I 6 HISTORY OF THE DAUBENY LABORATORY 



which were built against the north wall in the gallery, and 

 which completely covered the upper parts of the windows, 

 making the room very dark. The equipment was particularly 

 rich in apparatus for pneumatic chemistry, which was no 

 doubt due to the great interest taken by Dr. Daubeny in the 

 nature of the gases given off by growing plants, volcanos, 

 and mineral waters. 



The Collection of Minerals was arranged in seventy-seven 

 drawers below the cabinets in the Apparatus Room, in accor- 

 dance with the chemical system of Rammelsberg 1 , under the 

 following heads : 



A. Inflammable Minerals. 



B. Earths not combined with silica. 



C. Minerals consisting of silica, either alone or in com- 

 bination with water. 



D. Silica in combination with bases. 



E. Silicates with salts of other acids. 



F. Silicious minerals of indefinite composition. 



G. Metallic ores. 



Two manuscript catalogues of the years 1835 and 1849 are 

 still preserved among the Daubeny papers. 



The collection is not at present in its original condition, for 

 a representative series of the best specimens was picked out 

 by Mr. T. G. Heathcote Wyndham, the first Natural Science 

 Fellow of Merton College under the new statutes, and 

 arranged after the modern system in six cabinets especially 

 constructed for their reception under the superintendence of 

 Mr. Hopkins. Unfortunately the labelling and cataloguing 

 of the collection was left undone owing to the premature 

 death of Mr. Wyndham. 



In the same room were preserved the marvellous collection 

 of mineral and sea waters in still more marvellous bottles of 

 all shapes and sizes. 'Mineral waters, as indications of 

 chemical processes going on below the surface of various 

 countries, excited his earnest attention. He carried about 

 a considerable apparatus for examining these waters in their 

 freshest attainable state, and would busy himself for days 



1 Handiuortcrbucb des chemischen Thetis der Miner alogie, Berlin, 1841. 



