PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 
95 
tion of which they were members had been especially formed. For though all 
might not be able to serve up the rich banquet of the professor, yet the humble 
fare of the noviciate would oftentimes be found highly acceptable to those whose 
appetite for knowledge had not been cloyed by the high-seasoned discourses 
of the installed philosopher. Having offered some prefatory remarks on the 
study of Mineralogy, Mr. Wolseley proceeded to show its connection with, and 
relation to, Geology, which was considered as the primary science, inasmuch as 
it embraced the.entire mass of the Globe, with all its multiform varieties of earths, 
minerals, &c. &c. The lecturer here pointed particular attention to the arrange¬ 
ment of these various substances; and showed how greatly the researches of 
scientific men in this department of knowledge had contributed to the comforts 
and enjoyments of mankind, of which Coal was instanced as a striking' and 
familiar example. He again adverted to Geology as comprehending the study of 
the general arrangement of the earth’s crust, and of the various series of rocks, 
deposits, &c., Mineralogy taking cognizance only of the component parts of the 
general mass. Before any advancement could be made in the latter science, it 
was indispensable that its leading features or characteristics should be well con¬ 
sidered and understood. He then proceeded to give divisions of the rock and 
mineral masses into four classes :—Earthy—Saline—Inflammable—Metals, and to 
treat of them under two heads :—the External or Physical, and the Internal or 
Chemical. The former he again divided into twenty characteristics, as form , 
structure , hardness , colour , &c. &c .; and in speaking of the latter, he explained 
those crystalline forms of most frequent occurrence in the Mineral Kingdom, 
showing, that from a system of four simple forms all the compounds of crystals 
were obtained. The method of measuring the various angles of crystals by the 
goniometer was explained, and the process of dissection so as to arrive at the 
primary crystals fully described. The lecture was illustrated by appropriate 
diagrams, and by numerous specimens of the various minerals alluded to. 
On Tuesday, Dec. 19, Mr. Wolseley delivered the second lecture of his course 
on Mineralogy, and took a rapid view of the leading features of the former lecture, 
resuming the consideration of his subject by replying to the queries often pro¬ 
pounded by beginners in Geology— 44 Whence comes it that primitive rocks are 
found on the tops of mountains ? and why the same stratified rocks along the 
same line of country are found dipping some north and some south ?” Briefly 
explaining these phenomena, Mr. Wolseley next proceeded to elucidate the 
physical characters, as lustre, colour, &c., of certain minerals, the accidents and 
causes producing which were severally described, and a variety of familiar instances 
produced in illustration. The lecturer then proceeded to consider and explain 
the methods employed for ascertaining the specific gravity of minerals, entered 
into a description of the hydrostatic balance and the areometer, and adverted to 
