where the author, speaking of hard and 
 glassy bodies which attract light substances, 
 affirms that this property is not magnetic, lie 
 says, “ the ingenious Mr. Daumius, chief phy- 
 “ sician to the Polish and Saxon troops on the 
 “ Rhine, told me, that in the year 1703 the 
 “ Dutch first brought from Ceylon in the East 
 “ Indies a precious stone called turmalin, or 
 “ turmale, and named also trip , which had the 
 “ property, that it not only attracted the ashes 
 “ from the warm or burning coals, as the magnet 
 “ does iron, but also repelled them again, which 
 “ was very amusing ; for as soon as a small quan- 
 “ tity of ashes leaped upon it, and appeared as if 
 “ endeavouring to writhe themselves by force into 
 <( the stone, they in a little sprang from it again, 
 “ as if about to make a new effort ; and on this 
 “ account it was by the Dutch called the ashes - 
 “ drawer. The colour of it was an orange red 
 “ heightened by a fire colour. When the turf 
 “ coals were cold, it did not produce these ef- 
 
 * Curiose speculationes bey schlaf-losen nachten, von einem lieb- 
 haber der immer gern speculirt. Chemnitz und Leipzig, bey Conr. 
 Stosseln, 1707, 857 pages in octavo. The author’s name, which I am 
 not able to conjecture, appears to be expressed by the initials I. G. S. 
 This work consists of forty-eight dialogues, each twelve of which have, 
 a distinct title. Briickman quotes it in Magnolia Dei, p. 302. 
 
TURMALIN". 
 
 147 
 
 “ fects, and it required no care like the magnet. I 
 “ have considered whether it would not attract and 
 “ repel the ashes of other burning coals as well as 
 “ those of turf; and I have no doubt, that, if heat- 
 " ed, it would attract other things besides ashes.” 
 This whole passage has been inserted word for 
 word, without variation or addition, and without 
 telling the source from which taken, in a book, 
 perhaps equally forgotten; called Observationes 
 curioso-physicw , or Remarks and observations on the 
 great wonders of the world , by Felix Maurer, phy- 
 sician and philosopher. * This thick volume is 
 entirely compiled from a number of works, the 
 names of which are not mentioned. 
 
 In the catalogue of the collection of natural 
 curiosities belonging to Paul Hermann, which were 
 sold at Leyden in June 1711, I find, among the 
 precious stones, Chrysolithus Turmale Zeylon. f 
 Though no description is added, it cannot be 
 doubted that our turmalin is here meant. From 
 this, however, we learn that the name, together 
 with the stone, came to us from Ceylon, as Watson 
 has remarked, and that we ought not to write it 
 tourmaline , after the French. We learn further, 
 that the stone was at first considered as a chryso- 
 lite, and perhaps it may be mentioned under this 
 
 * Frankf. und Leipzig bey Buggeln, in Nurnberg 1713, 8vo. 
 103() pages. 
 
 f Catalogus musei Indici collecti a P. Hermanno. Lugduni Bat. 
 8vo. 52 pages. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 name in the old accounts of Ceylon. Hermann, 
 whose service to botany is well known, was in that 
 island from 1670 to 1677; and it might be pre- 
 sumed, from his spirit of inquiry, that, had he 
 known this stone, he would somewhere or other 
 in his works have taken notice of its properties : 
 but I find no mention of it either in his Cynosura 
 materice mediae* or in Musceum Zeylonicum. '|\ 
 
 In the year 1719 the Academy of Sciences at 
 Paris announced in their memoirs for 1717, that 
 in the latter year Mr. Lemery had laid before 
 them a stone found in a river in the island of 
 Ceylon, which attracted and repelled light bodies. J 
 
 * Argentorati 1726, 4to. 
 
 •f Edit. sec. Lugduni Bat. 1726, 71 pages 8vo. This work is only 
 a catalogue of the plants of Ceylon, with the English names, pub- 
 lished by William Sherard, which Haller has not remarked in his 
 Biblioth. Bot. ii. p. 16. 
 
 J I shall here lay before the reader the whole passage, taken from 
 Histone de V Acadimie for 17 17, p. 7. Here we have a small mag- 
 net. It is a stone found in a river of the island of Ceylon. It is of 
 the size of a denier, flat, orbicular, about the tenth part of an inch 
 in thickness, of a brown colour, smooth and shining, without smell, 
 and without taste, which attracts and afterwards repels small light 
 bodies, such as ashes, filings of iron, and bits of paper. It was shown 
 by Mr. Lemery. It is not common, and that which he had cost 
 twenty-five livres (about twenty shillings sterling). When a needle 
 has been touched with a loadstone, the south pole of the loadstone 
 attracts the north pole of the needle, and repels its south pole : thus 
 it attracts or repels different parts of the same body, according as they 
 are presented to it, and it always attracts or repels the same. But 
 the stone of Ceylon attracts, and then repels in the like manner, the 
 same small body presented to it : in this it is very different from the 
 loadstone. It would seem that it has a vortex. - - - 
 
TURMALIN. 
 
 ' 149 
 
 It is there called a small magnet, though some 
 difference between the two stones was admitted ; 
 but the German naturalist, before mentioned, 
 denies that the turmalin is endowed with mas;- 
 netic virtue. It is however very remarkable, 
 that though it is said, in the Memoirs of the Aca- 
 demy, that it has the power of attracting and re- 
 pelling, no mention is made that it acquires that 
 property, only after it has been heated, which is 
 expressly remarked by the German. Those, there- 
 fore, w'ho wish to ascribe to the ancients a know- 
 ledge of the turmalin, may say, If the editor of the 
 Memoirs of the French Academy could forget this 
 circumstance, is it not highly probable that Theo- 
 phrastus might have forgot it, in describing the 
 lyncurium ; Pliny, in describing the carbuncle \ and 
 Serapion, in describing his hyacinth? 
 
 After this period the turmalin must have been very 
 scarce in Europe ; for when Muschenbroek made 
 his well-known experiments with the loadstone, 
 and spared no labour to carry them to the utmost 
 extent, he was not acquainted with the nature* of 
 the turmalin, which, according to the account given 
 of it by the Academy at Paris, he considered as a 
 magnet, as he himself says in the preface to his 
 first dissertation, published in 1724.* 
 
 About the year 1740, however, some German 
 
 * The magnet of the island of Ceylon, described by the learned 
 academicians of Paris, I have not yet examined. Dissertationes phy~ 
 sic<E experimentales. Yiennse 1756, 4to. p. 10. 
 
150 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 naturalists made experiments with this stone, in 
 order to discover the real cause of its attractive 
 property. These may be seen, under the article 
 Trip , in the well-known Dictionary of Natural 
 History which is often printed with Hubner’s pre- 
 face ; but I do not know to whom the honour be- 
 longs of having first investigated the properties of 
 this stone. As the above dictionary is common, I 
 shall give here only a very short extract from it. 
 “ This stone was brought to Holland by some 
 persons who had travelled in India, from the 
 island of Ceylon, where it is found, pretty fre- 
 quently, among the fine sand, near Columbo, and 
 sold to the German Jews. These caused it to be 
 cut thinner, and the price of it soon rose to eight 
 and ten Dutch florins. It has been since much 
 dearer ; but at present it is cheaper. It attracts 
 not only ashes, but also metallic calces : it however 
 attracts more easily and with greater force those 
 which have been formed by means ot sal ammo- 
 niac, or the spirit of that salt. It acquires its 
 attractive power only after it has been moderately 
 heated ; for when cold or heated to a greater 
 degree it produces no eftect, which the author 
 ascribes to its being united with martial sulphur. 
 The chrysolites and other precious stones of the 
 island do not possess the same property.” As the 
 author quotes the Laboratorium Zeylonicum * I 
 
 * Insulae Ceyloniae thesaurus medicus, vel Laboratorium Cey- 
 lonicum, a Pielat latinitate donatum. Amstelod. 17f>9> 12mo. The 
 
TURM ALIN. 
 
 151 
 
 consulted it, but found no information in it re- 
 specting the turmalin. The first person who 
 thought of explaining the property of the tur- 
 malin by electricity was the great Linnaeus, who, 
 in the preface to his Flora Zeylanica * where he 
 enumerates the productions of the island, calls it 
 the electrical stone ; but at that time, as he himself 
 afterwards told me, he had not seen it. 
 
 What Linnaeus only conjectured, Mr. TEpinus 
 proved at Berlin, in 1757, by accurate observation 
 and experiments, when endeavouring with Mr. 
 Wilke to investigate the secret of negative and 
 positive electricity. The history of their discove- 
 ries I shall here omit, as a better account of them 
 than I could give has been published in the 
 Transactions of the Swedish Academy f by Mr. 
 Wilke, to whom the public are indebted for, per- 
 haps, the best elucidation of the laws of the elec- 
 tricity of turmalin. 
 
 author, whose name is not mentioned by the illiberal translator, was 
 H. N. Grimm, a Swede. 
 
 * I must not omit to mention that the rivers contain the electric 
 stone, which is of the size of a halfpenny, flat, orbicular, shining, 
 smooth, of a brown colour, one tenth of an inch in thickness, with- 
 out smell and without taste, and which attracts light bodies, such as 
 ashes, filings of iron, shavings of paper, &c. and afterwards repels 
 them. A wonderful and singular property, discovered and observed 
 in this stone alone, when neither heated by motion rtor by friction. 
 Flora Zeylanica. Holmiae 1747, 8vo. p. 8. 
 
 f In the German translation, xxviii. p. Q5. xxx. pp. 1 and 105. 
 
152 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS, 
 
 SPEAKING-TRUMPET. 
 
 Instruments by which the voice could be so 
 strengthened as to be heard at a much greater 
 distance than would otherwise have been pos- 
 sible, were known in the earliest ages ; for of all 
 musical instruments, wind instruments were first 
 invented, and their use in war, to give the signal 
 of battle, we find mentioned in Job. * It had 
 been remarked, even in Pliny’s time, that the least 
 touching of a beam of wood could be heard when 
 one placed one’s ear at the other end. f It was 
 known, likewise, that the larger trumpets were, 
 they emitted a louder and stronger sound. The 
 Grecians had a wind instrument w'ith the bellow- 
 ing noise of which the people who w'ere placed to 
 guard the vineyards frightened away the wild 
 animals. J All these wind instruments, however, 
 
 * Goguet, l’Origine des loix et des sciences chez les anciens 
 peuples. 
 
 f Ideo fit ut, aure ad caput trabis quamlibet prselongae admota, 
 ictus ab altero capite vel-graphii sentiatur, penetrante rectis meatibus 
 sono. Plin. lib. xvi. c. 38. ii. p. 32. 
 
 % Si quis in amphora; urceolo, aut angusta ilia parte quam amphot- 
 rse collum dicimus, impellat vi et impetu aerem et expellat, sonum 
 producet horrid um, ac tiinorem belluis incutientem : tali instru- 
 
SPEAKING-TRUMPET. 
 
 15 $ 
 
 were little in comparison of the monstrous trum- 
 pets of the ancient Chinese, a kind of speaking- 
 trumpets, or instruments by which words could 
 not only be heard at the greatest distance possible, 
 but could be also understood.* This invention 
 belongs to the 17th century, though some think that 
 traces of it are to be found among the ancient 
 Grecians. 
 
 Kircher, as far as I have been able to learn, was 
 the first person who made known, from a very an- 
 cient manuscript of Aristotle, De Secretis ad Alex- 
 andrum Magnum, preserved in the Vatican, that 
 Alexander had a prodigious large horn with which 
 he could assemble his army at the distance of a 
 hundred stadia, or eight Italian miles. It was, ac- 
 cording to the manuscript, five cubits in diameter ; 
 and Kircher, who gives h. figure of it, which he says 
 he found in the manuscript, thinks that, on account 
 
 mento custodes vinearum et fmctuum ad avertendas belluas utuntur. 
 Septalii Commentaria in Aristotelis prohlemata. Lugduni 1632, fol. 
 p. 20 6. lib. xxv. prob. 2. To the same purpose is the following 
 passage of Seneca, pointed out to me by professor Hollman, and 
 which almost seems to allude to a speaking-trumpet : Nam quemad- 
 modum spiritus noster clariorem sonum reddit, cum ilium tuba per 
 longi canalis angustius tractum, patentiore novissime exitu effudit ; 
 sic sensus nostros clariores carminis arcta necessitas efficit. Epist. 
 108. 
 
 * See Anciennes relations des Indes et de la Chine, de deux voy- 
 ageurs Mahometans, qui y allerent dans le neuvieme siecle. Par 
 Renaudot. Paris 17 18, 8vo. p. 25. These large trumpets are by 
 Haller in his Elementa physiologies, vol. v. Lausannae 1763, 4 to. 
 p. 263, improperly called speaking-trumpets. 
 
154 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 of its size, it must have been suspended from a 
 beam by a ring. This horn has by many been 
 considered as the oldest speaking-trumpet but 
 in my opinion, without reason. Aristotelis Secretum 
 Secret ovum ad Alexandrum Magnum I have never 
 had an opportunity to see. It appears to have 
 been printed only once, and is, like all the other 
 works ascribed to that philosopher, extremely 
 scarce ; for they have all had the fate of being little 
 regarded after it became the unanimous opinion of 
 the learned that they were forged. These works, 
 however, are old ; some of them indeed very old : 
 and, if one should take the trouble to fix their an- 
 tiquity, they might be used with advantage on 
 many occasions, Morhof had in his possession the 
 edition of that book published by Alexander Achil- 
 linus, a physician at Bologna, in 1516, which is 
 
 * Ars magna lucis et umbrae. Amstelodami 1671, fol. p. 102. 
 Kircher repeats this account with some new circumstances in his 
 Phonurgia, p. 132 . Aguntur jam complura lustra, quibus in bi- 
 bliotheca Vaticana, hieroglyphicum agens Oedipum, casu inciderem 
 in librum cui titulus erat, Secreta Aristotelis ad Alexandrum Mag- 
 num : ubi inter caetera de cornu prodigioso Alexandri M. haec le- 
 guntur : Faciebat hoc cornu adeo vehementem sonum, ut eo exer- 
 citum suum ad centum stadia (quorum octo unum milliare Italicuin 
 conficiunt) dispersum convocasse perhibeatur ; habebat autem, ut 
 libellus monstrat, quinque cubitos in diametro ; et fulcri suspende- 
 batur annulo, uti ego reor, cujus tainen figuram non describit. Fi- 
 guram hie appono, prout in dicto libello impressam reperi, cum epi- 
 graphe : Cornu Alexandri Magni. It would appear from what 
 Kircher here says, that he had seen the book printed ; but in the 
 first quoted work he says expressly, Reperi in antiquissimo codice. 
 
SPEAKING-TRUMPET. 
 
 155 
 
 a Latin translation from the Arabic.* If we com- 
 pare what is said there and by Kircher, we may 
 make the following conclusion : 
 
 In the first place, it is certain that the book itself, 
 as well as the whole account, is not the production 
 of Aristotle ; for in all the writers who relate the 
 actions of Alexander, we do not find the least 
 mention of such a horn. Secondly, it is not ex- 
 pressly said in that work, that Alexander spoke 
 through this horn ; but only that he assembled his 
 soldiers by it, which in old times was done by the 
 sound of a trumpet, and at present is done both by 
 trumpets and drums. It appears also that the 
 author of the book, perhaps an Arabian, intended 
 to give the reader an idea of a horn that had an 
 uncommonly strong and loud sound. Thirdly, 
 Kircher’s account and figure of the horn do not 
 agree with that which Morhof found in the edi- 
 tion of Achillinus. f Lastly, none of these de- 
 
 * Morhofii Diss. de vitro per voeis sonum rupto, in Dissertationi- 
 bus academicis. Hamburgi 1669, 4 to. p. 381 . See also Fabricii 
 Biblioth. Grseca, vol. ii. b. 3 . p. 167. 
 
 f Morhof quotes from the book the following passage : Hoc reneo 
 cornu mirabili artificio fabricato Alexander rex magnificus ex lx. 
 milliaribus exercitum suum convocavit. Quod obilliusintestimabile 
 artificium et excedentem magnitudinem lx. viris regebatur. Verum 
 multa resonantium metallorum genera in ejus compositionem con- 
 currebant. With this Irazen horn, constructed with wonderful art , 
 Alexander the Great called together his army at the distance of sixty 
 miles. On account of its inestimable workmanship and monstrous 
 size, it was under the management of sixty men. Many kinds of 
 sonorous metals were combined in the composition of it. 
 
136 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 scriptions are such, that an instrument to serve as 
 a speaking-trumpet could be constructed from 
 them. 
 
 Wolf and other mathematicians are of opinion 
 that the most advantageous form of a speaking- 
 trumpet would be found with more certainty by 
 experience than by theory. It may then be asked, 
 whether any one ever caused such an instrument to 
 be made from these descriptions. Kircher, who 
 attempted things much more improbable, says he 
 never tried it. Duhamel, however, relates that 
 a Frenchman tried it, and discovered the real in- 
 strument:* but this information is of little weight, 
 as it is much to be doubted that this Frenchman 
 caused it to be made sufficiently exact according 
 to the ancient description. I am as little ac- 
 quainted with Bettini as Morhof ; but I suspect 
 that Duhamel meant Mar. Bettini, who, without 
 making the smallest mention of Alexander’s horn, 
 proposes only a tube, the one end of which should 
 be applied to the mouth of a person who speaks, 
 
 * Among many things which the celebrated D’Alance caused to 
 be made for this purpose, that trumpet ascribed to Alexander, and 
 with which he called together his army, ought not to be omitted. 
 As the figure of it was represented in an old manuscript in the Vati- 
 can library, and had been described by Bettini, that learned man was 
 desirous of trying whether it could be proved by experience, and the 
 attempt succeeded 3 for that kind of trumpet, if it does not excel, 
 seems undoubtedly to equal the other instruments constructed for that 
 end. De corpore animato, lib. ii. cap. 4. in Joh. Bap. du Hamel , 
 Opera philosophica. Norimbergiae 1681, 2 vol. 4to. ii. p. 560. 
 
SPEAKING-TRUMPET. 157 
 
 and the other to the ear of one who is dull of 
 hearing. * This was rather an ear-trumpet than a 
 
 speaking-trumpet, and it is certain that the former 
 was invented before the latter. 
 
 What we read in Porta, and what many think 
 alludes to a speaking-trumpet, alludes evidently to 
 an ear-trumpet only. That author infers, very 
 justly, from the form of the ear, and particu- 
 larly from that of the ears of those animals which 
 are quick of hearing, that to hear at a distance one 
 must apply to the ear a kind of wide funnel, as peo- 
 ple to strengthen the sight use spectacles. f He 
 asserts also, with equal truth, that one, through a 
 long tube, can convey a whisper to the ear of an- 
 other person at a very great distance : J an ex- 
 periment which he himself made at the distance of 
 two hundred paces. Schwenter, who wrote before 
 the speaking-trumpet was known, proposes, from 
 
 * Apiaria universae philosophise mathematicae, auctore Mari© 
 Bettino. Bononiae 1642, fol. Apiarium decimum, pag. 38. 
 
 ^ -f Magia natural, lib. xx. c. 5. p. 653. 
 
 t To communicate any thing to one’s friends by means of a tube. 
 This can be done with a tube made of earthen-ware, though one of 
 lead is better, or of any other substance, but very close, that the 
 voice may not be weakened ; for whatever you speak at the one end, 
 the words issue perfect and entire as from the mouth of the speaker, 
 and are conveyed to the ears of the other; which, in my opinion, 
 may he done for some miles. The voice, neither broken nor dis- 
 persed, is carried entire to the greatest distance. We tried iLat the 
 distance of two hundred paces, not having convenience for a greater ; 
 and the words were heard as clearly and distinctly as if they had come 
 from the mouth of the speaker. Lib. xvi. c. 12. p. 568. 
 
158 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the hint of Porta, an ear-trumpet one end of which 
 should be applied to the ear.* 
 
 Respecting the invention of the speaking-trum- 
 pet, Sir Samuel Morland, an Englishman, and the 
 jesuit Kircher, have in latter times, contended. 
 The former, in 1671, published a particular de- 
 scription of one, after he had made many experi- 
 ments upon it the year preceding. This instru- 
 ment, shaped like a wide-mouthed trumpet, he 
 caused first to be constructed of glass, and after- 
 wards of copper, with various alterations, and per- 
 formed several experiments with it in presence of 
 the king, prince Rupert, and other persons, who 
 were astonished at its effects.']' 
 
 As an account of this discovery was soon spread 
 all over Europe, Kircher asserted, that he had 
 constructed speaking-trumpets before Sir Samuel 
 Morland, and supported his assertion by referring 
 to his former writings ; and by the testimony of 
 other authors. I shall first take notice of the former. 
 His Ars viagna lucis et umbrce was first printed in 
 1643. I at least conclude so, because in the pre- 
 face to his Phonurgia , printed in 1673, he says, 
 
 * Mathematische erquickstunden, i. p. 243. 
 f An account of the speaking-trumpet, as it hath been contrived 
 and published by Sir Samuel Morland, knight and baronet, together 
 with its use both at sea and land. London 1 67 1 . An extract from 
 it may be seen in the Philosophical Transactions, No. 78, page 3056. 
 A complete translation was printed in Recueil des memoires et 
 conferences sur les arts et les sciences , pendant I'annt'e 1672, par 
 J. B. Denis. 
 
SPEAKING-TRUMPET. 
 
 159 
 
 that work had been published thirty years before. 
 The second edition is of 1671, in which I find 
 only the already quoted passage respecting Alex- 
 ander’s horn, and the figure of a tube which, like 
 that proposed by Bettini, should be applied to 
 the ear of a person who hears, and to the mouth 
 of the speaker. The Musurgia , printed in 1650, 
 contains better grounds for supporting the asser- 
 tion of Kircher.* In the second part he describes 
 how a funnel can be placed in a building in such a 
 manner, that a person in an apartment where the 
 narrow end is introduced can hear what is spoken 
 without the building, or in another apartment, 
 where the wide end may be. To this descrip- 
 tion a figure is added, and the author acknow- 
 ledges he was led to that idea by the construc- 
 tion of a well-known building of Dionysius, f 
 
 * Musurgia universalis, sive Ars magna consoni et dissoni. Roma 
 1650 , fol. p. 303 . 
 
 f Among the antiquities of Syracuse, in Sicily, one beholds with 
 wonder chambers and galleries which are hewn out in the solid rock, 
 and particularly a grotto, from which arises a winding passage, that 
 becomes upwards still narrower. Ancient tradition says, that this 
 was a prison, which the celebrated tyrant Dionysius caused to be 
 built for state prisoners, that in an apartment of his palace, which 
 stood over the narrow end of the passage, he might hear every thing 
 the prisoners said, or what plots they formed against him. This 
 grotto, therefore, is called Orechio di Dionysio, or la grotta della 
 favella ; auris Dionysii, the ear of Dionysius. Many travellers and 
 others formerly imagined that this passage was an ingenious imita- 
 tion of that part of the human ear called the helix ; which was first 
 remarked by Alcmaon the Pythagorean. This is the account given 
 
160 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS* 
 
 He does not, however, say expressly that he had 
 ever tried the experiment ; but in the last page of 
 
 by Kircher, who was there in the year 1638. See his Phonurgia, 
 page 82, where there is a figure of it. In later times, however, this 
 grotto has been examined with more skill and acuteness by people 
 less subject to prejudice, and since that period the supposed wonder 
 has been lessened. The rock consists of lime-stone, at least I con- 
 clude so from what is said by Brydone, who found it every where 
 full of cracks and fissures. The stones of which Syracuse was built 
 were hewn from the rock ; and hence have been formed these cham- 
 bers or openings, like those found in the neighbourhood of other 
 ancient and modern cities, such as Rome, Naples, and Maestricht. 
 Many of these, in the course of time, have been employed as pri- 
 sons, or used as burying-vaults. The above-mentioned passage, 
 which has excited so much wonder, is not properly spiral, and is of 
 such a figure that it may have been produced either by accident, or 
 through the whim of the workmen employed to hew out the stones. 
 The double echo, which Kircher assures us he heard in the grotto, 
 was not remarked by Schott, who was there in 1646, as he expressly 
 says, in opposition to his brother jesuit, in his Magia naturalis. In 
 the accounts still remaining of Dionysius we find mention of an 
 astonishing prison, which is well described by Cicero, in his fifth 
 oration against Verres : “ You have all heard of,” says he, " and 
 « most of you know the prison (lautumias) of Syracuse. It is an im- 
 ** mense and magnificent work, executed by kings and tyrants ; the 
 “ whole is sunk to a wonderful depth in the rock, and has been en- 
 “ tirely cut out by the labour of many hands. No place so secured 
 “ against an escape; no place so enclosed on all sides; no place so 
 “ safe for confining prisoners can be either planned out or con- 
 “ structed.” But it cannot be proved, and according to D’Orville's 
 opinion it is improbable, that this grotto was the work of that tyrant, 
 who, as Plutarch tells us in his Life ofDion, employed very different 
 means to learn the intention of dangerous persons. “ The com- 
 “ mon people attacked the tyrant’s friends, and seized those whom 
 4< they called his emissaries (Trpoa-aywy'Saf), worthless men, detested 
 “ by the gods. These went about the city, mixed with the citi- 
 “ zens, and, prying into every thing, gave an account to the tyrant 
 
SPEAKING-TRUMPET. 
 
 16 1 
 
 the preface to the Phonurgia, he pretends that so 
 early as the year 1649 he had caused such a ma- 
 chine to be fixed up in the Jesuits’ college. But, 
 supposing this to be true, it can only be said 
 that he then approached very near to the inven- 
 tion of the speaking-trumpet, by an instrument, 
 which, in reality, however, was calculated to 
 strengthen the hearing, and not the voice; and 
 therefore only the half is true of what he advanced 
 in his preface in 1673, that twenty years before he 
 had described in his Musurgia the trumpet invent- 
 ed in England. 
 
 In the Phonurgia ,* however, written after Mor- 
 land’s publication was every where known, Kir- 
 cher certainly treats of the speaking-trumpet, and 
 says that, from the similarity of the progress of 
 
 i( of what they thought, and what expressions they made use of.” 
 It was merely for its strength, and the labour employed in building 
 it, and not on account of its ingenious construction, that the ancients 
 admired the prison of the tyrant. At present, the upper end of the 
 winding passage is closed up ; and it is so narrow, that, some years 
 ago, the captain of an English vessel found great difficulty to clam- 
 ber up it. It cannot, however, be denied that this grotto may have 
 been used for the service ascribed to it ; and I can readily believe 
 that it may have led Kircher to the invention of the ear-trumpet.— 
 See Travels by Peter de la Valle, Ray, and Brydone; Delle antiche 
 Siracuse volume primo, die contiene i due libri da G. Bonanni — 
 volume secondo, che contiene gli scrittori anteriori a Bonanni. In 
 Palermo 1717, fob Daniel Bartolo del suono e de' tremori harmo- 
 nici. Bonon. 1080, who examined this grotto as a naturalist. J. P, 
 D' Orville, Sicula. Amstelodami 1764,2 vol. fol. i. p. 182. ig4, 
 
 * Phonurgia nova. Campidonae 1073, fob 
 VOL, I. M 
 
162 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 sound to that of the rays of light, he was led to the 
 idea of conveying the former, in the same manner 
 as the latter, to a great distance, by means of an 
 instrument. For this purpose, about twenty-four 
 years before, he had caused to be constructed, 
 in the Jesuits’ college at Rome, an ear-trumpet, 
 through which the porter could communicate any 
 thing he had to say to him, when he was in his 
 apartment in the upper story. This apparatus at- 
 tracted the notice of many strangers, who w>ere 
 astonished at its effect. He here represents it as a 
 proper speaking-trumpet , and adds, that it excited 
 much surprise, on account of the uncommon 
 strength which it gave to the voice. For this rea- 
 son he was very desirous of trying to what distance 
 words could be distinctly conveyed by such a 
 tube ; and an opportunity occurred of doing this 
 the same year that he wrote his Phonurgia . 
 From a convent, situated on the top of a moun- 
 tain, he assembled twelve hundred persons to di- 
 vine service, at the distance of from two to five 
 'Italian miles, and read the Litany through it. 
 Soon after, the emperor caused a tube to be made 
 according to Kircher’s description, by which, 
 without elevating the voice, he could be under- 
 stood from Ebersdorf to Neugebeu. But, though 
 Kircher came so near to the invention of the 
 speaking-trumpet, it does not appear certain by 
 his works that he attempted or constructed it be- 
 
SPEAKING-TRUMPET. }^3 
 
 fore Sir Samuel Morland. I shall now examine 
 the evidences he adduces in his favour. 
 
 The most important of these is Schott, because 
 he published his Magia Naturalis* in 1657, before 
 the invention of Sir Samuel Morland. All that 
 is to be found in this work, however, relates alone 
 to the ear-trumpet; a figure of which is added 
 from the Musurgia ; but we here learn, with cer- 
 tainty, that Kircher then had the before-mentioned 
 funnel or tube in his apartment. It is also not im- 
 probable that he had tried to answer the porter 
 from his apartment, and that he had thereby re- 
 marked that the voice was strengthened ; for it is 
 not proved by Schott that he at that time was ac- 
 quainted with and had in his possession a portable 
 speaking-trumpet. 
 
 Another author by whom Kircher endeavours 
 to support his claim is Harsdorfer ; who, however, 
 speaks only of tubes to be closely applied to the 
 mouth and to the ear, and who refers to the Mus- 
 
 * This machine was invented by Kircher, in imitation of the Ear 
 of Dionysius; nor is it a vain and empty speculation, for the machine 
 produces an infallible effect. Kircher caused to be made at Rome, 
 of tin plate, a very large and straight tube, like a funnel, and placed 
 it in an apartment next to his chamber, in such a manner that the 
 large end projected into the garden of the college, and the less enter- 
 ed his chamber. When the porter of the college had occasion to call 
 him to the gate, that he might not be obliged always to go up stairs, 
 or to bawl out, he went to the broad end of the funnel, and commu- 
 nicated what he wished to Kircher. Schotti Magia universalis na- 
 ture et artis. Herbipoli I 657 —IG 59 , 2 vol. 4to. ii. p. 156. 
 
 M 2 
 
164 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS, 
 
 itrgia, without mentioning the real speaking-trum- 
 pet, though the second part of his Mathematical 
 Recreations was first printed in 167 7-, and the third 
 in 1692.* Besides these testimonies, Kircher 
 quotes also Eschinard concerning sound. f With 
 that work I am not acquainted ; but as the infor- 
 mation it contains is taken from the Musurgia, it is 
 of as little importance as that of Derham,J who 
 refuses the invention to his countryman, and gives 
 it to Kircher. When I unite all the evidences in 
 favour of Kircher, it appears to be certain that he 
 made known and employed the ear-trumpet ear- 
 lier than the portable speaking-trumpet ; that he, 
 however, approached very near to the invention of 
 the latter, but did not cause one to be constructed 
 before Sir Thomas Morland, to whom the honour 
 belongs of having first brought it to that state as 
 to be of real use. Such, at least, is the manner in 
 which this dispute is decided by the Jesuit Do 
 Lanis.§ 
 
 * Vol. ii. p. 152. and iii. p. 362. 
 
 ^ Eschinardi Discursus de sono pneumalico, p. 10. 
 
 X Physico-theology. 
 
 § Our Kircher, in his Phonurgia, justly claims that invention, as 
 it was several years ago exhibited by him in the Jesuits college at 
 Rome, and an account of it printed. That this is true I myself was 
 an eye-witness ; though I must acknowledge that no one before the 
 above-mentioned Englishman ever applied this speaking instrument, 
 at least in so perfect a manner, to that use for which it was after- 
 wards employed. Magisterium natures et artis. Brixise 1684 — 16{)2, 
 fol. ii. p. 436. 
 
SPEAKING-TRUMPET. 
 
 165 
 
 When Morland’s invention was made known in 
 .France, it was pretended that Salar, an Augustine 
 monk, had seven or eight years before caused 
 such tubes or trumpets to be made, in order to 
 strengthen the voice of a weak bass singer; but he 
 himself acknowledges that he never had an idea 
 of speaking with them at a distance. # 
 
 This instrument was soon made for sale at Nu- 
 remberg, in Germany, particularly by that well- 
 known artist Grundler, mentioned by Becher, '(' 
 who imagined that two persons, by means of a 
 speaking-trumpet and an ear-trumpet, could con- 
 verse together at a great distance, without any 
 one in the neighbourhood, or in the intermediate 
 space, hearing what they said. 
 
 Of those who employed their ingenuity in im- 
 proving this instrument I shall mention the fol- 
 lowing. Cassegrain, known on account of his op- 
 tical instruments, published some hints for that 
 purpose in 1672 as did Sturm, § Conyers, ]| 
 Hase, and others afterwards. The last w'ho in- 
 vestigated the theory of the speaking-trumpet was 
 
 * Jpurnal des s^avans, tome iii. 
 
 ’t Narrische Weisheit, p. 37. 
 
 t Journal des sgavans, ut supra, p. 131. 
 
 § J. A. Sturm, Collegium experimentale sive curiosum. Norim- 
 bergaa 1701, 4to. ii. p. 146. 
 
 || Philosoph. transact. 
 
 Dissert, de tubis stentoreis. Lipsise 1715 . 
 
16'6' HISTOllY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Lambert according to whose ideas the figure of 
 a shortened cone, if not the best, is at least as good 
 as any other that might be employed. 
 
 ANANAS. 
 
 To discover the excellence of the ananas required 
 no great skill in botanical physiognomy. It re- 
 commended itself so much by its taste, smell, and 
 colour, as to attract the notice of the first Euro- 
 peans who visited Brasil ; and we find it praised 
 in the earliest writers on America, who give an ac- 
 count of it, as w'ell as of tobacco, maize, and other 
 productions of the new world. 
 
 Gonial 0 Hernandez de Oviedo is, as far as I 
 know, the first person who described and deline- 
 ated the ananas. This author was born at Madrid 
 in 1478; went to America in 1513, and in 1535 
 was governor of St. Domingo. In the last-men- 
 tioned year, his General History of America was 
 printed at Seville. At that time three kinds were 
 known, which in America were called yayama, bo- 
 mama , and yayagua , but by the Spaniards pinas. 
 Attempts had then been made to send the fruit to 
 
 * Memoires de l’Academie des Sciences a Berlin, annee 1763, 
 p. 87- Compare also De la Chapelle’s Treatise on conic sections, 
 translated into German, with observations, by J. L. Bockmann. 
 Carlsrulie 177C Svo. p.217- 
 
ANANAS. 
 
 167 
 
 Spain by pulling it before it was ripe; but it had 
 al ways become spoiled in the course of the voyage. 
 Oviedo had tried also to send slips or young shoots 
 to Europe, but these also died by the way. He, 
 however, entertained hopes that means would be 
 found to rear the ananas in Spain, in which maize 
 or Turkish corn had been brought to maturity, 
 provided it could be transported with sufficient 
 expedition. # 
 
 Geronimo Benzono, a Milanese, who resided in 
 Mexico from 1541 to 1555, caused, on his return, 
 his History of the new world to be printed, for the 
 first time, at Venice, in 1568. In this work he 
 highly extols the pinas ; and says, he believes that 
 no fruit on the earth can be more pleasant : sick per- 
 sons, who loathed all other food, might relish it. f 
 
 After him, Andrew Thevet, a French monk, 
 who was in Brasil from 1555 to 1556, described 
 and delineated this plant under the name of nanas. 
 The art of preserving the fruit with sugar was at 
 that time known. J 
 
 John de Lery, who went to Brasil in 1557 as 
 chaplain to a Huguenot colony, in the account of 
 
 * La historia general de las Indias. Sevilla 1535, fol. lib. xvii. 
 c. 13. 
 
 t The Latin translation is entitled Novce novi orbis historic lilri 
 tres. Urb. Calvetonis opera Latini facti, et notis illustrati. 
 
 J Les singularitez de la France antarctique, autrement nominee 
 Amerique. Par Andre Thevet. A Anvers 1558. 
 
168 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 his voyage first used the word ananas, which pro-* 
 bably took its rise from the nanas of Thevet.* 
 
 In the middle of the sixteenth century Franc. 
 Hernandes, a naturalist, undertook an expensive, 
 and almost useless, voyage to Mexico. It cost 
 Philip II king of Spain 60,000 ducats, and the 
 observations he collected, for which, at the time 
 Acosta was in America, 1200 figures were ready, 
 were never completely printed ; and in what are 
 printed one can scarcely distinguish those of the 
 original author from the additions of strangers. 
 He has, however, given a somewhat better figure 
 of the ananas, which he calls matzatli or pinea 
 Indica. | 
 
 Christopher Acosta, in his treatise of the drugs 
 and medicines of the East Indies, £ printed in 
 1578, calls this plant the ananas. He says it 
 was brought from Santa Cruz to the West Indies, 
 and that it was afterwards transplanted to the East 
 Indies and China, where it was, at that time, com- 
 mon. The latter part of this account is confirmed 
 
 / 
 
 * Histoire d’lin voyage faict en la terre du Bresil, autrement dite 
 Amerique. Par Jean de Lery. Geneve 1580, 8vo. p. 188, or Histo- 
 ria navigationis in Brasiliam, auctore Joanne Lerio. Excudebat 
 Eustat. Vignon. 1580, 8vo. p. 162. 
 
 't Rerum medicarum novae Hispaniae thesaurus. Romae 1651, 
 fol. p. 311. The same description is to be found in Nierembergii 
 Historia naturae. Antverpiae 1635, fol. p.335. 
 
 X Tractado de las drogas y medicinas de las Indias Orientales, 
 15,78, 4to. 
 
ANANAS. 
 
 169 
 
 by J. Hugo de Linschotten, who was in the East 
 Indies from 1594 to 1 5Q5* 
 
 Attempts were very early made, as Oviedo as- 
 sures us, to transplant the ananas into Europe; and 
 as in the beginning of the seventeenth century it 
 was reckoned among the marks of royal magnifi- 
 cence to have orange-trees in expensive hot-houses, 
 it was hoped that this fruit could be brought to 
 maturity also in the artificial climate of these 
 buildings. These attempts, however, were every 
 where unsuccessful ; no fruit w 7 as produced, or 
 the fruit did not ripen, because, perhaps, this fa- 
 vourite exotic was treated with too much care. It 
 is not certainly known who in Europe first had the 
 pleasure of seeing ananas ripen in his garden ; but 
 it appears that several enjoyed that satisfaction 
 at the same time in the beginning of the last 
 century. 
 
 The German gardens in which the ananas was 
 first brought to maturity appear to have been the 
 following. First, that of Baron de Munchausen, 
 at Schwobber, not far from Hameln, which, on ac- 
 count of the botanical knowledge of its proprietor, 
 and the abundance of plants it contains, is well 
 
 * The accounts given by Acosta and Linschotten may be seen in 
 Bauhini histor. plantarum , iii. p. 95 - Kircher in his China illas- 
 tratci, Amstel. 1667, fol. p. 188 , says. “That fruit which the Ame- 
 “ ricans and people of the East Indies, among whom it is common, 
 “ call the ananas, and which grows also in great abundance in the 
 “ provinces of Quantung, Chiamsi, and Fokien, is supposed to have 
 “ been brought from Peru to China.” 
 
170 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 known to all those who are fond of botany. In the 
 beginning of the last century it belonged to Otto 
 de Munchausen, who, perhaps, was the first per- 
 son who erected large buildings for the express 
 purpose of raising that fruit, and who had the 
 noble satisfaction of making known their advan- 
 tageous construction. With this view he sent a de- 
 scription and plan of his ananas-houses to J. Chris- 
 topher Volkamer, a merchant of Nuremberg, who 
 inserted them in his continuation of the Nurem- 
 berg Hesperides, printed there in 1714, and by 
 these means rendered the attainment of this fruit 
 common. This Baron de Munchausen is the same 
 who has been celebrated by Leibnitz: “All the 
 “ travellers in the world,” says that great man, 
 “ could not have given us, by their relations, 
 “ what we are indebted for to a gentleman of this 
 “ country, who cultivates with success the ananas, 
 “ three leagues from Hanover, almost on the 
 “ banks of the Weser, and who has found out the 
 “ method of multiplying them, so that we may, 
 “ perhaps, have them one day as plentiful, of our 
 “ own growth, as the Portuguese oranges, though 
 “ there will, in all appearance, be some deficiency 
 “ in the taste.” * As the Baron Munchausen’s 
 garden at Schwobber was, in the absence of the pro- 
 prietor, as Volkamer says, under the care of J. F. 
 
 * See Nouveaux essais sur l’entendement humain, p. 256, in 
 Oeuvres philosophiques de M. de Leibnitz, publies par Raspe. Am- 
 sterdam 1760 , 4to. 
 
ANANAS. 
 
 171 
 
 Berner, canon of the cathedral of St. Boniface, he 
 probably may have had some share in rendering 
 this service to horticulture. 
 
 This fruit was produced also in the garden of 
 Doctor Volkamer at Nuremberg, and in that of 
 Doctor F.Kaltschmid, at Breslau, almost about the 
 same time. The latter was so fortunate as to bring 
 it to maturity so early as 1702, and he sent some 
 of it then for the first time to the imperial court.* 
 At Francfort on the Mayne it was first produced in 
 1702;f and at Cassel in 1715, by the skill of 
 Wurstorfs, the head gardener. 
 
 Holland procured the first ripe ananas from 
 the garden of De la Court, whom Miller calls Le 
 Cour, in the neighbourhood of Leyden. As a 
 great many plants were sold out of this garden to 
 foreigners, and as the English had theirs first from 
 it, many are of opinion that Europe is indebted 
 for the first possession of this fruit to De la Court, 
 and his gardener William de Vinck. J 
 
 I shall here take occasion to mention a circum- 
 stance which belongs also to the history of garden- 
 ing. Before the cultivation of the ananas was in- 
 troduced, the Dutch had begun to employ tan- 
 ner’s bark for making forcing-beds. From them 
 
 * Breslauer Sammlung von Natur-Geschichten, 1718, Septemb. 
 p. l6l 8 ; and 1720, Septemb. p. 302. 
 f Lersner, Chronik, ii. p.824. 
 
 X Miller’s Gardener’s dictionary, i. p. 132. Lueder, Wartungder 
 Kiichengewachse. Lubeck 1780, 8vo. p. 248. 
 
172 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the English learned this improvement, and the 
 first forcing-beds in England were made at 
 Blackheath in Kent, in 1688, and employed for 
 rearing orange-trees; but about the year 1719, 
 much later than in Holland, ananas became more 
 common, and forcing-beds were in much greater 
 use.* 
 
 This plant, the history of which I have given, 
 received from Plunder, | who first distinguished 
 its characterizing marks, the name of Bromelia, 
 after a Swedish naturalist, whose remembrance 
 deserves to be here revived. Olof Bromelius was 
 born in 1639, at Oerebro, where his father carried 
 on trade. He studied physic at Upsal, disputed 
 there in 1667 de pleuritide, and in 1668 taught 
 botany at Stockholm. In I672 he was physician to 
 the embassy to England, and afterwards to that to 
 Holland, where, in 1673, he received the degree of 
 doctor at Leyden, and wrote a dissertation delum- 
 bricis. On his return to his native country, in 
 1674, he became a member of the college of phy- 
 sicians at Stockholm; but in 1691 he was city 
 physician to Gottenburg, and provincial physician 
 in Ellsburg and Bahus-Lan, in which situation he 
 died in the year 1705. His botanical writings are 
 
 * Miller, ii. p. 824. Lueder, p. 39. That putrid bark forms an 
 excellent manure, had been before remarked by Lauremberg, in 
 his Horticultura, p. 52. 
 
 t Nova plantarum Americanaruna genera. Parisiis 1703, 4to. 
 
SYMPATHETIC INK. 
 
 173 
 
 Lupologia, and Chloris Gothica * His son, Mag- 
 nus von Bromel, is the author of Lithographia 
 Suecana. f 
 
 SYMPATHETIC INK. 
 
 If we give this name to any fluid which, being 
 wrote with, the letters, under certain circum- 
 stances, or after a certain operation, will become 
 conspicuous and legible, such liquids were known 
 in very early periods. Among the methods which 
 Ovid teaches young women to deceive their guar- 
 dians, when they write to their lovers,^ he men- 
 tions that of writing with new milk, and of ma- 
 king the writing legible by coal-dust or soot. Au- 
 sonius proposes the same means to Paulinus ; § but 
 
 * Halleri Bibl. botan. i. p. 640. 
 
 ■f. This account is taken from Georg Gezelius Forsok til et liogra- 
 phiskt Lexicon ofver lixrde Svenske man, the first part of which was 
 published at Stockholm in 1778, 8vo. 
 
 } Tuta quoque est, fallitque oculos, e lacte recenti 
 Litera: carbonis pulvere tange ; leges. 
 
 De arte amandi, lib. iii. v. 62g. 
 
 § Lacte incide notas; arescens charta tenebit 
 Semper inadspicuas ; prodentur scripta favillis. 
 
 Ausonii Epist. xxiii. v. 21. 
 
 The poet afterwards teaches other methods of secret writing. 
 Eneas, in Poliorceticis, cap. 31. and Gellius, lib. xvii. cap. g. men- 
 tion the like. 
 
174 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 his commentators seem not to have fully understood 
 his meaning; for fa-villa is not to be explained by 
 favilla non modice calida , as Vinetus has explained 
 it, but by fuligo. That word is often employed 
 by the poets in the same sense. As a proof of it, 
 Columella, speaking of the method, not altogether 
 ineffectual, and even still used, of preserving plants 
 from insects by soot, calls it nigra favilla; and 
 afterwards, when mentioning the same method, 
 free from poetical fetters, he says fuliginem qua: 
 supra focus tectis inliaret* It may be easily per- 
 ceived, that instead of milk, any other colourless 
 and glutinous juice might be employed, asikwould 
 equally hold fast the black powder strewed over it. 
 Pliny, therefore, recommends the milky sap of 
 certain plants for the like purpose, f 
 
 There are several metallic solutions perfectly 
 colourless, or, at least, without any strong tint, 
 which being used for writing, the letters will not ap- 
 pear until tiie paper be washed over with another 
 colourless solution, or exposed to the vapour of it; 
 but among all these there is none which excites 
 more astonishment, or from which naturalists can 
 draw more conclusions, than that which consists of 
 a solution of lead in vegetable acid, and which by 
 
 * Colum. de re tust. x. 354. and xf. 3, 60. p. 773. 
 
 1* Tithymalum nostri herbatn lactariam vocant, alii lactncam ca- 
 prinam: narrantque lacte ejus inscripto corpore, cum inaruerit, si 
 cinis inspergatur, apparere litteras 5 et ita quidam adulteras alloqui 
 maluerequam codicillis. Plin. lib. xxvi. cap. 8. p. 400. 
 
SYMPATHETIC INK. 
 
 175 
 
 the vapour of arsenical liver of sulphur becomes 
 black, even at a considerable distance. This ink, 
 which may be employed by conjurers, proves the 
 subtlety of vapour, and the porosity of bodies ; 
 as the change or colouring takes place, even when 
 the writing is placed on the other side of a thin 
 wall. 
 
 This effect presented itself perhaps acciden- 
 tally to some chemist ; but the discovery is not of 
 great antiquity. Wecker, who compiled his book 
 de secretis from Porta, Cardan, and several old 
 writers, and printed it for the first time in 1582, 
 and gave a third edition in 1592, must have been 
 unacquainted with it; else he certainly would not 
 have omitted it in the fourteenth book, where he 
 mentions all the methods of secret writing. Neither 
 would it have been unnoticed by Caneparius, 
 whose book de atramentis was printed at Venice, 
 for the first time, in 1619, in quarto. 
 
 The first person who, as far as I have been able 
 to learn, gave a receipt for preparing this ink, was 
 Peter Borel, in Historiarum et observationum me- 
 dico-physic. centuries quatuor. In this work, which 
 was printed, for the first time, in 1653, and a se- 
 cond time in 1657, at Paris, and of which there 
 were several editions afterwards, the author calls it 
 a magnetic water, which acts at a distance.* After 
 
 * The sixth observation of the second century is as follows : Mag- 
 netic waters which act at a distance. An astonishing effect, indeed, 
 is produced by the contest of the following waters, which are thus 
 
176 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTION*?. 
 
 the occult qualities of the schoolmen were explo- 
 ded, it was customary to ascribe phasnomena the 
 causes of which were unknown, and particularly 
 those the causes of which seemed to operate 
 without any visible agency, to magnetic effluvia ; 
 as the turmalin was at first considered to be a 
 kind of magnet. Others concealed their ignorance 
 under wdiat they called sympathy, and in latter 
 times attraction and electricity have been employed 
 for the like purpose. Borel, who made it his bu- 
 siness to collect new observations that were kept 
 secret, learned the method of preparing this mag- 
 netic water from an ingenious apothecary of Mont- 
 
 made. Let quick-lime be quenched in common water, and while 
 quenching, let some orpiment be added to it (this, however, ought 
 to be done by placing warm ashes under it for a whole day), and let 
 the liquor be filtered, and preserved in a glass bottle well corked. 
 Then boil litharge of gold well pounded, for half an hour with 
 vinegar, in a brass vessel, and filter the whole through paper, and 
 preserve it also in a bottle closely corked. If you write any thing 
 with this last water, with a clean pen, the writing will be invisible 
 when dry; but if it be washed over with the first water it will 
 become instantly black. In this, however, there is nothing asto- 
 nishing ; but this is wonderful, that though sheets of paper without 
 number, and even a board be placed between the invisible writing 
 and the second liquid, it will have the same effect, and turn the 
 writing black, penetrating the wood and paper without leaving any 
 traces of its action, which is certainly surprising ; but a fetid smell, 
 occasioned by the mutual action of the liquids, deters many from 
 making the experiment. I am, however, of opinion, that I could 
 improve this secret by a more refined chemical preparation, so as 
 that it should perform its effect through a ■wall. This 6ecret I re- 
 ceived, in exchange for others, from J. Brosson, a learned aud in- 
 genious apothecary of Montpelier. 
 
SYMPATHETIC INK. 
 
 177 
 
 pelier, and in return taught him some other se- 
 crets. Otto Tachen, a German chemist,* * * § after- 
 wards thought of the same experiment, which he 
 explains much better, without the assistance of 
 magnetism or sympathy. The receipt for making 
 these liquids, under the name of sympathetic ink, 
 I find first given by Le Mort, in the Collectanea 
 chymica Leydensia ,f and that name has been still 
 retained. J 
 
 Another remarkable kind of sympathetic ink 
 is that prepared from cobalt, the writing of which 
 disappears in the cold, but appears again of a 
 beautiful green colour, as often as one chooses, 
 after being exposed to a moderate degree of 
 heat. § 
 
 The invention of this ink is generally ascribed 
 to a Frenchman, named Hellot. He was, indeed, 
 the first person who, after trying experiments with 
 it, made it publicly known, but he was not the in- 
 ventor ; and he himself acknowledges that a Ger- 
 man artist of Stolberg first showed him a reddish 
 salt, which, when exposed to heat, became blue, 
 
 * Tachenii Hippocratic® medicinae clavis, p. 230. This work 
 was twice printed in 1669 , viz. at Venice and Francfort. 
 
 f Collectanea Chymica Leydensia, id est, Maatsiana, Margra- 
 viana, Le Mortiana - - - edidit Christ. Love. [Morley. Lugd. Bat. 
 1084, 4 to. p. 97 . 
 
 t For an account of various kinds of secret writing see Halle, 
 Magie oder Zauberkrafte der natur. Berlin 1783, 8vo. v. i. p. 138. 
 
 § The works which treat of this ink may be seen in Weigel’s 
 Chemie, p. 284. 
 
 VOL, I. 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 HISTOKY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 and which he assured him was made from Schnee- 
 berg cobalt, with aqua regia.* * * § This account in- 
 duced Hellot to prepare salts and ink from various 
 minerals impregnated with cobalt ; but A. Gesner 
 proved, long after, that this ink is produced by 
 cobalt only, and not by marcasite.'}' 
 
 When Hellot’s experiments were made known 
 in Germany, it was affirmed that professor H. F. 
 Teichmeyer, at Jena, had prepared the same ink 
 six years before, and shown it to his scholars, in 
 the course of his lectures, under the name of sym- 
 pathetic ink.^ It appears, however, that it was 
 invented, even before Teichmeyer, in the beginning 
 of the last century, by a German lady. This is 
 confirmed by Pot, who says that the authoress of 
 a book printed in 1705 , which he quotes under 
 the unintelligible title of D. J. IV. in clave , had 
 given a proper receipt for preparing the above- 
 mentioned red salt, and the ink produced by it. § 
 
 * Hist, et Memoires de l’Academ. des Sciences a Paris. Annee 
 1737, pp. 101 and 228. 
 
 f J. A. Gesneri Historia cadmise fossilis, sive cobalti. Berolini 
 1744, 4to. Lekmans Cadmiologia, i. 79 . 
 
 J This account, together with Teichmeyer’s receipt for preparing 
 it, maybe found in Commercium litterarium Norimbergense, 1737 , 
 p. 91. 
 
 § Copiosius ininera bismuthi tarn ab aqua forti quam ab aqua re- 
 gia dissolvitur, restante pulvere albo corroso ; solutio in aqua forti ro- 
 seum colorem sistit, quae si sali in aqua soluto, secundum prascriptum 
 D. J. W. in clave, affundatur, abstrahatur, ex residuo extrahitur sal 
 roseum, quod pulverisari et cum spiritu vini extrahi potest: adeoque 
 hsec autrix jam anno 1705 publice totum processum et fundamentum. 
 
DIVING-BELL. 
 
 179 
 
 I should be very glad if any one could give me 
 information respecting this book, for I must con- 
 fess that I am not able to conjecture what kind of 
 a work it is. If it be true that Theophrastus 
 Paracelsus, by means of this invention, could 
 represent a garden in winter, it must be un- 
 doubtedly older.* 
 
 DIVING-BELL. 
 
 The first divers learned their art by early and 
 adventurous experience, in trying to continue un- 
 der water as long as possible without breathing ; j~ 
 and, indeed, it must be allowed that some of them 
 carried it to very great perfection. This art, how- 
 ever, excites little surprise; for, like running, 
 throwing, and other bodily dexterities, it requires 
 only practice; but it is certain that those nations 
 called by us uncultivated and savage excel in it 
 the Europeans, J w>ho, through refinement and 
 
 sic dicti atramenti sympathetic!, quod a calore viriclescit, evulgavit. 
 Pot, Observationum chymicarum collectio prima. Berolini 1739 , 
 p. 163. 
 
 * So thinks Gesner in Selecta physico-oeconomica, or Sammlung 
 von allerhand zur naturgeschichte gehdrigen begebenheiten. Stutgard, 
 vii. p. 22. 
 
 + Didicerunt quidam ad immensam altitudinem mergi, ac sine 
 Vila respirandi vice perpeti maria. Seneca de Ira, ii. 12. 
 
 X Instances of the dexterity of the savages in diving and swimming 
 utay be seen in Jens Kraft Sit ten der wilden, Kopenhagen 17 66, 
 
 N 2 
 
180 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 luxury, have become more delicate, and less tit for 
 such laborious exercises. 
 
 In remote ages, divers were kept in ships to 
 assist in raising anchors,* and goods thrown over- 
 board in times of danger ; j - and, by the laws 
 of the Rhodians, they were allowed a share of 
 the wreck, proportioned to the depth to which 
 they had gone in search of it. £ In war, they 
 were often employed to destroy the works and 
 
 8vo. p. 3g. To which may be added the account given by Maffseus 
 of the Brasilians : “They are,” says he, “ wonderfully skilled in the 
 art of diving, and can remain sometimes for hours under water, with 
 their eyes open, in order to search for any thing at the bottom.” 
 Hist. Indie, lib. ii. 
 
 * — — — Pugna fuit unus in ilia 
 
 Eximius Phoceus animam servare sub undis, 
 
 Scrutarique fretum, si quid mersisset arenis, 
 
 Et nitnis affixos unci convellere morsus, 
 
 Adductum quotiens non senserat anchora funem. 
 
 Lucanus, iii. 697. 
 
 f Per urinatores omne ferme extractum est. Livius, xliv. c. 10 . 
 Corpora immergunt undis, ipsumque sub antris 
 Nerea et aequoreas conantur visere nymphas, 
 
 Exportantque maris praedas, et rapta profundo 
 Naufragia, atque imas avidi scrutantur arenas. 
 
 Manilii Astronom. v. 449. 
 
 J A Latin translation of these laws may be found in Marquard die 
 jure mercatorum, p. 338. “ If gold or silver, or any other article be 
 
 “ brought up from the depth of eight cubits, the person who saves it 
 “ shall receive one third. If from fifteen cubits, the person who 
 “ saves it shall, on account of the danger of the depth, receive one 
 “ half. If goods are cast up by the waves towards the shore, and 
 “ found sunk at the depth of one cubit, the person who carries them 
 “ out safe, shall receive a tenth part.” See also, Scheffer de midtm 
 navali , Upsalise 1654, 4to. p. 110. 
 
DIVING-BELL. 
 
 181 
 
 ships of the enemy. When Alexander was be- 
 sieging Tyre, divers swam off from the city, under 
 water, to a great distance, and with long hooks 
 tore to pieces the mole with which the besiegers 
 were endeavouring to block up the harbour. * 
 The pearls of the Greek and Roman ladies were 
 fished up by divers at the great hazard of their 
 lives ; and by the like means are procured at pre- 
 sent those which are purchased as ornaments by 
 our fair. 
 
 I do not know whether observations have ever 
 been collected respecting the time that divers can 
 continue under water. Anatomists once believed 
 that persons in whom the oval opening of the 
 heart ( foramen ovale) was not closed up, could 
 live longer than others without breathing, and 
 could, therefore, be expert divers. Haller, f 
 however, and others, have controverted this opi- 
 nion ; as people who had that opening have 
 been soon suffocated, and as animals who have it 
 not can live a long time under water : besides, 
 when that opening is perceptible in grown per- 
 
 * Praecipuum auxilium erat, qui procul hostium conspectu subi- 
 bant aquam, occultoqfte lapsuad moieni usque penetrabant; falcibus 
 palmites arborum eminentium ad se trahentes. Curtius, iv. c. 3. 
 The same account is given by Arrian, de Expedit. Alexandri M. 
 edit. Blancardi. Amst. 1 668, 8vo. lib. ii. p. 138. We are told by Thu- 1 
 cydides, in his seventh book, that the Syracusans did the same thing. 
 
 f Boerhaave, Praelectiones academicas, edit. Halleri, Gottingee 
 1774, 8vo. v. ii. p. 472 — 474. Halleri Elementa physiologise, edit. 
 Lausannse 1761, 4to. iii. p. 252. andviii. 2. p. 14. 
 
182 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 sons, it is so small as not to be sufficient for that 
 purpose, especially as the ductus arteriosus is 
 scarcely ever found open. 
 
 The divers of Astracan, employed in the fishery 
 there, can remain only seven minutes under wa- 
 ter.* * * § The divers in Holland seem to have been 
 more expert. An observer, during the time they 
 were under water, was obliged to breathe, at least, 
 ten times . '[ Those who collect pearl-shells in 
 the East Indies, can remain under water a quarter 
 of an hour, J though some are of opinion that it 
 is possible to continue longer; and Mersenne 
 mentions a diver, named John Barrinus, who 
 could dive under water for six hours. § How far 
 this may be true, I shall leave others to judge; 
 but it is certain, that men began very early to 
 contrive means for supplying divers with air 
 Under the water, and of thereby enabling them 
 to remain under it much longer. 
 
 For this purpose the diving-bell, campana urina - 
 
 * The divers of Astracan stepped from the warm bath into the 
 water, in which they could not continue above seven minutes, and 
 were brought back from the water, cold and benumbed, to the warm 
 bath, from which they were obliged to return to the water again. 
 This change from heat to cold they repeat five times a day, until, at 
 length, the blood flows from their nose and ears, and they are carried 
 back quite senseless. Gmelins Reise durch Russland, ii. p. 199- 
 
 f Acta philosophica societatis in Anglia, auctore Oldenburgio*. 
 Lipsiae 1675, 4to. p. 724. 
 
 J Oldenburg, ut supra. 
 
 § Scheeps-bouw beschreven door Nic. Witsen. Amsterdam 1671, 
 fol. p. 288. 
 
DIVING-BELL. 
 
 183 
 
 toria, was invented. Those who had no idea of 
 this machine, might have easily been led to it by 
 the following experiment. If a drinking-glass in- 
 verted be immersed in water, in such a manner 
 that the surface of the water may rise equally 
 around the edge of the glass, it will be found that 
 the glass does not become filled with water, even 
 when pressed down to the greatest depth; for, 
 where there is air, no other body can enter, and 
 by the above precaution the air cannot be expelled 
 by the water. In like manner, if a bell of metal 
 be constructed, under which the diver can stand 
 on a stool suspended from it so that the edge of 
 the bell may reach to about his knee, the upper 
 part of his body will be secured from water, and 
 he can, even at the bottom of the sea, breathe the 
 air enclosed in the bell. 
 
 The invention of this bell is generally assigned 
 to the sixteenth century, and I am of opinion that 
 it was little known before that period. We read, 
 however, that even in the time of Aristotle divers 
 used a kind of kettle to enable them to continue 
 longer under the water;* but the manner in which 
 
 * "Eaxt Ss, 'j/j/jtwg mx7rvor,ii notwai roi( x,o?-.up.$r l Tai; hifiriTa. xaTa^ivTig. Ou 
 ‘nipTr'Karai yag oiito; too iiSaro aK'kot r>jps< rov aspa. just a $tag yap r) xa9( sc<f, 
 ig%o» yap otiovv irageyttKiSh htrgA. Aristot. problem, xxxii. § 5. Thus 
 translated by Theodore Gaza : Plerique lebete dimisso respirandi 
 viam urinatoribus moliuntur ; haud enim aqua lebes impletur, sed 
 aera servat ad demersum hominem usque 5 quippe qui erectus per 
 vim dimittatur, utundique aequali nutu descendat. Nam si quan- 
 tumlibet inclinavit, humore protinus interrumpente impleatur ne- 
 
184 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 it was employed is not clearly described, and the 
 translators have added many things not to be found 
 in the original. 
 
 The oldest information we have respecting the 
 use of the diving-bell, in Europe, is that of John 
 Taisnier, quoted by Schott.* The former, who 
 was bora at Hainault, in 1509, had a place at 
 
 cesse est. The translation of Septalius is however different. Videtur 
 simile quid viam respirationi natatoribus sibi parantibus, dum lebetem 
 capiti suo supraponunt ore deorsum verso ; non enim repletur id aqua, 
 sed aerem conservat : fit enim cum violentia positio ilia 5 rectum enim 
 quodcunque inclination, influit. 
 
 * Were the ignorant vulgar told that one could descend to the 
 bottom of the Rhine, in the midst of the water, without wetting 
 one’s clothes, or any part of one’s body, and even carry a lighted can- 
 dle to the bottom of the water, they would consider it as altogether 
 ridiculous and impossible. This, however, I saw done at Toledo, 
 in Spain, in the year 1538, before the emperor Charles V and almost 
 ten thousand spectators. The experiment was made by two Greeks, 
 who taking a very large kettle, suspended from ropes with the mouth 
 downwards, fixed beams and planks in the middle of its concavity, 
 upon which they placed themselves, together with a candle. The 
 kettle was equipoised by means of lead fixed round its mouth, so 
 that when let down towards the water no part of its circumference 
 should touch the water sooner than another, else the water might 
 easily have overcome the air included in it, and have converted it 
 into moist vapour. If a vessel thus prepared be lef down gently, and 
 with due care, to the water, the included air with great force makes 
 way for itself through the resisting fluid. Thus the men enclosed 
 in it remain dry, in the midst of the water, for a little while, until, 
 in the course of time, the included air becomes weakened by repeated 
 aspiration, and is at length resolved into gross vapours, being con- 
 sumed by the greater moisture of the water : but if the vessel be 
 gently drawn up, the men continue dry, and the candle is found 
 burning. Taisneri Opuscula de celerrimo motu, quoted by Schott in 
 his Technica curiosa ; lib. vi. c. 9 . p. 393. 
 
DIVING-BELL. 
 
 185 
 
 court under Charles V, whom he attended on 
 his voyage to Africa. He relates in what manner 
 he saw at Toledo, in the presence of the em- 
 peror and several thousand spectators, two Greeks 
 let themselves down under water, in a large in- 
 verted kettle, with a burning light, and rise up 
 again without being wet. It appears that this 
 art w 7 as then new 7 to the emperor and the Spa- 
 niards, and that the Greeks were caused to 
 make the experiment in order to prove the pos- 
 sibility of it. After this period the use of the 
 diving-bell seems to have become still better 
 known. It is described more than once in the 
 Works of Sir Francis Bacon, who explains its ef- 
 fects, and remarks that it w 7 as invented to facilitate 
 labour under the water.* 
 
 In the latter part of the 17th century the diving- 
 bell was sometimes employed in great under- 
 takings. When the English, in the year 1588, 
 
 * Excellent use may be made of this vessel, which is employed 
 sometimes in labouring under water on sunk ships, to enable the di- 
 vers to continue longer under water, and to breathe, in turns, for a 
 little while. It was constructed in this manner. A hollow vessel 
 was made of metal, which was let down equally to the surface of the 
 water, and thus carried with it to the bottom of the sea the whole air 
 it contained. It stood upon three feet, like a tripod, which were in 
 length somewhat less than the height of a man ; so that the diver, 
 when he was no longer able to contain his breath, could put his head 
 into the vessel, and, having breathed, return again to his work. 
 Francisci Baconi Opera, latine translata opera S. I. Arnoldi. Lipsice 
 l6g4, fol. — Novum organum , lib. ii. § 50. p. 408. Bacon relates the 
 same thing in his Phenomena universi, p. 702 . 
 
186 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 dispersed the Spanish fleet, called the Invincible 
 Armada, part of the ships went to the bottom, 
 near the Isle of Mull, on the western coast of 
 Scotland ; and some of these, according to the 
 account of the Spanish prisoners, contained great 
 riches. This information excited, from time to 
 time, the avarice of speculators, and gave rise to 
 several attempts to procure part of the lost trea- 
 sure. In the year 1665, a person was so fortunate 
 as to bring up some cannon, which, however, 
 were not sufficient to defray the expenses. Of 
 these attempts, and the kind of diving-bell used, 
 an account has been given by a Scotsman named 
 Sinclair;* but Paschius,f Leupold, J and others, 
 falsely ascribe the invention of this machine to that 
 learned man. He himself does not lay claim to 
 this honour; but says only, that he conversed with 
 the artist, and measured the machine. 
 
 Some years after, attempts of the like kind 
 were renewed. William Phipps, the son of a 
 blacksmith, born in America, in 1650, and who 
 had been brought up as a ship carpenter at Boston, 
 formed a project for searching and unloading a 
 rich Spanish ship sunk on the coast of Hispaniola; 
 
 * G. Sinclari Ars nova et magna gravitatis et levitatis. Rotero- 
 daim 1669, 4to. p. 220. The description of the diving-bell has been 
 transcribed from this work into Sturm’s Collegium curiosum. No- 
 li mbergas 1701, 4to. 
 
 •f* Paschii Inventa nov-antiqua. Lipsiae 1700, 4to. p. 650. 
 
 X Theatri statici universalis pars tertia. Lipsise 1726, fol. p. 242. 
 
DIVING-BELL. 
 
 18 f 
 
 and represented his plan in such a plausible man- 
 ner, that king Charles II gave him a ship, and 
 furnished him with every thing necessary for the 
 undertaking. He set sail in the year 1683; but, 
 being unsuccessful, returned again in great po- 
 verty, though with a firm conviction of the possi- 
 bility of his scheme. He endeavoured, therefore, 
 to procure another vessel from James II, who was 
 then on the throne: but as he failed in this, he 
 tried to find the means of executing his design by 
 the support of private persons, and, according to 
 the prevailing practice, opened for that purpose a 
 subscription. At first he was laughed at; but, at 
 length, the duke of Albemarle, son of the cele- 
 brated general Monk, took part in it, and ad- 
 vanced a considerable sum to enable him to make 
 the necessary preparations for a new voyage. 
 Phipps soon collected the remainder; and in 1687 
 set sail in a ship of two hundred tons burthen, to 
 try his fortune once more, having previously en- 
 gaged to divide the profit according to the twenty 
 shares of which the subscription consisted. At 
 first, all his labour proved fruitless ; but at last, 
 when his patience was almost entirely exhausted, 
 he was so lucky as to bring up, from the depth 
 of six or seven fathoms, so much treasure, that he 
 returned to England with the value of two hun- 
 dred thousand pounds sterling. Of this sum he 
 himself got about sixteen, others say twenty thou- 
 sand, and the duke ninety thousand pounds. After 
 
188 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 he came back, some persons endeavoured to per- 
 suade the king to seize both the ship and the car- 
 go, under a pretence that Phipps, when he so- 
 licited for his Majesty’s permission, had not given 
 accurate information respecting the business. But 
 the king answered, with much greatness of mind, 
 that he knew Phipps to be an honest man, and 
 that he and his friends should share the whole 
 among them, had he returned with double the 
 value. His Majesty even conferred upon him the 
 honour of knighthood, to show how much he was 
 satisfied with his conduct. This Phipps was after- 
 wards high sheriff of New England, and died at 
 London, greatly respected, in 1693. This affair 
 was attended with such good consequences to the 
 duke of Albemarle, that he obtained from the 
 king the governorship of Jamaica, in order to try 
 his fortune with other ships sunk in that neigh- 
 bourhood. But whether it was that the gold had 
 been already all taken from the one before men- 
 tioned, or that, w'hen the vessel went to pieces, 
 the sea had dispersed the cargo, it is certain that 
 nothing further was found worth the labour of 
 searching for it. # 
 
 In England, however, several companies were 
 formed, and obtained exclusive privileges of fishing 
 up goods on certain coasts, by the means of divers. 
 
 * This account is taken from The History of the British Empire 
 j[n America, by J. Wynne. London 1770, 2 vol. 8vo. i. p. 131, and 
 from Campbell’s Lives of the Admirals. 
 
DIVING-BELL. 
 
 189 
 
 The most considerable of these was that which, in 
 1688, tried its success at the Isle of Mull, and at 
 the head of which was the earl of Argyle. The 
 divers went down to the depth of sixty feet under 
 water, remained there sometimes a whole hour, 
 and brought up gold chains, money, and other 
 articles, which, however, when collected, were 
 of very little importance.* — Without giving more 
 examples of the use of the diving-bell, I shall 
 now mention some of those who, in later times, 
 have endeavoured to improve it. That this ma- 
 chine was very little known in the first half of the 
 sixteenth century, I conclude from the following 
 circumstance. To the oldest edition of Yegetius 
 on the art of war, there are added, by the editor, 
 some figures, of which no explanation is given in 
 the book. Among these is represented a method 
 of catching fish with the hands, at the bottom of 
 the sea. The apparatus for this purpose consists 
 in a cap, which is fitted so closely to the head of 
 the diver that no water can make its w r ay between; 
 and from the cap there arises a long leather pipe, 
 the opening of which floats on the surface of the 
 water. Had the person who drew these figures 
 been acquainted with the diving-bell, he would cer- 
 tainly have delineated it rather than this useless 
 
 * Martin’s Description of the Western Islands. The second edi- 
 tion. London 1716, 8vo. p. 253. Campbell's Political Survey of 
 Britain. London 1774, 2 vol. 4to. p. 604. 
 
190 
 
 history of inventions. 
 
 apparatus.* * * § Of the old figures of a diving machine 
 that which approaches nearest to the diving-bell is 
 in a book on fortification, by Lorini; who de- 
 scribes a square box bound round with iron, 
 which is furnished with windows, and has a stool 
 affixed to it for the diver. This more ingenious 
 contrivance appears, however, to be older than 
 that Italian; at least he does not pretend to be the 
 inventor of it.f 
 
 In the year 1617, Francis Kessler gave a de- 
 scription of his water-armour, J intended also for 
 diving, but which cannot really be used for that 
 purpose.^ In the year 1671, Witsen taught, in a 
 better manner than any of his predecessors, the 
 construction and use of the diving-bell; || but he 
 is much mistaken when he says that it was in- 
 vented at Amsterdam. In 1679 appeared, for 
 the first time, Borelli’s well-known work de motu 
 
 * These figures are to be found in the following editions : FI. Ve- 
 getii Renati de re militari. Lutetise apud C. Wechelum 1532, fol. 
 p. 180. Flavii Feget. Renati vier bucher von der Rytterschafft. 
 Gedrukt, yn der loblichen stat Erfurt, durch Hanssen Knappen, 
 1511, fol. mit monchsschrift.— These figures are inserted also in 
 Leupold’s Theatrum pontificate, p. 11. tab. ii. fig. 6. 
 
 f Le fortificationi di Bounaiuto Lorini, nuovamente ristampate. 
 In Venetia 1609, fol. p. 232. Lorini funf bucher von Bestung 
 bauwen, ubergesctst von David Wonnbser. Frankfurt, 1O07, fol. 
 
 p. 201. 
 
 x Fran. Kessleri Secreta. Oppenheim 1617, 8vo. nebst kup* 
 fertafeln. 
 
 § Bartholini Acta Hafn. 1676, p. i. obs. 17- 
 
 || Scheeps-bouw, ut supra. 
 
DIVING-BELL. 
 
 191 
 
 animalium * in which he not only described the 
 diving-bell, but also proposed another, the im- 
 practicability of which was shown by James Ber- 
 noulli. f When Sturm published his Collegium 
 curiosum in 1678, he proposed some hints for the 
 improvement of this machine, on which remarks 
 were made in the Journal des sgavans . J None, 
 however, have carried their researches further for 
 this purpose than Dr. Halley, and Triewald a 
 Swede. 
 
 The bell which Edmund Halley, secretary to the 
 Royal Society, caused to be made, was three feet 
 broad at the top, five feet at the bottom, and eight 
 feet in height; forming a cavity of sixty-three 
 cubit feet. It was covered with lead ; and was so 
 heavy, that it sunk to the bottom, even when en- 
 tirely empty. Around the lower edge, weights 
 were disposed in such a manner that it should al- 
 ways sink in a perpendicular direction, and never 
 remain in an oblique position. In the top was 
 fixed a piece of strong glass to admit the light 
 from above, and likewise a valve to give a pas- 
 sage to the air corrupted by the breath. Around 
 
 * I have before me, from the library of professor Hollmann, the 
 edition printed at the Hague, 1743, in quarto, in which the de- 
 scription alluded to may be found, i. p. 222. It will perhaps be 
 agreeable to many to know that this whole work is printed in Man - 
 geti Bibliotheca anatomica. Genev. 1669, 2 vol. fob 
 
 f Acta eruditorum, 1683, Decemb. p.553. Jac. Bernoulli Opera. 
 
 X Journal des s?avans, 1 678, Jan. 
 
192 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the whole circumference of the bottom was placed 
 a seat, on which the divers sat; and a stool, fixed 
 to ropes, hung below, on which they could stand 
 in order to work. The whole machine was sus- 
 pended from a cross beam fastened to the mast 
 of a ship, so that it could be easily lowered down 
 into the water and again drawn up. That the 
 bell might be supplied with fresh air, under the 
 water, large vessels filled with air, and which had 
 an opening below through which the water com- 
 pressed the included air, were let down by ropes. 
 In the top of these vessels were leather pipes, be- 
 smeared with oil, through which the diver intro- 
 duced air from the vessels into the bell ; and as soon 
 as a vessel was emptied, it was drawn up, on a 
 signal made by the diver, and another let down. 
 
 3»The foul air in the bell, being the warmest and 
 lightest, rose to the top of the machine, where it 
 was suffered to escape through the valve before 
 mentioned. By these means the bell could be 
 continually supplied with fresh air, in such abun- 
 dance, that Halley and four other persons re- 
 mained under water, at the depth of ten fa- 
 thoms, an hour and a half, without suffering the 
 least injury, and could, with equal security, have 
 continued longer, or even as long as they might 
 have wished. This precaution, however, is ne- 
 cessary, that the bell be let down at first very 
 slowly, that the divers may be gradually accustom- 
 ed 'to inspire the compressed air; and at every 
 
DIVING-BELL. 
 
 193 
 
 twelve fathoms the bell must be held fast, in order 
 to expel the water which has rushed in, by letting 
 fresh air into it. By such apparatus, Hailey was 
 enabled to make the bottom of the sea, within the 
 circumference of the bell, so dry, that the sand or 
 mud did not rise above his shoe. Through the 
 window, in the top, so much light was admitted, 
 that when the sea was still, and the waves did not 
 roll, he could see perfectly well to read and write 
 under the water. When the empty air-vessels 
 were drawn up, he sent up with them his orders, 
 written with an iron spike on a plate of lead, and 
 could thus let those above know when he wished 
 to be removed wdth the bell to another place. In 
 bad weather, and when the sea was rough, it was 
 as dark under the bell as at night; he then kindled 
 a light; but a burning candle consumed as much. , 
 air as a man. The only inconvenience of which 
 Halley complained was, that, in going down, he 
 felt a pain in his ears, as if a sharp quill had been 
 thrust into them. This pain returned every time 
 the bell was let down to a greater depth, but soon 
 went off again. A diver thought to prevent this 
 pain by putting chewed paper into both his ears ; 
 but the bits of paper were forced in so far by the 
 air, that a surgeon found great difficulty to extract 
 them. That he might be able to send a diver to 
 the distance of several fathoms from the bell on the 
 bottom of the sea, Halley invented a leaden cap, 
 which covered the diver’s head. This cap had 
 
 VOL. i. 
 
 o 
 
194 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 glass before it, contained as much air as was suf- 
 ficient for two minutes, and had affixed to it a 
 thick pliable pipe, with the other end fastened to 
 the bell, and which, at the cap, was furnished with 
 a valve to convey fresh air to the diver from the 
 bell. This pipe, which the diver was obliged to 
 wind round his arm, served him also as a guide to 
 find his way back to the bell.* 
 
 The last improvement of the diving bell is by 
 the well-known Triewald, a Swede. His bell, 
 which was much smaller and more commodious, 
 was made of copper, tinned in the inside. On the 
 top there were panes of glass, which, for the greater 
 security, were fixed in a frame of the same metal. 
 The stool below was placed in such a manner, that 
 the head only of the diver, when he stood upon it, 
 rose above the surface of the water in the bell. 
 This situation is much better than when the whole 
 body is raised above the water in the bell, because 
 near the surface of the water the air is much cooler 
 and fitter to breathe in than at the top of the ma- 
 chine. That the diver also might remain conve- 
 niently in the upper part of the bell, Triewald ar- 
 ranged his apparatus so that when the diver had 
 breathed as long as possible in the upper air, he 
 found at the side of the bell a spiral pipe, through 
 which he could draw in the lower cool air which 
 was over the surface of the water. To the upper 
 
 * Philosophical Transact. 1717 and 1721. The art of living under 
 water, by Halley. 
 
COLOURED GLASS, 
 
 1 95 
 
 end of this copper pipe was affixed a pliable lea- 
 ther one, with an ivory mouth piece, which the 
 diver put into his mouth, and could thus inspire 
 fresh air, in whatever position his body might 
 be.* 
 
 An Englishman invented also a complete appa- 
 ratus of strong thick leather, which contained half 
 a hogshead of air. It was so prepared, that no air 
 could escape through it ; was constructed in such 
 a manner that it exactly fitted the arms and legs, 
 and had glass placed in the forepart of it. When 
 he put on this apparatus, he could not only walk 
 on the ground at the bottom of the sea, but also 
 enter the cabin of a sunk ship, and convey goods 
 out of it at pleasure. The inventor carried on this 
 business for more than forty years, and acquired 
 by it considerable property, f 
 
 COLOURED GLASS. ARTIFICIAL 
 RUBIES. 
 
 It is probable that there was no great interval be- 
 tween the discovery of the art of making glass, 
 and that of giving it different colours. When the 
 
 * Philosophical Transact. 1736. — Martin Triewald’s Konst at 
 lefwa under watnet. Stockholm 1741, 4to. 
 t Martin’s Philosophia Britannica. 
 
 o 2 
 
196 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 substance of which it is formed, contains, by acci- 
 dent, any metallic particles, the glass assumes some 
 tint; and this happens oftener than is wished ; nay, 
 a considerable degree of foresight is necessary to 
 produce glass perfectly colourless ; and I am ol opi- 
 nion that this skill has not been attained till a late 
 period in the progress of the art. Even in Pliny’s 
 time the highest value was set upon glass entirely 
 free from colour, and transparent, or, as it was 
 called, crystal.* From the different colours w hich 
 glass acquired of itself, it was easy tc conceive the 
 idea of giving it the tinge of some precious stone: 
 and this art, in ancient times, was carried to a very 
 great extent. Proofs of this may be found in 
 Pliny,')' who, besides others, mentions artificial 
 hyacinths, sapphires, and that black glass which 
 approached very near to the obsidian stone, and 
 which in more than one place he calls gemmcs 
 vitrea.X Trebellius Pollio relates in how whim- 
 
 * Maximus tamen honos in candido translucentibus, quam 
 proxima crystalli similitudine. Plin. lib. xxxvi. c. 26 . 
 
 f Ibid. 
 
 t Lib. xxxv. c. £ 6 . and lib. xxxvii. c 9 . The lapis olsidianus, 
 which Obsidius first found in Ethiopia, and made known, is undoubt- 
 edly the same as that volcanic glass which is sometimes called Ice- 
 landic agate, pumex vitreus , and by the Spaniards, who brought it from 
 America and California, named galinace. Thick pieces of it are 
 Opake, but thin pieces are transparent. The colour of it is generally 
 very black, but in thin pieces it is only blackish and almost like the 
 dark topaz. Sometimes it is also blue, which is often the case in the 
 Venetian. On the sea-coast near Algiers, some pieces of it are found 
 green. The Carpathian mountains produce all kinds ofit. See my 
 Physilca fisch- okon. UUioth. iv. p. 29 . v. p. 214, and vi. pp. 182, 371 . 
 
COLOURED GLASS. 
 
 197 
 
 sical a manner Gallienus punished a cheat who had 
 sold to his wife a piece of glass for a jewel :* and 
 Tertullian ridicules the folly of paying as dear for 
 coloured glass as for real pearls. The glass houses 
 at Alexandria were celebrated among the ancients 
 for the skill and ingenuity of the workmen employ- 
 ed in them. From these the Romans, who did not 
 acquire a knowledge of that art till a late peiiod, 
 procured for a long time all their glass ware. The 
 learned author of Recherches sur les Egyptiens et 
 les Chinois , in the end of his first volume, relates 
 more of these glass-houses than I know where to 
 find in the works of the ancients; but it is ceitaio 
 that coloured glass was made eten in those eaily 
 ages. The emperor Adrian received as a present 
 from an Egyptian priest, several glass cups which 
 sparkled with colours of every kind, and which, as 
 costly wares, he ordered to be used only on grand 
 festivals, t Strabo tells us, that a glass-maker in 
 Alexandria informed him that an earth was found 
 
 * Idem, cum quidam gemmas vitreas pro veris vendidisset ejus 
 uxori, atque ilia, re prodita, vindicari vellet, surripi quasi ad leonem 
 venditorem jussit, deinde e cavea caponem emitti : mirantibusque 
 cunctis rem tain ridiculam, per curionern dici jussit, Imposturam 
 fecit etpassus est-, deinde negotiatorem dimisit. Historicc Augusta ? 
 scriptores, in vita Gallieni , cap. 12. 
 
 f Adrian in his letter writes as follows : Calices tibi allassontes 
 versicolores transmisi, quos mihi sacerdos templi obtulit, tibi et so- 
 rori meae specialiter dedicates, quos tu velim festis diebus conviviis 
 adhibeas. Vopiscus in vita Saturnini, c. 8. 
 
198 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 in Egypt, without which the valuable coloured 
 glass could not be made. * 
 
 Seneca, in his ninetieth epistle, in which he 
 judges too philosophically, that is, with too little 
 knowledge of the world, in regard to the value of 
 labour, mentions one Democritus who had disco- 
 vered the art of making artificial emeralds ;f but 
 in my opinion this discovery consisted in giving a 
 green colour by cementation to the natural rock 
 crystal : and this art I imagine was treated of in 
 that book, the name of which Pliny, through an 
 over anxious care lest the deception should become 
 common, does not mention. J For colouring crystal 
 
 * ’Efj/aj Tiva y.ai kut' Aiyturroi/ ia\iTiv yijv, r, ; yu>p)( a"6v te rag jroXu- 
 ^govoi/ff xocf 7ro?aiTsX.E7f xara.&X£Ua; a7T0Tehsa&>lvui. Strabo. Amstelod. apud 
 
 Wolters 1?07 j fol. lib. xvi. p. IO99. Some consider the glas3 
 
 earth here mentioned as a mineral alkali, that was really found in 
 Egypt, and which served to make glass ; but, as the author speaks 
 expressly of coloured glass, I do not think that the above salt, with- 
 out. which no glass was then made, is what is meant; but rather a 
 metallic earth, such perhaps as ochre or manganese. 
 
 f Excidit porro vobis eundem Democritum invenisse quemad- 
 modum ebur poliretur, quern ad modum decoctus calculus insmarag- 
 dum cohverteretur, qua hodieque coctum inventi lapides coctiles 
 colorantur. Edit. Lipsii, p. 579. 
 
 J Quin immo etiam extant commentarii auctorum, quos non equi- 
 dem demonstrarim, quibus modis ex crystallo tinguntur smaragdi, 
 aliaeque translucentes, sardonix e sarda, etiam ceterae ex aliis. Neque 
 est ulla fraus vitae lucrosior. Lib. xxxvii. c. 12. A passage in Dio- 
 dorus Siculus, lib. ii. c. 52. alludes, in my opinion, to this method 
 of colouring by cementation. 
 
COLOURED GLASS. 
 
 199 
 
 and glass, so as to resemble stones, Porta,’ * Neri,f 
 and others have, in modern times, given directions 
 which are, however, not much used, because the 
 crystal is thereby liable to acquire so many flaws 
 that it cannot be easily cut afterwards, though, as 
 Neri assures us, these by attention may sometimes 
 be avoided. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that in some collections 
 of antiquities at Rome, there are pieces of coloured 
 glass which were once used as jewels. In the 
 Museum Victorium, for example, there are shown 
 a chrysolite and an emerald, both of which are so 
 well executed, that they are not only perfectly 
 transparent and coloured throughout, but neither 
 externally nor internally have the smallest blemish; 
 which certainly could not be guarded against with- 
 out great care and skill J 
 
 What materials the ancients used for colouring 
 glass, has not been told to us by any of their 
 writers. It is, however, certain that metallic cal- 
 ces only can be employed for that purpose, be- 
 cause these pigments withstand the heat of the 
 glass furnaces ; and it is highly probable that fer- 
 ruginous earth, if not the sole, tvas at least the 
 
 * Magia naturalis. Franc. 15gi, 8vo. p. 275. 
 f Kunkel’s Ars vitraria. Nuremberg. 1743, 4to. pp. 98, 101. 
 t Dissertatio glyptographica, sive Gemmae duae vetustissimae - * - 
 quae extant Romse in Museo Victorio. Romae 1739, 4to. pp. 105, 
 106. 
 
200 
 
 HISTORY OP INVENTIONS. 
 
 principal substance bv which not only all shades 
 of red, violet, and yellow, but even a blue colour, 
 could be communicated, as professor Gmelin has 
 shown.* Respecting the red, of which only I 
 mean here to speak, there is the less doubt, as, at 
 present, sometimes an artificial, and sometimes a 
 natural iron ochre is often employed for that pur- 
 pose. For common works this is sufficient; but 
 when pure clear glass, coloured strongly through- 
 out with a beautiful lively red, free from flaws, 
 and in somewhat large pieces, is required, iron is 
 not fit, because its colour, by the continued heat 
 necessary for making glass, either disappears or 
 becomes dirty and almost blackish.')' 
 
