420 



as was sufficiently well known and indicated by the presence 

 of other minerals, rich in potash as the Killinite itself, of 

 which portions were actually attached, as Dr. Apjohn ad- 

 mitted, to the specimen of felspar selected by Professor Ap- 

 john for examination.' 



" In this extract it will be seen I am represented as ad- 

 mitting that Killinite, a mineral rich in potash, was actually 

 attached to the specimen of felspar which I had selected for 

 examination. When this passage first attracted my attention, 

 it certainly appeared to me and others well calculated to con- 

 vey to the unwary reader the impression that, with the view 

 of making potash figure largely amongst my results, I had 

 purposely operated on a mixture of felspar and Killinite. Now 

 this is a charge which, if untrue, no one can be expected to 

 submit to. I therefore brought the matter under the notice of 

 the Council, but was glad to find, from the observations of Sir 

 Robert Kane on the occasion, that it was not his intention to 

 cast any such imputation upon me. I do not, however, come 

 before the Academy for the purpose of announcing the inter- 

 pretation which Sir Robert Kane puts — or rather declines to 

 put — on this passage, but to deny, in the most distinct and 

 emphatic manner, that there existed any grounds for repre- 

 senting me as admitting that I had selected for examination a 

 specimen of felspar with Killinite attached to it. I never 

 made any such admission, for the simple reason that I could 

 not have done so without being guilty of a deviation from the 

 truth. What I did say was, that one of the felspars on which 

 I had operated, and which was described in my paper as being 

 from Killiney, was concluded to be from this locality from the 

 circumstance of its having been taken from a lump of granite 

 in my laboratory having some particles of Killinite attached 

 to it. 



" This correction of what I am willing to consider as a 

 mere misconception by Sir Robert Kane of the words which I 

 did use, I intended to make through the Proceedings, but 



