1placed on the brass block, and breaks them in pieces.
The head of this
hammer is a foot and two digits long, and a palm wide. Others use for this
purpose merely a block of wood channelled in the top. While the fragments
of the cake are still hot, he seizes them with the tongs and throws them into
a bowl with holes in the bottom, and pours water over them. When the
fragments are cooled, he puts them nicely into the test by placing them so
that they stand upright and project from the test to a height of two palms, and
lest one should fall against the other, he places little pieces of charcoal between
them; then he places live charcoal in the test, and soon two twig basketsful
of charcoal. Then he blows in air with the bellows. This bellows is double,
and four feet two palms long, and two feet and as many palms wide at the
back; the other parts are similar to those described in Book VII. The
nozzle of the bellows is placed in a bronze pipe a foot long, the aperture in
this pipe being a digit in diameter in front and quite round, and at the back
two palms wide. The master, because he needs for the operation of refining
257[Figure 257]
hammer is a foot and two digits long, and a palm wide. Others use for this
purpose merely a block of wood channelled in the top. While the fragments
of the cake are still hot, he seizes them with the tongs and throws them into
a bowl with holes in the bottom, and pours water over them. When the
fragments are cooled, he puts them nicely into the test by placing them so
that they stand upright and project from the test to a height of two palms, and
lest one should fall against the other, he places little pieces of charcoal between
them; then he places live charcoal in the test, and soon two twig basketsful
of charcoal. Then he blows in air with the bellows. This bellows is double,
and four feet two palms long, and two feet and as many palms wide at the
back; the other parts are similar to those described in Book VII. The
nozzle of the bellows is placed in a bronze pipe a foot long, the aperture in
this pipe being a digit in diameter in front and quite round, and at the back
two palms wide. The master, because he needs for the operation of refining
A—GRATE. B—BRASS BLOCK. C—BLOCK OF WOOD. D—CAKES OF
SILVER. E—HAMMER.
F—BLOCK OF WOOD CHANNELLED IN THE MIDDLE. G—BOWL FULL OF HOLES.
H—BLOCK OF WOOD FASTENED TO AN IRON IMPLEMENT. I—FIR-WOOD. K—IRON BAR.
L—IMPLEMENT WITH A HOLLOW END. THE IMPLEMENT WHICH HAS A CIRCULAR END IS
SHOWN IN THE NEXT PICTURE. M—IMPLEMENT, THE EXTREMITY OF WHICH IS BENT
UPWARDS. N—IMPLEMENT IN THE SHAPE OF TONGS.
F—BLOCK OF WOOD CHANNELLED IN THE MIDDLE. G—BOWL FULL OF HOLES.
H—BLOCK OF WOOD FASTENED TO AN IRON IMPLEMENT. I—FIR-WOOD. K—IRON BAR.
L—IMPLEMENT WITH A HOLLOW END. THE IMPLEMENT WHICH HAS A CIRCULAR END IS
SHOWN IN THE NEXT PICTURE. M—IMPLEMENT, THE EXTREMITY OF WHICH IS BENT
UPWARDS. N—IMPLEMENT IN THE SHAPE OF TONGS.