THE COMPLETE DISTILLER TEXT

is easily separated from the Water, by the separating Glass, in the following manner: Stop the Spout of the separating Glass with a Cork, and then fill it with the Orange-flower-water; when it has stood a small time the Oil will float on the Surface. Then pull out the Cork, and let the Water run out at the Spout into another Receiver placed for that Purpose. As the Water runs out at the Spout of the Separating-glass, let it be supplied at the Mouth, that the Separating-glass may be always full of Water, till the whole is in this manner poured into it. Then by gently inclining the Glass, pour out all the Water in it through the Spout, and the Oil will remain in the Separating-glass, and may be poured into another Bottle, and kept separate from the Water. The double Orange-flower water is odoriferous; but the essential Oil much more so. Orange-flower-water is not at present so much used as formerly; but as it is a very odoriferous Water, I thought the Method of making it would be not unacceptable to the young Distiller. The essential Oil, or Quintessence of Orange-flowers will make a very grateful Cordial, by mixing it with a clean proof Spirit: The Method of mixing it is this: Take some fine Loaf Sugar, and drop on it the Quantity of Oil you intend to dissolve in the Spirit, and rub them well together in a Glass Mortar, which is what the Chemists call making an Oleosaccharum. Put this Oleosaccharum into the Spirit; mix them well together, and dulcify it with Sugar to your Taste. If the Spirit be too strong, it may be lowered with Water; but you must observe, that if you add Water enough to bring the Spirit considerably below Proof, it will turn milky; and in order to render it fine, you must filtrate it thro’ thick Flannel, or thin Paper. Twenty Drops of the essential Oil will be sufficient for a Pint of Spirit, and the same Proportion to a larger Quantity. CHAP. VII. _Of Rose-water._ The Damask Rose is the Species intended to be used in this Operation; it is of a very fragrant Smell, and flowers in _June_ and _July_. The Water may be made either by the hot Still, the cold Still, or the _Balneum Mariæ_. If the hot Still be used, the Leaves picked from the Stalks must be put into the Still with a sufficient Quantity of Water to prevent an Empyreuma, and the Water drawn off by a gentle Fire. The Receiver must be luted with a Bladder to the Nose of the Worm, to prevent the finest and most volatile Parts from evaporating, which they would otherwise do, to the great Prejudice of the Water. If the cold Still be used, the Rose Leaves either with the Dew on them, or sprinkled with Water, must be laid on the Iron Plate, and covered with the conical Head. A gentle Fire must then be made under the Plate, and a Receiver luted with a Bladder to the Nose of the Still. The Water will gradually distil into the Receiver, and be strongly impregnated with the odoriferous Parts of the Roses. The same Method with regard to the _Balneum Mariæ_ must be used in the Distillation of Roses as in that of Orange-flowers, and therefore need not be repeated here. We shall therefore only observe, that Rose-water drawn either by the cold Still, or the _Balneum Mariæ_, is much preferable to that drawn by the hot Still. The Essence, or essential Oil of Roses is looked upon as one of the most valuable Perfumes in the World; but at the same Time the most difficult to be procured in any Quantity. A small Quantity of it is made in _Italy_, but it has always been thought impossible to procure it here; and, therefore, a Method of acquiring this valuable Commodity will not, I presume, be disagreeable to the Reader. Take a Quantity of Damask Rose Leaves, put them into a proper Vessel, with a sufficient Quantity of Water, adding some mineral Acid, as Spirit of Salt, Vitriol, _&c._ In this Menstruum let the Roses be digested for fifteen Days; after which put the Whole into an Alembic, and draw off the Water with a pretty brisk Fire. But, instead of the common Receiver, a Separating-Glass must be placed under the Nose of the Worm, and a Receiver added to the Tube of the Separating-Glass. By this Means all the Oil or Essence will float on the Surface of the Water in the Separating-Glass, and may easily be separated from it, when the Operation is finished. CHAP. VIII. _Of Cinnamon-water._ Cinnamon is a thin fine Bark, rolled up in a sort of little Pipes, from the thickness of a Goose-quill, to that of a Man’s Thumb, and sometimes more, and about two or three Feet long. Its Colour brownish, with a Mixture of red. It is of an extremely aromatic Smell, and of an acrid and pungent, but very agreeable Taste. It is the interior, or second