NRLF 
 
 B 14 17S 1DM 
 
EARTH 
 
 SCIENCES 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED'BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
Plate 1. 
 
 -I'. Agate. 
 
 2 . Amethyst. 
 
 H Soweriy,a-l el lit 
 
POPULAR 
 
 MINERALOGY; 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 A FAMILIAR ACCOUNT OF MINERALS AND THEIR USES. 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY SOWERBY, 
 
 ASSISTANT-CURATOR L1NX. SOC. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 REEVE AND BENHAM, 
 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 1850. 
 
PRINTED BY REEVE AND NICHOLS, 
 HEATH COCK COURT, STRAND. 
 
EARTH 
 
 SCIENCES 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 TO 
 
 SIB ALEXANDER CBICHTON, M.D. 
 
 THIS 
 
 OX A SCIENCE WHICH OWES SO MUCH TO HIS PATRONAGE 
 
 IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 BY HIS OBEDIENT SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 JV1363300 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 MINERALOGY has been less generally studied than the 
 kindred departments of natural history, more from the 
 want of elementary teaching, than from any lack of inviting 
 interest in the subject. Inorganic substances do not, 
 perhaps, awaken so ready a sympathy in the observer 
 as the development of animal or vegetable life, with its 
 varieties of form and function : yet an interest, almost 
 equivalent to this, is presented in the study of their 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 combinations and uses. The history and experimental 
 analysis of mineral bodies are productive of valuable 
 results to those who labour in the science with the aid 
 of abstruse technical works, and many would, doubtless, 
 be induced to turn their attention to the subject, if there 
 were more and simpler opportunities of acquiring a know- 
 ledge of its first principles. 
 
 I have endeavoured, in the following pages, to treat of 
 the science of Mineralogy in a popular and intelligible 
 manner, foreshowing the difficulties in its acquirement, 
 as well as expatiating upon its attendant pleasures. The 
 mineral substances described are about three hundred 
 in number, eighty of which are figured, comprising such 
 
PREFACE. Vii 
 
 as are most remarkable for their beauty, for their rarity, 
 or for their useful application in the arts ; and I have been 
 careful to select those which are most easily accessible 
 to the young collector. 
 
 The plates, executed by myself in lithography, represent 
 the first attempt that has been made to illustrate minerals 
 by that process. Few objects in natural history are more 
 difficult to portray with pictorial effect, having little 
 definition of form, whilst it is impossible for an artist 
 to do justice to their transparency or metallic hues. The 
 specimens figured have been selected chiefly from my own 
 cabinet, but I am indebted for several to those of my 
 father (Mr. G. B. Sowerby) and Mr. Wright. To my 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 father I am also much obliged, for his care in revising 
 the proof-sheets. To Sir A. Crichton and to Mr. Brooke 
 my thanks are due, for the presentation of several interest- 
 ing substances, which have been of great value to me in 
 preparing the descriptions. Frequent recourse has been 
 had in the compilation of this work to Alger's edition 
 of Phillips's 'Introduction to Mineralogy/ and it only 
 remains for me to refer my readers to that excellent treatise, 
 for further information on the subject. 
 
 H. S. 
 
 70, Great Russell Street, 
 October 5th, 1850. 
 
POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 INTBODUCTION. 
 
 " Nor to the surface of enlivened earth, 
 Graceful with hills and dales, and leafy woods 
 Her liberal tresses, is thy force confined : 
 But to the bowelled cavern darting deep, 
 The mineral kinds confess thy mighty power. 
 Effulgent hence the veiny marble shines ; 
 Hence Labour draws his tools ; hence burnished War 
 Gleams on the day ; the nobler works of Peace 
 Hence bless mankind, and generous Commerce binds 
 The round of nations in a golden chain." 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 THE study of nature, in whatever direction it is pursued, 
 has been found to be productive of so much gratification 
 and instruction, that when once the delight that it affords 
 
 B 
 
2 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 has been tasted by the reflective mind, the study is rarely, 
 if ever, relinquished. The interest taken in its pursuit 
 continues, on the contrary, to increase in proportion to the 
 increased knowledge that is acquired of the objects that 
 engage the attention. Thus, the zoologist finds it a source 
 of boundless pleasure and instruction, to watch the habits 
 and economy of the beasts of the forest ; to listen to the 
 warbling of the varied feathered songsters that, perched on 
 topmost bough, enliven the stillness of the morning air with 
 their simple melodies ; to observe the curious changes 
 through which insect life must pass before the butterfly 
 can flutter away its few short hours in unconscious splen- 
 dour ; or, robbing the ocean of her molluscous inhabitants, 
 to investigate their anatomical structure, whilst their beau- 
 tiful shelly coverings he arranges in his cabinet. 
 
 Thus, too, the botanist, the farther he advances with 
 his delicate examinations into the structure and organization 
 of the flowers that 
 
 " Deck the valleys with unnumhered hues, 
 And far around their fragrant sweets diffuse," 
 
 becomes more and more deeply imbued with admiration 
 of their exquisite beauty and infinite variety. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 But, whilst the study of living nature is daily becoming 
 more generally followed and appreciated by all classes of 
 society, the science of Mineralogy has not enjoyed that 
 degree of popularity to which it is entitled, by the very 
 great attractions it possesses for all who delight to recreate 
 their minds by the examination of the wonderful and beau- 
 tiful productions of nature, and to investigate their various 
 degrees of utility to mankind, in the progress of the arts, 
 manufactures, and sciences. This may arise from a variety 
 of causes, of which the most apparent seems to be the 
 absence of that life and the power of motion which are the 
 peculiar attributes of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, 
 and which add such a charm to their study. 
 
 Those, however, who devote their leisure hours to the 
 examination, even if merely superficial, of the mineral or 
 inorganic productions of creation, will not fail to discover, 
 that, though they possess neither life nor motion, nature, 
 as if to compensate for these deficiencies, has bestowed upon 
 them with a lavish hand all that can render them attractive 
 to the eye or suggestive to the reflection ; and has not 01 Jy 
 decked them in the most gorgeous tints, but has endowed 
 them with so much gracefulness and diversity of form, that, 
 
 B 2 
 
4 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 in fact, their beauties are excelled by no other class of 
 natural objects. 
 
 But mere beauty alone, though it might please for a 
 time, would be insufficient to secure for them a permanent 
 claim on the attention of the student of nature. We there- 
 fore find that, although their beauty is great, that quality 
 sinks into insignificance when compared with their direct 
 and vast utility as agents, which the perseverance and in- 
 genuity of man has learnt to make subservient to his will, 
 in carrying out the grandest and most elaborate mechanical 
 designs that the human mind is capable of conceiving. 
 
 In another point of view, but little discrimination is 
 necessary to perceive the importance of our science, very 
 many of the elementary substances of which minerals are 
 composed possessing medicinal properties, the judicious 
 application of which, in the treatment of the infirmities 
 of human beings, is an art only to be acquired by the most 
 intense and unwearying course of study on the part of the 
 medical practitioner, to whose skill and knowledge we 
 entrust our lives. 
 
 The mineralogist, therefore, must not be satisfied with 
 the mere pleasures of collecting and arranging in his cabinet 
 a series of brilliant and well-selected specimens, attractive 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 by their beauty or their rarity, though this is absolutely 
 necessar} to a correct knowledge of the appearance and 
 form peculiar to different substances ; nor must his main 
 object be to excite the envy or the admiring praises of the 
 friends to whom he takes a pride in exhibiting his col- 
 lection ; but, making himself acquainted with their com- 
 position and properties, their modes of crystallization, and 
 the circumstances of their occurrence, his mind will become 
 improved and refined by the contemplation of the perfection 
 and invariability of the laws of nature, holding equally in 
 subjection the organic and inorganic ; and, by studying the 
 uses to which these mineral substances have been or may 
 be applied, he arrives at the true end and legitimate aim 
 of all scientific inquiries. 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF MINERALS. 
 
 " Rocks rich in gems, and mountains big with mines, 
 That on the high equator ridgy rise, 
 Whence many a bursting stream auriferous plays." 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 THE science of Mineralogy is most intimately connected with 
 Geology; for, while the geologist explores the deep and dismal 
 caverns formed in the crust of the earth, and disentombs 
 therefrom the fossilized remains of gigantic beings, who, 
 perhaps, sought in them a refuge from the overwhelming 
 flood ; and whilst he examines such portions of the stratified 
 or unstratified rocks as have been laid open to view by the 
 ravages of the elements during thousands of years, and 
 builds thereon, as the result of his investigations, theories 
 almost as magnificent and extensive as the convulsions of 
 nature on which those theories are based ; the mineralogist, 
 less aspiring in his attempts, but perhaps for that very 
 reason more certain to arrive at just conclusions, contents 
 himself with analyzing and experimenting upon the sub- 
 stances which enter into the composition of those rocks, 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF MINERALS. 7 
 
 or which in veins traverse them. Whilst, therefore, the 
 labours of the geologist are of essential service to the 
 mineralogist, in supplying him with information concerning 
 the localities and situations in which minerals occur, the 
 latter, on his part, reciprocates the benefit by analyzing the 
 various specimens found by the former in the course of his 
 researches ; and, by thus enabling him to become acquainted 
 with their composition, and the different earths or metals 
 that predominate, gives him the means of forming correct 
 notions as to the respective ages of the rocks or strata of 
 which they form part. 
 
 Though the geographical and geological distribution of 
 minerals is an important and highly interesting subject in 
 itself, it is one in which the finished mineralogist only 
 can expect to be proficient. Yet it will not here be con- 
 sidered out of place, to take a superficial glance at the 
 natural situations whence those brilliant groupings of crys- 
 tals whose delicately-faceted planes reflect the light in 
 every direction, those heavy massive specimens with bright 
 metallic surfaces, those curious stalactites, and the great 
 variety of amorphous substances that adorn our cabinets, are 
 most usually derived. There are few, even of the uninitiated, 
 who, when gazing upon them in their isolated beauty of 
 
POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 form or of colour, do not feel some desire to learn the 
 localities from whence they are brought, how they are 
 obtained, and in what positions they are usually found. 
 
 Premising that we allude only to such specimens as are 
 usually admitted into the collection, we will observe that 
 the collector of minerals is indebted to the operations of 
 the miners for a great proportion of his choicest and most 
 illustrative examples. These men, in working out a metalli- 
 ferous vein, or lode, as it is termed, occasionally open cavi- 
 ties which are filled with the most brilliant crystallizations 
 of the metallic ores and other substances. Unfortunately for 
 our science, these most frequently share the same fate as the 
 general deposit in the mine, that would not be prized by the 
 mineralogist. Bearing in mind, however, that it is of little 
 consequence, for the purposes of smelting, whether the ore 
 be crystallized or massive, and that in the latter form it is 
 frequently much richer than in the former, whereas a speci- 
 men that shows distinctly the crystalline form of a substance 
 is of great value in a mineralogical point of view, we cannot 
 be surprised that the men who work in the mines, although 
 forbidden to carry any of the product away, often find 
 means to evade the search to which they are subjected 
 before leaving the scene of their daily labours, and realize 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF MINERALS. 9 
 
 considerable sums by the sale of specimens. Sometimes, 
 also, though these occasions are rare, a mineralogist obtains 
 permission from the proprietor to descend into the mines 
 and select specimens for himself; and here his greediness 
 is beyond all bounds. A few years since, an enthusiastic 
 friend of ours had this great favour bestowed upon him ; 
 and, making the most of his time, he industriously chipped 
 away, fancying he discovered a new form in every specimen 
 that he found, until his heap grew so large that the 
 manager jocosely suggested that it would be more con- 
 venient for him to take the whole mine away with him at 
 once, and break it up at his leisure. 
 
 The devastating volcano, too, furnishes its quota to enrich 
 our mineralogical collections, and a great number of inter- 
 esting substances are derived from this source : with this 
 fact the poet seems to have been well acquainted. 
 
 " The fluid lake that works below, 
 Bitumen, sulphur, salt, and iron scum, 
 Heaves up its boiling tide. The labouring mount 
 Is torn with agonizing throes. At once, 
 Forth from its side disparted, blazing pours 
 A mighty river ; burning in prone waves, 
 That glimmer thro' the night, to yonder plain. 
 Divided there, a hundred torrent streams, 
 
10 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Each ploughiug up its bed, roll dreadful on, 
 Resistless. Villages, and woods, and rocks, 
 Fall flat before their sweep. The region round, 
 Where myrtle walks and groves of golden fruit 
 Rose fair ; where harvest waved in all its pride ; 
 And where the vineyard spread its purple store, 
 Maturing into nectar ; now despoiled 
 Of herb, leaf, fruit, and flower, from end to end 
 Lies buried under fire, a glowing sea ! " 
 
 Mallet. 
 
 Even from the sky do we derive very valuable additions 
 to our cabinets. In various parts of the world, rounded 
 masses of a stony character, termed Meteorites, have been 
 seen to fall, into the composition of which Iron, Nickel, and 
 many other substances have been found to enter ; and even 
 masses of Native Iron of immense dimensions are known to 
 be of similar origin. Specimens of these are of a high 
 pecuniary value, and happy is that collector who possesses 
 in great number fragments of Meteorites and slices of 
 Meteoric Iron from different localities. 
 
 The beds of rivers and alluvial soil are frequently very 
 rich in metallic substances, occurring in rolled masses and 
 grains, that have been there deposited after the decay of the 
 rocks in which they originally occurred. Of this there are 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF MINERALS. 11 
 
 many instances in our own country: for example, the 
 streams of Cornwall produce Tin ore in abundance, and 
 amongst this grains of Gold of considerable size have been 
 found; also at Wicklow, in Ireland, a great quantity of 
 Gold was found by the country people in a stream that runs 
 over rocks of clay-slate. Diamonds and many other pre- 
 cious stones, too, are sought for chiefly in alluvial soil and 
 in the beds of rivers and streams, chiefly, however, in 
 foreign countries. 
 
 There are, besides those enumerated, many other loca- 
 lities whence substances equally interesting to the student 
 of mineralogy, though not so intrinsically valuable, may 
 be obtained at so small a sacrifice of trouble, that he must 
 be sadly deficient in the ardour of a naturalist who would 
 shrink from it. Thus, in a bed of clay near Bristol, occur 
 many splendid crystallizations of Celestine and of Quartz ; 
 on some parts of the shores of Scotland are found very 
 handsome pebbles of Carnelian and Agate ; at many of the 
 railway cuttings near London, may be seen, imbedded in 
 the clay, capital crystals of Selenite, or Gypsum ; and even 
 the internal cavities of common flint-pebbles are frequently 
 lined with brilliantly crystallized Quartz, or with Chalcedony. 
 In short, as is well observed by Phillips, in the preface to 
 
12 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 his ' Elementary Treatise/ " there is nothing in the mineral 
 kingdom too elevated or too low for the attention of the 
 mineralogist, from the substances composing the summits 
 of the loftiest mountains, to the sand or gravel on which 
 he treads." 
 
 From the preceding observations it will be seen that 
 the arena in which, the mineralogist may carry on his 
 researches is by no means limited, and that in whatever 
 direction he pursues his studies he will surely be well sup- 
 plied with objects to engage his interest. In this certainty, 
 however, he possesses a considerable advantage over the 
 miner ; for, though geology may point out to him the strata 
 most likely to reward his search, that noble science has not 
 yet attained the degree of perfection necessary to enable its 
 votary to light with certainty upon the rich deposits of 
 treasure concealed beneath the surface of the earth. Con- 
 sequently, it often happens, that after years of laborious 
 exertion have been expended in probing the earth for her 
 riches, the speculation is found to be a failure ; the works 
 are stopped, the workmen are discharged, and the promoters 
 of the scheme reduced to beggary. In other cases, the 
 operations, though exceedingly promising at first in their 
 results, are abandoned in consequence of the great flow of 
 
DISTRIBUTION OP MINERALS. 13 
 
 water from springs that are opened during the downward 
 course of the boring machinery. 
 
 " So wealthy mines, that ages long before 
 Fed the large realms around with golden ore, 
 When choked by sinking banks, no more appear, 
 And shepherds only say, ' The mines were here.' " 
 
 The next few pages will enable the student to form some 
 conception of the difficulties and dangers, as well as the 
 pleasures, that attend the searcher after the hidden treasures 
 of the earth. 
 
COLLECTING MINEKALS. 
 
 THE following account of a short journey amongst the 
 Cumberland mountains, in search of minerals, was kindly 
 furnished to us by Mr. B. Wright, of Liverpool, who has 
 for many years been in the habit of personally collecting 
 the mineral productions of those mountains, and through 
 whose exertions many rare and beautiful minerals have been 
 introduced into the cabinets of amateur collectors, which 
 otherwise would probably have rested for ages in their dark 
 security, unknown to the eye of science. On this occasion 
 Mr. Wright acted in the capacity of guide to a gentleman 
 well known in the mineralogical world, who, not content 
 with the mere possession of a most splendid collection of 
 minerals, was prompted by his enterprising mind to seek 
 them in their native fastnesses amongst the mountainous 
 scenery of Cumberland. As far as practicable, we shall 
 relate the particulars of the journey in the words of 
 Mr. Wright : 
 
 "In the summer of 1847, a Mr. C., being desirous of 
 
COLLECTING MINERALS. 15 
 
 visiting the localities of some of the rare Cumberland 
 minerals and personally inspecting the mines, made arrange- 
 ments with me to accompany him as guide. This, I must 
 observe, is absolutely necessary to a stranger visiting this 
 district, for, though solitude is, perhaps, preferable, if the 
 object be merely to admire the splendid scenery of the 
 place, a stranger in search of minerals might walk and 
 search about for a very long time, and completely tire him- 
 self out, and would probably return as wise as he started 
 as to the precise spots where minerals worth having were 
 to be obtained, or the roads leading to those spots. A few 
 days afterwards Mr. C. arrived at Liverpool, whence we 
 took the rail to Penrith, at which place we hired a vehicle, 
 and fairly started on our journey, Mr. C. promising himself 
 a rich harvest as its result. Before we had reached half- 
 way towards our destination, the night had far advanced, 
 and the silence was unbroken, except by the hooting of the 
 wood-owl and the flapping of the wings of the water-fowl, 
 which inhabited the numerous lakes and pieces of water 
 that we passed on our road. Taking our route by the 
 Eiver Caldew, and turning to the left, we came in sight of 
 a small but compact village, called Hesket Newmarket. 
 When we reached it, the hour was so late, that all of its 
 
16 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 inhabitants had retired to rest, and were buried in deep 
 repose : not a voice was to be heard, nor the twinkling of a 
 light to be seen. However, we had previously settled to 
 remain at this village for the night, and now found that 
 our long drive, and the cold winds that we had encountered, 
 had not disposed us to alter our determination. Pulling 
 up, therefore, at the first inn we came to, and knocking 
 lustily at the door, the landlord soon made his appearance ; 
 and after his first drowsiness had worn off, we found him 
 to be a very cheerful entertainer. Not less welcome was 
 the supper he provided ; and if Mr. C. had felt somewhat 
 dispirited at the commencement of his trip, his meal, and 
 the few hours of sleep of which he afterwards partook, 
 under this hospitable roof, served to renew his ardour and 
 to recruit his strength. 
 
 "Early next morning we proceeded on our journey to 
 the mountains on foot, as horses or vehicles would have been 
 of no service to us here. After walking some distance 
 over hills and dales, we sat down to rest ; and now we 
 beheld a phenomenon, ordinary enough in itself, but which 
 is seen among these beautiful mountains to the greatest 
 advantage : I allude to the rising of the sun. Having 
 watched it as it seemed gradually to emerge from the 
 
COLLECTING MINERALS. 17 
 
 German Ocean, and then burst upon our sight in all its 
 brightness and gorgeous hue, we resumed our way, and, 
 after toiling on for five or six miles, halted at the first mine. 
 " The entrances to the mines are much like doorways, four 
 feet wide and seven feet high, rounded off at the top ; the 
 mine generally runs into the side of the mountain on a level, 
 and these passages extend to very great distances. All the 
 metal is drawn out on a railway, and all the operations of 
 crushing, grating, washing, and smelting the ore are carried 
 on outside. We did not, however, enter this mine, as 
 there were others in which we expected to be more success- 
 ful, but contented ourselves with examining what the miners 
 had brought out, amongst which we found several interest^ 
 ing minerals, and even some which were unknown to us. 
 This success gave Mr. C. renewed courage to proceed on 
 his enterprise, which now, indeed,, became necessary, as 
 our difficulties and dangers increased. We now reached 
 a very narrow footpath, which led us over stupendous and 
 dangerous precipices. This footpath was made expressly 
 for the miners to bring out the ore on the backs of asses 
 and small ponies. I have seen as many as twenty or thirty, 
 one after another in a line, as it is not possible for two to 
 go abreast, the width of the path never exceeding two feet. 
 
 c 
 
18 POPULAR MINEEALOGY. 
 
 Having proceeded along this path some distance, we at 
 length arrived at the mine called Roughtengill, which is 
 well known to have been formerly worked by the Bomans, 
 whose mode of working differed from the modern, for they 
 used to heat the rock, and then throw water upon it, which 
 would burst it in many directions. I knew that we should 
 most probably meet with some good things in this mine, 
 and we therefore concluded to examine its interior, and, 
 having prepared our lights to guide us whilst penetrating 
 its depths, proceeded onwards. We found the sides and 
 roof of the passage very jagged and rugged, as is often the 
 case, but I cannot say that the lights of our candles were 
 reflected back by a thousand crystals or stalactites, which 
 Mr. C. had evidently expected ; on the contrary, the surfaces 
 around us had a very dirty and dull appearance, and the 
 path was so deep in mud, that we had some difficulty in 
 making any way. In order to enliven his spirits; Mr. C. 
 commenced whistling, which, to my regret, I was compelled 
 to check, as the miners are very superstitious respecting 
 the practice of whistling in the mines, considering it a 
 forerunner of some great evil. 
 
 " Before we had proceeded very far, our progress was 
 entirely stopped by the falling-in of a portion of the roof, 
 
COLLECTING MINERALS. 19 
 
 but, by dint of great exertion, we removed the soil, and 
 rendered it passable. Having now travelled some two 
 hundred and forty fathoms underground, our toil was in 
 some degree repaid by the discovery of the first touching 
 of the mineral vein, and Mr. C. at length had the satisfac- 
 tion of seeing some fine crystallized Arseniate of Lead in 
 its native place, adhering to the roof of the mine. Ob- 
 serving this, we went eagerly to work, and procured some 
 capital specimens, though our great object was to obtain 
 those rare minerals, Brockantitc t Cupreous Sulphate of Lead, 
 and Caledonite. 
 
 " Wending our way a further distance of a hundred and 
 sixty fathoms, another difficulty presented itself, that was 
 not quite so readily surmountable ; the sides of the mine 
 had given way, and entirely stopped the water from run- 
 ning in its natural course. We, therefore, began to 
 clear away portions of the wood, stone, and soil, which 
 arrested our progress; Mr. C., though I doubt if he 
 had ever handled a pick before, working away with the 
 greatest good humour and with such effect that we 
 hoped our united exertions would in another minute have 
 enabled us to proceed ; but, in this, we were doomed to 
 disappointment. 
 
 c 2 
 
20 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 ' ' The clearing away of the rubbish only gave vent to a 
 large quantity of water that had accumulated behind it, and 
 the obstacle being removed, out rushed the water with the 
 greatest force, carrying everything before it. The sudden- 
 ness of the outburst was such that I had the greatest 
 difficulty to retain my footing, but, having somewhat 
 recovered my surprise, I remembered Mr. C. ; looking 
 round, I observed that gentleman standing in water at least 
 two feet deep, and in a perfect bewilderment of amaze, as 
 his situation was not only exceedingly unpleasant, but en- 
 tirely unexpected. Though my own position was anything 
 but agreeable, I could not forbear laughing at the ridiculous 
 figure both of us presented ; but Mr. C. only replied by his 
 reproachful looks. I then went on personally to the depth 
 of four feet, but finding the water increasing in depth, and 
 that it was impracticable to proceed further in our investi- 
 gations, I returned and found Mr. C. standing in the same 
 spot, and in the same attitude of astonishment. "We then 
 made the best of our way out, and retraced our steps, the 
 evening having far advanced before we reached the village 
 and our worthy landlord. 
 
 " The inconveniences to which Mr. C. had been subjected 
 had not, however, damped his ardour. We, therefore, after 
 
COLLECTING MINERALS. 21 
 
 partaking of a bountiful breakfast, started again, at an 
 early hour, to renew our search. Taking a different route, 
 we proceeded by Wood Hall, and, passing the park, took a 
 westerly direction towards the mountains. We soon arrived 
 at an extensively worked mine, called Sandbed ; but here 
 we found nothing of importance, except some good Sul- 
 pliuret of Zinc, this being the only locality for that mineral 
 in Caldbeck Fells. Our plan was now to visit Drigga, an 
 ancient mine which had been worked for four centuries, as 
 there we expected to reap a goodly harvest. My companion 
 found that climbing the very steep sides of the mountains 
 was a most fatiguing operation, and several times did we stop 
 on our way, as much to admire the beautiful view around 
 us, as for the purpose of rest or refreshment. From the 
 height we had attained, the view was most extensive, com- 
 prising mountains, hills, valleys, moors, and plains, and 
 even from one spot we gazed down upon the very pretty 
 little village in which I was born. 
 
 " At last we arrived at Drigga, but here again were dis- 
 appointed, for every bit of stone had been ground down 
 to extract the ore from it. On we went, until we reached 
 a small, but interesting mine, called Drygill, which lay 
 between two stupendously high mountains. In our course 
 
POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 hither, we had to pass over the edges of some dangerous 
 rocks, and of course, as guide, I led the way, when my 
 progress was arrested by hearing a lusty shout for help. I 
 quickly turned round (though this was attended with some 
 danger), and beheld poor Mr. C., who had lost his footing 
 on our narrow path, sliding down towards the edge of a 
 fearful precipice. A moment later, and he would have been 
 beyond the reach of human aid, but, fortunately, my ex- 
 tended hand was in time to save him from his peril. 
 Thence advancing along a narrow path, we came to the 
 place where the miners were at work. Their dress consists 
 of a flannel shirt and trousers, and wooden clogs well 
 clamped with iron ; on their heads they wear a red or blue 
 worsted nightcap, presenting a rather uncouth appearance. 
 Notwithstanding their appearance and roughness of man- 
 ners, the liberal douceur with which Mr. C. presented them 
 had the desired effect, and they displayed great kindness 
 in showing us the most interesting parts of the mine, and 
 the operations connected with it. "We then examined a 
 portion of the vein which breaks out to the light of day, 
 and discovered some excellent specimens of the Arsenio- 
 phosphate of Lead, in very fine and perfect crystals. This 
 mine, and those in its vicinity, are, without doubt, the 
 
COLLECTING MINERALS. 23 
 
 most productive in the mineral district of Cumberland, 
 no less than thirty different substances being found in that 
 locality. 
 
 " Descending then to the village with our spoils, which 
 were not very weighty, we passed the night in rest, and 
 early next morning Mr. C. departed for the metropolis, 
 highly delighted with his two days' tour." 
 
COMPOSITION OF MINEEALS. 
 
 " Almighty Cause ! 'tis thy preserving care, 
 That keeps thy works for ever fresh and fair : 
 Hence life acknowledges its Glorious Cause, 
 And matter owns its Great Disposer's laws ; 
 Hence flow the forms and properties of things ; 
 Hence rises harmony, and order springs. 
 Thy watchful Providence o'er all intends ; 
 Thy works obey their Great Creator's ends. 
 Thee, Infinite ! what finite can explore ? 
 Imagination sinks beneath thy power ; 
 Yet present to all sense that power remains : 
 Revealed in Nature, Nature's Author reigns." Boyse. 
 
 COMPARATIVELY few of the minerals that afford so great a 
 degree of pleasure to the collector in their acquisition and 
 arrangement occur in a simple form, but, when analyzed, 
 are found to be composed of two or more ingredients, often 
 of opposite natures ; and upon their nature and the pro- 
 portions in which they are combined depend the characters 
 of the substance which they compose. On this department 
 of our subject it is neither within our limits nor our pro- 
 vince to dwell at any length, more especially as we are 
 
COMPOSITION OF MINERALS. 25 
 
 strengthened by the consideration that, should we happily 
 succeed in awakening in the intelligent mind a desire to 
 pursue the study to its farthest bounds, the many excellent 
 works already published will enable the student to proceed 
 satisfactorily in his inquiries. Our intention is rather to 
 point out the beauties appertaining to the science, and 
 simply to indicate the methods of pursuing it, than to enter 
 into elaborate details of the chemical processes by which 
 the composition of a mineral is determined and the exact 
 proportions of its ingredients ascertained. But in order 
 that the beginner may understand the grounds upon which 
 the arrangement of mineral substances is based, it will be 
 necessary to notice the several sections into which minerals 
 are divided, according to their chemical composition. As 
 the order of arrangement proposed by Mr. Phillips is at 
 once the most simple and the most natural, we shall notice, 
 first; the Earths ; secondly, the Alkalies ; thirdly, the Acids ; 
 fourthly, the Metals ; and lastly, the Combustibles. 
 
 The following is a list of the Earths that are found to 
 enter into the composition of minerals, viz. : 
 
 Alumine. Magnesia. Thorina. 
 
 Barytes. Silex. Yttria. 
 
 Glucine. Strontian. Zircon. 
 
 Lime. 
 
26 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 It must be observed, that, though for our purposes it 
 will be sufficient to treat of all these earths as simple bodies, 
 they are all (with the exception of Silex, which is considered 
 to be an acid) chemically proved to be metallic oxides. 
 
 Four of the earths enumerated, viz. Barytes, Lime, Mag- 
 nesia, and Strontian, are termed Alkaline Earths, from their 
 possessing some of the properties of the alkalies; the 
 remainder are distinguished, when in a pure state, by their 
 insolubility in water, and by their being fixed or incom- 
 bustible in the fire, 
 
 ALUMINE is never found pure, but enters largely into the 
 composition of many of the earthy minerals, amongst 
 which we may mention all the varieties of Agate and of 
 Garnet, and the different kinds of Clay. It is a principal 
 ingredient of most of the precious stones, and, next to Silex, 
 is the most abundant of all the earths. 
 
 BARYTES is only found in combination with either car- 
 bonic or sulphuric acid, but is not by any means of common 
 occurrence. It is the heaviest of all the earths, and is a 
 deadly poison. 
 
 GLTJCINE. The only substances in which this most rare 
 earth occurs are those valuable gems, the Euclase, Beryl, 
 and Emerald, and the scarce mineral, Gadolinite. 
 
EARTHS, 27 
 
 LIME. This earth has never been found pure, but is an 
 ingredient of many of the earthy minerals, and occurs in 
 the greatest abundance in combination with carbonic acid, 
 of which all the interesting forms and varieties of Calcspar 
 may be cited as examples ; but a still more familiar instance 
 of the occurrence of Carbonate of Lime is one that is endeared 
 to every lover of the picturesque and beautiful, namely, the 
 snow-white chalk cliffs of old England. The utility of Lime 
 renders it the most important of all the earths to mankind, 
 and consequently the most interesting to the mineralogist. 
 
 MAGNESIA most usually occurs in the form of a Carbonate, 
 but combines also with several other acids, and is a principal 
 ingredient of Serpentine, both precious and common. Its 
 medicinal use is well known. 
 
 SILEX. This is the commonest of the earths, and is said 
 to enter into the composition of full two-thirds of all the 
 earthy minerals known. It occurs almost pure in the 
 numerous varieties of Quartz, Rock-crystal, Opal, Flint, and 
 the sands of the sea-shore. 
 
 STRONTIAX is not an earth of frequent occurrence. It may 
 be distinguished from Barytes, which it much resembles, by 
 its giving a purple colour to flame, instead of yellow. It 
 is never found pure. 
 
28 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 THORINA, YTTRIA, and ZIRCON have only been found in 
 one or two rare minerals, and have not been put to any use. 
 The Alkalies are four in number ; they are chiefly distin- 
 guished by their solubility in water, and by their chemical 
 power of neutralizing acids. They are Potash, Soda, Lithia, 
 and Ammonia. These are never found in a pure state, nor 
 do they enter into the composition of the metalliferous ores ; 
 but the three first are found in some of the earthy minerals, 
 and the last combines only with two of the acids. They 
 are all proved by Sir Humphrey Davy to consist of oxygen 
 united to a base which is strongly suspected to be metallic. 
 Potash, Soda, and Lithia are particularly valuable in a com- 
 mercial point of view, for, combined with oils, they are used 
 in the manufacture of a most useful domestic article known 
 as soap. 
 
 The Acids that are found to enter into the composition of 
 minerals are thirteen, viz. : 
 
 Arsenic. Mellitic. Phosphoric. . 
 
 Boracic. Molybdic. Succinic. 
 
 Carbonic. Muriatic. Sulphuric. 
 
 Chromic. Nitric. Tungstic. 
 
 Fluoric. 
 These take their names from their respective bases : thus, 
 
ACIDS. 29 
 
 the base of carbonic acid is Carbon, that of molybdic acid is 
 the metal Molybdena, that of the sulphuric is Sulphur, and 
 so on ; these bases being combined with oxygen or hydrogen, 
 forming what are termed acids. The acids form, in conjunc- 
 tion with the earths, alkalies, or metals, those combinations 
 to which the terms arseniate, carbonate, sulphate, &c., are, 
 in mineralogical language, applied. Only three of these acids 
 have been found to occur in a native state these are the 
 Sulphuric, the Carbonic, and the Arsenic. Many of the acids, 
 when obtained by chemical processes in an isolated condition, 
 are largely used for various manufacturing purposes. 
 
 We have thus noticed the different earths, alkalies, and 
 acids which are found to enter into the composition of 
 minerals, and have observed that on the various combina- 
 tions of these elementary substances is based the most 
 natural arrangement of the specimens in our cabinets. But 
 these elementary substances are seldom found in an isolated 
 state. More commonly we find two or more earths, an 
 earth and an alkali, an earth and an acid, and so on, asso- 
 ciated together. This will partly explain the divisions into 
 which, taking Phillips for our guide, we have divided the 
 descriptive portion of this work. Tor the rest we will quote 
 Mr. Phillips's words. 
 
30 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 " As rocks are constituted chiefly of earths, and metals 
 are principally found in veins, earthy minerals may be 
 assumed to be of earlier origin than the metalliferous, and 
 hence minerals appear to possess a claim to a somewhat 
 natural order of succession in our cabinets. 
 
 " Thus, siliceous minerals are first described, because it 
 is estimated that silex forms the largest proportion of the 
 oldest and most abundant primitive rocks, and all earthy 
 minerals of which silex is the largest ingredient are arranged 
 under that head; beginning chemically with silex in its 
 purest form, and proceeding to such as consist of that and 
 another earth, as silex and alumine, then to those consisting 
 of silex and lime, &c., and afterwards to such minerals as 
 are chiefly constituted of three or more earths, terminating 
 with the most compound. 
 
 " Next after those minerals which consist only of one or 
 more of the earths, succeed those in which one or other of 
 the alkalies is found ; to these such of the acids as occur in 
 the concrete state ; then those minerals which are primarily 
 constituted of one or more earths and an acid ; after these, 
 those consisting of an alkali and an acid ; and finally, the 
 very few in which an earth, an alkali, and an acid are com- 
 bined together. 
 
METALS. 31 
 
 " The order of arrangement is, therefore, as follows : 
 Earthy minerals. 
 Alkaline-earthy minerals. 
 ' Acids. 
 
 Acidiferous earthy minerals. 
 Acidiferous alkaline minerals. 
 Acidiferous alkalino-earthy minerals." 
 To these succeed the metals and metalliferous ores, and 
 after these the combustibles. 
 
 METALS. We have already observed that all of the earths, 
 with one exception, that are found to be ingredients of 
 mineral substances, are composed of oxygen united to a 
 metallic base, and might therefore, with some degree of pro- 
 priety, be arranged under the head of metals ; nevertheless, 
 the earths not being simple bodies, we shall find it much 
 more convenient to treat of such as are considered to be 
 simple metals as constituting a distinct section. The simple 
 metals known to mineralogists are as follow : 
 
 Antimony. 
 Arsenic. 
 
 Chromium. 
 Cobalt. 
 
 Iron. 
 Lead. 
 
 Bismuth. 
 Cadmium. 
 Cerium. 
 
 Copper. 
 Gold. 
 Iridium. 
 
 Manganese. 
 Mercury. 
 Molybdena. 
 
32 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Nickel. Silver. Tungsten. 
 
 Osmium. Tantalum. Uranium. 
 
 Palladium. Tellurium. Yanadium. 
 
 Platina. Tin. Zinc. 
 
 Rhodium. Titanium. 
 
 Many of these occur pure or nearly pure in a natural 
 state ; when two of them occur in combination with each 
 other, they are termed a native alloy, but if combined with 
 mercury, are termed an amalgam. They are all possessed 
 of a peculiar lustre called metallic, and their weight, com- 
 pared with other substances, is very great. They are 
 capable of uniting with acids, are insoluble in water, and 
 are generally good conductors of heat and electricity. They 
 are all fusible, but the degree in which they possess this 
 quality varies greatly ; Platina, for instance, requiring the 
 strongest possible degree of heat to melt it, whilst Mercury 
 is not only fluid at the common temperature of our atmo- 
 sphere, but continues so in a degree of cold much below 
 that at which water itself becomes solid. Many of the 
 metals possess the valuable property of malleability, and 
 amongst these may be mentioned Gold, Silver, Copper, and 
 Iron, which are malleable to a remarkable degree ; others, 
 such as Antimony, Bismuth, Titanium, and Manganese, are 
 
METALS. 33 
 
 altogether destitute of that property, and are therefore 
 termed brittle. 
 
 Although the question of the growth of metals is a most 
 interesting one, no satisfactory conclusion has yet been 
 arrived at on the subject. Some of the old theories are rather 
 amusing, and are worth mentioning. Descartes asserted 
 that metals were formed from the beginning of the world, 
 and were ranged, by the laws of gravity, about the centre, 
 that they were afterwards corroded by the acid salts, and 
 carried up with them by subterranean heat to various parts 
 of the earth. Tournefort, the botanist, supposed that 
 minerals as well as plants originally came from eggs, and 
 that the largest rocks were at first only as large as grains 
 of sand ! Yalden's poetical allusion to the subject of the 
 primary causes of the formation of metals is very beautiful. 
 
 " Through dark retreats pursue the winding ore, 
 Search Nature's depths, and view her boundless store. 
 The secret cause in tuneful numbers sing, 
 How metals first were formed, and whence they spring ; 
 Whether the active sun, with chymic flames, 
 Through porous earth transmits his genial beams ; 
 "With heat impregnating the womb of night, 
 The offspring shines with its paternal light : 
 Or whether, urged by subterraneous flames, 
 The earth ferments, and flows in liquid streams ; 
 D 
 
34 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Purged from their dross, the nobler parts refine, 
 Receive new forms, and with fresh heauties shine : 
 Or whether by creation first they sprung, 
 When yet unpoised the world's great fabric hung : 
 Metals the basis of the earth were made, 
 The bars on which its fixed foundation's laid : 
 All second causes they disdain to own, 
 And from the Almighty's fiat sprung alone." 
 
 Whatever may be the true method and cause of the growth 
 of metals, that they do grow, under certain circumstances, 
 is not to be denied ; and we may here quote the assertion 
 of a practical observer (Mr. Wright of Liverpool) to whom 
 we applied for information. ' ' Minerals do grow. I opened 
 a vein that had not been worked for two hundred years, and 
 from which the ore had been well cleared out : I found 
 that the sides of the vein had been replenished with the 
 carbonate of lead in crystals of an inch in length, w r hich, no 
 practical man can doubt, have been formed since the period 
 when the mine was worked." As each metal will be 
 treated of at considerable length separately, we will conclude 
 this brief notice by observing, in reference to metals and the 
 metalliferous ores, that perhaps no division of the mineral 
 kingdom is capable of exciting so great an interest in the 
 mind of the mineralogist ; not only because the detached 
 
COMBUSTIBLES. 35 
 
 specimens in his cabinet form its chief ornament, but 
 because, from the time of their being raised from the deep 
 earth in a rough and crude condition, to the period when, 
 refined and fashioned by the skill of man, they assume the 
 complicated form of some giant piece of machinery, the 
 metals and their ores, during the progress of their transi- 
 tion, afford both physical and mental employment to many 
 thousands of human beings. Metals, however, cannot be 
 rendered available to the full extent in the advancement of 
 our comforts unless much foresight and scientific knowledge 
 are brought to the task. 
 
 " With sober aim, to serious end, 
 Be skill and industry combined : 
 Man's work must ever end in failure, 
 Unless it bear the stamp of mind : 
 For this was man endowed with reason, 
 This raises him above the brute ; 
 The head must plan with care and thought 
 Before the hand should execute." 
 
 Schiller'* Sang of the BelL 
 
 COMBUSTIBLES. The minerals placed in this division arc 
 different in character from either metals, earths, alkalies, or 
 acids, and are all of a highly inflammable nature. Of these 
 carbon and sulphur form the principal ingredients. The 
 
36 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Diamond is an example of carbon in its purest form ; carbon 
 also combined with hydrogen constitutes a gem still more 
 valuable the coal that is so necessary to our domestic 
 happiness. It is the base of carbonic acid. Sulphur is 
 found not only in a pure state, but is of common occurrence 
 in metallic ores, forming the sulphuret of the metal. 
 Several other minerals are also ranked amongst the com- 
 bustibles, and will be mentioned in due order. 
 
 " The lively diamond drinks thy purest rays, 
 Collected, light, compact ; that, polished bright, 
 And all its native lustre let abroad, 
 Dares, as it sparkles on the fair one's breast, 
 With vain ambition emulate her eyes." Thomson. 
 
37 
 
 CHABACTEBS OP MltfEB ALS . 
 
 *' Let no presuming impious railer tax 
 Creative Wisdom ; as if aught was formed 
 In vain, or not for admirable ends. 
 Lives there the man whose universal eye 
 Has swept at once th' unbounded scheme of things, 
 Mark'd their dependence so, and firm accord, 
 As with unfalt'ring accent to conclude 
 That this availeth nought ? 
 Till such exist, let zealous praise ascend, 
 And hymns of holy wonder, to that Power, 
 Whose wisdom shines as lovely on our minds, 
 As on our smiling eyes his servant-sun." Thomson. 
 
 THE characters of minerals are divided into two sections, 
 viz. physical and chemical. The former section comprises 
 such characters as are readily observable by the eye or by 
 some more or less simple mechanical experiment, whilst to 
 the latter section belong those characters that require for 
 their recognition the application of some chemical process or 
 series of processes, often of a most complicated nature. On 
 one or other of these divisions of character it is necessary 
 that the mineralogist should found the arrangement of his 
 
POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 specimens, in order that he may readily refer to any parti- 
 cular substance or individual that he may require. We will 
 therefore proceed, in the first place, briefly to comment upon 
 those characters included in the first-named section, of which 
 the following is a list : 
 
 Adhesion to the tongue. 
 
 Colour. 
 
 Double refraction. 
 
 Elasticity. 
 
 Electricity. 
 
 External form. 
 
 Flexibility. 
 
 Fracture. 
 
 Erangibility. 
 
 Hardness. 
 
 Magnetism. 
 
 Odour. 
 
 Phosphorescence. 
 
 Powder. 
 
 Specific gravity. 
 
 Streak. 
 
 Structure. 
 
 Taste. 
 
 Touch. 
 
 Transparency. 
 Lustre. 
 
 Adhesion to the tongue may be observed in Lithomarge, and 
 particularly in a kind of lamellar clay which is found near 
 Paris, and is termed Adhesive Slate, from its possessing the 
 property of adhering to the tongue. It is not a character of 
 common occurrence. 
 
 The Colour of a substance, though it may add considerably 
 to its beauty, is not a character upon which much dependence 
 
CHARACTERS OF MINERALS. 39 
 
 can be placed, as the hue of a mineral frequently depends 
 upon the accidental presence of an ingredient in such small 
 quantity as to be insufficient to alter the general characters 
 of the mass. The numerous varieties of Quartz, for instance, 
 present an infinite succession of tints to the eye, though 
 their composition arid form are identical. The colours of 
 minerals are poetically attributed to the influence of the sun, 
 an idea in which there may be some portion of truth, since 
 it is well known that if a nearly colourless piece of Precious 
 Opal be placed in a position to receive the sun's rays for 
 some hours, it will frequently be found to have assumed the 
 most brilliant play of colours. 
 
 " At thee the ruby lights its deepening glow, 
 And with a waving radiance inward flames. 
 From thee the sapphire, solid ether, takes 
 Its hue cerulean ; and, of evening tinct, 
 The purple-streaming amethyst is thine. 
 "With thy own smile the yellow topaz burns ; 
 Nor deeper verdure dyes the robe of spring, 
 "When first she gives it to the southern gale, 
 Than the green emerald shows. But, all combined, 
 Thick, through the whitening opal play thy beams ; 
 Or, flying several from its surface, form 
 A trembling variance of revolving hues, 
 As the site varies in the gazer's hand." Thomson. 
 
40 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 There are, however, many minerals of which the colour is 
 a distinguishing characteristic. 
 
 Double refraction is a character not frequently possessed 
 by minerals. It is best shown in the transparent variety of 
 Carbonate of Lime known by the name of Double-refracting 
 spar. 
 
 Elasticity and Flexibility. If a piece of Mica be bent, it 
 will, on being released, spring back to its former shape, 
 and is therefore an example of elasticity ; Talc, however, is 
 only flexible, because, when bent into any form, it retains 
 that form, instead of regaining its previous position. 
 
 External form and Structure. These two characters 
 combined, form a distinct branch of the study of minerals, 
 termed Crystallography. They are the most important of 
 the physical characters, and the only ones upon which a phy- 
 sical arrangement of specimens could possibly be founded. 
 The subject, however, is of such unbounded extent, that it 
 would alone fill many a scientific and pleasing volume ; and, 
 indeed, whilst such a work as Brooke's 'Pamiliar Intro- 
 duction to Crystallography ' exists, it would be as useless as 
 it would be presumptuous were we to attempt to do more 
 than notice one or two of its principal features. 
 
 A crystal is a symmetrical solid, bounded by plane surfaces, 
 
FORMS OP CRYSTALS. 41 
 
 and is composed of minute particles or molecules of a 
 determinate form ; acted upon by certain laws of attraction, 
 cohesion, and polarity, these molecules, combined, assume 
 the great variety of crystalline forms that are to be observed 
 in mineral substances. Numerous, however, as these are, 
 they are all said to be derived from some few simple forms, 
 and are therefore termed secondary forms, whilst those from 
 which they are derived are termed primary forms. The 
 most simple form to which a substance may be reduced by 
 cleavage, may therefore generally be termed its primary 
 form, from which all the modifications presented by the 
 crystals of the substance are derived. 
 
 Of these primary forms the following may be commonly 
 seen in well-known minerals. 
 
 The Tetrahedron consists of four triangular planes. This 
 form may be frequently seen in Blende, and in Copper- 
 pyrites. 
 
 The Cube is contained within six square planes. Very 
 perfect cubes of Iron-pyrites and of Fluor-spar can be easily 
 obtained, as it is the most common form of those substances. 
 
 The Rhombic Dodecahedron, a crystal composed of twelve 
 rhombic planes. Of this form the Common Garnet is a 
 good example. 
 
42 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Of the OctoJiedron, which consists of eight triangular 
 planes, there are three varieties, viz. the acute, the obtuse, 
 and the regular octohedron. This last is the most general, 
 and may be observed in Iron-pyrites, Spinel-ruby, and 
 numerous other substances. 
 
 The Hexagonal Prism is the form of Beryl and of Emerald, 
 and is the general form of Quartz, although its primary form 
 is the rhomboid. 
 
 The Rhomboid, of which there are several varieties, may be 
 observed in Double-refracting spar. The difference between 
 this form and the cube will be readily seen if the two forms 
 are placed next to each other ; but we may observe that, of 
 a rhomboidal plane, two of the angles are acute and two 
 obtuse, whereas the four angles of a cubic plane are all similar. 
 
 All of these forms, however, though very distinct the one 
 from the other, are said to pass into each other. This 
 curious and interesting fact may be proved to the satisfac- 
 tion of the learner in a practical and simple manner, by his 
 procuring a piece of clay, or even potato, and, having formed 
 therefrom a cube, let him proceed to remove all its 
 corners, or solid angles, with as much regularity as possible. 
 He will then have the cubo-octohedron, so termed because 
 the triangular planes which are produced by the removal 
 
SIZE OF CRYSTALS. 43 
 
 of the solid angles, are in reality the planes of the octohedron, 
 which will be seen by gradually removing more and more 
 of the corners, until the cube no longer appears, being 
 replaced by a regular octohedron. With the same humble 
 materials the manner in which the other forms pass into 
 each other may be witnessed. In order, however, to become 
 well acquainted with these most interesting transformations, 
 a set of models of the crystalline forms and their modifica- 
 tions should be procured. 
 
 The dimensions of crystals are exceedingly various even 
 in the same substances. Some of the crystallizations of 
 Quartz, for instance, are so minute that they present to the 
 eye only a confused mass of sparkling drusy appearance, while 
 others, particularly Rock-crystal and Amethyst, attain an 
 enormous size. In the British Museum may be seen a well- 
 formed Rock-crystal upwards of a foot in length, and of pro- 
 portionate diameter; others are known to exist of much 
 larger size. The Irish Amethyst is usually found in very 
 large crystals, some of them being more than eight inches 
 in diameter. Crystals of Beryl, presenting the regular form 
 of that mineral, have been found in America upwards of two 
 feet in length ; these immense crystals, however, are usually 
 opake, or nearly so, the ordinary length of the transparent 
 
44 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 crystals not exceeding two or three inches. Again, perfect do- 
 decahedrons of Common Garnet occur sometimes of very 
 large dimensions some we have seen measuring full seven 
 inches in diameter ; as in the former case, these very large 
 crystals are opake. Many more instances of the occurrence 
 of giant crystals might be mentioned ; but those already enu- 
 merated will be sufficient to suggest the reflection, that the 
 laws of nature are exhibited as perfect and universal in the 
 crystallization of mineral substances, as in those operations 
 of nature that are apparently of more general interest, or, at 
 least, that are more generally understood; and that the 
 regularity of those laws is as plainly to be observed in the 
 most minute and the most gigantic crystallizations, as in 
 the greater or lesser phenomena of the animal or vegetable 
 kingdoms. 
 
