﻿JShepard's Treatise on Mineralogy. 179 



with his two hundred crystals (which is a twenty fold greater 

 number than I have had the good fortune to see) shall by simple 

 observation with the balance cause this discrepancy to disappear 

 on the principle of insensible gradation, I shall cheerfully admit 

 that my species vanishes by the same process from a mineralo- 

 gical existence. But until a spirit of investigation shall stimu- 

 late him to this, the only labor which really ever has been de- 

 manded, I will suggest that he abstain from the use of all 

 harshness of terms towards those from whom he may happen to 

 differ on scientific points, and at the same time keep in mind 

 that "conceit" as well as "want of industry 5 ' are both capable of 

 being displayed in other ways, as well as in that of erroneously 



propounding new species. 



7. Priority of discovery in the mse of Uranite at Chester field ^ 

 Mass. — It is claimed by Mr. Teschemacher in the Boston Jour- 

 nal, Vol. IV. p. 13, that he is the discoverer of this rare American 

 mineral at the above mentioned locality, and the claim is conceded 

 both in Dana's* and Alger^ Mineralogy. By a reference to 

 Prof. Hitchcock's Report on the Geological Survey of Massachu- 

 setts, p. 704, it will be seen that this observation had anteriorly 

 been made by myself. Yours respectfully, C. U. Shepard. 



New Haven, October 24, 1844. 



To Professor Shepard. 



Dear Sir— I have very little to say on the subject of your 

 reply, and that will be said in few words. You state that 

 your treatise "does not claim in any sense whatever" that Dan- 

 burite, Lederite, Lincolnite, and Washingtonite, are species. 

 These are not numbered as are the others, but the treatise no 

 where states, as far as I can discover, that this variation indi- 

 cates that the minerals included "are in no sense whatever spe- 

 cies ;" the reader would infer that they were deemed only of 

 less importance than others. Three of the species were institu- 

 ted by yourself, and I would respectfully suggest whether there 

 is a propriety in retaining the names of minerals which are of so 

 doubtful character that they cannot be "claimed in any sense 



whatever to be species." 



Chathamite.—U a single crystal of this mineral had been 

 found of a form different from that which white nickel is sup- 



* Page 297. t Page 425. 



