Of Rain-Water and its Nature .

I name this Water first , because for several Reasons it is the best of all , if not defiled by Accidents , as by Tiles of Houses , or the Vessels 't is kept in . For ,

1st . It is a light pure thin Water .

2dly . It is drawn up into the Clouds by the power and vertue of the sweet Influences of the Sun Beams .

3dly . Being carried to and fro with the Clouds by Gods Divine Power , it hath thereby had the greater benefit of Motion .

4thly . 'T is endued with wonderful Vertue from the Element of Air , and the sweet Influences of the Coelestial Bodies , whereby it is made more Spirituous than other Waters , and of a fat unctious Quality , of a light friendly mild Nature and Operation : Thus it mollifies the harsh Earth , making it light and tender , and causes all Plants to multiply and grow far better than any Artificial Watrings can do ; Rain Water being ( among its other Vertues ) like a Ferment or Leaven , that makes the hard compacted Earth more spirituous and penetrable , giving Life and Motion to all the Vegetable Kingdom .

5thly . Rain-Water is not only exhaled by the Beams of Heaven from the most clear and subtle Fountains , and impregnated with the Coelestial Influences , but also is , as it were , strained with the Airy Motions and Winds , which fill it with a Saline and Balsamick Vertue , when it descends ( like the Tears of a repenting Sinner ) in gentle reviving Showers , that give Vertue and Power to all Vegetables , and restore the gasping parched Earth and languishing Nature to the briskness of the Spring and Joys of Autumn .

6thly . This is the lightest of all Waters , it cools and heats quickly ; it oppresses not the Stomach , or any other part of the Body , but passeth suddenly into the Vreters , having neither in Colour , Smell nor Taste any manifest Quality ; it bindeth not the Belly as some other Waters do , and is the best to be used in all Physical Operations , if it be well received , and afterwards kept from defilement .

7thly . It is to be preferred before all other Waters in House-wifery , for it Boyls all sorts of Meats better and sooner , and makes them easier of Concoction ; as likewise it Brews and Washes to greater advantage than others .

Rain-Water hath likewise various other Uses and excellent Vertues , viz.

It is a good remedy for all sorts of sore Eyes , they being washed often with it ; or if a little white Bread be put into the Water with a small quantity of white Sugar , and then made boiling hot , being stirred all the time , then applied in the manner and form of a Pultess every two or three hours .

This Water is also good to wash all sorts of Wounds and Sores , and if it be done often , it mightily forwards the Cure .

The best Seasons to receive this Water in , are March , April , May , June , and July , it being put into Glass Bottles ; let them stand in the Windows of airy Rooms , or without Doors open , that the Air may have its free Influence on them , which will preserve and keep the fine thin spirituous Qualities living ; which if they are stopped , will in a short time become stagnated .

This Water doth likewise make an excellent Pultess against the Gout , Pains in the Sides and other Infirmities of the like Nature .

Take one Quart of this Water , half a Pint of Ale , a little Balm , Parsly and Mint , of each an equal quantity cut small , and as much good Bread as will make it thick ; then add to this two Ounces of the best Sugar , mix them well , then make it boiling hot , stirring it all the time it is on the Fire ; then it is done , spread this Pultess indifferent thick on a Linnen Cloath as warm as Milk from the Cow , apply it every two or three hours , for one , two , or three Days , as we have treated more largely in the Good House-Wife made a Doctor .

Of River-Water .

This is next in Goodness , whose Original is Fountain or Spring Water , and yet there is rarely any Spring Water so good for common and general use at the Fountain-Head as in the River . For ,

1st . Rivers or running Waters have great advantages by passing through various Soils and sorts of Earth , from whence it drains or sucks in a certain Vnctious Vertue , or Saline Fatness , which the surface of the Earth does plentifully contain , and from which Vegetation does chiefly proceed .

