284 The Oxford Museum. 



It was found, after great efforts, possible to accomplish this to a 

 considerable extent, but not quite so perfectly as was hoped. 

 The principal reason is, that we could not obtain certain marbles 

 known more than one hundred and fifty years since, to complete 

 our series of mesozoic limestone."] 



"Know you will stand in the centre of the great court, and 

 turn your eyes to the west, ' solis ad occasum ' you will see, in the 

 lower range of the shafts, six fine examples of granite and its twin 

 brother syenite. First, on the left, Aberdeen grey granite, sur- 

 mounted by the sculptured capital of Alismaeeous plants ; next, 

 Aberdeen red granite, crowned by the Butomaceae ; then the 

 largely porphyritic grey granite of Lamorna, with a capital of the 

 date palm. On the other side of the entrance, stands my special 

 column of syenite from Charnwood Forest, with the cocoa-palm 

 for its crown ; then the beautiful mottled granite of Cruachan, 

 elaborated for us by the Marquis of Breadalbane, the capital being 

 Pontederacese ; and finally, the red granite of Ross in Mull, the 

 gift of the Duke of Argyll, whose capital is Liliaceous." 



Shafts of red or grey or mottled granite occupy the west side ; 

 on the north, calcareous rocks, the green marbles of Galway, or 

 the red and black limestones of Cork. Turning to the east, as is 

 proper, we face igneous rocks: — Killerton lava rock crowned with 

 thorny Zamia — Inverara porphyry, with a capital of pine or fir 

 — St. Leven's porphyry and black serpentine, bearing on its head 

 a tuft of yew. On the south, " English and Welsh marbles, most- 

 ly of carboniferous limestone, but including what are less common- 

 ly seen, the breccia of Mendip and the gypsum of Chellaston." 

 The upper corridor follows the same order with ninety-six shafts, 

 which still want capitals. North and east are the granites of 

 Aberdeen, Criffel, and Cornwall — the serpentines of Galway ; on 

 the south, fronting the coeval rocks of Ireland, carboniferous De- 

 vonian limestones; while on the west are "Nottinghamshire, 

 Derbyshire, and Somersetshire innrbles — specimens of Permian 

 limestones — in the centre granites of Jersey and Cornwall— flank- 

 ed by columns of slate and shafts of lias, blue and white — marbles 

 of Purbeck, Stamford, and Buckingham." It is on the capitals 

 of these pillars, illustrating the Flora of England, that the work- 

 men have been allowed to work out their own designs, and in 

 the execution of which the O'Shea family have greatly distin- 

 guished themselves. Without entirely endorsing Mr. Ruskin's 

 organization of labour — of " men mailed and weaponed cap-a-pie" 