 The Structure of a great number of substances, in addi- 
 tion to their regular crystalline form, permits of their being 
 broken or split in various directions, so as to produce forms 
 similar to the natural crystals. The surfaces thus obtained 
 are termed cleavage planes, according to which the primary 
 form of a substance is often ascertained. Take, for ex- 
 ample, a rough piece or a crystalline cube of Fluor-spar, and 
 placing it in a convenient position on the table, apply the 
 
BEAUTY OF CRYSTALS. 45 
 
 edge of a common table-knife to the portion to be removed, 
 tapping the back of the knife smartly with a light hammer : 
 by this means the tetrahedron, the octohedron, and the 
 rhomboid, may be produced. Blende, again, may be cleaved 
 into a variety of forms, such as the rhombic dodecahedron, 
 a rhomboid, an octohedron, and the tetrahedron. Iceland- 
 spar, also, affords a capital illustration of structure, and 
 may be cleaved into most perfect rhomboids. 
 
 Crystals have been said to bear the same relation to the 
 mineral kingdom, as flowers do to the vegetable. Each 
 gives a charm to its respective study, which is perhaps 
 necessary to secure for it that degree of attention it de- 
 serves. Before we become complete enthusiasts in any 
 one branch of science, we must see in it some beauty to 
 attract us some source of superficial gratification, to tempt 
 us to explore its winding paths ; and unless that gratifica- 
 tion be constantly renewed, we are apt to become careless 
 and apathetic in following them. But here we find no lack 
 of beauty, of diversity of form, or of general superficial 
 attractions. On the contrary, the more deeply we become 
 initiated into the mysteries of crystallography, the more 
 do we become enamoured of it, for we find, at every 
 step, new and beautiful truths developing themselves, and 
 
46 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 hourly discover fresh paths strewed with new and brilliant 
 flowers. 
 
 Electricity is a character that is possessed by a consi- 
 derable number of substances, and by most of the metalli- 
 ferous ores. In Amber it may be observed by rubbing the 
 specimen on cloth, when it will attract a hair, if placed 
 within a short distance. 
 
 The Fracture of a mineral is observed when the substance 
 is broken in a direction across its natural cleavage plane. 
 The surface thus presented is sometimes conchoidal, resem- 
 bling a shell, sometimes splintery, uneven, even, or hackly 
 and irregular. 
 
 Frangibility may be said to refer to the ease with which 
 a mineral may be broken, which probably depends upon 
 its peculiar structure, or the arrangement of its component 
 particles. 
 
 The Hardness of one mineral compared with that of 
 another, is a very useful test in assisting to ascertain its 
 nature. The Diamond is perhaps the hardest mineral 
 known ; and amongst the softest are Bitumen, Steatite, and 
 Selenite. 
 
 Lustre is of several kinds. The metallic , peculiar to 
 pure metals ; the pseudo-metallic, which may be seen in 
 
CHARACTERS OF MINERALS. 47 
 
 Bronzite ; the adamantine, observable in Corundum ; the 
 pearly, in Pearl-spar; the silky, in Malachite, Labrador 
 Felspar, and Satin- spar ; the resinous, the waxy, and the 
 vitreous, the first seen in Amber, the second in Chert, the 
 last in Glassy Actinolite. 
 
 Magnetism is possessed in a great degree by some of the 
 ores of Iron, but by few other metals or minerals. In a 
 variety of Oxide of Iron, called Natural Magnet, this pro- 
 perty may be readily observed. 
 
 Odour, of various kinds, arises from certain minerals 
 when struck, or breathed upon, or rubbed against each 
 other ; but this is not at all a frequent character. 
 
 Phosphorescence. This is a distinguishing property of 
 that variety of Fluor known as Chlorophane, which mineral, 
 when heated, gives out a phosphorescent light of a most 
 brilliant green colour. Bolognian stone (a variety of Heavy- 
 spar) also exhibits phosphorescence in a great degree when 
 heated. 
 
 Powder and Streak. If a mineral substance be scratched 
 upon its surface with a knife, a fine powder will sometimes 
 be produced, of a colour peculiar to the mineral subjected 
 to the experiment. The streak of a mineral means the 
 colour of the mark it makes upon the paper. Few minerals 
 possess this character. 
 
48 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Specific Gravity is one of the most important amongst 
 mineralogical characters, and signifies the weight of one 
 body in comparison with that of another of the same 
 dimensions. Water being fixed upon as the standard with 
 which to compare the weight of mineral substances, when 
 the specific gravity of a mineral is given, it is always 
 understood to be its weight compared with that of water. 
 The first notion towards the method of ascertaining the 
 specific gravity or relative weight of metals, was discovered 
 by Archimedes, in the following manner. Philip, king of 
 Macedon, having given a certain quantity of gold to an 
 artizan, for the purpose of manufacturing a crown, sus- 
 pected, when the crown was delivered, that his gold had 
 been alloyed or adulterated, and offered a large reward to 
 any one who could discover a plan for testing the fact. 
 The philosopher Archimedes puzzled his brains for a long 
 time to no purpose, until bathing one day, it suddenly 
 occurred to him, that his body displaced a certain quantity 
 of water, and that by calculating the weight of the water 
 so displaced, the relative weight of the body that displaced 
 it might be ascertained. 
 
 Taste and Touch. Some few minerals, principally of a 
 saline nature, may be known by their taste, though this is 
 
PROPERTIES OF MINERALS. 49 
 
 a somewhat unpleasant expedient to resort to ; others have 
 a very peculiar feel when handled, of which Soap-stone is 
 an example. 
 
 Transparency. This character varies greatly, even in the 
 same substances. Some of the varieties of Quartz are beau- 
 tifully transparent ; for instance, Brazilian Pebble (Rock- 
 crystal), which is used as a substitute for spectacle-glasses ; 
 whilst others are perfectly opake. In Tourmaline, too, the 
 degree of transparency is exceedingly variable. 
 
 AVe have alluded thus at length to the physical or ex- 
 ternal characters of minerals, because those characters may 
 be observed by the beginner in the science, who, without some 
 such explanation, would probably be at a loss how to recognize 
 even the commonest substances, although described with the 
 greatest care and in the most simple manner. But the 
 modes of investigating the chemical properties and com- 
 position of minerals are much more complicated, and, 
 indeed, they require so much previous scientific knowledge, 
 that few mineralogists of the present day are sufficiently 
 proficient to undertake an accurate analysis of a substance. 
 Whilst it will, therefore, be quite superfluous to describe 
 the operations by which a knowledge of the elementary 
 ingredients of a mineral is obtained, such simple experi- 
 
 E 
 
50 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 ments as will afford a satisfactory result to the learner, will 
 be mentioned in that portion of the work which is devoted 
 to descriptions of the various substances. 
 
 But there is one little instrument used in the chemical 
 examination of substances, which every learner ought to 
 procure, and without which but little progress can be made 
 in the study of minerals. This is the blowpipe, and by its 
 use many interesting observations are made. It is a very 
 simple contrivance, consisting merely of a series of three 
 tubes of progressive sizes ; two of these are fitted together 
 in a straight line, the third being fixed in at one extremity 
 at an angle of ninety degrees. The larger extremity being 
 placed in the mouth, the smaller end is applied to the flame 
 of a candle or a lamp, and the object is now to produce a 
 constant, steady stream of flame, which is brought to bear 
 upon the mineral under observation. The art of producing 
 this flame is somewhat difficult to attain, but, when once 
 acquired, is very easy to practise. This first difficulty 
 being overcome, the learner will have time to observe that 
 the flame produced is of two colours, the inner portion blue, 
 and the outer yellow. Now, the heat of the blue flame is 
 greater than that of the yellow ; it is, therefore, best that 
 the substance to be acted upon should be first exposed to 
 
THE BLOWPIPE. 51 
 
 the lesser degree of heat, the effect of which, being observed 
 and noted, the inner flame should then play upon it. As 
 it is necessary that the heat should act uniformly upon the 
 whole of the object exposed to its povrer, the size of such 
 substance should not exceed the eighth part of an inch each 
 way. A piece of charcoal is usually the most convenient 
 substance upon which to examine a mineral by the blowpipe. 
 Some mineral substances will not fuse without the ad- 
 dition of a flux : that in most common use, to promote 
 fusion, is Borax. 
 
 E 2 
 
THE COLLECTION. 
 
 " The philosophic youth 
 
 To Nature's voice attends, from month to month, 
 And day to day, through the revolving year j 
 Admiring sees her in her every shape, 
 Feels all her sweet emotions at his heart ; 
 "While truth, divinely breaking on his mind, 
 Elates his being and unfolds his powers." 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 WHILST some seek for pleasure only amidst the gaieties of 
 life, in the " giddy mazes of the dance/' in the exciting 
 allurements of the theatre, or in the elevating pursuit of 
 music in its different branches ; whilst others hope, on the 
 contrary, by denying themselves all recreation, and devoting 
 their whole time and thought to religious exercises, to 
 obtain happiness in this world and peace hereafter ; others, 
 still paying due attention to moral and religious duties, 
 and still enjoying a reasonable share of the gayer and 
 lighter scenes of life, find a calm delight in following with 
 thoughtful eye the progress of the arts and sciences, or in 
 investigating the admirable phenomena which are presented 
 
COLLECTION OF SPECIMENS. 53 
 
 by the wide field of nature. To such, works of this nature 
 may be of service in directing attention to the paths by 
 which their favourite pursuit may be followed, with the* 
 fairest prospect of attaining interesting results. 
 
 But, whatever may be the importance of any particular 
 study in a scientific point of view, there can be little doubt 
 that but few would be found willing to devote their leisure 
 hours to attaining a knowledge of any branch of natural 
 history, were it not for the interest that is inseparable from 
 the acquisition of a collection of specimens to illustrate 
 the subject to which the attention is given. The chief 
 object of some, in forming this collection, is merely to 
 obtain such a specimen of an object or a substance as will 
 serve to make them acquainted with its characters, and to 
 render the experience so gained subservient to the interests 
 and advancement of their adopted science. These are 
 comparatively few. More generally a science is taken up 
 for the excitement and pride of possessing specimens which 
 are either remarkable for their beauty or for their rarity, 
 and the attainment of a unique is in this case a primary 
 object, on which time and money are lavished in abundance. 
 Accordingly, we find that the value of an object of natural 
 history varies greatly, just in proportion to its scarcity. A 
 
54 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 high price is frequently given for a specimen, if but few 
 others are known to exist in the cabinets of the curious, 
 and an enormously high sum for an object supposed to be 
 the only one of its kind in existence ; but should its locality 
 be ascertained, a supply is thrown into the market, and its 
 value is depreciated to a mere fraction of what it formerly 
 possessed : not because its beauty or its scientific interest 
 has fled, but because it is no longer to be considered a rarity 
 or a unique. This spirit of emulation is of considerable 
 benefit in many ways, and, if it be an error, it is but an 
 amiable weakness. 
 
 Let the actuating motive, however, be what it may, it is 
 certain that a collection of specimens is absolutely necessary 
 to those who desire to study a branch of natural history ; 
 we will, therefore, offer a few remarks, which we trust 
 may be found of use during the charming occupation of 
 assembling together, from all parts of the world, illus- 
 trative examples of the mineral substances that enrich 
 the earth. 
 
 CHOICE OE SPECIMENS. In the first place, we must 
 earnestly recommend the tyro in mineralogy to start with 
 the fixed determination of limiting the dimensions of his 
 specimens. This will be found of great advantage, as it 
 
CHOICE OF SPECIMENS. 55 
 
 permits all the drawers of the cabinet to be of uniform 
 depth ; thus not only giving a neater appearance, but greatly 
 facilitating the arrangement of substances. As to what 
 that size should be, depends entirely upon the means and 
 the taste of the collector, and we shall not presume, there- 
 fore, to dictate, but may observe that specimens measuring 
 two or three inches in length, and proportionate breadth, 
 will, if selected with discrimination, usually be found suffi- 
 ciently large to illustrate both the beauty and characters of 
 a mineral. It is, of course, impossible to obtain a good 
 specimen of every substance of exactly the same size, as 
 many are very rare, and others never occur of large dimen- 
 sions at all. Of these we must be content with such 
 specimens as can be procured, although they may not reach 
 the size fixed on as the standard. 
 
 "When choosing a specimen, considerable care should be 
 exercised in selecting such a one as best exhibits the 
 characters peculiar to the substance, particularly the crys- 
 talline form ; and should many varieties of the same sub- 
 stance be known to occur, those should be preferred whose 
 colour, transparency, &c., are most distinct. It is, also, 
 frequently important to possess, for comparison, perhaps 
 identical varieties, from different localities. In all pos- 
 
56 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 sible cases, it is desirable that a portion of the gangue, or 
 matrix, in which a substance is found, should accompany 
 the specimen. 
 
 Frequently, a large and clumsy specimen may, by the 
 aid of a hammer and a pair of cutting pincers, be reduced 
 to a very neat and select one. This requires great dexterity, 
 as an unpractised hand is very likely to destroy, by a mis- 
 directed blow of the hammer, the very portion whose 
 preservation is most desirable. Previously to the commence- 
 ment of operations, therefore, the structure of the substance 
 should be minutely examined, so as to observe in what 
 direction the blow would probably take effect. Those 
 minerals which possess a lamellar structure may be easily 
 divided in the direction of the laminae, but with great 
 difficulty in the contrary direction. But the greatest 
 difficulty is experienced when the substance is in delicate 
 and fragile crystals, occurring on a gangue of a hard and 
 tough nature, as the first blow would cause the crystals to 
 fall off, and yet make no impression on the gangue. In 
 such a case, it is advisable to set the lapidary to work, who 
 will, without much danger to the desired portion, separate 
 therefrom the offending gangue. These suggestions, how- 
 ever, are perhaps unnecessary, as in most instances the 
 
CHOICE OF SPECIMENS. 57 
 
 dealer in minerals will have reduced his specimens as far 
 as might be safely attempted. 
 
 The numbes of distinct species of minerals and their 
 varieties is so immense, that even when the funds are ample, 
 it must be a work of many years to form a collection whose 
 number shall even approach to that which is known to 
 exist. We would, therefore, advise the student first to 
 direct his energies and resources to procuring one good 
 average example of each distinct substance, rather than to 
 accumulate a large number of varieties of one species, 
 whilst others are neglected altogether. The varieties may 
 be added as opportunity offers. 
 
 Another excellent plan for the beginner is to purchase 
 a collection already prepared, containing fair specimens of 
 most of the principal common substances, and so to form 
 a nucleus, around which to gather any acquisitions that 
 may afterwards become desirable by his increased know- 
 ledge. Such a collection might be obtained at a very 
 moderate cost ; the principal expense, and, let us add, the 
 principal pleasure, would be experienced in adding to it 
 such individuals as it did not contain, in consequence of 
 their scarcity and costliness. 
 
 THE CABINET. Before the learner has proceeded far in 
 
58 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 the accumulation of specimens, he will find it essential to 
 procure a cabinet to contain them, and that without this 
 his specimens would be an encumbrance and a source of 
 annoyance instead of agreeable recreation. Scattered here 
 and there, in an odd drawer, on the sideboard, occupy- 
 ing every available table, on the floor or the mantel-shelf, 
 we fear that the unconscious specimens and their delinquent 
 owner would meet with but little sympathy or encourage- 
 ment from those whose hearts were not so devoted to science 
 as to quietly acquiesce in such an infringement of house- 
 hold regulations. Besides this, infinite damage would 
 result to the homeless specimens themselves, which would 
 certainly be subjected to the daily dustings and sweepings 
 that seem indispensable to a well-ordered apartment, but 
 which processes would probably tend to reduce a finely- 
 pointed acicular crystal to an obtuse, a very obtuse, pyra- 
 mid or prism. 
 
 The cabinet should be made of mahogany, never of 
 cedar, because from that wood a resinous matter exudes, 
 which, covering the specimens in the drawer, renders most 
 of them in great part valueless. Many fine collections, 
 both of shells and minerals, have been much damaged 
 through being placed in cabinets made of cedar-wood ; it 
 
CABINET FOB- SPECIMENS. 59 
 
 being almost impossible to remove the clammy covering 
 without destroying the specimens. 
 
 Should our suggestions as to limiting the size of speci- 
 mens be followed, the drawers of the cabinet may be made 
 all of the same depth, which, in addition to facility of 
 arrangement, gives to the structure a neatness of contour 
 highly desirable in everything appertaining to science. The 
 cabinet should be enclosed in folding-doors, both to prevent 
 the entrance of dust, which would detract greatly from the 
 beauty of the treasures inside, and to secure those trea- 
 sures under lock and key from the deranging and injurious 
 effects of curiosity and rough or inexperienced handling. 
 A cabinet of minerals or other objects of natural history 
 should always be sacred to its possessor, who would other- 
 wise be deprived of one of his chief pleasures, namely, that 
 of exhibiting its contents to those who can appreciate or 
 who will admire. 
 
 To contain objects of natural history, few cabinets will 
 bear comparison with those produced by Mr. William 
 Edwards, of High-street, Camden-town, whose excellent 
 workmanship, long experience, and moderate charges, we 
 must, at the risk of appearing invidious, recommend to the 
 patronage of those who require such services. 
 
60 POPULAR, MINERALOGY. 
 
 In order to prevent specimens from being damaged by 
 collision with each other when in the drawers, various plans 
 have been adopted. In some collections they are placed 
 on pads of white silk, separated by thin strips of black 
 wood. This plan is more adapted to large collections 
 intended for the public gaze, as at the British Museum, 
 than for a small private cabinet. Occasionally cotton-wool 
 has been substituted for the white silk, but this is very 
 objectionable, as, on a specimen being taken up, the wool 
 will frequently cling to some projecting portion, and its 
 removal will cause injury to its fragile structure. 
 
 The best plan, in reference to private collections, is to 
 place the specimens in card trays, fitting closely into the 
 drawer. These trays should be rather larger than the 
 average size of the minerals, so that there may be a white 
 margin between each individual, serving more completely 
 to isolate one from the other, and, at the same time, adding 
 greatly to the chaste ensemble of the drawer. For the 
 same reason, the slip of paper on which the name of the 
 substance is written should be smaller than the tray. The 
 locality of each specimen should be carefully added beneath 
 its name. 
 
 Besides these separate names accompanying the speci- 
 
OBSERVATIONS. 61 
 
 mens, it is advantageous to fasten running numbers to them 
 with gum, and to keep a catalogue of their names and 
 localities, correspondingly numbered. 
 
 In concluding these introductory observations, which we 
 trust have been found neither unnecessarily prolix nor 
 concise, we must express our conviction that, however san- 
 guine the anticipations that the young naturalist may have 
 formed of the pleasing and instructive recreation to be 
 derived from the study of minerals, they will not be dis- 
 appointed, if the pursuit be followed with activity and 
 ardour; but that he will in his own person realize the 
 truth, that 
 
 " Such experimentalists 
 Exult in joys to grosser minds unknown, 
 A wealth exhaustless, and a world their own." 
 
 TVe will now proceed to describe the different mineral 
 substances which usually adorn the cabinet of the collector. 
 Those which appear to possess the greatest general interest 
 will be noticed at some length, and the mode of their 
 manufacture, the principal variations assumed by them, and 
 
62 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 the several localities in which they occur, will be given 
 when practicable. Other substances will be but slightly 
 glanced at, in consequence of the limits fixed for this work. 
 Others again, which are not likely, from their extreme 
 rarity or the doubtful nature of their composition, to be 
 met with or noticed by the beginner in mineralogy, will be 
 entirely omitted. 
 
 The first to claim our attention will be the Siliceous 
 minerals. 
 
63 
 
 EABTHY MINEKALS. 
 
 SILEX. 
 
 " Stowed bibulous above I see the sands, 
 The pebbly gravel next, the layers then 
 Of mingled moulds, of more retentive earths, 
 The guttered rocks, and mazy -running clefts ; 
 That, while the stealing moisture they transmit, 
 Retard its motion, and forbid its waste. 
 Beneath the incessant weeping of these drains, 
 I see the rocky siphons stretched immense, 
 The mighty reservoirs of hardened chalk, 
 Or stiff-compacted clay, capacious formed." 
 
 Thomson. 
 
 THE minerals of which this earth is the principal consti- 
 tuent are well deserving of the first notice of the student ; 
 not only because their appearance in most of their varieties 
 is extremely prepossessing, nor because, Silex entering into 
 the composition of the oldest rocks, the age of the siliceous 
 minerals gives them a claim to priority ; but because these 
 minerals are the most abundant of any that are known, 
 and, therefore, are likely to be the first to find places in 
 the cabinet of the learner. The varieties of colour and 
 
64 POPULAR, MINERALOGY. 
 
 general appearance assumed by Quartz alone, for instance, 
 are so numerous, that considerable vigilance must be exer- 
 cised in selecting those most marked and peculiar, in order 
 that the space in the cabinet may not be completely filled 
 up by the former, to the exclusion of other equally inter- 
 esting, though less abundant substances. 
 
 Mankind, however, has no reason to regret the abun- 
 dance in which Silex exists ; for if the substance be plen- 
 tiful, its usefulness in supplying our necessities and luxuries 
 is equally extensive. Silex is incombustible alone, but, 
 mixed with an alkali and heated, it runs into glass. 
 Were it not for this peculiarity of the commonest of earths, 
 of what splendid and graceful ornaments, of what a multi- 
 tude of useful and elegant manufactured articles, should we 
 be deprived ! Silex, too, is the principal constituent of many 
 of the precious stones, of the purple Amethyst, of the 
 fire-flashing Opal, of the wine-red Garnet, of Agate, Jasper, 
 and a host of others, which, by the exercise of the jeweller's 
 art, are rendered worthy to adorn the apparel of the fairest 
 portion of creation. 
 
 Turn we from this bright theme to one of a somewhat 
 different character. Most of our roads are paved with 
 granite, either in large and neatly-shaped blocks fitted 
 
QUARTZ. 65 
 
 closely together, or in small angular fragments strewed 
 loosely upon the surface. Now, Granite consists of three 
 distinct mineral substances, namely, Quartz (which is nearly 
 pure Silex), Felspar, and Mica. It is evident that Felspar 
 and Mica alone would form but sorry pavement for 
 London's immense traffic, whereas, bound together, as it 
 were, by the very durable Quartz, these three substances, 
 of which Granite is composed, form roads which but seldom 
 need repair, and which ages will not entirely wear away. 
 
 " They still remain 
 
 Amid the flux of many thousand years, 
 That oft has swept the toiling race of men 
 And all their laboured monuments away." 
 
 Bearing these things in remembrance, we cannot but 
 admire the wisdom of that provision of nature, which has 
 made Silex the most abundant of earths. 
 
 This earth, then, of which we have been speaking, forms 
 the principal ingredient of the minerals which follow. 
 
 QUARTZ. 
 
 The numerous varieties of this mineral are composed 
 almost exclusively of Silex, and occasionally some little 
 water ; .but the peculiarities in the appearance of many of 
 
 F 
 
66 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 them are occasioned by the presence of substances differing 
 from Quartz in character and composition. They are hard 
 enough to scratch glass, do not yield to the knife, and are 
 infusible before the blowpipe. When crystallized, the form 
 of Quartz is a six-sided prism, terminated by six triangular 
 planes, but the primary form is a rhomboid. The following 
 are the principal varieties of Quartz. 
 
 Rock Crystal. This term is applied to the large and 
 transparent crystallizations of Quartz, of which substance 
 they present the purest variety. The finest Rock crystals 
 occur in Mica-slate at Dauphine, in the Alps, grouped 
 together in most magnificent masses ; and from a capital 
 though small specimen from this locality our illustration 
 (Plate I. fig. 1) is taken. Exceedingly transparent crystals, 
 also, are found imbedded in the Carrara marble ; accom- 
 panying Brookite at Snow don, in Wales ; at Tintagel, in 
 Cornwall ; and in America, in Herkimer County, New York. 
 
 Yery beautiful iridescent appearances are sometimes 
 observable in Rock crystals, which are most generally pro- 
 duced from fracture in the specimen. They also frequently 
 contain other substances imbedded in them, such as Oxide 
 of Iron, Titanium, Asbestus, ScJwrl, &c. ; and in the pos- 
 session of Mr. G. B. Sowerby is a most remarkable Rock 
 
'QUARTZ. 67 
 
 crystal, which encloses fine hair-like Asbesius, transversely 
 arranged, and forms a perfect six-sided prism and pyramid, 
 corresponding with the form of the crystal which contains it. 
 
 From the most clear and transparent specimens of Rock 
 crystal are made glasses for spectacles, which are considered 
 superior to those manufactured of glass. 
 
 Common Quartz. The varieties of Quartz to which this 
 term is applicable, differ from the preceding in being more 
 or less opake. When crystallized, as we have already 
 observed, they assume the form of the six-sided prism, 
 which is occasionally terminated at both ends by a six- 
 sided pyramid. Sometimes, too, these pyramids meet com- 
 pletely, so that, no portion of the prism being visible, the 
 form of the crystal is a perfect dodecahedron with triangular 
 planes. Mr. Wright collected many crystals of this form, 
 and of a smoky hue, accompanying Oligiste iron in Cum- 
 berland ; in which locality also occurs the pink variety of 
 Double-pointed Quartz, so common in all collections. 
 
 An interesting instance, showing, that although the laws 
 of nature are perfect, they are not only liable to considerable 
 modification, but that accidental circumstances may pro- 
 duce such changes in the form of a mineral substance, that 
 those who have not made these laws their study would 
 
 p 2 
 
68 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 scarcely recognize it, may be seen in Babel Quartz so 
 termed because its crystals appear at first sight to be com- 
 posed of distinct hexagonal layers, heaped one upon the 
 other, gradually diminishing in size as they approach the 
 summit, and thus the tout ensemble bears some resemblance 
 to the representations we have seen of the far-famed Tower 
 of Babel. This appearance is owing to the regular process 
 of crystallization of the Quartz being interrupted by a 
 similar process which is crystallizing the Fluate of Lime 
 into the cubes which are characteristic of Fluor-spar ; for, 
 though in the specimens of Babel Quartz we see only 
 Quartz crystallized in cubic spaces, there is yet sufficient 
 evidence that Fluate of Lime is the substance which for- 
 merly occupied those spaces, and that this crystallization 
 of one substance against the other, prevented either from 
 fairly developing the form peculiar to it. 
 
 Crystallized common Quartz occurs of almost every 
 colour : at Haytor, in Devonshire, of a deep black hue, 
 and generally opake; at Snowdon, very exquisite crystals 
 occur, in which delicate milky clouds appear, and which 
 hence are termed Milky Quartz; at Cairngorum, in Scot- 
 land, are found specimens of a rich wine-yellow colour, 
 which, when fine, are used in jewellery under the name of 
 
AMETHYST. 69 
 
 Cairngorums. But as it will not be possible to mention 
 all the different colours observable in crystallized Quartz, 
 we will content ourselves by alluding to several of those 
 which are most distinct. 
 
 Smoky Quartz was long supposed to be peculiar to the 
 Mourne Mountains in Ireland, where it was commonly 
 found accompanying the very fine Beryls formerly pretty 
 abundant, but now almost extinct in that locality. We 
 possess, however, a good crystal of this variety, from Aus- 
 tralia, and believe that it is also found in other localities. 
 
 Eisenkiesel is a variety of Quartz which occurs both crys- 
 tallized and massive, and derives its ferruginous appearance 
 and yellowish-red colour from the presence of a considerable 
 proportion of iron. It is found in Bohemia, in Iron-stone 
 veins in the Hartz, in Upper Saxony and Siberia. In 
 England it occurs near Bristol ; in Scotland, and in Ireland. 
 
 Amethyst. This, the most beautiful variety of Quartz, 
 derives its lovely purple tint from the admixture of a very 
 small proportion of Iron and Manganese, but loses this 
 colour by long exposure to heat. This mineral is largely 
 used for the purpose of jewellery, and indeed we know of no 
 other stone whose colour forms so splendid a contrast with 
 that of the gold in which it is usually set. The finest stones 
 
70 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 for this purpose are brought from India, Siberia, and Spain. 
 Most splendid cabinet specimens are brought from Bohemia, 
 Transylvania, and from Oberstein in Germany, where it 
 occurs lining agate balls of large dimensions. Those speci- 
 mens which are but slightly tinged with colour are termed 
 Amethystine Quartz. The crystal figured in Plate I. fig. 2, 
 is from Brazil. 
 
 Capped Quartz. This is a most interesting variety of 
 crystallized quartz, whose peculiarity, as its name implies, 
 arises from the summit of the crystal being capped by a 
 larger crystal fitting closely upon it. The planes of the 
 inner crystal are dull, and not polished like those of the 
 outer. It is found in Cornwall. 
 
 The following are the principal varieties in which Quartz, 
 when not crystallized, occurs : 
 
 Avanturine consists of Quartz rock enclosing minute par- 
 ticles of Mica often of a golden hue, and, when polished, 
 presenting a beautiful spangled appearance. The finest 
 specimens of the red variety are from Spain, though these 
 are said to be equalled by those found at Glen Pernat in 
 Scotland, which are of a bluish-grey colour. It is by no 
 means a common mineral. 
 
 Prase consists of dark green Actinolite enclosed in Quartz., 
 It has been found in Scotland. 
 
EOSE QUAETZ. 71 
 
 Cafs-eye. This mineral, which is considerably valued, 
 when cut and polished, as an ornamental stone, consists 
 mainly of Quartz, but its beauty is owing to the fine silky 
 fibres of Asbestus traversing it, presenting an appearance 
 similar to the eye of a cat, whence its name. It is brought 
 from Ceylon and from Malabar. 
 
 Hyalite is a glassy variety of Quartz occurring in a botry- 
 oidal form on trap or basaltic rock, the cavities in which are 
 sometimes partially filled with this interesting mineral. It 
 is occasionally tinged with a pale buif-colour, giving an 
 appearance like gum arabic. From Mexico and Hungary 
 are procured the finest specimens of Hyalite, which also 
 occurs in the United States. 
 
 Rose Quartz. So called in allusion to its delicate pink 
 colour, which can only be compared to the " pure and holy 
 blush of maiden modesty." This colour, supposed to be 
 derived from Manganese, has been taken advantage of by 
 the dishonest, and the stone, when cut and polished, has 
 been sold for the Ruby. The most richly-tinted specimens 
 are found in Bohemia, and a pale variety occurs amongst 
 Granite in America. 
 
 Spongifarm Quartz. To this variety the Germans have 
 given the name of Schwimm stein, from its property of 
 
72 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 swimming or rather floating upon water, by reason of its 
 spongy cellular structure. It is sufficiently hard to scratch 
 glass, and is remarkable for its extreme lightness. It con- 
 tains a small proportion of Carbonate of lime. At St. Ouen, 
 near Paris, it occurs in beds of Flint; also in Cornwall. 
 
 Flexible Quartz is of a granular structure, and occurs in 
 thin layers near St. Gothard, and in Brazil. A reddish 
 variety is also found near Whitby, in Yorkshire, which is 
 very flexible. Its flexibility is supposed to be owing to 
 the particles of Mica which traverse it. 
 
 Quartz also occurs radiated, stalactitic, and arenaceous. 
 In this latter form it is so familiar to all lovers of the sea- 
 side, as to need no description. The phrase " numerous as 
 the sands of the sea- shore " is venerable for its antiquity, 
 and is well calculated to lead the mind from the considera- 
 tion of earthly things to those of a higher nature. But 
 apart from this, who can hear the ' sea-shore ' mentioned, 
 without a thousand pleasing remembrances crowding upon 
 his mirtd ? Again in fancy we are children, plying our little 
 wooden spades as in days gone by, rearing immense 
 structures of sand, transporting, by dint of great exertion, 
 the largest blocks of chalk that we can carry from the foot 
 of the cliff, and cleverly imbedding these in the walls of our 
 
THE SEA-SIDE. 73 
 
 fortress, thinking that we have succeeded in erecting a 
 monument that shall withstand the strength of the waves, 
 and still be visible on the morrow. Alas, the child is no 
 more exempt from disappointment than the man ; and on 
 the morrow, when, in straw hat and belted pinafore, we visit 
 the scene of yesterday's herculean labour, all we behold is 
 a boulder or two of chalk in very different positions from 
 those in which we left them. At a more advanced age, too, 
 the delights afforded by a few weeks' sojourn on the sea- 
 coast increase rather than diminish. The merry yachting 
 parties, the morning bath, the early rambles in search of 
 shells and fossils and sea-weeds, or chasing the crabs as 
 they sidle along the sands; all these pursuits, though 
 apparently trivial in themselves, are productive of no small 
 amount of gratification. 
 
 But the grand source of delight of the sea-side is beauti- 
 fully described by Mallet. 
 
 " With wonder mark the moving wilderness of wares, 
 From pole to pole through boundless space diffused, 
 Magnificently dreadful ! where, at large, 
 Leviathan, with each inferior name 
 Of sea-born kinds, ten thousand thousand tribes, 
 Finds endless range for pasture and for sport. 
 
71< POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 " Adoring own 
 
 The Hand Almighty, who its channelled bed 
 Immeasurable sank, and poured abroad, 
 Fenced with eternal mounds, the fluid sphere ; 
 "With every wind to waft large commerce on, 
 Join pole to pole, consociate severed worlds, 
 And link in bonds of intercourse and love 
 Earth's universal family." 
 
 Whilst these scenes, so productive of reflection to all, 
 are particularly so to those who have devoted their time 
 and thoughts to the study of animated nature, the minera- 
 logist finds abundance of material for his cogitations and 
 attention. Oxygen and hydrogen, the elements of which 
 water is composed, are present in a vast number of mineral 
 substances, and water is often an essential constituent of a 
 mineral. The long range of precipitous chalk cliffs on the 
 Dover coast, again, present a very familiar, though very 
 perfect illustration of Carbonate of lime ; and, imbedded 
 therein, are found brilliant groupings of another very com- 
 mon substance, viz., Iron pyrites. 
 
 But the great objects of interest to the mineralogist 
 presented on the sea-shore, are, the flint, which runs in 
 layers between the chalk, and is also composed principally 
 of Silex, and the sands on which he takes his morning 
 
MANUFACTURE OF GLASS. 75 
 
 glance at the newspaper. These two substances form the 
 great proportion of all our manufactured glass ; and with a 
 short extracted notice of the manufacture of this highly 
 beautiful and important article, we conclude our observa- 
 tions on the varieties of Quartz. 
 
 Tor the manufacture of glass two materials are absolutely 
 necessary : these are, a siliceous earth and an alkali ; 
 Silex alone being infusible, but, mixed with an alkali, 
 readily running into glass on the application of heat. This 
 discovery was, according to Pliny, accidentally made. He 
 relates that glass was first made of sand, found in the 
 River Belus, in Galilee, and that the discovery originated 
 in the following manner. A merchant-ship, laden with 
 nitre, being driven upon the coast, the crew went ashore 
 for provisions, and, dressing their victuals upon the shore, 
 made use of some pieces of that alkali to support their kettles. 
 By this means a vitrification of the sand beneath the fire 
 was produced, which afforded a hint for the manufacture. 
 (Rees's Cyclopsedia.) 
 
 Common black flint makes very fine and clear glass. 
 This is first heated, and then plunged into cold water; 
 the heat whitens it, and the water causes it to split in 
 every direction, and facilitates the grinding of it : but 
 
76 POPULAR MINEUALOGY. 
 
 the cost of preparing this prevents its being commonly 
 used. Sand is, therefore, almost the only substance now 
 used in the British manufacture of glass. The fine white 
 sand is he best for the purpose of making clear glass, and 
 our glasshouses derive the principal supplies of this quality 
 from Lynn in Norfolk, from Maidstone, and from the Isle 
 of "Wight. Por green glass, the coarser sand from Wool- 
 wich is used. 
 
 The alkali, necessary to vitrify the siliceous matter, is 
 derived from the ashes of many kinds of plants, amongst 
 which are the fern, the bramble, bean-stalks, and many 
 others : for though alkaline substances occur in a mineral 
 state, they are not sufficiently abundant in England to be 
 rendered available for this purpose. 
 
 Other ingredients, such as Oxide of Lead and of Manga- 
 nese, are occasionally introduced, for the purpose of freeing 
 the glass from any impurity of colour, and to render it more 
 easily wrought. 
 
 The first operation is termed fritting \ that is, the 
 materials are subjected to gradual heat, the effects of which 
 are to expel all moisture from the ingredients, and to cause 
 a partial union between them. This partially vitrified 
 matter is then thrown with iron shovels through a side 
 
OPAL. 77 
 
 opening into the furnace, the fire having been already 
 raised to its greatest intensity. "When the glass pots in 
 the furnace are filled, the side opening is closed up with 
 wet clay, excepting a small opening for watching the 
 progress of the work. To this fierce heat the glass is 
 subjected until it becomes perfectly refined, which usually 
 occupies about forty-eight hours. It is then allowed gra- 
 dually to cool, and becomes in a fit state for working. 
 
 OPAL. 
 
 Opal, like Quartz, consists chiefly of Silex and water, 
 but generally contains more of the latter than is found in 
 Quartz. Of this mineral there are several distinct varieties, 
 none of which are sufficiently hard to give sparks with 
 steel, like most of the varieties of Quartz. 
 
 Precious Opal, or Noble Opal, is one of the most beauti- 
 ful of gems, and in its polished state is so highly valued, 
 that fine stones have frequently been sold at the same price 
 as diamonds of equal size. The cause of the splendid 
 flashes of red, blue, green, and yellow, which this mineral 
 exhibits, is not fully understood, but they are said to be 
 owing to the refraction of light in fissures dispersed 
 throughout the mass. Whatever the cause, however, 
 
78 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 the effect is exceedingly charming, and may well account 
 for its great value. It is translucent, its fracture is con- 
 choidal, and its lustre vitreous. The most capital speci- 
 mens in the matrix are brought from Czervenitza in Hun- 
 gary ; it also occurs in the Faroe Islands and in Saxony. 
 A variety of a milk-white colour, with a faint shade of blue, 
 has been obtained in specimens of considerable splendour 
 from Honduras, in America. 
 
 Hydrophane, which is usually opake, possesses the re- 
 markable property of becoming both transparent and iri- 
 descent when immersed in water. It adheres to the 
 tongue, and is softer than Precious Opal, with which it 
 occurs in the same locality and matrix : we consider it 
 to be this latter substance in a state of partial decomposi- 
 tion. Hydrophane has been used as a gem. It contains 
 some Alumine. 
 
 Fire Opal is one of the most splendid varieties of Opal, 
 and is readily distinguished by its rich hyacinth-red and 
 wine-yellow tints. Prom Ximapan, in Mexico, are brought 
 the most brilliant specimens, where it was first discovered 
 by Humboldt. It occurs, also, in the same localities as 
 the Precious Opal, but is a rare mineral. A magnificent 
 suite of specimens is deposited in the cases of the British 
 
WOOD OPAL. 79 
 
 Museum. There is also found a glassy colourless variety 
 of this mineral, in the same localities. 
 
 Common Opal occurs of various colours, but is usually 
 more or less opake. One variety is termed Ferruginous 
 Opal, from its containing a little Iron. Common Opal 
 is abundant in Hungary, and is also found in Ireland and 
 in Cornwall. 
 
 Wood Opal. This is a truly interesting substance, as it 
 becomes evident on inspection that what is now a mineral 
 substance formerly belonged to the vegetable kingdom. 
 In Wood opal may be clearly seen the concentric rings 
 which indicate the age of a tree, as also what are termed 
 by botanists the medullary rays of vegetable tissue, but, by 
 some means, the whole mass has become impregnated with 
 Silex, and presents all the characters of Opal. It occurs 
 in Transylvania, Antigua, and Hungary; but the most 
 beautiful specimens, of many different colours, are found 
 iii Yan Diemen's Land, where whole forests of large trees 
 have become thus petrified. To the geologist we must 
 look for an explanation of this extraordinary phenomenon. 
 
80 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 The minerals which will now be noticed have Alumme 
 entering in a small proportion into their composition : 
 their main ingredient is still, however, Silex. Amongst 
 them we shall find many that are remarkable for their 
 beauty, no less than for the general estimation in which 
 they are held in ornamental jewellery. Some of these are 
 mentioned in Darwin's fine poem, ' The Botanic Garden/ 
 whence we extract the following quotation : 
 
 " Hence in fine streams diffusive Acids flow, 
 Or winged with fire o'er earth's fair bosom blow ; 
 Transmute to glittering Flints her chalky lands, 
 Or sink on ocean's bed in countless sands. 
 Hence silvery Selenite her crystal moulds, 
 And soft Asbestus smooths his silky folds ; 
 His cubic forms phosphoric Fluor prints, 
 Or rays in spheres his amethystine tints. 
 Soft cobweb clouds transparent Onyx spreads, 
 And playful Agates weave their coloured threads ; 
 Gay pictured Mochoes glow with landscape-dyes, 
 And changeful Opals roll their lucid eyes ; 
 Blue lambent light around the Sapphire plays, 
 Bright Rubies blush, and living Diamonds blaze." 
 
 FLINT. 
 
 This substance is so familiar to all, that, having already 
 observed its use in the manufacture of glass, a description 
 
CHALCEDONY. 81 
 
 will be unnecessary. We may add, that its native place is 
 in the upper bed of the chalk formation, where it occurs 
 in flat tabular layers, which are sometimes miles in length, 
 as at Dover. A variety of it, termed Menilite, derives its 
 name from its locality, Menilmontant, near Paris, where it 
 occurs in irregular masses imbedded in Adhesive Slate. It 
 differs from Flint in containing a small portion of inflam- 
 mable matter. Its common colour is smoke-brown, but 
 occasionally it is found of a pale stone-colour. 
 
 CHALCEDONY. 
 
 This mineral is so named, after the town of Chalcedon, 
 in Upper Asia, where it was collected by the ancients. 
 Alger, in his Boston edition of Phillips' s useful work, has 
 considered Chalcedony, in all its varieties, as a mere variety 
 of Quartz. It is true that Silex is its chief ingredient, 
 but, unlike Quartz, it also contains a considerable portion 
 of Alumine. Further, Chalcedony is never found crys- 
 tallized, for, although it occasionally assumes the cubic 
 form, it has been ascertained that these cubes are ' psendo- 
 morphous, an explanation of which term will be found at 
 the conclusion of this work. It is but just, however, to 
 state, that in the Museum of the Honourable East India 
 
 G 
 
82 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Company is a most interesting series of specimens from 
 Aden (selected by the author, when assistant in that museum, 
 from a larger collection),, showing the transition, by gradual 
 stages, of Quartz into Chalcedony. Some of these speci- 
 mens exhibit the most fantastic contortions of form, as 
 though they had actually been made to writhe under the 
 intense heat to which they had, doubtless, been subjected 
 in the volcanic district whence they were brought. Chal- 
 cedony is commonly semitransparent ; it has a conchoidal 
 fracture, and is harder than Flint. It occurs mammillated, 
 botryoidal, and stalactitic, of which form splendid specimens 
 were found in Trevascus mine, in Cornwall, the loca- 
 lity of the interesting example which we have figured 
 (Plate I. fig. 3). The colour of this is pale brown, having 
 a waxy lustre ; but Chalcedony is found of various shades 
 of white, grey, yellow, brown, green, and blue : beautiful 
 specimens, tinged throughout with this last colour, in 
 amorphous crystals, and covered all over with minute 
 crystals of Quartz, have been brought from Hungary. 
 Chalcedony is found in abundance in many parts of England 
 and Scotland, and in the Faroe Islands. We have found 
 very illustrative specimens lining hollow Flints in a sand- 
 pit close by Lewisham : when thus found, it is covered 
 
VARIETIES OF CHALCEDONY. 83 
 
 with a bluish bloom, resembling that of the plum or 
 grape. 
 
 The minerals which follow are considered to be varieties 
 of Chalcedony. 
 
 Sardonyx is a very beautiful mineral, consisting of alter- 
 nate layers of milk-white and rich brown Chalcedony. 
 The brown layers are by the jewellers termed Sard, and 
 the white, Onyx. Sardonyx is the substance of which 
 many of the ancient cameos are made, and great ingenuity 
 has been displayed in causing the white and brown portions 
 of the stone to aid in giving effect to the subject illustrated 
 on the cameo. 
 
 Plasma is translucent, and harder than Quartz. It is of 
 a dark, dull green colour, which is supposed to be occa- 
 sioned by the dissemination of Chlorite through the mass. 
 It occurs principally in India and China, and is brought 
 to this country in the shape of beads and other ornaments. 
 According to Alger, occasional specimens are found amongst 
 the ruins of Rome. 
 
 Heliotrope. This resembles the preceding mineral in 
 hardness and translucency, and also in its dark green colour, 
 but differs from it, by having yellow or blood-red spots 
 interspersed through the dark green, whence it has obtained 
 
84 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 the name of Bloodstone, and is of considerable value as an 
 article of jewellery. It is found in Siberia, Iceland, and 
 Bohemia, but the most valuable specimens are brought from 
 the East, and consequently it is known among lapidaries by 
 the name of Oriental Jasper. When well set in gold, He- 
 liotrope makes a handsome and valuable ring. 
 
 Chrysoprase is sometimes of a dark, sometimes of a light, 
 apple-green colour, and, being translucent, is a stone of 
 such very delicate appearance, that it would scarcely be 
 supposed tliat its toughness renders it exceedingly difficult 
 to break. Its charming colour and other properties cause 
 it to be highly esteemed by the jewellers, who usually cut it 
 into a convex form, termed by them en cabochon. Chryso- 
 prase consists principally of Silex, but contains also Lime, 
 Magnesia, Alumine, Oxide of Iron, and Oxide of Nickel, to 
 the presence of which last-named ingredient its pale-green 
 colour is to be attributed. The only locality in which it has 
 been found, is Kosemiitz in Silesia, where it occurs in veins 
 transversing Serpentine. It is to be regretted that this 
 highly ornamental stone does not occur in our country, and 
 in greater abundance ; a large vase sculptured in Chryso- 
 prase would form an elegant object of admiration. 
 
 Cacholong is an opake, milk-white variety of Chalcedony. 
 
AGATE. 85 
 
 Its name is acquired from its being found near the river 
 Cach, in Bucharia ; it also occurs in Iceland, Greenland, and 
 the Faroe Islands, where siliceous minerals greatly abound. 
 We have also, in our cabinet, a specimen from India. 
 
 Carnelian. This mineral is indebted for its name to its 
 colour somewhat resembling that of flesh, though we should 
 be sorry if our flesh were of quite so rich a tint. Phillips, 
 however, informs us that the nodules of Carnelian which 
 are found in the channels of torrents in Hindostan, are of 
 a blackish olive-colour, passing into grey ; and that these 
 are first exposed to the sun for a few weeks, and then 
 placed in earthen pots, and subjected to heat, which gives 
 them the colours that render them valuable in jewellery, viz. 
 the various shades of white, yellow, brown, or red. Car- 
 nelian is found in rounded pieces in Arabia, Siberia, Saxony, 
 and other localities, and we possess some very small pebbles 
 from Van Diemen's Land, of a brilliant red colour, which 
 we are convinced have never been subjected to the colouring 
 process above alluded to. It is stated that the finest 
 antique cameos are made of this stone. 
 
 AGATE. 
 The numerous varieties of Agate are so well known to 
 
86 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 those who delight to adorn themselves with polished spe- 
 cimens of Nature's works, set in brooches, rings, bracelets, 
 ear-drops, necklaces, and the like, that it will be sufficient 
 slightly to allude to those varieties which are most peculiarly 
 inviting in their appearance. Agate is usually composed of 
 several different minerals, from each of which it borrows 
 some particular beauty, and thus combines in its own indi- 
 viduality all the colours of Chalcedony, Quartz, Amethyst, 
 Carnelian, Jasper, Opal, and Heliotrope. 
 
 Ribbon Agate usually consists of parallel layers of several 
 of these substances, and is found (which is the case with 
 most Agates) in rolled pebbles, in Saxony and other loca- 
 lities. Our illustration (Plate I. fig. 4) is from a pebble of 
 this variety from Scotland. 
 
 Moss Agate is a most beautiful and interesting stone, con- 
 sisting mainly of Chalcedony, and presenting appearances 
 exactly resembling moss spreading itself throughout the 
 mass. Its colour is commonly brown, more rarely green, 
 when the resemblance to a vegetable production is so ex- 
 ceedingly close, that the question will often occur to the 
 mind, whether the dentrites in the Agate be not really a 
 fossil Conferva or some such plant ? On this subject Phillips 
 observes, "Dr. M'Culloch has instituted a very ingenious 
 
VARIETIES OF AGATE. 87 
 
 inquiry into the nature of those vegetable appearances of 
 different colours visible in the more transparent Chalcedonies, 
 which are termed Mocha, and more particularly in those 
 which are less so, termed Agate. Close observation, added 
 to chemical experiment, induce the conclusion, that many of 
 these appearances are owing to the existence in the stone of 
 aquatic Conferva?; that these plants sometimes appear per- 
 fectly in their natural form and colour ; in others they seem 
 to be coated by oxide of Iron, which occasionally hides the 
 form of the plant, and discolours it. Mosses, and some 
 varieties of Lichen, have been observed ; and occasionally 
 Chlorite, which sometimes is so disposed as to represent a 
 vegetable. A chrysalis, probably of a moth (?) was ob- 
 served in an onyx Agate, in a ring in the possession of 
 Earl Powis." 
 
 Against the experience of Dr. M'Culloch we should be 
 sorry to offer an opinion, but we think the subject requires 
 further investigation. 
 