2dly . This sort of Water has the benefit of Motion , with the benevolent Influences of the Sun , and the Element of the Air , which purge it from its harsh earthy Qualities , and as it were open its Body , enduing it with a pure Spirituous , Airy and Balsamick Vertue , of a warming friendly Nature and Operation : This is the chief reason why River-Water is of a softer milder Nature , and will perform all Preparations in House-wifery to more advantages than Spring-Water taken from the Fountain-Head ; for there most Waters retain a Saturnine earthy Quality , which the Influences of the Sun and Air , with the help of Motion , do destroy .

3dly . The New-River that supplies London , is some of the best Water in England ( except Thames Water ) it being a cut or made River that runs on the Surface of the Earth for above twenty Miles , and is not sed or increased by hungry Springs , as many other Rivers are that run through Vallies , which is their own Natural way , but Land-Floods sometimes fall into it , which augment its Vertue and Goodness , for they are the richest of Waters , draining and sucking into themselves the fat Saline Vertue of the Earth : For this reason most Vallies that lie between the Hills are so fruitful ; for the Waters that run off the Hills do wash or carry away the Salintral Vertue into them , and there it centers ; and thus Hills come not to be so fruitful as Valleys or Plains , by reason of such disadvantages : Whereas on the contrary , do not Land Floods , and the overflowing of Rivers , make Meadows fruitful from the same causes ? For when the Waters retire and sink away , they leave behind them the Saline or Spiritual Quality , that does Muck such Ground , as tho' it had been over-spread with substantial Dung. And indeed the very same is to be understood when a Man dungs his Land , it is not altogether the gross substance or matter that enricheth the Land , but it is the before-mentioned fat Saline Quality , which the moisture of the Earth receives , and the Rains wash out of the Dung ; for if you lay a load of Dung in a heap , and let it lie a Week , two or three , and then remove it clean away from that place , and spread it thick in another place , yet that spot which the Dung lay on two or three Weeks , will be more enriched than where the gross substance is spread ; for the Earth , with the help of the Rains and Dews , sucked into it self the Salintral Vertue of the Dung . Therefore in most Fields , where such heaps of Dung do lie for a while before they are spread , both the Grass and Corn is not only greener , but also much stronger , and more in quantity than in other places of the Field .

4thly . River-Water , for the Reasons aforesaid , is better for Men and Beasts to drink of , than Springs or Pump-Water ; it boyls all sorts of Herbs , Fish and Flesh better , and makes better and wholsomer Pottages ; it brews Beer and Ale to more Advantage , both in Quality and Quantity , and washes all sorts of Linnen and Woollen with less Pains , Charge and Damage to the things . This Water seems to be pretty equal in its parts , having no manifest' Taste , but a certain friendly mild sweetness predominates ; and there is as much difference between the Nature and Operation of River-Water and Pump or Well-Water , as there is between Beer and Ale ; and the Excellency of the latter above the former , I shall demonstrate in its proper place .

Of Spring or Fountain-Water .

There are various sorts of this Water , some Better , some Worse , according to the Nature of the Earth it passes through : If Springs or Fountains proceed from a Chalky Earth or some sorts of hot Sands , or run near the surface of the Earth , they are thereby endued with a meek soft friendly nature and operation , without any manifest harshness ; but those that run in the deep Bowels of the Earth , and through cold hungry stony places , are more hard and Saturnine ; neither so wholsome for Man or Beast to drink , nor to be used in Housewifery . But though it be thus at the Fountain-Head , yet if the same run long afterwards through various soils in the open Air , &c. It may become very good for all uses , as aforesaid .

And Note : Whereas some River-Water will look of a wheyish whitish Colour , caused either by its long running without being fed by Plenty of Springs , or else by Land-floods , yet in either case it is not the worse to be liked , but rather the better ; for all such Water is of great vertue , of a very mild fat opening Quality , caused by the saline vertue ; which People not understanding , do often refuse either to drink or use in Housewifery , calling it dirty muddy Water ; whereas the whiter any Waters look , the better they are for most uses , especially when Land-floods shall be the occasion of it , as appears by the Instances of Valleys and Meadows thereby enricht , which I mentioned but now .

Of Pump or Well-Water .

