from water containing vitriol ; by one method from a solution of mdanteHa,
sory and chalciUs ; and by another method from earth or stones mixed with
vitriol.
The vitriol water is collected into pools, and if it cannot be drained into
them, it must be drawn up and carried to them in buckets by a workman.
It is desirable here to enquire into the nature of the substances given by all of the
old mineralogists under the Latinized Greek terms chalcitis, misy, sory, and melantena. The
first mention of these minerals is in Dioscorides, who (v., 75-77) says : " The best chalcitis
" is like copper. It is friable, not stony, and is intersected by long brilliant veins. . . .
" Misy is obtained from Cyprus ; it should have the appearance of gold, be hard, and when
"pulverised it should have the colour of gold and sparkle like stars. It has the same
" properties as chalcitis. . . . The best is from Egypt. . . . One kind of melanteria
" congeals like salt in the entries to copper mines. The other kind is earthy and appears
" on the surface of the aforesaid mines. It is found in the mines of Cilicia and other regions.
" The best has the colour of sulphur, is smooth, pure, homogenous, and upon contact with
" water immediately becomes black.....Those who consider sory to be the same
" as melanteria, err greatly. Sory is a species of its own, though it is not dissimilar. The
" smell of sory is oppressive and provokes nausea. It is found in Egypt and in other regions,
" as Libya, Spain, and Cyprus. The best is from Egypt, and when broken is black, porous,
" greasy, and astringent." Pliny (xxxiv., 29-31) says :—" That is called chalcitis from
" which, as well as itself copper (?) is extracted by heat. It differs from cadmia in that this
" is obtained from rocks near the surface, while that is taken from rocks below the surface.
** Also chalcitis is immediately friable, being naturally so soft as to appear like compressed
"wool. There is also this other distinction; chalcitis contains three other substances,
" copper, misy, and sory. Of each of these we shall speak in their appropriate places.
" It contains elongated copper veins. The most approved kind is of the colour of honey ;
"it is streaked with fine sinuous veins and is friable and not stony. It is considered most
" valuable when fresh. . . . The sory of Egypt is the most esteemed, being much superior
" to that of Cyprus, Spain, and Africa ; although some prefer the sory from Cyprus for affec" tions of the eyes. But from whatever nation it comes, the best is that which has the
" strongest odour, and which, when ground up, becomes greasy, black, and spongy. It is
" a substance so unpleasant to the stomach that some persons are nauseated by its smell.
" Some say that misy is made by the burning of stones in trenches, its fine yellow
"powder being mixed with the ashes of pine-wood. The truth is, as I said above, that
" though obtained from the stone, it is already made and in solid masses, which require force
" to detach them. The best comes from the works of Cyprus, its characteristics being that
" when broken it sparkles like gold, and when ground it presents a sandy appearance, but on
" the contrary, if heated, it is similar to chalcitis. Misy is used in refining gold. . . ."
Agricola's views on the subject appear in De Natura Fossilium. He says (p. 212) :—
" The cupriferous pyrites {pyrites aerosus) called chalcitis is the mother and cause of sory
"—which is likewise known as mine vitriol (atramentum metalUcum)—and melanteria.
" These in turn yield vitriol and such related things. This may be seen especially at Goslar,
" where the nodular lumps of dark grey colour are called vitriol stone (lapis atramenti).
" In the centre of them is found greyish pyrites, almost dissolved, the size of a walnut. It
" is enclosed on all sides, sometimes by sory, sometimes by melanteria. From them start
" little veinlets of greenish vitriol which spread all over it, presenting somewhat the appear" ance of hairs extending in all directions and cohering together. . . . There are five
" species of this solidified juice, melanteria, sory, chalcitis, misy, and vitriol. Sometimes many
" are found in one place, sometimes all of them, for one originates from the other. From
"pyrites, which is, as one might say, the root of all these juices, originates the above" mentioned sory and melanteria. From sory, chalcitis, and melanteria originate the various
" kinds of vitriol. . . . Sory, melanteria, chalcitis, and misy are always native ; vitriol
" alone is either native or artificial. From them vitriol effloresces white, and sometimes
" green or blue. Misy effloresces not only from sory, melanteria, and chalcitis, but also from
" all the vitriols, artificial as well as natural. . . . Sory and melanteria differ somewhat
*' from the others, but they are of the same colours, grey and black ; but chalcitis is red and
'* copper-coloured ; misy is yellow or gold-coloured. All these native varieties have the
" odour of lightning (brimstone), but sory is the most powerful. The feathery vitriol is soft
" and fine and hair-like, and melanteria has the appearance of wool and it has a similarity to
" salt ; all these are rare and light ; sory, chalcitis, and misy have the following relations.
" Sory because of its density has the hardness of stone, although its texture is very coarse.
" Afisy has a very fine texture. Chalcitis is between the two ; because of its roughness and
" strong odour it differs from melanteria, although they do not differ in colour. The vitriols,
" whether natural or artificial, are hard and dense ... as regarding shape, sory, chalcitis,
" misy, and melanteria are nodular, but sory is occasionally porous, which is peculiar to it.
