Liiliolorjical Nomenclature. 243 



is a false and mischievous idea. It seems to the writer, therefore, 

 best that the name should imitate the complex aggregation of the 

 rock which it designates, rather than the individualized character 

 of a mineral to which it has only the semblance, not the sub- 

 stance, of a true likeness. The first, therefore, of the following 

 series of proposed names will consist of a bare aggregation of ab- 

 breviations of the names of the mineral constituents of the given; 

 rocks, in the order of their relative importance, thus both repre- 

 senting and defining the rock without pretension to individualiza- 

 tion. The oddness of the names may at first be mistaken for 

 "uncouthness, which will indeed be justly chargeable in some 

 cases, but the quaint elegance of other instances will offer some, 

 if not full, compensation. The uniformity — not to say monot- 

 ony — given by the fashionable suffix will be lost, but a vivacious 

 variety will be gained. 



An alternative series, however, is proposed, more in harmony 

 ■with the present habit, both iu respect to uniformity of termination, 

 and the order of arrangement of the constituents, which is that 

 of the inverse order of importance, the most abundant mineral 

 being last and receiving the termination. The suggestion of 

 Prof. Dana in respect to a distinctive orthography is here adopted. 



The application of the system may be illustrated by the 

 familiar rock granite. Its composition is generally stated as 

 quartz, feldspar and mica. Assuming, for the moment, that no 

 more precise statement is desired, and that the relative amounts 

 of the ingredients are in the order given, its name under the first 

 form of the proposed system will be qua-fel-mi (quafelmi). If, 

 however, as is very frequently the case, feldspar is the leading in- 

 gredient, and quartz second in order of importance, the name will 

 be felqua-mi (felquami). Should mica stand second in impor- 

 tance, the formula would be fel-mi-qua (felmiqua , and so on for 

 other variations. In this instance, mica rarely assumes the lead- 

 ing place without removing the rock from the present category of 

 granites. But under the proposed system the nomenclature will 

 strictly adhere to the mineralogical constitution and the compound 

 terms mifel qua (mi-felqua), and miqua-fel (miquafel), will rep- 

 resent the preponderance of mica in this mineral aggregation, and 

 the structure will be represented by an appropriate adjective, as 



