IRON 
GENERIC CHARACTER. 
Colour dark blueish gray. 
Malleable, ductile, and elastic. 
Soluble in the mineral acids. 
Melts with great difficulty. 
SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 
Ferrum sativum. F. nudum nitoris metallici. Linn. Syst. 
Nat. Gmel. 3. p. 31 9. 
Naked iron of a metallic lustre. 
Ferrum nudum intractabile. Linn. Syst. 
Nat. xii. 3. p. 136. no. 1. 
Ferrum nativum in granulis. Waller. 
Miner. 242. 
Ferrum nudum malleabile. Carth. Miner. 
7 1. 
Native Iron. . . Cronst. Miner. 2 . p.720. Kirwan, Miner. 2. 
p.156. Patrin, Hist, des Miner. 5. p. 42. 
Brongn. Miner. 2. p. 146. 
The observation of M. Patrin, that iron is of all 
other metals the most useful to mankind, will very 
generally be allowed ; and it may be added, that 
the bounty of Providence is particularly shown in 