These likewise are capable of several degrees , better or worse , according to the nature of the Earth from whence they arise ; but they are generally of a cold hungry hard nature , nothing so good as the former ; and such Springs as lie deepest in the Bowels of the Earth , are of a lean Saturnine Quality , in comparison of that Water which runs near the surface , being deprived of that saline Nature which irritates Vegetation ; for most Earths , after you come two or three yards deep , are of a hard cold hungry Quality , and if a quantity of such Earth be exposed to the open Elements , and laid two or three foot thick , there will hardly any sort of Vegetable grow on it , until the Sun and Coelestial Influences have endued it with a Salnitral Vertue ; and as the Earth is , so is the Water , viz. of the same Nature , Gold and Hungry .

2. Such Waters want the Coelestial Influences and Air , nor have the benefit of Motion , or but in a very small degree ; hence they are more unwholsome than the others before treated of , and generally bind the Body , and are subject to obstruct Nature , neither will they perform the like good Offices in Housewifery .

The like is to be understood of most or all Purging Waters , which of late have been so mightily cryed up for their Purgative Vertues . Now those Waters in general are Cold , Harsh , and Earthy , of a lean hungry Quality ; being as it were wholly destitute of that Saline Nature , and Coelestial Vertue , that other Waters are impregnated with , that run on the surface of the Earth , as is before-mentioned .

Therefore the Purgative Qualities in these Waters do chiefly proceed from Coldness , Weight , and the not being accustomed to the drinking of Water , for when Nature is overcharged either with Drink or Food , she useth all possible Means and Methods , to discharge her self of those burdens ; for this cause the common drinking of such Quantities of these Waters do prove dangerous , and many hundreds have found the remedy worse then the Disease by a full Experience .

The first Finders and Drinkers of these Waters , did live and use them more regular and temperately , which by degrees most have degenerated from all sober Methods , into the highest Degrees of all kinds of Debauchery .

Now as this Noble Element is the Original Foundation , and Spring-head of all moist Nourishment ; therefore it is not to be doubted , but that it is the only drink ordained both for Man and Beast , all other Liquors being not only Inferior , but as it were unnatural and disagreeing ; the common Use and Drinking of all fermented Drinks , do generate the Stone , Gout , all Obstructions of the Ureters , Feavers , and a thousand Evils , which are not known in those Countries where the Natives Drink Water ; and if English People would be so wise to Drink Water more , especially the Women , great numbers would certainly find the Benefit thereof ; by being cured of various Diseases both of the Body and Mind .

This Liquid Region is the Menstrum of the great World , which doth impregnate all things with Vertue , Power , and Strength , and it is the only Moisture that is most agreeable to that digesting Liquor of Man's Sromack called the Menstrum , whose Office it is to temper and digest our Foods , and as Water has no manifest taste or predominate Quality , viz. it is neither Astringent , Salt , Bitter , Sharp , nor Sweet ; and therefore it bows and assimilates it self to all things , even as the Menstrum of Man's Stomack to all Foods , for this cause Water being drank after Sweet , Bitter , Salt , or Sharp Food , it still retains its intire natural Taste .

The like is to be understood in Sickness , when the Pallate has lost or forfeited its Taste as to all made Drinks , but still Water is the same as in Health ; the Reason is plain , good Water hath in it no extream Qualities , so that it bedues the Body with its mild and friendly Moisture , giving Life and Power by Vertue of the fine , spirituous , thin , sweet , Vapours of the Air , which are the refreshing Zephirus of Nature , and keeps the Elements of the Bodies free from heat and disorders ; which renders the Body full of Spirits , brisk , vigorous and sprightly , which pleasant Condition is seldom or never felt by them , that give themselves to the drinking of Strong Liquors ; therefore the common use of them are Friends to Vitiousness , and Mortal Enemies to Vertue , and there is nothing doth deprave Mankind , and separate him from God and all goodness more , then the continu-Gormandizing of unclean gross Food , and Guzzelling down Strong Drink into their foolish Hogs-heads .