Bark of a Tree that grows plentifully in _Ceylon_. The People who gather it take off the two Barks together, and immediately separating the outer one, which is rough, and has very little Fragrancy, they lay the other to dry in the Shade in an airy Place, where it rolls itself up into the Form wherein we see it. The greatest Cheats in the Sale of Cinnamon, are the selling such as has already had its essential Oil distilled from it, and dried again, and the imposing Cassia Lignea in its Place. The first of these is discovered by the want of Pungency in the Cinnamon; the second by this, that the Cassia, when held a little Time in the Mouth, becomes mucilaginous, which the true Cinnamon never does, Cinnamon is a noble Drug, endued, with many capital Virtues; it strengthens the Viscera, assists Concoction, dispels Flatulencies, and is a pleasant Cardiac. _Recipe for one Gallon of simple Cinnamon-Water._ Take a Pound of the best Cinnamon grosly powdered, digest for twenty-four Hours, in two Gallons of Water; put the Whole into an Alembic, and draw over one Gallon with a pretty brisk Fire. The Oil of Cinnamon, in which the specific Virtue of the Drug consists, is very ponderous, and therefore will not come over the Helm unless the Fire be pretty brisk, especially with a simple Water. It will therefore be in vain to attempt distilling simple Cinnamon-water by the _Balneum Mariæ_. CHAP. IX. _Of Fennel-water._ Fennel-water is extracted from a Seed larger and more beautiful than that produced by our common Fennel; it is called _Sweet Fennel seed_, being of a fragrant Smell, and aromatic sweet Taste, and is cultivated in _France_ and _Italy_. It is to be chosen new, large and fair; but when damp or dusty to be rejected. _Recipe for one Gallon of Fennel-water._ Take one Pound of Sweet Fennel-seeds, and two Gallons of Water; put them into an Alembic, and draw off one Gallon with a gentle Fire. CHAP. X. _Of Pepper-mint-water._ Pepper-mint is a very celebrated Stomachic, and on that account greatly used at present, and its Simple Water often called for. _Recipe for a Gallon of Pepper-mint-water._ Take of the Leaves of dried Pepper-mint, one Pound and a half; Water two Gallons and a half; put all into an Alembic, and draw off one Gallon, with a gentle Fire. The Water obtained from Pepper-mint by Distillation in _Balneum Mariæ_, is more fragrant and more fully impregnated with the Virtues of the Plant than that drawn by the Alembic. The same may be said with regard to that extracted by the cold Still; when the cold Still is used the Plant must be green, and if possible committed to the still with the Morning Dew upon it. CHAP. XI. _Of Spear-mint-water._ Spear-mint is also like Pepper-mint a great Stomachic, and therefore constantly used. _Recipe for one Gallon of Spear-mint-water._ Take of the Leaves of dried Spear-mint one Pound and a half; Water two Gallons and a half; draw off by a gentle Fire one Gallon. This Water, like that drawn from Pepper-mint, will be more fragrant if distilled in _Balneum Mariæ_, or the cold Still; but if the latter be used, the same Caution must be observed of distilling the Plant green. CHAP. XII. _Of Baum-water._ Baum is a plant well known in our Gardens. It flowers in _July_, and is of a fine cordial Flavour; but so weak, that it is soon dissipated and lost; nor is it easy to dry it so as to preserve its natural Scent. Baum-water, therefore should be drawn when the Plant is green; and in order to procure the Water in full Perfection, it should be cohobated, or returned several times upon fresh Parcels of the Plant; by this means a Water may be procured from Baum extremely rich, and of considerable Use as a Cordial. If the _Balneum Mariæ_ be used, the Water is much better than that drawn by an Alembic. The Water drawn from this Plant by the cold Still will also be very fragrant, and highly impregnated with the Virtues of the Plant. CHAP. XIII. _Of Penny-royal-water._ Penny-royal, a Plant very common in _England_, is very warm, and its Parts very subtile and penetrating: It is one of the first Plants in Esteem in the present Practice, as well as in former Ages, as an Attenuant and Uterine. It is good in Flatulences and Suppressions of Urine, and by many is greatly recommended in Dropsies, Jaundices, and other chronic Distempers. It communicates its Virtues to Water in Infusion, and its simple Water has, perhaps, more Virtue than any other kept in the Shops. But as it is requisite in order to obtain a Water fully impregnated with the Virtues of Baum, to cohobate it on fresh Parcels of the Plant; the Water drawn from green Penny-royal, on the contrary, generally contains so large a Portion of the essential