325

ALUM1NE.

the simple body should give, instead of taking,its name from the compound.

MRS. B.

Very true, my dear; but as the compound saltwas known long before its basis was discovered,it was natural enough when that earth was atlength separated front the acid, that it should de-rive its name from the compound from which itwas obtained. However, to remove your scruples,we will call the salt according to the new no-menclature, sulphat of ahtmine. From this com-bination, alumiue may be obtained in its purestate; it is then soft to the touch, makes a pastewith water and hardens in the fire. ’In nature, itis fovThd chiefly in clay, which contains a con-siderable proportion of this earth; it is veryabundant in fuller’s earth, slate, and a variety of■■other mineral productions. There is indeedscarcely any mineral substance more useful tomankind than ahtmine. In the state of clav, itforms large strata of the earth, gives consistencyto the soil of valleys, and of all low and dampspots, such as swamps and marshes. The beds oflakes, ponds, and springs, are almost entirely ofclay; instead of allowing of the filtration ofwater, as sand does, it forms an impenetrablebottom, :xid by this means water is accumulatedin the caverns of the earth, producing those re-