Beaumontite and il with Heulandite. 233 
Art. Il.—Beaumontite and 4 nite identical with Heuland- 
ite; by Francis Aneer, Member of the American Academy, 
of the Boston Society tural History, &c. 
f Natural History, Oct. 5, 1843, and published 
Read before the Boston Socie / 
in their Journal. 
TueRE is a too nt disposition among mineralogists, as 
well as among ae iiicaise of other moa of natural sci- 
tween them, and the science not be burthened with so many new 
names. ‘The truth of what I now say, has been shown by the 
recent examination of several minerals, accredited as new, which 
have been found by some of the German and Swedish chemists, 
to be varieties of other species, or in some cases, mere mechanical 
mixtures. A very frequent source of these mistakes, so far as 
mineralogy is concerned, is owing to a scrupulous regard not be- 
ing paid to the chemical composition of the substance ; this being 
the essential basis of mineralogy asa true science. Another cause 
may be traced to the different appearances, which the same min- 
eral, from different localities, assumes in some of its external 
characters; appearing, perhaps, under some new modification of 
its primary form. 
A remarkable instance of the latter, has recently been presented 
in the case of the mineral examined by M. Levy, and named 
Beaumontite.* This substance has long been familiar to our 
American mineralogists, as the associate of the Haydenite found 
hear Baltimore. It has now become exceedingly valuable, 
Principally through the investigations of M. Levy, who sup- 
posed it to be a new substance. It is a very beautiful mineral, 
and being extremely scarce, it will continue to be highly orfzed 
_ by mineralogists, both here and abroad, even if it should prove to 
be no new species, but only a rare modification of a well known 
One. I believe it has not been degpibed in any of our late trea- 
{Ueno ee 
* M. Levy ere his paper before the French Academy of Sciences, (L’Institut, 
1839, No. 313, p: 455.) An abstract of og communicati on may be seen in the 
London and Edinburgh Phil. Mag. for Feb. 1840. 
+, Vol. xiv1,-No. 2.—Jan.-March, 1844. 30 
