The three mineral species that constitute the common “calamines,” or non-sulphurous ores of zinc, were first definitively identified in 1803 by the British chemist and mineralogist James Smithson. The present article proposes a close exegesis of Smithson’s argument, which has not previously been studied in any detail. His reasoning integrated chemical, natural historical, and crystallographic considerations, and illustrates important features of the practice of mineral chemistry at this time. Whereas zinc ore was an essential component of the rapidly expanding brass industry, the context for Smithson’s work was not commercial, but rather that of mineral collecting and natural history. Appreciating this fact, and the role of crystallography within this setting, helps to shed light on the interesting theoretical speculations about chemical combination that he included in the paper. Smithson’s ideas about chemical combination were informed by a structural way of thinking about materials, and his argument illustrates some of the ways that crystallog-raphy influenced chemistry in this period.

中文翻译：

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詹姆斯史密森论炉甘石：晶体中的化学组合

1803 年，英国化学家和矿物学家詹姆斯史密森首次明确确定了构成常见“炉甘石”或非硫锌矿的三种矿物种类。本文对史密森的论点进行了详尽的诠释，此前并未对其进行任何详细研究。他的推理综合了化学、自然历史和晶体学的考虑，并说明了此时矿物化学实践的重要特征。虽然锌矿石是快速发展的黄铜工业的重要组成部分，但史密森的工作背景不是商业背景，而是矿物收集和自然历史的背景。欣赏这一事实，以及晶体学在这种情况下的作用，有助于阐明他在论文中包含的有关化学组合的有趣理论推测。史密森关于化学组合的想法来自于对材料的结构思考，他的论点说明了晶体学在这一时期影响化学的一些方式。