PREFACE. 



THE spirit and zeal with which Mineralogy and 

 the kindred sciences are cultivated in Britain and 

 America, and the numerous opportunities afforded 

 to the inhabitants of these countries of visiting the 

 most remote regions of the globe, have made the 

 author of the present work anxious to contribute 

 his share to the more general 1 diffusion of Mineralo- 

 gicai Science, by publishing in the English lan- 

 guage the elements of a method which places Mi- 

 neralogy within the reach of those who wish to be- 

 come acquainted with minerals, without the assist- 

 ance of lectures or extensive collections. With 

 the view therefore of fulfilling the promise of Mr 

 MOHS, given in the Introduction to his Character- 

 istic, p. vi., a translation of his Grundriss der 

 Mineralogie is now laid before the English pub- 

 lic. The original Work appeared in two volumes^ 

 the first in 1 8%%, and the second in the autumn of 

 1824. A considerable portion of it was translated 

 from the manuscript under the eye of the author, 

 and the remainder from the printed sheets which 



