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EXPERIMENTS o« a NEW EARTH found near 

 STRONTHIAN in SCOTLAND. By RICHARD 

 K I R W A N, Efq; LL.D. F. R. S. and M. R. I. A, 



1 N the mineral kingdom there are many fubftances whofe Read Jan. 

 diftindlions are obvious ; no one can be at a lofs to diftinguifh 9' ''^'*' 

 earths from ftones, or flones from metals, or the various 

 metals from each other. The utility of thefe diftindlions is as 

 evident as the difference of charaders on which they are founded 

 is ftriking ; but of late years lines of difcrimination have been 

 traced between fubftances, moft of whofe charadlers refemble 

 each other fo nearly, that they have ever before been deemed 

 homogeneous. The difcovery of thefe latent diftindions is 

 often as important as that of the moft obvious, and much more 

 difficultly effeded ; thus the difcovery of the difference between 

 plumbago and molybdena led to the true knowledge of mineral 

 coal ; that of the difference between iron and manganefe led 



H h 2 to 



