THE 



CANADIAN NATURALIST 



AND 



^mutcvty iouvnal of ^^icuct. 



THE PROGRESS OF AMERICAN MINERALOGY. 



By G. J. Brush, 



(Address of retirirg President before American Association for the Advancement 

 of Science. Montreal, August 25th, 1882). 



The change in the constitution effected at our last meeting, 

 extending the scope of the Association and dividing it into nine 

 sections, each with a Vice-President, whose duty it is to deliver an 

 an address to the section over which he presides, has relieved the 

 retiring President from attempting a general review of the pro- 

 gress of science during the past year, I turn, therefore, to -a 

 more special subject, and invite your attention this evening to a 

 sketch of the progress of American Mineralogy since the com- 

 mencement of this century, with particular reference to the 

 labors of some of the early workers in the science on this conti- 

 nent. During the last quarter of the eighteenth century, while 

 great activity existed and rapid advance was made in the study of 

 chemistry and mineralogy in Europe, almost nothing was accom- 

 plished in this new country. It is true that students in other 

 departments of science, especially members of the medical pro- 

 fession in the cities of Philadelphia, New York and Boston, 

 attempted to arouse an interest in mineralogy, believing that the 

 diffusion of a knowledge of this science would be of the utmost 

 importance in the material development of the country. There 

 were, however, no text-books to aid the inquirer. There were 

 no collections of minerals to stimulate the student. In the ab- 

 sence of these it was almost impossible that an interest in this 

 science should be fostered, or that a spirit of investigation should 

 be awakened. As the first distinct beirinniug of the science, I 

 Vol. X. u 2 No. 6. 



