390 Notice of Greenockite, a New Mineral Species. 



to the sea. He is of opinion, that, the greater part of the 

 floating ice of the northern sea comes from these glaciers ; 

 he even thinks that there ai'e no fields of ice in the ocean but 

 when there is land in the neighbourhood, and that it may 

 easily happen, for this reason, that there should be none at 

 the pole itself. On retm'ning from Lapland, M. Robert visit- 

 ed the copper mines of Kaafiord, situated in the Altenfiord, 

 and found them very rich in produce, and also in minerals. 

 One of them is in the norite of Esmarck, and the other in a 

 calcareous breccia. The great plateau of Lapland was found to 

 be entirely composed of gneiss, and covered with a deposit of 

 magnetic sand, which he ascribes to its having been the site of 

 a large lake. He has likewise ascertained that the sand of the 

 great rivers of this country, such as the Alten and the Muo- 

 nio, contain a great deal of oxidulated magnetic iron. He 

 found this metal also in a vegetable earth, and thinks that, for 

 this reason, the most scrupulous attention is demanded in 

 making observations with the magnetic needle. Finally, M. 

 Robert has directed his attention to the transported matters 

 of the soil of Scandinavia, or, in other words, the erratic boul- 

 ders ; instead of considering them as such, or referring them 

 to any violent agency, he is of opinion that, in most cases, 

 they are not remote from their original site, and that their 

 rounded form, and occui-rence in collected masses, are owing 

 to causes still operating on the globe, such as the continued 

 washing of the sea, torrents, &c. Neither does he believe that 

 the worn appearances (rognures), sometimes noticed in the 

 Scandinavian rocks, are owing to the alleged phenomenon, 

 very gratuitously dignified, according to him, with the title of 

 diluvium. 



Notice of Greenockite, a new Mineral Species of the Order 

 Blende. 



Description. — Form, prismatic ? Colour, between honey and 

 orange yellow, rarely inclining to brown. Colour of the 

 streak, reddish orange. Lustre, shining, resinous, somewhat 