 In the last century, some artists in Germany 
 first fell upon the method of employing gold, in- 
 stead of iron, and of thereby making artificial 
 rubies, which, when they were well set could de- 
 ceive the eye of a connoisseur, unless he tried them 
 with a diamond or a file. The usual method w as 
 to dissolve the gold in aqua regia, and to precipi- 
 tate it by a solution of tin, when it assumed the 
 form of a purple-coloured powder. This sub- 
 stance, which must be mixed with the best frit, 
 
 * De casruleo materiarum vitro aemularum in antiquis monu- 
 ments obviarum colore, in Commentationibus Societ. Scient. Got- 
 tingensis, ii. p 41 . A translation of this dissertation may be seen 
 in the fifth part of Crell’s Chemical Journal. 
 
 f Montamy von den farben zum porzellan- und email-malen. 
 Leipsic 1767, 8 vo. p. 82 . Fontanieu, p. 16. 
 
COLOURED GLASS. 
 
 201 
 
 is called the precipitate, or gold-calx, of Cassius, 
 gold-purple, or mineral-purple.* 
 
 This Cassius, from whom it takes its name, 
 was called Andrew, and because both the father 
 and son had the same Christian name, they have 
 been often confounded with each other, dhe 
 father was secretary to the duke of Schleswig, and 
 is not known as a man of letters: but the son is 
 celebrated as the inventor or preparer of the 
 gold-purple, and of a bezoar-essence. He took 
 the degree of doctor at Leyden, in 1632, prac- 
 tised physic at Hamburg, and was appointed 
 physician in ordinary to the bishop of Lubec. As 
 far as 1 know, he never published any thing re- 
 specting his art; but this service was rendered to 
 tiie public by his son, who was born at Ham- 
 burg, and resided as a physician at Lubec. He 
 was the author of a well known treatise, now ex- 
 ceedingly scarce, entitled: Thoughts concerning 
 that last and most perfect work of nature, and chief 
 of metals, gold , its wonderful properties, generation , 
 affections , effects , and Jitness for the operations of 
 art ; illustrated bp experiments f 
 
 * Some excellent remarks respecting the preparation of this gold- 
 purple, which is rather difficult, may be found in L' art de fane les 
 cristaux colores imitans les pierres prtcieuses, par M Fontanieu, Paris 
 1778, 8vo. p. H. Lewis, Zusammenhang der kiinste. Zurich 17^4, 
 8vo. i. p. 276. Baume, Experimental L'hemie, iii. pp. 87, 109, 30g. 
 The latter gives a different method of preparing the gold, which he 
 calls reducing it to a calx by quick-silver. 
 
 f The original title runs thus : De extremo illo et perfectissimo 
 naturae opificio ac principe terrenorum sidere, auro, etadmiranda ejus 
 
202 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 From this work it will be easily understood 
 why the author does not give himself out as the 
 inventor of the gold-purple,* which he is com- 
 monly supposed to be, at which Lewis is much 
 astonished. It is seen also by it that Leibnitz 
 calls him improperly a physician at Hamburg, 
 having probably confounded the father and son 
 together.! Upon the whole, it is not proved 
 that any of the Cassius’s was the inventor of the 
 above precipitate, else it would certainly not 
 have been omitted \ in this treatise ; and mention 
 of gold-purple is to be found in the works of 
 several old chemists. § 
 
 Something of this kind has, doubtless, been 
 meant by the old chemists, when they talk of red 
 lions, the purple soul of gold, and the golden 
 mantle ; but what they wished to conceal under 
 these metaphors, I am not able to conjecture. In 
 
 natura, generatione, affection ibus, effectis, atquead operations artis 
 habitudine, cogitata; experimentis illustrata. Hamburgi l685, 8vo. 
 
 * John Molleri Cimbria literata. Havniae 1774, fol. i. p. 88. 
 
 f Miscellanea Berolinensia, i. p. 94. 
 
 J We find nothing more than the following words; Est tamen 
 modus adhuc alius, quique hactcnus secretior J'uit, quo, per singular em 
 auri mediante liquore Jovis praxipilationem, sulphur ejus Jixum ele- 
 gant er extruveriilur. The author shows only, in a brief manner, 
 in how many ways this precipitate can be used : but he makes no 
 mention of the employing it in colouring glass. 
 
 § I cannot, however, affirm that the vasa murrhina of the ancients 
 were a kind of porcelain coloured with this calx of gold. This is 
 only a mere conjecture, to be seen in Oeuvres de M. Bose d' Antic. 
 Paris 1780, 2 vol. 12mo. i. p. 230. 
 
COLOURED GLASS. 
 
 203 
 
 the year 1606, when Libavius published his Al- 
 chemy, the art of making ruby-glass must have 
 been unknown. He indeed quotes an old receipt 
 for making rubies ; and conjectures, that because 
 the real stones of the same name are found in the 
 neighbourhood of gold mines, they may have ac- 
 quired their colour from that metal ; and that, by 
 means of art, glass might be coloured by a solu- 
 tion of gold.* The later chemists, however, and 
 particularly Achard, found no traces of gold, but 
 of iron in that precious stone, 'j' The idea which 
 Libavius conceived from a false deduction, has 
 nevertheless been confirmed by experience. 
 
 Neri, who lived almost at the same time as Li- 
 bavius, J was better acquainted with the gold- 
 purple, though his receipt is very defective. Ac- 
 cording to his directions, the gold solution must 
 be evaporated, and the residue suffered to remain 
 over the fire until it becomes of a purple colour. 
 
 * Rubini frequentes sunt circa montem piniferum, ubi et auri 
 venae. Consentaneum est, principia auri ibi degenerare in hanc 
 gemmam. Ex tinctura auri rubea in liquorem seu oleum soluta, et 
 crystalli liquore potissimum, non incommode fieri posse judicaverim. 
 Alchyrr.ia Andrea Libavii. Franc. 1606, fol. ii. tract, i. c. 34. p. 88. 
 
 •f* See Gotting. Gel. Anzeigen, 1778, p. 177- 
 
 J It is well known that Neri’s works are translated into Kunkel’s 
 Ars vitrarici ; the edition of which published at Nuremberg in 1743 
 I have in my possession. The time Neri lived is not mentioned in 
 the Dictionary of Learned Men ; but it appears, from the above edi- 
 tion of Kunkel, that he was at Florence in 1601, and at Antwerp in 
 1609. The oldest Italian edition of his works I have ever seen is 
 L'arte vetraria — del R. P. Antonio Neri, Fiorentino. In Venetia, 
 1663. The first edition, however, must be older. 
 
204 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 One may readily believe that this colour will be 
 produced ; but glass will scarcely be coloured 
 equally through by this powder, and perhaps some 
 of the gold particles will show themselves in it. 
 Kunkel affirms, and not without reason, that some- 
 thing more is necessary to make rubies by means 
 of gold ; but he has not thought proper to tell us 
 what it is. * 
 
 Glauber, who wrote his Philosophical Furnace f 
 about the middle of the 17th century, appears to 
 have made several experiments with the gold pur- 
 ple. He dissolved the metal in aqua-regia; pre- 
 cipitated it by liquor of flint, and melted into glass 
 the precipitate, which contained in it abundance of 
 vitreous earth. ± 
 
 None, however, in the 17th century, under- 
 stood better the use and preparation of gold- 
 purple than John Kunkel, who, after being en- 
 nobled by Charles XI, king of Sweden, as- 
 sumed the name of Lowenstiern. He himself 
 tells us, that he made artificial rubies in great 
 abundance, and sold them, by weight, at a high 
 
 * Neri, b. vii. c. 129, PP- 157 and 174. 
 
 + I am acquainted with the Amsterdam Latin edition of 1651, in 
 four small volumes, octavo, where the passage to which 1 allude is 
 to be found in vol iv. p. 78. In the common German edition, 
 Glauberi Opera Chymica, Franc. 1658 and 1659, 2 vol. quarto, it is 
 in vol. ii. pp 125, 343. Lewis says, that Furnus Philosophicus was 
 printed as early as 1648. , 
 
 } Glauber first made known liquor of flint, and recommended it 
 for several uses, as Ettmuller says in Collegium pharmaceul. See 
 M. Ettmulleri Opera , Genevae 1736, 4 vol. fol. ii. p. 170 . 
 
COLOURED GLASS. 
 
 20 5 
 
 price. He says, he made for the elector of 
 Cologne a cup of ruby glass, weighing not less 
 than twenty-four pounds, which was a full inch 
 in thickness, and of an equally beautiful colour 
 throughout. He employed himself most on this 
 art after he engaged in the service of Frederic 
 William elector of Brandenburg, in the year 
 1079. At that time he was inspector of the glass- 
 houses at Potsdam ; and, in order that the art of 
 making ruby-glass might be brought to perfection, 
 the elector expended 1600 ducats. A cup with a 
 cover, of this manufacture, is still preserved at 
 Berlin.* Kunkel, however, has no where given a 
 full account of this art. He has only left in his 
 works a few scattered remarks, which Lewis has 
 collected, f 
 
 In the year 1684, earlier than Cassius, John 
 Christian Orschal wrote his well-known work 
 Sol sine veste , J in which he treats, more intelli- 
 gibly than any one before him, of the manner of 
 making ruby- glass. He, however, confesses that 
 Cassius first taught him to precipitate gold by 
 means of tin; that Cassius traded in glass coloured 
 with this precipitate, and that a good deal of colour- 
 
 * Nicolai Beschreibung der Residenzstadte Berlin und Potsdam, 
 ii. p.993. 
 
 f Lewis, Zusammenhang der Kiinste. Zurich 1764, 2 vol. octavo, 
 i. p- 279 . 
 
 X The first edition was printed at Augsburg, in duodecimo, and 
 the same year at Amsterdam. It has been often printed since, as in 
 1739, 3 vol. quarto, without name or place. 
 
206 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 ed glass was then made at Freysingen, but that the 
 art was kept very secret. As Orschal deserves 
 that his fate should be better known, I shall here 
 mention the following few particulars respecting 
 him. About the year 1682 he was at Dresden, in 
 the service of John Henry Rudolf, from whom he 
 learned many chemical processes, and particularly 
 amalgamation, by which he gained money after- 
 wards in Bohemia. After this he was employed 
 at the mines in Hesse; but he brought great 
 trouble upon himself by polygamy and other 
 irregularities, and died in a monastery in Po- 
 land. * 
 
 Christopher Grummet, who was Kunkel’s assist- 
 ant, wrote, in opposition to Orschal, his known 
 treatise Sol non sine veste, which was printed at 
 Rothenburg, in 1685, in duodecimo, f In like 
 manner, an anonymous author printed against 
 Orschal, at Cologne, in 1684, another work, in 
 duodecimo, entitled Apelles post tabulam obser- 
 \ vans maculas in Sole sine veste. The dispute, 
 however, was not so much concerning the use of 
 gold-purple, as the cause of the red colour, and 
 the vitrification of gold. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that Kunkel affirms he 
 
 * So we are told in J. H. Rudolf's Dresdensis Elementa Amal- 
 gamations, first printed at Arnstadt in 1712, 4to. 
 
 •f A French translation of Orschal and Grummet is added to l' Art 
 de la verrtrie de Neri, Merret, et Kunkel. Paris 1752, 4to. The 
 editor is the baron de Holbach, who, however, has not put his name 
 to the work. 
 
COLOURED GLASS. 
 
 207 
 
 could give to glass a perfect ruby-red colour with- 
 out gold ; which Orschal and most chemists have 
 however doubted. It is nevertheless said, that 
 Kruger, who was inspector of the glass-houses 
 at Potsdam, under Frederic William king of 
 Prussia, discovered earlier the art of making 
 ruby-glass without gold, and that a cup and cover 
 of cut glass made in this manner is still preserved 
 at Berlin. * 
 
 Painting on glass and in enamel, and the pre- 
 paration of coloured materials for mosaic work, 
 may, in certain respects, be considered as branches 
 of the art of colouring glass; and in all these 
 a beautiful red is the most difficult, the dearest, 
 and the scarcest. When the old master-pieces 
 of painting on glass are examined, it is found 
 either that the panes have on one side a trans- 
 parent red varnish burnt into them, or that the 
 pieces which are stained through and through, 
 are thinner than those coloured in the other man- 
 ner. | It is, therefore, extremely probable that 
 the old artists, as they did not know how to give 
 to thick pieces a beautiful transparent red co- 
 lour, employed only iron, or manganese, which 
 
 * Nicolai, ut supra. 
 
 t See Peter le Vieil’s Kunst aufglas zu malen, Nuremberg 1779 , 
 4to. ii. p. 25. This singular performance must, in regard to history, 
 particularly that of the ancients, be read with precaution. Seldom 
 has the author perused the works which he quotes; sometimes one 
 cannot find in them what he assures us he found, and very often he 
 misrepresents their words. 
 
208 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 pigment, as already observed, easily becomes in 
 a strong heat blackish and muddy. * Enamel- 
 painters, however, were for a long time obliged 
 to be contented with it. A red colour in mosaic 
 work is attended with less difficulty, because no 
 transparency, nay rather opacity, is required. At 
 Rome those pieces are valued most which have 
 the beautiful shining red colour of the finest seal- 
 ing-wax. We are told by Ferber that such pieces 
 were, at one time, made only by a man named 
 Mathioli, and out of a kind of copper dross ; at 
 present there are several artists in that city who 
 prepare these materials, but they are not able to 
 give them a perfect high colour, f 
 
 SEALING-WAX. 
 
 Writers on diplomatics mention, besides metals, 
 five other substances on which impressions were 
 made, or with which letters and public acts were 
 sealed, viz. terra sigillaris , cement, paste, com- 
 mon wax, and sealing-wax. £ I he terra sigillai'is 
 
 * In what the art of Abraham Helmback, a Nuremberg artist, 
 consisted, I do not know. Doppelmeyer, in his Account of the ma- 
 thematicians and artists of Nuremberg, printed in 1730, says that he 
 fortunately revived, in 1717, according to experiments made in a 
 glass-house, the old red glass ; the proper method of preparing which 
 had been long lost. 
 
 f Ferber’s Briefe aus Welschland. Prague 1773, 8vo. p. 114. 
 
 X Gattereri Elementa artis diplomaticae. Goettingae 17t>5, 4to. 
 p. 285. 
 
SEALING-WAX. 
 
 209 
 
 was used by the Egyptians, and appears to have 
 been the first substance employed for sealing. * * * § 
 The Egyptian priests bound to the horns of the 
 cattle fit for sacrifice a piece of paper ; stuck 
 upon it some sealing-earth, on which they made 
 an impression with their seal; and such cattle 
 only could be offered up as victims.'}' 
 
 Lucian speaks of a fortune-teller who ordered 
 those who came to consult him to write down on 
 a bit of paper the questions they washed to ask, 
 to fold it up, and to seal it wdth clay, or any 
 other substance of the like kind. J Such earth 
 seems to have been employed in sealing by the 
 Byzantine emperors ; for wo are told, that at the 
 second council of Nice, a certain person defended 
 the worship of images by saying, no one believed 
 that those wdio received written orders from the 
 emperor, and venerated the seal, worshipped on 
 that account the sealing-earth, the paper, or the 
 lead. § 
 
 * It is singular that Pliny denies that the Egyptians used seals : 
 Non signat Oriens aut iEgyptus etiam nunc, litteris contenta solis. 
 Lib. xxxiii. c. 1. Herodotus however, and others, prove the con- 
 trary; and Moses speaks of the seal-rings of the Egyptians. See 
 Goguet, 
 
 ”f* SrifiufaeTOU fij§Xuj ntpi ra xipeu. eXta'crwy. Kai 'iiriiTO. yrjv cri/xxvTpfiix 
 
 bnTrXas’ar, IxiSaWu toi i SaxxtfA./ov. Herodot. lib. ii. c. 38. edit* Franco- 
 furti 1608, fol. 
 
 J Ef /3i§X/ov lyyga-^avTix, xaT«pp«\{/a( te, yiat xaracrij^vao-Scu xripu >j irv\hSi 
 
 rj aXXui tciou'tw. Lucian, in Pseudomant. 
 
 § 'O xsXeva’iv fiariXatvi Se^d/nevoe, xai aa7nxffixfX(vos T>ji> ff$p<xyi$a, ou ro» tt»)X on 
 
 irf/xniiriv, f rriv ya.pTr\v } ^ tov fj. oXuSSov, Act. iv. ap. Bin. tom. iii. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 p 
 
210 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Cicero relates, that Verres having seen in the 
 hands of one of his servants, a letter written to 
 him from Agrigentum, and having observed on it 
 an impression in sealing-earth ( cretula ) he was 
 so pleased with it that he caused the seal-ring with 
 which it was made to be taken from the possessor.* 
 The same orator, in his defence of Flaccus, pro- 
 
 Concil. part. i. p. 356. Whether the y>j <rri/xonTpit, however, of He- 
 rodotus and the jnjXoy of Lucian and of the Byzantine be the same 
 kind of earth, can be determined with as little certainty as whether 
 the creta, called by some Roman authors a sealing-earth, be different 
 from both. 
 
 * Cum Valentino ejus interpreti epistola Agrigen to allata esset, 
 casu signum iste animadvertit in cretula; placuitei; exquisivit unde 
 esset epistola; respondit, Agrigento: iste litteras ad quos solebat, 
 misit, ut is annulus ad se primo quoque tempore afferretur. Ita lit- 
 teris istius patrifamilias, L. Titio cuidam, civi Romano, annulus de 
 digito detractus est. Oral, in Verrem, iv. c. 9 . 
 
 In the above passage, some instead of cretula read cerula. I shall 
 here take occasion to remark, also, that in the Acts of the Council 
 of Nice before mentioned, instead of jXov some read xnpov : but I do 
 not see a sufficient reason for this alteration, as in the before-quoted 
 passage of Lucian it is expressly said, that people sealed xvipa fj jnjxc. 
 Reiske himself, who proposes that amendment, says, that sn|X 8 » may 
 be retained. Stephen, however, does not give that meaning to this 
 word in his Lexicon. Pollux and Hesychius tell us, that the Athe- 
 nians called sealing-earth also puVov. The former, Onomast. x. 14. 
 5g, says. Non ignorandum, quod ceram signando idoneam, t'o» fjnrij- 
 8e<ov h; to xaTaa"rifjL(xlvcirSai xriplv, veteres fiJirov nominaverunt et j3tl7rou£, ut 
 in Lysistrate Aristophanes : et nihil ita bene conclusum esse, quin 
 obsignationes, ptnms, avellatis: and the latter, 'viirov Attixo ) rov hi rai 
 cf pay to a; xriplv \eyov jiv: Attici pthroi/ vocant ceram cujus ad sigilla usus 
 est. Stephen says, in his Lexicon, vol. iii. p.727, that rliypos, in 
 this sense, occurs in Cicero’s Letters to Atticus : In v. 1. annotatur, 
 legi et apud Cic. in ep. ad Att. rhypos pro ceris sive formis unde si- 
 gilla fiebant, fortasse a situ vetustatis. But though Coelius Rhodi- 
 
SEALING-WAX. 
 
 211 
 
 duced an attestation sent from Asia, and proved 
 its authenticity by its being sealed with Asiatic 
 sealing-earth ; with which, said he to the audi- 
 tors, as you daily see, all public and private 
 letters in Asia are sealed : and he showed, on the 
 other hand, that the testimony brought by the 
 accuser was false, because it was sealed with wax, 
 and for that reason could not have come from 
 Asia. * The scholiast Servius relates, that a 
 sibyl received a promise from Apollo, that she 
 should live as long as she did not see the earth of 
 the island Erythrasa where she resided ; that she 
 therefore quitted the place, and retired to Cumas, 
 where she became old and decrepid ; but that 
 having received a letter sealed with Erythraean 
 earth ( cretd ), when she saw the seal she instantly 
 expired, f 
 
 No one, however, will suppose that this earth 
 
 ginus mentions the same thing. Lection. Antig. xxi. 23, in the fol- 
 lowing words. Pro caeris quoque in epistolis ad Atticum legimus 
 rhypos, de vetustatis ratione nomenclatura accersita ; that expression 
 is not to be found, at present, in Cicero. 
 
 * Haec quas a nobis prolata laudatio, obsignata erat creta ilia Asi- 
 atica, quae fere est omnibus nota nobis, qua utuntur omnes non modo 
 in publicis, sed etiam in privatis litteris, quas quotidie videmus mitti 
 a publicanis, saepe unicuique nostrum. Neque enim testis ipse, signo 
 inspecto, falsum nos proferre dixit ; sed levitatem totius Asiae pro- 
 tulit, de qua nos et libenter et facile concedimus. Nostra igitur lau- 
 datio - - - consignata creta est; in illo autem testimonio, quod accu- 
 satori dicitur datum, ceram esse videmus. — Oral, pro Flacco, c. l6. 
 
 •f* Sibyllam Apollo pio more dilexit, et ei obtulit poscendi quod 
 vellet arbitrium. Ilia hausit arenam manibus, et tarn longam vitam 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 was the same as that to which we at present give 
 the name of creta, chalk ; for if it was a natural 
 earth it must have been of that kind called potters- 
 clay, as that clay is capable of receiving an im- 
 pression and of retaining it after it is hardened by 
 drying. That the Romans, under the indefinite 
 name of creta, often understood a kind of potters- 
 earth can be proved by many passages of their 
 writers. Columella speaks of a kind of chalk of 
 which wine-jars and dishes were made. # Virgil 
 calls it tough ; | and the ancient writers on agri- 
 culture give the same name to marl which was 
 employed to manure land.J Notwithstanding 
 all these authorities, I do not clearly comprehend 
 how letters could be sealed with potters-clay, as 
 
 poposcit. Cui Apollo respondit, id fieri posse, si Erythrseam, in qua 
 habitabat, insulam relinqueret, et earn nunquam videret. Profecta 
 igitur, Cumas tenuit ; et illic defecta corporis viribus vitam in sola 
 voce retinuit. Quod cum cives ejus cognovissent, sive invidia sive 
 commiseratione commoti, ei epistolam miserunt creta antiquo more 
 signatam; qua visa, quia erat de ejus insula, in mortem soluta estt. 
 Serv. ad lib. vi. JEneid. p. 1037. 
 
 * Ex ea creta qua fiunt amphorae, lata vasa in modum patinaruna 
 fieri jubebat. Lib. xii. c. 43. 
 
 f Et creta solidanda tenaci. Georg, i. v. 179. 
 t Creta fossica, qua stercorantur agri. Varro , i. 7, 8. — It appears 
 also, that the n->)Xof of the Greeks signified a kind of potters-earthi. 
 Those who do not choose to rely on our dictionaries, need only fco 
 read the ancient Greek writers on husbandry, who speak of appayu-l 
 7rr)\<» a.pyiXh&lu. See Geopon. x. c. 7 5. 12, and ix. c. 10. 4. Thsut 
 many kinds of sealing-earth, without being burnt, will long retaim 
 an impression, is proved by the sealed-earths preserved in our apothe- 
 caries’ shops, and collections of natural history. 
 
SEALING-WAX. 
 
 213 
 
 it does not adhere with sufficient force either to 
 linen, of which, in ancient times, the covers of let- 
 ters were made, or to parchment; as it must be laid 
 on very thick to have a distinct impression ; as it 
 is long in drying, and is again easily softened by 
 moisture ; and, at any rate, if conveyed by post 
 at present, it would be crumbled to dust in going 
 only from Hamburg to Altona. I can readily 
 believe that the Roman messengers employed 
 more skill and attention to preserve the letters 
 committed to their care than are employed by 
 our postmen ; but the distance from Asia to Rome 
 is much greater than that from Hamburg to 
 Altona. 
 
 But may there not be as little foundation for the 
 ancient expression creta Asiatica, Asiatic earth, as 
 for the modern expression, cera Hispanica , Spanish 
 wax ? May not the former have signified a kind of 
 coarse artificial cement? These questions might be 
 answered by those who have had an opportunity of 
 examining, or only seeing, the sigilla cretacea in 
 collections of antiquities. We are assured that such 
 are still preserved ; at least we find in Ficoroni * 
 the representation of six impressions which, as he 
 tells us, consisted of that earth. In that author, 
 however, I find nothing to clear up my doubts ; 
 he says only that some of these seals were white ; 
 
 * I piombi antichi, opera di Francesco de Ficoroni. In Roma 
 1740, 4to. p. l6. Sigilli de creta, tanto piu curiosi, quanto piu rari. 
 
214 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 others of a gray colour, like ashes ; others red, and 
 others brown. They seem all to have been en- 
 closed in leaden cases. Could it be proved that 
 each letter was wrapped round with a thread, and 
 that the thread, as in the seals affixed to diplomas, 
 was drawn through the covering of the seal, the 
 difficulty which I think occurs in the use of these 
 earths, as mentioned by the ancients, would en- 
 tirely disappear. # It seems to me remarkable 
 that neither Theophrastus nor Pliny says any 
 thing of the Asiatic creta , or speaks at all of seal- 
 ing-earth ; though they have carefully enumerated 
 all those kinds of earth which are worth notice on 
 account of any use. 
 
 In Europe, as far as I know, wax has been 
 every where used for sealing since the earliest 
 ages. Writers on diplomatics, however, are not 
 agreed whether yellow or white wax was first 
 employed ; but it appears that the former, on ac- 
 count of its low price, must have been first 
 and principally used, at least by private persons. 
 It is probable, also, that the seals of diplomas 
 were more durable when they consisted of yellow 
 wax ; for it is certain that white wax, which 
 loses a great part of its inflammable substance, 
 is more brittle, and much less durable. Many 
 
 * Heineccius and others think that the amphora vitrea diligent er 
 gypsata, in Petronius, were sealed $ but it is much more probable 
 that they were only daubed over or closed with gypsum, for the same 
 reason that we pitch our casks. 
 
SEALING-WAX. 
 
 215 
 
 seals also may at present be considered white 
 which were at first yellow ; for not only does 
 wax highly bleached resume, in time, a dirty 
 yellow colour, but yellow wax also, in the 
 course of years, loses so much of its colour as 
 to become almost like white wax. This perhaps 
 may account for the oldest seals appearing to be 
 of white, and the more modern of yellow wax. 
 These, however, are conjectures which I submit, 
 with deference, to the determination of those versed 
 in diplomatics. 
 
 In the course of time, sealing-wax was coloured 
 red ; and a good deal later, at least in Germany, 
 but not before the fourteenth century, it was 
 coloured green, and sometimes black. I find it 
 remarked that blue wax never appears on diplomas; 
 and I may, indeed, say it is impossible it should 
 appear, for the art of giving a blue colour to wax 
 has never yet been discovered ; and in old books, 
 such as that of Wecker, we find no receipt for that 
 purpose. Later authors have pretended to give 
 directions how to communicate that colour to wax : 
 but they are altogether false ; for vegetable dyes, 
 when united with wax, become greenish, so that 
 the wax almost resembles the hip-stone; and 
 earthy colours do not combine with it, but, in 
 melting, fall again to the bottom. A seal of blue 
 wax, not coloured blue merely on the outer sur- 
 face, would be as great a rarity in the arts as in 
 diplomatics, and would afford matter of specu- 
 
21 6 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 lation for our chemists; but I can give them 
 no hopes that such a thing can ever be pro- 
 duced. The emperor Charles V in the year 
 1524 granted to Dr. Stockamar, of Nuremberg, 
 the privilege of using blue wax in seals: a 
 favour like that conferred, in 1704, on the 
 manufactories in the principality of Halberstadt 
 and the county ot Reinstein, to make indigo 
 from minerals. It was, certainly, as difficult 
 for the doctor to find blue wax for seals, as 
 for the proprietors of these manufactories to dis- 
 cover indigo in the earth. * 
 
 Much later are impressions made on paste or 
 dough, which perhaps could not be employed 
 on the ancient parchment or the linen covers of 
 letters, though in Pliny’s time the paper then in 
 use was joined together with flour paste.f Proper 
 diplomas were never sealed with wafers; and in 
 the matchless diplomatic collection of H. Gatterer 
 there are no wafer seals much above two hundred 
 years old. From that collection I have now in my 
 possession one of these seals, around the impression 
 of which is the following inscription, Secretum ci~ 
 vium in Ulma , 1474 ; but it is only a new copy of 
 a very old impression. Kings, however, before the 
 
 * Ceruleae ceras licet nullus fere usus sit, refert tamen Diether ad 
 Besold, voce wax , Carolum V Imp. doctori Stockhamero Norimber- 
 gensi anno 1524 privilegium tali cera utendi dedisse. J. M. Heineccii 
 Syntagma de veterilus sigillis. Francof. et Lips. 1719 , fol. p. 55. 
 
 f Farina, qua chartse glutinantur. Plin. lib. xxii. c. 25. 
 
SEALING-WAX. 217 
 
 invention of sealing-wax, were accustomed to seal 
 their letters with this paste.* * * § 
 
 Heineccius and others relate that maltha also was 
 employed for seals. This word signifies a kind of 
 cement, formed chiefly of inflammable substances, 
 and used to make reservoirs, pipes, &c. water- 
 tight. Directions how to prepare it may be found 
 in the writers on agriculture, Pliny, Festus, and 
 others. The latter tells how to make it of a com- 
 position of pitch and wax : f but neither in that 
 author nor in any other have I found proofs that 
 letters were sealed with it, or that seals of it were 
 affixed to diplomas ; for the words of Pollux ccra 
 qua tabella judicum obliniebatur , J will admit of 
 a different explanation. If maltha has been, in 
 reality, used tor seals, that mixture may be con- 
 sidered as the first or oldest sealing-wax, as what 
 of it is still preserved has been composed of re- 
 sinous substances. 
 
 Some writers § assert, upon the authority of Le- 
 beuf||, that sealing-wax was invented about the 
 
 * Trotz, Not. in prim, scribendi origine, p. 73, 74. 
 
 f Maltha dicitur a Graecis pixeum cera mixta. Festi et Flacci de 
 verb. sig. lib. xx. edit. Dacerii, Lut. Par. l68l , 4to. p. 224. Hesy- 
 chius calls this cement /j-t/xoCKy/ilvov xrjpbv. Pallad. lib. i. c. 17 . Plin. 
 lib. xxxvi. c. 24. 
 
 t Lib. viii. c. 4. 
 
 § Nouveau traite de diplomatique, par deux Religieux B£n£dictins. 
 Paris 1759, 4to. iv. p. 33. 
 
 II M^moires concernant I’histoire d’Auxerre, par Lebeuf. Paris 
 1743, ii. p.517. 
 
218 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 year 1640, by a Frenchman named Rousseau ; but 
 that author refers his readers to Papillon,* who 
 refers again to Pomet, f so that the last appears to 
 be the first person who broached that opinion. Ac- 
 cording to his account Francis Rousseau, born not 
 far from Auxerres ; who travelled a long time in 
 Persia, Pegu, and other parts of the East Indies ; 
 and who in 1692 resided in St. Domingo, was the 
 inventor of sealing-wax. Having, while he lived 
 at Paris as a merchant, during the latter years of 
 the reign of Louis XIII, who died in 1643, lost all 
 his property by a fire, he bethought himself of pre- 
 paring sealing-w'ax from gum lac, as he had seen 
 it prepared in India, in order to maintain his wife 
 and five children. A lady, of the name of Longue- 
 ville, made this wax known at court, and caused 
 Louis XIII to use it ; after which it was purchased 
 and used throughout all Paris. By this article 
 Rousseau, before the expiration of a year, gained 
 50,000 livres. It acquired the name of cire 
 d'Espagne, Spanish wax, because at that time a 
 kind of gum lac, which was only once melted, and 
 coloured a little red, was called Portugal wax, 
 cire de Portugal. £ 
 
 * Bibliotheque des auteurs de Bourgogne, par l’abbe Papillon. 
 Dijon 1745, 2 vol. fol. ii. p. 217 . 
 
 f Histoire generate des drogues, par le Sieur Pomet. Paris 1735, 
 2 vol. 4to. ii. p. 44. i. p. 28. 
 
 t This Rousseau appears also in the History of cochineal, as he 
 sent to Pomet a paper on that subject, which was contradicted by the 
 
SEALING-WAX. 
 
 219 
 
 That sealing-wax was either very little or not at 
 all known in Germany, in the beginning of the 
 sixteenth century, may be concluded from its not 
 being mentioned either by Porta or Wecker; 
 though in the works of both these authors there 
 are various receipts respecting common wax, and 
 little-known methods of writing and sealing.* The 
 former says, that to open letters, in such a man- 
 ner as not to be perceived, the wax seal must be 
 heated a little, and must be then carefully sepa- 
 rated from the letter by a horse’s hair ; and when 
 the letter has been read and folded up, the seal 
 must be again dexterously fastened to it. This 
 manceuvre, as the writers on diplomatics remark, 
 has been often made use of to forge public acts ; 
 and they have, therefore, given directions how to 
 discover such frauds.'}' The above method of 
 opening letters, how’ever, can be applied only to 
 common wax, and not to sealing-wax : had the 
 
 well-known Plunder, in the Journal des Sgavans for l6()4. He is 
 mentioned also by Labat, who says he saw him at Rochelle ; but 
 at that time he must have been nearly a hundred years of age. 
 
 * Mr. Von Murr, in his learned Beschreibung der merkwurdig- 
 keilcn in Niirnberg, Numb. 1778, 8vo. p. 702, says, that Spanish 
 wax was not invented, or at least not known, before the year 155Q. 
 This appears also from a manuscript of the same year, which contains 
 various receipts in the arts and medicine. There are some in it for 
 making the common white sealing-wax green or red. 
 
 f Quod si in sigillo antiquiori praetenso reperiatur adhuc sua cerae 
 pinguedo, magnaque hinc ejusdem vel aliqualis saltern mollities et 
 tractabilitas ; signum est sigillum tale partum esse supposititium aevi 
 
220 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 latter been used in Wecker’s time, he would have 
 mentioned this limitation.* 
 
 Whether sealing-wax was used earlier in the East 
 Indies than in Europe, as the French think, I cannot 
 with certainty determine. Tavernier, | however, 
 seems to say that the gum lac produced in the 
 kingdom of Asem is employed there not only for 
 lackering, but also for making Spanish sealing-wax. 
 I must confess also that I do not know whether the 
 Turks and other eastern nations use it, in gene- 
 ral. In the collection of natural curiosities be- 
 longing to our university, there are two sticks of 
 sealing-wax which professor Butner procured from 
 Constantinople, under the name of Turkish wax. 
 They are angular, bent like a bow, are neither 
 stamped nor glazed, and are of a dark but pure red 
 colour. Two other sticks which came from the 
 
 sequioris. Pari quoque ratione, si pars sigilli posterior, qua diplo- 
 mat annexum antiquitus sigillum extitit, simile vel pinguedinis vel 
 mollitiei et tractabilitatis signum prae se ferat, cum facies anterior 
 reliquas habet genuinae aetatis antiquitatisque suae notas et charac- 
 ters ; dubium vix remanet, sigillum ex antiquiori diplomate de- 
 sumptum, et a manu recentiori sigillo alteri annexum fuisse. Chronic. 
 Godvic. p. 102. 
 
 * Wecker gives directions also to make an impression with cal- 
 cined gypsum, and a solution of gum or isinglass. Porta knew that 
 this could be done to greater perfection with amalgam of quicksilver} 
 an art employed even at present. 
 
 f Tavernier, in his Travels, says, that in Surat gum lac is melted, 
 and formed into sticks like sealing-wax. Compare with this Dappers 
 Asia oder Ausfiihrliche leschreihung, &c. Nuremberg, 1681, fol. 
 p. 237. 
 
SEALING-WAX. 
 
 221 
 
 East Indies are straight, glazed, made somewhat 
 thin at both ends, have no stamp, and are of a 
 dark and dirtier red colour. All these four sticks 
 seem to be lighter than ours, and I perceive that 
 by rubbing they do not acquire so soon, nor so 
 strong, an electrical quality as our German wax of 
 moderate fineness. But whether the first were 
 made in Turkey and the latter in the East Indies ; 
 or whether the whole four were made in Europe, 
 is not known. That sealing-wax, however, was 
 made and used in Germany a hundred years be- 
 fore Rousseau’s time, and that the merit of that 
 Frenchman consisted, probably, only in this, 
 that he first made it in France, or made the first 
 good wax, will appear in the course of what 
 follows. 
 
 The oldest known seal of our common seal- 
 ing-wax is that found by Mr. Roos, on a letter 
 written from London, Aug. 3d, 1554, to the 
 rheingrave Philip Francis von Daun, by his 
 agent in England, Gerrard Herman.* The co- 
 lour of the wax is a dark red ; it is very shining, 
 and the impression bears the initials of the writer’s 
 name G. H. The next seal, in the order of time, 
 is one of the year 156 1, on a letter written to the 
 
 * Bruchstiicke betreffend die beobachtung der pflichten eines 
 gtaatsdieners ; aus den handlungen des Raths Dreitz, nebst bemer- 
 kungen von alte6ten gebrauche des Spanischen siegelwachses — 1 
 Frankfort on the Mayne 1785, 4to. p. 86 ; where the use of these 
 antiquarian researches is illustrated by examples worthy of notice. 
 
222 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 council of Gorlitz at Breslau. This letter was found 
 among the ancient records of Gorlitz by Dr. Anton, 
 and is three times sealed with beautiful red wax.* 
 Among the archives of the before-mentioned fa- 
 mily Mr. Roos found two other letters of the year 
 
 1566, both addressed to the rheingrave Frederick 
 von Daun, from Orchamp in Picardy, by his 
 steward Charles de Pousol ; the one dated Sep- 
 tember the 2d, and the other September the 7th. 
 Another letter, written by the same person to the 
 same rheingrave, but dated Paris January 22d, 
 
 1567, is likewise sealed with red w ? ax, which is of 
 a higher colour, and appears to be of a coarser 
 quality. As the oldest seals of this kind came from 
 France and England, Mr. Roos conjectures that 
 the invention, as the name seems to indicate, be- 
 longs to the Spaniards. This conjecture appears 
 to me, however, improbable, especially as sealing- 
 wax was used at Breslau so early as 1561 ; but this 
 matter can be best determined, perhaps, by the 
 Spanish literati. It is much to be lamented that 
 John Fen, in his Original letters of the last half 
 of the fifteenth century,! when he gives an account 
 of the size and shape of the seals, does not inform 
 us of what substances they are composed. Re- 
 specting a letter of the year 1455 he says, only, 
 
 * Historische untersuchungen gesamlet von J. G. Meusel, i. 3. 
 p. 240. 
 
 f Original letters written during the reign of Henry VI. London 
 1787, 2 vol. 4to. i. p. xxi. and p. 87 and 92. 
 
SEALING-WAX. Qg3 
 
 “ The seal is of red wax by which is to be un- 
 derstood, undoubtedly, common wax. 
 
 Among the records of the landgraviate of Cassel, 
 Mr. Ledderhose found two letters of count Louis 
 of Nassau to the landgrave William IV, one of 
 which, dated March the 3d, 1563, is sealed with 
 red wax, and the other, dated November 7th, the 
 same year, is sealed with black wax.* Mr. Neu- 
 berger, private keeper of the archives at Weymar, 
 found among the records of that duchy a letter 
 sealed with red wax, and written at Paris, May 
 the 15th, 1571, by a French nobleman named 
 Vulcob, who the year before had been am- 
 bassador from the king of France to the court of 
 Weymar. It is worthy of remark, that the same 
 person had sealed nine letters of a prior date w ith 
 common wax, and that the tenth is sealed with 
 Spanish wax.f Mr. P. L. Spiess, principal keeper 
 of the records at Plessenburg, who gave rise to 
 this research by his queries, saw a letter of the year 
 1574 sealed with red sealing-wax, and another of 
 the year 1620 sealed w ith black sealing-wax. He 
 found also in an old expense-book, of 1616, that 
 Spanish wax, expressly, and other materials for 
 writing were ordered from a manufacturer of seal- 
 ing- w^ax at Nuremberg, for the personal use of 
 Christian margrave of Brandenburg. J 
 
 * Des Geschichtforscher, published by Meusel. Halle. 8vo. vi. 
 
 p. 2?0. 
 
 f Geschichtforscher, iv. p. 251. 
 
 t Ibid. 
 
224 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 The oldest mention of sealing-wax which I have 
 hitherto observed in printed books, is in the well- 
 known work of Garcia ab Orto,* where the author 
 remarks, speaking of gum lac, that those sticks 
 used for sealing letters were made of it. This 
 book was first printed in 1563, about which time 
 it appears that the use of sealing-wax was very 
 common among the Portuguese. 
 
 The oldest printed receipt for making sealing- 
 wax w'as found by Mr. von Murr, in a work by 
 Samuel Zimmerman, citizen of Augsburg, printed 
 in 1579. t The copy which I have from the 
 library of our university is signed at the end by the 
 author himself. His receipts for making red and 
 green sealing-wax I shall here transcribe. 
 
 “ To make hard sealing-wax, called Spanish 
 “ wax, with which if letters be sealed they cannot 
 “ be opened without breaking the seal : Take 
 “ beautiful clear resin, the whitest you can procure, 
 “ and melt it over a slow coal fire. When it is 
 “ properly melted, take it from the fire, and for 
 “ every pound of resin add two ounces of cinnabar 
 “ pounded very fine, stirring it about. Then let 
 
 * Halleri Bibliotheca botan. i. p. 332. Aromatum et simplicium 
 aliquot historia, Garcia ah Horto auctore. Antverpiae 1574, 8vo. 
 p. 33. Ex ea bacilli illi, quibus in obsignandis epistolis utimur, 
 conficiuntur. 
 
 f The whole title is : NewTitularbuch, — sambt etlichen hinzuge- 
 thanen gehaimniissen und kunsten, das lesen und die schreiberey 
 betreffendt. Durch Samuelen Zimmerman, burger zu Augspurg. 
 4to. 1579, p. 112. 
 
SEALING-WAX. 
 
 225 
 
 “ the whole cool, or pour it into cold water. 
 “ Thus you will have beautiful red sealing- 
 “ wax. 
 
 “ If you are desirous of having black wax, add 
 “ lamp-black to it. With smalt or azure you may 
 “ make it blue; with white-lead white, and with 
 “ orpiment yellow. 
 
 “ If instead of resin you melt purified turpen- 
 “ tine, in a glass vessel, and give it any colour 
 “ you choose, you will have a harder kind of seal- 
 tc ing-wax, and not so brittle as the former.” 
 
 What appears to me worthy of remark in these 
 receipts for sealing-wax is, that there is no men- 
 tion in them of gum lac* which, at present, is the 
 principal ingredient, at least in that of the best 
 quality; and that Zimmerman’s sealing-wax ap- 
 proaches very near to that which, in diplomatics, 
 is called maltha. One may almost conclude, there- 
 fore, that this invention was not brought from 
 the East Indies. 
 
 The expression Spanish wax is of little more 
 import than the words Spanish-green, Spanish- 
 flies, Spanish-grass, Spanish-reed, and several 
 others, as it was formerly customary to give to 
 all new things, particularly those which excited 
 wonder, the appellation of Spanish ; and, in the 
 like manner, many foreign or new articles have 
 been called Turkish; such as Turkish wheat, 
 Turkish paper, & c. 
 
 Respecting the antiquity of wafers, Mr. Spiess 
 VOL. I. Q 
 
C Z%6 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 has made an observation,* which may lead to fur- 
 ther researches, that the oldest seal with a red 
 wafer, he has ever yet found, is on a letter written 
 by D. Krapf, at Spires, in the year 1624, to the 
 government at Bayreuth. Mr. Spiess has found 
 also, that some years after Forstenhausser, the 
 Brandenburg factor at Nuremberg, sent such 
 wafers to a bailiff at Osternohe. It appears, how- 
 ever, that wafers were not used during the whole 
 of the seventeenth century, in the chancery of 
 Brandenburg, but only by private persons, and by 
 these even seldom; because, as Spiess says, people 
 were fonder of Spanish wax. The first wafers with 
 which the chancery of Bayreuth began to make 
 seals were, according to an expense account of the 
 year 1705, sent from Nuremberg. The use of 
 wax, however, was still continued ; and among the 
 Plassenburg archives there is a rescript of 1722, 
 sealed with proper wax. The use of wax must 
 have been continued longer in the duchy of 
 Weymar ; for in the Electa juris publici there 
 is an order of the year 1716, by which the 
 introduction of wafers in law matters is forbidden, 
 and the use of wax commanded. This order, how- 
 ever, was abolished by duke Ernest Augustus in 
 1742, and wafers again introduced. 
 
 * Archivische nebenarbeiten und nachrichten, geliefert von Phil. 
 Ernest Spiess. Halle 1785, 4to. ii. p. 3. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 227 
 
 CORN-MILLS. 
 
 If under this name we comprehend all those ma- 
 chines, however rude, employed for pounding or 
 grinding corn, these are of the highest antiquity. 
 We read in the Scriptures, that Abraham caused 
 cakes to be baked for his guests of the finest 
 meal;* and that the manna was ground like 
 corn. ^ The earliest instrument used for this pur- 
 pose seems to have been the mortar; which was 
 retained a long time even after the invention of 
 mills properly so called, because these, perhaps, at 
 first were not attended with much superior advan- 
 tage. J It appears, that, in the course of time, the 
 mortar was made ridged and the pestle notched, at 
 
 * Genesis, ch. xviii. v. 6. 
 
 t Numbers, ch. xi. v. 8. 
 
 ^ 'OAfilOV /Xtv TpfffoSjJV TX/J-VelV, V7TepOV Ss TpITTYt^UI/. 
 
 Hesiod. Opera et Dies, 421. 
 
 Mortarium quidem tripedale seca, pistillum vero tricubitale. 
 
 It appears, therefore, that both the mortar and pestle were then 
 made of wood, and that the former was three feet in height; but, to 
 speak the truth, it is not here expressly said that this mortar was for 
 the purpose of pounding corn. The mortar was called o\piof, pila ; 
 the pestle {urepoi, or iirepov, pistillus or pistillum ; to pound, paa-aw, 
 pinsere, which word, as well as pinsor, was afterwards retained when 
 mills came to be used. Servius ad Virg. 2En. i. 179. Majores mo- 
 larum usual non habebant. Frumenta torrebant, et ea in pilas missa 
 pinsebant, et hoc erat genus molendi. Unde et pinsores dicti sunt, 
 qui nunc pistores vocantur. Plin. lib. xviii. c. 3. 
 
 Q. 2 
 
228 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 least at the bottom ; by which means the grain was 
 rather grated than pounded. A passage of Pliny, # 
 not yet sufficiently cleared up, makes this conjec- 
 ture probable. When a handle was added to the 
 top of the pestle, that it might be more easily 
 driven round in a circle, the mortar was converted 
 into a hand-mill. Such a mill was called mola 
 trusatilis , versatilis, manuaria ,* * * § )* and was very little 
 different from those used at present by apotheca- 
 ries, painters, potters, and other artists, for grind- 
 ing coarse bodies, such as colours, glass, chalk, 
 &c. J We have reason to suppose that in every 
 family there was a mill of this kind. Moses for- 
 bade them to be taken in pawn ; for that, says he, 
 is the same thing as to take n man’s life to pledge. 
 Michaelis, on this passage, observes that a man 
 could not then grind, and, consequently, could 
 not bake bread for the daily use of his family. § 
 Grinding was at first the employment of the wo- 
 
 * Pistura non omnium facilis ; quippe Etruria spicam farris tosti 
 pisente pilo praeferrato, fistula serrata et Stella intus denticulata, ut 
 nisi intenti pisant, concidantur grana, ferrumque frangatur. Major 
 pars Italice ruido utitur pilo. Plin. xviii ; 10. ii. p. 111. This pas- 
 sage Gesner has endeavoured to explain, in his Index to the Scrip- 
 tores rci rusticce, p. 5Q , to which he gives the too dignified title of 
 Lexicon rusticum. 
 
 f Plautus ob quserendum victum ad circumagendas molas, quae 
 trusatiles appellantur, operam pistori locasset. Gellius , iii. c. 3. 
 
 X Those not acquainted with these mills may see Hartwig(Spren - 
 gels ) Handwerke nnd Kiinste , xiii. p. 125. plate 4, fig. 12. aad Wul- 
 lerius, Physische chemie, i. p. 62 . 
 
 § Deuteronomy, ch. xxiv. v. 6. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 229 
 
 men, and particularly of the female slaves, as it is 
 at present among uncivilised nations, and must 
 therefore have required little strength ; # but 
 afterwards the mills were driven by bondsmen, 
 around whose necks w r as placed a circular ma- 
 chine of wood, so that these poor wretches could 
 not put their hands to their mouths, or eat of the 
 meal.f 
 
 In the course of time, shafts were added to the 
 mill, that it might be driven by cattle, which were, 
 as at present, blindfolded. J The first cattle-mills, 
 molce jumentarice, had, perhaps, only a heavy 
 pestle like the hand-mills * * * § § but it must have been 
 soon remarked that the labour would be more 
 speedily accomplished if, instead of the pestle, a 
 large heavy cylindrical stone should be employed. 
 I am of opinion, however, that the first cattle- 
 
 * When Moses threatened Pharaoh with the destruction of the 
 first-born in the land of Egypt, he said, “ All the first-born shall 
 “ die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth on the throne, even 
 “ unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill.” 
 Exodus, ch. xi. v. 5. See Homeri Odyss. vii. 103, and xx. 105. 
 
 f This machine by Pollux is called ■Ku\jaina.irr\. 
 
 J Apuleii Metamorph. lib. ix. 
 
 § The oldest cattle-mills have, in my opinion, resembled the oil- 
 mills represented in plate 25th of Sonnerats Reise nach Ostindien und 
 China, i. Zurich 1783, 4to. To the pestle of a mortar made fast io 
 a stake driven into the earth, is affixed a shaft to which two oxen 
 are yoked. The oxen are driven by a man, and another stands at the 
 mortar to push the seed under the pestle. Sonnerat says, that with 
 an Indian hand-mill two men can grind no more than sixty pounds 
 of meal in a day; while one of our mills, under the direction of one 
 man, can grind more than a thousand. 
 
230 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 mills had not a spout or a trough as ours have at 
 present; at least the hand-mills which Tourne- 
 fort* saw at Nicaria, and which consisted of two 
 stones, had neither; but the meal which issued 
 from between the stones, through an opening 
 made in the upper one, fell upon a board or table, 
 on which the lower stone, that was two feet in 
 diameter, rested. 
 
 The upper mill-stone was called meta , or turbo; 
 and the lower one catillus. Meta signified also a 
 cone with a blunt apexjf and it has on that ac- 
 count been conjectured that corn was at first rub- 
 bed into meal by rolling over it a conical stone 
 flatted at the end, in the same manner as painters, 
 at present, make use of a grinding-stone ; and it is 
 believed that the same name was afterwards given 
 to the upper mill-stone. This conjecture is not 
 improbable, as some rude nations still bruise their 
 corn by grinding-stones. J I do not, however, 
 remember any passage in the ancients that men- 
 tions this mode of grinding : and I am of opinion 
 that the pestle of the hand-mill, for which the up- 
 per mill-stone was substituted, may, on account of 
 its figure, have been also called meta . Niebuhr § 
 found in Arabia, besides hand-mills, some grind- 
 
 * Voyage du Levant. Amsterd. 1718, 4to. p. 155. 
 
 A haycock was called meta j cent. Colurn. ii. 19- Phn. xxvii. 28. 
 
 J Voyage de Frezier, p. 62. 
 
 § Niebuhrs Beschreibung von Arabien. Copenhagen 1772, 4to. 
 p. 31. A figure of both stones is represented it* the first plate, 
 
 fig. H. x 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 231 
 
 ing- stones, which differed from those used by us in 
 their consisting not of a flat, but of an oblong hol- 
 low stone, or trough, with a pestle, which was not 
 conical, but shaped like a spindle, thick in the 
 middle and pointed at both ends. In this stone the 
 corn, after being soaked in water, was ground to 
 meal, and then baked into cakes. 
 
 Respecting the figure and construction of the 
 ancient hand-mills, I expected to find some in- 
 formation from engraved stones, and other remains 
 of antiquity ; but my researches would have proved 
 fruitless, had not professor Diez, to whose memory 
 and erudition I am much indebted, pointed out to 
 me the only figure of one remaining. I say the 
 only one remaining with the more confidence, as 
 Mr. Heyne tells us also that he remembers no 
 other. Anthony Francis Geri # has described a red 
 jasper, on which is engraved the naked figure of a 
 man, who in his left hand holds a sheaf of corn, 
 and in the right a machine that in all probability 
 is a hand-mill. Gori considers the figure as a re- 
 presentation of the god Eunostus, who, as Suidas 
 says,'j' was the god of mills. The machine, 
 which Eunostus seems to exhibit, or to be survey- 
 
 * Memorie di varia erudizione della Societa colombaria Fioren- 
 tina. In Livorno 1752, 4to. vol. ii. p. 207* Osservazioni del pro- 
 posto A. F. Gori, sopra un’ antica gemma anulare rappresentante 
 Eunosto dio de mulini. 
 
 F EwocTOf S'eoj nf <p«cr<v vki/mKio J. Eunostus, deus quidam, ut aiunt, 
 molarum praeses. 
 
232 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 ing himself, is, as far as one can distinguish (for 
 the stone is scarcely half an inch in size), shaped 
 like a chest, narrow at the top, and wide at the 
 bottom. It stands upon a table, and in the bot- 
 tom there is a perpendicular pipe from which the 
 meal, represented also by the artist, appears to be 
 issuing. Above, the chest or body of the mill has 
 either a top with an aperture, or perhaps a basket 
 sunk into it, from which the corn falls into the 
 mill. On one side, nearly about the middle of it, 
 there projects a broken shank, which, without over- 
 straining the imagination, may be considered as a 
 handle, or that part of the mill which some called 
 molile. Though this figure is small, and though 
 it conveys very little idea of the internal construc- 
 tion, one may, however, conclude from it that the 
 roller, whether it w r as of wood or of iron, smooth 
 or notched, did not stand perpendicularly, like 
 those of our coffee-mills, but lay horizontally; 
 which gives us reason to conjecture a construction 
 more ingenious than that of the first invention. 
 The axis of the handle had, perhaps, within the 
 body of the mill, a crown-w 7 heel, that turned a 
 spindle, to the lower end of the perpendicular axis 
 of which the roller was fixed. Should this be ad- 
 mitted, it must be allowed also, that the hand- 
 mills of the ancients had not so much a resem- 
 blance to the before-mentioned colour- mills as to 
 the philosophical mills of our chemists ; and Lan- 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 233 
 
 gelott, consequently, will not be the real inventor 
 of the latter.* On the other side, opposite to that 
 where the handle is, there arise from the mill of 
 Eunostus two shafts, which Gori considers as those 
 of a besom and a shovel, two instruments used in 
 grinding ; but as the interior part cannot be seen, 
 it appears to me doubtful whether these may not 
 be parts of the mill itself. 
 
 The remains of a pair of old Roman mill-stones 
 were found in the beginning of the last century 
 at Adel in Yorkshire, a description of which was 
 given by Thornsby, | in the Philosophical Trans- 
 actions. One of the stones was twenty inches in 
 breadth ; thicker in the middle than at the edges, 
 and consequently convex on one side. The other 
 was of the same form, but had that thickness at 
 the edges which the other had in the middle, and 
 some traces of notching could be observed up- 
 on it. 
 
 I shall not here collect all those passages of the 
 ancients which speak of hand and cattle-mills, be- 
 cause they have been already collected by others, 
 and afford very little information.^ Neither shall 
 
 * See Wallerius Physische chemie, i. p. 62. fig. 73. 
 
 t Philosoph. Transact, n. 282, p. 1285, and Philos. Trans, from 
 the year 1700 to the year 1720, abridged by Henry Jones, London 
 1731 , ii. p. 38. ■» 
 
 J Joh. HeringiiTractatus de molendinis eorumque jure. Franco- 
 furti 1663, 4to. A very confused look, which re quires a very patient 
 reader. F. L. Goetzius de pistrinis veterum. Cygnese 1730, 8vo. Ex - 
 
234 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 I inquire to what Ceres the Grecians ascribed 
 the invention of mills ; * who Milantes was, to 
 whom that honour has been given by Stephanus ;t 
 or how those mills were constructed which were 
 first built by Myletes, the son of Lelex, king of 
 Laconia. J Such researches w'ould be attended 
 with little advantage. I shall proceed, therefore, 
 to the invention of water-mills. 
 
 These appear to have been introduced in the 
 time of Mithridates, Julius C®sar, and Cicero. 
 Because Strabo§ relates that there was a water- 
 mill near the residence of Mithridates, some have 
 ascribed the honour of the invention to him ; but 
 
 traded chiefly from the former, equally confused, and filled with quo- 
 tations from authors who afford very little insight into the history or 
 knowledge of mills. Traite de la police, par De la Mare. G. H. 
 Ayrer de molarum initiis. Prolusio de molarum progressibus ; ly 
 the same. Gottingen 1772. C. L. Hoheiselii Diss. de molis ma- 
 nualibus veterum. Gedani 1728. Pancirollus, edit. Saltnutli. ii. 
 p. 294. Histoire de la vie privee des Francois, par Le Grand d’ Aussy. 
 Paris 1782, i. p. 33 . See Fabricii Bibliographia antiq. Hamburgi 
 
 1760, p. 1002. 
 
 * Ceres frumenta instituit ; eadem molere et conficere in Attica ; 
 et alia in Sicilia ob id dea judicata. Plin. lib. vii. c. b 6 . 
 
 f Stephan, de urbibus, v. juuXavna. 
 
 MJXjjra to» Ai\eyo; mp/Zrov avfjpditoiv [Mhriv re kvpeiv Xeyoi/T£f xai et/ raj,' 
 
 Aa teiai; ratlraif aXeo-a/. Pausan. Lacon. iii. c. 20. edit. Kuhnii. 
 
 p. 260. 
 
 § Strabo, lib. xii. edit. Almelov. p. 834 . In the Greek stands the 
 words £§paXeT>ir, perhaps an «7raf which the scholiasts have 
 
 explained by a water-mill. In many translations of Strabo that word 
 is wanting. As for example, in the Latin edition of Amsterdam, by 
 John Janson theyounger, lCo2, 2 vol. 12mo. ii. p. 196. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 235 
 
 nothing more can with certainty be concluded from 
 this circumstance, than that water-mills were at 
 that period known, at least in Asia. We are told 
 by Pomponius Sabinus, in his remarks upon a 
 poem of Virgil called Moretus , that the first mill 
 seen at Rome was erected on the Tibei, a little 
 before the time of Augustus ; but of this he pro- 
 duces no proof. As he has taken the greatei part 
 of his remarks from the illustrations of Servius, 
 and must have had a much completer copy of that 
 author than any that has been printed, he may 
 have derived this information from the same 
 source.* The most certain proof that Rome had 
 water-mills in the time of Augustus is the descrip- 
 tion which has been given of them by Vitruvius, f 
 
 * This Pomponius Sabinus, author of a Commentary on the 
 works of Virgil, is called also Julius Pomponius Laetus, though in a 
 letter he denies that he is the author. He died in I4g6. A good 
 account of him may be found in Falricii Biblioth. media et infimcc 
 Latinitatis, iv. p. . r >94, and in Giornale de litterati d Italia, vol. 
 xxii. p. 336. Of his Commentary I have two editions before me, 
 from the library of our university. Julii Pomponii Salini in omnia 
 qua quidem extant Vergilii Mar. Opera commentarii, nunc primum 
 in lucem editi. Basiliae 1543, 8vo. Vergilii Opera cum variorum 
 commentariis studio L. Lucii. Basilic (t6l3.) fol. Where the poet 
 gives an ingenious description of a hand-mill, Pomponius adds: 
 Usus molarum ad manum in Cappadocia inventus; inde inventus 
 usus earum ad ventum et ad equos. Paulo ante Augustum molae 
 aquis actae Romae inTiberi primum factae, tempore Graecorum, cum 
 fornices diruissent. 
 
 f Fiunt etiam in fluminibus rotae eisdem rationibus, quibus supra 
 scriptum est. Circa earum frontes affiguntur pinnae, quae cum per- 
 cutiunturab impetu fluminis, cogunt progredientes versari rotam; et 
 
236 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 and the pretty epigram of Antipater: “Cease 
 “ your work, ye maids, ye who laboured in the 
 “ mill ; sleep now, and let the birds sing to the 
 “ ruddy morning; for Ceres has commanded the 
 “ water-nymphs to perform your task : these, 
 “ obedient to her call, throw themselves on the 
 <£ wheel, force round the axle-tree, and by these 
 “ means the heavy mill.” This Antipater,* as 
 Salmasius with great probability asserts, lived in 
 the time of Cicero. Pailadius f also speaks 
 
 ita modiolis aquam haurientes et in sumraum referentes, sine opera- 
 rum calcatura, ipsius fluminis impulsu versatae, praestant quod opus 
 est, ad usum. Eadem ratione etiam versantur hydraula;, in quibus 
 eadem sunt omnia, praeterquam quod in uno capite axis habent tym- 
 panum dentatum et inclusum ; id autem ad perpendiculum colloca- 
 tum in cultrum, versatur cum rota pariter. Secundum id tympa- 
 num, majus item dentatum planum est collocatum, quo continetur 
 axis, habens in summo capite subscudem ferream, qua mola conti- 
 netur. Ita dentes ejus tympani, quod est in axe inclusum, impel- 
 lendo dentes tympani plani, cogunt fieri molarum circinationem, in 
 qua machina impendens infundibulum subministrat molis frumten- 
 tum, et eadem versatione subigitur farina. Lib. x. c. 10. 
 
 „We learn from this passage, that the ancients had wheels for rais- 
 ing water, which were driven by being trod upon by men. That 
 condemnation to these machines was a punishment, appears from 
 Artemidorus, lib. i. c. 50, and Sueton. Vita Tiber, cap. 51. Uno ex 
 his equestris ordinis viro et in antliam condemnato. 
 
 * This Greek epigram was first made known by Saumaise, in his 
 Annotations on the Life of Heliogabalus by Lampridius. See His- 
 tori'ee Augusta scriptores recensiti, a C. Salmasio. Parisiis 1620, fob 
 p. 193. Is is to be found also in Memoires de V Academie des in- 
 scriptions, ii. p. 315, and in Analecta veterum Greecoruin, edit. 
 Brunk.ii. p. 119. epig. 39. 
 
 f Si aquae copia est, fusuras balnearum debent pistrina suscipere; 
 ut ibi formatis aquariis molis, sine animalium vel hominum labors. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 237 
 
 with equal clearness of water-mills, which he 
 advises to be built on possessions that have run- 
 ning water, in order to grind corn without men or 
 cattle. 
 
 There are also other passages of the ancients 
 which are commonly supposed, but without certain 
 grounds, to allude to water-mills. Among these is 
 the following verse of Lucretius : * 
 
 Ut fluvios versare rotas atque haustra videmus. 
 
 It appears also that the water-wheels to which 
 Heliogabalus caused some of his friends and pa- 
 rasites to be bound, f cannot be considered as mills. 
 These, as well as the haustra of Lucretius, were 
 machines for raising water, like those mentioned in 
 the before quoted passage of Vitruvius. J It is, 
 
 frumenta frangantur. Pallad. de re rustica, lib. i. 42. edit. Gesn. ii. 
 
 p. 892. 
 
 * Lucret. v. 517. Compare Salmas, ad Solin. p. 416. 
 
 f Parasitos ad rotam aquariam ligabat, et cum vertigine sub aquas 
 mittebat rursusque in summum revolvebat, eosque Ixionios amicos 
 vocavit. Lamprid. in Vita Heliogabali. 
 
 J Among the doubtful passages is one of Pliny, lib. xviii. c. 10. 
 the beginning of which has been quoted already : Major pars Italiae 
 ruido utitur pilo ; rotis etiam, quas aqua verset obiter, et molat. So 
 reads Hardouin : but the French translator of Pliny divides these 
 words otherwise, and reads thus : Major pars Italiae ruido utitur pilo, 
 rotis etiam quas aqua verset ; obiter et molit ; which he translates as 
 follows : Dans le majeure partie de I'ltalie, on se sert d'un pilon ra- 
 hoteux, ou de roues que I'eau fait tourner; etparfois aussi on y em- 
 ploie la meule. Histoire naturelle de Pline, traduite en Fran$ois. 
 Paris 1771 and following years, li vol. 4to. vi. p. 349, and b. vii. 
 ch. 56, note 6. This explanation is, in my opinion, very proper- 
 
238 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 however, evident that there were water-mills at 
 Rome at this period ; and it affords matter of sur- 
 prise that we do not find mention oftener made of 
 them, and that they did not entirely banish the 
 use of the laborious hand and cattle-mills. That 
 this was not the case, and that the latter were very 
 numerous for some time after, may be concluded 
 from various circumstances. When Caligula, 
 about twenty-three years after the death of Au- 
 gustus, took away all the horses and cattle from the 
 mills, in order to transport effects of every kind 
 which he had seized, there arose a scarcity of 
 bread at Rome; from which Beroaldus justly 
 infers that water-mills must have been then 
 very rare. * Nay, more than three hundred 
 years after Augustus, cattle-mills were so common 
 at Rome, that their number amounted to three 
 hundred.j- Mention of them, and of the hand- 
 
 Pliny is not speaking here of the labour of grinding corn, but that 
 of freeing it from the husks, or of converting it into grits. For this 
 purpose a mortar was used, the pestle of which could be so managed 
 that the grain remained whole ; but water-wheels were sometimes 
 employed also. I agree with Le Prince ( Journal des Sfavans 1779, 
 Septem.), who thinks that Pliny here certainly speaks of a water- 
 mill. 
 
 * In Gallia quoque cum damnatarum sororum ornamenta, et su- 
 pellectilem, et servos, atque etiam liberos, immensis prsetiis vendi- 
 disset : invitatus lucro, quidquid instrumenti veteris aulae erat, ab 
 urbe repetiit: comprehensis ad deportandum meritoriis quoque vehi- 
 culis, et pistrinensibus jumentis: adeo ut et panis Romse sepe defi- 
 ceret. Sueton. Vita Calig. cap. 39. 
 
 f Petr. Victor, de regionibus urbis Romae. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 239 
 
 mills always occurs, therefore, for a long time after 
 in the laws. The Jurist Paulus, who lived about the 
 year 240, particularizing the bequest of a baker, 
 mentions asina molendaria and mola, a mill-ass 
 and a mill.* In the year 319 Constantine or- 
 dered that all the slaves condemned to the mills 
 should be brought from Sardinia to Rome, f Such 
 orders respecting mill-slaves occur also under Va- 
 lentinian. J When by the introduction of Chris- 
 tianity, however, the morals of men became im- 
 proved, slaves were less frequent ; and Ausonius, 
 who lived under Theodosius the Great, about the 
 end of the third century, expressly say«, that in 
 his time the practice had ceased of condemning 
 criminals to slavery, and of causing mills to be 
 driven by men. 
 
 Public water-mills, however, appear for the 
 first time under Honorius and Arcadius ; and the 
 oldest laws which mention them, about the year 
 398, show clearly that they were then a new esta- 
 blishment, which it was necessary to secure by 
 the support of government; and the orders for 
 
 * Digestorum lib. xsxxiii. tit. 7, 18, Cum de lanionis. 
 
 f Cod. Theodos. lib. ix. tit. 40, 3, or I. 3, Quicunque. C. Th. de 
 pcenis. 
 
 t Cod. Theodos. lib. xiv. tit. 3, 7> or 1. 7, Post quinquennii. C. 
 Th. de pistoribus. At present there are no other mills in Sardinia 
 than such as are driven by asses. See Francesco Qetti, Quadruped i 
 di Sardegna. Sassari 1778, 8vo. 
 
240 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 that purpose were renewed and made more severe 
 by Zeno towards the end of the fifth century. * 
 It is worthy of remark, that in the whole code of 
 Justinian, one does not find the least mention of 
 wooden pales or posts, which occur in all the new 
 laws; and which, when there were several mills 
 situated in a line on the same stream, occasioned so 
 many disputes. | The mills at Rome were erect- 
 ed on thpse canals which conveyed water to the 
 city ; and because these were employed in several 
 arts, and for various purposes, it was ordered that 
 by dividing the water the mills should be always 
 kept going. The greater part of them lay under 
 Mount Janiculum ; J but, as they were driven by 
 so small a quantity of water, they probably exe- 
 
 * Cod. Theodos. lib. xiv. tit. 15, 4 ; and Cod. Justin, lib. xi. 
 tit. 42, 1 0. Many things relating to the same subject may be found 
 in Cassiodorus — Dicitur, commodi causa privati, aquam formarum, 
 quam summo deceret studio communiri, ad aquae molas exercendas 
 vel hortos irrigandos fuisse derivatam. Turpe hoc et miserabile in 
 ilia urbe fieri, quod per agros vix deceret assumi. Cassiodori Opera. 
 Genevae 1650, 4to. p. 104. 
 
 f See J. M. Biler, Diss. de arbore et palo molinario. Halae 1730, 
 4to. 
 
 J Procopius, Gothicorum, lib. i. c. g. 
 
 Quae regio gradibus vacuis jejunia dira 
 Sustinet ? aut quae Janiculi mola mota quiescit ? 
 
 Prudentius contra Symmachum, lib. ii. v. 948. 
 
 It is added in a note on this passage: Janiculus mons est ubi 
 templum Jani erat, etmultae molae constructae. Compare/?. Fabretti 
 Diss. tres de aquis et aquceductibus veleris Pome, n. 347, p. 1 76. 
 See also Gravii Thesaur. Antiq. Rom. iv. p. 1677. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 241 
 
 cuted very little work; and for this reason, but 
 chiefly on account of the great number of slaves, 
 and the cheap rate at which they were maintained, 
 these noble machines were not so much used, nor 
 were so soon brought to perfection, as they might 
 have been. It appears, however, that after the 
 abolition of slavery they were much improved 
 and more employed ; and to this a particular in- 
 cident seems, in some measure, to have contri- 
 buted. 
 
 When Vitiges, king of the Goths, besieged Beli- 
 sarius in Rome, in the year 53b, and caused the 
 fourteen large expensive aqueducts to be stopped, 
 the city was subjected to great distress; not 
 through the want of water in general, because 
 it was secured against that inconvenience by the 
 Tiber; but by the loss of that water which the 
 baths required, and, above all, of that necessary 
 to drive the mills, which were all situated on 
 these canals. Horses and cattle, which might 
 have been employed in grinding, were not to be 
 found : but Belisarius fell upon the ingenious 
 contrivance of placing boats upon the Tiber, 
 on which he erected mills that were driven by the 
 current. This experiment was attended with 
 complete success; and as many mills of this kind 
 as were necessary were constructed. To destroy 
 these, the besiegers threw into the stream logs of 
 wood, and dead bodies, which floated down the 
 river into the city; but the besieged, by making 
 
 VOL. i. 
 
 R 
 
£42 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 use of booms, to stop them, were enabled to drag 
 them out before they could do any mischief. * 
 This seems to be the invention of floating-mills, 
 at least I know of no other. It is certain that, 
 by these means, the use of water-mills became 
 very much extended : for floating-mills can be 
 constructed almost upon any stream, without form- 
 ing an artificial fall ; they can be stationed at the 
 most convenient places, and they rise and fall of 
 themselves with the water. They are, however, 
 attended with these inconveniences, that they 
 require to be strongly secured; that they often 
 
 * The account of Procopius, in the first book of the War of the 
 Goths, deserves to be here given at length. “ When these aque- 
 ducts were cut off by the enemy, as the mills were stopped for want 
 of water, and as cattle could not be found to drive them, the Romans, 
 closely besieged, were deprived of every kind of food (for with the 
 utmost care they could scarcely find provender for their horses). 
 Belisarius, however, being a man of great ingenuity, devised a re- 
 medy for this distress. Below the bridge, which reaches to the 
 walls of Jan'iculum, he extended ropes well fastened, and stretched 
 across the river from both banks. To these he affixed two boats of 
 equal size, at the distance of two feet from each other, where the 
 current flowed with the greatest velocity, under the arch of the bridge, 
 and placing large mill-stones in one of the boats, suspended in the 
 middle space a machine by which they were turned. He con- 
 structed, at certain intervals, on the river, other machines of the like 
 kind, which being put in motion by the force of the water that ran 
 below them, drove as many mills as were necessary to grind provi- 
 sions for the city, &c.” See the Latin translation of Procopius, Basil 
 1531, fol. p. 44. The same account may be found in Leona, rdi 
 Aretini lib. i. de hello Italico adversus Gothos ; which has been co- 
 pied by Joh. Magnus in Historia de omnibus Gothorum Suenonumque 
 regibus. Romas 1554, fol. p. 37(3. 
 
CORN “MILLS. 
 
 243 
 
 block up the stream too much, and move slowly, 
 and that they frequently stop when the water is too 
 high, or when it is frozen. 
 
 After this improvement the use of water-mills 
 was never laid aside or forgotten : they were soon 
 made known all over Europe, and were it worth 
 the trouble, one might quote passages in which 
 they are mentioned in every century. The Roman, 
 Salic, and other laws # provided security for these 
 mills, which they call molina or farinaria ; and de- 
 fine a punishment for those who destroy the sluices, 
 or steal the mill-irons (ferr amentum). But there 
 
 were water-mills in Germany and France a hun- 
 dred years before the Salic laws were formed. Au- 
 
 * Si quis ingenuus annonam in molino furaverit - - - - Si quis 
 sclusam de farinario alieno ruperit Si quis ferramentum de mo- 
 lino alieno furaverit Leges Francorum Salicce, edit. Eccardi, 
 
 Francof. et Lipsiaa 1720, fol. p. 51. Sclusa is translated sluice , and 
 there is no doubt that the French word escluse is derived from it. 
 All these words come from schliessen to shut up, or the Low Saxon 
 schluten : but by that word, in these laws, we can hardly understand 
 those expensive works which we at present call sluices, but probably 
 wickets and what else belonged to the dam. Lex Wisigothorum, 
 lib. viii. tit. 4, 30, may serve further to illustrate this subject : De 
 confringentibus molina et conclusiones aquarum. Si quis molina 
 violenter effregerit, quod fregit intra triginla dies reparare cogatur.— - 
 Eadem et de stagnis, quae sunt circa molina conclusiones aquarum, 
 praecipimus custodire. The sclusa are here called conclusiones aqua- 
 rum, to which belong also the mounds or dykes. See Corpus juris 
 Germanici antiqui, ed. Georgisch. Halae 1 738, 4to. p.2097. Gregory 
 of Tours calls them in a passage which here follows exclusas. But 
 what is ferramentum? The iron-work of our mills cannot be so 
 easily stolen as to render it necessary to secure them by particular 
 laws. 
 
244 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 sonius, who lived about the year 379, mentions 
 some which were then still remaining on a small 
 stream that falls into the Moselle, and which were 
 noticed also by Fortunatus, # in the fifth century. 
 Gregory of Tours, who wrote towards the end of 
 the sixth century, speaks of a water-mill which was 
 situated near the town of Dijon ; and of another 
 which a certain abbot caused to be built for the 
 benefit of his convent. j~ Brito, who in the begin- 
 ning of the thirteenth century wrote in verse an ac- 
 count of the actions of Philip Augustus king of 
 France, J relates how by the piercing of a dam 
 the mills near Gournay (castrum Gornacum or Cor - 
 nacuni) were destroyed, to the great detriment of 
 the besieged. In the first crusade, at the end of 
 
 * Praecipiti torquens cerealia saxa rotatu. 
 
 Anson. Mosella , v. 362. 
 
 Ducitur in rigidis sinuosa canalibus unda. 
 
 Ex qua fert populo hie mola capta cibum. 
 
 Venantii Hon. Clement. Fortunati Carmina , edU. 
 
 Broweri, Moguntise 1617, 4to. p. 83. 
 
 ■}• Fluviolus ante portam molendinas mira velocitate divertit. Gre- 
 gorii Turonensis Opera, ed. Theod. Ruinart. Lutet. Paris l6yg, fol. 
 
 Hist. lib. iii. iy. p. 126. Dum Ursus abbas haec ageret, ac fratres 
 
 molam manu vertentes triticum ad victus necessarium comminuerent, 
 pro labore fratrum visum est ei molendinum in ipso Angeris fluvii 
 alveo stabilire ; defixisque per flumen palis, aggregatis lapidum mag- 
 norum acervis exclusas fecit, atque aquam canale collegit, cujus im- 
 petu fabricse rotam in magna volubilitate vertere fecit; hoc opere la- 
 borem monachorum relevans, atque uni fratrum delegans, opus ne- 
 cessarium implebatur. Ibid. Vita patrum, 18. p. 1242. 
 
 J Gul. Britonis Philippidos librixii. editi a C. Barthio. Cygnese 
 1657, 4to. lib. vi. v. 220. p. 115. 
 
CORN- MILLS. 
 
 245 
 
 the eleventh century, the Germans burned in Bul- 
 garia seven mills, which were situated below a 
 bridge on a small rivulet, and which seem to have 
 been floating mills.* * * § In deeds of the twelfth and 
 thirteenth century, water-mills are often called 
 aquimollia , aquimoli, aquismoli , aquimolce.^ Petrus 
 Damiani, one of the fathers of the eleventh century, 
 says, Sicut aquimolum nequaquam potest sine gur- 
 gitis inundantia frumenta permolere, it a, &c. J 
 At Venice and other places, there were mills 
 which righted themselves by the ebbing and flow- 
 ing of the tide, and w'hich every six hours changed 
 the position of the wheels. § Zanetti || has shown, 
 from some old charters, that such mills existed 
 about the year 1044; and with still more certainty 
 in IO78, 1079, and 1 107. In one charter are the 
 words : Super toto ipso aquimolo molendini posito in 
 
 * Septem molendinis, quae sub ponte in flumine degebant, ignem 
 submiserunt. Chronicon Tlierosolymitanum, edit, a Reinero Rei- 
 neccio. Helmstadii 1584, 4to. lib. i. c. 10. p. 7. 
 
 See Glossarium novum ad scriptores medii sevi, collegit Car- 
 pentier. Parisiis 1766, fol. vol. i. p. 266. In a chronicle written in 
 the year 129O, a floating mill is called molendinum navale, also na- 
 vencum ; and in another chronicle of 1301, molendinum pendens. 
 See also Glossarium manuale, tom. iv. Halae 1776, 8vo. p. 72 1. 
 
 J Damiani Opera omnia, edit. Cajetani. Parisiis 1743, fol. tom. i. 
 p. 105. lib.vi. epist. 23. 
 
 § A new invention of this kind may be seen in The Advancement 
 erf Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce, by W. Bailey. Lond. 1772, 
 fol. In English such a mill is called a tide-mill. 
 
 || Girolano Zanetti dell’ origine di alcune arti principali appresso 
 i Veneziani libri due. Venezia 1758, 4to. p. 71. 
 
246 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 palude juxta campo alto; where the expression 
 aquimolum molendini deserves to be particularly 
 remarked, as it perhaps indicates that the mill in 
 question was a proper grinding-mill. Should this 
 conjecture be well-founded, it would prove that so 
 early as the eleventh century water-mills were 
 used not only for grinding corn, but for many 
 other purposes. 
 
 It appears that hand and cattle-mills were every 
 where still retained at private houses a long time 
 after the erection of water-mills. We read in the 
 Life of St. Benedict, that he had a mill with an 
 ass, to grind corn for himself and his colleagues. 
 Among the legendary tales of St. Bertin, there is 
 one of a woman who, because she ground corn on 
 a fast-day, lost the use of her arm ; and of another 
 whose hand stuck to the handle, because she un- 
 dertook the same work at an unseasonable time. 
 More wonders of this kind are to be found at later 
 periods in the popish mythology. Such small 
 mills remained long in the convents ; and it was 
 considered as a great merit in many ecclesiastics, 
 that they ground their own corn in order to make 
 bread. The real cause of this was, that as the 
 convents were entirely independent of every per- 
 son without their walls, they w'ished to supply all 
 their wants themselves as far as possible j and as 
 these lazy ecclesiastics had, besides, too little labour 
 and exercise, they employed grinding as an amuse- 
 ment, and to enable them to digest better their 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 247 
 
 ill-deserved food. Sulpicius Severus* gives an ac- 
 count of the mode of living of an eastern monk, 
 in the beginning of the fifth century, and says ex- 
 pressly that he ground his own corn. Gregory of 
 Tours mentions an abbot who eased his monks of 
 their labour at the hand-mill, by erecting a water- 
 mill. f It deserves here to be remarked, that, in 
 the sixth century, malefactors in France were con- 
 demned to the mill, as is proved by the history of 
 Septimina the nurse of Childebert. £ 
 
 The entrusting of that violent element water to 
 support and drive mills constructed with great art, 
 displayed no little share of boldness; but it was still 
 more adventurous to employ the no less violent but 
 much more untractable, and always changeable 
 wind for the same purpose. Though the strength 
 and direction of the w ind cannot be any w ay alter- 
 ed, it has however been found possible to devise 
 means by which a building can be moved in such 
 a manner that it shall be exposed to neither more 
 nor less w ind than is necessary, let it come from 
 what quarter it may. 
 
 It is very improbable, or much rather false, that 
 the Romans had wind-mills, though Pomponius 
 
 * Dialog, i. 2. edit. Hornii. Amstel. 1665, Svo. p. 44g. 
 
 'f See Gregory of Tours, ut supra. • 
 
 J Septimina vehementer caesa, ac cauteriis accensis in facie vulne- 
 rata, ablatis omnibus quae habebat, in Marilegium villam deducitur, 
 ut scilicet, trahens molam, his quae in gynaecio erant positae, per dies 
 singulos farinas ad victus necessarias praepararet. Histor. Francorum, 
 lib. ix. 38. p.462. 
 
248 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Sabinus affirms so, but without any proof.* * * § Vitru- 
 vius, f where he speaks of all moving forces, 
 mentions also the wind ; but he does not say a 
 word of wind-mills ; nor are they noticed either 
 by Seneca J or Chrysostom, § who have both 
 spoken of the advantages of the wind. I consider 
 as false also, the account given by an old Bo- 
 hemian annalist, || who says, that before the year 
 718 there were none but wind-mills in Bohemia, 
 and that water-mills were then introduced for 
 the first time. I am of opinion that the author 
 meant to have written hand and cattle-mills in- 
 stead of wind-mills. 
 
 It has been often asserted, that these mills were 
 first invented in the East, and introduced into Eu- 
 rope by the crusaders ; but this also is improbable; 
 for mills of this kind are not at all, or very seldom, 
 found in the East. There are none of them in 
 Persia, Palestine, or Arabia, and even water-mills 
 
 * See Pomponius Sabinus, ut supra. 
 
 Lib. ix. c. 9. lib. x. c. 1, 13. 
 
 J Natur. quaest. lib. v. c. 18. 
 
 § Chrysost. in psalm, cxxxiv. p. 362. 
 
 ]| At the same period (7 18) one named Halek, the son of Uladi 
 the weak, built close to the city an ingenious mill which was driven 
 by water. It was visited by many Bohemians, in whom it excited 
 much wonder, and who taking it as a model, built others of the like 
 kind here and there on the rivers ; for before that time all the Bo- 
 hemian mills were wind-mills, erected on mountains. Wenceslai 
 Hagecii Chronic. Bohem. translated into German by John SandeL 
 Nuremberg l697> fob p- 13. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 249 
 
 are there uncommon, and constructed on a small 
 scale. Besides, we find wind-mills before the 
 crusades, or at least at the time when they were 
 first undertaken. It is probable that these build- 
 ings may have been made known to a great part 
 of Europe, and particularly in France and Eng- 
 land,* by those who returned from these expedi- 
 tions ; but it does not thence follow, that they 
 were invented in the Eastf The crusaders per- 
 haps saw such mills in the course of their travels 
 through Europe; very probably in Germany, 
 which is the original country of most large ma- 
 
 * See De la Mare, Traite de la police, &c. ut supra. Description 
 duduchd de Bourgogne. Dijon 1775, 8vo. i. p. 163- Dictionnaire 
 des Origines, par d’Origny, v. p. 184. The last work has an at- 
 tracting title, but it is the worst of its kind, written without correct- 
 ness or judgment, and without giving authorities. 
 
 f There are no wind-mills at Ispahan, nor in any part of Persia. 
 The mills are all driven by water, by the hand, or by cattle. Voyages 
 de Chardin. A Rouen 1723, 8vo. viii. p. 221 .— The Arabs have no 
 wind-mills ; these are used in the East only in places where no streams 
 are to be found ; and in most parts the people make use of hand-mills. 
 Those which I saw on Mount Lebanon and Mount Carmel had a 
 great resemblance to those which are found in many parts of Italy. 
 They are exceedingly simple, and cost very little. The mill-stone and 
 the wheel are fastened to the same axis. The wheel, if it can be so 
 called, consists of eight hollow ‘boards, shaped like a shovel, placed 
 across the axis. When the water falls with violence upon these 
 boards it turns them round and puts in motion the mill-stone, over 
 which the corn is poured. Darvieux, Merkwurdige nachrichten 
 von seinen reisen. Part iii. Copenhagen and Leipsic 17^4, 8vo. 
 p. 201. — I did not see either water or wind-mills in all Arabia. I, 
 however, found an oil-press at Tehama, which was driven by oxen ; 
 and thence suppose that the Arabs have corn-mills of the like kind , 
 Niebuhr, Beschreibung von Arabien, p. 217- 
 
250 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 chines. In the like manner, the knowledge of 
 several useful things has been introduced into 
 Germany by soldiers who have returned from dif- 
 ferent wars ; as the English and French, after 
 their return from the last war, made known in 
 their respective countries many of our useful im- 
 plements of husbandry, such as our straw-chopper, 
 sithe, &c. 
 
 Mabillon mentions a diploma of the year 1 105, 
 in which a convent in France is allowed to erect 
 water and wind. mills, molmdina ad ventum* In 
 the year 1143, there was in Northamptonshire an 
 abbey, situated in a wood, which in the course of 
 180 years was entirely destroyed. One cause 
 of its destruction was said to be, that in the 
 whole neighbourhood there was no house, wind 
 or water-mill built, for w r hich timber was not taken 
 from this wood.f In the twelfth century, when 
 
 * Iisdem etiam facultatem concessit constituendi domos, stagna, 
 molendina ad aquam et ventum, in episcopatu Ebroicensi, Constan- 
 tiensi et Bajocensi, ad augendos monasterii proventus. Mabillon , 
 Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti, tom. v. Lut. Paris 1713, fol. p. 474. 
 
 f Praeterea non fait in patria, aula, camera, orreum, molendinum 
 venticium sive aquaticum alicujus valoris plan tata sine adminiculo ali- 
 quo boscorum SanctaeMariae dePipewalla (so the wood was called). 
 
 quotvirgae molendinoruna venticiorum dabanturin temporibus di- 
 versorum abbatum nemo novit, nisi Deus. Caussa tertia destructionis 
 boscorum fuit in constructione et emendatione domorum infra abba- 
 thiam et extra, utpote in grangiis, orreis, bercariis, molendinis aqua- 
 ticis et venticiis per vices. — The letter of donation, which appears 
 also to be of the twelfth century, may be found in the same collection, 
 vol. ii. p. 459 . In it occurs the expression molendinum ventriticum. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 251 
 
 these mills began to be more common, a dispute 
 arose whether the tythes of them belonged to the 
 clergy ; and pope Celestine III determined the 
 question in favour of the church.* In the year 
 1332 , one Bartolomeo Verde proposed to the 
 Venetians to build a wind-mill. When his plan 
 had been examined, a piece of ground was assign- 
 ed to him, which he was to retain in case his un- 
 dertaking should succeed within a time specified. f 
 In the year 13 93, the city of Spires caused a wind- 
 mill to be erected, and sent to the Netherlands for 
 a person acquainted with the method of grinding 
 by it. X A wind-mill was also constructed at 
 Francfort in 1442 , but I do not know whether 
 there had not been some there before. § 
 
 To turn the mill to the wind, two methods have 
 been invented. The whole building is constructed 
 in such a manner as to turn on a post below, or 
 the roof alone, together with the axle-tree, and the 
 
 In a charter also in vol. iii. p. 107, we read of molendinum ventorium. 
 Monasticon Anglicanum, sice Pandect <z Coenoliorum, edit. sec. 
 Lond. 1682, fol. i. p. 8 1 6. 
 
