612 ROGERS— THE NOMENCLATURE OF MINERALS. [May 14, 



in part arbitrary. Cuprite might have been appHed to any copper 

 mineral but it is arbitrarily used for cuprous oxid. 



3. Combined Chemical and Arbitrary Names. — Still a third 

 method is an attempt to combine the chemical names with arbitrary 

 root-names. This method is used to some extent at present. We 

 have such names as natramblygonite, plumbojarosite, and mangano- 

 columbite, for distinctive minerals. As emphasized before these 

 names are ambiguous and so are objectionable. In fact all such 

 compound names should be discarded, except as indicated above. 

 For varieties, qualifying chemical terms can be used. For example 

 we can use the term ferriferous goslarite instead of ferro-goslarite. 

 For distinctive minerals such as natramblygonite, plumbojarosite, 

 and manganocolumbite it is preferable to use distinctive names. 



In a recent paper entitled " Suggestions for Mineral Nomen- 

 clature,"^- H. S. Washington proposes a new system of mineral 

 nomenclature. He uses as a root name for the acid radical of a 

 mineral group the present name of a typical member of the group. 

 This root name is modified by chemical terms to indicate the par- 

 ticular mineral. For the apatite group the root name is apatate. 

 Apatite is calcium phosphapatate, pyromorphite is lead phospha- 

 patate, while mimetite is lead arsenapatate. The root name for 

 the sphalerite group is sphalcride}^ The sulfids of this group are 

 called sulsphalerides, the selenids, selsphalerides, and the tellurids, 

 telsphalerides. Sphalerite itself is called zinc sulsphaleride, meta- 

 cinnabar, HgS, is mercury sulsphaleride while tiemannite, HgSe, is 

 mercury selsphaleride and coloradoite, HgTe, is mercury telsphaler- 

 ide. Calcite is calcium calcitate, siderite is ferrous calcitate, and 

 dolomite is magnesicalcium calcite. Forsterite is magnesium oli- 

 venate. Orthoclase is potassium adularate. Albite is sodium 

 albate, etc. 



Washington's proposed system emphasizes the isomorphous rela- 

 tions, but in my opinion that is about the only good point in its favor. 

 As Washington himself admits, the names are barbarous and un- 

 couth. Most of them are also long and cumbersome and so do not 



'^^ Amer. Jour. Sci. (4), Vol. 22, P- "^i?, 1912. 



^3 The termination -ide is used for binary compounds and sulfo-salts 

 while the termination -ate is used for the oxy-acid salts. 



