Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1831 edition. Excerpt: ... quartz, and felspar, and sometimes other minerals. The mica is in the form of soft, elastic scales, and in some sorts of granites is black, and in others yellowish. The quartz is white, red, brown, or yellowish, and even colourless and transparent, and may be known by the glass-like surface of the broken pieces; while the felspar is more splintery, and for the most part in pieces of a longish shape. Gryphsea. A species of fossil bivalve shell. Gypsum, or plaster of Paris, is the sulphate of lime, being composed of hme and sulphuric acid; and much used in the formation of cements, casts, &c. Heliacal rising and setting of a star is, properly, when it rises or sets with the sun; or a star is said to rise heliacally, when it is first seen after a conjunction with the sun: and to set heliacally, when it is so near the sun as to be hidden by its beams. Herbivorous. Herb-devouring. Homogenous, is a term applied to various subjects, to denote that they consist of similar parts, or of parts of the same nature and kind. Hornblende. A species of rock, usually of a dark bottle-green colour: it is more shining and glossy than felspar, and heavier, but not so hard. Insectivorous. Insect-devouring. Lava. The matter ejected by volcanos. Lignites. The inflammable material called brown coal. Limestone. The carbonate of lime, being composed of lime and carbonic acid. There are many species, including chalk and marble. Lithophytes. The fourth order of vermes or worms. They produce the coral, and in this order are fifty-nine species, under the four genera of tubipora, madrepora, millepora, and tullipora. masseler. The powerful muscle of the under jaw. Mica, vide Granite. Mollusca. The second order of vermes, including animals that are naked, and furnished...
