40 Count de Bournon’s Description of a 
When, in the formation of a substance that is acted upon by 
the crystalline attraction, its action happens to be disturbed, 
by any cause whatever, the masses resulting from it do not 
belong to the regular crystalline attraction ; and the irregular 
crystalline attraction which takes place, produces various results, 
which no doubt are owing to many different causes. Sometimes 
there are masses partially lamellated, the lamellae of which cross 
each other in various directions ; at other times, we find masses 
which are either foliated, or fibrous. 
It sometimes happens, (owing perhaps to a more considerable 
degree of disturbance during the process of attraction,) that there 
are formed small irregular detached masses, often so minute as 
to be scarcely perceptible ; at other times, they are of a larger 
size, and, as soon as formed, fall to the bottom of the liquor, 
and unite together by a simple mode of attraction, which may 
with great propriety be called simple homogeneous attraction of 
aggregation . Of this kind are, granulated quartz, granulated car- 
bonate of lime, &c. the different kinds of which substances, 
differ from each other only by the fineness or coarseness of their 
grain. Sometimes, however, the crystalline attraction of aggre- 
gation, and the simple homogeneous attraction, act together, at 
the same time, in the same solution. When this takes place, the 
granulated masses, instead of being composed of an aggregate 
of irregular grains, appear to consist of small crystals, which 
have a very regular form. This frequently takes place in pure 
granulated carbonate of lime, and still more frequently in mag- 
nesian carbonate of lime, particularly in that kind which is found 
in large and extensive masses, in various parts of England. In 
the case here spoken of, which, it may be presumed, can take 
place only in highly saturated solutions, in which the molecules 
