MINERALOGY. 



It is found in ferpentine in Moravia, along with meerf- 

 chaum and earthy talc. It is diftinguifhed from meerfchaum 

 by its colour, external fliape, frafture, meagre feel, and 

 weight. 



Magxetic Iron-Stone, and Magnetic Pyrites. See Irox- 

 Stone, and Pyrites. 



Malachite. See Copper-O/-^^. 



Maxgaxese-0«j-. See Manganese and Wadd. 



Marl. See Marle. 



Meerschaum. (See Meerschaum.) This mineral, of 

 which an account is given under the article, appears to be 

 hydrate of magnefia combined with filex ; it is ftated by 

 Mr. Jamefon to be fufible on the edges into a white enamel. 

 It occurs in veins in the ferpentine of Cornwall. In 

 Natolia it occurs in beds under the foil, and from 600 to 

 700 men are employed in digging it. When firft raifed, it 

 is foft and greafy, and lathers with water like foap ; hence 

 it is ufed by the Tartars for wafhing. Meerfchaum is 

 extenfively manufaclured in Turkey into tobacco-pipes, 

 which are boiled in oil or wax ; afterwards they are baked, and 

 then polifhed. 



Meionite. See Mexonite. 



Melanite, Grenat noire, Haiiy. See Garnet. 



Mellite and Mellilite, Honey-Stone. See MelliTE. 



Mexachanite. See TiTAxiuir. 



Mexilite, Quarz rejinite fubluifante Irunatre, Haiiy. 

 See Mexilite. 



MERcuRV-Orfj'. See Mercury, and Cixxabak, 

 Addenda. 



Mesotype. See Zeolite. 



Meteoric, Native Iron ; Fer natif meteorique, Haiiy. 

 The colour is pale fteel-grey, which inclines to filver-white, 

 like platina ; it is generally covered with a thin brown cruft 

 of oxyd of iron ; it occurs in racemofe or globular maffes, 

 and alfo minutely diffeminated in meteoric ilones. (See 

 Stoxe, Meteoric.) The external furface is fmooth and 

 glimmering ; the internal glimmering or gliftening with a 

 metallic luilre : it yields a fplendent llreak, and is malleable 

 and flexible, but not elallic. The fpecitic gravity of 

 meteoric iron is from 6.48 to 7.57 : it is magnetic. Accord- 

 ing to Mr. Howard, the conflituent parts are, 



Iron - - 96.5 - - 96.75 

 Nickel - 3.5 - - 3.25 



All the meteoric iron which has yet been examined 

 contains a portion of nickel ; the latter metal is alfo found in 

 moft of the meteoric ftones. The phenomena attending the 

 defcent of meteoric iron ai-e precifely fmiilar to thofe which 

 accompany the fall of meteoric ftones. In moft inftances, 

 loud detonations and brilliant light or fire-balls have pre- 

 ceded the fall. Thefe fire-balls appear to be the metallic 

 or mineral matter in a ftate of vivid ignition. Pliny men- 

 tions the fall of a mafs of fpongy iron from the atmofphere 

 in L.ucania fifty-fix years before the Chriftian era. 

 Avicenna mentions a mafs of iron weighing fifty pounds, 

 which fell from the air near Lurgea; and Averrhoes fays, a 

 mafs of iron weighing one hundred pounds fell at Cordova 

 in Spain. In the year 11 64, a fhower of iron fell in 

 Mifnia. (Georg. Fabri. Rer. Mifnia, lib. i. p. 32.) In 

 the year 1552 fire-ftone or maffes of iron fell near Mifl<os, 

 ill Tranfylvania. And among numerous other inftances in 

 the year 1751, a fire-ball burll with a loud explofipn in the 

 bifhopric of Agram, in Croatia : two maffes of iron fell 

 from it ; the one, which weighed feventy-two pounds, funk a 

 confiderable depth into the earth; and the other, which was 

 fixteen pounds, fell on the furface of a meadow, at the dif- 



tance of 2000 paces from the former ; the larger is ftiU pre. 

 ferved in the Imperial cabinet of Vienna. 



Numerous maffes of native iron occur in various parts of 

 the world, which agree in external appearance and chemical 

 compofition with thofe whole defcent from the air is well 

 attelted. Profeffor Pallas difcovered a mafs of native iron 

 weighing about 1600 pounds, on the furface of a hill 

 between Krafnojark and Abakunfli, in Siberia. It is con- 

 fidered as a holy relic by the natives, who believe that it fell 

 from heaven. 



Several maffes of native iron have been met with in 

 Mexico ; and many years fince, a mafs of native iron, cal- 

 culated to weigh about thirty tons, was difcovered in the 

 diftrifit of St. Jago de Eftro, in South America. It lies in 

 the middle of a great plain, where no rock or mountain is 

 within an hundred miles of it. According to Howard, it 

 confifts of 90 parts of iron, and 10 of nickel. Similar 

 maffes have been found in Africa, North America, and the 

 Eail Indies. 



Mica. See Mica. 



Miemite, Granular, is a variety of magnefian lime-ftone, 

 firft found at Miemo in Tufcany : it has a light green or 

 greenifh-white colour ; it occurs maffive and cryftaUized, in 

 fmall flat double three-fided pyramids, in which the lateral 

 planes of one pyramid are fet on the lateral edges of the 

 other ; the cryftals are often joined by the edges, or interfett 

 each otlier. It is tranflucent, and has internally a fplendent 

 and pearly luftre. The ftrufture is curvedly lamellar. Its 

 fpecific gravity is 2.88: it diffolves flowly in acids. The 

 eonilituent parts are, 



Carbonate of lime - - 'Si 

 Carbonate of magnefia - - 42 



Carbonate of iron and manganefe - 3 



Prifmatic Miemite occurs in low, fmall, three-fided 

 pyramids, deeply truncated on the edges ; it appears to 

 contain lefs magnefia than the preceding. 



Milk Quartz, or Rofe Quartz.. See QuARTZ. 

 Mineral Caoutchouc, or ElajVic Bitumen. (See Bitu- 

 men.) This fingular mineral has been hitherto only found 

 in the Odin mine, near Caftleton in Derbyftiire. According 

 to the analyfis of Klaproth, it contains in 100 grains, 



Cubic Inches. 

 Carbonated hydrogen 38 



Carbonic acid - 4 



Mineral Oil. See Petroleum. 

 Mineral Pitch, Earthy, or Maltha. See Bitumen. 

 Mixeral Pitch, Slaggy, or Jfphaltum. See Bitumen. 

 MiSPICEL, Arfenical Pyrites. See Aksenic, and Px- 



TtlXES 



Molybdena, or Sulphuret of Molybdena ; Molybdene ful- 



phuree, Haiiy ; is of a bright lead-grey colour. It occurs 



maffive, diffeminated in plates, and cryftaUized. The fornt of 



the cryftals is a regular fix-fided table, or a very fliort ttx- 



4 C 2 hded 



