Mineralogical Notes. 55 ■ 



He possessed ample means, enjoyed society, where he was a fa- 

 vorite. 



The chemistry of fatty substances, and theory of complemen- 

 tary colors were the two most important lines ot study toUowed 

 and developed by him, Millions have been earned by the ap- 

 plication of his methods for obtaining a number of useful sub- 

 stances, such as stearine and glycerine. 



The Later Dew Theory.— It is now held by the best phy- 

 sicists that, instead oi falling Irom above, the dew rises from the 

 earth. The generally-received opinion that the dew is formed of 

 vapor exisiting at the time in the atmosphere must be given up 

 for the established fact that the vapor which rises from the heated 

 earth is trapped by the cold surface earth. Besides, when we 

 imagine that, on a cool evening after a sultry day in summer, 

 our feet are being wet by the dew on the grass, we make a grave 

 mistake. For that moisture on the grass is not dew at all, it is 

 not dew at all, it is false dew— in reality the transpired humor of 

 the plants. The drops at the tips, which glisten diamond-like, 

 are not dew; close examination shows that these crystalline 

 spheres are all situated at the points where the veins of the leaves 

 cut the outer edges. These drops only give evidence of the vi- 

 tality of the plant. The difference between the true dew on the 

 grass and the exuded drops through the veins from withm the 

 grass can be easily distinguished; for the former is distributed all 

 over the blade in a moist fihn; whereas, the latter are of some 

 size, and are situated near the tips of the blade. Altered then 

 is the meaning of the line, "Ilka blade o' grass keps its kin drap o' 

 dew;" for those brilliant globules, shaking to the same sweet air. 

 and often "gliding at once all Iragrant into one," are notdevvdrops, 

 but are the exudations of the healthy plants. They give evid- 

 ence of the elixir vitae of vegetation; whereas the true dew is the 

 pearly luster, varnished in flimy humidity over the blades by 

 that wondrous alchemy which transforms the water vapor rising 

 from the ground into the plant-refreshing dew. — Good W^oras. 



MINERAL O GICAL NO TRS. 



Phenacite from Maine— In May, 1888, some crystals o 

 phenacite were found near Stoneham, in a vein of coarse albitic 

 granite, associated with crystals of smoky quartz, topaz and 

 muscovite. 



Aragonite Pseudomorph— Among a collection of minerals 

 from Pima county, Arizona, was a crystal originally aragonitC; 

 which had been almost entirely changed and impregnated by oxide 

 of manganese and red oxide of iron. It has an outer coating 

 of white cacholong over some simple rhombohedral crystals, now 

 entirely changed to an oxide ol manganese. The crystal is hol- 

 low on top to the depth of three-fourths of an inch. The sides of 



