Beginner [Art]

To these [materials], for every one pound of matter, five pounds of water should be added. Let them stand in moderate heat for a natural day A "natural day" refers to a full 24-hour cycle.. Afterward, let them boil together and be skimmed of foam. Let a third part evaporate, or place a fresh egg into the liquid while it boils; if the egg rises to the surface, it is a sign of perfect cooking original: "coctionis"; this is a traditional density test; as the liquid becomes more concentrated through boiling, its buoyancy increases.. Once the liquid is removed from the heat, it should be strained while hot through a double-layered cloth and placed in the sun in a suitable vessel. Add two drachms A drachm (or dram) was a unit of apothecary weight, approximately 3.8 grams. of salt of tartar Potassium carbonate, often collected from the crusty deposits in wine barrels. or common salt, or one ounce of any acidic substance, for every thirty pints. Let it "boil" original: "bulliat"; here Beguin refers to the active bubbling of fermentation rather than heat-induced boiling. for forty days or thereabouts, until the liquid becomes clear and carries the scent of wine. Finally, the vessel is sealed and stored in a cellar for use.

Putrefaction is the breaking down original: "resolutio"; the separation of a compound substance into its simpler components. of a compound body through natural decay within a warm and moist environment. If the material intended for putrefaction is already full of moisture, it should be crushed and left in its own juices, then placed for digestion In early chemistry, digestion refers to the process of exposing a substance to gentle, continuous heat, similar to the biological process of a stomach. in warm dung original: "digestionem fimi"; fresh horse manure was a standard heat source in the laboratory, providing a steady, mild temperature as it naturally decomposed. or a similar substitute. If, however, the material contains little or no actual moisture of its own, it must be ground up and mixed with a proportional amount of moisture...