An authentic narrative of the success of tarwater, in curing a great number and variety of distempers : with remarks / by Thomas Prior, Esq; carefully abridged ; to which are subjoined, two letters from the author of Siris [i.e. George Berkeley] : shewing the medicinal properties of tarwater, and the best manner of preparing it.

  • Thomas Prior
Date:
MDCCXCIII [1793]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An authentic narrative of the success of tarwater, in curing a great number and variety of distempers : with remarks / by Thomas Prior, Esq; carefully abridged ; to which are subjoined, two letters from the author of Siris [i.e. George Berkeley] : shewing the medicinal properties of tarwater, and the best manner of preparing it. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    80/88
    Containing the mojl material exj?a£fs from two trafis written by thoje learned Pkilojopbers, Dr. Stephen Hales; fellow of the Royal Society, and A. Reid, £/?; printed at Lon- don, in IJ4J. THE firft tra£l is intitled-—udn account of feme Experiments and Ob- fervations ok Tarwater ; wherein isfibewn the quantity of Tar that is therein : which was read before the Royal Society. Therein the Dr. fays, That having made Tarwater in proportion of a gallon of water to a quart of Tar.ftirring it 4 minutes, and evaporating a pint of faid Tarwater in a Florence-fate. ; of that made with Norway or Swedijb Tar, which was loyears old, and very thick ati&Jliff, there remained at die bottom of the fiaflc 44 grains of thick, dark, reddifh Tar, of a bitteiifli burnt tafle j • with common, coarfe, ftijFy4Wr;V<2BTar, z8 grains - *.* with fiijf Far julf, brought from Norway, 61 grains; ... with the old Tat (lined half an kour> 93 grains . with the tbimigr Tar ftirred 8 minutes, 26 grains ■ ^- ivith 4 fevcral parcels of Nomvay or SwedifhTzr, not Jo Jliff, but more foft and oily than the Tar above, and eftcemed by the dealer) in Tar to be very good (for ropes) only between 5 and 15 grains. [but the Dr. does not fay, ho<v long time elapfed between his fiirring of the Tar wiih the water, and his evaporating it : nor does he afcertain whether thefe Tars were of the firft, middle or latter runnings from the kiln ; in which there is a vaft difference, as the longer it burns, the more pitchy the Tar grows.] That in a pamphlet in anftwer to the Bifliop of Cloyne, he finds that on diftillmg zz pound* of belt Norway Tat, there were of Pounds. Ounces. Pitch - - - iz 14 Oil - - - - 7 13 Acid Spirit - - 1 2% - 21 J3l Loft ... © 2i 22 That the water made with old, fiijf, lefs unduous Tar, feems to ta(!« fenfibly ftronger of the acidfpirit, than that made with thinner, more unc- tuous Tar : on which account the fiijfer would be preferable, were it not that it communicates too much of itsg*offer parts alfo to the water, and that the water made with the thinner Tit taftes much ftronger offoot Otjmtke than that made with the fliffTars. •« That infiltrating thefe feveral Tarwaters through filtring paper, no Tar nor oily fubltance remained in the paper ; not even of that Tarwa- ter which had 93 grains of Tar in a pint: nor were the filtring papers, when