370 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. XIII. No. 327 



Clintonite, or Seybertite ? 



The first discovery of the mineral called by these names was in 

 1828, by Mr. J. Finch, Professor W. W. Mather, and Dr. William 

 Horton, at Amity, Orange County, N.Y. It was named " clintonite " 

 on the spot by the discoverers. Dr. Beck soon after examined it 

 sufficiently to enable him to decide it to be a distinct species ; but 

 he made no publication of the fact at the time, though it was dis- 

 tributed to collectors under this name. 



In the A7nerica7i Journal of Science ( vol. xvi. 1829) it was de- 

 scribed by Mr. Finch under the name of " bronzite," which he then 

 thought it was ; and, although no analysis is given, the description 

 is complete in every other respect, and thoroughly identifies the 

 mineral in question. 



In the same journal (vol. xix. 1831, p. 169), in a report of the 

 " Proceedings of the New York Lyceum of Natural History," the 

 following sentence occurs : " Dr. Torrey presented bronzite (clin- 

 tonite) from Orange County." There can be no doubt as to what 

 mineral is meant. 



Clemson, in the Annales des Mines (3d series, vol. ii. 1832), de- 

 scribes the same mineral, giving the first analysis, under the name 

 " seybertite," after the well-known chemist, Henry Seybert. It 

 was also called " chrysophan " by Breithaupt in the same year, and 

 "holmsite" by Thomson in 1836. 



In Beck's " Mineralogy of New York " ('842) there is a state- 

 ment of the facts in the case, a claim of priority being made as 

 follows : " The name ' clintonite ' was given to it by the discoverers 



in honor of DeWitt Clinton ; and, as all subsequent examinations 

 have proved their opinion that it was a distinct species to have 

 been correct, it seems to be proper that the name should be re- 

 tained. It has been generally adopted by the German mineral- 

 ogists, and those of New York certainly will not hesitate to follow 

 the example." This conclusion was accepted, and the name gen- 

 erally adopted. Dana, who uses " seybertite " in 1837, changes to 

 " clintonite " in his 1844 edition, and retains the name in those of 

 1850 and 1854. In the fifth edition (1868), after the name had held 

 its place for more than twenty-five years, Dana goes back to " sey- 

 bertite," because, as he says (p. 508), " Clemson's name "seyber- 

 tite "... has therefore priority of publication, and must be ac- 

 cepted as the name of the species." In this he has been followed 

 by most writers since, and "clintonite" has been placed in the list 

 of synonymes. 



But the fact is that " clintonite " was the name first given and 

 first published; for the publication in 1 83 1, quoted above, is earlier 

 than that of any other name except " bronzite," which of course 

 cannot stand, and indeed was not meant as a new name. Further, 

 this name was in general use among dealers and collectors before 

 Clemson's name appeared at all. It therefore seems right, and a 

 matter of simple justice, to adopt the name " clintonite," under 

 which indeed the mineral is best known, as the name of the species, 

 thus honoring " our distinguished statesman, scholar, and man of 

 science, DeWitt Clinton." Albert H. Chester. 



Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y., April 29. 



INDUSTRIAL NOTES. 

 The Thomson-Houston System in Boston. 