Strong Drink doth render the Drinkers thereof lyable to all kind of Evil , but Water keeps the Body in due temper , and the Mind Sedate , and fortifying a Man Sedate , and fortifying a Man against many Evils , and makes the Body pleasant , healthful , and fit to discharge all the Functions both of the Body and Mind , for it is the Meats and Drinks that are simple and natural , that renders the Spirits many in Quantity , and fine in Quality , from whence arises lightsomeness to the Body , and Vigour to the Mind .

Of Ponds or Standing-Waters .

Such standing-Waters as are in a kind of springy Grounds are the best , but still much inferior to running-Waters , because they have not the benefit of Motion , nor the like advantage of passing through various Soils . Such Pools or Waters as are chiefly maintained by Rain or Land-floods are better or worse , according as the season is wet or dry ; for in dry seasons they not only become thick and slimy , but awaken a gross fulsome Saturnine Quality in the muddy Earth , that suffocates the pure thin spirituous parts ; so that such Waters become of a strong gross Earthy taste and smell , which is altogether contrary to the Nature of Water , and such Waters are not wholsome for Men nor Beasts . Some Husbandmen do suppose these Waters to be very good for Cattle to drink , having no other reason but that they will rather drink them than others ; which is no reason at all ; for this came through Custom and Use ; which makes any sort of Water familiar to Nature ; and those Cattle that are used to drink Pond-Water , will refuss better Water for that , for two Reasons ; First , Because their Stomachs and Pallates are adulterated , and made familiar to it , so that they cannot distinguish the evil taste from the good , Secondly , Because such Pond-Waters are of an hotter and warmer Nature than others , and Cattle used to them will for that very cause refuse others , just as men that accustom themselves to warm Beer cannot drink cold without some trouble to the Mouth and Teeth , though cold Beer and Ale is warmer in Operation , and will more cheer the Stomach , and make the Spirits more brisk than the hot , because no fermented Liquors , whether they be Beer Ale , Cyder or Wine , will admit of the heat of fires , without violence to the pure spirituous parts ; they are so volatile , that they will presently evaparate ; therefore warm Beer or Ale will sooner become flat than that which has not been warmed ; for when the spirituous parts are evaporated or suffocated , the sweet brisk Balsamick Vertue dyes .

But this hot sulpherous Quality in Pond-Water , which through custom most Cattle like , is of an evil Nature and Operation , because the spirituous vapours of the Air cannot so easily penetrate through its gross thickness , whence it dulls the edge of the Appetite and Stomach , breeds gross thick Blood , often is the occasion of many Diseases , and very injurious to the Milk of Cows . Besides , do not Pools and standing-Waters generate various sorts of Vermine and Insects , which is caused through the Contraction of gross thick fulsom Matter for want of Motion , all which running Waters are not subject to .

But although Water be Natures common drink for Man as well as Beasts , yet since now a days Men generally betake themselves to other Liquors , we shall briefly treat of them likewise .

The Excellent Vertues and Vses of Cold Water-Gruel made as followeth , viz.

Take one Quart of Water , two small Spoonfuls of New Ground or beaten Oatmeal , stir or brew it well together , then it is done ; — This is not only a brave noble exhilerating Drink for general Use , and most agreeable to all Persons , to allay all droughty , hot , feaverish Indispositions ; but the constant Use thereof , does not only preserve Mankind from the following Diseases , but Cures them too , when they have already invaded the Body ; this cleansing Liquor fortifies the Stomach , fines the Blood , gives it a free Circulation , generates brisk lively Spirits , being a good Remedy against Fumes and Vapours ; likewise purgeth powerfully by Urine , prevents and Cures the Gravel , Stone , Gout , and all sorts of Obstructions of the Ureters ; and more especially this is an excellent Liquor for Women and Children to make their constant drink , and for such as gives Suck , frees their Milk from heat , Windiness and other Crudities ; I could produce many living Testimonies of its success , but it is needless , since every one's Experience that tries it , will soon confirm the Truth of what is here delivered . It is the Consideration of the Publick Good it may do to many thousands that languish under miserable Circumstances as to their Health , that prompts me to Publish the excellent Vertues of this Cleansing Gruel , but whether you will practise or observe these Methods or not , I have done my Duty in offering my Talents that God hath given me , and therefore am satisfied .