 * De reditibus molendini ad ventum solvendae sunt decimae. De- 
 cretal Greg. lib. iii. tit. 30. c. 23. 
 
 f Gir. Zanetti dell’ origine di alcune arte appresso i Veneziani. 
 Venez. 1758, 4to. p. 74. Pro faciendo unum molendinum a vento. 
 Le Bret, Geschichte von Venedig, ii. 1. p. 233. 
 
 X Lehmanns Chronica der Stadt Speyer. Frankf. 1662, 4to. 
 p. 847. “ Sent to the Netherlands for a miller who could grind 
 
 “ with the wind-mill.” 
 
 § Lersner, Frankf. Chronik. ii. p. 22. 
 
252 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 wings are moveable. Mills of the former kind 
 are called German-mills, those of the latter Dutch. 
 They are both moved round either by a wheel 
 and pinion within, or by a long lever without.* 
 I am inclined to believe that the German-mills 
 are older than the Dutch; for the earliest de- 
 scriptions which I can remember, speak only of the 
 former. Cardan,']' in whose time wind-mills were 
 very common both in France and Italy, makes 
 however no mention of the latter ; and the Dutch 
 themselves affirm, that the mode of building with 
 a moveable roof was first found out by a Fleming 
 in the middle of the sixteenth century. $ Those 
 mills, by which in Holland the water is drawn up 
 and thrown off from the land, one of which was 
 built at Alkmaar in 1408, another at Schoonhoven 
 in 1450, and a third at Enkhuisen in 1452, were 
 at first driven by horses, and afterwards by wind. 
 
 * Descriptions and figures of both kinds may be found in Leupold’s 
 Theatrum machinarum generate. Leipzig 1724, fol. p. 101. tab. 41, 
 42, 43. 
 
 I - Nor can I pass over in silence what is so wonderful, that be- 
 fore I saw it I could neither believe nor relate it, though commonly 
 talked of, without incurring the imputation of credulity. But a 
 thirst for science overcomes bashfulness. In many parts of Italy, 
 therefore, and here and there in France, there are mills which are 
 turned round by the wind. De rerum varietate , lib. i. cap. 10, in 
 the edition of all his works, Lugduni 1663, fol. vol. iii. p. 26. 
 
 X This account I found in De koophandelvan Amsterdam, door Le 
 Long. Amst. 1727 5 2 vol. 8vo. ii. p. 584. De beweege/y/ce kap, om 
 de moolens op all winden te zetten, is eerst in t midden van de xvide. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 255 
 
 But as these mills were immoveable, and could 
 work only when the wind was in one quarter, they 
 were afterwards placed not on the ground, but on 
 a float which could be moved round in such a 
 manner that the mill should catch every wind.* 
 This method gave rise perhaps to the invention of 
 moveable mills. 
 
 It is highly probable, that in the early ages men 
 were satisfied with only grinding their corn, and 
 that in the course of time they fell upon the in- 
 vention of separating the meal from the pollard 
 or bran. This was at first done by a sieve moved 
 with the hands; and even yet in France, when what 
 is called mouture en grosse is employed, there is a 
 particular place for bolting, where the sieve is 
 moved with the hand by means of a handle. It is 
 customary also in many parts of Lower Saxony and 
 Alsace, to bolt the flour separately; for which pur- 
 
 eeuuo door een VTaaming uytgevonden. “ The moveable top for 
 «' turning the mill round to every wind was first found out in the 
 ** middle of the sixteenth century by a Fleming.” We read there 
 that this is remarked by John Adrian Leegwater ; but of this man I 
 know nothing more than what is related of him in the above work, 
 that he was celebrated on account of various inventions, and died in 
 l650, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. See also Beschryving der 
 Stadt Delft, door verscheide Liefhebbers en Kenners der Neder- 
 landsche oudheden. Te Delft, 1729 , fol. p. 623. 
 
 * De molens hadden doen (toen) vaste kappen, zoo datze maar 
 met eene wind malen konde, waarom men op zekere plaats, om dit 
 ongeval voor te kommen, een molen op een groot vlot neder zette, 
 dat men dan naar den wind draide. See the History of the city of 
 Delft, above quoted. 
 
254 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 pose various sieves are necessary. The Romans 
 had two principal kinds, cribra excussoria and pol - 
 linaria, the latter of which gave the finest flour, 
 called pollen. Sieves of horse-hair were first made 
 
 by the Gauls, and those of linen by the Spaniards.* 
 The method of applying a sieve in the form of an 
 extended bag to the works of the mill, that the 
 meal might fall into it as it came from tfae stones, 
 and of causing it to be turned and shaken by the 
 machinery, was first made known in the beginning 
 of the sixteenth century, as we are expressly told 
 in several ancient chronicles, f 
 
 This invention gave rise to an employment 
 which at present maintains a great many people ; I 
 
 * Cribrorum genera Galli e setis equorum invenere, Hispani e 
 lino excussoria et pollinaria. iEgyptus e papyro atque junco. Plin. 
 lib. xviii. cap. 11. 
 
 f At midsummer 1502, machinery for bolting in mills was first 
 introduced and employed at Zwikau; Nicholas Boiler, who gave rise 
 to this improvement, beingthen sworn master of the bakers’ company. 
 It may be thence easily seen, that coarse and not bolted flour, such 
 as is still used in many places, and as was used through necessity here 
 at Zwikaa in 1641, was before that period used for baking. Chro- 
 nica Cygnea, or Description of the town of Zwi/cau, by Tobias 
 Schmidten. Zwikau 1656, v. vol. 4to. ii. p. 24g. See also Theatri 
 Freibergensis Chronicon. Pars posterior. Freyberg. 1653, 4to. p. 335. 
 Anno 1580, a great drought and scarcity of water. Of all the mills 
 near town there were only fifteen going ; and in order that the peo- 
 ple might be better supplied with meal, the bolting-machinery was 
 removed, and this was attended with such good effect that each 
 mill could grind twice as much as before. In Walser’s Appenzeller 
 Chronik. S. Gall. 1740, 8vo. p. 471, we are told that about that time 
 (1533) a freeman of ^lemmingen taught the people of Appenzel to 
 make the beautiful white bolted flour so much and so far celebrated. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 25$ 
 
 mean that of preparing bolting-cloths, or those 
 kinds of Cloth through which meal is sifted in mills. 
 As this cloth is universally used, a considerable 
 quantity of it is consumed. For one bolting- cloth, 
 five yards are required ; we may allow, therefore, 
 twenty-five to each mill in the course of a year. 
 When this is considered, it will not appear impro- 
 bable, that the electorate of Saxony, according to a 
 calculation made towards the end of the 17th cen- 
 tury, when manufactories of this cloth were esta- 
 blished, paid for it yearly to foreigners from twelve 
 to fifteen thousand rix-dollars. That kind of bolt- 
 ing-cloth also which is used for a variety of needle- 
 work, for young ladies’ samplers, and for filling up 
 the frames of window-screens, &c. is wove after the 
 manner of gauze, of fine-spun woollen yarn. One 
 might imagine that this manufacture could not be 
 attended with any difficulty; yet it requires many 
 ingenious operations which the Germans cannot 
 easily perform, and with which they are, perhaps, 
 not yet perfectly acquainted. However this may 
 be, large quantities of bolting-cloth are imported 
 from England. It indeed costs half as much again 
 per yard as the German cloth, but it lasts much 
 longer. A bolting-cloth of English manufacture 
 will continue good three months, but one of Ger- 
 man will last scarcely three weeks. The wool ne- 
 cessary for making this cloth must be long, well 
 washed, and spun to a fine equal thread, which, 
 before it is scowered, must be scalded in hot water 
 
256 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 to prevent it from shrinking. The web must be 
 stiffened; and in this the English have an advan- 
 tage we have not yet been able to attain. Their 
 bolting-cloth is stiffer as well as smoother, and lets 
 the flour much better through it than ours, which 
 is either very little or not at all stiffened. The 
 places where this cloth is made are also not nume- 
 rous. A manufactory of it was established at Ostra, 
 near Dresden, by Daniel Kraft, about the end of 
 the 17 th century;* and to raise him a capital for 
 carrying it on, every mill was obliged to pay him 
 a dollar. Hartau, near Zittau, is indebted for its 
 manufactory to Daniel Plessky, a linen-weaver of 
 the latter, who learned the art of making bolting- 
 cloth in Hungary, when on a visit to his relations, 
 and was enabled to carry it on by the assistance of 
 a schoolmaster named Strietzel. Since that period 
 this business has been continued there, and become 
 common, f The cloth which is sent for sale, not 
 only every where around the country, but also to 
 Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, is wove in pieces. 
 Each piece contains from sixty-four to sixty-five 
 Leipsic ells: the narrowest is ten, and the widest 
 fourteen inches in breadth. A piece of the former 
 costs at present from four to about four dollars and 
 a half, and one of the latter six dollars. This 
 
 * Some information respecting this manufacturer may be found 
 in the second and fourteenth volumes of the Leipziger Samlungen. 
 
 f Transactions of the economical society at Leipsic, Michael-mass 
 1772, Dresden, 8vo. p. 79- 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 $57 
 
 cloth, it must be allowed, is not very white ; but 
 it is not liable to spoil by lying in warehouses. 
 Large quantities of bolting- cloth are made also by 
 a company in the duchy of Wurtemberg. At what 
 time this art was introduced there, I cannot say : for 
 every thing I know of it I am indebted to a friend, 
 who collected for me the following information in 
 his return through that country. The cloth is not 
 wove in a manufactory, but by eighteen or twenty 
 master-weavers, under the inspection of a company 
 who pay them, and who supply all the materials. 
 The company alone have the privilege of deal- 
 ing in this cloth ; and the millers must purchase 
 from their agents whatever quantity they have 
 occasion for. # The millers, however, choose ra- 
 ther, if they can, to supply themselves privately 
 with foreign and other home-made bolting-cloth, 
 as they complain that the weavers engaged by the 
 company do not bestow sufficient care to render 
 their cloth durable : besides, the persons employed 
 to carry about this cloth for sale, often purchase 
 secretly cloth of an inferior quality in other places, 
 and sell it as that of the company. Bolting-cloth 
 is made also at Gera as well as at Potsdam and 
 Berlin; at the latter of which there is a manufac- 
 tory of it carried on by the Jews. 
 
 * According to the general rescript of 1750, which has been often 
 renewed. See Das recht der handwerJcer nach Wirtem lergischen 
 gesetzen, entworfen von Weisser. Stutgart 1779> 8vo. P- 220 and 
 377. This company obtained that exclusive right so early as the 
 year 1668. 
 
 VOL. I. S 
 
258 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 For some years past the French have so much 
 extolled a manner of grinding called mouture 
 economique , that one might almost consider it as 
 a new invention, which ought to form an epoch 
 in the history of the miller’s art. This art, which 
 however, is not new, consists in not grinding the 
 flour so fine at once as one may wish, and in put- 
 ting the meal afterwards several times through the 
 mill, and sifting it through various sieves. This 
 method, which in reality has nothing in it either 
 very ingenious or uncommon, was known to the 
 ancient Romans, as we may conclude from the ac- 
 count of Pliny, who names the different kinds of 
 meal, such a similago, simila,Jlos , pollen , cibarium , 
 &c . ; for these words are not synonymous, but ex- 
 press clearly all the various kinds of meal or flour 
 which were procured from the same corn by re- 
 peated grinding and sifting. In general, the Ro- 
 mans had advanced very far in this art; * and they 
 
 * One may easily perceive by what Pliny says, that the Romans 
 had made a variety of observations and experiments on grinding and 
 baking. By comparing his information with what we know at pre- 
 sent, I have remarked two things, which, as they will perhaps be 
 serviceable to those who hereafter may endeavour to illustrate Pliny, 
 I shall lay before the reader. That author says, book xviii. ch. 9. 
 Qua; sicca moluntur plus farina: reddunt-, qua salsa aqua sparsu, 
 candidiorem medullam, verurn plus retinent in furfur e. A question 
 here arises, whether the corn was moistened before it was ground, 
 and whether this was done with fresh or with salt water. If Pliny, 
 as is probable, here means a thorough soaking, he is not mistaken ; 
 for it is certain that corn which has been exposed to much wet yields 
 less meal, and that the meal, which is rather gray or reddish than 
 white, will not keep long. The millers also are obliged, when corn 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 239 
 
 knew how to prepare from corn more kinds of 
 meal, and from meal more kinds of bread, than the 
 French have hitherto been able to obtain. Pliny* 
 
 has been much wetted, to put it through the mill oftener, because it 
 is more difficult to be ground. See J. C. Fulmann, Erfahrungen 
 von der behandlung des zum vermahlen bestimten getreides. Leipsic 
 1778, 8vo. p. 31. Malouin, BacJcer-und MiiUer-Kunst, the Ger- 
 man translation in Schauplatz der Kunste, viii. p. 1 13, and Hanow 
 Abhandlung von Getreideivagen, in Schriften der Naturforschenden 
 geselschaft in Danzig, i. p. 359- It is true also, that when salt 
 water is used for moistening corn, the meal becomes clammier, and 
 more difficult to be separated from the bran. It is well known that 
 it is not proper to steep in salt water, malt which is to be ground for 
 beer. On the other hand, a moderate soaking, which requires ex- 
 perience and attention, is useful, and is employed in preparing the 
 finest kinds of flour, such as the Frankfort, Augsburg and Ulm spelt- 
 meal, which is exported to distant countries. Many excellent rules 
 on this subject are given by Fullmann , and also ( Reyher ) Abhandlung 
 von zubereitung der weissen starke. Erfurt 1769, 8vo. 
 
 There is another passage in the tenth chapter of the same book of 
 Pliny, where he seems to recommend a thorough soaking of corn 
 that is to be ground. De ipsa ratione pisendi Magonis proponetur 
 sententia : triticum ante perfundi aqua multa jub6t, poslea evalli, 
 delude sole siccatum pilo repeti. I am of opinion that we have here 
 the oldest account of the manner of making meal ; that is, by pound- 
 ing. This appears to me probable from the words immediately pre- 
 ceding, which I have above endeavoured to explain, and from the 
 word evalli. I do not think that it ought to be translated to winnow 
 as Saumaise says, in Exercitat. Pliniante, p. 9O7 ; but agree with 
 Gesner in Thesaur. Steph. that it signifies to free the corn from the 
 husk. The corn was first separated from the husks by pounding, 
 which was more easily done after the grain had been soaked ; the 
 shelled corn was then soaked again, and by these means rendered so 
 brittle, that it was easily pounded to meal. The like method is em- 
 ployed when people make grits without a mill, only by pounding ; 
 a process mentioned by Kriinitz in his Encyclopedic, vol. ix. p. 805. 
 
 * Plin. lib. xviii. c. 10. 
 
260 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 reckons that bread should be one-third heavier 
 than the meal used for baking it ; and that this 
 was the proportion in Germany above a hundred 
 years ago, is known from experiments on bread 
 made at different times, which, however uncertain 
 they may always have been, give undoubtedly 
 more bread than meal.* In latter times, the arts of 
 grinding and of baking have declined very much 
 in Italy ; and sensible Italians readily acknowledge 
 that their bread is much inferior to that of most 
 parts of Europe, and that in this respect the Ger- 
 mans are their masters, f Rome indeed forms an 
 exception ; for one can procure there as good bread 
 as in Germany; but it is necessary to acquaint the 
 reader, that it is not baked by Italians but by Ger- 
 mans ; and all the bread and biscuit baked at Ve- 
 nice in the public ovens, either for home consump- 
 tion, the use of shipping, or for exportation, is the 
 work of German masters and journeymen. They 
 are called to Venice expressly for that purpose; and 
 at Rome they form at present a company, and have 
 
 * Farther information on this subject may be found collected in 
 Krunitz, JEncy elope die, vol. iii. p. 384. According to experiments 
 mentioned by Kohler in the appendix to his Rechenmeister, a hun- 
 dred pounds of meal in Germany produce a hundred and fifty 
 pounds of dough, and these a hundred and fifty-three pounds eleven 
 and a half ounces of good bread. 
 
 + See the treatise of Rosa, professor of medicine at Pavia, on the 
 Baking of bread in Lombardy, in Atti dell’ academia delle scienze di 
 Siena, tom. iv. p. 321. Also L'amico depoveri, che insegna il vero 
 modo di fare il pan venale. In Firenze 1773, 8vo. See also Phy- 
 aihal-iikon. bihlioth. iv. 365, and v. p. 45. 
 
CORN* MILLS. 
 
 fi6l 
 
 a very elegant church.* The ovens of these Ger- 
 man bakers are seldom suffered to cool, and the 
 greater part of the owners of them become rich ; 
 but as through avarice they often continue their 
 labour, without interruption, in the greatest heat 
 for several days and nights, scarcely one in ten of 
 them lives to return with his wealth to Germany. 
 The Germans have, it is certain, long supplied the 
 inhabitants of proud Rome, the metropolis of Ca- 
 tholic Christendom, with bread ; for in the fifteenth 
 century it was customary in all the great families 
 to use no other than German bread, as is very cir- 
 cumstantially related by Felix Fabri, a Dominican 
 monk, who wrote about the end of the above cen- 
 tury, and died in 1502.'!' 
 
 * Schloezers Staatsanzeigen, i. numb. 2. p. 21Q. 
 
 •f Italy, the most celebrated country in the world, and abundant 
 ingrain, has no delicate, wholesome, and pleasant bread, but what is 
 baked by a German baker, who, by art and industrious labour, sub- 
 dues the fire, temperates the heat, and equalises the flour in such a 
 manner, that the bread becomes light, fine, and delicate ; whereas, if 
 baked by an Italian, it is heavy, hard, unwholesome, and insipid. 
 His holiness, therefore, prelates, kings, princes, and great lords sel- 
 dom eat any bread except what is baked in the German manner. 
 The Germans not only bake well our usual bread, but they prepare 
 also biscuit for the use of ships or armies in the time of war, with so 
 much skill, that the Venetians have German bakers only in their 
 public bake-houses ; and their biscuit is sent far and wide over Il- 
 lyria, Macedonia, the Hellespont, Greece, Syria, Egypt, Libya, 
 Mauritania, Spain, France, and even to the Orkney Islands and 
 Britain, to be used by their own seamen, or sold to other nations.” 
 Historia Suevorum, lib. i. c. 8. This history of Felix Fabri may be 
 found in Suevicarum rerum scriptores aliquot ex bibliotheca et recen- 
 sione Goldasti, printed for the first time at Francfort, lb05, 4to. 
 and again at Ulm, 1727, fol. 
 
262 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 The mouture economique has been long known in 
 Germany. Sebastian Muller, in the beginning of 
 the 17th century, gave so clear a description of it, 
 that the French even acknowledge it.* This au- 
 thor says, that one Butre, who came to Germany 
 to teach the Germans to grind and to bake, was 
 not a little disconcerted when he found his scholars 
 more expert than their officious master, and that 
 he met with nothing to console him but that, ac- 
 cording to his opinion, the mill-stones at Carlsruhe 
 were too small, and that the bolting-sieves were 
 not made in the same manner as those at Paris.'}' 
 Millers and bakers, even in France, practised 
 sometimes this method of grinding so early as the 
 sixteenth century; but it was some time forbidden 
 by the police as hurtful. In the year 1546, those 
 were threatened with punishment who should grind 
 their corn twice; J and in 1658 this threat was re- 
 newed, and the cause added, that such a practice 
 was prejudicial to the health. |) Such prohibitions, 
 
 * Bericht von brodtbacken, fundiret und gerichtet auf die sub- 
 stanz, natur, eigenschaft und giittigkeit des fruchtwachs, gestellet 
 durch Sabaldum Mullern, burgern zu Konigsberg in Preussen. 
 Leipsig 1 (5 1(5, 4to. nebst einigen tabellen. Muller’s work is pub- 
 lished also in Arcana et curiositates (economical , or Curious secrets 
 respecting domestic ceconomy, collected by David Maiern, 1 706, 
 8vo. the place where printed not mentioned. 
 
 f Schreber, in his Observations on Malouin, shows that the 
 mill-stones in France are too large. 
 
 J Traitd de la police, par De la Mare, ii. p. 25Q. 
 
 || Defenses sont aussi faites a tous boulangers, tant mattres que 
 forains, de faire remoudre aucun son, pour par apres en faire et fa- 
 briquer du pain, attendu qu’il seroit indigne d’entrer au corps hu« 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 263 
 
 however, made by the police without sufficient- 
 grounds, could not prevent intelligent persons 
 from remarking that the bran still contained meal, 
 which, when separated from it, would be as proper 
 for food as the first. Those who had observed this 
 were induced by the probability of advantage, to 
 try to separate the remaining meal from the bran ; 
 and the attempt was attended with success, but it 
 was necessary to keep it concealed. Malouin re- 
 lates, that, above a hundred years before, a miller 
 at Senlis employed this method, and that the same 
 practice was generally, though privately, introduced 
 at all the mills in the neighbourhood. There were 
 people who made a trade of purchasing bran in 
 order to separate it from the meal, which they sold ; 
 and it is probable that many of them canied the 
 art too far, and even ground bran along with the 
 meal. This w 7 as done chiefly during times of scai- 
 city, as in the year 1709- As men at that time 
 were attentive to every advantage, this art was 
 more known and more used, so that at length it 
 became common. The clergy of the royal chapel 
 
 main, sur peine de quarante-huit livres Parisis d’amende. De la 
 Mare, p. 228 . The following was the true cause of this prohibi- 
 tion. As a heavy tax in kind was demanded for all the meal brought 
 to Paris, many sent thither not meal, but bran abundant in meal, 
 which they caused to be ground and sifted there, and by these means 
 acquired no small gain. When the tax was abolished, an end was 
 put to this deception, which would otherwise have brought the 
 noutare economique much sooner to perfection. 
 
264 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 and parish church at Versailles sent their wheat to 
 be ground at an adjacent mill ; it was, according 
 to custom, put through the mill only once, and the 
 bran, which still contained a considerable quantity 
 of meal, was sold for fattening cattle. In time, the 
 miller, having learned the mouture economique , pur* 
 chased the bran from these ecclesiastics, and found 
 that it yielded him as good flour as they procured 
 from the whole w'heat. The miller at length dis- 
 covered to them the secret, and gave them after- 
 wards fourteen bushels of flour from their wheat, 
 instead of eight which he had given them before. 
 This voluntary discovery of the miller was made 
 in 1760, and it is probable that the art was dis- 
 closed by more at the same time. A baker named 
 Malisset proposed to the lieutenant-general de 
 police to teach a method, by which people could 
 grind their corn with more advantage; and expe- 
 riments were set on foot and published, which 
 proved the possibility of it. A mealman of Senlis, 
 named Buquet, w ho had the inspection of the mill 
 belonging to the large hospital at Paris, made the 
 same proposal ; the result of his experiments, con- 
 ducted under the direction of magistrates, was 
 printed ; the investigation of this art was now taken 
 up by men of learning, who gave it a suitable name ; 
 and they explained it, made calculations on it, and 
 recommended it so much, that the mouture, econo - 
 mique engaged the attention of all the magistrates 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 265 
 
 throughout France.* Government sent Buquet 
 to Lyons in 1764, to Bourdeaux in 1766, to Dijon 
 in 1767, and to Mondidier in 1768; and the be- 
 nefit which France at present derives from this 
 improvement is well worth that trouble. Before 
 that period, a Paris setter yielded from eighty to 
 ninety pounds of meal, and from one hundred and 
 fifty to one hundred and sixty pounds of bran-, but 
 the same quantity yields now one hundred and 
 eighty-five, and according to the latest improve- 
 ments one hundred and ninety-five pounds of meal. 
 In the time of St. Louis, from four to five seders 
 were reckoned necessary for the yearly maintenance 
 of a man, and these even were scarcely sufficient; 
 so many were allowed to the patients in the hospi- 
 tal aux Quinze-Vingts ; and such was the calcula- 
 tion made by Budee in the sixteenth century. f 
 When the miller’s art was every where improved, 
 these four seticrs were reduced to three and a half, 
 and after the latest improvements to two. $ 
 
 * Histoire de la vie privde des Francois, par M. Le Grand d’Aussy. 
 Paris 1782, 3 vol. 8vo. i. p. 50. 
 
 Budseus de asse. Basiliae 1556, fol. p. 214. 
 
 % The principal writers on the mouture Economique are the fol- 
 lowing : Memoir e sur les avantages de la mouture economique, par 
 B. Dijon, 176g, 8vo. Manuel demeunier, et charpentier de moulins ; 
 ou Traite de la mouture economique, redige sur les memoires du Sr. 
 Cesar Buquet: par M. Beguillet. Paris 1775, 8vo. Traite de la 
 connoissance generale des grains, et de la mouture par economie. Par 
 M. Beguillet, 1775, 2 vol. 8vo. Pain economique, par M. de Butre. 
 Carlsruhe 1777, Svo. Le parfait loulanger, par M. Parmentier. 
 Paris 1778, 8vo. See Professor Beckmann’s Biblioth. x. 74, 79* 
 
066 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Mills by which grain is only freed from the husk 
 and rounded, are called barley-mills, and belong 
 to the new inventions. At first barley was pre- 
 pared only by pounding, but afterwards by grind- 
 ing; and as it was more perfectly rounded by the 
 latter method, it was distinguished from that made 
 by pounding by the name of pearl-barley. Barley- 
 mills differ very little in their construction from 
 meal-mills ; and machinery for striking barley is 
 generally added to the latter. The principal dif- 
 ference is that the mill-stone is rough-hewn around 
 its circumference ; and, instead of an under stone, 
 has below it a wooden case, within which it revolves, 
 and which, in the inside, is lined with a plate of 
 iron pierced like a grater, with holes, the sharp 
 edges of which turn upwards. The barley is thrown 
 upon the stone, which, as it runs round, draws it in, 
 frees it from the husk, and rounds it; after which 
 it is put into sieves and sifted.* At Ulm, how- 
 ever, the w'ell-known Ulm barley is struck by a 
 common mill, after the stones have been sepa- 
 rated a sufficient distance from each other, 'f The 
 first kind of barley-mills is a German invention. 
 In Holland the first was erected at Saardam not 
 earlier than the year 1660. This mill, which at 
 first was called the Pellikaan, scarcely produced in 
 
 * Beyers Theatrum machin. molar, p. 85. Sprengels Handwerke 
 und kiinste, xii. p. 77 . 
 
 t Schrebers Beytriige zur beforderung der haushaltungskunde, 
 Munster 17 / 6 , 8vo. p. 230. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 267 
 
 several years profit sufficient to maintain a family ; 
 but in the beginning of the last century there were 
 at Saardam fifty barley-mills, which brought con- 
 siderable gain to their proprietors. * 
 
 As long as the natural freedom of man conti- 
 nued unrestrained by a multiplicity of laws, every 
 person was at liberty to build on his own lands and 
 possessions whatever he thought proper, and not 
 only water- but also wind-mills. This freedom 
 was not abridged even by the Roman law. j' But 
 as it is the duty of rulers to consult what is best for 
 the whole society under their protection, princes 
 took care that no one should make such use of 
 common streams as might impede or destroy their 
 public utility. J On this account, no individual 
 was permitted to construct a bridge over any 
 stream ; and it is highly probable that the proprie- 
 tors of land, when water-mills began to be nume- 
 
 * De pelmoolens zyn in Duytschlandt uytgevonden, waarvan de 
 eerste omtrent den jaare 1660 op dit dorp is gebouwt, die men den 
 naam van de Pellikaan gaf. Dese is’er veele jaaren alleen geweest ; 
 en’t is aanmerkelyk dat toen voor een huysgesin daar mede naauwe- 
 lyks de kost kon gewonnen worden ; daar’er nu wel 50 zyn waar 
 van de eygenaars alle rykelyk konnen bestaan. De koophandel van 
 Amsterdam, door Le Long. 1727 , ii* p- 538. 
 
 + Fluminum publicorum communis est usus, sicuti viarum pub- 
 licarum et litorum. In his igitur publice licet cuilibet aedificare et 
 destruere ; dum tamen hoc sine incommodo cujusquam fiat. Du 
 gestorum lib. xxxix. tit. 2. 24. 
 
 J Ait praetor; Ne quid in flumine publico ripave ejus facias, lie 
 quid in flumine publico neve in ripa ejus immittas, quo statio iterve 
 navigio deterior sit, fiat. Digesior. lib. xliii. tit. 12. 1. 
 
%6 8 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 rous, restrained, from the same principle, the liber- 
 ty of erecting them, and allowed them only, when 
 after a proper investigation they were declared to 
 be not detrimental. Water-mills, therefore, were 
 included among what were called regalia ; and 
 among these they are expressly reckoned by the 
 emperor Frederic I.* On small streams, however, 
 which were not navigable, the proprietors of the 
 banks might build mills every where along them.t 
 The avarice of land-holders, favoured by the 
 meanness and injustice of governments, and by 
 
 * In C. L.Tolneri Codex diplomaticus Palatinus, printed with his 
 Historia Palatina, Francof. ad Moen, 1700, fol. p. 54, there is a di- 
 ploma of Frederic I, of the year 1 15g, which contains the following 
 words : “ Quia vero superius mentionem de regaiibus fecimus, ne 
 quis de eis dubitet, nominatim ea exprimimus. Haec itaque regalia 
 esse dicuntur ; uioneta, viae public®, aquatilia, flurnina, publica 
 molendina, furni, forestica, &c.” Much to the same purpose is a 
 passage of Gunther’s poem Ligurinus, which may be found in 
 Reuben Scriptores veteres de rebus Ceesarum Germanicorum. Fran- 
 cof. 1584, fol. p. 408. 
 
 Postea sollicite regni de jure vetusto 
 Qusestio mota fuit ; quod desuetudine longa 
 Priscus inumbrabat neglecti temporis error. 
 
 Ac primum Ligures, super hoc a rege rogati, 
 
 Vectigal, portus, cudendae jura monetae, 
 
 Cumque molendinis, - - - - - 
 Haec Ligures sacro tribuerunt omnia fisco. 
 
 In Reliquice manuscriptorum ex museo J. P. a Ludewig. Francof. 
 1720 , 8vo. ii. p. 200, we read an instance of the emperor Frederic I 
 having forbidden the building of a mill. 
 
 f Non autem omne, quod in flumine publico ripave fit, coercet 
 praetor ; sed si quid fiat quo deterior statio et navigatio fiat. Ergo 
 hoc interdictum ad ea tantum flumina publica pertinetquae sunt na- 
 vigabilia : ad caetera non pertinet. DigesLor. lib. xliii. tit. 11, 12. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 269 
 
 the weakness of the people, extended this regality 
 not only over all streams, but also over the air and 
 wind-mills. The oldest example of this with which 
 I am at present acquainted, is related by Jargow.* 
 In the end of the fourteenth century, the monks of 
 the celebrated but long since destroyed monastery 
 of Augustines, at Windsheim, in the province of 
 Qveryssel, were desirous of erecting a wind-mill 
 not far from Zwoll ; but a neighbouring lord endea- 
 voured to prevent them, declaring that the wind in 
 that district belonged to him. The monks, unwilling 
 to give up their point, had recourse to the bishop 
 of Utrecht, under whose jurisdiction the province 
 had continued since the tenth century. The bishop, 
 highly incensed against the pretender who wished 
 to usurp his authority, affirmed, that the wind of 
 the whole province belonged to him only ; and in 
 1391, gave the convent express permission to build 
 a wind-mill wherever they thought proper, t In 
 
 * Jargow, Einleitung in die lehre von den regalien. Rostock 
 1757, 4 to. p.494. 
 
 f As our monastery had not a mill to grind corn, they resolved to 
 build a new one. When the lord of Woerst heard this, he did every 
 thing in his power to prevent it, saying, that the wind in .Zealand 
 belonged to him, and that no one ought to build a mill there with- 
 out his consent. The matter, therefore, was referred to the bishop 
 of Utrecht, who, as soon as the affair was made known to him, re- 
 plied in a violent passion, that no one had power over the wind 
 within his diocese but himself and the church at Utrecht ; and he 
 immediately granted full power, by letters patent, dated 13yi, to the 
 convent at Windsheim, to build for themselves and their successors 
 a good wind-mill, in any place which they might find convenient. 
 Chronicon Canonicorum regulanum ordinis Angus tint, capituli Win* 
 desemensis ; auctore Joh. Buschio. Antverpiae 1621, 8vo. p. 73 • 
 
270 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTION'S. 
 
 the like manner the city of Ilaerlem obtained leave 
 from Albert count palatine of the Rhine to build 
 a wind-mill in the year 1394.* 
 
 Another restraint to which men in power sub- 
 jected the weak, in regard to mills, was, that vassals 
 were obliged to grind their corn at their lord’s mill, 
 for which they paid a certain value in kind. The 
 oldest account of such ban-mills, molendina banna- 
 ria, occurs in the eleventh century. Fulbert, bishop 
 of Chartres, and chancellor of France, in a letter 
 to Richard duke of Normandy, complains that 
 attempts began to be made to compel the inhabi- 
 tants of a part of that province to grind their corn 
 at a mill situated at the distance of five leagues, j* 
 In the chronicle of the Benedictine monk Hugo 
 de Flavigny, who lived in the eleventh and twelfth 
 century, we find mention of molendina quatuor cum 
 banno ipsius villa. \ More examples of this servi- 
 tude, secta ad molendinum, in the twelfth and thir- 
 teenth centuries, may be seen in Du Fresne, under 
 the words molendinum bannale. 
 
 * Albertus notum facimus quod donavimus donamusque 
 
 — civitati nostrae Harlemianae — ventum molarium a parte australi ci- 
 vitatis nostras praescriptae Heemstadium versus, inter Pacis-fossam 
 et Sparnam. Theod. Schrevelii Harlemum. Lugduni Batavorum 
 1647, 4 to. p. 181. 
 
 •f* This letter of Fulbert may be found in Maxima lilliotheca ve- 
 terum patrum. Lugduni 1677 , fol. tom. xviii. p. 9 . — quod Baldri- 
 cus minister nostris hominibus novam angariam induxerit, bannien- 
 do scilicet ut irent ad molendinum sancti Audoeni, quinque leucis, 
 ut fertur, ab eorum hospitiis remotum. 
 
 X Chron. Virodunense, in Labbei Biblioth. manuscr. i. p. 132. 
 
CORN-MILLS. 
 
 271 
 
 It is not difficult to account for the origin of 
 these ban-mills. When the people were once sub- 
 jected to the yoke of slavery, they were obliged to 
 submit to more and severer servitudes, which, as 
 monuments of feudal tyranny, have continued even 
 to more enlightened times. De la Mare # gives 
 an instance where a lord, in affranchising his sub- 
 jects, required of them, in remembrance of their 
 former subjection, and that he might draw as 
 much from them in future as possible, that they 
 should agree to pay a certain duty, and to send 
 their corn to be ground at his mill, their bread to 
 be baked in his oven, and their grapes to be pressed 
 at his wine-press. But the origin of these servitudes 
 might perhaps be accounted for on juster grounds. 
 The building of mills was, at all times, expensive, 
 and undertaken only by the rich, who, to indem- 
 nify themselves for the money expended in order 
 to benefit the public, stipulated that the people in 
 the neighbourhood should grind their com at no 
 other mills than those erected by them. At pre- 
 sent, when every method devised to prevent the 
 deception of millers has been found insufficient, it 
 
 * Thomas, abbe de Saint Germain des Prez, sous le regne de Saint 
 Louis accorda (la manumission ou affranchissement) aux habitans 
 d’ Antony, deVerrieresetde Massy, aumois de Juin 1248, a la charge 
 de cent livres Parisis de rente, et des droits de bannalitd : ut coquant ad 
 furna nostra, molant ad molendina, et premanl ad torcularia nostra. 
 Ces sont les termes des patentes qui en furent expedites, et qui sont 
 conserves dans les archives de cette abbaye. Traites de la police, 
 ii. p. 151. 
 
272 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 is much to be wished that these ban-mills were abo- 
 lished, and that the number of free mills were in- 
 creased. 
 
 VERDIGRISE, or SPANISH GREEN. 
 
 Respecting the preparation of verdigrise, various 
 and in part contradictory opinions have been en- 
 tertained ; and at present, when it is with certainty 
 known, it appears that the process is almost the 
 same as that employed in the time of Theophras- 
 tus, Dioscorides, and Vitruvius.* At that period, 
 however, every natural green copper calx was com- 
 prehended under the name of aerugo. Dioscorides 
 and Pliny say expressly, that a substance of the 
 nature of those stones which yielded copper when 
 fused, was scraped off in the mines of Cyprus; 
 as is still practised in Hungary, where the outer 
 coat of the copper ore is collected in the like man- 
 ner, and afterwards purified by being washed in 
 water.']' Another species, according to the account 
 of Dioscorides, was procured from the water of a 
 grotto in the same island ; and the most saleable 
 natural verdigrise is still collected by a similar 
 
 * Dioscorid. lib. v. cap. 91, 92. Theophrastus de lapidibus, edit. 
 Heinsii, p.399. Plin. lib. xxxiv. cap. 11, 12. Oribasius, Medic, 
 collect, lib. xiii. Stephani Medicse artis principes, p. 453 . Vitruv. 
 lib. vii. cap. 12. 
 
 f Bruckmann, Epistolse itinerar. cent. i. p. 76- 
 
VERDIGRISE, OR SPANISH GREEN. 273 
 
 method in Hungary. The clear water which runs 
 from old copper-works is put into large vessels, 
 and after some time the green earth fails to the 
 bottom as a sediment. '* * * § 
 
 The artificial cerugo of the ancients, however, 
 was our verdigrise, or copper converted into a 
 green calx by vinous acid. To discover the me- 
 thod of procuring this substance could not be dif- 
 ficult, as that metal contracts a green rust oftener 
 than is wished, when in the least exposed to acids. 
 The ancients, for this purpose, used either vessels 
 and plates of copper, or only shavings and 
 filings;'!' and the acid they employed was either 
 the sourest vinegar, J or the sour remains left when 
 they made wine: such as grapes become sour, or 
 the stalks and skins after the juice had been pressed 
 from them. § Sometimes the copper was only ex- 
 posed to the vapour of vinegar in close vessels, so 
 that it did not come into immediate contact with 
 
 * Delius, Anleitungzur Bergbaukunst. Wien. 1773, 4to. p.425. 
 
 + Dioscorides; XsTnSa, pwo-^ara. Plinius; Squame, delimata ccris 
 scobs. 
 
 t Dioscorides : O^o; Ipt/xura-rov. 
 
 § Plinius: vinacea. Dioscorides: crrs^iAa. Theophrastus: Tpv%. 
 The last word has various meanings : sometimes it signifies squeezed 
 grapes; sometimes wine lees, &c. of which Niclas gives examples, 
 in his Observations on Geop. lib. vi. c. 13. p. 457 ; but it can never 
 be translated by amurca, though that word is used by Furlanus, the 
 translator of Theophrastus. The old glossary says, Apopyri, ea-nv 8e 
 eXaiou. Oil, however, has nothing to do with verdigrise. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 T 
 
274 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the acid ; in the same manner as was practised with 
 plates of lead in the time of Theophrastus, when 
 white-lead was made, and as is still practised at 
 present. Sometimes the metal was entirely covered 
 with vinegar, or frequently besprinkled with it, and 
 the green rust was from time to time scraped off;* 
 and sometimes copper filings were pounded with 
 vinegar in a copper mortar, till they were changed 
 into the wished-for green calx. This article was 
 frequently adulterated, sometimes with stones, par- 
 ticularly pumice-stone reduced to powder, and 
 sometimes with copperas, 'j' The first deception 
 was easily discovered; and to detect the second, 
 nothing was necessary but to roast the verdigrise, 
 which betrayed the iron by becoming red; or to 
 add to the verdigrise some gall-nut, the astringent 
 particles of which, united with the ferruginous vi- 
 triol of the copperas, formed an ink, which com- 
 municated a black colour to paper dipped into it. 
 
 In early periods verdigrise was used principally 
 for making plasters, and for other medicinal pur- 
 poses; but it was employed also as a colour, 
 and on that account it is by Vitruvius reckoned 
 among the pigments. When applied to the for- 
 mer purpose, it appears that the copper calx was 
 mixed with various salts and other ingredients. 
 One mixture of this kind was called vermicular 
 
 * This kind was called therefore 101 aerugo rasilis. 
 
 f XaXxavflov, atramentum sutorium. 
 
VERDIGRISE, OR SPANISH GREEN. 275 
 
 verdigrise,* the accounts of which in ancient au- 
 thors seem to some commentators to be obscure ; 
 but in my opinion we are to understand by them, 
 that the ingredients were pounded together till the 
 paste they formed assumed the appearance of pieces 
 or threads like worms ; and that from this resem- 
 blance they obtained their name. For the same 
 reason the Italians give the name of vermicelli to 
 wire-drawn paste of flour used in cookery. ^ 
 When the process for making this kind of ver- 
 digrise did not succeed, the workmen frequently 
 added gum to it, by which the paste was rendered 
 more viscous ; but this mixture is censured both 
 by Pliny and Dioscorides. It appears that the 
 greater part of the verdigrise in ancient times 
 was made in Cyprus, which was celebrated for its 
 copper-works, and in the island of Rhodes. 
 
 At present the greater part of our verdigrise is 
 manufactured at Montpellier in France, and by 
 processes more advantageous than those known to 
 the ancients. The dried stalks of grapes are steep- 
 ed in strong wine, and with it brought to a sour 
 fermentation. When the fermentation has ceased, 
 they are put into an earthen pot, in alternate lay- 
 
 * lop trxwXri%, aerugo scolacea, or vermicularis. 
 
 t Should this explanation be just, we ought For aruca, the name 
 given by Vitruvius to verdigrise, to read eruca: though the conjec- 
 ture of Marcellus Vergilius ( Dioscorides , interprete Mar. Vergilio . 
 Colonise 152Q, fol. p. 656), that the reading should b e <z?iea or area, 
 is no less probable ; for by this epithet its difference from arugo ferri 
 was frequently distinguished. 
 
 x 2 
 
276' HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 ers with plates of copper, the surface of which, in 
 a few days, is corroded by the vinous acid, and 
 the calx is then scraped off.* The manufacturers 
 of this article use only Swedish copper, for which 
 they send to Hamburgh; and it is believed that no 
 wine is so proper for the above purpose as that of 
 Languedoc. However this may be, it is certain, 
 that, even in the fifteenth century, the making of 
 verdigrise was an old and profitable branch of 
 commerce in France. The city of Montpellier hav- 
 ing been obliged to expend large sums in erecting 
 more extensive buildings to carry it on, and hav- 
 ing had very small profits for some years before, 
 received, by letters patent from Charles VI, in 
 1411, permission to demand sixteen sous for every 
 hundred weight of verdigrise made there, t In 
 latter times this trade has decayed very much. 
 Between the years 1748 and 1755, from nine to 
 ten thousand quintals were manufactured annual- 
 ly? by which the proprietors had a clear profit of 
 50,000 crowns; but a sudden change seems to 
 have taken place, for in 1759 the quantity manu- 
 factured was estimated at only three thousand quin- 
 tals. This quantity required 630 quintals of cop- 
 per, valued at 78,750 livres : the expenses of labour 
 amounted to 1,323 livres; the necessary quantity 
 
 * The latest writers on this art are mentioned in Weigel’s Chemie, 
 p'. 527, and Kriinitz, Oekonom. Encycloped. xx. p. 241. 
 
 f This is mentioned by Serane in his treatise, a translation of 
 which may be found in Miner alogischen JBelusiigungen, ii. p. 251. 
 
VERDIGRISE, OR SPANISH GREEN. 277 
 
 of wine, 1033 measures, to 46,485 livres, and ex- 
 traordinaries to 10,330 livres; so that the three 
 thousand quintals cost the manufacturers about 
 136,888 livres. In the year 1759, the pound of 
 verdigrise sold for nine sous six deniers ; so that 
 the three thousand quintals prod uced 142,500 
 livres, which gave a neat profit of only 5612 
 livres.* Other nations, who till that period had 
 purchased at least three-fourths of the French ver- 
 digrise, made a variety of experiments in order to 
 discover a method of corroding copper by mineral 
 acid, which might be cheaper ; and some have so 
 far succeeded that they can supply themselves 
 without the French paint in cases of necessity. 
 As one instance, I shall mention only the verdi- 
 grise manufactured by Gravenhorst and brothers 
 at Brunswick. 
 
 In commerce there is a kind of this substance 
 known under the name of distilled verdigrise, 
 which properly is nothing else than verdigrise pu- 
 rified, and somewhat crystallized by being again 
 dissolved in vinegar. This article has been hi- 
 therto manufactured by the Dutch, and affords 
 an additional example of the industry of that 
 people. Formerly there was only one person at 
 Grenoble acquainted with this art, which he kept 
 secret and practised alone ; but for some years past 
 ithere have been three manufactories of the same 
 
 * Journal oeconom. 1759, p. 311. 
 
^7S HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 kind at Montpellier, and another has been esta- 
 blished at Paris by Baum6.* 
 
 The German name of verdigrise ( spangrun ) has 
 by most authors been translated Spanish green ; 
 and it has thence been concluded that we received 
 that paint first from the Spaniards. This word 
 and the explanation of it are both old ; for we find 
 (Erugo, and viridt Hispanicum translated Spangrun , 
 Spongrun , or SpansgrUn, in many of the earliest 
 dictionaries, t such as that printed in 1480.J For 
 this meaning, however, I know no other proof than 
 the above etymology, w'hich carries with it very 
 little probability ; and 1 do not remember that I 
 ever read in any other works that verdigrise first 
 came from the Spaniards. 
 
 SAFFRON. 
 
 That the Latin word crocus signified the same 
 plant which we at present call saffron, and which, 
 
 * An account of the method of making distilled verdigrise may be 
 found in the following works ; JL Art du distiilateur d' euux-J’ortes, 
 par Demachy. Paris, 1773, fol. p. 1 68. Memoires de I'Academ. 
 des Sciences d Paris, anree 1776. p. 724. 
 
 f Frisch’s Worterbuch, p. 29 1. In the works of George Agricola, 
 printed together at Basle 1546, fol. we find in page 473, where the 
 terms of art are explained : JErugo, Grunspan, or Spansch-griin, 
 quod primo ah Ilispains ad Gerrnaiios sit allatu , barbari nominant 
 viride seris. 
 
 I By Conrad Zeninger Nuremberg. In that scarce work, Josua 
 Maaler, Teutscke Spraach oder Dictionarium Germano-Latinum , 
 Zurich 1561, 4 to. (erugo is called Spangriine. 
 
SAFFRON. 
 
 27 9 
 
 in botany, still retains the ancient name, has, as far 
 as I know, never been doubted; and indeed I know 
 no reason why it should, however mistrustful I may 
 be when natural objects are given out for those 
 which formerly had the like names. The moderns 
 often apply ancient names to things very different 
 from those which were known under them by the 
 Greeks and the Romans : but what we read in 
 ancient authors concerning crocus agrees, in every 
 respect, with our saffron, and can scarcely be ap- 
 plied to any other vegetable production. Crocus 
 was a bulbous-plant, which grew wild in the moun- 
 tains. There were two species of it, one of which 
 blowed in spring, and the other in autumn. The 
 flowers of the latter, which appeared earlier than 
 the green leaves that remained through the winter, 
 contained those small threads or filaments which 
 were used as a medicine and a paint, and employed 
 also for seasoning various kinds of food.* 
 
 It appears that the medicinal use, as well as the 
 name of this plant, has always continued among 
 the Orientals; and the Europeans, who adopted the 
 
 * Plin. lib. xxi. cap. 6. Geopon. lib. xi.cap. 26, and Theophrast. 
 Histor. plant, lib. vi. cap. 6. ; where Joh. Bod. von Stapel, p. 66l, 
 has collected, though not in good order, every thing to be found in 
 the ancients respecting saffron. The small aromatic threads, abun- 
 dant in colour, the only parts of the whole plant sought after, were 
 by the Greeks called yXur£ivi;, xpoxiSf?, or rpr^es ; and by the Romans 
 spices. They are properly the end of the pistil, which is cleft into 
 three divisions. A very distinct representation of this part of the 
 flower maybe seen in plate 184 ofTournefort’s Institut. rei herbaria , 
 
^80 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 medicine of the Greeks, sent to the Levant for 
 saffron,* until they learned the art of rearing it 
 themselves ; and employed it very much until 
 they were made acquainted with the use of more 
 beneficial articles, which they substituted in its 
 stead. Those who are desirous of knowing the 
 pharmaceutical preparation of saffron, and the 
 diseases in the curing of which it was employed, 
 may read Hertodt’s Crocologia, where the author 
 has collected all the receipts, and even the simplest, 
 for preparing it. 'f' 
 
 What in the ancient use of saffron, is most dis- 
 cordant with our taste, at present, is the employing 
 it as a perfume. Not only were halls, theatres, and 
 courts, through which one wished to diffuse an 
 agreeable smell, strewed with this plant, + but it 
 entered into the composition of many vinous ex- 
 tracts, which retained the same scent ; and these 
 costly smelling waters were often made to flow in 
 small streams, which spread abroad their much- 
 admired odour.§ Luxurious people even moist- 
 
 * On this account we often find in prescriptions : Recipe croci 
 Oriental is - - - - 
 
 •t Crocologia, seu curiosa croci enucleatio, congesta a J. F. Her- 
 todt. Jenae 1670 , 8vo. 
 
 J See Beroald’s Observations on the 54th chapter of the Life of 
 Nero by Suetonius. Spartian, in the Life of Adrian, chap. IQ, 
 says : Romae post caeteras immensissimas voluptates in honorem 
 socrus suae, aromatica populo donavit. In honorem Trajani balsama 
 et crocum per gradus theatri fluere jussit. 
 
 § Lucan, in the ninth book of his Pharsalia, verse 800, describing 
 how the blood flows from every vein of a person bit by a kind of ser- 
 
SAFFRON. 
 
 281 
 
 ened or filled with them all those things with 
 which they were desirous of surprising their guests 
 in an agreeable manner,* or with which they orna- 
 mented their apartments. From saffron, with the 
 addition of wax and other ingredients, the Greeks 
 as well as the Romans prepared also scented 
 salves, which they used in the same manner as our 
 ancestors their balsams. | 
 
 Notwithstanding the fondness which the an- 
 cients showed for the smell of saffron, it does not 
 appear that in modern times it w ? as ever much 
 esteemed. As a perfume, it would undoubtedly 
 be as little relished at present as the greater part 
 of the dishes of Apicius, fricassees of sucking pup- 
 pies, J sausages, and other parts of swune, w'hich 
 one could not even mention with decency in gen- 
 
 pent found in Africa, says, that it spouts out in the same manner 
 as the sweet-smelling essence of saffron issues from the limbs of a 
 statue. 
 
 Utque solet pariter totis se effundere signis 
 Corycii pressura croci ; sic omnia membra 
 Emisere simul rutilum pro sanguine virus. 
 
 * Omnes placentae omniaque poma, etiam minima vexatione con- 
 tacta, cceperunt effundere crocum. Petron. Satyr, cap. 60. 
 
 f Of the method of preparing this salve or balsam, mentioned by 
 Athenaeus, Cicero, and others, an account is to be found inDiosco- 
 rides, lib. i. c. 26. 
 
 X Catulos lactentes adeo puros existimabant ad cibum, ut etiam 
 placandis numinibus hostiarum vice uterentur his. Genitse Manse 
 catulo res divina fit, et in coenis Deum etimanum ponitur catulina. 
 Aditialibus quidem epulis celebrem fuisse, Plauti fabulae indicio 
 sunt. Plin. lib. xxix. cap. 4. And Festus says : Catulinam camera 
 esitavisse, hoc est comedisse, Romanos, Plautus in Saturione refert. 
 
gg£ HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 teel company; * though it certainly has the same 
 scent which it had in the time of Ovid, and al- 
 though our organs of smelling are in nothing dif- 
 ferent from those of the Greeks and the Romans. 
 From parts of the world to them unknown, we 
 have, however, obtained perfumes which far excel 
 any with which they were acquainted. We have 
 new flowers, or, at least, more perfect kinds of 
 flowers long known, which, improved either by art 
 or by accident, are superior in smell to all those in 
 the gardens of the Hesperides, of Adonis and Alci- 
 nous, so much celebrated. We have learned the 
 art of mixing perfumes with oils and salts, in such 
 a manner as to render them more volatile, stronger, 
 and more pleasant; and we know how to obtain 
 essences such as the ancient voluptuaries never 
 smelled, and for which they wmuld undoubtedly 
 have given up their saffron. The smelling-bottles 
 and perfumes which are often presented to our 
 beauties, certainly far excel that promised by 
 
 * Martial, b. xiii. ep. 43, praises a cook who dressed the dugs of 
 a sow with so much Ju t and skill, that it appeared as if they still 
 formed a part of the animal, and were full of milk : 
 
 Esse putes nondum sumen ; sic ubere largo 
 Effluit; et vivo lacte papilla tumet. 
 
 A dish of this sort is mentioned by Apicius de arte coquin. lib. vfl. 
 cap. 2. The same author gives directions, book vii. chap. i. for cook- 
 ing that delicious dish of which Horace says, ep. i. 15. 41. nil vulva 
 pulchrms ampla. Further information on this subject may be found 
 in the notes to Pliny’s Epistles, lib. i. 15 ; Plin. lib. xi. c. 37 j Mar- 
 tial, Epig. xiii. 56; and above all, in Joh. Pet. LottichiiCommentar. 
 in Petronium, lib. i. cap. 18. 
 
SAFFRON* 
 
 283 
 
 Catullus to a friend, with the assurance that his 
 mistress had received it from Venus and her 
 Cupids, and that when he smelled it he would wish 
 to become all nose : 
 
 Nam unguentum dabo quod meaepuellae 
 Donarunt Veneres Cupidinesque, 
 
 Quod tu quom olfacies, deos rogabis, 
 
 Totum ut te faciant, Fabulle, nasum. 
 
 It cannot, however, be denied, that both taste 
 and smell depend very much on imagination. 
 We know that many articles of food, as well as 
 spices are more valued on account of their scar- 
 city and costliness than they wmuld otherwise be. 
 Hence things of less value, which approach near to 
 them in quality, are sought after by those who can- 
 not afford to purchase them ; and thus a parti- 
 cular taste or smell becomes fashionable. Brandy 
 and tobacco were at first recommended as medi- 
 cines ; they were, therefore, much used, and by 
 continual habit people at length found a pleasure in 
 these sharp and almost nauseating articles of lux- 
 ury. Substances which gratify the smell become, 
 nevertheless, like the colour of clothes, oft unfa- 
 shionable when they grow too common. Certain 
 spiceries, in which our ancestors delighted, are in- 
 supportable to their descendants, whose nerves are 
 weak and more delicate ; and yet many of the pre- 
 sent generation have accustomed themselves to 
 Strong smells of various kinds, by gradually using 
 
284 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 them more and more, till they have at length be- 
 come indispensable wants. Some have taken snuff 
 rendered so sharp by salts, antimony, sugar of 
 lead, and other poisonous drugs, that the olfactory 
 nerves have been rendered callous, and entirely 
 destroyed by it. 
 
 That saffron was as much employed in season- 
 ing dishes as for a perfume, appears from the 
 oldest work on cookery which has been handed 
 down to us, and which is ascribed to Apicius. Its 
 use, in this respect, has been long continued, and, 
 in many countries, is still more prevalent than 
 physicians wish it to be. Henry Stephen says, 
 “ Saffron must be put into all Lent soups, sauces, 
 “ and dishes ; without saffron we cannot have 
 11 well-cooked peas.*” 
 
 It may readily be supposed that the great use 
 made of this plant in cookery must have induced 
 people to attempt to cultivate it in Europe ; and, 
 in my opinion, it was first introduced into Spain 
 by the Arabs, as may be conjectured from its 
 name, which is Arabic, or rather Persian.')' From 
 
 * Le saffran doit etre mis en tous les potages, sauces, et viandes 
 quadragdsi males. Sans le saffian, nous n’aurions jamais bonne puree, 
 bon pois passes, ni bonne sauce. Apologie pour Herodote, par H. Es- 
 tiene. A la Haye 1735, 2 vol. 8vo. 
 
 f Meninski, in his Turkish Lexion, p. 2448 of the old edition, 
 has Zaeferan, crocus. Golius in his Dictionary gives it as a Per- 
 sian word. That much saffron is also cultivated in Persia, and that 
 it is of the best kind, appears from Chardin. See his Travels, printed 
 
SAFFRON. 
 
 285 
 
 Spain it was, according to every appearance, car- 
 ried afterwards to France, perhaps to Albigeois, 
 and thence dispersed into various other parts. * 
 Some travellers also may, perhaps, have brought 
 bulbs of this plant from the Levant. We are, 
 at least, assured that a pilgrim brought from the 
 Levant to England, under the reign of Edward III, 
 the first root of saffron, which he had found means 
 to conceal in his staff, made hollow for that pur- 
 pose')'. At what period this plant began to be 
 cultivated in Germany I do not know ; but that 
 this was first done in Austria, in 1 579 , is certainly 
 false. Some say that Stephen von Hausen, a na- 
 tive of N uremberg, who, about that time, accom- 
 panied the imperial ambassador to Constantinople, 
 brought the first bulbs to Vienna, from the neigh- 
 
 at Rouen 1723, 10 vol. 12mo. iv. p. 37* That the Spaniards bor- 
 rowed the word safran from the Vandals is much more improbable. 
 It is to be found in Joh. Manana Histor. de rebus Hispania. Hagae 
 1733, fol. i. p. 147. The author, speaking of foreign words intro- 
 duced into the Spanish language, says, Vandalis aliae voces acceptae 
 feruntur, camara , azafran, See. 
 
 * Cours completd’agriculture, redige par Rozier, Paris 1 78 1, 4to, 
 
 i. p. 266. 
 
 -f- It is reported at Saffron-Walden, that a pilgrim, proposing to do 
 good to his country, stole a head of saffron, and hid the same in his 
 palmer’s staff, which he had made hollow before on purpose, and so 
 he brought this root into this realm, with venture of his life; for if 
 he had been taken, by the law of the country from whence it came, 
 he had died for the fact. Voyages collected by Hakluyt, vol. ii. 
 p. 164. The same thing, extracted from Harrison's History of Bri- 
 tain, book iii. chap. 14, is related in The Political Survey of Britain, 
 by J. Campbell . London 1774, 4to. ii. p. 101. 
 
28 6 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 bourhood of Belgrade.* This opinion is founded 
 on the account of Clusius, who, however, does not 
 speak of the autumnal saffron used as a spice, but 
 of an early sort, esteemed on account of the beauty 
 of its flowers. f Clusius has collected more spe- 
 cies of this plant than any of his predecessors ; and 
 has given an account by whom each of them was 
 first made known. 
 
 In the fifteenth and following century, the cul- 
 tivation of saffron was so important an article in the 
 European husbandry, that it was omitted by no 
 writer on that subject ; and an account of it is to be 
 found in Crescentic, J Series, § Heresbach, || Von 
 Hohberg,^" Florinus,* # and others. In those pe- 
 riods, when it was an important object of trade, it 
 was adulterated with various and in part noxious 
 substances; and attempts were made in several 
 
 * Breslaeur Samlung, 1720. November, p. 53 6. 
 
 •t Sexta species primum Germanise innotuit post annum 1579, 
 Stephani van Hausen Noribergensis diligentia, qui ejus anni initio 
 Constantinopoli rediens in comitatu generosi viri Ulrichia Kunnigs- 
 perg (qui praecedente anno honorarium eo tulerat) in Servia, sive 
 Moesia superiore, sub Belgrado florentem eruit, Martio mense. 
 Clusii Rar. plant, hist. Antwerp 1601, fob p. 207. 
 
 t Pietro Crescendo d’agricoltura. In Venetia 1542, 8vo. lib. vi. 
 cap. 25. 
 
 § Le thdatre d’agrioulture et mesnage des champs, d’Olivier de 
 Serres. Seconde edit. Paris 1 G(>3 , 4to p 662. 
 
 || Rei rusticae libri quatuor, conscript! a Conr. Heresbachio. Spi- 
 rae Nemetum 15Q5, 8vo. p. 252. 
 
 Georgica curiosa. 
 
 ** Oeconomus prudens et legalis. 
 
SAFFRON. 
 
 287 
 
 countries to prevent this imposition by severe 
 penalties. In the year 1550, Henry II, king of 
 France, issued an order for the express purpose of 
 preventing such frauds, the following extract from 
 which will show some of the methods employed to 
 impose on the public in the sale of this article 
 “ For some time past,” says the order, “ a cer- 
 “ tain quantity of the said saffron has been found 
 “ altered, disguised, and sophisticated, by being 
 “ mixed with oil, honey, and other mixtures, in 
 “ order that the said saffron, which is sold by 
 “ weight, may be rendered heavier; and some add 
 “ to it other herbs, similar in colour and substance 
 “ to beef over boiled, and reduced to threads, 
 “ which saffron, thus mixed and adulterated, can- 
 “ not be long kept, and is highly prejudicial to the 
 “human body; which, besides the said injury, 
 “ may prevent the above-said foreign merchants 
 “ from purchasing it, to the great diminution of 
 “ our revenues, and to the great detriment of 
 “ foreign nations, against which we ought to pro- 
 “ vide," & c. 
 
 * The whole order may be seen in Traitt de Police, par De la 
 Mare , iii. p. 428. 
 
288 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 ALUM. 
 
 This substance affords a striking instance how 
 readily one may be deceived in giving names with- 
 out proper examination. Our alum was certainly 
 not known to the Greeks or the Romans ; and 
 what the latter called alumen * was vitriol ; not, 
 however, pure vitriol, but such as torms itself in 
 mines, and which is often nothing else than vi- 
 triolic earth. To those who know how deficient 
 the ancients were in the knowledge of salts, and 
 of mineralogy in general, this assertion will with- 
 out further proof appear highly probable. Alum 
 and vitriol are neutral salts, or to speak more cor- 
 rectly, saline substances, which have a very close 
 affinity. Both contain the same acid called the 
 vitriolic ; both have a strong astringent quality, and 
 on this account are often comprehended under the 
 common name of styptic salts. Both are also not 
 only found in the same places, but are frequently 
 obtained from the same minerals ; and both can oe 
 sometimes employed in the like manner, and for 
 the same purposes. I he difference, that vitiiol is 
 combined with a metallic earth, either that of iron, 
 copper or zink, and alum on the othei hand 
 
 * What the Romans called alumen was by the Greeks called 
 
 ffTVTITYlfLlX. 
 
ALUM. 
 
 289 
 
 with a peculiar white earth, called therefore alum- 
 earth, has been established only in modern times. 
 
 A stronger proof, however, in favour of my as- 
 sertion is what follows : The Greeks and the Ro- 
 mans speak of no other than natural alum ; but our 
 alum is seldom produced spontaneously in the 
 earth, and several of our most accurate mineralo- 
 gists, such as Scopoli and Sage, * deny the exist- 
 ence of natural alum. Real alum crystals are 
 formed very rarely, on minerals which abound in 
 a great degree with aluminous particles, when they 
 have been exposed a sufficient time to the open air 
 and the rain ; f and even then they are so small 
 and so much scattered, that it requires an expe- 
 rienced and attentive observer to know and disco- 
 ver them. The smallest trace of alum-works is 
 not to be found in the ancients, nor even of works 
 for making vitriol, except what is mentioned by 
 Pliny, who tells us that blue vitriol was made in 
 Spain, by the process of boiling; and this circum- 
 stance he considers as the only one of its kind, and 
 so singular, that he is of opinion no other salt could 
 
 * Examen chymique de differentes substances minerales, par M. 
 Sage : or my translation Chemische untersuchung einiger mineralien . 
 Gottingen 1775, 8vo. p. 148. 
 
 Some crystals of this kind were observed by Linnaeus and Mo- 
 rand. See the Travels of the former through Scandinavia, p 2<jl, 
 and the account of the latter in my Physical. •okonom. Bihliothek. 
 iii. p. 469 . 
 
 VOL. T. 
 
 U 
 
£90 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 be obtained in the same manner.* Besides, every 
 thing related by the ancients of their alum agrees 
 perfectly with natural vitriolic substances : but to 
 describe them all might be difficult ; for they do 
 not speak of pure crystals, but of saline bodies, 
 which nature of itself exhibits in various ways, and 
 under a variety of forms ; and every small differ- 
 ence in the colour, the exterior or interior confor- 
 mation, however accidental, provided it could be 
 clearly distinguished, was to them sufficient to 
 make a distinct species, and to induce them to give 
 it a new name. '|' 
 
 The celebrity which the ancient alum had, as a 
 substance extremely useful in dyeing and medicine, 
 was entirely forgotten when the alum of the mo- 
 derns became known ; but this celebrity was again 
 revived when it was discovered that real alum could 
 be often made from vitriolic minerals; or that 
 where the latter are found there are generally mi- 
 nerals which abound with it. In many of these 
 places alum-works have, in the course of time, been 
 erected : and this circumstance has served in some 
 measure to strengthen the opinion that the alum 
 
 * Nec ullius aeque mira natura est. P/in. lib. xxxiv. c. 12. The 
 same account is given by Isidor. Origin, lib. xvi. c. 2. and by Dios- 
 corides , lib. v. c. 1 14. The latter, however, differs from Pliny in 
 many circumstances. 
 
 •f Those who are desirous of seeing every thing that the ancients 
 have left us respecting their alum may consult Aldrovandi Museum 
 metallicum , and Bernardi Ctesii Mineralogia. Lugduni 1 63 6, fol. 
 p. 334. 
 
ALUM. 291 
 
 of the ancients and that of the moderns are the 
 same salt ; because where the former was found in 
 ancient times, the latter has since been procured 
 by a chemical process. Some historians of the 
 fifteenth century even speak of the alum-works 
 erected at that period, as if the art of making this 
 salt had only been revived in Europe. 
 
 The ancients procured their alum from various 
 parts of the world. Herodotus mentions Egyptian 
 alum ; for he tells us that, when the people of Del- 
 phos, after losing their temple by a fire, were col- 
 lecting a contribution in order to rebuild it, Ama- 
 sis king of Egypt sent them a thousand talents of 
 alum.* In Pliny’s time the Egyptian alum was 
 accounted the best. It is well known that real 
 alum is reckoned among the exports of Egypt at 
 present;']' but I am acquainted with no author who 
 mentions the place where it is found or made, or 
 who has described the method of preparing it. 
 
 The island of Melos, now called Milo, was par- 
 ticularly celebrated on account of its alum, as we 
 learn from Diodorus Siculus, Celsus, Pliny, and 
 others, though none was to be found there in the 
 time of Diodorus. £ This natural vitriol has been 
 
 * /u«v yap o-fi tSuoct erniTypiru, ra\«vT*. Herodot. lib. iL' 
 
 c. 180. Franc. 1608, fol. 
 
 f A catalogue of the Egyptian articles of commerce may be found 
 in Nouvelle relation d'un voyage fait en Egypte, par le P. Vansleb, 
 Paris 1677, 12mo. p. 204. 
 
 X Diodor. Sic, lib. v. ed. Wesselingii, i. p. 338. 
 
 U % 
 
HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 292 
 
 observed in the grottos of that island by several 
 modern travellers, such as Tournefort* * * § and Mat- 
 thews, f who very properly consider it as the real 
 alum of the ancients. 
 
 The islands of Li para and Strongyle, or, as they 
 are called at present, Lipari and Stromboli, con- 
 tained so great a quantity of this substance, that the 
 duty on it brought a considerable revenue to the 
 Romans. £ At one period, Lipari carried on an 
 exclusive trade in alum, and raised the price of it 
 at pleasure ; but in that island, at present, there are 
 neither vitriol nor alum- works. § Sardinia, Ma- 
 cedonia, and Spain, where alum was found former- 
 ly, produce still a salt known under that name. || 
 
 When our alum became known, it was consider- 
 ed as a species of the ancient; and as it was purer, 
 and more proper to be used on most occasions, the 
 
 * Tournefort, Voyage, i. p. 63. 
 
 + Matthews’s Travels may be found in the German translation of 
 Blainville’s. Lemgo 1767, vol. v. p. 445, 446. There is aho a French 
 translation of them, intitled Voyage en France, en Italie, et aux isles 
 de 1' Archipelen 1750, traduit de I'Anglois. Paris 1 763, four vol. 4to. 
 Some information respecting the same subject may be seen in that 
 expensive but useful work. Voyage pittoresque de la Grece, i. p. 12. 
 
 J Diodor. Sic. lib. c. Strabo, lib. vi. edit. Almel. p. 423. 
 
 § See Deodat. de Dolomieu, Reise nach den Liparischen Inseln. 
 Leipzig 1783, 8vo. p. 80. 
 
 [| Copious information respecting the Spanish alum-works may be 
 found in Introduccion a la historia natural y a la geograjia fisica de 
 Espagna, par D. Guil. Bowles ; preliminary discourse, page 39, and 
 in Travels through Spain, by Dillon, London 1780, 4to. p. 220. 
 
ALUM. 
 
 2£)3 
 
 name of alum * was soon appropriated in a parti- 
 cular manner to it alone. The kinds of alum how- 
 ever known to the ancients, which were real vitriol, 
 maintained a preference in medicine and for dyeing 
 black; and on this account, these impure substances 
 have been still retained in druggists’ shops under 
 the name of misy, sory, See. But a method was at 
 length found out of forming them into a lye, and 
 of procuring thence crystallized martial salts, w'hich 
 obtained the new name of vitriol. This appella- 
 tion had its rise first in the eleventh or twelfth cen- 
 tury ; at least I know no writer older than Albertus 
 Magnus f by whom it is mentioned or used. 
 Agricola J conjectures that it was occasioned by the 
 
 * The derivation of the Latin name alumen, which, if I mistake 
 not, occurs first in Columella and Pliny, is unknown. Some deduce 
 it from ; others from «Xe ifx/xa • and Isidore gives a derivation 
 still more improbable. May it not have come from Egypt with the 
 best sort of alum? Had it originated from a Greek word, it would un- 
 doubtedly have been formed from aTwrrigia: This appellation is to be 
 found in Herodotus; and nothing is clearer than that it has arisen 
 from the astringent quality peculiar to both the salts, and also from 
 cru<p£iv , as has been remarked by Dioscorides, Pliny, and Galen. The 
 latter says, Toutou tou tpxpfiaxov xai r ovvofta not.ptiivofxci.aTai rri errvtpsi, 
 
 ctpoSpoTotTTjv, yap avr/iv i%ei. This drug has acquired its name from (r»? 
 vTvtpei) astringency, because it possesses that quality in a high degree. 
 Galenus de simp, medicam. facullat. lib. ix c. 3. 30. See also 
 G. J. Fossii Etymologic on lingua Latina, Neapoli 1762, fob p. 30. 
 
 f Viride etiam, quod a quibusdam vitreolum vocatur. Alberti 
 Magni Opera omnia. Lugduni 1651. 
 
 X G. Agricola. lib. iii. de nat. fossilium. Basiliae 1546, fob p. 
 219 - 
 
294 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 likeness which the crystals of vitriol had to glass. 
 This is also the opinion of Vossius ;* and it is very 
 singular that Pliny says nearly the same thing; 
 for he observes, speaking of blue vitriol, the only 
 kind then known, that one might almost take it for 
 glass, f 
 
 By inquiring into the uses to which the ancients 
 applied their alum, I find that it was sometimes em- 
 ployed to secure wooden buildings against fire. 
 This remark 1 have here introduced to shew that 
 this idea, which in modern times has given occa- 
 sion to many expensive experiments, is not new. 
 Aulus Gellius % relates, from the works of an his- 
 torian now lost, that Archelaus, one of the generals 
 of Mithridates, washed over a wooden tower with 
 a solution of alum, and by these means rendered it 
 so much proof against fire, that all Sylla’s attempts 
 to set it in flames proved abortive. Many have 
 
 * Atramentum sutorium variis coloribus praeditum est ; - - - - 
 candidum potissimum stiriae figura reperitur Goslariae, translucidmn 
 crystalli instar ; nec caeruleum nec viride caret perspicuitate ; unde 
 superior aetas atramento sutorio vitrioli nomen imposuit. Vossii E(y- 
 mol. p 779. 
 
 f Color et caeruleus, perquam spectabili nitore, vitrumque credi- 
 tur. Plin. lib. xxxiv. c. 12. 
 
 % Verba Quadrigarii baec sunt : Turn Sulla conatus est, et tem- 
 pore magno eduxit copias, ut Archelai turrim unara, quam ille in- 
 terposuit, ligneam incenderet. Venit, accessit, ligna subdidit, sub- 
 movit Graecos, ignem admovit ; satis sunt diu conati, nunquam qui- 
 verunt incendere ; ita Archelaus omnem materiam obleveratalumine. 
 Quod Sulla atque milites mirabantur; et, postquam non succendit, 
 reduxit copias. A. Gellii Nod. Alt. lib. xv. c. 1. 
 
ALUM. 
 
 295 
 
 conjectured that the substance used for this purpose 
 was neither vitriol nor our alum, but rather asbes- 
 tos, which is often confounded with Atlas-vitriol ; * 
 and against this mistake cautions are to be found 
 even in Theophrastus. But it may be asked, With 
 what was the asbestos laid on? By what means 
 were the threads, which are not soluble in water, 
 made fast to the wood ? How could a tower be co- 
 vered with it? I am rather inclined to believe, that 
 a strongly saturated vitriol lye might have, in some 
 measure, served to prevent the effects of the fire, 
 at least as long as a thin coat of potters-earth or 
 flour-paste, w’hich, in the present age, have been 
 thought deserving of experiments attended with con- 
 siderable expense. It does not however appear that 
 the invention of Archelaus, which is still retained in 
 some old books,')' has been often putin practice 
 
 * The halotrichum of Scopoli. See Scopoli Tentamen de hydrargyro 
 Idriensi, and his Principia mineralogies, p. 81. See also my obser- 
 vations on Sages Chemische untersuchung einiger mineralien , p. 14Q. 
 Chartheuser, Elementa mineral, p. 43 ; and Wallerii System. Miner. 
 ii. p. 32. The first person who discovered this salt to be vitriolic 
 was Henkel, as we find in his Kiesshistorie, p. 856, where he calls 
 it Atlas-vitriol. 
 
 •f* Wecker de Secretis, lib. ix 18. p. 445. 
 
 J I can give only one instance of its being used for this purpose, 
 taken from Ammianus Marcellinus: Persse aggerum altitudine jam 
 in sublime porrecta, machinaeque ingentis horrore perculsi, quam 
 minores quoque sequebantur, omnes exurere vi maxima nitebantur ; 
 et assidue malleolos atque incendiaria tela torquentes laborabant in- 
 cassum j ea re quod humectis scortis et centonibus erant opertae ma- 
 teriae plures, aliae unctae alumine diligenter, ut ignis pereas laberetur 
 innoxius. Ammian. Marcel, lib. xx. c. 12. 
 
296 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 for writers on the art of w ar, such, for example, as 
 7Eneas, # recommended vinegar to be washed over 
 wood, in order to prevent its being destroyed by 
 fire. 
 
 I shall now proceed to the history of our present 
 alum, which was undoubtedly first made in the 
 Last. The period ot the invention I cannot exact- 
 ly determine, but I conclude, with certainty, that 
 it is later than the twelfth century; for John, the 
 son of Serapion, w ho lived after Rhazes, was ac- 
 quainted with no other alum than the impure vi- 
 triol of Dioscorides. 'f' What made the new alum 
 first and principally known, was its beneficial use 
 in the art of dyeing, in which it is employed for 
 fixing as well as rendering brighter and more beau- 
 tiful different colours. This art, therefore, the 
 Europeans learned from the Orientals, who, even 
 yet, though we have begun to apply chemistry to 
 the improvement of dyeing, are in some respects 
 superior to us, as is proved by the red of Adriano- 
 ple, their silks, and their Turkey leather. The Ita- 
 lians procured their first alum from the Levant, 
 along with other materials for dyeing ; but when 
 these countries were taken possession of by the 
 Turks, it grieved the Christians to be obliged to 
 purchase these necessary articles from the common 
 
 * Majus juverit, si prius ligna aceto linantur ; nam a materia aceto 
 illita ignis abstinet. JEnea Poliorcet. cap. 34. 
 
 f Johannis Serapionis Arabis de simplicibus medicinis opus; edit, 
 Othonis Brunsfelsii, Argentorati 1531, fol. cap. 410. p. 276. 
 
ALUM. 
 
 2.97 
 
 enemy, and bitter complaints on that subject may 
 be seen in the works of various authors. In the 
 course of time, the Italians became acquainted 
 with the art of boiling alum ; for some of them 
 had rented Turkish alum-works, and manufactured 
 that salt on their own account. They, at length, 
 found aluminous minerals in their own country, on 
 which they made experiments. These having an- 
 swered their expectations, they were soon brought 
 into use; and this branch of trade declined after- 
 wards so much in Turkey, that many of the alum- 
 works there were abandoned. 
 
 We are told by many historians, that the Euro- 
 peans who first made alum in Italy learned their 
 art, as Augustin Justinian says, at Rncca di Soria, 
 or Rocca in Syria. Neither in books of geography 
 nor in maps, however, can I find any place of this 
 name in Syria. I at first conjectured that Rocca 
 on the Euphrates might be here meant;* but at 
 present it appears to me more probable that it is 
 Edessa, which is sometimes called Roha, Raha, 
 Ruha, Orfa, and also Roccha, as has been expressly 
 remarked by Niebuhr, f Edessa is indeed reckon- 
 ed to be in Mesopotamia; but some centuries ago 
 Syria, perhaps, was understood in a more ex- 
 
 * Biischings Geograph, v. p. 214. Beschreibungder Reyss Leon- 
 hardi Rauwolffen. Frank. 1582, 4to. ii. p. 36. Naukeurige beschry- 
 ving van Asie — door Dapper. Amsterdam 1680, fol. p. 23. 
 
 + Reisebeschreibung, ii. p. 408, 40Q. Dapper, p. 26. Biisching, 
 p. 212. See also Michaelis Orientalische Bibliothek, xiii. p. 46. 
 
298 
 
 HISTORY OP INVENTIONS. 
 
 tended sense. This much, at least, is certain, that 
 minerals which indicate alum, such for example as 
 bitumen, have been often observed by travellers 
 in that neighbourhood.* * * § 
 
 It appears that the new alum was at first distin- 
 guished from the ancient vitriol by the denomina- 
 tion of Rocca , from which the French have made 
 alun dc roche , and some of the Germans rotza- 
 laun .'j' Respecting the origin of this name very 
 different conjectures have been formed. Some 
 think it is derived from rocca , which in the Greek 
 signifies a rock, because this salt is by boiling pro- 
 cured from a stone ; and these translate the word 
 alumen rupeum> from which the French name is 
 formed. J Some are of opinion, that alum boiled 
 from stones has been so called to distinguish it 
 from that procured from sand, which is generally 
 combined more with iron than the former and 
 others maintain that alum acquired the name of 
 
 * Biisching, p. 200. 
 
 •f- This singular appellation occurs in Valentini Historia simpli- 
 cium ; in Martini’s Dictionary of natural history; and several other 
 ■works. 
 
 X Vulgo audis alumen rochce, quae Graeca vox maximse Europae 
 servit parti ad rupem significandam. Jul. Cas. Scaligeri Exot. 
 exercitat. Francof. 1612, 8vo. p. .325. 
 
 § This is the opinion of Mazeas ; a translation of whose treatise 
 I caused to be inserted in the Naturforscher, ii. p. 217* I shall here 
 take occasion to remark, that sand seems to have been employed for 
 making alum in the time of Agricola, as appears by his book De ortu 
 et causis subterraneorum, p. 47- 
 
ALUM. 
 
 299 
 
 Rocca from the alum-rocks in the neighbourhood 
 of Tolfa.* * * § It is to be remarked, on the other 
 hand, that Biringoccio, that expert Italian, con- 
 fesses he does not know whence the name has 
 arisen. | For my part, I am inclined to adopt 
 the opinion of Leibnitz, that alumen roccce was 
 that kind first procured from Rocca in Syria ; and 
 that this name was afterwards given to every good 
 species of alum, as we at present call the purest 
 Roman alum. + 
 
 In the fifteenth century, there w^ere alum-wmrks 
 in the neighbourhood of Constantinople, from 
 which John di Castro, of whom I shall have 
 occasion to speak hereafter, learned his art. May 
 not these alum- works be those visited by Bellon, 
 and of which he has given an excellent descrip- 
 tion ?§ He names the place Cypsella or Chypsilar, 
 and says, that the alum in commerce is called alu- 
 men Lesbium , or di Metelin. || The alum procured 
 from Constantinople at present, may perhaps be 
 brought from the same spot; but I am not suffi- 
 ciently acquainted with its situation to determine 
 
 * Mercati is of this opinion, in his Metallotheca, p. 54. 
 
 f Pyrotechnia. In Venegia 155Q, 4to. lib. ii cap 6. 
 
 J Cum constet, ejus coquendi artem vix trecentis abhinc annis a 
 Rocca SyricB in Europam rediisse (unde a/u>ninis Rocca non intel- 
 lecta vulgo appellatio), atque in Italia primum exercitam, serius in 
 Germaniam penetrasse. Leilnitii Protngaa, p. 47. 
 
 § Bellonii Observations, at the end of Clusii Exotica, cap. Ixi. 
 p. 64. 
 
 || The latter name occurs in Biringoccio, Pyrotechnia, p. 3 1 . 
 
300 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS* 
 
 that point with certainty, for Busching makes no 
 mention of it. In some maps I find the names 
 Ypsala and Chipsilar on the western side of the river 
 Mariza, Maritz or Maricheh, which was the Iie- 
 brus of the ancients ;* in others stands the name 
 Scapsiler on the west side of lake Bouron ;f and 
 it is not improbable that these may be all derived 
 from the old Scaptesyle or Scapta Hyla , where, ac- 
 cording to the account of Theophrastus, Pliny, and 
 others, there were considerable mines. J 
 
 Another alum-work, no less celebrated in the 
 fifteenth century, was established near the city 
 Phoccea Nova, at present called Foya Nova , not far 
 from the mouth ot the Hermus, in the neighbour- 
 hood of Smyrna. § Of this work, Ducas, who had 
 a house there, has given a particular description, 
 from which we learn that in his time, that is under 
 the reign of Michael Palmologus, it w as farmed by 
 Italians, who sold the produce of it to their coun- 
 trymen, and to the Dutch, French, Spaniards, 
 English, Arabs, Egyptians, and people of Syria. 
 
 * Carte de la Grece, dress^e sur les memoires de MM. Wheeler, 
 Tournefort — par G. de l’lsle. A Amsterdam, chez Ottens. In this 
 map we find expressly noticed: Ypsala, Chapsilar, alum-mines. 
 The same situation is given to Ipsela, Cypsela in the map of Thrace 
 \ and Greece, in Pocock’s Travels. 
 
 't In Lotter’s map of Gracia nova. 
 
 J Cellarii Geographia, i. p. 1299 . In the map, however, published 
 a few years ago at Berlin, under the title of Grceda antiqua delineata 
 a I.C. R. A.G. Scapta Hyla is placed on the west side, and Cypsela 
 on the east. 
 
 § Busching’ s Geograph, v. p. 74. 
 
ALUM. 
 
 301 
 
 This author relates very minutely, in what manner 
 the alum w as made,* but that work has been long 
 since abandoned:'!' alum however made in the 
 neighbourhood is still exported from Smyrna. J It 
 
 * In Phocis, which lies close to Ionia, there is a mountain abun- 
 dant in aluminous mineral (ogoj rjv eu w /ueraWov CTUTrTrjpiaf V7rafy{i). 
 The stones found on the top of this mountain are first calcined in 
 the fire, and then reduced to sand by being thrown into water. The 
 water mixed with that sand is put into a kettle ; and a little more 
 water being added to it, and the whole having been made to boil, the 
 sand is liquefied, and the thick part which falls to the bottom in a 
 cake is preserved ; what is hard and earthy is thrown away as of no 
 use. The cake is afterwards suffered to dissolve in vessels for four 
 days ; at the end of which the alum is found in crystals around their 
 edges, and the bottoms of them also are covered with pieces and frag- 
 ments of the like nature. The remaining liquor, which at the end 
 of four days does not coagulate or harden, is poured into a kettle, more 
 water and more sand is added to it ; and being boiled as before, it is 
 put into proper vessels, and the alum obtained in this manner is pre- 
 served as an article very necessary for dyers. All masters of ships, 
 bound fiom the Levant to Europe, consider alum as a very convenient 
 and useful lading for vessels In the reign of Michael Pardo- 
 
 s' 15 * the first emperor of his family, some Italians requested a lease of 
 that mountain, for which they promised to pay a certain sum annually. 
 “ “ “ ” The Romans and the Latins built Phoccea, Nova on the sea- 
 shore, at the bottom of that mountain which lies on the east side of 
 it. On the west it has the island of Lesbos, on the north the neigh- 
 bouring bay of Elaea, and on the south it looks towards the Ionian 
 sea. Ducee, Michaelis Ductg nepotis, Historia Byzanlina,res imperio 
 Gracorum gestas complectens a Joanne Palceologo I. ad Mehemetem 
 II. studio et opera Ismaelis Bullialdi. Venetiis 1729, p. 71. 
 
 t Bouillaud in his observations on Ducas, p. 186 . 
 
 t Observations sur le commerce et sur les arts, par Flachat. Lyon 
 1766, 11. p. 431 . The alum of Smyrna is mentioned by Baumd in 
 his Experimental Chemistry, i. p. 458 . 
 
302 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 is much to be wished, that ingenious travellers 
 would examine the alum-works in Thrace, around 
 Smyrna, and in Turkey in general, and give an 
 accurate description of them according to the state 
 in w hich they are at present.* 
 
 The oldest alum- works in Europe were establish- 
 ed about the middle of the fifteenth century, but 
 where they were first erected cannot with certainty 
 be ascertained ; for it appears that several were set 
 on foot in different places at the same period. Some 
 affirm that the first alum made in Europe was 
 manufactured in the island iEnaria, or Pithacusa, 
 at present called Ischia, by a Genoese merchant, 
 whom some name Bartholomew Perdix, and others 
 Pernix. This man, who is praised on account of his 
 ingenuity, and attachment to the study of natural 
 history, having often travelled through Syria, 
 
 * Professor Sprengel was so kind as to point out to me where an 
 account might be found of other Eastern alum-works. This infor- 
 mation is contained in a treatise of Francesco Balducci Pegolotti, 
 written in the middle of the fourteenth century, on the state of com- 
 merce at that time, and printed in a book intitled Della decima e di 
 varie altre gravezze imposte dal commune di Firenze. Lisbona e 
 Lucca 1?65, 4to. 4 vol. Of Pegolotti some account may be seen in 
 vol. ii. p. 61 and 74 ; and what he says of the kinds of alum then in 
 use Ls in vol. iii. p. 368. 1 must acknowledge that I do not under- 
 
 stand this old Italian author ; and the learned marquis HippolitoDu- 
 razzo of Genoa, author of the well-written Elogio di Christophoro 
 Colombo, when I had the pleasure of seeing him lately, confessed 
 that some parts were unintelligible even to him. It appears, how- 
 ever, from this work, that in the fourteenth century the Italians were 
 acquainted with no other than Turkish alum. 
 
ALUM. 
 
