PRÆFATIO.

of such liquids and juices in their storehouses, and in other buildings receiving military provisions, they might look out for the poor when a time of grain difficulty arrives, so that they might be made participants in that abundance, not to receive any detriment, but rather to perceive a benefit that is hardly to be despised.

Furthermore, the condensation of wood and its transformation into saltpeter salempetræ saltpeter or nitrum nitrate/saltpeter brings a far greater fruit than that of wine or beer. This is because wood can be had almost for free and can be changed into saltpeter at very low expense. Because it is not accustomed to spoiling, it can be easily and safely kept and preserved in armories without loss, until the time of necessity when it may be converted into gunpowder, along with charcoal and sulfur which are also non-perishable. Thus, it is clearly not necessary, indeed it is most harmful, that such a great quantity of gunpowder be kept in armories and fortified places. Examples are readily available of many towers keeping gunpowder that, either through negligence or by being ignited by lightning, have destroyed cities with a great number of people in a moment, and killed them. Such a great inconvenience is prevented by this single remedy, if, namely, not the nitrated powder itself, but only its material—that is, saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal—is kept in readiness and preserved, so that...