 Mocha-stone is a most beautiful and valuable Agate, con- 
 sisting of white Carnelian, with patches here and there of a 
 deep brown colour and dentritic appearance. It derives its 
 name from Mocha in Arabia, whence it is brought. 
 
 Brecciated Agate and Fortification Agate are both hand- 
 
88 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 some varieties. The former consists of fragments of Ribbon 
 Agate united together by Amethyst, and is found in Saxony. 
 The latter, when polished, presents the appearance of a 
 fortified place, towers and turrets, drawbridges and bas- 
 tions, mixed together but without much regard to the laws of 
 fortification. It occurs at Oberstein, on the Rhine, and on 
 parts of the Scottish shores, and from this locality is termed 
 Scotch pebble. 
 
 Alger observes that " specimens recently brought from 
 Nova Scotia will vie in beauty with any from the most noted 
 European localities." 
 
 Very splendid cups and vases have been made of Agate, 
 which name is said to be derived from the river Achates in 
 Sicily, formerly celebrated for these pebbles. 
 
 " Thence will I go 
 
 To undermine the treasure-fertile womb 
 Of the huge Pyrenean, to detect 
 The Agate and the deep-entrenched gem 
 Of kindred Jasper. Nature in them hoth 
 Delights to play the mimic on herself; 
 And in their veins she oft portrays the forms 
 Of leaping hills, of trees erect, and streams 
 Now stealing softly on, now thundering down 
 In desperate cascade, with flowers and beasts, 
 And all the living landscape of the vale. 
 
VARIETIES OF JASPER. 89 
 
 In vain thy pencil, Claudio, or Poussin, 
 
 Or thine, immortal Guido, would essay 
 
 Such skill to imitate, it is the hand 
 
 Of God himself, for God himself is there." Anon. 
 
 JASPER. 
 
 The varieties of this mineral may be readily distinguished 
 from those of Agate by their opacity, which is probably 
 accounted for in some degree by the presence of a larger 
 proportion of Iron. The most peculiar varieties are 
 
 Common Jasper t which name is applied to such specimens 
 as are of a uniform colour; yellow, brown, red, and occa- 
 sionally green, are the colours which characterize it. It is 
 hard and infusible alone. It is found in many parts of the 
 Continent, in Cornwall, in Scotland, and in Nova Scotia. 
 
 Striped Jasper, as its name implies, is composed of alter- 
 nate layers of different colours, which are usually parallel. 
 This variety occurs principally in Siberia, in Saxony, and in 
 our own country in Devonshire. It is frequently termed 
 Ribbon Jasper. 
 
 Ruin Jasper is a very pretty variety, exhibiting, when cut 
 and polished, peculiar markings which bear a great resem- 
 blance to ruined buildings. 
 
 Egyptian Pebble is found in rounded masses of a brown 
 
90. POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 colour, in great quantities scattered over the surface of the 
 sandy desert, eastward of Grand Cairo. When polished it 
 has a very handsome aspect, showing irregular bands of 
 brown of various shades, some of which approach to cream - 
 colour, and others to a deep and rich brown, or occasionally 
 black. This stone contains some Magnesia in addition to 
 Silex and Alumine. 
 
 In addition to the foregoing substances, there are several 
 others whose composition is so nearly similar, that they are 
 usually placed in close proximity in the cabinet. These are 
 Hornstone, one of the varieties of which is called Woodstone, 
 and is in fact a fossilized wood ; Leelite, a reddish-brown 
 siliceous stone, of the same lustre and translucency as horn, 
 found in Westmania ; and Siliceous Sinter, generally of a 
 pale grey colour, having a pearly lustre, and being of a light, 
 brittle nature. Its chief interest arises from its being de- 
 posited by the hot springs of Iceland, around which it is 
 found in great abundance. It consists chiefly of Silex, 
 with a little Alumine and a trace of Iron. 
 
 Leaving now these minerals, whose composition and 
 whose external characters are so nearly similar to each other, 
 we come to substances which are very easily to be dis- 
 
TABULAR -SPAK. 91 
 
 tinguished by a superficial examination, Silex being still by 
 far the most abundant element in their composition. 
 
 KAEPHOLITE. 
 
 A pale straw-coloured substance, which is found in 
 fibrous, diverging tufts on Granite, in the Tin mines of 
 Schlachenwald, Bohemia. Besides Silex and Alumine, 
 Manganese, Iron, Lime, Fluoric Acid, and water are found 
 to enter into its composition. 
 
 TABULAR-SPAR. 
 
 This mineral principally differs from Karpholite in con- 
 taining no water, and in its colour, which is a reddish, 
 greyish, or yellowish-white : and instead of its fibres being, 
 as in that mineral, diverging and radiating, they are arranged 
 nearly parallel with each other in the flat plates of which the 
 entire mineral is composed. The only British locality with 
 which we are acquainted is the rock on which Edinburgh 
 Castle is erected, but it is also found accompanying Garnet, 
 Fluor,and Silver in Finland, and in the United States. When 
 scratched with a knife, or when heated, it is phosphorescent. 
 According to Brooke, its primary form is an oblique 
 rhombic prism. The composition of Jeffenonlte is nearly 
 
92 POPULAR MINERALOGY, 
 
 similar. Bronzite contains Magnesia as its next ingredient 
 of importance after Silex. Yenite or Lievrite belongs pro- 
 perly to the Iron-ores. 
 
 The minerals which now come under our notice contain 
 Silex as their principal constituent, Magnesia as the next 
 abundant, and, in general, some proportion of Lime. The 
 first which we shall describe of these substances is the only 
 one which has been used as a gem, and is therefore, perhaps, 
 possessed of the greatest amount of general interest ; but we 
 shall find many minerals amongst them well deserving our 
 attention either for their beauty or for their usefulness. 
 
 GARNET. 
 
 The primary form of all the varieties of Garnet is the 
 rhombic dodecahedron, which form is represented in Plate II. 
 fig. 5. It occurs of many shades of brown, red, black, and 
 even green, and it is probable that these different colours 
 are derived from the presence of foreign substances in 
 minute proportions. The first variety which claims our 
 notice is 
 
 Precious Garnet, or Almandine. This is often trans- 
 parent, and its rich red tint may be best observed by holding 
 the specimen up to the light. The brilliantly crystallized 
 
Plate H. 
 
 5. G-ariiet. 
 
 6. HeulaTi aite. 
 
 7. Stilbite . 
 
VARIETIES OF GARNET. 93 
 
 specimens usually seen in mineralogical cabinets are found 
 at Ala in Piedmont, where they accompany Alalite or Diop- 
 side and crystallized Talc. The colour of these crystals 
 varies from deep red to yellowish red, and they are usually 
 found to present several modifications of the primary form. 
 But the principal localities of that variety of the Precious 
 Garnet which is so greatly valued as a gem, are Ceylon, 
 Pegu, and Greenland, from which places most noble stones 
 have been obtained for the purposes of the lapidary. The 
 Carbuncle of the ancients is believed to be this stone. 
 
 Precious Garnet has been found in very perfect crystalli- 
 zations in the United States, and Alger informs us that 
 these, when cut and polished, are very beautiful gems. In 
 New York it is found abundantly imbedded in black Mica. 
 We also learn from the same authority that a large irregular 
 mass was found in the same neighbourhood which weighed 
 about sixty pounds. 
 
 Common Garnet differs from the precious in being usually 
 opake, and therefore unfit for jewellery. Its crystals are 
 sometimes of immense size ; a perfect dodecahedral crystal 
 from Norway, in the possession of the Geological Society, 
 being full six inches in diameter. The most common sub- 
 stance in which Common Garnet is found imbedded, is 
 
94 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Mica-slate. It is found of a bright green colour, imbedded 
 in pale green Serpentine, at Bissersk in Eussia. Our figure 
 represents a crystal of Common Garnet from Norway. 
 
 Pyreneite is found in minute though perfect dodecahe- 
 drons of an opake black colour, imbedded in Mica-schist, 
 in the Pyrenees, whence its name is derived. 
 
 Grossular. This is of a light olive-green colour, and, as 
 is evident, derives its name from the Latin word grossula, 
 a gooseberry. It is found in Norway and in Siberia, rarely 
 in any other form of crystal but the trapezoidal, which 
 form will be better comprehended by referring to Plate VI. 
 fig. 22, a figure of Analcime, than by any description. Gros- 
 sular is a rare mineral. 
 
 Aplome is a deep brown opake variety of Garnet found 
 in Siberia, the Bannat, and Saxony. 
 
 Manganesian Garnet is found in Sweden, the United 
 States, and elsewhere. As its name implies, it contains 
 Manganese. Its form is the rhombic dodecahedron, and its 
 colour deep hyacinth, or brownish-red. 
 
 Melanite is a perfectly opake black Garnet, occurring in 
 crystals of about three-eighths of an inch in diameter, of the 
 same form as the preceding variety, but with the edges of 
 the dodecahedron replaced. It is found imbedded in Lava 
 
C1XXAMON-STONE. 95 
 
 at Xaples and Borne ; in Basalt in Bohemia, and in Norway ; 
 and has also been found at Franklin, United States. 
 
 Colophonite is usual!} 7 found in a granular form, the 
 rounded grains of which it is composed being of a greenish, 
 brown, or red colour. It is found in Norway, Piedmont, 
 Ceylon, and in the United States. 
 
 Pyrope occurs in angular and rounded grains imbed- 
 ded in dark green Serpentine in Saxony, Bohemia, and 
 Ceylon. It is of a rich wine-red colour; and very fine 
 specimens which have been found in Massachusetts, being 
 cut and polished, are said by Alger to equal any from other 
 countries. 
 
 Topazolite occurs in well-defined translucent dodecahe- 
 drons of a Topaz -yellow colour (whence its name) and occa- 
 sionally olive-green. It is found upon Hussite at Mussa, 
 in Piedmont. An amorphous variety is called Succinite. 
 
 Allochroite is the last, and least interesting variety of 
 Garnet which we are called upon to notice. It is amor- 
 phous, of a dingy yellow colour, and opake, contains a con- 
 siderable portion of oxide of Iron, and is found in Norway. 
 
 ClXXAMOX-STONE. 
 
 This is considered by some to be a variety of Garnet, to 
 
96 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 which it is, doubtless, very closely allied, yet its peculiar and 
 handsome aspect renders us unwilling to call it a mere 
 variety. Its colour is red, sometimes approaching to orange; 
 rarely transparent, although we have seen some large grains 
 from Ceylon, which were very nearly so, and which, being 
 cut and polished, made admirable gems. Usually, however, 
 it does not occur in single grains, but in large granular 
 masses. It has been found in Sweden, but is generally 
 brought from Brazil or Ceylon. Crystallized specimens of 
 great brilliancy have been found in the United States. 
 
 IDOCRASE. 
 
 Of this beautiful mineral there are many varieties in 
 colour, ranging from yellowish-brown to black, and often a 
 bright green. The primary form is a four-sided prism, 
 which is usually terminated by planes. This mineral is 
 usually the production of a volcano; its crystals, for 
 instance, lining the cavities of the masses of lava ejected 
 from Vesuvius. 
 
 " JEtna roars with dreadful ruins nigh, 
 Now hurls a bursting cloud of cinders high, 
 Involved in smoky whirlwinds to the sky ; 
 
PREHNITE. 97 
 
 With loud displosion, to the starry frame, 
 Shoots fiery globes, and furious floods of flame ; 
 Now from her bellowing caverns burst away 
 Vast piles of melted rocks in open day." Warton. 
 
 The finest specimens of Idocrase come from Ala in 
 Piedmont, the same locality as produces such brilliant 
 groups of Precious Garnet. Large opake crystals, some- 
 times exceeding five inches in diameter, are found at Chris- 
 tiansand in Norway ; and in the Fassa valley crystals of a 
 sulphur-colour have been found. 
 
 PREHNITE. 
 
 This is composed of Silex, Alumine, Lime, Oxide of Iron, 
 and water. Its colour is invariably a shade of green, of 
 more or less intensity. Specimens of a beautiful apple-green 
 colour were discovered at the Cape of Good Hope, by 
 Colonel Prehn, in whose honour the mineral is named. 
 Prehnite is found in France, in the Tyrol, and in America ; 
 with Axinite and Asbestus at Cornwall, near the Land's 
 End; and is very plentiful in some parts of Scotland, 
 where it usually occurs in botryoidal, globular concretions, 
 composed of fibres which are often diverging. The Chinese 
 precious stone called " Yu" -is a variety of Prehnite. 
 
 H 
 
98 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 STILBITE. 
 
 This mineral contains rather more than fifty per cent, of 
 Silex, some Alumine, Lime, and water. Its primary form 
 is a rectangular prism, which is usually terminated by a 
 pyramid of four planes, which are placed on the angles of 
 the prism. The crystals are of a lamellar structure, and may 
 be readily split into thin plates, each crystal being gene- 
 rally composed of a number of smaller crystals, compressed 
 together, and exhibiting a high lustre. Stilbite occurs of 
 a deep red colour, in Dumbartonshire, Scotland, and in 
 the Tyrol ; but the most beautiful specimens, of a white 
 colour, are brought from the Faroe Islands, and from Ice- 
 land, where it occurs on the Double-refracting, or Iceland- 
 spar. At Poonah, in the East Indies, it is found in very 
 fine crystallizations accompanying pale green Apophyllile, 
 and is found of a flesh-red colour in America, accompany- 
 ing CJiabasie. The crystalline form of this substance is 
 shown in our figure (Plate II. fig. 7), which is drawn from 
 a specimen from the Faroe Islands. 
 
 HEULANDITE. 
 
 This resembles the preceding mineral so closely, that it 
 cannot be easily distinguished. It contains a rather larger 
 
THOMSONITE. 99 
 
 proportion of Alumine, and its primary form is an ollique- 
 angled prism. Its colours are those of Stilbite, namely, 
 white and red, and its structure is nearly similar. From 
 Iceland have been brought most capital specimens, which 
 are white, and possess a pearly lustre ; and from Kilpatrick, 
 in Scotland, is obtained the red variety, where it sometimes 
 occurs with a fibrous variety of Quartz. Eig. 6, Plate II. 
 is taken from a specimen of this variety, and exhibits its 
 most common form. It was named by Brooke, in honour 
 of Henry Heuland, Esq., the well-known mineralogist. 
 
 THOMSOXITE. 
 
 Xearly allied, in point of composition, to these minerals, 
 is Thonisonite, although, in consequence of its containing 
 occasionally Soda as one of its ingredients, it has been 
 placed by Alger amongst the Alkalino-earthy minerals. It 
 is a white, shining, translucent substance, consisting of 
 long slender columns, packed closely together, the crystals 
 very rarely showing their terminations in the cavities of the 
 mass. It is found only in Scotland, with Analcime. 
 
 In close proximity we find Scolezite, Werner'tie, and 
 Zoisite, for descriptions of which we must refer the learner 
 to works of greater extent 
 
100 POPULAE MINEEALOGY. 
 
 EPIDOTE. 
 
 Of this mineral there are several varieties. Its most 
 usual colour is a dark green, nearly approaching to black ; 
 its form is a quadrangular prism, which is variously modi- 
 fied ; and Alger observes that the magnificent crystals from 
 Arendahl, in Norway, and Normark, in Sweden, consist of 
 concentric coats or layers, the exterior of which admit of 
 removal, so that, out of a large imperfect crystal, one of 
 smaller size, but more completely formed, may be produced 
 with facility. Epidote occurs crystallized and granular; 
 and one variety, termed Manganesian Epidote, of a purple- 
 brown colour, has a fibrous appearance, occasioned by its 
 association with Asbestus. 
 
 AXINITE. 
 
 This is one of those minerals which, when once seen and 
 known, will always be remembered by the learner. Its 
 peculiar wedge-shaped crystals, of a rich brownish-purple 
 tint, serve to fix it in the memory more than the most 
 elaborate description. It was first brought from Oisans, in 
 Dauphiny, but has many other localities. It is found at 
 Botallack, in Cornwall, from which place, although its 
 
LAPIS LAZULI. 101 
 
 crystals are not to be compared for brilliancy with those 
 from Dauphiny, very good specimens, in well-defined 
 crystals, have been obtained. Tt is a very rare mineral 
 in America. 
 
 LAPIS LAZULI. 
 
 This most beautiful substance has great claims on our 
 attention, for from it is extracted the finest blue pigment 
 which is known, and this is done without any difficult 
 chemical operations. By the lapidary it is, also, highly 
 prized, as being a substance from which choice ornamental 
 works may be produced with comparative ease in working. 
 It generally occurs massive, very rarely in the form of the 
 rhombic dodecahedron (for which form see the figure of 
 Garnet). This mineral ought, perhaps, to have been 
 noticed amongst the Alkalino-earthy minerals, as it has been 
 found to contain a proportion of Soda and Potash, in addi- 
 tion to its earthy constituents, viz., Silex, Alumine, Lime, 
 and Magnesia; Oxide of Iron and Sulphuric Acid, also, 
 enter into its composition. Its blue colour varies in inten- 
 sity, and is sometimes of a greenish tinge. It usually is 
 found in rolled masses, but occasionally is seen dissemi- 
 nated in a kind of granite rock with Iron pyrites. From 
 
102 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Bolivia and Chili fine specimens have been brought, but 
 the finest are from China, Persia, and Siberia. Pig. 8, 
 Plate II. represents a specimen from Persia, and the pigment 
 procured from the stone is used in colouring the figure. 
 
 The method of preparing this beautiful and durable 
 colour, which is known by the name of Ultramarine, is 
 very simple, and will be interesting to the painter as well 
 as to the mineralogist. 
 
 To separate the earthy matter, the Lapis Lazuli is first 
 heated to redness, and then suddenly quenched in cold 
 water, which process, being repeated several times, reduces 
 the stone to an almost friable state. It is then ground 
 down with a few drops of water, in an iron or agate 
 mortar, until it becomes a perfectly impalpable powder. 
 The stone being thus prepared, the next operation is to 
 place certain quantities of linseed oil, turpentine, rosin, 
 and gum mastich in a clean vessel, and warm them over 
 the fire. These ingredients are kept constantly stirred, 
 until they are completely melted and incorporated together 
 in a thick adhesive mass. A portion of this mixture is 
 then taken and melted, and is poured into a clean mortar, 
 which has previously been warmed, it is then ready to 
 receive the pulverized Lapis Lazuli, which is sprinkled 
 
SLATE. 103 
 
 upon its surface, and, by continued beating with the pestle, 
 becomes incorporated with it. Some warm water being then 
 added, the beating with the pestle is repeated, and in a 
 short time the water becomes charged with the blue -colour- 
 ing matter. The water, thus coloured, is then poured off 
 into a clean glass, and, being allowed to stand for a few 
 days, the colour subsides to the bottom of the glass in 
 the form of a deep blue powder, which is Ultramarine. 
 
 SLATE. 
 
 Although the varieties of this substance are not remark- 
 able for their beauty, and are consequently more frequently 
 to be found in the cabinet of the geologist than in that of 
 the mineralogist, a short notice of some of them may be 
 found useful, if not entertaining. Considering, too, that 
 on framed slabs of this substance our youthful minds were 
 first trained to the processes of addition, multiplication, 
 subtraction, and division, necessary to a correct knowledge 
 of the value of money, we feel that no apology is needed 
 for introducing the few particulars we have collected. 
 
 At Augers, in France, occurs the most valuable repository 
 of slate which is known ; and so extensive is it, that the 
 whole town is built and covered with this material, for those 
 
104 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 blocks which will not readily split into roofing slate, are 
 used in building. England possesses many quarries whence 
 good slate for the purpose of roofing is procured, viz., at 
 Cornwall, Devon, North Wales, Yorkshire, Cumberland, 
 and Westmoreland. The most extensive slate-quarries in 
 Great Britain are at Bangor, in Carnarvonshire, where there 
 is a railroad formed from the quarries to the sea for the 
 conveyance of the slate, which is sent to various parts of 
 the world. In Cumberland it occurs in a lofty mountain, 
 near the lake of Buttermere, some 2,000 feet above the 
 level of the lake. Here, in consequence of the difficulty 
 of access, the workmen lay in a week's provision, and sleep 
 in temporary huts on the summit of the mountain, where 
 they are frequently, during the winter, involved in clouds 
 or blocked up with snow. The slate is conveyed down a 
 zigzag path cut in the rock, on sledges, one man attending 
 to prevent accidents during its descent, and to carry back 
 the empty sledge on his shoulders. 
 
 Slate rocks are frequently intersected by veins of Quartz, 
 and of various metals, such as Lead, Cobalt, and Silver ; 
 and in Cornwall the Tin veins sometimes pass through a 
 bed of slate. 
 
 " When the blocks of slate have been drawn from the 
 
SLATE. 105 
 
 quarry, if they are left for some days exposed to the sun or 
 open air, they lose what is called the quarry water, and 
 then become hard and intractable, and can only be used 
 as building stone. Frost produces a singular effect on 
 these blocks : while frozen they may be broken with greater 
 ease than before, but, if thawed rather quickly, are no 
 longer divisible; yet this quality may be restored by ex- 
 posing them once more to the frost." 
 
 Slate that is used for roofing should of course be im- 
 pervious to the water; there are consequently several 
 methods of ascertaining its quality and fitness for the 
 purpose. The most simple is as follows. The slate is 
 placed perpendicularly in a tub of water, about half a foot 
 deep, and allowed to remain for twenty-four hours. It is 
 then examined, and should it be found to' have drawn water 
 not more than half an inch above the surface of the water 
 in the tub, it is considered to be good slate ; but should 
 it be saturated with water up to the very top, it is a spongy 
 defective slate. 
 
 Prom a variety of slate termed Alum-slate, which occurs 
 in great abundance at Whitby, in Yorkshire, nearly all the 
 Alum of commerce is obtained. 
 
 Another variety is called Drawing-slate, from its leaving 
 
106 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 a black mark upon paper ; it is sometimes used for sketch- 
 ing, and is found in France, Spain, and Italy. 
 
 Lydian stone is a variety of slate used for trying Gold 
 and Silver upon, by a comparison of colour. 
 
 CLAY. 
 
 We have observed of the Slates, that though not very 
 attractive to the admirer of beauty, they are still highly 
 interesting on account of their great usefulness; and the 
 same remark will equally apply to the subjects mentioned 
 under the above head. Amongst the Clays we shall find 
 many varieties useful for some purpose or other, but none 
 are more so than the common clay of which bricks are 
 fashioned. As, however, this variety is not usually admitted 
 into the cabinet, and as the process of brick-making is 
 universally understood, we shall not occupy our space by 
 a description of it, but shall mention one or two distinct 
 varieties of a rather more attractive appearance. 
 
 Adhesive Slate is a variety of Clay which splits into 
 thin layers when dry, and derives its name from the pro- 
 perty of imbibing moisture, causing it to adhere to the 
 tongue when placed upon it. This is the substance in 
 which the variety of Mint called Menilite is imbedded. 
 
CLAY. 107 
 
 Fullers-earth is in daily use by servants, for the purpose 
 of removing grease from floors a property which it pos- 
 sesses in a considerable degree. 
 
 Lithomarge in its different varieties is almost the only 
 one of these substances which is found in the cabinet. 
 This occurs of a yellowish-white, grey, blue, or red colour, 
 sometimes in alternate stripes of red and white, when, were 
 it not for its softness and friability, it would bear a distant 
 resemblance to Kibbon Agate. It is found in Saxony, 
 Cornwall, and other localities. 
 
 As, however, it will be quite superfluous even to mention, 
 in a work of this kind, all the different varieties of Clay, 
 we will content ourselves by quoting Darwin's poetical 
 description of the manufacture of china and other ware 
 from the peculiar kinds of Clay. 
 
 " Hence ductile clays in wide expansion spread, 
 Soft as the cygnet's down, their snow-white bed ; 
 "\Vith yielding flakes successive forms reveal, 
 And change obedient to the whirling wheel. 
 First China's sons, with early art elate, 
 Formed the gay teapot and the pictured plate \ 
 Saw, with illumined brow and dazzled eyes, 
 In the red stove vitrescent colours rise ; 
 Specked her tall beakers with enamelled stars, 
 Her monster -josses, and gigantic jars ; 
 
108 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Smeared her huge dragons with metallic hues, 
 With golden purples and cobaltic blues ; 
 Bade on wide hills her porcelain castles glare, 
 And glazed Pagodas tremble in the air. 
 
 " Etruria ! next beneath thy magic hands 
 Glides the quick wheel, the plastic clay expands ; 
 Nerved with fine touch, thy fingers (as it turns) 
 Mark the nice bounds of vases, ewers, and urns ; 
 Round each fair form in lines immortal trace 
 Uncopied Beauty and Ideal Grace." 
 
 One of the greatest, if not the chief, inducement to the 
 contemplation of the natural productions of the earth, is 
 found in the succession of new and beautiful varieties of 
 form or of colour which they present, serving either to 
 prolong or to awaken anew the interest taken in them, and 
 the desire to become acquainted with their peculiarities. 
 In the mineral kingdom this kind of pleasing allurement 
 is not wanting, and we shall find that, although the com- 
 position of the minerals we are about to notice is nearly 
 similar to that of the preceding substances, their external 
 aspect of colour and of form is very different. 
 
 Bidding farewell to the Slates, and wishing a pleasant 
 week's residence in their lofty abode to our friends the 
 
AUGITE. 109 
 
 quarrymen of Cumberland ; resigning, too, into the hands 
 of the bricklayers and earthenware manufacturers the unin- 
 viting Clays ; we now claim attention for a series of sub- 
 stances likely to be more attractive to the collector, though 
 not quite so extensively useful. 
 
 HARMOTOME. 
 
 This mineral occurs in crystals of considerable size at 
 Strontian, in Argyleshire, and at Andreasberg, in the 
 Hartz ; it is also found in Norway and at Oberstein. Its 
 form is a flat, four-sided prism, terminated by rhombic 
 planes, the crystals occasionally crossing each other : this is 
 best shown in the specimens from the Hartz. It is com- 
 posed of Silex, Alumine, Barytes, and water, is of a greyish- 
 white colour, and has a somewhat pearly lustre. 
 
 AUGITE. 
 
 Also known by the name of Pyroxene. This substance 
 occurs crystallized and granular, and in several shades of 
 green, white, brown, and black. It is hard enough to 
 scratch glass ; and before the blowpipe runs into a dark- 
 coloured glass. The earths which it contains are Silex, 
 Lime, Magnesia, and Alumine, and in addition small pro- 
 
110 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 portions of Oxide of Iron and Manganese. Augite is 
 met with in the produce of volcanoes, but it certainly 
 existed in the rocks before their being subjected to vol- 
 canic action. It is found in Norway, in America, and in 
 some parts of Scotland and of Wales. There are several 
 minerals that are considered to be varieties of Augite : 
 amongst these we may mention Diopside, a transparent, 
 pale green, or nearly colourless crystallized substance, found 
 with the Precious Garnets of Ala, in Piedmont, whence it 
 is sometimes termed Alalite; Sahlite, so called from its 
 habitat, the Silver mines of Sahla, in Sweden, is a dark 
 green substance, occurring in prisms of four or eight sides : 
 identical with this is the BaiJcalite, from the Lake Baikal, 
 in Siberia. Coccolite is a granular substance of various 
 shades of green and bluish-green, found in Norway, 
 America, and other localities. 
 
 HORNBLENDE. 
 
 The varieties of this substance, and also the remainder 
 of the minerals arranged under the head of Siliceous 
 Minerals, contain Silex as their chief ingredient, Alumine 
 in the next proportion, Lime, and Magnesia. It must be 
 borne in mind, however, that this gives but a general idea 
 
Ill 
 
 of their constitution, the proportions varying in each dif- 
 ferent substance, and even in different individuals of the 
 same substance. Other ingredients also enter in larger 
 or smaller proportion into their composition. 
 
 Hornblende is found crystallized in distinct prisms, but 
 more frequently these are aggregated together. Its colour 
 is a bottle-green, approaching more or less to black ; and 
 it is generally opake. Before the blowpipe it melts into a 
 brilliant black glass. It is found in almost every country, 
 but more particularly in the repositories of Magnetic Iron 
 in Norway and Sweden, in Bohemia, in Greenland, and in 
 the cavities of Vesuvian minerals. Alger informs us that 
 it occurs in highly brilliant crystals of a hair-brown colour, 
 at Edenville, New York ; and that specimens of great 
 beauty are also found at Franconia, and at Chester, Mas- 
 sachusetts. 
 
 Tremolite, so named from the Valley of Tremola, where 
 it was first discovered, occurs of a white, yellowish, greenish, 
 or reddish tinge, and we possess specimens of a bright 
 ultramarine blue colour, which is probably owing to the 
 presence of copper. It presents a structure of delicate 
 crystalline fibres, which occasionally are diverging or radi- 
 ating from a point. It is translucent, hard enough to 
 
112 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 scratch glass, and exhibits phosphorescence either by the 
 application of heat or friction. At St. Gothard, in Switzer- 
 land, it is found of a beautiful white silky lustre, imbedded 
 in Dolomite, where it is also occasionally found of a dark 
 green colour. It has many other localities. 
 
 ACTINOLITE. 
 
 This is a substance so peculiar in its appearance, that it 
 is difficult to consider it a mere variety of Hornblende, and 
 we will, therefore, notwithstanding its similarity of com- 
 position, treat it as a distinct species, more especially as 
 there are several varieties of this beautiful mineral. It 
 occurs crystallized, asbestiform, and glassy. 
 
 Crystallized ActinolUe is of a dark green colour, excepting 
 where fractures exist in the crystal, which at those points 
 exhibits a very bright green colour. This appearance we 
 have endeavoured to show in our illustration (Plate III. 
 fig. 9). The form of the crystal is a six-sided prism, but 
 two of the planes are generally so narrow in proportion to 
 the other four, as to give the appearance of a prism of only 
 four planes : these crystals, which are found imbedded in 
 a pale green Silvery Talc at Zillerthal, in the Tyrol, cross 
 the Talc in every direction, but we are not aware that they 
 have ever been found terminated by planes. 
 
Plate II] 
 
 11. C omnium. . 
 
 12 . Topaz. 
 
 . S ovrerVy-, lei etitV 
 
ASBESTUS. 113 
 
 Asbestiform Actinolite so much resembles Asbestus, that 
 they are with difficulty distinguished the one from the 
 other. This variety of Actinolite is of a greenish-brown 
 colour, and melts before the blowpipe into a yellowish- 
 brown opake glass. 
 
 Glassy Actinolite differs from the preceding variety, in 
 possessing a vitreous or pearly lustre, and in being trans- 
 lucent and very brittle. It is sometimes of a delicate pale 
 green, and sometimes of a dark leek-green colour. It is 
 found in Wales, in Scotland, and in America. This mineral 
 requires the greatest care in handling, as it is extremely 
 brittle, and its glassy fibres are so fine that they readily 
 enter the skin, occasioning considerable irritation and pain. 
 
 ASBESTOS. 
 
 Asbestus derives its name from a Greek word signifying 
 imperishable, given in consequence of the great difficulty ex- 
 perienced in fusing or melting it. Our drawing (Plate III. 
 fig. 10) represents a specimen of Common Asbestus, which 
 occurs in fine fibres packed closely together, of a beautiful 
 silky texture. These fibres are flexible, and may with ease 
 be pulled away from the mass ; if this be done gently, and 
 the filaments not quite separated, they present the appear- 
 
 1 
 
114 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 ance of wool, or the down of a bird. Common Asbestus 
 occurs most frequently in Serpentine in Scotland, Anglesey, 
 and in Cornwall. In colour it varies from white to green ; 
 and a handsome variety of a deep blue colour is occasionally 
 brought from South Africa, but is not by any means common. 
 
 Amianthus occurs in extremely long and slender fibres, 
 which are flexible and elastic in a high degree, and of a 
 white colour, presenting in the mass a satiny appearance. 
 Phillips says that it is found in Savoy in the longest and 
 most beautiful fibres ; that of Corsica is less beautiful, but 
 so abundant that Dolomieu used it for packing his minerals. 
 It is found also in many parts of Scotland, and in the 
 United States ; in fact, its geographical range is not very 
 limited. It is this mineral which, by the ancients, was 
 woven into a kind of incombustible cloth, in which 
 they enveloped the bodies of the dead previously to con- 
 suming them by fire, in order that their ashes might be 
 preserved free from other mixture. This proves that a 
 knowledge of the properties of minerals was of some value 
 in former times. 
 
 In Scotland, a variety of Asbestus is found, which is 
 termed Mountain leather, from its resemblance to that 
 substance. It occurs in flat, flexible pieces, and when 
 
HYPERSTHENE. 115 
 
 these are very thin it is termed Mountain paper. Another 
 variety, which is so light as to swim on water, and which 
 greatly resembles cork in appearance and colour, is found 
 in Norway, Saxony, Spain, and Scotland. This is termed 
 Mountain cork. 
 
 HYPERSTHENE. 
 
 This interesting substance is of a dark brown or greenish- 
 black colour, massive, and of a lamellar structure. When 
 fractured it exhibits a peculiar lustre, almost metallic, some- 
 times of a greenish, or of a copper-red colour, observable 
 only in one direction. Pine specimens produce a very good 
 effect when cut and set as jewels. It is found in rolled 
 masses on the coast of Labrador, also in Newfoundland, 
 Greenland, and America. 
 
116 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 ALUMINE. 
 
 " Hence through the genial bowels of the earth 
 Easy may fancy pass ; till at thy mines, 
 Gani, or Baolconda, she arrive, 
 And from the Adamant's imperial blaze 
 Form weak ideas of her Maker's glory. 
 Next, to Pegu or Ceylon let me rove, 
 Where the rich Ruby (deemed by sages old 
 Of sovereign virtue) sparkles even like Sirius, 
 And blushes into flames." 
 
 Having noticed all the most important and interesting 
 substances whose chief ingredient is the earth Silex, and 
 observed that in many of them the earth Alumine forms, 
 also, a considerable ingredient, we shall now proceed to 
 notice a series of minerals which contain Alumine in the 
 largest proportion, and the other earths in smaller quantity. 
 Amongst these minerals we shall find several that are of 
 great beauty and value as gems. This earth occurs in a 
 nearly pure state in 
 
 CORUNDUM. 
 
 The Diamond is the only mineral which possesses a 
 greater degree of hardness than Corundum, one of whose 
 
CORUNDUM. 117 
 
 varieties, the Sapphire, takes rank next after the Diamond 
 as a gem. The varieties of Corundum are Sapphire, 
 Oriental Ruby, Emery, and Common Corundum. The pri- 
 mary form is an acute rhomboid. We will first describe 
 the last-mentioned variety, next Emery, and then the two 
 first varieties. 
 
 Common Corundum. Thls7from its hardness, has received 
 the name of Adamantine spar. The common form of its 
 crystal is a six-sided prism, which may be readily fractured 
 in the direction indicated by the transverse striae, shown in 
 our figure (Plate III. fig. 11). This figure is taken from a 
 crystal from India, lent to us for the purpose by Mr. 
 Wright. It occurs of almost every colour, usually opake, 
 but occasionally somewhat translucent. It is a very abun- 
 dant mineral in India, where it is found of all shades of 
 brown and red ; some specimens are of a pale green colour, 
 others of a deep purple. In Piedmont it occurs imbedded 
 in white Eelspar, and in some parts of America is found of 
 a deep blue shade ; and the Corundum of China is occa- 
 sionally black. It is used in the East Indies for polishing 
 steel, and cutting and polishing gems. Diamond-powder 
 is, however, more frequently used in Europe, on account of 
 the greater rapidity with which it works. 
 
118 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Emery is a fine granular variety of the preceding, oc- 
 curring in rolled masses in Italy and Spain, and near 
 Schneeberg, in Saxony, with Talc-slate. Emery-powder, 
 being spread and fixed by some glutinous matter on to 
 sheets of paper, is a very useful article of domestic 
 economy in Europe, being employed in cleaning and 
 polishing steel. It has, also, been used in cutting and 
 polishing many gems. 
 
 Sapphire. This beautiful gem is either of a deep indigo- 
 blue colour, when it has been called by lapidaries the male 
 Sapphire-, or of a pale tint, almost colourless, called by 
 them the female or water Sapphire ; and specimens of the 
 latter variety have sometimes passed for the Diamond. 
 Sapphire is not acted upon by acids, but becomes electric 
 when rubbed : before the blowpipe, with borax, it slowly 
 melts into a colourless glass. The value of a good Sapphire 
 weighing ten carats is fifty guineas ; but if it weigh twenty 
 carats, its value is much greater in proportion to its weight, 
 being then worth two hundred guineas. Some Sapphires 
 exhibit a very beautiful appearance, termed chatoyem,ent, 
 from its resemblance to the eye of a cat ; others reflect the 
 light in such a manner as to give the appearance of a 
 brilliant star of six rays, and are termed Asterias, or 
 
SAPPHIRE. 119 
 
 Star-stones. These varieties are very highly esteemed by 
 the lapidaries. 
 
 One of the most beautiful blue Sapphires known to be 
 in existence, is that preserved in the collection of the 
 Museum of Natural History at Paris it weighs 132-i- 
 carats ; and in the Jardin des Plantes was one valued at 
 3,000 sterling. 
 
 Sapphires are found in the sand of rivers, particularly 
 at Ceylon and Pegu; they are also found in Bohemia, 
 France, Switzerland, and Portugal. Alger states that a 
 beautiful blue Sapphire is met with in Sussex County, 
 United States, the finest specimens being found loose in 
 the soil, with Hornblende or Felspar. The same author 
 mentions several other localities for Sapphire in the United 
 States. At Expaillie, in France, where Sapphires occur 
 with iron sand, they are gathered at the time when the 
 rivulet happens to be nearly dry. The men employed are 
 furnished with a kind of tray and a linen bag, and go up 
 the rivulet till they arrive at small depressions where the 
 water has remained stationary ; these they enter, and fill 
 their trays with the sand of the bottom, which they wash 
 and stir with their hands under water, till the lighter par- 
 ticles are carried off, and the fragments of Sapphire remain. 
 
120 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Oriental Ruby. The only difference between this and 
 the blue Sapphire is the colour, which in Oriental Ruby is 
 either blood- red or rose-red : this difference in colour causes 
 a corresponding difference in value ; a perfect Ruby, above 
 three carats and a half in weight, being more valuable than 
 a Diamond of equal weight ; and, compared with the blue 
 Sapphire, we have said that a Sapphire weighing ten carats 
 is worth fifty guineas, but a perfect Euby weighing six 
 carats is worth above a thousand guineas. It will be easily 
 understood, therefore, that perfect, deep crimson-red Rubies 
 above that weight are but seldom found, and when they 
 are, the monarchs of those countries in which they are 
 found will not suffer them to be carried away from their 
 territories if they can possibly prevent it. Two large 
 Oriental Rubies are said to have belonged to the King of 
 Visapur, one of which weighed above fifty carats, and was 
 valued at sixty thousand francs, and the other, weighing 
 seventeen carats and a half, was, in consequence of its 
 greater purity, valued at seventy-five thousand five hundred 
 and thirty francs ! Feuchtwanger says 
 
 "The King of Pegu and the monarchs of Siam mono- 
 polize the fine Rubies, as the sovereigns of the peninsula 
 of India have done the Diamonds. The finest Ruby in 
 
SAPPHIRE. 
 
 121 
 
 the world is in the possession of the first : its purity is a 
 proverb, and its worth, even compared with gold, is ines- 
 timable. The Subah of the Divan is, also, in possession 
 of one an inch in diameter, and the Empress Catherine of 
 Russia possessed one of the size of a pigeon's egg." 
 
 Alger observes, "Probably the most splendid Oriental 
 Ruby in the United States is that now in possession of 
 Colonel George Bomford, of Washington city. It was 
 originally purchased at the cost of about 7,000 dollars, in 
 Paris, by Mr. Barlow, whilst acting as American minister 
 at the court of France." 
 
 In former times the Euby, Sapphire, and other gems 
 were esteemed of great value in medicine, which idea, it is 
 needless to observe, has long since been exploded ; but, in 
 order to give some conception of the notions then enter- 
 tained, we cannot forbear quoting the following passages 
 from a work published in the year 1567, entitled ' A Greene 
 Forest ; Wherein may be seene first the most sufferaigne 
 Vertues in all the whole kinde of Stones and Metalls/ &c. 
 This work is arranged alphabetically, " so that a Table shall 
 not neede," and is compiled by " John Maplet, M. of Artes, 
 &c. ; entending hereby y 4 God might especially be glorified ; 
 and the people furdered." 
 
122 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 In this work we are informed that Asterites (our Star- 
 stone) "is a gem : but white, keeping close within it selfe 
 light, and sheweth it forth but little, even as the Starre 
 doth ; but to hym. that beholdeth it thoroughly, it shew- 
 eth him the Sunnes manifolde reflexions/' 
 
 " The Sapphir is skie coloured or blew, like to the skie 
 in the most faire weather. It is one of the noblest and 
 royall sorts amongst all gemmes, and most meete to be 
 worne onely upon Kings and Princes fingers." " It is 
 good (if it be not otherwise ouerlaide) to the eiesight, and 
 nothing in the whole worlde doth more recreate or delight 
 the eies than the Smaradge and Sapphir doe." 
 
 The account given, however, of the Euby is much more 
 marvellous : it is as follows : 
 
 " The Rubie is a stone which of some is supposed to be 
 found in the Crabs heade, most commonly red, yet notwith- 
 standing sometimes found in yealow colour. It auaileth 
 against the biting of the Scorpion and Weasell, if it be 
 applied thereto plaister like." 
 
 DIASPORE. 
 
 In addition to the earth Alumine, this mineral contains 
 some water and oxide of iron. It is found in masses con- 
 
TURQUOISE. 123 
 
 sisting of laminae of a shining pearly lustre, and of a 
 brown colour ; rarely crystallized in the form of a doubly 
 oblique prism. It is hard enough to scratch glass, and 
 before the blowpipe fuses into a colourless glass. It has 
 only been found in the Ural Mountains, and is a rare 
 substance; but from Hungary has lately been brought a 
 distinctly crystallized white mineral, named Stephanite, 
 which is, doubtless, a variety of Diaspore, and is also 
 extremely rare. 
 
 TURQUOISE. 
 
 This is also known amongst mineralogists by the name 
 of Calaite. About half its quantity is Alumine, and the 
 remainder consists of phosphoric acid, oxides of copper 
 and iron, and water. It is an opake substance, of various 
 shades of colour, ranging from sky-blue to apple-green. The 
 Persian Turquoise occurs in alluvial clay, and is found on 
 sale in most of the cities of Persia, being valuable for 
 many ornamental purposes, and, when highly coloured, 
 being much esteemed as a gem. We are informed that 
 the Persian king retains for himself all the most richly- 
 coloured varieties. Some specimens of Turquoise were 
 brought by Mr. Cuining from the Philippine Islands. 
 
POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 From the ancient author before quoted, we extract the 
 information he gives us concerning Turquoise. 
 
 "The Turches or Turcois is in colour airelike or like 
 to the Heauens, and looketh cleare also as sayth Cardane. 
 It is called a Turches for that it is onely found in Turkland 
 or amongst the Turkes. This hath such vertue and hid 
 maner in working, that it supporteth and sustaineth, being 
 worne in a ring, a man from falling of his horse, and is 
 saide of the above saide Author to receyue the daunger of 
 the fal it self, and to breake and burst in sunder, rather 
 than the man should fall and miscarie." 
 
 Into the composition of the substances we shall next 
 notice, viz., Kyanite, Staurolite, and Topaz, the earth Silex is 
 found to enter as well as Alumine, but only in secondary 
 proportion. 
 
 KYANITE. 
 
 This substance occurs in long four-sided prisms of a 
 blue colour ; two of the edges of the prism, however, being 
 generally replaced by planes, the six-sided prism is the 
 
KYANITE. 125 
 
 form most usually observed : these prisms have seldom or 
 never terminations by planes, and they will readily split 
 longitudinally. This circumstance will serve to distinguish 
 Kyanite from Sapphire, which it in colour somewhat 
 resembles, as a crystal of Sapphire will split with ease only 
 in a transverse direction : besides this, though Kyanite is 
 nearly as hard as glass, it is much softer than any of the 
 varieties of Corundum. Kyanite occurs of a very fine 
 colour, imbedded in Mica-slate, at St. Gothard, associated 
 with Garnet, Staurolite, and Quartz ; in the Tyrol, and in 
 South America ; and in some parts of the United States, of 
 an exceedingly rich and beautiful colour : at Chesterfield 
 particularly fine crystals are found of the gigantic dimen- 
 sions of two feet long and two inches wide. Alger says, 
 that when in sufficiently large masses, of a fine blue colour, 
 and transparent, this mineral is cut and polished as an 
 ornamental stone, bearing some resemblance to Sapphire ; 
 but we should imagine, from the ease with which it is split 
 into thin lamina?, it could not be very generally used for 
 that purpose. 
 
 Rhatizite is a variety of Kyanite, found in the Tyrol, 
 occurring in sharp thin blades aggregated together, of a 
 yellowish or red colour. 
 
126 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 STAUROLITE. 
 
 The form of this mineral is the same as that of Kyanite, 
 and it is found at St. Gothard accompanying that substance, 
 the fine reddish-brown colour of the Staurolite contrasting 
 splendidly with the light-blue Kyanite, the crystals of each 
 substance often running parallel with each other: those 
 of Staurolite, however, are very frequently terminated very 
 perfectly. The crystals of this substance often intersect 
 each other at right angles, presenting the form of a cross, 
 from which circumstance its name was given, being derived 
 from the Greek, signifying cross-stone. It is sometimes 
 called Grenatite, in allusion to its usual colours, resembling 
 those of common Garnet. 
 
 TOPAZ. 
 
 The constituents of this very beautiful mineral are the 
 two earths already indicated, and fluoric acid. It is found 
 either in rounded pieces or crystallized, its primary 
 form being a rhombic prism, which is usually terminated 
 by various planes and modifications. It occurs of many 
 different shades of bluish or greenish white, yellow, and 
 red, and is mostly transparent in a great degree. Alone, 
 
TOPAZ. 127 
 
 before the blowpipe, it does not fuse, but with borax slowly 
 melts into a transparent glass. The Diamond is about 
 seven times as hard as Topaz. 
 
 From Aberdeenshire have been obtained some of the 
 most magnificent crystals of Topaz of a fine sky-blue colour. 
 Topaz is found in Cornwall, in small crystals, which are 
 generally colourless, and in Ireland, where it accompanies 
 Smoky Quartz, Beryl, Mica, &c. Saxony produces crystals 
 of a pale yellow colour ; those of a rich yellow or red 
 colour are brought from Brazil to this country, usually 
 in detached crystals, but rarely imbedded in their native 
 clayey earth. We have chosen for our figure a splendid 
 specimen, consisting of two fine crystals imbedded in a 
 crystal of * Quartz, which is rather transparent : this is a 
 Brazilian specimen. (Plate III. fig. 12.) Topaz is only 
 found at one locality in the United States, which is Trum- 
 bull, in Connecticut. 
 
 Feuclit \vanger informs us that the Grand Mogul pos- 
 sesses a polished Topaz, which was purchased for 60,000 
 dollars : but it is by no means so valuable a gem as many 
 others. Still it has been thought worth while to give an 
 artificial colour to them, which is done by the application 
 of heat. 
 
128 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Topaz exhibits its possession of the property of electricity 
 in a remarkable manner and degree. 
 
 Pyropliysatite is considered a variety of Topaz. It occurs 
 in crystals of large size at Mnbo in Sweden, of a pale bluish- 
 green colour, and when heated gives out a phosphoric light. 
 
 Continuing still our examination of the earthy minerals, 
 and taking them still in order according to the proportion 
 in which the different earths compose them, we must give a 
 passing notice of a very interesting substance named ALLO- 
 PHANE. This is composed of Alumine, Silex, and water, 
 making a Siliciferous Hydrate of Alumine of which com- 
 bination, from amongst several substances, we choose Allo- 
 phane as an instance. It generally occurs of a botryoidal, 
 or grape-like form, and is commonly of a pale 'buff tint, 
 but is sometimes of a beautiful cobalt-blue colour. It has 
 been found in Thuringia, Derbyshire, and St. Helena. 
 
 And now another gem presents itself before us, whose 
 appearance is so delicate, that, although aware that others of 
 greater value and more gorgeous hues are awaiting our in- 
 spection, we cannot pass it by. This is 
 
 CmiYSOBERYL. 
 
 Its colour is a pale yellowish-green, showing occasionally 
 
CHRYSOBERYL. 129 
 
 an opalescent bluish-white light. It is found crystal- 
 lized, but more commonly in small rolled masses accom- 
 panying Topaz in Brazil, and together with Rubies and 
 Sapphires in the rivers of Ceylon. At Haddam, in Connec- 
 ticut, Chrysoberyl is found in granite in the form of six-sided 
 tabular prisms, occasionally joined together in a star-like 
 aggregation. According to the analysis of Arfwedson, this 
 substance consisted of Alumine, Silex, and Lime ; but Sey- 
 bert, an American mineralogist, has since analyzed it, and 
 found that it contained no Silex, but did contain the rare 
 earth Glucine, a result in which he is corroborated by 
 Thomson : it ought, therefore, in strictness to be placed with 
 the Emerald and Beryl, which both contain that earth. 
 
 Alexandrite. This is a variety of Chrysoberyl, of great 
 value, which has been recently discovered in the Ural Moun- 
 tains, and from Alger's Edition of Phillips we extract a short 
 description of its peculiarities. 
 
 " These gems possess a peculiar dichroism, which is not 
 changed by exposure, per se, to the action of the blowpipe, 
 appearing, when the light falls upon them, of a beautiful 
 leek or emerald-green colour, and when it passes through 
 them, of a deep raspberry-red or violet. This peculiarity is 
 so remarkable that those who witness it in the evening, 
 
 K 
 
130 POPULAR MINEEALOGY. 
 
 when the crystal is brought in the dark to a flame, will 
 doubt by daylight the identity of the specimen, when it 
 shows the rich green colour. Von Worth's experiments 
 show that Oxide of Chrome is the colouring substance to 
 which the phenomena above referred to, and observed so 
 strikingly in no other stone, are owing. 1 " 
 
 "The name Alexandrite was given to distinguish this 
 variety from the common Chrysoberyl of Ceylon, and 
 because of its discovery on the day of the Emperor's 
 majority. Besides, it has the two principal colours of the 
 Russian Empire green and red' 3 
 
 SPINELLE RUBY. 
 
