CLAY n.
ium. It is the result of the wearing down and decomposition, in part, of rocks containing aluminous minerals, as granite. Lime, magnesia, oxide of iron, and other ingredients, are often present as impurities.
SLATE n.
gray color, which absorbs water rapidly, and adheres to the tongue; whence the name. -- Aluminous slate, or Alum slate (Min.), a kind of slate containing sulphate of alumina, -- used in the manufacture of alum. -- Bituminous slate (Min.), a soft species of sectile clay slate, impregnated with bitumen. -- Hornblende…