BOOK V. 



"3 



coloured, or any other. Sometimes quartz, schist, or marble is of this quality 

 also, if much native or rudis silver adheres to it. But that ore is considered 

 of poor quality if three librae of silver at the utmost are found in each 

 one hundred librae of it*. Silver ore usually contains a greater quantity 



Cadmia fossilis 



Cadmia metallica . . 

 Cadmia fornacis . . 



Biiuminosa cadmia 



Galena inanis 

 Cobaltum cineraceum 

 Cobaltum nigrum 

 Coballum ferri 



colore 

 Zincum 

 Liquor Candidus 



ex fornace . . . etc 

 Atramentum suiorium, 



candidum, polis- 



simum reperitur 



Goselariae 

 Spodos subterranea 



cinerea .. 



Spodos subterranea 

 nigra 



Spodos subterranea 



viridis . . 

 Pompholyx 



Calmei ; lapis 

 calaminaris . . 



KobeU .. 



Mitlere und obert 

 offenbriiche 



Kobelt des bergwacht 



Blende .. 



Zinck 



Conterfei 



Calamine 

 Part cobalt . . 

 Furnace accretions . . 



or furnace calamine 

 (Mansfeld copper 



schists) 

 Sphalerite* (Zn S) . . 

 Smallite* (CoAsa) 

 Abolite* 



Cobaltite (CoAsA) . . 

 Zinc 



Zinc 



Calamine 

 *Cadmia metallica 



Furnace accretions 

 Bituminosa cadmia 

 (see note 4, p. 273) 

 •Blende 



Cadmia metallica 



Zinc 



See note 48, p. 408 



Geeler xechen rauch 



Schwartzer xechen 

 rauch, auff dem, 

 Altenberge nennet 

 man in kis 



Grauer xechen rauch 



Hiittenrauch 



Goslarite (Zn SO4 ) 



Either natural or arti- 

 ficial zinc oxides, no 

 doubt containing 

 arsenical oxides 



•Native white vitriol 

 Grey spodos 



Black spodos 



Green spodos 



Pompholyx (see 

 note 26, p. 394) 



As seen from the following quotations from Agricola, on cadmia and cobalt, there was infinite 

 confusion as to the zinc, cobalt, and arsenic minerals ; nor do we think any good purpose is 

 served by adding to the already lengthy discussion of these passages, the obscurity of which 

 is natural to the state of knowledge ; but we reproduce them as giving a fairly clear idea of 

 the amount of confusion then existing. It is, however, desirable to bear in mind that the 

 mines familiar to Agricola abounded in complex mixtures of cobalt, nickel, arsenic, bismuth, 

 zinc, and antimony. Agricola frequently mentions the garlic odour from cadmia metallica, 

 which, together with the corrosive qualities mentioned below, would obviously be due to 

 arsenic. Bermannus (p. 459). " This kind of pyrites miners call cobaltum, if it be allowed 

 ** to me to use our German name. The Greeks call it cadmia. The juices, however, out 

 " of which pyrites and silver are formed, apjjear to solidify into one body, and thus is produced 

 "what they call cobaltum. There are some who consider this the same as pyrites, because 

 "it is almost the same. There are some who distinguish it as a species, which pleases me, 

 " for it has the distinctive property of being extremely corrosive, so that it consumes the 

 ** hands and feet of the workmen, unless they are well protected, which I do not beUeve that 

 " pyrites can do. Three kinds are found, and distinguished more by the colour than by other 

 ' properties ; they are black (abolite ?), grey (smallite ?), and iron colour (cobalt glance ?). 

 ' Moreover, it contains more silver than does pyrites. . ." Bermannus (p. 431). " It (a 

 ' sort of pyrites) is so like the colour of galena that not without cause might anybody have 



' doubt in deciding whether it be pyrites or galena Perhaps this kind is neither 



' pyrites nor galena, but has a genus of its own. For it has not the colour of pyrites, nor the 

 ' hardness. It is almost the colour of galena, but of entirely different components. From 

 ' it there is made gold and silver, and a great quantity is dug out from Reichenstein which 

 ' is in Silesia, as was lately reported to me. Much more is found at Raurici, which they call 

 ' zincum ; which species differs from pyrites, for the latter contains more silver than gold, 

 ' the former only gold, or hardly any silver." 



{De Natura Fossilium, p. 170). " Cadmia fossilis has an odour like garlic " . . (p. 367). 

 ' We now proceed with cadmia, not the cadmia fornacis (furnace accretions) of 

 ' which I spoke in the last book, nor the cadmia fossilis (calamine) devoid of metal, which 

 ' is used to colour copper, whose nature I explained in Book V, but the metallic mineral 

 ' {fossilis metallica), which Pliny states to be an ore from which copper is made. The 

 ' Ancients have left no record that another metal could be smelted from it. Yet it is a fact 



•Three librae of silver per centumpondium would be equal to 875 ounces per short ton. 