 This very interesting mineral occurs in the form of an 
 octohedron, and is of various shades of red. It is composed 
 principally of Alumine and Magnesia, with some Silex 
 and Oxide of Iron. It scratches Quartz easily, but is 
 not so hard as the true Ruby, from which its crystalliza- 
 tion sufficiently distinguishes it. Spinelle ruby is found 
 in the sand of rivers in Ceylon and Pegu, accompanying 
 Zircons, &c. Though inferior in richness of colour to the 
 true Ruby, yet when of a certain size it is much valued as 
 a gem ; for when a Spinelle ruby weighs more than four 
 
IOLITE. 131 
 
 carats it is valued at half the price of a Diamond of the 
 same weight. 
 
 Hitherto we have spoken only of the red variety, but 
 Spinelle also occurs of other colours. In Sweden is found 
 a pale blue variety imbedded in Calcareous spar, in octohe- 
 drons of considerable size, and of the same colour in the 
 United States, where also black and dark green crystals of 
 very large size have been found, some of which are full 
 sixteen inches in diameter. A pale rose-red octohedrou, 
 four inches round at the base, has been obtained at Franklin, 
 United States. 
 
 Pleonaste. This term is now generally applied to the 
 shining black crystals which are found in the cavities of 
 substances of volcanic origin. From Vesuvius very beau- 
 tiful specimens have been obtained. 
 
 IOLITE. 
 
 This bears also the name of Dichroite, derived from two 
 Greek words signifying of two colours ; it is of a purplish- 
 violet colour, but, when viewed in a particular direction, 
 appears to be of a brownish-yellow tint. It has a vitreous 
 lustre, and is hard enough to scratch Quartz. Its principal 
 locality is Arendahl, in Norway. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 MAGNESIA. 
 
 The earthy minerals of which this is the chief ingredient 
 are but few in number. Combined with carbonic acid it is 
 of more frequent occurrence, but is comparatively a rare 
 earth. Its medicinal vir tores are familiar to all. 
 
 HYDRATE OF MAGNESIA. 
 
 In this substance Magnesia is found combined only with 
 water, and is therefore termed a Hydrate. It occurs in 
 plates or large scales aggregated together, these being of a 
 pale greenish or bluish-white colour, and having a pearly 
 lustre. The best test for this substance is to subject it to 
 the action of muriatic, nitric, or sulphuric acid, either of 
 which will entirely dissolve it. It usually occurs in veins 
 traversing Serpentine (which mineral we shall presently 
 notice), and is found in the Serpentine rocks near New 
 York, in one of the Shetland Islands, and in Greece. 
 
 To the same series belongs the gem Chrysolite, composed 
 of Magnesia, Silex, and other ingredients in smaller pro- 
 portions. The best specimens, which are of a bright yellow 
 colour, are brought from the Levant. 
 
OLIVINE. CONDRODITE. 133 
 
 OLIVINE. 
 
 This is generally considered to be a variety of Chrysolite, 
 but we are inclined to think it worthy of being noticed as a 
 distinct species. There are two varieties of Olivine. The 
 one is found abundantly in lava, basalt, and other volcanic 
 rocks : this is generally of various shades of olive-green, and 
 occurs in granular masses or in crystals of considerable size, 
 whose primary form is the rectangular four-sided prism. 
 The other variety is of a brownish straw-colour, and is re- 
 markable for being found imbedded in the Meteoric Iron of 
 Atacami, Peru. Of this Iron we have figured a polished slice 
 in Plate X., showing the manner in which the Olivine is 
 enclosed in it. 
 
 . COXDRODITE. 
 
 An interesting mineral, composed of Magnesia, Silex, 
 Oxide of Iron, &c. It assumes no crystalline form, but 
 occurs in irregularly-shaped grains imbedded in a white 
 crystalline Limestone, and in company with capital crystals 
 of nearly black Spinelle, at many localities in the United 
 States. In colour it is yellow, or of various shades of 
 brown. 
 
POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 SERPENTINE. 
 
 Of this mineral there are many varieties in point of 
 colour, but two only are allowed to be distinct, viz. Precious 
 Serpentine, which occurs of various shades of green and 
 yellowish-green, and is translucent and of uniform colour ; 
 and Common Serpentine, whose colours are mostly a mixture 
 of brown, dull-green, and red, and which is opake. Ser- 
 pentine is generally so soft as to be readily scratched by the 
 knife, but the precious variety is softer than the common. 
 It is composed principally of Magnesia and Silex. In 
 Scotland it has many localities, and is very abundant ; in 
 America there are several places where the precious variety 
 is found. Plate IV. fig. 13 represents a polished specimen, 
 the lower part of which is dark -coloured Common Serpentine, 
 while the pale-coloured portion, which is embellished by 
 beautiful filagree markings of a bright red colour, is Pre- 
 cious Serpentine. 
 
 ZIECON. 
 
 This is one of the rarest of earths, and enters into the 
 composition of only three minerals, which it chiefly consti- 
 tutes : these are Zirconite, Hyacinth, and Jargon, the two 
 last being only varieties of the first. 
 
Plate IV. 
 
 13 Precious S erp entrae 
 
 15. Beryl. 
 
 14- . Zircon 
 
 16.Emeraia_ 
 
135 
 
 ZlRCONITE. 
 
 Zirconite is composed of the earth Zircon, Silex, and a 
 little Oxide of Iron, which is probably the colouring 
 matter. The primary form of all the varieties is an octo- 
 hedron, but the general appearance of the form it most 
 usually assumes is shown in Plate IY. fig. 14. In colour it is 
 of a reddish-brown, generally somewhat translucent, and is 
 harder than Quartz. Magnificent crystals, occasionally as 
 large as a walnut, are found imbedded in Felspar at Miask 
 in Siberia, in Greenland, and in Norway. Our specimen 
 is from Siberia. 
 
 Hyacinth is commonly found in rolled masses and grains 
 in the sands of rivers in Auvergne, Transylvania, Bohemia, 
 and Ceylon. It is of various shades of red, and has been 
 cut and polished as a gem, but seldom occurs even of a 
 moderate size free from flaws, and is therefore not much 
 valued. But by exposure to heat, it loses its colour, and 
 then bears so close a resemblance to the Diamond, that it 
 has often been sold by the French jewellers as a real 
 Diamond of inferior quality. 
 
 Jargon occurs in very small transparent grey or yellowish 
 crystals in the sands of some of the Ceylon rivers, together 
 with Sapphire and other precious stones. 
 
136 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 GLUCINE. 
 
 Like the preceding earth, Glucine is found in very few 
 minerals. Of Chrysoberyl (already noticed), of Euclase, of 
 Beryl, and of Emerald only it is a chief ingredient, but 
 the beauty of these will well compensate for their paucity 
 of number. 
 
 EUCLASE. 
 
 This rare mineral occurs in transparent light green 
 crystals of great brilliancy, and is composed of Silex, 
 Glucine, Alumine, and the Oxides of Iron and Tin. It 
 was first found in Peru, and has since been brought from 
 Brazil. Yery little is known of this substance, good spe- 
 cimens of which are seldom found in the cabinet of the 
 beginner. The name Euclase is derived from the Greek, 
 signifying easily broken, in allusion to the ease with which 
 it may be fractured in one direction. 
 
 BERYL. 
 
 This is one of those gems that has a peculiar claim on 
 our notice, for it is found frequently mentioned in Holy 
 Writ. In the description of the tabernacle and of the 
 
BERYL. 137 
 
 breast-plate made for the high priest to officiate in, we 
 find that 
 
 " They set in it four rows of stones : the first was a 
 Sardius, a Topaz, and a Carbuncle ; this was the first row. 
 
 "And the second row, an Emerald, a Sapphire, and a 
 Diamond. 
 
 "And the third row, a Ligure, an Agate, and an 
 Amethyst. 
 
 " And the fourth row, a Beryl, an Onyx, and a Jasper : 
 they were inclosed in ouches of gold in their inclosings." 
 
 Beryl is composed of Silex, Glucine, Alumine, Lime, and 
 Oxide of Iron. It occurs commonly in the form of a hexahe- 
 dral prism, and is frequently terminated by a single flat plane. 
 In colour it assumes various shades of yellow and blue, and 
 is transparent more or less. The crystals are sometimes of 
 immense size, having been met with more than a foot in 
 length, but they seldom exceed two inches. The largest 
 crystals were brought from Ac worth, in the United States, 
 but these are now very seldom to be met with. It is 
 found in Granite in Ireland, also in Siberia, China, France, 
 and Brazil. 
 
 Mallet, the old author before quoted, says of this gem 
 " Berill is a stone rare, but not so precious, for it alone 
 
138 POPULAR MINERALOGY 
 
 groweth in Indie : it is founde greene like to the Smaradge. 
 It is first found also raw and rude without eyther good 
 looke or pleasant shewe, but afterwards it is better polished 
 of them in Indie, and they used to polish in maner and 
 forme of Angle or Corner, to the intent that through y e 
 dulnesse of his own colour, this maner might shewe some 
 glittering, the light hauing his staye in euerie eche corner : 
 There is also another kind of Berill, which of the Greeke 
 worde is called Golden Berill, as sayth Diascorides, whose 
 interchanged greene colour resembleth almost the wan and 
 yelow colour of golde. They say that this being borne 
 aboute a man, and being put now and than to his eies, 
 kepeth a man out of perill of his enimies." 
 
 EMERALD. 
 
 This truly noble gem differs from Beryl only in its 
 colour, which may be described as green, but such a green 
 as is unsurpassed, almost unequalled, throughout the whole 
 range of nature, and is totally inimitable by the art of man. 
 This colour it owes to the presence of a small proportion of 
 the Oxide of Chrome ; in other respects its composition is the 
 same as that of Beryl, with which substance it is also inden- 
 tical in its crystalline form, the six-sided prism. The form 
 
EMERALD. 139 
 
 of the Emerald, as well as the general appearance of its 
 matrix, we have succeeded in exhibiting in our figure 
 (Plate IV. fig. 16), but the colourer's stores contain no pig- 
 ment sufficiently brilliant to do justice to its gorgeous hue. 
 
 Emerald occurs in most splendid crystals in a vein of 
 Magnesian Limestone near Santa Fe de Bogota, in Granada, 
 which is the locality of the specimen we have figured. 
 From tin's place crystals have been brought exceeding two 
 inches in length and breadth, perfectly clear from flaws. 
 One of these, a perfect hexahedral prism, in the possession 
 of the Duke of Devonshire, is three inches long and about 
 one inch in diameter; another, from the same place, cost 
 500. The ancients are by some believed to have been 
 acquainted only with a much less pure variety, which was 
 found in Upper Egypt ; if, however, the stone which they 
 called Smaragde be identical with our Emerald (and this 
 there is every reason to believe), it would appear from the 
 following quotation, that the stone with which they were 
 acquainted was not wanting in purity. 
 
 "The Smaradge hath his name of his excellent and 
 fresh greene colour. For euerie thing that is grassie 
 greene, is properly called in Greek Smdron. It passeth 
 both the leafe and bough of any tree or plant in this his 
 
140 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 colour, and in this pojnt alone triumpheth, neyther is the 
 sunne by his sunne beames any let or hinderance to this 
 his show. There is no greater refection to the eies than 
 the sight of this. It being polished and dressed, sheweth a 
 man his lively image, whereupon the valiant Csesar had no 
 greater delight, than in looking on this, to see his warriours 
 fight, and to behold in the Smaradge which of them went 
 best to worke, and was moste actiue. 
 
 "This stone, sayth Cardane, serueth to divination, and 
 to tell of a certaintie, things to come, or otherwise. For 
 that that shall come to passe, it will neuer let it sinke or 
 slip out of minde, and that that shall not, it easily suffereth 
 the minde to forget/' 
 
 Magnificent crystals of Emerald have lately been found in 
 Siberia, imbedded in Mica-slate ; a twin crystal from this 
 locality, in the Imperial Collection at St. Petersburg, mea- 
 sures seven inches long and four broad, and weighs about 
 four pounds and a half ! But the largest Emerald on record 
 is described as of the size of an ostrich's egg : this was in 
 the possession of the inhabitants of the valley of Manta, 
 in Peru, where, when the Spaniards arrived in the country, 
 it was worshipped as the goddess or mother of Emeralds, 
 and the small ones, that were brought as offerings, the 
 priests designated the daughters. 
 
GADOLINITE. 141 
 
 Emerald is one of the softest of the precious stones, and 
 consequently one of those which give least trouble to the 
 lapidary, who generally cuts it in thick tables with small 
 facets surrounding the border. Most gems, when set, re- 
 quire a foil of suitable tint placed beneath them, to help out 
 the colour, but a fine Emerald requires no such assistance. 
 
 YTTftlA. 
 
 The only earthy mineral that contains Yttria is Gadoli- 
 nite, in which substance it is combined with Glucine and 
 Alumine. This earth is also found in some of the ores of 
 the metals Cerium and Columlium. 
 
 GADOLIXITE. 
 
 Its usual mode of occurrence is in small irregularly- 
 shaped masses imbedded in the Granite of Sweden and 
 Greenland. These masses are of dull exterior, but inter- 
 nally are black and shining. It is named after Professor 
 Gadolin, its discoverer. 
 
 With this mineral we conclude our notice of the Earthy 
 Minerals, those which consist only of one or more earths 
 
142 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 in combination together, but into whose composition, as a 
 general rule, neither Alkalies nor Acids have been found to 
 enter. In a former page we have given a list of the earths 
 known to mineralogists, but it will be found that, although 
 we have concluded our description of the earthy minerals, 
 several of these have not been included. The reason of 
 this is that Lime, Barytes, and Strontian, the earths omitted, 
 occur only in combination with Acids or Alkalies, and will, 
 therefore, be alluded to under their respective headings. 
 
 In our search after the most interesting, rare, or beau- 
 tiful substances, the learner's imagination will have accom- 
 panied us over the greater part of the earth, and in the 
 course of these rambles we have picked up (alas ! in imagi- 
 nation only) not a few of the most valuable of gems. To 
 some extent we have been enabled to make ourselves ac- 
 quainted with their peculiarities, their value, the modes of 
 their occurrence, and the methods of collecting and of 
 working such of them whose uses have been discovered by 
 mankind. Let us now again impress upon the mind of 
 the learner, that without some knowledge of these parti- 
 culars, a collection of minerals would be but of little com- 
 parative value ; the gems would still display the same lovely 
 colours, it is true, but their beauty of appearance would 
 
STUDY OF MINERALOGY. 143 
 
 soon cease to interest, whilst a knowledge of their localities 
 and of their uses makes them a continual source of at- 
 traction, particularly to those whose means or whose occu- 
 pations allow them to travel through different countries, 
 and to examine their natural productions. And be it 
 remembered that there is no country on the face of earth 
 which does not produce minerals of some kind : some dis- 
 tricts are more productive than others, and few, indeed, 
 are so barren but that the industrious collector may find 
 something to interest his attention. 
 
 In the next series of minerals will be found but few, if 
 any, that have been honoured by man with the title of gem ; 
 and this is explained by the fact that those substances that 
 are composed only of earthy matter are generally greatly 
 superior in point of hardness to those in which an alkali 
 is found to enter, and therefore more fit for the jeweller's 
 purposes. There are, however, in the following series, 
 many very beautiful minerals, and several of considerable 
 use to man. 
 
144 
 
 ALKALINO-EABTHY MINERALS. 
 
 ALL the minerals of this division contain the earth Silex 
 as their chief constituent, and other earths in smaller 
 proportion ; with these is combined the alkali Potash, or 
 Soda, or both : in some few the alkali Lithia is found 
 together with other alkalies, and, in one mineral, Petalite, 
 is the only alkali combined with the earths. 
 
 In the following substances POTASH is the only alkali. 
 
 MICA. 
 
 This name is derived from the Latin, signifying to shine, 
 a property which, in all its varieties, it possesses. Mica 
 is composed of Silex, Alumine, and Potash. It occasionally 
 is seen in its primary form, a rhombic prism, but commonly 
 in six-sided crystals, which may be easily divided trans- 
 versely into laminae, or leaves ; sometimes, though rarely, 
 it is found in long radiating blades, and at others in irregu- 
 larly-shaped grains. This is one of the three substances 
 that are essential to form Granite, viz., Quartz, Felspar, 
 
RateV. 
 
 
 19. T els jar. 
 
 20. Talc. 
 
MICA. 145 
 
 and Mica ; it is, therefore, considered to be a mineral of 
 very ancient formation. Mica is of various shades of 
 white, yellow, green, brown, and black : that of Vesuvius 
 (for it is also a very abundant volcanic production) is 
 sometimes of a rich red-brown, when viewed in one direc- 
 tion, and in the other is almost colourless. Mica is found 
 in almost every country ; some of its principal localities 
 are America, Siberia, Switzerland, Norway, Bohemia, Aber- 
 deenshire, and Cornwall, from which latter locality the 
 dark-brown coloured specimen which we have figured was 
 brought, (Plate Y. fig. 17.) 
 
 In some parts of Russia, Mica is found in masses of 
 immense size, which, being split into plates, is used instead 
 of glass in the Russian ships of war, as it is less liable to 
 be broken by the concussion of the air during the discharge 
 of artillery. Another kind, which is found in Transylvania, 
 is used there instead of window-glass. The popular name 
 for this kind of Mica is Talc, from which mineral it may 
 be readily distinguished by its being both flexible and 
 elastic, whereas Talc is flexible only (see page 40). 
 
 Some localities in the United States furnish specimens of 
 gigantic size, sheets more than two feet in diameter being 
 not uncommon in the coarse granite of Acworth, and plates 
 
 L 
 
146 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 of nearly equal dimensions having been found, together 
 with Rubellite and Green Tourmaline, at another locality. 
 
 LEUCITE, 
 
 This was the first mineral in which the presence of 
 Potash was discovered, in addition to which it contains 
 Silex and Alumine. Its crystalline form is termed trape- 
 zoidal, which form is shown in our figure of Analcime. 
 These crystals occur imbedded in rock of volcanic origin 
 in many parts of Italy, and so abundant a substance is it 
 that the road from Frascati to Eome is partly covered with 
 it. In colour it is of a dirty white or grey, and very little 
 translucency is observable in it. 
 
 ANDALTJSITE. 
 
 So named from Andalusia, in Spain, whence it was first 
 brought. In composition it is nearly the same as the 
 preceding substances : it occurs in the form of a rhombic 
 prism, and in masses of columnar structure ; is of a reddish 
 or grey colour, and is found, in addition to its original 
 locality, at Forez in France, in Scotland, and in the United 
 States, and is also very plentiful, and finely crystallized, in 
 one or two parts of Ireland. 
 
APOPHYLLITE. SCALY TALC. 147 
 
 APOPHYLLITE. 
 
 The composition of this mineral is Silex, Lime, Water, 
 and Potash. Its primary form is a regular four-sided 
 prism, which in some specimens is terminated by four 
 rhomboid al planes, placed on the angles of the prism, as 
 shown in our figure. The most ordinary colour of Apo- 
 phyllite is a greyish- white, but specimens from the Hartz 
 are of a beautifully delicate rose-colour, and very trans- 
 parent ; and from Poonah, in the East Indies, are brought 
 magnificent specimens, of a pale-green hue, accompanying 
 crystallized White Heulandite and other minerals. Most 
 noble specimens also occur in Greenland, Iceland, and 
 the Faroe Islands. In America Apophyllite is a rare 
 mineral, but has been found at one locality, in the form of 
 the prism, terminated at both ends by a flat plane, a form 
 which has also been found in Ireland. We have figured 
 a specimen of rose-coloured Apophyllite from the Hartz. 
 
 SCALY TALC 
 
 Occurs in minute silvery scales aggregated together, of 
 a white or yellowish-green colour. It contains Silex, 
 Alumine, Lime, and Potash. It forms a mass which is 
 
148 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 very friable and greasy to the touch, adheres to the fingers, 
 and gives oat a clayey or argillaceous odour when breathed 
 upon. Found in Piedmont, Saxony, and Bohemia. We 
 believe it has also been found in Cornwall. 
 
 HAUYNE. 
 
 This is found in minutely granular masses of a pretty 
 blue colour, and in dodecahedral crystals, which are trans- 
 lucent. It occurs in Italy, and in the volcanic Mica of 
 Vesuvius. In composition it is nearly the same as 
 Felspar. Haiiyne is so named, in honour of the Abbe 
 Haiiy, the celebrated French mineralogist. 
 
 FELSPAR. 
 
 Of this mineral there are several very beautiful varieties, 
 whose composition is similar. Silex, Alumine, Lime, and 
 Potash are the essential ingredients, and if other substances 
 are present, as will occasionally be the case in some of the 
 varieties, that presence is accidental, and in such very 
 small proportions as not to affect the general characters 
 of the substance. 
 
 Common Felspar is sometimes translucent, but more 
 commonly opake, or translucent only on the edges. Its 
 
LABRADORITE. 149 
 
 form is a doubly oblique prism, which sometimes exhibits 
 many curious modifications. It occurs of a yellowish- white, 
 blue, green, or red colour, and is the commonest of all 
 substances with the exception of Quartz and Iron. A 
 beautiful apple-green variety is found only in the Ural 
 Mountains, Siberia, and is termed Amazon- stone. Plate V. 
 fig. 19 represents a detached crystal of common Felspar, 
 from Bodenmais, in Bavaria. 
 
 Glassy Felspar occurs generally in semi-transparent 
 crystals, of a greyish or yellowish-white colour, which have 
 the appearance of being cracked in various directions, and 
 exhibit a vitreous lustre. It is found at Drachenfels on 
 the Rhine, in Italy, Hungary, and in Scotland. 
 
 Labradorite was first found on the coast of Labrador 
 by the Moravian missionaries, but beautiful varieties of it 
 have since been brought from Norway, Siberia, and a few 
 other localities. Its peculiarity consists in its gorgeous 
 iridescence. Held to the light in different positions, it 
 displays the most splendid changes of colour, from 
 sapphire- blue to emerald-green, from deep violet to 
 gold-yellow, from crimson-red to brown, and so on 
 through all the colours of the rainbow. This property 
 caused the stone to be highly valued in the time of 
 
150 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Catherine II., when snuff-boxes made of it were sold for 
 fifteen hundred rubles. The Labrador variety is, however, 
 by no means a rare mineral, though good specimens from 
 other localities are scarce. 
 
 Adularia, or Moon-stone, derives the latter title from the 
 chatoyant reflection of light which it exhibits when held 
 in a particular direction, and still more beautifully when 
 cut and polished. It is generally of a milky or greenish- 
 white colour, and is translucent. The finest specimens of 
 this variety are brought from St. Gothard, and these are 
 sometimes a foot in thickness : very capital specimens are 
 also found in Ceylon. 
 
 Sun-stone is a variety of the preceding, and is sometimes 
 termed Avanturine Felspar, from its being interspersed with 
 minute particles of flesh-red Mica, which reflect a peculiarly 
 handsome tint. This is found in Norway. 
 
 Besides these varieties, Felspar is found in amorphous 
 sky-blue masses at Krieglach, in Styria : Cleavelandite, a 
 crystallized substance, found at Snowdon in Wales, and 
 other places, is also a variety of Felspar. 
 
 TALC. 
 This substance always occurs in plates, or laminae, which 
 
GREEN EARTH. 151 
 
 are easily separated from each other, and are flexible, but 
 not elastic. Sometimes these laminae form a six-sided 
 prism, derivable from the primary form, a rhombic prism. 
 Talc occurs of many shades of yellowish or bluish white 
 and green, is translucent, greasy to the touch, and is so 
 soft as to yield easily to the nail, a character that serves, 
 together with its non-elasticity, to distinguish it from Mica, 
 whose hardness is much greater. In Piedmont, crystallized 
 dark-green Talc is found associated with the Precious 
 Garnet of that locality. In the Tyrol many fine varieties 
 of Talc abound, amongst which that of a pale apple-green is 
 conspicuous : and from Unst, one of the Shetland Islands, 
 Talc of the same colour is brought. Talc is found in several 
 different tints in Cornwall, a specimen from which locality, 
 of a delicate bluish-green colour, we have chosen to figure, 
 in order to show the curious manner in which the leaves or 
 scales of the substance are sometimes arranged. Talc con- 
 sists chiefly of Silex, Magnesia, and Potash. 
 
 GREEN EARTH. 
 
 This substance, which is considered to be a variety of 
 Talc, being very similar in composition, is met with in 
 small masses, or lining the cavities of amygdaloidal rocks, 
 
152 POPULAE MINERALOGY. 
 
 wherever they occur. Its colour is bluish-green. When 
 it is of a good clear colour, it is made use of by painters. 
 
 SOAPSTONE. 
 
 This is so named, because of its feeling extremely 
 unctuous between the fingers, exactly like a piece of soap. 
 It is found massive, of a grey or yellowish colour, and when 
 first raised it may be kneaded like dough, but hardens by 
 exposure to the air, in consequence of losing part of its 
 moisture. We are not aware of its being found anywhere 
 but in Cornwall. At Swansea, in Wales, it is extensively 
 used in the manufacture of porcelain. It consists of Silex, 
 Magnesia, and Potash. 
 
 Steatite is a variety of Soapstone, and also derives its 
 name from a Greek word signifying soap, in allusion to its 
 greasy feel. It consists of the same ingredients as the 
 preceding, with the addition of Alumine, and is somewhat 
 harder. Steatite most commonly occurs in Serpentine, in 
 beds or veins ; but at Freyberg, in Saxony, it is found in 
 Tin veins, where it is accompanied by Mica, Asbestus, 
 Quartz, and Silver. It is also found in Norway, Sweden, 
 France, North America, and in Scotland. "The white 
 varieties, or those that become so by calcination, are em- 
 
AGALMATOLITE. 153 
 
 ployed in the manufacture of the finest porcelain : other 
 varieties are said to be used for fulling. The Arabs, ac- 
 cording to Shaw, use Steatite in their baths instead of soap, 
 to soften the skin ; and it is confidently asserted that the 
 inhabitants of New Caledonia either eat it alone, or mingle 
 it with their food. Humboldt says, that the Otomaques, 
 a savage race inhabiting the banks of the Oronoko, are 
 almost entirely supported during three months of the year, 
 by eating a species of Steatite, which they first slightly 
 bake, and then moisten with water." 
 
 Potstone, another variety of Soapstone, has, as far back 
 as the time of Pliny, been formed into vessels of various 
 kinds, whence it derives its name. It is found in Lom- 
 bardy, in Norway, Finland, and Greenland. 
 
 Agalmatolite. This variety is found of various colours, 
 most usually of a greenish or brownish tint. This, like 
 the Steatite, is as soft as clay when first exposed to the 
 air, but soon becomes hardened. A variety occurs in 
 Cornwall, and in China, of a flesh-pink colour, which is 
 taken advantage of by the Chinese, in forming it, when in 
 a soft state, into little grotesque groups of figures, the 
 only form in which it has been received from that country. 
 It is also found in Transylvania and in Wales. 
 
154 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 The following substance consists of the same ingredients 
 as Soapstone, but in different proportions. These ingre- 
 dients are Silex, Alumine, Magnesia, and Potash. 
 
 CHLORITE. 
 
 Chlorite derives its name from the Greek, signifying 
 green, a dark tint of which is its usual colour. It occurs 
 crystallized in six-sided prisms, which readily divide in a 
 transverse direction into thin laminse ; but it is most com- 
 monly seen in masses of granular or scaly structure, and is 
 usually brought from the Tin veins of Cornwall. 
 
 KlLLINITE. 
 
 This mineral contains the earths Silex, Alumiue, and 
 Lime, the alkali Potash, and the oxides of Iron and 
 Manganese in minute proportions. In structure it is 
 lamellar, and in colour a dull light -green. It is only 
 found at Killiney near Dublin, whence it has received 
 its name. 
 
 Next come those minerals whose alkali is Soda. The 
 first in this series is Eudyalite, which contains, besides 
 
NATEOLTTE. 155 
 
 Silex and Lime, the rare earth Zircon : after this follow a 
 number of minerals, containing, in addition to their alkali, 
 the earths Silex, Alumine, and Lime. 
 
 MESOTYPE. 
 
 Of this mineral, which is sometimes found crystallized in 
 four-sided prisms, terminated by four or more planes, there 
 are several varieties : amongst others the fibrous, and the 
 pulverulent, which are termed Mealy Zeolite. The fibrous 
 variety consists of minute crystals, aggregated in a radiating 
 or star-like form, the centre being often much harder and 
 more compact than the surrounding part. The crystals 
 of Mesotype are generally of a greyish-white colour, and 
 are occasionally transparent. This is a very abundant 
 mineral, occurring in Lava and Basalt : it is found in 
 Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, the Faroe Islands, the Tyrol, 
 North America, accompanying Analcime in the trap-rocks 
 of the Isle of Skye, and in many other localities. 
 
 Needle-stone, or Mesolite, is a variety of Mesotype, oc- 
 curring in long, slender prisms, of the same form and 
 colour as that substance. 
 
 Natrolite is so named from its containing Natron. It 
 is one of the prettiest varieties of Mesotype, and we have 
 
156 POPULAR MINEUALOGY. 
 
 consequently selected it for figuring (Plate YI. fig. 21). It 
 occurs in mammillated masses, which, when broken, pre- 
 sent a fibrous structure : these fibres radiate from a centre 
 and are of a pale-buff tint, with a darker tint disposed in 
 concentric rings around the centre. It is found at Hohent- 
 wiel, in Swabia. 
 
 Amongst these minerals that are distinguished by con- 
 taining Soda as their only alkali will be found Sommite, a 
 Yesuvian mineral, of the same form as Phosphate of Lime, 
 from which it may be known by its greater hardness, and 
 by not exhibiting phosphorescence when heated ; Socialite, 
 a light green substance of very rare occurrence ; Spinellane, 
 only found in one locality; Lythrodes, a massive reddish- 
 brown substance, so named from its spotted appearance 
 when newly broken ; Clinkstone, a dark greenish or grey- 
 coloured mineral of a massive and slaty structure, which, 
 when struck with a hammer, gives a ringing metallic sound, 
 and has consequently received its name ; Lava and Basalt, 
 which are substances rather for the attention of the geo- 
 logist than the mineralogist ; and besides these the following 
 minerals, which are nearly identical in composition, deserve 
 more particular mention. 
 
Vi 
 
 V 
 
 21 Uatr elite 
 
 24- Lepidolite 
 
 23. Tourmalme. 
 
 H.Sow,- . 
 
ANALCIME. PITCHSTONE. 157 
 
 ANALCIME. 
 
 Of the general appearance and crystallization of this 
 substance, our illustration (Plate VI. fig. 22) will give a 
 tolerable idea. The form of the crystal is trapezoidal, and 
 this is derived from the primary, a cube, by each of the 
 solid angles being replaced by three planes, which replace- 
 ment being complete, none of the planes of the original 
 cube remain visible, and the result is a crystal consisting 
 of twenty-four planes : each of these planes is bounded by 
 four unequal sides. 
 
 Analcime is generally of a whitish-grey colour, but is 
 occasionally pink or reddish sometimes transparent, at 
 others, opake. The most perfectly clear crystals are brought 
 from the Cyclopean Islands ; but Scotland produces the 
 largest and finest specimens, of the form represented in the 
 figure. In America it is a rare mineral. 
 
 PITCHSTONE. 
 
 This mineral occurs of a vast variety of colours, blue, 
 red, green, yellow, brown, black ; but these colours are 
 very seldom bright. Sometimes it occurs of variegated 
 colours, but these are also dull, and the substance being 
 
158 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 opake, renders it not a very attractive mineral. It is nard 
 enough to scratch glass, and by exposure to a strong heat 
 is sometimes converted into a substance like Pumice. It is 
 found in Scotland, Ireland, and other localities. 
 
 We have hitherto, under the head of Alkalino-Eart&y 
 Minerals, alluded to those which contain, in addition to 
 their component earths, only one alkali, either Potash or 
 Soda : into the composition of those minerals which follow, 
 both of these alkalies are found to enter. The first of these, 
 which, with its varieties, will engage our consideration, is 
 a mineral which owes its origin to volcanic eruption. 
 
 " -ffitna roars with dreadful ruins nigh, 
 Now hurls a bursting cloud of cinders high, 
 Involved in smoky whirlwinds to the sky ; 
 With loud displosion, to the starry frame, 
 Shoots fiery glohes and furious floods of flame : 
 Now from her bellowing caverns burst away 
 Vast piles of melted rocks in open day." 
 
 Warton. 
 
 It is not difficult to imagine, when we reflect upon the 
 tremendous power of such a body of fire as is contained 
 within the crater of a volcano, that the minerals derived 
 
OBSIDIAN. 159 
 
 from such a source are produced by the melting of the 
 different strata through which the fire must pass before 
 bursting upon the surface of the earth; we shall, therefore, 
 naturally expect to find the same ingredients in volcanic 
 minerals as in others of different origin. This is indeed the 
 case ; for though there are many minerals that are never 
 found except in volcanic countries, and that are undoubtedly 
 produced only by volcanic agency, the elementary ingre- 
 dients of such minerals are not different from those of 
 substances whose modes of occurrence seem to indicate that 
 volcanoes had nothing to do with their production. 
 
 OBSIDIAN. 
 
 This substance consists of Silex, Alumine, Lime, Oxide 
 of Iron, and the alkalies Potash and Soda. It is never 
 found in a crystalline form, but occurs in beds or layers, 
 and in masses and grains of various sizes. In general ap- 
 pearance it bears a very great resemblance to glass of a 
 coarse texture, and some of the specimens from the Lipari 
 Islands look exactly like the slag from glass-houses ; like 
 glass, it has a conchoidal fracture. In colour, Obsidian 
 shows some variety, being of a dark green in some speci- 
 mens, in others of a grey tinge, and occasionally of a per- 
 
160 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 feet black : sometimes, too, it is of a pale-grey colour with 
 dark bands, either curved or straight, running parallel with 
 each other ; and rarely it presents a beautiful bloom upon 
 its surface. It is commonly opake, or translucent only on 
 the edges, but thin fragments are sometimes transparent ; 
 and we have seen, in the Hon. East India Company's 
 Museum, a specimen of Obsidian from Aden, which is of 
 a pale-green colour, and very transparent, but there are 
 some doubts as to this specimen being a natural production. 
 
 Obsidian is found of great beauty in Iceland, Siberia, 
 Mexico, and many of the South Sea Islands ; but the most 
 beautiful variety with which we are acquainted is found in 
 New Spain. This presents a resplendent chatoyant appear- 
 ance, and is generally of a dark-green colour, with bands 
 of black, but, held in a particular direction towards the 
 light, seems to be covered with innumerable brilliant specks 
 of a golden hue. 
 
 Marekanite is only found in grains of the size of a pea, 
 but irregular in form, consisting of thin concentric layers, 
 and being of a pearly-white lustre. With these grains are 
 found masses sometimes an inch in diameter, and of a 
 reddish-brown colour, occasionally striped, and generally 
 opake. These two varieties occurring in the same locality 
 and mixed together, might occasion some doubt as to which 
 
CHABASIE. 161 
 
 is the true Marekanite; but the difference of structure 
 and colour decides the point. In the determination of 
 some minerals, the name is of assistance, but in the present 
 instance the name is equally applicable to one as to the 
 other variety, both, as before observed, being found together 
 at Marekan, in the Gulf of Kamtschatka. 
 
 Several substances may be mentioned in this place, their 
 composition very closely resembling that of Obsidian. The 
 first of these is Scapolite, which occurs in four-sided prisms, 
 the- angles of which are sometimes replaced by four more 
 planes, making prisms of eight sides. These crystals are 
 frequently aggregated or grouped together in such a manner 
 that their form is rendered very indistinct, and being of a 
 dirty greyish colour, Scapolite is not a mineral that would 
 captivate at first sight. It is found in Sweden, Finland, and 
 Greenland, and in the United States. Of this substance a 
 glassy transparent sort is found at Vesuvius, which is 
 termed Meionite, 
 
 CHABASIE. 
 
 The composition of this substance also agrees very closely 
 with the preceding, but its external characters are quite dis- 
 tinct. It is always found crystallized in the form of the 
 
 M 
 
162 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 rhomboid, lining cavities in basalt or trap rocks, or within 
 geodes of Quartz or Agate which are disseminated in those 
 rocks ; its usual colour is greyish or yellowish- white, occa- 
 sionally pale brick-red, with a pearly or vitreous lustre. It 
 does not possess sufficient hardness to scratch glass. Very 
 large and beautiful specimens are found in Iceland, the 
 Faroe Islands, and Greenland, frequently accompanied by 
 Stilbite and Green earth ; also at Oberstein in Saxony; 
 with Analcime and Stilbite in the Isle of Skye; at the 
 Giant's Causeway, Ireland ; and at several localities in the 
 United States. 
 
 PHAKOLITE. 
 
 This is a mineral found in the county of Antrim, in 
 Ireland, resembling Chabasie in colour and lustre, as also in 
 the primary form of its crystal, which, however, is usually 
 so curiously modified as almost entirely to lose the rhombic 
 form, and to assume that of a magnifying lens, covered with 
 brilliant facets or planes. This renders apparent the neces- 
 sity of a knowledge of the laws of crystallography in order 
 to become a good mineralogist. 
 
TOURMALINE. 163 
 
 The few minerals which succeed, and a notice of which 
 concludes the portion of this work devoted to the Alkalino- 
 earthy minerals, are found to contain the rare alkali Lithia. 
 
 TOURMALINE. 
 
 Of this substance there are several distinct varieties, but 
 they all agree in containing, as their main ingredients, Silex, 
 Alumine, Lime, and Oxide of Iron, with small proportions 
 of Potash, Soda, Magnesia, and Boracic acid. Lithia was 
 found by Gmelin in the blue and green Tourmalines of Uto, 
 in Sweden, and in the variety of this substance called Ru- 
 bellite. The primary form of Tourmaline is a rhomboid, 
 but its usual form, a prism of six or more sides, terminated 
 by several planes, may be observed in our figure. This 
 mineral is found only in what geologists term the primi- 
 tive rocks, such as Gneiss, Granite, and Mica schist. It 
 occurs of various colours, and of various degrees of trans- 
 parency : fine opake black crystals are found in Greenland, 
 in Bavaria, and in Sweden, and magnificent specimens, with 
 crystals of truly noble dimensions, have been found at Bovey, 
 in Devonshire, where they occur in company with fine 
 crystals of Apatite and crystallized Quartz, imbedded in a 
 yellow ferruginous clay. We believe, however, that this 
 
164 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 locality has now become exhausted, and as good specimens 
 are now rare, we have availed ourselves of this oppor- 
 tunity to present a figure of a capital crystal lent to us for 
 the purpose. In this figure is shown a remarkable pecu- 
 liarity observable in all the specimens from Bovey, this is, 
 that one end of the crystal is terminated by brilliant planes, 
 while the other extremity appears to be of a fibrous structure, 
 and to be partly incorporated with the clay in which it is 
 imbedded : the sides of the prism are also longitudinally 
 striated. Adhering to the crystal we have figured, are seen 
 two very perfect crystals of Apatite, or Phosphate of Lime. 
 (Plate VI. fig. 23.) 
 
 In Norway, Tourmaline occurs in small brilliant black 
 crystals, imbedded in white Quartz ; at Portsoy, in Scotland, 
 in large curved crystalline prisms, to which variety, also 
 found in Norway, Tyrol, and Saxony, the name of Schorl has 
 been applied, a term derived from Schorlan in Saxony. The 
 most delicate pale-green crystals occur imbedded in Dolomite 
 at St. Gothard, and in Siberia and Switzerland of a nearly 
 pure white. Most beautiful transparent crystals of several 
 colours, such as red, green, and blue, are found at Elba, 
 imbedded in, and in company with, crystallized white Eel- 
 spar. From Alger we learn that Tourmalines of great 
 
LEPLDOLITE. 165 
 
 beauty are found at many localities in the United States, 
 and that specimens from Maine "are celebrated for their 
 gem-like purity and transparency the outer portion often 
 consisting of a deep green Tourmaline enclosing a transpa- 
 rent Eubellite, some of the crystals being two inches in 
 length, and an inch in diameter/' 
 
 Indicolite is a variety of Tourmaline of an indigo-blue 
 colour, found in the mine of Uto, in Sweden, and in the 
 United States. We have referred to this variety as con- 
 taining Lithia. 
 
 Rulellite. This variety is of various shades of red and 
 violet, and usually occurs in long indistinctly-formed crys- 
 tals closely aggregated together. It is found imbedded in 
 Litkomarge in Siberia, and in separate long slender prisms 
 imbedded in Quartz in Moravia. This is a very rare 
 mineral, and has been used as a gem when of good colour 
 and transparent. In the cases of the British Museum are 
 several fine specimens, and one particularly magnificent 
 crystallized group, for which a very high price was given. 
 
 LEPIDOLITE. 
 
 This beautiful mineral derived its name from the Greek, 
 signifying a scaly stone, the whole mass consisting of small 
 
166 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 laminoe, or scales, often so minute as to present the appear- 
 ance of a very finely granular stone. Its colour is lilac of 
 various shades, and the small scales when separated from the 
 mass are flexible and translucent, and are occasionally six- 
 sided. Lepidolite was first brought only from Moravia, 
 where it was found in granite accompanying Eubettite, but 
 has since been discovered in Siberia, in Sweden, in France 
 enclosing large Beryls, and of a rose-colour in the island of 
 Elba, a locality particularly interesting from being associated 
 in the mind with the captivity of Napoleon Bonaparte. 
 Lepidolite is so soft as to yield to the nail, and in compo- 
 sition resembles Tourmaline. 
 
 Our figure (Plate VI. fig. 24) represents a specimen from 
 Moravia. 
 
 PETALITE. 
 
 The colour of this rare substance is greyish-white, or 
 more commonly very pale rose. It is of massive structure, 
 lamellar in one direction ; is hard enough to scratch glass, 
 and is translucent, with a rather pearly lustre. It consists 
 of Silex, Alumine, Lithia, and water, and is found only in 
 Sweden. 
 
167 
 
 A.CIDS. 
 
 OF all the acids that are known to enter into the compo- 
 sition of mineral substances, three only have been found in 
 a pure and native state. Having, therefore, already given 
 a list of all the acids that are known to mineralogists, 
 we shall avoid occupying space unnecessarily, and con- 
 tent ourselves by briefly noticing the three exceptions to 
 the rule. 
 
 SULPHUETC ACID. 
 
 This has been found in a native state in the grottoes of 
 the volcanic mountain Zaccolino, near Sienna, and, accord- 
 ing to Phillips, assuming a cauliflower form depending 
 from the roofs. He also mentions, that from the roof of a 
 cavern near Aix, in Savoy, this acid, mixed with a little 
 water and gypsum, is observed to drop. It has also been 
 found in the caverns of ^Etna ; and in North America. 
 
 BORACIC ACID. 
 This occurs in the form of a powder, and in small pearly 
 
168 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 scales aggregated together, which adhere to the fingers. Its 
 usual colour is greyish-white, but it has occasionally a 
 yellowish tinge, arising from an admixture of Sulphur. It 
 is found in one of the Lipari Islands, in Tuscany, and in 
 South America* 
 
 ARSENIOUS ACID 
 
 Occurs, according to Alger, in minute hair-like crystals, 
 arranged in the form of a star, implanted upon some of the 
 ores of Arsenic, and probably arising from their decompo- 
 sition. 
 
 Many of those acids which are not found naturally in a 
 pure state, we shall take notice of as entering into the 
 composition of the minerals of the next division. 
 
169 
 
 ACIDIFEKOTJS EAKTHY MINERALS. 
 ALUMINE. 
 
 THE minerals of this division consist chiefly of one earth, 
 but occasionally two, united to an acid. We shall presently 
 have occasion to introduce two earths which have not 
 hitherto been noticed, because they only occur in combina- 
 tion with an acid, these are Barytes and Strontian. We 
 shall also notice Lime as a principal ingredient in a great 
 number of these minerals, whereas, of those already noticed, 
 Lime has only been observed as an inconsiderable ingre- 
 dient. The first few, however, of this division consist prin- 
 cipally of Alumine. 
 
 ALUMINITE. 
 
 This substance occurs in massive lumps, frequently of a 
 botryoidal form. In colour it is of a dull yellowish-white, 
 and in general appearance resembles chalk, but it contains 
 no Lime, consisting simply of Alumine and water combined 
 with Sulphuric acid. It is found imbedded in a yellowish 
 
170 POPULAE MINERALOGY. 
 
 clay resting on the chalk at Newhaven, in Sussex, and also 
 near Halle, in Saxony. 
 
 WAVELLITE. 
 
 This is termed Subphosphate of Alumine, being a com- 
 bination of Alumine with Phosphoric acid and wajter; a 
 little Lime, oxides of Iron and Manganese, and Fluoric acid 
 have also been discovered in some of the varieties. The 
 form which it always assumes is that of globular concretions, 
 composed of minute crystals packed closely together and 
 radiating from the centre : these concretions are of vari- 
 able size, from the sixteenth of an inch to a full inch in 
 diameter. When the upper part of one of these con- 
 cretions is broken off, it is seen that the radiating crys- 
 tals are possessed of a glassy lustre and are translucent. 
 Altogether, the peculiarities of this interesting mineral serve 
 readily to impress its appearance on the memory, and to 
 distinguish it from all other substances. 
 
 Wavellite is found of a deep green colour at Clonmel in 
 Ireland, and occurs in Cornwall, Scotland, and at Newcastle, 
 but was first discovered of a pale yellowish colour by Dr. 
 Wavel (in honour of whom it received its name) near Barn- 
 staple, in Devonshire, in a blackish slaty rock. Our illus- 
 
Plate YD, 
 
 26. Calc- spar. 
 
REMARKS ON ALUMINE. 171 
 
 tration (Plate YII. fig. ?,5) is taken from a specimen from 
 this locality, and conveys a correct impression of the general 
 appearance of the substance. 
 
 AVe may now fairly take our leave of the earth Alumine 
 and of the minerals into whose composition it has been 
 found to enter : should it again be mentioned in the course 
 of this work, it will be merely as an accidental (that is, 
 not an essential) ingredient in a very few substances. A 
 short retrospective view, therefore, of so important a mine- 
 ralogical constituent will not be entirely useless. 
 
 We had not proceeded very far with our observations 
 upon the Siliceous minerals, before occasion arose to mention 
 Alumine as the second ingredient of importance in their 
 constitution ; in all the beautiful varieties of Chalcedony, 
 Agate, Jasper, and other substances, it occupied that distin- 
 guished position. Parting with it for a time, it was again 
 found next after Silex, in the varieties of Garnet, of Stilbite, 
 of Heulandite, of Lapis Lazuli, and numerous others, nor 
 did it relinquish its hold upon our attention during our 
 examination of the Slates and Clays. We then lost sight 
 of it in Augite and its varieties, but again found it in its 
 old place in Hornblende, Actinolite, and in the soft silky 
 
172 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Asbestus. Having now, as it were, served an apprentice- 
 ship in a secondary position, it was raised to the dignity of 
 first ingredient in Corundum and its valuable variety, the 
 Sapphire; and though it retained this elevated position 
 through but very few of our pages, in those few pages will 
 be found descriptive notices of several important and hand- 
 some gems and other minerals. The position (A first ingre- 
 dient was then resigned, but we still found it assisting in 
 the composition of most of the remaining earthy minerals, 
 amongst which were Serpentine, Beryl) and Emerald. 
 
 The Alkalino- earthy minerals next claimed our conside- 
 ration, and of the greater number of these we found Alu- 
 mine to be an important ingredient, Mica, Felspar and 
 Talc, Natrolite, Analcime, Obsidian, Tourmaline, and Lcpi- 
 dolite, all were indebted to Alumine for a large proportion 
 of their composition. As the dying warrior (if we may be 
 allowed the comparison) makes one grand expiring effort 
 before leaving for ever the scenes of this world, so the last 
 appearance of Alumine in these pages is as principal ingre- 
 dient, winch position it has resumed in the two acidiferous 
 earthy minerals just described, viz., Aluminite and Wavellite. 
 
 No sooner, however, does one object in nature recede 
 from our view, than another is presented to fill its place ; 
 
LIME. ]73 
 
 and thus it will be found that though we are compelled to 
 leave Alumine and the minerals which it partly composes, 
 another equally important substance is now to be submitted 
 to the reflections of the student of Mineralogy. 
 
 " Oh ! un profuse magnificence divine, 
 Oh ! wisdom truly perfect ! thus to call 
 From a few causes such a scheme of things, 
 Effects so various, beautiful, and great, 
 An universe complete !" Thomson, 
 
 LIME. 
 
 " Gnomes ! you then bade dissolving shells distil 
 From the loose summits of each shattered hill, 
 To each fine pore and dark interstice flow, 
 And fill with liquid chalk the mass below. 
 Whence sparry forms in dusky caverns gleam 
 "With borrowed light, and twice refract the beam ; 
 While in white beds congealing rocks beneath, 
 Court the nice chisel, and desire to breathe." Darwin. 
 
