I 



/ 



Mineral Prodnfilons, t^fc, -^ ^ 



^n account offome of the mineral produEtions in the State of New 

 ^ Tork, (accompanying fpecimens tranfrmtted for the Cabinet of 

 _^ the American Academy of Arts aizd Sciences^) in a Letter from 



BENJAMIN DE WITT, M.D. Sec. N. T, Sac. Agric, Arts 



and Mannfa&. F.A.A. F.H.S. ^c, to ELIPHALET PEAR- 

 SON, L. L, D. Correfponding Secretary of the Academy, 



DEAR SIR, 



H 



AVING a convenient opportunity by the Rev. Mr. 



Kirkland to tranfmit to yoiir Academy a fctt of the tranfac- 

 tions of our Society for the promotion of Agriculture, Arts 



A- 



and Manufa6lures, Inflituted in the State of New York, wluch 



*• 



I promifed you ; I alfo fend by the fame hand fome fpecimens 

 of mineral fubflances from my colledlion, which the American 



'Academy of Arts and Sciences will pleafe to accept. I am 



fond of feeing collections of the fubjedls of Natural Hiflorj'*, 

 and thef^fore willing to contribute my mite towards them. 

 Indeed fuch collections, when they become large, are not only 

 highly interefling as objects of curiofity ; but alfo of great ufe 

 Jn the ftudy of thofe fciences, which have nature for their 

 fubjedj fuch as Botany j Chemiftry, Zoology, &c. They ex- 

 liibit as it were in one view the natural hiitory of a whole 

 country, or of the v/hole world in proportion to their extent. 



*v 



They open to o ur eyes numerous pages in the book of nature, 

 and allow us at once to read her beautiful and marvellous 

 work's. ^Tlxey prefent to us an elegant compendium of the 



creation, condcnfed in the finall fpace of a room. If the many 



intelligent 



L 



