272 A CENTURY OF SCIENCE 



and arranged for exhibition by Col. Gibbs. Later, in 

 1825, it was purchased by Yale and served as the nucleus 

 about which the present Museum collection of the Univer- 

 sity has been formed. There is no doubt but that the 

 presence at this early date of this large and unusual min- 

 eral collection had a great influence upon the develop- 

 ment of mineralogical science at Yale, and in the country 

 at large. 



In the year 1810 Dr. Archibald Bruce started the 

 "American Mineralogical Journal/' the title page of 

 which reads in part as follows : ' l The American Mineral- 

 ogical Journal, being a Collection of Facts and Observa- 

 tions tending to elucidate the Mineralogy and Geology of 

 the United States of America, together with other Infor- 

 mation relating to Mineralogy, Geology and Chemistry, 

 derived from Scientific Sources. 7 ' Unfortunately the 

 health of Dr. Bruce failed, and the journal lasted only 

 through its first volume. It had, however, "been most 

 favorably received," as Silliman remarks, and it was felt 

 that another journal of a similar type should be insti- 

 tuted. Such a suggestion was made by Col. Gibbs to 

 Professor Silliman in 1817 and this led directly to the 

 founding of the American Journal of Science in 1818 

 under the latter 's editorship. Although the field of the 

 Journal at the very beginning was made broad and inclu- 

 sive it has always published many articles on mineralog- 

 ical subjects. Three of its editors-in-chief have been 

 eminent mineralogists, and without question it has been 

 the most important single force in the development of 

 this science in the country. More than 800 well-estab- 

 lished mineral species have been described since the year 

 1800, of which approximately 150 have been from Amer- 

 ican sources. More than two-thirds of the articles 

 describing these new American minerals have first 

 appeared in the pages of the Journal. While the 

 description of new species is not always the most import- 

 ant part of mineralogical investigation, still these fig- 

 ures serve to show the large part that the Journal has 

 played in the growth of American mineralogy. 



It is convenient to review the progress in Mineralogy 

 according to the divisions formed by the different series, 

 consisting of fifty volumes each, in which the Journal has 