 303 
 
 learned the method of boiling alum at Rocca; and 
 on his return found alum-stones among the sub- 
 stances thrown up by the eruption of a volcano 
 which had destroyed part of the island, and gave 
 occasion to their being first employed in making 
 that salt. Such is the account of respectable his- 
 torians, Pontanus,* Bizaro,f Augustine Justini- 
 
 * I shall embrace this opportunity of giving a brief account of the 
 situation of the island, and of the nature of its soil. That iEnaria 
 has been at some time violently separated from the continent by an 
 earthquake, seems proved by a variety of circumstances, such as cal- 
 cined rocks; the ground full of caverns ; and the earth, which, like 
 that of the main land, being abundant in warm springs, and dry, 
 feeds internal fire, and on that account contains a great deal of alum. 
 A few years ago Bartholomew Perdix, a Genoese merchant, passing 
 this island, in his way to Naples, observed some aluminous rocks 
 scattered here and there along the sea-coast. About a hundred and 
 sixty-three years before that period, the earth having suddenly burst 
 by the effects of fire confined in its bowels, a considerable part of 
 jEnaria was involved in flames. By this eruption a small town was 
 burned and afterwards swallowed up; and large masses of rock mixed 
 with flames, sand, and smoke, thrown up, where the shore looks to- 
 wards Cumae, fell upon the neighbouring fields, and destroyed the 
 most fruitful and the most pleasant part of the island. Some of these 
 huge pieces of rock being at that time still lying on the shore, Bar- 
 tholomew, by calcining them in a furnace, extracted alum from 
 them, and revived that art which he had brought from Kocca in 
 Syria, where he had traded for several years, and which had been 
 neglected in Italy for many centuries. Joannis Joviani Pontani 
 Historic Neapolitan a Him sex , in Gmmi Thesaurus antiquit, et 
 historiarum Italics , vol. ix. part 3. p. 88. 
 
 t I must not omit to mention that about this time Bartholomew 
 Pernix, a citizen and merchant of Genoa, who had resided long in 
 Syria for the purpose of commerce, returned to his native country. 
 Soon after he made a voyage to the island of ^naria, situated in the 
 
S04 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 an,* and Bottone,t who wrote much later. Bi- 
 zaro says, that this happened in the year 1459* 
 which agrees perfectly with the account of Ponta- 
 nus ; for he tells us that it was under the reign of 
 Ferdinand I, natural son of Alphonsus, who mount- 
 ed the throne in 1458. Besides, the earthquake, 
 which had laid waste the island one hundred and 
 sixty-three years before, took place in 1301, which 
 
 Tuscan sea, called formerly Pythacusa, and now in the vulgar Greek 
 Iscla or Ischia 5 and being a man of an acute genius, and a diligent 
 investigator of natural objects, he observed near the sea-coast several 
 rocks fit for making alum. He took some fragments of them there- 
 fore, and, having calcined them in a furnace, he procured from them 
 most excellent alum. He was the first person who, to the incredible 
 benefit of many, brought as it were again into use that art long aban- 
 doned and almost lost in Italy and the greater part of other countries. 
 On that account his name deserves to be rescued from oblivion. 
 Senatus populique Genuensis rerum hist, atque annul, auctdre Petra 
 Bizaro Sentinati. Antverpias 1579> fob P- 302. 
 
 * About that period (1459) Bartholomew Pernix, a Genoese mer- 
 chant, sailing past the island of iEnaria or Ischia, learned that there 
 were near the shore many aluminous rocks, that is to say, fit for ma- 
 king alum. He took some of them, therefore, and having caused 
 them to be calcined in a furnace, he procured from them most excel- 
 lent alum. This Bartholomew brought back to Italy from the city 
 of Rocca, in Syria, where hehad traded many years, the art of making 
 alum, which had been neglected and lost for a long space of time. 
 Castigatissimi annuli, con la loro copiosa tavola, della republica di 
 Genoa, da fi deli e approvati scritton, per Monsignore Agostino Gius- 
 tiniano, Genoese, Vescovo di Nebio. Genoa 1537 j fob bb. v. 
 p. 214. 
 
 t Dominici Bottone, Pyrologia topographica ; id est, de igne dis- 
 sertatio. Neapoli 1692, 4to. p. 313. This author calls the inventor 
 Perdix, and not Pernix. 
 
ALUM. 
 
 305 
 
 makes the time of this invention to fall about the 
 year 1404. So seems Bottone also to have reckon- 
 ed, for he mentions expressly the year 1465. 
 
 The alum-work which is situated about an Ita- 
 lian mile north-west from Tolfa, and six from Civita 
 Vecchia, in the territories of the Church, is by 
 some Italian historians reckoned to have been the 
 first. However this may be, it is certain that it 
 is the oldest carried on at present. The founder 
 of it was John di Castro, a son of the celebrated 
 lawyer, Paul di Castro,* who had an opportunity 
 at Constantinople, where he traded in Italian cloths, 
 and sold dye-stuffs, of making himself acquainted 
 with the method of boiling alum. Pie was there 
 at the time when the city fell into the hands of 
 the Turks; and after this unfortunate event, by 
 which he lost all his property, he returned to his 
 own country. Pursuing there his researches in na- 
 tural history, he found in the neighbourhood of 
 Tolfa a plant which he had observed growing in 
 great abundance in the aluminous districts of Asia: 
 from this he conjectured, that the earth of his na- 
 tive soil might also contain the same salt; and he 
 
 * The most authentic account of Paul di Castro is to be found in 
 Fabricii Biblioth. lat. media et infima atatis, vol. v. p. 617, and in 
 Joh. Fichardi Vita Ictorum, which is printed along with Pancirolli 
 Libri de claris legum interpretibus. Lipsias 1721, 4to. p. 186. Paul 
 di Castro was not of Castro in the kingdom of Naples, as is said in 
 Jocher’s Gelekrten Lexicon, but of Castro belonging to the duchy of 
 the same name in the Ecclesiastical States. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 X 
 
306 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 was confirmed in that opinion by its astringent 
 taste. At this time he held an important office in 
 the Apostolic Chamber ; and this discovery, which 
 seemed to promise the greatest advantages, was 
 considered as a real victory gained over the Turks, 
 from whom the Italians had hitherto been obliged 
 to purchase all their alum. Pope Pius II, who was 
 too good a financier to neglect such a beneficial 
 discovery, caused experiments to be first made at 
 Viterbo, by some Genoese who had formerly been 
 employed in the alum-works in the Levant, and 
 the success of them was equal to his expectations. 
 The alum, which was afterwards manufactured in 
 large quantities, was sold to the Venetians, the 
 Florentines, and the Genoese. The Pope himself 
 has left us a very minute history of this discovery, 
 and of the circumstances which gave rise to it. * 
 
 * A little before that period came to Rome John di Castro, with 
 whom the pontiff had been acquainted when he carried on trade at 
 Basle, and was banker to Pope Eugenius. His father, Paul, was a 
 celebrated lawyer of his time, who sat many years in the chair at 
 Padua, and filled all Italy with his decisions; for law-suits were fre- 
 quently referred to him, and judges paid great respect to his autho- 
 rity, as he was a man of integrity and sound learning. At his death 
 he left considerable riches, and two sons arrived at the age of man- 
 hood; the elder of whom, following the profession of the father, ac- 
 quired a very extensive knowledge of law. The other, who was a 
 man of genius, and who applied more to study, made himself ac- 
 quainted with grammar and history ; but, being fond of travelling, 
 he resided some time at Constantinople, and acquired much wealth 
 by dyeing cloth made in Italy, which was transported thither, and 
 committed to his care, on account of the abundance of alum in that 
 
ALUM. 
 
 307 
 
 Some pretend that Castro was several years a slave 
 to a Turk who traded in alum;* others affirm, 
 
 neighbourhood. Having by these means an opportunity of seeing 
 daily the manner in which alum was made, and from what stones or 
 earth it was extracted, he soon learned the art. When, by the will 
 of God, that city was taken and plundered about the year 1453, by 
 Mahomet II, emperor of the Turks, he lost his whole property} 
 but, happy to have escaped the fire and sword of these cruel people, 
 
 he 
 
 * The Frangipani a third time acquired lands in the kingdom of 
 Naples. When they possessed in Maremma di Roma, Tolfa, Cas- 
 tello, and a jurisdiction which brings at present eighty thousand 
 crowns annually to the Church, it happened that a son of Paul di 
 Castro, a celebrated doctor, and a vassal of these lords, who had been 
 many years a slave in Turkey to an alum-merchant, returned free to 
 his own country} and observing that in the territories of Tolfa there 
 was abundance of alum mineral, he gave notice of it to Lodovico 
 Frangipani, his lord, and was the cause of greatly increasing his re- 
 venues. Pope Paul II, however, pretending that the mineral be- 
 longed to the Apostolic See, as supreme lord of the fief} and not 
 being able to persuade Lodovico to give it up to the Church, he de- 
 clared war against him, but was vigorously opposed by Lodovico 
 and his brother Peter, lords of Tolfa, assisted by the Orsini their re- 
 lations, so that the pope was obliged to bring about an accommoda- 
 tion with them by means of king Ferrante I, and to pay them as the 
 price of Tolfa sixteen thousand crowns of gold, of which Lodovico 
 gave twelve thousand to the king, and was invested by him in the 
 
 lordship of Serino in the year 14-6'y. Discorsi delle famiglie 
 
 estinte, forestiere, o non comprese ne Scggi di Napoli, imparentate 
 colla casa della Marra. Composti dall Signor Don Ferrante della 
 Mavra, duca della Guardia; dati in luce da Don Camillo Tutini Na- 
 politano. In Napoli l64], fol. p. 1 78. 
 
 See also Istoria dell’ antichissima citta de Civita Vecchia, scritta 
 dal Marchese Antigono Frangipani. In Roma 1761 , 4to. p. 119, 
 120, 121. 182. Platina, in his Life of Pope Pius II, says nothing 
 further of this remarkable circumstance than : Fodinas invenit 
 (Pius II), turn primum aluminis apud Tolfam instituit. 
 
 x 2 
 
308 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 that he had even been obliged to labour as a slave 
 in alum works ; # and others, that he learned the 
 
 he returned to Italy, after the assumption of Pius II, to whom he 
 was related, and from whom he obtained, as an indemnification for 
 his losses, the office of commissary-general over all the revenues of 
 the Apostolic Chamber, both within and without the city. While, 
 in this situation, he was traversing all the hills and mountains, 
 searching the bowels of the earth, leaving no stone or clod unex- 
 plored, he at length found some alum-stone in the neighbourhood 
 of Tolfa. Old Tolfa is a town belonging to two brothers, subjects 
 of the church of Rome, and situated at a small distance from Civita 
 Vecchia. Here there are high mountains, retiring inland from the 
 sea, which abound with wood and water. While Castro was exa- 
 mining these, he observed that the grass had a new appearance. 
 Being struck with wonder, and inquiring into the cause, he found 
 that the mountains of Asia, which enrich the Turkish treasury by 
 their alum, were covered with grass of the like kind. Perceiving 
 several white stones, which seemed to be minerals, he bit some of 
 them, and found that they had a saltish taste. This induced him to 
 make some experiments by calcining them, and he at length obtained 
 alum. He repaired, therefore, to the Pontiff, and addressing him, 
 said, “ I announce to you a victory over the Turk. He draws yearly 
 “ from the Christians above three hundred thousand pieces of gold, 
 “ paid to him for the alum with which we dye wool different co- 
 “ lours, because none is found here but a little at the island of Hiscla, 
 “ formerly called JEnaria, near Puteoli, and in the cave of Vulcan 
 “ at Lipari, which, being formerly exhausted by the Romans, is 
 « now almost destitute of that substance. I have, however, found 
 “ seven hills, so abundant in it, that they would be almost sufficient 
 “ to supply seven worlds. If you will send for workmen, and cause 
 “ furnaces to be constructed, and the stones to be calcined, you may 
 t( furnish alum to all Europe 3 and that gain which the Turk used 
 “ to acquire by this article, being thrown into your hands, will be 
 “ to him a double loss. Wood and water are both plenty, and you 
 “ have in the neighbourhood the port of Civita Vecchia, where 
 
 vessels 
 
 * Berbers Briefe uber Welschland, p. 246. 
 
ALUM. 
 
 309 
 
 art of boiling alum from a citizen of Corneto, a 
 town in the dominions of the Pope, and from a 
 
 ** vessels bound to the West may be loaded. You can now make 
 " war against the Turk : this mineral will supply you with the 
 “ sinews of war, that is money, and, at the same time, deprive the 
 “ Turk of them.” These words of Castro appeared to the Pontiff 
 the ravings of a madman : he considered them as mere dreams, like 
 the predictions of astrologers ; and all the cardinals were of the same 
 opinion. Castro, however, though his proposals were often rejected, 
 did not abandon his project, but applied to his holiness by various 
 persons, in order that experiments might be made in his presence, 
 on the stones which he had discovered. The Pontiff employed skilful 
 people, who proved that they really contained alum ; but lest some 
 deception might have been practised, others were sent to the place 
 where they had been found, who met with abundance of the like 
 kind. Artists who had been employed in the Turkish mines in Asia 
 were brought from Genoa ; and these, having closely examined the 
 nature of the place, declared it to be similar to that of the Asiatic 
 mountains which produce alum ; and, shedding tears for joy, they 
 kneeled down three times, worshipping God, and praising his kind- 
 ness in conferring so valuable a gift on our age. The stones were 
 calcined, and produced alum more beautiful than that of Asia, and 
 superior in quality. Some of it was sent to Venice and to Florence, 
 and, being tried, was found to answer beyond expectation. The 
 Genoese first purchased a quantity of it, to the amount of twenty 
 thousand pieces of gold ; and Cosmo of Medici for this article laid 
 out afterwards seventy-five thousand. On account of this service, 
 Pius thought Castro worthy of the highest honours, and of a statue, 
 which was erected to him in his own country, with this inscription : 
 “ To John di Castro, the inventor of alum j” and he received be- 
 sides a certain share of the profit. Immunities and a share also of 
 the ^ain were granted to the two brothers, lords of Tolfa, in whose 
 lane the aluminous mineral had been found. This accession of 
 wealth to the church of Rome was made, by the divine blessing, 
 under the pontificate of Pius II ; and if it escape, as it ought, the 
 hanls of tyrants, and be prudently managed, it may increase, and 
 affo-d no small assistance to the Roman Pontiffs in supporting the 
 burdens of the Christian religion. PH Secundi Comment. Rer, 
 
310 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Genoese, both of whom had acquired their know- 
 ledge in the Levant.* But as I do not wish to ascribe 
 
 © 
 
 a falsehood to the Pontiff, I am of opinion that the 
 history of this discovery must have been best known 
 to him. He has not, indeed, established the yeai 
 with sufficient correctness ; but we may conclude 
 from his relation that it must have been 1460 or 
 1465. The former is the year given by Felician 
 Bussi ; and the latter that given in the history of 
 the city of Civita Vecchia. 
 
 The plant which first induced John di Castro to 
 search for alum was that ever-green, prickly shrub, 
 the ilex aquifolium, or holly, which in Italy is still 
 
 memorah. qure temp, suis contigerunt, Joan. Gohellmo compositi, a 
 Franc. Bandino Picolomineo ex vetusto origin, recog . ; quilus hac 
 edit, accedunt Jac. Picolominei Per. gest. sui temp, commentarii. 
 Francofurti l6l4, fol. p. 185. 
 
 * This year (1460) is distinguished by the discovery of alum at 
 Tolfa Vecchia, no one there having been acquainted with it till that 
 period : and this happened by means of one John di Castro, who had 
 acquired some knowledge of it from a young man of Corneto, and a 
 Genoese, who had learned in Turkey the whole process of making it. 
 The said John having observed that in the mountains of Tolfa there 
 were undoubtedly veins ot alum, he caused some of the earth and 
 stones to be dug up, and the first experiments were made on them at 
 Viterbo in the following manner. The stones were first calcined in 
 a furnace ; a large quantity of water was then thrown over them ; 
 and when they were entirely dissolved, the water was boiled in great 
 leaden cauldrons ; after which it was poured into wooden vessels ; 
 where evaporating by degrees, the result was alum of the most perfect 
 kind. Pope Pius II, sensible of the great benefit which might arise 
 from this mineral to the Apostolic Chamber, employed more than 
 
 ewht hundred persons at Tolfa in preparing it. Histona della 
 
 cittd di Viterlo, di Feliciano Bussi. In Roma 1742, fol. p. 262. 
 
ALUM. 
 
 311 
 
 considered as an indication that the regions where 
 it grows abound with that salt. # But though it is 
 undoubtedly certain that the quality of the soil 
 may be often discovered by the wild plants which 
 it produces, it is also true that this shrub is fre- 
 quently found where there is not the smallest trace 
 erf alum ; and that it is not to be seen where the 
 soil abounds with it, as has been already remarked 
 by Boccone and Tozzetti. J 
 
 Among the earliest alum-works may be reckon- 
 ed that which was erected at Volterra, in the district 
 of Pisa, in 1458, by a Genoese named Antonius.§ 
 Others say that it was constructed by an architect 
 of Sienna; || but this opinion has, perhaps, arisen 
 
 * Labat Reisen nach Welschland. Frankf. and Leipzig, vol. v. 
 1760, 8vo. p. 3 et seq. 
 
 + Museo di fisica e di esperienze, di Don Paolo Boccone. In 
 Venetia 1697, p. 152. 
 
 X Targioni Tozzetti, Viaggi, vii. p. 234. 
 
 § Anno 1458. Rock alum, which the Greeks call pharno, was 
 at this time first discovered by a Genoese in the territories of Volterra, 
 where being boiled and found to be good, it began to be dug up 
 afterwards in many of the mountains of Italy. Till that period the 
 Italians had made no use of mines of this kind; for our alum was 
 all brought from Turkey. The above discovery was, therefore, a 
 
 great advantage to us. Supplementum supplementi ckronicorum ; 
 
 edit, et cast, a patre Jacobo Philippo Bergomare. Venetiis 1513, fol. 
 
 P- 299. 
 
 || Antonius quidam Senensis architectus, haud longe ab ea urbe 
 (Berignone, jam diudeleta), ad eum prospectum quivergitad Cecinte 
 fluvium, aluminis tolpham ( probably mineram) comperuit, in pub- 
 lico usu atque in vectigalium censu neutiquam spernendam.— — 
 Giovanni Giovanniense, Monarchia Medicea, p. 51. 58. 
 
312 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 only from the work having been farmed by a citizen 
 of Sienna, or built at his expense. On account of 
 this alum-work an insurrection of the inhabitants 
 of Volterra broke out in 1472 ; but it was at 
 length quelled by the Florentines, who took and 
 plundered the city.* * * § Brutus, f who wrote his 
 History of Florence in the year 1572, says that 
 this alum-work was carried on in his time: but this 
 is certainly false; for Raphael di Volterra, J who 
 died in 1521 in his native city, expressly tells us, 
 that, in his time, alum was no longer boiled there; 
 and this is confirmed by Baccius,^ who also lived 
 in the sixteenth century. At present, no remains 
 of it are left; so that Tozzetti w r as not able to 
 discover the place where the alum-stones were 
 broken. || 
 
 It appears from what has been said, that the art 
 of boiling alum in Europe was first known in Italy, 
 but not before the year 1458. That document, 
 
 * An account of this dispute between the Florentines and the 
 people of Volterra may be seen in Machiavel’s History of Florence, 
 book vii. — T rans. 
 
 f Jo. Michael. Bruti Historia Florentina. Venetiis 1764, 4to. 
 lib. v. p. 244. 
 
 J Nunc foditur alumen nuper inventum pluribus in locis in 
 Hetruria, apud Forum Claudii, praeterea in agro Mussano et Vola- 
 terrano ; sed Volaterranum jam desiit . — Iiaphaelis Volaterrani Com- 
 ment. urbani. Francof. 1603, fob p. 1020. 
 
 § De Thermis. 
 
 || Relazioni d’alcuni viaggi fatti in diverse parti della Toscana 
 In Firenze, tom. iii. p. 117- 
 
ALUM. 
 
 313 
 
 therefore, of the year 1284, quoted by Tozzetti, 
 and in which alum-works, alumifodince y are men- 
 tioned, must, as he himself thinks, be undoubted- 
 ly false. * 
 
 The great revenue which the Apostolical Cham- 
 ber derived from alum, induced many to search 
 for aluminous minerals, and works were erected 
 wherever they were found. Several manufactories 
 of this substance were established, therefore, in 
 various parts, which are mentioned by Baccius, f 
 Biringoccio, and other writers of the sixteenth 
 century. The Pope, however, understood his own 
 interest so well, that he never rested until he had 
 caused all the works erected in the territories of 
 others to be given up, and until he alone remained 
 master of the prize. He then endeavoured, by 
 every method possible, to prevent foreigners from 
 acquiring an accurate knowledge of the art of 
 boiling alum ; and at the same time found means, 
 by entering into commercial treaties with other 
 nations, and by employing the medium of religion, 
 which has always the greatest effect on weak minds, 
 to extend his commerce in this article more and 
 more. The price was raised from time to time, 
 
 * The words of the document are : Vendo montem rotundum cum 
 balneis — et cum aurifodinis, argentifodinis, erifodinis, cretifodinis, 
 sufodinis, et alumifodinis et aluminibus ceteribus ( perhaps vete- 
 ribus). Tozzetti, Viaggi, x ii. p. 51. 
 
 f Andreas Baccius de thermis. Venetiis 1588, fol. p. 293. Toz- 
 zetti, iv. p. 186. 
 
514 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 and it at length became so high that foreigners 
 could purchase this salt at a cheaper rate from 
 the Spaniards, and even when they sent for it to 
 Turkey. His Holiness, that he might convert this 
 freedom of trade into a sin, and prevent it by the 
 terror of excommunication, artfully gave out that 
 he meant to set apart the income arising from his 
 alum-works to the defence of Christianity; that is, 
 towards carrying on war against the Turks. Pro- 
 hibitions and threats now followed in case any one 
 should be so unchristian as to purchase alum from 
 the Infidels ; but every person was at liberty to 
 make what bargain he could with his Holiness for 
 this commodity. 
 
 In the year 1468, Pope Paul II entered into a 
 commercial treaty respecting alum with Charles 
 the Bold, duke of Burgundy; but, in 1504, Ro- 
 man alum had risen to such an exorbitant price, 
 that Philip the Fair, archduke of Austria, caused a 
 council of inquiry to be held at Bruges, by which 
 it appeared that this article could be purchased 
 at a much cheaper rate in Turkey. Commissions, 
 therefore, were sent thither for that purpose; # but 
 scarcely was this known at Rome, when a prohi- 
 bition, under pain of excommunication, was issued 
 by Pope Julius II. This pontiff, however, was 
 not the only one from whom such prohibitions 
 proceeded: bulls of the like kind were issued also 
 
 I 
 
 * Les anciens mineralogistes, par Gobet, vol. ii. p. S05. 
 
ALUM. 
 
 315 
 
 by Julius III, Paul III, Paul IV, Gregory XIII, 
 and others.* 
 
 But these means, like all those founded on the 
 simplicity of others, could not be of long duration; 
 and as soon as men became a little more enlight- 
 ened, they learned to know their own interest, and 
 to discover the selfishness of the Pope’s bulls. Un- 
 
 * Cum Pontifex Pius II hujusmodi inventi aluminis in Tuscia 
 redditus et proventus in fidei defensionem dedicasset et consecrasset, 
 meritoque Julius II vetuerit alumina ex Infidelium terris adduci, et 
 Christianos ea mercari, ut ita solum venderetur et emeretur inter 
 Christianos quod in terris Roman* Ecclesi* insperato fuerat adin- 
 ventum, ut constat ex Leon. X bulla 36 et Pauli III. n. 48 ; ideo 
 Julius III, imitatus dictum Julium II, qui primus hoc prohibuit sub 
 excommunicatione, et Paul. Ill, qui earn renovavit, in alia sua con - 
 stit. 42. in Bullario veteri edita anno 15.53, quae incipit: Etsi ea ; 
 cujus contextum adducit Scortia in Cons tit. pontif. epist. 66. theor. 
 173, ubi explicat ipse Julius III, renovat atqueconfirmat, contra fa- 
 cientes et complices vectores, ementes, vendentes, laborantes, sese in 
 his immiscentes, naves et alumina assecurantes, Julii II et Pauli III 
 excommunicationem ; et, aggravando poenas, eosdem reddit intesta- 
 biles etincapaces haereditatum, officiorum publicorumj eisque omnes 
 actus legitimos interdicit, et oppida ac civitates, ad quas declinave- 
 rint, nisi inde eos expellant intra diem unum post habitam tie his 
 notitiam, supponit interdicto ecclesiastico, ut Leo X bulla 12, etalii 
 in rebus gravibus fecerant; et reservat tarn absolutionem illius quam 
 relaxationem hujus excommunicationis Pontifici Romano ; et hanc 
 eandem constitutionem confirmasse postea Paulum IV in bulla 43, 
 cjuae incipit: Ex Apostolica, et Greg. XIII, num. 21, quae incipit: 
 Muneris, quarum bullarum ratio ex textu nostro colligitur in vers. 
 ibi : Dummodo in mercibus suis (vel alio modo) aliquod commodum 
 vel subsidium proveniret ; ut revera contingent si Christiani emerent 
 alumen a Turcis, pro illo pecunias argenteas et aureas darent, quibus 
 ditiores et potentiores fierent ad Christianos debellandos, et ex verbis 
 d. c. olim. 12 hie. Nicol. Rodrig. Fermosini Tractatus criminalium. 
 Lugd. 1670, 2 vol. fol. tom. ii. p. 63. 
 
316' HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 less Biringoccio, who visited a part of the Ger- 
 man mines, be under a mistake, the first Euro- 
 pean alum-work without Italy was erected in 
 Spain ; and is that still carried on, with con- 
 siderable profit, at Almacaron, not far from Car- 
 thagena.* * * § In the beginning of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury very large quantities of alum were brought to 
 Antwerp, as we learn from Guicciardini’s De- 
 scription of the Netherlands. 
 
 At what time the first alum-work was erected in 
 Germany, I am not able to determine; but it ap- 
 pears that alum began to be made at Oberkaufun- 
 gen, in Hesse, | in the year 1334. For the alum- 
 work at Commotau in Bohemia, + the first letters- 
 patent were granted in 1338. An alum-work was 
 established at Lower Langenau, in the county of 
 Glatz, in 1363 ,- but it was soon after abandoned. § 
 Several more manufactories of alum are mentioned 
 by Agricola, such as that of Dieben or Duben, in 
 the circle of Leipsic, and those of Dippoldiswalda, 
 Lobenstein, &c. || 
 
 In England, the first alum-work was erected at 
 Gisborough in Yorkshire, in the reign of queen 
 
 * Pyrotechn. p. 31. He says expressly, that this was the only 
 alum-work in Europe in his time without the boundaries of Italy. 
 
 f Winkelmans Beschreibung von Hessen, i. p. 3g. 
 
 X Peithners Versueh iiber die geschichte der Bohmischen und 
 Mahrischen bergwerke. Wien 1780, fol. p. 68. 
 
 § Biischings Geographic, iv. p. 843. 
 
 |j De natura fossilium, lib. xii. 
 
ALUM. 
 
 317 
 
 Elizabeth; though Anderson * says in 1608. Sir 
 Thomas Chaloner, who had an estate there, con- 
 jecturing from the nature of the plants which grew 
 wild, that there must be minerals in the neigh- 
 bourhood, after making some search, at length dis- 
 covered alum. As there was, however, no one in 
 England at that time who understood the method 
 of preparing it, he privately engaged workmen be- 
 longing to the Pope’s alum-works ; and it is said, 
 that as soon as the Pontiff heard this, he endea- 
 voured to recall them by threats and anathemas. 
 These, however, did no injury to the heretics; 
 and in a little time the alum- work succeeded so 
 well, that several more of the same kind were soon 
 after established.! But what more dishonoured 
 
 * History of Commerce, iv. p. 406. “The ipanufacture of alum,” 
 says he, “ was first found out in England, and carried on with success 
 in l608. It was supported and patronized in the county of York by 
 lord Sheffield, sir John Bourcher, and other landholders of the said 
 county, to the great benefit of England in general, and of the pro- 
 prietors in particular, to the present day. King James was a great 
 promoter of this alum-work, after he had, by the advice of his mi- 
 nister, appropriated to himself a monopoly of it, and forbidden the 
 importation of foreign alum. 
 
 f Such is the account of Pennant, in his Tour in Scotland, 1768 } 
 third edition, Warrington 1774, 4to. p. 23. “ The alum-works in 
 
 this country are of some antiquity; they were first discovered by sir 
 Thomas Chaloner , in the reign of queen Elizabeth, who observing the 
 trees tinged with an unusual colour, made him suspicious of its being 
 owing to some mineral in the neighbourhood. He found out that the 
 strata abounded with an aluminous salt. At that time the English 
 being strangers to the method of managing it, there is a tradition that 
 sir Thomas was obliged to seduce some workmen from the Pope’s 
 
318 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the PontifFs denunciations was, that, in later times, 
 the proprietors of the English alum-works farmed 
 those of the Apostolic Chamber, and increased, in 
 various ways, the benefit derived from them.* 
 
 At what period alum-works were established in 
 other countries I have not been able to learn. I 
 however know that one was erected at Andrarum'j' 
 
 alum-works near Rome, then the greatest in Europe. If one may 
 judge from the curse which his Holiness thundered out against sir 
 Thomas and his fugitives, he certainly was not a little enraged ; for 
 he cursed by the very form that Ernulphus has left us, and not varied 
 a tittle from that most comprehensive of imprecations. The first pits 
 were near Gisborough, the seat of the Chaloners, who still flourish 
 there notwithstanding his Holiness’s anathema.” See also A Political 
 Survey of Britain by John Campbell, London 1774, 2 vol. 4 to. i. 
 p. 75 , and ii. p. 20. The following passage, extracted from Britan- 
 nia, or a Chorographical description of Great Britain, by W. Cam- 
 den ; the third edition, by E. Gibson, London 1753 , 2 vol. fol. vol. 
 ii. p. 910, is much to the same purpose: “This (alum) was first 
 discovered a few years since (anno 1607) by the admirable saga- 
 city of that learned naturalist sir Thomas Chaloner, knt. (to whose 
 tuition his majesty [king James the First] committed the delight 
 and glory of Britain, his son prince Henry), by observing that the 
 leaves of trees were of a more weak sort of green here than in other 
 places, &c.” 
 
 * Taubes Abschilderung der Englischen handlung. Wien'1777. 
 8vo. i. p. 86. “ For some time past the marquis of Lepri has farmed 
 the alum-works at Civita Vecchia for 37,000 scudi. The Apostolical 
 Chamber supplies the necessary wood, which the marquis must be at 
 the expense of cutting down and transporting. About two hundred 
 men are employed in the works; and alum to the amount of from 
 forty-five to fifty thousand scudi is sold annually, particularly to the 
 English and the French.” See Observations faites pendant un voyage 
 en Italie,par le Baron de R. ( Riesch ). Dresden 1781, 2 vol. 8vo. 
 
 t Voyages metallurgiques, par M. Jars. Paris 1781, 4 to. vol. iii . 
 p. 297 . 
 
FALCONRY. 
 
 319 
 
 in Sweden, in 1 630. Roman alum costs at present 
 in Holland from 40 to 48 schillings per cent; that 
 of Liege from ! 25 to 30; that of Smyrna from 36 
 to 40; and English, Danish, and Swedish alum 
 from 30 to 35. 
 
 FALCONRY. 
 
 The question whether Falconry was known to 
 the ancient Greeks, has been determined in 
 the negative by Flavius Blondus, * Laurentius 
 
 * This author, Blondus or Biondo, describing an Italian village, 
 says, “ I shall embrace this opportunity of mentioning a new cireum- 
 “ stance, which is, that fowling with that rapacious bird the falcon, 
 “ a diversion much followed at Arno, by the celebrated Alphonsus 
 “ king of Arragon, was entirely unknown about two hundred years 
 “ ago; for though Servius, the grammarian, says that Capua received 
 “ that name from the augury of a falcon, because the Hetruscans, 
 “ when founding it, saw one of these birds, which in their language 
 “ was called capis ; yet he does not tell us of what use they were to 
 “ mankind. Besides, Pliny, who gives the names of many rapacious 
 “ birds of the hawk kind ( accipitres scilicet majores et minores achil- 
 “ vones, quos aliquifalconesfuisse volunt ), says nothing of their being 
 “ employed to catch game ; and, without doubt, had fowling in this 
 “ manner been practised in the time of Virgil, he would have made 
 “ iEneas and Dido carry such birds along with them when they went 
 “ out a-hunting, whereas he says only : 
 
 " Massylique ruunt equites et odora canum vis. 
 
 “ I will venture, therefore, to affirm, that two hundred years ago, as 
 “ I have already said, no nation or people were accustomed to catch 
 ss either land- or water-fowls with any rapacious bird tamed for that 
 
320 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Valla, # both writers of the fifteenth century; and 
 likewise by Rigault, f Pancirollus, Salmuth, and 
 many others. It may, nevertheless, be here asked, 
 what is generally understood under that term? 
 However much the thousand barks which carried 
 the Grecians to the siege of Troy might have been 
 inferior to those floating castles lately seen by my 
 countrymen before Gibraltar, they were never- 
 theless ships ; and we cannot, on that account, 
 deny that the Greeks were acquainted with the 
 art of ship-building, though it was evidently then 
 in its infancy. In the like manner, I agree with 
 Gyraldus, ^ in allowing that they had some know'- 
 ledge of falconry. I do not believe that they 
 knew the art of hawking, that is, of chasing game 
 with birds of prey previously trained, as practised 
 in modern times, and which serves more for the 
 
 “ purpose.” I shall here observe, that Biondo must have had a faulty 
 copy of Pliny; for the word achilvones is not to be found in that au- 
 thor, who, nevertheless, mentions the practice of fowling with birds 
 of prey. 
 
 * Valla, the most learned man of the century in which he lived, 
 contradicts Antonius Renaudensis, who says : Nolo? is a hawk’s bell. 
 te If Nola ,” says Valla, “ be an old word, it cannot signify that bell 
 <f now worn by hawks, because the ancients never tamed these birds 
 w for catching game, as we do, nor ornamented them with bells. 
 ft If it be a new word, let him produce the author from whom it is 
 te taken.” Laurentii Vallce Opera. Basiliae 1543, fob p. 433. 
 
 -f- In the preface to Scriptores rei accipitrarice . 
 
 J Lilii Greg. Gyraldi Dialogismus vi, in his works printed at 
 Leyden 1696, fol. tom. ii. p. 870. These dialogismi may be found 
 also in Gruter’s Thesaurus criticus, vol. ii. p. 397. 
 
EALCONRY. 
 
 321 
 
 amusement of trifling princes than for any useful 
 purpose ; but that they had begun to employ the 
 rapacity of some of the winged tribe in hunting and 
 fowling, cannot, in my opinion, be denied. # 
 
 So early as the time of Ctesias, hares and foxes 
 were hunted in India, by means of rapacious 
 birds.')' The account of Aristotle, however, is 
 still more to the purpose, and more worthy of 
 notice. £ “In Thrace,” says he, “the men go out 
 “ to catch birds with hawks. § The men beat the 
 
 * Those who are desirous of being acquainted with the art of fal- 
 conry, as practised at present, may consult Krunitz, Encyclopedic, 
 xii. p. 137 ; Spectacle de la nature, vol. i. ; or C. W. J. Gatterer 
 corn nutzen und schaden der thiere, ii. p. 32. Also the article Fau « 
 connerie, in the French Encyclopedic. 
 
 'j' Aayuiove Ss xai aXunrexu; Sripeuoucriv, ou r oi; xvaiv, aWa xopa^i xai iKTiai 
 
 x,ui xopwvaii xai asTo/f. Ctesiae Indica; Herodot. Histor. Francof. 1608, 
 fol. p. 660. 
 
 J In that part of Thrace called formerly Cedropolis, the men go 
 out into the marshes in quest of birds, accompanied by falcons. The k 
 men beat the trees and bushes with poles, and put the birds to flight; 
 the hawks fly after them, by which means they are so frightened that 
 they fall to the ground, where the men strike them with their poles, 
 and kill them. Histor. animal, lib. ix. c. 6, edit. Scaligeri. 
 
 § The Grecian authors above quoted call the rapacious birds used 
 for pursuing game Upaxs j ; and Pliny calls them accipitres. It would 
 be difficult, perhaps impossible, to distinguish with sufficient accu- 
 racy all the species of these birds to which the ancients gave different 
 names. This genus is numerous, and the species often differ so little 
 from each other, that it is not easy to establish their characterizing 
 marks. Besides, they for the most part change their colour, and 
 often their whole appearance, according to their age or the season of 
 the year; so that these marks become very uncertain. It appears 
 that on this account the ancients of one species often formed two or 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Y 
 
HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 322 
 
 “ reeds and bushes which grow in marshy places, 
 “ in order to raise the small birds, which the 
 “ hawks pursue and drive to the ground, where 
 “ the fowler kills them with poles.” A similar ac- 
 count is to be found in another book ascribed 
 also to Aristotle, which appears, at any rate, to 
 be the work of an author not much younger, but 
 with two additions, which render the circumstance 
 still more remarkable. # The first is, that the 
 falcons appeared when called by fheir names ; 
 and the second, that of their own accord they 
 brought to the fowlers whatever they caught them- 
 selves. Nothing is here wanting but the spaniel 
 employed to find out game, the hood which is put 
 
 more, and imagined that many species passed into another, or tha t 
 new species were produced by the mixture of different breeds. It 
 seems, however, certain that the ancients divided those birds of prey 
 which fly abroad in the day-time, into three species : cuto; aquila ; 
 yu4> vultur ; and Up*% accipiter. The first and last belong to that 
 genus which Linnaeus calls falco, and are the large species of it. The 
 vultures ar& the geir-falcons, which are sufficiently distinguished by 
 their bald head and neck. 
 
 * Respecting Thrace, which is situated above Amphipolis, a won- 
 derful thing is related, which might appear incredible to those who 
 had never heard it before. It is said that boys go out into the fields, 
 and pursue birds by the assistance of hawks. When they have found 
 a place convenient for their purpose, they call the hawks by their 
 names, which immediately appear as soon as they hear their voices, 
 and chase the birds into the bushes, where the boys knock them down 
 with sticks and seize them. What is still more wonderful, when 
 these hawks lay hold of any birds, they throw them to the fowlers ; 
 but the boys, in return, give them some share of the prey. De mi - 
 ralililus auscultat. cap. 128. 
 
FALCONRY. 
 
 323 
 
 upon the head of the hawk while it is perched on 
 the hand, and the thong used for holding it, to 
 form a short description of falconry as still prac- 
 tised. Our falconers, when they have taken the 
 bird from the hawk, give him, in return, a small 
 share of it ; and in the like manner the Thracian 
 hawks received some part of their booty. Other 
 writers after Aristotle, such as Antigonus,* iElian, f 
 Pliny, £ and Phile, § have also given an ac- 
 
 * Antigoni Carystii Historic mirabiles, cap. 34. 
 
 f Hawks, which are no less fit for fowling than eagles, and which 
 are not inferior to them in size, are of all birds reckoned to be the 
 tamest and the fondest of man. I have heard, that in Thrace they 
 accompany people when they go out in quest of birds in the fens. 
 The fowlers, having spread their nets, remain quiet, while the hawks 
 flying about, terrify the birds, and drive them into them. When the 
 Thracians catch any birds, they divide them with the hawks, by 
 which means they render them faithful partners in fowling : if they 
 did not give them a share of the booty, they would be deprived of 
 their assistance. Histor. anim. lib. ii. cap. 42. 
 
 J Lib. x. c. 8. In a part of Thrace above Amphipolis, men and 
 hawks go out a-fowling, as it were in company. The former drive the 
 birds from among the bushes and reeds, and the latter flying after 
 them, strike them down. The fowlers divide with them their prey.— 
 The remaining lines of this passage, Traditum est, missas in sublime 
 sibi excipere eos : et cum tempus sit capture, clangore et volatus ge- 
 nere invitare ad occasionem, seem to be misplaced or mutilated, as 
 has been already remarked by Conrad Gesner. See his Histor. nat 
 lib. iii. p. 15. 
 
 § Phile de animal, proprietate, according to Bersmann’s transla- 
 tion, p. 36. 
 
 Post multinodas quam plagas venatibus 
 Thraces tetenderunt, latent absconditi ; 
 
 Quos advolantes cominus circi juvant, 
 
 Metuque territant volucres belluas, 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 count of this method of fowling. iElian, who 
 seldom relates any thing without some alteration 
 or addition, says, that in Thrace nets were 
 used, into which the birds were driven by the 
 hawks; and in this he is followed by the poet 
 Phile. iElian, also, in another place describes a 
 manner of hunting with hawks in India, which, as 
 we are told by several travellers, is still practised 
 in Persia, where it is well understood, and by 
 other eastern nations. * 
 
 Laxata condant subter ut se retia. 
 
 Quas Thraces arctis implicatas cassibus 
 Cohorte densa, comprehendunt acriter, 
 
 Circisque mercedem rependunt debitam. 
 
 His portionem largientes alitum. 
 
 Quod ni fit, ope post destitutos videris 
 Ponunt volantum cum laqueos rursus gregi. 
 
 Gesner has collected in the work before quoted, page 48, all the 
 information to be found respecting that species of hawk or falcon 
 called xip-Mg, circus. 
 
 * The Indians hunt hares and foxes in the following manner. 
 They do not employ dogs, but eagles, crows, and, above all, kites, 
 which they catch when young, and train for that purpose. They let 
 loose a tame hare or fox, with a piece of flesh fastened to it, and suffer 
 these birds to fly after it, in order to seize the flesh, which they are 
 fond of, and which, on their return, they receive as the reward of 
 their labour. When thus instructed to pursue their prey, they are 
 sent after wild foxes and hares in the mountains j these they follow 
 in hopes of obtaining their usual food, and soon catch them and 
 bring them back to their masters, as we are informed by C-tesias. 
 Instead of the flesh, however, which was fastened to the tame ani- 
 mals, they receive as food the entrails of the wild ones which they 
 have caught. AZliuni Hist. Animal, lib. iv. c. 26. Compare with 
 this what Pluche says in Nature displayed , and the accounts given 
 by Chardin and Gemelli Carreri. 
 
FALCONRY. 
 
 325 
 
 It seems therefore, that the Greeks received from 
 India and Thrace the first information respecting 
 the method of fowling with birds of prey ; but it 
 does not appear that this practice was introduced 
 among them at a very early period. In Italy, how- 
 ever, it must have been very common, for Martial 
 and Apuleius speak of it as a thing every where 
 known. The former calls a hawk a fowler’s ser- 
 vant, and the latter makes use of a kind of pun on 
 the word accipiter , which signified also a species of 
 fish. * It cannot indeed be said, that this art was 
 ever forgotten ; but, like other inventions, though 
 at first much admired, it w^as afterwards neglected, 
 so that it remained a long time without improve- 
 ment. It is however certain that it was at length 
 brought to the utmost degree of perfection. It is 
 mentioned in the Roman laws,f and in writers of 
 the fourth and fifth centuries. 
 
 Julius Firmicus Maternus, who in the time of 
 Constantine the Great, about the year 336, wrote 
 
 * Prsedo fuit volucrum, famulus nunc aucupis; idem 
 Decipit, et captas non sibi moeret aves. 
 
 Martial. Epigr. lib. xiv. 216. 
 
 Apuleius, who had resolved to examine every part of nature, having 
 been accused of collecting sea-animals with indecent names for ob- 
 scene purposes, makes the following reply : “ Memento tamen tarn 
 ridiculum argumentum fore, desiderata ad res venereas marina ob- 
 scoena, quam si dicas marinum pectinem comendo capillo qusesitum, 
 vel aucupandis volantibus piscem accipitrem, aut venandis apris piscem 
 apriculum, aut eliciendis mortuis marina calvaria.” Apologia, p.296. 
 
 f I allude to the words in Digest, lib. xliii. tit. 24. 22. Ne is, qui 
 duntaxat iter per fundum meum fecerit aut avem egerit, venatusve 
 fuerit, sine ullo opere, hoc interdicto teneatur. 
 
326 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 his Astronomicon , in which he teaches the art of 
 casting nativities, assures us that those who are 
 horn under certain signs will become great sports- 
 men, and keep hounds and falcons.* Caius Sol- 
 lius Apoilinaris Sidonius, who lived about the year 
 480, celebrates Herdicius, his wife’s brother, and 
 son of the Emperor Avitus, because he first prac- 
 tised in his territories hunting and fowling with 
 doss and hawks. The same author mentions 
 hawking also in other parts of his work.'}' That 
 this diversion, however, has not been oftener spoken 
 of and praised, needs excite little wonder. Hunt- 
 ing, and all the concomitant arts, were at first em- 
 ployed for use ; in the course of time they were 
 
 * Those born when the planet Venus is in Aquarius will be much 
 given to hunting and fowling ; in other things they will be slow, in- 
 dolent, inactive, and melancholy, and will apply to no laudable pur- 
 suit. They will, however, be fond of breeding hawks, falcons, 
 eagles, and other birds of the like kind, and horses for hunting. 
 They will be also very ingenious in such exercises, and acquire by 
 them a comfortable subsistence. Lib. v. c. 7. — This nativity displays 
 a knowledge of mankind 5 for one may without much difficulty find 
 princes and great men with whose lives it exactly corresponds, and 
 who, to the great misfortune of their subjects and tenants, have un- 
 doubtedly been born under the sign Aquarius. In the next chapter 
 we find, “ Equorum nutritores, accipitrum, falconum, caeterarumque 
 avium quae ad aucupia pertinent, similiter et molossorum, vertagro- 
 rum, et qui sunt ad venationes accommodati.” See Firmici Aslro- 
 nomicon, lib. viii. Basiliae 1533, fol. p. 138, 13g. 
 
 f Praetereo, quod hie primum gramina incessu, flumina natatu, 
 venatu nemora fregisti. Omitto, quod hie primum tibi pila, pyrgus, 
 accipiter, canis, equus, arcus ludo fuere. C. Sol. Apoilinaris Sidon. 
 Opera. Parisiis 1609, 4to. lib. iii. epist. 3. See also lib. iv. epist. 9, 
 and carmen vii. ver. 192. 
 
FALCONRY. 
 
 327 
 
 practised by servants, and easy means only of 
 catching game were sought for. But when luxury 
 was introduced into states, and the number of 
 those who lived by other people’s labour increased, 
 these idlers began to employ that time which 
 they had not learned to make a proper use of, or 
 which they were not compelled to apply to more 
 valuable purposes, in catching wild animals by 
 every method that ingenuity could suggest, or in 
 tormenting them by lingering deaths. Hunting 
 and fowling, therefore, received many improve- 
 ments by the assistance of art ; and the indolent 
 clergy even indulged in these cruel sports, though 
 often forbidden by the Church. Suoh prohibitions 
 were issued by the council of Agda* * * § in the year 
 506; by that of Epaonf in 517, by that of Ma- 
 con J in 585, Etnd perhaps oftener, but never with 
 much effect. * 
 
 Before I proceed farther, I shall make two re- 
 marks. First, that Pietro Crescendo § gives one 
 
 * Concilii Agathensis canone quinquagesimo quinto : “ Episco- 
 pis, presbyteris, diaconibus, canes ad venandum, aut accipitres, 
 habere non liceat.” 
 
 f Concilii Epaonensis can. iv. 
 
 X Concilii Matisconensis secundi can. xiii : “ Ubi Dei est assi- 
 duitas cantilenae, monstrum est, et dedecoris nota, canes ibi vel acci- 
 pitres habitare.” 
 
 § E di questi il primo trovatore che fu si dice il fu Dauco, il quale 
 per divino intelletto connobbe la natura de gli sparvieri et de falconi, 
 et quelli dimesticare et alia preda amaestrarli, et delle loro infermita 
 di curarli ; doppo il quale mold altri furono, che mold di quelli uccelli 
 
39 8 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Daucus as the inventor of the art of taming hawks, 
 but without proof, or even probability. Secondly, 
 that the ancients bred up to hunting and fishing 
 several rapacious animals which at present are not 
 used for that purpose, such as the seal # and 
 sea-wolf. 'j' Astruc + has endeavoured to confute 
 this idea : but his reasoning appears to me to have 
 little weight; and I agree in opinion with Rondelet§ 
 and Isaac Vossius||, that seals might be instructed 
 to catch fish ; I myself have seen some, that, when 
 commanded by their master, exhibited a variety of 
 movements and tricks which undoubtedly prove 
 their aptness to learn. 
 
 The art of falconry seems to have been carried 
 to the greatest perfection, and to have been much 
 in vogue at the principal courts of Europe, in 
 the twelfth century. Some on that account have 
 .ascribed the invention of it to the emperor Frederic 
 I, and others to Frederic II. Frederic, I, called 
 
 rapaci alia scientia aggionsono. Pietro Crescentio d’agricoltura. In 
 Venetia 1642, 8vo. lib. ix. c. 1. Equally groundless is what we read 
 in Johannis Sarisheriensis Policraticus. Amstelod. ]664, 8vo. lib. 1. 
 cap. iv. Venationis aereae auctorem jactitant fuisse Machabeum, 
 &c. 
 
 * Plin. lib. ix. cap. 8. JEIian. Hist. anim. 1. ii. c. II. Oppiani 
 Halieut. 1. v. 425. 
 
 i f Plin. lib. x. cap. 8. Aristot. Hist. anim. 1. ix. c. 36. iElian. 
 Hist. anim. 1. vi. c. 65. Antigonus Caryst. cap. 33. 
 
 t Memoires pour l’histoire naturelle de la province de Languedoc. 
 Paris 1737, 4to. p. 568. 
 
 § De piscibus, lib. xvi. cap. 8. 
 
 U In his observations on Mela, ii. 5. p. 483. 
 
FALCONRY. 
 
 329 
 
 Barbarossa, was the first who brought falcons to 
 Italy; at least Pandolfo Collenuccio* says, that this 
 was the common report, and Radevicusf seems 
 to confirm it ; but I do not know from what autho- 
 rity Pancirollus tells us that that emperor invented 
 falconry at the time when he was besieging Rome. 
 Rainaldo, marquis of Este, was the first among the 
 Italian princes who used this method of fowling; J 
 and that the emperor Henry followed the example 
 of his father seems proved by the words of Colle- 
 nuccio. The service rendered by Frederic II to 
 this art, if it can be said to deserve service, is shown 
 by the book which he wrote in Latin on it, entitled 
 De Arte vcnandi cum avibus, and which was printed 
 / 
 
 * Fu (Enrico) dato estremamente all’ essercitio della caccia, el 
 dell’ uccellare con falconi, et uccelli di rapina; il qual modo d’uc- 
 cellare, e fama, che Federico suo padre fosse il primo auctore, che lo 
 portasse in Italia. Compendio dell’ istoria del regno di Napoli , di 
 Pandolfo Collenuccio, di Mamhrino Roseo e di Tom. Costo. In 
 Venetia 1613, 4to. i. p. 88. 
 
 f In equis, canibus, accipitribus, caeterisque ejus generis avibus 
 instituendis, spectandis, circumferendis, nulli secundus. Radevicus 
 de gestis Frederici I. lib. ii. cap. ultimo. 
 
 J Aves autem aucupio nutas, accipitres videlicet, falcones, giro- 
 falcos, peregrinos, montanos, gibbosos, astures, quos Pausanias astor- 
 gios vocat, quae primus in Italiam longo postliminio Fredericus iEno- 
 barbus advexit, ac cicures effici edocuit, primusque ex Iialia Fainaldus 
 marchio Estensis apud se in delitiis habuit, ad centum quinquaginta 
 magnis expensis aluit. Bandellus Dominicanus, Orat. funebr. in 
 princip Mantuanum. 
 
 Rhainaldus inter Italos omnium primus accipitres cicures, astures 
 et id genus aquilas aluit, atque in delitiis habuit. Cynthii Joan. 
 Baptiste Gyraldi de Ferraria et Atestinis princip. commentariolum, 
 in Grevii Thesauro antiquit, et historiar. vol. vii. p. 12. 
 
330 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 for the first time at Augsburg in the year 1596, 
 from a manuscript belonging to Joachim Camera- 
 rius, a physician of Nuremberg.* It has here and 
 there deficiencies, because the manuscript was torn, 
 and some additions by the author’s son Manfred, 
 king of Sicily. In the second book, there is an 
 account of the use and manner of making hoods, 
 called capellce, which we are there told were in* 
 vented by the Arabs. The emperor received as a 
 present some hooded falcons from Arabian princes, 
 and procured people from Arabia who understood 
 the management of them, f Albertus Magnus 
 has inserted a great deal from the work of this 
 emperor in his book upon animals. 
 
 * Reliqua librorum Frederici II imperatoris de arte venandi cum 
 avibus, cum Manfredi regis additionibus ; — ex membranis vetustis 
 nunc primum edita. Albertus M. de falconibus, asturibus, et acci- 
 pitribus. Augustae Vindel. ad insigne pinus 15g6, 414 pages 8vo. 
 
 f As this work is extremely scarce, I shall here quote the follow- 
 ing passage from it : “ The hood had its origin among the oriental 
 nations ; for the eastern Arabs used it more than any other people 
 with whom we are acquainted, in taming falcons and birds of the 
 same species. When I crossed the sea, I had an opportunity of ob- 
 serving that the Arabs used hoods in this art. Some of the kings of 
 Arabia sent to me the most expert falconers, with various kinds of 
 falcons ; and I did not fail, after I had resolved to collect into a book 
 every thing respecting falconry, to invite from Arabia and every other 
 country such as were most skilful in it ; and I received from them 
 the best information they were able to give. Because the use of the 
 hood was one of the most effectual methods they knew for taming 
 hawks, and as I saw the great benefit of it, I employed a hood in 
 training these birds; and it has been so much approved in Europe, 
 that it is proper it should be handed down to posterity.” 
 
FALCONRY. 
 
 331 
 
 I n none of the sports of the field have the fair 
 sex partaken so much as in falconry. The ladies 
 formerly kept hawks, in which they greatly de- 
 liohted, and which were as much fondled by those 
 
 O ' 
 
 who wished to gain their favour as lap-dogs are at 
 present.* What tended principally, however, to 
 bring it into disuse, was the invention of gun- 
 powder. After that, hawks were discarded, and 
 the w'hole enjoyment of fowling was confined to 
 shooting. Less skill and labour was indeed re- 
 quired in this new exercise; but the ladies aban- 
 doned the pleasures of the chase, because they dis- 
 approved of the use of fire-arms, which weie at- 
 tended both with alarm and danger. 
 
 Among the oldest writers on Falconry, we may 
 reckon Demetrius, who about the year 1270 was 
 physician to the emperor Michael Paleologus. 
 His book, written in Greek, was first printed at 
 Paris in 16 12, by Nicholas Rigaltius, from a ma- 
 nuscript in the kings library, and with the Latin 
 translation of Peter Gyllius.j' Some other works 
 on the same subject, the antiquity of which is un- 
 
 * Memoir es sur l' ancienne clievalerie, pur M. de la Came de 
 Saint e-Palaye. Paris 1759 — 1781, 3 vol. 12mo. tom. iii. p. 183. 
 In this work may be found many anecdotes respecting the taste of the 
 French ladies for the sports of the field, in the ages of chivalry. 
 
 f ’lepaxocrofm. Rei accipitraria; scriptores nunc primum editi. 
 Accessit Kuvocropw, Liber de cura canum. Lutetiae 1612, 4to. See 
 Fahricii Biblioth. Grreca, lib. i. c. 25. vol. i. 155, where, however, 
 the year 1619 is given wrong. 
 
332 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 known, were printed at the same time. One in the 
 Catalonian dialect has the forged title of Epistola 
 Aquilce , Symmachi et Theodotionis ad Ptolemceum 
 regem AEgypti de re accipitraria. All these writings 
 treat chiefly on the rearing and diseases of hawks; 
 and contain cures, which, though some of them 
 perhaps may be good enough, would not undoubt- 
 edly be all approved by any person of skill at pre- 
 sent.* Aloes, to the size of about a bean, are or- 
 dered as a purge ; and quicksilver is prescribed for 
 the itch and outbreaking. We are told also, that 
 a wild and untractable falcon was confined some 
 time with a hood on in a smith’s shop, where it was 
 soon tamed by the continual thumping of the ham- 
 mers. One precept in Demetrius, respecting the 
 art of falconry, seems very ill suited to the practice 
 of modern times. He desires sportsmen to say 
 their prayers before they go out to the field, f 
 Had this custom been continued to the present 
 day, many great men would be like the people 
 mentioned by a certain traveller, who solicit the 
 assistance of God when they are preparing for a 
 
 * Among certain miscellany tracts, written by Thomas Brown, 
 London 1684, 8vo. p. Ill, there is one with the following title : Of 
 hawks and falconry , ancient and moderns which, however, consists 
 only of old medical prescriptions. I mention this circumstance, be- 
 cause Graevius, in the preface to that part of his Thesaurus, page 6, 
 where he gives some account of the history of falconry, laments that, 
 on account of his being unacquainted with the English language, he 
 had not been able to make use of this treatise of Brown. 
 
 •f* Tov S’ 60i/ cKma.Kiaa.vTts. 
 
TURF. 
 
 333 
 
 piratical expedition ; * but with this difference, 
 that these rovers plunder only strange ships, where- 
 as the latter destroy the property and possessions 
 of their own subjects. 
 
 TURF. 
 
 The observation, that many kinds of earth, when 
 dried, might be employed as fuel, may have easily 
 been occasioned by an accident in some place 
 destitute of wood. A spark falling fortuitously 
 on a turf-moor, during a dry summer, often sets 
 it on fire, and the conflagration it occasions ge- 
 nerally lasts so long, that it cannot escape no- 
 tice. j' Of the earth taking fire in this manner, 
 there are many instances to be found in the an- 
 cients. One of the most remarkable is that men- 
 
 * Reinarques d’un voyageur moderne au Levant. Amsterdam 
 1773, 8vo. 
 
 f In Siberia, a village which stood on a turf-moor was, on account 
 of its marshy situation, removed to another place ; and that the re- 
 mains might be more easily destroyed, they were set on fire. The 
 flames, having communicated to the soil, which was inflammable, 
 occasioned great devastation ; and when Gmelin was there, it had 
 been continually burning for half a year. See Gmelin s Reisen 
 durch Russland in denjahren 1768 und -69 ; vol. i. p. 22. 
 
334 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 tioned by Tacitus, * who relates, that not long 
 after the building of the city of Cologne, the 
 neighbouring land took fire, and burned in such a 
 manner, that the corn, villages, and every produc- 
 tion of the fields were destroyed by the flames, 
 which advanced even to the walls of the city. I 
 agree in opinion with Mr. Habel, who has lately 
 quoted this remarkable passage, f that it is not to 
 be understood as alluding to a volcanic eruption, 
 but to a morass which had been set on fire. In the 
 duchy of Berg, and around Cologne, there are 
 
 * Civitas Juhonum malo improviso aftlicta est; nam ignes terra 
 editi villas, arva, vicos passim corripiebant, ferebanturque in ipsa 
 conditoe nuper Coloniaa moenia, neque extingui poterant, non si im- 
 bres caderent, non si flavialibus aquis aut quo alio humore niterentur ; 
 donee inopia remedii et ira cladis agrestes quklam eminus saxa jacere, 
 dein residentibus flammis propius swggressi, ictu fustium, aliisque 
 verberibus, ut feras absterrebant ; postremo tegmina corpori direpta 
 injiciunt, quanto magis profana et usu polluta, tanto magis oppres- 
 sura ignes. Tacit. Annul, lib. xiii. cap. 57. According as I under- 
 stand the last words, the rustics, in despair, when they found that 
 the fire could not be quenched either by rain or by the river-water 
 which they poured over it, flung at last stones upon it, and throwing 
 themselves over these, closed up with their clothes, which were 
 made of skins, all the interstices between them ; and these means 
 may have been assisted by their pressure on the earth. I doubt, 
 therefore, whether this circumstance can be referred, as Mr. Habel 
 thinks, to the superstitious custom of throwing certain trifling things 
 into fires in order to extinguish them. 
 
 1* Beytrage zur naturgeschichte und ceconomie der Nassauischen 
 lander. Dessau 1784, 8vo. p. 25. Some account of the turf mo- 
 rasses near Cologne may be found in Hupsches Entdeckung des 
 ursprungs des Colnischen umbers . Frankf, und Leipzig 1.771, 8vo. 
 
TURF. 
 
 335 
 
 very extensive morasses, from which turf is dug up 
 for fuel, and which undoubtedly serve to confirm 
 this idea. 
 
 That the use of turf was well known in the ear- 
 liest periods, in the greater part of Lower Saxony, 
 and throughout the Netherlands, is fully proved 
 by Pliny’s account of the Chauci, who inhabited 
 that part of Germany which at present compre- 
 hends the duchies of Bremen and Verden, the 
 counties of Oldenburg, Delmenhorst, Diepholz, 
 Huy and East Friesland. Pliny says expressly, 
 that the Chauci pressed together with their hands 
 a kind of mossy earth, which they dried by the 
 wind rather than by the sun, and which they used 
 not only for cooking their victuals, but also for 
 warming their bodies.* I explain also by turf a 
 short passage of Antigonus Carystius, quoted from 
 Phanias, in which it is said that a morass in 
 Thessaly, having become dry, took fire and 
 burned, f 
 
 The account, therefore, given in some Dutch 
 chronicles, that turf and the manner of preparing 
 it were first found out about the year 1215, and 
 that about 1222 it had become common, is cer- 
 
 * Captum manibus lutum ventis magis quam sole siccantes, terra 
 cibos et rigentia septentrione viscera sua urunt. Hist. nat. lib. xvi. 
 c. 1 . 
 
 "t 4>awav r >]v rani Iftipaxuiv \i/uvy]v orav aval-ripouQri, xaetrQai. Phaniam, 
 
 paludem Pyracum, siccatam ardere. Meursius says that the reading 
 ought to be twv Hupp aim, and he is of opinion that it means a part of 
 Thessaly called by Stephanus Hupaia. 
 
336 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS, 
 
 tainly false.* This information may be applicable 
 to certain lands and districts, and correct as to the 
 
 * De Wolt-luyden, die nu nieuwe manieren van goed te ghewin- 
 nen, in het graven van den torff, gevonden hadden, in voortiiden 
 onbekent, ofte ten minsten so seer ghemeen niet, hebben oock uyt 
 goeden yver ten tiiden van den Abt Siardus, de seer godsdienstich 
 ende nederich was, het Clooster Mariengaerd veele veenen in ende 
 ontrent Beccafeen geschonken. “The foresters, who had then got 
 a new employment, that of turf-digging, which had been before un- 
 known, or at least very uncommon, gave as a present to the mona- 
 stery of Mariengard, in 1215, several turf-mosses in and near Backe- 
 feen.” That monastery was situated at the distance of two miles 
 from Leeuwaarden. The words Woll-luyden, Wout-lieden, JVoud- 
 liedcn, occur in the old laws of the mines of Goslar, which Leibnitz 
 has inserted in Scriptor. Brunsv. vol. iii. In the introduction it is 
 said, Sylvani, qui in legibus vocantur die Woltleute item Wold- 
 werchten id est JValdgewerke. Eorum sub nomine continentur et 
 montani, seu homines in metallis sen fodinis et officinis fmoriis oc- 
 cupati, qui passim per sylvas vicinas dispersi agebant. Nam in le- 
 gibus metallicis diserte cavetur, ut, quando de novis legibus fe- 
 rendis agitur, Sex-viri convocent Sylvanos, et quod pluribus placuit 
 sequantur. 
 
 In Kronijch der Kronijchen, door S. de Vries, printed at Amsterdam 
 in 1688, in five volumes 4to. the following passage occurs, vol. v. 
 p. 553. Ontrent dese tijd ( 1221 ) is de turf-gravingh eerst regt opge- 
 koomen ; welck de geleedene schade en ellende door de zee-wateren 
 eenigsins vergoedede en versoetede 5 waer door oock veele seer riick 
 wierden. “About this time ( 1221 ) the digging of turf was first 
 practised, which in some measure made amends for the damage occa- 
 sioned by the sea-water r and by which several acquired great riches.” 
 
 Some Dutch writers make turf-digging to be of much higher an- 
 tiquity, and in support of this opinion quote an old chronicle in 
 rhyme, in which mention is made of a donation by Gerolf count of 
 Friesland, in the following words : Dat hi gqf losch, mersch ende 
 zant. They explain mersch by moergrond, moss ; but I am not ac- 
 quainted with the antiquity of that chronicle j and of the letter of 
 donation there is only a Flemish translation, which, with some ex- 
 tracts from the chronicle, may be found in D'oude chroniic/te end 
 
TURF. 
 
 337 
 
 introduction of this kind of fuel in those parts ; for 
 the use of it was not extended far till a late period; 
 and even yet, turf is neither employed nor known 
 in many places which possess it, even though they 
 are destitute of wood.* Some improvement in 
 the manndt’ of preparing turf may have also been 
 considered as the invention of this fuel, which is 
 undoubtedly of greater antiquity. What induced 
 Monconys to ascribe the invention of turf to Eras- 
 mus, or who first propagated that error, I can as 
 little conjecture as Misson. ■f 
 
 In latter times turf began to be burned to coal, 
 sometimes in kilns, and sometimes in furnaces built 
 for that purpose, by which this advantage is obtain- 
 ed, that it kindles sooner, burns with less air, and 
 forms a more moderate and uniform fire, without 
 much smoke, though it is not so lasting as turf, be- 
 cause it has lost the greater part of its inflammable 
 substance. This method of reducing turf to coal, 
 which is still practised in some parts of Bohemia, 
 Silesia, and Upper Saxony, was, it appears, pro- 
 posed about the year 1669, by the well-known John 
 
 historien van Holland, door TV. van Gouthoeven. Tot Dovtrecht, 
 1620, fol. p. 237. See also Natuurlyke hislorie van Holland, door 
 J. le Francq van Berkhey Tweede deel. Amsterd. 1769* 8vo. p. 552. 
 
 * The use of turf was first made known in France in the year 1621, 
 by Charles de Lamberville, advocate of the parliament of Paris, who 
 resided some time in Holland, to which he had been sent by the king 
 on public business. See Anciens miner alogisles, par Gohet, i. p. 302. 
 
 •f Journal des voyages de Monconys. Lyon l66’6, 2 vol. 4to. ii. 
 p. 129. C’est lui (Erasme) qui a donne l’invention de la tourbe, 
 qu’on brusle au lieu du oharbon. See also Misson’s Travels. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Z 
 
338 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Joachim Becher, who recommended at that time a 
 method of depriving coals of their sulphur by burn- 
 ing them, and the use of rock-oil procured from 
 them by that process.* The burning of turf to 
 coal seems to have been first made known in Ger- 
 many by Hans Charles von Carlowitz, chamber- 
 counsellor, and principal surveyor of the mines of 
 
 * “ In Holland there is turf, and in England there are coals, nei- 
 ther of which are good for burning either in apartments or in melt- 
 ing-houses. I have, however, discovered a method of burning both 
 these to good coals, so that they shall not only produce no smoke or 
 bad smell, but yield a heat as strong for melting metals as that of 
 wood, and throw out such flames that a foot of coal shall make a 
 flame ten feet long. This I have demonstrated at the Hague with 
 turf, and proved here in England with coals, in the presence of 
 Mr. Boyle, by experiments made at Windsor on a large scale. It 
 deserves to be remarked on this occasion, that as the Swedes procure 
 their tar from fir wood, I have procured tar from coals, which is in 
 every thing equal to the Swedish, and even superior to it for some 
 purposes. I have tried it both on timber and ropes, and it has been 
 found excellent. The king himself ordered a proof of it to be made 
 in his presence. This is a thing of very great importance to the 
 English, and the coals after the tar has been extracted from them are 
 better for use than before.” Narrische weisheit und weise narrheit. 
 Frankfurt 1083, 12mo. p. 91. Boyle seems to speak of this inven- 
 tion in The usefulness of natural philosophy , London 1774, fol. i. 
 p. 515, or the Latin translation Exercitaliones circa utilitatem phi- 
 losophic nat. experimental ^ , Genevae 10g4, 4to. p. 245. At pre- 
 sent, the burning of coals in order to procure from them rock-oil, 
 used particularly by the leather-manufacturers, and which on that 
 account must not be exported, is much practised in England. It 
 appears, however, that something of the like kind was attempted be- 
 fore Becher’s time. ; for in the year 1 027> John Hacket and Octav. 
 Strada obtained a patent for their invention of rendering coals as 
 useful as wood for fuel in houses without hurting any thing by their 
 smoke. See Anderson's History of Commerce. 
 
ARTICHOKE. 
 
 339 
 
 the electorate of Saxony. To save wood and pro- 
 mote the benefit of the mines, he sought for turf ; 
 and having discovered it, he then endeavoured 
 to find out some method of rendering it fit to be 
 employed in the melting-houses, and this was the 
 reducing to coal, which, as he himself says, # he 
 first attempted in kilns at Scheibenberg, in the year 
 1708. 
 
 ARTICHOKE. 
 
 That I might be able to investigate whether 
 our artichoke was known to the ancients, I have 
 not only collected a variety of scattered passages, 
 compared them with one another and with nature, 
 and laboured through a tedious multitude of con- 
 tradictions and a confusion of names ; but I have 
 also been obliged to examine a load of groundless 
 conjectures, heaped together by commentators, f 
 in order that I might understand them and ascer- 
 
 * Von Carlowitz, Sylvicultura ceconomica, oder wild baum zucht, 
 Leipzig. 1713, fol. p. 430, where an account is given of the first ex- 
 periment. 
 
 See J. Bodseus a Stapel, Erklarung fiber die geschichte de 
 pflanzen des Theophrast, p. 6 l 8 . Salmasius ad Solinum, p. I 09 , 
 and his Exercitationes de homonymis, p. 7 6 . Casauboni Animad- 
 versions in Athen. Dipnosoph. Lugduni 1621 , fol. p. 146 . J. Bau- 
 him Histor. plant, iii. p. 48. 
 
 z 2 
 
340 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 tain their value. By these means I have learned 
 more than seems hitherto to have been known; 
 and I have found that more is believed than can 
 be proved ; but that the fruits of my toil will give 
 complete satisfaction to my readers, I do not pre- 
 tend to hope. Before the botany, however, and 
 the natural history in general of the ancients can be 
 properly elucidated ; before truth can be sepa- 
 rated from falsehood ; what is certain from what is 
 uncertain; and things defined from those which are 
 undefined, researches of this kind must be under- 
 taken, and the same method as that which I have 
 followed must be adopted. 
 
 As all those, perhaps, who have a taste for il- 
 lustrations of ancient authors, may not be so well 
 acquainted with the nature, properties, culture and 
 use of our artichoke, as the dissertation I propose 
 may require, I shall endeavour to supply that de- 
 ficiency. Our artichoke appears to those who have 
 not studied the natural classification of plants to 
 have an affinity to the thistle kind, and the calyx 
 and leaves seem to warrant this opinion ; the 
 former by its scale-disposed figure, as w’ell as the 
 flower it contains; and the latter by their prickles, 
 which they, however, lose by art and cultivation. 
 The seeds which are procured from Italy, because 
 they do not ripen with us, are sowrn in the spring. 
 Of the young plants, those alone which are prickly 
 are transplanted : the rest are thrown away, as they 
 
ARTICHOKE. 
 
 341 
 
 would produce only small tops. When the plants 
 grow up, they shoot forth slips, which are taken 
 up, and which may be transplanted throughout the 
 whole summer. The calyx, before the blue flowers 
 burst out, is cut off, and dressed sometimes fresh, 
 and sometimes it is pickled for the w inter. The 
 only part eatable is the thick pulpy bottom, which 
 supports the flowers with their then imperfect seeds 
 and the woolly substance which adheres to them. 
 Another species of the same genus, the cynara car - 
 dunculus , cardoons, or Spanish cardoons, is reared 
 in our gardens, not on account of its flower, but 
 of the pulpy ribs of its leaves, and tender stalk. 
 When this plant attains the height of about six feet, 
 it is bound round in such a manner that the leaves 
 are compressed to the stem. It is then surrounded 
 with earth and dung, and under this covering it 
 in a few' weeks becomes so white and tender, that 
 the above-mentioned parts may be dressed and 
 eaten, or made into soup. The ribs of the leaves, 
 however, of the first kind, or proper artichoke, 
 may be rendered eatable in the same manner, and 
 are then as fit for use as the latter. 
 
 The names of plants in ancient authors which 
 have been applied to our artichoke, are the follow- 
 ing : cimra , carduus, scolymus, and cactus. 
 
 The cinara, which is originally a Greek word,* 
 
 * In the time of Galen and Athenaeus it was written sometimes 
 ttiiapa, and sometimes xuv«p«. Salmasius de homonymis, p. 77. 
 
34-2 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 belonged certainly to the thistle-species ; and the 
 description of its top, as given by Columella,* 
 seems, as has already been remarked by Nonnius f 
 and others, to agree perfectly with that of our arti- 
 choke. The cinara was commonly furnished with 
 prickles, but that was preferred which had lost 
 them by cultivation, and for which, means were 
 prescribed that did not produce the desired 
 effect . % It was raised from seed sown in spring, 
 but was propagated also from slips or shoots 
 which in Italy were planted in autumn, that they 
 might bear earlier the next summer. § The direc- 
 tion given to water these plants frequently, is still 
 
 * Hispida ponatur cinara, quae dulcis Iaccho 
 Potanti veniat, nec Phoebo grata canenti. 
 
 Haec modo purpureo surgit glomerata corymbo, 
 
 Myrtiolo modo crine viret, deflexaque collo 
 Nunc adaperta manet, nunc pinea vertice pungit. 
 
 Nunc similis calatho, spinisque minantibus horret. 
 
 Pallida nonnunquam tortos imitatur acanthos. 
 
 Colum. lib. x. ver. 235. 
 
 These lines are not perfectly clear, as the learned editor himselt 
 confesses. 1 read adaperta, on the authority of an ancient manu- 
 script, and have therefore inserted it in the above passage. 
 
 •f- Hanc descriptionem optime quadrare cum planta ilia quae vulgo 
 Artachoches dicitur, nemo est qui negabit, modo Columellae versus 
 cum ipsa planta conferre voluerit. Ludovici Nonnii Diateticon, sive 
 de re cibaria. Antverpiae 1646, 4to. p. b6. 
 
 J It was said, that if the corners of the seeds were bruised, no 
 
 prickles would be produced. See Geopon. lib. xii. cap. 3g. 
 
 § Cinarre sobolem melius per autumni aequinoctium disponemus; 
 semen commodius circa calendas Martii seremus. Geopon. 1 . c. 
 Columella , xi. cap. 3. 
 
ARTICHOKE. 
 
 343 
 
 followed by our gardeners in respect to their arti- 
 chokes, and they expect from this attention, that 
 the fruit will be more abundant and tender. By 
 this method many give to their artichokes a supe- 
 riority which others that have not been watered so 
 carefully cannot attain.* * * § A complaint, which oc- 
 curs in ancient authors, is also prevalent, that the 
 roots are often destroyed by mice/)' I do not, how- 
 ever, find it remarked what part of the cinara was 
 properly used, but it may be conjectured it was the 
 top, because the tender fruit is praised. J 
 
 Carduus , among the Romans, was the common 
 name of all plants of the thistle kind. It occurs 
 among those of weeds, § and may be then properly 
 translated by the word thistle. It, however, often 
 signified an eatable thistle; and this has given 
 Pliny occasion to make use of an insipid piece of 
 raillery, when he says, that luxury prepared as food 
 to man what would not be eaten by cattle. || 
 
 It is an old and common fault, that when the 
 
 * iEstate rigato ipsas, et quidem frequenter. Geopon. p. 925. 
 f Geopon. 926. 
 
 X Geopon. 925, where repeated watering is directed, it is said : 
 'Outoj yap aTraXov xai ccSpuTipov r 01/ xapnov you will then have ten- 
 
 derer fruit, and in more abundance. 
 
 § Virgil. Georg, i. 150. Plin. lib. xviii. cap. 17. 
 
 || Poterant videri dicta omnia quae in pretio sunt, nisi restaret res 
 maximi quasstus, non sine pudore dicenda. Certum est quippe car- 
 duos apud Carthaginem magnam, Cordubamque praecipue, sester- 
 tium sena millia e parvis reddere areis; quoniam portenta quoque 
 terrarum in ganeam vertimus, etiam ea quae refugiunt quadrupe- 
 des consciae. Plin. lib. xix. cap, 8, 
 
344 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Greek and Roman authors have not given us such 
 descriptions of natural objects as are sufficient to 
 enable us to ascertain exactly what they are, we 
 suppose that they have been known under dif- 
 ferent names, and a variety of characteristics are 
 drawn together to enable us to determine them. 
 What, for example, we find respecting the dnara 
 is too little to give a just idea of the plant; 
 we read somewhat more of the carduus ; and be- 
 cause between these there seems to be an affinity, 
 it is concluded that the cinara and the carduus were 
 the same plant; and every thing told us respecting 
 both of them is thrown into one. Some even go 
 further, and add what they find under a third or a 
 fourth name. It is indeed true, that many natural 
 objects have had several names, and the species 
 may sometimes be rightly guessed : but conjecture 
 ought never to be admitted unless the identity 
 can be fully established ; else one may form such a 
 monstrous production as Horace has delineated, 
 when he says, 
 
 Humano capiti cervicem pictor equinam 
 
 Jungere si velit, et varias inducere plumas, 
 
 Undique collatis membris — 
 
 I wish commentators would follow the example of 
 our naturalists, who consider a plant as a distinct 
 species until it has been proved, on sure grounds, 
 that it is nothing else than a variety of a plant al- 
 ready characterized. I should not therefore affirm, 
 
artichoke. 
 
 345 
 
 that the cinara and the carduus are the same, were 
 I not able to produce the following incontestable 
 proofs in support of my assertion. 
 
 In the first place, the Latins, Palladius and 
 Pliny, give us the same account of the ccirduus that 
 Columella and the Greeks do of the cinara. The 
 former lost its prickles through cultivation ;* * * § its 
 flowers were also of a purple colour j'j' it was 
 propagated by seed and by shoots ; £ it required 
 frequent watering ;§ and it was remarked that it 
 throve better when the earth was mixed with 
 ashes. j| Had not the carduus and the cinara been 
 the same, Palladius and Pliny would have men- 
 tioned the latter ; for we cannot suppose that they 
 otherwise would have omitted a plant that formed 
 a dish so much esteemed and so well known among 
 their countrymen. The latter claims to himself 
 
 * Palladius, iv. 9 . p. 934, and lib. xi. Octob. p. 987- In the first- 
 mentioned place he gives the same direction for preventing prickles, 
 as that quoted respecting the cinara. “ Si acumina seminum con- 
 fringas, spinis carebunt.” 
 
 f Florem purpureum mittit inter medios aculeos, celeriter canes- 
 centem et abeuntem cum aura. “ The wind easily carries away the 
 withered flowers on account of their woolly nature. Plin. lib. xx. 
 cap. 23. 
 
 | Pallad. 1. c. 
 
 § Pallad. p. 934, Rigentur, si aestus intervenit. 
 
 || Pallad. xi. Octob. xi. p. 987 : Cinerem ssepe sub hieme diebus 
 siccis, fimumque miscebimus. Columella, lib.xi. cap. 3, speaking 
 of cinara says, Multo cinere stercorabimus ; id enim genus stercoris 
 huic oleri videtur aptissimum. The same thing is said by the 
 Greeks. 
 
346 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the merit of having passed over no one that was 
 held in estimation. In the second place, Vi ml 
 has translated the word cynaros in a part of So- 
 phocles now lost, by carduus ; * * * § thirdly, Athemeus 
 says expressly, that the cinara was by the Latins 
 named cardus and carduus ; f and, lastly, the old 
 glossaries explain cinara by carduus , as we are 
 told by Salmasius. On these grounds, therefore, I 
 am of opinion that the cinara and the carduus 
 were the same. 
 
 We are informed by ApiciusJ and Pliny § in 
 what manner the carduus was dressed by the 
 ancient cooks. The latter gives directions for 
 pickling it in vinegar ; but neither of them tells us 
 what part of it was eaten. Lister thinks that 
 Apicius speaks of the tops of the young shoots, 
 which, as far as I know, are parts of the artichoke 
 never eaten at present. It is, however, worthy of 
 remark, that the tops ( turiones ) of certain kinds of 
 
 * Kwcipo; a.xM$oi rraAna n ytoji/. 
 
 Cinara spinosa toto inhorret vomere. 
 
 Sophocles, in Phcenice. 
 
 - - - - - - Segnisque horreret in arvis 
 Carduus. 
 
 Virgil. Georg, i. 50. 
 
 See Salmas, ad Solin. p. l6l and 162. 
 
 f Athen. Deipnos. at the end of the second book, p. 70. Salmasius, 
 in his Remarks on Solinus, p. 16y, is of opinion that Athenaeus 
 wrote xafSoiy not ; and the Latins not carduus, but. cardus . 
 
 J Apic. de arte coquin. lib. iii. cap. 19. 
 
 § Cardui condiuntur aceto melle diluto, addita laseris radiceetcu- 
 mini, ne quis dies sine carduo sit. Plin. lib. xix. cap. 8. 
 
ARTICHOKE. 
 
 347 
 
 the thistle species of plants, and among these the 
 common burr,* are, in some countries, dressed and 
 eaten like asparagus. It is not improbable also 
 that Plinv and Apicius may have meant the ubs of 
 the leaves ; though none of the ancients has taught 
 us the art of binding up, covering with earth, and 
 blanching the cinara or ccirduus. This, perhaps, 
 was a new invention of the gardeners ; and the 
 cooks may have had other methods of rendeiing 
 the ribs of the leaves tender and eatable. Had they 
 meant the bottom of the calyx, they would not 
 have omitted to give a circumstantial account of 
 the preparation, previous to its being pickled. 
 
 The scolymus is by Pliny and Theophrastus 
 reckoned to belong to the genus of the thistles. 
 The former says, that, like most others of the same 
 kind, the seeds were covered by a sort of wool 
 {pappus), t It had a high stem, surrounded with 
 leaves , \ which were prickly, but which ceased to 
 
 * Arctium lappa, an indigenous weed, difficult to be rooted out. 
 Elsholz, in his Gartenbau, quarto edition, of 1684, speaking of the 
 Spanish cardoons, says. The strong stem of the large burr, lappa 
 major, C. B. may be dressed in the same manner, and is not much 
 different in taste. Haller, in Hist, plant, i. p. 70, observes. Radices 
 edules sunt, sapore cynarse. See also Laurembergii Horticultura, 
 p. igO ; Kalms Reise, iii. p. 318; Thomas Moufets Healths im- 
 provement. Lond. 1746, 8vo. p. 217* 
 
 f Theophrast. Histor. plant, lib. vi. cap. 4. where s-xoXu/wr is 
 translated by carduus : y^oaa-xuiv Je to a/Jo? exTrumrovTai, senescens flos 
 in lanuginem pappum vocatam convertitur. 
 
 \ Discor. lib. iii. cap. 16 . 
 
548 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 sting when the plant withered.*' It flowered the 
 whole summer through, and had often flowers and 
 ripe seed at the same time ; which is the case also 
 with our artichoke plants. f The calyx of the 
 scolymus was not prickly ; J the root was thick, 
 black, and sweet, and contained a milky juice. It 
 was eaten both raw and cooked; and Theophrastus 
 observes, as something very remarkable, that when 
 the plant was in flower, or, as others explain the 
 words, when it had finished blowing, it was most 
 palatable. What renders this circumstance singular 
 is, that most milky roots, used for food, lose their 
 milk and become unfit to be eaten as soon as they 
 have blown. This is the case with the goat’s beard, 
 which is eatable only the first year. 
 
 The scolymus , however, is not the only plant 
 which forms an exception ; for the garden scorzo- 
 nera retains it milk, and continues eatable after it 
 has bloomed, and as long as it has milk it may be 
 used. According to Theophrastus and Pliny, the 
 roots of the scolymus are eatable. On the other 
 hand, Dioscorides says, that the roots were not 
 
 * Aculei arescente folio desinunt pungere. Plin. lib. xxi. cap. 16 . 
 f Mirum quod sine intervallo tota asstate aliud floret iri eo genere, 
 aliud concipit, aliud parturit. Plin. lib. c. Theophrastus says the 
 same, p. 613. 
 
 t Theophrastus . >j 8s xurjaif oux txxuv$w8r)S t ak\a irgo/xriitri; aiirou. 
 Conceptus non spinosus, sed oblongus. But Dioscorides says, 
 uxav6w8ri( capitulum spinosum. This contradiction, and other small 
 variations, have induced some to consider the scolymus of Theo- 
 phrastus’, and that of Discorides, as two different plants. 
 
ARTICHOKE. 
 
 349 
 
 eaten, butjthe young leaves only : as he informs us, 
 however, that they were dressed like asparagus, it 
 would appear that he meant the young shoots. 
 Theophrastus expressly tells us, that, besides the 
 roots, the flowersf also were used as food ; and he 
 calls that which was eatable the pulpy part. We 
 have, therefore full proof that the ancients ate the 
 tops of some plants, in the same manner as we eat 
 our artichokes. 
 
 It may however, be asked, what kind of a plant 
 was the scolymus ? — "I hat it w 7 as different from the 
 cinara is undoubtedly certain ; for Dioscorides i}, 
 expressly distinguishes them ; nor was it the eatable 
 carduus, for Pliny compares it with the carduus , § 
 and says that it was characterized from the latter by 
 having roots fit to be eaten. || Stapel is of opinion 
 that the scolymus is our artichoke ; but this seems 
 to me improbable, for the leaves and roots of the 
 latter are not sweet, but harsh and bitter, and the 
 calyx is prickly, which was not the case in the sco- 
 lymus of Theophrastus. Besides, I find nothing in 
 the whole description of the scolymus or in the 
 
 * 'H 7T0« CIQTI <pu>){ ouca, Aa.^onieveTUi e(pdr) axT'MQ arffapayof. Herba 
 vero receiis nata, si asparagi modo elixetur, oleris vicem subit. 
 Dioscor. iii. (6. 
 
 f 'H Se tou oyxou crapxtuSijf xcu tMipo;. Pars crassior carnosa, 
 
 ciboque idonea. 
 
 % Dioscor. lib. iii. cap. 10, where he says of a plant that its leaves 
 were like those of the trxoAupiof and its stem lijte that of the xivapa. 
 
 § Lib. xxi. cap. l6. 
 
 || Scolymus carduorum generis ab iis distal, quod radix ejus 
 vescendo est decocta. Pag. 250. 
 
350 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 accounts given us by the ancients of the cinara and 
 carduus, that can be applied to our artichoke alone, 
 and not to any other plant. It may be here replied, 
 that it would be very difficult to ascertain plants 
 from the names of the ancients, were such strong 
 proofs required, because they had not the art of 
 separating the different genera correctly, and of 
 assigning to each certain characterizing marks. 
 This I allow ; and for that reason it is impossible 
 to elucidate properly the Greek and Latin names of 
 plants ; but, in my opinion, it is better to confess 
 this impossibility, than to deceive oneself with 
 distant probabilities. Let the genus be ascertained 
 when one cannot ascertain the species ; let the 
 order to which the plant belongs be determined 
 when one cannot determine the genus ; or, at least, 
 let the class be assigned when there is sufficient 
 authority to do so. The cinara , carduus , and 
 scolymus were, therefore, species of the thistle, of 
 which the roots and young shoots, and also the 
 bottom of the calyx of the last, were eaten. Were 
 I appointed, or condemned, to form a new Latin 
 dictionary, I should explain the article scolymus in 
 the following manner , Planta composita, capitata . 
 Caulis longus, obsitus foliis spinosis. Radix carnosa, 
 lactescens, nigra , dulcis, t dulls, Calix squamis in- 
 ermibus , disco carnoso, ante efflorescentiam eduli. 
 Semina paposa. Turiones edules. This description, 
 short as it is, contains every thing that the ancients 
 have said in order to characterize that plant. It 
 
ARTICHOKE. 
 
 351 
 
 can, indeed, be understood only by those who are 
 acquainted with the terms of botany ; but what 
 follows will require no explanation, or defining of 
 botanical names. 
 
