The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-06-07
The Democracy of Science. 4.
BY JOSIAH HoLBRooK.

Ten minerals have been called The sGEoLoer-
CAL ALPHABET" They are quartz, feldspar.
mica, hornblend, lime, slate, gypsum, scrpen-
tine, tale, and chlorite. Separate and combined,
they form mountains, rocks. aud soils. They
are also the repositories of ores, CRYSTALS, and
minerals furnishing materials for industry the
arts, commerce, wealth. science, refinement,
comiort,and progress.
The alphabet of geology can be learnt BY
any child Of six years in day; many of the
specimens being collected by his o,on hands,
giving employment, instruction, amusement.
and materials for ssel-insruction in his future
progress. Every pupil in New York school
five hundred 10 al--on returning home at night,
took with him six letters of the geological al
phabet, all collected, broken labelled, and ar
ranged by the pupils them selves az their amuse-
ment for that day. Thousands upon thousands
of similar cases have occurred within few
years past in almost every section of the coun.
try. This fact gives the secret of the unpar-
alleled progress recently made in geology, and
for the immense developments Of our natural
resources in all parts of the country, alike for
wealth and for science. The reduction in the
price OF chrome yellow, from fifteen dollars to
twenty-five cents pound, within a short time.
is among the results of amusement in "Geolo
gical Excursions"
The work nf I" Progress in the Democracy
Of Science now proposed il to have the alpha
bet, with n cabinet of Geology" collected
| by The members Of each of the hundred thou
sand schools and six millions of families in orr
country, he aoork n their o,on hands Aided
by the progress already made, this great step il
az simple and easy az it is important. 1t can
be commenced any moment, anywhere, when
teacher or parent shal request pupil or child
10 step out of the door and pick up the first
pebble be can find. THAI pebble in nine cases
out of ten, will be quartz; furnishing probably
as rich and as far-reaching lesson of in
struction as ever was or ever cfn be given to
any pupil a highly distinguished geoloyist
has written volume on :" The Pebble,"a book
equally fraught with instruction and entertain.
ment.
| To Cabinets Of Nature" both for schools
and families, numerous aids are at hand Such
collections are already made, by hundreds and
| thousands, all over the country. By their aid
they can be easily increased to millions. Mem
bers Of Congress and other public functioparies
have taken to their respective districts very nu-
merous cabne of labelled specimens, designed
especially as guides to their young friends in
collecting and labelling specimens by their own
hands-a process indispensable for any availa-
bic knowledge on this and many other subjects.
| II all the iunctonaries of our government
would render similar aid to their young friends.
the Democracy Of Science" would soon stand
on an immovabe basis; and with it. perhaps,
the perpetuity and harmony of our Union. and
the success of our republican institutions be-
better secured than by party discussions, hther-
to not entirely successful