 We have already observed that Lime is one of the most 
 important of all the earths that are known. We shall now 
 enumerate some of its properties, before entering upon the 
 descriptions of the minerals in which it occurs. Lime has 
 
174 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 been long known, and was used by the ancients in medicine 
 probably for the same purposes as we now employ Mag- 
 nesia. It is capable of forming a cement for building, 
 and has been used in that way from time immemorial to 
 the present day, being the chief ingredient of common 
 mortar, as well as of all the cements that are used by 
 builders. As Lime is never found in an uncombined state, 
 to obtain it in that condition it is necessary to separate it 
 by burning from the carbonic acid and water which it 
 contains ; but so great is its affinity for these two substances 
 that, if not kept extremely close, it will greedily imbibe 
 both carbonic acid and moisture from the atmosphere, and 
 again become Chalk, or Carbonate of Lime. When, by the 
 process of burning, Lime is obtained in a pure state, it is 
 of great utility in agriculture, and is spread over the fields 
 before they undergo the operation of ploughing. Being 
 thus brought into contact with the air, from which it 
 imbibes carbonic acid, and with the earth, whence it im- 
 bibes moisture, a great degree of heat is generated, from 
 which, if great precaution be not used, the feet both of 
 ploughmen and horses suffer considerably. 
 
 The most common state in which Lime naturally occurs,, 
 is in combination with Carbonic acid, its union with which 
 
LIME. 175 
 
 produces all the beautiful crystallized and other varieties 
 of Calc-spar that ornament our collections ; all the immense 
 deposits of Limestone, of which most of our large edifices 
 are built, and from which the capital pavements of London 
 are derived ; all the handsomely veined or pure white 
 varieties of Marble, of which our mantel-pieces are formed, 
 and out of which the sculptor's chisel has for ages past 
 produced most noble specimens of art. The immense 
 abundance in which Carbonate of Lime exists, will be well 
 impressed on our minds, when we reflect that of that 
 substance is composed the vast quantity of Chalk, which, 
 being exposed to view on our sea-coasts, in the shape of 
 bold precipitous cliffs, has rendered England so justly 
 celebrated. 
 
 Without trenching too far upon the province of the 
 geologist, we may present a quotation from the notes to 
 Darwin's ' Botanic Garden/ relative to the probable origin 
 of Limestone. 
 
 " The Limestone rocks have had their origin from shells 
 formed beneath the sea, the softer strata gradually dissolv- 
 ing and filling up the interstices of the harder ones ; after- 
 wards, when these accumulations of shells were elevated 
 above the waters, the upper strata became dissolved by the 
 
176 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 action of the air and dews, and filled up the interstices 
 beneath, producing solid rocks of different kinds, from the 
 coarse limestones to the finest marbles. When those 
 limestones have been in such a situation that they could 
 form perfect crystals they are called spars, some of which 
 possess a double refraction, as observed by Sir Isaac Newton. 
 When these crystals are jumbled together, or mixed with 
 some colouring impurities, it is termed Marble, if its texture 
 be equable and firm ; if its texture be coarse and porous, 
 yet hard, it is called Limestone ; if its texture be very loose 
 and porous, it is termed Chalk. In some rocks the shells 
 remain almost unchanged, and only covered, or bedded, 
 with limestone, which seems to have been dissolved and 
 sunk down amongst them. In others the softer shells and 
 bones are dissolved, and only sharks 5 teeth and harder 
 Echini have preserved their form, enveloped in the chalk or 
 limestone ; in some marbles the solution has been compleat, 
 and no vestiges of shell appear, as in the white kind called 
 statuary by the workmen." 
 
 Whether this theory be exactly correct or not, is not for 
 us to determine ; it is, however, certain that shells are com- 
 posed of Carbonate of Lime, and that in many Limestone 
 rocks, and in Chalk, are found preserved, sometimes in 
 
CALC-SPAB. 177 
 
 perfect condition, numerous shells, Echini, salt-water fish, 
 and other remains of marine animals. 
 
 The minerals comprehended under the title Carbonate of 
 Lime differ greatly in external characters, but are all so 
 soft as to be readily scratched by a knife, and effervesce 
 if a drop of muriatic acid be placed upon them. 
 
 CALC-SPAB,. 
 
 This mineral occurs crystallized in more than eight 
 hundred varieties of form, which are all derived from an 
 obtuse rhomboid. To particularize any proportion of these 
 would occupy so much space that we shall merely mention 
 two or three of the most peculiar. It is rarely found 
 crystallized in the form of the primary rhomboid, but occurs 
 of that form in very perfect, though small crystals, on 
 Specular Iron, accompanying splendid crystals of Smoky 
 Quartz in Cumberland, and in large crystals at Alstone 
 Moor : it is also found in slightly modified rhomboids, 
 imbedded in clay, and inside geodes of Agate and Quartz 
 near Bristol. But the six-sided prism is the most common 
 form of Calc-spar : this is sometimes terminated by three 
 planes, forming a very obtuse pyramid, sometimes a very 
 acute one. Occasionally the crystals will taper very gra- 
 
 N 
 
178 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 dually towards the point, but we have never observed a 
 crystal which becomes larger towards the point, as in some 
 varieties of Quartz. Dog's-tooth spar is a variety so termed 
 because the crystals, tapering to the very point, and being 
 flattened or compressed, resemble the teeth of a dog. One 
 very interesting form is represented in our figure (Plate VII. 
 fig. 26), these crystals being very flat, tabular, six-sided 
 prisms, meeting and intersecting each other in every direc- 
 tion. In colour it is also extremely variable, though that 
 most usual is white of different degrees of transparency. 
 At Andreasberg, in the Hartz, it is found of an orange- 
 red colour, which arise probably from the presence of 
 Arsenic ; in Derbyshire, of a bright yellow colour ; in the 
 Hartz it has been found of a beautifully delicate rose- 
 colour. 
 
 The localities in which Calc-spar is found are as nu- 
 merous as the crystalline forms it assumes, and we shall 
 therefore only allude to several whence specimens of the 
 greatest beauty have been obtained. "The rarest and most 
 beautiful crystals are found in Derbyshire and the northern 
 parts of England, from which were obtained a very con- 
 siderable number of the vast variety described by the Count 
 de Bournon ; but it is so extremely rare in Cornwall, that 
 
DOUBLE-REFRACTING SPAR. 179 
 
 it is worth noticing as having been found in veins of the 
 slate of Tintagel, with Rock crystal, Chlorite, and Adularia." 
 Regarding American localities, Alger states, that the finest 
 crystals, for size and transparency, have been found at 
 Oxbow, and at the Lead mines of Rossie, St. Lawrence 
 county, New York, in primitive Limestone : they are here 
 grouped with Galena and Pyrites in the most beautiful 
 manner, and are sometimes more than a foot in length. 
 In the Limestone at Niagara Falls, the Dog's-tooth spar 
 variety abounds, associated with Gypsum, sometimes with 
 Fluor spar. Masses possessing a fine green tinge are also 
 found in Essex county, New York. 
 
 DouUe-refracting spar is the purest form in which Car- 
 bonate of Lime occurs. It is transparent, and possesses 
 the interesting property of double refraction ; that is, if a 
 word be written on a piece of paper, and placed beneath 
 a fragment of the mineral, it appears as if the word had 
 been written twice, for in addition to the written word, a 
 perfect transcript or reflection of it is distinctly visible, and 
 by turning the specimen round, this reflection also revolves. 
 This property may be made productive of much amusement, 
 by sketching the figure of a man in the act of running, 
 and this being placed beneath the Double-refracting spar, 
 
 N2 
 
180 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 the figure is doubled, and by revolving the specimen we 
 get the appearance of two men running a race, each alter- 
 nately getting ahead of his opponent, or losing ground. 
 This variety, being found in Iceland, is sometimes termed 
 Iceland spar. It is never found crystallized, but may be 
 readily broken into the most perfect rhomboids. Alger 
 mentions a pale rose-coloured variety as being found in 
 Upper Canada, where it was discovered by Dr. Holmes. 
 
 ScMeffer spar. This occurs in thin laminae aggregated 
 together, presenting a mass of slaty structure, of a yellow- 
 ish-white colour, and of pearly lustre, the leaves being 
 sometimes curved or waved. It is found in Saxony, 
 Dauphiny, and Norway; also in Cornwall, in Scotland, 
 and in Ireland. 
 
 Satin spar is a fibrous variety of Carbonate of Lime, 
 which when polished, or even when broken, presents a 
 most beautiful satiny appearance. It bears a great re- 
 semblance to fibrous Gypsum, but may be distinguished 
 by its being much harder than that mineral. Being sus- 
 ceptible of a high polish, it is employed in inlaying, and in 
 the manufacture of necklaces in imitation of pearl. In 
 Cumberland it occurs in veins from one to four inches 
 thick, and is also found in Scotland and in North America. 
 
STALACTITIC CALC-SPAR. 181 
 
 Stalactitic Calc-spar. The term stalactite is derived from 
 the Greek, and signifies a drop, or an icicle; hence this 
 name is applied to that variety of Calc-spar whose mode 
 of occurrence resembles an icicle. In some cases it is 
 found mammillated or botryoidal, like Chalcedony, some- 
 times in long pendulous tubes or masses, occasionally 
 branched in the manner of coral, and sometimes the sta- 
 lactite is terminated by a head resembling a fungus. The 
 interior of some caverns is lined with Stalactitic Calc-spar, 
 which sometimes is of prodigious dimensions, and these 
 caverns, when visited and examined by the aid of torch- 
 light, are truly gorgeous to behold. Descriptions of these 
 have been so often published that it will not be necessary 
 to describe them here ; in fact, any attempt must fall far 
 short of the reality ; but it will be well to mention one or two 
 of the principal caverns, assuring the learner that should it 
 lie in his power to visit any of them, he will be amply 
 rewarded. The Grotto of Antiparos, in the Archipelago, 
 the Woodman's Cave, in the Hartz, and that of Auxelle, 
 in France, are striking instances of caverns being filled with 
 Stalactitic Calc-spar. The most remarkable in Britain are 
 the cavern of Castleton and other caverns in Derbyshire, 
 and Macallister Cave in the Isle of Skye. 
 
182 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 The process of the formation of stalactites is continually 
 going on. "They are deposited from water loaded with 
 particles of carbonated Lime, in the hollow places and 
 caverns of mountains : the water finding its way into these 
 caverns through crevices in the roof, becomes exposed to 
 the air; evaporation ensues, causing the particles of Lime 
 to precipitate." Some caverns have been entirely filled 
 with calcareous Stalactite, so that it is occasionally ob- 
 tained in large masses : in this state it is called Alabaster, 
 and is used in statuary and in the formation of vases, its 
 soft nature rendering it a very available material for those 
 purposes, while the purity of its white leaves nothing 
 wanting in beauty, and is so well known that " as white- 
 as alabaster" has become almost a proverb. The name 
 Alabaster is derived from Alabastron, an Egyptian village 
 between the Nile and the Red Sea, which was the principal 
 locality whence the ancients obtained their supply of this 
 substance : a colossal figure of an Egyptian idol formed 
 of this Alabaster was in the Napoleon Museum, at Paris, 
 whether it is still there, we do not know. 
 
 Marble. This is only a granular variety of Limestone, 
 and itself assumes several varieties. The most celebrated 
 Marble is that which the French termed Chaux carlonatee 
 
MARBLE. 183 
 
 sacckaro'ide, from its likeness to loaf-sugar when in small 
 masses; by us it is known as Parian Marble, but was 
 known to the ancients by the name of Lichnites ; of this 
 marble the celebrated statue of the Venus de Medicis and 
 other models of art are fashioned. 
 
 " Hence wearied Hercules in marble rears 
 His languid limbs, and rests a thousand years ; 
 Still, as he leans, shall young Antinous please 
 With careless grace and unaffected ease ; 
 Onward with loftier step Apollo spring, 
 And launch the unerring arrow from the string; 
 In Beauty's bashful form, the veil unfurled, 
 Ideal Venus win the gazing world." 
 
 Danrin. 
 
 The quarries of this marble are, however, said to be 
 exhausted, and that termed Carrara Marble is now usually 
 employed by statuaries. This marble has a fine grain and 
 a close texture ; its quarries are on the eastern coast of the 
 Gulf of Genoa, and are worked on the face of a mountain 
 to the height of eight hundred feet. The Lumachelli, or 
 Fire marble, owes the latter name to the display of irides- 
 cent colours which it exhibits in flashes here and there on 
 its surface, which colours are usually of a fiery red and 
 yellow, intermixed with brilliant green, and are supposed 
 
184 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 to be owing to the fragments of a species of Nautilus con- 
 tained in it. At Kilkenny, in Ireland, is found a fine black 
 variety of marble, which encloses numerous fossilized shells, 
 and these, when the marble is cut and polished, exhibit 
 fine curved lines and portions of circles. The Museum of 
 the East India House contains many fine collections, and 
 the objects placed in what is termed the new Museum are 
 particularly interesting, and calculated to arrest the atten- 
 tion of the visitor, but we have observed that the mantel- 
 piece, which is manufactured of this marble, and is a 
 magnificent structure, always excites the lion's share of 
 admiration. 
 
 We must now pass over the other varieties of Marble, 
 having noticed such as are most remarkable a liberty that 
 we shall also take with the Limestones ; and proceed to 
 notice briefly one or two other minerals which consist of 
 Lime and Carbonic acid. 
 
 Pisolite, or Pea-stone, occurs in small round masses about 
 the size of a pea, aggregated together : each pea generally 
 contains in its centre a grain of sand, round which the 
 many thin layers of calcareous matter have been gradually 
 deposited. Its colour is a pale buff of different tints, and 
 it is generally brought from Carlsbad, in Bohemia. 
 
AKRAGONITE. 185 
 
 Chalk. In addition to what has already been said of this 
 substance, we may observe that it is found principally in 
 Poland, Trance, and England. There are two beds of 
 Chalk, the upper containing horizontal layers of Flint, 
 and the lower being quite destitute of that substance. The 
 uses of Chalk are numerous : it furnishes lime for cement 
 and manure, it is used in polishing glass and metals, by 
 mechanics as a marking material, by chemists and starch- 
 makers, and, when washed and purified, forms the substance 
 called whiting. 
 
 Tufa is an impure and porous variety of Carbonate of 
 Lime. Phillips observes that " the various articles which, 
 being placed in certain springs or waters in Derbyshire, 
 become covered by an earthy substance, and which thereby 
 acquire the external appearance of petrifactions, are in fact 
 only incrusted by a kind of Tufa." Tufa is also sometimes 
 of volcanic origin. 
 
 AEEAGONITE. 
 
 This elegant mineral contains a portion of the earth 
 Strontian in addition to its Lime and Carbonic Acid. It 
 occurs distinctly crystallized in six-sided prisms, and in 
 other forms, the primary being a rhomboid : our figure 
 
186 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 (Plate VII. fig. 28) represents a fine crystal from Arragon, 
 in Spain, where the substance was first found, and from 
 which it takes its name. The crystals are sometimes very 
 transparent, and of different shades of yellow, pink, grey, 
 or bluish-white. This mineral may be readily distinguished 
 from Gale-spar by exposing them both together to heat, 
 when the Arragonite will at once fly into powder ; but the 
 Calc-spar will remain unchanged. Tig. 27, Plate VII., re- 
 presents a most beautiful variety of Arragonite, which is 
 termed Flos ferri, its appearance resembling white coral, 
 the branches being twisted in every fantastic direction. 
 The finest specimens of this variety are brought from Styria, 
 but very charming ones are found in our own country, at 
 Ilfracombe, in Devon. A pale blue botryoidal variety 
 occurs at Pfitch, in the Tyrol. 
 
 BITTER-SPAR. 
 
 In this and the two following minerals, Pearl-spar and 
 Dolomite, the earth Magnesia is associated with Lime and 
 Carbonic acid. Bitter-spar usually occurs in the form of 
 an obtuse rhomboid, imbedded in Chlorite or Serpentine, 
 in the Tyrol, Sweden, Dauphiny, and in North America. 
 
 Dolomite is a whitish granular variety of the last mineral, 
 
APATITE. 187 
 
 and might be mistaken for granular Limestone, which it 
 much resembles, but may be distinguished by touching it 
 with acid, when it will effervesce very feebly in comparison 
 with the latter substance. When struck in the dark, it 
 emits a pale phosphorescent light. 
 
 Pearl-spar, so named in allusion to its beautiful pearly 
 lustre, is also a common variety of Bitter-spar. Its form 
 is the same rhomboid, but the crystals are aggregated 
 together, and, being always curved, present a very curious 
 appearance. Pearl-spar is sometimes of a pale flesh-colour, 
 sometimes yellowish or white. It is a common mineral, 
 but a very interesting one, and when, as is often the case, 
 it is found associated with Fluor spar, the contrast in form 
 and colour of the two substances is somewhat striking. It 
 is found in the Lead-mines in the north of England, in 
 the Tin-mines of Cornwall, and in Derbyshire and Devon- 
 shire. 
 
 APATITE. 
 
 In this substance we find Lime in combination with 
 Phosphoric acid, forming a Phosphate of Lime. Its name 
 of Apatite is derived from the Greek, and signifies to de- 
 ceive, in allusion to the resemblance it bears to some other 
 
188 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 minerals. Its crystal is a six-sided prism, often terminated 
 by a single flat plane, but still more frequently having the 
 edges replaced, as shown in the figure both of Tourmaline, 
 to which crystals of Apatite are adhering, and in Plate "VIII. 
 fig. 29, where a single crystal of Apatite is shown in com- 
 pany with crystallized Quartz : both of these specimens are 
 from Bovey, Devonshire. The colour varies considerably : 
 the crystals from St. Gothard are beautifully white and 
 transparent; those from Arendahl, in Norway, are of a 
 green colour, and are termed Moroxite ; at Zillerthal, in 
 the Tyrol, is found a straw-coloured variety, imbedded in 
 green Talc this is termed Asparagus-stone; other crystals 
 are of a pale rose or violet tint. Apatite is also found 
 massive in Norway, Saxony, and other places. It is found 
 finely crystallized in the Tin veins of St. Michael's Mount, 
 Cornwall, in company with crystals of Topaz, which much re- 
 semble it in colour, but are readily distinguished by the form. 
 Phosphorite is a massive, pale buff-coloured variety of 
 Apatite, so named from its exhibiting phosphorescence 
 when heated. It is found in Spain and Bohemia. 
 
 FLUOR SPAR. 
 During the progress of our descriptions, we have had 
 
Plate Vlll 
 
 
 32. Seleivite 
 
 
 ZILeeve.unp. 
 
FLUOR SPAR. 189 
 
 before us each drawer of our cabinet, in order that we might, 
 as far as possible, place before the student every point of 
 interest or beauty observable in the different substances 
 described. The drawer to which we have now arrived is 
 that containing the numerous varieties of Fluor-spar, and 
 if we have hitherto been successful in picturing the pecu- 
 liarities of substances to the mind of the student, we must 
 confess that language will now fail us in doing justice to 
 the beauty of the specimens now before us. Fluor spar, of 
 all other minerals, is calculated to excite admiration from 
 the most indifferent observer, and we have always found, 
 when exhibiting our collection to friends who did not pre- 
 tend to a knowledge of minerals, that this particular drawer 
 occupied more time in scrutinizing than any of the others. 
 Fluor spar is a combination of Lime with Fluoric acid, 
 and is consequently Fluate of Lime, but is much more 
 generally known by its former title. The primary form is 
 the octohedron, in which form it is sometimes very dis- 
 tinctly crystallized, but more frequently in the form of a 
 cube. Its crystals occasionally present modifications of 
 one or other of these forms, a not uncommon one being 
 the cubo-octohedron, that is, the octohedron passing into the 
 cube by having its solid angles replaced ; but, generally 
 
190 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 speaking, the crystals are in clearly- defined cubes. One 
 most interesting and peculiar mode of crystallization is seen 
 in specimens of pale-green Eluor found in Cornwall : the 
 crystals, which are octahedral, being composed of an im- 
 mense number of minute cubes, these diminishing in num- 
 ber until on each solid angle of the octohedron there is a 
 single distinct cube, which is generally larger than those 
 forming the body of the crystal. Fluor is found perfectly 
 white and transparent, and also nearly black and opake. 
 Octohedrons of a pale rose-colour are found with Rock 
 crystal at St. Gothard; of a pale green hue at Beer Alstone 
 in Cumberland, and in the United States; in cubes of a 
 deep purple or bright yellow colour in Cornwall, Saxony, 
 and America, and of a very beautiful purple in the Tyrol ; 
 but, as is justly observed by Alger, no part of the world 
 has hitherto produced finer specimens of this species than 
 Cumberland, Derbyshire, and Cornwall. Those varieties 
 from the Lead-mines of Alston Moor and Derbyshire 
 usually assume the form of the cube, and present the finest 
 shades of blue and green. We have figured a specimen 
 from Cumberland (Plate VIII. fig. 30) : this, when viewed 
 in one direction, appears to be of a pale dull green, but in 
 another presents the richest blue tint. 
 
ANHYDRITE. 191 
 
 Chloropkane. This is a remarkable variety of Fluor spar, 
 its name signifying bright green. Tew would suspect, when 
 viewing this substance in its usual state of a dull reddish 
 or brownish purple colour, that when exposed to heat it 
 exhibits a most brilliant green phosphorescent light. The 
 best method of observing this is to heat the poker to a red 
 heat, and allow it to cool on the outside ; carry it then to a 
 dark corner, and place a fragment of Chlorophane upon it, 
 when the beautiful property of that substance will be exhi- 
 bited. The dark-coloured variety (Plate VIII. fig. 31) is 
 orought from Kleopinsky in Siberia ; but there is a pale- 
 green variety found also in Siberia, which exhibits phos- 
 phorescence in the dark, merely by the heat of the hand. 
 
 Etchings on glass are obtained by coating the plate 
 of glass with wax, and etching thereon the figures. Ex- 
 posing it then to the action of Fluoric acid in a state of 
 gas, those parts covered with wax will remain entire, while 
 those parts from which it has been removed will be eaten 
 away to the desired depth. 
 
 ANHYDRITE. 
 
 In this mineral we find Lime combined with Sulphuric 
 acid. It most usually occurs of a fibrous structure, and of 
 
192 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 a greyish, bluish, or reddish colour : it is found in the 
 Tyrol and a few other localities. Its name is from the 
 Greek, and signifies without water, by which it is distin- 
 guished from the following substance. 
 
 GYPSUM. 
 
 This consists of Lime and Sulphuric acid, and in addition 
 a considerable proportion of water. It occurs in fibrous 
 masses of great beauty and satin lustre, at Matlock in 
 Derbyshire, and at Bex in Switzerland. Gypsum is also 
 found crystallized, when it is termed Selenite : a gigantic 
 specimen of Selenite stands in a case by itself in the British 
 Museum, and was presented by Prince Albert. Selenite 
 is also found in very distinct crystals in the London Clay, 
 these crystals being of the form represented in Plate "VIII. 
 fig. 32. Gypsum is also found in foliated masses of large 
 dimensions in Ireland, and some other localities. It is 
 very soft, and usually white and transparent. In America 
 it is abundant, and both there and in England, what is 
 commonly known as plaster of Paris is manufactured 
 from it. 
 
MAGNESIA. 193 
 
 In Nitrate of Lime we find that earth associated with 
 Nitric acid and water ; in Latholite, and its variety Botryo- 
 lite, with Boracic acid and water; and in Pharmacolite 
 with Arsenic acid and water. This brings us to the next 
 series- of acidiferous earthy minerals, which contain no 
 Lime at all, bnt consist of the earth Magnesia in combi- 
 nation first with Carbonic acid, next with Sulphuric, and 
 lastly with Boracic acid. 
 
 MAGNESIA. 
 
 CARBONATE OF MAGNESIA. 
 
 This is rarely found crystallized, but generally in masses 
 without any determinate form : these are of a dull opake 
 white, sometimes imbedded in Serpentine, as in Upper 
 Styria, in Spain, and in the United States. An earthy 
 variety is termed Meerschaum, which is so soft as to yield 
 easily to the nail, adheres to the tongue, and is some- 
 times so light as to float on water. This substance is well 
 known to smokers as that of which the Meerschaum pipes 
 are supposed to be fashioned, but of which few of them are 
 
 o 
 
194 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 really made. Meerschaum signifies in English sea-foam, 
 whence a vulgar notion exists that Meerschaum pipes are 
 manufactured, from the froth of the sea. On the contrary, 
 this variety of Carbonate of Magnesia is found in beds or 
 layers, and when first dug up is soft like clay, but becomes 
 hardened by exposure to the atmosphere. When in the 
 soft state it is made into pipes. Meerschaum is employed 
 in the Turkish dominions as Fullers' earth is with us, and 
 is used by the women as soap for washing their hair. It 
 is found in Carinthia, Moravia, and in Spain. 
 
 SULPHATE OF MAGNESIA. 
 
 This is of a white colour, and is generally found to occur 
 in crystalline fibres, but rarely in the state of a powder : 
 it is very brittle, and in taste exceedingly bitter and 
 nauseous, being composed of Magnesia, Sulphuric acid, 
 and water. This salt forms the principal ingredient of 
 several mineral waters, and is found in crystalline flowerets 
 springing from the surfaces of Coal, Gypsum, Sandstone, 
 Lava, and often from the mortar used in building, as 
 in Madrid, and in several instances in our own country. 
 When we observe that the principal waters impregnated 
 with this Sulphate of Magnesia are at Epsom, in Surrey, 
 
BARYTES. 195 
 
 the learner will have little difficulty in recognizing in this 
 mineral the horror of his childhood, viz., Epsom Salts. 
 
 BOBACITE. 
 
 This is a combination of Magnesia with Boracic acid, as 
 its name implies. It occurs crystallized in the forms of 
 the cube and dodecahedron variously modified, imbedded in 
 Gypsum near Luneburg, and at a few other localities. 
 Plate IX. fig. 33 represents two dodecahedral crystals im- 
 bedded in the matrix, from Luneburg. 
 
 BARYTES. 
 
 "We have now to introduce the combinations of the 
 earth Barytes, first with Carbonic acid, and then with Sul- 
 phuric. The first is termed 
 
 WlTHERITE. 
 
 This occurs massive and fibrous, but generally crystallized 
 in the form of a six-sided prism, terminated by six tri- 
 angular planes, as in Quartz, from which its softness dis- 
 tinguishes it readily. The crystals are usually of an opake 
 
 o 2 
 
196 POPULAE MINERALOGY. 
 
 white, and sometimes the planes of the two pyramids meet, 
 to the exclusion of the prism ; occasionally, too, the crystals 
 present a form resembling an hexagonal magnifying glass, 
 which two varieties are represented in one specimen, in 
 Plate IX. fig. 34. It occurs nowhere so abundantly as in 
 the Lead veins in the north of England. 
 
 HEAVY-SPAE. 
 
 When Barytes is found in combination with Sulphuric 
 acid, it is termed Heavy-spar, and of this substance there 
 are several varieties. It is a widely-diffused species, and 
 presents a great variety of crystalline forms, but the primary, 
 a rhomboid, is shown in Plate IX. fig. 35, representing a spe- 
 cimen from Schemnitz. Crystals of Heavy-spar of immense 
 size, and weighing upwards of half a hundredweight, are 
 sometimes found at Dufton, in Cumberland, its most noted 
 locality. In Bohemia, Hungary, Auvergne, and the United 
 States it is a common mineral, its most usual colour being 
 a pale yellowish-brown or white, but in Surrey it is found 
 of a beautiful wine-yellow colour. 
 
 Bolognian stone is a variety of Heavy-spar, which occurs 
 in rounded masses of a radiated structure, and of a dirty- 
 grey colour. It is chiefly remarkable for exhibiting phos- 
 
Plate IX. 
 
 33. 
 
 , V 
 
 Donate <>A/Baryles 
 
 36. Celestme 
 
 
 
 
 
 35. Heavy-spar. 
 
STRONTIAN. 1 97 
 
 phorescence when heated, for which property it has been 
 poetically celebrated by Darwin. 
 
 " So, wanned and kindled by meridian skies, 
 And viewed in darkness with dilated eyes, 
 Bologna's chalks with faint ignition blaze, 
 Beccari's shells emit prismatic rays." 
 
 STRONTIAN. 
 
 In this, the last series of this division of minerals, we 
 find the earth Strontian in combination with different acids. 
 
 STRONTIANITE. 
 
 This rare mineral consists of Strontian, combined with 
 Carbonic acid and water. It is commonly of fibrous 
 structure, and of a pale green colour, but very splendid 
 crystals have been found in Salzburg. The properties of 
 this substance were first described by Dr. Hope, and it was 
 first discovered at Strontian, in Argyleshire. 
 
 BARYTO-STRONTIANITE. 
 So named because it contains some Barytes and Lime, 
 
198 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 besides Strontian and Carbonic acid. It is found in fibrous 
 diverging concretions, of a pale blue colour, in a kind of 
 Clay-slate at Stromness, in Orkney, which is the only 
 locality known. 
 
 CELESTINE. 
 
 This is a Sulphate of Strontian, consisting of about 
 equal parts of Strontian and Sulphuric acid. It occurs 
 in several varieties of colour, some specimens being 
 white and transparent, others of a pale flesh-colour, and 
 one variety of a pale blue. This last is fibrous, and is 
 found at Aust Perry, near Bristol ; but the most magnificent 
 crystallized groups are found in the Sulphur-mines of Sicily, 
 whence the specimen we have figured was brought. (Plate IX. 
 fig. 36.) The crystals are, however, often much larger 
 than those represented. In the pale red crystallizations 
 that are found near Bristol, the modifications of form are 
 very intricate, so much so, that the primary form, a rhombic 
 prism, can scarcely be recognized. Alger mentions many 
 localities for Celestine in the United States. 
 
199 
 
 ACIDIFEBOUS ALKALINE MINERALS. 
 
 THIS division of minerals contains those which, consist of 
 an alkali and an acid united together: they are seldom 
 found pure in a natural state. Potash is found combined 
 only with Nitric acid, forming Nitrate of Potash, or 
 
 NITRE. 
 
 " Hence orient Nitre owes its sparkling birth, 
 And with prismatic crystals gems the earth, 
 O'er tottering domes in filmy foliage crawls, 
 Or frosts with branching plumes the mouldering walls." 
 
 Darwin. 
 
 This substance, which is found in a natural state crys- 
 tallized and in hair-like fibres and leafy forms, is produced 
 in all situations where animal and vegetable matters are 
 completely decomposed, and are exposed to the action of 
 the air, as on the walls of stables and slaughter-houses. 
 "It occurs on or near the surface of the earth, on old 
 walls, &c. In Hungary, Persia, Arabia, Egypt, and on 
 many of the plains of Spain, it is found in considerable 
 
200 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 quantities. It is also common in India, especially on a 
 large plain near Agra, in Bengal. The mountainous regions 
 of Kentucky, which are calcareous and fall of caverns, 
 afford it to the inhabitants of North America. In South 
 America, the plains bordering the sea, near Lima, are 
 covered with it. It is not, however, produced naturally 
 to an extent sufficient for its multiplied uses, and is there- 
 fore principally procured artificially from the decomposition 
 of animal and vegetable substances/' Nitre is used in 
 medicine, in the arts, and in metallurgy ; but its chief use 
 is in the manufacture of gunpowder, for which purpose 
 that imported from Egypt is most valued. Thus this 
 mineral substance, unimportant in appearance, and unknown 
 to all but the few initiated, produces, when mixed with nine 
 per cent, of sulphur and fifteen per cent, of charcoal, a 
 material of most terrific power, the discovery of which has 
 placed at the disposal of man the means not only of intimi- 
 dating and destroying his enemies, or of defending himself 
 and those he loves from their attacks, but of rending 
 mountains asunder in order to obtain the riches contained 
 within them ; and should immense cliffs stand in the way 
 of any of his projected lines of railway, they are but trifling 
 obstacles, for by the aid of gunpowder he speedily consigns 
 
NITHE. 201 
 
 them to the depths of the sea ; witness the late grand 
 operations at Dover. Does a sunken vessel obstruct the 
 course of navigation, a few casks of gunpowder remove the 
 impediment. Besides these great uses, man is hereby 
 furnished with a healthful and exhilarating sport, and in 
 some countries with the means of obtaining food for him- 
 self and those dependent on him for support. 
 
 The allusion to gunpowder in Darwin's ' Botanic Garden' 
 is so fine, that little apology is needed for introducing it 
 in this place, and thus concluding our notice of Nitre. 
 
 " You taught mysterious Bacou to explore 
 Metallic veins, and part the dross from ore ; 
 "With sylvan coal in whirling mills combine 
 The crystal'd nitre, and the sulphurous mine ; 
 Through wiry nets the black diffusion strain, 
 And close an airy ocean in a grain. 
 Pent in dark chambers of cylindric brass, 
 Slumbers in grim repose the sooty mass ; 
 Lit by the brilliant spark, from grain to grain, 
 Runs the quick fire along the kindling train ; 
 On the pained ear-drum bursts the sudden crash, 
 Starts the red flame, and Death pursues the flash. 
 Fear's feeble hand directs the fiery darts, 
 And strength and courage yield to chymic arts ; 
 Guilt with pale brow the mimic thunder owns, 
 And tyrants tremble on their blood-stained thrones." 
 
202 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 NATRON. 
 
 This is a combination of Soda with Carbonic acid, 
 deriving its name from the desert of Natron, where it was 
 formerly collected. In the plain of Debretzin, in Hungary, 
 it appears during the heat of summer in saline efflo- 
 rescences like heaps of snow : it is found in the water of 
 certain hot springs in Carlsbad and Iceland, also in Egypt 
 and Hungary, whence it is brought over in pulverulent 
 dirty grey masses. It is used in making soap, and for 
 other purposes, but specimens are not often seen in a 
 natural state in the cabinets of collectors. The same may 
 be said of Sulphate of Soda (Glauber Salt), of Nitrate of 
 Soda, and of Borax, a combination of Soda and Boracic 
 acid ; but the next combination of Soda with an acid 
 deserves a more lengthened notice. 
 
 COMMON SALT. 
 
 " Hence with diffusive Salt old Ocean steeps 
 His emerald shadows and his sapphire deeps. 
 Oft in wide lakes, around their warmer brim, 
 In hollow pyramids the crystals swim ; 
 Or, fused by earth-born fires, in cubic blocks 
 Shoot their white forms, and harden into rocks." Darwin. 
 
 Phillips states this to be a compound of Soda and 
 
COMMON SALT. 203 
 
 Muriatic acid; but Alger says that it consists of Sodium 
 and Chlorine, and is consequently a Chloride of Sodium. 
 Whichever is right, Common Salt is a most abundant 
 substance, occurring not only in large beds and masses, but 
 forming about one-thirtieth part of the waters of the ocean. 
 It occurs crystallized in the form of the cube, but more 
 commonly in immense masses which are transparent, and, 
 when pure, nearly white, but when accompanied by any 
 foreign admixture, brick-red, green, or blue. In Africa 
 it occurs in thick beds on the surface of the earth ; in 
 Savoy, at an elevation equal to that of perpetual snow. In 
 Peru it is found in rounded masses, five or six feet in 
 diameter, and is used by the inhabitants in building their 
 houses. It has been found in America beautifully crystallized, 
 and many tons of Salt are annually obtained from the 
 springs at Droitwich, in Worcestershire, and in many parts 
 of Europe, but its chief repository is in Poland, where 
 one of the mines is so immense as actually to contain a 
 town, with a market-place, a river, and a church ! 
 
 " Thus caverned round in Cracow's mighty mines, 
 With crystal walls a gorgeous city shines ; 
 Scooped in the hriny rock long streets extend 
 Their hoary course, and glittering domes ascend ; 
 
204 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Down the bright steeps, emerging into day, 
 
 Impetuous fountains burst their headlong way, 
 
 O'er milk-white vales in ivory channels spread, 
 
 And wondering seek their subterraneous bed." Darwin. 
 
 By some, the saltness of the sea is considered as the prin- 
 cipal cause in preserving its waters from putrefaction, and 
 this idea is expressed by Sir Richard Blackmore in the 
 following lines : 
 
 " What does the sea from putrefaction keep ? 
 Should it lie stagnant in its ample seat, 
 The sun would through it spread destructive heat. 
 The wise Contriver, on his end intent, 
 Careful this fatal error to prevent 
 And keep the waters from corruption free, 
 Mixed them with salt, and seasoned all the sea." 
 
 It is much more probable, however, that its freedom from 
 corruption is in a great degree owing to its being continually 
 in motion. 
 
 The salt used at our table has undergone a purifying pro- 
 cess, and is generally of fine granular texture, but is seen at 
 some tables in the state of crystals of considerable size : 
 this is much more expensive here than in its ordinary con- 
 dition, but in some parts of France the prices are reversed, 
 and salt in its common form is sold at a higher rate than 
 
AMMONIA. 205 
 
 the crystallized. Eating salt with another person is by the 
 Arabs considered an inviolable pledge of friendship. 
 
 It only remains for us to caution the young mineralogist 
 against keeping his specimens in a damp place, for if he 
 does, he will find that the substances we are now treating 
 of, and particularly the common salt, are so affected by 
 moisture that many of them will entirely melt away. 
 
 AMMONIA. 
 
 The last series of substances belonging to this division, 
 consist of Ammonia united to an acid ; they are but two in 
 number. 
 
 SULPHATE OP AMMONIA. 
 
 A combination of Ammonia with Sulphuric acid and 
 water. It has a bitter taste, and occurs in a stalactitic form 
 or in that of a mealy powder, and occasionally in efflores- 
 cences. It is found amongst the lavas of Vesuvius and 
 Etna, and near Sienna in Tuscany. 
 
206 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 MURIATE OF AMMONIA. 
 
 This occurs massive and fibrous, in small octohedral crys- 
 tals, and in a feathery form. It is easily soluble in water, 
 but does not, like the Muriate of Soda, attract moisture from 
 the atmosphere. It is found in several localities, principally 
 at Etna and Vesuvius. Under the name of Sal ammoniac 
 it is well known as a smelling salt, and, in combination with 
 Carbonic acid, assumes a beautiful white colour and con- 
 crete form, and is then the salt called Sal volatile, so often 
 contained in ladies' smelling bottles. Its uses are also very 
 great in medicine, and in various arts, particularly that of 
 dyeing. 
 
207 
 
 ACIDIFEROUS ALKALINO-EARTHY MINERALS. 
 
 THE minerals of this division present few attractions to 
 the eye, and may be considered comparatively rare sub- 
 stances; as, however, they constitute a distinct division, it is 
 necessary to take some notice of them. The first only is 
 of any commercial importance, but they are all remarkable 
 for their composition, containing an acid, an earth, and an 
 alkali in combination together. 
 
 ALUM. 
 
 This substance consists of about ten per cent, of the earth 
 Alumine, combined with Sulphuric acid, water, and Potash. 
 When prepared artificially, it assumes the octohedral form, 
 but occurs in a state of nature in efflorescences on different 
 kinds of slates and on lavas. The Alum-slate of Whitby, 
 in Yorkshire, produces Alum in the greatest abundance, and 
 from that source nearly all the Alum used in dyeing, in 
 medicine, and in several manufactures, is obtained. It is 
 also found in Norway, Bohemia, and the United States. 
 
208 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 ALUM-STONE. 
 
 A greyish or reddish white substance, usually massive, and 
 minutely crystallized in the cavities. It contains a larger 
 proportion of Alumine than the preceding, and differs 
 also in containing a proportion of Silex. It occurs in a rock 
 at Tolfa, near Civita Vecchia, in small masses and veins ; 
 that which is found in Hungary is so hard and compact as 
 to be used for millstones. 
 
 CRYOLITE. 
 
 . A massive white substance of lamellar structure, found 
 only in Greenland, accompanying Galena, Quartz, Felspar, 
 and sometimes Carbonate of Iron and Iron pyrites. Its 
 earth is Alumine, its acid the Fluoric, and its alkali Soda. 
 Amblygonite also contains Alumine and Fluoric acid, but 
 in addition a proportion of Phosphoric acid, and its alkali 
 is Litkia, 
 
 GLAUBERITE. 
 
 This mineral contains Lime, Sulphuric acid, and Soda. 
 It is found crystallized in a very flat rhomboidal form, and 
 is of a dull yellowish-grey colour. It occurs imbedded in 
 
POLYHALLITE. 209 
 
 Rock salt in Spain; also in Upper Austria and South 
 America. 
 
 POLYHALLITE. 
 
 This name is derived from the Greek, and signifies a stone 
 of many salts. It contains two earths, Lime and Magnesia, 
 two alkalies. Potash and Soda, two acids, the Sulphuric 
 and Muriatic, and nearly six per cent, of water. In colour 
 it is a dark brick-red, and it is found in compact, fibrous 
 masses in beds of Eock salt at Hall, in the Tyrol, and in 
 Upper Austria. 
 
210 
 
 METALLIFEKOUS MINEBALS. 
 
 " And now the regions deep explore, 
 Where metals ripen in vast cakes of ore. 
 Here, sullen to the sight, at large is spread 
 The dull unwieldy mass of lumpish lead ; 
 There, glimmering in their dawning beds, are seen 
 The light aspiring seeds of sprightly Tin ; 
 The Copper sparkles next in ruddy streaks. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 The Silver then, with bright and burnished grace, 
 Youth and a blooming lustre in his face." Garth. 
 
 " Where lingering drops from mineral roofs distil, 
 And pointed crystals break the sparkling rill ; 
 Unpolished gems no ray on pride bestow, 
 And latent metals innocently glow, 
 Approach, great Nature studiously behold, 
 And eye the mine without a wish for gold." Pope. 
 
 AT length, after " dragging our slow length along " amongst 
 those minerals which are " of the earth, earthy," we have to 
 present to the student's attention a new division of sub- 
 stances, whose main characters are essentially different from 
 the foregoing. These are the metals and their combinations, 
 with other ingredients ; the metals themselves numbering 
 
METALLIFEROUS MINERALS. 211 
 
 twenty-eight, of which comparatively few are found in a 
 native state, that is, free from all admixture. Man has, 
 however, made himself acquainted with the operations 
 necessary to obtain them all in a pure condition, and with 
 those peculiarities which render most of them useful to him 
 in some degree or other ; this degree of course varying with 
 the properties which they may possess, with the generality 
 of their occurrence, and with the expensiveness of the pro- 
 cesses requisite to render them available. Whilst inspecting 
 the divisions already noticed, we have perhaps dwelt more 
 at length upon their beauties than upon their usefulness ; 
 but in the minerals about to be described, we shall find both 
 beauty and utility existing to so great an extent, that, for 
 want of more space, we shall devote our pages more parti- 
 cularly to descriptions of the uses to which they are put, 
 and the methods of preparing them for such uses, so far as 
 we think those particulars would interest and be compre- 
 hended by the youthful student of mineralogy. It is not 
 for us to expatiate at great length upon the influence that 
 a knowledge of metallurgy exercises upon the comforts and 
 happiness of human beings, but we remember to have read 
 some observations (where, we cannot remember) to the 
 effect that just in proportion to the increase of a knowledge 
 
212 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 of metals (particularly Iron) was to be observed a correspond- 
 ing advance in civilization, in the arts and sciences, and, 
 above all, in happiness and prosperity. Iron, the first 
 metal of which we shall treat, is undoubtedly the most 
 abundant and the most truly useful, for without it we 
 should be deprived of the means of cultivating the vegetable 
 productions of the earth which are necessary to our existence. 
 It is true, we might have wooden spades, wooden rakes, 
 harrows, or even ploughs, and these might answer the pur- 
 pose after a fashion, but still we should require some harder 
 and sharper material for carving these implements into 
 shape, and if Iron were not to be had, we should be reduced 
 to the primitive condition of the Indians, who, in construct- 
 ing a canoe, used fire to hollow out the inside, and sharp 
 flint and stone hatchets for completing the external portion. 
 On this subject our favourite old author John Maplet ob- 
 serves "If you go to use and wade no further, this 
 kinde of mettall is principall amongst the rest, which thing 
 necessitie teacheth, and is the best proufe : which we also 
 doe approue then, when as we are costrayned and driven to 
 Weapon and Armourie ; for without thys coulde wee neyther 
 be quiet at home amongst ourselues, neyther could we keepe 
 off, from our Countrie borders and limits, other our outward 
 
IRON. 213 
 
 eniinies. Further (to stay our selves in things at home and 
 not to seeke other) there could be no mans Arte practised, 
 no commoditie had by occupation and science ; further, not 
 so much could the earth be either sowne or reaped to any 
 increase without this. Therefore in this behalf it mought 
 be called all graine and fruites Nurse." 
 
 IRON. 
 
 " Hence dusky Iron sleeps in dark abodes, 
 And ferny foliage nestles in the nodes ; 
 Till with wide lungs the panting bellows blow, 
 And waked by fire the glittering torrents flow ; 
 Quick whirls the wheel, the ponderous hammer falls, 
 Loud anvils ring amidst the trembling walls, 
 Strokes follow strokes, the sparkling ingot shines, 
 Flows the red slag, the lengthening bar refines ; 
 Cold waves, immersed, the glowing mass congeal, 
 And turned to adamant the hissing steel." Darwin. 
 
 It was long doubted whether tin's metal had ever been 
 found in a native state and of terrestrial origin, but authen- 
 tic information has removed all doubts, and several instances 
 are known of its occurring in that state : by far the greater 
 portion, however, of native Iron known to exist, is also 
 
214 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 known, or rather presumed, to derive its origin from the 
 sky, and is termed Meteoric Iron. Iron exists in immense 
 abundance in combination with different acids, with sulphur, 
 oxygen, and other ingredients ; but the greater part of the 
 iron of this country is obtained from Clay Iron-stone, which 
 consists of Iron, oxygen, and carbonic acid : this will be 
 described in its place. Without further preface we shall 
 commence with Iron in its purest state, and then proceed 
 to notice its combinations. 
 
 NATIVE IRON. 
 
 Native Iron has been found in a mass weighing four 
 pounds in the mines of Hackenburg; in the form of a 
 branchy stalactite in a vein traversing the mountain Oulle, 
 near Grenoble, in Prance ; and at three different places and 
 situations in Saxony. Alger states that there are two or 
 three well-authenticated instances of the occurrence of 
 Native Iron of terrestial origin in the United States ; at 
 Canaan, Connecticut, where it formed a vein about two 
 inches thick, attached to a mass of Mica-slate, and in 
 Guilford County, where a mass of twenty-eight pounds 
 weight was obtained, from which an octohedral crystal, 
 weighing seven ounces, was detached. This is the primary 
 
METEORIC IRON. 215 
 
 form of Native Iron ; its colour is pale steel-grey ; it is 
 soluble in all the acids, and acts powerfully on the magnet. 
 Native Iron has also been found to be a volcanic produc- 
 tion, since it was discovered "in a ravine formed by 
 torrents across the lava and scoria of the mountain of 
 Grenaviere, in Auvergne." 
 
 METEORIC IRON. 
 
 This term is applied to those masses of Iron, many of 
 them huge in dimensions, that have either been seen to fall, 
 or are by a clear train of reasoning supposed to have fallen, 
 from the sky. In addition to these masses of nearly pure 
 Iron, stony masses of different sizes, containing Iron and 
 many other substances, are also known to be of the same 
 origin. These will be described as Meteoric stones, or 
 Aerolites. To a mind that has not been exercised upon the 
 study of the extraordinary phenomena of Nature, the an- 
 nouncement of large lumps of Iron falling from the sky 
 would naturally be received with incredulity ; but to those 
 who are duly impressed with a sense of the great Creator's 
 power, and with the curious manner in which the laws of 
 nature are occasionally exemplified, the chief difficulty will 
 be to account in a satisfactory manner for the causes of 
 
216 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 phenomena which are so well authenticated as these. We 
 are only aware of one mass of Iron having been seen to 
 fall from the atmosphere, near Agram, in Croatia; but 
 instances are numerous of masses being found in such 
 situations that they could hardly have had any other origin. 
 One remarkable circumstance is observable of all or most 
 of these masses, viz., that they contain the metal Nickel, 
 which is of rare occurrence, in comparison with the other 
 metals found in the earth. Meteoric Iron is commonly 
 massive, but, when polished, exhibits a highly crystalline 
 structure, particularly the mass from Lenarto, in Hungary, 
 a slice of which is in the British Museum, and that from 
 Texas. It has a metallic lustre, is flexible, malleable, and 
 tough. Of that from Lenarto, Mr. James Sowerby (the 
 author's grandfather) caused a splendid sword to be made, 
 which he presented to the Emperor of Russia, who sent 
 him in return a most valuable ring, now in the possession 
 of Mr. James de Carle Sowerby. We shall mention only 
 some of the most remarkable masses of Meteoric Iron 
 known to exist. A mass weighing 1,680 Russian pounds 
 was found by Professor Pallas on the top of a mountain in 
 Siberia : it possessed malleability and flexibility, and was 
 reported by the inhabitants to have fallen from the sky. 
 
Plate X. 
 
 37. Meteoric Iron 
 
 4}0. Ca.r~bon.ate of Iron. 
 
 
 38. IT on p-y rites 
 
 H9. Haematite. 
 
AEEOLITES. 237 
 
 Iii the desert of Sahara, in Africa, a mass was found which 
 contained four per cent, of Nickel. In the province of 
 Atacami, in Peru, was found a mass of considerable size, 
 enclosing rounded crystalline masses of Olivine, as shown 
 in our figure of a small polished slice from that locality. 
 (Plate X. fig. 37.) Near the Bed Biver, in Louisiana, 
 North America, was found a mass exceeding sixteen hun- 
 dred pounds in weight ; this was covered with a blackish 
 crust, and in its cavities were found octohedral crystals 
 more than half an inch in length. In 1833 a mass of 
 Meteoric Iron was discovered at Claiborne, Alabama ; and 
 in Coke County, Tenessee, was found a mass about two 
 thousand pounds in weight. Many more instances might 
 be given ; but we must now proceed to notice, as of the 
 same origin, those masses which, though not consisting 
 entirely of Iron, yet contain that metal in considerable 
 proportion. 
 
 AEEOLITES. 
 
 These are masses of stony appearance which have fallen 
 from the sky at different periods and in different countries. 
 They are generally of a rounded form, and are coated over 
 with a shining black crust ; internally they are of granular 
 
218 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 texture and greyish colour. The natural history of these 
 and the preceding has lately been elevated into a distinct 
 study, by Professor Shepard, under the proposed name of 
 Astrolitkology, from three Greek words signifying a meteor, 
 a stone, and a treatise. Nevertheless, as that mineralogist 
 has found in those masses many mineral substances identical 
 with those belonging to the earth, such as Iron, Nickel, 
 Cobalt, Magnesia, Soda, Silex, Apatite, Pyroxene, Garnet, 
 Sulphur, Plumbago, and others, and as the subject is one 
 of so great an interest, we shall quote from Sowerby's 
 ' British Mineralogy ' a short notice by Mr. King of stones 
 said to have fallen from the clouds in former times. 
 