 Should it be said that the scolymus must be our 
 artichoke, because no other plant of the thistle 
 kind is known the bottom of the calyx of which is 
 eatable, I would in answer observe : First, other 
 species may have been known in ancient times, 
 which, perhaps, have been disused and forgotten 
 since the pleasanter and more delicious artichoke 
 became known. It is certain that many old plants 
 have in this manner been banished from our gar- 
 dens by the introduction of new ones. Thus have 
 common alexanders f fallen into neglect since 
 celery w'as made known by the Italians, about the 
 end of the 17th century; and so at present has the 
 cultivation of winter-cresses, f bulbous-rooted cbag- 
 rophyllum, J rocket, § and others, been abandoned 
 since better vegetables have been obtained to 
 supply their place. Secondly, it is certain that, 
 even at present, the bottom of the calyx of some 
 others of the thistle kind, besides the genus of the 
 artichoke, is eaten; such as the cotton- thistle, || 
 
 * Smyrnium olusatrum. See my Grundsatze der Teutschen 
 landwirthsehaft, p. 117 . 
 
 "t Erysimum barbarea. 
 
 X Chaerophyllum bulbosum. 
 
 § Brassica eruca. 
 
 || Onopordum acanthium. See Halleri Hist, plant, i. p. 6g. 
 Linnaei Amoen. academ. vol. vi. p. 124. 
 
352 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 and the carline thistle,* without mentioning the 
 sun-flower, which has been brought to us in modern 
 times from South America. 
 
 Without engaging to examine all the hypothesis 
 of commentators and ancient botanists on this sub- 
 ject, I shall take notice of one conjecture which, 
 upon mature consideration, appears to have some 
 probability. Clusiust is of opinion that the plant 
 called by the botanists of the 17th century carduus 
 chrys ant h emus, and by those of the present age sco- 
 lymus Hispanicus, the golden thistle, is the scolymus 
 of Theophrastus ; because its leaves, beset with 
 white prickles, and its pulpy, sweet, milky roots 
 are eaten, and excel in taste all roots whatever, 
 even those ofskirret; and because it was collected 
 and sold in Spain, Italy, and Greece. But what 
 has principally attracted my attention to this con- 
 jecture, is the account of Bellon J that this plant 
 
 * Carlina acaulis. Haller. 1. c. p. 80. Lin. 1. c. 
 
 Clusii Rariorum plantarum historise, lib. iv. p. 153. 
 
 \ In Crete there is a kind of prickly plant, which, in the common 
 Greek idiom, is generally called ascolimbros. The ancient Latins 
 called it also by a Greek name, glycynhizon, though different from 
 glycyrrhizu (liquorice). It grows every where spontaneously, has a 
 yellow flower, and abounds with a milky juice. The roots and leaves 
 are usually eaten before it shoots up into a stem. We saw it exposed 
 to sale, with other herbs, in the market-place of Ravenna, and at 
 Ancona, where the women, who w’ere digging it up, gave it the name 
 of riuci. We saw it gathered also in the Campagna di Roma, where 
 the inhabitants call it spinaborda. This is the plant which by the 
 modern Greeks is called ascolimbrous. Bellonii Observationes , lib. i. 
 cap. 18, added to Clusii Exotica , p. 24. - - - - which in Crete is 
 
ARTICHOKE. 
 
 353 
 
 in Crete or Candia is called still by the Greeks 
 there ciscolymbros. This name seems to have arisen 
 from scolymos ; and besides Stapel* found in an old 
 glossary the word ciscolymbros. I am likewise con- 
 vinced that, as Tournefortf has said, the botany of 
 the ancients would be much illustrated and ren- 
 dered more precise, were the names used by the 
 modern Greeks known. It is certain that many 
 old names have been preserved till the present 
 time with little variation ; but, nevertheless, I can 
 as little admit the assertion of Clusius as that of 
 Stapel ; for scolymus hispanicus has neither the bot- 
 tom of the calyx pulpy, nor wool adhering to the 
 seeds, like the scolymus of Theophrastus ; and the 
 young roots only can be eaten, because, like those 
 
 called ascolymlros, and in Lemnos scomlrouolo, that is scomlri car - 
 dims. This thistle abounds with a milky juice, like succory, has a 
 yellow flower, and is excellent eating ; so that I know no root cul- 
 tivated in gardens which can be compared in taste to the ascolyrnbros, 
 the parsnip not even excepted. Page 31. 
 
 * Theoplirast. Hist, plant, p. 620. The figure which Stapel gives, 
 p. 621, is not of the scolymus hispanicus , but of scolymus macula^us. 
 It is taken from Clusius, who has also a figure of the former. 
 
 f I considered the heads of these poor Greeks as so many living 
 inscriptions, which preserve to us the names mentioned by Dio- 
 scorides and Theophrastus. Though liable to different variations, 
 they will, doubtless, be more lasting than the hardest marble, be- 
 cause they are every day renewed, whereas marble is effaced or de- 
 stroyed. Inscriptions of this kind will preserve, therefore, to future 
 ages the names of several plants known to those skilful Greeks who 
 lived in happier and more learned times. Voyage du Levant, i. p. 
 34. Compare with the above what Haller says in his Billioth 
 lotan. i. p. 28. 
 
 VOL. I. % A 
 
354 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 of most plants of the genus of the thistle, they lose 
 their milk when the flower is in bloom ; lastly, 
 the leaves retain their power of pricking, even 
 after they have become withered. 
 
 The fourth name which, with any kind of pro- 
 bability, has been translated by the word artichoke 
 is cactus. This plant, which, in the time of Theo- 
 phrastus and Pliny, grew only in Sicily, and not 
 in Greece, had broad prickly leaves ; * the flower 
 was filled with a kind of wool, which, when eaten 
 inadvertently, was pernicious ; f the calyx was 
 prickly ; and, besides a long stem, it shot forth 
 branches which crept along the ground, J and 
 
 * Cactos quoque in Sicilia tantum nascitur, suae proprietatis et ipse; 
 in terra serpunt caules, a radice emissi, lato folio et spinoso. Caules 
 vocant cactos, nec fastidiunt in cibis, inveteratos quoque. Ununi 
 caulem rectum habent, quem vocant pternica, ejusdem suavitatis sed 
 vetustatis impatientem. Semen ei lanuginis, quam pappon vocant; 
 quo detracto et cortice, teneritas similis cerebro palmae est ; vocant 
 ascalian. Plin. lib. xxi. cap. 16. See Theoph. lib. vi. cap. 4. Theo- 
 critus, Idyll, x. 4. mentions a lamb wounded in the foot by a cactus : 
 Tafaw TroSa xajcroj sTv-pev, The scholiast upon this observes, xaxro; Se 
 £<Sof oMavtiri;. Tertullian names this plant among prickly weeds, to- 
 gether with the rains, in the end of the second chapter of that unin- 
 telligible book De Pallio. De la Cerda, in his excellent edition of 
 Opera Tertulliani , Lutetise Paris. 1624. 2 vol. fol. i. p. 13, reads 
 carecto instead of cacto; but Saumaise, in his edition of that work, 
 p, 172, has sufficiently vindicated the latter. Antigonus Caryst. 
 chap 8, calls howto; a Sicilian kind of thistle. 
 
 f Dioscorid. Alexipharm, cap. 33. 
 
 J A<pir}trou yap eu9v; am tjjj f >i?rj ; xavAou; tTviytion;. Statim ab radice 
 caules repentes in terram mittit. Theoph. p. 613. Such plants with 
 creeping branches he calls, lib. vii. c, 8 . p. 81 9 , tmymKavAa. 
 
ARTICHOKE. 
 
 355 
 
 which, when the outer rind had been peeled off, 
 were eaten either fresh, or pickled in salt water.* 
 The bottom of the calyx of this plant was likewise 
 used, after it had been freed from its seeds and 
 woolly substance.f It had a great resemblance 
 to the pith of the palm-tree. J 
 
 That the cactus was different from the scolymus 
 we are expressly told by Theophrastus ; and Pliny 
 also distinguishes them both from each other and 
 from the carduus. Athenaeus § is the only author 
 who says that the cactus and the cinara were the 
 same; but he gives no other proof than a very 
 simple etymology. It must, therefore, be admitted 
 that the cactus was a species of the thistle kind 
 entirely different from any of the former. 
 
 I think I have proved, therefore, that the Greeks 
 and the Romans used the pulpy bottom of the 
 
 * The creeping branches were in particular called cacti, the up- 
 right stem pternix. 
 
 t Theophrastus calls the bottom of the calyx ireptxupmov, a word 
 which in botany still retains the same meaning as that author explains 
 it, lib. j. c. 3 and 4. See Bodaeus’s Observations, p. 10 and (>28. 
 Theophrastus, however, says likewise, that the same part of the cactus 
 was called also axaKta-, from which is derived the ascalia of Pliny. 
 Galen calls it c-jrovSiAov. 
 
 J E pfspts tix) rov Qotvixo; cyxeipaXai. Simile cerebro palmas. Theoph. 
 This term is explained by Pliny, lib. xiii. c. 4 : Dulcis medulla pal- 
 marum in cacumine, quod cerebrum appellant. 
 
 § Athen. Deipnos. at the end of the second book, p. 70. He 
 gives every thing to be found in Theophrastus ; but either the author 
 or some of his transcribers have so confused what he says, that it is 
 almost unintelligible. 
 
 2a£ 
 
356 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 calyx, and the tendercst stalks and young shoots of 
 some plants reckoned to belong to the thistle kind, 
 in the same manner as we use artichokes and car- 
 doons ; and that the latter were unknown to them. 
 It appears to me probable that the use of these 
 plants, at least in Italy, and Europe in general, 
 was in the course of time laid aside and forgotten, 
 and that the artichoke, when it was first brought to 
 Italy from the Levant, was considered as a new 
 species of food. It is undoubtedly certain that 
 our artichoke was first known in that country in the 
 15th century. Hermolaus Barbarus, who died in 
 1494, relates that this plant was first seen at Ve- 
 nice in a garden in 1473, at which time it was very 
 scarce.* About the year 1466, one of the fa- 
 mily of Strozza brought the first artichokes to 
 Florence from Naples. | Politian, in a letter in 
 which he describes the dishes he found at a grand 
 entertainment in Italy in 1488, among these men- 
 
 * Nondum irrepsit hoc ferculum Venetiis, una tantum ejus planta 
 Mauriano vicocernitur inhortis Barbaricis. Herm. Barlar. ad Dios- 
 cor. iii. 15. See Dioscoridis libri viii, Ruellio interprete, cum H. 
 Barbari corollariis et Vergilii annotationibus. Argentorati 152 9 . fol. 
 p. 157- 
 
 f Philippus Matthaei Simonis Strozae bene et ipse de Florentina 
 republics meritus, magnificaeque Strozarum domus prae caeteris aedi- 
 ficator, carduum sativum circa annum 1466 ex Neapoli primamque 
 ficum, gentile vulgo appellatam, Florentiae advexit. Manni de Flo - 
 rentinis inventis comment arium, p. 34. Matthiolus, in his Observa- 
 tions on Dioscorides, iii. 14, says, Cardui nostrates in Hetruriam ex 
 Neapoli allati fuerunt;, Neapolim vero (ut audio) ex Sicilia. 
 
ARTICHOKE. 
 
 357 
 
 tions artichokes.* * * § They were introduced into 
 France in the beginning of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury ; f and into England in the reign of Henry 
 the Eighth. J 
 
 Respecting the origin of the name various con- 
 jectures have been formed, none of which, in my 
 opinion, are founded even on probability. Her- 
 molaus Barbarus, Henry Stephen, Ruellius, He- 
 resbach, and others think that artichoke , or arti- 
 chaut as it is called by the French, and arciocco by 
 the Italians, is derived from the Greek word cocca- 
 lus , which signifies a fir-cone, with the Arabic ar- 
 ticle al prefixed, from which was formed alcocalon, 
 and afterwards the name now used.§ This ety- 
 mology is contradicted by Saumaise,|| who denies 
 that coccalus had ever that signification. He re- 
 marks also that artichokes were by the Arabs called 
 harsaj . ‘ harxaj \ or harchiaf ; and he seems not dis- 
 
 * Carduus et scolymon, sive cynaram potius appellare convenit. 
 Politiani Opera. Lugduni 1533, 8vo. p. 444. 
 
 f Hoc memoria nostra ferculum Gallis irrepsit. Nunc fere plu- 
 rimae hortorum are® hac stirpe pubescunt, ut necjam sinecibo hoc, 
 nisi tempus anni neget, «pipara vel aditialis ulla sit coena. Ruellius 
 de natura stirpium. Basiliae 1543, fob p. 485. 
 
 t The passage from Hakluyt, vol. ii. p. 164, which proves this, 
 may be found in the Biographia Britannica, vol. iv. p. 2462, and in 
 Anderson’s History of commerce. 
 
 § Ligures arcoccum vocant, quasi alcoccalon ; ut prima ejus verbi 
 syllaba pro articulo sit, quem Mauritani omnibus fere vocibus prae- 
 ponunt. Hermolaus Barlarus, in his Observations on Dioscorides. 
 
 H Salmas, ad Solin. p. 160. 
 
358 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 inclined to derive the namefrom these appellations.* * * § 
 Grotius, Bodaeus, and some others, derive it from 
 a Greek word, | which occurs in Alexander Tral- 
 lianus, J and which is supposed to signify our 
 plant ; but that word is to be found in this author 
 alone, and in him only once ; so that the idea of 
 these critics appears to me very improbable* 
 Frisch affirms, in his dictionary, that our modern 
 name is formed from carduus and scolymus united. 
 Ihre § considers the first part of the name as the 
 German word erde (the earth), because it is often 
 pronounced erdschoke ; but I rather think that the 
 Germans changed the foreign word arti into the 
 word erde , which was known to them, in the same 
 manner as of tartuffolo we have made erdtoffeln ; || 
 besides, Ihre leaves the latter part unexplained. 
 
 • Ab illo Arabico harsciaf videndum an descenderit vulgaris ap- 
 pellatio cardi qui nobis artichau, aliis hercoccus. Pronuntiatione 
 melius apparet similitudo. Salmasii Exercitat. de homonymis hyles 
 iatrica. Trajecti ad Rhenum 1689, fol. p. 77. It is remarked in 
 Golius’s Dictionary, p. 5Q7, that this word signifies also the scales of 
 a fish, and the strong scales of the calyx of the plant may have given 
 rise to the name. 
 
 t The Greek word is aprvTixr , . 
 
 J Lib. vii. cap. 3. De curatione retentricis facultatis. In the 
 Latin translation in Stephani Medica artis princip. p. 221, the word 
 arty tica is retained. 
 
 § Ihre, Glossarium Suiogothicum. Upsalioe 1769, fol. i. p. 411. 
 
 || Potatoes. 
 
 % A variety of derivations may be found collected in Dictionnaire 
 etymologique de la langue Fron$oise, par M. Menage. See the last 
 edition by Jault, Paris 1750, 2 vol. fol. i. p. 96. 
 
ARTICHOKE. 
 
 359 
 
 In the 1 ?'th century the plant was often called IV dsch 
 distel (Italian thistle), because the seeds were pro- 
 cured from Italy, and also strobeldorn* * * § a word un- 
 doubtedly derived from strobilus. 
 
 Were the original country of the artichoke re- 
 ally known, the etymology of the name, perhaps, 
 might be easily explained. Linnssus says that it 
 grew wild in Narbonne, Italy, and Sicily, and the 
 cardoons in Crete ; but, in my opinion, the infor- 
 mation respecting the latter has been taken only 
 from the above-quoted passage of Bellon, which is 
 improperly supposed to allude to the artichoke. 
 As far as I know, it was not found upon that 
 island either by Tournefort or any other traveller. 
 Garidel, \ however, mentions the artichoke under 
 the name given it by Bauhin, cinara sylvestris lati- 
 folia, among the plants growing wild in Pro- 
 vence ; but later authors assure us that they 
 sought for it there in vain. J I shall here remark 
 that the artichoke, as Saumaise § tells us, is cer- 
 tainly known in Persia; but Tavernier says ex- 
 
 * Heresbach de re rustica, lib. ii. p. 251. 
 
 f Histoire des plantes qui naissent aux environs d’Aix. Par 
 Garidel. A Aix 1715, fol. p. 111. 
 
 + Je l’ai cherche vainement dans les campagnes sans l’y trouver. 
 Ouoique cette contree dprove peu de froid, il y gele cependant, et son 
 pied perit tout entier. Ce n’est pas la marche des plantes vivaces 
 dans leur pays natal. Cours complet d’ agriculture, par l’Abbe Rozier, 
 vol. ii. p. 14. 
 
 § De homonyrais, p. 78. 
 
360 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 pressly that it was carried thither, like asparagus, 
 and other European vegetables of the kitchen- 
 garden, by the Carmelite and other monks ; 
 and that it was only in latter times that it became 
 common.* 
 
 SAW-MILLS. 
 
 In early periods, the trunks of trees were split 
 with wedges into as many and as thin pieces as 
 possible ; 'f' and if it was necessary to have them 
 still thinner, they were hewn on both sides to the 
 proper size. This simple and wasteful manner of 
 making boards has been still continued to the pre- 
 sent time. Peter the Great of Russia endeavour- 
 ed to put a stop to it by forbidding hewn deals 
 to be transported on the river Neva. The saw, 
 however, though so convenient and beneficial, has 
 not been able to banish entirely the practice of 
 
 * See his Travels. Geneva 1681, fol. p. 164. 
 
 + Nam primi cuneis scindebant fissile lignum. 
 
 Virgil. Georg, lib. i.v. 144. 
 
 Pontoppidan says, ** Before the middle of the sixteenth century all 
 trunks were hewn and split with the ax into two planks; whereas at 
 present they would give seven or eight boards. This is still done in 
 some places where there are no saw-mills in the neighbourhood ; espe- 
 cially at Sudenoer and Amte Nordland, where a great many boats and 
 sloops are built of such hewn boards, which are twice as strong as 
 those sawn ; but they consume too many trunks.” See Natiirliche 
 historie von Norwegen. Copenhagen 1753, 2 vol. 8vo. i. p. 244. 
 
SAW-MILLS. 
 
 361 
 
 splitting timber used in building, or in making 
 furniture and utensils, for I do not speak here of 
 fire-wood ; and, indeed, it must be allowed that this 
 method is attended with peculiar advantages, which 
 that of sawing can never possess. The wood-split- 
 ters perform their work more expeditiously than 
 sawyers, and split timber is much stronger than that 
 which has been sawn ; for the fissure follows the 
 Grain of the wood, and leaves it whole; whereas 
 the saw, which proceeds in the line chalked out 
 for it, divides the fibres, and by these means lessens 
 its cohesion and solidity. Split timber, indeed, 
 turns out often crooked and warped ; but in many 
 purposes to which it is applied this is not preju- 
 dicial; and such faults may sometimes be amended. 
 As the fibres, however, retain their natural length 
 and direction, thin boards, particularly, can be 
 bent much better. This is a great advantage in 
 making pipe-staves, or sieve-frames, which require 
 still more art, and in forming various implements 
 of the like kind. 
 
 Our common saw, which needs only to be guided 
 by the hand of the workman, however simple 
 it may be, was not known to the inhabitants of 
 America when they had the misfortune to be sub- 
 dued by the Europeans. # The inventor of this 
 instrument has by the Greeks been inserted in 
 
 * Histoire des Incas, de Garcilasso de la Vega, traduite par J. 
 Baudoin. Amsterd. 1715, 8vo. ii. p. 6 1 , t)2. 
 
362 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 their mythology, with a place in which, among 
 their gods, they honoured the greatest benefactors 
 of the earliest ages. By, some he is called Talus, 
 and by others Perdix. Pliny* * * § alone ascribes the 
 invention to Deedalus ; but Hardouin, in the pas- 
 sage where he does so, chooses to read Talus rather 
 than Daedalus. In my opinion, Pliny may have 
 committed an error, as well as any of the moderns ; 
 and as one writer, at present, misleads another, 
 Seneca,'}' who gives the same inventor, may have 
 fallen into a mistake by copying Pliny. Diodorus 
 Siculus, J Apollodorus,§ and others, name the in- 
 ventor Talus. He was the son of Daedalus’ sister; 
 and was by his mother placed under the tuition of 
 her brother, to be instructed in his art Having 
 once found the jaw-bone of a snake, he employed 
 
 * Fabricam materiariam invenit Daedalus, et in ea serram. 
 Lib. vii. 1. cap. 56. 
 
 f Quomodo oro te convenit, ut Diogenem mireris et Dsedalum ? 
 Uter ex his sapiens tibi videtur, qui serram commentus est ; an ille 
 qui - Epist. 90. 
 
 £ 2(«yon ntpirnyuiv otysw; xat rainy %uhi<piov jurxpov SuXTrpitrtx;, tpu/j-ri a ar* 
 ryv rpayyryra rwv oSc vrwv. kiomp xaratrxtvacrafJtvo; ex snSrjpou nptova, xa c 
 iia rovrov vpi^iuv ryv tv to i; tpyotg |uA < vyv vKyv, tSo^tv tvy_pyarov iupyxivai 
 fxtya 7 rpo; rr\ v Ttx.rovix.riv reyyriv. Diodor. Sicul. lib. iv. cap. 78. 
 
 § Apollodori Biblioth. lib. iii. cap. 16. edit. Heynii. i. p. 282 : 
 aiayova yap ocfitws tupovv, ^v\ov Kttrrov tirptat. Serpentis malam nactus, 
 lignum tenue secuit. The name TaXui;, Talus, is by Pausanias, lib. i. 
 cap. 21, improperly written KaAaif. See Heyne’s annotations on the 
 passage above quoted, and Auctores mythographi Latini, ed. Van 
 Staveren, Lugd. Bat. 1742, 4to, p. 102. 
 
SAW-MILLS. 
 
 363 
 
 it to cut through a small piece of wood ; and by 
 these means was induced to form a like instrument 
 of iron, that is, to make a saw. This invention, 
 which greatly facilitates labour, excited the envy 
 of his master, and instigated him to put Talus to 
 death privately. We are told, that being asked by 
 some one, when he was burying the body, what he 
 was depositing in the earth, he replied, A serpent. 
 This suspicious answer discovered the murder; 
 and thus, adds the historian, a snake was the cause 
 of the invention, of the murder, and of its being 
 found out.* 
 
 Hyginus,')' Servius,J Fulgentius,§ Lactantius 
 Placidus, || Isidorus,^[ and others, call the inventor 
 Perdix. That he was the son of a sister of 
 
 * Those who are desirous of seeing the whole account may con- 
 sult Diodorus, or Banier’s Mythology. 
 
 Daedalus Perdicem sororis suae filium propter artificii invidiam, 
 quod is primum serram invenerat, sumrao tecto dejecit. Hygin. 
 Fab. 3 0. Daedalus Perdicem, sororis suae filium, propter artificii in- 
 vidiam occidit. Fab. 244. Perdix, Daedali sororis filius, serram ex 
 piscis spina reperit. Fab. 274. 
 
 J Ad Georg, i. 143. 
 
 § Mytholog. lib. iii. 2. p. 708, ed. Van Staveren : Perdix primus 
 serram invenit. 
 
 j] Daedalus in Siciliam, sepulto filio, profugit. Cujus casum 
 Perdix Calai filius, Atheniensis, pro gaudio tulit. Lactantii Placidi 
 Argumenta metamorphoseon Ovidii, which may be found in the 
 above quoted Mythology, and inBurmann’s edition of Ovid, lib. viii. 
 fab. 3. 
 
 Serrae circinique usum Perdices quidem adolescens invenit, 
 quern puerum Daedalus, frater matris suae, studiis perdocendum ac- 
 ceperat. Cujus pueri tantum ingenium fertur, ut dam materiae divi- 
 
364 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Daedalus they all agree; but they differ respecting 
 the name of his parents. The mother, by Ful- 
 gentius, is called Polycastes, but without any 
 proof ; and Lactantius gives to the father the 
 name of Calaus. In Apollodorus, however, the 
 mother of Talus is called Perdix ; and the same 
 name is given by Tzetzes to the mother of the in- 
 ventor, whose name Talus he changes into Attalus.* 
 Perdix, we are told, did not employ for a saw the 
 jaw-bone of a snake, like Talus, but the back-bone 
 of a fish; and this is confirmed by Ovid,j' who, 
 nevertheless, is silent respecting the name of the 
 inventor. 
 
 What may be meant by spina piscis it is perhaps 
 difficult to conjecture; but I can by no means 
 make spina dorsi of it, as Dion. Salvagnius has 
 done, in his observations on the passage quoted 
 from Ovid’s Ibis. The small bones which pro- 
 ject from the spine of a fish (apophyses processus) 
 have some similitude to a saw; but it would be 
 hardly possible to saw through with them small 
 
 dendae compendium quaereret, spinam piscis imitatus de ferro lami- 
 nam cxasperans dentium mordacitate arrhavit, quam serram artifices 
 nuncupant. Isidori Orig. lib. xix. cap. IQ. 
 
 * Chiliad, i. 4y3. 
 
 t I lie etiam medio spinas in pisce notatas 
 Traxit in exemplum : ferroque incidit acuto 
 Perpetuos dentes, et serrae reperit usum. 
 
 Ovidli Metamorph. lib. viii. 244. 
 
 The following line from the Ibis, ver. 500, alludes to the same 
 circumstance; 
 
 Ut cui causa necis serra reperta fuit. 
 
SAW-MILLS. 
 
 365 
 
 pieces of wood. These bones are too long, as well 
 as too far distant from each other ; and the joints 
 of the back-bone are liable to be dislocated by the 
 smallest force. I am not acquainted with the spine 
 of any fish which would be sufficiently strong for 
 that purpose. The jaw-bone of a fish furnished 
 with teeth would be more proper ; but the words 
 spina in medio pisce prevent us from adopting that 
 alteration. I should be inclined rather to explain 
 this difficulty by the bone which projects from the 
 snout of the saw-fish, called by the Romans serra, 
 and by the Greeks pristis. That bone, indeed, 
 might not be altogether unfit for such an use : the 
 teeth are strongly united to the broad bone in 
 the middle, and are capable of resisting a great 
 force; but they are placed at rather too great a 
 distance. The old inhabitants of Madeira, how- 
 ever, we are told, really used this bone instead of a 
 saw.* — That Talus found the jaw-bone of a snake 
 with teeth like a saw is extremely probable, for 
 there are many snakes which have teeth of that 
 kind. 
 
 The saws of the Grecian carpenters had the 
 same form, and were made in the like ingenious 
 manner as ours are at present. This is fully shown 
 by a painting still preserved among the antiquities 
 
 * See Cadomosto’s Voyage to Africa, in Novus Orlis, cap. 6. This 
 account is not so ridiculous as that of Olaus Magnus, who says that 
 the saw-fish can with his snout bore through a ship. 
 
366 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 of Herculaneum.* Two genii are represented at 
 the end of a bench, which consists of a long tabic 
 that rests upon two four-footed stools. \ The piece 
 of wood which is to be sawn through is secured by 
 cramps. The saw with which the genii are at 
 work has a perfect resemblance to our frame-saw. 
 It consists of a square frame, having in the middle 
 a blade, the teeth of which stand perpendicular to 
 the plane of the frame. The piece of wood which 
 is to be sawn extends beyond the end of the bench, 
 and one of the workmen appears standing and the 
 other sitting on the ground. The arms, in which 
 the blade is fastened, have the same form as that 
 given to them at present. In the bench are seen 
 holes in which the cramps that hold the timber 
 are stuck. They are shaped like the figure seven; 
 and the ends of them reach below the boards that 
 form the top of it. The French call a cramp of 
 this kind un valet. J 
 
 * Rappresenta l’altra pittura due Genii, ch’ essercitano l'arte de* 
 falegnami : son da osservarsi nella bottega gli arredi, la sega, e ’1 pan- 
 cone col ferro uncinato per tenervi ferme le tavole de lavorarsi. Sotto 
 al pancone evvi il martello, e una cassetta, forse per riporvi dentro 
 gl’istromenti dell’ arte, come appunto soglion praticare i nostri legna- 
 juoli. Affissa al muro si vede una mensula con sopra un vase, forse 
 con olio, per ungere i ferri. Le Pitture antiche <X Ercolani, tomo i. 
 Napoli 17 . r > 7 , fob tav. 34. p. 178. 
 
 Almost in the same manner as in L' art du Menuisier, par Roulo. 
 par. 1. tab. 5. fig. g. 
 
 X That cramp? or hold-fasts are still formed in the same manner 
 as those seen in the ancient painting found at Herculaneum, parti- 
 
SAW-MILLS. 
 
 36 7 
 
 Montfaucon* also has given the representation of 
 two ancient saws taken from Gruter. One of them 
 seems to be only the blade of a saw without any 
 frame ; but the other figure I consider as a cross- 
 cut saw; and I think I can distinguish all the parts, 
 though it is imperfectly delineated. One may 
 however perceive both the handles between which 
 the blade is fastened ; the wooden bar that binds 
 them together, though the blade is delineated too 
 near it ; and about the middle of this bar, the piece 
 of wood that tightens the cord which keeps the 
 handles as well as the whole instrument firm. Saws 
 which were not placed in a frame, but fastened to a 
 handle, are thus described by Palladius : f Serrulae 
 manubriatae minores majoresque ad mensuram cu- 
 biti, quibus facile est, quod per serram fieri non po- 
 test, resecando trunco arboris, aut vitis interseri. 
 
 The most beneficial and ingenious improvement 
 of this instrument was, without doubt, the inven- 
 tion of saw-mills, which are driven either by w r ater 
 
 cularly when fine inlaid works are made, is proved by the figure in 
 Roulo, l' Art du Menuisier, par. 1 . p. 5 6. tab. xi. fig. 4. and tab. xii. 
 fig. 15. 
 
 * L’antiquite expliquee et representee en figures. Tome troisieme. 
 Paris 171 Q, fob par. 2 . pi. I 89 , pag. 341. 
 
 f Pallad. dere rust. lib. i. tit. 43. — Cicero in his oration for Cluen- 
 tius, chap. lxiv. speaks of an ingenious saw, with which a thief sawed 
 out the bottom of a chest. — Cum exsectio ilia fundi in armario ani- 
 madverteretur, quserebant homines, quonam modo fieri potuisset. 
 Quidam ex amicis Sassiae recordatus est, se nuper in auctione quadam 
 vidisse in rebus minutis aduncam ex omni parte dentium et tortuosam 
 venire serrulam, qua illud potuisse ita circumsecari videretur. 
 
368 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 or by the wind. Mills of the first kind were 
 erected so early as the fourth century, in Germany, 
 on the small river Roer or Ruer : * for though 
 Ausonius speaks properly of water-mills for cut- 
 ting stone, and not timber, it cannot be doubted 
 that these were invented later than mills for manu- 
 facturing deals, or that both kinds were erected at 
 the same time. The art, however, of cutting 
 marble with a saw is very old. Pliny | conjectures 
 that it was invented in Caria; at least he knew no 
 building incrusted with marble of greater antiquity 
 than the palace of king Mausolus, at Halicarnassus. 
 This edifice is celebrated by Vitruvius, + for the 
 
 * _ - I He (Erubrus) 
 
 Praecipiti torquens cerealia saxa rotatu, 
 
 Stridentesque trahens per laevia marmora serras. 
 
 Audit perpetues ripa ex utraque tumultus. 
 
 Ausonii Mosella v. 301. 
 
 f Secandi marmor in crustas nescio an Carise fuerit inventum. An* 
 tiquissima, quod equidem inveniam, HalicarnassiMausoli domus Pro- 
 connesio marniore exculta est, lateritiis parietibus. IsobiitOlympiadis 
 
 cvi. anno secundo, urbis Romse anno cccciiii. - Sed quisquis 
 
 primum invenit secare, luxuriamque dividere, importuni ingenii fuit. 
 Arena hoc fit, et ferro videtur fieri, serra in praetenui li.nea preinente 
 
 arenas, versandoque tractu ipso secante * - Jam quidem qua- 
 
 cunque arena secare e fluviis omnibus fraus artificum ausa est; quod 
 dispendium admodum pauci intelligunt. Crassior enim arena laxi» 
 oribus segmentis terit, et plus erodit marmoris, majusque opus sca- 
 britia politurae relinquit. Plin. lib. xxxvi. cap. 6. 
 
 J Item Halicarnassi, potentissimi regis Mausoli domus cum Pro- 
 connesio marmore omnia haberet ornata, parietes habet latere struc- 
 tos, qui ad hoc tempus egregiam praestant firmitatem, ita tectoriis 
 operibus expolitij ut vitri perluciditatem videantur habere. Vitruv 
 lib. ii. cap. 8. 
 
SAW-MILLS. 
 
 36Q 
 
 beauty of its marble ; and Pliny gives an account 
 of the different kinds of sand used for cutting it ; 
 for it is the sand properly, says he, and not the saw, 
 which produces that effect. The latter presses 
 down the former, and rubs it against the marble ; 
 and the coarser the sand is, the longer will be the 
 time required to polish the marble which has been 
 cut by it. Stones of the soap-rock kind, which 
 are indeed softer than marble, and which would 
 require less force than wood, were sawn at that 
 period :* but it appears that the far harder glassy 
 kinds of stone were sawn then also ; for we are 
 told of the discovery of a building which was en- 
 crusted with cut agate, carnelian, lapis-lazuli, and 
 amethysts. f I have, however, found no account 
 in any of the Greek or Roman writers of a mill 
 for sawing wood ; and as the Writers of modern 
 times speak of saw-mills as new and uncommon, 
 it would seem that the oldest construction of them 
 
 * In Belgica provincia candidum lapidem serra, qua lignum, faci- 
 liusque etiam, secant, ad tegularem et imbricum vicem. Plin, 
 lib. xxxvi. cap. 22. 
 
 f As a proof of this I can quote only the following passage, in 
 Jannon de S. Laurent’s treatise on the cut stones of the ancients, in 
 Saggi di dissertazioni lette nella Academia Etrusca di Cortona , 
 tom. vi. Roma, 1751, 4to. p. 56. L’arte di segare i marmi facil- 
 mente fece arrivare gli antichi a segare pure le pietre piu dure ; lo 
 che, senza andar a ricercar altro, trovo dimostrato da quello edificio 
 antico scoperto.nel tempo di Flaminio Yacca, il cui pavimento era 
 composto di lastre di agata e di carniola, ed altro di lapislazzali ed 
 amatiste veduto da Santi Bartoli. Ved. Flam. Vac. Mem. divar. 
 antich. n. 101 . I conclude from Falricii Billiograph. ahtiquar. p. 27 a 
 that this book of Vacca was never printed. 
 
 VOL. I. 2 B 
 
37 0 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 has been forgotten, or that some important im- 
 provement has made them appear entirely new. 
 
 Becher says, with his usual confidence, that saw- 
 mills were invented in the seventeenth century.* 
 Though this is certainly false, I did not expect to 
 find that there were saw-mills in the neighbourhood 
 of Augsburg so early as the year ] 337, as Mr. 
 Stettenf' has discovered by the town-books of that 
 place. I shall here insert his own words, in answer 
 to a request I made that he would be so kind as to 
 communicate to me all the information he knew 
 on that subject. “ You are desirous of reading 
 that passage in our town-books, where saw-mills are 
 first mentioned ; but it is of very little importance. 
 There is to be found only under the year 1338 
 the name of a burgher called Giss Saegemuller ; 
 and though it may be objected that one cannot 
 from the name infer the existence of the employ- 
 ment, I am of a different opinion ; especially as I 
 have lately been able to obtain a proof much more 
 to be depended on. In the Surveyors’ book, which 
 I have often before quoted, and which, perhaps, for 
 many centuries has not been seen or consulted by 
 any one, I find under the year 1322, and several 
 times afterwards, sums disbursed under the follow- 
 
 * Saw-mills are useful machines, first introduced in this century j 
 and I do not know any one who can properly be called the real in- 
 ventor. Narrische weisheit. Frankf. 1683, 12mo. p. 78. 
 
 t In that excellent work, Kunst-und-handwerks geschichte der 
 Stadt Augsburg, 1779, 8vo. p. 141 . 
 
SAW-MILLS. 
 
 371 
 
 ing title : Molitori clicto Hanrey pro asseribus et 
 swaertlingis. Schwartlings, among us, are the out- 
 side deals of the trunk, which, in other places, are 
 called Schwarten. This word, therefore, makes 
 the existence of a saw- mill pretty certain. As a 
 confirmation of this idea, we have still a mill of that 
 kind which is, at present, called the Hanrey-mill ; 
 and the stream which supplies it with water is 
 called the Hanrey-brook. Since the earliest ages, 
 the ground on which this mill, and the colour, 
 stamping, and oil-mills in the neighbourhood, are 
 built, was the property of the hospital of the Holy 
 Ghost. By that hospital it was given as a life-rent 
 to a rich burgher named Erlinger, but returned 
 again in 1417 by his daughter Anna Bittingerin, 
 who had, above and under the Hanrey-mill, two 
 other saw-mills, which still exist, and for which, in 
 virtue of an order of council of that year, she en- 
 tered into a contract with the hospital in regard to 
 the water and mill-dams.” — There were saw-mills, 
 therefore, at Augsburg, so early as 1322. This 
 appears to be highly probable also from the cir- 
 cumstance, that such mills occur very often in the 
 following century in many other countries. 
 
 When the Infant Henry sent settlers to the island 
 of Madeira, which was discovered in 1420, and 
 caused European fruits of every kind to be carried 
 thither, he ordered saw-mills to be erected also, for 
 the purpose of sawing into deals the various species 
 of excellent timber with which the island abounded. 
 
 2 b 2 
 
37 % 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 and which were afterwards transported to Por- 
 tugal.* * * § About the year 1427 the city of Breslau 
 had a saw-mill which produced a yearly rent of 
 three marks and in 1490 the magistrates of 
 Erfurt purchased a forest, in which they caused a 
 saw-mill to be erected, and they rented another 
 mill in the neighbourhood besides. J Norway, 
 which is covered with forests, had the first saw-mill 
 about the year 1530. This mode of manufactur- 
 ing timber was called the new art ; and because 
 the exportation of deals was by these means in- 
 creased, that circumstance gave occasion to the 
 deal-tythe, introduced by Christian III. in the year 
 1545. § Soon after the celebrated Henry Ranzau 
 
 * This we are told by Abraham Peritsol, the Jew, in Itinera 
 rnundi, printed with the learned annotations of Thomas Hyde, in 
 Ugolino, Thesaur. antiquitalum sacrarum, vol. vii. Venetiis 1747, 
 fol. p. 103. Relictae sunt ibi arbores magnae de lignis Gopher efc 
 lignis citrorum, ut ex eorum lignis uterentur ad conficiendum asseres 
 et tabulas pulcerrimas et cistas, artificio serrae quae ligna secat per 
 vires cursus octo fluviorum minorum, quae, inquam ligna secant 
 motu serrae ; et ex istis tabulis et asseribus et plancis conficiunt cistas, 
 et vasa pulcra, quae per viam mercaturae advehuntur ad serviendum 
 majori parti civitatum regni Portitgalliae, et particulariter Lisbonae. 
 . — .Peritsol wrote before the year 1547* 
 
 f Von Breslau dokumentirte geschichte und beschreibung. Bres- 
 lau 1781, 8vo. vol. ii. part 2 , p. 40Q. 
 
 J Von Falkensteins Histone von Erfurth. Erfurth 1739, 4to. 
 p. 424. 
 
 § Nicolaus Cragius, in his Hisforia regis Christiani III. Hafniae 
 1737, fol. p. 2Q3, speaking of the year 1545, says : In Norvegia hoc 
 amplius novum institutum, ut asserum, qui ex silvis regiis serris re- 
 ciderentur, decimum quemque, qui eo commodo fruerentur fisco in- 
 
SAW-MILLS. 
 
 373 
 
 caused the first mill of this kind to be built in Hol- 
 stein.* In 15521 there was a saw-mill at Joachims- 
 thal, which, as we are told, belonged to Jacob 
 Geusen, mathematician.')' In the year 15.55 the 
 bishop of Ely, ambassador from Mary queen of 
 England to the court of Rome, having seen a 
 saw-mill in the neighbourhood of Lyons, the writer 
 of his travels thought it worthy of a particular de- 
 scription. J In the sixteenth century, however, 
 there were mills with different saw-blades, by which 
 a plank could be cut into several deals at the same 
 
 ferrent. Ea turn nova ars dicebatur, in Norvegiam, ubi suppetebat 
 semper abunde materia, demum Friderici regis tempore introducta. 
 Ac quia inde aucto studio et industria hominum multum emolu- 
 menti incolis accessit, sequum visum est, aliquam etiam utilitatem 
 redundare ad fiscum, quippe cujus erant silvae quae in hunc usum 
 caedebantur. — See also Pontoppidans Naliirliche historie von Nor- 
 wegen, erster theil, Kopenhag. 1753, 8vo. p. 244 ; Von Holbergs 
 Beschreibung der Stadt Bergen , Kopenhag, 1753, 8vo. p. 42. 
 
 * Allgemeine Welthistorie, xxxiii. p. 227. 
 
 f So says Mathesius in der Joachims thalischen Chronik. 
 
 t The account of this journey may be found in Miscellaneous 
 State Papers, from 1501 to 1726, London 1778, 4to. i. p. 71 : 
 “ The saw-mill is driven with an upright wheel; and the water 
 that maketh it go, is gathered whole into a narrow trough, which 
 delivereth the same water to the wheels. This wheel hath a piece 
 of timber put to the axle-tree end, like the handle of a broch, and 
 fastened to the end of the saw, which being turned with the force 
 of the water, hoisteth up and down the saw, that it continually 
 eateth in, and the handle of the same is kept in a rigall of wood from 
 swerving. Also the timber lieth as it were upon a ladder, which is 
 brought by little and little to the saw with another vice.”' — This 
 passage was pointed out to me by Professor Sprengel of Halle. 
 
37 4 
 
 HTSTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 time. Pighius saw one of these, in 1575, on the 
 Danube, near Ratisbon, when he accompanied 
 Charles, prince of Juliers and Cleves, on his tra- 
 vels.* * * § It may here be asked whether the Dutch 
 had such mills first, as is commonly believed. f 
 The first saw-mill was erected in Holland at Saar- 
 dam, in the year 159b ; and the invention of it is 
 ascribed to Cornelis Cornelissen; £ but he is as 
 little the inventor as the mathematician of Joa- 
 chimsthal. Perhaps he was the first person who 
 built a saw-mill at that place, which is a village of 
 great trade, and has still a great many saw* mills, 
 though the number of them is becoming daily less; 
 for within the last thirty years a hundred have 
 been given up.§ The first mill of this kind in 
 
 * Lignariae moletrinae tunc ostendebant, ut vasti ponderis trabes, 
 arbores etiam immensae, sua sponte ex undis exurgentes in tabulata 
 ac pontes, sese strideniibus subsilientium, ac multiplicium serrarum 
 dentibus ingerunt, atque in plures uno tractu brevi temporis spatio 
 tabulas partiuntur. Hercules Prodicus. Colonise 1609, 8vo. p. 95. 
 
 f Leupolds und Beyers Thealrum machinarum molarium. Leipzig 
 1735, fol. p. 114. I shall here take occasion to remark, that in the 
 sixteenth century there were boring-mills driven by water. Felix 
 Fabri, in his llistoria Suevorum , p-81, says, that there were such 
 mills atUlm : Ibi trabes magnae perforantur aquae motu. 
 
 t De zaag-moolens zyn door eenen Cornelis Cornelissen van Uyt- 
 geest in den jare 1592 uytgevonden, die de eerste in den jare 1596 
 op Saanerdam heeft gebracht, de welke om desselfs gedaante het 
 Iuffertjen wierdt genaant, waar van de standt-plaats noch in 
 gedachtenis wordt gehouden. De koophandel van Amsterdam. Am- 
 sterdam 1727, vol. ii. p. 583. 
 
 § La richesse de la Hollande. A Londres 1778, 4to. i. p. 25Q. 
 
SAW- MILLS. 
 
 375 
 
 Sweden was erected in the year 1653.* * * § At pre- 
 sent, that kingdom possesses the largest perhaps 
 ever constructed in Europe, where a water-wheel, 
 twelve feet in diameter, drives at the same time 
 seventy-two saws.f 
 
 In England saw mills had at first the same fate 
 that printing had in Turkey, the ribbon-loom in 
 the dominions of the Church, and the crane at 
 Strasburgh. When attempts were made to intro- 
 duce them they were violently opposed, because it 
 was apprehended that the sawyers would be de- 
 prived by them of their means of getting a subsist- 
 ence. For this reason, it was found necessary to 
 abandon a saw-mill erected by a Dutchman near 
 London, J in 1663; and in the year 1700, when one 
 Houghton laid before the nation the advantages 
 of such a mill, he expressed his apprehension that 
 it might excite the rage of the populace.^ What 
 he dreaded w r as actually the case in 17 67 or 1768, 
 when an opulent timber-merchant, by the desire 
 and approbation of the Society of Arts, caused a 
 saw-mill, driven by wind, to be erected at Limehouse 
 under the direction of James Stansfield, who had 
 learned, in Holland and Norway, the art of con- 
 
 * We are told so by Joh. Clason in his academical discourse om 
 Sweriges handel omskiften 175 l. 
 
 f See Professor Busch, Reise durch Schweden, p. 14. 
 
 J Anderson’s History of commerce. 
 
 § Husbandry and trade improved, by John Houghton. London 
 1727, 8vo. iii. p. 47. 
 
376 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 structing and managing machines of that kind. A 
 mob assembled, and pulled the mill to pieces ; but 
 the damage was made good by the nation, and 
 some of the rioters were punished. A new mill 
 was afterwards erected, which was suffered to work 
 without molestation, and which gave occasion to 
 the erection of others.* It appears, however, that 
 this was not the only mill of the kind then in 
 Britain ; for one driven also by wind had been built 
 at Leith, in Scotland, some years before.f 
 
 STAMPED PAPER. 
 
 Paper stamped with a certain mark by Govern- 
 ment, and which in many countries must be used 
 for all judicial acts, public deeds, and private con- 
 tracts, In order to give them validity, is one of 
 those numerous modes of taxation invented after 
 the other means of raising money for the service of 
 states, or rather of their rulers, became exhausted. 
 It is not of great antiquity ; for before the invention 
 
 * Memoirs of agriculture and other ceconomieal arts, by Robert 
 Dossie. London 1708, 8vo. i. p. 123. Of Stansfield’s mill, on which 
 he made some improvements, a description and figure may be seen in 
 the Advancement of arts, manufactures, and commerce, by William 
 Bailey. London 1772, 4to. i. p. 231. 
 t Anderson ut supra. 
 
STAMPED PAPER. 
 
 377 
 
 of our paper it would not have been a very pro- 
 ductive source of finance. When parchment and 
 other substances employed for waiting on were 
 dear ; when greater simplicity of manners produced 
 more honesty and more confidence among man- 
 kind ; and when tallies supplied the place of notes, 
 bonds, and receipts, writings of that kind were 
 very little in use. 
 
 De Basville or Baville, how'ever, in his Mkmoires 
 pour servir a Vhistoire de Languedoc , affirms that 
 stamped paper was introduced so early as the year 
 537, by the emperor Justinian. This book, writ- 
 ten by the author, intendant of that province in 
 1697, for the use of the duke of Burgundy, was 
 printed, in octavo, at Marseilles in 1734, and not 
 at Amsterdam, as announced in the title ; but it 
 was carefully suppressed by the Government, and 
 on that account is very scarce even in France.* 
 I have never seen it; but I know the author’s 
 ideas respecting stamped paper, from an extract 
 in Varietes historiques, physiques , et lit ter air es 
 printed at Paris in the year 1 752. 'j' The author 
 of this work supports the opinion of his coun- 
 tryman : but it is undoubtedly false ; for the 
 law quoted as a proof requires only that docu- 
 
 * An account of this book may be found in Anecdotes secretes sur 
 divers sujets de litterat. 1734, p. 573. and in the preface to Etat de 
 la France, de M. de Boulainvilliers, fol. p. 12. 
 
 "t An extract from it is inserted also in the Paris edition of the 
 Encyclopedic , vol. xi. p. 862. 
 
378 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 ments should be written on such paper as had 
 marked at the top (which was called the protocoll) 
 the name of the intendant of the finances, and the 
 time when the paper was made ; and this regula- 
 tion was established merely with a view' to prevent 
 the forging and altering of acts or deeds.* A kind 
 of stamped paper therefore was brought into use, 
 though different from what we have at present, the 
 principal intention of which is not to render waitings 
 more secure, but by imposing a certain duty on the 
 stamps, proportioned to the importance of the pur- 
 pose it is employed for, to make a considerable 
 addition to the public revenue, -f The stamps 
 
 * Illud quoque praesenti adjicimus legi, ut tabelliones non in alia 
 charta pura scribant documenta, nisi in ilia quae in initio (quod vo- 
 catur protocollum) per tempora gloriosissimi comitis sacrarum nos- 
 trarum largitionum habeat appellationem, et tempus quo charta facta 
 est, et quaecunque in talibus scribuntur ; et ut protocollum non inci- 
 dant, sed insertum relinquant; novimusenim multas falsitates ex ta- 
 libus chartis ostensas et prius et nunc ; ideoque, licet aliqua sit charta 
 (nam et hoc sancimus) habens protocollum non ita conscriptum, sed 
 aliam quandatn scripturam gerens, neque illam suscipiant, tanquam 
 adulteram, et ad talia non opportunam, sed in sola tali charta qualem 
 dudum diximus documenta scribant. Haec itaque quae de qualitate 
 talium chartarum a nobis decretasunt, et de incisione eoruin quae vo- 
 cantur protocolla, valere in hac felicissima solum civitate volumus, 
 ubi plurima quidem contrahentium multitudo, multa quoque char- 
 tarum abundantia est, et licet legali modo interesse negotiis, et non 
 dare occasionem quibusdam falsitatem committere, cui se obnoxios 
 existere demonstrabunt qui praeter haec aliquid agere praesumpserint. 
 Novell, coll. iv. tit. 23. cap. 2. nov. 44. 
 
 f Such is the idea of Stryk in Continual, altera usus moderni pan- 
 dectarum, lib. xxii. tit. 4. p. 85ti: Chartae signatae hodiernae est 
 longe alius finis, et potissimum ad augendum fiscum inventa est. 
 
STAMPED PAPER. 
 
 379 
 
 serve as a receipt to show that the tax has been 
 paid ; and, though many law papers must be 
 stamped, that burthen has tended as little to pre- 
 vent law-suits as the stamping of cards has to 
 lessen gaming: though some think differently. In 
 both too much is risked and too much expected for 
 taxes to deter mankind from engaging in either. 
 
 If in this historical research, we look only to the 
 antiquity of stamping, we shall find that both the 
 Greeks and the Homans had soldiers marked in 
 that manner ; and, if we may be allowed to bring 
 together things so different, we might include un- 
 der the like head those run-aw'ay slaves who were 
 marked by being branded ; but I allude here only 
 to the stamped paper now in use, which was 
 certainly invented in Holland, a country where 
 every necessary of life is subjected to taxation. 
 The States of the United Provinces having pro- 
 mised a reward to any one who should invent a new 
 impost, that might at the same time bear light on 
 the people and be productive to the government, 
 some person proposed that of bezegelde brieven, or 
 stamped paper, which was approved ; and which 
 Boxhorn, to whom we are indebted for this in- 
 formation, considers as a very proper tax. He is 
 of opinion also that it might with great advantage 
 be adopted in other countries ;* and this was 
 
 * The States of Holland having laid sufficiently heavy duties on 
 merchandise of every kind, and these not being equal to the expendi- 
 ture, which was daily increasing, began to think of imposing new 
 
380 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 really the case soon after his death, which hap- 
 pened in 1653. 
 
 Stamped paper was introduced in Holland on 
 the 13th of August 1624, by an ordinance w hich 
 represented the necessity and great benefit of this 
 new tax. Among other things advanced in its fa- 
 vour, it was said, that it would tend to lessen law- 
 suits, and, on that account, would soon recommend 
 itself to neighbouring nations. What we are told, 
 therefore, by the author of an extract in VarietSs 
 
 ones. For that purpose they issued an edict, inviting the ingenious 
 to turn their thoughts towards that subject, and offering a very 
 ample reward to whoever should invent a new tax, that might be as 
 little burdensome as possible, and yet productive to the republic. 
 Some shrewd, deep-thinking person, at length, devised one on 
 stamped paper (called de impost van lezegelde Irieven), to be paid 
 for all paper impressed with the seal of the States. The inventor 
 proposed, that it should be enacted by public authority, that no pe- 
 titions from the states, or from the magistrates of any city or district, 
 or any public bodies, should be received ; that no documents should 
 be admitted in courts of justice ; that no receipts should be legal, 
 and that no acts signed by notaries, secretaries, or other persons in 
 office, and, in short, no contracts should be valid, except such as 
 were written upon paper to which the seal of the States had been 
 affixed, in the manner above mentioned. It was proposed, also, 
 that this paper should be sold by the clerks of the different towns, 
 and courts, at the following rate: paper impressed with the'great 
 seal of the States for sixpence, and that with the less seal for two- 
 pence per sheet ; for according to the importance of the business it 
 was necessary that the great or less seal should be used - - - - The 
 States approved this plan, and it was immediately put in execution. 
 Boxhornii Disquisitiones politic, casus 59 . These Disquisiliones 
 politico were printed by the author only for the use of his scholars, 
 and published at first, without his name. They are to be found, 
 however, in Boxhornii Varii tractatus politici. Amstelodami 1663, 
 
STAMPED PAPER. 
 
 381 
 
 historiques , before quoted, that stamped paper be- 
 gan to be used in Holland and Spain so early as 
 the year 1535, is certainly false. The Spaniards 
 may, indeed, have been the first people who fol- 
 lowed the example of the Dutch ; for the author 
 above mentioned asserts, that he saw an act, exe- 
 cuted by a notary at Brussels, in 1668, which w as 
 written on stamped paper. 
 
 This tax was introduced in the electorate of Sax- 
 ony by an ordinance of the 22d of March 1682; 
 and into that of Brandenburg on the 15th of July 
 
 12mo. In this collection there is also Boxhornii Tteip. Batavia 
 Irevis et accurata descriptio, in the eighth chapter of which the 
 author gives the following account of the origin of stamped paper : 
 “ A very ingenious method has lately been invented of raising large 
 sums 6f money for the use of the republic. As there are many rich 
 people who have entrusted a considerable share of their property to 
 the public treasury, the interest of which they receive annually on 
 giving receipts ; as many law-suits are carried on which are generally 
 entered into by the wealthy, and which cannot be brought to a con- 
 clusion until a variety of instruments, as they are called, have been 
 executed on each side j and as, on account of the flourishing state 
 of trade, many contracts are made, which for the sake of security, 
 must be mutually signed, the States thought proper to enact, by a 
 public edict, that no receipts, law-papers, contracts, or instruments, 
 of the like kind, should be legal or valid, unless written on paper 
 impressed with the great or small seal of the States. A price was 
 also fixed on the paper, to be paid by those who had occasion for it; 
 so that a sheet which before could be purchased for a halfpenny, 
 was raised to several pence ; and it is incredible how great a revenue 
 these sheets bring to the public, by so many of them being used. 
 The poor, however, and those of small fortune, feel little of this 
 burden, as the rich principally are concerned in the transactions 
 above mentioned.” 
 
382 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 the same year.* Bartholdus however says, but 
 without producing any proof, | that stamped paper 
 was used before that period in Denmark, Florence, 
 and Silesia. In Hanover it was first introduced, 
 as I think, on the 20th of February 1709. 
 
 INSURANCE. 
 
 Insurance, that excellent establishment by which 
 losses that would entirely ruin a merchant, being 
 divided among a company, are rendered support- 
 able, and almost imperceptible ; by which under- 
 takings too great for one person are easily accom- 
 plished, and by which commodities brought from 
 the most distant regions are made cheaper, J ap- 
 pears not to have been known to the Romans, 
 however near they may have come to the inven- 
 tion of it. If we examine closely the information 
 from which some endeavour to prove the contrary, 
 
 * Mylii Corpus constitut. March, p. iv. sect. 5. cap. 3. Von 
 Dreyhaupts Beschreibung ties Saal-Kreises, iin auszuge, ii. p. 5<Jl. 
 G. F. Mullers Stempel-recht. Halle 1778 . 8 vo. p. 9 . 
 
 f Fr. Jac. Bartholdi Diss. de charta signata ; resp. P. Kolhart. 
 Francof. ad Viadr. 169 O. cap. 2 . § 1 6 . p. 36. 
 
 J As the Turks are unacquainted with insurance, they do not lend 
 money but at the rate of fifteen or twenty per cent. When they lend 
 to merchants who trade by sea, they charge thirty per cent. See Re- 
 marques dun voyageur moderne au Levant. Amsterdam 1773. 8 vo. 
 
INSURANCE. 
 
 383 
 
 it will be found that it is far from sufficient to sup- 
 port their opinion. 
 
 Puffendorf,* * * § Barbeyrac,f Loccenius,J Kulpis,§ 
 and others, ground their assertions on a passage of 
 Livy, || who says, that when the Roman army in 
 Spain w r as distressed for provisions, clothing, and 
 other necessaries, a company engaged to convey 
 to them every thing they stood in need of, under 
 this stipulation, ut qua; in naves imposuissent, ab 
 hostium tempest atisque vi publico periculo essent ; 
 that is, that the state should make good their loss, 
 in case their vessels should be shipwrecked by 
 storms, or be taken by the enemy; and we are 
 told that these terms w>ere agreed to. This was, 
 undoubtedly, a promise of indemnification, but by 
 no means an insurance, in which it is always neces- 
 sary that a premium should be given. On occa- 
 sions of this kind, however, acts of fraud were prac- 
 tised, like those committed at present, to the pre- 
 judice of insurers. Shipwrecks w>ere pretended to 
 have happened which never took place ; and old 
 shattered vessels, freighted with articles of little 
 value, were purposely sunk, and the crew saved in 
 
 * Puffendorfii de jure naturae et gentium libri, cum annotatloni- 
 bus Hertii. Francofurti ad Mcen. 1706, 4to. p. 725. 
 
 t Le droit de la nature. A Basle 1732, 2 vol. 4to. ii. p. 92. 
 
 X Loccenius de jure maritimo. Holmiae lS50, 12mo. p. 151. 
 
 § J. G. Kulpis, Collegium Grotianum, edit, quinta Francofurti 
 et Lipsiae 1722, 4to. p. 84. Compare, Scheie, Dissert, de instrumento 
 assecurationis, vulgo/Jo/izza, praes. Werlhofio. Helmstadii 1707. 
 
 || Livius, lib. xxiii. cap. 44. 
 
384 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 boats ; and large sums were then demanded, as a 
 reimbursement for the loss.* * * § 
 
 Little more is proved by a passage of Sueto- 
 nius,! which Kulpis and others consider as af- 
 fording an instance of insurance. That author 
 tells us, that the emperor Claudius promised to 
 indemnify merchants for their losses, if their ships 
 should perish by storms at sea. This passage An- 
 derson X must not have read; else he would not 
 have said that Suetonius ascribed the invention of 
 insurance to Claudius ; and Kulpis seems not to 
 have searched Valerius Maximus, otherwise he 
 would not have quoted the fifth chapter of the 
 sixth book, which contains nothing that can be 
 applied to insurance. 
 
 In Simon’s edition of Grotius de jure belli et 
 pacts § a passage is quoted from Cicero’s epistles || 
 as an instance of insurance among the Romans, 
 which seems to be more probable. Cicero says 
 he hopes to find at Laodicea security, by means of 
 
 * Liv. lib. xxv. cap. 3. 
 
 f Nam et negotiatoribus certa lucra proposuit, suscepto in se 
 damno, si cui quid per tempestates accidisset. Lib. v. cap. 18. Lan- 
 genbec in his Anmerkungcn iiber das Hamlurgische Schiff-und-see- 
 recht, p. 370, is of opinion that no traces of insurance are to be found 
 either in Livy or Suetonius. 
 
 J History of commerce. 
 
 § Jenae l6/3, 4to. p. 37 5. 
 
 || Laodiceae me praedes accepturum arbitror omnis pecuniae pub- 
 lic ae, ut et mihi et populo cautum sit sinevecturae periculo, Epist. 
 ad Jamil, ii. ep. 17« 
 
INSURANCE. 
 
 385 
 
 which he can remit the money of the republic, 
 without being exposed to any danger on its pas- 
 sage. The word pradcs may here signify insurers ; 
 but, in my opinion, this quotation ought rather to 
 be classed among those which have been collected 
 by Ayrer, as the first traces of bills of exchange. * * * § 
 Those remains of the ancient laws which, ac- 
 cording to Kulpis and others, allude to insurance, 
 concern bottomry (foenus nauticum) only ; and that 
 this is much older than insurance has been already 
 fully proved by Stypman. f 
 
 Molynes, J Anderson, and others affirm, that 
 insurance is mentioned in the marine laws of the 
 Isle of Oleron. This island, which lies opposite 
 to the mouth of the Charente, on the coast of 
 France, was much celebrated in the eleventh, 
 twelfth, and following centuries, on account of its 
 trade. <§ It belonged then to the duke of Aqui- 
 taine, and came to the crown of England by the 
 marriage of Eleonora, daughter of the last duke, 
 with Henry II. Under Eleonora were framed in 
 the island those laws so well known by the names 
 
 * Ayreri Diatribe de cambialis instituti vestigiis apud Romanos, 
 added to Uhle’s edition of Heineccii Elementa juris camlialis. 
 
 f Stypmanni Tractatus de jure maritimo et nautico. Gryphis- 
 waldi® 1652, par. iv. p. 19. 
 
 I Consuetudo vel lex mercatoria, or the ancient law-merchant, by 
 Gerard Molynes. London 1656, fol. p. 105. 
 
 § This island may be found in the map entitled Insula divi Mar- 
 tini et Uliarus, Amstelod. apud Joan. Jansson; and in Seutter’s map, 
 Les environs de Rochelle. 
 
 2 C 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
3861 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Rook cVOleron , Rook desjugemens d'Oleron, that, 
 like the laws of the Rhodians, they were used also 
 by foreigners. These laws were afterwards enlarged 
 and improved by Richard I, Eleonora’s son; at 
 least we are assured so by the French historians : 
 but the English ascribe them to Richard alone. In 
 order to determine the period when they were 
 framed, I shall only observe that Eleonora died in 
 the year 1202, and Richard in 1199; and Ander- 
 son, therefore, not without probability, places the 
 origin of them in the year 1194. A copy of these 
 laws, printed at Rouen, is still preserved, in which 
 it is said that they were first drawn up in 1266. 
 This, however, the French and the English de- 
 clare to be false.* They are written in French, 
 that is, in the old Gascon dialect. I am acquainted 
 with them from the following scarce book, the au- 
 thor of which, in the preface, calls himself Cleirac: 
 Us et coutumes de la mer ; f but I find no traces in 
 them of insurance. Even Cleirac himself, who 
 has given an excellent explanation of the laws of 
 
 * Seldeni Mare clausum, seu de dominio maris. Londini 1636. 
 8vo. p. 428. 
 
 f Bourdeaux 1661. 4to. p. 1. Respecting this book, and all the 
 old maritime laws, there is an excellent account in Brevis introduclio 
 in nolitiam legum nauticarum, et scrip torum juris reique maritimes. 
 Lubecae 1713, 8vo. Struve says, in his Bibliotheca juris selecta, 
 p. 1 IQ, that the learned author was a Dr. Andreas Lang, at Lubec. 
 It is much to be wished that some one would cause the laws of 
 Oleron to be again printed, illustrated and compared with those 
 which at present resemble them. 
 
INSURANCE. 
 
 387 
 
 Oleron, seems not to have found any ; for where 
 he relates every thing he knew respecting the his- 
 tory of it, he ascribes this invention, and also that 
 of bills of exchange, to the Jews, who made use of 
 it when they were expelled from France. According 
 to Cleirac, insurance was long detested by the 
 Christians, who at that time considered it as a sin 
 to take interest; and the use of it, as well as of 
 bills of exchange, was first made common by the 
 Guelphs and Ghibelines. Of this pretended ser- 
 vice of the Jews, in regard to insurance, I know 
 no proof. 
 
 The celebrated maritime laws of the city of 
 Wisby, in the island of Gothland, * whether of 
 later date, as the French assert, or older, which is 
 more probable, than those of Oleron, are equally 
 silent with respect to insurance. These laws were 
 not written originally in Swedish, as TEstocq'l' 
 says, but in the Low-German. The translation 
 into High-German by MarquardJ is incorrect, 
 and the French one of Cleirac § is too free and too 
 much abridged. The Dutch translation published 
 at Amsterdam is the completest. || 
 
 * Lange, p. 35. 
 
 L Auszug der historic des algemeinen und Preussischen see-rechts. 
 Konigsberg 1747, 4to. p. 32. 
 
 t De jure mercatorum et commerciorum. 
 
 § Page 165. 
 
 || Entitled, ’T boek der zee-rechten, inhoudende dat hoochste ende 
 ondste Godtlandtsche water-recht. Amsterdam l66’4, 4to. p. 2. 
 
 2 C 2 
 
388 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Insurance was, undoubtedly, not known at the 
 time when the later Hanseatic maritime laws were 
 framed, else it would have been mentioned in 
 them. Of these laws there are various editions. 
 One of those most used is that by Kiiricke, w hich 
 is inserted also in Heineccii Script orum de jure 
 nautico et maritimo fasciculus. Cleirac has given 
 a French translation of them. 
 
 As little respecting insurance is to be found in 
 II consolato del mare. These maritime laws, highly 
 worthy of notice, were originally written in the 
 Catalonian dialect; and it seems very probable 
 that they w-ere drawn up at Barcelona. A part of 
 them appears to have been framed in the eleventh, 
 but the greater part in the thirteenth century ; for 
 the book itself proves, in more than one place, that 
 they are not all of the same antiquity. The most 
 correct edition is that published at Leyden in 
 1 704. * Those writers who have pretended that in- 
 surance is mentioned in these Catalonian maritime 
 laws have, perhaps, been led into this error, be- 
 cause, in an appendix to some of the common edi- 
 tions, there is a short account of insurance as once 
 
 * The title runs thus: ll consolato del mare, nel quale si compren- 
 dono tutti gli statuti et ordini, disposti da gli antichi per ogni cosa di 
 mercantia et di navigare. Leyden 1704, 4 to. To the other editions 
 mentioned by Lange, p. 50, may be added that printed in J. L. M. 
 dc Casaregis Discursus legates de commercio. Florentiae 1 7 1 g, fob 
 It is the original, with Italian notes, but it is somewhat different 
 from that of Westerveen. 
 
INSURANCE. 
 
 389 
 
 practised at Barcelona.* * * § As I have never seen 
 this small treatise, I do not know whether it con- 
 tains any thing respecting the history of it. The 
 oldest laws and regulations concerning insurance, 
 with which I am at present acquainted, are the 
 following. 
 
 On the 28th of January 1523, five persons ap- 
 pointed for that purpose drew up at Florence some 
 articles which are still employed on the exchange 
 at Leghorn. These important regulations, to- 
 gether with the prescribed form of policies, which 
 may be considered as the oldest, ^ have been in<- 
 serted, in Italian and German, by Magens, in his 
 Treatise on insurance, average and bottomry, J 
 published at Hamburgh in 1753. I should have 
 been glad to have found in Italian authors some 
 information respecting the antiquity of these regu- 
 lations, § a copy of which Magens says he pro- 
 cured from Leghorn ; but I have hitherto sought 
 
 * Lange, p. 32. 
 
 f In that old treatise, Le Guidon, inserted in Cleirac, it is re- 
 marked, chap. i. art. i. that, in old times, insurances were made 
 without any writings : they were then called Assecurances en con- 
 fiance 5 Confidential insurances. 
 
 + Versuche fiber assecuranzen, havereyen undljodmercyen. Ham- 
 burg 1753, 4 to. p. 367. 
 
 § I found nothing on the subject, either in Della decima — e della 
 mercatura de' Fiorentini,jino al secolo xvi. Lisbona e Lucca 1 765, 
 1766, 4 vol. 4to. which contains a variety of useful information re- 
 specting the history of the Florentine trade, or in Mecatti, Storia 
 chronologic a della citta di Firenze. In Napoli 1775, 2 vol. 4to. 
 
390 
 
 history of inventions. 
 
 for it in vain. Straccha, however, mentions a 
 Florentine order of June the 15th, 1526, which 
 forbids common insurance, unless the goods and 
 commodities are specified. * 
 
 There is still preserved a short regulation of the 
 25th May 1537, by the emperor Charles V, re- 
 specting bills of exchange and insurance, in which 
 the strictly fulfilling only of an agreement of in- 
 surance is commanded. 
 
 In 1549 the same emperor issued an express 
 order, Op ’t j aid van dev zee-vaerdt , in which 
 occur some articles respecting insurance,']' and 
 additions were afterwards made to it in 1561. 
 
 In the year 1556, Philip II, king of Spain, gave 
 to the Spanish merchants certain regulations re- 
 specting insurance, w hich are inserted by Magens, 
 with a German translation, in his work before 
 mentioned. They contain some forms of policies 
 on ships going to the Indies. 
 
 On the last of October 1563, Philip II pub- 
 lished his maritime law s, in w hich some forms of 
 policies are given ; £ but on the last of March ] 568 
 that prince forbade the practice of insurance, on 
 
 * Stracchas aliorumque juris consultorum de cambiis, sponsionibus, 
 &c. decisiones et tractatus. Amstelodami 1669, fol. Iu Tractatus 
 de assecurationibus, p. 24. 
 
 -f- It may be found in Ordonantien ende placcaeten ghepulliceert 
 Vlaenderen. T’ Antwerpen 1662, fol. i. p. 300. 
 
 J Ordonantien ende placcaeten ii. p. 307. Groote Placaet-boeck 
 der Vereenighde Nederlanden, i. p. 795* Magens, p. 397. 
 
INSURANCE. 
 
 391 
 
 account of the bad use to which it had been often 
 applied. This prohibition I have not been able to 
 find. 1 am acquainted with it only by an order 
 of the 20th of January 1570, in which the king 
 expressly recalls it, because the merchants at Ant- 
 werp, both subjects and foreigners, had presented 
 strong remonstrances against it. * 
 
 In the year 1598, the Kamer von assurantk , 
 Chamber of Insurance, was established at Amster- 
 dam. An account of the first regulations of this 
 insurance-office may be seen in Pontanus’s History 
 of the city of Amsterdam, and in other works, f 
 In the year 1600, regulations respecting in- 
 surance were formed by the city of Middelburg in 
 Zealand. £ 
 
 It appears that the first regulations respecting in- 
 surances in England, which may be seen in Ander- 
 son’s History of commerce, w ere made in the year 
 1601 . We find by them, that insurers had before 
 that period conducted themselves in such a manner, 
 that the utmost confidence was reposed in their 
 
 * Ordonantter. ende placcaeten, ut supra, p. 335. Groote Placaet- 
 boeck, i. p. 828, and in the additions, ii. p. 211 6 . 
 
 f J. J. Pontani Rerum et urbis Amstelodamensium historia. Am- 
 sterdam l6l 1, fol. p. 255. J. le Long, Koophandel van Amsterdam. 
 Rotterdam 1780, 3 vol. 8vo. i. p. 47. The changes which this in- 
 stitution afterwards underwent, with an extract from its regulations, 
 may be seen in La richesse de la Hollande. A Londrcs 1778, 4to. 
 i. p. 81. 
 
 J Groote Placaet-boeck, i. p. 867* 
 
392 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 honesty, and that on this account few or no dis- 
 putes had arisen. 
 
 In the year 1604 regulations were formed re- 
 specting insurance at Rotterdam ;* and in 1610 
 were drawn up those of Genoa, which Magens 
 has inserted in his work, taken from the Latin 
 statutes of the Republic, together with a German 
 translation, f 
 
 In 1612 the Insurance Chamber at Amsterdam 
 was established by public authority, and received 
 several privileges. J 
 
 Molynes asserts, § but without either proofs or 
 probability, that the people of Antwerp were first 
 taught insurance by the English ; and says that, as 
 the merchants assembled for transacting business in 
 Lombard-street, so called because certain Italians 
 from Lombardy had lombards there, or houses for 
 lending money on pledges, long before the building 
 of the Exchange, it became customary, as it was 
 in his time (1622), to be guided in policies by what 
 was done in Lombard-street, in London. 
 
 Guicciardini, who wrote his Account of the 
 Netherlands in 1567 3 remarks, in describing Ant- 
 werp, || that the merchants there were accustomed 
 
 * See Groote Placaet-boeck, i. p. 8 5Q. 
 
 f Page 503 and 512. 
 
 J Groote Placaet-boeck, ut supra, p. 843. 
 
 § Page 105. 
 
 || Guicciardini, Descrittione di tutti Paesi Bassi. In Anversa 1567. 
 fol. p. 126. 
 
INSURANCE. 
 
 393 
 
 to insure their ships. Anderson says, which is very 
 astonishing, as he thinks the invention of insurance 
 is to be found in Suetonius, and in the laws of the 
 Isle of Oleron, that this is the first instance of 
 maritime insurance. 
 
 A most useful imitation of insurance in trade is 
 the institution of insurance-offices, to indemnify 
 losses sustained by fire. As far as I have been 
 able to learn, companies for that purpose were 
 first formed towards the middle of the last cen- 
 tury, though houses were insured by individuals 
 much earlier. The fire-office at Paris* was esta- 
 blished in 1745; that of the electorate of Han- 
 over in 1750; that of Nassau -Weilburg in 1751; 
 those of Bruns wick- Wolfenbuttel and Wirtem- 
 berg'j' in 1753; that of Anspach in 1754; that of 
 Baden-Durlach in 1758; that of the county of 
 Mark in 1764; those of Saxe-Weymar and Eise- 
 nach in 1768 ; and that of the Society of the Clergy 
 in the Mark of Brandenburg, j; to insure goods and 
 household-furniture, was established in 1769. 
 
 It is perhaps known to few, that even in the be- 
 ginning of the seventeenth century, a proposal was 
 made by some ingenious person, that all the pro- 
 prietors of land should insure the houses of their 
 
 * Journal oeconomique, 1758. Fevr. p. 70. 
 
 f Weissers Nachricht von den gesetzen des Herzogthums Wir- 
 temberg. Stutgart 1781, 8vo. p. 3Q. 
 
 \ Krunitz, Oekonomische encyclopedic, xiii. p. 221 : where an 
 account may be found of other companies. 
 
3$4 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 subjects against fire, on their paying so much per 
 cent, annually, according to the value of them. 
 The author of this scheme presented it to count 
 Anthony Gunther von Oldenburg, in the year 
 IfiOP, as a means of finance not to be found in any 
 work printed on that subject. The author in his 
 plan said,* that “as many fires happened by which 
 a great number of people lost their property, the 
 count might lay before his subjects the danger 
 of such accidents; and propose to them, that if 
 they would, either singly or united, put a value 
 on their houses, and for every hundred dollars va- 
 luation pay to him yearly one dollar ; he, on the 
 other hand, would engage, that in case by the will 
 of God their houses should be reduced to ashes, 
 the misfortunes of war excepted, he would take 
 upon himself the loss, and pay to the sufferers as 
 much money as might be sufficient to rebuild 
 them ; and that all persons, both natives and fo- 
 reigners, who might be desirous of sharing in the 
 benefits of this institution should not be excluded. 
 The author was confident that, though the damage 
 might fall heavy at first, a considerable sum would 
 be gradually raised, from year to year; and that 
 every one might thus insure his houses against ac- 
 cidents. He had no doubt that it would be fully 
 proved, if a calculation were made of the number 
 
 * This account is taken from J. J. Winkelmanns Oldenlurgischen 
 frieclcns- und der lenachbarten or ter kriegshandlungen, 1671, fol. 
 
 P- 67. 
 
INSURANCE. 
 
 395 
 
 of houses consumed by fire, within a certain space, 
 in the course of thirty years, that the loss would 
 not amount, by a good deal, to the sum that would 
 be collected in that time. He did not, however, 
 advise that all the houses in every town should 
 be comprehended, as the money claimed might 
 amount to too much ; but only that some and 
 certain houses should be admitted into this as- 
 sociation.” 
 
 I shall here insert, from the same author, the 
 count’s reflections on this plan, and the conclusion 
 which he formed. “ It is to be considered,” says 
 he, “ what sum every proprietor of land may with 
 certainty raise and receive; whether the proposed 
 plan can, to the undoubted benefit of the subjects, 
 and the advantage of their lord, be honourably, 
 justly, and irreproachfully instituted without tempt- 
 ing Providence ; without incurring the censure of 
 neighbours; and without disgracing one’s name and 
 dignity. In the next place, that this institution may 
 not have the appearance of a scheme to bring money 
 into the country; and still more that it may have no 
 resemblance to a duty, tax, or impost, but rather 
 to a free contribution, or unconstrained remune- 
 ration for being insured from danger, and by which 
 losses being made good, houses can be sooner re- 
 built and put in their former condition.” The 
 count allowed that the object of the plan was good, 
 considered in every point of view’, and that a com- 
 pany composed of common individuals might be 
 
396 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 formed to insure each other’s houses, and pay the 
 losses sustained by fire: but he concluded* that, if 
 he undertook the plan, Providence might be tempt- 
 ed ; that his own subjects might be displeased; and 
 that, improper ideas being formed of his conduct, 
 he might be accused unjustly of avarice. “God,” 
 he said, “had without such means preserved and 
 blessed, for many centuries, the ancient house of 
 Oldenburg; and he would still be present with him, 
 through his mercy, and protect his subjects from 
 destructive fires.” He dismissed, therefore, the in- 
 genious author of this plan, but not without reward- 
 ing him according to his usual liberality. 
 
 ADULTERATION OF WINE. 
 
 No adulteration of any article has ever been in- 
 vented so pernicious to the health, and at the same 
 time so much practised, as that of wine with pre- 
 parations of lead ; and as the inventor must have 
 been acquainted with its destructive effects, he 
 deserves, for making it known, severer execration 
 than Berthold Schwartz, the supposed inventor of 
 gun-powder. 
 
 The juice of the grape, when expressed, becomes 
 wine through the first degree of fermentation ; 
 but scarcely has that begun when it approaches 
 
ADULTERATION OF WINE. 397 
 
 the second degree, called the sour fermentation. 
 It then loses its spirit; instead of which it becomes 
 combined with an acid, which renders it unfit to 
 be drunk, and of much less utility. The progress 
 of the fermentation may be stopped by care and 
 attention; but to bring the liquor back to its for- 
 mer state is impossible ; for the law of corruption 
 is a law of nature, and admits of no exception. 
 Ingenuity r however, has invented a fraudulent 
 method of rendering the acid in spoilt wine im- 
 perceptible; so that those who are not judges are 
 often imposed on, and purchase sweetened vinegar 
 instead of wine. Were no other articles used for 
 sweetening it than honey or sugar, the adulterator 
 would deserve no severer punishment than those 
 who sell pinchbeck for gold ; but saccharine juices 
 can be used only when the liquor begins to turn 
 sour; and even then in very small quantities, else 
 it would betray the imposition by its sweetish-sour 
 taste, and hasten that corruption which it is intended 
 to prevent. A sweetener, therefore, has been in- 
 vented much surer for the fraudulent dealer, but in- 
 finitely more destructive to the consumer; and those 
 who employ it, undoubtedly, merit the same pu- 
 nishment as the most infamous poisoners. 
 
 Lead and calx of lead, dissolved in the acid 
 which spoils wine, give it a saccharine taste not un- 
 pleasant, without any new, or at least perceptible, 
 tint, and stop the fermentation or corruption. The 
 wine, however, occasions, according as it is used in 
 
39S HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 a great or small quantity, and according to the 
 constitution of the consumer, a speedy or linger- 
 ing death, violent colics, obstructions and other 
 maladies; so that one may justly doubt whether, 
 at present, Mars, Venus, or Saturn is most de- 
 structive to the human race. 
 
 The ancients, in my opinion, knew that lead 
 rendered harsh wine milder, and preserved it from 
 acidity, without being aware that it was poisonous. 
 It was, therefore, long used with confidence; and 
 when its effects were discovered they were not 
 ascribed to the metal, but to some other cause. 
 When more accurate observation, in modern times, 
 fully established the noxious quality of lead, and 
 when it began to be dreaded in wine, unprincipled 
 dealers invented an artful method of employing it, 
 which the law, by the severest punishment, has, 
 not been able wholly to prevent. 
 
 The Greeks and the Romans were accustomed 
 to boil their wine over a slow fire, till only a half, 
 third, or fourth part remained, and to mix it with 
 bad wine in order to improve it. When, by this 
 operation, it had lost part of its watery particles, 
 and had been mixed with honey and spices, it 
 acquired several names, such as mustum, midsum , 
 sap a, carenum, or caroenum, defrutum * & c. Even 
 
 * Vino cognata res sapa est, musto dccocto donee tertia supersit. 
 Ex albo hoc melius. Pirn, lib.xxiii. cap. 2. Nunc defrutum, ca- 
 roenum, sapam confides. Cum omnia uno genere conficiantur ex 
 musto, modus his et virtutem mutabit, et nomina. Nam defrutum. 
 
ADULTERATION OF WINE. 3$$ 
 
 at present the same method is pursued with sack, 
 Spanish, Hungarian, and Italian wines. In Italy, 
 new wine, which has been thus boiled, is put into 
 flasks, and used for salad and sauces. In N aples it 
 is called musto cotto ; but in Florence it still retains 
 the name of sapa. Most of those authors who have 
 described this method of boiling wine expressly say 
 that leaden or tin vessels must be employed; be- 
 cause the wine, by these, is rendered more de- 
 licious and durable, as well as clearer. It is, how- 
 ever, certain that must and sour wine by slow boil- 
 ing, for according to their directions it should not be 
 boiled quickly, must dissolve part of these danger- 
 ous metals, otherwise the desired effect could not 
 be produced.* Some also were accustomed to 
 
 a defervendo dictum, ubi ad spissitudinem fortiter despumaverit, 
 effectum est. Caroenum, cum tertia perdita duae partes remanserint. 
 Sapa, ubi ad tertias redacta descenderit; quam tamen meliorem 
 facient cydonia simul cocta, et igni supposita ligna ficulnea. Palla- 
 dius, Octob. 18. edit. Gesneri, ii. p. 994. 
 
 * As a proof the following passages will be sufficient: Ipsa autem 
 vasa, quibus sapa aut defrutum coquitur, plnmbea potius quam tenea 
 esse debent ; nam in coctura aeruginem remittunt senea, et medica- 
 minis saporem vitiant. Columella de re rustica, lib. xii. c. 20. 
 
 Musti quadrantalia viginti in aheneum aut plumbeum infundito, 
 ignem subdito. Cato de re rust. cap. cv. 
 
 Cura quoque adhibenda est ut expressum mustum perenne sit, aut 
 certe usque ad venditionem durabile; quod quemadmodum fieri de- 
 beat, et quibus condituris adjuvari, deinceps subjiciemus. Ouidam 
 partem quartam ejus musti, quod in vasa plunabea conjecerunt, non- 
 nulli tertiam decoquuntj nec dnbium, quin ad dimidium si quis 
 
400 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS, 
 
 add to their wine, before it was boiled, a certain 
 quantity of sea water, which by its saline particles 
 would necessarily accelerate the solution.* 
 
 That the acid of wine has the power of dissolving 
 lead was not unknown to the ancients; for when 
 the Greek and Roman wine-merchants wished to 
 try whether their wine was spoiled, they immersed 
 in it a plate of lead.| If the colour of the lead 
 was changed, which undoubtedly would be the case 
 when its surface was corroded and converted into 
 calx, they concluded that their wine w'as spoiled. 
 It cannot, however, be said that they were alto- 
 gether ignorant of the dangerous effects of solu- 
 tions of that metal; for Galen and other physicians 
 often give cautions respecting white lead. Not- 
 withstanding this, men fell upon the invention of 
 
 excoxerit, meliorem sapam facturus sit: eoque usibus utiliorem, adeo 
 quidem, ut etiam vice defruti, sapa, inustum, quod est ex veteribus 
 vineis, condire pftssit. Columella, lib. xii. cap. IQ. 
 
 Ipsa quoque defruta ac sapas— coqui jubent— plumbeis vasis, non 
 aeneis. Plin. lib. xiv. cap. 21. 
 
 Saepe congios sex quam optime mfundito in aheneum, aut in 
 plumbeum. Cato, cap. evii. 
 
 * Proofs that the ancients mixed their wine with sea-water may 
 be found in Pliny, lib. xxiii. cap. 1. and lib. xiv. cap. 20. Celsus 
 exclaims against it, lib. li. cap. 25. Pioscomdes , lib.-v. cap. 7> Q, 
 &c. p. 573. See Petri Andrea: Matthioli Commentarii in sex lilros 
 Dioscoridis de materia medica. Venetiis, in officina Erasmi Vin- 
 centii Valgrisii, 1553, fol. 
 
 d' Vini in vitium inclinantis experimentum est laminae plumbeae 
 mutatus in eo color. Plin. lib. xiv. cap. 20. This method of proof 
 is given more circumstantially in Geopon. lib. vii. cap. 15. 
 
ADULTERATION OF WINE. 
 
 402 
 
 conveying water for culinary purposes in leaden 
 pipes ; * * * § and even at present at Amsterdam, Paris, 
 and other places, water is conveyed through lead, 
 and collected in leaden cisterns, though that prac- 
 tice has, on several occasions, been attended with 
 alarming consequences-t This negligence in mo- 
 dern times makes us not be surprised when we 
 read that the ancients employed leaden vessels. It 
 appears, however, that it was not merely through 
 negligence that this practice prevailed. They were 
 acquainted, and particularly in Pliny’s time* with 
 various processes used in regard to wine ; J and 
 among these was that of boiling it with lime or 
 gypsum and the ancient physicians, who had 
 
 * Ultima ratio est, plumbeis fistulis aquam ducere, quae aquas 
 noxias reddunt. Nam cerusa plumbo creatur attrito, quae corporibus 
 nocet humanis. Pallad. August, c. ii. vol. ii. p. 977. 
 
 f An account of experiments, made to ascertain whether water 
 can dissolve lead, may be found in my translation of Sage's Chemische 
 untersuchung verschiedener miner alien, p. 121 . and in Medical trans- 
 actions published by the college of physicians in London, vol. i. 
 p.291. Solution will hardly be possible as long as the water is 
 perfectly pure ; but it may easily acquire saline particles, and its 
 power of dissolving becomes then considerable. This circumstance 
 has not been remarked by Perrault, in his translation of Vitruvius. 
 
 J Pitoprium inter liquores vino mucescere, aut in acetum verti; 
 extantque medicinse volumina. Plin. lib. xiv. cap. 20. The same 
 author relates a great many arts practised in regard to wine. 
 
 § Africa gypso mitigat asperitatem, nec non aliquibus sui partibus 
 calce. Plin. lib. xiv. cap. 19. That this method was practised in 
 Italy is confirmed by Columella, lib. xii. cap. 20. and Didymus in 
 Geopon. lib. vi. cap. 18 . It is mentioned also by DiosCQrides and 
 Theophrastus. 
 
 VOL. I. 2 d 
 
402 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 not the assistance of our modern chemistry, thought 
 it more probable that their wine was rendered 
 noxious by the additipn of these earths,* than by 
 the vessels in which it was boiled ; and they were 
 the more inclined to this opinion, as they had in- 
 stances of the fatal effects produced by the use of 
 them.']' They decried them, therefore, so much, 
 that laws were afterwards made by which they 
 were forbidden to be used, as poisonous and de- 
 structive to the human body. 
 
 Wine which has once begun to spoil cannot be 
 perfectly restored by lime ; for it cannot bring 
 back to it the spiritous part which it has lost, nei- 
 ther can it remove the acid with which it is incor- 
 porated ; but it can render it imperceptible to the 
 tongue by uniting with it, and forming an earthy 
 salt of an almost insipid taste. This method of 
 improving sour wine is still practised in the island 
 of Zante, £ in Spain, § on the coast of Africa, || 
 
 * Marmore enim et gypso, aut calce condita quis non et validus 
 expaverit! Plin. lib. xxiii. cap. 1. 
 
 f Exemplum illustre C. Proculeium Augnsti Caesaris familiaritate 
 subnixum in maximo stomachi dolore gypso poto, conscivisse sibi 
 mortem. Plin. lib. xxxvi. cap. 24. 
 
