1-26 On Mineralogy. 



1609, Dr. MitchlU commenced his academical duties as 

 one of the professors of the new Institution at New York, 

 Although he arranged the subject allotted to him under the 

 heads oi' geology, photologij, pi/rology. hydrology, aerology, 

 mintralogy , hotuny, zoology, and uranology, it is not the 

 intention of the writer of the present sketch to do any thing 

 more than trace an outHne of his mineralogy, and slate the 

 new views the professor has taken of this department of 

 science. 



He defined mineralogy to be the classification and detailed 

 history of the materials which constitute the solid l)ody of the 

 earth. He explained the fourf )ld arrangement formerly made 

 hy Bergman, and followed by CrointeJt, IFerner, Kirwan, and 

 Jameson, distributing these great masses of material into four 

 classes, 1. Earths, ^^.Mkials, 3. Salts, and 4. Inflam- 

 mables. Herein the method ditfered from the one given in 

 his Geology, which, pursuant to the plan of Werner, had 

 divided these same natural bodies into five sections: 1. the /)/•«- 

 mceval, 2. transition, 3. ternary, 4. alluvial, and 5. volcanic 

 rocks, stones, and earths. He then gave the history of lime, 

 clay, barytes. flint, magnesia, strontian, elucidated by speci- 

 mens ; with notices ot the minor earths. Next followed the 

 account of plaiina, gold, silver, mercury, copper, lead, iron, 

 zinc, and the inferior metals ; the history of potass, soda, and 

 ammoniac; their production, preparation, and manufacture, 

 •with their chemical and ceconomical uses. Salts distributed 

 intooiders, as 1. alkaline; 2. acid ; 3. neutral ; 4. middle; 

 and 5. metallic. Inflammable bodies considered : sulphur, 

 coal,, bitumen, amber, petroleum, naphtha, pyrites, and 

 the other analogous articles. 



On reviewing this whole class of bodies, professor Mit- 

 chill declared himself dissatisfied with the arrangement of 

 Bergman and his followers. He therefore, with nuich hesi- 

 tation and diffidence, proposed another disposition of things 

 terrestrial thus : 



I. — Bodies possessing a strong attraction for phlogiston 

 (or hydrogen) and oxygen. 



These are, 1. The alkaline metals, potass, soda, and am- 

 pioniac. 2. The "ascertained" earthy metals, magnesia, 

 barytes, strontian, and lime; and the "probable" earthy 

 pietais, flint, clay, zircone, and glucine. S.Tht calcifon'n 

 metals, platina, gold, silver, Clipper, iron, mercury, lead, 

 tin, cobalt, zinc, nickel, chrome, titanium, columbium, 

 niolybdiena, arsenic, manganese, wolfram, uranium, tellu- 

 rium, and the other articles of this form, whatever they 



were» 



