360 
SECOND REPORT—1832. 
produce a grouping of substances which would at once be re¬ 
cognised as far more natural than that of Haiiy or Phillips. 
The new system of Berzelius has been adopted in the arrange¬ 
ment of the minerals of the British Museum in their new apart¬ 
ment, under the intelligent and industrious superintendence of 
Mr. Konig ; and every one will probably be struck by the evi¬ 
dence which the aspect of the collection offers, of the advantage 
of this over the ancient mode of arrangement. 
Besides the natural-historical and the purely chemical, we 
may observe that there are some which may be called mixed sy¬ 
stems of classification. These, proceeding as if our knowledge 
were as yet too incomplete to allow us to apply any one prin¬ 
ciple with logical severity, borrow their resources from various 
quarters, and may thus perhaps make the nearest approxima¬ 
tion to their object which is now possible. 
One of the best of such systems appears to be that of M. Nau- 
mann, of whose crystallographical labours we have already 
spoken. His Mineralogy (Berlin 1828), contains, in a very com¬ 
pressed form, very full and systematic accounts of the different 
kinds of minerals, their properties and crystalline forms ; and 
the species are there arranged in classes and orders, which hear 
chemical titles, and which bring together similar bodies. Thus 
the Silicides are— Unmetallic Hydrous Silicides (the zeolites), 
Unmetallic Anhydrous Silicides (felspar, &c.), Mixed (of metal¬ 
lic and unmetallic) Anhydrous Silicides (pyroxene, amphibole, 
&c.), Metallic Hydrous Silicides (dioptase, silicate of zinc, &c.); 
and so on. In the Sulphurides Naumann retains the distinction 
of pyrites, glance, and blende, though its chemical signification 
has not yet been discovered : and this seems to be done not 
without reason, for the difference of octohedral copper pyrites 
(cuivre pyriteux, = 2 (2 cu -J- s') + s), and rhombic copper 
glance (cuivre sulfure, = 2 cu -f s'), is of the broadest kind : the 
sulphuret of zinc (zinc blende), and the sulphuret of iron (iron 
pyrites) have scarcely any resemblance. 
I may also notice the work of M. Kobell, who has published 
a “ Characteristic’ (Niirnberg 1830), founded on mixed physi¬ 
cal and chemical characters, as those of Mohs and Breithaupt 
were on physical alone. M. Kobell has however, in some 
parts of his classification, returned to the arrangement by the 
electro-positive element, which appears to be a retrograde step 
on our road to a permanent system. It may be mentioned here 
that the Mineralogy of M. Beudant contains an excellent 
chemical “ characteristic,” that is, certain and universal formu¬ 
laries of tests for determining the place of a given mineral in 
his arrangement. This part of the work has been adopted 
by Naumann, 