 J The wine of the island of Zante is almost as strong as brandy. 
 It is supposed that this proceeds from the unslaked lime which is 
 usually mixed with it, under the pretence that it then keeps better, 
 and is fitter to be transported by sea. Arvieux, Nachrichtcn von 
 seiner reise, vol. iii. p. 328. 
 
 § Christophori a Vegade arte medendi, lib. ii. cap. 2. 
 
 || No one sells wine at Tunis but the slaves, and this wine is not 
 under the jurisdiction of the Tunisian government. They put lime 
 
ADULTERATION OF WINE. 403 
 
 and in many other countries. It is, however, con- 
 demned by several physicians and chemists ; be- 
 cause obstructions and other bad effects are to be 
 apprehended from it.* Some, on the contrary, 
 consider it as harmless ; f and I must confess that 
 I should expect no bad consequences from such a 
 small quantity of lime as would be necessary for 
 that purpose. It will produce a salt which will 
 have the same effects as that tartareous crust 
 called wine-stone, and will act as a laxative, like 
 the salts which our apothecaries prepare from that 
 calcareous stone crab’s-eyes, by means of vinegar 
 or lemon-juice. The lime, which the acid of the 
 wine cannot dissolve, will fall to the bottom as a 
 sediment, and assist to clarify the wine. Used 
 however in too great quantity, it may hasten the 
 evaporation of the still remaining spiritous part, 
 and render the wine weak : a caution which has 
 been given to wine- merchants by Neumann. 
 
 in it, which renders it very intoxicating. Thevenot's Reiseleschrei- 
 lung, vol. i. p. 399, according to the edition of Franckfort, 1693. 
 4 to. 
 
 * Mr. Cartheuser in his second Programma de quibusdam vinorum 
 adulterationihus, qua additamentis miner alibus per aguntur. 
 
 •j* See an essay on the corrosive quality of lime in wine in W tier's 
 Physikalisch-chemischen magazin, vol. ii. p. 112, where may be 
 found some important experiments which seem to determine this 
 point. In Anleitung zur verhesserung der weine in Teutschland , 
 Franck, and Leipsic 1775, 8vo. the moderate use of lime is recom- 
 mended. In France potashes are put into wine instead of lime. 
 See Sage's Chemische untcrsuchung verschiedener mineralien. p. 128 
 
 2 n 2 
 
404 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Gypsum is a calcareous earth combined with the 
 vitriolic acid ; and dissolves in vinegar as well as 
 water, like any other saline earth. Were it always 
 fully saturated with its acid, its effects upon wine 
 would be imperceptible : but as the most kinds of 
 common gypsum contain abundance of loose calca- 
 reous particles, they effervesce with acids ; are dis- 
 solved in part by them, and form that salt which I 
 have before said I consider as harmless. By means 
 of these particles gypsum improves sour wine, as 
 Well as common lime.* I took half an ounce of 
 that gypsum which at Osterode is pounded and 
 used as mortar, and which is hard, white, and shi- 
 ning, and almost of the nature of alabaster. When 
 I had pounded it, I put it into strong vinegar in a 
 glass vessel, and suffered it to boil fora few minutes. 
 I then strained it through filtering- paper ; and what 
 remained, after it was washed and dried, weighed 
 215 grains ; so that the vinegar had dissolved 25 
 grains, which were precipitated afterwards by an al- 
 kali. I pursued the like process with half an ounce 
 of burnt gypsum, such as is used here for floors ; 
 and I found that two ounces of the same vinegar 
 dissolved half a dram of it, which was somewhat 
 more in proportion than of the former. Every one 
 whom I caused to taste of this vinegar remarked that 
 both had lost a considerable share of their acidity ; 
 but that the vinegar which had been boiled with 
 
 See Beaume’s Experimental-chemie, vol. i. p. 440. 
 
ADULTERATION OF WINE 
 
 405 
 
 burnt gypsum had lest the most. Few kinds of gyp- 
 sum are completely saturated with the vitriolic acid ; 
 and at any rate we have no reason to suppose that 
 the ancients sought perfect gypsum for their wines. 
 This method is not yet disused. We are told by 
 Arvieux,* that it is still employed in the island of 
 Milo; and I shall here take occasion to observe that 
 salt water also is added to wine there, even at 
 present. Christopher Vega, whom I have before 
 quoted, reproaches the Spaniards with the use of 
 gypsum ; and it has been condemned by the mo- 
 dern as well as the ancient physicians, such as Car- 
 theuser. t An Englishman of the name of Hardy 
 seems to suspect that gypsum contains lead and ar- 
 senical earth ; J but it appears that this writer doubt- 
 ed whether our gypsum be the same as that of the 
 ancients ; and indeed it is necessary, before we use 
 their information respecting natural objects, to exa- 
 mine carefully whether they understood by any name 
 what we understand by it ; and what they meant 
 by gypsum has been determined neither by Stepha- 
 nus, Ferber, nor Gesner. We however know this 
 
 •* Vol. iv. p. 273. 
 
 t Ut supra, p. 7* 
 
 1 The properties of lead and arsenic are well understood ; but what 
 those of the ancient gypsums were, will require an explanation ; as 
 there seems to be just reason to believe, that some of them contained 
 a portion of metallic or arsenical earth. A candid examination of 
 what has been advanced on the colic of Poitou and Devonshire, by 
 James Hardy, London, i. 8vo. p. 84. 
 
406 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 much, that the ancients burnt their gypsum, and 
 that they formed and cast images of it.* * * § In my 
 opinion wine cannot be poisoned by gypsum ; and 
 wine-merchants who employ it and lime deserve 
 no severer punishment than brewers, who, in the 
 like manner, render sour beer fitter to be drunk 
 and more saleable. 
 
 That the ancients were accustomed to clarify 
 their wine with gypsum, is proved by different pas- 
 sages of the Greek writers on husbandry. They 
 threw gypsum into their new wine ; stirred it often 
 round, then let it stand for some time, and, when it 
 had settled, poured off the clear liquor, fit would, 
 however, appear that they had remarked that gyp- 
 sum caused the spirituous part to evaporate ; for we 
 read that the wine acquired by it a certain sharpness 
 which it afterwards lost, but that the good effects 
 of the gypsum were lasting. J This process in mo- 
 dern times has been publicly forbidden, in many 
 countries, as in Spaing in the year 1348. 
 
 Calcined shells were in ancient times used in- 
 
 * Hominis imaginem gypso e facie ipsa primus omnium expressit, 
 ceraque in earn formam gypsi infusa emendare instituit Lysistratus 
 Sicyonius, frater JLysippi. Plin. lib. xxxv. 
 
 4 Geopon. p. 462. 483. 4g4. 
 
 J Geopon. vii. 12. p. 483. 
 
 § Caesaraugustae gypsum vino admisceri solet, ne facile acescatj 
 hoc vero antiqua lege anni 1348 prohibetur, quae inserta reperitur 
 Foris in usu non halitis, p. 12. Introductio in oryctagraphiam et 
 zoologiam Aragonia, 1784, 8vo. p. 18. 
 
ADULTERATION OF WINE. 407 
 
 stead of lime. # Potters-earth was also thrown into 
 wine, in order to clarify it by carrying the muddy 
 particles with it to the bottom. This method I 
 have seen employed in the breweries at Amster- 
 dam, to purify the water. In the south of France 
 it is used for clarifying wine-stone ley ; and in my 
 opinion it might be useful on many other oc- 
 casions. '|' 
 
 The ancients poisoned their wine with lead with- 
 out knowing it; but at what period did that perni- 
 cious practice begin of employing sugar of lead 
 and litharge? Litharge was not unknown to the 
 ancients; for it is mentioned by Pioscorides, Aetius, 
 and others. Sugar of lead is, indeed, more mo- 
 dern; but I have found no information respecting 
 the invention of it, except that it w ? as known to 
 Paracelsus, who died in 1.541, and who ventured 
 to prescribe it for some disorders. It was known 
 also to Angelus Sala, one of the most ingenious of 
 the early chemists. In the Roman laws no par- 
 ticular orders occur against the adulteration or 
 poisoning of wine ; for what we read in the In- 
 stitntiones % is applicable only to the spoiling of an- 
 other person’s wine, and thereby occasioning a loss 
 to him; and this explanation is confirmed by the 
 
 * Geopon. p. 486. 
 f Geopon. p. 486. 
 
 } Denique responsum est, si quisin alienum vinum aut oleum, id 
 miscuerit, quo naturalis bonitas vini aut olei corrumperetur, ex bac 
 parte legis Aquilise eum teneri. Instityt. lib. iv. tit. 3. § 13. 
 
408 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Digesta .* * * § The German prohibitions against the 
 adulteration of wine began in the fifteenth century, 
 and were from time to time renewed with additional 
 severity. In that century, w r e find complaints 
 against this practice with lime, sulphur, and milk ; 
 but no instance occurs of the poisoning with lead. 
 I however conjecture that the use of litharge was 
 introduced in the twelfth or thirteenth century; 
 but the framers of the laws were not acquainted 
 with the real poison • and instead of causing it to 
 be examined by the chemists, who it must be con- 
 fessed had not advanced far in their art, they con- 
 tented themselves with prohibiting the use of those 
 things which they found considered by the ancients 
 as dangerous. 
 
 Among the oldest German prohibitions against 
 the adulteration of wine is that of Nuremberg, in 
 the year 1409 ; in which, however, there is no no- 
 tice taken of litharge, f Another of the year 1475 
 is mentioned by Datt; J but some Imperial ones of 
 an earlier period may have been lost. § In the year 
 
 * Ciun eo plane, qui vinum spurcavit, vel effudit, vel acetum 
 fecit, vel alio modo vitiavit, agi posse Aquilias, Celsus ait; quia 
 etiam effusum et acetum factum, corrupti appellatione continetur. 
 Digestor. lib. ix. tit. 2. leg. 27. § 16. Later Jurists call the adul- 
 teration of wine crimen stellionatus. See Harprecht, Resp. crimin . 
 par. ii. p. 237- § 7- 
 
 + Gcecking’s Journal von und fur Teutschland, 1784, i. p. 4§Q. 
 
 J De pace imperii publiea libri quinque, auctore I. P. Datt. 
 Ulmae 1698, fol. p. 632. 
 
 § Goldast. Constit. imper. tom. ii. p. 114. 
 
ADULTERATION OF WINE. 409 
 
 i487 the emperor caused an order against the 
 adulteration of wine to be published by the go- 
 vernments in Swabia, Franconia, and Alsace; and 
 this practice was a subject of deliberation at the diet 
 of Rothenburg, the same year, and also at the diet 
 of Worms, under Maximilian I, in 1495. At the 
 diet of Lindau the use of sulphur was in particular 
 prohibited, and also at Freyburgin Brisgau in 1498. 
 In the year 1500 the same affair was discussed at 
 Augsburg, and again at that city in 1548, under 
 Charles V. It appears that this business was left 
 afterwards to the care of the different princes, who 
 from time to time issued prohibitions against so 
 destructive a fraud. 
 
 Older and severer prohibitions are, however, to 
 be found in other countries. By an order of Wil- 
 liam count of Hennegau, Holland, and Zeeland, of 
 the year 1327, we find that long before that period 
 it was customary to adulterate wine by noxious and 
 dangerous substances. In the year 1384 the go- 
 vernment at Brussels issued a severer order of the 
 like kind, in which vitriol, quicksilver, and lapis ca- 
 laminaris are mentioned.* In France we find an old 
 ordonnance du prcvdt de Paris , for the same pur- 
 pose, dated September the 20th, and December the 
 
 • W. F. Verhoevens Preischrift uber den zustand der liandwerke 
 und handlung in den Niederlanden in dem 13ten und I4ten jahrhun- 
 derte, p. 96; and in Analyse da mdmoire de M. Verhoeven, p. 17- 
 Both these pieces are inserted in Mimoires sur les questions proposees 
 jar Vacadimie de Bruxelles en 1777* A Bruxelles 1778, 4to. 
 
410 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 2 d, 137 1 , in which no minerals are mentioned ; but 
 in that of 1696 litharge is particularly noticed.* 
 Conrad Celtes, who in the year 1491 was first 
 crowned in Germany as a poet, gives in his pane- 
 gyric on Nuremberg some information respecting 
 the adulteration of wine, from which we learn that 
 he considered it as a new invention, and ascribed 
 it to a monk called Martin Bayr ; but his expres- 
 sions are so figurative, that little can be gathered 
 from them.')' We are, however, told by Zeller, 
 
 * Traite de la police, par De la Mare. Amsterdam 1729, fol. ii. 
 p. 514. 
 
 f I wish those who adulterate wine were punished with greater se- 
 verity ; for this execrable fraud, as well as many more deceptions, have 
 been invented in the present age 5 and a villany by which the colour, 
 taste, smell, and substance of wine are so changed as to resemble that 
 of another country, has been spread not only through Germany, but 
 also through France, Hungary, and other kingdoms. It was invented, 
 they say, by a m®nk named Martin Bayr, of Schwarzen-Eychen in 
 Franconia. He undoubtedly merits eternal damnation for rendering 
 noxious and destructive a liquor used for sacred purposes, and most 
 agreeable to the human body 5 thus contaminating and debasing a gift 
 of nature inferior to none called forth from the bosom of the earth by 
 the influence of the solar rays ; and for converting, like a cruel and 
 sanguinary destroyer of the human race, that bestowed upon us by 
 Nature to promote mirth and joy, and as a soother of our cares, into a 
 poison and the cause of various distempers. But if the debasers of the 
 current coin are punished capitally, what punishment ought to be in- 
 flicted upon the person who hath either killed or thrown into diseases 
 all those who used wine? The former by their fraud injure a few, but 
 the latter exposes to various dangers people of all ages, and of both 
 sexes ; occasions barrenness in women ; brings on abortions and makes 
 them miscarry ; corrupts and dries up the milk of nurses ; excites 
 gouty pains in the body; causes others in the bowels and reins, than 
 which none can be more excruciating; and produces ulcers in the 
 
ADULTERATION OF WINE. 
 
 411 
 
 that it was believed that this dangerous fraud 
 was invented in France* Martin Zeiler, in his 
 Chronicle of Swabia, 'j' says, <£ In the year 1453, 
 
 “ the citizens of Augsburg began to observe this 
 “ fraud in the wine-market ; for during four years 
 “ before, Martin Bayr, at Schwarzen-Eychen in 
 “ Franconia, first taught the German tavern-keepers 
 “ and the waggoners, to preserve new wine from 
 “ becoming sour; to clarify wine by sulphur; 
 
 “ and likewise to counterfeit it by spices, to the 
 {t great prejudice of people’s health. In this 
 passage, there is no mention of litharge, but 
 of other mixtures. The oldest account of the 
 poisonous sweetening of wine is that which oc- 
 curs in the French ordinance J of 1 696 ; and 
 
 intestines ; in short, his poison inflames, corrodes, burns, extenuates, 
 and dries up; nor does it allay, but increase thirst; for such is the 
 nature of sulphur, which, mixed with other noxious and poisonous 
 things, the names of which I should be ashamed to mention, is added 
 to wine, before it has done fermenting, in order to change its na- 
 ture. This poison we have been obliged to purchase for our friends, 
 wives, children, and selves, at a high price; as wine has been scarce 
 for several years past; and it would seem that Nature had denied this 
 liquor so long, out of revenge against her enemies and the destroyers 
 of the whole human race. You ought, therefore, most prudent 
 fathers, not only to empty their vessels, by throwing this poison into 
 your river ; but to cast alive into the flames the sellers of this wine, 
 and thus to punish poisoning as well as robbery. Pirkfieimeri Opera, 
 Franck. l6l0, fol. p. 136. 
 
 * Zelleri Dissert, de docimasia vini lithargyrio mahgonisati. Tti- 
 bingee 1707, § 1* 
 
 f Chronicum parvum Sueviae; oder Kleines Schwabisches zcit- 
 buch. Ulm 1653, 4 to. p. 65. 
 
 % De la Mare, Trait6 de la police, i. p.6l5. 
 
412 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Zeller’s conjecture that it was invented or first re- 
 marked in France, seems to me the more probable, 
 as it appears that it was practised at Wurtemberg 
 about the same period. In the year 1 697 it was 
 known there that some wine-merchants, particu- 
 larly Hans George Staltser at Goppingen, used 
 litharge of silver for refining wine, and by these 
 means deprived many persons of life, and occasion- 
 ed the loss of health to others. Staltser pleaded 
 in excuse, that he considered the process he had 
 employed as harmless, and that Masskosky, phy- 
 sician to the town of Goppingen, who was ac- 
 counted a man of knowledge, had employed the 
 same for his wine. Brugel also, physician to the 
 town of Heidenheim, had declared that litharge 
 was not prejudicial ; and as he was a person of re- 
 putation, his opinion had tended not a little to 
 establish the use of that practice. This report was 
 so hurtful to the wine-trade of Wurtemberg, which 
 at that time brought a great deal of money into 
 the duchy from other countries, that the wine at 
 Ulm remained unsold ; and duke Everhard Louis 
 was obliged to cause experiments to be made to 
 ascertain the nature of the substances mixed with 
 it. Solomon Keysel, the duke’s physician, and 
 J. Gaspar Harlin, physician to the court, both de- 
 clared that litharge was noxious, but that sulphur 
 besprinkled with bismuth was still more so. They 
 strongly advised, therefore, that both these sub- 
 stances should be forbidden to be used, under the 
 
ADULTERATION OF WINE. 413 
 
 heaviest penalties; and this prohibition was put in 
 force with the greater severity, as some persons of 
 the first rank had for several years before caused 
 their spoiled and sour wine to be made sweet and 
 clear in this manner, by a weaver of Pforzheim, 
 who resided at Stutgart. An order was issued on 
 the 10th of May 1697, forbidding this adultera- 
 tion under pain of death and confiscation of pro- 
 perty, as well as of being declared infamous ; and 
 the duke requested the neighbouring states, par- 
 ticularly Bavaria and Eychstat, to keep a more 
 watchful eye over their wine-merchants and wag- 
 goners, by which means it was supposed all danger 
 would be avoided. 
 
 In the following year, the city of Ulm discovered 
 a poor man at Giengen, within its own jurisdic- 
 tion, who had sweetened with litharge some sour 
 wine purchased at Wurtemberg. He was accord- 
 ingly banished from the country; and several other 
 persons in the duchy were condemned to labour at 
 the fortifications. This example was attended 
 with so good an effect, that for some time adulte- 
 ration was not heard of; but eight years after, 
 John Jacob Ehrni, of Eslingen, introduced that 
 practice again with some variation, and not only 
 employed it himself, but induced others to follow 
 it in several other places. Greater severity was at 
 length exercised. Ehrni was beheaded ; the pos- 
 sessors of adulterated wine were fined, and the wine 
 was thrown away. After this second example, 
 
414 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 which was followed in other parts of the country, 
 the art of adulterating wine seems to have been 
 more carefully concealed, or to have been entirely 
 abandoned.* * * § But in the present century, treatises 
 have been published on the management of wine, 
 in which the art of improving it by litharge has 
 been taught, as a method perfectly free from 
 danger,-f 
 
 For detecting metal in wine, the arsenical liver 
 of sulphur is commonly employed ; a solution of 
 which is called liquor probat orius IVurt ember gicus.^ 
 This appellation, in my opinion, has been given 
 to it because it was first applied for that purpose 
 by a public order in the duchy of Wurtemberg; 
 though the invention is ascribed to one of the 
 duke’s physicians. § The use of it however is not at- 
 tended with certainty: not only because it precipi- 
 tates all metals black without distinction, for lead 
 is not the only one that we have reason to suspect 
 in wine; but because this proof becomes very 
 dubious when gypsum has been added to the wine 
 also, for the blackness of the precipitate becomes 
 then imperceptible by the whiteness of the earth. [[ 
 
 * Sattlers Geschichte des herzogthums Wurtemberg, xii. p. 82. 
 
 f William Graham’s Art of making wines from fruit, flowers, 
 and herbs. Sixth edit. London, 8vo. 
 
 J Sages Chemische untersuchung verschiedener naineralien, 
 p. 132. 
 
 § Anleitung zur verbesserung der weine in Teutsc’nland, p. 32. 
 
 || See my Physicalisch-okonornische bibliothek, ix. p. 2Q5, and 
 Gmelins Einleitung in die chemie, p. 184. 
 
ADULTERATION OF WINE. 
 
 415 
 
 The operation of fumigating wine with sulphur 
 is performed by kindling rags of linen dipped in 
 melted brimstone, and suffering the steam to enter 
 a cask filled, or partly filled, with that liquor. I 
 do not know at what period this process was invent- 
 ed ; but it is worthy of remark, that we are told by 
 Pliny, # that in his time some employed sulphur 
 in the preparation of wine. On this subject he 
 quotes Cato ; but the passage to which he alludes 
 is not to be found in the works of that author hand- 
 ed down to us ; and the method in which it was 
 really used is consequently unknown. Reason and 
 experience show that the vapour of sulphur stops 
 the fermentation so hurtful to wine, and prevents 
 it from spoiling; and the best writers on the ma- 
 nagement of w'ine allow the free use of it for that 
 purpose.'!' It can certainly do no injury to the 
 health ; and it was not necessary for the police, 
 in different countries, to distribute prescriptions 
 for employing it, to forbid it, or to limit the quan- 
 tity, J as it produces no other effect than that of 
 
 * Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. xiv. cap. 20. 
 
 + See the before-quoted Anleitung of Mr. Sprenger, and Wieglebs 
 Begriff von der gahrung. Weimar 1776, 8vo. p. 57 - Memoire sin 
 la meilleure maniere de faire et de gouverner les vim - - - par 1’abbc 
 Rozier, 1772, 8vo. 
 
 % This was done at Rothenburg on the Tauber in 1497. It was 
 ordered that half an ounce of pure sulphur should be employed for a 
 cask containing a tun of wine ; and that when wine had been once 
 exposed to the vapour of sulphur, it should not undergo the same 
 operation a second time. 
 
416 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 expelling the air which promotes corruption, and 
 perhaps also the inflammable part, or, to speak 
 more according to the new mode, of confining the 
 fixed air which it may contain. 
 
 Some wine-dealers are accustomed to sprinkle 
 over with bismuth the rags dipped in sulphur used 
 for fumigating wine, and this addition is a German 
 invention.* It has been severely forbidden by ex- 
 press laws ; and there are undoubtedly sufficient 
 grounds for its being reprobated, because that semi- 
 metal, which has an affinity to lead, is not only to 
 be dreaded on its own account, but, as it is seldom 
 pure, if used in too large a quantity, some of the 
 metal dissolved by the sulphur may fall into the 
 wine; and, as Pott observes, bismuth and its calx 
 are both soluble in vinous acid. At any rate, 
 this metallic addition is of no use in any point of 
 
 * In John Hornung’s Cista medica, Norimbergae 1625, there arc 
 two letters from German physicians respecting this practice. Libavius 
 says, p. 165, Telam sulphuratam quae bismuthum capit non laudo. 
 
 Minerale hoc fumis pestilentibus arsenicalibusque est plenum 
 
 Fors inventor ejus putavit facere ad defecandum vinum, sicut videmus 
 fieri musto in stanneis vasis servato ; vel etiam stanno eodem liquato, 
 et in dolia conjecto. 
 
 Doldius tells us, p.447, Scis scopum esse prcecipuum sulphurato- 
 rum duplicem, turn ad vasa turn ad vinum, potissimum tamen propter 
 vinum excogitari a Germanis haec mistura solet ; scilicet ut vina a pu- 
 tredine defendantur - - Veteres id tentabant coctione. - - Compen- 
 diosius Germani in frigidis regionibus id tentarunt per telas sulphu- 
 ratas, vel alia vim sulphuris habentia — Accidere potest et ilia caussa, 
 quod bismuthum inter stannum et plumbum magnam habet cogna- 
 tionem,quae saporem valdedulcem et saccharinum dese praebent, forte 
 inde aliqui etiam vino aliquam gratiam conciliare se posse crediderunt. 
 
ADULTERATION OF WINE. 417 
 
 view, as the most experienced dealers in wine have 
 long since acknowledged. 
 
 In an old Imperial ordinance, milk also is men- 
 tioned as an article used in the adulterating of 
 wine. This method was known to and practised 
 by the ancient Grecians.* But in the opinion of 
 Von Rohr milk cannot be employed for that pur- 
 pose.']' “One can scarcely comprehend,” says he, 
 “ how the framers of laws should ever imagine that 
 “ a wine-dealer would be so simple as to adulterate 
 “ wine with milk ; and those who do so, deserve 
 “ not to be punished for their folly. As they will 
 “ find no purchasers to wine adulterated by so 
 “ strange a mixture, that punishment will be suf- 
 “ ficient.*’ The effects of milk however may be 
 easily comprehended. It causes the wine to throw 
 up a scum, which carries with it every impurity; 
 and this being taken off along with it, the wine 
 must of course be rendered much clearer. How- 
 ever, though this mixture cannot be called an 
 adulteration, it is certain that wine may be refined 
 much better by isinglass, and that method is fol- 
 lowed at present. £ 
 
 I shall observe in the last place, that in the year 
 1472 Stum-wine, as it is called, was prohibited 
 
 * Geopon. p. 486. 502. — Lemnius de miraculis occultis naturae. 
 Coloniae 1581, 8vo. p. 291 : Vinum corruptum ac glutinosum lacte 
 bubulo modice salito restauratur. 
 
 + See Haushaltungs-recht. Leipsic 1716, 4to. p. 13g3^ 
 
 X Anleitung zur verbesser. der weine, p. 163 and 49. 
 
 VOL. I. 2 E 
 
418 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 as a bad liquor prejudicial to the health.* By 
 this term is understood wine, the fermentation of 
 which has been checked, and which on that ac- 
 count continues sweet; seldom becomes clear; 
 and, even when it clarifies, turns muddy when 
 exposed to the air, because the fermentation, 
 which has been stopped, again commences, f 
 Wines of this kind are allowed at present. They 
 are called vino, 'mut'd or suff ocata , and have a great 
 resemblance to a sort of wine made principally at 
 Bourdeaux, to which the French give the name of 
 vin en rage. 
 
 * Von Lersner, Chronica der stadt Frankfurt, ii. p. 683. Wine 
 seasoned with mustard, and which was sold as boiled wine, was for- 
 bidden at the same time. See p. 684. In the year 1484 wine mixed 
 with the herb mugwort was prohibited also. 
 
 t Anleitung, ut supra, p.93, 128. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 
 
 419 
 
 CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 
 
 A paper on this subject was read by professor 
 Hamberger, in the year 1758, before the Society 
 of Gottingen; but as the publication of the Trans- 
 actions of the Society was interrupted, it was 
 never printed. I, however, procured the manu- 
 script from the professor’s son, Secretary Ham- 
 berger, at Gotha, and I here insert it, corrected in 
 a few places, where necessary, but without any 
 alteration.* 
 
 “Weidlerf and Chambers + are, doubtless, 
 both mistaken when they place the invention of au- 
 tomatons clocks about the end of the fifteenth or 
 beginning of the sixteenth century. The latter 
 says, It is certain that the art of constructing clocks, 
 such as those now in use, was first invented or 
 at least revived in Germany about two hundred 
 years ago. The same account is given by Weid- 
 ler, whom Chambers perhaps copied. But, 
 
 * The Translator has omitted the introduction, which was only a 
 summary of what is contained in the paper itself, and also about two 
 pages in the beginning of the paper. The Author says, that the prin- 
 cipal writers on this subject are Alexander, a monk of the order of 
 St. Benedict; Paute, his countryman ; and our Derhatn. 
 
 f Histor. Astron. 
 
 J Encyclopaedia, art. Clock. 
 
 2 E 2 
 
420 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 however flattering this opinion may be to the in- 
 genuity of the Germans, it is so apparently false in 
 regard to the time, that one cannot assent to it ; 
 nor is it even probable in regard to the country, 
 though it must be allowed that the art of clock- 
 making flourished very much in Germany, par- 
 ticularly at Nuremberg, about the beginning of 
 the sixteenth century. 
 
 “ As these two authors make the invention of 
 clocks too modern, others, on the contra^, carry 
 it back to a period too early. Without entering 
 into any dissertation on the machines of Archimedes 
 and Posidonius, which are said to have measured 
 the hours of the day, I shall only observe that a 
 certain writer pretends to have' found mention 
 made of a clock in the third century.* In support 
 of this assertion he refers to the Acts of St. Se- 
 bastian, the martyr,')' where Chromatius, the go- 
 vernor of Rome, says, when about to be cured by 
 him, ‘Habeo cubiculum holovitreum, in quo omnis 
 disciplina stellarum ac mathesis mechanica est arte 
 constructa, in cujus fabrica pater meus Tarquinius 
 amplius quam ducenta pondo auri dignoscitur ex- 
 pendisse.’ St. Sebastian answers, ‘‘ Si hoc tu inte- 
 grum habere volueris, te ipsum frangis.’ To 
 
 * Bona De div. psalmod. cap. 3. s. 2. 
 f Act. SS. Antv. cap. 16 . 20 Jan. p. 273. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 421 
 
 which Chromatius replies : ‘Quidenim? Mathesis 
 aut ephemeris aliquo sacrificiorum usu coluntur, 
 cum tantum eis mensium et annorum cursus certo 
 numero per horarum spatia distinguuntur ? Et lu- 
 naris globi plenitudo, vel diminutio, digitorum 
 motu, rationis magisterio, et calculi computatione 
 praevidetur ?’ — This valuable machine, however, 
 can hardly be called' a clock; for if it had been 
 an automaton, it would not have required to be 
 moved with the fingers in order to show the time 
 of full moon. If I understand the author’s words 
 properly, it was not calculated to point out the 
 hours; but to exhibit the sun’s course through the 
 tvrelve signs of the zodiac, the motion of the rest 
 of the planets, and their relative situation in every 
 month, or at any period of the year. That the 
 signs of the zodiac and the planets were repre- 
 sented on the machine, appears from what follows. 
 St. Polycarp (the companion of St. Stephen) said : 
 * Illic signa Leonis, et Capricorni, et Sagittarii, et 
 Scorpionis, et Tauri sunt ; illic in Ariete Luna, in 
 Cancro hora, in Jove Stella, in Mercurio tropica, 
 in Venere Mars, et in omnibus istis monstruosis 
 daemonibus ars Deo inimica cognoscitur.’ — But 
 whatever this machine might have been, it was of 
 no use to others, or to posterity : it was broken to 
 pieces by these saints, so that, even allowing it to 
 have been a clock, the knowledge of it must have 
 been then lost. 
 
422 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 “We find, also, that Bernardus Saccus* * * § ascribes 
 the invention of clocks to Boethius, in the fifth 
 century ; but Bernardus seems to have forgotten 
 what he quoted a little before from Cassiodorus,'j* 
 respecting the clock of Boethius, that it deter- 
 mined the hours guitis aquarum. It must, there- 
 fore, have been a water-clock, and not a clock 
 moved by wheels and weights. The same Cassio- 
 dorus^ had provided his monks at the monastery 
 of St. Andiol, § in Languedoc, w ith machines of 
 the like kind : ‘Horologium vobis unum,’ says 
 he, ‘quod solis claritas indicet, praeparasse cog- 
 noscor; alterum vero aquatile, quod die noctu- 
 que horarum iugiter indicat quantitatem ; quia 
 frequenter nonnullis diebus solis claritas abesse 
 cognoscitur.’ We are to understand, also, as al- 
 luding to such clocks, what is said by the writer of 
 the life of St. Leobin, bishop of Chartrain, about 
 the year 556, || when he tells us : ei (Leobino) 
 temperandi cursus horarum et vigiliarum diligen- 
 tiam commissam esse. 
 
 “ I come now to the seventh century. In Du 
 Fresne’s Lexicon mediceet injimce Latinitatis we find 
 
 * Hist. Ticin. lib. vii. c. 17 . 
 
 f Var. lib. i. in fine. 
 
 } De Institut. div. litter. e.2g. 
 
 § In the original, Monasterium Vivariense. Trans. 
 
 |{ Mabil. Annales St. O. B. sec. i. p. 123. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 423 
 
 the word Index, which is explained to be the index 
 or hand of a clock, or the small bell which an- 
 nounces the hours by its sound ; and this opinion 
 is adopted by Muratori.* Du Fresne quotes in 
 support of his assertion a monkish work called 
 Regula Magistri , the author of which is not cer- 
 tainly known, t but which MabillonJ asserts to 
 have been written before the year 700. The 
 passages to which he refers are : Cum advenisse 
 divinam horam percussus in oratorio index mon- 
 strayerit. — Cum sonuerit index — and 'Cum ad 
 opus divinum oratorii index sonaxerit l . § But Du 
 Fresne might have perceived, had be quoted the 
 whole passage from the fifty-fifth chapter, that 
 allusion is not here made to a clock ; for it is 
 said, not merely cum sonuerit index , but cum 
 nuerit index ab Abbate percussus. It was a scilla, 
 or skella, perhaps only a board; and Martenej| 
 seems to understand the word index in the pro- 
 perest sense when he explains it signum quo fr at res 
 vocabantur ad divina officia. 
 
 “ That machine which was sent as a present to 
 Charlemagne by the king of Persia, in the year 
 807, is supposed also to have been a clock like 
 those used at present; and if we follow the Chro- 
 
 • Muratori, Antiq. med. aevi diss. 24. p. 3g2. 
 t Lucse Iiolstenii Codex regularum. Paris l663, p. 172- 
 J Annales. 
 
 § Cap. 54. cap. 55. and cap. () 5 . 
 
 j| Index onomasticus ad tom. iv. De antiq. eccl. rit. 
 
424 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 nicon Turonense * one may easily fall into the same 
 opinion : 4 Misit rex Persarum— horologium, in 
 quo XII horarum cursus cognoscebantur, cymbalo 
 ibi personante et equitibus, qui per singulas horas 
 per fenestras exibant, et in ultima hora diei rede- 
 untes, in regressione sua fenestras apertas claude- 
 bant.’ The description of it however to be found 
 in Annales Francorumrf ascribed to Eginhard, shows 
 clearly that it was far different from our clocks. 
 The author says : ‘ Nec non et horologium, ex au- 
 richalco arte mechanica mirifice compositum, in 
 quo duodecim horarum cursus ad clepsydram ver- 
 tebatur, cum totidem asreis pilulis, quae ad com- 
 pletionem horarum decidebant, et casu suo sub- 
 jectum sibi cymbalum tinnire faciebant.’ — It was 
 evidently therefore a water-clock, furnished with 
 some ingenious mechanism, but having nothing in 
 common with our clocks. 
 
 “ About the same period lived Pacificus, arch- 
 deacon of Verona, who is celebrated for having 
 invented a clock. £ His epitaph, besides relating 
 other services which he did, says : 
 
 Horologium nocturnum nullus ante viderat. 
 
 En invenit argutnentum et primus fundaverat 
 Horologioque carmen spherse coeli optimum, 
 
 Plura alia graviaque prudens invenit. 
 
 * Martene, Coll. ampl. tom.v. p. 960 . 
 
 f Ad a. 8 O 7 . Calmet. Hist, de Lorraine, vol. i. p. 582. 
 
 J Onuphr. Panuvini Antiq. Veron. lib. vi. p. 153. Scip. Maffei 
 Degli scrittori Veronesi, p. 32. Muratori, Ant. Ital. med. <evi , 
 diss. 24. p. 392. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 425 
 
 Scipio Maffei endeavours to prove, that we are 
 here to understand a clock moved b>y wheels and 
 weights; but, in my opinion, his arguments are 
 extremely weak. ‘ 1 his horologium , says he, the 
 like of which had been never seen, and which was 
 different from a sun-dial, because it showed the 
 hours in the night-time, could not be a clepsydra 
 or water- clock, for clocks of that kind were not 
 only known to the ancients, but even to the in- 
 habitants of Italy in latter times, so that it could 
 have been nothing but a clock like ours. But, 
 even if we allow, with this learned man, that 
 water-clocks were known in Italy at that period, 
 it cannot be denied that they w^ere scarce, and used 
 only by few, as may be evidently gathered from 
 what is said of these machines by Cassiodorus. The 
 greater part of people might have been unac- 
 quainted with them at the above-mentioned time; 
 and there is no necessity for adhering so closely to 
 the words of the epitaph, nullus ante vidcrat, as 
 Maffei has done. Besides, Maffei himself destroys 
 the foundation on which he rests his opinion ; for 
 he relates that a horologium nocturnum was sent to 
 Pepin, king of France, by pope Stephen II. This 
 appears from the pope’s own letter ; but Maflei is 
 under a mistake respecting the name, for it was 
 Paul, and not Stephen. The letter, which may 
 be found in the Codex Carolinus ,* is dated in the 
 
 * Bouquet, Script, rer. Gall, et Franc, tom. v. p. 513. 
 
426 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 year 7 56. Maffei thinks that this machine was of 
 a construction different from that of a water-clock ; 
 but if it pointed out the hours in the day-time, as 
 well as in the night, according to his supposition, 
 there is no reason, as Muratori observes, why it 
 should have been called horologium nocturnum. 
 In my opinion, we ought here to understand a 
 clepsydra, or w'ater-clock, such as that used by 
 Cassiodorus for the like purpose, and which Hil- 
 demar recommended in the ninth century to the 
 monks, who were obliged to observe the hours. 
 Hildemar says, He who wishes to do this properly, 
 must have horologium aqua * 
 
 “ That these water-clocks however were then 
 scarce, as well as in the following centuries, we 
 have reason to conclude from their being so little 
 spoken of in the writings of those periods. In the 
 ancient customs of the monastery of St. Viton, at 
 Werden,'}' written as is said in the tenth century, 
 no mention of them occurs ; and the monks regu- 
 lated their prayers by the crowing of the cock ; for 
 it is said : Cum lucem ales nunciaverit, dahuntur 
 omnia signa in resurrectione Domini nostri , & c. I 
 find as little mention of them in the eleventh cen- 
 tury, even in passages where they could not have 
 been omitted, had they been known. Thus, in a 
 
 * Commentar. in Reg. S. Bened. cap. 8. See Martent Deritib. 
 eccl. tom. iv. p. 5. 
 
 + Martene, tom. iv. p. 853. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 
 
 427 
 
 little work, by Pet. Damiani, Be perfectione Mo- 
 nachorum * where the author speaks of the signi- 
 Jicator hovcivum , he does not so much as allude to 
 a clepsydra. That the reader may know what he 
 means by signijicator horarum, I shall here quote 
 his own words : ‘Non fabulis vacet, non longa cum 
 aliquo misceat, non denique, quid a secularibus 
 agatur, inquirat; sed commissae sibi curas semper 
 intentus, semper providus, semperque sollicitus, 
 volubilis sphaene necessitatem, quiescere nescien- 
 tem, siderum transitum, et elabentis temporis me- 
 ditetur semper excursum. Porro psallendi sibi 
 faceat consuetudinem, si discernendi boras quotidi- 
 anam habere desiderat notionem ; ut, quando- 
 cunque solis claritas, sive stellarum varietas nubi- 
 um densitate non cernitur, illic in quantitate psalm- 
 odiae, quam tenuerit, quoddam sibi velut horo- 
 logium metiatur. J 
 
 O 
 
 “ Some ascribe theinvention of our modern clocks 
 to Gerbert, who, in the tenth century, was raised 
 to the pontifical chair at Rome, under the name 
 of Sylvester II, and who was reckoned to be the 
 first mathematician and astronomer of his time. 'J 
 This opinion however is supported only by mere 
 conjecture, and appears, to be false from the account 
 
 * Cap. 17- 
 
 f Journal des Spavans 1734, p. 773. Coujei, Elat des sciences 
 dt'puis la mart de Charlemagne, jusqu a celle du Roi Robert. Paris 
 1737, Svo. 
 
428 HISTORY OR INVENTIONS. 
 
 of Dithmar, * who says : ‘ Gerbertus, a finibus suis 
 expulsus, Ottonem petiit imperatorem, et cum eo 
 diu conversatus, in Magdaburg horologium fecit, 
 illud recte constituens, considerata per fistularn 
 quadam stella liautarum duce.’ No mention is 
 made here of w'heels or weights, and this horolo- 
 gium seems to have been a sun-dial, which Gerbert 
 fixed up by observing the pole-star. It appears, 
 indeed, that Gerbert was acquainted with no other 
 kind of horologia; for those who speak of his book 
 De Astrolabio , in which he explains the method of 
 consti ucting dials for various latitudes, produce no 
 further proofs, f Some, according to the testi- 
 mony of Kii cher, consider this horologium to have 
 been a portable dial, which showed the hour when 
 properly set by the help of a needle touched with 
 a magnet; but even this opinion is not warranted 
 by the words of Dithmar. 
 
 “ The anonymous author of the Life of William, 
 abbot of Hirshau, % who lived in the eleventh cen- 
 tury, and wLo w as a very learned man for his time, 
 says: naturale horologium ad exmplum cxlestis 
 hxmispherii excogitasse. Though this passage is so 
 short, that no idea can be formed from it of the con- 
 struction of the machine, it is evident that it alludes 
 neither to a sun-dial nor to a w 7 ater-clock, but to 
 
 * Chron. lib. vi. p. 83. edit. Francof. 1580, fol. 
 
 + Le Beuf, Rec. tie div. ecrits, &c. vol. ii. p. 89 . 
 
 X Published by Car. Stengelius. Aug. Vind. l6ll. p. 1. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 429 
 
 some piece of mechanism which pointed out the 
 hours and exhibited the motion of the earth and 
 other planets. As more frequent mention of ho- 
 rologia occurs afterwards, and as, in speaking of 
 them, expressions are used which cannot be applied 
 to sun-dials or water-clocks, I am induced to think 
 that the invention of our clocks belongs to this pe- 
 riod. In the Constitutiones Hirsaugienses, or Genge - 
 bacenses, of the same William, * it is said of the sa- 
 cristan, eum horologium dirigere et ordinare. In 
 the like manner Bernardus Monachus, a writer of 
 the same century, says, in the Ordo Cluniacmsis 
 ‘ apocrisiarium horologium dirigere et diligentius 
 temperare.’ The same author, in the Ancient 
 Customs, &c. of the Monastery of St. Victor, at 
 Paris, J written also about the same time, says, that 
 the registrar ( matricularius ), the sacrist’s compa- 
 nion, ought ‘ horas canonicas nocte et die ad divi- 
 num celebrandum custodire, signa pulsare, horolo- 
 gium temper ared 
 
 “ The unequal hours then in use rendered this 
 regulating of the horologia necessary. The days 
 and the nights consisted of twelve hours each; but 
 sometimes shorter and sometimes longer. The 
 reason of this is explained in the sixty-fourth chap- 
 ter of the before- mentioned Customs , where it is 
 
 * Lib. ii. cap. 34. Vet. disci plina monast. p. 520. 
 
 \ Part. i. cap. 51. Ibid. p. 246. 
 
 J Cap. 23. ap. Marlene De ant. lit. tom. iii. p. 73Q. 
 
430 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 said : ‘ Ab aestivali solstitio usque ad solstitium fete- 
 male sic horologium temperetur, quatenus illud 
 noctis spatium, quod matutinas prascedat, per sin- 
 gulos menses secundum incrementa noctium ali- 
 quantulum crescat, donee pauktim crescendo tan- 
 dem in hiemali solstitio spatium illud, quod est 
 ante matutinas, ad illud quod sequitur, duplum 
 fiat. Similiter per contrarium ab hiemali solstitio 
 usque ad aestivale solstitium sic temperetur, quate- 
 nus spatium, quod preecedit, secundum noctium 
 decrementum per singulos menses decrescat, donee 
 paulatim decrescendo, tandem in solstitio aestivali 
 spatium, quod est ante matutinas, et quod post 
 sequitur, aequale fiat.’ Such was the regulating of 
 the horologia , and I much doubt whether it could 
 be applied to water-clocks. 
 
 “ These horologia not only pointed out the hours 
 by an index, but emitted also a sound. This we 
 learn from Primaria Instituta Cammicorum Prcr- 
 monstratensium , * where it is ordered that the sacrist- 
 an should regulate the horologium and make it sound 
 before matins to awaken him. I darenothowever 
 venture thence to infer, that these machines an- 
 nounced the number of the hour by their sound, 
 as they seem only to have given an alarm at the 
 time of getting up from bed. I have indeed never 
 yet found a passage where it is mentioned that the 
 
 * Diss. ii. c. 8. ap. Martene De ant. rit. torn, iii, p. gop. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 43l 
 
 number of the hour was expressed by them ; and 
 when we read of their emitting a sound, we are 
 to understand that it was for the purpose of waken- 
 ing the sacristan to morning-prayers. The expres- 
 sion horologium cecidit, which occurs frequently in 
 the before-quoted writers, I consider as allusive 
 to this sounding of the machine.* Du Fresne, in 
 my opinion, under the word horologium, conceives 
 wrong the expression de ponderibus in imum de- 
 lapsis , because the machine was then at rest, and 
 could rouse neither the sacristan nor any one else 
 whose business it was to beat the scilla. 
 
 <£ I shall now produce other testimony which 
 will serve further to confirm what I have here said 
 of the origin of clocks. Calmet, in his Commentary 
 on the Regulce S. Benedicti, f quotes from a book 
 on the usages of the Cistercians, three passages 
 which I shall give as he has translated them, 
 because I have not access at present to the original. 
 ‘ On lit,’ says he, £ au chap. 21 de la premiere partie 
 de leurs Usages, compilez vers l’an 1 120, qu’on ne 
 fera sonner les cloches pour aucun exercice, pas 
 meme pour l’Horloge, depuis la messe du Jeudi 
 saintjusqu’&celledu Samedi saint; etau chap. 114, 
 il est ordonnfe au sacristain de regler l’Horloge, en 
 
 * Wilhelm. Hirsaug. Consuet. lib. ii. c. 29. Bernardus Monach. 
 Ordo Clun. pars i. c. 52. Udalrici Mon. Consuetud. C!un. lib. iiL. 
 <?. 12. ap. U Archery , tom. iv. ed. vet. tom. i. p. 693. ed nor. 
 
 f Tom. i. p. 280. 
 
432 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 sorte qu’elle sonne, et qu’elle l'eveille pendant Thy- 
 ver avant matines, ou avant ies nocturnes ; et an 
 chap. 68 et 114, que quand on s’est leve trop tot, 
 le sacristain avertit celui qui lit la derniere le^on, 
 de la prolonger jusqu’a ce que lTIorloge sonne, 
 ou qu’on fasse signe au lecteur de cesser/ 
 
 “ The use of these machines must have been 
 continued from that period, for we find them men- 
 tioned in the thirteenth century, in the commen- 
 tary of Bernard us Cassinensis (Bernard of Cassino) 
 on the unpublished Regulce S. Benedict i, from the 
 eighth chapter of which Martene # gives the follow- 
 ing quotation : ‘ Facta autem jam hora octava, 
 modicum erit amplius de media nocte quando sur- 
 rexerit, horologio excitante , qui habet horologium 
 custodire, et accensis lucernis ecclesiae, quae pote- 
 rant propter prolixitatem noctis fuisse obscuratae, 
 ac pulsatis campanis ad dormientium fratrum exci- 
 tationem, potuit transire dimidia octavae hone 
 antequam surrexerint fratres.’ It is said also in 
 the Chronicon Mellicense , f in Du Fresne : * Ex- 
 citabit aliquis a superiore deputatus, qui horolo- 
 gium eoccitatorium habeat ; ad omnes quoque cel- 
 las lumen deferat.’ 
 
 “ As all arts are at first imperfect, it is observed 
 of these clocks that they sometimes deceived ; and 
 
 * Rit. ant. tom. iv. p. 5 . 
 
 f Cap. 774. 
 
 
I 
 
 CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 433 
 
 hence, in the Ordo Cluniacensis Bernard i Mon . * 
 the person who regulated the clock is ordered, in 
 case it should go wrong, £ ut notet in Gereo, et in 
 cursu stellarum vel etiam lunae, ut fratres surgere 
 faciat ad horam competentem.’ The same admoni- 
 tion is given in the Constitutiones Hirsaugienses. f 
 
 “ From what has been said I think it is suffi- 
 ciently apparent that clocks moved by wheels and 
 weights began certainly to be used in the mona- 
 steries in Europe, about the eleventh century. I 
 do not, however, think that Europe is entitled to 
 the honour of this invention ; but that it is rather 
 to be ascribed to the Saracens, to w hom we are in- 
 debted for most of the mathematical sciences. This 
 conjecture is supported by the horologium which, 
 as Trithemius J tells us, was sent by the sultan of 
 Egypt, in the year 1232, to the emperor Frederic II. 
 * Eodem anno,’ says he, 1 Saladinus Egyptiorum 
 Frederico imperatori dono misit per suos oratores 
 tentorium pretiosum, mirabili arte compositum, 
 cujus pretii aestimatio quinque ducatorum mil- 
 lium procul valorem excessit. Nam ad similitu- 
 dinem sphserarum caelestium intrinsecus videba- 
 tur constructum, in quo imagines solis, lunae, ac 
 reliquorum pl^netarum artificiosissime compositae 
 movebantur ponderibus et rotis incitatae ; ita vide- 
 
 * p. l.c. 51. 
 
 f Lib. ii. c. 34. 
 
 X Chron. Hirsaug. ad. h. a. 
 
 2 F 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
434 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 licet, quod, cursum suum certis ac debitis spatiis 
 peragentes, horas tam noctis quam diei infallibili 
 demonstratione designabant ; imagines quoque xii 
 signorum zodiaci certis distinctionibus suis motse 
 cum firmamento cursum in se planetarum eontine- 
 bant.* 
 
 “ The writers of this century speak in such a 
 manner of clocks that it appears they must, at that 
 period, have been well known. Gulielmus Al- 
 vernus*, disputing against those who deny the ex- 
 istence of the soul, after producing various argu- 
 ments, thus obviates one which might be used 
 against him. ‘ Nec te conturbant, inquit, motus ho- 
 rologiorum, qui per aquam hunt, et pondera, quae 
 quidem ad breve tempus et modicum hunt, et in- 
 digent renovatione frequenti, et aptatione instru- 
 mentorum suorum, atque operatione forinsecus, 
 astrologi videlicet qui peritiam habethujus artificii. 
 In corporibus vero animalium vel etiam vegetabi- 
 lium totum intus est, intra ea scilicet, quod motus 
 eorum atque partium suarum moderatur, et regit, 
 ac modis omnibus perficit.’ And Dante, the Ita- 
 lian poet, says; f 
 
 E come cerchi in tempra d’orivoli * 
 
 Si giran, si che’l primo, a chi pon mente 
 
 Quieto pare, e 1’ultimo che voli, &c. 
 
 * De anima, c. i. p. 7, 72. 
 f Parad. cant. xxiv. ver. 13. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 435 
 
 u In the fourteenth century mention is made of 
 the machine of Richard de Walingford, which has 
 been hitherto considered as the oldest clock known. 
 The description of it I shall give in the words of 
 Leland:* * Electus in monasterii prassidem — cum 
 jam per amplas licebat fortunas, voluit illustri ali- 
 quo opere non modo ingenii, verum etiam erudi- 
 tionis ac artis excellentis miraculum ostendere. 
 Ergo talem horologii fabricam magno labore, ma- 
 jore sumtu, arte vero maxima compegit, qualem 
 non habet tota, mea opinione, Europa secundam ; 
 sive quis cursum solis ac lunae, seu fixa sidera 
 notet, sive iterum maris incrementa et decrementa, 
 seu lineas una cum figuris ac demonstrationibus 
 ad infinitum pene variis consideret: cumque opus 
 asternitate dignissimum ad umbilicum perduxisset, 
 canones, ut erat in mathesi omnium sui temporis 
 facile primus, edito in hoc libro scripsit, ne tam 
 insignis machina errore monachorum vilesceret, 
 aut incognito structurae ordine sileret.’ This ma- 
 chine, if I remember right, was called by the in- 
 ventor Albion (all by one). 
 
 “ Clocks hitherto had been, as it were, shut up 
 in monasteries ; but they now began to be em- 
 ployed for the common use and convenience of 
 cities, though no instance of this is to be found 
 before the above period. Hubert prince of Car- 
 
 * In Tanneri Biblioth. Brit. Hibern. p. 6.2Q. 
 
 21 F 2 
 
436 “ HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 rara caused the first clock ever publicly erected, 
 to be put up at Padua, as we are told by Peter 
 Paul Vergerius: # ‘ Horologium quo per diem et 
 noctem quatuor et viginti horarum spatia sponte 
 sua designarentur, in summa turri constituendum 
 curavit.’ It is said to have been made by James 
 Dondi, whose family afterwards got the name of 
 Horologio. f In remembrance of this circumstance 
 the following verses were inscribed on his tomb- 
 stone : 
 
 Quin procul excels® monitus de vertice turris 
 Tempus, et instabiles numero quod colligis horas, 
 Inventum cognosce meum, gratissime lector. 
 
 “ John Dondi, son of the former, acquired no 
 less fame by a clock which he constructed also, 
 and which is thus described : 4 In quo erat firma- 
 mentum,J et omnium planetarum sphaerag, ut sic 
 siderum omnium motus, veluti in coelo, compre- 
 hendantur; festa edicta in dies monstrat, pluri- 
 maque alia oculis stupenda; tantaque fuitejus ho- 
 rologii admiranda congeries, ut usque modo post 
 ejus relictam lucem corrigere, et pondera conveni- 
 entia assignare sciverit astrologus nemo. Verum 
 de Francia nuper§ astrologus et fabricator mag- 
 
 * In Vit. princip. Carrar. ap. Murator. tom. xvi. p. 171 . 
 
 f See Scardeonius de antiq. urbis Patavii, lib. ii. class. 9 . p. 205. 
 *d. Basil. 1560, fob and the authors which he quotes. 
 
 } These are the words of Mich. Savanarola in Comm, de laud. 
 Patui j. in Muralori, vol. xxiv. col. Il()4. 
 
 § Sec. xiv. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 
 
 437 
 
 nus, fama liorologii tanti ductus, Papiam venit, 
 plurimisque diebus in rotas congregandas elabora- 
 vit; tandemque actum est, ut in untun, eo quo 
 decebat ordine, composuerit, motumque ut decet 
 dederit.’ 
 
 “ We are informed by the Chronica miscella Bo - 
 noniensis, * that the first clock at Bologna was fixed 
 up in the year 1356 : * A di 8 di Aprile fu tolta via 
 la campana grossa della torre, ch’era nel palazzo di 
 Messer Giovanni signor di Bologna, il qual palazzo 
 dicevasi della Biada; e fu menata nella Corte del 
 Capitano, e tirata e posta sulla Torre del Capitano 
 nel Mercoledi Santo; e questo fu 1* orologio, il 
 quale fu il primo, che avesse mai il Comune di 
 Bologna, e si commincio a sonare a di iq di Mag- 
 gio, il quale lo fece fare Messer Giovanni. 
 
 “ Some time after the year 1364, Charles V, 
 surnamed the Wise, king of France, caused a large 
 clock to be placed in the tower of his palace, by 
 Henry de Wyck, | whom he invited from Ger- 
 many, because there was then at Paris no artist of 
 that kind, and to whom he allowed a salary of six 
 sols per day, with free lodging in the tower. 
 
 “ Towards the end of the century, about the 
 year 1370, Strasburgh also had a clock, a de- 
 
 * In Muratori, tom. xviii. p. 444. 
 
 + Morcri, Diction, art. Horloge du Palais. 
 
438 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 scription of which is given by Conrad Dasypo- 
 dius. # 
 
 <c Courtray, about the same period, was celebrated 
 for its clock, which was carried away by the duke 
 of Burgundy, in the year 1382. This circum- 
 stance is thus related by Froissard, a cotemporary 
 writer : f ‘ Le due de Bourgogne fit oster un hor- 
 loge (qui sonnoit les heures), l’un des plus beaux 
 qu’on seust trouver de 9 a ne dela la mer: et celui 
 horloge fit tout mettre, par membres et pieces, sur 
 chars, et la cloche aussi. Lequel horloge fut 
 amene et charroye en la ville de Digeon en Bour- 
 gogne : et fut la remis et assis : et y sonne les 
 heures vingt-quatre, entre jour et nui.’ 
 
 “ We are told by Lehmann, J that a public 
 clock was put up at Spire in the year 13p5. * That 
 year,’ says he, ‘ the clock was erected on the Alt- 
 burg gate. The bell for calling the people toge- 
 ther to divine worship was cast by a bell-founder 
 from Strasburgh. — The works of the clock cost 
 fifty-one florins.’ 
 
 “ The greater part however of the principal cities 
 of Europe were at this period without striking- 
 
 * In the Account of the astronomical clock at Strasburgh, to be 
 found in. lac. von Konigshovens Elsass undStrasb. Chronik. p. 574. 
 
 f Vol. ii. c. 128. p. 229 . 
 
 J Lib. vii. c. 6q, towards the end. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 
 
 439 
 
 clocks, which could not be procured but at a great 
 expense. Of this we have an instance in the city 
 of Auxerre. In the year 1483, the magistrates 
 resolved to cause a clock to be constructed ; but as 
 it would cost a larger sum of money than they 
 thought they had a right to dispose of by their own 
 authority, they applied to Charles VIII, to request 
 leave to employ a certain part of the public funds 
 for that purpose. * * * § 
 
 u The great clock in the church of the Virgin 
 Mary at Nuremberg was erected, as we read, in 
 the year 1462. t 
 
 “ A public clock was put up at Venice in the 
 year 1497-J 
 
 “ In the same century an excellent clock, which 
 is described in a letter of Politian§ to Francis 
 Casa, in the year 1484, was constructed by one 
 Lorenzo, a Florentine, for Cosmo I of Medici. 
 
 “ Towards the end of this century, clocks began 
 to be in use among private persons. This appears 
 from a letter of Ambrosius Camaldulensis || to Ni- 
 
 * Le Beuf, Mem. concernant l’hist. d’ Auxerre, vol. ii. p. 342. 
 
 t Doppelmayer, p. 282. 
 
 X Thes. Ital. tom. iii. p. 3. p. 308. 
 
 § Politiani Opera. Lugduni 1533, 8vo. p. 121, 
 
 || Lib. xv. epist. 4. 
 
440 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 colaus, a learned man of Florence : ‘ Horologium 
 tuum mox, ut tuas accepi literas, paravi, misissem- 
 que, si fuisset prassto qui afferret. Ipsam mundari 
 feci, nam erat pulvere obsitum, atque ideo, ne li- 
 bere posset incedere, retardabatur. Et quia ne li- 
 quidem recte currebat, Angelo illi illustri adoles- 
 centi harum rerum peritissimo dedi.’ 
 
 “ About this period also, mention is made of 
 watches. Among the Italian poems of Caspar 
 Visconti, there is a sonnet with the following 
 title: 4 Si fanno certi orologii piccioli e portativi, 
 che non poco di artificio sempre lavorano, mos- 
 trando le ore, e molti corsi de pianeti, e le feste, 
 sonando quando il tempo lo ricerca. Questo so- 
 netto e facto in persona de uno inamorato, che, 
 guardando uno delli predicti orologii, compara se 
 stesso a quello, &c.’* 
 
 “ It appears, therefore, that Doppelmayer is 
 mistaken when he says that watches were invented 
 
 * This sonnet I shall here transcribe from Antonii Saxii Hist, lit- 
 terario-typographica Mediolan. prefixed to Philippi Argelati Bib - 
 lioth. Scrip. Mediolanens. i. p. 360. 
 
 Ho certa occulta forza in la secreta 
 Parte del cor, qual sempre si lavora 
 De sera a sera, e d’una a l’altra aurora, 
 
 Che non spero la mente aver mai quieta. 
 
 Legger ben mi potria ogni discreta 
 Vista nel fronte, ove amor colora 
 D’affanno e di dolore il pun to e l’ora, 
 
 E la cagion, che riposar mi victa. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 
 
 441 
 
 by Peter Hele, at Nuremberg, in the sixteenth 
 century; and that because they were shaped like an 
 egg, they were called Nuremberg animated eggs * * 
 I. Cocleus, in his Description of Germany, f speak- 
 ing of this Hele, says : ‘Eum juvenem adhuc ad- 
 modum, opera efficere, quag vel doctissimi admiren- 
 tur mathematici. Nam ex ferro parva fabri- 
 cat horologia plurimis digesta rotulis, quae, quo- 
 cunque vertantur, absque ullo pondere, et mon- 
 strant et pulsant xl horas, etiam si in sinu marsu- 
 piove contineantur.”’ 
 
 L’umil squilletta sona il pio lamento, 
 
 Che spesso mando al cielo, e la fortuna. 
 
 Per disfogar cridando il her tormento. 
 
 De le feste annual non ne mostro una, 
 ftfa pianeti iracondi, e di spavento, 
 
 Eclipsati col sole, e con la luna. 
 
 Dominico Maria Manni, in his book de Florcnlinis inventis, 
 chap. 29, calls the artist Loren20 a Vulparia ; and says that he was 
 a native of Florence. 
 
 * Nachricht von den Niirnbergischen mathematicis und kiinst- 
 lern, Nurnberg 1730 , fol. 289. 
 
 f Added to his Comm, in Pomp. Melam. cap. de Noriberga. 
 
442 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 CLOCKS AND WATCHES.* 
 
 The term Horologia occurs very early in dif- 
 ferent parts of Europe; but as this word, in old 
 times, signified dials as well as clocks, nothing 
 decisive can be inferred from it, unless it can be 
 shown by concomitant circumstances or expres- 
 sions, that it relates to a clock rather than a dial. 
 Dante seems to be the first author who hath in- 
 troduced the mention of an orologio, that struck 
 the hour, and which consequently cannot be a dial, 
 in the following lines : 
 
 Indi come horologio che ne chiami, 
 
 Nel hora che la sposa d’Idio surge, 
 
 Amattinar Io sposo, perche l’ami.f 
 
 Dante was born in 1265, and died in 1321, aged 
 fifty-seven ; striking-clocks therefore could not 
 have been very uncommon in Italy, at the latter 
 end of the thirteenth century or the beginning of 
 the fourteenth. 
 
 * This article, written by the Hon. Daines Barrington, was trans- 
 lated by professor Beckmann, from the Arch&ologia, vol. v. p. 416. 
 It is here given from the original almost verbatim, with the addition 
 of professor Beckmann’s notes, translated from the German, which 
 are distinguished by the initials of his name. Trans. 
 f Dante, Paradiso, c. x. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 
 
 443 
 
 But the use of clocks was not confined to Italy 
 at this period; for we had an artist in England 
 about the same time, who furnished the famous 
 clock-house near Westminster Hall, with a clock 
 to be heard by the courts of law, out of a fine im- 
 posed on the Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, in 
 the sixteenth year of Edward I, or in 1288. # Black- 
 stone in his Commentaries | has observed, that this 
 punishment of Radulphus de Hengham is first 
 taken notice of in the Year Book'l during the reign 
 of Richard III, where indeed no mention is made 
 of a clock being thus paid for; but if the circum- 
 stances stated in the report of this case are consider- 
 ed, it was highly unnecessary, and perhaps impro- 
 per, to have alluded to this application of the Chief- 
 Justice’s fine. 
 
 It appears by the Year Book , that Richard III 
 had closeted the judges in the Inner Star Chamber, 
 to take their opinions upon three points of law; 
 the second of which was, “Whether a justice of 
 the peace, who had inrolled an indictment, which 
 had been negatived by the grand-jury, amongst the 
 true bills , might be punished for this abuse of his 
 office.” On this question a diversity of opinion 
 arose amongst the judges, some of whom supposed 
 that a magistrate could not be prosecuted for what 
 
 * See Selden, in his preface to Hengham. 
 
 Vol. iii. p. 408. 
 t Mich. 2 Ric. III. 
 
444 - HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 he might have done, whilst others contended that 
 he might, and cited the case of Hengham, who was 
 fined eight hundred marks for making an altera- 
 tion in a record, by which a poor defendant was to 
 pay only six shillings and eight-pence, instead of 
 thirteen shillings and four-pence. Thus far the 
 answer of the Judges to the question was strictly 
 proper ; but the application of the fine to build a 
 clock-house was not the least material; # besides, 
 that it was probably a most notorious fact to every 
 student, upon his first attending Westminster-hall, 
 as we find judge Southcote, so much later, in the 
 early part of queen Elizabeths reign, not only 
 mentioning the tradition, but that the clock still 
 continued there, which had been furnished out of 
 the Chief Justice’s fine.j' Sir Edward Coke like- 
 wise adds, that the eight hundred marks were actu- 
 ally entered on the roll, so that it is highly probable 
 he had himself seen the record. J 
 
 But we have remaining to this day some degree 
 of evidence, not only of the existence of such a 
 
 * We find that this clock was considered, daring the reign of 
 Henry VI, to be of such consequence, that the king gave the keep- 
 ing of it, with the appurtenances, to William Warby, dean of St. 
 Stephen’s, together with the pay of sixpence per diem, to be received 
 at the Exchequer. See Stowe’s Account of Westminster, vol. ii. 
 p. 65. The clock at St. Mary’s, Oxford, was also furnished in 1623, 
 out of fines imposed on the students of the university, 
 f III Inst. 72 . 
 
 X IV Inst. p. 255. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 
 
 445 
 
 clock, but that it is of the antiquity already ascri- 
 bed to it, viz. the reign of Edward I. On the side 
 of New Palace-yard, which is opposite to West- 
 minster-hall, and in the second pediment of the 
 new buildings from the Thames, a dial is inserted 
 with this remarkable motto upon it, Discitejustitiam 
 moniti , which seems most clearly to relate to the 
 fine imposed on Radulphus de Hengham being 
 applied to the paying for a clock. But it may be 
 said that this inscription is on a dial and not 
 upon a clock ; which, though it appears upon the 
 first stating it to be a most material objection, yet 
 I conceive it may receive the following satisfactory 
 answer. The original clock of Edward the First’s 
 reign was probably a very indifferent one, but 
 from its great antiquity, and the tradition attend- 
 ing it, was still permitted to remain till the time of 
 queen Elizabeth, according to the authorities al- 
 ready cited. After this, being quite decayed, a dial 
 might have been substituted and placed upon the 
 same clock-house, borrowing its very singular mot- 
 to ; which, whether originally applied in the time of 
 Edward I, or in later reigns, most plainly alludes 
 to Hengham’s punishment for altering a record. 
 It should also be mentioned, that this dial seems 
 to have been placed exactly where the clock-house 
 stood according to Strype.* 
 
 * Westminster, p. 55, in his Additions to Stow. This clock- 
 house continued in a ruined state till the year 1715. Antiquarian 
 Repertory, p. 280. 
 
446 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Mr. Norris, secretary to the Society of Antiqua- 
 ries, hath been likewise so obliging as to refer me 
 to the following instance of a very ancient clock in 
 the same century: Anno 1292 novum orologium 
 magnum in ecclesia (Cantuariensi), pretium 30/.* 
 
 I shall now produce a proof, that not only clocks 
 but watches were made in the beginning of the 
 fourteenth century. Seven or eight years ago, 
 some labourers were employed at Bruce Castle, in 
 Fifeshire, where they found a watch, together with 
 some coin, both of which they disposed of to a shop- 
 keeper of St. Andrews who sent the watch to his 
 brother in London, considering it as a curious 
 piece of antiquity. f The outer case is silver, 
 raised, in rather a handsome pattern, over a ground 
 of blue enamel ; and I think I can distinguish a 
 cypher of R. B. at each corner of the enchased 
 work. On the dial- plate is written, Robertas B . 
 Rex Scotorum } and over it is a convex transparent 
 horn, instead of the glasses which we use at present. 
 Now Robertas B. Rex Scotorum can be no other 
 king of Scotland than Robert Bruce, who began his 
 reign in 1305, and died in 1328; for the Christian 
 name of Baliol, who succeeded him, was Ldward; 
 nor can Robertas B. be applied to any later Scot- 
 tish king. This very singular watch is not of a 
 
 * Dart’s Canterbury, appendix, p. 3. ex Bibl. Cotton. Galba, 
 E. 4. fol. 103. 
 
 I' It is now in his majesty’s possession. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 447 
 
 larger size than those which are now in common 
 use; at which I was much surprised till I had seen 
 several of the sixteenth century in the collection of 
 Sir Ashton Lever, and Mr. Ingham Forster, which 
 were considerably smaller. 
 
 As I mean to deduce the progress of the art of 
 clock-making in a regular chronological series, the 
 next mention I find of horologia is in Rymer’s 
 Feeder a, where there is a protection of Edward III, 
 in the year 1368, to three Dutchmen, who were 
 Orlogiers. The title of this protection is, De horo- 
 logiorum artificio exercendo ; and I hope to have 
 sufficiently proved that there was no necessity of 
 procuring mere diai-makers at this time. 
 
 Clock-makers however were really wanted at 
 this period of the fourteenth century, as may be 
 inferred from the following lines of Chaucer, when 
 he speaks of a cock’s crowing : 
 
 Full sikerer was his crowing in his loge. 
 
 As is a clock, or any abbey orloge.* 
 
 By which, as I conceive at least, our old poet means 
 to say, that the crowing was as certain as a hell , 
 or abbey-c/oc&.f For though we at present ask so 
 
 * Chaucer was born in 1328, and died in 1400. 
 
 f To the time of queen Elizabeth clocks were often called oro- 
 ioges : 
 
 He’ll watch the horologe a double set, 
 
 If drink rock not his cradle. 
 
 Othello, act ii. sc, 3. 
 
448 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 often, What is it o’clock ? meaning the time-mea- 
 surer; yet I should rather suppose, that in the four- 
 teenth century the term clock was often applied to 
 a bell which was rung at certain periods, determi- 
 ned by an hour-glass or a sun-dial. Nor have I 
 been able to stumble upon any passage which al- 
 ludes to a clock, by that name, earlier than the 
 thirteenth year of the reign of Henry VIII.* The 
 abbey orloge (or clock) however must have been 
 not uncommon when Chaucer wrote these lines ; 
 and from clocks beginning to be in use we might 
 have had occasion for more artificers in this branch, 
 though it should seem that we had Englishmen, 
 who pretended at least to understand it, because 
 the protection of Edward III, above cited, di- 
 rects that the persons to whom it was granted, 
 should not be molested whilst they were thus em- 
 ployed. 
 
 I now pass on to a famous astronomical clock, 
 made by one of our countrymen in the reign of 
 
 By which the double set of twelve hours on a clock is plainly alluded 
 to, as not many more than twelve can be observed on a dial; and in 
 the same tragedy this last time-meaiurer is called by its proper name : 
 More tedious than the dial eight score times. 
 
 Ibid, act iii. sc. 4» 
 
 The clock of Wells cathedral is also, to this day, called the horologe . 
 
 * See Dugdale's Origines Jurid. Lydgate, therefore, who wrote 
 before the time of Henry VIII, says: 
 
 I will myself be your orologere 
 To-morrow early. 
 
 Prologue to the Story e of Thebes . . 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 
 
 449 
 
 Richard II, the account of which I have extract- 
 ed from Leland. Richard of Walingford was 
 son of a smith, who lived at that town, and who, 
 from his learning and ingenuity, became abbot of 
 St. Alban’s. Leland, speaking of him, says : ‘ Cum 
 jam per amplas licebat fortunas, voluit illustri ali- 
 quo opere, non modo ingenii, verum etiam erudi- 
 tionis, ac artis excellentis, miraculum ostendere. 
 Ergo talem horologii fabricam magno labore, majore 
 sumtu, arte vero maxima, compegit, qualem non 
 habet tota Europa, mea opudone , secundam, sive 
 quis cursum solis ac lunas, seu fixa sidera notet, 
 sive iterum maris incrementa et decrementa.’ 
 Richard of Walingford wrote also a treatise on this 
 clock, * ne tarn insignis machina vilesceret errore 
 monachorum, aut incognito structurae ordine siles- 
 ceret.’ From what hath been above stated, it ap- 
 pears that this astronomical clock continued to go 
 in Leland’s time, who was born at the latter end of 
 Henry the Seventh’s reign, and who speaks of a 
 tradition, that this famous piece of mechanism was 
 called Albion by the inventor. 
 
 Having thus endeavoured to prove that clocks 
 were made in England from the time of Edward I 
 to that of Richard II; it is not essential to my 
 principal purpose to deduce them lower through 
 the successive reigns ; but when I have shortly 
 
 VOL. i. 
 
 Leland de Script. Brit. 
 
 2 G 
 
450 HISTORY OF INVENTION'S. 
 
 stated what I happen to have found with regard 
 to this useful invention in other parts of Europe, 
 I shall attempt to show why they were not more 
 common in the thirteenth and fourteenth cen- 
 turies. 
 
 The citation from Dante, which I have before 
 relied upon, shows that they were not unknown in 
 Italy during that period ; and Mr. Falconet, in 
 Mtmoires de Litterature , informs us, that a James 
 Dondi, in the fourteenth century, assumed from a 
 clock made by him for the tower of a palace, the 
 name of Hovologius , which was afterwards borne 
 by his descendants. 
 
 In France, or what is now so called, Froissart 
 mentions, that during the year 1332 , Philip the 
 Hardy, duke of Burgundy, removed from Cour- 
 tray to his capital at Dijon a famous clock which 
 struck the hours, and was remarkable for its me- 
 chanism. * The great clock at Paris was put up in 
 the year 1 370, during the reign of Charles V, hav- 
 ing been made by Charles de Wic, f a German. 
 Carpentier, in his supplement to Du Cange, cites a 
 decision of the parliament of Paris in the year 1413 , 
 in which Henry Bye, one of the parties, is styled 
 Gubernator Horologii palatii nostri Parisiis. J 
 
 * Froissart, vol. ii. ch. 127 . 
 t Falconet, Mdmoires de Litt. vol. xx, 
 t See Carpentier, art. Horologiator. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 451 
 
 About the same time also the clock at Montargis 
 was made, with the following inscription : 
 
 Charles le Quint (sc. de France) 
 
 Me fit par Jean de Jouvence. 
 
 The last word seems to be the name of a French- 
 man. 
 
 Though I have not happened to meet with any 
 mention of very early clocks in Germany, yet from 
 the great clock at Paris in 1 370 being the work 
 of De Wic, as also from the protection granted by 
 Edward III to three clock-makers from Delft, it 
 should seem that this part of Europe* was not 
 without this useful invention ; and the same may be 
 
 * Mr. Peckett, an ingenious apothecary of Compton Street, Soho, 
 hath shown me an astronomical clock which belonged to the late Mr. 
 Ferguson, and which still continues to go. The workmanship on the 
 outside is elegant, and it appears to have been made by a German in 
 1525, by the subjoined inscription in the Bohemian of the time: 
 
 Iar. da. macht. mich. lacob. Zech. 
 
 Zu. Prag. ist. Iar. da. man. zult. 1525. 
 
 The above Englished : 
 
 Year. when. made. me. Jacob. Zech. 
 
 At. Prague, is. true. when, counted. 1525. 
 
 The diameter of the clock is nine inches three fourths, and the height 
 five inches. 
 
 [I have transposed the words, as I find them in the original; 
 but war seems to have stood in the place of lar, at least Barrington 
 has translated it by is true, and we must read: 
 
 Da man zalt 1525 jar 
 
 Da macht mich lacob Zech zu Prag ist ioahr.—-\. B.j 
 
452 HISTORY - OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 inferred with regard to Spain from the old saying: 
 Estar como un relax . # 
 
 Having now produced instances of several 
 clocks, and even a watch, which were made in 
 different parts of the fourteenth century, as also 
 having endeavoured to prove that they were not 
 excessively uncommon even in the thirteenth, it 
 may be thought necessary that I should account 
 foi their not being more generally used during 
 those periods, as, in their present state at least, 
 they are so very convenient. For this it should 
 seem that many reasons may be asssigned. 
 
 In the infancy of this new piece of mechanism, 
 they were probably of a very imperfect construc- 
 tion, perhaps never went tolerably, and were 
 soon deranged, whilst there was no one within a 
 reasonable distance to put them in order. To 
 this day the most musical people have seldom a 
 harpsichord in their house, if the tuner cannot 
 be procured from the neighbourhood. We find 
 therefore that Henry VI of England, and Charles 
 V of France, appointed clock-makers, with a sti- 
 pend, to keep the Westminster and Paris clocks in 
 order. 
 
 * I am also referred by the Rev. Mr. Bowie, F. S. A. to the fol- 
 lowing passage in the Abridged History of Spain, vol. i. p. 568: 
 “ ^ ie clock seen in Spain was set up in the cathedral of Se- 
 ville, 1400 .” 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES, 
 
 453 
 
 it need scarcely be observed also, that, as the 
 artists were so few, their work must have been 
 charged accordingly, and that kings only could 
 be the purchasers of what was rather an expensive 
 toy, than of any considerable use. And it may 
 perhaps be said, that they continued in a great 
 measure to be no better than toys, till the middle 
 of the seventeenth century. Add to this, that in 
 the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, there was 
 so little commerce, intercourse, or society, that an 
 hour-glass, or the sun, was very sufficient for the 
 common purposes, which are now more accurately 
 settled by clocks of modern construction. Dials 
 and hour-glasses likewise wanted no mending. 
 
 Having now finished what hath occurred to me 
 with regard to the first introduction of clocks, I 
 shall conclude by a few particulars, which I have 
 been enabled to pick up, in relation to those more 
 portable measurers of time, called watches, the 
 earliest of which, except that of Robert Bruce, 
 king of Scotland, seems to be one in Sir Ashton 
 Lever’s most valuable museum, the date upon 
 which is 1541.* 
 
 Derham, in his Artificial clock-maker,]' published 
 
 * The oldest clock we have in England that is supposed to go to- 
 lerably, is of the preceding year, viz. 1540, the initial letters of the 
 makers name being N. O. It is in the palace at Hampton Court. 
 Derham s Artificial clock-maker. 
 
 f A German translation of this book is added to JVelper s Gnomick. 
 
454 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 in 1714, mentions a watch of Henry VIII which 
 was still in order ; and Dr. Demainbray informs 
 me that he hath heard both Sir Isaac Newton and 
 Demoivre speak of this watch.* The emperor 
 Charles V, Henry’s cotemporary, was so much 
 pleased with these time-measurers, that he used 
 to sit after his dinner with several of them on 
 the table, his bottle being in the centre ; | and 
 when he retired to the Monastery of St. Just, 
 he continued still to amuse himself with keeping 
 them in order, which is said to have produced a 
 reflection from him on the absurdity of his attempt 
 to regulate the motions of the different powers of 
 Europe. 
 
 Some of the watches used at this time, seem to 
 have been strikers-, at least we find in the Memoirs 
 of Literature, that such watches having been stolen 
 both from Charles V and Lewis XI w'hilst they 
 were in a crowd, the thief was detected by their 
 striking the hour.J In most of the more ancient 
 watches, of which I have seen several in the collec- 
 tion of Sir Ashton Lever and Mr. Ingham Forster, 
 
 * That distinguished antiquary Mr Walpole has in his possession 
 a clock, which appears by the inscription to have been a present 
 from Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn. Poynet, bishop of Winchester, 
 likewise gave an astronomical clock to the same king. Godwyn de 
 Prcesul. 
 
 t Memoires de Litt. vol. xx. See also the lately published Col- 
 lection of State Papers, vol. i. p. 53. 
 
 J Vol. xx. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 
 
 455 
 
 catgut supplied the place of a chain,* whilst they 
 were commonly of a smaller size than we use at 
 present, and often of an oval form, j' 
 
 From these and probably many other imper- 
 fections, they were not in any degree of general 
 request, till the latter end of queen Elizabeth’s 
 reign. Accordingly in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night 
 Malvolio says : “ I frown the while, and per- 
 chance wind up my watch, or play with some rich 
 jewel.” Again, in the first edition of Harrington’s 
 Orlando Farioso , printed in 1591, the author is 
 represented with what seems to be a watch, though 
 the engraving is by no means distinct, on which is 
 written II tempo passa. J 
 
 * A clockmaker of this city (Gottingen) assured me that several 
 watches which had catgut instead of a chain, were brought to him to 
 be repaired. I. B. 
 
 f Barrington says here, in a note, “Pancirollus informs us, that 
 about the end of the fifteenth century watches were made no larger 
 than an almond, by a man whose name was Mermecide. Encyclop 
 The first part of this assertion is to be found, indeed, in Pancirollus, 
 edition of Frankfort 1646, 4to. ii. p. 168 ; bdt Myrmecides was an 
 ancient Greek artist, whose TrapavaXw/xara, or uncommonly small 
 pieces of mechanism, are spoken of by Cicero and Pliny. He is not 
 mentioned by Pancirollus, but by Salmuth, p. 231. It is probable 
 that this error may be in the Encyclopedic ; at least Barrington refers 
 to it, as his authority. I. B. 
 
 J Somner’s Canterbury, Supplement, no. xiv. p. 36. See also, in 
 an extract from archbishop Parker’s will, made April 5th 1575 ; Do 
 et lego fratri meo Ricardo episcopo Eliensi baculum meum de canna 
 Indica, qui horologium habet in summitate. As likewise in the brief 
 of his goods, &c. no. xiv. p. 39, A clock valued at 54/. 4s. 
 
456 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 In the third year of James I a watch was found 
 upon Guy Fawkes, which he and Percy had 
 bought the day before, “to try conclusions for 
 the long and short burning of the touchwood, with 
 which he had prepared to give fire to the train of 
 powder.”* 
 
 In 1 631, Charles I incorporated the clock- 
 makers; and the charter prohibits clocks, watches, 
 and alarms, from being imported ; which sufficiently 
 proves that they were now more commonly used, 
 as well as that we had artists of our own who 
 were expert in this branch of business. 
 
 About the middle of the seventeenth century, 
 Huygens made his great improvement in clock- 
 work, which produced many others from our own 
 countrymen ; f the latest of which was the in- 
 troduction of repeating-watches, in the time of 
 Charles II, who, as I have been informed by the 
 late lord Bathurst, sent one of the first of these 
 new inventions to Lewis XIV. The former of 
 these kings w T as very curious with regard to these 
 time-measurers ; and 1 have been told by an old 
 person of the trade, that watchmakers, particularly 
 East, used to attend whilst he was playing at the 
 Mali; a watch being often the stake. 
 
 * Stow’s Chron. p. 878 ; and Introduce to Mr. Reuben Burrow's 
 Almanac for 1778. 
 
 f More particularly Dr. Hook, Tompion, &c. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 4 57 
 
 But we have a much more curious anecdote of 
 royal attention to watches in Dr. Derham’s Artificial 
 clock-maker. * Barlow had procured a patent, in 
 concert with the Lord Chief Justice Allebone, for 
 repeaters; but Quare making one at the same 
 time upon ideas he had entertained before the pa- 
 tent was granted, James II tried both, and giving 
 the preference to Quare’s, it was notified in the ga- 
 zette. In the succeeding reign, the reputation of 
 the English work in this branch was such, that in 
 the year 1698, an act passed, obliging the makers 
 to put their names on watches, lest discreditable 
 ones might be sold abroad for English, f 
 
 Letter on the pretended IVatch of King Robert 
 Bruce. % 
 
 You will remember that I formerly mentioned 
 something to you in reference to the observations 
 
 * Derham’s Artificial clock-maker, p. 107- 
 
 *}■ The Ninth and Tenth of William III. ch. 28. s. 2. 
 
 J This letter, signed John Jamieson, and dated Forfar, August 
 20th, 1785, was translated into German from the Gentleman' s Maga- 
 zine for the before-mentioned year, vol. ii. p. 688 It is here given 
 verbatim from that publication, as the original must undoubtedly be 
 preferable to a translation from a translation. The two notes, with 
 the signature B, are by Professor Beckmann. Trans. 
 
 One of my literary friends in London, to -whom I am indebted for 
 much learned information, says, in a letter which I received from him : 
 ,x I had never believed the story of Robert Bruce’s watch, mentioned 
 in your translation of Barrington’s History of clocks, the more as Mr. 
 
458 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 made by the Hon. Daines Barrington, on the ear- 
 liest introduction of clocks, published in the An- 
 nual Register for 1779, under the article Antiquities, 
 p. 133. According to your desire, I will commu- 
 nicate what circumstances come within my personal 
 knowledge, about a watch that corresponds very 
 much to one described by him as once the property 
 of king Robert Bruce. I must be indulged al- 
 though in some particulars I cannot speak with 
 absolute certainty, as so much time hath elapsed 
 since the transaction I am going to relate. 
 
 Being early fond of any thing ancient or uncom- 
 mon, I used to purchase pieces of old coin from 
 a goldsmith who wrought privately in Glasgow, 
 and sometimes went about as a hawker. Having 
 often asked him, from the curiosity of a boy, if 
 he had ever been at the castle of Clackmannan, 
 or heard of any antiquities being found there; he 
 told me that he had purchased from Mrs. Bruce, 
 who is the only survivor of that ancient family in 
 the direct line, an old watch, w'hich was found in 
 the castle, and had an inscription, bearing, that it 
 belonged to king Robert Bruce. I immediately 
 asked a sight of it ; but he told me it was not at 
 
 Barrington is famous for being in the wrong ; but in the Gentleman’s 
 Magazine there is a full account of the origin of this imposition.” 
 As this error occurs in a paper which 1 have endeavoured to render 
 more public by a translation, I consider myself bound to give a 
 translation of this letter also. b. 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 45 <> 
 
 hand. He fixed a time for showing me this in- 
 valuable curiosity; but even then it could not be 
 seen. My avidity produced many anxious calls, 
 although by that time I began to suspect he meant 
 to play upon me, especially as I did not think it 
 altogether credible that Mrs. Bruce would sell 
 such a relique of her family if she had ever had it 
 in her possession. At length I was favoured with 
 a sight of it. The watch, as far as I can recollect, 
 almost entirely answered the one described. It 
 had a ground of blue enamel. It had a horn 
 above the dial-plate instead of a glass. The in- 
 scription was on the plate. But whether it was 
 Robertus B. or Robertus Bruce, I cannot remem- 
 ber. The watch was very small and neat, and 
 ran only, to the best of my knowledge, little more 
 than twelve hours, at least not a complete day. 
 The Hon. Mr. Barrington does not mention any 
 thing about this circumstance. It is about twelve 
 years since I saw it. Whether there be any castle 
 in Fife, properly called Bruce castle, I know not; 
 but the castle of Clackmannan hath always been 
 the residence of the eldest branch of the family ; 
 and although the town in which it stands now gives 
 name to a small county, yet in former times, and 
 still in common language, that whole district re- 
 ceives the name of Fife, as distinguishing it from 
 the county on the other side the firths of Forth and 
 Tay. The first thing that occurred to me about 
 the watch itself, was in regard to the inscription. 
 
4(50 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 Observing that all the coins of king Robert’s age 
 bore Saxon characters, I could not believe the in- 
 scription to be genuine, because the characters 
 were not properly Saxon, but a kind of rugged 
 Roman, or rather Italic characters, like those com- 
 monly engraved, but evidently done very coarsely, 
 to favour the imposition. He valued it at 1/. 10<y. 
 but I would have nothing to do with it. The first 
 time I had an opportunity of seeing Mrs. Bruce of 
 Clackmannan, after this, I asked her if such a watch 
 had ever been found. She told me that she never 
 so much as heard of any such thing. This con- 
 firmed the justness of my suspicion. 
 
 I paid no further regard to this story till about 
 seven years ago, when I received a letter from a 
 friend, informing me, that a brother of his in Lon- 
 don, who had a taste for antiquity, had desired 
 him, if possible, to procure some intelligence from 
 Glasgow about a watch, said to be king Robert 
 Bruce’s, which had thence found its way to Lon- 
 don, and was there making a great noise among 
 the antiquaries. I then applied to my former 
 goldsmith, who was then in a more respectable way, 
 and mentioned the old story. He immediately 
 fell a-laughing, and told me, that he did it merely 
 for a piece of diversion, and thought the story 
 would take with me, as I had been often asking 
 about the place. He said that it was an old watch 
 brought from America; that, to get some sport 
 
CLOCKS AND WATCHES. 
 
 461 
 
 with my credulity, he had engraved the inscription 
 upon it in a rough, antiquated-like form ; that he 
 had afterwards sold it for two guineas; he had 
 learned that it was next sold for five, and had 
 never more heard of it. 
 
