The Scottish Naturalist. 



9 



aire no less than 20 different kinds of iron recognised and classi- 

 fied. You need not be alarmed by the number, nor fancy that I 

 will inflict upon you a rehearsal of all the virtues and characteris- 

 tics of the individual members of this family. I shall content 

 myself with a brief summary or enumeration, for the purpose of 

 p minting out the relative importance of that member which speci- 

 alty claims attention at present, and of one or two kindred ones. 



1. Native Iron. — Consisting of three kinds, pure, nickeliferous, 

 and steely. 



2. Arsenical Iron, or ore of Arsenic, this is of no use as an ore 

 of iron. 



3. Yellow Sulphur et of Iron, or Bisulphide of Iron, containing 

 between 46.08 and 47.3 of iron and 52.70 and 53.92 of sulphur; this 

 also is of no use as an iron ore. 



4. White Sulphuret of Iron, differing only immaterially from that 

 last mentioned, being distinguished by its white colour and its 

 crystallization, which is often radiated. It is of no use as an iron 

 ore. 



5. Magnetic Sulphuret of Iron or Magnetic Iron Pyrites ; also 

 of no use as an ore of iron. 



6. Black Oxide of Iron. This is the Magnetite, Magnet, or 

 Magnetic Iron, possessing the property of attracting iron or steel 

 to itself. The name is said to be derived from Magnesia, a pro- 

 vince of Thessaly, where it was first discovered. This ore con- 

 sists of a combination of the protoxide, and peroxide of iron, to 

 which is attributed its magnetic qualities. This is the most im- 

 portant ore of iron in Norway, Sweden and Russia ; and it be- 

 longs more especially to northern latitudes, being found in 

 Lapland, Siberia, and North America. There are mountains of 

 it in Sweden and Lapland. It occurs most frequently in meta- 

 morphic rocks. Some kinds form natural magnets. 



Next we have Haematite, the name of which is taken from a 

 Greek word (ai/xa, Haima) meaning blood, in allusion to its red- 

 brown colour. It embraces three members of the family, 

 viz. : 1 



7. Specular Iron, for which the Island of Elba has long been 

 distinguished as supplying the purest crystals. It has been found 

 in Devonshire, Wales, Cumberland, and Perthshire. 



8. Red Haematite, found chiefly in the Mountain Limestone of 

 the carboniferous system. The most abundant deposits are found 