 " Tradition has handed down to us the fall of stones in 
 ancient times. The learned Grsevius leads us to conclude 
 that the image of Diana was a stone which fell from the 
 clouds. He tells us, on unquestionable authorities, that 
 many other images of heathen deities were merely such. 
 
 " Herodianus says that the Phoenicians had no statue 
 of the sun but a great stone, which they reported to have 
 fallen from heaven. 
 
 " Plutarch mentions a stone which formerly fell from the 
 clouds ; and the old writer from whom he took his account, 
 says, ( It hovered about for a long time ; seemed to throw 
 
AEROLITES. 219 
 
 out splinters, which flew around like wandering stars before 
 they fell, and at last it came down to the earth a stone of 
 extraordinary size/ Pliny tells us of its being preserved 
 in his days, and that it was of a dark burnt colour. He 
 mentions one, also, which fell at Abydds, and was worshipped 
 at that place/' 
 
 Thus much of traditionary Aerolites : we now come to 
 those of later date, and which, either whole or in part, are 
 preserved in public museums and private collections. Of 
 such as are contained in Professor Shepard's collection, he 
 has given a list, in number thirty-five, arranged according 
 to the dates of their falling, and amongst the earliest of 
 these we find that of I/Aigle, in France, in which place 
 a shower of these stones fell in the year 1803 ; these were 
 generally about the size of a common hen's egg, and were 
 all coated by a shining blackish covering, which is the case 
 with almost all meteoric stones. In the year 1810 we 
 find recorded a stone of considerable size, which fell in 
 Tipperary, Ireland. Three years later, fell a stone in the 
 county of Limerick, and in 1844 the county of Tyrone 
 was also the scene of a similar occurrence. Other parts 
 of the world, particularly France, Spain, Kussia, and the 
 East Indies, have been equally favoured; a large entire 
 
220 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 stone, from the latter locality, is preserved in the Museum 
 of the East India Company. In America instances are 
 numerous of stones falling from the atmosphere, and we 
 subjoin an account of a remarkable one which fell in 
 Bishopsville, South Carolina, in March 1843 (from Pro- 
 fessor Shepard's Report on American Meteorites). 
 
 " For my first knowledge of this, the most remarkable 
 of all the hitherto described Meteorites of the United 
 States, I am indebted to Dr. J. C. Haynsworth, of South 
 Carolina, who in his letter to me says, ' I have in possession 
 a meteoric stone, which fell in March 1843, near Bishops- 
 ville. The passage of the meteor and its explosion were 
 witnessed by many spectators, over a range of country thirty 
 or forty miles in diameter. The descent of the stone itself, 
 also, was observed by a number of negroes. Their terror 
 was so great on seeing the excavation it produced, the 
 scattering of the soil, and, more than all, by the insupport- 
 able sulphurous odours with which the air was filled, that 
 they fled in a panic from the field. On the following morn- 
 ing, however, headed by a white man, they returned to the 
 spot ; and, after digging three feet or more, in a sandy soil, 
 they came upon the stone which I now possess. It has 
 more the appearance of limestone than any other .rock 
 
AEROLITES. 
 
 with which I am acquainted, though it is much heavier 
 than the same bulk of lime-rock. It has, moreover, nume- 
 rous particles resembling oxide of iron diffused through it. 
 It is coated with a dark shining surface, resembling glass 
 that has been stained with some metallic oxide. When first 
 dag up, the sulphurous odour was said to have been over- 
 powering. This has now subsided, though it can be re- 
 produced by friction or slight warmth." The weight of 
 this stone was thirteen pounds. 
 
 The most remarkable stone that has fallen in England 
 is known as the Yorkshire Meteorite. This was, shortly 
 after its fall, exhibited in the Museum of the late Mr. James 
 Sowerby, but is now in the British Museum, having been 
 purchased for the sum of two hundred and fifty pounds. 
 In the first instance, however, the stone was in the posses- 
 sion of Major Topham, in whose grounds it fell. But 
 the gallant Major soon found, to use his own words, that 
 "the man who happens to possess any extraordinary 
 curiosity, has a very troublesome companion. He is liable 
 to have his time occupied in answering letters from any 
 stranger that may choose to ask questions, his house 
 searched, his grounds ransacked; and if the circum- 
 stance be very singular, he has the additional pleasure of 
 
222 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 having every word he says disbelieved om the subject." 
 The major had bravely faced the enemy, but it required 
 more courage than he possessed to face the host of inquir- 
 ing philosophers who invaded his domains on the first news 
 of a stone having fallen in them, and therefore wisely con- 
 cluded to transfer his troublesome treasure to Mr. Sowerby's 
 museum, where, as he observes, it would be subject to be 
 examined, disputed, and commented upon by every phi- 
 losopher in the United Kingdom. He forwarded, along 
 with the stone, an account of its falling, which is published 
 in Sowerby's ' British Mineralogy/ an extract from which 
 will be found highly interesting. 
 
 " It was on Sunday, about three o' clock, the thirteenth of 
 December, 1795, that the stone in question fell within two 
 fields of my house. The weather was misty, and at times 
 inclining to rain ; and though there was some thunder and 
 lightning at a distance, it was not till the falling of the 
 stone that the explosion took place, which alarmed the 
 surrounding country, and which created so distinctly the 
 sensation that something very singular had happened. 
 
 "When the stone fell, a shepherd of mine, who was 
 returning from his sheep, was about one hundred and fifty- 
 yards from the spot; George Sawden, a carpenter, was 
 
AEROLITES. 223 
 
 passing within sixty yards; and John Shipley, one of my 
 farming servants, was so near the spot where it fell, that he 
 was struck very forcibly by some of the mud and earth 
 raised by the stone dashing into the earth, which it penetrated 
 to the depth of twelve inches, and seven afterwards into 
 the chalk rock, making in all a depth of nineteen inches 
 from the surface. 
 
 " All the three witnesses who saw it fall agree perfectly 
 in their account of the manner of its fall, and that they 
 saw a dark body passing through the air, and ultimately 
 strike into the ground ; and though, from their situation 
 and character in life, they could have no possible object 
 in detailing a false account of this transaction, I feel so 
 desirous of giving this matter every degree of authenticity, 
 that, as a magistrate, I took their accounts upon oath." 
 
 No more need be said of Aerolites ; but we may add, 
 that although they undoubtedly have fallen from the sky, 
 it is by no means certain that the ingredients of which 
 they are composed did not previously belong to the 
 earth, whence they may have been projected by volcanic 
 force into the atmosphere. This subject is now engaging 
 the attention of several eminent American savans, and, 
 mysterious as it now appears to be, will probably be 
 
224 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 rendered much more intelligible by the results of their 
 investigations. 
 
 IRON PYRITES. 
 
 This is one of the commonest combinations of Iron, 
 being composed of that metal and sulphur in nearly equal 
 proportions. It is found in almost every situation and in 
 almost every kind of rock. Distinctly-formed crystals are 
 very common, both cubic and octohedral ; and these often 
 present such a vast variety of modifications that it is dif- 
 ficult to recognize the regular form. In colour it is brass- 
 yellow, sometimes approaching to steel-grey, and usually 
 possesses a high metallic lustre, but is occasionally found 
 of a dull brown colour, owing to the progress of decom- 
 position, and is then termed Hepatic pyrites. In the 
 Cornish mines are produced very large and perfect cubes, 
 which are often aggregated together, as shown in our figure 
 (Plate X. fig. 38), the same locality yielding the octohe- 
 dral form, which is frequently found coating or covering 
 crystallized Quartz, Fluor spar, Carbonate of Iron, and 
 other minerals. From Sweden, Elba, Saxony, Brazil, and 
 Piedmont, are obtained brilliant specimens of this sub- 
 stance ; which also occurs in great abundance and in surpass- 
 ingly beautiful groups at many places in the United States 
 
IRON PYRITES. 225 
 
 of America. But Iron pyrites does not always occur in a 
 crystallized state, being sometimes mammillated, stalactitic, 
 globular, cellular, and even capillary in form. In many 
 Chalk cliffs it is found imbedded in masses of a rounded or 
 elongated form, which, when broken, exhibit a fibrous di- 
 verging structure. These masses are often found strewed 
 upon the sea-beach, but they are then externally of a dark 
 brown colour, owing to decomposition, and have quite lost 
 the brilliant lustre which they possess when first dug out 
 from the chalk. This brown coating, however, is not very 
 deep ; and when they are broken, the very beginner in 
 Mineralogy will at once detect in their fresh surfaces the 
 peculiar aspect of Iron pyrites. 
 
 " Pirrites is a kinde of stone, yealow, like to the fire his 
 flame, and in qualitie almost all one with the fire : for the 
 which I suppose it tooke his name, it is soone kindled and 
 set on fire. It also sparkleth, and being hardly holden and 
 pressed in any mans hande burneth him sore or he per- 
 ceiueth it. Whereupon the Lapidare hath these two verses. 
 
 " The Finite must with easie hand 
 And marvellous soft enholden be : 
 For being prest and helde to hard 
 Doth burne thy flesh or ere thou se." 
 
 Q 
 
226 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 When reading John Maplet's account, as given above, 
 of Pirrites, we confess that we at first had some doubts as 
 to the identity of his kinde of stone with our Iron pyrites, 
 and we even had the courage to try the experiment of 
 holding a piece of Iron pyrites in our hand, squeezing it as 
 hard as we could, in order fairly to test its power of 
 burning our flesh before we were aware of it. This effect 
 it certainly did not produce, but the worthy old author was 
 not altogether in the wrong, for under the influence of the 
 atmosphere or of water this ore of Iron is extremely liable 
 to decomposition, and during the progress of this decom- 
 position a considerable degree of heat is generated. 
 Although Iron pyrites is not one of those ores from which 
 Iron is extracted, it is very useful in another way, for 
 Sulphuric acid is obtained from it by producing decompo- 
 sition artificially. In Carnarvonshire it is also decomposed 
 for the purpose of procuring Sulphur from it, the iron that 
 remains being red ochre, a common paint. 
 
 There are several varieties of this ore of Iron, but the 
 most remarkable is that termed Magnetic Iron pyrites, so 
 named from its power of affecting the magnetic needle. It 
 differs from common Iron pyrites in the proportions of Sul- 
 phur and Iron which it contains ; for whereas that substance 
 
MISPICKEL. 227 
 
 is composed of about 48 per cent, of Iron and 52 per cent, 
 of Sulphur, the present variety contains nearly 64 of Iron 
 to only 36 of Sulphur, which, according to some authors, 
 accounts for its magnetic properties. Exhibiting an equal 
 lustre, it is generally of a darker colour than the ordinary 
 variety, and occurs of a broad lamellar structure. It is 
 found in Norway, in Siberia, in Scotland, and in Cornwall. 
 
 MISPICKEL. 
 
 In this substance Iron is found combining with Arsenic, 
 and it is consequently known as Arsenical Iron ; Sulphur 
 also enters into its composition. Externally it differs from 
 Iron pyrites in its colour, which approaches more to that 
 of tin- white than to brass-yellow : its form, too, is different, 
 the primary being a rhombic prism instead of the cube. 
 Accompanying the ores of Silver, Lead, and Tin, it is found 
 abundantly in the mining districts of Saxony, and fine 
 crystallized specimens are brought from Cornwall. At 
 Andreasberg is found a variety which contains in addition 
 some Silver and Antimony; and in several parts of Saxony 
 this variety is worked for the sake of the Silver it contains, 
 amounting to about thirteen per cent. 
 
 Although Iron in combination with Sulphur (Iron pyrites] 
 
228 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 is a mineral of extremely common occurrence, the same 
 metal combined with oxygen, forming Oxide of Iron, or 
 with oxygen and water, forming Hydrous Oxide of Iron, 
 is still more abundantly diffused over the earth, and pro- 
 duces a considerable number of minerals which vary much 
 in outward form and appearance, and are known under 
 many different names. The most interesting of these is 
 undoubtedly that popularly known as Natural Magnet, or 
 Loadstone, and to mineralogists as 
 
 MAGNETIC OXIDE OF IRON. 
 
 This is found crystallized in an octohedral form, the 
 crystals being usually very distinct, and sometimes of con- 
 siderable dimensions : they are of a black colour, and 
 possess a shining metallic lustre when broken. The finest 
 and most perfect crystals are found imbedded in Chlorite 
 at Fahlun, in Sweden, at Traversella, in Piedmont, and very 
 perfect crystals imbedded in the same substance were 
 brought from the Philippine Islands by Mr. Cuming. The 
 crystallized variety is also found abundantly in the United 
 .States. But the character by which this species is par- 
 ticularly distinguished is best observable in the massive 
 variety, to which the term Loadstone more especially refers. 
 
MAGNETIC OXIDE OF IRON. 229 
 
 This kind occurs in large irregular beds and masses in 
 many parts of the world, and the finest description of steel 
 is manufactured from the extensive and celebrated mines 
 of Sweden and Norway, almost all the Iron contained in 
 them being magnetic. The Sterling mine, in Orange 
 county, New York, is so extensive as to cover a space of 
 thirty acres : the mine that has been worked to the greatest 
 depth in the United States is that at Sucasunny, New 
 Jersey ; and Alger observes, as a remarkable circumstance, 
 that this deposit rarely affords any examples of the crystal- 
 lization of this species, while the other localities supply 
 them abundantly and in great perfection. 
 
 Specimens of Natural Magnet are not uncommon, but 
 the degree in which they exhibit the property of magnetism 
 varies greatly : some specimens will only attract a needle, 
 and even that with difficulty ; others will take up a small 
 pair of scissors or two or three large nails with facility. 
 A specimen in our cabinet possesses the attractive power 
 in a very great degree, and presents a most ludicrous 
 appearance when brought in proximity to a few hundred 
 small nails, which then spring towards it from the distance 
 of a quarter of an inch : those which reach the magnet 
 first hang on in very respectable order, but those last in the 
 
230 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 race, impelled by the same irresistible power, cling on to 
 the first in all sorts of positions, by their heads by their 
 points sideways, or lengthways. Some specimens exhibit 
 polarity, that is, at one point they attract iron, and at the 
 opposite point repel it : one that we have seen in the East 
 India House Museum shows this very distinctly. 
 
 That the property of magnetism was known to the 
 ancients is beyond all question, but it was reserved for 
 modern philosophers to discover the truly important service 
 to which that property might be applied in the art of 
 navigating the ocean, and thus spreading the advantages of 
 commerce to distant countries. Darwin has poetically 
 alluded to an improvement invented by Michell, in the 
 mariner's compass. 
 
 " Last Michell's hand, with, touch of potent charm, 
 The polished rods with powers magnetic arm ; 
 With points directed to the polar stars 
 In one long line extend the tempered bars ; 
 Then thrice and thrice with steady eye he guides, 
 And o'er the adhesive train the Magnet slides ; 
 The obedient steel with living instinct moves, 
 And veers for ever to the pole it loves." 
 
 Nor has this substance escaped the observation of " John 
 Maplet, M. of Artes," who says, 
 
THE LOADSTONE. 231 
 
 " The Lodestone commeth from Indie, and is almost 
 Iron colour like. It is founde most rife amongest the 
 Trogloditas people, in the furthest part of Affrick, beyond 
 ^Ethiopia, who are saide to dwell in Canes, and to eate 
 Serpents flesh. It draweth Iron to it, euen as one Lover 
 coueteth and desireth an other. The common people 
 therefore hailing sometime seene this so done by secret and 
 unknowne working, have indged and reputed y 6 Iron liuely. 
 There is another kind of Lodestone in Thessalie, that is of 
 contrarie set and disposition, which will have none of Iron, 
 nor will meddle with it. But for the other that is reckned 
 principall and best, which in colour is blew. Saint Au- 
 gustine saith, that if any man put under any vessel eyther 
 golden or of brasse, or holde under these any piece of Iron, 
 and lay aboue the vessels or upo them this Lodestone, that 
 euen through the verie motion or mouing of the stone 
 underneath, the Iron shall moue up and meete with it as 
 nigh as the vessel wil suffer at the verie top." 
 
 Hippocrates, Plato, and Aristotle were all acquainted 
 with the attractive and repulsive powers of the magnet, and 
 so well are they known at the present day, that even 
 children's toys are made which exhibit its interesting pro- 
 perties. 
 
232 POPULAR MINEEALOGY. 
 
 Magnetical Iron ore, containing generally about seventy 
 per cent, of iron to thirty per cent, of oxygen, is of course 
 a very valuable ore for smelting purposes, and we have 
 already observed that the Swedish Iron is found to produce 
 the best steel. About thirty miles from Upsal, in that 
 country, a mine still exists that has been worked for 
 upwards of three hundred years ; and the mountain called 
 Taberg, whose upper bed is 370 feet thick, has been worked 
 for a similar period of time. 
 
 The first process undergone by this ore of Iron, and, 
 indeed, by all others, is that termed roasting ; that is, the 
 stone is broken up into pieces, and then spread on the 
 ground in the open air, a layer of pit-coal is then placed 
 upon it, then another layer of Iron ore, and another of 
 pit-coal, and so on alternately, until a very large heap is 
 made, when the coal is set on fire, and the heat serves 
 to dissipate any Arsenic or Sulphur that may have been 
 united with the ore. It is next mixed with a certain pro- 
 portion of Ckarcaal, which is composed of carbon, and 
 with Limestone ; and these being melted in the furnace, 
 the produce is Cast Iron. The cast iron obtained by this 
 process is as white as silver, of crystalline structure, ex- 
 tremely hard and brittle, and, being run into moulds, of a 
 
MAGNETIC IRON ORE. 233 
 
 semi-cylindrical form, is termed pig-iron. It will thus be 
 seen that the cast iron which is moulded into such a vast 
 variety of shapes, all useful and important in their way, has 
 only required first to be separated from impurities and then 
 to be mixed with carbon ; the proportion in which that sub- 
 stance is added, affecting the qualities of the Iron. But to 
 render this cast-iron in a fit state for forging, it is necessary 
 again to deprive it of its carbon. This is done by again 
 subjecting it to heat, but of greater intensity than that at 
 first used, and when the metal has run out and cooled, it is 
 subjected to high pressure between rollers. Afterwards, to 
 give the metal the necessary degree of solidity and closeness, 
 it is again heated, and then beaten out with hammers into 
 ingots or bars of about three feet in length, which are 
 partially divided in several places to facilitate their being 
 broken. This is now malleable won, is by far the most 
 tenacious of all the metals, and is capable of being drawn 
 out into the finest wire. 
 
 There is one kind of manufactured Iron, called Steel, 
 which must not be overlooked, for no other metal is known 
 that could supply its place in the arts, manufactures, and 
 agriculture of the world, nor its 'utility as a weapon of war; 
 cannon are made of cast iron or brass, but swords are 
 
234 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 made of steel. Whatever objection may be entertained 
 against warfare, all will agree that if men will fight, good 
 sword-blades are preferable to bad ones. Now, in order to 
 make steel, that called pig-iron is used, and this, as we have 
 observed, has been artificially impregnated with carbon, 
 which it is necessary to remove for the production of mal- 
 leable iron. When the Iron has thus been brought to a 
 malleable state, it is again mixed with carbon, but in smaller 
 proportion than is contained in pig-iron, and the metal is 
 now Steel. 
 
 " Hail, adamantine Steel ! Magnetic Lord ! 
 King of the prow, the ploughshare, and the sword ! 
 True to the pole, hy thee the pilot guides 
 His steady helm amid the struggling tides, 
 Braves with broad sail the immeasurable sea, 
 Cleaves the dark air, and asks no star but thee. 
 By thee the ploughshare rends the matted plain, 
 Inhumes in level rows the living grain ; 
 Intrusive forests quit the cultured ground, 
 And Ceres laughs, with golden fillets crown'd. 
 O'er restless realms when scowling Discord flings 
 Her snakes, and loud the din of battle rings, 
 Expiring Strength and vanquish 'd Courage feel 
 Thy arm resistless, adamantine Steel!" Darwin. 
 
 A most extraordinary fact has lately been discovered with 
 
OLIGISTE IB.ON. 235 
 
 reference to iron in a state of fusion : this is, that if heated 
 beyond a certain degree, the finger, hand, or arm may be 
 dipped into the fluid metal, and even stirred about in it, 
 without any sensation of pain, and when withdrawn 
 will be found to have sustained not the slightest injury ! 
 Some courage would be requisite to try this experiment, but 
 that it has recently been tried by several persons, and in all 
 cases with success, is an undoubted truth. 
 
 We shall now notice the other varieties of Oxidulous Iron. 
 The first of these also possesses the property of magnetism, 
 but in a less degree than that already noticed. 
 
 OLIGISTE IRON. 
 
 This term includes several varieties of Oxidulous Iron, 
 differing considerably from each other in some of their ex- 
 ternal characters, particularly in crystalline form and mode 
 of occurrence, their primary form being an acute rhomboid. 
 The most beautiful of these is that variety called Elba Iron, 
 from the locality in which it is found, where the mines are 
 most extensive, and are said to have -been worked upwards 
 of 3000 years. From these mines are brought the most 
 splendid crystallized specimens, the crystals sometimes dis- 
 playing the most gorgeous iridescent hues. Very capital 
 
36 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 specimens are also found at St. Gothard, accompanying 
 Rock crystal and Adularia ; the crystals consist of hexagonal 
 plates, and are grouped together in the form of rosettes ; 
 shooting out from these are seen transparent wine-red crys- 
 tals of Titanium of the most perfect form. Oligiste Iron is 
 also found in small crystals scattered over or completely 
 covering Quartz in Cornwall; and in Cumberland it oc- 
 curs in the most brilliantly crystallized groups with Smoky 
 Quartz. 
 
 Micaceous Iron is a variety occurring in extremely thin 
 and brilliant plates, sometimes, as at Lorraine in Trance, 
 interspersed in Rock crystal, sometimes in Lithomarge ; and 
 in Cornwall it is found in masses consisting only of minute 
 scales, which adhere to the fingers. In Brazil it occurs in 
 large thin plates, which, if held up to the light, appear to be 
 of a deep red colour. 
 
 HYDROUS OXIDE OF IRON. 
 
 Most usually this substance is found in a crystallized 
 form, but is sometimes massive. The crystals are small and 
 black, but very brilliant, and occur in stalactitic groups, or 
 imbedded in Quartz, at Lostwithiel, in Cornwall. Acicular 
 crystals, grouped together very prettily, are found in Quartz 
 
HAEMATITE. 237 
 
 geodes near Bristol, and at Oberstein ; it occurs in Amethyst 
 at Petrosbotzky in Eussia. 
 
 HEMATITE. 
 
 This very abundant mineral occurs of various shades of 
 red, brown, and black. It never assumes a crystalline form, 
 but is always of a fibrous structure, and occasionally botry- 
 oidal and stalactitic ; sometimes coating crystals of Quartz, 
 as in Cornwall. Externally the mass is often black and 
 shining, and even iridescent. Haematite is plentiful in a 
 vast number of localities in England, Scotland, Prance, 
 Germany, Poland, Eussia, and in the United States. It 
 affords a very tough, compact cast iron, and is also con- 
 verted into malleable iron of superior quality ; in America 
 the best iron, both malleable and cast, is obtained from the 
 brown-coloured variety. The figure represents a specimen 
 from Lancashire (Plate X. fig. 39). 
 
 Red ocJire is a variety of Haematite, which is soft and 
 greasy to the touch, and stains the fingers with a light red 
 colour. It occurs with, and coating, the other varieties. 
 
 Lepido~kro~kite. This resembles Haematite in external 
 characters and in main composition, but it contains, in 
 addition, some Phosphoric acid. It is found only in Thu- 
 ringia, and is a rare mineral. 
 
238 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 BOG IRON-ORE. 
 
 In colour this is generally of a dark yellowish-brown, and 
 in structure is earthy and either friable or compact. One 
 variety occurs in small round masses adhering together, and 
 is termed Pea Iron ore. Another variety occurs in separate 
 masses of a rounded form and considerable size : these are 
 hollow, and generally contain some loose grains, which rattle 
 about when the stone is shaken. Bog Iron ore is supposed 
 by Werner to arise from the decomposition of rocks over 
 which water passes, and to be deposited by the water when 
 in a state of rest in bogs and marshy places. 
 
 These, then, are the principal substances in which Iron 
 exists in the state of an Oxide, that is, in combination with 
 oxygen. The learner's attention may next be directed to the 
 varieties of Carbonate of Iron, which, as is implied by that 
 term, consists of Iron in combination with Carbonic acid. 
 
 CARBONATE OF IRON. 
 
 The primary form of this ore of Iron is an obtuse 
 rhomboid, but it is seldom seen crystallized in that form. 
 More commonly it occurs in lenticular crystals composed of 
 
CARBONATE OF IRON. 239 
 
 hexagonal layers grouped together. In colour it is usually 
 brown of different shades, and sometimes approaches to 
 black. Most interesting specimens, one of which is figured 
 (Plate X. fig. 40), have been found in Cornwall : in these 
 the brown crystals of carbonate of Iron are deposited here 
 and there on crystallized opake white Quartz, sometimes 
 supported by two Quartz crystals, sometimes placed on the 
 very point of a single one, or adhering to its sides. A 
 curious instance of pseudomorphism is seen occasionally in 
 this substance, when it forms long flat hollow crystals, which 
 taper gradually to a point : we are, however, not aware 
 what substances formerly occupied those forms. Carbonate 
 of Iron is also found fibrous, the fibres being parallel and 
 of a dark brown colour. In the Hartz most magnificent 
 crystallized specimens are found, as also in the Silver veins 
 at Freyberg : it is obtained from several localities in the 
 United States. 
 
 Clay Iron-stone. From this variety of carbonate of Iron 
 a large proportion of all the Iron manufactured in England 
 is obtained. It occurs in large rounded masses of a dirty 
 grey colour, very hard and compact, and of such ordinary 
 appearance that the beginner would but grudgingly afford a 
 specimen of it room in his cabinet. We trust, however, 
 
240 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 that it will be regarded with some favour on account of its 
 great value as an ore of Iron. Clay Iron-stone is most 
 abundant in the coal-measures, but frequently occurs in 
 detached nodules imbedded in strata of clay, varying in size 
 from that of a potato to five feet in diameter : they often 
 lie at regular distances, forming an almost continuous bed, 
 but are sometimes scattered promiscuously through the clay : 
 on breaking some of them, fossil fishes, crabs, or plants are 
 seen. The furnace used for smelting this ore is usually a 
 square pyramidal tower of solid brickwork, from forty to 
 fifty feet high ; in these there is a door near the top, for the 
 purpose of attending to the progress of the smelting. To 
 one who beholds these furnaces for the first time on a dark 
 night, the sight is most interesting, although strongly sug- 
 gestive of Pandemonium, especially when the workmen open 
 the door in the side. Through this opening is seen the 
 most intensely glaring fire, before which the men with in- 
 struments resembling large pitchforks, flit, like so many evil 
 sprites, backwards and forwards. Prom the top of the 
 furnace issue huge volumes of dense black smoke, and the 
 whole atmosphere around is impregnated with a strong 
 sulphurous odour. Usually there are several of these fur- 
 naces in close proximity, and when dark mountains rise up 
 
SULPHATE OF IROX. 241 
 
 on either side, the effect of the scene is not a little heigh- 
 tened. 
 
 PHOSPHATE OP IRON. 
 
 This consists of Iron, Phosphoric acid, and water. It 
 occurs crystallized and earthy. The crystals, which are of 
 various shades of dark blue or green, are composed of thin 
 laminae, and occur imbedded in Iron pyrites in Cornwall. 
 A nearly black crystallized variety is found imbedded in 
 Bog Iron ore and Sandstone at Allentown in New Jersey. 
 The earthy kind is of a lighter blue colour, but when first 
 exposed to the air is grey, yellow, or greenish- white. It is 
 found in Styria, Carinthia, Greenland, and several places 
 in England. Phosphate of Iron is also known by the 
 name of Vwianite. 
 
 SULPHATE OF IRON. 
 
 This occurs in most mines where Iron pyrites is found, 
 from the decomposition of which it arises. Its colour is 
 green of various shades, but it becomes, by exposure, yellow 
 or yellowish-brown. Being obtained by artificial means 
 from Iron pyrites, it is caused to crystallize over various 
 ornamental articles, such as wire baskets, &c., and in many 
 
 R 
 
242 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 chemists' shops are exhibited large artificially crystallized 
 specimens, but in a native state it is very rarely found 
 crystallized. 
 
 CHROMATE OF IRON 
 
 Consists of Iron in combination with Chromic acid, and 
 generally some Alumine and Silex. Its crystalline form is 
 the octohedron, the crystals being commonly minute, and of 
 a black colour. It also occurs massive and sometimes 
 lamellar in structure. Near Baltimore, in North America, 
 very perfect and brilliant octohedrons are found imbedded 
 in Serpentine, which is also its matrix in two of the Shetland 
 Isles. The large proportion of chrome contained in this 
 ore of iron renders it a very valuable one, yielding, in 
 combination with the oxides of other metals, green, yellow, 
 and red colours, which are employed in oil-painting and in 
 colouring porcelain. 
 
 ARSENIATE OP IRON. 
 
 This combination of Iron with Arsenic acid and some 
 other ingredients, is the last ore of that metal which we 
 have to notice ; but it must not be forgotten that we have 
 necessarily omitted many distinct minerals, which are also 
 
ARSENIATE OF IRON. 243 
 
 ores of Iron, but whose rarity of occurrence will justify us 
 in sacrificing them to our confined limits. 
 
 Arseniate of Iron occurs crystallized in small cubes of 
 various shades of brown and green: they are generally 
 translucent, and are variously modified. It has been found 
 in France, but most of the specimens seen in cabinets are 
 from Cornwall. 
 
 a 2 
 
244 
 
 MANGANESE. 
 
 ALTHOUGH in usefulness this metal will not bear comparison 
 with Iron, it is yet of considerable importance in some of 
 the arts and manufactures. It has never been found in a 
 pure state, but in all its ores is in combination with 
 Oxygen, and when in this state is turned to great account 
 for the purpose of obtaining oxygen gas from it for the 
 manufacture of bleaching powder. Oxide of Manganese 
 has already been alluded to as being used in the manu- 
 facture of glass, in order to render it colourless. This 
 metal has not long been known. 
 
 GEEY MANGANESE. 
 
 The primary form of this substance is a rhombic prism, 
 from which the crystals in which it usually occurs are 
 derived. The crystals are often of considerable size, and 
 are of a greyish-black colour and very brilliant. It is also 
 found in long slender prisms aggregated together, having 
 in the mass a fibrous appearance. Prom Thuringia are 
 brought the finest crystallized specimens, but of the latter 
 
Plate XI. 
 
 4 I. Black Ma,Tua-rvese 
 
 42. Rose Ma-n-gaiv 
 
 
 
 43. S-ulp1i.uret of 
 
 H.Sowerly lifk. 
 
ROSE MANGANESE. 245 
 
 variety very good ones are found in Cornwall. The speci- 
 men figured (Plate XI. fig. 41) is termed Black Manganese 
 merely in allusion to its colour, and exhibits another variety 
 of the oxide of this metal, whose form is botryoidal. An 
 earthy variety is found in several localities, and is known 
 by the euphonious name of Wad. Braunite, Hausmannite, 
 and Pyrolusite are other varieties in which Oxide of Man- 
 ganese occurs ; indeed, the last of those three is the one 
 principally in use in the purification of glass. 
 
 EOSE MANGANESE. 
 
 There are several ores of Manganese to which this name 
 might be applied with equal justice as to the specimen 
 figured (Plate XI. fig. 42) of Carbonate of Manganese. 
 This, which is from Nagyag, in Transylvania, is of the most 
 delicate rose-colour. The crystals are rhomboids, generally 
 curved more or less, and occur lining cavities in Sulphuret 
 of Manganese, winch is of a black colour. The other 
 rose-coloured ores of this metal are the Silicate and the 
 Bisilicate: this latter is found massive in Devonshire, 
 associated with the grey and black oxides; also in other 
 localities. 
 
46 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 HELVINE. 
 
 This is very different in general character from any other 
 ore of Manganese, occurring in tetrahedral crystals of a 
 light brownish- green colour. It contains, in addition to 
 the Oxides of Manganese and Iron, the earths Silex, 
 Alumine, and Glucine.' The best-known localities for it 
 are Schwartzenberg, in Saxony, and Hortekulle, in Norway. 
 
247 
 
 MOLYBDENA. 
 
 THIS metal does not appear to have been put to any parti- 
 cular use, although in America it occurs in considerable 
 abundance. Its ores are only two in number. 
 
 SULPHURET OF MoLYBDENA. 
 
 It is composed of the metal and Sulphur, and always 
 occurs in laminae, or plates, which are either of a hexagonal 
 shape, and so arranged as to form a crystal, or else irre- 
 gularly aggregated in a mass together. The colour is a 
 bluish-grey, and the lustre metallic : the laminae are opake 
 and very flexible. Sulphuret of Molybdena is found in 
 Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Saxony, France, and Peru. 
 Plate XI. fig. 43 represents two hexagonal plates of this 
 substance imbedded in a flesh-coloured Felspar. Cornwall 
 produces it in some abundance, and the granite of the 
 United States contains it in great quantity. It bears some 
 resemblance to Graphite, but is much lighter, both in 
 colour and weight. 
 
 OXIDE OF MOLYBDENA 
 
 is of a yellow colour, and is only found in very minute 
 quantities encrusting the Sulphuret. 
 
248 
 
 TIN. 
 
 " Hence glows, refulgent Tin ! thy crystal grains, 
 And tawny Copper shoots her azure veins ; 
 Zinc lines his fretted vault with sable ore, 
 And dull Galena tessellates the floor." Darwin. 
 
 WITH this metal the ancients appear to have been well 
 acquainted, it being frequently mentioned in the writings 
 of Moses. In the time of Edward the First the Stan- 
 naries were established by Eoyal Charter, being courts for 
 the administration of justice amongst the tin-workers of 
 Cornwall and Devonshire. A greatly increased demand 
 arose for it in the eighth century, when bells for churches 
 came into more general use, for tin not only is a necessary 
 ingredient in bell-metal, but also in brass and pewter. 
 Tin is one of the lightest metals known; is tolerably mal- 
 leable, as the thin leaves called tin-foil will prove ; and is 
 flexible. It is never found pure in a native state, and only 
 occurs naturally in two conditions, viz., combined with 
 Oxygen, and as a Sulphuret. 
 
 OXIDE OF TIN. 
 This commonly occurs crystallized in four-sided prisms 
 
OXIDE OF TIN. 249 
 
 terminated by pyramids of four planes, but its primary 
 form is an obtuse octohedron. The crystals are sometimes 
 very distinct, especially in Cornish specimens, but they are 
 often modified, and occasionaUy macled, that is, two crystals 
 are joined together, neither of them showing their full form. 
 The peculiarity of a made of Oxide of Tin is shown in 
 Plate XI. fig. 44. When in regular four-sided crystals, 
 it often varies considerably in general form, the prisms 
 being sometimes very short and thick, sometimes very long 
 and slender, and the pyramids being in some crystals very 
 obtuse, in others sharp and pointed. The colour, and trans- 
 parency too, varies much, as it occurs almost transparent, 
 either colourless or of a yellowish tint; hair-brown or 
 reddish-brown, and translucent; commonly deep brown 
 passing into black, and opake. In Saxony very brilliant 
 crystallized specimens of Oxide of Tin are found, sometimes 
 in macled crystals weighing several pounds. Spain, France, 
 Greenland, and South America, produce Oxide of Tin in 
 some abundance. Sumatra and Borneo are rich in it. 
 The United States have produced but very little, the chief 
 repository of this ore being in Cornwall, which county 
 has annually produced it to the average value of about 
 300,000. A large proportion of this is yielded by the 
 
250 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 variety called Stream Tin, which consists of rolled frag- 
 ments of different sizes, and is found in many of the low 
 and marshy places in Cornwall. This is only the debris 
 of the Tin veins, and is found mixed with gravel and sand, 
 and even grains of Native Gold. These mines are called 
 stream-works, because streams of water are employed to 
 wash the gravel and sand, and separate therefrom the tin 
 ore : they were evidently worked by the Romans at a 
 very early date, for not unfrequently Roman coins have 
 been met with in them. From this variety is produced 
 the best Tin. 
 
 Tin ore, obtained from the mine, is first broken into 
 pieces not larger than two or three inches square, and is 
 then taken to the stamping mill, which has the effect of 
 crushing it till it is reduced to a coarse powder ; this is 
 washed and sifted many times, in order to separate the 
 particles of granite, sand, and other impurities. After 
 undergoing the process of roasting, and another washing, 
 it is in a state to yield from fifty to seventy -five per cent, 
 of metal, and is then smelted in furnaces, from which the 
 liquid Tin runs off into a large receptacle, leaving the 
 impurities behind, in the shape of dag. The metal being 
 afterwards refined, it is run into moulds, and comes to the 
 
TIN. 25 L 
 
 market under the name of Block Tin. From the stream 
 ore is obtained Tin of a finer quality, which is termed 
 Grain Tin. 
 
 We might now, in fairness, ask the learner to descend 
 with us to an apartment in the lower regions of the house, 
 known as the kitchen, in order to make an examination of 
 the many and various articles of domestic use that are 
 manufactured of this metal ; and we have no doubt an 
 instructive, if not a pleasant hour, might be passed in 
 inspecting and handling the kettles, saucepans, and candle- 
 sticks that we should not fail to observe in that place. 
 The knowledge, however, that such things exist, will be 
 sufficient for the present, although it is necessary to correct 
 a general impression that they are manufactured wholly of 
 Tin ; the fact being, that they are made from thin sheets of 
 Iron, which have been dipped into melted Tin, and have 
 thus received a coating only of that metal. The practice 
 of coating with Tin, vessels of Copper or Iron which are 
 used in cooking, is a very useful one, as it prevents their 
 being acted upon by the air, water, or acids. Tin is used 
 in dyeing, and is essential in producing the finest scarlet 
 and crimson colours in cloth. It amalgamates with Mercury, 
 and thus furnishes the metallic coating to our looking- 
 
252 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 glasses : a knowledge of this fact alone will, we are sure, 
 give the ladies a favourable opinion of the study of rnetals ; 
 but another fact, almost equally interesting, deserves men- 
 tioning, viz., that an artificial combination of Tin and 
 Sulphur produces beautiful golden-coloured scales, much 
 used by japanners upon tea-trays, as a paint. This is 
 Mosaic Gold, and when polished it much resembles Gold 
 in appearance. 
 
 Thus have been enumerated the principal properties of 
 Tin, but we find others ascribed to it by Maplet, who shall 
 again speak in his own words : 
 
 " Aristotle sayth, in his fourth booke of Meteores, y 4 it 
 is compound of Quicksilver indifferent good, but of very 
 base brimstone, and therefore this kind of Mettall is nothing 
 proporcionably mixt, but al out of square compound, for 
 the which it looketh so raw, and hath Silver his verie 
 colour, but not his goodnesse. Cardane saith, that Tin 
 descrieth and reuelefch if any poyson be hid, for both it 
 hisseth and cracketh if it be so, and also showeth thin 
 stripes in maner like to a bow. I have seene it my selfe 
 when as this kinde of mettall being molten in the pit, and 
 but a spoonefull of water being cast into, it hath floushed 
 and leapt up to the top of the house : but a whole Potfull 
 
TUNGSTEN. 253 
 
 of Beere or Ale being cast in, it hath not once moued, but 
 laughed by and by. The cause I may giue that Cardane 
 doth, applying it to all mettalls, onely Golde excepted : for 
 sayth he all other (onely Golde excepted) are fertile and 
 fat. And being thus, laffe at their like, and refuse the 
 residue. And thus much of Tin." 
 
 SULPHUEET OF TlN. 
 
 This ore of Tin, which, besides Tin and Sulphur, also 
 contains some Copper and Iron, is only found in Corn- 
 wall. In colour it is a dull bronze, and in structure 
 granular. 
 
 TUNGSTEN. 
 
 THIS metal occurs only in a state of oxide. It is of a 
 yellow colour, and is found associated with Wolfram 
 (Tungstate of Iron) in Quartz, at Lane's mine, Monroe 
 county, United States; also in Cornwall. Tuugstic acid 
 in combination with Lime forms the Tungstate of that 
 earth. This metal has not been put to any use. 
 
254 
 
 TITANIUM. 
 
 SOME of the minerals which contain this metal are ex- 
 ceedingly interesting ; in all of these it exists as an oxide, 
 never being found pure. 
 
 ANATASE. 
 
 This is an oxide of Titanium, and occurs in very beau- 
 tiful small crystals of an acute octohedral form. Their 
 colour is steel-grey, or various shades of brown, and 
 they are occasionally translucent. Before the blowpipe it 
 forms with borax a dull yellow globule, which becomes 
 white on cooling. At Oisans, in Dauphiny, it occurs in 
 granite, accompanying Felspar, Axinlte, Rock crystal, and 
 Chlorite. In Brazil minute crystals are found partly 
 imbedded in Rock crystal. It has also been found in 
 Cornwall. 
 
 TlTANITE. 
 
 Although none of the forms of Oxide of Titanium can 
 

 47. Uranite . 
 
 4?6. Tita-niie 
 
 4 8 . Oipimeavt 
 
BEOOKITE. CBICHTONITE. 255 
 
 be said to be common, this is by far the most abundant 
 of any of them. It occurs in four-sided crystals of con- 
 siderable size in Spain, and in long acicular prisms imbedded 
 in Rock crystal in Brazil. In Scotland the prisms are found 
 intersecting Quartz, as shown in our figure (Plate XII. 
 fig. 46) . Its usual colour is reddish-brown, but at Tintagel, 
 in Cornwall, it is found in fine hair-like fibres of a yellow- 
 ish colour. Titanite is found in many parts of the United 
 States. 
 
 BEOOKITE, 
 
 So named in honour of the celebrated living minera- 
 logist of that name, has not yet been analyzed, but may be 
 considered a variety of Oxide of Titanium. Its best-known 
 locality is Snowdon, in Wales, but it has also been brought 
 from Dauphiny. At Snowdon it occurs in large tabular 
 crystals of great beauty, usually translucent, and of a 
 deep wine-red colour (Plate XII. fig. 45), but occasionally 
 opake and iron-brown. 
 
 CEICHTONITE 
 
 Occurs in small shining black crystals of an acute rhoni- 
 boidal form, having the summits replaced, and being other- 
 
256 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 wise modified. It has only been found on Rock crystal, 
 near Oisans, in Dauphiny, and is an extremely rare mineral : 
 it is named after Sir Alexander Crichton. 
 
 SPHENE. 
 
 This is the last ore of Titanium we shall notice, although 
 there are several others known. It occurs in crystals 
 differing greatly in form, but all derived from an oblique 
 rhombic prism. In colour, also, it is very variable, being 
 sometimes grey, yellow, red, or brown, but that most usual 
 is a shade of yellowish-green. It consists of Oxide of 
 Titanium, Silex, and Lime. 
 
 CERIUM is the metal that we find next in order, with the 
 minerals in which it occurs, but these are not likely to 
 interest the beginner in mineralogy, nor is he likely to 
 possess them, owing to their rarity. Passing over these 
 and the Columbiferous minerals, we introduce a metal 
 which, though it has not been applied to any great uses, 
 will always claim admiration on account of the extreme 
 beauty of its Phosphate. 
 
257 
 
 URANIUM. 
 
 THE Oxide and the Phosphate are the only ores of this 
 metal that are known as minerals. With oxygen and a 
 few other ingredients it forms a substance called Pitch- 
 blende, or Uran-ochre, which is massive, black, and shining, 
 and is found at Johanngeorgenstadt, in Saxony, and in 
 Tin Croft mine, Cornwall, accompanying the following 
 species. 
 
 UIULNTTE. 
 
 This consists chiefly of Oxide of Uranium, Phosphate 
 of Copper, and Phosphoric acid, and is therefore a Phos- 
 phate of Uranium. It occurs crystallized in the form of a 
 square prism, which may be readily divided into thin 
 laminae. 
 
 At Autun, in Burgundy, Phosphate of Uranium occurs 
 of a rich lemon-colour, and occasionally of a delicately 
 pale yellowish-green, but specimens showing these tints are 
 rare; the most beautiful, and at the same time the most 
 
 s 
 
258 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 common, varieties being found in Cornwall, and possessing 
 a splendid green colour. In these specimens the Uranite 
 sometimes occurs coating dark brown- coloured Quartz, 
 with brilliant drusy crystallizations, sometimes in distinct 
 crystals amongst yellowish-brown Iron-ore. At Gunnislake, 
 in Cornwall, was formerly found a very interesting variety, 
 peculiar to that locality, which, however, no longer pro- 
 duces it. Plate XII. fig. 47 exhibits the manner in 
 which the broad square plates or laminae composing the 
 crystals are irregularly aggregated together. 
 
 CHROME 
 
 Is of more frequent occurrence combined with other 
 metals, than as a distinct substance. Oxide of Chrome 
 is, however, found in granular masses of a dull green 
 colour, near Lyons, and forming veins of a bright green 
 colour, in Chromate of Iron, at Unst, one of the Shetland 
 Isles. 
 
259 
 
 BISMUTH. 
 
 .THIS metal is most commonly found in a native state. 
 NATIVE BISMUTH. 
 
 The primary form is an octohedron, but it very seldom 
 has been found in that form, most usually occurring 
 in masses of granular structure, the grains being some- 
 times very minute indeed; but sometimes, as in hand- 
 some specimens recently found in Cornwall, Native Bismuth 
 occurs in broad laminae, in which crystallized Quartz is 
 imbedded. Saxony, Bohemia, Trance, and Sweden, also 
 produce the native metal. It is of a silver-white colour, 
 tinged with red, but, if exposed to the air, soon becomes 
 tarnished. It readily alloys with other metals, whose fusi- 
 bility is in some cases remarkably increased by the mixture. 
 This metal is not very useful, but enters into the composi- 
 tion of some kinds of pewter, and printing-type. Some 
 kinds of white paint are also derived from it, and it is 
 occasionally used in medicine. 
 
 Sulphuret of Bismuth occurs generally in lead-grey needle- 
 shaped crystals, and is found in Cornwall. The Oxide and 
 Carbonate are rare. 
 
 s 2 
 
260 
 
 ABSENIC 
 
 Is found in a native state, as an Oxide, and as a Sulphuret. 
 NATIVE ARSENIC. 
 
 This occurs in a botryoidal form, and when newly broken 
 has a very brilliant lustre, but, by exposure to the air, 
 assumes a dull black colour. Before the blowpipe it melts 
 readily burning with a blue flame and a dense white 
 arsenical vapour, and leaving nothing behind but a minute 
 portion of Iron. It occurs in Norway, in Bohemia, in the 
 Hartz, and in America. 
 
 Its Oxide, an artificial preparation of which is sold in the 
 shops, and so often proves fatal to human life, is rarely 
 found in a natural state. It is of a bluish- white colour, 
 and gives off the smell of garlic before the blowpipe. 
 
 The Sulphuret occurs of two colours, and has two dif- 
 ferent names. Realgar is the name of the bright-red 
 variety, which occurs crystallized in a prismatic form, whose 
 primary is a rhomboid. It is also found massive, associated 
 with the following variety. Orpiment, a figure of which is 
 
ARSENIC. 261 
 
 given in Plate XII. fig. 48, is of a bright lemon-yellow 
 colour, and occurs in masses of a broad foliated structure : 
 it may be separated easily into exceedingly thin laminae. 
 The specimen figured came from Nagyag in Transylvania, 
 but Orpiment is also found in China, Mexico, Hungary, 
 and Piedmont. Its name is derived from the Greek, and 
 signifies gold-yellow. 
 
 Although, combined with oxygen, this metal is a most 
 deadly poison, yet when discreetly administered in small 
 doses, it is a medicine of great value. The paint known 
 as King' s-yellow is a preparation from Arsenic, which is 
 also used for colouring glass, and is alloyed with the Lead 
 of which shot is manufactured. Pure metallic Arsenic has 
 no deleterious effects upon human life. Arsenic Acid is a 
 combination of the metal with a larger proportion of 
 Oxygen than is contained in the ore termed Oxide of 
 Arsenic ; and the young mineralogist will not fail to observe 
 that those minerals into whose composition this acid enters 
 are generally remarkable for their beauty. 
 
262 
 
 COBALT. 
 
 SEVERAL ores of this inetal occur in a natural state, but 
 it has never been found pure. Its most common occur- 
 rence is in combination with Arsenic. 
 
 ARSENICAL COBALT. 
 
 Of this mineral there are several varieties. The first is 
 termed Bright White Cobalt, whose crystalline forms exactly 
 resemble those of Iron pyrites, but it differs in colour and 
 in its behaviour before the blowpipe. It is found imbedded 
 in Copper pyrites in Norway and Sweden. Its colour is 
 yellowish-white, with a tinge of red, and its crystals are 
 very brilliant. In both of these characters, and in the 
 proportion of its composition, it differs from Grey Cobalt, 
 which is of a greyish-black colour, and is never crystallized. 
 Tin-white Cobalt is found accompanying the other ores of 
 the metal : the principal of these are 
 
 ARSENIATE OP COBALT, 
 which consists of Cobalt combined with Arsenic acid 
 
COBALT. 263 
 
 and water. It sometimes occurs in acicular diverging 
 prisms of a crimson-red colour and translucent, and 
 sometimes in an earthy or powdery form, and is termed 
 Cobalt Bloom ; this variety we have figured in Plate XIII. 
 fig. 49 : its colour is a pale rose-red, and it occurs on a 
 brownish-coloured matrix, at Schneeberg, in Saxony. 
 
 SULPHATE OF COBALT. 
 
