XVf. A Description of the Oxyd of 'fin^ the production of Cornwall; 

 of the Primitive Crystal and its modifications ^ including an attempt 

 to ascertain with precision^ the admeasurement of the angles^ by 

 means of the refecting Goniometer of Dr. Wollaston : to which is 

 added y a scries of its crystalline forms and varieties. 



By Mr. William Phillips^ Member of the Geological Society. 



Ti 



HE oxyd of Tin, Etain oxyde of the French, Zlnnsteln of the 

 Germans, has for many centuries given to Cornwall an important 

 place in the economical history of nations. It is asserted by Pliny* 

 that the Phoenicians visited its coasts, and carried on a lucrative 

 commerce in tin w^ith Its inhabitants. 



Cornwall is justly celebrated not only for its inexhaustible stores 

 of this valuable substance, but for the superior quality of the sub- 

 stance itself; for, according to Klaproth, it is purer than that of 

 Bohemia and Saxony, as it contains both less iron and less arsenic : 

 and although the oxyd of tin is or has been found in almost every 

 district of Cornwall, it is nevertheless one of those substances which 

 are the least abundantly dispersed throughout the globe, f Many 

 considerable countries are entirely without it ; but it is found in 

 Gallicia in Spain, in Bohemia, in Saxony, in Banca and Malacca in 

 the East Indies, and in Chili in South America. 



* Lib. IT. cap. 34. + Brongniart, p. 192. 



