PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 95 



tion of which they were members had been especially formed. For though all 

 might not be able to serve up the rich banquet of the professor, yet the humble 

 fare of the noviciate would oftentimes be found highly acceptable to those whose 

 appetite for knowledge had not been cloyed by the high-seasoned discourses 

 of the installed philosopher. Having offered some prefatory remarks on the 

 study of Mineralogy, Mr. Wolseley proceeded to show its connection with, and 

 relation to, Geology, which was considered as the primary science, inasmuch as 

 it embraced the entire mass of the Globe, with all its multiform varieties of earths, 

 minerals, &c. &c. The lecturer here pointed particular attention to the arrange- 

 ment of these various substances ; and showed how greatly the researches of 

 scientific men in this department of knowledge had contributed to the comforts 

 and enjoyments of mankind, of which Coal was instanced as a striking' and 

 familiar example. He again adverted to Geology as comprehending the study of 

 the general arrangement of the earth's crust, and of the various series of rocks, 

 deposits, &c, Mineralogy taking cognizance only of the component parts of the 

 general mass. Before any advancement could be made in the latter science, it 

 was indispensable that its leading features or characteristics should be well con- 

 sidered and understood. He then proceeded to give divisions of the rock and 

 mineral masses into four classes : — Earthy — Saline — Inflammable — Metals, and to 

 treat of them under two heads : — the External or Physical, and the Internal or 

 Chemical. The former he again divided into twenty characteristics, as form, 

 structure, hardness, colour, &c. &c. ; and in speaking of the latter, he explained 

 those crystalline forms of most frequent occurrence in the Mineral Kingdom, 

 showing, that from a system of four simple forms all the compounds of crystals 

 were obtained. The method of measuring the various angles of crystals by the 

 goniometer was explained, and the process of dissection so as to arrive at the 

 primary crystals fully described. The lecture was illustrated by appropriate 

 diagrams, and by numerous specimens of the various minerals alluded to. 



On Tuesday, Dec. 19, Mr. Wolseley delivered the second lecture of his course 

 on Mineralogy, and took a rapid view of the leading features of the former lecture, 

 resuming the consideration of his subject by replying to the queries often pro- 

 pounded by beginners in Geology — " Whence comes it that primitive rocks are 

 found on the tops of mountains ? and why the same stratified rocks along the 

 same line of country are found dipping some north and some south ?" Briefly 

 explaining these phenomena, Mr. Wolseley next proceeded to elucidate the 

 physical characters, as lustre, colour, &c, of certain minerals, the accidents and 

 causes producing which were severally described, and a variety of familiar instances 

 produced in illustration. The lecturer then proceeded to consider and explain 

 the methods employed for ascertaining the specific gravity of minerals, entered 

 into a description of the hydrostatic balance and the areometer, and adverted to 



