The Leyden and Stockholm Papyri - University of Cincinnati

72. Another (Preparation)
Preparation for another rough emerald. Stick the stone in natron
for 5 days. Then stick it in a lump of ground “garlic” for 7 days.
But after the lapse of this time draw the juice from a leek and mix
along with it an equal quantity of oil. Put this in a new pot and boil
it 3 days until the stones absorb it. The cover should be unbaked.
73. Another (Recipe)
Rub with vinegar: 1 part of very fine verdigris; an equal amount of
alum; roasted copper, a quantity equal to both the other materials;
and bring it to a pasty thickness. Put the small stones therein and
let them be baked for 7 days.
74. Preparation of Verdigris for Emerald
Clean a well-made sheet of Cyprian copper by means of pumice
stone and water, dry, and smear it very lightly with a very little oil.
Spread it out and tie a cord around it. Then hang it in cask with
sharp vinegar so that it does not touch the vinegar, and carefully
close the cask so that no evaporation takes place. Now if you put it
in in the morning, then scrape off the verdigris carefully in the
evening, but if you put it in in the evening, then scrape it off in the
morning, and suspend it again until the sheet becomes used up.
However, as often as you scrape it off again, smear the sheet with oil
as explained previously. The vinegar is (thus rendered) unfit for use.
75. Preparation of Beryl
THE STOCKHOLM PAPYRUS
Tie crystal around with a hair and hang it in a pot along with the
urine of a she-ass for 3 days, but the crystal is not permitted to
touch the urine. The pot should be closed, however. Then place the
pot over a gentle fire and you will find a very good beryl.
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