OF FOSSILS. 315 



of filiccous, calcareous, and argillaceous earth, 

 with feme admixture of iron *, which in fyfte- 

 matic authors is denominated afbeilos, and treat- 

 ed as a peculiar genus. To this, indeed, the 

 trivial name of afbeilos maybe properly applied, 

 as it feems to be fo well undedlood, that the 

 youngeft mineralogift is in no danger of being 

 milled by it. The fame may be faid of fchocrl, 

 granate, zeolite, and many others, that are dif- 

 tinguifhcd by names known to every body, and 

 highly proper. In the compofitKm of earths, 

 iron is by no means a neccrtary ingredient, al- 

 though it is generally fuun I in them; and we 

 therefore conlider it as an alloy, or heterogene- 

 ous fubflancc. 



cxcvnr. Conchifion. 



I CANNOT finifli my remarks on the denomi- 

 nation of ibflils more to my own fatisfaction, 

 than by pointing out what is yet wanting to the 

 improvement of fcience. I would wifli that in 

 the cftabl ifhing of new names, a preference 

 Humid be given to the Latin language. This is, 

 or at lead was formerly the mother tongue of 

 the learned ; and being now not the living lan- 

 guage of any nation, it is no longer liable to 

 innovation or change. If therefore, the reform 

 we propofc is made firil in Latin ; it may be cafily 



carried 



* Pidcrtation on the albedos. 



