For instance, If five Firkins of Lees cost half a Doller each, five Firkins will yield two R. Dollers and an half; from these I press out two Firkins of Wine, two Firkins remain in the sacks, one Firkin is supposed to waste in the transfusion, when yet a Vessel seldom soaks up four quarts: I turn the two Firkins of Wine into Vinegar; the two Firkins of thick Lees being diluted with Water, I draw Spirit of Wine, and press out the Tartar; this Wine drawn by the Fire, together with the dregs left of the Tartar, being reduced by burning into clavellated ashes, do equal the Charge of making the Vinegar & Tartar, but two firkins of dregs afford from 40 to 100 pounds of Tartar, as the Wine is sweeter or more acid, (tho’ the harsh affords more Tartar than the sweet) but if they yield but 40 pounds, this Tartar refunds the price of the Lees; the Spirituous Liquor and clavellated Ashes, recompence the Wood, and the two Firkins of pressed wine you have over-plus to be turn’d into Vinegar.
Or if you buy two Firkins of Lees for one R. Doller; first you may draw off the spirit; after that, you may press out about ten pounds of Tartar, both together saleable at one Doller, as much as the Lees cost; all the Liquor of the Spirit will be clear gain, by an egregious short labour to grow Rich. Suppose a Firkin to cost a Doller, and to yield not above 9 pound of Tartar, each of which is worth two Bazeins; tho’ some Lees are better than others, yet seldom any are found so poor, that do not afford their value in Tartar; even the Rhenish, Franconian, and Austrian, one Firkin yielding one Doller, oftentimes affords fifty pound of Tartar, or more. Besides, we must note, if the Lees are dear, Tartar and burning spirit of wine can’t be cheap, because the dearness of them depends on the scarcity of wine: But if the Lees are dear, the Vinegar, Spirit, and Tartar cheap, (which yet was never known) so that the quantity of Tartar will not yield the price of the Lees; neither also can you have the Vinegar and spirituous wine gratis; yet you shall have this profit above others, living on Vinegar and burning wines only, that the Tartar and clavellated Ashes collected from the refuse of the eliquated wine, by others rejected, you may get an help, that you may sell the spirit of wine, that cost you little, for more than otherwise. If therefore he gains by only pressing wine, or destillation of the spirit, how much rather you that acquire both Vinegar and spirit of wine from those dregs for a gratuity?
One thing more I add for confirmation: If 8 Firkins of Lees, that cost 4 Dollers, make 4 or 6 Firkins of vinegar, or one of burning wine or brandy, that vinegar or brandy yields 10 or 12 R. Dollers: The prest or destilled dregs, if they give fifty or sixty pound of Tartar, they equallize the first price of the dregs; but if there be a less quantity of Tartar, the vinegar or spirit will stand you in but little, which being made better, or sold cheaper than ordinary, you (the seller) will allure buyers before others.
Some man may say, the Art indeed has been unheard of, and is gainful, but does not agree with every age and condition; for all don’t understand Merchandising, but rather some abhor it, seeing the Scriptures compleatly testifie, that the fraud between the buyer and seller sticks as fast as a pin between the stones of a wall; to whom I answer, that to every Christian an honest Occupation is permitted by Divine Providence for the sustentation of him and his, but he need not burden his Neighbour in any case. For that it is lawful to endeavour a livelihood this way, or that, is attested to by a laudable example, in both the Old and New Testament.
This is the true way of pressing wine from Lees, and reducing it to Vinegar, and drawing out Brandy and Tartar, and incinerating the refuse.
It remains that I set down the uses to which the rest of the water from the Tartar may be adhibited with profit; but we must know by the way, that the sourness in that water is nothing but Tartar dissolved, which does not take a Crystalline form at the sides of the Vessel: therefore this acid water performs whatsoever is effected by Tartar diluted in common water.
Since there is no man but knows how to dissolve Copper in tartarised water, without the help of salt, as in the dealbation of ordinary Coins and Silver Vessels among the silver-workers may be seen, who take away the Copper sticking in the superficies of money or silver-vessels by boiling, the silver appearing as if it had nothing of copper mix’d with it: to this work the aforesaid water may be very profitably applied; and seeing that a great quantity of it remains in the working of the Lees, it can scarcely be better imploy’d than by the following method. If the viler Marcasites of Copper, every where obvious, and which cannot otherwise be melted with profit, as also the Scoria or dross of Copper, which is thrown away, be boil’d in this water, it will attract the Copper to it self; cast in Filings of Iron, and they will be exalted into Copper, and the extracted Copper will be precipitated from the water by the addition of the Iron. This gradation of Iron into Copper being done, which in outward appearance will be like a dirty Mudd, it is to be edulcorated with clear water, and then throughly melted by the force of fire, which will yield a very fair Copper, no way coming short of other Copper in goodness. Which Labour is very profitable, because a great quantity of tartariz’d water proceeds from this Work; but that it may the more easily act upon the Copper, in extracting it from the stone or Marcasite, a little salt is to be added in the boiling.
But if the Marcasite or Copprious-stone abound with too much sulphur, which yet seldom happens in the more ignoble Marcasites, they must first be torrefied, that the sulphur may be burnt, then to be ground, and boil’d with the tartaris’d water, and precipitated with Iron; which way more Copper is acquir’d than was in the Copprious-stone it self, because while it is precipitated, part of the Iron is exalted to Copper, part turns to Vitriol unlike to the natural in hardness; for a green solution remains, whereby Cloth and Yarn are made as black as with common Vitriol; also it affords the best Black for Shoemakers to colour their Leather, and is naturally adapted with Oak to conciliate a black colour to Wood.
If this vitriolated Water be boil’d in an Iron Pot till it be dry, and the residue melted in a strong fire, you will obtain a most tenacious or tough Iron of wonderful virtue, if not to be preferr’d to good Copper, at least to be compar’d with it. And so the common Copprice-stone of Iron is better than the filings or scales of Iron, if with the Lees of wine it be reduc’d by the spirit of the world into small Balls, when you melt them, a very ductile and pure Iron will come out, fit for more uses than common Iron; which labours if any will enter upon, they will reap fruits not to be despis’d.
It would not be beside the matter to annex the manner how you might use both your Tartar and Ashes at home, neither that you might be forc’d to sell them abroad, but it would be too long, and rather hurtful than profitable to the present business. This I think to treat of farther another time, by the Grace of God.