MI N 



470 



M I N 



mineral acids Avith bases. (8.) Mineral 

 green, carbonate of copper. (9.) Mineral 

 i/elluw, a compound of oxide and chloride 

 of lead, obtained by digesting powdered 

 litharge in a solution of common salt. 

 (10.,) Mineral pitch, bitumen. (11.) Mine- 

 ral oil, petroleum. (12.) Mineral chame- 

 leon, see CHAMELEON MINERAL. 



MINEIIALI'ZER. That which converts a 

 substance into a mineral. Thus oxygen, 

 sulphur, &c. combine with metals, and 

 form with them the mineral compounds, 

 called ores : in this state the metals are 

 said to be mineralized, and the oxygen or 

 sulphur is termed the mineralizer. The 

 process is further termed mineralization. 



MI.NERAL'OGY, from mineral, and Xfyef, 

 science. The science which treats of mi- 

 nerals, or which teaches to recognise, 

 describe, and classify all inorganic sub- 

 stances found in the earth, or on its sur- 

 face, which treats of their properties as 

 objects of philosophical inquiry, and their 

 application to the useful arts, and the 

 embellishments of life : distinct from 

 yeology, which treats of the mineral masses 

 uf which the earth is composed, and their 

 relations in position to one another. Dr. 

 Thomas Thomson, one of the latest au- 

 thors on this subject, has adopted an 

 arrangement founded upon the chemical 

 composition of minerals, observing very 

 justly," that, if mineralogy were to be 

 confined to mere crystallised bodies, it 

 would be divested of the greatest part of 

 its utility ; for a very great proportion of 

 these minerals that are of the greatest 

 utility to man, and which, therefore, it 

 is peculiarly important to be able to dis- 

 tinguish from others, are seldom found in 

 the state of regular crystals. How often 

 do the ores of copper, tin, lead, and iron, 

 occur in an amorphous state ! And were 

 a mineralogist incapable of distinguish- 

 ing them from each other, and from other 

 minerals, except in the rare cases when 

 they assume a regularly crystallised form, 

 his knowledge would be useless, as far as 

 the important arts of mining and metal- 

 lurgy are concerned." He divides mine- 

 rals, therefore, into three classes, Acid, 

 Alkaline, and Neutral ; thus 

 CLSS I. Acid Sases, or those Bodies which 

 become Acids u-hen combined with Oxygen. 



Genus I. CARBON, 11 species. II. BO- 

 RON, 1. III. SILICON, 7. IV. PHOSPHORUS, 

 2. V. SULPHUR, 1. VI. SELENIUM, 1. 

 VII. TELLURIUM,!. VIII. ARSENIC, 5. 

 IX. ANTIMONY, 5. X. CHROMIUM, 1. 

 XI. MOLYBDENUM, 1. XII. TUNGSTEN, 1 

 XIII. CoLfMBiuM. XIV. TITANIUM. 

 XV. VANADIUM. 



CLASS II. Alkaline Sases. 



Genus I. AMMONH, 2 species. II. POT- 



A*'.cii,l. III. SODIUM,?. IV. LITHIUM 



V. BARIUM, 5. VI. STRONTIUM, 6. 

 VII. CALCIUM, 30. VIII. MAGNESIUM, 37. 

 IX. AMMINUM. (1.) Pure, or combined 

 with bases, 7 : (2.) Simple salts, 24 : (3.) 

 Double anhydrous salts, 39: (4.) Double 

 hydrous salts soluble in water, 3 : (5.) 

 Double, insoluble in water, and phos- 

 phates, 4 : (6.) Double hydrous aluminous 

 silicates, or /oolites, 39: (7.) Treble alumi- 

 ous salts, 15 : (8.) Quadruple aluminous 

 salts, 12. X. GLutiNuM,4. XI. YTHICM, 

 XII. CERIUM, 8. XIII. ZIRCONIUM, 5. 

 XIV. THORIUM,! XV. IRON. 1., Un- 

 combined. or united to a simple sub- 

 stance, 13: (2.) Oxygen salts of iron, 22; 

 Double do. 19; Triple do. 6: (3.) Sulphur 

 salts of iron, 2. XVI. MANGANESE. (1.) 

 Combined with simple bodies, II: (2.) 

 Simple oxygen salts, 5 : (3.) Double oxy- 

 en salts, 5 : (4.) Triple oxygen salts, 1. 

 XVII. NICKEL. (1.) Combined with sim- 

 bodies, 5 : (2.) Oxygen salts, 1 : (3.) 

 phur salts, 2. XVIII. COBALT. (1.) 

 Combined with simple bodies, 5 : (2.) Oxy- 

 gen salts, 2: (3.) Sulphur salts, 1. XIX. 

 ZINC. (1.) United to simple bodies, 4: 

 (2.) Oxygen salts, 6: (3.) Sulphur salts, 1. 

 XX. LEAD. (1.) Native, or united to 

 simple bodies, 7: (2.) Oxygen salts of 

 lead, 7; a, Simple, 10; 6, Double, 2; c, 

 Triple,5: (3.) Sulphur salts, 2 XXI. TIN, 

 2. XXII. BISMUTH. (1.) Native, or com- 

 bined with simple bodies, 6 : (2.) Oxygen 

 salts, 2: (3.) Sulphur salts, 1. XXIII. 

 COPPER. (1.) Native, or combined with 

 simple bodies, 6: (2.) Oxygen salts, 19: 

 (3.) Chlorine salts, 1: (4.) Sulphur salts, 5: 

 (5.) Selenium salts, 1. XXIV. MERCURY, 

 5. XXV. SILVER. (1.) Native, or com- 

 bined with simple bodies, 10: (2.) Oxygen 

 salts, 1: (3.) Sulphur salts, 6.-XXVI. 

 URANIUM, 5. XXVII PALLADIUM, 2. 



CLASS III. Neutral Bodies. 

 Genus I. GOLD, 3. II. PLATINUM,!. 

 III. IRIDICM, 1. 



The above may suffice as a specimen of 

 a chemical mincralogical arrangement; 

 and, in order still farther to facilitate the 

 study of this science, it has been thought 

 proper to give a tabular view of the dis- 

 tinct constituents of the various species, 

 from the work of the late Mr. William 

 Phillips, edited by Mr. Robert Allan, and 

 published at London, in 1837, to which 

 simple but eminently useful treatise the 

 student is referred forfartherinformation. 

 The order of arrangement is therefore 

 as follows : Earthy Minerals, Alkaline 

 Earthy Minerals, Acids, Acidiferous 

 Earthy Minerals, Acidiferous Alkaline 

 Minerals, Acidiferous Alkalino-earthy 

 Minerals, Native Metals and Metalliferous 

 Minerals, Combustibles. 



In the following tables, the proportions 

 are indiemted by figures: when doubtful* 

 they are marked thus 



