Earth. And I remember too, that a candid Mineralist, famous for his Skill in trying of Oars, requesting me one day to procure him a certain American Mineral Earth of a Virtuoso, who he thought would not refuse me; I enquir’d of him why he seem’d so greedy of it: he confess’d to me that this Gentleman having brought that Earth to the publick Say-Masters; and they upon their being unable by any means to bring it to fusion or make it fly away, he (the Relator) had procur’d a little of it; and having try’d it with a peculiar Flux separated from it neer a third part of pure Gold; so great mistakes may be committed in hastily concluding things to be Uselesse Earth.
Next, it may be suppos’d, That as in the Resolution of Bodies by the Fire some of the dissipated Parts may, by their various occursion occasion’d by the heat, be brought to stick together so closely as to constitute Corpuscles too heavy for the Fire to carry away; the aggregate of which Corpuscles is wont to be call’d Ashes or Earrh; So other Agents may resolve the Concrete into Minute Parts, after so differing a manner as not to produce any Caput mortuum, or dry and heavy Body. As you may remember Helmont above inform’d us, that with his great Dissolvent he divided a Coal into two liquid and volatile Bodies, æquiponderant to the Coal, without any dry or fixt Residence at all.