 This consists of Oxide of Cobalt, Sulphuric Acid, and 
 water. It occurs in crystalline translucent masses of a 
 delicately pale rose-red colour. 
 
 All the ores of Cobalt, when before the blowpipe, tinge 
 Borax with a blue colour. Its principal value to mankind 
 consists in yielding a substance called zaffre, which is 
 greatly used for colouring earthenware, staining glass, and 
 other purposes. A paint known as Cobalt blue, and a 
 very curious and beautiful sympathetic ink, are derived from 
 it. " Characters written with this ink are perfectly invisi- 
 ble when cold, but, on gently warming the paper, appear of 
 a fine blue or green, according to the purity of the metal 
 employed. These, when cold, disappear again, and the 
 experiment may be repeated as often as desirable, provided 
 
264 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 the paper be not too much heated. Landscapes, repre- 
 senting a winter scene, have been drawn on a fire-screen, 
 and the leaves and grass, being drawn with this ink, were 
 of course invisible, until the screen has been brought near 
 the fire, when the barren trees have been immediately 
 covered with verdure, as if by magic; the ground has 
 become green, and the whole has assumed the appearance 
 of spring/' This ink is obtained by digesting zaffre for 
 three or four hours in nitro-muriatic acid, by the applica- 
 tion of a moderate degree of heat. 
 
265 
 
 NICKEL. 
 
 THIS may be considered a rare metal in comparison with 
 many others, a circumstance the less to be regretted as it 
 possesses neither any great beauty to attract our admiration, 
 nor any peculiar properties that might render it of great 
 service to mankind. In a native state it occurs but 
 sparingly. 
 
 NATIVE NICKEL 
 
 Is found in the form of flexible hair-like filaments, of a 
 yellow colour, in Saxony, Bohemia, and the Hartz. In 
 Cornwall it is found occupying the cavities in the follow- 
 ing species. 
 
 ARSENICAL NICKEL. 
 
 This consists principally of Arsenic and Nickel, as is 
 implied by its name, but contains also Cobalt, Iron, Lead, 
 and Sulphur, in small proportions. It sometimes occurs 
 dentritic and botryoidal, but is generally massive, and in 
 
266 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 colour approaches copper- or yellowish-red. It is found in 
 several European countries, and in America, but is most 
 abundant in Cornwall. Nickel-ochre is of a pale green 
 colour, and is found coating Arsenical Nickel, to the decom- 
 position of which it owes its existence. 
 
 Pimelite is of an apple-green colour, and consists of 
 Oxide of Nickel, Silex, and water, with the earths Alumine, 
 Lime, and Magnesia in small proportions. It is found 
 associated with Chrysoprase, whose green colour, we have 
 before observed, is probably owing to the presence of 
 Nickel. 
 
 Gold, Copper, Tin, and Arsenic are rendered brittle by 
 being alloyed with Nickel, but its alloys with Silver and 
 Iron are ductile. The most interesting circumstance con- 
 nected with this metal is, that it almost invariably abounds 
 in Meteoric Iron and Meteorites, of which we have already 
 treated. It possesses the quality of retaining magnetism 
 to a high degree, and has been employed to make magnetic 
 needles, being less liable to rust than steel. 
 
Plate XIII. 
 
 49. Cola.lt lloo-m. 
 
 52. Sulphur et of Silver. 
 
 50. Native Silver. 
 
 51. Native Silver 
 
 T. Reeve, imp. 
 
267 
 
 SILVEB. 
 
 " On Vermil beds in Idria's mighty caves 
 The living Silver rolls in ponderous waves. 
 With gay refractions bright Platina shines, 
 And studs with squandered stars his dusky mines ; 
 Long threads of netted Gold, and silvery darts, 
 Inlay the Lazuli, and pierce the Quartz ; 
 "Whence, roofed with Silver, beamed Peru of old, 
 And hapless Mexico was paved with Gold." Darwin. 
 
 THERE is every reason to suppose that this metal was known 
 at as early a period as Gold, for we find them both men- 
 tioned together in Scripture, as constituting part of Abra- 
 ham's wealth. By the poets it is frequently alluded to as 
 an object of comparison, particularly with the moon, whose 
 soft and modest splendour has been aptly compared to the 
 chaste lustre of the metal we are about to notice. For a 
 reward of a few shekels of silver, Judas betrayed his 
 Master, and we fear that this is not the only instance of 
 villany being stimulated by the expectation of reward in 
 the shape of one or other of the precious metals. AVe 
 must not, however, condemn the metal because it may often 
 
268 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 have been applied to base purposes ; on the contrary, its 
 immense usefulness as a circulating medium, and for other 
 purposes, entitles it to our admiration and respect, senti- 
 ments that will certainly not vanish on our inspecting the 
 beautiful and valuable series of specimens in the cases at 
 the British Museum, or even such as we may have succeeded 
 in adding to our own private collections. 
 
 Silver yields only to Gold in malleability, and possesses 
 that property in so great a degree, that it may be beaten 
 out into leaves 100,000th of an inch in thickness ; and 
 from a single grain a vessel may be made, capable of con- 
 taining an ounce of water. In tenacity it far surpasses 
 Gold : thus, a Silver wire, the tenth of an inch in diameter, 
 will support, without breaking, a weight of 250 pounds; 
 but a Gold wire of equal thickness will only bear a weight 
 of 191 pounds. Silver is too soft in a pure state to be 
 sufficiently durable for coinage, and is therefore always 
 alloyed with some other metal ; for which purpose Copper 
 is used in the coinage of England, as also in articles of 
 domestic use and ornament ; in which the relative propor- 
 tions of Silver and Copper used are about the same as in 
 coin. Many articles are only plated with Silver, an account 
 of which process we extract from a little work published 
 by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. 
 
SILVER. 269 
 
 " Copper, alloyed with brass, is cast into ingots, which, 
 are filed perfectly smooth on the face, or faces, to be silvered 
 over. A silver plate, the thickness of which is regulated 
 by that of the copper, is cut rather smaller than the face 
 of the copper to which it is to be applied, and scraped 
 perfectly smooth and clean. The two metals are then 
 placed together, and firmly bound with wire, a saturated 
 solution of borax being inserted round the edges, between 
 the two faces. This substance, by fusing at a red heat, 
 runs, and thus prevents the air from getting at, and oxi- 
 dizing, the surface of the copper ; an effect which would 
 prevent the union of the two metals. The ingot, thus 
 prepared, is put into a proper furnace, and heated till the 
 partial fusion of the copper and silver causes them to unite 
 by their two surfaces. When this takes place, the ingot is 
 immediately withdrawn, and is ready for rolling" This 
 process consists of pressure between two rollers, until it 
 becomes a perfectly even, flat plate, the silver being spread 
 over the whole of the surface of the Copper ; and it is 
 then ready to be manufactured into the various articles 
 required. 
 
 A combination of Silver and Nitric acid forms Nitrate 
 of Silver, better known as Lunar caustic, which is used by 
 
270 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 surgeons for burning away diseased portions of flesh, and, 
 dissolved in gum-water, makes an indelible ink for marking 
 linen. Two dangerous fulminating powders are also pre- 
 pared from Silver. 
 
 Silver is most commonly found in a native state, but 
 frequently occurs as a Sulphuret, and often combined with 
 Antimony, Iron, Lead, and other metals ; rarely with 
 Carbonic or Muriatic Acid. 
 
 NATIVE SILVER 
 
 Occurs crystallized in the forms of the cube and octo- 
 hedron, but more generally in filaments resembling wire, 
 which are sometimes exceedingly thin and fine. These 
 wires are either packed together closely, as in the Cornish 
 specimens, or in small irregular bundles ; or are separate, 
 as shown in Plate XIII. fig. 50, which is taken from a 
 specimen from Norway, lent to us by Mr. Wright. Another 
 beautiful form is shown in Plate XIII. fig. 51, a portion of 
 a large mass from Fiirstenberg, in Saxony, which consists 
 of branches having the general appearance shown in the 
 figure ; these branches and their branchlets being entirely 
 composed of minute crystals piled one on the top of another. 
 In this, as well as in the preceding variety, the Silver occurs 
 
NATIVE SILVER. 271 
 
 imbedded in Calcareous spar, a very common matrix for 
 Native Silver. Sometimes it is imbedded in Jasper, Horn- 
 stone, Quartz, and many other minerals, and occasionally 
 it is found in very large masses weighing many hundreds 
 of pounds. 
 
 The most magnificent crystallized specimens have been 
 brought from Kongsberg, in Norway, and from Saxony, 
 where mines of great extent are worked. Schemnitz in 
 Hungary, Joachimsthal in Bohemia, Austria, Russia, Spain, 
 Andreasberg in the Hartz, and many other localities, may 
 be mentioned, as productive of large quantities of this 
 metal ; China may be alluded to as being exceedingly rich 
 in it, in proof of which we may call to mind the immense 
 sum paid by the Chinese to England in silver on a late 
 occasion. As our space will not permit us to mention all 
 its other localities, we shall confine ourselves to America, 
 which is, without question, that quarter of the world pro- 
 ducing the greatest quantity of silver. In Peru, near the 
 source of the River Plata, stands a mountain, which is six 
 leagues in circumference at its base, in height 4,200 feet, 
 and in form resembling a sugar-loaf. This mountain is 
 filled all through with the richest veins of Silver ore, and 
 the passages or galleries which perforate it in every direc- 
 
272 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 tion are the celebrated mines of Potosi. The whole 
 mountain, indeed, may be said to consist of Silver, for if a 
 tuft of grass be pulled from its surface, filaments of Silver 
 are found amongst its roots : had it not been so prolific, its 
 wealth might never have been discovered. " The mountain 
 is now completely excavated. It is perforated by above three 
 hundred pits, few of which, however, exceed seventy yards 
 in depth. At the base are numerous galleries, called socabons, 
 six feet high and eight broad. In these places the air is 
 cold and unwholesome, yet the Indian miners who work 
 in them, alternately night and day, are entirely naked, to 
 prevent the possibility of embezzlement/'' But the ore 
 now produced by these mines has, since its discovery, 
 materially decreased in richness, and the Mexican mines 
 are now most profitable. These are about 3,000 in number, 
 the largest being one in the Andes, which consists^ of a 
 vein of silver some 300 miles in length. By far the greater 
 portion of Silver obtained in England is procured from 
 Galena) or Sulphuret of Lead, which sometimes contains 
 as much as seventy ounces of Silver in a ton of Lead ore. 
 This can be profitably worked if it contain only six or 
 seven ounces, but less than that proportion would not 
 repay the expenses of working. In conclusion, we may 
 
ANTIMONIAL SILVER. 273 
 
 state that whilst the annual supply from all the Euro- 
 pean Silver mines amounts to about 564,600, the 
 American mines furnish Silver annually to the amount 
 of 7,241,000. 
 
 ANTIMONIAL SILVER. 
 
 This ore generally contains more than three parts of 
 Silver to one of Antimony. It is usually granular, and in 
 colour between silver- and tin-white. Before the blowpipe 
 the Antimony is driven off in the form of a white vapour, 
 and a bead of pure Silver remains. It is found in the 
 Hartz, in Spain, in Salzburg, and in Prance, but is a rare 
 substance. 
 
 Still more rare is Telluric Silver, which occurs in coarse 
 grained masses of a lead-grey colour, and is found only 
 in the Silver mines of Savodinski in the Altai mountains, 
 Siberia. The young mineralogist is not likely to meet 
 with a specimen of this substance, and if he does, he may 
 be sure a long price will be demanded for it ; we should 
 not, therefore, have mentioned it, but that it is the 
 only instance of a combination of Silver with the scarce 
 metal Tellurium. 
 
274 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 SULPHURET OF SlLVER. 
 
 This ore of Silver is of a dark lead-grey colour, often nearly 
 black, and is so soft that it may be readily cut with a knife. 
 It occurs crystallized in cubes (its primary form), octohedrons, 
 and rhombic dodecahedrons ; it is also found massive, ar- 
 borescent, and capillary. The specimen figured (Plate XIII. 
 fig. 52) shows the octohedral form of crystallization very 
 distinctly, and much more so than is generally observed. The 
 planes of the crystals are rough, with a slight metallic 
 lustre. Sulphuret of Silver is found in Gneiss at Freyberg 
 in Saxony ; in Mica-slate at Joachim sthal in Bohemia ; and 
 in GreywacJce in the Hartz : but the Mexican mines produce 
 it in the greatest abundance. A variety, said to contain 
 some Iron, and found only in Hungary and Saxony, is termed 
 Flexible Sulphuret of Silver, from its possessing that quality 
 when in thin laminae. Another variety, containing Anti- 
 mony, Iron, and Copper, is known as Brittle Sulphuret of 
 Silver. 
 
 RED SILVER. 
 
 Of this, the most beautiful of all the ores of Silver, there 
 are two distinct varieties. One is of a dark red colour, 
 
RED SILVER. 275 
 
 and consists of Silver, Antimony, and Sulphur ; the other 
 is of a light crimson-red colour. They both vary in 
 their degree of translucency, some specimens, when held 
 up to the light, exhibiting the richest wine-red colour; 
 others being nearly opake. Both varieties assume a great 
 number of crystalline forms, all of which are derived from 
 an obtuse rhomboid. In the case of this mineral the 
 character alluded to in a former portion of this work as 
 the streak, will be found a useful one to distinguish 
 it from some varieties of Realgar, to which it bears a 
 resemblance; the streak of the former being different 
 shades of cochineal-red, while that of the latter is 
 yellow. 
 
 The light red variety occurs chiefly in the Saxon and 
 Bohemian mines, whilst the dark red is produced by Hun- 
 gary, Spain, Norway, France, and particularly Andreasberg 
 in the Hartz, where it occurs with Calcareous spar, Native 
 Arsenic, and Galena. 
 
 The remaining ores of Silver, such as Bismuthic Silver, 
 the Seleniuret, the Muriate, and the Carbonate, are com- 
 paratively rare, and to those we shall not further allude, with 
 one exception, viz., 
 
 T2 
 
276 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 MURIATE OF SILVER. 
 
 This occurs massive, and rarely crystallized in cubes and 
 acicular prisms. It is generally of a brown colour and 
 waxy lustre, and is so soft as to yield easily to the nail. It 
 occurs with some of the other ores of Silver in Saxony, 
 Hungary, and Siberia, and has also been found in Cornwall, 
 but is most abundant in the mines of Potosi. 
 
277 
 
 COPPEE. 
 
 With the exception of Iron, no metal occupies so pro- 
 minent a position with reference to its extensive usefulness 
 to mankind, as Copper, although it is not, like Gold and 
 Silver, honoured with the appellation of a precious metal : it 
 is also one of the most abundant of metals. When pure it 
 is of a reddish-brown colour, a hue which belongs to no 
 other metal except Titanium. It is very malleable and ductile, 
 and possesses greater tenacity than any metal excepting Iron. 
 But for most of the purposes for which Copper is available, 
 it is used in the state of alloy with other metals, its com- 
 bination with which sometimes effects the most remarkable 
 changes ; for instance, alloyed with Tin it forms Bell-metal. 
 Now, though both Copper and Tin are ductile metals, yet 
 when mixed together the compound is extremely brittle, 
 and possesses no ductility whatever. A brief allusion to 
 some of the uses of Copper will not be without interest to 
 the young mineralogist, who, like all other mortals, must 
 constantly be either using or deriving benefit from it or 
 
278 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 some of its compounds. Copper-sheathing to the bottoms 
 of vessels secures the wood from the destructive attacks of 
 the sea- worms (Teredo navalis) . Large boilers for brewing, 
 for sugar-works, &c., domestic articles, such as kettles and 
 coal-scuttles, are all constructed of Copper comparatively in a 
 pure state ; as also plates for engraving on. Brass (a mix- 
 ture of Copper and Zinc) is one of its most important alloys : 
 this is more easily fusible than copper, more ductile, and 
 equally malleable ; and from it are manufactured astrono- 
 mical and philosophical instruments, machinery, cannon, 
 wire, and pins : and we may here observe that the greater 
 part of the metal used in decorating theatres and other 
 public places is not gold-leaf, but merely a kind of brass 
 beaten out into thin leaves, which have a great resemblance 
 to gold, and are known as Dutch gold. Pewter pots are 
 made of a compound of Copper and Lead. But the most 
 interesting of all the alloys of Copper is that from which 
 church bells are manufactured. This is composed of three 
 parts of Copper to one of Tin, with the addition of propor- 
 tions of Zinc, Antimony, and Silver, which improve the 
 sonorousness of the compound. Who has not felt, when 
 the sound of the bell tolling afar off has caught his ear, 
 that it possesses a kind of attraction, difficult to resist, 
 
COPPER. 279 
 
 towards the building erected for public worship ? Who has 
 not felt himself reproached, by its truly solemn sound, for 
 his carelessness of those interests which are eternal, in com- 
 parison with those of an earthly nature ? But our space is 
 too short for moralizing. The process of casting a bell is 
 highly instructive, and is described in so many works, that 
 it is needless here to repeat it, but we must beg our readers, 
 if they have not already done so, to read Schiller's noble 
 poem on the subject, as a treat of no ordinary kind. From 
 a translation of that poem we shall offer an extract, previous 
 to noticing the modes of occurrence of Copper and the 
 combinations which it forms in a natural state. 
 
 " Fast immured, with clay well fashioned, 
 
 Stands the mould in earthy cell; 
 Comrades, soon our toil is ended, 
 
 For to-day we cast the bell. 
 Soon our foreheads o'er 
 Must the heat-dews pour : 
 Praise be to the workmen given, 
 But the blessing comes from Heaven. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 Take the pine-tree's driest branches, 
 See the flame be fierce and good, 
 Ere the furnace can be heated 
 It must feel the burning wood. 
 
260 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Throw the Copper in, stir it with the Tin : 
 Let them be in measured masses, 
 For each into the other passes. 
 The work which with metallic power 
 
 Deep in the silent earth we frame, 
 Shall, from the belfry's loftiest tower, 
 
 In accents loud our art proclaim ; 
 To distant lands, to men unborn, 
 
 Shall raise its deep majestic voice, 
 Shall with the troubled spirit mourn, 
 
 And with the joyful heart rejoice." 
 
 NATIVE COPPER 
 
 Occurs crystallized in the forms of the cube and octohe- 
 dron, but these are generally so modified, or irregularly 
 shaped, that neither of them can easily be distinguished. 
 The crystals are generally aggregated together in branches 
 formed by their union, much after the manner of 
 Native Silver. Sometimes it occurs in flattened dentritic 
 layers, sometimes in a wiry form, and occasionally massive. 
 The most splendid crystallized specimens of Native Copper 
 are found in Siberia, where it also occurs massive, imbedded in 
 Ckrysocolle. It is also common in the South American mines, 
 where masses many hundred pounds in weight have been 
 found. In North America it has not been worked with 
 
NATIVE COPPEE. 281 
 
 much success, although there is no doubt that it exists 
 there in abundance, many detached masses of considerable 
 size having been met with. One of these, weighing between 
 tliree and four thousand pounds, and measuring four and a 
 half feet in length and about two feet thick, was brought 
 from the Ontonagon river, near Lake Superior, and is now 
 deposited in the museum of the National Institute at Wash- 
 ington. But no country can vie with our own in the pro- 
 duction of Native Copper. In 1768 a mine was discovered 
 in the northern part of Anglesea from which such vast 
 quantities of the metal were raised as to have had a great 
 effect in lowering the market price. In Ireland small 
 quantities are found, as also in Lancashire, Westmoreland, 
 Cumberland, and other parts of England ; but the great 
 Copper deposits are in Cornwall and Devonshire. Many of 
 these mines are remarkable for their romantic situations, 
 particularly the Botallack mine, "the entrance to which 
 is in the rock, immediately overhanging the sea, and 
 the works are carried many hundred feet under the bed 
 of the ocean ! The roar of the waves during storms can 
 be heard in the galleries beneath, producing a most 
 appalling effect." The most extensive mines in Cornwall 
 are the Consolidated Mines, near Eedruth. From one of 
 
82 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 these the specimen figured in Plate XIY. fig. 53 was 
 disentombed. 
 
 VITREOUS COPPER. 
 
 This is a Sulphuret of Copper, containing also small pro- 
 portions of Iron and Silex. In colour it is of various shades 
 of lead or iron-grey, and in lustre presents a good illustra- 
 tion of that termed vitreous. The primary form is a six- 
 sided prism, which is the general form it assumes : the 
 crystals are often extremely perfect in their figure, but are 
 also frequently irregular, as is shown in our figure, Plate 
 XIV. fig. 54 (erroneously called Grey Copper on the plate). 
 In this interesting specimen, which is from North America, 
 the long prisms are surmounted by flat prisms of larger 
 diameter. The finest specimens are found in Cornwall and 
 in North America, but it occurs massive in almost all 
 Copper mines. This ore is highly prized by the miner. 
 
 BUNTKUPFERERZ. 
 
 The ingredients of this substance are the same as of the 
 preceding, but in different proportions. It is found both 
 massive and crystallized, in the general form of the cube. 
 It is of variegated colours, purple and green being the most 
 
Plate I IT. 
 
 53. Native Coppex. 
 
 56. Utilvy Cojper 
 
 
 55. Copper pyrites 
 
GREY COPPER. COPPER PYRITES. 283 
 
 prevailing. The best specimens of this, as of most Copper 
 ores, are found in Cornwall, but handsome specimens are 
 found in Siberia, where it occurs imbedded in a pale silvery- 
 green Mica. 
 
 GREY COPPER. 
 
 This mineral, better known, perhaps, as Fahlerz, consists 
 principally of the Sulphurets of Copper and Antimony. It 
 occurs in brilliantly modified tetrahedral crystals of a grey 
 colour at Freyberg in Saxony, at Andreasberg in the Hartz, 
 and other foreign localities, but the largest crystals are 
 found in some of the Cornish mines near St. Austle ; these 
 usually have a dull and rough exterior. 
 
 COPPER PYRITES 
 
 Is the most abundant of all the ores of Copper. It con- 
 sists of the Sulphurets of Copper and Iron in nearly equal 
 proportions. In colour it is brass-yellow, but it frequently 
 presents the most gorgeous play of iridescent hues. From 
 Iron pyrites, which it resembles, it may be distinguished by 
 its inferior hardness, yielding readily to the knife. Its pri- 
 mary form is an acute octohedron, but more frequently it 
 crystallizes in the form of a tetrahedron, as exhibited in 
 
284 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Plate XIY. fig. 55, where two crystals are seen nestling, 
 as it were, amongst crystallized Carbonate of Iron. Our 
 specimen is from Cornwall, where this ore is so plentiful 
 that a large proportion of all the Copper is obtained 
 from it. 
 
 RUBY COPPER. 
 
 This beautiful ore consists of Copper and Oxygen, con- 
 taining about eight parts of the metal to one part of 
 oxygen. Its colour is red of various shades, and its most 
 usual form is the octohedron, but occasionally the cube. 
 Sometimes it occurs in fine capillary filaments of a bright 
 crimson colour, imbedded in massive Quartz : Plate XIV. fig. 
 56 is a specimen of this variety from Cornwall, which locality 
 yields the largest quantity of Oxide of Copper : it is often 
 found there in extremely brilliant and minute crystallizations 
 associated with Native Copper. At Chessy, near Lyons, fine 
 isolated crystals of dodecahedral and octohedral forms are 
 found imbedded in Litkomarge, and these are generally 
 coated by green Carbonate of Copper. The Bannat, Siberia, 
 and Cuba produce very fine specimens; and some have 
 been found in the United States. 
 
PI ate XV. 
 
 57. Malachite. 
 
 59. A.Tse:niate of Coppe-r. 
 
 58. Carbonate of Cojjt 
 
 
 60 . Ha,tive G-oli, 
 
 H.Sowefhj^fk. 
 
285 
 
 CARBONATE OF COPPER. 
 
 There are two distinct varieties of this -species, both con- 
 taining the same ingredients, viz., Oxide of Copper, Carbonic 
 acid, and water, but in slightly different proportions ; these 
 are the green carbonate and the blue carbonate, which 
 differ principally in colour. 
 
 Blue Carbonate of Copper occurs crystallized in a great 
 variety of forms, the primary being an oblique rhombic 
 prism: less frequently it occurs mammillated, stalactitic, 
 botryoidal, or massive. The crystallized specimens are of 
 the richest blue tint, and are translucent. At Chessy, near 
 Lyons, have been found the most splendid groups of crystals, 
 sometimes imbedded in Carbonate of Magnesia, and pre- 
 senting a truly handsome effect. The botryoidal variety is 
 usually of a deep indigo-blue internally, but externally of a 
 light blue colour and velvety appearance (Plate XV. fig. 58). 
 In Siberia and in the Bannat are found large and very 
 distinctly formed crystals of the primary form ; Cuba also 
 produces good specimens, but in Cornwall, or, indeed, 
 in any part of England, it is rare ; and it has been found 
 but sparingly in the United States. 
 
 Green Carbonate of Copper , or Malachite, is also a very 
 
286 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 handsome mineral. It occasionally occurs crystallized in 
 minute slender prisms, but generally is massive and fibrous. 
 It is so well known in ornamental work, as to need but 
 little description, particularly as our representation of a 
 polished slab from South Australia (Plate XY. fig. 57) gives 
 a fair notion of its general appearance and colour. Siberia 
 and the Bannat have long been known as the localities 
 whence the noble specimens, some of which have even 
 served as the tops of tables, are derived, but those discovered 
 in South Australia, and which the 'Burra Burra' mines 
 mainly contain, bid fair to rival them in size, if not in beauty. 
 Chrysocolle is a variety of Carbonate of Copper, containing 
 some Silex. It occurs massive and botryoidal, and is of 
 different shades of green. 
 
 DIOPTASE 
 
 Occurs in crystals of the most beautiful emerald-green 
 colour, accompanied by Calc-spar, only in the Kirghese 
 Steppes of Siberia. Its primary form is an obtuse rhomboid, 
 but it always assumes a well-defined dodecahedral form. 
 
 Copper is also found combined with Sulphuric acid, 
 forming Blue vitriol, which is principally derived from the 
 
ARSENIATE OF COPPER. 287 
 
 natural or artificial decomposition of Copper pyrites (in the 
 same way as Green vitriol is derived from Iron pyrites), and 
 is used in printing cotton, and in dyeing ; with Muriatic 
 acid, forming Muriate of Copper, which generally occurs in 
 an arenaceous form, of a dark green colour, and a portion 
 of which, being placed in the flame of a candle, tinges it 
 with a bright green or blue colour ; with Phosphoric acid, 
 forming Phosphate of Copper, a dark green crystallized or 
 massive substance of rare occurrence ; and with Arsenic 
 acid, producing the many beautiful varieties of 
 
 ARSENIATE OF COPPER. 
 
 The varieties of this mineral differ slightly in their com- 
 position, but very considerably in colour, in form, and in 
 general appearance. One of the most beautiful is that 
 termed Copper Mica : this is of a bright green colour, and 
 occurs in six-sided crystals composed of thin, transparent 
 laminae. Another is of a bright blue colour, and occurs in obtuse 
 octohedral crystals,, which are generally elongated in one di- 
 rection. Olivinerz is of a dark olive-green colour, and occurs 
 in very distinct prisms about a quarter of an inch in length, 
 or in acicular prisms grouped together in a botryoidal form. 
 The variety we have figured (Plate XV. fig. 59) occurs in 
 
288 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 veins of a fibrous structure, and is of a brownish-green 
 colour. One variety is of a pale greenish- white colour, 
 and amorphous. But the roost beautiful of all occurs 
 in long slender prisms, of a light olive-green colour, 
 grouped together in the most interesting manner. Con- 
 cerning all these, the general observation must be made, 
 that they consist mainly of Copper and Arsenic acid, and 
 that they are found only in the mines of Cornwall : the 
 variety called Olivinerz has, however, been seen in Cum- 
 berland. 
 
 Many other distinct substances are known as ores of 
 Copper, but the learner must consult other works for de- 
 scriptions of them, so soon as he is acquainted with all that 
 we have noticed. To conclude with a caution : if any of 
 our young friends should visit Cornwall, let them be on 
 their guard against artificially made-up specimens of mine- 
 rals, for such are not uncommon. 
 
289 
 
 GOLD. 
 
 "What is here? 
 
 Gold ! yellow, glittering, precious Gold ! No, gods, 
 I am no idle votarist. Koots, you clear heavens ! 
 Thus much of this will make black, white ; foul, fair ; 
 Wrong, right ; base, noble ; old, young ; coward, valiant." 
 
 Timon of Athens. 
 
 SHAKESPEARE certainly has not over-rated the powers of 
 tliis king of metals ; its extreme ductility and durability, 
 combined with its solid beauty, having, from time imme- 
 morial, given to it the superiority over all others : and, 
 considering the great influence exercised by it upon the 
 destinies of man, whether regarded as the ' sinews of war/ 
 as the capital of the merchant, or as the circulating medium 
 between all civilized countries, its claims to the sovereignty 
 will scarcely be denied. The extensive use of this metal 
 wherever gorgeous ornament is required, as well as in the 
 simplest designs of art, from the glittering crown of an 
 emperor to the neat little wedding-ring of the village- maid, 
 imparts to Gold an interest in our eyes that other metals 
 
 u 
 
290 POPULAR, MINERALOGY. 
 
 have failed to acquire. Further, despite our laudable 
 detestation of ' filthy lucre/ it must be confessed that there 
 is something decidedly pleasing to the senses in the jingling 
 sound of a purse well stored with Gold, the attainment of 
 which is a very general desire amongst mankind. This fact 
 is well illustrated by the immense number of individuals of 
 all nations who were attracted to California immediately it 
 became known that Gold was found there in great abund- 
 ance. They heeded not the dangers to be encountered, the 
 privations to be endured, nor gave a single thought to the 
 possibility of being robbed of their Gold when they had 
 accumulated it, but, forsaking parents, wives, families, and 
 homes, rushed madly to ' El Dorado/ in the expectation of 
 the golden age having at length arrived. Poor simple folks ! 
 they forgot that Gold will not satisfy the cravings of hunger, 
 when no provisions are to be had, they did not calculate 
 how many ounces of Gold would be demanded for a loaf of 
 bread, or for a night's lodging under a miserable tent : in 
 effect, that all the Gold that resulted from their severe toil 
 would no more than suffice to buy their necessary provisions. 
 We allude particularly to the first settlers, for we believe 
 that many have since been more fortunate, and realized 
 considerable wealth in the Californian regions. 
 
GOLD. 291 
 
 " But scarce observed, the knowing and the bold 
 Fall in the general massacre for Gold. 
 Wide-wasting pest ! that rages unconfined, 
 And crowds with crimes the records of mankind. 
 For Gold his sword the hireling ruffian draws ; 
 For Gold the hireling judge distorts the laws. 
 Wealth heaped on wealth, nor truth nor safety buys, 
 The dangers thicken as the treasures rise." 
 
 In order to give some idea of the amazing degree in 
 which Gold possesses the properties of malleability and 
 ductility, we will glance at the processes by which it is 
 made into gold-leaf and wire. In the first case, a quantity 
 of Gold is melted in a crucible with some borax, and 
 poured into an iron mould, previously heated and greased. 
 The bar of Gold thus obtained is then made red-hot, and 
 forged on an anvil into a long plate, which is further 
 extended by being passed between steel rollers, until it 
 becomes a ribbon as thin as paper. This is divided into 
 pieces which are again forged until they are an inch square, 
 and about the 766th part of an inch in thickness. These 
 pieces are laid between slips of parchment, and, being bound 
 down tightly together, are subjected to beating with a heavy 
 hammer. They are then again divided and beaten between 
 gold-beater* a skin (ox-gut), and this process is repeated 
 
292 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 several times, until the thickness of the leaf is the 
 282,000th part of an inch ! Twenty-five pieces of this 
 leaf are then placed in a book about four inches square, 
 which is sold for the sum of eighteenpence. The gold 
 used for this purpose is alloyed with Copper in order to 
 harden it. To make gold wire, an ingot of silver super- 
 ficially gilt, about an inch thick and two feet long, is drawn 
 by a machine, successively through holes that gradually 
 diminish in size, till it becomes no larger than the hair of 
 the head. The Gold with which the ingot of Silver was 
 covered must now have been stretched to a wonderful 
 degree of fineness, yet it still holds firmly together, and 
 never shows the least signs of the Silver underneath. A 
 single grain of Gold thus extended will be 345 feet long, 
 presenting a surface equal to 98 square inches. 
 
 Gold combines with most other metals, but has the 
 strongest affinity for Mercury : the gilders of metals avail 
 themselves of this property by forming an amalgam with 
 those two metals, which they spread on the pieces to be gilt ; 
 they then expose them to a certain degree of heat, which 
 evaporates the Mercury, and leaves the Gold behind : in 
 this manner the brass plates and wheels which compose the 
 inside of a watch, are gilt. But though a violet-coloured 
 
NATIVE GOLD. 
 
 powder, which is Oxide of Gold, has been obtained by 
 subjecting it to great heat under a burning lens, Gold has 
 very little affinity for oxygen : hence it does not rust when 
 exposed to the air, and it may be melted over and over 
 again without losing any of its weight. 
 
 Let us now observe Gold in its native state, ere yet the 
 art of man has stamped upon its face the image of his 
 rulers, ere yet its vast influence for good or evil has been 
 exercised upon our commerce or our happiness, ere yet its 
 virgin purity has been sullied by the rough handling of 
 man, and by the scenes of wealth, splendour, misery, and 
 crime in which its future destiny is to bear so conspicuous 
 a part. 
 
 NATIVE GOLD 
 
 Occurs crystallized in cubes and octohedrons, which are 
 generally modified : but more commonly it is found foliated, 
 capillary, or, more commonly still, in rolled masses and 
 grains of different sizes. Its colour is yellow, of various 
 shades, sometimes verging even on grey; this difference 
 arises from the nature and quantity of the metal with which 
 it may be combined, that of a gold-yellow being the 
 purest, the brass-yellow being mixed with Silver, and the 
 
294 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 greyish with Platina. It is not affected by the acids 
 generally, but a mixture of the nitric and muriatic acids 
 readily dissolves it. The specimen of the foliated variety 
 figured (Plate XV. fig. 60) is from Transylvania. 
 
 Its principal European localities are Hungary, the Bannat, 
 and Transylvania. In the first of these, it occurs in veins 
 of great extent, being in some parts a hundred and twenty 
 feet thick ; and both there and in Transylvania the rivers 
 are rich in Gold sand. Germany, Prance, and Spain 
 produce some Gold, but are not rich in that metal. Gold has 
 been found in Cornwall, in grains mixed with the Stream-Tin 
 in Devonshire, in a matrix of brown Iron ore ; also in small 
 quantities at the Lead hills in Scotland. At Wicklow, in 
 Ireland, a great quantity was found by the country-people 
 in a stream which runs over rocks of clay-slate. It has 
 been calculated that at least 10,000 of Gold was collected 
 in this way before the works were taken possession of by 
 the Government ; but when they were, the total quantity 
 collected did not repay the cost of the workings and the 
 various trials made in search of the original deposit. 
 Eussia produces Gold in vast abundance, and it sometimes 
 occurs there in very large masses ; the largest on record 
 was found on the eastern side of the Ural mountains, and 
 
GOLD-MINES OF CHILI. 295 
 
 weighed about eighty English pounds. Gold also occurs 
 in several parts of India. The commerce in Gold-dust 
 extends almost all over Africa, and in its northern parts 
 it is said that the Russians have lately discovered mountains 
 of Gold-dust, far exceeding the asserted production of 
 California. Some are of opinion that the country of Ophir, 
 whence Solomon obtained Gold, was situated on the southern 
 coast of Africa. But America must certainly be considered 
 the gold-producing quarter of the world. In Peru, Bolivia, 
 and Chili, it is found both in veins of Quartz (its most 
 usual matrix everywhere), and in alluvial soil. Miers gives 
 the following information concerning the Chilian mines and 
 miners. " The Chileno miners are very expert in following 
 the course of a vein, though entirely ignorant of any rule 
 that they can explain; it, however, frequently happens 
 that they are mistaken in their ideas, and in consequence 
 many miners are ruined by their speculations. For the 
 greater convenience and saving of labour, the galleries are 
 generally opened in the sides of the hills. These passages 
 are seldom more than four feet in height and the same in 
 width, so that it requires the labourer to carry his load with 
 his back and knees nearly doubled ; in some places they 
 are so contracted that he can scarcely crawl among them. 
 
296 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 The Chilenos, however, who from their infancy are accus- 
 tomed to sit upon their hams, acquire by this means a 
 remarkable suppleness in their hip and knee joints, which 
 qualifies them for crawling through these passages." 
 
 We shall now allude to California; which is not, 
 however, the only locality in North America whence the 
 precious metal has been obtained, for in North and 
 South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, 
 it was found in some abundance long before the discovery 
 of the riches of California. In the first place, there is no 
 reason to doubt that Gold is found there in immense 
 abundance, a fact sufficiently demonstrated by the large 
 importations of it that are continually arriving in the 
 United States and in England, and sufficiently authen- 
 ticated by official reports. It is mostly found in grains and 
 masses in alluvial soil, and some of these masses are said 
 to be of very large size ; we have seen one in the possession 
 of a friend, the intrinsic value of which was thirty-five 
 guineas. The larger of these masses are generally asso- 
 ciated with Quartz, showing that to be the substance in 
 which they were originally imbedded; indeed, these original 
 deposits have been discovered in several places, and Gold 
 in rich lumps has been obtained from them. But by far 
 
GOLD-WASHING. 297 
 
 the larger quantity of Gold is extracted from the beds of 
 water-courses, by washing, in the following manner. With 
 a tin bowl or basin in his hand, the gold-seeker walks out 
 some little distance into the stream, and then takes up into 
 his bowl a quantity of the sand and loose stones from the 
 bottom. Holding the bowl an inch or two under water 
 with one hand, the other is employed in stirring up its 
 contents, and occasionally throwing off the loose stones, 
 whilst the running water carries away the lighter earth. A 
 quantity of black sand, intermingled with particles of Gold, 
 remains ; this is spread on a handkerchief to dry, and the 
 sand being then blown off, the pure grains of Gold remain. 
 But some of the adventurers are not satisfied with this 
 primitive way of collecting, and use a machine fashioned 
 like a cradle. This consists of a kind of trough about 
 six or eight feet long, open at the foot, and placed on 
 rockers. It requires four men to work this machine : 
 whilst one digs the ground in the bank close by the stream, 
 another carries the produce, and empties it into the cradle, 
 a third gives a rocking motion to it, while the fourth 
 man dashes water upon it. There is a sieve placed inside, 
 so as to prevent the coarse stones from entering ; the water 
 washes off the earthy matter, and the gravel is carried out 
 
298 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 at the foot of the machine, leaving the black sand and 
 Gold at the bottom. Thus Gold, like infant beauty, is 
 rocked out of its primitive state into the world, the one to 
 pamper pride, the other eventually to feed the worm. To 
 all who contemplate emigrating to these auriferous regions, 
 we would say, Go, not to dig for gold in the rocks or the 
 streams, but to earn it by the exercise of your trade or 
 your calling. Labour of all kinds is sure to produce a 
 competency in that country. The carpenter, the smith, 
 the shoemaker, and the tailor, are sure to thrive in 
 California. 
 
 " So shall you gain the Gold without alloy, 
 Without oppression or the treacherous snares : 
 So shall you know its use, its powers employ, 
 And yet avoid its dangers and its cares." 
 
 Gold sometimes occurs combined with Tellurium and 
 with Iron pyrites, which thence are termed auriferous. The 
 Micaceous Iron from Brazil is said by Alger to contain 
 minute compressed larninse of Native Gold. Electrum is 
 a pale-coloured variety of Gold, containing a great propor- 
 tion of Silver. 
 
299 
 
 PLATINA. 
 
 This rare metal is in colour steel-grey, and is only found 
 in irregular masses and grains. It always contains some 
 admixture of other metals, such as Iron, Ehodium, Palla- 
 dium, and others : when alloyed with Iron, it possesses 
 magnetic properties. It is one of the most infusible of all 
 metals, and is therefore valuable in certain chemical opera- 
 tions -, and wire made of it is used to hold specimens whilst 
 under the influence of the blowpipe. It was first discovered 
 in Jamaica, in 1741, but is chiefly found in the Ural 
 Mountains, in Siberia, where it accompanies grains of Gold 
 and the still rarer metals which follow. 
 
 PALLADIUM 
 
 Bears a great resemblance to the preceding, and occurs in 
 grains intermixed with it. Its grains are of a fibrous 
 structure. Before the blowpipe it is infusible, but, with the 
 addition of Sulphur, melts with ease. 
 
300 
 
 IBIDIUM AND OSMIUM. 
 
 These metals are generally alloyed together in grains, 
 mixed with those of Platina. Iridium is chiefly remarkable 
 for being heavier than Platina, and therefore the heaviest 
 of all known bodies. 
 
 TELLUKIUM, 
 
 This metal occurs native, but is generally alloyed by 
 Gold, Silver, Lead, and other metals. Its alloys have 
 several different names. Graphic Tellurium is of a grey 
 colour, sometimes with a gold-coloured tarnish, and occurs 
 in thin acicuiar prisms, arranged, sometimes singly, some- 
 times in rows, or crossing each other, bearing some resem- 
 blance to graphic delineations (Plate XYI. fig. 61). Yellow 
 Tellurium is of a brass-yellow colour, and occurs in small 
 but well-defined crystals at Nagyag, in Transylvania, with 
 
Pl&te XVI 
 
 63. Galena . 
 
 6 4.. Minium. 
 
 H. S owerbv,lith_ 
 
TELLURIUM. 301 
 
 the other ores of the metal in veins of porphyry. Black 
 Tellurium is a combination of Tellurium with Gold, Lead, 
 and Sulphur. It is found in small tabular crystals, and in 
 foliated masses, often accompanying Rose Manganese, in 
 Transylvania. Its colour is dark lead-grey. In thin laminae 
 it is highly flexible, but not elastic. 
 
302 
 
 ANTIMONY. 
 
 THE uses of Antimony, though not very numerous, are yet 
 considerable, particularly in medicine, and in the manu- 
 facture of fire-works. Its alloys with other metals are also 
 of service, that with Lead forming the plates on which 
 music is engraved, that with Tin, a kind of pewter, and 
 that with Lead and Copper, the type used in printing. By 
 the Eastern women, preparations of Antimony are used for 
 staining the eyelids, which is a custom of very ancient date. 
 Antimony is found in a native state, and combined with 
 Sulphur and with oxygen. 
 
 NATIVE ANTIMONY. 
 
 When newly broken, this is of a tin-white colour of 
 extreme brilliancy, but by exposure becomes tarnished. 
 It is never found crystallized, but occurs granular, in 
 veins traversing Gneiss, at Dauphine, and at Andreasberg, 
 in the Hartz. It is also found at Alleniont, in Trance, 
 where it is generally accompanied by Antimony -ochre. 
 
303 
 
 SULPHURET OF ANTIMONY. 
 
 This, the most common ore of the metal under conside- 
 ration, is simply a combination of it with Sulphur. It is 
 of a light lead-grey colour, and generally occurs in long 
 slender prisms grouped divergingly together. These groups 
 sometimes meet each other at the extremities, as shown in 
 our figure (Plate XVI. fig. 62). The crystals, particularly 
 in specimens from Hungary, which sometimes contain 
 Native Gold, are often of very considerable size, and when 
 split open, the fresh surfaces present very tolerable natural 
 looking-glasses. Hungary is its principal locality, but it is 
 exported in immense quantities from Borneo, and is also 
 found at St. Gothard. A massive variety, of fibrous 
 structure, is found in Cornwall, and is known as Jamesonite. 
 The Feeler erz, or Feather -ore, of the Germans, is a variety 
 which occurs in fine capillary crystals, which are flexible, 
 and are packed together so as greatly to resemble a cobweb. 
 It is usually found occupying the cavities of Quartz, at 
 Freyberg, and in the Hartz. 
 
 RED ANTIMONY. 
 This consists of Antimony, Sulphur, and oxygen. It 
 
304 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 generally occurs in acicular groups of crystals of a dark 
 crimson colour, accompanying the other ores of the metal. 
 A variety termed Tinder-ore consists of fine fibres so closely 
 interlaced as to resemble tinder. 
 
 OXIDE OF ANTIMONY 
 
 Is of a snow-white colour, sometimes with a tinge of pink 
 or yellow. It occurs in acicular diverging groups on the 
 other ores, in Bohemia, Saxony, and Dauphine, but is a 
 very rare substance. Antimony -ochre is a combination of 
 Antimony, oxygen, and water, and occurs in earthy masses 
 of a brownish or yellow colour ; principally with Jamesonite 
 in Cornwall. 
 
305 
 
 LEAD. 
 
 LEAD is certainly one of the most abundant of metals, and 
 at the same time one of the most useful. It is one of the 
 seven metals known to the ancients. It is lighter than 
 Gold and Mercury, but heavier than Iron and Copper, 
 which may easily be seen by dropping pieces of those 
 metals into melted lead, when the gold will sink to the 
 bottom, but the copper and iron will float like corks upon 
 the surface. It is malleable, and may be beaten into thin 
 plates, which are used for roofing, but its ductility and tena- 
 city are very small, and a leaden wire would support but a 
 moderate weight without breaking. By exposing thin 
 leaves of lead to the fumes of vinegar, an oxide of lead is 
 formed, which is known amongst house-painters and others 
 as white lead, and is largely used by them. By other pro- 
 cesses are formed the yellow oxide called Massicot, and the 
 red oxide called Minium : this last is also found in a 
 natural state. A solution of Lead in acids (Sugar of Lead] 
 is used to give a sweet taste to wines and to cyder, a most 
 
 x 
 
306 POPULAR MINEEALOGY. 
 
 pernicious practice, all the preparations of lead being 
 highly poisonous, as painters and the workmen in white 
 lead mills know by sad experience. Lead is said to have 
 been found in a native state, but it is certainly of very 
 rare occurrence. It occurs combined with many of the 
 acids. 
 
 GALENA. 
 
 This combination of Lead with Sulphur (Sulphuret of 
 Lead] is the ore from which the greater proportion of the 
 1 ead of commerce is derived ; and often contains Silver in 
 sufficient quantities to render it worth while to work it for 
 that metal. Galena very commonly occurs crystallized in 
 cubes and octohedrons, but more generally in a combina- 
 tion of those two forms, viz., cubo- octohedrons ; this form 
 is shown in our figure (Plate XYI. fig. 63), in which two 
 crystals are represented upon crystallized Quartz. Its 
 colour is lead-grey, and it generally shows a brilliant lustre, 
 particularly when broken. Crystals of the largest dimen- 
 sions have been found at Alston Moor, in Cumberland, 
 where, and in Derbyshire, Galena occurs in the richest 
 repositories. Several parts of Scotland, particularly the 
 Lead Hills, produce it in abundance, and in these as well 
 
NATIVE MINIUM. PLOMBGOMME. 307 
 
 as in most of the English localities it occurs in veins, ac- 
 companied by Calc-spar, Fluor spar, Blende, Pearl spar, 
 and other minerals. 
 
 Alger observes that probably the richest Lead mines in 
 the world are those in the western section of the United 
 States : these produce large quantities of Galena, which in 
 some instances is found encrusting the roof, sides, and floor 
 of large caves. When Galena is acted upon by the blow- 
 pipe, the Sulphur is driven off, though with some difficulty, 
 and a bead of pure Lead remains. 
 
 NATIVE MINIUM. 
 
 This is supposed to be an Oxide of Lead, and to arise 
 from the decomposition of Galena, in veins of which it 
 occurs. It is of a bright scarlet colour, and is always 
 amorphous or pulverulent. It is found in Yorkshire, in 
 Siberia, and in the United States, but is a rare substance. 
 (Plate XVI. fig. 64.) 
 
 PLOMBGOMME. 
 
 Probably this is the rarest of all the ores of Lead, con- 
 sequently the beginner in collecting is not very likely to 
 obtain a specimen. It is of a yellowish-brown colour, and 
 
308 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 occurs in masses which are composed of concentric botry- 
 oidal layers, and often resemble Chalcedony, Calamine, and 
 other substances that assume a botryoidal form. Before 
 the blowpipe it is infusible alone ; with Borax it fuses but 
 does not separate the Lead ; Soda being added, the bead 
 of metal is obtained. It is found at Huelgoet, in Brit- 
 tany, with Galena, Blende, and Iron pyrites. 
 
 CARBONATE OF LEAD 
 
 Occurs in the most elegant crystallized groups of a pure 
 white colour, the prisms being sometimes six-sided and 
 terminated, more often consisting of silky fibres packed 
 together, and arranged irregularly, as in the specimen 
 figured (Plate XVII. fig. 65). Occasionally, as in some 
 Cornish specimens, the larger crystals have numerous 
 minute acicular crystals arranged about them, either ad- 
 hering by their sides, or by one end. The crystals are 
 usually macled, but the primary is a rhombic prism. The 
 most beautiful English specimens are found in Cornwall, 
 and at the Lead Hills in Scotland; Saxony, Siberia, the 
 Hartz, and Bohemia, yield also very fine ones. Alger says 
 that within the last five years a locality was discovered in 
 the United States, that produced specimens which, from 
 
Plate XVII. 
 
 65. Caxboioate of Lea,! 
 
 68. do-ornate of Lead. 
 
 67 . C 
 
PHOSPHATE OF LEAD. 309 
 
 their pure white, silky lustre, and their beautifully delicate 
 crystallizations, are rarely surpassed by the finest from 
 Saxony. 
 