 However early the invention of clocks might be, 
 I am greatly mistaken if any authentic documents 
 can be produced of the art of making pocket- 
 watches being discovered so early as the beginning 
 of the fourteenth century. Lord Kaimes, some- 
 where in his Sketches of Man , asserts, that the first 
 watch was made in Germany, so far as I can re- 
 member, near the close of the fifteenth.* If any 
 watch had been made so early as R. Bruce’s time, 
 it is most likely the inscription would have been in 
 Saxon characters, as not only the money both of 
 Scotland and England but of Germany, in that 
 age, bears a character either Saxon, or greatly re- 
 sembling it. 
 
 If Mr. Urban thinks these observations worthy 
 a place in his valuable magazine, they can in that 
 channel be communicated to the public, and sub- 
 mitted to the attention of those who may have an 
 opportunity of examining the affair in question 
 
 * The passage may be found, vol. i. p. 95 . of the edition in quarto, 
 Edinburgh 1774 : “ Pocket-watches were brought there from Ger- 
 many, an. 1577 .” Home, or Lord Kaimes, however, was too cele- 
 brated or too artful a writer to produce proofs of his historical asser- 
 tions. b; 
 
4 62 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 with greater accuracy. Whatever ardour one feels 
 for any thing that bears the genuine marks of an- 
 tiquity, it is certainly a debt he owes to those who 
 have the same taste, to contribute any thing in his 
 power that may prevent impositions, to which an- 
 tiquaries are abundantly subject, through the low 
 humour or avarice of others ; or that may tend to 
 confirm a fact by proper comparison and minute 
 investigation of circumstances. Besides, this is of 
 greater moment than settling the genuineness of a 
 coin, or many other things of the same nature, 
 because it involves in it the date of a very import- 
 ant discovery. It doth not merely refer to the 
 history of an individual, or even of one nation, but 
 to the history of man. It respects the progress of 
 the arts ; and an anachronism here is of considera- 
 ble importance, because, being established upon a 
 supposed fact, it becomes a precedent for writers 
 in future ages. 
 
ACCOUNT OF A SCARCE BOOK, &C. 463 
 
 ACCOUNT OF A SCARCE BOOK, THE 
 PIROTECHNIA OF VANNUCCIO BI- 
 RINGOCCIO. 
 
 Vannuccio Biringoccio is the first person who 
 wrote a treatise on metallurgy in Italian ; and it 
 is much to his praise that he did not, according 
 to the custom of his cotemporaries, collect to- 
 gether from old books information of every kind, 
 whether true or false ; * but made researches and 
 observations, both in Italy and other countries, 
 and from these gave a regular and clear account 
 of the greater part of metallurgic operations. His 
 book was long used by workmen in that depart- 
 ment, and is frequently quoted by writers of the 
 sixteenth century, particularly when they speak 
 of fbunderies, casting bells and cannon, and other 
 arts of the same kind, with which they were not 
 themselves acquainted.! It has been several times 
 reprinted and translated into various languages, 
 and yet at present it is so scarce, that it is to be 
 
 * In the section on brass foundery, he says, p. 25 ; Io per non 
 haverne altra notitia che quella, che ho con gli occhi proprii gua- 
 dagnata, vi dico per certo che.— -I am not acquainted with any pas- 
 sage which could do more honour to Biringoccio. 
 
 t As an instance, I shall mention only Garzoni Piazza tinker - * 
 sale, who has borrowed from Biringoccio as much as suited his pur- 
 pose. 
 
464 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS, 
 
 found only in large libraries, and that very little 
 correct information respecting it is to be met with 
 in modern publications. Our Schliiter, indeed, 
 will be found more serviceable than this Italian to. 
 metallurgic operators at present; because in his 
 time, metallurgy, particularly in Germany, had 
 acquired great and important improvements ; but 
 Biringoccio’s scarce book is more valuable to those 
 who wish to write a history of metallurgy, and 
 the kindred branches of manufacture. For this 
 reason I have been induced to give here some 
 account of it, though I cannot engage in the la- 
 bour of comparing in a complete manner the pro- 
 cesses of Biringoccio with those usual at present. 
 
 I have endeavoured to find some information 
 respecting the fate of Biringoccio, but without 
 success ; for even Mazzuchelli, * in his large work 
 on the learned men of Italy, has given very little. 
 That he was a nobleman of Sienna, is announced 
 by himself in the title to his work ; Mazzuchelli 
 calls him a mathematician, and says that he was 
 the first Italian writer on metallurgic operations. 
 He relates that he was invited by several princes 
 to employ his knowledge for the benefit of their 
 
 * Gli Scrittori d’ Italia, cioe notizie storiche e critiche intorno alle 
 vite e agli scritti dei litterati Italiani, del conte Giammaria Mazzu- 
 chelli Bresciano, volume ii. parte 2. in Brescia 1760, fol. p. 1262. 
 Of this excellent work we have only the first part, which makes a 
 volume ; and of the second part four volumes, as the author died 
 before more was printed. 
 
ACCOUNT OF A SCARCE BOOK, &C. 4fi5 
 
 states ; and, in particular, Peter Aloysius Farnese, 
 who was made first duke of Parma by his father, 
 Pope Paul III, in the year 1545, but was assas* 
 sinated in 1547. Also by Hercules of Este, duke 
 of Ferrara, who came to the government in 1471, 
 and died in 1505 ; and likewise by the Venetians. 
 One must take care, says Mazzuchelli, not to con- 
 found this Biringoccio with Oreste Vannocci Bi - 
 ringucciy who published the Parafrasi di Ales* 
 sandro Piccolomini sopra le meccaniche d'Aristotile , 
 Pome 1582, 4to. and other works. This caution 
 is far from unnecessary, as I indeed find the same 
 confusion of persons in the Index Bibliothecae 
 Barberinte * 
 
 The first edition of the Pyrotechny has the fol-* 
 lowing title : Della pirotechnia libri X dore am * 
 piamente si tratta di ogni sorte e diversita di mi- 
 niere, ma ancora quanto si ricerea intorno alia 
 prattica di quelle core, di quel eke si appartiene a 
 Varte de la fusione ovver gitto de metalli, come 
 d'ogni altra cosa simile a quest a. In Venezia per 
 Venturino Roffinello 1540, 4to. This edition, 
 which I have not myself seen, is quoted in the 
 Bibliotheca Vriesiana;\ Haym notizia de' libri 
 rari\ Catalogus librorum Petri Gosse, || by Cle- 
 
 * Tom. i. p. 165. 
 
 f Hagae Comit. 1719, 8vo. part i. p. 123. 
 
 X P. 260. 
 
 {] Hagae Comit. 1744, 8vo. p. 143. 
 
 2 H 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
466 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 ment, # and also by Mazzuchelli. | The last men- 
 tioned author, from whom I copied the above 
 title, says that this edition has prefixed a dedica- 
 tion by Curzio Navo to Bernardino Moncellesi da 
 Solo ; and that the former states that Biringoccio 
 wrote this book under the name of Bernardino 
 Moncellesi, and made a present of it to Navo 
 
 The second edition was printed in Venezia, per 
 Gio. Padovano aistanzadi Curzio Navo, 1550, in 
 quarto. This is quoted by Mazzuchelli, and also 
 by Clement, from the Bibliotheca Bultelliana 
 also by Munchausen, in the second part of the 
 Hausvaters . || 
 
 The third edition I have now before me, from 
 the library of our University. The full title of 
 which is : Pirotechnia. Li diece libri della piro- 
 technia , nelli quali si tratta non solo la diversity 
 delle miniere, ma ancho quanto si ricerca alia prat- 
 tica di esse : e di quanto s' appartiene air arte della 
 fusione ouer get to de met alii , e d'ogni altra cosa d 
 
 * IV. p. 256. 
 
 f G. I. Vossius also says: Anno 1540, Vannocius Biringucius 
 Senensis italice vulgavit Pyrotechniam libris X. De Scientiis ma- 
 Ihematicis, Amst. 1650, 4to. p. 299. The same edition is men- 
 tioned in Catalogus Billiotheaz Thuance, ii. p. 130. 
 
 } Nella dedicatoria, che vi precede, indirizzata da Curzio Navo 
 a Bernardino Monzellesi da Solo, si legge che il Biringucci compose 
 quest’ opera a nome di esso Moncellesi, e che poi la dono al detto 
 Navo. 
 
 § Parisiis 1711, 8vo. p. 328. 
 
 P. 266, n. 2409. 
 
ACCOUNT OF A SCARCE BOOK, &C. 4 67 
 
 questa somigliante. Compostaper il. S. Vannuccio 
 Biringoccio, nobile Senese. Col privilegio aposto- 
 lico, e della C. Maesta e dell’ illustriss. Senato 
 Veneto 1553, 4to. At the end stands : In Vinegia 
 per Comin da Trino di Monferrato 1559. Clement, 
 who was acquainted with this book from the royal 
 library at Hannover, says, that he never saw it in 
 any catalogue. But it is mentioned also by Maz- 
 zuchelli, and is even quoted in J. Leupold’s Pro - 
 dromus bibliotheca metallic a. # The most remark- 
 able thing, in regard to this edition, is the dedica- 
 tion of Curtio Navo; from which it appears, that 
 this is actually the third edition; that a person 
 named Mario Caboga improved and enlarged the 
 preceding editions ; that Caboga caused his name 
 to be concealed, and that the printer, Curtio Navo, 
 dedicated the former editions to a person under a 
 feigned name. I am almost inclined to think that 
 
 O 
 
 Mazzuchelli has committed a mistake, and that 
 the name Bernardino Moncellesi does not refer to 
 Biringoccio, but to Mario Caboga. Respecting 
 the latter, professor Dieze pointed out to me some 
 information in a book, which is to be found in few” 
 of the German libraries. The title is : Fasti lit- 
 terario — Ragusini, sive virorum litteratorum qui 
 usque ad annum 1766 in Ragusina claruerunt di- 
 tione } prospectus — auctore P. F. Sebastiano Dolci a 
 R&gusio. Venetiis 1766* fol. In this catalogue of 
 
 * Wolfenbuttel 173 2, 8vo. p. 30. 
 
 2: H 2 * ' 
 
468 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 learned men is the name of Marius Caboga, with 
 the information that his full title is : J. U. Doctor, 
 comes palatinus, protonotarius apostolicus, sacel- 
 lanus sum. pontificis, archidiaconus Ragusinus et 
 vicarius capitularis ; also that he wrote under a 
 fictitious name, De prascedentia episeopalis vicarii ; 
 a poetical version of the Psalms; De ecclesiastica 
 libertate, Libelliduo secretorum; and that he died 
 at Rome in 1582. What service Caboga rendered 
 to the Pyrotechny, I am not able to determine. If 
 he really made additions, he must have incorpo- 
 rated them with the text; for the work has neither 
 appendix nor notes. I think it worth the trouble 
 to insert here the greater part of the dedication, as 
 it will perhaps enable some one who may have the 
 first edition, to determine how far my conjecture 
 is right. The superscription is: A1 mol to reve- 
 rendo monsig. M. Mario Caboga arcidiacono di 
 Raugia, Curtio Navo. The conclusion is : Ogn’ 
 uno che vi conosce, vi predica per huomo raro e 
 singolare, e tanto piu rilucono in voi le virtu vos* 
 tre, quanto piu cercate con la vostra modestia di 
 ricoprirle, suggendo l’ostentationi v’ingegnate di 
 piacere e di giouare ad ogn’ uno ; la onde infinita 
 moltitudine d’amici di partegiani guadagnata ha- 
 uete, che vi arnano, vi riueriscono, et osservano, 
 et io son un di quelli, perche conosco di quanto 
 giouainento m’e stata l’amicitia vostra, che per 
 mezzo suo ho dato fuori tanti belli e virtuosi libri, 
 tra i quali b la divina Pirotechnia, che gia due 
 
ACCOUNT OF A SCARCE EOQK, &C. 4 69 
 
 uolte e vscita, et hora la terza n’esce alia luce, 
 dalle nostre stampe, sempre adornata et emendata 
 da voi, e mai non hauete patito che sotto i’ombra 
 vostra si palesi, trouando certi nomi finti, alii 
 quali si sono indrizzate le nostre epistole, ch’ ap- 
 presso gli amici miei, che conoscono le cortesie 
 vostre, e l’obligo mio verso di voi, son stato biasi- 
 mato, et hannomi astretto che questa fiata la 
 mandi pe’l mondo sotto lo scudo dell’ honoratis- 
 simo nome vostro, e cosi fo. L’opera vostra dun- 
 que indrizzo a voi, e pregoni che l’accettiate con 
 quel buon animo, co’l quale io ve la offero e de- 
 dico, e non vi corocciate meco, e non vi sdegnate 
 d’essere patrino, e di guidare in isteccato il vostro 
 Vanuccio, ch’a se et voi sara honore, eta me dara 
 utile, si come ha fatto pe’l passato, ch’Iddio gli dia 
 pace all’anima, et a voi longa e felice vita come 
 desiderate. Di Vinegia XV. d’Aprile 1558. This 
 edition contains one hundred and seventy leaves, 
 for the leaves are paged only on one side. It has 
 also eighty-four small wooden cuts, executed in a 
 very neat manner. 
 
 The fourth edition was printed at Venice the 
 same year (1559) in octavo. It is not mentioned 
 by Mazzuchelli, but it is quoted by Haym, # Cle- 
 ment, Leupold ; ^ in the Bibliotheca Barberina , £ 
 
 * Haym Notizia de’ libri rari, p. 260. 
 
 f Bibliotheca metallica, p. 30. 
 
 X I. p. 155. 
 
470 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 in Les Anciens miner alo gist es, published by Go- 
 bet ; * and in Lipenii Bibliotheca philosophica f 
 
 The fifth edition, which is mentioned by Maz- 
 zuchelli, and which I do not find noticed any 
 where else, was printed at Bologna per Gioseffo 
 Longhi 1678, 8vo. 
 
 The oldest French translation with which I am 
 acquainted, is that quoted by Mazzuchelli : par 
 Jaques Vincent, a Paris chez Claude Fremy. 
 1556. It is mentioned also in the new edition of 
 the Bibliotheque Fran$oise of du Verdier, and by 
 Gobet, who says that this translation is scarce but 
 very faulty. 
 
 The second edition of this translation I have 
 now before me, from the library of our University, 
 and therefore shall give the title at length : La 
 pyroteclmie, ou art du feu, contenant dix livres, 
 ausquels est amplement traictl de toutes sortes et 
 diversite de minieres, fusions et separations des 
 metaux: des formes et monies pour getter artille- 
 ries, cloches et toutes autres figures : des distilla- 
 tions, des mines, contremines, pots, boulets, fusbes, 
 lances, et autres feuz artificiels, concernans Cart 
 militaire, et autres choses dependantes du feu . 
 Composee par le Seigneur Vanoccio Biringuccio 
 Siennois, et traduite dTtalien en Francois par feu 
 
 * I. p. 324. 
 f P. 1275. 
 
ACCOUNT OF A SCARCE BOOK, &C. 471 
 
 maistre, Iaques Vincent, a Paris, chez Claude 
 Fremy 1572, 4to. 
 
 The third edition of the French translation is 
 quoted by Clement : par Iaques Vincent. A Rouen 
 chez Iacques Caillouk tenant sa boutique dans la 
 court du palais 1627, 4to. Professor Biitner had 
 the goodness to lend it to me. It has a perfect 
 resemblance to the second, only that the type is 
 larger, and the orthography improved ; and that 
 instead of the dedication, there is a short notice 
 by the printer, of very little importance. The 
 wood cuts are here numbered. I find it noticed 
 also in the Bibliotheca imperialis Petropolitam, of 
 which scarce work I have given a circumstantial 
 account in my Physikalisch-CEkonomischer Bib- 
 Hot hek. * 
 
 The French translator, Iaques Vincent, was 
 Aumonier to the count d’Anguien, and probably 
 a translator by profession, for he translated his- 
 torical and religious books, as well as romances 
 from the Latin, Spanish, and Italian ; the names 
 of which may be found in Les bibliotheqaes fran- 
 foises de la Croix du Maine et du Verdier. Nou- 
 velle edition par Rigoley de Iuvigny. f 
 
 The edition in our library has, like the original, 
 eighty-four wood cuts, which are almost similar to 
 the Italian. 
 
 * Vol. viii. p. 497. 
 f Tom. iv. p. 315* 
 
472 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 In the Anciens miner alogistes, published by Go- 
 bet, it is said, that the third edition of the French 
 translation was printed by Wechel at Franckfort, 
 1627, but of this edition I can find no account. 
 
 There is also a Latin translation, which was 
 printed at Cologne in 1658, 4to. It is mentioned 
 in Christopher Hendrich’s Bandectce Brandenbur- 
 gicce, in Lipenii Bibliotheca philosophica , Mazzu- 
 chelli, and the new edition of du Verdier. 
 
 I now proceed to the contents of the book, of 
 which I shall give a short account. The introduc- 
 tion treats on the manner of examining ores ; and 
 here the author shews much less superstition than 
 might be expected in that period. The first section 
 treats on the principal ores of the different metals, 
 respecting which the author often refers to obser- 
 vations made in Austria, and in other parts of 
 Germany; and apologises for not being always 
 able to give the names of places correct, accord- 
 ing as they ought to be written. He describes the 
 preparation of brass, as he saw it made in the 
 Milanese. Respecting copper, he says that it is 
 put into the crucible with calamine, and covered 
 with pounded glass. However defective this pro- 
 cess may be, the glass prevents the evaporation of 
 the semi-metal, but charcoal ought not to have 
 been omitted. In the first book, it is shown that 
 iron is converted into steel, by keeping it immersed 
 for some time in melted iron. Reaumur examined 
 
ACCOUNT OF A SCARCE BOOK, &C. 473 
 
 this process with great care, and found it to be 
 correct. 
 
 The second book contains instructions how the 
 semi-metals may be made ; also the preparation 
 of some salts, and the art of glass making. Man- 
 ganese was used for this purpose, even at that 
 time. 
 
 In the third book there is an introduction to the 
 proving of ores, and to operations necessary for 
 converting them into metal. The reader will find 
 there also an account of the process for separating 
 silver from copper, by means of lead ; and the 
 method of constructing furnaces, like those used 
 for that purpose at present. The author describes 
 also the process for charring wood in standing 
 piles and in pits. 
 
 The fourth book relates to the separation of gold 
 from silver. On the preparation of aqua fortis, 
 acqua acuta , quale il vulgo chiama acqua forte 
 commune. On refining. 
 
 The fifth, which is only short, treats on the 
 alligation of gold, silver, copper, and tin. 
 
 The sixth book treats on the art of modelling, 
 or making moulds. A great deal relates to the 
 necessary sand and clay. In particular, there is 
 a circumstantial account of casting cannon. Ne 
 anco chi di tal orribile et spauentoso stromento 
 forse inventore, ch’io sappi, in luce universale noto 
 non e. Credesi che venisse della Alemagna, trouato 
 a caso secondo il Cornazzano, da manco di 300 
 
474 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 anni in qua, da grossa et piccola origine, come 
 ancor la stampa delle lettere. This passage Vin- 
 cent has left untranslated. How bells are cast * 
 how they aie hung, and how those that are crack- 
 ed can be soldered. 
 
 TL he next book treats on the art of casting 
 articles of every kind of metal. A description of 
 the different furnaces, and of the method then 
 usual of suspending the bellows. On the boring 
 of cannon : Vi dird al presente il modo con que si 
 fanno le palle del ferro, inuentione certamente 
 bellissima et horribile, per il suo potentissimo 
 eftetto, cosa nuoua all uso della guerra j perche 
 non piima (die io sappi) furon vedute palle di ferro 
 in Italia per tirarle con artigliarie, che quelle che 
 ci condusse Carlo Re di Francia per le spugnatione 
 del Reame di Napoli, contra del Re Ferandino, 
 l’anno 1495 . 
 
 The eighth book shews how small articles are 
 cast. 
 
 Ihe ninth treats of distillation and sublimation. 
 Also on coining money, but very little of import- 
 ance. Of goldsmith’s work. On works of iron and 
 tin. On letter foundery : Le lettere da stampar 
 li libri, fannosi d’una compositione di tre parti di 
 stagno fino, et vna ottava parte di piombo negro 
 et vn’altra ottaua parte di margasita d’antimonio 
 fusa. The eighth section of the ninth book de- 
 scribes the process of wire-drawing. The drawing 
 plate is fixed to a table, and the wire is wound 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 475 
 
 round a reel which* the workman causes to revolve. 
 For making iron wire, however, a water-wheel is 
 employed, and draws a pair of pincers, which 
 the workman applies and conducts at each pull. 
 On gilding ; on preparing metallic mirrors. On 
 pottery ; on lime-burning. 
 
 The last book contains the preparation of gun- 
 powder, and therefore an account of boiling salt- 
 petre. On loading cannon ; on the construction 
 of mines \ on artificial fire-works. 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE HISTORY OF 
 INVENTIONS. 
 
 Those who have hitherto written on the history 
 of inventions, may be divided into five classes. In 
 the first, I place all those who have endeavoured 
 to give a general history of inventions, without any 
 distinction. To the second belong those who have 
 treated on the inventions of individual nations, 
 countries, or states. The third comprehends writ- 
 ers who have confined themselves to the inven- 
 tions of a certain age or century ; the fourth the 
 historians of inventions which belong to one science 
 or art ; and, the fifth, those who have made re- 
 searches in regard to one particular invention, or, 
 only to a few. 
 
4 76 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 The first class are certainly those who have the 
 least contributed to throw light on this branch of 
 history. The writers belonging to it, because they 
 wished to embrace too much, have performed the 
 least. That they might collect more, they readily 
 admitted whatever occurred, and again detailed it 
 without entering into any examination themselves. 
 The greater part have merely made collections 
 from the oldest historians ; because they could be 
 employed with the greatest ease, and therefore the 
 same things are found in almost the whole of 
 them. They seldom mention their sources of in- 
 formation, and the reader, w'hen he meets with a 
 circumstance, respecting which little is known, 
 and wishes to use it, is vexed to find that he can- 
 not quote any authority. Many have chosen the 
 alphabetic order, which, for such collectors is, in- 
 deed, the properest. 
 
 More service has been rendered by the writers 
 in the other classes, who, in consequence of their 
 confining themselves to narrower limits, have em- 
 ployed more diligence in their inquiries, and con- 
 sulted many sources which were either unknown 
 to or neglected by others. For the most part they 
 have carefully made researches themselves, espe- 
 cially when the object was to refute others who 
 endeavoured to assign an invention to a different 
 period or people. Those of the fourth class are 
 entitled to one kind of merit : they were acquainted 
 with the inventions on which they treat, or the cir- 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 477 
 
 cumstances respecting them, whereas the collec- 
 tors of the first class, for the most part, speak of 
 inventions of which they have not the smallest 
 idea, the origin of which they do not know, and 
 the utility or consequences of which they are not 
 able to determine. 
 
 Writers of the last class have this in their fa- 
 vour, that they made choice of inventions, the 
 history of which they thought themselves able to 
 improve or enlarge. One may place confidence 
 in them so far as relates to the information which 
 others have given on the same subjects ; and they 
 ought not to be censured too severely when they 
 have overlooked a few circumstances which may, 
 perhaps, be accidentally known to those who never 
 proposed, and even had not the ability to make 
 such researches. In general, the historians of this 
 class are not very numerous. Many inventions 
 have never been examined, and particularly those 
 belonging to the mechanical arts, or those most 
 useful in common life, and from which literary 
 men, in consequence of their situation, are the 
 farthest removed. 
 
 As this part of bibliography has never been 
 treated on by itself in particular, though to supply 
 that deficiency might, in many respects, be both 
 useful and agreeable, I shall make a commence- 
 ment by giving an account of those works with 
 vvhicb I am acquainted. 
 
478 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 “ Forsitan et nostrum nomen miscebitur istis 
 “ Nec mea Lethfeis scripta dabuntur aquis.” 
 
 Ovid. Ars. Am. III. 33gr. 
 
 I. Teatro de gl’ inventori di tutte le cose. Del 
 dottor fisico Vincenzo Bruno di Melfi. All’ illus- 
 triss. et excel, sig. D. Francesco di Castro, vicere 
 di Napoli. In Napoli, per Tarquinio Longo 1603, 
 fol. # 
 
 The author of this work was a native of Melfi, 
 a town in the kingdom of Naples ; he lived in the 
 beginning of the seventeenth century ; was a phy- 
 sician and w 7 rote some medical works on the taran- 
 tula. Such is the account given by Toppi ; and 
 Mazzuchelli knew nothing more. His book is to 
 be found in few of the German libraries, and is 
 even very seldom mentioned in Italian works. 
 Toppi says it is in folio ; Mazzuchelli makes it a 
 quarto ; but it is to be observed, that four leaves 
 are marked with each letter of the alphabet. The 
 author has admitted, without choice or examina- 
 tion, every thing that he found respecting inven- 
 tions ; and he has arranged the whole, though not 
 with much accuracy, according to alphabetical 
 order. The greater part is collected from the old 
 Greek and Latin writers, and from Polydore Ver- 
 
 * Theatre of the Inventors of all Things. By Vincenzo Bruno 
 di Melfi, Doctor of Physic. Naples 1603. Small folio of 29 I 
 pages, without the preface and index. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 4 79 
 
 gil, and therefore the most useful inventions of 
 the moderns are totally omitted. One might sup- 
 pose that Bruno extracted many things from Ita- 
 lian books, which, among us, are uncommon, and 
 seldom read, but he did not give himself so much 
 trouble. 
 
 I, however, find in this work a name which I 
 am not able to explain ; and in a passage # con- 
 taining information, which appears to me to be dis- 
 tinguished by its importance above all others : “ II 
 nostro Nitro, che si fa da terra sott’ vn tetto per 
 molti giorni riserbato ; ouero da stereo di porci 6 
 pecore, 6 di questi dal limo superfundendoci ac- 
 qua nel giorno, che dopoi la nitrosita che in esse 
 terra si contiene contrahe ouero che la crassezza 
 d’un certo modo l’acqua decotta nelle stirie del 
 nitro si transmuti ; dalche i sclopettarii ne fanno 
 la polue, con le cose predette nel luogo della 
 polue, onde il nitro di quel modo parato non & 
 altro ch’ vna nitrosita concreta d’alcuna terra ; et 
 nel nostro tempo ne’ muri humidi questo nitro si 
 coglie et piglia ; fu inuentato dico da vn’ huomo 
 (secondo Altirel.) di Praga che si chiamauan 
 Artinfico, huomo molt’ essercitato nelle composi- 
 tion! dell’ opere di mistura.” Who was this Ar- 
 tirel? Is the name written at full length, or ab- 
 breviated, as the point seems to announce? In 
 the prefixed catalogue of authors, Autori dell ’ 
 
 * Pag. 178. 
 
480 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 opera stand the words : Altirel di Praga. In 
 another part* it is said : La Bombarda fu ritro- 
 uata nella Alernagna da Tedeschi, n& si sa il par- 
 ticolare autore, dice il Polidoro : ma poi si b ritro- 
 uato lie’ scrittori c’ hanno scritto delle cose alima- 
 nese, che fu Altirel di Bragtia, et i primi che la 
 vsarano, secondo il Volterano Rafaele, furono i 
 Signori Venetiani contro i Genouesi nella guerra 
 di Cioggia l'anno di Christo 1380.” Are we 
 to here understand the above-named Altirel of 
 Prague ? I do not recollect to have found this 
 circumstance or name in any of the works which 
 treat on gunpowder. Even the learned Gramm 
 says nothing of it. This passage deserves farther 
 examination, to which at present I am not in- 
 clined. 
 
 II. Luigi Contarini de gl’ inventori di tutte le 
 scienze et arti. 
 
 This writer descended from a noble Venetian 
 family, published several of his pieces together un- 
 der the following title : Il Vago e dilettevole giar- 
 dino. Raccolta dal P. Luigi Contarino crucifero , 
 Et in questa terza editione da infiniti errori emen - 
 dato. In Vicenza 1597-t This edition, to which 
 there is a supplement, with the title Aggiunta al 
 
 * Page 32. 
 
 f It contains, besides the preface and index, 504 pages in quarto. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 481 
 
 vago e dilettevole giardino del R. P. Luigi Conta- 
 rini, dalC istesso autore nuoamente compost a, in 
 Vicenza 1596 I have now before me from the 
 library of our university : under the editor’s pre- 
 face stands the year 1589- In the first part is the 
 treatise, the title of which I have prefixed to this 
 article. It is a meagre catalogue collected from 
 the old Greek and Roman writers, without order 
 or choice. Ghilini * says, that the author wrote 
 about the year 1578 ; but Papadopolif relates that 
 he died in 1650, in the forty -eighth year of his age ; 
 and the same thing is said in J ocher’s Dictionary 
 of learned men. On the other hand Soria J states, 
 that he lived at the end of the sixteenth or the be- 
 ginning of the following century, and that he re- 
 sided some time at Rome, from which he returned 
 to Venice in 1559. All this taken together cannot 
 be true ; and as there were many writers of the 
 same name, they appear in some manner to have 
 been confounded. Soria quotes the fifth edition 
 of the Giardino , Vicenza, 1607, 4to. and another 
 printed at the same place in 1616, with the title, 
 Giardino storico, poetico, geographico , &c. ; also a 
 Venetian of 1660, three parts, 12mo. ; and in the 
 catalogue Bibliotheca* Bunaviante, there is an edi- 
 tion of Venice 1683. Several parts, 12mo. 
 
 * Theatro d’huomini letterati. In Venet. 4to. 1647, p. 157* 
 
 •f* Historia gymnasii Patavini. Venet, 1726. II. T. fol. II. 
 
 X Memorie storico-critiche degli storici Napoletani. In Napoli, 
 1781, 4to. T. I. p. 188. 
 
 VOL. I. 2 I 
 
482 
 
 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 III. Gulielmi Pastregici Veronensis de origi« 
 nibus rerum libellus, in quo agitur de Scriptisvi- 
 rorum illustrium, de fundatoribus urbium, de 
 primis rerum nominibus, de inventoribus rerum, 
 de primis dignitatibus, deque magnified institu- 
 tionibus, e tenebris eductus in lucem a Michaele 
 Angelo Blondo. Venet. 1547, 8vo. 
 
 This scarce book I have never had an opportunity 
 of seeing. The author is often named Pastregius, 
 also Pastrengus and Pastergicus, Gugliehno Pas- 
 trengo, from the small village Pastrengo, which, in 
 Jenson’s map, Territorio di Verona , is marked on 
 the Adige between Verona and the La wo di Garda. 
 He lived about the year 1330, and followed the 
 profession of an advocate, but had also a public 
 employment. He is celebrated by Petrarch as his 
 teacher and friend ; and he is praised by Onofrio 
 Panvini* and many others as the most learned 
 man of his time. I have given the title of his book 
 from Labbe.'f I must, however, observe, that Ges- 
 ner,J instead of the last words, has: Per Nico- 
 laum de Bascarinis, anno 1547, in 8vo. chartis 16 
 et dimid. Consequently sixteen sheets and a half. 
 It is stated byTassoniJ that the work is arranged 
 
 * De urbis Verona; viris illustribUs, Verona; 1621, 4to.p. 47- Some 
 account of Pastrengo may be found in Giornale de letterali d Italia 
 XV. p. 198. Falricii Biblioth. Med . et inf. JElat. III. p. 473. 
 f Bibliotheca bibliothecarum, p. 123. 
 
 } Bibliotheca per Simlerum, p. 260. 
 
 (] Bibliothecae Venet* Manuscript*’ Vtini, 1650. 4to. p. 27. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 483 
 
 alphabetically, and that it begins with the phi- 
 losopher Anaximander. 
 
 Montfaucon says that it abounds with typogra- 
 phical errors, so that in many places it is difficult 
 to make out the meaning; that the work is scarce 
 even at Venice, and that he thought it worth while 
 to compare it with two manuscripts, in order to 
 give a new edition, which, however, has not yet 
 appeared.* Mr. Frey tag reckons it, with great 
 justice, among the scarcest books ; Vogt, j - how- 
 ever, makes no mention of it. 
 
 Since the above was written, I have obtained 
 this work through the kindness of Mr. von Halem, 
 cabinet secretary at Oldenburg, from the ducal 
 library, and therefore can rectify and enlarge what 
 I have already said. The title is : De originibus 
 rerum libellus author e Gulielmo Pastregico Vero- 
 nense, in quo agitur de scripturis virorum Ulus - 
 trium. De fundatoribus urbium. De primis rerum 
 nominibus. De inventoribus rerum. De primis 
 
 * Diarium Italicum, Paris 1702, 4to. p. 48. In the catalogue of 
 the manuscripts in the library of the Dominicans at Venice : Gu- 
 lielmus Pastrengicus de viris illustribus; erat is Petrarchae magister, 
 cujus ille frequenter non sine laude meminit. Estque opusculum 
 ut illo sevo perutile, multi scriptores, multique libri non noti ibidem 
 jnemorantur. Postea vero in quodam bibliopolio incidi in eundem 
 Pastrengicum Venetiis cusum, anno 1547. At perinde ignotus est 
 etiam Venetiis, ac si nunquam vidisset lucem ; ad haec mendis infi- 
 nitis fcedatus ut vix apta sententia eruatur, hiulcus et lacerus inmul- 
 tis, ita ut operae pretium duxerim, ilium ad duos Romanos codices 
 castigatum et auctum typis iterum dare inter Ancedota. 
 
 \ Analecta litteraria. Lips. 1750, 8vo. p. 662. 
 
 fci 2 
 
484 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 dignitatibus. Deque magnificis institutionibus. Ex- 
 purgatus omni errore atque litura, nunc primum e 
 tenebris educlus in lucem, in suffrogium studentium 
 a Michaele Angelo Blondo solerti rerum explorer - 
 tore. It consists of 131 pages small octavo. At 
 the end stands: Imprcsum Venetiis per Nieolaum 
 de Bascarinis. Anno dom. 1547; and on the last 
 page, under the caution of the printer against 
 counterfeit editions are the words : Dat. Venetiis, 
 anno 1547. Ex tugurio Blondi apud Scipionem 
 Blondutn sub Apolline. 
 
 Maffei* and Tiraboschi/j' who say a good deal 
 respecting the author, assert, that the title in the 
 manuscript is, De viris UlustribiLs. The proper 
 object of the author, therefore, was, to give a ca- 
 talogue of all celebrated men and writers, with an 
 account of their works, an undertaking which, in 
 the fourteenth century, was certainly attended 
 with numberless difficulties. He says himself in 
 the preface : “ De illustribus vero gentilium quid 
 referam, cum codices eorum, qui illos et scripta 
 sua commemorant nusquam apud nos reperian- 
 tur.” 
 
 But however defective this catalogue may be, 
 it deserves attention, because it mentions a great 
 many works never printed, and a great many writ- 
 
 * Verona illustrata. In Verona 1732, fol. ii. p. 58. 
 t Storia della letteratura Italiana, v. p. 3ig — 323. Extracted 
 also in Iageman Geschichte der Kiinst und Wissenchaften , in Ita- 
 lien, III. 2. p. 245. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 485 
 
 ers, of whom an account is no where else to be 
 found. Only a small part of the book, from page 
 78 to page 90, treats of inventors and inventions, 
 with an account of the books from which these 
 short notices were extracted. Among these are 
 Isidori Origines , and it is probable that those who 
 micrht be inclined to give a new edition of that 
 work would here find many emendations of such 
 passages as in the editions hitherto published are 
 corrupt. 
 
 It, however, contains nothing respecting the 
 history of inventions, which may not be easily 
 found by anyone in the writings of the Greeks and 
 the Romans, and which has not been collected by 
 many others. The editor, of whom an account is 
 given by Niceron,* calls the author improperly 
 Pastregicus : his name ought to be written Pa- 
 st rejig us. 
 
 IV. Verum inventum, hoc est, munera Germa- 
 nise, ab ipsa primitus reperta (non ex vino, ut ca- 
 lumniator quidam scoptice invehit, sed vi animi et 
 corporis) et reliquo orbi communicata, quae tanta 
 sunt, ut pleraque eorum mutationem mundo sin- 
 gularem attulerint, universa longe utilissima exti- 
 terint, tractatu peculiari evoluta et tradita auctore 
 Michaele Maiero Comite imperialis Consistorii 
 Equite, Exempto phil. et med. D. P. C. olim Au- 
 
 Nachrichten von Gelehrten, XII. p. 243. 
 
48 6 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 lico Caesar, nunc illustriss. princip. ac D. Mauritii 
 Hassiae Landgravii, &c. Archiatro. Francofurti 
 Sumptibus Lucae Jennis 16J9, 8vo. 
 
 The author, a native of Rensburg, in the duchy 
 of Holstein, was for some time physician to the em- 
 peror Rudolphus II, who held him in great esteem, 
 chiefly on account of his chemical knowledge, which 
 is much praised by Morhoff and others, and con- 
 ferred on him those titles of honour which he used 
 to add to his name. After the death of the em- 
 peror he was physician to the landgrave of Hesse, 
 and died at Magdeburgh, in 16^2, in the fifty- 
 fourth year of his age. # The original work, the 
 title of which I have given above, is dedicated to 
 the council of the imperial city of Strassburgh. 
 The editor caused it to be immediately translated 
 into German.'!' It almost appears that the ridicule 
 thrown out by Owen in his Epigrams, in regard to 
 
 * A fuller account of him and of his numerous works, both printed 
 and manuscript, may be found in Molleri Cimlria lilerata , i. p. 376 , 
 and also in Jochers Gelehrt. Lexicon. 
 
 f Verum inventum das ist von den hochnutzlichen, herlichen 
 Erfindungen und Kiinsten welche von der loblichen Teutschen 
 Nation aus sonderbarem hohen Verstandt und Scharpfsinnigkeit 
 erstlich erfunden — ‘erstlich Lateinisch beschrieben durch Mich. 
 Maierum — Nunmehr der Teutschen Nation zu sonderm Wohlge- 
 fallen in selbige Sprach versetzt durch M. Georgium Beatum, Fran- 
 cof. Gedruckt zu Frankfurt, in Verlegung Lucan Jennis 1619, 8vo. 
 The dedication and preface of the original are not given but there 
 is a preface by the translator, in which he calls the author his patron 
 and benefactor. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 487 
 
 the inventions of the Germans, and the fondness 
 for strong iiquors ascribed to them, induced the 
 author to undertake this work, because he gives 
 Owen a rub in it wherever he has an opportunity. 
 But Owen only wished to display his wit, and cer- 
 tainly did not deserve a serious refutation.* The 
 inventions, on account of which the Germans are 
 here celebrated, are the imperial dignity, gunpow- 
 der, printing, the reformation of religion, the me- 
 dical system of Theophrastus Paracelsus, and the 
 secrets of the Rosecrucians ; which, however, the 
 author has not disclosed. f A great deal of foreign 
 matter is everywhere intermixed; and Maier has 
 not entered into deep or accurate researches ; but 
 the bock is a proof that, as Morhoff says, he was 
 one of the most learned adepts of his time. He 
 occasionally reproaches the Venetians with con- 
 cealing, in a selfish and illiberal manner, their in- 
 ventions ; among which he reckons superior pro- 
 cesses in the dyeing of silk, the preparation of cry- 
 stal glass, red enamel, and borax. J 
 
 * In the second page, under Owen’s Epigram, Maier places the 
 following answer : 
 
 Sis vates, fatuusue licet, verum Ouvene dicis, 
 
 Invenit rerum Teuto, sed absque mero. 
 
 f Inventum politicum, bellicum, litterarium, theologicum, mc- 
 dicum, cbymicum. 
 
 J Satis constat, quomodo Veneti si qua habeant prae caeteris in- 
 venta, ea celent ex invidia prae aliis, ne divulgentur, nempe in arte 
 tingendi sericum variis coloribus, conficiendi vitra cristallina, smal- 
 tum, rubeum , chrysocollum , et aliis. De tinctoribus notum est, ut 
 
488 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 V. The History of the principal Discoveries 
 and Improvements in the several Arts and Sci- 
 ences; particularly the great Branches of Com- 
 merce, Navigation, and Plantation, in all parts of 
 the known World. London 1727, 8vo. 
 
 According to the title, this work appears to be- 
 long to the present department, but it is merely a 
 brief history of the oldest trade of the Phoenicians, 
 Carthaginians, and Romans. The anonymous 
 author intended to continue it to the present time; 
 but broke off at the discovery of America, and 
 carried the work no farther. The nineteenth chap- 
 ter only (that respecting the magnetic needle) de- 
 serves to be here mentioned, though it contains 
 nothing that has not been said by others. Roger 
 Bacon first observed, about the year 1 380, that the 
 loadstone pointed to the north ; and Gaeta, a Nea- 
 politan, was the first person wdio rendered steel 
 magnetic. 
 
 This work was translated into French in 1767: 
 Histoire des principals dScouvertes jaites dans les 
 arts ct les sciences , sur tout dans les branches im - 
 portantes du commerce. Traduite de I'Anglois, par 
 M. L. Lyon, 12mo. The translator was Mark 
 
 si quis exterorum aliquamdiu apud eos maneat et multa ab iis discat, 
 non facile abire permittatur ; quodsi vero abitum paret, per carnifi- 
 cem \irgis (ad pudorem, non dolorem incutiendtim) in tergo supra 
 \esles castigatus ex urbc educatur. P. 100. The translator translates 
 the words expressed in italics by red emery and chrysocolla. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 489 
 
 Anthony Eidous, an engineer of Marseilles,, who 
 translated from the English various other works. 
 
 There is also an Italian translation ol this book, 
 or rather a new work made from it : JDelle princi- 
 pali scoperte nelle scienze, conimercio, arti e navi* 
 gazione , dopo il diluvio. Opera di M. Eidous ri- 
 dotta in dialogo Italiano da Vigilio Geonnez per 
 uso della nobile gioventii Italiano. Torino 17&d, 
 12mo. To render it a reading- book for children 
 the whole is reduced into the form of dialogue, ac- 
 cording to the above French translation. 
 
 VI. Kurze Geschichte der merkwiirdigsten 
 Entdechmgen and niitzlichslen Erfmdungen in 
 aller Wissenchaften and Kunsten Erste Samlung 
 von 318 Artikeln. Osnabruck 1784, 8vo.* 
 
 When I was employed, from the year 1771 to 
 1780, in superintending the publication of the 
 Lauenburg Pocket Calendar, I undertook, for the 
 purpose of filling up the work, to give in it a short 
 History of Inventions, as far as could be collected 
 without making researches of my own. 1 his ar- 
 ticle having met with approbation, it was after- 
 wards continued, and introduced into other publi- 
 cations of the same kind. Mr. Christian Ludolph 
 Reinhold, teacher of mathematics in the gymna- 
 
 * A short History of the most remarkable Discoveries and useful 
 Inventions in every Science and Art. hirst collection, containing 
 318 articles. Osnaburg 1784, five sheets octavo. 
 
490 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 sium of Osnaburg, author of various works, and 
 to whom the public are indebted for a map of the 
 bishopric of Osnaburg and a plan of the town, 
 caused this article, exactly as he found it in the Ca- 
 lendar, to be printed all together under the above 
 title, in his own printing-office ; and he had some 
 intention of continuing it, but did not carry his 
 design into execution. 
 
 VII. Dictionnaire des Origines ou Epoques des 
 Inventions utiles, des Decouvertes importantes, et 
 de l’etablissement des Peuples, des Religions, des 
 Sectes, des Heresies, des Loix, des Coqtumes, des 
 Modes, des Dignites, des Monnoies, &c. A Paris 
 1777. Six parts octavo. 
 
 The author, who in the annexed privilege is 
 named D’Origny, like the most of his predecessors, 
 has here collected whatever he could find respecting 
 inventions, without quoting his authorities or men- 
 tioning the sources from which he derived his in-'* 
 formation ; and arranged the whole in short arti- 
 cles according to alphabetical order. Many of 
 them, however, contain merely an explanation of 
 the object, without the smallest account of its ori- 
 gin. But though this book can furnish very little 
 towards the history of inventions properly so called, 
 it may still be of use, because one will find in it a 
 short account of the temporal and ecclesiastical or- 
 ders, festivals, heretics, offices in France, courts 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 491 
 
 of justice, taxes, and many terms of art belonging 
 to the French jurisprudence. In some ot the 
 French literary journals it has been highly praised. 
 
 VIII. Curkuse Nachricht von Erfindungen und 
 Erjindern dev IV issench often, Kilnste und Hand- 
 werken, mit angefuhrten Autoren , in bequemer 
 Kilrze nach alphabetischer Ordnung eingerichtet. 
 Hamburg bey Schiltern 170 7, 12mo.* 
 
 This is the last part of an Encyclopedia of the 
 polite arts, as they were called, which in the begin- 
 ning of the last century was published at Ham- 
 burgh, in three parts 12mo. under the following 
 title; Der geqfnete Ritter— Plat z ; and after- 
 wards several times reprinted, f The object of 
 it was to communicate to persons who were of 
 too high a rank, or too delicate to learn any thing 
 attended with trouble to themselves, as much of 
 the most useful branches of science as might en- 
 able them to take a share in conversation when in 
 company. Many of the articles, considering the 
 period, are exceedingly well written; and the 
 
 * Curious Information in regard to Inventions and Inventors in 
 the Arts and Sciences, arranged briefly in alphabetical order, with 
 the authorities quoted. Hamburgh, printed by Scheltern 1707, 
 I 2 mo. consisting of 167 pages. 
 
 f The first edition is that of 1 702—1704. The first volume was 
 printed also in 1715, the second in 1721, and the third in 1723. 
 
492 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 work no doubt contributed to turn the attention of 
 persons of rank, and of students, to many useful 
 subjects, which at that time were not considered 
 properly as parts of learning. Some of the prin- 
 cipal men of letters also were contributers to it; 
 for example, the article on architecture was written 
 by Sturm, who, though his name is not announced, 
 betrays the author by speaking of the sixth order, 
 invented by himself, and of his other works. The 
 articles on coins, religion, and some other subjects, 
 were by John Groning, doctor of laws; the his- 
 tory of jurisprudence by S. Reyher, professor at 
 Kiel ; and the last article, on trade and manufac- 
 tures, was the production of the well-knowm Paul 
 Jacob Marperger, who, as I suspect, was the au- 
 thor also of the last part, or the appendix,* which 
 was sold also separately under the above title, and 
 often mentioned in catalogues, such as that of Bu- 
 nau’s library. This alphabetical list, which abounds 
 with gross errors, is mostly taken from T. J. von Al- 
 meloven’s Onomasticon ; it however has this advan- 
 tage, that the authorities are sometimes given. 
 
 IX. Johannis Mathsei Lunensis libellus de re- 
 rum Inventoribus. Ex recognitione Aug. Justi- 
 niani episcopi Nebiensis. M. Antonii Sabellici de 
 rerum et artium Inventoribus Poema. Hamburgi. 
 
 i 
 
 * But in the catalogue of his works, inserted in the second vo- 
 lume of the Leipzig er Samlung, this piece is not to be found. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 4 95 
 
 In bibliopolio Michaelis Heringii. Anno 1613, 
 Svo. # 
 
 The author, John Matthasus, was a native of 
 Luna in Tuscany. Justinianus says in the preface, 
 that he was a great orator, deeply versed in anti- 
 quities, and that he wrote a book De Mulieribus 
 Claris , which, according to Conrad Gesner, was 
 printed at Paris in 1523. Whether this be the 
 edition which Justinianus promised I do not know. 
 His Peplus Italia, in quo illustres viri recensentur , 
 printed at Paris in 1578, may be found in /. A . 
 Fabricii Conspectus thesauri litterarii Italics. 
 Hamburgi 1730, 8vo. Other Latin poems by him 
 are mentioned in Jochers Dictionary of learned 
 Men. 
 
 The small work de imentoribus , as Justinianus 
 states in the preface, he began, but did not com- 
 plete ; and it appears as if the former had caused it 
 to be first printed from the manuscript at Paris in 
 1520 ;t at least such is the date of the preface. 
 This edition I never saw, and the Hamburgh re- 
 print, which contains no additions or new informa- 
 tion, is at present so scarce that I was not able to 
 procure it but from the ducal library at Wolfen- 
 buttle. Lessing, by what he says of this book in 
 
 * This small work consists only of 76 pages, 
 f Reimmann in Historia litterar. Antediluviana, p. 22, gives the 
 year 1620, but this is probably an error. Konig, in his Bibliotheca, 
 p. 519, makes the year more properly 1520 . 
 
494 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 his expensive Collectanea * had increased my cu- 
 riosity, which was before excited in a considerable 
 degree, because Matthasus is older than either Po- 
 lydore Vergil or Sardus. I have, however, now 
 found that the work is a careless rhapsody, tacked 
 together from old writers, without mentioning the 
 sources ; yet one section, entitled Inventa Chris - 
 tianorum , deserves to be perused, as an account is 
 given there of some of the more modern inventions, 
 connected with circumstances which are worthy of 
 attention. Lessing has extracted the greater part 
 of it ; but he states nothing farther respecting the 
 author than what is to be found in Jbcher. That 
 those fond of researches in regard to the history of 
 inventions may be spared the trouble of searching 
 after Matthasus, I shall here transcribe what he 
 says of new inventions not already quoted by Les- 
 sing. 
 
 Albertus cognomento Magnus, ordinis praedica- 
 torii sacerdos, primus bombardam, bombardulam, 
 et sclopum manualem excogitavit. 
 
 Branca Siculus Cataneus, chirurgus et physicus 
 aeutissimus, suo ingenio et arte aures, nasos, et 
 labra, quibus cassa fuerant, instaurabat. Huius 
 discipulus fuit Baltazar Pavonus Siculus, quern 
 nos, dum Paduae moraremur, nasum reficientem 
 vidimus, et pro viribus quandoque iuvimus 
 
 Horologium cum sonitu inventum est a Chris- 
 
 Kollektaneen, ii. p. 142. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 495 
 
 tianis, sicut cam pan a. Nam veteres non habe’oant 
 nisi aquarium et solarium - - - 
 
 Tribula seu percussorium illud quo in area te- 
 runtur frumenta. 
 
 Ferreum illud cornu, in quo ad pectus lancea 
 ipsa infesta reponitur - • - 
 
 Acus versoria, instrumentum illud quo ad la- 
 pidem syderitem (qui magnes dicitur) navigationem 
 moderantur. 
 
 Campana primum in urbe Nola, quae est Cam- 
 paniae in Italia, conflata fuit ; unde etiam nuncu- 
 patur. 
 
 Impressura literarum in Germania post Christi 
 adventum comperta fuit. Nam ante fidem Chris- 
 tianam, Saturnus Italos literas imprimere docuit, 
 ut refert divus Cyprianus in libello de idolis. 
 
 Patinae ligneae pro caedendis carnibus excogi- 
 tatae fuerunt tempore Frederici Romani regis, et 
 pontificis Gregorii, qui inter sanctos divum Domi- 
 nicum ordinis praedicatorii fundatorem retulit. 
 Non multo post tempore in Italia inventus est se 
 Flagellantium ordo. Nam homines nudi, ac bini, 
 et longo agmine per urbes, oppidaque, et villas 
 incedentes, loris terga verberabant, qua de causa 
 poene omnia pacata sunt et sedata. Hoc virorum 
 consortium Jacobus Columna Rom. sedis Cardi- 
 nals instituit. Hoc quoque tempore divino iudicio 
 factum est, ut Galli omnes et religiosi et seculares, 
 in Sicilia una die, unaque voce Dei perempti sint. 
 Hoc etiam tempore in Sicilia vir fuit Nicolaus 
 
496 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 piscis, Messanensis, qui vitam in mari duxit, nee 
 diu extra aquas esse poterat ; hie multa de maris 
 secretis patefecit hominibus, post matris execra- 
 tionem hanc inhumanam vitam sortitus. 
 
 Conficere chartas, vela, et vestes ex cottone sen 
 bombice, Christiani excogitavere. 
 
 Conficere undones ex serico Christiani docuere: 
 nam primi undones ex barbis hircorum facere so- 
 lebant, sicut etiam nunc ut plurimum fiunt, unde 
 Martialis in distichis : 
 
 Non nos lana dedit, sed olentis barba mariti. 
 
 Candelae ex sero in urbe Ferraria primum factae 
 sunt, quibus veteres non utebantur, cum eas ne- 
 scirent. 
 
 Aves domare ad venandum nobis, ut asionem, 
 noctuam, ululani, et caetera id genus, Christiani 
 instituere. Nam veteres canibus tantum utebantur 
 ad aucupandum, unde et multi scriptores de vena- 
 tione scripsere 
 
 In aurificina nullum inventum est recens. 
 
 Conspicilla sen specilla, quae et ocularia iuxta 
 vulgus appellantur, e tenui vitro, christallove, aut 
 berillo facere, per quae infirmior visus melius cernit, 
 inventum magis antiquum, quam novum arbitror. 
 
 X. Polydori Vergilii Vrbinatis de rerum inven- 
 toribus libri viii. et de prodigiis libri iii. Cum 
 indicibus locupletissimis. Lugd. Bat. apud Franc. 
 Hegerum 1644, 12mo. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 497 
 
 The author* published at first only three books 
 de rerum invent oribus, and in the year 14 99, when 
 he still resided in his native city Urbino; at any 
 rate the dedication is dated Urbini nonis Augusti 
 14 99 . In this dedication he boasts of being the 
 first who undertook to compose a history of inven- 
 tions; and to this merit indeed he seems to be en- 
 titled, unless we take into account the works of 
 some Greeks which have long been lost.'J' At 
 any rate I suspect that Lessing is in an error when 
 he states that Matthaeus is older than Polydore 
 Vergil. As his three books were received with 
 great approbation, he added to them, in 1517, 
 
 * Diction, historique et critique, par Bayle, iv. p. 460. Fabricii 
 (Schoettgenii) Bibliotheca Latina medii avi, vol. vi. p. 5. Jovii 
 Elogia, n. 135, p.279* 
 
 4 The number of the Greek writings ?r tpi eup^artuv is greater than 
 one might imagine; but unfortunately none of them have been pre- 
 served. Those with which I am acquainted are the following : the 
 first eight are mentioned by Clemens of Alexandria, Stromata, i. 
 p. 308. 1. Scamon Mytilenseus, whose book is quoted also by Athe- 
 naeus and Suidas. See Fossius de historicis Grads, p.411. 2. Cy- 
 
 dippus Mantineus. 3. Antiphanes. 4. Aristodemus. 5. Aristo« 
 teles. 6. Philostephanus. 7- Theophrastus, whose book is quoted 
 by Diogenes Laertius, Eusebius Praepar. x. 7 j Pliny, vii. 59* and 
 some of the scholiasts. See Fabricii Biblioth. Graca, ii. p. 248. 
 8. Strabo Peripateticus, who is mentioned by Pliny in elencho auct. 
 p. 15. edit. Hard. Q. Heraclides Ponticus. See Diogen Laert. v. 
 88. p. 313. 10. Ephorus, who is noticed by Pliny, Athena?us, 
 
 Strabo, and Suidas. 11. Philochorus, quoted by Suidas. Vossius, 
 p.117. 12 . Simonides Ceus, junior, according to Suidas. Vossius, 
 
 p. 454. 13. Dinias. See Vossius, p. 355. 14- Clemens Alexandr. 
 Stromat. i. 15. Pliny in Hist. Nat. vii. 56. 
 
 2 K 
 
 VOL. 1. 
 
498 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 while he was papal nuncio in England, five other 
 books, so that the work now consists of eight. 
 
 Few works have had the good fortune to be so 
 often reprinted and translated in about the course 
 of two centuries, in various countries, as the one 
 now under consideration ; and were this a proof of 
 the internal merit of a book, there must scarcely 
 have been any equal to it in the fifteenth century, 
 and even in the sixteenth, which was still more fer- 
 tile in literary productions # . The subject was in- 
 deed new, and therefore could not fail to attract the 
 attention of the learned. It is true also that the 
 author was one of the most learned men of his time, 
 and on that account his work contains a great deal 
 of useful matter. He treats on the origin of reli- 
 gion, grammar, poetry, music, mathematics, medi- 
 cine, the art of war, painting, agriculture, &c. He 
 gives an account of the merit of those who first cul- 
 tivated these arts and sciences, and enriched them 
 with the earliest inventions. Every thing, however, 
 which he relates is taken from the writings of the 
 Greeks and the Romans ; and the most important 
 inventions of the moderns are totally omitted, ex- 
 cept at the end of the third book, where a few of 
 them are briefly noticed. The last five books con- 
 tain more particularly a history of religious cus- 
 toms, and especially those peculiar to the catholics. 
 
 * Professor Beckmann enumerates more than fifty editions be- 
 tween the year 14 99 and 1726 . Trans. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 499 
 
 But, as appears, it was neither the novelty of 
 the subject, nor the method of treating it, that pro- 
 cured to this work such high approbation during 
 so many years. Its success is to be ascribed rather 
 to the opinions here and there interspersed in it in 
 regard to superstition, the pride and dissolute lives 
 of the unmarried clergy, the origin of the catholic 
 ceremonies from paganism, the worship of images, 
 and other points of religion; which are freer and 
 more liberal than could have been expected at that 
 time from the catholic clergy. In that part even 
 where the author gives an account of the reforma- 
 tion in religion brought about by Luther, he speaks 
 with more candour, and less prejudice, than his 
 fellow-churchmen ventured or were accustomed to 
 do. Hence it came, that the papal court, which 
 in other respects treated the author with marks of 
 its favour, as it sent him to England after the re- 
 formation, expressed its disapprobation of these 
 free opinions, by causing an edition in the year 
 1576 to be printed at Rome, in which the sup- 
 posed irreligious expressions were omitted, and 
 which was the only one allowed to be read by all 
 true believers, all the other editions being inserted 
 in the index expur gat orius. This circumstance 
 could not fail to recommend the work, especially 
 at a period when every thing that tended to en- 
 lighten mankind was sought after with the utmost 
 avidity. To the protestants it must have become 
 more agreeable the more the weak and bigotted 
 
 2 k 2 
 
500 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 clergy endeavoured to suppress it ;* * * § and indeed 
 the greater part of the editions seem to have been 
 published by professors of the protestant religion. 
 At that time the value of a book could be more 
 easily remarked than at present, when the inunda- 
 tion of new productions is so great, that many 
 arts, partly of a mercantile nature, are necessary 
 to procure a lasting and extensive sale even to the 
 best works. f 
 
 Miraeus speaks as if he believed that the pas- 
 sages in the writings of Polydore Vergil condemn- 
 ed by the pope had been inserted by heretics ; but 
 this was a pretext employed by the catholics to 
 excite odium against those who were of a different 
 religion. $ The celebrated passage, § O ! vocem 
 memorabilem atque salutarem ! si bene multi ho- 
 die sese quoque homines tantum esse perpende- 
 rent, qui propterea, quod sacerdotio prasditi sunt 
 - - - is to be found, without any variation, in all 
 
 * Hence the severe censure which Bayle has quoted from Petrus 
 « sancto Romualdo Continuatio chronici Ademari, p. 326. Imperil 
 tissimum vocat eum (Vergilium) et vanitatis redarguit doctissimus 
 Lindanus, Panoplia evangelica, cap. y8, atque hominis hujus 
 scripto, quod de rerum inventoribus finxit, nihil extare nostra state 
 in lncem editum pluribus quod scateat magis, aut futilibus perfluat 
 conjecturis. Bayle adds : 11 est certain quit ne plait pus aux ligots. 
 
 + Lambecius read lectures on this work at Hamburgh in the years 
 1657 and 1658, as he says himself in the Prodromus Hist, litterar. 
 
 J Libros de inventoribus rerum haeretici corripuerunt ; sed pur- 
 gati prodierunt Romae 1575 et 1585. Auctarium de script, etcles. 
 iu Fahricii Bibliotheca ecclesiast, Hamburgi 1718, fol. p. 98. 
 
 § Lib. iv, cap. 13. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 501 
 
 the copies which I have seen. It is nevertheless 
 true, that some of the protestant editions have, en- 
 deavoured to render it more perceptible. In the 
 edition of Frobenius, printed in 1525,* the fol- 
 lowing words are placed in the margin : Vocem 
 nota nostris pontijicibus non contemnenda. In the 
 Franckfort edition of the German translation of 
 the year 1615 the words are: “How praise- 
 worthy and salutary advice, if many at the present 
 time, [and thou pope in particular,] would re- 
 flect on it.” The words included in brackets are 
 certainly an addition which are not to be found 
 either in the original or in the older editions of the 
 translation. 
 
 I do not think it worth while to enter into a 
 strict examination how far the different editions 
 differ from each other, and what changes or im- 
 provements the author may from time to time have 
 made. Hitherto I have observed no difference 
 whatever. The short catalogue of the inventors 
 of different things prefixed to the later editions is 
 wanting in that of the year 1558. The German 
 translator is Alpinus, who, according to Jocher, 
 was professor of jurisprudence at Ingolstadt. His 
 German, even for the period in which he lived, is 
 exceedingly bad ; but it may serve to throw some 
 light on the history of the Bavarian dialect. Far 
 better of their kind are the wood -cuts given in the 
 
 * P. 136. 
 
502 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 edition of 1537- Among these there is a map of 
 Greece and Syria. 
 
 XI. Alexandri Sardi Ferrariensis de rerum in- 
 ventoribus libri duo, iis maxime, quorum nulla 
 mentio est apud Polydorum. In quibus omnium 
 scientiarum, omniumque fere rerum principium 
 quoddam quam brevissime continetur. Moguntiaj 
 per Franc. Behem. 1577, 8vo. 
 
 Of the author of this production very little 
 seems to be known. What Jdcher says of him is 
 taken from the work of J. Gadd de Script oribus* 
 and nothing more is to be found in that book, 
 equally meagre and scarce. Even the period 
 when he lived is not mentioned in it. Jdcher 
 says, that he resided at Venice between the years 
 1556 and 1580; and Jonsius! asserts, that he 
 lived about the year 1579 ; that he lived at any 
 rate in the middle of the sixteenth century is cer- 
 tain, but not at Venice. He was bom at Fer- 
 rara; was descended from an ancient and noble 
 
 * Jocher, both in the catalogue of the abbreviations and among 
 the names of the authors, quotes the title as follows : De Scriptoria 
 lus Ecclesiasticis • but it ought to be Non Ecclesiasticis. The other 
 part has not this addition, but only De Scriptoribus. The first was 
 printed at Florence, 1648, fob not apud Arnold Maffum, as Vogt 
 says, but typis amatoris Maffa. This was printed Lugduni, 
 l64g. The best account is to be found in Clement Bibliotheque 
 Curieuse, ix. p. 2. at whose sale both the parts were purchased for 
 the library at Hanover, at the price of ten dollars. 
 
 f De Scriptoribus Histor. Philos, in the Addenda, p. 2. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 503 
 
 family, and filled the chair of jurisprudence in the 
 university of his native city, but applied chiefly to 
 history.* This short account I found in Ferrara 
 d'oro, imbruniato dall ’ Abbate Antoni Libanori. 
 Ferrara, 1665 — l674,f where the following work 
 by him is particularly praised : L’origme, accre- 
 scimento , e dominii di tutt ’ i principi delV Europa 
 et specialmente degli Estensi. But, perhaps, this 
 book was never printed, as Libanori cautions the 
 reader against incorrect manuscripts. At the end, 
 he says of Sardi, “ Da lui scrivano molti autori: 
 Gasparo Sardi suo nipote nell’ Istorie di Ferrari; 
 il Guarini, f. 124; il Superbi, f. 90. But in G. 
 Sardi’s Libro delle historic Ferrarese , of which the 
 edition of 1646, 4to. is now before me, I find no 
 mention of Alexander. J I can as little searcli 
 Marc Antonio Guarini’s Compendia istorico delle 
 chiese di Ferrara e suo destretto, 1621, which 
 must contain an account of a great many learned 
 men, as Augustino Superbi’s Apparato degli huo- 
 mini illustri della citta di Ferrara, 1620. 
 
 At w hat time, or in what place the book, De 
 rerum inventoribus was first printed, I do not 
 know. Another work of Sardi, De moribus et 
 
 * Nato di nobile ed antica stirpe Ferrarese. . . proveduto d’una 
 enorevole cattedra nell’ universita della sua patria. 
 
 Three small parts, fol. iii- p. 14. 
 
 } On this occasion .1 found two errors in Jocher. Caspar Sardi 
 was not named Sigismund Caspar. In all probability the first name 
 has arisen from Sig. (Signore.) He did not live about the year 1 646, 
 for the first edition of his history is dated 1556. 
 
304 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 ritibus gentium , which was formerly explained 
 in schools, was first printed at Venice in 1557, 
 8vo. ; but the copy in the library of our univer- 
 sity has not the former subjoined to it. Both, 
 however, were reprinted together at Mentz, in 
 1577, Svo. with the following common title: A. 
 Sai di, De moribus ac ritibus gentium — Ejusdem de 
 rerum invent or ibus libri II. — Nunc primum in 
 lucem editi. In my opinion the latter words are 
 only reprinted, and do not refer to the year 1577. 
 The separate titles I have given above. Another 
 edition of 1671 is added to the work of Polydore 
 Vergil on the same subject.* Sardi says, that he 
 wished to enlarge Polydore’s work, and this in- 
 deed he has done, and so much in his manner, 
 that he has taken almost the whole of his matter 
 from old and generally known works, and has very 
 seldom quoted his authorities. 1 therefore scarcely 
 find a passage worthy of being extracted. 
 
 Organa fistulis plumbeis Byzantio in Galliam, 
 ad Pepinum regem transmissa fuisse dicuntur a 
 Constantino Csesare ; alii putant, eorum usum Ro- 
 mas repertum a Viteliano pontifice.f 
 
 Petrus Germanus peripateticus asneum machi- 
 narn stanno addito, ut ass fundi posset, fabricavit, 
 in qua sulphure et nitro simul positis, et plum- 
 bea vel ferrea pila, adhibuit ignem parvo foramini, 
 quod in prima parte machinae est, et maximo fra- 
 
 * Freytag Apparat. literar. iii. p. 286, 499. f P 22. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 505 
 
 gore emisit pilam. Hinc hominum csedes, mcenium 
 et tedium ruinae. Ante Petrum Aphri ex Exilissa, et 
 Tuneto oppido persimilem machinam habuere. 
 Usus eius primus in Italia fuit in bello Ligustico 
 contra Venetos ducentis prope abhinc annis.* 
 
 Magnetem in pyxide posuit Flavius CampanuS 
 ex oppido Amalphio, ut semper Septemtrionibus 
 cognitis nautse quo vellent cursum dirigerent-t 
 Of this Flavius see Paschii Inventa nov-antiqua.J 
 The inventor of gunpowder is mentioned by Gas- 
 par Sardi, in the above quoted History of Fer- 
 rara, under the year 1580.§ 
 
 Soldati con cinquanta artegliarie, ritrovate in- 
 sieme con scoppi et archibugi dicisette anni prirna 
 in Alamagna da Pietro Libs philosopho peripate- 
 tico et alchimista. Of this Peter Libs Gramm 
 gives some account in his Dissertation on the An- 
 tiquity of Gunpowder.|| 
 
 XII. Marci Antonii Coccii Sabellici de rerum 
 et artium inventoribus poema ad M. D. Hierony- 
 mum BafFum foro Juliensis provincise quaesto- 
 rem. 
 
 An account of the life and services of this well- 
 known man of letters has been given by various 
 
 * P. 43. f P. 48. % 1J - 773. 
 
 || In Agemeiner Magazin, v. p. 169. 
 
 § P. 136. 
 
506 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 writers, such as Bayle* * * § and Moller ; f but at more 
 length and in a fuller manner by Zeno. J I shall, 
 therefore, here only observe, that he was born at 
 Vicovaro, a village in the territories of the church, 
 and taught history at Venice and V erona ; that he 
 afterwards lived as librarian at V enice, and that 
 he died there in great poverty, in the year 1506, 
 of a new disease which voluptuaries could not 
 guard against or conceal, and which the physicians 
 did not know how to cure. Of his numerous 
 writings, the first collection was printed at Venice, 
 in 1502, the second at Basle, in 1538, and the 
 third at the same place, in 1560, in four volumes 
 folio. The first is exceedingly scarce, but contains 
 only a few pieces; the second comprehends more; 
 and the third is still fuller ; but the last even is not 
 complete. § 
 
 * Diction. Historique. Art. Salellicus. 
 
 f D. G. Molleri Dissertat. de M. Ant. Coc. Sabellico. Altdorf. 
 1698 , 4 to. 
 
 + Sabellici Vita ab Apostolo Zeno, Veneto, nobili Cretensi, con- 
 scripta, prefixed to the first volume of Istorici delle cose Feueziane. 
 In Venezia, 17 1 8, 4to. This part contains the Venetian History of 
 Sabellicus in the original, that is, in Latin and not in Italian, as 
 said by v Jocher. 
 
 § Freytag Adparat. litterar. ii. p. 1049* Falricii Bibliotk. med . 
 JEtat. vi. p. 397- In the last edition, which I have now before me, 
 the remaiks on Livy, Pliny, and other old writers, are wanting. In 
 a collection relating to Livy, printed in 1568, at Franckfort, in folio, 
 without the name of the printer, which, in all probability, was 
 Feieralend, under the following title : In Livii Mr os doctissimorum 
 
BILIOGRAPHY. 
 
 507 
 
 The poem, which alone belongs to this head, 
 consists of 271 hexameter lines. It is somewhere 
 said by the Minorite Wadding, that Sabellicus 
 took all his information from Polydore Vergil ; but 
 he has given so many proofs of his acquaintance 
 with the works of the Greeks and the Romans, 
 that it may be readily believed, that he was equally 
 able to extract from them as Polydorus, and nei- 
 ther of them consulted any other sources. 
 
 The editions of the poem with which I am ac- 
 quainted, are, 1st, in a collection of some little 
 known pieces of the author, quoted by Mattaire 
 from Fabricius : Sabellici libri VI. de Utini et 
 Aquilejae origene ; in quarto, without date. 2d. 
 In the collection of the year 1502. 3d. A Vene- 
 
 tian edition of 1503, quoted by Lippen. 4th. At 
 the end of an edition of Polydore Vergil 1509 and 
 1512.* 5th. In the last collection of Basle, bth. 
 Added to Matthcei liber de rerum inventoribus. 
 
 virorum Annotationes, I find Sabellici Oratio de laudibus Historic 
 in Livium. This collection was not known to Drakenborch. See 
 his edition of Livy, vii. p. 338. 
 
 * The edition of 1509 has at the end : Argentorati, in officina 
 Matthice Scliurerii Helvetensis. Art. doct. Mense Decembri anno 
 I.509. This Schiirer seems to have printed this poem, or soipe other 
 production of Sabellicus before ; forHieron. Gebuiler Argent, eccle- 
 sice litter aria ludi pnef edits says, in a letter to Schiirer prefixed : 
 Quantum commodi cunctis litterariae palestrae luctatoribus Sabellici 
 exempla tuis impensis, ac opera per omnem fere Germaniam, stan- 
 neis calamis nuper exscripta effecerint, nemo sapiens ignorat. Quid 
 
 laudis honori tuo accedet, cum ct hie Polydori libellulus tuo sere 
 
 inlucem prodiit. Schiirer himself says in his preface of 1509, that 
 he caused the poem of Sabellicus to be printed along with Polydore, 
 at the request of his friend Beatus Rhenanus. 
 
508 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 XIII. Essais sur l’Histoire des Belles Lettres, 
 des Sciences et des Arts. Par Juvenel de Car- 
 lencas. Nouvelle edition, augmentee. A Lyon 
 1749. IV. part. 8vo. 
 
 Juvenal de Carlencas Versuch einer Geschichte 
 der schonen und anderer JVissenschqften me auch 
 derf reyen und mechanischen Kunste. Mit einer 
 Vorrede, einigen Verb esser ungen und Zusatzen 
 Pirn. Joh. Erhard Kappens professoris zu Leipzig. 
 Leip. Erster Theil 1749, Zweyter Theil 1752, 
 8vo. 
 
 It is not my intention to collect here all those 
 writings which seem to promise a history of the 
 sciences or of learning ; for most of them treat 
 only on those branches of knowledge which hare 
 either long ago been reduced into a scientific form, 
 or which have acquired the name of sciences, or 
 at any rate arts, which, to distinguish them from 
 those called with more propriety, and by way of 
 pre-eminence, the useful arts, are distinguished by 
 the name of the fine arts. Those few works only 
 of this kind, the authors of which have ventured to 
 extend their researches a little farther, are entitled 
 to a pfoce here. Among these is the work of which 
 I now' propose to give a short account. Of the au- 
 thor 1 can say nothing more than what is to be 
 found in the German edition. His name was 
 Felix Juvenel de Carlencas. He was born in the 
 month of September, 1679, at Pezenas, in Lower 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 509 
 
 Languedoc, where he lived on his private fortune, 
 without holding any public office, and died at a 
 great age on the 12th of April, 1760.* He ac- 
 quired some celebrity by his Principes de I'His- 
 toire, printed in Paris about the year 1733, and 
 by three papers in the Mercure de France, 17S8, 
 on the origin of academies, manufactures, and the 
 mechanical arts, which he afterwards improved 
 and incorporated in his History of the Sciences. 
 
 In what year the first edition was printed I am 
 not able to determine. Kapp, who is very accu- 
 rate in literary history, says in one place, that it 
 was printed in 1740, and in another, that it was 
 printed at Lyons, in 1744, in two vols. 8vo. In 
 the article announcing his translation, which he 
 added to his preface from the Hamburgh Corre- 
 spondent of 1749, the year 1734 is given as that 
 of the first edition, and this has been adopted as 
 true by Professor Eyring.f In France litter aire it 
 is stated, that it was printed in 1740 — 1743. No- 
 blot in L’origine et les Progrh des Arts et des 
 Sciences, has made some observations on JuvenePs 
 History, and if that work, as Kapp says, w'as 
 printed in 1740, Juvenel’s History must be older 
 than one can believe from the prefixed privilege, 
 for the privilege was written at the end of the year 
 1746, and published in the month of January fol- 
 lowing. The second edition, as Kapp asserts, 
 
 * La France litteraire, 1769, ii. p. 64. 
 
 t Conspectus Reipub. litterar. i. p. 105 . 
 
510 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 must be that of the year 1 749, the title of which I 
 have transcribed and prefixed to this article from 
 my copy; but in France litteraire, it is said, that 
 it was printed in 1749 — 1757, and in Wald’s Ges- 
 chichtecler Kentnisse undWissenchaften, I find the 
 year 1759 given, Such instances of uncertainty, 
 and many others of greater importance, would not 
 occur in bibliography, if writers would always put 
 the date to their prefaces. This much is certain, 
 that the edition of 1749 is considerably enlarged, 
 and has, in several places, been improved by the 
 author. The first part of the German translation 
 was made from the old edition ; the second from 
 that of 1749. 
 
 An Englishman of letters, whoresided two years 
 at Gottingen, told me on leaving it, that he was 
 fully convinced that no person, except those ca- 
 pable of reading German works, and who have an 
 opportunity of consulting them, ought to attempt 
 to write any part of the general history of litera- 
 ture. This is no doubt true, for what nation is 
 there that learns so many languages, or purchases, 
 reads, and translates so many foreign works ? In- 
 stead of imagining that his native language com- 
 prehends all human knowledge, the German never 
 thinks that he has acquired enough ; searches after 
 and examines with the most ardent curiosity the 
 writings, inventions, and opinions of foreign na- 
 tions, and hastens, without taking time to ascertain 
 their value, to make them known to his ow n conn- 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 *511 
 
 trymen. No history of learning will be complete 
 and free from errors, let it be written by whomso- 
 ever it may ; but one may safely assert that such 
 an undertaking would succeed least in the hands 
 of the French, English, or Italians, whose innate 
 failings, self-conceit, and contempt of foreigners, 
 would deprive them of the necessary means. On 
 the other hand, we must allow to these nations, 
 and particularly the French, the merit of having 
 written the literary history of their own countries 
 much better than the Germans have been yet able 
 to do, in consequence of the opposite faults. But 
 a German would certainly have been able to give a 
 better and more complete history of the sciences, 
 than the first edition of that published by Juvenel, 
 if a history upon his plan had been required. For 
 this reason, Klotz, whose censure, though* a great 
 humourist, was always severe, says, that “ Juve- 
 nel’s work was translated to the disgrace of the 
 Germans.” 
 
 Many things, essential to a history of this kind, 
 are here wanting ; but this, as well as other imper- 
 fections, may be excused by the title of the book, 
 “ An essay,” and the assertion of the author that 
 he wrote only for young persons, who might be de- 
 sirous of calling to remembrance, in connected or- 
 der, what they had before learnt. The account 
 here given of learned men and their works is not 
 always correct; and it may be readily perceived, 
 that the author was not sufficiently acquainted 
 
512 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 with those branches of knowledge, the history of 
 w ? hich he undertook to write. To this may be 
 added national prejudice in favour of his own 
 countrymen, and a rooted aversion to those who 
 differ from him in religious opinions. 
 
 The work, however, contains much useful in- 
 formation ; and by brevity, clearness, and variety, 
 recommends itself to those who are incapable of 
 reading what requires patience and reflection. 
 Persons of this kind may learn from it many 
 things, of which no man of liberal education, espe- 
 cially if he wishes to have the least appearance of 
 learning, ought to be ignorant. The translation 
 of Kapp is improved by a preface and additions, 
 in which many of the author’s errors are corrected, 
 omissions supplied, and much information, which 
 must be valuable to real men of letters, is collect- 
 ed. There is also a very complete index. 
 
 The sections which deserve here to be men- 
 tioned relate to the history of the art of cutting 
 stones ; the history of some rnetallurgic arts ; the 
 art of swimming, diving, weaving, baking, clock 
 and watch-making, &c. 
 
 XIV. Joh. Ravisii Textoris Nivernensis poet® 
 eeleberrimi, officina, sive theatrum historicum et 
 poeticum, ex Nat. Comite, Linocerio et Gyraldo, 
 cum gemino indice, ad perfectionem illustratum, 
 et nova hac editione a 1. 1. Grassero civ. Romano 
 cum augmento exornatum. Basilese, 1 626, 8vo. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 513 
 
 I mention this book here, the use of which I ob- 
 tained by the kindness of Mr. Langer, aulic coun- 
 sellor, from the ducal library of Wolfenbuttle, be- 
 cause it is reckoned, by Fabricius * and others, to 
 belong to those which treat on the history of in- 
 ventions. The author, who is sometimes named 
 Ravisius, and sometimes Textor, was born at No- 
 vel's ; taught humanity at Paris, and died in 1524.f 
 His Officina may be classed among those works 
 which contain locos communes ; it is on a small 
 scale what Zzvingeri et Beirlengii Theatrum vitce. 
 humance is on a large. Only one small section is 
 entitled : Dediversarum rerum invent or ibus ; it is 
 of very little importance, and contains nothing but 
 what has been collected without choice, and with- 
 out giving the authorities from the works of the 
 Greeks and the Romans. J According to Ges- 
 ner’s Bibliotheca , it was printed at Basle, in 1538, 
 at Lyons, in 1541, and at Basle, enlarged by Con- 
 rad Lycosthenes, in 1552, 4to. A collection of 
 all his works was published at Paris. Morhof 
 quotes an edition of 1626, 8vo; if this be correct, the 
 work was printed in the same year both at Basle 
 and Geneva. At present no bookseller would 
 venture to print a work of this kind. 
 
 * Bibliothec. Antiquar. p. 974. Opuscoli Scientific!, VI. 
 p. 6l, 75. 
 
 f Morhofii Polyhist. Lubeccce, 1732, 4to. I. p. 244, 248. 
 
 X In my edition it is the 102d chapter of the 4th book, p. 52p. 
 
 VOL. I. 2 I' 
 
 1 
 
514 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 XV. Catalogo dell’ inventori delle cose, che si 
 mangiano, e delle bevande ch’ hoggidi s’vsano. 
 Composto da M. Anonimo cittadino d’Utopia. In 
 Venezia, 1548. 
 
 Respecting this catalogue of the inventors of 
 articles used as food and as drink, I know indeed 
 very little ; but what I do know I shall here com- 
 municate, wishing at the same time that some one 
 would rectify and enlarge it. I never had an op- 
 portunity of seeing the book myself, but I have 
 found it quoted in Sicilia inventrice del Dot. Vin- 
 cenzo Auria * where the title is given as I have 
 transcribed it above. In the second place, Con- 
 tarini | says in his book, De gV inventori di tutte 
 le scienze et arte: si vuol saper gl’ inventori delle 
 cose, che si mangiano legga Ortensio Landi. In 
 the third place, it is said, in an extract from a dis- 
 sertation of de la Monnoie, which Bayle has made 
 known in the article Hortens. Lando, that the fol- 
 lowing words in capitals were to be found at the 
 end of this catalogue : Suisnetroh Sudnal rotua 
 tse, which, when read backwards, make Horten- 
 sius Landus autor est. There can be no doubt, 
 therefore, that the author was Hortensius Lando, 
 especially as Contarini, his contemporary, ex- 
 pressly says so ; and as it is well known that this 
 Italian caused his w’orks to be printed under va- 
 
 * Palermo, 1704, 4to. p. 218. 
 
 f See page 480. 
 
bibliography. 
 
 515 
 
 rious feigned names, and that in his writing against 
 Erasmus, which has contributed more than any 
 other to preserve his name from oblivion, he called 
 himself Philalethes Utopiensis, or Civis ex Utopia . 
 Besides, this is confirmed in Argelati Bibliotheca 
 scriptorum Mediolanensium* and in Fontanini Bi- 
 bliotheca dell ’ eloquenza Italiana:\ These and 
 others state, that the Catalogo is printed along 
 with another work of Lando, entitled, Commentary 
 delle pin nobili , e monstruose cose d' Italia, e di altri 
 l nog hi, di lingua Aramea in Italiana tradotta. 
 At the end stands the following information by 
 one Nicol. Mora or Morra. II presente commen- 
 tary nato dal constantissimo cervello di m. o. l. 
 dette per la sua natural mansuetudine, il Tian- 
 quillo. These initials denote Messer Ortensio 
 Lando . The most complete list of his writings is 
 to be found in Argelati, and prefixed to the new 
 edition of his work, entitled, For dance Questio? 2 es 
 auctore Philalethe polytopiensi eke. Luc®, 1763, 
 4to. It is there said, that the Commentario and 
 the subjoined Catalogo were printed at Venice in 
 1550, 1552, and 1554, in 8vo. As the edition of 
 1550 is the -first mentioned there, as well as in 
 Fontanini, the date 154S, which Mongitore gives 
 in a note to Auria Sicilia inventrice , appears to 
 be erroneous; and yet this accurate man of letters 
 
 * Mediolani, 1745, folio II. p. 781. 
 
 f Venezia, 1753, 4to. II. p. U5. 
 
 2 L 2 
 
51() HISTORY" OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 seeins to have had the book in his possession, 
 because he quotes word for word some passages 
 from it. I shall here observe that some give the 
 Cat Ci lo b o dc^ V invent or i delle cose 
 che si mangiano, e die si beono } nuovamente vitro - 
 vato. 
 
 T-his Hoitensio Lando was born in the begin- 
 ning of the sixteenth century, at Milan; studied 
 there and at Bologna, and at the former was a pu- 
 pil of Coelius Rhodiginus. He was an Augustine 
 monk, but soon quitted the order privately, and 
 piactised as a physician ; though Argelati considers 
 this circumstance as false, because this Hortensius 
 was confounded with the contemporary physician 
 Bassiano Lando. The former travelled about 
 through Italy, Germany, France, and Swisserland, 
 as a real polytopiensis, and was at Basle in 1550. 
 He was every where honoured on account of his 
 learning and agreeable style of writing, so that he 
 was admitted a member by the Academia elevator 
 rim , at Ferrara, from whom it is thought that he 
 obtained the name, very ill-suited to him, of Tran- 
 quillus. In the course of his travels he acquired 
 a freer manner of thinking in regard to religion 
 and superstition than the monks, who hated him as 
 an unbeliever, and on that account he became 
 suspected of heresy. He was an ambitious and 
 revengeful man ; thin and of a small stature, and 
 was certainly not alive in 1550 . These circum- 
 stances I have collected from the preface to the 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 517 
 
 Forciance questiones, already quoted, and from the 
 Bibliotheca of Fontanini. 
 
 It is said in Jocher’s Lexicon, that Lando’s writ- 
 ings were inserted in the first class of the Index 
 librorum prohibitorum , and the author is called 
 there a Lutheran divine and philosopher. It is 
 probable that this may be an error, and it is known 
 that many errors of this kind are to be found in 
 that catalogue; but it is also possible that he may 
 have been purposely represented as a Lutheran 
 divine ; for there are instances that the Catholics 
 of that period ascribed works prejudicial to them 
 to heretics, though they well knew that they were 
 written by Catholics. 
 
 I have consulted all the sources employed by 
 Jocher in compiling the article Lando ; but find in 
 them nothing farther than a catalogue of his works, 
 namely, in La libraria del Dofii Fiorentino * and 
 in La seconda libraria del Ford Fiorentino. \ From 
 this book every thing found in Jac. Gaddii de 
 scriptoribus non ecclesiasticis\ has been taken. 
 Nothing farther is found in Conr. Gesneri Biblio- 
 theca per Simlerum, than a list of some writings, 
 and Hortensius Tranquillus and Hortensius Lan- 
 dus are made to be two persons, a fault before 
 pointed out by Bayle. A work of Lando, however, 
 
 * In Vinezia, 1550, 12mo. p. 26. 
 
 f In Vinezia, 1555, 8vo. p. 104. 
 
 I Florentiae, 1648, fol. p. 273. 
 
.518 HISTORY OF INVENTIONS. 
 
 but not that which I wish to see, is quoted in 
 Flaccii Theatrum anonym, from the Bibliotheca vo- 
 lant e * of Giovanni Cinelli. 
 
 * V. p. 75, 7 6 . 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
INDEX 
 
 TO THE AUTHORS AND BOOKS QUOTED IN THE 
 
 FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 A 
 
 ABHANBLUNG von Wasseruh- 
 ren, 137 
 
 Acosta, Tractado de las drogas de las 
 Indias Occidentales, 168 
 Acta eruditorum, 191 
 Acts of the council of Nice, 210 
 Adami Vitae philosophorum, ol 
 Adanson, Histoire naturelle de Sene- 
 gal, 68 
 
 jEliani Hist, animalium, 83. 323,324. 
 328 
 
 iEnese Poliorceticon, 173. 296 
 ASpinus, Memoires sur la tourmaline, 
 143 
 
 iEtii Opera, 72. 83 
 Agricola de re metallica, 104 
 
 De natura fossilium, 293. 
 
 298. 316 
 
 Albertus Magnus De falconibus, 330 
 Alberti Magni Opera omnia, 293 
 Aldrovandi Ornithologiu, 53 
 
 Museum metallicum, 290 
 
 Alexander Trallianus, 358 
 Alexanders Abhandlung von den 
 uhren, 137 
 
 Algemeine Welthistorie , 103. 373 
 Ames’s Typographical antiquities, 4 
 L’ Amico de’ poveri, 260 
 Ammianus Marcellinus, 29 5 
 Anderson’s History of commerce, 2. 
 28. 125. 134. 317. 338. 37 5, 376. 
 384 
 
 Anecdotes secrettes sur divers sujets 
 de litterature, 377 
 Annales Ferdin. V, 116 
 Annee litteraire, 42 
 Antonini Bibliotheca Hispana nova, 
 29 
 
 Apicius De arte coquinaria, 282. 346 
 Apollinaris Sidonius, 326 
 Apollodori Bibliotheca, 362 
 Apuleius, 229. 325 
 Arcana et curiositates oeconomicae, 
 262 
 
 Archenholz, England und Italien, 
 102 
 
 Aretinus De bello Italico adversus 
 Gothos, 242 
 
 Argelati Bibliotheca, 515 
 Aristot. Hist, animalium, 60. 83.321. 
 328 
 
 Aristot. De mirabil. auscultat. 322 
 
 Problemata, 183 
 
 Arnot'sHist. of Edinburgh, 125.134 
 Arrian. De expedit. Alex. Magni, 181 
 L’Art de la verrerie de Neri, Merret, 
 et Kunkel, 206 
 Artemidorus, 236 
 Arvieux, Reise, 402. 405 
 Athenseus, 346. 355 
 Atti dell’ Academia delle scienze di 
 Siena, 260 
 Avicenna, 84 
 
 Auctor Dialog, de causa corrup. elo- 
 quent. 136 
 
 Auctores Mythographi, 362, 363 
 
520 
 
 INDEX TO THE AUTHORS AND BOOKS 
 
 Auria, Sicilia inventrice, 34.514 
 Ausonius, 173. 244. 368 
 D’Aussy Histoire de la vie privee des 
 Francois, 234. 265 
 Ayrer De molarum initiis, 234 
 
 De molarum progressibus, ibid. 
 
