Page:History of the Royal Society.djvu/318

 in this place, only saying of Urine, that it is used to scour, and help the fermenting and heating of Woad; it is used also in the Blue-fats instead of Lime: It dischargeth the yellow (of which and blue, most greens are compounded) and therefore is always used to spend Weld withal. Lastly, the stale Urine, or old Mud of pissing places, will colour a well scoured small piece of Silver into a Golden colour, and it is with this (and not at all with the Bath-water) wherewith the Boys at Bath colour single pence; although the generality believe otherwise. Lastly, it seems to me that Urine agreeth much in its Nature with Tartarous Lixivia; not only because Urine is a Lye made of Vegetables in the body of Animals; nor because in the Receptacles of Urine, Tartarous stones are bred like as in Vessels of Wine; nor because Urine discharges and abrades Colours as the Lixivia of Tartar, or the deliquated Salts of Tartar do; but because Tartar and Sulphur-Lixivia do colour the superficies of Silver, as we affirmed of Urine; and the difference I make between Urine and Tartarous-Lixivia is only this, that though the Salts of both of them seem by their effects in Dying, in a manner the same; yet that Urine is made and consists of Salt and Sulphur both.

'Before we enter upon the Vegetable materials for Dying, we may interpose this Advertisement, That there are two sorts of Waters used by Dyers, viz. River-water and Well-water: By the latter I mean in this place the Pump-water in great Cities and Towns, which is a harsh Water wherewith one can scarce wash ones hands, much less scour them clean; nor will Soap dissolve in it, but remains in rolls and Rh