Reflections Made by P. Francisco Lana S. F. upon an Observation of Signor M. Antonio Castagna, Super Intendent of Some Mines in Italy, Concerning the Formation of Crystals: English'd Out of the XI. Venetian Giornale de Letterati

their wales, to render them whiter than ordinary; which it doth even whiter than lime. Such wales conserve their saltness some few daies only, and then become insipid, even though they sweat forth a white excrescence in thin and light flakes like niter, many years after. But that Salt, which is collected from the stones, gravel and earth, by which the rivolets, descending from those Baths, do run, is without any tatt of Salt; though there be no difference in the form or colour from that which is gather'd with the wooden instruments, by me mentioned. This is the Sum of what I have to say at present of this particular. If you think the matter tanti, I will send you a more ample description thereof, with my thoughts upon it. Reflections made by P. Francisco Lana S.J. upon an Observation of Signor M. Antonio Castagna, Superintendent of some mines in Italy, concerning the formation of Crystals: English'd out of the XI. Venetian Giornale de Letterati. In the last month of September, being arrived in the Val Sabbia into a place call'd le Mezzane, where I knew that those Crystals are generated, I observ'd in a spacious round of a Meddow, seated on a hillock, some narrow places bare of all herbs, in which alone, and nowhere else thereabout, those Crystals are produced, being all sex-angular, both points of them terminating in a pyramidal figure, sex-angular likewise. I was told, that they were produced from the dews, because (forsooth!) being gather'd over night, the next morning there would be found others at such a time only, when it was a serene and dewy sky; and that upon the herbs of the meddow, and without the bounds of those bare and sterile places never any Crystals were to be found; besides, that the ground having been in some places bared of all greens, and reduced to the condition of those other naked places, yet no crystals were ever seen to have been form'd there. But I, when I had examined, that in the neighbourhood of that hill there was no mark at all of any Mines, did conclude, that it might be a plenty of nitrous steames, which might withal hinder vegetation in those places, and coagulate the Dew falling thereon. And that those exhalations were rather Nitrous, than of another kind, I was induced to believe, because Niter is not only the natural coagulum of water ter, as is manifest in artificial glaciations; but also it ever retain the above said sex-angular figure, altogether like that of those Crystals. Which may also be the very cause of the sex-angular figure in snow; this being nothing else but water concreted by its natural coagulum, which is a nitrous exhalation. And to make it yet more manifest, that these are indeed expirations of niter; I digg'd up some of the earth, and drew a Salt from it, which had both the tast and figure of Niter; though some grains of it were of a square, others of a pyramidal, figure. It therefore ought not to be affirm'd, that a dewy vapour is of itself able to be form'd into a solid gem; because, if that were so, such vapours being easily carried by any motion of the Air from those narrow places, and falling down in dew far from the same, Crystals would be formed in those other places; but they are only form'd there: Whence we may very probably infer, that thence are raised the exhalations, which do concrete the dew, after such a manner as the vapour or exhalation of Lead coagulates Quicksilver. A Relation of an Inland-sea near Danzick, yeilding at a certain sea- son of the year a green substance, which causeth certain death; toge- ther with an Observation about white Amber: Communicated by Mr. Kirkby, in a Letter written to the Publisher from Danzick Decemb. 19. 1671. Near a small village, call'd Tuckum, 2½ German miles distant from this City west-ward, there is an Inland Sea (made by the meeting of three rivolets, some springs from the adjoyn- ing hillocks, and the descending rain and snow-water,) of about half a German mile long and an eight part of such a mile broad. It stretches NNW and S SW. About the middle of the bow on the East-side it dischargeth itself with a pretty stream; as it also doth in another place more Southerly. The soil of the ground round about seems to be sand mixt with clay. Its shore gene- rally sandy, as is its bottom also. Its depth, where deepest, four fathoms; but for the most part but one, or one fathom and an half. 'Tis stored with wholesome and delicate Fish, as Pearch, Roch, Eles, &c. and famed for a small fish, much esteem'd here, and not much unlike a Pearch; only not so party colou- red.