Volltext Seite (XML)
> V 1 r V , 11 JX.J to mi- -• iiv r 'jrti mod ylduiioKj ^mvjvuuimj nodi so snoijnxpm* ..i.: :imv))ao '{fctotioetm ,vurrnwi .'/Bin ti'N ttgia'int *, >!tn ••'!•_• !•'• i MUiiifa oill uioit xty^uitnuln. mom to auqod oniug )i?j :«iU 1 ooqy-Tir'obilr.'oo lit’" •*•>-••>•••» inoi^nfoioriiai fbiv/ . u -<• i- iiilqo*oudq fiintund cm. - ul m i ! i « -wimo't EXPLANATION OF TERMS Used in Mineralogical Descriptions. Acicular. Long, slender, and straight prisms, or crystals, are termed acicular, from the Latin, acicula, a little needle. Aggregated. A mineral or rock is said to be aggregated when the several component parts only adhere together, and may be separated by mechanical means : the felspar, quartz, and mica, constituting granite, may be separated mechanically. Granite is an aggregated rock. Alliaceous. The odour given out by arsenical minerals, when exposed to the blowpipe or struck by the hammer, resem bles that of garlic, in Latin, allium, ; whence alliaceous. Alloy. A natural combination of two or more metals in the metallic state. Amalgam. A natural combination of two metals, of which mer cury is one. Amorphous. Without form; of undefinable shape; from the Greek, ago^tpoi having that signification. Amorphous mi nerals are sometimes described as being of indeterminate or indefinite forms. Anhydrous, from the Greek avMgoj, signifying without water. Arborescent. From the Latin arboresco, to grow like a tree. See Dendritic. Arseniate. A term applied to a mineral consisting of arsenic acid united with a base. Base. A term denoting the substance to which an acid is unit ed ; in the arseniate of copper, the copper is the base. Borate. A mineral in which boracic acid is combined with a base. Botn/oidal. From the Greek /3or^ubm, signifying hung with clusters of grapes or berries. So a mineral presenting an aggregation of large sections of numerous small globes is termed botryoidal; but when the globes are larger, and the portions are less and separate, the appearance is expressed