Miscellanies. 377 
Mr. Shepard’s work is very valuable. His knowledge of mine- 
rals is familiar and accurate ; he has visited many of the most import- 
ant American localities, and he has exceeded all others in obtaining 
rare, beautiful, and instructive American specimens; his acquiant- 
ance with crystallography is exact, and he examines, measures, figures, 
and describes crystals with great tact; his work abounds in good fig- 
ures, inserted upon the page ; he gives the information that is desira- 
ble respecting American minerals ; his style is condensed and perspic- 
uous, and by adopting the form of a dictionary be avoids the diffi- 
cult question of arrangement, and affords the pupil great facility. 
We are gratified that he has generally adopted proper names, and 
that he has only added, and not prefived, the strange nomenclature 
of Vienna. 
We regret, however, that he has not given the etymologies of 
names, since a powerful aid is thus brought to the memory, and we 
think that he should have been more free in naming synonymes, dis- 
coveries and discoverers. We regret that he thought it better to 
prefer the complex group of primary forms of crystals now in use, 
to the simple and lucid system of Hatty, and we cannot think that 
any attempt to mdicate hardness by numbers can be very success- 
ful with an inexperienced pupil. Kirwan attempted it long ago with 
little utility. In our opinion, hardness is better indicated by a direct 
comparison with known and familiar objects; for the novice cannot 
readily bring to mind a considerable list of minerals to which the 
numbers refer and then connect the number with both the mineral 
and with the degree of the quality: the experienced mineralogist 
can indeed do it, but the work is intended mainly for the tyro. We 
are gratified to observe that full notices are given of the results of 
the chemical analysis of minerals, without which we can feel little 
satisfaction in a mere picture of external and physical properties 
however perfect; both together make the portrait complete. 
Since Mr. Shepard’s volumes have appeared, we are put in pos- 
session of magnificent crystals of fluor spar from Musconongie lake,* 
sent by Dr. Crawe of Watertown, N.Y. Some of them are green, 
and one mass of that kind in our possession weighed one hundred 
pounds. ‘There can be no doubt that Mr. Shepard’s work must have 
a general currency and become the standard book in this country, 
* One of a group of small lakes in Jefferson County, N. Y. not very remote 
from Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. 
Vol. XX VIII.—-No. 2. 48 
Me gs 