Those in whose mind there still clings some doubt as to the 

 reliability of the electric railway will find in the following report of 

 the Cambridge Division of the West End Street Railway, Boston, 

 figures, furnished by the Thomson- Houston Company, that prove 

 conclusively that the electric railway can be depended upon. This 

 road has a previous record of but 9 trips lost out of 1,179. The 

 following report is for the month of April : average number of 

 motors in daily service, 8 ; round trips of motor-cars, 2,720 ; time 

 in service, motor-cars, 3,232 hours ; mileage of motor-cars, 17,680 

 miles ; round trips, one tow-car, 2,720 ; round trips, two tow-cars, 

 226; time in service, towed cars, 3,500 hours 30 minutes; mileage 

 of towed cars, 19,149 miles; total car round trips, 5,666; total 

 car mileage, 36,829 miles. Of the above round trips, but 7 

 were lost. In addition to the new contracts mentioned in the 

 last issue, the Thomson-Houston Company has just contracted 

 with the Naumkeag Street Railway Company of Salem, Mass., 

 to supply them with 6 motor-trucks, each equipped with two 

 15-horse-power motors. They will be used on the line from 

 Salem to the Willows. The company has also received an order 

 from the East Harrisburg Passenger Railway for one double-motor 

 truck, equipped with two 15-horse-power motors. Work is rapidly 

 progressing on all the roads which the company has under con- 

 tract, and very soon some of them will be put in operation. Work 

 on the new line of the Revere Street Railway is being rapidly 

 pushed toward completion. The piles are all driven, the cross- 

 timbers put on, and the track is nearly all in place. The line is 

 double-track, and will extend from Winthrop Junction to Crescent 

 Beach, and may be continued beyond there on the tracks of the 

 West End Street Railway Company of Boston. 



Electric Railway at Atlantic City, N.J. 



During the last week the Sprague Electric Railway at Atlantic 

 City was started, and the operation of the rOad on the trial trip of 

 the cars was perfectly successful ; and the cars ran over the entire 

 distance of the road at a speed exceeding fifteen miles an hour, 

 towing another car behind them. A number of the officials of the 

 road were present, and expressed great satisfaction at the opera- 

 tion of the cars, their ease at starting and in rounding the curves. 

 The equipment of this road includes the new 15-horse-power 

 motors of the Sprague Company, and all the latest devices and 

 improvements in use by the Sprague Company upon their street- 

 railways. This system of roads at Atlantic City, which is now 

 being completely equipped with electricity, is controlled by the 



Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Before adopting any system 

 upon this road, the officials of the railway company made a thorough 

 investigation of all the systems of electric propulsion, both cable 

 and electric, in use in all the cities of this country, and during the 

 investigation, which lasted about five months, visited nearly all the 

 cities in which there were electric railways in use. They were so 

 thoroughly satisfied by this investigation that electricity is the most 

 convenient and economical as well as reliable force for operating 

 the street-cars, that they have given orders to cover the entire 

 equipment at this place. It is estimated that the roads will carry 

 very large numbers of passengers during the coming season. 



More Street-Railways. 



The coming of summer is heralded by the large number of street- 

 railways which have decided to adopt electricity upon their roads. 

 During the centennial week that has just passed, a number of rail- 

 way companies have signed contracts for complete electrical equip- 

 ments ; and it is interesting to note that among these is one of the 

 largest and most important street-railways in the important city of 

 St. Louis, Mo. We understand from the Sprague Company that 

 they have closed a contract during the past week with the Lindell 

 Avenue Street Railway Company of St. Louis, Mo. This contract 

 calls for 10 cars of 30 horse-fxower each, to be operated over 5 

 miles of track. The overhead system will be used, and the Une 

 covers some of the most noted and principal streets of that city. 

 The contract of this company with the Sprague Company calls for 

 a complete equipment, including dynamos and full station equip- 

 ment. Another of these contracts is with the Wilkesbarre and 

 Westside Railroad of Wilkesbarre, Penn. It will be remembered 

 that the Wilkesbarre and Suburban Railway was one of the first to 

 equip with electricity ; and, since this road has been put in op- 

 eration, its success has been so great that its management have 

 ordered an additional number of cars. The installation of this 

 second line in the same town with the other lines is a most gratify- 

 ing indication of the success which electric railways have gained. 

 This line will extend over 4 miles of track, and the equipment will 

 include 3 complete Sprague cars, and all the latest attachments in 

 use upon many of the Sprague roads. The Bay City Street Rail- 

 way Company has also contracted for electrical apparatus during 

 the past week, and this equipment calls for 3 cars and 5 miles of 

 track. Before deciding upon any system, the Bay City (Mich.). 

 Railway Company made an investigation of electric railways now 

 in use, and visited a large number of cities in which there are elec- 

 tric railways in operation. As a result of this investigation, the 

 contract was awarded to the Sprague Company. 



