and Mineralogy, 31^7 
26. The idea of Species needs no foreign designations. — It 
is clear from this, that no foreign aid is required for determin- 
ing the species in natural history. And as the conception of 
species is the foundation of all other methodical or systematic 
conceptions, that is to say, the natural history of the mineral 
kingdom requires no foreign aid, (chemical, geognostic or arbi- 
trary,) for its foundation and complete developement. 
27. Transitions in particular characters, — The series of 
shades of a character in the individuals of a species, is named 
a transition. This series, however, is nothing more than the 
progress of the members in a series of characters. Hence these 
characteristic series represent the transitions, in so far as the 
latter refer to single characters. Other transitions, &uch for ex- 
ample, as are produced by exposure to the weather, by mix- 
ture, and so on, are not acknowledged by natural history. 
28. Transitions of' individuals among each other. — If indivi- 
duals agree together in every character but one, and if the 
differences of this one are terms of a series, those individuals 
exhibit a transition. Transitions, therefore, originate from 
series of characters ; they may result from the same indivi- 
duals in more than one series of characters (22. 24.): in 
forms, colours, and so forth. To secure ourselves against the 
numerous errors which German mineralogists have committed, 
it will be necessary to consider and discuss the transitions in 
each character for itself; in other words, to employ the se- 
veral series with proper circumspection, and to give the cha- 
racters as distinct and strict a designation among themselves, 
as we possibly can, or as the circumstances of the case may re- 
quire. 
29. Transitions are mai'hs cf homogeneity, — Individuals con- 
nected together by transitions are homogeneous.^ and belong to 
one species. The preceding observations render this sufficient- 
ly clear. The German mineralogy contains a multitude of ex- 
amples, in which one species is connected with another., by means 
of transitions. With regard to these the two following state- 
ments may be maintained. If the transition is correct, the de- 
termination of the species must be false ; and if the determi- 
nation of the species is correct, the transition must be false. 