Oil, that it is necessary to separate what floats on the Surface of the Water, by the Separating-glass. _Recipe for one Gallon of Penny-royal-water._ Take of the dried Leaves of Penny-royal one Pound and a half, of Water three Gallons; draw off one Gallon with a gentle Fire. The Water drawn from green Penny-royal by the cold Still, is very fragrant, and fully impregnated with the Virtues of the Plant. CHAP. XIV. _Of_ Jamaica-_Pepper-water_. _Jamaica_-Pepper, or Pimento, is the Fruit of a tall Tree growing in the mountainous Parts of _Jamaica_, where it is much cultivated, because of the great Profit arising from the cured Fruit, sent in large Quantities annually into _Europe_. It is gathered, when green, and exposed to the Sun for many Days on Cloths, and frequently shaked and turned, till thoroughly dry; great Care is taken during the Time of drying to defend the Fruit from the Morning and Evening Dews; when thoroughly dried it is sent over to us. It is a very noble Aromatic, and deserves to be used more frequently than it is at present. The simple Water drawn from it is a better Carminative than any other simple Water at present in use. _Recipe for a Gallon of_ Jamaica-_Pepper-water_. Take of _Jamaica_-Pepper half a Pound. Water two Gallons and a half; draw off one Gallon, with a pretty brisk Fire. The Oil of this Fruit is very ponderous, and therefore this Water is best made in an Alembic. CHAP. XV. _Of Castor-water._ This Drug is brought to us in the Pods or Bags that naturally contained it, and these so much resemble the Testicles of an Animal, both in their dry State, and when on the Body of the Creatures, that it is no wonder People who did not examine their Situation on the Animal, really took them for such; it is, however, a peculiar secreted Matter, contained in Bags destined to receive it. Castor is an indurated Substance, formed of a Matter once fluid; the thinner Part of which has been evaporated by drying. It is a light and friable Matter, of a moderately lax Texture, and of a deep dusky brown Colour. It is of a somewhat acrid and bitterish Taste, and of a strong fœtid Smell, which, to many, is very disagreeable. The Animal that produces the Castor is by all Authors called Castor and Fiber, and by the Vulgar, the Beaver. The Castor of several Parts of the World differs in Goodness, and in regard to the Care taken in the drying. The _Russian_ Castor has long been the most esteemed, and the _New England_ kind the least. Castor-water is of great Use in hysteric Cases, and all Diseases of the Nerves; in Epilepsies, Palsies, and all Complaints of that kind. _Recipe for making one Gallon of Castor-water._ Take of _Russia_ Castor an Ounce, of Water three Gallons; draw off one Gallon with a pretty brisk Fire. CHAP. XVI. _Of Orange-peel-water._ The Orange is a Fruit too well known to need a Description here. The Water is very grateful to the Taste, and often used in Fevers, &c. _Recipe for one Gallon of Orange-peel-water._ Take of the outward yellow Rind of _Seville_ Oranges, four Ounces; Water three Gallons and a half; draw off one Gallon by the Alembic, with a pretty brisk Fire. CHAP. XVII. _Of the Water of Dill-seed._ Dill greatly resembles Fennel both in Root, Stalk, or Leaf, but rarely grows so tall, or is so much branched; it bears the same kind of yellow Umbels of Flowers, after which come Seeds rounder, broader, and flatter than those of Fennel. The whole Plant is of a strong Scent, less pleasant than Fennel. It grows in Gardens, and flowers and seeds in _July_ and _August_. The Water drawn from the Seeds is heating and carminative, good in Cholics, and all Disorders arising from Wind. _Recipe for making a Gallon of the Water of Dill-seed._ Take of Dill-seed one Pound, Water three Gallons; distil off by the Alembic one Gallon, with a pretty brisk Fire. The Waters we have enumerated in this Part are those now commonly in use; though there are many other Herbs, from whence Waters of great Use may be drawn; but as the Method of Distillation is the same in all, it would be of no Use to extend these Instructions to a greater length; we shall therefore only observe, that when unfavourable Seasons have prevented the Herbs from attaining a proper Degree of Perfection, it will be necessary to increase their Proportion in extracting the several Waters ordered to be drawn by the Alembic. A Complete System OF DISTILLATION. PART III. _Of making compound Waters and Cordials._ The Perfection of this grand Branch of Distillery depends upon the Observation of the following general Rules, easy to be observed and practised. 