Distillation vessels. Historical woodcut illustrations showing distillation vessels. At the top is a sinuous vessel with a bird's head. At bottom is a column of five distillation flasks, designed for the distillation of eau de vie. The illustrator draws a comparison between this and a creature described as a Herculean Hydra with seven heads. These illustrations come from Della Porta's De distillationibus, printed at Strasburg in 1609.