ANALYSIS OF A NEWLY DISCOVERED MINERAL 



ferent fubftances capable of being diflblved or fufpended in air, 

 which are noxious to the human conftitution : particularly as 

 an accurate knowledge of their nature and properties would 

 probably enable us, in a great meafure, to guard againft, or 

 deftroy, their baneful effe&s. 



** X. 



Analj/fis of a newly difcovered Mineral rcfemhling the Hyacinth. 

 By Profejfor Tromsdorff. * 



Hiftory. 1 HROUGH the kindnefs of Prince Gallitzin, I received 



a new mineral fubftance, denominated by him red garnet 



(rather granat), which greatly refembled the hyacinth in re- 



fpect of colour, hardnefs, fpecific gravity, &c. The native 



country of this new foffil is Greenland. I fiiall call it compact 



hyacinth (dichter hyacinth.) 



Aaionofhcat. In oijdcr to inveftigate the nature of this foffil, it was 



I ignited intenfely for two hours, and -then fufTered to cool. 



, . It fufTered no lofs of weight, nor was its beautiful red colour 



in the lead impaired. It was fubmitted to a fimilar action of 



calorie fix different times,, but no change was effected. It 



was then reduced to. a powder. * 



Powder boiled A. Two hundred grains of the impalpable powder were 



with potato, and boiled for fome time ina filver crucible, with a iolution of potafh, 



containing 500 grains of dry alkali. The fluid, after having 



been boiled for fome time upon the foffil, acquired a yellow 



colour, and at laft became green/ It was evaporated to 



drynefs, re-diifolved in diftilled water; evaporated again, and 



laftly ignited at as high a temperature as the filver crucible 



would endure. 



Jtfarfs, difficultly B. The fufed mafs of the foregoing procefs, when cold, was 



fduWe in water, of a dark green colour, inclining to a paler green on the fides 



powder! * " "which had been in contact with the crucible. Water feemed 



to have little action upon it, but after having been boiled in 



this fluid for a cohfiderable time, it began to foften, and was 



at laft diflblved. The clear folution obtained in this manner, 



after having been fufTered to fland undifturbed, depofited a 



, * Tranflated from Crell's Chem. Annalen. 1801, Part VI; 

 page 1. 



reddifh 



