The Hartlib Papers

                                        <H: No.2.>

Of the destilling or drawing of spirits some Animadversions

spiritts of herbes & symples; drawne by, or destilld with wine; have beene things, by all, both Physitians, Chymists, <&> Phylosophers, much cryed vp; & magnifyed; since the first, that destillation came in practise./ Hence, various & celebrious names, have beene imposed, on diverse waters so distilld, as where in seemed to consist, the very stuffe or Balsam, for repayring or cherishing our naturall spiritts, (the very matter of our lyfe.)

These:/ They commanded should be thus diligently made./ First the strongest, soundest, purest, & most generous wine, should be taken. In This; the hearbes or symples whose efficacyes or propertyes they [deletion] desired should be conveyed to vs; were to be infused./ These together distilld; in glasse Alymbeckes with heads; whereof they excogitated, & devised many & diverse formes, for the cooling, breaking, & preserving the spiritts free entire, and free from adustion. And These so carefully Artificially, and [vprightly? MS damaged] rightly done; They iudged, as a sort of the highest, & most excellent medicines in nature./ But as every thing fell from its symplicity, & purity, so; These spiritts, comming to be made by the vulgar, & comon Artists, did degenerate./ They instead of good wine, taking fylthy, & adust Aqua vitæ, or drawing spiritts from the comon, & ill sented lees of all sorts of strong drinkes, promiscuously./ Instead of infusing them their due time; they only putt the[altered] hearbes or symples in [deletion] <when> they went about to distill them./ Instead of stilling them pure, in glasse; and taking care the spiritt, be free from any Empyreuma, They destill them in Copper & metallick vessells, with <any> quicke hott fire. And those who will seeme to correct these abuses, do yett but take the herbes & wine & putt them together, in an ordinary small glasse Alymbeck, and so sett them in boyling water, nor even so handle them [right column] But they will have more or lesse, a preternaturall [deletion] tast, quality & adustion in them./

All this I many times marking;/ and willing to exalt these kind of medicines a litle higher, and to bring them to their greatest purity & perfection, began to consider these 3 defects even in the very best of them. (To say nothing of the comon hott waters or aqua vitæ as no way to be allowed in Physick.)

First, that the wines they commonly vsed, have strong sents of their owne, and which in destilling, prevayled much over the sent of the plant, or symples, that were mixed <with it>/ and that consequently (though I thought not this the most materiall consideration in them yet) if a wine, or vinous liquor, could be found, or made; having litle or[altered from nor] no sent of its owne, The sent or breathe of the hearbe drawne by it, would & must needs be at least in [tanto?] so much [word missing, hole in MS] and more percieveable./

Secondly I considered it was impossible, & not to be expected, That the hearbes being not infused, but putt in & <so> straight destilled should yssue out much of their vertue, odor, or spiritt./ And yett, being infused, after their manner;/ in hott water./ they contracted so much much preternaturall fire, or heat, that their sents, and odors, if soft, & tender, were there by <as> much altered, & corrupted./ Therefor I iudged a 3d way more naturall, & found it highly better. (to wit) to ferment the wine & hearbe together;/ by which phisicall heat, of fermentation, All things do sweetly, willingly, & plentifully yeeld forth their odors, vertue & spiritts./ But seing the wines that came to vs, could not be putt into fermentation again at all times of the yeare, without hazard./ I was driven to thinke, how this might be [done MS edge] by some neat, singular, & speciall Artifice./

Thirdly I found (however all this were done) yet That all spiritts destilld, the ordinary way in close small vessells, and with hott and boyling water did constantly contract more or lesse of a preternaturall quality, & loose part of their tender sents, and purity./

Hence I tryed to distill them in larger vessells of glasse, and somewhat otherwise formed, with a lampe, or most tepid heat, and this way I found an incomparable difference; and the tenderest sents of plants, easy to be exhibited, in their purity./ And do yett guesse, further or higher then by these wayes, they cannot easily be exalted./

But here: though I saw, spiritts might these wayes be much advanced, & made abundantly more excellent, then any other./ yett the curiosity also did arise to so great a charge, that I saw not a long time, how [they? hole in MS] could be made saleable, in any [quantity MS hole] or <done> with profitt.

Hence I studied, & still applyed many Compendia; that I mett with & observed./ and first how to preserve my glasses; least they being of so great price, by being broke should quite breake me, & eat out the profitt/ for this I found 2 wayes./ one if (and as) there was occasion, to fence & strengthen them with a kind of lute [cross in left margin]; all over them, that they should not at least easily breake, or snap./ Another was by ordering [word deleted] <my> Balneum so, as I writt to you of, about 3 or 4 weekes agoe

Secondly I thought how as farr as was possible I might save the charge of my fire, seing my destillation was <so> slow./ for which I thought also of 2 wayes, first such a framed Balneum [cross in left margin] in wood, with an [letter deleted] iron pipe running through the midst of it, (which I halfe thinke not unlike much different from Pettyes) as 6 8 or more glasses might be placed about it & destilld together./ [right column:]

Secondly that with the care of one vnderstanding servant, they might be made to goe <eyther> with small <coale> or ordinary sea coale, which would not be overchargeable and that many of these Balnea might be sett in a large laboratory together./

Thirdly I began to think how I might ease the charge of my wine, if possible, seing what wine soever I tooke:/ one third part or more; would, & must be still left behind, after my destilling of the spiritt.

This I also found at last; 2 wayes to do; one by making my wine as cheape and [deletion] [mark in right margin] indeed cheaper then the ordinary (which is very certayne may be done.) another, in designing an vse for what was left [mark in left margin], that it might not be wholly cast away./ which (and indeed most of these compendia for the charge) I acknowledge I learned since I came hither/

The Result is this/ that all sorts of spiritts, may through the application of these Compendia, be drawne, as cheape and [word missing, hole in MS] cheaper, then any Artist can draw them, if he make them (as he ought) of good wine and distill them in glasse./

Secondly That spiritts drawne thus purely, and so farr beyond others, must sell before theirs; if they may be had for the same price./

Thirdly/ That with this fermentation, and carefull order, the spiritts of many herbes, and so choyce as senting, and refreshing, may be made, as cannot possibly the knowne way be imitated, and which may be held almost at any reasonable Rate./

Fourthly That it was not difficult to have them cryed vp, comended, and vented, in our Factorys and english Plantations, whereby (beside what may be sold in England, & sought after by choyce Physitians.) very good quantityes might be vttered

Fifthly That <yett> if butt 2 gallons a day, one day of the weeke, with another, might be but vented, and at the lowest rates that true spiritts were sold (for they in the shops, made a difference in price, betweene spiritts indeed, & comon strong waters) the spiritts oughting to have the no smell of strong water, or of Adustion, but the true genuine & pure smell & tast of the plant) I meane at 2 pence the ounce/ aboue 2 hundred pounds sterling might be gayned clearly in the yeare./ But if greater quantity may be sold the greater the gaine accordingly.

6thly That the whole busynesse, required not above 50 or 60lb sterling stocke, to go through with it./

Lastly; that to compose such kind of spiritts, which should not only be harmelesse, [deletion] (which cannot be sayd of those that have a preternaturall, hot, fiery, aqua vitæ like Tast, no way suted, to the temper of our [natives? MS torn] & spiritts.) but in their [illeg.word, MS hole] choyce excellent, delightfull, & most healthfull medicines was an vndertaking that could no way shame or staine any man, yea rather gaine creditt & esteeme if what is singular & vnimitable may be done./

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