 Diatribe de vestigiis cambialis 
 
 apud Romanos, 385 
 
 B 
 
 Baccius de thermis, 312, 313 
 Bachmeister, Essai sur la bibliotheque 
 de 1’ Acad, de St. Petersburg, 1 27 
 Bacon i Opera, 185 
 
 Bailey’s Advancement of the arts, 245. 
 376 
 
 Balbini Miscellanea Bohemias, 40 
 JBaldingers Neur magazinfiir aerzte, 
 96. 100 
 
 Bandelli Dominicani Orat. funeb. in 
 princip. Mantuanum, 329 
 Banier’s Mythology, 363 
 Barba s Art of metals, translated by 
 the Earl of Sandwich, 29 
 Barba, El arte de los metallos, ibid. 
 Barbeyrae, Droit de la nature, 383 
 Bartholdus De charta sigillata, 382 
 Bartholini Acta Hafn. 190 
 Bartolo Del suono e de’ tremori har- 
 monici, 161 
 
 Basville, Memoiresde Languedoc, 377 
 Bauhini Pinax plantarum, 61 
 
 Historia plant. 169. 339 
 
 Baume, Chernie experimentale, 201. 
 301. 404 
 
 Bayle’s Dictionary, 62. 497. 506 
 Beckers N'drrische weisheit und weise 
 narrlieit, 108. 165. 338. 370 
 Beckmann, Grunds'dtze der Teutschen 
 landwirtlischaft, 35 1 
 
 Physicalische-cekon. bibli- 
 
 oth. 196. 260. 265.289. 414 
 Beguillet, Traite de la mouture par 
 economie, 265 
 
 Bell, Apparatus ad Hist. Hungarias, 
 129 
 
 Bellonii Observationes, 299. 352 
 Benzono, Novi orbis historia, 167 
 Bergomare, Supplementum Chronico- 
 rum, 311 
 
 Berk hey, Naluurlyke ldstorie van 
 Holland, 336 
 
 Bernoulli (Jac.) Opera, 191 
 Beschreiving der Stadt Delft, 253 
 Bettini Apiaria universal philosophise, 
 
 Beutel, Cimelium geographicum, 12 
 Beyer, Theatrum inachin. molar. 2 66. 
 374 
 
 Beytrage zur naturgeschichte der 
 JVassauischen Hinder, 334 
 Biblia sacra, 227, 228, 229 
 Bibliotheca Barberina, 469 
 
 — Bultelliana, 466 
 
 imperials Petropolitana, 
 
 471 
 
 Vriesiana, 465 
 
 Bibliotheque generale des ecrivains de 
 l’ordre de St. Benoit, 138 
 Biler, Dissertat. de arbore et palo mo- 
 linario, 240 
 
 Biographia Britannica, 40. 357 
 Bums Mathematische werkschule, 14 
 Biringoccio, Pyrotechnia, 299.316 
 Bizari Hist. Genuensis, 304 
 Blainville’s Travels, 50. 292 
 Boccone, Museo di fisica, 311 
 Bockmann’s Translat. of La Chapelle’s 
 Conic Sections, 166 
 Bohadsch De animalibus marinis, 83 
 Bomare, Dictionnaire d’ histoire natu- 
 relle, 67 
 
 Bonnani Delleantiche Syracuse, 161 
 T’ Book der zee-rechtr.n, 387 
 De Boot, Gemmarum et lapidum his- 
 toria, 13. 143 
 
 Borelli Observat. medico-physicse, 74. 
 175 
 
 Borelli De motu animalium, 191 
 Bose d’ Antic, Oeuvres, 202 
 Bottone, Pyrologia topographies, 304 
 Boulainvilliers, Etat de France, 377 
 Bowles, lntroduccion a la historia na- 
 tural de Espagna, 292 
 Boxhornii Disquisitiones politicae, 280 
 
 Varii tractat. polit. 381 
 
 • Reipub. Batav. descriptio, 
 
 ibid. 
 
 Boyle’s Usefulness of Natural Philo- 
 sophy, 338 
 
 Breslauer Sammlung von natur- und 
 kunstgeschichte, 42. 171. 286 
 Breslau documendrte geschichle, 372 
 Le Bret, Magazin zum gebrauche der 
 staaten-kirchen-geschichte, 87 
 Le Bret, Geschichte von Venedig, 251 
 Brisson, Ornithologie, 54 
 Brown’s Miscellany Tracts, 332 
 Bruchstiicke betreffend die beobach- 
 tung der pjlichten eines staats-die- 
 ners, 221 
 
 Bruckmann, Magnalia Dei, 146 
 
 Epistolae itinerar. 272 - 
 
 Bruti Hist. Florentina, 312 
 
QUOTED IN THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 521 
 
 Brazen de la Martiniere, Hist, de 
 Louis XIV. 88 
 Brydone’s Travels, 161 
 Budaeus De asse, 265 
 Buquet, Manuel de meunier, 265 
 Busbequii Omnia, 38 
 Busch, Reise (lurch Schweden, 375 
 Buschii Chronicon Windemense, 269 
 Biischings Geograpliie, 297, 298.300. 
 316 
 
 Bussi, Tstoria della citta di Viterbo, 
 310 
 
 Butre, Pain economique, 265 
 
 c 
 
 Caesii Mineralogia, 290 
 Camden’s Britannia, 318 
 Camillus De lapidibus, 73 
 Campbell’s Lives of the Admirals, 
 188 
 
 Political Survey of Britain, 
 
 189. 285. 318 
 Capitolinus, 10 
 Cardanus, 252 
 
 Von Carlowitz, Sylvicultura oecono- 
 mica, 339 
 
 Carpentier, Glossarium novum ad 
 script, med. a?vi, 245 
 Cartheuser, Elementa mineral. 295 
 
 De adulterationibus vini, 
 
 403. 405 
 
 Carystii Historic memorabiles, 323. 
 328. 335. 354 
 
 Casaregis Discursus legales, 388 
 Cassiodori Opera, 240 
 Cassius De auro, 201 
 Catalani Ceremonies Romanse eccle- 
 siae, 113 
 
 Catalogus musei Indici collecti a P. 
 Hermanno, 147 
 
 BibliothecseBunavianae,481 
 
 Bibliothecae Thuanae, 466 
 
 librorum Petri Gosse, 465 
 
 Cato De re rustica, 399, 400 
 Catullus, 283 
 
 Casaubon in Athenaeum, 339 
 Cellarii Geographia, 300 
 Celsus, 400 
 
 Cetti, Quadrupedi di Sardegna, 239 
 Chardin, Voyages, 249. 284 
 Chronicon Godvic. 220 
 
 ■ Virodunense, 270 
 
 Chrysostomus, 248 
 Cicero, 82. 160. 210, 21 1. 367. 384 
 Clason om Sweriges Handels omskif- 
 ten, 37 5 
 
 Cleirac, Us et coutumes de la mer, 
 386, 387 
 
 Clemens Alexandr. Stromata, 497 
 Clusii Rar. plant, historia, 38. 286. 352 
 
 Exotica, 353 
 
 Codex Theodos. 111. 239, 240 
 
 Justin. 111. 240 
 
 Coleri CEconomia ruralis, 54 
 Columella, 174.212. 230. 342.345. 
 399, 400, 401 
 
 Collectanea chymica Leydensia, 177 
 Collenucio, Istoria del regno di Na- 
 poli, 329 
 
 Commentat. Societ. Scient. Gottin- 
 gen sis, 200 
 
 Commercium litter. Norimbergense, 
 178 
 
 11 Consolato del mare, 388 
 Coyers Reise nacli Italien und Hol- 
 land, 1 35 
 
 Cragii Hist. Christiani HI, 372 
 Cramers Arifangsgriinde der metal- 
 lurgie, 107 
 
 Crell’s Chemical journal, 200 
 Crescentio D’Agricoltura, 286.328 
 Ctesiae Indica, 321 
 Czvittingeri Hungaria litter. 129 
 Curiose speculaliones hey schlaf-losen 
 nachten, 146 
 
 Curne de Ste Palaye Sur l’ancienne 
 chivalerie, 331 / 
 
 D 
 
 Dalins Geschschte des reiclis Schwe- 
 den, 126 
 
 Damiani Opera, 245 
 Dappers Beschreibung von Asia, 220. 
 297 
 
 Darvicux Reise, 249 
 Datt De pace imperii publica, 408 
 Decretal. Gregor. 251 
 Delius, Anleitung zur berghaukunst, 
 273 
 
 Della decima de’ Fiorentini, 302. 
 389 
 
 Demachy, Art du distillateur, 278 
 Denis, Recueil des memoires sur les 
 arts, 158 
 
 Denkwiirdigkeiten von Wien, 9 
 Derham’s Physico-Theology, 164 
 Description du Duche de Bourgogne, 
 249 
 
 Dictionary of the Academy della Crus- 
 ca, 58 
 
 Digesta, 239. 267, 268. 325. 408 
 
522 
 
 INDEX TO THE AUTHORS AND BOOKS 
 
 Dijon, Memoire sur la mouture eco- 
 nomique, 265 
 
 Dillenii Hist, muscorum, 58 
 Dillon’s Travels through Spain, 292 
 Diodorus Siculus, 198. 291, 292.862, 
 363 
 
 Diogenes Laertius, 104. 497 
 Dioscorides, 56. 59. 83. 272, 273. 
 275. 281. 290.347. 349.354. 356. 
 400 
 
 Dissertatio glyptographica, 199 
 Dodonsei Florum coron. herb, historia, 
 39 
 
 Dolci Fasti litterario-Ragusini, 467 
 Dolomieu, Reise nacli den Liparis- 
 chen Inseln, 292 
 
 Doppelmayr, Nacliriclit von Niirn- 
 berg. kiinstlem , 11 . 208 
 Dossie’s Memoirs of agriculture, 376 
 Ducae Hist. Byzantina, 301 
 Duhamel, Opera philosophica, 156 
 Von JDreyhaupts Beschreibung des 
 Saal-Kreises, 382 
 
 E 
 
 Eccardi Leges Francorum Salicse, 
 243 
 
 JElsholz, Gartenbau, 347 
 Encyclopedic, 130. 321. 377 
 Epiphanius De XII gemmis, 142 
 Erndl, Dissertat. de veneno, 98 
 Ervthraei Pinaootheca, 51 
 Eschinardi Discursus de sono pneu~ 
 mwtico, 164 
 L’Espion devalise, 101 
 Etienne, Apologie pour Herodote, 
 284 
 
 Ettmulleri Collegium pharmaceut. 204 
 
 Opera, ibid. 
 
 Eyring Conspectus Reipub. litterariae, 
 509 
 
 F 
 
 Fabretti Dissert, tres de aquaeducti- 
 bus veteris Romae, 240 
 Fabri Hist. Suevorum, 2G1. 374 
 Fabricii Bibliotheca Graeca, 78. 155. 
 S31. 497 
 
 — Biblioth. med. et infimae La~ 
 
 tinitatis, 235. 305. 497. 506 
 
 — Bibliograph. antiquaria, 136. 
 
 234. 369. 513 
 
 Biblioth. ecclesiastica, 500 
 Biblioth. med. et inf. aetat. 
 
 Von Falkensteins Historic von Er- 
 furth, 372 
 
 F eget. Renatus, V ier biicher von der 
 rytterschafft. 190 
 
 Ferbers Briefe aus Welschlnnd, 208. 
 308 
 
 Fermosini Tractatus criminalium, 315 
 Fernelii Cosmotheoria, 11 
 Ferrante, Discorsi delle famiglie es- 
 tinte, 307 
 
 Festus et Flaccus De verb, signinca- 
 tione, 217 
 
 Fichardi Vitae Ictorum, 305 
 Ficorni, Piombi anticlii, 213 
 Firmici Astronomicon, 326 
 Florini CEconomus prudens et legalis, 
 286 
 
 Fontanieu, L’Art de faire lescristaux: 
 colores, 200, 201 
 Fontanini Bibliotheca, 515 
 Forcianae Questiones, ibid. 
 
 Fortunati Carmina, 244 
 La France litteraire, 30. 509, 510 
 Francisci Schaubiihne, 42 % 
 
 Frangipani, Istoria di Civita Vecchia, 
 307 
 
 Frazer’s Hist, of Nadir Shaw, 103 
 Fredericus II De arte venandi cum 
 avibus, 330 
 Freheri Theatrum, 51 
 Frey tag Apparatus literarius, 504 
 Frezier, Voyage, 230 
 Frisch Vorstellung der vogel in 
 Teutschland, 54 
 Frisches Worterbuch, 278 
 Fullmann , Erfahrungen von getreide, 
 259 
 
 Funcii Leges XII tabularum, 111 
 Orbis politicus, 42 
 
 G 
 
 Gadd De scriptoribus, 502 
 
 Galen. De antidotis, 84 
 
 De simp, medicam. facultat. 
 
 293 
 
 Gamurrini’s Genealogical Hist, of the 
 noble families of Tuscany and Um- 
 bria, 65 
 
 Garcia ab Horto, Aromatum et sim- 
 plic. historia, 224 
 
 Garcilasso de la Vega, Commentaries 
 reales, 27 
 
 Gassendi Vita Peirescii, 40 
 
 Gatterer Vom nutzen und schaden 
 | der thieve, 321 
 
 482 
 
523 
 
 quoted in the first volume. 
 
 Gattereri Elementa artis diplomatics, 
 208 
 
 Gellius. 82. 173. 228. 294 
 General Hist, of America, with Baum- 
 garten’s preface, 55 
 Genssane, Traite de lafonte des mines, 
 107 
 
 Geoponica, 212. 273. 279. 342, 343. 
 
 400,401.406,407.417 
 Georgisch, Corpus juris Germanici, 
 243 
 
 Geschichtforsclier, 223 
 Gesneri Bibliotheca, 482. 513 
 
 Epist. medicinales, 40 
 
 Hist, animalium, 52 
 
 . Selecta physico-oeconomica, 
 
 179 
 
 Gesnerus redivivus, 54 
 Geutebruck, Gedanken iiber die ein- 
 richtung einer kammer-verwaltung, 
 112 
 
 Gezelius, Fdrsok til et Biographiskt 
 Lexicon ofver Vdrde Swenske man , 
 173 
 
 Ghilini Teatro d’huomini letterati, 
 481 
 
 Giornale de’ letterati d Italia, 63. 235 
 Giovanniense, Monarchia Medicea, 
 
 311 , 
 Giustiniano, Annali della repub. di 
 
 Genoa, 304 
 
 Glass’s History of the Canary Islands, 
 66 
 
 Glauberi Furnus philosophies, 204 
 
 Opera omnia, ibid. 
 
 Glossarium manuale, 245 
 Glycae Annales, 83 
 Gmelins Reise durch Russland, 1 82. 
 333 
 
 Eirdeitung in die chemie, 
 
 414 
 
 Van Gouthoeven Chroniickevan Hol- 
 land, 336 
 
 Grsevii Thesaur. antiq. Rom. 240 
 
 Thesaur. antiq. et historiarum 
 
 Italife, 303. 332 
 
 Graham’s Art of making wines from 
 fruit. 414 
 
 Gramm Algemeiner Magazin. 505 
 Gregorii Turonensis Opera, 244. 247 
 Grevinus de venenis, 83 
 Grignon, Memoires sur l’art de fabri- 
 quer le fer, 107, 108 
 Groot Placaet-boeck, 390, 391, 392 
 Grosley, Observations surl’Italie, 126 
 Grotius De jure belli et packs, 384 
 Gruteri Thesaurus eriticus, 320 
 Guarini eompendio istorico delle chiese 
 di Ferrara, 503 
 
 Guicciardini, Descrittione di Faesi 
 Bassi, 392 
 
 Gunther’s Ligurinus, 268 
 Gyraldus de Ferraria, 329 
 Gyraldi Dialogismi, 320 
 
 II 
 
 Hagecii (Wences.) Chronic. Bohem, 
 248 
 
 Hahnemann Ueber die arsenikver- 
 giftung, 100 
 
 Hakluyt’s Collection of Voyages, 28. 
 285. 357 
 
 Halleri Biblioth. botanica, 173. 224. 
 353 
 
 Elementa physiologic, 153. 
 
 181 
 
 Histor. plantarum, 39. 347. 
 
 351, 352 
 
 Hallers Naturgescliiclite der thieve , 
 54 
 
 Gobet, Les anciens mineralogistes de 
 France, 38. 314. 337. 469 
 Gocking’s Journal von und fiir 
 Teutschland, 408 
 
 Goetzius De pistrinis veterum, 233 
 Goguet, L’origine des lois et des sci- 
 ences, 152. 209 
 Goldasti Constitut. Imper. 408 
 
 Suevicarum rerum scrip- 
 
 tores, 261 
 
 Golii Lexicon Arabicum, 284. 358 
 Gori, Osservazioni sopra un’ antica 
 gemma, 231 
 
 Gottlieb, Teutsch verstendig buchhal- 
 ten, 5 
 
 Gottingisches Taschenbuch, 15 
 Gottingische Gelehrte ameigen, 203 
 
 Halles Magie, 177 
 Handvesten van Amsterdam, 134 
 Hardy on the Colic of Poitou, 405 
 Harprecht, Resp. crimin. 408 
 Harrison’s Hist, of Britain, 285 
 Ilarsdorfers Er quick stunden, 164 
 Hartwig, Handwerke und kiinste, 
 228 
 
 Hase, Dissertat. de tubis stentoreis, 
 165 
 
 Haubers Beschreibuhg von Copenha- 
 gen, 134 
 Hausvaters, 466 
 
 Haym Notizia de’ libri rari, 465. 469 
 Heilbroneri Hist. Matheseos, 3 
 Heineccii Elementa juris cambialis, 
 385 
 
524 
 
 INDEX TO THE AUTHORS AND BOOKS 
 
 Heineccius De sigillis, 214. 216 
 Hellot’s Art of dyeing, 67 
 Hendrich’sPandectaeBrandenburgicae, 
 472 
 
 Henkels Xiesshistorie, 295 
 Herberstein De rebus Moscoviticis, 
 128 
 
 Heresbachius De re rustica, 286. 359 
 TIeringii Tractatus de molendinis, 233 
 Hermanni Cynosura mater, med. 1 48 
 
 Musasum Zeilonicum, ibid. 
 
 Hermolaus Barbarus, 356, 357 
 Hernandez, Rerum medic. Novae His- 
 paniae thesaur. 168 
 Herodotus, 209. 291. 321 
 Hertodt, Crocologia, 280 
 Hesiod, 227 
 Hesychius, 217 
 Historia Francorum, 247 
 Historiae Augustae Scriptores, 197. 
 236 
 
 Historia naturale e morale delle Indie, 
 26 
 
 Histoire naturelle des Indes, ibid. 
 
 — litteraire de la congregation 
 
 de St. Maur, 138 
 
 — naturelle de Pline, 237 
 
 HofFmanni Dissertat. de laesionibus 
 externis, abortivis venenis ac phil- 
 tris, 76 
 
 Medicina rationalis syste- 
 matica, 99 
 
 Hohberg, Georgiea curiosa, 286 
 Hoheiselii Dissertat. de molis manua- 
 libus veterum, 234 
 
 Von Holberg’s Beschreibung der stcidt 
 Bergen, 373 
 
 Hollerus De morbis internis, 73 
 Homer’s Odyssey, 32 
 Horace, 282 
 
 Hornung, Cista medica, 416 
 Hortleder Vom Teutsclien krieg, 129 
 Houghton’s Husbandry and trade im- 
 proved, 375 
 
 Hulsius’ Treatise on mathemat. instru- 
 ments, 1 1 
 
 Iliipsches Entdeckung des ursprungs 
 des Cdhiischen umbers, 334 
 Hygini Fabulae, 363 
 
 I, J 
 
 Jacobilli Bibliotheca Umbriae, 3 
 Jageman Geschichte der Kiinst und 
 Wissensclinften , in Italien, 484 
 Jargoiv, Einleitung in die lelire von 
 regalien, 269 
 
 Jars, Voyages metallurgies, 318 
 
 Jens Kraft, Sit ten der wilden, 1 80 
 Ihre, Glossarium Suegothicum, 127. 
 3 58 
 
 Imperati Hist, naturalis, 61. 68 
 Index Bibliothecae Barberinze, 465 
 Institut. Justin. 407 
 Introductio in oryctographiam Arao-o- 
 niae, 406 
 
 in notitiam legum nautica- 
 
 rum, 386 
 
 Jochers Gelehr ten- Lexicon, 305. 393 
 486 
 
 Jonsiusde Scriptoribus Hist. Phil. 502 
 Journal economique, 277 
 
 — des S9avans, 137. 165. 191. 
 
 219. 238 
 
 Istorici delle cose Veneziani, 506 
 
 Juvenalis Sat. 81 
 
 Isidori Origines, 25. 290. 364 
 
 K 
 
 Balms Reise, 347 
 
 Kessleri Secreta, 190 
 
 Kevenbuller, Annales, 117 
 
 Kerslers Reisen, 86 
 
 Kircheri Ars umbrae et lucis, 136. 154 
 
 China illustrata, 169 
 
 Magnes, 13. 73 
 
 Musurgia universalis, 159 
 
 — ; Phonurgia, 154. 160, 161. 
 
 Klipstem, Grundscitze der wissensch. 
 rechnungen einzurichlen, 9 
 
 Grundscitze der rechnungs- 
 
 wissenschajl auf das privatermdgen 
 angewendet, ibid. 
 
 Konig Bibliotheca, 493. 
 
 Koestlin, Lettres sur l’hist. nat. de 
 l’isle d’Elbe, 68 
 
 Krunitz, Encyclopedic, 259, 260. 
 276. 321. 393 
 
 Kulpis, Collegium Grotianum, 383 
 Kunkel, Ars vitraria, 1 99. 203 
 
 L 
 
 Labat’s Travels through Italy, 85. 31 1 
 Labbe Bibliotheca Bibliothecarum,482 
 Laboratorium Zeylonicum, 150 
 Lactantii Placidi Argumenta Ovid. 
 
 Metamorph., 363 
 De Laet De gemmis, 142 
 
 Novus orbis, 27 
 
 Lambecius Prodromus Hist, litteranae, 
 500 
 
 Lampridius, 237 
 
QUOTED IN THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 525 
 
 Lange, Introductio in notitiam leguni 
 nauticarum, 386, 387. 389 
 De Lanis, Magisterium naturae et ar- 
 tis, 164 
 
 Langenbec, Anmerkungen iiber das 
 Hamburgische scliiff-und see-recht, 
 384 
 
 Laurembergii Horticulture, 129. 347 
 Leben des Grufen von Ulfeld, 95 
 Lebeuf, Memoires concernant l’hist. 
 d’Auxerre, 217 
 
 Lehmanns Chronica der Stadt Speier, 
 ll3. 251 
 
 Leibnitz, Nouveaux essais sur 1’en- 
 tendement humain, 170 
 Leibnitii Protogaea, 299 
 
 Scriptores Brunsviccenses, 
 
 336 
 
 Leipziger Samndungen , 256 
 Lemnius De miraculis occultis natu- 
 rae, 417 
 
 Lersners Chronica der Stadt Frank - 
 fnri, 113. 116. 171. 251. 418 
 Lery, Voyage au Bresil, 168 
 Lessing’s Kollectaneen, 72. 494 
 Lestocq, Preussisches see-recht , 387 
 Leupold, Theatrum machinarum gene- 
 rale, 252 
 
 Theatrum pontificate, 190 
 
 Theatrum staticum, 186 
 
 Prodromus Bibliothecae me- 
 
 tallicae, 467. 469 
 
 Lewis Zusammenhang der kiinste, 
 201. 205 
 
 Libavii Alchymia, 203 
 Librario del Doni Fiorentino, 517 
 Lindanus Panoplia evangelica, 500 
 Linnaei Amoenitat. academicae, 351 
 
 Flora Zeylonica, 151 
 
 Mantissa plantarum, 70, 71 
 
 • — ■ Systema naturae, 83 
 
 Linnseus’sTravels through Scandinavia, 
 289 
 
 Lippenii Bibliotheca philosophiea, 
 470. 472 
 
 Lipsius de Constantia, 50 
 Livius, 79. 180. 383, 384 
 Loecenius De jure maritimo, 383 
 Le Long, Koophandel van Amster- 
 dam, 42. 252. 267. 374. 391 
 Lorini Von bestung bauwen, 1 90 
 Lottichii Commentar. in Petron. 282 
 Lucani Pharsalia, 180. 280 
 Lucas’s Voyages, 38 
 Lucian, 209 
 Lucretius, 237 
 
 A Ludewig, Reliquiae manuscripto- 
 rum, 268 
 
 Ludewig, Scriptores rerum episcopat. 
 
 Bambergensis, 110 
 Ludewigs Gelehrle anzeigen, 1 13. 
 118 
 
 Erlauterungen der gtdde- 
 
 nen bulle, 114 
 
 Von Ludolph, Electa juris public!, 
 114, 115. 118 
 
 Lueder, Wartung der kiichenge- 
 wdchse, 171 
 
 Lunig, Theatrum ceremoniarum, IIS 
 Corpus juris feudalis, 120 
 
 M 
 
 Maaler, Teutsche spraach, oder Dic- 
 tion. Germano-Lat., 278 
 Mabillon, Annales ordinis St. Bene- 
 dict, 250 
 
 Machada, Bibliotheca Lusitana, 26 
 Machiavelli Hist. Florentina, 312 
 Machines et inventions approuvees 
 par l’Academie, 14 
 MafFsei Hist. Indica, 180 
 
 Verona illustrata, 484 
 
 Magni Histor. de Gothorum Sueno- 
 numque rcgibus, 242 
 Malaum, Bdcker-und miillerkunst, 
 259 
 
 Mangeti Biblioth. anatomica, 191 
 Manilii Astronomicon, 180 
 Manni De Florentinis inventis com- 
 mentarium, 64. 356 
 Marcellus De medicamentis, 72 
 De la Mare, Traite de la police, 122. 
 133. 234. 249. 262, 263. 271. 287. 
 410, 411 
 
 Marianse Hist. Hispaniae, 285 
 Marquard De jure mercatorum, 41. 
 180. 387 
 
 Martial, 282. 325 
 
 Martini Lexicon philologicum, 39 
 
 Martin’s Philosophia Britannica, 195 
 
 Description of the Western 
 
 Isles, 189 
 
 ■ — — ~ Abridgement of the Philosoph. 
 Transact. 20 
 
 Mathesius, Joachimsthalische clironik, 
 373 
 
 Matthews’s Travels, 292 
 Matthioli Observat. in Dioscoridem, 
 356. 400 
 
 Maurer, Observat. curioso-physica?, 
 147 
 
 Mazuchelli Gli Scrittori d’ltalia, 464 
 Mecattit, Storiadi Firenze, 389 
 Medical Transactions, 401 
 
526 
 
 INDEX TO THE AUTHORS AND BOOKS 
 
 Me«iseri Diction. Turcico-Latinum, 
 39 
 
 Mellis’ Brief instructions how to keep 
 books, 4 
 
 Memoires et reflexions sur le regne de 
 Louis XIV. 88 
 
 pour I’hist. nat. de Langue- 
 doc, 328 
 
 de l’Acad. des Sciences a 
 
 Paris, 148. 178. 278 
 
 de l’Acad. des Inscriptions, 
 
 236 
 
 de l’Acad. des Sciences a 
 
 Berlin, 166 
 
 Memorie della Societa Columbaria 
 Fiorentina, 231 
 
 , concernenti la citta di Urbino, 
 
 1° 
 
 Menage, Diction, etymologique, 358 
 Meninski’s Turkish Lexicon, 284 
 Mercati Metallotheca, 293 
 Mercure de France, 509 
 Metallurgie d’Alphonse Barba, traduite 
 par M. Gosfort, 30 
 Meteranus novus. 41 
 Meusels Historische untersuchungen, 
 222 
 
 Mezeray, Abrege chronologique de 
 I’hist. de France, 121 
 Michaelis Orientalische BibUoihek,291 
 Micbeli Nova plant, genera, 68 
 Miller’s Gardener’s Dictionary, 39. 
 57.171,172 
 
 Mineralische belustigungen, 276 
 Miscellaneous State-papers, 373 
 Miscellanea Berolinensia, 202 
 Misson’s Travels, 337 
 Moeneh, Enumeratio plant. Hessiae in- 
 ferioris, 57 
 
 Mohsens Beschreibung einer Berlinis- 
 clier medaillen-sammlung, 80. 100 
 Von Mohsens Teutschesliofrecht, 116. 
 118 
 
 Molleri Cimbria literata, 202. 486 
 
 Dissertatio de M. Antonio 
 
 Coc. Sabellico, 506 
 Molynes, Lex mercatoria, 385 
 Monasticum Anglicanum, 251 
 Monconnys, Voyages, 337 
 Montamy Von den fur ben zunporzel- 
 lan-und emailmalen, 200 
 Montfaucon, 1’ Antiquite expliquee, 367 
 
 Diarium Italicum, 483 
 
 Montucla, Histoire des mathemati- 
 ques, 3 
 
 Morhofii Dissertat. de vitro per vocis 
 sonum rupto, 155 
 Morhofii Polyhistor, 5121 
 
 Mouffet’s Health’s improvement, S47 
 Muller s Bericht von brodt-backen, 
 262 
 
 Mullers Stempel-recht, 382 
 Munting, Naaukeurige beschreiving 
 der uardgewassen, 42 
 Von Murrs Beschreibung der merlc- 
 wiirdigkeiten in Number g, 21 9 
 Muschenbroek, Dissertat. physico-ex- 
 perimentales, 14 
 
 Introductio in philosopb. 
 
 nat. 137 
 
 Mylii Corpus constitut. Marchic. 382 
 
 N 
 
 Nachricht von erjindungen und 
 erf ndern, 78 
 Nutuforscher, 298 
 Neri, Ars vitriaria, 203, 204 
 Neur Hamburgisclier magazin, 76 
 Niceron Nc.chrichten von Gelehrten, 
 485 
 
 Nicolai Beschreibung von Berlin, 
 131.205. 207 
 
 Reise, 9. 15 
 
 Nieubuhrs Beschreibung von Ara- 
 bian, 230. 249. 297 
 Noblot, l’Origine et les Progres des 
 Arts et des Sciences, 509 
 Nonnii Diseteticon, 342 
 Novus orbis, 364 
 
 Nouveau Traite de diplomatique, 217 
 Nouveaux memoires de l’Acad. a Ber- 
 lin, 22 
 
 Du Noyer, Lettres historiques et ga- 
 lantes, 94 
 
 O 
 
 Oldenburgh Acta Societat. Angli- 
 canae, 182 
 
 Olina Uccelliera, 53 
 Onomatologia medica, 98 
 Oppian, 328 
 Opuscoli scientifici, 513 
 Ordonnatien in Vlaendern, 390, 
 391 
 
 Oribasii Medic, collect. 272 
 Original letters written during the 
 reign of Henry VI. 222 
 Origny, Diction, des origines, 249 
 Orschal, Sol sine veste, 205 
 D’Orville, Sicula, 161 
 Ovid, 173.364 
 
 Oviedo, Historia general de las In- 
 dias, 167 
 
QUOTED IN THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 527 
 
 Oweni Epigrammata, 487 
 P 
 
 Palladius De re rustica, 217. 237. 
 
 345. 367. 399. 401 
 Pancirollus De rebus deperditis, 234 
 De Claris legum interpre- 
 
 tibus, 305 
 
 Panvini De urbis Vc rouse viris Ulus- 
 tribus, 482 
 
 Papadopoli Historia gymnasii Pata- 
 vini, 481 
 
 Papillon, Bibliotbeque des auteurs de 
 Bourgogne, 218 
 
 Parmentier, Boulanger parfait, 265 
 Pausanias, 362 
 
 Peele’s Method of book-keeping, 3 
 Peithners Geschichte der Bohmisch. 
 bergwerke, 316 
 
 Pennant’s Tour in Scotland, 317 
 Perrault Architecture de Vitruve, 135 
 Peritsol, Itinera mundi, 372 
 Petronius, 281 
 
 Petrus a sancto Romualdo Continua- 
 tio chronici Ademari, 500 
 Pf'dlzischen Robinsons und Kreuz- 
 bruders Heberers Reisen, 25 
 Pfinzing, Methodus geometrica, 1 1 
 Phile De animal, proprietate, 323 
 Pbilosoph. Transactions, 20. 55. 143. 
 
 158. 165. 194, 195. 233. 
 Philostratus, Vita Apollonii, 82 
 Physikaliscli cekon. Bibliotliek, 47 ! 
 Piccolomini Parafrasi sopra le mecca- 
 niclie d’Aristotile, 465 
 Pighii Hercules Prodicus, 374 
 Pii II Commentarii rerum memorab. 
 sui temporis, 309 
 
 Pini Beobachtungen liber die eisengru- 
 ben bey Rio, 68 
 
 de venarum metallicarum excoc- 
 
 tione, 107 
 
 Parkheimeri Opera, 411 
 Pitaval, Causes celebres, 88. 93. 97 
 Pitture antiche d’Erculano, 366 
 Placcii Theatrum Anonym. 518 
 Platina De vitis pontificum, 307 
 Plautus, 104 
 Plinii Epistolaj, 282 
 
 Hist, naturalis, 7. 24. 59. 83. 
 
 104. 141. 143, 144. 174. 196. 198. 
 209. 216, 217. 227, 228. 234. 237. 
 254. 258. 272, 273.279. 281, 282. 
 290. 294. 323. 328. 335. 343.345, 
 
 346. 348, 349. 354, 355. 362. 368, 
 369. 398. 400, 401, 402.406. 415. 
 497 
 
 Plunder, Nova plantar. Americ. gene- 
 ra, 172 
 
 Plutarchus, 76. 160 
 Pocock’s Travels, 300 
 Politiani Opera, 357 
 Pollucis Onomasticon, 60 
 Pomet, Histoire des drogues, 218 
 Pontani Hist, urbis Amstelodamensis, 
 391 
 
 Hist. Neapolitana, 303 
 
 Pontoppidans Natiirliche historie von 
 Norwegen, 36<>. 373 
 Procopius De bello Gothico, 240. 242 
 Prodromus Bibliothecae metallic*;, 30 
 Propertius, 1 1 1 
 Prudentius, 240 
 Prusse la litteraire, 509 
 Pulfendorfius De jure gentium, 888 
 
 Q 
 
 Quintiliani Declamat. 77 
 
 R 
 
 Radevicus De gestis Frederic! I, 
 329 
 
 Rauwolff, Reise, 297 
 Ray’s Travels, 161 
 
 Reboulet, Histoire de Louis XIV, 88 
 Rei accipitrariae scriptores, 331 
 Reichel, Dissertat. de magnetismo in 
 corpore humano, 74 
 Reimanni Introductio in hist, littera- 
 riam, 50 
 
 Reimmann, Historia litterariaAntedilu- 
 viana, 493 
 
 Reineccii Chronicon Hierosolymita- 
 num, 245 
 
 Remarques d’un voyageur moderne au 
 Levant, 333. 382 
 
 Renaudot, Anciennes relations des In- 
 des et de la Chine, 153 
 Reuberi Scriptores vet. de rebus Caesa- 
 rum Germanic. 268 
 Reyher, Zubereitung der weissen 
 Starke, 259 
 
 De aere, 109 
 
 Rhodiginus, 211 
 
 Ricard, Negoce d’ Amsterdam, 42 
 Riccioli Almagest, novum, 11. 36 
 Richesse de la Hollande, 374. 391 
 Riesche, Voyage en Italic, 318 
 Rinks JLeben K. Leopolds, 117 
 Won Rohrs Haushaltungs-recht, 417 
 Rondoletus De piscibus, 328 
 
528 
 
 INDEX TO THE AUTHORS AND BOOKS 
 
 Roubo, l’Art du menuisier-carossier, 
 124. 130. 133.306,367. 
 
 Rozier, Cours eomplet d’agriculture, 
 285. 359 
 
 Memoire sur les vins, 415 
 
 Rudolf, Elementa amalgamation^, 206 
 Ruellius De natura stirpium, 357 
 
 S 
 
 Sabini Commentarii in Virgilium, 235. 
 \ 248 
 
 Sage, Examen chemique de dififerentes 
 minerales, 289. 295. 401. 403.414 
 Saggi di dissertat. della Academ. 
 Etrusca, 369 
 
 Salmasius ad Solinum, 339. S46. 357 
 Salmasii Exercitat. de homonymis, 339, 
 341. 358, 359 
 
 Salmon, Art du potier d’etain, 139 
 Sardi, Libro delle liistorie Ferrarese, 
 503 
 
 Sarisberiensis Policraticus, 328 
 Sattlers Geschichte Wurtembergs, 115. 
 414 
 
 Savary, Dictionnaire de commerce, 57. 
 
 71 
 
 Saverien, Hist, des progres de 1 ! esprit 
 humain, 3 
 
 Sauval, Hist, des antiquites de Paris, 
 121. 132 
 
 Scaligeri Exot. exercitat. 298 
 Scheffer De militia navali, 1 80 
 De re vehiculari, 1 1 1 
 Scheie, Dissertat. de instrumento asse- 
 curationis, 383 
 
 Schlozcrs Staats-anzeigen, 261 
 Schluters Unterricht von hutten-wer- 
 ken, 107 
 
 Schmidt, Chronica Cygnea, 254 
 Schott, Magia naturalis, 160. 163 
 Schramm, Saxonia monumentis via- 
 rum illustrata, 14 
 
 Schreber, Beschreibung der gr'dser, 56 
 
 Bey tr age zur haushaltungs- 
 
 kunde, 2 66 
 
 Schrevelii Harlemum, 270 
 Schriften der nalurforschenden Ge- 
 selschqft in Danzig, 259 
 Schw'dbischer Magazin, 15 
 Schwarz, Pomerschen lehen-historie, 
 120 
 
 Schwenter, Mathematische erquiclc- 
 stunden, 158 
 
 Scopoli Principia mineralogioe, 295 
 
 Tentamen de hydrargyro, ibid. 
 
 Scriptores ordinis Minorum 3 
 
 Scriptores rerum Italicarum, 495 
 
 rei aceipitrariae, 320 
 
 Seldeni Mare clausum, 386 
 Seneca, 33. 104. 153. 179. 198. 248. 
 362 
 
 Sennerti Institut. medic. 76 
 Septalii Commentaria in Aristot. Pro- 
 blemata, 152 
 
 Serapion De simplie. medicinis, 145. 
 296 
 
 Serres, Theatre d’agriculture, 286 
 Servius ad Virgilium, 211. 227. 363 
 Sestini, Agricoltura e commercio della 
 Sicilia, 56 
 
 Sevigne, Lettres de, 88 
 Sinclari Ars nova, 186 
 Solinus, 144 
 
 Sonnerats Reise naih Ostindien und 
 China, 229 
 Sophocles, 346 
 
 Soria, Memorie storico-critiche degli 
 storiei Napoletani, 481 
 Spanhemius De pracstantia nurnisma- 
 tum, 1 1 1 
 Spartian, 280 
 Spectacle de la nature, 321 
 Sqriess, Archivische nebenarbeilen und 
 nachrichten, 226 
 
 Sprengels Handwerke und kiinste, 2 66 
 Sprengel Von verbesserung der wcinc, 
 403. 414, 415 
 
 A Stapels Erklarung iiber die Ge- 
 schichte der pfianzen des Theophrast, 
 339. 355 
 
 Stenzelii Dissertat. de venenis, 84 
 Stephanus De urbibus, 234 
 Staphani Artis medicaa principia, 73. 
 212. 358 
 
 Lexicon, 83. 210 
 
 Von Stettens Kunstgeschiclite von 
 Augsburg, 12.39. 370 
 Stevinii Opera, 7 
 Stow’s Survey of London, 125 
 Strabo, 104. 19S. 234. 292 
 Straccha De cambiis, 390 
 Stritter, Memoriae populorum ad Da- 
 nubium, 38 
 
 Struvii Bibliotheca Juris selecta, 386 
 Stryk, Usus modern. Pandectorum, 
 378 
 
 Suetonius, 81. 131. 236. 238 
 Suidas, 104 
 
 Suite des memoires pour servir a l’hist. 
 
 de Bi;andenbourg, 116 
 Sulpicius Severus, 247 
 Sulzers Tagebuch seiner reise, 15 
 Superbi, Apparato degli huomini illus- 
 tri della citta di Ferrara, 503 
 
QUOTED IN THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 529 
 
 T 
 
 Tachenii Hippocratic?e medicine cla- 
 vis, 177 
 
 Tacitus, 79. 81. 334 
 Taisneri Qpuscula, 184 
 Tassoni Bibliothecae Venetae manu- 
 scriptae, 482 
 
 Tavernier, Voyages, 220. 360 
 Taubes Abichilderung der Englis- 
 chen handlung, 318 
 Tenzels Monatliche unterredungen, 42 
 Tertullian. De pallio, 354 
 Textoris, J. Ravisii, Nivernensis 
 poetae celeberrimi Officina, sive 
 Theatrum historicum et poeticum, 
 &c. account of, 512, Different edi- 
 tions of it, 513 
 
 Theatri Freibergensis chronicon, 254 
 Theocritus, 354 
 
 Theophrast. De lapidibus, 141. 272 
 Theophrasti Hist, plantarum, 59. 78. 
 
 279. 347, 348, 349. 353, 354, 355. 
 Thevenots Reise-beschreibung, 403 
 Thevet, Singularites de la France ant- 
 artique, 167 
 Thucydides, 181 
 
 Tiraboschi Storia della letteratura Ita- 
 liana, 484 
 
 Tolneri Codex diplomaticus Palatinus, 
 268 
 
 Hist. Palatina, ibid. 
 
 Tournefort, Institut. rei herbariae, 279 
 
 Voyage de Levant, 60. 230. 
 
 291. 352 
 
 Tozetti, Viaggi, 311, 312, 313 
 Transactions of the Swedish Academy, 
 60. 151 
 
 of the CEconom. Society 
 
 at Leipsic, 256 
 
 Treitlinger, Dissertat. de aurilegio, 25 
 Trewald, Konst at Lefwa under wat- 
 net, 1 95 
 
 Trotz De scribendi origine, 217 
 Twiss’s Travels through Spain and 
 Portugal, 126. 134 
 Tzamenspraak tuschen Waermondt 
 en Gaargoed, 41 
 Tzetzes Chiliades, 364 
 
 V 
 
 Vacca (Flamin.), Memor. de rar. 
 antich. 369 
 
 Vallae (Laurent.) Opera, 320 
 Valentini Hist, simplicium, 69. 298 
 
 Valerius Maximus, 82 
 Valesiana, 123 
 De la Valle’s Travels, 161 
 Vansleb, Voyage en Egypte, 291 
 Varietes historiques, physiques, et lit- 
 teraires, 122, 123. 377 
 Varro De re rustica, 212 
 De la Vega, Histoire des Incas, 361 
 Vega (Christoph.) De arte medendi, 
 402 
 
 Vegetius De re militari, 190 
 Velasques, Geschichte der Spanis- 
 chen dicht/cunst, 26 
 Verdier, Bibliotheque Francoise, 470, 
 471 
 
 Verhoevens Priesschrift, 409 
 Versucke iiber assecuranzen, 389 
 Victorius (Pet.) De regionibus urbis 
 Roma;, 238 
 
 Vieils Kunst auf glas zu malen, 207 
 Virgil, 105.212. 343.346. 360 
 Vitruvius, 9. 25. 235. 248. 272. 368 
 Vogt, Analecta litteraria, 483 
 Volaterrani Commentarii, 312 
 Voltaire, Siecle de Louis XIV, 88 
 Vopiscus, 197 
 
 Vossii Etymologicon linguae Lat. 293, 
 294 
 
 Vossius de Scientiis mathematicis, 466 
 
 de Historicis Graecis, 497 
 
 Voyage pittoresque de la Grece, 292 
 De Vries Kronijck der kronijcken, 
 336 
 
 U 
 
 Ugolini Thesaur. antiq. saerarum, 
 372 
 
 Ungrischer Magazin, 1 28 
 Us et coutumes de la mer, 386 
 
 W 
 
 Walds Geschichte der Kentnisse und 
 W issenchciftcn, 510 
 Wallerius , Pliysische chemie, 228. 
 233 
 
 Wallis’s Natural, hist, and antiq. of 
 Northumberland, 71 
 Walsers Appenzeller chronik. 254 
 Webers Physikalisch-cliemisches ma- 
 gazin, 403 
 
 Wecker Desecretis, 73. 295 
 Weigels Chemie, 177. 276 
 Weisser Von Wiirtemberg, gesctzen, 
 393 
 
 2 M 
 
 VOL. 1. 
 
530 
 
 INDEX TO THE AUTHORS AND BOOKS. 
 
 
 Weisset Recht der liandwerker, 257 
 Wepferi Hist, cicutse aquatieae, 99 
 Weston's Botanicus universalis, 49 
 Wills N timber gisches gelehrten-lexi- 
 con, 1 1 
 
 Winkelmann’s Oldenburg Chronik, 
 394 
 
 Beschreibung von Hes- 
 sen, 316 
 
 Witsens Scheeps-bouw, 182. 190 
 Wynne’s Hist, of America, 188 
 
 Z 
 
 Zanetti Dell’ origine di alcune arti 
 appresso i Veneziani, 245. 251 
 Zeileri Chronicum parvum Sueviae, 
 41 i 
 
 Miscellanea, 42 
 
 Zeno Vita Sabellici, 506 
 Zeileri Dissertat. de docimasia vini, 
 411 
 
 Zimmer manns Neues titularbuch, 22i 
 
 
INDEX 
 
 TO THE MOST REMARKABLE THINGS MENTIONED IN THE 
 
 FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 A. 
 
 Aconitum , poison prepared from it, 82. 
 
 Acquetta di Napoli , poisonous drops so called, 84. 
 
 Acts, public, formerly stamped, 378. 
 
 Adulteration of wine, 396. Effects of lead on wine, 397. Ef- 
 fects of gypsum on wine, 4-02. Ancients accustomed to 
 clarify their wine with gypsum, 406. Potters-earth used for 
 clarifying wine, 407. Prohibitions against the adulteration 
 of wine, in Germany, when first issued, 408. Prohibitions 
 in Holland and France, 409. Adulteration of wine much 
 practised in the duchy of Wurtemberg, 412. Jacob Ehrni 
 beheaded there for that practice, 413. Arsenical liver of 
 sulphur used for detecting metal in wine, 414. Fumigating 
 wine with sulphur, 415. Adulteration of wine with milk, 
 417. 
 
 JErugo of the ancients, what it was, 272. 
 
 Agrippina poisoned the emperor Claudius, 79. 
 
 Alexander the Great, his speaking-trumpet, 153. 
 
 Alexander VI, Pope, died of poison, 75. 
 
 Alexanders, common, a plant once eaten, 351. 
 
 Algebra, who first introduced it into Italy, 2. 
 
 Alum, 28S. Alum of the ancients was vitriol, ibid. Places 
 where they procured it, 289. Derivation of the word Alumen, 
 
 293. Use of the ancient alum to secure buildings from fire, 
 
 294. Invention of the modern alum, 296. Aluruen roccce , 
 298. The oldest alum-works in the Levant, 299. The oldest 
 alum-work in Europe on the island of iEnaria, 302* Origin 
 of the alum-works at Tolfa or Civita Vecchia, 305. Alum- 
 work at Volterra, 31 1 . Popes carried on an exclusive trade 
 in alum, 313. Oldest alum-work in Germany, 316. The 
 first alum-work in England, 316, 317. 
 
 2 Si 2 
 
532 
 
 GENERAL INDEX 
 
 Amalgam employed for refining gold, 24. When first used in 
 Peru, 27. 
 
 Amber, whether it was the lyncurium of the ancients, 142. 
 
 Anacharsis, his, inventions, 104. 
 
 Ananas, 166. First account of it, by Oviedo, ibid, by Ben- 
 zono, 167 ; by Theret and Lery, ibid by Hernandes and 
 Acosta, 168. When firstcuhivatedin German gardens, 169; 
 in Holland and England, 171. Invention of forcing-beds, 
 ibid. \ 
 
 Antipater, his pretty epigram on the invention of water-mills, 
 236. 
 
 Antirrhinum cy?n5fl/an«employedformakingsecretpoison, 98. 
 
 Aplysia depilans, a poisonous fish, 83. 
 
 Aquafortis, whether used for secret poison, 97 . 
 
 Aqua Tophania, a kind of poison, 84. 
 
 Aquimolce, 245. 
 
 Arcera, kind of Roman carriage, 111. 
 
 Argol, 58. Lichen roccella described, ibid. Argolknown to the 
 ancients, 60. Art of dyeing with argol brought, in 1300, 
 from the Levant, 62. Account of the family of the Oricel- 
 larii or Rucellai, who made that art known in Italy, 63. 
 Trade of the Canary islands with argol, 66 — of the Cape de 
 Verde islands, 67. Orseille en pate, 68. Invention of Lac- 
 mus, 69; Tournesol en drapeau, 70; Orseille de terre,7l. 
 
 Aristotle, work falsely ascribed to him, 154. 
 
 Arsenic, used in mixtures for secret poison, 99. 
 
 Artichoke, 339. Cinara of the ancients the same with the 
 carduus, 345. Scolymus described, 347. Not our artichoke, 
 349. Cactus, what parts of it were eaten, 355. Our arti- 
 choke made known in the 15th century, 356. Origin of the 
 name, 357. Opinions respecting the country from which 
 it was first brought, 359. 
 
 Ashes-drawer, turmalin so called by the Dutch, 146. 
 
 Assecurances en conjiance explained, 389. 
 
 Atlas vitriol, who first used that term, 295. 
 
 Anris Dionysii , description of it, 159. 
 
 B. 
 
 Bakers at Rome all Germans, 260. 
 
 Barclay, John, fond of flowers, 51. 
 
 Barley-mills, invention of them, 266. 
 
 Belemnites not the lyncurium of the ancients, 141. 
 
 Bellows, wooden, 103. Whether the first bellows were in- 
 vented by Anacharsis, 104. Bellows at the oldest melting- 
 houses were driven by men, 105. Leather and wooden 
 bellows compared, ibid. Description of the latter, 106. 
 
TO THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 533 
 
 Advantages of them, 107. Were invented in Germany, 
 10S. The inventor supposed to be Hans Lobsinger, Shell- 
 horn a miller, or a bishop of Bamberg, 108, 109, 110. In- 
 troduction of these bellows at the mines of the Harz forest, 
 110 . 
 
 Berline, sort of carriage, by whom invented, 130. 
 
 De Bethancourt, one of the first who settled in the Canary 
 islands, 65. 
 
 Bibliography of the History of Inventions, 475. 
 
 Birds of prey, their names among the ancients, 321. 
 
 Biringoccio VanuccihisPyrotechnia,463. Long used by those 
 engaged in metallurgic operations, ibid. Some account 
 of Biringoccio, 464, 465. First edition of the Pyrotechny, 
 ibid. Other editions, 466. Oldest French translations, 
 470. Contents of that work, 472. 
 
 Bismuth, hurtful to wine, 416. 
 
 Bitinus, an unknown writer, 156. 
 
 Bolting-cloth, where manufactured, 256. 
 
 — mills known in the sixteenth century, 254. 
 
 Book-keeping, Italian, history of it, 1. Whether it was known 
 to the Romans, 7. Employed in public accompts, 8. 
 
 Book scarce, account of, 463. 
 
 Boring-mills known in the sixteenth century, 374. 
 
 Botany of the ancients, how to be studied, 350. 
 
 Bottomry known to the ancients, 385. 
 
 Boxhorn, his account of the invention of stamped paper, 380. 
 
 Bran, attempts made in France to procure meal from it, 263. 
 
 Bread, how much may be obtained from a certain quantity of 
 flour, 260. 
 
 Bremen, painting there of an old carriage, 120. 
 
 Brinvilliers, Marchioness de, used secret poison ; her his- 
 tory, 88. 
 
 Bromelius, short account of him, 172. 
 
 Brouette , carriage used at Paris, 132. 
 
 Buckingham, Duke of, the first person in England who used 
 six horses to his carriage, 125. 
 
 Bulfinches, trade carried on with them, 55. 
 
 Butterfield invented a pedometer, 13. 
 
 C. 
 
 Cactus, what plant it was, 355. 
 
 Caffa, Tulips brought from it to Constantinople, 38. 
 Campana urinatoria, diving-bell, 179. 
 
 Canary-birds, 52. When made known in Europe, ibid. Flew 
 from a ship wrecked on the coast of Italy to the island of 
 Elba, where they multiplied, 53. Trade carried on with 
 
534 
 
 GENERAL INDEX 
 
 them, 55. Canary seed, where first cultivated, 56. Us? 
 of this seed might be extended, 57. 
 
 Canary Islands, when discovered, 65. 
 
 Canary weed, 58. 
 
 Cape de Verde Islands produce argol, 67. 
 
 Carbuncle of the ancients, 144. 
 
 Cardoons, 341. 356. 
 
 Carduus, what plant it was, 345. 
 
 Caretta, sort of carriage, 1 25. 
 
 Car oenum, kind of ancient wine, 398. 
 
 Carosses de remise , 132. 
 
 Carpentum, Roman carriage, 111. 
 
 Carriages, covered, account of various kinds, 117. 
 
 Carruca , an ancient carriage, 111. 
 
 Cassius, his gold calx, 201. 
 
 Castro, John and Paul di, 305. 
 
 Catalogo dell’ inventori delle cose &c. account of, 514. 
 
 Catillus, lower mill-stone, 230. 
 
 Cavala, 38. 
 
 Celtes, Conrade, some account of him, 410. 
 
 Celery, when it became known, 351. 
 
 Cento, his gold-varnish, 34. 
 
 Ceres, the inventress of mills, 234. 
 
 Chambre ardente, chambre de poison , when established, 94. 
 
 Charles XI, king of Sweden, poisoned, 96. 
 
 Crystal, how coloured, 198. 
 
 De Chiese, account of him, 130. 
 
 Cinara, whether our artichoke, 341. 
 
 Cinnabar, prepared in Holland, 69. 
 
 Circus , kind of falcon, 324. 
 
 Cire d’ Espagne , why so called, 218. 
 
 Civita Vecchia, alum works there, SO 5. 
 
 Carlencas,Essais sur VHistoire des Belles Lettres , des Sciences, 
 et des Arts, 508. 
 
 Clepsydra, 136. » 
 
 Clocks and watches, history of them, 419. Clocks known in 
 the eleventh century, 429. First public clock at Padua, 
 436. When clocks began to be in use among private per- 
 sons, 439. First mention of watches, 440. History of 
 clocks and watches, by Mr. Barrington, 443. Letter on 
 the watch said to have belonged to King Robert Bruce, 457. 
 
 Coaches, 111. Covered carriages at Rome, ibid. Formerly 
 more honourable in Germany to ride on horseback than in 
 carriages, 112. Women only rode in carriages at the be- 
 ginning of the 16th century, 114. Use of covered car- 
 riages forbidden, 1 15. Order of Julius Duke of Bruns- 
 wick, forbidding his vassals to ride in carriages, 118. 
 French monarchs rode on horseback in the 14th, 15th, 
 
535 
 
 TO THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 and 16th centuries, 121. Citizens’ wives at Paris for- 
 bidden to use carriages, 122. Henry IV had only one 
 coach for himself and his queen, 123. V hulicotes, tae 
 oldest carriages used by the English ladies, 124?. Coacnes 
 first known in England, 125. When introduced into Italy, 
 ibid. The first coaches in Spain, Sweden, and Russia, 
 126 127. Origin of the word coach, 128. Berline, in- 
 vention of it, 130. First coaches let out for hire at Paris, 
 131. Brouettes, roulettes , 132. Hackney-coaches first 
 established in London, 133. Number of coaches in some 
 of the principal cities of Europe, 134?. 
 
 Cobalt produces sympathetic ink, 178. 
 
 Cochineal sifted by the Dutch, 69. 
 
 Colouring glass, art of 199. 
 
 Columbo, in the island of Ceylon, turmahn found near it, 150. 
 Commotau, alum-works there, 316. 
 
 Contarini de gV Inventori di tutte le Scienze et Arti , 480. 
 Corn-mills, 227. Earliest methods of grinding corn, ibid.. 
 The oldest hand-mills, 228. Cattle-mills, 229. Repre- 
 sentation of an ancient mill on an antique gem, 231. In- 
 vention of water-mills, 234. Mills constructed at Rome by 
 Belisarius, 241. Invention of floating-mills, 245 ; of wind- 
 mills, 248. Difference between German and Dutch wind- 
 mills’ 252. Bolting-machinery, when invented, 254, Ma- 
 nufacturing of bolting-cloth, 255. Mouture economique, 
 258. Italians little acquainted with the arts of grinding 
 and baking, 260. Invention of barley-mills, 266. Water- 
 mills included among regalia, 268. Anecdote of a feudal 
 lord, who pretended that the wind belonged to him, 269. 
 Creed proposed a machine for noting down music, 20. 
 
 Creta of the ancients, 212. 
 
 Crocus was our saffron, 278. 
 
 Croton tinctorium, 70. 
 
 Crusades tended to spread useful knowledge, 249. 
 Cryptography, when invented, 173. 
 
 Curieuse Nachricht von Krjin d unge n , account of, 491. 
 Cypsella, Chypsilar, a place in Thrace, 299. 
 
 D. 
 
 Daedalus, inventor of the saw, 362. 
 
 Daucus, said to have invented falconry, 327. 
 
 Daumius, his description of the effects of the tuimalin, 14*0. 
 Dauphin and Dauphiness poisoned, 101. 
 
 Deal tythe introduced by Christian III, occasioned by the 
 invention of saw-mills, 372. 
 
 Demetrius, one of the oldest writers on falconry, bids sports- 
 men say their prayers before they go out to the field, 3^2. 
 
536 
 
 GENERAL INDEX 
 
 Diamond powder, whether used as a secret poison, 97. 
 
 Diana de Poictiers had a carriage in the year 15.50, 123 
 
 Dictionnaire cles Origines, account of, 490. 
 
 Dionysius, Ear of, grotto in Sicily so called, 159. 
 
 Diplomas, how the seals of them were forged, 219. 
 
 Divers, how long they can remain under water, 182. 
 
 Diving-bell, 179. Ancient divers, account of, 180 . Princi- 
 ples of the diving-bell explained, 1 83. Oldest mention of 
 it m Aristotle, ibid. Earliest account of its use in Eu- 
 rope, 184. Described in the works of Lord Bacon, 185. 
 Cannon fished up by it from the wreck of some of the’ Spa- 
 nish Armada, 186. William Phipps, his success with it 
 187. Old inventions of the like kind, 189, 190. Dr’ 
 Halley’s diving-bell, 191. Triewald’s improvement, 194 
 Apparatus invented by an Englishman for walking at the 
 bottom of the sea, 195. 
 
 Doppia Scrittura , Book-keeping so called by the Italians 1. 
 
 Dry -gilding, how performed, 31. 
 
 E. 
 
 Ear-picks, magnetic, 74. 
 
 Ecclesiastics employed grinding formerly as an amusement, 
 246. 
 
 Ehrni, Jacob, beheaded for adulterating wine, 413. 
 Emeralds, artificial, mentioned by Seneca, 198. 
 
 Enamel, branch of the art of colouring glass, 207. 
 
 Erasmus, said to have discovered the use of turf for fuel, 337. 
 Eunostus, the god of mills, 231. 
 
 Evelyn, his gold varnish, 33. 
 
 Exili, employed in poisoning ; some account of him, 89. 
 
 F. 
 
 Falcon, how tamed, 332. 
 
 Falconry, 319. Not a modern invention, as some suppose, 
 320. Birds of prey used in India and Thrace for catching 
 game, 321. Employed also in Italy for the same purpose, 
 325. Falconry mentioned in the Roman laws, ibid. For- 
 bidden to the clergy in the 6th century, 327. Ancients 
 bred to hunting other rapacious animals besides hawks, 
 
 328. Falconry so called, common in the 12th century, 
 ibid. The emperor Frederick II wrote a book upon it, 
 
 329. Ladies formerly fond of falconry, 331 Oldest 
 writers on this art, ibid. 
 
 Favilla, explanation of that word, 174. 
 
 Ferramentum , mill-irons so called in ancient laws, 243. 
 
TO THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 537 
 
 Feudal lords forbidden to ride in coaches, 118. 
 
 Fiacres , coaches let out for hire, by whom first established, 
 
 131. 
 
 Finance accounts, improvement made in them, 8. 
 
 Fire-office at Paris, when established, 393. 
 
 Fire-offices established in other countries, ibid. 
 Floating-mills, their advantages, 253. 
 
 Foramen ovale, whether those who have it open can dive 
 longer than others, 181. 
 
 Forcing-beds, when invented, 171. 
 
 Frederick I, Barbarossa, introduced falconry into Europe, 329. 
 
 G. 
 
 Gaetulian purple, 68. 
 
 Garces, a Portuguese author, account of him, -<6. 
 
 Gazaria, name given to the Crimea, 38. 
 
 Germans fond of making researches in regard to the arts and 
 sciences, 510. 
 
 Gesner, Conrade, first gave a description of the tulip, 39. 
 Geusen, his saw-mills, 373. . 
 
 Gilding of the ancients, 33. Dry-gilding, when invented, 32. 
 Glaser, chemist at Paris, suspected of preparing poison, 93. 
 Glass, colouring of it, 195. 
 
 Glass-houses of the ancients, 197. 
 
 Gold-calx of Cassius, 201. 
 
 Gold colours glass red, 200. 
 
 Gold-ore, method of purifying it by quicksilver, 25. _ 
 
 Greeks, modern, utility of their language in natural history, 
 353. 
 
 Guancabelica, mines there when discovered, 26. 
 
 Gypsum, its effects on wine, 402. Experiments on its solu- 
 bility in vinegar, 404. 
 
 H. 
 
 Haliotrichum, 295. 
 
 Halley, his diving-bell, 191. 
 
 Hand-mills, their antiquity, 228. 
 
 Hanover, coaches there at an early period, 118. 
 
 Hanseatic maritime laws, 388. 
 
 Heliogabalus, whimsical manner in which he treated para- 
 sites, 237. 
 
 Helix of the ear discovered by Alcmaeon, 159. 
 
 Helmback invented a kind of artificial rubies, 208. 
 
 Hellot made sympathetic ink first known, 177. 
 
538 
 
 GENERAL INDEX 
 
 Herdicius practised falconry, 326. 
 
 Hermann, account of that botanist, 148. 
 
 Herwart, his garden at Augsburg, 39. 
 
 History of the principal discoveries, account of, 488. 
 Hohlfield, an ingenious German mechanic, anecdotes of his 
 life, 15. 
 
 Holly, indication of alum being near the place where it 
 grows, 310. 
 
 Horses, number of them in Holland, 135. 
 
 I, J. 
 
 Jews, whether they were the inventors of insurance, 387. 
 
 Ilex aquifolium, an indication of alum, 310. 
 
 Ink, sympathetic, history of it, 174. 
 
 Insurance, 382. Not known to the Romans, ibid. Puffen- 
 dorf, Barbeyrac, Loccenius, and Kulpis suppose that an 
 instance of it is to be found in Livy, 383. Passage in that 
 author on which they ground their assertion, ibid. Pas- 
 sage of Suetonius thought by Kulpis to afford an instance 
 of the like kind, 384. Passage in Cicero, ibid. No ac- 
 count of it in the maritime laws of the isle of Oleron, 386. 
 Not mentioned in the maritime laws of the city of Wisby, 
 in the island of Gothland, 387- Does not occur in the 
 Hanseatic maritime laws, nor in Corisolodo del mare, 388. 
 Oldest form of policies drawn up in 1523, still used at 
 Leghorn, 389. Insurance-laws of the 16th century, 390 ; 
 of the 17th century, 391, 392. Invention of insurance 
 against fire, 393. Plan for this purpose proposed to 
 Count Anthony Gunther von Oldenburg, in the beginning 
 of the 17th century, 394. The Count’s reflections on it, 
 395. 
 
 Iris, Florentine, its use, 70. 
 
 Italian book-keeping, 1. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kircher, whether he was the inventor of the speaking- 
 trumpet, 158. Read the litany through one to a congre- 
 gation assembled at the distance of from two to five Italian 
 miles, 162. 
 
 Kruger invented artificial rubies, 207. 
 
 Kunkel, anecdotes of him, 204 ; made artificial rubies, 205. 
 
 Kurze Geschichte der Erfindungen , account of, and of the au- 
 thor, 489, 490. 
 
TO THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 539 
 
 L. 
 
 Lacmus, history of it, 69; method of preparing it 70. 
 
 T ando Hortensius, account of a book written by him, 514. 
 
 " Another work by him, 515. Some particulars respecting 
 him 516. His writings inserted in the Index librorum 
 
 prohibitorum, 51 7. ...... ___ 
 
 Langeloti, inventor of the philosophical mill, 
 
 Lapis obsidianus explained, 196. 
 
 De Laval, Rene, account of him, 123. 
 
 Lead, sugar of, when invented, 407 ; whether used for secret 
 
 poison, 98. 
 
 Leegwater, some account of him, 253. 
 
 Legendary tales, wonders rela ted in them, 24b. 
 
 Lepus marinus , whether poisonous, 82. _ , 
 
 Lichen parellus , 7l ; roccella , 58 ; fuciformis , 61 ; mixed wit r 
 — the roccella , ibid. 
 
 Limpi, native cinnabar, 27. 
 
 Lipsius, his tulipomania, 50. 
 
 Liauor probatorius Wurt ember gicus , 414. 
 
 Liquor silicum, liquor of flint, by whom first made known, 
 204., 
 
 Litharge known to the ancients, 407 ; when it began to be 
 used for adulterating wine, 408. 
 
 Lobsinger, his wooden bellows, 108. 
 
 Locusta, a female poisoner at Rome, 79. 
 
 Louvois, his cruelty, 95. , , o 
 
 Lucas von Burgo published the first work on algebra, 2. 
 
 Account of him, ibid. 
 
 Lyncurium, supposed by the ancients to be the crystallised 
 ‘urine of the lynx, 141. 
 
 M. 
 
 Machine for noting down music, 20. Proposal for making 
 one, printed in the Philosophical Transactions, ibid One 
 invented in Germany in 1745, by John Frederic Unger, 
 21 : another, constructed by Hohlfeld, ibid. Dr. Bui ney, 
 in his Musical Travels, ascribes this invention to the Eng- 
 lish, 22. Unger’s refutation of this falsehood, ibid. 
 
 Madeira, island ol, when discoveied, 371. 
 
 Magnetic cures, 72. External use of the magnet in curing 
 the tooth-ache, known to Aetius in the sixth century, ibu . 
 This virtue of it mentioned by writers in the fifteenth and 
 sixteenth centuries, 73. Magnetic tooth-picks and ear- 
 pickers much extolled about the end of the seventeenth 
 
540 GENERAL INDEX 
 
 century, 74. External effect of the magnet on the bodies 
 of animals, ibid. 
 
 Maier, Michael, some account of, 485, 486. 
 
 Maize introduced into Spain, 167. 
 
 Malefactors in France condemned to the mill, in the sixth 
 century, 247. 
 
 Maltha of the ancients, what it was, 217. 
 
 Manganese, its use in colouring glass, very ancient, 198. 
 Manna of St. Nicholas de Bari, a secret poison, 85. 
 
 Marble, sawing it, an ancient art, 368. 
 
 Martin Bayer invented adulteration of wine, 410. 
 
 Martinelli first described water-clocks, 138. 
 
 Matthcei Johannis Lunensis Libellus de rerum Invent oribtis, 
 492. Some account of the author, 493. Extracts from 
 it, 494 — 496. 
 
 Maui ice, prince of Orange, method in which his finance ac- 
 counts were kept, 6. 
 
 Mellis, John, his Treatise on Book-keeping, one of the oldest 
 printed in England, 4. 
 
 Meridian, degree of it, measured by Fernelius, 10. 
 
 Meta , the upper mill-stone, 230. 
 
 Meynier, his odometer, 14. 
 
 Milantes, inventor of mills, 234. 
 
 Milk, secret writing with it, 173. 
 
 Milk, used in adulterating wine, 417. 
 
 Mill, building of one forbidden by the emperor Frederick I, 
 268. 
 
 Mill-stones of the ancients, discovered in Yorkshire, 233. 
 Mill-stones, gravel rubbed off from them prejudicial to the 
 health, 97. J 
 
 MiTs, history of them, 227. East Indian oil-mills, 229. 
 Philosophical mill, by whom invented, 233. Water-mills, 
 when invented, 235. _ Invention of floating-mills, 242 : 
 No wind or water-mills in Sardinia, 239. 
 Millers’ art among the Romans, 258. 
 
 Mithridates, said to have had water-mills, 234. 
 
 Mola trusatilis, versatilis, manuaria, 228 ; jumentaria , 2^9 - 
 asmaria, 239. * 
 
 Monasteries, why they had hand-mills, 246. 
 
 Montpellier, trade there in verdigrise, 275. 
 
 Mosaic work, 208. 
 
 Mouture economique , history of it, 262. 
 
 Mulsum, 398. 
 
 Munchausen, Baron de, first erected hot-houses for rearing 
 ananas, 170. * 
 
 Musto cotto, mustum , 399. 
 
TO THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 541 
 
 N. 
 
 Nanas. See Ananas. 
 
 Neri, at what time he lived, 203. 
 
 Nero employed poison, 80. 
 
 Northumberland, Earl of, yoked eight horses to his carriage, 
 to ridicule the Duke of Buckingham, who first used a 
 coach and six, 125. 
 
 O. 
 
 Odometer, 9. Supposed to be mentioned by Capitolinus, in 
 his Life of Pertinax, 10. Figure of one on the ducal 
 palace of Urbino erected in 1482, ibid. John Fernel, phy- 
 sician to Catherine of Medici, measured in 1550 a degree 
 of the meridian between Paris and Amiens, with an instru- 
 ment of this kind, ibid. One made by Paul Pfinzing, 11. 
 Odometer with which Augustus elector of Saxony measur- 
 ed his territories, 12. Odometers of the emperor Ro- 
 dolphus II, ibid. Butterfield’s odometer, 13. Odometer 
 ofMeynier, 14. Hohlfeld’s odometer, ibid. Anecdotes 
 of that ingenious mechanic, 15. 
 
 Oleron, history of that island, 385 : its maritime laws, 386. 
 
 Oricellarii, family so named from being discoverers of the 
 art of dyeing with argol, 63. 
 
 Orschal, some account of him, 206. 
 
 Orseille , argol, price of it, 67. 
 
 Outhier, his odometer, 14. ^ 
 
 Oviedo attempted to send plants of the ananas to Spam, 167. 
 
 P. 
 
 Paciolus, Lucas, account of his writings, 3. 
 
 Paste of flour used by the ancients, 216. 
 
 Pastregici de Originibus Rerum Libellus t 482. Account of 
 the author, ibid. 
 
 Pearl-barley, invention of, 266. 
 
 Perdix, inventor of the saw, 362. 
 
 Perelle, a kind of argol, 71. . 
 
 Perfumed leather, carriage covered with it, by whom used, 
 
 117. 
 
 Perfumes of the ancients, 282. 
 
 Peru, discovery of the mines there, 26. 
 
 Peter the Great of Russia forbade hewn deals to be trans- 
 ported on the Neva, 360. 
 
542 
 
 GENERAL INDEX 
 
 Pfannenschmid made wooden bellows, 110. 
 
 Pfinzing, a German mechanic, his odometer, 11. 
 
 Phcilaris of the ancients, 56. 
 
 Phipps, William, acquired a fortune by the divin«--bell, 18. 
 
 Phocaa nova, alum works established there, 300.° 
 
 Pinas, name given to the ananas, 166. 
 
 Pinea Indica, 168. 
 
 Pipes, leaden, for conveying water, danger of them, 401. 
 
 Phny, passage in his works supposed to allude to book-keen- 
 mg, 7. . 1 
 
 Poison, secret, 74. Mentioned by Plutarch and Quintilian, 
 76. Dreadful poison of the Indians, 77. Secret poison 
 known to Theophrastus, ibid. Invention of it falsely as- 
 ® r ^ ec *^ 0 Thrasyas, 78. When it was known at Rome, 
 ibid. Employed by Sejanus and Agrippina, 79. Locusta 
 expert m the infamous art of poisoning, ibid. Secret 
 poison, supposed to have been given to Regulus, 81. Sea- 
 hale, teniole effects of its poison, 82. Ancients unac- 
 quainted with mineral poisons, 84. Toffania invented a 
 re °^® e( ^ re ^ P°i son > called acquetta di Napoli and manna 
 ol St. Nicholas of Bari, 84, 85; detected and strangled, 
 86. Hieronyma Spara' executed for the same crime, 87. 
 Marchioness de Brinvillier, female poisoner at Paris, caus- 
 ed poison to be administered to her father and brother, 
 90. St. Croix, her husband, suffocated while preparing 
 poison, ibid. The Marchioness fled to a convent at Liege, 
 91 ; carried from thence by a stratagem, and beheaded, 
 92. Chambre ardente , or chambre de poison , established 
 at Paris, 94. La Vigoreux and La Voisin, two female 
 poisoners, ibid ; both burnt alive, 95. Count Corfitz de 
 Ulfeld intended to poison the king of Denmark, ibid. 
 Charles XI, king of Sweden, poisoned, 96. Precautions 
 taken to pre ent the composition of secret poisons from 
 being known, ibid. Ingredients of them, 98. Antidote, 
 100. Powst, a kind of secret poison used in the East 
 Indies, 103. 
 
 Politian, one of the first writers who mentions artichokes, 
 356. 
 
 Pollen , fine flour, 258. 
 
 Popes obliged to ride on horseback during processions, 113. 
 
 Poudves de succession , a name given to secret poison, 98. 
 
 Prcedes, whether it signified an insurer, 385. 
 
 Public water-mills, when first mentioned in old laws, 239. 
 
 Pumex vitreus, account of it, 196. 
 
 Puppies, sucking, Romans made fricassees of them, 281. 
 
 Puppets, moved by quicksilver, a Chinese invention, 137. 
 
 I urple mineral, by whom invented, 201. 
 
TO THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 543 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quicksilver used for purifying gold ore, 25. How recovered 
 afterwards, ibid. 
 
 Quicksilver mines in Peru, when discovered, 27. 
 
 R. 
 
 Regalia , origin of them, 267. 
 
 Regulus, whether he was poisoned, 81. 
 
 Repnin, prince, his magnificent entrance into Constantinople, 
 135. 
 
 Respio, name given to argol, 62. 
 
 Rhodians, their laws respecting goods recovered from ship- 
 wrecked vessels, 180. 
 
 Riding on horseback more usual in ancient times, 112. 
 Riding servants, their employment, ibid. 
 
 Rocca, a city in Syria, 297. 
 
 Rocket, a plant used for the table, 351. 
 
 Rodolphus II, emperor of Germany, fond of mechanics, 12. 
 Roole d’ Oleron, maritime laws so called, 386. 
 
 Rotzalaun, kind of alum"; origin of the name, 298. 
 Rousseau, Francis, inventor of sealing-wax, 218. 
 
 Rubies, artificial, how to make them, 200. 
 
 Ruby glass, cup of it weighing twenty-four pounds, made 
 by Kunkel for the elector of Cologne, 205. 
 
 Ruccellai, history of that family, 62. 
 
 S. 
 
 Saardam, number of saw-mills there, 374. 
 
 Sabellici de Rerum Inventoribus Poema, 505. Account of 
 the author, 506. Editions of this poem, 507. 
 
 Sabinus, Pomponius, his account of the first mill at Rome, 
 235. 
 
 Saffron, 278. Was the crocus of the ancients, ibid. Medi- 
 cinal use of it, 280. Employed by the Romans for per- 
 fuming apartments, ibid. Scented salves made with it, 
 281. Superiority of the modern perfumes, 282. That 
 saffron was used by the ancients for seasoning dishes, 
 proved from Apicius, 284. Name of it Arabic or Persian, 
 ibid. Introduced into Spain by the Arabs, ibid. By whom 
 brought to France, 285. Introduced into England, in the 
 reign of Edward III. ibid. When cultivated in Austria, 
 ibid. Saffron an important article in the European hus- 
 
544* 
 
 GENERAL INDEX 
 
 bandry in the fifteenth century, 286. Adulteration of it, 
 287. 
 
 Saint Croix, a poisoner; his history, 88. 
 
 Salar used a speaking-trumpet in music, 165. 
 
 Salts little known to the ancients, 288. 
 
 Sandwich, earl of, translated Barba’s book on metals, 29. 
 
 Sapa, kind of wine, 398. 
 
 Sardi de Rerum Inventoribus, account of, and of the author, 
 502. Some extracts from it, 504. 
 
 Sauveur, his pedometer, 14. 
 
 Saw- fish, remarkable for its bone like a saw, 365. 
 
 Saw-mills, 360. Ancient method of making boards, ibid. 
 Split timber, the advantages of it, 361. Our saw not 
 known to the Americans, ibid. The saw, by whom in- 
 vented, 362. Bone of the saw-fish used for a saw by the 
 old inhabitants of Madeira, 365. Ancient saws described, 
 366, 867. Invention of saw-mills, 368. Invented, ac- 
 cording to Becher, in the seventeenth century, 370. Saw- 
 mills at Augsburg so early as 1337, ibid. The Infant 
 Henry caused saw-mills to be erected in the year 1420, 
 in the island of Madeira, 371. The first saw-mills in Nor- 
 way, 372. Saw-mills with different blades in the sixteenth 
 century, 373. First saw-mill erected in Holland by Cor- 
 nells Cornelissen, 374. In Sweden, a saw-mill which 
 drives seventy-two saws, the largest in Europe, 375. First 
 saw-mill erected in England by a Dutchman, ibid. Saw- 
 mill erected at Limehouse destroyed by the mob, ibid. 
 Saw-mill at Leith in Scotland, 376. 
 
 Scapta Hyla , place in Thrace, 300. 
 
 Schelhorn, inventor of wooden bellows, 109. 
 
 Schisler constructed automata for the emperor Rodolphus II, 
 13. 
 
 Schlusce of mills, 243. 
 
 Schluter, a writer on metallurgy, 464. 
 
 Schwartlings, explanation of the term, 371. 
 
 Schwobber, celebrated gardens there, 169. 
 
 Scolymus of the ancients, what plant it was, 347. 
 
 Sea-hare poisonous, 82. 
 
 Sealing-earth of the ancients, 209. ' 
 
 Sealing-wax, 208. Substances used by the ancients for seal- 
 ing, ibid. Wax employed for sealing in the earliest ages, 
 214. Red, green, and black sealing-wax, 215. Wax can- 
 not be coloured blue, ibid. Impressions made on paste, 
 216. Maltha employed for seals, 217. Sealing-wax said 
 to have been invented by Francis Ifousseau, 218. How 
 public acts have been forged, 219. East Indian and 
 Turkish sealing-wax described, 220. Oldest known seal 
 of our common sealing-wax, on a letter written from 
 
TO THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 545 
 
 London, 221. Oldest printed receipt for making sealing- 
 wax, 224. Spanish-wax, meaning of that expression, 225. 
 Antiquity of wafers, 226. 
 
 Secta ad molendinum explained, 270. 
 
 Sejanus poisoned Drusus, 79. 
 
 Septimia, her history, 217. 
 
 Ships, machine for measuring their rate of sailing, 10. 
 Sieves, the different kinds used by the Romans, 254. 
 
 Sithe, a German invention, 250. 
 
 Slavery, among the Romans, when it ceased, 239. 
 
 Snuff, effects of it, 284. 
 
 Spanish green. See Verdigrise. 
 
 Spanish, an epithet given to different articles, 225. 
 
 Spara, a female poisoner ; her history, 87. 
 Speaking-trumpet, 152. Antiquity of wind-instruments, ibid. 
 Prodigious horn or speaking-trumpet of Alexander the 
 Great, 153. Work which contains an account of it, falsely 
 ascribed to Aristotle, 154. Instrument of the same kind 
 said to have been made by D’Alance, a Frenchman, 156. 
 Ear-trumpet older than the speaking-trumpet, 157. In- 
 vention of the speaking-trumpet disputed by Sir Samuel 
 Morland and Kircher, 158. Ear of Dionysius described, 
 159. Kircher constructed an ear-trumpet in the Jesuits’ 
 College at Rome, 162. Improvements made in the speak- 
 ing-trumpet, 165. 
 
 Stamped paper, 376. Whether introduced by the emperor 
 Justinian, 377. Romans used to mark their run-awav 
 slaves, 379. Stamped paper invented in Holland, ibid. 
 When introduced into Saxony, 381. When used in Den- 
 mark and other countries, 382. 
 
 Stevin, Simon, his system of book-keeping, drawn up for the 
 use of Maurice prince of Orange, 5. 
 
 Stones sawn by the ancients, 369. 
 
 Strobeldorn, name given to the artichoke, 359. 
 
 Stum-wine, explanation of the term, 417. 
 Succession-powder, secret poison so called, 9S. 
 
 Sugar said to be a poison for birds, 52. 
 
 Sympathetic ink, history of it, 174. 
 
 Syracuse, curious cavern or grotto there, 159. 
 
 T. 
 
 Talus, inventor of the saw, 362. 
 
 Tanners’ bark, when first used for forcing-beds,. 17 1. 
 Tapestry, leather, method of gilding it known to Reaumur, 
 36. 
 
 Teatro de gl* Invent or i di tutte le Scienze et Art ? , 480. 
 vot, i. 2 N 
 
516 
 
 GENERAL INDEX 
 
 Text or is J Ravisii Nivernensis Poetce celeberrimce Officina, 
 sive Theatrum Historicum < t Poeticum, 5 i2. 
 
 Theamedes, kind of stone that repelled iron, 143. 
 
 Thrasyas, his poison, 78. 
 
 Tide mills, account of them, 245. 
 
 Toad-flax, ivy-leaved ( cymbalaria antirrhinum ), whether 
 poisonous, 98. 
 
 Toffania, a poisoner; her history, 85. 
 
 Tolfa, alum-works there, 305. 
 
 Tournesol, how prepared, 70. 
 
 Triewald, an account of his diving-hell, 194. 
 
 Trip, name given to turmalin, 146. 
 
 Tulipomania, by whom that word was coined, 41. 
 
 Tulips, 36. Came from Turkey, 37. Effects produced on 
 them by cultivation, ibid. How called by the Turks, 38. 
 Tulip first described by Conrade Gesner, 39. Origin of 
 the name, ibid. Tulips first introduced into England, 40. 
 Tulipomania, history of it, 41. Extravagant prices given 
 for tulips, 43. The tulip-trade and stock-jobbing com- 
 pared, 47. End of the tulip-trade, 49. Lesser tulipo- 
 mania, ibid. Laughable anecdotes respecting tulips, 50. 
 Lipsius accused of the tulipomania, ibid. John Barclay 
 and Pompeius de Angelis fond of tulips, 51. 
 
 Turf, 333. The use of it for fuel seems to have been dis- 
 covered by the earth accidentally catching fire, ibid. The 
 use of turf known to the Chauci, 335. Whether known 
 to the Dutch in the thirteenth century, ibid. Invention 
 of turf ascribed to Erasmus, 337. 
 
 Turkish, epithet of, what it means, 225. 
 
 Turks do not practise insurance, 382. 
 
 Turmalin, 140. Supposed by some to be the lyncurium of 
 the ancients, ibid, Lyncurium appears to be a hyacinth, 
 142. Theamedes of the ancients thought to have been the 
 turmalin, 143. More probable, that the turmalin belongs 
 to the carbuncles, 144. Stone somewhat like the turmalin, 
 mentioned by Serapion, an Arabic author, 145. Turmalin 
 first brought from Ceylon, about the end of the last cen- 
 tury, ibid. Was first described in Germany, 146. Occurs 
 in the catalogue of the natural curiosities of Paul Hermann, 
 
 147. Described in the Memoirs of the Academy at Paris, 
 
 148. Experiments first made on it by German naturalists, 
 150. Its electrical properties first known to Linnaeus, 151 ; 
 investigated by TEpinus, ibid. 
 
 Tyrolians trade in Canary-birds, 55. 
 
TO THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 547 
 
 V. 
 
 Vailly invented a water-clock, 137. 
 
 Varnish for gilding, 34, 
 
 Vasa myrrhina of the ancients, what they were, 202. 
 
 Verdigrise, method of making it, 273. Used in early periods 
 for plasters, 274. Made formerly in Cyprus and Rhodes, 
 275. Distilled verdigrise, 277. Verdigrise, why called 
 Spanish green, 278. 
 
 Vergil, Polydore, his book, De Rerum Inventoribus, 496. 
 Account of it, 497. Has gone through more than fifty 
 editions, 498. Author expresses himself with great free- 
 dom in regard to the Catholic ceremonies, 499. Papal 
 court caused an edition to be printed in which the sup- 
 posed irreligious expressions were omitted, ibid. 
 
 Vermicelli, wire-drawn paste, 275. 
 
 La Vigoreux, female poisoner ; her history, 94. 
 
 Vin en rage , meaning of that expression, 4] 8. 
 
 Vinaigrettes , sort of carriages used at Paris, 132. 
 
 Vinum ?nutum, siiffocatum, 418. 
 
 Vitiges, king of the Goths, besieged Rome, and stopped the 
 aqueducts, 241. 
 
 Vitriol, when that term was introduced, 293. Ancients ac- 
 quainted with the method of boiling blue vitriol, 289. 
 
 Vitruvius describes the manner of recovering gold from cloth 
 in which it has been interwoven, 24. 
 
 La Voisin, female poisoner, account of, 94. 
 
 Volaterra, alum-works there, 311. 
 
 U. 
 
 Ulfeld, count de, intended to poison the king of Denmark, 
 95. 
 
 Unger, account of his machine for noting down music, 21. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wafers for sealing, when first used, 226. 
 
 Water-armour, apparatus so called, 190. 
 
 Water-clocks, 135. Invention of those of the ancients as- 
 cribed to Ctesibius of Alexandria, 135. Clepsydrae used 
 in courts of justice, a Grecian invention, introduced at 
 Rome under the third consulship of Pompey, 136. Mo- 
 dern water-clock described, 137: by whom invented, 139. 
 Latest improvements of this machine, 140. 
 
548 
 
 INDEX TO FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 Water regale , origin of, 267. 
 
 Wax, its use for seals, 214. Yellow wax becomes white 
 with age, 215. Cannot be coloured blue, ibid. 
 
 Waywiser, account of, 9. 
 
 Welschdistel (Italian thistle), our artichoke, 359. 
 Whirlicotes, first carriages used by the ladies, in England. 
 124. 
 
 White lead, poisonous nature of it known to the ancients, 
 400. 
 
 Wilke, his service to electricity, 151. 
 
 Wind-mills, whether they be regalia, 269. 
 
 Wine, adulteration of, 396. 
 
 Wisby, maritime laws of, 387. 
 
 Wolf, sea, might be employedjor fishing, 328. 
 
 Women, formerly rode on she-asses, 112. 
 
 Wood, attempts made by the ancients to secure it from fire, 
 294. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Vol. i. p. 4 65, line 10 from the bottom, for dove read dove; line 8, for 
 ricerea read ricerca ; and line 7, for core read cose. 
 
 Vol.ii. p. 407, note, line 8 from the bottom, for Survay of London read. 
 Survey of London. 
 
 , Printed by S. Hamilton, Wevbridge, Surrey.