520 
IRON. 
The other state in which we find native iron has 
nothing ambiguous about it, since it occurs in veins 
mixed with other metals. Schreber found it in a 
mountain near Grenoble, and Bergman in a matrix 
of brown garnets in Saxony. 
Iron, like other metals, is found in different 
states, from whence it takes particular names. Thus 
we have the Hcematite iron ore , of a black, red, or 
yellow colour. This is a rust of iron which, being 
conveyed by water and deposited in the cavities and 
on the walls of mines, is found in the form of sta- 
lactites, or sometimes in little round knobs, collected 
together so as to resemble grapes. The internal 
structure of these masses of iron have a fibrous and 
striated appearance like wood, and are generally so 
hard as to strike fire with steel. 
Very beautiful specimens of crystallized iron ore 
are found in the island of Elba, on the coast of 
Tuscany. They exhibit various gradations of the 
finest colours, as red, blue, green, yellow, brown, 
black; and look, to use the expression of a mineralo 
gist, like so many clusters of emeralds, sapphires, 
diamonds, rubies, and topazes. 
White spathose iron ore is another state in which 
we find this metal, hut it is white only when first 
dug from the bowels of the earth ; soon after which 
it becomes gray, then brown, reddish, or yellowish. 
Argillaceous iron stone , of a blackish brown co- 
lour, is frequently found in large quantities ; and as 
it contains a considerable portion of metal is worked 
to great advantage. On an ore of this kind the 
