1. Crystals

2. If you pour salt

3. into water

4. and stir it,

5. the salt will begin

6. to melt and will

7. entirely disappear;

8. but if you pour

9. more and still more

10. salt into it,

11. the salt will

12. in the end

13. not dissolve,

14. and no matter how

15. much you may stir

16. after that, the salt

17. will remain

18. as a white powder.

19. The water is saturated

20. with the salt

21. and cannot

22. receive any more.

23. But heat the water

24. and it will

25. receive more;

26. and the salt which

27. did not dissolve

28. in the cold water,

29. will melt in

30. hot water.

31. But pour in

32. more salt,

33. even the hot water

34. will not receive it.

35. And if you heat

36. the water still more,

37. the water will pass

38. away in steam,

39. and more of the

40. salt will be left.

41. Thus, for everything

42. which dissolves

43. in the water

44. there is a measure

45. after which

46. the water

47. will not dissolve

48. any more.

49. Of anything,

50. more will be dissolved

51. in hot than in

52. cold water,

53. and in each case,

54. when it is saturated,

55. it will not receive

56. any more.

57. The thing

58. will be left,

59. but the water will

60. go away in steam.

61. If the water

62. is saturated

63. with saltpetre powder,

64. and then more

65. saltpetre is added,

66. and all is heated

67. and is allowed

68. to cool off

69. without being stirred,

70. the extra saltpetre

71. will not

72. settle as a powder

73. at the bottom

74. of the water,

75. but will all

76. gather in little

77. six-edged columns,

78. and will settle

79. at the bottom

80. and at the sides,

81. one column near another.

82. If the water

83. is saturated with

84. saltpetre powder and

85. is put in a

86. warm place,

87. the water will go

88. away in vapours,

89. and the extra saltpetre

90. will again gather in

91. six-edged columns.

92. If water is

93. saturated with

94. simple salt and heated,

95. and is allowed

96. to pass away

97. in vapour,

98. the extra salt

99. will not settle

100. as powder,

101. but as little cubes.

102. If the water

103. is saturated

104. both with salt

105. and saltpetre,

106. the extra salt

107. and saltpetre

108. will not mix,

109. but will settle

110. each in its

111. own way:

112. the saltpetre in columns,

113. and the salt

114. in cubes.

115. If water is

116. saturated with lime,

117. or with some

118. other salt,

119. and anything else,

120. each thing will settle

121. in its own way,

122. when the water

123. passes away

124. in vapour: one in

125. three-edged columns,

126. another in eight-edged

127. columns, a third

128. in bricks,

129. a fourth in

130. little stars, — each

131. in its own way.

132. These figures are different

133. in each solid thing.

134. At times these forms

135. are as large

136. as a hand, —

137. such stones are found

138. in the ground.

139. At times these forms

140. are so small

141. that they cannot

142. be made out

143. with the naked eye;

144. but in each

145. thing there

146. is its own form.

147. If, when the

148. water is

149. saturated with saltpetre,

150. and little figures are

151. forming in it,

152. a corner be

153. broken off

154. one of these

155. little figures

156. with a needle,

157. new pieces

158. of saltpetre

159. will come up

160. and will fix

161. the broken end

162. as it ought

163. to be, —

164. into a

165. six-edged column.

166. The same will happen

167. to salt and to

168. any other thing.

169. All the tiny

170. particles turn around

171. and attach themselves

172. with the right side

173. to each other.