It may indeed be objected, that the reason why from Gold or Silver we cannot separate any moisture, is, because that when it is melted out of the Oare, the vehement Fire requisite to its Fusion forc'd away all the aqueous and fugitive moisture; and the like fire may do from the materials of Glass. To which I shall Answer, that I Remember I read not long since in the Learned _Josephus Acosta_,[31] who relates it upon his own observation; that in _America_, (where he long lived) there is a kind of Silver which the _Indians_ call _Papas_, and sometimes (sayes he) they find pieces very fine and pure like to small round roots, the which is rare in that metal, but usuall in Gold; Concerning which metal he tells us, that besides this they find some which they call Gold in grains, which he tells us are small morsels of Gold that they find whole without mixture of any other metal, which hath no need of melting or Refining in the fire. [Footnote 31: _Acosta_ Natural and Moral history of the Indies, L. 3. c. 5, p. 212.] I remember that a very skilful and credible person affirmed to me, that being in the _Hungarian_ mines he had the good fortune to see a mineral that was there digg'd up, wherein pieces of Gold of the length, and also almost of the bigness of a humane Finger, grew in the Oar, as if they had been parts and Branches of Trees. And I have my self seen a Lump of whitish Mineral, that was brought as a Rarity to a Great and knowing Prince, wherein there grew here and there in the Stone, which looked like a kind of sparr, divers little Lumps of fine Gold, (for such I was assured that Tryal had manifested it to be) some of them Seeming to be about the Bigness of pease. But that is nothing to what our _Acosta_ subjoynes, which is indeed very memorable, namely, that of the morsels of Native and pure Gold, which we lately heard him mentioning he had now and then seen some that weighed many pounds;[32] to which I shall add, that I my self have seen a Lump of Oar not long since digged up, in whose stony part there grew, almost like Trees, divers parcels though not of Gold, yet of (what perhaps Mineralists will more wonder at) another Metal which seemed to be very pure or unmixt with any Heterogeneous Substances, and were some of them as big as my Finger, if not bigger. But upon Observations of this kind, though perhaps I could, yet I must not at present dwell any longer. [Footnote 32: See _Acosta_ in the fore-cited Place, and the passage of _Pliny_ quoted by him.] To proceed Therefore now (sayes _Carneades_) to the Consideration of the _Analysis_ of Vegetables, although my Tryals give me no cause to doubt but that out of most of them five differing Substances may be obtain'd by the fire, yet I think it will not be so easily Demonstrated that these deserve to be call'd Elements in the Notion above explain'd.