Several possible analogs of cosmic dust have been produced by a variety of techniques. Extinction and emission spectra of these grain samples reveal that hydrated silicates, in particular those which are Mg-rich, produce infrared spectra that bear strong resemblances to the spectra of a variety of astronomical dust grains ranging from those found within the solar system to those found in dense, cold, molecular clouds. An identification of hydrated silicates as the origin of the 6.0 and 6.8 micron features is proposed as part of a model which is consistent with all the spectra available to date on both cosmic dust and the laboratory samples studied. 34 references.