 PHOSPHATE OF LEAD 
 
 Is generally of a yellow colour, or yellowish-green, some- 
 times a bright green. It occurs crystallized in its primary 
 form, the six-sided prism, these prisms being either acicular 
 or tabular, and commonly very distinct in form. An inte- 
 resting variety is shown in our figure (Plate XVII. fig. 66), 
 in wliich some of the crystals are swelled out in the centre, 
 resembling miniature tubs or water-butts in general form, 
 and are scattered promiscuously upon a pale blue variety 
 of Quartz. The Saxon and Bohemian Lead mines furnish 
 fine crystallized specimens, but the greatest number of in- 
 teresting varieties are found in Cumberland, in the Lead 
 Hills, Scotland, which yield a bright orange-coloured variety, 
 and in Cornwall. In the first of these localities is found a 
 mineral termed Campylite, which is supposed to be a variety 
 of Phosphate of Lead, and whose peculiar method of crys- 
 tallizing is expressed in Plate XYII. fig. 67. This variety 
 occurs of different shades of orange, brown, and yellow, and 
 is always found in Quartz veins, which are in parts coloured 
 by Manganese. 
 
310 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 ARSENIATE or LEAD. 
 
 A combination of Oxide of Lead with the Arsenic and 
 Muriatic acids. It is of various shades of yellowish-red 
 and reddish-brown, and crystallizes in six-sided prisms, 
 which are sometimes acicular and sharp-pointed. On char- 
 coal it fuses, emits Arsenical vapours, and is reduced to 
 globules of Lead. Cumberland, Cornwall, Auvergne, and 
 St. Prix, in Trance, produce its different varieties. 
 
 CHROMATE OF LEAD. 
 
 A most beautiful mineral, remarkable for its rich scarlet 
 colour, and for its peculiarly wedge-shaped crystals, whose 
 primary form is a rhombic prism. It consists of about 
 70 per cent, of Oxide of Lead, and 30 per cent, of Chromic 
 acid. The beautiful specimen figured (Plate XVII. fig. 68) 
 is from Siberia, its principal locality ; it is also found in 
 Brazil, but it is a scarce substance. 
 
 The other ores of Lead which have not yet been noticed 
 are its combinations with the Sulphuric, Muriatic, Molybdic, 
 
ORES OF LEAD. 311 
 
 and Tungstic acids, and other ingredients. The minerals 
 thus produced are for the most part extremely rare, and 
 highly interesting ; and amongst them we must particularly 
 notice the Cupreous Sulphate of Lead, an exceedingly rare 
 but very beautiful mineral, resembling, in its rich blue 
 colour, the blue variety of Carbonate of Copper, but dif- 
 ferering in form, and of course in composition. Its colour 
 is owing to the presence of Copper. 
 
312 
 
 ZINC. 
 
 THE chief uses for which this metal has been found avail- 
 able are in the manufacture of water-pipes, gutters, chimney- 
 pots, baths, electrical apparatus, and plates for engraving. 
 It does not occur in a native state, but most commonly 
 is combined with Sulphur. It is more ductile than Tin 
 or Lead, but does not possess that property to any great 
 extent. We have already alluded to it as entering into 
 various alloys, the most important of which is Brass. 
 
 BLENDE. 
 
 This is a Sulphuret of Zinc. Its primary form is the 
 rhombic dodecahedron, but most usually it is found crys- 
 tallized in tetrahedrons or modifications of that form.' Its 
 colours vary from reddish-brown to black, its most common 
 tint, but it is occasionally found of a greenish-yellow colour. 
 When broken it exhibits a brilliant lustre. The dark- 
 coloured varieties are usually from Cumberland, Cornwall, 
 and Derbyshire, and in the first of these localities is found 
 
Hate XVIII. 
 
 69 . Eleiile . 
 
 Quicksilver . 
 
 I *' 
 
 70.CalamiTLC . 
 
 12. Ci.nnaba.T. 
 
 H. Sow.: 
 
ORES OF ZINC. 313 
 
 the variety figured (Plate XVIII. fig. 69), which is of a red- 
 dish-brown colour. Transylvania, the Hartz, Saxony, and 
 Hungary, produce the most beautiful specimens. A fibrous 
 variety of Blende is known, which contains Cadmium. 
 
 Zinc is also found as an oxide, of a red colour, inter- 
 spersed in Oxide of Iron in America; as a carbonate 
 (Calamine) occurring in a botryoidal form, and of various 
 colours, such as green, grey, yellow, brown, and delicately 
 pale blue (this last variety is figured in Plate XVIII. fig. 70) : 
 and in the form of White Vitriol, which is a combination 
 of Oxide of Zinc with Sulphuric acid. 
 
314 
 
 MEBCUBY. 
 
 THIS metal is perhaps more remarkable than any of its pre- 
 decessors, from its being the only one which exists in a 
 fluid state at an ordinary temperature : if, however, it be 
 subjected to an excessive degree of cold, it becomes solid, 
 and may then be cut with a knife, and is malleable. Ac- 
 cording to the degree of cold or heat to which Mercury 
 may be exposed, it contracts or expands, and is conse- 
 quently an extremely valuable fluid for the construction of 
 thermometers. Combined with Chlorine, it forms the Calo- 
 mel so celebrated in medicine, and the same combination, 
 in different proportions, produces Corrosive Sublimate. The 
 principal demand for it is in separating Gold from its 
 matrix by amalgamation, but a considerable quantity is 
 used for looking-glasses. 
 
 NATIVE MERCURY on QUICKSILVER 
 
 Occurs in globules of a Silver-colour and high metallic 
 lustre, intermixed with the other ores of Mercury. The 
 
CINNABAR. 315 
 
 chief mines of it are in Austria and Spain, and in South 
 America. Peru formerly produced it in great abundance, 
 and thousands of persons were employed underground in 
 raising it, who were never suffered to enjoy the light of 
 
 the sun. 
 
 
 
 " Thus in the dark Peruvian mine confined, 
 Lost to the cheerful commerce of mankind, 
 The groaning captive wastes his life away, 
 For ever exiled from the realms of day, 
 While all forlorn and sad, he pines in vain 
 For scenes he never shall behold again." 
 
 The workmen who are employed in gilding, suffer 
 severely from paralytic affections, caused by their inhaling 
 the mercury which escapes from the amalgam used. 
 Plate XVIII. fig. 71 represents a specimen of Native 
 Mercury, which is disposed in globules on the following 
 substance. 
 
 ClNNABAB. 
 
 From this, which is Sulphurel of Mercury, is obtained 
 the greatest proportion of the metal. Its colour is crimson- 
 red, occasionally scarlet, and, in some varieties, dark reddish - 
 brown. It is rarely crystallized, but generally massive, 
 
316 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 and of a granular structure. Almaden, in Spain, produces 
 capital specimens, as also Idria, in Carniola, whence the 
 specimen figured (Plate XYIII. fig. 7) was brought. The 
 paint called Fermilion is a preparation of Cinnabar. 
 
 Native Amalgam consists of Mercury and Silver, and is 
 found massive and crystallized, chiefly in Hungary. This 
 and several other ores of Mercury are rarely met with, and 
 good specimens are of considerable value. 
 
 The last series of substances that we have to notice, 
 contains those minerals which are of a combustible nature ; 
 and the student will find that their general characters suf- 
 ficiently distinguish them from those minerals arranged 
 under the foregoing divisions. 
 
Plat 
 
 ?3.!Na,tive SulplxuT . 
 
 "Native 
 
 75 . Plumb 
 
 76. JLntli-paciU 
 
 H.SowerbylitK 
 
 
317 
 
 COMBUSTIBLES. 
 
 " Hence sable Coal his massy couch extends, 
 And stars of Gold the sparkling Pyrite blends ; 
 Hence dull-eyed Naphtha pours his pitchy streams, 
 And Jet uncoloured drinks the solar beams ; 
 Bright Amber shines on his electric throne, 
 And adds ethereal lustres to his own." Darwin. 
 
 THE main constituents of this division of minerals are 
 Sulphur and Carbon. The first is found only in a pure or 
 nearly pure state ; the second is found pure in the Diamond, 
 nearly pure in Charcoal, and, in combination with hydrogen, 
 forms all the varieties of Bitumen, Amber, Jet, and Coal. 
 
 NATIVE SULPHUR. 
 
 This substance occurs crystallized in a great variety of 
 forms, which are all derived from an acute octohedron; 
 occasionally it is found crystallized in the primary form, as 
 shown in Plate XIX. fig. 73. When pure, its colour is 
 pale citron-yellow, but sometimes, as in the massive variety 
 figured (Plate XIX. fig. 74), it is of a brown colour. 
 
318 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 Sulphur occurs either in rocks of Gypsum or Salty as in 
 several localities in Spain, Sicily, and Poland, or else is of 
 volcanic origin, being found abundantly in or about the 
 craters of volcanoes : it is then either crystallized in the 
 cavities of the rock, or forms stalactites and efflorescences 
 upon it. The most beautiful specimens, some of them 
 having crystals two or three inches in diameter, are met 
 with in Sicily, whence the greatest quantity of Sulphur is 
 obtained. In the Lipari and Sandwich Islands, and in 
 Peru, it is obtained in considerable abundance ; but the 
 United States furnish very little. It is used in medicine, 
 in bleaching, and in various other ways. 
 
 DIAMOND. 
 
 This is the hardest substance known, to exist, and con- 
 sists of pure carbon. It is always found in detached 
 crystals, whose primary form is the octohedron, but which 
 present a great variety of modifications, leading from the 
 primary octohedron to a rhombic dodecahedron : in 
 some crystals the planes are all curved. Diamonds are 
 either colourless or of a yellowish, bluish, or rose-red tint, 
 and are transparent or translucent; a black variety has 
 lately been discovered, which is perfectly opake. The 
 
DIAMOND. 319 
 
 matrix in which Diamonds are found imbedded usually 
 consists of broken and rolled fragments of Quartz, and 
 they are all obtained by the process of washing. "These 
 valuable gems are scarcely ever found without great labour 
 and the most diligent search, even in those districts where 
 they are known to be most abundant." The principal 
 localities in which Diamonds are found are in India, Brazil, 
 and Borneo : they are also found in Siberia and Africa. 
 The finest are of course reserved for ornamental purposes, 
 but great quantities of the coarser kind are reduced to 
 powder for the purpose of cutting and polishing other 
 precious stones. Some are used in watch-making, and by 
 glaziers for cutting glass. In order to give some impression 
 of the value of these gems, we shall notice a few of the 
 most celebrated, premising that as much care is often taken 
 to record their histories as to trace the genealogy of the 
 noblest houses. That known as the ' Maximilian ' Diamond 
 is of a yellow colour, and is valued at 155,000 ; the 
 ' George IV./ whose weight is twenty-nine carats and a 
 half, is of a splendid blue colour, and was purchased for 
 22,000 ; a rich sky-blue Diamond, which belongs to the 
 crown jewels of France, weighs sixty-seven carats, and is 
 valued at three million livres. This is, however, far sur- 
 
320 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 passed, both in weight and nominal value, by the 'Pitt 
 Diamond/ which was found in the celebrated mines of 
 Golconda, weighs a hundred and thirty-six carats, and is 
 valued at twelve millions of livres. This Diamond was worn 
 by the kings of Prance in their hats, and Bonaparte had 
 it fixed to the pommel of his sword. The Emperor of 
 Russia possesses one from the same district, which weighs 
 a hundred and ninety carats : this once formed the eye of 
 an Indian idol. One has been found in Borneo which 
 weighed upwards of three hundred and sixty carats. The 
 ' Koh-i-noor/ or ' Mountain of light/ lately brought over 
 to England, a description of which appeared in all the 
 papers of the day, is the last Diamond that created much 
 sensation. The whole number of Diamonds above tJiirty- 
 six carats in weight, that are as yet known to exist, does 
 not exceed twenty. 
 
 It is a strange fact, that this substance and the following, 
 which differ so widely in colour, lustre, transparency, and 
 hardness, are both composed of carbon, pure in the one, 
 and in the other only mixed with some little impurity. 
 
 CHARCOAL 
 Is found in a native state. If a piece of Coal be examined, 
 
PLUMBAGO. ANTHRACITE. 321 
 
 this substance is generally seen in patches here and there : 
 these are of silky fibrous appearance, and very soft ; they 
 consist of vegetable matter that has not been completely 
 changed into Coal. 
 
 PLUMBAGO. 
 
 This is the substance of which Lead pencils are made, 
 and consists of Carbon and Iron, but no Lead whatever. 
 In colour it is dark grey, and occurs in irregularly- shaped 
 granular masses, sometimes of great size. The best de- 
 scription of Plumbago is found at Borrowdale ; in Cumber- 
 land, and in Spain. It is sometimes found crystallized, 
 and in scales like Mica, from which it may be distinguished 
 by its colour and by its leaving marks upon paper. PL XIX. 
 fig. 75. 
 
 ANTHRACITE 
 
 Is a combination of Carbon with some Silex, Oxide of 
 Iron, earthy matter, and water. It is of great value as 
 fuel, burning without flame or odour, and is found in 
 immense deposits in America. Some specimens exhibit 
 the most beautiful iridescence, which we have endeavoured 
 to show in Plate XIX. fig. 76. 
 
 Y 
 
322 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 MINERAL OIL. 
 
 Of this there are two kinds,, viz., Naphtha and Petroleum. 
 The first is transparent and nearly colourless, and burns 
 with a white flame and a great deal of smoke; it is 
 essential in the manufacture of varnish, and is occasionally 
 used in oil-painting. It is found in Persia, where it is 
 used instead of oil for lamps. Petroleum is of a reddish- 
 brown colour, rather thicker than common tar, and has a 
 strong bituminous odour. It is found in France, England, 
 Scotland, Switzerland, and at Parma, in Italy, where, says 
 Alger, it gives out so powerful an odour that the workmen 
 cannot long endure it without danger of fainting. 
 
 BITUMEN. 
 
 Three varieties are known of this substance, viz., Earthy, 
 Elastic, and Compact. Earthy Bitumen is soft, solid, and 
 of a blackish-brown colour. The elastic variety is of 
 various shades of brown, and is also flexible ; it is found 
 in Limestone near Castleton, in Derbyshire, whence the 
 specimen figured (Plate XX. fig. 77), was brought. Com- 
 pact Bitumen, or Asphalt, is massive, has a conchoidal 
 fracture, shining lustre, and a dark brown or black colour. 
 
Plate XX. 
 
 77 . Bit 
 
 
 78. Djso<LQ.e . 
 
 80 . Retin.a.sj>"halt 
 
 79 . Amber . 
 
COMMON COAL. 323 
 
 It is the most common of the varieties of Bitumen, and is 
 so light as to float on the waters of the Dead Sea ; it is also 
 found in Prance and Switzerland ; and in the Island of 
 Barbadoes it forms with sand a lake three miles in cir- 
 cumference. 
 
 Bitumen was used by the Egyptians in the process of 
 embalming ; and is employed by us in preparing certain 
 varnishes, and in forming Asphaltum pavements. 
 
 COMMON COAL. 
 
 It will not be necessary for us to attempt a description 
 of this well-known substance, which, although possessing 
 small claims to admiration on account of its beauty, is yet 
 perhaps the most important of all the minerals we have 
 noticed, considering that without Coal most of the metal- 
 liferous ores to which allusion has been made would never 
 have been of the least use to mankind, for want of the 
 means of extracting the metal. It is true that some of the 
 metals occur in a native state, and these so far would have 
 been available ; but an immense proportion of all the metals 
 now known are obtained from their ores only by the use of 
 Coal as a fuel. 
 
 Y 2 
 
324 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 " Most useful is the might of fire, 
 When man directs and guides its course ; 
 And whatsoe'er his thoughts desire 
 He fashions by its helping force." Schiller. 
 
 All are aware that Carbon is the principal constituent of 
 vegetable matter, and it is consequently not surprising that 
 Coal, being of vegetable origin, should contain about 
 seventy per cent, of carbon; its other chief ingredient 
 being Bitumen. This contains a large proportion of 
 hydrogen gas, which, in combination with the carbon, 
 produces the gas which lights up all our towns. This gas 
 may be manufactured on a small scale, by filling the bowl 
 of a tobacco-pipe with powdered Coal, and closing it up 
 with clay : the bowl being then inserted in the fire, a stream 
 of gas issues from the tube, and this may be set light to 
 and will burn for some time. England and Wales possess 
 many great coal-fields, the principal of which are those of 
 Northumberland and Durham, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, 
 and Derbyshire, Lancashire, Staffordshire, and South 
 Wales. Several other European countries possess Coal; 
 and many of the United States produce it in great abund- 
 ance. The best Coal is that which contains the largest 
 proportion of Bitumen. 
 
DYSODILE. AMBEft. 325 
 
 Having said thus much of Common Coal, we shall 
 merely mention the other varieties known, referring for 
 their description to Alger's edition of Phillips's 'Mine- 
 ralogy:' their names are Cannel Coal, Moor Coal, Wood 
 Coal, Surturbrand, and Bovey Coal. 
 
 Jet is also considered to be a variety of Coal. Its fine 
 black colour, and its uses in ornamental articles, have long 
 been familiar to every one, 
 
 DYSODILE, 
 
 Otherwise termed Paper Coal, from its occurring in thin 
 leaves like paper, which are of a greenish-brown colour. 
 The leaves of which it is composed are extremely brittle, 
 but, when soaked in water, acquire some flexibility. It 
 burns with flame and smoke, and a horribly fetid odour. 
 Sicily is its only known locality. Plate XX. fig. 78. 
 
 AMBEK. 
 
 This beautiful substance, like Coal, is of vegetable origin, 
 having once been a gum, exuding from certain trees, of 
 which we see many instances at the present day ; but has 
 since become indurated. The proofs of this are, that in 
 Prussia, where there are regular mines of Amber, it is 
 
326 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 found hanging from fossilized trees in the form of stalactites, 
 and frequently contains different kinds of insects imbedded 
 in it ; sometimes only their legs or wings, as though the 
 unfortunate flies, when caught by it, had been glad to 
 release themselves at the expense of a wing or a few of their 
 legs. Amber is of different shades of yellow, sometimes 
 transparent, and of a rich reddish tint, sometimes trans- 
 lucent and of a delicate straw-colour (Plate XX. fig. 79). 
 It possesses electricity to a remarkable degree, the discovery 
 of which in this substance gave rise to the science. 
 
 At such times as the celebrated Goodwin Sands are so 
 dry that they may be trodden with safety, we have frequently 
 visited them, and have picked up several rolled pieces of 
 Amber of considerable size ; and have selected a portion 
 of one of these for our figure. On two occasions we have 
 found small pieces on the sands between Eamsgate and 
 Pegwell Bay ; these were of a rich red tint. 
 
 MELLITE. 
 
 This is one of the few combustible minerals that assume 
 a crystalline form. Its form is an obtuse octohedron ; and 
 its colour yellow. It has only been found in two or three 
 localities, viz., Thuringia, Saal, and Switzerland, and is a 
 rare mineral. 
 
RETINASPHALT. HIGHGATE EESIN. 327 
 
 RETINASPHALT 
 
 Consists of Resin, Bitumen, and earthy matters, one of 
 which is Alumine. If held in the flame of a candle, it 
 burns with a bright flame and strong odour. In colour it 
 is brown, and has a resinous lustre. It is found at Bovey, 
 in Devonshire, and at Wolchow, in Moravia ; the specimen 
 figured (Plate XX. fig. 80) being from the former locality. 
 
 HIGHGATE RESIN. 
 
 The first discovery of this substance was made during 
 the erection of the Highgate Archway, where it was found 
 in detached nodules, associated with fossil vegetable matter, 
 in the London Clay deposit. Since then it has been found 
 at Chalk Farm, and many other places where that stratum 
 has been cut through for the formation of railway tunnels. 
 It is usually of a dirty brown colour and resinous lustre, 
 but one specimen we have seen is of a light yellow colour. 
 When applied to the flame of a candle, it burns with a clear 
 flame and considerable smoke, and yields an aromatic 
 odour. A nearly transparent variety, of a pale yellow 
 colour and exactly the appearance of Resin, has been found 
 at Wolchow, in Moravia. 
 
328 POPULAR MINERALOGY. 
 
 This superficial examination of minerals is now con- 
 cluded. We trust, however, that the learner will not be 
 contented with the information he may have acquired during 
 his perusal of this little work, but that, having travelled 
 thus far in the pursuit of this charming study, he will not 
 permit his ardour to relax until he has mastered the real 
 difficulties which will necessarily beset the path of the 
 more advanced student of mineralogy. 
 
 " For, from the birth 
 
 Of human kind, the sovereign Maker said, 
 That not in humble nor in brief delight, 
 Not in the fleeting echoes of renown, 
 Power's purple robes, nor Pleasure's flowery lap, 
 The soul should find contentment ; but, from these 
 Turning disdainful to an equal good, 
 Through Nature's opening walks enlarge her aim, 
 Till every bound at length should disappear, 
 And infinite perfection fill the scene." Akenside. 
 
 THE END. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 ACIDIFEKOUS ALKALINE 
 
 MINERALS 199 
 
 ACIDIFEROUS ALKALINO- 
 
 EARTHY MINERALS . 207 
 ACIDIFEROTJS EARTHY 
 
 MINERALS 169 
 
 ACIDS 167 
 
 list of 28 
 
 Actinolite 112 
 
 Adhesive Slate 106 
 
 Adularia 150 
 
 Aerolites. 217 
 
 Agalmatolite 153 
 
 Agate 85 
 
 Alalite 110 
 
 Alexandrite 129 
 
 ALKALIES 28 
 
 ALKALINO-EARTHY MINE- 
 RALS . . 144 
 
 Page. 
 
 Allochroite 95 
 
 Allophane 128 
 
 Almandine 92 
 
 Alum ;.; 207 
 
 Alumine 26, 117, 169 
 
 Aluminite 169 
 
 Alum-slate 105 
 
 Alum-stone 208 
 
 Amazon-stone 149 
 
 Amber 325 
 
 Amethyst 69 
 
 Amianthus 114 
 
 Analcime 157 
 
 Anatase 254 
 
 Andalusite 146 
 
 Anhydrite 191 
 
 Anthracite 321 
 
 Antimonial Silver 273 
 
 Antimony. " 302 
 
330 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Antimony-ochre 304 
 
 Apatite 187 
 
 Aplome 94 
 
 Apophyllite 147 
 
 Arragonite 185 
 
 Arseniate of Cobalt 262 
 
 Copper 287 
 
 Iron 242 
 
 Lead 310 
 
 Arsenic 260 
 
 Arsenical Cobalt 262 
 
 Nickel 265 
 
 Arsenious Acid 168 
 
 Asbestiform Actinolite ... 113 
 
 Asbestus 113 
 
 Asparagus-stone 188 
 
 Asphalt 322 
 
 Augite 109 
 
 Avanturine 70 
 
 Felspar 150 
 
 Axinite 100 
 
 Baikalite 110 
 
 Barytes 26, 105 
 
 Baryto-Strontianite 197 
 
 Basalt 156 
 
 Beryl 136 
 
 Page. 
 
 Bitter-spar 186 
 
 Bitumen 322 
 
 Black Tellurium 301 
 
 Blende 312 
 
 Blowpipe 50 
 
 Blue Vitriol 286 
 
 Bog Iron ore 238 
 
 Bolognian stone 196 
 
 Boracic Acid 167 
 
 Boracite 195 
 
 Borax 202 
 
 Botryolite 193 
 
 BoveyCoal 325 
 
 Braunite 245 
 
 Brecciated Agate 87 
 
 Bright White Cobalt 262 
 
 Bronzite 92 
 
 Brookite 255 
 
 Buntkupfererz 282 
 
 Cacholong 84 
 
 Calaite 123 
 
 Calamine 313 
 
 Calc-spar 177 
 
 Campylite 309 
 
 Cannel Coal . .325 
 
INDEX. 
 
 331 
 
 Page. 
 
 Capped Quartz 70 
 
 Carbonate of Copper .... 285 
 
 Iron 238 
 
 Lead 308 
 
 Magnesia 193 
 
 Manganese 245 
 
 Carnelian 85 
 
 Cat's-eye 71 
 
 Celestine 198 
 
 Cerium *. 256 
 
 Chabasie 161 
 
 Chalcedony 81 
 
 Chalk 185 
 
 Charcoal 320 
 
 CHARACTERS OF MINERALS. 
 
 Adhesion 38 
 
 Colour 38 
 
 Double refraction .... 40 
 
 Elasticity 40 
 
 Electricity 46 
 
 External form 40 
 
 Flexibility 40 
 
 Fracture 46 
 
 Frangibility 46 
 
 Hardness 46 
 
 Lustre . 46 
 
 Page. 
 
 CHARACTERS OF MINERALS. 
 
 Magnetism 47 
 
 Odour 47 
 
 Phosphorescence 47 
 
 Powder 47 
 
 Specific gravity 48 
 
 Streak 47 
 
 Structure 40, 44 
 
 Taste 48 
 
 Touch 48 
 
 Transparency 49 
 
 Chlorite 154 
 
 Chlorophane 189 
 
 Chromate of Iron 242 
 
 Lead 310 
 
 Chrome 258 
 
 Chrysoberyl 128 
 
 Chrysocolle 286 
 
 Chrysolite 132 
 
 Chrysoprase 84 
 
 Cinnabar 315 
 
 Cinnamon-stone 95 
 
 Clay 106 
 
 Clay Iron-stone 239 
 
 Cleavelandite 150 
 
 Clinkstone . 156 
 
332 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Cobalt 262 
 
 Cobalt Bloom 263 
 
 Coccolite 110 
 
 Collection 52 
 
 cabinet 57 
 
 choice of specimens . 54 
 
 Colophonite 95 
 
 COMBUSTIBLES 35, 317 
 
 Common Coal 323 
 
 Corundum 117 
 
 Felspar 148 
 
 Garnet 93 
 
 89 
 79 
 67 
 202 
 134 
 
 Jasper 
 
 Opal 
 
 Quartz 
 
 Salt 
 
 Serpentine 
 
 Compact Bitumen 322 
 
 Condrodite , , 133 
 
 Copper 277 
 
 manufacture of .... 278 
 
 Mica 287 
 
 Pyrites 283 
 
 Corundum 116 
 
 Crichtonite 255 
 
 Cryolite 208 
 
 Page. 
 
 Crystallized Actinolite . . 112 
 CRYSTALS. 
 
 cube 41 
 
 dimensions of 43 
 
 hexagonal prism ... 42 
 
 octohedron 42 
 
 rhombic dodecahedron 41 
 
 rhomboid 42 
 
 tetrahedron 41 
 
 Cupreous Sulphate of Lead 311 
 
 Datholite 193 
 
 Diamond 318 
 
 Diaspore 122 
 
 Dichroite 131 
 
 Diopside 110 
 
 Dioptase 286 
 
 Dog's-tooth spar 178 
 
 Dolomite 186 
 
 Double-refracting spar ... 179 
 
 Drawing slate 105 
 
 Dysodile 325 
 
 EARTHS, list of 25 
 
 Earthy Bitumen 322 
 
 EARTHY MINERALS 63 
 
 Egyptian Pebble 89 
 
 Eisenkiesel . , 69 
 
INDEX. 
 
 333 
 
 Page. 
 
 Elastic Bitumen 322 
 
 Electron! 298 
 
 Emerald 138 
 
 Emery . 118 
 
 Epidote 100 
 
 Euclase 136 
 
 Eudyalite 154 
 
 Fahlerz 283 
 
 Feather-ore . . . . ! 303 
 
 Federerz 303 
 
 Felspar 148 
 
 Fire Opal 78 
 
 Flexible Quartz 72 
 
 Flint 80 
 
 Flos ferri 186 
 
 Fluor spar 188 
 
 Fortification Agate 87 
 
 Fuller's-earth 107 
 
 Gadolinite 141 
 
 Galena 306 
 
 Garnet 92 
 
 Glass, manufacture of ... 75 
 
 Glassy Actinolite 113 
 
 Felspar 149 
 
 Glauberite 208 
 
 Glucine . .... 26, 136 
 
 Gold 
 
 Page. 
 
 leaf 291 
 
 wire 292 
 
 Graphic Tellurium 300 
 
 Green Earth 151 
 
 Grenatite 126 
 
 Grey Cobalt 262 
 
 Copper 283 
 
 Manganese 244 
 
 Grossular 94 
 
 Gypsum 192 
 
 Haematite 237 
 
 Harrnotome 109 
 
 Hausmannite 245 
 
 Haiiyne 148 
 
 Heavy spar 196 
 
 Heliotrope 83 
 
 Helvine 246 
 
 Heulandite 98 
 
 Highgate Resin 327 
 
 Hornblende 110 
 
 Hornstone 90 
 
 Hyacinth 135 
 
 Hyalite 71 
 
 Hydrate of Magnesia .... 132 
 
 Hydrophaue 78 
 
334 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Hydrous Oxide of Iron . . 236 
 
 Hypersthene 115 
 
 Idocrase 96 
 
 Indicolite 165 
 
 lolite 131 
 
 Iridium 300 
 
 Iron 213 
 
 manufacture of .... 232 
 
 Pyrites 224 
 
 Jamesonite 303 
 
 Jargon 135 
 
 Jasper 89 
 
 Jeffersonite 91 
 
 Jet 325 
 
 Karpholite 91 
 
 KiUinite 154 
 
 Kyanite 124 
 
 Labradorite 149 
 
 Lapis lazuli 101 
 
 Lava 156 
 
 Lead 305 
 
 Leelite 90 
 
 Lepidokrokite 237 
 
 Lepidolite 165 
 
 Leucite 46 
 
 Lime 27, 173 
 
 Page. 
 
 Lithomarge 107 
 
 Loadstone 228 
 
 Lydian-stone 106 
 
 Lythrodes 156 
 
 Magnesia 27, 132, 193 
 
 Magnetic Oxide of Iron . . 228 
 
 Malachite 285 
 
 Manganese 244 
 
 Manganesian Epidote .... 100 
 
 Manganesian Garnet .... 94 
 
 Marble 182 
 
 Marekanite 160 
 
 Mealy Zeolite 155 
 
 Meerschaum 193 
 
 Meionite 161 
 
 Melanite 94 
 
 Mellite 326 
 
 Mercury 314 
 
 Mesotype 155 
 
 META LLIFEROUS MINERALS 210 
 
 METALS, list of 31 
 
 growth of 33 
 
 Meteoric Iron 214 
 
 Mica 144 
 
 Micaceous Iron 236 
 
 Mispickel 227 
 
Minerals, arrangement of . 
 characters of 
 
 IND 
 
 Page. 
 30 
 
 37 
 14 
 24 
 6 
 322 
 87 
 247 
 150 
 325 
 188 
 86 
 115 
 114 
 115 
 206 
 287 
 276 
 322 
 316 
 302 
 260 
 259 
 280 
 293 
 214 
 
 EX. 
 
 Native Mercury .... 
 
 335 
 
 Page. 
 
 314 
 
 Minium . 
 
 307 
 
 
 Nickel 
 
 oee 
 
 composition of .... 
 
 Silver 
 
 270 
 
 
 q-i 7 
 
 Mineral oil 
 
 Natrolite . 
 
 1^ 
 
 Mocha-stone .'.... 
 
 Natron 
 
 ono 
 
 Molybdena 
 
 Needle-stone 
 
 1^5 
 
 Moon-stone 
 
 Nickel 
 
 265 
 
 Moor Coal 
 
 Nickel-ochre 
 
 
 Moroxite 
 
 Nitrate of Lime 
 
 
 Moss Agate . 
 
 Soda 
 
 202 
 
 Mountain cork 
 
 Nitre . . 
 
 1QQ 
 
 leather 
 
 Obsidian . 
 
 1^9 
 
 paper . 
 
 Oligiste Iron 
 
 <)<* 
 
 Muriate of Ammonia .... 
 Copper . 
 
 Olivine 
 
 133 
 
 Olivinerz . . . 
 
 287 
 
 -- - Silver . 
 
 Goal 
 
 77 
 
 Naphtha 
 
 Oriental Ruby 
 
 120 
 
 Native Amalgam 
 
 Orpiment 
 
 260 
 
 Antimony 
 
 Osmium 
 
 300 
 
 Arsenic 
 
 Oxide of Antimony 
 
 304 
 
 Bismuth 
 
 Arsenic 
 
 260 
 
 
 
 OKO 
 
 Gold 
 
 Copper 
 
 284 
 
 Iron . . . 
 
 Tin . 
 
 , 248 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Palladium 299 
 
 Paper Coal 325 
 
 Pea Iron ore 238 
 
 Pearl spar 187 
 
 Petalite 166 
 
 Petroleum 322 
 
 Phacolite 162 
 
 Phosphate of Copper 287 
 
 Iron 241 
 
 Lead 309 
 
 Phosphorite 188 
 
 Pimelite 266 
 
 Pisolite 184 
 
 Pitchblende 257 
 
 Pitchstone 157 
 
 Plasma 83 
 
 Platina 299 
 
 Pleonaste 131 
 
 Plombgomme 307 
 
 Plumbago 321 
 
 Polyhallite 209 
 
 Potstone 153 
 
 Prase 70 
 
 Precious Garnet 92 
 
 Opal 77 
 
 Serpentine 134 
 
 Page. 
 
 Prehnite 97 
 
 Pyreneite 94 
 
 Pyrolusite 245 
 
 Pyrope 95 
 
 Pyrophysalite 128 
 
 Pyroxene 109 
 
 Quartz 65 
 
 Quicksilver 314 
 
 Realgar 260 
 
 Red Antimony 303 
 
 Bed ochre 237 
 
 Red Silver 274 
 
 Retinasphalt 327 
 
 Rhastizite 125 
 
 Ribbon Agate 86 
 
 Rock Crystal 66 
 
 Rose Manganese 245 
 
 Rose Quartz 71 
 
 Rubellite 165 
 
 Ruby Copper 284 
 
 Ruin Jasper 89 
 
 Sahlite 110 
 
 Sapphire 118 
 
 Sardonyx 83 
 
 Satin-spar 180 
 
 Scaly Talc 147 
 
INDEX. 
 
 337 
 
 Page. 
 
 Scapolite 161 
 
 Schieffer spar 180 
 
 Schorl 164 
 
 Scolezite 99 
 
 Selenite 192 
 
 Serpentine '. . 134 
 
 Silex 27, 63 
 
 Siliceous Sinter 90 
 
 Silver 267 
 
 manufacture of .... 269 
 
 Slate 103 
 
 Smoky Quartz 69 
 
 Soapstone 152 
 
 Sodalite 156 
 
 Sommite 156 
 
 Sphene 256 
 
 Spinellaue 156 
 
 SpineUe Ruby 130 
 
 Spongifonn Quartz 71 
 
 Stalactitic Calc-spar 181 
 
 Staurolite 126 
 
 Steatite 152 
 
 Stephanite 123 
 
 Stilbite 98 
 
 Striped Jasper 89 
 
 Strontian . , 27, 197 
 
 Page. 
 
 Strontianite 197 
 
 Sulphate of Ammonia ... 205 
 
 Cobalt 263 
 
 Iron 241 
 
 Magnesia 194 
 
 Soda 202 
 
 Sulphuret of Antimony . . 303 
 
 Arsenic 260 
 
 Bismuth 259 
 
 Mercury 315 
 
 Molybdena 247 
 
 Silver 274 
 
 Tin 253 
 
 Sulphuric Acid 167 
 
 Sun-stone 150 
 
 Surturbrand 325 
 
 Tabular-spar 91 
 
 Talc 150 
 
 Telluric Silver 273 
 
 Tellurium 300 
 
 Thomsonite 99 
 
 Thorina 28 
 
 Tin 248 
 
 manufacture of .... 250 
 
 Tinder ore 304 
 
 Tin- white Cobalt . ,262 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Titanite 254 
 
 Titanium 254 
 
 Topaz 126 
 
 Topazolite 95 
 
 Tourmaline 163 
 
 Tremolite Ill 
 
 Tufa 185 
 
 Tungsten 253 
 
 Turquoise 123 
 
 Ultramarine 102 
 
 Uranite 257 
 
 Uranium 257 
 
 Uran-ochre 257 
 
 Vitreous Copper 282 
 
 Vivianite . ,241 
 
 Page. 
 
 Wad 245 
 
 Wavellite 170 
 
 Wernerite 99 
 
 White Vitriol 313 
 
 Witherite 195 
 
 Wood Coal 325 
 
 Opal 79 
 
 Woodstone 90 
 
 Yellow Tellurium 300 
 
 Yenite 92 
 
 Yttria 28, 141 
 
 Zinc 312 
 
 Zircon 28, 134 
 
 Zirconite 135 
 
 Zoisite . 99 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 PLATE I. 
 
 Fig. Page. 
 
 1 . Rock crystal 66 
 
 2. Amethyst .69 
 
 3. Chalcedony 81 
 
 4. Agate 85 
 
 PLATE II. 
 
 5. Garnet 92 
 
 6. Heulandite 98 
 
 7. Stilbite 98 
 
 8. Lapis lazuli 101 
 
 PLATE III. 
 
 9. Actinolite 112 
 
 10. Asbestus 113 
 
 11. Corundum 116 
 
 12. Topaz 126 
 
 PLATE IV. 
 
 13. Precious Serpentine . . .134 
 
 14. Zircon 135 
 
 15. Beryl 136 
 
 16. Emerald 138 
 
 PLATE V. 
 
 17. Mica 144 
 
 18. Apophyllite 147 
 
 19. Felspar 148 
 
 20. Talc . . 150 
 
 PLATE VI. 
 
 Kg. Page. 
 
 21. Natrolite . " ." . . . . . 155 
 
 22. Analcime 157 
 
 23. Tourmaline 163 
 
 24. Lepidolite 165 
 
 PLATE VII. 
 
 25. Wavellite 170 
 
 26. Calc-spar 177 
 
 27. Flosferri 186 
 
 28. Arragonite 185 
 
 PLATE VIII. 
 
 29. Apatite 187 
 
 30. Fluor 188 
 
 81. Chlorophane . . . . .189 
 32. Selenite . . 192 
 
 PLATE IX. 
 
 33. Boracite .... 
 
 34. Carbonate of Barytes 
 
 35. Heavy-spar . . . 
 
 36. Celestine 
 
 PLATE X. 
 
 37. Meteoric Iron . . 
 
 38. Iron pyrites . . . 
 
 39. Haematite . . . 
 
 40. Carbonate of Iron . 
 
 195 
 195 
 196 
 198 
 
 214 
 224 
 237 
 238 
 
340 
 
 LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 PLATE XI. 
 
 Fig. 
 
 41. Black Manganese . . . 
 42. Rose Manganese . . . 
 43. Sulphuret of Molybdena . 
 44. Oxide of Tin .... 
 
 Page. 
 
 . 244 
 
 . 245 
 . 247 
 . 248 
 
 PLATE XVI. 
 
 Pig. 
 61. Graphic Tellurium . . 
 62. Sulphuret of Antimony . 
 63. Galena 
 64. Minium 
 
 Page. 
 
 . 300 
 . 303 
 . 306 
 307 
 
 PLATE XII. 
 45. Brookite 
 46. Titanite 
 
 . 255 
 . 254 
 
 PLATE XVII. 
 65. Carbonate of Lead . . 
 66. Phosphate of Lead 
 
 . 308 
 309 
 
 47. Uranite 
 
 . 257 
 
 67. Campylite 
 
 309 
 
 48 Orpiment .... 
 
 . 260 
 
 68. Chromate of Lead 
 
 310 
 
 PLATE XIII. 
 49. Cobalt bloom .... 
 
 . 263 
 
 PLATE XVIII. 
 69. Blende 
 
 312 
 
 50. Native Silver .... 
 
 . 270 
 
 70. Calamine 
 
 313 
 
 51. Do. Do 
 
 , 270 
 
 71. Quicksilver .... 
 
 314 
 
 52. Sulphuret of Silver .. . 
 
 . 274 
 
 72. Cinnabar . . . 
 
 315 
 
 PLATE XIV. 
 53. Native Copper . 
 
 280 
 
 PLATE XIX. 
 73 CrystaDized Native Sulphur 
 
 317 
 
 54. Grey Copper .... 
 55. Copper pyrites . 
 
 . 283 
 
 . 283 
 
 74. Native Sulphur . . . 
 75. Plumbago 
 
 . 317 
 . 321 
 
 56. Ruby Copper .... 
 
 PLATE XV. 
 57 Malachite 
 
 . 284 
 285 
 
 76. Anthracite 
 
 PLATE XX. 
 
 7 7 Bitumen 
 
 . 321 
 322 
 
 58. Carbonate of Copper . . 
 59. Arseniate of Copper 
 
 . 285 
 
 . 287 
 
 78. Dysodile 
 79 Amber . . . . 
 
 . 325 
 . 325 
 
 60. Native Gold 
 
 . 293 
 
 80. Retiuasphalt 
 
 327 
 
GLOSSARY. 
 
 Acicular. This term is derived from the Latin acicula, a little needle : 
 
 hence long and slender crystals are said to be acicular. See the figure 
 
 of Titanite, Plate XII. fig. 46. 
 Alloy. When two or more metals occur united together in a natural state, 
 
 they are said to form a native alloy. Osmium and Iridium always 
 
 occur in this condition. For manufacturing purposes most metals are 
 
 artificially alloyed. 
 Amalgam. The union of Quicksilver with another metal forms an amalgam. 
 
 The only native amalgam known consists of Mercury united to Silver. 
 Amorphous. Possessing no particular form. Native Minium illustrates 
 
 this character. 
 
 Anhydrous. Containing no water. See Anhydrite, p. 191. 
 Arborescent. Growing like a tree : Native Copper is commonly arborescent. 
 Arenaceous. In the form of sand. 
 Arseniate. The combination of Arsenic acid with a base ; as in Arseniate of 
 
 Copper, Lead, Iron, &c., those metals are the bases. 
 Borate. The combination of Boracic acid with a base. 
 Botryoidal. Resembling a bunch of grapes. See figure of Calamine, 
 
 Plate XVIII. fig. 70. 
 Brittle. This term is applied to those metals which are not malleable ; 
 
 Arsenic, Antimony, Bismuth, and Manganese, are, amongst other 
 
 metals, distinguished by this character. 
 Capillary. Prom the Latin capillus, a hair. 
 
342 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Carbonate. The union of Carbonic acid with a base. 
 
 Chatoyant. A French word, signifying a resemblance to the eye of a cat. 
 
 Chromate. A. combination of Chromic acid with a base. 
 
 Cleavage. See ' Structure,' p. 44. 
 
 Compact. A mineral is called compact when it does not admit of cleavage. 
 
 Conchoidal. Like a shell : Obsidian has a conchoidal fracture. 
 
 Dendritic. This term is synonymous with arborescent. 
 
 Disseminated. When one mineral occurs imbedded here and there in another, 
 
 it is said to be disseminated in it. 
 Diverging. This is observed in minerals of fibrous structure, but whose 
 
 fibres, instead of running parallel to each other, as in Gypsum, radiate 
 
 from a central point, as in Natrolite and others. 
 Double-refraction. See Iceland spar, p. 179. 
 Drusy. This term is applied to minutely crystallized substances, the crystals 
 
 being aggregated together, and presenting a nearly even surface. 
 Elastic. Those minerals which resume their original form after being bent, 
 
 are elastic. Mica is elastic. 
 Flexible. Talc, which retains any form into which it is bent, is an example 
 
 of flexibility. 
 Fluate. The union of Fluoric acid with a base. Fluor is a Fluate of Lime, 
 
 Lime being the base. 
 Foliated. From the Latin foliatus, consisting of leaves. Talc and Mica 
 
 are usually foliated. See, also, our figure of native Gold, Plate XV. fig. 60. 
 Fracture. See p. 46. 
 Frangibility. This term relates to the ease or difiiculty of breaking a 
 
 mineral. See p. 46. 
 Geode. A hollow ball ; Geodes of Agate are generally lined with crystals 
 
 of Quartz or Amethyst. 
 Granular. Consisting of grains. 
 
 Hydrate. Hydrates contain a large proportion of water. 
 Iridescent. A mineral whose external surface presents a display of changing 
 
GLOSSARY. 343 
 
 colours, is iridescent. Our figure of Anthracite exhibits this 
 
 character. 
 Lamellar, or Laminar. Composed of thin plates. A mineral which can 
 
 be fractured into thin plates is said to be of lamellar structure, and the 
 
 plates are termed laminae. 
 Lenticular. A term applied to crystals which resemble in form a common 
 
 magnifying glass or lens. See figure of Carbonate of Iron, Plate X. 
 
 fig. 40. 
 Malleable. Those metals which become extended by being beaten with a 
 
 hammer are malleable. 
 
 Mammillated. This term signifies the same as 'botryoidal.' 
 Matrix. The substance in which a mineral is found. Quartz is most com- 
 monly the matrix of Gold. 
 
 Opake. Possessing not the slightest degree of transparency. 
 Phosphorescent. Minerals which give out light by the application of heat or 
 
 friction, are phosphorescent. See Chlorophane, p. 191. 
 Plumose. Resembling a feather. 
 Prism and Pyramid. The different parts of a crystal. In a crystal of 
 
 Quartz, the six planes that run parallel with each other form its prism, 
 
 and the triangular planes which, meeting in a point, terminate the crystal, 
 
 form its pyramid. There are many different kinds of prisms and pyramids. 
 Ps end amorphous. Some minerals are occasionally found assuming forms 
 
 which belong to other substances ; these are termed pseudomorphous. 
 Pulverulent. In the form of powder. 
 Reticulated. From the Latin retis, a net. The term is used when the 
 
 fibres of a mineral are parallel, and are interwoven at right angles by 
 
 other parallel fibres, so as to resemble net-work. See Ruby Copper, 
 . Plate XIV. fig. 56. 
 Semi-transparent. A mineral is semi-transparent when an object can only 
 
 be indistinctly seen through it. 
 
344 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Specific Gravity. The relative weight of one substance compared with 
 
 another. See p. 48. 
 Specular. Those minerals whose surfaces are brilliant and reflect images, 
 
 are termed specular, from the Latin speculum, a looking-glass. Sulphuret 
 
 of Antimony possesses this character. 
 Stalactitic. This term is derived from the Greek, and signifies a drop or 
 
 icicle. Chalcedony and Calc-spar are often stalactitic. See Plate I. tig. 3. 
 Structure. A term relating to the cleavage of a mineral. See p. 44. 
 Sulphate. The union of Sulphuric acid with a base. 
 Sulphuret. A combination of a metal with sulphur. 
 Tabular. Derived from the Latin tabula, a table. Crystals which are 
 
 nearly flat are said to be tabular. 
 Toughness. Many minerals, when struck with a hammer, become bruised 
 
 and depressed in the attempt to break them : these are said to be tough. 
 Translucent. A degree of transparency. 
 Transparent. Those minerals are transparent through which an object can 
 
 be distinctly seen. Mock crystal and Iceland spar are transparent in a 
 
 high degree. 
 
 Printed by Reeve and Nichols, Heathcock Court, Strand. 
 
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 A few Copies have been beautifully printed on large paper. 
 " The ' History of British Sea- weeds ' we can most faithfully recommend for its scien- 
 tific, its pictorial, and its popular value ; the professed botanist will find it a work of 
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 of the lovely plants which they gather on the sea-shore, will find in it the faithful por- 
 traiture of every one of them." Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 
 
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 tions carefully prepared, and the whole account of the species drawn up in such a way 
 as cannot fail to be instructive, even to those who are well acquainted with the subject. 
 The greater part of our more common Algse have never been illustrated in a manner 
 agreeable to the present state of Algology." Gardeners' Chronicle. 
 
 19. POPULAR HISTORY OF BRITISH SEA-WEEDS. By the Rev. 
 
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LIST OF WORKS. 5 
 
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 22. THE BIRDS OF IRELAND. By WILLIAM THOMPSON, Esq., Pre- 
 
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 will rank with those of our first ornithologists." Dublin Quarterly Journal of 
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 and Cheaper Edition. 8vo. Plate and Map. Price 12*. ; bound, 18*. 
 
 24. ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRITISH MYCOLOGY; or, Figures and De- 
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 Ninety plates, beautifully coloured. * Price 11. 12*. 6d., cloth. 
 
 25. ILLUSTRATIONS OF BRITISH MYCOLOGY; containing Figures 
 
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 26. THE ESCULENT FUNGUSES OF ENGLAND. By the Rev. Dr. 
 
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 27. NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. SAMARANG in the 
 
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 28. CURTIS'S BRITISH ENTOMOLOGY. By JOHN CURTIS, F.L.S. 
 
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 21. (Published at 43 16*.) 
 
6 LIST OF WORKS. 
 
 29. THE VICTORIA REGIA. By Sir W. J. HOOKER, F.R.S. In ele- 
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 folio, with ten beautifully coloured plates. Price 25s. 
 
 33. POPULAR BRITISH ORNITHOLOGY; comprising a familiar and 
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 great aim of the author of this beautiful little volume. . . It is embellished by upwards 
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 English of above 200 of the commoner British species, together with accurate figures 
 of about 70 of those described ; and will be quite a treasure to any one just commencing 
 the study of this fascinating science." Westminster and Foreign Quarterly Review. 
 
LIST OF WORKS. 7 
 
 35. THE DODO AND ITS KINDRED; or, the History, Affinities, and 
 
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 Islands Mauritius, Rodriguez, and Bourbon. By H. E. STRICKLAND, 
 Esq., M.A., F.R.G.S., F.G.S. ; and A. G. MELVILLE, M.D., M.R.C.S. 
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 tions. Price 21*. 
 
 36. A CENTURY OF ORCHIDACEOUS PLANTS, the Plates selected 
 
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 of Kew ; with Introduction and instructions for their culture by JOHN 
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 6/. plain. 
 
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 Royal 4to. Price 4/. 4*. coloured ; 21. 17*. plain. 
 
 41. THE BRITISH DESMIDIE^l; or, Fresh- Water Algse. By JOHN 
 
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 42. CONCHYLIA DITHYRA INSULARUM BRITANNICARUM. By 
 
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8 LIST OF WORKS. 
 
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 45. CURTIS'S BOTANICAL MAGAZINE; by Sir WILLIAM JACKSON 
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 containing six plates, price 3.?. 6d. coloured. 
 
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 Britain. Second Series. By Mrs. HUSSEY. In Monthly Parts, price 5*. 
 To t be completed in twenty Parts. 
 
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 Four Parts, each containing 25 coloured plates, imp. 8vo, price \l. \s. 
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