1. The Artist must always be careful to use a well cleansed Spirit, or one freed from its own essential Oil, as were before observed, Part I. Chap. xxiii. For as a compound Water is nothing more than a Spirit impregnated with the essential Oil of the Ingredients, it is necessary that the Spirit should have deposited its own. 2. Let the Time of previous Digestion be proportioned to the Tenacity of the Ingredients, or the Ponderosity of their Oil. Thus Cloves and Cinnamon require a longer Digestion before they are distilled than Calamus Aromaticus or Orange-peel. Sometimes Cohobation (explained in Part II. Chap. iii.) is necessary; for Instance, in making the strong Cinnamon-water; because the essential Oil of Cinnamon is so extremely ponderous, that it is difficult to bring it over the Helm with the Spirit without Cohobation. 3. Let the Strength of the Fire be proportioned to the Ponderosity of the Oil intended to be raised with the Spirit. Thus, for Instance, the strong Cinnamon Water requires a much greater Degree of Fire than that from lax Vegetables, as Mint, Baum, _&c._ 4. Let only a due Proportion of the finest Parts of the essential Oil be united with the Spirit; the grosser and less fragrant Parts of the Oil not giving the Spirit so agreeable a Flavour, and at the same Time renders it thick and unsightly. This may in a great Measure be effected by leaving out the Faints, and making up to Proof with fine soft Water in their stead. These four Rules carefully observed will render this extensive Part of Distillation far more perfect than it is at present. Nor will there be any Occasion for the use of burnt Allum, White of Eggs, Isinglass, _&c._ to fine down Cordial Waters; for they will presently be fine, sweet and pleasant tasted, without any farther Trouble. CHAP. I. _Of strong Cinnamon Water._ We have already (Chap. viii. Part II.) described this Drug, and given some Directions for chusing the best Sort, to which the Reader is referred. _Recipe for sixteen Gallons of strong Cinnamon Water._ Take eight Pounds of fine Cinnamon bruised, seventeen Gallons of clean rectified Spirit, and two Gallons of Water. Put them into your Still, and digest them twenty-four Hours with a gentle Heat; after which draw off sixteen Gallons by a pretty strong Heat. I have ordered a much larger Quantity of Cinnamon than is common among Distillers, because when made in the Manner above directed, it is justly looked upon as one of the noblest Cordial Waters of the Shops; but when made in the common Way of two Pounds to twenty Gallons of Spirit, as some have ordered, is only an Imposition on the Buyer. Some also, to render the Goods cheaper, use equal Quantics of Cinnamon and Cassia Lignea; but by this means the Cordial is rendered much worse; and, therefore, if you desire a fine Cinnamon-water the above Recipe will answer your Intention: But if a cheaper Sort be desired you may lessen the Quantity of Cinnamon, and add Cassia Lignea in its stead. If you would dulcify your Cinnamon-water, take double refined Sugar, what Quantity you please, the general Proportion is, about two Pounds to a Gallon, and dissolve it in the Spirit after you have made it up Proof with clean Water. One general Caution is here necessary to be added; namely, that near the End of the Operation you carefully watch the Spirit as it runs into the Receiver, in order to prevent the Faints mixing with the Goods. This you may discover by often catching some of it, as it runs from the Worm in a Glass, and observing whether it is fine and transparent; for as soon as ever the Faints begin to rise, the Spirit will have an azure or bluish Cast. As soon therefore as you perceive this Alteration, change the Receiver immediately; for if you suffer the Faints to mix with your other Goods, the Value of the whole will be greatly lessened. With regard to the Faints, they are to be kept by themselves, and poured into the Still when a fresh Parcel of the same Goods is to be made. It is also necessary to observe here, once for all, that the Distillers call all Goods made up Proof, _double Goods_; and those which are below Proof, _single_. This Observation will be alone sufficient to instruct the young Distiller, how he may at any Time turn his Proof or double Goods into single. CHAP. II. _Of Clove Water._ Cloves, from whence this Water takes its Name, are the Fruit of a Tree growing in the _Molucca_ Islands. The Figure of this Fruit is oblong, and not very thick, resembling in some measure, a Nail. The Surface of it is rough, and the Colour a dusky brown with an admixture of reddish. The whole Fruit is of an extremely fragrant Smell, and of an acrid, pungent, and very aromatic Taste. Cloves are to be chosen the largest, fairest, darkest coloured, the heaviest and most unctuous on the