2l8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS [vOL. 45 



through the ordinary channels of trade or through collectors, owing 

 to the expense of getting it out or to lack of knowledge concerning 

 the needs of the Museum and the possibilities of its exhibition 

 series. 



A Remarkable Amethyst Group 

 Among the numerous accessions by the Department of Geology 

 of the National Museum, few are of more striking interest than a 

 recently received large and remarkably perfect group of amethystine 

 quartz from the well-known Brazilian locality of Rio do Sul. The 

 specimen weighs approximately 400 lbs., and, as shown in the ac- 

 companying illustration (plate lvt), is in the form of a botryoidal 

 mass completely studded with short but broad pyramidal termina- 

 tions, the prism faces showing but slightly. In size the crystals are 

 remarkably uniform, varying from 30 to 50 millimeters in breadth 

 and some 25 millimeters in height. The color is deep amethystine, 

 fairly uniform, and the points, considering the great weight of the 

 specimen and the distance of transportation, are in an exceptional 

 state of preservation. So far as records show, this is one of the 

 largest if not the largest group of its kind in existence. It will 

 form a part of the exhibit of the Department of Geologv at the 

 approaching Louisiana Purchase Exposition. 



International Exchanges 



There was an unusual increase in exchange transmissions to and 

 from every part of the civilized world during the year ended June 

 30, 1903, being an excess over the previous year of 24,421 packages, 

 or 19 percent. The total weight aggregated 559,718 pounds for 

 the same period, or an increase of 41 percent over that of the fiscal 

 year 1901-02. The countries which have most extensively cooper- 

 ated with the United States in the interchange of official and scien- 

 tific publications are Great Britain and Germany. The results of 

 the year ended June 30, 1900, show that more parcels were ex- 

 changed with the former than with the latter, but subsequently 

 Germany exceeded Great Britain until the year 1903, when Great 

 Britain again took the lead. It is of interest to note that the total 

 difiference in the number of parcels exchanged between the United 

 States and each of these great countries during the last four years 

 is but 344. 



Iron Mine at Leslie, Missouri 



In April Mr. W. H. Holmes made a visit to Leslie, Missouri, 

 for the purpose of studying certain traces of ancient operations re- 



