Orange, Prince

John Frederick Helvetius (see plate 13), an eminent doctor of medicine, and physician to the Prince of Orange, published at the Hague in 1667 the following remarkable account of a transmutation he claimed to have effected. Certain points of resemblance between this account and that of van Helmont (e.g., in each case the Stone is described as a glassy substance of a pale yellow colour) are worth noticing "On the 27 December,... 

Susceptible plants Apple, pear, hawthorn, and poplar. Some apples, such as Cox s Orange Pippin, Elstar and Gala, are particularly susceptible. More resistant apples include Bramley s Seedling, Lane s Prince Albert and Newton Wonder. Canker is a particular problem on wet, poorly drained soil. 

Although the scientific method as we now know it was beginning to get a firm foothold on the European intelligentsia, this period also sees what is perhaps the most celebrated (after the Flamels), and certainly most detailed, account of a transmutation. It was published in 1667 by the great Swiss doctor John Frederick Helvetius, personal physician to the Prince of Orange, and one of the leading names in the medicine of the time. 

Below Johann Schweitzer, known as Helvetius. He was a well-respected doctor of medicine, the physician to the Prince of Orange. His acconnt of a transmutation is still one of the most circumstantial and puzzling alchemical reports, with apparently little opportunity and no motive for fraud. 

Keij, J. F., Bell-Prince, C., and Steinkamp, J. A. (2000) Staining of mitochondrial membranes with 10-nonyl acridine orange, MitoFluor Green, and MitoTracker Green is affected by mitochondrial membrane potential altering drugs. Cytometry 39(3), 203-210. 

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