178 Chemical and Miner alogical Nomenclature. 



nience, as they denote objects not known by any denomi- 

 nation previoufly aifigned to them, and even pofleffing pe- 

 culiar properties of great importance. Thus they difapprove* 

 of the name muricalcite, a name which I thought proper to 

 beftow on fuch Hmeftones as contain a notable proportion 

 of magnefia; and bnryto-calcyte on fuch as contain a notable 

 proportion of barytesj thefe ltones having been dift'mguinied 

 by no name, and thefe new names being in conformity with 

 the principles of the French fchool derived from and grounded 

 on their component ingredients. 



Mr. Tennant has fince fhown, in an important paper in 

 the Philofophical Tranfaclions for 1799, the evident neceffity 

 of diftinbuifhing thefe muricalciles from common hmeftones, 

 with which they have always been confounded; and, from 

 the deleterious properties which barytic lime water pofleffes. 

 it is evident that the linieftones that contain any proportion 

 of barytic earth cannot without danger (fometimes to humau 

 life) be confounded with common limeftones. The ftone 

 which the Germans without any inconvenience called apatite, 

 approaching in our language too nearly the word appetite, I 

 have called pbofpborite, to mark its compofition ; but as the 

 phofphoric acid has alfo been dctc&ed, or at leaft fufpecled, 

 in compofition with argil, to diftinguifh this compound from 

 the former I call it pbofpholite, a name better fuited to it 

 than that of Valentia garnet, by which it was formerly de- 

 noted — a change attended with no inconvenience, as the 

 ilone itfelf was known in no part of Europe but Spain. To 

 thefe denominations they object their monotonous termina- 

 tions ; but thefe terminations are belt fuited to our language ; 

 they do not recollect that the terminations in at, as nitrats, 

 fulphats, muriats, carlonats, pbojplmts, oxalats, See. &c, 

 are equally monotonous in theirs. They think, or rather 

 maoifterially decide, that minerals ihould be denoted by 

 the fame name as fimilar chemical compounds ; a rule that 

 might be admitted if fuch minerals were not previoufly gene ■ 

 rally known by other fingl-e appellations, and if their com- 

 pofition was perfecllv fimilar to analogous chemical com- 

 pounds. But '.n the firft place feveral minerals are already 



* Ann. Cliym. XXK1IL p. 103. 



generally 



