Washington — Suggestion for Mineral Nomenclature, 143 



in that not only chemical and crystallographic characters but min- 

 eral relationships would be indicated, the suggested nomen- 

 clature would not, nor is it intended to, replace this for general 

 use. The two would exist simultaneously, though used 

 for different purposes, as the new nomenclature would lend 

 itself readily to, and would probably aid in, the study and 

 investigation of the molecular constitution of minerals and in 

 other ways. In ordinary parlance and for usual purposes min- 

 erals, especially the common ones, would go by their present 

 names, while when greater precision and exactitude were needed, 

 especially in theoretical discussion, the suggested nomenclature 

 could be used. Similarly, in inorganic and especially in organic 

 chemistry, the common names are ordinarily used instead of 

 the longer and more complex scientific names, which are sys- 

 tematic and indicate the chemical constitution. 



For the purposes of such a nomenclature the large store of 

 present mineral names may be drawn on for the necessary roots, 

 since these roots would have in most cases sufficient mnemonic 

 connotations to give directly an idea of the general chemical 

 and crystal characters. Well-known or fairly well-known roots 

 are sufficiently numerous to cover nearly the whole field of 

 mineralogy. Though new minerals are being discovered with 

 some frequency, representatives of entirely new mineral groups 

 are comparatively rare, as many of the new minerals are refer- 

 able to groups already known, and with increasingly exact 

 knowledge of chemical composition and molecular structure, 

 many minerals of hitherto unknown or uncertain affinities are 

 being correlated with other groups, as the sodalites and the 

 garnets. 



It is suggested that the names of minerals (excepting for the 

 present the elements and hydrocarbons) be formed similarly to 

 those of oxides and salts in inorganic chemistry, as ferric oxide, 

 sodium chloride, potassium sulphate, but with the crystal char- 

 acter implied in the name. Such mineral names will be bino- 

 mial in general, composed of one term denoting the basic 

 (positive) portion of the molecule and another denoting the 

 acidic (negative) portion. As the acidic portion is of major 

 importance in classification it will be considered first. 



The name of the mineral acid, or the acidic portion of its 

 salts, will imply not only general chemical composition and 

 type, but the crystal symmetry and general crystallographic 

 relations of its salts, subject to the morphotropic changes due 

 to isomorphous replacement. 



The acid {negative) radical of a mineral group will be denoted 

 by a root derived from the present name of a typical and appro- 

 priate member, preferably that best known or first named. 

 To this root, in general shorn of its present termination (except 



