Chemical Furnaces & Vessels — Wecher, 17th-Century French MS

The furnace of the dry bath.

A The portuit opening through which the ashes are drawn.

bb The furnace or space which contains very hot air, enclosed on all sides. —

C The canal shaft that leads the charcoal to the bottom, having a grate at the base and a lid at the top. —

D The copper courge gourd where the matter to be distilled is placed. —

E This middle section the "ventre" or belly is attached to the neck, so that one can more easily join this neck with the wide opening of the vessie vessel. —

F The neck, which is quite long, so that the chapiteau head is not heated too quickly and so that the water, which has the most power, rises there alone. —

A hand-colored technical diagram shows a dry bath distillation apparatus. On the left, a square red-brick furnace contains a central heating chamber and a copper flask. A grey vertical tube feeds charcoal to the bottom. Above the furnace, the neck of the flask connects to a green glass head. A long tube leads from the head to a receiver vessel submerged in a cooling bath of water. Small vent holes are visible on the top of the furnace.

G The glass chapeau cap or head. —

H The vessel full of cold water. —

ii The voute vault or arch which prevents the heat from rising straight up and instead keeps it within the sides. —

nn The two souspireaux vents. —

f.