A CATALOGUE OF THE MINERALS KNOWN TO 
OCCUR IN TASMANIA, WITH NOTES ON THEIR 
DISTRIBUTION. 
By W. F. Prerrerp. 
Tue following Catalogue of the Minerals known to occur and 
recorded from this Island is mainly prepared from specimens 
contained in my own collection, and in the majority of instances I 
have verified the identifications by careful qualitative analysis. 
It cannot claim any originality of research, or even accuracy of 
detail, but as the material has been so rapidly accumulating during 
the past few years I have thought it well to place on record the 
result of my personal observation and collecting, which, with 
information gleaned from authentic sources, may, I trust, at least 
pave the way for a more elaborate compilation by a more capable 
authority. I have purposely curtailed my remarks on the various 
species so as to make them as concise as possible, and to reduce 
the bulk of the matter, As an amateur I think I may fairly 
claim the indulgence of the professional or other critics, for I feel 
sure that my task has been very inadequately performed in pro- 
portion to the importance of the subject—one not only fraught with 
a leep scientific interest on account of the multitude of questions 
arising from the occurrence and deposition of the minerals them- 
selves, but also from the great economic results of our growing 
mining industry. My object has been more to give some inform- 
ation on this subject to the general student of nature,—to point out 
the large and varied field of observation open to him,—than to 
instruct the more advanced mineralogist. 
Our minerals present a somewhat remarkable and interesting 
admixture of species, many of which are usually looked upon by 
mineralogists as restricted to certain well known and recorded 
localities, such as Crocoisite and Vauquelinite, which have until 
recently been considered as almost peculiar to the mining districts 
of Siberia; two of our comparatively common forms—Zaratite 
and Huastolite—have scarcely been recorded outside their original 
localities in North America, while Matlockite and Leadhillite 
are well known British minerals, and Pleonaste and Zircon are 
abundant in Ceylon. This association of species would appear 
to some extent to confirm the existence of areas of great economic 
value containing the same metallic and other minerals that are 
characteristic of the older and better known mining countries. A 
comparison of the number of mineral species herein enumerated, 
with the catalogues that have been compiled of those known to 
