A. WHITE.
This is the lightest of all the colours; hence the slight est intermixture of other colours becomes perceptible. The white colour occurs principally in earthy and saline minerals, seldom in metalliferous minerals, and very rarely amongst inflammable minerals. The fol lowing are the varieties of this colour : a. Snow-white is the purest white colour, being free of all intermixture, and is the only colour of this suite which has no grey mixed with it. It resembles new fallen snow. As examples of it, we may mention Car rara marble.
b. Reddish-white is composed of snow white, with a very minute portion of crimson-red and ash-grey. It passes into flesh-red. Examples, porcelain earth and rose quartz.
c. Yellowish-white is composed of snow-white, with ve ry little lemon-yellow and ash-grey. It passes on the one side into yellowish-grey, on the other into straw yellow. . Examples, chalk, limestone, and semi-opal.
d. Silver•whiie is the colour of native silver, and is dis tinguisbca from the preceding by its metallic lustre. Examples, arsenical pyrites and native silver.
e. Greyish-white is snow-white mixed with a little ash grey. Examples, quartz and limestone.
f. Greenish-white is snow-white mixed with a very little emerald-green and ash-grey. It passes into apple , green. Examples, amianthus, foliated limestone, and amethyst.
g. Milk-white is snow-white mixed with a little Berlin blue and ash-grey. It passes into smalt-hlue. The colour of skimmed milk. Examples, calcedony and common opal.
h. Tin-white differs from the preceding colour princi pally in containing a little more grey, and having the metallic lustre. It passes into pale lead-grey. Ex amples, native antimony and native mercury.