Meteorological Observations. 479 



eight in number, and are octahedrons of about three lines in length. 

 Their surfaces are smooth, but possess little lustre, so that their 

 angles cannot be measured with great accuracy ; but from observa- 

 tions made on several angles, the mean may be regarded as 109 28', 

 so that we may probably assume that the crystals are regular octa- 

 hedrons. No cleavage is observable. The colour is orange-yellow, 

 and the lustre feebly vitreous. The substance is translucent on the 

 edges, its hardness is that of felspar, but the specific gravity could 

 not be determined. It occurs at Alabaschka, near Mursink, and on 

 account of its yellow colour has been named Pyrrhite. Jameson 's 

 Journal, July 1840. 



PIHLITE A NEW MINERAL. 



Sefstrom has discovered at Fahlun a new mineral which replaces 

 mica in granite, and which he has termed Pihlite, in honour of the 

 late M. Pihl, Director of Mines. It is an intermediate substance 

 between talc and mica, and its composition is expressed by the fol- 

 lowing formula : 



MA ., 



Ibid. 



DYSODIL. 



This mineral, arranged in systems of mineralogy under the name 

 of Foliated Mineral Pitch, Ehrenberg has shown to consist of bitu- 

 men, or mineral pitch, mixed with siliceous shells of infusoria, and 

 occasionally with pollen of pines, &c. The wax-yellow variety found in 

 Sicily, is made up of shells of Naviculte and mineral pitch : the nearly 

 black-brown coal of the Westerwalde, is a variety of dysodil ; so 

 also is the foliated leather-like bituminous coal of the Geistinger 

 Busch at Rott and Siegburg in the Siebengebirge, and a foliated 

 brown coal of the Vogelsberge. Hence the mineral species 

 named dysodil appears to be a polir-slate impregnated with bitumen. 

 Its colours are black-brown, or black. It never forms very thick 

 beds, but sometimes widely-spread deposits. It is used as fuel. 

 Annals of Nat. History, April 1840. 



METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS FOR OCT. 1840. 

 Chiswick, October I. Overcast. 2,3. Very fine. 4. Rain. 5. Fine: rain. 

 6. Fine. 7. Frosty and foggy. 8. Very fine. 9. Hazy. 10. Dense fog : very 

 fine. 11. Hazy. 12 15. Foggy in the mornings: fine. 16. Overcast. 18. 

 Cloudy: rain. 19. Cloudy. 20. Clear. 21. Fine. 22. Hazy: rain. 23. 

 Overcast : rain. 24. Overcast. 25. Very fine. 26. Overcast. 27. Heavy 

 rain : clear. 28. Fine. 29. Foggy : rain : dense fog at night. SO. Cloudy 

 and fine: clear. 31. Foggy: clear at night. 



Boston. Oct. 1, 2. Cloudy. 3. Fine. 4. Cloudy. 5. Cloudy : rain early 

 A.M. 6, 7. Fine. 8. Fine : rime frost this morning. 9. Cloudy. 10, 11. Fine. 

 12 14. Foggy. 15. Fine. 16. Cloudy. 17. Rain: rain early A.M. 18. 

 Cloudy: rain P.M. 19. Stormy. 20. Fine. 21. Cloudy. 22. Cloudy: rain 

 early A.M. 23. Fine: rain P.M. 24. Fine. 25. Fine: rain early A.M. 26. Fine. 

 27. Cloudy: rain early A.M. 29. Foggy. 29. Cloudy: rain A.M. and P.M. 

 30, 31. Foggy. 



